The sound of the water was continuous.
It did not strike the ears or overwhelm the mind—it rely reminded one of its existence. As if ti was passing, the world was in motion, yet he remained in place.
Zaber sat by the river. He lay in this state until sunset. The light of Ruya and Siamond broke on the water’s surface, fragnting into tiny pieces. The light trembled in the water, moving as if it were a living creature. He did not look at the sky. The stars held no interest for him tonight.
Tonight, he did not flee.
Tonight, he did not fight.
Tonight, he stopped to asure himself.
He slowly opened his palms. His skin was covered in bruises, and from sitting in the water too long, the cold seed to have seeped into his bones. There was still a tremor between his fingers. His muscles had relaxed, but the pain had not left. Though he had drunk the healing elixir, it could not nd a broken soul. The body would recover, but what was inside had not vanished.
"Power..." he said inwardly.
He stood. His body was not light. When he moved, his body resisted slightly, his veins pulling as if sothing inside was opposing him.
Whispering:
Am I stronger than an ordinary adventurer?
No.
The level of a middle-aged man.
In Idal city, anyone could kill , he concluded coldly inwardly. This was not fear; it was calculation.
He dressed and straightened his clothes.
I can kill anyone too.
If I use crooked and uneven paths.
Zaber acknowledged this.
"My physical strength is low," he said inwardly in a cold tone.
He sat on the ground, folding his knees. He slowly steadied his breathing, trying to even his heartbeat.
Fast?
No.
He could run quickly, but at the level of an ordinary human. He could endure long distances— he had stamina. But this was not for combat; it was suited for escape and survival. He was suited for the mont, not for war.
Zaber acknowledged this too.
Then...
he looked at his hand.
The soul chain.
He closed his eyes. In his imagination, the chain seed to stir. Light, yet hungry. As if a starving predator, waiting only for the command.
"This is my only advantage," he said inwardly.
The soul chain ignored defenses. Any creature with a soul—it did not matter. If it pierced, it was over. Fast, rciless, silent.
But...
Zaber opened his eyes.
"If they strike first..." he said in a low voice. "I will die."
This was the truth.
The soul chain could not be summoned under a blow. If attention scattered, if the body was in pain—it would not work. And there was one more thing.
"Useless against the soulless," he said.
Golems, magical puppets...
For them, the chain was hungry but found nothing.
Zaber took a deep breath.
There it is.
What if I entered an open fight?
He calculated inwardly. Precisely. Dryly. Without emotion.
Once—no problem.
Twice—fatigue.
Three tis—dizziness.
Four tis—chance of fainting.
Five tis...
"Death," he said slowly.
He fell silent.
Five people could easily kill .
That ant if he was forced into combat with more than three enemies—the odds worked against him. If one was fast. If one struck from a distance. If one understood him.
Zaber did not laugh.
"I am not strong," he said finally. "I am rely dangerous."
He stood. His posture straightened, but this was not pride. This was a decision.
"That ans I will not be a warrior."
He looked at the water. He saw his reflection—shadowless, eyes deep, face cold. Not a child. But not a man either.
"I will be a trap," he said.
He would hide. Wait. Learn. Strike only when necessary. He would never fully reveal his power. He would never expose himself.
"If they co to understand ..." he said in a low voice. "I will die."
Therefore, he had to be incomprehensible.
He finally looked at the stars.
This was freedom.
He took his sword.
"That ans this is what I am capable of," he said inwardly.
He walked to a tree, leaned against it, and sat. Embracing the sheathless sword, he propped it against his right shoulder, intending to sleep. But in the next mont, he stared at the sword.
If I move unknowingly in my sleep or fall to the side, this sword will cut my throat, he thought.
He slowly placed the sword on the ground. He folded one leg, extended the other fully. Propping his hand on his leg, he closed his eyes.
It was near dawn.
The sun had not yet risen, but the sky had already begun to lose its darkness—a dim, milky light slowly spread around.
Zaber woke.
The morning cold tickled his skin. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the sky for a while. There was tranquility in the air. Only the continuous noise of the waterfall kept this silence alive.
He felt dew had fallen on him. His black clothes were damp, the cold had seeped into his body. Zaber slowly stood. His long black hair fell over his face, blocking his view. He brushed his hair back with his hand and straightened his posture.
He walked toward the waterfall.
Approaching it, he splashed cold water on his face. The water felt as if it pierced his skin. His breathing deepened involuntarily. Sleep vanished in an instant. His thoughts felt cleared.
Zaber looked to the side.
The anthill he had brought last night was on the ground. The six eggs inside were visible. He took it in his hand and stared for three seconds, channeling black mana. Then—he saw a very faint, almost imperceptible movent. The eggs seed to stir.
Zaber carefully placed the hive on the ground.
Then he looked at the sli.
"Kyu... kyu..."
It made a soft, almost amusing sound. The sli was eating grass. In the next mont, it encountered a stone. It swallowed the stone and struggled to digest it. Stopping its movent, it "kyu kyu" again and froze.
Seeing this, sothing inside Zaber softened.
Last night, while bathing, he had seen several fish under the waterfall.
He placed the hive next to the sword leaning against the tree, then said to the sli.
"Do not try to eat this."
As if understanding, the sli clung to the grass again.
Zaber walked toward the waterfall.
Staring at the water, he closed his eyes for a mont.
"This feeling..." he whispered inwardly.
He activated his ability to the maximum.
Mana sense was usually perceptible within five ters, even without activation. But he rembered that this function had disappeared after accepting the soul chain and felt disappointed inwardly.
At that instant, the surroundings were drawn in blue in his imagination.
A thirty-ter radius was clearly sensed. Dozens of fish moved in the water. The waterfall was about one and a half ters deep. Every stone, every current was clearly visible—not with the eyes, but with feeling.
Zaber took his pitch-black sword that reflected no light and stepped under the waterfall.
"My mana is at an ordinary human level..." he whispered. "Forty-five seconds. I can use my ability."
He began watching the fish.
He sensed four fish swimming disorderly below. He focused on the second one. He moved slowly, very slowly—without disturbing the water.
He brought the sword close to the fish.
The sword was completely black. Both the edge and the surface absorbed light. In the water, it appeared like an ordinary stick.
The fish approached the sword.
When the distance was one handspan—
Zaber held the sword with his left hand, clenched his right hand into a fist, and struck the back of the sword’s edge sharply with the bottom of his fist.
Bubbles exploded in the water.
The fish split in two.
A light cloud of blood spread in the water, but it was very little—the current swallowed it imdiately.
Zaber smiled lightly.
"It is as I thought..."
He concluded inwardly.
When mana sense is activated, my presence almost disappears. This ability ans blending with the environnt. A state the enemy cannot sense.
He took the fish from the water.
He brought the split fish to the shore and began searching for firewood.
Then he stopped.
Looking at a fallen tree branch on the ground, he suddenly thought.
"Wait... I am a black dragon," he said inwardly. "Cooking is not necessary."
He bit into the raw fish.
A mont passed.
A disappointed expression appeared on Zaber’s face.
"Not sweet..."
He stood silently for a mont, then shrugged.
"But it does not matter."
He stood upright and began eating the fish.
Dawn was breaking; sunlight fell on the waterfall like a curtain, painting it golden.
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