Lucian crouched in the soil near the furnace, pressing his fingers into the ground as the faint glow of mana flowed from his palms.
The valley air was still and quiet, save for the crackling warmth of the furnace behind him.
Rows of protection plants shimred faintly, their leaves curling upward as if nourished by his energy.
Beside them, he carefully placed a handful of seeds and small clippings he had salvaged over the last few days—dicinal plants he had kept in his inventory.
They were rare in this region, and even rarer for soone like him to grow.
But if he was going to keep both himself and that unconscious human alive, he couldn’t afford to run out of healing supplies.
He exhaled slowly, pressing mana into the soil. The earth trembled faintly, threads of blue light weaving around the planted seeds.
Slowly, shoots broke through the soil, tiny green leaves pushing toward the valley’s light. Lucian allowed himself a thin smile. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
The work continued for hours. He checked each crop in turn, adjusting their mana intake, trimming away wilted parts, and reinforcing the boundary spells around the field.
By midday, sweat dripped from his brow, his small hands dirtied with soil.
Finally, he stood, dusting off his clothes. His gaze drifted toward the tree at the far end of the clearing.
The human.
Lucian walked over, his footsteps crunching softly against the ground.
The man was slumped against the tree, his head tilted downward, his chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.
To any passerby, it looked as if he was still unconscious, lost in so fevered dream.
But Lucian’s eyes narrowed. Sothing was off. The man’s body looked tense now—his muscles tight, his breathing too asured.
It was a deliberate act, one Lucian recognized imdiately.
’So, you’re awake.’
Lucian crouched down, studying him silently for a few monts. He could sense the faint tremor in the man’s arms, the way his fingers twitched ever so slightly against the ropes.
The illusion of sleep was a thin one.
"Pretending won’t help you."
Lucian said softly.
The man’s eyes snapped open. Blue irises glared back at him, filled with both suspicion and confusion.
For a mont, the man looked ready to lunge—until he realized that his wrists and ankles were bound tight with rope.
His expression shifted to shock. Clearly, he hadn’t expected this.
"What...?"
He muttered, voice rough from thirst. His gaze darted between the ropes, the clearing, and finally Lucian himself.
And then his face froze.
A boy.
Not the grizzled rcenary he had imagined. Not so seasoned warrior who had dragged him here for ransom or interrogation.
No—before him stood a child, barely six years old by appearance, with sharp golden eyes far too steady for his age.
"You...A kid?"
The man whispered, disbelief flooding his tone.
Lucian tilted his head slightly. His voice, calm and cold, cut through the silence.
"Calm down. Don’t try anything stupid. The ropes holding you aren’t ordinary. Struggle too much, and you’ll just hurt yourself."
Berry blinked at him, the na surfacing in Lucian’s mind from the system’s mission objective. Berry Marksman. This was the one.
But Berry seed far from understanding his role in all of this. His brows furrowed as he stared at Lucian.
"Where... where am I? And where’s the one in charge? The one who brought here?"
Lucian straightened, eting his gaze without flinching.
"You’re looking at him."
For a second, silence reigned. Then, unexpectedly, Berry laughed. A hoarse, disbelieving laugh that broke into a cough.
"You? Don’t joke with , kid. Tell where your master is. I don’t have ti for gas."
Lucian’s expression didn’t change. His eyes were flat, unreadable.
"I don’t joke."
Berry’s laughter trailed off, leaving him staring at the boy with incredulity.
"You’re telling ... you’re the one who dragged here? You?"
Lucian nodded once.
"That’s right."
The silence grew heavier. Berry looked him up and down, trying to make sense of the absurdity.
The bindings were tight—too tight for a child to tie. His wounds had been bandaged, his life spared, but his body had been dragged all the way here.
The evidence was there, undeniable.
And yet the one standing before him was no more than a boy.
Finally, Berry forced another laugh, this one more forced than before.
"Alright, fine. I’ll play along with your little act. If you’re the one in charge, then how about you be a good boy and let out of these ropes, hm? I promise I won’t hurt you."
Lucian’s eyes narrowed. He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping.
"No."
The word was sharp, final.
Berry blinked, caught off guard by the firmness of the refusal. He tried again, this ti with a smile.
"Co on, kid. Look, I’m not your enemy. I’m grateful you helped . So how about you untie , and we can talk like normal people?"
Lucian’s gaze didn’t waver. His tone was cold, precise.
"Not until I know your intentions. You’re alive because I decided you were useful. But that doesn’t an I trust you."
Berry stared at him, the smile on his face faltering. Sothing about the boy’s words, about the way he spoke with absolute seriousness, made his stomach twist.
There was no childishness here. No innocence.
Just calculation.
Berry gave another awkward chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.
"You’re a strange one, you know that? Most kids your age would be terrified right now. But you... you talk like so old man who’s seen too much."
Lucian said nothing. He simply rose to his feet, brushing the dirt from his hands.
Berry frowned, confusion and unease gnawing at him.
"Wait—where are you going? You’re just going to leave tied up like this?"
Lucian glanced back over his shoulder, his golden eyes gleaming faintly in the valley’s glow.
"Yes."
With that, he turned and walked back toward the field of crops, the faint hum of mana already resuming in his palms as he bent over the soil.
Berry was left staring after him, bound to the tree, his mind racing. Nothing about this made sense. Nothing at all.
And yet, despite himself, a shiver crawled down his spine as he realized one thing.
This boy wasn’t ordinary.
Not in the slightest.
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