Leave a comment

“Where are we?” Yasa came to his senses and realized that he was currently situated in a dark and damp place, possibly a cave. He had a nightmare just now. In the nightmare, he became an incredibly powerful and strong monster. However, despite transforming into it, he was still beaten up by that woman. Eventually, he tumbled onto the ground after receiving a slap. Then, the dream ended.

A literal nightmare! Moreover, it was very vivid, as if he had experienced it personally. Hence, he instantly screamed after waking up. Because he was simply terrified.

“How could I lose to that w̲h̲o̲r̲e̲? Impossible. Absolutely impossible.” Yasa climbed up and realized that he was laying on a stone slab covered with hay. Looking around, he only saw glowing moss clinging on the stone walls. The place wasn’t pitch black because of their presence.

“Why am I sleeping in this godforsaken place?” Yasa clearly remembered that he was supposed to be dueling with Yaeger inside the [Castle Arena].　

‘Maybe I’m still dreaming?’

“Yasa, you’re awake.” Suddenly, a masked man in black robes appeared like a phantom.

“Wah!” Yasa was startled. Then, he eventually calmed down after seeing that familiar mask and hearing that familiar voice.

“I greet the old patriarch.”

“You must be very confused right now. No matter. You’ll be fine after some rest.” The man said softly.

“Old patriarch, where is this place? I remember that I was supposed to duel that w̲h̲o̲r̲e̲ in the [Castle Arena], no? But why am I suddenly here now? Also, I feel some wondrous changes within my body… I seem to have become stronger. What really happened to me?” Yasa launched a flurry of questions.

He realized that his strength had improved and his physical body became even stronger. Although the change wasn’t significant, it was still enough to surprise him.

“You rose from the ashes, like a phoenix. Not bad, not bad.” The man nodded in satisfaction after examining Yasa’s body. “Yasa, you have too many questions. But still, I’ll answer them one by one.”

As a response, Yasa sat up straight and listened intently like a scholar. The masked man in black robes started telling him the previous events by dividing them into segments.

The time slowly passed by. Eventually, he finished.

“Impossible. Impossible! How could I lose to that w̲h̲o̲r̲e̲?” Yasa trembled intensely after learning that he was defeated and his clan was even forced to flee Jade City. With a pale expression, he yelled hysterically.

It turned out that his nightmare was reality! He was defeated. Utterly defeated! The mix of humiliation, anger, shame, and self-loathe brewed in his heart—spreading like a wildfire. It nearly drove him insane! He simply couldn’t accept the fact that he lost to Yaeger. She had defeated him time and time again, dragging him down from his throne and stomped him silly. Absolutely unforgivable!

“Anger, resentment, escape from reality. What’s next?” The masked man in black robes suddenly said.

“Old patriarch…” Yasa calmed down slightly after hearing his voice. “Old patriarch, I… I…”

“Yasa, setbacks aren’t terrible. However, the terrible thing is for you to give up on yourself after receiving setbacks. It’s no different than being a puddle of mud on the ground forever, being utterly useless. Yasa, do you want to be like that?”

“No, I don’t want to.” Yasa shook his head hard.

“Then, do you wish to receive power? Power that could squish that w̲h̲o̲r̲e̲ and destroy this rotten Empire?” He spread his arms wide and spoke enthusiastically, like an orator.

“Yes!” Yasa replied without hesitation.

‘I must squash that w̲h̲o̲r̲e̲ into paste, and completely destroy this disgusting Empire!’ Those were his sincere thoughts.

“Sadly, based on your talent and aptitude, you’ll never defeat that w̲h̲o̲r̲e̲ in your lifetime. You’ll also never do anything meaningful against that rotten Empire.”

Like a bucket of ice-cold water, that man’s words extinguished his enthusiasm and plunged him into despair. He subconsciously lowered his head while feeling dread in his heart.

The old patriarch was regarded as a deity within [Sword Clan]. Hence, he believed those words without any doubt.

‘I… Am I fated to become a loser?’ Tears started welling up in Yasa’s eyes as he started to feel sorrow.

“However!” At this moment, that man changed the flow of conversation. “I can make you reborn anew. No, our [Warlock Association] can make you reborn anew, and turn you into the strongest warrior in the world! By then, can you not have your vengeance?”

“[Warlock Association]?” Yasa tilted his head in confusion.

“Indeed. The great [Warlock Association]! Yasa, the power you used previously was the power of a [Warlock]!” The man raised his head and lifted his arms overhead.

Yasa was instantly mesmerized after recalling the strength that he had used during the duel—having such overwhelming strength and explosive power was intoxicating to him. However, once he realized that he still lost to Yaeger despite having that strength, he became depressed again.

Perhaps knowing what Yasa was thinking, that man laughed. “I’ll just be honest with you, that power you used is actually flawed. It’s not perfect! When it becomes flawless, it will be ten times stronger… No, even a hundred times!”

“Really?” Yasa raised his head instantly as fire burned in his eyes.

“But of course.”

“Then what can I do to gain such power?” Yasa asked anxiously.

Once he attained that power, he could seek revenge as he pleased and destroy the Empire that he disdained as he pleased.

“It’s very simple. You only need to swear your fealty to my liege, and to [Warlock Association].” The man said softly.

“You mean to pledge my loyalty?”

“Yes, loyalty. Yasa, let me introduce you to my liege.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and a round disk fell out of his black robes.

Hum!

When that disk that was as big as a palm landed on the ground, it let out a slight humming noise. Then, white light flashed. Immediately after, the light flickered and a giant man in black robes manifested.

No, he was not a giant. The projection was simply huge. That was not true also. When compared to the typical human, this person was actually considerably huge. At least, he had a greater size and height when compared to most people. He wore a red mask on his face, with lots of complicated patterns on it.

“Lord Abyss, please forgive me for taking so long. He’s the child that I mentioned previously. The prodigy of our [Sword Clan], Yasa.” The masked man in black robes instantly went down on one knee after seeing the projection. Then, he introduced Yasa.

“I greet Lord Abyss.” Yasa quickly got down on one knee also.
“Not bad, not bad. A prospect. As expected of the prodigy of [Sword Clan].” Abyss said. His voice seemed a little weird—tiny scratches could be heard in his hoarse voice.
“Lord Abyss, I’d like to vouch for Yasa to become a member of the [Warlock Association].” The masked man in black robes said.
“No problem. I just need to confirm. Yasa, do you really want to join the [Warlock Association]?” Abyss looked at Yasa.
“I do.” The latter said without hesitation.

‘This Lord Abyss’ projection alone is suppressing me like crazy. He must be a really powerful individual. If I could receive his guidance, I’ll definitely soar to the skies!’ Fire burned in his heart, his enthusiasm was about to explode.

“Very well. You showed zero hesitation. Very good. However, Yasa, you must follow this term before you can join [Warlock Association]. Well, it’s not really a difficult thing to do. All you need to do is to pledge your loyalty to our Beast God. Well, absolute loyalty.” Abyss said.

“I do…” Yasa was interrupted before he could finish.

“Yasa, you should know once you pledged your absolute loyalty to our [Warlock Association], our Beast God… Your life, and everything you own will no longer be yours. Instead, it will now belong to the [Warlock Association], to the great Beast God!”

“Indeed, you must discard your individual self and abandon your devotion to the Goddess Of Light. You must offer your loyalty, body, and soul to us. Even so, do you still choose to swear your fealty to [Warlock Association], to Beast God?” Abyss stared at Yasa and said.

Hearing this, Yasa lowered his head while his body trembled slightly.

Once he joined the [Warlock Association], he would abandon his devotion to other gods and abandon his self-identity…

“Make a choice, Yasa.” Abyss said with an emotionless voice. As if it wouldn’t mean a thing, no matter what the other party chose.

“Ha… Haha… Hahahah!” Suddenly, Yasa raised his head and let out a weird laugh.

Faith? It was nothing but a fictional belief. Sense of self? He only pledged his loyalty, he wouldn’t lose himself!

“I have only one choice, and that is to pledge my loyalty to [Warlock Association], to Beast God!” At this moment, Yasa laughed gleefully.

“Hehe. Welcome to the [Warlock Association], Yasa.” Abyss nodded in satisfaction before glancing at the masked man in black robes. “You will mentor him.”

After speaking, the projection dissipated into white light particles and disappeared. The cave was now in silence. Yasa felt like what happened just now was just a dream. It didn’t seem real at all.

“Yasa.” At this moment, the masked man in black robes spoke.

“Old patriarch.”

“From now on, I will start training you into an exceptional [Warlock].” He glanced at Yasa with a delightful smile, his eyes bent into crescent moons.

In Jade City.

Yaeger was on the way back. Along the way, she noticed many people glancing at her. Contrary to the past, these gazes were no longer filled with adoration but utter disdain instead.

Yaeger herself knew the reason why it happened. It was because her Favorability with them had plummeted.

“You people already know that gambling is a scam in itself. Yet, you still came to me like sharks smelling blood in the water. How is it my fault?”

After this event, Yaeger’s credibility had plummeted to the abyss. Kastina was the same also. The difference was that Kastina was always an infamous figure. It wouldn’t mean a thing if she added another scandal to her name.

“The change in Favorability seems drastic, no?”

Opening the game interface, Yaeger felt a headache after reading all the notifications about her losing Favorability.

“Woah, Nectar’s Favorability of me increased by five thousand. This girl seems to like me a lot.”
“Tsk tsk tsk. My Favorability with all of these people dropped by thousands just like that. It’s sad to see people unwilling to accept their losses.”

Vice Guild Leader Chris’ Favorability has decreased by ten thousand points, he now disdains me. Vice Guild Leader, did you actually betted on Yasa with your life savings?”

Yaeger shook her head slightly. She always assumed that the Vice Guild Leader of the Adventurers’ Guild would be a mystical person. However, it turned out that he was prone to vices, just like anybody else. How disappointing.