INSANE AND IDIOTIC

As the bird fell of Lynne’s shoulder, as if understood his intent, it hid behind him; having a monkey companion was one thing, but being found with a Six Evolutions Ice Phoenix was another. The figure chasing them was approaching at great speed, and Lynne realized there was no way to evade them, so he firmly stood, running through all the possibilities.

It shouldn’t be anyone from those two groups… if it was, they wouldn’t have let us go this far. Another party? Possible… damn, I didn’t even consider that someone was like us. Judging from his Mana fluctuations… he should be in mid ranks of Pius Archmage… still, that’s not something we can contend against.

While Lynne was doused in thoughts, strong gale blew against them, forcing them to take a few steps back. In the horizon, a figure clad in deep black appeared, floating freely in the air. He had heroic disposition, coupled with waist-long black hair that fluttered about and handsome features. Floating above, he appeared like a Holy God in all estimates except his eyes: they were deep crimson, unable to hide deep bloodthirst that permeated the man’s bones. He looked to be thirty, but Lynne was unable to discern either his path or sub-path.

As he observed the man, he observed them back; there was a trace of disdain in his eyes, as if he were looking at mere, insignificant ants. Were it any other day, he perhaps wouldn’t even spare a glance at someone like these people, but today, they had taken something he wanted, which angered him.

It was just as Lynne had hypothesized; he was the fourth party, slithering about in the shadows. He noticed Lynne and others enter, but because they left within mere minutes, the man thought that there were some traps that they couldn’t pass through. It was only when he arrived in front of the caves – and when he further explored them – that his expression grimed and that his heart fumed with anger. However arrogant he was, he dared not touch the natural treasures, lest he draw attention from those monsters that were still fighting. So, the only thing he could do is search far and wide for the little ants that stole everything else.

“Give me everything you have,” he spoke in a voice full of contempt. “And I’ll maybe spare your life.” Lynne’s brows twitched when he heard the man speak; he wasn’t the rash or irrational kind, but even he was irked a little bit. He couldn’t even imagine how Anna and Elynal felt at the moment, but neither of the two spoke. Naturally, they knew they couldn’t fight the man, and the one who weaved the words best was Lynne, so they turned towards him. Damn you bastards!! I’ll take half your shit if we get out of this thing alive!

“Everything?” Lynne spoke. “Sorry, I’m saving my virginity for a very special someone! You’re handsome enough, though. If you take me out for a dinner or two, I might reconsider.” Blegh! Even royal duo’s faces sank at that moment, let alone the man’s. Sheer disgust appeared on his handsome face, distorting it slightly.

“What did you just say?!” his voice brimmed with anger as he spoke.

“Heh,” Lynne chuckled. “I’m kidding, of course. There’s no way I’d give my virginity to you,” Lynne waved his arms nonchalantly, as if none of this concerned him. “With that killing intent, you’d probably break my bones during our first time.”

“I won’t repeat myself aga--”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lynne interrupted, smiling like an innocent child. “You want our stuff, right? Fine, we’ll trade with you.”

“Trade?!” the man suddenly laughed as if he had heard the most ludicrous thing in the world. “Trade for something that belonged to me in the first place?”

“Right,” Lynne nodded. “Here,” Lynne took one of his shitty Rank 1 pills that he concocted when he first started training in Alchemy. “This is absolutely precious ancient pill, concocted from Phoenix Feathers, Dragon’s Heart, Giant’s Marrow and Turtle’s Blood,” Lynne played gently with the pill, as if it is the most precious thing in the world. “If you want, I’ll sell it to you for ten million gold coins. And that’s just because you were kind enough to us.” rather strange silence followed; with the conviction Lynne spoke, even the man began having some doubts. Of course, there’s no way he’d actually buy anything from Lynne, but no matter from which angle he looked at the pill, it just looked like a shitty, low-quality Rank 1 pill. C-could it really be an ancient pill? Even Anna and Elynal pondered.

“… you seem pretty tired of living.” the man’s anger quenched somewhat. He was still dubious; if this brat was truly telling truth, if he attacked now, there’s definitely a high chance he’d crush that pill. As the man wasn’t Alchemist himself, he wasn’t 100% sure of how much truth Lynne’s words carried.

“Hey, hey,” Lynne protested, as if his heart was just broken. “Here I am, sticking my neck out to give you a fair price, and you’re threatening to kill me? Are you even a human? Huh? A beast? Definitely! You’re a beast cladding human skin! Damned beast, go back to the mountains and eat grass! You aren’t worthy of this ancient, primal pill! Watch your granddaddy eat it himself!” at this point, Anna and Elynal figured that Lynne was lying through every inch of his teeth. However, they didn’t let it show on their faces; at best, at the moment, Lynne was stalling for time. But they also spotted the little, blue bird inching away, bit by bit.

“Stop!!!” as the man saw Lynne was about to pop the pill into his mouth, he screamed out from the bottom of his lungs; he had never been so insulted in his entire life, but he couldn’t pay attention to it at the moment. There’s no way he’s lying… he’s an absolute moron. He probably doesn’t even know what lying is. And there’s probably a high chance that pill came from one of those caves… Lynne briefly stopped, his hand inch away from his lips.

“What? Are you not a beast?”

“Of course I’m not a beast!” the man grit his teeth in anger, swallowing bitter fury. “Fine, I’ll trade with you! Ten million gold coins, right?” Wait, is this idiot actually buying my story?! Even Lynne found it incomprehensible. He was simply trying to buy as much time as possible for the little birdie to inch away far enough to transform, so they can bolt away as far as possible.

“Humph,” Lynne coldly snorted, smug look on his face; god damn, I never thought I’d actually come across a moron on such scale! This is my lucky day! “You just happen to change your mind when I was about to eat priceless pill? Do you think I’m an idiot? Humph! Don’t believe I don’t understand the game you’re playing! Humph!” You’re an idiot! You’re definitely an idiot! Fury bellowed from the depths of man’s soul, but he couldn’t do anything at the moment. The pill was inch away from the brat’s mouth, and he couldn’t afford to take a gamble. Hm? Lynne creased his brows slightly as he felt something, whereupon his lips curled up in an invisible smile. “Fine, I believe you!” Lynne said before the man had time to respond. Idiot! Definitely an idiot! “However, will you just keep floating over there? We should exchange on equal ground! My grandmother used to say that trading one’s soul is akin to trading one’s gold, and the trade absolutely had to happen on equal ground!”

“I’ll have you know that my grandmother was a Wise Sage,” Lynne continued blabbering; even Anna and Elynal had no way to understand just where did this ability come from. “She had lived for full two hundred years before being bitten to death by a dog! I’ll have you know that when that dog ate my grandma, he actually obtained ability to speak! Although it still sounded like barking, I could clearly understand what he wanted to say, and it was as if my own grandmother was talking to me!” Insane! Idiotic and insane! How in the flying hell isn’t this brat already dead?!!

“I-is that so?” the man stuttered as he slowly landed; he wanted to kill the brat, but he also wanted to laugh. He actually didn’t doubt Lynne’s story; he firmly believed that this brat actually talked to the dog, thinking it was his grandma.

“Of course!” Lynne smugly nodded. “My grandma told me that her soul is invincible, and that body is only flesh and blood! Whether in human or dog, she’ll always be with me!” Dude, just move on! She’s dead!

“H-here,” the man flung a ring at Lynne; the group, after all, had no way of escaping him, so he actually threw ten million gold coins just to buy insane brat’s trusts. “Ten million, as per agreement. Could you hand me the pill now?” as Lynne caught the ring and inspected it, he was stunned silly; ten million! There’s actually ten million gold coins here! This idiot is absolutely some sheltered moron from the sect! Thank you! Thank you whoever his Master is! I’ll forever remember this favor! Hm… it should be… yeah, time’s ripe.

“Of course, my grandma always told me to keep my word, as my word is my heart, and my heart is my soul!” Lynne flaunted words coming from the depths of his heart as he threw the worthless pill carelessly at the man. The pill seemed to lose balance and flew slightly higher, but actually fell in a deep arc right in front of the man; however, he had to bend forward slightly to catch it. Now! “Bird!”

A horrifying screech erupted from behind Lynne, as flash of blue light eclipsed the deep darkness. Lynne immediately took Anna’s and Elynal’s hands and fiercely jumped atop the bird’s back. Right at this point, the man recovered from the surprise, and realized he had been tricked. His face immediately burned in anger as the bird fluttered its wings and flew upwards. However, just as he was about to begin the chase, the earth beneath quaked and massive shockwave swept past him, causing him to stagger and fall backwards. Cracks like web lines spread across, and the storm didn’t calm down for good few moments. However, by that time, the bird was already gone, and the man was sitting on his butt, unbelievable look on his face.

“I-I’ve actually been tricked…” the man spoke; although he was thirty, it was just as Lynne predicted. This was actually his first time adventuring alone. And that was only because he actually escaped the Guardian that was following him. “I’ll kill you!!!”

His hoarse voice disappeared in the wind, but Lynne was able to hear it, his lips twitching slightly. The reason he was so confident was because he felt strange spacial fluctuations repeatedly occuring ten or so miles away from them. He wasn’t able to sense the source, but he quickly calculated the speed of the approach. He was unable to decipher the reason why the shockwave itself seemed to have been grounded, but he didn’t care. All he knew was that he sold Rank 1 pill for ten million gold coins.

“Heh,” he chuckled lightly, glancing back at Anna and Elynal who were shaking their heads; they actually felt pity towards that man. “If Rank 1 pill sold for ten million, I’m wondering just how cheaply were you getting those Rank 6 and 7 pills. Heh…”

“….”

“….” Shameless!

**

At the same time, between the borders of Rolyhard and Baselr Kingdoms, fifty or so figures were hovering good two hundred meters above the ground, their faces pale, filled with sweat. Among these figures were also Lord Tan, Lady Yan and Ulhan Krol. Their faces were exceptionally grim; the black fire had created deep crevice, which then stretched out to hundreds of similar ones. The black fire thickened and burned in deep cold, as if it were source of all cold in the world. Yet, nothing around it froze; the earth was still earth, just battered beyond recognition. The three were surrounded by other important figures from the neighboring Kingdoms, and even Principal Seed was one of them.

He stared at the black flames in astonishment. Just now, the reason for the massive quake that swept enormous masses of land, were these black flames; the fifty or so figures tried to suppress the growing black flames, but their attempts backfired, and three Celestial Mages actually lost their life, while five or so were injured heavily. This had shocked everyone present; while these fifty or so people weren’t at the very top of strength, when combined, there were very few things that could stand in their way. Yet, not only did this black flame withstand their might, it even fought back, injuring them gravely in the process.

“Just… what the hell is this thing…” Ulhan Krol spoke in grim tone, unable to wash away deep foreboding that was etching itself within his old bones, causing him to shiver, over and over again…