"The winner of the Wulin Tournament is some traveller?"

In a glorious room filled with gems and adornments, a young man glanced up from his office table. He grew contemplative at the butler's statement. With his index finger, he pushed his silver spectacles upwards, allowing them to rest on top of his pink hair.

"Yes, My Lord. According to the people present, he managed to win against an attributed beast tamer without a scratch on his own body."

"That's not the best part." A voice sang from the balcony across the room.

A young woman with matching pink hair rested her elbows on the balcony's marbled railings. Her gaze landed on the cup of frion tea before her. Tilting her head slightly, she turned to the young man, who stared back with ruby eyes that gleamed under the light of dusk.

"I rewatched the broadcast. The traveller didn't use any mana nor cast any spells. He seems to be relying on some unknown force, the purple whirly thing." She brought the teacup to her smiling lips and sipped. "How exciting."

"Mia."

"I know."

The young woman, Mia, twirled her silky strands of hair around her finger. She turned to him with a slight shrug. "I won't cause trouble. At least for now. I'm too tired just preparing for the ceremony in three months."

She glimpsed past the balcony, towards the city centre at dusk.

***

Soon after, nighttime descended upon the City of Vitality.

The pub on the first ground floor of Mosky Inn, as with all other pubs in the city, exploded with conversations. The capital had fallen into a state of uproar at the unexpected spectacle at the Wulin Tournament finals.

Many discussions centered around the mysterious traveller, while others also involved the backgrounds of the attributed beast tamer.

"I heard that the traveller rejected His Highness's invitation to join one of the factions," one customer said, rubbing his beard. He slumped against his chair, taking in the others' looks of disbelief.

Involvement in the noble circle was one of the best ways to gain status and connections in this kingdom. A high social standing was equivalent to an enormous scope of opportunities. As a result, many found the traveller's action to give up the recruitment ridiculous.

"I heard he was also invited to His Highness's upcoming banquet," the woman beside him stated. She then scoffed. "When you're talented, I guess trivial things like money and fame hold no value. It's not something people like us could understand."

A waitress swiftly made her way toward the chatting group, a tray of sandwiches rested on her palm. As she set the plates on the table, she bent down and lowered her voice into a humble whisper.

"I've personally talked to the winner before. He's half a regular here." She cleared her throat and angled her chin upwards. "Not only was he talented, he was also very kind."

Amongst the intrigued faces, the waitress nodded to herself as she recalled the dark-haired traveller's smiling eyes and agreeable demeanour.

"He is truly a peaceful person."

While conversations about the tournament overflowed the ground-level pub, a certain dark-haired man was situated on the floor right above them, slacking off on his bed while eating limberry gummies.

— You're awfully calm for someone who almost died.

Ignoring Ace's usual disrespect, Edris reached for the steaming cup of milk on the bedside table. His fingers grazed past the handle, accidentally knocking the cup off the wooden surface as its contents spilt all over his hand.

The empty cup rolled onto the floor while Edris, unfazed by the blunder, lifted his hand. He stoically examined the patch of red that was expanding on his skin. Edris stared at his burning hand for a good ten seconds before clicking his tongue. His head tilted to the side.

"How fascinating."

— …

He felt as though the hand connected to the rest of his body did not belong to him.

Edris speculated that the sacrifice in return for the torrent-looking skill was the loss of thermoception, as well as any pain related to the condition.

He tried eating ice, taking cold showers (he used to find them extremely unpleasant), and even pulling out a cake from the stove with his bare hands, but he didn't feel anything.

Plopping back onto the bed, Edris wiggled his fingers before his face. Without their original warmth, the fingers were starting to look like mere objects happening to be attached to his body.

— This could be a problem.

Ace sighed indiscernibly as he took in the dark-haired man's lack of reaction.

The inability to feel heat or coldness may seem handy at first glance, but in reality, it was an extremely hazardous condition; if he were to fall ill or become severely burnt, he would be unable even to recognise his injury if it was not physical. In some instances, it may even lead to death.

— Are you planning to search for a cure?

Edris let out a short laugh. "Are you aware of a cure for this condition?"

Unsurprised by Ace's silence, he casually tossed a limberry gummy into his mouth. "If even the great Ace who went through the entire Grand Library does not know, how am I supposed to know?"

Seeing Edris's relaxed attitude towards the situation, Ace found no need to press further.

— …Do as you wish.

Ironically, the person who paid no attention to the state of his body was the same one who went around every day expressing his adamance on living a comfortable life.

Edris sensed a complex swirl of mana coming from the speaker in his head, but he brushed it off as Ace did not mention anything about it himself.

For Edris, the inability to feel temperature didn't pose a major problem to his future plans. Although it would be inconvenient at times, this condition wasn't exactly interrelated to his perception of pain.

If there ever came a time when his injuries extended past a certain point, Edris was sure that his body would send him a danger signal. After all, it's humans instinct to survive.

He knew that better than anyone.

Also, being able to eat frozen desserts without getting a brain freeze is a blessing.

Rather than worrying about the risks, Edris viewed this as a natural consequence. According to the trade with the Sacrificial Hourglass, he was given a skill to neutralise the beast tamer's light, and in return, he was stripped of his ability to perceive temperature and related pains.

After a gain, a loss would inevitably follow—this was the driving foundation of this world.

Edris understood that quite well, so he reached an acceptance with ease.

With a flick of his index finger, Edris watched as a small spiral of purple erupted from its tip and danced around the rest of his hand. This purple stream would allow him to nullify mana and magic by coming in contact with it.

He called it the Tempest.

Edris knew he had a high aptitude for mana, but he wasn't taught how to draw it out into actual magic. The trade didn't make him an Awakened, nor did it teach him the actual conversion process from mana to magic; it only somehow enabled him to create this "Tempest" from pure will by absorbing his mana and throwing out this skill in return.

It felt as if he was an opaque box that only yielded input and output, without being aware of the process in between.

Not that the process mattered to him, though, as long as it produced the desired result.

Allowing the stream of purple to disperse, Edris then mentally noted to himself to leave the artifact alone and not use it unless necessary.

Since the sacrifices were chosen randomly while being equivalent to his proposal, a large proportion of the exchange was based on luck.

This time, it was the loss of thermoception. What if the next time it was the loss of gustation? Or the ability to sleep?

Edris loved sleep.

— It's almost time.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of his head with a shiver, Edris finished the last gummy in the packet and pulled himself up from the bed.

The Crown Prince had arranged a meeting with him this afternoon for Edris to pick compensation as the winner of the Wulin Tournament.

After cleaning up the spilt milk, Edris draped on a grey cloak, pulling the hood over his head as he walked out of his room.

Intending to leave discreetly, the dark-haired man took the less known staircase down the ground floor. He tugged the hood even lower as he roamed past the pub customers and staff.

Only five steps remained between Edris and the door when it happened.

As he skimmed through the pub entrance, he happened to meet the gaze of a certain blond boy who was staring right back at him. Stocked beside the door with a large bag on his back, the boy appeared to have lurked here for days.

His sparkling, golden eyes sent an ominous warning toward Edris, and by the time he tried to leave, it was already too late.

"I finally found you!" Celio exclaimed, his bright voice reverberating around the room as everyone turned to look at him.

Unaware of Edris's internal dread, he hustled towards him eagerly, landing right in front of the man with a ninety-degree bow.

"Thank you again for the match day." His energetic voice filled the room, and if it weren't for his naive demeanour, Edris would have suspected that the boy was doing this on purpose.

Murmurs arose as people started to recognise them as the first and second place in the Wulin Tournament.

"The runner-up really seems to respect him…"

"So the traveller is really as nice as the rumours say?"

Grimacing internally at the eyes around them, Edris mustered a friendly smile as he grabbed onto Celio's wrist and politely dragged him to a secluded hallway behind the main area. After they were out of public sight, Edris had Ace ascertain that no one followed him.

— There's no one here.

His deep voice rippled with a rare tinge of amusement, a sentiment Edris did not share at all.

Undoing the smile from his face, Edris turned his gaze towards the youth standing before him. He was a whole head taller than Edris, and the more he looked, the more certain Edris became that the boy came with an inherent glow.

Facing him with anticipated eyes and a pure smile, Celio reminded him of a newborn duckling. Although inexperienced and naive, Edris was sure that the duckling would grow to be very successful in the future. It had nothing to do with him, though.

He didn't want to act heartless and pour cold water over a youth's fiery aspirations, but he had no intention of prolonging this conversation either.

Aiming to end this encounter as soon as possible to collect his reward, Edris spoke with a flat tone, "So, have you found your answer?"

"Y-yes!" Celio replied immediately, seemingly joyful at his question.

Edris found himself feeling burdened as he confronted the boy's sparkling eyes. He forced his gaze aside.

"That's good. I'm sure your path will be one filled with excitement."

You can be your hero, while I go and collect my money.

Of course, he did not say the final part out loud. Finishing his statement with a halfhearted smile, Edris patted him on the shoulder as he headed to the light-filled exit behind him.

Celio's gaze followed his actions, and the boy watched as Edris strolled towards the light, his figure glowing as it merged with the outside world.

After a few steps, Edris realised something was off as he felt a chill behind his back. He didn't dare to turn around, for he had a feeling his suspicions would come true if he did. As Edris conflicted over his options, a spot of gold appeared in his peripheral vision.

It belonged to none other than Celio, who was following him from behind.

— He likes you.

Ace coughed, as if trying to suppress his emotions. Was it laughter or mockery? Edris didn't want to know.

"I, I have a dream!" The beast tamer exclaimed from behind. "I'm going to become a righteous person, someone who pursues justice, someone gentle yet competent. Like you."

Confronted with Celio's glowing eyes, Edris subconsciously frowned as he let out a long exhale.

"...Do as you wish."

The best way to end a conversation with young people like him was to go along with their words.

However, Edris's words were followed by immediate regret as he watched Celio's boyish grin expand to his entire face, as if he had won the lottery.

"So I can really join? Thank you! I will be sure not to hold you back!" The beast tamer seemed to have reached some sort of misunderstanding, beaming as he trotted to his side. "Sir Edris? Is this what others call you? I feel it is a bit distant, though. And Edris sounds too casual, I'm unworthy to call you that just yet… May I call you… Hero?"

"No." Edris shut him down immediately.

"Saviour?"

"Just call me Edris."

"But surely not! How about Master Edris?"

"No…"

"Just Master?"

"…"

— …Pft.

Taking Edris's weary glance as an affirmative response, Celio grinned from ear to ear. "Thank you, Master!"

Master? Master of what? Slacking off?

Even though Edris considered himself shameless, he was baffled nonetheless at Celio's attitude. The boy had called him 'master' even though Edris didn't even use a sword and had nothing to teach him.

"So where are we going?"

When did it become "we"?

Despite Edris's internal doubts, he responded to the question, a smile creeping up his lips.

"The Royal Palace."

The place where he would collect his reward.