“Phew, it’s really far.”

Karyl Rayvan, a baron, sat exhausted from the long carriage ride.

“Tsk, how did I end up with this kind of role….”

The destination was a territory adjacent to the Forest of Beasts—a place where the family sent people they couldn’t kill outright. A kind of exile, it was a death sentence carried out by the hands of magical beasts. Known as the Ghost Territory, it was the Hestia Territory.

Riding the carriage for over two weeks now was pure agony. Even with a fine carriage, his backside ached, and he felt like he was starting to get motion sickness.

“Tsk, I hope this doesn’t bring back my hemorrhoids.”

‘Still, it can’t be helped.’

He didn’t want to come either, but when the Saronton family requested it, he couldn’t refuse.

It wasn’t a request from Cecilia but from her son, Yuda Saronton, the current heir most likely to become the next head of the family. A genius of the century who, at just 25, had reached the pinnacle of mastery and touched the threshold of being a Master.

It was his order.

“That little brat dares….”

Karyl Rayvan felt uneasy obeying someone so much younger than himself. But what could he do? He had to prepare connections for the future when Yuda inevitably became the head of the family.

‘Can you check how that guy is doing in exile? Mother has removed all the shadows in that area, after all.’

He was curious about how Aiden Saronton was living now.

‘Aiden Saronton.’

The black sheep of the Saronton family. Despite being the son of the greatest Master, Abel Saronton, he was a talentless illegitimate child with no abilities to speak of. Rumor had it that, as part of a deal between Cecilia and Abel, he was appointed lord of the Hestia Territory, an exile’s land.

“A useless fool as a lord, while I don’t even have a proper territory….”

Karyl Rayvan sighed deeply in complaint. Not all nobles owned lands. Since lands were limited and nobles were plentiful, one had to earn a territory through accomplishments—winning significant victories in war, buying land, or, failing that, challenging a noble who owned land to take it through territorial battles.

Clink.

The sound of gold coins clashing came from his pouch. Fifty large gold coins—support funds sent by the Saronton family to the Hestia Territory. Noble families with multiple territories were obligated by royal law to provide minimal support to their lands. Violating this could result in forfeiture of their land, which the kingdom would confiscate.

For this reason, the Saronton family provided only the bare minimum to use Hestia as an exile.

‘Normally, they’d send a messenger, but this time, I’ve been sent myself.’

“Phew, what a wretched life. At my age, I have to move at the command of a brat so much younger.”

He lamented his miserable situation. However, if he completed this task well, he would secure Yuda Saronton’s favor, which wasn’t a bad outcome.

At that moment, the carriage jolted to a sudden stop.

“Ugh! What is it?!”

-Neighhh!!!

Alongside the sudden stop, urgent noises came from outside. The shouts of hired mercenaries could be heard faintly.

“Magical beasts!”

“It’s a Hound!!”

“Damn, magical beasts already, so close to the Forest of Beasts….”

“Protect the carriage!”

A magical beast attack.

When Karyl Rayvan tried to open the door to check, a mercenary slammed it shut.

“Don’t come out! It’s dangerous!”

Thud!

The Hounds and mercenaries had begun fighting.

-Awooooo!!!

The powerful howl of a Hound reverberated, sending shivers down Karyl Rayvan’s spine. The magical energy emitted by magical beasts had the power to stimulate primal fear in humans.

“Ugh… this is exactly why I didn’t want to come here!”

Around the Forest of Beasts, one could never predict when or where a magical beast would appear. Staying out of the forest didn’t guarantee safety, as some magical beasts roamed beyond its boundaries. Even sticking to well-traveled roads wasn’t always safe.

But Karyl Rayvan, eager to finish quickly, ignored the proper path and took a direct route, inadvertently entering the beasts’ territory.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of weapons clashing grew chaotic.

-Grrraaahhh!

“You dare to mess with us?!”

The mercenaries did their best to fend off the Hounds. Although Hounds were low-grade magical beasts, magical beasts were still magical beasts.

-Awooooo!!!

The Hound’s howl caused the mercenaries to flinch involuntarily. The fear induced by magical energy was not easily shaken off. Even knowing this, their bodies instinctively reacted.

“Damn it!”

One mercenary, slashed deeply on the arm by a Hound’s sharp claws, dropped his weapon. As one fell, the others began to falter.

“Damn it… If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have taken this job….”

“No wonder the pay was high for such a simple escort mission….”

Despair spread across the mercenaries’ faces. They had assumed it was an easy escort job. While the destination, Hestia Territory, was concerning, they thought they only needed to be cautious. Reports indicated that the sole merchant caravan traveling to Hestia was always unharmed.

So they thought it would be fine.

‘The problem was veering off the path in haste! Damn noble!’

“If that guy hadn’t rushed us….”

This wouldn’t have happened.

-Grrrr….

A pack of 50 Hounds approached, drooling. Defeat seemed inevitable. The numbers were overwhelming. They had only heard about magical beasts but were fighting them for the first time, unable to respond effectively.

‘Magical beasts’ energy is said to provoke fear in humans. If only we had known how to handle that….’

Although he managed to fend off the beasts for a while, the other mercenaries couldn’t and were being pushed back.

“Damn it….”

“Everyone, get a grip!”

“Hah! They’re coming!!!”

Seeing the Hounds baring their sharp teeth and rushing at them, the mercenaries shut their eyes tightly.

“Fire!!!”

Then, a shout came from somewhere, followed by the painful yelp of a magical beast.

One mercenary opened his eyes to see a Hound writhing in pain, an arrow lodged in its side.

“This is….”

He turned his head toward the source of the shout.

There, he saw twenty soldiers and five knights. At the front was a man in luxurious clothing, wielding a sword.

The man leading the group pointed his sword at the Hounds.

“Fifty Hounds ahead! You know the drill! Five per early leave! Ten—!!”

“Exempt from training!!”

“Wooooahhh!!!”

“Let’s finish this early!”

“There are only 50 of them!! They’re all mine!!!”

The morale of the soldiers soared to an all-time high.

The hound, sensing the powerful aura emanating from the human, began gathering its magical energy.

• Awoooooo!

A loud howl infused with magic designed to provoke human fear resonated powerfully.

“Ugh!”
“Gah!”

Caught off guard, the mercenaries shuddered.

An overwhelming and indescribable terror surged within them—a knee-buckling sensation.

This was a monster.

Now, they finally understood why everyone was so cautious about the Forest of Beasts.

It was a world apart from ordinary monsters.

‘If that’s the case, then even those soldiers…’

Contrary to the mercenaries’ fears, the soldiers charging ahead showed no intention of stopping.

“Waaaaaaah!”
“Die!”
“Exemption from training!”

Fear?

Such a thing had no effect on the soldiers, whose eyes glinted with madness over the prospect of a training exemption.

It was eerie.

There was a chilling fanaticism in their eyes.

‘Well, that’s not the only thing at work here.’

It was also the effect of a skill acquired through monster hunting quests.

[The Building Owner’s Will]

The presence of the Building Owner is nobler than anything, and their will is unbreakable.

They embody a lofty ideal that shall never falter.

This is the true path a king must walk.

While within the Building Owner’s radius, all abilities of their tenants increase.

As long as the Building Owner exists, tenants’ minds will never succumb to any circumstance.

The Building Owner, Aiden, granted his soldiers complete immunity to mental attacks.

How far this protection extended remained unknown.

‘They’re just brushing off the fear.’

Aiden essentially acted as a totem, providing his allies with immunity to mental status effects.

• Grrrr…?!

The hound sensed something was off.

But it was already too late.

The soldiers, now dangerously close, slashed their swords with sharp precision.

Whoosh!

Slash!

The hound’s leg was effortlessly severed by a soldier’s sword.

“Huh?”

The soldier, who had cut off the leg, looked surprised, his eyes wide.

It felt different.

When they fought in the Forest of Beasts before, even trying to cut through the leg hadn’t been successful—the bone had always resisted.

Yet today, it felt incredibly easy.

‘What’s going on?’

Even the hound’s attacks were visible now.

Attacks that they previously struggled to counter could now be deflected with ease.

‘Why?’

The puzzled soldier wasn’t alone; others shared his confusion.

Above all, there was no fear.

The tension eased, and their minds felt calm.

With no trembling at the tip of their swords, every strike landed with full force.

The result?

Slash!

The effectiveness of their swordsmanship increased significantly.

“Crossbows! Reload! Fire!”

“Fire!”

Thwack! Thwack!

At Aiden’s command, the soldiers swiftly subdued the hounds.

The mercenaries, watching this unfold, were dumbfounded.

This was beyond belief.

Judging by their attire, those must have been soldiers from Hestia’s territory.

‘Did Hestia’s territory ever have soldiers this strong?’
‘They’re so fearless. Aren’t they scared of monsters?’

While they were grappling with such thoughts, the horde of fifty hounds was quickly neutralized.

“Ahahaha! I killed five! I’m off work early today~ Son, wait for me~ Daddy’s coming home!”
“Damn it! I’m one short!”
“Argh… I took down seven… I could’ve been exempt from training…”

While the soldiers celebrated, Aiden approached the carriage and opened the door.

“Wh-who are you!”
“And who are you?”

“I-I’m Baron Karyl Rayvan! Who are you? State your name!”

“Me? I’m Aiden.”

“Aiden… Aiden… Wait, don’t tell me, did you come to rescue me?”

Karyl Rayvan misunderstood the situation entirely.

Could Aiden have come to save him from this peril?

When Aiden extended his hand, the emotional Karyl Rayvan tried to grasp it.

But Aiden’s hand moved toward something else, cutting through the air.

“Huh?”

Aiden’s actual goal was the pouch of gold coins that had fallen amid the commotion.

Upon opening it, he found fifty gold coins, just as he’d expected.

The carriage Karyl Rayvan had been riding in was one used by the Saronton family.

At this time of year, there was only one reason such a carriage would arrive.

‘Support funds!’

According to the original story, a messenger should have come instead.

‘I don’t know why this guy came, but it doesn’t really matter.’

Although the original events had slightly changed, it wasn’t a significant concern.

He had anticipated such deviations.

‘We were supposed to have died originally, but we’re alive now. And Rex has already been dealt with early.’

The original storyline was off-track.

For someone who placed importance on the original plot, they might have tried to follow it.

‘Are you crazy? My survival comes first. As long as the critical parts remain untouched, it’s fine.’

“…A-Aiden-nim?”

“The gold coins are safe. That’s enough. We’re heading back!”

“…A-Aiden-nim!?”

“Let’s go! Gather all the monster corpses!”

“Excuse me!!”

Before Karyl Rayvan could utter another word, Aiden left, clutching the pouch of gold coins.

Left in disbelief, Karyl Rayvan stepped out of the carriage.

While the soldiers loaded the monster corpses onto an open cart, Aiden was nowhere to be seen.

Indeed, he hadn’t come to save Karyl Rayvan.

“…Did he just come to save his gold coin pouch…?”

Seriously?

Other Novels