How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 25

Clang!

Before the cave that could hardly be called ordinary, Luce, Leah, and I drew our swords without a word.

“Why a cave all of a sudden?”

“And in the middle of a bone graveyard.”

I lightly waved my hand at Luce and Leah’s hushed comments.

As if by agreement, the two quickly scattered to secure the perimeter.

After a moment, sure that no one was around, I called them back.

First, I gestured to Leah, who had a tense expression.

“Leah, watch the rear.”

“Yes.”

Leah nodded and moved swiftly.

Like a nimble cat, she began to climb the tree standing tall in front of the cave, seemingly to scout from a higher and farther vantage point.

“Luce, you come with me.”

“I’ll take the lead.”

“Alright.”

This isn’t the time to be prideful. It’s a fact that Luce is stronger than me. We must clearly distinguish between bravado and courage.

Fwoosh!

Luce took out a torch from his pack, roughly soaked it in oil, and lit it. After securing a minimal field of vision, Luce rotated his sword.

Whirl!

Gripping the sword in reverse, Luce held it like a cane, pointing it towards the ground, and slowly walked forward.

He was trying to prevent traps triggered by wires or physical contact.

“Follow me slowly.”

“Be careful, Luce.”

Thus, Luce and I slowly entered the cave, and what was revealed was a gruesome reality.

Aside from the cave walls splattered with blood here and there, none of the scattered skeletons were intact.

Every single one was broken or gouged, clearly indicating physical impact from the outside.

‘These must be human bones.’

The scent of death.

The low-lying stench and the horrific scenery made me grimace.

The tattered clothes covering the skeletons were not those of nobles.

They must have belonged to commoners who tilled fields and milked cows. There’s no way they would have chosen this place as their grave willingly.

“Young Master, this must be the work of the guys we’re looking for, right?”

“Probably.”

“Those goddamn bastards!”

Luce voiced my feelings.

In the cave filled with darkness and horror, Luce bared his white teeth.

“Don’t we also slaughter livestock?”

“We do.”

“But at least we feel gratitude for their sacrifice and observe proper etiquette, not just abandoning them to rot in the wind like this!”

Luce’s low anger echoed through the cave.

Being from a common background, he must feel a strong sense of empathy.

Then what about me?

I’ve seen all sorts of terrible things during my time as an officer.

Soldiers who hanged themselves with their bootlaces were commonplace.

A soldier who jumped from the barracks rooftop, his head smashed open, a soldier who stepped on a landmine while searching the DMZ [Demilitarized Zone, the border area between North and South Korea] and was being transported after losing his lower body.

Besides those, I’ve seen countless ROK Army [Republic of Korea Army, South Korea’s army] soldiers die in numerous accidents.

Each time, I held in my heart mourning and anger for the lives that had faded away in vain.

Why did these vibrant and radiant youths have to die?

Because of what? Why?

It was the same now.

I know that the deaths of these characters were just text in a novel. But seeing it with my own eyes and feeling it directly, not just as text, is different.

‘Why did these people have to die?’

Simply because of the food chain?

A lion doesn’t show courtesy when it catches a deer. But that’s because it’s a beast.

On the other hand, Orcs are a race that possesses their own language and forms a system of sorts.

Then it shouldn’t be like this.

If they are a race that considers themselves equal to humans, they should at least show respect as enemies.

So, I made up my mind.

To those who call themselves beasts, there will be no mercy from now on.

“We have to catch them. We have to catch them and make them pay the same way, Young Master.”

Luce growled with anger-filled eyes.

“I agree.”

I also smiled bitterly and moved forward.

* * *

At the end of the cave was a huge cavern.

It was clear what the cavern was for. An altar was at the center, and around it were dried bloodstains.

Behind the altar was an Orc statue, its posture as if it were waiting for prey with its mouth open.

Just by looking at it, it was easy to tell what role the altar played.

Crack!

Luce seemed to feel the same way. With his eyes full of anger, Luce struck the altar with his fist.

Thwack!

Accumulated dust and gruesome byproducts scattered everywhere.

I sighed lowly at that and gestured to Luce, who was quite agitated.

“Go outside for a bit and get some air.”

“I’m fine.”

“Fine my ass. That’s an order. Go out and tell Leah the situation and keep watch together.”

“What about you, Young Master……”

“I’ll take a quick look around and come out soon.”

“Understood.”

Luce, realizing that he was more agitated than necessary, nodded.

After Luce completely disappeared out of the cave, I began to thoroughly examine the cavern.

Is this really where they perform rituals? If so, what kind of ritual is it? Maybe I’ll find something useful if I search.

Just as only my footsteps broke the silence.

Sizzle.

I looked down at my feet, feeling something being stepped on. I wondered if I had stepped on dirt, but a piece of grass was being crushed under my foot.

The shape of the grass was inconsistent with the surrounding environment, so I bent down to pick up the torn grass and examined it.

The leaves were red.

I rubbed it, wondering if it was stained with blood, but instead of blood, only sap from the crushed grass stained my hand.

Red grass. I had never seen it before, so I examined it carefully.

‘Wait, could this be……’

A memory flashed through my mind.

A feudal lord who raised an army, taking advantage of the chaos in the kingdom in the eastern part of the continent, came to mind.

In the novel, his soldiers were red. The knights were also red. So, the name of the knight order was the Bloody Knights.

His knights glared with red eyes and lashed out on the battlefield. Everyone was terrified by their appearance, which did not fear death, like berserkers.

‘Red Baron, Redran Basarac.’

One of the many warlords that ran through the novel, and a character who leaned towards evil when dividing by good and evil.

I know how he raised such a powerful army.

Mad Blood Grass.

It’s a poisonous herb. As soon as you ingest it, your blood boils, and you become a blood-craving killer.

However, the Red Baron, who neutralized this and created a special elixir, suddenly rose to become the overlord of the east.

And the description of that Mad Blood Grass was very similar to what I have in my hand now.

‘So that’s what happened.’

A connection was made.

The Orcs of the Blade Tribe are more courageous and stronger than other Orcs. In the novel, they were described as fanatics, so I wondered if Orcs also had faith, but the answer was Mad Blood Grass.

It became clear. Chieftain Drosh must have fed his subordinates Mad Blood Grass under the guise of a ritual.

Even a small amount is fatal to humans, but not to Orcs?

There are still pieces of questions left. But I lack the knowledge and experience to solve them right now.

‘Mad Blood Grass.’

First, I opened the small bag hanging on my waist and collected the scattered Mad Blood Grass.

If I can’t figure it out now, I can postpone it to a later date.

It’s time to get out.

But I couldn’t just leave. If the guys noticed the traces of Luce and me, it could raise unnecessary alarms.

So, I started working to make the inside of the cavern as similar to before as possible.

It was at the very end of that work, just as I was about to clean up the altar that Luce had struck.

Buzzing-

I felt an eerie feeling that made my hair stand on end.

Instinctively, I took a few big steps back. I looked around with my hand on the sword hilt. Nothing had changed. I was still alone in the cavern.

“What is it?”

I blurted out without realizing it.

I definitely felt a strange energy when I approached the altar. But Luce didn’t react at all a little while ago.

I felt it, but Luce didn’t.

What’s different between Luce and me?

‘Sensitivity.’

The mana sensitivity is different.

Kain’s, the original owner of this body, sensitivity is a talent that surpasses even a count. So, I could have felt something that Luce didn’t notice.

I focused my mind.

Then I felt it.

It was a gloomy energy. Just feeling it seemed to overwhelm my mind with all sorts of ominous and evil fantasies.

‘……’

I swallowed hard and began to follow the stream of that energy. Sweat ran down my neck because I was so focused.

The end of the stream I followed.

The energy was flowing from the statue behind the altar.

To be exact, from the forehead of the Orc statue.

Clang!

I drew my sword.

I don’t know what that thing is. But what is certain is that it is one of the many reasons why Drosh was able to make his tribe strong.

Thwack!

The sword pierced the forehead of the statue.

I turned the sword to make a round groove. Then, something hidden popped out through the gap that was created.

Thud.

Rolling, rolling…….

An oval object rolled for a while and stopped, caught on the edge of the altar.

‘A mana stone?’

What popped out looked similar to a mana stone.

But it was bigger and blacker.

It was clear that the energy I felt a little while ago came from this.

‘It seems to be a type of mana stone.’

Is it because it was hidden and popped out? The energy being emitted became more intense than before.

If only I could sense it a little while ago, now the energy fills the cavern, and Luce could easily feel it too.

‘Should I take it or not?’

For some reason, I felt like I shouldn’t leave it here as it is. If I put it back in place, it could leave a seed of unrest.

If Drosh, who was lured here, uses this mana stone to perform evil tricks.

I found this cave because I know the contents of the novel.

If Drosh shakes off the pursuit and changes his territory to hide, I don’t know how long it will take to chase him again.

‘I’ll take it.’

At the same time as making the decision, I took action.

I carefully took out a handkerchief from my pocket.

Flutter!

I lightly unfolded the handkerchief and placed it on my hand. Then, just as I reached out to pick up the black mana stone.

[Don’t touch it.]

What.

Is it Leah? Or Luce?

I jumped up at the voice that pierced my ear and looked back with my sword drawn.

But no one was there. I was still alone in the cavern.

‘Is it a hallucination?’

I let out a hollow laugh and was about to pick up the black mana stone again when.

[I said don’t touch it.]

I heard it again this time. It’s not a hallucination. I definitely heard it clearly.

Is it an evil spirit? Or did the spirit of someone who died unjustly here come out?

Stutter!

I stepped back and held my sword upright.

I held my breath for a moment, ready to cut down anything that appeared.

[That’s a mana stone imbued with evil energy. If you touch it, you’ll be cursed and suffer quite a bit.]

Is it a girl who is at most a middle school student?

A high-pitched, prim voice penetrated my head. Clearly, it was speaking into my head, not my ears.

I raised my sword and an eternity-like time passed.

‘Ah.’

I realized belatedly.

It wasn’t a hallucination or a ghost.

Slowly, I lowered my gaze and my sword came into view.

‘It’s awakening here like this?’

The Sword of Radiance.

The Ego Sword that Kerwin Achen entrusted to me.

The amber jewel embedded in the cross-guard was now holding a golden light that had never been seen before.