Despite the attack from the man reaching Amon with swift precision, his wooden sword, radiating a warm, fiery glow, cleanly cut it in two, and the fragments separated without causing any damage to him.
'A sword art? So this is what the Sunset Sword Art is?'
Amon wondered internally, feeling a surging heat coursing through his body.
It felt like the primordial energy in his body was being burned by flames, yet at the same time the flames could not harm him.
Still in a horrible mood, Amon stood up, his eyes fixed on the man in front of him.
A sneer was still curled at the corner of the man's exposed lips.
The sneer seemed frozen on his face due to his immense shock.
"Is that a… sword art?"
He sounded dumbfounded, after all, Amon was just a kid.
A little kid like him had been able to master a sword art?
A wave of envy surged through every fiber of his being.
His eyes burned scarlet in anger as veins popped repeatedly along his forehead.
Someone like Amon had been able to master…
A sword art.
That was something almost considered priceless.
He and many others would toil all their lives just to obtain a single volume of a sword art in their old age.
Meanwhile, a kid like him, born to a rich family, just obtained it like that?
The vein popping on his head seemed as though it were ready to explode.
His divine energy surged violently, pouring out every ounce he possessed into his gift.
The faint hum of metal filled the surroundings.
From midair, metals began materializing around him.
One… two…
Seven metals soon formed completely, each of them as sharp as a spear point.
As they spun with a soft sound, the man glared at Amon.
Amon fearlessly glared back, his hand tightly gripping the hilt of his wooden sword as the reddish hue on his body thickened.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Without hesitation, the man punched forward, sending all seven rods toward Amon's location.
'It's too fast.' Amon's heart skipped a beat, but internally he did not panic.
He just needed to counter one or two of them and then easily dodge the others.
It would normally be an extremely difficult feat, but…
'Invisibility.' Muttering silently in his heart, Amon quietly disappeared.
The man widened his eyes slightly, trying to pinpoint where Amon was.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed and Amon's figure materialized.
A wide grin spread across his lips, though it was hidden by the mask.
The remaining metal rods continued on their way, piercing into the trees and ground.
Amon stabilized himself, his breathing particularly labored.
In that defensive maneuver, he had consumed more than a third of his primordial energy.
He could only use the same defensive move barely seven times.
But that was just for his first primordial core.
His second primordial core was still filled with vibrant primordial energy.
'I can do this all night long…'
A smile touched Amon's lips.
Having thought all this through within a second, he took advantage of the moment the man was distracted and lunged at him.
Although he was a little slow to react, the red-eyed man still reacted in time.
A sharp rod materialized in front of him.
Piercing it toward Amon, he noticed Amon disappear from his line of sight once again.
'Where's he?' His eyes frantically darted around.
A silent noise cut through the air, and before he could react, a stinging pain pierced his ribs.
ARRGH!
He tried to muffle the noise, but the pain was particularly sharp, especially with the burning heat that came with Amon's attack.
The duration of Amon's gift faded, and Amon materialized in front of the man.
"You brat!" Swinging his hand forward, he tried to strike Amon.
But having expected this, Amon immediately dodged back, making use of his small frame to escape the attack.
The bandit placed his hand on the spot Amon had struck.
Blood was pouring profusely from the wound, and the pain was sharp enough to make him wince.
He glared daggers at Amon.
Noticing the calm eyes of the kid in front of him, his heart skipped a beat.
Subconsciously, after killing the animals Seth usually brought to him, Amon's mindset toward killing was gradually being tempered.
He had a feeling…
If he killed this man here, he would not feel much emotion.
Amon's beating heart gradually calmed and a look of indifference appeared in his eyes.
Noticing this, Jamie, who was hiding behind the trees, frowned.
'His… mentality is being affected?'
He stared at Amon briefly, then made his move.
Swish!
A greenish wind blade condensed from thin air and cleanly sliced off the man's neck.
His expression of anger and shock remained fixed on his face.
Even at the moment of death, he did not realize he had died.
"Calm your mind, young master."
A peaceful voice echoed softly into Amon's ears.
He felt the killing intent brewing in his heart slowly settle.
Amon finally realized that he had almost gone down a path of no return.
Treating human lives with indifference.
'I… almost lost part of my humanity…'
Amon's eyes were wide with disbelief.
He turned his eyes to the young man with neatly styled hair and bowed politely.
"Thank you for your help, young mister."
"You don't have to call me that, young master. Your father sent me."
"Oh." Amon nodded in realization.
He already had a faint suspicion that his father was aware he had gone out.
"Your… friend."
Finally, Jamie interrupted Amon's thoughts with a cough.
'Right. Peculiar.'
A nervous expression appeared on Amon's face as he rushed toward her location.
Jamie followed behind him like a silent protector, matching his pace.
The moment Amon reached Peculiar, his face darkened.
Peculiar was impaled to a tree.
She gasped repeatedly in pain, minimizing her movements so she would not worsen her condition.
Beneath the tree, blood pooled, and Amon almost thought she had been drained completely.
"She'll die before we reach home."
"Death…"
Amon whispered, his eyes fixed on Peculiar's pale, pain-stricken face.
Through the narrow gaps of her eyes, he noticed she was trying to stare at him, her mouth parting slightly.
Amon's mind drifted to more than six years ago.
Or perhaps longer.
When he had been in a similar situation…
Gasping with his life on the line…
His heart filled with reluctance…
And in that reluctance, he thought of something.
'That's right. I can heal her.'
Amon's eyes brightened and without hesitation he used his ability.
[You have insufficient primordial cores. Creating a new gift will destroy the previous one. Do you wish to proceed?]
'Yes.' Amon did not hesitate in the slightest.
Although the invisibility gift might be destroyed, he could just recreate it again.
It only cost a little more creation points.
He noticed the corresponding points disappear and felt something change within him.
His gift.
It had transformed from invisibility to healing.
He stretched his hand toward Peculiar, feeling his primordial energy surge through his fingertips.
The moment his hand touched her, he felt his primordial energy draining at an alarming rate.
Nevertheless… Peculiar's white face was gradually regaining a pinkish hue…
…
A/N: I'm so sorry for the late chapter. Here it is. I tried to make it longer. Enjoy.
Peculiar is a character who will make many appearances in future plots of the novel, so I decided to keep her alive… for now.
Please leave some power stones and golden tickets. Thank you!