Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: A Drop of Blood
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"...?"
Nihil tilted his head, wondering what on earth that meant.
"How much... do you need?"
"What... nonsense is this?"
Nihil, who had been behaving himself due to his own guilt, realized he'd been misunderstood by Evan and scowled.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not a vampire."
"...You're not?"
At Nihil's firm denial, Evan sheepishly lowered his dagger.
Nihil let out an incredulous chuckle before opening his mouth.
"If I needed to drink blood, would you keep giving me yours?"
"It'd be better than giving His Highness's blood, wouldn't it?"
"...You naive fool."
A strange emotion welled up inside him, making his stomach churn faintly, so Nihil rubbed his chest.
Evan, seeing that, asked if he was hurt somewhere and raised the dagger again, offering his blood once more. Nihil mocked him in return, saying drinking his blood wouldn't do his body any good anyway.
Evan looked suspicious, his eyes still concerned, but he didn't dare cut his forearm.
In truth, Nihil had already obtained the blood, so he could just play dumb and leave. But since he'd been caught red-handed, he felt he owed the man an explanation. With a deep sigh, he spoke up.
"The reason I tried to get your blood is because of your awakening."
"Awakening? You mean the beastkin awakening?"
"Yeah. I didn't think much of it before, but seeing Meow-Meow made me worry for no reason. It might be pointless meddling, and I wasn't sure, so I tried to sneak some blood... and got caught."
Evan nodded at Nihil's words as if to say, "I see," but then a question struck him, and he looked up again.
"But didn't you say you drink it? Can you tell by drinking?"
"...".
Nihil clamped his mouth shut at Evan's question.
From that reaction, Evan guessed the guy probably had some ability to learn things by drinking blood. He'd already suspected he wasn't human, but this was a pretty bizarre power.
Honestly, whether he was human or not didn't matter much. His Highness was a quarter-elf, and he himself was a dog-beastkin, so one more non-human wouldn't change anything.
Assuming Nihil wouldn't explain his ability further, Evan decided to continue the conversation.
"Blood is all you need? No substitutes or anything else required?"
"...Actually...".
"...?"
Nihil avoided Evan's gaze, pausing for a moment before speaking.
"Any bodily fluid with even a trace of genetic information would do. But...".
Nihil scanned Evan's face from eyes to lips, then flicked his gaze down to his crotch for the briefest instant before whipping his head away, covering his mouth with both hands as he mumbled.
"I don't really want to drink it."
"...You pervert!"
Evan, catching on a beat late to where his gaze had gone, spat curses and shot to his feet, gripping the dagger in reverse.
"Drink blood. Blood seems best. No, it's the only option. Please."
Evan pleaded desperately, raising the dagger as if ready to slice his arm open right then. But Nihil's next words made him freeze again.
"Don't cut. I've already got the blood."
"...What?"
Got it? My blood? When?
Evan plunged back into confusion. He quickly set the dagger down and flipped his hands and forearm this way and that, inspecting them, but there wasn't a scratch.
It wouldn't be odd if he'd used some thin-needle extractor, but there was no way this guy had fancy equipment like that. And if he did, he wouldn't have brought a dagger.
"...Pathetic."
Nihil eyed Evan pityingly and tapped his own earlobe. Evan instinctively touched his own.
Rubbing his right earlobe, he finally felt a slight sting. It felt a bit slick, and when he checked, a milky-white ointment came off on his fingers.
Evan was speechless for a moment.
What was he supposed to do with this small, arrogant white cat who'd snuck in to steal blood and even applied ointment to the wound? Did he really think he wouldn't get caught?
"It won't get infected."
"Hah, as if a tiny scratch like this would... Wait."
"What?"
"So you're saying you snuck in, extracted my blood, applied medicine, and all the while I was dead asleep, oblivious?"
"I was careful not to wake you. Your skills are lacking... but not terribly so, so don't worry."
"...So you're saying they are lacking."
Evan gave a wry smile, noting that even polite words wouldn't call his skills sufficient. Since things had come to this, he decided to ask something else he'd been curious about.
"Can I ask you something?"
"...?"
Nihil, who had been wriggling off the bed as if their business was done, tilted his head at the question.
"From your perspective, I mean... how's my skill level...?"
"Wondering when you'll become a Swordmaster?"
"No, not exactly guaranteed, but... do I seem like I have the potential...?"
Embarrassed, Evan made excuses, then wondered what he was doing and bowed his head, his face flushing slightly.
Swordmasters were rarer than rare across the continent. The kingdom had only one right now, so assuming he'd become one was laughable.
Asking a kid who'd barely trained properly when he'd reach that level—what a joke. How much would the guy mock him inwardly? Did he even understand the realm properly?
But an unexpectedly straightforward answer came from his mouth.
"Hmm. If you train hard, you could probably manage it within five years."
"...Huh?"
At the completely unforeseen response, Evan snapped his head up. His eyes met Nihil's, who was slyly lifting his eyelids—he must have closed them at some point.
Evan shuddered under that piercing gaze, but Nihil relaxed his expression and continued casually, as if it were no big deal.
"If Swordmaster means manifesting and projecting Aura, five years should be plenty. Depending on circumstances, but even at the latest, ten...".
"You're making it sound too easy."
Evan cut in, rebutting the stream of words. As expected, the guy was underestimating the Swordmaster realm.
Among known Swordmasters in the last five hundred years since the Heavenly Demon War, the youngest was thirty-two. A realm usually reached past forty, yet "ten years at latest"?
He was twenty now, so breaking that record in ten years?
Before the Heavenly Demon War, Swordmasters were more common, but most records were fragmented or unreliable legends.
Yet Nihil remained nonchalant.
"I told you, those who can, will. Honestly, ten years is generous. If you don't break through by then, I'd recommend drowning face-first in a plate of water."
Nihil sneered sharply, pursing his lips, but Evan barely registered the barb. His mind was elsewhere.
Those who can, will.
Did that mean he could? Evan barely suppressed a grin, clearing his throat a couple times, then feigned nonchalance and humility.
"There are only nine living Swordmasters officially known right now. It's not as easy as you think."
"...Even fewer than I thought. But that's human standards, right? Humans have numbers, but compared to other races, they're nothing special. A horde of orcs could turn a village to rubble in half a day."
"That's untrained civilians, obviously."
"So orcs have trained orc knights?"
"...".
"Be grateful orcs are dumb. If they swung honed swords instead of clubs, trained daily like knights, and moved systematically, humans would all be slaves."
Nihil wasn't wrong, but Evan, irked at being compared to monsters, furrowed his brows and changed the subject.
"Can you tell me what you look at to judge someone's skill?"
"I don't know much about swordsmanship realms. I just judge by what I see. Mana heart size and reinforcement level inside the body. How they circulate and use that mana. Usually, those with larger, sturdier innate mana vessels have tougher bodies too. Of course, grueling training perfects it, but the gap widens with practice between the gifted and the not. You're gifted, so with experience and a trigger, you'll become a Swordmaster."
"...".
"That answer your question?"
"Then compared to His Majesty's Shadow Knight you were eyeing... No, forget it."
"...?"
Evan realized what he'd blurted and clamped his mouth shut.
But the quick-witted cat had already caught on, smirking.
"Heh... Did it bother you that I was eyeing that Shadow Knight?"
"...".
"Guess the talk of him becoming a Swordmaster by eating Sirentea really got to you? Or was it jealousy?"
"...".
Mischief glinted in Nihil's eyes. His lips curved ever so slightly, but the deep shadows from the candlelight made it look like a mocking grin.
Evan tried dodging Nihil's gaze as he circled him with a sly grin, but it clung persistently. The subtle expression changes made him feel transparent, which grated even more. He regretted his childish slip too late, but it was done.
Nihil called out to Evan with a faint smile.
"Doggy."
"...What?"
Evan grumbled sulkily. Nihil cooed gently, like soothing a sulky pup.
"What you need isn't the massive mana from Sirentea—it's time and experience. And honestly, you played a bigger part in why I eyed that knight."
"What do you mean?"
"You're Rian's one and only guard knight. Your training time is just those fleeting dawn moments. You're stuck by Rian's side all day, no sparring partners to compete with—it's too tough for you to grow. Your progress has probably stalled since taking the role."
"...".
Evan wondered how he knew he trained at dawn despite rising later than Rian, then recalled the guy dashing around muddy at dawn and shut his mouth.
Maybe he didn't just wake early today. Did he even sleep properly?
Everything Nihil said rang true, so Evan bowed his head. His growth had stagnated compared to his monster-fighting childhood days.
"No need to rush."
"...".
A gentle ripple stirred.