Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: A Slave's Vow
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“I don't think you can grant what I want.”
Those words somehow made him think he might be spared. Jake jerked his head up.
So Gun-ak had come close and was standing right in front of him. Meeting the man's gaze made his heart turn ice-cold.
“Can you spare my life?”
“I don't see why I should.”
Jake wasn't an idiot.
The man had killed the heir to the Diel family, so he would surely eliminate all witnesses and cover up the incident.
There was only one way for him to survive. He had to convince So Gun-ak that he wouldn't breathe a word, even if spared.
“I'll become one of your subordinates.”
“I already have loyal followers like brothers.”
“Call me a servant, a slave, whatever you like. I'll follow you faithfully. I swear today's events will never leak out.”
So Gun-ak eyed Jake with interest.
'Sharp instincts, this one.'
Jake had accurately grasped why So Gun-ak wanted to wipe out all traces. The question was how much value Jake could offer him.
There was no point carrying unnecessary baggage.
“I don't know your goals. But whatever they are, I'll be useful.”
“A runaway mine slave?”
“That's my current state, but I was once the heir to the Porun Merchant Group. Give me the means, and I could set up a new trading company to bring you vast wealth.”
“Money is not what I need.”
Cold sweat trickled down Jake's back.
At the same time, he sensed an opportunity.
So Gun-ak wanted to hear more. What could he offer? What did he have that might satisfy the man?
If not wealth, perhaps power? His extraordinary strength and the way he killed without hesitation resembled a seasoned soldier who'd seen countless battles.
“This may sound boastful, but I graduated top of my class from the Royal Academy in just five years. My knowledge is unmatched—I'd make an excellent strategist on the battlefield.”
Jake was desperate. He couldn't just die like this.
“The Royal Academy...”
Watching So Gun-ak quietly repeat his words, Jake swallowed hard.
So Gun-ak stared down at him impassively. The man seemed quick-witted, and even in this life-or-death moment, he subtly revealed his ambitions. It took real guts to act this way.
'Build a trading company for riches? A battlefield advisor?'
They were desperate guesses since he didn't know So Gun-ak's aims, but they were also Jake's true hopes.
He envisioned the future. So Gun-ak was so remarkable it was baffling he wasn't famous yet. His reputation would surely spread soon.
By making So Gun-ak the frontman and serving as his right-hand man, he might even get revenge on the Ramos Merchant Group.
That was the honest gamble Jake was taking, even with death looming.
“You call it volunteering as a slave, but you're really just trying to use me for your vendetta.”
Jake flinched. He gave up hiding his intentions and laid them bare, leaving his fate to heaven.
“You're right. I can't die like this. Whatever you're trying to achieve, I'll be a huge help. My one wish is revenge on the Ramos Merchant Group that stole my family and house. Grant me that, and I'll follow you like a loyal dog.”
That was his true heart.
So Gun-ak nodded calmly. A Royal Academy graduate—and top of the class at that—would possess exceptional knowledge.
He might even know how to melt the crystal. Even if not directly, he could find a way.
“Fine. I'll spare you. But...”
At those words, Jake's heart plummeted.
So Gun-ak pulled a pill from his bosom.
'If only I had some real poison.'
No matter how sincere Jake seemed, trust was another matter. Better to have insurance.
A slave begging for life out of fear was less useful than one driven by purpose and passion.
“Eat this.”
“W-what is that?”
“Poison.”
Jake gulped nervously. Spared, only to be handed poison immediately—it felt like being pulled from drowning straight into a cliff plunge.
“Eat it.”
“...”
Under So Gun-ak's urging, Jake met his eyes with trembling ones. They were steely. Unwavering. The deep gaze revealed few emotions.
'It's a test.'
Jake swallowed.
If So Gun-ak wanted him dead, he wouldn't bother with this hassle. The man was ruthless and killed without hesitation, but he didn't seem the type for sadistic games.
He wouldn't enjoy killing this way.
That was Jake's read on him.
Gulp.
Jake took the pill from So Gun-ak and swallowed it. Called poison, it was actually just a pill he'd made experimenting with local herbs.
No inner energy boost, but it cleansed toxins and eased fatigue slightly.
“What you ate is a slow-acting poison.”
“What does it do?”
“It lies dormant for a month, then brings unimaginable agony. The pain lasts three days, and you die on the last.”
So Gun-ak spoke casually of horrors. Jake wanted to vomit the pill up.
“Let's make the effects kick in faster.”
Tuk, tuk.
So Gun-ak's hands moved swiftly, striking Jake's pressure points.
“Urk!”
Jake's eyes bulged as his limbs convulsed.
“Uwaaaah...”
Drooling and writhing, he wished he could bite his own tongue.
But it was all a trick. So Gun-ak had no poison or antidote.
He'd just struck acupoints.
When had Jake ever endured bone-dislocation agony?
“Kuaaagh! K-kill me! Just kill me!”
As Jake lost his mind from the twisting pain, So Gun-ak produced another pill, shoved it in his mouth, and struck more points. The pain vanished instantly.
“Ugh... Huuk.”
Jake trembled, gasping for breath.
It felt like his muscles were independently crushing his bones. Was hell like this? Too terrified to look up at So Gun-ak.
“The second pill delays the poison another month. Understand?”
“Y-yes! I won't betray you! Believe me!”
Quick on the uptake, as expected.
“Avoid that pain if you want to live.”
With things like this, Jake abandoned thoughts of helping So Gun-ak while pursuing his own goals.
The man was ruthless. Now he'd need antidote every month, binding him to So Gun-ak's side.
“Good. Now gather the bodies for burning.”
“Y-yes!”
As Jake dragged the corpses together, So Gun-ak stepped aside, sat cross-legged, and began meditating to circulate his energy.
He hadn't shown it, but fighting fifteen knights had been taxing.
'If stronger foes come, my life will be at risk someday.'
He'd roamed the Central Plains freely thanks to his own prowess, but always with the Black Dragon Corps—backed by the Eternal Divine Cult.
With no backing now, he could only rely on himself.
He couldn't let word of this leak and draw the Diel family's pursuit.
“All done.”
Seeing So Gun-ak sitting silently, Jake observed him closely. Up close, he looked young—early twenties? At most, not yet thirty.
How he'd gained such power so young was a mystery, but having decided to follow, Jake hoped he wouldn't turn into some continent-ravaging villain.
Bwoooong.
As Jake studied him, Chu-a appeared before him, spreading her arms wide. Her expression screamed she wouldn't allow him closer.
“Hah... a spirit...”
Jake backed away. He'd never dreamed So Gun-ak could command spirits too. Such strength wasn't enough—he had spirits as well.
Absurd.
He hadn't used one against the Red Rose Knights because he didn't need the help; he was that strong.
'True. He didn't look strained even without spirit aid.'
So Gun-ak had annihilated the Red Rose Knights in under an hour. No need for spirit power.
Jake wondered anew at the limits of his true abilities.
“Huuu...”
So Gun-ak exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.
Jake had been standing nearby, hands clasped, waiting obediently.
Gazing at the piled corpses, So Gun-ak said,
“Hwarang. Burn them.”
Whoosh.
At his command, a puppy made of fire appeared and scampered over the corpse mound.
The wood beneath ignited fiercely.
“Chu-a. Conceal the smoke.”
Chu-a wrapped the thick smoke with fierce determination. It thinned, dispersing into the air instead of rising visibly.
Though heavy smoke blanketed the ground, it would evade distant eyes.
'He's not all bad.'
Jake thought So Gun-ak, even cremating the bodies, couldn't be entirely evil. As the flames died, only ashes and charred bones remained.
So Gun-ak and Jake dug a pit, mixed the bones unrecognizably, and buried them.
'Bone-melting powder would be ideal.'
He could melt bodies, but had no method now. They'd burned them due to suspicious clothing and identifiers, rather than burying whole.
After interring the bones, only weapons remained.
There were many swords, axes—quite a haul.
“Hwarang. Can you melt them?”
Melting metal required intense heat.
Asking just in case, Hwarang nodded eagerly and began liquefying the arms.
They dug a round pit, tossed everything in, and soon a hemispherical iron ball formed.
As Jake added items one by one, he held up a belt and asked,
“What about this Magic Suit? Too valuable to melt.”
“Take it.”
It was Komora's armor.
Hard-won; worth studying. Once all metal melted, they covered the pit with dirt. A smithy might pay well, but better discard than risk suspicion.
“Now, down to the village.”
“Yes... but...”
“Speak.”
“I'm a runaway slave. Viscount Jamby's men are probably tearing up Todun Village searching for me. Is it safe to head there?”
“Hmm.”
So Gun-ak stroked his chin.
His commissioned weapon wasn't ready; he couldn't leave Todun yet. Jake anxiously awaited, fearing he'd become dead weight.
“Come here.”
Tat.
Without a word, So Gun-ak sealed Jake's movement points, paralyzing him. Jake had experienced it several times but still found it ghostly.
“I'll forcibly twist your bones and muscles. It'll hurt a bit.”
Grabbing Jake's panicked face with both hands, So Gun-ak infused energy and molded it like clay.
His prominent cheekbones receded, eyes reshaped.
The sharp jaw rounded. He reflected Jake's face in the Magic Suit's shiny belt.
“How's that? Would they recognize you?”
With his jaw sealed too, Jake could only blink.
'Truly demonic skill.'
How could someone reshape a face at will? Jake worried if he'd pledged to a devil.