Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Translator: Penny
Chapter 13
Guild 3
Meeting Agron's chilling gaze, the man swiftly reached for his waist.
This bastard is no ordinary opponent.
He intended to draw his dagger and slash directly at Agron's eyes.
A preemptive strike was the key to victory.
But plans rarely go as intended.
"Huh...?"
As if shackled by heavy manacles, he found his wrists completely immobilized.
Agron had seized them in an instant.
"L-let go of me— Aaaagh!"
A sharp crack, like wood snapping, echoed as both of the man's wrists twisted into unnatural angles.
Agonizing pain surged through him like an electric current, sweeping from fingertips to toes in a flash.
Agron calmly rose from his seat, baring his pearly white teeth in a smile.
"An amusing initiation ritual," Agron said, grinning. "I'll play along."
He then kicked the man's outer calf with all his might.
The man's body shot into the air.
In that instant, Agron's fist crashed down on the man's shoulder blade like an axe strike.
CRACK!
With a thunderous crack, the man plummeted to the ground.
"Gah...!"
He gasped for air, his body trembling violently like a cornered dog.
The agony was unbearable, but it was also fueled by sheer terror of Agron.
A flood of emotions he had never experienced before washed over him, completely shattering his pride as an adventurer.
Please... please, a doctor or a priest... and someone stop him, I'm going to die.
He mouthed desperate pleas for help to anyone who met his gaze.
He didn't want to die.
The excruciating pain threatened to overwhelm him, nearly driving him unconscious.
Then, Agron's grip, as unyielding as tree roots, clamped down on the man's throat.
"My initiation isn't over yet."
"Gah... Aaaah... A...!"
"I hope my junior's initiation is well-received."
"W-wait, wait, just a─!"
Crack!
A lightning-fast punch crushed the man's face and shattered the Guild's stone floor.
A long silence hung over the lounge.
"The newbie took down Jerome...?"
The Jerome Agron had faced was a seasoned D-Rank Adventurer with years of experience.
He was notorious within the Guild for his vile temper.
Even the Guild's lower-ranked adventurers avoided making eye contact with him.
Rumor had it he'd beaten up a C-Rank adventurer he didn't like, and some even claimed he'd faced a Troll with only a mage and a priest by his side—and won.
He was the very embodiment of a seasoned mid-tier adventurer with a filthy temper.
"He's insane... absolutely insane..."
Agron had silenced this Guild troublemaker with just three strikes.
"Who the hell are you, rookie? Do you even know who you just beat?!"
"This newbie's a monster! Man, an F-Rank just took down a D-Rank!"
They surrounded Agron, raising their mugs high.
"To our glorious newcomer!"
"To Agron, who defeated the legendary Troll Killer Jerome!"
"To the F-Rank who fights like a D-Rank!"
"Hmm, quite an interesting initiation ritual."
Agron never started fights unless someone tried to harm him.
Of course, the moment anyone provoked him, he would crush them decisively, regardless of their status, to establish his dominance.
"Oh dear, have you caused trouble again so soon?"
Baek Woon clicked his tongue as soon as he saw Agron, having just finished his paperwork.
"You didn't kill him, did you...?"
"If I had drawn my sword and swung it, I would have. Fortunately, I stopped him by breaking his wrist."
"...Right, you did a truly commendable thing."
"I am a member of the Winter Forest Keepers Tribe, who cherish all life."
Agron smiled faintly as he watched Jerome vomit blood, his face barely recognizable.
Baek Woon couldn't bring himself to respond to Agron's words, his lips twitching before falling silent.
He seems to misunderstand the meaning of "cherish."
No matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem like Dumurka of the Winter Forest Keepers Tribe had raised his child normally.
"...Yes, it's admirable how you cherish life. ...And you didn't even kill him."
"Of course. All life is valuable."
"Do you truly believe that?"
"Absolutely. Even after death, they can be recycled as fertilizer, you know."
"...??"
Baek Woon was curious about Agron's concept of life, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.
"Hey, newbie! Who's this old man?"
"Um, he's a newbie too. We should continue the initiation ceremony."
"Huh? Really? Come here, newbie! Let's have a drink!"
"Wait, hold on! I hate alcohol!"
The adventurers were too drunk to hear Baek Woon's protests.
They grabbed him and poured beer down his throat in real time.
"Gurgle! Cough! I-I don't like alco— Glug!"
Agron watched Baek Woon struggle, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Hmm, it seems you're getting along well with the adventurers. That's good."
"Oh, you're awake?"
"...Yeah."
Baek Woon descended to the inn's dining hall, clutching his throbbing head from a hangover. He'd vomited countless times throughout the night thanks to that damn beer.
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself quite a bit yesterday?"
"...You... Never mind."
He didn't have the energy to argue with Agron and collapsed into a chair at the table. Even raising his voice might trigger another round of retching on his empty stomach.
"Ugh... What are you planning to do today?"
"I'm going to take on a Guild quest and try to complete a mission."
"Hmm, is that the adventurer life you've been wanting to experience?"
"Something like that. As an adventurer, I want to travel across the continent and see more of the world. But that's not the only reason."
"Then what else?"
Baek Woon asked, gulping down the water the waiter brought him.
Agron replied with a calm expression, "That includes finding the ones who killed my parents."
"The Count and Countess's killers... You mean the ones who manipulated Ludicain from behind?"
Agron nodded.
Ludicain wasn't the mastermind behind this entire scheme, but merely a tool. The true culprit—the one who instigated him and drove him to murder the Head of House and his wife—remained hidden.
The problem was that Ludicain's information was too fragmented to investigate properly.
"As an adventurer, you'll encounter various missions and meet all sorts of people. Eventually, you'll uncover information about them."
The City Guard, who should have led the investigation, the Council of Elders, the Administrator, the Knight Commander, and the collateral branches of the family—all of them had cleared the path for the true killer, making it nearly impossible to uncover the truth now.
That's why Agron decided to take matters into his own hands.
"It could take an indefinite amount of time, I suppose."
"Exactly. But that's fine. I plan to search diligently and erase every trace of those bastards from this land. From head to toe, every last bit."
"Hmm..."
Baek Woon felt the chilling, icy aura sober him up instantly.
Given Agron's usual temperament, these words were no empty boast or emotional outburst.
This was the absolute power of speech wielded by the strong.
Agron would undoubtedly carry out his "prophecy."
"Don't try to shoulder everything alone. You have me, Dumurka, Luna, and Lawrence by your side."
"I'm not sure why Luna and Lawrence are included, but I understand your point."
"Make lots of friends your age. They'll be a great help to you someday."
"Are you talking about Luna and Lawrence?"
"Exactly. They're both kind and upright."
"Hmm."
Agron assumed Baek Woon was still half-drunk. Otherwise, he wouldn't have called Lawrence "kind."
"So, what's our mission for today?"
"Gather... herbs..."
"Ah, herb gathering. An easy task befitting an F-Rank adventurer."
"No. It's slitting the throat of the Herb Tiger."
"...?"
"It's not an F-Rank adventurer's mission, but since I beat up a D-Rank Adventurer yesterday, they said I could take it if I wanted."
Agron rose from his seat, speaking with casual indifference.
"Are you suggesting we go slit the Herb Tiger's throat right now?"
"Yes."
"You could just go alone."
"It'd be boring without you."
Baek Woon glared at Agron.
"Let's go, Elder. We'll be caught by nightfall at this rate."
They headed deep into the mountains.
Even in broad daylight, the dense forest canopy blocked out much of the sunlight.
Baek Woon sat down on a rock, patting his knees.
Probably from hiking at his age, he thought.
"By the way, did you change your weapon?" Baek Woon asked, looking at Agron's back. "I thought you were using a longsword until recently?"
"Yes, I broke it while hunting goblins. The Kingdom's swords are weaker than I expected."
It's not the sword that's weak, it's your strength that's too great, Baek Woon thought, swallowing the words and clearing his throat.
"Ahem, ahem. Is that weapon called a 'mace'?"
"That's right. I had it made slightly thicker than a standard mace, so it should last longer."
"I'm no expert on weapons, but this mace looks much larger than a standard one."
The head of a typical mace usually weighs between 1 and 3 kilograms, but Agron's mace appeared to be at least twice as heavy.
"It's probably around 8 or 9 kilograms."
"...You can actually swing something that heavy?"
Baek Woon lifted the mace slightly, his expression skeptical.
While anyone could lift a heavy lump of metal, no one could freely maneuver such a heavy weight at the end of a shaft for both offense and defense.
This feat was only possible due to Agron's immense strength and inexhaustible stamina.
"This... it's incredibly heavy! Can you really swing it?"
"Even you can swing it, Elder. Give it a try."
"If I had four arms, I might consider swinging it once. But I have no desire to live with only one arm."
Baek Woon clicked his tongue and handed the mace back.
He briefly imagined what would happen to someone struck by it.
At least they'd die instantly, sparing them any prolonged suffering.
After a long trek through the mountains, they reached a valley where Herb Tigers were said to frequent.
"According to the map, this should be the place."
"Let's rest a bit. My legs are killing me from trying to keep up with your pace."
"That's because you don't exercise regularly."
"Just wait until you're my age. You'll be aching all over too."
"Chief Dumurka seemed fine, though."
"...Your entire tribe seems rather peculiar."
Baek Woon shook his head, recalling Dumurka, the White Bison.
It was true that many inhabitants of the Snow Spirit Labyrinth transcended the boundaries of ordinary humans.
Among them, Agron was an existence beyond all norms.
"Hmm... There's something here, Elder," Agron said, sniffing the air.
"Has the Herb Tiger already appeared? I heard it usually emerges around dusk," Baek Woon replied, his face still weary.
"No, it's not the Herb Tiger."
"Then it must be bears or wolves. This valley likely attracts mountain creatures coming to drink."
"It's not that either."
Agron narrowed his eyes, glaring at a particular spot before continuing, "They're humans dressed in pitch-black robes."
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny