‘Light was reflected off the beautiful blue in the middle of the cave. Its beauty was only enchased by the glow of that red field that surrounded it. The place where I got my power is beyond beautiful.
And now, it’s time for you all to fear this power of mine as well.’
Horas looked at the same red field he had written about in his novel before. He could understand why someone would consider this place beautiful or even divine.
This far away from human civilization, the small lake was crystal clear and its clean waters sparkled when the light hit it. But Horas was not here to observe beauty so he shook his head and focused.
‘The hidden power is somewhere here. I need to find it before anyone else can find it.’
Horas had not written a general timeline of when the ‘side character’ had gotten his power. It could have been years ago so there was a chance that Horas was wasting his time while coming here.
But he had decided to take his chances.
‘There is only one place where the power can be. I will need to head into the water.’
The lake was not deep and the water would only come up to an adult man’s knees. But it was too high for Horas’s current body so he will have to be careful.
Not to mention, the effects of the potion he had consumed were starting to wear off already. The brief instance of pain he felt was enough for Horas to estimate that he had about five minutes left on the clock.
He needed to take the risk.
Horas walked slowly into the water and an invisible force pushed him back. It was hard keeping hold of his position with such strong winds pushing Horas back.
The pain in his limbs was increasing in volume now and his hand even hit something solid in front of him. The water was starting to get colder as well and Horas shivered as a result.
There was a dim glow beneath the water. It was coming from a golden-colored ball of energy but it was barely visible and could not be sensed. It was too well hidden and one could tell where the protective mana had focused on.
Everything was pushing him back but Horas was determined to get hold of the power. He pressed against the shield in front of him and felt it gets squeezed. The barrier was not strong.
‘I can do this. If I can shoot once, then I can-’
It was a foolish thought. Horas had already fucked up his arm once and his body would not be able to take another blow.
But Horas’s brain did not work at the moment. He was too high on the pain-numbing potion and ended up shooting with his recovered mana.
Pain shot up Horas’s arm just as the barrier gave in. His hand reached out to the glowing orb in the water which was difficult to see.
Despite Horas’s utter exhaustion, he reached out for the glowing ball and felt his hand clasp around it. He had managed to acquire the skill but it had taken everything out of him.
Horas’s body fell face-forward into the old water and he tried to stand. But not only his hand moved when he tried to move it. His whole body was a big ball of pain.
A real five-year-old might have died by now. Their psychology was not made to take this much abuse and especially not quite as often.
But Horas was an adult in mind and body. He could survive it a little longer if it meant he would get to live.
“Darn it kid. Do you want to get me in trouble with your death? What the hell did you do to get yourself so fucked?”
Finally, Jack Hollow arrived on the scene and fished Horas out of the water. He looked intrigued more than pissed off at Horas’s current condition. His eyes looked Horas up and down with a disgusting glint.
But it was because Horas recognized that glint that he was sure that he would survive today. Jack Hollow would make sure he lived and that was certainly relief-filling for him.
Horas tried to open his mouth to speak but his body ended up betraying him again. But it only seemed to have excited Jack more.
“It’s alright kid, you don’t need to speak. You can save your explanation for later, alright? Let’s get you fixed up for now so that we can keep our appointment, alright?”
Horas tried to speak up but his mouth refused to cooperate. His body was in such a tough situation that Horas felt his mind shut down with sleep. And it helped to know that he would be alright in the end.
Sleep came easy to him and it was sweet as well.
…………………
Jack Hollow looked at the kid he had just saved and felt a small laugh bubble in his throat.
What a nutcase he had brought with him. No other kid would have even thought of taking a numbing potion to keep on moving once injured.
Heck, most adults did not take up such dangerous tasks if they had any other options available. It was an end-of-the-mill option for most.
And this kid knew that he had backup available. The kid knew he had Jack Hollow looking for him but Horas had still decided to go ahead and take the numbing potion to keep on progressing.
The kid had also been trying to grasp something in the water when Jack had found him but that was a different case. Jack would find what it had been later from the kid anyway.
“Let’s get you patched up kid. Principal Marble would tear me a new one if she got to know what happened to you. I might never get to see you again, so let’s keep it our little secret.”
Horas was knocked out loud but Jack knew the kid would keep quiet about what happened here.
Jack had a lot of ways to make people come to his side and not all of them were honorable. A kid this young would be easy to manipulate emotionally and form attachments with. Once there, the kid would be Jack’s biggest advocate.
“I want to use your younger brother for his immense future strength but I guess I won’t mind investing in your guts as well kid. Consider yourself lucky for having gained Jack Hollow’s interest.”
Had Horas been aware to hear these words, he would have shivered in fright. But he was not awake and that ended the conversation.
Jack drove off quickly from the mountain range and toward the shabby downtown where his trusted doctor resided. It was the best place to make sure no news about his doings leaked to Principal Marble and her company.
…………………
In the slums of the city, there was only one place of hope everyone knew they needed to go to if they needed secrecy.
Everyone that if you wanted to be treated discreetly, there was only one person you could go to - Doctor Hope. he might live in a run-down and shabby establishment and he might not have enough money, but he knew how to treat wounds properly.
Not only that, Doctor Hope did not discriminate between good and bad people. He treated anyone who could afford to pay him.
But naturally, the ‘good’ adventurers never visited this man in broad daylight. They did not think of him as an ethical man after all.
So Dcotor Hopes, also known as Old man Rancer felt his heart leap up in his throat as his door was banged harshly and in entered a known person.
“Holy, you almost gave me a heart attack Jack. What’s your emergency this time? Did you have a broken bone you cannot show in the public? Or did your tongue turn blue again due to some weird experiment? Or did you-holy, is that a kid? Did you finally kill a kid?”
Old man Rancher was old-looking and his face was filled with wrinkles. He was a man who was truly old and wise, having seen his fair share of troubles in his youth.
Since he had been such an oddball in the past, he had finally decided to settle down and make a difference.
He was someone who treated everyone equally and had no discrimination in his heart. That was why anyone could approach him without failure.
“I did not kill anyone, old man. Do you see me as such a deplorable guy who would threaten kids for my profit?”
There was silence in the room after Jack finished speaking, Even Old man Rancer knew his true self and Jack knew better than to question him.
“Anyway, never mind that. Just make sure this kid is alright and I will pay you to doubt the usual amount. And make sure to keep your mouth shut about this.”
Old man Rancher knew that nothing good will come out of working with Jack Hollow. This man was beyond saying and now he had finally dragged a kid into his world.
Old man Rancher had nothing but sympathy for this kid. And that was why he agreed to treat the kid Jack had brought in with him.