Chapter Nine: Haimu

At night, moonlight poured in through the window again, spilling onto the floor like silver frost.

Loran was alone in the room; Sgaret was gone, but the jet-black cloak he’d left on the bed remained. The smith’s son had simply left like that.

“Creak~~~”

The door opened quietly, and a knight instructor of the Earth order stepped in, plopping down on the bed opposite Loran. He glanced at the dazed youth on the bed and couldn’t help but offer a faint smile. “Loran, what happened today must have been quite a shock for you, right?”

“None.”

The boy shook his head.

The knight seemed to see restraint and a touch of anger in his eyes; he only smiled slightly and said, “The Blood Cage is called the Blood Cage because it lives up to its name. This rule has been passed down for hundreds of years. Courage and luck—these are elements a strong person must possess, and you happen to have both.”

As he spoke, he put the medicine on the table, looked at Loran deeply, and said, “Among the trainees who survived, you are the only one who hasn’t awakened the Star Source mark. I hope you can survive so I can witness a miracle. If you can live through tomorrow’s trial, I will be your instructor and teacher for a very long time to come.”

Loran looked up and glanced at him; only then did he realize this instructor was a man of about thirty, handsome, with a heroic air between his brows. He nodded, “Alright, teacher.”

The earth knight smiled faintly and said, “My name is Haimu. You can call me Teacher Haimu.”

“Thank you, Teacher Haimu.” Loran glanced at the bandages nearby, his heart full of wariness.

Haimu seemed to sense something and smiled, “Loran, are you on guard against me?”

“I…”

Loran hesitated, words caught in his throat; the boy had never experienced any of this.

Haimu did not press further. He merely smiled faintly and lifted his hand. Under the push of invisible star-source energy, the room’s door creaked shut. He looked Loran squarely in the face and said, “I checked earlier this afternoon. You’re the one who walked out of the trial chamber, the ‘prey’ brought back by the dispatched hunt knights. You must have gone through many unforgettable things these past days, but I can tell you— not everyone in Blood Castle is a beast of the survival-of-the-fittest. Only when you reach that point will you be able to uncover the true people within Blood Castle.”

“They killed my mother.”

Loran fell silent for a long time, then suddenly spoke that one sentence.

Haimu paused, then gritted his teeth and said, “So that’s how it is. Those hunting knights have become no different from mercenaries. To get more bounties they’ve grown increasingly reckless, even daring to kill civilians within the Empire’s borders. Despicable…”

Loran looked at Haimu quietly and said, “Teacher, isn’t it the Blood Castle that condones them doing this?”

“This…”

Haimu was momentarily stunned and said, “Loran, you’re right. Blood Castle, in order to obtain more and stronger fresh blood, did issue orders not to investigate the means and directed the hunting knights to search for talent across the empire’s borders. But… that they, as members of the Order of the Light, would flout the Church’s decrees and kill wantonly… you have every reason to hate them.”

Loran stared out the window, a thousand conflicting feelings in his heart. “So it was still Blood Castle’s idea, even to say the Light Church’s idea, wasn’t it, teacher?”

Haimu was startled, his complexion changing: “Loran, are you mad? How could you say something like that?”

Saying that, he stood up, turned and glanced at Loran, and said, “I’ve told you everything I can. The rest is no longer important. My only hope for you is that you survive tomorrow’s trial. Come, come with me to choose a fitting blade; that will be the key to whether you live or not.”

“Yes, teacher.”

The boy rose and followed Haimu out of the passage. After a few turns they arrived at the armory of the Blood Castle. A dozen senior knights stood outside with hands on their sword hilts; they all nodded toward Haimu in unison and said respectfully, “Instructor Haimu!”

“Mm.”

Haimu returned the salute: “I’m bringing a trainee to select a weapon!”

“It’s rare for Instructor Haimu to personally bring a student to choose a weapon, but that kid… seems to be the lucky one who crawled out of the underground trial chamber?”

“Exactly.”

Haimu said no more, only speaking in a low voice: “Loran, come in with me.”

With a creak, the heavy iron door swung open and Haimu led the way. Inside the armory, clusters of braziers burned, giving off heat and light that illuminated the entire hall. Rows upon rows of weapon racks stretched out before them, filling the space—at least a hundred rows, it seemed. Every rack was piled with blades and arms: long swords, hooked chains, short knives, double-edged axes, shields, and more.

…

For a moment, Loran was dazzled.

“What weapon are you used to using?” Haimu asked.

“One-handed sword,” Loran added. “Or maybe, a two-handed sword.”

“Hmm…”

Haimu nodded and said, “Loran, hit me with everything you’ve got—I’ll test how strong you are.”

“Teacher, this…”

“Don’t worry, attack with everything.”

“Yes!”

Loran suddenly dropped his weight; every muscle in his body tightened in an instant, his whole form like a bow drawn full to a crescent moon. His right fist shot forward with a thunderous force, while Haimu simply opened his hand, Star Source energy coiling between his fingers. With a soft “pung,” he nonchalantly blocked Loran’s punch, making Loran feel as if he’d struck a slab of steel.

“That’s about three hundred kilograms of force.”

Haimu smiled slightly, seeming quite pleased, and said, “Child, not bad — no wonder you were able to defeat a full student who possessed Star Source power.”

Loran remained silent; he knew that what he possessed was merely strength and muscular reflexes, and he still lagged far behind the other trainees.

“Mm…”

Haimu picked up a steel sword, weighed it in his hand, frowned, and said, “Your strength is already among the best of your peers—that’s your advantage. But your drawback is that your Star Source Mark hasn’t awakened, so you’ll have to compensate by focusing more on attack and defense techniques than others, and you must train your speed. Loran, let me give you a piece of advice: abandon the two-handed sword and take up a one-handed sword and a shield. That might be the way you survive tomorrow’s trial.”

“Teacher Haimu, what’s tomorrow’s test?” the boy asked.

Haimu said in a low voice, “The first day’s test is called Courage, the second day’s test is called Luck, and the third day’s test is called Challenge. Every selected trainee must confront a first-order monster captured from the northern wilderness. If you succeed, you can become a true student within the Blood Cage; if you fail, there’s no need to continue wasting the expensive training resources of Blood Castle.”

“Yes, teacher!”

“Go, choose a one-handed sword and shield that satisfy you.”

“Okay.”

Loran stepped forward, his gaze falling on a rack lined with one-handed swords. The blades, all forged from refined steel, astonished him. In his old village he had never had the chance to see such fine steel swords; even the steel forks used by hunters were actually crude iron tools. He picked up one of the short swords and swung it gently, finding it a bit too light.

He swapped to another one; this time it was much better, steadier, yet it didn’t affect Loran’s sword-swinging speed. He withdrew the sword, re-sheathed the blade, gripped it in his hand, then went to the area where shields were stored and picked out a small steel round shield. The shield wasn’t large, but it wasn’t particularly heavy either—well within Loran’s strength to handle.

“Teacher Haimu, I want these two items, is that okay?” Loran asked.

“Alright.”

Haimu’s gaze held a faint approval as he smiled, “Loran, you’re smart—choosing a weapon that suits you instead of going for something powerful. You’ve picked a good shield too. This small round shield, combined with your muscular reflexes and speed, is enough to keep up with a first-order monster’s pace and withstand its attacks.”

Saying that, Haimu asked again, “Loran, have you ever seen a first-order monster before?”

“None.”

“Then why didn’t you ask me whether a first-order phantasm beast is strong?”

“Whether I ask or not, I still have to defeat it; otherwise I’ll be eliminated,” Loran said.

Haimu smiled: “Mm, just remember that—you must give it your all and treat the beast as your strongest enemy, or you’ll regret it. Over the years, countless trainees have fallen to first-order monsters.”

“Yes, teacher!”

…

Back in his room, before long the female medic returned; after changing and rebandaging Loran’s injured hand she left, and Loran went to bed early to rest up and be ready for the next day’s challenge.

The next morning, to the sound of a whistle, the trainees rose and, each carrying their weapon, went to breakfast. The meal was simple—still meat broth and bread—rough in flavor but the quickest way to restore energy. After they finished eating and rested for another half hour, an instructor approached and said, “Out—proceed to the beast cages to face today’s challenge!”

Soon after, a group of trainees followed the instructor along a long road and reached another area of Blood Castle.

“Roar roar roar~~~~”

Far off, the beasts’ roars made the youths blanch; many turned deathly pale in an instant. And once they passed through the high courtyard walls, the scene ahead horrified them even more: beasts of every shape were imprisoned in cages, unleashing earth-shattering howls. In some of the cages, there were also severed limbs and body parts—clearly human corpses.

“Ah?”

All the boys were filled with dread, Loran among them, and those students who were a bit more perceptive could already guess where the bodies of those who had failed the test had gone.

“Hmph…”

The knight instructor saw it and sneered, “The dead—how are their bodies any different from ordinary meat? These monsters need to eat human flesh to keep their ferocity. Only then will they be suitable opponents for you.”