Two days ter, serious news arrived at the gates of the Faruin ruins.

  “What!? Are you being serious? Some acolyte used a troll to kill the doctor and his guards? Are you really sure?!”

  One of Arun’s brothers, Awur, who had become one of the appointed leaders in this expedition, came as soon as possible when he heard that only two reconnaissance guards had returned, and now his face was grim.

  It wasn’t for the same reason as the other forces who needed Illyan to open the door. He didn’t know anything about that. Arun had never told his family what he was doing behind their backs.

  Instead, his mood was terrible because Winterfrost’s first new doctor in years had died under his leadership. This was preposterous!

  Once he returned to town and the news spread, he would probably be discharged immediately, and if it came to the worst, even the hanging noose would await him in the square!

  Not only that, but the fact that some acolyte had caused this was a great contribution to his headache. Acolytes were supposed to be on their side, after all!

  “Why didn’t you go check on him, you imbeciles?!” He immediately exploded when he heard that they hadn’t even spent a day looking for either the doctor or the acolyte who caused this mess!

  However, before he could say anything else, he was rudely interrupted by a cold voice.

  “Don’t tell our people what to do. They did their jobs as they should. It is unfortunate that Doctor Kaoran was targeted by vile vilins, but we can’t do anything. The bandits are surrounding the city, and any rger groups would be immediately spotted and disposed of.”

  With that, the middle-aged man, who was also Varel’s oldest son, waved his hand as if pardoning the two guards.

  “You can go now. Report to me directly after you rest.”

  “Yessir!”

  They thanked him profusely as they bowed before heading in the direction where Neddard was standing, watching all of this from afar.

  Awur didn’t know much about what these academics were doing, but seeing the guards give him the bloodied bag made him feel disgusted.

  “Salem, what is the meaning of this?” Awur turned his attention to Varel’s son, still angry.

  In fact, he was even angrier at the fact that this man had the same authority as him despite doing nothing for the town of Winterfrost.

  He was a wretch who parasitized the town with his gang. Awur had no idea why the mayor would allow such lowlifes into their midst.

  “Exactly as it seems. These men were supposed to watch the first group, and they did exactly that. They also brought Doctor Kaoran’s research, doing a great job. So you should be the one to watch your tongue. Someone who doesn’t even have the authority to know the reason we are here doesn’t have the right to tell my men what to do.” Salem spat with disdain as he went back to his tent.

  Awur gritted his teeth at this btant provocation.

  Meanwhile, Arun, who saw this from a distance, was muttering to himself.

  “What... That guy is dead? I... Back then, I wished he would disappear, but not in this way...”

  He went back to the academic camp and reyed the news.

  “What? Kaoran died? That’s... a shame. He seemed like a great guy... He would also have been a great help to us...”

  Tami, who heard that, sighed, while her husband, Mufa, remained silent. On the other hand, Neddard wasn’t with them. He was already in front of the door, holding Illyan’s research papers. He had been there and heard the news as he received the bag from the guards.

  It seemed that he was determined to finish Illyan’s job, despite not being knowledgeable enough in this subject.

  “Vanda won’t be happy about this.” Tami, as if suddenly remembering something, muttered slowly to herself.

  “She already left, so the news will reach her in a few days at most,” Mufa said somberly.

  “Vanda?” Arun seemed confused as to why they appeared so serious. Vanda hadn’t known Illyan for too long, right?

  “Ah, you don’t know, but their retionship became quite intimate in the st few days.” Tami gave Arun a tired smile.

  “Arun, you should try to ask your big brother if he could get more information, if the information about the acolyte being the attacker is fully credible, for example. If Kaoran is truly gone, then we have no other choice but to open the door by ourselves. Korin has no time to return at all, as he’s been setting up the nodes outside. Since you are the most skilled in mathematics among us, you will need to go help Neddard.”

  Mufa said with a stern expression as Arun nodded with determination on his face.

  In another corner of the camp, another group of people was talking about the news.

  “There is no way Kaoran died in such a way!” Terren, who was agitated, almost yelled while others just sat there with sorrowful faces.

  “Terren... stop it...” Nord patted his shoulder as he took a deep sigh. Cara, sitting next to him, wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

  After that, Terren just sat down and took a bottle of alcohol that Garren always kept close to him as he started drinking in rge amounts.

  Others didn’t say anything, as they could understand.

  He was the most sensitive out of all of them.

  Terren let tears streak down his cheeks as he started to drink heavily.

  “Why did this happen?” he muttered to himself.

  Others were silent.

  Life wasn’t fair. People were dying all the time. After all, in the vilge they lived in, there were many people who died either at the hands of wild animals or from simple diseases.

  Life was worthless in this world.

  They could do nothing about it except continue living on...

  ...

  Two figures sped through the mountainous terrain in just a blur as they moved extremely fast.

  That didn’t stop them from talking to each other as they stayed close, and their controlled breathing allowed them to converse casually.

  It was Illyan and Aurelia, who were now speeding toward the first node before Korin and the others found out what had happened.

  They decided to visit the western one first, as it was closest to them.

  Before, Illyan wore his physician’s robe, but that was destroyed, so he got a new robe from Aurelia, which was grayish white. She had the exact same robe, as it was perfect camoufge in the snowy mountain range.

  She also gave him the sabers he used for practice and Caleb’s longsword, which she kept on herself, as he didn’t have any other good weapons to fight with at this moment. It was because he didn’t want to make others suspicious by bringing weapons for stargazing. He had his throwing knives hidden, but those were not good for head-on fights.

  Together with their unique disguises, they were prepared for the upcoming fights.

  “How will you get your hair back when you return? Don’t tell me you have prepared a wig?” Aurelia looked at his bald head as she snickered.

  Illyan rolled his eyes at this.

  “Obviously not. It will regrow in a few seconds if I let it.”

  “Oh? That’s interesting. Is it part of that regeneration of yours? It looks like that ability could have some beastly origins.” Aurelia, intrigued by his response, started to ponder how his ability worked.

  Illyan didn’t have many qualms about telling her.

  After talking to her and learning more about the wider world, he found out that his ability wasn’t as unique as he had expected.

  Being able to regenerate limbs wasn’t that rare outside of the Vanaras Kingdom. Either by boosting natural regeneration through strengthening the body or using healing spells, potions, and whatnot.

  That was why Aurelia wasn’t surprised to see his ability. There were others who had simir regeneration from birth, like him.

  The difference was that his regeneration could evolve the more he used it. But that wasn’t something he was comfortable telling, even to Aurelia.

  On the other hand, after she told him so much incomprehensible knowledge, Illyan even started to doubt its authenticity.

  It wasn’t something Aurelia knew because she traveled a lot, but mostly from the records at her home. Since she was sickly, she had read most of the books in her home, accumuting knowledge even her father didn’t know about.

  “I don’t think my ability has anything to do with beasts. My nails and hair grow at a rapid pace if I don’t consciously control them, but that’s all. My conjecture is that my life force is overflowing, and the nails and hair constantly growing are the best outlets for it.”

  Illyan shrugged his shoulders. It was just a guess since he didn’t have relevant information to find out the truth.

  Aurelia looked at his face and pondered his words. Then she slowly opened her mouth.

  “That... would be pusible if your generation of life force couldn’t strengthen your body for some reason. But that’s clearly not the case. If it wasn’t because of this, then...” She stopped.

  “What? If you know something, then tell me. I’ve been looking for the answer for some time already.” Illyan saw that she was onto something, so he pressed her immediately.

  Aurelia sighed at that.

  “Maybe... it isn’t because of your ability. Or rather, the cause of it isn’t.”

  “What do you mean by that?” There was confusion on Illyan’s face when he heard this.

  “Do you remember when I told you that your body is riddled with imperfections? I’ve never seen someone like this. Even veteran acolytes who use potions and elixirs to heal their bodies for decades didn’t have so many scars hidden in their bodies.”

  Illyan frowned at her words, as she was far from being direct.

  “Get to the core of the matter.”

  “So it made me wonder if... you have some mental block. Maybe trauma or something. Since when did you have this abnormal growth of hair and nails?”

  The moment she revealed her thoughts, it was as if a fireball exploded in Illyan’s mind.

  “What do you mean by that? That I grow these subconsciously because of something that happened in the past?”

  Illyan couldn’t deny that his life was full of misfortune, but most of the bad events happened ter on, when his nail and hair growth rate was already fixed as it is now.

  “That’s right... It could have happened when you were very young. I mean, if you think about it, it would make sense. I don’t know how exactly your ability works, but since it’s just hair and nails, it could be a kind of self-defense instinct that made you grow them like this.” Aurelia continued her expnation.

  “Self-defense? I would understand the nails, but the hair?” Knowing that she was very knowledgeable, he didn’t dismiss her words and instead waited for an expnation, despite feeling doubts.

  “As you said, the nails are self-expnatory. On the other hand, your hair... if I were to guess, it’s for intimidation.”

  For a moment, she stopped talking, as if thinking, before continuing.

  “You’ve read about lions in the library, right? They live in the south, but there should be sketches of them. The most striking part of their appearance is their mane. There are several uses for it, but the most important is to intimidate their enemies, as the mane makes them appear visually rger and more ferocious. Your hair could be simir to their mane.”

  After that, silence ensued as no one spoke. Only the light noise of their footsteps resounded, along with the sound of whistling winds.

  In the end, Illyan just shook his head.

  “That’s... not possible.”

  Aurelia shot him a gnce but didn’t say anything. She saw that Illyan was thinking about it himself, as if unsure, so she had the courtesy not to disturb him. Not until they reached their destination, where full focus was needed...

  On the other hand, Illyan felt that memories buried deep in his subconscious were being uncovered. Normally, people wouldn’t recall such memories easily, but his mind power strengthened his memories as well, so when he finally got some hints, the hidden memories unfolded on their own...