When Sylzee left, I walked down this corridor toward the treasure room. Every time I took a step, I felt extremely excited. "Finally! I can act cool in front of her!" I shouted in my heart.
"How is it, Guiver? I really was cool, right?!" I asked, seeking confirmation from him.
Because he was 29 years old before his death, he had experience when dealing with women.
You could say, he was a Playboy scientist. At all times he always changed women. "Not cool at all!" he said flatly.
I was shocked, immediately stopping my steps. "Eh?! No way?! But you were the one who told me to act like that!" I shouted.
He replied in a flat tone again. "I did say that, but your behavior actually made her scared, Be. Gin. Ner." he mocked.
I became even more annoyed when he mocked me as a Beginner. "Bastard!" I also panicked. "H-how then?! Will she hate me?!" I stammered.
"Don't know. It's possible she'll really distance herself from you." he replied. "Especially since earlier she felt familiar with your voice."
I held my head, "D-Damn it! That's true too!" I curled up, trying to deny the fact. "B-But! She doesn't know it's me yet!"
However, Guiver didn't care about my opinion. He cared about something else instead. "But... I'm quite surprised that the woman you like is an entertainer, kid." he said softly.
I immediately stood up when I heard Guiver's words. "Shut up. That doesn't affect me liking her." I grumbled in annoyance.
He hurriedly explained. "That's not it, it's true she's an entertainer." he said softly. "Considering that even though she's an entertainer, she still keeps herself, you know." he added. "That's what the rumor says."
I nodded slowly, agreeing with his words. "That's absolutely right! She's an angel in my eyes!" I held my cheek. "Beautiful. Kind. Mature. All of that is in her!" I exclaimed. I squirmed uncontrollably.
Guiver grumbled at the attitude I was showing. "You really are insane, kid."
"Ek-Ekhem!" I pretended to cough to change the topic. "S-So what's the next step?" I asked.
"Just take all the treasure, give some to the victims." he said.
I nodded, "Alright. They're pitiful too, being tortured for years."
The reason why I could be here so quickly even though earlier Guiver said it would take 3 days to reach Geaz city is because when I was flying toward Geaz city, I increased my flying speed over time.
Until it reached a speed of 200km/hour. That's what Guiver said about my speed. Because of that, the time needed to reach Geaz city was only about 6 hours if flying non-stop.
Because I had already trained my 'Mana', I didn't need to be afraid of running out or getting exhausted by it. All of that really helped me.
After all that, when I had arrived in the city of Geaz, I heard at an underground auction as well as from the humans who were turned into slaves by that bastard Beltiro, that Sylzee The Silver Ocean, the most valuable woman in the 'Outer Slums', was in this castle.
At first, I didn't know who Sylzee The Silver Ocean was, and I ignored it.
However, when I started being inside the castle, I heard a very familiar voice.
And that was when I found out, the woman I had admired all this time… was named Sylzee.
Moreover, I met my future sister-in-law! "Aaahhh... Sister-in-law!" I muttered softly.
Just as I was writhing in satisfaction, Guiver's voice suddenly startled me. "Stop that disgusting behavior!" he yelled.
I flinched, then walked toward the treasure room like nothing was wrong. The corridors in this castle were so long, I was confused. "Where exactly is that bastard's treasure room?!" I shouted in annoyance.
The sound of footsteps appeared, *Tap. Tap. Tap. Many people were heading toward me.
I immediately turned around. "Who is it?!" I asked loudly.
The silhouettes of several people appeared, "We will help, Sir." someone said.
"You?!" They were the people who had previously been enslaved by Beltiro. "Are you done torturing him?!" I asked.
The person with the biggest body, probably also the oldest. He stepped forward from the others. If I had to guess, he was definitely their leader. "Not yet, Sir. We handed that over to the others first." he said softly.
"Heee." I vanished with wind magic. Then I appeared in front of that person. "So... What do you want from me?!" I asked.
The reason I could move quickly was because I was already used to using wind magic to fly for 6 hours non-stop.
I didn't need to lift my body to move fast, I just coated my entire body with thin wind, then pushed it at high speed using that.
The man who was taller than me slightly knelt before me. "May we... be with you?!" followed by the people behind him.
I was confused. "Guiver, what is this?!" I asked in my heart.
Guiver began to grin in my head. "Hehehe... I knew it would be like this." he said while grinning.
I felt that he had another vile plan. "Hey bastard! So what now?!" I turned my body, turning my back to them. They all looked up at my behavior, maybe they thought I didn't want to accept them.
"Just accept them, kid. We will build a rival empire to Sezavield Rateil in this city of Geaz." he said confidently. "This city has a lot of resources, and all of them who will obey you, that's all smooth for fighting Sezavield Rateil."
I was annoyed with his thinking. "I'm just a kid without education! I can't possibly lead them! What if they end up killing me if things don't go right?!" I grumbled in annoyance.
Guiver remained calm. "Relax. You have me."
"You're not going to use them as employees to make Nuclear weapons, right?!" I asked.
Guiver immediately denied my words. "I won't! Did you forget that even I, who was experienced, died immediately! Let alone people like you with below-average IQ!"
I felt annoyed at being called below-average IQ, but also felt relieved when I heard that. "Alright." I said to Guiver.
I immediately turned around, looking at them who were looking up. "Ek-Ekhem!"
"Are you all sure about this?!" I asked.
They all answered in unison. "Yes. Sir."
"I'm still 17 years old. Some of you are older than me." I said softly. "I can't guarantee your safety." I added.
Guiver immediately mocked me. "Don't expose your weakness, idiot!" he shouted.
I was confused. "Eh?! Why?!" I asked.
"A leader who is too honest about himself tends to die faster than his followers." he grumbled in annoyance.
I panicked. "Eh?! Is that so?!"
I looked at all of them who were looking up at me. I was worried that they would exploit me or whatever.
But, "It's not a problem, Sir. We will swear loyalty to you." their leader said.
My view immediately changed, why did they become like this?. "You have unparalleled ability. You were able to kill Beltiro's soldiers who are known as the strongest in the Outer Slums." he added.
"In fact, we feel safest when we are with you. We will not betray you." he said with full confidence.
Me and Guiver just stayed silent seeing their determination. "My path is not that safe." I said firmly.
"I aim to fight the Inner Dominion and Sezavield Rateil by building a new empire." I added.
"In the future, I will fight the Quiet Guardian... Alone." I opened my face cover, slightly crouched down. Staring sharply at their leader.
I lowered my voice to become heavy. "Will you all... Still have... Unshakable determination?!"
I intimidated all of them who were in front of me.
The reason why I said that was because if they were already afraid just from my words when speaking big ambitions, then they were not suitable to be around me.
They were all still silent, their eyeballs trembling as they saw me staring at them with a serious gaze.
I gave a thin smile, raising an eyebrow. "Hmph! Already giving up?!" I mocked.
Guiver sighed, "Haaa... Turns out far from my prediction. They're not suitable." he said.
I stood up, putting my hands on my waist. "Disband, live your next lives better." I said softly.
But strangely, they were still kneeling and did not stand up at all. "We know you have big ambitions. Because you already dared to attack Geaz city alone." their leader said.
"We indeed are not worthy right now to stay with you. Therefore," he added. "I beg you... Train us. So that we can be useful to you." His words were full of determination, his gaze was very serious.
Those behind him nodded slightly, then lowered their heads again.
Seeing that, me and Guiver smiled in satisfaction. "So, Guiver?!" I asked.
"Interesting." he said while grinning. "Test them again, kid."
I grinned, agreeing with Guiver and thinking of something crazy. I crouched down again. "Good determination." I said.
I drew one of my daggers from its sheath on my waist. "First training." I pointed it at them. "Cut off your pinky finger... Like this." I cut my own pinky finger without hesitation with the dagger.
My pinky finger was instantly severed, blood dripping to the floor. *Tsss... Tsss... Tsss...
I felt a sharp throbbing, but I endured it. This was nothing compared to the pain inside that damn abyss.
Guiver only grinned in satisfaction, as if this was the most interesting show in the world.
I hoped they would be afraid seeing this. However, they instead grinned. "Sir... Are you... Mocking us?!" said their leader.
He immediately took the dagger from my hand, and immediately cut off the four fingers of his left hand. *Sreeet... *Tsss... Tsss... Tsss... "This is nothing... Compared to us being tortured every day." he said with eyes full of determination.
The people behind him wanted to take the dagger in the leader's hand, but I immediately snatched it back quickly.
I grinned, stood up and laughed softly. "Hehehe..." My laughter grew louder. "HAHAHAHAHA! GOOD!" I slightly bent down to look at them. I lowered my voice. "Welcome... Silent Warrior."
Everyone in front of me looked up, looking at me with eyes full of emotion and determination. They bowed again, "Thank you very much, Sir." they said in unison.
Guiver burst into laughter when he heard the name I gave. "HAHAHA! What is that! Silent Warrior?!" he mocked.
My face reddened, slightly looking away. "S-Shut up! This is a cool moment, you know?" I replied shyly. "Because the one that will be faced is the Quiet Guardian, I think Silent Warrior suits better." I added.
Guiver didn't reply to my words.
I didn't care anymore, then I extended my right hand toward the person in front of me, "Heal." I said softly, half mumbling.
A greenish-white light appeared, mixed with a bit of blue. *Sshhh. In an instant, the fingers that were previously severed, were now regenerated, growing four new fingers.
Everyone in front of me showed very shocked expressions, because in this world healing magic is very rare, moreover what I showed was not just healing magic, but regeneration.
Even though what I said was only 'Heal', that was different. For me, 'Heal' includes all types of healing magic, so I was not interested in naming things like 'Extra Heal' or whatever like in the books Guiver once read.
I did not know how other mages spoke their magic, but for me who has minimum brain capacity, short names for techniques or magic were more useful.
The man I healed looked back and forth at his hands, feeling moved when he saw I could use healing. "Thank you very much for your kindness, Sir." he said softly.
I smiled hearing that. "No problem. What are your names?" I asked.
"We do not have names, if allowed..." he replied softly. "May you give us all names?" he added.
I held my chin. "Hm... Names, huh?" I muttered. Was it because they were enslaved since they were little, so they didn't remember their own names or they didn't want to remember them?.
Guiver who had been grinning suddenly spoke. "Maybe they want to start a new life, so why use old names?" he said softly.
"But isn't their name given by their parents? Why forget it?!" I asked.
Guiver replied. "Precisely because of that, they know the path they will take is full of blood and revenge. They don't want to stain the name given by their parents." he explained.
I nodded slowly, looking at them who were still standing. "Stand up, it feels really uncomfortable if you're kneeling like that. I'm not that important." I said.
They all nodded, then stood up without a word. "Damn it. I'm not used to being a superior if it's like this. Say something! Don't just stay silent and carry out my orders without protest!" I grumbled in my heart.
"Any name suggestions, Buddy?!" I asked Guiver. Ah... This is very embarrassing, I called him 'Buddy' because he is my only friend, even though right now he is inside my body.
Guiver ignored that, instead giving me input. Maybe because he also considered me a buddy. "If it were my suggestion... Because there are 11 of them, better use code names." he said.
I nodded, liking the idea of code names. "I want a cool name, but it must be short..."
Guiver grinned. "Just keep it simple. You want them to start from zero, right? Their leader will be Zero."
I laughed loudly, agreeing. "Damn! I like it. Zero."
I stepped closer to the leader who was standing still, his gaze full of determination.
"Starting today," I said, my voice low and sharp. "You will be directly under my command. Your name is Zero. You are zero, which means you are the beginning of everything."
Zero bowed, "Thank you for the beautiful and philosophical name, Sir." he said half-mumbling, his words filled with admiration for me.
"Philosophical?!" I muttered in my heart, I couldn't say that the name I gave was random.
I nodded slowly, then looked at the ten people behind Zero, asking Guiver a question. "The rest?"
"Because you like cool and foreign things," Guiver said. "Call them Un, Deux, Trois, and so on. They just need to know their order."
Guiver told me about their names from Un to Dix, he said it meant from 1 to 10.
I grinned. The perfect names. "You are un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, and dix." I shouted, while pointing from right to left at the ten of them.
"You will directly be under Zero if I'm not there." I said.
They all nodded in understanding without words. I slightly bowed, like an important character when giving the highest honor.
I couldn't hide my happiness, so I slightly smiled. "Welcome... My loyal soldiers... Silent Warrior." I said in a low, broken voice.