Chapter Nine – A Brutal Turning Point
The forest was silent…
a heavy silence, nothing like peace.
Jin stood among the massive tree trunks, his breathing steady, his eyes fixed on his enemies.
Before him were three giant trolls, their thick green hides reflecting the dim daylight, tusks protruding as they roared slowly.
Jin (calmly):
"You're not the strongest…
but you're suitable."
He planted his feet, lowered his center of gravity, and aura surged through his body.
Momentum Thrust.
It wasn't visually violent,
but the air itself seemed to melt.
The thrust pierced straight through one troll's chest, tearing through its entire body and hurling it several meters back before it collapsed like a felled tree.
Jin moved smoothly after that—dodging, testing the flow of aura, adjusting it, compressing it in one moment and letting it breathe in another.
The trolls' bodies were tough…
perfect for training.
Minutes later, the last one fell.
Jin stood there catching his breath, then calmly collected the magic stones and placed them in his bag.
He sighed.
Jin (grumbling):
"Damn it…
why doesn't the Tower's inventory work outside?
It would've saved me a lot of trouble."
He left the area and moved to the next nearby mission.
It ended quickly… with little resistance.
But before he left—
He stopped.
A feeling…
uncomfortable.
Not immediate danger.
Something deeper… heavier.
Jin (whispering):
"…Humans?"
His awareness spread, tracking traces—footsteps, scents.
He advanced cautiously until scattered wooden huts appeared ahead, with around ten people gathered.
It didn't look like a village.
Rather… a bandit camp.
He moved closer, expanding his senses to their limit.
Then—
He froze.
Inside the largest hut
were women… and children.
Bound.
Beaten.
Some barely conscious.
And in the corners…
corpses.
The sight wasn't just shocking.
It was… familiar.
Jin's expression changed.
It wasn't anger alone.
It was deep, crushing sorrow, as if an old memory had been violently unearthed.
His eyes darkened, his features carrying something heavy… exhausted.
He began untying the restraints quietly.
Then—
A voice behind him:
"What's this?
A rat wandered in here?"
Jin slowly turned.
He looked at the man…
then stepped outside.
He stood in front of the door,
the children behind him, trembling, crying silently.
A wordless grief settled on his face.
Not only because of this scene…
but because of something deeper…
something he had never forgotten.
The bandits gathered, crude weapons in their hands, filthy laughter filling the place.
Jin looked at them and spoke in a calm… heavy voice.
Jin:
"Why?"
A brief silence.
Then they burst out laughing.
One of them:
"Look at the kid!
Asking for a reason! Hahaha!"
Another:
"Of course we'll enjoy the women and sell them!
And you? We'll take you with them."
A third (with hysterical laughter):
"I like kids too…"
The children trembled behind him.
Jin felt rage clawing at his chest.
He bit his lip until blood flowed.
Then he said… with terrifying calm:
Jin:
"I'll take them…
and leave."
Jin:
"It would be better…
if you didn't stand in my way."
They laughed harder.
Mockery poured out.
Insults.
Laughter at the women's weakness and the children's crying.
Jin tilted his head slightly.
Jin (gently):
"Take the children inside.
Don't come out…
until I open the door for you."
He looked back at them.
And a memory surged into his mind—
the image of a village burning, and heart-rending screams tearing through the air.
His voice…
broke.
Jin:
"Why?"
Jin:
"Why do you exist everywhere?"
He took a step forward.
Jin:
"What satisfies you?
What's enjoyable about this?"
Jin:
"Why do the lives of the weak have no value to you?"
They laughed again.
And in that moment—
Jin lost control.
He punched the nearest man with all his strength.
The body flew—
slamming into a tree—
and fell motionless.
Silence.
Then—
They charged.
Jin drew his sword.
The battle began.
It wasn't elegant.
It wasn't training.
It was… rage.
Jin tried not to kill.
He struck, broke bones, knocked them down.
But—
In a moment of tension,
he reinforced his sword with aura.
The blades clashed.
The man's sword shattered.
And his head separated from his body.
—
Time froze.
Jin stood there… stunned.
Only seconds passed.
But inside his mind—
It was years of hell.
A voice screamed:
You killed a human!
Another replied:
If you hadn't, they would have killed the innocent.
He remembered monsters.
He remembered blood.
But this… was different.
This wasn't a monster.
This was a human.
His hand trembled.
Then—
An attack.
He snapped back to reality
and finished it.
The battle ended.
Ten… corpses.
Jin sheathed his sword coldly.
No expression.
No sound.
He opened the door.
The children looked at him…
and cried.
Not in gratitude.
But in fear.
Jin (quietly):
"Go back…
to the village."
They fled.
Women and children…
more terrified than thankful.
Jin stood alone.
Silent.
But inside—
It was hell.
A conscience whipping him,
another whispering: You did the right thing.
Killing monsters was a game…
But humans?
This… was a price.
A price that would never fade.
He looked at his hands.
Then he closed his eyes, now drowned in tears.
—
And so…
a new page began in the boy's life.
A page that would change him…
in ways he had never expected.