CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 69: DAMNED DAIN

Chapter 69 – A Very Important Lesson

The night finally ended, and morning came.

The moon of the empire retreated back, leaving its place to the golden, shining sun that gave such a warm yet intense glow it woke up Kaden from his slumber.

"Ah... day off?" Kaden muttered under his breath still on his bed.

He was tired. Very tired from his recent mission—he had died too many times, battled too many monsters. He just needed one day to recharge his battery.

One day.

Only one.

And he could rest, then go back even harder.

The more he thought about it, the more tempting it became, but also...

The more Kaden resisted acting on it.

Because he knew—once you dared to say "only today"...

Then many more "only todays" would follow.

He’d soon start pushing things he could do now to some other time, and after a while, that would become a habit.

A very dangerous and deadly habit in this world—or both worlds—where danger lurked all around.

Because seriously... if it wasn’t for his system, would Kaden even be alive at this moment?

Not at all.

That’s why, after some struggle, Kaden finally got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom to freshen up. His feet were heavy, but he still walked.

’Death... some motivational speech, please?’ Kaden thought as he dragged himself along.

[Stay hard.]

The system responded instantly, as if it had been waiting forever for this exact moment.

Kaden’s lips twitched.

"Thank you... that was very... motivational," he muttered in a strained voice.

[Do you need more?]

"No, thank you."

[Your loss.]

Kaden ignored it and finally entered the bathroom.

...

Inside Tycoon’s Merchants, Kaden sat in a very wide room—a room where there was nothing except a simple table in the middle and two plain iron chairs facing each other.

As he sat down, Kaden couldn’t help but wince a little.

Which surprised him.

With his current constitution, how could a simple iron chair hurt his ass?

He stood up curiously and inspected the chair. He didn’t find anything out of place, nothing sharp enough to explain that pain. Then he touched it. And the moment he did, he felt a small prick in his hand. Nothing major, just enough to make him curious.

He was just about to activate his perception to the max and look into it...

When he felt a light tap on his leg.

He immediately turned around, expecting to see the one he came here for, but...

"Nothing?" Kaden muttered, eyes scanning the room.

"Little brat, if you keep ignoring me, you’ll regret it dearly," a voice suddenly echoed out.

Kaden froze, then slowly looked down.

There, standing before him, was a very small woman with long braided red hair, ebony skin, and a pipe in her mouth, glaring at him with clear irritation.

A dwarf.

Kaden smiled awkwardly.

"Old Smith...?" he asked, unsure.

The woman nodded.

"Of course it’s me. Who else? Now don’t waste my time and show me the corpse of the Dreadthorn Bear."

Old Smith snapped, giving him no time to mentally adapt.

Because right now...

’Old Smith...?’

Kaden was struggling.

The image he had in his head versus the reality standing in front of him were very... different.

He sighed.

’Lesson learned. Never assume the gender of a being by the name alone.’

A very important lesson, especially in these times.

Right?

...

"Oho...!" Old Smith let out a surprised noise, with a bit of excitement in her voice.

She rushed toward the bear’s corpse and began evaluating it immediately. She touched the fur, nodded to herself, examined every part of the body with clinical precision and attention.

At the end, she stood silent for a while before turning to face Kaden, who had been sitting calmly the whole time.

She analyzed him—up and down.

"You’re the one who killed this beast?" she asked, puffing her pipe.

"Yes, it’s me," Kaden answered calmly.

Puff—

Another long drag.

"You? An Awakened-rank killing a Master-rank beast? Especially a Dreadthorn Bear?" she asked, face clearly saying, I don’t believe your bullshit.

Kaden smiled.

"That’s talent, ma’am," he said with a shrug.

Old Smith stared for a long second before asking,

"How did you do it?"

"What kind of traps? Or artifacts did you use? If it’s an artifact, and you tell me, I’ll double your reward."

Her voice was serious now.

The world was big and full of mysteries. She didn’t buy the idea that an Awakened killed a Master-rank in a head-on fight—but with the right technique, or item, or cheat? Maybe.

That’s what she believed.

But Kaden shook his head.

"You’re misunderstanding, ma’am."

"Do you know who I am?" Kaden asked, his smile still present.

That made Old Smith frown, her lips twitching with irritation. She was probably a second away from telling him that she didn’t care.

But then—

"I’m Kaden Warborn. Youngest son of the Warborn Family."

The moment he said those words, the atmosphere shifted.

Subtly—but absolutely.

Others might not feel it.

But Old Smith did.

The room now reeked of something ancient and overwhelming.

It reeked of...Death.

Pure and unfettered death.

She looked at Kaden again and this time his blood-red eyes were glowing like the tide of a blood ocean.

"I’m also the child of blood. The one born in war, death and blood, ma’am."

Old Smith’s eyes widened slightly.

And suddenly, a blood-red aura seeped out from Kaden’s body.

Behind him, a phantom image—a woman with red hair and red eyes—appeared. She smiled as if embracing him with love. And just as suddenly as it came... the vision disappeared, as if it had never existed.

Kaden didn’t even notice it.

"So don’t compare me with the regulars," he finished solemnly.

Then silence.

He kept his expression steady.

But inside his head—

’Did I succeed in bluffing her? Damn, it better work. That was my best performance yet...’

He really didn’t want to go into details about how he killed that bear.

And luckily—

"I see..." Old Smith finally said, her face unreadable.

Kaden sighed in relief, inwardly.

"You’re Dain Warborn’s younger brother, aren’t you?" she added, her voice suddenly colder.

"I should’ve guessed it—black hair, red eyes. But seems I’m getting old."

Her black eyes locked onto his.

"They say the sins of the elder brother fall on the younger one, right?"

A cold, chilling smile crept onto her lips.

"I hope you have what it takes, little Warborn."

Kaden stood there, stunned.

Then—

’Fucking hell, Dain...’

He couldn’t help but curse his big brother.

—End of Chapter 69—