A month had passed.

Shushruta passed the promotion test without any problems and became a gold rank, and Miho got her paw print and just became an honorary Sherwood Mercenary Corps member.

She was a girl who had been hanging around like that before, so I didn't feel the need to get her a rank.

I also wanted to challenge the platinum rank, but I couldn't just take the platinum rank promotion test because I wanted to, and I didn't feel the need to, so I cleared my mind.

While you had to be a gold rank to create a mercenary corps, I hadn't found anything that could only be done by being a platinum rank yet.

Well, if an A-rank magical beast appears like a comet somewhere, I'm willing to give it a try.

Schmitt and I went around killing magical beasts with excitement.

Since we split up and killed the magical beasts, the speed was doubled.

I scanned the request forms Boris had gathered and then made a route to kill the magical beasts as efficiently as possible.

After doing that a few times, Boris, cursing, made a much more efficient route, saying why I had made the route like that.

Thanks to that, the efficiency went up.

Anyway, since we were enough for the magical beast hunt, I had Shushruta do it a few times for experience and then asked her to investigate the information of the other Sherwood members.

I threw a request to Miho whenever she was seriously bored.

The current members of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps are Ashuban of the Half-Sword, Shushruta the Shadowless Phantom Thief, Schmitt the Golden Martial Artist, and Miho the White Fox.

No, Miho the White Fox is not cool enough, so let's make it Miho the Worst Magical Beast.

Anyway, there are four of them like this.

As soon as we received a request, we went to kill magical beasts, and in the rest of the time, we focused on energy circulation.

I really went around killing magical beasts to my heart's content.

From F-rank to E, D, C, B-rank. I killed them all without discrimination.

Because even if they are weak now, they can grow into stronger ones later and attack people.

The one that made me fall off the cliff must have been an F-rank at some point.

Probably.

B-ranks were not common, but anyway, I found them and killed them too.

I killed every magical beast I saw, regardless of its rank.

Even if it wasn't in the request, I killed it as soon as I saw it.

As a result, the magical beasts around Milestone gradually disappeared, and naturally, the time for energy circulation increased.

As I focused on energy circulation...

I reached the fourth stage of the Snow Branch Blue Flame Art sooner than I thought, and I was on the verge of the fifth stage.

The problem started here.

Because I had to use ice art and flame art at the same time.

It was not an easy task.

I continued to walk the boundary between the blue pit of fire and the white snowy mountain in my mindscape during energy circulation.

Maybe because I had reached the fourth stage, it became colder and hotter, but I walked on without caring.

I walked on steadfastly, overcoming the cold that felt like I would freeze to death and the heat that felt like it would burn my whole body.

When I felt it was too hot or cold, I would walk backwards and then move forward.

I thought that what was important was to move forward anyway, so I didn't stop walking.

I just walked on and on.

I thought about where this road ends, where it goes, what is at the end... and eventually, I couldn't think of anything.

I just walked.

I couldn't help it.

Because there was no other way but to just walk.

Because no matter how much I thought about it, no sharp solution came to mind.

Because the Heavenly Demon was also watching silently without saying anything.

I moved forward like a rhinoceros.

Is there anyone who trains as ignorantly as I do?

The Heavenly Demon had said that I should train every day as if walking in the darkness with myself as a lantern, so I repeated it without a doubt.

The destination was not in sight, and the scenery I walked through every time was no different from before.

But I didn't feel any sense of hopelessness or despair.

Why?

Come to think of it, it was because I had a reliable master like the Heavenly Demon, who was as reliable as beef jerky.

Is the existence of a master something that gives strength to the heart just by watching?

As I walked like that...

One day, a white cold air and a blue flame were naturally formed in each of my hands.

"Huh?"

I blinked my eyes and looked at my two hands alternately.

Although it was still weak, I was definitely using ice art and flame art at the same time.

The dizziness that had washed over me like a tsunami every time I tried was gone without a trace.

It was just very natural, as if I had been born with it.

"???"

Something that I couldn't do even with all my might until yesterday had suddenly become so easy, so extremely natural.

Did my body gradually change to fit it while I was walking between the pit of fire and the snowy mountain?

I thought it was more appropriate to say that my body had awakened rather than my head.

The more I knew about martial arts, the more I couldn't know, and the more I learned, the more mysterious it was.

[You have reached the beginning of the fifth stage.]

I heard the Heavenly Demon's low voice.

I looked at the frost and flame flowers that had bloomed in my hands and answered.

"...It seems so."

As expected, the Heavenly Demon's nagging poured out right away.

[You pathetic fool. How long did it take you to do just that? You're so foolish.]

"No..."

[Tsk, tsk... you pathetic fool. I created the Snow Branch Blue Flame as soon as the mindscape was projected. How can my disciple take so long to reach just the fifth stage?]

"...."

I silently endured the Heavenly Demon's nagging and then shot up and went out to the backyard.

I sat in the spacious backyard of the hideout and played with the cold air and flame, grasping their characteristics.

When I created the two at the same time and compared them... their characteristics were even more extreme.

The blue flame was quiet, but once it stuck, it had the feeling of a leech that wouldn't let go until it turned to ash.

The white cold air was like a cold blizzard that froze everything it touched, whether it was an enemy or an ally.

Naturally, the two energies were polar opposites.

As I looked at the two...

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

'The principle of explosion that Sir Ashley used.'

Until now, my other energies had mixed naturally without repelling each other, like water in water, or alcohol in alcohol.

So I had no choice but to reproduce the bloody flash with a different principle, and I couldn't use the principle of explosion that Sir Ashley had used.

'But with this...?'

I carefully brought my two hands together and tried to gather the two energies.

Crackle—

The two repelled each other, as if magnets were pushing each other away.

'That's it.'

A smile appeared on my lips.

To explode, you have to gather first.

I forced myself to apply strength and narrowed the gap between the two.

The more I did, the more they repelled each other.

As if an invisible force were pushing each other away.

Crackle!

'No way.'

I applied more strength and gradually narrowed the gap between the two... and finally succeeded in merging them.

The two, as if they couldn't completely mix, repelled each other inside and spun around...

Crackle!

"Huh?"

In the end, they exploded as if they couldn't stand it anymore.

Bang!

"...."

My face was hot from being hit by the explosion head-on, but at the same time, it was as cold as if it were freezing.

It was cold, but at the same time, it was hot.

I muttered, touching my face.

"What is this?"

I can't explain it in detail, but that's how it felt.

It was an extremely strange thing.

Since I had just reached the beginning of the fifth stage, I had only mixed a very small amount of energy, but the explosion was by no means small.

It was a good thing it was a small amount; if I had mixed a certain amount, the hideout might have been blown away.

[It is the sun and the moon. And at the same time, it is the Taegeuk.]

"What?"

The Heavenly Demon laughed lowly.

[There is such a thing.]

At that moment, I heard a voice calling me.

"Ashuban!"

When I turned around, Shushruta was calling me eagerly from the window.

"A guest has arrived!"

"...A guest?"

***

I looked at the fat toad—no, the noblewoman in front of me.

To be honest, I was surprised when I first saw her.

I thought she was Baron Brankai's younger sister.

I looked at her, thinking that if you painted his face with garish colors, it would look just like this.

Our noblewoman was diligently looking me up and down, her face slightly covered with a fluttering fan.

It's not easy to make someone feel bad just by looking at them, but it's a great talent.

She was trying to act noble, but she was far from it.

Anyway, since she was a precious customer who had come to the mercenary corps, I was polite.

I was now the leader representing the Sherwood Mercenary Corps.

"You wish to make a request to our Sherwood Mercenary Corps."

There are roughly two types of requests.

There is a normal request in the form of 'Help me, anyone!' by putting a request in the mercenary guild.

And there is a designated request in the form of 'You, help me!' by designating a specific mercenary or mercenary corps.

Usually, designated requests come to mercenaries or mercenary corps that are famous for their skills.

Of course, since they designate a specific mercenary or mercenary corps, the cost is high, and they often bring very secret or important requests that must not fail.

In short, it is a high-class request.

A designated request is something that only comes to famous mercenaries or mercenary corps that are well-known.

To think that the first designated request came in just a month after the mercenary corps was established.

I can't ignore the fact that it's because of the name Sherwood, but anyway, it can be seen as a very encouraging achievement.

All I did was kill magical beasts. Such an honor...

In the case of a designated request, it is common to come in person and make a request like this...

This was the first time I had met a customer in person, so my heart was pounding.

Until now, 'that guy' had been in charge of greeting customers and deciding whether to accept requests, and in case of a serious matter, the leader would come down and deal with it, so my turn never came.

No, rather, when an important customer came, a few of us, including me, who were lazing around in the hideout, were often kicked out of the hideout.

At times like that, we would wander the streets like idlers and then go hunt magical beasts.

I don't know the reason.

It's not like we would suddenly go crazy and hit the precious customer who had come to make a request.

I thought I would never be able to meet a customer who came to make a designated request...

Finally, the opportunity came.

It is a stage where I can prove that I can also greet customers well.

I said to the noblewoman in a very polite tone.

"Would you please tell me the details of the request?"

Our toad noblewoman fanned herself and looked down at me with a very arrogant look, and then she glanced at the servant who was standing next to her.

The servant opened his mouth.

"This is the noble Lady Mongoberry, the Baroness."

Hmm. This one was also a baroness.

The connection with Baron Brankai is becoming more and more suspicious.

"Nice to meet you, Baroness. So, the details of the request?"

Just as the servant was about to say something, she raised her fan and stopped his words.

And then she said in a very high-handed tone.

"Are you Gustan of the Greatsword?"

To speak informally right off the bat.

Is this why the leader only came down for serious matters?

I thought that if it had been the leader, he might have thrown his greatsword right away.

But unlike the leader, I was a very gentle man, so I answered politely.

"I am not Gustan of the Greatsword, but Ashuban of the Half-Sword."

"Not Gustan?"

"That's right."

"Then where is Gustan?"

"The leader is on vacation. I am the current leader of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps and his rightful successor."

Shushruta, who was standing next to me, looked at me with a surprised look.

I can be as kind as I want if I put my mind to it.

At my words, the baroness looked at me with a very displeased look.

For a moment, I was so angry that I almost overturned the table, but I managed to hold it in.

I controlled my heart and asked with a smiling face.

"I'm asking for the third time. So what are the details of the request?"

The baroness frowned slightly, and then she reluctantly took out a note from her bosom and pushed it towards me.

I took it and unfolded it.

"...."

I couldn't stop my expression from wrinkling terribly as I read it.

Fwoosh—

I burned the note and then said in a low, growling voice to the baroness, whose heart was uglier than her appearance.

"Get out."

"What?"

"I said get out. Before I kill you."

"How dare a lowly commoner—"

I gathered my killing intent and sent it out like a ray of light.

"This is the last warning. If you don't want to die, disappear from my sight. Right now."

"...!"

The baroness's face, which had met my eyes, turned pale for a moment, and then she hurriedly left the building with the help of her servant.

And then, as if she had some pride left, she glared at me one last time before leaving the door and shouted.

"I will definitely make you—"

Thwack!

The half-silver sword I had thrown flew and stuck in front of her.

"...!"

The baroness hurriedly opened the door and ran away.

I strode over and retrieved the half-sword stuck in the doorway and muttered.

"People are dying from magical beasts even at this moment. What, skin care? You've got to be kidding me. Should I go after her and kill her?"

"...As expected."

Shushruta sighed.

"What's wrong with that? It seems that there is a by-product of a magical beast that is rumored to be good for the skin. You could have just hunted the magical beast and given it to her."

"If it were just that, I wouldn't have said anything. But she needs the blood of a virgin sacrificed to a magical beast, so how should I interpret this? Is she telling me to lure a magical beast and attack a village where people live? What's more infuriating is that the amount she offered was a whopping 30 gold."

"...."

Only then did Shushruta also shut her mouth.

Is this why that guy was in charge of dealing with them?

If I had been in charge, I think there would have been several incidents where I smashed the precious heads of the customers.

Where does nobility, greatness come from?

It's definitely not something you can get by insisting.

[You should have just killed her.]

"Should I go after her and kill her now?"

In the sense of doing a good deed for this world.

As I was suppressing my anger, I heard a knock on the door.

When Shushruta went and opened the door, an old man was looking around and asking cautiously.

"Is this the Sherwood Mercenary Corps?"

Shushruta looked at me, and I said directly.

"That's right. Sir, please sit here."

"Oh my, yes. I've come to the right place."

The old man staggered over and sat down opposite me.

"What can I do for you?"

The old man said bluntly.

"Our village is in danger. Please help us."

"You have to tell me what's going on so I can help you."

The old man began to speak in a trembling voice.

"It's the Black Arachne guys. We treated a man who was injured and had collapsed in the forest, and one day he came back with his companions and started harassing our villagers."

And then he listed the evil deeds they had committed one by one, and the anger that had subsided quickly rose again.

"They said they would kill everyone if we told anyone outside, so we gathered money and came out secretly. It's not much, but please help us. If it's not enough, we'll pay more later."

And then he took out a heavy pouch from his bosom and placed it on the table, and when I looked inside, it was a mixture of silver and copper coins.

How much would this all be?

It probably wouldn't even be 1 gold.

I said in a cold tone.

"You seem to be mistaken about something. We are mercenaries, not fixers who kill people for money."

"Ah, that, that's not what I meant—"

"Be quiet. This is a request form. If you want to make a request, please fill this out."

I scribbled a few things on the document that was on the table and then handed the document to the old man.

The old man fumbled with the request form, and then looked at me with wide eyes.

"Uh... Sir Mercenary."

"I'm not a sir."

"Here... it says the request fee is 1 copper."

I took a coin from the pouch the old man had handed me and then said.

"Request fee, received. The request has been accepted."

"...!"

"Are you done writing? Then let's go."

I stood up from my seat and muttered softly.

"To hunt humans."

The Heavenly Demon is stuffed in my head, Chapter 190