章 28: Old man is awake!

Ping

Boku's sword drops to the floor with him following right afterwards.

"Ah, you passed out"

"Jhin! What are you- oh my God...what happened" Another black-cloaked figure comes running, prepared to tell off Jhin but then sees a passed out person and Jhin missing his left arm.

"I was testing that jobless child. Rumours of him being amazing with a sword are true, hahaha" Jhin explains, with a pleased tone, his situation and proceeds to laugh in joy.

"So...he did that to you!"

Jhin nods. "It was quite shocking. One moment I could see his movements than the next he completely vanishes and my arm is lost." He explained amusingly as if losing his arm wasn't a big deal.

"So...should we kill him?"

"Nope. He earned his life. Take him back to his bed and lay an invitation for the underground fight." Jhin told his "companion".

The man nodded and took Boku with his sword back to his residence. Jhin took the piece of his arm from the floor and shoved it to the small remnant of his left arm. When both wounds connected, an amber fire was emitted and the wounds attached themselves. He then got his left hand and attached it, like before an amber fire burned and his hand fully attached.

Swinging his regenerated arm, "alright, now let's do some boring paperwork. I need a holiday" Finishing his fun, Jhin begins to head the opposite direction while yawning about his work.

———————

Meanwhile, a man and a woman are lying on the floor breathing heavily and an old man on a bed who's breathing has become stable.

"The fuck!?... My life essence….. was about it to be drained" Panting heavily, Jack covered his eyes with his right arm while complaining to Zurie.

"If someone got the Rose ...we wouldn't have….. had to do this" Zurie retorted back against Jack with a soft and teasing tone.

"If you were in my situation…you would have done the same as me" Jack refuted.

The two continued their little "argument" for a few minutes, both unwilling to let the other have the last say.

—————

(MC Pov)

Ah… I passed out.

The light shines on my eyes but I am unwilling to get up yet so I cover them with my arm.

So… after helping Zurie, I was drained of my mana which caused me to pass out.

Ah...something is on top of me. They feel light, their arms are around my waist and their head on my chest. The only people who are in this room are Zurie, the old man and I. Now I doubt the old man got up from that bed and decided to lay on top of me. Sadly, I am not as comfortable to lie on as a bed.

So with my great deduction, Zurie must be on top of me right now. Luckily she is light and I am still recovering or else I would have thrown her off.

Ah… This brings back memories when the ice hero would lie on top of me when we went out together for missions. It was the oddest thing but anytime we set up camp, even if she sleeps in her tent first, the next morning she would be lying on my body every single time. In the beginning, I would have the biggest blush on my face and my heart would race. I got used to it eventually to the point where I would have been disappointed if she wasn't sleeping on me.

Urgh, enough nostalgia today. That was the past and now is the present: all those two-faced heroes are selfish. I take my arm off my face and slowly open them to see, as I expected, Zurie lying on my chest looking quite comfortable.

"Good morning" A frail, shaky voice sounded from the bed.

Oh, the old man is conscious. That was fast.

Do I shove Zurie off me? Or lie like this and talk to the old man.

After a moment of thinking I decided to move Zurie off me and get up from the floor to see the old man with his back straight starting at me with calming eyes.

"Thank you for helping me"

"Your welcome...how did you get the sickness? I assume you know Zurie is a vampire." I don't want to waste time, so I say the common words after a "thank you" and immediately ask about his connection with Zurie.

"Yes, I do. I found Zurie about three years ago after my granddaughter's unfortunate accident. Feeling loss at the time, I took Zurie in and looked after her, I thought she was just a normal girl for a year until some vampires attacked us, where I learnt that she was also a vampire. However, though she was being hunted I still asked her to stay by my side till I die. We moved around the different territories of this continent.However, I don't know how long I have been out but we were ambushed and I got bit in the process by a noble vampire who tried to turn me into his slave. Luckily my body is old and frail so it lead to my sickness haha." The old man calmly explained his story with Zurie.

Interesting, Zurie seemed to have missed telling about her being hunted down by other vampires. Probably pissed them off with her snarky comments.

"Enough about that. If Zurie whishes, she can tell you about her past. I don't know everything but I never asked since I was just happy to have her around. Now, for your reward in saving my life."

Hold on...reward! So I get something out of this!? Now, this guy is talking my language. Though what can an old man near his death bed possibly give me?

The old man stretches his hand and a dark tranquil blue orb appears. His body emits a faint blue aura with small lines connecting to the orb that resonates concentrated energy.

"This is my power that I cultivated throughout my lifetime. Sadly over the years, my powers slowly leaked out from me but I managed to salvage as much as I could.

Oh my God...that orb emits the power of a level 62 being! This old man is actually strong… And that is the remains of his power? So in his prime, he was much stronger.

"So, you choose him to inherit your will?" I turn back to see Zurie standing with a surprised expression.

"Yep, you might not see it Zurie but this man's body is the body of a true master that has been through countless battles and has been trained for many years. He didn't use artificial ways to learn martial arts nor magic that increases his body's muscle or fortitude. This man has reached such a master state with hard work for many years. However, he is at a low level so he can't use his body to its full extent but if he can completely absorb my powers and use my techniques, he will be able to use that body more efficiently. He can become the strongest martial artist in the world." The old man looked at me with admiration with his squinched eyes: giving a slight smile to show his happiness.

This old guy is very perceptive. Even though I have clothes on he knows my body as if he saw it naked. With my clothes, you honestly shouldn't be able to see my muscles or structure very much yet he can and knows this is due to my own efforts.

"Right, this is too good to be true. What's the catch?"

The old man smiles "Though I am handing my knowledge and power as my will but in my will I want you to find my son and have him visit his daughter's grave. My time is short and I can't convince him at my state but with you, I think you can beat some sense into him"

Well if it's too beat someone up and get them to see a grave for having his knowledge and power than why not? Of course, I won't actively search for the son and this guy is near his death bed so I doubt he would care if I never complete his request after death. But if I see him then I will fulfil it.

"Sure, we have a deal then." Giving him a smirk I confidently agree to his will.