TTOB 08

Chapter 8

Resonance

As the Cassion Mercenary Corps passed through the village, people began to stir, gathering along the roadside in excited chatter. The mercenary corps had affixed skewers to the supply wagons laden with loot, impaling the severed heads of the Cornu tribe upon them. People watched in amazement as the mercenaries marched leisurely past, having turned the barbarians’ faces outward for all the onlookers to see.

“Aren’t those barbarians?” “They must have caught the barbarians!” “Who is it? Who accomplished such an incredible feat?”

Hearing the villagers whispering, one of the mercenaries shouted at the top of his lungs:

“It is Sir Cassion! Our valiant commander severed the head of the barbarian chief!”

Upon hearing those words, the villagers cheered, chanting Cassion’s name. As news spread that the mercenary corps had annihilated the barbarian marauders, the crowd coming to catch a glimpse of them grew larger and larger. Amidst a welcome so lavish it could easily pass for a royal procession, Cassion rode his horse slowly, soaking in the cheers of the people. Before entering the castle, two mercenaries kicked up dust as they galloped up to join the end of the procession. They immediately moved to the front to meet Cassion.

“Tobi had his throat slit and died, while the remaining three suffocated along with their horses.”

Hearing those words, Cassion’s eyes narrowed sharply. Even within the mercenary corps, Aura users were rare. Even if Tobi’s skill was low, losing him was a significant loss for the corps. Since his throat was slit by a blade, the culprit was likely the boy who had brought the Cornu tribe along. However, he wasn’t the one who had killed the other mercenaries.

“Suffocated in a group inside the forest…”

Staring straight ahead, Cassion muttered slowly.

“It seems a mage was with them.”

The messenger answered promptly. Cassion glared at him silently. He hadn’t muttered to himself because he failed to realize that. When the boy had intruded into the camp, Cassion had thought it was a mere accident. However, after receiving the report that a mage had ambushed and wiped out his pursuers, he began to think the brat had deliberately brought the barbarians to them.

‘Is this a plan hatched by a child’s mind? Or is there someone else pulling the strings?’

Though weak, the boy was an Aura user. Young initiates usually trained in the usage of Aura alongside the guide who had unlocked their Aura Heart for them. For this reason, the initiate and the guide usually formed a master-disciple, father-son, or master-servant bond, maintaining a deep relationship throughout their lives. Cassion presumed that the boy’s guide was the principal instigator.

“Considering they are traveling with a mage, they don’t seem like ordinary foes.” “Daring to use me like a pawn, they certainly aren’t ordinary. More importantly, we need to find out what they were aiming for by committing such an act.”

The spoils and the heads of the barbarian warriors were all claimed by Cassion’s group. What the boys took was only one thing: the lives of the Cassion Mercenary Corps.

“Were they targeting us?”

Nodding at his subordinate’s remark, Cassion’s eyes fell upon Shakim’s head impaled on the highest pole. He recalled how the boy had intervened when he was fighting Shakim.

‘Carelessly barging into a brawl is practically handing over one’s neck.’

Yet the boy had risked danger to step in and slash Shakim’s thigh. If what he was targeting wasn’t the mercenary corps, but Shakim…

‘Did he hold a grudge against that fellow?’

Cassion cast a fleeting glance at Shakim’s severed head swaying atop the pole. How many villages had the barbarians destroyed, and how many people had they trampled? Those holding grudges against them were beyond count. However, even if what the boy targeted was the Cornu tribe rather than the mercenary corps, it was equally unpleasant.

‘How dare you use me for free?’

A mercenary corps is an entity that fights on someone else’s behalf if paid a reasonable fee. Cassion could not possibly overlook a brat who had hitched a free ride without paying a single copper and inflicted heavy damage on his mercenary corps in the process.

“Form a tracking team consisting of those skilled in pursuit. I intend to impale their heads on the remaining skewers.” “Understood, sir.”

Receiving Cassion’s order, his subordinate turned his horse around toward the rear and vanished.

‘Even if the reward for my trouble is settled with that loot, I still must collect the price for my men’s lives. That’s the only way to save my face.’

The number of mercenaries who died because of that single brat was ten, including Tobi, who was an Aura warrior. Even if he caught them and chopped them into ten pieces to die, the math wouldn’t add up. Pondering how to cook the brat once he caught him, Cassion looked at the feudal lord’s party waiting to greet him in front of the castle gate.

“Welcome, Cassion!”

Baron Buzoni, the master of the castle, wrapped his arms around Cassion in an overly theatrical hug, as if showing off to his subjects. To an outsider, it would easily look as though Cassion had wiped out the pillagers on the lord’s direct orders. Embracing the lord in return, Cassion sent a subtle wink toward Baron Buzoni’s daughter standing behind him.

Ernolf groaned in pain as he recalled what had transpired the previous night. It was when he was sleeping hidden by a cliff. He had been enjoying a deep, dreamless sleep when suddenly an agonizing pain pierced through his back. It was a horrendous pain—so severe his vision blurred and he could barely breathe. And then came an overwhelming sense of anxiety. In that instant, the thought crossed Ernolf’s mind that Kazar was in danger. He didn’t know the reason why. From then on, Ernolf cast a swiftness magic spell on his body to boost his movement speed and ran recklessly in the direction he felt Kazar might be. And indeed, Kazar was right there.

‘What kind of black magic is this…?’

He couldn’t fathom by what principle he had known Kazar’s location. It wasn’t as though he had received a divine revelation, yet as if he had been summoned, he arrived at that exact spot just when Kazar was in danger. Rather than being miraculous, it was downright absurd.

‘Damn it. Feels like my back is splitting open.’

Because his back hurt so much, he couldn’t lie still any longer. As Ernolf groaned and tried to sit up, he slumped back down due to a lack of energy, whereupon Kazar’s voice drifted over.

“Sleep more. It’s still far from sunrise.” “I can’t sleep because of you.”

Ernolf groaned as he pushed his upper body up into a sitting position. Kazar tried to help him, but he refused. It was all Kazar’s fault that his half-dead body was currently suffering from severe pain.

“Why pick a fight with someone who was just sitting quietly? I even gave you an expensive ring.”

Kazar said with a sullen expression. He had been quietly cultivating his internal technique without making even a breathing sound, so it felt unfair to be suddenly blamed.

“An expensive what?”

As Kazar gestured toward his hand with a tilt of his chin, Ernolf raised his hand to inspect it. A ring he had never seen before was fitted on his finger. Being the heir to a family whose trade was excavating relics, Ernolf possessed deep knowledge regarding magic-infused artifacts. Thus, with a single glance, he read the magic circuits etched inside the artifact and grasped its function.

‘A low-tier artifact that enhances physical strength and the Aura Heart.’

It felt wasteful for a mage to be wearing a ring tailored specifically for an Aura user. Though it wasn’t his major, thanks to learning the basics of Magitech during his university days, Ernolf could manufacture a low-tier artifact anytime—provided he had the materials and tools. However, right now, he was a complete beggar with nothing to his name.

“Take it back. You use it.” “Are you putting on airs just because you’re the older brother? You wear it.” “Forget it. You take it.” “There really are all kinds of ways to ignore someone’s goodwill.”

When Ernolf tried to pull off the ring and hand it over, Kazar suddenly snapped in anger. Ernolf let out a sigh and adjusted his posture. It was simply a ring that boosted physical strength and Aura Heart functions, so he was merely giving it to the appropriate person; he couldn’t understand why Kazar was throwing a temper. It seemed the boy was going through puberty.

‘Sigh, as the adult, I should endure this.’

Ernolf exhaled another sigh and tapped the ground in front of where he sat.

“Come over here and sit down.” “Why?” “I have something to test. Come and sit down quickly.” “What a bother…”

Muttering complaints, Kazar came over and sat in front of Ernolf. Ernolf made Kazar turn around so his back was facing him.

“Don’t tense up and stay still.” “What are you doing?”

Grabbing the shoulders of Kazar, who was trying to look back, Ernolf forced him to sit straight and gathered mana in his hands.

“Because of you, bastard, my back hurts so much I can’t sleep.”

When he said those words, Kazar grew quiet. He seemed to know something. Deciding to hear the explanation later, Ernolf cast a healing spell.

“It might not be as good as a healer’s work, but it should be much better. Get proper treatment later.”

When Ernolf asked how he felt, Kazar didn’t answer, merely maintaining a sullen expression. Ernolf stared intently at him before asking softly:

“By any chance… whenever you get hurt or fall into danger, was I in the habit of feeling it completely?”

Kazar kept his mouth tightly shut and slowly nodded his head. At that, Ernolf’s fist came down on the crown of Kazar’s head.

“You knew that, yet you weren’t careful?! Going around getting stabbed with blades everywhere?!” “Why are you hitting me?!” “You said if you get hurt, I hurt too! You damn bastard, knowing that, you still went into the village?!”

With every sentence he uttered, Ernolf leaped around, putting his weight into his punches as he struck.

“Why is a young brat so reckless?! What did I tell you? I told you if you got caught by the Cornu tribe, you wouldn’t even have bones left!” “Ah, seriously! Stop it!” “Stop what?!” “Did you forget already? If I get hurt, you hurt too!” “You…”

Hitting him was hard work in itself. In the middle of venting his anger, Ernolf grew exhausted and collapsed onto the ground.

“Did you get hit with some kind of curse? Is this body sickly because of this?!” “It’s not a curse; it’s been like this since birth. And it’s not just happening to you, so don’t feel wronged.”

Though it didn’t hurt, feeling aggrieved over being hit, Kazar rubbed his head and spoke.

“It happens to you too?” “Yeah.” “You mean you can feel it when I get hurt or fall into danger as well?” “That’s why I went to rescue you.” “When?”

Right after asking the question, Ernolf recalled Kazar rushing to save him back at the mine.

‘It’s for real…’

Ernolf couldn’t close his agape mouth in shock. Among the special abilities known as telepathic empathy, there was one called ‘Resonance.’

‘This actually existed.’

Though he had encountered it in literature, this was his first time witnessing a real-life case.

“Ha, what are we, twins—Wait, don’t tell me!”

Interrupting his own sentence, Ernolf snatched the dagger from Kazar and looked at his own face reflected in the blade.

“Why is your face here?!”

Seeing the blade reflect a face identical to Kazar’s, Ernolf was horrified.

“Were we twins? Huh? We were twins?!” “You didn’t know that until now?” “Why?!”

Ernolf used the blade to reflect various parts of his face, and every time he confirmed a feature identical to Kazar’s, he let out a scream, asking why they were the same.

“Why of all faces did it have to be this one?! How did I end up looking exactly like Kazar?! Why did it turn out like this, why?!” “Has he gone mad…”

Ignoring Ernolf, who was spouting strange words and throwing a fuss, Kazar took stock of what they had gathered so far. The supplies loaded on the horse consisted of a mercenary cloak used as a blanket, a large quantity of jerky, a hunting bow and arrows, a little oil, and a flint. That was all. The biggest gains from last night were Shakim’s ring and the mercenaries’ coin pouches.

‘Let’s ride the horse for the time being until Tiri recovers his health.’

In a wild environment teeming with beasts and monsters, it would be better to convert the horse into cash rather than leading it around until it died; however, it was still preferable to carrying his brother on his back. After checking the items, Kazar unfastened the leather pouch at his waist and poured all the coins onto the dirt ground. At that moment, Tirad swooped in like the wind and snatched up the coins.

“Valdif’s copper coins! Oho, even Pelias gold coins and Sarapi Empire silver coins!”

Ernolf rubbed the coins vigorously against the rags he wore, held them up to the sunlight, inspected the front, back, and sides thoroughly, and then set them back down. He then turned around and let out a deep sigh.

‘Why is he acting like that?’

Kazar was flabbergasted by Tirad, who had handled the coins with a mad glint in his eyes like someone crazy for money, only to suddenly shrink into a deflated, gloomy mess.