During the combat with mercenaries, Lucen slipped into the cave and lit his lamp. Lucen did not stop walking deeper into the cave. Even now, his hand is still trembling, unlike the first time he killed a monster; this time, the thing he killed was a human just like him.
Lucen grabbed hold of his shaking right hand that had pulled the trigger and squeezed it.
'I already knew that I would need to kill someone sooner or later, but...'
His breath hitched.
'…it doesn't feel like how I imagined it would.'
He had imagined enemies falling like NPCs, like monsters in a game, threats to be erased without a second thought. But this wasn't a game. There had been no EXP pop-up. No loot drop. Just a man falling... Dying. Lucen leaned against the wall for a second, pressing his back into the damp stone. The silence of the cave pressed in on him, as if the mountain itself was listening.
'I killed a person. Someone with a name, with friends... Maybe even a family…'
His eyes shut tight.
'No. Stop.'
He shook his head and forced himself forward, one foot at a time.
'If I freeze now, I'll die. They're still coming. I can process this later… when I'm safe.'
Even with the memories of his past life in a modern world, Lucen was also Lucen Thornehart. That part of him, the boy born in the North, son of the Iron Duke, wasn't so easy to shake.
And as his father would've said:
A Thornehart does not break from this.
Lucen exhaled slowly, calming his breath. The trembling hadn't stopped completely, but his steps grew steadier. Lucen felt a bit better as he walked deeper into the cave.
...
The deeper Lucen went, the hotter it got. Thanks to the blessing of Kalderos, the heat didn't bother him much. Still, it was weird; he knew that there was a dead young fire dragon in the cave, but did its dead body release such heat?
'Even in the game, if the characters felt this heat in the North, where there's only snow, they would have reacted. But none of them said anything about the heat, which even with Kalderos's blessing is quite something.'
Lucen truly felt that there was something wrong, but he did not want to retreat since it took a lot of effort to get here. To gain nothing after all that wasn't something a gamer like him could accept.
Lucen checked his current inventory after the fight with the mercenaries he had used quite a few things. He only had two iron spheres left, and four more powder horns filled with gunpowder. The number of lead balls and bullets was still good, and his sword had only been used once.
'Maybe I should have brought a shield.' Lucen remembered how the mercenary leader's shield was able to withstand the gunshot of the arquebus at such a close distance. 'Nah, the reason that guy's shield works is because he coated it with his aura, and an ordinary shield wouldn't work.'
Once Lucen finished checking his gear, he re-secured the powder horns to his belt and held the lamp up higher, casting light farther into the winding, jagged path ahead. Lucen continued forward until he arrived at a cavern.
This place, where the light from the hole above shone upon the lake within the cavern while snow fell down, was something he remembered vividly in the game. The only thing different was that there was supposed to be a grand skeleton of the young fire dragon here, but there was none.
This was where the young fire dragon's bones were supposed to rest, massive and unmoving. But now, there was nothing. Just the empty lake, shimmering under the falling snow.
While Lucen was still trying to process what he was seeing, he heard the sound of footsteps of the people following him from behind. They had followed him in, and Lucen looked for a good position to attack them from. He quickly moved and got into position.
The mercenaries arrived, and their leader, Harlik, looked around even though he could not spot Lucen; he sensed that he was somewhere near.
"Lucen Thornehart, we know you're here. Stop being difficult and come with us! If you come in quietly, even though you killed five of my men, I promise we won't harm you. I swear it upon my honor."
"What does a mercenary who's trying to kidnap a child know about honor?"
"I know about honor, kid, much more than you think. Also, unlike you, kid, I know how the world works. You might think a mercenary like me, who only sees gold, knows nothing of honor, but I assure you, I do have my honor. I don't like this job of trying to kidnap a child. I didn't like it when you killed my men, but even then, I do all these things. Do you know why?..."
There was a short pause before Harlik continued with a heavier tone. "It's to survive. I don't know if a noble brat like you understands that."
"... I do understand much more than you think as well."
Hearing Lucen's response, which actually felt like it had weight to it, made the mercenary leader, Harlik, chuckle and smile.
"Heh, I guess that's to be expected of a Thornehart."
There was a short pause before Lucen spoke again.
"I have a proposal for you."
"Is it a proposal of surrender, perhaps?"
"No, it's a proposal of you guys coming under me."
When Harlik and the other mercenaries heard what Lucen said, they burst out laughing.
"You hear that? The brat thinks he's some kind of general asking us to serve him." One of the mercenaries spoke, and the others laughed even harder.
"Oh, so even a Thornehart like you is just a brat in the end. Why do you think we will accept such a proposal? Have you forgotten you already killed five of my men? Also, we're trying to kidnap you, aren't we enemies at this point, so tell me why would we even think about joining you?"
Despite denying Lucen, Harlik was actually intrigued to hear Lucen's proposal.
"You say you know of honor, and you say you do this not because you want to, but because you have to. I'm offering a chance to gain real honor and glory... Also, about your dead men, you were trying to take me to an unknown place, so I just did what I had to do to defend myself. As for us being enemies, isn't it the way of the mercenary to one day be fighting as enemies on the battlefield, but returning to a pub only to drink like friends? One's enemy today could be one's ally tomorrow."
Harlik's eyes narrowed slightly, and his men looked at each other with hesitation in their eyes. Even though the rage of losing their companion was still there, it was not like this was the first time they had lost companions.
One of the mercenaries whispered under his breath, "What kind of twelve-year-old talks like that…?"
Another replied, low and bitter, "The kid's a Thornehart, there really might be steel in their blood."
In the first place, they weren't saints, far from it. But kidnapping a child, especially the Iron Duke's, had never sat right to them... But due to their circumstance and the money offered at the time, it felt like they had no choice. Now, hearing that they do have a choice made them hesitate.
They knew that if they continued to fight Lucen, many of them might die before they could be able to capture Lucen. It was also possible that they accidentally killed Lucen, then they would be on the run from the Iron Duke without getting paid. There was also the possibility that Lucen would kill them all. Any way you look at it, it might be better to listen to Lucen's proposal.
One of the older mercs lowered his weapon slightly. "I don't like this job. Never did. And now this kid's offering us something... Different."
"Better than dying in a ditch somewhere when the Iron Duke finds out," another muttered. "Might as well hear him out."
Harlik looked at his men, all seasoned, scarred, and weary. Men who had buried too many comrades, drunk to too many regrets. Still, none of them seemed ready to object outright. Harlik couldn't help but laugh so suddenly that it not only surprised Lucen but his companions as well.
"Heh, you noble brat, it seems like you know a thing or two about mercenaries. I wonder if you've dealt with mercenaries before."
'That's just the impression I got from my experience in watching numerous anime and movies.' Of course, Lucen did not say that out loud.
"You're right, a mercenary can be an enemy today but an ally in the next. We have no true loyalty but to ourselves and the almighty coin."
Harlik answered that he already guessed where Lucen was hiding and looked at the area, and showed a coin sign.
"I don't know what they paid you, or why you took a job you seem reluctant to do. But hear this, if you come under me, then I will at least make sure that you won't just die in some ditch with no name or story."
Lucen channelled every inspirational character he has seen in his past life and enhanced his voice.
"I'm offering you something more, something eternal! A future filled with honor and glory. A future where your stories will be told throughout the ages! A future where you can come back to the same place and have a good drink of ale. A future where, if death does come, it will come with your blades drawn and your heads held high."
Lucen's crimson eyes gleamed in the lamplight; it looked like he was looking so much further than them.
"Most of all, it's a future where you choose why you live or why you die. So what say you?"
While he was speaking, Lucen showed himself to the mercenaries, his hands not holding any weapon.