Some secrets are better left alone.
These secrets will make you wonder if there are indeed rules in this world.
Sword King Shawn once encountered a mysterious group of individuals in the ancient battlefield of Parting who called themselves The Hand.
It was when he was a mere Sword Sage.
He was so terrified that he fled and did not stop running for a month.
That was the scariest he had ever been because he witnessed how these people slaughtered a group of adventurers from one demon state, and from what he managed to gather before he was exposed, they are everywhere.
This made him alert; for years, he has always been alert.
When he returned to the human continent, he tried gathering information on them but came out empty-handed. Years have passed, yet he hasn't heard the name "The Hand" e out of anyone's mouth...
...until today, when he heard Kent call it.
"We must have a good sit-down, Sword King. I can tell we have a lot to discuss." Kent knew the name triggered him, and if he were to get into it now, they wouldn't be done before the second round of pill-making.
He could tell the Sword King had something blocking him. Naturally, the name 'The Hand' triggered him, making Kent, who has Mind Weaver in his head, reveal everything to him.
'Looks like he will need my help again, ' Kent told himself. But he wasn't about to get into it just yet.
He did not want to stand in public and talk about these people.
Sword King Shawn understood that, so he didn't make life too difficult for Kent.
"Then after the petition, we will have a sit-down," he said before vanishing from sight. Kent sighed and lay on the carriage like he hadn't just been informed his life was in danger.
After a while, he turned and looked at the black bird and smiled, "Big sister, I thought you didn't deal with the stuff of us mortals."
His smile was teasing, making the beautiful Kingdom Protector, now watching and hearing all he said through the bird, clench her fist.
It was like getting caught while sneaking to steal fish from the soup.
"No need to worry, big sister. I knew of this scheme long before buying the Forest King's body. The question now is what I will do with them," Kent smiled again.
Even the being sitting at the peak of this world shuddered watching that smile.
There was just something about that smile that made her shudder.
Kent, of course, didn't know that, but his inner evil, which he never knew was there, started to surface, and right now, even his ladies would be scared by the look on his face.
Since he started recovering Jest's memories, strange personalities seem to surface every now and then. It felt like he was calling out to his past whenever an aligning situation surfaced.
Right now, a rather evil or perhaps wicked smile appeared on his face.
But it vanished, and a playful smile appeared instead, making the black bird glare at him.
He continued to sleep on the carriage, waiting for the second round to resume. He wasn't really concerned about the forest king and whatnot.
Naturally, Gaia identified the spell on the body of the Forest King he had bought. The spell was meant to link his life to the formation, which means that the moment he died, the formation would end.
However, there was something else that made him applaud the schemers.
The token that came with the Forest King's body, which was meant to give him a free pass for a week inside the wild forest, even the deepest part, was actually a tracking token.
This would allow whoever was after him to track his location. If Kent had naively entered the forest, he would have bee a meal served on a silver platter to the beasts.
It wasn't a free pass but a means to an end.
Thankfully, Gaia identified all this, and even Akira neutralized the spell that latched onto his soul. Not that it would have worked, considering he is immune to soul attacks.
The only thing he was waiting for now was when the true horrors behind this scheme would appear.
He knew The Hand had something to do with it, one way or another.
He had no idea what, but one of these days, he would find out.
Hopefully, by then, he would be ready.
Two hours later, the second round of the pill concoction trial began. Kent went back inside, and they were given new tags like before.
However, he and Elaine were set up on a different platform.
Elaine is, at the moment, the first ranker, with Kent being the second. They are on a different platform.
Then again, this was a special duel between them, so being on the same platform was only natural in this aspect.
After everyone had settled down, Kent looked at her, and she stared back.
"Hope you said goodbyes to your master; there won't be a second chance for that." His smile was both teasing and infuriating.
"Worry about yourself, Kent." Elaine wanted to fire back like he did, but she isn't good with words, so she knew Kent would win in that department regardless of how hard she tried.
"Annabelle would have been a good sport; too bad she's a spoiled brat who only knows how to hate without any valid reason."
When Annabelle heard her name, she clenched her fist, but before she could fire back, her master spoke to her telepathically, stopping her.
Kent laughed but made sure his focus remained on the Pill Saints, who were now paying even more attention to him.
This is the moment their plans will be put in disarray if the plans they have in mind weren't the ones that e out after the duel.
They will know soon.
"Everyone, wele to the second round of the Pill Master petition. This time, the setup has been changed slightly due to the duel we always see happening in Pill Master petitions.
This time, the first and second rankers from the first round will pete against each other. The winner takes the loser as a servant for ten years.
Now, before you all think it won't be enforced, know that Sword King Shawn is overseeing this duel and will ensure the bet is fulfilled, regardless of the background of the two of them.
We don't want to waste anyone's time, so you two are required to say something to each other before we start, as we always do.
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