CHAPTER 12 Strange Request (Part 2)

‘So that’s it. Since Khazar hasn’t become infamous yet, people don’t hate this name.’

That meant the Khazar next to him might not be the same Khazar who becomes the tyrant king later.

‘I misunderstood because I didn’t know it was a common name in this time.’

Still, with how he acted, Ernolf couldn’t be sure he wasn’t going to become a tyrant. So there was only one thing to do.

“I’m asking seriously again, Khazar. Let’s change your name.”

Khazar was annoyed. Ernolf kept asking him to change his name. He raised his chin and glared at him with a look that said, “Say one more thing and I’ll kill you.” Ernolf quietly looked away.

“May we ask why you called us here?”

The Lord said he wanted to ask for a monster-hunting job.

They were talking with Ernolf, but the Lord and Lady kept staring at Khazar.

“Where is your Guide?”

“Why do you ask?”

“The job might be dangerous. I thought we’d need the Guide’s permission.”

“What permission? Just…”

As Khazar opened his mouth to speak, Ernolf quickly interrupted him.

People who awaken on their own are said to change the future. They’re powerful, but others often fear or hate them. Ernolf didn’t want that kind of trouble. He just wanted to live quietly and return to his real body someday. So he had to hide that they didn’t have a Guide.

“We’re visiting our parents and then going back to our Guide. He’s not with us now.”

“Oh, I see.”

“We sometimes hunt monsters to train, so please feel free to ask.”

“Would that be okay?”

“Let us hear the details first, then we’ll judge if it’s too dangerous.”

The Lord looked at Khazar again. It was clear he was the one who would actually do the job. But Khazar simply said, “If my brother says it’s okay, it’s okay,” and stepped back.

The Lord asked if they could bring back a baby goblin alive.

“A baby goblin is not hard to handle, but goblins live in groups and raise babies together. So if we try to take one, we’ll have to fight the whole group. Can’t your soldiers do it?”

The Lord and Lady were surprised that someone who looked only about 14 could speak so well about monster behavior.

Actually, they had sent ex-mercenary prisoners the day before… and all of them died.

“We’re a small city. We don’t have many soldiers. And the barbarians nearby are causing trouble, so all our troops are busy protecting the city. That’s why we want to hire mercenaries.”

“I understand.”

The Lord and Lady thought the brothers wouldn’t accept the job. But that wasn’t why Ernolf hesitated.

“Since it’s dangerous, you’ll need to pay us well.”

Khazar, leaning against the wall with folded arms, nodded. For the twins, the most important thing right now was: money, money, and money.

“You’re accepting the job?”

“Yes. But what do you need a baby goblin for?”

“That’s none of your business. Just bring it alive, and I’ll pay you well. You must finish within this week. Can you do it?”

“If we leave now, we can deliver it by tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Did you say tomorrow?”

“Yes. Should we bring it to the mansion, or here…?”

“Just bring it. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Understood. Please pay half in advance so we can start right away.”

Ernolf asked for half the reward upfront since the mission was dangerous.

Usually, only very trustworthy mercenaries get half up front, because some might just take the money and run.

“I’ll stay here until my brother finishes the job.”

When Ernolf said that, Khazar suddenly kicked his leg.

– Why!

– What?

– Why are you kicking me?!

Ernolf asked with his eyes. Khazar said nothing.

Except for a few days when they were separated in the mines, Khazar had never been apart from his brother while he was alive. They were born together, and even when they were sold into slavery, they were together.

Now, after 50 years, they were reunited—so he didn’t like being separated even for a day.

His brother didn’t remember, but Khazar did.

After finishing the meeting, the brothers went back to the room the temple gave them. While Khazar packed hunting tools, Ernolf used magic to heal the bruise on his leg.

“You musclehead! That really hurt!”

“If it broke, you could’ve asked them to fix it. This place is full of healers.”

Khazar wrapped a chain around himself to tie up the goblin baby.

“That’s true.”

Now that he thought about it, if his leg had broken, he could’ve tested the healing skills himself.

‘No, wait. Then they might find out I’m a mage.’

The only reason the priests knew Khazar was an aura user was because they had healed him before.

“Are you sure you can handle the goblin cave alone?”

“If I couldn’t, we wouldn’t have taken the job.”

“True.”

Ernolf agreed right away.

Before coming here, they had hunted many monsters to help Ernolf adjust to his new body and regain his magic and battle instincts. And during that time, he was shocked at how quickly Khazar got stronger.

‘Even though I’ve improved a lot… Khazar is…’

Each time they hunted, Khazar’s skills evolved like a beast. It was like a god of war had possessed him.

Ernolf only acted like the mission was dangerous to get more money. If it had really been impossible, he wouldn’t have accepted it.

After coming back from the goblin cave, Khazar would be much stronger.

“Until I return, don’t mess around. Just stay quiet and read.”

Khazar messed up Ernolf’s hair.

“When did I ever mess around…”

“If you have any shame, ask yourself: Are you staying here just to snoop around?”

Ernolf placed a hand on his chest and thought.

‘Hmm… I do feel a little guilty.’

Khazar was right. He stayed behind so he could investigate the temple’s secret without Khazar getting in the way.

“What did you see at the farm?”

When they visited the farm earlier, Ernolf had gone silent for a long time. Khazar still remembered it.

“I saw the slaves.”

He remembered how they worked like machines, lifeless and dull. They pulled huge millstones, carried waste, and watered the fields like donkeys.

Their backs were bent, bodies thin, but arms and legs were strangely muscular.

“Their eyes were blank, and they drooled. Their arms and legs were chained. That’s just too cruel. People don’t even treat animals like that.”

“You forgot, huh? Must be nice. Easy to talk when you don’t remember.”

“…?”

“We were chained like that too. Like animals.”

Back then, when their parents screamed for their children, the guards whipped them mercilessly.

His brother had covered his ears to block the screams—but not his eyes. Khazar had watched his bleeding father and sobbing mother from inside the slave wagon.

That day, Khazar learned one thing: If you have no power or wealth, you’ll end up like that.

“Being a slave… it’s all the same. No matter where you are.”

In this era, slaves are not seen as people—they’re property. No one is punished for treating them worse than animals.

“At least they fed them water.”

Khazar meant the fact that another slave gave water to those working.

‘Right, that water… it looked strange. I need to check it.’

The water was a bit cloudy, like milk had been mixed in. Maybe it was just limewater, but he wasn’t sure.

All the farm workers had signs of body modification.

‘That water might not be normal. It could be medicine to help with body implants.’

Khazar called it “messing around,” but for Ernolf, it was a mage’s curiosity.

“When are you leaving?”

Khazar squinted at Ernolf, who was eager to get back to the farm.

“If you don’t behave, you won’t get the rest of the payment. Just stay still and breathe. No funny business.”

“Come on. What could I possibly do with this weak body?”

It was a silly comment—but looking at the skinny, branch-like Ernolf, Khazar almost believed it. Still, he didn’t feel totally at ease as he left the temple.

According to the priest, there was a lake near a mountain shaped like a fang, and the goblin cave was just above it.

About 40 goblins lived there, which made it the perfect training ground for Khazar at his level.

He left his horse in a safe area and walked toward the cave.

Back when he was in the Kashion Mercenary Group, he had hunted goblins many times. So he knew their habits well.

What surprised him was how Ernolf had said they could finish the hunt in one night—as if he had hunted goblins before.

‘How does he know all that without experiencing it like I did? It’s not like he traveled back in time… right?’

Ernolf had knowledge of magic he shouldn’t know, acted like a noble, and even though he was odd sometimes, his behavior reminded Khazar of someone well-educated.

Was this just part of his personality after awakening? Or was it something else?

‘I don’t know. But the brother I see now is too different from the one I remember.’

Still, since they could “resonate,” Khazar knew for sure that Ernolf was really his brother.

Just like the priest said, there was a lake at the foot of Fang Mountain. Near there, Khazar found goblin footprints and signs they had eaten fish.

Soon, he found about ten goblin corpses—guts torn out and limbs ripped off.

‘There’s a stronger monster nearby.’

Goblins are cleverer than other monsters. If so many died at once, that meant danger.

Rustle. Rustle.

He heard someone walking on leaves. Khazar quickly climbed a cliff and pressed himself flat against a rock.

Then, a giant man appeared, digging in the dirt with both hands. Soon, he pulled out a human arm and began to eat it.

Two more appeared and started fighting over the arm.

“Gyaaah!”
“Grrr!”