Anger. Shame. Envy. A storm of emotions churned within Jovar as he stood powerless, forced to watch Nova cut down his men one by one.

"Wait!" Letto cried out.

"What?" Nova asked, not even sparing him a glance. His eyes remained fixed on Ilos, who was now collapsed to his knees, whimpering in a mixture of pain and helplessness.

'Strange,' Nova mused. 'My heart doesn't react at this. It seems to only skip a beat when I kill. I'll need to test more methods, it might be worth knowing what else can stir it.'

Flicking Dreadscape he ended Ilos's suffering.

Then he turned to Letto, who looked as if he had something to say but the words were stuck in his throat.

Nova raised an eyebrow. "You were about to speak so why are you so silent now?"

Letto swallowed hard, then clenched his teeth "Let me live," he said, voice tinged with fear and determination, "and I'll make it worth your while."

"Oh?" Nova tilted his head slightly. "And what exactly do you have to offer in exchange for your life?"

Despite the terror Nova inspired, both Jovar and the old man turned their eyes toward Letto, curiosity momentarily overtaking fear. They, too, wanted to see how he intended to bargain with a demon.

Letto took a breath, then met Nova's eyes, locking his gaze with defiant intensity.

"Promise me you'll let me live if I tell you."

Nova blinked, then chuckled softly, amused by the boldness. "Promise?" he echoed, as if tasting the word.

He stepped forward and, with Aura coursing through his body, he raised a hand and gently patted Letto's shoulder, almost like a friend. Almost.

Letto felt as though a mountain was pressing down on him. Veins bulged beneath his skin from the strain, and his knees trembled uncontrollably. Yet he refused to collapse, his willpower the only thing keeping him upright. His eyes, wide with shock and awe, never left Nova's.

He had known Nova would be stronger, how could he not, after watching him slaughter fellow bandits in mere seconds? But feeling that strength firsthand was something else entirely.

Letto could hardly fathom how someone so young could possess such strength, at least until a theory crossed his mind. It was so far-fetched, so unlikely, that even he struggled to believe it but he had no other guesses.

Through clenched teeth, Letto asked, barely daring to speak the words, "Are you… a knight?"

Knights were a rare sight outside military camps or important events, and even then, in times of peace, it was rare to even see more than a dozen of them in the same place across the three kingdoms.

The Lotra Kingdom, for example, despite a population in the tens of millions, it barely had 60,000 knights, scattered across its borders. The bulk of the army was made up of squires, with pages summoned only in moments of absolute necessity.

Jovar's breath hitched. If it were true, if this man was a knight, then escape was impossible. Knights were famed for their devotion to justice, and even those who strayed from that path were rare. No bribe, no matter how valuable, could sway a true knight.

Beside the vacant-eyed Veliora, the old man shook in excitement, hoping, no, believing he would be able to keep his life.

But that belief was short-lived.

Nova's lips curled lightly.

"Nice guess," he said calmly. "But no, I'm not and since you got it wrong… start talking."

Then what is he? Letto wondered in disbelief. How can someone this powerful not be a knight?

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

But fear crushed his hesitation. He couldn't afford to delay.

"I know where to find bone tempering liquid," he blurted out.

His eyes searched Nova's face, desperate for any flicker of interest, hope rising in him like a tide.

'Bone tempering liquid?' The name alone sounded promising, but Nova wasn't one to leap at vague offers. 'It might be valuable… or it might be useless hype. Either way, I'll need more information and I trust no one in this room.'

While Nova remained unreadable, Jovar and the old man stared at Letto in stunned disbelief, their jaws nearly hitting the ground.

Unable to contain himself, Jovar snapped, "Letto! Why didn't you tell me about this?! Were you planning to take it all for yourself and stab me in the back?!"

Letto scoffed, turning toward him with a grunt. "I found out about it on my own. Why would I report to you, much less share the reward, when you didn't lift a finger to help?"

Jovar's hand trembled as he pointed a shaking finger at him. "You! After all these years we spent together? I shared everything I had with you. I never betrayed your trust, not once!"

Letto's eyes narrowed. "And while you rot in this cave, I'm out there risking my neck to make you rich. You call that fair treatment?"

"Ungrateful bast—!"

A sharp clap cut through the rising tension, followed by Nova's calm voice.

"That's enough."

Jovar clenched his jaw and fell silent, his glare sharp enough to pierce flesh. He could do nothing but seethe, his eyes burning holes into Letto.

"You," Nova said, pointing directly at Letto. "How long will it take to retrieve this liquid?"

Letto paused, calculating. "Getting to the location won't take long," he said slowly. "But acquiring it... that's another matter."

Nova's gaze darkened.

Letto hastily added, "It's because the bone tempering liquid is guarded by the king of the Central Forest, the Bloodstripe. S-Sir, as long as you're strong enough to kill it, the rest is simple. It won't take more than a day."

Nova tilted his head slightly, intrigued.

"The Bloodstripe?" he asked. "What exactly is that? And how does it compare to a knight in terms of strength?"

"A Bloodstripe is a type of tiger born for battle," Letto explained, his voice steady despite the tension. "Its body is as tough as forged steel, with claws like daggers and blood-red fur that chills the spine. Even seasoned veterans hesitate at the mere sight of it. Rumor has it only elite knights or high-ranking mages stand a chance against one. But none have ever tried because, until now, no one knew it was guarding something worth the risk."

Nova's eyes narrowed. "Then tell me, how did you, a puny bandit, found out about this?"

Letto hesitated, then answered wryly. "A year ago, I robbed a noble. Even until death he refused to let go of a leather-bound diary. It got me curious… so I read it. That's where I found the information. But there was nothing I could do with it. What chance do I have against a monster like that?"

Nova said with a thoughtful look "And you just… believed what was written in a stranger's journal?"

Letto nodded solemnly. "It was old and looked expensive. If not for that, I wouldn't have believed a word of what was written there."

"Where is it?"

Letto's expression didn't waver. "I didn't want anyone else to know, so I burned it."

Slowly, Nova said "Alright. I'll trust you, for now. You'll come with me until we retrieve this bone tempering liquid. After that, you're free to go. It's unnecessary for me to say how stupid lying to me is anyway."

Letto nodded quickly "Yes, I wouldn't dare lie to you."

'I doubt it's as simple as people just refusing to fight it. And this guy doesn't even seem to know the difference between knights. I need more information and I need to get stronger before I even think about confronting that Bloodstripe.'

Turning toward the old man, Nova asked "Hey, how much is your life worth?"

The old man's teeth rattled as he stammered, "M-mine?"

"Do you see any other old men here?" Nova said rhetorically.

The elder was about to glance around and check but he caught himself from doing something so stupid. Swallowing hard he said "M-maybe ten gold?"

'Useless,' thought Nova.

In an instant, the old man's head was severed clean from his body, which collapsed with a heavy thud.

By now his light armor had turned into a faint shade of crimson.

With how "easy" Nova had been to talk to lately, Jovar had almost forgotten what had happened earlier but this scene served as a stark reminder of what the young man before him was truly capable of.

Nova's gaze shifted to the bandit leader and repeated "What's your life worth?"

"Sir," Jovar said, gripping his sword tightly. With both hands, he offered it forward. "This is my most prized possession, crafted from Starsteel by Master Reva, one of the kingdom's finest blacksmiths. Even nobles can't easily acquire something like this without the right connections."

Before Jovar could react further, Nova's hands were already on the sword, examining it with interest.

[Fragmented Star]

· Strength: +985

· Dexterity: +1877

· Affinity with stars increased

(Made of a small amount of Starsteel, known for being light and nearly unbreakable, by a blacksmith that barely managed to keep its affinity. It's considered by him one of his best works, if not the best in the kingdom.)

'I never thought I'd be this lucky,' Nova thought as he glanced at Jovar who was practically drenched in sweat, barely able to hide his nervousness from being so close.

Satisfied, Nova patted Jovar on the shoulder "Good, good. This sword will be the price you pay for a new beginning."

"Y-yes, yes. Thank you, sir, for this… opportunity," Jovar stammered awkwardly, relief and fear tangled in his voice.

Nova threw the sword in the Inventory and turned toward Veliora.

"Alright, now it's this girl's turn."

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