A figure appeared in front of him. It wasn't a beast, it was a human.
Ryan frowned at the sight of his human appearance and immediately turned on his orb of light to see better. The dim lighting had prevented him from seeing clearly who it was.
He was surprised as soon as he saw him.
"Max!" he exclaimed, with a smile of relief. The weight on his heart lifted considerably when he realized it wasn't Brandon or one of the dangerous men.
So he relaxed.
Max was also quite surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here. Were you fighting something?" he asked as he approached.
"Yes. It exploded, so you don't have to worry."
"Phew. I thought I had to keep fighting dangerous beasts. But I'm amazed you made it here," he said, looking at his chest. Three flashes of light glowed faintly there. "And you even got two extra orbs." He was genuinely amazed, and the expression on his face showed it.
Ryan smiled with slight embarrassment. 'The subordinate was surprised that his master did what he could do... Sigh. Ryan, you really were a weakling.'
He simply nodded. "I got something easy," he said casually.
He didn't want to say much, either. He was still thinking about the presence of a Kazak here.
Is there a giant plot behind the scenes involving some large-scale Kazak invasion from unexpected places, or has Brandon really betrayed the race?
He didn't think the latter was likely. After all, it was Brandon. In the novel, he hated the Kazaks with a passion. But since there were so many differences between the novel and the real world, he had to keep it in consideration.
Just then, a strange sound echoed through the room, like something squishing or falling.
"What's that?" Max quickly drew his sword and stood alert.
Ryan, meanwhile, turned behind him to the giant trap where he had almost fallen a moment ago. "A part of the beast had been left on one of those stakes. It fell to the ground," he said, sighing.
Since it was nothing serious, he tried to walk.
"Let me help you." Max quickly stepped forward to help him, seeing that he was injured.
"No need." Ryan declined his help. "Let's keep going. We still need one more orb," he said, walking toward Max, passing by him, and patting him on the shoulder to show him he wasn't so badly hurt.
As he turned his back, he heard a dull sound behind him.
CLANK*
He stopped and looked behind him. A sword was stuck near his heart, from behind. But it hadn't pierced his skin.
"Heh. I figured as much since you didn't even show me respect when you saw me, but I'll ask out of respect." He said, shaking the shield on his back. "You really betrayed me and left with Brandon, didn't you?" he asked.
The sword was, of course, Max's, and he had intended to kill him. Luckily, he had learned that those shields could save him from a powerful attack since he fought the snake, so he always wore one like a vest.
Furthermore, from the dangerous look he gave him when he saw him here, he knew that this guy wasn't planning anything good.
Max frowned and watched the shield fall to the ground.
"A wooden shield, huh." He grimaced. "I really despise rich people. They have so much money that spending a few hundred pounds on junk is no big deal." His expression changed drastically, and he looked at Ryan as if he felt disgust.
"So, what if it is?" he asked.
Ryan kept his gaze fixed on him. "I rescued you from the streets and gave you shelter, food, work... I treated you like a best friend, not following my brother's custom of treating those rescued as mere subordinates. Is this how you repay me?" he asked.
"Phew." He spat at Ryan. The saliva almost hit his face, but Ryan tilted his head to the side. "You did all that, but are you worthy of being my master? You spend all day reading nonsense and neglect your training. You're not worthy. That's why I had to find a new master, and I was surprised that you were Brandon's brother."
"How can you have his blood if you're so useless? Haha, I guess the heavens gave all the talent to your brothers and just gave you life."
The cruel words of mockery would have affected Ryan before. Still, since the night his father didn't even care about his well-being after being poisoned, the remnants of the old Ryan seemed to fade away in sadness and loneliness. Perhaps his soul had truly disappeared completely.
The new Ryan feels no affection for Max, so he simply smiles.
"The human mind is treacherous and deceitful. All these years, I've been supporting you in your studies. I even allowed you to attend Evigheden Central University, but your response to my kindness is to betray me." Ryan pulled out a dagger. "You don't need to say anything else. It was you who tried to kill me in the castle, wasn't it?"
"Haha, you fell for it so easily. I just said, 'Let's go to the basement, I want to show you a new trick I learned.' You didn't even question why we were going there. Tsk, if it weren't for that damn bastard Martin, I wouldn't have to do this today." Finally, he lunged at Ryan.
He didn't want to talk any more nonsense.
His speed with the sword was astonishing, worthy of someone who had been trained by martial warriors for most of his life.
Ryan didn't react much to his statements. He couldn't say he expected it, because he didn't expect him to be a traitor, since that's not how it appeared in the novel, but he wouldn't be surprised. In the castle, few are as close to him as Max was, so he was the most likely to be able to take him to that place.
Therefore, his mind relaxed from finally understanding what had happened and finding the culprit. Those memories he hadn't recovered also returned to him, but not with a headache like before. Instead, they came back very gently.
Ryan stepped back and pulled out another shield to stop his attack. The sword struck firmly. Due to his previous injuries, he felt intense pain throughout his body, but he endured it and pressed forward.
"Too weak!" Max roared, smiling as Ryan's dagger strikes hit his weapon, and he still had time to attack.
Naturally, in a head-on weapon-to-weapon fight, Ryan couldn't win. Still, that wasn't his intention.
He could attack quickly, but his attacks were so ineffective that they failed to do any damage. Meanwhile, Max's attacks were constantly pushing him back.
Luckily for him, Max wasn't a Walker yet. His strength was limited, and Ryan had a slight advantage.
The Green Orb, the very one Max was missing.
Thanks to this, his movements matched his speed, and that was enough. Ryan was not the old Ryan.
His combat experience was on par with those who ruled the world.
While it was true that this body did not respond to his commands correctly, as it lacked strength and spiritual training, he could still do better than Max.
And he noticed it.
"How can he be so good?" Max gritted his teeth in anger. There was no way.
Ryan couldn't be better than him in the art of battle!
With hatred, he settled more into his attack.
Suddenly, he saw Ryan smile.
'He's smiling? I'll wipe that damn smile off your face, you useless piece of trash!' His mind roared, and a mad smile appeared in his eyes. At the same time, those eyes glowed with a strange purple color.
Something Ryan almost completely ignored, as he simply took three steps forward and threw his shield at Max.
For Max, this was a sign of victory. Without that annoying shield, Ryan couldn't do anything. He pushed it aside with his first attack and continued his charge.
"You're dead!" he shouted.