A strange, suffocating silence reigned inside the cave. Noa removed his hand from the skeleton's skull and paused for a moment in thought. The skeleton stood rigid, as if testing itself from within.
Noa slowly rose and turned to the skeleton:
"This ability and this mana… they will serve their master," he said, his voice indifferent yet resolute.
The skeleton snapped angrily in a harsh tone:
"You intend to make what is mine yours?!"
Noa took a calm step forward and kicked the skeleton away. The skeleton slammed into the cave wall; the echo swallowed the entire cavern. Noa spoke in a careless tone:
"I granted you the honour of becoming my servant, I became the reason you were revived, I freed your mana from the crystals… and this is your gratitude?"
The skeleton slowly stood, looked at Noa, and thought to itself:
Did he deliberately hold back the force of that blow? He's trying to deceive me…
Scratching its head, the skeleton replied:
"Very well, Master. Let me be your gift… I possess the ability to see heat. That is enough for me."
Noa approached with a faint smile, raised his palm upward, and extended his hand. The skeleton stared at the palm and hesitated slightly:
"Master, I have nothing else," it said.
Noa laughed and answered:
"I'm not asking for objects. Climb onto my hand," he ordered in a firm tone.
After a brief hesitation, the skeleton stepped onto Noa's hand. Noa brought it close to his face:
"What is your name?" he asked.
The skeleton, its mood fallen, answered slowly:
"I have no name."
Noa thought for a moment, then spoke in a soft yet decisive tone:
"Good. Then I will call you "Kargal"."
The skeleton felt joy inside but asked with lingering suspicion:
"Master, it is a beautiful name… but what does it mean?"
Noa stroked the skeleton's skull and explained:
"It means 'Bone-Swallower'. I thought that while goblins keep the flesh, you would eat the bones and grow stronger from them."
Kargal bent one knee in a bow:
"Master, I love this name. Thank you for your attention."
Noa walked toward the cave entrance:
"Good… even though I couldn't shatter all the mana, I found you. This may be a treasure."
Kargal glanced at Noa, then at the ground, and stretched his arms behind his back. Noa walked along the passage; Kargal walked beside him. The tunnel was narrowing, and carrying Kargal in his hand would have been somewhat inconvenient.
Noa walked slowly through the passage. The pain in his still-unhealed right arm stabbed occasionally, but he had removed the bandages and was forced to use it. For Noa, this was not a serious obstacle—just discomfort.
He looked at Kargal hopping beside him and asked:
"Who killed you?"
Kargal looked upward, its eyes empty, its voice quiet:
"I don't know, Master. My memories are not complete."
Noa nodded.
"Understood. Tell me when you remember."
"Yes, Master!" Kargal replied cheerfully, hopping again.
Noa turned inwardly to X:
"How much have our stats risen?"
X's voice rang out proudly, clearly satisfied with the result:
Artifact: Abyss Stone
Name: Noa S. Dragon
Age: 5
Strength: 10 → 11 (+1)
Endurance: 16 → 22 (+6)
Speed: 12
Mana: 18 → 112 (+94)
Ability: False Aura — mana sensing
Rank: Beginner, Stage 2
"Our strength increased by one point, endurance by six," said X. "Most importantly, mana—ninety-four points. This is excellent growth."
Noa gave a faint smile.
"Not bad. Kargal is a small gain too, even if he is tiny."
X's tone grew serious:
"Yes, but he is still dangerous. His anger has lessened, but it has not disappeared."
Noa continued walking slowly:
"True. He hates something. I think he cannot sense my real level. The false aura is deceiving him, so it's natural that he considers me stronger than him."
X seemed to nod:
"Yes, that makes sense."
Noa stepped out of the cave.
Kargal looked around in wonder:
"These places… seem to have changed a little."
The sun was setting. Crimson rays struck the clouds, painting the sky in fiery hues. A gentle breeze blew through the forest; the leaves whispered. The goblins sat in a circle with Sara tied to a tree.
Seeing Noa emerge, they ran toward him shouting:
"Second Master!"
Noa glanced sideways at Kargal:
"Hide. No one must see you until I permit it."
Kargal looked confused for a moment:
"Yes, Master!" it said, then dove into the bushes.
The goblins reached Noa.
"You're back, Second Master!"
Noa observed them carefully.
"Did anything happen while I was gone?"
The goblins exchanged glances, then one answered:
"Yes, Master… a stupid bear attacked. But it was wounded and fled."
Noa placed his palm on the goblin's shoulder:
"Well done. Now find a place to spend the night."
The goblins nodded:
"Yes, Second Master!"
At that moment, Sara, tied to the tree, cried out excitedly:
"You finally came out! Now free me! You promised!"
The goblins looked at her. Inside, Sara rejoiced:
I'm free. I'll return to my city. I will never come back to this forest again.
Noa walked calmly, brought his hand close to his chest, palm facing downward. He clenched his fingers into the shape of a spear.
"I have repeated this motion ten thousand times. Because of the lack of mana, nothing came out before. The perfect moment to test it," he said with curiosity.
He approached Sara.
"Theoretically… I gather mana at my fingertip, compress it, and release it the instant I cut through the air," he said quietly.
Noa expanded his mana sense to the maximum.
He began gathering mana in his fingers.
Then he slashed vertically through the air in a single motion.
A jet of black energy shot from his right hand. It flew straight—directly toward Sara—and…
In one clean strike, it severed the girl's neck and slammed her against the tree.
Sara's eyes widened. Her pupils contracted. Blood trickled from her mouth. Her head separated from her body and rolled to the ground.
Blood gushed from her neck like a fountain, spraying everywhere.
Noa walked slowly to Sara. He grabbed her hair, lifted the head, and brought it close to his face.
In an ice-cold, emotionless voice he spoke:
"I do not deceive. I said I would free you… and I did. Not from slavery—from this world."
Then, with a calm, almost careless motion, he tossed the head backward. It struck the tree, fell, and landed in the embrace of the headless body.
Noa walked to the corpse. A hard, cold smile appeared on his face—no pity, no doubt. His teeth showed.
He reached the body and began untying the ropes one by one. Once the arms were free, he took the head from the corpse's lap, placed it firmly between the two hands, and stepped back.
"There… this looks much better," he said.
The surrounding goblins froze as one. Their eyes grew huge, their breathing rapid—raw terror was written plainly on their faces. Not one dared take a step forward or backward.
Noa slowly turned his head to the side and continued in a cold tone:
"I saw several black mana crystals inside the cave. He wanted to break them… but couldn't. That explains why he could no longer cast magic afterward. The unbroken black mana remained trapped in his body."
He gently stroked Sara's face, as though showing affection to a living person. Yet his words were utterly different:
"It was not wise to try to deceive me, little girl."
Noa stood motionless. At that moment, a strange light flared in the eyes of Kargal, who had been watching everything from the bushes.
Excitedly, it whispered:
"I like this… you're starting, Master."
Noa glanced at it for a second, then turned to the goblins. They were still frozen in horror.
Noa pointed toward the corpse with his hand:
"Move quickly. Otherwise…"
He slowly turned the head, showing his blood-soaked fingers.
"…you will end up just like this."
The goblins let out panicked cries and scrambled into motion; not one dared linger even a moment longer.
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