Just as the crowd’s emotions were running high—
Suddenly.
A figure stepped out from behind the officer.
—A veiled, slender woman with pointed ears.
She walked straight to Shen Ye, grabbed his arm, and asked in a low voice:
“Where did you get this?”
Everyone turned their attention to Shen Ye’s wrist, where a bracelet woven from colorful wild grasses was wrapped around it.
“Huh? That’s an elven trinket,” the officer commented instinctively.
Shen Ye hesitated.
Should he tell the truth?
How much should he reveal?
No, there was no time to overthink.
He decided to deal with the immediate situation first. Besides, having exposed the undead’s conspiracy, the elves owed him a favor, not hostility.
“Lannie gave it to me,” Shen Ye replied.
“Lannie,” the elf woman repeated, pointing to the bracelet. She chanted a soft spell.
The bracelet emitted a faint glow.
A young girl’s voice emerged from it:
“Who’s calling me with elven magic?”
The elf immediately asked, “Lannie, this is Yudria, the Royal Court Archmage . Why is your bracelet with a human boy?”
“Oh, you met him?” Lannie’s voice bubbled with delight.
The serious aura surrounding Yudria noticeably dissipated. She looked at Shen Ye again, her previously sharp gaze now tinged with an odd warmth.
Shen Ye was confused.
The atmosphere—
The heated, somber mood he had worked so hard to cultivate seemed to be shifting into something completely different.
“Lannie, I mean no offense, but I need to know what this human boy has done. It’s important,” Yudria continued.
“Let me hear his voice,” Lannie replied.
“Hey, Lannie, that magic trick was pretty neat, wasn’t it?” Shen Ye said reluctantly.
“It really is you! When are you coming back to visit our village?” Lannie exclaimed, brimming with excitement.
“Lannie… answer my question,” Yudria said.
“He? Oh, the High Priest was all set to destroy the undead, but he exposed their plot first, forcing the High Priest to owe him a favor. The High Priest has been looking for him ever since,” Lannie said matter-of-factly.
“Is that so… you better not be lying,” Yudria responded.
“You can ask the High Priest. How could anyone fake something like this? Everyone in our village knows about it,” Lannie replied confidently.
“Alright, I’ll contact you later,” Yudria said.
The spell ended.
Yudria’s expression softened further. She released Shen Ye’s arm and turned to the officer.
“He’s young, agile, resilient, and has a connection with the elves. I suggest he be sent to the capital for training.”
The officer, now in a great mood, smiled and said, “Good idea. It’s rare for someone to earn the elves’ favor. Let’s do that.”
He then gave instructions:
“Prepare identification for him, arrange a place for him to rest, and in a few days, send him to the capital.”
“Record this incident and report it to the Imperial Military Academy.”
“Yes, sir,” a subordinate answered, quickly scribbling notes with a quill.
The officer clapped Shen Ye on the shoulder, smiling warmly.
“What’s your name?”
Shen Ye scratched his head awkwardly and replied, “I… can’t quite remember right now.”
—The name “Shen Ye” felt out of place in this world, and he wasn’t familiar with the naming customs of Rhine County.
“You can’t remember?” The officer looked to the healer for clarification.
The healer bowed and explained, “When we found him, he was crushed under a stone hammer by an undead giant, with broken ribs—likely causing a concussion and memory loss.”
Everyone turned to look at Shen Ye again.
An undead giant.
The kind of undead capable of leveling cities.
And he had survived? What luck.
“Treat him well. The costs are on me. Send him to the capital in a few days,” the officer ordered.
“Yes, sir!” the medics responded in unison.
Shen Ye stammered, “Forgive my boldness, but you are—?”
“This is His Highness, Prince Norton of the Empire,” the white-haired wizard interjected.
Prince?
Completely unaware of its significance, Shen Ye could only widen his eyes in disbelief.
—That should work.
The officer chuckled, patting his shoulder again. “We’ll meet again.”
With that, he led his entourage away.
Shen Ye kept staring at their retreating figures.
…Wait.
Why am I staring at their backs?
I’m not his long-lost son or anything.
Realizing this, Shen Ye quickly turned away.
Once the group was out of sight, the skeletal guardian finally spoke:
“Prince Norton is the eldest son of the royal family and the future heir to the throne.”
Shen Ye was stunned.
“Why would someone like him show up here?” he asked curiously.
“This battle. He led the human and elven coalition to repel the undead’s assault. Why do you think he’s here?”
“So young,” Shen Ye murmured, amazed.
“You’re the young one,” the skeleton retorted.
Shen Ye lay back on the stretcher to rest when faint glowing text appeared in his vision:
“You have gained a title.”
“You have a chance to create a unique trait: ‘The Boy Who Cheats Death.’”
“Continue to expand your fame.”
Startled, Shen Ye grabbed a mirror, inspecting his forehead.
“What are you doing?” the skeleton asked.
“I’m checking if there’s a lightning-shaped scar on my forehead,” Shen Ye replied, peering into the mirror.
“A scar?” The skeleton sounded puzzled.
At that moment, a healer approached to check on him, asking if there was still any discomfort and applying magic to treat him.
In truth, he was already fully healed.
But the healer insisted, and it would be impolite to refuse, so Shen Ye didn’t stop them.
This seemed to mark the beginning. Healers began to arrive one after another.
Half an hour later—
Even the hemorrhoids he might develop twenty years from now had been thoroughly treated.
( TL : hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the lower rectum or anus. when you have this you will feel pain sitting on your ass )
He was starting to feel overwhelmed.
This isn’t sustainable. Am I supposed to lie here all day?
What about the main world?
He got up and left the emergency area, wandering around the camp.
As he walked, numerous soldiers looked his way, smiling and nodding in greeting.
It seemed his reputation had grown just a little.
But he didn’t want to be known as the “The Boy Who Cheats Death”!
While resisting the title in his heart, he aimlessly wandered.
Suddenly, he noticed a tent.
The flag outside displayed three crossed short swords.
“In large military camps, the Brotherhood sets up intelligence relay points. If you see a tent marked with three crossed short swords, you can go there to turn in missions.”
—The Shadow Hand’s tent!
I can exchange this for a reward!
Just as he was about to step in, a wave of hesitation struck him.
He was famous now.
If he pulled out the “Nightfall” dagger and revealed his identity as an assassin to claim the reward—
Never mind anything else.
At the very least, the assassins of the Shadow Hand would know his true nature.
—What? That “The Boy Who Cheats Death” is actually an assassin?
Damn it!
All he wanted was to gain some skills in the Nightmare World, not to become overly conspicuous.
“Are you scared?” the big skeleton asked.
“Of course not,” Shen Ye replied.
“Well, that makes sense. You’re not even from the Nightmare World, so what’s there to be scared of?” the skeleton added.
Shen Ye froze for a moment.
That’s right. I’m not from the Nightmare World!
What am I afraid of?
If it becomes too much trouble later, I can always return with a different identity!
With this thought, Shen Ye straightened his back and stepped into the tent.
“Hello.”
Inside the tent, a seemingly ordinary man was squatting on the ground, skinning a bear.
The man glanced at Shen Ye, his gaze briefly settling on the dagger at Shen Ye’s side before silently staring at him.
Why isn’t he saying anything?
Shen Ye thought for a moment, then folded his middle and ring fingers while extending the other three in a gesture resembling “I love you.”
“May the shadows always protect us,” he said.
The man nodded, made the same gesture, and finally spoke:
“Brother, what news do you bring?”
“This.”
Shen Ye tossed a crystal to him.
“I snagged it from the soulfire cannon in the undead’s territory. You’ve probably noticed their artillery fire this battle has been far stronger than before.”
The man caught the crystal, examined it carefully, and nodded.
“Excellent. This is indeed valuable. What would you like in exchange?”
“What do you have?” Shen Ye asked with interest.
“Oh, I have plenty here. You’re in for a treat,” the man replied with a grin.
Meanwhile—
Norton arrived at the largest tent in the camp.
“That boy earlier was quite interesting,” the white-haired wizard remarked.
“Your Highness, what did you notice?” a knight asked.
“He carried a high-level token from the Shadow Hand. Remarkable for someone so young,” the wizard replied.
“You’re referring to that dagger, aren’t you?” said Royal Court Archmage Yudria.
“Exactly. I saw it too—‘Nightfall,’ a weapon only possessed by advanced assassins,” a sharpshooter added.
Norton looked slightly surprised and smiled. “I never expected to discover such a talented individual just by wandering around. Truly a stroke of luck.”
After a moment’s thought, he said, “In my name, nominate him for the Medal of Valor.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The secretary behind him quickly recorded the command.
