C1043
"That beggar..."
Raon gripped Rector's clothing while keeping his gaze fixed on the blindfolded beggar.
"That's the Dark Night Sword God Darkan, right?"
Although it was still hard to believe, Darkan, the former Leader of the Holy Sword Alliance and bearer of the title Dark Night Sword God, was crawling on the ground, pretending to be a beggar.
"Yes."
Rector slowly nodded and let out a sigh.
"That's why I said you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."
"Indeed. If I had heard in Zieghart that Darkan had become a beggar, I would have first worried about your mental state, Grandpa."
Rector had only revealed Darkan's location without mentioning what he was doing. Now Raon understood why he had made that decision.
'A Transcendent. Who could believe that a high-level Transcendent mastering the Soul Sword had become a beggar?'
Even with his trust in Rector, he would never have believed such a statement.
-In all my long years, I've seen many crazy people...
Wrath let out a hollow laugh as he looked Darkan up and down.
-It's been a long time since I've seen someone this crazy. His brain must be wired completely differently.
He stared intently at Raon while talking about different brain structures.
'Why are you looking at me?'
-Because you're just as crazy as that crazy guy.
Wrath moved his jaw while saying they were on the same level.
'Hey! No matter what, I'm not that bad!'
Raon waved his hand, rejecting the comparison.
-The style may be different, but the level of craziness is the same!
Wrath snorted, insisting he was sure.
'I'm telling you I'm not!'
Raon protested being compared to Darkan before turning his attention back to the casino.
"Nngh..."
Darkan shuffled toward the casino, seemingly oblivious to their presence.
"Please, even just a little change..."
He grabbed the ankles of people entering or leaving the casino, begging for money.
"Ugh, disgusting!"
"Get away from me!"
People kicked Darkan and entered the casino, treating him like trash.
-Seeing him like this reminds me of that Pointy Ears.
Wrath drew a slight smile, as if remembering Rimmer crawling around the casino.
'That guy was thrown out after gambling. But this...'
Raon shook his head as he observed Darkan's appearance.
'He's acting like a poor beggar.'
While Rimmer had lost his money and clothes gambling before being thrown out, Darkan was living as an uncomfortable beggar with no interest in gambling.
'But...'
Is he injured? Raon frowned as he saw Darkan rubbing the places where people had hit him.
'Could it be... has he lost his Martial Prowess?'
Darkan was a monster even among Transcendents. The blows and kicks of normal people shouldn't affect him at all, yet his body was covered in bruises and wounds.
-It's not that.
Wrath shook his head, gesturing for Raon to look closer.
-He has hidden his aura under his soul and adjusted his body to appear as an ordinary human. In reality, he has become stronger than when we last saw him.
He gestured for Raon to use his newly acquired trait.
'Hmm...'
Raon briefly moistened his lips and activated his Azure Clear Eye. As the cold ice seeped into his pupils, he began to see Darkan's massive soul and the terrifying aura writhing beneath it.
'You're right...'
Darkan had deliberately adjusted his aura and body to appear as an ordinary person. He was acting as a pathetic beggar with even more power and soul than before.
'He already knows I'm here.'
Although Darkan wasn't looking in their direction, he must have sensed that Raon and Rector were observing him. Since they had been discovered, there was no need to lower their voices or hide their presence.
"Why is Darkan doing this?"
Raon exhaled softly as he looked at Rector.
"Isn't it obvious?"
Rector frowned as if the answer was predetermined.
"It must be to improve his mastery of the Soul Sword."
"I thought the same."
Raon nodded calmly. He couldn't think of any other reason why the Dark Night Sword God would be doing such things either.
'To think he would gouge out his eyes and become a beggar just to become stronger...'
Although Raon believed he had worked harder than anyone to become stronger, he felt it would be difficult to match Darkan's dedication.
"Let's go. He already knows we're here."
Raon shrugged and approached Darkan, who was leaning against the casino wall.
"It's been a while."
Being someone who didn't care about formal or casual speech, he moved his jaw as if greeting a friend he had seen yesterday.
"Hmm..."
Darkan lifted his head as he exhaled sharply, maintaining his beggar act even with them.
"Who might you be?"
He exhaled roughly, pretending not to recognize them.
"Can we drop the act?"
Raon knelt to look at the black blindfold covering Darkan's eyes.
"Tch."
Darkan made a sound of disapproval.
"What do you want?"
Only after creating a subtle, flexible aura barrier around himself and Rector did he speak in his normal voice. His control over his aura was chillingly smooth.
"Wasn't our deal finished?"
Darkan wrinkled his nose, seemingly confused about why they had come. As expected, he had already recognized Raon despite his disguise.
"I have a favor to ask."
Raon clasped his hands as he looked at the wrinkles etched on Darkan's forehead.
"No."
Darkan shook his head without even listening to what Raon had to say.
"Although I call it a favor, it's something that would benefit you as well."
Raon slightly bit his lip, suggesting that Darkan should listen before deciding.
"Would benefit me?"
Darkan looked at him with a disdainful smile.
"Didn't I tell you that I value you not for your current Martial Prowess, but for your future potential?"
He shook his head firmly, indicating he had little interest in Raon's current self.
"Unless you're going to bring Glenn Zieghart before me right now, there's nothing you can help me with, so you should leave."
Darkan disdained his response, as if telling them not to interrupt his training.
"Interrupt your training? What meaning could this act of begging have?"
"Because it's something I've never done before."
Darkan scratched the ground with his finger as he let out a thin smile.
"I've been in the heavens since my birth. Born into a good family and overflowing with talent, I've always reigned above others."
He lowered his head, indicating he had lived a more splendid and noble life than anyone else.
"That's why I'm trying to live life from the very bottom. Walking a path I've never walked before. Doing something that doesn't feel like my own..."
Darkan touched the blindfold covering his empty eye sockets as he twisted his lips.
"That helps tremendously in the growth of both the soul and swordsmanship."
He clenched his fist stained with dirt, explaining that this was the reason he had become a beggar.
"Right now, my mind is buzzing with anticipation. I feel I can gain new insights if I focus on this life a little longer, so don't interfere."
Darkan waved dismissively, indicating for them to leave.
"Hmm..."
Raon frowned as he watched Darkan return to his begging.
'It doesn't seem like he's going to listen to what I have to say.'
Normally, he would at least listen, but right now, Darkan seemed completely disinterested in anything else, on the verge of some kind of enlightenment.
"Darkan."
Rector nodded slightly as he looked at Darkan.
"When do you think this enlightenment will arrive?"
"As you know, a martial artist can't choose when enlightenment arrives. I feel it's near now, but it's as if I can't quite reach it, so I'm even less sure."
Darkan scratched his temple, seemingly frustrated.
"Then at least let's hear what we have to say..."
"That's right, Grandpa."
Raon grabbed Rector's arm as he tried to approach Darkan.
'He's not in a state to listen to reason right now.'
Darkan had always valued Raon's swordsmanship talent highly. That he was acting this way meant it was better not to disturb him now.
"Let's go."
Raon stepped back while still holding Rector's arm.
"Good decision. At least I'll hear what you have to say after I achieve enlightenment."
As soon as they retreated, Darkan dissolved the aura barrier that had been flowing like natural mana.
...
Without saying anything, Raon leaned against the alley wall where they had first observed Darkan.
"Are you sure about this? If we retreat now..."
Rector narrowed his eyes, seeming worried about the war with the White Blood Religion.
"Of course, I don't plan to leave it like this."
Raon twisted his lips as he watched Darkan clumsily begging.
"I think I'll have a solution soon."
***
"Tsk."
Raon made a gesture of disapproval as he watched Darkan begging on his knees in the back alley of the capital.
-*Yaaawn!*
Wrath yawned so widely that his mouth seemed about to rip.
-How long do you plan to stay here? The food is decent, as expected of the Entertainment Kingdom, but I'm bored!
He grabbed Raon's shoulder, suggesting they should at least gamble.
'How long have we been here?'
-A week! You've been watching that beggar for a whole week!
Wrath twisted his body like a rose vine, complaining that he was dying of boredom.
'I see.'
Raon made a gesture of disapproval as he watched Darkan beg from passersby.
'He's been like this for a whole week...'
Darkan begged people while frequently changing locations. He seemed truly committed, never revealing his identity even when kicked by gamblers, hit with objects by merchants, or trampled by other beggars. However, despite all his efforts, he rarely succeeded in his begging.
'I can see what the problem is.'
Raon twisted his lips as he watched Darkan get beaten all day without succeeding in his begging.
'That's just a martial artist wearing a beggar's mask.'
His instincts from his days as an assassin, when he had disguised himself as countless beggars, told him it was just a fake beggar.
'Now it's time to make our move.'
-Eh?
Wrath blinked, as if asking what Raon meant.
Didn't he tell us not to come? He won't listen to any requests right now.
He shook his head, suggesting there were no words that could reach Darkan at this moment.
'I'm not going to make a request, am I?'
Raon let out a thin smile as he looked at Wrath.
'I'm going to show him what a proper beggar is.'
He took out rags that not even a beggar would use from his Subspace Pouch, put them on, and smeared charcoal on his face and body. After making himself look like someone who hadn't eaten in ten days, he approached Darkan.
"Hmm..."
Darkan frowned as he looked at him.
"Didn't I tell you to disappear since I'm not interested in any favors?"
He looked at him with an icy gaze, different from before. A chilling killing intent pierced Raon's heart.
"Favor? What nonsense?"
Raon shook his head, repeating what he had said to Wrath.
"I came to teach you what it means to be a beggar."
Saying he would prove himself, he knelt and hunched forward like a hunchback.
"I... haven't eaten in a week..."
Raon approached a young woman walking with a refined-looking man, hunching his shoulders and raising trembling fingers.
"Please, give me just a copper."
Although he had eaten a rich lunch with Wrath not long ago, he gasped as if he hadn't really eaten in a week.
"How pathetic..."
The young woman tightly gripped her companion's arm.
"Tch, consider yourself lucky."
The refined man made a gesture of disapproval and tossed him a gold coin.
"Th-thank you! Thank you very much!"
He lowered his head and carefully picked up the fallen gold coin. After that, Raon continued targeting elderly people and young women, obtaining five silver coins and two gold coins.
"H-how...?"
Darkan let out a sigh as he watched Raon obtain in less than an hour what he hadn't been able to get in a week of begging.
"You..."
Raon turned to Darkan as he let out a short sigh.
"Do you know why you rarely succeed in begging?"
He jingled the recently acquired gold and silver coins in his fingers.
"What...?"
"You say you want to become a beggar, but you haven't thought about what it means to be a beggar."
Raon made a gesture of disapproval as he examined Darkan's posture.
"With your knees together and shoulders straight like that, you look like a martial artist, not a beggar. Who would have pity on you?"
Raon shook his head, mocking Darkan who was sitting with dignity.
"You can't become a true beggar like that."
He pounded the ground with his fist, telling him to wake up.
"Eh? Uhh..."
Darkan swallowed hard, seeming unable to understand the situation.
"Look at this."
Raon raised the hand that had just received the gold coin.
"What do you think?"
"I think it's a dirty hand."
Although he couldn't see, Darkan mumbled about the dirt as if he felt the charcoal smeared on his hand.
"And how about this?"
Raon slightly lowered his clasped hands and made his fingers tremble as if he had chills.
"Now you look a little pathetic..."
Darkan let out a low groan as if he felt the trembling fingers.
"Exactly. Begging isn't about getting things from others, it's about making others give to you. In other words, you must appear pathetic by any means necessary! Remember the angle and the tremor of my hands I'm showing you now."
Raon continued trembling his hands, telling him to feel it well.
-W-what is this?
Wrath also blinked, as if unable to comprehend the situation.
"Try it. Just like I showed you."
Raon stepped back behind Darkan, telling him to try it himself.
"Hmm..."
Darkan rolled his eyes, then slightly separated his knees, hunched his shoulders, and raised his trembling hands as Raon had shown him.
"And you don't beg from just anyone. Generally, elderly people or young women. Especially women accompanied by men have a higher probability of success."
He nodded, explaining that targets should also be carefully chosen when begging.
"Now try it yourself."
"Alri... ah!"
Darkan nodded and was about to move when he looked back to look at him.
"Your silver tongue almost completely fooled me."
He shook his head as he lowered his clasped hands.
"I'm not doing this to become a true beggar and earn money. It's to achieve enlightenment..."
"How pathetic, Dark Night Sword God Darkan."
Raon showed his teeth as he spoke in a cold tone.
"Don't belittle beggars!"
After raising an aura barrier, he let out a roar so fierce that both their garments fluttered.
"You said you became a beggar to walk a path you'd never walked before? Do you think enlightenment will come just from scratching the surface of that life? That's not the path to enlightenment, it's just a waste of time!"
He kicked the ground, shouting that Darkan should do it properly or quit now.
"A beggar's life is more intense than a martial artist's. If I don't beg, someone else will beg and take my dinner! If I get distracted, even my broken rice bowl will be kicked! If you truly want to gain enlightenment, you must become a beggar from your very core!"
Raon shouted for him to wake up as he slapped Darkan's cheek.
-Y-you crazy!
Wrath's jaw dropped.
-R-retreat right now! That crazy guy will draw his sword... Eh?
Contrary to his worry, Darkan showed no anger and remained frozen in place.
"Hah..."
After blanking out for a while, Darkan knelt before him.
"You're right."
He touched his slapped cheek as he looked at him.
"I still felt something was missing, and you're right. I still thought of myself as the Dark Night Sword God."
Darkan clenched his fist until it bled, saying he hadn't truly lived a life of destitution.
-Uh...? Is this okay?
Wrath's jaw trembled, as if confused by how different things were turning out from his expectations.
"Please, teach me!"
Darkan bowed his head to Raon, pleading for instruction.
"Very well."
Raon nodded as he placed his hand on Darkan's head.
"I'll show you what a true beggar is. Let's start with the posture again."
With a deep smile, he began to explain again the beggar posture he had shown earlier.
"First, the angles of your arms and hands are crucial. The trembling comes after."
Darkan seemed to feel his sincerity in his heart as he hunched over like a true beggar and created the proper beggar's angle between his hands.
-I was completely wrong...
Wrath shook his trembling head as he watched Raon teach Darkan the proper posture of a beggar.
-In this world... no, in all dimensions, there's no one crazier than you!
Who else would teach a Transcendent how to beg!
-
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