"Ouch!"
Eric, Noam, and Zane groaned in pain as their bodies hit the ground hard. Their swords were thrown several meters from where they fell. The pain was still felt throughout their bodies.
Fortunately, the steel wall that had trapped them earlier disappeared the moment they withstood the steel rod's attack. Otherwise, they would have hit the steel wall instead of the ground.
Noam tried to stand up by leaning on his elbow as he tried to hold his hand while groaning in pain, "My hand..."
Currently, Noam's palm had a slight burn caused by his magic colliding with the steel rod. It was probably because he had cast a bit too much magic that it was affected as well.
Likewise, Eric's palm, which had been slightly shocked so far, still felt numb and Zane's palm, which had been slightly frozen, was difficult to move. Eric and Zane also tried to stand up while holding back their groans of pain.
The current state of the three's hands did not allow them to hold the sword for the time being. Aside from the pain, their grip on the sword would not be as strong as before.
"What the hell was that attack..." Zane muttered as he grimaced in pain. The hardness of this old staff was no joke. Even as he endured it, he felt for a moment as if his hand would be crushed.
"Where is our sword?" Eric asked, trying to ignore the pain in his hand. Seeing that their swords were not too far away, he immediately tried to stand up.
"Oh? You guys are pretty good at holding it together." This remark made the three of them sit up. Unfortunately, they were having trouble even standing up at the moment.
Herris walked over to them with an admiring whistle, "I didn't expect you to be stronger than I thought. Even though you're just a kid." He said with a reckless grin.
Noam refrained from forcing his body to attack Herris, "These kids have hurt you before."
Herris hummed indifferently, "True. So now it's time for me to get my revenge, right?" He chuckled happily as he saw the trio's expressions turn suspicious.
"But first, how about I reward you for being the first to successfully restrain my iron?" Herris' words this time made the trio look at each other in confusion.
"Reward?"
Herris snorted in annoyance, "Did you forget what I said earlier?
Immediately, they remembered Herris' words earlier. They honestly didn't expect much from a criminal like him, let alone keep a promise.
Noam snorted lightly, "I didn't think a criminal like you would know how to keep a promise."
Zane elbowed him hard, signaling him to shut up. Meanwhile, Eric looked at him sharply, but actually supported his words.
Herris shrugged indifferently, "Whatever. I'm in a good mood."
"But why would you be generous enough to tell us?" Zane asked suspiciously.
Herris raised his eyebrows, "Isn't the reason obvious?"
Then he grinned broadly, his eyes twinkling evilly, "Because you won't live to tell those damned kings about this pill information!"
Eric snorted, "Overconfidence is not a good thing," He whispered sarcastically. Noam nodded in agreement as Zane sighed, but he also agreed with Eric's words.
At the moment they helped each other to stand upright. They also quietly retrieved their swords while Herris was busy with his pockets, though their hands were still shaking as they held the swords.
Herris reached into his pocket, where the only cloth still clung to his body, and pulled out something small and black.
Eric narrowed his eyes, "A black pill?"
"I've never seen one." Zane said hesitantly. Actually, since they were only 5 years old, their knowledge was still small. He suspected that those pills only existed on the black market, so he didn't know much more.
His father said that in order to gain knowledge about the black market and its illegal goods, he would have to wait a little longer. That's why he didn't know much.
Herris hummed while staring intently at the pill in his hand, "I honestly don't know the name of this pill because I don't care. All I care about is that this pill is very useful for strength and I like it."
Noam blinked in surprise, "So the pill works to increase the strength of the person who swallows it?"
Herris snorted in disappointment, "Are you sure that's all you can think of? I thought the king's children were smart. Disappointing."
Noam started to protest, but an elbow from Eric silenced him. He grumbled loudly at the enemy's insult, not caring if his rival had stopped him before.
Zane ignored the two as he tried to focus on the main issue, "You said earlier that what you used was magic, but not magic. What do you mean?"
Herris grinned mockingly, "What? Don't you want to guess?"
Zane ignored his mocking tone as he calmly said what was on his mind, "I may not know much about magic yet. But I can tell that your steel is not natural."
Herris blinked in surprise, "Oh? That blue guy is pretty smart."
Noam looked at his friend in confusion, "What do you mean unnatural?"
Zane looked thoughtfully at the steel stuck in the ground, "It's not like the steel is magic that comes from itself. It comes from outside."
Eric frowned, "Is that even possible?"
"That's where the function of the black pill comes from." His answer left them speechless. Didn't that mean that anyone could have magic without even practicing? Isn't that the opposite of people who possess their magic through hard work?
Herris whistled in admiration, "Well done! You almost have all the answers!"
"Wait! Don't tell me this pill not only increases strength, but also gives magic to the person who swallows it?" Noam asked incredulously.
Zane swallowed nervously, "I suppose so."
Herris clapped his hands loudly, "What you said is absolutely true. My magic comes from this pill, not from me. In fact, I'm just an ordinary person without magic."
"What!" Noam shouted loudly, not expecting this fact. He meant that the big man who could even break the ground with a single punch and had the stamina of an elephant was an ordinary human?
Zane grimaced, "I thought so."
"But how could that be? Even if he has magic because of that pill, how would he use it if he were a normal human?" Noam asked again in a tone of disbelief. He still couldn't accept this fact.
"Have you forgotten, Noam?"
This time it was not Zane who answered Noam, but Eric, who had been watching Herris closely, who replied with a sharp grin.
Eric glared at his rival, "Even if they are just ordinary humans, they still have Mana. All humans have Mana, whether they have magic or not."
Noam frowned, "Even so, their Mana is so small that it's almost non-existent."
Then he widened his eyes in surprise, "Unless this pill also increases Mana?"
The three looked at Herris, who shrugged indifferently. But his mocking grin was still on his lips, "Who knows?"
Noam widened his eyes in disbelief, "This is crazy! A sudden increase in Mana can destroy the body! There can't be any side effects after swallowing this pill if its power is so great!"
Eric and Zane looked at each other, aware of the possibility. If the villain used the pill a lot but had no side effects, was it because he always released the power the pill gave him in a short time, or because he had other drugs that could counteract the effects of the black pill?
Herris laughed out loud, as if mocking Noam's words, "I've never been afraid of death, boy! I don't care about the side effects!"
He had a maniacal grin on his face as his eyes widened with madness, "All I care about is winning! Winning against all the strong men in the world! No matter how many times I have to take this pill, I will continue to win!"
"I'd rather die than lose!" Herris shouted while spreading his arms as if he was proud of what he said.
"Are you crazy?!" Noam shouted, making Herris look at him.
"If you die, you won't be able to fight strong people anymore! Is that okay?" Noam growled angrily as he tried to move forward to challenge him.
"Noam!" Eric and Zane shouted at him, trying to stop his reckless actions.
Noam ignored them, "I don't care if you die or not! But your words have made me very angry! Are you content to win with the help of a pill?"
He gave Herris a sharp look, "If it were me, I'd be embarrassed to even think about it!" He hissed sharply as he stared at Herris, who remained silent as he returned the sharp look.
Noam chuckled mockingly, "Still don't understand what I'm saying?"
His orange eyes flashed sharply, "You're embarrassing."