Legend of the Misfit

"What? This is huge!" Killian's jaw dropped staring at Lucid's mansion. As a lower demon, that wasn't something he'd seen before—it looked like half of the wildlands.

To his left was Raiden, literally reciprocating his reaction—he was drowned in shock.

Before them was a massive wall, not as massive as the circuit walls, but it was massive. The entrance was a huge metal gate, wider than the circuit gates.

[Who is this man?]

Lucid grinned.

"Don't be afraid, come in," he said and pushed the gate open.

Killian's body stood still, itching to see what lay behind the gate, but his brain was in hesitation.

[This man effortlessly killed three upper demons, and if that wasn't enough, he healed my wound in mere seconds. What if—

"Kill, I don't think we would be alive if he wanted us dead," Raiden said with a steady expression and walked through the gate.

Killian let out a deep sigh. "I guess you are right."

And followed Raiden's lead.

The mansion was amazing—a beautifully paved road leading to the mansion with a neat reddish grass. 

"Beautiful."

The mansion had a brownish château appearance, and the dark moon was glowing beautifully on it.

Killian's eyes darted around with each step.

Lucid welcomed them into the living room.

As Killian took his first step into the room, he instinctively shielded his eyes.

Blinded by light crystals across the room, he continued to shield his eyes as he walked in.

He glanced at the floor in the process—it was reflective. For the first time in the twelve years of his life, he saw what he looked like. 

His white hair looked almost brown, his face was covered in mud, and his blue eyes were piercing sharply at the floor.

"I never knew I looked this dirty."

Everyone glanced at him.

Though his eyes hadn't fully adjusted to the light, he stopped shielding his eyes, and with his eyes clenched shut. "How come none of you is dirty?"

Both Raiden and Killian simultaneously turned to Lucid. An awkward silence filled the air as they exchanged glances.

"You kids should take a bath."

"Bath?"

Lucid led them into a bathroom. It was gleaming, with a vast pool of crystal-clear water.

Killian was left at a standstill. [A bath and clean water? Did he put something in the water to make it this clean? Or he just doesn't realize it's clean water.]

Down the mountain, where clean water was revered, seeing them bathe in it was a rare sight to Killian.

He tilted his head towards Lucid and gestured at the pool. 

"Uhm… You know this is clean water, right?"

Lucid smiled. "Don't worry about that; just freshen up."

Before he knew it, Raiden was already soaked in the pool. The sight fueled his desire and without hesitation, Killian jumped in after him.

It was warm. The cold breeze of the dark moon, which had surrounded him his whole life, felt like torture in comparison. His whole body relaxed as he soaked calmly.

After a while, he rested his head at the edge of the pool.

[There must be a divine intervention, or else I am not going out.]

Something immediately caught his eye—Raiden. He had brown hair.

[Seriously?]

He had always thought Raiden's hair was black but just dirty.

[Does this mean there are people on the mountain with brown hair? Interesting!]

All this while Raiden remained somewhat distant—it was like Lucid's appearance had changed something within him. Kilian brushed it off and continued to relax in the pool. 

Before long, his eyelids grew heavy, and the next thing he saw was being in the pool alone. 

He got out of the pool, wiped himself clean, and reached for his rugged clothes. But in their place was a stylish and practical black hooded cloak.

[These exist only in the circuit. This is a royal treatment!]

Filled with excitement, he hurried to get dressed.

After dressing, he made his way to the living room, where Raiden and Lucid were engaged in conversation. He casually joined in.

And in an instant, there was a brief, awkward silence.

Lucid hurried his words and broke off the silence.

"I know you kids have lots of questions you would want answered. I can't go into details, but I can assure you I mean you two no harm."

They exchanged glances.

"I am into artifacts; that's why I reside this deep into the wildlands. The mansion itself is an artifact just so yo—

"Care to explain why you aren't inked? From what I know, people who got rejected by their cores still have inks."

"My situation is a special case; with time, I'm sure you'll be able to understand better."

[Look at the smile; I don't trust this dude.]

Killian gave him a confused gaze, but ceased to ask further questions.

As Lucid spoke, Killian's inked wrist began to tremble, sending electric waves and pain through his body. He clutched it tightly with his teeth clenched.

 [It feels like you want to kill with me. Huh, speak.]

Raiden hurried over in concern and shook him. "What's wrong?"

"I think my core wants to speak with me."

Lucid rested his chin in his hand. "Really? That's a unique scenario."

He stood up approached Killian, touched his ink, and immediately pulled his hand back. "It sends electric waves, huh? I'll be back."

The waves grew stronger and more painful. Killian kept his teeth clenched, and his hand tightening around his wrist.

Lucid returned with a glove—a black leather glove with ancient letters inscribed on each finger. He gestured for Killian to adjust his hand, and Killian complied as Lucid slipped it on.

In an instant, it stopped.

His wrist stopped trembling; the electric waves and pain ceased.

Both Lucid and Raiden took their seats in relief.

"I haven't seen a core act this way before. Normally, they speak or send instinctive messages, but sending electric waves is new to me.

"Since the glove worked, I might have a fair idea."

Killian ceased his doubts, sat quietly with his hands resting on his thighs, and his eyes fixated on Lucid.

Lucid leaned forward. "I don't think it's your devil mana core's choice to be a red ink. In your case, it's different—it has no say in the matter. There might be something else within you, and both sides are struggling to coexist.

"The glove is an artifact that stabilizes devil mana cores and channels its strength into brute strength. Until you can use your core effectively, I'd suggest you keep the glove on. Focus on getting stronger for now."

He sat calmly, pondering what Lucid said. Everything was overwhelming, but he was glad to be accepted by his mana core. [My path to victory isn't sealed after all.]

Even with the gloves, he could see aura, hear and smell better than he used to. That was enough for him; he was determined to start his journey more than he had ever been. 

[As painful as it is, these two are stronger than I am. I must put my curiosity aside and learn everything I could learn from them, but I must be cautious.]

Killian let out a deep sigh. "Thank you for your help."

But before he could ask anything concerning getting stronger, Lucid spoke up. "What do you kids think about me training you? After all, I'm pretty sure the demons won't cease coming after you."

Raiden bowed gracefully. Killian hesitated for a moment with his eyes darting around, and responded with a nod.

With that settled, Lucid gave them a proper tour of his mansion, introduced them to their rooms, and asked them to rest for the time being.

It was barely a resting time for Killian. He pondered what Lucid's intentions might be.

Lying comfortably on the soft bed, his muscles were fully relaxed.

[We are demons; good intentions aren't always good.]

Raiden had been good to him, and literally in less than a week, a mysterious man was also acting all kind-hearted.

He knew he must take advantage of the opportunity, but he wasn't going to let my guard down.

Before long, the resting time was over and their training began. They were introduced to metallic robots. They were artifacts used to train, and said to be common within the circuit. 

They were designed with combat and martial arts techniques installed in their core, and the difficulty ranged from one to five, with five being the hardest. They traced the mana of the person in front of it, and once they are knocked out, it stoped—resuming only when the opponent is ready.

Killian started at level one, while Raiden began at three. That alone gave him more reason to train harder.

On his first try, he was knocked out with a single strike.

He braced himself for the second trail, managed to dodge two punches, but was taken down before he could land a strike.

Raiden, on the other hand, was going toe-to-toe with level three. Their speed, reflexes, and punches were in perfect sync—they were evenly matched. He clearly admitted he was jealous with just his gaze.

He shook his head, took a deep sigh, and concentrated on his training. 

But this time, he wanted to make the first move.

He sprinted toward the robot, narrowly evaded its strike, and landed his first hit—only to be knocked out instantly by its other hand.

Without hesitation, he got up. [Tsk.]

He dodged its next attack and delivered a powerful blow to its chest, sending it crashing to the ground.

LEVEL ONE COMPLETED, LEVEL TWO BEGINS!

Killian let out a deep sigh, his body drenched in sweat, but he kept jogging on his toes.

He glanced down at his glove. [Why do I feel so exhausted if it's supposed to channel my mana into brute strength?]

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

The robot got up and dashed towards him. It looked more attractive than before. It made its first attack; Killian's eyes were widened as he barely dodged it, and within seconds of its strike, it inhumanely kicked him in the nuts. 

He collapsed on his knees, his eyes popped, and his mouth was wide open. He held his nuts in agony, [What the…]

His head leaned forward to the ground as he tilted to see how Raiden was coping. He was on level five and again going toe to toe with it. 

[I must finish level five. Forget the pain, Killian.]

Killian steadied himself on his feet just as the robot dashed toward him. Before he knew it, its leg slammed into his cheek, snapping his head to the side.

He wasn't about to go down—[Na…na.] Taking advantage of the momentum, he jumped and drove his feet into its face. They both crashed to the ground simultaneously.

LEVEL TWO COMPLETED, LEVEL THREE BEGINS!

Raiden was done with his training; he stood there quietly and watched Killian suffer. 

Killian reached for his cheek, checking to see if he lost a tooth—he was okay.

He hurried up to his feet, and before he knew it, the robot was in front of him. Its fist slammed into his gut, and the force pushed him back. Before he could break his fall, multiple strikes followed, but he wasn't going down without a fight. 

[These aren't punches; they are just fast.]

They clashed. Fists blurred, dodges weaved between strikes. He could feel it—his punches became faster, his reflexes sharpened, and he could see all its strikes.

Without hesitation, he delivered a precise strike into its throat. It fell flat on the ground. 

Killian sat on the floor from exhaustion.

LEVEL THREE COMPLETED, LEVEL FOUR BEGINS!

"Killian, hurry up. We must start the next training together."

[Such kindness.] Sighed.

Killian had to finish this. Steadying himself, he dashed forward and launched a series of attacks, but it evaded them effortlessly.

[What?] The moment his focus wavered, it struck. In mere seconds, dozens of blows crashed into his gut.

He slowly collapsed on his knees; sharp, intense pain spread through his abdomen, and his eyes drenched in tears.

As he endured the pain, something suddenly shifted within him. The next thing he knew, the robot's head was crushed in his hand.

"What? What happened?"

His eyes darted around; Raiden was in shock, and Lucid smirked as he stared at him.

The pain in his stomach was gone, but his body trembled.