By Zephyria ========
The Red Eagle perched on a branch across from him. Wolf bent his waist and inhaled.
The muscles throughout his entire body contracted. He exhaled.
The world suddenly transformed into a single line. The trees turned into greenish-brown streaks, whizzing past Wolf’s side. The ground felt like a sheet of ice. In the time it took to exhale four times, he reached the end of the path. It felt as if the end of the road had surged toward him. He finished the return trip in exactly four exhales as well. The moment he came to a halt, muddy water splashed violently from the ground.
His heartbeat remained as calm as if he had been walking on flat ground. He wasn’t even out of breath, despite having run a distance that would have melted half a knuckle’s length of a candle.
Wolf slowly lifted his head. The white parrot remained motionless on the branch. One wing was half-raised, one leg was awkwardly lifted, and its beak was hanging open.
Wolf grinned.
“Well, Prince? Did you see it with your own eyes? Me running, I mean.”
“That…”
The tiny beak opened and closed. Soon, the white parrot took flight with an explosive whoosh. Its small body spun frantically in circles in the air.
“No way! Impossible! Wolf, you were faster than a chariot! How… uh, since when—!”
“Since yesterday.”
“Since yesterday?! How did you get this power…!”
“Shh.”
Wolf placed a finger to his lips. The Red Eagle quickly shut its beak and landed on Wolf’s shoulder.
Silence fell over the surroundings for a moment. Wolf spoke.
“Hey.”
〔Yes.〕
“My speed just now. Compared to Silver?”
〔Roughly equal.〕
“My current Combat Output Value?”
〔Request confirmed. Measuring…〕
〔Measurement failed.〕
〔Combat Output Value exceeds 100 calden. Upper limit reached.〕
Wolf’s heart pounded violently. Fuck!
“One more thing. Silver’s face—which one is the real one?”
〔The one with higher quality.〕
“So that means I wasn’t seeing things? Hypothermia or delirium…”
〔Correction. Your biological indicators have been normal for the past 52 hours and 27 minutes. No indicators of fever or hypothermia.〕
〔The Thunder entity disrupted your perception. The methodology is consistent with the injection of suggestions.〕
〔Summary. Your perception was accurate.〕
Wolf’s jaw tightened. That bastard! He deceived someone without even blinking!
If his mother, the White Deer, had seen the scene, she would have called it an ‘architecturally perfect lie.’ A precise, step-by-step expansion. From ‘you saw things’ to ‘it’s delirium.’ From ‘hypothermia’ to ‘if you’re hypothermic, you can’t help but see me as I am.’ By the end, it reached ‘You… are the King of the Bronze-beaked Hawks…?’ It was all an intentional and meticulously calculated hypnosis. If a mother repeatedly tells a snot-nosed child that ‘the sky is purple,’ the child will paint the sky purple when they draw.
“What happened to that face? Is Silver a mage?”
〔It is the technology of the insect-type external tool carried by the Thunder entity. A disguise created by overlaying an illusion onto the entity’s face.〕
〔The illusion vanished yesterday when the external tool was destroyed.〕
〔As the external tool’s self-repair function restored basic functions, the illusion was reactivated.〕
“That mantis fairy…”
〔It is presumed the external tool applied the illusion at the request of the Thunder entity. It is certain that a mutual agreement between the two was reached.〕
〔The external tool’s additional functional values are limited. Depending on lighting or angle conditions, the illusion overlay may intermittently fail. The brief exposure you observed last night while nursing the fever was likely caused by an angle issue.〕
Wolf didn’t need to think long about why Silver had requested the facial disguise from the mantis fairy. A face like that would be very inconvenient for a wandering life.
To think he had actually pitied the guy, completely unaware of this…
Wolf exhaled slowly. At least he knew one thing. Silver was not a gloomy beast. Rather, he was a mischievous beast, and the most talented lying beast of all the people Wolf had ever encountered.
Assessment complete. I’ll definitely pay you back later.
“Now, another story. Look at this.”
Wolf picked up a stone from the ground. He wrapped his fingers around the fist-sized pebble and applied intense pressure. Crack—cracks spread across the surface. Immediately, with a pop, fragments flew in all directions. Sandy dust scattered thickly between his fingers.
“Aaaah! Wolf!”
The Red Eagle leaped up, feathers bristling, before landing back on Wolf’s shoulder.
“How about that?”
Wolf laughed, dusting off his hands.
“Did you say the top-tier Combat Output Value of the Thunder is 700 calden? This should be enough to be seen as 700 calden, right?”
〔Calculating…〕
〔The type of stone you crushed is natural stone. Requires approximately 20 to 60 times the crushing force of an average adult male.〕
〔Top-tier Combat Output Values for Thunder are recorded between 700 and 800 calden. This is 17.5 to 20 times the top-tier Combat Output Value of an average male.〕
〔Conclusion. Your current Combat Output Value is estimated to be equal to or greater than a top-tier Thunder entity. At least 700 calden or more.〕
Wow! Awesome!
“I think I might be a Thunder. I have to be a Thunder. Definitely.”
〔Misjudgment. You are not a Thunder.〕
The answer came back before the stone dust had even settled. Wolf snorted.
“I am a Thunder. Whether you admit it or not, that’s the truth.”
〔You do not have a mole on your flank. Statistically, all Thunder entities possess a mole on their flank.〕
“There could be exceptions.”
〔Impossible according to statistical records. Flank mole…〕
“Stop with the damn mole talk! There are exceptions, exceptions! That’s what the word means!”
〔It is more probable that you are a Type 1 Male Variant than a Thunder.〕
Wolf paused.
“Type 1? What’s that?”
〔One of the mutant classifications within the Stohl human group.〕
〔Commonly referred to as ‘ash tree’ among the Stohl people.〕
〔Primary characteristics: Asexual phenotype during adolescence. Complete absence of standard physiological indicators until and through puberty.〕
〔Combat Output Value approaches 100 calden during adolescence.〕
〔Full manifestation begins around the age of twenty. Periodic fever phenomena accompanied by extreme pain occur for approximately one year. Rapid increase in physical development during this period.〕
A chill ran through Wolf’s entire body. Byeoruki was reciting his growth record exactly.
〔Combat Output Value surges immediately after manifestation is complete. Records values equal to or occasionally overwhelming those of the Thunder.〕
〔If all the above conditions are met, it is certain that you are a Type 1 Male Variant.〕
〔However…〕
Byeoruki’s tone was emotionless, as always. It sounded like the monologue of a bureaucrat steeped in boredom, but with every syllable that arrived, strength drained from Wolf’s legs like an ebbing tide. It felt as if a massive ripple was surging in his ears. Even the logic he had built for himself to understand a growth period so drastically different from his peers began to crumble.
His ears buzzed. The ground beneath his feet felt fake. He felt as if it would shatter like a glass window, sending his entire body plummeting into darkness.
A lie.
It’s a lie.
Byeoruki stopped speaking. Wolf remained motionless, staring only at the opposite side. He could see nothing. It felt as if the world had turned its back on him alone.
“Wolf. Wolf.”
He snapped back to his senses at a stinging sensation on his cheek. The Red Eagle was tapping Wolf’s cheek with its black beak.
“What’s wrong? What did Byeoruki say? Your expression is stiff.”
“Prince, I…”
The words almost burst out too quickly. Wolf hurriedly grabbed the next words and shoved them down his throat. I might only have one year left to live. He couldn’t tell the Red Eagle something like that.
I can’t break. At least not in front of this guy.
For the small white parrot whose human soul was trapped, Wolf was the only place to lean on. To the Red Eagle, Wolf was a foster brother, a lighthouse, and a sail. On his map, there was only one continent, and its name was Wolf.
Wolf tried to force a smile onto his face. It was harder than crushing a stone with his bare hands.
“I’m just disappointed. Byeoruki says I’m not a Thunder.”
“So what if you’re not a Thunder! You’re already ridiculously strong! …By the way, do Thunders really exist? It wasn’t just an old story told by drunk uncles? Tell me, Wolf!”
“It’s a long story to explain everything. I’ll tell you when I come back this evening. Right now, I have to go do the chores the seniors dumped on me.”
“Okay, okay! I’ll wait! Come back quickly, my hero!”
The Red Eagle shouted, flapping its wings. Wolf maintained his smile until the end. He felt as if he were fighting a lone battle against a gale in a pitch-black sea. He waved to the white parrot and turned around. Keeping his back straight and walking with his usual stride, he headed down the slope.
103 – Hell’s Execution Order