Chapter 19
Part 5: The Successor
In a snowy mountain, the boy pressed his nose to a long-grown root and sniffed.
“Hmmm… Eating this makes your life longer?”
“Yes, Poison King.”
It didn’t look special on the outside, but it had a strong and unique scent. The old man approached with a few more roots he had already harvested.
“That’s why it’s called the Eternal Life Herb. What you’re holding is the fully grown size.”
“There was nothing like this when I ruled the North. Was it always here, and I just didn’t know?”
“No, sir. It was discovered only after you became the Life-and-Death Poison and merged into the energy veins. At first, we believed it to be your blessing… But now, it has become more like the curse of the Poison King’s bloodline.”
“I see.”
Crunch.
The boy slowly chewed on the Eternal Life Herb.
“…Bitter. But fragrant. It straddles the line between poison and medicine. It speeds up regeneration… How odd. I can faintly feel the flow of the energy vein.”
“The energy vein, sir?”
“This root carries a bit of that power. Interesting. Eating this might really extend one’s life.”
The boy swallowed the rest of the root, then tilted his head in thought.
“But… I’m not sure. It’s not certain enough to conclude.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t fully absorb the energy vein’s power through this. You’re just borrowing a piece of it. If you eat too much, there might be side effects.”
“Forgive me, Poison King, but the Eternal Life Herb’s effects have been proven for over 250 years.”
“Proven?”
“One fully-grown herb grants an extra year of life. There are slight differences depending on the person, but—”
“One year? Then eating ten would give ten more years? But just eating more won’t make you immortal, right?”
“There was a man who ate a hundred. He lived to be 140 years old. That’s likely the limit of the human lifespan.”
“140, huh.”
The boy looked intrigued. The old man respectfully held out a fresh herb.
“Living to eighty is already considered long. That man gained 60 more years thanks to this herb.”
“So he used himself as a test subject. Who would do something so reckless? A former Poison King?”
“The First Sword King.”
“What?”
The boy’s eyes widened.
“The First Sword King? You mean Dion Blackluna? That monster ate a hundred of these and lived to 140?”
“Yes. Only a few know the truth, but it’s a fact.”
“Unbelievable.”
The boy shook his head as he looked at the herb.
“To think he ended up like that. But… wasn’t this plant only found in the North? Did we lose land to the enemy?”
“No. That’s why I said the herb was the direct cause of corruption.”
“The corruption of the Poison King’s line.”
“Yes.”
“Did they make deals with the enemy?”
“Yes, Poison King. Your successors may have carried your title, but behind the scenes, they traded with the enemy for their own gain.”
“What did they get in return?”
“Everything. Gold, silver, jewels, luxury items, even the enemy’s goods were brought into our lands. The villages around Mount Taeseol are so corrupted by the enemy that you can’t tell if they belong to the Sword King or the Poison King anymore.”
Silence fell.
The boy didn’t react much to the Sword King family’s downfall. He just crushed the herb in his hand and mumbled.
“So this was intentional… Humans can’t escape their greed.”
Then he plunged his juice-covered hand into the earth. The old man watched him hesitantly.
“Um… Poison King?”
“Just a moment. Almost there.”
The boy pulled his hand out of the ground and nodded.
“Right. So that’s what happened. There’s a reason I came here right after escaping Mount Taeseol.”
“What realization did you come to, sir?”
“Nothing special. Is this the only place in Poison King territory where the Eternal Life Herb grows?”
“Not the only place, but most of them are harvested from this mountain.”
The old man looked up. Though already in the mountains, even taller peaks stretched before them.
“Mount Yeongwon. I had only heard the name before.”
“This is the heart of the Poison King Cult. The largest village lies on the eastern side of the mountain.”
“So the cult also relies on this herb to survive, huh.”
“Yes, sir.”
“They can’t be completely self-sufficient. All the big cities are near Mount Taeseol. So they still have ties with the enemy.”
“Well… yes, that’s true. I’m sorry, Poison King.”
The old man bowed deeply before him.
“We are no better than them. I am deeply ashamed.”
“Then…”
The boy paused and asked,
“Are you saying even the Poison King Cult trades with the enemy?”
“Yes. Not as large-scale as them, but we exchange the herb for necessities, people, and information.”
“People and information?”
“What the North lacks most is people. The South has too many. We secretly bring in orphans and criminals. Sometimes, we even get direct intel from Sword King noble houses or plant spies among them.”
“You use the money from the herbs to run spies?”
“Yes, but we never had evil intentions.”
The old man pressed his head to the ground again.
“The trade is a necessary evil. The cult’s goal is the same as yours.”
“To destroy the Sword King family.”
“Yes. But we have sinned. Please punish me and spare the others.”
“Nonsense. Get up.”
The boy shook his head and handed over the half-eaten herb.
“Why would I punish you? I myself am using the Sword King’s power right now.”
“Poison King…”
“To fight the enemy, you must understand them. Information has always been key. You’re doing well.”
The boy smiled. The old man bowed again, moved to tears.
“Aura neutralizes poison and greatly enhances the body’s abilities. But the stronger the aura, the harder it is to control.”
Homeroom teacher Totten knocked the blackboard as he spoke.
“If you lose control, you can enter a berserk state, fighting uncontrollably, driven by the energy vein’s flow.”
Or so they say. Not that it matters to me.
“This is called ‘Trans.’ In deep Trans, you attack indiscriminately, so it’s extremely dangerous.”
“…Still, it has its uses. Shallow Trans can let you maintain a high level of skill stably…”
“…And if a swordsman in Trans wields sword energy, they may achieve Sword Qi.”
“Though I teach sword techniques, you’ll need another instructor to learn aura-based skills like Sword Qi.”
“…Anyway, many people misunderstand. Sword Qi isn’t some visible blade — it’s more like transparent energy, like aura. You need to reach 6-star aura before you can shape it like a real blade.”
“…Simply put, if Sword Qi is like dew or mist, then Sword Force is when that mist freezes into a solid shape. Of course, you students should already know this…”
Yes, we all already knew.
Totten’s lecture was stuff I’d learned before I turned ten. Of course, theory is just theory. To me, aura is more fantasy than reality.
Still, sometimes people are more fascinated by the unattainable.
I was one of those. Listening to his lectures was like reading a fantasy novel.
Already know the story? Doesn’t matter. Good stories are fun every time.
Too bad I seem to be the only one enjoying it. Three days into the semester, and the class vibe hasn’t improved.
There’s the Eastern-style girl staring out the window the whole time.
The weirdo mumbling to his green doll.
The creepy guy who’s been glaring at me since day one.
The flashy guy with long hair and too many accessories, who checks his mirror every minute.
And the yawn-hiding spy who acts normal but reeks of deep poison.
In short, a mess.
Not that I care about dolls or mirrors. What bugs me is the spy sitting in the front row.
Who would’ve thought the enemy would plant a spy in our class?
How annoying.
But also… exciting. I need to eliminate the spy. How do I get time alone with him?
Also, there’s the other spy causing murders near the orphanage. I need to catch him too…
Wait.
What if they’re the same person?
I plan to sneak out tonight. Who knows — maybe tomorrow our class will go from 17 to 16 students.
“Oh, but don’t worry too much. You only risk going into Trans after reaching aura 3-star. Most of you aren’t there yet, right? Haha…”
It sounded like a joke, but no one laughed. I should’ve, but missed the timing.
“Ahem… Still, there are exceptions. Rare cases of 2-star or even 1-star aura users entering Trans have been recorded. So always be on guard.”
Trans, huh…
Wish I could experience it just once.
Come to think of it, the strongest aura user in Class B sits to my left — by the window. A girl who just stares outside or naps all day.
She’s suspicious too.
She looks Eastern — black hair, clear skin, narrow eyes. Nothing unusual.
Swordsmanship was originally passed down by people from the East, and a lot of the terms still use their language.
Hundreds of years ago, a major civil war broke out in the East, and many refugees fled to the West.
So her looks aren’t strange.
Still, she gives off spy vibes.
Not poison-related, but maybe she’s hiding something. Could be a special poison I can’t detect.
Though, by that logic, anyone could be a spy…
“……”
I sighed quietly.
Anyway, the class mood is terrible.
No one is paying attention. And this is Class B, not even C.
Because of that, Professor Totten and I keep making eye contact.
Eventually, he just starts lecturing directly to me.
“…That ends today’s class. Ray Granble?”
When the lecture ended, Professor Totten called my name.
“You’re next for student consultation. You know the office, right? Come before you leave.”
“Yes, Professor.”
I stood. The guy two seats in front of me glared like he wanted to kill me.
Brown hair, brown eyes, average build.
His name’s Giel-something. Probably one of the lower branch families of the Sword Kings.
He’s been like that since day one.
What’s his problem? Did my family do something to him?
“Haha… Yeah, even I think Class B’s mood this year is pretty bad.”
Professor Totten awkwardly scratched his head.
“Class B is where the students who didn’t make it into Class A gather. A lot of them feel discouraged from the start. They give up on themselves.”
He spoke casually — maybe that’s just how he is outside class, or maybe it’s because it’s me.
“Still, this year is worse than usual. And above all…”
He sighed and flipped through the student files.
“I didn’t expect three students to go missing from the start. We need to find this Eric kid soon.”
Gulp.
“Did you see anything? You were in the same dorm, right?”
“I… don’t know. The dorm was already empty when I arrived.”
I had expected that question, so I answered calmly. What surprised me was that Totten was the first one to ask it.
Isn’t this a bit much?
By now, someone should’ve checked the dorms. But since that day, the only one who came was my new friend Phil.
Why doesn’t anyone care? I mean, lucky for me, but still…
“Sigh. Right, you said you arrived three days before the semester?”
“Yes. I stayed in the newly built dorm in the mountains.”
“Eric was from the Newton family — adopted son.”
“Adoption by a Sword King family isn’t unusual.”
“True. But his original name wasn’t listed in the papers. I thought maybe it was kept quiet because he was from an orphanage… but the Newtons still haven’t responded, even after days.”
