SSS-Class Revival Hunter-Chapter 186: The Fire (1)

“I grew up in the boring countryside,” Yumar said. “There were no jobs to be had there. Even after I grew older, I had nothing else to do, so I just played with kids my age. Sometimes I stood sentry to see if a tiger came down from the mountain and collected taxes from merchants passing through the village. The village wasn’t rich. It was as dreary as the dried bark of a tree.”

Yumar scratched his wrinkled green forehead. He asked me, “Have you ever killed anyone?”

“Yes,” I answered.

Yumar nodded. He didn’t seem very surprised. “I assumed as much. Where did you first shed blood? On the battleground? Or...”

“A hunting ground. I ambushed my victim.”

“Ah, that’s not exactly a warrior’s feat,” Yumar said with a smile.

Anyone who was confessing to murder gave at least a subtle sneer. They were not laughing at the actual murder, but the one confessing was sneering at oneself and their confession. While talking, they secretly hoped that the listener would join in on this sneer. That was the most important moment because the listener wasn’t supposed to do that.

I remained calm as I replied, “Yes, that’s right. I wasn’t exactly a warrior. What about you?”

The smile disappeared from Yumar’s face.

“It’s already been thirteen years, I think. The village chief kept traveling back and forth to different villages. At first, I thought he was going to see a friend, but he went there too often. Seven months later, the village chief returned with a confident look on his face.”

I’ve started a business for our village, you idiots.

The business was drug manufacturing.

“Mmm, you probably heard of Silver Vine. You Sylvans go nuts for it. Using the flowers as raw material, we extracted the essence and hardened it into pills. At first, we started by gathering jobless people from the village, around six of them. In the countryside, there are a lot of young bums who just idle around all day.”

“You weren’t just a drug dealer. You were the boss.”

“How did you know?”

“It was a short story, but there are telltale signs. You’re smart and have a remarkable memory. This happened thirteen years ago, yet you remember that the village chief snooped around the neighboring village for seven months. You’re good at numbers.”

I poured tea into Yumar’s cup. Thanks to Raviel’s lessons, my tea ceremony skills had improved greatly. It was a bit of a shame that this troupe only had cheap tea leaves.

I went on. “You even know the drug recipe. I’m pretty sure you weren’t just a henchman. You were a key executive in the organization. Boss, or at least a deputy boss.”

“You’re very perceptive.” Yumar smiled bitterly and lifted the teacup. After he took a sip, his eyes widened slightly. “Why the fuck is it so good?”

“Cause I made it. Can you go back to your story?”

“Yeah. You’re right. I was in charge of the village business. I also coincidently found out that I had a knack for gathering kids and putting them to good use. I was lucky too.”

He wasn’t just lucky, but a genius. Yumar’s business grew rapidly.

“I was a blessed businessman.”

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He gathered young men from the neighborhood and formed a militia. Eventually, his organization took over the neighborhood’s business. Yumar, the boss, thoroughly supervised the drug manufacturing process, guaranteeing the quality. Recognized as high-quality products, his drugs busily spread along the waterways connecting the Sylvan ports.

Heavenly Grace Juice and Late Scholar’s Powder were products made by Yumar. Despite his lack of talent in using aura, Yumar had one hundred subordinates who called him the ultimate warrior.

When his number of subordinates reached five hundred, Yumar felt that something was off.

“I had a strong hunch that if I continued on like this, I would be screwed. The Fire Water Council is generous, and it wasn’t like I was selling drugs to the Terras. They didn’t care about some local thugs who sold drugs to rich Sylvans. However, since there were about five hundred of those local thugs, that was a different story.”

Yumar’s organization was doing too well.

“I had no proof or any reason to feel this way, but if we didn’t close down our business, we were all going to die. I could feel it in my bones.”

Yumar gathered his friends together and told them they needed to close the business. His peers who used to collect taxes together in the village were now executives with fangs.

Yumar frowned. “Those pigs agreed and nodded when I told them this.”

“So did you guys close it?”

“Close it, my ass. That very night, they ganged up on me and tied me up, threatening me to give them the recipe. They pointed daggers at my neck, the exact ones I bought for them. Damn those bastards.”

Bawling, Yumar revealed his drug recipe. He even swore that he would never seek revenge or start another business again. His childhood friends thought highly of his oath.

“They cut off my arm.”

But at least he remained alive. That was how he became One-Armed Yumar.

“I didn’t really join the theater because I wanted to be an actor. I was just wandering in the streets, but the troupe master felt sorry for me and took me in. It’s been over ten years since then. Well, acting became fun over time.”

“What happened to the organization?”

Yumar didn’t answer.

“It closed down,” I speculated.

Yumar looked down at his teacup. “Less than a year after I was kicked out, they were taken care of. The council sent thirteen of their top 100 warriors and killed every single member.”

“What happened to your village friends?”

“They were killed. After all, they were executives,” Yumar said, holding back tears.

“You think it’s your fault.”

Yumar rubbed the cup’s edge.

“You believe that, because you were so good at developing your organization, you caused its own downfall. If the business had been somewhat doing well or gone bankrupt, the people of your village wouldn’t have died. You’re blaming yourself for not being able to stop the village chief.”

“Those suckers... Fuck.” Yumar gulped down the remaining tea.

Finally, the one-eared actor came in, holding an old lion doll in his arms. His name was Sakum.

“I was a servant of a prestigious family... I happened to see my master banging someone other than his spouse. I didn’t really see anything. I just heard them through the wall. It’s not like I wanted to hear them, it didn’t excite me or anything, but they cut off my ear because they didn’t like that I heard them moaning. It’s unfair, right?” he asked with a blank expression.

One-Eyed Ilric, the son of a gambler.

One-Armed Yumar, the former drug ring boss.

One-Eared Sakum, the former servant of a prestigious family.

I nodded. “Okay, let’s dance.”

A week later, the day of the play arrived. The theater was brimming with spectators.

***

“Is this Troupe Yapper?”

“That’s strange. I’ve been here before but they must have had a different name back then...”

The theater became crowded thirty minutes before the play started. Some of the guests had decided to come after seeing my street performance, while others had joined in because they heard the rumors going around.

The huge crowd piqued the curiosity of passers-by. Intrigued by the huge number of spectators, they wandered into the theater. Not only were the special seats fully booked, the standing section was also packed.

“No watermelon beer? What about watermelon fries? Uger, I can’t believe it.”

“Does this troupe not want money?”

“I’m telling you. There’s an awesome Sylvan who works here. She used her aura so freely that she made sounds without playing instruments. I’m serious! Why would I lie?”

“Uger. If whoever touched my butt doesn’t come forward, what you will see won’t be Cavefire but blood.”

“It’s a play, but it supposedly won’t have any lines.”

“I’m sure they exaggerated in the advertisement.”

“They promised a refund if the actors say even one line.”

“There are too many spectators!”

Even the market was quieter than this theater.

From behind the stage, the actors glanced at the audience.

“Fuck.”

They were very scared, especially Yumar. Panicked, he said, “Check this out! The person with the red tattoos in one of the special seats is definitely Morkan, the Rank 21 warrior of the council. Fuck.”

“Who is that?”

“He’s the lunatic who makes his tattoo one centimeter longer every time he slits his enemies’ throats. Look how it covers his entire body!”

Sakum anxiously muttered, “The actors from Blaze and Wildfire also came to see the play.”

“Ugek. Where are they?”

“Over there. It’s those two guys who wear masks, the ones in the special seats. I can recognize them because I see them often. One is Sormacunda, the ace of Blaze, and the one sitting next to him is Jamahan, who is the most popular in Wildfire these days...”

“Why did they come to see us?”

“They didn’t,” Ilric said. He kept looking in the mirror to see if his makeup was on point. “They came to see Sonia.”

There was nothing special about his makeup. He had a cloth wrapped around his waist and black markings all over him. That was it.

“He’s right. It’s amazing. Actually, our little boss has been in business for only a week. This play is her debut, yet it’s a full house. This must be the greatest debut ever among Sylvan actors.”

“I think it’s the greatest debut ever...”

“Let’s get ready,” I said.

The actors, who were trying to quell their anxiety by chit-chatting, suddenly stopped talking.

“You guys practiced non-stop for a week. Don’t worry. It’s okay if you freeze and you can’t move. Just relax if that happens.”

“Aren’t we doomed if we do that...?”

“I’ll control you guys using my aura if that happens. Just don’t resist my aura.”

“There is no way that’s possible—wait, I guess it’s possible for you. Fuck.”

The four of us put our hands together. I lightly sent my aura to my fellow actors.

“Relax.”

My red aura flowed into their hands and made it all the way to their shoulders. The actors’ shoulders flinched, but it seemed as if they had gotten quite used to my aura after my special training for the past week. They soon took a deep breath and calmly accepted my aura. I relaxed the actors’ muscles like I was giving them a massage. They certainly looked less tense than earlier.

“Ugor...”

I tried cheering them on. “You don’t need to worry. As you guys already know, no one out there expects your Cavefire to be perfect. In fact, their expectations are exactly zero. As long as we pull it off like we practiced, it’ll be a smashing hit among the spectators, okay?”

They nodded.

Okay.

“Here we go.” I stomped my foot, causing my aura to vibrate in the air. Shocked, the audience stopped murmuring and looked around.

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?”

I continued to stomp my feet. There was a rhythm to it, but every footstep corresponded to a note.

“Aura?”

The audience was surprised to realize that the noises weren’t mere thumps but actual musical notes. The most surprised guests were the VIPs sitting in front row.

“Oh my god. This isn’t someone singing, but aura airbursts?”

“That’s right. It’s aura. I told you, even while advertising on the street—”

Ilric ran out on the dark stage. Like a runner, Ilric spread his legs as wide as possible so he could cross the stage with big strides. Naturally, he caught the audience’s attention.

Thud—!

However, the audience was paying attention not just because he showed up on stage.

Thuuuud—!

Every time Ilric’s feet touched the stage, the thuds doubled in intensity. Before the audience’s panic could subside, Yumar and Sakum ran onto the stage as well.

Every time an actor stepped on the floor, more rhythmical notes flowed throughout the theater. There were now three melodies overlapping, signaling the start of the play.

The audience was quiet. Quite a few guests had their jaws on the floor, muttering absentmindedly.

“Oh my god.”

“No way. Are all those sounds made using aura?”

Yup. There was no need for dialogues when one could replace them with music. This wasn’t a play. It was a dance drama, and I was the one-man aura orchestra.