A city near the borders of the demon race’s land.
“…I’m warning you, you’d better not do anything foolish.”
“Aren’t you tired of saying that? I feel like I’ve heard it dozens of times already. At this point, my ears are practically growing calluses.”
“Sh-shut up!”
A guard in worn-out armor aimed a crossbow at a young man wearing a pressed-down robe, following behind him as if escorting a criminal.
However, the robed young man, Ain, didn’t seem to care.
Even with both hands restrained, he maintained a calm demeanor.
They were currently walking through a city that had suffered severe damage due to a rampage of beasts.
And so, in the end, the guard let Ain into the city.
It was inevitable, considering what had happened just moments ago.
—”W-what do you mean help?! Stop spouting nonsense…!”
—”I’m serious. If necessary, you can leave my companion outside and take only me into the city under restraint.”
—”If I find the source of this incident or resolve it, you won’t have any reason to suspect me, will you?”
At those words, the guard hesitated for a moment before finally allowing Ain inside.
He even left Ain’s companion, Kkamang, outside the city for a while, restraining Ain’s arms with wooden cuffs instead.
To top it off, the crossbow aimed at the back of his head made it clear—he was being treated no differently from a criminal.
But Ain didn’t care.
…No, to be precise, he didn’t have the time to care.
***
“Hhkk… hwaaahhh…!”
“Damn it… They’re convulsing from beast venom! Where’s the antidote?!”
“H-here! But it’s not enough to completely neutralize the poison!”
“Shit, shit… Get ready to amputate! We’re cutting off the infected area!”
“Aaaaaghhh!”
“Honey, honey…!”
“Has support from the other cities arrived yet?! It’s been ages since we sent the request!”
“They said it’ll take over a week… Damn it…”
“Cough, cough…”
“Ughhh…”
Screams, groans of pain, and desperate cries filled the air.
The city was practically in ruins.
Children sobbed. Women wailed. Wounded soldiers let out their dying breaths…
Watching all of it unfold, Ain felt his eyes darken.
It was strange.
His past self wouldn’t have been able to control his emotions in a situation like this.
Yet now, his heart simply sank deeply, allowing him to stay composed.
…Of course, that didn’t mean the sight before him wasn’t utterly miserable.
“…A tragedy.”
“What?”
He had muttered the words without thinking.
When the guard asked, Ain replied.
“I understand how you feel. With the city in this state, it’s only natural that you’d be wary of outsiders.”
“…What are you suddenly—”
“Let’s keep moving. First, let’s check on the beasts you’ve captured.”
“H-hey! Slow down!”
The guard looked bewildered, but Ain didn’t pay him any mind and continued forward.
The guard quickly rushed to keep up.
Surprisingly, no one in the city paid any attention to Ain and the guard.
No, it was more accurate to say they didn’t have the time to.
For Ain, that was actually a relief.
He swiftly made his way toward the enclosure where the remaining captured beasts were being held.
***
—Krrrk! Kraaaagh!
—Kieeeek! Kieeeek!
—Kyaaaak! Kyaaak!
Thud! Thud! Bang!
A lion, a massive lizard, a bear—various creatures thrashed against the cages, trying to break free.
Even as their flesh tore and blood poured from their wounds, they didn’t stop.
They were in a state of extreme agitation, completely out of their minds.
Upon arriving at the enclosure, Ain silently observed them, his gaze calm and steady.
“…Hey, staring at them like that isn’t going to tell you anything. We haven’t even figured out the cause yet.”
“Hold on.”
Ignoring the guard’s comment, Ain focused on one of the creatures.
—Kuwoooong! Kkuooooong!
A wolf-bear hybrid stood at the front of the enclosure.
Ain fixed his gaze on it.
And then…
[Beowulf: Level 17]
[A beast in the form of a bear. Despite its large, seemingly sluggish body, it possesses remarkable agility. It sits at the top of the food chain.]
[Status: In a state of extreme frenzy due to exposure to magic incense that maximizes aggression.]
A translucent blue screen appeared before him.
A privilege unique to players—the status window.
As Ain stared at it, his eyes darkened.
‘Magic incense?’
Magic incense.
Simply put, it was an incense created using mana.
Mana itself would rise like smoke, affecting the surrounding area.
Beasts, which inherently carried mana in their bodies, were particularly sensitive to it.
Unlike normal incense or drugs, it left no detectable traces.
After all, mana was always present in the atmosphere.
As a result, unless someone had an exceptionally high sensitivity to mana, detecting it was nearly impossible.
Ain’s gaze remained cold.
‘One thing is certain—this was intentional. But who…?’
He quickly searched through his thoughts.
Magic incense wasn’t a widely used technique in this world.
That was because, aside from affecting beasts, it had little practical value.
At first glance, it seemed like a technique that weaker demons who mainly raised beasts would commonly use.
However, magic incense was never used for breeding beasts.
For beasts that were highly sensitive to mana, magic incense was akin to a torture device.
Take air as an example.
Humans and other living creatures breathe in oxygen.
While they can take in other gases, they cannot absorb them, and prolonged exposure to high concentrations of certain gases can have harmful effects, even leading to poisoning.
Carbon monoxide and nitrogen poisoning are common examples.
Of course, if the concentration of even essential oxygen becomes too high, it can also become toxic and lethal.
Beasts born with natural mana operate similarly.
They have adapted to the natural mana in the environment, but they cannot absorb mana artificially produced through magic incense.
The problem is that, for them, being exposed to it is far more painful than a human experiencing carbon monoxide or nitrogen poisoning.
In fact, it often has a negative impact on beast breeding, which is why demons who raise beasts strictly avoid using magic incense.
On the other hand, a small number of humans have used it like poison to weaken the influence of beast-breeding demons.
However, if one were to go that far, it would be more beneficial to research weapons or techniques to kill the beasts outright rather than using magic incense.
As a result, only a very small number of humans have ever studied or used it.
‘But I’ve never heard of magic incense like this before. Magic incense that amplifies a beast’s aggression to this extent?’
Something like this couldn’t have been developed overnight.
It must have been created through extensive research over a long period.
Ain stared at the frenzied bear for a moment before slowly rising to his feet.
The guard immediately asked, “W-what? What’s wrong? Did you figure something out?”
“I have. It seems to be caused by magic incense.”
“What? Magic incense?”
“Yes. Just to confirm, have you conducted any drug tests?”
“O-of course! We’ve tried everything to figure out the cause. But…”
“The results came back normal, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“In that case, the only possible culprit is magic incense—since it doesn’t leave any traces on the body. And it’s an effective way to manipulate beasts.”
“But… demons don’t use magic incense.”
“…That’s true.”
As Ain, he knew this.
And as Sung Yohan, who had played This Hero Is Easily Robbed!, he knew it as well.
There wasn’t a single demon in the game who used magic incense.
Which meant…
***
“Hey! Where are you going now?!”
The guard hurriedly chased after Ain.
But Ain ignored him and began scanning the city.
‘If my guess is right, they must be here somewhere.’
This was a small city—closer to a town, really.
It wouldn’t be hard to find them.
He walked around for a short while, searching.
And then…
“…Found them.”
Muttering to himself, Ain fixed his gaze on someone.
“I’ll wrap this bandage around your wound. Are you alright?”
“Ugh… Y-yeah… Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. This is my job.”
A thin young man with horns was moving through the area, tending to the injured.
He looked to be in his late thirties.
Upon seeing his face, Ain quickened his pace and approached him.
“Thank you so much, sir.”
“Just rest for now. I’ll—”
“Excuse me.”
***
Ain greeted the young man, who had just finished bandaging a patient.
Both the injured person and the healer turned to look at him.
Their eyes took in the robed figure standing before them.
The healer spoke.
“…Who are you? If someone is injured, please wait a moment—I’ll be there soon.”
“Oh, no need to wait. The patient is right here.”
“…Huh?”
Shrugging, Ain lifted his restrained hands and pointed at himself.
The healer looked baffled.
“…You… don’t seem to have any visible injuries. More importantly… why are you wearing handcuffs?”
“No, I am hurt. My heart is deeply wounded.”
“…Excuse me?”
“And as for why I’m wearing handcuffs…”
Flashing a bright, almost blinding smile, Ain looked at the healer.
“I need them for my treatment.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I think if I bash in the cause of my heartache with these, I’ll finally be healed.”
With that, Ain swung his cuffed hands straight at the healer’s head.
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