Return Of The Talentless Bastard

After Kage emerged from the test room, he laid out the details to the others. They each proceeded inside, spending anywhere from twenty to thirty minutes.

He'd taken twenty-seven minutes himself. While the others wrestled with their trials, Kage stepped out of the chamber and headed toward the temple's perimeter to gather firewood.

Moonlight draped across the temple ruins, cascading cold and pale, illuminating only halfway. The surrounding hot spring and forest beyond remained swallowed by darkness—any cunning beast could be lurking there, waiting.

But Kage wasn't worried. He had Bei with him, and the North Star cub possessed a razor-sharp sense of perception.

Bei clung to him like damp silk that refused to peel away. Even when Talia held him tight, the cub slipped free and bounded after Kage the moment he saw him leaving the chamber.

Kage scanned the ground for twigs and picked up smaller ones. The fire tonight didn't need to rage—the hot springs already warmed the air enough.

While gathering branches, Bei suddenly growled toward the forest. Kage stopped, his gaze cutting sideways. He frowned and let his hand drift to the hilt of the sword tied at his sash.

"Reveal yourselves."

His tone struck like a blade's edge.

The rustling in the forest swelled, and figures began to emerge. They looked more like feral wanderers than examinees—wild things shaped by five brutal days.

They fanned out around Kage, studying him with wary, suspicious eyes.

He stared back, his expression cold. He was clearly outnumbered, but his face showed nothing.

"You are the one, aren't you?! The one that stole our scroll!"

Kage held his silence for a beat. Then his lips parted slightly.

'Oh? Have they been surrounding people and intimidating them to shake loose information about their scrolls? That's not bad. Surely there's some clever ones among them. But if you're so clever, how can you let yourselves sleep like beggars? A beggar sleeps like a log—unworried about what tomorrow brings, because they know that from a thousand people they ask, ten are bound to give.'

Kage chuckled softly at his own thoughts. Beggars had always been a fascinating subject among scholars—rumors even claimed they had their own sect.

'I wonder what they do…'

"What's funny?!"

A sun-darkened boy yelled at Kage, his freckled face twisted into a forced scowl meant to intimidate.

All of them carried swords of different kinds—some chipped at the edges, others barely deserving the name. But one girl leveled hers forward. Her blade was different: cold, sharp, almost a match for Talia's swords.

"Answer the question. Were you the one that stole our scrolls and left us a cryptic message to head west?"

Her tone was measured, stripped of emotion. Unlike the dark-skinned boy, it carried no heat—only certainty.

Kage continued to stare at her blankly, his expression unchanged from when the boy had shouted moments ago.

He tucked his hand into his robes. They shifted alertly, but when they saw he meant no harm, they paused.

Then he began pulling out scrolls and tossing them at their feet.

Their eyes widened. They watched, confused, as he kept retrieving more scrolls and throwing them down—one after another—until his once-swollen chest flattened and they realized just how thin he actually was.

The girl with the sharp sword—her platinum blonde hair catching the silver moonlight like frost—stared at the scrolls, confusion flickering across her face.

"You are the thief!"

Another examinee shouted from behind.

"We have to report him."

"Let's capture him and take him to the Triumvirate. He broke the examination rules!"

"This person is evil. If we cut off one of his arms, the academy will understand. We just saved the world—one less evil scorn."

Kage laughed. He laughed and laughed so wildly the atmosphere curdled, unsettling, and they fell silent one by one.

At his feet, Bei snarled, muscles coiled, ready to lunge if needed.

Then his laughter receded like a tide pulling back from shore. He looked at all of them.

"Go ahead. Capture me. Tell the Triumvirate you slept like beggars and had your scrolls and tokens stolen. As I recall, the prerequisite for failing is losing your token."

Their expressions shifted as his words bit into them.

"But that's not even the sweetest part of this pathetic cake. Look at where you are. This is the location of the third and final harmony marker. And you fools didn't even need to tax your pathetic heads to figure it out—all you had to do was pursue me. I helped you. And you're going to repay my help with threats?"

He turned toward the black-haired boy with hollow cheeks, as if he hadn't eaten well in a year.

"You want to cut off my arm? I'm evil?" Kage's voice dropped, cold and sharp. "Who are you to judge good and evil in this world? You, who are merely subjects of circumstance. You have no say, no control over your own lives. Even your decisions mark you as slaves."

He scoffed.

"Pompous brats. You reek like a Stain's breath. You sleep like logs of wood. Common courtesy in an unknown forest demands at least someone stay awake to watch, but you treated your first night as if your fathers owned the forest. And now you come here talking about rules."

He paused, letting the silence settle.

"Expecting anyone to follow rules—if there even were such rules—is your irreversible flaw as humans. Oh good heavens, how I detest human nature."

The platinum-blonde girl—Yuki—frowned.

"What are you saying? We kept watch. Right, Nero Ashveil?"

Her gaze drifted toward the boy Kage had just addressed.

Kage turned to look at him too.

Nero's expression darkened.

"Yes! He and his group must've knocked me out. I was awake one moment, then I wasn't."

Kage raised his chin slightly, one corner of his lips curling upward.

"I see… What a fortunate turn of events. You're the rot—the reason for the group's downfall."

Yuki stared at Nero with doubt blooming in her eyes. Kage didn't need to say anything more. She frowned at him.

"Why didn't you include this crucial information earlier when you were asked? Why did you lie to us?"

The boy's eyes looked like they'd stagger backward if eyes had legs.

"What? I—I didn't LIE! How dare you call me a liar! Why don't you offer to keep watch yourself? Everyone pointed fingers at me. Why? Because I come from no clan? I'm just an orphan hoping to become something, so I have to do as you all want? I deserve sleep too. I hope you all sink in the mortal sea!"

He grabbed his scroll angrily and stalked off.

"Hey! Nero!"

"Marcus!"

The freckled boy—Marcus—wanted to give chase, but Yuki's sharp call held him back.

"Let him go. He's a useless leech and a liar."

She looked at Kage, pointing her sword at his face.

"And you… this doesn't excuse you. You had no right to steal our scrolls."

An irritating smirk spread across Kage's face—the kind that would successfully ragebait anyone in their position.

"I brought you here. Say thank you." His tone was measured, unbothered. "You should know I've already opened my scroll. The first and second harmony markers are universal. The third is tailored to each individual. I can help you with my first and second markers, and you can access the third yourself. Then we head to the Silent Grove together."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over them.

"While this was an unfortunate event, I never meant for it to harm anyone. All I wanted was to teach you a lesson. You can accept my help and save yourselves the time of hunting for the other harmony markers, or you can refuse. I don't care. But this is the most I can do."