[IYFILWATIP] Chapter 30

Part 1: The Forest of Nabimi

For Jade Eclipse, who grew up in the dry central region where even the wind carried sand, the east was always an unpleasant place. The humid climate, the sticky water everywhere teeming with suspicious and grotesque monsters, the land full of water, forests, and shadows hiding unpleasant secrets. 

The people there gave off a similar vibe. 

"It's been five years since you were dragged to the east, isn’t it time you got used to it? At this point, you're practically an Easterner yourself, Lord Eclipse." 

"Shut up." 

Whether it was Zelda Black, who was constantly lurking around him, waiting to pounce, or Beatrice, the one-eyed woman who had dragged him here... they were all typical Easterners. 

Jade Eclipse hacked through the swamp, slicing up a man-eating plant that had wrapped around his boots. When the foul-smelling green slime touched his skin, his flesh turned red and began to burn. He let out a deep sigh and finally swore under his breath. 

"Damn it." 

It had been half a day of this already. The destination, where the target's base camp was located, was still far away, and the damn creature, which was hard to tell whether it was plant or animal, kept coming no matter how many times he cut it down. 

He desperately wanted to close his eyes for a few hours, but if he did, the vines would wrap around his body and suck out his fluids, leaving him as a withered corpse. 

"I swore I’d never set foot in this damned forest again." 

I shouldn’t have been tempted. Beatrice’s personal jobs never turn out well. They always seem suspicious, with rewards so ridiculously high that most of those who take them end up as corpses. 

Only those who lived recklessly, even among battle-hardened mercenaries, kept getting lured in. Those who were trapped by debt and couldn't move a muscle, or someone like Zelda Black, who lost all reason the moment they smelled money. 

Of course, this job was no different. It was supposed to be simple—just kidnap someone. But the place where the person was located turned out to be Nabimi Forest, right in the dangerous heart of the monster territory. 

Jade thought back to three days ago, when Beatrice had suddenly summoned him and shoved a poorly drawn portrait in his face. 

"Kidnap her." 

"Did you draw this to help identify her?" 

Jade scoffed, pointing at the shape that barely looked human. Beatrice was a notorious penny-pincher. She never hired anyone to do the job and always drew the sketches herself. Naturally, they were useless. 

"She's a girl in her late teens, about chest height, with dark brown hair and grey eyes. She goes by the name Natalia and speaks with the standard accent of the capital. Bring her back alive, without a scratch. If even a hair is out of place, her value drops." 

"Who is she?" 

"You don't need to know." 

"But I need to know who she is if I'm supposed to bring her in." 

"Since when did you care about that? Have you ever bothered to find out why your clients ordered these hits or why they wanted someone dead?" 

Jade fell silent. Beatrice noticed his expression and smirked before asking mockingly. 

"What’s wrong? Does the noble lordling feel uneasy about kidnapping a little girl?" 

It was a familiar taunt. By now, it only made him scoff. Whatever they thought of nobles, Jade was sure he had long drifted far from that image. It had been five years since he was dragged to a foreign land at the age of twelve and made to dance to Beatrice's tune. 

Fortunately, he had grown faster than his peers. He endured all sorts of abuse, followed the hunting expeditions, and proved his worth by slicing through any monster that crossed his path. No one is naturally suited for risking their life, but some are more talented at it. Jade was one of them. Thanks to this, he avoided being sold off to a gladiator arena, but he had become a completely different person. 

The young lord of the Eclipse family had 

disappeared. In his place was someone with sun-browned skin, scars all over his chest and back from countless cuts and stabs, and rough manners and speech. He had killed dozens of people with his sword, and the number of monsters he had slain was a hundred times more.

Who would believe that he was of noble birth if they saw him in the capital now? They would think he was just a lowly mercenary who had been through the roughest parts of the East. And that’s actually the truth now.