I'm a Immortal Tavernkeeper, But My S-Rank Daughter Doesn't Know That!

The Evergreen Forest looked very different after all that dense mana had gone.

The air seemed lighter, albeit a little chilly, and the sun illuminated the area, because the trees didn’t have many leaves to make the forest dark. The sounds of birds and insects had returned, making the whole environment dozens of times noisier than before.

In other words, the Evergreen Forest had returned to being the forest it had always been, where woodcutters could work in peace to harvest the best firewood in the region.

Victor Shieldman was following the trail alone at the front, leading the group back to Agocester Village.

The other hunters, not far behind, were a little wary about how exactly to interact with him after watching that scene of him with the Hero Elban. They didn’t hear much of their conversation because they were a few meters away, but there was clearly some mysterious connection between Victor and Elban, not to mention that Victor was extremely strong. All of this made them curious to know who exactly Victor was, because not even a Rank-A Hunter could cut two hearts out of a demon.

Amid murmurs and whispers, Pyaxu asked:

"Who among us is going to go over there and talk to him? I don’t know, do we have to give words of comfort? Were he and the Hero Elban really friends?"

Orie crossed his arms and nodded, refusing to be the candidate. "I’m not going. I don’t want to have to poke at the wound of a man who may be in mourning."

As the debate between the hunters continued, the cleric Riggilo, a man of faith and conviction, began to get irritated by the indecision of the others and decided on his own to put an end to it. He advanced a few steps ahead of the group and called out to Victor.

"Victor!" The cleric called out.

The white-haired hunter turned slowly, revealing a serene, calm look that contrasted with the nervousness that hung over the others. "What is it? Do you need anything?" asked Victor in a mild tone.

Riggilo led the trio to catch up with Victor, determined to clarify the questions that plagued them.

"Were you and the Hero Elban close?" The cleric stopped walking and looked seriously at Victor.

A faint smile appeared on Victor’s face. "It seems you can’t hide things like that from the discerning eyes of young people today... Yes, we were friends. We were the same age, but Elban was like a mentor to me, he taught me a lot about honor, courage and duty when I was a bit lost." he shared, his voice tinged with nostalgia. "I was far away when Elban died, very far away, so I didn’t even get the news, but at least I got to say goodbye this time."

The hunters felt relieved to hear Victor’s answer and so they began to realize that there was much more to this hunter than simply his physical strength and combat skills. There was a long journey marked by challenges and learnings that shaped who he was and made him strong.

"Thank you for sharing this with us." Riggilo thanked him and bowed his head in respect. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"And how did you manage to cut off Gravisk’s magical attacks? I’ve never seen anything like it before!" asked Pyaxu, completely changing the subject because the shame of being the one to break the tension was completely on Riggilo.

Victor had been waiting for this question, but as it wasn’t as serious as the first one, he turned and continued walking.

"The magic I used to neutralize Gravisk’s attacks is part of a knowledge you don’t want to learn. But let’s say it’s a way of channeling and negating the opponent’s magic, a difficult skill to learn, dubbed by me as ’Negate Magic’."

Pyaxu looked at Victor with admiration and excitement. "That’s... that’s incredible! Can you teach me? I mean, if it’s not a closely guarded secret..."

Victor shook his head. "Unfortunately, I can’t teach you. ’Deny Magic’ is a technique that requires much more than magical skill or talent, it’s something that can’t be taught in a conventional way."

"What? Why?" Pyaxu looked very saddened by the news.

"Because it’s black magic." Riggilo replied. "I’m right, aren’t I?"

"Black magic?" Orie and Pyaxu looked at each other and asked simultaneously.

Somewhat seriously, Victor agreed. "Yes, Riggilo is right. The only way for someone born with no talent for magic, like me, to use any magical ability is to use black magic."

As with everything that didn’t come from a god or an entity in this world, practicing black magic was one of the biggest taboos, even among hunters and mages, because, unlike conventional magic, which arises through talents, spirits, blessings or curses, black magic wasn’t something natural, so it was seen as something perverse and only used by witches who did evil.

However, even with Victor’s affirmative answer, Pyaxu and Orie were confused.

"How could it be black magic if you haven’t sacrificed any animals or used children’s bone powder, Victor?" Orie asked.

"The black magic I use doesn’t sacrifice those things, of course not. Otherwise, what kind of person would I be? Instead of sacrificing the life of an innocent living being or using the remains of the dead, like dried organs and bone dust, I use something else."

"And what is that?" Riggilo asked, seriously curious about this.

"My life span."

Victor’s answer amazed and shook everyone around him, so much so that they didn’t even want to ask any more questions. They did want to ask several questions about it, such as how old Victor really was or whether he knew how much time he lost with each black magic used, but they were so surprised that they kept those questions to themselves.

As the group headed towards Agocester Village, the sun shone over the Evergreen Forest, illuminating the path they followed.

When they finally reached the end of the forest, they saw the village intact and a little busier, as it was later in the day.

Victor felt a sense of peace, because he had seen chaos take over this place before. Despite the hardships and all the pain of having died painfully twice to live the same day three times, he had managed to protect the peacefulness of this place, which was priceless.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot to warn you." Victor turned to his fellow group members. "Since demons leave nothing behind in this world, nothing like the Blights’ cores or magical traces of their deaths, and since no one but the four of us saw it either, there’s nothing to prove that we killed it. So all that business about glory and fame will have to be forgotten by you, all right?"

The hunters’ excited faces at seeing the village safe suddenly turned blank, like the eyes of a dead toad.