The Saint's Extra

Black Mark

The alchemist was shocked. He approached Yohan, who was still lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

"I-It's... This is the first time I've seen something like this."

Ancel frowned in disbelief. He thought the alchemist knew why a black mark suddenly appeared on Yohan's body when he touched the dragonscale weapon.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ancel tried to help Yohan to his feet. Yohan's breathing was labored. Ancel could feel his uncomfortable breathing.

"Yohan!"

Yohan looked weakly at Ancel. "It hurts like hell."

"Come on, help him up and put him on the chair. I'll check the mark." Athlas got up and took some things from the old wooden cupboard at the back of the room. Ancel's brow was still slightly furrowed. It was obvious that he was puzzled by what the alchemist was about to do.

"What are you going to do?"

Athlas took a small bamboo phial from the leather pouch he had taken from the closet. Ancel continued to watch what the man was about to do until he prevented Athlas from taking out an acupuncture needle from inside the small bamboo phial.

"What are you doing?"

Athlas accidentally dropped the bamboo, and its contents spilled onto the ground.

Athlas' fingers trembled. Ancel wondered if the man was nervous or afraid. His expression was unclear. His eyes seemed interested in Yohan's condition. For a moment, Ancel was silent, watching Athlas touch the black mark on Yohan's body. Then he looked up and stared directly into the man's eyes, feeling a shiver run down his spine as he saw the look of intense interest in his eyes.

"Wh-What are you going to do?"  Ancel even cursed his own voice, which sounded shaky. It was probably the first time he had ever felt goosebumps from someone who was not a member of the Kingdom's military.

Athlas looked at Ancel and smiled weakly at him. "Don't worry, I'll just check on his condition."

"You promised not to do anything strange to Yohan, right?"

Athlas shook his head slightly. But still, Ancel was worried. This handsome man before him was known as a great alchemist. His reputation was good. But this was also the first time Ancel had met him in person. For some reason, he still couldn't fully trust Athlas. Especially after seeing that strange expression on his face.

Yohan whimpered in pain. Fortunately, he was still conscious. Athlas examined the area of his body that had the black mark. He took a few drops of Yohan's blood, put it in a small glass tube and stored the blood in a wooden box.

"Why are you keeping Yohan's blood?" Again, Ancel could not help but be suspicious of everything the alchemist did.

"I need to run some tests to confirm this condition." Athlas began to explain.

Athlas looked at Ancel, and again Ancel's body experienced some kind of strange goosebumps as he met the alchemist's eyes.

Athlas then smiled, which obviously confused Ancel even more. "Don't worry, I'll just do a test to confirm this condition. As I said, I've never seen anything like this before. Aren't you curious about what happened to Yohan?"

Ancel agreed. He couldn't be evasive anymore. After all, he didn't understand such things either. Ancel was not a noble like the knights. He didn't have the same education they had. So he didn't know many things.

Ancel turned to Yohan. "Hey, don't you feel strange?"

Yohan took a deep breath. "Don't be afraid. Athlas won't do anything strange to me."

Ancel bowed his head. He was caught suspecting Athlas. Actually, it was only natural for him to be suspicious of the alchemist. He didn't know, Ancel just felt that there was something unusual about the alchemist.

"How did it go? Can Yohan go back to the palace? Lord Indark might go crazy if he finds out that Yohan left the palace without his permission.

Yohan woke up immediately. He hissed slightly as he felt the pain and heat around his body where the black mark had been.

"That's right. I can't let Alastair scold you because of me."

Ancel shook his head. "I have no problem. It's just that I'm afraid the other knights know about it. Lord Indark will be even more disrespected if he has to take care of a lowly hunter like me and an otherworldly human like you. Nobles always seem to be noticed by others. I don't want to embarrass him."

Yohan smiled slightly. As always, Ancel felt so indebted to Alastair Indark that he always wanted to uphold the knight's good name.

"Okay, let's hurry back to the palace."

Athlas repacked the twin spears and handed them to Yohan.

"Be careful, the effect of the dragon scales seems to be quite strong. Until I find out what that black mark on your body actually is, please don't use this spear carelessly."

Yohan nodded. "Yes, let me know if you find the problem."

Ancel helped Yohan out of the alchemist's shop. He struggled a bit because he also had to carry Yohan's bundle of twin spears.

"I think I can walk alone. You help me carry the spears."

Ancel was worried. "Are you serious?"

Yohan nodded with a grin. "Yes. You think I'm weak?"

Ancel snorted. "It's not like that. I just..."

Yohan grinned faintly. "You're worried? Wow, I'm really touched." He said in a joking tone.

Ancel snorted in annoyance. If Alastair Indark hadn't paid special attention to the otherworldly human, Ancel wouldn't have cared much either. This person might have been dragged into this world by accident during the summoning process. But this fate that happened could have a tremendous impact in the future. The problem was, would it be a good effect or a bad effect? Ancel felt uncomfortable letting Yohan wander around alone.

"Yohan, do you want to go back to your own world?"

There was a silence between them after Ancel asked this question. Yohan didn't look like he wanted to answer right away. Ancel turned to him and saw how Yohan's eyes narrowed and he looked up at the sky as if he was deep in thought.

"Wait, don't you want to go back?"

Yohan laughed. "That is impossible. I really want to go home. Who wants to live in a strange world that even treats me like a deadly pest. I guess you wouldn't be too worried about my condition if Alastair hadn't told you, would you?"

Ancel was silent. Yohan seemed to be able to read his mind. He became agitated.

Yohan noticed the gesture. "Don't worry. I think it's perfectly normal to be a bit suspicious of strangers."

"By the way, how are you going to explain this spear to the people in the palace?"

Yohan snickered nonchalantly. "We'll see." He said with a slight grin.

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