A Bleeding Heart’s Farewell

At four in the afternoon, the Adventurers’ Guild was sparsely populated, with only a few adventurers scattered about. Tang Wenxu and Karamanda occupied seats at the bar counter.

“Drink this,” Dals said, handing Tang Wenxu a beverage. “It’s non-alcoholic.”

Tang Wenxu remained still, his head bowed in silence.

Seeing Tang Wenxu’s dispirited demeanor, Dals leaned in to Karamanda and whispered, “What’s wrong with him? Don’t tell me you failed?”

“How could we possibly fail?” Karamanda retorted. “It was just a pack of goblins.”

“I knew it,” Dals chuckled dismissively. “There’s no way a Mithril-ranked adventurer would struggle with such a minor task.”

He then inquired, “So, what’s got him so glum? The mission’s complete, but he still looks utterly drained.”

“He’s just too kind-hearted…” Karamanda murmured, swirling the drink in his glass.

Tang Wenxu had always believed he wouldn’t be so sentimental. Back on Earth, he’d enjoyed watching anime and playing action games, even thinking that a lack of gore wasn’t cool. When the censorship bureau turned blood green, he’d personally modded it back to red.

Yet, when he had to plunge his sword into a goblin’s flesh to protect a female villager, a profound sense of guilt washed over him.

Goblins had shattered the peaceful lives of humans, but hadn’t humans, in turn, disrupted the tranquil existence of goblins? Perhaps, to the goblins, humans were the true monsters.

“I really am a bleeding heart,” Tang Wenxu finally spoke, muttering to himself.

“A bleeding heart?” Dals asked. “What’s that?”

“Nothing,” Tang Wenxu replied, rising to his feet. As if making a momentous decision, he turned to Karamanda and said, “I’m sorry. I can’t be an adventurer anymore.”

Sometimes, to save one life, the best course of action is to end another. Yet, such a resolution is not one everyone can bear.

“It’s alright,” Karamanda said, as if he had known his decision all along.

“Am I truly that weak?” Tang Wenxu asked.

“Yes, you are quite weak,” Karamanda stated without hesitation. Seeing Tang Wenxu’s slightly lost expression, he smiled.

“However, compared to those with strong wills, the weak are more human than monster. Honestly, your decision to quit adventuring is a relief to me. I like this side of you.”

“You’re sounding really gay right now, but…” Tang Wenxu forced a stiff smile and extended his hand. “Thank you, Karamanda. It was truly a pleasure meeting you.”

“Hey!” Karamanda exclaimed, grasping his hand with his slender, elegant fingers. “We only just met today! Even if you’re not an adventurer anymore, we’re still good friends. We can still hang out, so don’t make it sound like a farewell.”

“Okay.”

“Take this money,” Karamanda said, pulling a pouch of silver coins, worth about three gold coins, from his pocket.

“I can’t take your money,” Tang Wenxu said, shaking his head.

“This money is from the mission. You earned it, you know.”

“There’s that much? I remember the reward for rescuing the captured villagers was only eight hundred silver coins!” Tang Wenxu recalled that the official payment for saving the female villagers kidnapped by goblins was indeed only eight hundred silver.

“We cleared out all the goblins, didn’t we? To reward us, the Guild gave us an extra six gold coins. We’ll split it evenly, no objections, right?”

“Thank you,” Tang Wenxu said, accepting the coin pouch. He then removed his inner armor, which was inlaid with an aquamarine magic gem.

“Here, this is for you. Thanks to this, I wasn’t injured today.”

The inner armor bore an almost imperceptible scratch. If not for this expensive piece of gear, Tang Wenxu might have had a hole ripped through his stomach by a goblin today.

Taking the inner armor, Karamanda showed no displeasure over the scratch. Instead, he said with deep affection, “My dear, it’s enough that you’re unharmed.”

After finishing his drink, Tang Wenxu said, “I have something else to do, so I’ll be leaving now.”

Tang Wenxu walked towards the Guild exit. Just before reaching the door, he turned back and bowed deeply to Karamanda. “Thank you so much for everything today.”

“You idiot, one ‘thank you’ is enough,” Karamanda scoffed.

Watching Tang Wenxu’s receding figure, Karamanda gazed at his back with a lovesick expression; his face flushed, whether from the alcohol or something else remained unclear.

Once his figure was out of sight, Karamanda’s face gradually hardened into an icy mask. He sat by the bar, downing one drink after another.

A while later, more adventurers gradually departed, leaving only a few people in the small tavern. At first glance, they seemed to have nothing in common, varying in strength. However, a closer look into their eyes revealed a complete lack of emotion—a gaze that seemed utterly inhuman.

“The boy is a good kid; it’s just a pity that survival isn’t easy in this world,” Dals remarked suddenly, his tone casual yet pointed.

“Indeed,” Karamanda conceded, a hint of helplessness in his voice. “But I will protect him.”

“To do that, you must use any means necessary to remove all obstacles for him. Even if it means becoming the very type of person he despises, it doesn’t matter, does it?” Dals said, wiping a glass.

“…” Karamanda fell silent. Being hated by Tang Wenxu was the one thing he couldn’t bear; it would be worse than death.

“This is the target for this time.”

Dals pulled a black talisman from an inner pocket and handed it to Karamanda.

The talisman was covered in magical incantations, and on its reverse side, a striking golden cross-dagger symbol was emblazoned.

“A Black Talisman?” Karamanda asked, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, which quickly returned to their usual calm. “To assign this level of prey, you truly put your trust in me.”

“Of course. We’ve always trusted you,” Dals affirmed. “After all, you were recommended by Father Kant. Though you’ve only just joined, your strength is clear for all to see.”

“Heh…”

Karamanda stood up, preparing to leave.

“Hey,” Dals suddenly called out. “A word of warning: those dwelling in hell have no right to gaze upon heaven.”

“I have never gazed upon heaven,” Karamanda retorted coldly, his back to Dals. “However, if anyone dares to harm him, be it heaven or hell, I will tear it down for them to see!”