Infinite Skill Devourer

Chapter 18: Conversation With A Beast Tamer III: The Weight Of Morality.

Althea's serpentine eyes flickered with a faint glow as she processed Ryuen's words.

She didn't respond immediately, her gaze distant, as though calculating something in her mind.

The only sign of her unease came from her elven ears, that twitched slightly with a faint blush at the tip.

"You speak as though you've lived through those horrors," she finally said, her tone measured to mask her surprise.

Ryuen didn't answer right away. He kept his eyes ahead, walking slowly with his hands buried in his pockets.

"And if I have?" he asked calmly, not breaking stride.

Althea quickened her pace to catch up with him. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced at him, trying to read his expression. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Then I'd say your kind is far more complicated than I thought," she replied, her gaze still fixed on his face, searching for any clue.

He chuckled dryly. "Complicated doesn't even begin to cover it."

Althea stepped closer, his boots crunching against the dry leaves scattered along the path, but she was barefooted.

The faint sound filled the silence every time one person spoke.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked, straightening her posture and looking ahead.

Ryuen exhaled slowly, his breath visible in the crisp, cold air.

He turned slightly to face her, his expression calm but distant.

"I mean a world doesn't casually brush off two global wars and pandemics without learning how to endure."

"Endure?" Althea repeated, her brows furrowing. His words seemed abstract, and she couldn't fully grasp their meaning.

"Endurance only gets you so far," she continued, her tone steady. "Strength, power, cunningness—those are what ensure survival."

"Maybe here," Ryuen said, slowly opening his eyes to reveal their striking golden-brown hue.

"Back there, survival wasn't about strength. It was about will—about refusing to break, no matter how much the world tried to crush you."

He shrugged, a soft laugh escaping his lips. "Of course, it's not always enough, but it's the driving force of humans before they turn to strength."

"We sometimes try to avoid things before we face them," he added, his voice quieter.

For a moment, Althea remained silent.

Her expression softened slightly, her sharp features relaxing as she thought about his words and digested it.

"Will, huh?" she repeated, testing the word as though it was unfamiliar to her.

"You make it sound like a weapon," she said, tilting her head to look at him. "Does it really have such potential?"

"It could" Ryuen replied as they rounded a bend, approaching the large palace entrance.

"Sometimes, it's the only thing a person has. And when that happens, you have no choice but to use it."

She studied him closely, still struggling to understand how mortals could survive without weapons or tangible power.

His world, a world where only a select few were permitted to wield weapons or exert the kind of force that could kill without penalty.

But there was something in his lifeless eyes—a quiet intensity—that unsettled her even more.

"Do you think will makes your kind special?" she asked, her tone half curious, half skeptical.

Ryuen chuckled softly, briefly glancing down at his feet before raising his head again.

"We're not special," he said with a faint smirk. "That much is certain. But we're hard to kill."

Althea let out a mocking laugh, the sound echoing in the silence. "Hard to kill?" she repeated with a smirk, stopping in her tracks while Ryuen kept walking.

"Bold claim for a Class E mortal. Your kind is no different from low-ranked beasts—weak and useless."

Ryuen shrugged and turned to face her, putting a little space between them.

"Bold claims are sometimes all we've got," he said with a faint smile.

"But if you tried to kill a human who has something to live for, that's when it gets hard."

"I can't say the same, though, because there are humans going through so much that they want to commit suicide."

Althea tilted her head, "They lack the courage to even think of ending their lives."

Ryuen sighed, his gaze steady. "You really underestimate humans, Althea. They're far more audacious than you think, especially when it comes to deciding to end their own lives."

He exhaled slowly, his voice quieter now.

"To be honest, killing a human is easier than killing yourself. It's easier to watch someone else die than to fade away in agony yourself."

He paused briefly, his tone growing even softer.

"Many bleed to death, hang themselves, or throw their bodies from high places, fully aware they won't survive the fall."

"You see, Althea," he continued, his voice laced with subtle emotion.

"The hardest battle humans face every day is trying to tame themselves. Controlling their emotions is a constant struggle because even the slightest negativity can make them want to end it all."

"Doesn't that make them weak? Being so sensitive?"

"No, not at all," Ryuen replied calmly. "Sensitivity is part of being human. It's what makes us who we are. Just like how it's easy to cut human flesh and still heal without magic."

Althea's expression shifted into silent shock, her focused gaze on him unbroken.

Slowly, she raised her eyes to the roof of the palace, where the dragon watched from above with a gleam in its serpentine eyes.

When she looked back at Ryuen, he simply shrugged.

"You must've experienced all this to know so much," she said quietly.

Ryuen smiled warmly. "Humans face struggles every single day, Althea. To be honest, even if someone offered me a god's body, I'd choose to remain human. I was created this way, and accepting it is all I can do."

"Even though," he added, his eyes drifting toward a tree behind her, "I've always wished to be something else... like a raven."

"A raven?" Althea asked, raising a brow.

"Freedom. Peace. The ability to effortlessly hide and blend into the shadows, away from everyone's eyes," he said with a small smile.

"But being human means I get to feel everything... and control it too."

Althea scoffed softly. "Everyone feels emotions."

"A certain level of pain or torture can make a human numb to everything," Ryuen said, his tone shifting. "Even the smallest betrayal can do that."

"Stabbed in the back?"

"Yes, but more specifically, heartbreak."

"And how does that lead to being numb and dead inside?"

"Imagine seeing your lover, or mate, in bed with a family member—your sister, for example," he said, tilting his head slightly.

Althea frowned but didn't interrupt.

"Failure too isn't enough to push someone over the edge, though I could mention that. But heartbreak... heartbreak is something else entirely."

He paused before adding, "And when something like that happens multiple times, it's enough to kill a person emotionally."

"It's enough to make them consider killing themselves, no matter how pointless and useless it may seem.."

Althea exhaled loudly, she was still doubtful, yet she found it hard not to believe what he said. "I see... I won't underestimate humans again."

"Good," Ryuen said, flashing her a warm smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some food into my body."

He turned to leave but paused mid-step, his gaze drifting upward to the dragon watching him intently from the top of the palace.

"Oh yeah....If you don't mind," he said, his voice sharp but calm, "tell your beast—or pet, or whatever that is to you—to keep its eyes off me."

He glanced at her with a cold gaze. "I hate being watched like a child."