Take dues

After days of recovery, Karsu had almost regained his strength. During that period, he noticed an unusual movement of adventurers who kept gathering in the area. They filled the forest with noise, talking excitedly about their anticipated target.

Karsu muttered sarcastically as he watched them from afar:

"Fools... if my guess is correct, they are now counted among the dead."

As Karsu deduced, it seems that a group of adventurers is pursuing fame and fortune by killing the Monkey King, that legendary beast with the two skulls and the half. Greed had blinded their eyes, yet they did not realize they were facing a force that could not be confronted easily.

At the entrance of the cave, the shape of the confrontation began to become clear. Their leader finally appeared—a man with a strong presence and sharp eyes, looking battle-hardened and possessing a powerful qiz. He was issuing orders and organizing the ranks of mercenaries, laying out a clear plan to face the beast. Despite their confidence, Karsu did not need to think long to know that this arrogance would turn into terror in moments.

From his position among the tall trees, wearing his dark cloak, Karsu silently observed. He looked at the adventurers and saw shining weapons and heavy armor, but behind the appearances he could glimpse in their eyes the tension and fear hidden behind their feigned courage.

"They do not realize what awaits them... even if they were a hundred, their chance against that beast is nil."

As if his words were an omen of doom, a tremendous roar echoed from the depths of the cave, the ground trembling powerfully, and every whisper among the adventurers ceased. Then the Monkey King emerged from the shadows.

A giant beast, with the body of an enormous gorilla, six massive arms, and four eyes glowing like embers, stood tall as if he were the embodiment of terror itself. He was not merely a beast... he was a moving catastrophe.

Karsu, smiling lightly, murmured:

"Six arms... four eyes... this is not just a beast. This is a force of nature itself."

The adventurers, despite their fear, gathered their courage and charged toward the king, each hoping to deliver the killing blow. But the beast was ready.

He raised two enormous arms, each bearing strange inscriptions:

"Al-Jao" and "Al-Ji."

In an instant, the flames of Al-Jao burst forth like a torrential stream, sweeping over the adventurers with rapidly spreading fire, followed by the flames of Al-Ji, denser and hotter, turning bodies to ash in the blink of an eye.

Karsu, his eyes gleaming in analytical light, murmured:

"The flames of Al-Jao spread quickly, but they are not immediately lethal... as for Al-Ji, it burns everything in its path without mercy."

The adventurers realized they were facing a power beyond their abilities, so they began to retreat, trying to reorganize their ranks. But the beast gave them no chance.

By merging the powers of Al-Jao and Al-Ji, the beast clapped his enormous hands together, causing a massive fiery explosion.

The ground shook, rocks scattered, and the battlefield transformed into a sea of flames, devouring anyone who wasn't fast enough to escape.

Karsu, gazing at the scene with pride, said:

"Like the fall of a meteor... magnificent."

Only a few adventurers remained, hesitating between attack and retreat, so the beast decided to finish off what was left.

He raised the next two arms, "Al-Kao" and "Al-Ki." Al-Kao erupted with a torrent of water, flooding the ground and slowing the adventurers' movements, while Al-Ki employed a healing ability that allowed the beast to recover from any wounds it had sustained up to that point.

Karsu, murmuring with admiration, said:

"He defends with water, and heals himself at the same time? This beast truly deserves its title."

But the beast was not satisfied with that.

With a gesture from one of its arms, it used "Al-Zan" and "Al-Zi," causing the forest itself to rise up in its protection. The grasses transformed into sharp whips, the trees twisted around the adventurers like vipers, and sticky ropes dragged them one by one toward their inevitable fate.

Within a few minutes, not a single survivor remained. The ground was covered with corpses, and the beast—despite the injuries it had sustained—remained standing, victorious.

Karsu, with a mocking smile, said:

"He didn't even use the frenzy mode... he was merely toying."

He laughed lightly, then whispered to himself:

"Thank you, O Monkey King... you did a wonderful job."

Then, without hesitation, he leaped from his position, his feet empowered by a halo as he descended forcefully among the corpses, and began gathering the spoils.

"Well then, what do we have here?"

He examined the ground and found poisoned arrows, serrated swords, heavy armors, rare potions, and quantities of gold.

He smiled maliciously as he raised a sack filled with loot:

"Thank you to the foolish rich man who thought this was a good idea."

He gathered everything he could carry, then moved quickly, heading away from the massacre scene, leaving behind the ashes of the adventurers and a land reeking of death.

He carried all those items using the Storage Qiz found in the book—which is the fifth qiz in it: Qiz of Flame, Qiz of Water, Qiz of Light, Qiz of Healing, and finally the nearly unlimited Storage Qiz.

After that, he headed to the second merchant, Obiss, and entered the city to fetch the Energy Stones.

Karsu moved like a shadow under the cover of darkness, using the Shadow Qiz to sneak into Obiss's warehouse. The high walls posed no obstacle for him, as he launched the Thread Qiz toward the top edge and pulled himself up smoothly. There, amid the dim lamp light, he saw Obiss sitting on his luxurious chair, counting the stones with trembling hands.

"Isn't it foolish to think you can escape your debts?" Karsu said in a calm voice, dripping with a threatening tone.

Obiss sprang up like a terrified cat, before stammering:

"W-what do you want? We gave you half!"

"Half?" Karsu laughed a cold laugh, then tilted his head slightly:

"If you mean the gold coins of the slain merchant, then you are even dumber than I thought... Do you think I will fall into your trap and say, 'Oh, really? In that case, I'll leave!'?"

He paused for a moment, then added in an even colder voice:

"Or would you prefer that I send a piece of you to your comrades... as a souvenir?"

"S-screw this person! How can he use more than one qiz? I've heard that he uses at least five qiz... Does that mean he is the most human capable of using qiz? No... Wait, there's an old legend that speaks of a person who managed to control seven qiz at once, but what is the real difference? Five or seven—in the end, they all exceed the limits of ordinary humans!"

He looked around anxiously, recalling his previous efforts:

"I searched the entire city for strong guardians, selecting those with the best reputations... and yet, I found no one who could even use three types of qiz together!"

He gripped the edge of his chair tightly, and a feeling of helplessness began to creep upon him...

"It is a nightmare... a living nightmare!"

Obiss attempted to scream for the guards, but the threads of the Thread Qiz wrapped around his neck like a hidden snake, squeezing his throat and choking his voice before it could finish.

"Ah... ah..." His body slammed into the ground, his fingers futilely trying to untangle the threads, while his widened eyes streamed with terror. In that moment, Karsu approached with calm steps, and his sword glinted under the moonlight sneaking through the window, reflecting a cold shine devoid of life.

He bent slightly, then whispered in a quavering voice that barely carried any emotion:

"There is no need for chaos. Give me the stones... or I will let the Flame Qiz consume this warehouse entirely... with you inside."

Obiss saw a spark of fire flickering in Karsu's palm, as if it were a living threat on the verge of igniting. His trembling fingers hurriedly began opening the boxes, his voice coming out in broken fragments:

"Ta-take them! All of them! Just don't... don't burn me!"

Karsu did not move for a moment; he only stared at the terrified Obiss, as if assessing his sincerity. Then, without a word, he raised his hand, and the threads of qiz pulled the boxes toward him smoothly, piling them at his feet.

He bent down and opened one of them quietly... dozens of shimmering stones sent out a faint blue glow in the darkness. He took one between his fingers, examined it for a moment, then rotated it in his palm before murmuring:

"Good... at least you did not try to deceive me this time."

Obiss recoiled backward, crawling on the ground, his body trembling as if the cold had pierced him to the bone. He attempted to speak, to justify something, but found nothing to say. He knew that any wrong word could be his last.

Karsu raised his eyes to him, and a faint, unwarm smile crept onto his lips.

"But you still owe me."

Obiss stopped breathing for a moment, as if a new nightmare had begun to manifest before him.

"O-owe? I... I gave you everything!"

Karsu tilted his head slightly, as if contemplating Obiss's sentence like a child pondering a silly lie. Then he whispered:

"And did you think that would be enough?"

In the blink of an eye, the threads of qiz were unleashed again, but this time they did not target his neck... but his hand. They tightened forcefully, and Obiss let out a faint scream as he felt his bones nearly shatter under the pressure.

"A simple gift..." Karsu said coldly, letting the threads wrap further around his fingers. "To remind you of who holds your life now."

Obiss raised his head, his eyes glistening with tears and fear. In that moment, he knew he had become nothing more than a puppet... and Karsu was the one holding the strings.

Karsu seized one of the stones between his fingers, turned it slightly while watching its faint glow, then began counting the rest quickly—with a calm yet sharp gaze... 1437.

"Not a bad number..." he thought to himself, "Their quality is average, but sufficient to grant the life of a Qiz Master of Level One absolute luxury. As for a Qiz Master of Level Two, they will be a tremendous boost to his energy and refining power..."

He paused for a moment, his eyes lighting up with deeper thought. "But I consume more energy than any ordinary human... and considering the large number of qiz I use, these stones will not suffice for a long time... yet they are acceptable for now."

He turned his gaze back to the merchant, staring at him with a cold look before saying in a low voice that carried the weight of a mountain:

"These are not the smuggled stones... are they?"

Obiss felt as if a lightning bolt had struck his head, his body freezing, as if life had decided to torment him mercilessly. His eyes widened in terror, and he nearly collapsed to the ground in shock.

"Y-yes... these... were designated for my firstborn... my only son..."

He fell to his knees, his full body trembling, and tears streaming incessantly. His face was pale, and his quivering lips along with his trembling made him appear even more miserable. His tight clothes were torn, as if life itself had ripped them apart just as it had torn his dignity.

But Karsu showed no sympathy. He simply stood there, like a black shadow engulfing a broken man, silently watching his collapse.

"And do you think I will pity you?"

"Well... as we agreed, the half, huh?"

Karsu said it in a low voice carrying a hidden tone of threat, while he extended his hand and forcefully grabbed Obiss's face, his fingers digging into his swollen cheeks.

He moved closer, until he nearly pressed his face against Obiss's, his cold breath striking the trembling merchant's skin, and a terrifying smile appeared on his lips, revealing sharp teeth like the fangs of a demon freshly emerged from hell.

Obiss could not even breathe; he stared at Karsu's face as if he were witnessing the embodiment of death itself, his deep, dark eyes slowly devouring him.

He felt as if life were being drained from him drop by drop, as if Karsu's grip on his face was not merely a human hand, but the claw of a wild creature testing his fragility before crushing him completely.

"Tell me, Obiss..." Karsu whispered, his voice resembling a murmur from another world, "do you think I will accept such generosity?"

Obiss could not withstand the pressure... his eyes rolled, his body trembled for a moment before collapsing unconscious.

Karsu looked at him silently, as if he saw nothing more than a scrap of discarded flesh on the ground. He sighed lightly, then cast one last glance at the stones he had gathered before kneeling beside Obiss's body without any hesitation.

He tore at the flesh of Obiss's hand with a sharp dagger, his fingers moving with cold precision, indifferent to the silent scream that nearly escaped from the unconscious body. Blood began to flow, but Karsu did not stop; he raised his bloody hand and began to write...

"Falkahf Al-Nisf... The half... do not forget..."

He inscribed it on his forehead in twisting red lines, pressing slowly as if carving it into his skin, as if imprinting an indelible mark.

After he finished, Karsu stood up and wiped his bloodstained hand on Obiss's torn clothes, then cast one last glance at him before murmuring in a barely audible voice:

"When you wake... you will never forget that you owe the half."

Then, as if the shadows of the night had swallowed him, he disappeared from sight, leaving behind a shattered merchant and a body bearing an indelible mark of terror.

Then Karsu slowly withdrew to the cave, pondering his next move..

The following morning, Karsu went out to hunt a few animals for food, when suddenly the sound of fierce winds heading toward him appeared.

Karsu: "What is that sound?!"

In an instant, Karsu heard the sound of tearing immediately after the impact, and the area was filled with dust. Karsu quickly retreated backward with careful steps, not turning so as to keep watching what was happening, his eyes darting quickly to the right and left. Usually, Karsu uses his left hand to operate the qiz, keeping his right hand free to wield his sword. However, the qiz did not respond to Karsu and did not emit any flame.

Karsu: "W-what is happening?!"

To his surprise, Karsu saw that his hand was completely twisted; the bone had been ground, the blood squeezed out, and the skin torn. His shoulder was torn and bleeding heavily.