ã€ŠSage Of An Eraã€‹


 Chapter 1

    The sky was grey, blanketed by endless clouds; snow fell from the clouds covering the earth in endless white. In this cold day, a lonely figure walked through a crowded street, from head to toe he was covered by a brown cloak and on his back was something wrapped in cloth but it was at least 10 feet long and the end was three feet wide.

    His face was hidden by the hood of his cloak, yet it couldn¡¯t hide the aura that was leaking from his body, a cold, lonely domineering aura.

    ¡°He¡¯s close...¡± He mumbled to himself looking down at the tightly gripped locket in his palm which showed a position.

    Walking forward he noticed beggars sitting in the cold huddling beside fire, many of the people completely ignored them and some even gave them disdainful gazes.

    Seeing the gazes he sighed over the cruelty inside the hearts of people and shook his head and decided to walk forward. ¡°Hmm...¡± He sensed a burning sensation on his palm; he looked down and felt the temperature of the locket increase. ¡°He¡¯s close, extremely close.¡± The hooded man''s steps increased in speed and you could see a sense of urgency from his movement.

    The further he walked into the street the number of people reduced and the number of beggars increased. The hooded man¡¯s nose wrinkled as an unpleasant stench filled the air.

    ¡°bang!¡± The hooded man suddenly turned in the direction of the sound, the heat from the locket which was about to combust into flames on his palm vanished completely; however, he seemed to not have noticed this as his gaze landed on the small figure only 10 meters away from him in the alley.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    A boy with jet black hair, covered in dirt that hid his facial features was laying there, his dirty ragged clothes barely covering his body. He was very young, maybe 13 years old, his skin was a dirty pale due to the cold, yet you could see that he was trembling uncontrollably as the cold winds brushed against him.

    Currently, he was laying against the wall with blood flowing down his arm from a purple bruise, his breath ragged and dry. Three beggar youths stood in front of him, the youth in the right held a metal bar in his hand with blood on the end of it.

    ¡°Next time we ask, you give us what we want, or we won¡¯t leave you with just a bruise boy, even if you die no one will care,¡± the youth in the middle growled. ¡°Let¡¯s go, his pathetic face annoys me.¡±

    The two boys beside him followed him in the direction of the hooded man.

    The boy in the middle looked at the hooded man; he couldn¡¯t see the man¡¯s face clearly and could only see his chin. ¡°You saw nothing here.¡± The boy gave him a threatening gaze and walked past him.

    ¡°Stay there.¡± The hooded man growled.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The three beggar youths looked at him with annoyance, but the hooded man raised his head barely enough so that they could make out his facial features. But the only feature that they could pay attention to was his cold, detached grey eyes that sent chills to the very core of their being.

    Suddenly a suffocating pressure came crashing down on their body, crushing them. ¡°Scram.¡± A huge burst of energy forced them back into the streets.

    The anger in his heart was still there yet he paid the youths no attention, they were not worthy enough for him to take action.

    He then turned to look at the boy lying against the wall in front of him; the boy¡¯s breathing came out as a mist and was extremely soft. ¡°Finally... I¡¯ve found you...¡± the hooded man mumbled, his voice containing a deep sadness, a single tear streaked down his face which he quickly wiped away.

    He slowly walked towards the young boy and lifted him up, his gaze filled with tenderness. Looking around he saw no one else inside the alleyway, the three youths had long run away. He turned towards the grey sky and then he vanished from the alleyway, leaving no traces of his existence behind.

 Chapter 2

    ¡°Who am I?¡± That¡¯s a question Ryan had thought of his entire life. He was confused by the purpose of his existence, because of ever since he could remember he was a beggar child, scavenging for his next meal and not knowing if he would go hungry that day, not even considering the days that came after.

    Even though he lived such a life, he was outwardly cold towards everyone and empty inside, yet there was something he always wanted to be conscious of, his identity. His identity was what he wanted to know the most, was he an abandoned child or was his parents murdered before he even had the ability to recognise his surroundings. Even his own name was something that he gave himself and held no significance to him.

    ¡°urgh...¡± Ryan grumbled as he pulled his body up and supported his body with his arms.

    ¡°Hm... What¡¯s this soft feeling?... A bed¡± He looked around and noticed that he was currently seated on a bed inside a room. Ryan was confused and his thoughts were muddled by the new feeling, this was the first time that he felt something so soft and comfortable.

    ¡°Clack,¡± Ryan¡¯s ears pricked and he quickly turned towards the direction and he saw the door open and a tall figure walk in.

    The tall figure was wearing a white cotton t-shirt, black woollen trouser and they were covered by a brown cloak. His black hair was short and ragged, covering his forehead. His face was sharp, structured and he had a short unkempt beard, but a fascinating thing about this man was his grey eyes which were similar to Ryan¡¯s very own eyes.

    The tall figure walked into the dull room and pulled a wooden chair from a nearby desk and placed it near the bed and sat on it in an awfully lazed manner, while closing his eyes, his face was facing the ceiling.

    Ryan sat straight subconsciously and brought his legs closer to his chest trying to make himself smaller than he actually was.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so reserved,¡± The man said with a hint of amusement in his voice, as he moved his head to look at Ryan, a small smile creeping up his face.

    ¡°Boy, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    Ryan pulled his legs even closer and did not reply under the grey-eyed man¡¯s gaze. He felt that this man could see everything under his skin with those deep eyes.

    The grey-eyed man looked at Ryan and then his eyes widened as if he realised something: ¡°Apologies, where are my manners, I should have told you my name first.¡± His words surprised Ryan as he didn¡¯t expect this sudden turn of events. ¡°My name is Richard, now boy, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    Ryan slowly raised his head to look at the man and saw that enigmatic smile on his face, yet he still felt that unexplainable aura around him. One word popped up in his brain to explain this personality: Eccentric.

    Ryan was slightly hesitant, a street rule that he learnt many years ago was to never carelessly give your name to anyone. After struggling for a bit he replied softly: ¡°Ryan.¡±

    ¡°Ryan... Ryan... What a good name.¡± Richard said the name twice letting it roll off naturally from his tongue. ¡°Ryan, who gave you this name?¡±

    Ryan was confused but replied: ¡°No one did, I gave it to myself but it doesn¡¯t matter, it holds no significance to me at all.¡±

    Richard was slightly surprised and pondered and stayed quiet not intending to ask him further.

    ¡°Why did you bring me here? I have no relations with you and this is probably the first time we¡¯ve ever met, is it not so?¡±  Ryan asked abruptly.

    Richard was brought back from his thoughts and gazed at Ryan again. Ryan had dark black hair and his eyes were similar to himself except it was lighter a silver colour. His rosy white skin that should have been soft was tough due to his tough life on the streets yet you could still see how handsome he was.

    ¡°Is it not obvious, I saved you because I felt sorry for you, you could say that I saved you because I....¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as a free meal and in this case, you wouldn¡¯t save me for any apparent reason.¡± Ryan interrupted.

    A small smile crept onto Richards'' face and his eyes squinted as if he was enjoying this.

    ¡°HAHAHA!¡± He roared, ¡°Boy you¡¯re quite clever, I see that the streets have moulded you into a person that does not easily trust, but that¡¯s alright since what you¡¯re saying is true.¡±

    Ryan¡¯s eyes widened and felt a sensation of fear run through his spine. From the moment this man walked into the room he felt as if he was staring at a blank sheet of paper, unable to see through him at all and now he felt a tinge of fear.¡±

    ¡°I did save you for a specific reason.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Richard stared at Ryan and said his tone carrying absolute importance: ¡°Boy do you desire power.¡±

    Ryan was startled by Richard¡¯s proposition; he instantly dismissed the idea and replied: ¡°Ideally that would be a great offer, but it has only been a few minutes since we first met, tell me why I should trust you?¡±

    ¡°Haha!¡± Richard laughed abruptly and then quietened down at his own pace, completely different from the serious atmosphere he kept before.

    ¡°Boy... Ryan, what I want is for you to be my experimental subject for me to learn about the limits of humanity and see how far they would go for their thirst for power. You probably have your own grudges; I can turn that hatred into power as long as you have the willpower for it.¡± He explained emphatically. ¡°You won¡¯t have to live on the streets ever again; you¡¯ll live with me and start from a new slate.¡±

    ¡°And if you survive my experiments, you will gain immense power, be able to stand above millions and walk across the land without a care; you can make countless kings stand at your beck and call.¡±

    Ryan found all of this suspicious particularly the part where he could make kings obey his every command. However, the allure of being able to get revenge against all those people that looked down upon him for no reason was enormous. ¡°How can I be sure that you can do all this?¡±

    Richard was delighted that Ryan did not immediately refuse: ¡°It¡¯s because I am a Sage, a great and powerful Sage!¡±

    ¡°Ryan, do you know what a Sage is?¡±

    Ryan shook his head and had a lost expression on his face.

    One of Richard¡¯s eyebrows rose, astonished by the boy''s lack of general knowledge but then shook his head, it wasn¡¯t his fault, he had been raised on the streets his whole life.

    ¡°Let me explain what a Sage is: We Sage¡¯s are the most powerful beings on this continent, we can walk across the continent without a fear as long as we are strong enough. A sage is sought after by every power on the continent and we research the natural laws to further our understanding of the world to further humanity.¡± Each word said by Richard was filled with pride and fervour.

    Due to Richard¡¯s enthusiasm, Ryan was completely captivated: ¡°Are you telling me that I can be a Sage?¡± Ryan enquired.

    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m telling you that¡¯s what I am.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°So do you agree?¡± He asked abruptly with a smile on his face.

    Seeing Richard¡¯s smile and hearing his unrealistic words, Ryan woke up from his stupor and immediately grew distrustful once again. Richard was a ragged man furthermore; he looked nothing like the legendary Sages that he was describing fanatically.

    ¡°You still don¡¯t believe me, boy? For this, I shouldn¡¯t even accept you as my experimental subject...¡± Richard paused, feigning annoyance: ¡°But I might as well show you my Sage Weapon.¡±

    Extending his arm towards the door, his hand grasped the air. Ryan looked at him as if he was staring at a crazy person.

    All of a sudden silver dots started flickering in the air and there was an innumerable amount of them. They suddenly coalesced in the air and transformed into a sword.

    Seeing all of this out of the blue caught Ryan off guard, He was awed by something so extraordinary: A weapon appearing, being constructed right before his eyes in an instant.

    ¡°They call me the Particle Sage.¡± As Richard said this his gaze was on the sword, which abruptly dissolved and transformed into a cloud of specks revolving around his palm, the glimmer of the silver cloud lit up his face and the room itself.

    What Ryan didn¡¯t notice was the deep loneliness in Richard¡¯s eyes when he gazed at his Sage Weapon.

    ¡°They call me that because of my Sage Weapon. If you¡¯re wondering what a Sage Weapon is, it is exactly what the name implies, it is a weapon custom forged by a Sage that has traversed far into the field of weaponry.¡±

    Dumbfounded, that is how Ryan felt, he instantly felt a large door open before his eyes revealing a much vaster world than the small alleyway that he grew up in.

    ¡°So boy, do you agree to go through an unimaginable amount of pain to gain the same ability as I? Let me warn you I¡¯ve trained 5 people just like you and out of them only one survived and the other 4 died in my experiments.¡±

    Hearing this revelation Ryan was startled and hesitated. ¡°Boy do not hesitate, I give you one chance if you don¡¯t give me your answer you will never have the chance to regret and I will never appear before you again.¡± Richard¡¯s tone was heavy and serious, switching once again from his light-hearted tone; his body was releasing a deep powerful aura that demanded Ryan to speak.

    Ryan felt trapped, he had lived his life as a beggar all his life and this opportunity was extremely risky but carried high rewards. As a beggar, surviving was all that mattered; to him life was extremely precious.

    Am I just going to give up this opportunity to fear and a bit of pain? Will I still hesitate and live the meagre life of a beggar? Is that what I truly want for the rest of my life? No, I will hesitate no more, I want a life full of dignity, and I want to find out who I really am. The hesitation was vanquished by Richard¡¯s vital words and a burning Will burned in Ryan¡¯s eyes as he fiercely stared back at Richard.

    ¡°Haha, you have made the correct decision boy,¡± Richard said with an approving tone already knowing what Ryan¡¯s reply was.

    ¡°My name isn¡¯t boy,¡± Ryan growled at Richard. ¡°Nor is it Ryan, Ryan is an identity I gave myself and something I will keep until the day comes when I find out my given name.¡±

    Richard remained calm but a huge wave was set off in his heart but he showed no signs of his emotions changing due to his own reasons that only he knew.

    ¡°Okay, whatever you say.¡±

 chapter 4

    In an open field in the middle of a forest stood two figures, one was a tall figure with handsome features, covered by a brown cloak and on his back was something wrapped in cloth. In front of him was a young boy dressed in ragged clothes.

    This was Richard and Ryan. Two days passed by since Ryan woke up and now he no longer looked as dirty as he was before even though he still wore his old clothes. His skin had a strong and hearty colour but was still a bit rough, his hair had a soft shine to it and overall he looked a lot healthier than before.

    ¡°Why can I not change into something different?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better that you wear this until the first experiment is done and then I¡¯ll bring you a new set of clothes, but first let us get started.¡± Richard replied.

    After saying this, he grabbed a sack at his waist and took out two small pills about the size of an adults thumb nail. One of the pills was blue in colour, while the other was a fiery red colour.

    Ryan inspected the pills in Richard¡¯s hand, but could not see anything special besides the colour of the pills.

    Seeing this Richard smiled, how could a child like Ryan ever know the value of the two pills he held in his hand.

    ¡°Ok you will first take the blue pill, it¡¯s called the frost numbing pill,¡± As he said this he picked up the blue pill with his other hand and allowed it to glisten under the rays of the sun. ¡°This frost numbing pill will numb your nerves and will make it so that your body will feel no pain, it will also fill you with adrenaline at the same time and you will feel as if you could lift a mountain due to its effect.¡±

    He then put down the frost numbing pill and brought it towards Ryan, ¡°I will explain what the functions of the red pill in a bit but first swallow the frost numbing pill.¡± He said as he handed the pill to Ryan.

    When the pill landed on Ryan¡¯s palm he felt the temperature around his palm decrease slightly, is that just a misperception from my part? Ryan thought he did not believe that it would possess such ability as that feeling disappeared the moment it appeared.

    Ryan placed the pill in his mouth and swallowed, ¡°Hm?¡± Ryan¡¯s eyes widened as a freezing sensation passed through his throat and chilling everything it touched. However, this feeling wasn¡¯t uncomfortable; it was like drinking cold water after spending an entire day working outside in an exceedingly hot summer day.

    ¡°Now take this pill and swallow it.¡±

    Ryan took the red pill that was handed to him and placed it into his mouth. The moment he swallowed it he felt nothing, no sensation at all. It felt just like swallowing food, natural and no inconvenience.

    He felt that this was kind of unexpected but didn¡¯t doubt Richard but rather asked him: ¡°What is the purpose of the red pill?¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve swallowed it, there¡¯s no going back from here. I was worried that you¡¯d back out the moment you knew the purpose of the red pill and its properties.¡± Richard had a mischievous smile on his face that caused Ryan to feel trepidation.

    ¡°This red pill is known as Flame Devastation pill, it has one single purpose, and it is a torture pill.¡± When Richard got to this point, Ryan eyes were wide open in stupor: ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°This pill will dissolve into your bloodstream the moment it enters your body and cause the temperature in your body to increase to an unbearable degree, afterwards you¡¯ll feel as if you¡¯re being stabbed countless times and burned at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Gurgh¡± Ryan instantly put his hand into his mouth, trying to forcefully vomit it out, but even though he did this only the food he ate came out, the pill had already been completely digested.

    ¡°There¡¯s no use, it has already dissolved into your blood stream and as to why you don¡¯t feel anything right now is because the Frost numbing pill has completely numbed your senses. Even though it is like this, your body is currently going through an immeasurable amount of pain that it has never experienced.¡±

    ¡°The pain that is being numbed by the Frost Numbing pill, it will accumulate and then add on to the pain you¡¯ll feel as soon as the effects of the pill wear off.¡± Richard stated in a matter of fact manner.

    Ryan could not believe what Richard was saying; abruptly he noticed that his skin was turning red, furthermore it was changing colour at a visible rate.

    Richard also saw the change but did not seem too worried about it, ¡°Ryan, do not take this as a joke. From the moment you accepted this I have never taken this as a joke.¡± He said in a heavy tone.

    The recipient of these words, Ryan¡¯s ears pricked he felt a sense of regret but then his eyes went sharp and became serious: ¡°I understand.¡±

    Richard nodded: ¡°It¡¯s good you understand the effects of the frost numbing pill will wear off in a few seconds because of my tampering so be prepared.¡±

    As soon as he finished saying this Ryan felt a small stabbing pain in his chest and then another in his stomach then he felt as if he was being stabbed all over.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Ryan screamed out because of the stabbing pain, yet this was only the beginning. Without the slightest warning, the build up of stress due to the pain his body experienced while it was numb came together with a scalding pain as it surged through his body devastating his organs.

    Tears streaked down Ryan¡¯s face but quickly evaporated, ¡°Aaargh¡± Ryan shrieked in pain as he fell on the floor, trembling uncontrollably, mumbling undecipherable words.

    Anyone that saw his sorry figure would feel pity for him.

    Right then, Ryan stopped moving and his body stopped twitching. His brain had shut down all his body functions to preserve Ryan¡¯s mentality or he would go insane under the extreme stress that he was experiencing.

    Even though he was unconscious the Flame Devastation pill was still running rampant in his body. Richard bent down and held another pill in his hand, unlike the prior two it was green in colour and a strong medicinal scent was being emitted from it.

    If a Sage Alchemist had seen the green pill that he had taken out they would be stupefied by the identity of the pill, its value could not be stated as it was rarely seen in auction houses. They would even be shocked by seeing the Frost Numbing pill as its market value was far too high and would not be used so carelessly on an average human.

    Richard placed the green pill in Ryan¡¯s mouth and made sure that he swallowed it. Ryan healed at a rate visible to the naked eye and his skin colour quickly returned to normal, while his internals were being repaired and suppressing the Flame devastation pill at an unprecedented speed.

    As everything took place Richard had a calm expression on his face as he picked up Ryan¡¯s small body and carried him away.

 Chapter 5

    ¡°Why are we in the city today?¡±

    Ryan asked Richard as they strolled along through the street; Richard was in no rush to reply and looked around at the many different stalls and shops.

    ¡°We came to the city today to buy a few items for my next experiment.¡± He replied while looking at Ryan with a harmless smile on his face.

    Seeing this smile Ryan felt a chill run through his back, the hair on his body stood and he shivered slightly. Just remembering the pain that he felt caused him to feel a sense of trepidation towards the word ¡®experiment¡¯ and that harmless smile on Richards'' face.

    ¡°How¡¯d you like your new clothes?¡± Richard asked pulling Ryan out of his nightmarish thoughts.

    Hearing this Ryan couldn¡¯t help but smile cheerfully, his childish nature was slightly shown.

    Ryan no longer looked like a child from the streets, he wore a black long sleeved t-shirt and black woollen trousers and over it he wore a grey cloak around him to protect him from the cold. His jet black hair was even cut by Richard and shortened slightly and his fringe was just long enough to cover his forehead.

    His silver eyes had a strong light to them and his skin was now extremely soft and healthy. This change was due to the green pill that he was fed when he was unconscious, while not only healing him it had rid his body of his toxins and any other unwanted substances. Ryan with his clear features was a handsome young child and his silver eyes had a strong draw to it.

    Whilst walking through the city, the atmosphere was quite cheerful. This city was one of the ten 2<sup>nd</sup> class cities called the North Creed City in the Reinhart kingdom. The Reinhart kingdom was also a fairly powerful nation with many sages living within its boundaries.

    ¡°Ryan you can go look around while I go take care of my things,¡± Richard noticed Ryan¡¯s eyes glisten when he saw all the stalls with food and the people enjoying it.

    Ryan was startled and nodded quite happy with it. ¡°Here take this,¡± Richard pulled out two silver coins from his pouch and handed it to Ryan.

    Taking the two silver coins Ryan was shocked, two silver coins was a huge amount, and he had never seen so much money in his life, as a beggar he had to steal to survive on the street. Ryan¡¯s eyes grew a bit watery but he quickly wiped it away using his sleeve.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Richard seeing this smiled: ¡°Don¡¯t get conned Ryan, I¡¯ll find you in roughly an hour,¡± he said as he patted Ryan¡¯s hair and walked off into the crowd.

    Ryan nodded; he lived on the streets his whole life so he knew how to behave and when to stay low. His gaze then followed Richard; deep in his heart, he felt a vast amount of gratitude and respect towards this ragged man.

    -------------------------

    ¡°How much is this?¡± Ryan pointed towards a delicacy and asked the stall keeper.

    ¡°2 copper coins.¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Ryan handed him the amount and carried on walking through the street while eating.

    He raised his head towards the dull sky; an hour has nearly passed, Ryan thought to himself.

    ¡°Crash!¡±

    Ryan turned towards the loud crashing sound and noticed that there was a crowd in the distance since he was rather short compared to the rest of the people he couldn¡¯t see what was attracting the attention of so many people.

    Attracted by the disturbance and walked towards the crowd.

    ¡°Excuse me, what¡¯s going on?¡± Ryan asked a man who he figured would respond without getting annoyed.

    He was right on this point and the man wasn¡¯t too annoyed by Ryan: ¡°The two terrors are making trouble once again.¡±

    ¡°The two terrors?¡± Ryan replied with hints of confusion in his tone.

    The man looked at Ryan, but then realised something: ¡°You must not be from this city? Well to put it briefly, the two are not the strongest youngsters in the city but they are respectively the only sons of the chiefs of the Reiner Family and the Freed Family so they can do whatever they want without consequence. The two families are the overlords of this city and they possess legendary Sages.¡±

    When the man mentioned the word ¡®Sage¡¯ his eyes slightly brightened with awe.

    Ryan nodded and then looked towards the centre.

    Two youths stood at the centre followed by 4 bodyguards, one was tall while the other¡¯s height was average, and the tall youth had blonde hair while the other youth had brown hair. They were smiling, enjoying the attention that they were receiving from the crowd.

    Lying on the floor in front of them was a young man, he had a bloody nose and his face was bruised, but through his eyes, you could see pent-up rage and deep arrogance.

    ¡°When I get back to my clan, I will make sure you disappear off the face of this continent,¡± the youth on the floor roared furiously.

    ¡°Haha, what is a so-called member of the legendary Ferian Clan doing in our city? How can one of their clansmen be so weak? We¡¯d be rewarded for crippling you and handing you back to them so that they can punish you.¡± The Tall-blonde youth snickered as he glanced down at the youth with disdain clearly not believing him in the slightest.

    Ryan seeing all this sighed, it was not something that he was going to intrude on, and this was none of his business. Even though he wanted to help he was not stupid enough to attract calamity for an act of kindness and he was far too weak to do anything.

    Having seen enough, he did not bother staying any longer and turned to leave.

    ¡°Where¡¯d you think you¡¯re going?¡± An arm grabbed onto Ryan¡¯s shoulder forcing him to stop, Ryan turned without delay.

    ¡°Richard?¡±

    It was indeed Richard standing behind him: ¡°Let¡¯s stay here for a bit,¡± he said in a tone that needed no reply and on his face was a harmless smile like he was planning something.

    Ryan knowing that smile all too well felt his body tremble subconsciously and a feeling of uneasiness well up inside.

 Chapter 6

    ¡°Ryan, I want you to go and defuse the situation; use whatever method you want.¡±

    Ryan stared at Richard as if he was staring at a madman; however, he noticed that harmless smile on his face.

    ¡°Richard... What you¡¯re doing is the same as pushing me off a cliff.¡± Ryan mumbled with a tone unsure if he was being serious while knowing full well he was.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m going to push you off a cliff for your training later, so do not compare this and that.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ryan shook his head and decided to go help the youth on the floor.

    Even though Ryan was only 12 he had lived on the street without any shelter. He had learnt that hardship and cruelty of reality very early on and learned to adapt, think faster and was forced to mature much faster than a normal child his age.

    He moved his attention towards the centre, he was thinking, planning depending on the situation.

    While he was doing this Ryan didn¡¯t realise the approving gaze that Richard was giving him from the side.

    ¡°Adrian, what do you think we should do?¡± The tall blonde youth asked the other youth.

    Adrian rolled his eyes but a cold smile appeared: ¡°Edward, let¡¯s toss him into the dungeons and slowly cripple him, after that we can return him to the Ferian clan.¡±

    Hearing this, the shade of the youth''s face went pale, he quickly quietened down. Following this, the youth let out a sigh, as he realised something.

    ¡°Excuse me, good sirs.¡±

    A clear voice disrupted the entire situation causing everyone to turn towards the newcomer, Ryan stood there on that spot.

    ¡°Young masters, please show magnanimity to this young man who has offended you,¡± Ryan said with a sincere tone, lowering his gaze, but his voice was extremely firm.

    In the wake of Ryan¡¯s statement the crowd was surprised; to have the courage to even step out and address the Two Terrors could lead to death.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    This was what prevented anyone to even try it because of the many rumours and stories of those being killed after offending the Two Terrors.

    The Two Terrors in question, Adrian and Edward were startled at first, turned towards each other and then looked back at Ryan.

    Edward had a small indifferent smile: ¡°Boy, you want us to release him and show mercy? Why should we do that?¡±

    Ryan was expecting such a reply at the least and already had a simple answer ready: ¡°Young Masters, by showing mercy you¡¯ll show the people that you can be both harsh, powerful and also merciful.¡±

    ¡°So Young Master please give him a chance to live, he¡¯ll most definitely be indebted to you for granting him a path to live.¡± Hearing what Ryan was saying the youth on the floor noticed that the boy was trying his hardest to save him, even when no one else dared to say a single word against the two terrors.

    A child was trying to save him, he was touched and so did not say anything but stare at the boys back.

    Edward stared at Ryan and then turned waving his palm, ¡°Forget it I¡¯m bored now, just take him away.¡±

    Hearing this Ryan¡¯s face lightened up and went towards the youth on the floor to help him up.

    At this moment a cold light appeared in his eyes as he gazed at this guard¡¯s: ¡°Kill them.¡±

    As soon as he spoke all four of the guards obeyed, unsheathing their blades they rushed towards Ryan and the youth on the floor with killing intent.

    They had no expressions on their faces when they acted, already being accustomed to such acts.

    Adrian turned to Edward: ¡°Quite evil of you, to give them a chance to live and then take it away.¡±

    Edward hearing this ignored his condescending smile: ¡°Do you think that I need the people¡¯s approval? Naive, all that exists is power and with it, I can do whatever I want.¡± While saying this he was looking at the guards.

    Out of the 4 guards, the one leading them was just about to reach Ryan. With his sword held at his side, he stabbed at Ryan before he could even react to the entire situation.

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    A chilling snort that wasn¡¯t loud but was clear reverberated through the area; it was powerful enough the people¡¯s ears ache.

    Out of the blue, a heavy pressure appeared above the leading guard¡¯s body and pressed down upon him, its weight akin to an enormous boulder.

    ¡°Argh,¡± the guard roared in pain, the strain of the weight was not just affecting his body but also putting a heavy pressure on his internals.

    Both Edward and Adrian were shocked; from where they stood they could see the air trembling under the enormous pressure: ¡°This energy... It¡¯s Sage Force!¡± Adrian exclaimed in disbelief.

    ¡°Why would a Sage be here? He can¡¯t possibly be related to the boy could he?¡± Although Edward was shocked, he did not randomly panic due to the spur of the moment and quickly deduced a possibility.

    Just as he was thinking this, a man wearing a cloak walked out of the crowd, the most striking thing about him was the huge item wrapped in a cloth on his back.

    Walking closer towards the guards Richard''s gaze landed on the one kneeling on the floor. Hidden within his eyes was a killing intent that was barely kept under control, but was unnoticeable to the average man.

    ¡°You have overstepped your bounds.¡± Richard¡¯s tone was calm and unperturbed, yet it still sent shivers down the guard¡¯s body.

 Chapter 7

    While saying this Richard slammed the face of his foot into the guard¡¯s chest, ¡°Crack!¡± loud, unpleasant cracking sounds echoed amongst the crowd causing a few people to pale as they imagined the scenario of the guard¡¯s internals.

    The guard¡¯s body was lifted off the ground by the force and soared into the air, flying so fast it caused the air to separate and screech. The body was flying uncontrollably like a ragdoll as it flew over into another street in the market.

    ¡°Bang!¡± A loud crashing sound was heard in the place where the body had crashed, but the body was not visible and whether the guard was alive or dead was unknown.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Richard snorted coldly and turned towards, Edward and Adrian. As their gazes met, the two felt as if they were staring into an endless abyss of grey.

    As the two were stuck in their own thoughts, Richard walked towards Ryan and grabbed his hand and threw him over his shoulder and grabbed the arm of the youth on the floor.

    He did not even look at the two youths again, given that they were not worth any of his attention and he vanished from the centre of the crowd.

    ¡°Whah?!¡± A man roared, he was dumfounded and could not comprehend what had just happened.

    A man had walked into the crowd and easily put a guard of one of the two powerful clans in the city in a state of near death with one kick and disappeared in less than a few seconds.

    ¡°We have to report this to our Clan heads.¡± Adrian spoke these words with a serious tone.

    Edward turned to him and nodded his expression grave. He put his hand on his chin and thought out loud: ¡°A foreign Sage has come to our land and caused a stir, what are their origins?¡±

    ------------------

    ¡°Swoosh!¡±

    While Edward was pondering, Richard was already out of the city, he was so fast that his body seemed like a brown haze; with every step that he took he would cross hundreds of metres in an instant.

    Still on Richards shoulder, Ryan could see the view of the city grow smaller and smaller until it was nothing more than blot in the distance, all of this happening over a small instance.

    So fast! Ryan could not help but gasp in his heart, he had never expected anyone to be this fast, and he didn¡¯t even believe that it was humanly possible until now.

    After a few minutes, Richard suddenly stopped.

    He threw the youth from the Ferian clan on the grass, and then grabbed Ryan and proceeded to do the same.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± Ryan grumbled as he fell on his backside.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Richard stroked the stubbles on his chin not fazed by the scenario that had just taken place and pondered out loud: ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that they would have tried to kill you, if they were only going to beat you up I would have stood aside and let it happen as a lesson for you.¡± Richard sighed helplessly.

    ¡°....¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Ignoring him he continued: ¡°Ryan your plan was far too naive and flawed; I can tell you¡¯re much smarter than this.¡±

    Ryan knew that Richard wanted an explanation: ¡°Since you put me in such a difficult situation I couldn¡¯t think of a plan spontaneously so I took a risk. I put myself in a difficult situation; from what I was told, I figured that the two of them were quite rash in their personalities so I decided to put myself in a position where they act against me so that you would come and save me.¡±

    Richard gazed at Ryan; silence filled the air and then he laughed abruptly: ¡°Haha, quite clever!¡±

    While Richard was laughing he walked towards the youth on the floor and reached out a hand towards him: ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The youth who was in his own thoughts was pulled back, ¡°ah... it¡¯s Leonardo Ferian; you can also call me Leo.¡±

    ¡°Ok Leo.¡±

    Leonardo Ferian slowly stood up being supported by Ryan; he was a rather tall youth, slightly taller than even Richard. His hair was blonde, eyes were blue and his facial structure was sharp. Even though he was bleeding you could see that he was extremely handsome except his sharp features made him feel mature and manly.

    ¡°Seeing that you have that second name and the colour of your hair and eyes you should be from the Ferian Ancient Clan.¡± Out of the blue Richard randomly spoke, his voice though directed at Leo he was not really bothered to look at him.

    ¡°Yes I am, Sir.¡± Leo facing Richard was quite respectful towards him mainly because of two reasons, first he had been saved and second he was a Sage. However, Leo was an arrogant person deep inside and would not even give a low level Sage any respect since he was a member of the Ferian Ancient Clan. He believed that Richard was a low level Sage that specialised in speed.

    Richard looked at Leo, easily able to discern the arrogance deep inside him but wasn¡¯t too bothered.

    ¡°Who is the Ferian Ancient Clan?¡± Ryan asked Richard.

    Hearing this Leo who was seated at the side looked at Ryan with an unnatural expression, was this boy raised in the wilderness his whole life? Having these thoughts was natural for Leo, as the Ferian Ancient Clan was known to every citizen on the continent.

    ¡°The Ferian Ancient Clan, one of the Five Ancient clans descended from the Five Ancient Ancestors from the time of the Dark War of Ancients.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re from that time?!!¡± Ryan exclaimed.

    Although Ryan had lived all his life as a beggar, even he knew the history of this continent. There was a period of time when the Continent was in a great war that spanned across the entire continent. It was not a battle against outsiders but an internal war.

    It was a battle between the Great Dawnseal Empire on one side against every other power on the continent including the Five Ancient ancestors.

    The Dawnseal Empire was the most powerful, yet also considered most sinister empire on the face of this continent and even throughout all history. They were several hundred years ahead of the other empires in technology and had countless Sages under their command, ruling the continent for countless millennia¡¯s.

    However, one day they fell without any warning, taking this chance the powers on the continent took this chance to assault the Royal Dawnseal clan. Even though the Dawnseal clan were weakened by a great deal with many Sages dead, they held out for 10 days before they were destroyed by the combined force of their enemies and their Royal clan were completely exterminated.

    ¡°If you¡¯re from one of the five ancients clans, why did they not fear you?¡± Ryan asked Leo.

    Leo was at a loss, he didn¡¯t really want to give the real reason as it was far too humiliating to him and the clan¡¯s image.

    ¡°He¡¯s a cripple,¡± said Richard.

    The one that was spoken to, Leo, his eyes bulged as if it was about to fall out: ¡°What, why are you spurting nonsense?!¡± Leo shouted feeling humiliated.

    Even though Leo felt like this Richard could not careless and carried on speaking at his own pace, his tone oblivious to the expression on Leo¡¯s face: ¡°If you¡¯re from the Ferian Ancient Clan, there¡¯s no reason that you¡¯d be all the way in this small kingdom and furthermore in this city where the resources are practically nonexistent.¡±

    ¡°Most of the members of your younger generation at your age have at least entered the Sage transformation realm, yet you seem to have not.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore the energy around your body is in complete chaos so you must have been at the Sage Transformation realm at one point; from there it¡¯s pretty easy to deduce that you¡¯re a cripple. I mean why else would you have left the clan or to be more precise you got kicked out.¡±

    Leo was stunned, he tried saying something in protest, but the words would not leave him, in the end he could only sigh weakly.

 Chapter 8

    Richard turned for a moment his gaze deep, Leo felt as if his thoughts were being scanned.

    ¡°Ryan it¡¯s time for training.¡± He turned towards Ryan, ignoring Leo.

    ¡°¡­¡± Ryan felt as if a hand had grabbed his heart, yet he could only sigh helplessly as Richard threw two pills towards him.

    Leo managed to gain a glimpse of the pills, one was a fiery red colour while the other was a light blue colour that was akin to the colour of the sky.

    He didn¡¯t know what Ryan was going to do with the pills, however, a few moments after Ryan swallowed the pills a heart-wrenching scream echoed through the forest shaking the hearts of all the animals nearby.

    ¡°AARGH!!¡± Ryan roared, his arms holding onto his head, the pain causing him to bellow uncontrollably. The white¡¯s in his eyes were a bloodshot red, the tears in his eyes were mixing with the snot from his nose.

    Leo felt a chill run through him, how is this training? Isn¡¯t this just torture, how can he make a child go through this pain.

    It took only a few moments before Ryan lost consciousness and collapsed into Richards arms: ¡°He lasted 30 seconds longer than the last time, his willpower is improving much faster than I first expected.¡±

    Leo was alarmed by Richard¡¯s monotonous tone when Richard suddenly turned towards him.

    ¡°With my disciple in a state of unconsciousness, I can talk to you alone but before that let me heal him.¡± Richard walked towards Leo before he gently placed Ryan on the floor.

    Putting his hand into his cloak he took out a green pill, its medicinal aroma was exceedingly strong.

    ¡°The Body Rejuvenating Pill?!¡± Leo gasped aloud, instantly recognising the pill. That pill which Richard was holding was an extremely rare pill, with tremendous value for the lower level Sages, only appearing in the market of a small kingdom once or twice a year.

    Disregarding the stunned look on Leo¡¯s face Richard made sure that Ryan consumed it, immediately Ryan¡¯s features returned to normal and the explosive force inside of him was forcefully suppressed.

    ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯ve just wasted that pill on him, wouldn¡¯t a normal medicinal pill have sufficed for his state.¡± Leo couldn¡¯t understand Richards framed of mind, feeling aggrieved, even back in his clan he would only gain one of these pills every month.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Shut up! A pill that I made can be given to anyone whom I want to give.¡± Richard glanced at Leo with a freezing gaze.

    ¡°What!!¡± Leo couldn¡¯t comprehend that Richard was the one that had created the pill. Just a moment ago he had looked down on him for being a low-level Sage.

    Richard did not stop and started deriding him: ¡°Boy, you¡¯re not in the Ferian Clan anymore, nor are you strong enough to protect yourself. If you don¡¯t learn to control your arrogance, it will be the cause of your demise.¡±

    Richards gaze brought upon an incredible intimidating pressure that crushed down on him, his thoughts flew into disarray: This pressure, I¡¯ve felt this before¡­ Where from? Suddenly his eyes widened as a terrorising feeling arose in his heart: Elder level?! Elder level!! How could I be so foolish, his strength is at least that of a Clan Elder!

    This sense of invisible intimidating pressure was something he¡¯d only felt when he was looked at by a clan Elder back in his home, the pressure from Richards gaze was identical to it.

    ¡°It seems you finally realise the position you¡¯re in,¡± Richards intimidating gaze relaxed slightly but was still icy: ¡°let me get on with the subject that I wanted to mention from the start¡­ Boy if you listen to my proposition I can give back to you the thing that you most desire, that feeling, that power that you lost.¡±

    Leo¡¯s eyes widened, his pupils dilated yet he could not utter a word nor believe Richards words, no it was that he was refusing to believe his words.

    ¡°You know what I am talking about, you saw me personally bring out a Body Rejuvenation pill, I can give you what you¡¯re searching for, but I will not just give it to you.¡±

    ¡°What is it you want!? What is it?! I¡¯ll pay any price to get my strength back!¡± Leo roared his voice tense, full of emotion and pain. There was no one that understood his pain unless one went through it themselves: A youth who was a Sage at an extremely young age, a leader of his generation, yet losing everything in a single day to become a wastrel was unbearable and impossible to describe.

    He was only living in the hope that he could gain back what he lost, bearing through so much humiliation for that one hope.

    A small arc appeared on Richards¡¯s lips: ¡°All I want from you is to remember the favour I gave you, giving you the chance to return to your former prime. However, you must remember his favour,¡± Richard pointed his finger at the unconscious Ryan: ¡°For saving your life.¡±

    Leo was shaken but nodded, his silence was deathly, yet his emotions were rampaging through him before he could think things through he blurted out what his heart was thinking: ¡°How can you place your trust in me like that? I could easily betray you the moment I leave with the pill.¡±

    Richard¡¯s smile widened, the chill in his eyes disappearing slightly: ¡°Even though you¡¯re arrogant, the descendants of the Ferian Clan¡¯s Ancestor live by his ideals, don¡¯t they?¡±

    Leo felt even more perturbed, the feeling that Richard was emitting at that moment was filled with ancientness and mystery.

    Richard placed his hand into his cloak and pulled out a small sack, the sack was a dusty grey colour, worn out and was closed by a knot at the top.

    He opened the sack, the moment the knot was untied a strong medicinal Aroma exploded from the sack, yet the scent was calming and already relieving the stress built in Leo''s body with just its scent.

    Taking the pill out and placing it on his palm allowed Leo to see a green pill that was a subtle light green colour with a strong calming aroma.

    ¡°THAT¡¯S?!¡±

 Chapter 9

    ¡°That¡¯s the legendary Class 9 Restoration Pill, the Body Revival Pill!!¡± A great tumultuous tempest set his mind into a state of chaos.

    Leo¡¯s state of shock was reasonable, production of a Class 9 pill was extremely difficult and a high attainment in alchemy was required for it. To put it simply the Body rejuvenation pill was only a Class 6 pill, even though it was rare it wouldn¡¯t cause people to be stupefied, it was even a rare pill in places like the Five Ancient Clans.

    Richard chuckled as he spoke in a teasing voice: ¡°You were actually able to recognise the pill, guess a man at the brink would do everything to find a solution.¡±

    Even as he spoke, Leo was frozen in place as if his words were being spoken to a brick wall.

    Seeing that petrified, unresponsive expression of Leo¡¯s, Richard quickly lost interest: ¡°Here take it.¡± Saying this he casually tossed the pill to him.

    Only at this moment did he wake up from his stupor, which was quickly replaced by a frightened look as he jumped to catch the pill, paranoid that the pill touching the floor might make it lose its effect.

    When he caught it, Leo felt a thrumming sensation fill him; something that he had long lost felt as if it was returning to him yet could not make its complete return.

    Leo looked down at the pill in his hand then looked up at the nonchalant, indifferent expression on the man that had handed him such a priceless pill, the glow in his eyes was full of admiration and emotion.

    ¡°It¡¯s better that you consume it now and then leave before my disciple¡­¡± Before Richard could finish, Leo collapsed onto the floor, tears trickled down his face, all the pent-up frustration that he had faced the past few years felt as if it had all been worth it for him at that moment.

    ¡°Thank you! THANK YOU!!¡± He cried emotionally: ¡°I will never forget this, thank you!¡±

    Richard was shocked by this show of gratefulness but did not say anything only nodding.

    ¡°Stop crying, you¡¯re a grown man just go and consume the pill, you can show me your gratefulness with your actions not just your words in the future.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Leo nodded.

    ---------------------

    In the deep forest, there was a waterfall, at the bottom there was a bunch of boulders within the water, on one specific bolder was Leo, seated calmly meditating under the stomping force of the water.

    Richard had told him that if he wanted to quicken the process of healing and increase the effects of the pill he should be under a state of pressure and chose for him his current location.

    ¡°AARGH!!!¡± Leo suddenly stood and jumped onto another boulder then, bellowed furiously releasing all the repressed bitterness weighing on his heart in one single breath.

    His roar was as powerful as a beast causing the birds to flee from their nests.

    Looking down he clenched and unclenched his fist feeling that sensation that he had been missing for so long, that sensation of power, that sensation of finally getting back what he held so precious.

    Only two hours had passed since Richard had given him the pill, yet he could feel that the effects of the pill were still nourishing him continuously.

    ¡°I¡¯ve finally regained my strength¡­ ha HAHAHA!¡± he exploded with laughter: ¡°Mother, your son will be back very soon!¡±

    While reminiscing on his thoughts a gust of wind blew at his face, he turned to see that Richard had appeared on the other side of the waterfall.

    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve returned to your former state, however, that¡¯s not the end of the effects of my body revival pill. When you¡¯re body completely absorbs the pill you¡¯ll have surpassed your current state in all manners reaching a new height.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve healed completely, you can leave now, taking care of yourself shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. I and my disciple will be off on our journey the moment he wakes up. If there comes a day where we meet, do remember us.¡± Richard spoke in a calm indifferent tone.

    Even though Leo was finally a Sage again when he looked at Richard, he seemed to be even more mysterious, his strength was impossible to gauge out from just looking at him. Yet him being able to hand out a legendary Class 9 pill, something that even his clan would rarely ever hand out to its members made him even more unreadable.

    He¡¯s definitely an extremely powerful Sage he possesses such a priceless pill, he must also be exceedingly skilled in alchemy, but why is he here in such a deserted kingdom? Sigh¡­ He could only sigh inwardly for being foolish in thinking that this man was a weak low-level Sage, he was now sure that this man was formidable with a powerful background.

    Leo took a deep breath and spoke with utmost sincerity: ¡°Thank you for everything.¡± Then he seemed to be slightly conflicted, but in only a moment that expression disappeared: ¡°Sir, my name is not Leonardo Ferian; I am a member of the Main lineage of the Ferian clan, Arthur Ferian. I hope there will be a day we meet again so I can repay you.¡±

    After saying this he gazed at Richard deeply and took his leave, disappearing into the woods in an instant, where he was going only him himself knew.

    Richard stared in the direction he ran off in for a moment then vanished from his position as well.

 Chapter 10

    A dim stone ceiling was the first thing Ryan saw when his eyes opened; waking up in non-specific locations was a normal occurrence to him at this point.

    Seating himself up he looked around to see that there was a small fire crinkling, distributing warmth in the cold winter he looked behind and saw the entrance of the cave, outside were countless stars on a sheet of darkness.

    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve finally woken up, it¡¯s been almost 8 hours, the sun has set and the stars have appeared,¡± a voice said.

    Ryan turned to look at Richard and saw a small smile on his face while speaking to him.

    ¡°Where did he go?¡±

    ¡°You mean that boy called Arthur?¡± In response to Richards¡¯s answer, he was slightly confused: ¡°Arthur?¡±

    ¡°His real name was Arthur and he went off on his own after I helped him out a bit, you don¡¯t have to worry too much about him, you will meet him again in the future.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Ryan nodded quietly in compliance.

    In the next few minutes there was only stillness and tranquillity, near the fire were two fishes being slowly roasted by the flames.

    Crinkle¡­ Crinkle¡­

    The sound of the flames were especially loud in this hushed quietude, Ryan was in deep thought, his gaze staring off at the opening of the cave and looking at the bright dazzling stars.

    ¡°Ryan, what are you thinking about?¡±

    Ryan pulled his gaze away from the stars and looked straight at his palm, clenching and unclenching seemingly intrigued by it.

    ¡°I¡¯m weak Richard, extremely weak, in that situation when I was attacked by that guard, I couldn¡¯t do anything but stand there,¡± there was a slight quiver in his tone.

    ¡°When I saw him rushing at me, even though I had a plan I was trembling uncontrollably. In that situation without you I would have died, I resent this feeling of powerlessness to protect my own life.¡± As he was saying this, his gaze moved towards to the fire, his silver eyes were murky, as deep as an ocean of mist, its depth unable to be seen.

    Richard also stared at the fire lost in his own thoughts: ¡°I thought you would never ask,¡± he said, gaze moving from the fire to Ryan, who was staring back at him, a small smile crept on to his face.

    ¡°I can train you but the training will be extremely gruelling and will be a lot more tiring than when you swallow the pill, furthermore you¡¯ll still be taking the pills, so do you still want to train?¡±

    Ryan was extremely quiet; a cold breeze from outside the cave forced its way in and blew at the fire causing it to flicker.

    ¡°If it means I can protect my life, what¡¯s a little pain?¡± Even though he hadn¡¯t shown his thoughts when he had been saved by Richard, he still contemplated on that situation over and over again. No matter what action or solution he was thinking about for that scenario he couldn¡¯t find a way to save his life at that moment without having Richard protect him.

    ¡°Even though I will be training you, you must remember that Strength has more than one definition besides just power. It is a combination of other entities, if power is what you want I can help you gain it, but there will be a day when you¡¯ll find out that there is more to strength than just power. When that day comes you¡¯ll reach a level of strength that will enhance your physical power by multitudes.¡± Richards tone was solemn, his eyes staring at Ryan yet lost in his memories, reminiscing alone.

    Ryan could see the loneliness in Richards¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Then what is that strength? Have you acquired it?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    Richard was hauled back, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Me? I¡¯ll tell you that one day, but I can tell you what that strength is. It can come from anything, a desire to protect, a desire for revenge, willpower, it all depends on what you deem as most important.¡±

    Ryan contemplated deeply on those words not noticing that Richard had stood up and walked over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder: ¡°Go rest, for now, eat something, we¡¯ll be beginning your training in the morning.¡±

    Ryan nodded, doing as told and decided to take the two fish out of the flames.

    -----------------

    Back in North Creed City, in the centre of the city, there were two large towers; one was possessed by the Reiner Family while the other belonged to the Freed Family.

    These two families were relatively tyrannical in their rule, their family members were arrogant and abusive, however, on this day the atmosphere was solemn.

    Within the highest floor of the Freed Families tower, an old man with short grey hair, covered in wrinkles was seated on a decorated chair; in front of him was Edward with a calm expression on his face.

    ¡°Are you sure it was a Sage that came to our territory?¡± The old man asked his tone serious.

    ¡°Yes grandfather, I¡¯m sure of it, I felt the same kind of pressure on him which is similar to yours.¡±

    The old man was the Leader of the Freed clan, James freed. With his head leaning on his hand he was in contemplation: ¡°If he was a part of the Sage Association I would have felt a resonance between my Identity plate and his, if he is not part of the Association we don¡¯t need to worry too much about him even if he has any untoward intentions.¡± James said with a smug expression having complete confidence in their backing, the Sage Association.

    Edward nodded, he¡¯d heard of the Titanic like-existence of the Sage Association, a top monstrous power on the continent who few dared to go against, he had nothing but awe towards that power in his heart.

    Suddenly James looked at the glass door to the balcony that stared of into the distance and stood up, ¡°Edward leave from here.¡±

    Edward respectfully clasped his hand and left the room with quick steps, closing the large door behind him.

    ¡°Why have you come here, Hans?¡± An old man appeared on the balcony of the tower, opening the glass door he walked into the large hall.

    ¡°It¡¯s for the reason of the rogue Sage that appeared in my city, with his appearance there¡¯s a possibility that he could harm our Families,¡± Hans said his voice cold and his intentions clear.

    James snorted aware of this old fellows thought: ¡°You want to eliminate him before he has any thoughts, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Haha, you old fogey you know me too well. With our backings, we have little to fear: You¡¯re part of the Sage Association while I have the backing of the Royal Reinhart Clan, let¡¯s search for him.¡±

    Out of the blue, the two felt a sense of foreboding as a drift of piercing cold wind blew through the glass door.

    The two both went soundless, besides the winds howling there was only deathly silence.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± a snort that wasn¡¯t too loud broke the silence causing both aged men to shiver subconsciously.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to search for me¡­¡± the cold domineering voice came from the balcony. Standing on the balcony ledge was a tall slim figure, his face covered by the hood of his cloak, yet his frosty eyes were emanating killing intent, it was as if these old men were staring at an abyss.

    Bothe old men were shocked, Even though they felt a sensation of foreboding they weren¡¯t able to locate him till the cloaked figure snorted.

    ¡°There is no point calling your men in here, if they take so much as a step into the room, I¡¯ll kill them,¡± his tone was full of arrogance, fully confident that he was in control of the situation.

    The two old men frowned; they had never met someone so arrogant when facing them, two Sages. The first to speak was Hans, clearly brimming with anger: ¡°How arrogant, even without our backings do you think you can fight against two Sages?¡±

    The man standing on the balcony ledge stepped off it and walked towards the door, when he heard Hans¡¯s words he started laughing uproariously: ¡°Sages? Sages?!! Haha! You call yourselves Sages? Are you trying to be funny? You¡¯ve barely stepped into the level of a Sage and the both of you are so close to dying, is it not humiliating to call yourselves Sages while being so weak at your age?¡±

    Neither Hans nor James could take these humiliating, their face¡¯s even more wrinkled with veins popping onto their foreheads.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Hans bellowed in fury as he jumped into action pulling out a dagger that was a foot long, he kept by his side. He was always an arrogant and hot-headed man since a young age; he would never sit idly when someone insulted him without any regards to his existence.

    At the same time, James who was standing near his chair was contemplating whether he should attack the cloaked figure, he did not know where his confidence came from as a cautious and calculating person he would first think things through, which is a character his grandson had gained from him but at this moment his fury surpassed his reasoning to be patient.

    Grabbing his sword that was laying against the side of his chair he sped towards the cloaked figure.

    ¡°Old fools!¡± the cloaked figure snorted, there was no fear in his eyes, just contempt as if two street dogs were trying to attack him.

 Chapter 11

    His statement was the prelude to his next action and the ending of this entire scene. The cloaked figure dashed towards the two family leaders, his figure blurred seeming like an arrow at its peak of flight.

    The duo could barely see the hooded mans figure, it was too fast for their eyes to process. James slashed down at the blur that appeared right before him, yet the figure vanished and leaving his sword just striking the air in the next moment he was punched from behind.

    Crack!

    ¡°Argh!¡± he cried out, his body crumpled backwards falling down onto the floor.

    At that moment Hans appeared before the blur, what seemed like a perfect strike was evaded with ease by the hooded figure.

    The two felt a cold sensation, the feeling that they should never have provoked this person who was overwhelmingly suppressing them.

    The two did have an inkling of who this man was but they could never believe that the person could be so strong, yet at this moment he was a threat to them. James slashed out with his sword at the blurred figure, the sword slashed from head down yet the blur suddenly stopped. This sudden change of momentum caused James sword to fall short, yet the hooded man grabbed the sword with his gloved hands.

    The hooded man raised his head slightly just enough so that their eyes met. That feeling of trepidation that was slowly bubbling up in James heart burst, a sense of terror enveloped him; those cold eyes were the depths of the abyss.

    This only took an instant to occur when from behind Hans stabbed at the stationary figure. The hooded man didn¡¯t even bother to dodge it and casually grabbed the dagger by the blade with his free hand.

    ¡°What!¡± Hans could not help but utter aloud, his dagger was sharp enough to stab through the trunk of a tree with a single stab.

    ¡°Weak and you think to hunt me down? What utter fools!¡± He mocked in disdain, Richard had heard the entire conversation, and had been waiting in the shadows the entire time to take care of anything unnecessary and that unnecessary situation was the one he was in.

    At this moment the two realised that their conversation before had been heard and they realised the reason for this man¡¯s animosity, it was because of Hans declaration.

    Before they could even finish processing their thoughts, Richard applied some pressure to both the dagger and the sword causing them to shatter into countless metallic fragments.

    ¡°Aah!¡± The two cried simultaneously, watching with wide eyes as their weapons were broken right in front of them, these were their Sage Weapons, weapons that they could imbue their energy to increase their strength.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°You¡¯re weapons are just as useless as the two of you,¡± he laughed scornfully, there were a few fragmented pieces of metal in his palm that he casually dusted off.

    There was absolute silence and the pressure was slowly becoming suffocating. James felt fear rise up, if he did not speak now he would be leaving his life to the hands of this man.

    ¡°Please forgive the two of us, I¡¯m part of the Sage Association and he¡¯s related to the Reinhart Clan of this kingdom, if you do anything to us we can¡¯t do anything in return but are you willing to go against the monstrous backers we have?¡± James had quickly assessed the situation and gave a warning to Richard, he knew that they were in a tight spot and could only hope that theirs backers name could inspire fear in Richard.

    ¡°Do not try anything to us or you¡¯ll be ignoring the authority of our backers, they¡¯ll hunt you down and kill everyone related to you.¡±

    Richard looked up his gaze meeting Hans mid-sentence, at that moment Richard released a killing intent that Hans had never felt in his entire life, it was so strong that it was impossible to determine how many corpses a man had to go through to develop that strong intent.

    ¡°Are you perhaps threatening me?¡± This time the mocking tone of Richards''s voice disappeared, his voice almost mechanical, his eyes widened as the killing intent soared to new heights.

    Seeing this Hans felt like a child facing a Lion, an uncontrollable sense of terror swept through him and he felt the dampness in his undergarment.

    ¡°Do you think I fear the Sage Association? And the Reinhart Clan, do you think I¡¯d bother recognising trash?¡±

    Without saying another word Richard grabbed Hans by his arms, his other palm grabbed his shoulder.

    A moment of silence filled the air before:

    ¡°AAARGHHHH!¡± A blood-curdling scream resounded in the tower, sending all the people in the vicinity to awaken, the scream caused the people to feel fear in their hearts.

    The scene that James witnessed at that moment was barbaric, yet he could not turn away, the moment he did he felt a nauseas feeling in his stomach as Richard ripped Hans arm straight off his shoulder.

    Blood splattered across the floor, Hans screamed grabbing his mutilated shoulder, his neck and face was covered in blood yet his face was drained of its blood making him look like a ghost. Richard stood there motionlessly holding onto the severed hand, blood dripping uncontrollably onto the floor.

    Even while screaming in pain he stared at his arm as Richard tossed it to the side.

    Richard turned, James covered back subconsciously with dread, and he felt absolutely powerless, like an ant in front of an elephant.

    ¡°The Sage Association are filled with old monsters, a bunch of old coots who do nothing but sit in their seats thinking that the world will cower under their names, how hilarious.¡± Richard laughed, yet James couldn¡¯t believe the man¡¯s words, he was mocking the authority of the Sage Association without a care in the world.

    ¡°Believe me when I say this, the Sage Association wouldn¡¯t even care even if they found out about what I did, but this is my warning to you!¡± Saying this he walked towards the balcony once again, at the same time he pulled a sword from underneath his cloak.

    Standing on the balcony ledge he slashed horizontally towards the tower only a few hundred meters away.

    A huge tempest surged up as a beam flew across.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    James stared, his heart trembling, this feeling of realisation of what kind of power he had offended scared him to the point that he wet himself.

    ¡°Sage Ancestor¡­ We offended an Ancestor¡­¡± He murmured silently, in that instant it seemed his faced aged many years ahead.

    Richard jumped off the ledge of the balcony and disappeared from the site leaving the two families in chaos.

 Chapter 12

    Through the white surface of the snow-covered trees that stretched endlessly, was a figure, Richard leaping from one treetop to another.

    His figure was a blur not even disturbing the snow on the treetops and the wind did nothing to faze him at the speed he was travelling.

    All of a sudden, he abruptly slowed down rapidly, missing a tree branch he toppled down to the ground. His body landing on the cold snow covered ground with a slight thud.

    A small amount of blood trickled down from his mouth. ¡°Ah, old wounds are acting up once again from just this?¡± Richard mocked himself, as he slightly turned to face the sky.

    -----------------------

    Wildfire was burning the forest down to the floor, leaving nothing but destruction and ashes, yet in the midst of all this, there was a group of cloaked men armed with weapons staring down at an emaciated youth covered in blood.

    ¡°Leave him, he¡¯ll die even if we leave him, he¡¯s lost the desire to live,¡± A tall black cloaked man stared down at the youth, his jet black eyes was empty with no emotions, indifferent with no desire to kill anymore.

    ¡°Sir, we can¡¯t do that, how are we going to explain this to the emperor?¡± One of the cloaked men behind the leading man walked forward in protest.

    ¡°Tell, him he¡¯s dead and I personally killed the boy!¡± He said monotonously: ¡°Any objections?¡±

    The man immediately retreated, having no wish to earn their leaders wrath.

    The leader turned to look at the youth on the ground who stared back at him, the silver in his eyes dulled to a vacant grey.

    The leader suddenly took down the hood of his cloak revealing his features, although the man was average in appearance with jet black hair and eyes, his aura was aloof, causing the air around him to be his domain preventing anyone from coming near him.

    ¡°It must be confusing, someone that massacred your entire clan to reveal himself? It¡¯s so you can remember me and come after me if you have any desire left in you, after all, you have nothing left to lose anymore.¡± The monotonous voice uttered coolly.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    The man looked at the youth for a moment longer before turning to his men: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    --------------------------

    He slowly crawled into a seated position and leaned against the tree. He sighed, rubbing his temples to relax his mind: ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be reflecting on old memories.¡±

    ¡°That day was also a full moon,¡± Richard murmured, the light of the moon and the stars reflected off his empty gaze.

    Time passed slowly as Richard contemplated over the moon.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Out of the blue, a cold roar echoed out from just a few metres away from Richard.

    However, Richard behaved as if he didn¡¯t hear anything. A jet-black feline walked out of the shrubbery, yet Richard was still vacantly observing the moon.

    The feline inched closer to him before it switched into a straight dash, as it drew closer its features were undiscernible besides its green eyes and its deadly vertical pupils that focussed on nothing but its target.

    ¡°Noisy,¡± out of nowhere three large spikes materialised, instantly stabbing through the abdomen, head and legs straight to the ground.

    Before the beast could even realise what had happened it died. Yet Richard acted as if nothing happened and sat there observing the sky.

    ------------------------

    The fire was still up when Richard returned to the cave, but he was startled when he saw Ryan drawing closer to the coverings of the large clothed object.

    ¡°Ryan!¡±

    Startled by the voice, Ryan jumped back, then rapidly turned towards the direction of the voice: ¡°Richard?¡± Ryan soundlessly whispered back questioningly, he could not see his face properly because Richard was still outside the cave, but he could sense the unease in his voice.

    There was nothing but silence for a short time until Richard sighed, ¡°Just don¡¯t touch it,¡± he could tell that he had frightened the youngster unintentionally.

    He walked towards Ryan and then sat on the dirt covered ground next to him: ¡°Go on you can ask me about it, it would have been better if I had told you earlier, but I didn¡¯t believe you were interested.¡± His tone warm, his gaze on Ryan.

    Ryan looked at Richard and nodded soundlessly, although he was given the go-ahead he slightly hesitated before asking: ¡°What¡¯s in there that is so important to you?¡±

    Richard expected this from his curious disciple, he turned to the large object: ¡°I can¡¯t tell you exactly what¡¯s inside, not now at least, but it¡¯s a sort of reminder for myself.¡±

    ¡°Reminder?¡±

    ¡°Yes, a reminder, a reminder of a promise I made many years back.¡±

    The boy stayed quiet and sat there, deep in his own thoughts, feeling that his question wasn¡¯t really answered and just made him more curious, still, he did not go on further, he felt that this was a touchy subject for the old man.

    Richard smiled gently: ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, it¡¯s not something for you to bother with, however, training is something that you should get ready for.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t really answer anything,¡± Ryan mumbled only to be replied with a chesty laugh.

 Chapter 13

    ¡°To be considered a True Sage you have to first be able to wield Sage Force.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s Sage Force?¡± Ryan interrupted.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to interrupt me; I was coming to that point. Sage Force is a type of energy that is created by the body, like very small vibrations, the vibrations cover the body like a plate of armour, you can even think of it as a second skin that protects you.¡±

    ¡°At early stages, Sage Force is nothing more than just a second skin, if you think about it even in the later stages it is nothing special. Only when you possess an accompanying Sage Weapon can you display its prowess through it.¡±

    Ryan listened and thought of something: ¡°Then why would it matter if I was in the early  or late stages of being a Sage if they can both use Sage Force?¡±

    ¡°There is a difference, a big difference in both quantity and quality. Let me show you an example: Look at that tree over there:¡±

    Richard pointed to a tall thick tree a few meters away from them. When he got near it he sliced horizontally with his hand.

    In an instant, the trunk was split in two as the tree toppled to the ground.

    ¡°As you can see the quality of my Sage Force is quite high. A weaker Sage would have needed their accompanying weapon to cut the tree with one strike.¡±

    Ryan could not help but stare blankly at the toppled tree and then back at Richard in awe only to see a satisfied smirk on his face.

    ¡°What stage are you at?¡± Ryan asked.

    ¡°Before that, let me explain to you that there are 5 stages to a Sage: most Sages are low-level with the official classification being known as ¡®Sage Warrior¡® since they¡¯ve just stepped through the gates of the Sage.

    ¡°The next few levels from weakest to strongest are: Sage Master, Sage Ancestor, Sage Monarch and Sage Emperor.¡±

    ¡°Now to answer your question, I am a Sage Ancestor, can you believe it you¡¯re being trained by a Sage Ancestor?¡± Richard mentioned narcissistically.

    Ryan couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes at Richards¡¯s narcissism, not realising that a Sage Ancestor was an extremely powerful person and being apprenticed under one was exceedingly fortunate. ¡°Anyway, if you want to get stronger you must first step into the Sage Warrior stage quickly; it¡¯ll take you at most two years under my training regime.¡± While saying this, a smirk crept onto his face, one that Ryan knew far too well.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Even though I¡¯m training you we can¡¯t forget about my experiments, we¡¯ll be increasing the frequency of pill intakes, however, the pill¡¯s effect will be much weaker to make sure that you retain your consciousness and from there we¡¯ll slowly raise the potency and strength of the pill.¡±

    Richard handed Ryan the pills which were immediately swallowed: ¡°Ah, I like that look on your face, no more hesitation,¡± he smiled sadistically.

    After a few moments, a ferocious torrent of pain surged through Ryan¡¯s body, yet it wasn¡¯t his limit.

    ¡°Carry this.¡± A silvery sack formed in the air in front of him, as soon as it fell into his arms he nearly dropped to his knees under the weight.

    ¡°Now follow me, don¡¯t fall behind.¡± Richard ignored the pained expression on the boy¡¯s face and ran into the forest.

    -------------

    ¡°Urgh!¡± Ryan vomited, head down and his arms barely supporting him from the ground.

    ¡°3 miles¡­ not bad under such restraints,¡± Richard was standing at the edge of a cliff observing the distant horizon.

    Lowering his head he looked at his palm before voicing: ¡°At this rate, it should take about 3 months before your body is sturdy enough to start the heavy training¡­ Ryan, do you want to turn it up a notch?¡±

    Ryan wiped the traces of saliva off his mouth, ¡°How long?¡±

    ¡°Half that time, so 45 days is all I need.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Richard was still for a moment, before chuckling to himself deprecatingly: ¡°You¡¯re not curious about the training schedule before accepting?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t matter as long as it¡¯ll help me get stronger.¡±

    ¡°Haha! What a refreshing answer! Ok, we¡¯re increasing the weights by two folds; the distance we¡¯re running is going to increase three times.¡±

    ¡°Take this pouch it¡¯s got about 50 pills that can rejuvenate your strength and stamina at the brink of exhaustion or when you¡¯re injured.¡± He handed a small pouch from within his cloak to Ryan before carrying on: ¡°Even if it heals you, the metal strain will not disappear so remember to rest your mind even if it¡¯s for a few minutes.¡±

    Ryan received the pouch and opened it to see countless green pearl-like pills, the scent was enough to remove nausea in his system and clear his mind.

    ¡°Before that let¡¯s hunt some game for a meal, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    He didn¡¯t realise until that moment that he hadn¡¯t eaten anything in a while, so he nodded in response.

    -----------

    40 days later.

    Carrying a few small sacks around his waist, Ryan grabbed onto the nearest rock that was protruding out of the cliff.

    The speed of his ascension was quick and nimble, manoeuvring through extraordinarily difficult obstacles without breaking a sweat.

    Just as Ryan was about to reach the top of the cliff a hand stretched out towards him: ¡°Come on, pull yourself up.¡±

    Without further ado, Richard pulled Ryan up: ¡°It took you 3 minutes to climb 100m even while carrying 100kg on your waist, respectable.¡±

    Ryan patted down his dusty trousers and looked off at the view; he at that moment was incomparable to his physique from slightly over a month back.

    His skinny frame was now bulkier and far leaner because of the training and the meals he ate. His hair was long enough to slightly cover the upper half of his eyes making him look a little rugged.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that be the end of the training to strengthen my physical endurance? I¡¯m ready to start the strenuous training.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± An awkward smile formed on his face.

    Seeing the expression on Richards face a feeling of suspicion arose: ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°The training you did the past month was the strenuous training.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 14

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Haha don¡¯t misunderstand; you certainly surpassed my expectations by completing the training 5 days prior to my estimated timing.¡± Richard stroked his chin: ¡°I just made something up to motivate you.¡±

    Ryan couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly disappointed, yet before he could process his thoughts Richard continued speaking: ¡°However, now that your body is strong enough we can start the process of training you to become a Sage.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ryan didn¡¯t whether to laugh or cry, this man had nothing better to do than get a small amount of amusement for himself.

    He helplessly sighed: ¡°So what does the training comprise of?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been training to become a Sage since the moment we met,¡± Richard said as if it was obvious.

    ¡°Huh?¡± A clueless expression appeared on his face.

    ¡°Like I said, from the moment we met I¡¯ve been slowly creating a foundation for you, so that when this day came you could easily power your way through to the first stage of the Sage realm: The Sage warrior.¡±

    ¡°Those pills that were given to you were not really given just to test your pain limitations and record them. Rather raise them and transform your body into a 1<sup>st</sup> class physique.¡± Richard explained with an animated expression.

    ¡°From all my studies and understanding of anatomy and muscles I devised a method to increase your physique and make it so that when you do become a Sage, your power will be exceptionally high.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ryan understood all of what Richard mentioned, however, the moment he said: ¡®it was not just to test your pain limitation¡¯ a suspicion that was in his heart for a long time appeared: ¡°Why me?¡±

    The bubble Richard was in popped: ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m ungrateful or anything but why did you pick me, a random beggar out of thousands of others?¡± When Richard mentioned the experiments, an inkling of doubt arose in his heart. The two had no previous encounters before Richard picked him up from the streets, yet that man saved him from the bottom of the human hierarchy, ¡®human trash¡¯.

    Since the age of 6, he knew nothing of the world but the slums, but he was picked out from countless other beggars, he couldn¡¯t acknowledge that it was only coincidence that brought them together.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    All of a sudden the atmosphere changed, the warm spring breeze felt as if it came from the middle of winter. Richard¡¯s previous proud demeanour disappeared replaced by a bearing of fragility.

    Silence filled the air, he smiled helplessly unsure of what exactly to say in reply, it took a few moments before he could utter any words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t over think my boy, although, I¡¯m a whimsical person in nature, that is not why I picked you up from the streets. The truth is¡­¡± Richard suddenly stopped speaking and suddenly turned to the left.

    ¡°What?¡± For some unknown reason, Ryan¡¯s heart was thumping yet the reason was unexplainable.

    Richard turned back to him, a serious expression was on his face but his eyes were blank: ¡°I saved you because you look like a close friend of mine that died many years ago, he was like a brother, we were raised together as youths but he was killed trying to protect me.¡±

    ¡°Seeing you that day made me think of him and I felt the urge to save you from the slums.¡± Richards serious voice changed, resonating with sincerity: ¡°Even though that was my initial reason, but over the months my reasons have changed.¡±

    Ryan suddenly felt everything click into place and he could understand the reasoning, however, he felt a tad bit sad because there was no other reason besides him being lucky.

    ¡°What are the reasons now?¡± he asked despondently.

    ¡°Your will to change caught my attention, it made me want to see what kind of person you¡¯ll become in the future. The reason seems simple, but isn¡¯t the most simple reason the most sincere?¡± Richard placed his palm on Ryan¡¯s hair and rubbed it with a gentle smile.

    Richard did not realise that his small action, besides making Ryan smile had created a feeling that the boy had never experienced in his life, a familial love that filled the hole in his heart that he didn¡¯t even know existed.

    ¡°Now we should really move from this area, I can hear a commotion being caused in that direction,¡± Richard explained facing the direction he previously turned to.

    ¡°I had a plan for your training, but since when does everything go according to plan, let¡¯s go see what the cause of this uproar is.¡± He subtly changed the subject without showing any signs of the discomfort and heartache within him

    ¡°Lead the way,¡± Ryan replied with a satisfied expression on his face.

    Richard dashed into the forest followed by Ryan, what he didn¡¯t notice was the man''s gentle smile disappearing as it was replaced by a mixed expression that was gazing into the distance, not the path in front of him but to a place far away.

    This expression was something Ryan could recognise if he was able to see it since he¡¯d seen it occasionally before: ¡®An appearance that was searching for something or lost in a nostalgic memory¡¯ is what Ryan would have thought.

    I¡¯m not ready to tell you the truth Ryan, I¡¯m far from ready to tell you¡­ One day, one day I promise I¡¯ll reveal everything. Richard sighed before turning back, his bearing returning to normal as if the change had not even happened at all, he then smirked at Ryan: ¡°Come on, run faster you¡¯re still awfully slow.¡±

 Chapter 15

    ¡°Get into positions!¡± A youth roared as he leapt to the ground.

    Just as he fell the tree that was behind him was smashed to the ground by a huge figure that was just as tall as it.

    ¡°Pawooo!¡± The huge figure¡¯s trunk rose as it blasted a booming sound while it trampled the ground that the youth was just standing on a moment ago.

    The huge beast was a Stone Elephant, due to the nature of its tough thick skin, yet the skin that this Elephant prided in was covered in blood and still pouring down from its abdomen. Raising its long trunk it grabbed the bits of the broken tree and swung it towards the youth that had just jumped aside.

    The youth stared aghast as the trunk hurtled towards him: ¡°Boom!¡±

    Dust rose to the sky, however just as the Stone Elephant was about to stampede towards the youth, several arrows came flying towards its hide.

    It roared in pain, turning around its bloodthirsty eyes darted around searching for a target.

    Two youths, both female crouched under the cover of the leaves of the trees looked at each other: ¡°That should¡¯ve given enough breathing space for Sira and Andrew.¡± One of the girls quietly whispered and then quickly moved to another position as she shot another two arrows towards the Stone Elephant.

    Just then the dust in the air scattered revealing a huge shield, the broken piece of the tree now fragmented into even tinier pieces. Behind the shield, there was another young man holding onto the shield protecting the youth from certain death.

    ¡°Thanks, Sira,¡± the youth said to the young man holding the shield as he slowly gasped for air, he couldn¡¯t help but tremble from the fact that he had nearly died.

    The appearance of the young man was partially hidden by a mask covering the lower half of his face; it was the same for the youth on the floor, though the parts revealed were his brown eyes, healthy complexion and blonde hair.

    ¡°If you¡¯re fine then get up Andrew,¡± Sira said as he pulled Andrew to his feet.

    The huge shield on his right hand folded down again and again until it was a flat plate that covered the back of his hand.

    Sira brushed his blonde hair aside, his gaze staying on the backside of the Stone Elephant: ¡°You did well in distracting the Stone Elephant long enough for Leader to prepare the ballista.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Andrew replied, however, there was a slight uncertainty in his voice.

    ¡°Just say what you want.¡±

    Andrew nodded: ¡°While baiting the Stone Elephant I noticed that it wasn¡¯t as strong as described by the Academies Task Hall.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re implying we have the wrong target?¡± Sira asked in deep thought. ¡°Now that you¡¯re saying this it does make sense¡­¡± But before he could finish a huge projectile flew towards the Stone Elephant.

    ¡°Bang!¡± The projectile shredded through the Stone Elephants skin leaving a gaping hole in its abdomen, it died without even realising what killed it.

    ¡°Leader did it!¡± A girl shouted as she jumped down to the ground from a nearby, at the same time another girl jumped down from a different tree.

    The two girls placed their bows on their back, they were both dressed in white with leather armour protecting certain vital parts of their body, the lower halves of their face were covered with a mask, and they both had a short sword resting on their right hip.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that we¡¯d get through the mission this quickly,¡± The girl that spoke earlier once again started speaking excitedly.

    ¡°Older sister please act properly while we¡¯re still on the mission¡± Sira voiced with an apprehensive tone, the two were twins and looked extremely alike with their blonde hair standing out.

    ¡°He¡¯s right Sara,¡± the other girl replied said as she walked closer to the corpse of the dead Stone Elephant.

    Sara could not help but pout, because the battle was easier than expected she was more relaxed than normal.

    At that moment a youth who looked to be around 16 years old rushed through the trees with a huge bag on his back. His white hair was messy and his frame was on the more fragile side, even his appearance was average making him look meek. In contrast, his jet black eyes were deep, sharp and domineering similar to that of an eagle overshadowing all his physical discrepancies.

    ¡°Oliver.¡±

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    Oliver looked up at them and nodded: ¡°Let¡¯s start separating its body,¡± refraining from small talk he ordered them to do so, his tone was formal like he was speaking to a stranger.

    Sira and the rest nodded, moving as they drew the short swords from their waists.

    As this was happening Oliver had a thought that had been crossing his mind for a while. From the moment that they had lured the Stone Elephant to him killing it, he was able to watch the entire process from a distance, at the same time gaining a prime view of the situation.

    Suddenly the ground started trembling, his eyes opened wide as realisation struck him: ¡°That¡¯s the child!¡± His roar immediately caught the attention of his companions.

    They were all confused, however, as it dawned on them they understood why they felt that the information that they were given and the target were completely different in terms of strength.

    Right then and there an enormous Stone Elephant stampeded through the trees to reach them, its skin was an even darker shade of grey than the dead Stone Elephant.

    The moment it saw the corpse of its own offspring, its eyes gained a tinge of red while its trunk rose to the air.

    ¡°PAWOOO!¡± A violent explosive boom echoed through the forest, scaring the living daylights of the group in front of it

    ¡°That¡¯s its mother¡­¡± Andrew murmured in fear.

 chapter 16

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare cower, this is what we came for in the first place,¡± Oliver¡¯s aura transformed, his commanding tone broke them free from the paralysed state they were in: ¡°Get into positions now!¡±

    ¡°PAWOO!¡± The Stone Elephant raised its trunk directing all its intense fury at Oliver who stood directly in front of it only a couple dozen metres away from it and then charged at him.

    He sighed in relief when it charged at him: It¡¯s a good thing that all its aggression is focussed on me; I¡¯d be the only person that could be able to distract it. Just from its heavy steps, he could get a sense of how much power the Stone Elephant had.

    Quickly taking out a bow and a quiver full of special arrows out of the bag, he threw the bag to Sira in the distance: ¡°Get to point B where the trap is and prepare both ballista''s, there should be around 4 projectiles left so 2 for each ballista.¡±

    ¡°5 Minutes, that¡¯s all I can give you to set it up.¡± He ran aside then shooting an arrow aimed straight at the Stone Elephants eye to keep its aggression on him. ¡°If you understand go!¡±

    As he said that he released the arrow, it streaked through the air, a blue hue appearing on the tail of the arrow. The arrow drilled into the adult Stone Elephants hind leg.

    The Intense pain was numbed by the huge adrenaline going through its body, it roared once more as it chased Oliver into the trees.

    Sira looked at the others: ¡°Let¡¯s go, leave the corpse here we can come back for it anytime.¡±

    ¡°Sara, Yeri, both of you follow him, remember to maintain a wide distance and be wary of being noticed.¡±

    The two nodded and ran off following the trail of destruction left by the Stone Elephant.

    ¡°Andrew, stay with me, I need you to help me set up the second ballistae.¡±

    ----------------

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    A large tree was smashed down by another tree¡¯s trunk.

    Hiding under the shroud of the tree leaves Oliver desperately tried to calm his thumping heart, he was only hiding on top of that tree a few moments ago.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± He gritted his teeth in resentment: ¡°Those bastards did not mention that it was a Sage Warrior level beast!¡±

    ¡°Do they really want to kill me off that badly?!¡±

    He leapt to another tree and just then that tree was smashed to bits.

    As he landed on the ground, the Stone Elephant caught sight of him and rushed at him, destroying everything in its path. Just then 2 arrows flew hurtling at the Stone Elephant in vain leaving only scratches on its tough skin.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    Even though it did nothing to it, it drew its attention for an instant just long enough for Oliver to disappear into the covering of the trees once again.

    Under the covering, his fingernails dug deep into his palm trying to calm his hammering heart and rapid breathing, to quell the petrifying fear of death.

    Oliver pulled out an arrow from his quiver placing it on his bow; this arrow was different from ordinary arrows, made of a special kind of silver metal with a slight touch of cyan blue on it.

    I¡¯ve only got three of these arrows left in my quiver; I have to make sure that these shots count. Breathing in deeply, he pulled the bowstring to full stretch, the moment he exhaled the aura around him changed and the tension disappeared,

    ¡°Twang!¡± The sound of the arrow was startlingly quiet.

    Hurtling through the air, splitting through it and with that, a trail of blue light followed the tail of the arrow.

    Although the sight of the arrow flying was beautiful it caused his heart to bleed, the price he paid for it was a quarter of his entire savings.

    When the Stone Elephant noticed the arrow itself it was moments too late, the arrow flashed before its eyes and forced its way into its eye socket.

    It roared in pain, even louder than before, witnessing this Oliver¡¯s judgement was clouded by joy, quickly raising the bow he once again shot another one of his special arrows aiming for its remaining eye.

    However, because of his clouded judgement and naivety over the situation, the Stone Elephant was prepared to raise its trunk to protect its other eye. The arrow drilled into its trunk causing it even more pain but it stopped before reaching its eye.

    Blood flowed down from all wounds yet it only filled it with even more bloodlust, the Stone Elephant roared as it dashed towards Oliver its speed increased by nearly 50%.

    Realising what was happening he couldn¡¯t but slightly whimper out the words, ¡°Berserk State¡­¡±

    Oliver bit his tongue without mercy until blood was flowing from his mouth to eclipse the fear with pain.

    He jumped once again to run away but he was moments too late.

    Arrows flew aimed for the Stone Elephant but they were too slow.

    -----------

    ¡°Richard, are you going to help him, the Elephant¡¯s gone berserk?¡± Ryan asked.

    The berserk state was something Richard had explained to him while training, it allowed a Beast to enter frenzy where its power increases exponentially depending on many factors, but this condition drains the lifespan of the Beast itself until the only thing that awaits it is death.

    ¡°Do you want me to help him?¡±He replied.

    Ryan looked at him strangely: ¡°It¡¯s normal not to help a stranger when you have no connection with them, but isn¡¯t that what you did for¡­¡± me.

    ¡°Stop, I¡¯ll go,¡± Richard interrupted, grunting he disappeared from where he was leaving only dust to fly up in the air.

    --------------

    I¡¯m so close to the meeting place¡­¡± Oliver murmured in the face of death, unwilling and despair filling his heart, not even noticing the two girls shouting out his name.

    ¡°BOOOM!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Oliver lay there motionlessly anticipating the moment that never came until he heard a voice: ¡°How long are you going to keep your eyes closed?¡±

    His eyes snapped open wide, and facing him was a tall man wearing a brown cloak, his face slightly ragged but his grey eyes were locked onto his own eyes and were hard to escape from.

    ¡°The Stone Elephant?!¡± Oliver exclaimed, yet Richard pointed behind himself.

    Slowly looking behind the man Oliver¡¯s mouth gaped open in shock, a trail of dirt led to the body of the Stone Elephant sprawled on its feet, one of its feet was nothing but mangled flesh with blood spilling down from it.

    ¡°Pawooo!¡± It bellowed in pain.

    All of a sudden a spear formed in the air, slashing down it severed its head from the body.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you agree that Stone Elephant was annoyingly loud?¡± Richard yawned while he said it.

    Oliver did not even process the information passing through his eyes to his brain and just stared at the dead body dumbfounded.

 Chapter 17

    Silence filled the land, not a single sound besides Richards yawn could be heard, a sharp contrast to the situation.

    Nearly two minutes had passed yet Oliver was still there on the ground, trying to process what had happened: A spear had formed in the air like tiny grains of sand coming together to form a structure and then holding so much force behind it to sever a Sage level beasts head from its body.

    Oliver¡¯s judgement had reasons behind it since humans had an advantage with weapons and their intelligence; the only advantage Beasts had were their overwhelmingly powerful bodies.

    Is it possible that he¡¯s a Sage Master or even possibly higher? I still can¡¯t understand how that spear appeared out of nowhere, could it be his Sage Weapon? Countless thoughts circled his mind; he had never seen, read or heard of such an otherworldly Sage Weapon.

    ¡°Oliver!¡± While he was still in his thoughts he heard two simultaneous shouts, but before he could look up the two girls embraced him tightly.

    Richards¡¯s eyes widened slightly then squinted with a tinge of amusement: ¡°Ooh quite popular are we?¡± His remark caused the two girls to blush, but with their faces being covered by a mask it was hard to see it, though they still released him only to reveal that he was blushing slightly.

    ¡°Youth is a beautiful sight,¡± Richard smirked not bothered by the fact that they had met no longer than a few seconds.

    Suddenly a figure rushed out of the bushes nearby causing the trio to quickly put their guards up, except what came out was a young boy.

    ¡°Ah hello there,¡± Ryan smiled, his glinting pupils caused the two girls to fall into a captivated stupor, however, they quickly broke free from it quickly. ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything to you did he,¡± he pointed at Richard only to be glared back.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already taken care of the problem, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Striding towards Ryan he abruptly stopped: ¡°You can take the Stone Elephants body for yourselves, I don¡¯t really need it.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Oliver hurriedly called out; he stood up in their direction: ¡°My name is Oliver from the Liones Academy when there comes a time I will pay back with my actions.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Without saying anything in reply Richard held Ryan¡¯s arm departing from the scene, what they did not see was the grin on his face.

    ¡°What a coincidence, Ryan we¡¯ll be seeing him again sometime in the future.¡± He remarked while chuckling to himself.

    Ryan turned to him and nodded not questioning it, aware that it was useless to do so.

    ¡°What are we going to do now then?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll begin your martial arts and weapons training.¡±

    --------------

    Oliver got up from the ground and patted himself down, prior to glancing in the direction that Ryan and Richard left.

    ¡°That child was so cute and his eyes are truly mesmerising¡± Sara commented: ¡°Do you think that they¡¯re kinsfolk?¡±

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Their eyes and their features are similar don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    ¡°Haha,¡± Oliver chuckled, he couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly, for the first time in a long time catching the two off guard: ¡°What are you two staring at? Call Sira and Andrew, we need to clean this place up and return to the Academy.¡±

    When they left he finally breathed out, releasing an enormous amount of tension in his body and collapsed on the floor. Continually being between life and death was tremendously taxing on both his psychological and physical health.

    Gazing at the sky he slowly grasped on who was behind the scheme, unknowingly his body naturally released an invisible ominous aura that kept people at a distance from him. Han, if you had only targeted me I would¡¯ve repaid the favour, yet you brought bystanders in? I¡¯ll make sure to break half the bones in your body and every single person that helped you!

    This Han person was the focus of all his anger although what would be happening to him was all for Oliver to decide.

    A while later his companions came back to see him quietly resting against a tree near the Stone Elephants corpse.

    ¡°Oliver did this?!¡± Andrew cried out, overwhelmed by the site of the battlefield.

    Yeri couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°Were you not paying attention to what Yeri was saying?¡± Sira rubbed his temples.

    Feeling slightly awkward he looked closely at the corpse and the battleground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much Andrew; I was saved by a passing Sage.¡±

    Hearing this he felt relieved that someone had saved him from an awkward situation, he then couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°How powerful do you think he was?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell, he must at least be a Sage Master maybe even higher.¡±

    ¡°A passing Sage Master in this small kingdom, you were extremely lucky,¡± Sira interrupted.

    He nodded in acknowledgement.

    There was nothing but silence for a few seconds before Oliver started speaking once again: ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my cold behaviour towards you 4, I¡¯m grateful for your company.¡±

    Hearing this out of the blue startled the group, ¡°Let¡¯s collect our spoils and return to the academy, after all, we do need to return the favour to someone with interest, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    The group all laughed before agreeing with him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get started then.¡±

 Chapter 18

    ¡°How much longer do I have to do this?¡± Ryan mumbled inaudibly as he punched the side of a cliff for the umpteenth time.

    Richard was only a few metres away handling raging flames over a cauldron and a few jars; although he heard Ryan¡¯s cries he simply ignored them, exerting all his focus on concocting pills.

    Noticing that his plea was uncared for once again he carried on punching the stone cliff with even more force. After about an hour he went and picked up a sword and begun practising lunges, strikes and different other stances for a long period of time before picking up an axe to cut down a tree into small evenly sliced blocks for an hour.

    He then picked up a wooden block from the tree that he cut and started carving into it and then finally after spending about 2 hours he sat down below a tree and meditated for the rest of the day.

    For 2 months since the time Richard saved Oliver till now he spent his days under this dull schedule.

    Just like that he repeated the same schedule once again the next day and so on for another week before his patience had been driven to the brink.

    ¡°AARGH!¡± He howled in frustration: ¡°How much longer do I have to do this?!¡± His fist smashed into the Cliffside digging deep into it.

    For a few moments, there was nothing but silence until a loud resounding laughter echoed from within the natural cave nearby.

    Ryan twisted his head ferociously fast, snarling every word: ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    Richard couldn¡¯t help but chuckle a bit longer at the sight of Ryan¡¯s warped expression, ¡°You lasted over 2 months in this regime; I must admit I only expected you to last a month at most.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ryan was on the verge of exploding, ¡°Arggh! Forget it¡­¡± He grumbled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how this is training, I¡¯ve spent my time practising the same thing over and over and over again, this is insanity!¡±

    The same routine, every day that passed by was monotonous; every exercise was long and tedious despite all this he stuck to it all because he felt that Richard did this for his best interest.

    ¡°Insanity? Insanity is repeating the same thing expecting different results and this is anything but that.¡±

    ¡°Look over here,¡± Richard pointed at a Boulder with a small dent on it only a few centimetres wide and half the length deep.

    ¡°Do you not remember what I told you to do two months back? That was the result a small rock hitting a boulder a thousand times its size.¡±

    Richard bent down, picked up a pebble and tossed it to Ryan: ¡°Now throw!¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Used to being told what to do, he held the pebble tightly pulling his arm back he launched the pebble, in a split second the hurtling pebble smashed into the boulder.

    It only took a few moments until the results were visible spawning a dumbfounded expression on his face. The impact of the pebble created a crater half a meter deep and 3 times the length wide, if that was not enough webs of cracks appeared around the crater.

    ¡°The benefits right now are quite small, you may not realise this right now but you¡¯ll understand once you become a Sage that these mundane exercises are priceless.¡±

    Small? In what way is this small? Ryan¡¯s earlier anger had disappeared and a feeling of achievement appeared in his heart.

    ¡°You¡¯ll truly understand once you become a Sage because these exercises are tremendously beneficial for your control over your Sage force.¡±

    ¡°Just because it seems tedious doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s useless, just from practising a thousand times your focus and control over your movements becomes an asset. A man once said this: ¡®Fear, not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks, fear the man who has practised one kick ten thousand times.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Strength is only gained through hard work, talent may let you grasp things faster than other people but a truly hardworking person with nothing but his aspirations in his heart will surpass a genius that never lifts a finger to get things done,¡± Richard answered with complete confidence in his own beliefs.

    ¡°Pick your sword.¡± He said to Ryan as he grabbed a stone from the ground, ¡°Let me see how much your swordsmanship has improved.¡±

    Without a second of warning, he threw the stone at Ryan, his eyes wide, staring at the stone drawing closer and closer to his face he raised the sword from his waist in one single fluid motion, and the sword arced through the air, the sun¡¯s rays slightly glistened of its silvery surface.

    ¡°Clang!¡± The stone was sliced in half by the sharp edge of the blade its pieces flew passed him smashing into the tree behind him.

    His grip hand trembled uncontrollably along with the sword¡¯s edge; the force behind the rock was so strong, what is wrong with this man that could have killed me.

    ¡°Now look, if you hadn¡¯t practised the sword like this for the past two months there is no way that you would have been able to block the stone I threw at you,¡± Richard explained to Ryan.

    ¡°The results of your training are right before your eyes my boy you just need to look around you. Don¡¯t tell me you still haven¡¯t realised this?¡± Richard pointed at the cliff where Ryan had trained his fists and on the Cliffside was a deep hole that he created a little while ago in anger

    ¡°Even the other exercises, punching the cliff for example, just because your body contains enormous amounts of strength you need to be able to use it for a prolonged time, so by punching the cliff you were able to strengthen your bones beyond its original limits.¡±

    ¡°Listen to me Ryan, by the time I finish cultivating you, only a few Sage Warriors will be able to hold their own against you.

    Ryan stood there silently feeling guilt and regret rise in his heart if he had been more open-minded he would¡¯ve realised everything without being told. Performing all the training in frustration and boredom he wasn¡¯t able to realise the benefits that had slowly yet surely accumulated through his body.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± focussing on Ryan he shook his head: ¡°Haha it seems you¡¯ve realised your own inadequacies, Ryan you rely too much on me, rely on yourself more and figure things out on your own because there may be times where I won¡¯t be there to solve your problems.¡±

    Ryan nodded affirmatively.

    Thereafter raising his hands silver glints appeared, coming together they formed a silver sword which he immediately grabbed: ¡°From now on we¡¯re adding an extra part to your training to make it more exciting, I¡¯ll be sparring with you twice a day, both with a sword and without; hand-to-hand combat. This way you¡¯ll gain experience in fighting.¡±

    Lifting his sword straight at him, ¡°Put everything I said aside for later and let¡¯s begin!¡±

 chapter 19

    Gripping the swords handle Ryan shot towards Richard closing the distance in mere moments. As soon as he was only a meter in front of Richard, he drew the sword from its scabbard slicing upwards.

    The one facing the attack, Richard stood there until the last moment, clutching the sword with one hand, he effortlessly met Ryan¡¯s sword.

    ¡°Clang!¡±

    The sound of metal clashing against metal rung in the air, his sword was pushed back easily, the force of Richards strike pushed him off balance, but, his expressions showed that he wasn¡¯t surprised by the first clash. Using the momentum, twisting his body he lifted his left leg and kicked at Richard to keep him a distance away.

    Although he managed to keep Richard at Bay, he looked down at his hand that was trembling under the irrepressible force behind Richards¡¯s sword.

    As soon as his sword hand became stable he once again sprinted towards him, sword clashing against sword sounded forcing him into retreat; quickly adjusting his movements again he stabbed.

    Richard moved towards Ryan his sword tip meeting the other sword, the sword in his hand moved fluidly along the flat of Ryan¡¯s sword, deflecting both the sword and the boy to the side.

    Forced off balance by Richards unexpected swordsmanship Ryan fell to the ground sword first.

    ¡°You¡¯re attacking without thinking, going in without a plan or countermeasures in place and fully relying on instincts; use your mind to handle the sword and not your heart, use your cunningness to create a plan and enact it.¡±

    Ryan turned around in the dirt to face Richard, replying to him in a tone of confusion: ¡°I understand that I rely on my instincts when I fight, that was the way of the streets, but even in battle instincts is what keeps me alive.¡±

    ¡°Even in street fights when a brawl begins, a plan can only see a few moves ahead, after that plans mean nothing in those quick exchanges and only instinct keeps you alive.¡±

    Richard frowned, ¡°This is not a street fight, and brawls with weapons require a lot more thought. There¡¯s no point in me explaining it to you, otherwise, there is no way you¡¯ll truly understand its meaning outside of its proverbial meaning.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s carry on; I¡¯ll make sure that I can at least beat it into you so you understand.¡±

    Step by step he drew closer to Ryan when he was right in front of Ryan his sword was already arcing down from his left shoulder diagonally at Ryan. Knowing all too well how powerful the sword strike was Ryan rolled out of the way as he briskly got back on his feet once more.

    Without letting up Richard once again struck at Ryan, with barely any time to readjust Ryan raised his sword.

    Yet again he felt his body shudder under the power. Like this Ryan was battered by the casual display of Richards¡¯s swordsmanship.

    ¡°Move your arms up!¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°I can still use my legs and my free hand to attack!¡±

    ¡°Your sword lacks weight behind it!¡±

    ¡°Transition faster, you¡¯re wasting too much time!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down!¡± Richard instructed as he kicked Ryan off his toes making him fall onto his back.

    In that period of a few minutes, he lost count on how many times he was forced to the brink or bruised to the point he couldn¡¯t register the pain under the adrenaline to survive.

    ¡°In the end, you still don¡¯t understand, even if you train for 10 years in nothing but the sword you still won¡¯t rival me in a head to head clash of skill.¡±

    ¡°Use your mind to handle the sword not your heart and become accustomed to it, there was no way you were going to win, you should¡¯ve held back and waited for an opportunity to hit back or you¡¯ll reveal openings for me to strike.¡± Richard explained: ¡°Ok that¡¯s enough for now.¡± He yawned, the sword in his hand crumbled and disappeared into tiny specks: ¡°You can go back to fix on your mistakes before our next session, you can at least be able to solve your own mistakes, right?¡± By the end of the sentence, his conceited tone was pronounced through the smirk on his face.

    After being bruised and battered, Ryan couldn¡¯t stand the smirk on his master¡¯s face and without much thought said, ¡°I can only get so much help from a frivolous old man,¡± putting extra emphasis on the word ¡®frivolous¡¯ he turned his back to Richard and walked away.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Richard¡¯s eyebrows wrinkled, his eyes slitting and his smirk grey wider furthermore his aura changed to a foreboding malice.

    ---------------------

    ¡°AAAAHHH!¡±

    A shriek similar to that of a dying animal reverberated through the forest, on the floor was a boy covered in countless bruises all over the visible parts of his body.

    ¡°Please do stop squealing, a frivolous man like myself doesn¡¯t hit too hard,¡± Richard explained with an innocent manner, yet there was a look of content in his eyes.

    Ryan groaned in pain, his poor body wasn¡¯t ready for the beating that he had taken. At the start of the spar, there were no signs of what was about to happen, that was until he took the initiative to attack. Every opening he revealed Richard countered leaving no room for mercy, leading up to this moment.

    Hearing what Richard said Ryan groaned louder before uttering with resentment: ¡°Yes, you¡¯re not frivolous, you¡¯re petty, a petty old man.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What did you say? I didn¡¯t hear that properly.¡±

    Ryan disregarded his words and slowly stood up and sat down near a tree and begun meditating on the spar.

    During the spar, even though Richard was blowing off some steam when countering he didn¡¯t shrug off his responsibility in the spar.

    Every time I try to counter Richards always ready and prepared as if he knows what I¡¯m going to do. I give him too much time between my transitions and movements¡­¡± Ryan¡¯s thoughts slowly focussed on the fact that Richard always had an idea of what he was about to do.

    Is it because he knew what I was going to do before even I knew what I was going to do? But how?

    While Ryan was seated contemplating over his spar Richard valued his resolve to improve and decided to leave him be.

    ¡°The only way you¡¯ll learn to use your mind is through experience; your arms are merely tools in battle just like weapons or information, in the end, they¡¯re all tools to be used by the mind, I hope you can comprehend the meaning in its true sense,¡± Richard mumbled as he walked further away.

    As far as Richard was concerned the more focus Ryan put into his training the better, at his level nothing was more important willpower, patience and discipline. It was true even for life and death battles where countless schemes form through calculations and planning, to the point that it becomes a new form of instincts.

    Walking into the cave his body lit up with a slight silver hue as silver particles came together to form a cauldron, it hung in midair as he lit the flames.

    ¡°Initially I expected him to take 2 years to reach the Sage Warrior level but my expectations were too low, he¡¯s improving daily, he¡¯ll reach the Sage level in slightly over a year.¡±

    ¡°The Sage Transformation pill is coming along perfectly; I need a few more materials for the pill and materials to forge his first Sage Weapon.¡± He murmured to himself in thought.

    A few moments later his eyes lit up with an expression that Ryan knew all too well, one that he feared.

 Chapter 20

    Reinhart City, the Capital city of the Reinhart Kingdom, A bustling city packed with people, shops and architecture, but in the midst of the sea of people in the long winding road was two individuals in brown cloaks, Richard and Ryan.

    ¡°As I was saying there are 4 districts: The Royal Palace and the homes of the nobles are in the east of the city, south is where the labour class lives. The north is where the military is located and the West where we are is where the business and merchants of the country come together to trade.¡±

    Ryan looked off into the distance and he could see the enormous palace with tall rising towers in the distance before he asked: ¡°So are we here to buy ingredients?¡±

    ¡°Yes I¡¯m here for ingredients, but you¡¯re here to enter the Coliseum at the centre of the city for the next phase of your training.¡± He explained: ¡°At your current stage you are naturally talented when it comes to training but a real fight does not follow a pattern anything can occur.¡±

    ¡°Therefore what you¡¯re lacking the most is experience in battle.¡±

    ¡°There are countless beasts in the forests for me to fight against and compared to humans they¡¯re so much stronger,¡± Ryan replied with a sound reason.

    ¡°No, there is a difference, what beasts lack is intelligence and what human¡¯s lack is the strength. Even without the strength with strategy humans can outsmart and kill beasts a lot stronger than them.¡±

    Ryan understood as he finished the sentence: ¡°So through fighting different kinds of people I¡¯ll gain experience to counterattack no matter the situation.¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°At the Coliseum, you¡¯ll be fighting with your life on the line, every warrior comes ready to die and with that resolve, they strive to survive.¡±

    ¡°In there you will have to kill if you want to survive,¡± Richard observed Ryan¡¯s expression to see if there were any changes, killing another human the first time was always traumatic for most people.

    However, contrary to his expectations Ryan¡¯s eyes were relaxed not fazed at all by those words instead his reply caught him even more off guard, ¡°Kill? I¡¯ve already been forced to do it there¡¯s no need to worry about me hesitating.¡±

    ¡°Ok, then but before that let me buy a few materials I need at the auction.¡± Richard decided not to think too deeply into it even though he was curious.

    Richard put his hand in his cloak and pulled out two blank silver masks with two holes for the eyes. ¡°Put this on now, it¡¯s safer now than to put it on when we reach the auction hall.¡±

    Taking it into his hand he put it on, ¡°Why is that we¡¯re wearing this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because the Atlas Blaze Auction Hall sells rare items and if we reveal our identity while purchasing items we¡¯ll be prime picks for thieves even though they won¡¯t be able to do anything to me, but it¡¯s a hassle if they know who we are.¡±

    ¡°And just like the Coliseum is part of a bigger organisation known as the Sage Association, Atlas Blaze Auction Hall is part of the Atlas Blaze Conglomerate so no one will do anything out of the ordinary within the estate. Since both these factions are partnered with the Reinhart Royal Family they are protected on this land.¡±

    ¡°Both organisations take half the income of their respective establishments while the other half is given to the Royal Family, in return the two forces support the Royal family¡¯s hold on power while the Royal Family keeps order around the two establishments.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°How powerful are the two establishments compared to this kingdom?¡± This was the first time Ryan had heard of these two organisations, on the other hand, the Reinhart family is a name he¡¯d heard of since he lived in the streets of one corner of this kingdom most his life.

    Richard chuckled before replying: ¡°The Reinhart kingdom does not need to fear the establishments but compared to their backers they are nothing compared to those two colossal mammoth-like forces. It¡¯s like comparing a kitten and a lion, it¡¯s pointless.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just take the Sage Association as an example it alone is a colossal superpower, manifolds stronger than the Reinhart Family with influence across the whole continent, if they wanted to they could destroy this kingdom. There are not many organisations that have the wealth or power to face those old fogies without hesitation, but the Atlas Blaze Conglomerate is one of the few that does not fear them.¡±

    Just as he finished speaking they were only a few metres away from the entrance of the Auction Hall.

    The architecture and design of the building was something Ryan had never seen before, he didn¡¯t realise that buildings could express such individuality through construction.

    The six pillars were arranged like soldiers, each pillar on one side was symmetrical to the other side. Between the middle two pillars was a large door that was left open, yet it was guarded by muscular individuals wearing armour.

    On their chest where the heart was, an insignia with the image of an eagle in descent with its claws extended; its wings and feathers were covered in flames creating a majestic, powerful emblem.

    The building itself was white with large windows on the higher floors; on the roof of the building was a flag with the same eagle that was on the insignia of the guards.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside.¡±

    Ryan snapped out of his admiration and followed Richard, just as they reached the doorway into the building one of the guards moved forward to block their path.

    ¡°Sorry, we must first see an invitation or a pass to enter the building.¡± The man stated professionally with no show of arrogance.

    ¡°Ah yes,¡± Richard searched through his cloak and pulled out a jet black card with gold writing on it.

    The moment the guard discovered the card his eyes widened rapidly, also a similar reaction was being displayed by his comrade.

    ¡°May I take a look at it?¡± The guard whispered not daring to take a misstep, he was at the peak of the Sage Warrior stage and was quite proud of his strength but at that moment he felt scared from just seeing that card.

    When his eyes scanned the card his eyes widened even further and immediately returned it. Just as fast he turned to his compatriot and nodded.

    The two in unison moved aside and they both respectfully stood straight: ¡°Elder please enter, we will immediately notice the chairman of your arrival.¡±

    Richard nodded and walked in, just as the two walked deep into the building one of the guards quickly rushed inside.

    -----------------------

    In the highest floor of the Auction house was a large room, there was a middle-aged man sitting behind a desk.

    His long grey-black hair was tied with a knot; his eyes were squinted as he read through the documents when all of a sudden a loud banging sounded into the room.

    ¡°Enter!¡± The banging sound broke him out of his trance, immediately feeling a tinge of annoyance he expressed it.

    The guard entered the room, ¡°Chairman pardon me for not following protocols, but an Elder of the Atlas Blaze Conglomerate has appeared at our Auction Hall.¡±

    The man was still focussing on his documents and didn¡¯t seem to have heard what the guard said still slightly annoyed.

    ¡°What did you say again?"

    The guard felt panicked, immediately repeating his words: ¡°Chairman Francis! An Elder has entered the Auction Hall!¡±

    Francis comprehending the words dropped the documents in his arms: ¡°An Elder? Quickly take me to him!¡± The man roared frantically instantly rushing towards the door.

    Just as he walked through the door, he suddenly stopped and turned: ¡°Wait! Is this truly an Elder?¡± He asked suspiciously, the likely hood of an influential guest of the Atlas Blaze conglomerate being in the Reinhart kingdom was quite low.

    The guard nodded without any hesitancy: ¡°Chairman I am 99% certain, he even revealed his Elder Black card, however, the writing was gold, and it was different from what I¡¯ve seen in the textbooks.¡±

    Hearing this Chairman Francis felt his heart slow: A Legacy Black Card?! Without uttering a single word he disappeared from his office leaving the guard in awe at the Presidents speed.

 Chapter 21

    The hallway that the two were walking through was lit up with bright lights; the marbled tiles reflected the lights creating a vibrant golden glow making the hallway seem extravagant with minimal effort.

    ¡°What exactly is that black card that you showed to the guards?¡± Ryan asked feeling curious about what the origin of the object that created such an agitated expression on the guard''s faces.

    Richard looked straight ahead to the end of the hallway while he pulled out a card from within his cloak. ¡°This card was something I was given a long time ago, during the early days of the Atlas Blaze Conglomerate when I helped them with a small favour. They gave me this as an expression of their gratitude saying that I could use this at any of their branches whenever I wanted, it¡¯s quite beneficial, and I don¡¯t have to worry too much about my material because of this.¡±

    The way Richard spoke was in a matter of fact tone like it lacked importance.

    Just minutes before he was told that the Conglomerate was a superpower and now he was told that Richard himself had helped them out during its early days. Ryan couldn¡¯t help but wonder how much more was this man hiding behind that eccentric personality.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t something I tried hiding from you, there was just no reason for me to mention this, it would¡¯ve been pointless and it would have looked like I was bragging.¡± He turned to Ryan and smiled: ¡°And I¡¯m not the type of person that brags.¡±

    Ryan chuckled at his carefree attitude and soon they left the long hallway and entered a large hall filled with many items, from swords, armour, paintings to small indistinguishable objects, etc.

    ¡°This place is where certain items that will not be auctioned off are sold, professional appraisers of the Auction hall decide how much each object is priced and then they¡¯re placed here for potential customers that take an interest.¡±

    ¡°For some reason or another there are more people than expected, there must be some sort of event here today.¡±

    ¡°For now feel free to look around while I go sort something¡¯s out and check out what¡¯s going on,¡± Richard said as he walked off through another hallway.

    --------------------------

    There were quite a few people wearing vibrant showy clothes walking around the hall, some were wearing masks just like Ryan himself and there were some people walking around with their faces bare.

    Strolling past the many noteworthy objects and works of art, there was nothing that really caught Ryan¡¯s attention, spending his free time mindlessly walking past the exhibits.

    ¡°Eh?¡± He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when his eyes absentmindedly glanced over a certain painting.

    The painting depicted three beasts baring there fangs and claws at each other, there was a Lion baring its fangs from atop a cliff at a giant avian and an enormous snake below.

    The colours of the painting almost made the beasts seem alive as though they were about to jump out of the painting and begin their ruinous battle within the hall.

    ¡°Ah I see you¡¯ve noticed this old work,¡± Ryan felt his ears tingle as he heard the deep voice of an unfamiliar man coming from behind him.

    Ryan slowly turned to see a man who seemed around the same age as Richard but his enigmatic smile made him seem a few years younger. This man had blonde hair that was swept back with his sides being extremely short, blue eyes and spotless white skin.

    ¡°This painting was found when they were unearthing a certain site, it¡¯s said the painting depicts a battle of some sort, it could be an expression of the battles taking place within the heart or maybe a battle between eras,¡± The man explained ignoring Ryan¡¯s suspicious gaze.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°In the end, we probably won¡¯t know the true meaning besides what we decide ourselves don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Ryan was bewildered by this stranger¡¯s character but he decided to nod out of politeness, any person that could reveal his face in this establishment must have some sort of background.

    ¡°Do forgive me for interrupting you but I felt there will come a time where we¡¯ll meet once more, even if I don¡¯t recognise you.  Well, I¡¯ll be going now my young friend¡± Just as fast as he appeared, he walked away into another hallway.

    On the other hand, Ryan watched the man¡¯s back as he left, the man¡¯s eccentric behaviour rivalled Richards¡¯s; turning to the painting he carried on pondering why he felt it was so intriguing while pondering on the words the man said about the painting.

    A few minutes later Richard walked back into the hall, noticing Ryan his eyes moved from him to the object of his gaze: ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°I see that you¡¯re interested in the painting of the Munri Perarire.¡±

    Ryan decided not to turn when he heard the voice already aware that Richard was behind him, ¡°What does Munri Perarire mean?¡±

    ¡°The literal meaning is Three Empires; however what it should mean are three clans, this painting actually depicts an ancient battle of legends between three Sage Clans from ages long past.¡±

    ¡°This was a time before the rule of the Dawnseal Empire, it¡¯s an old legend of three great clans. Of these three clans, there isn¡¯t much known of them, other than that each clan produced a Sage that was unrivalled in power during that Era: The Lion Emperor, The Avian Emperor and The Serpent Emperor.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s said that they were in a long battle that swept the continent into ruin the reason for that battle is not known, the artist who created this work came at a later time and tried to depict the battle through his own ideas and creativity after being fascinated by the legend.¡±

    Inspecting the painting Ryan couldn¡¯t fully understand it as he knew very little regarding art, ¡°How do you know all this? A man came before you and he stated that it was found at a relic site.¡±

    ¡°Relics like these are quite rare but the painter had created quite a few works; I own a painting quite similar to this produced by the same person, naturally I should be able to recognise it.¡± Ryan was about to say something to him in reply when a man wearing a black suit with the Atlas Blaze Conglomerates insignia on his heart appeared out of nowhere to stand behind Richard.

    As soon as the man appeared he was immediately the centre of attention, the many people within the hall directed their gazes towards them, his appearance made Ryan forget the words he was about to add.

    The man¡¯s grey-black hair was swept back into a knot and on his face was an honest smile; standing upright with a hand placed on his abdomen he spoke respectfully: ¡°Greetings Elder, I¡¯m very sorry for not appearing to welcome you myself, since you are here I will do my best to assist you, my name is Francis and I am the chairman of this branch in Reinhart City.¡±

    Behind his mask, Ryan was shocked that the branch chairman was greeting Richard respectfully and just like him the audience around them were also startled by the behaviour of the chairman. On the other hand, Richard wasn¡¯t too surprised, a reaction like this was something he was accustomed to whenever he entered a branch of the Atlas Blaze Conglomerate.

    Contrary to Richards¡¯s composure, Chairman Francis felt anxious behind his honest smile. He was a Peak Sage Master; there were very few individuals on this expansive kingdom that he was afraid off, but an Elder of the Atlas Blaze Conglomerate was a figure that held great authority and power, and right now he was facing a Legacy Elder someone that helped the Sage Association during its early days. Describing his nervousness was difficult for even him to put into words, though he still tried to keep his calm as a front.

    ¡°Chairman, could you send this painting to the location set on my Black Card.¡± Richard took out his Legacy Black card and handed it over Francis.

    Recognising the golden writing inscribed onto the card, the small inkling of suspicion in his heart disappeared, He truly is a Legacy Elder! What a blessing! What a blessing! Although the appearance of an Elder was quite frightening, if he pleased the Elder there was a likely chance where he¡¯d be promoted to Conglomerate''s headquarters a chance of a lifetime.

    ¡°Yes Elder, I¡¯ll do so immediately,¡± He said while taking the card into his hand.

    ¡°Also I need some material, I¡¯ve already given the listing to one of the individuals working here, please look into it for me. Those items are not too rare so it shouldn¡¯t take too long to gather them.¡±

    Spotting a chance Francis immediately spoke, ¡°Elder would you like to sit in on this Auction today, there is a rare item that will appear today.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± There were very few items that would capture his attention so he replied with a bit of scepticism.

    ¡°Yes Elder, let me lead the way the Auction will be starting in half an hour, in that time I¡¯ll make sure that all your materials are collected at the same time,¡± Francis said with a sincere smile on his face as he led Richard and Ryan into a hallway connected to the big hall.

 Chapter 22

    At the highest floor looking out onto the stage where the auction was to take place was where Richard and Ryan were led into by Chairman Francis.

    The room was filled with a natural scent that lifted the spirit, golden furnishing upon red carpets; the golden furnishing caused the white walls to have their own golden hue. Walking into the room Ryan felt as if he was walking into the room of royalty.

    At the front of the room, directly from them was a balcony looking directly onto the stage below; there were two golden seats with white cushions on them for people to comfortably sit as they watched the proceedings of the auction taking place.

    ¡°Elder, out of all the high-quality rooms this is our best by far which only the King, princes or someone with your esteemed status can get into. These seats that look out onto the stage are made out of pure gold and the cushions are made from the fur of a Sage Master level beast.¡± Francis described, adding flattery to show his sincerity.

    ¡°Furthermore in each room, there is a member of our organisation ready to fulfil any of your orders. But Elder since you are here I will personally act upon your orders, if you see an item or items you like on the stage I will procure it for you no matter the price as a gift to you Elder, so please do tell me if anything catches your eye.¡±

    Richard nodded and walked towards the seat near the balcony and sat down, on the other hand, Ryan mindlessly followed him and sat down on the seat next to him, the way they were being treated was something he had never experienced before.

    Stupefied was not enough to describe his feeling of bewilderment, the respect he felt for Richard was once again realised.

    In the forest, he was never able to see the effects of having an identity or background meant but he was now seeing it in full force, for example, this was the first time he had witnessed so much respect and wealth in one place.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get caught in the moment, Ryan,¡± Richard whispered to him.

    The starry eyes filled with gold disappeared, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen so much gold my entire life.¡± He replied.

    Behind Richards mask he smiled, ¡°Obtaining wealth isn¡¯t hard when you become a Sage Alchemist or Sage Forge Master, even a Sage Ancestor is able to procure wealth with how much power they possess.¡±

    ¡°As for the first two, they are two fields of studies you can go into once you become a Sage; however, compared to cultivating Sage Force, becoming a Sage Forge Master or Alchemist requires both hard work and aptitude to reach a level of expertise.¡±

    Seeing the starry eyes through the holes he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s too early for me to teach you Alchemy or Forging for your interest, however, when you become a Sage I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Ryan replied eagerly, knowing that he could obtain so much wealth added resolve to his already strong willpower to train.

    Richard then turned to look out onto the seats below, more and more people were filling the seats faster and faster, occasionally people would look up at the balcony with envious gazes but also with fear. It was common knowledge that only people with power or an extremely powerful background could secure a room at the higher levels.

    Time slowly drew closer to the main event, more and more people filled the Auction Hall, seats being filled rapidly, the other balcony rooms below their own were being filled and more people wearing masks sat down on the balcony seats.

    On one of the rooms below Ryan noticed a blonde haired middle aged man seated on his seat, a peaceful expression was on his face, behind him stood a lean old man, grey-haired wearing a black suit and his eyes closed, the only reason Ryan could discern his age was because of the wrinkles on his face otherwise he looked like a healthy young man.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    When Ryan noticed him, the man also seemed to have sensed something and looked up to see the masked fellow he had seen earlier during the day.

    A smile appeared on his face as he nodded towards him and then looked back down at the auction stage.

    ¡°Is he the man you spoke of earlier?¡± Out of the blue, Richard asked, having spotted the interaction of the blonde haired gentleman.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied.

    He expected more questioning from Richard, but opposite to his expectation, Richard sat there with his chin leaning on his open palm. Seeing his disinterest Ryan decided to keep to himself.

    Richard looked down at the blonde haired man, his deep grey eyes were moving between the old man and the blonde haired man.

    Almost as though it was a coincidence the old man felt a sharp chill run down his spine, years of experience screaming at him telling him that a threat was near alarmed his eyes widened, searching vigilantly.

    ¡°What is it, Reid?¡± The blonde haired man asked, his back still facing the old man called Reid.

    Reid looked around for a few more seconds waiting for his nerves to calm down before replying: ¡°Master, I just sensed a threatening gaze earlier.¡± Reid replied. With his instincts, senses and experience all raised to a high level he was able to detect the slightest threat of killing intent.

    The blonde haired man relaxed not the slightest worried, ¡°How would you rate the threat level?¡±

    ¡°Master you don¡¯t have to worry, that individual was only scouting us so he didn¡¯t reveal too much, but from just that I was able to tell he is probably as strong as me.¡±

    ¡°Ho Ho.¡± The blonde haired man chuckled slightly: ¡°Just carry on keeping guard, tell me if anything happens again.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    Back in Ryan¡¯s room, the perpetrator Richard was watching his Sage Weapon transform into countless different small objects about the size of his own thumb for entertainment.

    All of a sudden the door to the room was pushed open without any prior warning.

    ¡°Who dares enter this room?!¡± Chairman Francis roared furiously as he turned to face the person responsible.

    A young man wearing royal grabs with the Reinhart Royal Families emblem on his chest walked in, behind him was an entourage of beautiful men and women wearing garments fit for nobles, followed by guards and leading them all right beside the young man was an old man wearing the Atlas Blaze Conglomerates Insignia.

    ¡°Oh if it isn¡¯t Chairman Francis, are you here to welcome me?¡± The youth looked at Chairman Francis with ridicule, his voice carrying hints of mockery.

    ¡°Ah if it isn¡¯t Prince Louise,¡± The anger disappeared from the Chairman¡¯s face as fast as it appeared, replying instead with a fake smile plastered on his face. ¡°Sadly no, this is the room of my guest.¡±

    At that moment the old man beside the prince came forward full of confidence with the prince beside him: ¡°Chairman the prince has made a long journey here and he himself has asked for this room to watch the auction; could you not lead them to another room below?¡±

    Chairman Francis felt a wave of anger rise in his heart, yet he forced it down remembering who his guest was exactly. If it wasn¡¯t for the prince backing that old man I would have dismissed him many years back and now he is aggressively asserting his backing to take my position! If the elder gives me his backing¡­ Realising the opportunity within his grasp Chairman Francis ignoring the old man he turned towards Richard who was completely disinterested by the verbal exchanges taking place.

    Chairman Francis bent down and whispered: ¡°Elder that old man is the Vice Chairman of this branch; his name is Julius, with the support of the prince he has been trying to take over my position in this branch. I do not mind that really but he is trying to step on your dignity by trying to kick you out of this room.¡±

    Richard maintained his silence and quietly watched the people slowly filling in the auction hall, leaving Chairman Francis to a standstill with his nerves on edge.

    At that moment Julius interrupted the silence: ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re disrespecting the prince by not yielding to his request?! You should apologise to the prince for that!¡± Julius¡¯s confidence was spiking to a high with the prince right beside him, drowning in the authority and clouded by his pursuit of power he tried putting Chairman Francis in a bind for an absurd reason.

    Contrary to Julius¡¯s behaviour the prince was still watching the event with a smirk on his face while finding the senile old man beside him quite comedic.

    Chairman Francis himself still ignored them as he stood beside the Elder with his back facing them.

    Just as Julius was about to rant once more Richard coughed, the cough was neither loud nor quiet but heard by all in the room.

    The objects created by his Sage Weapon dissolved into nothingness. ¡°The auction is about to begin, and we have these ill-bred individuals creating a ruckus, send them out of here,¡± Richard said loud enough for all to hear.

    Francis¡¯s eyes shone with a cold glint, his plastered fake smile disappeared to be replaced by a menacing smirk.

 Chapter 23

    ¡°Are you asking for death?¡± Julius roared, his old wrinkled face was livid, displaying his anger in the stead of the prince.

    Even the prince experienced annoyance, in his life, there was no one that acted out of line in front of him to incur his displeasure, in fear of his anger.

    For the first time in his life, someone looked down upon him so openly, but the man that was looking down on him wasn¡¯t even facing him like he wasn¡¯t worth a second of his precious time, all this from the contempt in his voice.

    But before they could do anything, Chairman Francis spoke, ¡°Men take these people out!¡± His words were not too loud, on cue a dozen figures in black appeared out of nowhere to stand behind the door to block the Prince¡¯s entourage.

    At that moment the Prince still held onto his composure: ¡°Francis, what do you think you are doing? Are you attacking a member of the Royal Family? ¡±

    Opposite to the prince¡¯s expectations, there was only ridicule on the Chairman¡¯s face, ¡°Prince, oh little prince, if this was any other time, I may have swallowed all your countless ridicule but now I don¡¯t need to.¡±

    ¡°Prince, you forget that you are part of the Royal Family but since when has the royal family dared to go against the Atlas Blaze Conglomerate?¡± His eyes then turned to Julius who was about to open his mouth once again.

    His eyes grew even colder and his cold smirk vanished: ¡°Remember your place,¡± Those 3 words caused Julius to immediately eat up the words he was about to say, those cold eyes were like a bucket of cold water being poured on his head reminding him of the difference in strength between himself and the Chairman.

    The cold smirk once again formed on his face when he looked at the prince: ¡°Prince Louise, you¡¯re about 20 years of age and still not a Sage Warrior, a good for nothing of a prince, why don¡¯t you go on try to remove me of my position right now?¡±

    He turned to the man that gave him the order, ¡°One of the elders of the Conglomerate is right here, he¡¯s not just an Elder he¡¯s a Legacy Elder so if you tell him, he will remove me of my position this instant.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± An abnormal silence filled the room.

    At that moment Julius being the Vice Chairman hearing those words fell on his backside murmuring 2 words, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets: ¡°Legacy¡­ Elder?¡±

    For a moment he had been suspicious of Francis but being aware of his character he knew that if he was bluffing it would only dig a deeper grave for him to be buried in.

    Instantly scrambling towards Richard grovelling on the ground, keeping his head down: ¡°Elder¡­ Forgive this old senile fool? I would never dare to act with ill-intent towards you.¡±

    The Prince himself was thunderstruck by the revelation but was even more surprised by Julius¡¯s over the top, pathetic reaction.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°Disgusting,¡± Richard made it known; his feelings of contempt and revulsion concerning Julius¡¯s character through one single word.

    With the situation he feared coming to pass Julius frantically tried calling out to Richard once more, however, Chairman Francis appeared beside him and struck at him without mercy.

    ¡°Enough! Throw him out!¡± Francis ordered the figures clad in black to carry the unconscious body out of the building.

    Francis then slowly turned to the prince, his wicked smile containing years of indignation that finally had a place to be released. ¡°For years I¡¯ve stayed quiet, for years I¡¯ve bitterly swallowed my pride, but even someone as disciplined as myself, there¡¯s a limit to how much I can take.¡±

    Seated there watching the entire performance taking place, Ryan empathised with the sentiments of Francis. He understood that feeling of swallowing his pride and integrity for the sake of survival; he knew it more than anyone else.

    Nonetheless, he watched in silence, it was not his place to interfere in someone else¡¯s affairs.

    On the other hand, the focal point of Francis¡¯s vexation was the Prince. Prince Louise was at a loss on what to do, the pressure of the Chairman¡¯s gaze and his display of reducing Julius to nothing more than a sack of straw caused him to falter.

    He understood that he was in a tight spot, the people behind him were all young masters and mistresses of powerful families in the kingdom with their guards, yet their guards were only Sage Warriors.

    ¡°Nevertheless I will be lenient and ask you only to leave the premise.¡± Francis was a smart man, although, he was still angry the prince was still the Prince of the kingdom he could not go too far, he was only the Chairman of a branch and when the Elder left he would have no backing, therefore, leaving some leeway was his best decision.

    ¡°Men lead the Prince and his entourage out of the premises; we have embarrassed ourselves enough before the Elder,¡± Francis ordered his men to begin moving.

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    Unexpectedly Richard intervened, this entire fiasco was not worth his time, but an idea struck his mind when Francis mentioned that the Prince was not even a Sage Warrior yet.

    ¡°But first is it not about the time for you to show yourself after all your Prince is in quite a precarious position. I mean I don¡¯t mind giving you this room, but on one condition, what do you say?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The room was filled with silence; nobody understood what Richard was talking about or to whom not even Chairman Francis, Another person? He couldn¡¯t sense anything no matter how hard he tried.

    For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence until a figure appeared in between the men clad in black and the entourage behind the Prince.

    The man was not extremely tall he was only 175cm tall slightly shorter than the Prince, his appearance though was sharp, including his black hair, his navy blue military uniform, even his expression and by his waist was a black sheathed sword.

    Compared to Chairman Francis he was a lot younger, he was quite handsome and gave off a cold temperament that of a general on the battlefield.

    The Prince seeing the arrival of the man was excited, even a bit of self-confidence started to rise within his mind.

    Chairman Francis was shocked by the man¡¯s appearance: ¡°The kingdom¡¯s genius General Soren!¡±

    ¡°Soren!¡± The Prince exclaimed with happiness.

    Soren ignored the shock of the people and focussed solely on Richard who was still not looking at him.

    ¡°What do you propose?¡± Soren¡¯s tone was as straightforward as his expression. It was not apparent on his face though but he was shocked at being found, yet picking on that unobvious information of being found meant that the masked figure was a lot more powerful than he was.

    ¡°Haha, good choice!¡± Richard laughed delightedly.

    Richard laughing was even more of a shock for the people within the room than the entrance of Soren.

    ¡°All I want is for your Prince and my disciple to have an exchange of physical blows, what do you say?¡±

 Chapter 24

    ¡°So what do you say?¡±

    The Prince looked between Soren and Richard in hesitation; from the beginning, Ryan was watching the performance without creating any sort of impression and the Prince noticed this but did not take his identity into account.

    Now knowing who he was he still hesitated, coming to the conclusion that the disciple of a conglomerate Elder should be an extraordinary individual.

    ¡°My disciple has only just begun his journey to become a Sage Warrior; he has only been training for a few months so please show him some mercy.¡± Richard for the first time turned to face the group, Soren noticed the glee within Richards¡¯s eyes when he turned, a premonition of something dreadful emerged.

    At the same time, an unfound feeling of confidence rose in the heart of the Prince, a few months of training? He should barely be 4 steps into Transformation; I could easily take care of someone at that level.

    The Prince looked at Richard and asked with slight hesitation: ¡°If this gets out of hand I hope you don¡¯t interfere until one of us give in.¡±

    Richard smiled behind the mask as if the situation was going exactly the way he had planned: where do these Princes'' gain that unfound arrogance from? Is it because of the way they¡¯ve been raised?

    ¡°It¡¯s natural for a person to get injured, I will not blame you it is only between two youngsters; otherwise my honour as an Elder will be tarnished,¡± Richard replied.

    At that moment Chairman Francis appeared beside the Elder, slightly hesitating he still whispered his thoughts to him: ¡°Elder are you sure about this? Although the Prince isn¡¯t a Sage he¡¯s still 9 steps into Transformation only a step from becoming a Sage Warrior.¡±

    Richard¡¯s demeanour drastically changed, glaring at Francis: ¡°Are you questioning me?¡± he said in a threatening tone. Though his words were so his thoughts were: Are you trying to ruin my fun?

    Terrified by the unsettling gaze he shook his head rapidly denying it.

    At the same time, Soren was suspicious of Richard, a feeling of distrust triggered by years of experience.

    ¡°Prince, are you sure about this?¡±

    A young man from the Prince¡¯s entourage stated the words the Prince was thinking only a few moments earlier with confidence: ¡°If the what the Elder stated was to be the truth and his disciple has only trained for a few months, at most he will only be 4 steps into Transformation. For the Prince, it would be a simple task.¡±

    ¡°Soren worry not, this way I can embarrass the Elder indirectly after all he will not be interfering no matter what I do. He humiliated me, the Prince of this Kingdom I cannot allow that to pass without a cost.¡± The Prince stated haughtily.

    Soren helplessly sighed realising that the Prince of the Reinhart Kingdom was nothing more than a frog in a well, just a conceited, overbearing idiot with a title.

    Ryan the individual that felt like an observer while being deeply involved sighed helplessly already aware why Richard had brought this up.

    Standing up from his seat he walked towards the centre of the room before he was stopped by Richard.

    ¡°Go all out, there is no need to fear him I will take care of any repercussions,¡± He stated, Ryan could see the unconcealed delight in his eyes contrary to his tone.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Comparing heights Ryan was barely 1.6m in height compared to the Prince who towered over him. A smile appeared on the Prince¡¯s lips seeing the height difference.

    ¡°Where will we be fighting?¡± The Prince asked Richard.

    ¡°This room is big enough, this fight won¡¯t take too long anyway,¡± he replied.

    ¡°As you say, let us begin.¡±

    The Prince faced Ryan an unconcealed smile on his face clearly looking down on him. He immediately launched himself at Ryan, at a speed that could not be considered slow by any means.

    Ryan was shocked but not for the reason¡¯s that one would expect, to him the Prince was far too slow and full of openings. Na?ve was what he thought of a plain straightforward punch.

    The movement was only half a second long felt much longer to his trained eye; swiftly sidestepping aside Ryan rammed his fist into the Prince¡¯s gut.

    ¡°Guh¡± The Prince coughed out saliva, his body tumbling backwards.

    Ryan feeling wronged turned to Richard completely ignoring the Prince: ¡°This is hardly a challenge Richard,¡± Ryan wasn¡¯t even looking down on the Prince on purpose he felt that he was far too slow to even be considered a threat.

    At that moment Richard laughed hysterically, to him Ryan¡¯s remark was the cherry on top.

    Disgraced the Prince roared hatefully, attacking him with maniacal rage uncharacteristic to his appearance.

    ¡°Hm?¡± aware of the Prince, he swiftly stepped aside once more yet the pressure did not wane nor was there as many openings as before, the Prince lashed out again, each strike aimed to break a few of his bones.

    To Ryan although the number of openings visible to him had reduced the Prince¡¯s combating skill was child¡¯s play to dodge, compared to the constant beatings under the guise of training he had taken; the movements of the Prince were simple to observe with his eyes.

    Although I¡¯ve made improvements I still cannot see Richard¡¯s movement no matter how accustomed I am to the training. Ryan felt both overjoyed and dejected at the same time.

    Every few trades Ryan would occasionally jab or kick completely dominating the Prince. The Prince filled with adrenaline was tunnelling in on the view of only being a centimetre away from connecting a fist or kick with force enough to shatter a concrete wall.

    The illusion of being so close to grasping victory allowed Ryan to counterattack, beating him down again and again until a pool of blood formed at the position he was standing.

    At that moment the young man who had encouraged the Prince to fight turned to Soren: ¡°General Soren, we have to stop this, the Prince can¡¯t handle this abuse any longer or he¡¯ll be incapacitated for a long time.¡±

    What the young man stated, he had already considered everything and was prepared to make a move.

    ¡°It was your Prince who said not to interfere until one of them gives in or is unable to fight.¡± Richard¡¯s voice was steady and very clear of his intentions; interrupting their hushed conversation, when he gazed at both the young man and Soren his dangerous glare warned them to not even try anything. ¡°Now what is it you¡¯re trying to do?¡±

    ¡°Argh!¡±

    A blood-curdling scream akin to a swine echoed throughout the room bringing the attention of everyone back to Ryan and Prince Louise.

    At that moment the Prince¡¯s face was unrecognisable, blood covered his royal garments, while Ryan held him by his throat like livestock.

    The Prince could barely open his swollen eyes; however, he was able to catch the look in Ryan¡¯s cold grey eyes from that distance. His eyes were a deep crevice, cold, lacking empathy for him.

    Soren as the Prince¡¯s protector could no longer watch, no matter how big of an idiot he was, he was still the Prince that carried the image of the Reinhart Royal family.

    He immediately took a step forward ignoring Richards warning.

    ¡°I cautioned you.¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡± His limbs froze, Death! For the first time, a terrorising chill that dug deep into the marrow forced him not to move. His instincts howled frantically warning him that a single step would mean death, he looked down and noticed foot long sharp thin needles only a few inches from his throat.

    Soren looked up at Richard, that chilling gaze was even more frightening than before like he was nothing more than an ant in his eyes.

    ¡°Stand down, your Prince will not die here, but he must learn that there is a price for his arrogance.¡±

    ¡°Ryan, end it, it¡¯s no longer entertaining,¡± Richard said as he turned back to watch the proceedings down below that was not affected at all by the ruckus within the room.

    Complying with Richard, he mercilessly punched the Prince in the chest; sounds of bones cracking were eerily thunderous, coughing up a large amount of blood the Prince tumbled across the ground like a lifeless ragdoll.

    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 25

    Thunderous silence filled the room; Soren immediately appeared by the Prince''s side and observed his condition.

    Just from outward appearance, the Prince was covered in blood, the bruises all over his torso had changed to a purplish black colour; his face was unrecognisable nothing like the handsome appearance from only moments before.

    Ryan looked at the scene callously, turning he walked back to his seat beside Richard.

    ¡°There is no way you could beat the Prince without being 9 steps into Transforming! How is it that you¡¯ve only trained for a few months? Is that nothing but a lie?¡± The young man from the Prince¡¯s entourage barked at Ryan¡¯s back.

    ¡°Even then could you not show mercy to the Prince? Or are you trying to incur the Kings¡­.¡± At that moment Soren moved so quickly he appeared beside the youth and slapped him unconscious.

    Soren as a general was utterly disappointed by the ignorance and arrogance of these na?ve nobles. ¡°Elder we have wasted too much of your time, forgive us if we have offended you in any sorts,¡± Saying this General Soren ordered the group of people that had come with the Prince to carry him back to the Palace.

    After everyone had gone ahead he treaded towards the exit, when Richard suddenly called out to him.

    ¡°Your name is Soren, right? From what I can see you¡¯re quite young and yet you¡¯re already quite strong, I presume you are a Sage Master. You have the possibility of reaching a much higher realm if you¡¯re prepared to give up the little authority you have in this small kingdom and adventure through the world.¡±

    General Soren recollected his composure although the words had already carved deep into his mind, he left the room as swiftly as he had entered it.

    -------------------

    On the balcony room below Richard¡¯s room the blonde haired man was speaking to his servant Reid: ¡°Did you sense that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I did Master?¡± Reid replied, his senses recognised the murderous killing intent that appeared like lightning and disappeared. ¡°That room above ours sits a mysterious, powerful individual.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡± The blonde haired man nodded, ¡°I did not expect the appearance of a formidable individual at this auction.¡±

    ¡°Well, as long as he does not bother us there is no need for us to interfere with him.¡±

    ¡°A wise decision Master,¡± Reid replied in harmony.

    -------------------

    ¡°I was expecting you to hesitate a lot more, guess all my worry was for naught,¡± Richard said.

    Ryan responded calmly: ¡°I learnt long ago that mercy on an enemy is cruel to oneself, you also stated that I must not let my guard down at all nor show mercy to an enemy.¡±

    Richard agreed.

    ¡°Richard, do you think I went too far?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Richard replied instantly not pausing to think: ¡°If it wasn¡¯t you, someone else would have done the same thing to that arrogant Prince and that someone else might¡¯ve been me.¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is everyone will judge depending on their experiences, your experiences modelled your morality, ¡°mercy on an enemy is cruelty to yourself¡±. Once you¡¯ve made your decision stick to it.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Ryan nodded then proceeded to ask: ¡°Earlier that guy mentioned something about steps into transforming or something like that? Is it some sort of level prior to becoming a Sage?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called steps into Transformation; honestly I despise those that use it to satisfy their egos since the 9 steps have no meaning to a person¡¯s chances of becoming a Sage,¡± Richard answered.

    ¡°A person that has never trained in his life can become a Sage through deadly experiences or even through unexpected fortunate experiences. Just because one person is at a higher step compared to another literally means nothing besides raising the amount of force a person can exert with his bare fist which is easy to develop.¡±

    ¡°Beside¡¯s that it doesn¡¯t reveal anything else like the sturdiness of the body, skin or bones, it lacks all these important elements so it is a broken system.¡±

    Richard then turned to Ryan, ¡°You yourself, even if that child had landed a solid punch on you, it wouldn¡¯t have done any substantial damage to you with all the training and resources I put into your body to strengthen it.¡±

    ¡°Then how does a person realise when he¡¯s close to becoming a Sage if there isn¡¯t a real system?¡± Ryan asked curiously.

    ¡°Again just as an ordinary person can become a Sage through experience, when a person has faced deadly situations enough times or even once, the moment they sense that sensation of Sage Force, that is when you¡¯ve cracked open the door to the Sage Warrior realm. Though it is true if a person is able to increase both durability and strength of the body under control it will be much easier to become a Sage.¡±

    ¡°That is why I want to put you in an environment like the Coliseum, do you understand?¡±

    Ryan swallowed all of the information and enjoyed the fact that he had learnt something new from the walking encyclopaedia called Richard.

    Coincidentally the door to the room was knocked 3 times before Chairman Francis walked in: ¡°Elder the auction will begin in two minutes.¡±

    Richard nodded.

    ------------------

    The stage at the front of the room was similar to that of a theatre stage: glossy wooden floor, red curtains with gold trims, and lights shining on the centre of the curtain.

    In front of it, there were two levels of seats adding up to nearly a 1,000 and they had long been filled by individuals, the balcony rooms were all lit, occupied by either individuals or groups holding both status and power.

    Just then the curtains split, opening wide bringing attention to the man standing at the centre of the stage dressed in a black suit, smiling enigmatically at the audience with an appearance that was on the high end of the spectrum.

    ¡°I humbly welcome all of you to this auction. My name is George and I will be your auctioneer today.¡± The man¡¯s voice was cool, firm, charismatic drawing in the attention of all in the enormous hall.

    ¡°Since all of you have waited patiently for a significant period of time we will immediately begin the auction, please remember to stay till the end, we will be revealing an item that you will not want to miss.¡±

    ¡°Bring out the first item.¡±

    Slowly from behind the curtain, a young beautiful woman walked in wearing a sky blue dress carrying a velvet cushion.

    On the cushion was a gem that was only an inch in length without much lustre: ¡°Here we have is a Dark Jade core, a gemstone that has been hidden deep in the ground absorbing energy for countless years. It has enough power to act as the Energy Core for a Sage Master level Weapon.¡±

    ¡°The starting bid for this will begin at 1000 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°1500 gold coins!¡± A man seated in the middle of the first row made a bid.

    ¡°1750!¡± Another countered in the same way.

    ¡°1800!¡±

    Steadily the price rose higher and higher.

    ¡°2650!¡±

    ¡°Anyone else?¡± George looked around at the seated audience.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s sold for 2650 gold coins!¡±

    Then another item was bought in, bids flew across the hall, arguments rose that were quickly calmed and time flew by. Items ranging from rare materials, artefacts, powerful weapons to life-saving treasures all appeared during the auction. Until the climax of the entire auction and the reason why so many people had come for came.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s time to bring out our special item that all of you have been waiting for, Forge Master Saul from the headquarters during one of his experimenting he created an item that would invoke the greed of a Sage Ancestor, we the Reinhart branch of the conglomerate were lucky enough to have procured it from him.¡±

    ¡°I believe you all know the status of Forge Master Saul, a 3 Star Forge Master with the capability of creating weapons for Sage Ancestors.¡±

    At this moment an air of excitement rose from the tones of the audience, the auctioneer smiled expecting the reaction.

    ¡°This is no weapon to be precise; its value is much higher than that of a weapon because of its utility, a rare Sage Equip!¡±

    As he was speaking a built man brought in a pedestal, the object on top hidden by a veil.

    ¡°Let me ask you, what is the one ability that humans dream of, the ability that is synonymous with freedom, the ability to fly!¡±At that moment George pulled the veil revealing two grey boots.

 Chapter 26

    The brewing excitement created by the reveal of the grey boots produced an explosive uproar.

    Within a few moments the commotion quietened down but with the excitement still there George proceeded to profit from it: ¡°Its name is Lucid Wings; it allows the user to fly at speeds 50% faster than that of when moving on the ground.¡±

    Just the specification made many gasps, the ability to move 50% faster than they already could plus giving the individual the ability to fly. What man did not want to be free in the skies with no shackles or fear?

    ¡°The value of this Sage Equip is worth multiple times more than any other enhancement Sage Equip because it fulfils the desire to fly.¡±

    ¡°Just with that capability alone you can all understand what can be done and will be able to expect the price.¡±

    ¡°The price will start at 1,000,000 gold coins each bid must be at least 100,000 gold coins¡± George exclaimed to the animated audience.

    Instantly the audience silenced as though they were doused with cold water at the revelation. It became obvious to many that being able to afford it was a pipe dream to those in the main audience.

    ¡°1,500,000 gold coins!¡± A man in one of the balcony rooms made a bid.

    ¡°1,600,000 gold coins!¡±Instantly another individual placed his bid.

    At the same time, the blonde haired man''s eyes lit up brightly.

    Lightly chuckling he said to Reid: ¡°It seems the rumours were true, this must be ours.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    Within the highest balcony room, Ryan was sitting silently confused.

    ¡°A Sage Equip is not like a weapon, they¡¯re similar to armour, yet they grant enhancements to your physical abilities, that is what you wanted to know right?¡± Richard explained already knowing that the boy didn¡¯t understand this new terminology.

    Ryan nodded a small chuckle coming out of him.

    ¡°2,000,000 gold coins!¡± A voice came from somewhere within the hall as they were speaking.

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot that you don¡¯t know about this world, in between your battles in the Coliseum I¡¯ll need to educate you on this continent.¡±

    For the next minute the price was slowly increasing, but for those that couldn¡¯t afford it were awed by the amount of wealth present within the hall

    ¡°Slowly increasing its price? How tiresome,¡± The blonde haired man then shouted: ¡°9,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°¡­.¡±

    Silence filled the hall as all eyes turned towards the origin of the voice.

    An increase of nearly 5,000,000 gold coins was shocking, up till then the price would increase by 200,000 at most, the gap between that was unbelievable.

    At that moment the blonde haired man watched George on stage indifferently waiting for him to count.

    ¡°Er..¡±

    ¡°10,000,000!¡± Just as George was beginning the count, the silence was broken by one man¡¯s voice; the blonde haired man frowned as he looked at the figure that had just made the bid. This figure was wearing a long blue robe; on his face was a smirk as he leaned against the balcony.

    ¡°Haha, Yura it seems we¡¯re both interested in the Sage Equip!¡± The man laughed, his words immediately allowed many to figure out who the blonde haired man was.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°He¡¯s Gold Ancestor Yura?!¡°The appearance of the man caused a disturbance in the auction hall, at that moment many came to the conclusion that the battle for the Sage Equip would most likely come to a battle between those two.

    ¡°Francis, those people, who are they?¡± within their room Richard inquired.

    Francis who had been standing behind Richard from the start of the auction answered: ¡°Elder, the blonde haired man is a famous Sage Ancestor, the Gold Ancestor Yura, his name derives from his Sage weapon, a golden spear, and with it he has dominated all adversities until he reached to his current stature. Outside the kingdom, his clan rules a Dukedom and as a Sage Ancestor he has little worry for enemies attacking his dukedom.¡±

    ¡°That other man is one of the Five Pillars of the Reinhart kingdom, the Third pillar General Cena.¡±

    ¡°Four of the Five Pillars are Sage Ancestor while the weakest is a Sage Master but he is the kingdoms genius.¡±

    ¡°General Soren is that Fifth pillar, however, his status is honorary; he has no responsibilities but has all the benefits of the position.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ It seems that they both want those boots,¡± Richard commented.

    ¡°Elder if you want I can procure it for you.¡±

    ¡°No need I already have a pair and if I really needed one I would just make it,¡± he responded casually.

    ¡°¡­¡± Francis stood there silently not knowing exactly what to say, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh in his heart a Legacy Elder was truly an extraordinary figure.

    ¡°But to individuals like them procuring a rare Sage Equip that would allow them to fly would be difficult unless they had a 3 Star Forge Master indebted to them or travel to the larger Empires to obtain one.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, what I find difficult to understand is why the Reinhart kingdom would allow a Single Duke to control land beside their very territory.¡±

    ¡°Elder just like our generals this Yura is a powerful expert of a more powerful empire and his Shinan Clan have deep roots within that empire,¡± Francis explained.

    Richard nodded understanding the situation then carried on watching as the battle increased the price to astronomical figures.

    ¡°10,000,000¡± Yura uttered: ¡°Cena you know that with just your wealth you will not be able to challenge me.¡±

    At that moment Cena chuckled lightly raising the price: ¡°12,000,000.¡±

    ¡°Even if I lose out I wouldn¡¯t mind playing around with you for a bit,¡± He said in response.

    ¡°Very well,¡± The Gold Ancestor Yura stated an amount that silenced everyone including General Sena: ¡°25,000,000 coins.¡±

    Once again the hall was filled with silence, even Cena could only smile helplessly, although he wanted to play around with the Gold Ancestor a bit he did not realise that he would so ruthlessly raise the price.

    To put this into perspective the average commoner family would make a few dozen gold coins every year, and this Yura had splurged an enormous amount on those boots that would at most be worth 15,000,000 gold coins.

    ¡°Haha¡± The silence was suddenly filled by laughter; it was especially loud in this explosive silence.

    Many figures turned towards the balcony room at the highest level and many saw the figure standing at the edge of the balcony wearing a mask.

    Gazing at Yura he smiled underneath his mask: ¡°What a wonderful straightforward way to end this.¡± Richard exclaimed. ¡°This auction was getting boring; an ending like this is satisfying, haha.¡±

    After that Richard turned disappearing from the audience¡¯s sight his laughter still echoing from his room.

    Immediately many confused murmurs came from the audience below because Richard was wearing a mask it was impossible for them to know who he was. Yet the fact that he was in the highest floor revealed that he was a far more extraordinary figure than those currently battling out.

    Cena within his booth frowned: ¡°Was it not the Prince who occupied that room?¡­ Go Investigate.¡±

    A man that stood near him nodded and left the room.

    ---------------

    After Richard sat back down, the Auction was nearing its end.

    ¡°Francis hand me your Conglomerate¡¯s Card.¡±

    Francis did not understand why but complied, handing Richard a gold card.

    Taking the card, Richard placed his index finger on the card, a small number of silver specks appeared on the tip of his finger, proceeding to merge with the card.

    After a few moments Richard handed back the gold card and on it was a small scythe. ¡°The mark on it is my emblem, you¡¯re allowed one request when you return to the Conglomerate headquarters; I hope you use it wisely.¡±

    Richard eyed Ryan and they both left the room.

    Chairman Francis stared at his Conglomerate card excitedly, although he had offended the Prince he had gained a favour from the Elder, Profit, this is a huge profit!

    ¡°Thank you, Elder!¡± He respectfully said as he waited for the Elder to leave before inspecting the card.

    He then inspected the tiny silver scythe contrasting the gold card. At that moment realisation dawned on him, slowly the colour on his face drained as he looked back up towards the exit, but Richard was already gone.

    ¡°¡­ That was the Particle Ancestor? That madman¡­¡±

 chapter 27

    The centre of the capital, the Coliseum of Sages, an ancient amphitheatre created at the founding of the Reinhart Kingdom, for Sages and Warriors from all over the kingdom to gather on this stage in search of fame.

    The Coliseum was circular in shape with an entrance at each cardinal direction; each entrance was enormous easily allowing hundreds of people to walk in simultaneously.

    North Entrance.

    ¡°Richard, could you not have left that in our hotel room?¡± Ryan asked.

    Richard was drawing the attention of quite a few people with the huge block covered in cloth on his back, it was a peculiar sight but for those from the North District, it was not that rare of a sight, after all this was the Military district and also where many warriors congregated to signup.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the useless thing, wait here I¡¯ll go sign you up,¡± Richard said as he disappeared from sight.

    After a few minutes, he returned with a token in his hand, with his name on it.

    Handing the Token to Ryan he began speaking: ¡°This token must be on you at all times when you enter the Coliseum, it¡¯s what they use to record your victories or defeats, and determine what rewards to give you. You¡¯re allowed to fight 5 opponents each day, if you achieve 10 victories in a row within the Coliseum you¡¯ll be rewarded with 10,000 gold coins and you¡¯ll be given the title of a B Class Warrior. With 50 victories in a row you earn 1,000,000 gold coins and you¡¯re given the title of an A-Class warrior and finally, if you win 100 duels in a row you¡¯re given the title of S Class Warrior and the King himself will grant you a noble rank of Viscount.¡±

    ¡°For the warriors of this kingdom, this is where they gather if they want fame and glory.¡±

    ¡°Since I signed you up, you¡¯re entering the stage for Warriors who have not become Sages yet. However, don¡¯t lax here; in comparison to Sages they might not be as powerful however below the Sage level the strongest of warriors are remarkably powerful, experienced and savage to the point that they only need a single trigger to become a Sage.¡±

    ¡°Nevertheless you must not cower in front of these individuals since the only way for you to graduate is to defeat or kill a Sage Warrior level expert or become a Sage Warrior yourself.¡±

    Ryan chuckled at Richards¡¯s words, ¡°I¡¯ve been ready for quite a while. Shall we head in?¡±

    ¡°Oh you can go in alone; your number is 2439, when they call for you all you have to do is go on stage, I¡¯ll be watching you from the stands after you¡¯re done I¡¯ll meet you outside,¡± Richard said as he disappeared into the crowd.

    Ryan smiled helplessly and walked into the crowd entering the Coliseum.

    -------------------

    The insides of the Coliseum were well lit by both the natural lighting coming through the openings and the light stones; the warriors residing in the waiting room were practising, conversing or sitting alone. The room was large and open, at its end was a large corridor that led out to the ring; there were also openings to spectate the warriors fighting it out.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Most of the warriors here were half naked muscular men with waists as thick as a bear''s and huge arms. There were some women seated alone, and figures like Ryan who didn¡¯t fit in at all.

    Despite this, the moment Ryan walked in many turned to look at him. Their gazes immediately turned sharp, some even showing their displeasure and annoyance.

    Just comparing the atmosphere around the warriors within the waiting room and appearance, there was a vast disparity between him and them. Ryan looked like a child flawless and meek, no scars to show neither the tribulations that he had gone through nor an air of power like Richards showing he had experienced many things. In short, it was like a deer walking into a pack of wolves.

    Ryan did not bother to with those gazes ignoring them.

    At that moment a muscular figure walked towards him, ¡°Kid it is best for you to leave.¡± His voice deep and powerful: ¡°There is no merit for you to come here and throw your life away, you showing up here is an insult to us warriors, although they will not trouble you here, once you leave the waiting room and get on the ring these men will kill you.¡±

    Ryan looked up at him and nodded, but he still walked towards an empty space in a corner and quietly sat down.¡±

    That muscular man looked at him and sighed if he wanted to throw his life even after his warning he couldn¡¯t bother advising such a person so he sat back down.

    -------------

    ¡°Number 2439 and Number 3987 please follow me to the ring!¡± A man was dressed lightly in a rough white colour but looked just as muscular and powerful as the warriors within the room.

    Hearing his name Ryan stood up and walked towards the man immediately drawing everyone¡¯s attention for how young he was.

    They all viewed him as a sheltered na?ve child who didn¡¯t know his limits.

    When the man who had called him out saw Ryan walk towards him, he only scanned him and then observed the other man, who was a bronze-skinned muscular man, he was wearing leather armour and on his back was a greatsword; On his face there was a scar right below his left eye running down till it was level with his lips.

    ¡°Your tokens?¡±

    They both showed their tokens, ¡°Ok, follow me.¡± He nodded and instructed them as he walked into the corridor.

    As soon as they left the room, one of the warriors raised his voice: ¡°Who¡¯s willing to bet on the child?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to bet 300 gold coins on Alto,¡± a man replied.

    ¡°500 gold coins on the child, high risks come with high rewards.¡± Another man dressed in leather amour responded causing many to stare at him in amusement.

    This was something the warriors enjoyed doing, Ryan had noticed earlier and now it was his turn.

    Out in the open, there was a single platform with a circumference of 500m, to put it in perspective that was enough room for even Sage Warriors to duke it out.

    Within the Coliseum the seats were half full on this particular ordinary day, the only times that the Coliseum was full was when popular fighters appeared or even Sages.

    ¡°The rules are simple as soon as you both get on stage the battle begins, you either win by killing your enemy or forcing the other to surrender, I will observe from here to record the outcome.¡±

    At that moment the big man leapt onto the stage and stood there. Ryan, on the other hand, observed the stands searching for Richard.

    ¡°Taking your time aren¡¯t you?¡± The man on the stage laughed.

    Ryan sighed unable to find Richard then leapt onto the stage: ¡°What is your name?¡±

    The man chuckled and shook his head: ¡°There is a tradition in this Coliseum where only the loser will disclose their name, so unless you beat me, you will have to find it out some other way.¡±

    Ryan nodded, drawing his sword, at the same time the man drew his sword out.

    The man immediately moved closer to Ryan, using his overwhelming strength he struck down at Ryan aiming to end the duel at once by revealing the overwhelming strength between them.

    The air seemed to split under the pressure, contrary to the man¡¯s expectation Ryan did not dodge the sword and took the sword head-on by swinging the sword up against his.

    ¡°Clang¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The man felt his body lift as he stared at Ryan in shock.

    ¡°Haha, wonderful!¡±