[Author's Announcement: Well, I got a few stuffs to let you guys know. From now on, my chapters will be 3x longer than what they've been so far, but of course this means that my release speed will be affected. I will only upload 1 chapter per day, maybe 2 if I have the time. Maybe my releases will get faster once I get better at writing. Also, a little note for those who have been staying with me thus far. If you think the story so far have been "dark", I'm sorry to disappoint you but it's gonna get worse and more explicit. Seriously. Unfiltered gore-ish descriptions, vulgarities, the likes. Well, that's all I have to say for now.]

While Asura and Khara was climbing up the stairs, Asura was still in a state of panic. He had completely forgotten about the receptionist!

"Does she work for Ho'Vah? Will I get attacked here again?"

"Master, worry not. Have you already forgotten? I told you that it was probably Nilfim who told Ho'Vah to send those men here. Due to the link of the curse, Nilfim was able to sense the curse breaking, and that was probably why he sent those men. Of course, I implore you to finish the spar early. Better safe than sorry. For now, focus on the spar." Choronzon's low voice rang out in Asura's head.

Choronzon's words had given Asura some reassurance, and with a few deep breaths, he managed to regain his calm.

As Khara and Asura stepped into a wooden hall on the sixth floor of the Warrior's Guild, there was a faint lingering smell of sweat. On the walls of the hall were racks upon racks of weapons. Scythes, chain-and-sickles, glaives, spears, and the likes.

"Eh? Are we really practicing with these weapons?" Asura picked up a single-edged longsword from a rack, examining the sharp end of blade. "Won't it be dangerous?"

"Of course. But if you don't practice while experiencing the feeling of standing at death's doors, will you be able to remain calm while fighting against bloodthirsty humans, much less those fearsome magical beasts?"

Picking up a pair of twin broadswords, Khara swung the broadswords in different directions before he grinned, glancing out of his peripheral vision, watching Asura making a few swinging and thrusting motions with a single-edged longsword with his right hand.

"Ready?" Khara asked, getting into his fighting stance, holding the broadsword on his left arm in reverse grip.

"Huh? What a weird stance," Asura suddenly felt threatened by the unorthodox sword stance of Khara's, before assuming his usual fighting stance that was drilled into him at White Serenity School.

"Let's begin!" Asura yelled as he leaped towards Khara, covering the distance between them in a split second.

Reacting in an instant, Khara parried against the longsword with the reverse gripped broadsword, and at the same time the broadsword in his right hand was pointed towards Asura, ready to stab against Asura's waist. With blinding speed, the broadsword was already midway through the air, the cold metal of the broadsword glinting as it pierced through the air.

"Master!"

"I know!"

Asura quickly pushed the ground with his front foot, feeling the tip of the blade breaching the outer layer of his robes just as he got out of Khara's range.

"So fast!" Asura couldn't help but feel shocked. The speed of Khara's movements and reaction belied his lanky and laidback appearance. However, Khara wouldn't give Asura a breather, as he instantly leapt towards him, unleashing a flurry of ever-changing and unpredictable stabs and slashes that seemed to have come from seemingly impossible directions.

"So this is the speed of a 5th Level Warrior!" Asura was amazed at the speed of Khara's movements. In fact, the differences between each Levels are extremely vast. For example, a 4th Level Warrior is able to make a small dent on a stone boulder with a punch. However, a 5th Level Warrior can create a dent five times larger than what a 4th Level Warrior is capable of! The gaps between each Levels will also continue to increase exponentially.

Desperate, Asura could not resist drawing on the mana from his 'Origin of Life' to reinforce his body, as his body was unable to match Khara's speed. Combined with the long arms of his lanky build, his longer reach proved to be yet another advantage he had over Asura. As Asura felt the flow of mana into his body as a rush of much-needed exhilaration, he quickly leapt backwards, creating distance between the two of them.

"Hm? For a moment, I swear that his speed was a 6th Level Warrior's...is he a 6th Level Warrior after all?" Khara couldn't help but feel envious. Ever since he was five, he had to go through a harsh regimen of spartan training from his parents, constantly doing hellish exercises and drills. When he reached the 5th Level as a Warrior at the age of 12, he had already considered himself to be the most talented among those he knew. But standing before him, was a 12 year old 6th Level Warrior! But of course, how could he have known that Asura was actually reinforcing his own body with mana?

By now, both of them circling each other, trying to create openings by feinting with minute movements, but none of them fell for the other's. After a few heart-stopping moments, Asura gave in to the tension. Replenishing his body with more mana, Asura ran towards the stationary Khara, who was raising the tips of his broadswords to eye level, carefully observing Asura.

With each step he took towards Khara, Asura continuously poured mana into his right arm, even after it was full to the brim, forcibly pushing more mana into the mana vessels of his right arm. By now, the power within Asura's right arm was comparable to a 7th Level Warrior's, but it came at a cost. Every time he poured too much mana into a certain part of his body, he would feel extreme pain at that area for several days, and the flow of his mana would also be severely affected.

Khara who had been closely observing Asura the whole time, could see in his eyes that he wanted to end the fight in one swift blow.

"Hmph, you think I don't know what you're planning?!" Smirking, he lowered both his arms, leaving himself wide open. A taunt. Moulded by the hellish spars against his parents, he had picked up a trick or two from them, and was also extremely used to battling against warriors who were stronger than him.

Upon seeing the opening, Asura knew that Khara was purposely taunting him. But it was such a wide opening, and it was obvious that Khara was aiming for a counter. However, the opening that Khara had created, was too tempting for Asura too resist.

"Grrraaahhh!!" Asura yelled as he swung down upon Khara, ready to stop himself once he was sure that his victory was clear, as he felt that Khara was up to something.

Sure enough, the pair of twin broadswords that Khara had been holding had vanished. To be exact, the pair of twin broadswords were moving so fast that even Asura's mana-reinforced eyes could not catch up to the speed of the sword, as they now appeared as blurs. It was just like the flurry of the ever-changing and unpredictable attacks that Khara had unleashed earlier, except that it was now several times faster.

Asura could hear a low hum being produced by the swords, and suddenly, he felt his entire right arm vibrating. Alarmed, he quickly glanced at his right arm, but could not find anything wrong with it. No, it was the longsword. Almost the entire blade had disappeared, leaving only a small chunk of steel. Looking down on the wooden planked flooring, there were pieces of the now broken blade strewn about.

"You lose."

"Huh?" Asura brought the sword closer to his eyes, and stupidly staring at what was left of the blade. "What happened?"

"Kuku... It's a secret."

"Then...where did you train at?" Asura could not resist asking. He was confident that he was as powerful as a 6th Level Warrior when he reinforced himself with mana. And yet, he could not even catch a glimpse of the twin broadswords as they cut through the blade of longsword in an instant.

"I was trained by my parents. Are you the same? If we were of the same age, we would probably be of equal strength." Khara figured. He was now 14, while Asura was still 12. There was a possibility that Asura could reach the 7th Level as a Warrior, that Khara had not yet reached.

"It's a secret!" Asura smirked, giving Khara a taste of his own medicine, and then frowning, he said, "Anyways, what should I do with the broken sword? I don't have money...."

"Don't worry about that. The Warrior's Guild provides these weapons for free," Khara smiled. "And by the way, you were full of openings the whole time. If you wan't, we can come here to spar everyday. Besides, it's really refreshing to find someone my age to be on almost on par with me."

"Of course!" Asura agreed without hesitation.

.....

In a dimly lit stone chamber, there were four old men chained to the stone wall. Their skin had shriveled up, and was sagging heavily. It was difficult to see if they were alive or dead. They did not move, and did not say anything other than the occasional moan from two of the old men.

"Master, Pestilence and Famine have awoken. Lord Coran have sent word that he will be arriving shortly," a gaunt old man in rags reported while bowing before a black robed man.

"Good," the black robed man sneered. "How about the other two?"

"They're s-still..." The gaunt old man's eyes darted about, afraid to finish the sentence.

"I see. Then, have there been any reports about the four men that was sent after the boy?"

"N-no."

"Sigh... If only the boy wasn't so ordinary looking, we would have sent out messengers to the other cities to search for him..." The black robed man sighed. Suddenly, his head jerked as a voice rang out in his head.

"Ho'Vah..." The voice trailed off, and the presence that had entered in his mind disappeared.

"Master?" The black robed man quickly turned towards the exit of the stone chamber, and disappeared as a black blur.

Just then, from the cluster of iron cages hanging from the stone ceilings, a groan escaped the deathly pale lips of a naked youth whose hair was tied in a bun. Within the small area of the cage, the youth was leaning against the bars in a fetal position, as there was barely any room in the cage. His eyebrows were scrunched, as beads of sweat streaked down his face and body. On his abdomen area was a gash, with maggots and pests feasting upon the infected skin and flesh of the naked youth..

"Help me.... Aunt Kira... Help..."

Chapter 32: Drama