College is starting again, so I'm not sure when I'll have time to write. The reason why the past few chapters are taking so long was because I had to prepare to move in to the dorms. Hopefully I'll still have time to continue the story.

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“So he’s your disciple.” Gu He restated for confirmation, “Then as his master, how will you take responsibility for your disciple’s actions? He nearly killed my only disciple when this was only a competition. If I hadn’t interfered, my disciple would’ve died by now.”

“That’s true.” The cloak man agreed, “But, I can say the same thing to you. Without my interference, my own disciple would’ve also died. What can you say for that?”

Gu He was silent. Truthfully, he had just arrived in Adetia after searching for Kairn. A month back Kairn had stolen some of his medicines and left a note saying he was going somewhere. It wasn’t until Gu He had returned and seen the note about two weeks back did he go looking for Kairn. It was by chance that he had detected Kairn and came to check on the boy, only to see Kairn about to be killed. His frustration and anger towards the boy leaving, had caused him to overreact. It wasn’t until the stranger’s words did he finally come to his senses and calmed down.

“Is that true?” Gu He glared back at his barely conscious disciple.

Kairn gritted his teeth and shook his head. He knew he was in the wrong, however his stubbornness won out over his morals.

As he watched his disciple shake his head, Gu He inwardly sighed in disappointment. He knew that Kairn had lied, Gu He had raised the boy ever since he picked the boy up, how could he not know the boy’s quirks? Every time Kairn lies, he would grit his teeth and not make eye contact.

Turning to face the cloaked man once more, Gu He cupped his hands in a salute, “This one apologizes on behalf of his disciple. For all the troubles that this one’s disciple has caused…” Gu He looked at Hiro, “This one would like you to have this jade pendant.” Gu He took out a pendant that looked like one half of a yin-yang symbol and tossed it to Hiro.

Catching it, Hiro studied the strange pendant. It was pure white, almost translucent. A thing string was threaded through the small hole near the rounded end.

“What is this?” Hiro asked, he could feel the sincerity within the old man’s apology. Though Hiro hated Kairn, he had no animosity towards Gu He.

“That is my apology. If and when you need a favor from me, present that pendant to the guardian of Xia Forest. I can promise you that I would do everything I can to help you.”

“This…” Hiro didn’t know what to feel about the pendant. Hiro knew nothing about this old man called Gu He, except that he is Kairn’s master.

Before he could say anything else, the cloaked man interrupted him, “Hiro accept the gift.”

Without another word, Hiro sucked the pendant into his spatial inventory.

With the conclusion of the conflict, Gu He bowed towards the cloaked man. A sign of respect, something that the prideful Gu He doesn’t do on a regular basis. Gently picking up Kairn, He disappeared. Gu He planned on reteaching Kairn everything, from respect to how to speak to people. Today, Kairn had humiliated him greatly, if it was anyone else he would’ve killed them, but because it was Kairn he was more lenient.

[Ladies and Gentlemen!] The MC finally began to say, [Because of the interference, contestant Kairn has been disqualified. Hiro moves on to the finals!]

The crowd slowly began to roar. After the strange conflict, the crowd was thrown into confusion and wonder. However, before they had a chance a loud voice, just as loud as the MC erupted from the field.

“No! Hiro will withdraw from the tournament!”

All eyes turned to look at the man that shouted. Behind the cloaked man, Hiro glared with fury and confusion. Why would the cloaked man say that? Then suddenly he remembered what the cloaked man said, ‘This child, is my disciple.’

After seeing what the cloaked man was capable of, Hiro could only wonder, ‘who’s stronger: Romulus or this cloaked stranger?’ He hadn’t seen what Romulus was capable of, he really didn’t care. As long he Hiro was able to learn from the strongest, he would happily go along with either.

“Are you strong?” Hiro asked the cloaked man.

“Oh?” The cloak man turned around to face Hiro, a hint of amusement was in his tone. “Strong… I won’t say I’m strong. When compared to the strongest, I’m weak. When compared to the weak, I’m strong. Remember Hiro, no matter how strong someone becomes, there will always be someone stronger.”

[Nicely said.] Tenga commented.

[Sh!] Hiro shushed. Hiro was a bit angry with Tenga. When he was about to die, Tenga had done nothing.

“So, is what you said true?” Hiro asked.

“Yes. Whether you like it or not, you are now my disciple.” A grin reached the corners of the man’s mouth. “Let’s not talk here, we can talk in private.” The cloaked man gestured for Hiro to follow him. They quietly walked off the field and away from the Colosseum despite the screams of discontent from the audience. With both Hiro and Kairn gone, only Colin and the Blood Knight was left.

After what seemed like half an hour of calming the crowd, the final match finally began. Appearing from his waiting room, a look of disappointment was present upon Colin’s face. After seeing what Hiro was capable of, Colin wanted to test out Hiro’s power himself. Colin’s mind was still thinking about Hiro when he got onto the stage. However, after seeing his opponent, he froze.

Also on the stage, on the opposite side of the stage, was a scarlet haired woman. She looked around Colin’s age, about early 20’s. However, the most impressive thing of all was her figure. She was wearing a red and black tank top and what seemed to be thin shorts. The curve of her body could be easily distinguished. However, what drew the most attention was her beautiful face. The look of defiance within her eyes, the pouty lips that makes one want to bite it, and the unblemished skin all made the woman look like a goddess of war.

With her toned abs expanding and contracting when she breathed, all the men within the auditorium began to salivate. If they could spend one night with this divine body, they would happily give their lives up. Colin wasn’t an exception, though he tried hard, his eyes would unconsciously glance at her curves.

“What are you doing here? My opponent is the Blood Knight.” Colin said, he wasn’t thinking clearly due to the woman’s beauty.

Suddenly a boyish tone escaped from her soft lips, “Fear not. For you are facing her.”

At those words, Colin’s breath stopped short. A complex feeling began to form within him. ‘How could this woman wear such a heavy suit of armor?’ She looked about his height, which was 190cm. Her muscles, though toned, were smaller than his.

“Where’s your armor?”

“I chose not to wear it, so I took it off.”

“Why would you do that?” Colin really wanted to see the armor, he wanted to confirm if she was lying or not.

“I remember something a young man had said. Something along the lines of: ‘Personal strength triumphs over gear.’ I must say, I quite agree with that statement. Thus, I chose to use my own strength and not that of my gear. However, I must admit, I have to use mine own sword. Those others are too light for me.”

“I see…” Colin muttered with admiration. He was convinced as soon as the woman took out her sword.

A blood red sword, similar to a claymore appeared in her hand. Most likely made from the same material as her armor, hints of flame danced along the blade’s edge. The sword was similar to Colin’s in the sense that it was a long sword, as long as her height. The only different was the width of the sword was half of Colin’s own great sword and had a wider crossguard. Taking out his own sword, Colin grew excited with anticipation. He wasn’t sure if it was because of her beauty or because of her strength, he could only smile as he brandished his great sword.

*Beep!*

At the signal, both the contestants rushed in. They both had the same idea, they wanted to test out each other’s physical power.

*Clang!*

The sound of metal hitting metal rang throughout the field.

“Hahaha…” Colin looked at the woman. His arms shaking from the impact, it felt as if he had just hit a mountain. He was blown back 5 steps and nearly lost his footing.

“You are quite strong. I’ll have to admit, you are the strongest person I’ve faced so far within this tournament.” She praised him. After their single exchange, he face remained emotionless.

Hearing her praise, Colin’s heart fluttered. He didn’t know if it was because a gorgeous person had shown interest in him or a strong person praised him, maybe a bit of both. Gripping the handle of his sword tighter, Colin dashed in for another exchange.

Handling his giant sword as if it was a twig, Colin used the strength of his wrist to maneuver his sword and attacked her openings.

“Weak!” She suddenly shouted and with a wave of her arm, Colin’s sword bounced harmlessly off her crimson sword. “This is how you should attack!” She said as she attacked.

Still recovering from his attack, Colin quickly brought up his defenses. She had suddenly struck out at his left side right after parrying his attack. With barely enough time to react, Colin was knocked back a couple steps after blocked her sword. However, that wasn’t the end of her offense. Quickly after having her attacked blocked, she dashed forward and up close to Colin. So close that Colin could smell the sweet fragrance of her sweat, however, that was short-lived, because a split-second after that an exploding pain erupted from his abdomen.

Colin was knocked down after the kick to his stomach. Quickly rolling backwards, Colin got up right away only to feel the rush of wind as he narrowly dodged the chop from the woman’s sword. He stared at the place where she had just hit, the stone stage had a large cut in it. A hint of fear appeared in his eyes.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? If I was still there I could’ve died!”

“But you didn’t. Heehee.” A hearty laughter came from the woman, causing his cheeks to redden.

“Tch!” He clicked his teeth in embarrassment, he was frustrated. He should be angry that he was so weak compared to her, but he wasn’t angry. In fact, he was quite happy. This led to confusion and in the end resulted in his frustration.

With nothing else to say, Colin continued his helpless struggle against the skillful woman. After every exchange the result was the same. He was thoroughly parried and countered against. Whenever Colin thought he had the upper hand, the woman would giggle and perform an extraordinary maneuver and regain her positioning. Throughout the fight, Colin’s quiet struggle evolved into a game of tag. Would he land a blow on her, or would she get away again?

Finally, he saw his chance. After what seemed like a half hour of playing, he had finally began to understand her style. She would always parry, using her superior physical strength, there was no way Colin could break her defense, so she needn’t worry about dodging. After the parry, she would either chain it into a counter that would disrupt his balance or use her legs and kick his back. His only chance was to grab unto her leg as soon as she performed a kick.

*Clang!*

His sword bounced back from the parry.

*Chk Chk!*

She ran in and closed the distance. Her guard was down, she feel any threat coming from Colin.

‘Now!’

Just as she extended her powerful leg to kick at his stomach, Colin let go of his sword and swung around to grab at he extended leg.

“Wha—! Ah… Hiyaaa!” She felt his strong arms lock onto her leg. He was sweated a lot during their fight and currently the sweat was rubbing on her to bare leg. The sensation of something slimy latching onto her leg caused her to lose her balance. She fell down along with Colin who was still tightly holding on to her inner thigh.

*Crash.*

Colin felt a soft body underneath him. Earlier when she fell, the hilt of her weapon had hit him in the head. Opening his eyes, he soon began to sweat even more.

“Ugh…” She moaned as she also came back to her senses. “Hah!” Her eyes widened.

“I-i-it’s not w-what you think it is...” Colin began to stutter, blood began rushing to his cheeks.

Colin could feel a soft sensation coming from his right hand. Somehow during the fall he had ended on top of her.

A cold look appeared in her eyes and she let out a trembling breath before saying, “First, remove your hand from my bosom. Second, get off me. Third, I will treat this as an accident, however if this happens again, you will die by my hands. Now you have three seconds to do what I said. One—“

Quickly understanding, Colin frantically got off. The only thing he had mistaken was to use the hand that was resting on her breast to push off.

“Hiyaa!” She chirped as she felt his hand sink in.

“S-s-sorry!” Colin fell back onto his butt and madly scrambled away a good couple meters. His hands could still feel the softness and warmth of her breast, he couldn’t help but hold up his hand to look at it. Noticing that she had gotten up and was slowly approaching him, Colin quickly hid his arm behind his back.

“Your right arm.” She said.

“My right arm?”

“Hold it out.” Killing intent began to leak from her.

“W-w-why?”

“I’m taking it as payment for touching my body.” Her voice was ice cold. Somehow she had already retrieved her blade and was holding it in a threatening manner.

“I give up!!!!” Colin quickly screamed out and ran off the stage.

“Ah… Hey get back here!” She waved her sword arm up in the air and ran after Colin, determined to cut off his arm. Somehow the serious fight had devolved into a romantic comedy skit.

Ignoring the MC’s commentary she continued to chase Colin while brandishing her sword. If she had seriously wanted to cut off his arm, she would’ve done it by now. Her goal was to scare the man into never doing that again. The chase continued a little longer until a girly voice screamed out her name.

“Ellen!” She paused and looked at the person. It was the girl known as ‘The Demon Sword Warrior’.

“Larissa? What do you want?” She called back.

“Quit playing around! The S-Ranker Romulus is going to pick his disciple!” During the time that she was chasing Colin, the winners from the A, B, and C-rank division had already gathered onto the stage. A look of irritation was present upon their faces, they were all waiting for Romulus to decide who the lucky person would be. They were so nervous that they didn’t even back an eye at her divine figure.

“Ah…” She understand at once and stowed away her weapon and went back onto the stage. Soon Romulus began to speak.

“With the conclusion of the D-Rank Division, the tournament had come to an end. I’m sure everyone here wants to know who will inherit my skills and legacy. You won’t have to wait any longer! After watching the matches from the last week, I have come to a decision.” The adventurers on the stage swallowed with anticipation. If they were to learn the skills of an S-Rank adventurer like Romulus, their fame would soar and many windows would open. Famous adventurers are treated differently from others, there is many benefits for famous adventurers.

“Before I declare who my disciple will be, I just want to make this clear: If you aren’t chosen, please do not feel bad. It’s not that the person I have chosen is better than you, it is because I’m interested in seeing that person’s growth. On the other hand, those of you that are the best in your division will get a reward. Come to me after the tournament to receive your reward.” There was some murmurs from the crowd as Romulus continued talking. Some of the division winners were already understanding the meaning behind Romulus’ words. Romulus would most likely choose someone from outside of the division champions.

“My disciple, the one that will inherit my legacy, shall be…Colin.”

Looks of contempt and anger flashed through the champions. They had all witnessed his final match with the Blood Knight known as Ellen. They only saw Colin humiliate himself for half an hour, they didn’t understand that it wasn’t because Colin was weak, but because Ellen was too strong. If Colin were to be put up against them, even the A-Rank Champion would have to try to defeat Colin.

Though many were surprised, Ellen only had a look of amusement. When she was fighting him, she was testing his potential. She had found that he possessed a gift, a talent. His body was twice as sturdy as he looked. The first time she kicked him, she expected him to black out from the pain, but the result was vastly different. Colin had recovered almost instantly afterwards and escaped. She continued to test him to see if he was using his Astral Body to boost his physical strength, but her conclusion was that he was naturally strong.

During the uproar, Romulus quickly dismissed the tournament and turned around and left. Quickly after, Colin left to go and meet up with his master, while the rest of the people on stage left dejectedly. Ellen only silently smiled and turned around and walk back to Larissa, the person who called herself ‘The Demon Sword Warrior’.

While navigating through the Colosseums winding passages, Larissa asked, “So did you have fun Ellen?”

Ellen smiled, “Yea.” She thought back to the youth that had fought against Larissa, “Hey Larissa, that boy you fought…”

“Hmph!” Larissa turned her head in contempt, “If you had allowed me to use magic, I would’ve won.”

“You know that isn’t why we’re here.”

“…”

“Did you get a reaction at all out of the Demon Sword?”

“I don’t know…I was too angry to notice if there was a reaction or not. Besides I don’t like him, even if there was a reaction, I would never allow it!” She stuck out her tongue.

“Hah~… Fine, if you say so.”

---

“Where are we going?” Hiro asked as he followed close behind the cloaked man. Hiro was eager to hear what the cloaked man has to say. After all, he did forfeit his chance at winning, because the cloaked man said so.

Ignoring what Hiro said, the cloaked man continued walking until they were out of the Colosseum. Only when they were outside did he duck into a secluded alleyway and began talking.

“Listen up Hiro. What I said back there, saying that you are my disciple. That was a lie.”

“Wha—“

“Quiet. Let me explain.” The cloaked man held up a hand to interrupt Hiro. “You are still far too weak for me to consider teaching you. After watching you fight today, I can tell that was your first time fighting against a human opponent. Is that right?”

Hiro suddenly dropped down his head in defeat. Without saying anything, he nodded.

“Don’t be depressed.” The cloaked man said with a stern tone as if to console Hiro, but failing. “You are quite new to this world, but anyone today can agree that once you have time to develop you will be a scary individual.”

Strange feelings ran through Hiro’s mind. He didn’t know if he should be happy or sad, the cloaked man withdrew him from the tournament and refused to teach Hiro, yet there the man was, praising Hiro.

“If you weren’t going to become my master and teach me, why did you withdraw me from the tournament? If you refused, maybe Romulus could—“

“Romulus? Ha! What does he know?” He snorted with disdain.

“?”

Seeing the look of confusion on Hiro’s face, the cloaked man began to explain.

“Romulus is a fool. That man only knows how to swing a giant stick around, playing Hero. Hiro, if you were to undergo that man’s training method it would be detrimental to your growth.”

“Detrimental?”

“Yes. As far as I can tell, you aren’t a strength based fighter. Romulus excels in strength skills, skills that require the use of heavy weapons. Seeing your fighting style, if you were to carry a weapon as large as you, it would slow you down considerably.”

“I can’t say I disagree…but I still need a teacher at the very least. What am I supposed to do now…” Hiro began to look more depressed.

“Fear not Hiro. I said you weren’t my disciple, but I never said you will never be my disciple.” The cloaked man paused, waiting for the words to soak in.

“… Y-you mean…” Hiro looked up, a glint of hope appeared within his eyes.

“Yes.” A smile appeared from under the hood of the cloaked man’s face. “The reason why I won’t teach you is because I’m currently on a job. This job requires me to travel to dangerous areas, so dangerous in fact that someone with your skills would be obliterated as soon as you step foot into these areas.”

“I see…” Hiro was convinced, after seeing the man’s display of skills today, Hiro could accept the excuse. When Pill-Master Gu He launched his sword aura at Hiro, Hiro’s aura sense had picked up that violent energy. He could tell just how overwhelming Gu He’s power was and the man stopped that attack with minimal effort.

The cloaked man held up a finger, “1 year. I will return in 1 year, when that time comes, I hope that you will have grown stronger. I will then take you and teach you…” The man paused, “Just in case.” A small white glow emitted from the tip of the man’s finger.

Slowly stretching out his arm, the cloaked man brought his finger to the middle of Hiro’s forehead. Hiro waited for the pain to exploded in his mind like earlier with the ‘Dance of Reeds’, but only a soft wave of relaxation spread from his forehead.

After the man removed his finger, Hiro touched the spot and asked, “What did you do?”

“A little insurance. Don’t worry about it. Now you might be wondering, ‘what can I do within a year?’.” The man pulled out a small coin from under the cloak. “Bring this to the knight academy in the Kingdom of Kilurn, they will know what to do after receiving this coin.”

Picking up the coin from the man’s palm, Hiro examined the golden coin. It was larger than a quarter, nearly double the size of it. Inscribed on one side of the coin, the words ‘Virtus Consensus’ appeared. Flipping over to look at the other side, Hiro could see a sword and shield overlapping a crown.

“Ah that’s right…I remember Siberus had a little girl. Bring her with you too won’t you?” As if not waiting for a reply, the cloaked man began to walk away. He was quite busy and after stopping by to watch the tournament today, he had already wasted a great amount of time.

“Wait—“

*Shup!*

Quickly stowing away the coin, Hiro was going to ask why he should bring Lynn when the man disappeared right in front of him.

“Hah~ I guess I have no choice.” Hiro sighed and began to walk out of the alley.

[Tenga you heard everything right?]

[Yes.]

[Does the Kingdom of Kilurn ring any bells?] Hiro had learned a bit from his father while they were in Torin, but he only knew little about the Kingdom of Kilurn. Aside from their astounding knights and warriors, there wasn’t much else his father told him about Kilurn.

[I’ve never heard about it, after all I’ve been trapped in here for who knows how long.] A hint of acceptance crept into Tenga’s voice.

[Sorry…at least I’m making progress right?]

[Not as much as I hope. Your ancient magic needs more work. After all, if you were to have a bit more knowledge in using ancient magic, you would’ve ended every match with one word.]

Shocked by Tenga’s confidence, Hiro asked, [Really?! Then you really have to teach me more!]

[Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere any time soon, you could study at your own pace.]

[Alright then…Ah! I forgot to ask for the cloaked man’s name! Stupid!] Hiro mentally smacked himself.

[It’s okay. If he wanted you to know his name, he would’ve told you. For now you should just concentrate on becoming stronger. After all, you revealed to the whole of Adetia, your skills. From now on people will begin to seek you out. This could be a good thing and a bad thing, so you better watch out.]

Heeding Tenga’s warning, Hiro silently walked towards the Adventurer’s Association. He needed to talk to Siberus regarding a few things.