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.”

“...”

“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.”