"..."

"..."

"..."

"HAHAHAHA! Next time, bring out some more exciting disciples! Those fuckers can't even keep mine awake!"

The Ken family members eventually started discussing my behavior with one another, calling me names, coping about their losses, and clamoring for someone to teach me 'manners.'

The sun is still high in the sky, and the rays feel nice on my skin, especially after being coated in a layer of frozen gore. My mind usually gets occupied by stray thoughts, but now, I'm at peace. What does that say about me?

My light gets cut off. I can feel someone standing next to me. I didn't hear any movement, so I slightly opened my eyes. The sun perfectly blocks their appearance, leaving a glaring silhouette. I tilt my head to the side to get a better angle. Standing before me is an older man with a top knot.

"Insolent behavior. Get up and fight."

"Oh, elder second from the left, I would, but it seems your kin can't even approach me when I'm sleeping. Not much of a fight there."

"We will disqualify you."

"Oh yeah? I'm sure that will be great for the people in your community to hear. An elder claims they won after brutally losing multiple, higher leveled, clan members to a sleeping opponent."

"You act arrogantly and foolhardy. If you want a challenge, you can find it in me. Or are you intimidated?"

Master Wang jumps from his box and lands, skidding to a stop. A large dust cloud plumes against the Ken members in the opposing stands. Standing next to my - still lying - body, he confronts the elder.

"Woah, woah. Picking on someone over a century younger? If you want your honor to jump off a cliff and commit suicide, why not ask me to do it for you? I've been offering for decades, and you've all disregarded my services. I'll ensure you'll be the talk of the town. No, the entire Prime territories."

"Wang." The elder puts his hand on his sheathed sword's hilt. "Do you have the capabilities to step into this fight? If you kill me, you'll have to deal with the rest of the elders and our clan. Do you think you can take all of us one at once?"

"Hmmm..." Master Wang contemplates for a moment before winking at me. "I could kill all the younglings and cripple half of you before I get hurt enough to be considered 'defeated.' I could break all your prized swords against my body before breaking your bones. I could skin you alive with just a finger, no blades necessary."

The elder grips his sword tighter and looks like he's about to commit to a preemptive strike. Master Wang wipes his neck and moves his Gi so his neck is more vulnerable to attacks. The elder must know something since he hesitates to attack right away.

Master Giles approaches the two wrinkly and gray men having a dick-measuring contest. The other elders also grow tense as Giles steps on the battlefield.

"Ellis isn't only the disciple of a martial coot like old Wang here. He also has a taming master. Me. I can't say I guided his path of taming from the beginning, but I still have the pride of being his master. Let his beasts have the opportunity to fight, as his strength doesn't only come from his body but the allies he created on his journey."

"The shark counts as one. 'System says so," I say as I stand up.

The elder locks eyes with me and curiously relents. I figured they would be as hell-bent to fight to their last breath as the younger generations... It makes sense that they aren't since they probably didn't undergo the training they preach.

Then the great tournament of my tamed beasts started! And ended. It was a wash. My beasts fought against family members roughly fifty levels stronger and still won without much effort.

They decided to go in order in which they came under me, so Flash Gordon was first. The Ken member was baffled that they had to fight a magnificent creature like Flash Gordon. They didn't expect him to fracture into many pieces and rip into his body with various elemental effects, killing him instantly.

Rob meticulously dismantled a Ken family member in over an hour. It was a gruesome bone-stealing session. Rob had to make precise incisions with his bone shovel to make it possible, but he did it. It was agonizing, but the swordsman never surrendered and died from 'natural causes.'

Duchess' fight was quick and easy. She telekinetically lifted her opponents, slammed them against the ground, and pelted them with radiant magic until nothing was left. She sprinkled the ashes over the pile of corpses and moved the other two bodies on there.

Khan was Khan. A man was eaten alive. He didn't scream. He stood there and died on his feet. Except for their sword, only scraps of viscera found around Khan's many mouths were left behind. For consistency, I put the meat scraps on the pile while Duchess moved the swords.

Prometheus waited for his opponent to reach the arena before turning the entire ground around him into lava. This swordsman must've neglected training their movement techniques because his feet got stuck in the molten sand. After spitting on them a few times, a charcoal corpse was placed on top of the pile like a candle on a cake.

Prometheus was nice enough to not burn the effigy I created, leaving it the only untouched spot from his [Magmamancy].

The silence is deafening. I would prefer to have ten people in the pile instead of nine. It's time to leave. I wave to the stands before we - my entourage and I - get escorted off the property.

"How do you feel, disciple."

"Sticky. I feel sticky, Master Giles."

"Hahaha, you'll get used to it. You'll eventually feel unnatural when *not* covered in blood."

"Don't encourage him like that."

"Why not? He's my disciple, too."

"You're teaching him ... wrong things."

"... you, at least I ... him ..."

Master Wang's and Giles' conversation gets distant as they move away. Val uses this time to talk to me.

"Ellis."

"Hello."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not hurt anymore."

"That wasn't what I was asking. I can guess what kind of life you are forced to live while away from the institute. If it gets too much, you can let me know."

"..." I genuinely don't know what she means by that, but I'll assume it's from a place of care.

"We can't use any of this footage. It would paint you as a monster. Some brutal barbarian. It would do its intended purpose of convincing our fellow students that you aren't some scrub being carried by their tamed beasts, no offense, Duchess. This is too much."

[Why did she single out thisss one? Thisss one is pretty sure your kin is ignorant of thisss one's linguistic literacy.]

"My P.R. manager could help with that. She's used to trimming down videos... Oh, I started a guild, and I want you to join. I'm down for nepotism, but that would make me a hypocrite. Up to you."

"I can't join a guild until I graduate... You made a guild? What the fuck?"

"Yeah. Shit's crazy. At least join my [Court of Allegiance]."

"...I don't think I'm down with joining anything right now. I'm too busy to join your club. With Mom in the hospital and Dad undergoing physical therapy, most of my time is spent in the revolving door of the hospital. Schoolwork is piling up as well. By the way, the institute didn't invite you back for the semester's finals and just gave you a high grade."

"Okay. Just so you know, the court thing is a skill that lets us communicate from practically anywhere, 'no reception required. Rain is in it... Rain, you've been quiet."

"...wasted blood. ...not allowed to leave the stands. ...sand."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Fuck if I know."

"You should put Dad in your skill as well."

"The only caveat with the skill is that you need to be considered subservient to me. I don't think I can justify registering my father into my court."

"Aww, that's... What a minute. Are you saying you consider me under you?"

"The skill works with equals as well."

"Alright, wise guy, I'll join your court thing later. Remind me the next time you visit Dad or Mom in the hospital."

"It makes no difference if we do it now."

"It does make a difference. I honestly believe you would never visit either of our parents while they are in the hospital. Not out of malice, but because you get caught up in your little world and let the real world move on without you."

"...I'll visit them."

"I'll see you there."

We eventually leave the compound and go our different ways. Since my two Masters don't have anything for me right now, I decided that I want to start figuring out all the mysteries I've been accumulating. Most are more rooted in philosophy than science, but knowing what's beyond the road in my [Endless Graveyard] could be a place to start.

Unfortunately, I have guild activities to do. I let my two employees handle everything, but I'll need to do a walkthrough of the new guild facility I sunk money into. I'll also have to hire a team to manage all the goods and materials excavated from the fracture.

When I say hire, I mean vet the people employed by Free Chains or my PR Manager.

The taxes Rob implemented in his new city should be worth something. From what I saw last, there were magic items and decently costly materials like [Bone Dust] of varying ranks and [N-Silver], metal with undeath properties.

Besides alchemical concoctions and necromantic rituals/spells, [Bone Dust] is a cosmetic ingredient that will always sell to big companies. It can also be used as a supplement or fertilizer with minor processing. And while [N-Silver] can be enchanted with necrotic and deathly magic, it can also relatively easily be purified into silver, which sells for a decent amount. More niche ingredients related to the undead - specifically skeletal undead - can probably be found with poaching.

My first member of Material Management is someone I decided to hire before meeting with Free Chains or my manager. Dylan. He's unpleasant to be around, but he knows his undead and is resilient to the harsh climate of the fracture. He's also weirdly loyal, so leaving him alone in an undead-filled fracture is something I don't need to worry about.

He'll have to find a way to not be killed by the undead, but it wouldn't surprise me if they mistake him for a fellow resident rather than an intruder. He'll sort and sift through the taxes and send only the good stuff, leaving the excellent items for me and the trash behind.

Then, the people I'll have Free Chains hire will handle processing or selling the loot. I own a shop, so I might as well use it. I can also launder [Stones] of various elements or other parts of my beasts I could 'harvest' naturally.

All of that will happen after a shower and a meal. Gods, am I hungry.