Damien did not have the strength to pick his body up. He felt a huge mental strain in the form of a migraine along with an irritation in his eyes. They felt like all the moisture had been sucked out leaving him with bloodshot eyes. Luckily his lenses covered them or they would really think he was a psychotic devil.
“Wonderful. It's not everyday you witness someone breaking through to the next realm. C'mon kid, cheer up, you’re officially in the Sky Realm as a swordsman.”
Damien could only force out a smile in between him panting. Cal came to his side to shoulder some of his weight, allowing Damien to stand straight. Damien let out a quiet thanks and faced the Elder straight on with an apologetic look.
“About the sword, how much do I owe you? Just so you know I have no money to my name!”
The Elder began giggling that turned into an obnoxious laughter. Everyone scowled due to their eardrums becoming irritated. The Elder continued without caring about anyone else.
“Kid, don’t worry about that cheap thing! If anything you gave me quite the spectacle. It’s rare to see someone comprehend a Dao domain, let alone someone who just advanced. How do you feel?”
Damien who was panting before had now caught his breath. In fact all of the symptoms that were affecting him vanished without him even realizing. His energy levels returned to normal so he ceased to utilize Cal as a crutch support. It was like he was not just in a fierce battle expending all of his strength. He unbuttoned his uniform top to reveal his arm that had been sliced earlier. The bloodstains were gone and no cut was seen. No mark was visible on his skin that was glistening from his sweat. Damien put his top back on after confirming his state.
“I feel good, but more importantly I feel satisfied.”
The Elder had appeared by his side unknowingly and patted his back with tremendous force. Damien swore he heard his back cracking, but he felt no pain in the end.
“Sky Realm at 11 is quite the feat. Not many are able to boast that fact. As for me, I advanced when I was 9! Even that is nothing compared to the legendary Heaven’s Wind Sword God. It’s stated in records he achieved the Sky Realm at the age of 6! He still holds the record for the youngest to do it.”
At this point Damien was unfazed hearing about his Grandfather. He could only take in the facts and let them motivate him further into his journey. Damien then realized he did not even know the Elder’s name. Based on what he just said, he must be someone well known. He bowed his head to show his respect.
“Elder, sorry for the late introduction. As you may know I am Damien. What is your name?”
With a contorted face of displeasure he sent a gust of wind with a flick of his finger. The gust was strong enough to pick Damien’s body up. Damien was left straightened out from his bowed position.
“First of all, you don’t have to be so formal. I despise it. Secondly, I am Leylin Dister, and from the look of your two friends, it seems they already know who I am. Well let’s go back to my office so I can send you all on your way out.”
Damien kept in mind that Leylin did not tolerate any formality from his reaction. He had to stop himself from speaking too politely. When they arrived at his office he handed Damien some paperwork with his stamp on it. He explained that he would need to provide it to the receptionist, Ester. She would then provide him with his newly issued identification card with his Swordsman Rank engraved. Before Damien left his office, Leylin called out to him with a sheepish expression.
“Damien… I don’t do this often, actually I have never done this. I have a feeling we are more alike than you think. I know that you are meant to follow the Sword Dao and if you are willing, I could guide you as my disciple.”
Cal and Yuki froze mid step out the door. Leylin Dister was famously known as one of the top swordsmen of his generation. He came from nothing as he grew up in the slums of the Royal Capital of Dister. He would be bullied by aristocratic children daily. All he had to defend himself with was a thick wooden branch. At first he would be left with bruises throughout his entire body along with black eyes. Sometimes they would knock him unconscious and leave him in an alley until he would wake himself.
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Leylin would never cower to their demands and fought to his last breath. Each time he would hold his own longer and longer until eventually he made a breakthrough. He stumped them badly, making them pay for all they had done to him. Once their parents saw them return in their state, they furiously raided Leylin’s family’s shack. They arrested him and used their connections to have him tortured in jail. He went on trial in front of the king, but was given a second chance.
He was a slum kid with no education who was able to defeat kids who were taught by the capital’s best swordsmen. The king favored the talented, so he set him free on the condition he belonged to the kingdom. In return they would offer him any faculties so he would grow stronger. With no other course, he accepted the plea for his parent’s sake. He shot off like a rocket growing in strength. At 9 he advanced to the Sky Realm and cemented his legacy. He was inducted into the Royal Guard at the age of 13. Then assigned as the First Princess’ personal knight. He was quickly granted the last name, ‘Dister’, by the king, so he would be rooted deeper into their ranks.
Leylin dreaded every day on his new assignment. The princess was overbearing and careless to the extreme. He served her for over a decade until he was involved in a scandal. He was caught having sexual relations with the princess by one of her handmaidens. Word spread to the king who became enraged from the rumors spreading around his kingdom. Leylin was only a knight and had not come from nobility, which made his situation worse.
Leylin was stripped of his knighthood and banished from the capital to serve in the Swordsman Guild. He was able to attain a position as a guest-elder due to his strength. The only reason he was not severely punished was due to his talent and future use for the kingdom, if the time were to arise. Ever since then Leylin found his grounding in Gats where he sought to live unbothered by politics. He was never attached to the princess so he was easily able to adapt to his new life. With his newfound freedom he progressed rapidly in his swordsmanship. His current strength has been unknown for many years as he had gone on with his life untested. Any witness or record of battle would tell you that Leylin would always win without even unsheathing his sword.
Word spread like wildfire to the surrounding towns and villages. Many people came, who were mostly StarPoint Academy rejects, to seek his tutelage. The guild would be packed with a line that extended outside, with no end to sight. He was infamously known to never have accepted any disciples. His reason was always the same no matter who came to beg him. He would state he was too lazy to teach and he wanted to be carefree. At one point even Ari Sord came personally to invite him as a professor with no success. Eventually all the commotion faded away when no one was successful. He would go on with his life, rarely overseeing his duties. He would be seen every night drinking at bars and even known to visit the brothels often.
Leylin overseeing the examination of Damien was purely by coincidence. All the Elders of the guild had left days before for an important task. He was forced to help around the guild until they returned. For it to end with Leylin asking Damien to be his disciple was a monumentally shocking event for Cal and Yuki. Both of them were staring down Damien with great anticipation for his answer, forgetting he had been taught by Veron. If Damien were to have his personal tutelage he would be able to advance by leaps and bounds. He would be provided with every resource such as pills, artifacts, and techniques at the snap of his finger. Compared to the academy where he would need to fight and earn it. It would be a paved road to success.
“Thank you for the opportunity Elder Dister, but my answer is no. I am already attending StarPoint Academy, where I plan to focus on Dao Magic. I am more talented in that aspect.”
Damien’s answer was said with no hesitation, that it made you wonder if he knew what he let go. Leylin tried to look at Damien’s eyes through his glasses to gauge his decisiveness. Leylin slammed his hand on the table startling everyone, except for Damien. His obnoxious laughter echoed throughout the room as he walked his way to Damien. He waved his hand creating a sound barrier, so only they could talk. His demeanor became serious for the first time today.
“Oh well, kid. It just wasn’t meant to be then. I’ll give you one word of advice. From nothing comes something, and from something comes everything. Everything is connected, kid. You will understand one day. All these labels they put on things are limiting everyone. The Dao is everywhere and everything, don’t get it confused.”
The barrier disappeared when Leylim finished talking. He sent the kids on their way to the receptionist so he could go enjoy the rest of his day.
“Damien that was your chance! Do you know how many people have tried to be his disciple? Or even just to get a word of advice? That’s Leylin Dister…”
Damien cut Cal off from going on one of his long rants.
“Even so I don’t regret my choice. I just felt that it is not my place to be his disciple because I am not fully committed to the sword. Besides, he did give me some cryptic advice. More importantly, what am I going to do with this torn uniform? I didn’t bring any spare clothes!”
Cal explained that all he needed to do was release some mana into the uniform causing it to self-repair and clean itself. Damien followed his instructions and to his surprise it was just like he said. That didn’t stop Cal from not accepting Damien’s reasoning, so he continued on his rant on why he should have accepted the offer. Damien could only be subjected to this torture so he hurried his steps to the lobby. Damien turned his attention to Yuki to see how she reacted to the situation, but it seemed like she wasn’t bothered as usual. Her bright red eyes were only focused on Cal as they walked.
They arrived in the lobby filled with members. This time Damien walked through without being disturbed by the atmosphere. He went up to Ester and handed her the paperwork. She combed through all the information where she saw his birthdate. For an instant she narrowed her eyes and emitted intense bloodlust. It was only for a fraction of a second so no one was able to notice the dramatic change. She went to the back to prepare his new identification card with his new rank. Ester returned with a small metal card with inscriptions of his basic information. She handed the card to Damien who began to inspect it.
“Your realm is represented by the two swords engraved into the card. Each sword represents one realm. After, the number of lines is to demonstrate your level in that realm. Now is that everything you needed, Damien?”
Even though her smile was like that of a kind grandma, he felt sick inside. He quickly nodded and made his way out of the guild. A few onlookers caught on to the fact he had received a designated rank in the Sky Realm. They intently watched him leave in hurry, engraving his face to their memory. Once the doors shut behind them everything returned to normal. The odd one out was Ester who continued to stare at the door.