It had been several hours since the beast tide officially came to an end, and Ace let loose with his harsh truths.
At that time, Faye and the others had silently returned to their own private quarters, not in the mood to speak to or see anyone.
Though not as dispirited as Faye and the others who had been on the receiving end of Ace’s rant, Kannal had also returned to his accommodation, deciding to get back to training, leaving Ace to go exploring the city with Mira, Killian, and Leo.
Though neither of them said anything, Ace could sense that both Mira and Killian felt that he had been a little harsh with his words.
Still, Ace didn’t regret his decision. He understood that after everything that had happened over the last year or so, his classmates had come to a crossroads.
They had already achieved more than most teens could ever dream of in their entire lives. Each and every one of them had the strength of experts near the apex of the mortal world. Each of them went to the most outstanding school on the continent. Each of them had singlehandedly challenged and defeated the students of some of the best schools for warriors and mages this continent had to offer.
No matter what happened in the future, they had already done enough to go down in history as peerless geniuses.
If they chose to go down the easier of the paths available to them, Ace didn’t doubt that each of them would go on to become prime saints at the very least, probably even Demi-Gods, but if nothing changed, that would be it.
For most, that would be a dream come true. I mean, they would have the power to stand at the apex of their continent as it currently was, but Ace wanted more for them.
To most, Ace’s goals in life started and stopped with the killing of O’Brien, but they had no idea how wrong they were.
It was true that Ace wanted that, but if he was being honest, as much as he hated O’Brien and wanted him dead, he didn’t actually think that much of him.
It had to be remembered that Ace’s comprehension had already long since surpassed O’Brien’s, and the chances of O’Brien achieving another breakthrough, especially in a barren continent like theirs, were virtually nil.
Between his incredible comprehension and even more impressive bloodline, it was only a matter of time before he caught up with and surpassed the vile creature that was his biological father.
After coming to that realisation, Ace subconsciously began thinking about his future after that. The challenges and adventures he would face when he begins his journey to stand at the peak of not their continent but the universe.
Whenever such thoughts would pop into his head, those standing by his side weren’t limited to Mira, Leo, and Killian. He knew he was being selfish, but he wanted each and every one of his classmates by his side as they journeyed through the various higher planes. But they couldn’t stay by his side if they were willing to settle for what, in the grand scheme of things, was a life of mediocrity. They needed to be willing to demand the best from themselves to overcome what was destined to be a life of tribulations.
Still, ultimately, he knew it had to be their choice. So, if after everything he said, they decided to distance themselves from him, as unwilling as he would be, he would respect their decision.
Still, that was a problem for the future. For right now, Ace and his group were exploring the small city of Gol that Cirulus had spent the last year developing, and as they did, Ace had to admit, he was surprised.
Though there was a hint of fear in the air from the overbearing auras from not too long ago, Ace could also see that most in the city appeared to be fairly happy and content. Something that one wouldn’t expect to see in the northern part of the Anarchic Lands.
He already knew from his time in Silverlight City that whilst the whole of the Anarchic Lands was extremely chaotic and violent in nature, that was especially so for the northern areas which bordered the forest of darkness.
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The constant beast tides meant that those who decided to take up residence here were all very militant and sturdy, and unless you were lucky enough to find yourself a powerful yet benevolent leader like Kimika’s husband, Venerin, you would likely find yourself under the thumb of a powerful tyrant.
Most felt they were constantly walking a tightrope where they could lose their lives at any moment. The stress and anxiety caused by such a life was more than understandable.
But here, despite having been less than a year, the city seemed extremely stable.
Though, when remembering that Cirulus was a warrior at the middle stages of the ninth rank and Lance, who had apparently been by his side this whole time, who was a warrior at the eighth rank and a fifth rank mage, it made sense.
Having seen everything he needed to see, Ace and the others had just returned to the City Lord’s residence. A large estate in the centre of the city that was big enough to home dozens of families, when he saw a face he hadn’t expected, at least not this soon.
“Osiris…” Amira hollered, pleasantly surprised, but before she could say anything else, she was stopped by the rise of Ace’s palm.
Like each of them, Osiris’s strength had improved by leaps and bounds over the last year, having broken through to the sixth rank as both a mage and a warrior, and from what he saw just before arriving to save Killian from being killed by the dragon, Osiris had also fused both states of wielding into his arrows.
His current strength, and considering he was a deadly archer, made him a threat to even experts in the ninth rank, a shocking feat for someone barely even 16. Still, after Ace’s words, any pride Osiris felt had been doused.
Osiris had always been the calm and silent type, and though still silent, right now, he was anything but calm. Although he wasn’t one to speak much, he had always held Ace in the highest regard. Whether it was his talent or his drive, he had nothing but respect for this classmate. It was why Ace’s disappointment stung so badly.
As Osiris’s hesitant eyes fell on him, Ace could sense his turbulent emotions. Still, he didn’t do anything to make the situation less awkward. Osiris has to want it enough to really enough to make the change.
“Ace,” Osiris began. “Do you really think that it’s possible?”
“What’s possible?” Ace asked back indifferently.
“When you said that we could catch up to you one day with enough hard work…” Osiris explained slowly as he raised his hopeful eyes to meet the indifferent gaze of his ‘friend’. “Do you really think that?”
“No,” Ace replied matter-of-factly.
“Ace!” Mira shouted, unable to bear Ace’s verbal beatdown of their friends any longer.
She could literally see Osiris’ heartbreak from his listless eyes. Still, Ace wasn’t done.
“Whether it’s Kannal, Killian, Mira, or even Leo, I don’t think anyone can catch up with me,” Ace replied honestly, his words shocking even Killian, who never knew his sworn older brother to feel like this. “In my eyes, I am and will always be without peer. As far as I’m concerned, those stronger than me now are only so because they were born before me. In time I will surpass each and every one of them until I stand at the peak of this world.”
As Ace spoke the words he had hidden in the depths of his heart. Both Killian and Amira shuddered, feeling like Ace was looking down on them.
The only one who understood Ace perfectly was Leo via their link. He had known this was how Ace had felt for quite some time. The way each of them was feeling now was how he had felt a year ago. It was because he had so much time to find his own answers that he was able to remain completely calm right now.
In that moment, Ace’s pride and arrogance soared to the heavens, becoming almost tangible, to the point where it was almost suffocating for those around him, but Ace continued as though he couldn’t feel their emotions.
“But that’s not to say I look down on any of you,” Ace shrugged. “It just means I believe in myself. Just like I believe that you all will be, the ones ranked second, third, fourth and so on.”
“Rooarrr!” Leo growled with an almost human look of disdain.
“You think you’ll be the one to become the universe’s number one expert?” Ace smirked mockingly as he glanced at his familiar. “Consider it a race!”
“You can count me in on that race!” Amira snorted, a competitive fire having been lit inside her.
“Me too!” Killian added.
Ace’s words had definitely rocked both Mira and Killian down to their cores, but Leo’s roar had come at the perfect time. Before they lost themselves in the same dark abyss that the rest of their classmates had, it reminded them that, ultimately, it wasn’t Ace’s job to believe in them; it was theirs. If they couldn’t believe in themselves, why should anyone else?
Looking at the group of four bickering among themselves from the outside looking in was an eye-opening experience for Osiris.
If he wanted to achieve his dreams of killing his sister and destroying the Cult, this would be the mindset he needed in order to achieve his dreams.
“Thank you,” Osiris said suddenly, his words catching Mira and the others by surprise.
“Hmm,” Ace looked up at the young archer. “What for?”
“Never mind, it’s not important,” Osiris shook his head. “But you can count me in for the race.”
Although he couldn’t say to be where Ace and the others were with regards to believing in himself so wholeheartedly, he was finally facing the right path. Now it was just up to him to continue down this path.
He understood that there was no quick fix and that it was going to take a lot of hard work and long hours on his part, but the good thing was that he could use the light of Ace’s fire to light the path.