When Gust left his father’s home, it was with a new level of clarity. Instead of asking Saith what his next move should be, the answer seemed like it was right in front of him.

And so, he headed straight to Ephraim’s home and told the man that he would like to work in the library. The idea came to him while he was sitting in another library inside a sword. While the Fallen Leaf school’s knowledge wouldn’t be as deep as Saith’s, it would still be a good start. Besides, Gust asked if he could take a few books with him before he left and the soul sliver declined. Then, Gust asked if he could stay and read some of the old man’s collected knowledge, but that was declined as well.

Saith’s explanation had been sufficient, but unsatisfying. For one, since Gust couldn’t manifest himself within the sword space manually, Saith was doing it for him, and using mana in the process, which reduced his lifespan an amount he refused to explain to Gust. Saith’s second reason had been that the information in his books was simply too advanced. Gust wouldn’t understand what he was reading, so why waste both their time?

The man provided a similar answer when asked about potential training. While he was excited to hear that Gust could create a Mage Sword, he merely encouraged the boy to continue practicing this new weapon, creating larger and differently-shaped variants.

Master Ephraim nodded happily upon hearing Gust’s choice. “That won’t be a problem at all! Mistress Dyonelle owes me a favor anyway and I think she wouldn’t mind another pair of hands.” He escorted Gust to the library quickly, as the sun was setting and Gust would need to report for duty tomorrow. The man headed into the library first and entered the small office by the entrance, where the Mistress spent her idle time cultivating or reading.

A few minutes later, Mistress Dyonelle walked out and pressed her mana sense against the Demon’s soul. Her stark blue eyes flared as if they saw right through him. “Why do you wish to become one of my aids?” she asked. “Do you wish to learn alchemy?”

“Er, no,” Gust answered the second question first and the Mistress’s scowl deepened. “At least, not yet, Mistress. I wish to learn everything I can, but I think I should start studying something more basic. Like the Paths, local history, or the Patrons themselves.”

“And why should a renegade want to learn about them? Do you not forsake them by creating a path of your own? Your Master certainly did.”

Gust winced and realized he would need to be subtle to get what he wanted. It seemed like Saith made his disdain for the Patrons clear. Gust could understand why, after what he’d learned recently, but he also saw that it could create problems. The Patrons were like gods or supreme mentors to these people. Disrespecting the Patrons meant disrespecting their followers.

“I’m only just starting to understand what all of that means, Mistress,” Gust started with deliberate humility. “Instead of forsaking them, I hope to use what the Patrons taught us to create something new. My path won’t be better than theirs, it couldn’t possibly be. Instead, I hope to surprise our enemies with unknown tactics, and provide an different perspective on cultivation.”

“A demonic perspective,” Dyonelle mused. “But I see what you mean. You come from the underworld, where strange ideas are apparently the norm. We should speak of your homeland when we get the chance. It might be more illuminating that I first guessed.” She nodded abruptly and turned back toward Ephraim. “Very well. I’ll take him, but I’ll cast him out just as quickly if he doesn’t prove useful. I’ll see you in a few days, Augustus.”

The Demon clasped his hands and bowed his head. Soon, Ephraim brought him outside and Gust had the chance to ask. “She said a few days. Why don’t I start tomorrow?”

“Because you have sparring class of course!”

While dealing with Myles and Philo and a cultivating bear, Gust still struggled to deal with that memory, the Demon boy lost track of the days. The eleven day week was difficult to get used to.

He went to bed early that night, then spent the morning cultivating in front of Saith’s home to recover some sword mana. At the same time, he drank a mouthful of the mana potion he had left and the two methods replenished enough mana to work with.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

When he headed for the sparring field, Gust realized he was in the same class as always. This was strange because all his classmates were only at the first level of Pathway Establishment.

Master Ephraim perked up when the Demon arrived. When Gust headed toward Jonas, the Master pulled him away. “It’s just not a fair matchup anymore. You are terribly inexperienced, but now that you’ve opened your second meridian your powers will be able to easily overwhelm someone like Jonas.”

The lanky alchemist listened from nearby and pouted as he was match up with someone new. Just when he started feeling good about his combat abilities, they took the easiest partner away from him. Figures.

Instead, Gust found himself placed in front of a familiar girl who happened to be at the top of the class. Keziah.

She had brown hair that reached her shoulders, sharp hazel eyes, tanned skin, and the green robes of a Mother cultivator. Like many of the other girls in the school, the combination of cultivation and constant hard work gave her a slender body that Gust couldn’t help but admire. In contrast, her expression was sour.

“Him?” she asked with arms crossed.

“Yes, Keziah,” Master Ephraim replied tiredly. “You’ve made quick work of your contemporaries, so I thought it best to give you a challenge. Besides, any second level would wipe the floor with him.”

Gust tried not to scowl at that. He had to admit, however, that it was true. He’d been looking forward to sparring with Jonas again. Not because he was angry with the boy who beat him soundly last time, but instead he wanted to show off his progress. Gust hoped to move up the ranks of the first level students, beating one after another until he was skill enough to face Keziah, much like grinding to defeat the boss of a video game.

Instead, he was thrown right into the proverbial fire.

Keziah clearly objected to being paired with their now second newest student. She’d been training for years. She worked her way to the top of her class, and this was her reward? Well, there was only one way to respond to such disrespect and it didn’t bode well for Gust.

The girl held her arms crossed and merely glared until Gust attacked. When he conjured a blue Mage Sword behind her, a blue shield appeared in its way and the sword burst into motes of light as the two clashed.

Keziah snorted and a few other students slowed their sparring matches so they could watch.

Heat built up in Gust’s face as he tried again. And again. And again. He spawned multiple Mage Swords, tried attacking from opposite sides, and even tried rushing at her and swinging, but Keziah was able to easily dodge or repel anything the boy threw at her. She only struck back when he tried closing the distance, unleashing a fearsome kick to his gut which knocked the wind out of him.

Growing fed up with the smirks and whispered comments from his classmates, Gust let some sword mana into his attack. It was only a little, as the day wasn’t even half over, but it was enough.

This time, Gust blue Mage Sword held a slight silvery shine as it struck at Keziah between two pure blue swords. The blue variants dissipated, but before Keziah could release any more subtle mockery, the third Mage Sword pierced her shield and slashed down Keziah’s back.

As the girl was thrown forward, she cried out in pain and blood seeped through a long slash in her robes. Any student who wasn’t already watching suddenly stopped and gaped at her as Keziah snarled and pushed herself to her feet.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, is it? You can’t win a fair fight, so you’ll pull out whatever it takes to win?”

Gust rolled his eyes. “If you want me to take it easy on you, just ask.”

She didn’t like that.

Keziah gritted her teeth and struck back for the first time. She flung her hand forward as blue roots appeared all around Gust’s body. His eyes flared as he tried to put some distance between himself and several different attacks coming from as many different directions. A Mage Sword appeared before him and cut a few of the roots into streaks of light, but the rest reached their target.

Four strands of roots grew as wrapped around his wrists, tugging them to his sides. They bound his legs together, and one even wound over his mouth. Gust was held as stiff as a log as he toppled over. His head slammed against the packed dirt and he sucked in deep breaths through his nose.

As Keziah walked over to him, the roots slowly tightened. Gust felt his bones creaking beneath the pressure. Despite being a full level above her, Keziah held a shocking amount of strength. Her fists clenched as she stared down at the Demon the Masters’ thought to be her equal.

Gust heard a small snap and felt pain welling up in his left wrist. The blue roots over his mouth made it impossible to cry out, but the Demon sank his teeth into the bindings. It was truly useless, but Gust felt a bit of relief at the shock and disgust on Keziah’s face.

And then the pain disappeared with a wave of Master Ephraim’s hand. He let out an awkward laugh as he dismissed Gust’s opponent. “A good showing, Keziah! As always. Gust might not provide much of a challenge yet, but I have a feeling you’ll be the one on the ground soon enough. Take the rest of the day off and, next time, try to avoid harming your fellow student.”