Vestia explained a few more details about how teams worked in the city, and all the different rules they had to follow, while they kept waiting for Wanderers to come apply to join their team. No one did. But that did not mean that no one was interested in joining their team. This was just how things usually worked, or so Vestia had explained. Not to mention that they had announced their teams just a day ago. Even if there were no hidden rules that Vestia had mentioned, many Wanderers might just not have heard about their team yet.
As for the hidden rules… It was mostly about the interested Wanderers keeping their distance, observing how Alnea and the girls—observing how the Star Seekers handled themselves, judging if becoming a Star Seeker was worth it. Especially since they had just clashed with the Lotus clan. Joining them at this point meant offending the Lotus clan. Only when the Star Seekers showed enough potential and promise, would other Wanderers show their interest in becoming Star Seekers themselves.
“…Rules are meant to restrain the weak,” Zain said, sneering at the Wanderers observing them in the distance. “How can such stupid rules restrict me?”
…The stinky mouth probably just wanted to join a team as soon as possible. Alnea did not break his mask though. That would have let to another meaningless conversation. And if there was one thing that he had learned in the short time he had spent with Zain, it was that he should not give the crazy man any excuses to speak.
“I guess the two hours should be up by now,” Alnea said, stretching out his arms and legs, while letting out a yawn. Just sitting out on the steps, being stared at by the Wanderers passing by, was not exactly very exciting. Even Vestia’s dramatic way of sharing information about the city was not enough to drive away their boredom. Thankfully, the wait was over.
“Can we go exchange our Martial Styles now?”
“Are you going to exchange Martial Styles? Do you want me to give you some suggestions?”
“…You sure are excited about the Martial Styles.”
“Are you not? They are the Martial Styles of the Blood City! Did you read their introductions?”
Yuri just shook her head in response, with a grin on her face, of course. Although she did not show it, she was just as excited as he was. And so was Cecilia.
“That’s right! The nine Blood Martial Styles.”
“So, you are going to exchange the Martial Styles of the Blood City… Although I personally have not learned these Martial Styles, I know a thing or two about them.”
“Let’s go get those Martial Styles.”
Vestia smiled in amusement at her teammates showing their rare childish sides. But it was also because they were rarely so lively that she could not stop herself from teasing them.
“Are you people not putting the cart before the horse here?” Vestia said, while climbing the stairs with her teammates. “We should obviously register our team first.”
“But the Martial Styles…”
“Can be exchanged only towards the end of the hall, while our team can be registered at the first counter in the hall. Most importantly, it is only after we register our team that I can use the amenities in your Blood Hall. Or I would have to go back to Fifth Blood Hall every time I need to use the Blood Hall.”
“…About that. If I can also be registered in your Blood Hall, that would make things more convenient for the team. Not only—
“The day you earn our trust is the day we register you as part of our team.”
“…Jealous… Ignorant… Fools…”
“…Zain.”
“…It is just a team registration. I can wait for a few days.”
“…Anyways, I am going to exchange all nine of the Blood Martial Styles. What about you?”
“Does that even need to be asked? Since we are going to redeem these Martial Styles, of course we are going to exchange all of them.”
“I would not recommend that,” Zain said, stepping in between Alnea and Cecilia once again, completely oblivious to the glares being directed at him. “I know that you must be fascinated by those Martial Styles because of their title of being unique to the Lost City, but trust me, they are not worth it.”
Stolen story; please report.
“…You are not going to stop until we let you finish, are you?”
“What? Did you say something?”
Another lesson learnt. Not giving the stinky mouth any chances to speak would only backfire on him. It was better to let the man speak a little from time to time so as to satisfy the man’s itch, and let him be quiet most of the time.
“…Fine. Go ahead. What’s the problem with the Martial Styles of the Lost City?”
“…As I was saying, the Blood Martial Styles of the Lost City are slightly different from normal Martial Styles. You can even say that they are less like Martial Styles, and more like Arcanas or Glyphs. After all, just like Arcanas and Glyphs, these Martial Styles are also divided into different stages, with each stage corresponding to the different stages of the False and True Ranks.
“Of course, the unique classification of the Martial Style in itself is not a problem. Rather, the different structure of the Martial Style, making it seem as if it is based on the Mysteries of the Origin Sea, and not on Aspects and Concepts, has attracted countless Wanderers over the years to come, and spend inexhaustible efforts to study these Martial Styles.
“But when this unique classification of Martial Style is put together with the restriction that one can study a higher stage of the Martial Style only after completely learning and mastering all the lower stages of the said Martial Style, then things begin to become a little tricky. Especially when considering how expensive these Martial Styles are.”
“Expensive?” Cecilia said, blinking in confusion.
“…Do you not even know the price of exchanging the Blood Martial Styles?”
“Of course, I know the exchange price of Blood Martial Styles. It’s just a Martial Style Medal. What’s so expensive about it?”
“…I meant in general,” Zain said after staring at Cecilia in silence for a few moments. “For geniuses like us, earning Martial Style Medals is like drinking water. We can earn them just by going through the Trials. But most Wanderers do not earn even a single Martial Style Medal in their time in the city. And a large part of those who do earn, earn only a couple of Low or Intermediate Grade Medals.
“However, the Initial and Intermediate Stage of the Blood Martial Styles do not bring any substantial benefits. At best, they can only be regarded to be between Failed, and Lowest Grade. It is only when all the four Stages of the False Rank are combined that the Blood Martial Style can show some of its prowess, and unique nature, barely reaching the threshold of Low Grade Martial Style.”
“The Blood Martial Style can be merged?”
“I was about to get to that part,” Zain said with a nod. “No one knows why these Blood Martial Styles have been separated into different Stages, but one thing everyone is sure about is that only if you fuse all their different stages will these Martial Styles show their true prowess. There is even a legend that if someone can learn all the nine different Martial Styles to the extreme, and then merge all the nine Martial Styles into one, then they might gain a part of the city’s legacy.
“But that is not the point here. The point is that each of these Martial Styles cost a Martial Style Medal. That is nine Medals for each Stage. Let alone buying all nine Martial Styles, few can afford to buy all the Stages of a single Martial Style. After all, earning higher Grade Martial Style Medals is very difficult. Not to mention the difficulty of learning these Martial Styles, and the time spent in mastering them, just the first hurdle exchanging for these Martial Style itself stumps most of the Wanderers in the city.”
“But we have enough Medals to buy all nine Martial Styles.”
“And learning Martial Styles is not too hard either.”
“It’s just nine Martial Styles anyway. I can master them all in a couple of hours.”
“…Instead of exchanging for the Blood Martial Styles, you can use your Medals to exchange for some of the unique resources of the city that can quickly raise your strength.”
“Those defective resources that are rife with side effects?”
“Someone actually dares to use those resources?”
“Are they not afraid of severing their path as Wanderers?”
“…Or you can buy treasures to help you train other Martial Styles. Let me tell you, there is a set of Martial Styles in the library created by a Mystic Wanderer of the Lightning clan, which covers almost all the different specialisations of the Martial Style, and can be regarded as one of the best High Grade Martial Styles. But if you wish to train in this Martial Style, you need a—
“Alright, we are here,” Vestia said, giving Zain the excuse that he needed to shut up. Still, seeing the stinky mouth become so deflated, Alnea could not help himself from smiling. Even Cecilia and Yuri were the same. And so was Vestia. “Let us register our team first. Afterwards, you can discuss Martial Styles for as long as you want.”
“…I think that I have told them enough about Martial Styles. The rest is up to their own choice.”
“What are you talking about?” Alnea said, with an evil grin on his face. “We still need your help with so many things.”
“…I guess, if you are begging me to help you—
“I have learned only about a few thousand Martial Styles, but since you are twice as talented as me, you should have learnt even more Martial Styles than me, right?”
“…It is not about how many Martial Styles you know, but how well you use the Martial Styles that you know…”
“So, you must know more about Martial Styles than I do.”
“Of course,” Zain said, regaining a bit of his confidence, only to lose it again in the next moment.
“Then how about telling the advantages and disadvantages of all the Martial Styles in the city’s library?’’
“…That…”
“It’s just a couple hundred thousand Martial Styles. You must know them all like the back of your hand.”
“…I guess…”
“Stop teasing him, Alnea, or he might really cry,” Vestia said, with Cecilia and Yuri joining in her laugh. “Come on, it is time to register our team.”