"One's Node is a very sacred part of yourself, however many lack them. Whether it be the fact you had never had it awakened or you were simply unlucky, the pain of not having a single Art is a great one. Yet, a seeming lack of a Node could also mean you in fact do have one. But it is instead, Exposed."

-Revised Guide of The Arts, by Edward Duskwalker

With the katana in his grasp, Daniel began to study and somewhat practice the movements of the blade. It was too heavy and long to not wield with two hands but with momentum on his side, he could easily chain one-handing swipes in with the rest of his attacks, for quick and powerful strikes. As well as this, the sharpness and weight of the blade told him that it was not power he needed behind his attacks with it, though even a little is needed, the form of what that attack takes determines if the slice is clean or simply bounces off its target, with minimal harm inflicted. And the curvature of the blade; ideal for slices and destroying the insides of their target easily. However, due to the nature of the blade, it was obvious that a side bash or a lack of precision with an attack would leave you open for retaliation, with your blade-

"Wait. What do you know of my father?" Daniel asked, suddenly realising what his teacher had said to him.

"Took you a while to notice, eh?" the teacher rebuked in a joking manner.

"I asked; what do you know about my father?"

"Now, now, no need to get feisty!" Lanyon chuckled, "And why do you care if we know him or not, he wasn't some obscure member or something, he was a big deal!"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, somewhat confused by how his father, some commoner who had lived on the very outskirts of Alium, was someone widely known as what his teacher was suggesting.

"He-"

"Your father, David Raigeki, was ranked Gold," the other teacher said, only now getting up from his seat, "On the battlefield he was a sight to behold. No matter who criticised him for the nature of his Arts, nobody could doubt his skills. Your father-"

"A-an Art?" uttered Daniel in shaky confusion, "He told me he was artless, one of the only things I remember of him, what are you talking about with his art?!"

"So you don't know it, eh?" his teacher chimed in again, "Your father had a Node that could be called, a bit unnerving. First, let's get some things straight: do you know of someone, or rather something, called Obelisk?"

Anyone who has ever existed in this world knew that name. The name that belonged to that thing; some called them the forbidden one; others simply dare even think of it. Obelisk; the god who killed the world, and led it to its doom. There was one other who had joined with the forsaken god, though his exploits are not as widely known; Dhalene.

"D-don't say that n-name."

"Now, now, you know that calling upon a god's name does not summon it, unless you are the superstitious type. Well, if you know of him, then you must also know the other, correct?"

"Y-yes." Daniel muttered, being reduced to an almost quiet stutter.

"Obelisk; god of chaos and destruction, wielding powers that would become the Node containing the Shadow Arts which would be inherited by the Guild Member known as the Rogue, ranked Platinum 2, who still holds his place to this day, despite his inactivity. And the other, Dhalene; god of storms and lightning, wielding what powers that would become the Node containing the Thunder Arts, which would be inherited by a certain individual, known as David Raigeki, which just so happens to be your father, Daniel."

These two gods were known not just for leading the world to its doom, but killing the rest of the gods, leaving just them two. Now, they lead armies, in an attempt to reclaim the land of Alium, which Elase, the god of the people of the world, had ruled. It was jarring, to say the least, for Daniel; after all, it is not a thing to take lightly when you're told that your father wielded the same power as someone who destroyed the entire world.

"W-what... w-w-" he stuttered, completely taken aback, "t-then... what happened t-to him... s-sir-s... h-he disappeared... "

"Your father was pronounced KIA a while back; we don't know how your father died, Daniel, we can only guess," the other teacher continued, "He was called upon for an enemy raid, since we were lacking scouts and general firepower. He went in with a team that were known for hating commoners like your father, and only he didn't come back. From their equipment, it was obvious there were signs of battle, despite only being tasked with observing the hostile stronghold from a distance far away from the enemy patrol. Because of their status as high nobles, even if they were prosecuted and tried for acts of treason, they would be easily bailed, and the judge would have been most likely bought out."

"S-so he's r-really dead then. I-I t-thought he left me..." he murmured, before becoming completely silent.

"It's alright kid. Your good ol' pops wouldn't have left you. Not even for the Guild; so cheer up," Lanyon said, patting Daniel's head, "not just cause the other porcelains are coming, but it's not nice seeing a kid all depressed like that... especially one like you."

* * *

Soon, the empty courtyard that had only held three people, was packed to the brim full of porcelains; some Daniel recognised, like the ones from his class, and others who seemed to be like lost children with no idea what to do and where to go. Yet, they had all fixated their eyes on Daniel, the only one with a weapon in his hand.

"Attention, attention!" The cloaked teacher called out to the crowd, stepping up on the pile of crates in the courtyard, "You must all be wondering what the hell is going on, after all you ain't with your normal teachers, but stay calm and all will be explained."

The bustling crowd of four hundred odd porcelains quieted down.

"So, you have all gathered here today to do some training with a weapon of your choice. Everyone in the Guild knows there way around one of these," he announced, pointing down to the crates he stood upon, "You'll be forced to pick one of these and if none of them work for you; well... you better hope you have a good art," the teacher finished, with a somewhat ominous undertone, "Before all of that, let's do some introductions; my name is Victor Crezk and I teach Class 1-A. And this idiot over here," Victor said, pointing back to the half-asleep teacher behind him, "is Lanyon Pierce who teaches Class 1-B. Most of you here are gonna be in Classes 4 to 2 which is okay; after all the average individual with capacity of joining the Guild is Class 4."

"Vic-vtor!" Lanyon shouted from the fence he was perched on again, only now getting up from his beauty sleep, "What d-did ya' say..."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Nothing, Lanyon; wake up and go help me with this, or I'll report you to the Guild for miscon-"

"No! n-no... don't d-do that..."

After a short while of fumbling around the courtyard and taking down the piles of crates and opening them, the selection of weapons finally began. And with that, Daniel finally realised what his teacher had meant about the complex weapons. All but a few had the simple ones. And those who had the complex weapons, were granted permission to wield them, no questions asked. One of them, Daniel recognised; the person he befriended earlier: Sun, now wielding a large decorated spear which he had overheard being called a partisan. Before he could even approach him, Daniel was suddenly stopped and grabbed by his teacher, Lanyon.

"Come here; it's time for you to be an example..."

While he was being carried away by the teacher against his well and not even given the time to protest, before finally getting loose of his grip and following him normally, he caught many a stare by the other porcelain, specifically one, who preceded to bump into him and whisper the words "artless bastard" into his ears before disappearing into the crowd, snickering. It was surprising for Daniel, after all he didn't expect the news of his 'condition' to spread so quickly and being bullied here of all places had taken him aback as well; but it was nothing he wasn't used to. After all, he had to endure over a decade of that and worse back home. As he was finally stopped by his teacher and pulled aside, he could finally ask,

"What do you mean, an example?"

"Everyone's going to get some personal and public training, and they're going to need some... well... motivation."

"And?"

"Well we are going to have two porcelains fight and... well... it would be good practise for you and the other and-"

"What's the caveat?"

"The other person is known for their outbursts and hatred of people like you, so you might end up in a bad shape and-

"Fine." Daniel agreed grudgingly, "I'll do it. Just let me know who I'm facing and what weapon they're using."

"Good to see we're on the same page," Lanyon responded, relieved, before calming and continuing, "His name’s Esther Havash"

"A girl's name?"

"Itsa' long story for another day. He wields a great-sword and a short dagger which is more like a wedge of iron. With an attack he usually baits a reaction from the target such as a parry then follows it up with the dagger when the enemy is left wide open."

"Wait. Then how do I get a hit in and not follow his tactic?"

"There are two ways. Follow the bait he set but do not elicit the response he is wanting."

"And the other?"

"Simply strike first."

* * *

"Okay, okay... quiet down, quiet down..." Victor commanded, once again on the pile of, now empty, crates, looking down upon the porcelains wielding their weapon of choice, "For now, we ask you only to practise and find your style with the weapon you wield, or hire a tutor or gain guidance from others if you can. But first, we are going to do some mock battles before the lesson ends, to gain immediate advice from Guild Members like ourselves. First, we shall have a demonstration and then you can organise your own."

After the announcement, the crowd began to separate around the area in front of the crates, revealing two porcelains in the centre, readying their weapons. One, was Esther, the notorious noble who is rumoured to have once killed a commoner, rousing up the crowd with taunts and gestures, and, to Daniel's surprise, the one he had met just a few minutes beforehand. On the other side, was a random commoner, glaring down at his opponent, fully concentrated on him.

"So, let's get something straight," Lanyon said in a solemn tone, suddenly standing between the pair and talking directly to them, "No killing. No serious harm. Surrenders are accepted immediately, no questions asked; if this is violated, you will be punished severely. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir" responded Daniel, still eyeing his opponent, who had obviously not listened to a word the teacher had said.

"Do you understand, Mr Havash."

"Oh, yes, yes... of course I do" he blankly answered, flustered.

"Now that is all under control... I'll start when I say begin."

"Yes, sir," the pair responded, this time in unison, to the blatant annoyance of Esther.

The teacher stepped back and joined Victor on the crate pile.

"3"

The opponents readied their weapons. One wielded a giant great-sword, and the other a large curved blade.

"2"

The crowd finally went silent, with most of its attention being focused on the noble boy.

"1"

All except two. A beautiful boy with flowing white hair, aggressively staring down the commoner, and a small brown headed girl, eyeing him desperately.

"Begin!"

And... silence. Nothing was happening. Neither party dared move or attack. They were simply judging each other, and calculating their best move. So this is the kid I have to face, thought Esther, amused, is this some kind of joke; that blade is too big for him to even swing it and it's obvious he hasn't had any training with it. This'll be an easy catch. From the looks of it, he's left handed, so I'll swing from my left too. Because of the position of the blade he'll either fail or succeed to parry the attack: either way, he will be left wide open for my dagger. His eyes aren't even focused on where my right hand is, just complete concentration on the big, distracting blade that he's going to try and mitigate. This is no place for someone like you, artless bastard. Go back to your farm, and continue that disgusting, inbred family of yours. Good riddance.

On the other hand, Daniel was calm and thoughtless with nothing else in his mind but pure focus on the blade. In reality, he had noticed his dagger; after all, Lanyon tipped him off to it. But instead of readying the reaction that he wanted, Daniel simply kept collecting and readied his blade, his katana. With his dominant hand nearest to the guard of the sword, and his right hand helping guide it, he formed a neutral pose; his katana pointed towards Esther, arms pointing inwards, and legs somewhat spread out for easy adjustment and positioning of his body. With it he could form both a defensive and offensive form, though an offensive would be more ideal. And at last, Daniel's opponent had taken the first strike.

Sweeping from the left and behind his shoulder to build momentum in his swing, Esther let the sword guide his attack, pulling his body weight down towards his blade, and more specifically his opponent's left hand side; with that Daniel's hand would be most likely sprained or damaged if he tried anything but a parry, which he would then deliver a retribution but fall victim to a side jam of his dagger. Yet, Daniel persevered in his pose. Nothing changed, not even his footing. For Esther, it seemed he was either too frightened to move a muscle or couldn't even move his blade quick enough. The great-sword was finally in full swing, and now Esther had to keep his form and let the weight of the-

The ground shook. Esther didn't know what had happened; he, a noble of all people, had no clue what happened. Until, he saw his entire body crouched over, his hands twisted, mangled and broken, and great-sword broken into chunks and shards that scattered all over the make-shift arena. For the regular person, it was too quick to see or even comprehend, but for the Guild Members watching, it had left them in shock. As quick as a lightning bolt, Daniel had raised his katana into the air and propelled himself towards Esther for a forward attack, as soon as he saw that Esther's weight began to shift. Putting his right foot forward to gain distance so the attack would reach, he struck down the blade in an instant, with the might and a boom as powerful as thunder itself. In the few seconds of idleness between the attack and the processing of what had happened, the crowd and anyone watching were left in utter surprise and could only view what had passed and be left wondering for all of a good few minutes. However, a few minutes was not enough for the next attack.

Daniel raised his blade again from the remains of his opponent's great-sword, and readied another strike; this time it wasn't aiming for the weapon; rather it was Esther's head. And, with only a few milliseconds to say goodbye to his life, Esther's eyes glared at him, wide and bloodshot, as Daniel's lightning struck twice.