Chapter 3: Priston's First Practice
On a lawn small outside the Empire's walls, two people can be seen facing each other, holding wooden swords, watching the sky as the sun moves away from the horizon. One was a bulky middle-aged man, Marcus, and one was a little guy half the former's size, Priston. Small birds are chirping and singing sweet melodies. Of course, these birds are not ones that can be seen from Earth. These small birds are of yellow color and lightning bolts are engraved in their wings. They are called Buzzwings by the people of this world. They fly at a very fast speed and sometimes leaves some sort of electric spark as they flap their wings. Priston was astonished by those strange creatures. He's never made it past the door by his own and the only place that can be called outdoor that he's ever ventured, by his own, is the pigpen. As you can expect the pigs there are also not normal. They have green fur and has some small red spots on their bodies. It does not look disgusting, but you can call it bizarre, at least. At first glance, you can already tell that they're poisonous. But that is not the case. These hogs are actually very tasty. Their meat is very delicious. There is a very low amount of fat in their meat considering it is pork. The meat produced is marbled similarly to that of Wagyu beef. The quote 'You can't judge a book by its cover' really applies in this context. Looking at them, Priston starts to drool. Meat! Meat is something that is rarely fed to him. He thought of how much meat he can eat if he becomes strong one day. Then he cast that off his mind and turned to his new master, Mr. Marcus.
"Master, I am ready for your teachings!" Priston said in a very gleeful manner. Hitting his chest with his fist.
"You don't have to be too formal. But that's still good. It is my first time to have an apprentice. Uhmm... Put down your sword and follow my steps." He planted his foot to ground at the distance that is wider than his shoulder and then bent his knees. He lowered his body while extending his back backward by a few degrees while maintaining it straight. He closed his fist in both hands, curling every finger until the tip touches the palm. He extended his left leg slightly forward then put his fists above his waist then shouted.
"Roooooaaaaaarrrr"
He swung his right fist forward while stepping his right leg forward at the same time. He then pulled the right arm back to where it was before the punch.
'Psiiiii'
Air has condensed itself around his arms which caused some sort of wind to gush out into the surrounding.
"You can do it with me. This technique where you clench your fist and strike is a very strong basic skill used by every martial practitioner around the world. Even the strongest gods use this kind of technique to fight. Although it is a very primitive art, it is still something humans has been endowed with, thus after thousands of years have passed this technique has been refined to the fullest and has made to become one of the strongest techniques. This technique is called punching. You can start now. The stronger the roar the cooler it is."
Priston is dumbfounded by this. He cannot stop himself from cursing this so-called 'master' of his. How can a simple punch be called a technique used by gods? And what's with the roar thingie? Is it really that effective? I've seen a lot of martial arts movies and they do this thing a LOT of times. Maybe it kind of works in this world for some reason, I guess?
'Do you think of me as a fool? I've known this skill for the rest of my life. I've even punched a few of my classmates back in high school. Can you have anything like 'Sky Breaking Stone Fist' or something? A punch is a godly skill? Really?'
'I'd look dumb. Man. Forget it, I'll just do it.'
"Master? I'm afraid this technique cannot even hurt those little piggies in the pen. How can you teach me such low leveled technique?" Priston frowned as he looked at his master with pitiful eyes. He didn't think that this knight is actually a weak person.
"Priston my student, this is only a basic technique. Once you have mastered this stance and technique you can change it however you want. Techniques such as 'Heaven Splitting Stone Fist' is just a variation of this technique. Just try it out for a few thousand times and I assure you that you will be a lot stronger." Marcus explained in a scholarly manner. He looked like one of those Buddhist monks, full of wisdom and enlightenment.
'He's not wrong with that. I guess I'll just try it out. If master it in a day I'm gonna show this off later.'
Marcus bid him goodbye and made his way out of the field. He still has his job at the shop and some patrolling at night. Priston did what Marcus has taught him. He planted his right foot to the ground first then his left foot a little longer than a shoulder away. He slightly slanted his shoulder as he lowered his body while maintaining a straight back. He then put his fists above his waist and let out a jab. He then continued and used his other fist.
"Psiiii"
'Maybe I should try letting out some roar too?'
"Roar."
He wanted it to sound like that of a strong person's but the way it came out sounds cute. He's still around 2 to 3 years old after all. Rather than having the strength of a lion's roar, it can only be considered as a cat's purr.
"Man, that's kind of embarrassing. I'll just continue to do it for now until I get used to it I guess." He blushed. He focused his thoughts and stopped doing some roars. He's glad that nobody's there to see him do some embarrassing stuff. He thought of a lot of things like maybe he can try practicing the 18 Lohan Fists that he saw on the internet or maybe the Taichi Fist he saw on TV. He's getting very excited. He's never been this frantic about something before. He never tried doing some martial arts before as military training for students has been dismissed by the President.
He's been at it for a few hours now. His body is drenched with sweat. After a few more repetitions, his arms went numb.
"Oh damn. I'm such an irresponsible athlete. I did a strenuous routine without loosening my body yet. The coach will get angry for me with this if I were still in the tennis club. My body is still small and I can't do strenuous activities right now. Maybe I'd just do about 30 minutes of practice every day. Too much of these will stunt my growth. I don't want to be like my past self. I wanna be as tall as Mike."
The James before can already be considered tall back in the village. It can be considered that Asians are definitely shorter than other races. The people from the Philippines are smaller than other Asian people in terms of height. Although shorter in height, these people have better build than the others and well-endowed on other stuff, too.
Right now, Priston is just a small boy. His body's composition later cannot be calculated yet. But one thing is for sure. He can only outgrow his previous self. His hair is blonde, eyes are green, and skin is white, which means that he is from a race that can grow bigger than other races if proper nutrition is given.
'I don't want to be 174 cm and 60 kg again. I want to be at least 190 cm and 75 kg. I want to tower everyone with my height. I wanna be a walking monolith'
Being a big and strong person is like the American Dream for men. No one wants to be small. It can be effeminate for a man to be short and thin. Only the one who dominates all can be considered as the 'alpha'.
Afterward, Priston went inside to take a bath. His steps are small and his body is tired. It took a few minutes for him to get into the tub. After the bath, he felt that his strength has grown. His body is refreshed. He saw that the tub is filled with dark-colored liquid that resembles oil.
'Wait, these things aren't here before! Where did these things come from? Maybe this came from my body. I read in some cultivation novels that if the body has undergone some sort of change within, the body will expel irregularities in the form of black liquids. Maybe my body doesn't have those yet because I'm still too young that's why it's not completely black.'
This drew a smirk to his face. He felt happy because now he has made his first step towards cultivation.
"Wait for me, Demon King! After I've grown stronger, I'll take your head off and give it to the Emperor. Maybe he'd give me one of the princesses to marry!"
He shouted. Nina, who was in the other room responded to him.
"Young master! I think you've eaten too much sugar again! You're getting pretty hyper lately." Nina shouted. She's pretty tamed now. She's pretty old now and she understood that it would be best now to aggravate this dude's parents. She went back to what she's doing after reminding the boy not to get too noisy.
"Sorry! I'll stay quiet now. Haha." He blushed a little bit. It was quite embarrassing.
'I almost forgot that this girl has a bad temperament and doesn't like noise. Even though I'm called a young master now, I still can't rule out the fact that this girl is a pure sadist. Even though she said that in a gentle manner, I can still feel my hair standing. What a scary girl. I hope the best for your future husband and children. Don't die young, kids. Also, stay away from the leash. Please note the leash. You won't like having a leash on your neck.'
. . . .
7 years have passed. Priston has grown taller. He's now about 144 cm and 35 kg. He's really tall considering his age of 9 years old. His master Marcus has broken through level 7 and now a knight at level 9. Great knights are not rare. Every large city has at least about 40 to 50 of them. The capital city, Hereros, alone, where the Emperor's castle is located, has more than 150 of them. Although they are not rare, their strengths are needed by the empire and they are superior to normal Knights. More importantly, Marcus is has a bloodline and bloodline users can be stronger than others. He does not have a high rank within the walls but outside the wall, he is one of the most respected people. He is one of the few people to be given the authority to mobilize troupes to patrol the vicinity. The business is now being handled by Nina, who has also ranked up into a level 5 knight. At the age of 23, it can be said that her talent is pretty respectable, considering that she wasn't enrolled in any knight school. Her techniques can only be considered basic but at the very least, she can protect herself from low-leveled beasts. On the other hand, due to him restraining his practice hours, Priston has never made it past level 2. Although the level is not that high, only a few people have reached level 1 at the age of 9. Their bodies cannot support the amount of internal energy and mana yet, as they were too young still. Priston is an exception. He has already started cultivation at the age of 2. Although kept minimal, a 7-year cultivation time is already pretty long. If you can't level up by a level before then, you can only be considered thrash. This is an age where other children cannot even stand and walk properly yet.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Marcus and Priston are in a meeting right now with other elders of the association. They are old people, mostly mages at the level of 8 to 14, and only a few of the people among them are knights. This meeting was assembled due to the appearance of a Great Sage of level 19. He is Trepolos Hali, a Storm Sage. An existence that summons great winds and lightning within the battlefield. They are priced greatly by rulers due to their extreme expertise in large-scaled attack spells. They are one of the most vicious magic casters. He is already a mid-stage Great Sage which is very rare to find. In small cities, there can only be around 2-3 level 15 and above Sages while there usually are at least 10 level-15 and above Sages within the Capital. This guest is among those 10 Great Sages. His reason for coming is to visit his brother. A level 14 late-staged Thunder Mage named Pedro Hali. They are named as the 'Thunder and Storm Hali Brothers' due to their distinct specialties. They have made a name on the battlefield when they slaughtered almost a tenth of the total mages at the other end sweeping them in one go which gave them the title the 'Twin Typhoons'.
Trepolos started a school called Trepolos Warlord School. As its name indicates, it is a school specialized in cultivating young individuals into warlords. He likes to pursue knowledge and peace. I have read a novel back then which says 'It is lonely to be peerless' which applies really well with this situation. Due to his strength, nobody dares to talk to him in fear of being smitten to death. This is the reason why he initiated to open a school. To be able to interact with different people. On the other hand, Perdue is someone who likes war and battles. Although his cultivation level is lower, his fighting power can already be considered to be around the level of a Great Sage. The only thing that's been holding them both back from being the best duo under the transcendent level is their lack of Bloodline. This is why the two of them assembled this meeting.
'Marcus also told them that I have a good backing and some pretty decent potential, so they let me in the meeting.'
"My name is Trepolos, a level 19 Great Sage and the brother of Pedro. I believe that you already are aware of this. I guess everyone is here now. I shall start with the first topic of this meeting." Trepolos started the meeting as he glanced around the room.
Trepolos looks like what everyone can picture out when they think of a Great Sage. He's got a Wizard's hat, a long cane, and wears a black leather robe that goes way below his foot covering his entire body. His face hinted a vast amount of intelligence and wisdom. He looks like his age is about 90 but he said that he's only 80 years old. He kinda looks like Mer**n or Gan**lf from the movies, a walking library. His brother Pedro, on the other hand, looks around 40 to 45 years old. Pretty young for a Level 14 mage, but don't be deceived. This guy is already 68 years old. This is due to his exercising frequently. His strength has already reached that of a level 7 Knight. He is a genuine battle freak. He wears a war helm and a black armor with hints of silver and gold as highlights. In his hand is a mace with sharp spikes on the end, quite the opposite of his brother Gan**lf, I mean Trepolos. He doesn't even look similar to any Mage. He looks like someone you would fear to fight in a close-ranged battle or any other battles.
"Our first agenda is to select 15 people to be part of our bloodline organization. As I have counted. . . there are only 14 people here. We are lacking one more person." His hoarse voice ringed throughout the room. Trepolos is not aware of the existence of Priston. He thought that this kid is only here to see sightsee. How could a child even know anything about this cardinal event? They started right away and forgot to inform him about this.
"Ehem." He coughed. Not that he's got something within his system, it's just some sort of mannerism done by those who've got something important to say. You know, the rituals done by boomers. " Brother, I believe that we are already complete. There are 15 people here." He looked at Priston with gentle eyes. "I am sorry that my brother has offended you young sir Farlake." Despite him looking like this, he is an easygoing person. He knows that having a bad temperament will lead him to no good.
"You mean this young man right here is part of our organization." He was taken aback for a moment. He steadied his gaze towards the child and snorted a bit, not even hiding his disdain. His age and experience made him realize that children of this age must not be taken seriously. He knows that kids like this are mischievous. " I hope that you take this matter seriously, brother. This is important to us and you know this very well. We can't just fit in a brat just because we are lacking a person. This kid doesn't even seem to comprehend a speck of mana, not to mention that he is still too young." Trepolos grunted. He is not always this kind of person, but due to circumstances, he cannot let anything mess this thing up. This is a very important thing for him and his brother.
"Brother, this young sir is willing to help us right now. Did you remember the crater at the edge of the forest at that time? The black one? That is a legendary grade spell called 'Starfall', right? It was his parents who made that. Can you still say that this young sir is not worthy of being a part of our organization? " Pedro calmly stated.
"But can you actually know if it is the truth? I can even say I birthed the emperor and no one will know if it is true or not because the queen mother and the late emperor has died already. His parents are not even here." Trepolos slammed his hand to the table. He is starting to get furious about what his brother is behaving. It is really a ridiculous statement. How can anyone know if it was the truth when there's no one around who has seen it first hand?
"My man here Marcus is the one that's been entrusted by the boy's parents. If you do not believe the first evidence of this young man's worth then the second evidence will do." Pedro said in a serene voice.
"What is it then? Tell me." Trepolos settled down a little bit. He became interested about the second sham evidence his brother is gonna say.
"Why not you look at his cultivation level?"
Pedro looked smug as he said that. He grinned a little bit showing a set of shining white teeth. There is no toothbrush or toothpaste in this world so how can his teeth be that white? The answer is magic. Magic has always been the answer. If you can't fly then why not use magic? Magic is a mysterious force. As long as you understand the principle of how one magic works it will become easier to research more magic similar to this. This is a reason why most mages dared not to stray from their original magical path.
Trepolos stared at Priston for a few seconds then activated his magic field to sense the power of Priston. It is hard to notice a warrior's aura at an early stage if you do not have a strong sensing ability. After sensing Priston's power, he was taken aback by this child's potential.
"You are not even 10 yet you have strength stronger than a level 1 knight. What a terrifying potential. If you go to my school, I'll assure you that I will protect you like a precious gem. You are indeed qualified to become one of my bloodline inheritors. I believe you have already reached level 2 a few days ago, right?" Trepolos said in glee. He did not expect to see a genius outside of the walls. Not only is it a genius but a once in a millennium type of genius. Even the Emperor's successors will be put to shame by this child's potential.
'Man, that's quick. Who would have thought that this guy will change his stand right away?'
Priston nodded his head without saying anything. It is a complacent way of answering that he learned from reading a lot of novels from Q**an. The one who speaks less gets to take away the princess.
'Yeah. Lick my feet normie. Everyone will acknowledge the greatness of this young lord one day. Wait till I give you the head of the Demon King.' Priston smirked internally. He did not want to show this side of him to others. He wants to be remembered as someone honorable.
"You can easily be a transcendent at the age of 50! It is my pleasure to impart my bloodline to you, young sir." His view has widened. He's never seen someone with this level of talent.
"I don't think so. I can reach the Transcendent realm before 20. I'm not some normie like you, simp." Is what Priston wants to say. If it was his friend back on Earth, he would most definitely say this but not right now. This is his chance to have a good bloodline. He dared not to offend a great sage. He knew that potential can only be of use if one has life.
"Thank you for your bountiful remarks, good sir. With your guidance and help, I might be able to do so." Priston bowed his head and put his right hand to his chest where his heart is located. This shows some kind of respect done by those who are of lower standing.
"There is no need for you to bow like that. We are of equal standing now. After this, we will become brothers for life. You'll have an 80-year-old brother. How fun is that?" Trepolos joked for a bit showing that he is an agreeable guy, different from what he showed before.
"So let us move to the next agenda. Brother Trepolos here does not have enough Life stones to be used. 2 out of 3 Life stones that both of us have amassed from the past 10 years have been stolen last night. I don't have any clue as to where we can get another. We can only go for the one who stole the stones." Pedro honestly said. This could be a very big issue for them. They could waste a lot of time and resources just to find another replacement. He showed a Black stone that is filled with dark clouds. It looks ethereal, like some kind of ghost is sealed in there. The truth is there is actually a ghost that is stored in there and it is a lightning type ghost.
"I've got some stones here. Wanna see if it fits the bill?" Preston suggested.
"The AUDACITY!" Strong energy erupted as a man slammed his foot to the ground. Cracks formed at the floor yet his foot is completely fine. The stomp is infused with internal energy. "This is not some kind of game, kid. If you wanna play, go play somewhere else. We don't need your marbles here." Khalil, a burly giant of a man said with a mocking tone. He is a friend of Trepolos and a level 12 Great Knight and an instructor in Trepolos Warlord School.
"I'm sorry, young sir. Knight Khalil is a man who is always honest with what he says. He doesn't think before speaking at all. Can you show us the stones, mister Farlake sir?" Trepolos cleared the name of Knight Khalil before Priston in order to avoid conflict later on.
"Hey, Headmaster! What the heck man? You taking his side now cause he's got some good potential? How 'bout the years we spent together as colleagues ey?" Khalil Protested.
"Sirs, this is the two stones I want to show you." He took out two stones of different colors and characteristics. One is a green stone with a leaf engraved at the center part and the other is a brown metallic stone with sparks flying inside. Both of the stones look very enticing. They are very good to the eyes, unlike the one that is shown by Pedro to them.
"Where did you get these young sir? The first one is an alchemy stone. This stone can only be made by putting a magic stone within cauldron where potions are made. It needs to experience and absorb a large amount of essence from at least 100 different herbs. This is so awesome!" Trepolos exclaimed. This is definitely better than capturing a wandering ghost and inserting it into a magic stone.
"The other one is a blacksmith's magic stone. A stone that has been cast then hammered for more than 100 times. This needs some tedious work. Only a master craftsman with at least a level of a transcendent realm expert can do this. A rare find. Where did you get this, kid?" Khalil who is also a blacksmith said these with widened eyes. He's been wrong about anything he thinks about this kid since the first second.
'Tremble before the might of this mighty being, simps. Mwahahahaha' This is what he's got in his brain. But his face showed nothing. He showed his facade up. A Perfect trickster. Even the best poker players cannot do this.
"This came from the pouch my parents have given me. They are important to me. This organization is also important to me, so I'll willingly agree to use these stones for the bloodline formation." Priston smiled.
" Everything is set now. I present to you this beast mark. This level 21 beast is called Thunderlord Earthen Grizzly. A very vicious beast that can only be seen at thunder's peak. Is there anyone of you that do not like this little teddy here?" Pedro looked serious now. It's not that beast marks are hard to find, but the fact that it is a level 21 beast that has the same property as the both of them, makes him quite wary of his surroundings.
No one responded. This shows that everyone clearly agrees that this monster is worthy of being a bloodline. After everything has been settled, they all went underground to start the ceremony.