Our collective consciousness tends to depict Immortals as stoic creatures. Even in front of a catastrophe, an Immortal would keep their cool. When We the word Immortal comes to our mind, we picture a heavenly being who won’t distress over the earthly things which condition the little swallow human emotions.
But this time, the case wouldn’t apply.
As Helial reported to the King what had happened in front of the entry of the Infernal Seagulls Dungeon, Caesar began to tremble with anger. An unheard of fury mounted his body.
“Those slobs dare step on Orman soil?” Caesar spoke lead heavy words. The towering range of the King of Orma sent a shiver down Helial’s spine.
Helial had always seen Caesar measure his every word. Judging by the King’s expression though, the Undead must have pushed themselves beyond any limit. Caesar clenched his jaw. Above the bridge of his eagle nose, his eyes were burning with savage anger. They seemed to be about to leak fire any second now. Things would appear to be even worse than Helial thought.
Caesar slightly quieted down. He gave a sigh and turned towards Helial, a distressed frown on his face. “If Pseudonym hadn’t stepped in, what would the outcome have been?” the King asked his only disciple.
Helial joined his hands and respectfully bowed. Helial didn’t really loved those gesture which, he thought, seemed pretty useless. However, he realized that would be a wise moment to show the King some face and let him calm down.
“A Fourth Phase Undead with a Third Phase team makes an opponent a First Phase party can face,” Helial declared after a brief pause.
Caesar looked dissatisfied with his pupil’s answer. He turned on Helial and began to walk down the corridor of the throne hall, lapsed into silence.
“Here in Orma, your name is still tarnished by the awful reputation Humans brought inside our walls,” Caesar started off after a few seconds. Apparently, he had seen it fitting to ignore Helial’s answer to his question. “Orma is home to a significant number of Humans, but this minority is deeply hated.”
Helial resolved for a solemn nod.
It was indeed true.
Human and Goblin were not the same allied nations as before nor did Orma lack Human inhabitants. However, they were mostly beggars living down the Suburran areas where they slept on the edge of the road and roam through the neighbour in search of a loaf of bread sto steal. Otherwise, they were salves serving the most powerful men in Orma. No Human had the chance of stepping down the path of success. No Human could hope to take part in the Senate nor be appointed to any high position. Even the Guild of Life and Death, who boasted the widest open-mindedness in Orma, had no Human in its ranks.
Ever since Helial had become the King’s pupil, his every action had been observed as if through a microscope. In the eyes of the Goblin population, his decisions would set the standards by which to judge the Human race itself. Despite his not making any sense, it was just the way it was.
If Helial should make a mistake, his whole race would have been labelled. On the bright side, this also meant he had a chance to win back the reputation Humans had across the city-state.
“You need to earn a good name, fame, and power,” Caesar said solemnly. “As the rest of the world, in Orma everything comes with power. You can do as many Mana oaths as you please, but if you don’t prove to be charismatic and powerful enough, no one will side with you. Ever.”
“It sounds like you already have a plan,” Helial tasted the waters.
Caesar shortly nodded as he hinted that Helial approached him.
°°°
Helial was running at breakneck speed across the forest. The green canopy of trees flashed by his sides.
From time to time, a sunray peered through the thick foliage shielding out the sun to shed its light on Helial’s face and pierce his eyes.
“If you want to build yourself a reputation, Colosseum is your quickest way. The Orman games are but warriors matches. We have three different competition types; 1v1, relay race 3v3 and a group competition. Step on the Colosseum and build yourself a name. Snatch the credit you earn for away from the hands of the audience. Once you reach this goal, you will become member of the Clan of the Heavenly Eagle without facing any resistance.” These were the words spoken by Caesar when he suggested his pupil how to build himself a name which will grant him the respect of the Orman population.
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Helial dodged the tree branches as he looked about himself in uneasiness.
He was running through a forest set fifty kilometres away from the Orman walls. That is to say, he was running through the areas surrounding the Capital. After the latest events, it sure wasn’t the best place to feel safe in.
Obviously, he hadn’t reached as far as that following his own will, but that of Iblis. He didn’t know exactly why. However, he knew the Devil well enough to be sure he had his reasons to do so.
Most likely, his master had some special training in mind. Luckily, he might be already getting ready to convey to his disciple the special teaching of the day.
With a surge of thought, Helial cast a glance at his Soul.
The kid with the black bangs was sitting on a chair which was visibly too big for him. He was swinging his legs back and forth. In his hands he held a voluminous book twice as big as his head. Judging from the torn out binding, it must have been some ancient tractate.
Helial nodded to himself in satisfaction. He could not be any more proud to follow the advice of one of the most terrifying creatures in the whole universe. He was looking forward to finding out which tyrannical technique he would learn at any second, so he gazed at the book title.
What he saw left him speechless.
Peng!
A tree branch hit the utter baffled Helial in the face.
Iblis gazed slightly up and caught sight of Helial. The boy had just rolled on the ground in a summersault that got him to land on his face.
With a wave of a hand, Iblis put the book on the table. Now, the title that had just upset Helial was visible.
“The ancient art of tagliatelle,” the title went.
What tyrannical technique?! Helial was trembling with fear. Unfortunately for him, each of the people he had in his life would constantly try to attempt on his life somehow.
His train of thought was immediately interrupted.
In front of Helial materialized the greatest Devil ever existed. A distressed frown on his face. Iblis quietly checked Helial out. He began to walk around him as he gazed at his disciple intently.
“You haven’t given Caesar a real answer. But you will answer me. Do you know what would have happened, if you had to face those Undead?”
Iblis repeated his question, his eyes squinted.
“Our chances of winning would have been the lowest. We would have probably needed to sacrifice…”
SLAP!
Helial’s was slapped on a cheek by one of the kid’s little hands. In a flash, Helial crashed against the string of trees behind his back.
You lost 75,234 HP!
Iblis began to slowly walk towards his disciple, who lay lifeless on the ground. His neck was twisted unnaturally. He grabbed Helial by the tunic and injected a full discharge of Mana in his body.
Your body is still intact! A Mana Injection brings you back to life!
“HAAAAA!” Helial deeply inhaled and gasped for air. This was his first death and coming back to life. It was an awful experience indeed. His stomach was just as upset as he was.
“I want to know what you should have done in that situation, with a Fourth Phase warrior and a Third Phase team to face?” asked Iblis as a dash of anger rushed through his body.
Helial gave him a puzzled look. He pondered for a few instants then said: “I should have focused on long-term safety, we would have ru-“
BANG
Iblis flung Helial’s body to the ground. A large crater formed due to the impact. The web of cracks opening up under his body left little doubt on his chances of survival. No one could survive a blow like that one.
Once again, Iblis brought Helial back to life and stared at him in the eyes.
“What the fuck…” Helial cursed at Iblis’ folly.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Iblis went on hitting Helial to death for several hours. The boy was killed and brought back to life relentlessly.
The sun glided down and hid behind the mountains as the sunset sky turned into crimson.
Helial was covered in blood from head to toe. As he was resurrected again, a ranging fury mounted his body. The kid’s black hair stand out against the crimson sky. Quite a noble, authoritative shade was added to his usually frightening look.
On the bright side, if there was one even, it was that Iblis’ punishment had now come to an end. He was now sitting in midair, cross-legged, with a solemn expression on his face. The Aura exuded by his body corroded the surrounding vegetation yet spared Helial. Obviously, if Iblis hadn’t been refraining his Aura, Helial would have been turned into ashes.
Having expired slowly, Iblis opened his eyes. “Heed these words.”
Helial’s eyes were fixed on the Devil as he waited for him to speak. The Devil’s piercing glare burnt his skin. He couldn’t but ponder why he would have been punished so harshly.
Did he give an incorrect answer? It would be a possible reason, if the kid let him answer more than once before killing him repeatedly.
Bring someone back to life as Iblis had done… An ordinary person would have needed at least a full hour to help someone come back to life. However, it would only take Iblis a couple of seconds. Thus he punished his disciple.
“The Soul is the temple of your body, the very motor of the form in which Mana materializes. Every thought derives from Mana. Will derives from Mana. Everything has their origin in Mana,” Iblis said. “Up to today, I ignored one fault of your Soul because I truly didn’t believe it would make an obstacle in such a brief term. But now listen to me, Shithead; Souls varies with grades. The higher your Soul’s grade, the better it reflects its owner’s very essence.”
Helial squinted. He tried to grasp what the Devil was talking about, naturally failing.