Chương 112: Chapter 110: Revelations

"So, when are we leaving? I don't need a week to get my stuff," Thalion shouted into the silence after he had recovered for a few seconds, glaring defiantly at the ranks of nobles above him.

"Who are you?" the council leader asked, suddenly appearing in front of him, radiating enough power to make Thalion's knees buckle.

"I defeated that noble brat, so by logic I am a future holy warrior," Thalion responded, his head held high with a smile on his lips, grinning wider when he saw the council leader's face turn red.

"So this was your plan all along?" Princess Tahlytra asked with a frown, appearing in front of him with her guard.

"Well, kind of. I was confident I could at least win against some of the jerks here," he shrugged in response. Well, it had been a lot more of a gamble, but better to never admit it afterwards.

"Impossible! You're no servant—how can you be this good at blood-bending?" The council leader exclaimed in suspicion.

"I had a bleeding nose when I was young, you know. Always when it was cold outside, it just started running. Since then, I knew that bloodbending would be my path," Thalion mumbled, spouting nonsense he had just made up. A figure appeared before the princess and after a quick bow, began reporting.

"We found someone who claims to have seen the self-proclaimed holy warrior." The figure bowed deeper and handed her a crystal. When she touched it, a twenty-meter-wide screen appeared midair, displaying Thalion murmuring to himself while drawing a big smile out of blood on the end of one of his many messages. The guy who brought the crystal hadn't noticed him yet, but the council leader and the princess had recognized him instantly.

"You're the guy with the messages!" the council leader exclaimed in shock. Probably a bit embarrassed that they hadn't found out earlier too.

"Why didn't you tell me when we were talking yesterday?" The princess asked, a bit annoyed.

"Well, it would've been super weird if I just blurted it out," Thalion shrugged, trying to stay casual.

"So, when are we leaving for that giant golden palace?"

"Not bad," the princess laughed loudly.

"You were here inside these walls the entire time, while everyone searched for you outside. A guy from the slums managed to hide from the best warriors this city has to offer. Too funny." Soon after, Thalion found himself in a lounge where the other trial-takers were watching the arena, waiting for the calling to end. They all did a good job of ignoring him, and Thalion didn't mind—there was a bar and he grabbed himself a few skydivers. It had been a very eventful day, after all.

He kept drinking while watching the last fights. What happened next was a blur. After the final fight ended, Thalion was teleported alone to the Great Golden Palace by the princess's guard. This all happened without any talk. Maybe the guy was just bored. The hole situation was super weird. First he was teleported here in this room, and now they just teleported him away? The guard also just snipped with his fingers while saying, "Off you go to the holy palace."

The guy must be a lot more powerful than he had expected. The princess didn't come with him because she probably had to visit other cities on the planet. At least that was what Thalion and Rylak told themselves. The other nobles would arrive in a week, which gave him some time to get stronger. He appeared in a giant hall, so vast he couldn't even see the ceiling. Many golden pillars stretched high into the sky, covered in runes burning with power.

"Holy shit, we made it!" Rylak cheered.

"So, we never talked about it, and I know you saved my life, but... can you upgrade my body even more before leaving, and do you really leave after that ritual?"

"I'll leave after the ritual. Then you're on your own," Thalion replied while looking around. He was way too confused with the current situation and hadn't fully listened to everything Rylak had said. He spotted multiple figures in the distance. Shouldn't someone be here to greet him? To pass the time, he sat down and continued his soul cultivation until someone arrived. There was no point in walking in one direction, as the distance was just too great.

It would take days until he would reach the next solid object, which was one of the golden pillars. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. It only took a few minutes. Then a golden man appeared before him—his skin, irises, clothes, and even teeth were golden.

"My name is Nivrax, and I will be your teacher," Nivrax introduced himself without any emotion. Standing tall before Thalion.

"These are your chambers," he added as they teleported to a massive room, larger than most houses, filled with everything one could desire. Aside from the bed and other furniture, multiple magic circles glowed on the ground. It should be mentioned that Thalion hadn't the chance to say anything to the weird guy. If he could, he might have complained about the forced teleportation. He had found out that getting teleported around by others announced was something he really didn't like.

"These circles will speed up your cultivation, and those are for teleportation—they lead to the training halls for you youngsters," Nivrax continued in a harsh tone.

"Okay, thanks. When are we starting?" Thalion asked, unsure how to address the man and struggling to understand what was happening. Best to start with the cultivation that was at least something he was good at. A moment ago, Thalion had been watching the calling. Now, he found himself dealing with this guy who seemed utterly oblivious to social cues.

"It will start right now, of course," Nivrax said, and a moment later, they appeared on a giant platform where hundreds of people were training with different weapons. Unlike back in the tutorial, these individuals weren't just training on their own—they had masters guiding them. Groups practiced with swords, short swords, daggers, heavy weapons like hammers, and more. After a swordform was complete, the masters were teleporting around, giving advice to the figthers.

"So, which weapon do you choose?" Nivrax asked a moment later, his question directed at a still-dazed Thalion, who was trying to process the instant teleportation.

"I'll go with the sword," Thalion replied after recovering from the shock. This was perfect—he now had one or maybe even two years to become a competent swordsman. This training would be invaluable when he returned to the tutorial. These instructors could teach him techniques he'd never even imagined, and the thought of it sparked greed in his eyes. Instead of the impressive weapons everyone else used, Nivrax handed him a wooden stick, and the training began as the man unceremoniously smacked him over the head.

Well, it looks like he could forget about those masters helping him. Had this Nivrax messed something up, and training Thalion was his punishment? Nivrax was incredibly skilled at teaching—well, if you ignored the fact that he almost never spoke and occasionally hit him without warning. Nivrax was initially surprised by how bad Thalion was at swordsmanship, but that changed quickly. By the hour, Thalion improved.

The man showed him multiple forms of offense and defense, and by the end of the first day, Thalion learned more than he had in the entire tutorial with the help of the scroll. Nivrax was further surprised to learn that Thalion didn't really need sleep. After the first night, Thalion took only three hours off for meditation and even created a few more spirit veins. However, the next revelation shocked Nivrax even more—Thalion couldn't conjure any spells.

This inability landed Thalion in a class with many other students, where an old fellow lectured on how to conjure a fireball. Everything about this felt surreal to Thalion. A moment ago, he'd been standing in an arena fighting for his life, and now he was sitting in a classroom. No one paid him any attention, not even Nivrax. There was no camaraderie, no introductions—just learning. They didn't even talk to each other. What a creepy place, Thalion thought. While trying to gobble up as much knowledge as possible.

Despite all of Nivrax's efforts, Thalion couldn't manage to conjure a single fireball. Eventually, he let Rylak try, since the guy was now fully invested. He knew he'd be getting his body back soon and tried very hard to conjure a fireball, but Rylak failed too. To conjure a fireball, one had to form a rune and contract it at the right moment for the fireball to emerge. Whenever Thalion pressed the rune together, it collapsed, and his energy was gone.

It was completely different from swordsmanship, where Thalion made great progress with every passing hour. He could now switch seamlessly between offensive and defensive maneuvers. His attacks were quick and deadly—or as deadly as one could be with a wooden stick. On the fifth day, Nivrax introduced him to something called body tempering—or at least, that's what Thalion assumed it was. He was tasked with climbing a giant golden mountain, many kilometers high. The challenge?

With every stage, the pressure increased, as if a heavy weight were pressing down on his shoulders. By the third stage, Thalion was almost unable to move. Blood started running from his eyes and ears, but thanks to his control over blood, he managed to pull it back inside.

"Go! Temper my body more! Don't be such a loser—that's what you call pain?" Rylak ranted in his head, urging Thalion onward. This was easy for Rylak to say; he didn't feel the pain since Thalion was in full control of their shared body.

"Could you please keep it down for a bit?" Thalion sent back, annoyed. The pain was excruciating, but he refused to stop. He just hoped that someone—maybe Nivrax—would teleport him out if he got stuck on one of the stages.

"Go, go, go! I did a lot of climbing back in the slums, and you're struggling to reach the fourth stage of this mountain. Rylak taunted, clearly enjoying himself. Thalion was facing serious trouble. It took all his control to empower his body, and even then, blood began seeping out of his skin. The pressure on his bones and muscles was immense, almost as if his bones were starting to bend. After a few more agonizing steps, he fell to one knee and moments later, collapsed face-first onto the ground.

"Ah, this sucks," Thalion muttered through gritted teeth.

"Get up, you sore loser! How dare you bring such shame to my glorious body?" Rylak shouted in his head.

"Yeah, this body isn't working anymore. I've given it everything—I think we're stuck here," Thalion sent back in defeat.

"Really? Ah, shit. That sucks. But it doesn't seem like anyone else noticed us," Rylak replied, sounding confused. Which was offsetting since he might have cried in pain at some point. Just what was up with those people?