Chapter 49: CLICHE
Azrael looked around calmly.
He was back in the first class, right on his desk.
At the front, on the teacher’s platform, Sylvester stood, his eyes cold and distant.
He stood like he was ready to deliver another lecture instead of negotiating with a student he wanted to be his disciple.
Azrael shook his head slowly.
"Before we talk about this, I don’t plan on being anyone’s disciple," he said plainly.
Sylvester’s mouth, which was already opening to talk, stopped mid motion.
Then calmly, he shut them.
He furrowed his brows as he stared at Azrael.
"And why is that?" He asked.
There was no hostility in his voice, just the same calm he had always spoken with.
"I just don’t want anyone to restrict me with a weird requirement after I become their disciple," Azrael replied with a shrug.
It was like he was talking to his mate rather than a teacher.
Sylvester was taken aback by Azrael’s words, then a subtle smile graced his lips.
"You remind me of a younger me,’ he said, the smile disappearing entirely.
Azrael raised an eyebrow at Sylvester’s words.
"How is that?" He asked.
"Well, there used to be someone who asked me to be her disciple, but I always refused because I hated restrictions, just like you."
He seemed to gaze into the distance as he spoke.
"Do you know who that person was?"
[Seems like everyone on this planet is plain dumb, how does he expect you to know?]
The system asked with a facepalm and laughter emoji.
’Keep quiet,’ Azrael replied, still maintaining a calm exterior.
But even he found the question absurd.
"It was your mother, Lilura Malvorin."
Azrael’s eyes dimmed at the mention of that name.
His evaluation of Sylvester increased.
After all, for someone of Lilura’s level to ask Sylvester to be her disciple, Sylvester was definitely not an ordinary person.
"I understand how you feel about your freedom."
"Too bad my answer is not going to change even if you say that," Azrael replied with a sigh, cutting Sylvester off before he could continue.
Sylvester smiled.
Then the smile disappeared completely as he flickered into Azrael’s front.
"I am not setting any requirements, I only need someone that I can pass all my knowledge to," Sylvester said.
"Then your knowledge would contain some forbidden secrets, then because I know the secret, a group of powerful people would start chasing me, then I would need to find an artifact if I want to stop them," Azrael retorted with a heave, as if asking Sylvester who would fall for such a cheap trick.
[Classic cliche,]
The system said.
’I agree with you on this,’ Azrael replied, resting further into his chair.
Sylvester leaned backward.
"You are smart, I would give you that."
He turned back, and began taking careful strides towards the platform.
"But what makes you think I can’t force you to be my disciple here?"
His eyes flashed with a fierce glint as he glanced at Azrael.
Azrael smiled.
"You can try."
Azrael was not boasting, he just knew it was impossible to harm a heir of the Malvorin clan within it’s walls.
"Smart, over-confident, talented, dependent," Sylvester muttered.
"You are the perfect disciple."
Silence stretched between both of them for what felt like an eternity.
"Too bad you are not open for a master."
Azrael nodded
"Don’t worry, once the window is open, you will be my first choice," Azrael said.
Sylvester nodded.
In the next instant, a white light enveloped Azrael, an he vanished from the spot.
On the island in the second training ground, Zuriel and Valdren were still talking.
"So, you wish someone picked you, huh?" Valdren said with a smile that looked mocking.
Zuriel nodded.
"What’s wrong with that? Even though I don’t plan on accepting, at least, it is nice to know someone sees my talent," Zuriel replied.
Valdren nodded slowly.
"Considering how you lost to Azrael, even if they liked you, they would probably choose Azrael over you now."
Zuriel nodded.
"The next time we fight, I will go all out from the start."
As the words poured out of Zuriel’s lips, beams of light descended around him and Valdren.
The students were back.
"Okay, you can go to the next class now," Yvonne said, still pierced atop a tree.
The portal opened before them, its pitch dark aura pulling the surrounding air into itself.
The students entered without a shred of hesitation.
Especially Zephyr, whose face was all smiles as he jumped into the portal.
In the centre of the coliseum, Aiden stood there patiently.
He rested his back against his staff that pierced through the earth.
His eyes were half-closed.
"Aura training, now."
Without looking at them, or moving an inch, Aiden spoke.
The students were stunned by the suddeness.
Aiden had not even waited for them to settle in tne class.
But one of them did not hesitate.
Immediately he heard those words, he began channeling essence into his eyes, slowly.
It was Zephyr.
He was a push for the others.
As he started, they all joined in, and bubbles of separate spaces enveloped them.
’Seems like Zephry’s master was Aiden,’ Azrael concluded.
The way he had jumped into the portal, and how fast he answered Aiden now had sold him off.
But Azrael was surprised to see that nothing happened to him.
"You already mastered Aura, but I can’t teach you other things without the rest, so, you can go to the side and practice with some dummy constructs," Aiden said, noticing Azrael’s confusion.
’So, they were indeed watching us,’ Azrael thought.
He walked towards the constructs that Aiden had spoken about.
Each of them had different forms and weapons.
They were even divided into different tiers based on their power level.
Azrael strode among them, looking for the perfect one to pick.
From where he stood, Aiden also followed him with his eyes, although with subtlety.
Finally, Azrael stopped in front of a knight.
The e knight held a greatsword that was easily more than twice it’s size.
But that was not what shocked Aiden.
’Tier 5? Does he want to kill himself?’ Aiden mused.
But all that shock melted a
s Azrael pulled something from his core.
It was a golden construct that floated over a flat surface.
"I can finally test its power," Azrael muttered as he activated the training dummy.