After wandering the city for some time, everyone agreed to grab a meal at a restaurant Lorra had been talking about. As they made their way to the north side of Icidia, she kept speaking about with a very excited voice.
"You won't regret this," Lora assured, practically radiating with enthusiasm. "It's the best food in the entire city. Grandpa and Edvard always took me here whenever we visited. You could say it's the finest spot in town!"
Dian Long smirked, rolling his eyes. "Alright, alright, we get it. It's the best restaurant in the city."
Hu Zhao grunted, a hungry look on his face. "It better have good meat. I've had enough of Diss's cooking to last a lifetime."
Diss sighed, looking wounded. "Why do you have to be so harsh? I only started learning to cook recently, and Aiden's the one who made me do it!"
Alex, ever the pessimist, gave a dismissive wave. "Sounds like you've been living a real nightmare, Diss."
Diss nodded eagerly, his voice practically dripping with mock misery. "You have no idea."
By the time they reached the restaurant, the banter had softened, and they found themselves standing outside a rather curious-looking establishment. Aiden eyed the odd color scheme—green, black, and a hint of blue—painted across the front, which gave the building a strange charm.
But it wasn't just the colors. The sign above the door caught his attention. An eastern dragon was wrapped around a cooking pan, as if it were guarding a priceless treasure.
Hu Zhao immediately burst out laughing, pointing at the sign. "Bahahaha! Dian Long, is that your cousin guarding the pan? I didn't know dragons' greatest treasures were cooking utensils!"
Dian Long crossed his arms, a vein popping om his head. "And here I thought the best meal today would be tiger soup. Maybe I should offer the chef your hide."
Hu Zhao snorted. "Only if your cousin shows us the way—he's clearly got experience working the kitchen."
"Hah, maybe we'll find your family inside... being cooked," Dian Long shot back with a smirk.
Everyone laughed at their exchange, but Aiden's sensed something and his attention shifted to a figure in the window on the third floor. A well-dressed, elderly man with striking yellow eyes was looking down at them, his face kind and welcoming.
Aiden frowned, feeling a strange tension. The man waved, not at Aiden, but in their general direction. Confused, Aiden glanced behind him and noticed Alex staring at the old man with a mixture of dread and disgust.
Without warning, Alex bolted.
Aiden blinked. "What the...?"
Woosh
Before Aiden could process what was happening, Alex was in the air, attempting to fly away. But before he could get far, a deep voice as aged wine echoed from above.
"Is this how you greet your master, boy? Ungrateful as always!"
Swoosh
In an instant, the old man was on him. With blinding speed, he delivered a swift kick to Alex's face, sending him crashing back to the ground with a loud thud that cracked the pavement.
Aiden and the others rushed over to help Alex, but to their surprise, he was already getting back up, groaning as he massaged his bruised face. "You almost killed me, you crazy old bastard! Is that how you treat your favorite disciple?"
The old man floated in the air, smirking. He seemed unfazed by the commotion he'd just caused. His eyes twinkled with a mix of amusement and nostalgia.
Suddenly, the old man's instincts kicked in. Without even turning, his hand flew to the sword at his waist. In a seamless motion, he drew it and swung behind him in one fluid arc.
Shing!
Hu Zhao, who had silently appeared behind him, was mid-swing, his own blade flashing through the air. But before he could land his strike, the old man's golden sword was already there, meeting his blade, blocking the attack in an instant.
"You've got guts, tiger," the old man said, his tone a blend of respect and humor. "Not many would dare attack me from behind."
Hu Zhao's eyes gleamed. "You're strong old man. It's been a while since I met someone who could keep up with my sword."
The two exchanged rapid blows, their movements a blur. The clashing of swords sent shockwaves through the air, causing nearby buildings to tremble.
Alex sighed, rubbing his temples as he watched the chaos unfold. "Sigh, Even Hu Zhao isn't enough. I thought I'd finally see the old man get knocked on his ass."
Aiden and the others watched as the battle intensified, the sheer force of each strike sending debris flying. The longer they fought, the more damage was inflicted on the surrounding area.
Realizing the situation was escalating, Aiden was about to interfere but then Alex shouted, "Hu Zhao! Stop it already. He's not an enemy, just... annoying!"
Hu Zhao paused mid-strike, glancing at Alex. With a shrug, he sheathed his sword, and the old man, seeing the fight was over, chuckled and landed softly on the ground.
The destruction around them was clear—cracked walls, broken stalls, and minor injuries to those nearby—but it could have been far worse.
Aiden approached Alex, eyes narrowed in curiosity. "Alright, who is this guy? And why was he after you?"
Alex sighed heavily, clearly exasperated. "This," he gestured toward the old man, "is my deadbeat master, the legendary Golden Wind Swordsman... and also the Arch-Duke of Kederawen Kingdom, Vito Pushkin."
Everyone, except for Aiden, gasped in shock, their eyes fixed on the old man before them. This was the greatest swordsman in the entire Kederawen kingdom, one of the most powerful and well-known swordsmen on the entire continent, a man whose fame rivaled that of Eldric himself. and yet, here he was, bickering with his own disciple.
"God is punishing me for my younger days," the old man wailed dramatically, wiping the non-existent tears. "I've spent years worried about you, Alex. Years! And the moment we meet again, you flee from me! Me, your master! You even had your friend try to fight me! Is this how I'm repaid?"
Aiden and the others couldn't believe the sight in front of them. The great Golden Wind Swordsman, acting like a scorned schoolteacher. Even Aiden, who had become used to strange personalities, was caught off guard.
"They're all the same," he muttered to himself. "Eldric, Vito and even Nolan,... do all old men act like this?"
Vito wasn't just famous; he was legendary—one of the oldest nobles still alive, having reached the venerable age of 4,000 years. And yet, he kept acting like a little kid.
The others seemed to be having the same thought, their expressions mirroring Aiden's. The mental image they had of the famous swordsman—great, stoic and powerful crumbled with every word. Even Alex, who had seen it all before, could only sigh.
"When I first met him," Alex said to the others, "I thought I was going to be trained by a master swordsman. Instead, I got a glorified old man with a taste for drama."
As Vito's voice turned serious, he looked at Alex and said, "I heard from Eldric that you were returning, Alex. I came here to see you! I wanted to see how strong you got."
Alex, already having enough of his master tactics, clenched his fists, his frustration bubbling to the surface. "Old man, do you think I don't know?! I know about the deal you made with the snake Saint!"
The playful tone in Vito's voice vanished as his face hardened. The sudden shift in atmosphere drew everyone's attention. Even Aiden, who knew a bit about Alex's past, was intrigued.
"Yes!" Alex continued, pointing his finger at Vito. "You're the one who pushed me into the Dark Saint's inheritance tomb. And then, after you got what you wanted, you traded me to the Snake Saint—for a potion!"
Vito's face remained impassive, showing no sign of regret or shame. Alex pressed on, his voice rising. "When you heard that I'd died in the mountains, you didn't even bother to hold a funeral!"
For a long moment, silence hung between them. Then, as if the tension hadn't existed at all, Vito burst into laughter, casually brushing off Alex's accusations.
"Of course, I did that!" he said, straightening his posture with an air of pride. "Ever since I took you in when you were six, it was always about making you stronger. Everything I did, I did for your growth."
Alex's jaw clenched. "Stronger? You call that making me stronger?"
Vito nodded without hesitation, continuing in his casual, almost condescending tone. "Remember when you were nine? I threw you into the Kanay Forest, surrounded by magic beasts. Or when I left you on the southern islands at twelve, and you had to find your way back to the kingdom alone."
Alex stayed silent, his fists trembling, but Vito wasn't finished. "And let's not forget when I abandoned you on that mountain when you were sixteen. You fought off an entire group of bandits and survived. Every experience you had was meant to toughen you up, to push you beyond your limits."
The sheer madness of Vito's logic left everyone speechless. No sane master would throw a child into that kind of situations. It wasn't training—it was craziness.
Even as Alex's rage kept going up, he couldn't deny the truth behind Vito's words. Every one of those trials had sharpened his skills, turning him into one of the most formidable warriors at just 39 years old.
AN: [In terms of Sarna world, 39 years old is still young compared to those old fogies at the top of the chain food].
Aiden broke the silence, his eyes staring at Vito. "So sending him against a Saint was… also to make him stronger?"
The others turned to Vito, waiting for his response. A slow grin spread across the old swordsman's face. "Oh, that?" he replied with a laugh. "No, no, that wasn't about training. I had other reasons. See, I wanted to punish him for not getting me the potion I wanted. So I made a little deal with the Snake Saint. Of course, I told him not to kill you, Alex, but you panicked and ran. Hahahahaha!"
Alex's face went from red with anger to white with shock. The others stood frozen, jaws practically hitting the floor. Aiden's eyebrow twitched in disbelief. Is this guy for real?
Vito laughed even harder, completely unbothered by the stunned silence surrounding him.
Alex, on the other hand, was trembling with rage, ready to leap at his master and tear him man to pieces, "argh, you bastard!".
Immediately, Hu Zhao stopped Alex who lost reason and kept trying to escape from the tiger's hold
"Stop, Alex!" Hu Zhao said with a worried tone as he tried to stop Alex and speak reason into him.
Dian Long just sighed at this Master and disciple duo while Saya and Lora kept staring at Alex. Saya who noticed how Alex changed completely spoke to her friend, "This is the first time I see Mister Alex act like that. He seems completely different from his usual easy outgoing personality ".
Lora nodded and added, "Yeah. It's like his master gets all the bad things out of him".
"Hahahaha!" Vito, unbothered by Alex rage, kept laughing and then wiped a tear from his eye. "Enough of this! Let's head to the restaurant. I'm starving."
As they walked back toward the restaurant, Vito suddenly raised a finger, as if remembering something important. His tone was nonchalant, almost too casual for what he was about to say. "Oh yeah, by the way, Alex," he began, "I forgot to mention—being your master and all, I took matters into my own hands with the Snake Saint."
Vito's grin widened as if he were recounting some everyday occurrence. "I took his arm. You know, as a little bit of revenge for what happened to you."
The entire group froze. Shock rippled through everyone like a wave. Only Vito kept laughing as he continued walking toward the restaurent.