"Silk Hair, what is your clan planning?"
"Fwahahahaha, Epesi you think I will just tell you."
Silk Hair had finally let go of the stone in his heart. After all, given who his opponent was, it was only natural that he would lose.
"The time is coming. And it will be soon."
With those foreboding words, Silk Hair's body started to disappear like smoke rising in the sky.
"Not so fast!"
The wolf-masked Volk rushed to grab Silk Hair.
However, he was only met with a light laughter before Silk Hair vanished completely. When his hand swept past the enemy, all that entered Volk's palm was a puff of smoke.
"He is gone. This time it is not an illusion."
Epesi who had not even bothered to stop Silk Hair's retreat commented when he saw Volk's futile efforts.
Epesi's comment left Volk embarrassed since he now knew that this man had been watching all along. He was even watching him cut thin air like a prancing deer while previously under Silk Hair's illusion spell.
'I felt so proud of myself yet…'
"Someone must have set up a summoning spell on 'the other side' to call him back at any moment."
"What did he take?"
"He stole 'the pearl'."
The pearl that Volk spoke of was a strange object, one of many that were part of the flying ship's cargo as it headed to Milele town.
"The pearl? You mean 'THE PEARL'?"
"Yes."
"That thing! What use even is it?"
"According to the old man, while it is not that useful to humans, it can be used in some 'serious' Amanani rituals."
The old man that Epesi and Volk were speaking about was the grandmaster wizard.
"Hey, I have been looking for the old man. It seems as if he disappeared into thin air!"
'You are one to talk.' Volk wanted to say out loud but decided to keep the thought in his mind.
"I don't know where he went either."
With that sentence, these two powerful men looked downfallen. They felt like failures as guards.
"Eish. We get paid generously but we barely do any work as guards. Half the time we have no clue where the old man even is!"
That was Epesi's parting comment before even he disappeared into thin air. It was as if he was never there at all.
After Epesi left, the scene finally calmed down. A group of elders flew down from the flying ship towards the 30 or so men who had fallen to mines below after the battle with Silk Hair. For these elders, this was just a colorful day for them. However, for the youngsters on the ship, this was a moment they would never forget.
They had just witnessed a true battle of peak masters!
These young people were all from different powerful forces in the nation's capital city – Suna. Naturally, they had many powerful masters as teachers and seniors. Some were lucky to have even sparred with these powerful warriors. However, they had never seen an all out battle between powerful magicians and warriors like the one witnessed today.
One of the young men on the ship who did not recognize Epesi asked an elder about this illustrious warrior. After all, Epesi had left a deep impression on everyone. When they first saw Fire Guardian and Silk Hair's magic contest, they were deeply impressed by the size of the attacks. When the 30 experts attacked Silk Hair, the light show in the sky left everyone mesmerized. Similarly, Volk's short clash against Silk Hair impressed everyone since the rules of physics seemed to have been broken and recreated several times in that fight.
But Epesi was a different beast altogether. The spectators could not even see a shadow of his figure during the entire battle. It was the same for both the inexperienced youngsters and the experienced elders. Epesi's speed was simply overwhelming; purely inhuman!
No one was a match for him.
"That man was Instant Sword – Epesi the Teleporting Swordsman. He is a Wizard Knight. You guys don't see him much but he is actually the Left Protector of the Magic Grandmaster."
The magic grandmaster that the elder mentioned was the Grand Sorcerer "BitterMoon" Mkali Mwezi. Grand Sorcerer Bittermoon was the reason why the magic competition in Milele town was happening in the first place.
"The grandmaster was supposed to be with us on the ship but who knows where he went. If he was here, a 'puny' Silk Hair would never dare to attack us." Another elder commented. However, would he dare call Silk Hair 'puny' to his face? Unlikely.
"What is a wizard knight?" Another young boy asked.
"Ignorant." It was an almost silent mutter.
"You!"
However, that silent mutter alone was almost enough to ignite a fight between the youngsters on the ship. After all, they were from different forces. They were not friends.
"Calm down," the elder who first spoke forcefully calmed the youngsters before continuing his explanation, "A Wizard Knight is a special profession that combines magic with swordsmanship. All of you have learned about magic swordsmanship before but wizard knights are slightly different from regular magic swordsmen."
As the elder explained, the difference between wizard knights and regular magic swordsmen was that one had to go to one of the 3 Great Nations or visit the Herenfterl continent itself in order to be consecrated as a wizard knight. Without receiving the Holy Baptism, one could not become a wizard knight.
"The lowest requirement to participate in the Wizard Knight Holy Baptism ceremony is to achieve both the fourth rank in magic – Magic Master and the fourth rank in swordsmanship – Sword Master."
"Sword Apprentice – Swordsman – Great Swordsman – Sword Master."
"Magic Pupil – Magic Student – Magic Teacher – Magic Master."
"It is only when you achieve this that you can even qualify to take the Wizard Knight test."
With such requirements, even regular peak level masters like Fire Guardian were not qualified.
"What? So strict?"
The youngsters on the ship could not help but exclaim in shock. Even for those who knew what a wizard knight was, they did not know the extremely high requirements to qualify for this profession.
"So strict? Of course. Did you just think anyone could become a wizard knight?" Another elder commented in a condescending tone with a sneer plastered on his face. Who knew why he was 'beefing' with ignorant children?
'Maybe the elder tried to become a wizard knight before and failed. But why is he taking it out on us?' Everyone thought the same thing but no one dared to say it out loud.
The previous elder ignored the bitter man next to him and continued to impart his wisdom to the youngsters, "Once one receives the holy baptism, they start from the lowest rank the Silver Knight. Then through various undisclosed tests and achievements, they can move up the ranks to become Golden Knights, Black Knights, and ---the Knights of Beyond."
"According to the ranking of the 3 Great Kingdoms, Epesi is currently a Golden Knight."
"Only a golden knight! Yet he is already so strong!" Someone in the crowd exclaimed in shock, their voice dripping with awe.
One would shudder when thinking about the strength of Black Knights and the Knights of Beyond. Undoubtedly, they were all at the dual Grandmaster class and above! Experts at both swordsmanship and magic.
Wizard Knights like Volk and Epesi had already achieved the Sword Grandmaster rank. However, their magic skill was still stuck in the Magic Master rank. It is for this reason that they did not have the qualifications to become Black Knights.
Black Knights were powerful and Beyond Knights even more so. In fact, it was said that the sword strokes of the Knights of Beyond could not be seen by mortal eyes. It was not just a matter of speed or invisibility, but rather a phenomenon stemming from a difference in the life level; like the difference between a lion and an ant.
In addition to Wizard Knight Ranks, as a profession, the field also had different occupations within it including: Genesis Knights, Exodus Knights, Judgement Knights, and Salvation Knights.
Each occupation had different responsibilities such as Genesis Knights who controlled the Genesis Power of Creation or Exodus Knights who specialized in speed.
"About Judgement Knights, although hard to confirm, it is said that they control the power of judgement. They can kill those who are deemed guilty with just a gaze!"
The words of the elder left everyone shaken. These children could fathom such a domineering power. The power of Judgment Knights was very similar to the ability of a certain prominent and heroic skeleton man that likes to ride fiery vehicles.
"As you might have guessed, Epesi is an Exodus Knight."
This was Epesi's true identity. His strength and achievements made sure that he had a place in the continent's hall of fame. Within Toro, Epesi was a great swordsman mentioned in the same sentence as the deceased Kaskara the Swift Sword who was recognized as the fastest blade in the East.
Epesi's name was also mentioned alongside Dhahabu the Bright sword, one of Toro's greatest generals who was pronounced missing in action almost half a decade ago.
Another elder commented, "Right now, among the strongest three within the 7 great swordsmen of the Rock generation, only Epesi remains."
At this point the elders had already started speaking among themselves while ignoring the children.
The other swordsmen within the seven greats were the Mourning Sword, Void Sword, Joyful Sword, and the latest to be ranked among the seven, the Kingly Sword.
"Have you guys heard those rumors about the Kingly Sword?"
"Shhhhh!" A serious looking female elder stopped the man who was speaking.
"Don't talk about it. Some things are better left unsaid and undiscussed!"
After all, there were people from the royal family on this ship!
The rumours about the Kingly Sword were many. One rumor was that he was a prince of Toro. Another prominent rumor was that he was the brother of King Mawa. Some even said he was the king's secret twin brother. An even more egregious rumor was that the man known as the Kingly Sword was actually the king's body double! Naturally, many even theorized that King Mawa himself was the Kingly Sword. To this day, the true identity of this swordsman remained muddled. However, what everyone was sure of was that even if the Kingly Sword was not King Mawa, it was someone very close to him.
The reason everyone was sure of this was because this man was solely responsible for King Mawa's survival when Kaskara the rebel had attempted to kill him. Before this event, no one had ever heard of this secretive swordsman. And after Kaskara's rebellion was quelled, the man sunk back into the shadows and once again became an enigma.
"Enough about the Kingly Sword. With even the 7 Great Swordsmen getting chipped away before our eyes, my only hope is that the next generation can rise up quickly now that the years of civil strife are approaching."
With this comment, a heavy atmosphere filled the ship. These elders had lived through the civil war era that happened a decade ago. An era of total chaos where figures like Kaskara incited rebellions across the country. Clans fought against clans and tribes fought against tribes. It was an era of Toro's burning. And now, similar winds of war seemed to be approaching the Kingdom of Toro once again.
An era of tribulations was approaching!
Mwana's Book of Knowledge
Bonus Notes 13: Wizard Knight Occupations
Major Occupations:
Genesis Knight – the Makers
Exodus Knight – the Journeymen
Judgement Knight – the Judges
Salvation Knight – the Saviors
Minor Occupations:
Priest Knight – the Holy Knights of the Grand College
Numbered Knight – the Numbers
Bridge Knight – the Devarim
Companion Knight – the Associates of the Order
While magic swordsmanship has roots from all over the world, the formal Wizard Knight system originates from the Herenfterl Continent.