"Hahahaha!" Hoarse and crude laughter resounded; it was clear that the person who was laughing was no one but the old man.
Hahahaha!
Kasim wiped some tears that were threatening to fall from how much he was laughing.
The echoing sound of laughter lasted several minutes as the old man let out his frustrations!
He was enjoying this!
This brat had constantly made fun of him for so long, and now he had finally achieved a counterattack!
As the feeling of unparalleled satisfaction rose within his heart, the old man started calming himself down talking.
"Sure, sure, kid! Just be my student, and you'll know everything!" The old man was persistent!
"Hah!" Lord sighed in frustration after calming down; he had been too impulsive.
Lord was a survivor of the apocalypse and the hellish wastelands, but that didn't mean he was some unfazed, disciplined, calm and collected soldier; he was just a boy who had learned the ways of living.
And every boy, even some disciplined ones, had impulsive emotions and desires that could not be contained!
Thus, the sixteen-year-old known as Lord could not be blamed for his impulsive and unwise actions.
However, although he couldn't be blamed, it did not mean he was free of consequence. In this world, those without strength or backing had no excuses, no matter if they were elderly or naive children.
One of the Lord's greatest desires was knowledge; on many occasions, the value of knowledge exceeded the value of strength, and he was very much aware of that.
The fact that such a technique was filled with mystery made him unconsciously lose reason from desire!
"Cough! Old man… Let's talk," Lord coughed as his tone became more serious, showing that he was now genuinely putting his serious and upfront attention.
It was not that Lord wasn't paying attention from before; no, he was VERY much paying attention from the beginning; after all, it was not every day you met someone who led your race.
It was just that Lord had now become severe upfront without putting on airs or any illusive masks, not like those worked on someone such as Kasim anyway.
"Geh! You're finally showing some respect, brat!" The old man smirked and re-adjusted his seating position to be straight and upright.
"Old man, you don't have to explain everything, just tell me what it does, and we can negotiate from there," Lord said in a negotiating manner; he wanted to know at least what this 'secret technique only used by A+ ranks and above' was all about, after all, Lord did not want to be scammed.
"Brat, why do you have to be so stubborn? You're the one most benefiting from being my disciple!" The old man, staying stubborn, got more annoyed at what he thought was Lord's childish rebelliousness.
"Hah!…." Lord sighed again; he heard sighing was not good for health, but he couldn't help it.
Turning his head back up, Lord cranked his head at Kasim with a tired and exhausted look.
"Old man…. We already had this conversation; I have my reasons for hesitation, okay?" Tired of having that pointless conversation over and over again, Lord gave up and just decided to be blunt.
Old man Kasim just kept silent with a narrowed look in his eyes.
Lord had his reasons for hesitating; after all, he had not counted on a wildcard like Grand Priest Kasim and could not understand or estimate how his involvement with the Grand Priest might affect him and his near-future.
Just because something looked more beneficial didn't mean it would be as such.
Besides, there was still the most glaring issue, his Awakening. No matter how or what the Grand Priest had felt about his Dantian, there was no guarantee that he would awaken and for someone like the Grand Priest, an S+ rank Awakener, having an unawakened apprentice was…. Awkward, to say the least.
....
Several seconds of silence passed.
Whoosh~
The sound of the gentle wind that did not match the strange silence was flowing through the garden.
This strange silence was caused by two figures, both of opposite generations, yet of the same spirit.
"Tch…. Fine, shitty brat..." A whisper that contrasted the contents resounded through the whirling silence. Seemingly determined to do something.
Lord turned his eyes to the old man, his previous tired and unfocused eyes gained some concentration, showing he was listening.
Chrrrrk~!
Pushing his chair behind, old man Kasim stood up with his aged, hunched back.
Whrrrriiiinnngg~ SHOooO~ CrACKLE~!
The old man took out his sleeved hand, his palm facing upward released a strange ocean blue crackling light.
"In this world, there are mysteries and unexplained phenomena, methods, ways, and even powers that the common population will never be aware of." The old man, Kasim, said in a voice of regality and formality, not like the casual tone from before.
"But…. Just because the common population isn't aware doesn't mean the elites aren't." The old man's voice quietened as his maroon-sapphire looked towards Lord, shining with invisible light.
"Do you wish to know a secret that belongs to the elites?" Old man's Kasim voice heightened as mana in the air rose with a crackling ocean blue.
SRRTRRSTAK~ CRACKLE~!
Lord, silently looked at the old man, not bothered by the increase of mana in his presence.
*Grin*
Lord smiled; it was uniquely gleeful and filled with innocent childish charm, a smile that could make anyone believe they were looking like a pure angel filled with innocence.