"Alright, enough. Go back to Training. The Patriarch has given his Orders." Saeden yelled out to those that were present.
The students, which had been stuck and hidden behind a large energy wall were fuming but the Patriarch was still standing nearby.
Patriarch Blimare nodded at Saeden then flashed out of sight and back into his Villa.
Saeden was en Elder, it was not dignified for him to carry someone else. He had the guards do it for him and escorted them back to the Palace Courtyard Pavilions.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Waking up somewhere that he had no idea on how he had gotten there, Isek looked at his surroundings. There were spirit ponds with small channels lacing around the courtyard and he was laying in a bed under a Gazebo.
"Ah, Good you're up." the Patriarch's Villa was among the nicest of constructions within the City, adornments and ornaments covered every facet.
Isek blinked but remained silent.
"Your display earlier was quite a jolt to my senses. I've not seen power like yours in such a young body before. I understand you've chosen to join the Sect, if that's the case I will arrange a Teacher." He was pacing, "But. What skills do you have? You've destroyed our usual testing grounds through unorthodox means." Shaking his head he held up a hand to stop questions. "It's no bother, rather, it's cause for celebration. I only ask because you do not seem to have grown into your full potential just yet, your journey seems to have only begun."
"Dude. You don't know.. He's been probing you this whole time!" Martin belted it out, he had been reading the logs and the probing had gone nowhere, even during Isek's unconscious state. "Just play along with it!"
Isek sat upright and reached for the pitcher of water.
"I suppose one teacher would not be sufficient. If that is the case, I can only offer you a better position than those who've not put up such an entrance." The Patriarch flipped over his hand and a tile appeared.
It flowed over and landed in Isek's hands, "I apologize if this sounds rude but.. what is this?"
"I wouldn't expect that question normally but I suppose given your method of cultivation that normal things to me, may not be normal for you. That is a Token, it represents your rank among the Sect. A singular teacher would not do, so I've decided to make you a Full Member of the Sect. You're ranked just under an Elder so you'll be able to go anywhere within the Sect without restriction." The Patriarch stopped and had a full answer but he wasn't quite done.
"Hmm. These terms sound interesting and the Mistress has made it clear I stand no chance outside of the Sect." Isek held the token in his hands and squeezed it lightly.
The Token lit up.
"There is one requirement of all our Members." Patriarch Blimare nodded in approval of Isek's decisiveness and continued. "You must protect the Sect when we are in a time of emergency and answer the call for missions at least once every few years."
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Being escorted by the Patriarch was a mark of honor among students and for a new student to have that honor meant that he was indeed something special. Isek had no idea what people were thinking as he walked by, if he could have heard their thoughts he might have changed his mind about joining the Sect.
Killing intent flooded toward him but with a glimpse from the Patriarch after sensing it, they all cowered back.
"We have a multitude of resources at our disposal, our fighting techniques aren't the best in the region but we have been able to hold our own in a fight for generations. The Blimare Heritage Sect is built on a Heritage and Inheritance system, all of our senior members leave a legacy to the next generation. That way, should they perish, something of them continues on." Patriarch Blimare stopped and opened the Treasure Hall doors.
"If you're going to be a student, especially a core disciple, you'll have to look like one." He pulled out a set of clothes and passed them over. "This is a Sect Uniform, there is a changing room on the right."
Isek accepted the clothes and entered the room. The Uniform was loose fitting and a long sash was pulled tightly like a belt. Looking at his appearance in a mirror, he straightened up the robes until he felt comfortable.
The Patriarch waited for a few minutes and Isek came out wearing the Sect's colors. It was a dramatic change, before he looked like a beggar and now he bore the same sight as a young prince. His orange eyes clashed against the Sect's colors but they added a unique look to his outward persona.
"This way." Noticing Isek's somewhat vacant expression, the Patriarch brushed his sleeves and ascended the stairs.
The Stairwell was gilded with rare materials, even it's banister was made from special wood.
The System Alerts kept coming but there was little that could escape his view. Items, material data and stats for the guests were being tabulated. They scrolled so fast that Martin was having a difficult time reading any of them at all.
"What is that?" Martin heard a noise came across the projection, it was obvious from the direction that it had come from the floor that the Patriarch and Isek had just left.
It sounded like music but it was a melody and several instruments that Martin, an Audiophile, couldn't identify. He listened intently but the Patriarch's speech interrupted him repeatedly. "System oh System, be kind to me.. rewind that music and play it, patriarch free." He was joking of course, but the system replied.
[Playback Isolated.]
[Subtitles Enabled]
[Playing.]
The sound played in the background and the projection got subtitles. Martin smiled, it was the first time the system had listened to a request without argument. Rather than saying a word, he just listened as it played.
Isek followed closely behind the Patriarch, he didn't speak much.
The Patriarch was guiding him toward the back of the Treasure Hall on the second floor, there was another staircase.
"Third Floor... Impressive." Martin spoke to himself after the playback ended. He was in good spirits, after the sounds had ended, audio from the projection continued without his having to ask.
"The third floor is reserved for grade 3 and higher materials or weapons. Here you will choose a sword." The Patriarch opened the door with a special token and he held the door for Isek. "Find the one that best suits you. I will be waiting out here."
A Man stood in the room, no doubt a clerk tasked with watching the third floor throughout his shift. Many techniques for assassins and thievery existed. Even though they were deep within the sect, it was still possible for such things to occur.
Isek heard the doors close behind him, stepped forward as if to evaluate the room.
The Attendant that remained was watching eagerly to see what the man chosen by the Patriarch would choose.
More than a hundred swords hung on the walls, on shelves or tables. Several large blocks of minerals were standing scattered throughout the third floor and some of them had even been used as resting places for larger, more heavier weapons.
Choosing a Sword made little sense to the AI, close combat was usually reserved for those incapable of making a long range attack. Simultaneously, Swords were not the best of Weapons that were stored in the room. Hidden among the Weapons, spears, hammers, monkey balls, bows and even magical staves could be found.
Indecisiveness was a trait reserved for the weak, the AI was capable of judging things in a near instant. After entering, before he had made his first round through the room, most everything had been identified, sorted and ranked.
A few of the Weapons lit on on the HUD, the choices had been filtered down to the ones that were more suited for his build and growth rate. Heavier weapons were almost entirely ignored, though, one sword in particular had a variable weight option, it was not a proper length but it could be altered even in combat.
One Hammer stood out, it was lined with formations and runes, it's aura brightened the room and sang when it was lifted. Isek turned the Hammer over in his hand and waved it. A slight thunder crack was heard outside. He set it down and grabbed two spears from the racks.
Of the two, one of the Spears was made of wood, the other was made from some Animal bone. Between the two the one made of Bone was far stronger and flexible than the Wooden Long Spear. The Wooden Spear gave off an endless feeling, like it was lonely. Instead of singing, it was calling out to Isek, betting and begging to be taken away.
He set both down and started observing the swords on the wall. Sixteen of them were releasing an aura and thirty more had their auras repressed with talisman tags. Isek jumped lightly and grabbed one from the middle.
Maes Sword was balanced and had a tone that resonated with Isek's blood. Even the stats window in front of Martin showed a marked increase of Isek's overall strength. Although, after swinging it a few times to check it, he put it down like a piece of trash. It dropped from his hand onto the stone and clanged rather abruptly in the small space.
The Attendant frowned immensely but Isek just grabbed another from the wall.
The scene from just before was the same a few times in a row and finally, the Attendant had enough. He stopped Isek from grabbing the next weapon from the racks. "Please excuse my rudeness but why are you so brutally handling these treasures!"
Isek paused like he was searching for the best answer, "If they are truly treasures and weapons worthy of battle, surely something so trivial wouldn't damage them."
"You dare belittle my Treasure Hall!" The Attendant rushed toward one of the swords that laid on the floor next to Isek but when he went to lift it, he couldn't move it an inch.
Isek had his foot on the end of the blade. "If this is treasure, tisk tisk tisk."
Martin was slightly shocked.
"Explain yourself or else, even if the patriarch stands before me, you will be removed from here immediately." The attendant had lost his patience to the point of snapping, he was ready to kill the man for instigating a problem within the Treasure Hall.
"Hmmph." Isek snorted coldly. "This sword has a 32 inch reach but it's metal strength shows that the sword, if it was made to thirty inches instead, would be more than 50% stronger and more resistant to shattering." he threw the Long Sword against a hammer that was located across the third floor and watched it shatter.
"This Spear. It's wonderfully decorated, don't you think? However, these decorations do nothing for it's attack prowess or speed. Come to think of it, without the decorations, would this even be on this floor?" Isek threw the spear at a rock near the hammer and broken sword, the Spear chipped and came apart.
"This.." Isek was picking up another sword from the wall. "This metal used in this sword would have been better used to make a shield. The defensive quality of the sword is higher than average but it's size makes it difficult to swing under normal circumstances. A bigger sword does not mean a better swing, or even more damage, it's slow."
Dropping the Sword, he picked up another from the wall. It was also singing to him. Isek's whole body felt a sweep of vitality with the sword in his hand. "This sword is nice." He set it down on the table and grabbed one that had been situated next to it on the wall. It would have been nice if they were a pair, their attributes didn't conflict and they gave off a similar resonance. That was likely why they had been placed together on the wall.
There were still more than a dozen viable choices within the room and Isek was going to pick the one that most suited him. The Sword Songs that he heard were sometimes weak, sometimes grinding and even sometimes murderous. Each of them had their own strengths but it was not the song that would sway his choice or steer him in any way.
As he picked up the next sword, he examined it's weight. The Saber was light and weighted at one end. It was made from a composite of minerals that had been smelted together, it was crude looking but it's song was the most unique. The sword flickered, turning ugly. Isek flicked it with his finger, an action indicative of Comic Book Heroes.
With a swollen and bleeding finger, he looked at the Attendant, pointing toward the Saber. "I'll take this one." Isek's finger wouldn't stop bleeding, he had brushed it backward along the flat edge on the dull side of the Saber and had gashed himself severely.
Martin saw the blood and wanted to comment but being the victim of the AI's spiteful nature wasn't something he was interested in. He felt like they were finally on good terms and held back his harassment. Besides, he wanted to see just how interesting the Saber was in action.
The Stats for the Sword were all question Marks but it's name even caught Martin's Attention.
[The One – Saber, Ancient. Stats: Unknown.]
Through all the years that the Treasure Hall had been open, no one had bothered to pick the sword from it's rest on the wall. It was an ugly thing and even the Villains who entered had never seen anything remarkable about it. The Saber seemed to possess the innate ability to make itself unattractive, lessening it's presence, becoming almost ordinary in the eyes of others and it was deceptively sharp.
The Attendant rolled his eyes and asked Isek to leave. He couldn't refute a single one of the mans words but he had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time he was in the Treasure Hall.
On the way toward the doorway, Isek held out his hand and the hammer which had split the first sword flew into his hands. "This should come with me too." With Two Weapons in his hands, he seemed overcompensating but he quickly stored the hammer away for later.
The door opened and the Patriarch saw the Saber in Isek's hands and sighed.
"I told you to go get a sword but you came back with a Saber, Why?" Patriarch Blimare had a sincere look of disapproval.
"If I must pick a sword, none of these quite fit my needs." Isek didn't explain further, he left it at that.
The Patriarch knit his brows and considered scolding the man but what Isek had said was indeed possible. Swords would only sing for those they deemed worthy of their power.
"Then we will have to work to fix this problem in the future, for now, since you've chosen a weapon at least, you can start cultivating and practicing with the rest of the Sect. Instructors are around if you need anything in particular or have questions but most learning and advancement is left up to the students. Destiny and Luck are something we all have to make for ourselves." Patriarch Blimare felt like he had made his point and turned to leave. "I will take you to your residence but after that, you'll be left to fulfill your duties, which, for the moment is only to train in your abilities."
Isek Nodded and fifteen minutes later, they came to a Tower at the edge of Town. It looked like an old guard post that had gotten replaced after the city expanded a few generations before. The building was made from rocks and mortar held it together as best it could. Inside there were only two shelves, a broken bed and some shattered potions.
"This place is nice because of its location, it is just on the border of our Spiritual condensation array, the best cultivation grounds in the Sect only reach a few meters past your building. With this, I hope you'll come to stand out and bring glory to the Sect." The Patriarch had a formation circle appear at his feet and then he flew away, vanishing into the fog.
Martin couldn't hold it in anymore, "You just became a Core disciple and it only took two sentences!then you trash the Treasure Hall and get the luckiest rent controlled apartment on your first go around. If you didn't believe that good luck existed before, you should now."
[Stat Modified: Luck (+1)
[Stat Updated: Luck (3)
Martin check the Status page and almost fell over at the changes.
[Status: Updated] Name: Isek, Age:28 (0.5) Weight 133lb, Title – Administrator, Core Disciple of Blimare Heritage Sect.
[Race: Human*]
[Health: (Healthy, Stable)]
[Association(s): Blimare Heritage Sect]
[Strength: (11)]
[Energy: (13)]
[Dexterity: (25)]
[Intelligence: (Unknown)]
[Data Storage: (Unknown)]
[Energy Organ Capacity – (655/655)]
[Energy Metafunction Activation Rate: (.199%)]
[Active Energy Absorption Range: 30 Meters]
[Luck (3)]
[Weapon: Saber – The One.]
It was true, the AI had really stolen his reincarnation and there was nothing he could say about it. Isek was doing a much better job when given the position.