The other boys, watching Bastian and Oman's duel, were talking excitedly among themselves.
"I thought Bastian wouldn't last a single move, but he's been doing a pretty good job so far."
"Indeed! I don't understand how he can handle those moves, his body is so skinny and he doesn't come to training often."
"Look carefully! He doesn't seem to be able to hold on much longer, although he's done well so far, Oman is superior one. Bastian will soon be able to stand it no longer and drop the sword in his hand."
Bastian's entire body was sweaty and his breathing was starting to become erratic, but Oman had yet to show any signs of fatigue. His energy and stamina were still in place, making his moves with stability and precision, not forcefully.
But there was something strange!
As much as Bastian was struggling, there was an unidentifiable feeling rising inside him. It was as if the blood was bubbling, but this bubbling blood seemed to relax his body. He had felt this feeling a few times before, usually when he pushed his limits during training.
Oman took a deep breath and gathered all his strength in his arms, performing a horizontal slash.
Bastian knew he had no strength left to meet this move; so he tried to dodge it and lowered his head as he took a step to the right. He had noticed something at that time, as if the speed of this move was slower than the other moves.
"No! My reaction speed and movement speed increased." Bastian's pupils twitched slowly.
He lost his balance for a split second as Oman's move went into the void. Reacting quickly to this opportunity, Bastian made a lunge at Oman's stomach with the hilt of the wooden sword in his hand.
When the hilt of the wooden sword hit the boy's stomach, his breath suddenly fell out, and after staggering back a few steps, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The boys around were stunned by this situation within seconds and stared with their mouths open without making a sound.
"There! I was right, his movement speed increased suddenly and unusually." Harald squinted his eyes. He had no idea how he had accomplished this, but he was definitely not going to let it go. He would have a detailed conversation with her about this later.
"What the hell was that?!" Oman looked at Bastian, who immediately ran to pick him up from the ground. He was still having trouble breathing.
"Hehe! Did you seriously think I'd miss your vacation opportunity?" Bastian grinned.
"When it comes to the vacation, a monster risen inside you…" Oman muttered as he barely stood up.
Harald pulled Bastian over the edge and began talking to him.
"How do you do this?"
"What?" Bastian asked in surprise.
"Don't be ignorant! During the final part of the duel, your speed increased noticeably. Moreover, it looked like your energy was completely depleted." Harald glanced at the boy in front of him.
"I... I'm not sure exactly what it is... It's like I can perceive the movements around me faster when I get closer to my limits, or something like that..." Bastian also had a hard time defining it because he didn't have a precise knowledge of the situation he was in.
Harald's eyes were on the young boy before him, his expression thoughtful. Could this lazy disciple actually be blessed with some kind of talent?
...
Bastian was in a very high mood all day. He could sleep for a whole week without having to worry about Harald, and would not have any reservations about being disturbed by anyone. At worst, his grandfather would send him into the woods to gather wood, but he was sure he could find a way out of this responsibility.
Toward evening he and a few of his friends gathered at Harald's inn and began chatting on various topics. The main focus was Bastian's unexpected performance during the duel. The boys around the table searched his mouth to learn a few techniques from him, but they got nothing because even he didn't know exactly what was going on.
In addition, local people were talking about a great increase in the number of Ifnerites in the kingdom. Naturally, this topic caused the boys, who were not very excited in their lives, to start talking hotly on the subject. Every boy at that table believed that the warriors and heroes of the kingdom would not allow a single Ifnerite to wander within the kingdom's borders.
They had heard many heroic stories from the elders from almost infancy to the present age, and most of them were about heroic warriors. That's why the boys at the table did not take this issue, which was circulating among the people, seriously.
The Grape Barrel was quite lively, as it was every evening. Laughter was coming from all corners of the inn, and the voices of the people talking to each other made a headache-free hum.
*Ka-cha!* The door of the inn opened with a slight creak. An old man walked in with slow steps. This old man was wearing a brown cloak that covered his whole body and head, a few strands of his long gray hair fell over his shoulders. His dark green eyes scanned the inn quickly.
"Old Aller! Am I delusional? Did you finally think of stopping by our town?" When Harald saw the old man entering, he immediately started walking towards him.
The old man grinned mischievously, making his wrinkles even more evident. "Believe it or not, I've been through a lot to get this far."
"I'm sure it is..." Harald chuckled and pointed to the table where the boys were sitting. "I'm sure they're dying to hear what they've been through."
"Little punk! Are you trying to imply that what I saw was a children's fairy tale?" Old Aller's voice suddenly became stern.
"Of course not! I'm just trying to say that young boys with blood boiling will eagerly listen to what he has to say about the outside world." Harald shook his head and took a quick glance at the boys.
By that time the boys had noticed old Aller too.
Old Aller even knew how these boys could not walk yet. He was an itinerant scholar, and researching and collecting resources on ancient history was his greatest passion. He was brave enough to cross dangerous paths, endless forests, and secluded lands with his horse without fear.
Every time he came to Lightleaf Town, he would tell the townspeople about the news from the outside world and the interesting events he had seen. The townspeople always looked forward to his return to town, even though the majority of the townspeople saw him as an old man with an over-the-top imagination.
After the boys greeted old Aller, they prepared a place for him by the fireplace in the corner of the inn.
Aller smiled inwardly when he saw the boys he had last seen a few years ago grow quite taller. The boys' love for him was not one-sided, and he loved these boys quite a lot. That's why every time he came to this town, he was filled with an indescribable peace and warmth, especially after he had personally experienced and observed the cruelty and dangers of the outside world.
"Why did it take you so long to come back this time?" Bastian asked.
"I have traveled the northern borders of the Redshade Kingdom." Aller drew a puff on his pipe and continued, "It's quite a long way from here, which is why it took me so long to get here."
"What were you doing so far away?" Oman asked.
The boy named Ubwan patted Oman on the head, "He's a traveling scholar,idiot! What do you think he could be doing?"
"I had wanted to take a trip there for a long time and examine the temple ruins there." Aller chuckled slightly, but his expression suddenly faded, "I never expected to run into a few Ifnerites around the temple."
"Ifnerites?" Bastian's brows furrowed slightly, "Within the borders of a kingdom?"
"Hmph! Do you think you can perfectly guard the borders of kingdoms, boy? Ifnerites always find a way to spread out, especially towns located on kingdom borders are their frequent targets." Old Aller scratched his head uneasily.
"Our town…" Oman was cut off abruptly as he began to speak.
"No! This town lies in the interior of your Vhenzar Kingdom, it is unlikely that they will come this far." Aller shook his head and added, "You should consider yourself pretty lucky."
The Vhenzar Kingdom was located in the southeast of the United Continents and was considered a powerful kingdom. Despite this, it was known that there were still many bandits on the roads of the kingdom. Although tens of thousands of soldiers prowled the roads throughout the kingdom, they had difficulty in preventing various robberies and murders.
"Have you ever been near the capital?" Oman's eyes lit up briefly as the thought occurred to him.
"Actually, I spent a few days in the capital." Aller gave a nod.
"Have you seen a hero from the Daylight Union?" Oman jumped up excitedly.
"Hmph! Do you think the members of the Daylight Union are going to roam the streets of the capital, you idiot!" Aller scowled for a few seconds but later relaxed, "Daylight Union members are busy people. Even if they're not busy, they won't reveal their identities in public."
The Daylight Union was an institution that had its own territory in the capitals of all human kingdoms. The sole purpose of this institution was to identify and destroy all kinds of dangers that were the enemy of humanity. Those who managed to join the Daylight Union were given the title of "Hero" and were held in high esteem in all kingdoms.
As in every human kingdom, some special permissions were given to the Daylight Union in Vruzgadda, the capital of the Vhenzar Kingdom.
However, ordinary people knew very little about them. Even though it was well-known that only the best and strongest warriors could join this guild, no one could say for sure about their strength. The strongest hero would also be the head of the guild, and he would be given the title of "Protector".
This person undoubtedly had more prestige than any king.
"There were celebrations all over the capital to mark the fortieth birthday of Gerath Owzen the Protector." To break the short silence, Aller gave an extra bit of information about the situation in the capital.
"Gerath Owzen…" Bastian muttered to himself. Even someone like him who didn't care about many things in the outside world would know this name very well. This man was undoubtedly the top person, the supreme representative and the greatest assurance of humanity. People living in towns and villages had never naturally seen the fighting power of someone like him. . They just took the rumors going around.
Gerath Owzen was said to have cut a gigantic Ifnerite in half with a single sword stroke a decade ago. This Ifnerite was essentially a gigantic mammoth and alone was the bane of hundreds of high-level warriors. However, a single attack from Gerath was its end.
Although Bastian and many others thought it was just an exaggerated rumor, they didn't say it out loud. No matter how strong a warrior might be, it was not convincing to them that they could split a gigantic mammoth in two with one blow.