His sentence made the boy remember his physical condition. His body was new, it didn't even look like he had destroyed his body. Passing a circulation of mana through his heart and veins, the boy was surprised.
He seemed to be slightly more efficient, it was as if his body naturally understood where it needed to be improved.
"Now let's go through a little psychology session, Kayden," he said. "I'll ask you some questions, try to answer them most honestly." His sentence caught the boy by surprise. He expected an assassin's guild to be more violent.
Going even further against the image created in his head, the man placed two stone armchairs and placed chocolate and tea on a table. It felt like a home psychology session.
"I hope you like it, I realized that the human mind works better with small positive stimuli," the man-made Kayden feel like a little lab rat again. As soon as the two sat down, the man began.
"What do you feel?"
"Are you sorry?"
"Why did you kill her? What were your feelings at the time?"
"She was the woman in the video, don't you feel bad for her?"
"Why did you hesitate so much?"
Several questions that were answered yes or no by Kayden were thrown in sequence by the ghost. Everything was being written down on a small pad of paper. After a few minutes, he asked something different.
"Was who she was a factor in her actions? If she was a serial killer, would she change her views?" His question made Kayden reflect for a few minutes.
"Yes, I think I would have less trouble accepting his death," was a common ethical question.
"Very well, come with me", within seconds the man took Kayden back to the room with the television.
This time, a different video was played for him. It was from a news show, and it featured the same woman as before, however, this time several crimes were presented together. His family was a lie.
Her husband was a contract slave for years, he was constantly subjected to inhumane torture, her daughter was used as a guinea pig for her alchemy tests, and even her master was killed by her to get the inheritance.
Kayden didn't know what to believe now. Several crimes were presented against the woman, their nature was terrible. Each crime was enough to drive even the most callous person to rage.
"Does her death now have another weight on your conscience? Does it matter who she was? Which of the two videos is true?" Again, Kayden was bombarded with several questions.
The boy was silent as he thought, he tried to remember everything that had happened recently. The guide respected Kayden's silence. The boy's eyes lit up.
"I understand what you want to teach me here, don't I? One way or another, the result would have been the same. The emotions I'm feeling are not rational, my empathy with her changes like the wind", the boy tried to put into words what I was feeling.
"That's right, her death shouldn't mean anything to you. Any feelings you have for her don't exist," the concept was complex, but Kayden felt like he captured some of what the man was trying to get across.
Kayden had a small epiphany, it wasn't like he became a remorseless killer, but he was now less reluctant to kill to achieve his goals. He realized that what was holding him back were moral barriers that didn't exist outside his head.
"Very well, before we go to your second fight, I will give you feedback on what I observed", again a notebook was taken from his pocket and the man began a monologue. "His fighting style is fast and focused on efficiency, all his spells complement each other evenly."
The man slowly turned the page and began again:
"But you know how to use your spells systematically..." Kayden interrupted the man before he continued.
"I didn't understand that part, Guide," the man looked up at the boy, sending a shiver down his spine. The chilling sensation quickly passed with the ghost's warm tone.
"I'm glad you asked, Kayden. Express your doubts, kid, I'm getting paid to do this," the man murmured. "See, kid, let's say we have a problem with our computer, a person who knows how to use it will just turn it off and on again. The problem may have been resolved momentarily, but now and then it will come back."
Kayden was paying close attention to the man's words, his analogy was strange, but it seemed simple to understand.
"A person who knows how a computer works will go after the root of the problem and erase it. Which of the two would be able to use the device for longer?" Again, Kayden was silent, reflecting on what he heard.
"My spells are the computer, right?" The guide nodded in agreement. "I'm the first user at the moment, aren't I?" Again, Kayden got his confirmation with a nod. "I know how to use each of my spells, but I don't know how they work. However, I don't understand what the problem is with that."
"It's a very simple kid, the second user can probably make improvements and changes to their computer, being able to use it even when a lot of time has passed."
"Got it," Kayden nodded in understanding. This was a detail he hadn't thought of. What were the variations of his spells? Did acceleration have to be harmful when used at overload? Many doubts arose in his head.
"Your fighting style is good boy, it's notable that it was polished with a lot of effort", the man began to give dozens of details that could make his movement and use of spells more fluid.
After almost an hour the man stopped talking. Kayden had no idea that he still had so much room for improvement. There were hundreds of small, insignificant flaws that, together, would cause several problems for him.
Not even Jarvan was capable of pointing out so many errors in his fighting style. This made Kayden wonder who the Guide was. Without a doubt, the man would have had years of combat experience.
"Let's go to your second fight now," the television again started playing a video.
This time it was about a bloodthirsty old man who killed hundreds of people using poisons. He was never caught, his target was mainly children and bedridden people.
It didn't matter about age, sex, or any detail about his victim. They were all killed by poisoning and suffocated in their blood. This time the boy was smart and didn't feel any anger towards the man.
"Is this the real video?" Kayden asked the Guide.
"Yes," his answer was short and to the point.
A few moments later the television went off and Kayden knew it was time to face his second fight. This time he was excited. He would have to do it one way or another, the best thing was to learn as much as he could.
Even more so now that a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. He didn't mind having to kill someone else. He wouldn't change anything in his life, it was insignificant, practically null in the grand scheme of things.
The two walked out into the hallway. Kayden couldn't identify where he was. All sides looked the same to him. They were the same torches with stone walls. After walking for a while, the Guide turned and opened one of the walls.
The room was similar to the one where Kayden first fought. This confirmed his suspicions of what would happen. He would probably have to fight again. This time he would have no mercy. Between his life and someone else's, he would choose his.
"This time your opponent will be at the same level as you, I hope you don't hesitate like last time", said the Guide. Kayden responded with a nod. After a few seconds of waiting, the same scene as before happened.