For the past seven months since awakening the Mystical Arts of Bennet, his father focused on training him in the way of the sword. Six days a week, from morning until late in the afternoon, they sparred relentlessly, leaving Bennet with almost no time to explore his Divine Arts, let alone understand how to use them.
"I told you to move your head whenever you are blocking," his father said, his voice brimming with a blend of frustration and determination, as they continued their rigorous training session.
Bennet stood in the training grounds with his father, the weight of his long hair becoming an ongoing distraction during their intense sword practice. As his father meticulously corrected his form, Bennet couldn't suppress his growing frustration.
"It's not easy, father," he admitted, running his fingers through his thick, flowing hair. "My hair is long, and it's kind of heavy. It keeps getting in the way, making it difficult to focus on the techniques."
"Can't I have a haircut?" Bennet persisted. "Most male children my age have short hair."
"We are not originally from the Naigard region, Bennet," he explained patiently. "We follow a different tradition, one that dates back to our ancestral homeland."
Bennet frowned, his curiosity piqued. "This is the first time that I've heard about it," he admitted. "What tradition are we following?"
Albert reached into his coat and pulled out a weathered book, its pages yellowed with age. He handed it to Bennet, who took it with a mixture of curiosity and reverence.
"Here," Albert said. "I have a book from our land. It contains the stories and traditions of our people. Read it while I visit the town for a while. We will have a spar once I return."
Bennet nodded, clutching the book in his hands as his father left for town. Alone in the training grounds, he opened the book carefully, its pages revealing a world he had never fully explored before. The text was written in an ancient script that was both beautiful and mysterious, and the illustrations depicted scenes from a culture that felt both familiar and distant.
As he continued to read about his family's origins in the distant land of Alfiro, Bennet found himself captivated by the rich history and unique traditions of his people. The revelation that warriors as young as nine years old were sent to the perilous Land of the Beasts to learn the arts of combat and defense.
The Land of the Beasts, with its untamed wilderness and mythical creatures, was a place of legends and challenges. It was a harsh environment where young warriors were expected to learn not only the ways of the sword but also the art of survival. The Gods, it was believed, watched over these children until they reached the age of thirteen, ensuring their safety as they honed their skills and matured into fine warriors.
The connection between a child's hair and their mystical arts made more sense now. It was a symbol of their connection to the divine, a link to the protection afforded by the Gods during their formative years. Cutting one's hair prematurely was seen as a sign of disrespect to these protective deities and a potential weakening of the mystical abilities that were intertwined with their martial training.
He understood that his father's strict adherence to tradition came from a deep sense of duty and a desire to preserve the legacy of their people. Bennet felt a newfound appreciation for the sacrifices made by generations of warriors who had come before him.
The revelation that warriors who survived their training in the Land of the Beasts were destined to join The Watchers agency at fifteen years old added another layer of complexity to his understanding.
The king of Alfiro was one of the first warriors that stood up against Memphisto and the Morning Star pirates, since then, the land was called the "Land of the Defenders".
The thought that his father might have been a former Watcher intrigued him, but it also added another layer of complexity to his understanding of his family's history.
As he observed the levels of the town soldiers and the garrison commander, he couldn't shake the suspicion that something about the system was limiting what he could see. The fact that he could see the levels of pirates below level thirty but couldn't discern the levels of Captain Orion and others suggested that there might be hidden mechanics at play.
Bennet wondered whether there was a threshold, like level thirty, beyond which the system restricted visibility, or if his own skills weren't yet developed enough to perceive these higher levels. However, what puzzled him even more was the inconsistency in what he could perceive. He could see his father's level, and he had also observed the level of the elder elf. This inconsistency added to his growing sense that there was more to the world's mechanics than met the eye, and perhaps it was tied to his unique connection to the Divine Arts.
He decided to put aside the complexities of the level mechanics and focus on his family's history was a wise one. Sometimes, the pursuit of understanding can be both mentally and emotionally taxing, and it's essential to take a step back and prioritize what truly matters.
As he continued to delve into the rich tapestry of his family's past and the legacy of the Grimalds,their last name. Bennet found a sense of grounding in the stories and traditions that had shaped his life. These were the tales of valor, duty, and honor that had been passed down through generations, inspiring him to become a warrior and protector of his homeland.
Realization about his father's likely connection to the legendary Lucious Grimald and his remarkable level in comparison to the town soldiers only added to the intrigue of his family's history. The thought that his father, like the fictional Garp who fiercely opposed pirates, shared a similar dedication to protecting their homeland and upholding their family's legacy was both thrilling and awe-inspiring.
As he chuckled at the uncanny resemblance between his life and the plots of manga stories, Bennet couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. It was as if he had been thrust into an epic narrative, one filled with adventure.
"Now that's figured out, I need to understand more about divine arts," he thought to himself.
"Of course! How could I forget, my mother is also a Divine Art user," he remembered, a spark of excitement igniting his determination.
Bennet excitedly stood up and sprinted back to their house, eager to delve deeper into the world of Divine Arts with his mother's guidance.