Athan felt disgusted with himself. Just what was he thinking. How had he decided to talk to them? He always preferred not talking to anyone other than his opponents.
He also could not understand himself. He usually was not someone to step up and save others. He knew that they too had not come to save him but to try their luck killing the orc. Maybe their lack...
He should have waited for few seconds for his body to heal a while before standing in such a disheveled shape. But the girl had earned his praise.
She had seen through his desire and rather than being relieved, he was annoyed. He did not like the way she saw through him very fast. Not many ever understood his intentions. But something new kept him going.
Maybe only Luna could be said to understand but she still feigned ignorance to his desire. She was the only one who wanted him to live honestly.
He was sure even the girls had just been watching from a vantage point not daring to step up. Not that he actually needed anyone to save him.
The past three years he had lived in this world and he had not even felt the need for company or asking for help. That was how he was. Even with Luna, he was trying to push her away from him everyday she clung to him.
He sighed as he started walking deeper into the deserted city. The past three years, he had improved himself and he could now tell that he was no longer going to have any fruitful encounters anymore.
This left him with only one option which he did not want to accept. He had to join an academy. That was the only way for him to improve his strength further. He needed to learn those techniques of theirs.
He had gotten some techniques from the demons he had killed which were compatible with him. He did not even know anything about the cultivation stages or anything to do with cultivation stages.
He just cultivated in whichever way he felt like using the techniques he collected. But he knew the disadvantages he was going to have if he continued cultivating blindly.
It was also for this reason that he had realized that he had hit a bottleneck. The only way to overcome it was now seeking expert's help and the best place for him was an academy.
He knew that it was not too late for him to join. He was just eighteen years old. It was the perfect age and with his talent, he was sure that he had the best shot at joining any academy of his choice.
Athan was usually after death and there was no way he could face death as a weakling. All this time, he always carried a secret in cultivation that he could not tell anyone.
Also, even if he told them, there was no way they were going to believe him. He regretted not asking the girls whether there was any academy recruiting.
Not that it mattered to him too much. But from his judgement, he could tell that since his birthday was usually during December, it was most likely that during the next few weeks, the academies were going to start recruiting.
This meant that he had enough time to prepare. Since he had no parents, he only had to rely on himself. Again, he regretted not taking the armor the demons were wearing.
They were certainly worth a fortune. Again he dismissed this line of thought as he had the ability to kill more demons and take their armor. He could not help but reminisce about the sword he was usually proud of.
***
Two years ago.
It was just when the world was now almost at the verge of collapse. For the past few days, he had been moving from city to city avoiding any demon.
He had realized just how stealthly he could be the past one year. If he willed it, not even the demons stronger than him could find his presence. This was how he managed to survive these past one year.
But as for his current predicament, he was on the run. He had encountered a demon that threatened his life. Athan since he realized that he could not easily die, he always dove into his death.
But for the first time, he was running away from death. The reason was simple, he had felt that a fierce cut from this demon could end his life instantly.
That was the moment he realized that he really did not want to get killed by that demon after him because he knew that it could kill him. But something was different about this demon.
The fact that the demon followed him wherever he went while other demons could not was enough proof. He gave up running and he stood in front of the incoming demon facing it.
He stared at the incoming demon. The mask was black and it had horns on it. It had its lips dyed red and a white line between it. The demon had the long sword on its waist and it walked majestically.
The wow part being that the sword did not shake as the demon moved. This caused Athan to wonder whether it really was a demon. Its steps were precise and calculated.
Athan could feel that it had its eyes locked on him. He was still a noobie at that time and though he still charged at death, he still survived. But this demon was different.
Athan watched as the demon encroached him and stood in front of him but rather than attacking him it stood there and drew its sword.
The sword's sheath was around a meter and a half long but when the demon drew it, it was two meters long. Athan stared at the jet black sword and he felt his blood rushing.
It was both a mixture of both fear and excitement. Fearful for he knew that this sword could kill him but excited for he wanted the sword.
His eyes seemed to glow as he stared at the sword. Yet, there was an unknown feeling deep down his heart he could not tap into. A very familiar feeling he had with the sword.
In a flash, the demon in front of him disappeared and Athan could feel like it was his death but he had another feeling deep down.
Like this was the day that would change his life forever. He still had the habit of not dodging the enemy's attack. The same for this attack, he did not even dodge.
He just closed his eyes and he could sense the very movement of the demon. He just waited for the right time and he dodged bending backwards when he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and a cold shiver run down his spine.
The sword sliced right above his head and still managed to slice the tips of his hair. He then fell on his butt as his heart beat rapidly. This was the only opponent he had encountered even in the present that went straight for the kill.
The demon did not attack again and it just sheathed its sword and laughed a maniacal laugh that caught Athan off guard. The demon was supposed to kill him but it had spared him.
He expected the demon to remove another weapon but to his surprise, the demon removed it's mask instead. This caught Athan off guard once again.
"You know, I have been looking for you for a long time. You really know how to hide yourself kid," the demon said at it's voice was manly.
Athan looked behind as he saw the demon's red hair. He felt no hostility coming from the demon. It was like the had know each other for a long time.
Athan realized that this was probably not a demon! And true to his thoughts, the man turned and Athan felt like a hot rod had been sunk into his torso.
Those red eyes. He did not want to think about it but there was usually him in the whole world who had red hair and red eyes. The fact that someone with red eyes was standing in front of him shone a new light in his dark world.
Could this person be related to him? He usually did not research his father's origin so much but he now had a desire to do so now that he knew that he probably existed.
But he was suddenly engulfed by a sudden rage. If he existed, why was it that he never came to find him. Even people from his father's side should have at least tried to find him.
But had this man not said that he had been looking for him? Who was he?
"Who are you?" Athan asked. The man just grinned and a smile curved on his lips.
"I am someone you want to kill with all you have. It really is great to have your son after your life. I am not here to take you with me but to leave you this sword so that you familiarize yourself with this weapon and when you feel you are strong enough, come and kill me for abandoning your mother and you," the man said with the same look.
Athan felt like his world collapsed. His eyes coloured with blood vessels as he screamed and stood up instantly and charged at the man...