Chapter 149: Chapter 149

“Tsk! No fun!” Kasine complained. “He catches on too fast; his mana sense is too keen.”

“Right? Then let’s make it more fun: if the sword falls, you fall. Got it?!” Kamus stared at them, maintaining his evil grin.

“Yes, Grandmaster!” “Yes, Master!” Sokram and Lymus said in unison.

Lymus gave Sokram a thankful nod, and they started practicing.

They moved slowly at first to develop good synchrony.

After a few repetitions, they entered a good rhythm.

But the strain on their muscles was reaching its limit.

Each downward slash sent splintered pain grinding through their shoulders; their arms shook violently, refusing to obey their will.

Along with the weight on their bodies, pulling them down, the bokken being repelled constantly in the opposite direction they swung, and the psychological pressure of a thousand push-up punishment in their current state caused them to overexert while they practiced.

The fear of punishment ran cold down their spines, each drop of sweat a silent warning.

Every movement they made carried this distraction, which their focus couldn't afford to chase.

The combination of these factors overwhelmed their natural recovery gifts, assuring they were far from enough.

Their only regeneration came from the energy they circulated and absorbed with each breath.

Sokram had another innate advantage over Lymus.

His lungs absorbed mana directly and automatically purified it.

And because of Chaos Energy, his Aura and Vitha absorption were also higher.

Even if Lymus had become a Reformed Existence, he still lost to Sokram in that aspect.

So when they reached their fifteenth rep, Lymus’s feet, which hurt as much as Sokram’s if not more, slipped, and he fell.

When Sokram saw that, his first reaction was to brace for being pushed out of the formation, but when that didn’t happen, he realized Lymus hadn’t fallen.

Instead, Lymus was supporting himself between two poles, with a foot on each, around two and a half meters above the ground.

Sokram rushed toward him, standing directly above Lymus and extending his sword to be caught, risking its loss.

Once Lymus had a good grip of it, Sokram pulled him up using an upward slash with all his strength.

The bokken cut through the air like a lifeline.

It almost didn’t work, but Lymus’s fast movements allowed him to escape this time.

Seeing that scene, Kasine shook her head, muttering to herself, “Such an unnecessary effort.”

Leona and Kamus exchanged knowing shrugs before returning to their lazy feast.

Sokram and Lymus went back to their entrance poles and restarted their reps, not counting the one that was interrupted in the middle.

But around their thirtieth rep, Lymus’s feet faltered again.

This time, Sokram was too far to help him, and he wasn’t lucky enough to fall between poles.

He crashed into the snow with a muffled thud, a burst of white dusting his hair.

On the other end, Sokram braced for the repulsive force, meticulously ensuring he appeared terrified.

But as he knew, it never came.

Sokram looked down at Lymus as he said, in a cheery, almost mocking tone, “I guess this is as far as the need for synchrony goes, Sword Uncle. So, forgive me for not waiting for you.”

“Good for you, Sokram.” Lymus flashed Sokram a grimace that stretched his lips but never reached his eyes, cursing him in his mind with every curse word in his book.

“Why are you still lying there, Lymus? Pay up!” Kamus barked, seeing that Lymus was trying to get some rest under his watch.

Sokram continued the rep from where he had stopped.

Yet he noticed by the position of the shadows that he only had another hour and a half before midday.

So he moved faster, knowing the three sadists that were watching while pretending to have a picnic wouldn’t let him escape punishment if he didn’t finish his reps by then.

But that was easy, especially now that he didn’t need to pretend to care about having synchrony with Lymus.

Half an hour later, Sokram had finished his thirty-fifth rep, and Lymus was already back on top of the formation.

He was elated when he found out that he only needed to sync with Sokram when they were both out of the formation.

But now that they knew they didn’t need to maintain their synchrony, their only effort was to not hit each other while practicing their forms.

Which would be naturally avoided if they remained in sync.

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Lymus fell two more times: once when his feet slipped, and again when exhaustion made him lose focus, nearly colliding with Sokram.

But when Sokram had reached his last rep, Lymus fell again.

Kamus told him, “Lymus, go meditate and recover. You have half an hour to rest. You did only forty-three reps, but I’ll add another fifty reps for the five times you fell, and ten reps for each time you fall thereafter.”

Lymus’s jaw slackened; disbelief flashed across his eyes before he swallowed hard, the wind momentarily knocked out of his lungs, completely stunned.

Yet, all Kamus asked was, “Any complaints?”

“No complaints, Master…” Lymus’s words came without his usual sharpness, as his ears flattened over his head.

Sokram struggled not to let out a chuckle.

It wasn't the punishment that got him, but the way Lymus’s lower lip trembled, a defiant flicker in his watering eyes fighting back the sting of tears.

Finishing his reps, Sokram checked the sun's position by the poles' shadows. Chapters fırst released on novel✦fire.net

He exhaled through clenched teeth, the cold air stinging his lungs, the tension leaving his shoulders in one complete slump before looking at Leona and Kamus.

“Grandmaster, Master, I finished my reps.”

Kasine smiled and stood up, not giving Kamus and Leona a chance to speak, “Then let’s go. We have a lot of work to do.”

“Sigh…” Leona pouted, “I think he is truly ready to become a Master. Why is he growing up so fast?”

“Hahahaha! I asked myself the same thing when you became a Master, too, kitty. It's fun having a disciple to bully.” Kamus patted Leona’s head, Sokram jumped down near them, and handed them the rings.

But once he did, he almost couldn’t believe it...

“Quite the instantaneous results, right? Isn’t Nana amazing? The enchantress I paid is decent, too, but the formation was my idea.” Kasine raised her head high with a boastful smile.

“But didn’t you say you copied it from the inheritance trial grounds?” Kamus looked at her, confused, seeing her gloating like that.

Kasine deflated immediately, glaring at him, “You know no loyalty! Hmph! But did you know, Sokram? Although we created this sword art, the Killing Blade Art is derived from another War Art?”

“What?” Sokram pretended not to know, in his best surprised performance.

“I guess, this kitty here didn’t tell you then. This is something only Masters of the Killing Blade are supposed to know, but since you will become one soon, I don’t see why I shouldn't reveal this to you.” Kamus started.

“Do you know of your ancestor, right? Emperor Drokmin, the Dragon Emperor who unified the entire Northern Continent under his rule…”

Kamus’s voice softened, carrying the rough timbre of age and memory as he spoke of his youth alongside Kasine.

Of how they found the inheritance grounds along with their friends before they all started the Killing Arts Conclave.

“It happened almost a thousand years ago, even before the formation of Norwinter. We, along with some of our friends, entered the inheritance grounds. We were received by six ghosts, the six last disciples of Emperor Drokmin.”

Kamus continued, “Those Six Ghosts, who inherited the Black Lotus War Art, chose six groups among us to inherit the part of that war art that they mastered. Kasine, I, and two of our friends were chosen by the Master of Black Lotus Sword. The same art Emperor Drokmin used when he fought using his preferred weapon, Draggonia.”

Kamus’s expression softened, his eyes unfocusing as they tracked a memory in the distance.

The hint of a long-faded laugh.

In Kamus’s eyes, Sokram could see he missed those days, maybe even some of those friends.

“The ghosts told us that if we mastered the War Art they gave us, they would one day open their vaults to us. But there were only ferals in our midst, and the Black Lotus War Art was clearly something that should be used with Magi.”

Kasine, not waiting for Kamus to finish reminiscing on the past, took over, “But no matter how much we practiced, we couldn’t master it. Thus, we created adaptations. This allowed us to utilize a few forms of that War Art with Aura. We hadn’t cultivated our Mana Hearts at that time.”

Kasine’s gaze drifted, the edges of her smile trembling as old memories stirred, eyes shining with nostalgia, “We stayed ten years training in the Inheritance Grounds. And once the Ghost caught wind of what we were doing, they approved of it, but also changed the conditions for opening the vaults.”

Kamus nodded. His gaze became dazed with memories of the old days as he continued their tale.

“Yes, they were quite generous and wise enough to appreciate evolution in every form. But because of that, the conclave exists today. The first condition was that each of us should make an Oath that if one day, when the first of our Killing Arts reached a level of similar power to their Black Lotus’s counterparts, all the other schools would become subjects of that school.”

Kasine’s eyes shone with greed as she told the second and last condition.

“And only the one who becomes the leader among the Killing Arts will inherit everything in those vaults. The meeting of the conclave happens once every fifty years, as the Six Ghosts are just slivers of their soul left behind to watch over their inheritances. Because after the conclave is over, and the inheritance grounds close their doors again, they will need to recharge so their souls dissipate before a successor is chosen.”

Sokram’s eyes gleamed, hearing this story for the first time, “I see, but if they are judging, it means we must demonstrate it, right? Is there like a Killing Art Tournament or something?”

Then Sokram remembered something and added, “I remember Master told me that there are twenty-four Killing Arts instead of just six.”

“Yes, during the conclave, there is a contest to showcase the advancement each Killing Art made, but only the youngest of each school can fight. Kasine and I never took disciples before Leona, so we always gave our positions away.” Kamus explained.

Then he added, “Leona is only forty-six years old; she would have fought during the next one had we not taken you and Lymus as disciples. As for the other eighteen Killing Art Schools, they all descend from the original six, so they also had the right to join the conclave according to the Six Ghosts.”

“Even if I’m considered a Master, can I fight?” Ambition flickered in Sokram's gaze, tempered by curiosity and the faintest spark of greed.

He had never fought in the conclave in his previous timeline, as the fall of Eversnow happened around the same time.

Kasine and Kamus smiled, hearing his eagerness. A flicker of raw pride softened the hard edge of Kamus's grin; Kasine’s eyes shone like polished gold as they nodded.

“Yes.” Kamus's voice sounded cautious, yet confident, “We wouldn’t ask for you to risk your life if you didn’t want to, but yes, you can.”

“How can I, as a Killing Blade of Norwinter, be afraid of death, Grandmasters! I’ll be honored to fight for our school when the time comes!” Sokram knocked his fist over his heart, lowering his head to them, which also warmed their hearts.

“Good! Very good! Hahahaha!” Kamus laughed proudly.

Kasine and Leona also smiled brightly with pride and joy.

What Sokram couldn’t tell them was that, in his previous timeline, he had found the Inheritance of Emperor Drokmin.

He had inherited the complete version of Black Lotus War Art, which he still had engraved in his mind, but couldn’t use it, as Nhiria would definitely recognize it.

The reason he was sure of that was that once Nhiria told him that she believed Drokmin would be the one who became her champion before Sokram was even born.

Thinking of this, Sokram looked at them in surprise, “So you knew from the start that the story of my family finding the inheritance of Emperor Drokmin was a lie?”

But the one who answered was Leona, “Sokram, you once had to make an Oath to never lie to me, right? Do you think I didn’t make the same Oath to my Master? So they know enough. But the same way you trust me with your life, I trust them.”

Sokram nodded, smiling, “That’s good. I don’t like keeping secrets from family.”

Kasine’s smile grew even wider hearing that, “Good, then come with Nana. We have a lot of work to do today.”

“Yes, Nana!” Sokram started following Kasine.

But Kamus reminded him before he left, “Before sunrise, don’t be late!”

“Yes, Grandmaster!” Sokram shouted firmly, as his body recovered under the sunlight, even faster now that his energy flow returned to normal.

But every muscle throbbed in dull protest, yet beneath the ache pulsed a restless excitement for what awaited at dawn.