The Guild was as efficient as ever. That same night, a staff member came by and handed Altaïr the schedule for the Arena Challenge.
The Guild Manager planned to enter him in four matches, one at each rank from 2★ through 5★. His opponents would be a Bulldrome, a Yian Kut-Ku, a Rathian, and finally a Nargacuga, all formidable Monsters for their respective ranks.
The first match was scheduled for three days later.
According to the staff member, the delay was because the Guild Manager wanted time to promote the event.
"The youngest High Rank Hunter" made for a good title. Ordinary people might not know what being a "High Rank Hunter" meant, but promotional posters plastered with exaggerated slogans such as "Special Invitation from the Guild," "Powerhouse of the New Generation," and "Unprecedented Genius" were bound to catch their attention.
As long as Altaïr put on an impressive performance in the first match, word would spread and draw even more spectators.
Altaïr was quite satisfied with the arrangement.
He had no interest in the size of the audience, but he liked the idea of starting at 2★ and facing progressively more difficult challenges.
At his current level, a Bulldrome would do nothing to hone his swordsmanship. Right now, however, he needed an easy opponent like that to begin training in Devouring Demon.
He also wanted to see whether the microbes inside his body would become more active in battle, just as Master Amos had suggested.
—--
Altaïr did not remain completely idle over the next two days.
Apart from eating and sleeping, he spent nearly every moment in the underground Training Area beneath the courtyard.
At first, Isis came to check on him and reminded him not to overtrain. Once she realized he was doing no physical training at all and merely sitting cross-legged in a corner, absorbed in sword meditation, she had little more to say.
For a Long Sword user who emphasized spiritual discipline, meditating for several days at a stretch was perfectly normal.
What Isis did not know was that Altaïr had not been practicing ordinary meditation for the past two days.
The danger of what he was doing was not much lower than facing a Monster with a high Danger Rating alone.
Sid, who had taught him the training method, had repeatedly warned him that Devouring Demon could not be practiced in the Training Area. Only a true fight and entry into the so-called Devouring Demon state would allow the body to barely endure the damage caused by violently boiling blood and vital energy. Yet after studying the method over and over, Altaïr concluded that Sid might not have been entirely right. He, at least, had found a small shortcut.
Other Long Sword users had to ignite their blood and vital energy all at once to enter Devouring Demon, driving them into a violent boil.
Altaïr, however, was an unorthodox Long Sword user who habitually mixed Demon Mode, Charged Slash, and Beast Soul Possession. He had developed exceptionally precise control over his blood and vital energy.
To use an imperfect analogy, controlling them was like boiling water. Once the water reached its boiling point, it immediately began to boil. That was Devouring Demon. Yet if the temperature remained even a single degree below that point, his blood and vital energy would not truly erupt.
Other Long Sword users could drive the "water temperature" from room temperature straight past its boiling point, while Altaïr could control it precisely enough to hold it just a few degrees below.
Even in that state, his highly activated blood and vital energy damaged his body, though less severely than they would in the Devouring Demon state.
He appeared to be meditating, but in reality, he was repeatedly "heating and cooling" his blood and vital energy, accustoming himself to the excruciating sensation of being burned alive from the inside out.
After another attempt brought him close to the boiling point, Altaïr regulated his breathing and gradually calmed the flow of blood and vital energy. Only once the searing pain had completely subsided did he slowly open his eyes.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Altaïr took out a Potion and slowly drank it.
He could feel his body gradually adapting to the burning heat and searing agony brought on by his boiling blood and vital energy.
He was also becoming faster and more proficient at igniting them. If he wished, he should now be able to trigger that violent boil at any moment and truly enter the Devouring Demon state.
Should he try it?
Should he take the risk here and now, in the Training Area with no opponent to fight, and experience what it felt like to activate Devouring Demon fully?
Or should he wait until he entered the Arena, activate Devouring Demon there, and gamble on succeeding at the first attempt?
Both options carried considerable risk...
After hesitating for several minutes, Altaïr made up his mind.
He left the Training Area and returned to his room, where he took an emergency Max Potion from his Item Pouch and clenched it in one hand. Then he headed back to the Training Area.
The moment he returned, however, he stopped in his tracks.
Master Amos stood in the center of the Training Area, watching him in silence.
"Master Amos." Altaïr discreetly slipped the Max Potion from his palm into his sleeve and smiled. "What brings you--"
"What are you training?" Amos cut off the small talk. "Isis was a little careless. She thought you had only been meditating for the past two days, so there wouldn't be any danger.
"But I'm not her.
"The cushion you used for meditation has been soaked through with sweat many times. Salt crystals have even formed on it, and you left an empty bottle nearby before you could put it away.
"Normal meditation wouldn't make you sweat that much, much less force you to drink Potions to heal your injuries. What are you training?"
When Altaïr fell silent, Amos let out a soft sigh.
"If you were still the immature, ignorant brat from years ago, not even old enough to be considered an adult, I'd give you a thorough scolding.
"But you're over twenty now, an excellent Hunter capable of standing on your own and taking responsibility for your actions.
"There's nothing wrong with taking risks in pursuit of greater strength. As long as you aren't breaking any laws, I won't stop you.
"But if you truly intend to take a risk, I hope you'll at least discuss it with your teacher. I could offer advice and serve as a safety net for you."
After another brief silence, Altaïr nodded and chose to tell him the truth.
"I'm training in a Hunter Art called Devouring Demon."
The Old Hunter's expression shifted several times, and Altaïr sensed trouble.
"You were training Devouring Demon in the Training Area while drinking Potions?" Amos asked, biting off each word.
"Uh..."
Master Amos's reaction made it clear that he knew about Devouring Demon. He might even have trained in it himself.
Amos's face darkened. He grabbed a wooden sword from the rack beside him. "I take back what I said. As your teacher, I believe I still have a duty to teach you a proper lesson."
"No, listen to me..." Altaïr quickly raised his hands, but the motion was too hasty. The Max Potion hidden in his sleeve fell out and rolled to Amos's feet.
"A Max Potion... Is this how you intend to use one?!"
"No, no, no, no! Hear me out!" Altaïr scrambled to explain. "I have unusually good control over my blood and vital energy. For the past two days, I've stayed right at the edge of the boiling point without ever truly entering the Devouring Demon state..."
"..."
"Then what is the Max Potion for?" Amos flicked his wooden sword and sent the fallen potion into his hand.
"...I... Fine, I did mean to try activating Devouring Demon briefly, but only for a moment!
"I planned to train in it properly during tomorrow's Arena Challenge, but what if I failed to activate it in actual combat? So I thought I'd try it once beforehand, only once!"
"So you really do need to be taught a lesson after all..." Amos muttered darkly. The wooden sword flashed, striking the fleshy part of Altaïr's thigh and backside.
The blow landed hard. Even Altaïr yelped "Ow!" and jumped.
"Do you know what you did wrong?" Amos's furious tone made Altaïr feel as though he had gone back ten years.
Back then, when he had sneaked out of town, Teacher Karin had scolded him in exactly the same way.
"Getting stronger sometimes means taking risks, but you need to learn how to manage them." Amos did not give Altaïr time to answer before continuing. "If you had come to me or Isis, or asked Sajji to keep watch, I wouldn't be this angry. Instead, you chose the worst possible approach. You hid alone in the Training Area and took the risk by yourself.
"Even if you were eighty or ninety percent certain, what about the remaining ten or twenty percent?
"Did you consider that the agony of activating Devouring Demon might leave you unable to control your body, or even to chew and swallow the medicine in your mouth?
"Did you imagine us realizing at dinner that you were missing, searching everywhere, and finding your corpse in the Training Area?"
Altaïr was speechless for a moment. Then he muttered under his breath, "I just didn't want any of you to worry..."
* * *
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