Chapter 72: Master and Disciple
Amidst the ever changing world, Endymion was someone who stayed still, watching from a far. For thousands of years he acted as a bystander after the death of his Apomero. He never involved himself with anything too much, displaying his detachment. There were so many things Endymion used to let go in order to be such a person.
'But this…' Endymion's hasty feets worked like an engine as he barely contained his urge to run. He looked like he was about to lead a second war against the demons. 'This isn't the time to be a bystander.'
His beautiful golden eyebrows folded downwards, the dazzling emerald gems of his forehead crown danced with his movements, reflecting light so beautiful even his frown looked like a work of art to the people around him.
BANG!
Forgetting to control his strength, Endymion slammed opened the door. The door basically flew away before he even set foot inside the room.
Ignoring it, Endymion's amber eyes scanned the room inside.
It was a private training ground, only available for students who can afford 500 achievement points to rent it for half an year. For a student, especially a first year student, it was too expensive.
To his dismay, the person he was looking for had the ability to rent a place this expensive.
Endymion's stern eyes finally catched the person he searched inside the entire Ochros Palace.
Short white hair with aquamarine blue tips, aloof expression decorating his doll-like face and sparkling ocean blue eyes currently looking at Endymion with a hint of astonishment and confusion.
The dashing little boy, looking no more than a five years old in human age, held twin swords unmatching his size as he stood at the middle of the training ground.
"Euclid Zale Agyris." Endymion called out, his voice as suffocatingly sharp as the blades on Euclid's hands.
"Professor." Euclid lowered his weapon and bowed.
Endymion's lips twitched. Not in humor nor in approval, it was displeasure.
He was the one who ordered the students to treat him like a professor inside the Ochros Palace, yet hearing it now felt like an insult to his position as a grandfather.
"I heard you are visiting the west wing more frequently now."
"Yes."
The answer without hesitation made Endymion clench his fist involuntarily.
It had only been five days since the engagement had been finalized, yet this boy had begun to openly flirt with his precious granddaughter since before the engagement.
'How dare you!'
Frankly, Endymion was supposed to encourage this.
After all, Dragons cannot give up on a single dragon, let alone a hatchling, due to their low population. One of the many reasons for Dragons to be near extinction is this soul bound called Apomero.
To prevent any death, when a dragon forms their Symbol of Apomero, the other dragons actively support and encourage the dragon and his prospective Apomero to finish forming their bond together.
Especially since Endymion is the Former Dragon King, he had to pay attention to these kinds of things more.
After what happened to his only niece, who lost her life after forming an unstable second stage Apomero symbol with Atlas, Endymion didn't want to see any more deaths due to this curse disguised as a romantic blessing.
Even so, seeing Atlas's only cousin; Euclid, doing the same as his deceased niece made his heart and mind very complicated.
He didn't like it, yet he had no excuse to interfere. And even if he had any excuses to do so, he honestly couldn't.
It was a mess.
"If you have so much time to flirt with my granddaughter, why not train in that spare time to catch up with her?" He could help but blurt out.
"...I am training. Even now." Euclid frowned slightly, looking down at the blades on his hands.
"Cough. Cough." Seeing his irrational words being effortlessly blocked, Endymion looked away. The place under his eyes slowly turned red.
A silence so long it could rival the Karis river flowed between them.
No one spoke first. There wasn't even a single movement of a finger. In the end, Endymion, as a proper adult, gave up first.
It wasn't absolutely because the silence was uncomfortable nor was it because he was afraid of his granddaughter's adorable wrath.
His former avoiding gaze landed on Euclid with newfound calculations.
〖Ding!〗
〖Profile Window
Name: Euclid Zale Argyris
Race: Dragon
Age: 170 years
Core Rank: D+
Job(s): Beginner Mage(Low), Beginner Warrior(Low)
Title(s): Storm Born
Attribute(s): Water, Ice, Lightning, Wind
Strength: B
Defence: B
Agility: C+
Sense: C+
Vitality: A-
Mana: ∞
Intelligent: A-
Charm: S-
Unique Skill: Polymorph
Passive Skills: Drakonic, Eidetic memory, Photographic memory, Hyperthymesia, Accelerate thinking speed, Parallel thinking, Polyglot, Detection, Survival instincts, Mana sense, Night Vision, Poison Immunity, Disease Immunity, Charm Immunity, Curse Immunity, Mind Magic Immunity, Blood Magic Immunity, Creation Magic Immunity, Slow Regeneration
Active Skills: Low flight, X-ray vision, Weather Link
Warrior imprint: Basic Swordsmanship (G+), Basic Dagger art (G+), Basic war Hammer art (G+), Basic crossbow art (G+), Basic Trident art (G+), Basic Twin Sword Art (G+), Basic Whip art (G+), Breath of the Ice Spirit (A+), Thunder Blade (DG)
Mage imprint: Basic Magic (1st Circle), Basic mana missile (1st circle)...see more〗
Euclid's stats made Endymion speechless.
Usually, the lazy dragons only did bare minimum to rank up. They never trained so fiercely, never cultivated, never even took their missions seriously.
The reason it took them thousands of years to rank up was because of this.
But this new generation seemed to be dead set on gaining power as soon as possible.
There was no hesitation, no lack of determination.
To think a hatchling leveled up this much in just one mission.
Endymion sighed as he closed his eyes. His eyes, like burned embers, disappeared behind his fluttering golden eyelashes.
"Student Euclid."
Endymion extended his arms.
Two twin swords manifested with a soft hum, wrapped in a subtle amber hue.
The blades looked thin and long, hilts golden as if crafted by pure gold. Each sword hilt bore a finely polished emerald the size of a baby's fist. The blade itself was of multiple colors, as if crafted by stealing and hastily mixing the colors of a rainbow over a jet-black surface. Reminding of a black opal. Green, blue, pink and yellow shone dimly, indicating the legacy of Cosmic steals.
In appearance, it definitely surpassed Cadmus' Dragon Slayer.
"Before we resume the conversation about training, let me ask you a question." Endymion lifted his eyelids, fixing his sharp gaze on Euclid.
Those enigmatic, burning eyes—the kind that looked like glittering amber gems, yet hosted living flames underneath a mere facade of beauty—held thousands of years of wisdom and secrets buried by the passage of time.
Under his gaze, Endymion saw Euclid stiffening slightly, visible to the naked eye. Instead of pointing it out. Endymion pointed one of his swords at Euclid.
"... Anything." Euclid nodded.
"What are weapons for?" Endymion asked.
".."
"Hmmm?"
"...To kill." Under Endymion's questioning gaze, Euclid responded in a small yet thoughtful voice.
"That's right." Hearing his response, Endymion nodded. A few strands of his golden hair fell on to his face, covering one of his amber eyes. His loosely braided hair still rested on his shoulder like usual.
"Weapons are here for killing. To take someone's life. And if you are ready to kill, you must be ready to get killed too. That's what it takes to wield weapons. Anyone who doesn't know that fact is destined to fall."
Slash!
Endymion thoughtlessly waved the pointed sword to the side.
That single movement was so fluid, so elegant, it felt like watching a limb move instead of a sword. As if he was just adjusting his grip, as if he wasn't even doing it on purpose, his actions needed none of his focus. Slow and thoughtless. It appeared that simple to anyone watching it.
But the impact it brought upon was anything but simple.
Bang!
The ground beneath cracked deep. Debris flew away and dust covered the radius of five meters.
Euclid unconsciously tightened his grip on his twin swords. Every being of his nerves were fixated on the dust clouds.
There's no need to explain what would happen next.
Suddenly, the back of his hair stood at the end. His detection skill and survival instinct skill flared up as he instinctively looked up.
Bam!
"I assume you are confident in your training, Student Euclid."
The dust clouds hadn't even started settling, and Endymion had already launched an aerial attack.
Euclid was fortunate enough to block it barely. However, both of them knew it wouldn't have been possible if not for Endymion holding back a lot. If he really wanted to, cutting down both the sword and Euclid was as easy as cutting tofu.
Endymion's blade was neat and elegant.
Not too fast, not too slow. Just enough to give Euclid a challenge. As if he had adjusted his difficulty like an NPC from a VR stimulation.
"I," Euclid gritted his teeth, his hands trembling from the impact. "I'll do my best!"
"Best isn't enough. Because the concept of best is constantly changing."
Bam!
Endymion kicked Euclid in the stomach. There was no technique, only pure intent. Yet Euclid's could block it, couldn't dodge it and couldn't even see it coming.
He flew back several meters before snapping out of his daze. He immediately adjusted his balance mid-air and landed far away with a perfect summersault.
But alas, Endymion was already on the place he landed.
It was as if he calculated it beforehand.
Clang!
Four swords collided together. Euclid skidded back and barely came to a halt.
"Use everything you've got until you die doing so."
Clang!
Endymion's left sword made a simple uppercut while his right sword made a basic stab technique. Euclid barely deflected the former and dodged the latter.
"Do you understand?" His voice was commanding.
Someone who led the world to a victory against demons didn't have to try extra hard to give commands. It naturally came out. And people naturally obeyed those commands.
"I'll keep that in mind!"
"Good."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Endymion unleashed his
The air around Endymion visibly twisted.
It became heavy.
Dark.
Authoritative.
Almost divine.
And…absolute.
It was the aura of an ancient dragon, forged with killing intent, natural authority and centuries of hardened resolve.
However, using the word "unleashing" would be an overestimation in this situation. Only about 05% of
Yet, Euclid's movements noticeably slowed. His body stiffened further. As if thousand swords were aimed at his neck, ready to cut him down at any given moment. Endymion didn't let that chance go wasted.
He moved his arm, aiming the hilt of his right sword on Euclid's chin.
Bam!
The next was his heart.
Slam!
His guts.
Pow!
His back.
Paw!!
The rapid rain of assaults came and went away within just a few seconds. At the end of it all, Euclid was coughing up golden blood with bruises all over. Cold sweat, something a dragon wouldn't get even after training harshly, was loudly declaring their presence.
Since he's in the body of a human, mimicking human body functions, even if it's barely, seeing it wasn't unnatural.
"Pathetic." Yet Endymion seems to have taken it differently.
"Ugh... Cough. Cough. Cough."
"Euclid Zale Agyris, son of Zeno, bearer of the title of Storm Born, second in line to House Agyris head position and the prospective Prince Consort candidate." Endymion's calm, ancient voice, so solemn that it sounded like a divine revelation, reached every corner of the training ground.
Euclid straightened his back, taking a stance for him to counter Endymion's next attack.
However, Endymion merely stared down at him, his posture relaxed, blades lowered.
"I, Endymion Fotis Eleftherios, hereby declare you my first disciple."
For a moment, everything went still.
So much so it gave the illusion that time had stopped by the hand of an unseen entity. And the world responded by holding their breath.
Euclid's blue eyes, the kind that had the winter ocean trapped inside, winded as if it might pop out at any moment. His jaw dropped. The aloof expression or the struggling determination was nowhere to be found.
He looked genuinely shocked. Confused, even.
"Ummm…."
"Speak your thoughts." Endymion lifted his chin. There was no arrogance he displayed in his classes. No humor, not even a slight joy. He was truly sincere and firm.
"...Why?"
'Why indeed.'
The moment Endymion saw him get the title of "Storm Born" at the Awakening Ceremony, Euclid earned his attention. But his decision solidified only after Euclid chose Twin Swords as his main weapons.
Endymion, too, used Twin Swords as his main weapons.
However, his intention was to observe a bit more, perhaps until Euclid finished his second growth pace before approaching him.
Alas, if only he didn't covet his precious granddaughter…this relationship would have built upon much more deeper feelings and intentions.
Now, Endymion just wanted to use this as an excuse to poke into Euclid's every little weakness.
That way, Endymion gets to vent his frustration and Euclid gets to experience true strength for his growth. And in doing so, Endymion thought of creating a perfect meat shield for Kyriaki.
Euclid will be her guardian, her sword and shield. And in return, he'd get the best training he could get from a mentor. He'll rise to the top of the universe by his guidance. He'll become stronger with a greater foundation and a fast speed.
Both parties get something valuable.
But Endymion had no intention of explaining any of that.
"If you so desire to know, find out for yourself." Endymion flatly refused any cooperation.
Euclid brushed away some sweat from his chin as he watched Endymion with his tiny lips pressed together. They stared at each other for a while. It appeared as if they were two lions testing waters before a bloody battle of pride.
"I'll tell Ria if you mistreat me." When Euclid suddenly blurred out nonchalantly, for the first time Endymion showed a genuine reaction.
His facial expressions froze. His body stiffened ever so slightly. It was enough change for Euclid to notice. He flashed a rare smirk as Endymion gripped his swords tighter.
'Dammit.'
Whether it was because he was afraid of Kyriaki's scolding or he was angry because Euclid caught on to his fear, he just cursed inwardly with colorful words.
"Euclid," Endymion gritted his teeth. This time, there wasn't even pretentious politeness in his voice. "Do you accept it or not?"
"I accept!" Euclid grinned slyly.
"I see," the amber eyed Former Dragon King nodded. "Well then, my dear disciple…"
"What is it, Master?"
'This sly brat!'
"It's not what it's just Yes. When I speak; don't question, don't argue, and most importantly, do not read into it. Just answer. Obedience is the rule of a true disciple."
"..."
"Do you understand?"
"...Yes!"
Endymion's sharp tone and icy amber eyes made Euclid respond disciplinedly. A soft breeze embraced them with a touch of a spring fairy, coming from who knows where. Their attires rustled and hair danced with the breeze.
Burning amber met ocean blue in the air.
Then—
Endymion stepped forward.
The world blurred.
Steel met steel in a world no one was there to pay attention to.
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