3 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

*Shbam* A fist connected with a frail body and Sal was sent flying.

His face was pale and dirty. Compared to some months ago when he was just promoted to a Golden Mage at least he became more robust and where was far less fat on his small body.

"Stop playing dead and get up, Sal." – Sad Victor while preparing to hit him another time. – "Do you really think that I can't distinguish a living person from a dead one?"

"I was hoping so, Old man!"

"No, no, I am getting up, don't hit me…Ahhhhh" – Another punch rapidly approached his face and returned him back to the ground.

"A real enemy won't wait for you to get up."

"Yeah, yeah, you've told me that already a hundred times…" *Boooom*

He was kicked from the ground and crashed on their houses wall.

"But you don't learn, Son, so I have to repeat every time. Ok, now let me see if you improved at your qi training. Come here."

Sal, somehow, was able to stand up after being trashed by his dad, and, activated his qi. A nearly unnoticeable gray radiance surrounded him.

"Ok. I see that you trained a bit…" – Victor glanced at his son. – "…but you still slaked off!"

"No, no! That's slandering! I've trained giving my all!" – Screamed the boy visibly wronged.

"Ok, lets assume that I believe you for now. Go inside and train your qi for some hours."

Sal didn't say anything and went inside.

Victor remained in the courtyard with pensive expression on his face.

"He is really too untalented in the warrior's path…But he has to train in it to become a real golden mage someday."

Sal's mother appeared behind him. – "What are you thinking about?"

"We should change our approach to his training. He really is too much lacking in the warrior's path. So, I was thinking about something else."

[….]

The boy loudly closed the door to his room and fell on the bed, exhausted. Even if his physique was somehow improved by the World's Will it was still very difficult to pass his father's training unscathed.

"Ok, lets see…" – he opened a familiar black book and started to read.

[…the qi practitioners are divided in seven tiers: apprentice, soldier, warrior, general, king, emperor, god.]

"I'm an apprentice, and I can manifest my qi externally."

[To train your qi, you must absorb the energy of the world, and convert it into qi inside your body…]

Every time he read it, Sal hoped to find some possible shortcut, but there really weren't any.

"It's so booring…" he thought and started to sense, absorb and convert the world energy. After a few minutes his eyes became sleepy. He resisted the urge to sleep for another half an hour but after that he lost it and fell asleep. Even if it was relatively easy to perceive energy with his [Insight] but it was still very difficult for the body itself to "process" world energy.

[…]

It was already lunch time when Sal reopened his eyes.

He was still sleepy and weak. "Damn, not even sleeping helps after this training shit!"

After complaining us usual for a bit he stood up from the bed and went to the kitchen but after hearing some new voices he stopped for a moment and started going stealthy.

The voices gradually became more and more understandable.

-"…So you want him to go to the nearest city to continue his studies?"

This voice wasn't new to him and Sal immediately remembered where he heard it before. "Ok, this one is the old merchant who passes through our village every two months…what was his name again? ...Edward or something…"

-"Yes, he need to become strong, and here, with me and Juliet, it's impossible."

-"Ok, I understand. But is it necessary to do it this way? I think it may be dangerous for the boy…"

Edward's old voice was interrupted by a woman. –"With us around it won't be."

-"No, I think that it would be dangerous for me…"

Silence covered the room. –"Ok, it's also understandable… I can give you this, to insure, that, you will survive no matter what."

Sal was extremely curious to what his father gave to Edward but suppressed his urge because he didn't want to be exposed.

-"So it's all settled, thank you Chief."

-"Now all that remains is to tell the boy eavesdropping behind this door about his future. Come here Sal, do you really though that we won't be able to notice you?"

A drop of sweet came down from Sal's forehead. –"No! I was only curious…" but his babbling was interrupted by Juliet –"Just come here."

He entered the room. There were three people: Sal's parents and a middle age man. He was skinny but the absence of body mass was compensated by the presence of a lot of clothes. On the right hand he had two ring, one with the image of an ear of wheat and a piece of meat engraved on it and the other simply had a form of a chain.

-"This is Edward, the merchant who usually pass through our village. You probably remember him."

Merchant smiled towards Sal, but it seamed a bit forced.

Victor continued.

-"I don't know exactly what you already heard of our conversation, so I will explain everything anew…"

Sal interrupted. –"Who cares! I heard that you want me to study in some big city? Is it really necces..." *Booom* Juliet punched him on the head. –"Don't interrupt while your parents are speaking."

-"Yes, since you are extremely untalented in the warrior's path I think that we have to sand you away. Here, with our protection, you will never be able to become powerful, so we will send you to the Warriors Academy in Url-Salan. There you will be able to acquire your own lucky chances and become powerful."

"Probably." Thought Victor but didn't say anything else.

"Url-Salan?"- Asked Sal. He never heard that name. Strictly speaking he never heard about any location apart his village and some holy sites like Burning Moon Temple.

-"It's a city not too far from here. It very ancient and the most important thing that it has, is Warrior Academy. Its head council is entirely composed by a God-tier-warriors. It has a very long tradition of grooming warriors, and some legends even say that some of its student was able to transcend the God-tier."

Victor's eyes were burning. –"But its only a legend." - He concluded.

-"And you two want me to study in this Academy?"

-"Precisely. I'm sure that you will become a wonderful warrior there!"

-"Are you sure that you're not sending me away only because I'm pretty untalented and you want to blame other people and not yourself if I actually WON'T became a great warrior?" - Sal asked with suspicion written all over his face .

Juliet glanced at her son. –" Yeah, we're sure. And if you won't be able to become powerful the only person who I will blame is YOU!"

Another drop of sweat appeared on his forehead. "Damn"

-"Hahahaha, I was obviously joking! Come on mommy, I will become great and powerful warrior in this fuc…fantastic academy."

-"I hope so for you."

Victor smiled like he always did and clapped his hands. –"So everything is settled. Edward, I will leave my son in your caring hands for this little travel."

Merchant only nodded, but there was an evil glint in his black eyes. The same ominous light also shined for a second in Victor's eyes.

-"Hehe, ok, Sal, now go and prepare your luggage for the travel."

-"Sure."

[…]

A warm wind was caressing Sal's face while Edward was putting his small luggage inside the carriage.

Everything was still, and only in the distance one could hear some voices of other villagers who were all working in the fields.

"Come here, boy." – Sal's mother embraced him for a moment. –"Only one thing: never disgrace your family name, ok?"

Sal nodded silently. In these days he was increasingly more interested in his parent's background. His father, for example, who Sal thought to be an ordinary village chief, was an extremely skilled and knowledgeable warrior…

Victor approached Sal, and, also embraced him for a moment. Then he whispered to his son: -"From now on you will understand why one should never blackmail his own father, Boy."

Sal'a'Zar's pupils constricted and a very ominous feeling nearly crushed his mind. "What was he talking about…"

-"Now go. Send us some letters, Sal!"

Some fake tears appeared in Victor's eyes while Juliet was quiet and calm as a frozen lake.

-"Never disgrace your family."

The boy sat near Edward on the carriage and the long journey started.