Invitation - 636

His father walked away without saying anything. His mother asked a few questions, concerned, but Skymender waved them off and said he was fine.

She had long been suspicious of his actions, but when she went to Baron Sky he had told her not to worry about it, that it was all under control and Skymender would be fine.

She had accepted that, but she couldn't help but worry. Skymender soon made it alone, where he began to manage the constant pain.

Another month passed. Skymender had healed faster this time. Taking it as a sign, he repeated the process. Becoming immune would no doubt take a long time, but Skymender felt as if it would definitely happen. And this wasn't the same as becoming immune to a poison. That was very specific, and most immunities wouldn't make you immune to other poisons.

This was corrosion, and he was becoming immune to it. In other words, whether it was his corrosive poison or another, he would be immune to the corrosion effect.

Of course, this was also not like poison in another way.

He could become fully immune to a certain poison, no matter how strong it was, but it was impossible to become completely immune to corrosion. There could always be something more corrosive out there. He could only become as immune as his corrosive poison would allow.

Even more time passed. Skymender turned 10 years old.

It was hard to remember, but he was only 9 years old this entire time. Suffering to become immune to poison, as well as corrosion, he had battled through pain that no adult could withstand. Yet he was only 9, now 10.

Even Skymender felt that his future was limitless. It was clear to see. What other 9 year old could be his equal?

He did not know of any.

Skymender's life did not change at all even after turning 10. He continued with the same cycle. Eventually, everyone around him got used to his pale face and bloodshot eyes. It was not even mentioned anymore.

As time passed, the school year ended and summertime began again.

Skymender did not plan to go to the Imperial Capital, he had no need to. Plus, it was not good to overdo it.

However, after receiving a letter in the mail, his mind was changed.

Once again, he received a letter from the Imperial Scholar. It had been nearly a year since the last one.

"Hello, Skymender. Your devotion to research is impressive. I am inviting you to the Imperial Scholar camp over the summer. What is that, you ask? I just made it. It is for those with the highest potential to become a scholar. It will begin two weeks after summer starts. I warn you, do not miss this opportunity. You may never get it again."

Skymender was surprised. However, putting the pieces together, he had indeed heard of the Imperial Scholar's old age.

If he had heard correctly, he had turned 70 this year. It was not surprising that this camp had been created. More than producing scholars, he was most likely searching for a future Imperial Scholar.

It would be hard to replace him. Just like the current Emperor and Sword Master Shang were some of the greatest of their roles in the Empire's history, the current Imperial Scholar was one of the greatest Imperial Scholars on record.

There was nobody clearly better than him, just those considered as good as him. It truly was an incredible era for the Faceless Empire.

Skymender truly could not ignore this invitation. Simply being taught by the Imperial Scholar was a rare opportunity, experienced by extremely few.

Melly had already returned to her parents home, so Skymender immediately went to his parents. They were thrilled to hear the news. His mother nearly wept tears of joy. Skymender's future seemed as bright as their two eldest children. They really could not ask for more.

Nobody even considered the possibility of him not accepting. They would not allow it to happen regardless, even if Skymender wished to reject it.

Since there were two weeks until its start, and it took ten days to reach the Imperial Capital, Skymender would depart tomorrow.

Before that, however, he returned to the school lab. Though this year of school was over, Skymender naturally had access to the lab.

He entered and collected his items. This included his ten cauldrons, his notes, and his most important ingredients. He would leave the less important stuff here.

He could always buy more in the Imperial Capital. Most importantly, he looked at a nearly destroyed wall. It had actually already been replaced twice. Luckily, it wasn't structurally important.

It seemed to be on its last legs. 

Skymender threw a vial at it and stepped forward with his hand out.

His hand touched the corrosive substance, but he did not react. It corroded his hand, but only by a single layer. 

Even patches of the first layer of his skin were not corroded.

The pain was intense, but nothing compared to before. In addition, his pain resistance had increased by leaps and bounds.

In addition to this, he had noticed something accidentally a while ago.

Once, when he had done this, a drop or two of the corrosive substance had splashed onto his other arm.

Although it had hurt and had gone deeper than it would have on his other arm, he was able to clearly tell that it was more resistant than it should have been, especially since that was its first time in contact with the corrosive poison.

Skymender expected that he had a bit of resistance everywhere, though he did not plan to test it. His testing hand was already horribly scarred, never to recover. Even where that drop had hit was a clear mark.

He did not mind scars, but doing so unnecessarily was pointless. 

Skymender eventually returned home and fell asleep. The next morning, just as he woke up, he found another letter from the Imperial Scholar.