Castor sat with his head down, contemplating his life choices.
"Haa..."
He sighed, his eyes gazing at the broken box of liquor, the purple and dark red liquid had spread through the floor, making the already strong smell even stronger making their nostril feel a burning sensation.
"It's your fault you know....?" I spoke without hesitation, the container broke solely by his fault. He got too excited and exerted more force than necessary.
This resulted in my movements becoming, more blurry in his view and the counterattack making him lose balance.
All in all, he fell while using his strengthened physic and crushed the bottles under his weight.
"Well, luckily you didn't get any glass stuck on you." I said, trying to comfort him.
"I will take extra from my cut..." He mumbled out and soon reached to touch the liquid on the floor.
"Haa.... Alright, just take it."
Not wanting to escalate the situation any further I let him do as he wanted.
"So, how about it?"
I asked eagerly, wanting to hear his opinion on our fight.
The spar was insightful, giving me something more than just clarity. The instincts I had been relying on all those times sharpened, becoming much more deadlier than before.
But there was much more room for improvement, the instincts had become clear but they still were not a blade I could utilize anytime I wished for.
"About our spar you mean? I can give you a brutal truth, or a sugar-coated lie... Which one do you wish to hear?"
I froze, Castor's words hit like a silent storm of blades, unable to hide my shock I asked hesitantly.
"....Was it that bad? I mean, it was not the best but—"
"Asher." He stopped me, his hand raised and eyes completely serious.
"....." I waited in silence then told in a small voice.
"The brutal truth."
Castor nodded his head, then folded his arms above his chest.
"You are strong... But only against a weaker opponent, your fight has instincts but no real power behind it, you fight but there is no intent to kill or any bloodlust behind it... No, maybe when you lose control of yourself there is that bloodlust, but I won't call it your's, just because you have a sword won't make you a swordsman, you need to know how to use it... Your situation is the same."
His words hit me like a ton of bricks, but I couldn't argue with them. They were the truth. Castor had seen through my flaws in just one spar. I had been living a lie, thinking I was skilled because I could handle myself in fights against surprised opponents and wild beasts. But in the grand scheme of things, those were just children's games compared to what was out there.
"I am aware...." I solemnly accepted his words not refuting even a single word that came out of his mouth.
"I am not saying you are weak, rather you are obviously stronger than me. But it also feels like you never confronted an opponent of your caliber, You have only used one ability but it is still good enough to make others sweat in fear... I don't know what your second ability is, since you don't want to tell it." He took a deep breath and added in a stern voice.
"You are not meant for a direct confrontation... The world is not fair, all elements and abilities even of similar rank are also not of the same strength, I can tell this from my experience... but they all have their use. You need to find the right way to use your ability. My limit is this much, to be stuck as a rank 1 forever but you have a future ahead, something very far and something I can never reach."
I nodded in understanding, feeling the weight of his words.
"How do you suggest I overcome this weakness?" I asked already knowing the answer.
"You need to train, and train hard, but not just with your body. Train your mind, learn to anticipate, to strategize. And most importantly, find the true essence of your abilities. Your instincts are a gift, but they are not enough."
He grinned and said in a voice that didn't hide his excitement.
"And use artifacts... This way you can fill the gap of power. Your most important weakness is having no force to kill the opponent. So, try to get artifacts of every kind you can, from short-range to long-range. Don't shy away from finding them and with your talent and well... With your luck finding some stray shards might also be possible."
"Hmm, I also had the same thoughts." I nodded, I can't go monster hunting here that was obvious.
But that doesn't mean I can't strategize for the future!
"Let's keep our spar at least thrice a week." I requested immediately, wearing my jacket at the same time.
Castor remained silent for a moment and nodded.
"Not like I have any choice..." He muttered and looked away toward the broken bottles once more.
"...Let me help," I spoke and took the broom and bought the cleaning equipment from the corner.
"Should have done it sooner," Castor grumbled taking the work upon himself.
While we cleaned my thoughts drifted, and my mind empowered by Kairosflow accelerated, my mind before empty was now filled with hundreds of thoughts and ideas.
But they all came and went immediately. After all, to suit my needs, they needed to be both strong and effective. Something, that's very hard to do.
I pondered what Kairosflow and Static do together. But no spark of inspiration came... till now.
Yet, I was certain I could do something new, something better.
'Let's start with basics, what can static do, it stops an opponent's time, freezing them in an eternal state that doesn't change unless affected by an outside force... But it has serious problems as well. The biggest issue being the mental toll and unable to maintain it for a lot of time.'
Crunch—
Under my footsteps shattered sound took me aback, I looked down and frowned.
The broken glass was spread far wider than I previously thought.
Leaning down, I started picking them up one by one silently.
'Theoretically speaking, it's possible to maintain the effect of frozen time for a long period if I can have an endless supply of origin as well recovery faster than fatigue could catch up, but one problem would still remain that being focus and awareness... How was I supposed to be aware of an object or a person I had stopped in time even during my sleep?'
It seems impossible right now, but the future was always unknown and full of possibility.
Next is Kairosflow, the ability which I have used the most till now. There is no doubt that whatever I plan to do in the future this ability will play a role much bigger than I could imagine.
Pursing my lips, I stood up and threw the bag containing glass shard to the corner.
Thunk—!
The sound of glass being thrown came from the bag, making Castor turn to look at it. He saw Asher standing near it with an expressionless face and a look of wonder.
He raised an eyebrow and asked him. "Do you need something?"
Coming out of my thoughts in a dazzled state, I looked at Castor figure leaning on the chair.
Sigh...
I sighed and said loudly.
"No, nothing, just in deep thought on how to use my abilities better."
Castor nodded, understanding my need to improve.
"Take your time, don't be in a hurry." He spoke, in a warm tone, something I never expected to come out of him.
"...How weird." I kept my voice down, yet Castor's face turned... Funny?
He stared at me with a blank look, regretting his life choices at this very moment.
"Has anyone ever taught you, to appreciate help given for free?" Castor's face at this moment was hard to describe, his eyes twitched but they became normal in seconds.
He was trying to keep his face straight!
"Free things are not of much value," I answered.
"I will charge you money next time for each piece of advice I give."
Castor grumbled with a smirk, no matter how much he complained, he was enjoying this bantering. Of course, Asher's words sounded ungrateful but in the end, he was a kid who could only be honest with himself.
Amused by his words, I shook my head.
"How greedy, but hey actually I wanted to ask something."
"How much are you willing to pay?" Castor replied.
I clenched my fist and brought it up. Castor raised his brow in suspicion and asked. "Are you threatening me?"
I smiled.
"Do you think so?"
Crack—
My fingers creaked as I clenched and unclenched my fist, Castor's eyes moved up and down seeing them, he gulped and answered back.
"I was joking... What help do you need, dear customer?"
"Haha..."
Laughing out loud, I let go of the cleaning equipment and leaned back on the wall.
"Do you know I met Ains yesterday, the young lord of Luna trade... He told some interesting things to me."
Castor's expression changed from suspicious to intrigued, and he sat up straight. "Ains? What did he say?"
"Well, first let me tell you what happened yesterday..."
Hearing my story, Castor shifted uncomfortably, his face showing a barrage of emotions yet a tint of greed appeared in his eyes.
He licked his lips, and a crooked smile made its way to his face, making him look excited.
"That's... Some good information Asher, I can use it well..." He grinned and leaned back.
"You didn't know about this?" I asked with a raised brow.
'Such an event is going on, and you a broker didn't know?' I looked at him in suspicion, my eyes looking directly at his, to pressure him to spill the beans.
Castor averted his gaze from mine and coughed loudly, his fist covering his face he spoke clearly in a certain tone.
"I was aware that there was tension between Lord Ains and his uncle, and that his parents went missing, no one was aware that they were assassinated... They hid it pretty well."
"They sure did..." I continued to stare at him.
"But it's normal to have tension for inheritance, now that the previous head is out of line, isn't it normal they will fight."
Castor explained readily, his gaze still holding the same greed.
"Do you plan to help one of them?" He asked.
"No, I plan to observe everything from afar right now... Just give me some information from time to time, you seem interested in this anyway."
Shaking my head, I told him the truth. There was no need for me to act right away, I was not doing this for money after all.
"I do plan to get involved but nothing crazy like what he asked you to do. Just try to strike a deal that will bring me the most profit, all he told you about his parent's death means he will fight openly now and not in the shadows anymore. The struggle will surely make the market go up and down soon."
I nodded, understanding Castor's intentions. The death of a lord was bound to shake things up, especially if it was at the hands of a family member.
"But it's not like they have proof who assassinated them, if Ains has it he could have struck his uncle anytime he wanted by now and devoured his company as well... So, he shouldn't have it, his uncle meanwhile has kept him in a tight leash by stopping any business from happening," I said back.
"And that's where the real game begins..." Castor leaned closer, his eyes gleaming with interest.
Castor suddenly tilted his head and asked out of nowhere.
"Did you get any idea for how to fight?"
Dumbfounded, I smacked my head, I had totally gone off topic for what I came from.
"No... I didn't get any idea."
Sigh...
"I will just keep practicing some tricks and well, think about it whenever I have time."
I replied, trying to hide my lack of direction.
Castor nodded, understanding my predicament. "Why don't you focus on the basics for now? Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective."
"I am focusing on that as well... Anyway I should go now, tell me if you find something about Elric or Ains."
Castor nodded, his eyes looked to be in deep thought making me uncertain about what he plans to do.
Unless it related to me, I could rest assured he was on my side.
In a game of tricks, who could truly win? The unpredictable or the one people could predict.
The answer is not possible to know, since even the dullest knife can strike an opponent. And if it's rusted the damage can last longer than one can imagine.