Chapter 58 - Sword

After Wesley reached his manor, he went straight to his basement, but not before receiving odd looks of surprise and concern from his guards and maids. Wesley's current appearance could only be described as haggard and poor. It simply didn’t align with the image they had of him.

Wesley, however, ignored their stares and made his way to the basement. He was extremely tired, and although he had spent most of the day passed out, he still felt like it wasn’t enough. Wesley thought it was most likely due to his injuries.

As soon as he reached the basement, which was now Wesley's official bedroom, he went to sleep. His sleep was uncharacteristically deep, likely due to the fact that the issue of his shattered core no longer weighed on his mind as heavily as it had earlier in the day.

- - - - - - - - -

Almost eight hours later, Wesley woke up from his slumber feeling surprisingly refreshed. Aside from his left shoulder, which was bruised and aching, he felt great. Considering everything he had gone through in the last couple of days, a good night's sleep was incredibly invigorating.

However, Wesley didn’t have time to marvel at his condition. He was on the verge of being late for his swordsmanship class, and although he would have much rather spent the day recuperating, he knew he had already skipped a day and couldn’t afford to skip another.

Wesley donned his red uniform and hurried to the swordsmanship class. Although he was only supposed to oversee the first years during regular class time, he wouldn’t dare be too late for fear of giving the second elder a reason to make his life difficult.

Over the last eight to nine months that Wesley had spent with the second elder, he had caught glimpses of the elder's true nature. Wesley knew the second elder was powerful, but unlike other powerful people he knew, such as his master, the second elder was more childish and free-spirited.

The second elder enjoyed conflicts and oddities. He would even encourage the first years to spar against Wesley and Kellan, simply for his amusement. If there was any way he could entertain himself, the second elder would find it.

However, despite his playfulness and open nature, Wesley still felt that the second elder was more profound than he appeared, especially after his encounter with that old expert from the Kader Family.

Ever so often, Wesley would notice the second elder in deep thought causing him to wonder what in the world can force an elder to be preoccupied.

Wesley reached the swordsmanship class in a few minutes. As soon as Wesley walked in, he noticed that all the students were staring at the center of the classroom while five blue clothed figures stood across from one azure robed figure.

Seeing this scene, Wesley was instantly startled. The second elder was facing five first years, causing Wesley to almost have a heart attack. Wesley knew how scary the second elder is, and the fact that those blue clothed students actually stood without running, made him feel sorry for them. If only they knew.

The second elder was holding a thin, long bastard sword in his right hand causing Wesley to heave a sigh of relief. If the second elder was serious, he wouldn't be holding a sword, rather he would have his gigantic green sword hovering around menacingly.

"Oh Wesley."

While Wesley was busy remembering the second elder's terrifying sword and his pressure, an almost laughing voice reached his ears causing him to frown and curse his luck. Wesley immediately looked towards the center of the class and spoke respectfully:

"Elder."

The second elder looked at Wesley for a few seconds, at which point a slight frown appeared on his face and he spoke:

"Where were you yesterday?"

Wesley stared at the second elder with an emotionless face as he replied:

"I left the city for a short while."

The second elder simply stared at Wesley with a slightly unconvinced look on his face.

"Is that so. Where did you go?"

Wesley frowned slightly as he replied:

"In the outskirts. I was.....sharpening my sword."

Wesley's paused slightly as he spoke. His words were not a complete lie, but he still hoped that the second elder wouldn’t pursue this topic any further.

The second elder's frown disappeared and he looked at Wesley with an amiable smile on his face. As he looked at the slightly frowning Wesley, the second elder had a sudden thought causing his smile to get even wider. Seeing the elder's smile, Wesley couldn’t help his heart from speeding up a little, these were telltale signs that the elder was up to something.

"I see, it is always necessary to sharpen one's sword. Anyway, I was about to demonstrate the importance of flexibility in a fight to these young ones. They seem too rigid in their spars as they keep using one technique after another. What do you think?"

Wesley knew the second elder was setting him up for something, but he still replied respectfully:

"Elder is right. Techniques are important, but not as important as the flexibility that enables one to respond and react to each enemy accordingly."

"Haha. Exactly. See, young ones, Wesley knows what I mean. I worry for the young ones in the upcoming ranking competition."

Wesley slowly walked toward the crowd of students, hoping the second elder would just let him be, but that was not going to happen, as the second elder spoke again:

"Wesley, I think it’s better if the young ones see you demonstrate what I mean by flexibility."

Wesley was inwardly cursing, but he still smiled at the elder and spoke:

"Elder, I can hardly compare to your teaching. You're the best person to demonstrate it to them."

"Nonsense. If I do the demonstration, it will just look like an elder flaunting his skills. But if you do it, the young ones will know it’s achievable. Now come."

What a reason. Wesley could only praise the second elder for his craftiness. Not only did he avoid teaching, but he also got to watch a good show. If this wasn’t sly, then there was no such thing.

"Yes, Elder."

Wesley could only sigh and walk toward the second elder's position with a dejected look on his face. Wesley didn’t mind demonstrating, but he hated being put on the spot by the second elder, as well as the fact that his shoulder was hurt badly. Unfortunately, Wesley could only sigh and accept his fate.

Wesley stood in front of the five students and unsheathed his replica dark sword. He just stood there with his dark sword in his left hand, staring at the students apathetically.

The five students, seeing that Wesley was their opponent, were relieved, some even sneering. Wesley was stronger than them, but he was not the elder, and there were five of them—how could they possibly lose?

Wesley just stared at the five students who were clearly looking down on him and spoke:

"You may begin."

The five students immediately rushed toward Wesley with their swords drawn. The students all had regular-shaped one-handed swords, indicating that they practiced an orthodox style of swordsmanship.

Wesley simply brought his right hand to the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it with great speed. However, his left hand accidentally released the scabbard halfway through the unsheathing, causing it to fly out.

As soon as this happened, four of the students snickered at his apparent foolishness, without noticing that one of them had already fallen behind.

The scabbard that flew from Wesley's hand rushed toward the leftmost student. The student was caught off guard and was immediately knocked out when the scabbard hit his face. Wesley’s left shoulder was injured, so he used his injury to weaken his opponents.

By the time the other four students realized that one of their own had been knocked out, they were already within five feet of Wesley. Wesley leisurely walked toward the two students in the center, ignoring the other two.

The four students nodded toward each other, and then the two in the middle charged at Wesley, while the other two circled around him. Seeing this, Wesley ignored the two circling him and faced the two charging toward him.

As soon as the two charging students were within range of Wesley, they immediately swung their swords horizontally from two opposite sides. Wesley, who had been moving forward, suddenly jumped backward just as the two students started their swings. As soon as those two students noticed Wesley’s jump, they immediately adjusted their swings to follow him.