The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 37 - Convincing an Old Mage

As shrapnels of broken glass fell to all directions, the expression of shock was barely the least that Theodore was exhibiting at that moment.

He did not expect that his brother, of all people would actually take to such violence. To hit a drunk old man out of nowhere just to gain their attention…just to wake them up…

He never expected Thill to create such violence.

And right beside him, Stella was in the same reaction. To her perspective, she thought that for someone like Thill who was able to impress Liondel with his work, she might have expected him to be a gentle soul…but at the sight of his ferocious, uncaring glare, it made her shiver just thinking of the similarities he had with a certain guild leader.

“.…ughh~~~my head.” as the old man moaned in pain, blood started to drip down from his head.

Feeling curious as to who it was that caused this much pain so early in the day, he grabbed his spectacles that were laying on the ground and he looked to see a boy just at the eage of his youth.

An 18 year old boy who was holding on to the tip of a bottle’s neck.

“Who the fuck are you?” he asked while showing a grim expression of someone having the most horrible hangover. His eyes could barely open themselves from how drunk the old man was.

Thill could tell that based from his tone alone; from his dry voice, on his irritated mood and his  swerving head that couldn’t stay in place for 1 second, he can see that the great Ron Wessel was barely functioning as a person.

‘Hmm, Stella did say that Ron’s been drinking for the past month…that could only mean one thing. It’s that time of the year again…’

“Wake the fuck up, or else I’ll call on to your damn wife.” said Thill as he drops the remaining of the bottle he smashed, on the floor.

“..!?” and all but too easily, the mage stood up on all his legs despite his groggy nature.

Just hearing the mention of his wife caught his attention all too easily.

As quick as he did, he turned his head to all directions…but to his shock, his wife was nowhere to be seen. And to the realization that his wife wasn’t in the vicinity, a sigh of relief came out of his booze-stinking breath.

Annoyed, he turned his head back to the boy who woke him up from his sleep.

“Hn…ugh, why is my head bleeding?” he asked as he felt the moist sensation of his own blood over his head.

“Sorry about that, but I had to wake you up.”

“Ugh…it hurts. Why would a boy your age do something so violent?” he asked.

“Well, I had other ways to wake you up…but this was the only way I could get your attention in the least violent way possible. And besides, for a mage of your level, I’m sure you can heal yourself all too easily with a single spell.” said Thill.

And to his assumption, the old man scoffed, but already, his wound was healing even with no spells being made notice. Theodore was shocked to find that Ron Wessel was able to easily create a spell with no detection of mana at all.

And in less that five seconds, the wound was gone. And with the wound healed, the mage turned to Thill with a glare in his eyes.

“I’m not very amused by your approach boy. Leave before I do something worse to you.” said the old man as he was threatening Thill.

And with his threats, a menacing bloodlust suddenly overflowed inside the guild. Even Theodore felt a change in the pressure of the atmosphere.

But even with such threats, Thill remained calm at the face of bloodlust presented by the old man.

“Sigh…I have a reason for coming to you today, and I’m not leaving before my ‘thing’ gets settled.” said Thill in return to the old man’s threat.

‘He…he didn’t even flinch.’ thought Stella as she watched Thill stand unfazed from Ron’s threats. Meanwhile her and Theodore was struggling to stand in their place.

‘He’s standing firm even with so much bloodlust pinned down on him…he’s clearly not your average civilian.’ thought the old man.

And watching such an ordinary looking boy stand firm, the old man sighed and decided to lower his anger.

Soon enough, the tension around the guild lessened and both Stella and Theodore finally caught a break from the pressure of the old man’s bloodlust.

“What I’m asking you is something that could ultimately change the fate of my own brother.” said Thill as he puts down the second bottle on his hand.

“Fine, enlighten me on your problem?” asked the old man as he sat back down.

“Are you aware of the Magic Academy’s Entrance exam?” asked Thill.

“I am…so I am to assume that your brother is intent on taking the exam? He’s blessed with the ability to use mana?” asked Ron.

“That he is…and I was wondering if you had the time to teach him.”

“I’m sorry, but no. I don’t take in…desciples.” said Ron as a somber tone was heard in his voice, almost as if he despised the word.

“I may not look like it, but I’m a blacksmith…one who can even impress a person such as the Hundred Blade Master.”

“Blade Master…Liondel? Stella, is this true?” asked Ron to Stella.

“It is…Mr. Liondel is quite impressed by his work.” affirmed Stella.

“Hmm, even so, I’m not interested in a blacksmith’s work. Swords and armor are no use to a mage such as I.” said Ron.

“I can make anything you can ask of me…anything.” said Thill.

“I doubt it.”

“…”

“What I want isn’t something a mortal like you can ever gift me.” said Ron as he sounded angry and selfish in all matters of tone. It was as if he despised the idea of being presented a gift.

Having mentioned such a vague impossibility, Thill sighs and looks to Stella. In return, Stella could only look back and affirm what was understood.

Ron Wessel’s desire couldn’t be made true by his abilities.

“B-brother, it’s okay. Let’s just forget this and do our own thing.” said Theodore as he gave up.

“Hmm…” Looking to his brother, he can tell all too well what was written on his mind.

Theodore didn’t want bother someone like Ron Wessel, whose standing in the social society was higher than most people. If anything, Ron Wessel was close to that of a noble’s ranking. And seeing as he couldn’t bother with the request…it felt like they shouldn’t press their luck all that intensely.

But Thill had other priorities in mind.

“Fine, don’t teach him…but at least give me a comprimise”

And what is it that you have in mind?” asked Ron.

Without saying anything more, Thill grabbed a bag filled with gold coin and he dropped it down on the table.

“…Hm?” Hearing the sound of the distinct gold tingling sound dropping on the table, Ron followed his eyes down to the bag out of curiosity.

“One hundred gold coins…in return, I want your best advice on my brother’s talents and his chances in passing the academy exam.”

“…A hundred you say?”

“Yes.” said Thill.

“Care to elaborate the details of your request?” he asked in his intrigue for the coin.

“I trained my brother with the only set of knowledge I know how to. I trained him in the ways of a  warrior…but he’s a mage at body and heart. With that said, knowing his potential…I believe that with only a few set of words said from an experienced mage like yourself, I know that he can grow much faster…”

“My words do carry years of experience…but for a hundred gold, the only number of advice I can give him is three.”

“Three is enough.” said Thill with confidence.

“Brother no! Spending that much for only three teachings is a waste!” said Theodore as he tries to convince his brother not to throw away that much gold for his sake.

“Theodore…a hundred gold may seem like a waste, but know that for someone of his calibre…every word of his experience is worth their weight in gold. He isn’t ranked 7^th in the guild fo no reason…he isn’t a 7^th stage mage for no reason.”

“…But still, its too much.”

“You may think like that today…but in time, when you gain your own sense of experience, you will realize just how little a hundred gold coin is worth in the path of being a mage.” said Ron as he steps in the argument. He spoke as if speaking from his own experience.

Theodore looked to the old mage and felt conflicted. But in the end, it was his brother’s choice…he couldn’t go against it.

“…” so he finally stood silent and went with the decision.

After their negotiation, Ron quickly turned to Stella and asked her for some booze.

“Stella, please be a dear and fetch me a bottle of booze. I can’t function right with my head beating this hard.”

“No.” but she blatantly denies him.

“Ugh…so stingy.” Without any booze cooling his parched throat, he was starting to get annoyed.

Still, the others couldn’t care less and started making their way to the back of the guild house

As they did, at that moment, Stella approached Thill to ask him a certain issue.

“…About what you did earlier.” she asked in whisper.

“Hmm?”

“You smashed a bottle on his head.”

“Oh yeah, what about that?”

“Weren’t you scared that he might have taken a different response to the violence you started? You might have gotten hurt for what you did…or worse.” she said as a hint of worry was in her tone.

“Hmm, well despite what I did, I can tell that Ron wasn’t the type to respond to violence all to easily.”

“Really? And what made you think that?”

“Just a hunch…” he said. But in truth, based to his knowledge of his past, he knew that Ron would never take action to something as pathetic as a bottle hitting his head.

He knew that Ron was a mature Mage. Despite being a drunkard, he had enough of a conscience in himself to never act out like a moron. To never be triggered by anything that could anger a person all too easily.

And the reason for that was because Ron had complete control over his emotions.

After reaching the 7^th stage of mana-core or a pure core, it doesn’t just makes someone grow stronger both physically and mentally. It awakens their mind to heights that no normal person could ever dream of.

To mature beyond human nature.

All nature of understanding is passed through, and simply being, they just understand that violence is a weak stance to approach a problem.

This maturity happens mostly to mages. That’s why they are mostly known for being pacifist at most issues they face. Violence is only made under their decision when it is necessary.

Ron knew how to approach the problem…despite his drunken habits.

***

When we finally arrived at the Training ground, I started to feel the nostalgia I had for this place. It was here that I mostly spent my early years as a mercenary.

My eyes unconsciously turned to the corner where I first started…

I could still remember back when I became too arrogant for my own good after beating one mercenary at a duel, and after that, one of the mercenaries came and broke my arm as a lesson.

I didn’t think of it back then, but breaking my arm was a lesson I could never forget. It spoke of how fragile I was…and how my arrogance could have gotten me killed…

So I became humble…

With nothing but a practice dummy in front of me, I slashed and hacked at it until I gained the confidence to face more difficult problems ahead. I grew out of my own understanding.

In time, I learned moves and techniques fit for a warrior that could stand on his own business…

And in time, I grew out of the training ground and out to the world where war was constantly taking place.

Those memories…I can’t forget them.

“Sigh…”

“What’s wrong brother?” asked Theodore.

“It’s nothing.”

At this time of the season, with how the snow was piling up at all the sides and corners of the ground, not a lot of people were willing to train at such a cold climate.

So we had the training ground all to ourselves.

“Okay, I’ll explain it again. Just to make things clear, me and my brother will go face to face in a duel. For three rounds, my brother will utilize all his skills against me, while I’ll only use nothing but a practice sword as my weapon. After each round, the old man will come around and give his advice to accommodate for Theodore’s lack of skill, giving him the chance to grow on the next round.”

“Hmm, and can you vouch for his talents? Do you think he’s capable enough to just understand a sentence of my advice?”

“I don’t know really…but I’ve been trying to evolve his talents since he awakened them two months ago. Right now, he can do the basics of manipulating the fire element. That’s not a bad start for someone who only awakened his ability recently.”

“Hmm, to awaken his abilities just two months ago, don’t you think you’re rushing him to take on the Academy’s exam that early?” asked Ron.

“I’m giving everything I can to my brother to nourish his dream…he wants to be a mage, so I’ll try to give him just that.”

“Hmph, you’re spoiling you’re brother.” said Ron.

“…Maybe, but I didn’t make it easy for him either.” I said as I thought back to the harsh training I had my brother undergo.

after I explained the details of the duel, Theodore was finally out of the changing room, wearing nothing but a light leather armor to cover most of his upper body.

“Thank you for letting me borrow this armor.” said Theodore to Stella.

“It’s no problem at all, but shouldn’t your brother also wear an armor? After all, he’s fighting against a mage-in-training, don’t you think he’s being too careless?” asked Stella.

“If he were just any other person out there, I would have called him out on it, but he’s my brother…he isn’t so easy to take on. I don’t think I can even strike him once in this entire three round duel.” said Theodore as he sounded nervous.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

With Theodore finally suited for the duel, I stood at the other edge of the training ground, while he stood in front of me at a distance of twenty meters.

“You ready?” I asked.

“I…I am.” he said nervously.

“Okay, lets start.” at that moment, the duel began and Ron Wessel watched as I took the first step forward.