Boom…

"Tch! Failed again," I muttered, laying on my back as the smoke covered the area.

"My posture, thrust angle, and the Soulforce movement—I'm following every step exactly like Aruma, so why do I keep failing?"

It had been fifteen days since Ume went for her closed-door meditation. Jambavan and Vyaghra were busy training the mine workers in the day and meditating at night. Meanwhile, I was using this time to learn the sword technique of Aruma.

Occasionally, I would also visit the city on the surface to make sure everything was in order.

I had assigned half of the guards who had surrendered on the day of the festival to the city and the remaining to the mines to make sure no crime or conflicts occurred. And to be sure these guards wouldn't act out of line, I had divided them into groups, each serving under a captain chosen personally by Jambavan.

"I can't understand what I'm doing wrong," I murmured, staring at the cave ceiling outside the castle.

"Are ya tryin' to learn a new technique?"

Jambavan asked, his huge shadow casting over my laying body.

"Yeah, I have tried this move for over a hundred times and each time it blasts at the last moment."

"Have a change of phase and surroundin'. Instead of followin' strictly by the rules, ya should try doin' it the way yer body feels most comfortable with," Jambavan said with a grin and continued, extending his hand, "We have selected the mortals that are capable of becomin' the kind of soldiers ya want. Come with me, let me show ya."

"Already?" I exclaimed, immediately jumping to my feet. "Let's go."

---

"So how many people have you selected?" I asked, walking beside Jambavan in mine number ten on our way to the Grade 3 village.

"Two Awakeners and twenty non-Awakeners."

"Only twenty-two people?" I grumbled, dejected.

"Brat, how many people do ya think become Awakeners?" Jambavan snapped. "Regular humans are trained from the moment they start walkin' and only then could they hope to become Awakeners—and still not everyone could awaken their Soulforce by just trainin' hard. The aptitude is equally important. Not to mention that all the people here are malnourished and middle-aged; their aptitude is absolutely the worst."

"Oh! I wasn't aware of that," I murmured, awkwardly rubbing my temple. "So how did you manage to select twenty-two people when they are already old?"

"If ya had given this task to someone else, they would have laughed at ya fer even thinkin' of trainin' adults to become Awakeners," Jambavan scoffed. "However, Ay and Vyaghra possess methods and skills to awaken anyone, with the only condition that they should have above-average aptitude."

"Whoah, you two are amazing then," I gasped, giving him a thumbs-up. "I wonder what kind of method you are using to turn them into Awakeners."

---

"Aghhh… Sir Night—"

Bam… bam

"Mercy…"

Thud…

"Pl-please someone save us—ow… ow—"

"J-Jambavan, is that the method you were talking about?" I stammered, witnessing the one-sided beating in the empty area before the Grade 3 mines village.

About fifteen half-dead people were lying on the ground, four on their knees while the remaining two were barely standing. In front of them, Vyaghra stood, carrying a long stick in his hand.

All of them were blindfolded, carried wooden daggers in their hands, and were clumsily trying to attack Vyaghra depending only on their hearing.

"Is that Edrick?" I asked, seeing the familiar face, one of the two who were standing.

"Yeah, out of all the non-Awakeners, that kid has the worst aptitude," Jambavan replied. "But still he was hell-bent on joinin' this army and made it this far only with his determination."

"Why are you still on the ground?" Vyaghra muttered, hitting the ones who were lying. "To your feet this instant, or your training will be extended to four more hours."

"Four more hours!?" The group gasped, immediately pushing themselves to their feet.

"Sir Night, wh-what crimes have… we committed… for you to punish us like this?" one of them asked.

"If you still have strength, then use it on your hands and feet rather than your tongue."

Bam… bam…

"Aghh, pl-please show some mercyyyy—"

Vyaghra began smacking them until only Edrick and one other man, who seemed to be an Awakener, remained.

"Focus on your ears. Feel the pressure in the air from where the strike will come. You two may only rest if you manage to block one move of mine."

"I never thought Vyaghra to be this engaged in their training," I murmured, silently spectating the session.

"He wouldn't have if it wasn't for Edrick and Sam," Jambavan replied. "The stubbornness of those two made Vyaghra put his whole into their training."

"I'm aware of Edrick, but who is this Sam guy?"

"He is an Awakener at the late stage o' Formation Realm. When ya killed that damned Victor and his lackeys, this kid became yer admirer and wanted to become strong like ya. That's what he said when he joined the training."

Sam had short white hair, dark skin, and a lean body. His face was embedded with a terrible curved mark covering the centre of his forehead, nose, and left cheek.

"This guy seems interesting," I said, my face laced with a faint smile.

It took more than fifty strikes of continuous beating for Sam to finally block Vyaghra's attack, while Edrick was struck over a hundred times and fell unconscious, failing to block even once.

"You can all scram now," Vyaghra ordered, vanishing into the shadows.

"Fi-finally…" the group gasped, removing their blindfolds.

"I can finally rest…"

"Sir Night is too strict with the training. If I had known, I would have never joined this," one of them murmured, walking with wobbly steps.

"Me also."

"Me as well."

Other voices followed.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," Sam barked at the trainees. "Sir Morning Star helped us all and freed us from the shackles of slavery even though we were strangers to him. Yet when it comes to return the favour, you are thinking of backing down."

"Tch, that bastard is up again with his nagging," one of them scoffed, moving with the help of a stick.

"Just ignore hi— S-Sir Morning Star!" the other beside him exclaimed the moment his eyes fell on me.

"Sir, that was just our exhaustion speaking," the man with the stick blurted. "Please do not take any offence."

"None taken," I replied with a warm smile. "Go and have some rest."

Their downcast expressions immediately lit up upon seeing me respond so casually.

"Sir, we will train harder and definitely become members of your army!" they declared in unison before returning to the village.

"Do you have something to say to me, Sam?" I asked, noticing the guy standing in a daze before me.

"It's— it's really Sir Morning Star in the flesh," he mumbled. "Sir even knows my name. What should I do? Should I handshake, greet, or bow? It's my first time seeing him so close."

"You are doing a great job, Sam," I said, touching his shoulder before moving past him.

I could have said a lot of things to him—like be at ease, I'm just a regular person like you, and blah blah—but I only said the minimum needed so they wouldn't begin taking me casually.

"Koff-koff… I won't give up," Edrick muttered, digging his hand into the ground.

"Why are you pushing yourself so hard?" I asked, standing before him. "I heard you don't even have the aptitude to become an Awakener, so why suffer unnecessary pain?"

Hearing my voice, he immediately removed his blindfold and replied in a firm voice, "Because I want to make this world a better place for my soon-to-be-born child. I know the gods didn't bless me with enough power or authority to accomplish that. I loathed this world and the gods for making me so weak that I couldn't even protect my wife. However, your appearance in my life changed everything, Sir Morning Star. The gods must have heard my pleas and sent you to give me this chance to become an Awakener. So I can't give up this easily. I will definitely become an Awakener, return the favors you have given me, and protect my family from all harm."

It hadn't even been a year since I was enjoying a normal college life. And now I had become a subject of admiration and envy to hundreds of people.

"Time changes so fast," I murmured inwardly before replying to Edrick. "I hope you won't forget this goal of yours."

---

After that, nothing unusual happened for another seven days.

The broken houses in the mining villages were all renovated with proper water and light supply. The food the mine workers received became a lot better as well.

Some of the trainees that Vyaghra and Jambavan selected began awakening too, while I was still failing to learn Aruma's Blade of Death.

Things were going rather peacefully, but then—twenty-one days after Ume went into closed-door meditation—I recieved an invitation letter.

The content of the letter were as follows:

To Lucifer Morning Star,

Your ascension as the new Leader of Forlorn City will be celebrated, as is only fitting.

The gathering is arranged at The Banquet Hall of Ashenfall—a venue worthy of your presence, and more than adequate for the occasion.

You are expected to attend.

—El Dorado

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