Blue aura surrounded Rhian as the sword he wielded shone and burnt the ground he stood on. Zane would like to say he was the one who helped this, but he had to defend himself from the incoming blows that were thrown at Rhian until the cooldown time as his 'repercussion' was over.
"How much longer?" Zane asked.
"One minute," Rhian replied. It was a pain, Zane managed to block Xia Tai's mana shots, and Rhian was doubling in on Hua Ling, but they couldn't do much with their backs separated. To make things worse, a woman—seemed to have joined in.
"Oh look, Lu Meilin came!" Xia Tai shouted.
"Hah, how long did the Sect Leader say we had to subdue them?" Lu Meilin asked.
"Thirty five minutes," Hua Ling replied.
'Then consider only ten minutes left,' Zane thought. "It's over now?" he asked Rhian.
[Rhian Amren may now use the skill!]
[Unnamed attribute of Dao has been unlocked!]
[The Sword Dao is responding to its wielder]
Zane turned on his footing and looked around him. The first man was unarmed, and had crawled away onto a patch of grass. It seemed that the sect leader had told the disciples to merely have their swords displaced. He met the expectant eyes of the man. He wasn't particularly injured… but looked quite younger than Hua Ling and Xia Tai.
"Can you knock them out with the skill?" Zane asked.
'Just a trial.'
As per Xia Tai's call, four more disciples jumped into the siheyuan, and Zane managed to rid two of them of their swords. He watched as the disciples immediately stepped out of the siheyuan at that. Zane once again snatched a sword easily, feeling guilty that he was actually concerned due to this. This was pretty one-sided.
The only exceptions were the three of them over there. Lu Meilin's presence seemed to spur the disciples on, and they already seemed to rely on Hua Ling for a multitude of reasons.
[You've completed ␣␣␣!]
[2nd Attribute of Wisteria is blooming!]
'What have I completed?' He thought as held the sword in his left hand. Wisteria stung at his right hand.
"I'll get them," Rhian carefully pointed his sword at the men and kept his empty hand in a defensive position before he charged at them. "I've… never thought I had something like this."
"Neither did I," Zane murmured. "Now go knock them out."
Rhian nodded as he took a step ahead, his movements left a blue trail—the sword's aura strong and alive—and it seemed like Rhian had some supply of mana.
There were many ways to enhance the use of skills. An example of that was the use of external mana that would transfuse with the skill—which typically caused the aura of the person's skill to attain a sort of 'golden' color.
Of course, one could use other weapons and transfuse their skill onto them, or one could borrow a default power from the 'external being' they would choose and then transfuse that with their skill. In either way, the power of the skill would be enhanced by it.
Zane watched as one of the disciples clashed swords with Rhian. For a moment, he allowed himself to watch the disciple that was fighting against Rhian. Perhaps this was a part of their training too, Rhian simply managed to knock the boy out by hitting the side of his hand against the latter's back.
"There's something up with him!" Xia Tai said.
"Hua ␣␣'s mana is fluctuating weirdly," Lu Meilin murmured.
Zane blinked at the filtering. Surely, they were taking the subject as Rhian. Then who was the person whose name just sounded censored to Zane.
"I'll take care of it," Hua Ling said, rushing to Rhian's direction.
The young man still had an odd spark in his eyes. Zane remembered how most of the empires and kingdoms in Silver Moon forced all born male to work in military bases or as church members once they turned sixteen. There was no choice.
Of course, the education would continue, and only if one was lucky enough to be born into royalty could they avoid the messed up System. Zane recalled seeing the boys and feeling nothing but pity at their condition.
There was nothing that could really save one from not joining either side—and if someone ran away, then they'd be treated as a criminal. Technically, working for the church or military wasn't compulsory after turning twenty, but most of the men would continue to spend their lives there.
Not only did they have no option, they were also robbed of their vital growth age where they would learn to actually become emotionally stable. So there was something odd about the way all the disciples were behaving.
Zane stood up and noted that after Rhian had knocked most of them out, most of the disciples were retreating to rest on the courtyards, leaving the remaining three.
"Prepare for your defeat!" Hua Ling said, as he advanced towards Rhian. Zane blinked readily at the situation. There wasn't much left anymore was there? This would mostly have been considered as an auxiliary level if he was a part of the System.
In front of him, Rhian moved back and made a quick movement before clashing swords again… although something was different this time. There was a complete one-sided charge in the air and Zane caught the look in Rhian's eyes.
〈"It's said that his eyes are devoid of emotion. It's the last thing you see before you're killed. No mercy, no kindness. Just a void.〉
Hua Ling's eyes widened, and something in him faltered. Zane too, flinched, suddenly knowing what was to come. There was a spike in Rhian's aura. Maybe it was merely Zane's intuition, but suddenly he recalled that Rhian had said that even he didn't know what the skill did—there was no way he'd know in any case.
There were roughly around four minutes remaining. Zane's eyes widened as a sudden realization came over him. 'No. It was just a trial, wasn't it? If Rhian killed the disciple would that not mean slaughter?' But then he doubted Rhian knew about that.
The moment he took a step ahead, he was stopped by a hand that had come in front of him. "It is not your fight, foreigner, thus, you mustn't interfere," Lu Meilin said. Zane would have tried to move her aside, but there was no way he could. She was much stronger than him.
So he could only watch:
Rhian and Hua Ling clashed swords—a great wave of golden and blue aura emitted from them. Zane didn't know that a single skill withheld so much power. Seeing Caue was a different case, but Rhian?
"Isn't this like old time sake?" Hua Ling asked.
'Old time?' Zane couldn't help but ponder. Rhian looked like anything but from this nation. There was no way…
"Perhaps," Rhian said, and Hua Ling grinned as activated more of his mana core.
"C'mon, gege," Hua Ling said, and was dropping the same filthy trick again. White dust covered the air and had spread all over the siheyuan. Zane could barely see much, but he needed to make sure…
He lowered his spiritual energy and slipped past Lu Meilin.
There wasn't much he could do with being blinded by the white dust that threatened to pierce his insides if he breathed it in.
Suddenly there was a loud scream, and Zane's feet were leading him to the source of the sound before he could think further. There—perhaps the place had been cleared by the spike of mana, but sat Rhian, on the ground, staring in dread at the man in front of him.
There was a sword in the disciple's gut—the Dao. Hua Ling was panting heavily on the ground and before Zane could say anything, he noticed that Hua Ling had also managed to dig a dagger into Rhian's abdomen.
Hua Ling coughed and blood dripped down his chin. "Ahh!" he screamed as the rip in his robes began filling with color—the sword still there.
He looked at Rhian, and glanced at Zane pitifully… As Zane stared back, he felt weird. Pangs of pain erupted in Zane's head.
〈The 31st level was deadly. What was deadlier was the man who'd pass it with flying colors.〉
"What… wait, the time limit is over, isn't it?" Zane asked. "Where are your healers?"
'He could survive. Both of them could. Couldn't they?'
"No…no," Hua Ling whispered. "I… can't."
"Don't be foolish," Zane said, but there was a look of shame and guilt on Rhian's face.
Typically, royal healers could easily heal this predicament if they arrived on time. Zane swallowed and moved back.
[You've transfused your spiritual energy into Wisteria!]
He snapped the whip against the ground, causing all the dust to be lifted in the air, and seemingly Xia Tai or Lu Meiling understood, golden aura had displaced the dust. Zane returned to the man that lay on the ground.
"It's just a small wound," Zane tried.
"It's… it's not…" Rhian murmured. "I… I've killed him."
"What do you mean—" But Zane saw it. A small speck. His eyes widened at the sight of a light blue aura passing through the wound, slowly up his stomach and down his navel. The man… he was dying.
"I'm sorry," Rhian mouthed unconsciously. And if it weren't for the dying man, Zane would have been surprised.
Caue hadn't done this, he couldn't—because the skill of the apostle that he had was not the one which Rhian did. Or perhaps they did, only with different 'genesis'. Every tale or story had two or more origins unless its exclusive version was preserved. So the skill that Rhian possessed… belonged to the twelfth apostle. The man who was present before being replaced by Matthias.
[The Banished Apostle is looking at the situation with raised eyebrows]
[Judas Iscariot] the last apostle who betrayed the holy one.
The other man's eyes widened as if he was touched by the words "It's alright." He mouthed. Then in almost a hoarse whisper. "Not your fault."
'He technically wasn't at fault… ' Zane paused, holding the man's wrist. 'But… '
As the pulse continued to wither in Zane's hand. He remembered that there were three skills that originated from 'The Banished Apostle'. They were as follows:
[Semi genesis skill, 'Kiss of the Apostle']
[Semi genesis skill, 'Hymn of the Cursed Apostle]
And lastly, the worst of them. [Genesis skill, 'Blood of the 12th Apostle']
Zane dropped the man's arm, the pulse no longer present. 'Was it my fault? It… was. Wasn't it? If only I could get my memories in order.' He slowly placed his palm over the man's eyes and pulled his hand down, closing the open eyes.
"What have I done?" Rhian mumbled in disbelief.
There were a few gasps heard behind them and suddenly a voice was shouting. "Hua Ling!"
The two of them watched as Xia Tai and Lu Meilin were crouching next to their dead friend. "Oh my god…" Rhian murmured. "I… shit."
The other disciples were frozen, as if torn in choice. Which, they would be. It was a simple trial. And the outcomes estimated were underestimated. 'Did these guys really know Rhian?'
"It wasn't your intention," Zane said, he turned in Rhian's direction, and slowly began to stand up.
"Of course not, this is just a trial—" Rhian let out a bitter laugh. "It was supposed to end with both of us in the healer's room."
"You killed him!" Xia Tai said, his voice loud enough that Zane felt it thrum through his insides.
"It—"
"You killed a fellow clan member," Lu Meilin murmured, staring daggers at Rhian.
"I didn't—"
"You should die as well," Xia Tai said, as he stood up and held tightly to the hilt of his sword. "It is only what is desirable."
Zane watched the situation unfold with uncertain eyes. No one knew that the skill would end up in such a way. Neither did he.
"Xia Tai—"
"Shut up," Xia Tai said. "You disappear for what, three years and come back here and expect us to forgive you for that and for killing Hua Ling?"
"That wasn't his intention—"
"Stay out of business you have no clue about, foreigner. You're no lesser the devil," Xia Tai said, and suddenly his sword was swinging towards Rhian.
The person in front of Zane was a completely different person compared to the person that Zane had seen in the future. Rhian looked so… vulnerable, as if he had no idea he could kill with his own hands.
Zane grabbed onto Rhian's collar and pushed him back—he knew the movement must cause tremendous pain in Rhian, but Zane had no choice. He pulled them back till the both of them were at least a few feet away from the Xia Tai who looked as though he'd go berserk.
There was no choice now.
"What is the contract about?" he asked.
[The Contract Administrator is handing you the contract]
Zane's eyes widened.
'This is…'
[Player Recognition]