"Disciple? What exactly do you mean by that?" I asked, confused. I didn't understand why this stranger wanted to take someone he'd just met as a student.
Sin smiled thinly without answering. Instead, he turned toward 'Knight,' his demon wolf. He casually stuck his hand into its mouth and easily pulled out a pair of swords. Each blade gleamed in the light, looking ancient but still razor-sharp.
"Exactly what I said," Sin replied while spinning the swords playfully. "I'll teach you swordsmanship... twin sword techniques."
I glanced at my right arm, now just a bandaged stump, before speaking up uncertainly. "But, um... I only have one arm left."
Sin paused for a moment, looking between my arm and the twin swords in his hands, before bursting into loud laughter. "Ah, hahaha! Right!" He lightly smacked his forehead. "Totally forgot you just lost an arm."
He didn't seem too bothered by it though. Sin turned his back to me, raising the twin swords together. Suddenly, silvery energy flowed from the blades, its aura spreading until I could feel slight pressure from it. Then he slashed the swords in an X-pattern at high speed. Sharp energy waves shot out, easily cutting through a large tree several meters away, making it crash down.
"This is the sword technique from my school," Sin declared proudly. "I've been training in it since I was a little kid. Honestly, I barely rely on Soul Rift powers at all. I just use it like a dimensional bag for storage." He patted around his waist area, indicating where his Soul Rift was located.
Then he turned back to look at me, sighing softly. "But like I said, you only have one arm. Teaching you twin sword techniques would probably be pretty tough."
"Uh, but I haven't actually agreed to become your disciple yet," I quickly protested. Even though I was impressed by his sword skills, important decisions like this needed careful thought.
Sin raised an eyebrow and looked at me teasingly. "So will you agree or refuse?"
"If I agree, what exactly would you... be able to teach me?" I asked cautiously. At least I needed to know how becoming his disciple would help me get stronger.
"Oh... you're expecting Soul power training, huh?" Sin guessed correctly. "To be honest, I can't really teach Soul power control or anything like that." He scratched his head awkwardly. "But if it's about surviving in this crazy world, I can teach you that."
"As for your powers... I think you'll probably have to train that yourself."
"No way! I don't want that!" I immediately refused. If he couldn't help with powers, why would I become his disciple?
After I spoke, Sin seemed to think for a moment before pulling something else out of the dog's mouth. It was a short sword with a strange design, ancient-looking carvings, and a faint energy I could sense.
"If you become my disciple, I'll give you this short sword from the Azura kingdom. Interested?" He held the short sword in front of me, his eyes looking hopeful.
I looked between the short sword and Sin's face, then made a gesture like I was turning to walk away, not particularly interested in his offer.
"Fine, fine! I give up!" Sin quickly called out to stop me. "I'll teach you about using Soul power too! Come on!"
I stopped and turned back to look at him. "Are you serious?"
"But I can only teach the basics, okay? Let me emphasize - just the basics!" Sin quickly clarified.
"But... why do you want to take me as a disciple anyway? We just met," I was still suspicious of his motives.
Sin looked like he'd just remembered something. "Hmm... I don't know really, but at my school, there seems to be a rule that you have to find at least one disciple before you die." He spoke casually. "Otherwise, they say when you die, you'll go to the deepest pit of hell."
"Then why didn't you find a disciple in town? What are you doing in this wasteland for so long?" I found this man even more strange.
Sin laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek embarrassedly. "Hehe, actually... I've been lost in here for a while now. And that thing about being a guardian... I was lying to you." He confessed matter-of-factly. "So... if possible, could you help me get out of this town too?"
"Very suspicious," I muttered to myself. This guy didn't seem trustworthy at all.
"Whatever. So to summarize, if I become your disciple, you'll teach me survival skills, swordsmanship, and basic Soul power usage, right?" I went over the agreement again to be sure.
"Exactly! That's right!" Sin grinned widely.
"But I need to deal with the Soul Either around here first before I can leave," I still thought about the mission I'd taken.
"Ah, like I already told you, this town doesn't have Soul Either anymore. That posting really did expire ages ago." Sin emphasized. "The only thing I lied about was being a guardian. Everything else was true."
"Really? So where exactly are you from?"
"I'm from the fire city Azura, of course," Sin answered proudly. "Like I mentioned earlier, this short sword is from the Azura kingdom."
Seeing my hesitant expression, he continued, "But if you're still not comfortable, I can stay here and start training you right here. How about it? It's nice and quiet around here, no one to bother us."
Sigh... this guy is completely weird. I'm not sure which of the things he's saying are actually true anymore. But the offer is pretty interesting.
"Alright then, I'll do it. Let me go find some food first," I finally decided. Either way, having a teacher would probably be better than figuring things out on my own.
With that, I reached out to grab the short sword Sin was offering, even though I had no idea how to use it or what powers it might have.
"So it's decided then, you'll be my disciple!" Sin exclaimed with pure joy.
I immediately started walking away from there, leaving Sin standing there surprised by my quick decision.
"Ah, hey! Really?! Awesome!" Sin's voice shouted after me excitedly. "Make sure you really come back, or I'll consider it stealing my sword!"
I didn't turn around to look, just waved goodbye as a signal.
"Got it. I'll definitely be back."
I hurried out of the abandoned Sliver town area, dropping that old job posting by the roadside. Now my goal was to return to Stone City to find a new mission. And more importantly... to prepare for the next three days.