CHAPTER 56: ONE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION

The duel, despite going on for quite some time already, continued.

Bout after bout, the two men clashed, each one with a goal of their own.

Kato sought to rapidly improve through a proper challenge, something he was relatively deprived of in the Slevian sect.

The mercenary, on the other hand, happily obliged when he realized just how much this fellow practitioner could benefit from his example.

Just that.

And so, the two men continued to clash, soon fully forgetting about the whole duel as they immersed themselves into the realm of pure combat.

Yet, while the crowd of spectators stood silent as they soaked in every tiniest detail of the duel for the benefit of their own swords, they were also the living proof of this duel being rooted in reality.

Reality in which, no matter how hard Kato tried, the mercenary proved to be an insurmountable challenge to overcome. And in what felt both like a single moment and like an entire evening, the duel suddenly came to an end.

Their swords moved so fast, hardly anyone could truly follow them with their eyes. That’s why, when Kato suddenly found himself slamming into the ground, his sword kicked out of his grasp and then a glint of steel right by his neck?

No one was surprised.

It was a given result.

But by no means was it a bad fight.

"Haa.. Haa... haaa...."

Kato heaved with exhaustion, his lean yet muscular frame now broken, wrung out of all of its juice.

"A good fight."

Now that the fight was finally over, Theo could see how quickly Kato’s face deteriorated to its usual, somewhat sleazy form.

Still, his eyes stood focused, as he continued to analyze the ins and outs of this duel.

"Yeah," the mercenary pulled his steel away and then sheathed it before reaching out to help Kato up. "A good fight it was."

With one tug, Kato now stood on his feet again. And the hand that helped him up?

He now shook it with content and respect.

By now, whatever caused this duel was a gone and forgotten topic. No one gave any damn about it. What mattered now?

"You are going to go far," the mercenary spoke, staring Kato down. "Just..." he then raised his eyes, looking over the small sect. "I’m not sure if you can grow... in here..."

Judging by the man lowering his voice and then scratching the back of his ear in clear discomfort, it was genuine advice, a word of wisdom from someone that knew better.

Still, it was akin to trying to poach Kato, the sect’s inner disciple, out to another life.

And what an insult it was!

To imply that the sect could no longer support its disciples’ growth!

No one said a word, though.

Still, right as this sorry scene was playing out, Theo was lost deep in his thoughts.

Now that the duel was over, he could stop gawking at it, bidding to remember as much out of it as he could.

Kato’s mystery of the sword was on a whole other level. Way beyond the realm of Theo’s expectations.

Which made him pose one extremely vital and important question.

’Why am I nowhere near that level of swordsmanship?’

To a degree, Theo’s circumstances hardly changed.

Both in his old life and in this new one, something stopped him from going beyond a certain realm of power.

In his old life? His cursed constitution.

In this new one? The societal obligation.

Swordsmanship, however, was something he could practice to his heart’s desire.

’Was I so lost in wallowing in my fate that I didn’t try to circumvent it?’

This was the truth of Theo’s question.

It wasn’t about something as silly as jealousy over someone else’s hard work.

No.

It spoke of the massive difference, insane shift between how he lived in his old life and how he lived in his new life!

’Back then I did everything in my power to overcome it, all the way up to casting a tenth-tier spell,’ Theo thought, too swamped in his thoughts to care about what was happening around. ’In this life, though? I’ve only ever used the sword because I had to and to keep a somewhat healthy physique...’

In the end, though, it was yet another problem Theo would have to solve at a more opportune time. Yet, as issues like that continued to accumulate, Theo’s confidence in himself continued to grow weaker and weaker.

To a degree, he had to assume he understood what was going on around him, at least to a degree.

If that understanding of reality were to be challenged over and over by things that went against its logic?

Then, regardless of how uncomfortable it might be, one could either accept that something wasn’t right or live in a delusional lie that everything was alright.

And ever since Theo’s casting of his spell, he had to shelve problems over and over again, assuming he didn’t have enough knowledge to properly understand them.

Yet, as those problems continued to increase in number and the answers failed to match that trend, then he would be faced with quite the difficult task of breaking free from his incorrect guesswork and seeing reality for what it was.

And if Theo couldn’t be sure he understood the reality around him, what confidence could he have by claiming that he was still... Theo?

In the end, Theo found no answers.

The questions would continue to stockpile at the back of his head, only waiting to shatter his entire world at a ripe time.

He simply grew to conveniently ignore them.

And a sudden movement in his surroundings forced him to break free from his oppressive thoughts and return to reality.

Reality in which the captain of the caravan escorts stepped up and with his elbow bent in front of his chest, poked at the sky.

Looking up, Theo confirmed the man was pointing up at the sun... or rather, its position in the sky.

And that forced Theo to inject himself right back into the moment and instantly take charge of it.

"I understand that time is money and you would much rather get on your way back than waste time on this silly duel," Theo stepped out, ignoring the patriarch and moving up directly to the captain of the mercenaries.

A gross faux pas when taking his standing in the sect into account.

And yet, Theo couldn’t care less.

"But would you be willing to spare me just a little bit more of your time?" Theo requested while giving the captain a courtly bow. "I may have a job lined up for your group."