Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 495: One Month

A whole month had passed since Asher had defeated the Prince, Vaelric Lux Vanthelmor. And throughout that time, Asher had done nothing but train and train and train. He trained as though he were a maniac who knew nothing else but that single purpose, as though the world itself would collapse if he allowed himself even a moment of rest.

From dawn to dusk and long into the silent hours of the night, he devoted himself to sharpening every aspect of his being. And throughout this time, no one else dared to challenge Asher; people who saw him instinctively took a couple of steps backward the moment they laid eyes on him.

Fear still gripped everyone’s hearts even after an entire month had passed, a lingering shadow that refused to fade. His presence alone had become enough to silence conversations and empty hallways.

His spar with the Prince seemed to set off a chain reaction as students started to challenge each other one after another. Although the Star Academy allowed students to challenge each other in different ways, many students still stuck to battle-style challenges; after all, battles and fighting were the only things they had trained for their entire lives until now.

They were hardly good at anything else. Strategy, research, and craftsmanship were all secondary paths, and few had the patience for them. Strength decided status, and combat determined respect. It was simply easier to swing a weapon than to cultivate subtler talents, and thus the battlegrounds were constantly filled with the sounds of steel, magic, and shattered stone.

Throughout this one month, Asher barely saw Finch or William, no, not barely, he never saw them. Even though they were also training at the Training Facility Building like him, their schedules never once aligned. It was almost as though they existed in separate worlds despite walking the same corridors.

Perhaps they were pushing themselves just as hard as he was, or perhaps they were avoiding him entirely. Either way, their absence made the days feel strangely quieter, and the familiar casual banter he once liked was replaced with an unbroken solitude that clung to him like a second skin.

At this moment, Asher stepped out of the Training Facility Building, his steps calm and silent as though he did not exist at all. The sky was dark, yet the beautiful moon hung within it, illuminating the world below with a pale, gentle glow.

He had just finished his training for the day, and he would not be training for a while. It was not that he was done training in totality, nor had his motivation waned even slightly; it was simply that he was out of Star Academy points to continue training within the Training Facility Building, and without those points, even he could not access its resources.

He had poured all his points into his training, and indeed, it had not been a waste. Every drop of effort had yielded results, every sacrifice had carved strength into his bones. His body felt lighter, faster, and sharper than before, as though each muscle had been reforged.

A smile appeared on his lips. He had succeeded in the creation of his rapier techniques. Of course, he had not suddenly created every single one of them within a month, that would have been absurd even for him, but he had managed to create something solid, something real, and he had spent several days improving his proficiency and brushing up his control over the technique until it responded like an extension of his will.

It was no longer just an idea; it was alive, refined through repetition and honed through a few failures.

But even as the smile on his face remained, a thought could not help but occur to him, reminding him that he was now completely broke and would have to go on missions very soon. Of course, if he were a villain or a bully, he could have simply forced some students into giving him their points, but Asher felt such methods were beneath him.

Strength taken through intimidation alone felt hollow. If he wanted something, he would earn it with his own hands, not steal it from those weaker than him.

’Sigh... at least I’m grateful for the free points the Prince had given me after the spar,’ he thought to himself, knowing that without that extra thirty thousand points, his training would not have lasted an entire month. Those points had essentially sustained his progress, buying him time to refine himself further.

Asher did not understand where the Prince had gotten his confidence from. Earlier, before the spar had started, he had thought that the Prince would have taken contingency steps, like transferring all his points to his twin sister in case he lost, but he had done none of that, as he had been completely confident in himself. It was either admirable courage or foolish pride. Perhaps both.

Even Vaelra had advised Vaelric, but he had not listened to anything she had to say. Her warnings had fallen on deaf ears.

But Asher did not make a mockery of the Prince. If one was not confident, then what was the use of challenging someone? Besides, he himself would not transfer his points to someone else if he were the one issuing a challenge, after all, he would be confident in himself to win.

Still standing, Asher stretched as he enjoyed the pleasant pull of his muscles loosening. He still had not moved from the spot where he stood, remaining there with his eyes fixed on the moon as though it were more beautiful tonight than ever before. The cool air brushed against his skin, carrying with it the faint scent of grass and stone, calming his racing thoughts.

Asher had told himself that he would attend classes, just to show his face and give the Instructors respect by simply showing up, as he did not want it to seem like he was disregarding all of them. Although he did not exactly care about the Instructors themselves, they still held power over his points, and that alone made attendance somewhat important.

But he had not shown up to a single class throughout the entire month. He had underestimated how much time his technique creation would take. Normally, he could have easily created a basic technique and been done with it, but Asher was not a man who created simple things. If he was going to create something, it had to be worthy of him.

Mediocrity had never once been an option.

At the thought of his technique, his rapier, Virelass, trembled for a moment within its sheath. Asher’s left hand gently held its hilt as he spoke within his mind. ’It seems you are also excited about this,’ he communicated with the rapier. Virelass hummed in agreement, the faint vibration traveling up his arm as she expressed her anticipation. She was indeed extremely excited.

Normally, she would either remain within her sheath or simply watch Asher train whenever he practiced his elements. But during the creation of his rapier techniques, he had to use his weapon constantly, and together, he and Virelass had created it. The technique was theirs, not his alone, and Virelass was eager to unleash it in battle, to feel the rush of cutting through something worthy.

’I hope we meet a strong opponent that will at least make us use it. If not, our technique might as well be collecting dust,’ he mused as he communicated with Virelass.

Virelass, understanding Asher’s words, seemed to stop humming for a moment, as though she had just been reminded of how overwhelmingly powerful her partner actually was. Few enemies could even push him seriously, let alone force out something new.

’Let’s hope we get to use it soon, and I hope I haven’t done any kind of jinxing,’ he mused to himself and Virelass as he remained standing. After all, what if on his next mission, he suddenly met an enemy who would force him to use his rapier technique, but that enemy ended up being a Crownstar Life Ranker?

No matter how overpowered he was, he was still merely an overpowered ant compared to those individuals who could level entire Empires with a single attack. Against such existences, even talent and effort felt insignificant.

’Sometimes I wonder how large Crymora actually is to be able to contain so many powerhouses who could erase hundreds of kilometres,’ Asher thought to himself with a quiet sigh, his gaze lingering on the endless sky above as though searching for an answer that would never come.