Kill no more volume 01, p.9
Kill No More - Volume 01, page 9
But this is something good, right? At least Liola felt more like a normal person, just as Anise wished upon him. Realizing this, Liola blurted out his question.
“Why didn’t the School of Sorcery flourish?” According to his thoughts, Mizerui was a Sorcerer, and he was so strong, there’s no reason for the School of Sorcery to be in ruins.
“Hmm, Liola-dage doesn’t know?” Purity showed a strange expression.
Because Sorcery had been in decline for many years, and it had been a trend throughout the world, so it was strange for Liola not to know.
“This guy came from another world, and he just arrived in this world today.” Kaiser explained on behalf of Liola.
Purity was surprised, but not too much. After all, the space around this world wasn’t too stable. Every two, three years, there will be a few new outsiders. Purity then started to explain this world to Liola.
“A long time ago, Sorcerers were also called Magicians, and they were mainly people who can control magical elements. But to those who didn’t understand, Magicians appeared to be people with strange powers, and then they were all called Sorcerers.”
“But as technology advanced, Sorcery declined.” Purity showed a regretful expression.
Liola felt that, if he asked Kaiser a question, Kaiser would answer casually without thinking about it seriously, and then Liola wouldn’t understand. But whenever he asked Purity a question, she would answer seriously, but her answer was always off the point…
Kaiser clearly couldn’t stand it, and started talking:
“Sorcerers can use elemental magic to make Fireballs, Ice bolts, etc, to attack the enemy.
This used to be something powerful, but now technology has overtaken it. You have already seen that the Mechas’ gun barrels could do a whole lot more damage than most magic.
Healing magic also used to be very desirable, but nowadays, it’s better to go to the hospital than to find a healing magician. Stay in the healing Maxun for a day, and whatever wounds you had would be healed.”
Finally, Kaiser added:
“You’d feel pretty bad if you were to spend a lifetime learning Sorcery, only to realize that different Maxuns could perform better than your magic, which you could’ve only gotten after you’ve spent all your time making that money.”
“Maxun?” Liola asked lightly, but he was thinking, that Kaiser’s last sentence seemed to be carrying some sadness.
“Just a name for all the products of technology. Mechas are also just a more complex Maxun.” Kaiser shrugged and explained.
Liola was still somewhat confused: “Mizerui is strong, and far stronger than Mechas.”
Kaiser answered in disdain: “How many Mizeruis do you think there are in the world?”
“Besides Mizerui, there is still me!” A geezer who had been eavesdropping jumped out and said; as a Sorcerer, he did consider himself to be powerful.
“What are you?” Getting used to Mizerui’s sudden appearance, Kaiser was no longer surprised by the geezer, but this guy seemed to be… “Ah, you’re the geezer who took our applications!”
The old guy facepalmed, and coughed: “I’m not a geezer…”
“Not a geezer?” Kaiser asked coldly: “Don’t tell me, you’re twenty five this year.”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m saying I’m no ordinary geezer.” He added.
“Then what are you? Super geezer?” Kaiser pouted.
But Purity, who had been standing beside him, turned pale. Because the guy in front of her wasn’t just an ordinary guy, but rather, the most powerful person in Aklan Academy.
“Cough, cough, listen up.” The geezer coughed again, and said proudly:
“I am the Aklan Academy principal, Barbalis, and I am also the only teacher in the School of Sorcery. Furthermore, I am one of the two top Sorcerers in Aklan Empire.”
Kaiser was stunned. This geezer who looked like a worker was actually the principal? And his only teacher? Uh… Kaiser suddenly showed admiration, and said with praise:
“So you’re Mr. Principal. No wonder I saw an extraordinary aura with you, as if you have hidden a gosu’s talent. I was even wondering which gosu you were, and it turned out that you’re the most famous, Aklan Academy principal, Mr. Barbalis! Nice to finally meet you.”
“Hahaha, this lad sure knows what’s good.” Hearing such flattering words, Barbalis laughed wildly.
As expected, when all else fails, use flattery. Kaiser had an evil laugh in his heart, while keeping the same fake smile plastered across his face.
“Mr Principal, wasn’t the last class canceled? W-why are you here?” Purity asked while trembling, for she was the person among the three of them who was aware of how terrifying the principal was.
“Oh, oh.” After Purity had reminded him, Barbalis finally remembered why he was here, and hurriedly stated the purpose of his visit:
“I’m here to tell Silver Mask, tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock sharp, go to the 20th sports field, for your entrance exam!”
What? Anyone who had heard this would have been suspicious. They said there would be no entrance exam, and now there suddenly was one.
What’s even more strange was that Liola was the only one being tested, but not Kaiser; not to mention it was specifically calling for Silver Mask. This made them very suspicious.
“What’s the test?” Kaiser asked curiously.
“Beat a Dragon Knight, but without seriously hurting or killing them.” Barbalis said proudly; this was something he finally came up with after hours of thinking — a good reason for Liola to duel with Lanski.
“So it’s the problem about the pink-eyed child.” Kaiser dawned on the truth.
“I decline.” Liola said without hesitation.
Barbalis stroke his beard and asked:
“Why? With your abilities, it shouldn’t be hard for you to beat her. As long as you beat her, you can obtain a Dragon, and the Dragon Empire would stop their investigation into this.”
Barbalis took out the pink-eyed child from behind his back, and placed him in front of Liola: “Look, what a cute child! Are you going to abandon him?”
As soon as the pink-eyed child saw his dad, he struggled out of Barbalis’ grasp, and ran towards Liola while yelling: “Pa, papapa…”
“I don’t want that Dragon.” Liola firmly declined.
Even though the child was already glued to his back, he really didn’t want a child who yells all day calling him “papa”, there was nothing that could possibly be more troublesome.
Barbalis’ face sank. Although he already heard Mizerui describing Liola’s cold personality, this was far too heartless. What a cold-blooded assassin, who could even firmly say no to such a cute child.
Barbalis had no choice but play his trump card: “Looks like I’ll have to expel you. Either pit your lives against Mizerui, or defeat a mere Dragon Knight, your choice. Tomorrow afternoon, 1 o’clock in the afternoon, 20th sports field.”
Before he left, he pounded yet another nail into the coffin. Barbalis said, “Kaiser, your fate lies with Liola. If he’s expelled, so are you.”
What! Kaiser was alarmed, and quickly said:
“That’s unfair! How could you punish me with him? This method was only used in ancient times. Principal, please be more modern. One has to be responsible for only one’s actions.”
Barbalis grunted, ignoring Kaiser’s begging, turned around and left, leaving Kaiser with Barbalis’ problem of how to convince Liola to duel with a Dragon Knight.
After thinking about it for a long while, Kaiser faced Liola with a sad look, and started bargaining with him:
“Liola, please go fight the Dragon Knight. I promise that I will answer all your questions seriously from now on.”
“Really?” Liola thought about it.
Kaiser seemed to know a lot of things, and if he could answer his questions honestly, then it would be a fair deal. After all, he hadn’t figured out a good way against Mizerui’s “Failed Lecture”.
“Really, and to show my sincerity, let me tell you the strengths of the Dragon Knights.” Kaiser cleared his throat purposely, and began to show his sincerity.
“Dragon Knights, like their name suggests, ride on Dragons. The combination of a Dragon Knight and Dragon, is the symbol of being powerful.
Not only do they have air superiority, the intelligence of Dragons is far higher than that of a Mecha. Thus, the difference in level of dexterity between Mechas and Dragons is similar to the difference of climbing abilities between humans and monkeys.”
“Under normal circumstances, a mounted Dragon Knight is comparable with a rank-A mecha.
Okay, Liola, I know you don’t know how strong Mechas are, so here’s some more freebies.
Mechas are divided into ranks A through D, but of course there are exceptions, and the three leaders of the Commerce Alliance each has a rank-X mecha. I think you already know what rank-X means? As in, the rank Mizerui carries.
Even though most Dragon Knights can’t match a rank-X Mecha, rank-A Mechas are already frightening. Not only are they powerful, the price is damn astronomically high. Astronomical is an adjective, don’t ask me what it means.”
“Though I don’t know what it means, I heard that Dragon Knights could use Dragon magic, and I heard it’s really strong. That’s why even when Mechas run around with their biggest guns, they still won’t be easily defeated.”
After saying all that, even the talkative Kaiser was tired, so he had to stop to take a breath, before he could continue his “sincerity”:
“Liola, you have to be careful. Even without their Dragons, Dragon Knights are not to be trifled with. After all, to obtain a Dragon’s approval, they have to beat the Dragon first. If that Dragon happened to dislike them, they would have to find another Dragon. I think you know, for someone who will be fighting Dragons left and right, they won’t be weak.”
Liola thought for a bit, then asked: “Is there a way to judge how strong they are?”
“Yes!” Kaiser put up his index finger: “but you have to promise me, that tomorrow you will duel with the Dragon Knight, then I’ll tell you.”
Liola nodded.
Seeing Liola finally agree, Kaiser sighed in relief, and continued to pay his dues:
“All Knights will learn a Kung Fu called ‘Aura’.
I heard that these auras will have different colors based on its strength: there are gold, silver, blue, red, and green, with the latter ones being weaker.
I heard that there are exceptions, too. Supposedly the strongest Paladin Lancelot had a pure white aura, and the strongest Dark Knight Blood Wolf had a black aura with strings of red. But these are just rumors, don’t hold me liable for them.”
“So, are you happy with my payment?” Kaiser asked snappily.
Liola was very satisfied, for he finally had a basic grasp of the world’s strongest fighters.
“Jeez, can we go eat dinner now?” Kaiser complained, his over-exercised mouth had caused his stomach to growl.
“We can go to dinner, but I have a condition too!” Purity sudden held up her chest… her flat chest, and said.
Kaiser and Liola looked Purity, puzzled: “What condition?”
“I-I want Liola to name the pink-eyed child, then let me go buy him some clothes.” Purity sadly looked at the naked child on Liola’s back, who couldn’t even get Liola’s attention.
“Isn’t this easy? Liola, give your penis-less son a name.” Kaiser said with indifference.
“It’s not like he doesn’t have th-that.” Purity refuted: “I looked up Dragon Knight’s Glory and Honor , and it said that, before a Dragon matures, it is genderless.”
A name? Liola put the pink-eyed child in front of him. The child’s chubby face smiled, and the chubby arms waved around, as if it was trying to get closer to its father.
“How about we call it Pink Eyed White Dragon?” Liola asked seriously.
“Your naming abilities are about as good as Mizerui’s!”
Kaiser shook his head and sighed, and with a sinister smile, he suggested:
“His dad is Liola, so why don’t we call him Lilebao (Li – Happy – Buns)?”
“Fine.” Liola nodded in agreement, since he didn’t care what it was called.
Purity was worried: “No, we can’t name it Lilebao (Li – Happy – Buns), it isn’t a food.”
Kaiser suddenly hit his palm, and yelled:
“I’ve got it. Let’s call it Baolilong (Baby/child – Li – Dragon). It has Liola’s Li, Dragon, and baby. What about that? It fits, right?”
“What!” Purity was very alarmed.
“Baolilong, then you’re called Baolilong.”
Liola said to the pink-eyed child, who was now named Baolilong, and started to happily nodded, for it was happy that its father had finally given it a name.
It did not realize that, many years later, it would regret that, due to the foolishness of its youth, it would be known to many as Baolilong…
Chapter 5 : Breakfast Interlude
* * *
Had he not chosen to leave the organization to find Anise, she would still be alive today, right? And she probably would still be carrying her med kit, running around to save many more lives.
“If you don’t want to kill anymore, please come find me.”
Anise’s voice resonated in Liola’s head. However, the scene he remembered was not her firm expression, but rather one of Anise lying on the ground, bathed in blood, and still holding out a cross to him, because she wanted him to go to DuanChang Cliff 1 with it.
He shouldn’t have gone to look for Anise. Had he not done so, she would still be alive.
***
Liola suddenly opened his eyes and woke up. He felt his heart racing. Liola didn’t know if his eyes were filled with tears or sweat…
After a while, he sat up and wiped away the liquid on his forehead. He turned and looked, and he saw Kaiser was still sound asleep in a strange posture. His body was entirely wrapped in his blanket, and he was still drooling.
Liola put on his clothes, and wanted to do his morning exercises as usual. He walked to the window, stepped outside, and quickly jumped onto the roof of the building. He looked around and was happy to see there was no one around.
(Duh! Who would want to live in such a dangerous building, except you and Kaiser? Even Purity took Baolilong to a motel.)
Liola sat down cross legged, and began to examine his Ki. He started exercising his Ki as he had done in the past twenty years.
Exercising his Ki for 36 cycles was what he did every morning, as the first part of his basic Kung Fu training. His frustration caused by his dreams was slowly dissipating. All of his thoughts followed his steady Ki, and nothing else.
After 36 cycles were completed, Liola finished cooling down. With a few deep breaths, he suddenly jumped up, and while doing so, pulled out the hidden silver stick.
Although the organization’s leader had given it a name — Broken Silver — when he gave him the weapon, but Liola, as someone who killed almost every who had seen it, never had the opportunity to even mention its name.
Liola started exercising his second basic Kung Fu, Windborn Blade. He jumped around as if gravity had no effect on him, while performing various aerial stunts in the process.
You could see how incredibly flexible he was. Bending his body back until his head touched his leg, was child’s play to him.
Moreover, he did several unfathomable aerial maneuvers. Some people say that it’s impossible to dodge attacks mid-air, but to Liola, it sounded like a joke.
While his body were moving around, Liola’s hands weren’t idle either. “Windborne Blade” does have the word “Blade” in it, so Liola was also practicing various stabbing angles and positions with the Broken Silver in his hand…
***
“Breakfast…” Kaiser’s sleepy voice could be heard.
Liola stopped, turned around and looked at Kaiser, who was only holding onto the edge of the building by his arms. The rest of his body was swinging in air, plus he looked like he was about to fall asleep again.
“Is it time to have breakfast with Purity?” Liola sighed, remembered how difficult it was for him to wake Kaiser yesterday. It was surprising to see Kaiser awake because of breakfast with Purity at 7am. Of course, the reason was breakfast, definitely not Purity.
Liola jumped from the roof top and back into the room, grabbing Kaiser along the way, or else he might fall to his death while dreaming. After they both cleaned up, Liola dragged Kaiser toward the cafeteria.
