The whole Martial Hall fell silent as everyone got startled and looked at the angry young man, who had just shouted. Gravis was just as startled as everyone else. What was wrong with what he had said?
"Who do you think you are? Are you trying to blaspheme our ancestor’s teachings?" the man shouted, his head already reddening by all the anger he felt.
"Silence!" an old, yet imposing man walked in. He wore rough brown robes, and his muscles showed through the opened front. He had a long mustache, which extended beyond his face and fell down to his chest.
"This is not a place where you can lose your control!" The man roared loudly with anger in his voice and pointed at the young man. "You still require more training! Go to the Tranquility Pools and stay there until I call you!"
"But master-"
"Silence!" another imposing shout shook the Martial Hall. "Go!" the old man ordered again.
The young man wanted to protest, but clenched his fist and walked away. He, obviously, was very unwilling.
"I apologize for this interruption, everyone," the old man continued, now with a friendlier voice. "You can all go back to business," the man said friendly, while he bent down to remove the young man’s pillow, which he replaced with his own. Then he comfortably kneeled on his cushion and looked at Gravis with a neutral look. "Now, what did you say that made him so mad?" he asked.
Gravis quickly shook his head to get his bearings. "I told him that I am not knowledgeable about how you do business around here. Then I asked for different kinds of Martial Arts to supplement my fighting style. Did I say something wrong?" Gravis asked, concerned.
The old man listened, and when Gravis finished narrating, he understood why the previous man got angry. He looked into Gravis’ eyes and then sighed. "What you have said could be interpreted as cursing our ancestors," he explained.
Gravis was shocked. Was the young man actually justified in getting angry? "I’m sorry. That was not my intent," Gravis quickly apologized.
The old man sighed again. "I know. I can read it in your face. By saying that you have never visited us, you have basically said that you don’t need Martial Arts. This, by itself, is not bad. Yet, with your second sentence, you have said that you want to use Martial Arts as a supplement for your fighting style. By saying this, you have proclaimed that all our Martial Arts, which were created by our ancestors, were below your self-taught fighting style," the old man explained with patience.
Gravis now understood why the young man had gotten angry. Though Gravis also truly believed that many Martial Arts were worse than his fighting style. He might have accidentally let his prejudice show itself. "I’m sorry. I did not intend to disrespect your ancestors," Gravis slightly bowed.
The man waved him off. "Actually, I would also feel a little insulted if someone else said those things. Yet, it is different coming from you."
Gravis narrowed his eyes. "Why is it different coming from me?"
The old man laughed lightly. "I was drinking tea with an old friend of mine in the backroom when all this happened. He told me about the fight you had with him and also told me that you would probably come to visit."
Now, Gravis understood. "Are you speaking about Jeros?" he asked.
The old man laughed lightly and nodded. "Yes! He couldn’t stop talking about your fight with him and how you seemed to have your very own fighting style created by only fighting for your life. He also said that your fighting style was very effective and something he had not seen before. Of course, that has also piqued my interest. Yet, before I could think about how I should meet you, this incident happened," the old man narrated with a smile.
Gravis rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Jeros is incredibly strong. I still believe that he had not shown his true strength, even though he said that he had gone all out," Gravis scratched his chin in thought. "How should I put it? There was a certain absence of pressure I felt while fighting him, even though he was the strongest human I ever fought against."
The old man smiled bitterly. "The pressure you are describing is the intent to kill, and also, the readiness to be killed," the old man sighed again.
"Sadly, Jeros and I have lost this intent. We have grown complacent, and we have lost part of that will. We may still have our intent to kill, but we have lived for too long. We are no longer willing to risk our lives because our lives have grown too important to us. So, I am sad to inform you, but that was truly Jeros’ full strength," the old man narrated with regret.
When Gravis heard that, he also sighed in regret. Two mighty people whose drive had been crippled. He swore that he would never let that happen to himself. Gravis quickly changed the topic. "So, about Martial Arts..." he started and waited for the old man to continue.
The old man smiled again. "How about we spar a little? With that, I can judge your fighting style and might find a suitable Martial Art for you. If you win, I will also let you choose another one for free. If you want more, you have to buy them," the old man proposed.
Gravis thought about it but nodded. Even though he wanted to avoid sparring as much as possible to not dampen his killing intent, this spar was against a strong opponent and also someone who could show him the right direction. "Okay, where?" Gravis asked.
The man smiled. "Follow me to the back," he said and stood up. Gravis also stood up and limbered up his legs. He was really not used to kneeling like this. ’What’s even the point? Sitting is more comfortable," he concluded.
They both walked through a door and followed a hallway into another room. "Do you want to watch?" the old man spoke into the room.
"Watch what?" Gravis heard the voice of Jeros coming from the room. When Gravis entered the room, Jeros grew surprised but then grinned. "Of course!" Then he also stood up and followed the two through another door. "I can’t wait to see your ass getting handed to you, William." Then Jeros turned to Gravis. "Kick his ass, Gravis!" he shouted, and Gravis just nodded awkwardly.
They had just gone their different ways, yet he met Jeros again after such a short time. Gravis still felt awkward about how he had declined Jeros’ invitation. Yet, by the looks of it, Jeros didn’t seem to mind.
They soon reached a sizable garden, filled with trees, plants, flowers, and different ponds. The birds chirped, and bees were collecting nectar from all the flowers. A twenty-meter-wide, clear meadow was in the middle of everything. It was flat and could be used as a make-shift arena. At one of the ponds, a young man sat cross-legged with closed eyes.
When the young man heard the footsteps, he opened his eyes, and when he spotted Gravis, his fury reignited. It was the same young man who had gotten angry earlier. Yet, when the young man saw his master’s strict eyes, he averted his gaze.
"Alright, this should be a good place," said the old man, William. He slowly unsheathed a one-handed sword from his side and looked at Gravis. "My name is William," he stated.
Gravis took out his saber and warmed up. "I’m Gravis," he answered.
Jeros had found a spot to the side and watched with a grin on his face. The young man, on the other hand, was surprised, but also happy. This disrespectful brat was fighting with his master?
He couldn’t wait to see Gravis getting beaten to a pulp!