Thousand Ways Hermit

"Tell me about how these two mystics are related first."

Aurélion smiled and made the golden book appear in his hands. This time two pages flew out, one toward my scroll and the other toward my forehead.

"The third page of your scroll got more information on Mystics, and the page that went into your forehead was a fragment of my divine authority. Visualize the number 0, and you'll get a blank page. Think about getting information about something and it'll appear on the scroll." Aurélion said with a smug expression.

"Now... I'll tell you the story of a delusional princess who didn't realize the kingdom she left behind to save her skin was already wiped out of the surface of this world, and the ruler who gave up his power to protect the smile and illusory world of that young woman." After saying that, Aurélion made chairs and a table appear and invited me to sit.

"The Vagrant Princess was the fourth daughter of the king of a great kingdom. As the fourth, she wasn't pressured by expectations and trained as a warrior instead of a politician or a ruler. She soon showed great talents in the way of the sword but wasn't given enough time to bloom before the kingdom was attacked by a gigantic empire of warmongers that wanted to subjugate it. Similar to the Empire you're living in currently." Aurélion looked at me meaningfully before continuing his story.

"She fled after her father requested her to do so, accompanied by no one but herself. In her travels, away from the fallen kingdom, she tried to recruit men to join her cause, but no one accepted nor did anyone bear to tell her about the truth... until she met the Bladelight Monarch. The Bladelight Monarch comes from a royal lineage where the children are born with a bladeless hilt in their hands. Bladelight is an energy special to these guys and is quite loose, so they could either use it as a wide energy shield, flying weapons, or sword fully made from energy. However, it was only when used in tandem with their hilts that it showed its true power. The people from that lineage became more powerful the more concentrated their bladelight was, as they trained and grew older. Now you'll ask me, who's the Bladelight Monarch? He was the most talented man in that lineage, a man that broke all records his ancestors set and quickly rose to power. However, when he met the one known as the Vagrant Princess, seeing those eyes full of unwavering determination, her pretty smiling face, he couldn't help but feel a strong need to help her to the best of his abilities. That was the day he fell in love, but unfortunately or fortunately he didn't know that. He helped her unlock her potential and vowed to serve her forever. A Vagrant Princess can have ten loyal retainers, with different specialties and could increase their capabilities. Only someone that would never hurt the Princess could become her loyal retainers, thus there was no risk of betrayal..." Aurélion made a bottle of water appear, took a sip, then made another one appear and threw it at me.

"Stay hydrated boy. Anyway, your sister got high mental resistance, incredible talent in martial arts, and big team buffs. Your brother is a versatile warrior with a unique energy, that he can shape to his will. That's it." Aurélion shrugged.

"And the rest of the story?" I asked him in an interested tone.

Life wasn't all about absolute necessity. Some stories could give you lessons in the most unexpected of ways, so I was willing to listen.

"That's it, I don't know more, or rather I don't want to pry into their private life more than that." Aurélion shrugged with a bitter expression.

"Fair enough." I nodded with understanding.

When you had power you had to set boundaries to yourself, or else you would end up like my previous self.

I clenched my fist and shook my head.

"Anyway, won't we talk for a bit today?"

Aurélion smiled widely.

"I was waiting for you to say that..."

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I grabbed my scroll and visualized the number three, and a brand new page appeared in front of me.

|Clairvoyance -Mystics- (2nd Page)

|Bladelight Monarch: Bladelight is a river, and my body is the dam. Whether the city will receive enough energy to cater to their needs depends on my control. Absolute control. Danger level: S-

|Vagrant Princess: One will never know the importance of pride before it is spat on by someone else. The flame of pride, vengeance, and determination burns in my veins, and I shan't stop before reclaiming the lands of my father. Danger level: B+ (SS-)

|Holder of Planes: I bend my back under the weights of space, matter, lives, and existence. Truly the world is mysterious and majestic, but it still needs a servant to lift it on their back. I shall be the loyal retainer of this magnificent world, the commoner that will do their best to help the noble even if unseen. Because elegance deserves adoration... Danger level: ?

|Note: The Holder of Planes isn't trying to hide, and isn't a bad guy. That's the only reason I was able to spy on him. DON'T EVER PROVOKE HIM!!!

|Everlasting Avenger: I might have lost everything. My life, my family, my power, my desires, my dreams... I might have lost all of those, but that doesn't mean you won. I will lose everything, again and again, if I need to. But if there's something I'll never let escape from my grasp... It's your life. Danger level: SSS

|Ghost of Civilization: I laugh in the wake of broken illusions, destroyed worlds where living beings fell victim to their greed and primal values, remembering that their act of civilization was nothing but that. An act. Will civilization crystallize into something more than an empty, soulless ghost? Will I ever stop laughing? Danger level: SSS+

|Immortal Bard: The stories of the great shan't be forgotten. I sing their tales, a witness of great eras and accomplishment. I'll tell you their story, but are you willing to hear all of the truth? Danger level: SS+

This page scared me way more than the first one.

Aside from the two first, all of those Mystics were scary beyond words. If such an unassuming world had such great beings existing in it, then I couldn't help but wonder what could have possibly existed in the summit of the food chain in the world where I was a Silence.

I clenched my fist and a flame burned in my eyes. I absolutely had to get the legacy of a Mystic!

-----------------

After my siblings went to school, life became quite boring but I didn't care. Today was the day of my blessing, and I would finally be able to understand more about the guilds, associations, and schools a blessed could join.

The time I spent with my parents wasn't wasted, however. "Cooking" appeared on the first page of the scroll and I learned to identify quite a number of plants and ingredients.

Since I wasn't blessed, my siblings didn't have the right to talk to me about their time in the academy, nor did we have the same interests, so we gradually drifted apart. It was only the presence of my parents that helped us stay in touch, and I was happy this would change today.

I entered the familiar temple, but this time the Green World guild's members weren't present, but it didn't matter since this time I had more important things to care about.

After some time the man in faceless armor entered the temple and repeated the exact same words, then invited the children into the blessing room.

When it was my turn, I skipped happily toward the room before immediately pausing when entering inside.

I felt like I was observed by thousands of eyes, and that each pair of eyes belonged to an entity that could crush me with a thought.

I knew it was an illusion, however. Azan already told me that Mystics didn't know that people had their legacies.

I sat with difficulties and put my hand on the crystal ball inside the room.

My brain was instantly filled with so much information I felt like I would pass out.

I barely managed to stay awake and used magic to support my body before leaving the room, as if nothing happened.

My mother grabbed my hand and looked at me with satisfaction when I didn't try to tell her what my blessing was in public, before quickly joining my father.

While walking with my parents, I was silently browsing through the information in my head.

Fortunately, I had the legacy of a Mystic. He was called the "Thousand Ways Hermit" and... that's all I knew about him.

The powers granted by the legacy were revolving around controlling inanimate objects like puppets, cutlery et cetera. It was quite interesting, but some things couldn't be skimmed through so I had to wait to be in a silent environment before browsing through the knowledge I acquired.

Since there was no one that we had to leave in the inn, we directly went to where the school and guilds were located, with my father explaining to me the specialties of each one.

"While blessings are very important, becoming stronger isn't centered around them. Some races can't acquire blessings, yet they are formidable warriors. The best example would be the Soulweavers of the blood elves. In schools, they'll teach you how to fight or any other sort of craft. Guilds and Associations are a group of people that help and share information with each other. You can take missions to gain merit that you can use either to climb the ranks or to gain more knowledge or items from the group in question. Guilds tend to have a better atmosphere, while Associations are focused on results and logic. Both of your siblings chose to go to a school, but I feel like it might not be suited to you." My dad said the last phrase with a meaningful smile.

I knew he saw me when I was training in the forest, so I didn't panic but just smiled back with a nod.

If schools were as he said, then it was true that I didn't have any interest in joining them. Well, I had to browse through the options first before making any rash decisions.

After strolling through the streets with my parents acting as touristic guides, I finally made a decision.

"Father, mother. I want to join the Merchant Guild." I said in a confident voice.

Both of them looked at me with a surprised expression before my mother shrugged and pushed my dad who still had a confused expression toward the Merchant Guild's building.

I smoothly became a member of the guild after I proved I was able to read and write. I was given a merchant badge and was invited to complete some simple missions to raise my status into an official merchant, but I refused for now.

I would go on a trip, acquire materials, make some enchantments, and only then would I be able to enter the world of commerce. Currently, I didn't have any products, and buying things before selling them in another region for a high price wasn't my thing.

My parent didn't question my choices. I don't know if it's because it's me or because of their character but they gave me absolute autonomy.

We returned to our house and they told me to package my things quickly since I already made a decision. They also told me they had a gift for me, but it would have to wait until tomorrow.

I was finally alone for a moment so I made the scroll appear to check my information.

|Name: Sirius

|Previous Names: Zack, Gabriel, Claude Ad Esterm, Malek, Erebus, Jacob.

|Race: High Human (Eldritch)

|Gender: Male

|Lives: Eight

|Affiliation: Merchant Guild

|Current Titles: None

|Past Titles: Mad Demon, Bastion's Lucky Charm, Bringer of Doom, Hell Lord, Forbidden Ruler.

|Equipment: Ring of Never-Ending Legacy (Four Forms: Diary of an Immortal, MindWhale Sword, Stone of Fate, Scroll of Azan).

|Abilities: Melee Adept (Proficient with the use of a multitude of melee weapons), Great Archmage (Can cast a multitude of spells ranging from the first circle to the ninth), Profound Meditation, Mirror Travelling, Solitude, Coax, Magical Engineer (Can create golems and carve various enchantments), Expert Hunter (Proficient in tracking prey and placing traps), Forbidden Ritualist (Can cast a number of tenth circle spells by using human sacrifice), Intermediate Cooking (Can make delicious dishes).

|Aspiration: Hédonism (Gourmet, Alcoholism, Laziness.)

|Blessing: Dragon of Knowledge Azan.

|Legacy: Thousand Way Hermit (Eldritch Puppeteer)

|Special Bodily Conditions: Sharp Senses, Fast Digestion, Exceedingly High Alcohol Tolerance, Lucidity.

To my disappointment, I didn't acquire a new form for my ring, but I couldn't say it was unexpected. I also acquired a new race, apparently, but before asking Azan about it, I had something more important to do.

Using the third form of my ring: the Stone of Fate.

It was an interesting item from my time as a Lich that I couldn't use because the undead were fateless entities. It was an item that summoned a familiar that would be able to help the user the most, in the future or the present.

You only had to drip your own blood on the stone and wait for the magic to unfold.

Now that I acquired a blessing and joined a guild I could finally use this item and get some company and assistance.

I made the pebble appear in my hand. It looked exactly like a normal stone, but in my eyes, it shone like a sun.

I dripped blood on it, and immediately complex magical arrays appeared on the surface of the pebble that slowly grew into a spherical lifeform.

I immediately felt a mental link form between me and the creature and waited in excitement for the magical arrays to disappear.

When the light subsided, the creatures showed itself.

It looked like a black slime.

I stared at it with incredulity when a shy voice sounded in my head.

[Uu.. Hallow?]