Chapter 10 - Bendy Ducant

Chapter 10 – Bendy Ducant

In Hugint, there were a lot of families. They were separated into two groups, Noble Family and Common Family. There were countless common families while there were many noble families. The noble family held power while the common family was simply normal.

Even so, a common family could rise to a noble family and a noble family could fall to a common family. The occurrence frequently happened for the past 500 years. Many common families rose while many noble families fell.

Since the beginning of the age of magic, power dictates the status of the family. To become a noble family, someone in the family needed to make many achievements. After that, that person needed to lead his or her family to become as strong as the weakest noble family in existence and that was when they were acknowledged as a noble family.

Due to the age of magic, some too many noble families appeared in Hugint. The government, led by Hugint's emperor, decided to give the noble family ranks. The ranks were from G to SSS similar to the ranks from skills and techniques.

The SSS family was reserved for the royal family. Only the royal family could use the SSS rank. Below the SSS rank, four families had the status of SS rank noble family. These four families were the strongest family in Hugint and everyone knew about them.

The four families were the Furiose Family, Wailler Family, Ducant Family, and Hilling Family. These four families were the strongest in the world. They had produced a lot of geniuses and all of them were at the top of their generation. Each of the four families had their specialties.

The Furiose Family was known to excel in explosive power. Not the kind where it exploded but the one excelled in pure, raw superpower. For example, a member of the family cultivated water talent. That person would have an overwhelming water power that could defeat an opponent of the same level easily purely with power.

Out of the four families, they were well known to be the strongest due to their explosive power. No one dares to fight a member of the Furiose Family one-on-one because their power was overwhelmingly stronger than others.

The second family was the Wailler Family. Different from the Furiose Family, the Wailler Family was known for its perfect control over their power. If the Furiose could use high power to defeat an opponent, the Wailler could use control to defeat an opponent smoothly.

The third was the Ducant Family. The family was well known to excel in sword and blade. 80% of the members of the family were swordsmen and all of them were super strong too. Different from the explosive Furiose and control Wailler, The Ducant Family could excel in explosive power or control or both but they mainly focused on sword and blade.

The fourth family was the Hilling Family. They were different from the three families because they did not rise to the ranks with fighting power but support. The Hilling Family was the best in healing. They were a family of healers.

Even if they were weak in fighting, their healing power was far stronger than the common healer. They were the leading figure in the healing industry. Many members of the family that were not hunters and explorers became doctors and nurses, opened their clinics and hospitals, and did a lot of voluntary work.

The Hilling family was well known to be the nicest family out of all the noble families in Hugint. The members of the Hilling Family were also the most respected people in Hugint. People respect them more than the royal family all thanks to their healing specialties.

"I am Bendy Ducant. Nice to meet you," Bendy introduced his name and extended his hand to Wayne for a handshake but Wayne froze when he heard the name of Bendy's family.

"Ducant?" Wayne questioned and he realized he was rude to a noble and he immediately straightened himself and apologized, "I am sorry. I don't mean to be rude by questioning your family," said Wayne.

Wayne apologize immediately because he knew that the nobles needed to be respected. Some of them were friendly and did not care much about their nobility status but many of them were stuck up and proud of their status that if a commoner like Wayne said something like that, he might suffer.

Even if Bendy looked friendly, he might have been the common stuck up young masters. Especially with his handsome face, Bendy might be a proud boy. Wayne knew that it was wrong to judge people based on their appearance and family but he could not help it.

"Haha, no worry. I am not a spoiled young master," said Bendy while smiling coolly and Wayne felt embarrassed that Bendy seemed to know what he was thinking. Wayne saw that Bendy's arm still extended in front of him.

"Ah! Do you need this chili sauce?" Coincidentally, a bottle of chili sauce was on the table in front of Wayne. Wayne gave the chili sauce to Bendy. Bendy took the chili sauce and smiled.

'This guy is a bit dense…' thought Bendy. He wanted a handshake but Wayne thought he wanted the chili sauce. Even so, he did not mind it. Bendy also thought that Wayne was nervous after he knew that Bendy was part of an SS rank noble family.

"What's your name?" Bendy asked as he saw that Wayne was a bit dazed.

Wayne came back to sense and looked at Bendy for a few seconds before he said, "I am Wayne Weller."

Misheard, Bendy looked shocked and turned serious. He raised his voice and asked, "Wailler?"

"Huh?" Feeling that something was wrong with Bendy, Wayne said, "Not Wailler but Weller. W-E-L-L-E-R," Wayne felt that there was some animosity from Bendy when he heard 'Wailler' and immediately spelled out his family name.

"It sounds the same but it is not. I am just a commoner. I am in no way related to the Wailler Family," said Wayne trying to explain things but Bendy looked suspiciously at Wayne.

'Did he have some beef with the Wailler?' thought Wayne. He knew for a fact that there must be some competition happening in the background between the noble families. Not that weird since competition among the nobles had been going on since before the age of magic.

"Are you not a Wailler?" Bendy asked again. He was suspicious that Wayne was lying but he could see that there was no sign of lying. If by chance it was a lie, Bendy admitted that Wayne was a good actor.

"No. I am not. Many people in the past mistook me like you too because my family name sounds the same as the Wailler. Even so, I am not. I am just a commoner," said Wayne.

Bendy stared at Wayne's eyes for a few seconds and he nodded. "I can see that you are telling the truth," Bendy decided to let the matter go. He smiled again and said, "Are you training here?"

"Yeah. The high academy entrance exam will come soon and I need to prepare myself. I read online that there will be a battle test. So, I worried that I would not do well in the exam so I came here to train myself," said Wayne. Though he sounded worried, Wayne was smiling.

"I just awakened a few days ago, so I don't want to become the weakest during the test," Wayne continued.

"You don't need to worry about the battle test. It is not important. The most important is your potential, talents, and cultivation. The battle test is simply an activity for new students to show off their power," said Bendy and he took the glass of water and drank it.

Wayne was surprised. He had no idea that the battle test was not important. "Then, I don't need to worry about the battle test? For real?" Wayne did not believe it. In a world where fighting power ruled everything, the battle test organized by the Diam Academy was not important?

Bendy nodded, "No need to worry. This is just a simple ceremony for strong students to gain dominance over other students," said Bendy. He put off the glass on the table and looked at Wayne and added, "But, if you are chosen for the test, make sure you win or you will be bullied throughout your five years in the academy."

"…" Wayne was speechless. That means the test was indeed important but he caught on something and asked, "If I am chosen? So, you mean it is possible to not get chosen at all?"

"I thought you were dense but you caught on easily," said Bendy while smiling. The girls around them were swooning at Bendy. Some of them had their saliva out of their mouth. Wayne's eyebrow twitched.

'Why did he think I am dense?' Wayne questioned internally.

"There will be millions of students there and the chance of you getting chosen for the test is nil. The best way to avoid the battle is by not attending the battle. Stay far away from the battle stage. If you are not there, you will not get chosen," said Bendy and Wayne nodded.

'So, the battle test is indeed casual. If someone wants to show off their power, they can enter the test. If not, just stay away from the stage,' Wayne thought. They fell silent for a bit and Wayne called the waiter and ordered some food.

After that, the table was silent. Wayne had something he wanted to ask Bendy but he was not sure if it was right to ask him. He was fidgeting because he wanted to ask but afraid that Bendy would get suspicious of him especially after the problem with his family name.

Bendy saw Wayne and he said, "What's wrong? You want to ask something?" Bendy saw that Wayne was fidgeting and decided to break the silence.

"Huh?" Wayne was stunned and he realized that Bendy must have seen him restless and he blushed because that was embarrassing. "Urm… I do have a question…" Wayne paused. He still was not confident to ask the question but he could see that Bendy was ready to answer his question.

'Is he going to ask more questions about the academy?' Bendy thought. Since they were talking about the academy earlier and since Wayne did not know much about the academy, Bendy thought that that was the case.

"You are a member of the Ducant Family…" Wayne paused once again and Bendy's eyebrow rose.

'So, it is not about the academy? Perhaps he wants to know what it feels like to be a noble?' thought Bendy and he continued, 'He must have wanted to raise his family to noble status.'

"Go on," said Bendy while smiling.

"Are you close with the Windy Sword Master, Hailey Ducant?" Wayne asked and he looked excited when he asked the question. Bendy wanted to answer the question when Wayne excitedly continued, "I am her fan!"

Bendy smiled, "Hahaha. So, you are Aunt Hailey's fan? I never thought I would meet her fan here," said Bendy while laughing lightly.

"You meet the right person. I am indeed close to Aunt Hailey. She is my aunt and also my father's sister," said Bendy and he continued, "You want her autograph? I can get one for you and I will give it to you when the academy starts."

Wayne's eyes were glowing. "You are a nice person!" Wayne exclaimed excitedly. "Bendy! Let's be close friends and I will do everything I can to help you!"

'So, he is my cousin. I better get close to him. Who knows? Maybe I can see mom through Bendy,' thought Wayne while he was staring excitedly at Bendy.

Hailey Ducant or more well known as The Windy Sword Master was Wayne's real mother. When Wayne went to see his real family, he got lucky and saw his father and mother together. He feared them not accepting him and thus, he decided to strive through to become stronger just like his parents before officially meeting them.

Not only Hailey, Wayne's real father Mach Furiose was popular too. They were also known to be a power couple because both of them were super strong. Not only that, but they were also well known to have raised their children well because Wayne's real older brothers and sisters were doing well. All of them were powerhouse hunters and explorers.

Wayne had planned to get close to his family while he built his power slowly and he never thought he would get the chance that fast by meeting Bendy. He felt familiar with Bendy's name because he once read an article about his mother and Bendy was mentioned once in the article.

Based on that article, Wayne assumed that Bendy was super close to Hailey and thus decided to ask that question. He decided to take a role as a fan to get close to Bendy.

If he said he was interested in Hailey without reason, Bendy might get suspicious. He did not want his identity to be known and thus chose to be a fan.

Although Wayne planned this, he had other sincere intentions. Since he knew that Bendy was close to Hailey, he wanted to help Bendy. Bendy was his close cousin. There was nothing wrong for him to help Bendy especially when he was capable of doing that.

With Precious Touch, he could help Bendy learn powerful skills as well as a good cultivation technique. He would not blatantly tell Bendy about his Precious Touch but would give the skills to Bendy secretly.

"Hahaha, no need to worry. It is easy for me to get Aunt Hailey's autograph," said Bendy. He wanted to offer to help Wayne meet Hailey but stopped that intention because he did not know Wayne well. Who knows? Wayne might be those dangerous and perverted fans.

Although Wayne looked harmless and innocent, that did not mean he was trustable. Many people looked nice but they were extremely dangerous. Bendy did not feel that Wayne was dangerous but he felt like Wayne was hiding something from him.

Bendy also had a feeling that Wayne was trying to get close to him. Though he could feel that it was not a bad intention, he needed to be cautioned of Wayne.

"Since you want us to be close friends, why not? You look like someone I can be comfortable with," said Bendy while smiling. Since Wayne wanted to get close to him, he would let him and slowly tried to find out what Wayne wanted from him.

'My swordsman instinct is working well,' thought Bendy. His hours of hard work to hone his instinct worked well in this situation. He was glad that he had not neglected the training. 'Aunt Hailey is right. A swordsman needs a strong instinct.'

Wayne was happy that Bendy agreed to become his friends. He never thought it would run this smoothly but he was glad that everything went well. He would help Bendy to the best of his ability.

Wayne extended his arm for a handshake with Bendy as a commemoration of their friendship. Bendy saw Wayne's action and he smiled. He took the chili sauce bottle and handed it to Wayne. Bendy looked at Wayne's face and smiled.

Wayne was stunned and he remembered what happened earlier. 'So, he wanted a handshake earlier…' Wayne blushed. He was embarrassed about what had happened earlier.

"Hahaha…" Wayne awkwardly laughed and said, "I am sorry about earlier. I thought you want the chili sauce so…" said Wayne while he scratched his head. "That was awkward. I am sorry if I offend you."

"Pfft! Hahaha!!" Bendy was laughing hard. He found the situation funny and could not help laughing. "Don't worry. I don't mind it. Aren't we friends? Friends do this a lot with each other," said Bendy and he shook Wayne's hand.

Wayne was elated. He thought that Bendy was offended by that. Suddenly he realized something. Bendy mentioned earlier that Wayne was dense and he realized why he thought of that and he blushed again.

They continued talking to get to know more about each other. While they were talking, their orders arrived and they started talking while eating.

From their conversations, Wayne found out that Bendy was the same as Wayne. He just awakened too. Their birthday was in Winter and they were a bit late to the hunter's party. Be that as it may, both of them acknowledged that the time they awakened would not affect their power in the future.

There was no such thing as 'You awakened late so you will be weaker than me'. Their power would be dependent on their effort. No matter how fast they awakened, their effort would determine their future power.

Similar to Wayne, Bendy came to the dungeon for training too but he had another thing he wanted from the dungeon.

"Drumming Gorilla? Why are you looking for that monster? Since it is a mutant, it will be hard to find one. Perhaps it is impossible to find one in the low-level area," said Wayne.

"I know they are rare but I know the location they usually appeared. I need some materials from the drumming gorilla to forge a sword," explained Bendy.

He continued, "I have the sword talent and sound talent. I am currently cultivating the sword talent and will soon cultivate my sound talent. Both of these talents are suitable for each other. I decided to go the route of sound swordsman and I will need a suitable weapon for that."

"Since I am still a beginner, the most suitable material to create a weapon that can complement the two talents at low level is from the drumming gorilla," said Bendy and he looked serious. Wayne nodded.

"So, the material from the drumming gorilla will be used to create a sword that can use sound," mentioned Wayne. "So, which area is it? I will help you. Two is better than one, right?" Wayne wanted to help Bendy.

"We are still not strong enough. The drumming gorilla usually appeared at the level 5 area. I have absorbed 25 normal rank cultivation gems but my average level is only 2 with my strength and dexterity at level 7 while my other status at level 1," Bendy sighed but Wayne choked on the food he ate.

"Cough! Cough!" Wayne was coughing and Bendy immediately gave him some water. Wayne drank the water and took a deep breath. He looked at Bendy and asked, "Can you repeat that? About your level," said Wayne.

"???" Bendy found it weird but he repeated what he said earlier and Wayne frowned. Wayne asked, "How many cultivation points do you have? Your potential and your sword talent's grade?"

"… 350 cultivation points. I have SS potential and S+ sword talent…" Bendy was staring at Wayne and he said jokingly, ���Are you amazed that I build that many cultivation points? As for the gem that I absorbed, there was nothing I could do. I have yet to unlock any locks and I am not capable of hunting iron rank monsters."

"I decide to sacrifice the sword talent cultivation and focus on my sound talent later," said Bendy but Wayne frowned more.

'He had SS potential with S+ talent. He could build a maximum of 500 cultivation points but he only managed to build 350 points! That means, his cultivation technique is at A- to S grade. I have B+ potential with B+ talent and I have more points than him thanks to my cultivation technique,' Wayne stared at Bendy.

'This cannot go on. He is wasting his potential. I need to give him the best cultivation technique. I cannot help with the sword talent much since he had already built the map but I can give him better technique so that his status will raise more when he absorbs the gem,' Wayne was determined to help his cousin.

"Bendy, I happen to have in possession of a really good sword cultivation technique. Can you wait for me here? I will go home and give you the technique," said Wayne. He wanted to help Bendy but Bendy was stunned.