Chapter 38: Meeting the boy

The young man detained in the cell across mine is Troy, the boy that my niece likes. I looked at him, thinking of what to say first, but he was the one who broke the ice and said, “What are you in for?” I answered, "I am interested in the first daughter of this place," implying that I am interested in recruiting her as a member of the sigil knights, reflected by the mask that I am wearing. After hearing those words, the boy instantly fired up and said, “She’s not available, you bastard!” I was surprised by his reaction, but this should help me grill him more. I made a playful tone and asked, “What makes you say that?” Still furious, he answered, “She already has someone, me! I know what the reports are saying, but we truly do love each other. We've cared for one another since the day we met eight years ago when we were 8 years old!” I then realized that he misunderstood what I said. I told him, “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean in THAT way. I am merely interested in recruiting her into our fold." He immediately quieted down as if embarrassed and said, “I'm sorry." He further asked, “How did they catch you? And why do you look so similar to the sigil knights?”

It seems that while I am dressed looking like a sigil knight, people who closely follow the fold of the sigil knights are keen enough to recognize that I am actually not one of them. Sigil knights may be popular to the public, but only a few people know the faces behind their masks. I then answered, “While Stephanie was escorting me to the castle, a knight got alarmed by me wearing a mask and all, so they detained me down here. But it is all just a misunderstanding, and it should be good in a while. What about you? What is your story?" Troy suddenly blushed, and in a little hushed voice, he said, “I was going to surprise Stephanie by slowly walking towards her from behind and covering her eyes. But before I could do that, my hand was caught by her dad. He went inside my head, searched through my mind, and saw that I have a sexual desire for her daughter. I’m 16 years old. My hormones are going crazy. I have sexual desire with everything.” That is very true. I expected as much since it seems like they already established a relationship.

I then told Troy, “What about if I recruit you? Care to show me your punching routine?” He replied, “I don’t have any talent in mana manipulation. I’ve been trying it out all these years, but I can’t even reach the first rank,” then he threw out his fist. With my command, the Library compiled a book on him which states: "Troy Mathers, unranked mortal. Constitution: Body of Growth." The book also states that his constitution works in that once his properly motivated, able to increase his speed in cultivating by many folds. One of his flaws is his insecurity with his cultivation level. Without the proper amount of motivation, he won't be able to start the manipulation of his mana. I told him that it is such a shame that Stephanie is already a Rank-4 cultivator, but he, her lover, is weak. Pretty soon, she would have to meet the up and coming people in the world. Who knows if she will meet people that would make her swoon? After putting Troy in a bit of a downed situation, I asked him the question, “What if I have a way to make you begin your mana manipulation?”

Troy looked at me, unconvinced but determined, and asked, “What do I need to do?” I told him that the only thing that he needs to do is to acknowledge me as his teacher. Without hesitation, he promptly said, “I acknowledge you as a teacher!” I then nodded and imparted a teaching method to him that is unique to the teachers from the novel where I got my powers, the Spirit of Impartation. The Spirit of Impartation entails that whoever hears the lecture of a teacher, whose teachings are so close to the truth of the world and the heavens, would unconsciously gain enlightenment. The enlightenment gained by the student would then immensely improve the training period, avoiding any confusion and doubt.

And so, I started with the first lesson. “In the Heavenly Way, the first rank evolves in the activation of the openings inside the body. These openings are what will be used to absorb the mana in the surroundings." After I finished my lecture, Troy kowtowed to me and shouted, “Greetings and thanks to a teacher!” with tears streaming down his face. And without warning, I felt something shake in my Library. Out of nowhere, a book popped with the title being, "The Book of the Heavenly Way." The contents of the book include ways to increase the speed of training the mind, to seal something, and to kill something. It turns out that even the book is also a possible power to be formed.

As a symbol of accepting Troy as my student, I decided to carve a sculpture for him. With my left index finger coated with sword intent, I made a sculpture of our old high school building from the wood I have kept hidden on me. Through the bars, I passed the small wooden sculpture to Troy. The sculpture I gave him is sealed with my mana and contains my lectures until the 9th level of the mortal rank. As his mana reaches a sufficient level, it would be infused with the sculpture that would naturally unlock and directly send my lectures to his mind. After that, I imparted to him the Saber Arts of the Heavenly Way so that he can defend himself when he needs to. Since the cells we are put in are mana-insulated, there is no mana for him to absorb yet. But through my eyes of wisdom, I saw his body full of willingness to absorb mana as manifested by his pores opening.

After some time, both of us sat quietly in our respective cells. I meditated to replenish my state of mind that I used earlier in the Spirit of Impartation. He also meditated and focused his energy on fully absorbing my lectures. Eventually, Stephanie came down and looked at Troy worriedly. The guard accompanying her opened my cell and said that I am to talk with King Topher directly.