Useful Pawns?

Taira looked down from his view above the clouds.

The ruins of the vampire castle were sprawled out underneath an overcast sky.

A light rain had started to fall from the heavens. Creating a scene that, in more ways than one, vowed that a storm was imminent.

"Are you sure you'll be able to do it?"

Taira looked to his side where Velreth was floating ominously.

He'd previously been spending time with Inadu and teaching her a musical art he'd learned sometime over the course of his 80,000 years of life. But now, he was back with his first disciple out of a desire to witness his teaching firsthand.

And because he was slightly interested to see if Taira had been neglecting his own training.

It takes children in the upper realm an average of twenty years to ascend to what lower realm mortals think is the 'peak' of cultivation.

In that sense, even though Taira's rate of growth had been explosive, to Velreth he was actually far behind.