2 Instructor Axtorius (2/2)
”I've seen plenty of kids from the 5 noble families and grand guilds die retarded deaths over the years I've been in Mulia. Not even the royal family is exempt from this fate. Over the last 300 years, I have witnessed 6 princes and 3 princesses die because they let their hubris get the best of them.”
”Allow me to reiterate the truth the kids with big egos in here - you are nothing and you be nothing until you climb the stairway and make it to the top. Until that day, you're nothing more than 'contenders'; little kids in the eyes of people who have completed the climb, 'conquerors'.”
”My name is Axtorius and I will be one of your instructors here in the tutorial zone, a bona fide conqueror who completed the climb over 500 years ago, long before your great-grandmothers were even born. It's my job to grind out your weaknesses and work you lot into shape so you don't immediately die.”
”This a free service that is given to you, courtesy of the Moon King of the North. In the past, the tutorial zone didn't even exist and new contenders were just thrown out into the open world. Guess what the mortality rate was back then?”
”Over 90%. Only the strongest, smartest, and most tenacious survived and stood a chance to climb the staircase. But after the four empires formed, every side needed more men - wars needed to waged. Therefore you kids now get treated like precious commodities, haha....”
The man lifted his arm and then made a grasping motion like he wanted to grab a handful of air, a simple motion that had devasting effects. At the same moment that he grasped the air, a large gust of compressed air hit everyone in the plaza simultaneously.
Reed felt an enormous strike hit him on his back and was almost immediately tossed forward like a human bullet. It felt like he had been by a solid brick wall without warning and a result ended up with a severe injury that left him completely immobilized. He couldn't even move out of sheer pain from the blow.
The others did not fare any better from the blast, most of them were incapacitated from the attack but a few still were standing, albeit barely.
In particular, a beautiful girl with long, flowing ebony hair held her ground with great difficulty after the blast hit her. It was an odd sight because although her face showed no expression like she never even registered the pain, her body was left shaking violently the attack.
Her brilliant, golden eyes had a sort of determination within them that told the instructor that she wouldn't bend over until she died. She was a tough cookie with great potential.
A tall, young man with elegant features also survived the attack and had not fallen. His long, crimson hair swayed back and forth as he struggled to keep himself steady. It seemed he suffered more from the blast than others because was on the verge of passing out despite his tremendous efforts to stay awake. He didn't possess the strong body that the former girl had, but instead had a ridiculous amount of willpower and endurance than his peers.
These two fellows certainly got everyone's attention with their little stunt. Reed inwardly pitied them as he balled up in pain on the plaza floor. The instructor would assuredly make a note of the boy and the girl now.
Getting on the bad side of that man was a dumbass thing to do. Who would willingly attract attention in front of a predator like an instructor who was a conqueror? Only idiots without proper screws in their head.
Axtorius sneered as he stared at the few people who remained standing and slowly said, ”What you were all hit by wasn't even a proper move or skill. I just called a cool breeze to blow over you. I didn't even use any Anima to perform that little trick. Just making a grasping motion is enough to do what I did when you become a conqueror.”
”Let this be your final wake up call now that you've decided to enter Mulia - you're at the bottom of the food chain right now, no matter what kind of background you have. Follow the orders of your instructors and you'll live to see another day; don't and you'll end up dead before you know it.”
What cemented the instructor's words in the minds of everyone present was after what he did after he finished his sermon.
All he did was wave his hand across the plaza. A bright flash of blue light passed through the entire plaza and quickly struck everyone that had been hurt.
Right after that hand wave, Reed felt that all his pain had disappeared as if it never happened. He even felt somewhat refreshed and energized after the blue wave had hit him. Everyone else around him also came around after they were struck by the blue wave as well; everyone had been healed in the blink of an eye.
That was the kind of power a conqueror possessed, they could determine the life and death of mere mortals with a single hand and a simple thought.
It was a type of power that separated them from the masses; these were people that had the qualifications to endure and grow in the harshest environments.
These were people that earned the right to live like gods and were worshipped as such by mortals. They were conquerors in the fullest sense of the word; they conquered over adversity to fulfill their dreams in Mulia of all places...