33 Mental Struggles (1/2)
Back to Darius and the Elder, the old man coughed violently for a few moments then he breathed heavily to regain his composure.
After a while, blatant anger apparent on his face, he glared at the smug Darius who was sitting in his chair as if nothing had happened. Darius was doing everything in his power not to laugh. Once again, he had thrown the old man off his perch. It was quite a pleasant feeling for the young man. The old man wanted to shout but didn't quite know what to say.
Someone of his esteemed position had never had to deal with such blatant disrespect. Then again, the young man before him probably didn't even know who he was. After thinking things through for a while, the elder sat down opposite Darius and sighed.
”Young man, how much do you know about Spiritknights? About their abilities and classifications?”
Darius was intrigued by the elder's words. Indeed, he knew absolutely nothing, which was an unpleasant situation, especially for one as cautious as himself.
”Ehem, esteemed Elder, would you mind enlightening me on a few topics regarding these issues?”
The elder smiled and nodded. This was more along the lines of what he wanted: a chance to hold the boy's attention for a while and teach him a few things. Granted, he would have preferred to have taken it slowly, but the boy was quite cunning and elusive, so the elder had to throw him a bone and hope to gain his trust.
For the next few hours, the duo discussed all the general information Darius needed to know about the world of Spiritknights. The duo also discussed many other details, such as what an Indomitable could do, how to activate the ability, and its value. Darius couldn't wrap his head around how he had something so amazing. Feeling the old man's goodwill, Darius asked him how to access the ability he had gained from the other Dantian.
Quite some time was spent by the old man in helping Darius understand his own power. As time when on, Darius started to truly understand the advantages of following the old man. His new-found sixth sense told him that things would only get better if he followed this old codger. Darius lowered his guard somewhat and became more obedient. He at least knew what the old man wanted from him, so he was better informed than when he had been dealing with Lionel.
The only issue was the matter of the old man's requirements. Tolerance for pain and the mundane as well as being in possession of shamelessness. Shamelessness and the mundane were nothing to Darius, but the word pain stuck out like a sore thumb.
There is no young man in their right mind who did not fear pain. Being the coward he was, Darius naturally feared it. Not nearly as much as death, but the fear was still there nonetheless.