Kimberley could only grit her teeth and walk forward to catch up with Asher, who had already moved ahead of her. Asher stared at her for a mont before shaking his head with a smile. Of course, he wasn’t going to actively introduce Kimberley to Malrik. Why would he? He wasn’t being paid to do so and had no particular reason to make it happen.
But if he happened to see Malrik standing in a corner sowhere or sothing of that nature, he would naturally walk over and greet him. Since Kimberley would likely be standing beside him at the ti, he would introduce her simply because she happened to be present.
"So, I have a question. If the Thalvorn Empire is special because of its ridiculously advanced technology, and the Velkarin Empire is special because of its own unique race, and we of the Zarethorne Empire are special because the Blessed Land or Cursed Land lies within our borders, what makes your Vandross Empire special?" Asher asked calmly, as it seed that one thing or another made every Empire unique.
At that question, Kimberley frowned. Personally, she had never thought about it in that way before. Her mind spun as she tried to co up with an answer, but nothing ca to her. It was as though her mind had handed her a completely blank sheet of paper.
Asher himself knew there was nothing particularly special about the Zarethorne Empire. He had simply used the Blessed Land to make it sound as though they possessed sothing unique, as he wanted to know if the Vandross Empire had anything distinctive like the Thalvorn Empire and the Velkarin Empire did. And now he had his answer. Kimberley’s current expression was all the clue he needed.
’So, two normal Empires and two unique Empires. Way to balance it,’ Asher mused to himself as he walked.
’Great taste in music, by the way,’ he thought as he listened to the lody being played at a low volu while people conversed and ford connections.
Asher’s eyes turned towards Kimberley, who still seed to be thinking about what made the Vandross Empire special. Seeing this, he spoke.
"So, we’ve t the ultimate geniuses of the Velkarin Empire and the Thalvorn Empire. Why not show the genius of your own Empire?" His voice remained calm as he attempted to pull Kimberley out of her endless train of thought.
Kimberley turned towards Asher as she spoke. "What about the Zarethorne Empire? You haven’t shown your people’s ultimate genius." She arched an eyebrow.
Asher paused for a mont before looking around, trying to find Thalric and Teo Swig, but neither of them seed to be within a kilotre radius. The hall was simply too massive, designed to accommodate several thousand people after all.
"Well, I’m sure you’re already aware of the Ninth Sun, Thalric. He’s one of our ultimate geniuses. Then we also have another genius, Teo Swig, although neither of them seems to be close by at the mont," Asher spoke as his eyes returned to Kimberley.
"You aren’t counting yourself? I thought you said I should always bet on you," Kimberley stated as she stared at Asher.
Asher rely smirked as he replied, "Adding myself to the scale simply breaks it. You can think of as the dark horse of this tournant."
Kimberley stared at Asher and simply shook her head at his shaless boasting, choosing not to say anything. Ti would tell. After all, the tournant was likely to begin the day after tomorrow, with the tournant officials allowing everyone to retire and rest tomorrow after this ongoing gala.
"Anyway," Kimberley began, gesturing with her head towards a particular direction, "that is our ultimate genius," she stated.
Asher followed her gaze, his eyes settling on a... bald boy?
A bald boy could be seen holding a blackish-brown staff as he walked. He was dressed in yellow monk robes, and around his neck hung two different strings of beads. One consisted of large beads resembling Shaolin monk prayer beads, numbering eighteen in total. The second consisted of smaller beads known as Mala beads, numbering one hundred and eight.
The boy held one hand in front of his chest as though he were praying while he walked. As he moved, he repeatedly spoke a single word.
"Amitabha."
The bald boy glanced ahead for a mont, and tears fell from his eyes as though he could sohow sense the sins of the world. Then he continued walking, not bothering to wipe away the tears as they seed to vanish on their own the mont they reached his jawline, with not a single drop touching the floor.
"His abilities are a bit... unique, as we’ve never seen anything like him before," Kimberley explained, restraining herself from going into too much detail regarding her Empire’s ultimate genius. The last thing she wanted was for Asher to relay the information to his own companions and allow them to devise counterasures.
Asher stayed silent for a mont, wondering whether so sort of Shaolin monk had sohow found his way into Crymora. If there was one thing Asher knew about this world, it was the absence of God or any divine figure. No one prayed to God, blad God, or even referenced a deity. They only referred to the Stars or the Heavens, which they believed were essentially the sa thing, and they still didn’t pray to both.
But now...
Soone was praying directly in front of him, as though Buddha had sohow found his way onto this planet.
"All I can say is that he is a unique case. He seems to always pray for the dead, tell people not to sin anymore, and also tries to help children and other people whenever he can," Kimberley explained, careful not to reveal too many details.
Asher stayed silent for a mont before speaking, "what is his view on killing people then? Murder is murder no matter how you justify it. So, does he kill his enemies?"
Kimberley imdiately wanted to laugh the mont Asher asked that question.
"Weirdly enough, he tells others not to kill under any circumstances, but he’s always decisive whenever he fights. Then, after he kills soone, he simply asks for forgiveness from whoever Buddha is," she replied, barely holding back her laughter as she saw the blatant double standard behind it.
Asher simply smiled and shook his head, choosing not to judge. However, his mind was already constructing theories regarding the abilities the boy before him might possess. Abilities linked to monks, martial arts, spiritual disciplines, and perhaps even fantastical powers.
’I wonder if he can summon Buddha,’ Asher mused to himself.
Although it was ant as a joke, if this bald guy could actually summon Buddha, they might as well hand him the reward imdiately. Fighting a deity, or even a projection of one, would simply be impossible.
Still, Asher couldn’t help but wonder how soone could awaken such an ability.
"What’s his na?" Asher asked, wondering if his na was sohow linked to Buddhism as well.
"Acker Holloway," Kimberley replied calmly.
Hearing the na, Asher nodded. The na made sense. Obviously, the boy’s parents weren’t monks, so there was no reason for him to possess so deeply spiritual monk-related na unless he had chosen to change it himself later in life after his awakening.
Unlike Arianna and Issac, whom people flocked towards in droves, Monk Acker attracted no fanfare. He simply walked alone with steady, asured steps, seemingly indifferent to the attention of the crowd around him.
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