It wasn't just about swinging a sword a certain way or adding flashy movents—it required deep comprehension of the Sword Laws, precision in energy control, and most importantly, a sword technique had to be sothing that naturally fit one's fighting style.
He frowned slightly.
"This is more complicated than I expected."
But he wasn't discouraged.
"I'll just figure sothing out during my training."
He wasn't the type to overthink before taking action. Testing things directly was the best way to learn.
Just as he was about to continue reading—
Beep!
A soft notification echoed from his holowatch.
Glancing at the screen, he saw a ssage from Callie.
[Callie: We're outside.]
Max's eyebrow lifted slightly.
"They're here."
Without wasting another second, he stood up, closing the book.
Leaving the training chamber, he walked toward the entrance of his quarters.
As he opened the door, he was t with the three figures waiting outside.
The Old Saintess stood in the middle, her usual wise and unreadable expression present.
To her right, Klaus had his arms crossed, his eyes filled with intrigue as he looked at Max.
And Callie, standing slightly behind them, was as calm and composed as ever.
Max gave them a slight nod.
"Co in."
***
Inside Max's living room, the Old Saintess and Klaus sat on the long couch, while Callie and Max each took a single-person seat across from them.
Max leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp with anticipation.
"So, do you have anything related to dragons? Anything at all?" he asked, his voice carrying a rare hint of eagerness.
Klaus chuckled, leaning back with a knowing smile. "Our guild does possess a few dragon-related items."
He exchanged a glance with the Old Saintess, who simply nodded in confirmation.
"Most of them aren't usable and have been sitting in our guild storage for years," Klaus continued.
Max's eyes lit up slightly at the confirmation, but before he could say anything, Klaus tilted his head, curiosity evident in his expression.
"But I have to ask—why do you need dragon-related materials?"
His tone wasn't suspicious or wary.
Max felt it—through the deepened bloodline connection, he could sense that Klaus's curiosity was genuine.
There were no hidden motives, no scheming—just pure interest.
Max took a brief pause before answering.
"It can increase my strength," he said simply.
He didn't elaborate, but he also didn't lie.
Since he was asking them for sothing, he needed to at least be partially honest.
Klaus raised an eyebrow at the vague answer but didn't push further.
Instead, he smiled.
"Hah. Well, I can't say I understand, but if it makes you stronger, then I don't see any reason not to hand them over," Klaus said with a grin.
Max could feel the Old Saintess's gaze on him. She had remained silent, simply observing, but now she spoke.
"How much do you need?" she asked.
Max's lips curled into a small smirk.
"As much as you're willing to give ."
Klaus nodded, then with a casual shake of his hand, he dropped a pile of dragon-related items onto the table before them.
Bones. Scales. Horns. Other mysterious dragon remnants.
Among them, Max also spotted a few Chaos Stones, mixed into the pile.
His eyes glead, and a silly grin spread across his face.
Without hesitation, he swept them all up, storing them away in an instant.
At the sa ti, Callie calmly placed a storage pouch on the table.
"It contains all the materials you requested," she said simply.
Max glanced at her, then at the pouch, his grin widening.
With a quick motion, he collected it as well.
'It's so good to have soone else handle the small things while I just focus on training.'
The thought made him smile to himself, feeling almost spoiled.
He could get used to this.
But—
Max's excitent over his new resources was short-lived as the Old Saintess suddenly spoke, her tone shifting into sothing heavy.
"Max, you should know about sothing."
Her words carried weight, a certain gravity that made Max's expression turn serious.
"What?" Max asked lightly, though he could already tell that whatever she was about to say wasn't trivial.
The Old Saintess t his gaze, her eyes sharp, almost like a warning.
"Ascendants."
Max's entire deanor shifted.
His expression turned solemn.
The mont she said that word, he knew this conversation was about sothing far beyond ordinary matters.
The Old Saintess continued, her voice steady yet grim.
"If there's any power in this world that truly understands the Ascendants… it's us."
Max remained silent, listening carefully.
"Before the war ten thousand years ago, there was no trace of the Ascendants. No trace of the Nulls either."
Max's brows furrowed slightly.
"The Nulls simply appeared one day. Suddenly. Without warning. Everywhere.
Lower Domain. Middle Domain. Even the Four God Nations."
Her voice grew colder, darker.
"Nobody was spared. Nobody understood why the Nulls suddenly invaded. Why they declared war against the people of Acaris. Nobody even knew that such a race as the Nulls existed in the first place."
Max's mind raced.
A hidden race that had remained undetected for countless ages—only to suddenly erge and wage a world-ending war?
Sothing felt wrong about this.
The Old Saintess's eyes darkened, her face grim.
"But the war…" She took a breath, her voice heavy.
"It raged like wildfire, refusing to stop."
"All of humanity—every race—was on the brink of extinction."
"We were annihilated."
"Defeated thoroughly by the Nulls."
A chill ran down Max's spine.
The way she spoke…
The weight in her tone…
It wasn't just history to her.
It was sothing deeply personal.
Max's gripped his fists tightly when he heard it.
The Old Saintess continued, her voice carrying the weight of history.
"However, when all hope was lost… when everyone thought they had lost… when they thought they were going to die… when I thought I was going to die—"
She paused, her eyes dark with mories.
"They suddenly disappeared."
Max's eyes widened slightly.
"What? They just left? Just like that?"
It didn't make sense.
They waged war—slaughtered hundreds of billions—pushed the world to the brink of extinction…
And then, without warning, they vanished?
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