"So how are you doing as of late, Ketis?"
"I am doing well enough. I settled down a lot in Davute." Ketis calmly replied as she strode alongside Ves as they walked down the corridor. "I never imagined that I would start a family with a man like Joshua when I was younger, especially not in a place as far away as the Red Ocean. Everything has been a dream to in the last 5 years. In hindsight, I truly needed this for myself. While I haven't been able to improve my swordsmanship as much, I had a lot of ti to stabilize my foundation and teach other Swordmaidens. Aside from that, I also fixed my biggest shortcomings in my ch design career. My knowledge base is no longer as shallow and my design experience is finally catching up to yours."
Ves smiled. "Hmm, it sounds like you have made good use of the ti we stayed in Davute. It's the sa for . While I haven't been able to co up with too many paradigm-breaking inventions, I'm a lot better equipped to design chs at my current level."
Ketis turned her head towards him. Her lips slowly curled into a grin.
"It's not enough anymore, isn't it? The calm and peaceful life we had before sounds like paradise to so many people. Even the people around us think that there is nothing wrong with staying in Davute forever. It's different for us. We are people who are born for the wild. The more things remain quiet, the more we beco restless. Those of us who live for the thrill can never beco satisfied with the status quo. Even our families can't hold us back."
"Hehe, I can't hide it from you, Ketis. At certain tis, I thought about cutting our recuperation period short. Davute is a great place to start a family, but it's not that conducive to accelerating my progress. It's no wonder that so many Apprentices, Journeyn and Seniors need decades to make substantial progress. They have all beco stuck in their own little comfort zones that are many light-years away from the conflicts where their products get embroiled in life-and-death struggles. It becos frustrating to talk to those soft ch designers who have never spilled blood or witnessed death up close."
Perhaps other people might consider Ves and Ketis to be ntally ill or damaged in their heads for harboring this mindset, but neither of them thought that there was anything wrong.
Not even having kids could ta their restless hearts. Their desire to protect their children and raise them in a safe and comfortable environnt could not beat their ambition to grasp greater opportunities.
Nothing as exciting and rewarding as the Purgatory Campaign had occurred during the ti they resided in the middle of a booming and increasingly more prosperous port system.
Attaining more market share and earning the respect of their colleagues in the local ch industry was nice, but both Ves and Ketis had always understood that their true worth lay in the power of their ch designs.
Seeing their progress slow down year after year due to lack of inspiration and pressure was intolerable to them. Becoming a father or a mother did not change the fact that both of them had evolved into transcendent humans whose lives beca intertwined with chs.
Their urge to design better and more useful chs was grafted into their spirits. It was an addiction that they could never cure because it had beco the center of their lives.
Though both of them were fine so far, as long as their design work stagnated for too long, they would undoubtedly beco lesser beings. Their passion and love for ch design literally kept them alive in their truest sense.
Both of them shared an understanding glance. Operation Saturday Market had successfully stoked the flas in their hearts. It only took a single major battle for Ves and Ketis to get fired up again!
The resuscitation of their passion along with the imnse amount of gains they harvested from the previous battle fully vindicated the decision to move away from a peaceful environnt like Davute.
"Are you working on any big plans now that you've gained a lot of insights from the last battle?"
"I do have a number of ambitious projects on the agenda, but I am not certain they are viable yet. I still need to flesh out my ideas and find out whether they are worth my ti before I go through with any of them. I don't intend to stay still, though." Ketis replied.
"Can you share the most interesting idea that you are entertaining at the mont?"
The powerful swordmaster and Journeyman paused for a mont. She had built up plenty of interesting proposals over the years, but it was not easy for her to determine which one would excite Ves the most.
"I've been making preparations to found a new swordsmanship school in the Red Ocean." She finally decided to share.
"Huh?" Ves directed a confused look at her. "Aren't you already in charge of the Annihilator Sword School?"
"The Annihilator Sword Style is strong, but it has never fit my own personal brand of swordsmanship." Ketis replied while shaking her head. "Don't get wrong. It is highly destructive and I am certain that I can advance it further if I spend more ti on deepening its sword techniques. I just don't think I am the right person to do so. I plan to resign as the head of the Annihilator Sword School so that there is nothing holding back from starting my own sword school. It won't be limited to our clan either. I plan to set up branches in Davute and more places so that many more people can learn how to fight without relying on chs and guns."
This sounded a lot more serious to Ves than founding an online tutoring class. Sword schools were serious businesses and organizations if they were set up according to the traditions of the Heavensword Association.
From what Ves knew about them, sword schools were the equivalent of clans and families in the swordsmanship-obsessed state. Every mber's status and decision-making power was based on their mastery of swordsmanship rather than their bloodlines, which turned sword schools into surprisingly effective ritocratic organizations.
Talents were much less likely to get buried as long as they had hope of advancing to swordmaster and beyond!
Of course, the flaws of valuing an individual's swordsmanship ability above any other qualifiers ca with its own set of flaws. Scientists, engineers, ch designers and other intellectuals simply didn't gain the respect they deserved.
This was also what made Ketis so special in this highly martial community. She was both a powerful swordsmaster and a clever Journeyman ch Designer. She was a completely unprecedented existence that had a higher chance of accomplishing even more impossible feats in the future!
Ves already guessed that this new sword school of hers might be of great significance to her future growth.
"I can understand it if you want to start a formal sword school so that you can teach our Swordmaidens and Heavensworders how to cut through solid tal, but why go further than that, Ketis? Is there any special reason why you want to set up branches throughout the Red Ocean?"
"It's a complicated story."
"I can handle complicated stories."
"Well, to keep it short, I have always been thinking about passing on my responsibilities as the director of the Annihilator Sword School back to Fred Walinski. He has worked almost his entire life to catch up to his late brother, but never managed to beco a swordmaster due to his lower talent and lack of help. This is why I have tutored him in the past few years. I've taught him and guided his efforts in deepening his mastery of the Annihilator Sword Style at least once every week."
"Oh? Has your efforts yielded any fruit?" Ves curiously asked.
In his impression, Interim Director Fred Walinski was an old man who had already exhausted all of his potential and busied himself with administrative affairs. He served as a competent manager who could exert a semblance of control over the rowdy Heavensworders in the clan.
"It took more ti than I initially thought, but Fred has finally co close enough that he is able to figure out how to complete the final steps himself." Ketis swelled with pride. "At this point, any further teachings from are counterproductive. He needs to step out of my system and be able to stand firm on his own. He won't be able to transform his willpower if he keeps looking up to and his late brother."
Certain people could easily break through this barrier while other people found it a lot more difficult to stop relying on others. Fred Walinski's problem sounded similar to that of Legion Commander Taon lin. Both of them were too accustod to relying on the help of others.
Ves politely smiled. "Well, I wish him good luck. So what will happen when he finally overcos this hurdle?"
"I will place the mantle of the Annihilator Sword School back to its rightful owner where it belongs in the first place. After that, I will work together with the Heavensword Association to formally found my own sword school and register it at all of the appropriate institutions. Once that is done, I will work closely with the Heavensworders to train new sword initiates that can serve as instructors before sending them off to the new planetary branches."
Those were big moves, but Ves grew skeptical whether those schools had any appeal.
"You're not operating in the Heavensword Association here, Ketis. The culture is completely different in the Red Ocean. In fact, there is no unified culture here because everyone cos from many different places of the old galaxy, but I'm pretty sure that not a lot of people are interested in traditional swordsmanship."
"I don't expect our branch schools to beco instant hits. It is enough for them to attract those with discerning tastes and wish to learn deeper swordsmanship than the ones that are taught in ch academies. Don't forget that every serious sword style can display a lot of power in ch combat. This is why I initially plan to market my new school to ch cadets and ch pilots who specialize in swordsman chs. Once they catch on to how my sword style can truly help them increase their ability to cut through tough and resilient chs, I think that will be the point where my sword school will truly beco a popular institution in the Red Ocean!"
Ves finally understood what Ketis was going for to an extent.
The motivations that drove her to start this new initiative were similar to the ones that prompted Ves to start the First Star ch Academy and get into the educational sector.
There were many advantages to teaching future ch pilots! Ketis could not only market her distinctive comrcial swordsman chs to her own 'students', but she could also spread her influence in this frontier-wide subcommunity and slowly grow into one of its leaders!
Of course, Ketis wasn't the only one who benefited from this developnt.
"It sounds like the Heavensword Association is doing a lot to help you realize all of these plans." Ves spoke.
"That's correct." His forr student frankly admitted. "We agreed to work together in order to advance our common cause of spreading traditional swordsmanship to the masses. You might not know this, but the Heavensword Association attaches a great degree of importance to reverse the decline of traditional swordsmanship. The Red Ocean is still a fresh environnt and everything is still in flux. It is much easier to revitalize traditional swordsmanship in the new frontier than back in a stuffy place like the old galaxy."
"If that's the case, then why aren't the Heavensworders doing this already? They have plenty of Swordmasters."
"They have already done that, but the new sword schools they have founded in the Red Ocean have failed to attract enough interest. This is why the Heavensword Saint himself is so eager to cooperate with . I am a part of the ch community and my products are already being used by many ch pilots. That will help a lot in making my new sword school popular."
"I see. So you're playing the role of a celebrity spokesperson, am I right?"
Ketis smirked at him. "Don't compare to those useless influencers who can't do anything but act cute in front of a recording device. I can cut through solid armor with my Bloodsinger. My martial strength is enough to earn the respect of my target audience."
User Comments
0 comments from readers