Chapter 127 - New Piece [1]

Inside of a white space was a tall man with a long grey beard. His shoulder-length white hair gently cascaded over his broad shoulders.

His towering back proudly stood like an immovable mountain, and his muscles, which despite his age, seemed to show no sign of aging as hidden within them was a boundless power.

Standing shirtless with only a set of long worn-out brown pants, in the white void, a broadsword appeared in the man's hands.

Gripping onto the broadsword with his two hands, the old man's muscles bulged. His green veins continuously wiggled as his back expanded casting a large shadow over the area in front of him.

"Huuuuu..."

Exhaling, turbid air escaped from the old man's mouth as his grip on the sword intensified.

-Slash!

Thereafter, the sound of his hand slowly slashing through the air resounded across the space.

His every movement left a faint trace whenever his hand moved. It almost felt as if another illusion of him was mimicking his movements at a slower pace.

-Slash! -Slash!

After the first slash came the second, then the third, then the fourth...and then after a while, came the sixty-fourth movement.

-Tssssssss

Raising his sword in the air, behind his back, the old man held onto the sword with both hands as his grip intensified. The veins on his hands and muscles became even more prominent as steam slowly rose from the man's body.

Shortly after, the man's body started shrinking as his hair became whiter, and his skin became even more wrinkly. A couple of seconds after, the muscles of the old man's body shrunk completely. Leaving behind an old husk of a man that was a far cry from what he was before.

-Tssssssss

Facing the changes happening to his body, the old man's face remained stoic. Retaining the grip of the broadsword in the air, the old man's weak yet steady figure fiercely stared at what was before him. His gaze which was full of determination, and insanity stared at the void before him.

"Gyaaaaa—!"

Screaming at the top of his lungs, the old man slashed...

-Kacha!

As soon as the old man slashed, everything froze.

Shortly after, the white space disappeared and the world started to crumble...

"Guuuuaah—!"

Opening his eyes wide, Kevin sat up straight as he screamed.

"My God, can you not scream like that!"

Covering my ears with my hand, I couldn't help glare at Kevin who seemed to have just woken up from a long nightmare.

"Huh?"

Hearing my voice, blinking a couple of times, Kevin massaged his forehead. After making sure that everything was within his mind, Kevin glanced at me asked

"How long was I out?"

Taking a look at my watch, I responded.

"About two hours? if we include the six hours you were in the dungeon, I've pretty much spent eight hours in this place"

As I spoke, the annoyance within my voice couldn't be hidden.

I mean, I literally waited for almost eight hours. If not for the gargoyle statues keeping me entertained, I would've long been bored to death.

In fact, at one point I did want to wake Kevin up but no matter what I tried to do to wake Kevin up, his body refused to budge. Be it kick, slap, or scream, nothing worked.

Having exhausted all means, I eventually just gave up and sat down in defeat.

Sitting up straight, Kevin asked

"Where are we?"

Seeing that Kevin was still disoriented from what he went through, I pointed towards the purple portal and said

"We are still at the entrance of the portal"

"Entrance?"

Looking around, Kevin soon noticed that he was indeed back inside of the cave that led to the portal.

Glancing at the purple portal that shone brightly, a complicated look appeared on Kevin's face. As he recalled the old man in his dreams, he couldn't help ask to himself

'Was that the true Levisha style?'

After going through numerous trails, Kevin passed out and found himself inside of a strange white world where an old man stood. Shortly after he appeared in the world, Kevin witnessed the old man perform every stance of the Levisha style.

Including the last stance...

The sixth fourth stance, and last stance of the Levisha style.

'I am boundless'

Recalling the sixty-fourth strike performed by Grandmaster Levisha as he used all of his life energy in order to perform it, Kevin couldn't help but shudder as he thought to himself

'Can I do it?'

Closing his eyes, Kevin imagined himself performing the sixty-four stances...

Closing his eyes, he tried recalling the sensation that Grandmaster Levisha felt as he performed the last stance. From his muscle movement, breathing pattern, his demenour...Kevin tried to recall everything that he saw within his dream.

Now that his mind was lucid, he tried his best to engrave every minute detail into his brain. Shortly after, Kevin envisioned himself performing the sixty-four stances.

...however, right after the eight stance, Kevin's brows knit tightly. As he continuously practiced the Levisha style in his mind, the only thing Kevin could envision, was his body exploding into millions of pieces as soon as he finished the eight stance.

The eight stance...that was his current level.

Frowning hard, Kevin shook his head.

...he still had a long way to go before being able to come close to performing the sixty-fourth stance. Moreover, unlike Grandmaster Levisha who had to sacrifice his life in order to perform such art, Kevin wanted to do it without sacrificing his life force...he wanted to perfect it.

"Oy, answer me"

Snapping Kevin out of his thoughts was my annoyed voice.

"Hm?"

Calling out for Kevin who was deep into his own world, I shook my head and said

"I don't know about you, but if I'm late for class, I might get myself in an annoying situation, so hurry up and get ready. We have one day to get back to the academy."

"Oh, sorry. Let's go"

Nodding his head, Kevin was reminded of the fact that the lectures indeed resumed tomorrow. Thus, without complaining, Kevin stood up and patted his body.

After making sure I didn't forget anything, looking at Kevin, I nudged my head and walked towards the tunnel that led to the pond.

"Let's hurry up, or we might miss the train"

"Coming..."

Nodding his head, Kevin followed me towards the path.

However, just as he was about to leave, Kevin recalled something. Halting his steps and turning around, he bowed towards the portal and softly said

"Thank you...I will make sure to carry out your legacy spectacularly"

Thereafter, he left and entered the dark tunnel. Silence and tranquility once again returned in the surroundings.

-Kacha!

However, a couple of hours after Kevin left, the purple hue around the portal started fluctuating madly as the portal everything started to tremble.

-Rumble!

The cave shook and everything started to slowly crumble as large rocks fell down onto the ground.

...

After almost half a day of walking, Kevin and I were finally in the clear as we exited the dungeon.

This time, because I wanted to get out as fast as possible, using the book, I avoided all possible dangers and choose the fastest possible route to the exit.

Moreover, as I knew the way back due to me remembering how we got here, I was able to save time as I didn't need to constantly look at the map.

Thus, not long after we left the dungeon, we were already back in the town of Rowa.

Rowa was a small town that inhibited fifty thousand people and was built on the Clayton ridge.

The town was fairly beautiful as greenery could be found everywhere. Moreover, the fresh air, and beautiful architectural structures of the town, made this place look extremely lovely.

The whitewashed houses that filled the town were especially beautiful, but that wasn't what made truly made this town stand out. No, it was that the structures were built directly into the rocky cliffs surrounding the Clayton ridge area. This resulted in a beautiful natural rock formation hanging over the streets, providing shade and stunning views of the mountains and scenery below.

Admiring the scenery and walking along the cobblestone streets of Rowa, Kevin glanced at me and asked.

"What time is the train?"

Checking my watch, I calmly responded

"...in about an hour"

Nodding his head, and placing his hand on his chin as he fell into deep contemplation, Kevin thought for a moment before suggesting

"Should we just wait at the train station then?"

Similarly placing my hand on my chin, I nodded my head

"Hmmm, let's do that then"

Though we could've gone to eat at a restaurant nearby, because the train was in an hour, it was better to just directly go to the train station.

Didn't want to lose the train ride because the food took too long to arrive. Plus, I wasn't even that hungry, to begin with.

As we were walking, glancing towards my surroundings, I couldn't help but notice that there were fewer and fewer people on the streets.

...Soon, a couple of minutes after I noticed this fact, no one was within our sights. Everything was deserted. Almost as if every person from the face of this world disappeared.

Frowning deeply, I couldn't help but say

"Why is everything so quiet around here?"

Glancing around, Kevin too noticed the changes as a deep frown also appeared on his face.

"...now that you mention it, it is indeed quite—huh?"

Not even halfway through his sentence, the world around Kevin and I distorted.

—Vuam!

Thereafter, a large invisible dome appeared covering the area where Kevin and I were. Seeing the dome, Kevin couldn't help but shout as he quickly summoned his sword and took a stance

"A dimensional space...crap it's an ambush!"

Opening my eyes wide, I couldn't help but freeze for a split second. Shortly after, looking at Kevin next to me who was ready in a battle position, I couldn't help but think to myself...

'....Why is this happening? This scene never appeared in the novel'