Chương 62: Book 3: Chapter 2 – 5 Years Later (Part 2)

"Killian will lead team two, and following him will be Alissa, Faye, and Kannal," Mathias announced.

If it were five years ago, Killian being chosen to lead this team would've been nothing short of foolish. But now… Even though he wasn't as powerful as Ace, Amira, or Julius, his transformation was no less incredible.

He had gone from one of the weakest to one of the most powerful. Other than the monsters chosen to form team one, he was second only to Joel. If he and Alissa had to fight again now, Alissa would be lucky to escape with her life, not that she would ever think about attempting to assassinate him again.

With her borderline infatuation with the axe-wielding teen, she would never dream about doing anything that could harm him. Regrettably for her, the herculean teen appeared utterly oblivious to her feelings, and she could never bring herself to say exactly how she felt.

Either way, having a powerful saint for a master clearly made a huge difference!

"And last but not least, team three will consist of Joel, Yulana, and Osiris," Mathias stated.

"Shouldn't the teams be a little more fair," Faye complained as she glanced at the members of team one. "Ace's team has all three of the strongest core disciples. Wouldn't it make more sense to have each of them lead a team?"

"I agree," Julius hurriedly added. "If anything, you can just add me to team two to take care of little Kan-Kan."

"Can you lot stop calling me that now?" Kannal pleaded.

Kan-Kan was the name his family called him, and as his master, Kimika had also taken to calling him it, something he didn't particularly mind as she agreed only to call him that in private. Unfortunately, Ace had one day overheard his pet name.

Thinking it was too good to keep to himself, Ace quickly spread it amongst his peers and before he knew it, the name stuck.

"If you want to blame someone, blame Ace." Julius shrugged casually before turning his attention back to Mathias and the other instructors. "Honestly, I don't mind."

"I bet you don't," Lauriella replied with a mocking grin.

Lauriella had been the one to recruit the round overweight teen five years ago. She had instantly taken a liking to him due to his incredible fire affinity and talent as a mage, especially after finding out that everything he'd accomplished as a mage was self-taught using nothing but his mother's notes.

The only thing she didn't like was his opposition to fighting. It wasn't that she wanted him to be like Ace and Amira, who were essentially battle-mad, but she knew how cruel this world could be and being too soft in a world like this could very well cost him his life.

Over the last half-decade, Lauriella had tried everything she could think of to make the overweight teen take up warrior training or at least improve his actual combat ability, but Julius remained completely uninterested. Still, the Violetflame warrior hadn't given up trying.

"The teams were chosen based on ability and the kinds of beasts that would be able to challenge you.

With the strength of Ace and Amira, they would need to venture deeper into the wilderness to find beasts capable of challenging them. Of all the disciples remaining, only you're capable of protecting yourself in that kind of environment."

Though her words grated on the pride of the other youths, they all understood she was telling the truth.

Over their time in the Pavilion, they had challenged Ace and Amira on multiple occasions. Not because they thought they could actually beat them but because they wanted to see how far they had come, and more importantly, how big the gap between them was. But after a couple of years, they stopped trying because it was too demoralising. The more they fought, the more they found that the gap was actually increasing.

Though he knew what she said was right, it was for that very reason that Julius wanted to join any team but theirs. He had no desire to go up against the kinds of beasts that could give those two battle-hungry fiends a challenge.

He was practically begging with his eyes as he looked to each of the other instructors. Unfortunately, they all agreed with Lauriella on this one.

"To keep you from meeting and forming one large group, each of you will be dropped by one of us to separate sides," Mathias explained, ignoring the incredibly overweight teen completely. "Team one will be dropped to the west by Lauriella, team two will be dropped off to the north by yours truly, and team three will be dropped to the east by Kong. In six months, each of us will return to the locations you were dropped off at to pick you up.

Ooh, and one more thing. Though magical beasts are your targets for this particular exercise, other humans are the ones you should be most weary of. There's nothing as fickle as the human heart, so other than each other, trust no one."

Mathias's tone was especially sombre as he said that. He needed each of them to understand just how serious he was being before it cost one or more of them their lives.

"We'll be leaving first thing tomorrow, so go now and prepare yourselves for what will undoubtedly be an arduous few months," Mathias added before watching the kids hurriedly take their leave.

"Oi Ace!" Wukong hollered as he flipped his hand. "Catch."

Ace turned his head in time to catch the polearm whizzing towards him, only for him to almost drop it due to its ridiculous weight. "What's this?"

"Did you forget you won our little bet back then?" Wukong asked back. "This is your reward."

After enrolling in the Pavilion, Ace had been so caught up in his training that he genuinely forgot about their bet, but looking at the glaive in his hand, he couldn't help but grin wildly.

He was still wielding the one he'd stolen from Alissa's former colleague back when they'd tried to assassinate them. Thanks to his [armament haki], it was still in good condition, but it was definitely far below his current level, but this one…

"It's perfect!" Ace exclaimed as he examined it.

The shaft was made of a reddish-brown coloured wood and a deep blue coloured blade, making it look especially magical. As he looked at the blade, he couldn't help but admire how incredibly sharp it was.

The only problem was that it was a little heavy, but it should be perfect for when he breaks through to the fifth rank. Unfortunately, it meant he'd have to lug it around with him till then whilst still using his old weapon.

"The shaft's made from Ichor wood. A wood perfect for polearms due to its weight and sturdiness, but its most famous for its ability to feed on blood to recover from damage.

But the blade's the main reason behind its weight. It's made from Adamantine, one of the hardest and heaviest materials known to man." Wukong explained. "Most forgers wouldn't be able to smelt it, let alone turn it into an actual blade, but lucky for you, Lauriella became a saint a few months ago.

She may well be the only blacksmith on the continent capable of turning adamantine into a blade."

Ace wasn't the same uneducated kid he was all those years ago. He knew he'd need a new weapon in the near future, so he made sure to speak to his master about suitable materials.

From Aiden, he was told about several materials, including Ichor-Wood, which he knew was the hardest wood that still retained a decent amount of flexibility.

Aiden also told him about Adamantine. He told him that it was extremely heavy and virtually unbreakable to mortals and even most saints. Still, because of that, it was extremely difficult to find a blacksmith capable of smelting it, and of those that could, he didn't know any that could effectively turn it into a blade with an edge. Meaning it was better suited for blunt, heavy weapons like hammers and clubs but useless for bladed weapons.

"Thank you," Ace said as he looked down at his new weapon fondly. "It's perfect!"

"What will you call it?" Lauriella asked with a smile. "Every 'Lauriella original' needs a good name."

As Ace looked at it, he couldn't help but think of the man who inspired him to wield a glaive in the first place. The man who, to this day, he most looked up to. The only man he ever saw as an actual father figure.

"I'll call it Newgate!" Ace declared.

Though neither she nor any of those present were able to deduce the meaning behind the name, they could all feel Ace's passion through his words, and looking at the smile on his face, they understood it meant a lot to him.

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P.atreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon: Book 3 - Chapter 24