Chương 3: Chapter 3

Inside a wooden building, he was practicing martial arts. He could feel the soft mats beneath his feet, and strain on his body from practicing these moves. He could feel the intensity from the instructor, and the yells from the other students. There practicing a routine of punching, kicking and blocking. Although Caden could understand what was going on, he could make much from the sounds of the other people in the dojo. It was then that the building shook, and a white light cleared everything away.

Caden woke up with a start, with a noise coming from the door. He could tell that this was the boss knocking on his door. He got up and went to open the door. It was the boss, with some of his goons there.

"Take what you need, then we'll leave."

Caden quickly packed some clothes, his notebook, his money, and the silver token as well. He then went to the boss, and they began to go to the entrance of the slums. Things started to look a bit neater the closer they got. There were some less trash, and the buildings looked bigger and cleaner.

Eventually, they reached one of the city's main roads. There were guards patrolling around. They gave him and the boss the stink eye. He could practically feel the warning in their glares.

Nevertheless they continued onwards. They reached what looked to be a clothing shop. Upon entering they were greeted. The shop attendant had a look of disdain on her face, but one look from the boss kept her at bay.

"Hey, get me the manager."

"Sure thing", the attendant said, her face strained with a fake smile. She went to the back, and a thin man came out. He wore clothes that showed that he was a man of status. He and the boss had a short glaring contest. For that moment, Caden could feel oppression coming from the both of them. That felling stopped, when the both of them laughed, and shook hands. He then shooed away the female attendant.

"Its been a long time Martin. This the kid you got the token for?"

"Sure is Kyle. Caden this is Kyle, he is the owner of this fine establishment, along with other businesses in the city. He was a war buddy of mine back in the day. He is the reason I was able to get you that silver token."

Caden thanked him and took another look at the man. He was a tall person, only a bit shorter than the boss. He had a thin physique, and a large mustache. Even though he wasn't muscular like Martin, Kyle gave off an aura of power. He was led to the back, and was forced to try on a bunch of different outfits. The material and the look of the clothing was far better than what he had. Although, it couldn't compare the clothing in his dreams. Once the clothing was settled, the boss paid for it.

"Let me take care of this, you wouldn't be able to buy anything else if I let you pay for these clothes."

"For you Martin, I'll give you a discount. Hey kid, what makes you think you got the knights talent?"

"What do mean the knights talent? Don't they just test you fitness level, and give you some tests?"

"So you don't know. They'll look at your fitness level, but it doesn't matter much compared to the knight talent. You need that talent to cultivate the knights path. I'll show you what I mean."

He then beckons Martin over, and has him lift one of the cabinets. Martin was able to lift it with just one hand. Kyle then did the same feat, holding the cabinet over his head. Caden then tried to give it a shot, but he was unable to make the cabinet budge, much less lift it off the ground. The boss then started to speak.

"This is just a basic demonstration on the power of knights. Kyle and I both cultivated the knights path when we were in the army, but our knight talent was too weak to go far in the knights path. The two of us have the strength of a knight apprentice. The knights themselves have far more power than this."

Caden was shocked to see this. He has long heard stories about the knights and their power, but he dismissed them thinking that it was just made up. Now seeing both the boss and the shopkeepers power in full display, and learning that they even haven't reached the realm of knights is just shocking to him.

"Can you show me more?"

"Alright we can go to the back so you can get a better understanding of a knights power."

Kyle led both Martin and Caden to the back door, leading them to a small outdoor area connected to the shop. Martin then took out his great sword, and did a sword drill. The movements he did were far faster than one could expect for a man his size. Caden could fell the wind coming from his strikes showing of his great power. He could even see small cracks form on the ground wherever the boss stepped during the sword drill. After he finished, it was Kyles turn. A wooden post was set up in the middle of the area. Kyle wielded a rapier, and with it he performed a quick succession of attacks. Within a few seconds the post was chipped away into a thin stick.

'This is the power of knights! And they aren't even true knights! The boss's power was unbelievable. No wonder he is able to take control of the slums. And the shopkeepers speed was something else. I couldn't even see his movements! If i can even get a fraction of their strength, I will be able to live comfortably outside the slums.'

Both Martin and Kyle saw the shocked face of Caden and snickered a little. That brought Caden back to his senses, but he was still unable to completely contain his shock and awe.

"Alright that's enough of that. You two can stay in the upper floors of my shop. Caden you should get some rest. Tomorrow is the big day, and you don't want to be late for that."

Caden then went up the stairs and rested for the rest of the day.