Chapter 1291  Mundane

Although a little stalkerish, the two decided that Arthur should observe Nyx and her training. It was obvious why they did not ask for her direct help. Not even Arthur would guide the person who wanted to take his legacy, but he had no idea where to start other than to observe her.

Nyx was more hardworking than he thought. Arthur had to wake up early to ensure he didn"t miss her, and even then, he barely managed to catch up to the woman who woke up at five. His grandfather was still snoring in his room when Arthur had to leave.

Arthur was blind, but he could still follow her without being caught. Nyx had a unique presence; she felt like a calm river and an erupting volcano at the same time. It wasn"t hard to follow her while keeping a distance. The first thing she did was clean the entire clan. It came as a surprise, since she was the supposed genius. But for three hours after she woke up, she cleaned the clan.

Then, Nyx went down the mountain. Arthur had not seen any other student do that, but she left with the first rays of light piercing through the clouds. Since the fog was thick in this place, the sun did not show itself until eight in the morning. Nyx descended the mountain with Arthur following her and found her headed toward a small stream.

After taking off her clothes, the woman sat in the stream, waiting for something. It was fortunate that Arthur was blind. He had to wait an entire hour for her to move again, slamming a fish pa.s.sing by to send it over the riverbank. Then, she climbed out and took an axe to end the fish"s misery.

Nyx lit a fire to dry herself and cook her meal. Arthur was confused because, from the way he saw it, she had yet to do any real training. After another hour of cooking her food, eating it, and extinguishing the fire, she headed somewhere else. Once again, Arthur followed her. And once again, he was confused by her actions.

Instead of training her wrath, Nyx went into a forest and used the axe she had to chop down trees. Then, she would drag them away before cutting them into firewood, which she would then store in a small hut in the forest. This routine continued until it was late at night when she carried several stacks of firewood and climbed Mount Ehler.

Arthur climbed after her and returned to the clan after an entire day of observation. He decided to keep going and watched as Nyx went into the kitchen and used the firewood to cook dinner for the disciples. Her movements were studied without any unnecessary chattering with the others.

After dinner was served, Nyx went toward her pavilion. Arthur saw her open the garden"s doors before taking a seat there. After further inspection, he found out that she was sewing some black robes together. Some of them were new; others had tears that needed fixing.

It was at this time that Arthur decided he had enough. She must have realized that he was following her and decided to give him nothing to work on. In the end, he knocked on the door of the garden, and her response came as expected.

"Come in, Arthur Netherborne," said Nyx with her eyes still glued to the fabric. Arthur sighed and walked inside, only stopping when he was meters away from her. Even then, she was still working. "Have you enjoyed our day?"

"If you knew I was following you, you should have told me not to waste my time," said Arthur with a sigh. "In the end, you did all of that just to throw me off?"

"First of all, you could have used the runes that your grandfather had. I wouldn"t have suspected a thing. Second, my day was the same as always. I did not change a thing about my routine, except for this conversation."

Arthur could have indeed used his runes, but he felt like it would be going too far to surveil her. However, the rest of her words made him confused. She did this every day?

"When do you have the time to practice your wrath, then?" asked Arthur, confused. Nyx raised the robes in front of her, admiring her work. Then, she placed them down without answering him. "Are you afraid of helping your enemy?"

"You are not my enemy," said Nyx, shaking her head. "It"s just harder for people like you to understand my answer and my training."

"People like me?" repeated Arthur, confused. "What kind of people?"

"Those who find it hard to live the mundane life," said Nyx with a smile. Arthur could feel that she was telling the truth, but he didn"t understand. It was his first time not understanding what someone was hinting at. "If you indeed master the Nine Paths of Enlightenment and obtain the scroll, it just means that you are the person Ragnar awaited."

"How could you not consider me your enemy even though my existence threatens your purpose?" asked Arthur, once again confused by her lack of hostility. Nyx was different than her leaders, too. Even when Benjamin used her, she might have known but still helped him.

"And how do you know what purpose I have?" asked Nyx with a smile. "Not everyone wishes to be the King of Wrath, and certainly not me. Can you imagine a fate crueler than listening to the injustice every soul suffers?"

"I don"t need to imagine," answered Arthur with furrowed brows. "I live that."

"You haven"t lived it for real, then," said Nyx. "But that"s not what you came here to ask me, right? You want a method to harness wrath without going around and absorbing ours. In following me today, what have you observed?"

"I saw you cleaning the clan, fishing, eating, wood-cutting, and then cooking. And now you are sewing," replied Arthur, shaking his head. "As far as I can tell, your day has nothing to do with wrath."

"And that disqualifies it from being a training of wrath?" asked Nyx with a chuckle as she placed the fabric away and gestured for Arthur to sit. "I have no problem with helping you achieve enlightenment. I heard from your friend, Rain, that you have already defeated several G.o.ds of Devaheim."

"I misjudged you," admitted Arthur as he sat down opposite the woman. The candles she had lit cast some warmth over his legs but did very little to provide him sight. Arthur wished he could see the woman in front of him, hoping for a chance to understand her.

"I don"t blame you for that," said Nyx with a smile. "My parents have tried to kick you away simply out of fear that you would s.n.a.t.c.h the scroll. I don"t blame them, either, since this clan and scroll have been their entire lives."

"Does that mean you are going to help me?" asked Arthur with a raised brow. Nyx was silent for a while before sighing. "I would understand if you refused."

"It"s not that I want to refuse, but there is nothing else. You have seen my routine," said Nyx with a shrug of her shoulders, helpless. "I achieved my enlightenment and mastery over wrath by following that routine. I placed myself in the shoes of those I wanted to protect."

Arthur was silent, pondering and deciding whether she was telling the truth. Her existence told him that she was, but could it be possible? Or was he being taken for a fool? He could not know or decide.

"How long have you been doing that?"

"Other than on rare days, yes," said Nyx with a nod. "This is what I have done for the past five years. I did nothing else."

Arthur was impressed by her dedication. If he were in her shoes, he might not be able to dedicate himself that much. After hearing her methods and observing her routine, Arthur had to admit that she was right about him. He was the type of person to choose adventure over the mundane.

"Thank you for your guidance." Arthur bowed to her, grateful. "Although I have yet to understand how it would help, I will try to find my routine too. Please excuse me if I become your copycat, too."

"I would be honored if the future King of Wrath learned from me," she answered with a smile. "It can even be the purpose of my existence. To be the key that unlocks your potential against Devaheim."

Arthur could not confirm nor deny. He believed that he was indeed the king he claimed to be, but at this time, he realized that wrath itself was a foreign concept for them. The people in this clan have pondered for years over the simple question: what is wrath?

In the end, he thanked her again and left the pavilion. Arthur decided to return to his room for the night, even though his grandfather was up drinking with Rain while sharing stories. Arthur lay down in his bed and began thinking about his plans for tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, he was going to be mundane.