In the center of a strange place that looked like a shrine, covered in darkness and black and purple. A feathered creature could be seen with a feather pen and a strange book behind him, its eyes shining purple, looking at the boy in front of it.
The boy looked stunned, lost in his own thoughts. He was thinking about what he had just heard as he listened to the person before him. He realized that he was not just lucky to have what he had; it was also because of his choices and hard work.
Not one day, he sat idly, constantly training and planning what to do next. He realized that he had reached the level that he is at today due to his hard work and creativity. It was due to the things he had sacrificed that when he looked at others enjoying their lives and him working all day; thoughts came to his mind. Why are you trying so hard? Don't you have so much already?
At that time, he ignored his thoughts and kept working. He didn't know why, but he just kept working hard. At that time, he wanted to get stronger to impress Kajal, but the day he had convinced her, these thoughts started to come more often: Why do you want to work harder? Isn't it time for you to enjoy it?
He fell on his knees, realizing why he was working hard. He was working hard to become stronger. He unconsciously knew that there were levels in real life too. If he didn't work hard, he would be left behind. He might have to lose what's close to him.
Rishi knew life was unpredictable; what if he somehow offended someone way stronger than him in the future? What if a guy with a very high status starts pursuing Kajal? What would he be able to do? In this world, power and connections were everything. Despite having what he already had, he was still weak, and that was a fact.
Why was he not able to do anything for the Tiwari clan? It was not because he was forgiving. It was because he was weak; even if he tried to harm them and went all out, he would not be able to hurt them much. This was why he was not trying to show hostility to them.
He knew the location of the mountain bandits that attacked him and eliminated all his followers. Why was he not attacking them? It was again the same reason; he might be able to eliminate them, but it would only lead to the Tiwari clan getting more cautious.
As an assassin, he knew it was best to have your opponent loosen up his guard. He was patient, waiting for the opening while also getting stronger. In today's world, the government hasn't interfered in small thefts and killings, but if the scale of it were bigger, they would investigate.
He didn't want to waste his time running away due to not being patient. Being this patient required a lot of willpower, but necessity was the mother of invention. He needed to be patient, even more so when he had new responsibility named Kajal.
Her life was attached to him if he committed some crime. Kajal would also suffer the consequences. It was not because the system was very good and fair. It was because he was weak. Let's see if they dare punish a peak Epic Stage fighter. If they even found some evidence of their crime, they would remove them themselves; this was what power was.
If he depended on himself, he would be able to become stronger, but it would take him time if he had someone to help him. If he had control over a realm's resources and the knowledge and guidance of a legendary-grade being, he wouldn't have to be under them. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Either he can choose to satisfy his ego or become stronger.
This place could also become his safe haven if the world is against him someday. He can bring himself and people closer to him here. Even a Leagend Stage powerhouse would not be a threat to him once he rules this realm. His eyes shone golden as he went through all the calculations.
Without the help of Raven, he would need two years to reach the Epic Stage. Three more years to reach the peak of the epic stage if he was fortunate and able to raid multiple Dungeons, and at least five to seven more years to reach the legend stage.
Compared to if he had the help of Raven, he would need one year to reach the Epic Stage. If he was lucky, he had one more year to reach the peak of Epic Stage and three more years to breakthrough to Legend Rank. In this case, he would have more strength due to more knowledge and resources. He could also train people under him here. He would have a safe haven where no one would be able to harm him until he pissed off someone way stronger.
He knew that it was just a hypothesis and there could be many changes, but even with those, he knew that it would be lying to himself if he believed he could achieve more by himself. It would take him less time, which would mean that he would be able to reach a level where he would have enough authority to save people under him from anyone.
He slowly stood up and straightened his face, with a fire burning inside his eyes. He looked Raven in the eyes and said, "I am grateful for your offer and willing to work with you, but I want a contract. I don't believe in words; next, I also want you to teach me everything you know about Rune and Shadow Element."
The Raven looked at the fire burning inside his eyes and knew he was serious. He smiled and said, 'I am not scared to teach you everything, but you should have the ability to learn it. I am a strict teacher; I don't want to repeat myself.'
A confident smile appeared on Rishi's face. "It would be alright till you teach me everything in detail."
Raven looked at his confident smile and smirked. This boy understood the knowledge very well. It was not easy to comprehend; this also required a lot of practice and understanding of the basics. While he told this to himself, somewhere deep down, he was curious about how much this boy would be able to learn.
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The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel