Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 696: Lior’s Sagely Words Of Wisdom

Finch could be seen standing within his Astra energy dome as he watched the spar between Asher and Williams; originally, he had thought it would be the same method or spar like the one he, Williams, and the Rivelle siblings had against Asher, hence the reason why he never wanted to participate in the first place.

But seeing Asher give back to back genuine instructions, Finch couldn’t help but watch in awe as Asher dissected everything wrong with Williams’ attacks, defense, stance, and movement with an almost surgical level of mastery.

Finch couldn’t help but ask himself if staying out of this spar... or rather, this lesson was the right idea; after all, he could also see Williams improving in real time with almost every clash, his growth visible with every exchange.

’Who would have thought even Williams is this talented, or is Asher’s teaching ability that good?’ Finch couldn’t help but ask himself as he continued to watch without a change in expression, though his thoughts were anything but calm.

Of course, he knew Williams was talented; he knew the boy was a genius in every sense of the word, he just didn’t expect it to be up to this level, where improvement could be observed so vividly and so rapidly.

"It seems I’m indeed the least talented in this friend group," he murmured to himself, a fact he had come to accept, but couldn’t help being made aware of again as he watched, the sound of his voice drowned out by the metallic clash of Asher and Williams’ weapons, ringing sharply through the air.

"You have me, though," the bird perched atop Finch’s shoulder spoke as it turned its beady black eyes toward Finch.

Finch shook his head as he spoke, "While your ability is indeed overpowered, it doesn’t directly increase my talent," his tone calm and steady, lacking any trace of bitterness.

"For now," Lior replied calmly, "you just have to wait a couple of months; who knows, with that ridiculous Good Luck ability of yours you told me about, you might just awaken some sort of talent-multiplying ability," Lior stated, still visibly impressed by Finch’s Good Luck ability.

"I wonder how far ahead they would be in that couple of months," Finch replied evenly; he wasn’t jealous or envious, he was simply acknowledging the reality before him.

"But you have no one to blame but yourself, you know," Lior added, his eyes turning to Asher and Williams, who were locked in an attack and parry exchange, their movements fluid yet constant.

Finch arched an eyebrow as he asked, "What do you mean by that?" His tone remained the same, unchanged, as he was simply curious rather than defensive.

"According to you, you’ve been lazy since you were little, just expecting to inherit the Barony title and leave the history and prestige of the Whale name to your little sister simply because she is way too talented," Lior began to explain, "but have you really changed?" Lior asked, his bird eyes still fixed on Asher, "although your parents told you about something big happening soon and that you should train more, the moment you got an opportunity to be trained by that abnormal Asher guy, you declined, out of what? Fear? Fear of what exactly?" Lior asked without a change in expression or tone, his words sharp despite their calm delivery.

Finch stayed silent, his eyes falling on Williams; he could see the determination burning in his eyes, the will to learn and progress, the injuries he had accumulated which the boy simply ignored as though pain was a foreign concept to him.

"This was your chance to improve, Finch, and you missed it," Lior continued, "right now and right here, Williams has increased the gap between him and you once again," Lior shook his head as he spoke, "and what was your excuse to miss such an opportunity? The abnormal Asher guy didn’t have any chain or chained weapon experience; by that logic, Williams shouldn’t participate in the spar since the abnormal Asher guy uses a rapier and not a sabre," Lior added, then stayed silent as though allowing Finch to fully process his words.

Finch stayed silent for a moment, not knowing what to say; Lior’s words were indeed true, and he couldn’t refute that fact. Although before he had said he would start training seriously, and at the time he had indeed increased his training intensity, but did he increase it to the level Asher and Williams increased theirs? Did he push his body to the limit they pushed theirs?

Definitely not.

They were the most talented, yet they were also the most hardworking, a combination that made them nearly impossible to catch up to.

People who didn’t know Asher and Williams would just think that they both got to their level without training or pushing their bodies to the limit, relying solely on talent, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Even Ryaen pushed herself daily, with Asher as her goal in mind, refusing to fall behind no matter how difficult the path became.

The truth was simple: Finch had been lazy all his life, he had been carefree, unworried, with a Barony to inherit; he couldn’t just suddenly decide one day that he would become determined and immediately start matching Williams and Asher’s level of training intensity.

Such a huge change in attitude and training usually came with some sort of tragedy, like the death of his parents or sister, or something equally devastating that forced growth upon a person whether they were ready or not.

"Personally, I think you are too reliant on your Good Luck talent," Lior continued, his tone still calm as though he was unbothered by Finch’s basic and low level of training intensity, "you know how broken and overpowered it is, as though the world itself is protecting you," he paused briefly, nothing but truth leaving his beak, "but you have to ask yourself, Finch, do you still want to stay friends with Williams and Asher?" he asked.

The question made Finch frown for a moment before his face reverted to normal, though the impact of the question lingered in his mind.

"The abnormal Asher guy had left your team mission group because of the sheer difference in strength between you, Williams, and him," Lior continued without missing a beat, as though this was a rare moment to say something he had always had on his mind but couldn’t be bothered to speak about before.

"Don’t you think Williams will follow in his footsteps with his increasing strength? After all, the third member of your team is also a guy with your school’s top 10 ranking. If the gap between you and Williams increases too much, do you think he would be willing to drag the weaker you along in every mission, hence putting his life in danger?" Lior paused again for a moment, letting the weight of his words sink in.

"Even if he did that, your other teammate would have no choice but to leave, as he doesn’t want to die because of you, and also, will you be selfish enough to let Williams die on a battlefield because of you just because you both are childhood friends?" Lior continued again, "you have to remember, Finch, this is now, and the future is different; this abnormal Asher guy and Williams are definitely getting to the Crownstar Life Rank, but the question is, will you be there with them, or will you fade into obscurity due to a lack of will to train?" Lior stated in finality as he couldn’t be bothered to speak anymore, his words lingering heavily in the air.