Chapter 114: Hanged Man, Silent

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Hanged Man, Silent

「Personal Guard Bureau.」

Olay leaned back in his chair, casually browsing through a file.

’Ever since the old and new guards started the handover, things have been much more relaxed for me. The official duties are being handled, my student has become a Knight, and I have more time to study the path to becoming a Senior Knight. Even though I’m getting old, my desire for greater strength hasn’t faded in the slightest.’

’Coming to the Personal Guard Bureau today is just a formality. Once the handover is complete, I can finally prepare for retirement.’

KNOCK KNOCK!

A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in,"

Olay said in a low voice.

The door opened, and Vili, already changed into his Light Armor, walked into the room.

"Vili?"

A look of relief and pride appeared in Olay’s eyes. Not every teacher gets to luck into a student who reaches the Knight Level.

’If Vili becomes a Senior Knight in the future, then I, his teacher, will also be remembered by others.’

"Teacher, I have a question about practicing the Frost Knight Breathing Technique that I hope you can clear up for me."

Vili didn’t directly ask about other forms of Extraordinary Power. That would have made his motive too obvious. He didn’t want to leak anything about Colson, just as he was hiding the fact that Wally was a Magical Beast.

"Oh?"

Olay showed a hint of surprise. This was the first time Vili had encountered a problem with his cultivation.

His interest was instantly piqued. It was a rare chance to display his authority as a teacher in front of Vili. "Tell me about it."

Vili nodded and casually threw out a few questions about non-existent problems.

After listening, Olay gave Vili a very serious explanation. He even gave Vili a demonstration, clearly explaining every detail that required attention, as if afraid Vili wouldn’t understand.

Vili maintained a serious expression, listening and nodding intently. He would even ask questions from time to time, perfectly playing the part of a diligent and eager student.

"Do you understand everything?"

Olay asked with concern. He was in high spirits, finally recapturing the feeling he’d had when he first taught Vili Fencing.

"I understand it all now. Thank you, Teacher."

Vili gave a slight nod of thanks.

He was about to walk out the door when he seemed to remember something. He turned back and asked Olay, "Teacher, I just remembered—you said that after I became a Knight, you would tell me what kind of power was contained in the stone that passed down the Frost Knight Breathing Technique. Can you tell me now?"

Vili asked, feigning nonchalance.

Olay raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting Vili to suddenly ask this question.

He paused for a moment, then mused, "Since you’ve already become a Knight, I suppose I can explain it in detail."

Vili’s eyes lit up. He sat back down in his chair, putting on a curious expression.

"The truth is, Knight’s Power isn’t the only form of Extraordinary Power in this world."

Olay steepled his fingers, his expression turning slightly serious.

A look of surprise appeared on Vili’s face, as if he were taken aback.

’I already knew this, but I have to pretend I don’t.’

"You mean there are other kinds of Extraordinary Power in the world?"

Vili asked in feigned astonishment.

Olay nodded. "For Humans, there are two paths to obtaining Extraordinary Power. One is to stimulate your potential from within. After reaching a certain Realm, you begin to resonate with the outside world. This is the path of a Knight’s cultivation. The Elementalization ability displayed by Senior Knights is a preliminary manifestation of this resonance with the natural world."

As he said this, a look of envy appeared on Olay’s face. He had been pursuing the Realm of a Senior Knight for over a decade without success.

"The other path involves gathering external energy into oneself to stimulate the birth of an ability. People who follow this path mostly gain the ability to directly manipulate the Power of Nature. This path is very similar to how Magical Beasts gain their abilities."

Hearing Olay’s explanation, a flicker of understanding passed through Vili’s eyes.

’So Colson’s ability to control living things must have been granted through this external stimulation.’

"We have a collective term for people who obtain Extraordinary Power through this second path: Secret Masters."

A hint of apprehension appeared in Olay’s eyes.

"Secret Masters? A collective term?"

Vili seized on the key part of Olay’s statement.

"That’s right, a collective term. The external energies are incredibly diverse and complex, so a wide variety of Secret Masters with different abilities have naturally evolved."

Olay slowly explained.

Vili nodded slightly. This was somewhat beyond his expectations.

’I had originally thought that other forms of Extraordinary Power besides Knight’s Power would have their own self-contained systems, like a Mage system or something else.’

’But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case. The mysterious and abundant Natural Energy had given rise to many different kinds of mysterious professions.’

"Teacher, can you give me some examples?"

Vili looked at Olay.

Olay didn’t respond immediately. He thought for a moment before speaking slowly. "Among the Secret Masters, the most common of the Extraordinary Professions is the Mage. Their Extraordinary Abilities are fundamentally similar to those of Magical Beasts—they both mobilize elements to create terrifying destructive power."

"Besides them, I know of two other professions: one is the Hanged Man, and the other is the Silent."

The two terms Olay mentioned sounded mysterious to Vili.

"Hanged Man? Silent?"

Vili’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"Legend says the Hanged Man is an extension of the power of Justice. From the day they become a Hanged Man, they uphold the concept of Justice and strike down all evil. It’s said that the stronger a Cultivator’s Heart of Justice, the more powerful a Hanged Man they can become. But if they ever lose their Heart of Justice, their power instantly vanishes to nothing."

Olay explained slowly.

"Their power vanishes if they lose their Heart of Justice?"

Vili found this somewhat incredible. ’The foundation of all a Hanged Man’s Extraordinary Power is just a Heart of Justice?’

’That seems a bit too absurd, doesn’t it?’

’If they encountered something worldview-shattering and had a change of heart, all their power would just vanish into thin air.’

Vili couldn’t accept this kind of power. By comparison, Knight’s Power seemed much more reliable.

"The first time I heard about it, I couldn’t believe it either."

Olay shook his head.

"Then what about the Silent?"

Vili continued to ask.

"The ability of the Silent is a bit easier to understand," Olay said. "We can think of them as messengers between nature and Humans. They can communicate with or even control animals and plants, making the environment their greatest ally. However, communicating with the natural world requires a pure heart, and too many words can tarnish a person’s soul. That’s why after becoming a Silent, most of them go their entire lives without speaking again. Otherwise, they will gradually lose all their power. To that end, some of the Silent even cut out their own vocal cords."

When Olay finished his explanation, he subconsciously glanced at Vili, only to see a strange expression suddenly appear on his face.