Chapter 15: How to join the noble class

  Justinian, after opening his eyes, went outside; he had to find a suitable place to test his newly acquired power. Behind the neglected village, there was an old training ground where a few training dummies still remained.

  The boy finally found one that didn't fall apart from rust at his touch and set it up in the middle of the area, about 10 meters from the stone fence.

  'First, let's see how strong I am now...' - standing a short distance from the mannequin, he bent down and quickly closed the distance to his target. Then, he concentrated all the strength from his back into his right hand and struck.

  The dummy, quite heavy and resting on old metal wheels on the floor, rolled back a meter and a half.

  'Judging by the speed I can move now, I should be able to handle a group of trained people without any trouble, even if they outnumber me,' he noted.

  He also noticed that his fist didn't hurt at all after hitting the dummy, which indicated increased durability. Justinian moved the dummy back to the center and this time, concentrating, he intended to use his newly learned technique.

  A flash appeared in his eye and, just like before, he quickly closed the distance to the mannequin. Then... his hand and forearm took on the color and texture of rough iron, and he struck with all his might!

  "Dang!"

  A loud thud resounded as his fist made contact with the dummy. The boy looked at the results and... whistled in surprise. The mannequin was clearly dented at the point of impact and had rolled about ten meters from its original position, hitting the moss-covered stone wall with considerable force.

  "Now that's what I call serious power..." he stated with admiration.

  He felt a growing excitement building in his heart. All because... he was beginning to believe that revenge was truly possible.

  'After all, what man would be able to withstand such a blow?!'

  Regardless of who the perpetrators of the attack on his city were, he felt they would not escape his heavy hand.

  At the same time, however, he took a deep breath... after using the new power, he had trouble catching his breath and was overcome with fatigue, as if after an hour-long exercise session. It was clear that such strength came at a price.

  He couldn't ignore it, especially since he didn't know how difficult a task awaited him.

  'It seems logical to assume that all cultivators can wield similar power... Perhaps they are even stronger, especially if they are skilled in combat.'

  Justinian considered this to be a problem. Of course, he didn't assume that the kidnappers from the tomb were cultivators, but in the end, to get to them... he first had to survive in hell!

  'What if there are some fighting games again? What if this time they are to the death?'

  His thirst for revenge burned within him like lava circulating in the chambers of a volcano. He couldn't let anything stop him. Therefore, he assessed the situation realistically and knew he needed help.

  Thinking deeply on the matter, he decided to ask for it.

  On the Mountain of Mists, in the residence of the Voivode Boruta, the feast had been going on for almost a week. It was an old custom of the noble brethren to feast worthily, so as not to tarnish the reputation of the noble class. Some of the servants who were allowed to drink were lying drunk under the table, while the Voivode himself and his guest, Nikodem Rudnicki, were still vividly discussing various topics.

  "I speak the truth! I once brought down a bear by shooting it with a pumpkin seed!" the latter explained with a serious face.

  The host, however, reluctantly shook his head at the increasingly colorful stories of the "Orphan," slowly becoming irritated by the time he had devoted to this revelry. But what could he do? Lavish, drink-fueled parties were a sacred custom, and since the famous Liberum Veto had already been invoked once, proposals now had to be approached cautiously so as not to lose face by chance.

  His guest was in a different situation; he was greatly enjoying the feast. He was a typical nobleman who, by virtue of having a large staff of servants, didn't have much to do. Therefore, every opportunity to talk with others was worth its weight in gold to him.

  "Greetings, honorable sirs," Justinian bowed in greeting as he entered the chamber.

  Boruta's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of him.

  "It's good you've come! So much time has passed that I completely forgot we were supposed to judge court cases together!" he said with a serious, yet strangely keen expression. The young man, of course, had no idea what he was talking about.

  He was about to answer when Rudnicki joined the conversation.

  "That's right! Come join us, my dear friend, and have a drink. There will be time for duties later!"

  The Voivode, of course, immediately rolled his eyes. He decided internally that this idleness had gone on long enough and it was time to get back to work. However, the serious intern relieved him.

  "Thank you for the invitation, honorable sir, but I cannot accept it. I have a matter of honor that must be settled before I can enjoy social freedoms," Justinian replied.

  He tried to use a similarly pompous tone as the nobleman himself had when speaking of his pilgrimage. All this was to avoid unnecessarily making an enemy of this bothersome, yet significant, devil.

  "Wait, come closer. Let me see your cultivation," Boruta said with furrowed brows. He remembered that when Justinian began his internship, he had two marks of Ki Gathering, and besides, he didn't seem to have much potential. Now, however, he emanated the aura of a higher level.

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  The boy nodded and did as he was told. He explained what had happened and what his situation was:

  "I managed to reach the next level during a week of meditation."

  Both devils, interested in the topic, nodded their heads. Ki Gathering was the first stage in cultivation and was really responsible for one thing - shaping the character of one's journey on the path of gathering power. This, combined with the creation of spiritual veins that conduct Ki, allowed for the determination of a devil's destiny and their first serious increase in strength.

  Boruta was pleased with what he saw.

  "The foundation stone that chose you is tiny, so it couldn't direct you onto any path. It seems, however, that your strong character allows you to compensate for its shortcomings."

  The Voivode had to admit that the man before him indeed had potential that was often lacking in lazy devils. While he had previously considered him a hopeless case, he now believed that with good luck, he might even reach the Foundation Stabilization level, which followed the collection of five marks of Ki Gathering.

  "Indeed, a character as worthy as someone from the noble brethren caste!" interjected Rudnicki.

  No one took his words seriously, although the fact that he appreciated a human so much certainly said something about Justinian's achievement.

  The boy, pleased that his cultivation seemed to be progressing well, moved on to the purpose of his visit.

  "I still lack the fundamentals to be able to enjoy the power I have gained. I would therefore like to ask the honorable Voivode for guidance regarding combat and the opportunities that come with it!"

  The Voivode looked at him seriously. The truth is, he greatly appreciated the contribution Justinian had made to the functioning of hell recently and would have gladly helped him. However, there was a problem.

  'With my workload, I would be wasting this boy's talent...' he thought, scratching his beard.

  As he wondered what to do, the pot-bellied nobleman unexpectedly joined the discussion again:

  "My dear friend, to take up the Voivode's time at this level of cultivation? That is a waste of both his time and yours!" he sneered bluntly.

  Of course, the main person of interest did not like this.

  "Then what..." Justinian didn't get to finish.

  "I can take care of it!" exclaimed Nikodem Rudnicki with great excitement. It was clear that he was wildly fond of the idea, and he even twirled his mustache upwards with enthusiasm.

  "I have plenty of time, and my lands are perfect for training! Besides, it's clear you're a stiff, and thanks to me, you'll acquire some of the proper devilish refinement."

  He uttered the last sentence with a particularly bitter expression, as if Justinian's current attitude towards the world was unacceptable.

  The boy, however, as one might guess, was not very interested. He was looking for a way to politely refuse when the drunken nobleman noticed.

  "What? You think you're too good for old Rudnicki? Pfft!" he scoffed loudly. Then he stood up straight and stretched his bones a bit.

  "Then watch this, my dear friend."

  The man had had enough of the pot-bellied nobleman's antics, so he decided to show him the seriousness of the situation. He began to wonder if he could just attack him when a flash momentarily appeared in the fat sarmatian's eye.

  Justinian noticed it and wanted to react when... he suddenly felt something hit him right next to his ear! What's more, it was such a powerful blow that he was completely dazed, and from that spot on his neck, to his shoulder, to the floor, blood began to spurt!

  He turned pale and immediately grabbed the wound, clumsily falling in the process. All this only to find that... there was no wound there at all! Everything was happening only in his head.

  "H-how?" he asked, frightened of the devils before him.

  "You see, my dear friend. You have much to learn if mere intent can strike you so. Come with me, and you will learn a great deal," said Rudnicki, proud of himself, extending a hand to the young boy to help him up.

  Boruta watched the whole situation attentively and finally nodded. The Rudnickis were an old family and could devote much more time to Justinian than he could. Still, he felt he owed the young man something, so he decided to settle the score.

  "Training with the nobility is a good idea; you will learn the customs in the meantime, and it will allow you to have a broader perspective in your cultivation. I can't help you much, but I can give you this," he said, summoning an object from his chest with a wave of his hand.

  It was a book with the title "A Little Devil's Guide."

  "The devilish children learn from this primer. It's also a special edition written by the Lord of Names and Symbols himself."

  The Voivode gave the book to Justinian, and soon the party was over. Now the young man, along with Franciscus, the pot-bellied nobleman, his son, and the entire court, was traveling to the Rudnicki territories, where he was to spend the next few months.

  Time, of course, did not stand still for the other devils either. One of the people who had a great deal on his mind was none other than the master of the Mountain of Plague and Misfortune - Ignatius the Empty-headed. This devil was planning his grand comeback and was working diligently on the conditions he had to meet to have his title reinstated.

  Currently, however, he was dealing with a much more prosaic problem, a consequence of recent events.

  'This is the last time some damn kid gets onto the mountain without my permission!' he fumed internally, outraged at the ease with which Franciscus had simply taken up residence here.

  The way to prevent similar cases was very simple - Ignatius decided to reactivate the defensive magical formation around his mountain.

  "Why do these plebeian formations always expect knowledge of these stupid scriptures?!" he asked the air, annoyed.

  Cultivation had never particularly interested him. It was enough for him that his bloodline was powerful and provided sufficient power and style to be a good match for she-devils.

  "A chicken feather, the blood of a fool, the jaw of a toothless wolf..." he muttered under his breath, creating the object that was to be the basis for his magic.

  The whole process was very tiring, and he had to put a lot of effort and time into it, but after much hardship, he succeeded. The formation was created and began to work.

  "Well, now..." - unfortunately, he did not finish his announcement. The air was shaken by two powerful explosions that almost knocked him over!

  "What now?!" he squeaked, annoyed but also afraid that something strange was happening.

  He immediately went to the place where the sound came from.

  When he saw what it was, he turned pale, and drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. He immediately looked around in fear that someone might attack him.

  "What... what the hell is this?!" he exclaimed.

  On one of the paths of his mountain, someone had set up two powerful, magical traps. They were so strong that he didn't know if he would have been able to survive their activation if the magical formation hadn't destroyed them first. What's more, they were on a path that, in the glory days of his mountain, was intended just for him!

  Just as life went on on the Mountain of Plague and Misfortune, the same was true for the other mountains. On one of them, Eusebius was ordering the adepts to participate in more human devil summonings. Despite people's different approaches to religion throughout the ages, this was always an all too popular custom.

  In another place, Greedius was furiously devouring chicken thighs, obtained on his last trip to the earthly dimension. For some time, his mountain had been boiling with rumors of great importance.

  Firstly, as usual in this difficult environment, magnificent talents appeared like meteors. This time, one of several such figures was a certain Belisara. With her talent and intellect, and above all, her beautiful appearance, she attracted the attention of many other adepts.

  She herself, however, declared that her goal was primarily cultivation and focus on devilish development, which impressed the assembled devils even more.

  Secondly, within the last month, a very talented devil with five markes of Ki Gathering and a unique bloodline had disappeared. The internal investigation showed no specific leads, and the whole affair seemed very suspicious. All the more so because... this was the fourth such case in the last six months.

  A pale fear therefore fell upon the adepts, and many devils were afraid that they too might soon share this fate.

  The situation was different on the Mountain of Swamps and Darkness, ruled by Maleficius, who had previously killed the devil Rokita. Although he announced no moves, disturbing rumors emerged that the mountain sometimes erupted with a power that could be felt throughout the area.

  Tales also spread about the terrifying adept, Septima. Everyone knew that only a fool or a suicide would dare to cross her, even with a 5-to-1 numerical advantage.