Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 487: Smile

A day had passed since Asher had ended his Light elemental training, and at the moment, he was busy refining his proficiency for the skills and applications he had painstakingly developed under the various elements. He sat quietly within the balcony of his room as he stared at the drifting clouds above, watching them move lazily across the endless sky, just like many other days before this one, he had missed class again and hadn’t bothered attending any of them, choosing solitude and self-improvement over lectures that no longer offered him anything new.

During that time, he had come to understand that the Instructors seemed to trust him a bit more than the average student, as they were only charging him a single point for every class he missed, a ridiculously small penalty compared to what others would suffer, ’it seems I left enough of an impression,’ Asher thought to himself with quiet amusement, of course he would still attend classes occasionally, but that was only to make an appearance and avoid showing any form of disrespect toward the Instructors themselves, because regardless of his strength, he still acknowledged their roles and experience.

’Sigh, doesn’t the Star Academy have anything someone could at least explore or enjoy? Or is every single facility and building here designed for the sole purpose of training?’ he asked himself despite already knowing that the answer to that question was an overwhelming and unquestionable YES.

The Star Academy had no structure that wasn’t meant for training and pushing the students to their absolute limits, this was an academy that built the future powerhouses of the Empire, not a playground for idle youths, there was no place to slack off or indulge in meaningless entertainment here. The idiom, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, simply didn’t apply within these walls, because dull boys didn’t survive here long enough to complain.

Although he was technically supposed to be practicing his proficiency at this particular moment, refining his control and increasing the precision of every light-based construct he had created, Asher had decided to just take a few hours off and relax for once. After all, his current training involved him injuring himself constantly, tearing muscles, burning nerves, and exhausting his reserves to the brink before healing again, obviously he had earned this small period of rest.

’Maybe I should just teleport to the estate and see how Lyra is doing?’ he thought to himself as he considered the idea for a brief second, imagining her likely buried in her own routine of relentless improvement, but the next moment, he gave up on the idea as there was no real need for that, he should focus on his own path and training, Lyra was probably training just as intensely anyway, and interrupting her would only be unnecessary.

A faint sound suddenly came from the other side, subtle but clear enough for his sharpened senses to catch, and Asher’s head turned slightly to the side, there he saw Ryaen who had just stepped out onto her own balcony. Asher gave a small nod in her direction and she nodded back at him in acknowledgment, then proceeded to sit down without uttering a single word, her movements calm, controlled, and almost silent like a practiced warrior conserving energy.

”Its been a while, Lady Ryaen,” Asher spoke with a calm expression and an even calmer tone, because if it were someone he didn’t know or wasn’t even slightly acquainted with, he would have simply ignored them entirely, but he was somewhat familiar with Ryaen, and had even once considered forming a team with her for future missions, but he had been late to act as the Royal Princess had already taken her first.

Ryaen’s silver eyes shifted toward Asher’s direction as she spoke, ”it seems so, and please, just Ryaen is fine,” she stated, her face expressionless as ever, her voice flat yet not unfriendly, simply indifferent.

Asher nodded lightly as he continued, ”just coming back from a mission?” he asked, genuinely curious, as he was fairly certain Ryaen was just like William, another training-obsessed individual who rarely wasted time. But unknown even to Asher himself, he too enjoyed and loved training just as much as Ryaen and William, perhaps even more, though he wouldn’t call himself an addict out loud.

But then again, who wouldn’t be addicted to training if their talent was immense? Who wouldn’t enjoy that addictive and intoxicating feeling that came from growing stronger and stronger with every passing day, from surpassing yesterday’s limits and breaking past what once seemed impossible?

Ryaen gently shook her head as she spoke, ”no, I just returned from the Training Facility Building, but I will be going on a mission soon since I’m out of points,” she explained with a quiet sigh as though tired by the Star Academy’s harsh logic. They battled and bled for days just to gain those precious points, only for them to vanish with a few intense sessions of training as though they had never existed.

Asher very much understood the reasoning and the mechanism behind such a method of operation. If the Star Academy made the Training Facility Building free, many students would gradually become arrogant and careless, they wouldn’t even understand the value of what they were given. But through their current system, every single point felt like a treasure, something earned through sweat and blood, something that held genuine weight and meaning.

”What about you, Tenth Sun?” Ryaen Silvershade asked, her eyes fixed on Asher as she sat with utmost calmness, her posture straight and dignified.

’If this were a novel, she would have every quality needed to become the female lead, beauty, height, talent, power, and influence,’ Asher mused to himself as he silently admired Ryaen’s natural beauty. But just because he thought that didn’t mean he disconnected from reality, his mind remained clear and grounded as he replied to Ryaen just as calmly and effortlessly as she had replied to him earlier.

”Well, for me, I won’t be going on any missions for a while since I’ve already embarked on all three compulsory team missions and accumulated enough points, so next time you see me within the Logistics and Missions Operation Hall, just know I’ve probably gone broke,” he sighed lightly as he spoke, half joking, half serious.

His words made Ryaen Silvershade break into a small smile, one Asher had almost never seen her wear before, as she always carried that same emotionless mask on her face much like his own siblings did.

’She is even more beautiful when she smiles,’ Asher mused silently as his eyes lingered on her for a moment longer than usual. Although he thought that, he knew very well that he had no feelings for Ryaen, and of course if such feelings ever appeared within his heart, he would definitely make them known to her without hesitation, after all, he wasn’t the type of man who lacked the courage to approach women.

But for now, since he had no romantic feelings for her, he could at least admire her smile and beauty like one would admire a painting or a quiet sunset without attaching anything deeper to it.

”Can I come over?” Asher asked as he was honestly tired of raising his voice slightly just to talk to her across the distance, he was ranked 1 and she was ranked 8, meaning they were basically seven rooms apart, and speaking across balconies felt unnecessarily inconvenient.

”Sure,” Ryaen didn’t even hesitate to reply, nor did her tone change in the slightest, as it genuinely made no difference to her whether Asher was sitting beside her or far away. She only admired his strength and talent, nothing less and nothing more, and his presence neither disturbed nor excited her.