Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 734: Harsh Reality [Golden Gachapon Bonus - ]

Time rolled forward as over an hour passed with Asher asleep, but his slumber was interrupted when a knock echoed throughout the room. His eyes snapped open, and with a tired sigh, he rose to his feet and moved to open the door. Opening it, he found William, Finch, Ryaen, and the Royal Prince himself, Vaelric Lux Vanthelmor, standing outside.

Asher wasn’t surprised by their presence; he had known they would eventually come sometime later. However, he was slightly surprised by Vaelric’s presence.

’It seems he simply tagged along,’ Asher thought.

Clearly, the Prince was putting considerable effort into building a friendly relationship with Asher.

Before Asher could even speak, Finch walked into the room as though he owned the place, with William following right behind him. Ryaen walked in as well, giving Asher a small nod before following after Finch and William, while the Prince also entered without saying as much as a single word.

Asher could only sigh and shake his head as he closed the door behind them. What exactly was he supposed to do? Beat them up and throw them outside?

With that, he walked toward the living room where everyone had already settled themselves. William and Finch were lying face-first on a couch while Asher simply sat down on another couch as he silently stared at them.

”Urgh, despite sleeping for so long, I still feel so tired,” Finch couldn’t help but complain as he rolled onto his back with a tired expression.

”We are mentally exhausted, that’s all,” William replied with a sigh as he too shifted onto his back, his eyes focusing on the ceiling above.

”The both of you seem perfectly fine,” William spoke again, his eyes shifting toward Ryaen and Vaelric.

”I’m already back in top shape, both physically and mentally,” the Prince replied without missing a beat.

As for Ryaen, she didn’t reply. She simply sat quietly as though she wasn’t part of the conversation at all, something nobody found surprising since she had never been much of a talker.

”So, are you guys feeling any stronger?” Asher finally spoke, since they had just completed their training yesterday, making it the perfect question to ask.

Finch immediately sat up, a smile spreading across his lips as he spoke. ”It’s just like Instructor Sam said, although we didn’t break through in Life Rank, we can now defeat our previous selves from one month ago.” His voice carried a hint of pride, after all, who didn’t enjoy becoming stronger?

Everyone stared at Finch before shaking their heads slightly. He was technically the weakest person within the room, so they simply smiled and said nothing further.

”Your Highness, do you have any special information regarding this Inter-Empire Competition?” William asked. Although he sat directly across from Vaelric, he still didn’t dare address the Prince casually by name.

”Just call me Vaelric next time, there is no need for titles,” the Prince replied as he shook his head lightly. ”And as for the information you want... well, all I know for certain is that it will be streamed live throughout the entire world and across all Empires. Beyond that, I don’t really know much else.” His tone remained calm and composed throughout.

William remained silent. Although Vaelric had given him permission to call him by his name, he still felt hesitant. It was a hesitation that strangely didn’t exist when Asher had asked him to stop using titles around him.

”Well, Finch had already guessed that much. I suppose this basically confirms it, especially since it’s information originating from the Emperor himself,” Asher replied calmly.

Ryaen fell into thought for a moment before finally speaking. ”I wonder how many talented and powerful people I will be able to fight.” Her voice was low and quiet.

”Well, I’m sure we are in for some fun,” Finch replied with a grin. Although he was the weakest among them, he was still eager to participate in such a grand competition.

”I wonder if there is anyone as talented and ridiculous as Asher,” Ryaen spoke again, her eyes shifting toward Asher.

Before anyone else could reply, Vaelric spoke first. ”I highly doubt that. After all, even amongst the Wargraves, the Tenth Sun appears to be the most talented.” His tone sounded casual, though his words carried obvious admiration.

Asher’s eyes shifted toward Vaelric for a brief moment as he wondered if the boy was gradually turning into some sort of fanboy, but he made no comment regarding it.

”Well, I hope there will be someone capable of pushing me to use everything I have,” Asher replied without hesitation.

Although he was overwhelmingly powerful for his age and rank, Asher didn’t particularly care. He wasn’t the type to deliberately hide his strength while pretending to be weak. Concealing one’s trump cards and acting weak were two entirely different things.

”Sigh... I honestly hope not. I’m already feeling immense pressure just from Asher’s mere existence alone. I don’t want more monsters like him appearing everywhere,” William replied as he shook his head. Personally, he couldn’t even imagine such a terrifying possibility.

”Imagine if someone even more talented than him existed,” Finch stated as he entertained the thought within his mind.

Nobody said anything afterward as they all simply shook their heads. If such a person truly existed, then the Inter-Empire Competition might as well be canceled entirely, and all rewards should simply be handed over to that individual directly. After all, why should everyone else publicly disgrace themselves on a worldwide live broadcast? They would only embarrass themselves, their families, and their Empire.

”Speaking of fun, as Finch mentioned earlier,” Asher suddenly spoke again, casually changing the topic, ”shouldn’t you actually be worried, Finch?” Asher asked as his eyes shifted toward Finch.

Finch arched an eyebrow in confusion as he wondered what Asher was referring to.

Seeing Finch’s confusion, Asher continued speaking. ”The Prince just confirmed that the competition will be livestreamed throughout the world and across every Empire. Shouldn’t you be worried about Rachael, your little sister? I wonder what expression she will make when she witnesses the performance of her strongest elder brother in existence.” His tone was teasing, playful.

At Asher’s words, Finch immediately froze as his mind instinctively drifted toward his little sister, her innocent smile, the title she had given him years ago, her endless enthusiasm, her dreams, her cheerfulness.

All of it was about to shatter the moment Rachael watched the live broadcast.

Finch’s face twisted horribly as he suddenly didn’t know what to do or even say anymore. He, who had been genuinely looking forward to the competition moments ago, immediately no longer wanted anything to do with it. He seemed to sink into depression right on the spot.

A thought couldn’t help but flicker within his mind, ’I wonder if my Good Luck ability can at least help me avoid being selected to represent the Star Academy,’ he thought desperately as he wished to preserve his little sister’s happiness and innocence.

But alas, could his Good Luck ability even influence something like that? He genuinely didn’t know.

The ability only activated whenever it pleased and mostly when his life was in danger. Aside from that, Finch was essentially on his own.

Cute little Rachael was about to experience the harsh truth of reality firsthand.

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