I Am The Only Witch Hunter-Chapter 326: The Three Masters

Siderius sat down with Jude at Quinlan’s table. Quinlan placed a paper on the table.

"These are the three sword masters that we found. Each of them has a unique Spirit Art that doesn’t belong to any great house and therefore is available for us. But there is still a catch." Quinlan said.

Siderius picked up the piece of paper and read it before passing it to Jude.

"The three masters..." Jude mumbled.

Basilus Adracius. The lone knight of the west. He was the last surviving member of the previous royal blood, those that were usurped by the current royal family.

Regulus Minorius. The wanderer of the south. He was a self-taught swordsman. He had no teacher nor ties to any current political force. He was a genius in every sense as he figured out his own Spirit Art.

Kynidus Hephaestius. The fierce warrior of the east. He belonged to an ancient order of swordsmen that rarely put their hands on the current politics of Everia. This order allowed their members to freely teach their technique, as long as the teacher deemed the student worthy. He was also the nearest one to Elepolis as the city was also in the east.

"Basilus. Regulus. And Kynidus. Why do these people’s names always end with -us?" Jude voiced his doubt.

Quinlan chuckled. "Those are their full names. All people in Everia are named like that."

"Your name doesn’t?"

"My full name is Quintilianus. But it is too long for everyday use so people call me Quinlan."

Jude clicked his tongue. "Tch. That’s a long ass name."

"Indeed," Quinlan laughed, "That’s why no one uses their full name."

Jude then turned to Siderius, "Well? Which one should we visit?"

"All of them, of course. We don’t know if they’ll agree to teach us. We need to maximize our chances. Quinlan did say something about a catch."

Quinlan nodded, "There were many people that tried to learn from them before. Very rare that they accepted. They’d be asking you for something in exchange."

"What do they want? Wealth? Power? Knowledge?" Jude said.

Quinlan shook his head, "If it was that easy. They will ask you to complete a task or to answer a question. If you can answer it or complete the task, you may get their teaching. But they’ve never asked the same thing twice so we don’t know what they want."

"Do you have the records of their past challenges?" Siderius said.

"I do."

Quinlan dropped another notebook on the table. This was much thicker than that flimsy piece of paper.

"Many people tried, huh?" Jude said.

"Many. But less than 10 succeeded. And less than 3 become anything significant. Maybe that’s why they are so difficult to obtain."

"I will be taking this for research. Give me a few days to examine them. Then we will go." Siderius said.

"Argh. I’m not that good at figuring things out. You have all of that notebook for you, Siderius." Jude said.

"Well then. I’d better get started."

Siderius spent three days studying the past challenges the three masters had given the people who came seeking power. There were patterns within their ways.

Basilus, the lone knight, would give a moral challenge. He’d normally give a task with choices. There’d be many choices but they’d fall to two paths, the difficult but morally just path, and the easy but questionable path. The only way to succeed was to pick the difficult path. But the path wouldn’t always be visible.

A few had also studied him and tried to follow the difficult path. But he looked right through them and declined their request. Then they showed their true colors.

"Ignorant fools. You can’t fool an honorable knight. They might be restricted because of their moral code but they could clearly see through lies and manipulation." Siderius commented.

Then he studied the second master, Regulus Minorius.

This man was the most mysterious about the three. No one knew anything about his past. They only knew that he was self-taught. This man would give either a question or a task.

The task was very simple. It’s to slice a flying swallow with a stone sword. No one had succeeded in this challenge before.

The question seemed to be an easier choice with two people succeeding before. But he asked very bizarre questions.

He once asked a man, ’What is your name?"

A simple question but he failed that man. The man never understood why he failed.

"A question is not just a question. It’s something else, huh..."

Once he asked another, ’What is your sword made of?"

’Steel’, the man answered but he also failed.

"Interesting. This master’s challenge is two things. Wisdom and Resiliency. The first task is just too hard and needs years to accomplish. No one has that patience. The second task tested the people of their wisdom and self-realization. Only those who understand themselves can pass."

"The last one is..."

Siderius studied the last master, Kynidus Hephaestius. This man always asked a question. His question was always the same.

’Can you survive my blade?’ He always asked.

There were only two answers, yes and no. But none seemed correct and sometimes, both were correct.

He had the most accepted students out of the three but no one really knew why they passed.

But Siderius did. He figured out the question.

"The first master tests your morality. The second tests your ability. While the third one tests your honesty.

Yes and no don’t matter. It only matters if they’re honest. But sometimes honesty isn’t enough. He needs honesty and will. The will to change what you truly know.

There were people that answered correctly but the way they answered wasn’t correct."

On the evening of the third night, Siderius closed the notebook.

He looked out the window outside. The moon was full that day. Lycan slept peacefully in his room. This wolverine had truly mastered the power of the curse and was no longer dictated by it.

Siderius petted Lycan gently.

"These masters test in different ways but they are related to the spirit in one way or another. Even if I knew the answer, it didn’t mean that I would pass. They need to see if my spirit is compatible. The road ahead is unknown. But all roads are unknown until you walk it.

We shall see what the road has for me."