Zayn couldn't help but feel that things were a little bit awkward between him and Merlin Kivan.
The one-armed man continued to stare at him, ready to attack and kill Zayn the moment he acted suspiciously.
"What are you doing here?" Merlin finally asked sharply, though not pointing a razor-sharp blade at him. That was already a pretty good way to initiate the conversation, probably.
"I want you to teach me the One-Armed Saber technique. I've never received proper tutelage since I'm just a Normie, and things are getting a little bit difficult without knowing the basics. I am unable to learn the full extent of most techniques, which other Adventurers are willing to teach, for a hefty fee, of course.
From what I've heard, your technique should be the most suitable, and what I've seen earlier is a reaffirmation of that. Your movements and the sounds made by your saber stirred my heart…soo, teach me please!" Zayn was sincere with his request and everything else he said without trying to appear too needy.
The other Adventurers were likely to be some Blessed who was willing to teach the techniques they'd earned from completing their God's missions. These techniques were not really useful for him, even if they were good enough to teach him the basics of the basics.
Nonetheless, Zayn didn't want to pay an exorbitant price just to learn the basics. That was simply not worth it.
"Do you have enough money to make such a request to a B-rank Adventurer with two Soulrings? You know that I'm the strongest Adventurer in the city, right?" Merlin responded to his request with a question that was definitely justified. But even if it was a justified question, Zayn couldn't help but feel that the question was not one of interest but more of a means to push Zayn away.
"Tell me how much you want in exchange for teaching me the basics of true combat and the One-Armed Saber technique and I can tell you whether I have enough or not," Zayn said, overflowing with confidence.
His confidence caused Merlin to stare at the boy for a few seconds. Zayn had no idea what was going on in the mind of Merlin Kivan, but he took it as a good sign.
At least, he was not thrown out of the Dojo the moment he asked Merlin to train him.
While Merlin contemplated on the answer, Zayn took the opportunity to take a good look at the one-armed B-rank Adventurer Merlin Kivan.
Merlin was close to 180 centimeters tall, had flawless skin, and was a bit tanned. His facial features were above average and his entire body looked like it was sculpted by a master of his craft. He was jacked but there were no excessive muscles hindering his movements in any way. That was enough for Zayn to understand that the young man had worked hard to achieve the strength he was proud of.
Zayn's first impression of Merlin Kivan had been pretty wrong as well. He presumed Merlin to be in his 30s, or possibly even in his 40s. However, that seemed to be wrong and an impression was created from the misinterpretations of his extremely vigilant and careful attitude when it came to trusting people. Zayn expected him to be older since Merlin seemed to have gone through quite a few betrayals by people he had trusted.
But he seemed to be in his mid, or late 20s the more he looked at him.
Of course, the most interesting fact about Merlin was the only thing that was missing, was his right arm.
'He must have had a large stigma, considering that bits of his Stigma had spread all over his shoulder before he lost his arm.' Zayn thought, understanding that the Gods had found Merlin to be a valuable resource as well. They considered him extremely talented and granted him with a Stigma that covered his entire right arm and even his shoulder.
Thus, parts of the powers granted by his God, including the System, were still present. That was also why he could attempt regrowing his arm upon solving his God's mission.
At least, Silas said something similar to that, meaning that everyone knew that Merlin Kivan was still striving, and trying his utmost to regrow his arm.
"I never really thought about teaching anyone, and I don't have any time to waste, either," Merlin said after he considered a few things.
Zayn couldn't hide his disappointment but he nodded his head nonetheless, "Understandable, I wouldn't want to waste my time teaching a weakling when I'm focused on preparing for a mission to regrow my arm."
Zayn said it nonchalantly, but Merlin glared sharply at him. In response, Zayn swallowed his saliva before he hurriedly came up with an excuse, "That's just what I heard from Silas…"
Of course, Merlin wouldn't know who Silas was, or it was very unlikely for him to bother about him. But Zayn had accidentally revealed the name of the young receptionist who provided him with bits of information about Merlin and ways to approach him.
"Silas? You mean that idiot, Silas Levian?" Merlin asked incredulously, the emotions in his voice causing confusion.
"Yes?"
"Silas sent all those letters of recommendation from the Adventurer Hall?"
"Yeah…could that be a problem?"
"Not…really…"
Somehow, the situation turned even more chaotic. Zayn couldn't understand anything anymore. However, Merlin Kivan didn't look at him that intensely after he heard Silas' name. It almost looked like everything made sense to Merlin, while Zayn stared cluelessly at him.
"He didn't tell you what the system requested from me to regrow my arm, did he?" Merlin asked all of a sudden, staring intensely into Zayn's ocean-blue eyes.
"No, Silas didn't say anything like that," Zayn responded slowly as if every single word that left his mouth could lead to fatalities.
Merlin nodded his head and he kept staring at Zayn for a few more seconds until he disappeared somewhere in the backside of the Dojo.
pαndα-noνɐ1,сoМ In less than a minute, he returned with a stash of letters which he read silently. He paid almost no attention to Zayn for the next few minutes until he finished the latest letter.
Once he was done, he looked up to Zayn, squinting his eyes, and tilting his head as if that would change the young Blessed's appearance.
"-Can be honed enough to achieve what you desire.- Is that actually what he meant? It can't be…right?"
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