As Kranos pulled his hand out of the box, he froze in astonishment. In his grasp was an object resembling a wooden sword. Despite its wooden appearance, he could immediately sense its extreme sharpness. The blade felt smooth to the touch. Raising it, Kranos ran his finger lightly along its edge—and a thin trickle of blood slid down his finger… How sharp!
He inhaled deeply. Just then, a line of text appeared before his eyes:
[Time Sword – A sword that grows by absorbing time. It has existed since the beginning of time.]
f*ck! Though Kranos rarely cursed, the words escaped him the moment he saw the description of the sword. Although he knew that the sword would be extraordinary since it came with the system, he didn't think it would be this terrifying.
It grows by absorbing time? Kranos was baffled. The line of words given by the system was vague, extremely vague. He didn't fully understand. How exactly was the sword able to absorb time? Though he didn't fully understand it, he had a rough idea of how to test it out.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden shattering sound. Turning to his right, he saw the box from which he had drawn shattered and slowly turn to dust. His gaze shifted to the second box—the one positioned in the center, slightly ahead of the others, as though it contained the most valuable treasure.
Kranos stepped forward and reached out to open the lid of the box. But he realized he… couldn't? He tried several times, but still the box remained sealed. He smiled wryly. His curiosity towards what was inside the most valuable treasure grew stronger, but since he couldn't open it for now, he chose to suppress the urge.
Kranos moved back to the third box on the left. He opened the box, and without any hesitation, he placed his hand inside the box. A familiar feeling surfaced on his hand. He wriggled his hand inside the silvery portal as though he was looking for something. After a few minutes of searching, just like before, seemingly ignoring time, an object materialized in his hand.
He withdrew his hand, on his hand was an ancient scroll. It radiated a profound, ancient aura. Unfurling it carefully, Kranos discovered it was a cultivation technique.
Boldly written across the top were the words: Time Condensation Manual. Kranos stared in disbelief. Is this the cultivation manual I'm supposed to use?
Just then, another line of text appeared before his eyes
[Time Cultivation Manual – Rank 1. Time Condensation corresponds to the Qi Condensation stage of orthodox cultivation. However, this manual belongs to the Path of Time. Note: Cultivating the Time Path will not conflict with your original body's cultivation.]
Seeing the information, Kranos raised an eyebrow in surprise. In essence, I will embark on two paths of cultivation simultaneously? As soon as he saw the information, he knew that this was the path he would take. If the knowledge of everything is released into the world, would it cause a legendary battle? Kranos chuckled.
Suddenly, he sensed someone entering the house. Instantly, he knew—it was his parents.
With a thought, he exited the time-space and reappeared in his room. Suppressing the whirl of emotions inside him, Kranos stepped out to greet them.
…
"Father, Mother, welcome home," Kranos said as soon as he saw them.
His father, Raphael, sighed at the sight of his son, who had always been fascinated by magic.
"Son, magic isn't everything," his mother said gently, trying to comfort him. "Your father and I were just talking… We've decided to let you become a knight."
"A knight?" Kranos raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. Of course, he knew what knights were. They trained in breathing techniques to enhance their physical abilities and mastered a wide range of swordsmanship. Still, no matter how strong a knight became, they were always considered a step below cultivators.
"Even though knights aren't as powerful as cultivators," his father continued, "if you train diligently, you'll still gain considerable strength." This was the harsh reality, the disparity between a cultivator and a knight, they could never truly have similar strength at the same rank. A Rank 1 or Rank 2 knight could never hope to defeat a cultivator at the Qi Condensation realm.
"Although you can't cultivate, who knows? You just might have a talent for knights breathing; I've heard about knights that are terrifyingly strong; I've even encountered some of them," his father added. There was another reason why knights were rare, because it was incredibly difficult to practice the knight's breathing and increase one's strength as a knight; besides needing a large amount of food, they needed to have a strong mentality.
Moreover, knights could never live as long as cultivators. Their lifespan wouldn't increase through training unless they consumed rare heaven-and-earth treasures, whereas cultivators could increase their lifespan with each increase in cultivation.
Kranos couldn't help but feel a certain warmth inside because of how caring his parents were towards him. Even he, as a reincarnated old man could feel the sincerity of his parents
Studying knight techniques might not be a bad idea, he thought. Learning swordsmanship could help me better learn how to use the time sword. Kranos planned his schedule inwardly. During the day, I'll train in swordsmanship. At night, I'll cultivate both paths.
After some contemplation, Kranos decided to tell his parents about his late awakening. Only by doing so could he get the corresponding space skills and cultivation techniques he needed.
"Alright, Mom, Dad. I'll train to become a good swordsman," Kranos said seriously, "but… I have something to tell you."
His parents looked at him curiously.
"I have an elemental affinity."
His words struck them like thunder.
"Son, I know you wish you had an affinity," his father said, his brows furrowed. "But you need to accept the truth that you don't possess one. You saw the results of the awakening orb,"
"Maybe the orb couldn't detect it fully," Kranos replied without hesitation, lying smoothly. "Or perhaps I awakened a few minutes after returning from the secret realm."
He suspected the system had suppressed his cultivation until he obtained the Time Dao fragment, probably because only with the fragment of the Time Dao could his body perfectly cultivate both paths, but he didn't voice his guess, after all, it was his biggest secret.
Seeing their disbelief, Kranos accessed his root bone, causing it to absorb mana from the surroundings. His parents' eyes widened in shock. Then he also accessed a silvery-grey elemental core in his body.
Though he had yet to cultivate any space-related skills, he could still manifest basic spatial abilities. A moment later, his figure began to blur and flicker faintly as though it was slowly blurring away.