Levi stood calmly, his breath steadied. His clothes were clothes, and around him, craters of various depths spread. In front of him were several black floating weapons.
Over the years, he had learnt to manage multiple swarms while still focusing on other elements.
Then, standing imposingly before him was a wanderer.
The wanderer was cloaked in white; it held dual daggers that gleamed brightly under sunlight.
It was the same dagger Levi found 4 years ago. He had given it to the wanderer in exchange for a spar.
"That's enough," the wanderer said with a soft, silky voice.
Levi nodded, the nanites dissolving into mists that poured into his pores. The wanderer walked closer to him while tucking the daggers into its sleeves.
"You have improved," it said. As it spoke, its hands moved up to uncover its hood.
The wanderer's skin was like glass that glowed faintly. Its body was slender with blank eyes. Its hair was strands of light woven together. It did not seem to be either male or female.
Levi smiled in response to the wanderer's words. "You taught me well, master Riven," he praised.
Riven did not respond to Levi's words; his gaze wandered far. He did not understand this ridiculous boy in front of him. He would be able to fight him continuously for days without tiring. Even he, who was at the grandmaster tier, couldn't keep up with his stamina.
"You are heading out today," Riven asked.
Levi nodded, gazing into the wanderer's eyes. "Okay then, good luck," Riven said.
Hidden in his farewell was bitterness. He still remembered 2 years ago when he saw the boy running around, swinging swords to train. He was fascinated by his precision and decided to help him.
But after two years, he had grown used to the boy and did not want to part with him.
Levi saw the sadness in Riven's gaze, but leaving was inevitable. Then, an idea struck his mind. 'System, can I bring a wanderer out of the dimensional space?' He asked with a thought.
[Yes, the host can bring a wanderer out. But the other party needs to agree to become the host's servant.]
A smile bloomed on his face as the system responded. "I can take you out with me if you want, though," Levi said to Riven.
Riven's gaze faltered. "How is that possible?" He had stayed in the space for thousands of years and witnessed a lot of things. But he had never heard of a wanderer leaving the space.
"You only need to accept me as your master," Levi said. "But don't worry...."
Levi was about to talk, but Riven was faster. He knelt on one knee with his palm on his chest. "I accept, master Levi."
Silence filled the space as Levi tried to process what he had just witnessed. But the silence was broken by the system's chime.
[Do you accept Wanderer Riven as your servant?]
Levi was surprised that someone as proud as Riven didn't hesitate to accept being his slave. He wanted to tell him that he still had his free will, but he had accepted before he could even speak.
"Yes," Levi said, a smile booming on his face.
[You can bestow your servants one of your affinities; host, please choose.]
Levi's smile deepened as he saw the new prompt. He remembered how Riven always spoke about wanting flame affinity instead of lightning.
'Fire.'
As soon as Levi responded, a pillar of light descended on Riven. After a few minutes, the light disappeared.
Riven's eyes widened as the light dimmed. He discovered something had changed within him. Without hesitation, he checked his affinity.
Then he saw it, the new fire sigil that appeared on the back of his palm.
He looked at Levi's smiling face. "Just a gift for joining me," Levi said.
Riven nodded, not saying anything else.
"System, take us out," Levi said.
White light covered both of them, making them cover their face with their palms. The light stopped before they opened their eyes again.
The room was dimly lit. Levi's clone sat on the edge of the bed, waiting expectantly for Levi. Riven looked at the clone with surprise. He had seen clones, but none had the same aura as the real one. If Levi were not dressed in tattered clothes, he would have mistaken the clone for Levi.
The clone bowed as it saw Levi, then it disappeared. Levi had sent it to the pocket dimension to hunt for treasures and cultivate.
Levi walked into the bathroom, coming out shortly after with a towel. He sat on the bed, Riven flanking him.
"I can't let you walk around like that, so I would send you to a special plane." As he spoke, he activated the system's inventory.
Riven walked into it willingly without needing instructions. Then Levi was left alone in the room. He immediately synced his memory with the clone's, spreading it across all compartments.
Less than a second, that was all he used to understand everything that spanned six months. Nothing much happened. Just the same sight every day in the estate.
But the clone visited the library every day under Levi's instruction. With his incredible mental capabilities, he was able to read all the books in the library in just 3 months.
That time was incredibly fast, considering the Orrin clan's thousands of years of history. 'Cracks?' Levi muttered beneath his breath. From his memory, he discovered that portals that led to other worlds opened constantly.
The natives of this Zenithra named these portals cracks since they discovered that it was caused by breaks in the space-time rules of the world.
The Orrin clan had just 2 cracks, which showed how rare they were.
'This world continues to surprise me with its history,' Levi thought as another knowledge surfaced in his mind. The top races actually had higher clans that resided in a place called Astra plane.
They never interfere with the affairs of lesser races unless the threat of the demons grows too high. Even the Imperial Academy was created by them to recruit talented cultivators from Zenithra.
Levi digested every information, before sleeping that night.