Path to Transcendence

He paused for a second and took a deep calming breath. Perhaps he had been jumping to conclusions. There was always the possibility that the man in front of him had some other skill that hid him from Julius\'s [Spatial Perception].

Julius watched as Dante scrutinized Declan and himself with impassive eyes. Declan had a large smile on his face again and bowed to the man in greeting. "Hello, Mr. Dante. My name is Declan and this here is Julius. Liz was kind enough to give up directions to where you lived, I hope we aren\'t intruding."

The man didn\'t say anything right away. He just kept glaring at the two of them while standing in the doorway of the cabin. Finally, he spoke, "I know. She let me know you two were coming." His voice was a deep baritone and was a voice that sounded like that often gave orders. It actually reminded Julius of the voice of a military commander.

If the man\'s unfriendly attitude dissuaded Declan, he didn\'t let it show. "Oh, she did? That\'s perfect. Did she also happen to mention why we wanted to meet you?"

"She did and the answer is no," Dante straight up denied Declan before he could even make his request.

"Oh," Declan said crestfallen. "You won\'t even consider it? Please, your work is one of the finest I have come across. Even if it is just a few pieces, I would love to buy anything you have on hand."

"Why do you want my items so badly?" The man asked Declan bluntly.

Declan nodded his head. "They are masterful pieces."

"Let me clarify. Who do you want them for? Do you want them for yourself or for me to outfit your guards?" The older man asked.

Julius was immediately put back on guard. Neither one of them had mentioned that Declan was a vice-captain, not to Liz and certainly not this man. Yet, Dante appeared to know about it. He wouldn\'t have made that comment otherwise. Julius noticed that Declan also seemed to understand the implications on the man\'s words, but he still maintained a friendly expression on his face.

"I admit, I would love to have my entire unit outfitted with equipment made by you. But I realize how unreasonable that would be. However, I have a son who is a crafter and he would be able to learn a lot just by seeing your work."

Julius saw Dante look at Declan quietly for a moment before he let out a sigh and without a word, went back inside. Declan and Julius both looked at each other, wondering where he was going. A few moments later the man came back holding two items in his hands.

One was a metal cube the size of a closed fist with inscriptions all over its surface. The other was a wooden figurine that resembled a young boy with angel-like wings extending from his back. Both items were clearly well-made. The details of each one were refined and delicate. The figurine was particularly impressive. The feathers of the wings were so intricate and beautiful.

Julius could also sense that each item had many layers of enchantments. He would not be surprised to learn that both objects had functions beyond the purpose of just looking pretty.

The man handed over the objects to Declan before saying, "Give these to your son. Tell him he should practice recreating both of them. The cube is a puzzle that will help him with learning how to layer enchantments more efficiently. The wooden boy will help him with creating more creative and intricate enchantments."

Declan held the two objects with reverence and thanked the man profusely. "What can I give you for these items," he asked the old crafter.

Dante shook his head. "I don\'t have a need for money."

Declan also vehemently shook his head. "I can\'t just take these for free. Tell me what I can do in return," he insisted

The older man frowned at Declan\'s obstinance. "I told you, I don\'t have a need for money. The only reason why I gave you these was because Liz asked me to help you guys out."

"There must be something I can do."

The man nodded his head. "I do have something that I would like…"

"Name it," Declan smiled at him.

"Just an answer to a question," the man said vaguely.

"I can hear out the question, but I can\'t promise that I will be able to give you an answer that will satisfy you," Declan tentatively said.

"That\'s okay. Because the question isn\'t for you." Dante turned to look directly at Julius who had been standing in the background for the past several minutes. "It\'s for him."

"Him?"

"Me?" Julius pointed at himself. Both of them asked surprised.

The older man stone cold face pressed on Julius\'s body. Julius started to feel that same feeling that he got when he first saw the man. It was a creeping feeling of dread.

It was Declan who interjected. "What do you want to ask him?" he asked confused.

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Finally, the man\'s lip upturned a hair. However, it didn\'t reassure Julius at all. No, if anything it made him feel like he had just gotten into a cage with a starving polar bear and he was its next meal. "Nothing much, I just wanted to ask him how he knew."

Declan was still confused. "Knew? Knew what?" At this point, Julius didn\'t know how Declan wasn\'t picking up the weird feeling that Julius was.

The man ignored Declan and only had eyes for Julius. The man\'s stare was intense. Almost as if he was challenging Julius to dare look at him. "Tell me, how did you know?"

Julius beat down the rising fear and looked back at the man, staring directly into his eyes. Showing that he wouldn\'t be cowed. "I don\'t know what you mean."

The man started to actually grin now and slowly walked from the doorway and down the steps of the cabin porch, approaching Julius with intense focus. Julius could feel the pressure getting greater and greater the closer the man got to him. The ground vibrated with every step, almost as if the man weighed as much as a mountain.

Finally, Declan seemed to sense that something was off and attempted to grab the man\'s shoulder before he could reach Julius. However, Declan was barely able to make it a foot before something stopped him in his tracks.

It was like someone had frozen the air around him and he was completely unable to move his body. Declan\'s face turned ashen as he realized what was happening. Though he was shocked, it didn\'t stop him from trying to break free. Julius observed as Declan released his Authority in a large burst, but still wasn\'t able to free himself. He struggled with all of his might, but it was futile, nothing he did had any effect. Soon, all resistance crumbled and he was frozen like a statue.

Julius\'s eyes widened to saucers as the man approached Julius leisurely. My gut wasn\'t wrong. Julius berated himself. He knew better than to ignore his instincts.

The man finally stopped right in front of Julius. There was a part of Julius that wanted him to run, but in his heart, he knew that there was no outrunning this monster. He was certain that this man wasn\'t Tier 4, most likely he was Tier 5 or stronger if he was able to take care of Declan so easily.

The man bent down slightly and got nose-to-nose with Julius. "So… are you going to tell me?"

Julius swallowed the saliva that was accumulating in his throat nervously.

"I know you noticed something when you saw me. I heard your heartbeat and felt your aura. They both practically screamed the second you saw me. There should be no reason why you would react that way. You should have reacted to my aura much like your friend did."

Julius knew he was trapped. He gritted his teeth and glared at the old man.

Though, to be fair, the man had given Declan those items and all he wanted in return was an answer to his question. It wasn\'t an unreasonable request, so Julius gave him his answer. "A skill," he said plainly. He didn\'t elaborate or anything.

"A skill? What skill is it?" The man asked demandingly.

Julius steeled himself and shook his head. He wouldn\'t be bullied by this man, no matter how powerful he might be. "You asked me to answer your question and I have. I do not need to tell you about my personal skills."

Julius knew it wasn\'t smart to antagonize someone as strong as this man. But there were a couple of reasons for his behavior. For one, the man was being plain rude and Julius didn\'t appreciate someone treating him like that. Secondly, Julius didn\'t feel like the man was being hostile. Sure, he was being pressured by the strength of the man\'s sheer presence and Tier but there wasn\'t anything directly threatening about his actions. The same feeling in his gut that said he was dangerous, told Julius that that the man wasn\'t malicious to him. Julius believed that the man\'s face and presence were just really scary.

The man glared right back at Julius. For a moment Julius thought he was wrong and the man would actually evaporate him where he stood. So it was a relief when the man took a step back and chuckled, the scars on his face shimmered in the light. "Ah, such impudence in the face of death. You know how much stronger I am, yet you still are brave enough to act like this."

"I\'m not sure if you can call it bravery," Julius quietly mumbled and gave a nervous chuckle of his own. He was happy that he wasn\'t wiped off the face of the planet.

"Oh? If it\'s not bravery then what would you call it?" The scary old man asked in a sarcastic tone.

Julius outwardly winced. He looked up at the man who appeared to be waiting for his answer so he thought about it for a second. After a moment, he finally said, "Arrogance? Foolishness perhaps?"

The man didn\'t say anything to that, but Julius saw him nod his head. Then Dante looked at him and said casually, "At least you are aware of it. I can\'t say everyone would have such self-awareness. Just be careful, next time someone might actually take offense to your attitude."

Julius nodded awkwardly, he didn\'t know exactly what else he could have said in response.

"Okay, Julius. What do you want in return for telling me what that skill is?" Dante asked him with a smile that was an attempt at being comforting. It wasn\'t. The scars on the man\'s face made it seem more threatening and menacing than anything else.

"Sorry?" Julius was so distracted by the man\'s scary face that he didn\'t catch the entirety of his question.

"What do you want in return for you telling me your skill?" The man repeated patiently still wearing the frightening smile.

Julius took in his words and was a bit taken aback. He was a bit surprised that the man wasn\'t just squeezing it out of him, it would certainly be easier than exchanging something.

"Uh… I don\'t know," he finally said. He really didn\'t know what to ask for and was caught off guard by Dante\'s offer.

"You don\'t want anything?" Dante asked confused and almost disappointed in Julius.

"I can\'t just think of something on the spot like this," Julius defended himself.

"Okay, just think of something. It doesn\'t matter what it is," The older man told him.

Julius took another moment and thought hard. Eventually, he came up with a brilliant request. "Can you kill someone for me?" Julius asked hopefully.

"Kill someone for you?" Dante took a step back and took a closer look at Julius as if he suspected that there was something seriously wrong with him. "You didn\'t strike me as a particularly bloodthirsty child."

"Trust me, he deserves it," Julius assured him.

"No. If you want to kill someone, you can do it yourself. I don\'t care if he and the rest of his family deserve it," Dante flat-out denied Julius.

"I thought you said it didn\'t matter what it was," Julius pointed out. At some point, he was no longer feeling that same pressure that scared him earlier which is why he was being more casual with the scarred old man. He could also sense that the man was very interested in knowing what skill Julius had. Which meant he was in a position of power in this negotiation.

The man closed his eyes and had a frustrated look. He turned up to the sky and prayed like some god would come down and help him. "I meant something reasonable, not murder. Also, I am only asking about a skill. In what world is that an equivalent exchange?"

Julius shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, no deal."

The man pinched the bridge of his nose. "For Hell\'s sake. Okay, I will owe you a favor or request as long as it\'s within reason. This way you can take some time to think of one. Is that alright with you?" His deep voice was laden with frustration.

Julius pretended to think about it and eventually just reached out his hand. Dante sighed again and begrudgingly took it, giving it a firm shake, and almost crushing Julius\'s fingers within their grasp.

They had a deal. Julius smiled on the inside, knowing he had just swindled another favor from a stronger person for practically nothing.