Warpath had no objection to that rule. He also knew that his library of skills was a league behind Jackâs.
âWatch my swords!â Warpath yelled as the two swords in his hands became a blur.
âHoly shit! Shouldnât you yell ready first?â Jet scolded.
All of them were moving away to give the two some space, but Warpath just started the fight when they only took one step back. Now, they were jumping away so they didnât get hit by his swords.
Jack wasnât startled. He was ready. His feet make small movements. his body continuously shifted as Warpathâs shadowless slash arrived.
Warpath was frustrated. None of his lightning-quick slashes managed to touch Jack. Jack didnât even escape out of his scope. Jack remained within his slashing range, making only a small movement to dodge each slash without wasting much energy.
Jack could see Warpathâs sword technique had improved much since the last time they crossed swords. But unfortunately for Warpath, so was his.
Jack finally moved his hands. His swords met with Warpathâs swords. But instead of producing an impact, Jackâs swords followed Warpathâs swordsâ movements and let them flow, before coiling around them and accelerating the swordsâ movements. He then added force, forcefully redirecting Warpathâs swords in different directions.
This maneuver made Warpath lose balance. When Warpath regained his balance, he found Jackâs two swords were crossed in front of his neck.
The fight was over. Jack stored his weapons. Warpath just stood there in silence.
âIs that flowing sword style taught by Domon?â Warpath finally asked.
âIt is,â Jack answered.
âYour feet movement technique as well?â
Jack nodded and said, âJust so you know, Domon is my grandfather.â
A glint of surprise in Warpathâs eyes.
âBut even if he knows that your target is to defeat me, he will still teach you martial arts as long as you show enough martial talents,â Jack said before quickly adding, âAnd also as long as he doesnât consider you an evil person who uses martial arts to hurt others.â
âHmph, what makes you think Iâm not such a person?â Warpath harrumphed.
âYou might be an asshole in the past, but youâve changed,â Jack said. âOtherwise, these four wonât have followed you.â
Warpath glanced at his four companions who were looking back at him.
He finally said to them, âAll right, letâs join his guild.â
âYeah!â Suckit yelled. âWe are now members of the number one guild in Themisphere, dude!â
âBut donât expect me to follow your orders!â Warpath said to Jack.
âI rarely give orders in the guild. Donât worry, there will be others who give you orders,â Jack said and sent the five of them guild invitations.
âI canât say that Iâm not surprised,â Bowler came by and said. âI kinda expect him to attack you when you stored your swords.â
âHis old self might have done that. But as I said, he has changed,â Jack said.
âIâm not sure. I still canât get rid of his image that is cocky and selfish,â Bowler said.
âYou shouldnât label people like that. Everyone has a bit of everything inside themselves. We are complex human beings, not some one-dimensional novel characters. We cannot just label someone with good, bad, selfish, brave, or something like that. Let me give you an example. In real life, I once have a job in a factory. I have a boss who is very optimistic when it comes to the factoryâs ability to produce. Even if the factory is already overcapacity and the ordersâ lead time is too short, he was still optimistic that we can do it. So, in theory, we should call my boss an optimistic person, shouldnât we?â
âI guess so,â Bowler shrugged.
âOkay. Now, that same boss. When it comes to orders, he was the other way around. Even though our orders grew every single year for four years straight. But at the end of all those four years, he always expressed the same bloody concern. That the economy didnât look so good and the orders next year might be falling. Even when he had been proven wrong again and again, it never improved his confidence. He remained pessimistic about the orders for next year. So, is he an optimistic person or a pessimistic person?â
âUmâŠ,â Bowler couldnât answer.
âLater, I learn that all those were simply his tactic to deal with the business. He chose to be optimistic about production to push his factory workers to chase a quota more than their actual capacity. He chose to be pessimistic about next yearâs orders to push his marketing people to chase after orders and donât let them be lenient with that yearâs success.
âDo you see? As complex human beings, we adapt. We choose to act based on situations. The evilest dictator, who orders the death of an entire village filled with women and children, can also be the sweetest father and husband when he spends time with his family. The noblest and most kind-hearted person can be hiding a vile secret under his closet.
âThatâs why sometimes you feel surprised or maybe even betrayed when someone you thought you know very well behaves unexpectedly, but this happens all the time in real life. When it happens in a make-believe story, the readers or viewers will start throwing critiques like the character is out of character. That the writer has made a mistake or some shit like that.
âThe reality is, we canât label a real person like story characters. Most story characters are one-dimensional so it is easy for the readers to understand and follow, but real people arenât like that. There are a lot of grey areas. Even me. I might be brave most of the time. But put me in certain situations, and I can be a coward as well. Like the time when the world started turning. I had no idea what happened then. I was scared and did everything carefully.â
âWhat is this? A life lesson?â Warpath uttered. He and the others had accepted the guild invite. They were now officially members of Everlasting Heavenly Legends.
âWe are not here to listen to that shit. If you guys want to continue discussing garbage, we will leave first. Our target is to be the first group to reach the thirteenth floor.â
âIf thatâs your target, then follow us. I already know where the bossâ room is,â Jack said.
Warpath gave Jack a cynical look.
Responding to that look, Jack said to him, âYou can continue wandering around this floor aimlessly if thatâs what you prefer. But if you want to fight the boss, follow me!âđ§đđđđđ©đxt.đ°đ¶đ
Jack didnât wait for his answer. He gestured for Bowler and the others to move. They then ran away. Warpath and the four looked at one another before deciding to follow Jackâs group.
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