Disciple?
Grey’s lip twitched. When did this become one of those old Chinese movies? Couldn’t he say student or something?
Despite the thought, Grey laughed at himself inwardly. Even if he had said student Grey would have probably still made fun of him. The tone of it was just the same.
No one in Canada went around taking people under their wing like this, he wasn’t used to it. Even if you apprenticed under somebody for a blue collar job, or took a mentor for a niche white collar one, it was usually the student going after the teacher, not the other way around.
What did the old man even get out of this?
The thought made Grey’s eyes flicker. Indeed, there was definitely something the old man got out of it.
In the corporate or blue collar line, usually the mentor either got free labor or a cut of the profits the student made.
Here, if the mentor was actively looking for the student—though sometimes that did happen in Canada as well—there was definitely something to gain too, and maybe even more to gain than usual.
’Is this old man trying to sell me an online course or something?’
Grey wanted to agree, but he had just barely managed to get out of this loop, and he didn’t want to slot himself into some other impossible task right after.
The old man was kind, sure. But so was Baron Giyoto and Grey was pretty sure that that man wanted to kill him too.
’No rest for the wicked.’ Grey wracked his brains before he thought of a suitable response.
"Can you explain to me what that entails? Honestly, I don’t know anything about this."
The old knight laughed and didn’t seem very offended at all.
"There is no need to worry. If you would like to know what I gain from teaching you, I can simply tell you."
Grey coughed a bit uncomfortably. Damn. These old foxes were constantly getting the better of him. He wondered if those Producers that were always trying to ruin his life were also old foxes.
’Maybe I should stop liking old people so much. Too much trouble comes from wisdom.’
"Raising the future generation gives us old folk a better chance at gaining blessings from the Goddess. Your feats will shine down well upon me, and may even give me a chance to ascend to a greater height in the future. Plus, I don’t have much else to do these days."
Grey blinked and then nodded. "Okay, then I will humbly accept."
In the end, Grey agreed for probably three primary reasons.
The fact the old man answered his question at all was a good sign. Then there was the fact he was hoping the existence of the old man would finally stop Terran from suddenly jumping out and killing him whenever he wanted. And lastly...
For some reason, unlike when he awakened his Vampire Lord Frame, he didn’t get any notifications about new Abilities this time.
How could he have a Frame but no Abilities? The way Esmeralda spoke about it all, it felt like the Abilities and the Frame were one and the same. But now Grey had Abilities that had no Frame, and Frames with no Abilities.
It was odd.
If he could learn the reason from the old man, it would probably make things a lot easier for him in the future.
The old knight laughed heartily.
He raised his sword again and placed it down on Grey’s other shoulder. But this time, it felt like the blade was several times heavier, like something else had clicked into place.
—
[Relationship Formed]
—
[Disciple of Vanguard Holy Knight, Sir Edmun Trolley]
—
[You have received the Grace of a Holy Knight]
[Disciplehood Reward has been granted]
—
[+200 Free Stat Points Awarded]
—
[Name: Grey Temolt]
[Named Affiliation: Disciple of Sir Trolley]
—
[Frame: Prometheus]
[Frame: Magnetic Hero (Proving Class)]
[Frame: Vampire Lord (Proving Class)]
[Frame: Holy Knight (Proving Class)]
[Pending Quests: 2]
—
Stamina: 35/35
Sync Rate: 0.012%
Energy Reserve: 20.1/20.1
—
Sync Rate: N/A
Energy Reserve: N/A
—
Sync Rate: N/A
Energy Reserve: N/A
—
Sync Rate: N/A
Energy Reserve: N/A
—
STR: 33 (+15) SPD: 52
DEX: 77 (+50) INT: 61
END: 61 PER: 73 (+50)
—
Harmonic Stats: N/A
Free Stat Points: 289
—
Abilities:
Body
Resistances: Lv5 Iron Veil
Combat: Lv5 Heart Lance
Enhancements: Lv8 Metal Body; Lv8 Metal Digestion; Lv8 Metal Fusion; Lv5 Hemorrhagic Regeneration
Mind
Resistances: Lv8 Mental Fortitude; Lv4 Abyssal Anchor
Combat: Lv2 Magnetic Pull; Lv2 Magnetic Push; Lv3 Void Gaze
Enhancements: Lv6 Goblin Warlord Spirit; Lv8 Metal Affinity; Lv1 Magnetic Resonance; Lv7 Crimson Cognition.
—
"Holy shit..."
Honestly, Grey hadn’t used his original 89 Free Stat Points yet half because he was distracted into forgetting, and half because he was a bit paralyzed by choice.
But now he had had another 200 dumped on him. He hadn’t even gotten this much after killing the Vampire Lord and Esmeralda.
Granted, that was because he had split it with Amunet, but still. This was insane.
He looked up at the old man to find that he was smiling back knowingly.
"Do you like your greeting gift?"
Grey stood up from his knee with a grin. "You know, old man, if you could do that a few more times it would be great."
Edmun laughed uproariously. "Unfortunately, I cannot. I can only do such a thing once a year, and only for someone I have taken as a disciple."
"So what you’re telling me is that if I have more than one master..."
Edmun’s expression darkened. "Just try it."
Grey put his hands up in defeat. But then he noticed the sly grin on the old man’s face and he felt like he had been tricked.
"... I can’t get another one even if I wanted to, huh?"
The old man’s grin widened. "Not without my consent. Or unless that consent is beaten out of me. Good luck with that."
Grey sighed.
"Oh, and there’s one more thing."
This time Grey frowned first. He was really being scammed, wasn’t he?
"Those Free Stats aren’t just for show, they’re actually there to help you survive."
"Survive? Survive what?"
"Well, becoming a Knight is just a simple tap on the shoulders. Becoming a Holy Knight, however...?"
The old knight started to laugh again.
’Fuck me, I’ve been conned again. Where’s the kind old man? This is clearly a demon in sheep’s clothing.’