Chapter 89: I am Done Begging.
"Blind?"
"What is he talking about?"
"Is he trying to ruin his image as a payback?"
The candidates were the first to doubt Demetris’ insane claim, as they simply couldn’t fathom Levi being blind after everything he had achieved in the assembly.
It just didn’t sit right with them.
On the other hand, some nightcrawlers believed him immediately, their eyes widening in astonishment.
-Wait, is that you? Soulless Gaze? I have heard rumors about a blind kid with unbreakable mental in this region...-
-You kidding, that’s him?!-
-Haha, that’s him alright. I gave it a shot once to invade his dream, but I failed terribly...- A nightcrawler shaped like a monstrous sea lion with ten arms chuckled out loud.
Some of those nightcrawlers had visited Levi and recognized him the moment he stepped inside the Boundless Expense. However, they kept such information to themselves until the end of the assembly, curious about his next move.
Not in their wildest dreams did they anticipate watching him dominate the assembly... Especially when they had mocked him thoroughly for years for dreaming of becoming a Daywalker with them.
Hearing his voice, Levi smiled faintly. "Serli’on?"
"You remember me?"
"Of course. I remember all the nightcrawlers who paid me a visit in the past decade."
"Oho, don’t tell me you’re planning on getting revenge on us."
"Nope," Levi smiled. "None of you are worth the time."
"Still a calm asshole, I see," Serli’on chuckled, unbothered.
Meanwhile, Nurah, Demetris, Jojo, Melissa, Rayan, Omar, and the rest of the candidates were left speechless by their casual conversation, completely skipping over the elephant in the room.
"Blind? Soulless Gaze? Hold on a moment, can he really not see? Then how he did... and how he jumped... how... this is crazy!!"
The more Rayan and the others tried to picture a blind Levi passing through the trials, the more their brains short-circuited at how ludicrous it appeared.
His battles, his movement, his actions, all showed... Hold on a moment... as their minds went through the line of memories, pictures of Levi’s peculiar demeanor resurfaced.
His scoring one point and settling with it, the way his head almost always seemed to be facing anywhere but ahead, his superhuman hearing... picking up on the ancient whispers.
The dots all started to connect, creating a picture of a Levi, blind... but still dominating.
Still, the fact that he came first in the assembly made it even harder for them to accept.
"Is it true, Levi?" Melissa asked softly, after his friends ditched their positions and gathered around him.
"I am afraid it is."
Levi merely reached out to his leg and pulled his tightened pants around the ankle, exposing a black monitor.
The moment his friends and the candidates saw it, their eyes widened to the limit.
"Well, I’ll be damned..."
Nurah covered her lips, not expecting her weird feeling about Levi to be related to his blindness. But she kept watching from the sidelines in silence.
"First of all, Levi is indeed blind. I have checked on him myself and cleared him to continue his participation. Secondly, his condition is government-classified information, and none of you has the right to spread it."
Instructor Seraphis came to Levi’s rescue with a stern voice, not expecting Demetris to air his business in public.
"So, keep your mouths shut, and don’t think I won’t be able to find out if you were responsible for leaking his intel to the public... Astra is always watching you."
Instructor Seraphis wasn’t too bothered by the nightcrawlers, as the moment they entered his Boundless Domain, they were under strict terms to keep everything they saw or heard to themselves.
This was done for the safety and privacy of the newborn Daywalkers.
As for the candidates? They hadn’t signed any contract, and Instructor Seraphis didn’t have the right to have them sign anything.
Nocturnal Contracts must not be abused on civilians or low-ranked Daywalkers since each utilization devoured a tiny piece of their soul as payment.
For high-ranked Daywalkers, their souls were potent and rich enough to handle multiple payments without issue... but not theirs.
Hearing his warning, the candidates didn’t even care about spreading such an absurd secret, as they were still fighting off coming to terms with it.
"Now that the truth is out, does anyone have an issue with Levi retaking the light affinity trial to test his body’s affinity?" Instructor Seraphis narrowed his eyes coldly.
He asked for their input, but his threatening tone made them understand that he would love to have someone object. Even Demetris kept his mouth shut, his expression turning uglier by the second.
He didn’t expect to see Instructor Seraphis taking Levi’s side despite his condition. But when he saw the nightcrawlers’ expressions remain disappointed, a cold sneer broke on his face.
’You can have the instructor’s support all day long... no nightcrawler will ever choose a blind partner regardless of their talents...’ He eyed Levi from a distance.
Jojo and the rest of the candidates realized it too, after noticing that no nightcrawler seemed interested in Levi, even when he had the chance to retake the light affinity trial.
They knew that, regardless of how potent Levi’s body affinity was, it would never be as good as having eyes.
When Levi noticed this, his smile dropped.
Although Levi was already signed, he still wished to attract the attention of a different nightcrawler after knowing his condition... Especially when he had done so much in the trials.
Alas, life wasn’t fair...
"Sir, I don’t think it’s necessary to retry the trial," he said calmly. "I have already shown my capabilities. If any one of them finds them good enough, I will be more than welcome to have them as a partner. If not, then so be it."
"Levi..."
Jojo and the rest of his friends were left bewildered by his response, believing that he was making a grave mistake.
"Boy, this isn’t the place to have an ego."
Even Instructor Seraphis wasn’t pleased with him changing his decision. While he understood that Levi must hate being put in this position...where even his greatest talents weren’t enough to offset his disability, he still wished for him to get signed first. Then, he could do whatever he wanted.
"Sir, I have been beseeching a contract all my life," Levi smiled peacefully, "All I have gotten in return is mockery and abuse. I am done... I am genuinely done with begging anyone for anything anymore."
"I know my worth, and if anyone wants to sign me, they have to take a risk."
Instructor Seraphis, the candidates, and the nightcrawlers went silent as they gazed at Levi leaning against his staff for support, with his head tilted slightly upward.
He said nothing more, but they could feel that he truly had no plans of putting any more effort into getting signed. If the nightcrawlers wanted him, they had to take a risk on his body’s light affinity being decent.
’What a fool...no nightcrawler is that retarded to...’
Before Demetris could finish his thought, a sudden, wicked voice resounded in everyone’s ears.
"That’s it, boy... know your worth and never beg. For that attitude alone, I will take you in."
Following the source of the voice, the candidates’ eyes skimmed past the gathering of undecisive nightcrawlers until they landed on a small floating black ball of fur, flapping its tiny wings toward Levi.
When he stopped and landed on top of Levi’s head, he turned and gazed at them coldly.
"Didn’t your mama teach you not to gawk at monsters?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Jojo, Rayan, Demetris, Omar, Kiera, and the rest of the candidates were left utterly speechless at the sight of a cute one-eyed bat staring at them menacingly... but its cuteness made it funnier than it should be.
’Tier 5? Who is he? Kral’Sho? I have never heard of such a name before... Is this his first time taking part in our region’s assembly?
While most candidates were holding in their laughter, Instructor Seraphis’ expression turned stern and a bit hopeful after picking up on Ash’Kral’s powerful spiritual aura.
’His identity doesn’t matter... contract does...’
"Kral’Sho, if you are sure about your decision, you may leave with Levi to discuss the contract terms. You have twenty-four hours before submitting the decided contract to me."
"I have never been more sure in my life."
Ash’Kral smirked as he tapped Levi’s hair, seemingly patting him for doing such a good job in the assembly.
While Levi felt appreciated, he didn’t break off character as he still needed to sell their fake contract...Even his previous refusal to retake the trial was for the sake of it.
He might have meant every word of it, but he didn’t do it purely due to his wounded pride. He wanted to leave his body’s affinity a mystery, which would help hide his cultivation speed.
"How about you, Levi?"
"I am about to find out."
Levi smiled at everyone, then walked to the apartment complex with Ash’Kral resting on his head.
Meanwhile, Demetris and the candidates kept staring at his back in disbelief, feeling like they were thrown into an alternate universe... one where blindness wasn’t a death sentence for anyone’s aspirations to become a Daywalker.
Otherwise, what could explain this?
’Am I dreaming... or is a blind person going to become a Daywalker before me...?’
’If this gets out... I would never be able to live it down...’
’What in god’s name is going on...?’
Those ludicrous thoughts coursed through the minds of all candidates with no nightcrawler around them, feeling smaller than side characters in a badly written story...Irrelevant and forgettable.
Only now did they find out how it felt to be at true rock bottom.