Chapter 3 - Mysterious Skinny Man

Asil went straight into his own residence after leaving his father's side. His residence was very similar to that of his father. There wasn't much in it, and it was quite far from ostentatious. Even though he had no profound power, as the Clan Leader's son, he could have easily lived in a place that is far better than here. But he didn't want to live off his father's title. He was a man who would rather die than live by his father's name.

Every time Asil Mirza looked at the place he lived in, he thought the same thing...

I might be the Clan Leader's son. My family might be rich. I might have a father who would protect me and grant my wishes. But even so, I must live by my own labor. Because if I down, I will never be as strong as those who are in worse conditions than me.

That thought was very important to him. To him, challenges would strengthen a person, and there were people in this world who were in a more difficult situation than him. No matter how harsh was his conditions, he wanted to get out of this on his own.

Asil looked around himself upon arriving where he lived. Although he had 4 hours to prepare, he had nothing to prepare. At first, he did not understand the reason for this much time, but when he gave it some thought, he found it. Even though he was worthless in the clan, many came to make fun of him every day. If he disappeared for 4 hours without a reason, that would have drawn attention.

Since the things were the way they were, Asil Mirza decided to wait till the time was short and go to the Pine Forest where the Lake of Life was located.

As always, he began watching the skies while waiting since he had nothing much to do. He didn't know why, but he had an urge to keep looking at the sky. And that urge was not something to be underestimated. It was as if this urge was something that came from the depths of his soul. He felt as if there was something very important to him beyond the sky. 3 hours passed in the blink of an eye. During this period, 2-3 people came to mock and make fun of him as he expected. When it was 1 hour away from the opening time of the Lake of Life, Asil finally left his residence and set out for the Pine Forest behind the clan.

No more than 15 minutes on foot between his residence and the Pine Forest. But Asil extended the path to not let anyone know he was gone and reached the forest for about 55 minutes.

The Pine Forest was a quite quiet and safe place where rabbits and other harmless animals lived. Thus, even people like Asil who had no profound power could go to the Pine Forest without fear. Normally there would be people coming to the Pine Forest, but since there would be people coming from Meteor City tomorrow, people did not bother to come here which made it very easy for Asil.

After about 10 minutes of walking, Asil reached the depths of the forest where normally people could not go further. Asil looked ahead and muttered to himself. "If my father's words are true, the entrance to the Lake of Life must have been opened about five minutes ago. So if I move forward now, I need to be able to go to the Lake of Life without any trouble... I'm not getting anywhere thinking like that. It's best to try and learn. If the words of our ancestors are true, then I really can have profound power like everyone else. If they're not real, I'll live the same life. I have nothing to lose."

After murmuring to himself, Asil took a deep breath and took a step forward. He was excited enough to feel his chest explode after his first step. Because he actually took a step forward. One step doesn't mean much to most people, but that one step was very important to him right now. Because this step was proof that his father's and the ancestor's words were true.

If I can get through here, then it is true what our ancestors said about this place opening for only 1 hour in 200 years. And if those words are true, it should also be true that one sip from the Lake of Life can heal all physical or mental illnesses!

Asil's eyes flashed after thinking about these and he charged forward to the lake. He was running faster than usual he is at the moment because a piece of hope flamed inside his heart and gave him strength. Since Asil never heard of anyone reaching this far into the forest, he did not know if this place was dangerous or not. But that didn't really matter right now. The most important thing for him was to go to the lake and take the first sip without trouble.

After a short run, Asil finally arrived at the Lake of Life with bated breath. With a deep breath, he tried to regulate his breathing and then looked carefully towards the Lake of Life. Within a second, his eyes were about to pop out of his head, he did not know what to think. What he saw gave him the greatest surprise he had ever experienced in his life.

There was a small lake in front of his eyes, which was visible to the bottom due to the clarity of the water in it. On top of this view, blended with the smell and image of Water Lilies of various colors found on the water of this small lake, the rather relaxing aura emanating from the water of the lake created a rather difficult image to describe. It was so beautiful and relaxing that almost everyone in the world would want to live here. But what Asil was baffled by was something else rather than the scenery...

This cannot be! I must be dreaming it is impossible!

Those were Asil's first thoughts. He didn't want to believe what he saw, but even though he denied that image in his mind, he knew what he saw was real. By the lake, there was a skinny man in his 40's or 50's who wore a messy dress and had hair which was as messy as his clothes. But that was not the most shocking thing. The most shocking thing was that this man drank from the water of the lake like a wild animal who had not had water in years!

Asil was in no condition to know what to do at the moment. Thanks to his father, he had a great chance today that only came once in 200 years, but that chance that could change his life was destroyed by the man he now faces. He was dazed and edgy, but he controlled himself by waiting for a while and calmed down. After he calmed down, he thought in his heart:

No need to be angry. After all, this man has done nothing wrong. He is just a guy who was in the right place at the right time and drank the water because of his thirst. So, it was not my destiny to drink from this Lake's water and be healed.

A normal person would get angry in a situation like this, yell at the other man or attack him, but Asil was not the kind of person who would easily surrender to an urge that tells him to harm the other man. He then sighed and headed towards the man drinking water by the lake. The skinny man leaped 2-3 steps from where he was when he heard someone approaching him and looked at the Asil with a strange expression. After a brief glance, Asil spoke. "Sir, may I know who you are? This is the sacred site of our clan, and as for the water you drink, it is the water of our clan's sacred lake. This is an area where people who are not from our clan are not allowed to enter, so if you came here by mistake, it would be better for you to leave before some of our clan members find you. If they see you breaking in here without permission, they can catch you and punish you. "

He was only thinking about the other man's life even though his hopes have vanished. However, he felt odd looking at this man. He did not know the reason why, but this skinny guy way giving him the feeling that he did not belong in this world. This indescribable feeling was exacerbated when the man looked at him.

The skinny man squinted and smiled awkwardly and then spoke, laughing like a madman: "Hahahaha. You are really funny, young man. No one can catch me. By the way, where exactly am I and who are you?"

Asil was surprised at the way the man spoke. The person he was facing looked pretty skinny and weak, but he was talking really large. There was also some sign of insanity in his tone and behavior. Asil's first impression of this man was that he was a lunatic. Not only him, but anyone who saw this man for the first time could have had that impression.

Asil gave the man a perplexed look and then spoke respectfully as if he was speaking with a normal elder: "Sir, I am a member of the clan here. Although you have confidence in yourself, there are many powerful people in our clan. It could really be bad for you if they see you here without permission."

The skinny guy laughed and talked like a madman again. "Hahahaha. If your clan is so powerful, why didn't you do anything to me when I entered your sacred territory? Besides, I didn't ask you where you came from, I asked you who you were. Do you talk to your elders around here without introducing yourself?"

The skinny guy's tone was crazy, but his words had truth in them. Asil really needed to introduce himself. After all, in a world where the power is everything, the aura emanating from his body, no matter how skinny the man looked, showed that he was beyond the elementary profound realm. So Asil knew he was definitely stronger than himself.

"Sir, I am an insignificant person in our clan who has no Profound Power. My name is Asil, the surname is Mirza. I am a member of the Mirza Clan that's famous around here. Even if I do not know where you come from or who you are, it would be really dangerous for you to stay here for so long. While no one in the clan has noticed you, it would be best if you left."

The skinny man repeated his mad laugh and spoke. "Hahahaha. Young man, you're really funny, but you're also arrogant. So, you are one of those people who think you're strong enough to be insignificant. Well then, insignificant Asil... "After talking all the way here, as if something had suddenly come to his mind, the skinny man's facial expression changed, and he soon continued to speak with his bewildered face: "What did you just say? Did you say the Mirza Clan? You're from the Mirza Clan!?

The change in the skinny man's tone and facial expression surprised Asil. Normally, people who hear the name of their clan do not react like that. But his astonishment was lost when he thought the skinny man had just figured out the situation, he was in.

Asil looked at the skinny man in a helpful manner and spoke sincerely: "Yes, I am one the Mirza Clan. Judging from your reaction, you have just figured out the situation you are in. As I said earlier, it is best if you leave here before it is too late."

The skinny man spoke as if he had not heard Asil's words and spoke strangely: "So you are from Mirza Clan. This means that... I'm really lost. I've never heard of the Mirza Clan before. What exactly is this Mirza Clan you're talking about, big or small? Hahaha. It doesn't really matter, though. Let's put aside these little matters, young man. What I'm really curious about is why you felt sadness in your heart when you first looked at me."

Asil did not know how to react upon hearing skinny man's words and seeing the expression on his face. Sometimes the guy was laughing like crazy, sometimes he was doing things that weren't his age, sometimes he was being serious. But despite all that, he was quite a mystery to Asil at the moment. After all, he was able to feel the sadness inside Asil's heart even though he does not know how. Asil was in between whether, to tell the truth, or not, after thinking about this for a while, he made up his mind and spoke. "Sir, I am not supposed to tell you this, but I have a feeling says "You should tell him". Asil paused for a while and continued to speak honestly. "As I have said before, I do not have profound power, and that this is the sacred territory of Mirza Clan. The reason this area is sacred is that it only opens once in 200 years, and the first sip of the holy water of the lake heals all physical or mental illnesses. I came here hoping to fix myself and get stronger as everyone else. But when I arrive here... " Asil had only spoken so far. Because what he said so far explained everything. But there was one thing he forgot...

And that was the skinny man here was an unpredictable lunatic!

The skinny man looked at him with curious eyes and spoke words that baffled Asil: "What happened when you get there? Hey, young man, why did you stop in the most exciting part? Ow... Did I just drunk the water you were after?"

Asil was in a quandary. He could not know whether the man was just lunatic or if he was making fun of him. Because all of the man's actions and expressions were extremely realistic. If he were to feel any unnatural behaviors, he could have lost his self-control. He looked into the eyes of the man, examined his behaviors again, and thought in his heart:

Either he is acting like this on purpose to see my reactions, or he is really like that. If he's really like that, then I shouldn't get angry and lose my temper, but, he didn't do anything wrong. And if he is just checking out my reaction by acting like that... Then I must be extremely careful. After all, someone who can act like this so naturally cannot be an ordinary person. Besides, him feeling the sadness inside my heart supports this possibility.

Asil's thoughts were things that most people would not have thought of in such a situation. When someone's hopes vanished, it would eventually make that person emotionally weak and this weakness would make one overreact against even the slightest of things. And if someone who is in a situation like this is treated in this way, that person would definitely have a hard time controlling himself and thinking rationally.

Asil smiled and looked at the skinny man, spoke in a patient manner: "Yes sir, as you thought, the water you drank was the water I wanted. I came here to take the first sip of the lake's water, yet when I arrived here, you were already here and had taken the first sip. As disappointed as I am, there is nothing I can do about it. After all, you did not come here to take the first sip on purpose. That is to say that it was not in mine but in your destiny to drink the first sip from the water."

After Asil's words were finished, the skinny man's expression became serious again and he spoke in a wise tone: "Young man, although I did not come here to take the first sip on purpose, as you said, I destroyed your hopes of becoming stronger by drinking this water. But, don't you worry, I will repay you one day for destroying your hopes. And, on the other hand, I will give you a secret that you will never hear from anyone in your life. In all likelihood; no one other than me knows this secret, and when I tell you, you will be the second to know it. As for what you should do after learning this... That is entirely up to you."

Asil knew that what the man was about to say is most likely something bizarre, yet he still waited for the man to speak. After a pause of about ten seconds, the skinny man pouted and spoke disappointingly: "young man, you're a really weird one. Why are you looking at me seriously? Why don't you wonder and ask me what the secret is? Pfff, anyway, since you didn't ask, I'll tell you. It is a special secret that only I know... The first sip of this lake's water is really salty..."

Although Asil thought for a while that this man was not ordinary or this skinny man told these words very seriously, he lost his temper for a brief moment and in this brief moment, he was about to punch the skinny man in the face. But after that brief moment, he clenched his teeth and held his nerve and restrained himself.

This man is really checking my reaction. It does not matter how long I have been controlling myself, there is no guarantee that I will be able to control myself any longer. And I am not sure what will happen if I lose my self-control. But something tells me it's definitely not going to be good. Even though this man does not look and feel stronger than my father or the other elders in my clan, he feels incomparable to them. I should get going before it is too late...

With these thoughts in his mind, Asil managed to cool himself down and spoke in a contained manner. "Sir, thank you for sharing this secret with me. Hmm... Sir, I need to go urgently. As I was speaking with you, I completely forgot that the people of the Meteor City are coming to The Star Plain and that all the clan members are preparing for it. And as a member of the clan, I need to help them. So please excuse me. "

Asil greeted the skinny man with respect and then ran away from there. The skinny man watched him walk away with his eyes shining with a mysterious light inside him, and when Asil got out of his sight his expression suddenly changed and became serious. He soon smiled mysteriously and spoke to himself: "Interesting! This kid is really interesting. He surely understood that I was checking out his reactions and all that time, he was able to endure a situation that most people would easily lose their control. And when he reached his limit, he left with a proper excuse. Hahaha! I'm really glad this kid can control himself. It would be a shame that such a young man would have to die so early if he could not help but punch me in the face..."

After talking to himself, the skinny man suddenly disappeared and left a great silence behind as he had never existed there....