251 Chapter 251: Embarking onto the Spiritual Road

"Ugh…I don't want to go."

I was staring at the email I had just received on my phone, feeling that familiar feeling of dread creep over me.

"No, I'm sure you want to."

"Whoa!"

I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard Vincent Violet speak out just behind me. Whirling around, I gaped at him, wondering when he arrived. Even then, it was a mystery why he sought me out specifically, given how I was still wandering aimlessly around the school corridors shortly after classes had ended.

Originally I had intended to go straight to the mission office to look for a relevant mission to help me in my war against the Assassins Guild. Damn, I made it sound so grand, but it was just me being delusional and pretending that my actions actually made any difference when in all honesty I was just doing this for my own self-satisfaction.

In any event, I was proceeding toward the mission office when my smartphone buzzed and informed me that I had just received a new email. And that email turned out to be the one that told me I was selected for the Spiritual Road training camp.

Now that I thought about it, today marked the end of the one week that the principal announced the qualifiers for the Spiritual Road. So it ended today, huh? Turned out that Dong Fang Yue Chu was right. Nobody was able to beat my artificially inflated score. I heard Craig tried to engage ten opponents as well, but he got his ass handed to him. His spear technique was devastating in one-against-one engagements, but quite frankly he was going to have trouble trying to fight multiple enemies at once. I was sure he had an anti-army technique where he threw his spear and obliterated an entire area, but that required his opponents to be stupid enough to clump up in the same spot for him to eliminate all at once. As it was, he got surrounded and was taken out by several spells to his back.

The successor to Ip Man he was not.

That didn't explain why Vincent Violet wanted to see me, though. I wondered if his visit was perhaps related to me topping the qualifiers by sheer dumb luck, but you know what they said about making assumptions.

"Sir?"

"Come with me for a bit."

Even though many readers were going to condemn me for being spineless for obeying an instruction from my principal and whine about how I just listen to other people and going along with whatever they tell me instead of…I don't know, doing whatever I want, I still followed him. No, I mean, seriously, why was hearing whatever Violet had to say considered "spineless"? Honestly, I didn't get some of the comments here.

Ignoring the whining from the right side of this story, I followed Violet to his office, and took a seat when he gestured at the chair opposite his desk. He plopped down on his couch and then leaned over to steeple his fingers and rest his chin on his hands.

"Richard, I am aware of what you're trying to do."

"What is it I am trying to do then?" I asked, trying not to sound too combative. Violet sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Ever since my daughter's death, you've been hunting down the Dark Church and the Assassins Guild with a vengeance. I'm not sure if you're trying to take revenge for Alicia, or if you've recognized their threat and seek to protect innocent people from their predations, especially since those nut-jobs aim to destroy the world, but you've been recklessly taking too many missions that are…quite frankly, above your pay grade."

"All of us start somewhere," I muttered. "And a few of them was taken alongside experienced veterans."

Such as Dad, or Anastasia, both of whom had a wealth of experience in dealing with killers and powerful organizations.

"You won't be able to continue if you end up dead." Violet pursed his lips as he studied me gravely. "Take a break for now, lay off the missions for a while and focus on practicing and honing your skills, getting your basics and foundation solid again."

"Yes, sir."

He had a point. I had been neglecting my basics for a while now and I needed to review my foundational spells and techniques again.

"I'm surprised," Violet admitted as he watched my reaction. "I expected you to protest or complain about this."

"No," I assured him. "You have a very valid concern. I believe my father shares the same opinion as you."

Lately Dad had forbidden me from following him on any other missions, citing my lack of experience and strength as the main factor. In more…relaxed missions, he would allow me to go along, but extended missions – particularly the ones overseas – were a no. he claimed that I was not prepared to go that distance yet.

"Get into university first and then we'll talk about it," he had told me. And now, not just Dad, but even Violet was saying the same thing.

I wasn't some arrogant youth who thought I was invincible or that I needed a chance or that the adults were suppressing me. Those sort of sentiments were bullshit and a hallmark of immaturity and impatience. And on the battlefield, impatience was what got you killed. The adults had good reasons for holding me back and I understood why. Similarly, I wasn't going to bring Adrian along on a monster-hunting trip even if he requested me to, because he simply was not ready and would most likely get in the way.

So I accepted their advice without any protests.

"Is there anything else, sir?" I asked, wondering if the principal will dismiss me. I was a little flattered that he would go through the trouble of calling out to me and explaining everything in his office, but that was quite the show of favoritism.

"Another thing," Violet added, to my surprise. He smiled grimly. "Another reason why you might want to participate in the Spiritual Road is…that there will be a possibility that the Assassins Guild will be present."

That caught my attention and I jerked up. "They are planning an attack? Are they targeting the students from the various academies participating in the Spiritual Road?"

"Not exactly." Violet pondered for a few moments, probably deciding how much he should tell me and how much information he should withhold. Not because he intended me any harm, but this was strictly confidential information, and he couldn't just tell me everything without permission or he would be breaking the trust of other people in the know, such as the intelligence agents who provided him the info. Or the higher-ups.

No, transparency wasn't the issue. The problem was that if you freely release information regarding your enemy, you make it so much easier for them to find out where all the leaks were coming from, and that would put your intelligence agents' safety and positions in jeopardy. This wasn't a simple manner of "that principal guy is a bastard for keeping some information from you!" Even I myself wasn't completely sure I would keep my mouth shut.

Fortunately, Violet's hesitation didn't last long.

"From what we know, the Assassins might be sending undercover agents to infiltrate the Spiritual Road training camp. Deceivum Assassins, possibly. More likely, they are sending their Assassin trainees to gain experience and obtain knowledge on the students, various academies, and the techniques they use. Perhaps they are preparing for eventualities where many of these students will become targets of assassination in the future."

I gulped. "Isn't that more of a reason for me not to go?"

"Don't be daft. They already know your fighting style and spells, having attacked you several times. On the other hand, you are the one who needs to know what sort of techniques the diverse sect of Assassins employ."

To be honest, I wasn't very enthusiastic about that, but Violet had a very valid point. Know your enemy and half the battle was won. The enemy certainly knew about me, but I probably only knew a very tiny fraction of their real strength.

"Furthermore, you don't have to worry because it seems that you're not their target this time." Vincent Violet's brow furrowed. "The Assassins seem to be targeting the sons and daughters of the ten great families. Such as Cecilia Stuart – you've met her and bested her before. I believe that Kureha Franklin is also a friend of yours? She will most likely be participating in this as well, along with a few of the other heirs and heiresses."

All of whom had absolutely nothing to do with me, as far as I was concerned.

Then it struck me that Violet might be sending me on this training camp for another purpose. Not only for a chance to take revenge on the Assassins Guild and obstruct whatever insidious schemes they might have cooked up, but also…

"You want me to protect these heirs and heiresses of the ten Great families?"

"Ha ha ha ha!" Violet roared in laughter, instigating a scowl from me. All right, getting that wrong was indeed embarrassing, but did he really need to laugh like that? Violet blinked away tears as he pounded on the table. "Those prodigies and geniuses don't need you to protect them!"

"…right." He had a point there, as much as I hated to admit it. Having seen both Cecilia and Kureha in action, I was aware that he was correct. Those geniuses were on an entire level. They certainly could take care of themselves.

"However, you're partially right. This is a chance for you. While the Assassin trainees are distracted with their powerful targets, you can hit them hard when they aren't looking at you. Make them regret ever thinking they could just ignore you and not place you in their eyes."

"No, seriously, I prefer to keep a low profile and not show up in their eyes at all." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. However, I smiled coldly. "That said, I appreciate the opportunity to strike back at them and ruin their schemes. Thanks for allowing me a shot at revenge."

"You're welcome." Violet's expression was stony. "I also have a stake in all this. They took my daughter away from me. I will pay them back, no matter what."

Even if he had to use a student as a tool to do so. Somehow I understood that. It was then I realized that this wasn't favoritism, and he didn't so much as favored me as he saw me as a weapon he could wield against his enemy. Employ me correctly and I could tear out the heart of the enemy. He knew he could rely on me because I shared the same grudge against a common enemy, and had a similar motivation to visit upon them their destruction.

"In any event, keep your eyes open and stay on your guard." Violet rose and reached to place a hand on my shoulder. "Don't do anything reckless. Your life and surviving should be your top priority. I already lost my daughter. I don't want to lose a student as well."

"Yes, sir. I'll do my best."

"I know you will." Violet beamed, his eyes gleaming malevolently as he savored the thought of our common enemy being destroyed. "I'll be counting on you, Richard."