Aurelius had finished his story, and Sirius truly understood why Aurelius had reacted that way after the death of his son. Aurelius had talked for three hours straight, yet he was still discussing with Sirius and answering all his questions.
"Grandfather, what exactly are the Realms in martial arts you mentioned?"
"There are five martial arts Realms for each Boundary. The martial arts Realms for the Human Boundary are as follows:
Self vision.
Completion.
Echo of Resolve.
Crimson Step.
Pinnacle.
I have no idea what the Realms of the Lord and King Boundaries are, but they're not that important, since almost no one succeeds in reaching those Realms."
Aurelius took a slight pause and continued:
"Each of these Realms has four minor stages, known as Early, Mid, Late, and Peak. One can only reach a new Realm after reaching the Peak of the previous one. I'm currently at the Late stage of the Completion Realm. I was once at the Peak, but because I stopped, I lost my Realm. It will be easier to regain it, though."
Sirius kept asking more questions about martial arts, clearly interested.
"I've read that a martial artist should never speak about their Realm. Why is that?"
"Because once someone hears about a Realm above their own, it can create a mental block, a huge wall between them and that next stage. They have to reach it on their own, otherwise they'll lose their enlightenment."
"How many martial artists are there in the world? How rare is it to find someone at the Echo of Resolve Realm, for example?"
"Anyone can practice martial arts, but only about one in fifty people actually do, because there are other jobs, or simply because it's too hard, so they quit.
As for how rare each Realm is… about one in ten martial artists reach the Self Vision Realm. You can be a martial artist without reaching it; everyone below Self Vision is called a novice. For the Completion Realm, it's something like one in four hundred martial artists. It's uncommon, but you can still find one fairly easily if you search. I think Completion is the last Realm that's truly reachable without talent.
The Echo of Resolve Realm is about one in a ten thousand. They're rare, but still findable if you search hard enough. But it's totally different for the Crimson Step Realm. There are fewer than a thousand Crimson Step martial artists in the entire Ash Realm. Many people live their entire lives without ever seeing one.
As for the Pinnacle Realm... we know exactly how many exist in the Ash Realm. Thirteen. Only thirteen people have reached the Pinnacle of the World, and they are all human."
Sirius was dazzled. Thirteen people... That's such a small number. With a population of over a billion, only thirteen had made it. How difficult is it? And that's supposed to be the easiest requirement to ascend?
"Why do you know exactly who those thirteen people are? How can you be sure there aren't more?"
"Because they are all publicly recognized, as the glory of humanity, and as the blades destined to slay the other races. We know their names and their faces. If we ever see them, we are to bow respectfully."
"You mentioned you were in the mercenary guild. What are the ranks there? I assume there are different ranks based on skill?"
"It's not really based on skill, but on power. Novice martial artists are ranked D, and each martial arts Realm gives one higher rank. So Self Vision martial artists are C-rank, and Pinnacle martial artists are SS-rank. Each rank grants you different prestige. D and C ranks are everywhere, so the badge doesn't mean much. But if someone wears a B-rank badge or higher, they're highly respected, and no one would dare harm them."
"Also, the rank determines what quests you can take. You can only take quests that are your rank, one below, or one above. So a S-rank mercenary can't take a C-rank quest, for example."
Sirius had asked everything he wanted to know about martial arts. But other questions remained.
What are friends…? I've read this word many times, but I still don't understand it. What is it?"
"It's when you are close to another person. For example, Lea was a friend of mine before we fell in love."
"Then what is love?"
"I can't answer that. Everyone has their own answer. When you love someone, everything will become clear to you. Then you'll know what love truly is."
Aurelius and Sirius talked for several more hours. Sirius had many questions, about life, professions, relationships.
Aurelius answered every one of them. It was his first happy moment in the past eleven years. He was happy to see Sirius's curiosity, and to finally have a normal conversation with him.
It had been very hard for Aurelius to take this step, to finally leave his room and face Sirius. He had questioned himself many times. He hated himself. He had wanted to die. Yet he took this step because he had to be someone Sirius could count on. Someone trustworthy for this child, who had been alone his whole life. Maybe it was already too late, but he would definitely keep his promise, and answer every question Sirius asked. After all, this child was the last person in his life, he had to cherish him.
"Sirius, I have a question for you too."
"What is it, grandfather?"
"Do you want to become a martial artist? To become someone respected everywhere?"
Sirius thought about this question for about twenty minutes. It wasn't simple to answer, after all, his choice would change his life, and he had no idea what he truly wanted. Yet he made a decision.
"Yes. Yes, I want to become a martial artist. But not for the reason you mentioned. I want to become someone who protects others. I don't care about being respected. But if I can save just one life… if I can succeed where you failed… then every effort I make will be worth it."
Some might think it was disrespectful toward Aurelius, but it wasn't. The meaning behind those words was clear: Sirius would do everything he could to protect the people he loved.
And so Aurelius smiled. From now on, he would teach Sirius everything he could, and hope this child would live a good life.