The Good Teacher

Guy coughed and smiled wryly after hearing Goran's question.

'How am I going to answer that?'

He could say yes and agree with whatever Al just said before. But was it the right thing to do?

'Al is literally stretching my BS story to its limits by deriving such a conclusion...' Guy thought to himself.

But then something struck him.

'Wait a minute! This whole interaction... The misunderstanding... A character showing his ignorance after performing a feat that most would consider extraordinary or downright impossible...'

Guy's eyes widened in shock.

'No. Way! Did I just lie so convincingly that I actually materialised my own system-slash-cheat-slash-goldenfinger?'

In some ways, there was truth to that statement. If Guy hadn't dug his own grave by forming a nonsense story about Homo Sapiens and the like, he wouldn't have aroused Al's unbending curiosity. And if he hadn't aroused Al's curiosity, he wouldn't have had to dig further and formulate a lie to cover up the earlier lie, for which he even had to resort to reading cult literature. If he hadn't read those abominable texts, his RoK wouldn't have formed an offshoot and spawned the ominous Church.

'Who knew that the whole concept of "Manifesting" those two-bit motivational speakers exhorted about would actually work?!'

This new segment to his soul, as Mast called it, was a thorough mystery since neither Guy nor Mast had an inkling of its functionality or raison d'être. According to Mast, it was a side effect that resulted from Guy's fervent absorption of insights that ran counter to his core. Usually, such actions would have resulted in a cultivation deviation, but the RoK had intervened in some ways. After all, the RoK wasn't originally a part of Guy's soul either.

However, even with all the weird things The Church brought him, Guy was kind of grateful for its existence. After using it on multiple occasions, and learning of its various uses gradually, Guy had come to view it with more respect.

(You are being quite rash about all of this. 'The Church', as you put it, is unfamiliar and completely unexplored territory, for both of us. I want you to let that sink in. Even I, a being much, much more ancient than this world you are in, have absolutely no idea about what that thing is. I shouldn't even be letting you live with it inside you. It's like a time bomb, waiting to explode, taking us both down in the process.)

'Why are you being so cautious all of a sudden. Weren't you the one to make the risky play by bringing me into this world?' Guy retaliated.

(It may come across as such to you, but everything was within the boundaries of my plan. But this! This is out of my control. Not within the realms of my plan.)

'It hasn't done anything precarious yet-'

(Yet! It is only a matter of time.)

'Then why don't you just take it out of me?'

(It is a part of your soul now. I can't tamper with it without damaging your soul in the process. Are you willing to go through with the procedure?)

'Umm... Are there any adverse effects?'

(Best case, you lose a chunk of your identity and warp in some way. Worst case, total annihilation,) Mast answered monotonously.

'Let's not do that then.' Guy received a second life and a second opportunity to pursue Grace. He was satisfied.

'Guess I'll limit my use of The Church then?'

Interestingly, while before this internal conversation would have taken just as long in reality as it had in Guy's mind, after advancing to Foundation Establishment, Guy benefitted with some perks. One of the more prominent of which was a marginal increase in mental faculties. Guy could think a bit faster, and process information flowing through his mind more quickly. One must note that not all mages enjoyed such boosts equally. Their cultivation tended to skew these perks accordingly. For instance, a swordsman cultivator's mind would process combat sequences more quickly as opposed to formulating internal debate simulations. Thankfully, Guy's cultivation happened to boost his mind in the latter.

So barely a few seconds had passed since Goran asked the question by the time Guy terminated his internal dialogue. After centring himself, Guy spoke with an uncertain tone, "I guess so."

"That's amazing! Truly fortuitous," Goran replied, nodding in approval.

"It would have been an even more fortuitous opportunity to get to know exactly who the Ascended mage was, though," Al added.

"Agreed. Although I haven't personally witnessed the wonderful things encapsulated within the inheritance. I believe it must have been a veritable treasure seeing just how much Al over here has been gushing about you the entire time we were travelling to this village," Goran said with a smile.

Al coughed and nudged Goran with his elbows causing everyone present to laugh mirthfully.

"Anyways, while I understand that there's a lot of things left for us to talk about, there's time for that. You see, Guy, we actually came here with a purpose. Goran?" Al started.

Goran nodded and gestured towards Jean, who stood up and walked towards Guy.

"Teacher Larks. As a father, I only have one wish and that is to see my precious girl live a happy, fulfilling, healthy, and long life. It may not sound like much, but it means the world to me. And it is for that reason that I implore, no beg of you to take her in as a personal student, and raise her just as you have done with Markus," Goran sat on his knees and lowered his head respectfully.

Jean followed her father and prostrated herself, albeit in a much lower stance to emphasise her show of respect.

Guy jumped to his feet and rushed to lift Goran, "Please, Mister Rasmus. Don't do this! You're putting me in a tough position by acting like this."

"This is what I must do, Teacher Larks. You should know by now that I am in the Core Condensation realm. I will surely live for a very, very long time. It may sound selfish, but I don't want to outlive my daughter. No parent should have to bury their child. I've already had to bury my wife, I'm afraid my heart cannot handle the loss of my precious little girl." As Goran finished, his voice wavered as a wave of emotions gushed out.

"Father..." Jean uttered as she grasped Goran by his sleeve in distress.

Goran raised his other sleeve and dabbed his wet eyes. "You're the only one who can help my daughter, Teacher Larks. I am willing to give up anything for it!"

Guy was thoroughly shaken by the gargantuan man's open display of emotion. Not many men would be so comfortable with themselves to express themselves so outwardly. Furthermore, the man was willing to put everything of his on the line for his daughter. Such a selfless expression of love and emotion increased Goran's standing in Guy's eyes by many levels.

Guy smiled bitterly before probing with a question, "You must have already consulted a vast number of teachers prior to this, right?"

To which Goran nodded while pursing his lips. Guy exhaled loudly and continued.

"Pardon my frankness, but what gives you the confidence that I can achieve something that even those greater and more renowned than I have failed to do?"

Goran laughed out loud, his tone washed with self-deprecation. "I want to say that it's a gut feeling of mine. But that would be an insult to you. You are a skilled teacher. I can see it- I can feel it! Truthfully though, I am left with no other option. You are my final hope, Teacher Larks," Goran replied. He then patted Jean's shoulder and urged her forward.

Jean bowed once again and said, "Please. This one implores Teacher Larks to accept her as his student."

"You don't have to do this, Jean," Guy interjected immediately. "I don't require any elaborate, or over-the-top displays of subservience and sincerity. All that matters to me is your willingness to partake and learn from me. In fact, in this venture, we will be equals. I will learn from you just as you will learn from me. I don't need you to believe everything I say - I'd prefer it if you were critical - I don't need you to agree with everything I say - I encourage healthy debate and discussion. However, I need you to be honest. With me, and with yourself. I need you to be open. With me and with your peers. And finally, I need you to be compassionate. With me, yourself, and everyone else around you."

Guy wore a warm smile and spoke to Jean directly, "Jean Rasmus, are you prepared to accept these responsibilities?"

Jean wore a firm expression and affirmed out loud, "I am prepared, Teacher Larks!"

Guy reached over and patted Jean's shoulder. "You are now my personal student. Seeing as Markus came before you he is, by default, your senior as per custom. Don't bother calling him that, though. He's the same age as you, and I don't want this brat to grow conceited."

He looked towards Goran and added, "I can promise you that I will do everything within my power to help your daughter in her pursuit of magic. However, although I faced success with Markus, I cannot guarantee anything. I hope you can keep that in mind. This does not mean that I will give up after my first failure. I am not that kinda Guy."

Guy chuckled at his own pun and continued, "I will try again, and fail again, until I am successful, and believe me I will succeed!"

The atmosphere in the room started to boil in excitement at Guy's affirmative declaration. It was partly a result of his hot-blooded resolution, and also partly because of the ambient mana fluctuations as a result of his subconscious emotional outbursts.

This was enough to convince Goran, and the man could feel a massive weight being lifted off his shoulders. One could visibly see that man growing mirthful and more excited by the minute as if he were regaining his youth once again.

Al smiled at the turn of events, but quickly snapped his fingers, "Right then! Since this is out of the way. We need to talk about our accommodations."

Guy raised his eyebrows in confusion, "Accommodations?"

"Of course! Jean, Josie and I will be staying here while you teach Jean."

"I get that Jean and her attendant need to stay here, but why do you?"

"Why not?" Al retorted shamelessly.

"That... isn't a valid answer..." Guy muttered in disbelief.