2025-12-27 06:03:01The smile stayed on Asta's face even as heat crept up his neck. He wasn't embarrassed exactly,more resigned. Of course Kael would single him out, even without naming him directly.
The old man had spent countless hours trying to coax the dragon flame out of Asta's stubborn body, and they both knew how spectacularly those attempts had failed. But Asta had excelled at everything else,the sword work, the hand-to-hand combat, the tactical drills. That had to count for something, didn't it?
Old man Kael's gaze moved on, and Asta released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The old man's expression softened slightly as he continued addressing the crowd.
"But I want you all to understand something important."
Kael said, his voice growing stronger, more passionate.
"Difficulty is not the same as defeat. Struggle is not the same as failure. Every single person in this room has faced challenges,that's why you're here in the labor section instead of in some prestigious squad, right?"
A few bitter laughs echoed through the crowd, but Kael pressed on, undeterred.
"But you know what? I've trained soldiers, elite guards, royal flame wielders, and I can tell you with absolute certainty,some of the strongest people I've ever met started exactly where you are now. At the bottom. Struggling. Doubting themselves."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"The difference between those who rise and those who don't isn't talent. It isn't a natural ability. It's not even how powerful your flame is or what prestigious clan you come from."
Kael's hand came up, forming a fist that he held high in the air.
"It's this! It's determination! It's the refusal to give up even when everything and everyone tells you that you should! It's waking up every single morning and choosing to try again, even after you've failed a hundred times before!"
His words hit Asta right in the chest, resonating with something deep inside him. Around him, he could see others straightening, lifting their heads, expressions shifting from resigned to something more hopeful.
"You think the elite squads have it easy?"
Kael continued, his voice rising.
"You think Cassian Xavier and his people never struggle, never doubt, never fail? They do! Everyone does! The only difference is they've learned to push through it, to use their failures as fuel instead of letting them become chains!"
"Yeah!"
Someone shouted from the back of the crowd, and suddenly more voices joined in.
"That's right!"
"Tell them, Old Man Kael!”
The energy in the room was shifting, becoming electric. Asta felt it washing over him, felt his own spirits lifting despite the weight of his repeated failures with the dragon flame.
"So when you face your next challenge."
Kael said, his voice dropping slightly but losing none of its intensity,
“When you hit that wall that seems impossible to climb, when you fail at something you've tried a thousand times,I want you to remember that every failure is a lesson. Every setback is preparation for your comeback. Every moment of struggle is forging you into someone stronger than you were before!"
"Yes!"
The crowd was responding now, feeding off Kael's energy, voices rising in agreement and encouragement.
"Can I count on you all to keep pushing, keep fighting, keep believing in yourselves?"
"Yes!"
The response was thunderous now, hundreds of voices united in affirmation.
"Can I count on you to support each other, to lift each other up when someone falls?"
"Yes!"
Even louder this time. Asta found himself shouting along with everyone else, his fist raised in the air, his heart pounding with renewed determination.
"Then show me! Show the entire academy! Show everyone who's ever dismissed you or underestimated you what the labor section is really made of!"
The crowd erupted, cheering, shouting, whistling. The noise was deafening, filling the quarters and probably echoing throughout the entire complex. Asta was grinning now, genuinely grinning, the smile reaching his eyes for the first time in weeks.
Around him, people were clapping each other on the back, exchanging excited looks, feeding off the collective energy that Kael had sparked.
Old Man Kael stood on the platform, letting the moment build, a satisfied smile on his weathered face.
He raised his hands gradually, calling for quiet, and slowly the noise began to die down, though the energy remained, crackling in the air like lightning waiting to strike.
"Now."
Kael said once he could be heard again, his tone shifting to something more serious.
"I have an announcement to make. And I'm sorry to say, it's not entirely good news."
The mood shifted immediately, excitement giving way to tension. Murmurs rippled through the crowd
“What now? What could possibly dampen the moment they'd just shared?”
"The tournament."
Kael said, and groans erupted before he could even finish. He held up a hand, waiting for silence.
"The tournament has been postponed again."
"Not again!"
Someone shouted
from the left side of the crowd.
The murmuring grew louder, voices overlapping in frustration and disbelief.
"This is ridiculous!"
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Chapter 45
Flora reached out and squeezed Asta's shoulder, then did the same to Jabber. "...whoever gets called first, remember we've got your back. You're not alone out there. You're representing Ember Watch, and we believe in you.""Hell yeah." Mira added with a fierce grin. "Go out there and kick ass."With that, they split up. Flora and Mira heading down one corridor, Asta and Jabber heading down another. The walk back to their room was quiet, both of them lost in their own thoughts, the earlier excitement giving way to a more contemplative mood.When they reached their door, Asta pushed it open and stepped inside. The room looked exactly as they'd left it this morning,unmade bunks, his practice sword leaning against the wall, the small window letting in weak afternoon light. Nothing special, nothing fancy, but it was theirs.He'd barely had time to sit down on the edge of Jabber's lower bunk when there was a sharp knock at the door."Come in." Asta called.The door opened and a higher o
Chapter 44
Old Man Kael stood on the platform, his weathered hands still resting on his walking stick, waiting for the excited chatter to die down enough that he could continue. The crowd was buzzing with energy, a tournament meant action, meant proving themselves, meant finally having something concrete to strive for instead of endless days of repetitive labor and training.When the noise level dropped to something manageable, Kael spoke again, his voice cutting through the remaining murmurs with that authoritative calm that demanded attention."Now, let me explain how this tournament will work." He said, his cloudy eyes sweeping across the assembled laborers. "You all will have the chance to see how strong your squad members truly are. How well you work together when pressure is applied. How you adapt when plans fall apart. And perhaps most importantly, you'll see how strong your opponents are,what strategies they use, what flames they wield, what weaknesses they possess."He paused, letting
Chapter 43
The gathering quarters continued to fill. More and more laborers streaming in, the noise level rising as hundreds of conversations overlapped. Asta recognized some faces from training sessions or work details. Others were complete strangers,the labor section was large enough that you couldn't possibly know everyone.Finally, when the space was packed nearly to capacity, Old Man Kael raised one hand. The gesture was small, but somehow it cut through the noise like a blade. Conversations died down in ripples, starting near the front and spreading backward until the entire room had fallen into expectant silence.Kael let the silence hold for a moment longer, his cloudy eyes seeming to see through and past the assembled laborers to something beyond. Then he spoke, his voice carrying clearly despite not being particularly loud. There was something about his tone,the weight of experience, the authority of someone who'd earned respect rather than demanded it,that made people want to listen
Chapter 42
Flora asked once the laughter had died down a bit. "You said you got letters from your butler? That's nice that they wrote.""Yeah." Asta said, touching the pocket where he'd stored the letters, feeling their slight weight against his chest. "Gregor was my family's butler for decades," he wrote about what's happening at the mansion. My half-brother Cassian officially became clan leader a few nights ago. There was this whole ceremony with all the major clans."He tried to keep his voice neutral, but some bitterness must have leaked through because Flora's expression softened with sympathy."They also wrote about how they're doing." Asta continued quickly, not wanting to dwell on Cassian. "They got dismissed from the mansion after I was sent here,Cassian didn't want anyone loyal to me staying around, I guess. So now they're working as day laborers. Gregor , Helena, and Marcus,they're all doing hard physical work despite being older, despite having given decades of service to my fam
Chapter 41
“P.P.S. Marcus, I'm holding you to that promise about the sword techniques. Start preparing your best teaching voice.”“P.P.P.S. Gregor , please tell me honestly how bad your back is. If you need money for a healer, I'll find a way to send some. The labor section pays a pittance, but I've been saving every copper.”He read through what he'd written one more time, checking for anything he'd forgotten or wanted to add. Then he carefully folded the letter, sealed it with the basic wax provided at the portal station, and addressed it with their names and the return address they'd included in their letters.Asta placed his reply into the outgoing section of his portal,a separate small compartment meant for letters to be sent out,then locked everything back up. His hands were steadier now, the act of writing having helped him process some of the overwhelming emotions.He gathered Gregor 's, Helena's, and Marcus's letters carefully, tucking them into the inner pocket of his tunic where they
Chapter 40
“Also, I'm enclosing a recipe in case you ever get access to cooking facilities. It's your favorite,the honey cakes I used to make for your birthday. The ingredients are simple enough that you might be able to acquire them, and the process isn't too complicated. Something sweet to remind you of better days.”Asta looked at the bottom of the letter where Helena had indeed written out the recipe in careful detail, each step numbered and explained as if she were standing beside him in a kitchen, guiding his hands. His vision blurred again.“Write back to us, dear boy. Even a short note would mean the world.”“With love,Helena”“P.S Marcus says to tell you he's been practicing some new knife techniques and when you visit “notice I said 'when,' not 'if',I'm an optimist”, he'll teach them to you. They're quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”The third letter was from Marcus, and it was much shorter.Marcus had never been much for writing, preferring to express himself through his cookin
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