Damien was quite excited for this meeting.
He'd been watching Ezekiel from the start, and since long ago, he'd known exactly what technique to create for him.
Ezekiel was a special person. He had many special things inside his body, and the source of them all was only one thing.
His main talent.
The thing Damien had been waiting to nurture until this moment.
After all, he couldn't just give Ezekiel the key to his potential easily. He first needed to see if the boy was worthy of such a treasure.
At the end of the day, Ezekiel came from the Straea Clan. Damien could see the nature of his soul, which was inquisitive and overall leaned towards good.
However, there was a darkness inside of him that had been nurtured by Straea.
He had an extreme desire to kill that he had to consciously suppress at all times. For all intents and purposes, he was a time bomb.
Ezekiel's bloodlust was directed at the Straea Clan, so in his normal day-to-day life, there wasn't much of a worry about him going berserk.
But what if his emotions were taken to the extreme? What if, when he found himself on a real battlefield, he couldn't stop himself from killing his comrades?
No matter how much of an interest he had in a genius, Damien wouldn't risk the safety of the rest of his people for their sake.
That wasn't his way of doing things.
Luckily, Ezekiel had shown himself to be level-headed and mostly rational.
The simulation program used to train the army was personally created by Damien. It had multiple settings, the most extreme of which made the simulation feel like reality in every sense of the word.
Somehow, Ezekiel learned how to control his bloodlust and utilize it only for the purpose he desired it for.
Ezekiel was put into this level of the simulation, forced to face the Straea Clan in an environment where he was forced to forget that everything was an illusion.
And he performed perfectly.
Yes, his bloodlust was heavy. When he was facing Straea, he became a demon above all other demons.
However, no matter how much stress he faced, he refused to cross his bottom line and involve those who were innocent in his revenge.
Somehow, Ezekiel learned how to control his bloodlust and utilize it only for the purpose he desired it for.
Damien was thoroughly impressed.
He wanted to meet the genius right away and see if he was worth the hype, and conveniently enough, Ezekiel had also used his merit points for a chance to meet him.
It was as if this meeting was fated.
Damien was already waiting in a designated location, a small structure made with the sole purpose of housing meetings like these.
Ezekiel was currently being led here. Judging by the time…
'...he should be arriving right about now.'
A respectful mana fluctuation pushed through the door, a practitioner's equivalent of knocking.
Seeing how Damien allowed that signature's presence and didn't return it, those outside could understand that he'd given them permission to enter.
The doors swung open, and two men were revealed on the other side.
One was a military instructor, a man named Brian Frieze whom Damien had picked out from the members of Void Palace when he established the army.
Brian was a subordinate of the 9th Sword, Terra Bloodmoon. He was an experienced war veteran, and on top of that, he had prior experience being a teacher.
The military instructors were all great leaders. They were hand-picked talents who hadn't been able to achieve their full potential because they weren't playing the roles they were most suited for.
Brian was one of the instructors Ezekiel liked most, which was why he happily accompanied him when it was time for them to leave for this meeting.
"Good afternoon, Young Lord," Brian said, bowing his head.
Meanwhile, the boy next to him curiously looked Damien up and down.
The man called "Young Lord," seeing him in person was a different experience than what Ezekiel expected.
He'd never personally seen Malevalon Straea, but he'd seen the kind of people who were in charge of Straea.
When comparing Damien to them…
He had a completely different aura.
'Is this the guy who controls this entire place…?'
"That would indeed be me," Damien said with a smile.
Ezekiel's eyes widened.
'Is he reading my thoughts?'
"I am."
'Cheesy potatoes.'
"To each their own, but I'm sure the canteen provides better food than that, no?"
"Woah!"
Ezekiel exclaimed, finally accepting the truth.
Damien shook his head wryly.
'Reading his mind…well, I guess it's something similar?'
Damien did indeed have the power to directly infiltrate Ezekiel's mind, but he couldn't do it without being noticed.
Not because he was weak, and not because Ezekiel was strong, but because of Ezekiel's special constitution.
Instead, the method he used to make a first impression on the boy was a little bit more roundabout, but it still achieved the same purpose.
"You must be Ezekiel, right? Sit. I've heard a lot about you from your instructors."
"About me? I thought they all hated me."
Ezekiel made a sarcastic comment, shooting a sideways glance at Instructor Frieze.
"You brat! All you know is how to act cheeky!"
Brian gave him a light knock on the head, shaking his head helplessly.
"Young Lord, I will be leaving now. Don't be afraid to discipline this boy if he decides to act out."
"Hey!" Ezekiel exclaimed.
Damien smiled slightly.
"Go on ahead. I don't think we'll have much of a problem."
As Brian left, Damien motioned Ezekiel to sit down.
The boy was jittery, obviously awaiting the reveal of a perfect technique.
Unfortunately, Damien had a few questions for him before that happened.
"Tell me, what do you think the perfect technique for you looks like?"
Ezekiel raised a brow at the unexpected question.
"Me…?"
He fell into thought for a moment.
There were many things he was skilled in. Most weapons, self-healing, defense, even pure brute strength; he excelled in anything that had to do with combat.
So when asked what the "perfect" technique would be, he didn't know. He didn't think the right answer was as obvious as a combination of all of these things.
'What…am I lacking?'
That was the key question. It wasn't about what he had, but about what he needed.
'Compared to everyone else…'
He was leagues above in physical abilities. He was leagues above in battle sense and mental acuity.
The only thing others had that he didn't…
"Laws."
He didn't have an affinity.
That was the only crutch keeping him from achieving perfection.
Damien smiled.
"That's right. The perfect technique for you is one that allows you to compete with people who have natural affinities for laws."
One could say Ezekiel had a bad start. Not having a law affinity could be treacherous at higher stages of power, even if one managed to reach the pinnacle of something like the sword.
In most cases, that would be a correct assumption.
However, Ezekiel was not most cases.
Rather, Ezekiel's lack of affinity for laws was exactly what made him so special.
It was what made Damien excited to reach him.
"Ezekiel…" he said, drawing a piece of paper out of his storage space.
"...have you perhaps ever heard the term, 'Worldly Force?'"
