Odyssey of the Blind God

"You should really rethink what you just said…I will give you a minute to research my name, maybe you will think differently then…" The old man felt embarrassed for the first time in an eternity. He frowned deeply, not believing that anyone like Nial existed in the entire universe.

How was it possible for a Runicier to be oblivious to his name and identity? And if Nial knew about his identity, he was one of the best actors Siegfried had ever encountered, and that was saying a lot.

"Okay…" Nial replied in a defeated tone, understanding that the old man wouldn't leave before he was satisfied.

'What an annoying character. Who the hell does he think he…is…' He thought just to realize who exactly Siegfried Nar was.

"Most handsome Runicier Saint, creator of the Disaster Brigarde, the Calamity Dagger, the Dragon-Cave Cleaver, and much more…" Nial mumbled with a deep frown on his face.

The old man looked at Nial in satisfaction with a prideful smile on his face.

"There don't seem to be a lot of handsome Runicier Saints if you are one of them…no offense…" Nial was still displeased about the way Siegfried Nar had shown up uninvited in his room, which was also why he didn't hold back from revealing his honest opinion.

It might be great that he had created a bunch of high-tiered runic armaments and that he was considered a Runicier Saint, but the old man was certainly not handsome.

He was, at most, average-looking, and that too only because of the long beard that covered half of Siegfried's face.

Siegfried's smile vanished upon hearing Nial's comment and he felt a sudden surge of anger erupting from within him.

"Don't you think you're a bit rude to your Senior?!" He asked, his veins popping out.

"And you think that being a Senior automatically allows you to barge into your junior's room? And what the hell do you even mean that I'm your junior, I know you only because of the quick search of the 'television'!" Nial felt no less angered than Siegfried, which was why he couldn't care less about acting vigilant anymore.

He was tired after concocting, forging, and engraving for 48 hours. He hadn't slept much before as well to finish creating the 3rd Ancient Origin ring. Thus, Nial's mood was already bad when Siegfried chose to infiltrate his room, worsening it further.

The old man was baffled at Nial's angry retort and he quieted down for a moment. It was only now that he really looked at the young Original who seemed dead-tired. His mana fluctuations were weak and his footing on the ground was unstable.

Siegfried calmed down a bit upon seeing his exhaustion but it didn't mean that he had forgiven Nial's ignorance.

"As a fellow human of the same root, and Runicier, I am obviously your Senior. Don't forget that we take seniority very seriously here! I never expected to teach my junior like this…how disgraceful…" The old man sounded truly disappointed.

Nial knew that the humans on Ximatra and around took seniority more importantly than it was the case for humans on Jundra. On Jundra, background and strength decided everything, which was a tad different to Ximatra.

Nonetheless, it was not as if Nial could care about that right now. He was exhausted and hated the current situation to the core.

"You don't even know the planet I come from…" He mumbled quietly but Siegfried shook his head.

"Of course, I know that. I saw your details!" He said with a smirk.

"So you're even a hacker now…that makes me feel much better around you…" Nial simply retorted the first thing that came to his mind.

Siegfried's lips twitched at Nial's comment but he told himself that it would be possible to lecture Nial later. For now, he had to accept that the young man was oblivious to literally everything he should know as a fellow human.

"...just go to sleep and take a look at what I wanted to show you. You will realize that it will be better to treat me like your Senior, and to idolize me after you wake up!" Siegfried sounded arrogant and narcissistic and Nial could hardly keep a straight face.

However, before he could retort anything, Siegfried had disappeared from his sight. The old man reappeared behind him and before Nial knew it, he lost consciousness.

"Finally, he is quiet…" Siegfried sighed deeply as he looked at the young man, who fell unconscious in his grasp. He had to use only bits of mana to completely knock out the young Runicier.

"He must have been more exhausted than I first assumed. Well, he is only at the 3rd Mirae rank, and it seems like his 3rd Origin ring hasn't been a long time since he solidified it. Creating the third Origin ring and staying awake while being fully focused on the whole creation process of numerous runic armaments…I should give him some slack," Siegfried just mumbled to himself.

He clearly recalled how frustrating he had been in the past. Siegfried had terrorized his fellow Seniors, and he never backed off against them. The memories of the past caused him to smile faintly.

He agreed that Nial's talent as a Runicier was quite exceptional, but that was a big difference to his mana core's rank, which confused Siegfried a bit.

"Did he awaken his Origin later than everyone else? Hm…if he was a decade too late in comparison to others, everything would make sense… I guess?" He kept muttering to himself, trying to make sense of Nial's talent as Runicier and his mana core's rank.

His anger had dispersed in all directions the more common grounds he found between his old self and Nial. He started to take a liking to Nial, which was why he put him in his bed before he entered the corner for Artisans.

"I should show off a little bit…maybe he can learn a thing or two if I show him his flaws in the concoction and forging process he utilized. He could have worked a bit more efficiently…as for his runic constellations…even I couldn't make such precise runic constellations at his age…he is a natural…" Siegfried was highly pleased with the youth as he recalled every single step Nial had taken during the first round of the tournament.

The old man didn't see anything wrong with the fact that he had barged into Nial's apartment, that he had started to use his ingredients, and that he was still in the apartment of the Original, he had knocked out.

It was as if everything was supposed to be like this and several hours passed in the blink of an eye. The few hours turned into 24 hours when Nial finally woke up.

His neck ached but he felt oddly reinvigorated, which was why he silently thanked the Symbol of Life.

However, Nial's head began to buzz the moment he sensed something, or precisely someone, who was not supposed to be in his apartment.

"That was not a dream?" Nial blurted out, attracting the old man's attention.

He waved at Nial as if they were friends and the only thing Nial could do in return was to prevent his jaw from dropping to the ground.

"I hope you slept well, little boy. Look, I prepared a few presents for you, from a talented and knowledgeable Senior to a Junior, who has to learn a lot," Siegfried boasted about his creation with a faint smile on his lips.

'How can someone be so endlessly shameless?!' Nial nearly blurted out, but kept quiet and stepped forward. He was not sure how long he had slept but what he could tell was that a bunch of perfect runic armaments had been created in front of him.

"Aren't those the runic armaments I created for the tournament's first round….just be-..."  Nial was not even able to finish his sentence, when Siegfried intervened, "Just better, exactly. As close to perfection as you could get with the runic constellations and the materials you chose to create the runic armaments!"

Nial was baffled. He could tell that the old man was not a Runicier Saint for show. It was one of the highest titles a Runicier could obtain, which was precisely why it astonished Nial that Siegfried was so interested in him.

It was not as if he could be considered special in the face of a true talent like the old man.

"Your concoction is much better than mine, let alone the forging. You made the first grind to even out the bevels you engraved in the first round of runic constellations…and then you repeated the process after a heat treatment…normalizing, I guess?" Nial mumbled as he got hold of the runic armaments.

He didn't ask Siegfried for permission to touch and inspect them because the old man had barged in his home without asking as well.

Nial frowned deeply and he felt embarrassed about the runic armaments he had created when holding the Peak-quality runic weapons the old man had created with ease.

"They're much better than everything I created…" Nial acknowledged while nibbling on his lower lip, and the old man nodded his head.

"Obviously my runic armaments are better than yours. What kind of dumb conclusion is that?!" Siegfried didn't seem to be satisfied with Nial's choice of words, let alone his reaction.

He had expected Nial to be able to find his flaws in an instant and to feel the urge to improve right away.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to happen, even if Nial was able to tell what exactly Siegfried had been doing with his weapon.

"You have yet to tell me what your reason is to come and find me…your true reason, not the bullshit you served me before knocking me out…" Nial said while his attention was still on the weapons in front of him.

On the surface, it seemed like Nial was not particularly interested in getting to know the old man's reasoning for barging into his apartment and copying and improving the runic armaments he created in the tournament's first round but the exact opposite was the truth.

He may not be fond of the old man but it was pretty obvious that he was a great Runicier. Nial acknowledged that and he wanted to figure out where Siegfried's interest came from.

"You faked your identity didn't you?" Siegfried asked suddenly. At first, he was only curious about the existence of a blind Runicier. It was not enough for him to act up.

However, there was something that attracted his curiosity and aroused suspicion.

"Why would I do that?" Nial asked in return, trying to control his wildly beating heart.

"Probably to help out the Elves? I mean, you are basically using most of the runic constellations that have been created by Elven races, or in coalition with Elves! No one in Ximatra teaches them, just so you know…"