Chapter 292: The realms beyond a Master


    “So basically you have no idea what the master realm is but it’s cool…?” Leo asked, as Ben thought about his response for a while and then nodded his head.


    “Yeah. There are only a handful of masters around and my father, who was my teacher, was not a master fighter, so I’m not very knowledgeable about this, but I think the other master’s within the Empire might have more insights regarding this topic” Ben said shrugging his shoulders as he joined Leo in throwing some rocks into the river.


    “So how long do you think it will take me to reach the master realm? Also, is there any realm above the master realm or is the master realm the highest level a fighter can attain?” Leo asked, as although the Grand Tournament had concluded, Leo still wanted to keep training and grow stronger, since ‘TheBoss’ was always supposed to be number one.


    “How long will it take you to reach the master realm? Hmm, that’s hard. You are a genius, so you’re more talented than me…. However, all I did in life was train, whereas you have merchant duties and being a Baron as a part of your life….” Ben said, as he threw a stone into the river and seemed to think long and hard about how long it would take Leo to reach the master realm.


    Eventually, he turned towards Leo and said “I think if you train hard enough, you can reach the master realm within the next three years with your talent.


    However, if you’rezy, it may take you over a decade to reach it”.


    Listening to the long time-frame that Ben estimated for him to be a master, Leo felt slightly depressed.


    He was hoping that bing a master fighter would be as fast as learning a move, however, apparently the path to bing a master was long and arduous and one that demanded consistent efforts from those who wished to walk it. It wasn’t easy, and even if Leo was consistent with his efforts to be a master, ording to Ben it would still take him three years to reach that promised realm.


    “Bummer…” he said, sounding depressed as he threw yet another stone into the river, however, his depression soon turned to optimism as he realized that he wasn’t an NPC like Ben and was a yer!


    Perhaps being a yer he could achieve the master realm sooner than Ben, however, it was only spection on his part as of now.


    “As for the realms above a master, the legend says that there are two–” Ben said as he seemed to remember a tale of the old that he hadn’t recalled in ages.


    “Above the master realm is the grand master realm and I know for sure that the Grand Master realm exists, however, there isn’t a single Grand Master Fighter within the entire Empire” Ben said as he highlighted the difficulty of bing a grandmaster.


    “As per popr belief, a Grand Master fighter is one who can defeat 1000 Master fighters alone in battle, just like how a Master Fighter can defeat a 1000 simple warriors, however, I find the whole idea of a Grand Master’s strength to be absurd as I can’t imagine a thousand of me losing to anyone…” Ben said, as he expressed his honest opinion about Grand Master’s.


    “Apparently, the founder of this Unity Empire, the first Emperor who forced the myriad different races into submission was a Grand Master Fighter, however, I wasn’t alive back then to verify his strength.


    Legend says that he was strong enough to cleave mountains in half, but I mean, I personally take such rumors with a pinch of salt” Ben said as he advised Leo to not believe in such exaggerated rumors as well.


    “While there is no Grand Master Fighter alive within the Empire, I have met a Grand Master Forger long ago, who was capable of forging legendary grade weapons, so I know for sure that Grand Master’s exist.


    However, while craftsmen can reach the peak of their craft and be grand masters, I highly doubt fighters can do the same” Ben said, while scratching his head.


    “As for the mythical realm beyond a Grand Master, I believe it’s nothing more than a hypothetical tale, so let’s not talk about it–” Ben said, intending to close the topic, however, Leo begged for more.


    “No, master, even if it’s absurd, please do tell me what lies beyond the GrandMaster realm?” Leo begged, as looking at his puppy eyes Ben relented.


    “The realm beyond the GrandMaster realm is called the ‘Transcendent’ realm.


    ording to legends, these are individuals who transcend their bodies’ physical limitations and be beings akin to gods.


    Fighters who can fly without the need for using a spell?


    Fighters who can shatter mountains with a simple punch?


    This is how the legend describes transcendent fighters, however, I don’t believe it.


    The legend portrays transcendent fighters to be like gods, however, I refuse to believe that one man can possess such strength, as if they did, we would have men iming to be gods ruling the entire of Terra Nova wouldn’t we?” Ben said, as he discarded the possibility of there being transcendent level fighters all together.


    Leo pondered about these power realms for a while, however, considering how he was still a far cry away from bing a master, he discarded the thought of reaching even higher realms as for now they were but distant dreams.


    “Alright, enough chatter…. Let’s resume our journey” Ben said, as he stood up from the rock he was resting on and signaled to the carriage drivers to attach the horses back to the wagons and resume the journey.


    Soon, the master student duo were back on the road, with the trailing entourage following them from a safe distance behind.