Chapter 396 Mentor (1)
Chapter 396 Mentor (1)
"A Xyran and a human in the same body..." Vulcan absentmindedly mumbled, "I have seen a lot of strange things in my life but this is by far the most absurd thing I have ever heard."
Those were the first words that came out of the Dwarf's mouth. Astaroth had just finished recounting his own tale, while in control of Ashton's body. However, narrating the tale wasn't easy.
The moment Astaroth revealed he was a Xyran, Vulcan almost lost it. The slightest swing of his hammer should have been enough to end both Ashton's and Astaroth's life right then and there.
Thankfully, Vulcan wasn't a complete hothead like the rest of the dwarves and composed himself enough to evade any unfortunate tragedy. At first, Vulcan was a bit apprehensive. But the more Astaroth talked, the quicker Vulcan realised that the person he was talking to was indeed a Xyran.
There were a few things that no one except a Xyran and a Dwarf would know about, and Astaroth made sure to use those truths to his advantage. Things like the great orgy were one of the most important 'truths' that he revealed.
By the time Astaroth finished narrating his monologue, Vulcan could see him in a somewhat favourable light. For some twisted reason, the story of Xyrans betraying each other made the dwarf smile. Although it was a bit weird, Ashton completely understood Vulcan's sentiments.
Back when he had lost everything to the werewolves, if someone would have told him the mistress got killed by one of her people, even he would have been happy. Hell, he would be jumping around like a rabbited rabbit...
'I'm pretty sure I'll be happy even now...' Ashton thought as Astaroth handed him control over his body, 'Hm... it's weird thinking about it now. Especially because now I can squash someone like her with just a finger.'
"Hm... it can't be just fate that we met here, Ashton. I wasn't so sure about it before, but after meeting you, I think those old farts were correct." Vulcan gently stroked his beard, "Are you a believer-"
"I'm not interested in joining a cult if that's what you're getting at," Ashton replied.
Vulcan shook his head as if he was annoyed, "Respect your elder and let me fucking complete my statement!"
"Have heard about a thing called prophecies?" Vulcan continued, "It was very popular back when the Precursors were in control of everything. They had quite a few unique abilities, one of which was the ability to peek into the future."
"Wait... so they knew what was going to happen to them?" Ashton questioned, "Like if they could see into the future, they should have known about the Xyrans attacking them."
"One can only wonder. Those geezers were way too mysterious for someone like ourselves to ponder what was going inside their heads." Vulcan shrugged before continuing, "What I do know, is they once told us about a human who would need the help of every creature they ever created to fend off some evil. Something even they were scared of."
"We never got to know what it was and why would a human need to fight against them. Throughout these years, I always thought, that maybe they were wrong. But after meeting you... I'm not so sure anymore."
"Woah, Woah, Woah! Hold your horses, old man." Ashton backed up while shouting, "You have the wrong guy, I have no interest in becoming the galaxy's saviour or some shit."
Vulcan smiled but did not argue. Unlike Ashton, he already knew there was no one who could throw away a prophecy once it was made. The little human might think the prophecy would simply disappear because he wanted it to, but fate wasn't something that could be controlled by mortal beings like themselves.
"You can do whatever you like." Vulcan mumbled, "But for now let's focus on the things here, shall we? Since I'm in a good mood and you want to take down the Xyrans just as much as I do, I'll help you."
"What do you mean? The Gauntlet you gave me is already more than enough-"
"You think you can unleash the Gauntlet's true potential?" Vulcan scoffed, "You can't do shit with it because you don't know how to use those skills. The skills of a true creationist."
Vulcan's words made Ashton pounder about some things. It was true he could not use the skills to their maximum potential. Why? Because he simply had no idea how to make weapons appear out of thin air. Guidance was what he needed the most to even use those skills.
"Thank you for the help..." Ashton agreed to Vulcan's proposal.
"Looks like you have a few brain cells in your head." Vulcan smirked, "Your training will start tomorrow. For now, leave me alone. I have to repair the damage our little farce caused."
Ashton nodded and left the forge. While he was glad he got to meet someone like Vulcan on this job, protecting Eula was still his primary objective. But what he didn't know was a parade of people was waiting for him outside the forge.
People who had given up more than half of their lifetimes trying to catch a glimpse of the forge were jealous of him. While some of them were simply curious and wanted to know what Ashton saw inside.
Much to their disappointment, Ashton wasn't interested in talking anymore. His anti-social ass was drained of energy after chatting with Vulcan for more than three hours straight.
'What a bunch of hypocrites,' Ashton thought as he walked away from the crowd, 'Associating with the mercenaries was the last thing on their mind. But look at them now, bloody assholes queueing up for a chat.'
[You can't blame them though. If someone who did not bother interacting with most of the household suddenly got friendly with a stranger, I would have been curious as well.]
'Whatever, I just need to get away before they get too excited.'