After struggling, Darek finally took his hand off Desper's body.
His skin was pale, there were drops of sweat running on his forehead, and his handsome face appeared exhausted.
"Pheww… I thought my soul was about to leave my body. You sucked all my Energy dry." Darek said, gasping for breath. "Are you an Energy vampire or something?"
"I- I'm sorry" Desper's voice was trembling.
"Is there anything else I should be aware of, other than my Origin here?" Desper asked, while pointing at his body where the gray Origin was, between his chest and abdomen.
Darek looked at him in confusion.
"No? Do you feel anything strange?" Darek asked.
"N-no, just asking" Desper answered, trying to keep his face normal.
Desper decided not to tell him about his other Origin for now.
Darek narrowed his eyes while looking at him.
Desper felt his heart pounding under Darek's stare.
"Sighhhhh… everyone has their own secret" Darek said after a sigh "Your ability to absorb all of my Energy means that you are special."
And he added "You are doing right. Don't tell anyone about your secrets" then, he grinned "Your friend, your wife and even your own father can turn into your enemies."
"Huh?" Desper blinked in confusion.
when he saw Darek's grin, he felt a chill run down his spine.
He could guess that Darek had some sort of dark past with his friend, with his wife and even his father.
'But, how could he keep smiling while talking about that?'
'Maybe he had been traumatized, which caused his personality to become so weird like that' Desper guessed.
Darek noticed Desper's reaction.
"Forget what I said" he said, waving his hand "Give me five minutes to catch my breath, then I will take you on a tour of the sect."
Darek took out a finger-sized red stone, brought it closer to his body, and closed his eyes.
Desper watched him silently as the five minutes passed. The stone in his hand was slowly decreasing in size.
Darek opened his eyes again and said "Now we can go"
They went out of the hall.
Desper followed Darek as he led him to different places in the sect.
The Fighting Ground, Training Yard, Leading Hall, and many other places.
Desper noticed that many people were looking at them. They looked at Darek in admiration, and at Desper in questioning, confusion, or even disgust.
At the Fighting Ground, Desper knew why they had been acting like that.
Inside the Fighting Ground, a huge board stood prominently, so everyone could see.
On it, five hundred names were written. They were the five hundred strongest disciples inside the sect.
"So, that is why you are famous" Desper murmured as he read the second name on the board: Darek Vareth.
Darek didn't respond, only smiled as they continued their tour.
Desper was surprised by how big the sect was.
It was like a city, with buildings everywhere, many stores selling ordinary things. There were many people walking in the streets, old people, women and even children.
"I thought that only disciples could stay in the sect." Desper asked.
"We cultivators risk our lives every day for people we don't even know, without receiving anything in return. Even if we get free food and drink, it doesn't make up for the dangers we face" Darek explained.
"In return for our work, the sect allows us to bring our whole families to the safest place within its territory, the sect itself" he added "So, we can go fight with no worry about them"
"When a disciple dies, the sect will allow his family to stay here for three generations. The only difference is that they now have to work for the sect like cooking, cleaning and other things"
Desper listened to every word with deep contemplation.
"You mean that if you die, the sect will use your family as servants?" Desper asked with disgust on his face.
"Hmm? You don't understand how many people wish to work for the sect even as servants." Darek smiled and explained "Every year, around a thousand disciples die, fighting monsters. But nearly five million ordinary people are devoured by them. And that is only for our sect. the same happens in the other sects as well."
Desper's eyes widened from the shock at these numbers.
"Do you understand now?" Darek said, looking at Desper. "Everyone would still want to live in the sect, even as servants"
Desper's eyebrows rose, a look of understanding appeared on his face.
"That makes sense" Desper murmured.
Desper contemplated 'You will hate becoming a cultivator, but maybe one member of your family would wish for you to become one.'
Desper felt shivers run down his body as he thought about that.
While they were talking, they reached a large brown building. This building was special because there were few guards around it. most them were women.
"That is the Allowance Hall. Here, you can get your monthly allowance and the reward for the mission you complete." Darek explained.
As they walked inside the building, Desper noticed that there were only two female guards and one old woman.
The guards were wearing the sect's uniform, while the older woman wore the same robe as the Fifth Elder, a black robe with orange irregular lines.
Desper guessed that she was also an Elder.
"Give me your badge" Darek told Desper.
Desper didn't think about it too much and gave him the badge.
Desper watched as Darek went to the woman.
"Greetings, Tenth Elder" Darek cupped his hands.
"Welcome, Darek. How can I help you?" the Tenth Elder nodded indifferently.
Darek handed her the badge.
She placed it on the table. The number ten appeared on the table, glowing red.
Then, the Tenth Elder took out a small pouch and gave it to Darek.
Darek nodded and left the place with Desper.
"That is how you receive your allowance or mission reward." He said as he handed the pouch to Desper.
Desper nodded.
He opened the pouch and found 10 finger-sized red stones.
Suddenly, a masked figure snatched the pouch from Desper's hands and ran away.
"Wha-"
Desper was stunned. The thief was so fast, that Desper wondered how a human could be that fast.
Darek beside him was about to rush after him, but he didn't.
Suddenly, a small rock came out from nowhere, hitting the thief's leg.
"Arghhhhh…
The thief screamed and fell to the ground.
"Finally, I caught you"
A man appeared from behind a building.
He was tall with a muscular body. His face was sharp with red bright eyes. His long red hair reached his shoulders.
There was an enthusiastic smile on his face as he walked toward the thief.
"Ela- Eland?" The thief's voice trembled under his mask.
"Hahaha, I have been tracking you for a while, newbie stealer.
The man named Eland laughed as he grabbed the pouch from the thief's hand.
"Here is you pouc-
When Eland turned around to give Desper the pouch, Eland's eyes widened in shock
"Desper? Darek?" Eland called out their names.
"Huh?" Desper was surprised and confused that the man knew his name.
"Wait! What is going on here?" Eland was surprised and confused as well. Then, he looked at the thief. "Did you try to steal the stones while Darek was here?"
"I- I didn't see him" the thief seemed shocked as well when he saw Darek, but he didn't know who Desper was.
Suddenly, Eland struck him on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.
"Now, can any of you explain what is happening here?" Eland narrowed his eyes as he asked.
Desper was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say.
"Let me explain this." Darek stepped forward.
"Desper, this is Eland. You might see his name on the board. He is ranked third in the sect." he said. "Eland, I don't need to introduce him to you; you already know him"
"Excuse me?!" Desper finally spoke "How does he know me?"
"Do you remember when I told you that there had been an incident one year ago, and that we met because of it?" Darek asked.
"So?"
"Eland was there as well. Actually, not only he, the Sect Leader was there too." Darek explained.
Then, he looked toward Eland.
"Eland, Happy Village was destroyed by an unknown cause. Desper was the only survivor, and he lost all of his memories, so he doesn't remember anything."
"What?! When did all of that happen?" Eland asked in shock.
"Yesterday" Darek replied.
Desper chose to remain silent as they talked.
"Yesterday…. And he lost his memories. That is so bad." Eland scratched his head in annoyance.
"Wait a minute!" his eyes narrowed, then widened "This pouch was in his hand before this man stole it. That means…"
"Yes, you guessed it right. He has awakened his Origin, and now he is a new disciple of our sect." Darek completed his words.
"That is terrible! That is terrible!" Eland yelled, pacing back and forth. "What are we going to do now? If the Great Elder finds out about him, he will be dead."
"I will inform the Sect Leader. He will do what he thinks is right." Darek replied.
"Excuse me" Desper finally spoke and asked. "Can you tell me what exactly happened in that incident a year ago? And why would the Great Elder kill me?"
Eland looked at Darek, questioning whether he should tell him or not
"Sighhhhh… okay, I will tell you half the story." Darek sighed and said.
Desper sharpened his ears so he wouldn't miss a word.
But when he heard what Darek said, his pupils narrowed, his eyes widened, and his body trembled. Cold sweat drenched his back. He was in complete shock.
"One year ago, you devoured the Great Elder's youngest son"