Fantasy System

"Well then, grandpa, we'll see you again, soon, I hope." Ed, Bella, and the others hugged Vortigern as they wished him well. He made a clear statement concerning his involvement in the war with Blood sect, and he wasn't ready to go back to Avalon just yet. Thus, he decided to continue traveling for a bit more. According to his words, it was 'more interesting' that way.

"I'm sure you'll be okay. You're much stronger than I could have ever imagined at such an age. And all of your friends as well" Vortigern took a look at the close to a dozen, companions of Ed with red bumps on their heads. It was as if 'someone' struck them hard on the hard.

"Anyway, I've told you all I know about the Blood sect master. It's up to you now. Good luck, and say hello to the others for me." Vortigern waved goodbye to the group as Ed started to teleport them away.

"We're in Sword sect city," Ed told the others as they noticed that it wasn't Avalon where they teleported. "I still need to discuss things some things with Asem and the others here."

Ed and the others started to walk inside the city. Immediately, the city's people recognized them.

"It's the sect master!"

"The sect master is back!"

Children and young adults were the happiest to see Ed. Of course, the older people were as well, but what they felt wasn't happiness, but a sense of security instead. Ed, on the other hand, felt neither happiness nor sadness. He felt the weight of responsibility that the word 'Master' carried.

'So this is what my father feels all the time, huh?' Ed thought to himself as he continued to walk and greet the citizens. Then, before long, he reached the sect grounds.

"Is Asem or Barsine around?" Ed asked one of the guards before he went any further. It would be a waste of time if he kept going around the sect looking for people, and they weren't inside.

"Yes, sir! They're in the main hall along with the Elders!" The guard said as he stood straight. He didn't dare to look Ed in the eyes for some reason.

"I see" Ed was taken aback by the weird reaction of the guard, but he quickly dismissed it and walked ahead.

Due to Ed's stay in the city before, he was already familiar with the sect grounds. It didn't take him a long time to reach the city hall. There, Asem, Barsine, Helena, the seven Elders, and the two twins were sitting and discussing stuff.

*Knock Knock*

Ed knocked on the door in order to attract the attention of the twelve of them. The noise stopped abruptly as everyone turned around to look at the one who dared to interrupt their meeting. Some of them had an angry look on their face, Helena included. But, the faces turned into ones of respect as they realized it was Ed, Helena excluded, as her face remained angry. She was still angry at Ed for not dueling her.

"Sect master, you have returned!" The Elders were quick to bend the knee, while Asem and Barsine, who spent more time around Ed, knew that he didn't enjoy such antics. They simply bowed down a little in order to show their respect. He was the sect master, after all.

"Oh, exalted sect master, for you to grace them with your presence. Such insight! Such joy! Such-"

*BAM*

Goburou, who was running his mouth in order to embarrass Ed, was stopped by a punch to the head. However, this time, he protected himself with his 'Bloody Drive' Hatsu.

"I had enough of your fist of love," He said as he retreated back and stopped talking.

"Please, don't bow to me. I'm a human like you, and I don't really like it. So, PLEASE, just a normal greeting is enough for me." Ed told the group of people in front of him. Of course, his words were ignored by some people, while some others didn't even bother to show him any respect. For example, Helena and the twins.

"For now, I'll get straight to the point. Did the Poison sect make any movements?" Ed's face turned serious as he squinted his eyes and walked over to sit at the long table.

"I'd like to say 'no', but there was," Asem answered Ed with a serious face as well. Everyone joined Ed to sit at the table. 𝒇𝔯e𝚎𝘄𝑒𝑏𝙣𝑜𝚟𝗲𝑙.c𝘰𝚖

However, other than Sieg, Emilia and Raikou, the others decided to take a stroll around the sect. They knew that their abilities lied somewhere other than smarts, so they removed themselves willingly.

Ed didn't say a word and instead waited for Asem to continue talking.

"They are recruiting people by the thousands. We've also found out that they're buying high-quality weapons and pills. It seems that they are preparing for war" Asem's voice contained a hint of alertness. And Ed knew exactly why.

"So, Blood sect found out." Ed's mind started to study the current situation and their possibilities. If Blood sect realized that they were going to be attacked in a week's time, they would be prepared. Which meant that Ed and the others lost the element of surprise.

"It's finethey would have found out once we started to move anyway. This simply means that it'll be harder to fool them, but it doesn't jeopardize our mission. Still, this is a good thing to know!" Ed didn't lose any hope and instead decided to start working on a separate plan. One that would work best with their current situation.

'I'm still worried about how they found out, but I was able to find out about the survival of their master. Us preparing for war isn't that hard to figure out, I guess?' Ed talked to himself at the same time as he discussed stuff with Sword sect.

"By the way, Sir Ed. Why did you return so quickly? I thought that it would be a long time before you could return to us again. Or even if you finished, with your teleportation ability, I was sure that you would return to Avalon first. Is there something that you need to do here first?" One of the Elders, a middle-aged man with a fat belly and a nearly bald head, asked Ed.

"There is something indeed," Ed said as he tapped on the table with his fingers. "I thought about something concerning the sect and this city. People are still afraid of the attacks from Poison sect, and they have some bad memories. Same for you, I believe. So, I wanted to propose something. Our continent is much safer than this one. And, since I need to keep coming over to the sect, it would be inconvenient. Thus, I wanted to ask you." Ed stood up and put both of his hands on the table.

"Would you like to become part of Avalon?"