The Growth of a Titan

Sol rushed to wash up at a river nearby before he wore a new set of clothes his Master had given him for the trip.

These clothes were quite similar to the ones Son and the others wore back then.

While looking at his reflection inside the river, Sol posed.

"Ha, I really look like I'm from the Eastern Continent."

Sol was now thirteen, and as of now he no longer look older for his age. He had even grown a bit taller than a year ago.

While looking at his reflection, Sol glanced at his braided hair. ｂｅ𝚍𝚗𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．ｃ𝚘𝚖

Even when it was braided, it was long enough to pass his lower back; about to brush the ground once again.

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face as he turned to leave.

"Master, I need you to cut my hair!"

The old man hearing this turned to his disciple.

"Ha, damn brat. After being so stubborn you finally decide to cut that thing?"

Smiling sheepishly, Sol said.

"It's too long."

"*Snort*… You're just seeing that? Sit."

The old man said as he pointed at a tree stump nearby.

Sol came up and sat down.

He then formed a hand sign and his hair glowed with a faint yellow light.

After the yellow light faded, his hair loosen and came undone.

The old man looked at his hair that piled up at his feet with a dumbfounded look.

The exact length of Sol's hair must be three times the length of his body.

The old man then looked at the yellow shimmer on Sol's hair before he frowned and said.

"To think you would waste my teachings for something like this."

"Master, you said a Rune Master is someone who tries to understand this world through the runes he creates. We devise a solution to a problem when none presents itself."

Sol had actually created a simple rune to make his hair braid itself.

"Brat that's what I said, but carving runes on each strand of your hair is impractical."

Pieces of Sol's hair began flying about as the old man waved his finger.

Sol's legs involuntarily began to swing as he responded.

"Ah, but if I can carve runes even on the surface of my hair, doesn't that mean my Rune Inscription mastery has improved a lot?"

"Brat are you boasting? I said it was impractical, not that it was impossible. You might have improved your rune skills under my tutelage, but there are many children your age that have similar talents in Runic Inscriptions among my Barbarian Race. There is even one brat who might be better than you. If I hadn't found you I would have made him my Disciple instead."

"Ah! Master, you were considering taking someone else as a disciple?"

Sol was slightly surprised.

"Of course! Do you think you're the only talented brat in this world? You'll come to understand this after you enter the Martial Alliance Academy."

"...Master, what's that person like?"

Sol asked after some time.

"Ho? Are you seeing this person as a rival since I wanted to choose him as a disciple?"

Sol wanted to respond no, but he had to admit he was curious about who this person was. Even though his Master said there were people more talented than him, Sol had never heard his Master sing praises for someone specific.

"There brat, I'm finished."

Sol leap from the tree stump and turned to Little Zeel.

"Little Zeel, how do I look?"

"Awoo!"

"Really? I thought Master would ruin my hair."

Sol said as he ran his fingers through his lion-like mane.

Smack!

"Owie."

Sol rubbed his head after being slapped by his Master.

After snorting, the old man said.

"Damn brat, you know they used to call me Handsome Yeon-Ho back in my day. At that time I had a head full of luxurious hair that any woman would kill for! Now get ready, where leaving now."

After saying that, the old man grabbed Sol who quickly took up Little Zeel, before flying into the air.

Quickly, they reached the familiar clearing just outside of the Ibbian Mountain Range.

Sol looked around and saw a few people some distance away.

They didn't draw any attention when they appeared, as it was now a common occurrence to see people flying in and out of the Demonic Forest.

Sol even saw some people riding swords overhead. He looked on in fascination.

"Brat, don't look so shocked every time you see something new. You'll just look like a country bumpkin."

"Master this disciple can not help it."

"Bah, it's just riding on a sword, he can't even fly himself."

"Ah, Master, when will I be able to fly?"

Though Sol had learned a lot from his Master, his learning process was based on quality over quantity.

He was taught the basics, like how to move through the early stages of cultivation. But what came after opening his Mortal Palace was a complete mystery to him.

"Brat, you'll be able to fly when you'll be able to fly."

"Wah! Master, what kind of answer is that? Your disciple is unsure about his cultivation, shouldn't you resolve my doubts?"

"Ugh! Brat, shut up for a moment."

Sol upon hearing this, turned and finally realized his Master was busy carving runes on the ground.

Sol examined the runes, but he was surprised that he couldn't make heads or tails as to what these runes were.

'What are these runes?'

As Sol was wracking his brain to understand what his Master was carving, he suddenly felt a burning sensation inside his head.

Sol groan and his face went pale.

"Damn brat, what are you trying to do?!"

The old man realizing Sol's actions hurriedly covered his eyes.

"I-I was just looking at the runes."

"No, you were trying to learn them! Brat, that is far from your current ability. If you had continued, your mind would have collapsed turning you into a fool!"

Sol shivered.

"Listen brat, there are stages in cultivation for a reason. If one tries to learn things beyond their realm of comprehension then grave consequences would befall them. That's why I purposely didn't tell you anything about the upper realms of cultivation. One step at a time, that's the only way you can cultivate, you here me brat?"

The old man lowered his hand from his eyes and Sol nodded slowly.

"If you understand then don't worry about things beyond your current understanding. You'll eventually come to know everything when you reach the required realm. For now, you're merely a weak Mortal Realm cultivator that only opened the acupoints in one of his legs."

After saying this, the old man stood up and began forming hand signs.

This was the first time Sol saw his Master form hand signs for creating or activating rune inscriptions. He would only need to point his finger usually.

After a few breaths of time, Sol saw his Master stop.

"Hold your breath."

Sol did as he was told, and a second later saw his Master pointing at the rune below them.

After a flash of light, their figures disappeared.

"Huh? Such high-level spatial rune inscriptions. Who was that?"

Even though their appearance hadn't drawn attention before, their sudden disappearance had.

While the spatial runes teleported them away, Sol's eyes blurred and it felt like his chest was going to be crushed.

Even if he wanted to breathe he couldn't.

After a few seconds, Sol's vision cleared up and he instantly sucked in a long breath of air.

"Cough, Cough…"

Sol couldn't help but cough violently while his lungs struggled to take in air.

"Try to breathe slowly. It's your first time being teleported so your body isn't used to it."

"We-We were teleported?"