The Grand Duelist

Time quickly went by and another five years passed...

On this day, the wooden workshop successfully expanded.

Their branches were now at the dozens and due to the family's extraordinary humanitarian treatment of their workers.

Joseph reckoned that if they continued on this pace, they would soon become one of the wealthiest clans in the entire City of Eichenwalde.

As for Kenneth's father, he retired after passing most of his skills in carpentry to his son. But when he realized that the wooden workshop needed an experienced supervisor that was far capable than Kenneth. He came out of his retirement and became the supervisor of the workers.

The father and son decided that they would appoint leaders from their workshops to whom they would teach them their skills in the trade. In exchange, those workers would become supervisors of that respective branch and now, the workload of the father and son wasn't so heavy anymore.

Kenneth decided that he would become a full-time restaurant chef in Joseph's restaurant.

The war that Matthew predicted didn't happen for some reason and Joseph spent years, after years, after years within the world of this King's Trial.

Every day he would cook for the customers, while every night he would sit beside Pixie Fairy Elizabeth while staring at the endlessly starry skies. Joseph couldn't help but think, every time those nights arrived that everything would be perfect if his parents were here with him...

He wouldn't have any regrets in his life.

Time quickly went by and in a flash, twenty-five years had passed...

All the branches of the Kenneth Family's wooden workshop were closed and there were greenish flags outside that depicted the colors of Spring with the mixture of fall as well as the waves of crying coming from the inside.

Joseph stood outside his restaurant and stared at the wooden workshop. He couldn't help but remember that scene from twenty years ago when that young man who wanted to expand his shop, came to him and awkwardly asked for some money to borrow.

In these past twenty years, Joseph could still vividly remember whenever Kenneth's family visited him so that they could eat together. But unfortunately, the cycle of life and death wasn't something that Joseph could change nor intervene.

Growing old and dying of old age may be a part of his efforts on comprehending the second part of the Grand Concept of Life and Death.

Even if Joseph infused all of his spiritual energy into the body of Kenneth's father to extend his life, it would still only be a few years before he would eventually be sucked back into the cycle of Life and Death.

Joseph let out a sigh.

Joseph opened his palm and his spiritual energy became filled with the endless vitality of life. Pixie Fairy Elizabeth told him that if he infused his Spiritual Energy embued with his understanding of the Grand Concept of Life into the soul of Kenneth's father.

His soul would become even stronger, allowing him a better chance of getting a good family within the cycle.

Joseph slowly walked into the wooden workshop.

Inside the workshop, dozens of relatives, uncles, and aunts were mourning.

A depressing and oppressive atmosphere filled the air.

Kenneth's father laid peacefully within the coffin. Beside the coffin were his son, Kenneth, and his wife. Kenneth's eyes were swollen and reddened, it was clear that he had been crying.

Beside him stood a woman, it was Kenneth's mother. Her heart was filled with sadness as she looked at her husband inside the coffin with eyes filled with grief and despair.

Ever since Joseph first encountered the couple...

He had already realized back then that their love for each other was very deep.

The moment Joseph entered the wooden workshop. Everyone raised their heads and revealed looks of astonishment and respect when they saw him inside.

There was virtually no one within the City of Eichenwalde who didn't know who Joseph was.

After all, he was considered one of the wealthiest people within the City due to his chain of restaurants.

After Kenneth's mother saw Joseph...

She knelt down and whispered: "Widow Lara greets Brother Joseph..."

Joseph gave a sigh and went forward to help her up.

He then fetched an incense from someone nearby, lit it up, and closed his eyes to pay his respects.

As soon as Joseph closed his eyes and paid his respects, the skies darkened.

But this darkening of the skies wasn't something that mortals could detect nor see.

Spiritual energy surged from Joseph's body and it manifested in the form of a slight breeze that swept past everybody within the workshop.

However, no one paid any attention to this slight breeze. After all, it was breezy and cold outside so it wasn't out of the ordinary for a rogue wind to go inside the workshop.

Joseph infused his Spiritual Energy with the Grand Concept of Life and Death: Life.

His Spiritual Energy turned green and they formed countless threads that flew towards the body of Kenneth's father. They sunk like stones dropped into the ocean and soon, an illusory figure that had the shape and image of Kenneth's father manifested.

He raised his upper body and looked around confusedly.

When he noticed that no one else could see him other than Joseph. He stared right at Joseph.

Joseph secretly sighed and infused more of his Spiritual Energy into the soul of Kenneth's father. As soon as his spiritual energy seeped into the soul of Kenneth's father. His soul became even stronger and the confusion within his eyes abruptly disappeared.

He gratefully looked at Joseph.

The current him finally understood that this person, who had been his neighbor for the past twenty years, was not a mortal. His soul floated into the air before reappearing right before Joseph. Then, he knelt down and kowtowed three times towards Joseph's direction.

Afterwards, he reluctantly looked at his wife and Kenneth before his body rose to the skies as if he was climbing a ladder before soon disappearing from Joseph's sight.

"Mama! Papa! I saw grandpa!" Kenneth's son who was now about five-years-old spoke up. He was looking at the skies with a confused look on his face.

However, no one could possibly believe the words of a kid. When he saw that not anyone paid any attention to him. He puffed his cheeks and turned his head away, not saying anything anymore.

Joseph sighed and swept his gaze at the surroundings.

Within these past twenty-five years, Joseph had visited this wooden workshop a lot and even the wooden workshop itself couldn't withstand the passage of time.

The once glorious wooden workshop now looked quite dilapidated, but it was mostly because it has been a decade since its renovations.

Joseph's eyes then landed on the lifeless body of Kenneth's father. It was impossible for anyone to escape the cycle of life and death.

That was what Joseph understood when he gained comprehension of the Grand Concept of Life and Death.

He looked at the body of Kenneth's father and he could seem to see the image of a strong young man, slowly decaying year after year within these past twenty years until he died.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his feelings for a moment before he turned to look at Kenneth's mother.

When he first met her, she was still so young, but after twenty or so years...

She was now over fifty-years-old.

The passing of over twenty years of time left its mark on her body.

Joseph's eyes darted once again, and then it landed on Kenneth. Back then, Kenneth was just a grossly malnourished child whom Joseph resolved to help out of pity.

But he was now a grown man...

He not only had a wife and a kid, but he was also his beloved father to the grave.

From a grossly malnourished child whose body looked more like a matchstick. To a grown man who now had a family of his own and accomplishments that he could brag about in his lifetime. Time sure did change Kenneth's life for the better.

Kenneth's journey in his life seemed to be reminiscent of a small tree that slowly grew over the past two decades, becoming a strong and powerful tree that not only provided shade to those that cared and loved for it...

It was also now a tree that could withstand the changes of season and the harshness of the weather.

Thinking of these, Joseph's heart seemed to have gained a hint of understanding.

This sensation of understanding something profound became deeper and deeper.

He didn't know when he left the workshop and returned to his restaurant.

The only thing that he knew was that there were images flashing across his mind.

The interaction Joseph had with Kenneth's father, Kenneth's mother and Kenneth flashed across his mind. The appearance of the three gradually changed within the past twenty years and this could be considered as the gift of a journey that life had given to them in their lifetime.

Joseph felt profound and invisible energy surrounding the figures of the three. This energy caused them to grow older and older until they eventually laid in their own coffins, surrounded by their loved ones, crying for their loss and wishing for their pleasant journey within the yellow springs.

Joseph felt something click in his mind. His eyes snapped open and it twinkled with the abysmal light of death. At this moment, several system notifications appeared right in front of Joseph. 

[You have comprehended the second half of the Grand Concept of Life and Death: Death.]

[As a reward for your comprehension of a Grand Concept. You are awarded a Unique Skill.]

[Unique Skills are skills that are unique in this world. They can never be copied nor reverse-engineered by others. It is a skill only for the owner of the Unique Skill.]

[Unique Skill: Stagnate has been added.]

[Unique Skills are procedurally generated whenever a user meets certain criteria such as comprehension regarding a certain concept. Since it is something that cannot be defined, the skill is unknown and the user is encouraged to find out about the effects of the skill by practical usage.]

[You have ascended to the Nascent Soul Realm]

[As a reward for your ascension, you are given Experience: 2,322,564] 

That's it...? I have ascended to the Nascent Soul Realm?

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows and thought, why was it so incognito? I thought when I finally ascended to the Nascent Soul Realm the skies would darken and the earth would tremble upon my might, but to think that my ascension would be so low-key...

There's not even a Lightning Tribulation!

Joseph inwardly thought.

But then enlightenment flashed across his face as he lightly chuckled.

I see...

The appearance of life is worthy of celebration and noise, but the appearance of death is only met with silence. After all, no one really celebrates the death of a beloved. This makes sense if I think about it this way...

However, now that I am at the Nascent Soul Realm and had spent at least twenty-eight years here in the King's Trial...

I don't think that I have succeeded, yet...

I still have to comprehend the Concept of Order, Justice, and Law. 

In other words, my comprehension of the Grand Concept of Life and Death was just a mere bonus, nothing else...

But it's a bonus that I would never refuse. After all, who wouldn't like to be stronger?

Joseph lightly chuckled.

Stagnate...

Hmm... I wonder how this unique skill works...

Joseph lifted his arm and pointed at a chair.

Yes, like how he tested Bolster.

He decided to use Stagnate on a wooden chair.

"Stagnate..."

Joseph whispered and a system notification appeared in front of him.

[You have used a Unique Skill: Stagnate.]

[-100 Divinity.]

It takes a hundred Divinity Points to cast? What?

A barely imperceptible black light flew from Joseph's finger towards the wooden chair.

When it entered the wooden chair, it sunk as into the chair as if it was a stone dropped into the ocean.

Then, in the very next moment. The wooden chair abruptly turned into dust.

Huh?

What happened?

The chair turned into dust?

Joseph rapidly blinked, he couldn't understand what had happened.

He experimented with another wooden chair and it also turned into dust.

Joseph wanted to continue experimenting but he realized that he was running low on Divinity Stat.

If he kept on using Stagnante then he would soon run out of Divinity.

Joseph could only shake his head, but then a brilliant idea came to his mind.

What will happen if I combine two Unique Skills together? Would something special occur?

A smile escaped on his lips as Joseph pointed at another wooden chair and whispered.

"Bolster, and... Stagnate!" 

The dazzling light of Bolster and Stagnate flew and perfectly combined with each other in mid-air before they sunk towards the wooden chair as if stones dropped into the ocean. At that moment, several system notifications appeared right in front of him informing him of what happened.

[You have successfully combined two Unique Skills with opposing affiliation.]

[A Unique Skill born from the fusion of Life and Death has been born!] 

[The title: The Cycle of Life and Death has been awarded to the user!]

[Title: The Cycle of Life and Death 

(The Grand Concept of Life and Death had existed even before the universe was born. Life is the beginning, Death is the end. Combining both concepts creates a cycle, a cycle that would continue forevermore.)

All stats + 200]

[Unique Skill: Death's Reversal has been added.]

Joseph excitedly experimented with Death's Respite and he found out that the skill was actually an overpowered skill that could reverse the tides of any battle!

Those afflicted with Death's Reversal would have their health bars, mana bars, and their four main stats swapped with the user!

This was an extremely overpowered skill!

What's more, was that Joseph could use the skill on himself and it didn't have any apparent restrictions!

Joseph trembled in excitement. He imagined himself fighting against a heaven-defying monster. He was standing on the brink of death, but with just a single skill, Death's Respite. He swapped his Health Bar with the Health Bar of the monster and instantly reversed the course of the battle!

How exciting was that!

Joseph revealed a smile.

Now that he had confirmed that every comprehension of a concept granted a Unique Skill...

He was now excited to know what Unique Skills he would receive after he understood the concept of Law, Order, and Justice.

Joseph turned to look at the skies before abruptly closing the doors of his restaurant.

He decided to not open any branches of his restaurant today in honor of Kenneth's father.

In lieu of working, Joseph proceeded on experimenting regarding the effects of Stagnate.

Even though he knew that it would cost him a lot of Divinity Stat...

He was quite sure that the system would give him rewards more than his consumption of Divinity Stat after the end of this King's Trial. Everything that he had spent here in this world made by the King's Trial would definitely be reimbursed so Joseph didn't hesitate anymore.

Soon, a system notification appeared in front of him.

[You have gained sufficient understanding of the Unique Skill: Stagnate.]

[The Description of the Unique Skill: Stagnate has been updated.]

[Unique Skill: Stagnate

A unique skill created based on the Grand Duelist's comprehension on the first half of the Grand Concept of Life and Death: Death. The resulting usage of this Unique Skill is procedurally generated depending on the Grand Duelist's input and his understanding regarding Death.

*It has been discovered that combining Stagnate with Bolster creates a Unique Fusion Skill: Death's Reversal. Death's Reversal can be applied to everything in the world, may they be inanimate objects or living beings

[Death's Reversal] lasts for half a minute and swaps everything that the enemy has to the user. Including, but not limited to, the enemy's four main stats, health bars, mana bars, and class. The user can also appoint an ally as the target for Death's Reversal.

Skill Usage Conditions: Unique comprehension in the second half of the Grand Concept of Life and Death.

Skill Cost: Divinity Stat

Skill Cooldown Time: 12 hours.]

12 hours... The cooldown is 12 hours... As for the skill description. Procedurally generated? What does that mean? From what I can see here in the dictionary. Stagnate means to cease, or to turn foul...

Wait, what if...? 

Joseph's eyes widened in shock. He ran to the kitchen and fetched himself a bowl of water. 

Pointing at the water, he imagined the water turning stagnant as he whispered.

"Stagnate..." 

As soon as his words came out, an abyssal light flew from his finger and infused itself into the water in the bowl. At that moment, something magical happened. The crystal clear water that came from the nearby mountains suddenly turned lumpy and black!

Foul odor came out of the water and it was clear that it was now unfit for human consumption!

I see!

So this is how Stagnate works!

Since the resulting effect of the skill is based on what I want it to be. This skill is really versatile. 

A joyful glint flashed across Joseph's face. After experimenting some more, Joseph discovered three ways that he could effectively use Stagnate.

One, it was to dramatically lower someone's movements...

Two, corruption. Stagnate could directly attack the minds of others causing them to collapse from within.

Third, it was to cease.

Joseph could use Stagnate to temporarily inflict the [Silence] Debuff on someone.

In other words, Joseph could use Stagnate against a player, and for the next thirty seconds, he would not be able to use any of his skills. This method of application was definitely overpowered, though it was a pity that Joseph could only apply Stagnate to a single target at a time.

Joseph could only sigh. He turned to look at the skies and found that it was night.

Revealing a light smile, he decided to sleep but when he awakened the next day...

He was astonished to find the streets of Eichenwalde deserted. 

"Huh?"

"What happened?"

As if on cue, Matthew kicked open the doors of the restaurant as he cried out.

"Senior! You're finally here! Just where did you go in these past few months?"

Matthew exclaimed in a panic.

"What? In the past few months? What are you talking about? Explain yourself!"

Joseph sternly replied.

"Y-Y-Yes... I will... It's the war...! Do you still remember the war that I told you about twenty years ago, senior?"

"It's starting! It's finally starting and those bastards... They are recruiting everyone!"

"Every mortal, may it be a child or a woman, all of them are being recruited into the army to serve as the weapons of the Kingdom!"

"What?!"

Joseph abruptly stood up from his seat.

He couldn't believe what he had heard.

"You must get out of here as fast as possible, Senior!"