Emperor's Reckoning

The moon had adorned the sky and become its mistress. Under its rays was the Nemk City, buzzing with chatters and laughter amongst the street.

The bars were opened from time to dusk and those who enjoyed the nights more than the days lavishly entered with booze in their minds. One had a bard already playing their tunes and the other bars each with their own culture.

However, one bar, in particular, was not as noisy as the others. The place was almost deserted but one could see the light crashing against the window. The bar was opened yet hardly any silhouettes could be seen or the noise could be heard. Yet, in such a place, there was a group of young people standing at the front of the door. One, in particular, crossed his arms and had a smirk on his face as if the world was going according to his wishes.

"This is it," said Lyon before pushing the door open.

"Oh? A customer," said the bartender.

Lyon looked over and saw the bartender was in the midst of cleaning a small glass with a white cloth. The latter dressed quite neatly and had a friendly aura despite the strict clothing that he wore. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties or so, but in this cultivation world, he might be older than all of their ages added on top of each other.

"Heh," Lyon smirked as he approached the table before sitting at the designated seat.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen you before, are you new here?" asked the bartender with a smile.

"Newer than a butterfly out of a cocoon," said Lyon before he darted his glance to his surroundings. There was no one else breathing except for his group. "Quite the place you got here."

"Thank you very much," the bartender smiled. "We rarely have customers but we do still, keep our quality impactful."

The bartender's eyes hovered and saw Reinhard, Noah, and Rayus. His attention was caught by the flower on their uniforms. "My, are you three from the Nirvana School?"

"Yes!" Reinhard answered whilst the other two nodded afterward.

"Hahaha, youth, I miss being young," said the bartender.

"Are you from the Nirvana School as well?" asked Lyon. "An alumni perhaps?"

"Ah no no, I didn't enroll there, it's just that the school is really prestigious everyone would recognize that status on their uniforms," said the bartender, "And... are you their upperclassmen perhaps?"

"He is our teacher," said Reinhard.

The bartender was taken aback by Reinhard's answer. He gauged Lyon up and down, "A-Are you their teacher? But you look.."

"Young and handsome?" Lyon answered shamelessly with a laugh.

"Hahaha, that's what I'm about to say," the bartender laughed before mentioning the pretty lady in the room. "Is she also a teacher?"

"Oh, she is—"

"This is my wife," said Lyon.

"Ah, you're married? I can't imagine the number of poor souls of the single men that you extinguished, beautiful lady."

"Whatever," Selena rolled her eyes.

( Colder than my ice cube ) thought the bartender as he wryly smiled inwardly. "Ah, I bet all of your throats are starting to get dry, why don't you try out our liquor."

"Well don't mind if I do," said Lyon. "Except that we have to do that another time."

"Oh?" The bartender raised his brows.

"We are here because the elder sent us," said Noah.

"The elder? You mean Elder Bucca?" the bartender asked.

"Yes, him," Noah nodded.

"Oh, are you here to deliver his order?" asked the bartender with a smile.

"Order? No," Rayus shook his head. "We are here because of the code."

"Pardon my students' indirectness," said Lyon with a smile before his eyes sharpened. "Frog Eat Swan."

"..."

Lyon took a good look at the bartender's eyes before founding them shifting emotion. The latter stopped wiping the already clean glass and then put it away on the counter. He turned around and washed his hands on the sink before rolling up his sleeves. He faced Lyon and the group before bowing, "That is the code."

Reinhard and the other two smiled as they realized they were at the right bar at the right time.

"This is truly a team effort," Reinhard nodded.

"However," the bartender invited their attention, "Aren't you three to be a bit too young to be involved in this?"

"The shit they've been through, they alright," said Lyon as he crossed his arms, "Besides, I can look after them, this is a unique experience that will set them apart from their peers."

The three faces slightly radiated a glow.

"I mean, they are either dead or half-dead by the end of this hahaha!"

The glow dimmed almost immediately.

"E-Ehm.." The bartender chose to ignore the growing weird tension in the room. He went over the counter before locking the bar and flipped the 'open' sign to 'close'. He turned before gesturing to them with a welcome toward a lone door that was the opposite of the toilet.

Noah and Rayus were a bit unsure but Reinhard immediately smiled and opened the door.

"Oh boy, that guy is probably going to die first," muttered Lyon before he followed Reinhard right behind him.

( He is probably the second ) thought Noah before he sighed.

Selena soon followed Lyon and entered the room.

The private room was more luxurious than the ones outside for the regular customers. However, the tension was not as ambiance. A lone man that looked high profile was sitting alone as his attention glued toward the documents scattered on his desk. He didn't even notice the ones entering his room.

"Boss," the bartender called.

The boss raised his brows before furrowing them upon seeing Lyon and the others. "Who are they?"

"My name is Lyon," said Lyon "and these are—."

"Noah, Rayus, and Reinhard, the three students from Nirvana School," said the boss before crossing his arms.

"Well, you did your homework," Lyon smirked.

"You know who we are?" Reinhard asked.

The boss looked over at Lyon and Selena, "I assume that you are the new teachers rumored about?"

"Yes," Lyon answered and shot down the topic, "I assume that you knew why we're here?"

The bartender whispered at the boss before the latter relaxed his shoulders.

"I see, Elder Bucca, sent you here," said the boss. "My name is Refl Angst."

"Refl Angst?!" Noah exclaimed.

"Impossible..." Rayus muttered as his pupils shrunk.

"What?" Lyon raised his brows as he cluelessly looked at his three students.

"He is a legend!" said Reinhard. "He is a very well-known cultivator that harnessed the extreme affinity of thunder element!"

"What are you doing here...?" asked Noah.

"Before that, you shall not disclose my location here to anyone," said Refl before his eyes turned sharp, "Otherwise you can exit right now."

"Sealed," said Reinhard before the other two nodded.

Refl looked at Lyon and Selena with the same gaze.

"I don't even know who you are," said Lyon as he shrugged.

"I guess it's true, you are from the Mortal World," said Refl, "I don't know what that Old Gu is thinking but it is what it is."

"So you know where I'm from too," Lyon smirked, "That means we can drop the pleasantries now and straight down to business."

"Your goal is too shallow for something this big," said Refl.

"Does it matter?" Lyon raised his brows.

"No, it does not," said Refl. "However, you might endanger your students if you are choosing this path."

"Such pathetic words from a legend," said Lyon.

His words tense the atmosphere inside the private room. All except for his wife looked at him in disbelief.

Refl clasped his hands on his desk as he furrowed his brows. Sharpened his glance, he awaited Lyon's elaboration of the words he just used against him.

"Considering that you knew their names before they introduced themselves, and also the fact that you know where I'm from, then there is a high chance that you know what happened to them," said Lyon. "There is really no reason to elaborate isn't there, look at them in their eyes. See that burning vengeance or are you too legendary to notice what they mean?"

"So you want to put their life at risk just to satisfy their vengeance?"

"You think too shallow for a public figure," said Lyon. "The only outcome for them is defeat and humiliation if they chose to stay put in that place for six months, and further dismay for the rest of their lives! Put their life at risk? No! They chose to fight! and I shall guide them there!"

The three students looked at him with parted lips, each with glimmers of hope in their eyes.

"Heh, hahahaha!" Refl stood up after the laugh. "Looks like the loser class has a worthy mentor in the last stretch! I don't know what will become of it, but if you want to hunt the Burgeon Swan, you have come to the right place! Welcome aboard Class Six!" he offered his hand with a smile.