Black Lightning

Jiten leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I've heard some rumors about Bishop Marley. Apparently, he's been making some shady deals with people in town. Some say he's even involved in illegal activities."

Alex's eyes widened in surprise. "That's crazy. Why would a bishop do something like that?"

Jiten shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on. And if Max is involved with him in any way, it could explain why he's been acting so strange."

Alex nodded slowly, deep in thought. "I'll have to keep an eye on him. And maybe try to talk to him about it."

Jiten nodded in agreement. "Just be careful, Alex. We don't know what kind of trouble we might be getting into if we start poking around too much."

Alex sighed. "I know, Jiten. But I can't just ignore this. If there's something going on with Bishop Marley and Max, I need to find out what it is."

Jiten patted his friend on the back. "I know you will, Alex. Just don't do anything too reckless, okay?"

Alex gave him a small smile. "I won't. Thanks, Jiten. I'm glad I have you as a friend." Jiten grinned back.

"Anytime, fire boy. Now, let's eat before our food gets cold!"

"By the way, are you crazy? Why in the world are you taking sword arts?" asked Jiten, his face twisted in confusion.

"What do you mean why? To learn..." responded Alex, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Dude, that class is only for nobles. They already have a foundation in sword play, but we commoners don't. The noble students use that class to beat up the commoners, so no one except nobles take that class," said Jiten while eating.

"I didn't know that, but I guess I'll be fine. The teacher won't let me get beat up," said Alex, feeling relaxed.

Jiten slapped his own face. "That's the worst part. The teacher is Oswin Hart. He's one of the most famous swordsmen on the continent. He was the only student of the Black Lightning. He doesn't care about the students."

After listening to this, Alex looked confused. "Who the hell is the Black Lightning?"

Jiten was surprised that his friend didn't know. "The Black Lightning is the most famous outlaw on the continent. He's a grandmaster-rank swordsman. They say he's so fast that you can't even see his sword. He used to be the best friend of Arnold Frey, the headmaster. My father saw him once and told me that he was a very nice and honorable man." Alex was fascinated and asked, "What did he do wrong?"

"They said that he killed the headmaster's daughter and a lot of church officials and then disappeared. Since then, there are a lot of stories about what happened, but one thing is certain: no one survives an encounter with the Black Lightning. His bounty is 100 million coins," said Jiten, all excited.

"You speak of him like you idolize him," said Alex with food in his mouth.

"Alex, I know I'm a potions nerd, and no one will ever be afraid of me, but how awesome is the name Black Lightning! The Church of Elements is the biggest organization in the world, and even they tremble at the mention of the Black Lightning's name. How cool is that!" said Jiten, very excited.

"It's so strange. I often see posters of wanted criminals in the streets. How come I've never seen his poster?" asked Alex.

"Oh, that's because kids take them to put in their rooms or to sell to others. I have two posters of him. I can give you one if you want," said Jiten.

"I think I'll pass, thank you," said Alex.

"your loss fire boy" said Jiten while eating.

After lunch, Alex said goodbye to Jiten and went to the courtyard where the sword arts class was held.