《Lord Of The Flora》 Chapter 1. A Long Way Back I woke up in the middle of a what seems to be a forest. Careful observation might tell me that something about this forest seems odd compared to the forests that I have seen and perhaps allow me to think more clearly about the situation. But I wasn¡¯t able to, as the memory of what happened just moment ago came back to me. ¡­ I was sitting in class as the students one by one walked to the teacher¡¯s podium and got their abilities checked. Special abilities or traits came into existence about a millennium ago and by now everyone was already used to them. During the last year of high school, the people used a special stone, which came into existence along with the abilities, to ¡®unlock¡¯ or ¡®activate¡¯ the abilities in said students. It¡¯s called ¡®special abilities¡¯ but really they¡¯re just divided into 3 parts, controlling air, water, or fire in some way or form. Each can be used in its own creative way. And some have stronger abilities than others. There isn¡¯t any ¡®law of the jungle¡¯ and ¡®strong eats the weak¡¯, at least not directly, because after a certain threshold of power there really isn¡¯t a need to distinguish if someone is weaker than the ones in power. The gap is so large that they aren¡¯t really considered as the same people anymore. But I¡¯m sure as the only heir to the clan which controls one of the world¡¯s largest companies, and has high level water based abilities, I too will have a high-level water ability. I look towards the girl who just had her abilities checked. Kristy, unexpectedly she had a fire based ability. She¡¯s the second smartest person in the whole school, and it shows in her rank too. The smartest one is of course, me. I¡¯ve even done research on the abstract concepts that came with the discovery of these special abilities, things like wormholes and interdimensional travel. Though things like that also isolated me from the rest of the people. Or maybe it¡¯s my background that they just can¡¯t compare to, thus choosing to stay away rather than risk interacting. None of it matters though, as I walk up to the teacher¡¯s podium. She tells me to put my hand on the glowing orb that is kept on the podium itself. A thing I¡¯m sure she has repeated about a hundred times today. As I put my hand on the orb, it¡¯s glow starts to change color, and at the same time slowly my hand starts glowing too as it slowly extends towards the rest of my body. The color turns green, a variant of water ability, this one is rare but not unheard of. It allows control of water in living organisms. It is one of the most powerful abilities. But suddenly the ground starts shaking. Is it an earthquake? I look towards the rest of the class but it doesn¡¯t seem like they feel anything unusual. Am I the only one feeling these tremors? ¡°Hey, teach, isn¡¯t the ground moving?¡± ¡°An earthquake? But I don¡¯t feel anything like that at all.¡± The tremors get stronger, making me lose balance and fall to the ground. What¡¯s happening? The teacher is trying to tell me something, but I can¡¯t hear her properly over all this noise of the earthquake. A crack opens up in the floor beneath me and I see all darkness through it. Impossible. We¡¯re on the top floor of the building. Below this should be another floor, not the ground. But the world doesn¡¯t listen to my reasoning, and the crack starts expanding. I try to crawl away from the crack but it spreads too fast. I fall inside the crack. I feel my body being weightless. I¡¯ve done skydiving before, it¡¯s a lot like that. That apparent feeling of weightlessness as the forces of gravity are working on you but there is no force to counteract that. I think as I try to distract myself from the reality. Eventually I lose consciousness from the apparent strain that was put on my mind.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡­ As I lay there on the ground remembering what just happened. I hear a voice in my head. ¡°Good that you¡¯re awake now. I was almost worried that you wouldn¡¯t wake up.¡± ¡°¡­ Who are you?!¡± I ask almost instinctively. Am I going crazy now? I close my eyes, trying to not let my surroundings influence me and think of the voice I just heard. ¡°I¡¯m real, you know.¡± A figure of a woman appears in my head. I¡¯m closing my eyes so this definitely can¡¯t be reality. Could I really be going crazy now? ¡°No, you¡¯re not crazy. I summoned you here.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Exactly what I said. I called you here so I could get your help.¡± I was trying to avoid paying attention to the woman but there¡¯s only so much time I could avoid thinking about something that¡¯s literally in my head. Just the silhouette was visible however. ¡°I¡¯m ____.¡± What was that? It sounded like something I just couldn¡¯t understand. Like gibberish but not. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Who?¡± ¡°Ah, right. For you, I¡¯m Gaia. The Goddess of the Earth or rather, the world itself.¡± Her appearance got clearer. A very voluptuous figure. Brown, not tan brown but an earthly brown skin. Dark green hair and greenish eyes. She was also wearing a greenish blue dress. Though the dress itself didn¡¯t cover that much. The skirt was short and the shirt left her stomach exposed. ¡°Are you trying to seduce me?¡± I ask skeptically, once again trying to distract myself from the reality of the situation that there is now a woman inside my head with a separate consciousness. ¡°Maybe I am, maybe not. The way you see me is just an interpretation of your own.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask, trying to delay the eventual point where the conversation is going to go. ¡°It¡¯s a way to help you visualize me. Like how you couldn¡¯t understand my name. This way is easier for you to understand things.¡± ¡°Your attractive appearance is distracting me, please make it go away.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± Her figure disappears from my mind. She then continues. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to translate everything in this world so that you could understand it.¡± No. No no no no nononono. ¡°This place, as you might have guessed. Isn¡¯t the world you came from.¡± I refuse to accept it. ¡°It¡¯s true even if you don¡¯t accept it.¡± No! Get out of my head! ¡°I¡¯ll compile a ¡®system¡¯ for you, so you can understand this world better. Of course, like everything else, it is just a way for you to interpret things easier. It¡¯ll take some time though.¡± I finally get peace and quiet. A lot of thoughts flash through my mind but none can be answered now. It feels as if a few hours have passed, or perhaps just a few moments. I¡¯m able to get my head a little clearer. I instinctively lift my left hand towards my face. The watch seems to be working but at the same time not. I felt about a minute pass before the seconds hand even moved. Maybe it¡¯s broken? But doesn¡¯t seem like that. It¡¯s working perfectly fine, just a lot slower. I slowly get up from the ground. My clothes aren¡¯t dirty at all. The dust just falls off as if raindrops against a leaf from a lotus plant. It¡¯s that way because these clothes are special. Custom made by the clan, and made to look like the fashionable school uniform. Getting them dirty requires way more than just rolling around on the ground. I¡¯ll think of anything, to distract me from the current situation. They also offer protection to a high degree against knife cuts and stabs. And could even stop less powerful bullets from a pistol. But stopping one from an assault rifle would be lucky at most. There¡¯s extra protection towards the place where the heart is. But stopping a bullet from a sniper rifle wouldn¡¯t be possible. I take out my smartphone from my coat pocket. I unlock it, and it seems to be working just fine. But without connection to the phone networks and the internet, its usability is highly limited. I turn off the phone to save its battery in case I ever need it again. With modern technological progress, the phone could last a few months on full charge but I don¡¯t want to risk it. The watch can easily last decades, so I¡¯m not too worried about that. I ruffle through all the pockets I have. To find anything of interest. My school ID, a handkerchief, earphones to listen to music sometimes and a credit card, not that it¡¯ll be useful at all here. Obviously, none of these would really be useful in this situation. Not like I had a chance to prepare either. Now that I¡¯m already up, I decide to investigate into my immediate surroundings a bit more. It looks like a forest, too dense with trees and greenery and animals too which seem to be keeping their distance from me, for some reason. A rainforest or such an equivalent, probably. It is also quite dark, making me unable to judge what time of the day it is. But it¡¯s during the day for sure since I¡¯m able to see the sunlight. A bit far away I see a creature which looks like a jaguar, looking towards me. I beckon it with my hand but it doesn¡¯t respond. Weird. The forest itself is also filled with plants I cannot recognize. Or maybe it is just my knowledge that is lacking. Perhaps it would be explained later. ¡°I finished setting up the ¡®system¡¯ for you. Now you¡¯ll understand the world better, maybe.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s good, I suppose.¡± ¡°I forgot to tell you before, I¡¯ve sent a divination to one of the priestesses. They should be coming here in a moment.¡± ¡°¡­ To take me out of the forest. That¡¯s good too. ¡°Oh right. Also, the mental strain that setting such a ¡®system¡¯ took on your brain, will make you go unconscious for a bit.¡± ¡°¡­. What?¡± My reaction was delayed as I fell unconscious just as she finished saying that. Chapter 2. The Troll System I wake up while feeling dizzy. Doesn¡¯t seem that the aftereffects of whatever Gaia did, are gone yet. As I open my eyes I¡¯m surprised by the sight right in front of me. A girl leaning down while staring into my eyes. No, she is rather staring at my face. Not that it is any less uncomfortable for me. She realizes I¡¯m awake and leans back, sitting on the ground. Wait, no, this isn¡¯t the forest. Her face and the waterfall of hair over my eyes was obstructing the surroundings, but now that I look around myself. It looks like a room in some temple. I¡¯ve seen pictures of these when I was young. A variant of a Buddhist temple. At least from the inside. As I think about that, I¡¯m led to remember my childhood. I need to go back. My clan needs me. My mother, grandmother, elder sisters and father too I suppose. How much they dote on me. And all the things I¡¯ve been taught as the successor. How to keep my head calm and rational. How to assess a situation. I take deep breaths as I slowly get up from the bed. It¡¯s quite soft. Obviously nowhere close to what I¡¯ve been used to sleeping on, but still not bad for a temple. I look around. The room is mostly empty. Well doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ll be gathering any information from that. The girl from before has also disappeared now. I hold the bed¡¯s mattress, it probably has feathers inside it, at least judging from the feeling of apparent softness and occasional clumps of soft material with a bit of hardness, like the spine of a feather. Though it could also be cotton. Hey, Gaia, you still there? It¡¯s not like I need to mentally talk to her since it seemed like she could read my mind. An answer comes back, sure enough. What is this place? Where is this place? Basically, because it¡¯s convenient? I didn¡¯t understand a few words that she spoke. What are sects? And what is this Wind Kingdom? But I¡¯ll ask those questions later. I thought I didn¡¯t want those questions answered right now. th continent is about half conquered by humans and the 5th one, the demon continent doesn¡¯t have any humans at all, since it is quite inhabitable for things except what locally lives there.> Too much information at once isn¡¯t that good as it could lead to confusion. I let out a sigh and then close my eyes to think about the current situation now using the new information I have. But actually, there isn¡¯t much. In the first place I don¡¯t want anything to do with this world. Even though you say it¡¯s the ¡®system¡¯, isn¡¯t it just you basically keeping tabs on my progress for whatever you want me to do? <¡­Yeah. But this way makes it more fun than to just gain strength automatically for no reason.> I let out another sigh. She mentioned she was a goddess but now I¡¯m starting to doubt that, as evident from her nature which doesn¡¯t at all seem like that of a goddess. Such a whimsical goddess who calls me here from my own world but doesn¡¯t even tell me what she wants me to do. And now has set up this whatever system so I could gain strength, whatever even that means. Another sigh escapes me. So now I pay even less attention to Gaia, possibly even ignoring her. I look towards my left hand instinctively to check for the time. Grandmother always used to insist that time is money, and that I should pay attention to it. It¡¯s become a habit now to look at what time it is. But my watch isn¡¯t there. No, he really was flying in the air. Maybe this too is related to the wind skills somehow. ¡°Lena, didn¡¯t notice when you came here. What¡¯re you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just teaching archery to my fellow disciple, Gray. I didn¡¯t think the need to announce my presence, it would only attract unnecessary attention.¡± ¡°Hey there, I¡¯m Taylor. Nice to meet you.¡± He extends a hand as if in greeting, but I don¡¯t accept it. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Wasn¡¯t this ancient china? Where does the part about shaking hands being a form of greeting in ancient china come from? Also, I can understand his expression in one look. Fake. A fake smile on a person trying to act like something he isn¡¯t. Just that one line from Lena was enough for him to direct enmity towards me, I¡¯d rather not deal with such a person. ¡°Since you were teaching him archery, how about we compete to see who¡¯s better?¡± ¡°Hey that¡¯s unfair, he just started learning archery today.¡± ¡°As the high priestess¡¯s disciple he should be skilled enough, right?¡± He says, sneering. ¡°I only play with boys.¡± I reply nonchalantly. By now quite a few people have gathered around here after seeing that guy fly down here. Lena walks near me and whispers, concern can clearly be felt from her voice. ¡°Are you sure, Gray? He¡¯s the sect leader¡¯s son.¡± ¡°I have my reasons.¡± This way it¡¯ll draw more attention, and it¡¯ll be easier to impress some people. ¡°Let¡¯s go towards that side, Lena.¡± I say, pointing towards the part of the practice range that is adjacent to another building. I suppose that building is the place where they have all the bows. We leave behind the stunned boy. ¡°Right here is fine, there¡¯s enough targets and at multiple distances.¡± ¡°Okay, so what will you start with?¡± Lena asks. ¡°I¡¯ll start with the closest target that is around 40 meters.¡± As we were talking, that boy from before suddenly shows up once again. ¡°Hey, I challenged you!¡± He shouts, drawing more attention. ¡°And I refused.¡± ¡°How about this, whoever wins gets to step on the other person.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any intention to do that. Your filthy clothes will only dirty my shoes.¡± As expected, he¡¯s incensed with me saying that. Shut up. Before he¡¯s able to say anything else, I give him an offer. ¡°The loser takes an oath to never interfere with the winner¡¯s path again.¡± ¡°Done.¡± He shouts without much thought given to what exactly I said. Oaths should be, if my understanding of this world is appropriate, quite powerful, right? It¡¯s a hit and miss with the ancient Chinese culture that is followed here, but that one was a hit. Try not to swoon. ¡°I¡¯ll let you decide what we compete in. So that you don¡¯t complain after losing.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll regret that.¡± There¡¯s now enough of a crowd around us that will allow me to complete the quest easily. Whether it was worth angering this guy, would still need to be decided when I get the quest reward, but I won¡¯t regret doing that. Perhaps next time Gaia would give me a quest that doesn¡¯t require confrontation. Ignoring that, I wait here as he tells a few people to prepare some things for the little competition. I decide to practice a little bit of magic since it¡¯ll be quite useful. I remember the textbooks from my world. They told to imagine your element as an extension of yourself and only think about controlling it and it should move as directed. Simple in theory but difficult to master. I try it on a patch of grass near my feet. The grass wriggles a bit but that¡¯s clearly not enough to make much of a difference. Others might just think that it moved because of the wind. As I¡¯m doing that, the guy walks up to me, clearly done with his preparations. ¡°What¡¯re you doing? Admiring the grass?¡± He once again tries to mock me. ¡°It¡¯s still much more interesting to look at compared to your shallow personality.¡± No. I look at the things he¡¯s prepared. It¡¯s pretty simple to tell from even just one glance. There¡¯s 3 events, one target at 60 meters, another at 100 meters and there should be one more but I don¡¯t see it. ¡°Lena will judge who wins in each event.¡± He says, as if giving me no chance. ¡°Both of you shoot at the same time so there¡¯s no problems about the order.¡± Lena declares. Good move on her part. Taking turns shooting might lead to disagreements. The first target is very easy to shoot. Gaia once again provides the crossbow bolts for me to shoot and both my bolt and his arrow land side by side at the dead center of the target. ¡°It¡¯ll be a draw.¡± Lena says. The next target is directly behind the previous one, a straight shot isn¡¯t exactly possible. He can angle the shot with his bow but I can¡¯t exactly do that with a crossbow. At least this guy isn¡¯t that stupid. Ricochet. As long as the bolt doesn¡¯t embed itself into that building¡¯s wall, it should bounce off at a predictable angle. I can use that to hit the target. We both shoot at the same time once again. His arrow gently flies over the 60-meter target and hits the target at the back in once again the bullseye. And the bolt I shot bounces off the building¡¯s wall, it also hits the center of the target. It¡¯s a great help that the bolt doesn¡¯t at all seem to be affected by gravity or air, that would have made it a lot more difficult. ¡°Another draw. All the stakes are in the next event then.¡± But I don¡¯t exactly need to do that anymore.
Quest completed. Young man, you have succeeded in showing these uncivilized brutes that archery can also be a form of art. As a reward, your level is raised by 1 and your arrows can now be guided to an extent.
I can just walk away now as my goal is accomplished, the peanut gallery is impressed enough. But that would be making things too difficult for Lena so I¡¯ll comply for a little while longer. The guy... What was his name? Then mister low T it is, low T seems unconvinced about the draw but then I see a grin on his face that tells maybe the next event would be special. He motions other people to proceed. And it seems they were prepared. They take some creature out from the building where they kept it hidden. It¡¯s¡­A jungle cat? It is wearing a cloth that has a target painted on it. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you do with moving targets.¡± He predictably sneers. I certainly have the advantage here. But that¡¯s not what I want to do. Make the bolt have a forked tip. <¡­Okay if you say so.> ¡°Take aim, shoot!¡± At the same time, I exert my control over the grass right in front of the cat which is running in random directions. The cat senses it and quickly changes directions, thus making low T¡¯s shot miss. Without waiting much longer I take aim and shoot. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Gray wins.¡± The jungle cat, now with a scratch on its back disappears off into the woods as no one blocks its way. I shot the cloth off the cat. It was my own inability in doing it properly that it suffered a scratch. But I could see the willingness to live in its eyes. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll kill such a creature. The forked tip was helpful in catching the cloth. <¡­. You¡¯re¡­. Welcome.> ¡°I take the oath that in the future I won¡¯t interfere with Gray¡¯s path.¡± At least he took that seriously. After hearing that I start walking away towards where I suppose the sect hall is. Lena catches up and walks beside me but doesn¡¯t say anything. Chapter 8. Arts and Gardens No one speaks much till we reach the sect hall. Lena didn¡¯t have to lead the way since there was virtually just one path to the place which was identifiable since it was the most well paved one. That isn¡¯t even an appropriate use for this. Something here feels wrong. There was pretty much no one here except the two of us. And the few guards outside this place. ¡°I was going to tell you before but around this time no one¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The sect duties are finished early morning every day. We¡¯re here too late.¡± The system says that it¡¯s barely 9:30, how early do these guys do their daily stuff? ¡°How late were we?¡± ¡°They finish the usual sect meetings by 8 or 7:30.¡± So, we wouldn¡¯t have made it in time anyways, good to know. Since I¡¯m already here might as well look around. It¡¯s a giant hall with multiple pillars supporting it. There¡¯s similar mattresses for sitting here as there were in the priestesses¡¯ meeting room. It also has the similar ancient Buddhist temple aesthetic. There¡¯s calligraphy decorating the walls. I walk towards it. Unlike what I expected, I couldn¡¯t understand a single word that was written. Hey, is the system working properly? That makes sense. Since I learnt the Chinese in my world but it wouldn¡¯t let me understand ancient text. ¡°I can appreciate it.¡± Even if I don¡¯t understand what it is trying to say. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like art, it¡¯s not about what it¡¯s showing but instead the emotions and thoughts the artist was trying to convey by making that art. That is why I really like it. Though at the same time why I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. That is especially true for art. While it is true that the artist put emotion in his work. The one seeing it doesn¡¯t see the emotions the artist had, he only sees a reflection of his own feelings. That would always be the downside of art for me. I¡¯m not seeing what the artist wanted to convey, I¡¯m only seeing what I want to see conveyed.¡± <¡­> ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s leave since there isn¡¯t anyone here.¡± I say and look towards Lena who seems stunned. And perhaps she¡¯s also blushing? I can¡¯t really tell. I walk outside without waiting for her and think of where to go next. After a few moments she also walks outside. ¡°Where now?¡± I ask her, since the previous time it was about where I wanted to go. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ Go to the garden and take a walk there.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I follow her towards where the ¡®garden¡¯ is. Honestly it doesn¡¯t at all seem like a garden, maybe it has a different purpose. There were also guards here which makes it seem like a place not meant for just recreation. After entering the ¡®garden¡¯ my suspicion only deepened. There weren¡¯t any chairs or places to rest. Sure, a small portion of it did look like a garden from my world with short shrubs and flowers but the rest of it was practically the forest, filled with trees dense enough to block a clear view of sunlight. We were calmly walking in the peace and quiet, as there was no need for words to revel in the nice atmosphere. Like the calligraphy from before, I can¡¯t understand a single word she¡¯s saying. But that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t enjoy the song itself, which seems quite suited for a walk in the forest. As we¡¯re walking, I spot the figure of a person crouching near a tree. That¡¯s odd, is that person perhaps¡­ Observing that shrub there? Lena seems so absorbed in whatever that is she was doing that she didn¡¯t even seem to notice that, so I alone walk towards that person. ¡°Could you tell me what is so interesting about that shrub?¡± ¡°Eek!¡± She jumps up. ¡°Ah, you startled me! But maybe it was me who was too concentrated while doing that.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Doing what really?¡± ¡°I was trying to decide which leaves are the best so that I could use them for my alchemy.¡± With the girl¡¯s light exclamation, Lena breaks out from her stupor and comes here. 10 out of 10, would song again. Would have been even better if I didn¡¯t have to doubt my sanity every time I hear you. The girl was wearing a dark green colored dress, her hair slightly disheveled and a few specs of dirt on her dress, she had been here for a while probably, but somehow, she didn¡¯t seem tired at all. ¡°I haven¡¯t introduced myself, I¡¯m Patricia, the sect¡¯s best alchemist or well, future alchemist.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Gray, a disciple of the priestess.¡± Even though she didn¡¯t teach me anything yet. ¡°Ah! The high priestess finally decided to accept another disciple. So, what do you specialize in?¡± ¡°He specializes in ranged combat.¡± Lena intervenes. ¡°So, you said you were an alchemist? What is that?¡± I ask. There were ¡®alchemists¡¯ in my world too, they just instead studied chemistry. No, but they found a much more valuable part of science. ¡°An alchemist is the one who makes all those cultivation pills and stuff. Though that isn¡¯t nearly as interesting as trying to come up with new things, like a drink that causes hallucinations.¡± Let¡¯s rather not ask what that drink is, ¡°But you aren¡¯t an alchemist yet?¡± ¡°Yeah, becoming an officially recognized alchemist requires giving a test held by the wind kingdom. I¡¯ll be giving that in a few months, then I¡¯ll truly be one.¡±
Quest added. Side quest. Research herbs and alchemy materials along with Patricia. Find out and understand at least 5 different types of herbs in the forest.
What is with this incredibly specific quest?! Also, wouldn¡¯t Lena feel bad if I start doing that in the middle of us being on a ¡®date¡¯? Suddenly Lena takes out a stone tablet from within her clothes. That stone tablet is shaking and glowing in a bluish hue. ¡°There¡¯s something I have to do, Gray. I¡¯ll have to take my leave now. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± She says as she rushes towards the exit. Wasn¡¯t that incredibly convenient? How so? ¡°Ah, maybe you¡¯re not aware of it since you didn¡¯t receive the ID card yet. But that stone tablet serves as a proof of identity within the sect. Your teacher could also contact you using that as long as you¡¯re within the sect. A blue hue means some duty of her has popped up, a red one would mean an emergency like an enemy attack, and there¡¯s a few more.¡± Patricia explained. That explains it I suppose. What kind of intentions do you think I have?! Also, isn¡¯t it just learning about herbs? How bad can it go? ¡°Hey Patricia, if you don¡¯t mind, would you teach me about a few herbs found here? I find it quite interesting.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to! It¡¯ll even help me prepare for the test.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start with the one I was looking at. The leaves on this plant help in calming the mind.¡± She starts explaining with enthusiasm. So, it¡¯s kind of like tea? Ah and she was picking the best of tea leaves. She moves towards a nearby tree and points towards one of its branches which seems to have a different plant on it. ¡°That plant which grows on other trees. That plant¡¯s seeds can help in people staying alert.¡± She explains in even more detail. So, the coffee equivalent here is a parasitic plant? Good to know. ¡°The leaves of the plant there help disinfect wounds and heal injuries.¡± She even picks a few leaves and gives them to me. I don¡¯t really have much use for them right now but it could be useful later, so I store it. ¡°The moss growing on this tree is poisonous, so stay away from it for now. It could be used on weapons.¡± She explains a bit about how the poison is extracted from the moss. ¡°This mushroom here causes a hallucination effect, but since it¡¯s too strong it needs to be diluted in a drink.¡± Let¡¯s just ignore that. No. No. Fine if you insist. I pick one of the mushrooms and drop it, transferring it to my items storage. She explains about even more medicinal plants after that. And since she helped me complete the quest, and she clearly seems interested in them, the least I could do is listen to her.
Quest complete. You are now slightly more knowledgeable about medicinal plants. System feature added. You can now also inspect plants and be able to know a bit of their properties, depending on your discerning ability.
¡­ Lena arrives a while later as me and Patricia are now in the more garden-like part of this ¡®garden¡¯, the one with short shrubs and flowers. It¡¯s almost 11. But I wasn¡¯t bored at all as I was listening to Patricia explain about the plants, we even discussed about a few of those. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Gray. There¡¯s a few more places you should see.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I reply as I start walking towards the exit, but Patricia suddenly hugs me out of the blue. ¡°I really enjoyed talking with you, Gray. Do come by here again later, you would be a great alchemist.¡± Friends, we¡¯re only friends. Perfectly platonic. ¡°Sure.¡± I say as I start walking towards the ¡®garden¡¯ s exit. As one last thing to do I look at her inspect view.
Name: Patricia ____ Level: 34 (5th stage Earth realm) Race: Human Hair color: Dark brown Eye color: Dark brown Skin tone: Fair Height: 170cm Weight: 58 kg Body type: slender Age: 21 years Gender: Female Likes: Herbs Skills: Wannabe alchemist, Spear expert Position: Exploding heavens sect leader¡¯s daughter. Weapon of choice: Spear ¡­ Show more ...
Abilities Alchemy talent She is blessed by the god of alchemy, whoever that is. Performing alchemy is easier, and learning it is much faster. She might be able to know the uses of a particular plant even if it¡¯s her first time seeing it. ¡­ Show more ¡­
Chapter 9. Playing With The Priestess ¡°So, where are we going now?¡± I ask Lena. ¡°Back to the temple. Master called for you.¡± The priestess did? Odd, if it was something that she already had to do why not tell it this morning? Hmm? What?! I don¡¯t think this should be the time for such a joke. I ignore her last statement as I walk with Lena towards the temple. We¡¯re walking fairly leisurely, looks like there is no hurry in reaching there, maybe the priestess is preparing something. Lena seems to be, fidgeting? As if she¡¯s confused whether she should do it or not. I let out a sigh. Maybe what Patricia did earlier made her a little jealous, so I suppose it¡¯s fine. I reach out and hold her hand. I see a blush instantly creep onto her face but she doesn¡¯t do anything to reject. It wouldn¡¯t make a difference for you. We hold hands all the way till the temple where I let go since it would be weird if someone else saw that. Lena leads me to another room in the temple, this time a different one from the one we went to this morning. The room itself isn¡¯t filled with much, there¡¯s a door here that connects it to another room other than the door for the hallway. One whole wall at the side of the room is missing and it leads to a garden, a more typical garden this time instead of a medicinal one. And it has a patio connected to the room. The priestess is sitting on a chair in front of what seems to be a small table full of etchings and marks, and with another chair directly opposite to her. ¡°Come, Gray, you should sit here.¡± I do as she says and sit on that chair. I glance towards Lena who is still at the room¡¯s entrance. ¡°Ah, she has a job to do outside the sect which is what she¡¯ll be going for now, which is what the message from earlier was about.¡± That makes sense I suppose. ¡°So, what did you call me here for?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? Let¡¯s play-¡± ¡°a game of Go.¡± I thought this small table in front of us looked odd. Since there was something like a grid marked on it. So, it¡¯s a game board. I¡¯ve heard of ¡®Go¡¯ before, but I¡¯ve never played it. ¡°But I don¡¯t know how to play it.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s alright¡± She passes what seems to be a rulebook, I glance over it. Yup, I still have not much idea how to play this game. I suppose I¡¯ll just place the pieces as my intuition tells me to. She starts first and places her black stone on the board. Mirroring your opponent¡¯s moves is always a fine strategy as long as you know what you¡¯re doing. Yes, but I¡¯ll mirror hers anyways since I can¡¯t do anything better. I mirror what she did and place a white piece on my side the same way she did. She continues by placing her black piece at another spot and this time I tweak the move a bit and place a white piece not at the exact mirror opposite of hers. This continues for a while.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°So, did you see the rest of the sect?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quite good.¡± Though I have no idea what to compare it with since this is the first sect I¡¯ve seen. ¡°Did you choose a weapon yet?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯ll be a crossbow for now.¡± ¡°A crossbow! Ah, an intriguing choice.¡± We start to take a bit longer to place our stones on the board, it seems the strategy part has kicked in. Though I¡¯m just pretending to think harder because I still don¡¯t have much of a clue on how this works. I¡¯m sure if I had enough time and will, I would be able to come up with an advanced strategy using the help of my smartphone but I have neither of those right now. ¡°So, what is Lena to you?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I¡¯m pretty sure she knows that Lena likes me but still¡­ ¡°I think she likes you.¡± I know that she likes me but¡­ ¡°It¡¯s still a bit too fast. It hasn¡¯t even been a day since we met.¡± ¡°Ah, but she met you yesterday in the forest.¡± Was just my unconscious face enough to make her interested? That¡¯s¡­ mildly weird. She¡¯s fine but I still don¡¯t feel like going any further. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the time yet.¡± ¡°Oh, what are you saying! You¡¯re the young hero with impeccable talent. You haven¡¯t even started cultivating but are at the top of mortal realm.¡± Odd, I wasn¡¯t referring to my cultivation strength though. But still¡­ Could it be that she can sense my strength? It¡¯s possible but I don¡¯t think that is it, could it be¡­ ¡°Did you hear about the fight in the training area?¡± ¡°Of course, I did. Even if Lena didn¡¯t tell me, I know the instructor would have.¡± ¡°I was just lucky to get easy opponents.¡± ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. You beat the strongest warrior at the mortal realm there.¡± The Go board is getting quite intense too. I need to act as if I¡¯m spending time thinking even more. I have no idea why she hasn¡¯t won already, since I have no clue what I¡¯m doing. ¡°Think about it, Lena has a good family background too. She¡¯s the daughter of a noble of the kingdom. And has very high talent.¡± Let¡¯s try to divert the topic then. ¡°Noble families of the kingdom? What are they?¡± ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t know, how could I forget that. There¡¯s 5 noble families in the kingdom, each one of which supports and is supported by a corresponding top sect.¡± ¡°I suppose they keep each other in check?¡± ¡°I knew you were smart. Yes, the families and sects keep each other in check, which is what the king and the royal family would want too. But recently it¡¯s been quite odd.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°There¡¯s movement as if a few of the sects are colluding together.¡± ¡°Should you be telling me this?¡± The Go board is about 50% full. And somehow, I¡¯m winning? I¡¯m pretty sure that just half the game doesn¡¯t tell anything, the end result is still variable. ¡°Ah, that is where you come in, you see. There¡¯s 3 sects colluding together to capture our sect and all the resources with it, thus effectively destroying the sect. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s prophesized to help us against this, and help our sect grow stronger.¡± Hey, Gaia, what is this really? What¡­Why doesn¡¯t she answer? ¡°I am?¡± ¡°Yes, you are. But the sects are moving way faster than initially anticipated.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Maybe they got hold of some clue that we were making preparations against them or they¡¯re being overly cautious and trying to end it as fast as possible.¡± The Go board is about 75% done but she stops on her turn. ¡°And you are the key, but right now you¡¯re too weak to combat them directly.¡± ¡°Then should I learn cultivation now?¡± There¡¯s a feeling of unease inside me. ¡°It would still be a bit too late if you learn it now. We have to use some other method.¡± ¡°There¡¯s other methods?¡± ¡°Yes, a ritual. It could boost your strength straight to near the end of Nascent realm stage 10, and from there you should be able to jump into the Earth realm before they¡¯re able to attack.¡± ¡°A ritual?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve already made the preparations for it. Come.¡± She stands up and walks inside the room, towards the door connecting this room to another one beside it. I get up too and follow her. As I near the door, a smell of rusted iron enters my nose. I don¡¯t particularly like it. (Here''s the part where you should stop reading if you''re particularly squemish and instead directly skip to the end chapter author notes.)
She opens the door and the first thing I see, a pair of eyes staring at me lifelessly. It was the servant girl from this morning. Her mouth is open as if in a scream that I couldn¡¯t hear. Hair matted, soaked in something. Her entire torso cut open like in a dissection, a crimson liquid slowly seeping down the body and staining the floor red, the skin held apart by nails on the wooden cross. Organs slowly slipping out. White bone with jagged ends showing through. The smell of blood permeating the air and its dribbling on the ground eroding away on my mind. I wish I were weak hearted so I could just faint from this sight, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t. I look a bit more carefully towards the revolting scene in front of me. The hands of the corpse are soaked red. The cut itself isn¡¯t clean, the knife used for this wasn¡¯t sharp. It seems she was alive while being dissected, and tried to stop the culprit with her hands. She¡¯s nailed to the wooden plank using white stakes that are most likely her own ribs. The blood flowing down the cross is collecting in a puddle. ¡°Come, Gray, you have to complete the ritual.¡± ¡°Ahahahaha¡± A laugh escapes me. There¡¯s a circle drawn on the floor using the cross as the center. Odd patterns all over the circle, with what seems to be a star inside it. Faintly visible black silhouettes moving around the cross as if in a prayer. She hands me over what looks like the heart. It feels slippery and warm, and is staining my hand its color. The arteries and veins visibly stretched, as if it was forcefully pulled out from the body. It¡¯s deceptively soft, not what I would expect from a heart that is entirely muscle. No, no no no no. ¡°Take a bite while it¡¯s still warm, it¡¯ll boost you straight to the end of Nascent realm.¡± I don¡¯t care. I let the object in my hands fall to the floor, covering my ears and closing my eyes. Any more and I feel I¡¯ll never recover my sanity. A warm liquid slowly flows down from my eyes as I could feel it on my cheek. It¡¯ll be best for me if this all just, disappears¡­ Chapter 10. A Night With Lena Chapter 10. As we were walking down the hallway, I started. ¡°So, Lena, how did it go? Your task I mean.¡± ¡°Ah, I took care of it, the problem shouldn¡¯t happen again for a while.¡± Though even if I try to divert the topic, we¡¯ll arrive at that place eventually. ¡°For a while?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a periodic subjugation of the monsters that sometimes divert from their usual route and come in from the west of the sect.¡± ¡°So, a normal migration route for animals?¡± Do animals here even migrate? I suppose they too have this ¡®cultivation¡¯ what-not right? What a purposelessly vague answer. Why don¡¯t you define animal-like stuff? Nah, I don¡¯t feel like knowing. Not interested right now. ¡°What¡¯s a migration route?¡± Lena asks. ¡°It¡¯s the route that animals periodically take, usually once a year to move to a more suitable place of living for them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that. They do migrate but this time it happened earlier than it usually does.¡± Just as she finished, we reach the room, or rather our rooms. There¡¯s 2 doors here but I have an odd feeling about it. She opens one door and invites me to go inside first. It¡¯ll be rude for me to refuse her offer now. As I walk inside I see the room isn¡¯t decorated with much, it¡¯s also quite large. I look around. It continues with the ancient theme, I honestly don¡¯t dislike it. One side of the room seems to have more stuff than others. The windows have patterns, there¡¯s a makeup dresser against one wall, but it¡¯s shorter than what I¡¯d think of one normally, makes sense since they sit down on the ground rather than on chairs usually. There¡¯s also a folding screen there and an almirah/ wardrobe. The bed is in the middle of the room, and is quite big for just one person, it also has curtains, which make it look somewhat odd. Yes, it probably used to be 2 different rooms, the wall separating them is broken down and a bed placed in the middle. The half of it being empty now makes sense as it should be what was supposed to be my room. I walk towards a chair and sit down, I feel that somehow this chair was placed in this room specifically for me. Shut up. I look towards the walls which have only one thing as decorations, calligraphy. Didn¡¯t I see something like this a while ago? Right, in the sect hall. I could kind of differentiate between the styles and I recall seeing this style there too, could it be¡­ ¡°Hey, Lena, did you write these?¡± She blushes a little and nods. How would I have known that some of the calligraphy in the sect hall is done by her? I let out a sigh. I can see where this is going and what she planned.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. She closes her eyes and leans onto me, puckering her lips. This feels forced, why would I do that when I don¡¯t actually love her? I can¡¯t bring myself to do that. Not letting her blush any further in anticipation, I return her kiss. Our lips connect but there¡¯s nothing more than that. Just the appearance isn¡¯t enough. Mother said that in this world there¡¯s no girl good enough for me. After a few seconds I push Lena away, and get up from the chair and start walking towards the door. She stands there dumbfounded for a moment before realizing what¡¯s happening and sprints to me and tackles me in a hug. I somehow prevent from being knocked over. ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡± She says in a soft voice. Because I¡¯m also hearing this voice inside my head keeping my mind rational. I pry away from her arms. Then turn around and hold her face with my hands and lean in while looking into her eyes. I see expectation in her eyes, and her lips quivering as if in anticipation. She then closes her eyes. Is that the only thing you noticed?! I almost let out another sigh but refrain. Fine, I¡¯ll go along with her wishes. I kiss her. This time she acts even more proactive and opens her mouth, gently pushing her tongue out, about which I don¡¯t do anything and let her take the lead. Shut up. As I feel her tongue reach through my teeth I become conflicted about exactly what I should be feeling right now. Yeah, right. Her taking the initiative makes her run out of breath faster and I see the reluctance on her face as she finally stops. Here¡¯s another chance for me to try and walk away again. But wait, could it be that me pushing away harder just attracts her more? How did you arrive at that? It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like her. It¡¯s just moving a bit too fast for me. And right now, I¡¯d rather focus on going back to my world. But I¡¯d feel worse about just leaving her like this, so fine. I¡¯ll go along with it for now. I quickly hold her in a princess carry and gently lay her down on the bed, with me sitting by bedside. She¡¯s heavily blushing, leading me to jokingly put my hand on her head. ¡°Are you ill?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Her reply comes in a barely audible whisper. Shut up. As I¡¯m about to take my hand away she instead moves forward and licks my finger before putting it in her mouth. I think doing exactly that would lead to her biting accidentally. I let her suck on my finger all she wants before I¡¯m able to gently break free from her grasp. She¡¯s breathing quite heavily now and it may be an illusion but I see a twinkle in her eye. She starts trying to take off her clothes but fails as the clothes keep slipping out of her grasp. Come on now, do I have to be the one who undresses her too? Yes, Ma¡¯am. I try to do so but fail because I don¡¯t know much about how these clothes work. A small wooden knife suddenly appears in my hand. Nope. I put the wooden knife away and while slowly figuring her dress out, start to remove the clothing piece by piece. <*yawn* I¡¯m getting bored already, do it faster.> While you may be getting bored, she certainly isn¡¯t. Her faint twitching each time our skin touches seems to tell me that she¡¯s only getting more excited if anything. Now after a little while as she¡¯s fully, or mostly, unclothed, I take a look at her. It¡¯d be very concerning if she was boneless, and I¡¯m pale white enough, more than this and it¡¯d be a wonder if she had blood running through her veins or was a vampire, but I think that isn¡¯t a problem right now. She takes the initiative while also being visibly flustered, hugging me and following it with a kiss. I gently turn her body to face away from mine, then from her back I hold her close as she continues with that kissing, while taking short breaks to breathe. I slowly move my hands downwards. Shut up. As I find the place, my finger which was still covered with her saliva, easily slips in. ¡°Ahn!¡± She grabs my other hand which was still near her breasts and then uses it to touch herself. I slowly start to move my finger, gently at first and then very slowly speeding up. What in¡­ What exactly are you trying to do? I¡¯d rather you not do that. That sounded very insincere. After a little while she stops any movement of her own and instead just lets me do as I like. I have no intention of doing that. She¡¯s too occupied to say any coherent words. Where did you even hear that? As I continue gently indulging her, I notice something off. It¡¯s almost as if she¡¯s doing something different or off rhythm. What?! I was certain I got the residue off my hands when I washed them before dinner. Did you do something¡­? Great, with her now on her hands and knees and moving back and forth while moaning as if wanting for more, I feel drained of energy, mentally and physically. She finally climaxes and then closes her eyes, before turning towards me and giving another kiss, this time a short one. ¡°I love you, Gray.¡± I hear her mumble as she lays down, possibly falling asleep. I put the bedsheets on her so that she doesn¡¯t feel cold. I feel really tired, and my clothes being covered with fluids that I don¡¯t want to know where they are from. I¡¯ll be thankful. I look towards the window, through which the blue moonlight is coming in. I¡¯m such a selfish person. I too lay down on the bed and close my eyes, slowly falling asleep. Chapter 11. Unconscious I unintentionally let out a sigh. Oh wow, Gray is influencing me already and it¡¯s barely been a day since we were in contact. It¡¯s been a while since something even remotely affected me, but I¡¯ve also started to feel impatient ever since the end goal is approaching nearer, I almost even made a mistake to make the goal harder to achieve, I shouldn¡¯t force him to pick fights. I take my hands away from my ears and then slowly get up from my crouching position. ¡°What are you doing, Gray?¡± The little priestess asks, slight confusion apparent on her face. ¡°I was just thinking about the best way to do it, and came to a conclusion.¡± I pick up the heart which had been rolling on the ground beside me and bring it near my mouth. *bite* And take a huge bite out of it, half of it actually. Almost dislocated my jaw. I forgot that Gray¡¯s still trapped in this cage of being human, I¡¯ll need to fix that later. I go for another bite to finish it off but she stops me, ¡°Ah! That¡¯s enough. Just a little bite was fine actually, the contact itself was more important.¡± She seemed a little scared. Oh now, just this much is enough to scare you? You certainly weren¡¯t that creeped out while killing the girl. She chants some stuff, a prayer to some minor god, too insignificant to do anything of worth. I feel a bit of the supposed power of the ritual come in my body but it¡¯s just a drop in the ocean. This form of energy is instinctively resisted by Gray¡¯s body. He isn¡¯t from this world and his body hasn¡¯t evolved to use ¡®qi¡¯ like the other organisms of this world, so it makes sense. I instead absorb the qi by redirecting it into the floor, thus not letting it harm Gray. The ritual is basically finished, so I head towards the exit. Before the little priestess tries to say something, I make an excuse, without even turning to face her, ¡°I have some things I need to think about, we¡¯ll continue later.¡± ¡°¡­Okay¡­¡± Not like she could refuse. I open the door and walk outside, it closes automatically behind me. I unintentionally used my power once again, but the priestess can¡¯t realize what happened. Gray has his style of walking, full of confidence and even a hint of arrogance. Elegant with no missteps, and always a bit alert, his training in martial arts shows through. A perfect posture with dignity either it be while standing or being seated. But his words are always so polite and respectful, even though he has every right to be demeaning to everyone, it¡¯s a bit enviable.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Seeing him in that world for the first time, something about him reminded me of myself, of how I was earlier too. Which is why I summoned him here, it was the only opportunity while the fabric of time and space was weak when he completed his ability awakening in that world. That¡¯s why I shouldn¡¯t force him into meaningless fights. The cracks in this world would show themselves to him, it¡¯s just a matter of time. Once he sees the world like me he¡¯ll also understand my decision, to wipe this world of the pest known as humanity. But I can¡¯t tell him that now, he will definitely refuse. I can¡¯t do it myself either. As a being from this world, I can¡¯t change its fate on such a large scale. Only someone from another world could do it, that¡¯s why I had been searching for someone like Gray for so long and I finally found him, my chosen one. I let out another sigh, but there¡¯s no one around to witness it. The last time I got this chance, it was yesterday morning, when Gray fainted due to mental exhaustion from the system. I remember how I went to the other sects and threatened them into attacking this one, while also giving a treasure chest and saying it¡¯ll open when this sect is destroyed. A classic carrot and stick method, and they didn¡¯t even resist in the slightest, I didn¡¯t have to even offer the treasure chest and they were willing to attack another fellow sect, but they just seemed so disgusting with that worthless expression of greed on their face, I couldn¡¯t take the treasure chest back after they had touched it. Hmm¡­ About that, earlier I thought Gray could possibly imitate the cultivation system here and maybe compare it to his way of using abilities, but it doesn¡¯t seem achievable now. He needs a different form of system. One that doesn¡¯t make as many jokes. No, wait, there can never be enough jokes. But either way, a system that is more game-like. It can also help ease the burden on him killing these pests, who call themselves humans would bring. How would he say it? ¡®It would dissociate me from reality and real-world consequences¡¯? Something like that. I find a nice garden inside the temple and lay down on the grass while facing the sky. It¡¯s an odd feeling, being able to feel Gray both from his perspective, as I¡¯m able to occupy his body while he¡¯s unconscious and he won¡¯t remember any of it later. And from the outside, using the grass to feel his body touching the soil. I enjoy the peace and quiet for the first time in a few days and close my eyes. Ah, how could an ancient goddess like me start getting impatient after all those hundreds of years of nothing happening but just searching? Like that little girl who fell in love with Gray, but can never hope to get his affections back, nor does she even remotely deserve it since he¡¯s MY chosen one. I feel that he¡¯s started to influence me too in a way. When I finally open my eyes, it¡¯s practically nighttime. The priestess must be dying by now to see Gray. He still hasn¡¯t fully recovered but will do so any moment now. While I was in his body I was able to absorb nutrients directly from the earth and sunlight, so he doesn¡¯t need to eat any meals. Though eating food is rather a form of luxury than a need, for these cultivators. Gray still needs it. I get up and walk towards where the priestess was, I meet her on the way ¡°Since it¡¯s quite late already, you should go towards your room with Lena.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Take good care of her, Gray.¡± The priestess continues but I already started walking towards where I remember the rooms being earlier this morning. Lena, who had earlier been hiding somewhere near the priestess, hurries to catch up with me. Oh, Gray is almost awake too now. Time for me to go back to the sidelines. Chapter 12. It Talks?! I wake up on a familiarly comfortable bed and habitually look towards the bedside table for the clock, but I don¡¯t find one, nor do I find my phone. I get up and look around, right, this isn¡¯t my home. The bed being that way must have been Gaia¡¯s work. It also seems my clothes have changed, to something I¡¯m more used to wearing, which aren¡¯t loose robes flowing in the wind like I had been wearing the whole day yesterday. Ignoring that, I look towards the time displayed in the system. 9:30 am. Somehow, I woke up even later than last time.
Quest added. Personal Quest. While it¡¯s acceptable to sleep in a little late if you were tired the previous night, it shouldn¡¯t become a habit. Wake up earlier than 8 am next time.
Thanks for rubbing it in. I realize I still don¡¯t have a perfect idea of what constitutes a quest. Very descriptive. I¡¯m alone on the bed of course. I look around the room, and underneath the bed too just in case. Yup, alone definitely. I try to remember about my current situation. A clear goal and a clear path to that goal is key. I need to get back to my world and Gaia says the only way to do that is to complete what she called me here for. For that I¡¯ll have to go to the ¡®Forest of Twilight¡¯ as they called it, to the north. Okay. Now to recall yesterday. I met with the priestess who told me about cultivation and I need to be of certain realm of strength for them to allow me to go there. I then sparred a bit in the training field, chose a weapon, competed with a person using said weapon, went to the sect gardens and met with an alchemist, then came back and played Go with the priestess for practically the whole day, it was quite the battle, like a tournament level match. Ate dinner with the priestess which also happens to be the only meal I ate that day, and spent the night with Lena. Though it¡¯s odd that I don¡¯t remember what I ate for dinner. I suppose you¡¯re right¡­ But it¡¯s still a bit odd that I forgot my first meal in this place. So, in retrospect, quite a lot of unnecessary actions that I didn¡¯t exactly have to do. But they did help in my current aim to gain strength so not all wasted time I suppose. I slowly get up and walk towards the dresser in the room. The mirror is quite big, enough for me to see my whole reflection even while standing up. Pale skin and long, platinum hair and a purple nightgown. It¡¯s still like a traditional dress, but slightly more form fitting and comfortable to move in. Rather than a nightgown it looks quite good for any purpose. Fine. I open the system and check my own stats, to record my progress in a way.
Gray Valentine Level 25 Movement speed. 110% Health Points. 500 Equip points. (10/25) Equipped weapons. None Equipped clothes. Nightgown (cost 10) Gaia¡¯s personally created nightgown, just for Gray. In a purple color that gives off a royal aura. HP +250. Ranged resistance +5% Movement speed +10% Equipped skills. None Innate abilities. Otherworldly Charm Ruler of Plants Gaia¡¯s Chosen One ¡­Show Details¡­
What is this¡­? It seems quite different from what it was before. Yeah, I felt no different yesterday even after my level increased and my apparent strength should have increased, I thought that was how it was supposed to be. Okay, so explain this new system then. Too lazy to help I see.
Self/Equip Storage Quests Items Store
The Hints option is also gone now. By my understanding of it, strength now seems dependent on the equipment itself rather than on physical stats. It makes a bit more sense I suppose since my physical strength didn¡¯t change at all previously either. I open up the storage, it works similar to before, and take out the crossbow.
Weapon equipped. Equip points. (15/25) Equipped weapons (1 of 2). Black Iron Crossbow (cost 5) A rare, fully made of black iron, crossbow. Dmg 300 5% chance to penetrate target and hit another target at the back. Equipped clothes (1 of 1). Nightgown (cost 10) Gaia¡¯s personally created nightgown, just for Gray. In a purple color that gives off a royal aura. HP +250. Ranged resistance +5% Movement speed +10% Equipped skills (0 of 3). None ¡­Show Details¡­
Huh, I thought the crossbow itself was quite good, but the cost of the clothes is higher, could it be special? Got it. It could also be that generally clothes have a higher equip cost, since I could only wear one. Or maybe since it¡¯s telling me that right now in the future I could equip more. Well, I don¡¯t have many items to equip right now so I don¡¯t need to think too much into it. I put away the crossbow.
Weapon unequipped.
Enough for now. I head outside the room and towards the meeting hall, to find the priestess. She told me yesterday to meet her this morning so that she can tell me about cultivation. Even if it isn¡¯t of much use to me, I should still honor the promise. I knock on the door as I reach that room. Wait, do they even knock here? The priestess herself opens the door and invites me inside. As we sit on the mats, she starts, ¡°Good to see that you¡¯re doing well, Gray. I was a bit worried.¡± ¡°Worried about what?¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fine now. It must have just been me imagining things.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Hey, Gaia, something about her behavior just then felt off. I suppose so. ¡°Right, I was going to teach you about cultivation-¡± She continues on with a detailed explanation which I don¡¯t really listen to. ¡°Animals can cultivate too, they¡¯re called demonic beasts if they do.¡± Huh, they can? Also, isn¡¯t it quite judging to think all of them as demonic and having evil tendencies? She continues about how I should cultivate, and takes out a book of sorts, and points to it. ¡°The best cultivation method for our sect is written down in this book. Be careful that you don¡¯t lose it since it¡¯s one of the only remaining copies and only the upper echelons of the sect are allowed to learn it. Also, don¡¯t cultivate for more than 3 hours a day, otherwise you might be mentally fatigued and unable to do anything for the rest of the day.¡± That explains why people won¡¯t just stay at their home and cultivate every second of their time. I suppose that would be a reason too. She hands that book over to me.
Item acquired. Type: Weapon (Throwing) / Skill Exploding Cultivation Book (cost 5) The best cultivation book in all of Exploding Heavens Sect. Can be thrown once per battle, hitting the enemy in the face, causing him to be confused for 5 seconds. Dmg 10 If used as a skill: Heavens Book (cost 12) Once per day allows you to fly for 20 seconds.
Really? Hit the enemy in the face with a book? Couldn¡¯t you have come up with something better? I let out a sigh.
Weapon equipped.
The ability to fly is nice and useful but I can¡¯t equip it that way since I lack the equip points for that. ¡°Head towards the forest, Gray. Lena should be waiting around there for you. You should assist her in her task.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I get up and walk outside the room. Might as well go towards the forest since I don¡¯t have anything else to do. Great idea. I head towards the front exit of the temple. While skimming through the cultivation book that she gave. No reason for me to not read it. It explains how this form of energy called qi is omnipresent in this world and how you can feel it if you concentrate. This qi is used to temper the mortal bodies and make them stronger. They can also use some spells by conducting the qi through their bodies, but those spells aren¡¯t detailed here. But I can¡¯t at all feel this qi that is written with so much detail here. I¡¯m a selfish person I know. Also, what does that have to do with qi at all? Then why bring it up?! As we were talking, I reach the sect gardens. This is the only entrance to the forest that I know of so it¡¯ll have to do. I walk inside without the guards obstructing me, they probably remembered me from earlier. About that, why does no one seem bothered with it? Shouldn¡¯t it be some kind of anomality as perceived by them? I suppose so. As I head towards the west, judging from the direction of the sun, I spot a slight clearing ahead. Taking a closer look, there seems to be something present in the middle of that clearing, so I head towards it out of curiosity. The clearing also seems to be something done deliberately rather than a natural clearing in a forest. As I reach closer and am able to take a closer look. ¡°It¡¯s a stone sculpture of a- -chicken?¡± ¡°Show some respect young man, I¡¯m a phoenix not a mere chicken.¡± A stone stature is talking to me?! ¡°Ah, you seem surprised. No wonder since it¡¯s the first time us meeting.¡± ¡°So¡­ Nice to meet you.¡± I say, calming down by somehow accepting the situation. Yes, stones can talk. Nothing is wrong with me, it¡¯s the world¡¯s fault. ¡°I¡¯m the sect¡¯s guardian of the west. Since this part is in the middle of a forest, they cannot deploy guards here to just keep watch. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. Anything passing through here must face me first.¡± What would be a normal thing to ask a stone statue? ¡°Did a girl pass by here today?¡± ¡°Ah yes. Lena, I think she was. A very talented priestess from what I could tell. She even carried you inside the sect a while ago.¡± ¡°What? You know about that?¡± Of course he does, he just said that. But I still ask anyways since that is what he¡¯s hinting me to say. ¡°Yes. I see everything that goes in and out of the sect. That includes you, Gray. The savior of the sect.¡± Well, okay then. My cue to leave. That statue can¡¯t show expressions but I¡¯m sure if it was able to, it¡¯d have an expression I¡¯d rather not see. ¡°I better get going else I lose her in the forest.¡± ¡°Okay, be sure to return before nightfall. It gets cold out there during the night. Wouldn¡¯t want to be there without proper clothing.¡± Before it could say something else, I already rush off towards the west. The forest on this side is visibly dense and there¡¯s more wildlife here. Almost dense enough to make it hard to tell if it¡¯s day or night. Hmm, this feels familiar. I walk around a bit, trying to get a clue on where the exact spot was. I sense an odd feeling as if something¡¯s watching me. I know that once someone sees me it¡¯s hard to take their eyes away. Still, I did feel like that. Suddenly, something jumps out from a tree and lands in front of me. ¡°We meet again.¡± I hear a voice come through its mouth, somehow distinctly feminine. This feels more natural to me than a talking statue but okay. It¡¯s not just a cat, rather, it¡¯s a big cat. And now that I look closely I could say it¡¯s more like a leopard than a jaguar. Leopards can climb trees after all. Since it said we met before then it might be that creature I saw that time, which I mistook for a jaguar. ¡°Nice to see you again. I¡¯m Gray.¡± I introduce myself. ¡°You seem unperturbed¡­ Regardless, I felt it earlier and now too that you are somehow related to us.¡± ¡°Related? How?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a scent about you that feels very familiar.¡± ¡°Might just be a coincidence.¡± ¡°Maybe¡­ Anyways, that¡¯s not why I approached you.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I wanted to ask you for help.¡± Help? Shouldn¡¯t she be stronger than me? I tried using inspect but it didn¡¯t return much, the difference in strength was too high.
Selina ???? Level 50+ (Sky realm) Race: Demonic leopard Age: 30 years No items equipped. Can use skin to make items like clothes. Will increase movement and attack speed.
¡°How could I help?¡± ¡°The people from some sects are starting to hunt the animals, leading them to start their migration earlier. But now this sect too is starting to notice the movement of the animals and is starting to attack them.¡± ¡°So, you want me to explain to them that the animals mean no harm and would go away soon?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But how am I supposed to do that?¡± It¡¯s not like they¡¯ll believe me if I say I heard it from a cat. ¡°That¡­ I do not know. You would have to think of something yourself.¡± Well, I¡¯ll have to plan something but alright. ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to do it for no reason.¡± She(?) walks(?) slowly saunters towards me and opens her mouth wide, prompting me to look closer. That¡¯s not it. There¡¯s a¡­ Necklace there? She nods and then I extend my hand and reach inside her mouth to take out the silver necklace. While pulling my hand out I felt as if she licked me with her tongue. Come on, am I actually made of chocolate or something but am just not aware of it?
Item acquired. Type: Skill Leopard¡¯s Favor (cost 5) Belongs to Selina, a sky realm demonic leopard. This silver necklace is plain, but is full of Selina¡¯s essence and care. Usable 3 times per day. When used, for 2 seconds, Movement and attack speed are increased by 500%
Why are you in a hurry? Fine. I unlatch the necklace and then put it around my neck. I could still feel the warmth from it. Maybe an illusion but I see a twinkle in that leopard¡¯s eye. Something about the way she¡¯s looking at me feels very odd.
Skill equipped.
¡°I¡¯ll have to go now.¡± ¡°Ah. I¡¯ll take good care of the necklace. Before you go, did you see a priestess girl somewhere nearby?¡± ¡°Yeah, I sensed some fighting earlier towards the north.¡± She points her paw towards the north direction. Somehow it seems very cute. ¡°Okay, Nice meeting you.¡± I start walking towards the way she pointed. She jumps up a tree and then leaps from tree to tree and disappears off into the forest. Come on. Inter-species too now? No way. But how is this necklace special, when it seems plain? I suppose so. As I walk through the forest, I notice way more insects and critters wandering around. At least as compared to the part inside the sect. Seems like it was actually regulated a bit. I hear some metallic sounds up ahead. So, I proceed a bit more cautiously. There¡¯s a pack of 3 wolves facing against a girl, rather, against Lena, who is wielding a saber and fighting against them. She seems to be in control of the situation, just that it¡¯s taking some time to deal with them all. One wolf is already lying dead by the side. First, those wolves have shiny metallic fur, so that seems to be the origin of the metal clashing against metal sound I¡¯m hearing. Second, just 4 wolves are slightly low for a pack. Maybe¡­ It is more likely me just overthinking it. I stand behind a tree, a bit further away from the fight, not close enough for them to notice me, and pay attention to the fight. Lena is using that saber quite proficiently. Though I¡¯m not able to recognize the particular style, it seems to be working, at least against the wolves. They keep trying to circle her but she keeps moving constantly, preventing them from encircling her. They also pounce towards her from time to time but she evades or blocks it and counter attacks with another sword slash or a kick. I¡¯m not at all worried that she might lose. Though I would like to know why is she fighting them. Wolves don¡¯t generally attack for no reason. Nor are humans a particularly delicious or meaty prey, as far as I know, not much fat. And humans also fight back, so it¡¯s definitely not an appetizing food. <¡­Okay> I inspect Lena
Lena ???? Level 31 (Earth stage 2nd realm) Race: Human (Female) 3 items equipped. Plain iron saber. (cost 3) Not a particularly good or remarkable saber, but it does the job. Dmg 150 Priestess garb. (cost 8) Clothing meant only for a priestess. Element: Holy. HP +200. Priestess panties. (cost 15) No explanation needed. HP +400. Attacks have a 5% chance to be imbued with holy element, and increase damage by 200. ¡­Show Details¡­
No. Chapter 13. That Imaginary Line Chapter 13. But it¡¯s odd. I thought Lena gets her holy power from her position as a god¡¯s apostle. Not through her¡­ Clothing. That would mean that I am the only one who can see these ¡®stats¡¯ and ¡®properties¡¯ of a weapon? Yes, that must be true since the system has shown to warp things according to my interpretation of it. Since alchemy to me isn¡¯t really about making pills but to them it is. The word they used would have been different from an alchemist, but I heard that since it¡¯s the closest interpretation. It sounds like sarcasm when you say it. Huh, but that would kind of mean that to me items have a different value than they do to them. A tree branch to them could be a useless piece of stick but a legendary weapon for me and the other way around too. What exactly is this? Makes sense I suppose. So, the people here use qi from their surroundings to cast their spells and techniques. I thought of a particular weakness of this method. Also in my world the energy required to cast spells is energy that comes from our own body, not from the surroundings. That¡¯s why there¡¯s a limit to it and I might get mentally tired and even faint by using it too much. But that aside, Lena seems to be almost done with her fight. There¡¯s only 2 wolves left, the third one has now joined the fourth one and is lying peacefully on the ground with a cut across it¡¯s neck. I inspect the wolves.
Metallic Beowolf (Unnamed) Level 28 (Nascent realm) Race: Demonic wolf variant No items equipped. The fur is made of metal fibers but making armor out of it requires a skilled blacksmith. No special properties.
Real creative naming there. Technically, yes. But realistically only 1 is left. As soon as they lose the other wolf, there¡¯d be only one wolf left and they would lose the numerical advantage, allowing her to just charge in and kill the last one. As I¡¯m watching the fight from behind the tree. A wolf jumps up and tries to bite Lena¡¯s neck. She thrusts her sabre into its side, diverting its jump and at the same time using its momentum to pierce the sabre deeper. Even though a sabre isn¡¯t particularly good for stabbing type attacks. The rest proceeds as I predicted. With that wolf also incapacitated, the last wolf tries to run away with Lena quickly catching up to it and cutting its back. But suddenly, from out of nowhere a similar but bigger in size wolf jumps out and hits Lena on her head, before she is able to even react to it. Knocking her against a tree trunk quite hard and she slumps over, unconscious probably. I was too slow to react, unable to block the wolf¡¯s attack, or warn Lena about it. But there is no use feeling regret about it now.
Liger ???? Level 30 (Earth realm) Race: Demonic, metallic Beowulf No items equipped. The fur is made of thick metal fibers but making armor out of it requires a very skilled blacksmith. Resistance against melee attacks is increased.
The wolf seems a bit relaxed now, and leisurely approaches the unconscious body of Lena. I quickly take out my crossbow. It¡¯s loaded with a bolt by default.
Equip points (25/25) Weapons: (2 of 2) Black Iron Crossbow (cost 5) Exploding cultivation book (cost 5) Clothes: (1 of 1) Nightgown (cost 10) Skills: (1 of 3) Leopard¡¯s favor (cost 5) Cannot equip more.
I forcefully calm my breathing and take aim stealthily. A cool head is one of the most important factors in a fight. The distance is about 10 meters. Not too short, but short enough for me to only get the chance to fire one shot before it is able to jump towards me, reaching me within a few seconds even with the trees in the way. I could aim for the head but it isn¡¯t a clear view, and this isn¡¯t the time to take such risks. I aim for the next place relatively clear of metallic fur, the belly, and release the trigger. The bolt flies through the air and hits the wolf straight on its belly, piercing almost halfway in. The wolf is startled and jumps immediately, looking towards the direction the bolt came from, towards me. I see a green bar appear over the wolf¡¯s head, it¡¯s 1/5th depleted. So, 5 such attacks would kill the wolf I suppose. But I don¡¯t have that leisure. I should attack with my all since I won¡¯t be able to defend against the wolf¡¯s strength. I sprint towards the wolf as it leaps towards me. Its eyes convey surprise but it doesn¡¯t stop. Taking out the book from within my clothes, I throw it point blank range towards the wolf¡¯s head as it¡¯s just 1 meter away.
Enemy confused for the next 5 seconds.
I jump on the wolf, putting my feet on its back, pushing it into the ground. Another bolt appears in my hand.
Leopard¡¯s Favor used. Movement and attack speed increased by 500% for 2 seconds.
I load one bolt into the crossbow. It would have taken me 2-3 seconds but this it took me hardly half a second. I shoot it at the wolf¡¯s back, while walking backwards towards the place Lena is at. Though I¡¯m taking careful steps while walking, it¡¯s almost like running since my movement speed is also increased. I load another bolt and shoot it towards the wolf. Its health drops to half. I load another bolt and fire. The 2 second limit is almost over. I throw a bolt directly using my hand. Its health decreases a miniscule amount.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I¡¯ve reached beside Lena now. I want to check her condition but I can¡¯t at this time. I load a bolt but don¡¯t fire it. The wolf gets up now, it¡¯s not dazed anymore. It¡¯ll take about 2 shots more to deplete all its health but I could only shoot once if it pounces towards me. The wolf turns around and glares at me while growling. I look into its eyes through the sights on the crossbow. It realizes the stalemate and keeps growling while slowly stepping back. Then it turns around and sprints away.
Victory achieved. You have acquired 10 metal bolts for the crossbow. These do 20% more damage than normal bolts and have 1% more chance to penetrate.
I let out a sigh of relief. So, it counts as a victory even if I don¡¯t kill the opponent. It¡¯s better this way. Since I¡¯d rather avoid killing it. Doesn¡¯t matter. I gently turn Lena¡¯s head. No visible bleeding. It seems to be just a concussion from the hit itself. She should wake up in a few minutes or it could take up to half an hour. I suppose so. I sit down against the tree with Lena lying on the ground nearby. It¡¯ll be better I wait here for a few minutes for her to wake up rather than carrying her back, which could be more dangerous if another creature attacks. But I¡¯ll have to make a decision fast, the smell of blood from the wolves¡¯ bodies would attract some predators. ¡­What? How can you even think of doing such a thing right now? Even if you do, there¡¯s no need to tell me. But that reminds me of something. I stand up and walk towards her and crouch down, touching her hand. Shut up. I feel her wrist for her pulse. It seems calm for the most part. Most likely nothing wrong. I then turn her body so she is lying on her side, with her arms and legs so that she doesn¡¯t fall over and her head tilted upwards, so that the air passageway isn¡¯t blocked. It¡¯s a basic recovery position. It is so that the breathing of the unconscious person isn¡¯t blocked. It doesn¡¯t necessarily help if the cause is a concussion but it does prevent the head from moving. I¡¯m in no means an expert of first aid. But I do know about it a little because in my world there used to be a high possibility of me being hurt, so I had to know how to treat myself. Not at all, I practiced entirely alone. It¡¯s a different thing¡­ I¡¯d rather not remember it. To distract myself I open up the item storage and pull out the iron bolts I just received and inspect them.
Iron bolts (10) (Consumable) To be used with a crossbow. Cause 20% more damage than normal crossbow bolts. 1% increased chance to penetrate.
Its no different than a regular bolt, conjured by the system(?). Instead its just made entirely of metal and has a lot more weight to it than the normal bolts. So just the intention of firing the crossbow makes the bolts automatically appear in my hand. Good to know. That reminds me, his health bar didn¡¯t appear until I shot at him. It seems like it only appears when I actually engage in combat. Because the other wolves that Lena was fighting, didn¡¯t have a health bar either. This, I¡¯ll need to really take care of. I would need to guess the enemy¡¯s strength / HP before actually engaging in combat. As I¡¯m thinking that, I notice a disturbance in the distance. A black figure that I can¡¯t clearly make out is slowly heading towards this place. Yeah, time to go. I quickly take a look around. I take the sabre and put it in my storage. There¡¯s nothing else here that could be of use. I lift Lena in my arms and carefully start heading east. I could have lifted her on my back too but that way I wouldn¡¯t be able to take care that her head doesn¡¯t move. After walking enough of a distance away I take a look back. The black silhouette isn¡¯t heading towards the wolf carcasses but instead towards us. It isn¡¯t that fast but it¡¯ll catch up to us at this pace. I quicken my steps. Half-running through the forest while being careful to not let Lena¡¯s head move. I take another look back. That black figure has also started moving faster and could catch up any moment. I lay Lena down near a tree so that she is partly hidden, and turn to face whatever it is that is coming towards me, while slightly moving away from the place Lena is at. In a moment the figure appears in front of me and stops, the distance is about 10 meters so I¡¯m able to get a clear look. The figure is humanoid, and almost as tall as me. It is entirely black, as if someone took a person and dipped him in ink. And there¡¯s also a glistening appearance as if it is indeed a person covered in ink, and droplets of ink sliding down too, as if a bit more slime-like than a liquid that ink is.
???? Level 27 (Nascent realm) Race: Creation???? No items equipped.
Nothing? What even is ¡®creation¡¯ as a race? Yeah, that explains everything. Why is it even coming after me? It didn¡¯t care for the wolves and isn¡¯t taking notice of Lena either. Previously there were no features visible on its body, but it opens its mouth which is at the same place it would be for a human but is full of sharp teeth like a shark, and screeches. It¡¯s a very high-pitch screech almost prompting me to cover my ears but I refrain. Taking advantage of it being occupied, I quickly take out the cultivation book and throw it towards the creature.
Enemy is immune to the ¡®confused¡¯ condition.
What? Ineffective? Could this have something to do with that it¡¯s not exactly alive? It snaps back and stops its scream. A health bar appears over its head but the damage it suffered was negligible. I equip the sabre instead of the crossbow and take stance, and as if on cue, the creature rushes towards me. There¡¯s 2 ways to use a sabre, it could be used like a normal sword, or it could be used in extremely close range. I¡¯m not particularly knowledgeable about the second way but if I did, it might have been more applicable in this forest where there isn¡¯t much space to move around. The creature¡¯s tactic could be equated to that of a bear. It has sharp claws and is trying to tackle me. I take a step backwards while swinging the sabre. It hits the creature on its wrist. Red colored blood splashes outwards and stains the sabre. Its health bar is 1/10th depleted. The creature suddenly crouches down and pounces towards me at a much faster speed than previously, as if to catch me off guard. I angle my sabre towards it and support the sabre with my other hand so that it isn¡¯t knocked away. It digs straight into the creature¡¯s shoulder, knocking its health down to about 80%. But one of its claws hits me too.
HP -150.
30% HP in one strike! It has a huge attack power. However, I don¡¯t feel much pain except the feeling of getting scratched. Did the clothing offset the damage somehow? But how did it even hit me? I was careful to stay out of its range. I take multiple steps backwards so I¡¯m clearly out of its range. I look towards it. It seems as if the creature is grinning. It moves its arms around and they shorten to their original length. What? It could extend its arms? That¡¯s a fraudulent move! It takes position as if going for another leap. I sprint towards it and it tries to pounce on me. Just as we were about to clash, I slide downwards and pass out from under it, while slashing it using the sabre. Because of its momentum it is unable to do anything mid-air and crashes into a tree. Its health is down to 70%. I get up quickly and take out the crossbow. I load it with an iron bolt, take aim and fire towards the creature¡¯s chest, but because it too was moving, the shot instead hits the leg.
Iron bolt used. The attack penetrates the enemy, ignoring its defense.
Almost done. It¡¯s down to 50% now. The creature¡¯s leg is badly hurt and it can¡¯t move properly. But it still gets up and charges towards me. I let the crossbow fall and take out the sabre.
Leopard¡¯s Favor used. Movement and attack speed increased by 500% for 2 seconds.
I¡¯m able to react much quicker and slash towards its other leg, knocking it off balance and making its strike miss, even after it extends its claws. I use that chance to take stance and slash again towards its leg. And again, with much more force. 3 strikes in quick succession against the same part. Its leg is severed off and its health down to about 5%, just a sliver. The part where the leg is cut off shows its muscles and the bone, eerily human-like. It lies on the ground while still somehow screeching towards me, but is unable to get up and can only crawl very slowly. I walk towards the place where Lena is and pick her up and once again start heading towards the east.
Victory achieved. You have acquired5x grade 1 spirit stones.
No. Even if it is, I¡¯d rather avoid killing another living being whenever possible. And it was also very human-like. I have a feeling that once I cross that line, it¡¯ll only get easier to do it in the future. Chapter 14. Preparations Chapter 14. So, what exactly was that? I don¡¯t get it. What does that mean? Wait, that thing, whatever it was, came after me specifically. Though I can¡¯t determine the exact reason why. Are you saying that it¡¯s trying to hunt me? Wait, a creation. So, someone or something created it? Shouldn¡¯t creating a being, even if it has the most rudimentary of behaviors, be very hard? ¡°Ah, Young hero! What happened?¡± ¡°She just got taken by surprise.¡± ¡°Ah, women these days, swooning over their heroes.¡± ¡®Swoon¡¯? I think it was used in such a context about 2 millennia ago. Right, this would be a nice opportunity to hint about that matter. ¡°I saw some evidence that other sects might be behind the demonic beasts coming here.¡± ¡°You think so? I never trusted those ungrateful people. But still, it¡¯s a serious matter. We¡¯ll have to look into it.¡± ¡°Ungrateful?¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you know that our sect is the only one with good medicine and herbs. We were gracious enough to share that resource but they still dare oppose us.¡± If its such a precious resource, why do I feel like the forest isn¡¯t as guarded as it should be? Could there be another sect garden? ¡°Also, do you know something about something like a tar monster?¡± ¡°Tar monster? I haven¡¯t ever seen or heard of anything like that.¡± The rock itself was probably made when the planet formed but okay. ¡°I¡¯ll get going then. Lena might need to be treated.¡± I walk away and now I¡¯m once again back within the sect borders. So, you mentioned ancient gods, right? And if I suppose it correctly. Ancient gods should have enough power to create a being. So, if it wasn¡¯t created by you, then which one? And what even makes one an ancient god? And? Which one of them was it?
Quest added. Personal Quest. Find out which elder god that creation belonged to. The reward will be influenced by which god it is.
Elder god? So Elder gods can also create those beings I suppose. Hmm, it would make more sense to refine those words.
Change saved. Ancient god to Primordial Deity Elder god to Conceptual god Minor god to Religious god
¡°Gray! What happened?¡± I notice Patricia waving towards me from the distance. I wasn¡¯t able to see her earlier maybe because her green dress blended in the surroundings. ¡°She was knocked against a tree and lost consciousness. I was heading towards the temple so maybe the priestess could do something.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°The priestess? No need. I know a cure.¡± Cure for being knocked out? That would be an odd thing to do but I can¡¯t say it¡¯ll be too much of a surprise. Patricia takes a mortar and pestle out from her clothes. Where did she hide that?! She also takes out a few herbs and then grinds them. And taking out a container of water and adds the mixture to it. ¡°Here.¡± She says, handing the glass to me. ¡°You should be the one who does it.¡± ¡°So, make her drink it?¡± I ask for confirmation. ¡°No of course not. You splash it onto her face.¡± ¡­What was I expecting¡­? Anyways, not like she would have been able to drink it since she¡¯s unconscious. I lay Lena down on the ground against a tree to support her and splash the concoction onto her face. He face twitches and she starts coming to. ¡°So, what were you doing so far into the forest?¡± I ask Patricia. ¡°Searching for a specific herb that isn¡¯t present in the garden. Its usually found near the animals, that¡¯s why I was here.¡± She continues on. ¡°That herb which is related to hydrangea is essential for making high level anti-poison potions. It can also serve as catnip for certain creatures. It also has a very peculiar scent and somehow the way you smell reminds me of that.¡± She says while acting as if she¡¯s sniffing the air. Could it have been that leopard from earlier? But we weren¡¯t in close contact or anything. Ah, right. I suppose it might have been then. Patricia suddenly grabs my hand and lifts it to her nose. ¡°Yup, from here. Did you pick that herb?¡± ¡°Not really. It might just have been from when I was walking around the forest my hand touched it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine then. I¡¯ll just have to take one from the sect treasury.¡± ¡°But why do you have to make the potion?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know? The priestess requested me to prepare that potion.¡± She says while still not letting go of my hand. ¡°It might be related to the beast horde that I was investigating.¡± Lena interjects. Well, at least she¡¯s feeling better now. She gets up from her position and is now standing on the side. Our positions now are as if in a triangle. No. ¡°I guess so¡­¡± Patricia replies. ¡°We better get going now.¡± Lena says. Patricia makes a very reluctant expression as she lets go of my hand, and moves closer for a hug. This time however, Lena is quicker and grabs my hand and pulls me towards the side, Making Patricia miss. ¡°We¡¯ll meet later, Gray.¡± She says as I¡¯m practically dragged by Lena. After a little while, she lets go and I¡¯m able to walk properly. ¡°So, what were you doing exactly in the forest?¡± Better to not bring up what just happened or what happened last night. ¡°I was trying to investigate where the animals came from, of course. It¡¯s part of my duties as the head of the temple.¡± ¡°There¡¯s other disciples in the temple?¡± How come I¡¯ve never seen them? ¡°Yeah, though most of them are either away or locked up in secluded meditation.¡± I suppose so. As we¡¯re heading towards the temple, I see people rushing about to various places in a hurry. So much so that one of them falls down, but then gets up and continues running. I¡¯d rather not be so quick to judge but he did just trip on plain ground. ¡°Why were you fighting the wolves there?¡± ¡°They attacked me first. Demonic beasts are always like that. They gain strength by cultivating and killing humans.¡± ¡°And you got careless and let one hit you?¡± Her face reddens as she replies. ¡°I was just a little distracted and allowed one to escape my view.¡± ¡°Distracted?¡± ¡°Come on, don¡¯t make me say it¡­ I noticed you.¡± It¡¯s hard to reprimand her over that. ¡°Just¡­ Be careful next time.¡± ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t have that much experience hunting. It¡¯s still a relatively new thing for me.¡± We reach the temple and head inside. I notice a lot more people here than before. I get the feeling that they¡¯re making preparations of some sort. Lena leads me towards the room where the priestess is at. It¡¯s the same room where I played ¡®Go¡¯ with the priestess. There¡¯s a faint smell of rust coming from the door to the side. That¡¯s odd. I don¡¯t think that there should be much iron objects in such a mostly wooden temple. It¡¯ll be very poor maintenance of swords if that is the case, but I suppose that¡¯s believable. The priestess is standing there while looking towards the garden to the side as if in deep thought about existence or something. That would be quite elaborate for a trap. Lena speaks up first. ¡°Teacher, we¡¯ve come back from investigating the forest.¡± The priestess turns around slowly and looks at us two. ¡°Did you find out anything?¡± She asks. ¡°¡­ No.¡± Lena replies ¡°Actually, there was something interesting there.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I could tell her about it now. ¡°I have reason to believe the animals were actually pushed here by the other sects.¡± Lena seems surprised but the priestess nods, so I continue. ¡°It¡¯s as if to distract the sect and make them use their resources.¡± ¡°Yes. Lena, you should know about it too now since I already told Gray yesterday.¡± She did? ¡°The other sects are targeting our sect lately. So, we¡¯ve been making preparations stealthily.¡± Lena is still surprised but calms down a bit. ¡°They will attack in about a week, so we have just enough time to prepare. We held a meeting and have decided it would be a good time for the young leaders of the sect to go outside to experience the world a bit before coming back and possibly participating in the battle between sects.¡± Different world, different culture, they might think that 21 years old is young. ¡°It¡¯ll be you two, the sect leader¡¯s children and a few other disciples from other elders. 6 in total. It would make for a balanced team. In the meeting I remembered Gray wanting to go to the Forest of twilight so I suggested that and they agreed. Right now, you all are powerful enough to go into just the outer layers at least.¡± ¡°Go and make the preparations. You¡¯ll be heading out this evening.¡± Isn¡¯t this moving a bit too fast? To progress that story quest of course. Yeah, I shouldn¡¯t complain. As we take our leave, I inspect the priestess though I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get much.
Sofia ???? Level 50+ (Sky realm) Race: Human (Female) Hair color: Black Eye color: Reddish-black Skin tone: Fair Height: 170cm Weight: 63kg Age: 43 years Type: Closet pervert Weapon of choice: Spear 2 items equipped. Pendant of sacrifice. (cost 20) Made from the souls of the sacrificed beings. Can only be made by a priestess. Each attack on the enemy absorbs 2% of the damage dealt as health Attacks have a small chance to inflict a negative effect on enemies Priestess garb. (cost 9) Clothing meant only for a priestess. Element: Holy. HP +250.
Chapter 15. Train-wreck + NOTICE + poll Pendant of Sacrifice Made from the souls of sacrificed beings?! I somehow manage to control my expression from changing as I closed the door behind me. The priestess¡¯s smile seems a lot creepier now. From when did you start advocating for rights? And its not even about the closet pervert thing. I start walking alongside Lena to at least act normal. I have a feeling the priestess is able to sense her surroundings and would be able to practically see if I act off suddenly. Lena is conveying her excitement over the ¡®trip¡¯ but I¡¯m too occupied to pay much attention. Yes, let¡¯s think calmly. Everyone can do whatever they want as long as it doesn¡¯t harm other people. And it doesn¡¯t say those sacrificed beings were humans either. What even are souls? And though it said that only a priestess could make it. It can be an heirloom or something left behind by the previous priestesses.
Souls can be explained as, consciousness. It is what differentiates the ¡®dead¡¯ from the ¡®living¡¯, however imperfect that definition may be. For example- If you manage to create a perfect body, like Frankenstein, it still cannot move on its own till there¡¯s a soul inside it. Automations do not require souls. And souls can be developed over time by an intelligence smart enough to do so. It is a messy thing.
¡­Frankenstein was the name of the scientist, not the creation, but, that use is also acceptable. I kind of get it now.
Extra details of a specific item can be found out by holding said item.
Okay, yes, this can be clarified much easier now. I just have to ask the priestess to let me hold that pendant for a bit. That¡­ Cannot be written off. If giving a ring to someone is enough to say you¡¯ll marry that person, it won¡¯t be that far off to change the ring to a necklace. Anyways, worrying about that comes after I find out about that pendant. ¡°-you think we should carry that?¡± Lena¡¯s question finally reaches my ears. Not like I could completely grasp it since I didn¡¯t hear the first part. ¡°What do you suppose we do?¡± Mirror the question back. Cheap but effective move. ¡°Carrying the bed might take too much space but it would be worth it.¡± Ignoring that, ¡°¡­Could we even carry it?¡± ¡°My storage bag has about a chest worth of space. I can manage it if I take everything else out. The bed can be folded a bit.¡± ¡°Show me that storage bag. I¡¯m curious.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ Sect leader gave it to me for winning a competition for our sect.¡± She reaches into her clothes and takes out something like a satchel bag, but it¡¯s made of cloth, and hands it to me.
Compression bag This high-quality bag can be used to store objects. It compresses the object as you put it in, thus allowing to store more than its apparent volume. It compresses things using the qi from the user. It will break and spill all the items if no qi is supplied for a while. Things that are resistant to qi like top-quality weapons or living beings cannot be compressed. This bag was given to Lena by the sect leader as a prize for winning the annual inter-sect competition of the Wind kingdom. However, it was actually a gift for her 17thbirthday. Internal volume for compressible objects: 1 cubic meter.
You can see its contents by reaching into the bag using your hand. But are you sure you want to do that?
Yeah¡­ Let¡¯s rather not look more into what she might have in there already. I return the bag to Lena and she returns it to its place under her clothes. I didn¡¯t notice it before but she seems to be blushing a little.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡­Ignoring that, ¡°I think you should choose what to take yourself, I don¡¯t have many things here. I¡¯ll wait outside the room.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯ll be done quick.¡± She says as she heads inside the room and starts packing whatever it is that she needs to pack. I had a few things I needed to check. I open the system¡¯s storage and first, take out my school uniform.
Type: Clothing, 4 stars (can be refined further) Model: Serenade (cost 30) Custom made for Gray using the bleeding edge of technological innovation with fabrics, contains titanium-gold alloy, graphene and diamonds. Extremely resistant to cuts. However, does not provide as much HP as other clothes. Very flexible. HP +1000 Movement speed +50% Equipment ability: Untouchable. 50% chance to dodge any attack. Any melee attack below 500 dmg will be blocked. Blood Retribution. 10% chance to bounce back 600% damage to attacker. Refine conditions¡­ (Show details)
That¡¯s¡­ intense. Unfortunate that I can¡¯t wear it right now. Lena walks outside the room as I put the school uniform back into storage. ¡°I finished with the packing.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we carry any other supplies like food or, maybe bug repellant?¡± ¡°Master will have that taken care of.¡± I look at the system clock, it¡¯s already about 2 in the afternoon. ¡°So, we should have lunch now, right?¡± ¡°Ah! Yes, you must be hungry after not having eaten for long. Cultivators after the sky realm can do with only one meal a day since they can substitute it with qi. But we should eat at least twice.¡± ¡°Where to, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to the kitchen in the temple and make your food, wait here.¡± She says as she rushes off to another part of the temple. I walk inside the room and sit on the chair and continue inspecting the items in my storage. The other items don¡¯t have anything special to them, except my smartphone which is also like my school dress.
Type: Weapon (cost 15)/ Skill (cost 20), 4 stars (can be refined further) Model: Panacea Custom made by Valentine Enterprises. A technological marvel. It approaches the computing limit¡¯s peak. Its battery is powerful enough to stun people. If used as a weapon- Dmg +100 Equipment ability- Stun. 90% chance to stun any enemy below your level. Chance decreases by 15% for every level higher. Needs 5 seconds of preparation time before a stun attempt and 30 seconds for the next attempt onwards. If used as a skill- Equipment ability- Panacea. Immune to status effects- confusion, poison, stun, chaos, slowdown, immobilize. Unusual Killer. Raise 30% of elemental damage for each instance of debuff on the target. Refine conditions¡­ (Show details)
This seems a bit more usable in the near future but still not yet. Now as I¡¯m left idle to wonder about what else I should do. Right, the practice for controlling mana. I could try to control the wood around me but that would be too hard to do. A more gradual learning curve would still require me to practice on still green plants. I head outside into the hallway and towards the small garden. I sit down on the grass and try to remember the textbook once again. It said to practice by trying to replicate complex patterns, since that would help you knowing where to try and control an object to best be able to use it. It¡¯s like knowing to use an axe by holding its handle, instead of holding the axe head and using the handle to chop down a tree. Introduced? It was around the end of 11thcentury, but as history is, it¡¯s not very well documented. Nor did we have any reason to believe they figured out how to use these abilities. ¡®Mana¡¯ just suddenly appeared and people with the ability to control it started being born 2-3 generations later. They didn¡¯t know how to use it, so it was largely just a novelty. It was only around the end of medieval era, when gunpowder was being used in weapons, that people started to understand how to use it. It started with the alchemists or rather, chemists who figured out they were able to control certain elements without touching it. And it spread to other people who realized they could use it too, however not to its full potential. It helped technological progress by leaps. Certain people were even able to ignite the gunpowder without pressing the trigger. Though it still didn¡¯t have much use. There were a few wars of course but the first country which managed to make a weapon that can be launched into space and could be able to destroy a city in minutes, it practically ruled the world, thus ironically leading to world peace through diplomacy. That country figured out a way to use the mana with technology, making it possible to manufacture guns that shot using mana, i.e. without any ammunition. The relative peace also allowed people¡¯s power to truly flourish, which required a lot of resources to nurture from a young age. So, the previous generations made a stage, a foothold, so we could finally try to reach its limits. Only my generation could truly use the innate power to its peak, however the problem really is that there is no other reference point to what even is the peak. Because it is. Cold weapons largely became irrelevant by the 21stcentury and the development of projectile type weapons skyrocketed. They figured out ways to fire magical projectiles that ignored the traditional type of armor and so elemental armor was also made. My school uniform is one of them, however it¡¯s still a trial piece and doesn¡¯t block all damage. Nothing really, but if I had to say then it would be ¡®money¡¯. After that forceful peace was established, people started using that technology for things other than weapons. A few companies managed to benefit tremendously from that and practically rule the world now. These companies which can become independent from the country they originated from because of the power they hold which is more than the country itself. What really is left now is to try and colonize other planets I suppose. Knowledge itself is power. ¡ª¡ª¡ª The chapter ends here. Since that much is how I wrote before stopping. It¡¯s a train-wreck, my novel. It¡¯s apparently worse than a ruined Japanese harem novel, though I find that very hard to believe. While the novel starts just fine, it quickly turns into an apparent comedy, pushing the story to the side, and then takes a few chapters to get the story going again. The story which already is quite hard to grasp, which I understand a little. But by then most readers would have already quit. So, I¡¯m going to stop continuing this novel. But wait, I said I had every intention to finish it. And yes, I do. Stories that lack proper closure, which admittedly are most novels on this site, sadly, I really dislike those. So, what am I going to do? Rewrite this novel from scratch. This time a bit clearer directive and way to proceed in mind. The MC and setting will stay ofc. But the way the novel progresses will change. So this novel ends right here. You can look forward to the new, re-written first chapter during nextyear(2018), maybe, but no promises. But next year, definitely.. Hopefully I¡¯ll have a bit of a stockpile of chapters ready by then, thus giving me a cushion to fall if i don''t write regular chapters.