Seeing that the mood improved, Himo nodded and walked back to his allies.
Jonhan and the two elders stared at him in confusion, but the four disciples didn’t even do as much as beating an eyelid. Before they could ask him anything, Himo replied to Jonhan’s previous question.
“Robbed? There is no way a few weaklings could rob me!”
“Weaklings?” One of the two elders blinked. While Himo and Jonhan talked to each other, he turned to Shela. “What happened inside? Who is he?”
“We met him during our travel to the cursed item, his name is Shu Himo.” She chuckled. “If I had to describe him in a few words… his talent seems boundless, but he sometimes acts weirdly as you’ve just seen.”
“Boundless? What did he do to deserve such praise?” The elder raised an eyebrow.
“He took the cursed item,” Reiji answered seriously. He then made a brief summary of everything that happened inside.
The more he heard, the more the elder staggered backward, nearly toppling over.
He killed a rank 4 monster by himself?
He gained ownership of a cursed weapon?
He killed the robbers paying no effort?
Is he really just a Meridian Strengthening phase?
Knowing that the child might become unbelievably strong, the elder held a weird glint in his eyes. He turned to the child. “So, from which sect are you?”
Hearing the question, Himo looked back at the elder. “None.”
“What?” The elder widened his eyes.
“Actually, we met him while coming here,” Jonhan replied when he noticed his doubts. “I noticed his talent, and so decided to offer him the opportunity to come here.”
“I see…” The elder stroked his beard. “Normally there would be an examination to undertake before entering our sect, but… what about it? Himo, are you interested in entering our Belajar sect as a disciple?”
Himo blinked. “Thank you, but I refuse.”
The elder gasped. “Why do you refuse? You know that our Belajar sect is the strongest, right? Pills, cultivation techniques, treasures, teachers… as long as you join, you will have all of that! If you prove yourself, even elders like me could teach you!”
Such a bloated ego. This elder needs to undergo failure like those disciples.
[When it’s the User who says it, it doesn’t sound convincing.]
Himo ignored the system and shook his head. “No one shall bind me, no one shall stop me, and no one shall have me.” He smiled. “If you want a friendly relation with me, I’d be happy to, but I’m not going to be anyone’s disciple.”
Seji and the other three disciples snickered; they had expected his refusal.
The elder nearly spurted blood. Not only you refuse my invite, but you even say ‘if you want a friendly relation with me’, who do you think you are?
He was about to say some wrath-filled words, but when his eyes posed on the child before him, he froze. Wait a second… it’s impossible that a child who is able to do all that is just a common solo cultivator. Adding that to the behavior he has when against me… no, impossible!
The elder paled and took a step back. He gawked at Himo in fright. Is he placing a trap against me?! That’s right, there’s no way that someone like him has no master… he just doesn’t want to say it! Considering his absurd talent, his master is likely way above my sect’s level… if I mess up something, we may get annihilated!
Even just the thought made him shudder, prompting him to assert the child before him once again.
I didn’t expect that there would be such a fearsome monster in here!
Armed with such knowledge, how could he remain any longer? He bid his farewells in a hurry and mentioned to Himo that, if he were to change idea, he could come to the sect whenever he wanted.
“Himo, Seji, do you think we will meet in the future?” Shela and the siblings fidgeted their gaze between Himo, Seji, and the two elders about to depart. As disciples, they had to follow their elders, even unwillingly.
“The path of cultivation is long." Himo smiled. "We will likely meet in the future.”
Seji nodded.
The two siblings’ tails began to waggle around. Reiji spoke up. “Don’t you dare to die. It would be a shame if someone able to use cursed weapons were to die.” Serdis nodded frantically at those words.
Himo chuckled. “Don’t worry, there’s no way I’ll ever die!”
The three smiled at his words. Then, they walked away, following their elders.
Jonhan glanced at them before turning his gaze to the waving Himo. I thought he refused my offer because he had somehow heard of my sect’s weakness, but… he really doesn’t want to be a disciple, huh?
-----
Several hours later, Himo, Seji, and Jonhan returned to the Tyris village. The sun began to hide behind two hills, about to set.
“We’re back, finally.” Seji sighed. He couldn’t wait to sleep in an inn.
“Like the last time, you’re free for today. We’ll return to the capital tomorrow.” Jonhan reminded them before vanishing as usual.
“Sure.” Himo and Seji nodded. They both sped to the entrance of the village, this time not surprised by its liveliness. Torches stood at each side of the roads, the small flames releasing red, warm lights amidst the dark. Numerous buildings and entangled roads surrounded them, but they didn’t get lost. Following the indications of locals(for once), they walked up to an inn.
Large stones and thick logs made up the outer structure of the building. The air of conviviality could be heard from outside, amidst cheers and clappings.
Himo and Seji walked inside, welcomed by the aroma of roasted meat and spices. The innkeeper smiled and nodded at the two and returned to the conversation she had with a group of clients.
Waiting for her conversation to end, the two looked around. Several long tables brimmed with travelers, one of them particularly noisy. Some cultivators drunk from their wooden mugs until passing out, others talked even as their mouth was full of food.
Himo’s gaze stopped on a woman seated at the noisiest table. She had purple hair which blended with her purple dress; her eyes likewise purple.
Why is she here? Himo was stunned; she was the shopkeeper who had sold him the storage ring.
Holding a mug filled with white wine, she partied cheerfully. At her right side was a brown-haired man playing with a deck of cards, while at her left was a red-haired girl. At the same table were also a fat man, a brawny man, and a wolf-man, who was the noisiest.
What an odd group. Himo shook his head and smiled.
“Welcome.” The innkeeper greeted the two. The group she was earlier talking to had walked up to a table, waiting for the food to be served.
“Hello. We’d like two rooms.” Seji replied immediately. His eyes seemed ready to shut at any moment.
“Okay; it’s two silver coins for a night.”
Himo placed the coins on the counter.
Smiling brightly, the innkeeper gave a key each. “Rooms number six and seven. I hope you will enjoy your stay.”
“Thank you!”
-----
Sitting on a bed, Himo’s gaze wandered on the two open windows that gave view to the village, but he didn’t stand up.
System, I want to buy the next phase’s cultivation fragment.
[Detracting 50 BS points…]
[Thanks for your patronage!]
[You now have 10 BS points!]
As a string of new information made its way to his mind, Himo sat cross-legged. Following the instructions of the Legendary Myriad of Ways cultivation technique, he absorbed the surrounding Qi, transformed it into Khenqi, and circulated it in a special pathway.
His mind sank into that cycle, his focus entirely on it. Soon enough, an acupoint opened, followed by a sense of relief on its surrounding area. He needed two hours to open every single acupoint.
To his surprise, the air surrounding him felt cooler. He felt as if he had just broken through a membrane that had always restrained his senses. He stood up, looking at both hands and legs.
“So this is the Acupoint Opening phase. It does indeed feel different from other regular breakthroughs.” After thinking for a second, he checked his status.
§-----------------------------------------------§
[Shu Himo, 10 Years old]
[Hp: 100%] [Mp: 574→824!]
§-------§
[Strength: 56.2→72.4!][Endurance: 29.8→41.8!]
[Agility: 61.4→87.4!] [Dexterity: 51.4→78!]
[Intelligence: 57.4→82.4!] [Perception: 63→91!]
[Realm: Body Strengthening] [Stage: Acupoint Opening][Foundation%: 100%]
[The maximum stats points at this realm is 100]
[The average cultivator’s stats points(in the area close to the User) at this realm is 11.2]
§-------§
[Khenqi Quality: Low][Khenqi Amount: 0.028]
[???: Chaos][??? Grade: Locked]
[???: None]
[Skills: [Intimidation lv_1], [Hopper lv_1].]
[Unique Skills: [Steal Illusion].]
[State: Still weak.]
§-----------------------------------------------§
“Wow.” His eyes brightened.
Like a kid excited for the next day, he threw himself on the bed and hugged the pillow, a blissful smile covering his face.
-----
Prompted by the cries of roosters and hens, Himo opened his eyes. He let out a sigh, prepared himself, and walked out of the inn as he waved the innkeeper off. He first passed to the trading market, where he bought a map. The Arsia Kingdom’s map.
After putting it in the storage, he came out of the village and sat on a rock at tens of meters from the entrance. He stared blankly at the hundreds of visitors coming in and out, reminiscing of everything that had happened from when he first met the system. A minute after minute passed until two figures walked toward him.
“Are you ready?”
Faced by Jonhan’s question, Himo nodded.
Before departing to the capital, Jonhan looked at Himo seriously. “I thought deeply about what you said and decided to talk with the other elders about it. Himo, thank you for the advice.”
Advice? Himo blinked. Ah! That one about being more arrogant! Realizing that, he broke into a bright smile. “I see.”
After looking back at the village for the last time, the trio headed to the capital—
[Impossible!]
Wha-what now? Noticing the system’s disbelief, Himo felt an ominous shiver slid down his back.
Ding!
[Abrupt Quest: Slay the Living Calamity!]
[A dreadful monster from another planet landed not too far from your location. The system will lend temporarily items for this quest. Exterminate it immediately!]
[Quest Difficulty: F~SSS]
[Quest Reward: Unknown(varies based on how many free items are used)]
[Quest Failure Penitence: Nearly certain destruction of this planet]
From F to SSS… is the quest difficulty bugged?
