Chapter 8 - Scroll

Suddenly, the Commander flicked his fingers. Immediately, a servant came into the room, appearing from behind a corner. He closed in on the commander, who then whispered a few words in his ears. Bowing respectfully, the servant hurriedly left the room without leaving a trace.

Mark might have been curious, be he didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he intelligently remained silent, in hopes of leaving a good impression. However, when the Commander realized this, he just seemed to ignore it. Dejected, he merely leans back on his chair.

After a few seconds of silence which leave Mark uneasy, the Commander finally starts talking. “Akito Sora, huh? You can call me Qin Duan” Mark is shocked when he hears the Commander talking politely to him, as though they have the same level of prestige. Not daring to say anything, he just smiles back.

“You do have a particular name, you know? Do you remember from which part of the continent you come from?” Instantly, he sinks into despair. This inspection could have gone brilliantly! But no! Life always had to get in his way. Well, whatever, since I’ve already started talking, why not just answer his questions? I just shouldn’t go overboard and tell him the whole thing, just in case.

“This sir, I am sorry to say that when I awoke, I was already near this city. If I hadn’t remembered some blurred memories about my identity, I would not be able to answer your question, High Commander. All I can say, however, is that where I come from does not resemble this place. I am truly sorry to disappoint you, please forgive this lowly servant.”

Although he was a bit pissed off by the fact that the latter had, or at least pretended to have, lost his memories, the Commander’s curiosity towards to what the latter had just said was more intense. “I see. Do you remember anything else, a detail that could lead to an understanding of where you come from?” The Commander asks, this time more friendly and with a bright smile, clearly wanting to befriend Mark.

Inspecting the change in behaviour of the Commander, the side of Mark’s lips lift slightly, forming a hidden grin. “I do remember some slight details. But, could I ask something first? What happened for the city to become so guarded? Was there some accident?” Now that he has someone of importance to whom he can talk to, it would really be a waste to not ask a few questions about this place.

“Oh? Actually….a few months ago, an accident happened, and a lot of villages, including this one, were burnt or submerged by waves of water. Initially, we just thought these were natural disasters, so we didn’t pay too much attention” Now that the Commander wanted to befriend Mark, he would naturally answer such a question that anyone could answer. He continued “However, a few weeks ago, when nearly all of the damage had been repaired, another calamity happened. This time, although most of the villages were prepared, the damage done was at least two times greater than the last time. Some people of high status starting suspecting that a person was behind all these problems. That’s why I was sent here, to inspect the people entering this city and check, in case that person showed up.” Having finished his explanation, the commander went back to the question he had asked. “You said you remembered some slight details? What did you mean?”

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“When this sir asked about my origins, I remembered some potentially interesting details. However, I am not sure that I can trust this sir.” Replied Mark, displaying fake hesitation on his face. He then purposefully grimaced helplessly while looking at the Commander. This should do it. If I can get him to become a good acquaintance of mine, I would at least gain a foothold in this city. By the looks of things, this Commander seems to have much more power than whoevers in charge of the guards of this city.

“Ke ke. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m the king’s most trusted right-hand, how could I betray someone? If I did something so shameful, you might as well call me the king’s fool!” Hesitating for a few moments, he then hands what looks like a scroll to the latter. “Do you know what this is?”

Doubtful, Mark takes the scroll in his hands and turns it around, searching his available memories in search of something similar. The scroll is made of a silvery-blue color, with lines on the sides resembling flowing water. However, he can’t remember anything similar to this “strange piece of paper”. He shakes his head.

“So, you don’t even remember ever seeing one of these, huh? Well, let me explain, then! This is what people commonly call a Cultivation Method scroll, however, their original names are Qi Method Scrolls. Inside, you will find information on a certain Qi Method. Coincidentally, this is a water-type Qi Method. This means that only people that are of the water-affinity and that have finished sensing the world energies can use this method.

There are four typical types of Qi Methods. These are the fire, nature, air, and water-type, which you have just seen. These Qi Methods will help you cultivate the respective types in your body, strengthening your body as well as your soul realm.”

“Soul realm?” Mark was starting to get more and more confused. This isn’t at all how MMORPGs worked!! He had hoped that he would be able to level up and gain abilities on the way, but he had never seen any games where he had to use scrolls to level up. Normally, scrolls were used to create massive explosions, not help you become stronger!

“Yes, your soul realm is a hidden part in your body which contains your spiritual energy. It is the most vital part of your body, after the heart. If it gets destroyed, you would feel excruciating pain until the last days of your life, which will be significantly shortened.” The Commander spoke straightforwardly, and was candid about everything he said. He had no reason to lie, but he showed an interest in Mark which had led to these series of explanation.

Great! More weaknesses! As if the human body isn’t the frailest thing I’ve ever seen! Last time, I literally died because it got cold, what the hell! “Aren’t there ways to protect this so called soul realm?” Mark asks, clearly feeling uneasy about the whole situation of having something in his body he didn’t know about.

The Commander laughed out uncontrollably. “All you want to do is to protect it? Do you not understand? The soul realm is the source of your power! Instead of protecting it, your goal is to strengthen it, as well as your body! Who would want to live his life as a weak peasant, anyway? Seriously, boy, have some motivation!”

Rolling his eyes at the thought of hours of training just to strengthen his body by a bit, Mark directed his eyes towards the scroll. “You said that this Qi Method enables people to become stronger. Does that mean that it has some value?” Clearly, at the moment, he was much more attracted by wealth than wasting hours and hours of effort in a futile attempt of becoming stronger.

“Value? Boy, this scroll you see right here is worth more than a thousand spiritual gems! How can you discard it as nothing?? You would probably be able to buy a house with this Qi Method!” Although the Commander knew that Mark could not remember anything, he was still enraged by this handsome lawless kid that thought that scrolls were useless.