The words that came into Damien’s ear were like heaven’s angels singing a lullaby of ecstasy. If he could float right now, he would be touching the ceiling in joy. The words that Aya told Damien kept echoing in his head like a symphony.
“Get what you need, I’ll cover it.”
Damien’s confidence exuded out in a complete change. He called over an attendant, and started picking loudly which potions and pills he would need to cultivate to the best of his abilities. Everyone else was stumped at the change, but they could all guess who was responsible as they eyed Aya. Damien didn’t want to go too crazy since Aya specified to get what he needed, not what he wanted. In the end, Damien ended up choosing those that would enhance those concentrated in the Fire Dao. To balance those out, he also picked out some that helped with reinvigorating Mana and reaching an enlightened state. These items were the Buddha Clarity Pill, Reinvigorating Phoenix Pill, Firesource Pill, Vial of Dragon’s Breath, Vial of the Sun’s Wrath, and Prinal Molten Spring Water. All of these were of Heaven Grade with the utmost purity.
After finishing up adding everything to his cart, Damien grunted triumphantly. His swagger was being shown off to the extreme as he strutted to the checkout counter. Everything was packaged up in front of him while the clerk rang everything up. The number of gold coins kept rising and rising until it reached 47,230 gold coins. Damien’s mind went numb just at the thought of spending that much ever. Damien expectantly waited for Aya to take out the money, however she was as still as a rock. Damien coughed out nervously as he urged her with his hand to pay up, but it didn’t work. Slowly, the staff started to block the exit as others began flanking around them quietly. This didn’t escape Damien’s or Aya’s notice. Their movements were made in a secret and precise fashion like they had practiced it many times.
“Aya, what’s the hold up? Let’s just pay them and get out of here. I don’t like what’s going on.”
Aya’s stone cold voice rang out in a piercing manner to all those spectating.
“No, I don’t want to.”
“But why?”
Instead of answering his question, Aya quickly released her hibernating aura for a quick second, causing all of this inside to pass out. The sound of bodies hitting the floor rang out continuously while Aya walked up to the counter to take the goods. She tossed them up and down in the air like they were playthings and motioned for Damien to walk out with her. Damien was too stunned to speak because this was completely out of his expectation. All he could do was mindlessly walk to her side before they were stopped by the eccentric manager that welcomed them in. He had a plain smile on his face like none of this bothered him. He had his hand clasped behind his back and just asked a simple question.
“Why steal when someone of your caliber could easily afford it? You will be wanted in this kingdom for such a small matter.”
Damien thought of the same thing so he also stared at her for an answer. She simply waved her arm at the old man, moving him with a surge of her energy. She walked out the door with Damien and offered her explanation.
“It’s more fun this way, that’s why. What point is it to have this strength and not do what you wish with it? This is my freedom.”
The eccentric old manager could only watch them leave with an ever growing smile on his face. He didn’t bother chasing them or calling for help, there was no point. In the City of Trua if he were to say he was number two, no one would dare claim they were number one. Seeing that he stood no chance against Aya, it would be a waste of manpower and resources to try to catch them. He thought it was best he report it to the kingdom and have them deal with it however they see fit. After he sensed their energies disappeared, he awoke everyone in his shop and began cleaning up.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Such a nice person. They could’ve easily ran off with the whole store. I doubt there is anyone in this kingdom that could stop them or just her.”
Damien and Aya encountered no problems leaving Trua. The news of them robbing the most prestigious store was kept under wraps. Aya expected as much since she made a point to show that eccentric old man how powerless he really was. Once they reached a good distance away, where the City of Trua was just a dot in the horizon, did they finally slow down. Damien was stupefied by the change of events, but that didn’t stop the exhilaration of his head beating and the large smile he wore under his garb.
‘That is true freedom! You can do whatever you want!’
Damien’s desire for strength was only reinforced through these actions. He would be able to do anything, which in turn would allow him to gather any information he desired. With the potions and pills they snatched, he would be able to advance rapidly in the environment of Meteor Volcano. Thinking of it now with a different point of view, Damien realized something that made him stop in his tracks.
“Wait, if we were able to take anything, why didn’t we take everything? We could have been rich and I wouldn’t need to worry about resources for the year!”
Damien was clearly worked up from what he could’ve had. His internal greed was starting to show as it would in any person. Clearly, this irked Aya to a good degree since she walked up to Damien and smacked him outside his head. The strength of the snack was clearly indicated by the sound it made and how it made him almost fall over. Damien was knocked dizzy for a couple of seconds while she left him behind. It took him a moment to compose himself, only to be indignant in the end.
“Hey! What’s your problem? I'm only speaking about the facts here!”
Aya stopped in her tracks as she felt he had not learned his lesson.
“I forget you are but a child. There is a certain etiquette one must follow. We are not savages.”
“But they couldn’t do anything to you! What’s the point of your strength if you have to follow etiquette? You said it was fun and it was your freedom! You are contradicting yourself!”
“Listen closely, Damien. To take more than what you need is gluttonous. We are only destined for what we have and that is determined by our strength. This was earned by my merit not yours. There is a balancing force in the universe that is a part of the natural cycle and that is karma. We are beings subject to such judgment, so we must be careful on how far we push it. Also, they might just be grateful I didn’t take the whole store and leave it at that.”
“What is karma’s role? What is it supposed to do?”
“It’s too early for you to know. For now, you are too meager to make any impact on the karmic flow of the universe, but that’s all I have to say about it for now.”
Aya left Damien in a state of contemplation, where he was getting clues on how the universe operated. He couldn’t make heads or tails about it, however he would be sure to badger her some more when the time was right. For now, they left Trua with what they needed and it was a straight shot from here to Meteor Volcano. It took another day's trip before the peak of the volcano came to view. It stood taller than once could see. The clouds in the sky smothered the top of the volcano and one could only guess how much farther it went. At the base, an expansive sea of trees emerged that appeared to have no end in sight. The closer they got to the base the hotter the environment became to the point where Damien wondered how the vegetation survived here. Damien felt better than ever like he was being welcomed home. Underneath his garments, his skin was shining in a rejuvenating glow that energized every cell of his body.
“I feel amazing!”
Not many people came by here since the conditions were inhospitable but for people like Damien training in the Dao of Fire, it was a different story. Damien stripped himself of his disguise and felt freer than ever. Once he got closer to the trees, he realized how they survived in this environment. The vegetation mutated and evolved to take in the heat as nutrients. This was evident by the fact that veins of fire were visible on the bodies of the vegetation. It was like the roots of magma were taking over the entire forest's will. Damien didn’t think much of the phenomenon until a normal looking plant slowly started to slither up Damien’s leg. Aya quickly felt something was off about this forest as she warned Damien of the trap he was falling into.
“You’re going to need to make a run for it. I’ll meet you at the base.”
Aya was unperturbed by the change of events as she ascended into the sky and disappeared to the base of the volcano. Damien was left to fend for himself again as usual.