In a noisy market place, filled with people, walks a beautiful and entrancing female. She’s holding a small bag where she stores the items she bought. If one took a look they would see multiple fruits and vegetables. The weird part about that is that there aren’t much of them. When one buys apples they would buy multiple pieces but the female brought only one. If someone buys oranges they would buy a pack instead of one but the female brought only one. This beautiful yet weird female is none other than Elizabeth and she’s buying different vegetables and fruits.
“Beautiful Lady, we have good fresh apples from the agri district.”
“Come on miss, we have the best oranges from the sun district.”
Many vendors are advertising their goods to Elizabeth but Elizabeth paid them no heed. Because of her job as a traffic enforcer, money isn’t a commodity and she uses the money left from buying gadgets to buying cheap but good food.
It’s been 4 days since the incident and Elizabeth has already broken through the 1st level and managed to reach the 2nd level of physique tempering.
Her body has undergone the same transformation she did, when she first entered the first level.
The first thing she did after advancing was to calculate how much strength she gained, so she can control herself.
After testing out the objects she can lift and the force she can release, Elizabeth concludes that she can easily lift 200 kgs, release a punch worth 200 kgs and release a kick of 250 kg and at night she ran in the district to calculate her speed.
Her maximum running speed is 35 kph. Now she can ascertain that she’s stronger than average human beings and possibly defeat a mob level Meta human, the weakest type of Meta humans.
Elated, Elizabeth continued to cultivate but the problem was reaching the third level was too long.
To reach the third level, Elizabeth needed to continuously cultivate for a month.
The problem isn’t the time but the urgency of her situation.
Eventually people will come back to harm her, so she needs to become stronger and protect herself and eventually complete her dream.
After reaching the 2nd level, new memories flowed into her mind.
Will this work? Elizabeth thought while she was caressing a honeydew fruit.
Cultivators absorb energy to reach higher realms and higher levels but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to advance.
Higher realms means larger amounts of energy and to counter this, cultivators created ways to help them advance faster.
There are 5 normal ways to quicken cultivation, the first is pills, the second is rituals, the third is formations, the fourth is finding energy fountains and the last normal way is to bathe in herbs.
Even though all these ways increase cultivation there is still a difference. Each way has their process and result.
Pills are expensive but their effects are immediate.
Rituals are cheap and increase your absorption rate but they’re temporary and have a short amount of time.
Formations are like rituals in the fact that they increase absorption rate and they have the advantage that they can last indefinitely but they’re very expensive to make.
Energy fountains are natural made energy sources that pump out dense and pure energy, it doesn’t cost anything but the chances of me finding one is impossible.
Herb baths are cheap because you only need to submerge yourself in energy soups that are made up of cheap herbs.
The only problem is that herb baths are ineffective on people with higher cultivations unless they are using rare herbs, which would be more useful in pills than baths.
For someone like Elizabeth, who doesn’t have the backing of a sect or a lot of money and materials for cultivation, herb baths is the best option for her to increase her cultivation.
It’s both cheap and doesn’t require rare materials.
When Elizabeth found out that she could increase her cultivation without having to find rare herbs in a god-forsaken island, she almost broke her bedroom door. If she could use herbs, then why would Elizabeth buy fruits and vegetables.
It’s because even the cheapest fruits and vegetables are descendants of once powerful herbs.
Apparently the apple is a descendant of the red dragon fruit but the last cultivation war, which almost purged all the energy from the world, forced it to become a fruit that thrived from large amounts of energy to a fruit that survived on scant amounts of energy.
A lot of fruit and vegetables were once descendants of powerful herbs and plant life, so that means these fruits and vegetables have energy that can increase cultivation, albeit smaller.
Elizabeth plans on creating a herb bath made out of fruits and vegetables to help her cultivation speed up, even if only a little.
Thankfully, Elizabeth’s past master was once the most powerful cultivator in his time or else she wouldn’t know where to start.
She was surprised when a specific memory of her told her that the peach came from the pink heart fruit, which makes the skin flawless and a person’s countenance beautiful. This fruit despite being quite common became a rarity because of the women fighting for it.
Elizabeth isn’t a person who would fuss over looks but even, she’s quite interested in that fruit, mostly for its cleansing properties.
I wish pink heart fruits still exist; it might help Narissa with her problem. I don’t see the problem though she’s still quite beautiful.
After walking for a while, Elizabeth feels the constant hum of energy running through the stalls.
Despite being small, the energy here is definitely thicker than the city park or the city sanctuary but the amount the fruits emanate is still smaller than the energy the briefcase releases.
Elizabeth plans on cultivating in the herb soup while the brief case is nearby.
Apple, orange, banana, and watermelon, I already have them I should get home.
Elizabeth checks her baggage one last time and starts to walk home.
Maybe I should buy the products from agri district or maybe from the sun district? Elizabeth’s thoughts are filled with how to improve her cultivation and also save more money.
While walking home, Elizabeth’s thoughts drift to the time it snowed. The snow stayed for a day and disappeared the next day.
Despite being artificial, it looked very beautiful.
Elizabeth reached her house and went inside to prepare everything.
She took out a large plastic tub that could fit her, if she went in to lie down.
She borrowed this from Narissa when they met at the police station yesterday.
She fills it with water in the bathroom. When it’s filled, she returns to the kitchen.
Pulling out a knife, Elizabeth starts cutting the fruits. With her strength, the knife she’s holding might as well be a factory made blade because she easily cuts through the water melon like butter.
Elizabeth carries all the fruits to her bathroom and puts them inside the tub.
The next step would be to heat up the water with energy.
Despite being only in the physique tempering realm, Elizabeth can at least release the smallest amount of energy. She starts filling the tub with small amounts of her energy which immediately tires her out.
The small energy reacts with the energy inside the fruits and the water starts to boil from the reaction. The water turns to a pinkish white color.
Smiling, Elizabeth goes out to retrieve the unbreakable briefcase.
After setting the briefcase near the tub, Elizabeth undresses and her clothes easily fall of her curvy body.
She tests the bath with a foot and finds the herb bath electrifying, in a good way.
Elizabeth slowly dips her whole body in the bath.
*Moan*
Elizabeth immediately covers her mouth.
The bath feels incredibly good.
The energy circulating in the bath isn’t much but it’s definitely helping and with the bath, she might be able to reach the third level in ten days.
She closes her eyes and starts to meditate while enjoying the pleasurable sensation of being submerged in energy.
Hours quickly pass, as Elizabeth happily enjoys the bath while absorbing energy.
Eventually the water returned to its transparent state and all the fruits were dried up.
Opening her eyes, Elizabeth looked inside her core and noticed that the improvement was quite big.
This way of cultivating is far faster and less boring than simply absorbing energy.
She stands up to wash herself but notices that her body became cleaner and became even smoother.
After touching her skin, her eyes widen from its tenderness.
I should really show this to Narissa.
After cleaning up, Elizabeth dresses up and immediately rushes out the house to buy more fruits and vegetables.
In the same noisy market, Elizabeth is buying the same fruits she bought earlier but this time with a very excited expression.
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Instead of buying the fruits one by one, she’s buying them by the dozen, despite the horrible pain she’s feeling from losing money.
Even the vendors are affected by her jovial mood. Some even gave her discounts, which she accepted eagerly.
Today is such a good day. And to think that I just needed to illegally enter a closed down nuclear plant to get a chance to achieve my dreams. I hope that lightning bolt is safe though.
Despite Elizabeth’s inaction, she kept the sentient lightning bolt in her mind, hoping that it was safe and truth to be told, if something could harm a time stopping lightning bolt, she wouldn’t be much of help but she’s not really sure if that was time stopping but it felt like it.
I wonder when can I do that.
Elizabeth’s daydreaming is cut short by the sound of shouting.
“WHAT THE HELL? COULDN’T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING?” A large burly man wearing clothes, that’s close to ripping apart, is screaming at a child that fell down the ground.
The man’s clothes were plastered with ice cream, it seems the child accidentally bumped into him and dirtied his clothing.
His reaction is a little bit overboard.
“LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID, YOU BRAT!” The man was about to grab the incapacitated child with his large fists. The man’s muscles bulge with the familiar strength of a Meta human which made others afraid of intervening.
Elizabeth moves to intercept the man.
Not even the city leader could scare Elizabeth from helping others but before she could go and help, a hand stops the man’s advance.
“You should calm down.” A cold icy voice that can easily stop volcanoes from erupting fills the silent marketplace.
A young handsome man, wearing a long grey winter coat, stops the burly man’s advance with his hand.
Elizabeth pauses from the effortless action of the familiar man in front of her. This familiar man is none other than Peter Lakes.
The burly man was only acting angry at the thought of his clothes being soiled but harming a child was still very unsightly to do, so he waited for someone to intervene so he could release his anger on that person. Smiling in the inside, he wanted to pound Peter to dust and have him pay for his clothing.
“HUH! WHO’RE YOU? DON’T INTERVENE.” The man pulls back his other fist and punches Peter with surprising force.
He’s strong.
Elizabeth guessed that this man must be a Meta human that focuses on strengthening his body, instead of his mental abilities.
*CRASH!*
The sound of a heavy object colliding with an unbreakable wall resounds through the marketplace. The man’s heavy fist stops just in front of Peter, stopped by a semi-transparent bluish wall.
For a Meta human to be capable of using psychic abilities, they must at least reach squad rank. But Peter’s psychic barrier is too strong for him to be just a squad ranked Meta human, he’s at least a beast rank Meta human.
The man’s face pales in fear.
Immediately, before Peter decides to do anything, the man retracts his fist and bows his head with speed that surprises Peter.
“I’m sorry! I’m ashamed that I showed such a disgraceful appearance to the people of this marketplace. I was just surprised by the child, I apologize!” Despite the man’s sudden apology, nobody is surprised.
There are laws against fighting, especially for Meta human.
If two Meta humans fought, the one who first initiated the fight had to pay the damage incurred.
It means that if Peter decided to damage all the stalls in the area while fighting, the man would have to pay for all the damage after paying for the medical bills he’ll incur from fighting someone stronger than him.
This law was made to make sure nobody would start a fight.
“Leave” The man didn’t even hesitate as he ran the opposite direction. After watching the man disappear, Peter kneels down and checks the child.
“Are you okay?” Peter’s voice was unusually gentle. His cold voice is nowhere to be found.
The kid looks up slowly and when he notices that the burly man is gone, he starts bawling. Peter gently wipes the kid’s tears and calms him down. After calming the child down, Peter asks for the assistance of a nearby helper.
Peter tells the woman that came near to help the child locate his parents. After telling her what to do, Peter hands her money. The woman nods earnestly and gently picks up the child.
“Hello Elizabeth” Elizabeth is broken from her stupor, apparently amazed by Peter.
“Oliver!” Peter raises his eyebrow in question.
“You’re amazing.” Elizabeth smiled eliciting a surprised look from Peter.
“It’s nothing.” Peter resumes his cold look. It’s mostly because he finds nothing particularly amazing about what he did.
“I believe that anyone could’ve done what I did.” Peter states as matter of fact.
“But no one came.” Elizabeth’s reply stumps Peter but he smiles and immediately replies.
“You came. If I didn’t step in earlier you would’ve came. You’re too selfless and probably a little bit too reckless.” Elizabeth doesn’t refute and accepts his compliment.
“What brings you here in the market?” Elizabeth answers the interested man’s question.
“I came here to buy some fruits.”
Peter replied with an interested “ho.”
“You’re not carrying anything so you’re probably going to buy something right?” This time it was Elizabeth’s turn to question.
Peter’s eyes widen from the sudden questioning, as if he didn’t expect it.
“I went here to buy some ingredients good for cooking. Are you done with your groceries?” Elizabeth feels that if she says no, Peter will ask her to let him accompany her so Elizabeth answers negative.
“Well would it be okay if I went with you?” As expected, Elizabeth smiles and agrees.
Peter’s expression turns into a more amiable one and starts walking. Elizabeth follows and they start exploring the marketplace to buy more stuff.
While walking, the two of them start chatting about each other and other useless chatter.
Elizabeth’s initial entry on the marketplace stopped the hearts of men and female everywhere but eventually people recover and some brave young men started talking to her but Peter’s appearance stopped every single advance. Not because Peter stopped them but because no male had the guts to contest with Peter.
After all the two of them are exceptionally beautiful people, and no one was brave enough to break such a beautiful image.
After a while, they eventually reach another part of the marketplace. This part of the marketplace is filled with vendors that sell food, sells materials for everyday life, and cheap knock offs of authentic products. Elizabeth even managed to find a fake copy of her taser fingers. It’s definitely cheaper but after considering its durability it would probably die out after a few uses but even so, Elizabeth couldn’t hide her excitement.
Inside her eyes is the gleam of a child looking at new toys. The combination of Peter’s company and the cheap gadgets in front of her made Elizabeth utterly forget her purpose of coming to the marketplace.
“So… You like toys?” Peter carefully tests the waters as to not offend the childish female. Elizabeth turns quickly towards peter with fire burning in her eyes. Elizabeth replies with an exaggerated voice unbefitting her beautiful face.
“These-” Elizabeth gestures at all the gadgets. “-aren’t toys! They are complex machines developed by the human race to be capable of protecting themselves!”
Elizabeth picks up a small pistol like object and points at it. “This is an X500 model pistol capable of housing M02 tranquilizer darts that can even render squad level Meta humans asleep.”
Before Peter could speak, Elizabeth picks up another object. “And this is a...” Elizabeth continued rambling with unquenchable energy until the vendor had to ask her to stop.
Even when she’s done speaking, Elizabeth doesn’t stop browsing all the gadgets in the marketplace with Peter in tow.
Elizabeth doesn’t notice Peter’s weird look towards her, like how one would look at a weird but cute animal.
Every time Elizabeth finds something that she really likes, she immediately pulls out her wallet only to dejectedly return it after learning that she doesn’t have enough.
Peter almost pulled out some money, because of Elizabeth’s pitiful yet extremely cute face, but he managed to resist it.
While both of them were exploring, Elizabeth found out that Peter loves eating cold food. Peter gladly took Elizabeth to eat in one of the cold food places he frequents. After that, Elizabeth took Peter to eat some weird food, which Peter at first didn’t want to try but caved in after hearing about fried ice cream.
When the sun starts to set, only now did the two of them notice that they took too long.
“It seems we’ve been enjoying ourselves for quite a long time.” Without any trace of regret, Peter says.
Elizabeth agrees but looks very melancholic. Peter picks up on this and asks why.
“Well … It’s just that I want to see the sun set but the high walls of the city doesn’t allow it.” Elizabeth has never seen a sunset and has never thought of seeing a sunset, but her dreams of the past which showed her the marvelousness of nature made her yearn for the beauty of a sunset.
Peter stares at Elizabeth and an idea appears.
“Do you want to see it?” Elizabeth turns to look at Peter with the same fire in her eyes that she showed earlier but instead of the childish gleam that desired toys, it felt like the desire of a human being to see something beautiful.
The two people stare endlessly waiting for each other to break the silence.
“Do you want to see it?” In the end Peter gave in and asked again.
Elizabeth just stares but hidden behind the flames of her eyes were excitement.
To see something beautiful in times like this, where nature has been destroyed, is nothing short of a blessing. Elizabeth realizes she hasn’t given an answer yet and nods in agreement. Awakening from her stupor, Elizabeth asks how.
“Only the biggest buildings and city walls can see the outside but there’s another way.” Peter doesn’t say anymore as to leave some mystery.
Elizabeth is easily hooked and starts pestering Peter but he doesn’t budge and tell her to follow him quietly.
Eventually they reach a small alleyway alone. When she realizes that there are no people around she starts to be a little cautious but her fear is unfounded, as Peter stops and reaches out his hand towards her.
“Hey… What are you doing?” Elizabeth asks.
Peter smiles and tells her to grab his hand.
Despite her cautiousness, her desire to see a sunset overrides her fear. She closes in and holds Peter’s hand. Peter smiles and pulls in Elizabeth closer towards him and holds her. Elizabeth looks surprised but trusts Peter won’t do anything bad towards her. Right now if people saw them, they would think they’re lovers embracing each other and immediately leave them alone.
Elizabeth didn’t mind but it might not be the same for Peter.
“Hey Oliver, what are you doing?”
Slowly and gently, the two of them start floating.
*Gasp*
Elizabeth gasps from the sudden lightness of her body as they start to accelerate.
At first, it was a turtle climb then it became faster and faster.
They slowly float upwards going past the smaller buildings until they start climbing the higher buildings.
Peter was smiling the whole time while Elizabeth was marveling at the beauty of the city, slowly shrinking as they get closer and closer to the sky.
The city walls were huge, it was almost too big but there were monsters that were bigger than buildings so the city walls were an apt defense for the human race.
A little bit more.
Elizabeth thought as she used one of her hands to try and reach the sky. Despite it being impossible, the thought of holding the skies in one’s hand, made Elizabeth’s heart thump.
Then that thumping turned from the skies to Peter.
Elizabeth looks towards the face of the man holding her.
Elizabeth knows that Peter is handsome but right now in the midst of the skies wreathed in the beautiful rays of the sun, Peter looked exceptionally handsome.
Even Elizabeth couldn’t help but gasp internally.
Then it was there that she saw it, the sun. Elizabeth forgot Peter and stared at the setting sun.
It’s … beautiful.
There were no words to express what Elizabeth felt.
To see the sun this high was nothing short of a gift from the heavens.
The sun was wreathed by a crimson sky that only served to make the sun look more beautiful.
Elizabeth even felt something wet stain her cheeks.
Even though she has seen the beauty of nature through her dreams the impact was completely on a different level in reality.
They stayed like that until the sun finally set and darkness overwhelmed the heavens.
Eventually Elizabeth feels her feet touch the ground and Peter releases her from his embrace.
“Oliver… You’re amazing.” Elizabeth breathlessly praises Peter.
They stare at each other for a few more seconds until Elizabeth notices that she’s still holding Peter’s hands.
Embarrassed, Elizabeth immediately lets them go.
“It’s already late.” Peter smiles and replies that she should go home.
“Yo-you’re… ri-right.” Elizabeth stutters, still reeling from the shock earlier.
Peter gestures to his left. When Elizabeth looks at her left she’s even more surprised, she’s home.
Still reeling from the experience, Elizabeth stupidly bids her farewell to Peter and goes in her home.
Peter smiles and bids her goodbye as well.
Elizabeth waits for Peter to leave before she enters the door.
When Peter is out of sight, Elizabeth immediately goes inside, slams the door and runs to her bedroom. Reaching the bedroom, Elizabeth jumps to the bed and muffles a scream with a pillow.
*Sigh* Elizabeth looks up the ceiling with Peter on her mind.
“That guy is too intoxicating.” Elizabeth shows an annoyed face but she couldn’t hide the fact that she was definitely happy. When the happy feeling started to fade away, Elizabeth’s thinking process returned to normal and her eyes widened.
“What! He’s a Lord rank Meta human?” It’s common knowledge that the bare minimum for flight is Lord Rank. Elizabeth is surprised by the revelation that Peter is a Lord Rank Meta human. Before Elizabeth could be more amazed her eyes turn sharp. Despite hanging out with Peter, Elizabeth couldn’t help but be a little suspicious.
“How did he know where I live?”