The interaction with Indranath left Tim with a bitter taste in his mouth, but at least he managed to extract some critical information out of the hateful exchange. Indranath had carefully explained the various facets of consuming a Dao Fruit, and the system had confirmed that he could not lie when it pertained to any item that was presented to him for inspection. It was in Indranath's best interest to explain the drawbacks of the process in detail in furtherance of his scheme, thus Tim had profited greatly.
He had to admit, the truth was a bit disappointing. Although, he wasn't completely heartbroken over it. Truthfully speaking, he wasn't some blessed child of the wind or some aerodynamics expert that had studied wind movements for decades. Sure, he enjoyed running track on windy days as a hobby in his school days, but that hardly qualified him for dominion over the wind even in it's most nascent stage.
As Tim saw it, whatever little latent potential he had was only brought out because he was pushed to the very brink of death, a point where he could only stake it all on he wind to offer him a path of survival. The Dao Fruit of Mist offered him another such chance, even though it may be a gamble. In a scenario where he did not know who his enemies were, if his wind based abilities were exposed, would they be able to counter it? Indranath had mentioned a Dao of Immolation, if it was anywhere near as powerful as it sounded, Tim could be in trouble. The mists were focused on defence and evasion, an ace he desperately needed in case all his other methods failed.
Perhaps to others, the prudent course of action would be to either save the fruit for the reunion with his parents, or wait till he could find a place to exchange it for. However, he did not know if his father would be compatible with the mists, nor when they would be able to meet again.
The path he walked on did not give him the luxury to defer such important decisions, or to hope for the most ideal scenario. If he had hesitated in the trial, there would no longer be a Timothy Quill that managed to reach the 701st Citadel. Begining to second guess his choices now would be the same as mocking his own sacrifices.
Before that though, he had to check out the Citadel Governer's room. He desperately needed a place to rest at this point, he had gone over 72 hours without sleep. While his new constitution seemed to allow such abuse, the sleep he sought was more for his weary, emotionally drained soul.
Taking a set of ornately fashioned stairs at the end of what he had termed the shopping complex, Tim reached the second floor. At a quick glance, it seemed to be an apartment complex of sorts, with a wide walkway flanked by equally spaced orange doors on both sides.
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Running on empty, he chose to move on to his goal of a warm bed and hopefully some food that wasn't fucking fancy sounding grass.
"Not like there are other survivors anyway" Tim muttered in a forlorn voice, continuing his ascent to the third floor.
A set of pitch black double doors that had faint inscriptions etched into them welcomed Tim's field of view.
"Guess this decides if I'm camping out in the woods or not" he chuckled dryly and pushed the door.
"Man, I really hope I get to live here. Fuck, is there anything the system can't do?" Tim had a childish grin on his face.
There was an a very ancient looking old tree in the center of the room. It's bark was a dark tone of brown, with streaks of silver running across it. The leaves were a faded hue of green, with light blue borders.
Under the tree's shade was what appeared to be a very shallow natural geyser, with luminescent rocks dotted around it's circumference forming a circle of sorts. The water was continuously bubbling and steaming, making Tim want to jump in and just forget his worries for a while.
On the left side of the room was a medieval style banquet hall, with trays and trays of mystical food kept in an alluring manner, the smell wafting over almost making him lose composure. The right side had all sorts of empty racks and display cases of different sizes, Tim guessed it was a place for the citadel governor to show off his heavy hitters.
Unfortunately for now, his destination lay ahead. The next room was a meeting room of sorts, with an elongated rectangular table acting as the centerpiece, with 5 chairs on each side and one oversized throne at the front of the table.
Considering this place was pretty much deserted apart from that snivelling merchant 2 floors below, Tim went down and sat on the throne.
[Daoist Earth's Vengeance has become the governor of Citadel 701]
"Not again man. I like to stay low key...." Tim had just given up at this point, whatever he did seemed to be showboated to the entire fucking world. He wondered what kind of massive asshole others thought him to be at this point, if only they knew.....
[You have received the Title: Citadel Governor (Temporary Title)]
[ Till the arrival of the Invaders in 26 D 22H 33M, you can neither attack nor be attacked within the boundaries of your citadel. Teleportation function to other citadels is unavailable until the first invasion is completed. ]
"Didn't even have to ask. Now that's what I'm talking about." Tim was escatic at this news, so much so that he just waved the other notifications away and went straight to the pantry.
Lots of food, a Japanese onsen and a promise of safety. Oh, and the whole 'being involuntarily thrust into a monarchy role' schtick was there too. What more could a man possibly ask for?