Chapter Fourteen: No Fucking Way

My heart raced.

Blood thumped like drums in my ears.

My face became uncomfortably hot.

My pants grew a tent.

‘STOP IT!’ I chided myself, slapping my face with enough force to sting before dropping to the stone floor and doing push ups. ‘There’s no fucking way that’s what she’s here for! She must just be here to collect me on the Matriarch’s orders for whatever task they have for me! Probably killing a sneaky beast, now that I think about it. Maybe they didn’t ask me to do it yesterday because it only shows up at night and they didn’t want me to waste time arrogantly going after it before the darkness set, or something? Yeah, that’s far more likely to be the case than Abra wanting to spend quality time with me after ignoring me the whole time except for when her grandmother specifically told her to alleviate my ignorance…’

Not having been empowered by Chi, my arms quickly tired and began to burn, but the exercise had paid off. I could now stand.

“Niko Tess? Are you ignoring me?” Abra asked through the door.

‘Ironic,’ I thought with the shake of my head before regulating my breathing, stepping toward the door, gripping the round handle that was a bit closer to the ground than I was used to, and opening it as casually as I could.

“H-h-h-hey, Abra, um… What brings yOu here?”

‘I STUTTERED! AAAGAGHHHHHG, KILL ME!’

“Finally. Perspiration? What were you doing?” the beautiful, red-haired Goblin whose head only reached my chin asked, looking me up and down. “Nevermind. Just follow me; the task our Matriarch decided for you awaits.”

I nodded with too much enthusiasm and followed, trailing two steps behind her, opening and closing my fists and calming my mind.

‘Not sex. She’s not here for sex. Hell, I’M not here for sex. Stop thinking about sex. I will have a harem and lose my virginity, but not this soon…or necessarily in that order. I’ve been on Yorgefan for 5 days. That’s not enough time to find and get to know quality women. Quality women who also want to have sex with me, because not all quality women are interested in me. It will be a long time. Also, I’m not anywhere near the peak of my potential. What right do I have, wanting to start relationships during an apocalypse when I can’t even fly, yet? I’m weird. This is so weird. I just wanna bury my nose in some technique scrolls, or something, I don’t know. The System just beamed the techniques into my brain, so are they kept in scrolls by people who can’t beam techniques into brains? Maybe they just have books. Gayhn mentioned books. But maybe that was a translation error? Maybe he meant scroll or…clay tablet, I don’t know. Or it could be the case like how I call online novels “books” even though I don’t have a physical copy? Perhaps, jade slips? Oh, we arrived.’

Abra had led me from the guest building straight to and out of the Hamlet’s south gate at a sprint without Chi. We passed a guard holding a spear who simply nodded at Abra as though he’d expected seeing us, and by this point I was panting like a dog, exhausted by the cross-Hamlet run.

Abra noticed my pathetic state—looking pristine and tireless herself—and empowered her body as she removed a flashlight from a spatial storage bag at her hip that she didn’t have earlier today. “We can go faster, now,” she said simply. “Keep up.”

We ran beneath the stars for several minutes, led by the beam of her flashlight. Only when we entered the forest did I really begin to question what we were doing. Why did it seem like we were…escaping the Hamlet?

‘Oh shit,’ I thought with trepidation as our speed slowly increased. ‘Is Abra…saving me? Was I in danger in the Hamlet?’

My nerves went cold, a chill passing down my spine. I hadn’t seriously considered the first scenario of the Matriarch betraying me despite coming up with it as a possibility, and a whirlwind of emotions clogged my brain. Was my first attempt at making non-Human allies a bust? It hurt more than I thought to wonder that.

Then Abra led me toward a spot in the forest that was lit up, and soon enough, Matriarch KarriSah came into sight, holding a flashlight.

I gulped at the sight, confused by all the secretiveness, contemplating whether to dump all my points into Agility and book it…when a hand wrapped itself around my arm, and an aura revealed itself beside me.

“Calm, young man,” the mysterious Goblin to my right said, holding my arm in a vice grip. As he spoke, I considered breaking his arm in one empowered swing and running. “You are clearly anxious; imagination scurrying wildly. Take deep breaths.”

Eyes wide, I looked around the small clearing that had been obviously made recently, given the tree stumps and logs tossed off to the side. The Matriarch stood in the middle with Gayhn, both of them talking to the cook.

‘Wait, no. Nagorn.’

They stood together talking to Nagorn, and besides Abra and the man holding me in place, there were two more men—both old, tall, and muscular—standing behind the Matriarch, talking to each other.

“Deep breaths, please,” the mysterious man repeated. “You are in no danger. The Matriarch can explain.” Then to my surprise, he let go.

I didn’t flee, against my better judgment. I did not flee the suspicious situation, too curious of what was going on. Why were they so secretive? I HAD TO KNOW! So I didn’t flee, as much as my frayed nerves suggested I do so.

“Niko Tess,” KarriSah said, turning from an angry-looking Nagorn to approach me. “This is what I referred to yesterday. An opportunity that can simultaneously act as payment for our services while leaving you stronger than before.”

She paused dramatically, allowing me time to formulate a response.

“Umm, what?”

She tilted her head back to laugh at my confusion.

“You are adorable, little Human. Surely you’ve heard of Quest Realms, yes? One was discovered by a hunting team nearby five days ago, but for obvious reasons, it is inaccessible to us.”

Eyes wide, I considered her words, and they calmed my mind. I only knew what she was talking about thanks to Sahndo Bedri.

‘Quest Realm. Possibility number three after all. Though, potentially not exactly as I speculated, considering how many people are here.’

My shoulders relaxed and my emotions stilled, transmogrifying from a chaotic blend into fiery enthusiasm.

“I’m listening,” I said with a particular tone in a reference to Hollywood movie culture nobody here but I understood.

“Only fools and the uneducated would not,” she replied. “We have the entrance secured. Now that we’ve all gathered we can travel the rest of the journey. I know you will not have trouble with it, but keep pace with us. Do not venture ahead or trail behind too far.”

I nodded, and she turned to face everyone else, who’d gathered around Nagorn seemingly trying to placate her.

“—shouldn’t do this!” she shouted while fiercely gesticulating with her hands, though I didn’t catch the beginning. “Really! The consequences to our Hamlet’s stabili—“

A wisp of the Matriarch’s aura caused Nagorn to settle down.

“This is no place to raise your voice,” KarriSah softly reprimanded. “We are accessing that Quest Realm with our new ally’s help and we will only benefit from it. You cannot change the course of our plans. The Elders are too stubborn, thinking the risk of relying on one of the strongest Humans too high and my motivations too selfish, when neither are true.” Still looking at Nagorn, the Matriarch turned her body and pointed an open hand at me. “Look at the boy—merely 15 years old yet so wise, affable, capable, and cheerful.”

My chest warmed at the compliments as I raised a hand, saying, “Umm, I’m an adult by Human standards.”

KarriSah turned to me with a smile, pointing her flashlight at my face. “He even blushes when praised. Despite our decades spent unified, the Elders are too cynical. My word here is final. Now, we move.”

The Matriarch turned and summoned a water cyclone around her lower half, causing everyone else to power up and follow as she dashed farther south. Except Nagorn, who waited a few seconds, angrily kicked the dirt, looked at me with a complicated expression, and waved at me to follow before she, too, began running with a technique that used small earth pillars below her feet to push her forward faster.

I caught up to her in a second, positioning myself an arm’s length to her left. I held a low-power fireball for light, while Nagorn’s flashlight pointed ahead.

“What was that all about?”

The woman’s frown was clearly set deep on her face until she glanced at me and sighed.

She didn’t respond, so I continued with, “I just want to hear your side.”

“No doubt you will agree with them,” she said curtly, though I understood her frustration was not directed at me.

“I also just want to chat as we travel,” I added with as genial a tone as possible. “I’ve spoken to your grandmother, your brother, and a little with your roughly same-age aunt. Now I’d like to get to know you.”

Nagorn’s expression relaxed before she sighed.

“The Elders don’t trust you.”

I thought back to Prropo and his welcoming smile. Sadness wormed its way into my chest.

“Dang. Not even…?”

“Correct. For the most part, they were acting. Of course, they were glad you didn’t appear hostile at all, but with your power being what it is they unanimously agreed not to recruit you for this opportunity. If you’d been weaker they could have sent their own children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews, but it just so happens that your current abilities match ours of the Gilliam family more. People too weak or too powerful cannot follow you into the Quest Realm.”

“So, despite you all physically separating yourselves from the majority of your Race because of differences in ethics, you guys still aren’t entirely cohesive?”

“That is, unfortunately, the case.” Nagorn sighed again. “Everyone everywhere is selfish. Simply to different extents and for different things. Our Elders are bit more selfish than we.”

We ran in silence for a minute until I pulled together the courage to continue the conversation, wanting to hear more about the politics I’d been involved with.

“Umm, I don’t want to sound crude about this—“

“Don’t hold your tongue now, Niko Tess,” Nagorn snorted. “No reason you should not speak to me like you did with my brother. Speak your thoughts openly—that is what I appreciate.”

I nodded, even though she didn’t see it.

“Okay. If I participate in this and strengthen your grandmother’s family even more, will this be the end of the Gilliam Clan as I know it? Will the Elders, uhh, be angry enough to create a permanent rift in your Clan? Will they secede, or something?”

Nagorn kept her gaze forward, expression hard.

“That is what I fear, because the Elders are unreasonable. Grandmother has not shown her own blood favoritism any more than the Elders have, yet they suspect foul play because we—” she gestured toward herself, Gayhn, and Abra, “outperform their descendants.”

“Foul play how, exactly? Aside from talent in Dao comprehension, the System seems pretty fair.”

“To begin with, it is possible to maliciously slow another’s progress with poisons, though we definitely have never done so. Then there are the existences of Chi gathering arrays, spirit herbs, and Dao fruit. Our Clan has publicly available cultivation rooms with the best Chi gathering arrays we can afford, we distribute spirit herbs according to merit, and the only two Dao fruits the Clan has ever collected were transparently documented and eventually bought by different Elders. However, as I previously mentioned, they suspect partial treatment. A secret Chi gathering array of higher quality than the rest, used only by the Gilliams. The secret hoarding of spirit herbs and Dao fruits so that we can use them for ourselves.”

She angrily exhaled through her nose.

“Those fools. What will they accuse Grandmother of next? Conspiring to kill them?”

With Nagorn’s anger rising I figured it better to change the subject, but not before injecting my opinion.

“Yep, they’re fools. They probably have no reason to doubt your grandmother, despite her being in a position of power and likely capable of all manner of corruption. Anyway…” Nagorn gave me a side-eye but said nothing. “Nobody introduced me to the new guys, so I presume they are also Gilliams?”

“In a way, two of them are, but not the man who prevented you from running.”

A male voice sounded from my left.

“Moz is the name. I am actually Prropo’s nephew, but almost twice Nagorn’s age despite having the same Level.”

The man who’d appeared by my side caused my blood pressure to spike, but I quickly gathered myself.

“Are the Gilliams cheating after all?” I asked Moz directly. “Twice her age is a good head start.”

To my surprise, the attempt at catching the man off guard in revenge for sneaking up on me failed completely, and he laughed.

“If the Matriarch is showering them with special treatment, I have not noticed, so it is not enough to cause this difference in power. No, the real reason for it is my laziness. Or rather, was, my laziness. Only the Matriarch has consistently raised true warriors within our Clan. The rest of us not of her blood focused more on temporary pleasures and hobbies than power, because our Clan has lived in peace for three decades, and advancing is difficult. True danger is required to unlock the soul’s potential, but that is difficult to find enough of in our immediate area. Only once I watched the Gilliams younger than me throw themselves into cultivation and go on extensive training trips to the edge of Goblin territory where appropriately-leveled beasts dwell did I also feel the need to keep up in power.”

“It helps that he thinks fondly of Abra, who walks the same path as him,” Nagorn added with a snicker.

“Must you really lay my soul bare like this?” he pleaded.

“Everyone knows, Moz. Act like the warrior you are, commission a bangle, and ask her to be your starry sky.”

“It is not the clear breathing you act like it is, Nagorn.”

“Of course it is. Ask her, then she will crush your heart or maybe not.”

Moz shook his head in exasperation, then nervously surveyed their surroundings seemingly to make sure Abra wasn’t nearby, even using a scanning technique as far as I could tell.

“Just like you, she has made obvious her desire for someone of equal capability. Since I do not possess a Speck as she does, it is not yet time. There is no more to discuss.”

Nagorn clearly thought there was more to discuss but changed the subject.

“Whatever. Back to your question, Niko Tess: as you now know, Moz is not a Gilliam, which leaves the other two men. They are mine and Gayhn’s grandfathers respectively.”

I blinked at that, realizing I had assumed KarriSah had only one partner.

Then I glanced at Moz.

‘It seems it’s within the realm of possibility to have multiple partners in this culture, so… Wow, I’m down bad. I should stop myself there. She hasn’t shown interest at all and I really don’t have the time to woo her. Stupid horniness. Focus on power. Hormonal influences can wait.’

……

I didn’t bother keeping track of time as we ran, spending my time chatting with everyone at different points. Though my conversation with Nagorn and Moz was most entertaining, it was nice to see Gayhn’s attitude become straight-laced as he explained what he knew of the mission. I’d assumed that he’d be antagonistic toward me the entire time we knew each other instead of being able to change with the circumstances, which I realized was a byproduct of my experiences with contemptible classmates whom I never saw change for the better.

During the run I learned from the pair of grandfathers that while I was only entering the Quest Realm with Moz, Abra, Gayhn, and Nagorn, them two were present to protect the Matriarch while she waited for us to come back out. They didn’t trust the Elders to be civil while we were inside, assuming they found out about this scheme.

“Whoa, so that’s how it was discovered.”

We eventually entered a zone in the forest that looked no different from the rest but was flooded with a strange aura. It slightly resembled what I felt from the defensive treasures I wore, but scaled up and roided out. When we neared the source of the aura it became clear why it felt that way.

A giant, glowing Nether portal that seemed to be made of the same black crystal material as the Tutorial stores sat atop a foundation of pure white stone. It was at least four times as tall as me, and it made me miss Minecraft, which I doubted I’d ever play again.

[https://i.imgur.com/qe4MIsg.png]

[Scaling Quest Realm.

Time dilation: 4 to 1.

Requirements to unseal: Human; Minimum of Level 45; Maximum of Level 65.

Niko Tess is eligible.]

“I guess it also counts if you have the Attributes to fight at that Level,” I muttered idly as my team of Goblins all stared at the portal in awe, taking in its majestic treasure aura.

Collecting himself with a shake of his head and straightening his back, Gayhn marched right up to the portal and pressed his open palm against the glowing purple energy. It acted as a solid object, despite its swirling, liquid-like behavior.

“Says you have to go first,” he said, looking at me. “Only then will we be allowed to enter, but we only have ten seconds to follow before it closes.”

“I still think this is a terrible idea; not worth splitting apart our Clan,” Nagorn sighed, to no one’s surprise.

“Better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” I replied, before realizing that since the Goblins weren’t from my culture I could pass off all manner of wise words as my own.

“What an apt phrase for these circumstances,” the Matriarch chuckled. “We will ask for forgiveness and they will be forced to give it because they cannot turn back time, rather than ask them for permission and be rejected. I like it.”

“Of course you do.”

Everyone but the Matriarch flinched as three silhouettes accompanied by fierce auras emerged from a thick copse of trees dozens of meters away.

Prropo’s voice was carried by his Chi as he said, “Let us not waste time. Niko, please decline their request; do not open the Quest Realm. In exchange, we are willing to give you unrestricted access to the Hamlet’s resources before you go off to complete your Quest. When you return next, we will take care of your two hundred Humans. We do not even ask for the City core.”

“Fuck off!” I turned in surprise to see Moz making an unfamiliar but definitely rude gesture, pinkie finger in his ear with his head tilted and tongue sticking out. “Uncle, you suffer from paranoia. Completing the Quest Realm will enrich our entire Clan, not just the Matriarch’s branch. Leave us be so that when we come back and share the wealth, you can apologize and we can all move on.”

KarriSah walked over and placed her hand on Moz’s shoulder.

“I think your nephew speaks for us all.”

“Acting as though you were doing more than just using his affection for Abra,” Prropo snorted, causing Moz to shrink. “Even if you were not, we do not trust you, Matriarch.”

KarriSah shrugged.

“All I’ve done is secretly feed my descendants brews rich in spirit herbs without sharing the formula. That can hardly be called corruption; anybody in my position would do the same.”

Everyone turned to stare at the unashamed elderly woman.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Huh?”

“What?”

‘I knew it.’

She laughed.

“You don’t remember because I stopped when you became old enough to begin speaking. Do not fret, I will share the formula.”

“If she has shown bias for her own once, she will have done it or do it again. Niko, please,” he pleaded to me in much the same way Moz had with Nagorn. “No matter what they have spoon fed you, the truth of the matter is that we Elders all agree she cannot be trusted with even more power or influence. The Hamlet—“

“Stop right there, Prropo,” I interrupted him. “Now you want me on your side? You could have avoided this situation by simply agreeing with the Matriarch to have me unseal the Quest Realm, but apparently you didn’t trust me enough for that. So you kinda did this to yourself. Of course I want to become more powerful, dude! My Race is embroiled in an apocalypse and I don’t want my situation to become like that of the Goblins when it’s over—at war for fifty Yorgefan years with the Race the System designated as their competition. I’d much rather become an unstoppable force and just assimilate them.”

“There is risk to entering the Quest Realm. The System does not guarantee it will be a fair challenge, so if you undertake it, you may not come out alive. It is even possible that the Gilliams plan to kill you inside it, because your presence is not required for them to loot it and leave. The safer option is to return with me to the Hamlet so that I may give you what you want before you go on your way to find the military man Sahndo Bedri.”

I brought my hand up to my chin and puckered my lips contemplatively.

“That’s…a good point,” I said, garnering wide eyes from Nagorn and a smile from the Matriarch. “They could, indeed, be planning to kill me inside—“

“No, there’s no way we would—“

“Do not interrupt him, Nagorn,” the Matriarch said, before nodding to me. “Please continue.”

“Thank you. As I was saying, there could very well be a conspiracy afoot, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take for power. If when we enter they try to kill me, I will distribute the 60 Attribute Points I have saved up and simply kill them in return. Such is the way of cultivation. Animals die for food while cultivators die for power.”

Everyone reacted in some measure to my claim of having 60 points saved up. Abra, Nagorn, Moz, and Gayhn seemed to malfunction and stare at me with eyes wide and mouths agape, while the older Goblins froze. Only the Matriarch remained relatively calm seemingly because even if I had 60 more points she’d still be stronger, what with her build countering mine and her having at least one Late Speck, though even she whistled.

“Niko, please,” Prropo said again. “You cannot possibly have 60 points available, and bluffing will not deter them from continuing with their plot—assuming they have one. They would just be more cautious by choosing a moment in which you were more vulnerable, such as during battle against a powerful beast or while you slept.”

“Another good point,” I admitted. “However, that’s what my protective treasures are for. The ones I got in the Tutorial probably won’t absorb more than a single attack at our power level, but the ones given to me by the Sedokeit young master sure will.” I looked around at the compatriots I would enter the Quest Realm with. “If anything, I dare them to try to kill me. They are not my equals in a death match.”

Gayhn frowned, but nobody else seemed to care for my bluff.

“Revealing your secrets won’t—“ Prropo began, but was interrupted by an eruption of power.

“ENOUGH!” the Matriarch shouted, summoning a torrent of water and wood Chi and weaving a technique to life, conjuring what looked like long chains of kelp that shot toward the Elders. “That is quite enough stalling for your less Agile peers to arrive!”

“You dare?!” the Elder to Prropo’s right roared as all three of them unveiled their power. “You cannot contend with us all!”

The Matriarch did not deign to reply further as an awe-inspiring wave of kelp tried to envelop and tie up the three Elders, but was kept at bay by white beam attacks and the swings of a bladed weapon. While Prropo chopped dozens of the Chromista chains apart with the long spear he’d been holding at the ready, the other two Elders summoned what I now knew to be beams of light Chi that easily burned through the onslaught of kelp.

Despite the grand display of a powerful Intelligence technique, the difference in power between the Matriarch and Elders was not great enough for the Matriarch to overwhelm them—merely to keep them busy for a moment.

“Retreat!” Prropo immediately ordered, but it was too late. While they all had a good amount of Agility, they definitely had more points in their other focused Attributes. Strength in Prropo’s case, and Wisdom in the other two. Without enough Agility the speed at which they could fall back depended on their ability to hold back the kelp, giving KarriSah’s two allies time to reach them.

The two older grandfathers whom I had learned both focused Strength and Constitution arrived in time to lay the three Elders flat with well-timed blows. The Elders had cast more techniques in defense, but only Prropo’s fighting style was suited for close-quarters combat, and it wasn’t long before the three enemy Goblins were wrapped up in kelp. One of the grandpas was bleeding from a stab to his arm, but he consumed a pill and shrugged it off.

“You have…declared war—“ Prropo managed to get out between coughs before he was gagged by one of the husbands, and the Matriarch personally placed long sheets of spirit beast hide covered with glowing Chi circuits onto each of the Elders’ bodies.

“I was more formidable than you thought, huh? You should not have made yourselves known without your peers present. Though, you would still have been too late.”

Then she turned to look at her gaping descendants.

“With half of the Elders sealed I do not think you kiddies have anything to worry about. Now run along. Challenge yourselves in the Quest Realm.” Then she looked directly at me. “Please take care of them, Niko.”

I nodded, unsurprised at the altercation that took place.

“This was unwise…” Nagorn muttered staring downcast at the ground, looking visibly sick.

Abra patted Nagorn’s shoulder. “If Auntie decided it, then it had to be done.”

I looked over at Gayhn to see his lips pursed, staring at Prropo who struggled on the ground and couldn’t seem to access his Chi anymore. After a few seconds, the man sighed and turned toward me.

“The Quest Realm, please.”

I thought over his use of the word “please” for a moment, judging his mental state to be as fragile as Nagorn’s without appearing on the surface, before doing as he asked and walking through the Nether portal.

……

Slightly dazed, I fell through the other end of the portal into a fiery hellscape, forcing me to empower myself lest be burned. As it was, my skin was already hot to the touch.

“This is really the Nether?!”

I stepped aside so that the four Goblins following wouldn’t crash into me, wondering whether the developers of Minecraft had been influenced by the multiverse somehow when they introduced the Nether update.

Below my feet was a weird cross between sand and dirt, black as night. I could only tell that the ground wasn’t solid by the texture I felt when I walked, as I could not see any light reflected from the…loam. I didn’t know if the material had a name, nor did I know exactly what loam was, but in my head it became loam.

Almost completely saturating the atmosphere was fire Chi, basically only accompanied by the actual air Chi, if my Gust spell’s formation rate was any clue.

“DAMN this place is hot! What are you doing?” Gayhn asked after powering up to withstand the heat and regaining his composure. “There’s a better way to measure the Chi types present.”

“Huh?” I asked, dismissing the the technique. “Like what? I don’t know.”

“That was obvious enough.” Gayhn pulled a small glass orb attached to a thick metal base—which looked like a snow globe—from a spatial storage bag tied to his hip. “Catch.”

Surprised, I caught the orb with both hands.

“Channel a sliver of neutral Chi into the base. Also, you can keep it.”

Realizing that the device looked familiar, I peeked into my own bag of holding with a string of Chi. “Oh, I already have one. I just didn’t know what it did. I’ve been meaning to ask for help sorting this stuff.”

Gayhn clicked his tongue and held his hand out. I tossed the device back and took out my own, which was decorated more ornately with lines of gold in fractal patterns across the metal base.

“It’s called a Chi gauge,” Moz said after walking a circle around the portal and scanning our environment. “And besides the fire all around us, I cannot sense immediate threats to our safety.”

I channeled Chi into the gauge’s base, and after a few seconds the glass orb began to fill with what looked like an accurate ratio of all the Chis in the air. Fire Chi took up 40% of the orb, with air Chi only filling about 20%. The other 40% was made up of all other normal ambient Chis I was aware of and some I didn’t recognize.

I put the gauge back, noted that Abra and Nagorn were fine, and focused on our surroundings. Fire. Dunes of black loam. And primarily dark violet vegetation. I peered up to find an overcast sky of only dark clouds that glowed red at their edges.

“These don’t look like normal plants,” I said, crouching to grab a fistful of purple grass, “but they can’t all be spirit herbs, right?”

“They are normal plants,” Gayhn corrected. “Simply ones adapted to live in areas full of fire Chi. Now come on. Since a Quest has yet to appear let’s pick a hill, climb, and search for safer lands. We cannot survive in this kind of ecosystem for long.”

“A fine plan as any under these conditions,” Abra replied, before pointing toward the largest hill within our line of site. “There.”

Abra took the lead in our superhuman jog as the rest of us watched out for dangers. Thankfully, except for the places fire Chi would randomly culminate to form real flames with what felt like almost enough power to threaten my 117.6 Endurance, there did not seem to be any dangerous spirit beasts, since all those we came across fled while those far off were…far off. At Nagorn’s top speed—since she was our slowest teammate—it was only a few minutes until we arrived at the top of the hill Abra had chosen.

“Fire and destruction as far as the eye can see…except over there,” I narrated with a smile on my face, feeling more like a cultivator on an epic adventure than I ever had before.

Off in a different direction than we’d traveled to reach this hill was what looked like another portal, but that one smaller and without a frame. It was just a hole in reality connecting this hellscape to the inside of a building. I could not tell any details from our distance. When I held my arm out in front of me, it was smaller than my fingertip.

“Next destination chosen, then,” Abra said, again jogging ahead, before we all stopped.

[New Quest: (1/?) Mysteries of the Lab. Discover the mysteries behind this ancient laboratory by searching for clues.]

“I hate vague instructions. Like my dad telling me to 'clean the house’. Or maybe that’s a broad instruction?” I complained.

Gayhn looked ready to ask me what I was talking about when Abra said, “Do not distract from our mission with nonsense we do not understand. I understand that you are excited, but that excitement can get us killed. Do not get us killed.”

Staring back into Abra’s unflinching gaze, I pursed my lips, ears burning not from the ambient heat. “Okay.”

Nagorn gave Abra a look. “How can you remain cold as ice in these conditions?” she asked. “Didn’t the Matriarch tell us to treat him as well as possible? We only have access to this opportunity because of him, and he’s so cooperative despite his power and what his people are going through.”

Abra shook her head and turned in our destination’s direction, saying, “We should not take this Quest Realm lightly. Keep non-informative words to a minimum until we find a safe place to rest, whenever that happens.”

Then she took off, forcing us to follow.

“I am of the same opinion that you should shut up,” Gayhn added.

“Professionalism on this mission is good, but perhaps that was harsh,” Moz commented.

I shrugged at Moz and Nagorn. “It’s whatever. She’s kinda right.”

We followed Abra toward the new portal, unobstructed by the local wildlife, but still uncomfortable in the hellish biome. I noted how keeping myself enforced to protect from the heat was consuming noticeably more Chi than the slivers I’d spent staying in the Evergreen Zone in the Tutorial. The temperature here wasn’t even that high, given that my skin had only heated up with a few seconds of unprotected contact instead of bursting into flames.

Then I remembered how my Endurance sat comfortably over 4 times what it had been in the snowy Zone while my Level remained at 1. Leveling up didn’t increase Chi capacity, but higher density Chi did allow for stronger techniques and empowerment at the cost of less overall Chi. In effect, the lower cost was the same thing as having more Chi, but only for cultivators whose Levels kept up with their Attribute gains.

Thinking back to the sheer volume of KarriSah’s kelp technique, I realized that even if I had as much Intelligence as her I would not be able to accomplish the same feat, because it consumed a lot of personal Chi to control that much ambient Chi.

‘My incredibly low Chi density is my biggest weakness as I keep growing stronger. How am I supposed to get all the slayer Titles if casting a technique powerful enough to kill something Level 101 will require more Chi than I have? Is a sneak attack my only hope?’

I thought over the conundrum as we ran, anxiety making my belly roil.

‘Is it possible that I might find a cheat of some kind that will allow me to condense my Chi without leveling? Like, I don’t know…finding an ancient legacy that bestows upon me an overpowered bloodline physique? Or an unparalleled offensive technique that can exert just enough power from Level 1 Chi to kill a Level 101 beast that doesn’t specialize in defense? Neither of those seem very likely. Hoping for wild xianxia stuff that may or not be possible to happen is one thing, but actively relying on something random happening in order to progress my goals is another.’

When we arrived at the portal I facepalmed.

“Batteries!” I shouted with glee, before turning to Nagorn. “Do you know of technology for containing extra Chi for when you run out of it during battle?”

Everyone had been in the process of investigating the portal and its surroundings for hazards when I grabbed their attention. Nagorn blinked a few times and opened her mouth to speak, but Abra stepped toward me and spoke first.

“That was very loud. Niko Tess, do not be an obstruction in our mission. Although no one else can enter it, the Quest Realm entrance will not close until we all leave or die, making it possible for us to tie you up and throw you out. We do not need you here in order to succeed.”

Taken aback by her aggression I missed the opportunity to stop her halfway, but settled on being passive aggressive when she finished.

“You are making two incorrect assumptions, Abra Gilliam: the first being that my question does not matter, and the second being that I was lying about having 60 Attribute Points available for distribution in case of emergencies.”

‘It’s actually 30, but since I have +110% on everything it comes out to 63 points in everything but Agility, where’d it be slightly higher.’

“Do you think the amount of power you can exert justifies your decisions? Matriarch KarriSah did not become Matriarch solely because of her power, but instead because of her history of leadership. I am far more experienced than you in leading dangerous expeditions into unknown territory. I ask that you respect my role as the leader here and not distract us until we find safety.”

Irritation bubbling up in my chest, I crossed my arms and tilted my head, meeting Abra’s gaze with an eyebrow raised.

“That would normally be very reasonable, however…when did I agree to be part of this team and follow your orders? What about the specific rules for distributing loot we find in here, since I’m not a part of your Clan? I only recall being asked to unseal the Quest Realm so that you four could enter, so as far as I’m concerned, I can do whatever I want in here. I may only be 15 Yorgefan years old, but you seem to have actually forgotten that I am not a child. I am not so easily tricked.”

I swept my gaze across the four Goblins. Abra and Gayhn remained unfazed, but Nagorn and Moz could not hide their discomfort. Nagorn even turned away when I looked at her, as though with guilt.

“I’d bet at least half of your interactions with me tonight have been scripted, and I’m kind of tired of being tested. If you guys continue I might just have to assume that cooperation is not viable between us, giving me reason to take everything I want and leaving you with nothing.” I looked toward Nagorn. “Was the conflict with the Elders real? And your concern over it?”

“… That part was.” Shifting her weight from foot to foot, Nagorn looked at Abra and Gayhn. “I warned you guys.”

Ignoring her with an expression unchanged, Abra said, “Then let us come to an agreement here and now, because despite you having surmised some things accurately—yes, I was testing your temperament—we do not have the time for this. Niko Tess, I will not ask you to be silent anymore, but please follow the example I set, because we really are not safe in here. Allow me to lead us through this Quest Realm, and you will keep everything except for forty percent of the treasures that we pick out. Your growth is still important to our Clan.”

Abra waited patiently for me to answer, so I let her wait for over a minute, time during which Nagorn and Moz grew even more uncomfortable.

I stopped gritting my teeth to say, “Counteroffer: I will lead us, and I’ll be gracious enough to allow you any one treasure of your choice. Everything else you guys leave this place with will be at my discretion.”

Abra’s eyebrows twitched, before she let out a dark chuckle.

“Just a single treasure? I will interpret that as the joke it was, lest assume you are asking to be tossed back to Yorgefan.” Then after a moment, she added, “You have ten seconds to agree to the terms I offered.”

I sighed. “Fine.”

“Then we shall waste no more time—“

“Your bargaining power is so strong that I will make your terms more favorable. You are allowed two treasures of your choice, but I will go no higher. Doesn’t feel nice to be treated like a child, huh?”

Nagorn stepped between me and Abra, her arms waving frantically. “No, no, no! We will not be fighting each other because you two have stone between your ears!” She turned toward me. “Niko, please, let us table these matters until we are in safer—“

“I will not allow you guys to keep disrespecting me,” I interrupted. “Had you all spoken openly instead of trying to test and lead me by the nose I would have agreed to whatever you wanted. Did you really think it wasn’t obvious that KarriSah was pretending to consider my requests so that it looked like a tough choice? You guys fucked up by trying to manipulate me in an annoying matter, so I’ma stop pretending to be naive. You guys get two treasures and will have to convince me to give you anything else, meaning your gains from this little adventure will rely completely on my generosity. If you have an issue with that, you will be just the latest stepping stone on my cultivation journey. Negotiations have closed. Understood?”

The self-righteousness of a xianxia protagonist who knew their journey would take them incomprehensibly far coursed through my veins.

Both Abra and Gayhn released their auras to their fullest so I did as well, easily weathering the pressure even though their Chi densities far surpassed mine.

“You’re asking to be taught a lesson,” Gayhn said.

“Sounds to me like somebody wants to lose their teeth,” I replied.

Moz joined Nagorn by standing between us.

“Niko Tess, given that you are the only person present not of our Clan, if a confrontation takes place we will be forced to side against you. Please do not make us do this.” He put his hands in the air diplomatically.

“Such is the tyranny of power, making everything end in fighting until someone submits. Accept my terms and kowtow or you will find that a cultivator nearing the Attribute limit of the first Tier is not someone to be irritated lightly,” I growled back, fully prepared to wipe the floor with their faces if it came to that. They were all undoubtedly more experienced and skilled in combat, and even had higher reaction times than me given their Levels, but one could not overlook the sheer difference in numbers.

None of them had as much Agility as I did, making their melee attacks almost worthless if I focused on keeping my distance. And if I were to increase my Wisdom to near the same height as my Agility, I would have attacks stronger than theirs. That combined with my ridiculous distribution of points in the other four Attributes would at least keep me alive if anything went wrong, since I had no weaknesses they could exploit. If they got within close-quarters combat range, 117.6 Strength was enough to give them a surprise, even if not overwhelm them. Likewise, I could Endure many more attacks than they would expect, and if I had the need to escape, I would undoubtedly recover my health far faster than them, given that from what I learned, Vitality was the most underutilized Attribute that only very few specific combat styles relied on.

Not to mention the nature of our particular environment. A specialized Intelligence mage with Intelligence techniques could do so much more than I—possibly killing all four Goblins with ease—but at the very least, with 40% of the elemental energy around us being fire Chi I had the environmental advantage, given my Specks.

Abra coalescing light Chi on her gauntlets was like a starting pistol, so I sped away and wrapped a spiritual fist around all the fire Chi in the vicinity. It felt like lifting weights almost heavy enough to topple me, and my lack of practice with wielding my Intelligence only made the effect worse, but I managed to gather a whirlpool of fire with a radius of ten meters all around me.

Disappointed, I realized from the feel of the fire Chi that it was even weaker than I anticipated, with only around 50 Wisdom worth of power, maybe less. However, it didn’t need to melt the flesh off my enemies in moments, it only needed to make combat with me more difficult. Just as a test I inefficiently charged the fire Chi cloud with my personal energy, almost doubling its power but making me wince at the expense, so I stopped.

‘Shit, this is really eating through my Chi reserves. Another reason to go for Wisdom instead of Intelligence. But then again it’s only this inefficient because I don’t have a proper Cycling or fire technique.’

I hoped that my display would cause Nagorn and Moz to side against their stubborn family members and beg them to submit, but the two just stood there, pleading at me with their eyes.

Then Abra raised her gauntlet to fire an alabaster beam. I focused my field of flames directly in front of me to absorb the blast but it managed to punch through.

Instead of dodging, I decided to show off a bit of my Generalist superiority, and punched the beam of light.

Their eyes went wide as the light scattered in every direction, leaving no damage to my knuckles given how the attack had been weakened by my fire shield.

‘Oh, and some Dao energy.’

I quickly purged the light-related Speck energy with that of my Kindling Speck, grinding it to nothing in just a handful of seconds. During that time the Goblins were idle, seemingly considering my display of power, realizing I hadn’t exaggerated my claim of being near the Attribute limit. I had more Agility than them, a ton of Intelligence, and still enough Strength to shatter an offensive spell with a punch. It was one thing to feel that I had a lot more points than them, and something else to see it.

Then Abra powered down except for the bare minimum amount of enforcement required not to begin frying in this heat, and retrieved a sheet of paper from a spatial storage bag.

“You were correct, Niko Tess,” she said, holding up the sheet. “These are the Matriarch’s orders written plainly, describing how Nagorn and Moz should act as they usually do while I was tasked with instigating your ire. Gayhn is not mentioned. Allow us to secure the safety of this portal and pass through it so you may look over the document without risking it burning up.” She placed it back in the bag.

I held my glare on the Goblins for another few seconds before I ceased agitating the ambient fire Chi with my own neutral Chi, letting it go dormant but still keeping hold of it with my willpower and connection to the fire Dao so that I could weaponize it again in a moment’s notice.

“Then, you agree to my terms?”

Abra’s face hardened, which was quite unlike her lack of expression from before. I was almost tempted to say “Kidding!” but held my stance firmly. After some time, she sighed.

“This is a possibility discussed in the paper. The Matriarch prefers we prioritize safety over treasures, so I agree for the team.”

“A wise decision, though the kowtowing was a joke,” I said flatly, walking back to join them next to the portal. “So, what is there to test? How do we deem this safe?” While waiting for their response I equipped the backup sword Rahesh had given me. The Goblins’ eyes took in the blade for a moment as they remembered my punch—now they knew I had the Strength to use it.

By this point Gayhn and I had also powered down, and the larger man crouched to pick up a handful of black loam before tossing it through the hole in reality. The black, sandy dirt landed unobstructed in the hallway on the other side of the circle.

“That’s it?”

“Did you expect us to take out all manner of advanced equipment to perform scientific analyses on it?” Gayhn shook his head. “There may be people who have the knowledge and means to completely assure their safety in such a situation as this, but we aren’t among them. However, that’s not all we can do.”

Gayhn then took out a small, intricately carved piece of metal from his bag, placed it on the dirt, and lightly kicked it through the portal. It passed through as easily as the dirt had.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“One more test,” Abra replied, removing a wooden box from one of the bags attached to her hip, opening a slot on the side, and shaking out an insect. She tossed the living bug through the portal, too.

“The metal was a signal receiver we all carry that picks up distress signals from transmitters we also carry. Passing it through tested whether the portal would react to Chi circuitry and active energy. The insect tested for if something living can pass through.”

I didn’t ask about why I didn’t have a receiver and transmitter. I hadn’t suspected anything fishy with the Chi gauge, but devices specifically designed to emit and receive signals could be used against me.

“So now we go through?”

Abra nodded, turned to face the wormhole-looking phenomena, hesitated for a breath, then walked into the circle. On the other side she looked around cautiously before waving us through. “Appears safe,” she said evenly, her voice reaching us just fine.

I realized then that Abra had gone through first without being asked to because she still felt like the group leader, despite me wrestling the title from her. I’d have to go through the next ones.

My guard remained up as we all entered the long, wide, and plain hallway that would fit right in as part of a set in sci-fi movies, except for the black sand-dirt that littered the portal exit. I was through last and carefully watched for any sign of betrayal from the Goblins, ready to use the flat of my sword as a shield to buy time for my escape.

“Take it,” Abra said, holding out the sheet once more, as promised.

I did so, and pretended to read the document while actually remaining prepared to defend myself. When they didn’t do anything for an entire minute I looked it over for real. Unsurprisingly, it read exactly as Abra had claimed, though with more detail. The Matriarch saw me as a child susceptible to being molded to suit her needs, and in the case that I saw through it, they were to give in to all but the most unreasonable of my demands because I would still be a good ally even if I were smarter than they thought. At the very bottom was a line dedicated to me, essentially saying that KarriSah was not sorry because even I knew it would be incredibly foolish for someone in her position to not try manipulating me a little bit.

“She’s not wrong,” I said to the anxious Goblins. “It would be foolish not to at least try, even if it pisses me off. All government leaders manipulate the uneducated masses to some degree. Most of the time it’s for bad reasons, like because they’re getting paid by huge companies to spread misinformation about said companies’ products, but every once in a while it’s because the masses are dumb and don’t know better, like with vaccines. Anyway, enough of that, because I just got an update on one of my Quests.”

With a wave of my hand, words appeared in front of everyone.

[Quest: (2/5) Taste the Rainbow—Find and consume a Sludge Celery from the earth-aligned biodome. Leaving the Quest Realm without completing this step will fail the Quest and cost you 40% in two random Attributes, or even from the same Attribute.]

“Earth biodome…” Abra muttered to herself.

“Sludge Celery?” Gayhn asked with eyebrows knitted.

“Could rainbows be tasted on your old planet?” Nagorn muttered.

“This Quest of yours has five parts?” Moz asked, eyes wide. “That is quite fortunate. The longer and more difficult a Quest, the better the rewards.”

I smirked, finding their reactions amusing. Especially Nagorn’s. Hers was unexpectedly adorable. However, their lack of reaction to the penalty was a bit surprising. Perhaps they had come to terms with my ridiculous stats.

“To answer and or respond to all your questions and comments…” I looked around, suspicious of the lack of danger in this hallway. “I won’t, yet. Let’s take a look around here first. It doesn’t feel right that the weird window-like portal connects a hellscape to an ordinary hallway. Maybe this is a trap?”

I looked down at the ground, noting how winds had blown a good amount of black loam into the hall, which hadn’t accumulated into a pile but was swept around here and there—possibly by beasts that had come through before us.

“By the way, I forgot to ask whether these Quest Realms are created entirely by the System or just plucked from around the multiverse.”

“Both,” Abra responded. “They could also be either, but from what the Matriarch and Elders described of surviving the integration, most looked as though they’d been real places that were modified to suit the System’s needs. Elder Prropo even recounted how he’d entered a Quest Realm on two different occasions, each time receiving a different Quest that led him through different parts of the pocket world.”

“Interesting,” I said, looking between the plain hallway and hellish landscape that poured out hot air. “I wonder if I’ll ever return to this one.”