Lyon POV:

We walked in silence as we made our way through the plaza. Though there wasn’t much of a crowd at this time of the evening, we still passed by a noticeable amount of people.

The majority of those people were women, who had varying shades of red spread across the bridge of their noses, as their eyes kept on darting in our direction.

“Kyaaa!~”

“Oh my, Oddjob is even more handsome now!!”

“I need me a man like Tobias!”

“Do you think they’re single...?”

My gaze shifted to Tobias as his eyebrows crumpled together. He let out a short sigh before picking up the pace while the corners of my mouth rose slightly.

The streets of Glisa were well kept, but I could still notice the pavements becoming cleaner and cleaner—a sign that we were entering a high-class area.

‘Hmm.’

After a few more turns, a large gate appeared in the middle of a wide street. Two soldiers stood guard with their backs perfectly straight, watching us carefully as we drew closer.

“Tobias... Crow!”

They bowed their heads deeply while I took note of their trembling arms. Tobias let out another helpless sigh before greeting them as we made our way inside.

‘It’s a bit excessive.’

I observed the size of the large gates briefly. Even if someone wanted to commit a crime, they wouldn’t do it here, because this area belonged to the Summerway family.

As a result, the buildings reflected that of nobility: being significantly taller and more embellished than the ones outside. A huge banner containing their insignia of ten bird-like suns hung near the entrance.

The Summerways were different compared to the other nobles. Despite being a part of Efros’s extensive history, not much was known about them.

What was known was that the current head was a woman called Skyla ‘The Bright’ Summerway and that the females within the Summerway family were physically stronger than the males by a large amount. However, there was one exception.

‘Croto Summerway.’

Rumours placed his strength above that of the family head, and she, herself, never actively denied it. I had also heard whispers about the two of them being engaged which also seemed plausible.

I pondered for awhile over all the information regarding them as we continued walking for another five minutes. We soon arrived in front of a tavern that was at least three times larger than the one we were previously in.

Its name, ‘Summer Rest’, written in a bold, golden orange colour. It had been years since I last worked in this area, so I wasn’t familiar with it. It was also natural for new buildings to appear during that long of a time frame.

“Let’s head inside.”

Tobias took the lead while I followed behind him. The inside of the tavern was well organized and spacious. A sweet aroma filled the room, emanating from the chairs and tables that were made out of sandalwood.

Tobias moved towards the receptionist who had short brown hair. Her bangs reached down to her cheeks, accentuating the soft curves of her face. A name tag was pinned above her bust on the right side of her uniform.

Jeanie bowed her head politely before greeting us with a sweet smile.

“Good evening, Mr. Crow. Room number 26 is on the second floor. Please enjoy your stay with us.”

“Thank you.”

Tobias took the key, and we made our way upstairs. He opened the door to the room, beckoning for me to step inside.

I walked in and instantly felt the thickness of the air drastically increase. A pressure weighed down on me as the density of the area continued to multiply for a few more seconds.

‘This is...!’

My lips curved upwards as I spun around to look at Tobias. He leaned against the doorway with a proud smile on his face.

“Not bad, right? I managed to rent it out for one month.”

He grinned while closing the door behind him. The reason for the thickness of the air around me was due to the high concentration of Ki, caused by an artifact known as a Ki Tuner.

Ki Tuners were rare. So, they were mostly owned by nobles or other wealthy individuals, but it was possible to rent out rooms that made use of these Ki Tuners.

As the name implies, you could adjust the density of Ki within a small area which in turn allowed the practitioner to sense and feel the Flow of Ki more clearly. However, there were significant disadvantages.

The first being that your sensitivity to Ki actually decreases the more you rely on it. This is because the high density being created is artificial.

The second issue was the density limit. Though the density couldn’t be increased to a very high level, there have been thousands of reports of permanent health-related problems such as the loss of sight, going deaf, etc.

However, those side effects don’t apply to people without a Ki Center. In other words, these meditation rooms have always been the ideal way for those with money to form a Ki Center faster since their discovery.

“Tobias...”

I pondered over how much it would have cost him to rent this room out for a month. I was grateful for his kindness towards me; it was something that I’d never forget.

“Ha, don’t worry so much. I can tell... that you’re strong now, but I can’t let you enter dungeons without at least being able to use Ki on your own.”

My lips curved into a content smile as I bowed my head.

“Thank you for everything.”

“No matter what happens, do not die, Leo.”

He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and stared directly into my eyes. I smiled confidently in response, causing his pupils to dilate. He quickly wiped away the tears trying to pool at the corner of his eyes.

“Ha... Hayfever again...”

He spun around, making his way to the door quickly before stopping.

“See you soon, Uncle.”

His hand trembled as it rested on the door handle. Tobias stood there for a few seconds; his cheeks rising while he placed his other hand to his eyes.

He opened the door and threw me the key without looking back. I watched him disappear down the hallway while the door slowly closed.

I didn’t know at the time that it would take over 9 years for us to meet again.

I turned my attention back towards the room. The lack of furniture didn’t escape my initial observation, with the only object being a medium-sized bed pushed up against the side of the wall.

There were no windows either which highlighted the obvious limitations of Ki Tuners. I took a seat on the bed and leaned forward. My interlocked fingers rested underneath my chin as I ran through the various mental notes I had made today.

Once complete, I sat in the lotus position and closed my eyes.

“Let’s get started.”

I visualized the silhouette of a human body as the scattered Ki fragments emitted a faint light. Most of my Ki Center was already complete due to me never forgetting to meditate daily whenever I could.

It was easier to grasp the remaining fragments due to the effects of the meditation room. My heightened sensitivity reduced the amount of effort necessary to move them according to my will.

The Ki fragments inched forward at a cumbersome pace, but compared to before, it was significantly faster. I took a deep breath, emptied my mind and focused solely on completing my Ki Center.

I had one month.

***

Two weeks passed by in an instant. A surge of power pulsated throughout my body, shaking the room violently as my lips curved upwards.

My Ki exploded around me, flaring in every direction while my eyes flashed open. I looked down at my open palms and balled them into fists.

It felt good to finally have access to this power the normal way. However, the normal way came with the normal problems, and in this case, it was the issue of my Ki constantly leaking out.

‘Hmm.’

I examined the aura-like energy rushing out of my body. The lack of Ki Channels meant that my Ki had no path of circulation to take which lead to this leakage. You wouldn’t die from this immediately, but you would black out once you reached the end of your Ki Reserves.

It was a self-protection mechanism that allowed the body to recover in a state of hibernation. If you still couldn’t fix your Ki Channels after a certain amount of time—you would die. Other than that, extreme fatigue would be present in all activities until this issue was solved.

I refocused my mind and closed my eyes once more. I sent out Ki from my Ki Center, at regular intervals, down specific preset routes—naturally restoring the damaged pathways along the way.

Control and regulation were key to repairing my broken Ki Channels efficiently. It took me just under two weeks to complete this process, but thankfully, I made it in time.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead and changed my clothes. It had been almost one month since I had eaten anything, so I was looking forward to enjoying some food.

‘It’s a shame it won’t be Martha’s cooking.’

I let out a sigh as my thoughts drifted back to those precious to me. It’d be fine; I would see them again soon.

I closed the door behind me and made my way downstairs. I took a seat at one of the empty tables while examining the menu in front of me.

“Oddjob?... Is that you??”

My gaze shifted to a middle-aged man. He leaned over the counter with wide eyes as if he had seen a ghost.

“My word... It really is you!! Didn’t you leave to go... uh... Train? Yeah, to train!”

He scratched his short beard while grinning. He still had that habit of speaking with his hands, but it was nice to see him again.

“It’s been awhile, Niel. You look well.”

“And you look like a bloody different animal! The Oddjob I knew was different... But this is a good change. It’s good.”

He nodded his head to himself while stroking his beard. Niel was one of the many bosses I once had. We got along well, so he was upset when he found out I was leaving Glisa.

“Hmm... But why are you here? I mean, now I know why Tobias made that room reservation, please don’t break the rooms they’re expensive, but uh...”

The corners of my mouth rose slightly. Niel was a talker, yet his mind worked faster than his mouth did and so, he often forgot what he was talking about halfway through his sentences.

‘There’s no harm in catching up.’

I got up from my seat, ignoring the rumbling sound of my stomach as I approached the counter.

“You really look more mature now! Those carefree eyes hold a certain seriousness to it! It juxtaposes with your attitude! That’s the right word, right Jeanie?”

He looked back at Jeanie who went a light shade of red while avoiding eye contact with me.

“Bah! You take too long to answer. Anyway, what was I saying? Yeah... Why are you still here? Central Guild has been open for the past two weeks.”

“Really?”

My eyes narrowed slightly. I had been holed up in that room for almost a month, so it was only natural that I wasn’t up to date with what was going on.

“Mm, yeah. They’re doing aptitude tests before the public launch of dungeons. No point in being an Adventurer only to die challenging a dungeon far beyond one’s capabilities. Right, Jeanie?”

He glanced at her again. Whether he wanted confirmation or support wasn’t important—it had already became a habit for Niel.

Jeanie gave a simple nod while hiding the majority of her face behind a tray. It must have taken a lot of willpower for her to act normally when we first met, but that was what it meant to be a professional.

“Niel, I thought you would have let me known earlier.”

“Hm? Aha, I just found out you were here a few minutes ago, Oddjob.”

He looked away sheepishly while my lips curved into a soft smile. He probably didn’t want to disturb me during my meditation.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

I turned around and quickly made my way to the entrance. I wanted to be able to enter the dungeons immediately, not have to wait for results or whatever other procedures Central Guild had planned.

“Ehh, it’s already late though, Oddjob!”

“Niel, if you keep talking so much, you’ll lose another good assistant.”

He instantly closed his mouth and smiled wryly. I watched him cough a few times before waving me away dismissively. I barely caught sight of Jeanie’s face turning a deeper shade of red as I dashed out of the tavern.

‘It’s almost time.’