Micro almost regretted the way time slipped away from him in dungeons. Though he was vaguely aware that it was an immense amount of time, incomparable to his time as either a human or a truck, when the trial was over he simply felt as though he had awoken from a dream. In that dream, he had felt the flow of energy between an infinite network of grass roots that simultaneously filled him with life and made him feel as though he had melted into the ground to join them. But as he awoke, all he felt was peace.

“Finally.” Azar grumbled as the giant stone mushroom once again rose from the ground in front of them.

“I can’t believe you made it this far with so short a temper…” Lena said, rolling her eyes.

“We’re still stuck!” Trill shouted in a panic.

“Cards please!” Blue shouted at the statue, ignoring Trill’s cries.

“That’s going to be useful for refueling.” Micro thought aloud.

To Blue’s delight, several jade Core Cards materialized above the mushroom with a flash of light. The cards danced in a circle above the mushroom before descending to eye level with each of the five participants. Azar, Lena, and Micro each grabbed their respective cards immediately, while Trill took hold of it more tentatively. Blue, however, crossed her arms in dissatisfaction.

“Just one?!” She shouted at the giant stone statue.

“The Jade level Dark Mycelial Art Core Card is not a small reward…” The massive mushroom replied, its voice still resonating through them.

“Take your card so that you may all return…”

“Hurry up, pixie!” Azar added in frustration.

“All that work finding all those roots and the best you can do is one card?!” She shouted again.

“Your desire is great, ancient one…” The mushroom's voice seemed to trail off.

“What is the path you walk…?”

“Huh?” Blue shouted in confusion.

“Pixies fly!”

“The dungeon guardian is essentially asking what your goal in life is, pixie.” Lena explained.

“I don’t know what goes on in the minds of you things, but please, just take the card.”

“This stinks!” Blue pouted, refusing to grab the card.

“Give me another card!”

“I am unable…” The mushroom replied.

“Then give me something shiny at least!” She demanded.

“I am unable…” The mushroom repeated.

“You can have a gold ring, if you like.” Micro said as he removed a small ring from his storage, one of the rings which Blue had found on Feng’s dead master’s corpse. He quickly stored his own card, then dusted off the ring a little and held it out to her.

“Oh, whatever!” Blue screamed as she grabbed the card in front of her, causing bright lights to appear around the five of them in an instant.

Micro enjoyed flying through the green lights of the portal this time, just behind the two pixies, but didn’t manage to land on his feet as he was launched into the cave. He stumbled and tripped over the rocks in the dark cave, but was relieved when the impact of his head against the cave wall caused him almost no pain at all.

“This armour card from the turtle was a better gift than I thought!” Micro explained to Blue happily.

“My skin still isn’t as hard as before, but I feel a lot better now.”

“So you haven’t noticed that rat with three eyes biting your leg?” Blue scoffed as she hovered in the air next to Trill, apparently somewhat rejuvenated.

“Oh dear.” Micro said as he looked down to see the monster attached to his leg. Now that he could see it in the dim light of the portal, his leg began to feel very uncomfortable.

“Stop that.”

He grabbed the large rat by the tail, ripped it off of his leg, and flung it into the darkness of the cave. He wiped his hand on his clothes as he stood up, and was about to put the ring in his hands back in his storage when he noticed Azar and Lena standing in front of the portal with blank expressions.

“Oh.” Micro blurted out as he recalled the situation he was in before entering the dungeon. He grabbed Trill and Blue with one swing of his free hand and began to run, but he wasn’t fast enough.

Azar moved in front of Micro so quickly that Micro ran straight into him, bouncing off his chest as though he weighed almost nothing. Blue flew high above Micro’s head and immediately summoned her slingshot, but Azar raised his hands in the air slowly and spoke with a low voice.

“Why do you have that ring…?” Azar asked.

“It’s not possible!” Lena remarked from behind, her own movement slow and cautious, but much less threatening than before.

“What’s going on?” Blue shouted.

“Finally realized you don’t stand a chance?”

“The ring…” Azar said, ignoring Blue’s provocations.

“How did it come to be in your possession?”

“Cultivators ask a lot of questions.” Micro frowned.

“I need to get to the city to meet Kel. Please let me go.”

“Answer me, hero.” Azar demanded, a glowing, blue sword beginning to materialize in his right hand.

“So we’re doing this after all?!” Blue shouted as she drew back a large bolt of energy in her slingshot and took aim.

“Stop!” Lena ordered as she threw herself between Azar and the pixie.

“Hmm?” Blue growled as she backed slowly toward Micro.

“Eek!” Trill screamed and dove into Micro’s pocket.

“Micro… You possess something impossible you shouldn’t...” Lena said with her glowing eyes fixated on the ring in his hand.

“Oh, this?” Micro held the ring up to look at it. He hadn’t inspected it closely before among the collection of trinkets Blue had discovered on the corpse, but it was surprisingly well crafted. On it was engraved a symbol that looked similar to the markings on his tiger and moon art cards.

“That ring belonged to Master Kang, but he hasn’t been seen in centuries…” Lena continued.

“His fate has been unknown to our sect for generations, and yet here you stand with his ring in your hand.”

“Blue found it while we were camping recently.” Micro answered in frustration.

“If I give it to you, will you leave us alone?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“If you can tell us where Master Kang is…” Lena whispered, her eyes burning intensely.

“I will not kill you.”

“Thanks, I think…” Micro said with a puzzled look.

“However, my duty to the empire is not less than my duty to the Sapphire Water Tiger Moon Sect.” Lena continued.

“I will allow you to stand trial as a cultivator, rather than be judged as a hero.”

“What are you saying, Lena?!” Azar shouted in shock.

“Do you understand your own words?”

“I know the weight of this promise, boy!” Lena snapped back, but she kept her eyes on Micro.

“What do you say, Micro?”

“What do you mean?” He asked, looking to Blue for some hint at what he should do, but Blue looked as confused as he felt.

“We cannot free you, but it may be possible for you to be judged as a cultivator.” Lena explained.

“Any other hero would be killed or dissected without delay. Answer our questions, and you may be allowed to live, at least for a time.”

“Why do I have to be judged?” Micro asked, his frustration outweighed by his confusion.

“I just want to go to the tournament in the imperial city!”

“That can be arranged.” Lena nodded with a frown.

“You can’t be serious, Lena!” Azar shouted again, this time unleashing a powerful aura along with his frustration.

“All of you Research Division members are the same! You’re insane! Parading a hero down the street to the courthouse? Taking him to a tournament on the way? Is he a tourist?!”

“You’re not a fool, Azar.” Lena spoke with a cold voice.

“But you’re young enough not to understand the damage caused to our sect by Master Kang’s expulsion.”

“Don’t lecture me like I’m your disciple, Lena.” Azar said as he approached the elderly woman with rage in his aura.

“Do you think we’ll still have a sect to return to if the empire hears about this?”

“Better for our sect to perish than continue as it is...” Lena asserted, her eyes never leaving Micro.

“You may be a captain of the Imperial Guard, but this matter falls to my discretion as an Elder of the sect.”

She finally turned to face the angry young guard.

“And discretion may serve you well, son of Yarin.” She said with a tone that instantly cooled his fiery temper.

“Understood.” Azar replied, stepping back from the group in bitter compliance.

“Micro.” Lena said with finality.

“We will take you to your tournament, and then you will face the Silver Magistrate of this region. In return, you will tell us everything you know of Master Kang and his current location.”

“I only know what Feng told me…” Micro mumbled. He looked to Blue again, but she only shrugged while keeping her slingshot aimed at Azar’s head.

“Master Feng is alive?!” Lena practically screamed in shock.

“Are you a friend of his?” Micro asked.

“A friend? I’m…” Lena said as her shock was replaced by a tearful expression.

“I would be ashamed to call him my friend… But I would repay my debt to him if only I had the chance… Please, Micro!”

“Blue…?” Micro whispered to the pixie hovering over his shoulder.

“They’re just Sapphire level…” She whispered back.

“But I can barely handle one of them right now… Your call, kiddo.”

The air grew tense as Micro weighed his options. Azar looked ready to attack at any moment, while Lena seemed desperate to hear what he knew about Feng.

“You promise I can go to the tournament?” Micro asked tentatively.

“I swear it on the honour of my sect, Micro.” Lena answered eagerly.

“Blue…” Micro whispered again.

“We’ll talk to them.”

“You sure?” She asked.

“You trust them?”

“I don’t think we can beat them.” Micro answered with a nod.

“I think that’s a sign.”

“Huh?” Blue whispered with a frown.

“Okay!” Micro declared, startling Lena.

“First, you take us to the tournament!”

“What of the information you-” Lena began, but she was interrupted by Micro.

“When the tournament is done, I’ll tell you where Feng and his master are.” Micro concluded, nodding his head once and holding out one hand.

“Watch out!” Azar shouted as Micro’s hand moved toward Lena.

Before Lena could react, Azar’s sword was between her and Micro. Blue fired a single shot, but Azar dodged it easily as his sword made its way straight to Micro’s arm. Lena let out a cry of anger as Azar disregarded her orders, but she and Azar were both suddenly forced backward by a sudden explosion of aura.

“Don’t scratch…!” Micro panted, his arm hidden behind a large shield of energy. Though it bore the familiar turtle shell pattern, it was more rectangular in form, with a square, transparent window in the top half.

“Don’t scratch… the paint…!”

Micro’s eyes showed no sign of reason as he began to wave his shield back and forth without aim, knocking rocks from the wall and kicking up dust and mud from the cave floor. As it depleted his energy, he suddenly closed his eyes and plucked his newest Core Card from storage. Azar regretted pausing in confusion when he realized the card had disappeared again with a flash of green light. Opening his eyes again, Micro sent countless roots into the ground to collect more energy for his shield.

“You aren’t my driver!” Micro shouted as Azar collected himself and launched another attack, this time with two swords. However, Micro summoned another shield and successfully repelled the attack as the impact rattled the cave. Lena was about to shout something, but several rocks fell from the cave ceiling above her which took her great effort to deflect with a simple energy shield of her own.

“He mastered a Core Card in the middle of an attack… I didn’t want to waste a Sapphire level Art on a runt like you, but it can’t be helped!” Azar shouted as the aura around him began to swirl and morph into the shape of a blue tiger, as though his own body had transformed. He pounced at Micro, whose shield evaporated with a single swipe of the blue tiger’s claws, and gripped his shoulder firmly with ethereal fangs, unrooting him and shaking him from side to side like a ragdoll.

“I have… somewhere to be…!” Micro grunted more in frustration than pain as he channeled all the energy he could find to his hand to ready another attack. The blue tiger that was Azar ignored the energy at first, but a chill suddenly ran down his spine that caused him to instinctively release Micro and step back.

Even the portal seemed to grow dimmer as all the energy in the cave was drawn to Micro’s only functioning hand at an alarming pace. Micro looked at the tiger with wide, unthinking eyes. Clinging to a ball of energy so dense that it warmed the dark, damp cave, he wound back and prepared to throw it.

“Stop!” Lena, finally free of the rocks which had fallen on her, screamed as she jumped between Micro and Azar with her hands held out and empty.

Micro lost his momentum as the old lady appeared in front of him.

“Please, release the energy in your hand!” She pleaded.

“This is no place to unleash such a powerful Spirit Wave. You’ll kill us all!”

“Oh…” Micro replied in a daze, looking at the energy in his hand. He looked back up at her as his anger was replaced by a concern.

“How do I turn it off…?”

“Ah!” Lena panicked as the ball began to destabilize in his hand, and she quickly wrapped her hands around his own to contain it. Micro didn’t resist as she struggled to neutralize the attack before it could explode, and though her hands were injured in the process, she was eventually successful.

“This…” Lena sighed as she held Micro’s hand in her own.

“This is what you wanted to do, right?”

“Huh…?” Micro stammered, his eyes

“You said you would tell us about Master Kang after the tournament…” Lena explained.

“Then you held out your hand.”

“That’s right…” Micro mumbled as his eyes fell to the pair of hands wrapped around his own.

“Do you mean to cast a spell at this point?” Lena asked suspiciously.

“You won’t get away with any tricks.”

“It’s a deal, right?” Micro asked, his hand beginning to shake as the pain in his other shoulder settled in.

“Then we shake on it.”

“I sense no spell or energy in your gesture…” Lena whispered.

“What is this magic…?”

“It’s a handshake.” Micro replied in frustration.

“IT must be a trap!” Azar shouted.

“Silence, Azar!” Lena replied.

“You spent the duration of a dungeon trial exposed to the energy this hero carries. I believe it is incapable of deception, and you would be blind not to have understood its nature.”

“Again, it’s just a handshake.” Micro repeated as Azar bit his tongue.

“A what?” Lena asked with a blank expression.

“That’s how business works…” Micro began to explain, but he paused for a moment and sighed.

“Where I’m from, at least… Sorry…”

Micro began to lower his hand with a bitter look in his eyes, recalling the countless times he’d seen such deals concluded between the old man and his many friends.

“Understood, Micro.” Lena said as she awkwardly strengthened her grasp around his hand.

“Oh…!” Micro said with wide eyes, correcting her grip as Azar did his best not to try and cut both of Micro’s hands off with each moment that passed.

“Like this!”

Micro shook her hand several times before releasing it again.

“What did he do?” Azar asked from behind, his eyes glowing as he inspected both parties.

“Were you cursed?!”

“I believe it was a simple oath, Azar.” Lena explained as she examined her own hand.

“The soul within a hero is from another world, after all. Its customs would inevitably be different from those we take for granted.”

“Why make a promise without using energy to bind each person?” Azar scoffed as the tiger aura surrounding him intensified.

“What a pointless gesture!”

“We don’t use energy like that on my world. We have gas, electricity, some others recently…” Micro explained, but his tone grew increasingly urgent.

“Can we go now? I don’t want to be late.”

“What fairy tales is he telling now?!” Azar shouted.

“Who are you to-”

“I don’t want to be late.” Micro repeated, his hand beginning to glow slightly.

“I’m not joking.”