Uh so now what?

I sat by the pier, overlooking the glittering water of the lake. Some boats lingered in the water. Fisherman fished by the lakeside and their boats, their expressions serene and at peace. Some even had family with them, as they taught them the art of fishing. The sun shone brightly overhead, highlighting the already peaceful and beautiful landscape.

Sighing, I thought back to the moment when I woke up. I was lying on my bed when I awoke to Amy sitting by the wayside as she silently looked at me like I was a painting. As I rose from my bed, she stood up, and without even saying a simple greeting to me, left the room.

Several seconds later, Mr Frank and Mr Samuel came up. Mr Frank was the same as always. Still pudgy from the gut, a gruff face that boasted an impressive-looking facial hair. He looked at me with a deadpan expression, seemingly making sure that I was awake and healthy. He nodded at me before walking back down. Mr Samuel on the other hand had a full bottle of sorel in his hand.

It was half empty, clear that he was drinking just before I woke up. I could tell that judging by the brightness of my room, it was still midday. Nothing new it seemed. Except that the way Mr Samuel looked at me changed. If it was before, then it was like a grown adult looking at a toddler who could barely walk. Now, he looked at me like a teenager. A teenager who can now walk but is still useless at heart. Good enough.

“Burp* So how are you feeling kid? Still got any aches and pains? Don't answer that, of course, you do.” He laughed, as he took a swig from his bottle. Reacting to his comment, I inspected myself and indeed, I was wrapped around bandages once more. It wasn't as severe as the last time, but a good majority of my body was wrapped around with bandages like prey being wrapped in leaves to be cooked.

There were still some minor pains of course, but not so bad that I couldn't move around properly. I tried getting out of bed, yet the moment, I did, Amy raised her sword against me and hovered it by my neck.

“Stay. Don't move,” she said, looking at me with sheer coldness. I froze, slowly putting back the sheets covering my body. She seemed satisfied, as she withdrew her sword, and went back down. It left Mr Samuel and I. An awkward tension pervaded the room. Mr Samuel stayed silent, drinking his Sorel as I waited for him to speak.

“You did good kid…” he said, smirking at the side of his face, swirling the almost empty bottle.

“Thank you.” Mr Samuel downed the last drops from it, as he threw the bottle to the side. Before it crashed into the wall, it vanished in mid-air as if someone caught it. They were there it turned out.

“Anyways, the Empire thanks you kid. The Emperor wanted to thank you himself, but a sudden appointment warranted his attention.”

I was surprised. I did nothing. I just saved Mr Samuel. There was nothing more important than that in the situation. Mr Samuel seemed to have seen my confusion, as he said.

“The Orpheus Metal. That little thing happened to be something the Emperor needed in large quantities. And thanks to you, he got it. A reward is, of course, to be given. But it's going to take some time to acquire.”

“Wait- It's too much. I'm just doing what's right Mr Samuel. There's no need to go through all that trouble for a reward. I don't need anything else.”

I waved my hands, nervous that the emperor wanted to give me something. I haven't had much interaction with the Emperor, but I knew better than anyone to get on his bad side. He was, it turned out, extremely popular with his citizens. They seemed to be praising him more than even the gods themselves.

“Don't worry bout it too much kid. Well handle it, it's just a reward. Not that big of a deal. And a small tip from me, any chance you get to obtain benefits from him? Bleed him dry.”

Mr Samuel giggled as if he said something funny.

“Mr Samuel! It's rude to say things like that to the Emperor.”

“Oh don't be like William kid. God no. That guy is bloody rich, he could even buy another country if he wants.” He waved off what I said, as he started going out of the room. I wanted to retort, but he had a good point. Mr Samuel then halted in his steps, as he said before leaving.

“By the way, you have the week off. Think of it as a reward from me. But by next week, we're back to training.” He waved goodbye and then left. The dark recesses in the shadows squirmed, as the ones following Mr Samuel also left. I sighed, as I lay back on my bed. I looked at the ceiling, feeling the situation a little sudden.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

A reward? Sure it's cool but I didn't need it. All I needed was my [Lexicon] and talismans from my sister, and I'm fine. Of course, also my clothes, my food, my house, my bed, and even the little snacks from the streets, but other than that, I'm happy. I smiled, thinking that a lot of things had changed for me.

But receiving something due to my efforts isn't so bad. I wonder what I would get as a reward? Am I going to get another Chokuto? Preferably a sharper and more robust one. I summoned my Chokuto and inspected it. The blade was still sharp as it still shone. But there was some slight damage on its edges, as I could sometimes feel that it was less sharp than the first time I got it.

I unsommoned it and thought about another thing. No use thinking about what the reward might be. The better question I need to answer is, what am I going to do on my vacation? The moment I arrived in Zorvaile City, everything was a blur. Everything moved so fast that I could barely travel the city. It was nonstop training, fighting monsters, and getting myself out of life-and-death situations. It was a nonstop life to just survive.

Oh, my pitiful fate. I never thought that my life would end up like this.

I sighed as I snapped myself out of recollecting. I gazed over the yonder, feeling the peace Zorvaile City had to offer. It was nice. Nothing major happens in the city. Rarely does it ever go above petty crimes. Maybe it was because of Mr Samuel, but the city seemed safe from crime.

Scratch that.

“Help!”

I looked at where the sound was coming from and saw that a thief was stealing someone's bag. I smiled, as I saw that I did have something to do. Cool. I stood up, patted away the non-existent dust on my clothes, and cast {Lighntning Movement} in the direction of the thief. I hit the back of his neck, as he fell to the ground with his eyes showing whites.

…

Samuel gazed over the bar. There was no other soul to be seen.

“Let's go,” Samuel said.

He vanished from the spot. The room slightly squirmed, as flashes of shadows leapt out from the dark corners and followed Samuel.

Samuel jumped to the highest position. So high that he oversaw the entire city. He looked in a particular direction and made his way over there. He jumped across the rooftops, his feet making no sound or even vibrations. It seemed that he stepped on them for even less than a second. He then thought about some things as he went to a meeting.

{[Slane Theocracy]}. Their finally making a move. Recently for some reason, for several months to a year, they stayed silent like they had other problems to attend to. It was out of behavior, Samuel thought. Every day, they were out into the continent cleansing ‘heretics’, preaching the gospel of the god of life, and spreading propaganda in the name of the church. They were like a virus, that spread its disgusting tendrils all over the continent. Smothering in its toxins, hoping to one day be the sole controller and ruler.

Though in Samuel’s eyes, he thought it was normal. Every other country, though they don't like to shout it to the high heavens like {[Slane Theocracy]}, wants to be the sole ruler of the continent. Hell, even one of them was already in the process of that.

Samuel’s expression noticeably got cold the moment he remembered _that _country. Not wanting to think about scum, he focused on {[Slane Theocracy]}. They were suddenly interested in Cosmo, he may be from another continent but it wasn't like they didn't have that sort of visitor from that time. Though there was a problem with the portal, Samuel still sees them from time to time.

Samuel guessed that maybe it was because of Cosmos’s background. The moment he saw him, he already knew that he came from an affluent family. Cosmo didn't act like one but he dressed like one. But his gut told him it wasn't that.

It was then that he thought about that one time early on. But he forgot that possibility. It was impossible. Amanda made sure to hide it from the Gods’ prying eyes. Or anyones eyes for that matter. They could never have known it. That is unless they started communicating with their god. Yet even that possibility was closer to impossible. They have stayed silent since time immemorial.

Samuel scratched his head, thinking about what it could be. It was then that his subordinate came up to him and whispered some things. Samuels's eyes widened, and then it turned into interest as he had a grin at the side of his face.

“Interesting… Alright, go ahead. Just don't let him know, keep it as a surprise.”

His subordinate nodded, as he disappeared with a few people in tow. Samuel laughed, as he thought himself the best teacher there is. He may not know what sort of present the emperor had in store for Cosmo, but he knew he had a better one.

…

“I'm bored.”

I ran across the water, with no use of spells whatsoever. My robe flapped against the wind. I felt the wind across my face but I already got bored of it months ago. I jumped into the air, as I practiced some moves I learned from Mr Samuel. It was a set of close combat techniques. He taught it to me before the big mission, but I never got the opportunity to use it. Mostly because I still didn't even know how to use it in battle.

Might as well practice it for now since ig not nothing better to do. I dropped back to the ground, standing above the water. From an outside perspective, I was walking on water. And though I could do that, I would quickly sink the moment I stopped. No, between my feet and the water, was a coated layer of mana. It acted as a sort of artificial floorboard. I learned it along the way as I ran away from Monsters that one time.

I sent a fist in the air, my other hand balled up at first but it was by the side of my chest. I alternated, sending my other fist while I pulled back the other. I repeated it an unknown number of times until I got bored and I then moved on to leg techniques. I centered my body and used my full weight as I sent a kick. The water briefly swayed as I did it.

I did it again, but this time, it swayed for other reasons. Seriously, I'm cursed.

Whatever, lets go back to the bar.