*1346.02.01*
Bai Lian woke up and yawned, stretching her arms out over hear head, hearing her joints pop as she did and noticing a pressure on her side and belly.
She looked over and just about squeaked when she saw Mo Yu laying beside her, cuddle up to her chest, her left hand laying just below her navel.
Her mind raced as her face turned scarlet.
She wracked her brain, trying to remember what had happened.
She recalled Joram’s “fight”…. But what happened after that? Her Qi had surged. Yes, she’d been excited and supremely proud of her young master and of her decision to follow him, to help him however she could.
With that sense of purpose had come a sense of clarity so profound that it took her into an epiphany.
Her eyes widened suddenly, then just as quickly snapped shut as she drew her consciousness inwards to inspect her dantian.
Bai Lian’s joy at what she saw nearly caused her to weep. There, as solid as could be, was her dantian. She could feel the solid core of Qi at its centre, but was also awed at how much Earth Qi had condensed around it to completely hide that solid core of Qi under head clouds.
She took her time feeling out those clouds of Earth Qi, getting a sense of their movements and how dense they really were. Her eyes nearly opened when she felt that surface of the solid core of Qi was… attracting the clouds of Earth Qi, creating odd mists just above it.
She couldn’t help but smile, a wave of happiness shooting through her body, causing it to tremble slightly. Bai Lian then felt Mo Yu shift on her side, so she opened her eyes to see what was going on.
“Good morning,” Mo Yu said sleepily, rubbing an eye.
Bai Lian felt her heart warm as the sight, her affection for Mo Yu growing.
“Good morning!” She said, excited as could be. “I’m back in the Earth Realm!”
Mo Yu woke up a bit more as she sat up, happiness now taking the place of her sleepiness.
“That’s great!” She said, reaching out a hand to help pull her into a sitting position. Her eyes widened. “You’re already at the peak?!” She demanded, her other hand now going over Bai Lian’s, sandwiching it in the process.
Bai Lian smiled, but was distracted by something sticking to her abdomen. She looked down and her eyes nearly popped out when she saw the Earth Card stuck to her skin. It wasn’t the usual dark grey anymore, but now closer to the smoky quartz of a Mid-Grade Earth Crystal.
Mo Yu saw what she was looking at and released Bai Lian’s hand to pat her on the shoulder.
“The young master cared for you well,” she said with a smile, her tone warm.
Which, to be fair, was a completely normal thing to say when someone provided a person with the resources they needed to stay well and healthy. Because, if her restriction shackles hadn’t been removed she would have suffered a terrible backlash to her cultivation that might have killed her. Added to that, if she hadn’t been provided with those Earth Cards, she still might not have properly broken back through to the Earth Realm.
But the way Mo Yu had said what she’d said, made it sound like the young master had gone above and beyond that. And that’s what caused her face to turn red up to the roots of her hair.
“I’m just teasing,” Mo Yu said, laughing softly. “The young master may have provided the Cards to smooth the way for you, but it was Ren Wentian who carried you for the rest of the day,” she said, a twinkle in her eye.
Just as she’d been about to relax, Bai Lian tensed up again at hearing the last part, her face going red again in embarrassment.
* * * * *
Joram looked up at the ceiling, wondering why Bai Lian was having a meltdown, but then shrugged as he got back to playing with his student card.
The speaker hadn’t mentioned that they’d added a course guide to their cards, but he was happy that it was there.
He browsed through the various programs he was interested it, making notes on his laptop. He took his time comparing the various time slots of the classes he was interested in. He soon found another function, one that was truly helpful. The manual also came with a timesheet that you could interact with.
If he selected slot one for the day, he could sort through the available courses offered in that time slot. Heck, he could even select his major and it would auto populate his schedule for him. So, he played around with that for a bit, seeing what he could fit in where.
He was sorely tempted to fill his schedule past the standard five classes per term, but it wouldn’t allow him. Which was fair, as Hugh had already told him about the course limit during registration.
Which meant that he’d have much more free time to do other things. Like, being social….
He sighed at that last thought, knowing that he would have to get himself out there to make friends with important people from Zhizun Zhanshi. He just wasn’t looking forward to it. At all.
Joram then considered how he would do that.
The general stereotype was that they were a bunch of battle maniacs, only interested in honing their skills in battle, and crap like that.
After having met the Trio, he was reasonably sure that that was an over generalization. Though, if Bai Lian’s inability to find more than two people she considered “good”, then he might have some trouble. But he then wondered if their group had been chosen because of their dispositions, and as a result the Trio had wound up becoming the minority in that group.
He shook his head, ridding himself of the speculation. It wouldn’t do him any good to think about it until he had more information.
But he suspected that one thing still connected the two continents’ way of thinking; and that was the respect of strength. You got respect if you were strong. People might not like you, but they’d certainly respect you, even as they tried to stab you in the back. They’d just be more careful about it.
Which brought his mind back to the lordling. He was certain that he’d cause problems for him in the future, likely sending people to harass the Trio, especially Mo Yu. It was a good thing that they were in the Network, as that would allow him to help them in emergencies.
He started tapping the spot between his eyebrows with his index finger as he bowed his head in thought.
He would need to get stronger again, which meant starting the next chapter in the Adamantium Body Technique. He had enough adamantium in storage now that he didn’t have to worry too much about getting more. He was also sure that he could get more from the Academy, so there was that.
Kinkade: Hey boss. All done with the replicators now.
Joram: Thanks. Could you head to the cultivation cave and start setting up a place for the teleportation network? I’ll also need you to work on getting the Clan network back up and running again.
Kinkade: What? No vacation? Just work-work-work?
Joram grinned at that.
Joram: Well, you can take Asura if you’d like, and do another round of the auction houses. Maybe bring a new product, like the [Body Purification] gems. I’m sure that those’ll also be in high demand. Maybe a few [Restore Extremity] gems while you’re at it.
Kinkade: Too right. Those should sell well. Think Asura and I could grow some bodies for that outing? I would really like to taste the refreshments this time.
Joram: Clear that last part with Avi; you know it’s her project.
Joram felt Kinkade’s acknowledgement before he once again faced into the background of Joram’s awareness.
Hmmm, maybe I’ll head over to the Quest building and register… Joram mused, then got up.
‘Could you all meet me in the parlour when you’re ready?’ He sent to the Trio as he made his way there from the study.
It only took a couple of minutes for everyone to gather.
Wentian was back in his kung-fu-like clothes, these ones in varying light shades of earth tones. The other two were dressed as they usually did. Bai Lian in a robe that would be easy to fight in and Mo Yu in an outfit similar to the one she’d worn for registration day.
“I’m going to register as a quester,” he said once they’d all taken their seats. “I was wondering if any of you would like to register as well.”
He got a chorus of agreement from them and smiled at their eagerness. He knew that Wentian was always ready to go, but Bai Lian’s enthusiasm seemed to come out of the blue. Mo Yu, on the other hand, he could understand. She probably still had some pent-up frustration from the abuse she’d suffered at the little shit’s hands.
“Well, let’s head over after getting a bite to eat,” he said as he stood, motioning for them to follow.
As they left their place, Joram noticed Alicia leaving hers at the same time and smiled.
She smiled back and waved, seemingly chipper in the morning. Well, given that she was now out and about, able to socialize with people outside of his Realm, he could understand her enthusiasm.
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“Good morning, neighbours!” She said as she joined their group as they headed to the mess hall. “I didn’t know we’d be living right next to each other. Let’s get along well!” She said, her whole presence exuding bubbliness.
“I look forward to it,” he replied with a slight bow, trying to hold back a wince. He wasn’t sure why she’d chosen a bubbly persona, but suspected that it was for the fun of it.
The chatted about this and that as they walked, then ate breakfast. Joram was surprised to see even more people gather around them as they ate. Sure, a good deal of them were focussed on Alicia, but Mo Yu and then Bai Lian got their fair share too.
What really surprised him were the ones who gathered around him. They ranged from people he’d call MMA Nerds back home to actual fighters to more than a few young women trying to get his attention.
For some reason, the people gathered around Wentian mostly patted him on the shoulder like bros.
Joram ignored the weirdness and quickly finished his small breakfast. Even though he still had [Sustenance] running all the time, he still chose to eat a little bit at every meal. Not only would it arouse suspicion from those around him, but it also served to strengthen bonds between those at the table.
Even though he finished his meal quickly, and the Trio followed suit, it still took a while to extract themselves from the enthusiastic first-years. It was both annoying because of the delay and slightly gratifying in an odd sort of way. Maybe things…
Joram’s eyes widened as he passed through the exit. The Trio was immediately on high alert as they sensed his tension and looked around for trouble. For his part, Joram immediately reached out and knocked on the wooden frame to stave of the disaster that he’d nearly called down upon them.
They gave him a weird look as he sagged in relief, not bothering to answer their questioning gazes. He didn’t know if it was pure superstition or not, constantly kept in the Zeit Geist of humanity through the constants sharing of memes and tropes. And if this world had taken anything from Earth’s culture, or rather, Earth had taken anything from it’s culture, then he wanted to cover all his bases. It never hurt to be cautious.
Alicia just laughed at him over the Network.
Joram took a deep breath as they walked, letting it out slowly as he enjoyed the sun. It was much warmer this time of the year in this part of the world compared to where he’d grown up. He would have called this a fine summer day back home. And, as if to emphasize his point, he spied many people walking around in casual summer attire. Sure, they were all first years who hadn’t gotten their uniforms yet, but the point stood. It was a fantastic day.
They soon arrived at the Quest building, an amazingly relaxed-looking structure that reminded him a bit of the Mediterranean back home. It was a sprawling two story building, with lots of windows and white walls. The entryway was wide and open, giving him the feeling of returning home.
Which oddly contrasted to the rules the speaker had laid out the night before. With what she’d shared, he’d more than expected some gothic monstrosity that scared little children straight.
Looking around the spacious lobby, Joram noticed several pin boards on the walls between the large windows. Above each was a difficulty level, ranging from F to SSS, reminding him of the popular adventurer’s guild trope back home.
Ah, this world never ceases to amaze, Joram thought with a sigh.
“Registration is over there,” an attendant said, motioning to their left and at the back of the room.
Joram nodded his thanks and made his way to the counter, which was thankfully attended by a young man, breaking his expectations in a good way. If too many things coincided with pop culture back home, he’d start questioning his sanity again.
“Welcome to the Quest Hall,” the young man said with a smile, taking in the whole group. “Are you here to apply?”
“Yes, we’d all like to apply, please,” he answered politely, getting a slightly surprised look in return.
“Well, that is certainly possible,” he said, nodding. “Here, please fill out these forms. Once you’re done, please hand them in an we’ll get to processing them,” he said, handing out a magitech tablet to each of them.
Joram murmured his thanks and led his group to a row of chairs where he promptly sat down and started to fill in the information.
As he was doing so, he noticed Alicia retrieve her student card and tap it on the side of the tablet. He blinked when he noticed that her information was now almost all filled out. He ruefully retrieved his student card and did the same, seeing the relieved looks of the Trio as he did so. They then tapped their cards to the tablets, copying their information over.
I’m bloody clueless, he thought with another sigh, then got back to work.
There were only a few sections to fill out after that. The combat section was easy enough, as it asked for simple things like what kind of experience he had, weapon preferences, attack spells, and defensive capabilities.
Sure, he lied about most of what he put on there, but it was a simple enough task.
At the end, it asked if he wanted for form an official questing party, so he asked them all through the Network.
‘So, do you guys want to be a party?’
‘Yes!’ Bai Lian sent with much energy.
‘Yup.’
‘Certainly.’
‘Nah, I think I’ll form my own party, but would it be OK to add me as someone who occasionally parties with you?’ Alicia sent, raising her eyebrows at him.
‘Yeah, no worries. I’ll fill everything out on my end,’ he sent back through the group chat, then filled in the rest of the form. Then paused at the last section.
‘Ah, they want a party name,’ he sent, not quite sure what to put. Even then, it was something they’d all be known by, so he felt that he should ask before deciding it on his own.
He just got four shrugs in return.
His head dropped so far down that his chin hit his chest. In his mind, he was universally known as being terrible at naming things.
Most of what came to mind came from the many videos games, books/other media, that he’d consumed over the decades. The random names that popped into his head ranged from “Rogue Squadron” to “Fairy Tail”.
He stored the tablet away in his storage ring, then leaned forwards and cupped his face in his hands, thinking for all he was worth.
Ah, what will it be?! “A-Team” is out, even though it would fit well enough. But there’s too much cheese in there for me to take that seriously.
“Knights of the Old Republic” would be funny, seeing as how I can make arms and armour that basically haven’t been seen since the Great Cataclysm. But that might also draw some unwanted or weird attention to us.
“Akatsuki” had a nice ring to it, but he didn’t want to jinx them with how poorly the original turn out.
“All for One” sounded like it should be a boy-band or something, even though it was part of one of his favourite quotes.
“Familia” was nice, but sounded presumptuous given his soon-to-be teammates. Would a family really rely on Heart Oaths to make sure they stayed loyal?
‘How about “N7”,’ Alicia asked suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts.
‘What that?’ He asked, genuinely curious. Yes, it held a special place in his heart, but he didn’t get why she suggested it.
‘Well, think about it. They’re the best trained group in their organization, enjoy the best equipment, they’re all tough-as-nails, and they’re all from different backgrounds; just like you guys,’ she sent, making a lump appear in his throat. ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but those two girls are more than committed to you, and even Wentian is coming around. I think it’ll be quite fitting.’
Joram nodded at that, appreciating the sentiment along with the pep-talk.
‘What’ll you call yours?’
‘I was thinking,’ she sent, then paused for dramatic effect. ‘Specters.’
He face-palmed.
‘Not going with “Girl Teen Squad”?’ He asked sarcastically, getting him an amused look for his effort.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ she sent back, then filled in her team’s name. He caught it out of the corner of his eye and laughed. Of course, she’d choose that.
Once they’d all finished up, they went back to the counter and handed in their tablets one-by-one as the receptionist placed each above a small metal place, likely a reader of some sort, then placed them back under the desk.
As soon as he finished, the looked up at them and spoke.
“With that done, the next time slot for an assessment if in an hour. If you like, you can wait here or head out and run some errands before returning.”
“Thanks,” Joram said, glancing at his companions. “I think we’ll be back shortly then.”
The receptionist nodded, then waved the next group over as they left the Quest Hall.
“What’s on your mind?” Alicia asked, tilting her head to the left slightly.
Man, she’d really getting into it, the thought, happy that she was having fun. He retrieved his AR glasses from his storage ring and turned them on.
“Ah, just wanted to enjoy the fresh air,” he said as he looked around. “Anyone up for a stroll through the park?” He asked, pointing to a small park across from the Quest Hall.
He received three happy affirmatives and one indifferent one, so he headed to the park, checking the time on his glasses so they wouldn’t miss their appointment.
* * * * *
“Targets confirmed.”
“Are you sure? This is an unprecedented event. Never have more than one appeared at the same time.”
“Our agents were correct. I’ve just confirmed it with my own eyes. They’re the real deal.”
There was a pause as the other person thought about it.
“Then proceed. We need as much information as we can about the targets so that everyone can be prepared.”
“What should we do about the extra baggage?”
“No need to worry about them,” the person said, laughing softly. “The targets are all that matter.”
“For the People!”
“For the People.”
* * * * *
Mo Yu looked over at “Alicia”, wondering what she was about. The young master had told them to just go along with it, but for the life of her she couldn’t understand why it was necessary in the first place.
She was having a hard time telling if it was Avi or Asura that walked with them. Both women looked so much alike that she’d only been able to tell the difference between the two due to their hair colour. Now that “Alicia” had shown up, looking exactly like the other two, she seriously wondered if they were triplets.
But why hadn’t she met this Alicia before? Had the young master been testing them somehow? Had they passed a certain threshold that had allowed for them to learn of Alicia’s existence?
Or was Avi or Asura playing some weird game? Was she “undercover”, some sort of spy? But if that were so, then why attach herself to the young master like that. Wouldn’t it be best to separate herself from them, keep her distance, so that she could infiltrate different circles?
She blinked in surprise, then blushed a bit when she realized that the pressure she felt on her head was a hand.
“Hey, just enjoy the scenery,” Joram said, giving her that dazzling smile of his before letting his hand drop down again.
“Mmnmm,” she mumbled, then stepped quick to catch up.
She noticed that Wentian had a slight grin on his face as he looked around at the flowers a bit too intently. What surprised her more was the look on Bai Lian’s face, one that reminder her of a puppy that also wanted attention.
Alicia, however, was up ahead dancing from flower to flower in her excitement to see and smell everything.
Then something caught her eye, a glare from the bushes off to their right, but when she turned to get a better look, there was nothing there.
She idly wondered if Garros had sent someone after them already, so she determined to keep vigilant. She knew that the young master could handle most things himself, but she wasn’t too sure about Alicia. Bai Lian and Wentian were decently strong and could probably handle someone on the level of that enforcement officer they’d been arrested by. But what if they sent someone in the Heaven Realm after them?
As far as she knew, the young master had only recently broken through, so he should still be consolidating his gains and solidifying his foundation. That meant that she would have to be their shield, as she was at least at the 5th Rank of the Heaven Realm.
She considered asking the young master to make her a weapon or a defensive treasure, but hesitated. She didn’t want him to think that she was a greedy person, like those gold-diggers she’d seen attaching themselves to promising talents or eligible young men from prominent clans.
Mo Yu’s brain briefly overloaded at the thought of her doing something like that with the young master, steam practically coming out of her ears. Her brain got kick-started again as she felt a hand press itself against her forehead, her vision coming back to her.
Joram stood there, the back of his hand against her head and a concerned look on his face.
“Did you maybe catch a cold?” He asked in concern.
She stepped back so quickly that her hair flew in front of her face. She quickly retrieved her sun hat and put it on, drawing the rim low to cover her face.
“No, just a bit too much sun, I think,” she said quickly, looking away.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the young master adjust the glasses he’d been wearing lately, then nod.
“Well, it’s about time we head back anyway,” he said, then motioned for everyone to follow.
It didn’t take them too long to get back to the Quest Hall and soon they were once again seated, but this time waiting.
This time, though, the room was almost packed with applicants. What she found odd was that most of them weren’t first-years like them. Had they suddenly gotten the desire to do quests for crystals? Or was it just that this was a popular time of year for people to sign up?
She shook her head, choosing to instead to continue reading through the Academy’s rulebook to pass the time. She was a bit proud of Bai Lian as she, too, pulled out her card and started reading. Though frowned when she saw Wentian continuing to stare at those around them, a slight frown tugging at the corners of his lips. Was he sizing up the competition for quests or something?
Mo Yu dismissed those thoughts as she went back to reading the rulebook. It was important to know the ins-and-outs of things, after all.