The next day in the morning I started writing down what I discovered when I suddenly heard the scream of a little girl at the entrance inside the valley.
“Again?”
I rushed toward the entrance only to find the duo, Bonny and the little fairy, being surrounded by my golems.
“What should I do with you two…haah… Do you need something? Or is there another invasion…” → Shen
I said while feeling tired like an old man.
“W-what are they? G-g-g-ghosts?!” → Fairy
The little fairy asked while stuttering from fear.
“They are my golems. I created them. Now tell me why are you girls here? I’m busy at the moment.” → Shen
I asked with some irritation in my voice. I really wanted to finish writing down the information I got then talk with Isa and see if he could handle some of the past-life knowledge.
“Please accept us under your wings.” → Bonny
“Eh?” → Shen
I looked at the two of them with a dumbfounded face.
“Come again?” → Shen
“We wish to live with you.” → Bonny
Bonny said again with firm eyes while the little fairy nodded her head, looking at me with clear eyes. I didn’t know what to say at first, then I woke up from my dazed state and thought:
No, wait a second. This might just be some impulsiveness created by the worry for tomorrow. I’ll just shoo them away.
“Why? If you’re the kind of woman that falls after every dude with power then you must really love politicians, right? Sorry, I’m not thinking of having a girlfriend, and why are you dragging this brat together with you? You take me for some kind of lolicon?” → Shen
I got a little bit irritated at them. If she fell for me just because of that time, then it’s mostly because of the rush of adrenaline created from that chaotic event, making her heart beat faster, giving the illusion of having feelings for me.
Or something along those lines… And also, dragging this little brat around with her… It seems I’m really looked down at by this lizard woman.
“Please don’t misunderstand. I just wish to learn martial arts and magic from you. I thought surviving in this world is through personal strength and what I need the most is a fast way of growing. Melinda is in the same boat as me, she almost died of hunger numerous times before. She needs to grow faster so she can make money for food and for a shelter to stay in. I beg you to understand this much.” → Bonny
Bonny explained all of these with a little sadness in her eyes but with a clear and calm voice.
“I’m begging you to help us! Sir Shen!” → Melinda (Fairy)
Melinda bowed her head so she won’t have to show a face full of tears, however hard she tried, she couldn’t keep them in.
“…”
I couldn’t say a word, I felt irritated at this show of weakness and at my own self for feeling like this.
Why am I even angry at them? It’s not their fault for being transported into this world in the first place. Even though they had to choose, 9 out of 10 people would press [Enter Sario] without thinking too much, saying it’s just another event…. Haah… Power can change a person, I wasn’t so conflicted before.
“Before that, why don’t you stay at your own home? It’s not necessary to stay with me if you only need to study. You must have a house already, right?” → Shen
I asked curious. They didn’t really have to live in my cave if they already have a home.
“We have no home. We only stood at an inn at the nearby city.” → Bonny
“There is a city around here?” → Shen
“About half a day from here toward West, there is a little city. You didn’t know about it?” → Bonny
“No, I didn’t know.” → Shen
So in the opposite direction from where Isa launched that huge breath.
“So… Will you accept us?” → Bonny
Bonny asked again with eyes filled with expectations. Melinda looked at me intently waiting for an answer.
“Why do you even trust me in the first place? Aren’t men all wolves? What would you think if I suddenly attacked such a beauty like you in sleep or while bathing?” → Shen
It was the best for both of us if this much was able to scare them away. Even so, my wish wasn’t granted.
“… I already thought of that. But-“ → Bonny
She then looked me dead in the eyes.
“If that’s the price for you to teach us, then feel free to have your way, only keep Melinda out of this.” → Bonny
Bonny said with resolution, even though her arms were shaking.
“… Sigh~, you shouldn’t sell yourself for so cheap, you know that?” → Shen
I shook my head feeling a little bit awkward.
“T-then…?” → Bonny
I thought for a while until I gave my answer.
“Alright you two. I will take you under my protection until you’ll grow stronger.” → Shen
In the end, I opened my mouth and started talking in a calm voice.
“I’ll accept you two as my disciples but you will have to do what I say. You won’t get out from here without telling me first and whatever I give you to learn you’ll learn exactly that, not asking for anything else until I think you’re ready for more. When I’ll talk, you’ll listen, when I’ll show, you’ll look and focus, I won’t accept any crying over the fact that is too hard or too complicated, understood? If you don’t know or don’t understand, ask. This is all I have to say, I don’t care if you’re not alright with it, if you like these conditions then come with me inside the cave, if you hate it then leave and never come back.” → Shen
While saying the last words, I turned around and commanded the golems to get back on guarding the entrance. Bonny and Melinda looked at each other then turned around. Seeing them leave made me feel complicated, I knew I asked a lot but that was the minimum if someone wanted to learn under me. A few moments later, I heard sounds of something being dragged in front of the entrance. I ran outside and saw a huge bag full of different items.
“…What in the name of God are these things? Besides, didn’t you two just left moments ago? Why did you come back?” → Shen
“We left just so we could prepare to move in with you.” → Bonny
Bonny talked while smiling at me.
“Some preparations you say… You know you have a special inventory, right?” → Shen
“That’s already filled with items.” → Melinda
“Filled?! What in the world are the two of you bringing in my cave?” → Shen
“Melinda didn’t have a lot of things, but we were able to do some business in the big cities and buy everything she needed.” → Bonny
It seems I just accepted a devil in my house.
What kind of business did she do to buy so many things in a month or so? Or was she summoned in this world sooner?
“Don’t look at me like that, I only sold the items from the beasts we hunted in the clan, believe me!” → Bonny
Bonny felt wronged after seeing my suspicious gaze.
That would mean you either looted thousands of materials, or the price is sky-high in comparison with the game… either way, I can’t believe it.
“… Whatever, put all of that in the warehouse, if you have any armors and weapons then put them in the armory, yeah?” → Shen
“Warehouse? Armory? In this little cave?” → Melinda
“Haha, do you think someone like me would live in just a ‘little cave’? Why don’t you go inside and see for yourself how things are organized inside.” → Shen
Melinda rushed inside, curious about the new ‘home’ in which she will be staying.
“Woah~! How come this cave is so huge? How tall is the ceiling? And why are there more caves inside?… Is this a library?!… This room is like the cave of a dragon! There are all kinds of things here!… Wow! These weapons and armors look so shiny!… Ah, a normal room…wait, is that a bathroom?! We can take bathes in here, right? Sir Shen! Can we take a bath now? PLEASE?!” → Melinda
After she entered the cave, I could hear the echoes of her voice and every comment from inside. This scene made me amused and I couldn’t hold back my laughter. Seeing me like this, Bonny smiled and said.
“Sir Shen.” → Bonny
Bonny looked at me with her purple eyes.
“Yes?” → Shen
“The golems outside, they are made from my former-clan members’ armors, right? Just how…” → Bonny
“You are my disciple now. All I know, you guys will know about it too. Sooner or later, you’ll find out about this. But not now, creating them now can put your life in danger. I first need to find other ways so there won’t be any victims under my protection.” → Shen
“Ah.” → Bonny
Bonny looked at me with surprised eyes. She felt more respect for me after knowing that I’m actually serious about teaching them.
“So? What are you going to do? Will you teach us now? Or return to your training?” → Bonny
“Hmm, I’ll return to my training while you two can do whatever you wish, taking a bath or going to sleep on that bed. It’s huge enough for both of you, or you can just walk around this area, it’s pretty spacious while the mountains are beautiful.” → Shen
I said while thinking of using the word ‘Tian’ (Heaven) to train. This one seems the most powerful from the ‘Trigram’.
“Okay, then I’ll take a bath first, don’t you peek~.” → Bonny
Bonny said playfully.
“Ye, ye! Don’t worry, I’ll just stay outside.” → Shen
Bonny was a little bit disappointed but she thought.
If the only thing he did after getting into this world was to research in martial arts and mana control, then it’s only logical that his entire energy is focused on this. Well, at least we don’t live with a wolf like the ones from the clan.
While Bonny and Melinda prepared for the bath, I started meditating while thinking about the word ‘Tian’ and the might of Heavens. Just like the first time, martial arts skills emerged in my head and then I started moving.
Make the first step for a guarding stance with the right hand in front, deviating any attack coming toward the face or chest. With the left hand, grab in front and with the right elbow break whatever was grabbed. With the foot from behind, sidestep in rotation with the back at the enemy and hit while spinning with the back of the fist. Continue the rotation and use the right foot for a lateral kick diagonally from up to down. Continue the rotation and lift the left foot for an axe-kick.
– BAM –
The foot shock after the contact with the ground, leaving a footprint in the dirt. Just like the last time, after numerous repetitions, the elements of Heaven started to respond and answer to my every move.
– VOWVOWVOW –
The guarding stance was emanating a domineering aura with no color while the space around me was deforming and flickering from the vibrations of the air. The grab was like grabbing on space, the image looked as if I was literally grabbing on the structure of space. The pull was strong enough to bring a rock as big as half my body flying towards me from over 10 meters away. After it got close enough, I hit in front with my elbow.
– CRACK! –
The elbow was devastating enough to sound like thunder the moment of the impact, turning the big rock into dust. After I started the combination of turning and hitting, it formed around me a mini-tornado with the sound of thunder generated by the hits. The next hit with the back of my fist from turning intensified the mini-tornado. The diagonal kick bore down like thunder with an explosive power. The last axe-kick formed a shockwave, creating a vertical cut on the mountain’s wall in front of me, then breaking the ground within a circumference of 3m around me, creating an earthquake for 30m around..
“… This… I don’t understand…”
I was shocked, I couldn’t comprehend how all of these phenomena occurred. All of the moves I made just now were in a trance. Even though I remembered what happened, I couldn’t tell how the energies circulated through my body or around me. It was like the heavens possessed me and perfected the moves through my body.
It sounds nice and all but not being able to tell how something works is the same as being used by it… I don’t want to turn myself in some believer that says ‘some things can’t be explained, that’s the way of Heaven’. Bull s***. All can be explained, you just need guts and perseverance to research it.
I got angry at myself for not being able to comprehend what happened just now.
“Ok. Let’s just rethink how it was with the word ‘Shan’… I felt the elements of the mountain to enter my body and we started to work in sync. The first step, the element rushed through my blood vessels and meridians to my foot, releasing a weight and power like that of a mountain. The elbow, just like the foot, was imbued through the veins and meridians, same with the palm. Now that last kick.”
Waking up the earth and forming a wave of boulders and dirt to bury the enemy… That was the same with someone sending a soul-wave and command the earth to ‘rise’ like a mountain… But from where did that soul-wave came from?… Are martial arts actually more complicated than spells?
While I was deeply thinking, I found myself frowning harder and harder till I looked like the angriest person on Sario. I couldn’t relax at all, I was worried that I might get controlled one day by the elements if I kept on letting them do whatever they wished inside me, ending in becoming some kind of ‘element’ myself.
“Shen! Are you alright? What hap-“ → Bonny
Bonny came rushing outside while wearing some kind of revealing pajamas. Her blonde, long hair was still wet from the bath. She stopped talking after seeing my angry face, then activated her [Soul’s Eyes] and saw all kind of dark colors in my aura with some powerful blue-white color that was slowly evading my body.
W-what is this?
“Shen, what happened to you? I felt a tremor and heard some kind of thunder and now I see you with an angry face and full of anxiety and fear. Come on, take a break for now and let’s eat, okay?” → Bonny
The colors seen by a Soul Seer can represent elements, emotions and weak defended places where the aura is too weak or too strong. But because she couldn’t understand what she saw, Bonny misunderstood the elements evading my body for parts of my soul. She thought that I might have failed another experiment and because of that, parts of my spirit were destroyed, that being the blue-white light evading my body.
“I’m alright, I just did some martial moves and couldn’t comprehend what happened… I think I’ll take your offer and eat something, it’s about time to make my own room too.” → Shen
Couldn’t comprehend?! Does that mean he did something without knowing how? Isn’t that amazing?
Bonny was pretty surprised, but she was more surprised to see me so angry only because I couldn’t understand something.
“Fufu~ it seems Shen is still pretty young, no~?” → Bonny
Bonny said with a laugh covering her mouth.
“…Ya little… I’m going to eat.” → Shen
I didn’t know what to say, this woman was something else alright. She had sharp senses and an even sharper tongue. After eating with Bonny and Melinda, I prepared to make my room. I got in front of a wall and sat in a position of punching.
“Fuuh~”
I inhaled and exhaled, trying to circulate my chi and mana. The mana twisted around my fist and the chi inside circulated faster and faster, the « Earth » element was imbued together with my chi and the mana started to vibrate and cover the wall in front. After focusing for 5 minutes I pressed my hand on the wall and sent a soul-wave with the image of a cave 5 meters deep with a 2 meter in diameter, through the wall’s circulatory system. After that I sent another soul-wave in my hand, commanding the energy which was prepared to get released to break only the stone that wasn’t needed for the cave.
Bonny and Melinda watched me but couldn’t understand what was happening, only Bonny could see a little string of energy coming out from my aura and entering the wall from the front then taking the form of a big room.
Why did he sent a part of his soul inside the wall? → Bonny
Just as Bonny was wondering what was happening, I moved my fist and a loud sound resonated through the cave, forming a little earthquake.
-BOOM–BOOM-
“Kya!” → Melinda
Melinda got scared by the loud sound and hid behind Bonny.
“Haha~, alright! it’s done.”
After the dust settled down, in front of me there was a cave just like how I visualized before punching out, filled with gravel and crushed rocks that will be cleaned out immediately after.
“Wha-what? How did you do that? I saw a part of your soul entering the wall and taking the form of this exact cave but then… H-how?” → Bonny
Bonny was really curious. She had a feeling that remaining by my side was the best idea.
Being able to learn such skills would be really useful in the future! → Bonny
Bonny was looking eagerly at me like a student waiting for class. A pretty rare occurrence.
“Hm? For that, you first need to understand about mana, chi, elements, and soul-wavelengths. Also, about mental waves which can be useful for telepathy-“
Right after saying that I froze. I just remembered something extremely important.
“Um, Shen? What about telepathy?” → Bonny
Bonny could see my weird actions and was again confused.
It seems that geniuses are most of the time weirdos, huh? → Bonny
