32 Chapter 32- A Not So Equivalent Exchange
Long Ren, the tiger, and the old man looked relaxed as they sat on the cliff, overseeing the beautiful view of the mountains. Cold haze surrounds them as they snuggled upon a bonfire made of fire runestones.
It had been a few days after Long Ren's first encounter with the Chaos Tiger. He had came here a few more times, and lost spectacularly everytime.
He's trying to figure out how the tiger could home and duplicate its abilities.
Safe to say, all the fishes are gone, except the ones he planned to gift to his Master.
Long Ren and the old men held a cup filled with hot tea while the tiger slept atop a giant fire runestone covered with hay, acting as a bed warmer.
The serene atmosphere surrounding them was quiet and mellow. All of them had a smile on their face, except Long Ren's was a forced one.
He looked at the current situation, still baffled. 'How did I even end up in this situation?!' he thought as his forced smile broke down.
"Are we…not gonna talk about this?" Long Ren said.
The old man and tiger only looked at Long Ren weirdly. "Talk about what?" the tiger said. Its eyes were half-closed as it yawned.
"This…we're practically at each other's throats for a few days and now we're enjoying a tea together, isn't that weird?" Long Ren stood up and said. He knew the logic in this world is flawed but…this is just something else.
"Have you not heard of the phrase [Friendship starts with a claw or two, or twenty or so~?] the tiger said as it poked its nose with a paw finger.
"NO! No, I have not!" Long Ren shouted. He rolled his eyes at their carefreeness.
The old man chuckled. "Look kid, there's always a time and place for everything, and right now is the time to relax. So just enjoy the moment," he said, sipping the cup of tea, and letting out a satisfied sigh.
On the other hand, Long Ren let out an exasperated sigh, he sat back down on the block of fire runestone. It was warm.
He took out a packet of milk bread rolls from his ring and offered it to them. No use in arguing, might as well enjoy it, as they said. They looked at the bread and tore a piece each.
As they took a bite, their eyes widened. The fluffy texture of the bread made them feel like they were munching on the softest pillow, and as the drops of milk juiced out, they danced inside their mouth, bursting multiple flavors of sweetness into their tongues.
"Damn! This is good, where'd you get it brat?" the tiger asked. It was the best thing it had tasted that was not fish! Sweet, fluffy, and fulfilling,
It wanted more! The old man nodded at the tiger's remark, wanting to hear the answer as well.
"It dropped from the sky." Long Ren answered nonchalantly.
Technically, he's not wrong as taking stuff out from the system's inventory could be regarded as that for anyone but Long Ren. But they didn't need to know that.
The tiger and old man's eyes squinted. They felt like Long Ren was lying yet not at the same time…
"This is the last packet I have, you can share." Long Ren said and gave half and half to each of them. "But maybe some more will drop from the sky, who knows." Long Ren shrugged and moved his gaze towards the scenery.
The tiger and old man's eyes squinted even more. They looked at each other and, "What do you want kid/brat?" they asked.
Long Ren turned toward them and showed a smug smile. "Nothing~," he said while humming a tune.
The tiger growled, very unsatisfied. It caught the underlying meaning of Long Ren's words. Truly free things are nonexistent. If it looks, feels or sounds free, then you're the price.
The old man only sighed in helplessness. Condensed milk is something new to him, to everyone, as it did not exists in this nation, maybe the world.
It was not like it was the best food or anything, but it'd be nice to have as a snack for times like this.
"I really don't have anymore, but I do have other unique delicious foods." Long Ren said, he paused and put his hand on his chin, "I just want some answers." he continued, looking at the now sitting tiger.
"Ask away then." the tiger said.
Long Ren nodded. Thankfully, the tiger is kind of diplomatic. "How strong are you?" Long Ren asked.
"Sealed or unsealed?"
"Sealed first."
The tiger nodded. "Right now, maybe a bit weaker than that old man, around 7th Layer Sky Realm."
Long Ren opened his eyes wide. 7th Layer Sky Realm?! That's almost the same as his Master! "Why the fuck are you in mountain number 2 then?!"
The old man chuckled, "Well, it was secretly sealed here by the founder. Our mountain system was already done when we discovered him. So, I was placed here to watch over it." He said.
"Also, this guy is really sealed at rank-7 cultivation…probably, so it's probably most likely fine. Its combat prowess is way off the charts though," the old man continued.
A tone of reverie even appeared in his voice. He really respected the tiger, after all, this world had always respected the strong.
The tiger, hearing this wore a smug smile on its face. It nodded its head up and down with glee.
"What are you? A kid?" Long Ren said as he spits on the ground.
"Heh, try getting sealed for hundreds of years, then you'll see what it can do to a brat like you." the tiger said with a mysterious smile. "Anyway, when I was free, let's just say I'm probably the strongest being in this world."
Long Ren's eyes widened. "That strong? How have you not escaped or something, surely you have some ways."
The tiger smiled. "Who said I can't, brat?" it said. It then flipped its paw facing the sky as an immeasurable amount of qi gathered, much much more than what it used on their "spar".
It lifted its index paw finger as the qi surged towards the sky.
Black and White streaks of qi rushed upwards, intertwining with each other as they formed into one single clear beam.
It reached a certain altitude before colliding with something, a qi barrier, and just as it was about to crack, the beam dispersed.
"See? I can escape anytime I want, but the atmosphere here is nice, the fish is good, and I get to scare brats like you every other time." the tiger smiled as it growled at Long Ren, making him flinch.
The atmosphere turned awkward now, at least for Long Ren, as he now knew his life could actually be in danger. Seeing this, the tiger laughed and growled, even more.
"Now, now, no need to be scared. This tiger is actually harmless, at worst you'll just be missing a few limbs ." the old man patted Long Ren's back and tried to lighten the atmosphere.
The tiger only sat there, laughing even harder.
…
A few moments and not-so-funny jokes (for Long Ren) later, they sat back down and Long Ren had somewhat calmed down, though his palms are still a bit sweaty.
"So, are you gonna ask me some more questions brat?" The tiger said. Its mood seemed better now after teasing Long Ren.
"Sure." Long Ren said. He took a deep breath and continued. "Can you teach me the homing and duplicating thingy?"
"Heh, of course, you want that…Depends on what you have to offer." the tiger smiled.
Its paws moved and curled into a ball. Long Ren swore he could hear the 'nyehehe' laugh from its expression.
Long Ren starts thinking for a while. He really liked the homing, and more importantly, the duplicating part.
He doesn't know if it could duplicate infinitely, but even duplicating just 2x is already pretty strong.
And it's not like he is losing anything. He had many earth foods and snacks from his gacha rolls.
Unlike his futon situation, he himself isn't that big of a foodie to be THAT possessive of them.
But, he needs to play it smart. Why pay more, when he could pay less?
"How many items do you want?" Long Ren asked.
"All of them."
"....No, I'll give you in total twenty, ten for each skill." Long Ren said.
The tiger shook his head. "No, too little, how about this, we'll go based on time, I want one every day until either your food ran out, or you've completed your training."
Long Ren thought for a while, He does have many foods as he received some of them in multiples.
The most valuable item he had is around 20 instant cup ramens of different flavors, but those are the big guns, he wouldn't want to use them if he could.
"How long would it take for me to learn each of them?" Long Ren asked.
The tiger grinned. "Oh, I don't know, maybe around this long." the tiger said as it raised two of its five-finger paws.
Long Ren raised his eyebrows. "Two months?" He said.
The tiger shook its head.
"Two years?" Long Ren said, only to be met with another headshake, "Two decades, if you're a genius, if you're a frog, then even 100 years won't be enough." the tiger said as it laughed.
"Ugh…I don't have nearly enough for that, you know." Long Ren said, a bit grimaced. He really wanted the skill but what could he do?
It's not like he can steal it, that would be suicidal! Going into the tiger's den, literally and figuratively.
The tiger shrugged. "Not my problem, you can always try it first though, and I'll teach you the basics, who knows, maybe you're a once-in-a-lifetime genius like me." it pointed its head towards the sky as its nose seemingly rose up.
…What a bragger.
"How long did it take you to learn it?" Long Ren asked.
"Around one year for the basics." the tiger said.
"Only one year? Why would it take 20 for me then?"
"Because my technique is mainly made for my race, divine beasts race, not for humans. You will need to either forcefully train with those requirements, reducing its efficiency, or develop it to fit humans. Both of which will require a huge amount of time."
"Also, don't think that you can quit halfway through. Once you start, I'll be squeezing you dry.
Your food, your will to live, your potential, your everything." The tiger said, its eyes showing a seriousness unlike any other. He had never seen it look like this before…
"Now, brat, what would you choose?"
…
..
.
(A/N: I doubt anyone who had read many xianxia novels would be surprised. If you know, you know.)
(A/N2 : Also, give me power stones UmU)
