Village

Krez exited the bathroom and said, "Thank you for letting me use the bathroom, senior." The old man replied, "No need, it's for the guards, but it's for public use, senior." Krez then said, "Senior, you call me senior, but isn't it obvious who the senior is." He stated this without any embarrassment on his face, as if he momentarily forgot he was actually 126 with his previous life.

The old man said, "Here in the continent of Gorark, seniority is determined by strength, and you're stronger than me, senior." Krez had a stiff smile on his face and said, "Then call me Krez, senior." The old man responded, "only if you call me Red"

Both Krez and Red let out a hearty laugh. Krez was delighted to be conversing with someone after being alone in the forest, and Red found talking to the youth in front of him refreshing. Even if the youth was dirty, stinky, and had a scraggly beard—after all, Krez had been running all morning and sometimes at full speed for hours. He also didn't have any tools to shave or cut his hair for the past six months. Krez would be perfectly cosplaying a begger right now if it wasn't for his armor.

Red raised his voice and said, "Alright, everybody! The beast tide was a false alarm, and Krez here seems friendly enough. Get back to your patrols and go tell everyone at the manor it's all safe now." Red looked at Krez and said, "Unless you plan to raid, pillage, and plunder our village once I let you in."

Krez simply said, "No, I don't. I got all my plundering out of me in the last village I was in." Every guard that hadn't left yet paused and stared at Krez, Red burst into laughter. "HAHAHAHA, guys, he's joking." Pulling Krez in close, Red whispered, "Krez your a cultivator, you can't joke like that in a town full of mortals. To these guys, you're like a sleeping volcano that could erupt at any time."

Krez responded, "You're the one who started joking. You're a cultivator too. Why aren't they wary of you?" Krez had used Inspect to look at Red's stats.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Red~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Age: 75

Soul cultivation: stage 1 qi gathering

Battle power: 0.8

Description:

Old man Chief of a medium-sized village, considered quite fair and equal to his people, willing to stand on the front lines in front of his men to act as a leader.

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Red replied, "Well, I'm the chief of the village, Krez. I have been for many years, and I can barely be called a cultivator. I've cultivated for 60 years and haven't even entered the 2nd stage of qi cultivation. My qi has long grown stagnate. Meaning I'm even weaker than a normal stage 1 qi gathering cultivator.

Everything Red said, Krez already knew due to his Inspect skill. When he first used it, he was a little shocked to see it revealing Red's battle power. Originally, he thought the stat would only appear on beasts or monsters. The battle power showing stat on Red was lower than his cultivation level, indicating that he was weaker then a stage 1 Qi gatherer.

The Gamer talent was giving Krez a helping hand in battles with humans. When Krez used Inspect, he would know if the person could fight above his cultivation stage, like he could.This knowledge would be very beneficial. The possibility of Krez biting off more than he could chew was minimal.

Krez responded, "I see, that makes sense." With a chuckle, Red suggested, "Well, we've been out here long enough. Let's head inside. Come to my manor; you can get cleaned up there. If I'm being honest, Krez, you reek."

As they walked through the gates, Red remarked with a hint of sarcasm, "I'm sure the villagers can't wait to see the fearsome beast tide."Krez replied with embarrassment on his face, "I guess I caused a bit of misunderstanding."

Red and Krez made their way through the village. There were restaurants, inns, and shops, and many eyes were on Krez. "Gossip spreads fast, it seems," Krez thought. They arrived at the fenced-in manor in the center of the village. Like the other buildings, it reminded Krez of an Italian villa.

Red entered the manor's door with Krez right behind him. Red shouted, "Linda, we have a guest, stop cleaning!" Shortly after, an older lady in a suit appeared. "Linda, this is Krez. Show him a room with a tub and also get him a razor, trimming scissors, and some clean clothes."

In a steam-filled room, Krez was relaxing in a tub, thinking, "I can't believe they have running and hot water." Most of the wuxia novels Krez read portrayed the mortal world as being in the stone age compared to the cultivators' world. Even though Krez was in a world with cultivation, wherever he was in Gorark, it was a part of the mundane. After all, only Red and Krez seemed to be cultivators here.

In a separate chamber, Linda helped Red take off the battle armor, revealing his ordinary clothes underneath. Linda commented, "You've always been kind, sir, but your kindness towards that boy seems to surpass the usual."

Red replied, "The speed that 'boy' was running at was almost on par with a stage 3 Qi gatherer. Krez is most likely a body cultivator; if he was a soul cultivator, he would be weapon surfing and not running."

Red continued, "It's very uncommon to be that young and talented, especially out here in the outer reaches. He barely looks 17. He is also quite down to earth. Most cultivators of his age and level display a level of narcissism that makes the stomach turn."

"Do you hope to get his help with the disappearances?" Linda spoke up. Red nodded and said, "Yeah. Every time it happens, we can't even seem to find a trace of the culprit. With my declining cultivation, I'm scared I won't be able to protect the village."

"If I'm lucky, it's just a very talented mundane murderer who is good at hiding their tracks. If we're unlucky, there's an unknown cultivator in this village using human sacrifice to bolster their cultivation stage," Red explained.

Krez was oblivious to the entire conversation Linda and Red had about him. In the bathroom, he used the straight razor Linda had given him to shave his beard. leaving just a bit of scruff on his chin—cutting it exactly how he liked. He had already used the grooming scissors to shorten his hair to the length he preferred.