8 Esprit

If it had come to this, I wouldn't have asked Samuel(That's the old man's name) to teach me.

I was currently picking carrots out of the garden and plants seeds. Samuel basically wanted me to do his farm for him and in return, he would teach me esprit and provide food, clothes, and shelter.

But that's not why I'm complaining.

I've been with the old man for a month now and I still haven't learned anything related to spirit force. Was that "Now this is where the hard part comes" just a joke? I expected to do some crazy stuff like trying to lift a boulder or defeat some giant monster which can actually prove a challenge to me but no, all I'm doing right now is farming. Farming!

Whenever I'm off, I always go to the forest to hunt. I need to attain Absolute Wind Manipulation which I did this past month. I also gained some levels, but it seems the higher I get, the harder it is to level up.

Here is my current status.

———————

[Info]

[Moniker: Yamato Pharaoh]

[Race: Demon Monkey]

[Class: Vacant]

Soul Rank: Brutal

Core(s): Scarlet Dragon Emperor Core (Lvl1)

Title(s): Vacant

[Stats]

Level: 41

Hp: 146,977/146,977

Mp: 7,000,377/7,000,377

Strength: 79(+100)

Agility: 78(+100)

Defense: 79(+100)

Perception: 77(+100)

Intelligence: 81(+100)

Stat Points: 33

[Skills: Absolute Water Manipulation, Absolute Fire Manipulation, Absolute Wind Manipulation, ???, ???, ???]

[Passive skill(s): Heart of the Red Emperor, Scarlet Dragon Emperor's Legacy, Wrath of the Scarlet Dragon, Dragon Tongue]

[Active skill(s): Double Edge Mode, ???]

———————

As always, the Mp rate is broken and now I have 7 million Mp.

Anyway, I'm still a bit pissed that the old man hasn't taught me anything. Whenever I keep asking him, he always says, "You are still not ready yet."

Like what? I think I'm plenty ready. I even have Absolute Wind Manipulation. I am plenty ready!

After another hour of farming, I couldn't take it anymore. It's time I go have a talk with the old man.

"HEY OLD MAN!"

Even though I know his name, I still like to call him old man. It just sounds better.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked as he rocks back and forth in his chair.

"I've been doing your farm for a month now and I still haven't received a single lesson on how to use esprit. When will I learn how to use esprit?!"

I slammed the wooden staircase railing and it broke. But I was a bit too angry to care about that.

"You know you are going to have to fix that."

"Just… TELL ME HOW TO USE ESPRIT ALREADY!"

I've been patient enough. I just want to know how to do it!

"You've already failed step one. How am I going to help you if you already failed the first step?"

"S-step one? What step? You never told me anything. What even is the first step?"

The old man took a sip of his coffee and got up.

"To use the esprit, you need to have a calm mind. At your current state, you'll mess up and just hurt yourself."

"Calm mind? But what is farming going to do for me?"

"Farming soothes the mind. It also provides healthy vegetables." He'd bite on a carrot and chew away.

"If farming doesn't help you calm your mind, there are other ways."

The old man got up from his seat and slowly walked past me.

"Come, if farming won't work, then there are other ways."

***

We arrived in the middle of a small field. I asked the old man what we were doing in the middle of nowhere and he hit me on the head with his stick.

"Fool, we are meditating."

"Meditating? But that is boring!"

"I never said this was going to be fun, did I?"

The old man would sit down. When he opened his eyes and saw me still standing, he hit my shin and told me to sit down with him. That hurt you know!

Time flew by. I don't know how meditating works, but I was getting even more impatient than before. What is meditation supposed to achieve?

"GrrrrraaaaAAAAAH! I can't do this anymore!"

The old man shook his head and sighed. Then he got up and told me to follow him again.

"Well, meditation is off the charts. Let's try another method."

We went through 2 other methods and those didn't work as well. I was already at the point where I wanted to hunt a monster. I really need to blow some steam right now.

We arrived at a large lake not far from the farm. The old man walked onto a wooden platform and I followed him.

"Why are we here? To take a dip?"

"No fool," the old man said as he handed me a fishing pole, "We're fishing."

Fishing? I've never really tried fishing before.

We sat at the edge of the platform for a while. None of us had gotten a bite yet and I wondered why. Aren't fish supposed to bite a few seconds after you cast your line?

I asked the old man and he said you don't immediately get a fish that quickly unless you're lucky. He said this method requires patience. I said I'd spare him some patience, but I was still a bit irritated.

After what felt like an hour, I was really getting impatient and was just about to go crazy until I suddenly felt a pull on my rod.

"Looks like you got a bite, might want to get your pole before it gets dragged in."

I grasped my pole and pulled back. But instead of going backward, I was going forward.

"Whoa, what the?"

I was getting pulled and I tried stopping myself but this thing was heavy. What is even in this lake?

I'd enhance my vision and look at what was in the water. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a large fish or what looked like a fish biting my line.

Ding!

[Task: Catch or Dispatch the Giant Flying Fish]

The fish was pulling harder and harder. Oh hell no, you ain't getting away!

With all the strength in my body, I pulled as hard as I can.

And then, a large fish with wings erupted from the water. It thrashed and fought, then I heard a loud snapping sound. My line really snapped. Just like that? The fish was beginning to fall to the water.

"You're not getting away!" I shouted and jumped. I landed on the water and began running. With my ability to manipulate water, I can make myself walk on it without sinking.

I punched the water and commanded it to create spikes. The water protruded, making sharp spikes, thrusting towards the fish. The water pierced the fish in many areas and I brought it towards me.

Slam!

I brought the fish onto land and looked at the old man.

"Bet you can't catch anything like this," I said confidently, but the old man smiled.

"So it seems you like fishing. How do you feel?"

"I feel… pretty relaxed."

"Then it looks like you've completed step one. Congratulations."

Wow, I didn't realize all my impatience went away just like that. It's like fishing and I are connected.

"So then, when are we going to do step two?"

"Tomorrow, it's getting dark."

I looked up and he was right. It was getting darker. I guess time does fly by when you're having fun. Wait a minute, I didn't really have fun today except now.

Ding!

[Level up!]

[Task Completed]

[Rewards Received: Level +5]

[Title Achieved: Fishing Rookie]

[Soul Rank Ascension is available.]

Wow. From one fish and I can already ascend. It also looks like I got a title. My first title is… fishing rookie… really?

[Fishing Rookie: Your fish attraction rate will be raised by 10%]

… that's kinda useless unless I'm fishing.

"Well then, let's head home, old man. We can roast this fish and eat all we want."

"Yeah no, that fish isn't eating size?"

"I mean, I know it's big but we can ha-"

"That is not what I meant."

"Huh?"

What does this man mean?

"That's too small to be considered dinner."

"Then… what is dinner supposed to look like?"

"Like this."

Suddenly, a much larger fish erupted from the water and landed right beside my fish.

BAM!

The fish flopped and sent water everywhere. My jaw gaped.

"Are… you… kidding me?" I said.

"This is what dinner is supposed to look like." The old man said with a smirk.

This… is eating size? Hell, this thing is two times bigger than the one I caught!

Oh, whatever. Anyway, since I can ascend again, it looks like I'll be busy tomorrow.

"Hey old man, I'll be busy tomorrow so can we do step two the day after tomorrow?"

"Fine with me."

I should check my status. I have a lot of stat points to deposit.

Along the way, I opened my stats.

"Status," I whispered, and a blue screen appears in front of me.

———————

[Info]

[Moniker: Yamato Pharaoh]

[Race: Demon Monkey]

[Class: Vacant]

Soul Rank: Brutal

Core(s): Scarlet Dragon Emperor Core (Lvl1)

Title(s): Fishing Rookie

[Stats]

Level: 52

Hp: 1,092,052/1,092,052

Mp: 283,483,827/283,484,827

Strength: 90(+100)

Agility: 89(+100)

Defense: 90(+100)

Perception: 88(+100)

Intelligence: 92(+100)

Stat Points: 66

[Skills: Absolute Water Manipulation, Absolute Fire Manipulation, Absolute Wind Manipulation, ???, ???, ???]

[Passive skill(s): Heart of the Red Emperor, Scarlet Dragon Emperor's Legacy, Wrath of the Scarlet Dragon, Dragon Tongue]

[Active skill(s): Double Edge Mode, ???]

———————

Heh heh, my health is at 1 million now. And my Mp? Pff, that's even more broken. At this rate, I'll probably get more than a trillion soon.

I deposited 13 stat points equally and the remaining point in intelligence since that is required for soul ascending.

What do I need for this soul ascension?

[Requirements: Int >100, 1 core, and a wicked clover]

A wicked clover? What is that? Is it a black clover? Could just say black clover.

It seems I already got one requirement done. The core? I can just take the one from the fish.

Well then, tomorrow, looks like I have to search for a wicked clover. Whatever that is.

[Task: Upgrade your soul rank]

No need to remind me. I already know what I have to do.

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