65 Reunited

2 days passed, Soaring Immortal Bird had now been maxed out. Jim could now maintain Golden Sura Healing for around 10 seconds before qi ran dry. Restoring the occasional lost limb earned a few divinity points.

His archery had come a long way under Talia's help. Now able to hit the target with every shot, Jim wondered if it was ready for actual battle. A stationary target is far easier to hit than a moving one, after all. Aiming an arrow to hit another, firing three arrows at once, shooting blind, Jim created a new skill named [Trick Shot]. Talia gave him weird looks and reprimanded him for trying to learn useless things.

As the skills continued increasing, normal targets no longer sufficed. His arrows would fly right through them and continue on, luckily nobody was hurt, but Jim decided to use Create Stone a few times and fire at the stone blocks instead. The arrows kept getting damaged, so he ended up carving simple wooden arrows.

When he wasn't practicing archery, he was carving new puppets and placing them on guard. With over 500 puppets, stationed around the city, he didn't feel they were nearly enough. 'The enemy has numbers in the hundreds of thousands, they'll probably grow even further by the time they attack.'

Hearing a few noises, Jim turned around and noticed someone running towards him.

Celes: "Master!"

Jumping towards him, Celes wrapped her arms around Jim in a bear hug.

Jim: "Celes?"

Celes was still beautiful, but she now carried a mature charm. The wide smile on her face made Jim's heart begin pounding, he had to use all his willpower to hold himself back from immediately picking her up and taking her to his room. After a minute, she separated from him, causing a sigh of relief to escape his mouth.

Celes: "Master, I missed you! Where have you been?"

Jim: "I made some mistakes, sorry."

Celes: "I rushed over as soon as I heard you were back."

???: "This is?"

Turning over, Jim saw a young asian man with a confused expression on his face.

Celes: "Ah, let me introduce you. Master, this is Suzuki, the new Brave. Suzuki, this is Master Jim, your predecessor, owner of this city, and my combat instructor."

Suzuki: "Oh, nice to meet you, Brave Jim."

Jim: "Hmm? Japanese?"

Jim could strangely hear two overlapping voices coming from Suzuki at once, one in Japanese, the other in Borisa General. Both carried the same meaning.

Suzuki: "Huh? You...know about Japan?"

Jim: "Yeah, I'm American."

Suzuki: "You're from Earth too!?"

The three began chatting. According to Suzuki, he had been hit by a truck 8 years ago. A goddess appeared before him and asked if he would help save her world, after agreeing he woke up in the mountainous region to the south of Amgula. 'Appraise.'

[Name: Katou Suzuki]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 20]

[Strength: 700]

[Dexterity: 650]

[Vitality: 700]

[Agility: 900]

'Hmm, higher stats than his level would suggest.'

Suzuki: "That goddess didn't even tell me what I was supposed to save the world from! What's up with that!?"

Jim: "Hmm, I didn't know there was an entity overseeing this world."

Suzuki: "Huh? Then how did you get here?"

Jim: "A special power of mine."

Suzuki: "Then...can you use it to return to Earth?"

Jim: "Not right now, there's a seal blocking most of my power."

Celes: "Master?"

Stroking Celes' head, Jim assured her he was alright. A dejected Suzuki stood nearby. The atmosphere turned a bit depressing.

Jim: "Well, I need to get back to crafting."

Back to a focused state, Jim carved at the stone.

Suzuki: "What is he doing?"

Celes: "Master is the one who made the magic puppets outside the city."

Suzuki: "He did!?"

Their power, endurance, and speed had made a deep impression on Suzuki's 15 year old self when he had first seen them in action. All the years he had been here he had assumed they were relics left behind by some ancient wizard. To discover they were made by a modern American man shocked him to his core.

After a while, Jim noticed the sun was going down. Announcing he was going to bed, he headed into his bedroom. Before he laid down, he was surprised to find the door open behind him.

Celes: "Master, I wanted to talk in private."

Jim: "Hm? What is it?"

Celes: "I...don't want you to leave again. Please, stay this time."

Seeing Celes pleading with teary eyes, the two of them alone in the bedroom at night, Jim couldn't hold back any more, his instincts took over.

[Pleasurable Touch Skill Obtained]

The next morning, Jim woke up to find a naked Celes cuddled up to his side. Recalling what he had done last night, Jim resolved himself to become human again. These goblin instincts were going to lead him down a road he didn't want to tread. Looking at Celes, he brushed her hair. 'No turning back from this.'

Soon after, Celes woke up. The bright smile on her face warmed Jim's heart.

Jim: "I'd like to give you something that will make you stronger, but it may be painful. Do you want it?"

Celes: "Mm? Okay."

Seeing her bracing herself, Jim opened subordinate enhancement, went to the cultivation section, and gave her Celestial Spirit Roots. Unfortunately, he couldn't choose an individual type.

Celes: "Hmm?"

Seeing that Celes wasn't in any distress, Jim was both relieved and confused. When his spirit roots grew, it was agonizing.

Jim: "Are you okay?"

Celes: "Mm, there was some slight tingling in my chest, but I'm okay."

Jim: "Alright, try this."

Imparting Serene Mind and some supplementary skills, Celes' eyes opened wide at the sudden information flowing through her mind. After nodding, she closed her eyes and began circulating. Jim used Qi sense to monitor her progress, eventually, Celes' Dantian began pulsing and expanding, filling with Qi. Celes opened her eyes, ecstatic.

Celes: "What is this?"

Jim: "Cultivation. To simplify it, you bring a type of energy called Qi into your body, then utilize it for a variety of purposes. Strengthening yourself, mystical abilities, expanding your lifespan, it takes a long time but is very useful. The technique you just used is called Serene Mind, use it to increase your overall power. Next, I'll give you techniques that make you tougher, faster, or attack stronger."

Sharing Copper Body, Wind Warrior Footwork, and Lower Light Fist, Jim didn't use subordinate enhancement to increase the skills. He wanted her to gain a feeling for using them on her own. After waiting a little while for her to digest the information, they headed outside.

Torka and Suzuki were waiting outside, when they saw Jim and Celes leaving the house, both of the guys blushed bright red. Looking around, Jim noticed everybody in the surroundings looking away shyly with red faces. 'Were we that loud last night?'