Mission Impossible
In the blink of an eye, two years have passed since Elon and Skeever got their asses kicked by Earl and now they are both 8 years old.
The blink of an eye is a lie. The two years were bloody painful and monotonous.
Skeever's plan to get into the kitchens was a bust because he didn't realize that when you have 30+ concubines as a village chief, where else are you going to send some of them to spend their time? They never had Help Wanted ads, because they already fought amongst themselves because a good meal would win favor from their harem king.
Elon and Skeever were both making their usual afternoon rounds through the docks so Elon could absorb the souls of Profound Beasts. Neither of them know a thing about fighting still, but Elon has developed literal sixth sense for souls and is able to notice practitioners and beasts with the same level of cultivation as him.
"Fuck, not even a goddamn percent of a small rank from this bastard," Elon said as he gritted his teeth as he absorbed the soul of a weak Profound Beast that someone was clubbing. The last moment the fish saw was terrifying green eyes glaring at the discarnate soul as if it deserved to be devoured. How evil he looked was a little disconcerting, but Elon thought about how little it mattered to him about what a fish thought as it died. He further rationalized that he was right to be mad. His cultivation required too many resources!
His friend, Skeever had reached the first rank of the Nascent Profound Realm recently, while Elon was trailing back at the eighth rank of the Elementary Profound Realm because he was forced to eat the metaphorical mosquito meat because his father still hasn't come back from his journey yet.
Skeever looked askew at his friend. After they got beat up years ago, they started to hang out together after Skeever realized he couldn't even imagine the Divine Way, yet alone realms higher than it. Plus, after he got used to the slang and odd phrases that weren't from this world, he felt his cultivation was a bit easier with an open, driven mind. Eventually, Kana was able to convince him to move into their hut, even though to this day, Skeever is still afraid that the mature woman will act as Auntie Hess likes to. No matter how plain she looks.
"You hear that?" Skeever stopped walking and asked his friend.
Elon let his irritated breath out. "What's up? I didn't hear anything special."
"The captain on the docks over their said something about a Nascent Profound Beast and I heard the chief's name was mentioned." Skeever finished explaining as Elon left him in a sprint to ask him about the beast.
Turns out, one of the captains was able to subdue a large lobster and kept it alive because the chief would reward them more for the fresh meat then the lobster was worth to them if they kept it.
And that lead to the current situation, where Elon is laying on the floor, blood streaming from his nose. "Bro. Skeeves. Come on, bro. This is the only plan that will work! I know it isn't... pretty. But you have any better ideas?" He wiped the blood from his nose and grabbed a rag nearby. Elon had never seen Skeever mad before. However, even he thought the plan was a little out there, so the rag was prepared beforehand just in case.
"It's dirty, disgusting, and you know what the she-devil will ask for so I can get near the spot. This is literally the worst thing I've ever been told in my life. WHY should I even do this for you?" Skeever asked. He finally calmed down a bit.
"Now?" Elon asked. "Now you learn how to ask for benefits when doing something? What about all those times when you distracted people so I could cultivate from their catches, the time when I helped steal Earl's pocket change? You might not be a fatty bro from the wuxia bucket list, but we go though trials and tribulations together! Monetary reward? I didn't even think that existed between bros!"
Skeever hesitated, before he remembered what was asked of him. "Fuck you!" He couldn't say anything else. He wasn't a smooth talker. He was a pure person that just liked to cultivate, but this passed the bottom line.
"You know after this, I'll have all the power I can get in this village," Elon stated. "After that, it's on to greater pastures, the Lost Noxious Sect, searching for lucky opportunities, spitting in the face of death! First though, I need to get this beast! And I'm truly sorry I'm asking you to do this, brother... but it's the only way."
"You... you..." Skeever was at a loss.
Elon put on a straight face. "We will never speak of what happened during the first operation of Ocean's Duo in the future. You know you can count on me for anything and I would do this for you if I had to. It's not like we're facing death or anything."
"You promise not to tell anyone about it?" Skeever asked, unable to rationalize that he was going through with this plan.
"Cross my heart, hope to die," Elon said. "This will go down without a hitch, you know it's perfect and we've tested my Profound Absorption through walls before and its always worked."
Skeever released murderous intent for the first time in his little life. Coincidentally, it was the first time that Elon realized that killing intent was actually a thing.
"Okay, I know you weren't talking about the wall. Look, I feel horrible about this and I'll never tell a soul." Elon said with a morose look on his face as he crosses his hand across his chest.
Elon didn't feel bad. Inwardly, he was thinking this night would be seared into his memory as the perfect story to tell his children and Skeever's future wife about how he reached the Nascent Profound Realm.