MIND/blown

The night passed with the Walter family worrying about Joe, who had finally arrived at the village where the caravan was supposed to be going. While the husband and wife were worrying about him, Joe was sleeping soundly at the inn the caravan had booked. While the daughter slept without any worry, the husband and wife can't seem to close their eyes even when the sky was already changing colour to pinkish-purplish-red. Roosters from various peaks started their morning cry to wake the disciples up. In the end, they never got any sleep. Because the day had already continued, both went to the kitchen in order to prepare their morning meal. It was at this time the daughter woke up and was led to the kitchen by the smell of breakfast.

"Whoa! You guys got great eyebags there." the daughter quipped.

"We can't really sleep after we know Joe's here." the husband replied.

"Come and eat your breakfast, Alice. We'll ask miss Cang An about Joe's whereabouts after this." the wife put a stop to their morning conversation.

The family ate their humble breakfast which consists of meat, eggs, and unleavened bread with great relish. Although the husband and wife were sleep deprived, their quest for Joe led them to ask around the peak they were in for the sword dancer. They were told various things, but none helped them pinpoint her exact location whatsoever. The administration office's elder who knew where she went, told the family the inn's name where she posed as a mortal. He offered the family a trip to the town since he had some free time on his hands, to which they agreed.

"Thank you very much for the trip, elder Mi."

"You're very welcome mr Ah Ran, madam Ah Na."

"Yep! Thank you very much, old man!"

"You're very welcome too, miss Ah Rizu"

The administration office's elder brought them to The Dancing Swords inn. The family entered and witnessed the completed sword dance Joe helped created, The Four Swords of The Four Seasons. They understood nothing though. They just thought the sword dance was kind of cool. The profound meaning and formation flew by their heads, save for one. The daughter's Myriad Dao System acted as a crutch and helped her understand what she saw. Although her system was a passive one where it never showed any prompt except for her bio, it granted her all kinds of buffs when she encountered stuff that needs enlightenment in order to understand. In other words, she became a cultivation genius the world had never seen before thanks to her system. The sword dancer approached the family and led them outside to talk.

"Mr Ah Ran, do you need anything?"

"Yes, it's like this. Elder Mi told my daughter that my good friend Joe was here. Do you happen to know where he is right now?"

"Mr Ah Ran was senior's friend?!"

"If he's the Joe that I'm thinking of."

"Why didn't you tell me before? Senior had finished his training at the sect and he is now travelling with a caravan."

"How could I know you knew about him?! Anyway, will he return?"

The sword dancer sweated a bit. She remembered the day when she saw the senior erased plants and rocks to nothingness. Even though he expressed that there was no problem, she always thought that he was mad because of the three outer disciple wastrels. Anyone would be mad if they were treated like that. It was through his kindness that he restored the barren land into a sacred land of cultivation.

"I… don't know if senior will return."

"Ah, I see. Can you contact him in any way?"

"I will try my best."

"Thank you very much, miss Cang An. This is something very important for me."

"You are welcome mr Ah Ran. Do you want to see what senior left behind here?"

"He left behind something? I want to see it!"

She led the family of three to the sacred land of cultivation. This time, the husband's system acted up.

{Host found a suitable plot of land. Binding…}

{Plot of land bound. The host will now be able to farm the land without being physically there. The host may now start his journey as a God of Farming. Novice Farmer Set 1x has been gifted to the host.}

He felt a connection to the land. He breathed and exhaled alongside it. He was the land and the land was him. The feeling remained for quite a while, but it didn't hinder him in any way. What irked him was the land's unending stream of life energy, or that's what his system called it. The stream of life energy rejuvenated him, but it came at a cost. The pleasure is over the top. He felt like it was the first time he dipped at an open-air bathhouse or onsen, but the feeling stayed throughout and never left. He was cursed to shudder from the pleasure throughout the day. Thankfully, his wife and daughter were none the wiser.

"This sacred land of cultivation was what senior Cho gifted us before he left."

"Uncle Joe only left yesterday, right? Don't we have enough time to catch up to him?"

The Spirit Sword Sect can't lose any more potential geniuses. This is the reason why the family of three was given a place where the higher-ups were. They can't let another Joe leave. The sword dancer was also informed of such practices and she was conflicted because of it. On one hand, the sect was her birthplace and her everything. While on the other side was the senior's happiness. She owed too much to both sides. The sect nurtured and protected her while the senior granted her a glimpse of the Dao. But in the end, she must choose a side.

"We could indeed catch up to him, but we must be fast."

"What do you think, dad?"

"I… I only need to know if he really was Joe. I have to talk to him."

"Alright. I said yesterday that you could contact me if you need anything and I will fulfil my promise."

She unsheathed her sword. The silvery white blade glistened under the sun. It separated into four with a hum, and she asked the family of three to each choose one. The sword dancer widened her sword so the three could take a seat on the respective sword they chose, and then they flashed through the sky in order to find Joe.

They zoomed across the sky. They passed birds, they passed no planes, and they certainly won't come across superman. After all this whole schmuck was about Joe and his system. Joe who? Joe Mama… Well, sorry about that. You have to know how heavy the burden I bear to not include that joke. Apparently, my willpower was not enough today. Well, what happened to Joe, you asked? He's fine. He just woke up and went to help the caravan with their goods. Okay, that's it. The narrator is changing back to Joe's perspective.

"Young Lin! Where do I put these?"

I patted the crates I'm holding.

"This one goes to wagon number six, This one goes to wagon number eleven, and This one goes to wagon number fifteen. Do you want me to help you with that?"

"Nah, It's okay. I was of no help last night, at least let me do so today."

"I will thank you in advance then, sir Cho!"

I walked to the parked wagons and started loading in the crates. The first wagon I loaded was wagon number fifteen, which was the closest one to me. This wagon mainly deals with raw materials and the crate I loaded in was full of iron ore. I controlled my itch to extract them all and continued on to wagon number eleven. This one deals with foodstuffs and rations and it showed. The crate I loaded in was full of fruits while other crates in there were full of all kinds of herbs and various ingredients, I even found one full of white powder. Not flour, but real white powder. I don't know how that shit passed the FDA. According to the wagon's owner, it was imported from the southern continent. Anyway, last but not least was wagon number six. This wagon deals with weaponry and tools. The crate I loaded in was full of hoes. Not that kind of hoe, but the farming kind. Inside wagon number six was a goddamned forge. That's why this wagon needed six horses to pull it. And that's also why I could hear a faint sound of beaten metal when I travelled with them yesterday.

Done with helping around the caravan, a great idea surfaced in my mind. I could leave behind a dungeon whenever the caravan stopped.

'System, how about we create a dungeon here?'

[Here? What's going to be the reward, then?]

I looked around the village. It's your typical rural village, and what came to mind when thinking about rural villages was knowledge about farming and keeping wild animals at bay.

'I think giving out a combat technique would be popular. How about a technique that was designed to fight wild animals?'

[Ok. You need 400 units of Ferrite, a fuel cell, a power source, and 100 units of Spatium, in order to create a portable spatial device. The fuel cell needs 50 units of Ferrite and 25 units of Sodium. While the power source needs 50 units of Ferrite, 25 units of Deuterium, and 25 units of Tritium which can be created using Hydrogen.]

'Yep, help me create that while I'm designing the dungeon. I don't want it to be deadly, but more like an annoyance.'

[How will you achieve that?]

'The whole dungeon will be like a maze where you need to fight against a random wild animal that has been jacked up like crazy. There will be murals on the wall that depicts the techniques to defeat them which will also give out subliminal messages to the player so they could understand it easily.'

[How in the ducking hell is that safe?]

'The pain level of the dungeon will be lowered down to the minimum, and every time a player died, they will be spawned at a random place.'

[I see, it's like a game. How about the technique though?]

'Do you have one?'

[Lots. Choose one.]

I browse through the catalogue the system gave me. The system was right, there were lots of techniques out there. I filtered them based on each technique's technological level and combat strength. Out of all the techniques available, the one I am most attracted to was the one used by Monster Hunters from planet MHW-10521FF. It was a technique that taught the use of all weapons in order to either exploit an animal's weakpoint or create a new one if the animal was resistant to certain attacks. All in all, it was a powerful technique.

'System, I choose this one. The Monster Hunter Combat Technique from planet MHW-10521FF.'

[Nice choice. The prowess of the Monster Hunters were known throughout galaxies. Sit tight and I'll connect all the knowledge you'll need in order to create that dungeon.]

My mind was exposed to the unending stream of knowledge. It was as if I am sitting on the Mobius Chair, without really sitting on it. I call this mode the MIND/Blown mode, and I believe it would help me immensely.