Searching

"Excuse me, ma'am…" The sword dancer asked.

"Yes, dear?" Said the old lady.

"Do you happen to see a man a little bit taller than me, who got quite the handsome face, but not that handsome?"

"Is the one you are talking about, the lad who was part of the caravan yesterday?"

"Yes, he's the one! Do you know which path they took?"

The old lady had a strange glint in her eyes.

"Oh, dearie me… it seems my memory is failing me!" Said the old lady, who acted all dramatic-like.

The sword dancer took it up like a chump. She believed in what the old lady said.

"If that's the case, then we'll ask another person. Thank you for your time, ma'am." She said.

Before she could turn around, the daughter of the family of three, interjected.

"Do you need any help, grandma?" She asked.

"Yes, because my memory is failing me, I think I forgot to water the plants in my garden. Will you help me with that, lass?"

A prompt jumped in front of the wife.

} Shonen Protagonist System

Side-Quest: Do you want to accept the Old Lady's quest?

Rewards: Information about Joe.

{Yes} {No}

}

We need not talk about which choice she took.

"We'll help you with that, grandma!" The daughter said.

At this moment, the sword dancer who was kept out of the loop ushered them to continue their journey. However, after a round of persuasion from the family of three, she finally consented and went with the three of them to the back of the old lady's house, where her garden is.

30 minutes later, they came back to the old lady after watering her plants.

"Grandma, we're done watering the plants!" The daughter said.

"Thank you very much, sweetheart! Since you are a good girl, I will give you this as a reward."

She handed her a piece of leather, which triggered her mother's system.

} Shonen Protagonist System

Quest Completed

Rewards obtained: Leather map.

}

"Thank you very much, grandma! We are actually in need of this map."

"You are welcome, sweetheart. I'm sorry for taking advantage of you, I hurt my back yesterday, and those plants are my livelihood. They are very fragile that they needed to be watered at least once every day lest they died."

The group said their goodbyes to the old lady and went on their way to search for Joe.

The man himself, however, was enjoying life in the presence of a friend. The caravan he's in was taking a break from the sudden night market they somehow created last night. To recap, they were taking a break on the side of the road when other caravans pass by and recognized their caravan's head as someone influential. As a networking technique, those other caravans decided to also stay in the same area. With that many caravans present, travellers decided to restock and take a break there. They looked around for things they might need or things they were interested in. These first customers were the tinder, and soon the fire came. The travellers that night were assured by a large number of caravans and decided to also stay there. Meanwhile, seeing a large number of potential buyers, the caravans went in full force. They sold all kinds of things, even cooked food, with a slight increase in price. A sudden night market, or so to speak.

Around that time, I distanced myself and created my second dungeon. I was inspired by the Templar Assassins. I just asked the system about the term since it stayed in the back of my mind after playing a certain game back home, and it gave me a long list. A very, very, long list. I picked one at random, and it gave me knowledge about the ones from planet M1rAcL-33314.

Now, in the morning, and while sipping my cup of warm milk tea, given to me by the caravan head who was happily serving others the drink, I conversed with the fighter about various topics. He was knowledgeable and proved to be an interesting conversation partner. We talked about the weather, politics in various countries of which he knew about the Azure Dragon Empire the most; and finally, cultivation, which he abhors. Still, he entertained me with his wit, and thus our conversation begins.

"Lin, what do you think of cultivation? The way we cultivate right now?"

"Well, immortality is a good thing, no? In my mind, cultivation is a very wonderful thing."

"What about the way we cultivated? Our techniques, our paths?"

"They are normal? I don't understand the question, Mr Cho."

"Let me rephrase the question. Do you think there are other ways to cultivate?"

"I… I don't know. I travelled far and wide in order to search for such a way, but I never found it."

"Does it have a connection with your dried-up spirit root? Ah, I'm sorry if it touched a nerve."

"That's alright. And yeah, it is connected to my dried-up spirit root. You see, Mr Cho, have you had the experience of having everything in the world, and have your world turned upside down?"

"…"

"I wanted nothing more, but to search for the Great Dao. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't need status, I don't need women, I don't need wealth. I just wanted to see the unending peak once, just once-"

"-And it all came crashing down. Yeah, I've been there. I lost everything, even my life."

That insensitive sentence of mine silenced the conversation for a while. It would've been weird if I ended the conversation on that note, that's why I continued on.

"But I'm fine now. I'm enjoying life. I love the running around, I love the small conversations, and most of all, I love this world (compared to my last one)."

"… That's a very apt way of saying it, Mr Cho. I wholeheartedly agree with what you said."

Yet, after the fighter said that silence reigned again. After a while, while watching the caravaneers, I directed the conversation back to the subject of cultivation.

"So, what kind of 'other ways' of cultivation have you found in your travels? What made you dismiss them?"

"Although I said that I travel far, my journey was still within the reaches of the Azure Dragon continent. As for what made me dismiss them, all of them still need a spirit root to cultivate."

"Well, the world is a big place. You might find what you need, somewhere, someday."

"How long would that take? To be honest Mr Cho, I- I'm on the verge of giving up. Plans of settling down, living my life as a mortal, had taken root in my mind."

The fighter threw a bunch of old papers into the campfire. It burned brightly, and fast, smouldering into ashes almost instantly. He took a sip from his tankard, and looked at me, deep in the eyes.

From it, I could see his hope for a cure, a cure for his spirit root condition, as only embers from a lasting flame, on the verge of dying out. A question took root in my mind, and I can't escape its labyrinth. Should I help? Should I put matters into my own hands? If I did help, will this life's end be the same as the first? Exploited. Used. Disposed of, when I was finally unneeded. I do not know the answer to those questions.

A crackling sound, one made from wet wood being cracked open by the fire, yanked me from the darkness.

A deep breath. I inhaled a lot of things. Oxygen, smoke, microbes, dust. The gesture grounded my mind to where it belongs. The here, and now. Not the depths of self-questioning.

I looked at the campfire. Those papers the fighter threw in does not help in terms of fuel. Mimicking him, I threw in a couple of dry branches. And from the embers of a smouldering flame, it brightened once more.

"If I tell you that I had a way for you to cultivate, even without spirit root, what would you do?"

His ears perked up hearing such a question, but it didn't take long for him to calm down, as if he was used to hearing them.

"If you do have such a way, right there and then, I would kneel in front of you, and do your bidding, for the rest of my life."

I chuckled at his earnestness.

"You would, won't you?" I asked, with a challenging smile pasted on my face.