Entering Kilrun Duchy Territory

 "Argh!"

 "Please, show me-"

 "Run away!"

 Ryker took flight, slaughtering the fleeing bandits and leaving none alive. When he returned, the rest of the group had finished their opponents and currently waiting for him.

 When his feet were on the ground, both Miriam and Lisha fell to their knees, clearly too tired from the consistent fighting.

 "This is the fifth bandit group, today! And we didn't even reach the more bandit-rich area!" Miriam complained, Lisha, nodding beside her. 

 While the rest didn't voice their displeasure, they all agreed with her, as they had been fighting bandits the moment they entered the Duchy. Thankfully, the bandits they faced were the weaker ones, usually populating the border of the Duchy to some of the weaker neighbors. 

 The bandits at the border usually didn't have enough strength to contend with the stronger bandits at the center of the Duchy so they usually hunted the merchants coming into the duchy as they tended to be weaker.

 The only reason why merchants from those baronies even dared to traverse the bandit-infested territory is because the income they get will be a lot higher. So it will be a high-risk, high-reward endeavor.

 With his current strength, he could easily deal with them, as the strongest bandits at the border would only reach the Genesis Core at best. Even if some reach the Genesis Source, it would only be at the 1st Stage at best.

 His current strength would allow him to contend and even beat a new Genesis Spring expert. As for the more veteran one, even those at the 1st Stage they would likely beat him. 

 He looked at his group. While they likely could still travel, it was advised not to as they were already too tired to continue their travel. For now, they should take a rest, maybe even camp during the night.

 He told them of his decision, and most of them agreed with it. After some debate, they decided to not use the Hidden Ancient Mansion as it would likely be too flashy and attract more bandits. For now, they will have to sleep outdoors. 

-x-

 While the others were sleeping, Ryker took watch for the moment. While it's true he will take watch, it is merely a reason to allow him to sleep at a different time than the rest. 

 With the others sleeping, he took out all of the tablets detailing the Cultivation Art given to him by his parents. While he did read them all, it was merely the barest of details as he focused mostly on the Celestial Energy Art and learned the more useful Art at the given moment.

 Given the chance, he decided to do a thorough reading, so he would fully understand what kind of options he had. He split the tablets into two groups, one that he had comprehended, even with little true understanding.

 The other is for the one he hadn't learned yet, which is split into two more different piles, one claimed to be used by their parents while the rest belonged to his parents' friends, or so they say.

 With the exception of the Sin Desire Art, the other Cultivation Art he had learned is all that his parents had used. The reason for that is because their name allows him to learn which Path they related to, such as the Boundless Water Mantra, which makes it easy to guess which Path it's related to.

 As for the one belonging to his parents' friends, their names were esoteric such as Profound Scholar, Sacred Aspect, and other names that didn't tell what Path it is related to. 

 With them needing his strength more than ever, he decided to look deeper into each Cultivation Art, so that he could pick the best one to learn during their travel, even if he wouldn't reach the Elementary Understanding of the Path.

-x-

Miriam yawned, already awoken despite the sun just barely appearing on the horizon. She takes a quick look around before seeing Ryker, who is currently looking at some tablets. She decided to take a look at him, curious as to what he was doing.

 When she gets close to him, she lightly touches his shoulder. This is usually enough to make him look at her or the others but for today, it seems his attention is focused on those tablets.

 She decided to take a more aggressive approach, shaking him so he would at least look at her. However, even that seems to not work as he keeps looking at the tablet. Wait, he put it down.... to just pick another one.

 She wondered if she should try to take it but decided not to. She then thought of the only way to wake him up.

-x-

 "Now, go get your big brother's attention," she told the small baby, the little girl giggling at Miriam. Her heart was warmed by the cute action, she put the child on her big brother's lap. 

 Ariana laughed out loud, before stopping, observing his hyper-focused older brother. She then looks at what her brother is looking at. Realizing what her brother was paying attention to, she grabbed the tablets, shaking it like a toy.

 That seemed to wake him up, judging by how tight he gripped the tablet before ruffling the little girl's hair when she realized who was on his lap.

 He turned his head to see the sheepish Miriam, telling him who put the child on his lap. He gave her a questioning look, making her answer from the stare alone, "You had been paying attention to those tablets to the point I wonder if you obsess over it. Heck, do you even sleep?"

 The question made Ryker pause before he thought about it. Eventually, he gave his answer, "Actually, I don't," the answer surprised her before it turned to enrage.

 "You are our best and strongest fighter. We need you at your best," she admonished him, making him try to defend himself.

 "A Genesis Core expert didn't need food to survive though most eat food just because. We also don't need sleep though it would help. I just want to spend more time learning some new information," he replied, making Miriam sigh.

 "Maybe so, but still will help, doesn't it?" she asked, Ryker sheepishly answering yes.

 "Well, the tablets better help us or something because we're about to go deeper into the danger zone," she reminded him, making him sober up.

 "Don't worry," he promised to her, "I already did my best to get stronger. The only thing left is to gain some more resources that could help me get stronger for the future,"