Chapter 105 

Chapters in advance in Patreòn

Pa treon.com/HolyJoker

(20+ chapters in advance)

***

Hours passed and the morning light shone. 

Toph who was underground also woke up and frowned as she sensed that Sokka was still up there waiting for her.

He didn't seem perturbed as he went and made a camp, lighting some fire and cooking some birds he caught by using his spear as a projectile.

She couldn't read him at all. Not only that, but his actions were strange, there was no logic around them. At least that was how she saw it. Which unnerved Toph a little, but she didn't know what the familiar feeling bursting inside of her was.

It felt like the time she fought in her first Earth Rumble Tournament. Excitement poured through her veins as she encountered someone mysterious. It made her wonder if this was how it felt when people were reading mystery books?

'Should I go up there and meet with him? Maybe make an excuse why I couldn't come yesterday evening.' 

Toph tried to think up a way to approach the situation. She wasn't used to this as in conversations she either was the one in charge, like in the Earth Rumble Tournament or her identity as the only child in the Beifong Family protected her from the problems. 

Still, having him wait in the cold night all alone made her feel a heaviness in her heart and she finally relented. Coming above ground, finding him cooking a bird over the fire, the 'sight' of him doing that made her feel sorry for him.

"Oh, you showed up," Sokka said casually. "Want some strange bird I caught? Slight warning, it might be poisonous. But you know how it is, live life experiencing the unexpected."

Toph stared at him for a couple of seconds, well stare was an overstay. But more like her head is turned toward his general direction. 

"You are so weird," Toph said with a tired sigh. But she still sat down next to him, and flicked her hand. The sound of rocks clattering, and a weird rabbit-wolf flew in the air, it had the body of a rabbit, but the head of a wolf. Its fur was nice, soft, and gentle. While its head was ferocious. "This one has a little more meat to it."

Sokka nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Also, that sensory ability is really useful."

"I know," Toph smirked triumphantly. "It's the best."

"So… Do you sense it when someone is doing… things. As you know… when your parents are… doing the business. Do you sense that too?" 

She wanted to punch him as soon as he asked that. "If you want your life intact, you should stop asking that."

"Okay," Sokka nodded, skinning the rabbit wolf. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it back again, thinking of something. "Hmm… your ability is intriguing. So can you sense projectiles?"

"Yeah, most of them," Toph felt that he was about to ask another question but decided to change it at the last second. "Though sometimes projectiles become hard to sense. But by the movements of the earth, I can-"

She suddenly stopped herself, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why would you wanna know that? Planning to see which way of attack would work better against me."

"No," he lightly shook his head. "But if we're being fair here. You tried the same thing last night, attacking me out of nowhere. Also if you want to know, my sensory ability works depending on how dangerous an attack is. Though it's a little confusing, even to me in the details. Sometimes I can't even sense some attacks."

Sokka stared at the fire as if remembering something. While the delicious smell of the cooking meat permeates the air. Toph knew he was hiding certain part of his ability, but she knew when to not ask things like this.

"Why did you help me?" Toph asked, feeling like something was missing, something she wasn't understanding in this situation. It was more of a gut feeling.

"I want you," Sokka said resolutely, looking her in the eyes. "Earthbending of your level and talent, it would be a shame if you continued living in such a closed environment. Your potential is endless, why waste it in such a small place."

"You're really selfish," Toph concludes. "Like the most selfish guy I've ever met," she slowly smiles. "If you want someone, you don't care what they want, but only how far they can take your ambition."

"Yes, you're right. I am very selfish and will make people do what I want." Sokka chuckles. "That's why you have to be selfish too. It's your life, or else people like me will come around and try to use you for our benefit."

***

Sokka didn't hide his selfishness from her and made sure to put it on a platter. Later on, she could realize what he was doing, so he was preparing for that. It was inevitable anyway.

"Heh, you're right, then I will be selfish," Toph declared. Getting up and pointing at Sokka. "I want to run away from home, but at the same time, make sure that my parents aren't worried. Also, make sure that they don't hate me."

Her requests were absurd, she wanted to do whatever she wanted in life without any consequence, without sacrificing anything. This isn't how things work. 

But Sokka's smile only widened at her declaration. "Well, it seems like I have my work cut out for me. What a greedy comrade I have," though his words sounded insulting, the smile on his face told a different story. "That's why we will be perfect in working with each other."

People need to have a certain greed in their hearts to be happy. They need to achieve something or want something.

Sokka wasn't any different.

He understood that every human had greed, and wasn't going to take that from the people who joined him. No, instead he will help them accomplish their dreams.

...

After eating some of the rabbit-wolf meat, Toph left not long after that.

Sokka was left behind, thinking of how to complete her request. He had even gotten a Quest for it.

The rewards weren't that special. Well, they were good, but Sokka had already gotten many good things from quests. So he refused this one, as he didn't want the Exp for now. 

'A system built to level up the player. I will overturn that, and make this thing my own.'

Sokka too has his greed. He likes the Gamer Interface, and he will make it his own. The creator of this thing must have imprinted many risks upon himself to create such power too. 

In this world, Sokka wasn't into too much of a rush to level up as he had already acquired strength in which he felt comfortable. For now, he didn't want to make that unknown enemy stronger.

Usually, he wouldn't call people his enemy, he was the kind of guy who prided himself in seeing things from both sides of the fence. 

But this hidden, system-creating force was something that he couldn't call anything less than an enemy.

One of them had to die during this encounter.

'For now, I might not be the strongest existence in the Avatar world. Far from it. But I am still somewhat comfortable in my power. As long as I don't act stupid, things shouldn't develop into a phase I can't handle.'

With a sigh, Sokka got up and put the leftover meat in his inventory, erasing any trace of its existence. 

He walked back to town, his calm gaze looking onward as his mind wandered, trying to think of a plan in which Toph's parents would be happy to let their daughter go.

'This is quite impossible to achieve. With how overprotective they are, how the hell will I achieve that?' 

...