The Only Things That Exist In This Round

Time passed, and soon the amused man reached the beautiful woman once again.

This time, Anthony wasn't trudging his way up the hill. No, instead he was walking with a quick gait as excitement bubbled up in his heart.

He soon reached where Mari was sitting before, but he didn't find a particularly welcoming gaze this time.

Instead, Mari was staring daggers at Anthony as he climbed the hill.

Anthony felt slightly confused at this turn of events, but he decided to reach her first, then ask questions.

Soon, Anthony reached Mari, where she waited for him as he took off his bag and placed it to the side before they began talking.

"You made it quicker this time," Mari said as she looked at Anthony with a neutral look. Her previous blushing self had disappeared as if it never existed.

Anthony looked at Mari's actions weirdly. What did he do wrong this time?

But, before he could ask any questions about Mari's current attitude, she decided to tell Anthony something else.

"I've got your present this time," Mari said as she waved toward Anthony to come closer.

Anthony followed her demands and came closer. Mari still staring the same as before, with no emotion.

"Close your eyes," She said as Anthony reached close to her.

Anthony was getting slightly suspicious if anything had happened while he was gone. He was always suspicious of the women around him, so he wasn't completely out of character here.

But, Anthony decided to trust Mari anyway. He felt this woman was different from the others. She was much kinder in his opinion.

So, Anthony didn't think anything weird and instead decided to tease her instead.

"Oh? What is this? Is this a surprise present?" Anthony asked as he looked at Mari with a smug smile.

But Mari didn't seem to react to his teasings.

"No, it's not a surprise for me. And if you don't listen, then I'll consider not giving you the present at all," She said as she glared at Anthony as she gave an ultimatum.

Anthony frowned in his mind when he heard this.

'Maybe I expected too much from her,' Anthony thought as he started to see Mari resemble all of the other girls he had seen before.

He was... disappointed.

Anthony closed his eyes as he listened to Mari. He still wanted to see what this present she was going to give him was all about.

"Do you have your eyes closed?" Mari asked as her voice seemed to have become gentler than before.

"Yeh, I have," Anthony said as he nodded his head.

"Okay... good," Mari said as her voice rang a sweet melody in Anthony's ears.

'What the-'

Suddenly, Anthony felt a soft touch on his lips, and soon he felt a force on his mouth as it pried his lips open, and a soft fleshy protrusion enter his mouth.

Anthony suddenly opened his eyes as he immediately knew what this was.

'A kiss!?' He thought in shock as he looked at the girl before him, who kept her own eyes closed for this occasion.

Anthony decided to monopolise this moment as he closed his eyes and grabbed Mari's head.

As he grabbed Mari's head, he finally felt her hair. It felt soft to the touch, it was silky smooth as it had weight to it. It was simply satisfying to the touch as he grabbed Mari's hair to keep their kiss going.

As he indulged in Mari's hair during their kiss, he also felt her tongue swirling around his mouth as he felt his own tongue fight back against the intruder. He tasted Mari's mouth, and it gave a wonderful feeling in his heart that he couldn't have ever imagined feeling till now.

Moments passed as they both indulged in their kiss together.

But soon, they had to separate as their feelings were simply moving too fast together.

After they separated, they both panted as they looked at each deeply in the eyes of each other.

"I don't do this to others," Mari suddenly said as she grabbed Anthony's cheek with her hand.

"You just seem so... different," She said as she looked down, breaking the gaze between the two first.

But, when she looked down, she felt a touch on her arm as she felt a warm grip on it.

Suddenly, she looked up, but she was only met with Anthony's eyes.

"Don't apologise," He said as he looked at Mari with a loving gaze.

He simply couldn't understand what he was feeling at this moment. This wasn't him! He was a playboy that got all the women he wanted. Beauty, wealth, status, he got everything!

Then why? Why was this girl the only one to make his heart stir in this way!?

Why was he suddenly feeling so much affection for this girl?

He couldn't understand. But his heart spoke for him in his stead as his logic froze from the influx of emotions.

"You mean just as much to me as I mean to you," Anthony said as he gently caressed the hand that Mari had placed on his cheek.

Mari looked up as Anthony told her all of this. She felt the emotion he was feeling right now.

She gripped Anthony's shirt as she closed her eyes and looked down once again as she shoved her head into his chest.

Anthony took a few steps back from the sudden action, but he kept his ground as he gave a loving embrace around Mari.

He didn't know why he felt this way, but it didn't matter.

Only the two of them were in this moment together.

They were the only things that existed right now...

_______________________

"Hey, so what's it like being rich?" Mari asked as she laid her back on the ground.

Anthony smiled as he laid down beside her. He interlocked his fingers with hers as he answered her questions.

"Well for starters, I always had to keep a lookout whenever I travelled outside. Rich kids are an expensive commodity for slave traders and they usually sell them to the highest bidder," Anthony said as he looked at Mari's face hoping to see a reaction.

And in fact, he did see a reaction. Mari frowned really hard when she heard that about Anthony.

"I'm just kidding," Anthony said as he gave an amused smile to Mari.

Mari puffed her cheeks and flicked Anthony's forehead as she took her hand back from Anthony's warm grasp.

"Hey, I'm just joking," Anthony said as he leaned over towards Mari. Only to be blocked by her outstretched arms towards his face.

"Shut up! If that's your idea of a joke, then I'm not laughing," Mari said as she looked to the side as she took her arms back.

Anthony started to realise that he might have taken the joke too far this time.

And he was right. Mari was genuinely hurt when she heard about young boys being sold to slavery. It was a bitter memory in her heart of the time in her town that she desperately wanted to forget.

Because her little brother and her mother were practically sold as slaves with her mother dying on the first day of 'work'. It was a disgusting memory. But she had moved on long ago from it with her brother living a much better life now that they were away from that town.

At least, she hoped he did. She didn't really know where she was at the moment.

But it didn't mean she wasn't willing to figure it out.

"Alright, I'm sorry, it was a tasteless joke. I won't say it again," Anthony said as he touched Mari's shoulder in an attempt of comfort.

Mari looked back at Anthony as she held the arm that was currently touching her shoulder. She ran her fingers through it as she grasped the hand into the same position as it was before. Interlocking each other's fingers as they laid down beside each other.

"Okay... I'll accept your apology only if you tell me something that I'm sure I won't know," Mari said as she gave a small smile to herself, with Anthony's arms in her grasp.

Anthony's face brightened from his previous apologetic state and gave a small chuckle as he looked at Mari's curious eyes.

"Sure thing. How about cultivators then?" Anthony said as he smiled smugly at the girl lying beside him.

"Wait, what!?" Mari suddenly shouted in shock.

"You know something about those heroic cultivators?" Mari asked as she suddenly had her full attention on Anthony instead of the stars and moon hanging above.

"Of course I do. I'm rich, so I'm privy to more information than the average person is. After all, my ancestor was a cultivator, and that's how my family became so rich," Anthony said as he looked at Mari with a loving gaze.

"O-okay. Then, what are cultivators like?" Mari asked as she looked with curiosity shining in her eyes toward Anthony.

Anthony scratched his cheek in embarrassment for a moment as he saw Mari's cute expressions. It was really too much for him, so he spilled the beans.

"Alrighty then. For starters, cultivators become what they are after they learn something called a law," Anthony said as he started explaining the concepts of a cultivator.

"What are laws?" Mari asked as she tightened her grip on Anthony's hand.

Anthony nodded at Mari's question, as he started explaining.

"Laws are defined as one of the core meanings of this world. Usually, a person would need to learn as much as possible about a core meaning such as fire, earth, water, metal, etc. After they learn as much as they can about these meanings, then the person has to go through a sort of trial or tribulation to determine if what they learn is actually useful," Anthony said as he started going off into a lesson about the laws of the universe and about how cultivators are.

"Now, mind you, this trial or tribulation usually happens in a life or death scenario," Anthony said as he strictly explained this important factor to the girl beside him.

Mari nodded vigorously as Anthony explained these core concepts. She was taking down notes in her mind as she listened to Anthony speak about this.

"After you have survived or passed this trial or tribulation, then something called the 'World' determines if your knowledge is sufficient enough to become a cultivator or not," Anthony said.

"I don't know what this 'World' is, but I do know that you can't become a cultivator without it acknowledging you," Anthony said as he looked at the sky hanging on top of him.

"Can people become cultivators without learning a core meaning of this world?" Mari asked in confusion as she looked to Anthony for answers.

Anthony gave a ridiculing chuckle when he heard this.

"Mari, the only way to do that, is to learn a central meaning. And let me tell you, that is much harder than just learning a core meaning," Anthony said as he gave a mocking smile to the sky.

Mari suddenly frowned when she heard this.

"Why is that the case?" She asked as she poked Anthony's shoulder in a questioning manner.

Anthony didn't mind the poking as he answered the question.

"Because, that's when you create your own meaning."