by Ryan DeBruyn
“I’m going to interpret that as a ‘please wait outside’ and not a ‘piss off,’” Darren states as he turns to face me.
I can only shrug in response as I move to lean against the wall. While I feel quite a bit better in a new set of clothes, I am definitely not myself after the [Paired Cultivation].
“Good plan.” Darren comes to lean beside me and casually asks, “So why did you choose to help Veronica anyway? You could have just avoided her and all the problems she brought with her.”
The answer to that question will give away some of my previous lies, and so I pretend to give the question some serious thought. The more I pretend to stew, the wider Darren’s smile gets, and the more heat suffuses my cheeks.
“It is not like that!” I deny loudly just as the door opens again.
“Isn’t like what?” Jessamyn asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Nothing—nothing,” Darren covers and stands up straight. “Can we enter now?” he asks as he takes in Jessamyn’s far-less-messy appearance. How did she get new clothes in the few minutes the door was shut?
“You may,” she responds with another bow. “Veronica is waiting in the sitting area.”
I squint, realizing that the entrance room was, in fact, the sitting room. The pile of blankets and clothes were covering not a bed but a couch. The room has two armchairs that I don’t recall seeing on my last visit either. I have to wonder if that was what the scrambling behind the door was—moving furniture?
The muscular woman and the one wearing a long dress are standing in a doorway off the main room, whispering to each other. Their body language is bubbly, but without knowing them more, I can’t tell if they are excited or just happy to be standing farther from the lingering odor. Their actions stand in direct opposition to Jessamyn’s stern demeanor as well. I notice that the windows are open in the room, and the temperature, while still hot, is no longer smoldering. Someone has left a blanket on the ground in the area Veronica and I were cultivating, and I assume that is to cover stains on the lush carpeting. I am just landing on contemplative silence as my operating principle when Jessamyn touches my shoulder.
“How did you know that your technique could help her?” Jessamyn asks as she turns to me. So much for staying silent.
“I didn’t know, but I believed that the attempt wouldn’t harm her,” I respond, purposefully leaving out the part about my own risk. Truthfully, if I were doing it again and knew that I had a chance of freezing to death in the attempt, I’m unsure how it would have gone.
“Okay—but you sounded like you had been doing some research when you sent me away,” she responds, and I feel Darren’s eyes turn to stare at me.
“Well, by research, I meant I had been reviewing my cultivation and thought it could help,” I lie lamely. I truly wish I had thought of this possible question, but I forgot that Jessamyn was in the room for some of the earliest discussions.
“Wait—” Darren begins.
“Leave him alone,” Veronica interrupts as she walks into the room. “He just saved my life, and all you two can think about is interrogating him! Wait—how bad was Jacque?”
Jessamyn laughs, and Darren looks at the floor, his face coloring slightly.
“That bad?” Veronica says, her voice high. “I’m so sorry, Jeff. These idiots want to know all the mysteries of the world in a day.” Turning to Darren, she raises a finger and scolds, “You know my father started this branch here to slowly gain traction, right? You aren’t going to get out from under the Church all at once! Remember, let’s take this slow. All right, Darren?” Darren nods and looks sheepish, which actually raises alarm bells in my head as Veronica continues, “Honestly, the Church already has its hackles up when it comes to us.”
My eyebrows merge with my hairline as my forehead prickles from the intense scrunch. The way she talks—calling things hers and then ours—makes a strange kind of sense now. The peculiar deference she receives from the guild masters does too. My stomach is bubbling with a feeling that makes my heart feel like someone is squeezing it in a vice. Is this dread?
She downplayed her father’s importance the last time we talked. . . Her father is a ranker! And I just stuck my hand right through that proverbial beehive.
The only positive I can see from this new knowledge is that Star Bucks seems like they may be against the Church and its teachings. What that means isn’t clear, but it does feel important to me. Since I was a child, I’ve been insulated from something. Could it be that the Church is a common enemy I have with Star Bucks?
Chapter 43
September 5th, 151 AR
Jeff Turle
Veronica, her attendants, and I head to the roof at my request. I need to fill up the rest of my missing qi for another dungeon run tonight. Darren excuses himself on guild business but shares a meaningful look with both Jessamyn and Veronica.
While seated and without much fanfare, I tell Veronica what I know about the [Paired Cultivation] technique. I want to do it again, and trying to be secretive seems like the wrong way to go about it. The actual experience, aside from my nearly freezing to death, was the most erotic of my life, and a part of me is eager for more.
“Will it always be like that? There was a moment I thought you were going to die,” Veronica says, and at my grimace, she frowns. “I appreciate your help, but I can try to find someone else now that I know the process. . .”
“No,” I blurt out before fully thinking through a coherent response. “Sorry, now that I know what I am dealing with, it will never be that risky again. Hearing about something and doing it for the first time are different.”
“Are you certain?” Veronica asks, seeming to be torn between concern for me and something she wants. I can’t quite put my finger on the second emotion. Is it lust? No, definitely not that, but I can tell she needs this [Paired Cultivation] technique.
“Definitely. I just think that, next time, it would be most helpful for me to do it on this roof. Having a steady source of qi—liquid—to bolster my reserves could prove helpful,” I respond, not telling her about my need to hold on to Fire and Earth qi as well. Right now, I have almost none of it left, having been holding on to more Sun qi for growth than the Fire and Earth from my meals.
“If we are going to do this more often, we should really live in the same place,” Veronica exclaims, and the attendants on the roof jump. A few of them gasped when I used the word qi, which was why I adjusted it. I find it strange that Dantian is so widely acceptable now, but qi, the other eastern term, is still taboo.
“My lady, not that the leaders aren’t already going to offer him such an arrangement, but it’s a bit improper for you to make the offer.” Jessamyn stands up from her seat, her hands on her hips in an ‘I don’t think so’ posture.
“Wait—is she offering for me to move into her room?” I mumble my thoughts accidentally. Crap! My heart begins to race and my stomach grumbles. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. But seriously, did I just stumble into a situation where I need to marry Veronica?
The open-mouthed stares from Jessamyn and another attendant combined with their ‘did he just?’ poses startle me. Veronica is blushing furiously, and she tries to talk multiple times, but she is just opening and closing her lips. I get the hint.
“Sorry! I am a little tired after that experience, and my brain isn’t functioning fully. You clearly meant becoming a guild member,” I hurry to correct, standing up and holding my hands in front of myself. “Unfortunately, I need to stay in the place I am in now, as I have people who need me.”
The situation defuses as Jessamyn’s hands move off her hips, and the other attendant cracks a smile. None of the attendants seem to be willing to ask more questions. I breathe out a sigh, but Veronica’s cheeks still appear flushed. Her head snaps up.
“Perhaps you can be a member that stays off-site? Joining would give you some protection from the groups around Beach and simultaneously let you take care of those people,” she offers, turning a
ny scrutiny of me back onto herself. Clearly, the others don’t want this type of recruit.
“I will stay up here and meditate for the day and let the Star Bucks talk that over,” I say to Veronica, using my hands to indicate the garden at large and its serious mood change. “For now, I am just grateful for the help. I’ll be back tomorrow to work through some more cultivation. If that is okay?”
“Oh.” Veronica looks around herself and seems to realize that she is the cause of the current tense atmosphere. “Definitely. I look forward to it,” she adds.
Jessamyn takes my elbow and escorts me out of the garden gate onto the gravel. As it opens and closes, I find myself mostly alone with the pretty blonde woman. She waits until everyone has left the roof before sighing. Then she squeezes me into a hug.
“Thank you!” she exclaims, her voice emotional. “First for saving Veronica, but also for allowing her to save some face. Most people would jump at the conditions she was offering.”
“What conditions?” I ask the top of the woman’s head, which is currently buried in my chest.
“She was going to make you a full member with the ability to live outside the guild house.” Jessamyn pulls back and looks up at me. “All recruits usually start as just that and have duties around the building until they learn the rules and some fighting skills.” She laughs when my mouth drops open. “Oh, you didn’t know?”
After Jessamyn leaves, I meditate to replenish my qi reserves before making my roundabout way back to the basement.
“How did it go, Master?” Crash asks as he materializes in front of me at the bottom of the stainless-steel stairs. Mur isn’t far behind the AI.
“Fam fires up grill, get cooking?” the goblin asks in English as he points back to the stove and makes a strange sweeping gesture with his other hand. I look at both Crash and Mur and hold up a single finger to Crash. The AI can wait a moment while I answer Mur. The goblin’s question is about food after all, and that should keep Crash happy.
Despite being able to eat meat raw, it seems that Mur is beginning to enjoy the meals that the kitchen produces. I truly think that some of his motivation to learn English stems from his desire to use the application.
“Sure.” I nod at Mur and go over to accept a quest. As I try to choose the Chunkalunk Stew, I realize we only have thirty-six bitcoins remaining after breakfast. And the stew halves the funds. I haven’t sold the loot from the previous night to the shop yet, so I move to the shop and respond to Crash, “It went well, but I did almost die. It would have been nice to have a bit more warning about needing to combine my own qi to break up hers.” My voice gets a bit harsh at the end, and the pregnant pause makes me wonder if I hurt the AI’s feelings.
“Sire, the manual didn’t have any information about [Paired Cultivation] other than what we shared,” Crash says after a moment. “Perhaps that’s why people who practice [Paired Cultivation] are now bonded to each other’s qi signatures for life.”
“Wait.” I turn away from the holo-puck in the shop. I spin so fast I hit my hip on the shop counter. “Oww. . . what are you talking about? Paired Cultivators are bonded for life?” I ask as I rub the sore spot on my waist. I divert a small amount of qi and begin healing the slight injury.
“Sire, we explained this to you last night. Once [Paired Cultivation] is practiced by two people, no one else can perform it with the individuals.” My mouth falls open, and I can feel a deep anger welling up inside me. It hadn’t said any of this! Crash continues, “Since she has a Frost Crystal Body type, she will need to continue to cultivate with you using this technique to gain strength. We warned you about all of this.”
My anger deflates as I recall the AI talking to me and me ignoring it. I shake myself and point at the AI, wanting it to do something—anything—to fix this. It isn’t Crash’s fault, but I can’t stay here indefinitely to help Veronica, can I?
“Surely there is a workaround to that. I mean, what if one of the cultivators dies?” I ask, grasping at the only possible loophole I can find in such a short time.
“Master, all we know of [Paired Cultivation] is in the journal. So we can’t be confident, but from what the journal depicts, it will be impossible to use the skill with anyone else, even if one of the two in the Paired Circle dies. Buy the magazine The Paired Cultivators’ Guide to Romance. This book will help young lovers develop the strongest base for their relationship. Now that you are stuck together for life, make the most of it with these ninety-nine sexual positions.”
My face flushes so hot I wonder if my nose is bleeding. I swallow the lump in my throat and slowly turn back to sell the items from the Vulpe dungeon. Most of the loot is just bones from the den, and I only make fifteen bitcoins from the twenty-nine skeletons plus one from a leftover Leporid.
Cooking becomes a bit of a chore after that. I almost feel bad for the pots and pans as I bang them around in my anger. How am I going to tell Veronica about this?
Finally, after I am finished cooking, my mood is calm enough to scan the book myself without the risk of ripping any of the pages out. I flip back to the section in question and eat a bite of average-quality Chunkalunk stew. I read every page as thoroughly as I can manage.
Another disturbing paragraph catches my interest, and I read it multiple times. Apparently, [Paired Cultivation] should only be practiced by lovers. First, because of the obvious sexuality, which I am acutely aware of. But second, as hinted by Crash’s magazine pitch, the technique’s real benefits are available once the—umm—relationship is—uhh—complete.
My mind is now in a total panic about what to do. I definitely am not going to tell her about the sexual intercourse. Right? Like there is no way that won’t come across as creepy, but I need to tell her about the inability to practice with others. My mind spins in circles, and I realize that I have essentially bound Veronica to me until she is a B-ranked cultivator at a minimum. That could be anywhere from fifty to one hundred years.
Sure, she is pretty and somewhat easy to get along with, but fifty years? What in the world am I supposed to do with a woman for fifty years?
Chapter 44
September 5th, 151 AR
Jeff Turle
Mur and I leave shortly after dinner. It is already dark outside, and I can’t stay cooped up in the training room with the nervous energy I have. Together we jog through the ruins until we find a large tree with a Rodentia Dungeon in its base. It’s an F-6, and the tunnel inside is slightly wider than the last Rodentia Dungeon I found. Still, I figure it’s doable, especially since Mur is now F-9 as well. The entryway is just over four feet in height which makes Mur almost the perfect size to stand upright in the tunnel. He also carries the Teardrop Shield, and it’s nearly as tall as he is so I’m hoping that will help him avoid danger.
“Are you okay going first, Mur?” I ask using English. The goblin tilts his head, and so I repeat the same in Gartuski.
“Mur strong goblin. Mur lead way,” is his grunted answer as he practically sprints into the tunnel. Not expecting the reaction, I charge after him, getting down on all fours and imitating my best canine lope. My heart leaps into my throat as a crash echoes down the tunnel from somewhere up ahead. The properties of sound make it nearly impossible to tell how far away I am from my friend and the battle.
A second boom vibrates through my hands as something slams into the floor. My eyes pick up the slight blue swirl that indicates I am close to the portal just as I see silhouettes appear in front of me. Mur has one Rodentia under his shield while he swings his sword in wild desperation to fend off two more. My naginata appears from my subspace into my hand, and I infuse it as I lunge forward, attempting to skewer the neck of the pinned rat. Unfortunately, I can’t stand up and haven’t fully exited the tunnel yet, so my shoulder glances off a wall, and my blade changes course.
The naginata’s blade pierces the Rodentia in the shoulder, and it screeches its displeasure into the dirt beneath it. Mur is still attempting to pin the beast, and I continu
e to push forward, trying to enter the room, which shifts the critter beneath his shield.
“You can release this one!” I shout in English as the monster slips out from under his shield. Too late. Without the beast’s body to lean his weight on, Mur overbalances, and I feel my hands get torn free from my naginata staff as his shield lands atop it. I feel the shaft bend and can tell the only reason the shaft doesn’t break from the impact is the qi it holds.
The two Rodentia, who were just barely being held off by Mur’s sword, don’t hesitate and charge in, one leaping into the air.
I grab Mur with two hands and pull back, sliding him on the ground toward me before attempting to lift him to his feet. The second part doesn’t go to plan, and Mur only rises a few inches before he slams back down onto the ground. He lands on his back, but he manages to get his shield out from under him.
The Rodentia both land where Mur was moments before and somehow manage to avoid tangling together. They scrabble forward and attempt to claw at Mur, who begins bashing them with his shield. I notice he is holding the shield with both hands and scan for his sword. It is abandoned on his right side, and I grab the handle and pull it to me.
Awkwardly, I thrust the sword forward, trying to puncture either of the Rodentia that Mur continues to knock away from himself. A few times, a portion of the shield hits the sword and flings it off course. Other times I miss entirely with the weapon. I use [Infuse] on the blade and am surprised to find that it holds a great deal more qi than my naginata. The six drops seem to make the sword glow softly. But even the qi blade doesn’t make a difference, and we seem to be at an impasse. Then the third Rodentia limps into the battle, still dragging my naginata from a cauterized cut in its side.
