Rhea giggles a bit. “Those two are so cute. She still hasn’t said she loved him a single time, you know. He just puts up with her abuse.” This is then followed by a rather heavy and personal staring contest between me and Rhea. Which lasts two hours.
“Yeah, um. I need to go and act now. Any longer and the ideal window will close.”
Smirking at my obvious attempt at escape, Rhea sits up. “Sure. What can I do?”
“So, here’s the important question. Do you want to be the hero or the bad guy?” We both grin wide enough to scare children while discussing what lines we both should say.
bonus chapter
Gifts
This is a Christmas special chapter. It is optional and can be skipped.
A man dressed in a splendid dragon robe appears on a mountainside sparsely dotted with trees. Two sharp and gleaming eyes look out from an impassive and stern face. His mouth twists into a sneer as he looks at the display before him.
The cruel expression melts into a warm smile as a young woman lands besides him. Clasping her hands and bowing slightly, she addresses the man. “Elder, has he been here?” She looks around and halts as her eyes land on a single, odd tree. She takes a single step towards the spectacle, only to be halted by a large hand on her shoulder.
A complex mix of emotions plays across both people as they look at each other. He woman-pouts a bit. “He knows that I would find this one.”
“Remember Hinou Xianyu?”
“She broke a Dao Oath to trap him. I only left.”
“I am sure that he saw through your intentions. It would be folly to assume otherwise.”
Pensively biting her nails, she continues to gaze at the tree.
“My dear Bai-Xioa, what about old Li?”
“That stinking hermit? I know he hates people and lived alone. He is living in Dragon Gate city now.”
“He stole some items from him when they met. Li took the item on display and it cursed him to an unbearable itch, unless he is surrounded by people. He hates people and has been miserable ever since, living in the biggest city in this part of the world.”
“But I really liked him. I just couldn’t stay.” Looking at the ground, the woman clenches her fists.
“You teleported out while he slept, once your mission was accomplished. No man will take that lightly.”
The woman mumbles something about not having a choice.
“Hinou got greedy and tried to sell the item, only to grow old and decrepit while being in the prime of her youth, once she separated from the item that restored her cultivation. Then there is the Illustrious Sect; they decided to blow the display up, not leaving a trace. That resulted in their sect’s biggest secret being projected onto the sky, visible for thousands of leagues around.”
“That was him too?”
The man nods sagely. “And the Sapphire Sect. They didn’t always have blue skin, you know. They were the first to cripple him and found out how useless that was the next year. The rare cultivation items they found turned their skin blue permanently when used. They changed their name shortly after.”
“But why a common fir tree? And those lights are high grade artefacts! Those balls and ornaments are the finest mortal treasures I have ever seen. Green and red wrapping paper? I do not understand the symbolism at all! Who is that old guy with a beard?” Nearly shouting now, the woman takes a deep breath, getting herself under control with great difficulty.
The old man’s stern facade cracks a bit as h e smiles. “Ah, my precious granddaughter. Always looking for knowledge. Maybe that is why he has not brought doom upon us, even though we were forced to slight him.”
“SLIGHT HIM? I doomed him to a slow death! I had to poison him while smiling!” The beginning of tears now glistens in her eyes.
“A single man or our entire sect. Anyone would have made this choice. Not lightly, but still, control your emotions lest your cultivation go wild.” The man’s face turns harsh and cruel again, all warmth bleached away by the realities of the world.
They stand there for quite some time, looking at the Christmas tree, its bright decorations and presents laid out beneath its green branches. Finally, the woman bows deeply towards the tree, deeper than she had towards the elder besides her. A single tear falls to the ground.
Suddenly, the lights decorating the tree start to pulse rhythmically, as if activated by the falling droplet of water. A jolly jingle starts playing, letting the sound of bells resound through the forested mountain slope. The elder immediately takes a fighting stance, ripples of power emanating from his frame.
“HOHOhoho, Merry Christmas! Take this present; it’s the only one that’s not a trap. On a Dao oath, it will take care of young Xi-Xoa’s problem. Merry Christmas!”
Lights flash, bells jingle, and white illusory snow descends around the Christmas tree. A single present lifts from the pile and floats towards the duo. The woman peers around the elder’s back, hands clasped to her mouth.
“And don’t worry about the Fing Clan - the item you stole on their behalf, my dear Bai, was exactly what they didn’t want, hehe.” The jolly voice resounding through the small clearing turned from jolly to sinister midway through the sentence, causing a chill to run down their spines.
The present floats in the air a little longer. Then something gives way and the colourful spectacle disappears while the present falls to the ground. The faint lines of a formation carved in the tree fade as they lose the stored power.
The clearing dark once again, the only sound the howling of the wind and the bated breaths of two cultivators.
“That’s a Migration Nocturnal Autumn Lilly!”
The elder stops his wary vigilance of the tree and looks at the torn package laying on the ground. An orange-brown leaf pokes through a rip in the wrapping paper. His hand stretches out to hold the woman back once again.
“Let go, he gave a Dao Oath. I know one thing, and it’s that he keeps his word. In his own way, but he keeps it. That herb will save little brother!”
“And the Fing Clan? They will know something is wrong when their poison hostage is suddenly running around fine again.”
“Grandfather, didn’t you hear what he said? I had to steal that large qi crystal from him, right? Do you know when they are going to use it to power their sect’s treasure?”
“I fear that all hope is lost if they manage to give life to that monstrosity of a treasure. It’s a spirit grade artefact, powerful enough to rule half this continent when its fully powered” The elder slumps his shoulders as an unimaginable burden seems to weigh him down. “It needs the lifeforce of a hundred cultivators or ten thousand mortals a day to function.”
“The compass? Weren’t they going to activate it tod-”
A bright flash lights up the horizon. A massive mushroom cloud rises up from the between the mountains. The old man puts an arm around his grand-granddaughter and looks at the glowing horizon with a sliver of hope in his gaze.
“That’s the forbidden mountain!” gasps Bai.
“And the location of the artefact,” grins the old man. “And the home base of the Fing patriarch.”
As the shockwave buffets the two, a bearded man slinks away unseen, whispering “Merry Christmas” under his breath.
Afterword
Thank you for reading the third book in the Dao of Magic series. Teach’s adventures will continue in the fourth book, out soon!
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About
Andries (WeirdWhirl) Louws
is an avid reader of fantasy, science fiction and pretty much everything interesting since a young age. He is still thankful to the nice ladies at the local library that let him check out all those violent action thrillers, epic fantasy books and encyclopaedias without enforcing age requirements. He also studied multimedia design and computer science while devouring as many novels, audiobooks, and video games as he could get his hands on. He then started writing his own stories after reading one too many badly translated Chinese novels and hasn’t stopped since.
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The Dao of Magic: Book I
The Dao of Magic: Book II
The Dao of Magic: Book III
Skeleton in Space: Histaff
Skeleton in Space.
It’s about a magical skeleton - named Douglas - who ends up in a science-fiction universe. He then proceeds to try and live a fulfilling life, even though he’s surrounded by self-absorbed spoiled women, ancient monsters who own a sizable chunk of the galaxy, and bioengineered superweapons.
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Appendix
Angeta: A young female beastkin with an affinity for all things green. Does NOT have anger issues. One of Teach’s students.
Ascent: The boat built by Drew and his students.
Bord: A large kid with a love of food. Might be able to manipulate gravity, but don’t ask him, he wouldn’t know what those words mean. A heartcore cultivator. One of Teach’s students.
Braincore: A method of cultivation where the nexus of power is placed inside the brainstem. This allows for extreme mental skills such as complex qi formations and mental time dilation.
Cultivation: The practice of taking the energies between Heaven and Earth into oneself, empowering the cultivating individual.
Cultivation World: The first world Drew transmigrated to, a traditional Xanxia universe filled with ruthless sects, ancient legacies, and mysterious powers.
Delver: Brave souls that dare (or are forced) to enter the dungeons.
Drew Liam: Originally a normal man from modern Earth, he transmigrated into a ruthless cultivation world. After a thousand years of escapades and adventures, his ascension was denied as he was slapped into a lower realm.
Gutcore: A method of cultivation where the nexus of power is placed inside the stomach. This allows for a mix of physical and magical reinforcement and combat.
Heartcore: A method of cultivation where the nexus of power is placed inside the heart. This allows for extreme physical prowess and toughness, yet underwhelming magical capacities otherwise.
Ket: Ex baggage carrier, this thin and dark young man has an affinity for metal. Possibly autistic, but his braincore allows him to calculate the optimal social path. One of Teach’s students.
King: The human king of the Shi-Eit kingdom. His name is unknown. Curses a lot.
Lola: A little rabbit heartcore cultivator. Drew’s pet. One of the most powerful beings on the planet.
Magic World: The current world, a medieval low fantasy world filled with dragons, magic, pirates, beast-people, and dungeons.
Mana: The power present in the Magic World, this multifaceted power is divided into multiple elements, each containing a dark and light counterpart.
Mana mutant: An animal that suffered from an extreme dark and light mana imbalance. This caused a mutation in the animal’s bodily composition and possibly an increase in strength.
Peak Dungeon: A massive triangular pillar of dark stone, this piece of impossible geometry holds a dungeon filled with beasts, monsters, and danger. Tends to reward the daring delver with tools and furniture.
Qi: A mystical higher power. This energy is a supernatural high energetic state that’s susceptible to influence from consciousness.
Re-Haan: A female dragon, over two millennia old. The current Guardian of the human Shi-Eit kingdom, she used to spent nearly all of her time napping the years away.
Rhea: Teach’s nickname for Re-Haan.
Selis: A rather cute girl with blue hair and a love of water. Is known to have a mean streak when crossed. One of Teach’s students.
Teach: See Drew Liam.
Tess: A black-haired girl with an affinity for sneaking and shadows. One of Teach’s students.
Tower Dungeon: A massive pillar of light stone, this piece of impossible architecture hold a dungeon filled with beasts, monsters, and danger. Tends to reward the daring delvers with weapons and armour.
Tree: A slightly larger tree. It was otherwise completely unremarkable until Drew forcefully elevated its consciousness using qi.
Vox: A redheaded young man of questionable sexual orientation. Like his sister, he has a high affinity for light influences energies. One of Teach’s students.
The Dao of Magic: Book III Page 45
