Chapter 18 – The Victors Return

  Billy and Su Li returned to the store feeling triumphant. The two of them had managed to collect the frog’s tongues. Despite the fact they were both bruised and battered and smelled like a troll’s underwear they were both smiling. The fact that they had also both reached level 2 helped.

  “Fewk me!” Dilchak cried out when they entered the shop. “What the fewkin’ heaven is that smell? Was that you Carbun? I told you about eating those cockroaches.”

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Dilchak.” Su Li said brightly. “We have returned.”

  “Well, well! Look what the goblin dragged in. You look like shite.” The demon let out a big bellowing laugh. “Last time I saw something like that I had to flush it three times.”

  “We have the tongues,” Billy said simply.

  “So soon?”

  Billy emptied the horrible slimy things out of his spatial ring.

  “Twenty tongues as agreed.”

  The demon surveyed the appendages. “A bit mangled.. and what is this a purple one?”

  The demon eyes them both. “That explains the smell. The tainted frogs are nasty creatures. Alright, you get a fewkin’ choice then. Two silver pieces or a fighting technique.”

  They had already discussed this beforehand. While the fighting technique might be useful, they had yet to master the techniques they had. They decided that provisions were more important right now. If they could things like food it would mean less time needing to forage and that meant more time to master their techniques and power up.

  “We’ll take the silver,” Billy said. “We are looking to buy some more supplies.”

  “Wise choice.” The demon slapped the silver pieces on the counter.

  “What are they for?” Su Li said. “They look pretty gross for eating.”

  “Ha! In some places these would be a delicacy. Some folks would eat anything even a scrawny little thing like yourself. But no these will be used for those who wants to work on their physical development – you would call it developing a poison body. One of our alchemists will make it into a potion.”

  “Poison body? Why?”

  “Resistance to poison. The ability to create your own poisons just using your body. There is more than one way to power little missy. You have just started on the path to greatness.”

  He scrutinized the two of them. “If you noobs want some advice – sort out your foundation before you level up more. It looks like you have already done some body cleansing but this young thing is full of toxins. Body cleansing will strengthen your foundations and ease the flow of mana within your bodies. As you absorb more mana from the environment it becomes more important.”

  He paused for a moment. “You are out of balance as well.” He pointed at Billy, “You more than her. You need to understand your cultivation style as whole – think of it like a puzzle… a stupid fewkin’ puzzle where the pieces fit together. If you try randomly putting the pieces together you will end up a fewkin’ mess.”

  “Can demons do cultivation?” Su Li asked. “In a book I read it said they gain power by eating flesh or souls… or something like that. Some seem to gain power by feeding off people's emotions - like a succubus.”

  The demon's horns started to glow. "That is propaganda! Succubi are not demons. They are distant cousins at best." He paused, seeming to regain his composure. "So, not so stupid, are you? As I said there is more than one way to power and the system here helps open up more paths. I can’t tell ya much else but the system is designed to do one thing – to speed up your ability to deal with mana. It interacts with its users and provides a means suitable for you – something you will have some understanding of.”

  “So it chose leveling and cultivation because of us?”

  Again, the demon laughed. “As I said I cannot say much more about this. At least you weren’t changed into vampires or such. Hate those things. All melodrama and broodiness. Thousands of years old and they still have the mentality of a fewkin' teenager.”

  Dilchak paused again, his fat fingers drumming on the countertop. “Let’s just say the system chooses options for you based on you. If you had believed that eating mushrooms was the way to power then maybe that is what you would have to do. As it is you have ended up with some crazy mishmash. This cultivation thing is crazy weird even for me.”

  “Hey, it is not our fault,” Billy said defensively.

  “It fewkin’ is what it fewkin’ is. I guess we got lucky. You weren’t the only race brought here. The system was not really designed for this – so chaos wins. Look, the methods always lead to the same end – power. Us mighty demons are able from birth to absorb mana from the environment and other things. We have our weaknesses but we don’t need to eat flesh or souls to get stronger. We just need energy.”

  “You said different creatures,” Billy said. “Does that mean there are others here? Other humans?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The smile slid off the demon’s face. “Humans? Can't say. Others? Definitely can’t fewkin’ say. I am not fewkin’ licensed as an oracle.”

  “But we are not your only customers, are we?” Billy pressed. He could sense that the demon had let something slip.

  The demon grinned. “You humans! Have you seen anyone else in here? Look around you!”

  “If others have come here does that mean there is a way back?” Su Li said in a quiet voice.

  “Human, there is now way back,” Dilchak growled. His hairy ears were now vibrating. “There is only forward. I can tell you one fewkin’ thing the only way out of here is to get stronger and move forward. Now are you here to buy or to cry?”

  Billy opened his mouth and then closed it. He realized that the demon was likely to clam up if he pushed him too far. “Then what about the creatures we have been fighting? Squirrels, frogs – tainted or not they are earth-type creatures.”

  Dilchak grinned. “As I said the system chooses based on you. Once the tutorial ends – which won’t be long away – you will find it is a fucked up world out there with creatures you would never dream of. And they won’t be low-levelled.”

  “What do you mean not long away?” Su Li asked.

  Dilchak sighed. “They designed the tutorial to last for five days. Because of the mess they have extended it so I am not sure when it will end now – but I can’t imagine it will be for much longer.”

  “And what happens then? Can we return to earth?”

  The demon laughed. “When the tutorial ends the real adventure begins. No more extra lives. You die – you die. And there is no level cap on the creatures. That is why you need to get to level five and get your class. That is why you need to work on your skills. That is why you need to sort out your cultivation.”

  Billy and Su Li looked at each other. He could tell that she desperately wanted answers. He was not sure what was concerning her the most. The risks once the tutorial ended or the chance to go back to earth.

  Even the chance of going back to earth seemed to bring some hope to her heart. He was not sure she actually wanted to return. He wasn’t sure he wanted to return but the thought that it was possible would raise morale. He was sure Yuki would want to return and he would help her as much as he could.

  “Let’s get the supplies, Su Li. The others will be worrying about us.”

  They looked around and settled for buying a simple cooking pan, some plates made from a strong but light substance, some wild rice, something that smelled like onions but were a dark blue color and some mushrooms – green of course. Su Li wanted to buy more but that was all they could afford for two silvers.

  They were just about to leave when Billy had a thought. “Is there anything that we could buy to help us with our cultivation?”

  Dilchak sneered. “Not with your finances. When you get more money, you can buy stuff to help with the body cleansing. Once your foundations are stronger you can even start tempering your body. But the fewkin’ balance and understanding has to come from you. There is no magic way to a breakthrough.”

  “Will you be needing any more frog tongues?” Billy asked.

  “Not right now. Maybe some of the stronger creatures but you fewkin’ noobs are not ready for that yet.”

  “Will any of your other customers need anything?” Su Li asked. She had a sweet smile on her face and her eyes were wide.

  “Bah! Get out of here you two. I will never get any more customers with you fewkin’ stinking up the place. Finish that squirrel quest and then we will talk more.”

  They put their purchases in their spatial rings and left the shop.

  “You know, Billy, I don’t think you are boyfriend material after all.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah you really don’t take good care of yourself and you still owe me dinner. I’ll call you big bro’ instead. I never had a brother.”

  “Big bro?”

  She nodded emphatically. “I know you are ancient but now you look so young it would feel strange to call you uncle or gramps.”

  “Ok!” Billy said, too tired to argue.

  “It’s strangely quiet out here, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it is!”

  They both looked at each other and shouted, “Squirrels!”

  They ran as fast as they could explosions sounding behind them. Once Billy looked back to see a myriad of red eyes gleaming back at him.

  ***

  They returned to the camp to find that Trevor and Yuki had yet to return.

  “Don’t worry,” Billy said. “They will be back soon.”

  He definitely hoped so. He could see from the party interface that they were still in good health.

  “Well, I am going to wash off this stink,” Su Li said. “No peeking big bro. You are family now and need to protect my modesty.” She picked up one of the clean robes and started to undress.

  Billy flushed and turned his back. He too needed to wash so he checked his stained robe was in his spatial ring and moved further downstream.

  He undressed and quickly stepped into the cold fast fast-flowing water. The coldness of his water soon sank into his bones but he scrubbed himself as best he could. They would need to buy some soap when they had the money. He also took his new clothes and cleaned them the best he could. Fortunately, the material seemed easy to clean and stains were soon gone. There were a few tears, however, that he could do little about. Maybe Yuki would be able to repair it.

  He also cleaned the blood and gore off his weapon.

  Once his clothing was washed, he closed his eyes and sank into the water. It felt good to let the sun play on his face, and he could faintly feel the mana flow around him. At one point, he thought he saw different colors in the mana.

  “Hey, Billy!”

  Billy stood up at the sound of Su Li’s voice.

  “Wow, your butt is so white!”

  Billy turned around hastily, nearly falling into the water. Su Li sat on a rock, idly chewing some dried meat.

  “The others are back,” she said with a large grin.

  Billy quickly removed his robe from his ring and dressed.

  “You know big bro, you shouldn’t be flashing me now. It’s kind of creepy for a brother to flash his sister—gives a girl the wrong idea, you know?" She winked playfully, then spun around and skipped off, her giggles trailing behind her.

  Billy returned to the camp to find Trevor stoking the fire and adding more wood. Yuki was sitting on a log looking thoughtfully at a bolt of material.

  “Hey guys!” Billy said. “Happy hunting?” He went over to a branch near the fire and hung his wet clothes up.

  “Not bad!” Trevor replied. “We found lots of useful herbs and something called heavenly five-metal garlic. Su Li tells me you completed the quest and nobody died.”

  “Nearly. But Su Li saved me.”

  “We saved each other,” Su Li said. “And we are both level two.”

  “Well, our journey was quieter,” Yuki said. “I killed a couple of wild rabbits but that was the worst danger.”

  “Got my identify plants skill to level four,” Trevor said. “Gives me more information now. Right, you guys go meditate or something and let me cook.”

  “Before you do that we need to talk,” Billy said.

  After talking to Dilchak, he knew they could not continue the way they were. It took some persuading but the others soon realized he was right. They needed to focus on leveling up and understanding how cultivation worked. They need to learn how to assign those extra stat points and make the most of their abilities. To that extent, they would train for an hour after lunch. Rest for an hour and then go hunting. Billy wanted them all to get another level today and then be ready to tackle the squirrel quest tomorrow.