Micro felt himself crawling out of unconsciousness one sense at a time. He felt the cold ground beneath him. He felt his wet, sticky clothes sticking to him. He felt his arms and legs tingling. He felt a throbbing pain with every breath he drew. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but he tasted something like rust. It coated the inside of his mouth and made him feel nauseous, but he had no energy to spit it out. He did his best to breathe in through his nose to try and alleviate the unpleasant taste in his mouth, and was pleasantly surprised to find the aroma of honey buns hanging in the air. He wished he could draw in deeper breaths of the smell, but the more air he drew, the more his chest ached.

  He opened his eyes and recognized the sensation of being immobile on the floor while surrounded by unfamiliar faces, but this time they were accompanied by a fierce aura. The most prominent figure among the many people around him, most of whom wore the same green and brown attire as Kel, was a small, bald man, clean-shaven except for a thin moustache that extended down past his chin. At his waist was a very short sword, more like a kitchen knife, and on his back was a shield which looked much too large for him. The small, bald man was speaking to a young woman with long, dark hair who wore a light, blue robe. She looked unhappy. Micro’s ears began to discern some of the words being spoken, which had previously sounded muffled and distant.

  “It is of no consequence to us, whether he be human or otherwise.” He spoke with a humble, almost frail voice, but it carried immense weight. “To draw blood in another sect’s temple without provocation is to court death. Such is known to all who dwell in—”

  “You senile fossil!” the young woman screamed back, and Micro noticed her hands were being restrained by two members of Kel’s sect. “Is that even blood running through his cursed veins? If you don’t recognize a magician’s plaything when you see it, then whatever Spirit Vision Core Card you mastered must have been defective! What kind of sect leader are you if the first thing you do after seeing me put down a cursed monster isn’t to thank me?!”

  “I have long admired the Sparrow Sects, young Lana, for their quickness to act in the face of uncertainty and danger, but you forget yourself,” the alleged sect leader replied slowly. “There are too many questions that need to be answered before the fate of this boy can be understood. Much less can it be decided by the likes of you.”

  “What boy?!” Lana of the Sparrow Sect screamed back. “All I see is a perversion of nature! They even put a cultivator’s core in him, can’t you see?! Who knows what other tricks they’re up to now? Every day they pose more and more of a threat! Everything about that thing on the ground is evil and needs to be put out with the trash!”

  Despite her apparent ability to shout without pause indefinitely, she lost momentum when a powerful wave of the old man’s aura surged through the air around them. She bowed her head and stepped back without protest. Micro felt like he was about to lose consciousness again, but a familiar name caught his attention.

  “Kel will be heard, now,” the sect leader replied.

  Though he was still unable to move, Micro’s head began to clear at the mention of his friend. His eyes searched through the faces around him, and he soon found Kel, along with the three attendants who had accompanied home.

  “Where…” Micro mumbled, but he was unheard. As he continued to look around, he realized that he was currently in a large room. “This isn’t a garage…”

  Next, Micro noticed a table near the chair where the one called a sect leader sat. Upon the table, aside from several potted plants, was a bird cage. And in that bird cage were two small, glowing figures, one yellow, and one blue. Kel began to speak, but Micro ignored him as he rolled over onto his stomach, bent his numb legs, and kicked off the ground toward the cage with all his might.

  “Be still,” the sect leader ordered. Micro didn’t notice when the weak looking old man moved, but he suddenly felt the metal edge of a shield pressing down against his back, pinning him to the floor. “Your new friend is strong, Kel.”

  “Please, don’t hurt him any more!” Kel pleaded with his head bowed deeply. “I owe him so much…!”

  Micro gasped for air as he attempted to crawl the rest of the way to the pixies who should be in his pockets, ignoring more types of pain than he could count as he tried to dig his fingers into the stone ground, but he failed to move at all beneath the heavy shield of the sect leader. As his consciousness once again began to fade, the old man leaned down to pick him up by the back of his shirt like a piece of luggage, then carried him back to the centre of the room and placed him gently on the ground in a kneeling position.

  “Do you truly possess reason, boy?” he asked Micro with an eerily neutral tone.

  “My passengers…” Micro mumbled, feeling anxious to see them trapped in front of him.

  “The pixies, yes?” the old man replied, glancing at the cage. “They are accounted for.”

  “Okay…” Micro mumbled as some of the tension left his body. More blood spilled out of his mouth as he sighed. “Ouch…”

  “Kel will testify to your encounter,” the old man explained as Micro’s eyes wandered up to meet his. “Will you listen patiently?”

  “Patiently? Okay…” Micro nodded, then looked over to Kel, who wore a nervous expression. He waved his hand feebly when he met Kel’s eyes. “Hi, Kel…”

  “Master…” Kel replied, his eyes closed tightly in shame.

  “If I could get a honey bun or two…” Micro said while struggling to keep his eyes focused on Kel.

  “I will resolve this misunderstanding as quickly as possible. Please forgive this young one’s incompetence!” Kel stated loudly with a deep bow.

  “Okay…” Micro replied, his head wobbling. His clumsily waving hand formed the shape of a thumbs up before falling to his side with a crack. “Ouch…”

  The sect leader returned to his seat, and turned his attention to the anxious Kel with a curious look.

  “Grandfather, although the body and core of this being are the result of what we assume to be a failed magician’s summoning, the soul trapped within it is noble beyond doubt and unfathomably powerful,” Kel explained passionately. “We found him being chased by bandits, but he soon proved himself to be a righteous being of indomitable will.”

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  “I’m more efficient than righteous…” Micro coughed. “And reliable…”

  “You called this being ‘master’ several times,” the sect leader interjected, ignoring Micro’s remark. “I believe you understand the ramifications of assigning that title to a stranger. I can see for myself that you have passed the trial of the Jade Fire Turtle Art dungeon, so addressing this strange being in such a way is…”

  “Grandfather, you are my sect leader, and I will never betray my role as your heir,” Kel continued. “But I was not alone when I completed the trial.”

  Loud murmurs suddenly echoed throughout the large room, but the sect leader shushed them and gestured for Kel to continue.

  “After completing the dungeon’s test by himself with ease, he came to assist me in completing my own when I was lost and hopeless. He guided me through the trial like a parent holding the hand of a small child, and in doing so, completed the trial for a second time.”

  “A second time…?” The old man’s voice was still frail and calm, but doubt flashed in his eyes. However, he turned to Tae with his own eyes glowing and then nodded. “Tae, you also passed the trial?”

  “Yes, sect leader,” she replied respectfully. “And I also owe my life to Master Micro. Without him, we would surely have lost ourselves in that eternal trial…”

  “We are to believe the subject of a failed summoning completed such a trial twice?” The old man’s thin eyebrows arched ever so slightly. “I do not recall it being so easy.”

  “If you look closely at his core, artificial though it may be, you will find your answer,” Kel said with a deeper bow.

  “His core, you say…” the old man whispered and turned his glowing eyes to Micro, who felt weakened by the pressure of his gaze. The old man’s expression quickly turned to one of disbelief. “The binding oath of a guardian… Wait, there are… Impossible…”

  “I believe the protection of the Jade Fire Turtle Art Dungeon’s own guardian is what shielded his core from the arrow of our honoured guest from the Sparrow Sect,” Kel said with an air of respect, but his eyes were full of rage when he threw a sideways glance to the young woman in blue called Lana.

  “Hmph!” she snorted, rolling her eyes awkwardly. “Magician’s tricks, no doubt!”

  “In the first trial he completed, though I am unsure exactly as to how, Micro earned the favour of the dungeon guardian,” Kel explained. “I can think of no greater reason to extend the protection of our sect to him. At the very least, he is as qualified as I am, if not more so, to be your heir.”

  The crowd of onlookers became noisy all at once at Kel’s comment, but the sect leader’s voice cut through their angry shouts.

  “So he acquired this Jade Fire Turtle Art Core Card by legitimate means?” The sect leader took the jade coloured card out from his sleeve and looked at it closely.

  “That’s mine, baldy!” Blue shouted with a slurred voice from her cage, apparently too weak to insult him further.

  “What?” The old man turned in confusion to face the pixie. “The pixie which healed the boy’s wounds just now claims to have won this card from the dungeon…?”

  “Mine is in the other one’s pocket…” Micro added, though his explanation was unappreciated.

  “It is true, grandfather,” Kel asserted.

  “Surely you—”

  “The blue pixie which accompanies Micro also completed the trial before returning with us,” Kel continued confidently despite the sect leader’s baffled expression. “The yellow pixie was subdued by Micro on the journey back. We do not fully understand their relationship, but to control two pixies with ease…”

  “You…” The old man’s eyes glowed brighter and brighter as he pushed his Spirit Vision Skill to its limits, looking around at the pixies, Micro, Kel, and Kel’s attendants in a desperate attempt to unearth even the slightest hint of dishonesty in the words he’d heard. However, his face grew weary and the green light in his eyes began to fade as he slowly accepted the testimony of his grandson. “A broken magician’s pet who completed the sacred dungeon of our sect twice, and his pet pixie who… Wait a moment…”

  “What are you looking at, baldy…?” Blue complained as he analyzed her further with his Spirit Vision Skill active.

  “You also possess a core,” he mumbled in growing disbelief. “A core built from the life force of the dungeon’s guardian itself?!”

  “How can you make such a ridiculous claim?” one of the older members of the crowd called out. “Does this farce have no end?!”

  “I know the energy of that dungeon well,” the sect leader replied, unbothered by the man’s aggressive tone. “That is the reason why I am speaking, and you are listening. You are listening, correct?”

  The other old man scoffed, then stormed out of the room as the crowd whispered.

  “That’s right, baldy,” Blue’s voice cut through the noise. She attempted to stand up in the cage, but her legs failed, so she just glared at him. “And I’m already twice the cultivator you’ll ever be…!”

  Even Lana, whose chaotic energy had seemed unstoppable, joined the rest of the people in the room in shocked silence for what felt like hours before a dry laugh could be heard.

  “Was I still young enough to be surprised?” The sect leader chuckled, rubbing his bald head with one hand. “Lana, return to your sect with news that this otherworldly guest will most certainly be under our protection for the time being. We shall bring this matter to the council after the annual tournament is concluded. Do you understand?”

  “You’re making a mistake.” Lana spat, grimacing as she closed her eyes and bowed her head in compliance. “I will convey your message faithfully. I will be happy to leave this ridiculous place.”

  The sect disciples released her from their grip, and she quickly left the room, leaving behind a strange air of confusion, but the tension eased slightly as the sect leader continued to laugh while walking back to his seat. Micro was surprised by how casually the old man walked despite the giant metal shield on his back. The sect leader sat down, waited for the crowd’s attention to return to him, then continued.

  “So, my grandson completed the trial along with his attendant, thanks to the guidance of a failed magician’s summon, who completed the trial twice, and his pet pixie—”

  “Who’s a pet, baldy?!” Blue grumbled with her eyes half closed.

  “It’s my first time seeing a pixie in a cage, but I could get used to it.” The old man frowned.

  “Bite me…” Blue sighed, but her jeer lacked any energy.

  “There’s much I would ask you, but now is not the time…” the sect carried on, turning back to Micro.

  “My passengers…” Micro mumbled, looking pitifully at the cage.

  “Kel, you may take Micro and his ‘passengers’ to the guest house and see to his immediate needs,” the sect leader directed. “The pixies will remain where they are, and I will hear the rest of the story from you over a cup of tea later tonight.”

  “Thank you, grandfather!” Kel looked up at the sect leader with a bright smile, then bowed once again. He wasted no time in collecting the cage, which he handled as though it might explode at any moment, then helped Micro up to his feet. “Come with me, master! You must rest now!”

  “But…” Micro mumbled, his eyes still glassy.

  “What is it, master?”

  “Fuel…”

  “What?”

  “The fuel…” Micro pleaded, his stomach still growling. “That smell…”

  “The honey buns!” Kel laughed, realizing what Micro had been referring to as fuel, then beckoned to one of the other disciples in the room to bring over a small bag of them. “I almost forgot to mention it! Apparently a friend of mine had ordered some earlier in the day.”

  “Thanks, Kel’s friend…” Micro said with a dopey smile. He tried to take the bag from Kel, but his hand lacked the strength.

  “I’ll get you all the sweets you like, master.” Kel continued to laugh as he guided Micro out of the room, down a hall, and into the cool night air. “But first, you’ll need something more fortifying!”

  “Thanks, Kel…”