Arbur sat completely still as he listened to Micro’s recollection of the events at the Jade Serpent Sect the previous evening. As the blood dried on his face, he made no expression at the mention of heroes, the undead, or the subsequent destruction of the entire sect he’d called home for the duration of his life. He made no comment on Micro’s assumption that Arbur was the only surviving disciple of the sect.

  “I’m sorry I only have bad news for you,” Micro concluded with an awkward bow.

  “No, you’ve honoured my sect in ways I never could have,” Arbur replied with a monotone voice as he clutched the small green crystal in his hand tighter and tighter. “I humbly thank you and your comrades for concluding my sect’s affairs with such respect. My life itself would be insufficient compensation…”

  Arbur stood up slowly, wiped his dirty face with his hands, and looked around the woods until he noticed a small puddle of water. He walked toward it, then sat down and washed his hands and face. He gently wiped down the outer layer of his robes, which had been torn and stained during his battle with the gravel golems, then he turned back to face Micro with a sober glare.

  Micro could finally see his face clearly. Though the young man had claimed himself weak, his shaved head bore no sign of fear or cowardice. If he lacked talent in cultivation, it wasn’t obvious at a glance. Micro’s Spirit Vision activated as he tried to discern the young man’s state of mind, but all he sensed was a wilfully restrained storm of energy raging within his broad chest. Arbur didn’t possess much energy, compared to many cultivators Micro had met, but Arbur’s aura pierced the air.

  “Are you sure you’re alright?” Micro asked. “If you need a minute to think about—”

  “My family and friends faced an unimaginably powerful opponent, and their departure from this world was overseen by an amber level sect’s leader and a sapphire level member of the Imperial Guard,” Arbur explained, then continued after taking a deep breath. “Though sudden, I cannot imagine a better end for a sect. I am ashamed to survive alone, but I am thankful and proud to know how it all ended.”

  “Well, I’m glad you see it that way…” Micro frowned, struggling with his own new and unfamiliar feelings. He sensed some of the same feelings in Arbur as he continued to observe him with Spirit Vision, but he saw none of them on his face.

  “I may be much weaker than you, but please do not insult my family’s memory,” Arbur replied with his head bowed. “My ancestors would not forgive a single tear shed over such an honourable death. They would not forgive a single moment wasted mourning the dead while their nemesis remains among the living.”

  “So you’ll be looking for the hero?” Micro asked. “They could be anywhere. I’ve seen how fast they can move…”

  “You have faced a hero and lived?!” Arbur gasped.

  “So have you, in a sense,” Micro replied, looking up at the sky with a wry smile. “I was involved in a few summonings that went wrong. The one that happened the other day was different than the first couple though. She had a silver core, and she left pretty quick.”

  “You witnessed the summoning of a hero… one with a silver core?!” Arbur stuttered. “Im—impossible… that—”

  “Cerena wasn’t entirely unreasonable, to be fair,” Micro added. “She was friendly enough not to eat my friend. There was some talk of ending the world, but I doubt she’d go that far…”

  “Master!” Arbur suddenly shouted, then took several quick steps toward Micro and fell to his knees. “What must I do to earn a place by your side?!”

  “Huh?” Micro said with a confused look. “Why do you ask?”

  “It can only be the guidance of my ancestors that led me to you at this point in time!” Arbur declared. “The quest to overcome a single hero is mine, but what better master could I have than one who has survived so many dealings with those evil beings?”

  “I guess I have been pretty lucky,” Micro agreed. He scratched his head for a while and looked around at the trees, then slowly nodded his head. “Well, I guess it’s no problem if you want to join us.”

  “What must I do to be initiated into your sect?” Arbur asked eagerly. “I may be lacking in talent, but I will never waiver before any challenge I face in this world!”

  “Initiated? Hmm…” Micro thought. “It actually might be a good idea to have some prerequisites in place. I wouldn’t want any bandits joining all of a sudden. Can you imagine…?”

  “I’ll do anything!”

  “Alright, alright… Well, you’re already pretty strong, so how about this…” Micro continued.

  “Any trial at all, I will put my life on the line to—”

  “Promise you’ll always try to be efficient and reliable.”

  “Anything you—” Arbur paused. “Excuse me?”

  “Efficient and reliable,” Micro repeated. “Those are important for a truck. Cars that waste fuel or take up too much space in a parking lot are just…”

  Micro’s voice trailed off as he frowned, recalling his limited experience on crowded city streets. Arbur took a moment to analyze the words Micro had just spoken, but he ultimately failed to find any deeper meaning in them.

  “I’m… not sure what you mean, master,” Arbur tilted his head, still straining his mind to interpret Micro’s request.

  “Being efficient means getting the job done without wasting valuable fuel or causing unnecessary trouble for others,” Micro explained. “Being reliable is just as important. We may be small trucks, but a lot depends on us getting from one place to another with our passengers and cargo intact.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Arbur could only nod respectfully as Micro’s voice took on a heavier tone. Micro’s eyes had seemed soft and kind to the young man before, but they suddenly filled with wisdom and resolve more common among the elders of a sect.

  “Forgive my insolence!” Arbur shouted, bowing once more. “It is my honour to abide by your sacred teachings!”

  “Great. While we’re on the topic of efficiency though, you can relax a bit,” Micro added. “You’ll put your back out if you keep bowing like that all day.”

  “Yes, master!” Arbur replied, restraining his urge to bow. “May I ask what our next objective is?”

  “Objective?”

  “What is our current quest?” Arbur pressed enthusiastically. “We are a nomadic sect, are we not?”

  “Oh, our destination is a basilisk named Lo,” Micro replied. “I need to fight him before my core gets squished by this watery ring a dragon named Ray wrapped around it.”

  Arbur blinked several times before opening his mouth to reply, but no words came out, so Micro continued.

  “After that, we’ll keep finding dungeons to challenge until I can control space and time. I need to figure out how to make a portal back to my world, you see?” Micro explained as he rose to his feet and stretched. “Oh, but the very first thing we have to do is figure out what we’re going to eat. Let’s go see if Blue and Kira are back with food yet.”

  ~

  Micro and Arbur were only halfway down the hill when Blue and Kira found them. They were wary of Arbur at first, but his own surprised expression made Blue laugh, which helped to put Kira at ease. Blue hovered gracefully above Kira’s head, still holding a glowing slingshot in her hand, but Kira’s face and hands were covered in blood and fur. Micro was impressed to see that her white robes were in pristine condition despite the mess.

  “These clothes are really amazing, master!” Kira declared, patting her shoulder with her bloody hand. “We took the bear apart really fast, but none of the guts stuck to them!”

  “She has no core…” Arbur mumbled. “And a pi— a blue pixie?!”

  “These are my friends,” Micro announced happily to Arbur. “Kira is one of my first two passengers.”

  “Passengers?” Arbur repeated with a blank expression.

  “And Blue is the first friend I ever made on this world,” Micro added. “She taught me how to walk, light a fire, and so many other things.”

  “And don’t you forget it,” Blue smirked.

  “Th—this… world?” Arbur stuttered.

  “Arbur is from the sect we passed by recently, the one with all the undead,” Micro explained to Kira and Blue. “He’ll be joining the Truck Sect.”

  “Oh no…” Kira said, her smile, though obscured by bear blood, clearly fading. “I’m sorry about your home. You must have a lot of questions.”

  “I do…” Arbur nodded, his eyes blank. “More and more—”

  “Don’t worry!” Kira said, her tone brightening one again. “I’ll get you up to date on sect affairs!”

  “I see,” Arbur said blankly. “Thank you, esteemed elder…”

  ~

  The bear meat was much less delicious than the beef Micro had grown fond of at Kel’s sect, but he enjoyed the joyous faces of Kolt and Kira as they ate more than he assumed was possible. Arbur quickly finished a small share, then proceeded to craft a place to smoke the remaining meat. Kolt helped enthusiastically, and the smell of smoked meat grew thicker in the air while Lena continued to meditate. Micro was happy to see Kolt brighten up as he assisted Arbur.

  After the meat was secured and smoking properly, Kira continued to eat while explaining everything she knew about Micro and cultivation to Arbur, who listened stoically, restraining himself from gasping in surprise too frequently.

  “I’ve found a worthy master,” Arbur said as Kira went on, a phrase he came to mutter frequently during her stories.

  “By the way, young master!” Kira suddenly shifted her attention to Arbur’s chest pocket where a green glow sometimes escaped. “What’s that in your pocket?”

  “Please, call me Arbur. You are the senior disciple, regardless of your… ability…” Arbur said with a humble bow. “I have much to learn from you.”

  “Sure!” Kira happily replied. “Now that you mention it, I technically am the elder of a sect now!”

  “You what?” Kolt scoffed. “You’re still a baby!”

  “Your sister is correct,” Arbur said to Kolt with a respectful salute. “Though the sect is young, you are both its oldest disciples. Your are both worthy of the title of elder.”

  “Huh…” Kolt chuckled, apparently pleased by the explanation.

  “And this…” Arbur said as he removed the glowing stone from his pocket and held it in his hand. His eyes looked sad as they rested on the shining object, and it looked heavy in his hand. “This is a crystal.”

  “It looks very special to you,” Kira said, paying more attention to Arbur’s glassy eyes than the crystal itself. “It’s quite pretty…”

  “It’s just a crystal, but…” Arbur sighed.

  “I’ve never seen a glowing crystal before,” Kira whispered. She reached out to touch the crystal, and Arbur offered it to her to hold. The stone glowed brighter in her hands than it had in Arbur’s, and she giggled before tossing it back. “It tickles!”

  “It is a crystal made of energy,” Arbur explained with a faint smile. “It is impressive that it reacted so strongly to your energy despite your lack of a core. Your latent abilities have been wasted until now.”

  “Thanks!” Kira said, still giggling as she waved her hands in the air.

  “I can’t be sure how it was made, but such crystals can be found throughout these hills. It is said there was a great sect here once, long ago, who had some relationship to them,” Arbur explained. “Folk tales of our sect call them the lights of our ancestors, since we rely on their relics to achieve… well, anyways…”

  “Now that you mention it, I’ve stolen a lot of crystals from such a sect!” Blue suddenly shouted from Micro’s shoulder as he ate. “I think they were a sapphire level sect, the crystal mountain something or other…”

  “You witnessed the creation of these relics?!” Arbur asked, his eyes glowing.

  “They just sat around the hill all day meditating and making those little crystals,” Blue recalled with a nostalgic chuckle. “I remember feeling a sort of kinship then, the way they obsessed over those trinkets. It made them irresistible!”

  “So there are cultivators who don’t spend all their time fighting?” Micro asked as he chewed his way through a tough piece of meat.

  “What do you think the crystals were for?” Blue rolled her eyes.

  “Among the many lost arts known to my sect, the use of crystals in combat is considered to have been formidable,” Lena added. “Though the details of such arts were lost.”

  “The fancier the crystal, the bigger the explosion!” Blue continued. “Or something like that. It’s been a while.”

  “How did they make something like that?” Micro asked.

  “I want to make crystals!” Kira added, her eyes glowing with excitement. “How can I make crystals?!”

  “Some kind of art, I think,” Blue replied, scratching her head as she tried to recall. She looked over to Trill with a questioning look. “You been around these parts before?”

  “I think I found some Core Cards lying around that mountain there,” Trill replied, pointing through the trees. “It was a while ago. Lots of shiny things too, and bones…”

  “Can we go there now?” Kira asked Micro with her hands folded. “Please, can we make crystals?!”

  “We can go after we find Lo,” Micro answered, touching his chest. “I need to sort this out first, or I’ll probably die.”

  “If I may…” Arbur spoke up, raising his hand. “Is that not the next logical destination?”

  “What do you mean?” Micro asked.

  “Well, if you really are looking for the legendary Lo, assuming he really exists, then that mountain is likely a good place to start,” Arbur explained carefully, still somewhat in disbelief.

  “Why?” Micro asked.

  “Well…” Arbur continued. “Because it’s called Lo Mountain…”