The daily lives of Micro and his party remained consistent as winter began. In the weeks following their meeting with Tohan, they had settled into an enjoyable routine. The peaceful woods echoed with the sound of exploding trees, a sound which the group never quite got used to hearing.

  Arbur had successfully mastered his first core card, and had moved on to the next. Kira finally refined her jade core to the level where Lena was comfortable teaching her several basic sword techniques, allowing her to practice the steps with a wooden sword carved from a tree branch. Kolt was still far behind Kira’s progress, but Lena was content that he would form a jade core eventually.

  Micro agreed not to cut any trees while Blue was sleeping at night, so he spent most of his free time after sunset crafting crystals with a variety of properties. He discovered that he could partially imbue the crystals with the effects of certain Core Cards, making them even more versatile. He had crafted thousands of crystals, all stored away in his storage, when he happened to create a crystal of particularly interesting qualities.

  This crystal was a murky brown colour, and not very large. It was roughly shaped like a teardrop, a spherical ball that came to a singular point. He had manifested several skills, traits, and arts in its creation, simply enjoying the process of experimentation. The end result was a crystal which absorbed ambient energy and released it out of its point continuously. When he placed it on the ground, it even managed to propel itself forward like a clumsy rocket, though it moved only a little faster than a slime.

  However, his experiment with the brown crystal came to an end when he tried covering the point of the crystal with his finger, blocking the energy from escaping. The crystal quickly turned red hot and exploded like a glass balloon, abruptly waking everyone but Kolt from their slumber. That was also the first time he noticed how quickly his injuries healed thanks to the Immortality Trait.

  “Interesting…!” Micro said often as he watched his creations propel themselves along the ground at night. They usually stalled eventually, and some exploded, but the process of trial and error excited him more and more each night.

  During the day, Micro often kept pace with Blue on their violent trek through the trees, but her strength was returning quickly with each passing day, and she began to take a consistent lead, several hundred trees ahead of Micro.

  Micro allowed himself to enjoy the beginning of winter, reassuring himself that he’d be able to make up for lost time one day with a Core Card or two that allowed him to travel in time, and he almost wished he could continue such peaceful days with his new friends indefinitely. Such thoughts were more comforting than those of the old man having to make trips into town on snowy days without his truck.

  ~

  It was on a particularly enjoyable day, as the setting sun turned the snowy woods a fiery shade of orange, that Micro was reminded of how quickly things can change on his new world. A familiar frown flashed across Lena’s face, and it didn’t take him long to notice the reason why.

  “Not far ahead,” Lena whispered. “They don’t seem to have noticed us.”

  “It feels like there aren’t many, but they’re strong…” Micro said, looking ahead with Spirit Vision.

  “I expected to sense Master Feng by now,” Lena said with a look of concern. “The bandits ahead are disgustingly powerful, for bandits….”

  “Bandits?!” Kolt was jarred from his meditative state, falling to his back in surprise.

  “It’s fine, brother,” Kira assured him. “We have Master Micro with us, and Master Lena would never fear bandits.”

  “I sense them now,” Arbur added, and his face soured as he finally began to understand what was ahead.

  “Take note, children,” Lena addressed Kolt and Kira. “I want you to fully comprehend the nature of those we are about to encounter. The state of their souls represents the corruption of humanity.”

  “Corruption?” Kira repeated.

  “Those who do not cultivate are susceptible to all manner of dark forces,” Lena explained. “Those who dwell in these woods are bathed in wild energies which draw out their darkest natures. And while they grow strong, like the mutated creatures you can find lingering near a wandering dungeon portal, so too does their darkness grow…”

  “What makes them so evil?” Micro asked, his shoulder beginning to ache. “Why do they do such terrible things…?”

  “As their undisciplined forms become seeped in energy, and they taste its power, they are changed,” Lena continued. “As their bodies grow stronger, so too does the shadow in their heart. Simple desires become insatiable greed, mundane anger grows into unbearable hatred, carnal desires are-”

  “Lena means to say, if I may add…” Arbur suddenly interjected with a nervous bow. “Without discipline, the mundane people who hide in these woods are typically transformed into monsters.”

  “Is it really the same as that?” Micro asked. “Some people are mean, but calling them monsters…”

  “It is similar, but humans are complex creatures,” Arbur replied. “The mundane who lack honour are poisoned by all of the temptations which accompany even the smallest amount of power. Even a kind soul would be driven mad at the very least, but those evil things…”

  “Furthermore, though it pains me to address them as such, there are clearly cultivators among their number,” Lena spoke with a bitter expression. “Bandits are a nuisance wherever one may roam, but never have I even heard mention of bandits achieving that level of cultivation. For such heresy to have come about within this empire’s borders, right under its nose…”

  “Forgive me for raising the topic of your ties to the empire despite your desire to remain neutral for the duration of this journey, but would such an occurrence not be noticed by the empire’s forces?” Arbur asked tentatively, gauging Lena’s reaction as he spoke. “The Imperial Envoys’ reputation for strength and honour is well deserved…”

  “It is most unprecedented for such a thing to go unnoticed,” Lena answered. “I will disclose that the empire’s resources are spread thinner by the rise in summonings than it would admit even to itself, but to miss something like this…”

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  “Blue?” Micro turned to Blue with a questioning expression.

  “Ah, of course, honourable farm tool,” Blue replied sarcastically. “What she’s trying to say is those smelly fools up ahead should’ve been wiped out by her friends by now, since they started cultivating.”

  “I see,” Micro said. “Bandits aren’t allowed to cultivate?”

  “They aren’t allowed to exist at all,” Lena said with a harsh tone. “But for them to have grown as strong as they have is deeply troubling.”

  “Why?” Micro asked.

  “It is a symptom of the empire’s sickness, a sign of what is to come,” Lena explained.

  “A sign…” Micro frowned, trying to understand the implication of the word.

  “You do like signs, don’t you?” Lena asked coldly, her temper shortened by her anxiety. “What kind of sign do you think a growing population of powerful bandits is?”

  “That’s—” Micro’s expression darkened. “That would be a very bad sign.”

  ~

  Micro paused his road-building endeavours while the group quietly approached the bandits. There were only a hundred or so bandits in total, but there were dozens of jade and amber core cultivators among them. Micro could clearly see the tents full of prisoners, a sight he didn’t wish Kira or Kolt to witness.

  “Are you distracted?” Lena asked him after he looked ahead for a moment.

  “What do you mean?” Micro asked, and he quickly used his Spirit Vision to look ahead a little farther. He winced at the unpleasant things that came into view, but it soon became clear what Lena was referring to. “Oh, that’s a dungeon?!”

  “Precisely,” Lena replied. “They appear to be training there. Disgusting. Defiling such a place…”

  “I hope Tohan and Tring didn’t get caught up with these bandits…” Micro whispered, allowing his eyes to wander away from the bandits’ camp.

  “Their sect is farther north,” Lena replied. “They wouldn’t have crossed paths.”

  “That’s good,” Micro said with a sigh of relief. He looked ahead and increased his focus on the unpleasant scene, watching the bandits go about their lives. A large group was eating by a fire, several were wrestling near a barrel of wine, but most of them were meditating. It made Micro uneasy to see so much energy flowing through each of the meditating bandits despite the unsettling aura around them. He was soon distracted by a cold aura against his back, and turned to see Kira and Kolt with expressions he couldn’t quite understand. “Are you scared?”

  “Can we kill them all?” Kolt asked in return.

  “Wha—what are you—” Micro stuttered.

  “We don’t kill, remember?” Kira rebuked her brother, but her eyes burned with anger. Micro worried what she may do in such a state, but she continued with a strained voice. “But I’d like to hear them begging for death…”

  “That’s not ideal either…” Micro frowned.

  “What should we do, master?” Kira asked.

  Arbur and Lena both looked at Micro, waiting for his answer. Blue had apparently grown disinterested, and was busy kicking a small rock around on the forest floor.

  Micro wanted to suggest they run in the opposite direction, but he knew that wasn’t the right answer. He knew what Lena would say about the bandits, and he knew there were innocent people who needed help, but as his shoulder began to ache, all he could do was look back at Lena. She looked hesitant to speak for a moment, but eventually leaned back and looked at Micro with a much less stern expression than she usually did when educating someone.

  “I understand your reservations well, as a guest in this world,” Lena said softly, still mindful of the bandits’ camp. “Although the paths we have walked may differ greatly, honour is the shared culture of all cultivators in this world. While I still struggle to understand your sentimental attachment to the weak and mundane, I do wish to see all living things free of the oppression of evil forces. Do you share this belief?”

  “I don’t want weak people to be hurt by bad people like that…” Micro replied. “I’m pretty sure we agree on that.”

  “The fate of the mundane is grim in any case, but evil must be purged by those with the power to exercise the will of the righteous” Lena explained.

  “Hmph…!” Kolt suddenly scoffed. “So she says…”

  “How dare you—” Arbur recoiled at the disrespectful tone Kolt directed at Lena, but silenced himself as Lena turned to reply.

  “Is there a problem, child?” Lena asked him, her patience waning.

  “You almost sounded heroic for a moment,” Kolt grumbled. “But you still don’t really care about anybody who doesn’t cultivate. You only want to kill the bandits.”

  “You claim to understand a deeper meaning behind my actions?” Lena frowned deeply at his words, but didn’t dispute them. “Elaborate, if you would be so kind…”

  “I always hated cultivators for just watching us starve, watching us freeze, watching us die in the mud…!” Kolt continued with anger in his voice, but he looked at Lena with a conflicted expression. “But I know it’s my fault for being weak! I know that, but…”

  Kira and Arbur looked like they wanted to add something, but the mood grew tense, thick with confusion and frustration. Micro felt lost, and his eyes began to wander, falling on the bored Blue.

  “What do you think about all this, Blue?” Micro asked, if only to break the awkward silence.

  “Ah?” Blue responded with her eyes half open. “Kill them or don’t. Who cares? Humans don’t live long anyways.”

  “That’s…” Micro tried to reply, but he wasn’t sure where to begin.

  “If the plan is to help the tied up villagers in that settlement over there, what’s the problem?” Blue continued, grinning slightly. “We’ll have some fun if anyone tries to stop us.”

  The others looked at Micro, waiting for his reply. The weight of the decision was uncomfortable, but he began to imagine what his driver would do if he drove by such a situation.

  “He’d stop and help…” Micro eventually concluded. “That’s the only thing I can imagine him doing…”

  “Sounds like a fun guy,” Blue replied.

  “Okay, I’ll go,” Micro declared. “What should we do, Lena?”

  “Very well,” Lena began. “Arbur, you stay with the children.”

  “I want to fight though—” Kira argued, but a quick look from Lena quickly silenced her.

  “This situation is unprecedented enough. You will exercise caution,” Lena ordered. “Master Micro and Blue will accompany me.”

  “I understand,” Micro replied, turning to look at the pouting Kira. “Lena is a professional. We’ll trust her judgement on this.”

  “Okay…” Kira sighed.

  “You may see to rescuing the mundane who are imprisoned,” Lena explained. “They are spread out, so act quickly, before the bandits realize our intentions. The first thing a bandit will do is take hostages, not unlike those cursed, snake-like, arrogant…”

  “I’ll head in first,” Blue declared cheerfully. “Let’s start things off with a bang.”

  “Stop—” Lena raised her hand to hold Blue back, but Blue had vanished with a broad smile on her face as soon as she had announced her intentions.

  “She’ll be okay,” Micro reassured Lena as she let out a heavy sigh.

  “I should have anticipated that…” Lena eventually replied, then rose to her feet and addressed Micro. “It is unlikely that any bandit in that camp has the power to injure you, but do not lose focus.”

  “Okay,” Micro said, standing despite the weight he still felt. “Let’s go…!”

  Explosions and screams could already be heard from the camp where Blue had begun to entertain herself, and events unfolded quickly. Arbur was content to watch over Kolt and Kira at Micro and Lena’s request, though Kira looked restless while observing from afar. She clenched her fists in frustration, but Micro was relieved to see she was able to control her desire. Micro watched Lena prepare herself to attack, and the beautiful glow of the Tiger Art surrounded her body. She lowered her stance, and lunged forward into the forest ahead, a target already in her mind. Micro quickly lost sight of her before reactivating Spirit Vision.

  “More offroading…” Micro sighed bitterly as he struggled to keep his footing. He coated himself in the armour of the Turtle Art and fortified his body with the Dragon Art. He wondered if poison or intimidation would be enough to keep any attackers away, but the answer to his question came in the form of an aura-covered axe flying straight toward his head.