Mark pulled back suddenly, his eyes wide and mouth open to respond, but he remained silent. He didn’t speak and instead bowed deeply and turned about, disappearing through the dome before Melina could even ask what I said.
“I guess he’s too loyal for his own good, huh?” she said once he was out of sight.
“He is. Until his current boss dies, I won’t be able to gain his trust, respect, and loyalty. If he does sever all ties with the old man, I’m interested in giving him a lot of leeway and room. If he doesn’t, well, that’s his loss.”
“You’re so strange sometimes,” she replied and turned to see how the others were doing. “But why are you interested in him?”
“Because he has a good head on his shoulders. He recognizes power when he sees it and understands a much deeper meaning than the rest. In comparison to most others, he’s far brighter and more reliable.”
“It’s almost as if you aren’t from this world, you know?”
I snorted and shook my head slightly. “You have no idea, Melina. You have no idea how close you even are with that statement.”
Kang and the cousins bowed before they left, leaving the three of us in the front yard. It suddenly felt so lonely, so quiet, and—wrong. Would this change tonight? I sure hoped so despite not being able to stand being around people as well.
“What now?” she asked as we walked toward the storage room.
“We should probably have a chat and something to eat. Maybe bathe first?”
“Oh? You already want to see me naked again?”
I shrugged. “If I had anything to say about it, I’d never even let you dress in such bulky clothing.”
Her eyes and mouth opened wide. She slapped me playfully on my chest and smirked into her sleeve. I couldn’t see her, but I could hear her.
My eyes met Sandro’s for a brief moment, but he looked away and scurried off into the main building.
“Don’t pay him any heed. He’s been like this forever. Can’t have your brother be jealous over who you fuck, right?”
“I guess? I mean, it’s not like we’ve done anything.”
“No, but he doesn’t know, and he won’t know. It’s none of his business, Viktor.”
“If you say so, he’s not going to hear it from me.”
“Good. Now, how about we go inside and have that drink?”
I followed her as she swirled around me playfully. It was a treat to my eyes, my heart, and my soul. We walked inside and up to the most luxurious booth. I sat down and made myself comfortable as she went for two glasses and a pitcher of alcohol. I thought I’d earned some after today’s slaughter. It was only then that I noticed the splatters of blood across my chest and my arms. There wasn’t much of it, but enough to disgust her if she was squeamish about it.
I pulled the nodachi and gladius off my back and placed them nearby. My mind raced a hundred miles an hour as I sat there and thought about everything that had happened since I was reborn. I almost died again within minutes; then I met the most beautiful woman I laid my eyes on, almost fell in love at first sight, showered with her, massacred a gangster, and finally took his operation over. Things were a bit too hectic for my liking, much more so than I had imagined would happen the first day.
Melina strolled into the room and plopped right next to me. She filled both glasses and handed me one, then took the other for herself.
“To us?”
“I can’t think of any better toast,” I replied as our eyes locked. “Can you?”
She smirked and shook her head. “To the world returning back to normal?”
“You got a point there, but I doubt it will, somehow.”
Melina shrugged and leaned in, wiping a stray drop of the alcohol from my lower lip. “What now?”
“Now? I think you and I need to have a little chat before anything else.”
She frowned. I could see the mental cogs whirr inside her head. “What is it?”
“Would you sell me this place? Or take me as an equal partner?”
She snorted and spat some of her drink over my yukata, then wiped her mouth quickly and looked back up at me. “Sell the place? You got a million—yeah, you got a lot of money lying around now, don’t you?”
“Hey, it’s not like I’m going to tear it down. I just want a place I can call my own and live in without worries.”
She narrowed her eyes on mine and leaned back in, her face only inches from mine. I could feel her hot breath touching my neck.
“Two million for the main building and half a million for the support buildings.”
I nodded. “Sure. Do you want the money right away?”
“Wait, you’re serious about this?”
I nodded. Of course I was. Would anyone come up with such a ridiculous proposal for laughs and giggles?
“You can get the money right now, and I don’t care about any contracts or anything. Our word is our bond, Melina.”
“What do you plan to do with this place? Other than letting others live here, obviously.” She pulled back and stared at me intently.
“Nothing. All I want is for this ryokan to feel like home. I want people to start living in the left and right wings so that you have protection and help.”
She narrowed her eyes on me and stared for what felt like an eternity. “No, I’m not doing that. I earned this place by working hard for it. You go off and kill someone, take his money, and then want to pay me off. I’ll overlook what you just tried, and act like it never happened.”
I wasn’t shocked very often, but this time I felt as if someone had struck me with a battle hammer to the head. Not just that she didn’t want to sell the place, but she was calling me out on the offer. Alright, then I’d change the approach.
“Is there any chance that we could arrange something regarding the booths inside the main building? Let’s say we all want to eat together. There’s no way we’d fit inside.”
“Are you going to pay for it?”
I nodded. “Of course. You can look at it as a lodging fee.”
She snorted. “Right, you’re paying to sleep in my bed. Now if that doesn’t make me feel just great. Maybe you’ll give me a new title next. Hooker Melina.”
I sighed and groaned. “You’re deliberately making this hard on me, aren’t you?”
Melina shook her head. She wasn’t fucking around, then, and if I insisted on being an ass in her eyes, everything might just take a turn for the worse.
“No, I’m not. You need to understand something, Viktor. I’ve been living on my own for a long time and got by just fine without a man in my life, so if you think I just flirt and show my skin to anyone who comes by, you’re mistaken. Also, if you think I’m a very easy woman who is as easy to please, then you’re doubly mistaken.”
“I never said or thought anything remotely like that,” I blurted out, not able to wait and listen to her. My heart beat like a drum as all kinds of thoughts crossed my mind in an instant. I couldn’t fuck this up, or let her fuck it up for me, no matter what.
“Hold on, why are you so anxious?”
She stopped and was obviously waiting for me to reply, so I did.
“It’s easy, isn’t it? You’re saying things like fucking this up and not to take you for granted.”
“And? I mean, really, you’re just being silly. Come on, let’s have a drink and we’ll talk about everything once the others arrive.”
“So you’re fine with them coming here?”
She nodded. “I am. The world has changed, and I’m afraid more changes are coming soon. It feels as if this is just the first wave or stage of something much larger and bigger.”
“You’d let me protect you? And we could take care of this place together?”
She nodded as her face lit up. “Maybe I’ve taken the teasing a bit too far and have moved too quickly, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We’re adults, aren’t we? Who cares if we fool around or fuck or drink until we’re wasted?”
“Sandr
o, obviously,” I muttered and regretted it immediately. “Shit.”
“Yeah, shit,” she cursed and pushed me away. “I’m going to check on the rooms and see if there are any skeletons in the closets.”
She got up and left me sitting there with a wink. Sure, I might as well use the time to study my body and the changes better. I promised them some pointers later on, so I’d better deliver.
Chapter Twelve
I walked out into the front yard and sat down near the fountain on a mattress. It was probably something Melina used when meditating or just sunbathing, so I doubted she’d mind. I sat down on my knees and closed my eyes, feeling for the Enma in the air and the world itself. Everything was denser and stronger than when I’d tried to focus on opening my first meridians. I needed to open another one as soon as I could, and what better time to do that than right now?
I pulled the crystals from my pocket and placed them in front of me. I had a total of twenty pieces with me; the other ones were back in the bedroom. Hovering with my hand above the cylindrical gems, I felt for their power and density.
The main difference between cores and crystals was the amount they could give. Crystals were compressed Enma, but cores were the very life force of a monster or a beast mixed up with Enma. I had no idea how I knew that, but I did. Which was a good thing. Most of the memories were there. I just needed to unlock them.
Every single one of the crystals felt as if they held the same amount of energy. It was strange, but I didn’t care. I knew what I had to work with right now, and if every crystal held roughly the same amount of power as two hours of meditating and absorbing energy from the world around me, I would have quite the ordeal with only two open meridians.
I picked up two of the crystals, one in each hand, and concentrated on the energy inside. First I pulled with the left, which had already opened a vein and the first meridian, filled it to the brim with Enma, and then pushed it into my core and toward the right arm, where the second crystal took over and carved a wider path toward the shoulder.
The flow was much better than I hoped it would be, so I focused on the next meridian: the Heart Meridian. Having established the tiniest of threads, I started pulling energy from both crystals. A surge of pain shot up my fingers, hands, and arms. It ended in my shoulders where the veins were still slightly clogged with impurities.
I opened my mouth to scream, but the sound died out inside me as my heart stopped beating and Enma formed a thin membrane around it. My vision blurred, and I was barely able to sit upright as the pain spread throughout my body, tearing at my very soul. Shit, I’d forgotten how bad this process hurt, since it’d been so long. The worst thing, I wasn’t able to push through the blockade, as every time my heart stopped beating, I was about to black out.
The crystals shattered as I exhausted all of their energy. I quickly grabbed two more and decided on a different approach, forming tiny tendrils that slithered down my spine and burned through my flesh. They spread out like a root system of a great tree and enveloped the heart.
My hands reached for two more crystals just as the ones I held in my hands burned out again. I let out a deep breath and sighed as I tried to focus more Enma into the tendrils. Minutes passed as I tried to steady the flow and keep the Enma rolling through the veins, and pushed from all sides.
The skin on my arms started shriveling and burning, filling the air with a bad stench. Blood rolled down my arms as the veins ruptured and energy coursed freely in between the arms and the heart. A sharp pain shot up my chest, and I was unable to breathe as the third meridian formed around the heart, all at once, from the numerous tendrils.
The barrier sprang to life and enveloped my heart, letting the tendrils and veins pass through. Dozens and hundreds of barriers ran along the veins and tendrils all the way up to my neck, shoulders, and down my arms into my fingers.
An incredible pressure built up in my heart as an enormous amount of Enma suddenly rushed into me and refused to leak back out. I couldn’t breathe and was about to faint again from the pain. I could see it. I could see my own veins and the energy expanding the veins, pushing outward from the heart to the hands and gathering just behind the navel.
“Damn this—pain!” I cursed and dropped on my back, as I couldn’t keep it in anymore. A sudden surge of energy exploded in all directions. My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself staring at the sky as the pain further intensified.
“What the hell did you do?” Scar’s voice resounded in my mind. It was laced with panic and fear.
“I’m just opening my Heart Meridian. Why?”
“I feel… strange. It hurts!”
“How so? You’re just present inside, right? You don’t have a physical form.”
“I have an urge to go out. To run and hunt. Something’s pulling at me from outside!”
I stayed quiet, thinking about what he just said. My third meridian had just opened up, and as his soul was bound to mine, it was only logical that he felt more energetic, powerful, and felt the urge to spread his legs.
“Stats.”
Status:
NAME: Viktor
AGE: 31
LEVEL: 1, REALM: 1, RANK: 3
HEALTH: 300
ENMA: 110
SPEED: 1.2
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 55
ENMA ATTACK: 65
DEFENSE: 40
ENMA SHIELD: 200
I’d climbed to the third rank within the first, physical realm. Next would be the fourth meridian, but I wasn’t going to do that today, no way. I didn’t even have the necessary materials even if I wanted to, and the pain had been too much for me to play around with anything else. I’d probably need several days to stabilize whatever Enma flowed through me anyway.
Health, Enma, Enma Attack, and Enma Shield had gone up with the rank. Good. Every new rank would give me more and more power. Acting on curiosity, I pulled at the Enma around me. It flowed much faster than it had before opening the third meridian, as the heart was the strongest organ and meridian that could manipulate the raw power present in every aspect of the world.
I took in a deep breath and focused on my burnt arms, pushing regeneration to an insane degree, well, insane to a human standard. I let out a deep sigh and slowly opened my eyes again. Melina knelt over me with a frightened expression on her face.
“What the hell was that? Why did you scream? And why are your arms burnt and shriveled! Why are they healing right before my eyes!”
“Huh, I thought you were mad or something.” I chuckled. “Thanks for checking on me.”
“Men! Idiots! Why would I be mad at you? I can’t make it so easy on you, now can I? And you didn’t answer my questions!”
I shrugged. “Sure wouldn’t make it as interesting.”
She growled and slapped my chest. “I’ll prepare a bath for you, alright? You’re a friggin’ mess.”
The corners of my lips rose slightly. “Will you join me?”
“Only if you keep your hands to yourself. I don’t care about the eyes, look all you want.”
“Isn’t this the part where you should have told me to fuck off?”
“Maybe if I meant it.” She laughed. “Just lie there for a couple of minutes, alright? I’ll be back for you soon.”
I watched her scurry off, and lowered my head back down.
“Scar?”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you try projecting an image of yourself?”
“Your Enma pool is still too small and unstable. I think.”
“You think or you know?”
“I think. I can’t access it unless you let me.”
“Well, I’m letting you. Go try.”
I could feel him stir inside me, separating partially from my very soul. A sudden surge of Enma concentrated on the core in my chest as the heart worked overtime to keep up. It gathered and shot outward, releasing through my skin.
The air shimmered in front of me, and I could have sworn I saw the big white wolf sta
nd there with a grin on his muzzle, but he wasn’t. As soon as it appeared, the image dispersed again, and I felt a backlash of pain crashing down on me.
I tensed up, focusing on negating the pain and drawing in more Enma from the world around me, but the pain. Damn it!
“What are—you doing?”
Scar didn’t reply; instead, the pain grew even worse as I lost more of my Enma. My hand slipped around a crystal as I lay there, and I started drawing, but it was far from enough. The speed at which I absorbed the crystal was far less compared to how fast it was being used up.
“Just a—little more!” Scar’s voice echoed in the back of my mind.
I felt nauseous, almost as if I was about to throw up. Shit, this was horrible!
My guts were being rearranged from the inside out as every single ounce of Enma passed through me and exited my skin. The fountain’s side cracked, and water splashed me where I lay.
My eyes fluttered open for the fifth time since I came here. Clouds gathered overhead, and it looked like it was about to rain. The wind started picking up, and thunder resounded far above.
“Boss? What’s wrong?” Sandro called from the balcony. “Need help?”
“No! Stay inside no matter what!”
“But you need help!”
“Shut up and… stay inside!”
I was annoyed by having to repeat myself, but the tingly feeling of someone wanting to come out and help me took over. Shit. I hadn’t felt this since the last marriage ceremony in the Karmag. It was genuine, but I didn’t know why. Had he really turned over a new leaf?
Thunder resounded overhead as lightning discharged against the dome. It cracked and shattered, peppering me with highly concentrated Enma particles.
“Viktor! What the hell is going on?”
It was now Melina’s turn to panic. I sat up and turned to look at her.
“Don’t come here no matter what!”
The second bolt of lightning struck the ground nearby and kicked up a mass of pebbles and shards of stone. Another flash of lightning struck, and another. My heart was beating so hard in my chest that I couldn’t even breathe. No, not just because of that; the Enma concentration became so thick that I couldn’t even absorb it anymore. My body had taken in all it could, but it was like pouring a full bucket of water over a small glass.
Beginner Quest: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 1) Page 13