Chapter 18 – Char and Farewell
The party was nice, but for some reason, it increased her Level to only five. It seems that either that was not very high-quality meat or that she wouldn't be able to power level like before. That's not to say it was not delicious, Aiko still ate every bit of meat that got in her range, making her look like a stuffed hamster.
...
"How are you feeling? Have you enjoyed our little festival?" Buddy chuckled, seeing the lazy little Fox lying flatly on the 'armrest' on the couch.
Aiko nodded weakly, not wanting to move. She tilted her head to get a better look at Buddy, wondering where in the world he stored all that food.
"Hehe." Buddy chuckled again. "I have my technique to stay fit, after all, everyone has their own little fantasy about me and since it keeps our morale high there is no reason for me not to fulfil those fantasies." He shrugged, seeing those stars in Aiko's eyes.
"By the way, Char would like to talk to you." He neighed. "I know the reason and you should think about what you want to do in the future once you hear it from him, it won't be an easy journey." He snorted.
Aiko nodded again, not really feeling up to talk with Char, but didn't reject it either. It's not like he was hostile to her and he gave her the opportunity to eat that delicious and fulfilling meal, so his 'status' was quite high in her heart.
"I will guide you there later, for now, sleep and digest your food."
Aiko didn't need to be reminded again and immediately fell asleep, the enthusiasm of the people here was too overwhelming for her. They would keep coming to feed her more and more food. Some wanted to pet her a little bit and some wanted to cuddle with her *Cough* Char's daughter *Cough*.
This was too much for her and she avoided them later. Of course that got a good laugh out of Buddy who was her benefactor and people soon kept their distance, allowing her to return to her seat.
...
"Slept well?" Buddy asked, but looking at the yawning Fox that immediately went back to sleep, he shook his head. He had to grab her with his mouth as he didn't have a powerful enough Divine Sense and placed her on his back.
He then slowly moved through the Village so that she still had a bit of time to rest, but not slow enough that people would gossip about them.
They arrived at their destination soon, but Aiko was still half asleep. He shook his head again but entered inside. The sooner she talks with Char, the sooner she can make decisions and maybe their path will meet up again one day.
"Welcome my friend." Char greeted him in a friendly manner. "Where is the little Fox?"
"You still wish to tell her about that?" Buddy asked with concern.
"It doesn't matter if she knows it sooner or later, with her current talent it's only a matter of time before they recruit her." He shook his head. "We both know that." He pointed at the obvious.
"True." Buddy snorted and turned slightly sideways, revealing a yawning fluffy Fox.
The maid who played the maths game with the little Fox noticed her and almost fainted with a nosebleed.
The other maids tried to support her, but staring in the direction from which she was fainting, they also noticed that cute half-asleep Fox that was rubbing her eyes and they too melted into one collective blob of sweetness.
"Little Fox." Char proclaimed in his ruler's voice. "The journey before you is long and will be filled full of-*Haaaa*" He exhaled. "Whatever, you have already seen me looking like an idiot, so let's skip those flattering sentences. You will be invited or maybe even seek to join 'Fox Village' however that is not a true Fox Village. We are but a small continent in a larger world. Sects or Villages on this little continent do not matter as much." He shook his head. "Once you gather some fame and wealth, you will be invited to the main continent, where the true and mighty Sects reside," He explained.
"There you will truly struggle, as this continent's power is much lower than theirs. You should always strive for the best and not skimp on anything! Only that way can you reach the Peak, but remember! While you are not welcome on this continent, everything changes on the main continent. You have to be more careful, as many old fossils like myself live there and take an interest in the strangest things." Char glanced at her with a knowing expression. "While you can't avoid being noticed, you should always strive to be on top during negotiations or you will end up like me ruling over a small Village in nowhere." He shook his head.
"Do not believe Humans and do not believe beasts, only those that are with you and protect you with their lives might be sincere, but even some of them would lay their lives to slightly improve their cultivation while kicking you around." He sighed. "Be Always on high alert, no matter where you are. It might be exhausting at first, but once you get into rhythm, there will be hardly anything that will catch you off guard!" He smiled gently.
"This will be possibly the last time we see each other, but you will definitely encounter my friend, as he is not as stupid as I was and will definitely reach the Peak." He sighed.
Aiko nodded at him blankly, she never expected this Lizard to spit so many sentences back to back.
"Thank you for helping my friend in need. We have gathered some Beast Cores for your Cultivation, so use them later as you see fit." Char gestured, but unfortunately, his trusted maid was a fluff blob alongside the other maids.
He coughed awkwardly, one of the protectors brought those Beast Cores to her. It was a small pouch, but there were about 10 Beast Cores of quite high purity, but each one was of pinkie size.
"They might not be much, but please take them, they are of high purity and won't pollute your own Beast Core that much, which is the most important thing in the beginning." He laughed, but Aiko felt like she was chewing on shit...
[Beast Core Purity: 1%]
She sighed in her mind, but accepted those Beast Cores gratefully.
"That will be all from this old fool, I still have a Village to manage and dignity to retai-" Buddy coughed. "You... *Sigh* what is left of my dignity." Buddy nodded at Char, smiling from ear to ear. "Now shoo, shoo. I don't want to see you in my Village otherwise the paperwork would be unbearable!" Char shooed the little Fox away.
Char kicked them out of their mansion and Buddy laughed. "That went better than I expected. We will meet again, little one, but keep his words in mind since he came from the main continent." Buddy started to walk towards the exit of the Village.
"He was one of the rising stars, but fell short because of injury and he was no longer able to keep up with the prodigies."
"Everyone mocked him especially his rivals until his Master couldn't take it and sent him here to recuperate and he ended like this." Buddy laughed, and while those memories were sad at the beginning, now only laughter remained.
"Don't believe other Foxes, they are more cunning than any other creature. While it's unlikely that you would fall into their schemes, it would be better to stay alert." Buddy warned. "Especially about custom, you might find yourself in a situation you can't reverse just because someone took a liking to you, but that someone was already pursued by someone else. Keep your distance to avoid trouble, only allow those you truly trust close."
They were now at the exit of the Village. "This will be our farewell, but you should know one last thing. It's impossible to get onto the main continent, as a vast Ocean separates it. That Ocean is more dangerous than anything you might come across, very few Humans can enter it. Moreover, down there are races that could even reign above dragons, so be careful not to fall in!" He warned sternly. "It is good to think about the future, but keep in mind, you can't cross the Ocean without someone's help!"
Aiko nodded, still confused about how the Ocean could be that dangerous, but she didn't want Buddy to worry about her so she was obedient.
"Now go, before any bastard spots you and reports it to those annoying Foxes." He laughed, nudging Aiko.
Aiko hopped away from him waving her paw at him. Saying goodbye before disappearing into the Darkness.
"What a terrific little Fox." Buddy neighed in amusement and returned inside the Village.
...
Aiko walked through the forest. She was in no hurry as there were many things to think over. First up was her Beast Core Purity, it was abysmally low. She would need to somehow increase it. She could ask the System now since nobody was around, but first, she would find some kind of bush to completely hide from the unwanted eye.
'Alright, first up let's look at the Beast Cores.'
[Beast Cores][Depending on what the Beast consumes, impurities can and will accumulate inside. For example, normal food has a high concentration of impurities, meanwhile, things like natural Qi formations have extremely high concentrations of pure energy.]
'... my meat.' She silently cried in her heart.
[Improving the [Beast Core Purity] is extremely hard, as most Pills can be only used once before they lose their efficacy.]
'Well, fuck me, I guess.' She thought for a moment. 'Not literally.' She had this odd sense that someone was eavesdropping on her thoughts.
[Another way to improve the efficiency of Beast Cores is to 'burn' them. Powerful and Pure enough flame can Purify Beast Core, this is a slow and painful process, but it is possible to reach 100% purity this way.]
'... I hate pain...' Aiko closed her eyes. 'Hmmm.'
Aiko opened the [Skill Shop] and searched for any Pain-reducing skills.
[Hold your Breath][Decreases pain in the User's body and increases focus greatly for a short period.][After Skill ends, User experiences backlash, increasing the pain User is feeling]
[Pain Tolerance][User increases their pain threshold.]
'...' Aiko blankly stared at this and then opened [Cultivation Shop]
[Cold Heart][User cuts his basic Emotions][It has 6 Stages: Anger, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Sadness, and Surprise][User decreases its body temperature slightly, thus decreasing the pain User experiences.]
[Monks Heart][User cuts all 27 Emotions][It has 27 Stages: Admiration, Adoration, Aesthetic Appreciation, Amusement, Anger, Anxiety, Awe, Awkwardness, Boredom, Calmness, Confusion, Contempt, Craving, Disappointment, Disgust, Empathic Pain, Entrancement, Envy, Excitement, Fear, Guilt, Horror, Interest, Joy, Nostalgia, Pride, Relief, Romance, Sadness, Satisfaction, Sexual desire, Surprise, Sympathy, and Triumph].[User won't feel anything once he completes this sutra.]
'No.' Aiko shivered looking at these useless techniques.
[Revolving Crushing Wheel of Destiny][User Cultivates by crushing his bones][Each circulation User crushes his bones, strengthening them and as a by-product obtaining greater pain tolerance.]
'I just said I don't want any pain and you present me with this?!' Aiko spat at this stupid system, can't it find something useful?!
'Do I have to go with the [Skill] solution?' Aiko thought deeply about this. 'Maybe if I can increase those Skills, I can obtain full immunity without penalties? If I can manage with just slight pain or if it counts the pain during combat when I'm full of adrenaline that could mean I would be able to level it up painlessly... somewhat' Aiko snorted. 'It would be much better than crushing my bones or forgoing my emotions.'
She then paused... 'Shouldn't there be more Cultivation techniques?'
[That is correct.]
'... why can't I see them?' She asked while frowning.
[Because your Insight is not enough to understand them.]
'...'
[You should've evolved slowly.] System coldly said.
'I will manage!' She proclaimed while wagging her tail.