"This… is your house!? This is almost as big as the academy! What's that!? What's this for? Why do you have a dead Bern in your house?"
Viel was currently running around inside a big hall. He was standing in front of a big preserved carcass of a dead monster. It had huge fangs coming out of its mouth and long whiskers. A beautiful and majestic creature.
"T…that's a Vlaidag. Bern's have… bigger bodies. W-wait, that doesn't turn that way!"
Diao Mei was currently touring Viel around the Diao Estate, but instead of touring, it was more sufficient to say that she was just chasing him around, trying to prevent him from breaking things.
Diao Mei invited Viel to their house, saying that her grandfather, General Diao, have been wanting to see him ever since Diao Mei told him about Viel. It was good timing as well, since Diao Mei wanted to prove Viel that she is not scared of him and that she is worthy to be his friend… or maybe even more than that.
As Diao Mei was busy daydreaming, Viel continued to roam around the mansion like a little curious cat. Diao Mei's daydreaming was only interrupted when she heard another voice.
"You have a really nice home, Mei. Thank you for inviting us"
"Y…yeah…", Diao Mei stuttered as Violet complimented her house.
Initially, she only invited Viel. Having Violet here was not part of the plan at all. But it just so happened that Violet was nearby, causing Viel to forcibly grab her as well. So Diao Mei had no choice but tag Violet along, 'less she wanted to make the situation awkward.
It was a good thing that Xiao Pei was not around, if he was, Diao Mei was sure that that guy would also tag along even if Viel did not pull him. Don't even mention Wei Song, it would be very annoying if he met her grandfather, as Wei Song was a military geek. She did not want to deal with all of Wei Song's blabbering.
"Uhm…Mei, Viel is…"
Diao Mei once again was interrupted in her thoughts as Violet called for her. She looked outside the window where Violet was pointing to and she could not help but jump in shock when he saw Viel.
"Hhmm, Miss Mei. This one is very ugly. What kind of monster is this? Its hair is very rough, this won't even pass as a pillow"
Viel was on top of a giant bipedal… statue. He was pulling on its beard. Viel had a confused and disgusted look on his face. After pulling the statue's beard, he proceeded poke its cheeks.
"N-NO! Viel! T-that's not a statue!"
"Hm?"
Hearing what Diao Mei said, Viel turned his head as slow as possible as he slightly glanced at the statue's face.
"GAH! Miss Mei! This corpse is alive!"
Viel jumped away as he saw that the "statue" was now looking back at him. He quickly asked for Mr. Voice's help as he raised his hand.
[Jack: Palm of Judgment]
A huge palm suddenly appeared on top of the Diao Estate. The servants who saw this kneeled down and cried, shouting that the end of the world is here.
"Don't worry Miss Mei, I will kill this ugly monster for you! The one who attacks first have the advantage! Begone you abomination!", Viel shouted as he waved down his hand, the palm floating in the sky slowly descended upon them.
"N-no! Viel, stop! T-that's my grandfather!"
"Eh? This ugly creature is!?"
Viel stopped his hand and the palm disappeared as quickly as it came to life. Viel once again slowly looked at Diao Mei's so called Grandfather, "A-are you sure?"
"Ye- Look out!"
Diao Mei was about to say something, but before she could do so, she saw her Grandfather suddenly rushed towards Viel.
"T-then, what about your grandma… i-is she human?", Viel was oblivious to the old man's attack as he was currently looking at Diao Mei. He did not notice that General Wei was already behind him. General Wei had his arms raised, and when his fast was about to reach Viel's shoulders, Viel disappeared.
General Diao's eyes moved around as he was trying to find the little boy, but before he could even turn his neck, Viel appeared floating behind him and kicked him directly on the head. General Diao quickly raised his arms to guard the kick, but that wasn't enough as he moved a few meters away from the force of the kick, leaving streaks caved on the ground.
Viel was about to follow up on his attack while General Wei was still flustered. But he stopped his tracks when he heard a robust laugh.
"HOHOHOHO. Good, good. It seems that our little phoenix was not lying about your ability. Little boy, how about marrying into the family? OHOHOHO"
"G-grandpa!"
Diao Mei rushed to cover his grandfather's mouth, her face tinted with red. Diao Mei was surprised with his grandfather's straightforwardness, but she still did not forget to glance at Viel to see his reaction. But to her disappointment, Viel didn't even blink as he seemed so immersed in observing his grandfather.
Viel was still pondering if the old man in front of him was a human. General Diao was as tall as his house, about 3 times as big as his own grandpa. It was the first time that Viel have seen someone this tall, so he thought it was a statue of some beast at first. It didn't help that General Wei's grey beard covered most of his face.
"Hmm. Are you su-"
Viel was still unsure, but before he could ask again, Violet lightly hit him in the head.
"V-viel! Have some respect towards your elders!"
"Eeh… but"
"This humble student greets the respected General Diao!"
Before Viel can finish his words, Violet immediately made a loud salute towards the general. When Viel heard the salute, he immediately perked up and made a salute as well, although a bit awkwardly.
"Hohoho. Good. Good. The friends you have brought this time are quite respectful, little Mei"
General Diao laughed while stroking his beard. Although Viel's first instinct was to obliterate him, he completely disregarded it as just a boy who was willing to protect his friends from potential danger.
"So, what about it boy. Are you willing to marry our little Diao Mei?"
"G-grandpa!!!!!"
Diao Mei once again stood up on her ends. Her face turned even redder with his grandfather's persistent questioning.
"Ofcourse! That is the goal!", without hesitation, Viel raised his thumbs towards General Diao.
"V…viel..", Diao Mei gasped as she covered her tiny mouth. She was about to say something before Viel continued to talk.
"And also Miss Violet here. I will marry them both!"
"…."
"S…shameless! W-what are you saying in front of the General!?", Violet raised his palm and quickly slapped Viel. But Viel, with his quick reflexes, exaggeratingly avoided the slap using his whole body.
"HOHOHOHOHO! I like you more and more boy! Little Mei, you seem to have a handful here. Do your best to keep up or else you will be left behind. HOHOHO", General Diao once again robustly laughed as he patted Diao Mei's hair heavily. He also raised his thumbs to Viel in agreement. Truly, a weird brotherhood was built this day.
General Diao really did take a liking to Viel. At first, he was suspicious of the rumors about the boy. But when he tested his strength earlier, it all but confirmed the rumors. One can even say they were an understatement towards the boy's strength. Truly, the boy was a mystery and one can't help but wonder the origin of his powers.
But General Diao quickly put the thought aside. He was not the kind of person to worry about the politics of life. He only had one way of doing things, and that is with plowing through things using force. If one does not understand, then one must crush. That is the General's motto.
"Hehe. You're not half bad yourself even if you're ugly"
"….."
"….."
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"Was it really alright for you not to introduce yourself to baby Viel?"
Inside of Viel's dantian, Lu Yi and Xanthus were chatting with each other. Xanthus smiled wryly as he heard Lu Yi's question.
"I don't mind. If the boy comes to know of my name, I am afraid that it might affect him negatively"
Xanthus was worried that of Viel knowing who he truly is, if this was another world, then Xanthus would even be the one to introduce himself first. But this was reality, Viel was in his world. A world that abhorred him. It is better for the boy to not know of him, for being associated with him will surely lead to the boy's demise.
"'Tis a valid point, my friend. Our existence here is already affecting baby Viel's mental health"
Lu Yi recalled every time Viel had a sudden drastic change in personality. They were already sure of it, it was their presence here that is causing Viel's erratic behavior. Any sudden jumps of emotion will always lead to an exaggerated response.
Xanthus nodded. Out of the three of them, he was the one who knew this best. During Viel's match with Li Zhao, his and Viel's emotions seemed to have become one. He could not quite explain it, he wasn't at all in control, but at the same time, he felt like he was.
He felt like a sentient puppet that still had strings attached to his body, perhaps that was the best way to describe it. Their thoughts were not the same, but their feelings were.
"I really hope nothing like that ever happens again. It might not be showing, but I can somewhat feel the boy's current state is not the same as before…"
"I too, feel it", Lu Yi nodded, "We must make our preparations. Grandma Ling… will soon perish. We must do everything within our capacity to help baby Viel"
How they were going to do that, they do not know yet. The Judge of Karma usually had all the answers, even if they were vague. But he was always out in the darkness, trying to traverse the endless depths of Viel's dantian in hopes that he might find something.
"Speaking of preparations, where is-"
Before Xanthus can finish his words, he was interrupted by a ringing sound.
[Player's Adapting Phase is ending soon]
[Preparing Tutorial Phase… 0%]
"Adapting phase? What's the Voice talking about now?", Xanthus waited for the Voice to say something again, but to his disappointment, it didn't have any further announcements.
"T-tutorial Phase? Like in a video game?", Lu Yi placed her hand on her chin as she was deep in thought.
"A veedoo game? What's that, some kind of witchcraft?"
"No, you imbecile. It's a… ugh, nevermind. You will see it a thousand years from now if we're still here, or maybe not. The inhabitants of your world seem to lack the talent for technology"
Player, tutorial, these were words that only Lu Yi was familiar with. She has watched as the humans in her world have come up in their ways to elevate their source of entertainment. Video games was one of them.
But what could this mean? Were they trapped in some sort of game? No, that was impossible. Xanthus' world is real.
Lu Yi could only shake her head. Instead of making things clear, the new information that she was receiving made her even more confused.
Xanthus was still waiting for Lu Yi to give him some answers. But Lu Yi seemed to be resolute in not telling him anything. He knew that Lu Yi's world was much older than his, but she could at least pretend to try and explain it to him.
One of the reasons why Lu Yi is not telling Xanthus anything is because she knows that he will not even be able to grasp even the basic concepts of technology. And also because Lu Yi thinks Xanthus is stupid.
"W…why are you looking at me as if you were pitying me?", Xanthus could not help but notice Lu Yi's expression. It was as if she was looking at him as if him as if he were a lost cause.
Lu Yi did not reply, instead, she just sighed and shook her head, looking towards the horizon.
"H-hey!"
The two once more bickered with each other.