Theodore sat down cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes.
While his body remained perfectly still, his mind began to wander.
He allowed himself to drift ever deeper, picturing a spiral stone staircase leading down.
His footsteps echoed as he began his descent, red stone covering the stairs below his feet.
The deeper down he went, the more relaxed he became.
The more relaxed he became, the deeper down he had traveled.
At last, Theodore had reached the bottom.
He went no further than the last step and sat down. He knew very well that if he crossed it he would truly fall asleep.
This place here in his mind was one of his best-kept secrets!
By using this place he could automatically cultivate and still rest his mind if he chose to.
This place was very familiar to Theodore.
He had often come here to solve problems that bothered him.
Whenever he encountered a bottleneck, he retreated in here to make the best use of his time.
Time in this place passed slower than in reality and a few hours here could leave him well-rested.
It was the perfect place for Theodore so sort out his thoughts.
While he was lost in his mind, the warehouse one hundred meters below swelled up with all sorts of cultivation resources!
From components to elixirs, anything that might be useful was purchased by Turia.
By dawn, the island and its contents had become virtually invaluable.
As the sun's rays shone upon the island, the little lord had long been working hard!
He had been feeling frustrated by his lack of talent in the berating arts.
Looking at the large arrow with the insult written on it was all the motivation he needed.
If only he would have been able to properly reprimand her!
This simply could not stand!
With renewed vigor, the small engine of criticism learned all that it could.
He had begun to refine and perfect the sacred art of finding faults with others.
Overnight, the little lord had digested everything that was known about cultivation.
Manuals, techniques and much hidden knowledge had been learned by the little lord!
Waking up at the crack of dawn, the little sphere's "eyes" opened.
The little lord was no longer merely a red colored sphere!
It's new form now sported a crudely projected holographic face.
It was little more than an animated smiley, its range of expressions limited by its crudeness.
With all the majesty, a crudely rendered smiley was possible of, the little lord began to laugh.
"Ha ha ha!"
"Humph!"
"You shall confine this little lord no longer!"
"Boom!"
With a blast of his mana, the cage and sign were blown to pieces!
"We cannot wait to have a few words with those barbarians!
"He he he…. It won't go your way this time!"
While whistling a merry melody, the little lord left the place of his previous defeat.
It's high pitched notes traveled through the pathways approaching the mansion and some servants stopped what they were doing in curiosity.
Had they known who was whistling the tune, they would have retreated without delay.
Little did they suspect the melody to be the sign of impending doom.
The commotion that would soon erupt here would turn the whole island upside down….
...
Theodore opened his eyes having finished his cultivation. He had made good use of the time and his mind was made up!
He got off the bed and washed up inside the luxurious bathroom, attached to his guest suite.
After he was done, Theodore inspected the contents of the wardrobe.
All manner of outfits had been prepared for him. From suits to coveralls everything was available.
Inspecting a few of them and trying them on, he discovered that they all fit him perfectly.
He chose not to ask why this was and how they had gotten his measurements.
It didn't surprise him at all anymore.
Theodore was determined to have today go better than yesterday.
He was very happy with how today had gone so far and looked forward to discovering more about what had happened to him.
The fact that he had enough time to cultivate was a good omen.
By the time he had gotten dressed in a training tracksuit, a few gentle knocks sounded on his door.
"Knock knock knock"
"Young master Theodore, I have been instructed to lead you to have a simple breakfast."
The gentle voice of a maid sounded off behind the door and Theodore wasted no time putting on a tracksuit.
The maid, a very elegant looking young woman, took Theodore back towards the pavilion.
Turia was already there with Duunim.
A variety of high-quality food items was spread out on the table. Theodore recognized a few of them and was shocked at their value!
'The amount of money this breakfast cost could buy a small house!'
'So much for having a "simple" breakfast.' he thought and sat down.
Turia began consuming special teas and fruits without any constraint.
She simply looked up from her cup and nodded at Theodore.
He did not need to be told twice and began to dig in.
As he had suspected, the taste was exquisite and he too, ate without restraint.
This was food made by culinary cultivators!
It was packed to the brim with spiritual energy and was sure to bring great benefits.
This would have been hard for Theodore to ever obtain under normal circumstances.
Turia and Duunim watched Theodore devour the food with interesting expressions.
Mr. Duunim who was the perfection of etiquette frowned slightly while Turia smiled.
They watched Theodore wolf down his food and remembered that the lad had not eaten anything in four days!
Duunim's frown lessened substantially at the thought.
Turia, on the other hand, was glad that Theodore had chosen to eat breakfast here.
After Theodore had finished the last of his food, the table was quickly cleared.
Several maids swiftly did the cleanup, while replacing the tea in front of the three.
"Have you made up your mind, Theodore?"
Turia had said nothing during breakfast and her first question shot straight to the heart of the matter.
"I have."
Said Theodore as he looked at her, calm as could be.
"I agree to your proposal. But before we begin, there is something that I want to tell you."
"What is it?"
Turia became serious at Theodore's solemn expression.
She was happy that he had accepted her deal but seeing his face, suspected it was rather serious.
'An unexpected variable? Another obstacle?'
Theodore took a deep breath as he prepared to relate his dream to Turia.
He was sure that it was the key to everything. Everything had gone downhill since.
"Boom!"
Before Theodore could begin, a loud commotion was heard coming from outside the manor!
"Shatter!"
"Stop him!"
"He got another one!"
Glass windows shattered and several shouts sounded off.
"sigh"
Theodore knew that the peace here had lasted suspiciously long and sighed.
'I should have known better.'
'Of course something stupid had to happen now of all possible moments!'
Theodore was right about one thing.
Something stupid indeed just happened.
The thing was, it was so stupid that it worked!
The little lord had arrived and oh boy!
Things were about to change!