=====
7 A.M
450 Essence harvested.
=====
*ding...ding...ding...…*
The ringing sound woke Lee up. He was surprised to hear such a noise from the system for the first time. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he saw An lying peacefully next to him. Like him, she was naked and her flawless skin was covered by the cotton blanket. He came to realise that he's also naked. He glanced at the floor and saw his dress and An's robe lying on the floor. He can guess the wildness from their scattered positions.
Lee raised his question about the weird ringing sound. D replied-
[It was to congratulate you as you stepped into manhood. An will be your woman here onwards. Changes have been made in the system interface. Please take care not to die of a cardiac arrest!]
Lee couldn't find the reason as to why a cardiac arrest is possible now. But as soon as he opened the interface, he understood the intention of D's warning.
==========
Name: Lee
Age: 20
Title: Grim-reaper, Soul Liberator
Fame: 1404
Essence: 28230 (7 AM)
----------
Partner: An
----------
Health: 280
Strength: 280
Vitality: 280
Agility: 280
Defense: 280
Endurance: 280
Sense: 280
Intelligence: 270
Resolve: 270
Immunity:-
• Greater Poison Immunity (1/1000000)
• Medium Lightning Immunity (3210/10000)
Affinity:-
• Lesser Poison Affinity (7/100)
• Medium Lightning Affinity (781/10000)
Combat Skills:-
• Absolute Blade Mastery
• Absolute Nunchuck Mastery
• Medium Bow Mastery (371/10000)
----------
Cultivation: Peak stage Core Formation realm
Qi: 0/1100
Mana: 0
----------
Innate Skills:-
• View
• Foresight
• EsGen
• EsConv
• Curse Remover
----------
INVENTORY:-
QUESTS:-
MAP:-
SHOP:-
RE-MODEL:-
==========
Lee thought that his eyes were playing with him, so he rubbed them thoroughly and looked again. It wasn't a hallucination or bug. It was the total Essence he obtained from yesterday's scavenging.
'D, how did Essence increase to such a sigh amount?!'
[What did you expect to see when you were selling Rock Golems and Liches to the Shop?! 20100 Essence was obtained from selling those corpses.]
Lee can literally hear his own heartbeat. It took him a minute to calm down. After organising his thoughts and glancing at An, he asked-
'Find Qi accumulating objects in the Shop.'
[There are Qi accumulating talismans and Qi condensing jade pendants.]
'Cost of Qi accumulating jade pendants?'
[Varies from 900 Essence to 1800 Essence. A word of warning, if you buy the most expensive, it will perhaps attract unwanted attention. I advise buying the cheapest one and find how well it goes.]
'Buy the cheapest with 900 Essence.'
[Pendant stored in the Inventory.]
Lee took out the pendant from the Inventory. It had a bluish green hue with beautiful lines running through it. He sat there observing it's craftsmanship.
An was shaken from her sleep and sat up as she saw Lee up. She covered herself with the blanket as she sat up. Seeing her awake, Lee said-
"This is for you. It'll help you to accumulate Qi much faster. Keep it a secret and don't let others know of its existence."
An saw the pendant and was wonderstruck. Such jade pendants were very costly. She glanced at him and the pendant.
She hugged him tightly and didn't let go of him for a minute. Lee spoke to her-
"We are still naked. Are you perhaps indicating to continue what we did last night?!"
"Bad boy!!"
An retorted at Lee as she smiled at his naughtiness. She quickly dressed up and Lee followed her lead. When they came out of their room, they saw that Freya's room was still locked and assumed that she's still asleep. They slowly went to the diner downstairs.
July was at her desk standing and arranging the drinking glasses. Upon seeing them both, she asked aloud-
"It was pretty loud last night. I hope the bed's not broken!"
Lee smiled awkwardly as An went out of the diner, blushing. Lee bid July good day and walked to catch up with An.
"I don't know anything about you or how you do these weird things. But make sure no one is hurt by what you do and no one hurts you for what you have."
An clinged onto Lee's arm as she said this softly. She can only be amazed and pray that no misfortune befell on him.
Lee patted her head and wrapped his arm around her. Lee nodded as they walked towards the Guild building.
As they walked, many folks recognised Lee by his actions and fame.
=====
8 A.M.
450 Essence harvested.
=====
Lee had a large reservoir of Essence to spend. He was thinking of a way to use them more efficiently and effectively.
'D, keep an eye on the Map and notify me on anything hostile.'
[Got it.]
---------------------------------------------
Adventurer's Guild.
There were many entering and exiting the building. Some stood here and there as a group. Some stared at the Mission board and some were enquiring about mission details.
Lee and An moved to the desk. Changying notices Lee's face and neared him and quickly said-
"Guild-leader would like to see you. You can go up to his room by the stairs."
Her words came out as she pointed at the stairs at the left side of the hall. He noticed that no one stood near the stairs.
Lee nodded in appreciation and headed to the stairs. The adventurers were busy with their own work, so none noticed him.
Lee went up the stairs with An following him. She was more curious than Lee, as he scanned the whole building and made sure that the Guild-leader was alone in the room, and was devoid of hostility.
A door welcomed them as they reached the first floor. It was made out of mahogany and was heavily decorated. Lee knocked on the door and a pleasant voice came from the inside-
"Come in."
The feminine voice gave them orders to enter. They promptly entered and saw a young lady with an alluring figure sitting on the chair, behind the desk.
Upon seeing Lee and An, the young lady stood up and spoke-
"Greetings to adventurer Lee, or should I say Cultivator Lee?"
Lee shrugged.
"Anything not crude and rude."
The young lady raised in his accurate and concise statement. She nodded with a smile and replied-
"My name is Shi Sera, Guild-leader of the Adventurer's Guild in the city of Lorin. Until you came, I was the strongest cultivator in this city."
Her remarks fought confusion on Lee's face.
"I called you here to thank you for your contribution in the mon-wave extermination. The city would have fallen without your help. Major Ian had narrated the incident to me.
The Mayor of the city would like to reward you with 1000 gold coins. He may have to depend on you for any help in the future - he quoted. Currently, he had departed to report the matter of the mon-wave to the Emperor. So in his absence, I reward you 1000 gold coins!"
She spoke as she lifted a bag. The coins inside made clang noises as she lifted and placed it on the table. She then signalled them to have a seat. She sat and continued-
"Introductions please."
Lee spoke up with a pleasant face.
"I am Lee, and this is my partner, An. We're both cultivators. I used to be a wanderer before I met knight Darwin on his mission..."
Lee narrated his life, except anything about D, the system and Law fragment. He took care to not expose any of the above when he speaks.
Shi Sera listened to him with great attention. As he finished, she replied-
"It must be hard to lose your dear and near ones at a very young age. Do you remember anything about them? A face or name or anything?!?!"
Lee can see her intention to help, but he wasn't in need of it anyway.
"No, I don't. All I remember is my name Lee. The more I try to remember, the more I forget about the details!"
Lee took a preventive measure to evade her further questions and it worked. Even An was reluctant to ask about his past. She didn't ask about the Spatial ring or blade as he didn't mention them in his narrative.
"Adventurer Lee, there is another reason for calling you here today."
The changes in Shi Area's tone made him frown. An could only watch the scene from the sidelines.
"Lorin city has many big and small families in it. Some are benevolent and a very few, arrogant. Yesterday, you seem to have encountered the carriage of the Hidwig family on the streets. That is a family that belongs in 'arrogant' class. They have found out your identity as an adventurer. The carriage you messed with, belonged to the spoiled hound mistress of that family who appears to be the most favoured by their family head. You'll have to fight them in one way or another."
The frown faded away as Lee relaxed himself. He thought that it's about a major war or personal dangerous mission. It turns out to be a simple matter. Lee relaxed as he leaned backward on the chair with a serene expression. Shi Sera was annoyed in his ignorance.
"Adventurer Lee, their family head is an Elite Swordsman. Your chance to win is less than half! Please consider your options before relaxing."
Lee smiled as a reply and stood up and turned to walk away. He took three steps and stopped. He extended his left hand and his blade materialised in his palm.
"You see ma'am, I've been looking for an opponent since I got this blade. I sincerely thank you for providing the information. Now, if you may please tell the directions?!"
Shi Sera looked at his left hand and saw the abnormally beautiful blade with a unique shape. She clearly saw the Spatial ring, but didn't raise a question. She can feel his resolve and could only give him the directions to the Hidwig family. An stood up to follow him, but he stopped her.
"Ma'am, may I trouble you to let An stay here for a while, until I come back?!"
An can see his concern about her safety. Shi Sera replied with a smile.
"Sure, why not?! I've been looking for a company, since it's too boring to sit here all day!"
Lee glanced at An's face and smiled. She nodded and let him close the door behind him as he exited the room.