'i'm not amused,' aero thought looking at his target who was now looking at him with something he's seen many times before. 'this chick is stupid!' anyone with working ears knew he wasn't looking for a date. but this chick still walked up to him and started flirting with him. every cell in his body wanted to punch that smile off her face, but he held back and instead turned his focus to forging the section staff.
she kept her attempts to woo him while he chipped away at her pride. he could actually see the effect it was having on her, her flirting because less forward, her body language show a more nervousness. when he was done the girl walked away without him having to say a word, 'okay that will be something I repeat.' a way to resolve unwanted fliting without anyone seeing throwing a punch or sharp words. it filled him with glee that overshadowed his new uncertainties, he rode that glee all the way home. his pride wasn't as hard as the last one but there was so much more.
curling up on his bed and hiding from the world wasn't something he's done before but it felt great right now. even though he was a little ashamed of his actions, he tried hard to ignore that part of him. for the moment instead, mentally going over his accomplishments to recover some of his pride. it wasn't much but soon enough he was able to get out of bed and went to some stances with his physical staff.
he went through a lot before he was feeling close to a hundred, which allowed him to go downstairs and continue his plans for his trip. he got his things ready to go but the cart schedule was kind of complex needing a least 12 transfers, and he still had to figure out which ones he wanted to take. all of them lead to the big city but are differentiated in cost, comfort, and travel time.
he didn't mind comfort nor did he care about the cost but time made a difference he didn't want to be gone more than necessary. "when I buy my cart I won't have to worry about this anymore," that made him want the cart more but the amount of trouble necessary to get one. he did find some scrolls in the library about cart types, there wasn't much difference in civilian carts. but aero quickly ruled those out as he wasn't going to use it for civilian purposes, it was likely it was going to get attacked by something so something sturdy was a must.
while there was the option to get one custom made out of special materials, that cost more money than aero was willing to part with at the moment. the standard ones were still pretty good, 'i don't like going on team missions but as a cosmic lord, I need practice doing it.' he knew it was going to be suffering but he needs a cart caple of carrying a few people.
he looks through more information finding a better idea of what kind of cart he wants before moving onto the scroll that held information on a beast good for pulling a cart. it held how to pick them along with caring for what you picked, straight off he noticed it only spoke of herbivores. which meant you didn't have to worry about something trying to eat him in his sleep.
he didn't show much interest in the more docile one, as docile as you could get with a creature, he needed something that would survive during a hunt. so something that could fight off other creatures would be a good idea or maybe something with strong self-preservation instincts so his cart and things didn't get wreaked.
there were few options for that, one in his price range anyway. getting a creature to listen to anything they said took a lot of time and money, not to mention a planet ton of patience. the hatred ran deep.
'seems my lord I think buying something from the store would be a better use of your time!' the helper said as their lord took a break. while this solution didn't occur to the teen he did have a response to it, "how would I explain whatever I buy?" he wasn't required to answer anyone's questions other than his mom's but people would surely cause up a commotion.
'my lord what you buy simply has to blend in with your planet's level of technology, they are more than a few items that match the group thanks to aesthetic.' Aero nodded that did sound helpful but his planet kept track of who owned the cart in case their beast went wild or they died in the wilds. since creatures might eat everything including the bones the cart could be used for identification. something used a lot more than people liked.
when he told his helper they were quiet for a moment, "simple have it mimic the form of whatever you buy!" they sounded quite proud of themselves. aero didn't disagree but he still had to buy a cart one he would only use for a cover story, that was quite the price to pay for a lie.
Aero had to think about this long and hard, on one hand, something from the lord of greed's business would defiantly have more benefits. but was it really worth the amount of money he was going to spend for a cart plus whatever he brought from the store? he still didn't know the worth of his pride energy.
of course, they had learned more about the energy even started trying to make things with it, but it was all untested and hasn't met the market either. the helper had explained that to him, it mostly went over his head all that demand and supplies none sense. a month or two, the trial for the products would be done the market analyses.
"I don't know if there's anything I can sell anyway," sighing aero knew he just had to hope the best right now. making his choice he bordered the third cart for his trip to the big city. thankful he wasn't the only guy on this one like the first two, that wasn't a pleasant experience. 'they need to learn to mind their own business, "thankfully the cart had suffered form his rage instead of the other passengers.
"so are you traveling to see family too?" a rather old male said. aero looked at the crack in his exoskeleton that only came with old age, this man was truly old, this might be the last trip he makes. which explains the four able bodies women surrounding him. they were likely there to make sure he survived the trip.
"no, I have some business to attend to."
"and you came alone?" one of the female guards asked eyeing his weapon. "brave boy!" she sounded impressed but aero ignored her, instead of pulling out a scroll to read during the ride. they got the message he wasn't interested in conversation which seemed fine with the old man as he dozed off.
'This is interesting data,' the helper commented surprising aero. he asked about the data and apparently, they had scanned the old man. 'it's vital that I learn about my lord's aging process, so I can monitor your health.' aero nodded to this and asked him to continue on, 'it seems even at that age your still be perfectly able to bear children.'
that gave the teen pause, people always said that he should have children as early as possible. aero refused to do that, he wanted to use his time to learn how to fight. that didn't mean he didn't like children nor did it mean he didn't want to have his own one day. of course, their mother was gonna have to meet some standards first.
the fact he could have children while his exoskeleton was starting to crack was reassuring in a way. it lifted a small weight off his thoughts, "I have plenty of time to choose the person I wanna raise children with." that was a nice thought, he didn't have to rush or worry he would find them.
the rest of the day was peaceful until the carriage stopped for the night, he stared out of the stars. he was gonna travel there one day wasn't he, as soon as he figured out how to survive the void of space. reaching it ould be a simple just a melody that nullified gravity long enough for him to reach space, my bones won't be looking great when that happens.
they continued to travel the next day, the weather looked a bit bad but nothing that could slow them down. the old man tried to strike up a conversation with aero again, he wasn't rude about it but he didn't have much to say to the man's stories. for the average guy, this guy clearly had a fun life, enjoyed every moment of it.
'i can't have a life like that,' his heart didn't ack at the thought. it was a simple fact, he couldn't have a life like that man, it may have satisfied him but it would drive aero to murder. he was confident in his ability to hide the body so he was gonna just avoid that path, he couldn't see the star the second night but he didn't mind. it was still a beautiful sky that night, the air was fresh and he relaxed pretty easily.
his slumber was peaceful until it was time for the cart to set out, this time the old man talked about his family. aero felt a sinking sensation when everyone he mentions was spoken about in the past tense. 'oh zalts let it just be a long while since he's seen anyone and not him being the last member alive.' it was likely for both, traveling wasn't easy with the creatures they were also responsible for several hundred deaths every year.
"I'm gonna join them before the year is over," oh that set it for aero this man was the last living member of his family. that met he was probably going to visit their markers, the Grinine didn't let creature eat their body. some would dig up crosses to eat even the bones, so to prevent that they. they just liquefied everything then put it into a mold before resolidifying it. this was a marker, they could last as little as four hundred years. a family usually got their markers tied together, they were called markers because they marked that you lived.
some would say it's rather morbid that every year you had to submit a design of your marker. but others said it was a good reminder of how life is a fleeting thing, aero's marker wasn't anything grand despite his massive pride. because before death all was equal, no matter your gender or what you've done. death looked at everyone the same as death was everyone, as your life was coming to an end you became death. so there was no reason to fear it.
aero didn't think of death often despite his dangerous job, but for every job, he knew if it became possible that he would die. he would at least do his best to make it back to a town so his mother didn't worry longer than she had to. was it said he didn't think he would live longer than his mother, no he considered it realistic his job had a high mortality rate but he chooses it.
'the day that I die, I can only hope that it is far from this day, 'even though the helper could hear these thoughts they decided not to comment. aero's no fear of death was a good thing, because as a cosmic lord he would one day face things worse than death. but that hopefully wouldn't be for a very long time. they should probably find out how good their lord was admitting what scared him, to even just himself.
'My lord, are you ready to check your skill record?' it was first things in the morning as they climbed into the carriage after having their first meal and relieving themselves.
'i don't need someone telling me how good I do something!' it was one of the bigger reasons that he hadn't paid much attention to this ability.
'then how will you know what needs to be improved?'
'i will always strive to improve,' because staying stagnant was a recipe for failure.
'and how will you know the best way to improve beyond the ways to that of your current mortal understanding?' it was at that moment aero caught onto the fact they were planning something, trying to play him. he wasn't threatened, more annoyed as the helper would do whatever was needed to help him along as it didn't harm him. even if he hated them.
'what are you saying?' he was curious what ploy they could have.
'simple my lord, would you rather stay still thanks to your pride or learn skills beyond anything on this planet. which I'm sure would be a challenge worthy of your skills and show others who they are truly messing with." they had played there hand and aero stayed silent.
'i'm very glad you on my side,' his weak points had been stuck and now he was curious,' show me the record.'
skill record
sound based energy manipulation
sound-based atomic manipulation
hand to hand combat
polearm combat
pride energy manipulation
flute playing
....
'i'm proud of all my combat-based skills,' aero smirked as the helper started planning to get their lord more life skills. at least enough he could take care of himself in the future.
polearm combat
mortal rank
common
near mastery
' the amount of effort and time that you've put into hat skill has brought it to near mastery,' the helper then explained it would reach mastery when he fixed the holes caused by himself thaught knowledge. 'then it can be upgraded!'
'and I guess you know the holes,' aero scuffed looking towards the retreating horizon.
'it's just some simple bad habit that you've formed.' was the cheery reply, aero huffed once more annoyed but interested so he brought up the details of another skill.