I was standing in the place where I had defeated the BOSS. As I expected it had dropped a Magic Core. I picked it up, after which I used Appraisal on it…
The owner gains speed equal to that of Gods.
'I appears like it raises the owner's Agility stat by 5 times.'
After picking the Magic Core up, I decided to go back and check up on the others. Just as I got there someone called out my name…
"Gojo…"
Wan was walking towards me while leaning on Ryu's shoulder.
"That monster… The BOSS. Did you defeat it?"
"Yea… Everything is fine."
Upon hearing that Wan let out a relaxed smile.
"Gojo, you really are strong.Way stronger than what I could ever imagine… How did you manage to get this strong!?"
"It's thanks to you."
"What?"
"Looking at the way you use Chi Control became a point of reference for me.If it wasn't for that, I don't think I would have been able to master it in such a short time."
"Is that so…"
Wan made a complicated expression and looked towards the ground.
"But I won't be able to continue doing Martial Arts any more… After all I lost both of my hands.I wanted to become a strong person like you Gojo, but now… I guess I'll have to retire as Suzaku's leader as well."
"I'll give you back your hands."
When Ryu heard that he looked at me and shook his head.
"I already cast Healing Magic on her.The bleeding has stopped, and the wounds have closed.There's nothing else we can do!"
If it were a normal person, that really would have been the case, but for me it was different. I went next to Wan and grabbed her hands.
A warm yellow light slowly started engulfing Wan's body. Wan and Ryu were just standing there dumbfounded by the sight of a type of Healing Magic they were seeing for the first time.
"Perfect Heal!"
After the light died down Wan's hands were already restored to the way they had been before.
"My… my hands are back!?You can even do something like this?"
Without replying I just smiled slightly…
"Hahaha, you're amazing!You deserve the title of History's Strongest Monk, that's for sure!"
Afterwards everyone from Suzaku got together and we all descended down the mountain. Compared to when we first came, the number of monsters had dropped significantly. When we finally got to the foot of the mountain Wan called out to me.
"Gojo, I'll convey to the Chinese Government that you were the one who defeated the BOSS! We'll engrave your name in history as the one who saved China from its peril."
Wan was talking to me rather happily however Ryu jumped in to stop her.
"Wan, this subjugation was carried out by Suzaku as a whole.The results aren't just Gojo's."
Wan showed a surprised expression at Ryu's words.
"What are you saying?He defeated the BOSS by himself! It's not like Suzaku was the one who beat it!It's only natural for him to be rewarded for his efforts!!"
"Even if you do convey it to the government, there's no way that they'll just accept it like that.It's a problem that's going to affect the country's prestige.I feel bad about doing this to Gojo, but its best if we have it know that it was Suzaku as a whole who defeated it!"
Wan madly grabbed onto Ryu's collar!
"Ryu!Do you really think that?How can you say such shameful words!!"
Ryu just calmly looked at Wan's eyes.
"I want to let the guys who laid down their lives be remembered as heroes."
Wan suddenly became lost for words. There was nothing else she could say to him.
"I already talked to Gojo about it.I asked him if it really was fine for me to do this and he gave me his permission.I'm perfectly aware that it's shameless!I don't care what people will think of me, I just want to…"
"It's gonna be easier for me that way as well.I don't want to stand out that much so Wan, please, leave it be."
Wan tightly clenched her fists. It was evident that it was really hard for her to accept it…
"Okay.Gojo we're indebted to you.So if you say you want to leave it like this, then so be it."
After saying that and looking like she had finally calmed down a bit, Wan looked at me with serious eyes.
"Gojo, come to China!A person as powerful as you will be able to obtain anything he wants.China has political power and it didn't suffer that many casualties during The Calamity, so its conditions should be way better when compared to Japan."
It seems like she really was thinking about my well being… However I still shook my head an answered.
"Thank you for the invitation, but I'll have to pass.It's not like I'm doing this because I'm expecting to be rewarded in some way."
And it's not good to just go ahead and accept benefits from only a specific country.
"I see… That's really unfortunate…"
Wan said with a sad expression.
I looked at her and opened my mouth to speak.
"Wan, I'll be going."
"…Are you going back to Japan?"
"No, I still have some other places that I have to visit."
"I see… We still have an enormous debt towards you.So I'll definitely come and take care of it one day!"
"Sure, I'll be waiting.Let's meet again."
After that we parted ways.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
China ・ Anhui Province ・ Huangshan City
The steep mountains were creating a fairy tale like view. And I was there, sitting on top of one of the mountain's peaks.
I had forgotten about it, but after defeating the Chimera I had maxed out… So I decided to use Appraisal to check up on my current status…
Monk Lv99
[Class Skills]
Chi Control Rank B → A
Magic Acquired: Strengthening Magic (I) x2
Chi Control had went up to A… It was precisely thanks to this skill that I managed come out as victor in the last fight.
"So what exactly should I do about this one…"
Above me in the clear blue sky, letting off its blue flames was the Phoenix flying in circles.
Compared to the Chimera, I was able to instantly find it with Clairvoyance. After all there was no way I would just leave it be…
However I had no way to defeat it as well… One idea that I had was to seal it by capturing it, and putting it in my space region. While thinking on how to deal with it, the Phoenix came right on top of me and continued flying in circles.
"Is it messing with me?"
Just after saying that, the Phoenix flew down and landed right in front of me. It tucked away its wings and afterwards lowered its head. It looked almost like it was bowing to me. Seeing that, only one thing came to my mind…
"Wait… Do you actually want to come with me?"
I didn't know the thought process of Spirits… To be honest I wasn't even sure if they were capable of thought at all. Before now, the way I made companions was by defeating them and using Tame afterwards.
Considering this situation, I wasn't sure if Tame would actually work or not.
Even so I decided to try it out.
"Tame!!"
A magic circle immediately appeared underneath the Phoenix and the next instant the Phoenix turned into beads of light and disappeared… After checking the Tame list, I saw that its name really was there!
It had unexpectedly succeeded… With this the biggest threats in China had been dealt with… Next was…
My eyes were travelling beyond Huangshan City's Mountains, looking towards the not so distant Russia!!