Seeing Deno's agitated demeanor shifting from turmoil to a blend of amusement and tranquility, everyone began to feel confused.
Chase was the first to look up at Martin causing the realisation to hit him like a bag of bricks, 'The Martin' was here, the master stage cultivator Martin, the powerhouse Martin, the fighting addict Martin, and he was talking to them.
Martin saw Chase's sparkling eyes as he silently chuckled to himself.
Jeremy got helped off the floor as he dusted himself off, he too reaching the same conclusion as Chase but rather than drowning Martin in his glare, Jeremy cuffed his fist and bowed silently in respect.
Alena, Chase, Mearna and Ally followed all except for Deno.
He didn't really see the need to bow, afterall he saw Martin as a friendly gorilla, one that could kill him with a glare, but wouldn't. How could anyone ever lower themselves to others if it isn't necessary.
Martin patted Jeremy's head with one hand and Deno with the other as he began.
"Thank you for looking out for my little friend here, sometimes he doesn't know how far he's taking something."
Jeremy not knowing how to take the kindness looked away with a slightly embarrassed blush whilst his brows were furrowed.
"It was nothing."
Jeremy said with the coolest voice he could muster up. Afterall, he wasn't some nobody and did have some level of status thanks to his family.
"Where are you all going anyway?"
Martin asked, he knew the answer as he had overheard them talking prior, Deno had simply provoked his interest causing him to furtively follow along to make sure his little disciple was alright.
But they didn't need to know that.
"We're going to take Deno on a mission for his birthday."
Ally said politely as she placed her smooth pale hand on his upper back. For a 5 year old, Deno's back was extremely chiseled shocking Ally a bit.
"Really now? Do you mind if I join?"
All their faces lit up with excitement as it was absurdly rare to get a master stage cultivator to join such low level cultivators on a mission.
"Do we mind?!"
Mearna said.
"That'd be awesome! It'll make it twice as fast, Alena?"
Chase shouted, his fist clenched out in front of him pumping into the air with excitement, whilst looking over to Alena.
Alena nodded her quiet shy aura on the side, seeming to suddenly appear.
"You guys go ahead, I gotta get something."
Deno mumbled, he was gonna use the money martin gave him since he left the home to buy the mushrooms but afterall the bullshit that was going on it'd taken longer than expected,
"You mean these?"
Martin said holding out the mushrooms Deno was after.
"Huh? How?"
Martin smiled,
"I saw you eyeing these from a mile away."
Deno raised an eyebrow in confusion.
'Wait does that mean he was watching him the entire time? And this bastard still didn't do anything.'
Even disregarding his anger, he still didn't know what Martin wanted.
Almost like reading Deno's mind Ally shot out.
"Wait if you were here why didn't you help us?!"
Martin started to severely sweat as he started to look around panicking, hoping to change the subject.
Glaring straight into the sun Martin yelled,
"Hey look, the sun's setting, lets get moving before it gets too dark!"
Martin said before marching off, his shoulders and legs shuffling to get away.
A shared wave of sweat rolled down everyone's forehead, as a sense of incredulity washed over each person in unison.
'I guess we should follow him right?'
Deno asked Adriana
'I suppose so...'
---
Deno finished stretching his legs as they left the titan-like gates of the Pride sect.
The gates were seemingly made of polished maple but the lines and design that ran from the bottom to the top gave a topaz look to it.
It was beautiful, but as he left the sect, the Dao within the atmosphere instantly became less dense.
Adriana, noticing his perplexed expression, took it upon herself to explain,
'The pride sect, as a sect has the responsibility of providing a excellent environment to cultivate in, frankly, If you think progressing within the sect took time, outside, it might prove to be an impossible feat. Of course, the dragon empire had much higher concentrations within even their weakest sects.'
It didn't matter if the Dao was less dense because he wasn't planning on sitting around for years cultivating, afterall, he had the cool dragon cultivation technique which he couldn't care enough to remember.
Ignoring her boastful tone, Deno scanned his surroundings, observing each person with their respective weapons.
The trio: Ally, Mearna, and Chase wielded long swords, something most cultivators had on them. It was the most common and convenient weapon choice which countless martial manuals to train with.
Martin, on the other hand, brandished a peculiar-looking war hammer like a colossal anchor on a tiny boat. It hung on his back, reminiscent of a tennis racket. In stark contrast, Jeremy and Alena hung thin metal spears across their back.
Deno had no experience with swords, he knew how to handle knives or guns but swords always seemed inconvenient to him. Who was going to walking down a street with a katana settled on their waist?
'Are there any brass knuckles in this world?'
Deno pondered whilst directing the question to his Wikipedia.
'Of course there are, but they are extremely uncommon, the only martial style I can think of that would even be slightly effective is the palm strike martial style, the others are ineffective third rate martial arts.'
Looking to the group they were all huddled around Martin like moths to a flame.
Deno sighed, 'I thought this was a martial world, why are there so few options. Why couldn't I be born into a rich family with cute maids and servants to wash my a-'
'-Ahem, keep your whining thoughts to yourself.'
'I'm just saying...'
Deno grinned while responding.
Adriana didn't follow his lead, her tone turned serious and direct.
'What's your goal anyway, I understand you want to gain strength but is that really what you want? If you think power will grant happiness then you're solely mistaken as many men have gained absolute power and yet still seem suffer greater than those that lack it.'
Deno squinted and looked down in deep contemplation. In his past life he desired to start a company and live in the mountains, that never happened. Then he wanted to find a wife, that never happened. Then he wanted to stop suffering, that never happened.
'Well it almost did. I guess. I want to stop suffering.'
Deno finalised.
Adriana almost burst out into laughter,
'Wow, truly so heartfelt Alexander, you certainly can't accomplish that with power! Look at where that got me.'
---
As Ally turned her gaze towards Deno, she couldn't help but notice the endearing features that adorned his face. His plump, round cheeks, tiny nose, and sizable eyebrows all came together harmoniously, creating an irresistible cuteness that tempted her to shower him with affectionate squeezes.
However, she maintained restraint, mindful of the need to respect his personal space, no matter how much it hurt her.
Strangely, Deno seemed to be immune to smiles, as if the act eluded him entirely as though he existed in a perpetual state of observation, analyzing everything and everyone around him.
He would frequently cross his arms and closing his eyes, hinting at a silent contemplation of some hidden hilarity.
Ally couldn't help but wonder if he was crafting jokes that only he could understand, a world of wit hidden behind his piercing gaze.
Ally walked over to him as the rest of the crew were asking martin questions.
"Hey Deno?"
Deno's eyes popped open revealing his jet-black eyes, shockingly she was greeted with a miniaturised warm smile,
"mhm?"
Surprised at his light heartened mood she quickly continued,
"What're you thinking about?"
Deno's brows lifted as he was slightly confused why she cared.
'The little girl is attempting to bond with you Alexander, honestly'
Adriana said, speechless.
'Yeah but why?'
Deno said sighing, he knew perfectly why, but it was weird, he didnt know how to take it, it had been far too long since he felt any compassion from another person. But if he were to think about it, Ally was the closest people to him, Martin was probably doing it for some benefit from Nicholas, Adriana and him were in the same boat, and everybody else was going along with this trip because of Martin or Ally. She was the only one that had given him an unconditional love, like an actual sister.
'I wonder how that kid, Ryan's doing?'
'He's probably dead. You gave a hopeless boy encouragement, he'll probably be pumped up, challenge someone and then die.'
Adriana said bluntly, no need to hide the truth, she had seen enough things in her time and that was honestly what she thought would happen.
'Heh, right.'
Deno laughed it off, but when he considered the idea of him dying his heart seemed to skip a beat, just like his younger...
"Uhm, Deno?"
Ally asked leaning forward towards his face. Deno had seemed to blanked off into his own world once again. Her curiosity was endless.
"Hm, oh right, I'm thinking about the... Kind of creatures we'll be encountering. I'm not too familiar with anything outside the sect."
Deno said stumbling to find a reasonable response.
"Yeah, you haven't been out for years. Are you nervous?" Ally's voice carried a warm, sparkling smile, but her eyes portrayed a different story. Despite her attempt to appear at ease, Deno noticed the concern that lingered behind her facade, taking him by surprise as he saw right through her emotions.
'Has she not been on trips like these?'
Deno rhetorically asked Adriana.
Taking too long to answer, Ally continued thinking that Deno was too nervous to respond.
"Don't worry Deno, considering your luck, you'll be fine!"
That sentence made Deno's brow twitch?
"Considering my luck? I'm pretty sure I'm Lady Luck's arch-nemesis,"
Deno blurted out accidentally, causing a slight frown to appear on Ally's face.
"Why's that? I understand you had a tough time on your first day, and it being your birthday made it worse, but don't worry, things are bound to improve from here!"
She reassured him with a comforting tone.
'Trust me, kid, if you hang around me, you're sure to end up in some shitty situation,'
Deno added with a grim attempt at humor.
'I second that,'
Adriana chimed in, joining the playful banter and teasing Deno about his perceived bad luck.
"Right! thanks Ally."
Deno said with a forced appreciation.
Although Ally was attempting to encourage Deno, Deno noticed that she seemed more nervous than him.
"No problem, It's good that your calming down, I didn't want you nervous after Jeremy and chase made us bump the mission to a 1st stage rating."
"Huh?"
Deno glared back at her in shock.
"Wait! did you not know? I told chase to tell you! Uhhh."
Giving a death stare into an unknowing Chase's back, sent a chill down his spine.
"Don't worry it's fine."
Deno said smiling.
"Oh, yeah, you're right, so you're not nervous anymore?"
Deno smiled, if she really wanted someone to comfort her he would do it, that was the least he could do.
"Sure, I'm nervous, when I get nervous I do something that gets my mind off it and focus on the present. Not the past or the future, as as far as I'm concerned they don't exist."
Deno said chuckling slightly. Nodding her head Ally almost burst out laughing as she realised she was being coddled by a 5 year old.
"Thanks Deno."
Ally said sincerely as she nodded and walked back towards her energetic teammates .
---
Meanwhile, a certain Dragon overlord barked with madness.
'Are they crazy! A 1st stage mission!'
Adriana exclaimed incredulously.
'They sure are,'
Deno replied with a mischievous grin.
'You're loving this, aren't you!'
Adriana retorted, wishing she could facepalm as if she had a physical body.
Sighing, she realised that she had to prepare.
'I've been thinking, Alexander...'
'What?'
Deno's arched his eyebrow and bit his lip half expecting unfortunate news.
'Considering how messy things could get when you're in the equation, I might as well teach you a few martial tricks for dire situations,'
Deno's ears perked up in excitement as he heard her words.
'I could teach you some escaping techniques, but knowing you, it would probably be futile. Instead, I might as well instruct you in an illusory technique,'
Adriana proposed.
'What!? I was hoping for something that could move mountains, like a Kamehameha or something.'
Deno exclaimed a little pissed off.
'Kameha? Oh yes, I suppose something like that could be possible, but not for you at this point,'
Adriana remarked.
'Wait, so it's possible?'
Deno's eyes widened with shock.
'Don't dwell on it. Attempting something like that could lead to the eventual destruction of your Dantian,'
Adriana warned.
'The faster you learn the illusory technique, the more at ease I'll be.'
Nodding his head Deno inquired,
'What's it called?'
'It's called the Terrain Soul Grasp—a simple technique taught to most spies within the Dragon Empire,'
Adriana explained.
'Wait, I don't have to say that every time I use it, right?'
'Of course not, idiot!'
Adriana retorted.
'Just making sure,'
Deno replied with a hint of sarcasm. If he had to say that during a fight where people or creatures could move faster than a bullet he would be dead before it even got out.
'Now, focus and pull the Dao within your fingertips,'
Adriana instructed.
'Huh?' Deno looked confused.
Adriana frowned in disappointment, she had forgotten that she hadn't taught him much as it was extremely difficult considering she couldn't, well, physically interact with him or demonstrate.
Just as they both pondered for a solution, Martin roared,
"Alright, let's go!"