"Wait, Jaime," Rella called out, moving to catch up with him.
"Hmm?" Jaime turned, a curious look on his face.
"I-I have a present. To thank you." Rella was nervous. For some reason, the more she looked at Jaime, the faster her heart started beating.
Jaime raised an eyebrow. "A present? For what? Beating your ass?~"
Rella puffed her cheeks up. "No, idiot. For, for… Just cause I want to give you a present!" Rella tried to think of a reason, but she couldn't find one. Even she didn't know why. "Just take it!"
Rella reached into the pocket of her robe, pulling out a pretty blue marble. "Here. Just take it."
Jaime smiled, reaching his hand out. "Tha-"
All of a sudden.
"Hey! Watcha got there?" Timothee asked, pushing himself between the two, grabbing the marble out of Rella's hand.
Timothee sniffed the marble, opening his eyes wide. "Hey! That smells pretty good!" Throwing the marble in his mouth, Timothee began sucking on it. "What kind of candy is this? It's pretty good."
Rella was frozen in place, eyes wide as saucers. "Y-y-you, you." Rella stuttered, her brain seemingly blank.
Jaime looked between Rella and Timothee before chuckling. "You were carrying around a single piece of candy in your pocket this whole time?" Jaime didn't directly say that it was weird, but his tone certainly applied it.
"T-that. It's not candy!" Rella panicked as her brain finally processed everything. "Spit that out right now!"
Rella rushed forward, grabbing Timothee by the jaw and forcing his mouth open. Like a mother whose baby ate something they weren't supposed to.
Timothee looked confused but managed to speak with Rella forcing his mouth open. "It disholfed too hast."
Rella's expression became grim when she didn't see it in his mouth. "You need to puke!" Rella lifted her fingers, ready to push them into the boy's throat, but Jaime grabbed her hand.
"Woah, Woah. Slow down. What's the big deal?" Jaime looked at Timothee. "Was it a poisonous candy or something?"
Rella let go of Timothee's mouth, looking up at Jaime. "It wasn't candy! It isn't supposed to be eaten!" Tears began pooling in Rella's eyes. "It was a beast core! It was a good luck charm that my Senior Sister gave me before she left! If normal people eat them, they will die from the chaotic spiritual energy inside!"
Rella's tears began to fall as she looked over at Timothee. "That's why we need to get it out!"
Jaime listened to her explanation with interest. He was starting to think that having Rella around would indeed be very handy. "I see. Well, kid. It was nice knowing ya~" Jaime smiled, putting his hand on Timothee's head.
Timothee smacked his hand away, laughing. "I'm not that easy to get rid of! Even if this candy kills me, I'll come back as a ghost and haunt the evil woman who tricked me~" Timothee looked at Rella as if he was blaming her for his demise.
Rella began crying harder. "I'm so sorry."
Jenna walked up as Aisha had started talking with the owner, and it was quite boring. "What's she crying about now?" Jenna's voice was still soft and sweet, but it had a very disinterested tone.
"Timmy's gonna die, I guess?" Jaime answered, shrugging.
Jenna looked at the kid, nodding her head. "Looks like I win the bet then."
Timothee laughed boisterously. "Well, I'm not dead yet! It'll take a lot more than a little candy to kill this grandfather!"
Timothee then reached up to wipe his forehead where sweat was beginning to show. "Is it hot in here?"
As his hand touched his forehead, it brushed over the tattoo. The tattoo began glowing blue, and in front of Timothee's view, a menu popped up.
Player Name: Timothee Beliara
Alias: None
Cultivation: Elementary, 1st level [low]
Talent Level: Blue [Bright]
Location: First Circle, Northern Continent
"Jackpot!" Timothee yelled suddenly, startling Rella. "We got a menu!"
Jaime raised an eyebrow. "You mean, like a game menu?"
Timothee nodded. "Yessir. I can see my location and shit. Although, it's pretty simple and there isn't much here. There aren't even any stats like Strength or Dexterity, hmm." Timothee stroked his chin while seemingly staring at the space in front of himself.
"How did you open it?" Jenna asked, her interest peaked. "Was it when you brushed your tattoo?"
Timothee wasn't sure, so he tapped the tattoo again, and the menu disappeared. Another tap, and there it was again. "Mhmm. It seems to appear and disappear when I hit the tattoo."
Jaime and Jenna then both tried to hit the tattoos on their body. But, nothing happened.
"I think mine is defective." Jaime laughed.
"Mine doesn't work either."
Timothee spread his arms akimbo, letting out an obnoxious laugh. "I guess I'm once again the best! Haha!"
Timothee squinted at the screen before glancing at Rella. "Hey, crazy girl. What does cultivation mean?"
Hearing his question, an expression of disbelief appeared on Rella's face. "You're saying you don't know what cultivation is? Were you hidden away in a cave until now?"
Timothee shrugged, looking at Rella with a serious expression. "I was actually raised by wolves. I only recently earned my freedom through combat."
Rella gave him a long look. "That is almost more believable than not knowing what cultivation is."
Timothee nodded sagely, squinting at what seemed to be nothing. "Sooo… is Elementary 2nd level good?" Timothee then made a swatting motion with his hand. "Wait, scratch that. It's at 3rd level now. Seriously, is anyone else hot? I feel like I'm boiling."
Rella was curious about something, so she reached her spiritual sense out toward the boy. "What the fuck!" Rella couldn't help but curse in shock.
Jaime had his hand on Timothee's forehead but looked over when he heard Rella. "What's up?"
"T-that's impossible! Your cultivation is increasing without you even cultivating! How are you doing that? Are you absorbing the beast core?" Rella had an expression of complete disbelief at this point.
"Is that why I feel so hot?" Timothee looked at her with sweat pouring down his forehead. His skin was also starting to turn red. "It is really hot. My skin is starting to itch."
Jaime looked at him with a bit of concern but shrugged.
Rella, on the other hand, put her palm on Timohee's forehead. "You need to start cultivating! If your body can absorb the spirit energy naturally, then if you cultivate, you might even be able to survive!"
Jaime seemed to get an idea when he heard that and walked away, leaving Jenna and Rella to help the kid.
Walking into the only other room in the shop, Jaime leaned on the doorframe, knocking his knuckles against the wood. "Hey, Cain."
Inside the room, Cain and Melina were sitting across from each other as she showed him vases.
Cain looked up at Jaime. "Yeah?"
Jaime saw the excited expression on the boy's face, wondering just what kind of life he lived until now. "I need your help for a second. It'll be quick."
Cain nodded his head before looking at Melina. "I'll be right back." He stood, following Jaime out.
"Wait! Can I come too?" Melina asked, quickly standing up and patting her robes.
Cain looked to Jaime for approval, but Jaime just laughed. "What are you looking at me for? You're the boss."
Jaime laughed, walking out of the room.
Cain turned to Melina. "Well, I guess that's a yes then."
Melina nodded, rushing forward. She was enjoying spending time with Cain, but she was also concerned about her dad.
When Melina stepped into the main room, the first thing she heard was a younger boy's voice. "How am I supposed to concentrate when it's so damn hot! This place is like a sauna!"
Melina quickly scanned the shop, seeing her dad standing behind the counter as a dark-haired girl was walking away. He didn't look hurt, taking a huge burden off Melina's mind. She then saw the large mess of broken pottery, shaking her heart.
Melina's father met her eyes and shook his head defeatedly. Grabbing a broom, Melina began cleaning the mess as her father came to help.
The rest of the group was gathered around Timothee and Rella, who was trying to help him cultivate.
"Argh, it's no use! I can't sit still and find inner peace or whatever bullshit when my skin feels like it's on fire!"
Rella was extremely worried, doing her best to help the boy. She was terrified of what the others would think, what Jaime would think, if she was the cause of the boy's death. "You need to try! Please. This has to work."
As those two were focused, Jaime brought Cain over. "Can you absorb the energy as you did before? That is what you did, right?"
Cain looked at Jaime before looking at Timothee and back to Jaime. He shrugged. "I don't know what I did before. But, I can try."
Cain then closed his eyes and focused his senses. It was strange, but he could almost feel something familiar calling out to him. He focused on the small voice as he reopened his eyes. Holding his hand toward the energy, his irises suddenly began to swirl and shimmer with the colors of a rainbow.
The large amount of excess energy that was running rampant inside of Timothee's body flowed out, funneling into Cain's hand.
Cain could feel that same refreshing and comforting feeling as before. He closed his eyes, enjoying it while it lasted.
When Cain reopened his eyes, they had once more returned to their beautiful blue color. The energy was fully gone, and everyone was staring at him.
Jaime had a smirk on his face.
Aisha smiled sweetly at him.
Timothee gave him two thumbs up with a toothy grin.
Jenna raised an eyebrow but still pretended to not care
Rella, however, was shocked to her very core. Her mouth was agape as she stared wide-eyed at the boy. "W-w-w-" Her brain wasn't working well enough to form a sentence.
Timothee laughed. "Haha! With you around, I can eat all of the candies I want!"
Aisha smacked him on the back of the head, giving him a 'don't you dare' look.
Timothee sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, but the grin never left his face. It might've been something in the air, but no one believed that this was going to be a one-time incident.