Eric walked back to his home, his hands in his pockets, thinking about how he should begin his cultivation.
Technically, because the Essence Harmonization Technique, despite being a dual cultivation technique, could be used like a normal cultivation technique to absorb the ambient spirit energy, he could start cultivating, but the problem was…
…The ambient spirit energy was non-existent here. Only the core city was rumored to have some sparse spirit energy thanks to the spirit-gathering formations established by the Kroft family.
He couldn't go buy some cultivation resources, such as spirit stones—condensed forms of the spirit energy—because the few credits he had were nowhere near enough to buy even a single one of them.
'It would have been better if Aunt Leah had come an hour, or even half an hour, later.' He sighed.
He wasn't worried about Elsa because he knew Leah loved her daughter very much, and because she must have already expected something like this to happen when she left them alone, she wouldn't scold her too much.
And as he expected, after he left the house, Leah's worried and disbelieving expression turned into a smile.
Just then, Elsa walked out, looking embarrassed.
Leah pinched her cheek and scolded in a doting voice, "You happy now, girl? You finally got your dream boy."
Elsa blushed and swatted her hand away. "I am, Mom. I just hope that bastard Luke doesn't cause too much trouble for him."
As she said this, both her and Leah's expressions turned solemn.
Leah then smiled, "Don't worry; your little soon-to-be husband said everything will be alright."
"MOM!" Elsa cried out, blushing.
"What? He isn't going to my son-in-law? Alright then, I'll tell him tomorrow you don't want to marry him. Sigh! It seems your father and I won't see our son-in-law and grandchildren from you."
"Mom! Stop talking, otherwise I won't talk to you!" Elsa stomped her foot, not able to endure her teasings.
"Hehe, alright. I won't say anything about it." Leah chuckled and then said, "But… it would be better if you took a bath. You reek of him."
Elsa wanted to find a hole to hide.
…
When Eric was halfway to his house, deep in thought, suddenly, the system's monotonous voice sounded in his head.
[Ding! A new quest has been issued.]
Immediately, he stopped in his tracks and looked into his mind.
[Quest: Use your enemy.]
[Description: Host's enemy, Luke Walden, is making plans to kill the host and kidnap the host's loved ones. Since the host isn't strong enough yet to do anything to him, the host should go to his house and use what belongs to him to begin your cultivation journey.]
[Reward: Begining of cultivation.]
[Remark: Fuck morals!]
Eric raised his brows in confusion. 'Use what belongs to him? If he had anything that could help him cultivate, he would've already become a warrior.'
Still, even though he didn't understand what the system wanted, he changed direction, and twenty minutes later, he arrived in Luke's neighborhood.
Because it was late afternoon with the sun shining brightly in the sky, increasing the temperature, just a few people were out in the streets—if they could be called that—going about their business.
So, no one noticed him as he walked toward Luke's house, but as he neared it, he hesitated.
What was he going to do?
Luke's parents, younger sister, and brother already knew they didn't have a good relationship, and even though they knew it was all because of Luke coveting Riya, they never said anything to him; instead, they supported him.
There was one time when he had come to complain about Luke, but his parents had been very rude and had said some very offensive things.
'I can't just go and knock on the door, nor can I break in?' He thought in frustration, 'What the hell am I supposed to do?'
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Luke's mother walking toward her house from the opposite side of the street, carrying a large sack on her head.
She seemed to be in her early forties, but from the fact that Luke was just a year or two older than him and since poor people married early, Eric could tell she must be in her late thirties at most. It was just that their condition and lack of proper nutrition made her look older.
Though her face had more wrinkles than Leah's, she didn't look ugly. No, far from that, she looked quite good. Her sun-kissed skin, a testament to years of hard work under the sun, seemed to highlight her feminine features.
She had a shapely figure with large breasts, though they were sagging a little, a narrow waist, and wide, childbearing hips. And her motherly charm increased her appeal a little more.
Seeing how slowly she was walking and how her steps were unstable, Eric's eyes lit up, and he walked toward her.
"You need a hand, aunt?" He asked when she was about to pass by him.
Rosalie, hearing someone was offering help, hesitated, a wary look appearing on her sweaty face.
Although the things in the sack weren't too valuable, they still had some monetary value. So, she was worried he might flee with it, which was normal in the slums.
But just as the thought crossed her mind, she noticed Eric didn't look strong and shouldn't be able to run carrying it.
Also, she was already in the neighborhood, her house being just a hundred meters away. If he tried to run, she could just shout and attract her neighbor's attention and have them help her catch him.
And…
"You look familiar. Do you live somewhere nearby, boy?" She asked, looking at him with a pondering look.
Eric's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he felt angry.
That day, along with her husband, son, and daughter, she had said some very mean things to him about Riya. But now, she couldn't even recognize him. This showed how little attention they paid him.
"Yeah, I live nearby." He smiled, and before she could say anything else, raised his hands and grabbed the sack. "Here, let me help you."
"Hehe, what a good boy you are!" Rosalie smiled after handing the sack over to him. She then pointed to her house. "My house is right there. Come."