Ina's eyes fluttered open, her lower part felt a bit sore for some reason. As she slowly woke up, her eyes met with Ryker's, who gave her a teasing smile. Slowly, the last night's event flashed through her mind.
Overloaded by embarrassment, she used her hands to conceal her face, only for Ryker to grab them and pull them above her head. Surprised by what he was doing, she couldn't stop when Ryker gave her another deep kiss, one that made her relax her arms as he released it.
"I don't expect a confession would lead me to take a girl the first time, but I don't complain," he teasingly said, pulling Ina into his embrace, her head on his chest.
The blushing woman could only shut her mouth as she remained there, feeling both safe and loved. She wished to remain in his arms longer but alas, they had to leave the bed.
Soon, they got out of bed and cleaned up, Ina's sheets were changed and they washed up and were ready to go. As they left her room, they spotted Ina's parents, as well as Ryker's younger siblings.
The parents gave them a wry smile while the siblings looked happy, with the exception of the four eldest after Ryker as they knew he had been doing that.
"Big Brother! Does this mean Big Sis Ina would be our Big Sis?!" Unsurprisingly, Ayani was the one to ask such a question, the little girl looked excited at the notion of having another big sister.
"Yep, she will be your big sister. After all, we got a lot closer during the night," Ryker replied, making the faces of his four siblings contorted, their faces screaming 'I don't need to know that,'.
Ina decided to turn red while the parents coughed at his words. After recovering, the three glared at him before deciding to invite the two to breakfast. Seeing as how they had been doing some 'night activities', the two accepted, eating breakfast as they slowly talked about what happened during the feast.
Ryker smiled, to think his siblings charmed the villagers. How he wished to settle down in this place and not care for everything else. However, he still wished to get his answer so he needed to get stronger or what he suffered during the ritual wouldn't mean much.
Looking at the chief, who looked like he wanted to talk with him, he decided to get his siblings out for now.
"Ilina, Ezekial, Esran, Sheena. You all are old enough to take care of the younger ones on your own. What about walking around the village? You could play and meet up with children your age," he suggested, the four seemed surprised though they quickly agreed when the younger siblings looked at them pleadingly.
After his siblings left the house, Ryker looked at the chief, who looked serious. "Let's talk about the plans for the village,"
-x-
While initially, both the chief's wife and Ina didn't know of the agreement, they learned about it during the talk. Ina looked shocked. To think her current lover is a cultivator, one she only heard in stories.
Their faces change a bit when they learn about how the chief is now Ryker's subordinate. Thankfully, they agreed it was the best as serving a powerful cultivator would give their village a better survival chance, maybe even thriving.
As the two talked about the plans for the mine, it was agreed that half of what they mine would belong to Ryker, as it was his spoil from defeating the bandits. The other half would be used for the village's sake, either being kept in storage for future use or will be used immediately to create cultivators.
Ryker also gave the Celestial Energy Art to the chief, though only the most basic part. The reason he gave the Cultivation Art is because of its versatility and ease of understanding for beginners, at least the first part.
However, even with a Cultivation Art, only the most trusted personals would be allowed to become cultivators, and that is after the chief himself becomes one, to not allow anyone to think about getting some idea. Ryker planned to impart some Cultivation Techniques when cultivators finally appeared from the villagers.
Because of his action, the villagers treated him as their savior, his siblings received better treatment as a result. Of course, he told his siblings to not do something to break the villagers' trust.
He and his siblings also lived with Ina's family. Thankfully, the house is big enough for 14 more people, though mostly because 9 of them are children and could share a bed. As for Ryker, he used Ina's room, though the two refrained from any 'night activities'.
That didn't stop them (Ryker) from touching each other. Ina's embarrassed face would always be something he wished to see every day. They soon get used to a schedule.
After waking up, they would have breakfast. After done, Ryker and the chief would lead the latter's most trusted men to a secluded area for some training, the chief and his chosen guard already at Genesis Awakening Realm and soon breakthrough the Genesis Gathering Realm.
After teaching some of his comprehension of the Celestial Energy Art, he would leave them to their cultivation while he cultivated in a different area. He slowly made steady progress, and the amount of energy crystals helped his cultivation rise.
After done with their daily cultivation, the guards would return to their patrol, whereas Ryker would head to the mine. With his cultivation, he easily mined the energy crystals veins. It's because of him that they were able to mine so many energy stones and energy crystals.
His earlier estimate was half right, as he did mine one-fifth of that deposit. Out of several others. He estimated there were several other energy crystal veins. They already finished mining the one he found, and one other, and are currently in the process of mining the third vein.
In the second vein, another Energy Crystal Core was found, Ryker, grabbing it for himself. The miners didn't stop him. He wonders how many veins are there in if all of them would have an Energy Crystal Core. He estimated there were 18 veins, though there might be deeper ones out of his divine sense.