After feeding Elena till she was satisfied, Bittu was currently wearing his new clothes and shoes that he had brought for himself yesterday. They were all black; a black T-shirt, pant and shoes.
He was getting ready to go to Mr. Kaminari.
".... Why can't I come with you?... ", asked Elena who was also beside him at the moment, in a dispirited tone.
"Because, I have to work and you being there will just distract me.", said Bittu without looking at her.
".... But, why? ", she questioned in a low voice.
Bittu didn't know how to answer that question so, decides to say whatever came to his mind.
Bittu stood up and held both her shoulder looked at her eyes and said with a smile and a teasing tone. , " It's because you are just that stunning. "
Elena blushed seeing him teasing her but she felt happy and asked, ".... Really?"
Bittu was suprised to see her agree so easily with what he just came up with. He opened the door while responding with a chuckle. , "... Haha.... Of course, so let me go and work."
He closed the door and left.
Elena was looking at him leave while thinking,' Master, teach him well, he is gonna need it'
'Since...the ruins are gonna open soon.'
***********
Bittu after some walk reached the old man's house only to find that, it was still locked.
Bittu headed towards Siddarth, who was currently looking at him too.
Bittu approached him with a greeting and said,
"Siddarth, Did Mr. Kaminari not return till now? "
".... That seems to be the case. ", replied Siddarth looking towards the old man's house.
".... Did he say when he will come today? ", asked Bittu to confirm that he would be here today.
".... He should be here in about two hours.", said Siddarth after thinking.
"Okay.. ", Bittu nodded as he sat at the same spot as yesterday.
Just like that three hours passed, Bittu was bored as he had nothing to do in this whole three hours. He just sat there watching people buy clothes in the store.
After the people inside left he, came to ask him.
"... Siddarth, Is he still on the way? ", Bittu asked with the same bored face.
Siddarth who was currently arranging his money looked at him and answered, "... I have no idea why, he is late. This time he has not even sent a message. "
Seeing Bittu's face that looked a little annoyed, He added, ".....Maybe you can come tomorrow, it looks like Mr. Kaminari will be late today too. "
After thinking for a while Bittu said, ".... Hmmm... Let's see if he doesn't come till the evening then, I will leave and come tomorrow. "
Siddarth nodded at him. He then put his hands in his pocket and took out some chocolates and offered them to Bittu.
But unexpectedly Bittu declined, ".... Sorry, but, j left eating candies a long time back."
Siddarth was suprised hearing that and questioned, ".... You don't like eating chocolate?"
"... It's not about liking them or not. I just left them and didn't eat anymore.", said Bittu with a forced smile.
"... Well, okay then.", Siddarth shrugged his shoulders and kept them back in his pockets.
After that, Bittu sat back down on the chair. Just like that, it was already evening but, the old man didn't come.
Bittu then got up waved out to Siddarth, "... Okay, then. I will come back tomorrow. " to while Siddarth nodded with a smile as he watched Bittu leave.
After Bittu left, Siddarth came back into the room and sat on the mat opposite to the old man.
".. Master, he left.", said Siddarth with a smile. ".... He lasted longer than I thought he would." added when he saw his master nod.
Mr. Kaminari, right now didn't give off the same presence that he gave off on Bittu's first meeting with him.
Right now he gave off a presence of a seasoned martial artist, who wore his age with wisdom. His visage boasted a bald head, a testament to time's unrelenting march, while a solitary beard adorned his weathered face. The combination of age and martial prowess etched a unique presence, where every wrinkle told a story of battles fought and lessons learned. In the quiet dignity of his name, one could envision the aura of a seasoned warrior, his bald head symbolizing the discipline of his craft, and the beard hinting at the resilience accumulated over years of training and experience.
He put his tea cup down and said, ".... It really is surprising....for him to be so patient....since he is from the same place as Elena. "
"....It's good though. He has....what it takes to.....accept my mantle. Tomorrow, Bring him to me. ", instructed the old man while looking forward to practice Bittu.
*************
At the moment, Bittu was returning back to the hotel. Though, the moment he arrived at the hotel he saw her all dressed up waiting for someone..... Probably him?
She with her sleek, straight hair gracefully stood near the hotel, clad in a long, elegant black dress that accentuates her allure. Her demeanor exudes a captivating blend of cuteness and allure, creating an intriguing presence as she patiently awaits someone special.
He walked towards her while asking ,"... Elena, where are you going?"
Elena immediately looked at him with a smile hearing his voice and said, ".... We are.... going somewhere."
Before Bittu could express his confusion over the matter, she added hurriedly while looking at her watch. ,"... We are late. You should have come faster. Now, take this and go wear it fast and come down."
Bittu was still confused but decided to do as she said. He returned after some time wearing the cloth she provided and stood near her.
Elena looked at him and a blush appeared on her face.
Bittu adorned in a black suit, looked handsome and hot to an extent and when she looked at him he gave her a smile only to see her look at him for a second and then look away. He was a bit disappointed seeing her reaction.
But he had misunderstood and Elena shifted her gaze so as not to blush too much right before the suprise she has planned for him.
".... Let's go.", said Elena as they got into a taxi.
After fifteen minutes of walk, They reached their destination which was surprisingly.....near the river.
Bittu then got out of the car and so did Elena and after paying the guy theh walked towards their destination which Bittu was unaware of so he decided to ask.
".... Now that we are here, you can surely tell me right. Why are we here? ", asked
"...", though Elena didn't answer and just put her hand in his and walked towards a nearby hotel.
After a while they sat down near a table from where the river with the night sky as the horizon could be seen.
Elena was currently placing the order while Bittu was looking around the hotel.
The hotel's nocturnal ambiance is imbued with a subtle elegance, as dimmed lights create a soft glow across the various balconies. Diners enjoy their meals under the celestial canvas, with the nearby river reflecting the night sky, seamlessly merging into a horizon of tranquil beauty.
Bittu and Elena were currently at one of the balconies.
"... How's the hotel? ", asked Birth seeing him checking it out.
".... It's good... ", answered Bittu while looking around. He then looked at Elena asked, "... Now, can I get my answer? "
".... It's our date.... ", replied Elena with a smile.
Bittu was speechless by the answer, ".... I can see that it's a date... I am not that dense."
"..... Ohh, Is that right. That didn't seem to be the case just the night before yesterday.", replied Elena with a chuckle.
Bittu was a bit suprised seeing her like thing.... She seems a lot more... bold right now than yesterday night or this morning.
Bittu didn't comment on her sarcasm but instead asked a question, " So, why are we here?"
".... You will know in a while", said Elena with a mysterious smile.
The food was served a while later, creating a delicious aroma around the table. The food served was Butter chicken.
A moment later, Bittu and Elena enjoyed the delicious food while causally talking about the food when Elena suddenly said something that sparked Bittu's curiosity.
"..... It's about to emerge", said Elena with a smile.
"... What is??", asked Bittu to satisfy hself and his curiosity.
Elena didn't say but turned her head to look at..... the moon?!
Bittu too turned his head to look at the moon but didn't find anything strange at all. Just as he was about to ask her, she said, ".... It's here.... "
The moment she said that, the silver moon in the sky suddenly felt like it was burning from the inside. It looked the silver moon was being devoured by the golden shine.
And a minute later it actually did.
It was not just Elena and Bittu who were watching the moon right now, all of the people in the hotel, even the whole dungeon world was watching the moon right now and from the faces of the natives of the dungeon, it seems that they expected to see this sight.
Elena seeing the phenomenon smiled and said with seriousness.
"..... Look at the moon with full concentration and when you feel that something.....that can't be or is hard to describe is trying to enter you, let your body relax and let it do so.", while she proceeded to do the same.
Bittu was shocked by what she said as this means that, this is an opportunity for us players.
Bittu deciding to do just as she told him to, seeing her do the same.
Bittu looked at the moon for about five minutes but nothing happened, ten minutes, nothing, twenty minutes still nothing as she said but he didn't loose his patience and kept on looking at the moon for about half an hour before he felt a gentle energy trying to enter his body.
It was an undescribable feeling. It felt like something foreign yet familiar was coming in contact with his body and his spirit? once again after a long span of time.
Bittu did as Elena said and relaxed his body so that the energy could enter though he didn't understand how it was able to but he could fell it.
After the energy poured into his body, a few seconds later a system prompt came which he hasn't heard for sometime.
[Congratulations, you are favoured by mana.]
Bittu was shocked to find out that he was favoured by mana. Bittu couldn't hell but think that, was it the same mana that he had heard about in the outside world from his friends who read novel.
[Mana is trying to open up your closed meridians. ]
[Completion rate; 1%, 2%, 3%.... 10%.... 25%.... 50%.... 75%....100%]
[Congratulations, you have opened one of your meridian. ]
After another half an hour later of continuously looking at the moon, Bittu heard these messages from Nexus.
The moon now has returned to it's original silvery glow. If not for seeing the moon with their own eyes, people may think that this experience was just a nothing but an illusion.
Bittu was suprised when he heard that only one of his meridian has opened.
Bittu looked at Elina with his jaw dropped after the completion of the phenomena.
".... What was this? ", asked Bittu seeking answers to this incident.
Elena looked at Bittu with a troubled smile and said, ".... I too don't know. Master said that tonight this is gonna happen and it will benifit us players. "
"... Master?? ", Bittu exclaimed with suprise and asked baffled, " You have a master?"
"... Yeah, why are you so suprised, you have already met him.", said Elena with a confused face.
Slightly doubtful he asked".... Who?!, I don't remember–", Bittu stopped as he remembered that she has only introduced him to the old man, to check if his guess is correct or not he asked her.
".... Is it Mr. Kaminari? "
".... Yeah... ", Elena was confused seeing his reaction and asked suspiciously, " You didn't really think that you were there for a job right? "
".....", Bittu decided to remain silent as he was embarrassed to speak.
".... Really Bittu?! ", Elena said slightly speechless and continued, " What has normal jobs got to do with us; players? "
"We need to strive to be stronger and get the hell out of here." Elena added while shaking her head at Bittu's naiveness.
Bittu didn't feel the same though, in the outside world he didn't really have anything that he couldn't leave behind. Outside, he is restrained by his parents and because of his values he couldn't go against even if he wanted to and his friends were probably somewhere in this dungeon world since they too joined the game at the same time as he did.
Lastly, with such a beautiful and charming lady trying to court him in this place it didn't seem bad to stay here. So, he really got to the old man thinking that he would get a job and live a normal and fulfilling life with the median in front of him but, it's seems like destiny had something else in for him as somehow that old man has become her master and probably will be his too when he remembered that she has introduced him to the old man.
".... Sigh.... "
Bittu sighed. It seems like living a normal life would be hard in this place.