“Ah, why is this happening?” Tadashi sighed in disappointment. The opportunity to make his fantasy come true was right in front of him, yet he couldn’t truly step through the ethereal door.
It was like winning five million in the lottery, only to wake up and find that it had all been a dream. The realization made him feel worse after the fact.
Seeing Tadashi looking like a sad puppy, Luna sighed. She softened a little and pulled out a booklet from the bottom of her storage ring.
“Here, you keep this.”
“Introductory immortal arts, isn’t that what you want?”
In reality, it was just a book titled “Basic Overview and Introduction to Warriors” that was sold on the streets in Luna’s world.
Though magic power was sparse in this world, battle qi could be cultivated through physical training. However, the environment of this world had severely limited the potential of this path.
Besides, practicing battle qi required… talent. Luna saw right through Tadashi’s potential—it was ordinary, like everyone else’s.
“Really?” Tadashi looked at the booklet in disbelief, shaking with excitement. “Can I really keep this?”
“Weren’t you begging for it just a moment ago? Now that I’ve decided to give you one, you’re too scared to take it?” Luna teased.
“Who said I’m scared?” Tadashi took the booklet and clutched it tightly to his chest. “Now… I can practice immortal arts!”
He was as excited as a child who had just received a toy he’d been dreaming of.
“Practice well, but keep in mind that cultivation requires resources. You can’t expect to master immortal arts while begging on the streets every day.”
“I understand, Master!”
“Since you gave me this, you’re now my master!”
“Never mind… call me whatever you want.”
Tadashi bounced around, dancing with joy as he ran in circles. After he had exhausted his energy, he looked at Luna with eager anticipation.
“Master, if I managed to cultivate the content in this booklet, will I be able to do the trick you used just now?”
“The trick just now? You mean how I threw the pebble? That might be a little difficult because—”
“No, not that! The healing art!” Tadashi interrupted her.
“Huh?” The source of thɪs content is novel✦fire.net
Luna was caught off guard, not expecting Tadashi to ask about that.
“You want to learn… healing arts?”
Tadashi nodded eagerly, his eyes shining brightly like stars, still lost in fantasy of being able to master these immortal arts.
“I want to learn the healing arts the most. Because once I learn them, no one important will have to die in front of me from illness.”
Luna paused, thinking. She realized that the “important person” Tadashi was referring to was probably the “Old Shen” who had taught him many things and helped him so much but never appeared again.
So, he’s dead. Should I tell him the truth?
The “Basic Overview and Introduction to Warriors” wouldn’t teach him healing arts, and this world wouldn’t allow him to learn healing arts that only a Rank 5 magician could master either.
The thing he wanted most was just an empty dream. No, everything he yearned for in this moment was an illusion.
“It should… be possible.”
“Really? Yay!” Tadashi’s face lit up, and he ran off excitedly.
Luna held her forehead in exasperation.
Why indulge a child in his fantasy? Why lie to fulfill his fleeting desires? Is it simply because I saw a familiar shadow in him? This is ridiculous.
But it was no use thinking about it now—it would only add to the worry. After all, she and the boy named Tadashi were just casual acquaintances.
“By the way, what are you going to do with him?” Luna gestured toward Wang Defa, who was still paralyzed with fear.
“Him?” Tadashi suddenly stopped and he stared at Wang Defa.
Luna watched as the excitement on his face faded, the smile on his lips turning into a more neutral expression. His eyes, once full of light, seemed to turn into a dark ancient well.
Then, just as Luna had seen many times before, the depth of his eyes burst into flames—blazing intensely.
The corners of his mouth lifted again, but this time, it was a chilling smile. His expression slowly grew sinister, gritting his teeth and looking as if he were a hungry man-eating monster.
The angrier you were, the more you’d smile.
For a moment, Luna was caught in a trance, and she felt a strange sensation that she had seen this exact look before. She saw the face of a familiar blonde girl overlapped completely with the teenager in front of her.
Luna could almost guess what he would say next.
“Master… please leave this to me… and don’t intervene…”
“Can you handle this by yourself?” Luna asked without thinking.
“Nice uncle lost his life because of me, so… I… We must avenge him.” Tadashi patted his chest. “This was the promise We, Aristides… George I, the Lord of this vast empire, the keeper of the shadow and the guardian of light, made to him.”
Tadashi handed the booklet back to Luna solemnly and said, “Master, please keep this for me—for the time being.”
Luna accepted the booklet in silence, watching as the teenager approached the figure who had terrified him just moments before.
Wang Defa finally snapped out of his daze. He felt his body all over in a panic, but when he realized that all his limbs were intact, he let out a long sigh of relief. Luckily, he was still alive. Although he had been scared to the point of peeing his pants, dignity mattered little compared to survival.
And though he didn’t know what kind of monster that woman was, the fact that she hadn’t killed him yet meant she had spared him. A being that powerful likely wouldn’t bother to try killing something as insignificant as an ant for a second time.
With this thought, an unearned wave of joy washed over Wang Defa. He truly was a man of great fortune and a long life to have survived an encounter with that kind of monster.
He could brag about this for the rest of his life.
Just as Wang Defa basked in the ecstasy of survival, he suddenly felt the world darken around him. Looking up, he saw Tadashi standing before him, his shadow looming over him.
Although Wang Defa could make out the teenager’s smile from his silhouette, he could also clearly see the anger… and the murderous intent in his eyes.
Fearful of the woman’s power, Wang Defa wisely took a step back, trembling as he pleaded, “Big… Big brother… we can always talk this over…”
“We have nothing to discuss with thou…” Tadashi’s voice was low and cold. He picked up the bloodstained steel pipe from the ground and slammed it against the ground, making a loud menacing noise.
“Get up, b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!”