Rowana and Sai was riding on the carriage, moving toward the Northern Dukedom.
Sai sighed a hundred times.
“What’s wrong?” Rowana asked.
"I once had grand ambitions for my life. My plan was to reach level 20, then collaborate with an artist to recreate the One Piece manga, and if my business took off, recreate the manga industry in this new world. Just picture it, JUMP in this world," Sai said dreamingly, but then he sighed in regret, saying, "I'm getting distracted with all this hero stuff."
Rowana raised an eyebrow. “You will need to be alive to enjoy the fruits of your labor. I don’t expect you to be a hero with all the risk and danger. However the Staff of Moses is worth the gamble. The Staff of Moses allows a person to control water, with a single command you can control large bodies of water like rivers, lakes and oceans.”
“Yes I am very familiar with the Biblical story of Moses splitting the Red Sea. Someone from my world must have named it, since it can’t be coincidence. I am looking forward to stealing such a valuable item from that conceited Duke. My determination to acquire the Staff of Moses is stronger than ever.”
“Before I forget. There is a present I want to give you for passing my test,” Rowana took out a wooden box from her Kibisis and gave it to Sai.
Sai opened the box and found a lot of needles, all coated with Abyssal Pufferfish poison on the end points.
Rowana started to explain, “These are Light Silver Needles, coated with Abyssal Pufferfish poison. They were forged by Ling Zhao, a fellow hero like yourself, with a Gift called God Hand that allows him to forge peerless weapons.”
Sai easily had the Silver Needle to float using the poison to pull it up with his mana. “Thankyou Rowana... It would have been nice to receive a weapon this amazing before I was dumped in the middle of wood infested with Brutal Dogs and Horned Dogs.”
“It would have made the test too easy.”
----
It was midday break. The horses and everyone was making camp.
Sai was stretching his legs because he was on the carriage all day.
“Hello there! It is fantastic to see you today!” A crusader greeted him enthusiastically.
Two other crusaders followed their chipper crusader comrades.
“Ah yes, nice to see you too,” Sai said remembering the voice. “I never did get your name. My name is Sai Giri.”
The crusader pounded his chest with his hand. “How glorious. They call me Tom the Dog Beater. I love beating and hitting dogs!”
The other crusader introduced himself. “Hello Hero, my name is Jose.”
The third crusader simply said his name, “Luka.”
Tom then said in a loud voice. “Is it true that you slaughtered four Brutal Dogs at the same time!”
“Well I killed one Brutal Dog. Then I had to battle and kill three Brutal Dogs at the same time. So yes I did kill four Brutal Dogs in total.”
Tom said loudly, “Incredible. Amazing. I would love to journey to the Horned Dog Territory and fight against Brutal Dogs. I was shocked when I saw the size of those beasts, bigger than horses. Do you know what I’m saying! Their dogs are bigger than horses! You don’t see them in this area, but they say in the Horned Dog Territory they travel in huge packs. It is my dream to travel beyond the walls and face them head to head. After my service I will definitely go hunting there. You should tag along with me!”
Jose shook his head, “Ignore my friend. Do you want to join us for training? Our bodies need constant training to be tip top shape. It would be great if you join us.”
“Thankyou for the offer, but maybe another time.”
Luka then asked Sai heated, “Why did you abandon the Sapphire Principality?”
“I needed my freedom, like you need to breathe. You might enjoy getting tortured by the Princess but I definitely don’t,” Sai remembered his experience in Sapphire Principality. “Just recalling my time spent in the Principality, I get angry. I swear I never hated anyone more than that trash princess.”
Luka then says with fire in his voice, “Allow me to be blunt. You have caused a lot of problems with your disappearance from the Principality. A mass exodus has occurred and most of the refugees have gone to Emerald Country and the Dog Tribes. We had to pull in a lot of resources to clean up the mess you left behind.”
“The alternative was to stay in the Principality where the Princess would happily kill me if I behaved the wrong way. What do you not understand? I needed to escape,” Sai said, getting heated.
“Many have died making their journey. Especially those that went to Romus Empire and Kingdom of Sultron! Action has consequences, especially someone as powerful as a Hero!” Luka argued.
Tom and Jose was pulling Luka away.
Jose bowed a little and said, “Sorry. He is not normally like this. He has family in the Principality. So it is personal for him.”
Luka then yells, “Why are we helping a fraud! If he is a Hero he should act like a Hero! He should have prevented the war! He abandoned his duty to protect the Sapphire Principality! He's no Hero!”
Tom and Jose dragged Luka away as Luka kept yelling out profanity.
“What a pain,” Sai was left with conflicted feelings.
----
Sai was taking a stroll. He needed some time to process everything and come to a conclusion.
He was feeling awful.
It would take time to consult his feelings. He felt like he healed from his time at the Principality. However with the new information and another way to look at the events from the past, well his emotional wounds have reopened.
His mind kept going back to the Principality. How sometimes he was left with nothing but bad choices.
Yet that wasn’t what made him feel so down.
Sai learned through life that he would feel better if he could figure out the root cause of why he was feeling so negative about something.
Once he broke a fidget spinner after only having it for two weeks.
He couldn’t understand why he was so volcanically angry about a broken toy.
Was it because of shoddy manufacturing? Being mad that cheated out of his hard earned money? The realization he needed to buy a new fidget spinning?
No, the root of his anger was that he was emotionally attached to the fidget spinner that he only had for two weeks.
When he came to that realization, his anger finally cooled down.
He could grieve for his broken fidget spinner.
The fidget spinner had given him joy and now it was broken. Of course he would feel angry.
That day, Sai bought multiple fidget spinners.
Trying to understand your own emotions is sometimes very difficult.
Sai disengaged from his thoughts and, in the actual world, saw a big boulder, over the height of two stacked men.
Sai pulled out a single Light Silver Needle. He caused the needle to levitate in mid-air, then nonchalantly throw it directed towards the boulder. The needle effortlessly penetrated the boulder and emerged on the opposite side, continuing its flight as it punctured a tree before vanishing into the depths of the forest.
“These needles are super dangerous.”
Sai threw some more needles at the boulder for fun. Enjoying the sound of the impact and making multiple holes in the boulder.
Rowana flies toward Sai. “What are you doing?”
Sai looks over to Rowana and then at the boulder with many holes. “Testing the power of the Needles you gave me.”
Rowana shook her head, “Come along. There's something you need to see.”
----
Rowana explained the situation, “Some of the crusaders went to a nearby Dungeon. They found a mysterious creature in the entrance of the Dungeon.”
In front of Dungeon Portal were the crusader, the Archbishop and priest. However Sai was staring dead center of the remains of Demon.
Sai recognizes the Demon.
Vampire Starfish.
“Benjamin,” Sai stated the name like a curse. “The last time I saw a Vampire Starfish was when I was facing Benjamin. He was trying to destroy the Demon Gate.”
Archbishop Ruben was angry, “Who would be mad enough to destroy a Demon Gate? Does he want demons to destroy this world!?”
“No just the Sapphire Principality capital.”
Rowana moved toward the dungeon. “It would explain why the Brutal Dogs are in this area. They must have come from the higher levels of this unlocked dungeon. I will investigate if the Demon Gate is still blocking the 16 floor.”
“Be careful,” Sai said.
“Don’t worry I will be back soon.” Rowana promised.
Rowana entered the dungeon.
“How is she going to get to the 15th floor? She doesn’t have a map to navigate the dungeons,” Sai wondered.
Boom!
A deafening sound came from the Dungeon portal.
Archbishop Ruben said dryly, “Master Rowana is going to take a direct shortcut by blasting through the dungeon floor.”
“Oh... That makes sense.”
Not longer than 30 minutes did Rowana exit the Dungeon Portal.
Rowana delivered what she found, “The Demon Gate is missing.”
“This is troubling,” Archbishop Ruben said.
Sai could feel trouble on the horizon.
Rowana and Sai was riding on the carriage, moving toward the Northern Dukedom.
Sai sighed a hundred times.
“What’s wrong?” Rowana asked.
"I once had grand ambitions for my life. My plan was to reach level 20, then collaborate with an artist to recreate the One Piece manga, and if my business took off, recreate the manga industry in this new world. Just picture it, JUMP in this world," Sai said dreamingly, but then he sighed in regret, saying, "I'm getting distracted with all this hero stuff."
Rowana raised an eyebrow. “You will need to be alive to enjoy the fruits of your labor. I don’t expect you to be a hero with all the risk and danger. However the Staff of Moses is worth the gamble. The Staff of Moses allows a person to control water, with a single command you can control large bodies of water like rivers, lakes and oceans.”
“Yes I am very familiar with the Biblical story of Moses splitting the Red Sea. Someone from my world must have named it, since it can’t be coincidence. I am looking forward to stealing such a valuable item from that conceited Duke. My determination to acquire the Staff of Moses is stronger than ever.”
“Before I forget. There is a present I want to give you for passing my test,” Rowana took out a wooden box from her Kibisis and gave it to Sai.
Sai opened the box and found a lot of needles, all coated with Abyssal Pufferfish poison on the end points.
Rowana started to explain, “These are Light Silver Needles, coated with Abyssal Pufferfish poison. They were forged by Ling Zhao, a fellow hero like yourself, with a Gift called God Hand that allows him to forge peerless weapons.”
Sai easily had the Silver Needle to float using the poison to pull it up with his mana. “Thankyou Rowana... It would have been nice to receive a weapon this amazing before I was dumped in the middle of wood infested with Brutal Dogs and Horned Dogs.”
“It would have made the test too easy.”
----
It was midday break. The horses and everyone was making camp.
Sai was stretching his legs because he was on the carriage all day.
“Hello there! It is fantastic to see you today!” A crusader greeted him enthusiastically.
Two other crusaders followed their chipper crusader comrades.
“Ah yes, nice to see you too,” Sai said remembering the voice. “I never did get your name. My name is Sai Giri.”
The crusader pounded his chest with his hand. “How glorious. They call me Tom the Dog Beater. I love beating and hitting dogs!”
The other crusader introduced himself. “Hello Hero, my name is Jose.”
The third crusader simply said his name, “Luka.”
Tom then said in a loud voice. “Is it true that you slaughtered four Brutal Dogs at the same time!”
“Well I killed one Brutal Dog. Then I had to battle and kill three Brutal Dogs at the same time. So yes I did kill four Brutal Dogs in total.”
Tom said loudly, “Incredible. Amazing. I would love to journey to the Horned Dog Territory and fight against Brutal Dogs. I was shocked when I saw the size of those beasts, bigger than horses. Do you know what I’m saying! Their dogs are bigger than horses! You don’t see them in this area, but they say in the Horned Dog Territory they travel in huge packs. It is my dream to travel beyond the walls and face them head to head. After my service I will definitely go hunting there. You should tag along with me!”
Jose shook his head, “Ignore my friend. Do you want to join us for training? Our bodies need constant training to be tip top shape. It would be great if you join us.”
“Thankyou for the offer, but maybe another time.”
Luka then asked Sai heated, “Why did you abandon the Sapphire Principality?”
“I needed my freedom, like you need to breathe. You might enjoy getting tortured by the Princess but I definitely don’t,” Sai remembered his experience in Sapphire Principality. “Just recalling my time spent in the Principality, I get angry. I swear I never hated anyone more than that trash princess.”
Luka then says with fire in his voice, “Allow me to be blunt. You have caused a lot of problems with your disappearance from the Principality. A mass exodus has occurred and most of the refugees have gone to Emerald Country and the Dog Tribes. We had to pull in a lot of resources to clean up the mess you left behind.”
“The alternative was to stay in the Principality where the Princess would happily kill me if I behaved the wrong way. What do you not understand? I needed to escape,” Sai said, getting heated.
“Many have died making their journey. Especially those that went to Romus Empire and Kingdom of Sultron! Action has consequences, especially someone as powerful as a Hero!” Luka argued.
Tom and Jose was pulling Luka away.
Jose bowed a little and said, “Sorry. He is not normally like this. He has family in the Principality. So it is personal for him.”
Luka then yells, “Why are we helping a fraud! If he is a Hero he should act like a Hero! He should have prevented the war! He abandoned his duty to protect the Sapphire Principality! He's no Hero!”
Tom and Jose dragged Luka away as Luka kept yelling out profanity.
“What a pain,” Sai was left with conflicted feelings.
----
Sai was taking a stroll. He needed some time to process everything and come to a conclusion.
He was feeling awful.
It would take time to consult his feelings. He felt like he healed from his time at the Principality. However with the new information and another way to look at the events from the past, well his emotional wounds have reopened.
His mind kept going back to the Principality. How sometimes he was left with nothing but bad choices.
Yet that wasn’t what made him feel so down.
Sai learned through life that he would feel better if he could figure out the root cause of why he was feeling so negative about something.
Once he broke a fidget spinner after only having it for two weeks.
He couldn’t understand why he was so volcanically angry about a broken toy.
Was it because of shoddy manufacturing? Being mad that cheated out of his hard earned money? The realization he needed to buy a new fidget spinning?
No, the root of his anger was that he was emotionally attached to the fidget spinner that he only had for two weeks.
When he came to that realization, his anger finally cooled down.
He could grieve for his broken fidget spinner.
The fidget spinner had given him joy and now it was broken. Of course he would feel angry.
That day, Sai bought multiple fidget spinners.
Trying to understand your own emotions is sometimes very difficult.
Sai disengaged from his thoughts and, in the actual world, saw a big boulder, over the height of two stacked men.
Sai pulled out a single Light Silver Needle. He caused the needle to levitate in mid-air, then nonchalantly throw it directed towards the boulder. The needle effortlessly penetrated the boulder and emerged on the opposite side, continuing its flight as it punctured a tree before vanishing into the depths of the forest.
“These needles are super dangerous.”
Sai threw some more needles at the boulder for fun. Enjoying the sound of the impact and making multiple holes in the boulder.
Rowana flies toward Sai. “What are you doing?”
Sai looks over to Rowana and then at the boulder with many holes. “Testing the power of the Needles you gave me.”
Rowana shook her head, “Come along. There's something you need to see.”
----
Rowana explained the situation, “Some of the crusaders went to a nearby Dungeon. They found a mysterious creature in the entrance of the Dungeon.”
In front of Dungeon Portal were the crusader, the Archbishop and priest. However Sai was staring dead center of the remains of Demon.
Sai recognizes the Demon.
Vampire Starfish.
“Benjamin,” Sai stated the name like a curse. “The last time I saw a Vampire Starfish was when I was facing Benjamin. He was trying to destroy the Demon Gate.”
Archbishop Ruben was angry, “Who would be mad enough to destroy a Demon Gate? Does he want demons to destroy this world!?”
“No just the Sapphire Principality capital.”
Rowana moved toward the dungeon. “It would explain why the Brutal Dogs are in this area. They must have come from the higher levels of this unlocked dungeon. I will investigate if the Demon Gate is still blocking the 16 floor.”
“Be careful,” Sai said.
“Don’t worry I will be back soon.” Rowana promised.
Rowana entered the dungeon.
“How is she going to get to the 15th floor? She doesn’t have a map to navigate the dungeons,” Sai wondered.
Boom!
A deafening sound came from the Dungeon portal.
Archbishop Ruben said dryly, “Master Rowana is going to take a direct shortcut by blasting through the dungeon floor.”
“Oh... That makes sense.”
Not longer than 30 minutes did Rowana exit the Dungeon Portal.
Rowana delivered what she found, “The Demon Gate is missing.”
“This is troubling,” Archbishop Ruben said.
Sai could feel trouble on the horizon.
