I half-expected for a honkai-related incident to appear mid-flight.
I got proven wrong.
Schicksal and Anti-Entropy did a very good job in terms of dealing with honkai-related cases. In the position of a normal civilian, you won't notice anything abnormal at all.
If it wasn't for meeting Kiana and that honkai beast, I would have thought that these were cosplayers. I will be screwed once Sirin's reawakening occurs.
Then again, Kiana and Bianka being in the same city…
'Is Otto watching over Kiana right now? Or is it a coincidence?'
I have a feeling it is the latter. Otto did not concern himself much with Kiana in the early stages. He only started interfering when Kiana walked in the spotlight during Nagazora's eruption.
After all, his grand plan involving the Imaginary Tree is complex. It needs a lot of 'plans' to cope up with the changes. Be it his original intent of removing 500 years of history or creating a brand new branch, it is something resulted from numerous choices.
"Hm..?".
A certain person caught my eyes. I don't know them. It is a man wearing formal long sleeves. When our eyes met, he did not show any reaction.
It's very brief, but I felt something weird.
Like a sensation of being watched over.
"A cultivator's fourth sense…"
"...will stop by a laundry shop first."
Kiana said.
"Ah, okay."
I kept that man in mind. Whether a friend or a foe, I need to keep watch. The new spell techniques I learned won't go to waste.
[Wuxing Dao Sutra], translating to [Five Elements Dao Sutra], takes advantage of the mutual creation and destruction of the five elements to form five different spells. Once all five phases are finished, from earth to fire as an example, the resulting flames will be strong enough to cover my forty meter radius.
That, or collapsing an entire building—in the Qi Refining Realm on top of that.
All this time, I have been alert. It did not take long for the man to stop "following" our path. I waited for thirty minutes and saw no movements. Another thirty minutes had passed and I still saw nothing.
I am overthinking.
"Let's have barbeque for lunch?"
"Okay…"
I nodded to Kiana's decision.
*****
The next few days are normal.
There are no honkai-related incidents. I am not complaining, though. Aside from the usual physical training, Kiana goes to a shooting range.
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bang-!
Neither of us wore hearing protection. Kiana did get a pair of glasses to protect her eyes. It was more comfortable than not wearing any.
I remained seated on the back. Children like me couldn't get close to these weapons. Kiana was able to since her birth certificate is fabricated. It is arranged by the person she 'knew'. That is why she can carry a gun on an airplane.
As for blades and the likes, they aren't allowed. It is also my biggest problem as of the moment.
Eighteen days have passed since I arrived. Roughly on the tenth day and beyond, I started to create my own 'sword technique' and 'spell technique'. The latter ended up well except for setting off a fire alarm in our hotel room.
The sword technique is troublesome.
To practice, I need a sword. Normal swords won't work. I need a sword made of 'spiritual materials'.
This term appeared not only there. Be it the talisman-making or the alchemy techniques, it is mentioned.
Those are the materials 'stained' with spiritual qi. From the word 'spiritual', prolonged exposure to spiritual qi gave the materials stronger characteristics. For example, the thousand-year-old golden cinnabar used as "ink" in talisman making.
Where the fuck should I find one?
This world is populated by honkai energy, not spiritual energy. Thus, these materials should not exist at all!
Without this stuff, I can only practice spells to make up for it. The planned cultivation boosts couldn't come true.
The more time I spent cultivating, the more problems I began to realize.
This is the fourth biggest problem on my list.
Thinking of my list…
Practicing three techniques at the same time.
Cultivation while sleeping.
Speeding up cultivation.
Acquiring spiritual materials.
'Making more talisman and alchemy techniques feel useless… I need to find a way to substitute these materials or make them myself…'
I ended up going inside the golden orb space again.
Let me check my list.
How many techniques did I have again?
Qi cultivation. Five.
Body arts. Six.
Mental sutra. Four.
Sword techniques. Seventeen.
Spell techniques. Thirteen.
Alchemy. Nine.
Talismans. Eight.
Auxiliary techniques. Four.
On the first day, I can handle three techniques a day. Later on, my mind became stronger. Instead of the expected 54 techniques, I managed to create 66 of them.
Let's not talk about my 'useless' sword techniques anymore…
"Ugh… Only the [Two Phase Art] is useful in the auxiliary category. But… the answer to my problems lies here."
For the nth time, I started to create a technique about nurturing normal materials and turning them into spiritual materials. With the sixty-six techniques as a basis, I am no longer the master yapper of before. The things I wrote down had a solid basis. It is less prone to rely on luck.
Meaning, I am more likely to receive the technique I wanted.
"Hm."
I left the golden orb space with a smile. Out of the two techniques I got, one of them answered my fourth problem: [Shenbao Awakening Guide].
Just when I thought my day could get better, I opened my eyes to someone hitting on Kiana.
"This guy."
He is, what, twenty something years old? There's the typical fluffy blonde hair along with a cross-like necklace.
Did he really just…
"Can't you keep quiet?"
Kiana had enough of his words. The pickup lines he uttered went something along the lines of 'Are you a sharp-shooter? Because you shot me straight to the heart.'
…
It took an entire minute of yapping for the man to stop.
"Okay, okay. Keep up the good work, miss."
She did not fight with him anymore. She continued firing her gun.
"This little…"
I am a petty person. This wouldn't change no matter where I am.
I stood up from my seat, regulated the circulation for [Cloud Seeking Steps], and ran straight into him.
I made sure to stomp my feet on his right leg when I bumped onto him.
"Ack!"
Creak-!
I heard a bone or two breaking. I used his entire body as a cushion for my fall. I did not expect to break his bones.
Was this the effects of immortal cultivation?
I underestimated it...
"Oh god. It hurts!"
When I stood up, some people helped him up. They directed their gazes at me, to which I responded by blinking my eyes.
"Sorry!"
The trick worked. I heard their sighs.
"Well, kid. You better watch where you are headed next time." One of the older men walked close by. "Where's your parents?"
"Um. I have none."
"..."
The pitying look on me increased further.
"Alright… Where's your guardian."
"Um."
I pointed towards Kiana.
"I want to buy some candies."
"Candies? Well…"
The middle-aged woman ended up taking several candies from her pockets. They are all Turkish Delight.
This woman came from Britain?
Wait…
Isn't this the same stuff we bought back in Glastonbury? Even the packaging is the same!
Whether this is a coincidence or not, I tried my best to complete my 'child acting'.
"Thanks, ma'am."
Just like that, I got away scot-free.
*****
"He should be a normal kid, yeah."
Ryoma entrusted Kiana's surveillance to several "friends" on retirement. These "friends" were once a part of special forces-turned-mercenaries, that is, people involved in honkai.
Kiana's worldwide trip was enough for them to also have fun. That was the reason why they accepted Ryoma's offer.
They get to have a world trip while earning money!
"Then it's alright. Keep a safe distance. That's all."
Once the call with Ryoma ended, the woman puffed another cigarette.
She thought of the 'normal kid' bumping an adult man. Although uncommon, these incidents can cause broken bones.
If it wasn't…
"That little guy practiced martial arts. Eh…"
She stopped caring and finished her short smoking session.