Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

[TheCount]

The Misadventures of David!
Turn 9 supplement
Part 3: You Are Here​

"Ugh, I hate gate duty." Said the older of the guards on the northern gate of Azure Tide city while setting his helmet beside him with the left hand to rub his forehead with the right his spear laid against the wall beside him. "Especially the morning shift!"

"Came on man, don't do this, you know how the captain is. If she catch you slacking off again, BOTH of us will be punished. Just stand one more hour. Please!" His partner begged. "I need to get home in time or-"

"Or your wife will makes you sleep in the kitchen, again, eh?" Interrupted the first guard, closing his eyes. "Must be nice, having someone wait you at home." He said, teasingly. "As for the captain, when was the last time she came here? Most of the caravans come and go through the southern gate, the rest on the west and what supplies and merchandise arrive on boat first goes to the docks and then brought into the city by the east gate. Only reason we have a north gate is to make it easier to get out when we need to clear the land so nothing creeps up to the walls. Only reason its not counted as punishment detail is that nothing ever happens here and we can relax." Declared the perfect example of lazy guards everywhere.

"But Sun Li!" Complained the second, younger guard. "What if a spirit beast comes running out from the forest! Or the captain decides to come for an inspection! Or a caravan comes from the-"

"Bah! You worry too much Lou Ken!" said Li, turning his back to the forest. "Spirit beast won't come, they learned in the past 500 year to keep away from the city or some wandering cultivators will hunt them for their body parts. As for anyone coming from the forest? Only the fools and desperate would enter the wilderness north of us. Even the monthly patrol only goes there to make sure nothing set up a nest in a day's distance from the city. Sure, its mostly just Viridian Drakes and other herbivores but if you go more than two Li from their feeding ground they will pulp you into a salad. Not to mention the occasional scavengers, but the spirit herbs just not worth all that hassle. Now, stop whining and let me sleep that hour until our shift ends."

"But Li-!"

"No! Shut up or I will tell you wife what happened when you bragged how well you can hold your drink!" Warned the grumpy guard and with that, he fell silent.

Lou ken stood there, fidgeting, his head swiveling from left to right and back, eyes darting everywhere but Sun Li. He could not let his wife know what happened, not yet at least. Maybe, once he got promoted, as despite how embarrassing that incident is, it did brought both opportunities and connections to him.

He sighed, looked down into the stairwell leading to the gatehouse to make sure nobody overheard them and resumed his post, saving what he could in case someone was bored enough to come to the northern gate. His partner was right, nobody came here just to stare at the fores, aside from the guards on duty, of course.

After some time, he started to relax a bit too while leaning on the battlements, though, not to the degree like Li.

The wind swept across the field before them, the lookout tower looming above them and shrouding them in cooling shade. It was peaceful, the birds chirped, the leaves on the distant trees rustled and a rag clad, bloody corpse slowly stumbled out from the forest.

"What?" he said, dumbfounded for a moment, his mind unable to process what he saw.

As the tattered, humanoid figure left the tree line, a pile of different animal and plant matter slowly crawled behind him, moving and pausing in rhythm, whenever he did so.

"Su- Sun Li! Wake up!" Exclaimed Lou Ken, with a slight tremor in his voice "Something is coming!"

Sun Li snored in response.

"Ah, damn it, wake up! I'm not joking! Someone or something is coming! Sun Li! Wake up already!!!" Pleaded Lou Ken, while shaking Sun Li awake.

"Wha- What had happened? Who dares disrupting this Sun Li's rest?" Asked the old guard, still not fully awake.

"Someone is coming from the forest! And they seem to tug a pile of pelts and plants!" replied his partner.

"So? You know the procedure, ask them the questions, tell them the rules, take the toll and let them in. What was so important you woke me up for?" demanded Li.

"They are tattered and covered in blood from head to toe!" Answered Ken.

Sun Li took a sharp breath hearing that.

"Alright, that's a good reason." he said as he stood up and patted the dust from his armor. "Lets see, who it is then." And with that, put on his helmet and grabbed his spear while walking to the battlements.

Meanwhile, the blood clad stranger almost reached the halfway point to the closed gates.

"Huh, look at that. The fool survived the forest trip and was lucky too. That's a lot of loot." Said Sun Li, while examining the pile moving behind the traveler.

"But what if they are using Blood Path? Should I start the alarm?" Worried Lou Ken.

"No need." Reassured him the old guard. "One of the arrays should have started it by now, if not outright killed him if he were one of them. That's probably just his and his preys' blood on him… On that note, Do you see that Creeping Wolf pelt? Those are rarely caught, too bad its condition is so terrible. But I know someone who would pay well for it even in this state." Said Sun Li excitedly.

"What? You want to take it from him?" Asked Lou Ken with horror.

"Of course not! I'm a respectable person! Part of the honorable guards of Azure Tide city! Not a thug to mug and extort people! Of course I will pay him for it!" Declared the old guard, indignation clear in his voice. "Oh, he is almost here! Get ready Lou Ken!"After he said that, Sun Li cleared his throat.

"Halt there stranger! Who are you, Where are you from and what business do you have in our splendid Azure Tide city?" The old guard bellowed to the stranger, at the base of the city wall.

The traveler look up at him, from before the closed gates and replied with a deep baritone. "My name is Xīn' Ai! I got lost while fleeing from a caravan attacked by beasts that killed the guards around five or six days ago north from here! I wish for shelter, food and information of where I'm!

"As I said, you are our splendid city of Azure Tide! Protected by the great Sorrowful Blacksmith sect!" Declared Sun Li. "You are required to pay a toll for entering and if you break any of our rules – of which you will get told while paying the toll – you will be, depending on your crime, fined, arrested, exiled from the city or killed on sight! Do you agree to these terms in exchange of entering our great city?"

"Depends on the rules, but if they are acceptable, I will!" Replied the torn traveler, still craning his neck.

"Then, come closer and we will let you enter!" Invited him Sin Li as he started going down to the gatehouse.

And so did David Pupillus reached civilization, at the gates of Azure Tide City in the outer parts of the Sorrowful Blacksmith Sect's territories west of the Organ Meat Desert and south of Turtle Mountain.

@no. @Humbaba @TehChron @Alectai thank you whoever treadmarks it

 

[TheCount]

The Misadventures of David!
Part 4
turn 9 supplement
Start of a Journey​

"And that will be all of it." Said Fu Jun, the elderly cultivator manning the exchange window while giving me the spirit stones for the spirit herbs. "Its a pleasure to do business with you Xin Ai! Though, I am still sad to hear you will be leaving our Azure Tide city. Most wandering cultivators usually either don't sell them and use themselves or try and haggle for an unreasonable price for them.

"Heh, with someone like you, Old Fu? How many of them did you bankrupt?" I ask in good humor. "As for me leaving… yes. I have spent five years doing nothing but gathering spirit herbs and the occasional beasts to gather traveling funds, the bare minimum equipment I'm comfortable with and I can only thank The Heavens I advanced a small realm at all in my cultivation from just that. And, I don't think I could deal with the idiots the guards has to."

"Hm. Are you sure though? Going to the desert? There is nothing worth there, just sands some spirit stones and the demonic sects, though, I heard the devils and cannibals are at each others throat. Although the devils might pay but they are still a demonic clan even if not blood path."

"Yes." I reply seriously. "I want to go and gather experience. With the war going on north, I fear some young master might find me as a good sparring partner, what with most of the restraining presences gone. Without a clan or sect behind my back though? Its a loss even if I do not get injured in the spar but do hurt their pride. The caravans going and coming from the west though? They say it's surprisingly orderly, if a bit expensive on that…. What was it, again? Scarab Road?" I say with a smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Xin Ai." Calls me the guards' supplier seriously. "It is old, but even today, the fact that those devils ruled these land before a whole coalition was called to beat them out remains. Not to mention that the Sorrowful Blacksmith sect was established here after the Divine Blacksmith has died in that fight. And there are rumors circulating that these devils are helping the war on the side of the Righteous sects, even if they do not fight in it, though, its just a rumor, though, you didn't hear any of that from me." The old man smiles mischievously.

"Of course!" I smile back and wink. "Who would believe me anyway? That the esteemed supplier of Azure Tide city's honorable guards gossips like the wives on the market?"

Jun snorts at that, still in good mood. "Out of my shop boy, before I call the guards on you! And be careful there. Who knows what is waiting under the sands."

"I will! Thank you, old Fu, you take care as well!" And with that, I leave his shop and head towards the east gate.

It took some time to get the equipment together, but I managed, even if I couldn't really concentrate on my cultivation. It was good getting back on that long road though. Even if I need to start from the beginning. Though, the headache that come from more memories being unsealed was an annoying surprise. At least, the clan is still kicking, so there is that. Still, whatever happened looks like the technique is a success, even if the memory seals are a lot stronger than I thought and looks like it targets every mortal, not just humans…. Its scary to even think how many bodies I went through over the decades, no centuries… maybe, even more than a 1000 year? Looks like I will get more than the summary of the last body I had. At least, I have an additional reason to cultivate, and, hopefully, only the previous body was so static as that tree bound spirit. It still boggles my mind, how a spirit got so injured it needed to bond with a tree and lost its soul afterward but hey! That body came just the right time!

Still, the technique clearly needs modifications… but I don't remember anything even related to it, technically, and, I probably wont until nascent or at least great circle core at earliest…. At least, its good a good defense as well, unless my soul is captured, but those kind of treasures were rare even in my time, I think. Hopefully.

At least, the clone art was not sealed, though, the test did reveal it has been… degraded. It used the earth and the surrounding detritus to create a bipedal human shaped… golem? Dirt puppet? Its was featureless, acted like a wild animal an not only I had no control over it, it even attacked me! Thankfully, I managed to take back the Qi animating, it before it caused any injury and it collapsed into a pile with a cloud of dust, but unless I put in some effort to work through and refine the technique, it will hardly be good for distractions in a few small realms.

I reach the square at the east gate while thinking about that, only resurfacing from my thoughts thanks to the increase in the noise from it.

The caravan will only start it's journey a hour later, but its better to get a good spot or I might end up walking the first day. Good thing there are at least 1 Foundation Establishment cultivator among them, otherwise, I would have waited for the next caravan going east to the Organ Meat Desert. Its nice and all, to be lucky not to encounter anything above your group by a big realm, but the world isn't so kind, especially not near the clan.

Hm… better take an inventory, just in case.

Boots, hardy leather but comfortable, good for mountainous terrain. Weapon and armor, decent, even if just mortal made as anything better was prohibitively expensive or reserved for the guards. Still, it was a lucky find, quality work breastplate with greaves and bracers, though, the armored gloves were harder to track down. A good spear as well, though, the shield would have attracted unwanted attention, so with aching heart, I left it out. I though about buying a backup sword, for safety, but decided against it as its rare someone focuses on more weapon type among these barbarians, thought the more interesting types tempted me alas, they were priced in relation of the skill and work it took to make them. The last weapons I bought were knives, and, surprisingly, the blacksmith agreed with me that you could never have enough of them. Nothing fancy, and the only reason I bought so many is because I'm still low in the Qi condensation realm, but its better to be safe than sorry. Of the knives, one is for food in general, another for carving and other utility and the six other - little more than sharpened iron without added hilt - for throwing.

Two sets of change clothes, a good towel, a small cooking pot and some other minor things. That I can carry in a traveling bag. Though, I admit, the towel is probably the most expensive of the lot, even before I sewn in a self cleaning array. Is it wasteful? Yes. Were the materials for it expensive? Certainly, as it was hard to find materials that can handle the power input but still not too valuable so they sell the fabric in meters and not just the finished product. And the thread used in the embroidery…. But if you ask if it was worth it? Oh, for the heavens, YES! At least, I can clean myself or my equipment even without water and not worry about the laundry too much.

Rations and hard bread as well, just in case, as the caravan provides food though we should forage a bit before entering the desert.

Alright, everything is in order! Now, to get a good spot and do the most tedious of needed work, making connections...
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@no. @Humbaba @TehChron

 

[TheCount]

The Misadventures of David!
part 5
turn 9 supplemental
Fetch Quest (1349)
​

It has been 10 years since I reached the territories of the Golden Devil Clan.

The caravan from Azure Tide city thankfully got through the Colossus Footsteps Pass without any mayor trouble, just some scavenging beasts tried their luck and were promptly beaten back.

With continued training I have managed to step into the third heaven stage of Qi Condensation in just four and a half year, and, although I could have left it a bit earlier than average, I decided to stay in it a bit longer, opening and then, slowly strengthening all of them. Though, nothing out of the ordinary. Although, it did stretch the time spent in it a bit longer than seven and half years. But it was worth it!And I soared to the fourth one in the last 2 and half! Even managed to get an estimate from a doctor about my new body, it's around thirty three years old. Better still, there wasn't any illness remaining that the act of cultivation didn't heal!

The clan didn't bother making life hard for independent cultivators, which was great, but they didn't embrace them as if they are long lost relatives, due to the curses heaped by the heavens and the general opportunism of the barbarians. The Job offers were still a welcome thing, if a bit annoying in that they were mostly the ones legionaries could pass out for others without going against regulations or from other travelers, sometime from people living in the way castles. Mostly errand runs for simple luxuries, carrying some message or taking care of minor pests in and around the way castles of the scorpion road or join another caravan as an additional escort.

I did, however, managed to get that the infusion of the blood of bronze will take some work, as it is not given lightly, for the simple reason that the blood of bronze is valuable, and usually some of the bigger families just use the method to strengthen their promising young. Though, if you make a consistent contribution and become part of the clan or become close friends to one of the big families, its possible to get the infusion of the bloodline, as a gift. But the second option is not guaranteed.

I would need to get a lot stronger than I am now, though, to ask for that. After all, why would they give it out to some random wandering cultivator in Qi Condensation, just because he worked for a decade for the clan, when the lifespan of cultivators are measured in the hundreds?

So, why I'm here, running in the middle of this scorpion infested desert. Alone. Because, of course, nobody wanted to search for some kid's cat that ran out from the way castle. Nobody sane, that is… Might need to get checked with a doctor again….

…

This day started so peacefully though…. So, why did I decide to do this, again?

I was just halfway through checking some of my contacts to see if they had anything worth doing when I noticed a servant in relatively good clothes with a big rack of pamphlets putting one on a message board. The man was above average in height, with brown hair and eyes, with an expression of inevitable defeat. It was just too unusual in the way castle of Thrake.

I just couldn't help and stop.

Sure, he was a mortal servant, but he looked healthy, and even his clothes were better than some of the other passerbies who were not servants. Yet, he wore an expression like a man waiting for his execution.

So, I went and asked whats the problem was. He didn't wanted to tell me at firsts, because it was not a concern a mighty cultivator should deal with, but after a bit of small talk he finally told me that the young master of the house he works for has a pet that vanished from the house, but the tracking talisman shows its not even in the way castle, but outside of it and, for some reason, it crossed the scorpion road and is heading towards the Nascent's Fall.

So, here I'm, following the route from Thrake to the craters, trying to catch up to the caravan delivering supplies to the legions garrisoned there. At least, I hope its a caravan and not a damn scorpion that took that cat to its nest as snack. The array the family gave should detect if its still alive, not just its approximate distance and direction.

Considering the pet left the way castle yesterday, the - hopefully - caravan shouldn't be too far away if I keep running. Better get to them before they reach those craters or this will take a lot longer than I would like.

As I was speeding down the road, I notice that there was two white blots ahead of me. I don't remember there being any rest post mentioned on this supply route so unless that the caravan… Ah, nope. The tracker says its still to far away. Then its most likely some desert beasts.

I slow my pace as I near them, both out of caution and to better inspect them. Ah, there it is, a scorpion's tail. So, white scorpions huh? Spirit Scorpions are common on the southern part, near the cannibals territory from what I heard and there isn't that many white scorpions in the desert if I remember the records right. Bone Scorpions perhaps? They were named so because their carapace is as white as the sun bleached bones scattered in the desert and they prefer to snack on said bones or the exoskeleton of other insects of the desert. Its also good material for armor plates, shields or sturdy furniture. But they don't usually come so far south nor in so small numbers from what I heard. Did they wandered away from their pack?

As I near them, I notice there is a third shape on the road between them, sitting on something and… cooking?

As I approach the group the the scorpions start clicking their white claws and mandibles causing the person on the road to straighten and look over their shoulder.

"Halt there, traveler! You are heading to restricted territory." Said the man with the scorpions.

I look at the tracker and see it's still not far enough to reach the craters. Looking up to the soldier, for he is wearing the armor of the clan, now that I'm close enough to see it, I stop. I deliberate what to say for a moment, but decide to be honest, is there isn't anything I need to hide.

"Good day, honored soldier!" I say, bowing for him. "My name is David Pupillus and I'm on an errand, tracking a run away cat that must have sneaked on one of the carts of the supply caravan heading towards Nascent's Fall! If I counted right, I will catch up with it well before they reach the craters! I have a tracking talisman as well, if you wish to check?" I ask, showing him the compass like talisman, still bowing.

"We will see. Throw the talisman and stay there. Oh, you can straighten too." said the soldier, catching the talisman I threw while doing as he said.

After a brief look, he took out a small stack of papers and a pen from one of his pockets, wrote something made a messenger crane from it."Come, join me, it will take some time to get an answer." And with that, he sits back down.

I eye the scorpions and they return it, the one on the left even chittering something.

"Ah, don't mind them, they are my Scorpions, and they wont bite… unless I say so, heh." The soldier declares, not even looking back, just waving his hands.

I slowly go to the soldier and we talk while we wait.

Around a half hour later comes fluttering our reply, which he grabs.

"We found the cat, it was trying to get into our meat supply." He says, shaking his head, and I could hear the amusement in his voice. "A legionary should be here in a hour or so."
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I kinda struggled with this one, its started as a training scene then, become a fetch quest....and i kinda lost the flow ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@no. @Humbaba @TehChron @Alectai

 

[TheCount]

The Misadventures of David!
turn 10 omake:
Part 6: The cave in the mist​

Thanks to that little trip to find a lost cat i managed to make connections with both junior centurion Argyris Totallis and his bone scorpions, Gladius and Buckler and one of the lesser branches of the Xia family, which is promising to be a great opportunity.

Argyris is at the third pillar of foundation establishment and reached it in just two hundred years! He is more focused on logistic than fight though, taking care of the legion's supplies, it's distribution, rationing and such. We made a pretty nice agreement, dropping them some luxuries when I get there and in exchange they provide me some better jobs than shopping errands, beside the spirit stones for what they put on the list of items I should bring the next time I come over.

As for the Xia family, from what rumors and facts I gathered they, as a whole, keep in close contact with each other, be it the main or side branches, however far removed they are. The branch in Thrake isn't really involved in the politics of the family, or the clan, but focus more on attracting the merchants from Seven Heavens Trade City and sending them further along the scorpion road. I do get some good tips about what to buy from them, the occasional errand and rarely, I am recommended for more… discrete works, for those close to them.

Hence, why I'm at the foothills of the Turtle Bone Mountain. Looking for some very delicate spirit herbs.

And, if I was here anyway, I decided to start training with the clones again. Nobody to see me, nobody to interrupt me asking why I'm using a useless technique like this…. Sadly, I still couldn't improve the any part of it. Not to chose the materials they are made of, not to change how they behave, and not even commanding them. They just mostly stand around, following me when I move. If something attacked me, they rush to it and start hitting, kicking and even biting it as they can. The only thing that I managed to raise is the number of clones, but as their number increase, some of the effects of my cultivation drops significantly, mostly bodily strength, endurance and qi.

Its quite interesting, to be honest, but very annoying. Most likely these are all part of the issues of a technique meant to be used by nascent soul cultivators being degraded so much that even a mere qi condensation one could use, if you can call it using it…. But regardless! Even if I can't really put it in use for now, its only a question of time or luck before I can master it!

Exercises do help with compensating for some of the drawbacks, to some degree, though its more about the basics than anything. I was thinking of getting some weighted bracers but most of my income goes to further advance my cultivation, so what little I can save are slowly adding up.

It would be a lot easier if I could access the contribution board I heard about, but only legionaries can use it fully. Even if I go and become an auxiliary, only foundation establishment would let me have a heavily restricted access to it.

So, for the time being, I will try and make ends meet playing errand boy and networking the hard way.

"If only I had a fortuitous encounter..:" I mumble to myself.

Sighing to myself, I dismiss the clones and feel as my Qi and cultivation soars once again to the fifth heaven stage of qi condensation. It still feels weird, temporarily losing the benefits higher cultivation provides.

Shaking my head, lean my staff in the crook of my elbow and pull out my map and check the indicated area I need to go for this quest.

"Let's see, north-east from Colossus Foot steps pass, south-east from Turtle Bone mountain, follow the river in the valleys until it goes around a small mountain with a rocky top shrouded in mist…."

I look up from my map and sure enough, I can see a mountain that fits the descriptions in the distance, thanks to the river going relatively straight in this valley. And, even if it isn't the one, It will be a good point to get the lay of the land for the coming day.

"it should take around…" I narrow my eyes as I think aloud."Three day? Maybe less if I run with a good pace." And so, I run, with my staff at the ready.

------

During the sprint to the mountain I encountered with some mundane beasts, a few boars in the early qi condensation realm and the occasional spirit herb or other low grade materials that will sell for a good price in the way castle or the trade city.

On the dawn of the third day, as I ascend the mountain in a spiral, I reach a cliff under the misty veil, with a beautiful view, the valley is full of lush, verdant green meadows with a carnival of wildflowers near the river that was sneaking around the mountain I'm on, with forests taking over as you get closer to the other mountains.

I sit down there, driving my staff in the dirt beside me and just look at the scenery for a while, after which, I take out the map again and sure enough, I'm at the right place.

"Lets see, how to do this then." I say, taking out the directives given by the costumer and start reading.

'On the Bald Mountain, you need to go towards the summit on it's southern side, as they prefer the shade of the mountain. Most animals beast avoid the fog veil as it is too thick to see through and dampens both smell and sounds to near nonexistent and even disturbs qi projections

'What you need to gather is a hundred of the mist churning thistles that have taken over after the great berry bush has withered. To find the thistles you should look for...' As I read on, my relief slowly faded. Sure, it's not something called Mountain Eating anything, but the mist is so thick you can't see where you step if you aren't crouching without a special talisman? Not to mention the mist is still occupied by the remnants of that over sized berry bush and who knows what else nestling in it….

Hm... Let's think a bit. There is a thick fog cloud ahead, but I don't have any techniques that would be helpful. I could make an array, the quick and dirty type, but it would eat into my spirits stone reserves, even if I narrowed its scope to only clear a corridor. Then, if go in as is, I might get lost if the mountain levels out into a field in the mist.... a beacon, perhaps?It wouldn't be that great an expense, but I'm unsure how far the light would go, not to mention the attention it might draw.

"This is a problem. I can't clear the mist, nor do I want to use anything flashy..." I think aloud and kick some pebbles in frustration, one ricocheting up from a nearby rock and hitting my staff. Which is still sticking out of the earth….

"I'm an idiot." I say, burying my face into my palms for a long moment. Then stand up, grab my walking stick and head into the mist, a line in the dirt marking my passage.

------

I spent half a day, finding, digging and properly sealing the thistles, storing them in the spacial ring specifically prepared for them by the costumer. Most of it spent on getting from one batch to the other and making sure I marked every intersection of my track to avoid getting lost while backtracking, but its almost over! I only need seven more and I have finished my task!

And look at that, there is another group of them near that cave….

"A cave?" I murmur to myself, furrowing my brows. Scanning the area around the entrance, I find no traces of any beasts passing by or other wise. Something about this just don't seem right… I take another look around and it finally hits me.

"There is no mist here." I whisper, and freeze. For a five meters radius around the cave, the air is almost crystal clear, even the ever churning mist the thistle is named after floats gently upward in a straight line.

Decisions, decisions… on one hand, I'm almost done and could, probably, maybe, hopefully, get away and find another batch and finish my task safely. On the other hand though, there is something in that cave, hidden in the mist. On a relatively short mountain, compared to the ones surrounding it, with no tall plants and next to no animals, most of which are mortal. It's not close enough to Turtle Bone Mountain to have any spirit beasts of the higher heaven stages of qi condensation, not to mention foundation establishment ones.

I backtrack into the mist, making sure to leave at least a minute of travel time between the cave and myself, then summon an earth clone. As my cultivation improved, so did the details they were created with. Since reaching the fifth heaven stage, they very clearly look like clay statues still being made, with the bigger details like the cut of clothes and the reliefs in big, rough strokes. The face is still featureless, though, at least it has the impression of what goes where. Its improvement, yes, but still… lacking. They still only follow me, unless something attacks either me or another clone. From what few memories with them I got back, its a far cry from them working on experiments I cant recall and acting on their own, yet, still in harmony with me and each other, either by doing separate steps of the same project or another one entirely.

I pat the clones shoulder, before reabsorbing my qi as I dismiss it. I wait for it to crumble to dust, firming my resolve, then start towards the cave.

I could turn back. I should turn back, after all, who knows whats in there. I could just cultivate quietly, slow and steady. But the memories… especially those glimpses I saw the clones working together…. If there is a chance that whatever in that cave can help me get them back sooner, I must go for it. After all, whats the worst thing that could be in that cave, when the strongest beasts on this mountain are in the early heaven stages?
***********
I would like another LST, please and thank you.
Saving Juniors: YES.
Turn note: infusion of the blood of bronze. If impact is gained, its due to the clones. preferably them becoming controlable and not attacking like animals, in that order. Use LST if reaching wounded or worse.
@Humbaba @TehChron @Kaboomatic

 

[TheCount]

The Misadventures of David!
part 7​

Spoiler: Owl Game

And here it is, finally! it just flat colors, but i don't have the energy nor the time for shading sadly, maybe next time!
For the omake reward, i would like a LST, thank you!
For missions, i would like to go with the Bandits.
For Turn notes: after hearing the tales of Aasmi during the trials, and Abel's lenses, he is going to gather materials for an array burner (think laser pointer with changable heads, only instead of animals or geometric shapes, its arrays) in Yuan (Use LST at wounded or worse, stay until only 1 LST remains), among other things, like good lenght of spider silk from the Spider Gate for rope.
At the Heavenly Bandit Kingdom, he will go around learning pickpoceting, stealth, lockpicking and other bandit/rogue stuff, If possible.

@Humbaba , @Kaboomatic Thank you!

 

[TheCount]

The Misadventures of David!
Part 8, turn 12 omake
Delivered (692 words)​

It took weeks and its almost night, but I finally arrived at Seven Heaven Trade City! The guards are already closed most of the side gates, only leaving the main and 2 of the side gates open as nobody wants to spend the night on the Scorpion Road, even with its Beast Repelling arrays, and either left or arrived during the day.

After the check at the gate and the toll paying I went in and entered the eternal carnival that the city becomes every night, vendors selling food and other things from all over the region, provided by the many merchants traveling to the desert to exchange their merchandise for spirit stones to haul back to the sects and clans in the plains and mountains.
From the south in their vibrant and colorful capes, to the great battlefield's coldly refined and armored coats, to the mountain powers' warm colors and weatherproof cloaks with the desert being divided by the devils well made but practical and the Jingshen's luxurious and jeweled outfits.

As I wandered the streets, try out some of the street stalls' foods, and asking the occasional guard patrol for directions (they even have mortals in their ranks!), and soon found myself in one of the more quieter residential districts. Mostly the type with either multiple families, generations of the same family or a family and their business taking up them, rarely, the bigger shops just like the one I arrived to.

"Sleeping Dragon Apothecary, huh?" I read its table, before checking the directive given to me. "Looks like I'm at the right place."

As I approach the double doors, I notice that my qi sense can't penetrate even the outer layers of the shop. There are detailed, if shallow engravings on the doors. They must be a sight to behold in the light of day, but in the dark, I only see the siluets of the four heavenly guards with the slightest details, with the middle of the doors housing the sun, with a knocker in each half of it. With a shrug, I grab both and use them for their intended purpose. There is no answer after the first, something falling after the second and after the third, I heard something like a curse, muffled as it was by the door.

"-goat." I heard as the voice came closer to the door, followed by a large pause. "Coming! I'm coming! Just don't use the knockers!" After hearing that, I let go of them and take a step back for good measure.

With a crack, the door on the left opened outwards, revealing a short but sturdy man, with patina green hair and blue eyes, his face is all sharp edges and scars, with even his sideburns being angled with ninety degree turns.. My qi sense telling me he was in late foundation establishment, maybe the fifth or sixth pillar? But even that only because he let me.

"Who are you and more importantly, what do you want so late, the shop is already closed if you couldn't see it?" The man was visibly annoyed.

Hm... I could go straight to the point, but I really want to see their reaction...

"Good evening sir, I'm David and I'm here for delivery for one Aris Makrellis, master of the Sleeping Dragon Apothecary. It was marked urgent. Is it, by chance you?"

The man blinked once.

"Delivery, you say?" With a flick of his wrist he produced a list out from thin air. "Yes, I am Aris Makrellis. So, what did you bring to me?"

"The 100 Mist Churning Thistles, sir. And a letter by a friend." I narrow my eyes, seeing how he straightened at that.

"Come in then, let me offer some tea while I retrieve the payment…. And who sent that letter by the way?" He asked, moving back into the shop without waiting, leaving the doors open.

With no way to refuse, I followed as instructed. I would be dead if he wanted me killed already, anyways. "It was sent by one Tong Fu Tong, sir. Though, he wished you sent someone better at games next time."

-------------------------------

i wanted this out by last turn, alas, moods.

The merchants are gonna be mostly noodle incidented away, maaaybe have a training segment aside from the shroom cave omake i have something written already.

For Omake bonus i would like another LST, thank you!

@Alectai , @TehChron , @Humbaba , @ReaderOfFate , @Kaboomatic , @no.

 

[TheCount]

Misadventures of David!
part 9 turn 14
Musings in the cave (500 words)​

After so long, Aris Makrellis has called on me again for a delivery, this time from the Cursed mushroom caves.

Nothing fancy, just go there with a caravan, pick up the merchandise then go to waycastle Pleuron to his contact with it.

Sounds easy, right? Alas, a sandstorm decided to ground us there, coming in while we were loading the items (mostly specially treated wood and some mushrooms and other fungi, for food and refining either for alchemical concoctions or medicines.) in the – luckily – underground trade area.

So we got to enjoy the sentient mushroom peoples hospitality…. Though the caravan leader warned us its better to not be the target of their jokes and pranks.

While wandering around the guest area of the caves, I found a cave re-purposed into a park or garden, with multiple paved paths and even a lake in it. As I walked on a random path, I came across an empty bench tucked away in a grove of blueish mushrooms of different types on a hill. Guess the gardeners got them to play nice with each other and work together. As I sit down, I notice that this blue spot has a really nice view of the lake as it extends into another hall, with many mushrooms and alga glowing on the ceiling like miniature stars. The bats flying across it in the distance remind me of gardens on the surface, there are even fishes visible as they come to the surface and….

Did that fish just jumped out and caught a flying bat from the air? That fish was at least long enough to reach my hip if it was laid beside me, wasn't exactly slim either. And its not alone…. "For the Imperator..." I say, aghast, unable to take my eye from the feeding frenzy.
Just as it seemed to die down, shadows as large as a grown may start to hunt the fish… and a tentacle just caught one that tried to escape through the air.

"Nope, no swimming or bathing in any body of water that isn't coming in drops while underground." I swear, scanning the distance between me and the lake, without even realizing I said it out loud until I finished it. After calming down a bit, with the knowledge there is at least half a mile of land before anything reaches me from the water, I am, yet again, entranced by the sight of the hunt and the food-chain that's playing out before me.

My sense of time got lost in the feast, for I don't know how long It was before the waters calmed again, and only the slowly falling blue motes of light bring me to my senses. I feel myself succumb to sleep, leaning to the side slowly with my staff falling with a muted thump onto the mushrooms, and even panics grips me in my last moment of consciousness, all that comes out of my mouth is…

"How pretty." And darkness takes the world.
----------
Just at turn end, hopefully it can be counted for the 13th turn.
i would like an LST as a bonus, thank you!
@Alectai, @TehChron, @Humbaba, @ReaderOfFate, @Kaboomatic, @no.

 

[TheCount]

Misadventures of David!
part 10 turn 15 (508 words)
Confusion​

I opened my eyes with start, inhaling sharp and deeply. Looking around while standing up, i saw the bare walls of the small tunnel around me. But how did i get here? And why was i just lying around in a tunnel without supplies, weapons or even armor? Even my stick wasn't to light my way.... but i brought it everywhere!
On high alert, muscles tensed like springs, i strained my ears, listening if anything was coming, while trying to feel if there are any air currents moving, but there was nothing, nothing for minutes of waiting. Not even a breeze or the scraping of insects.

I sighed in relief, and sat down to think. What was the last thing i clearly remember? it was.... blue. Blue lights falling from... mushrooms?

"Oh.... i can't believe it. Why did i thought that was a good idea?" I said as my face met with my palms.

Mushrooms. Of every size and colors. In one of the Caves of the Cursed Mushroom clan. Who are sentient mushroom people. Who we visited to deliver their ordered goods and pick up what they produced for sale. Then... a sandstorm blocked the cave. So, what do i do? Wander into a park/garden with overgrown fungi without anything to catch the spores before i breath them in....
Why would they just leave them in the open? Maybe they aren't as affected by the spores of other mushrooms?

With a Groan, i laid back, massaging my temples. If.. no, not if, because i definitely did breath in some of those spores, then i probably passed out... Did some of the bats took me? hm, no, i wouldn't have woke up then... or not is such a peaceful place anyways. But then, what happened? Did i got kidnapped? Hm... no, the Cursed Mushrooms wouldn't have a reason to do that and the Golden Devils do not like people going missing in mysteriously near their cities...

But then, where is this place and how did i got here while unconscious...

Wait, unconscious? I got knocked out by the spores... of the mushrooms. And we did needed to take up some medical ingredients... was some grown in the park? Was that a park to begin with? Was i under some effect from the mushrooms and wandered off somewhere?

"Might as well start walking somewhere." i said aloud and kicked myself up.

Luckily, my clothes were still on me.... even though i had none of the pouches, bags or armor i wore on them. Small mercies, i guess.
Considering that i don't know where i am, i started searching for any clue as to how i got here. First, on the ground, finding nothing. On the walls, still nothing. Even looked at the ceiling and the was nothing either. Not even a foot print or drag marks, nor any seams for doors or array characters. Nor did my own movements caused a footprint to appear.

"What the... just where did i end up?" I said, and started walking forward.

------
Omake Bonus: I would like an LST, Thank you.

 

[Camellia]

Decimius Diakos

Backstory: The tenth child of Fa Enlai and Segunda Diakos. The last child of Fa Enlai and Segunda Diakos.

They allow the one from outside the family to name their firstborn. Enlai panicked and named him Yi, who then went on to die the next time the Trials came around. Segundo soon followed after him. Fa Enlai and his spirit beast went to the Qiguai secret realm without much success, but Huan came back strangely fat. Tertia was more than happy to take Huanhuan-er's itty-bitty babies off their hands when the twins showed no interest.

Tertia was not particularly ambitious. They liked playing with Lupa and the rest of the babies, and they liked to hear about what the rest of the family was doing so long as they weren't dying. Tertia did not often get what they wanted.

They still don't know what happened to Quarta. They want to believe Quintilis was just unlucky.

Septimus and Octavius died in a workshop accident. Unfortunate.

Segunda, Enlai, and Huan died taking Haoshen Fort with a wave of Jiao's hand. Bad luck again.

The worst part was that they couldn't see any difference, if the workshop had one or two fewer workers. If the Leigon had one or two fewer Legionnaires. The worst part was, it was hard to feel like their deaths had meaning. Like their lives held value.

Decimius dealt with this by aggressively pretending to not care. Tertia fluffed their darling puppies and broke into their siblings' rooms to drop those three hundred pound puppies on said siblings until they gave in and talked to Tertia on a regular basis. Sextilis made some really questionable elixirs. Novena was still full of incredibly unlikely pie in the sky dreaming but she was young. That was fine.

Then the All-Blinding Array went off, and, well. At least Decimius was too young to be there?

Diakos: The Diakos can trace their lineage all the way back to before the Sea-Conquering Army was an idea, to before the Golden Devils ever came to this turtle world. Presumably. It's not like they can prove any of it, anymore. They have replicas of replicas of replicas of ancient artifacts that nobody knows the original purpose of and a hundred thousand small traditions that have stuck around in one way or another, but any liar could come up with that.

What is known is that the Diakos have relations with the dead and that they have the luck of the Golden Devils. Over and over again, they are torn out root and branch until there's nothing left but scraps too small to possibly understand just how much they've lost. And again and again, those scraps regrow the family into a massive sprawling tree too numerous to possibly wipe out. And the cycle repeats.

Overall High Concept: Repeatedly orphaned kid with three self repairing giant wolf amalgamations in various states of undead consisting of glowing wolf skeleton, wolf zombie with less meat but somewhat more limbs than a wolf normally has, wolf skull and connected pelt with questionably solid bones.

Starting Perk: Three self repairing giant wolf amalgamations, but they're more like extensions of Decimius' self than a normal spirit beast would be. Smashing one is the same as wounding Decimius, basically, but so long as they have a piece left it can eventually regrow, no special materials needed. Destroying all three is the same as killing Decimius as they are now.

Current Status: Healthy, 57 Years Old, 10th Heavenstage
Additional Impact: 0
Life-Saving Treasures: 0
Lifespan Enhancement: 0
Special Treasures: 0
Tribulation Enhancements: 0
Cultivation Goal: 10th Heavenstage

All Turns:

Omakes:
Impact
@Kaboomatic

 

[Camellia]

This? This was terrible. Everything was terrible. Some days, Tertia wished they had traded places with Sextilis and that he was the one stuck dealing with this nonsense. Other days, Tertia wanted to reach into the afterlife and strangle Novena to death all over again for leaving them to deal with this mess.

Most days, now, Tertia wished they weren't a Golden Devil at all. This was an awful thought, but then at least they wouldn't have to put up with existing with these awful damned heaven cursed burns. Probably.

They could barely even see straight, which was just plain unnecessary. The puppies were also keening at earsplitting pitches, which was not helping Tertia's current, unending, heavenly sent light qi inflicted migrane, but that was more forgivable.

The tiny pearls Tertia had fished out of this pile of crap consisted of two facts. They were currently loaded with resources courtesy of desperate Legionnaires willing to both take a chance on one of Sextilis' experimental brews that actually gave some kind of relief from the constant, unending pain and ignore how one of the many kinks Sextilis had not yet worked out of this particular brew involved unavoidable permanent organ failure in ten months if you were lucky. The other fact was that Decimius was safe at home and not here to watch everyone left of their family die.

Ideally, they could use these facts to make sure that Decimius continued to not die and maintained reasonably intact. Somehow.

Novena was the one who specialized in array work. Sure, she'd lost both her eyes but her hands had continued to work just fine. Now her hands didn't work at all because she was ash in a box. Tertia could lecture Novena as much as they wanted now and she wouldn't get huffy and stalk off. This was not as pleasant as they thought it would be when they first imagined it.

Second-born whined from her place on Tertia's operating table. Poor baby. They pressed a quick smooch to their poor darling's forehead, careful of the burns that spread across just over two thirds of her skull. No pain killers for their puppies unfortunately, they were already working off of half remembered lectures on how sealing qi through and into bone was meant to work cludged together with Novena's rambling about how if she could just manage to snag a sponsorship to fund her latest project she could absolutely create giant invincible golems that would let them never lose ever again. Tertia was not trained for this. Letting her puppies drink Sextilis' work on top of that was just too much.

Eighth-born stopped crying.

Tertia swore, quickly stitched Second-born shut, and hurried over to his table. He was still breathing, which was good. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, which was bad. His lovely golden pelt was still perfectly intact if not glossy, but when they cut his belly open a bright mass of molten light slid out.

They shouldn't have, it didn't help anyone and only wasted their breath, but Tertia gave into the urge to keep swearing.


...


Tertia wondered sometimes. The Diakos had lost a lot of knowledge over the millenia. While they had kept a good number of forms, the meaning behind them had been lost. One of the side effects of all the adults dying on you, leaving you with only memories of watching how things were supposed to go without being told how or why you were supposed to do them. Multiple times.

They knew that they weren't supposed to cut their hair at all, even when living in a desert made having long and curly hair such a pain. Not everyone had followed that precept. Sextilis hadn't. They didn't know why. What Tertia did know was that when they ran out of bronze, Tertia's hair made for weirdly good embroidery thread. The whole stiching experimental formations into the bones of their spirit beasts went strangely smoothly, even when forced to squint through blinding light. Even with only one working hand.

Third-born's heart stopped beating, but his ribs continued to expand and contract in an facsimile of breathing. She was right. Tertia wished Novena were here to see it.

Second-born was the only one who continued to whine. Third-born's bones glowed with an unsteady light. Sextilis had been petting Fourth-born when the light came down. Half of Fifth-born's bones had just melted before the rest of his body fell apart. Seventh-born kept trying to snap at the air for no particular reason that Tertia could discern. Eighth-born had hollowed out.

Poor babies. Tertia hoped they would stop hurting. They were almost done, now.


...


Diakos House was unnecessarily vast when it only held four cultivators who weren't there half the time, got no visitors, and most of the staff didn't even live there full time.

So, you know. There was no good reason for the pile of bones and glowing flesh to be patiently sitting in front of the estate's gates. Decimius also knew that Tertia had no compunctions over giving birthday presents three years late but did have strong opinions about giving gifts in person. Given this evidence, the box next to the thing that had what might have been 'Happy Birthday Decimius' if you squinted smeared along the sides but certainly had '-Tertia' in massive, unmistakable, lopsided letters on top could not have possibly held good news.

They knew this. They still opened the box.

As expected, it was terrible, but there was no one there for Decimius to blame.


...


Tertia tried to make the instructions as user friendly as possible, but they were still instructions about an ab-libbed process written half blind, questionably high, deliriously in pain, and with only one hand so they couldn't brace the paper. It took some finagling and a lot of shed blood, but eventually Decimius managed to untangle the wolves into some semblance of order and bind them.

"I am not calling you Second-Seventh, Third-Fifth, and Eighth-born. If Tertia didn't want that to happen, they should have lived." The wolf that was not Second-Seventh opened its mouth and bounced up. Like it was trying to bark. Like it was still alive.

Decimius was not going to throw up, their throat was just dry.

"Your names will be..." They stopped. They coughed. "Uh."

"...well who needs names."

Two empty skulls looked on silently as not Second-Seventh turned its head from side to side. Oh. There were two eyes on the left and one on the right for that one. Decimius hadn't noticed.

They were wolves and they were dead, any judgement that Decimius was feeling couldn't come from anyone but their own self.

Decimius decided to consult the wisdom of their ancestors. Surely over the thousands of years of their existence, someone in Diakos had come up with two or three good pet names.

"Your names are One, Two, and Three."

Decimius continued to fail their future generations.