On the way back, Nic noticed the "happy" effect on Summira was slowly wearing off, but she seemed calmer than before.
Summira looked at Nic. "How did you win? Shin Meilin has never lost before."
Nic stayed silent and just told Summira not to ask about that.
Summira nodded, even though deep down she was dying of curiosity. "Ugh, how did that weird guy win against the Phenomenon?"
When they arrived back at the main Shin area, the residents from earlier were still there. They glanced at Nic, and suddenly, their laughter broke out when they saw Nic's broken arm.
"HAHA, LOOK! HE WAS ALMOST KILLED BY SHIN MEILIN!"
"Lucky the Phenomenon is still nice to outsiders. If he were from Kyu territory! He'd be dead!"
"The mouths of Shin residents are truly trash," Nic thought.
Nic just ignored them, while Summira was confused about what was happening.
The residents saw Summira and called out to her.
"Hey Summira, where are you taking that guy?" one of the residents asked.
Summira answered with a smile, "I'm taking him to Yuahue's clinic."
The residents immediately pulled Summira away and whispered that Nic had been badmouthing Shin territory, and she should just let his arm stay broken since it couldn't be healed anyway.
Summira shook her head. "Ah, it's fine. I'll take him there."
Nic was confused. Even though she hadn't been hit by the Cupid Arsenal yet, Summira seemed to be siding with him.
The residents got annoyed and started scolding Summira, but Nic, who was fed up, decided to make a move.
"Zeta, activate skill God of Intimidation and God of Fear."
[ Activated ]
Instantly, a heavy and terrifying pressure appeared in the area. The residents were shocked, got goosebumps, and felt scared. They were confused about what was happening.
Then Nic stepped closer, staring at the residents holding Summira with a death glare.
The residents panicked, falling over as if they were looking at a terrifying monster. "M-monster!!"
Summira was shocked and froze seeing that; she couldn't move.
Nic spoke in a terrifying voice, "I never insulted you guys. I'm not looking for trouble here. You guys started it... if you hate someone like me that much, let's fight. Don't just talk trash."
Those who were noisy earlier could only stay silent now. There was even an official who was about to come over, but he immediately turned around, wanting to alert all the other officials.
After that, Nic deactivated his skill and told Summira to continue guiding him. Summira nodded and guided Nic quickly, her mind still full of confusion.
As Nic left, the residents started gossiping about how weird Nic was. Their foolish brains started thinking again that Nic was from another territory targeting them.
---
A few moments later, Nic and Summira finally arrived at the famous acupuncture clinic.
Nic noticed the queue was gone, which meant the treatment was that fast.
Nic and Summira went inside and saw the place was very simple and small. There was Yuahue, a girl who was an expert in acupuncture.
"Hello, you seem to be new... eh? Is your arm broken?" said Yuahue, who was quite observant.
"Ah, yeah, my arm just broke—" Nic said but was cut off by Yuahue.
"Sorry, sorry! But I can't heal a broken arm! I'm so sorry, I can only help balance the body system so it can heal itself faster and more efficiently," Yuahue explained.
"Ah, I understand. I'm not asking to be healed," Nic said.
Summira was shocked. "HUH? If not for that, then what are you doing here?"
Yuahue asked the same thing.
Nic fell silent for a moment, then asked Yuahue in a serious tone, "Are you neutral?"
Yuahue looked at a photo near her and picked it up. "Do you mean neutral regarding Kyushin?"
Nic nodded. "You know where I'm going with this?"
Yuahue nodded because she was always asked this by Shin residents. Usually, to avoid trouble, she would answer "Pro-Shin" since she was a Shin resident herself. But this time the question was different. Not "Who is better, Kyu or Shin?" but "Are you neutral?"
"Where are you from?" Yuahue asked.
Nic introduced himself briefly, saying he was from the Western and was visiting all countries for study.
"And I'm not a snitch, and neither are you, right Summira?" Nic said, looking at Summira.
Summira nodded.
Yuahue closed her shop and took a deep breath. "I am neutral, and I've treated people from Kyushin, not just Shin. That's because back then, we were still healthy rivals."
Then Yuahue told the story of Kyushin's past as healthy rivals who made the East proud. They were originally one territory, separated only by a river.
Kyushin had many talented and strong people who eventually became national assets. Usually, people from Kyu were transferred to Shin for proving grounds before becoming assets of the Eastern.
That's why Shin was called the territory with many talented people, but Kyu was the creator of those talented people. Even though they were rivals, they always helped each other in times of trouble. Even when the two strongest phenomena, Kazumi and Meilin, were born, people thought this was the golden peak of the Eastern because both of them were expected to be the most important assets.
A few years later, Shin territory refused to accept people from Kyu anymore because they thought their territory already had enough talented people and Shin Meilin was enough to defeat everyone. Kyu territory got annoyed and finally decided to focus on Kazumi too.
At this moment, the elders who were the guardians of Kyushin territory died, and that was when Kyushin changed into Kyu and Shin.
Just as she was about to continue, there was a knock on Yuahue's door.
Summira panicked, but Yuahue told them to stay calm and opened the door.
It turned out to be Yuahue's older sister, Shuyin. She was a famous calligrapher in Shin Territory.
Shuyin looked confused, but Yuahue explained, and Shuyin understood.
Nic stood up and bowed. "Thank you, hearing up to that point is enough for me. Here is some money for the story."
Nic gave a considerable amount of money, but Shuyin refused. "Oh my god, I just told a story, why are you giving me money? You didn't even ask for my treatment!"
"This is 'thank you' money. Don't worry, this isn't a bribe for telling the story. It's just a token of gratitude from me. Just take it," Nic said with a smile.
Shuyin nodded, telling her little sister to just take it.
Yuahue took the money while thanking him.
After that, Nic wanted to leave. Summira asked if she needed to take Nic anywhere else.
Nic looked at her. "No need. Thanks for helping me, even though you didn't have to. Hope we meet again."
Summira just stood silent and smiled. Before Nic walked out, he said:
"Don't worry, I'll make Kyushin the way it used to be."
They fell silent, and Nic activated Cupid Arsenal > Bomb, throwing it behind him. It hit the three girls as he walked out.
[ Ding! Congratulations. Shuyin, Yuahue, and Summira are now 100% Loyal and Like Master Nic. ]
[ Heart Claim activated! The three of them have entered the Girlfriend List. ]
[ Skill Transfer activated! Congratulations Master Nic, you got 3 new skills! God of Acupuncture, God of Calligraphy, God of Climber. Because there is too much explanation, Master Nic can read it yourself later. ]
[ Ding! Master Nic has reached a multiple of 10 girlfriends, and since you've reached it before, now 2 new system skills will be unlocked. ]
"Okay... hopefully the system skills will be useful for later," Nic said.
As he walked away, he activated the skill Fusion Health, a combination of healing skills. Nic healed his broken arm himself, and easily, his arm was healthy again—and stringer.
To be continued...