I was pulled into consciousness by the pounding of my head, the dryness of my throat, and the general ache of my body.
I pried my eyes open with great effort and took in my surroundings. I was still in the abandoned church, and judging by the level of light, it was late in the afternoon of the same day.
I hope it was the same day. I'd be upset otherwise.
I had gone to sleep early in the morning, so that means I've slept maybe seven or eight hours. Something I was thankful for, since that means I still have a few hours of daylight left to do what I needed to do.
I wanted to find somewhere to sleep for the night that wasn't an abandoned building, a place to get some food since I was starving, a place to get new clothes, and a place to wash all the blood off me.
I slowly got up, wincing as the pain of all my injuries came in full force as I moved. The worst of the cuts had already scabbed over. I let out a little cheer in my mind when I saw that. Gotta love that advanced healing.
Still, the scabs were very fresh and tender, meaning that while I wasn't bleeding anymore, they could still get reopened.
So, slow and gentle movements were on the menu.
I sat up and got into the lotus position. I felt the world slowly fade away as I turned my attention inward.
My Qi had calmed down, but it was low compared to normal. It was probably working on healing me while I slept, but since I wasn't there to guide it, it wasn't efficient.
I frowned when I saw how empty it was, but it wasn't the end of the world. I slowly took a deep breath and pulled in the Qi from my surroundings before taking it from my lungs and pushing it to my injuries.
I continued for a bit, trying to get as much Qi into me and pushing it where it needed to go, before I realized I had a better source of Qi just sitting in my ring. The monster stones were little pockets of Qi just begging to be used.
I rubbed my ring and summoned one of the stones from an eighth-floor goblin. It was bigger than the surface goblin stones, but not so much bigger that I couldn't swallow it whole.
I brought out my water and took a sip before bringing the stone up and putting it in my mouth. It felt like swallowing cold medicine.
The stone slid down and dropped into my stomach. I gently nudged it and panicked a bit when I saw it start to rapidly unravel and spread out.
Luckily, it didn't start rampaging through my body like last time since I was able to use my own Qi to keep it contained even after it had dissolved.
Unfortunately, using the stone's Qi did take more of my focus and control rather than just taking Qi in through the air.
The process with the Qi in the air was to gather as much as I could in my lungs before guiding that new Qi to where it needed to go in my body.
Very simple and easy to control, the only downside was that the Qi in the air was thin, so it took a lot of breaths to get a good amount.
The stone was different in that I needed to keep my Qi around it to both contain it and to slowly unravel it from its bundle. Once I did get it unraveled, I couldn't just guide it where I wanted it to go like I could with the Qi from the air.
The stone's Qi wouldn't listen to me and would just randomly bounce around in my body if I let it go. So once the Qi was unraveled, I then had to intertwine it with my own Qi to guide it where I wanted.
It was much more involved and took more of my focus. The upside was that the Qi from the stone was denser and was the equivalent of taking dozens of breaths.
Both processes took about the same time to complete, but the stone gave me more Qi in that same amount of time. Meaning that in the long run, I would heal quicker if I used the stones.
I continued until I had eaten the entire stone's worth of Qi. I opened my eyes and saw it had been about an hour or so, based on how much the sun had moved.
I gently stretched and felt much better. My scabs had hardened, and my muscles didn't shake at every movement now. A vast improvement compared to when I first woke up.
I have got to stop passing out after I get injured. It was way better to just stay awake and heal using my Qi.
It was then that something moved and touched my thigh.
"Huh?" I let out a shout of surprise and looked down. There was a little white cat that had snuggled next to me while I was cultivating.
I let out a sigh of relief and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. That scared the hell out of me.
I gently reached out and pet the cat as I thought of something. I couldn't sense the cat at all when I was cultivating.
It was right next to me, practically touching me, and I was completely ignorant of its existence until it touched me. I didn't sense it coming, I didn't notice it for however long it's been lying down next to me. I had no idea it existed.
"Could you be a high-level spiritual beast that helped me heal?" I asked the cat, eager to find out how it had snuck up on me.
It gave me a lazy look before licking where I just petted it, getting up and doing a full body stretch, and then gracefully hopping down from the pew and walking away.
"Yep, normal cat," I said after a few seconds before sighing in disappointment. A normal cat could sneak up on me.
I'd like to think it was because it didn't intend to hurt me, so my brain automatically ignored it, but I'd rather not chance it with a real-life or death scenario.
So yeah, not doing the stone method in the dungeon until I can sense my surroundings. Maybe when I get better at it, I can try it. But until then, I'll only meditate in the dungeon by drawing Qi from the air.
I reach down and put my cloak on again to conceal my bloodied, ripped clothes. I started making my way out of the church to fulfill my original goals of finding a nice place to sleep, eat, get new clothes, and bathe before I remembered something.
I needed money to do any of that. Something I was lacking since I had to pay the guard to enter the city. I quietly pulled out the remainder of my valis and grimaced.
I could certainly try to get an in with this amount, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be enough. Still, no harm in asking, right?
=======================================
"Get out of here, Vagrant! Come back when you can pay!" the innkeeper shouted at me before slamming the door in my face.
The inns that I had visited all had similar reactions. Not as explosive as this particular one, but all of them had said I didn't have enough.
Hence, I was left wondering exactly how I would get the money. Should I get a job? What do I do to get a job then?
Also, what job pays immediately or lets me have room and meals when I just start?
I racked my brain, and something that Ouka said back when I first found out about magic stones came to mind.
"The guild buys off magic stones from you," I mumbled before turning and power walking toward the guild. The sun was low in the sky as I hoped they weren't closed yet.
I made it there as fast as I could, the doors thankfully opening, letting me inside. I entered and saw it was very empty, with only one window open, and a tired clerk was slowly working his way through the last person.
I quietly got in line behind the last person and saw the clerk's eyes dim even further. I gave a small wince and an apologetic smile while the clerk continued his work before motioning me forward after he was done.
"Hello, I'd like to exchange my magic stones," I said before plopping down a bag of magic stones I had prepared in advance. I took it out from my pocket since the guard had told me they didn't have storage rings here.
The bag had the smaller stones from the first few floors, with a few of the larger ones from lower down, just so I could see how much they are worth.
I kept everything from the seventh floor down. Those were valuable cultivation resources after all. These weren't all that useful, so I can bear to part with them.
The clerk's eyes glazed over more at the sight of the bag before he let out a sigh and started sorting the stones.
A quick glance at his name tag revealed that his name was Chris.
"So you're one of the lucky ones, too. Tell me, how's it feel?" Chris asked as he sorted through everything.
"Um, I don't know what you mean by lucky ones," I said and tilted my head in confusion.
"You managed to get this many magic stones cause you were one of the first ones in the dungeon, right? Floors full of magic stones down to the tenth floor. The fact that I don't recognize you tells me you're a level one, which means there is no way in hell you could get this all in one day. Hence, you're one of the lucky ones who got there before everyone else," Chris grumbled as he looked at me with a glint in his eyes.
'Oh my god, that was me, wasn't it? My little rampage left behind some evidence, and now the local government knows about it. Which means the familias know about it. Fuck,' I thought before responding with some panic.
"Oh yeah! That's what you mean! Yep, I was super-super-duper lucky that I was so early today and I found all the magic stones," I said hurriedly.
Chris just let out a snort and muttered under his breath, "Figures. Must be nice not having to do any actual work for the day."
I stayed silent as he finished counting everything before taking the bag behind the counter and disappearing for a minute or so. I anxiously tapped my foot as I looked around, hoping Rose didn't happen to be here and ask me if I had changed my mind about joining a familia.
Chris came back and placed three new bags in front of me that jingled with the sounds of coins.
"Alright, here you go," He said before taking a deep breath and looking at me. "Also, I'm sorry for my attitude before. Please don't take offence at anything I said. It's been a long day, and a few things have been grinding on my nerves."
"Oh yeah, I get it. I'm not offended or anything," I said, mentally picturing a young master demanding he kowtow three times and break his arms before shaking my head and continuing, "I'm not the type to get offended all that easily."
"Still, I'd rather not make enemies where I can. I let my guard down since it's close to the end of the day, but I still need to give you my best service," He said before a strained smile overcame his face.
"Pfft," I let out a laugh before nodding, "I get it. I used to work consumer service jobs, too. The number of idiots you have to deal with daily is astounding. The fact that you have to deal with super-powered idiots makes your job way harder."
"HAH! I mean…Ahem, you shouldn't say that. You never know who is listening," Chris let out a strained laugh before trying to regain his composure.
"Yeah, that's true, I suppose. I wouldn't want to accidentally make some super powerful familia mad by indirectly calling them an idiot," I agreed as my amusement died when I remembered how that could go with a bunch of gods and powerful adventurers running around.
Arrogance and power pretty much go hand-in-hand, no matter what world. Worlds where you could gain what amounted to partial or full godhood just cranked that concept up to the max.
"Yeah, wouldn't want your familia to get war gamed for an insult. With how tense the gods are right now, you never know what could set them off. And with the Zeus and Hera familias out on that expedition right now, I don't think anyone would step up to get them to calm down," Chris said casually.
He had unknowingly thrown a ton of information my way, which made me stare at him as I tried to process everything.
First off, the fuck was a war game? Second off, why the hell are two of the gods Greek gods? Thirdly, where are they, and why are the other gods antsy?
"Oh yeah, definitely wouldn't want that," I agreed. I mean, a war game sounded bad, but I'm not going to worry about it right now since I don't have a familia.
"Why are the gods tense, though? Is it because Zeus and Hera are away?" I did not like those names. If those two are anything like the myths I've heard, then I don't want to be in the same country as them, much less the same city.
"I mean, that's part of it since you never know if they'll succeed or not. But, I think if anyone can complete the last two great quests, then it's them," Chris continued to spout terms that made me very curious. What the hell are great quests?
"But I mainly think it's because of that lightning that struck two days ago. Every god in the city felt it, and they all called an emergency meeting shortly after. That, combined with the dungeon acting weird this morning, has started to wear everyone down. Myself included," Chris finished explaining while I was left reeling.
Both the lightning and the stones left in the dungeon were my fault. The reason why the gods were in a frenzy was because of me. So, note to self, never do a tribulation in the city.
I can not imagine what would have happened if I had gone through the tribulation after I got in here. Every single one would have swarmed me, and I would have been toast.
"Oh yeah, the guard asked me about the lightning when I first got into the city. I wonder if they ever found anything related to it…" I said, hoping Chris would give me something.
"Nope, not that I've heard. They have tightened up security, though. Hopefully, they find something soon," Chris said, and my hopes for more information died a quick death.
"I see…a shame. I'm super curious," I said, which made Chris laugh.
"Oh yeah, I can tell. You're the most talkative adventurer I've talked to in a while. Also, congrats on joining a familia when it's only your second day being in the city," Chris said with a smile, while I felt my heart drop.
I've been asking too many questions. He can tell I have no idea what's happening. Better get out of here before I let slip I had something to do with the lightning..
"Ahh, I'm glad we could talk. I'm new here, so it's good to find out what's happening. Anyway, I've held you up long enough. I'll get going. Nice meeting you," I said and reached to grab the bags before Chris stopped me.
"Oh wait, I forgot to ask, what familia are you a part of? I need to know for tax reasons," he said, pulling back a bag just out of reach.
I was left with a choice. Lunge at him, grab the bag, then run like hell. Or lie.
God, I hope I can get this right.
"Oh, I'm a part of the Hestia familia," I said, blurting out the first Greek god that came to mind.
"Hestia, huh? I've never heard of her, so she must be newly descended. Let me go check our records," he said and started turning, which made me want to scream, before an idea struck me.
"You know," I said as I gathered two of the bags and stopped him from walking away, "It's been a long day for you, I'm sure. And I've gotten lucky anyway. Keep the third one. No reason why I'm the only one who should get lucky today."
Chris stopped walking and looked at me before eyeing the bag. I could see the conflict flash across his face as he bit his lip.
"Look, I get we were having a nice conversation, but I can't just–" "There is no one else here", I interrupted when I saw he was being stubborn.
"No one saw how much you gave me. And we had a nice conversation. Just take it, go home, and get yourself something nice for dinner. Forget about the whole tax thing, man. It's not gonna matter," I leaned forward and gave the bag another nudge toward him.
I saw the conflict in him. He looked around, confirmed that no one was around, and darted his hands forward and snatched the bag.
I sighed in relief before taking my two bags and walking away.
"Don't try this again," I heard behind me. I gave a nod and kept walking.
I exited the guild and started walking as fast as I could to get away. My mind was whirling with questions as I tried to calm down.
That was so close. One wrong move and they would have found out I wasn't in a familia or an adventurer. That would have led to more questions, and I did not want to deal with that.
The fact that I happened to choose a god for a familia who didn't exist was both good and bad luck. Good luck since no one is going to show up and kick my ass for impersonation.
Bad luck since that made Chris want to investigate, and it means I can't use Hesita as a convenient excuse for anything.
Still, I made it out without outing myself, though I couldn't go there to exchange my monster stones again in the future.
They would start to recognize me, and when I couldn't name a god that existed, then they would start digging deeper. And if I did find a familia that existed and pretended to be one of them, then I couldn't imagine getting away with that for long.
Also, I just couldn't lie that long or that convincingly. The only reason that just worked was because I had chatted the guy up, and it was the end of the day.
Try that any other time with any other person, and I would have gotten arrested for tax evasion or for being unblessed and going into the dungeon.
So yeah, I'm gonna have to find another way to get money. I'll have to job hunt tomorrow. Yay…
I sighed as I thought of that. I came to another world, got a way to become immortal, and faced life-threatening situations every day. Yet, I still can't escape getting a job.
On the bright side, I learned a lot about this world. The fact that Greek gods are running around, the main familias were a way, and the gods were looking for what caused the lightning.
I got some answers, but I have far more questions than I did at the beginning. As well as a doubt that had started to grow in my mind.
I…
I don't think this is a xianxia world.
I hate to admit it. Not because I want this to a xianxia world, no goddess no, those suck.
No, I hate to admit it because that means I have no idea what to expect. If it were a xianxia world, then I could understand the power systems, the cliches, the people, and the politics. I would know what I'm getting myself into.
But now? I'm hearing the names of Greek gods, faced with a completely unknown power system, and different tropes. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into now.
And that scares me.
No, it terrifies me.
This being a xianxia world was my crutch. It was the one thing I could rely upon to be true, and that kept me stable. I could be confident that I had some knowledge of what was going on.
I had built my entire perspective on this place around the assumption that this was a xianxia world. The simple fact that I knew what I was getting myself into was a blanket that warmed me.
Now? Now I'm a stranger in a strange world with a completely alien power system to everything.
My heartbeat picked up, and my breaths came out in quick bursts as I could feel my Qi begin to move erratically.
Any comfort I could give myself was ripped away with the realization, and I was left navigating something terrifying.
The unknown.
I shivered and tried to get everything under control. I could feel the beginning of a panic attack coming as I was forced to understand that I don't know anythingand I'm ALONE.
I arrived back at the ruined church, my plans to find a place to stay for the night forgotten as I tried to come to terms with my realization.
I walked to one of the pews and sat down. I leaned back and started taking deep breaths to calm down.
I focused on my breath, in for five seconds, held for five seconds, then out for five more. I let my thoughts die down as I focused only on my breathing.
The familiar rhythm came, and I fell into meditation despite my emotional state. I focused solely on my breathing and my Qi.
I let all my thoughts and panic flow through me and leave with each breath I took. My Qi began to calm down and move as I wanted it to.
I guided it to heal my wounds, and the world faded. So too did the stress, panic, and confusion. The only thing left was me and my Qi.
I kept going. I let the cycle continue, each turn of Qi washing away my anxiety along with closing my wounds.
My muscles were soothed as was my heart. My mind became as peaceful as the breeze flowing around me.
I sat deeper into the pew, my body slowly relaxed, as did my heart. The study wood beneath me gave me a sense of calm as everything stopped being terrible.
I let out a final breath before opening my eyes and observing everything.
I just sat there for a few moments, enjoying the state of a blank mind as I watched the sun finally set and the different colors of Qi swirl around.
I could cultivate.
That was a fact.
The Qi dancing in my eyes and swirling under my skin was proof enough.
No matter what world this ended up being, the fact that I could cultivate would not change.
The fact that some lady gave me this with her dying breath didn't change.
The fact that the dragon was still out there hurting people didn't change.
This world may not be pure xianxia, but there were elements of a xianxia world that were certainly present in this world.
It raised questions of who exactly that lady was, how she had a cultivation manual, and why there didn't seem to be any cultivators in sight.
But that didn't change the fact that the world had those elements.
There was something weird going on. Cultivation should be widespread or, at the very least, a known source of power.
Yet, somehow, everyone that I've met, from those in the Far East to those in Orario, all assumed I was blessed. That I had earned the favor of a god, had gotten a 'Falna', and that I was an adventurer.
Were the cultivators just hidden? Wiped out? How did they get wiped out?
Did the gods destroy the cultivators to get humanity under them, or did they all just die off without passing down their teachings?
I don't know. The world has cultivation, whether it was widespread in the past, and it is hidden or I'm the last cultivator, doesn't matter. Whatever the case, the conclusion is the same.
This world wasn't pure xianxia, but it had some things that were xianxia.
That was enough for me.
Now I just have to figure out what world the xianxia has been mixed with. It was obviously swords and magic, but what kind of swords and magic?
"No, stop that, Leon," I muttered and shook my head.
That's not what was important now. Besides, I need more information to figure that out anyway.
No matter what world this was, the bottom line was that I needed more power.
It was only a matter of time before the gods figured out who I was and that I was different. I knew I couldn't keep hiding forever, mostly because I sucked at it.
I was not low-key or sneaky or subtle. I knew this, and I never thought I could remain hidden forever.
I did hope that I could limit the number of people who knew about me, and delay it long enough that I could get stronger.
So, my goal was to go into the dungeon, grind like hell, and deal with the surface world as little as possible.
I'll have to make sure to get the hell away whenever I go through tribulations, cause otherwise they'll find me.
But I'm not too worried about getting linked to the lightning happening. After all, it's not like anyone in the city knows–
…
Fuck, I told the merchants I was going to go get struck by lightning!
Augh, I'm so stupid! Why did I say that?
Curse me and my stupid mouth!
I have got to get better at lying. Seriously, what's wrong with me?
Alright, deep breaths. Calm down and think about this. Maybe this isn't as bad as it seems.
Otto and Octavious said they were leaving the city soon after they got here, so they are going to be a non-issue. What are the odds they interact with a god in the short time they stay here?
That just left Aisha. Aisha, who was currently blessed and looking for a familia to join.
Someone who would have direct access to a god and could very easily tell them about me to gain favor with her new god.
She could single handily fuck me and make my life a wild goose chase. I could be forced to leave the city, and there would go my steady supplies of dungeon monster stones.
Oh fuck I got to find Aisha.
Now, how do I do that exactly? Do I just wander around and hope to run into someone?
What then, ask her nicely not to tell anyone about what I said? Hell, she might not even know about the lightning.
"Fuck, I don't know," I said, throwing my hands up in the air and leaning back in my seat. There was no way I could find her by just randomly searching the city.
The only bright side was that she, and by proxy, whatever god she decided to get with, would have a very hard time finding me, too.
It sucked, but there wasn't anything I could do about it right now. I would just have to hope she didn't find me.
My stomach rumbled loudly, breaking me from my newly induced panic and reminding me that I haven't eaten in a while.
I took out some of my dwindling travel supplies from my storage ring before eating and washing them down with some water.
I then took off my cloak again and balled it up as a pillow. I would have to go get new clothes tomorrow. The shops had probably closed for the night, and I didn't feel like getting up anyway.
I also didn't feel like I could cultivate. I felt sleepy, despite having slept for most of the day and cultivating for the rest of it. I guess I wasn't at the stage where I could replace sleep with cultivation.
Shame.
I could go longer without sleep, though, so I'll take it, I guess.
I quietly took out my journal and started writing down the past few days, noting down the information I've learned about the dungeon.
As I wrote, I felt my eyes begin to grow heavy, and the desire to sleep grew bigger. I let out a yawn before I put the journal away and slowly began drifting away.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.
======================================
"AHHHHHH, HE'S DEAD!"
A high-pitched scream pierces through the air and jolts me awake. I flail my limbs and sit up, ready to fight despite everything hurting as soon as I do.
My brain was still coming to consciousness, but I was able to recognize a few things as I got my eyes open.
One, I was still in the abandoned church. Two, dawn was just breaking, and the barest hits of pink and yellow began illuminating the sky.
The third thing I recognized was the girl in front of me who was currently screaming.
"Wh-What. W-who's dead? What's happening?" I stuttered out, jumping to my feet as I looked around for someone dead.
"AHHHHH ZOMBIE! PLEASE DON'T EAT ME, I'M NOT TASTY I PROMISE," The girl continued to scream nonsensical words as I looked around, only to find nothing out of the ordinary.
The only difference was the girl who decided to wake me up. Seriously, why was she still screaming?
"Why are you screaming?" I shouted, raising my voice just to make sure she could hear me over the sounds of her screaming.
"Because there's a zombie! A zombie is walking and talking– Y-you're not a zombie?" The girl pointed at me before blinking owlishly at me.
I felt confusion go through me as I patted myself to check. Am I a zombie?
======================================
You thought it would be Hestia, but it was me! The main character's mom!
Hestia hasn't descended yet, as poor Leon found out when he tried and failed to lie. I don't have plans for her in the story currently, but that could change. Who knows?
We also finally get where we are in the timeline. Only one of the great quests has been completed so far, and I'll let you guess where the Zeus and Hera familias currently are.
Sidenote: How long did it take to complete the quests in canon? If it's not explicitly stated, then give me your headcanons. I'm curious.
And Leon finally realizes something ain't right here. He has kind of always known, it's just he's been ignoring it since, like it was said in the story, it was a coping mechanism for him.
Hopefully, I did it justice in the story, but if not, then let me know. He'll still unconsciously act like he is in one, but now that he has had that realization, he can catch himself and slowly start changing his outlook on everything.
It's going to be a process, so don't expect him to just turn around and act completely differently now that he realizes that. Like it was said in the story, it was a big deal for him, so he's gonna take a while to get over it.
Also, poor Leon realizes just how much of a fuss he has kicked up in the couple of days he has been there. And It's only going to get worse from here.
Anyway, that's all from me. Until next time, friends!