Chương 20: Enjoy Peace, prepare for war

Considering the ridiculous focus that had been put on developing Outlast for nearly half a year now, suddenly being done with the job was in its own way slightly daunting. The Mad Monks had gotten their new disciple with all of his brimming protagonist energy, no matter how much of it was potentially negatively directed at Jin.

Jin had stopped being plagued by nightmares the second that he had stopped having to deal with the scenario and Elder Flower had praised him in the privacy of their rooms about the increased goodwill they were likely to experience from their allied sect and the future if his scenario offered a long-term solution to their problem. Everyone was a winner, but the fact of the matter was that from working 16 hours a day for half a year, Jin suddenly didn't have much to do anymore.

He'd quickly but surely codified his new combat skills into Dragonslayer Ornstein. He felt very grateful as he saw its improvement caused by his training with sect leader Shen. However, after that was done, he didn't have much to do other than cultivate in silence in his rooms. He was still visiting a foreign sect where he didn't have freedom of movement after all, especially now that his lessons had ended.

All in all, it was a rather sad state of affairs that he had just finished an incredibly tough project but was already wanting more. If nothing else just so he wouldn't be so fucking bored. This was one of the things they didn't tell you about when they discussed Isekai stories, the sheer boredom-inducing nothingness of a mediaeval society. Jin had gotten so used to the internet, having access to millions of books on demand, living in a city that had a higher population than the entire Empire. Now?

In a world without freedom of movement, unless one was strong enough to enforce it oneself, no entertainment... Just the seriousness of a Confucian society based on magic meditation? He was literally feeling himself regaining the spiritual capacity to produce dopamine from just watching a leaf fall beautifully, it was crazy.

He hadn't noticed this as much before, because he'd jumped right into a deadline after his insertion into the new body, after which he had basically been forced to come to terms with a new environment and now for the last six months had been grinding his ass off. But now, he had nothing, which was why when Elder Flower came to him to announce they were leaving, he was actually glad, even if leaving probably meant that he would have to go back to work in some manner or form.

"We'll leave tomorrow," she said, standing next to him on the platform overlooking the valley in which the Mad Monks Sect was stationed. Giddy with excitement Jin simply nodded as he looked at the remains of the encampment where the mortals had been staying until very recently. From one day to the next, they'd simply vanished. Failed the test and left.

From what he had heard Outer Disciple Xiao had already started his lessons on the mantras of the sect along with some light physical conditioning that would prepare him for becoming a vessel for qi. Jin didn't really want to know what the Mad Monks considered light physical conditioning. After all, the tutoring he had gotten from sect leader Shen had also been referred to as light training and it had brought him to the brink of physical and mental exhaustion every single day.

"I'm glad. I really missed the library, to be honest," Jin said relieved, already thinking about how he was going to test out more and more of the Illusion Rooms. They were even more fun now that he wasn't dying as much as he had in the beginning. -/- Once their departure had been decided it truly didn't take long for them to finally leave.

It was as if Jin blinked and suddenly he was once again standing on the stone platform looking almost nostalgically at the Buddhist architecture of the sect, while next to him Elder Flower dropped her sword to the ground where it hovered in its place and expanded in size. There to send them off was only Elder Zhang, who was thoughtfully running his fingers through his long grey beard. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

It seemed like now that the job was done the sect leader did not feel like dispatching one of his clones to send them off, and Elder Kwang also saw no reason to further oversee their actions. Jin, personally, was glad. Had the sect leader been present it would have indicated a too high interest in his own humble person. From his experience, such things always ended up hinting at troubles to come.

All he wanted was a quiet life "developing" scenarios for the sect, eating three meals a day, hanging out with the friends he would hopefully make once he went back and maybe having a girlfriend.

"I see that your time to depart has truly come," Elder Zhang spoke up.

"It is curious how much has changed since your arrival, and how much more will change after. The new disciples we will gain from the selection process for the next 100 years will likely be very different from the ones we've accepted in the past. I imagine only time will tell if it was a good or bad change." Not knowing what to say to that statement of fact, Jin simply clasped his fist in his hand and bowed.

"It was an honour to receive tutelage and to work towards the greater good," he said with his head bowed.

"I think we certainly both benefited from that work," Elder Zhang said with a bit of humour in his voice.

"Your improved version of Dragonslayer Ornstein will be added to the meagre amount of Illusion Rooms that we have available for our outer disciples. Another thing for them to break their head against and improve," he said with a grin.

"Regarding that, actually, the reason sect leader Shen is not here is because he used his wood mantra this morning to make a departing gift. Time will tell if it will be a curiosity or something of real use," the Elder continued as he put a hand in his robe and pulled out what looked to be a miniature wooden spear in the exact form that Dragonslayer Ornstein wielded.

Just before Jin could express his thanks, he suddenly felt a rush of qi envelop the Elder and rush towards the little toy in his hands which suddenly grew in size into something which was decisively not a toy anymore. It was still slightly smaller than what Jin's "creation" wielded, but that was simply because Jin himself was smaller than the Dragonslayer. He marvelled at the artefact as he saw with his improved eyesight that the edge was actually sharp.

But how did they manage that considering it was made entirely of wood? It was a beautiful thing in fact made out of what appeared to be, if his sense of smell was correct, sandalwood of all things. This was usually the wood that monks used to make their prayer beads out of.

"Considering the skills that you will later learn once you ascend higher in your cultivation, we thought it fitting that you gain a weapon which can be used with those skills," Elder Zhang explained as he idly spun the lance in his hand to show off its balance.

"Additionally, the calming properties of the wood should make the weapon a good focal point for formations designed to suppress an enemy." Jin nodded as if he knew what that meant. A glance sideways at Elder Flower gave him the impression that she would explain it to him later. Of course, had he received any gift he would have had to do the usual bowing and scraping, but in this case he was actually amazed. He bowed again fist in his palm.

"Inner disciple Jin thanks the Mad Monks Sect for their incredible gift," he said genuinely, at which Elder Zhang smiled and threw the lance at him. In mid-air, it turned back into its miniature form causing Jin to catch it in between his forefinger and his thumb. He would have to make a necklace to hang it off, or a handband in the future, but for now, he simply stowed it in his robes where he knew it would not get lost. It was here that Elder Flower stepped forward and inclined her head.

"To future cooperation and the peace of your sect," she said. Elder Zhang inclined his head as well and repeated the words while adding on a mysterious: "And we shall see each other soon enough." After that, both he and Elder Flower mounted the flying sword and shot off into the skies without any preamble. A hole in the array protecting the Mad Monks Sect opened once again letting them out and they quickly ascended above the sparse clouds to where Jin could enjoy the unparalleled view of the world.

"Was it a fruitful visit?" Jin asked out loud once they were fully out of the hearing range of even the sect leader. Elder Flower nodded which he could see from the shifting of her hair.

"You did well. Well enough especially in your training with the sect leader that I prepared an award for you." Jin puffed up his chest. He'd known that he did amazingly, but hearing it repeatedly still managed to improve his mood.

"Thank you Elder Flower," he said graciously.

"That is why I have decided to award you with an opportunity that inner disciples usually get towards the end of their tenure and before their promotion to core disciple." Jin's mind ran as he considered what the reward was going to be. What was it that inner disciples would get towards the end of their tenure? Was it an artefact or was it perhaps access to a spell.

In this case, the only spell that made sense to use as a reward was, considering his acquiring of a replica of Ornstein's weapon, the templating spell, no? Elder Flower bashed that idea with her next words.

"Dragonslayer Ornstein has improved a lot, however, you still lack something which could be necessary for finally perfecting it and that is combat experience." Jin's heart dropped and he started shaking his head nervously despite knowing that she couldn't see his gesture. His hands clasped together in a prayer motion hoping that what she was saying was not going to come true.

"The Illusion Room Sect might not be combat-oriented," Elder Flower continued, refusing his refusal of reality, "but we still send out our older inner disciples to the inter-sect tournament of our region. There they can be put into the bracket of outer disciples from warrior sects and other inner disciples with creation-based foundations.

It's a necessary experience for our disciples so that they can create better products in the future, but also for them to experience combat in a non-threatening scenario that is not an Illusion Room." Jin's heart calmed down somewhat. It was just a tournament in the end, wasn't it? It was not the same as fighting the bandit lady who could have actually killed him if Elder Flower had been a second late with her interference. Sure, he didn't like fighting, but this would be fine.

"We need to grasp opportunities like this where death is uncommon and crippling relatively rare. It's all been calming down a lot in recent years. In fact, the last time only resulted in five different blood feuds," Elder Flower explained gently as if reassuring him. Jin meanwhile buried his face in his hands and tried not to scream.

"The tournament is happening in a month, after we return to the sect you will naturally work on your combat abilities first and foremost. After the tournament is when you can perhaps revise Ornstein with your experience wielding his weapon, put it in the library and start a new project." A singular tear fell out of Jin's eyes and ran down his cheek. But, if this was a gift then maybe he could still refuse?

"Of course, you cannot refuse as this great honour is something that if stricken aside will likely forever bar your advancement to core disciple due to doubts of your character," Elder Flower finally finished, stabbing him fully in the back once again. Jin felt the dagger enter his heart and slumped together. Yamete Sensei…