Chương 91: I'm a lover, not a figher, nanana, nanana

Two letters exchanged between Jin Fan of the Illusion Room Sect and Xin Erwa of the Blazing Fire Sect. Dear Outer Disciple Xin Erwa of the Blazing Fire Sect, I must confess that I found myself struck not just by your profoundly impressive ability to inflict violence onto those around you, but also by your impeccable moral character, which is why I am writing this letter. You likely did not notice, but I was one of the cultivators in the oasis in which you defeated the wyvern.

I was quite cross with you at the time as your actions nearly caused my death, but such things are simply part and parcel of participating in a tournament, I guess. Your surrender after taking note of the fact that the match we were set to have was being disrupted by outside influences was something that I have thought about many times since it occurred.

I am willing to offer a sparring match whenever we meet next to fulfil your curiosity, although I will ask you to spare my life as I am not nearly as capable as you likely think. I apologise for whichever punishment you are currently labouring under because of your moral standards, and wish you all the best in your cultivation. As a token of utmost respect, I include all three of my finished works for your perusal.

Even if there may not be much for you to learn from them, I can assure you that they are somewhat entertaining. I will caution that the one labelled Outlast is not for the faint of heart. I fought many and encountered more during that fateful tournament in Koncho, but out of all of them, you remain in my mind the most.

With admiration and fondness, Jin Fan, inner disciple of the Illusion Room Sect XX XX XXX87 -/- Jin Fan, You are running away from your obligations as a cultivator by not participating in the upcoming tournament, as has recently come to my ears. I will try this demo that you have sent to my sect, although you did not include a letter this time. Having tried your previous three works, I reluctantly admit that your craftsmanship merits the aforementioned coddling from your sect.

As for why this is the first time I have replied after your initial correspondence three years ago, I was being punished with solitary confinement and was just released. Having had enough time to cultivate, I experienced your scenarios and drew some amusement from doing so. I will remark here that Outlast was somewhat boring with combat disabled and manageable for anyone who remains unaffected by pathetic adversaries and the comedic atmosphere. Many of my sect mates disagree, but that is my opinion.

I thank you for your words, but do not return them, as from my perspective, you possess neither integrity nor honour. If I ever see you, I will simply dispense with the courtesies and attack, although I will certainly not aim for a mortal blow. Your existence has caused me much frustration these past three years, so I hope you understand my wish to hurt you as much as I can without putting your life in danger.

As one of the many people I will step over in my goal of being the strongest, I will admit that you are also sometimes on my mind. Xin Erwa XX XX XXX90 -/-"How many Illusion Rooms?" Hashimi asked with a baffled expression on her face after she'd entered Jin's apartment to report her progress.

"306," Jin answered calmly.

"That's how many sects Elder Flower helped me narrow down. They are all sects with whom we have decent diplomatic ties with and who are familiar enough with Illusion Rooms that they wouldn't suspect any foul play and will instead just put them in their libraries."

"Well, considering the thousands of copies we sold of The Last of Us, that's not actually that much," Hashimi muttered thoughtfully.

"I also sent a demo each to a few dozen aristocratic and imperial families in the capital. Culture often flows downstream as those beneath rush to imitate those above. If we could hook just one member of the royal family… It's a long shot, but… Maybe the fact I won the recent tournament will help?"

"Still, we can obviously buy the Rooms more cheap than we sell them," Hashimi interrupted with a nod.

"After all, when we buy them, they're without a scenario, plus, no delivery fee." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Jin agreed enthusiastically.

"Exactly, in the end, the gifts cost us only about half of our most recent proceeds."

"Everyone in the sect is talking about them at least, although that's more professional curiosity," the girl mused as she looked around the apartment. She turned to Jin.

"You know, I'm very happy that the numbers and symbols are finally gone from your walls. I was starting to get a headache."

"It worked, didn't it?" Jin said sarcastically with a raised eyebrow. Hashimi defensively raised her hands.

"I never doubted you, in fact," she rushed to say. Then she finally went to sit down at the table, before apparently choosing against it and sitting next to Jin and then resting her head against his thigh.

"From a theoretical perspective, pushing the art form, we already succeeded and recouped our losses from library fees alone," she said while lazily looking up at the ceiling. Jin started running a hand through her black hair and massaging her scalp.

"It would be nice if it became popular outside the sect as well," he muttered, before shaking his head.

"It will be a slow-burn if anything, though. Assuming at least a tenth of the demos I sent out get played and then recommended, considering it takes 30 days to clear the thing, we'll have a few customers lining up in half a year at the earliest."

"If Skyrim really succeeds, like The Last of Us did …" Hashimi said with a sigh.

"You'll probably have to start thinking about promotion."

"Won't you?" Jin retorted. Hashimi hummed thoughtfully.

"Probably not. Project lead gets you more prestige; you did the relatively successful Dragonslayer and Outlast without me, and you won the tournament. Where's your cultivation at?"

"Ninth pillar."

"See? You'll basically be out of here after Skyrim's done, regardless of its success, as long as you reach core formation. I barely even reached the seventh pillar, and I don't have a fastidious master on my ass training me every day. I really don't know how you do it." Jin never had told Hashimi that he was running away from the tournament, so he could only breathe out deeply.

"Everyone does what they must. When failure is not an option, it often doesn't materialise."

"Approaching everything as a matter of life and death." Hashimi chuckled.

"You know, Jin, you were a bit destabilised when I met you for the first time four years ago. But, actually, you're pretty cool."

"What if I just don't go to the core ring?" Jin suddenly asked.

"What if I wait for you?" Hashimi stilled against his thigh.

"Don't be an idiot," she whispered softly.

"You'll get more resources, more opportunities. Heaven knows how long it will take me to progress to core disciple. Ten years, twenty, thirty? Thirty years in the inner ring rather than the core ring might very well be the difference between forming a nascent soul for a genius like you and failing. Advance, Jin, leave us behind and visit as often as you want," she said.

"It's not that easy," Jin muttered.

"Core disciples do much more for the sect; they're not learning anymore. What if I want to extend my youth?"

"Extend your youth by cultivating, asshole."

"What matters more, the quality of a life, or the quantity?" Jin retorted. He'd always been very content in his last life to live to eighty or something. Here in the cultivation world, where everyone strove for immortality. Suggesting he halt his advancement, if only for a few years… He might as well just suggested he liked getting kicked in the balls.

"Shut up, I won't listen to you," Hashimi suddenly interrupted and extended a hand to put a finger on his lips.

"Let's enjoy the years we have. You're my best friend, or, no, what term did you use jokingly that week? You're my nakama, believe it." Jin laughed.

"Alright, Hashimi, but I hope you know that being someone's nakama is a lifelong commitment."

"You're right in one thing, although I don't agree with your idea," Hashimi eventually said.

"Sometimes you have a connection with someone that's so valuable it's worth making sacrifices to preserve it." She paused.

"Certain sacrifices, not ones that ruin the relationship by eliciting guilt in others."

"I love you, you know," Jin muttered.

"You've grown a lot, too."

"I love you too," Hashimi replied with a small smile.

"Hard to believe it's been only a few years. We recently celebrated my 24th birthday, but I feel 100. Why are so many of our older peers so immature? They've lived through more than us. We've had our near-death moments at the tournament, the zombie invasion rush, the endless cultivation."

"Fear those who travel much and see little, those who read, but fail to understand, those who are old and proud, but know nothing. They will be your greatest enemies in leading humanity towards enlightenment," Jin said, absolutely butchering an old French poem he'd only heard a few segments of in what felt like centuries ago.

"Enough with the melancholy," Hashimi suddenly proposed and rummaged through her robes to pull out a few jade slips.

"You and Francis have been busy consolidating the demo recently, but I wasn't resting on my laurels either. Solitude, Windhelm, Markath, all done and gift-wrapped just for you."

"How did you manage this in half a year?" Jin said with a gasp as he excitedly grabbed the jade slips from her slim fingers.

"You think I'm some lazy idiot?" Hashimi asked rhetorically with a sniff.

"Everything is skill, and someone who has just picked up a brush obviously paints more slowly than a master. I've been working with you now for many years, primarily doing the same thing. I could create an environment in my sleep at this point. One house goes there, another goes here. A small twist of the mind and neither of them looks like the other."

"Role division is very important for the functioning of a team," Jin nodded with agreement. His character creation had similarly accelerated, not just through his improved cultivation, but also through his accumulating experience. Unceremoniously, he dove into the jade slips and observed what Hashimi had created.

Due to the fact that he was able to give her a relatively in-depth sketch of Skyrim, considering he'd played it and had access to the game's visuals, he never had to worry about Hashimi deviating too much from the script, even if she had to adapt everything to have at least a little bit of the local flavour.

"Appropriately grand," he eventually commented after he exited the slip.

"The biggest city in Skyrim with the highest buildings. I can already imagine the progression of resolving the civil war." He paused and furrowed his brows.

"Or worsening it," he said with a sigh.

"If our dear experiencers so desire." He continued onwards to the snowy Windhelm, the base of the Stormcloaks, and where one could initiate the dark brotherhood questline, which had not been included in the demo for… obvious reasons. He exited, nodding happily at the triangular buildings which were, to his knowledge, to be found nowhere in this world.

"I love the wood details," he told the smiling girl, soaking up the praise with closed eyes as the sun shone through the window and alighted on her face. Diving into the last of the jade slips, the one containing Markath and, more importantly, Cindha mine, he soon exited with a nod.

"Perfectly gloomy atmosphere for a prison and a city experiencing a hidden civil war," he praised. Before sighing.

"You know, I initially thought that Skyrim would take a decade. But with how fast we're going, it's going to be done in half."

"We made the original estimates back before we honed our skills in our respective areas of development," Hashimi analysed idly.

"Also, we ended up outsourcing some of the work."

"After Skyrim we'll-," Jin started before suddenly interrupting himself. After Skyrim, he'd probably advance to core disciple. Collaboration would become difficult.

"Let's not talk about the after," Hashimi said.

"Let's just enjoy the moment." Jin nodded mutely, and they sat there for many hours, Hashimi's head on his leg, his hand on her scalp. It was a moment that was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking.