Cultivation Through Artifacts

Feeling a presence before him, the old man with the straw hat raised his head slightly and glanced at Khal before raising two fingers.

[He is indicating you have to pay two Gold Coins.]

'Two? That's rather expensive, no? That is exactly two portions of food for two people.' Khal exclaimed with shock, but once he thought about it more, he realized its price was indeed reasonable.

Watching as the old man was staring at him in silence and was waiting patiently, Khal took out two gold coins from his ring before handing them over to him.

The old man accepted the money and handed a pill to Khal, but just as he was about to pull his hand back, his movements halted for a single second before acting as though nothing happened at all.

Khal obviously noticed this and saw that the old man eyed his bracelet for a second before acting normal. This confused him deeply.

[You are now in the Second Realm, kid. Although many can't recognize this artifact, make sure to hide it from bare sight as anyone with a keen eye can perceive it's not an ordinary relic.]

Khal nodded and slid his sleeve onto his bracelet before tossing the pill into his mouth.

Whoosh!

In a split second, Khal felt as tons of information suddenly invaded his brain one after another before the foreign buzzing sounds around him became clear. He finally understood what the other race around him were talking about.

"Kid... Where did you get that artifact?"

While Khal was inspecting his surroundings, enjoying the fact that he was finally understanding what the others were talking about, suddenly the old man in front of him talked.

"Huh?" snapping out of his daze, Khal realized the old man was talking to him thus frowned, and without answering him he turned around to leave.

However, just as he was about to take his first step, the old man appeared before him like a ghost, blocking his path.

"What do you want?" Khal frowned with annoyance, but didn't get angry. He knew that the old man was no ordinary individual at all. Traveling several meters without any sign in an instant as if he was a phantom... Only those with great and terrifying strength were capable of doing.

[Be careful. He is not in your league.]

'Yeah, I figured that out myself too.' thought Khal and calmed himself down completely.

"You have yet to answer my question, kid. Where did you find that artifact?" the old man stared at Khal's hand with a calm, but unreadable complexion. It was unknown what the old man was thinking.

"And why should I answer you?" Khal raised a brow.

The old man raised his gaze at Khal upon hearing his answer and stared deeply into his eyes.

'...'

The two locked their gazes firmly together without blinking, but even though Khal showed he was calm, he couldn't help but sweat profusely. The longer he stared into the old man's eyes, the more he felt that he was looking not a pair of eyes, but he was staring down into a deep abyss that brought fear and anxiety onto him.

"What is happening there? Why are they looking at each other so intensely?"

"Wait, isn't that the old man who always sells those pills to the newbies that wish to learn the Ancient Tounge?"

"Yeah, he is. Did the brat try to steal from him or what?"

Many on the streets stopped walking and looked at Khal and the old man, trying to guess what was happening between the two.

Of course, Khal noticed this but couldn't do anything about it as the old man was not moving nor blinking at all, making him unable to do anything either.

Seconds passed by, and more and more walkers halted their steps to see what will happen, but when the crowd was in the hundreds and even a few guards could be seen approaching them from a distance, the old man sighed and closed his eyes, releasing Khal from the pressure.

Khal sighed with relief when that happened, and watched as the old man walked past by him and sat back behind the stall, acting as though the previous ruckus didn't happen at all.

"What is happening? What is this huge ruckus here?" two Berserker guards in silver armor and weapons walked through the herd of people and approached Khal with fierce expressions. 

"I apologize for everything, we had a small misunderstanding with each other, but luckily everything has been solved." Khal clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.

"A small misunderstanding?" The guards frowned and glanced at the old man behind the stall, but when they saw he just waved his hand in an 'I don't care' manner, they answered slightly and shifted their attention back at Khal.

"If it's a small misunderstanding then it's okay, but if you cause a ruckus once again, I will definitely make sure to beat your ass up personally, did you understand it brat?"

Khal's brows twitched upon hearing the arrogant way the guard talk, but still nodded. The last thing he wanted to do was anger the guards and all the Berserkers in the city, so he decided to swallow the frog down for the time being.

"That's what I like to see." The guard nodded with satisfaction and turned toward the crowd.

"Okay, that is for today. You can now scram the fuck off!"

Everyone did as they were told, and walked away. Khal did the same, but shortly after he left the scene he felt that someone was watching him from afar.

'Stalking me, huh?' Khal thought as he knew who the individual was and entered a building that seemed to be a library.

"Welcome to our humble home. How may I help you?"

Behind a counter, a beautiful female Berserker with great assets smiled at Khal the minute he entered the building.

"Umm... I-I am new here, so I would like to know more about this place and planet." Khal spoke awkwardly, as his eyes subconsciously lowered at the woman's chest from time to time. Although he has already seen many in his previous life, it was his very first time seeing two melons of such a size.

To put it simply, they were humongous!

"Oh? An Ascender? I see, please wait here for a second." the woman smiled warmly, and walked away before coming back with several books in her hand.

"Here you go. These have everything you want to know, but even if not, just come and ask for my help. You don't need to be shy." 

"T-Thank you..." Khal nodded and after picking up the books he walked to a table where he could start reading in silence.