77. Set Off

Author's Note: Sorry guys. I kinda wanted to read a novel in one go since I found a good one.

•Meta Essence Gacha in Marvel

You should try it as well if you haven't. It's funny and refreshing.

It's 10k per chapter I think.

Well then, I need to apologize since I also need a mind refreshing thingy. I kinda lack enthusiasm to write in the past few days.

Anyway, let's go back to my novel. And perhaps I can't upload a chapter tomorrow. So, I need to apologize beforehand.

— — — —

A few days prior.

At that time, the Konami building was still being used for selling manga. A person wearing glasses, who was previously conducting an investigation of missing people where they met Azhdaha, came to his shop. That person was none other than Kun Jun, who was also the one who got the task to forge Ryūhei's katana.

"Ryūhei, your stuff is finished."

"Finally! I didn't think you need a month to forge my weapons."

"Haha. My bad. The quality is too good. So, it's kinda a bit hard to finish them in a short time."

"In that case, come to my house!"

Ryūhei led him to his house. In the living room, Kun Jun unwrapped the weapons he wrapped in the cloth.

Two black daggers about the length of one's hand each with a handle wrapped in bandages and a ring-like pommel. And another weapon in its scabbard was none other than his katana. The scabbard looked ordinary in white, and had no conspicuous appearance. The hilt was also wrapped in white leather. Only the guard was slightly different since it was shaped like a flame with a red core and orange border.

And the moment Ryūhei unsheathed the sword.

"What a beautiful sword!"

"Hehe. This sword is my pride as well because this sword is my best creation out of all the swords I have ever forged before." Kun Jun couldn't help but boast about his skill in forging. It was thanks to Ryūhei who brought Dragonfall out of nowhere. Though, the one who picked it was Kun Jun who was possessed by Azhdaha's consciousness.

It was a katana with a blade length of approximately 75 cm. When Ryūhei unsheathed it, a red flame-like pattern came into view. The back side of the katana was black, but the edge had red-flame patterns.

As for the quality of the sword, Ryūhei had yet to try it. But according to the history of the Kun clan, weapons made from Dragonfall were close to the level of weapons belonging to the deities.

September 30th.

Ryūhei was getting ready to leave by carrying his things which were none other than manga, novels, and games in his backpack, and not forgetting the katana that was on his waist. In front of him were Nibi and Eni who looked slightly envious of Jue leaving with Ryūhei. However, this wasn't without reason for him to bring Jue. Since Jue already forgot a lot of things due to his Erosion, Ryūhei decided to take her to see the other nation while learning a lot of things on the way.

"You two should get along and take care of both of my company while I'm away!"

After Ryūhei said that, Eni and Nibi looked at each other. But then, there was a kind of spark between them that made him shake his head. Then, Ryūhei formed a hand seal while chanting in a low voice.

"Emerge from the darkness, mirror of the dark, spirit curbed, pneuma surge, by dictum darkness, heed these words, do as I command!"

Then, dark entities arose from his shadow one by one and formed 5 of him.

"..."

"..."

Both Eni and Nibi were shocked beyond words. They couldn't help but glance at Ryūhei who created his own version of Shadow Clone Technique.

"I can't let people know my doppelgangers, so any of you take care of any matter from the outside. As for their food… Well, they can take care of themselves in this regard."

"Master, Master!" Eni called out to Ryūhei excitedly.

But then.

"What?"

He and all of his doppelgangers replied at the same time, which made him twitch. Even Eni and Nibi were dumbfounded by this.

"Ah, you know! Although they're my doppelgangers, they're the same as me, Your Master. So, just consider them as your masters when I'm away. Alright then. I'm going."

With that, Ryūhei walked away with Jiu.

"Be careful, Master."

"Master, take care!"

And hearing those two, Ryūhei just waved his hand without looking back.

— — — —

Ryūhei didn't forget to stop by the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to meet Zhongli.

"So, you're gonna act against her?" Zhongli asked.

Then, Ryūhei shook his head to deny it.

"No! Even if I want to, I have no guarantee to defeat her right now. And if I defeat her instead, the state of affairs of Inazuma will be too messy. In the meantime, I just want to see the situation, whether it can benefit me after opening my branch or not. I'll act when the opportunity arises."

"In that case, be careful."

After Zhongli said that, Ryūhei bowed, then walked out. However, Zhongli added a piece of good information to him.

"Oh right, I think I need to let you know. Just like the Tsaritsa, the Raiden Shogun also changed a lot after the cataclysm. If you want to stop her, you need to know someone who was once close to her to help you!"

Zhongli didn't say a lot. But he knew what to do with that little bit of information. The one he referred to was Chief Priestess Yae.

Even if Zhongli didn't say that, Ryūhei already knew that he needed to meet the old fox in order to know the Raiden Shogun.

After leaving Liyue Harbor, Ryūhei held his chin in ponder while looking at Jiu from time to time. And when all was said was done, Ryūhei put his hand on top of Jiu's head.

"What?" Jiu furrowed her brow, and before long, she got an answer.

"I'll try to loosen your seal and let you feel your power once again. Try to control it as much as possible!"

"Heh? You're not worried if the Erosion messed up with me again?"

"Nah. I'm sensitive to negative energy. The moment I feel something wrong with you, I can seal your power once again. And… Don't you want to be free from such a curse?"

"..."

Jiu could only give him silence as a response. There's a saying "Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility."

However most people would immediately disagree with what this is claiming. People want to be free. However, they do not want all of what freedom entails. They only want the positives of it.

Yet, responsibility, freedom, and the positives of freedom are all directly tied to one another. In order to enjoy the positives of freedom, one must take on the responsibility freedom entails.

Jiu also craves freedom, but because she is a godly being, possessing powers on par with gods, she must take responsibility for controlling her powers. Lest, she flattened a city accidentally.

Despite the risk that the Erosion will return, Ryūhei still wants to ask Jiu to use her powers. After all, if he had once sealed Jiu's power, it was very possible that he could seal it again.

In addition, if she could control her power while avoiding being eroded mentally just like how it did in the past, she could be a great help for Ryūhei to act as a guard or something for his companies.

'Well, a win-win situation, I guess.'

"Humph. I can unseal it myself if I want to!" Jiu responded while averting her gaze.

"Eh, what is this, tsundere? How come you're so cute?" Ryūhei rubbed her hair with a chuckle.

Jiu slapped Ryūhei's hand while looking at him angrily… or cutely?

"Shut up, Human! Do you think I won't dare to beat you up just because you saved me once?"

"Dunno. Why don't you try whether you can beat me or not?" Ryūhei chuckled. If it was his first fight against Azhdaha, he might not be sure. But now, he can create his doppelgangers with the same power as him, and their minds are linked. This way, he could communicate with each other telepathically, making coordinated attacks against Azhdaha flawlessly since he and his doppelgangers could calculate so fast in a split second. If he fought again, the outcome would be different than the last time.

Ryūhei got so many advantages with his new technique. He got trusted manpower, experiences from his doppelgangers, long-distance communication, telepathy between him and his doppelganger, and his weapon multiplied. The lucky thing is, his doppelgangers don't have new consciousness or souls different from him, and neither do they have his soul fragments.

If so, how could his doppelgangers receive his order or act normally? Well, it's the same as the concept of parallel thoughts. In fact, Ryūhei himself wasn't sure if his doppelgangers had his parallel thought or parallel consciousness. He just thought they were the same. Whatever…

There was a but, he wasn't sure if he could duplicate godly weapons or advanced sci-fi things.

After all, his doppelgangers didn't have his system. In addition, his doppelgangers somewhat had 10%-20% of his max HP. Something like that.

It's kinda weird to compare it with something in a game. But, it's true.

And then, the reason why he didn't order his doppelganger to go to Inazuma, for *beep* sake, he wanted to meet his fiancée. There's no way he let his doppelganger meet her. He's not an NTR fetish.