Ch 18 – Lo Clan City!

Flash.

A burst of void black light and Kaleido once again finds himself at the outer periphery of Lo Clan City. There, he fixes his unkempt cloak and walks out of the forest, nearing the pave dirt road.

Getting in line, he watches the guard unceremoniously extort primeval essence stones from the lone cultivators, and unable to resist, they can only relent and pay the fee.

"Stop," a guard wearing a black robe stopped Kaleido. "Where's your payment?"

Hearing him, Kaleido silently took out a single primeval essence stone and gave it to the guard without resistance.

Unfortunately, seeing his lack of resistance and willingness to give away a primeval essence stone without batting an eye, a certain thought appeared in his mind: 'He must be rich!'

"Wait, why is it only a single primeval essence stone?" The guard reached out his hand and stop Kaleido from moving forward.

'Huh? What the fuck is he talking about?' Kaleido's mouth twitched.

"What do you mean?" Kaleido asked with a calm voice.

"The fee is more than this!" The guard responded with a malicious smirk and held out his hand.

Sighing, Kaleido takes out another primeval essence stone. Seeing so, the guard tightened his grip on Kaleido's shoulders and said: "Go on."

Kaleido now couldn't help but grit his teeth and take out another, giving it to the guard.

'Haha! Jackpot!' The guard smirked and still gripped Kaleido's shoulders to indicate that it wasn't enough.

But that seemed to have been Kaleido's breaking point and he spoke with a cold voice: "Oi."

Hearing that, the guard looked at Kaleido's face with an annoyed stare when all of a sudden, crimson mist seemed to gather around Kaleido's cloaked figure as he said with a smile: "Are you sure there's actually a fee?"

The guard's body froze as he felt like he was being stared down upon by the grim reaper itself. He felt like he was in a frozen wasteland and he was losing control over his body quickly, and his body shivered on its own uncontrollably.

'W-Who is he?!' The guard was frightened beyond words and he almost fell to his knees weakly if not for Kaleido supporting him so that the others won't notice what was happening.

"N-N-No…"

"Argh, ouch! It hurts!" Kaleido suddenly cried out while falling to the ground, grasping his shoulders as if he was inflicted with sudden pain. "Why did you suddenly do that!"

"H-Huh?" The guard was dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events and couldn't process what was happening.

"You must compensate me five primeval essence stones for this injury!" Kaleido called out in a bout of anger and stood up with a glare directed at the guard.

Seeing this sudden commotion, the others started whispering to one another.

"That fool, it seems he doesn't want to pay like us."

"Hmph, does he think that would work?"

"Such a simple plan."

Many felt that Kaleido's scheme would fail, but in the next instance, they were stupefied by the actions of the previously rough and greedy guard.

"I-I'm terribly sorry! Here! Take it all!" The guard hurriedly rush forward and pushed forward a small bag full of primeval essence stones.

Those who had discerning eyes can instantly tell that there were more than twenty primeval essence stones inside the small bag. But even without knowing the absurd amount of primeval stones inside the bag which would make low rank lone and demonic cultivators drool, just seeing the guard apologize profusely made them astonished.

"My oh my! You're actually so generous!" Kaleido said with an elated voice and grabbed the small brown bag. "Very well, I accept your apology."

With that, they all watched Kaleido enter the city gates and disappear from their view.

"What… just happened?"

"Am I hallucinating?"

"Did that really just happen?"

Nearly everyone was flabbergasted by the sudden twist of events and couldn't help but be stuck in place without moving.

As the main culprit and victim of the event, the guard stood up after a long while with cold sweat all over his body and thought to himself: 'Maybe I should stop extorting others. What if another guy like him appears who is less merciful?'

Feeling cold sweat drip from his body, he resolutely affirmed that decision and unknowingly, due to Kaleido's influence, became a changed man for the better.

On the other hand, Kaleido, who just caused an uproar, strolled around Lo Clan City with radiant eyes.

From all around him, there were tall buildings and stone streets just like a medieval fantasy village mixed with eastern Chinese themes. It felt like both an isekai fantasy into a medieval Europe-Chinese world mixed into one.

Feeling his heart thump with excitement, Kaleido calmed himself down and assessed his current objectives.

'First, what I need is money! While being a Gu Master is good and all, it is better to disguise myself as a mortal. Being a Gu Master would be just too eye-catching. But the only way for me to get money right now is…' Kaleido moved through the streets until his eye caught a certain store in the far distance. 'It is to trade my primeval essence stones for mortal currency.'

Swiftly moving towards his target, he passed by countless humans until he arrived at the store. The place inside the building was quite fancy and well-designed, with bamboo walls and a wooden floor. On the ceiling, white lanterns hung and illuminated the area with a soft milky glow.

On the counter, the young woman who seems to be the clerk of the store noticed him and called out: "Hello there, dear customer! What may I help you with?"

Approaching her, he answered with a soft voice: "Does this store allow primeval essence stones to be traded for coins?"

Hearing him, the woman wasn't surprised considering how inconspicuous Kaleido looked, and answered with an unbothered smile: "Of course! Our store is more than happy to cover your basic needs, lord Gu Master!"

Hearing her, Kaleido nodded and with his estimates, knew that a few primeval essence stones were enough to last him a relatively long while. Swiftly trading with the store clerk, he goes out of the store and left.

'Money, achieved!' Kaleido felt pumped up and looked around the streets of Lo Clan City once more with glittering eyes.

'Next is to finally get rid of these clothes of mine and finally get some proper attire! Walking in a cloak in broad daylight, I really do stick out like a sore thumb.' Kaleido felt his life finally getting some breathing room with access to so many basic necessities by just walking for a short while.

Not only was he rich as fuck due to his Gu Master status, but he was also strong as hell. Now, the only thing left for Kaleido was to live a quiet life and grow stronger.

Just as he was thinking deeply, he found himself now at the clothing store he was wanting to find and quickly entered. But as he expected, all of the clothes inside were either boorish or robes, robes, and robes!

'Why do they love robes so much?! It's such a hassle to put on!' Kaleido sighed and begrudgingly bought a set of black and white robes that were a bit oversized. 'Even in this world, my preference for oversized clothes still remains. Though I guess this world's fixation on robes does mean their robe technology is at another level. Not only is it breathable but light and not as hot as I expected!'

Kaleido stared at the mirror with a smirk.

Observing his current appearance, he can't help but even be captivated by how handsome he was.

His skin was snow-white and lacked any splotches or impurities. His hair and eyes which were split into black and white also gave him a unique flair that nobody else could replicate due to his body's unique color scheme. And due to the robe he wore, it was able to cover most of the markings on his body, though some can be seen just slightly poking out from his neck.

But even if he had an average appearance, his otherworldly air would instantly elevate his charm to another level. Now paired with his already attractive appearance, it wouldn't be a stretch to call him a handsome individual that can even woo princesses and princes.

'Sigh, if I had this appearance back on Earth, then maybe I might have the confidence to talk to that cute boy in my class. Ooooh…' Kaleido clutched his heart and sighed. 'The bisexual struggle is too much even in another world.'

Kaleido paused and chuckled, thinking to himself with a wry smile: 'Why am I so fixated on being a raging homosexual? I had so many chances to get a girlfriend back then, but I was too focused on the grind. But when it comes to the same sex, I would be swooning over anyone that fits my taste so quickly. Am I gayer than I originally thought?'

Discarding those random thoughts that plagued his mind even way back on Earth, he walked out of the store and caught the attention of everyone else wherever he went. Whether it be men or women, they were all entranced and captivated by his unique and otherworldly appearance.

As he was exploring the area, he saw many magical sights that made him gawk with surprise. Some had fountains of flames, others had floating small rivers in the air that formed a beautiful scene, and so much more all throughout Lo Clan City.

'Is this the strength of a super force?' Kaleido hummed a slight tune while walking until he finally arrived at a certain area he was wanting to find.

It was a tall and wide building with multiple floors. Its walls were white and its sign was colored gold. On top of its entrance, there were three words engraved in gold and glittered under the illumination of the sun: White Gold Inn.

Kaleido approached the inn and saw the interior was as grand as the interior. The walls were pure-white and made from reflective marble just like the floor. Tables and chairs were strewn all around the lobby of the inn as many people, affluent people with rich backgrounds, walked everywhere.

'Fuck being conspicuous, if it means I get to live in comfort, then that's well worth the risk. Though this "inn" is more like a hotel than it is an inn already.' Kaleido walked forward and approached the lady at the counter with an amicable smile.

Seeing the handsome young lad named Kaleido Mora approach her, the lady gathered herself and blushed lightly: "H-How may I assist, dear sir?"

"How much is a room here for a day?" Kaleido asked with a smile.

"It would be ten gold coins a day, sir," the lady responded while staring at Kaleido's face bashfully.

'A primeval essence stone is around 100 gold coins in total, so a single primeval essence stone I created means I can stay here for ten days! Now that's a steal!' Kaleido smiled and answered.

"I would like to stay here for ten days," Kaleido said while taking out one hundred gold coins stored inside a small pouch.

Seeing that, the girl was surprised before happily taking the pouch and said: "We welcome you for your patronage, dear sir!"

After a short while, Kaleido now found himself inside a wide room with a fluffy white bed, a table and a chair right beside the wall, and other sorts of furniture in the room. Approaching the window, he stared down at the magnificent medieval fantasy-like Lo Clan City with radiant eyes.

"Finally, I'm here," Kaleido lets out a turbid breath and smiled.

After such a long and arduous journey full of danger and risk, Kaleido finally founds himself in a safe city. Well, as safe as it would get, but still safer when compared to the time he was all alone and powerless in the wilderness.

"It took me weeks, but I'm finally living in human civilization! Now, it's more than a guarantee to my explosive rise now that I don't have to worry about my life every second! Though…" Kaleido paused and stared at the rumbling clouds in the distance and the bolt of lightning that appeared out of nowhere, muttering with an ominous tone: "Maybe I'm just being too hopeful."

AN: This chapter has 2073 words.

Did you know that if we exclude family and stuff, then I have "kissed" two guys in total throughout my entire recallable life. Of course we were just doing it platonically speaking, but in a way, it shows how ironic the situation is.

Here I am, madly raving about my homosexual fantasies, but I probably have already smooched more dudes than some gay people without even trying.

Alas, please send some power stones, comment your thoughts, and save it to library to not miss a chapter.

(December 28, 2022 – 398th day of writing)