3 Ch 3 – Jie Clan

Kaleido immediately regained his senses after seeing the literal light of hope in the distance and rushed to grab his clothes scattered all around the area. Even though dirtied by the ground, Kaleido didn't care and put on the majority of his clothes except for his blazer.

'If they're aggressive or a xenophobic alien race, I'll at least still have my insane spatial and temporal awareness to help me in a fight. To maximize my combat potential, I would need to free my body to be able to move in unhindered ways, and wearing my blazer would only be detrimental.'

Kaleido grabbed his bag with one hand, and his blazer was grabbed by the other, acting as bootleg weapons for him to use. His thought process was that with his absurd thinking speed, perhaps anything can become a weapon for him to use, and what better way than weapons that can extend outwards like his bag and blazer?

He quickly remembered all the valuable lessons he learned from the books he read back then about charisma, and fixed his body language to emit warmth. If he showed that he was aggressive just by first glance alone, then wouldn't the unknown holders of the torch of hope respond with aggressiveness as well?

Apprehensive but also excited by what lies beyond the dense foliage, he waited patiently as the sound of grass and shrubs rustling got louder and louder. One second, two seconds, three seconds; it felt like an eternity for him as they were barely out of his immense spatial awareness. His senses were pushed to the extreme, his ears twitched from every sound, and his muscles spasmed internally as if they were ready to fight if things get awry.

Finally, as the leaves were pushed away by a pair of gloved five-fingered hands, Kaleido saw something that made his mind and body tremble in joy. Hairy hands, a head with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth; the first being he saw was actually a human!

But the person wasn't alone. A skinny dude with a boy wearing leather armor, a muscular guy holding a large hammer, and the guy in the middle was a hairy bald man holding the torch. He seemed to be shocked to see Kaleido, as his eyes widened when his eyes met Kaleido's figure beside the clear lake.

The other two responded the same way upon seeing Kaleido because, in their view, they saw an otherworldly sight.

There was a man standing right beside the lake where the full moon was reflected. His appearance can only be considered as handsome, with sharp brows and brilliant eyes, a thin nose, and pink lips. He wore strange clothing that they have never once seen, holding a strange object similar to a bag in one hand and a piece of black clothing in the other. Upon seeing them, the figure smiled warmly which made them feel apprehensive but also more welcoming to the unknown charming person.

"Who are you?" the bald man was the first to make a move. "Are you a Gu master? If so, what are you doing here wandering around Jie Clan territory?"

'Gu Master?' Kaleido felt curious to hear that term, but he was instead more curious to hear the words Jie Clan territory. 'Jie Clan, that sounds like a Chinese surname! Wait, how am I even able to understand them? They clearly spoke in a different language with different intonations and such, but I was able to comprehend what he said without any problems!'

Kaleido was once again surprised to see this positive discovery, but he still kept his amicable smile externally. He doesn't want them to know that he wasn't just confused and shocked, but he wants them to see him in a certain way that would prove to be disadvantageous. Even after thinking of so many things at once, less than a second passed in reality.

Opening his mouth to answer, he held in his chaotic emotions due to his inexperience and answered with a straight face: "Gu master? No, no, no. And I'm sorry for intruding into your territory, but I myself don't know how I am here. And if I may please have your time, do you sirs perhaps know of my identity? You might not believe this, but I have zero recollection about myself and how I got here."

Hearing his words, the others couldn't help but be surprised.

"Now that I look at him, he's clearly still a kid," the skinny guy wielding a bow whispered.

"Yeah, and it seems like he's not lying. Do you guys know this kid?" the muscular guy asked the other two.

"No, and the same goes for that kid. Maybe he has amnesia? No, he probably does have amnesia," the bald guy in the middle whispered back before looking at Kaleido again.

"Are you saying you have amnesia?" the bald guy asked and the trio walked forward. After sensing that Kaleido was really harmless, they decided to finally approach him.

"Well, I guess yes is the answer to your question, hahaha…" Kaleido answered with a wry grin before coughing. "If you are to so kindly accept my humble request, but can you please perhaps let me follow you sirs?"

They halted their steps, and their eyes stared at one another. "Do you think we should let him follow us?"

"We should. He seems to just be around 15 years old as well, maybe we can even… you know, have him become a Gu Master slave for Jie Clan which would make us filthy rich. Isn't today the Awakening Ceremony for the Jie Clan younglings?"

After hearing the bow wielder's suggestion, the other two went silent before eyeing Kaleido once again with gleaming eyes full of greed. 'Look at the intelligence in his eyes, he's bound to be talented enough to become a Gu Master!'

Unknowingly, Kaleido's attempts to portray himself as best as he can cause his value to skyrocket in the trio's eyes. Humans die for money and birds die for food; even the kindest person would be swayed when there are enough benefits given. Unable to hold in their greed, the bald man smiled amicably and answered with a warm tone: "Of course! Follow us, and we'll guarantee your safety. Perhaps if you're lucky enough, maybe you can even join the Awakening Ceremony and have a chance at becoming a Gu Master!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Kaleido bowed profusely, showing his immense gratitude for the three. Unfortunately for Kaleido, the trio instead had malicious thoughts to sell him off for wealth.

With all said and done, Kaleido followed the trio through the dense forest as time passed. On their relatively long journey, Kaleido slowly learned more and more about the world he found himself in.

'Beasts and beastmen, am I in a fantasy world? Are Gu Masters the equivalent of like a mage in this world? And it seems like Gu Masters have Gu Worms, so are they like pet masters in those Chinese novels? The clothes they wear and the weapons they hold, it seems like this world isn't advanced in terms of technology.'

The more he followed them and listened, the more his knowledge grew. Of course, he also asked questions here and there to maximize the profit that he could gain from the trio. One of Kaleido's philosophies in life was that knowledge is power, and at this moment, that philosophy is shining true due to the fact that he's stranded in another universe!

The more he knew, the more he can act in a safer manner. In his eyes, the value of the three figures he was following was immense.

"We're quite lucky that we didn't encounter any wild beasts on the way back," the muscular man commented as they stopped.

In front of Kaleido's eyes, he saw a large wooden wall along with a gate in the middle. There, another person that seems to be the guard of the gate was standing. He was muscular and tall, with fierce eyes overflowing with power. His aura alone caused Kaleido's eyes to stare in curiosity.

The trio walked up to the guard while Kaleido followed from behind, and the guard's eyes landed on him.

"Don't worry, he's with us," the bald man patted Kaleido's shoulders.

Seeing that, the guard silently nodded and walked back to his post, letting the four in and they successfully entered the village. The moment he entered, he finally confirmed his suspicions as he saw wooden houses and buildings just like an ancient Chinese village.

All around the area, wherever he looked, there were people of all ages leading children right around the same age as him towards one area in the distance. That area seems to be leading to a strange building in the distance the shape of a dome, with thick stone walls to ensure stability and durability.

'Is this the awakening ceremony of the Jie Clan? From what I gathered from the trio's passing words and conversations, people are able to enter spirit springs abundant with Hope Gu to awaken their aperture. The more steps one can take, the greater their talent and potential, and it seems like having less than ten steps means one doesn't have enough talent to become a Gu Master. If that's the case, then I must get more than ten steps, if not, then I might really be stuck at the bottom rung of this unknown world!' Kaleido clutched his fist tightly and followed the three to go toward the place where the Awakening Ceremony would commence.

"Look, look, who is that child?"

"Hmm? Gasp, who is that handsome lad? How come I have never seen him?"

"Why is he following Jie Pao and the others? What is their relationship?"

With his acute hearing, he can already hear the murmurs of the people around him, which brought a form of mental pressure to Kaleido. To have so many eyes stare at one person, and to hear them talking about you, it would make any other kid his age feel pressured, but Kaleido calmly ignored them and continued following the three. He was used to being at the center of attention considering he performed multiple times in Seoul High's events like singing contests and such. He once had over a thousand eyes staring at him simultaneously when he was going to perform the biggest performance of his life yet, and he was able to do it with a relatively calm mind. So for him, being at the center of attention wasn't that hard to endure.

"Halt," the four stopped once they reached the entrance of the dome-shaped building. In front of Jie Pao, the bald guy was an old man with long white hair and beard. He wore a large white robe with large sleeves, and he emitted a powerful aura that even Kaleido was able to sense. His mere aura felt suffocating for Kaleido, especially when his cold gaze landed on Kaleido.

Jie Pao quickly walked forward, bowing profusely before saying, "Lord Elder, please forgive me for not being able to give an advance notice, but you see…"

Jie Pao hastily whispered some words into the old man's ears which seemed to have radically changed his attitude. Now when he looked at Kaleido again, his eyes were a lot gentler compared to before, and he rubbed his long white beard while laughing jovially, "You're right, you're right! This boy does seem to hold quite the potential."

The trio felt their bodies relaxed, but they quickly felt their hearts drop upon hearing the old man's following words: "Of course, it is absurd for you three to drag a boy with no memories of his past into our clan and have him instantly join the Awakening Ceremony. You three should have instead tried to find his parents and reunite him with his family."

The three weren't fools, they clearly knew what the old man meant. The trio's efforts of bringing a potential Gu Master slave to the clan would instead become the old man's "efforts," and he would be the one to receive the corresponding rewards from the clan.

But they were mortals, and the old man was clearly a Gu Master. They have no way to fight back or retort, and can only hold in their anger.

"Y-You are right, Lord Elder. Now that you are here, we clearly know that this child would be better to be in your care," Jie Pao answered.

'Eh? What's happening right now?' Kaleido felt something wrong was going on, but he can't really put into words what he was feeling. 'Whatever. At least I'm now in this old man's care who seems to have more authority and power than those three, so sucks to be them!'

"Come here boy, let's see if you do have the talent to become a Gu Master," the old man patted Kaleido's shoulder, and the two entered the building.

AN: This chapter has 2166 words.

I'm so incredibly pent up right now. I shouldn't have intentionally released back then, why the fuck did I think that it was a great idea to have my last release be at the very end of the year?!

Luckily, I didn't follow through with the plan and ended it on December 30, 2022. Sigh, I really am a big fool.

Anywho, school sucks, and the education system is a broken piece of crap.

If you like the story so far, be sure to smash that power stones button and let me smash that bussy.

(December 19, 2022 – 389th day of writing)