Inside the cave, Eira had finally calmed down and separated from Jarek with some embarrassment.
A faint yet nearly imperceptible blush momentarily colored her cheeks.
She had let her excitement overtake her when she saw Jarek safe and sound.
Jarek was a significant part of her life—the only person she could call family, and the same applied to Jarek.
Over the years, they depended on one another for support.
Their bonds grew even more after the incident a few years ago.
After surviving and escaping from that mansion and returning to their hometown, they surprisingly found that Eira's father wasn't home.
Eira only had one parent—her father. But he was far from being defined as a decent father.
He was an alcoholic, had a gambling addiction, and liked to frequent brothels.
Needless to say, these habits bred the man into a waste.
There were times he wouldn't come home for days, and Eira had to stay at their house.
Her father would come to pick her up on his way home, probably for her to cook at home while directing unsavory glances towards Jarek's mother, which the young Jarek was unaware of due to his innocent nature.
On the day after the duo were abducted, Eira's father visited Jarek's home to pick up Eira, and after receiving no response, he entered to find a disturbing scene that shook him to his core, instantly sobering him up.
That very day, he fled the town, not wanting to take any chances with his life.
And that was how both Jarek and Eira, two teenagers, found themselves alone in this world.
This world wasn't like Earth. Mortals are worth nothing here.
Who would waste their time on two strangers? This world was filled with lots of children with similar circumstances.
Were they now supposed to take care of every child in need they encountered? Everyone just minded their own business as long as it didn't affect anyone else.
It was commendable that Jarek and Eira were able to survive and thrive for this long, considering that they had to start from nothing.
Jarek had to attribute the reason they survived to the 'gifts' they received from the vampires.
These gifts allowed them to secure their future and survive even after that traumatic experience.
Who would have known that the past would catch up to them again after so many years of peace?
After Eira had calmed down and taken a good look at Jarek, she asked, "What happened? And how did you end up becoming an academy student?"
Jarek had gone missing for the past three days, and it was only the day after his disappearance that rumors related to Jarek started to spread.
A vampire attacked Jarek, only for Jarek to pull out a cage from a bag and smack the vampire unconscious.
Jarek also received a blow that fortunately didn't land with enough force to end him.
But he was still injured and ran from the scene, with the vampire chasing behind him after regaining consciousness.
"It was one of those vampires from back then. Somehow, he was able to recognize me, and I subconsciously attacked him with the cage I carry with me." Jarek explained as he picked up the Low Grade dagger Gloom Veil and said, "I think he might have recognized me because of this."
He could sense there was something strange about this dagger.
It had a bloody aura that clung to one's body.
"I decided to take a gamble, knowing he could still track me. Lucky for me, fate was on my side. The academy opened its gates to the world two days ago, and I took the chance, knowing there was no other way for me to survive." Jarek continued.
Jarek went there hoping the vampire would attempt to attack him in sheer rage, even when he was in the vicinity of the academy where aptitude tests for the commoners were carried out.
That way, he could use the academy as a borrowed knife to deal with the vampire.
But he underestimated how big the status of the academy was in the hearts of cultivators.
The vampire didn't even dare go close enough, fearing offending this academy, thus ruining Jarek's initial plans.
But who would have expected that he would be accepted into the academy?
Seeing the situation unfold like that, the vampire quickly fled the town, fearing the worst.
Jarek explained all of this to Eira, who was surprised but now fully informed.
But that also sparked worry inside Eira, as she asked, trying to sound as normal as possible, "So what are you going to do now?"
Jarek, however, despite her best efforts to hide her true thoughts, was still able to detect her worries.
He had known this girl for so many years.
Try as she may, she couldn't hide anything from Jarek's eyes.
As she asked that question, she was wondering if they would have to part ways.
Cultivators live in totally separate worlds from mortals.
He was bound to leave this part of his life behind.
But there was one thing he wasn't willing to abandon.
And so—
"Don't worry. I'll help you with your cultivation in any way I can. That way, I won't have to leave you behind." Jarek said, looking at Eira, smiling as he watched Eira express surprise.
"Eh? Really?" Eira voiced her inner thoughts, not expecting Jarek would offer her the chance.
Jarek nodded, finding Eira to be quite cute—something the past Jarek didn't notice.
In the eyes of mortals, cultivators were revered and feared existences.
On one hand, they were extremely powerful, inspiring awe among mortals.
But that same power also inspires fear in their hearts, fearing it might be directed towards them.
And they were right to fear cultivators.
Cultivators view mortals as bugs. Annoy them and you'll be squashed like a cockroach.
Every mortal wished to be one, but they can't—because it is too expensive.
Spirit stones are very expensive, with one spirit stone having a value of 100 gold coins.
(A.N: 1 spirit stone= 100 gold coins.
1 gold coin= 100 silver coins.
1 silver coin= 100 bronze coins.
1 bronze coin= 100 copper coins.
A common fruit costs 1 copper coin. That is 100 million fruits for the lowest quality spirit stone.
)
They did have a few spirit stones in their possession. It was just useless in their hands, given the fact that they just turned eighteen recently.
So, they couldn't use it to cultivate over the years, and just traded one spirit stone for money, which they used as capital to open a few businesses here and there, like the restaurant Jarek visited before coming here.
That is one of Eira's businesses.
The rest was just kept in storage in the waterfall cave.
So, even if Jarek left Eira behind, she could still be a cultivator, but one at the bottom of the hierarchy.
And even then, there was no guarantee that she would survive.
He was likely to make enemies in his cultivation journey in the future. He was certain that it could happen.
Who was to say that they wouldn't target this blatant weakness?
Thus, the only solution is to strengthen her and grow stronger together and keep her by his side.
This was what he thought to be the best outcome.
Eira sighed in relief, finally assured that Jarek would still be by her side.
She didn't want to imagine a future where she was alone.
She had grown unnaturally attached to Jarek, and although Jarek didn't know it, he also had developed an unusual attachment towards her.
'System, is there a way I can increase her cultivation as quickly as possible?' Jarek asked, knowing it would be impossible for Eira to catch up to him.
If she cultivated like others, her cultivation speed would be very slow.
If he could find a way to bypass this cultivation speed limit, he wouldn't need to worry about her cultivation.
[It is possible. But first, you would need to understand the nature of your energy, your body, and what makes it special.]
'Can't you just give me the method? I'm a bit short of time here.' Jarek argued, wanting to skip the system's long question-and-answer session, which he noted to be the system's strange quirk.
[This is something you need to know so that you can do what you want to do. And this information will be very important for you in the future.]
'Fine!'
"Eira, can you give me some time to think?" Jarek asked.
"Sure, take your time," Eira replied, giving him his needed time.
[Host, what do you think was your biggest gain when you received the system?]