Master of the System

Karta rolled over and yawned. “Alright, it’s done,” she said and smacked her lips. “In five hundred years, the intergalactic society will discover the planet your avatar is on.”

Vremya nodded. “Good job.”

Karta snorted. “I still can’t believe it doesn’t count as cheating. If I didn’t interfere, your avatar would be stuck in that backwater planet for years, maybe even dying there. I mean, the odds of that planet being discovered are less than one in thirty trillion. This really doesn’t count as heavenly intervention?”

“I told you,” Vremya said and pushed the stinky dog’s head away from his thigh, “the rules against heavenly intervention aren’t that strict. There’s nothing wrong with manufacturing some artificial luck for my avatar. As long as he doesn’t know we’re interfering, he’ll believe he did it all on his own.”

“You think your avatar isn’t wondering why the strongest sect of the world he was on suddenly decided to stop bullying and oppression the same year he entered? You think he isn’t wondering why the all-female sect is suddenly accepting males? You think he won’t notice the intergalactic civilization discovering his planet the moment after he gains the strength to influence the inhabitants of the planet’s decisions?”

“He’s too busy cultivating to focus on the little details,” Vremya said, waving his hand as if he were shooing a fly.

“Well, I hope he’s not too busy cultivating to remember about karma,” Karta said, raising her eyebrows.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Vremya said and snorted. “After all, he’s me. Look, he’s going to settle his karma right now.”

***

Azalea glanced around her cave. Everything she owned—a cushion, a blanket, and a pouch—was in a box in her hands. She had passed the promotion exam, and she was moving to the outer disciples’ living quarters. The token that Kid Vremya had given to her was hanging from the corner of the box, barely held up by a string. Her expression turned sour when she realized she still had to do all of Kid Vremya’s chores for him because he refused to become an outer disciple. As a member of royalty, she had to uphold her family name—that’s what her mother had always told her. She couldn’t go back on her words, but at least, she learned a very important lesson: don’t make any promises.

There was a thumping sound, and Azalea nearly dropped her box out of surprise. She turned around, and she dropped her box out of surprise. “Vremya!?” Her shut-in neighbor never left his cave! What was he doing here!? “Are you okay? Does your head hurt? Are you sick? What’s wrong?”

Kid Vremya pointed at the token hanging from Azalea’s box. “I’m here for my token.”

Azalea snatched the token and put it in her robes. “Didn’t I say I was keeping it?” She held the box closer to her body and squinted at Kid Vremya. “Where are you going? The skill pavilion? The cafeteria? The main hall?”

“I’m going to visit the old lady who raised me,” Kid Vremya said. “I need to settle the karma between us before she dies. It’ll be inconvenient to search for her reincarnated soul if I put it off for later.”

Azalea tilted her head. Kid Vremya always spoke in such a strange way. It really was like speaking to her dad or one of her teachers. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

“Why would you go with me?” Kid Vremya asked. “It’s not like you know her.”

Azalea pouted. “I want to go. If you don’t let me, I won’t give you back your token.”

Kid Vremya sighed. “Alright, fine, you can come too,” he said. It was much easier to concede to Azalea’s wishes than to find an elder and file a complaint about a stolen token. As the embodiment of a river, he preferred to take the path of least resistance whenever he could. Also, he was currently distracted because he was cultivating. “Lead the way.” If he could get someone to bring him there, he could devote more attention to strengthening himself.

Azalea nodded and skipped out of the cave, still holding onto her box. She placed it down inside of Kid Vremya’s cave, right behind the barrier which she had opened with his token. She took the lead before coming to a halt. “Wait, we’re going to see your grandmother, so why am I leading the way?”

“She’s not my grandmother,” Kid Vremya said. “She’s the old lady who fished me out of a river and gave me a home. You’re leading the way because I don’t know where to go.”

Azalea shook her head and grabbed Kid Vremya’s hand. “What would you do without me?” she asked and tugged on his arm. Her eyes glinted, and she turned her head while walking. “Remember what I said before leaving? I’m an outer disciple now! You have to call me senior sister.”

Kid Vremya pretended as if he hadn’t heard a thing. “Keep your eyes on the road. What if you trip?”

Azalea squeezed Kid Vremya’s hand as hard as she could, but she didn’t get the result that she wanted. It felt like she was squeezing a brick! She knew Kid Vremya was stronger than her, but she didn’t expect him to have trained his body to such an extent already. “Hey, what stage are you on?”

“Does it matter?” Kid Vremya asked, shooting Azalea a glance. “Don’t compare yourself with me. Your spirit will break.”

Azalea’s face darkened. It was no wonder why Kid Vremya didn’t have any friends. Even if he decided to leave his cave—which he never did—his personality would drive people away. Azalea put on a determined expression. She wanted to see what kind of old lady could raise a kid to be so socially awkward like Kid Vremya. After a few minutes of walking, the two arrived at the main hall. Azalea waved two tokens, hers and Kid Vremya’s, at the person at the front desk. “We’re going to visit our family.”

The person at the front desk grunted and recorded the children’s visit. He passed them two blocks of wood. “These will let you in and out of the sect. Come back within a week.”

“Thank you,” Azalea said, taking the blocks. She was about to pass one to Kid Vremya, but she saw that his eyes were closed. With an internal sigh, she stuffed both the blocks of wood into her robes and pulled her useless neighbor towards the sect’s entrance.

It didn’t take long for the two children to reach the town where the sect’s family members resided. Kid Vremya handed Azalea a token which had the old lady’s address on it, causing the girl’s expression to turn even worse. Why did she have to do everything? Perhaps it was her responsibility as a senior sister; she had to take care of her juniors. With her chin held high, she navigated the city and eventually found her way to the address. “I think we’re here.”

Kid Vremya nodded and approached the entrance of the house they had stopped in front of. He knocked on the door, but there was no response. A frown appeared on his face, and he pushed the door open. A strong scent of alcohol washed over him, causing him to wrinkle his nose. He walked inside, and Azalea followed after him, covering her nose and mouth with the collar of her robe. Bottles lay scattered around the floor, and Kid Vremya’s frown deepened. He went up the stairs and opened the only closed door. A snore came out of the room. The old lady was lying on the bed, asleep. On the bed beside her, there were three old men, also sleeping. They were under the covers, but Kid Vremya was sure they weren’t wearing any clothes judging by their bare shoulders. Azalea tried to walk into the room, but Kid Vremya refused to budge, stopping her from seeing what was inside. Kid Vremya let out a cough, waking the four occupants of the bed.

“Vremya?” the old lady asked after figuring out where she was. “Is that you? Oh boy, raising you was the best choice I ever made in my life!”

“I know,” Kid Vremya said. He reached into robes and pulled out a pouch, tossing it to the old lady. “There’s a hundred spirit stones in there. Thanks for taking care of me. Since you’re so old, we’ll probably never see each other again. Goodbye.”

“Eh?” the old lady asked. It seemed like she was still hungover. “What do you mean?”

“I’m going into seclusion for a long time,” Kid Vremya said and turned to leave. “A wise old woman like you should know what that means.”

Azalea was still trying to get a peek at the old lady when she was pulled away by Kid Vremya. “Huh?” she asked and tried to pull Kid Vremya back towards the door. “We’re going? Just like that?”

“Yes.”

“Uh….” Azalea couldn’t resist Kid Vremya’s tugging and was dragged out of the house. “She’s the old lady who took care of you this whole time, wasn’t she? Aren’t you going to miss her? Don’t you want to say more to her?”

Kid Vremya tilted his head. “When you get a ride from a carriage, you pay the fare. All karma is concluded after that exchange. How is it any different for the one who raised you?”

Azalea blinked. “Because she loves you? You can’t buy love.”

“Don’t you know what a dog is?” Kid Vremya asked. “You buy it, and it gives you unconditional love.”

Azalea frowned. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“It’s fine,” Kid Vremya said. “She’s been appropriately compensated for taking care of me. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t be able to make a hundred spirit stones in ten lifetimes.”

Azalea’s frown deepened. “I think it’s wrong.”

“You’re just a kid,” Kid Vremya said and rolled his eyes. “What do you know?”

“You’re just a kid too!”