Monster Soul Online

Rashane’s brown car left the house. Sila went to the second floor as directed. There was a door with a sign stating ‘Vata’s Room.’ Sila opened it and entered into the room.

Sila had never entered a girl’s room before, but he didn’t expect it to be like this. In the room, there were tons of posters of Bruce Lee, the actor of many action movies in the previous era. The room was quite messy. The only thing indicating that this place was a girl’s room would be the bedsheet with a kitten pattern. On the table next to the bed, there was a brain scanner and a single picture frame.

Sila took a peek at the picture. It was a picture of Uncle Rashane and his family. The woman standing next to Rashane must be his deceased wife. In front of the couple, there were two girls standing. One of them was Varee, so the other one must be Vata. Even though it was an old picture, their appearances had not changed much. Looking closely at Vata’s face, Sila finally recognized her. She was the person that Varee introduced as her senior at her campus.

Sila couldn’t understand. Despite Rashane being in such a sorrowful state, why did Varee, who seemed to be in contact with Vata, not mention Vata to her father? Sila normally wasn’t someone who minded other’s business, but as this was a matter related to Uncle Rashane, he would like to return his benefactor a favor. He decided that he needed to have a conversation with Varee about this.

Sila poured several strawberry-flavored nutrient pills into his hand and swallowed all of them. He then wore the brain scanner and connected into the game.

***

The morning rays shone through the window inside the cheap hotel room that Sila was in. Now that Sila had gotten his answer, he got up from the bed and went to open the window to breathe in the fresh air.

Sila planned to go to the Mansion of Secret first before going to give his answer to his teacher. He wanted to know how much progress Bow had made after one day of training.

Sila’s body instantly disappeared when he activated the black card. Opening his eyes, he noticed that he was back in front of the Mansion of Secret.

“Welcome home, Master.” Julia’s voice came from behind.

Sila was starting to get used to Julia’s behavior of appearing and disappearing. He turned around to talk to her. “Hello, Julia. How are those two?”

“Does Master mean Miss Bow, Lookhin, or your friend?”

“My friend? Who is that?”

“Mister Blue, Master. He is currently playing inside the pool that way.” Julia gestured her hand.

Sila nodded, said his thanks and went the way Julia mentioned. The pool was behind a row of small bushes. Sila couldn’t find the entrance so he walked over the bush, only to see Bluebird laying on a rubber raft. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses, chilling on the center of the pool.

“Oh? Sila? Why are you here?” Bluebird greeted Sila.

Sila frowned. Shouldn’t that be his question? This place was his own mansion. “I’m here normally. By the way, do you have any business with me?”

“Business? No, I don’t. I just wanted to rest. How about it? Want to enjoy the pool with me?”

Sila hurriedly declined, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have many tasks to do. Please enjoy your stay.” Sila began to walk away.

“Wait, Sila.”

Sila turned back. “What?”

“About spreading the rumor, I have already finished it. But it should take some more time for the rumor to effectively show its result. As for your missing teacher, I have already asked my acquaintances to investigate it. I’ll let you know if I learn anything.”

Sila nodded. Despite Bluebird having a childish personality, he seemed to be reliable to some extent.

The sound of a battle echoed from the dojo. Sila walked inside and found Lookhin and Bow sparring against each other while Julia watched.

Sila went to Julia’s side to witness the fight.

Lookhin was flying and spinning in the air. Sila could tell that this wasn’t Lookhin’s top speed, but it should be fast enough for Bow. With a level gap of more than 1000, it was a hard battle for Bow even with Lookhin holding back its ability. Bow was hopping around inside the dojo. During the initial phase of any slime skill, the skill must be used in close range so she was having a hard time coping with Lookhin.

Lookhin charged toward Bow. Its body was reinforced with qi. Meanwhile, Bow jumped and charged back at Lookhin. Her body was as hard as an iron ball and also as hot as a small fire. Seeing this, Sila could tell that Bow had changed her element to fire.

Without stopping, magic power surged out of Lookhin’s body. Three water balls appeared in front of it and flew toward Bow in straight line.

Sila thought that Bow would lose here. However, once the water collided with Bow, they bounced off left and right. The last one was even reflected back at Lookhin.

Lookhin was hit by the reflected water ball and became soaked. Bow immediately changed her element into lightning. Unfortunately for her, Lookhin stopped its body in mid-air. A stone pillar also pierced through the floor to block Bow. She slammed into it, causing the pillar to shatter, before bouncing back to her original position.

The two of them were staring at each other. Sila watched all of this with surprise. He previously thought that Bow wouldn’t be able to keep up with Lookhin at all. Even with Lookhin holding back, she shouldn’t be able to resist this well. More importantly, Bow could even simultaneously activate Moon Reflecting Mirror together with other skills. Her changing of elements was also quicker than him. Sila couldn’t help but be amazed.

Little did Sila know that, Bow had practiced all these skills for five years in-game. There were only three skills and she was compelled by the Slime King. She lacked fighting experience and had a low level, resulting in less power that she could bring forth. Nevertheless, her expertise in these skills were even higher than Sila’s.

Lookhin sensed Sila. It stopped using qi and flew to take a break on Sila’s shoulder. Meanwhile, Bow just noticed Sila. She rushed at him.

“Big Brother Sila… Lookhin is too strong. I can’t win even once.”

“You can fight very well, though. I can’t perform some of your moves myself.”

“It’s my papa’s fault. He always forced me to train. I even had to train with Mister Poluk, Miss Viola, and Mister Divine too.”

“Then, why did you not pass Way of Slime’s ordeal?”

“Because, the three of them said ‘for His Majesty’s daughter, doing this well is only natural. I won’t give you a passing grade yet’,” Bow said while mimicking the deep voice of Poluk.

Sila smiled mildly. He had thought that his trials were hard enough, but they seemed to be even harder for Bow.

“Keep it up. You will pass them soon. I’m here just to look how well you are. I’ll be away for several days.”

“Where will Big Brother Sila go?”

Sila went down to his knee, stoking Bow’s slimy head. “I’ll go out to train too. Like Bow, my training is still not enough. You have to do your best too. We’ll become stronger together. I’ll buy you a lot of ribbons when I’m back.”

“Really? Then I’ll try my best to train.”

“Good. I’m going now. Lookhin and Julia, I’m leaving Bow in your care.”

Lookhin nodded, while Julia bowed her head.

As his business here was done, Sila then teleported to the bamboo hut.

***

Sila appeared at the bamboo hut. He followed the narrow path between rows of bamboo trees. The wind was flowing gently. Sila breathed in the air filled with the aroma of bamboo leaves into his lungs.

He approached the bamboo hut in a good mood. However, he stiffened once he reached there.

In the area that his teacher usually sat weaving a basket, there was a woman sitting there instead.

The woman was very beautiful. Her eyes were big, and they were looking at the basket. Her light-brown hair was long and reached the center of her back. She was wearing a short soft-yellow-colored cheongsam together with Chinese pants and sandals. There was a Chinese sword placed next to her.

Upon sensing him, she stopped looking at the basket and shifted her gaze toward Sila. Her light brown eyes seemed to be asking a question. The silence reigned the place for more than ten seconds before she opened her mouth.

“Are you Sila?”

“Hm? Me? Yes. I’m here to meet with my teacher. Is he here?”

“Teacher?” She slightly furrowed her lovely brows, thinking for a short while. “Umm… he is right here.”

“He is here?” Sila wondered. Looking left and right, he couldn’t see anybody.

He had already witnessed Divine’s transformation. Is this woman his teacher in another form? Although he was astonished by the fact that his teacher could transformed into such elegant woman, he wasn’t too surprised. This was just a game, after all.

Sila hurried to put his palms together as he said, “Hello, Teacher.”

The woman was somehow surprised. She clasped her palms in response.

The sound of an old man could be heard from behind her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m greeting teache- … teacher!? Why are you here? Hm? Wait, how can there be two teachers?” Sila wondered.

“How am I here? This is my place so it’s natural that I’m here. What’s up with you today? Are you feeling sick?” The old man put his palm on Sila’s forehead.

Sila kept his eyes at the woman. She smiled and giggled in a reserved manner.

Sila’s face turned red. He was tricked by this woman.

“Hm? Dao, are you still here? You should go now. Don’t forget what I told you.”

She put her palms to say her goodbye. “Yes, Teacher. I’ll contact you if I get the news.”

The old man nodded while the woman left. She was mildly smiling when she walked pass Sila, causing him to bend his head in embarrassment.

“Who’s she? I always thought that you lived alone, Teacher.”

“Sangdao. She is my daughter.”

“Your daughter? Didn’t she just call you teacher?”

“She is also my disciple. She calls me father when we are alone. I taught her to call me teacher when there are other people around.”

Sila opened his system window. One of the title statuses of his was Nameless Elder’s Main Disciple. “I thought that I’m your only disciple though?”

“Dao is under my guidance in real life since she was young. She rarely visits me in game. This time, I have work to assign to her so I called her here.”

Sila nodded in understanding. He knew from Bluebird that there were many real-life martial experts in this game. It seemed his teacher, too, was one of the independent NPCs who were martial artists in real life.

“With you being here, I assume that you have come up with the answer,” said the old man.

Sila dismissed Sangdao’s face in his head and refocused on the matter that brought him to this place today.

“Yes, Teacher. I have gotten an answer.”

The old man smiled. He went to the area that Sangdao was sitting a minute ago and picked a basket to continue weaving. “Go on.”

“Yes, Teacher. Nobody is perfect. Despise Montra seeming to be fully equipped with wisdom, abilities, powers and undefeated feat, he is also a human. Every human is sure to have some weaknesses. I have to find them by myself, look at them by myself, think about them by myself and act toward them by myself.”

“What about you? What are you going to do?”

Sila continued, “I’m still too weak, but being weak means I can still grow further. I might not be fully equipped with various good traits like Montra, but I don’t need to be like Montra. People have their own different aptitudes. I don’t need to possess several skills. I don’t need to train hundreds of martial arts. I just have to be proficient at what I have; to be able to compete against Montra. Though, I still don’t know how can I reach such level. My journey ahead is a long one. What I can do now is walk step by step. At this time, I guess I have to start with the first one.”

“Fufu. My last question, how many arts you think you should be proficient at until you can compete against Montra?”

Sila replied without having to think, “Just one is enough.”

“Wrong,” The old man refuted. However, Sila’s expression didn’t change. He firmly believed in his own answer.

“I personally think that just one art is enough. Although teacher thinks differently, I still trust in my own thought.”

“Fufu. Such stubbornness. I’m not declining your idea though. Your answer is right. Only, you’re wrong when you said that you will have to learn only one martial art.”

“What do you mean, Teacher?”

“What I mean is, you must at least practice three martial arts. I will teach you one of them. The rest depends on whether you can find them or not.”

“Three martial arts? Find them by myself?

“Correct. I would like to teach you all three martial arts myself if I can. However, I mastered only one of them. You need to find the two people who mastered the remaining ones. They’re also living in this game.”

Sila frowned. “Will they want to teach me?”

“I’m certain that they would be willing to teach you,” said the old man.

“Why? Why would they be willing to teach me?” Sila knew that each personal martial art was developed with effort, experience, and time. With the hardship of martial art creation, there would be no one who is willing to teach one’s art to others for free without a proper reason.

“You’ll know once you meet them,” The old man mysteriously said.

“About these martial arts, what are their names?” Sila asked.

“Nine Sun-Melting-Fists, Six Moon-Grabbing-Claws, and Twelve Celestial-Traveling-Steps.”