Chapter 8 Leaving the village
Issei's POV
Three days after Wu Ying's breakthrough. The sisters began collecting all the essentials for their trip to the capital. Most of it involved a lot of preparing and storing food. We were finally ready to go on a journey to the capital of this country of this fantasy world. Of course, there were many roadblocks that kind of put a stop on beginning our journey.
First, Wu Lan was against leaving and thought to stay with Wu Xiao. Not wanting to abandon their old home and thinking the trip would be too harsh for her and Wu Xiao. After all, unlike me and Ying, they were not cultivators and didn't think they could survive out in the wilds.
When Wu Xiao heard they couldn't go, she started making a fuss that she didn't want to stay behind. But was quickly scolded by her oldest sister.
Obviously, Wu Ying would not allow her sisters to be left behind and unprotected. Some other bandits could one day discover this village and attack them. Not to mention the danger two defenseless young girls could bring. Plus she didn't want to be separated from her sisters. So she tried to convince her that she and I will protect them during their trip. But Wu Lan was not convinced.
As I saw the three sisters begin to argue over this. I start to think that Wu Lan had a point considering that there were snakes the size of cars and assuming the old man called it a low-rank beast, it must have meant there were stronger monsters in this world. Seeing how difficult it was for me just to kill it. It would probably be even more difficult defending Wu Lan and Wu Xiao, even with the help of Wu Ying. If only the two sisters could also reach the first stage of the Fighter realm. Wait a minute. Why don't they cultivate?
"Why don't Wu Lan and Wu Xiao cultivate?" I say stopping the pointless argument between sisters as the three of them stop and look at me as if I grew a second head.
"What are you talking about?" Wu Ying says, looking at me weirdly.
"Well, the trip could be a lot easier if Wu Lan and Wu Xiao could at least defend themselves. So, why not let them start cultivating to a First Stage Fighter." I say defending my outburst as I don't know what's the big deal about them cultivating?
"Are you an idiot? It took me years of harsh physical training to even reach the First Stage. Just look at them, do you honestly believe they are capable of going through with it? Not to mention how long we'd have to wait for them to reach it." Wu Ying says with a frown. Probably thinking of the harsh training they would have to go through.
"Issei, your idea would make the trip easier. But Wu Xiao and I just aren't meant for that lifestyle." Wu Lan says in a less harsh tone.
"Well, I think it's a great idea. I want to punch just like sis Ying and big bro." Wu Xiao says, defending her big bro.
"But don't we now have a cultivation manual with us? It should be much easier to reach the first stage if they just follow the instructions on the manual. I mean Wu Ying reached the Second Stage just by meditating all day. I'm sure. If Wu Lan and Wu Xiao used the manual. They could also reach the First Stage." I say while thinking about why, them cultivating was a bad idea.
It didn't take long for the two sisters to realize that I had a point. As I saw the look of realization come to their faces as their eyes widen and mouth open. Guess I'm not so dumb after all.
"I-I didn't just sit around and meditate all day." Wu Ying says with a furious blush and glare as she turns her head, not able to look at me. Classic Tsundere. She truly is cute when she's like this.
"Is this okay? Wasn't the manual only for Wu Ying?" Wu Lan says as she considers the idea.
"It's not like the manual was made just for me. Any female can practically use it. I wish I had thought of this before."
"Heh, heh. Sis Ying just wanted the manual for herself because Big Bro brought it just for her. I bet she never thought of sharing it with us." Wu Xiao says with a laugh and grin.
"Th-that is not true. I just thought there was no need for you two to read it." Again Wu Ying stutters with a blush. I bet she's embarrassed about not thinking of this.
"But what about our house? I know it's foolish to get attached to a small and broken place, but it's our home. The home that both mother and father made." Wu Lan says with sadness at abandoning the house.
"I-" Even Wu Ying couldn't find a way to counter her argument. After all this house isn't much but I bet it has many wonderful memories of the three living together. I also feel a slight attachment to this house.
Wait, couldn't I bring this house into the marble. 'Ddraig!'
(What is it?)
'Is it possible to place a small house inside the marble?'
(I don't know. As I said before, this marble is something I have never seen before. I don't know of its abilities nor the changes it has done to the Boosted Gear. All I know is that it acts as a sort of livable pocket dimension. As seen by the grass and sky. I guess you can bring objects inside seeing as you brought the carcass of the giant snake inside.)
'Do you think I can also bring other people?'
(As I said I don't know. But it would be interesting to meet the three sisters.) Was that mirth in his voice? Why do I get the feeling that Ddraig was grinning on the other side?
'Just promise me, you won't freak them out or eat them?' God I hope not.
(What? I am offended by this. Partner. Don't you trust me?) I could practically hear the sarcasm.
'Ah hah. Sure. Just don't take it too far?'
(I make no promises.)
"Issei!" Soon the voice of Wu Ying forces me out of my thoughts.
"Huh?" I say as I looked at the three sisters and was confused at why they appeared worried.
"We've been trying to get your attention for a while now. Is something wrong?" Wu Lan says with a worried tone.
"Sorry. I've just been thinking of a way to take the house with us."
"Huh? That's impossible." Wu Ying says with doubt.
"Unless big bro and Sis Ying tie a rope to the house and drag the house with us." Wu Xiao cheekily says with a smile and laugh.
"I think I found a way. Wu Lan, the house isn't locked down to the ground right?"
"No. The house isn't. It stands by its own weight." Wu Lan says, giving me a face of disbelief.
"And how exactly are you planning to bring the house with us? Because I certainly ain't dragging this thing with me on a journey that might take days." Wu Ying says looking at me as if I was stupid.
"Listen Issei, if you want to bring the house with us to make me happy and convince me to go on this journey. Then don't worry. While you were thinking, Wu Ying already convinced me. So don't worry about this anymore." She says with a sad smile.
"But it is possible. Just let me explain." I say as I didn't want Wu Lan to be sad on leaving her old home.
"But it's impossible." Wu Ying says thinking how they could possibly move it.
"I'm telling you to tie a rope around the house and pull." Wu Xiao said stubbornly that her idea was the best.
"Alright let him explain." At last Wu Lan will let me explain myself.
""Fine."" Both sisters finally relent.
"Thanks Wu Lan. Do you remember when I told you about the Boosted Gear?"
"Yes. That you had a dragon sealed in you when you were a baby and because of that you have some of its abilities. Did I explain it well?" Wu Lan says in a simple manner.
"Ya, you did. Kind of simplifies my origin story. But there's something else."
"What? Are you still hiding things from us?!" Wu Ying angrily shouts.
"No! It's just something I just recently discovered. Something that I couldn't do before but now I can." I quickly said not wanting them to think that I was hiding things from them.
"Really, can you now turn into a dragon?" Wu Xiao says with excitement.
"Unfortunately, no." I say with a sweat drop.
"Aww." Wu Xiao responds.
"So, what did you find out?" Wu Ying asks after calming down.
"Right I had this blue marble with me that mysteriously appeared in my hand when you girls found me."
"I remember. You sometimes brought it out at night and looked at it deep in thought." Wu Ying said something that I didn't know.
"Ehh. I did that?" I say, surprised. I never noticed she was staring at me.
"I always thought it was something that you brought from your homeland. So I never asked you about it."
"Well it's not. You see that marble was something that I had never seen or had in my life."
"What?"
"It was weird too. The moment you found me, I suddenly had it in my hands, but I don't remember ever having it before. Plus it had some incredible abilities."
"What do you mean?"
"Every time I get hurt. That marble kept healing me. Like when we spared and unlike you, I would suddenly recover and heal quicker or the time the 3 bandits were beating me up and I suddenly got better."
"But wasn't that the Boosted Gear healing you?" Wu Lan questions remembering the first time I awoke the Boosted Gear in front of her and Wu Xiao.
"The Boosted Gear has the ability of boosting my power but healing isn't one of them. It has always been the blue marble."
"That's amazing. But what does that have to do with us being able to bring the house with us?" Wu Lan asks.
"Forget that. Do you still have it and if it was capable of doing this? Why didn't you ever tell me? All those times I was hurt. You could have healed me." Wu Ying angrily says as I did never tell her. Man that makes me feel guilty.
"Well, when I first awakened the boosted gear. I also thought it was one of its abilities. Not to mention I kind of never gave it much thought." I said sheepishly as I scratched the back of my head. "Hehe sorry."
This caused Wu Ying to start to give me a very hateful glare as her usual temper was about to explode.
"What do you mean you never gave it much thought?!" She said ,screaming at me.
"I guess I had a lot on my mind?" I say as it never did cross my mind.
"Oh! Like what?" Wu Ying say with a frown
My face and body went into a serious mode that was so serious that it was capable of stopping Wu Ying's anger.
"Isn't it obvious?" My voice says in a serious manner. That caused Wu Ying to step back. "I was worried after the bandit attack ended. Wu Ying got captured and Wu Lan and Wu Xiao were scared to death. Of course, I was worried."
"Issei." / "B-big bro!" As I looked at Wu Lan and Xiao. I saw their faces red and shock in their eyes. Looking at me pretty warmly. Even Wu Ying's anger vanished and a massive blush took place. I see even they must have thought about it and been worried too.
"I was worried about what all that stress could do to the growth of your oppai." I say without thinking or a hint of shame. Truly I am a good person.
"Wh-what?" Wu Ying says with a shadow over her eyes.
"Of course. Just the thought of all that stress causing your oppai to slow their growth brings great pain to my heart." I said not noticing the dark change in the girl's expression.
""Issei"" / "Big bro" The girl's say in a dark undertone. As a deep killer intent was felt sending chills down my spine.
Soon the girls got closer and closer. Causing me to lean on the wall of the house for support.
"Die, you fucking pervert!"
"Give me back my feelings, you insensitive jerk!"
"Bring back my cool big bro!"
"Owww!" I scream in pain.
Soon they launched themselves at me and not in the way I would have liked. As they started attacking me with kicks and punches. While I could kind of ignore Wu Lan and Wu Xiao's attack. The same couldn't be said about Wu Ying's. That's right after spending so much time with the sisters. They could now understand some Japanese words or their intentions. Especially my favorite word.
After hours of myself in pain and suffering. Plus the time I had to wait for the marble to heal me. Why do I feel as if it's taking longer than it should? The girls finally calm down. Thank god I'm made of tougher stuff or I'd be dead.
"Tell us how we could take our home with us on our journey." Wu Ying says with a frown as if she hasn't been trying to kill me.
"Can't it wait till the pain leaves?"
"No, you brought this to yourself." Wu Lan says unhappily.
"Fine. I found out something new about the marble."
"What is it?" Wu Ying asks interested.
"It was during the time I went hunting and got the two cultivation manuals. I somehow was able to absorb the blue marble into the Boosted Gear. Which did something amazing." I say as I remember the cause of Iron Snake chasing me.
"What did it do?" Wu Lan also asks, wondering what other abilities it could have.
"The marble was capable of creating a pocket dimension. A separated living space from this world where I could leave and go back to at any time. At first I thought I could only store objects like the house. But now I think we could actually live there."
"Wait, wait big bro. Wh-what do you mean? I don't understand anything." Wu says, looking confused at the new words. I understand your pain. It took me a while for Ddraig to explain it to me too.
"Think of it as a super-secret place where only I can go and leave at any time."
"Ehhh! That's not fair. I want to go to that super-secret place too." Wu Xiao says while pouting.
"If this is true. Does that mean we don't have to say goodbye to our home?" Wu Lan says hopefully.
"Not only that. We have someplace to sleep at night too. Wu Xiao and you won't have to risk the dangers of the trip." Wu Ying says with amazement at how much easier life will be. "What are we waiting for? Issei show us."
"All right." Soon I concentrate on bringing the house with us inside into the hidden world. I felt the familiar pull of the marble and the familiar sensation of the mysterious energy that surrounds the space.
"Okay done" I announced happily that it was possible to bring others inside.
"That's it?" Wu Xiao asks, expecting it to be more dramatic.
"Are you sure, Issei? Nothing looks different." Wu Lan questions.
"This is unbelievable. This place is full of energy. It's even greater than the energy in the outside world." Wu Ying says feeling the air around her.
"Is it different than outside?" Wu Lan asks as she thought they were not in the marble.
"If you don't believe me. Then just look outside."
The sisters, excited to see what happened soon go through the door. When they opened the door and stepped outside I couldn't help but feel as if I forgot to explain something important.
"""Ahhhhhhhh!""" The girls' screams soon resonated throughout the space.
Shit! I forgot to tell them about Ddraig!
Wu Ying's POV
As my sisters and I move to see the outside of this hidden world. We were shocked at the change in scenery as we lived in a forest and on top of a mountain. Never had we ever seen an endless sea of grass.
Not to mention the natural energy around us was incredible as I never felt nothing like this before. I only noticed this after I had a cultivation manual as unlike before where I had to exercise to get to the First stage now I use the world's natural energy to cultivate my body and make it stronger. I can tell, just by feeling my surroundings, that if I cultivated here. My speed at cultivating would go at most double or triple my progress.
It's incredible that all these amazing things would never have happened if I never met the pervert. Which brings my mind into the question. Just who is Hyoudou Issei? Is he really a person from another world or is he hiding even more incredible secrets? He wasn't lying when he told us that he was lost. Was he just incredibly lucky or was he favored by the heavens.
As we went further into the grassland feeling the ground beneath our feet. Wu Xiao could not help but run around in a happy manner. I was also running around until the sky suddenly turned dark. This couldn't be right, night was hours away. Until I noticed that it was not the sky that turned dark but a huge shadow was upon us.
Soon I felt deep fear even greater than the time the bandits captured me. At whatever beast was creating such a huge shadow capable of darkening the ground.
"GRrrrrrrr." A low growl was heard that froze us to the ground. The sound was so strong it caused the ground to quack. Followed by a huge shockwave as the ground was stomped causing us to fall to our feet. We didn't want to look up as whatever it was could kill us in an instant. But whether by bravery or foolishness. Our heads managed to look at our predator.
Red. The color of its scales as well as the color of our blood was what I noticed first. Followed by the green reptilian eyes that pierced down our souls and then just the size of the beast capable of crushing anything in its path.
The moment I saw the creature. I know what it was as our father told thousands of tales of the legendary beast. But it was wrong. The stories told of mythical and wise beasts, rulers of the sky and sea, but this creature was nothing like those stories. There was no wisdom in its eyes, only power. It was a dragon.
"Hello. Food." The red Dragon said, causing even greater desperation.
My sisters couldn't handle the pressure and soon fainted. I couldn't say I was better but with the rest of my resolve all I could do was scream as the world started to fade.
Issei's POV
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me and desperately to the sister's scream of distress. Unable to stop blaming myself for never telling them of the giant dragon living inside the marble. As well as the rage in my heart at Ddraig.
"Ddraig! You ass! I told not to take it too far." I yell at the laughing dragon as I check on the girls lying on the ground.
"Bwa ha ha haha! You should have seen the look on their faces! It's been so long since I ever terrorized a group of humans." The red dragon laughed, uncaring of the deep trauma he had just caused.
Hearing the stupid dragon's laughter at his childish behavior completely pisses me off. That I soon go up to him and continuously start kicking him.
"That's not funny! They could have seriously been hurt!" I say as I continue kicking him. But the dragon just scoffed and ignored my attacks.
Sniff, sniff.
Soon the dragon starts sniffing the air around him.
"Awl! I completely forgot how disgusting your species is." Ddraig says with a look of disgust while holding his nose.
"What are you talking about?" I say as I didn't understand what was so disgusting. Until I also caught a whiff of the smell coming off of the three sisters. Did they just?
-Flashback End-
After bringing the girls back to the house and a quick change of clothes. Luckily none of the girls woke up during that time though I did suffer after they found out. I brought the house and them out of the marble to help them relax before they woke up. The meeting between the girls and Ddraig was not the best and the girls were deeply traumatized.
Which brings us to the second reason the journey was almost cancelled. The sisters were deeply terrified of Ddraig. To the point of being in the marble caused panic and fear in their eyes. I had to literally kidnap them into the marble and have them sit down and explain to them that Ddraig would not eat or hurt them.
After a few days, the sisters were able to calm down and live in the marble. It took a while but with the help of Wu Xiao's curiosity. The sisters accepted Ddraig. Luckily Wu Xiao really wanted to get to know and ride a real dragon and soon started trying to climb on top of him. The older sisters tried to stop her but froze in fear to get anywhere close to him.
Ddraig didn't even notice as he was asleep and when he did wake up. The only thing he did was yawn in a loud manner and completely ignore Wu Xiao. Much to her annoyance as she wanted him to start flying. But seeing Wu Xiao trying to scale the dragon that gave them nightmares and being completely ignored made Wu Lan and Ying start dropping their guard.
It wasn't perfect but it was better than them screaming bloody murder every time they met. So after another few days of Wu Lan and Wu Xiao cultivating the Yin Flower Empress manual in the marble and then soon reaching the first stage. Not to mention all the food we had to store. After a month of living in this village. We were finally ready to go.
"Not going to lie. I'll miss this place." I say as the sisters walk beside me as I remember all the good times I had.
"Ugh. That's so like you." Wu Ying says with scorn.
"What? Aren't you going to miss this place even a little?" I say, confused at the hostility.
"The quicker we leave this dump the better."
"Wu Ying! That's rude." Scolded Wu Lan.
"Oh! Then why didn't you ever tell anybody that we were leaving?" Wu Ying says with a smug smile.
"The less said the better." Wu Lan says with a displeased smile.
"Is that why we left so early? Whaaa! The sun is barely rising." I say with a yawn as we head down the forest hoping to reach the road that I came across while being chased.
"Come on! I want to see the sea! Big Sis, big bro, sis Ying, hurry up!" Wu Xiao shouted ahead of us as she was excited to see the port town that the old man told me about when he was heading over there with his cart. Wu Xiao is in a great mood at wanting to see the sea for the first time. She has been like this ever since I told her about the sea and unfortunately she has not been able to contain all that excitement especially now that she is at the first stage. Causing us to watch over her to burn out quickly.
"Wu Xiao be careful!" Wu Lan shouts back as she tries to catch up to Wu Xiao since being out in the open was still considered dangerous even with her new increase in strength.
With that Wu Ying and I increased our speed to not lose sight of them. So I started my first journey to reach the capital of this country