Chapter 30

Annallee stood next to a raised platform housing a repurposed illusion array, watching as Keith dodged semi-transparent projectiles with ease. As the crowd watched in awe, the employee in charge of the array was amazed as Keith remained untouched no matter how high they raised the difficulty.

Dodging attacks from all angles, the edges of Keith’s body flickered bizarrely, as if he was phasing out of existence – a side effect of using Void Shadowstep. Suddenly, Keith paused when he found no more projectiles sent his way. Turning towards the operator in confusion, they replied, “Congratulations! You’ve beaten the game and earned 50 stamps.”

“Dang.” Keith clicked his tongue as he jumped off the platform. To his surprise, he managed to pick up a few levels in Void Shadowstep and wanted to see how far he could go, but just when it started to grow hard, the game ended. Walking up to the operator, he took his stamps and asked, “Do you know who created this game? It's great for training movement skills.”

“Hm.” The employee thought for a moment. “I don’t know who created it, but the one here is more or less a knock-off version compared to the ones the military has. They don’t let just anyone use it, unfortunately.”

“Ah, thanks for the info,” Keith replied as he returned to his sister and wondered if his Aunt could get him access to the ‘real’ game.

Giving Keith a thumbs up, Annallee smiled, “Nice performance. I didn’t expect you to do so well.”

Keith groaned. “Ugh, I better be considering the training Auntie put me through.”

“I can imagine.” Annallee nodded as she scanned the convention. “I think that was the last game. Let’s see what prizes we can get.”

Probably gonna be protein shakes and dumbbells, Keith thought as he followed his sister to the prize booth. The employee handling the store smiled as they approached after waiting for their turn. “Hello, what would you like to buy?”

Behind the employee was a large rack containing bodybuilding merchandise like clothes and accessories, but the three elixirs at the top drew Keith's attention. Granting a few stats when consumed, elixirs were in such high demand that the military had an open offer to purchase them for millions of gold. Keith didn’t expect to see them here, much less three.

Immediately pointing to the elixirs, Keith asked, “How many stamps for those?”

The employee chuckled with a knowing grin. “They’re being raffled away. If you want a chance to get them, you need to pay 100 stamps. We’ll announce the winner in a few hours.”

“Ah.” Keith’s excitement vanished. Considering the number of people here, his odds of winning the elixirs were slim. Shifting his attention to the merchandise, he picked out a few pieces of clothing he thought had a cool style.

As Keith took the clothes and stored them away, Annallee spoke up, “Um, Keith? You know those shirts explode into pieces when you flex your upper body, right?”

“Huh?” Keith looked at his sister in utter bewilderment. “Why would they do that?”

Annallee shrugged. “According to Uncle Ridger, it’s an ongoing gag in the community.”

Shaking his head, Keith thought to himself, and here I thought he had some strange fetish showing off his muscles. Though, to be fair, the shirt exploding is pretty cool.

After Annallee exchanged all her stamps, it was almost time for the show to start, so they went and found some seats near the main stage. As Keith looked around the venue, he asked his sister, “When do you go on?”

“A bit after the opening performance,” Annallee replied as she squeezed her hands between her thighs.

Noticing this, Keith assured her, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. From what I’ve seen, everyone here seems very encouraging and supportive. Nobodies gonna laugh at you.”

“Mm, I know,” Annallee sighed. “It just sucks because I know I won’t get first place since I just started training a few months ago.”

“Pfft, that’s what you’re worried about?” Keith laughed. He thought she was nervous, but it seemed like he was worrying over nothing.

At that moment, Keith smelled a refreshing floral scent, followed by someone taking the seat to his left. Turning to see who his new neighbor was, he was stunned to see a familiar petite figure – the freakishly strong girl who shocked everyone with her strength.

Keith quickly glanced away and poked his sister’s shoulder to grab her attention. Secretly gesturing for her to look behind him, she widened her eyes upon seeing the girl. Calming down, Keith thought this was a perfect chance to introduce himself to this young powerhouse. Letting out a forced cough, Keith turned to the orange-haired girl. “Hello, are you participating in the competition?”

The girl inspected Keith for a second before shaking her head. “No, I’m here to watch someone who is.”

“Ah, me too.” Keith pointed over his shoulder. “My sister’s participating in the flexibility section, so I came to support her.”

The girl nodded and said, “I’m here for my dad.”

Sitting in silence for a moment, Keith rubbed his nose and said, “I suppose I should thank you.”

Puzzled, the girl looked over. “What for?”

Keith sighed. “I happened to be nearby when you smashed that slab to pieces. To be honest, I had become a bit conceited recently, thinking I’d surpass my peers in due time. Now I know there are some crazily talented people out there, and it was only wishful thinking on my part that I could catch up to them without putting in enough effort. So, I wanted to thank you for giving me this reminder.”

“Oh?” The girl’s eyes narrowed as she looked Keith dead in the eye. “Are you saying you can catch up to me as long as you work hard?”

Feeling a familiar phantom pain in his chest, Keith placed a hand over his heart and nodded. “It doesn’t matter if I can or can’t. I must!”

The girl stared into Keith’s eyes as if searching for something. After a moment, she smiled, “If you want to catch up to me, you’ve got a long road ahead of you.”

“Haha, I believe you,” Keith chuckled, knowing her stats were far beyond his. However, he knew that with his Grimoire, it was only a matter of time before he caught up.

Extending her hand, the young woman said, “My name is Rhea, a wanderer.”

“I’m Keith. Nice to meet you, Rhea.” Keith shook her hand and wondered aloud, “What’s a wanderer? I’ve never heard of it.”

Rhea wore a composed expression as she explained, “Instead of relying on other people, I make all my tools, weapons, food, and equipment. Together with my family, we wander the world, spending our time in Rifts or the wilderness.”

“Oh! Isn’t that the same thing as what barbarians do?” Keith exclaimed as he secretly cast a glance at his sister.

“Don’t get me started,” Rhea groaned and waved her hand dismissively, “for some reason, the word ‘barbarian’ has recently gotten some negative connotations attached to it. I’m an adorable girl, not a dumb brute.”

“Well, I can’t deny that wanderer does sound cooler. It has a mysterious vibe to it,” Keith remarked with a grin after seeing how cute Rhea looked when pouting.

“I know, right!” Rhea grew animated.

“I’m a little confused, though,” Keith tilted his head, “isn’t it inefficient to try and do everything yourself? Why not rely on specialists?”

Rhea rolled her eyes. “It isn’t about efficiency. It’s about living a fulfilling life.”

Keith thought about it for a moment before replying, “I think I understand. If you spend countless hours making your supplies, you’ll gain more appreciation for the things you have.”

Nodding repeatedly, Rhea glanced at Keith, “If you’re serious about growing stronger, I suggest you become a wanderer. The skills and stats you gain from this lifestyle are insane.”

“I bet,” Keith sighed, “I like living in a society, though. Plus, my innate gift would suffer greatly without relying on other people.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.”

Suddenly, the lights dimmed. It was time for the competition to begin.