"No." I replied coldly. I then turned the other way and urged Eliza. "Let's go."

“Yes, Master” (Eliza)

Eliza took a last glance at the hooded girl and followed behind me. She must be seeing her old self in that girl. Eliza took pity at her, but not enough pity to go against my orders.

We left the still dumbfounded girl in that section and went straight to the counter.

God, spare me from another mouth to feed, please.

I prayed in my heart, despite knowing that it will not come true. That girl was quite desperate, just like this one back then. I looked at Eliza and secretly sighed. By the time I was thinking of such things, we reached the counter. I quickly paid it all off, costing me at least two grand.

My money’s quickly being washed away. I gotta earn again soon.

I thought, and both of us started walking towards home.

------------------------

“Master.” (Eliza)

Eliza called me. The third time.

“I know.” I replied, didn’t stop walking and continued to do so like I heard nothing. We walked for a while until just a few blocks before we reach the apartment building. Then, I stopped. Eliza, who was carrying the grocery bag, also stopped. She turned and directed her gaze towards a nearby telephone pole. I also followed her gaze.

In there was a fly. A very tenacious fly that wouldn’t stop from following us since we got out of the grocery store. When she noticed that we were staring directly at where she’s hiding, the green-eyed girl flinched and hid her body even more behind the pole.

“Come out.”

I beckoned to her in a demanding tone. She stayed silent for a moment and slowly walked towards us. She’s standing three steps away from us, head looking down on her feet.

“Listen up.” I started the conversation, causing her to look up.

“I don’t have any superpowers. I’m not a mutant either. I can’t help with any of your problems. So, just stop following us and go home.” I slowly articulated my words one by one so she can clearly understand.

The green-eyed girl, who looked down again after hearing my words, bit her lips silently.

“Haaaaah” I sighed. “Go home, kid” And advised her one last time before turning around, this time, not looking back.

Eliza and I went to our apartment. We unlocked the door and then closed it afterward. She headed straight for the refrigerator to put down the foods that we bought earlier. When she was done, she headed straight towards me who was resting on the sofa. She waited for my orders.

“Clean the house. Or do anything you want to do, just don’t disturb me. I won’t eat lunch, so make yourself some light meal later.” I said and made a beeline towards my room once I heard her confirmation, locking it afterward.

I was planning to cultivate until dinner. I estimated before that it will take at least a week before I fully unlock my genes and enter the early stage, but my mind changed after seeing the abundance of the Essence in the surroundings. I speculated that this is because there are no cultivators here who gather them, or any mutants that actively use their powers around this area, that’s why the Essence accumulated; for millions of years, in fact. I am not the first human to use the Essences in this world, but I may be the first human to gather it on this planet.

I sat down cross-legged on top of the bed. I closed my eyes and concentrated my consciousness in my dantian, slowly stimulating the whirlpool of Essence in it. Then, I reached out to the abundant Essences around me, slowly gathering them at a massive amount.

------------------------

I slowly opened my eyes, exhaled the air in my lungs, and breathed in a fresh one. I cultivated for the entire day, and when I looked at the window crack in the room, I saw a red hue piercing the walls. The sun was signifying a timeout. I tried to inspect the change in my body and especially noticed the whirlpool starting to expand and circulate faster by a significant amount. I was right; maybe I just needed 3-4 days in order to unlock my genes, with the way things are going.

I got up, and went towards the living room, finding Eliza silently dusting the TV. She looked up at me and greeted me a ‘good evening’ before finishing her work. She took off the cloth covering her face and patted some dust on her. Then, she put on an apron and went towards the kitchen, intending to prepare a dinner.

Meanwhile, I confirmed something before I went towards the doorsteps. The Essences before and after I cultivated was just slightly reduced, which is impossible especially if I accumulated that many Essences. This place should have sparse Essences for a while before they regenerate. Thus, I found it weird and checked to see if my guess was right.

I opened the door, and yep, I was spot on. The reason why Essences gathered around here is because of this girl. The green-eyed girl from earlier followed us until here and stayed outside the whole time. If I would make an assumption, from the suction force I felt earlier when we touched, I’m guessing that she has the ability to absorb the Essence of any living thing she touched. And not only that, but she can also cause attraction to nearby Essences. That’s why the Essences gathered around here.

I assume that this girl has an ‘Absorption Constitution’. If this is the case, then I thought that she may be a special existence. That is because; the part that mutated on her wasn’t her physical body parts, but her dantian. Even though I can’t say that there are others who have mutated the same, I am pretty sure that cases like these are very rare.

I saw her cuddling herself just beside my door before she saw me and hurriedly stood up. She looked at me in the eyes, appealing her stubbornness. We continued our staring battle for a while, until she opened her mouth, ready to talk.

“I-…”

*Grrrrooowwwl*

But she was interrupted by the little tiger in her stomach that started to complain.

Steam rises up from the head of the green-eyed girl as she blushed. She bashfully lowered her head down, not meeting my gaze.

“Why don’t you go home?” I asked coldly.

“I-I don’t have anywhere to go home to…” (Green-eyed girl)

She muttered, to which I internally groaned. I face-palmed and cursed my fortune.

Why are there suddenly girls who have lost their homes and ‘coincidentally’ met me?! Is this my karma for monopolizing the Ancient manual in the previous world?!

I tried to calm down my thoughts

“Then, why are you here?” and asked her a question.

“That-that’s because… b-because…” (Green-eyed girl)

The girl’s green eyes swam around the surroundings, finding it difficult to answer my question.

“…because, y-you’re the only one w-who’s not affected by my powers…” (Green-eyed girl)

Her reasoning was absurd, following someone just because he’s not affected by your powers. If perchance that I am someone with bad intentions, then… She would’ve been in danger.

“Haaaaaah” I sighed a little longer than usual. Speaking of which, I noticed that I’ve been sighing a lot more lately. These mutants are definitely the main cause of it.

“What is your name?” I asked.

She still has her head down, as she replied,

“I’m Ro--*Ggrrrooowwlll*--gue” (Rogue)

She was timely interrupted again by the tiger in her stomach, who is demanding for some food.

“U-uuuuu” (Rogue)

Rogue blushed even more fiercely and covered her face with her hands. I groaned internally again, expressing a slight irritation.

“We can’t converse while you’re hungry.” I said as I turned around, leaving the door open.

She immediately caught my drift as she followed me afterward. She still hasn’t lifted up her head until she closed the door behind her. I went straight to the table as she looked around the living room. She followed me shortly after and took a seat opposite of me. I observed her as she lowers her head for a while. No one spoke, creating a tense atmosphere.

A little while later, Eliza came in with a simple dinner using some of the potatoes and chicken breasts we bought earlier. The bite-sized potatoes were just simply boiled and the chickens’ fried, as Eliza was also not that much skilled in cooking like me. She grew up lacking in food, after all. I quickly noticed that the portion she prepared was a little more than usual.

I looked at her. She met my gaze and quickly smiled. With that, I understood. She had predicted that Rogue will wait outside and I will let her in out of pity. It looks like Eliza knows what actions I will take in situations like these.

What a scary girl…. I thought

“Th-thank you…” (Rogue)

Muttered Rogue under her breath, and then slowly ate her portion. We also followed shortly after. After finishing the meal, Eliza brought all the dishes in the sink and started washing them. Meanwhile, I faced the green-eyed girl, who lowered her head, again.

“I can’t help you.” I started the conversation, which caused her to bit her lower lips lightly.

“We’re not charity either.” She lowered her head even more, almost tucking it in her voluptuous chests.

“… But, it is indeed true that I may be the only one that is not affected by your powers.”

I can almost see her widened eyes even when she’s looking down.

“All because of various reasons I can’t tell.” I continued,

“So, if you want to stay, be useful. Or else go to some other place.” and ended my proposition at that.

At this time, she abruptly lifted up her head and looked me with surprise expression on her face. Then, her eyes slowly teared up, and she nodded her head several times. After that, she repeatedly said ‘thank you’. I left her crying in the table and went to my own room. Eliza will take care of her.

After I sunk in my bed, I felt disgusted at myself. The reason why I took care of her wasn’t just because she doesn’t have a home to return to, or she is a dangerous existence to the public. Those were only the minor reasons. The main reason why I decided to take care of her was the cause of my disgust to myself. The first thing that came to my mind when I learned about the possibility of her Constitution: Dual-cultivation.

In the cultivation world, the dual-cultivation—a joint cultivation of a man and a woman through sexual intercourse, accepting the vitality of each other; sometimes one-sidedly and sometimes benefiting both parties— was not entirely publicly supported, but not condemned either. What’s condemned about dual-cultivation was the fact that, some evil cultivators make use of it to create a ‘cultivation furnace’—or one-sidedly stealing the vitality of the partner.

Of course, I did not think even for a moment to make Rogue into a cultivation furnace. I intend to use the method that will benefit us both. But that did not justify the fact that I will still use her to my benefits later.

That’s why; I can’t stand the sight of her thanking me profusely while I have such evil thoughts. And even if I said that she needs to be useful, I don’t intend to rape her to achieve my goal. I will ask for her consent.

But, before all of that can happen, what I need first was to enter the early stage of cultivation. I also need to achieve the first stage of the breathing technique, Becoming One with the Flow, to start the dual-cultivation with her. I reckon that it will not take more than a month, with the presence of Rogue around. Hell, I can even feel the Essences at around 5 kilometers in radius still rushing to gather in this place. This apartment literally became my cultivation cave. Thus, I resumed cultivating.