Gary can feel the shock-waves from the battle. He was surely excited for the opportunity, but wasn't too keen on being way in over his head. This was a situation that did not involve Gary in any way. Gary could have walked away from the sounds of battle, and washed his hands of this. Unfortunately Gary was in need of anything that would help him get ahead in his cultivation. Otherwise he'd be stuck at someone else's beck and call for the entirety of his life. Gary was not keen on the idea. Sure, desecrating corpses can be considered immoral, but it can also be considered quite profitable. The dead have no use for their things

after all.

As Gary crept through the underbrush, and looked through the bushes, he saw a sight he would never forget for all of time.

Gary saw a literal Chad in a triumphant pose, Aphrodite in his arms, striking down an arrogant young master with a glowing, presumably magical, sword. A pillar of lighting pierced into the sky, and various corpses lay around the three. This had likely been an encirclement.

Gary recognised the arrogant young master he'd once seen kicking stray puppies, and mugging orphans simultaneously. Remarkably busy, that man. Well, he was remarkably busy. He now seems to have been bisected. Everything's still in him. Just, in two parts. The lighting cauterized the wounds.

Gary stares wistfully at the vision of what could have been.

Eventually chad, and Aphrodite finish embracing, swearing their everlasting love, deciding to build an eternal empire, and promising to produce a near-infinite line of descendants. Suppose that Chad might turn out to be a family man. How cute.

Chad took the arrogant young master's spatial ring, and flew off with Aphrodite in his arms.

Gary stared wistfully at the midnight sky. Skyquids cooed merrily at the renewed peace within the forest.

Gary set about the work of looting the remainder of the bodies in the battlefield. They seemed to either be mercenaries, or disciples of some nearby sect. Gary wasn't familiar with the identifying marks of any sects, so he couldn't identify them. Gary found various sacks, satchels, keys placed in inconvenient places, and letters. Gary stuffed everything into his pack, and hoped to sort through it later. Hopefully he found something of value.

As Gary was rummaging the arrogant young master's corpse in case Chad had left anything behind, Chad flew down from the heavens straight towards Gary.

Chad flew down from the heavens and spotted a corpse embracing the arrogant young master's two slices of one. One arm on each slice.

This corpse was Gary's corpse

Gary is dead

Chad has no reason to doubt that Gary was indeed dead, and that the corpse that Chad was witnessing now was indeed Gary's corpse.

Chad, or Arrin as was his actual name, had forgotten to search the arrogant young master, Balthazar, for the Celestial Dragon Ascension token. Without it Arrin would be hard pressed to gain entrance to the Celestial Dragon Ascension ceremony. A series of festivals, and exams whose attendance was required to be allowed entrance into the inner court of the Immortal Sunset Empire.

Balthazar had acquired his token through an auction. He was immensely wealthy after all. Balthazar's parents even bought him the title of baron for his 12th birthday. His ancestors had acquired their wealth through payday loans. Effectively tricking people into selling themselves off as slaves. It was considered the lifeblood of the von Kaepsburg family. Baron Balthazar von Kaepsburg, I suppose a name like that must only come from a long lineage of insufferable bastards.

Arrin was rather confused at Gary's corpse. He was sure that Gary's corpse had not been in that position before. He was fairly certain he had killed Gary. He couldn't be bothered to remember the faces of every side character he kills, and going by Gary's face he was definitely a side character. Although, by Arrin's estimation Gary was more a featureless silhouette in the background.

Completely irrelevant in every way.

Gary's corpse grinds its teeth.

Ah he has hit! Arrin realises that Gary was likely the baggage carrier, and in his undying love and devotion to Balthazar decided to die embracing him. Arrin must have underestimated Gary's endurance, and left him still alive on the grass. Arrin resolved himself to never underestimate his enemies, especially the pathetic looking ones. If Gary had been slightly stronger he could have sprung up and caught Arrin off guard, and then he would have been in real trouble fighting off the Baron, and his lover.

"No wonder he fought so madly towards the end" Arrin thought.

Gary's corpse has an uncertain expression on its face.

"How are you coming to these conclusions" thinks Gary.

Arrin thought back to the battle, and the moment Balthazar's speed and strength increased. Balthazar was already pretty deadly with his quickfire dual dagger skills. That buff nearly pushed him over the edge, actually threatening Arrin, who is at the Mortal Supreme stage Perfect Self realm and should not normally be threatened by a Sky Scraping stage Perfect Self cultivator like Balthazar. It seemed to happen precisely when he had finished killing all of the canon fodder with chain lighting.

Arrin took the token off of Balthazar's body, lit some incense in honor of Gary's devotion, and flew off again.

Arrin couldn't waste time. Aphrodite, or Emma as she would likely prefer to be called , was critically injured during the last battle, and he would need her help in ascending into the inner court. His goals lay far beyond staying in this tiny world.

Suddenly, there was one less corpse in the world.

Gary's corpse became no longer a corpse.

Gary continued molesting Balthazar's corpse.

A dot, a small brown dot, or at least it was. Now, it was two halves of a dot sitting on the two halves of what was formerly the back of Balthazar's neck.

The dot did not like being disconnected from itself. Both halves of itself needed the other. It could feel itself losing energy. Its mind was not clear.

Suddenly, it felt a connection, but it didn't act as the fiend that did this to the dot had come back.

Once the fiend had left it still felt the connection, and it latched onto it. Both sides of itself traveled a landscape of charred skin until they reached the promised land.

Gary's skin, whilst not high quality, was comparatively a promised land. After all the only other option was a corpse, or dissipation.

The dot would have preferred a stronger host, but beggars can't be choosers.

It calmly re-dotted itself, appeared at the back of Gary's neck, and went into hibernation.

Poor Gary his first corpse looting, and he's already contracted a parasite. He hasn't even made it to a brothel yet!

Balthazar had been wearing multiple rings, bracelets, and necklaces, but these had been vaporised by Arrin. Gary didn't find anything of real use on the corpse, but he did take its shoes. Those were some mighty fine shoes.