“Are you feeling sleepy?” Richard asked as he tried to guess the time. In these time people used the Sun dial that divided time in twelve portions and depended on the sun. It contained a gnomon, or a thin rod, that casted a shadow onto a platform etched with different times. As the sun changed relative positions over the course of a day, the rod's shadows change as well, thus reflecting the change in time. Richard had even crafted a wrist sundial for use but the fact remained that the sundial couldn’t tell time at night.

Most people didn’t care about the time and just followed the sun.

Waking up at dawn and going to sleep when it got too dark. There weren’t any mechanical clocks present and time was something that hadn’t been touched upon from what Richard could see.

However, Richard always checked the time and had fixed timing for everything. It bothered him a lot to move without knowing the exact time.

It was the reason he had been trying to remember how to make a mechanical watch and how to tell the time. The memories existed in his mind but they were never that important to him, so it was hard to recall.

It was fortunate that the people had hourglasses present so he could at least tell how many hours passed. The hourglass was an early device for measuring intervals of time. It was also known as a sandglass or a log glass when used in conjunction with the common log for ascertaining the speed of a ship. It consisted of two pear-shaped bulbs of glass, united at their apexes and having a minute passage formed between them.

It wasn’t exactly accurate but it wasn’t too bad.

According to his estimation, it should be around 8 P.m. Most people would have gone to sleep at that time.

“Thank you for asking, but I am not sleepy at the moment. Would you allow me to accompany you through the night?” Rosalina looked at him and somehow he looked dashing. It made her heart flutter for a second.

She was charmed by him. His intelligence, his strength, his courage, his gentle nature and his manners had caught her in their hold.

She thought it might be the starting embers of the fire of love. Rose was a young lady that had yet to experience the world. Such complex emotions were beyond her understanding and everything she knew, she knew from others.

Love wasn’t a simple emotion, it was powerful and overpowering. Most people had never been in love, they just named what they felt as love. Most of the times, it was just pure lust.

Love was a beautiful emotion that completed a person. It came in various shapes and sizes. It could be gentle and it could be cruel.

It wasn’t a fixed asset. It varied over time and according to the people involved. The tale of love didn’t end with marriage, it just started another level.

Just like how hate could overtake the mind from the mere thought of the hated thing, love could do the same.

It was such a vital part of the human being that love could make or break a person. It was a thing that just happened and it was unknown when someone would fall in such a rose colored life or a sad life since loving someone didn’t mean that they would reciprocate it. Rumi’s said it best and his words mirror what some people feel.

I choose to love you in silence…

For in silence I find no rejection,

I choose to love you in loneliness…

For in loneliness no one owns you but me,

I choose to adore you from a distance…

For distance will shield me from pain,

I choose to kiss you in the wind…

For the wind is gentler than my lips,

I choose to hold you in my dreams…

For in my dreams, you have no end.

Such were the words of people lost in love and Rachel said it best in Richard’s eyes, “I meant it when I said I didn’t believe in love at first sight. It takes time to really, truly fall for someone. Yet I believe in a moment, a moment when you glimpse the truth within someone, and they glimpse the truth within you. In that moment, you don’t belong to yourself any longer, not completely. Part of you belongs to him; part of him belongs to you. After that, you can’t take it back, no matter how much you want to, no matter how hard you try.”

That was love and what Rose mistook as love was just admiration and worship at the moment when her heart was unstable from the situation. But, what she felt could lay the foundation for her love.

Richard looked at Rose and didn’t mind talking to her since she would be good piece to utilize in the future. Now that his situation was better, Richard had more options to choose from.

He could end up controlling the Harrison house and use it according to his wishes. It benefited both sides since Richard would never use others in the wrong manner.

With how Charles was acting, Richard felt that it might not take long for him to submit.

“No problem, we can talk for awhile. But first, are you having any problems now?” Richard gave his approval and walked inside the cave.

“Appreciate your concern, however I am doing fine. I was just wondering if you could enlighten me with your wisdom.” Rose replied as she followed Richard into the dark cave that was big enough to easily fit in giant monsters.

Richard didn’t go beyond the entrance as he couldn’t see in the darkness and wanted to stay close to the moon light.

He sat down against the wall of the cave while stabbing his into the ground beside him. There were pebbles and mostly dirt on the ground. The armor was made with insects in mind so those nasty creatures couldn’t crawl into them.

Rose sat down on his right side, away from the entrance as Richard indicated. He didn’t want her to sit close to danger.

Hearing her words, Richard wasn’t particularly aware of her tone and didn’t know what she was thinking. Rose didn’t know what he knew and just wanted him to speak, as she trusted that he wouldn’t waste time with nonsense.

There were some expectations tied to chosen ones depending on their Master.

“There are too many topics that I could cover, but majority of them would be difficult to explain and it wasn’t the right time… How about we talk about your Cultivation?” Richard felt many ideas within but he wasn’t in the mood to talk about them.

He had already spoken too much. He wanted to cover something simpler at the moment and avoid getting a headache, especially since he was playing a game with a psychopath.

Rose didn’t have much interest in cultivation but an opportunity was an opportunity. She was being asked such a thing from an honorable entity and it might lead to a wonderful future.

She wasn’t a dull girl, and thought on her feet.

“Absolutely, I am delighted by such an offer. I hope I am not being a bother.”

“No, no, I love to talk about such topics. Through discussion and explanation, we improve and learn. So, this is helpful for both of us.

We are always learning and even the dullest person might have nugget of gold at some point of time.” Richard advised as he wanted the girl to understand that even the peasants around her could have ideas that her level of people might not.

When people get used to a system, it was hard to accept that people of lower rank could amount to anything.

In the modern world it was quite common for illiterate people to own large companies or even rule the masses.

Rose took in the words but couldn’t really associate it with anyone except Richard. Having an example even if the example was too outlandish, Rose understood the point.

“I will keep that in mind with all my heart.”

“Good, that’s an excellent attitude towards learning. I hope that it benefits you greatly. Now, please explain your abilities so I may provide assistance.” Richard was happy with her attitude and her ability. Some people were extremely slow and it annoyed him. If it had been the old Richard, he would have ignored Leone for being slow according to his perception.

Everyone had different level of perception, some understood with relative ease and some took time.

Rose nodded and talked about her abilities. She cultivated the Inferno Bull cultivation method that was based on the Inferno Bull killed by Edward.

She also had the Inferno Bull bloodline from her father, giving her the strength advantage and the powerful fire attribute.

The cultivation method focused on the heart and the skeletal structure. It allowed the user to have enhanced physical attributes and stamina.

Her Ki color was pinkish and she learnt some graceful techniques.

Inferno Bull Body enhancement (D Rank): It was a body enhancement technique that had better understanding of the body and utilized the symbol of the creature to create its strength within the body.

The creature was inherently stronger than human beings so the enhancement brought massive power gain that would allow Lance to have one shot Richard in their spar.

Berserker (E rank): It was a power boost ability that came at the cost of the mental facility. Fortunately, Rose had the bloodline compatible with the technique so she could still recognize foes and allies.

Fireball

Flame touch

Predator gaze: It was technique that induced fear in the foe and allowed the user to see in the darkness, and far into the distance like an eagle.

Silent steps

Inferno armor (D Rank): It was an armor made of flames that burned to the extreme levels, reaching 1000 degree Celsius. The flames were not like normal and could block attacks. It was a technique that utilized a lot of Ki and was not suitable for anyone below Foundation realm like the rest of the D rank skills. The armor had a bull helmet and could be shaped into a proper armor, which would increase its effectiveness.

Rose only knew about it and hadn’t learnt it.

Inferno Charge (C Rank): It was the strongest attack of the bull. Powerful flames would gather in front of the user as they started running towards the enemy and the enemy would be blasted away once the flames came in contact. The flames could reach 6000 degree Celsius. The technique required a charge time and needed the user to run towards the target.

Heavy Ki and physique requirement

Rose didn’t know how to perform the technique and just knew tidbits about it.

Basic Illusion: It was a technique that was related to darkness and mental strength that allowed the user to put others into an illusion. It was the basic illusion technique, basically the starting point so its effectiveness was low and the user couldn’t do much with it.

Rose liked this skill and she wanted to learn more skills that utilized the mental strength.

Clone: It was a technique that manipulated light to create a clone. The clone was just a mirror image of the user and nothing more. It could be used for distraction and traps.

Rose loved the technique as it confused her opponent. Though, it didn’t work on anyone who was focusing on other senses beside sight.

High Speed movement: It was a technique that focused on the legs and wind to give the user enhanced speed movement in short bursts. It was the basic movement skill and allowed the practitioners to lay a foundation for higher level skills.

Coiling Whip: It was a technique that utilized Ki and let Rose manipulate her Whip to coil around the opponent like a snake.

Rosalina’s preferred weapon was a whip and dagger.

Fire enhanced Whip: It was a technique that was similar to weapon enhancement but also allowed the element to flow into the weapon.

Rose explained her skills and skills that she wanted to master later. Her explanation was precise and helped Richard understand things.

With her sense of worship, Rose didn’t hesitate in informing him of the method. Now, Richard had gained more techniques.

Though, he already expected such once he went back to the village.

Richard was quite as he took in the information and after a few minutes he decided to talk about the body techniques, and how to improve them.

However, Jack popped into existence just as he opened his mouth.

With a ferocious roar, Jack appeared from the shadows and the darkness came like a tide. Richard felt it crash into him and push him out of the cave as Jack had come from his right, the gap between the kids.

The roar disoriented him and caused his heart beat to reach high levels while the darkness capitalized on the moment to drown him into the fear that popped up.

Richard couldn’t even react to Jack’s attack as he struggled like a fish out of water. His sight was gone and his sense of touch had also vanished. He was feeling claustrophobic and screamed in horror as his demons walked towards him.