After some time the island was far behind them. In front of them an armada appeared.

The gnomish armada.

They were looking for the young mistress of the gnomes. Who was now locked in stasis.

Arrin was still torn apart, and he needed time to absorb the golden elixir, and regain some of his capacities, as well as his limbs. “Can you handle this?”

Gary could probably just fly away with Arrin, but he would be slowed down significantly, and he didn’t know how far from land he was. He could fly off into space, but he hadn’t tried using Chasing Starlight with another person.

He summoned a daemon.

The Claw of Carjiar materialized in tiny form. “Yes?”

“Can I fly with Arrin into space?” Gary asked.

“Nope.” It gave a thumbs down.

“Why?” Gary raised an eyebrow.

”He’s weak.”

“Alright, can you do something?” Gary grabbed the claw and held it up to his face.

“I can carry ‘Arrin’ away while you fight, or we can fuse.” it transmitted

“Sure. Pass on the fusion.” Gary levitated above the coming ships.

The claw grabbed the canoe, and dragged it off into the distance.

A fleet of steam-ships approached a lone wizard. The flagship was big, covered in cannons, and crew. The gnomish admiral was listening to a report. A baggage carrier had made it off of the island of ghosts, and told him what had occurred. She had a special artifact called the Afit Tuorah that allowed her to de-stasis herself, and only herself.

“Hello! I am a refugee, and a wizard! Please, let me pass and I will not cause you trouble.” Gary transmitted.

The admiral heard Gary’s words, but determined that he was the daemon that was locked up on the island, and should be killed. He did fit the description of the guy that had trapped the young mistress in stasis.

The cannons were strong enough to threaten Arch-wizards, so Gary was sure to die.

Arrin watched as the sky was covered in cannon fire. The sound was deafening.

The admiral could no longer see the wizard. The wizard could still see the admiral. A cold sensation was felt on the back of the admiral’s head. The baggage carrier’s eyes widened as the admiral collapsed with a hole in his head.

Gary sighed.

A long while later Gary returned to the canoe all wet.

The steam-ships were silent.

He made eye contact with Arrin. “I needed the stress relief.” he pulled out a map, and navigation tools. He then resumed rowing.

Arrin wondered why they didn’t take one of the ships, but he remembered that large ships require a crew.

Arin and Gary made their way to a nearby island over the course of a few weeks at sea. There was a rather busy port there where they could get some rest and relaxation. Arrin needed to recover some of his cultivation. He rented a room at an inn with Gary, and used a secret technique to change his face. He might still be recognized based on his techniques.

Later he directed Gary deep into the island’s jungle to help him look for an area of high mana concentration to help him successfully re-grow his limbs. Gary decided that he would accompany Arrin in his travels, as he assumed that Arrin was blessed by the heavens. This is true.

Gary huffed. "Why aren't I blessed?"

Because old boy, the wicked deserve no peace.

"Am i wicked?" Gary queried.

"huh? Well no? I mean I just saw you kill a lot of innocent people earlier, but you are helping me" Arrin answered from Gary's back..

Gary stopped levitating. This deep in they would gather less attention on the ground. There were still high-level beasts to worry about. "They were soldiers. Well, sailors. Not a one is innocent."

The Claw of Carjiar. "You are a Daemon King, by the laws of this plane you are wicked."

Arrin raised an eyebrow. Gary glared at the claw. "That was a recent development. Was I born wicked or something?"

The claw gave a thumbs up, and flew away into the jungle.

"What? where are you going?" He felt its connecting getting further away. "Come back here!" He stomped on the ground. He then kept walking in the direction Arrin requested.

On their way they were accosted by bugs, snakes, even boars. It was odd as Gary’s mana should have scared off any weaker creatures. Perhaps they sensed some weakness in Gary’s character. Curious.

After many uncomfortable hours walking through the jungle they made it to a waterfall with a secret cave behind it. Inside they found a pool of spiritual water, and even a secret inheritance!

The walls were covered with a complex runic array. Arrin immediately set about deciphering it. Gary sat around, as puzzles were not his forte. A few weeks later Gary noticed a button obscured under some grass just outside the waterfall.

“Hey, you don’t think that this might be the solution?” asked Gary.

“No way! It’d be too obvious. It’s probably a trap.” Arrin replied.

Gary carried Arrin out of the room before pressing the button. Gary could always teleport away at the last minute if he was in any real danger.

Gary reached out his hand, and pressed the button

The inheritance opened up to reveal a little booklet that gave the learner the power to shoot violet tendrils from their arms. Arrin decided to learn it as it would be useful to mix with his lightning affinity. Gary refused to learn it as it seemed too complex, and he was fine with his hand cannon. He told Arrin this much.

“What do you mean you’re fine with your hand cannon?'' Arrin demanded.

“I mean I’m fine just using my gun.” Gary insisted.

“What? But those things are significantly less useful than... I don’t know? A fireball.” Arrin declared.

Gary had seen fireballs, and they were less useful than this ancient legendary gun. A fact he had yet to reveal. “Well I haven’t needed anything else so far. Don’t even have any offensive spells. Besides, I could always just stab them.”

“You don’t have a single offensive spell?” Arrin was flabbergasted.

“Not one, except for magic missiles. I know of others but I can’t figure out my affinity.” Gary stated.

“How have you survived this long?” Questioned Arrin.

“Through a strange series of events, martial techniques, rage, an endless drive to annihilate the cosmos. etcetera. Also, I am speed.” He struck a pose.

Arrin narrowed his eyes. “Put me in the water.”

Gary placed him inside the pool of spiritual water. He drinks the elixir, and begins cultivating. The elixir would only push him back up to the Perfect Body stage. A lot higher than most people, but not high enough to keep him safe from his enemies.

Gary stands guard in case anyone or anything comes to interrupt him. A few long drawn out hours later Gary was laying down taking a nap when he woke up to the sounds of someone screaming. It was someone outside of the cave, so Gary chose to ignore it.

“Not my problem.” he thought.

Gary attempted to return to his nap. The sound of fighting could be heard, and then a girl ran into the cave through the waterfall.

“Please help me!” She screamed.

“Seriously? We’re in the middle of the jungle!” Gary yelled.

He sighed, and prepared his hand cannon. The girl ran past him. Gary aimed his hand cannon at the mouth of the cave. A few moments passed before he felt a dagger entering his back.

“Son of a bitch, rookie mistake.” He sputtered as he quickly lost consciousness.