Chapter 6
They returned to their inn room. Ryo reached into his pocket, pulled out all the gold, and said:
"Tada!"
The coins shone like the sun in the Master's eyes.
The Master said:
"Wow, you brought so much money! Hand it over, I'll keep it for you."
Ryo replied:
"No, Master. I finished several days' work today and earned enough for a week's food and lodging. The rest, I want to use to buy myself some clothes."
The Master said:
"But clothes only cost one to five coins. Can you give me the other five coins? I'm your Master; you can at least do this."
Ryo said:
"Okay, Master. Here are five coins."
As soon as he handed over the coins, the Master disappeared.
Ryo thought:
"He's probably gone off having fun. Well, I'll rest a bit."
He laid down and thought about how he could become stronger.
"I need to ask the Master to open my energy channels as soon as possible. For now, I'll rest a bit and see what happens later."
When he opened his eyes, the Master was laughing uncontrollably (Ki-he-he! Hahaha!).
Ryo asked:
"Master, what's going on?"
The Master said:
"We're rich now! Look at all this money! You should have given me those five coins sooner, and we wouldn't have had to struggle so much."
Ryo quickly jumped up:
"Master, what did you do?! How much money is here! We're rich! How did you get all this money?"
The Master said:
"I went gambling. Didn't lose a single time."
Ryo thought:
"Of course, with the skill he has, I'd be surprised if he lost."
Suddenly, a voice shouted:
"Hey, you bastard! You here?!"
The Master said:
"Quick, get up! We can't stay here."
Ryo asked:
"Why?"
The Master said:
"People found out I cheated. They're coming after me. Run!"
Ryo said:
"Okay, Master, let's grab our stuff and go."
The people shouted:
"Come out, trash! We know you're here!"
They stormed into the inn and headed toward the room. Inside, they saw someone sleeping under a blanket.
"Ah-ha! Got you!"
As they lifted the blanket, they saw a watermelon with a drawn-on finger.
Ryo and the Master ran out of the city. Ryo panted:
"Huff… huff… Master, enough! I can't breathe… I can't go any further."
The Master said:
"Run! Hurry! We're almost there."
Finally, they left the city behind.
The Master lifted the bag of coins and said:
"Hahaha! Now we're rich!"
Suddenly, a bird swooped down and snatched the bag.
The Master shouted:
"Hey, bird! Give me the bag!"
He grabbed a rock and hit the bird on the head. The bag fell into a ravine.
The Master said:
"It's okay, they're just coins. Nothing will happen."
Suddenly, an explosion erupted in the ravine.
The Master, furious, shouted:
"How can coins explode?! What just happened? Why did the coins explode?!"
Ryo said:
"Master, do you know what just happened?"
The Master asked:
"What?"
Ryo, with a straight-faced grin, said:
"We're poor again!"
The Master, now fuming, ran after Ryo to hit him. Ryo realized it and ran.
The Master shouted:
"Wait! Stop right there!"
Ryo said:
"No! You're going to hit me!"
They ran until they were exhausted. The Master sat down. Ryo, thinking the Master had given up, went behind him and asked:
"Master, what now?"
Suddenly, the Master threw a punch to Ryo's face.
Ryo fell backward:
"But Master, what did I do to you? You lost the money yourself!"
The Master said:
"Quiet! I'm thinking."
Ryo muttered something under his breath, and the Master sat down. After two hours of thinking, he finally said:
"Ah! I've got it!"
Ryo, half-asleep, sat up:
"What is it, Master? Did you figure out how to get money?"
The Master said:
"Yes, I have a good idea…"
Ryo, a bit excited, asked:
"What is it?"
The Master said:
"We'll sell you as a slave. Then you escape and come to me, and I'll sell you again. That way, we'll make money."
Ryo said:
"Uh…"
The Master said:
"Now, let's go—the next city is waiting. Hurry…"
Ryo followed, looking a bit disappointed…
They continued and reached the middle of the desert; no city or village in sight, just endless sand.
While walking, the Master sensed something and said:
"Now that you're my disciple, you'll face many dangers."
Ryo asked:
"Master, what danger is there in the middle of a desert?"
The Master said:
"Not only will you face danger, but you'll go into its heart. That's how you'll become stronger. (At least it worked for me.)"
Ryo said:
"Alright, Master, I'll do it, but…"
Suddenly, something appeared in the sky. As it descended, the entire desert trembled.
Ryo said:
"What's that, Master? It doesn't look like a normal monster."
The Master said:
"It's not a monster, but it's much stronger than monsters. It probably came to defeat me."
Ryo was shocked and silent. The creature approached with a terrifying aura. Its aura was so crushing that Ryo couldn't speak or move. The closer it got, the stronger and bigger the aura became, as if a mountain was crushing him. He almost fainted from the pressure when the creature said:
"This time, I'll defeat you!"
The aura vanished.
The Master, standing there, said:
"You can try, just like the previous 136 times."
Eximus, furious, shouted:
"Those were all accidents! You didn't win any of them honorably! This time, I'll show you!"
A magic projectile formed in his hand, growing so large that if it hit the ground, it would completely destroy it.
Eximus shouted:
"Get ready!!!!"
Suddenly, the Master appeared behind him, struck the back of his head, and knocked him out.
Ryo, dumbfounded, watched. The Master said:
"Let's go."
Ryo asked:
"B-But what about him? He's unconscious here. Won't there be a problem? Or what if he tries to kill you again? Shouldn't we do something?"
The Master chuckled devilishly:
"I have a good plan."
Ryo thought to himself:
"Why do I feel like I'll regret this?"
Half a day passed. Eximus woke up to find himself tied to a tree in the desert, completely immobilized. Furious, he shouted:
"This time I'll kill you!!!!!"
His scream was so loud that several wolves appeared.
Eximus shouted:
"Damn it! Someone help!"
The Master and Ryo checked their clothes and discovered… a thousand coins hidden inside. They were finally rich.
Ryo was even happier than the Master because he wouldn't be sold as a slave anymore.
They continued their journey and finally reached a city. But there was something strange about that city…
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End of Chapter 6