Cultivation Through Artifacts

The moment Liza heard this, she sat back down slowly into her chair and sunk into deep thoughts.

After thinking for a while, she looked up at Miss Mary with a calm look and asked, “So the reason you have worked so hard all this time was…”

“Yes, because I wanted to give you a chance to have a brighter future. So, please take this as my gift.”

Khal heard their conversation, but was still unable to react. If it wasn’t because of the diary he has read before, he would have been totally clueless about what the two were talking about.

But luckily he did read the book, so he had a bit of basic knowledge of what the two were talking about at the moment.

“Did Miss Mary talk about that moment teenagers obtain their unique power? It seems so, but if it was true, why did Liza look so shocked the moment Miss Mary showed the envelopes?”

A while later suddenly Khal realized something and thought, “Wait… Working so much? Don’t tell me…”

As Khal thought about this, his eyes widened, and thought, “People in this world need to pay to obtain power? Are you kidding me?”

Khal didn’t know how much did Miss Mary pay just only for those two envelopes, but by observing Liza’s reaction, it couldn’t be a small amount that was for sure. Or at least that was what he thought.

While Khal thought about all of these things, Liza stood up again and after walking before Miss Mary hurriedly, she hugged her tightly.

“Thank you… I… I am really thankful!”

Seeing Liza’s wet eyes, Miss Mary just smiled heart-warmingly and hugged her back.

“Don’t be silly. This is the least I can do for both of you. The things you have had to go through… You couldn’t do anything about that incident, so I think it is only natural for me to give you something like this.”

However what Miss Mary said only made Liza to hug her even tighter than before.

“Haha…”

With a chuckle, Miss Mary escaped from Liza’s hug and after giving the envelopes to her and Khal, she said, “Well then… Now that I gave these to both of you, go up and prepare. We will leave early in the morning, so you need to rest.”

Liza heard this and nodded, and after another hug, she ran out of the eatery, leaving Miss Mary and Khal alone in silence.

Noticing that Khal didn’t move, Miss Mary frowned slightly and started to say, “Didn’t you hear it? Go and preap-, ah?”

However, just as she could have finished her sentence, suddenly she felt another tight hug around her waist, making her quite surprised.

Just before she could have said something, suddenly Khal let her go and with a deep bow, he said, “Thank you very much! I will repay your kindness for sure!”

After saying that, Khal turned around and ran out of the room, leaving the stunned-looking Miss Mary all alone in the dining room.

After a small silence, Miss Mary started to giggle quietly and said, “That boy… It seems he finally overcame his sadness and can act kindly again. But not that I can blame him. That incident…”

Without finishing her sentence, Miss Mary just shook her head slightly and started to put the bowls and flatwares away in silence.

While Miss Mary was doing her own down there, Khal was lying comfortably on top of his bed while watching the cracked ceiling above him.

“Well, seeing Liza act like that I did not really have a choice. If I just casually thank her and walk away, that would have been quite rude, right?”

While thinking about this, Khal turned his head to the diary on the bookshelf and after a small while stood up.

After taking it down, he sat back down onto the bed and started to read it again, but this time with much more carefulness. Especially the part where the old Khal wrote down the Ceremony and the process to obtain the power.

It was stated in it that teenagers at the age of 16 could go into a place called the Awakening Altar. Inside there, a person called as the Saint would give them a fluid, which after drinking will give the teenagers unknown powers.

However, the process could be done only once, so one person could have only one Cultivation Talent.

And what was even more surprising, that the Talents were given randomly. Some got heaven-defying powers just because of their luck, while some got a power that is only stronger than average tier abilities.

However, the most interesting fact about this Ceremony was that after obtaining the Talent, people’s names will be carved onto a jade-like stone.

That stone was called the Destiny Stone.

Legends said that those whose names had been carved on that stone, their destiny will be set forever and will be allowed to step into the Second Realm after surpassing the last Cultivation Stage.

As Khal read this piece of information, he looked a bit confused, but knew that with time everything will be explained, so he was not in a hurry.

Lowering his hand and looking out of the window, he looked at the mesmerizing moon on the clear night sky, while falling into deep thoughts.

“So the Ceremony day will be tomorrow, huh…”, said Khal quietly and after a while, he looked at his palm.

The hand which was originally another person’s, made Khal feel mixed emotions, but still clenched his palm into a fist and thought.

“I got this chance, so I can’t throw it away again! I will live with the opportunity and start a fresh new life. I will become stronger, no matter what!”

***

On the next day, early in the morning, Khal was lying on the bed in a very funny position, when suddenly Liza burst into his room with a loud shout.

“Get up lazy bird! The time has finally come!”

“Aghh. Wha… What? It’s still early in the morning… Just give me another 10 minutes…”, said Khal with a huge yawn as he sat up slowly.

When Liza saw Khal’s disheveled hair and sleepy face frowned slightly and stayed silent.

But the moment she noticed as he was about to lie back down, she grabbed a book from the side and threw it onto Khal’s head powerfully.

*Bam!*

“Argh!”

Falling off from the bed right onto the ground with a heavy sound, Khal sat up instantly and held his forehead with a slight frown.

“Why did you do this? I didn’t d-.”

*Bam!*

“Argh! H-hey!”

Protecting himself from another book, Khal wanted to say something, however, before he could have had the chance, Liza’s voice sounded.

“Pick that lazy ass of yours up from the floor and get ready! You have 10 minutes or we will leave without you! Understood?”, asked Liza with a strict expression, but seeing that Khal wasn’t reacting at all, she raised another book in her hand, ready to throw it at Khal.

“Y-yes! Yes, I understood, so please put it back down!”, said Khal protecting himself instantly, fearing that Liza will throw that book at him again.

But luckily, she didn’t. Instead, she put the book down with a happy grin, and said, “Perfect. Then hurry up and prepare. We will leave soon.”

With that, Liza walked out of the room and closed the door behind her back.

Seeing that he has remained alone again, Khal lay down onto the ground and put his arm over his eyes.

After a while later, he suddenly started to chuckle quietly and thought, “She is just like her…”