Three guns.
Two swords.
A piece of information about Siegfried.
That's what Kiana's money brought to us. In this world, her omnipotent black card never failed to deliver.
"Oh."
Kiana stopped walking beside me. The streets of this town are well populated. I can see a lot of tourists (like us) walking around.
"The bus must have left us."
"Ah… yeah."
I pulled up my coat's sleeve. The clock said 3:35 PM. We arrived in the palace at 1:10 PM.
Fog formed every time I exhaled. Our one-month journey all lies in the Northern Hemisphere. The clothing for winter that we brought lasted up to now.
Kiana did not have her typical set of hoodie or any lightwear. She wore a khaki coat paired with below-knee skirts. The black stockings she wore is enough to combat winter, or so she says.
Girls might be mindful of their outfits. That applies even to the Tuna.
"Let's ask for a return trip somewhere."
"The other tourists? I can ask them."
Kiana volunteered to do it herself. I nodded as a reply.
"Excuse me. Can I ask something?"
The pair of tourists looked at her silently. I watched everything from the backseat.
"Uhm… Etto… Speak English… Dekimasen.English, no. No."
I left my mouth open. The man has brown hair. The woman has green hair.
The standards of my former Earth stuck close to me. They did not look eastern...
"Ah? Kyoto? Hanas…"
I am startled to hear Kiana speak in Japanese. It is an exact, one-to-one, voice from her game.
When the couple heard her, they looked relieved.
After some talks I did not fully understand, Kiana 'thanked' them.
"When did you learn it?" I curiously asked.
"Ah? My old man taught me some languages. I learned some words on my own."
I got it.
She traveled to Japan… or to the Far East once. Even if she does not learn it, she will pick up words from the people she talks to. She might be choppy in their ears, but still understandable.
I know this very well. This is how I knew Simplified Chinese. I can read but not speak. Truly, an absolute cinema to behold.
I mean, when will Kiana find the time to learn languages?
I looked at her reactions and saw her proud look. I chose not to break it. A proud Tuna is a happy Tuna.
"They said there is a bus at 5:00 PM. We can hitch a ride on that."
"Cool."
"Hm."
Now, I looked at the luggage pulley she brought along. It contains three different guns, each locked in their own container. The shopkeeper said that these containers are built to inhibit honkai energy. It should only be used when necessary. Only one of them is a normal gun.
The same went for the sword I brought.
One of them are the broken honkai swords I saw in the shop. It has no use except its superior toughness and sharpness.
The other one I bought has active honkai energy. The latter has a metal sheath to inhibit honkai energy. Both of them had silver metal cases.
I carried one of them with a built-in strap. The remaining one is placed on special luggage. It is about two meters tall, with its general appearance being box-shaped. The swords' metal boxes are thin enough to fit the luggage. The zipper has to be left partially open, though.
"My old man went here before…"
"The shopkeeper said that this city is his last whereabouts. Wherever he went next… is hidden enough."
"..."
She is silent for a while. I can see her downcast look.
"We can search the entire Russia. If not Russia, the Far East."
I did not directly tell her not to lose hope. Most of the time, words of encouragement are redundant and might produce the opposite effect. I know. I have been there once.
It is best to comfort others by showing them an alternative way.
She seemingly heard my words and regained herself. Kiana did not say things about this after.
Just then…
"..!"
…
…
..!
I looked up at the sky. Kiana did the same.
I sensed it. An energy completely different from spiritual qi. The very same energy I converted to sustain our cultivation needs.
My meridians trembled. They did not want anything to do with it. My dantian instinctively contracted, reducing my circulation of spiritual qi. The intimidation from honkai energy affected my circulation.
"No way…"
"Hey. Can you… convert it?"
"Ah?"
Kiana's words awakened me.
This is a honkai eruption. I am sure of it. It is pretty big in scale—in terms of this entire town. Honkai energy seeped out of nowhere and started to spread all over the place.
I saw some people collapse to the ground. It won't matter much if only one or two people fell… but for two dozens at least…
"Ah?!"
"Hey. Hey. You alright?"
"Help!"
…
That's right.
Zombies!
"...return to nothingness… lies in nature."
I finished the opening formula of the [Two Phase Art]. The strange feeling I had every time I completed the [Two Phase Art] arose. It cost me nothing but time to cast it, something I find strange since day one.
The changes happened. It worked.
I felt the concentration of spiritual qi around me increase exponentially. From being paper thin, it is similar to a first-grade spirit vein. Around the middle if I scale it. If I extend the range to this entire city, it might form a low second-grade spirit vein.
One Kiana equated to a small-scale honkai eruption...
Some questions popped up in my mind. Why did it remain inside Kiana's body completely? How does honkai energy work? Why is it considered 'free energy'?
…
I flushed down these thoughts.
"It's done. Two kilometers."
I did not say anything else. I took the initiative to run at the edge of the spiritual qi concentration. [Cloud Seeking Steps] helped in this regard. I left Kiana behind.
By the time I ran into the end, I had to avoid a lot of people. My surroundings turned into a slight blur. My feet are as fast as a car.
Use the [Two Phase Art] again…
"Huh."
Spiritual qi began to appear around me. It steadily converged with the one I previously converted.
I did this thing three more times. I did not need to recast the previous ones I did. Based on the locations I used [Two Phase Art], honkai energy is continuously being converted.
Before I knew it, the town could be called a second-grade spirit vein.
"Was that it?"
Kiana came from behind.
"I didn't think it would work."
"Me neither."
Becoming a honkai energy cleaner is not on my list.
I inhaled some of the transparent blue gas around me. Some of the spiritual qi I spent was steadily recovered.
"Huff…"
I did not outright 'cancel' my [Two Phase Arts]. I watched as the concentration of spiritual qi steadily grew.
…
Really.
So many questions, yet so little answers. I am itching to know why my [Two Phase Art] defied all expectations I had in cultivation. It was supposed to be a simple technique for a simple cause. I did not find any answers to it after an entire month.
Every other technique has logical cause and effect.
Qi cultivation? Absorb spiritual qi. Train the meridians and open the Qi Sea.
Alchemy? Use spiritual qi. Baptize medicines and turn them into panaceas.
Talismans? Use spiritual qi. Turn all sorts of spiritual materials into talismans that control nature itself.
[Two Phase Technique] has none. It turns entirely foreign stuff like honkai energy into spiritual qi. Such a heaven-defying feat, yet it costs nothing.
None at all!
"...ou tired?"
Kiana's voice snapped me out.
…
It looks like my bad habit is still here. I overthink random things in the face of tense situations.
"I am alright. Just a little bit tired."
She did not say anything further. I saw her looks of concern, though.
"Let's wait. Once the spiritual qi concentration does not increase anymore… there's no more honkai energy."
"Um."
Once it stops increasing, I can cancel the [Two Phase Art]. All the converted spiritual qi will swiftly disappear until none is left. That's how it works since day one.
This is why I did not shy away from Kiana's request.