Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

The youngster's arrival was both sudden and unexpected, as was the shopkeeper's sudden change in demeanor the moment he saw the youngster.

"For you, young lord? Consider it a gift!" said the shopkeeper in a fawning tone. He'd suddenly turned from an opportunistic miser to a generous merchant who cared greatly about connections.

"Nonsense!" interrupted Fenrig. "I offered you thirty thousand gold coins, and you accepted. Then, when you hiked the price to forty thousand, I reluctantly agreed. And now, you're just going to give it away?"

The shopkeeper frowned. "What I do with my private property is none of my concern, barbarian."

This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Fenrig erupted with strength and reached for his axe. The shopkeeper soiled himself on the spot, and the 'young master,' a pitiful Bone-Forging cultivator, paled with fright.

If it were only this, Sorin wouldn't bother interfering. When several other auras emerged from the crowd, however, and a group of fully armed Flesh-Sanctification cultivators surrounded the stall, Sorin whispered something to Lorimer and had his soul-bound treasure, Nemesis, transform into thousands of tiny needles that he pointed at the new arrivals.

The Flesh-Sanctification cultivators, sensing Fenrig's awesome strength and the thread Sorin's needles posed, acted cautiously. Unfortunately, the gold-haired beauty in mage robes accompanying them, who was clearly a Bone-Forging cultivator, showed no such caution.

"What trouble have you gotten us into this time," scolded the mage. "Are you bullying a shopkeeper again? Adequately compensate him for what you're taking, or I'll be telling Father."

"He is not taking anything because I have already agreed on a purchase price for the item!" growled Fenrig.

The golden-haired woman frowned. "No one asked you, barbarian. Now step aside, or our guards will be forced to act."

"My lady," interrupted an old swordsman. "Perhaps we should discuss things calmly?"

It was only then that the woman realized that Fenrig was not alone. There was Sorin and his needles, an aggressive rat that appeared to be made of molten metal, an archer with a nocked arrow, and a smiling rogue that was half-merged with nearby shadows.

Said rogue, slipped into Fenrig's shadow, and appeared beside the table, where he picked up the bronze statue and a small bronze pyramid. "What do they say again? Finders keepers? We'll be taking these two items; thank you very much. I dare you to try and stop us."

Unfortunately, Lawrence underestimated the pigheadedness of the blond-haired mage. In the face of a Flesh-Sanctification cultivator, she didn't hold back and immediately quick-casted a spell. A pillar of flame emerged from beneath the stall. These flames naturally couldn't harm Lawrence, but they could harm the items he was holding. The flames melted both the symbol-covered pyramid and the bronze Ancestral Statue.

"Look at what you did," the woman scolded. "As a result of your actions, this stall has been burned to the ground. I, Aeris Loveless, order you to reimburse this shopkeeper and accept incarceration in the Outpost."

Loveless. That means she's related to the governor. If a demigod were involved, things would quickly get out of hand. For good measure, he peeked at the woman's karmic web and confirmed that she had several powerful connections. It seems there's only one way to resolve this.

The guards surrounding them had already unleashed their auras. One particularly powerful individual stood out to Sorin. He was an older sword cultivator, and his aura was sharp enough to cut even Flesh-Sanctification cultivators.

Unfortunately for the old swordsman, he was dealing with a God Seed. Sorin released his Tarnished God Light and directly crushed their aggressive auras. The weaker Flesh-Sanctification cultivators and the young man and woman fell to their knees. The old swordsman was the only one still able to stand.

"It seems we offended a mighty expert, "said the swordsman. "Whom do we have the pleasure of speaking to."

Sorin ignored the man and walked over to where the statue the melted statue lay. "Can it be fixed?" he asked Fenrig.

"Fixed?" said Fenrig. "It's clearly a fake, formed with fragments of a shattered statue. I will reclaim the fragment embedded in the metal, but the statue itself is rubbish."

Sorin picked out a piece of metal that hadn't melted and flicked it over to Fenrig before turning to face the old swordsman. He was a genuine middle Flesh-Sanctification cultivator, but he was no hero. It would take a miracle for him to achieve any more breakthroughs in his lifetime.

"There seems to have been a misunderstanding here," said Sorin. "This shopkeeper tried to cheat us not once but twice. This young man tried to rob us, and this young woman burned down the shopkeeper's stall."

"And I apologize for these transgressions," said the old swordsman. "I will report what happened to the governor and inquire about compensating your party."

Sorin shook his head. "There's no need to involve the governor. We are outsiders and don't wish to make matters difficult for the outpost and its guards. That said, we won't be compensating this shopkeeper. Please resolve the situation so we don't have to. As for the youngsters, I hope they've learned a valuable lesson."

"Valuable lesson, my butt," growled the gold-haired woman. Surprisingly, she'd only gone down on one knee. It seems I underestimated their relationship with the Governor. Only demigod-level protection would be able to shield them from my Tarnished God Light.

"What the young mistress means to say is that she apologizes for any trouble she and her brother have caused," said the old swordsman, ignoring her words. "And as their chaperone, I also apologize. The governor's children can be unreasonably headstrong at times. They do not realize that while a God Seed's status is inferior to a demigod's, it's only by a slight margin when one considers' sir's cultivation realm."

A demigod's children. No wonder. "I originally didn't want to reveal my status," said Sorin. "Please extend my apologies to the governor for not formally introducing myself. I am just passing through and won't stay longer than a week."

"I will send along your regards, Sir …"

"Kepler," said Sorin. "If that will be all, we'll be on our way." Lorimer crawled onto his hand as he turned around. Gareth put away his bow, and Fenrig, still upset at the altercation, reluctantly put away his axe. Lawrence appeared beside them, looking quite pleased with himself. In his hands was a pouch, likely belonging to the shopkeeper who'd tried to cheat them.

"No!" shouted the governor's daughter as they retreated. "I refuse!" A bright light flashed, shattering what remained of Sorin's God Light. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Sorin ignored the woman's arrogant words but halted when a fireball flew out at him. He swiftly turned around and pointed his finger at the fireball. The spell's threads unraveled, thereby preventing the ball of concentrated mana from exploding and harming those observing the altercation.

"Meaningless words and impotent attacks on our group are one thing, but endangering the public is another," Sorin said coldly. He flicked his sleeve and sent twelve needles flying at the young woman, Aeris. The needles pierced through her many defensive items and injected her with a heavy dose of Gorgon's Mourning.

The old swordsman drew his sword and placed himself between Sorin and the governor's daughter. "She was impulsive, and for that, I apologize. I humbly request that you remove the poison in her veins before the situation spirals under control. The governor dotes on his children greatly."

"Relax," Sorin assured the swordsman. "I would never harm unruly children when there are alternatives, much less the children of a demigod. I merely poisoned her with a harmless neurotoxin. It will fade in the next ten minutes. I hope that by then, you'll have escorted her back to the Governor's Manor and reported the situation to her father."

The old swordsman nodded. "I will report what transpired to the Governor, Young Master Kepler; you can rest assured." He bent down and picked up Aeris before flying off towards the Governor's Manor. Andrew, Horton, with me!" the old swordsman commanded. The rest of you, escort the Young Master Fidel on foot!"

"So much for passing through without making a splash," said Lawrence. "Should we keep shopping? Seems everyone's scared of us."

"And for good reason," said Gareth. "I think you might have overdone it, Sorin. Upsetting a governor is typically not a wise thing to do."

Sorin shrugged. "What's he going to do, abandon his post to come teach us a lesson? Demigods have important things to do, Gareth. If they allow small things like this to distract them, it won't be long before the outpost is overrun. Besides, his last name is Loveless. How much could he possibly care about his children being bullied?"

"Judging from their behavior, the answer is 'a lot'," muttered the archer.

"I agree with Sorin," said Lawrence. "These bigwigs care a lot about face and won't act against us easily."

"Didn't you get incarcerated by the last demigod you upset?" asked Gareth.

"Administrator pollen is an exception to the rule," said Lawrence. "He's completely shameless and a disgrace to all demigods. Fenrig, you don't look convinced. What can I do to put your mind at ease?"

Fenrig shook his head. "I'm not worried about the governor. If he wants to cause us problems, we'll face him head-on and die with honor. Instead, it's the matron's brew I'm worried about. It was used up so quickly—all for an encounter with a couple of spoiled brats."

"Wait, my luck is gone?" exclaimed Lawrence. "No! I was supposed to strike it rich! I had it all planned out. First, I'd win big at the casino, and then I'd use my winnings to buy up all the bakeries in the city and hold everyone hostage."

Gareth, on the other hand, seemed quite relieved at the development. "That could have gone a lot worse."

Sorin agreed with that assessment, but he also knew that things weren't so simple. "Your luck wasn't wasted, Lawrence, just used up unexpectedly. I expect our actions today will have far-reaching consequences."