Village in the East

As he regained consciousness, Liu Kai slowly opened his eyes. It was a totally different feeling from when he woke up from the underground dungeon, but he also felt a little reminiscent in a manner.

As soon as he had fully woken up from his slumber, he scanned the bedroom he was in and immediately thought it was much better than anything he had ever slept on since he woke up from his coma.

Almost simultaneous to his quick thoughts, system messages began to ring in his head and pop out in front of him.

[Skill Berserk after effect will now commence]

6 points will be added to Power.

6 points will be deducted to Agility.

[Alter is activated]

6 points will be added to Agility instead of deducted.

[Stats updated]

[Status Window]

Agility: 81(+10)* (+6)°

Power: 72(+10)* (+6)°

Stamina: 43(+10)*

Mentality: 45(+10)*

Durability: 41(+10)*

Perception: 47(+10)*

*Added while 'Breathing Technique' is activated.

°Permanently added.

"You're finally awake." Said Jin Chow as he slowly opened the door revealing his friend, still sprawled out in bed.

"What happened?" Liu Kai asked with a voice that was coarse from all the fighting they had to go through.

"We lost, all three of us got beaten and you were knocked out by the guy we fought after you boast around," Chow said while stifling a laugh.

Liu Kai felt embarrassed as he remembered what happened. He got knocked out by a precise palm strike by King Lee and lost consciousness after.

"How long was I out?" Liu Kai inquired as he got up from the nice soft bed he slept on.

"Uhhh… It's been about 2 hours." Jin replied.

"Do you know where we are? This place looks nothing like the places we've been to."

"Actually, we've been waiting for you to wake up. Why don't we go outside and ask the people who would know the answers to your question? King Lee's explanation should be quite interesting." Jin Chow explained as he gestured to get up and follow him outside the well-decorated room.

They walked outside to the hall and saw King Lee and Sergio Von Croy talking with a Dwarf. They sat in well-made wooden chairs with a rectangular table that matched the seats, in front of them. King Lee was sitting across Sergio Von Croy and the Dwarf at the end of the table beside the two who were talking.

The Dwarf was about 4 feet tall if he was standing up but it was hard to tell since he was sitting down and feet not touching the floor. King Lee and Sergio abruptly stopped their conversation as soon as Chow and Kai entered the area.

"Can someone tell me where we are?" Liu Kai pleaded for answers since he was still in the dark about certain information.

"Oh, you're awake. Please have a seat and we'll talk about it." Sergio offered the seat beside him.

Liu Kai hesitated to sit on the chair he was offered because it was too small for him but he didn't want to be impolite, Jin Chow followed suit and sat beside Liu Kai.

"I'm sorry for being rude earlier. Let me properly introduce myself. I am King Lee, part of the First Squad that was sent here 10 months ago by the Monarchy. King is my last name, my father is a Xennogian and my mother is a Ragnorian. My mom raised me in Ragnor after my dad passed away and became a knight there. When I heard that they are recruiting 10 people to help Xennog, I'm the first one to volunteer and became the Captain of that squad. And like Jin Chow and Sergio Von Croy, I am the sole survivor of my squad." King Lee introduced himself.

"I was known as the 'Thousand Fist' before the Great Catastrophe happened by many people for my skill in Martial Arts. After I became a Knight, I got famous by beating all of my peers and even senior knights thus earned me the title of 'The Mightiest Knight' after the news spread. Oh! And to answer your question, we are inside a village that the Dwarves built in the country of Wei Qing. This village is—"

"—I didn't ask for your life story." Liu Kai glared at him.

'Good thing he answered my question. Wei Qing, I am one step closer to my home country now.' Liu Kai thought as he smiled inwardly, hiding his true feelings.

"I heard that you were planning on going to Sheng Chan, which is your country. Am I correct?" King Lee hinted.

Liu Kai glanced over to Sergio and Jin Chow with a face of annoyance.

'You gave out important information about us? Wrong move.' Liu Kai scolded them in his head, giving them both a sharp glare to express his anger.

Then Liu Kai stared at King Lee and scanned him. He focused on his activated 'Breathing Technique' to see if he would react. Since they were not in Fang Shi anymore, Liu Kai felt stronger effects and released his aura. But he still couldn't assess King Lee's strength with his Perception. He continued his questions.

"Why did you attack us?"

King Lee suddenly busted out laughing and said. "Attack us? You started it, remember? I just fought back a little HAHAHA!"

Liu Kai felt shy, thinking about what happened. He can remember everything and knows that he's out of his mind back then. "Then what did you mean by not being allowed here and should go back?" Liu Kai had a lot of questions and was eager to get some answers.

The Dwarf, who sat at the end of the table, noticed this and intervened.

"Why don't I explain the whole story before you continue to ask further questions since we're all here now. This might give you some context to the things that have happened."

"My name is Desmund Brashford, I am the Chief of this humble Dwarf Village."

'A Dwarf Village?' Liu Kai thought to himself.