Checking The Spoils

"Mr. Outsider, wait! You still haven't told us your name!" Nona said, as she ran in an attempt to catch up to Minos.

But no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't keep up with Minos's tremendous speed. Just as she began crying, thinking she would never know, Minos's voice reached out from beyond.

"Minos, and don't forget to shoot for the heavens Nona, so that we can meet among the stars." The voice was followed by a loud laugh, causing Nona's sadness to quickly be replaced by joy.

Just like that, Minos's bloody and bruised back completely disappeared, and Nona's heart also dropped, feeling like she had just lost something incredibly important.

She couldn't help but begin crying again, the thought that she may never see Minos again filling her heart with pain.

Fortunately, with the villagers to comfort her, she soon got slightly over her depression, finally giving the technique that Minos had given her a proper look.

'Shoot for the heaven's, so that we can meet among the stars!' Nona suddenly remembered Minos's last sentence as she read through the book, feeling enlightened.

"Great, I'll become stronger, that way I'll follow in Minos' footsteps!" Nona shouted out loud, surprising all the villagers.

"We believe in you Nona."

"Yeah!"

"You can do it, Nona!" Even Chubby shouted.

…

While a spark of ambition had been ignited in Nona's heart, Minos had also jumped back on his horse, finally finishing the last bits of his journey.

While traveling, he didn't forget to apply some healing paste to his back to help with the wounds, and also to replace his robe with a fresh one.

This time he didn't slow down, having delayed enough time already, but rather sped up his pace, and before the sun could set, he arrived back at Underwood City.

'It's nice to finally be home.' He thought, as he entered the familiar streets.

Changing his horse's direction, he slowly headed towards the mansion he had bought a long time ago.

Reaching the house, Minos could hear the echo of children's voices from beyond the wall, the sound being both familiar and foreign.

Leashing his horse, Minos knocked heavily on the door, waiting patiently for someone to answer.

Soon enough, a big clumsy looking fellow opened the door. Who else could it be if not Beetus?

"Boss, you're back! I missed you so much." Beetus said, his eyes tearing up as he took Minos into a bear hug, nearly suffocating him to death.

"Calm down, you're going to kill me." Minos said jokingly, as he released Beetus's tight grip.

Despite Minos already being 190cm, he was still a head shorter than the large Beetus, fortunately his cultivation was much stronger, otherwise he wasn't sure he could handle such a hug.

Hearing Beetus's loud shout, everyone seemed to realize what was happening, and they quickly ran over in excitement.

"It's Minos, Minos is back!"

"Really, woohoo!"

"Mister Minos is here!"

"Come on guys!"

The children all shouted with joy and cheer as they quickly ran out the door, gathering around Minos.

"Hmph, what are you all so excited about?" Rubella said from the back, still having her familiar stubborn attitude.

"Don't pretend Rubella, you were the one who cried the longest when Mister Minos first left." One older girl said with a giggle.

"I already explained that a million times, I wasn't crying!" Rubella said with a stomp of her foot, her face going red.

"Sure, we all believe you." Another little boy said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Rubella, you may have not missed me, but I missed you, so how about you come give me a hug." Minos said with a laugh, knowing Rubella's nature by now.

"Fine, but only because you asked." Rubella said, though the joy in her eyes already exposed her true feelings.

With a final hug from Rubella, Minos had finally greeted everyone, and he could finally take this chance to sit down after a long journey.

"So Beetus, how did the children's schooling go?" Minos asked, concerned about their education.

"Boss, it went great! I made sure to hire a private teacher like you asked, and all the kids were very motivated, spending every day studying hard. They also didn't slack with their cultivation at all."

"Good, so how strong are they?"

"Well, most are still in the First Life Lock, but we have one in the Second, and Rubella even managed to reach the Third, and she should be close to the Fourth!" Beetus explained.

"Well done Rubella." Minos said with a smile, as he turned towards her, causing her to become slightly embarrassed.

"It was nothing, after all, I'm a genius!" Rubella said arrogantly.

"I never doubted it." Minos said with a laugh.

"Now which one of you reached the Second Life Lock?" Minos continued asking.

"Me!" A young boy said with excitement, about the same age as Rubella.

"Esto? Well done, it seems like you have talent." Minos said with a smile, having long since remembered everyone's name.

"For Esto and Rubella, here are your rewards." Minos said, as he handed out a Lock Breaking Pill to each of them.

He already had hundreds of these things, and they were all useless given his current strength, so they worked best as a reward.

"What is this?" Esto and Rubella asked, having never seen a Lock Breaking Pill before.

"It's a Lock Breaking Pill, eating one should help you breakthrough." Minos explained, causing the two eyes to shine and everyone else to get envious.

"Oh yeah, and here's one for you Beetus. Well done." Minos said, causing Beetus to also jump up in excitement.

"As for the rest of you, as long as you perform well, there will be no lack of rewards." Minos said, once again igniting the children's blood.

"Oh yeah Boss, I just remembered, we got big news a few months ago!" Beetus said, the excitement of Minos's return having taken up all his attention until now.

"Really? Tell me about it." Minos asked with interest.

"Remember the Ancient Desert Kingdom I told you about last time?" Beetus asked.

"Yes, but I recall that the news wasn't anything solid. Why, has something changed?" Minos asked curiously.

"Big change, massive change! A couple months ago, a gigantic temple rose from below the sand, its doors open."

"With such a huge event, it went without saying that hundreds, if not thousands of cultivators entered the temple in pursuit of treasure!"

"That is big news. Has anyone come out yet?" Minos asked, wondering whether the temple was some sort of scheme.

"Oh yeah, plenty have gone in and out, but no one seems to have obtained anything valuable, but still, the excitement is far from dying down." Beetus answered.

Hearing Beetus's words, Minos was a little relieved, feeling like this temple wasn't a trap, or at least not an obvious one.

With his schedule already open, he might as well give it a check after he finished visiting Tinka, but for now it was time to check his loot.

"Good work, I'll give it a look when I have the chance, but for now, it's about time we all headed to bed." Minos said.

"Aww come on, you just came back, let's have fun!" Rubella said, not wanting the night to end so early.

"We have all of tomorrow to have fun, don't worry." Minos said with a smile, as he flicked Rubella's forehead, much to her annoyance.

"Hmph, fine! Let's go, everyone!" Rubella said, leading the children away much to Minos's relief.

"Well Boss, I won't bother you anymore, rest well." Beetus said, as he ran off with his Lock Breaking Pill, still excited about breaking through.

With everyone gone, Minos finally headed up to his room. Sitting on his bed, he opened his spatial ring, checking all his valuables.

Three-Moon Lock Breaking Pills x24.

Four-Moon sword skill, Thunder Blade.

Four-Moon physical skill, Nux Finger.

Four-Moon grade weapons x3.

Four-Moon Talismans x14.