Testing The Cure

Meninka also watched on with a smile, not as excited as the others, but happy that her family finally had their greatest wish accomplished.

"However I'm going to need a test subject just to make sure everything's safe." Minos spoke.

"No problem, let me do it!" Ronkus volunteered.

"How could you take that risk dear?" Meninka interjected.

"How could I not? As the patriarch, it's natural that I pave the way, not to mention I trust Minos." Ronkus said firmly.

"Very well." Minos said, impressed by Ronkus's fearlessness.

Despite Tinka and Meninka wanting to convince him, Ronkus was stubborn, so they eventually gave in.

With everyone decided, Minos pulled the syringe from his spatial ring before giving Ronkus a second to get ready.

Holding his arm firmly in place, Minos swiftly jabbed the syringe into his flesh before pressing down on the plunger.

After the antidote was completely released into Ronkus's body, Minos pulled the syringe back and waited patiently.

The whole family also watched with rapt focus, their eyes glued firmly on Ronkus, worried that something bad may happen.

But as the minutes passed and Ronkus was unaffected, everyone's heart slightly dropped, their worries no longer as strong.

"How do you feel?" Minos asked.

"Good, no, great! Feels like a weight has been lifted from my back!" Ronkus said as he flexed his muscles.

"That's good, but we need to confirm if it worked or not. Here, I want you to perform the movements in this booklet as closely as possible." Minos said, as he handed an extremely simple cultivation manual to Ronkus.

Taking the small booklet, Ronkus flipped through it a few times before memorizing and performing it.

Whenever he made a mistake in his movements or breathing, Minos would quickly correct him, rapidly increasing his comprehension of the manual.

After only a half hour or so, Ronkus reached a fairly proficient level, good enough to actually reveal the cultivation manual's true power.

Watching closely, Minos used his Nux sense to feel the Nux around Ronkus, using his Omniscient Eyes to further strengthen his perception.

As Ronkus went through the different stances, something different finally happened, his body absorbing a small amount of Nux which it used to strengthen itself.

Seeing the changes, Minos let out a sigh of relief, relieved that everything went according to plan.

After four years of hard work, Minos was honestly exhausted, and while he didn't mind working any longer, he wanted to spend some time with his family and focus more on his cultivation.

"Do you feel any changes?" Minos asked.

"Not really, does it work?" Ronkus asked, having not cultivated nearly long enough to feel any real change.

"It works, but cultivation is a slow process, big changes will come with time." Minos smiled.

"Great! I'm finally cured, our tribe is finally cured." Ronkus said, releasing another loud laugh, loud enough to catch some passing tribe members' attention.

"Me next!" Tinka said excitedly, not wanting to be cursed for even a second longer.

"Of course." Minos laughed, preparing another syringe for Tinka.

After confirming that Tinka was also cured, Minos cured Meninka as well, the entire family now finally free from their bondage.

"I've got to tell the tribe the news!" Ronkus said excitedly.

"Calm down, Minos must be exhausted from all those years of work, give him a few days to relax first." Tinka said, calming her father back down.

"You're right, my mistake."

"Haha, no problem, your excitement is normal, but even without a break, I still need time to prepare enough antidotes for the entire tribe, so give me a week." Minos said.

"Good! Then in a week's time I'll gather the entire tribe for a celebration and we'll reveal everything then!" Ronkus said.

"Sounds like a plan. But in the meantime, I've got a lot of catching up to do. Why don't you guy's come with me to Underwood City? It would be a nice chance to finally see a slice of the world." Minos suggested.

"I'd love to, but I've got the tribe to worry about." Ronkus said.

"And I've got him to worry about." Meninka said with a laugh as she pointed at her husband.

"Well then, I guess it'll just be me, Tinka, and Rinka."

"Great, I finally get to leave this place! What should I wear? Tinka said excitedly.

"It doesn't matter, you look beautiful in anything." Minos said.

"It matters a lot! I'm finally going to meet all your acquaintances and I want to make a good first impression!" Tinka insisted.

Seeing Tinka so excited, the whole family couldn't help but laugh, and after a lot of discussion, they finally managed to help Tinka make up her mind.

With Tinka and Rinka dressed up, the family waved goodbye before heading out, hopping on a strong horse and vanishing into the mountain range.

Riding through the dense forest, Rinka couldn't help but look around with wonder and excitement, having never been this far from the tribe.

'Dad, what's the world like?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Well, it's impossible to explain in one word, but if I had to, I'd say vast!"

"Vast? And what kind of places are there?" She kept asking.

"Anything you could think of. From endless deserts without an inch of life, to waterfalls that spill from the heavens above, and everything in between."

"Woah! And what about the people, are they like our tribe?"

"Some are, and others are very different. Some people are coldblooded and only care about themselves, whereas others are willing to die for the benefit of the world. If the world is vast Rinka, then the human heart is infinite."

"Infinite…" Rinka repeated, digesting the meaning of her father's words.

"If you ever find yourself alone in this world, remember, follow your heart, and be careful of those around you, for evil is much more common than good." Minos said with a sigh, having already experienced plenty of the worlds 'evil' despite his young age.

"And how about your friend's dad, are they good?"

"Of course they are, otherwise they wouldn't be my friends." Minos said with a laugh before continuing more seriously.

"But just because someones your friend now, doesn't mean they always will be. Rinka, the heart is not like stone, it isn't set in place, rather it's more like paper, fragile and easily torn."

"Some people think cultivation is just a matter of strength, but those people are ignorant. More than strength, cultivation is a matter of will and heart, a tempering of both the soul and the flesh."

"Soon enough, both of you will begin cultivating, so remember, more than talent, the highest indicator of one's success is their resilience, how strong their hearts are!"

"Success comes slowly, so patience is gold, the most valuable asset any cultivator could have. One can succeed without talent, they can succeed without wealth, and they can succeed without a background, but they can never succeed without resilience! Never!"

Hearing the sternness in Minos's words, both Rinka and Tinka were somewhat shocked, not used to Minos being so serious.

But they could hear the genuine emotion in his words, and they knew just how true this statement was for him, who rarely had any help on his journey.

The sentence was deeply burned in both of their hearts, and even after a hundred years, it would be impossible for either of them to forget Minos's words.

Minos didn't want to be harsh, but he knew how valuable of a lesson it was, and it was only after Minos lost so much did he finally understand what it truly meant to be resilient.

He didn't want his own family to have to suffer like he did to learn something so important, so it was better to just make it clear how critical it was for them to remember this lesson of his.

Fortunately, both Tinka and Rinka were incredibly intelligent, so they took Minos's words very seriously, much to his relief.

The rest of the trip went by in silence, Rinka and Tinka still fully absorbing Minos's lessons.

It was only as they began hearing the sound of the nearby town did the two wake up from their reverie, excited that they were finally about to head into Underwood City.

Minos had described this place a few times in the past, but how could that compare to actually seeing it in person.

Soon enough, the city came into view, the large stone walls surrounding the vast city, immediately catching the two's attention, not like anything they had ever seen before.

"Welcome to Underwood City." Minos said with a smile, the horse entering into the busy city streets.