Ascension: Online

I used my minimap to navigate my way back to the Temple of Flowers, then set out to the east. Since the map only recorded locations I've been to already, it didn't tell me anything about what to expect in this new quarter I was heading in.

Apparently, this was the 'public set facilities' quarter, its formal name being the Community Quarter. I predicted there would be institutions such as libraries, gyms, and such, but perhaps there was more to it. This quarter was the smallest of the four, but I had a feeling it held the biggest secret of all.

Hm… come to think of it, Nadeshiko mentioned some sort of Social System being unlocked once she hit Level 50. If I could send messages via that system like she said you could, then that would make communication so much easier.

Being from modern-day Japan, I was used to having convenient tools such as phones and emails that having to meet in person here in this new reality felt like quite a hassle to me. Humans have just grown lazy over the years, I suppose.

In any case, the sidewalks in this quarter were well-maintained and surrounded by organized aisles of small bushes on either side, giving it a royal garden look. I then turned to my left and spotted a short but wide building in the distance.

Narrowing my eyes and blocking the sun with my hand, I tried to get a better look.

It was mostly white, with a design that kind of resembled the Sydney opera house back on Earth. There was no way I could tell what it was about by just standing here, so I picked up my pace and began heading for the building.

*****

"Hm… no sign anywhere," I muttered, standing before the impressively wide building while rubbing my chin.

I had passed by several other buildings on the way here, but I wasn't one to be easily distracted.

Okay, that was a lie, I did go around and check every single one of them, but their purposes were all within my expectations — libraries, gyms, and such. Most of them also had signs that read exactly what the place was, so that made things easy too.

This building, however, was different.

Despite the obvious fact that there was no sign anywhere on the building and the windows were all shaded to the point you could barely see through them, this place had far more disciples going in and out than any other building I saw.

"How… peculiar," I wondered out loud.

"Oh, Kaze-kun, you're here too?"

I heard a familiar female voice calling out for me, so I turned my head and spotted Hina-nee. Beside her was a senior brother who seemed to be one or two years older than we were.

"Uh… yeah," I said nonchalantly. "I finished exploring my area already, so…"

"Ahh, I see. According to Senior Brother Li here, this place is called the Bounty Center. Basically, disciples can obtain certain 'quests' from here, then come back to receive rewards after completing them. Apparently, the rewards are quite good, hence why there are so many disciples going in and about."

"Huh… interesting," I murmured to myself, deep in thought.

"Want to explore together?"

I blinked. "Have you already checked out the rest of this quarter?"

Hina-nee nodded happily. "Mhm! Senior Brother Li showed me around for free."

"Oh, good. Any useful discoveries?"

"Apart from this place, not really. Just a bunch of 'public' facilities, but each peak already has their own private, better ones anyway, so…"

"Let's head inside, then," I said, turning away and striding through the door.

As I walked through the rotating doors, in the corner of my eye, I saw Hina-nee pout slightly, for whatever reason. The older disciple — Senior Brother Li — chuckled, as if amused by something.

I had a good idea what they were trying to do here, but I didn't show it on my face and instead calmly countered their original plan.

*****

"Wow," I whistled, glancing around at the marvelous sight.

The layout inside this 'Bounty Center' was similar to that of an airport, where passengers had to line up and go through identity checks and such in different aisles. There must've been at least over a hundred people in this building, not counting all the receptionists, one responsible for each aisle.

"So many people…" Hina-nee murmured, subconsciously walking up beside me.

"This isn't even peak hour," Senior Brother Li said with a sly grin on his face, then froze as the two of us turned to him with unamused expressions. "Ah, no pun intended."

Sighing in unison, Hina-nee and I turned away from him and nonchalantly walked up to the shortest line we could find. After a few minutes, it was our turn, and we walked up to the receptionist.

"Hello. How may I help you today, disciple of the Blessing Nature Sect?" she asked, wearing a white and green uniform that matched the sect's colors.

"Er… we're on our orientation day today, so we would like to find out more about this place if possible," I said truthfully.

"I see. And this disciple behind you two…?"

"Ah, I'm Li Haixun. Core disciple, third year."

Saying this, he pulled out a token of some sort from the inside pockets of his sect robes and showed it to the receptionist. It was similar to the one Long Yaqing had in terms of size, but this one was made of jade rather than silver and had the Chinese character 'core' inscribed on it.

Naturally, it was a signature look of superiority.

Hina-nee gawked in wonder at Li Haixun as he did this, as if entranced.

Haha, as if.

She then sneakily glanced over to me to see if I saw her acting out admiration to the best of her abilities, but I pretended to not have noticed. She pouted angrily once more.

Please, Hina-nee… enough with the childish games.

Testing if I would be jealous? Seriously? At least pick a more believable moment to admire him… I mean, we're literally direct disciples, the tier even higher than core disciples… what's there to be impressed about?

Besides, there was literally no reason for Li Haixun to pull out his token just now — it was clear he was just trying to show off. Obviously, this was all staged beforehand.

Oh, and one more thing… I already lost the emotion of jealousy/envy anyway. In other words, she was putting on this whole act for absolutely nothing.

I had no intention of exposing Hina-nee right here and now, but if she continued trying to test me…

The receptionist nodded in return as Li Haixun placed his token back into his robes.

"Alright. Would you like me to explain everything in words, or just give you a brochure to read on your own?" the receptionist asked. "Explaining in words may take a while, but I can answer any questions you have immediately. If you don't have enough time, however, I recommend just accepting this brochure."

Saying this, she pulled out two booklets of some kind from her drawer and slid them through the semi-circle shaped hole in the glass screen separating her and us.

Hina-nee and I each took one, and she prepared to leave. But I stayed.

"If possible, could you explain in words?"

"Of course," the receptionist said. "Though… your friend here seems to have something to do, so…"

"That's fine. Let them leave," I said coldly, as a form of revenge for trying to test whether or not I would be jealous.

"Wha…" Hina-nee dropped her jaw at my attitude, but I didn't even bother sparing her a glance.

Sorry, Hina-nee… even if you're the closest person to me in the world, I am not one to easily forgive and forget.

"Go on," I said to the receptionist, completely ignoring Hina-nee.

"E-Er… okay then. This place's official name is the Bounty Center, and it's purpose i-"

"Now hold on a minute!" Hina-nee stormed towards me and reached out for my ear, but I ducked out of the way and leaped back a short distance, nearly crashing into a different line.

She narrowed her eyes and dashed towards me once more, but I would not let her reach me. My AGI was more than double hers, so doing that was quite easy.

"W-Woah, woah, hey!" Li Haixun, not expecting this sudden turn of events, quickly tried to get Hina-nee away from me, but she was like a cat in heat and would not back down until she caught me.

"Get back here, Kaze-kun! We need to talk!" she folded her arms and said angrily.

I stopped moving and decided to feign ignorance. "Talk? About?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have tried to… um, t-test you," she murmured quietly, in stark contrast with her previous words.

That was Hina-nee indeed. Whenever we had a conflict with one another, she would be very stubborn and angry at first, but suddenly shift into sad and pitiful directly after, as soon as she realized she was in the wrong. This was just one of those moments.

Most people would keep fighting even if they knew they lost the argument, just to not lose face. But Hina-nee was different, as seen from this incident.

I get what she was trying to do, but… this was really just not the time nor place to do it. I can't say I understand her intentions since I wasn't a girl, but I mean, I wouldn't bother testing if Hina-nee would be jealous by hanging out with a different girl right in front of her face.

Partly because I already knew she would, but mostly because I knew by heart she would care. A lot.

I didn't get why she was so… worried about me not caring about her. Never can guess a girl's heart, I guess.

Everyone nearby ceased their movements and stared at all the commotion we caused. They had no idea what Hina-nee was talking about, what with the 'testing' and all, but I — and Li Haixun, of course — both did.

All the spectators had probably expected a fight to break out, but now the girl was suddenly apologizing to the guy. They must be so confused.

I sighed and walked past her.

"K-Kaze-kun?" she looked up, following me with her eyes.

"You wanted to talk, no? We can do that outside."