Open! Rogue Encampment

Open! Rogue Encampment

The gate guard's face was full of confusion. He simply could not understand why such a great beauty would return with a man after going out—and a publicly acknowledged piece of trash at that. Did she not know this was something that lowered her status terribly?

After escorting Christiana to the gates of Carlos Academy, Diya hurried home. It was already past ten at night. Aside from the commercial street, every light elsewhere had been extinguished, leaving darkness all around. Fortunately, Diya's spiritual power far surpassed that of ordinary people, and the remolding of his physique had made his eyes even sharper, so walking through such darkness was quite easy for him.

As he walked, Diya's thoughts churned. That beauty just now—well, Diya had not asked her name, and she had not taken the initiative to tell him either.

But since she had newly arrived at Carlos Academy, and judging from her appearance she was at least in her twenties, she could not possibly be there as a student. One look at the badge on her chest made it clear that this beauty's strength was probably only stronger than Pig's, not weaker. Putting everything together, Diya guessed that this beauty had either come to the academy for a visit, or she was there to be an instructor—and very likely the instructor of the summoning class.

If that were the case, how should that damned fatty Pig be dealt with? A hint of curiosity suddenly welled up in Diya's heart.

The night wind swept past, making one's heart thump wildly. The hem of Christiana's white robe lifted, as did her flowing long hair. She walked quietly along the road from the academy toward the pavilion, feeling the night around her. There was no moon, no stars, only pitch-black darkness, yet her heart unexpectedly grew peaceful.

"I forgot to ask his name," Christiana suddenly murmured to herself. "If I have the chance to meet him next time, I'll thank him then. He really is an interesting young man, very different from others."

A night passed, and Diya had already forgotten what had happened the previous evening. To say he had not fantasized at all about something happening with that great beauty would be impossible. If this had been his previous life, with such an opportunity, perhaps Diya would already have taken the initiative to attack. But in this life, after those fifteen years of suffering and humiliation, Diya deeply understood that only strength was most important. With strength as his foundation, everything else would be within easy reach.

He climbed out of bed early, bare-chested, wearing only a pair of shorts on his lower body. Diya once again arrived in the courtyard. After twisting his body and hopping about to warm up, he lifted a hundred-jin stone in each hand and began exercising as if raising dumbbells.

Every day, Diya could feel the changes in his body. Aside from constantly becoming more familiar with his current body, Diya also felt that the toughness of his body seemed to be increasing slowly and steadily. Yesterday, lifting the hundred-jin stones had still been somewhat strenuous, but today it felt a little easier. At this rate, perhaps in another month or so, lifting hundred-jin stones would become effortless.

The morning sun rose, and its warm sunlight, full of vigorous vitality, poured down. Sweat seeped from Diya's body, blooming with a faint seven-colored radiance beneath the sunlight. With every movement Diya made, the muscles all over his body wriggled, one ridge after another.

Speaking of the training over the past few days, Diya's body no longer looked as thin and weak as before. At the very least, that scene of ribs standing in rows and running rampant was gone. At the same time, Diya's appetite had also greatly increased. The food he ate at every meal was twice as much as before, and there was still a rising trend.

This made Uncle Fu happy, yet also a little helpless. At this rate of eating, the few silver coins Diya had brought back earlier probably would not last long. But Diya's body taking a turn for the better was what made Uncle Fu happiest.

The morning sun rose slowly. With a bang, the ground trembled slightly as Diya put down the two hundred-jin stones. He panted heavily, his face blurred with sweat, and could not help walking back inside. He picked up a towel to wipe his face, then wiped his body. Because of the training, his body had become even more full of vitality, and the feeling of strength surged within him.

"Young master, finished training?" Uncle Fu walked out of the kitchen, his old face smiling like a blooming flower.

"Uncle Fu, I sold the snakeskin last night and got some silver coins. I came back late last night, so I didn't hand them to you," Diya said as he walked back into his room, took out twenty silver coins, and handed them to Uncle Fu. He had other uses for the remaining thirty. Besides, earning silver coins was already no difficult matter for Diya now.

"Good, good. With these twenty silver coins, we can buy better food. Young master, your body is recovering right now, so you need a great deal of nutrition," Uncle Fu said happily as he accepted the silver coins.

"Uncle Fu, I'm going to the blacksmith's later to order some things. I'll be back around noon," Diya said.

After breakfast, Diya left home and headed toward the blacksmith's shop on the commercial street.

"Boss Mousse, I'd like to order some things," Diya said as soon as he entered the blacksmith's shop. Mousse walked out from the inner room, and when he saw it was Diya, he grinned. "Little brother Diya, good morning. What do you need made?"

"This." Diya handed over the blueprints he had prepared long ago. There were some drawings on them, and many written notes marked beside them. "Make one set according to the drawings. No problem, right?"

"No problem. This is very simple. But what is this used for?" Mousse asked in puzzlement.

"Take a look. What's different about me?" Diya smiled.

"You seem healthier, and your complexion is much better too." Mousse carefully sized Diya up a few times. "No wonder I felt something was a bit strange the moment I saw you. But what does that have to do with these things?"

"Of course it does. Recently, with the help of some medicinal materials and training, my body has begun to recover. Those things are training tools. Right, I don't have any other requirements, only one thing—weight." Diya emphasized this in particular.

"You only require weight? No problem. The quality of Grey Rock Iron isn't very good, but its weight is three times that of ordinary iron. It suits your standard," Mousse said, nodding.

"Good, then use Grey Rock Iron to make them," Diya decided at once. "Right, Boss Mousse, I also want a few more Flick Swords made."

As he spoke, Diya took the small sword from his robe sleeve.

"How many do you want?" Mousse asked.

"How much does it cost to make one Flick Sword like this?" Diya asked first.

"Five silver coins," Mousse said.

"Boss, you really took a big loss last time. Then how much for those training tools?" Diya asked with a smile.

"Four silver coins," Mousse said, laughing along with him.

"Mm, five small swords plus those tools makes twenty-nine silver coins in total. Boss, take these first." Diya directly took out twenty-nine silver coins and handed them over. Mousse did not refuse and accepted them at once.

"Around when will they be finished?"

"Fifteen days. If I make these specially, it'll take fifteen days," Mousse said after pondering for a moment, his tone certain.

"Good. I'll come pick them up in fifteen days. Then farewell," Diya said, bidding Mousse goodbye before leaving the blacksmith's shop. When he passed the academy gates, he inadvertently thought of that beautiful directionally challenged woman, smiled freely, and left.

"Your body's recovering pretty well," a voice suddenly rang out. Diya was first stunned, then smiled.

"Diablo, I thought you were dead."

"How could this wise and mighty great one possibly die?" the voice said, carrying a hint of arrogance. "Speaking of which, do you want to see this great one?"

"Aren't you unable to come out?"

"I can't come out, but you can come in. With your current spiritual power, you can still let your soul enter this place."

"Wait. Wait until I get back to my room." Diya hurried home, greeted Uncle Fu, then dove into his own room and locked the door. Only then did he sit on the bed. "What do I have to do to see you?"

"Very simple. Focus your will and see your own soul. Within your soul, there is a fragment. Pour your spiritual power into that fragment, and that will do," Diablo explained.

Following Diablo's words, Diya closed his eyes. This made it easier to concentrate his mind. His breathing gradually became calm and long. Casting aside every distracting thought in his heart, Diya's spirit concentrated like never before, gathering deep within his mind. Suddenly, the image changed. In a daze, Diya seemed to see a faint mass of gas that was nearly illusory, like the vast starry sky.

This was where Diya's soul was. Sure enough, within that ocean of soul, there was an extremely tiny fragment. The shape of the fragment was exactly the same as the piece that had fused with him before. Following the method Diablo had taught him, Diya focused his mind, brought his spiritual power close to that fragment, and then poured it in.

Like a great whale drinking in water, the shard devoured Diya's mental power as though it were a bottomless pit. Diya could feel his mental power draining away in vast amounts, yet he had no way to control it. It grew less and less, until only a tiny bit remained.

All of a sudden, with a whoosh, all of his mental power was absorbed and devoured cleanly away. Diya only felt his "vision" shift, and after a moment of darkness and light, he had actually appeared in a strange place.

Diya first looked at his own body. It was exactly the same, as if nothing had changed. But hadn't Diablo said his soul had entered this place? Could it be that here, his soul had transformed into this form?

As for his surroundings, Diya looked all around. The scenery here seemed to carry some inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he could not quite remember. After thinking for a moment, Diya gave up, then abruptly swept his gaze left and right. Where was Diablo? Hadn't he said Diya would be able to see him?

"Diablo," Diya called out. A red figure instantly appeared in the air, accompanied by peals of wild laughter. "Welcome to the first stop in Hell—the Rogue Encampment."