Chapter 12 – A Day Worth More Than Cultivation
The bowl was heavier than I expected.
Not because of its weight.
Because of what it meant.
I dipped it into the wooden tub filled with cold water and began scrubbing away the dried grease.
One bowl.
Then another.
Then another.
By the tenth bowl, my fingers were already sore.
By the twentieth, my back ached.
By the fiftieth…
I wanted to quit.
“Enough.”
“Nobody’s watching.”
“Leave the rest for tomorrow.”
The familiar voice echoed inside my head.
The same voice that had followed me my entire life.
The voice that had convinced me to skip classes.
To play one more game.
To sleep one more hour.
To delay everything until it was too late.
I stared silently at the bowl in my hands.
Then…
I scrubbed harder.
Not this time.
⸻
The tavern slowly came alive.
Hunters returned from the outskirts of the city carrying strange beasts whose blood shimmered silver instead of red.
Merchants argued loudly over the prices of herbs and monster cores.
Travelers exchanged stories of distant kingdoms.
Every table had its own conversation.
Every conversation revealed another piece of this unfamiliar world.
“…The Southern Emperor’s territory has closed its borders.”
“I heard the Azure Sea Sect recruited three Heaven-grade disciples.”
“They say another village disappeared near the Forbidden Forest.”
“No survivors?”
“None.”
I quietly listened while pretending to wash dishes.
No one paid attention to a servant.
Which made servants excellent listeners.
⸻
“Boy.”
The old man’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
I hurried over.
“What is it?”
He pointed toward a stack of firewood.
“Chop it.”
“…I’ve never used an axe.”
“You’ll learn.”
“I might cut my foot.”
“Then don’t.”
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He returned to cooking as though the conversation had ended.
I sighed.
This old man truly had no sympathy.
⸻
The axe felt awkward in my hands.
Back on Earth…
The heaviest thing I regularly lifted had been my backpack.
Now…
I was expected to split logs.
The first swing completely missed.
The second barely scratched the wood.
The third struck the handle instead of the log.
Several customers burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
“The kid’s fighting the firewood!”
Even I couldn’t help smiling.
It was embarrassing.
But…
For some reason…
It didn’t hurt.
Not like before.
Back on Earth, being laughed at would’ve made me stop immediately.
Here…
I simply picked up the axe again.
Fourth swing.
Fifth.
Sixth.
After nearly thirty attempts…
Crack.
The log finally split.
The tavern erupted into exaggerated applause.
One old hunter whistled dramatically.
“Our young master has defeated his greatest enemy!”
Everyone laughed.
Including me.
It was the first genuine laugh I’d had since arriving in this world.
⸻
That evening…
Business slowed.
The old man silently placed a large wooden bowl before me.
Inside was thick stew filled with unfamiliar vegetables and pieces of roasted meat.
“You earned it.”
I stared at the food.
“…For me?”
He frowned.
“No.”
“For the chair you broke.”
Then he walked away before I could thank him.
The stew wasn’t extraordinary.
It was salty.
A little bitter.
The meat was tougher than anything I’d eaten on Earth.
Still…
Every bite warmed my body.
For the first time in years…
I felt as though I had earned my meal.
Not because my parents had paid tuition.
Not because a hostel cook had prepared it.
Because…
I had worked.
The realization made the food taste better than any feast.
⸻
Late into the evening…
The final customer entered.
Unlike the others…
He wore no armor.
No expensive robes.
Only simple traveler clothes covered in dust.
His face remained hidden beneath a wide straw hat.
He quietly sat alone in the corner.
“Tea.”
His voice was calm.
The old man froze.
Only for a moment.
Then he personally prepared the tea instead of asking me.
Interesting.
Every other customer had been served by me.
Why him?
As the old man walked past, he whispered,
“Don’t look at him.”
Naturally…
I looked.
The traveler slowly lifted his cup.
For a brief instant, I saw his eyes.
Golden.
Not bright.
Not glowing.
Simply…
Golden.
Ancient.
As if they had witnessed centuries pass.
He calmly glanced toward me.
Our eyes met.
A strange pressure filled the room.
It wasn’t murderous.
It wasn’t hostile.
It was…
Like standing before an endless ocean.
My breathing unconsciously became slower.
The traveler smiled faintly.
Then returned to drinking his tea.
Nothing else happened.
Yet…
Every instinct in my body screamed.
That man was dangerous.
⸻
After finishing his tea, the traveler placed two silver coins on the table.
Without another word…
He left.
The tavern remained silent until the sound of his footsteps disappeared.
Only then did everyone breathe normally again.
The old man slowly picked up the silver coins.
His wrinkled hands trembled.
“…Master?”
I asked carefully.
“Who was he?”
The old man remained silent for a long time.
Finally…
He spoke.
“Remember this.”
“In this world…”
“The strongest people rarely announce who they are.”
“They don’t need to.”
“They simply walk.”
“And the world quietly moves out of their way.”
I looked toward the empty doorway.
The traveler was already gone.
Yet…
For some reason…
I couldn’t shake the feeling that our meeting hadn’t been a coincidence.
Far away, beneath the silent night sky, the traveler stopped on the roof of a distant building.
He looked toward the tavern one last time.
His golden eyes reflected the moonlight.
“The aura…”
he murmured.
“So it has finally awakened.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“The game begins.”
Without another sound…
His figure vanished into the darkness.
And neither I nor the old tavern keeper noticed…
That the first truly powerful person in this world had already set his eyes upon me.
End of Chapter 12