Chapter 4:

The Promises

The mysterious young man's heat-seeking moisture missile was that big, enough to make Rose lose her mind for a
couple of seconds. It was so big it appeared as though the mysterious young man had two and a half legs!

This had an explanation: Firstly, he had been imprisoned in this room for so long that his clothes had turned into
dust long ago; secondly, his hormones had always been working perfectly thanks to his Awakened Skill; thirdly, the
mysterious young man's imagination had been quite lively, in fact, his imagination had reached a level unattainable
to mere mortals; fourthly, his Lord Commander of the Southern Forces had not been pierced by any sword; and
fifthly, his hands had been. That was the explanation.

The mysterious young man noticed the beautiful girl falling from the ceiling and that she had not made any noise
when she hit the ground, at that moment he vehemently concluded: (it's another hallucination!) There appeared a
hint of smugness on his face. (Hehehe… I'm still smart and lucid enough to figure this much.)

But that self-satisfaction did not last long when he focused his attention on her clear green eyes. There was
something in them that made it hard to breath.

Then he saw how that girl settled her gaze on his love muscle and mentioned its size. Obviously, under those
circumstances, he had no choice but to say flirtatiously and without a trace of shame: "Do you like it? It's okay, you
can look at it as much as you want; and if you give me a good handjob, I'll give you these expensive swords as a
reward."

Yes, just like in one of his sweetest fantasies: A gorgeous woman would descend from the heavens and in exchange
for those abominable swords, she would give him some sexy action.

Rose's emotions were chaotic, and within her, there were many doubts: (What did this sleazebag eat to get it this
big?! No, no, no. I need to ignore this issue. More important: Who is he? Why can't I feel his cultivation? What is
wrong with his brain to be this shameless? And for heaven's sake, how did he end up in this situation?!)

Also, by having this scene in front of her, she already realized that the phenomenon that occurred around The Rose
Mountain was not due to some legendary plant, instead it was due to the blood of this mysterious young man.
Because of this, at this moment, she was quite upset. That is why, after hearing such bullshit coming out from this
scoundrel's mouth, she whipped out her dagger and commanded coldly: "Start to explain who you are and how you
have ended up in this situation before my hand not-actually-accidentally slips and cuts that thing."

Feeling her angry glare, the mysterious young man thought: (Mmm, it seems like she is a difficult one... Thanks lucky
stars! Long live the difficult ones! They are the best!)

He then said with a seductive smile: "Well, sexy thing, calm down. If you want to know me, I'll gladly help you. Let's
see... I don't really like my name, so you can call me whatever you want. I am just a vagabond who can use Mystical
Energy. Some people found out about it and captured me to research my body to understand how someone who
belongs to a civilized race can cultivate Mystical Energy. But while I was being studied and questioned, something
absurd happened: This place's Complex Energy suddenly disappeared. I don't know what happened with those
bastards after that, I just know that the entrance to this room didn't open again..."

A look of disbelief appeared on Rose's face. "Are you kidding me? A civilized race person that cultivates Mystical
Energy? That is theoretically impossible! You were here before the Complex Energy disappeared from this place?
That happened more than a million years ago! Who could live for so long and maintain this level of sanity?!"

With a derisive laugh, he looked at her and replied: "I'm not lying. A million years? I felt them as if they were ten
million. Moreover, of what sanity are you talking about? Do you think to speak with hallucinations is sane?"

His response allowed her to understand something she had not even considered: (This guy has been thinking all this
time that I am a hallucination!)
"*Sigh*..." Frustrated, Rose sighed deeply and closed her eyes to think: (Okay, Rose, let's analyze the situation... He
has definitely been in this place for a very long time, at least the necessary time to dye a five-kilometer-radius land
with his blood. The fact that his blood has healing properties implies that he has some kind of healing skill which has
allowed him to survive until now, a skill that had made him almost immortal! Then, absurd as it is, the part of him
being able to use Mystical Energy has to be true, because it doesn't matter what kind of skill it is, either Awakened
Skill or Racial Skill, they all need some type of energy to be activated and the only energy in this place is Mystical
Energy. And it wouldn't make any sense if he lies to someone he thinks is a hallucination. All in all, I have to admit his
apparent sanity is quite healthy. After being alone for so long, he kept his rationality to this degree... just how great
is his willpower? In addition, just talking causes him so much harm and yet he kept singing... so he never gave up: He
has been trying to ask for help all this time. And if it's like he says, this place must be a kind of secret laboratory
where scientists tried to study him, so the walls should have been especially hard and resilient, but I was able to dig
them with ease. Thus, even though his singing couldn't be heard, it was not entirely in vain because over the passing
of time, it weakened the walls. To have such drive… Even though I can't feel his cultivation, I can safely assume that
he is someone who has reached a great height in the Cultivation Path. It's a shame that there isn't any legendary
plant to help me to break through, but at least I came across such a person! He'll definitely be able to help me to
achieve my dream!) When her train of thoughts came this far, a trace of a smile broke onto her face.

Actually, Rose used only two seconds to think about all of this. After forming that slight smile, she opened her eyes
and extended her right hand to grab the hilt of a sword.

Displaying her natural imposing disposition, she said to him: "Before we can truly talk, you need to understand
something first... I'm real!" While saying the last part, she pulled the sword out of his trunk, and consequently, his
blood began to flow outwards as though a river source.

Her action caused his eyes to almost pop out from their sockets, and he could not help but loudly exclaim spitting
out blood: "Are you not a hallucination?! But… but… but!"

Meanwhile, the sword in Rose's hand lost its light and instantly turned to dust, this surprised her for an instant. She
could not help but make a mental note: I'll ask him about this later.

Afterward, she put her hands on her hips and said: "I will free you if you accept this deal: You lend me your strength
until I achieve my dream, then I'll help you fulfill yours!"

The mysterious young man was not sure yet if this situation was real or if it was just another illusion, and now, out of
nowhere, he was proposed to make such a pact. He was left completely speechless for quite a while.

In the end, he could not help but laugh: "Hehehe… what happens if my only dream is the destruction of this world?"

Facing such a question, Rose kept on staring at his eyes in silence for a prolonged moment. She could clearly see
melancholy and resentment in those rotten eyes. Finally, she smiled beautifully. Eyes flashing with fervent resolve,
she assured: "Even if your dream were harder than that, as long as you allow me to do what I want, I would
definitely keep my word and help you."

The mysterious young man, after hearing this, also kept on staring at her eyes in silence for a long time. He could
clearly see her determination in those strong eyes. After confirming that she was not joking, he felt overwhelming
curiosity, so he asked: "What is your dream?"

Her answer was accompanied by a scheming smile: "I am not telling you, not now. So, do you accept the deal or
not?"

That answer provoked a sense of foreboding to fill his heart. But, what he wanted the most at this moment was to
leave this room, he wanted it more badly than to get laid! Therefore, he had no choice but to put on a savage smile
and say: "It's unreasonable to make me promise to do something I don't know what it is. It seems like you are crazier
than me! But in spite of it, I accept! I promise, if you release me and vow that you will help me fulfill my dream, I will
lend you my strength until the day you achieve yours!"
"HahaHAhaHA...!" Rose laughed so hard she ended up holding her stomach. Then, chin held high, arms open wide,
she said: "I promise that when my dream come true, I'll help you fulfill yours!"

Very decisively, Rose pulled the remaining swords out of his body one by one. Each time she drew a sword it would
lose its light and turn to dust, just like the first one.

While this was happening the mysterious young man quietly gazed the swords leaving his body. Mixed emotions on
his face, he asked the heavens with no small amount of concern: (I'm not dreaming, am I?)

Soon, all the swords were gone. Closing his eyes, he activated his Awakened Skill. The healing process was visible to
the naked eye, in just five seconds all his wounds disappeared.

Seeing this, Rose couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "Your skill is too powerful!"

To which he commented: "Of course it is, but it has just spent a big percentage of my Mystical Energy. By the way, its
name is Life Restorer."

Afterward, he gradually began to move, as though a newborn trying to understand how its body works. Once he got
used to his new muscles, he tried to get up and, with some difficulty, put his legs on the ground. The instant his body
stopped touching the table where he had been laying for more than a million years, the table lost its light and, like
the swords, turned to dust.

And as the mysterious young man stopped touching the table, Rose was finally able to feel his aura and was greatly
shocked by it: (Can he also cultivate Complex Energy?! Wait, why is he so weak?! To be only at the First Level
Intermediate Awaken stage... that doesn't hold a candle to his age at all…)

Having only as a source of illumination the Luminous Sphere laid on Rose's hand, he looked at his body which was
now without swords in it and said with a merry laugh: "Hahaha... I feel as though I were naked without those damn
swords."

"What? What did you just say? Was 'I feel as though'? Did you even count the number of clothes you have on?! It's
zero, zero!" Rose said angrily as she threw her Earth Cloak to him.

Clumsily, he covered himself with it.

At that point, she saw how her Earth Cloak touched the mysterious young man's dearest member, then, feeling a
sense of loss, she thought: (Goodbye, my precious Earth Cloak, I swear I'll keep you in my heart for the rest of my
life…)

"Oh that's right! You didn't want to tell me your name. Mmm... What do you think if I call you Thorn?" Rose recalled
and suggested.

He stared at her with a perplexed expression, and asked blinking: "Why 'Thorn'?"

"Because my name is Rose." She answered giggling to herself.

"Ua, uua, uaa!"

Suddenly, some loud shrieks echoed through the room.

They looked up and saw a pair of bright red eyes staring at them through the hole Rose dug. Thorn didn't seem
surprised by it, but Rose did and in a big way. She exclaimed: "I was preventing every sound and smell from escaping
through that hole all this time! How did it find us this quickly?!" Thinking about hers and Thorn's cultivation, and how
different they were when compared to a gorilla monster's cultivation, she shuddered in fear.

"So you can do that..." Thorn muttered, and then he raised his right hand's index finger to point at the gorilla
monster.

The gorilla monster enlarged the hole with its fingers and nails so that it could come in and, only one short second
later, it already crossed the entire twelve meters of length the hole had! But just as it began to fall from the ceiling,
Thorn faintly moved the finger he had just lifted. This seemingly inoffensive action created a very thin blade of wind
that whizzed through the air and sliced the gorilla monster's neck in an instant.

*Puunm!*

The gorilla monster's headless body hit the ground.

*Punm*

The gorilla monster's head, which was now showing an expression of utter fear and shock, hit the ground rolling.

Rose watched how all of this unfolded, her eyes and mouth completely opened. (He has just now used a skill to
control the wind! He also has the Wind Element Awakened Skill! With his Complex Energy which he has cultivated up
to the First Level Intermediate Awaken stage, he has so easily defeated a Fifth Level Advanced Awaken gorilla
monster! And he did it just with an understanding degree at the Use of the Skill! This doesn't make any sense!!!)

Ignoring the headache Rosa was feeling, he squatted down to get a better view of the gorilla monster's corpse and
said with a relaxed smile: "Well, nice to meet you, Rose. And I am sorry for this, it has discovered us because it felt
my First Level Intermediate Awaken Aura in Mystical Energy. That table not only suppressed my cultivation in
Complex Energy but also concealed my two Auras."