"Haru got arrested and is going to be executed?" I repeated after Cai. I was exhausted from the eight-hour trip on foot, followed by hunting beasts. I wanted to confirm what I had heard, because I had left Haru lying on a bed next to his mother that very morning.
"You heard ," Cai replied. "There was an elder nad Sizu—short, bald, and with a bad leg. He got trapped in an abandoned mine while looking for silver to sell. Haru, who had been out touring, couldn't help but assist when the mine started to crumble. He used his earthbending powers to rescue him. The poor guy. I told him that kindness would be his downfall. Now, he's been snitched on by the person he saved."
"The hell how did this happen?!" I snarled. I didn't even know why I was so angry. I didn't know the man that well, yet I felt so bad because I knew he was just a friendly young man from the neighborhood. "And I thought helping you was the worst thing one could do."
"Hey, I have feelings," Cai retorted.
For now, Cai wasn't important. Not only had Haru been caught, but he was going to be executed as an example, which I had never seen happen in the canon.
Other earthbenders had been taken to a tal jail, but the one who hid himself was going to be beheaded.
"You said they're going to execute him," I said, gripping Cai by the shoulders. "When?"
Why was I acting like this?
It wasn't as though there was anything I could do to stop it if it was going to happen soon, but I knew it would be painful if it did. Part of still hoped the execution would be scheduled far in the future, so I could hold onto the hope that I might still be able to do sothing about it.
I hated being weak. I hated the feeling of talking to soone one day and knowing they were going to be dead the next. Life didn't move that fast.
Cai sighed and patted my shoulder. "Must be the first ti you've seen sothing like this—soone, or their family, being punished, right? I get how you're feeling. Relax. It's not like you can do anything about it."
"Answer ," I said, shaking his shoulder.
"A week from now," he grimaced. "To be exact, 6 days. On Friday."
"Thank you." I let go of his shoulders and walked away, not feeling any guilt for possibly hurting Cai by squeezing him too hard.
I headed to Haru's house, to the room I was renting. I needed a place to think calmly.
'If soone who has been playing them for so long is going to get executed, what will happen to ?' I thought. 'My biological parents are participating in the rebellion, so nothing will happen to them. But on the other hand, this shows just how cruel those soldiers are.'
I sat by the bed and cupped my head with both hands.
'Shit. The South Pole isn't far from this base. What can I do?' I thought.
On one hand, I didn't have a deep attachnt to Haru. We had known each other for only a few days, and he had been quite helpful. On the other hand, I didn't want to feel powerless. I also thought that seeing soone I had a good impression of die in front of was a horrible feeling. I didn't know if that was true, and I didn't want to know.
The sensation of powerlessness was more bitter than anything I could have ever felt. What if he were soone I had known well or had a deep connection with? Was I just going to sit idly by and do nothing?
I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew what I didn't want to do.
'I don't want to feel powerless.' I thought, now that I was calm. 'Alright. 6 days.' I looked out the window. '6 days. If I can't at least make a dent in the centipede, I won't do a thing, and I won't feel guilty about it. But if I don't reach level 10 in waterbending, I'm gay.'
I had just co up with the ultimate self-motivation a male ego could handle. It might sound ridiculous, but it was effective.
I had already made up my mind. I would go camp in the forest, or at least nearby. Wasting 8 hours each day traveling in and out would be a total waste of ti. On the other hand, I thought about the storage. Since this was the land, and I would need more storage (for ammo), I needed to upgrade my inventory. Plus, I would need food if I was staying out there for an extended period.
[10,000 accumulated experience points have been used to upgrade the storage]
The storage was upgraded from the size of a small room to a mid-sized apartnt. I could now store up to 10 water barrels, along with plenty of room for food and other necessities.
I packed my things into my storage, then took a walk.
On the way, I gave my stats one last look.
[- Skill Trees -]
Waterbending: Level 9
Chi Bending: Level 7
[- Skills -]
Hunting: Level 8
Fishing: Level 4
Freeze: Level 8
[Titles: (1/1): The Beasts Hunter]
[Accumulated experience: 8200]
-x-X-x-
Early in the morning, Cai stretched his arms as he walked toward his cart. He had just finished yawning and was ready for another day of work.
The night had passed peacefully with nothing major happening.
It was just another day to make a living.
Suddenly, he stopped.
There, in front of him, was his cart.
But there was no cabbage in it.
Inside, there was a letter.
[Dear Cabbage rchant,
We have heard about the miraculous healing effects of your cabbage. Because of that, we've decided to take it to help the sick heal. We sincerely apologize for not having enough funds at the mont, but you'll be paid in the form of good karma.
National dicine Association.]
-x-X-x-
I smiled widely as I took a bite of the cabbage. My lips were twitching. Every fifteen minutes, I would rember what I had done and burst into laughter. I wished I were still in the village to see Cai's reaction.
At least now he wouldn't be ssing with sick people's families to sell his stuff.
I stopped and stared ahead.
Since it was dawn, most predators were heading back to their lairs, and only weaker animals stayed.
"Good enough for ," I muttered. "This is going to be the longest grind of my life."
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