บท 3: Unknown System

"Hey, Mike, where are you going? Lend us your money. I'll give it back to you later." A fatty senior extended his hand with an open palm, expecting something to be put there.

Mike flinched at the sound of the approaching person. He turned to the three senior bullies. "It's umpteenth time you've said the same thing, but you never returned my money."

For some inexplicable reason, he chose to retaliate since it was his last moment at Ataraxia Temple.

"Huh? You dare to speak to us with disrespect even though you are just a useless kid?" A lanky senior gave his retort with disdain.

"Are you looking for a beating?" A burly senior clenched his fists to threaten.

"All right, my fellow brother. Looks like we need to teach our junior a little manner to respect the seniors. Let's beat him up." The fatty senior came forward and was immediately followed by his friends.

A boy at the peak stage Elementary Spirit Realm against three seniors at the initial stage Profound Spirit Realm. It was easy to predict the result. Mike was battered even though he tried to fight back desperately.

At that moment, several other disciples who happened to pass by were just watching from the side or ignoring the one-sided fight as if it was an ordinary thing.

"Damn, he has no money. He's useless, talentless, and poor. You'd better just die on the edge of a cliff." The fatty senior threw down Mike's empty wallet.

"Heh, probably it's because you took this brat's money too often, Brother Taro." The senior burly smirked.

"In the past, you may have been labeled a talented disciple, but Elementary Spirit Realm is your limit. Next time be respectful toward your seniors, boy." The lanky senior spat out and kicked the boy who was lying on the ground.

After that, they walked away. Mike tried to stare at the three bullies, but that was all. He couldn't do anything, and nobody cared either.

'Why am I still here just to suffer? Maybe leaving this sect is the best path for someone like me.' Mike propelled his body to his feet, even though his body ached everywhere. He looked at the surrounding disciples, then went to his hut.

Mike immediately packed all his belongings into a bag. Then, he took off the white robe of his sect.

It was already dirty from the fight earlier. Mike simply threw the robe on his straw bed and changed into his casual clothes.

After putting on his white jacket, he went to a corner of the room and dug out a little. Inside the shallow hole was an old box, and he took a pouch to count the contents.

'82,800 Yen. All right.' Mike immediately secured his personal savings into his hidden shirt pocket. It was the emergency money he had accumulated over the last four years.

He looked at his room once again, the place where he had lived for four years. But he just closed his eyes and came out of his hut. He immediately headed off from his sect without lingering any longer.

*Kaboom*

When Mike just came out of the temple gate, a loud explosion was heard, and smoke billowed in the western quarter.

Mike looked back because the sound of the explosion startled him. He wondered in mind. 'Huh, that smoke comes from Master Ryoichi's quarter. Did something happen there? Does that have anything to do with that red cauldron?'

He recalled yesterday's event. A senior bully dragged him into doing an assignment that actually belonged to the former.

When he cleaned the Medicine Hall's quarter, he saw a red cauldron that could explode at any time. Thus, he put it outside the room to prevent an explosion that could endanger the storage area for herbs and medicinal plants.

'It exploded according to my concern. Forget it. I've been kicked out of this sect because I'm useless. I am no longer the Ataraxia Temple's disciple. At the very least, I'm doing the sect a favor.' Mike shook his head and walked down the stairs.

At that moment, there was panic in the western quarter. The explosion was quite violent, and the flames began to swallow up the Medicine Hall building. Many masters and disciple were trying their best to extinguish the fierce red rooster.

"Taro! What are you doing with my treasured cauldron and my Medicine Hall!? You really put my treasure outside the room when I asked you to guard it!?" An old man with a long beard shouted loudly. He dashed over and immediately used his Spirit Art Techniques to extinguish the flames.

After the fire was extinguished, several parts of the building were completely engulfed in flames and turned into charcoal. Some of the stored qualities of herbs and medicinal plants deteriorated due to the smoke.

The old master gritted his teeth and went out to find a fatty disciple. When the target was found, he sped away and slapped his disciple down. "You fool! What have you been doing!? Is keeping my quarter overnight a hard thing for you? Look what happened."

"B-but, master-"

"Shut up!" The old master was too angry to listen to any reason. He just wanted to vent it to the source of the problem.

The fatty disciple could do nothing but accept his master's wrath. He was beaten black and blue without being able to say anything in defense. His two friends didn't even escape from that predicament.

The three disciples blamed Mike in their minds and planned to take their pain out on the boy later. Unfortunately, they had no idea that their target was no longer in the sect.

A little further to the north, a boy was rolling down the stairs. He was hugging his bag to protect its contents as he descended the mountain in an unusual manner. While descending the stairs, Mike stumbled and helplessly rolled down the stairs.

*Bam* *Bam*

The stairs finally met a turn, and Mike was thrown onto a flat path. He looked at the sky with a dizzy head. The world seemed to spin by itself.

After a few moments, Mike sat down and lamented his fate. He still had no idea where he was going, but bad luck still welcomed him? "Hahh, that's ridiculous. Even a misfortune comes when I'm feeling down?"

He looked left and right, but he didn't know where he was. Ataraxia Mountain was so big and wide, he only knew how to go down the mountain through one path. He was lost in the middle of the forest.

When he decided to return to find the right path, he noticed a mini shrine with a Goddess statue. The mini statue was similar to the big one in the sect.

According to legend, Ataraxia Mountain was once inhabited by a Goddess, known as the Goddess of Fate and Fortune, the divine figure revered at Ataraxia Temple as the Patron Goddess.

Mike's eyes lit up instantly. He drew closer to it and crouched down. He almost forgot to ask for the blessing and said goodbye to Ataraxia Mountain's Patron Goddess.

"Oh, Almighty Goddess, the protector of this mountain. This boy will go on a far and long journey to explore the big wide world. This boy will no longer be able to attend and burn incense to you every morning because this boy is no longer the disciple of the Ataraxia Temple. However, please bless my journey--" Mike continued his prayer for the next few minutes.

After that, he put some offerings and plucked some flowers around him. He put them in front of the Goddess statue. Done with it, he walked away to find the path down the mountain.

[You have unlocked the unknown system. Find a Miss Fortune within a month or die of your misfortune.]

"Huh?" Mike stopped in his tracks. He saw a mini black screen before his eyes and a girl's voice in his mind. When he looked around, there was no one around but himself.

"Uhh... Is there an evil spirit trying to bother me? I heard a girl's voice, but no one was around. Hmm... Is this just my hallucination?" Mike rubbed the back of his neck and tried to get rid of the black screen in front of him, but to no avail.

'System? Miss Fortune? What kind of girl does this evil spirit want me to find? She even threatened me with a death threat.' Mike read the warning on the black screen and thought for a moment.

[Fortune Point is in the red zone, misfortune will befall you.]

Another notification appeared, followed by a girl's voice.

'I have to find a Miss Fortune, but misfortune comes to me instead!?' Mike exclaimed in his mind. At that moment, he could no longer see any color other than black and white, as if the world had lost its colorful nature.

"What's this, what happened all of a sudden? Oh, no, I've become all white. Am I a ghost now?" Mike stared at his hands. Confusion and panic, that was what he felt at that moment.