Kill The Old Ones!

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Ren didn’t feel the need to buy this before, but with his current fame and popularity, he was finally convinced.

There’s this device that allows one to open up a passage directly to the Archstone Plaza from anywhere in the world. It’s a two way pass that saves so much time and effort for dungeon explorers to do their daily jobs.

It’s called a [Gate Key: Archstone Plaza]—it’s a spatial anchor and portal that leads straight to Archstone Plaza. It could be installed anywhere. Though, once installed, one must wait at least 24 hours before moving it to another location.

While it does sound convenient, it’s damn expensive, though. A single one costs 50,000 merit points, and only merit points. It’s a verified and trusted product sold at the World System Store and is only available there.

Additionally, a person could only buy one at once. While they currently own one, they are restricted from buying another. The item is bound to a person, meaning that it has their DNA and other biometrics.

Unless their gate key is destroyed—be that intentionally or not—or donated to another person, they are barred from purchasing another one from the store. That is the rule, and there are no negotiations.

This item is heavily monitored by all authoritative figures of the human world because it could become a great risk to society and the whole human civilization if it were used for nefarious purposes.

It’s also why it’s only available through the world system.

It wasn’t hard for Ren to purchase one. His credibility was high enough—thanks to his achievements as [REDACTED]—and he’s got enough merit points to buy one.

The item was delivered via system mail, so it couldn’t be any more discreet. It did take a couple of hours before it arrived, but Ren was fine with the wait.

Now, he has it.

He doesn’t have to commute to the Archstone Plaza anymore; he could just use the gate key and instantly arrive there.

The best part is that the exit was at the same place as all others who had the same item. They could also return through that same place.

Ren could go in under disguise and blend in with the rest, preventing the vultures from discovering his trail. And since he won’t be needing to use the front door of the compound anymore, the vultures outside will continue to fume there without an outlet.

Ah, the sheer thought of it causes Ren to feel vindicated.

Though he hardly thinks it’s going to stop them from actually weaving all sorts of ridiculous lies and stories just for the sake of making content about him, at the very least, he could annoy them by not giving them any more material they could use against him.

Ren actually donated the gatekey to the clan.

He installed it at the building next to the clan head’s office, under Mikel’s watch, no less. He rewrote the permissions on who could use it, and instead of being only him, he permitted everybody in the Banished Arms Clan to do it.

This sent a signal to the monitors that Ren donated the gate key to the clan, which in turn allowed him to buy another one for personal use. Of course, there were terms and conditions that came with donating this to the clan, but Ren didn’t have many qualms about it.

At least this way, this convenience wasn’t just for him. It’s for the whole clan, too.

Mikel wanted to ask where Ren got so many merit points to buy this gate key, but he ultimately decided to shut his mouth.

He knew Ren had a lot of secrets, and he’s not one to pry. He didn’t believe, even for a second, that Ren got merit points because of winning the tournament.

Ren just bought formations to protect the clan. Each one was expensive in their own right. Even the merit points that the clan accumulated for years could only buy one of those, yet Ren bought them all at the same time with his ’winnings.’

Where did you get more merit points to buy something that’s even more expensive than all those combined?

Mikel wasn’t a fool or stupid; he wouldn’t be the clan head if he were. He knows when to ask questions and when to just keep his curiosity to himself.

He knew that if his nephew were comfortable telling, he would’ve said something already. The fact that he’s using a convenient lie says that he’s not ready just yet. And that’s fine. Mikel will never force him.

Not after everything that Ren did for the clan, especially at such a young age.

With how things are going, the Banished Arms Clan is looking more and more like an ancient martial arts clan.

Ren didn’t horde all the benefits for himself.

As he rose, he made sure that the clan rose with him.

’Not forgetting one’s roots’ is a value that never had to be taught to Ren. He just knew it and understood it on his own. He may have his own interpretation of it, but the results are the same.

As Ren grows stronger, the clan does too.

Mikel specifically loved the atmosphere within the clan lately. With Ren unloading the translations of Sky Archon Arts in the martial hall, everybody learned so much and was getting stronger than ever.

Lately, everybody’s performance saw a boost of 200% because of the things Ren left for them. The flaws in their techniques were disappearing, their strength was skyrocketing, and their foundations were being repaired and reforged stronger than ever.

Even those that were way past their golden age of martial practice were seeing results after a long period of drought. And this was just the equivalent of Ren’s two years of meticulous hard work.

Everybody knows that Ren was carrying them up. They never told him to, but he’s doing it anyway. How can they let his efforts go to waste?

If they did, then that Banished Arms Clan most definitely deserves to be extinct.

The pressure was the heaviest on Ren, but they’d be damned if they let him carry it all on their behalf. This is especially true for the older folks.

If they allowed a kid to carry all the burden of raising a clan, then they lived in vain and failed as adults.

That is why everybody was working hard right now.

Ren’s fight was, obviously, not over. Far from it, actually. In fact, this is just the beginning of everything.

Since they couldn’t keep up with his pace, the least they could do is to not slow him down.

Ren doesn’t mind working for the clan, for his family. Heaven knows he didn’t get the chance in his previous life. That may be why he’s compensating now.

But enough of that...

After installing the anchor, Ren left and returned home. His work for today was done; it will resume tomorrow. He had less than six months to gain as much strength as he could before the city vs. city tournament begins.

That is a much larger stage, one that Ren absolutely cannot miss.

The rewards of the previous tournament weren’t much, to be honest; just some credits, merit points, and choice selection of resources. Nothing too outstanding for Ren.

But the next one? Oh, that one he’s actually excited for. In fact, that’s the reason why he joined the tournament to begin with.

If his predictions were correct and the timeline was still trying to fix itself to resemble what he knows, then the rewards of the City to City Tournament will be something that Ren actually wants and needs.

But that won’t come until later. For now, he had to focus.

But speaking of timelines...

As night came, Ren eventually hopped onto his VR Capsule. He hasn’t used it in a while.

Frankly, at this point, the virtual matches held little to no meaning to him. He’s just curbstomping his enemies most of the time, so it had gotten old.

Tonight, though, he received a private message from an unlikely sender.

[Cherry Anne]: Match?

Honestly, Ren didn’t think that it’d be her to send an actual message between them first. This girl’s not so social, after all. She tries to cover it up with her online persona, but it’s clear that she’s not used to it.

As for Ren not messaging her first, well, he never really saw the need.

[Marek]: Depends. Are you in the Inhuman Realm already? If not, then I don’t think it’s possible.

Ren received an elipsis as a reply first. A minute later, she sent:

[Cherry Anne]: I am. Sending you an invite.

”Oh?” Ren was caught mildly by surprise.

He looked at the date and discovered that she’s actually ahead of time. In the canon story, Lily makes her breakthrough by the time the City vs. City Tournament begins. But here, she’s already one.

”If that’s the case, then...” Ren turned thoughtful for a bit; he recalled the events on the timeline and eventually came to a conclusion.

”...The grandpa in the ring must’ve been awake for some time, too, which means that the hero’s comeback already started.”

”Good. I look forward to the day we actually meet.”