I Refused To Be Reincarnated
Chapter 574: The Baldur Mission

Chapter 574: The Baldur Mission

-The kids’ hopeful yells and rushing winds accompanied the fading scenery as the tower’s all-encompassing white replaced them.

He smiled in the silence before he shook his head to focus on the trial’s rewards.

A notification burst in a sea of swirling sky-blue mana before his eyes the next second.

[Challenger Adam completed the second trial.]

[Reviewing process and rating it.]

[Rerun quest accomplished. Data purged.]

He sighed in relief. Ignatius’ madness vanished for good, and no poor child would suffer from his research like Misha.

[For undoing the mutation and offering the children a future, I’ll rate your performance: EX]

[Granting the enigmatic ranked item: Grimoire Mineralia for his rating.]

Grinning after he felt the last grimoire bind itself to his soul, he checked its metallic cover. Soft yet rough under his fingers, he raised his brow at the intricate mineral composition that radiated multicolored light. He repeatedly touched its texture, feeling as though Luna had merged the properties of thousands of magical stones to create an impossible balance even he had trouble understanding.

It made his heart pound as his lips curved into a delighted smile. One day, he’ll touch on her level of mastery. He shook his head, a steely glint flashing in his eyes.

’I’ll surpass it!’

Then, not bothering to check its enchantments, he turned to leave. As Luna said, he’d throw it with the other three grimoires in the fusion pool.

"Thanks, Luna. I’m off, so see you next time!"

He expected to see a snarky notification, a get lost or something along those lines. But weirdly, Luna didn’t answer and just formed the bright magic circle under his feet.

Light blinded him for a second as he vanished from the tower and reappeared at its towering gate at the plaza.

The same sight greeted him: cultivators haggling over pills emanating exotic scents, weapons, and cultivation techniques. A few had set tables, spiritual stones pooling at the side as they frowned at their cards, while others’ intricate discussions about alchemy reached his ears.

Without wasting a second, he waved his palm as his mana surged. An Illusory layer distorted his features before he vanished like a chameleon.

Invisible to the others, he rushed to the fusion pool and pushed its golden carved doors.

Dozens of water spheres hovered above the shimmering pool, and he saw a few people eagerly waiting for the timer hovering above their items to reach zero.

He grinned as he summoned his grimoires, threw them in the water, and observed the current rush around them to form a swirling cocoon.

A timer appeared next, displaying a long one-year timer.

Well, he had expected more and guessed Luna interfered to reduce it. After all, enigmatic items carried life and evolved in contact with their surroundings. If he had to guess, he’d put them slightly above the mythical rank.

His fists tightened, the impatience to hold the final product gnawing at his heart. But the clock was ticking, and sunrise was fast approaching.

Unwilling to waste time and even less to let the cultivators spot him, he rushed out, leapt through the humming vortex, and returned to his soul sea.

"Already back, lying bastard?"

The moment his feet touched the verdant plain’s grass, the demonic cleaver’s annoying whispers made him roll his eyes before he could enjoy the fresh breeze.

’You never give up, huh? Just wait until I get rid of you, annoying pest.’

Talking with the cleaver became as useless as teaching a chicken to fly.

So, he closed his eyes, the familiar warm sensation embracing him as he vanished.

When he reopened them, he felt warm skin pressing on his arm. He smiled when he saw Misha’s head cradled in it and sleeping against his chest.

Her natural smell and golden hair sparkling under the rising sun’s light warmed his heart as he gazed at her peaceful face.

"Ignatius’ shadow will never haunt you again." He muttered, his fingers brushing her hair before he leaned over her ears.

"Adventure is calling, big sis. Let’s have fun today."

With his tender voice, Misha’s golden eyes snapped open and gleamed like two stars. She leapt to her feet and stretched her sleepy limbs with feline grace.

"I’m glad everything went well for you. Let’s go!"

She stormed to the door and almost sprinted down the corridor but barely controlled herself. Instead, eagerness and impatience flashed in her eyes as she smoothed her robes and scrutinised him.

He chuckled and shook his head.

"We can’t go on an empty stomach. Why don’t you find Mei Lan to get us breakfast while I check something?"

However, her eyes firmed before she lunged and dragged him by the arm.

"We can eat on the way! Let’s complete the mission!"

Raising his hands in defeat, he checked his interface as they burst through the exit and charged down the sect’s streets.

Although the chimaeras yielded a few experience points, it was only enough to reach level five.

A begrudging grimace twisting his lips, he distributed his stat points before he swept his hand to close the interface.

’Only tier two... But does it matter?’ He bounced his head from left to right, a pensive frown creasing his brows. ’The crumbs I distribute won’t make a change, at least not before I reach the fifth tier or promote my cultivator’s tier.’

But that would have to wait for next year.

Training wouldn’t work either since the cow and crane ensured his body reached the limits of its potential for his age. So, he could only wait to grow up to improve again.

’Potions and pills it is.’

He chuckled at the irony as Luna’s words about becoming a potion junky reverberated in his mind.

Then, he dismissed everything and enjoyed the sight of the outer sect’s busy disciples despite the early hour. He heard their eager steps and discussion about the lesson they’d take today under a renowned movement technique master or how some boasted about taking the qi smithing test later today.

’I’ll maybe see them there later today. But first, the mission.’

His eyes narrowed on the teleportation formation glowing at the center of the area and the two seventeen years old disciples guarding it.

After he presented the random mission paper stamped by Xu Fei and their disciple’s jade cards, the guards allowed them passage, and they disappeared in a flash of light.

They reappeared by the thirty-meter-tall walls at Dragon’s Foot and rushed through the city. Their robes attracted respectful gasps from the citizens as they stopped by an aged woman’s stand, the scent of freshly baked bread and the steam of dumplings making them salivate.

A moment later, lightened off a few bronze coins and nibbling on their dumplings with delighted smiles, they left the city to bring Baldur’s horrible practice of magic to a stop.

---

AN: No time to edit, sorry. (5 Chapters in one day is an impossible mission, so I’ll pull an all nighter...)