Traits— the most mysterious and magical aspect of the Trait Maker Planet.
At the age of 6, every individual awakes a trait. Traits are magical abilities that may come in any form and shape. This also implies that most humans spend a long time trying to locate their traits. After all, there is no specific ritual. It is a simple truth.
After the age of 6, an individual can use his trait— whatever it may be. Fortunate ones find it within days, unfortunate ones spend their entire lifetime finding for one, not knowing if they even have a trait.
Most traits have conditions and restrictions. The greater the restrictions, the more intense trait's ability. Ja Sun's teacher was an amazing example. The restriction of his ability, for the most part, Ja Sun had concluded was— avenging his loved ones.
The greater the cause of vengeance i.e. emotional trauma to the said person and the trait user himself, the better the gains.
Meanwhile, Ja Sun's trait only showed its true worth under his teacher's guidance as he led Ja Sun to understand how to make use of his trait— initiative!
His teacher used his trait actively instead of taking the passive route. It brought great gains but his trauma was equal.
But for Ja Sun, being active with his trait meant setting objectives.
His trait is the only reason why he could overthrow the entire Federation and for this very reason, Ja Sun never considered himself ordinary.
Only by realizing his true worth could he have made apt calculations.
His trait— Mission Maker— used his verbally set objectives and created a mission with an appropriate reward.
The harder the mission according to his overall ability and position, the better the reward. The difficulty of the mission ranked from F to S with F being the lowest.
But, after years of using his trait, 'Jason' realized that the power to even calculate missions meant that somehow, his trait scanned the entire planet and collected every form of information. Not only that, the rewards are converted into physical form so everything, in the end, depends on Jason's ability to learn. But the act of creating books and various scrolls midair meant that his trait could even manipulate matter.
But it would only be used within the constraint— Verbal Objectives.
'Well, I already remember many things. Too bad that the reincarnation ritual doesn't work more than once. It would have been fun,' Ja Sun smiled and continued to walk through the stretch of forest. He walked around the edge and his pace was quite slow.
'So... in Douluo Continent, too, everyone awakens something called martial spirit at the age of 6. But why am I being pursued for this sweet baby?'
Ja Sun stretched his right arm from his cloak, revealing a small black mark on the back of his right palm. The pitch-black totem wasn't a letter but in the shape of an eye. The mark seemed alive and as Ja Sun inspected it, he felt more and more appreciative of it.
"Evil Title. Supposedly, an evil nature martial soul can never appear in a human. Isn't that nice? I'm setting off records even here," Ja Sun looked at the pitch-black eye and didn't bother trying to hide the mark. This was simply the form of the spirit, in other words, a body spirit.
Ja Sun sighed softly, "And I'm forced to remain a weakling because of constant pursuit. But clearly, I'm not even their highest priority."
Being an experienced renegade, Ja Sun knew about his current situation the best, "Without intense cultivation, a spirit scholar cannot possibly defeat a spirit beast. At least, not the one he wishes to actually kill. I cannot try to find help with others because the reward from Spirit Hall is rather substantial. The two empires don't seem too interested. Since the Spirit Hall is placed on a pedestal to have the greatest knowledge regarding spirits and souls, then clearly, they must desire something from me but not urgently."
Ja Sun continued to walk around the forest.
This was a small forest named Golden Fang Forest. It is named after a large pride of Golden Fang Lions that seem to occupy the core of the forest for more than 400 years now. The surrounding villages also fear that there are many ten-thousand-year-old spirit beasts in the forest so it simply didn't make sense to enter the forest and look for death... again.
The first one was already adventurous enough.
Ja Sun was dressed in a ragged robe and a dark cloak covering his ragged clothes. A worn-out hoody covered the top of his head and had a lid long enough to droop down over his forehead to partially hide his face.
His boots felt uncomfortable and his body felt itchy, a normal situation when you wear uncomfortable boots and don't bathe for days.
Ja Sun continued to completely digest his memories and analyze the situation to the best of his abilities.
'All clues and actions dictate that they don't know about my second martial spirit. It's a good trump card but... to actually make it a trump card, I need to somehow hunt spirit beasts and absorb spirit rings.'
Ja Sun hummed a soft tune and continued.
His situation in the previous world was constructive and he owed his teacher a great debt. In this world, he owed nobody. Not even his parents because— a) He's an orphan. And b) He specifically used a reincarnation technique to dip into a body same as his previous one.
Despite not having his previous world's build, the facial features of Ja Sun remained the same. But that was all.
In two hours, Ja Sun walked around the Golden Fang Forest, and finally, he gazed at the substantial settlement not far off from the dirt road with the trails of wheels and hooves of cattle leading towards the destination. A wooden post was erected near the periphery of the forest. The wooden post pointed in the direction of the settlement and had the words— Green Star Village.
Although called a village, Ja Sun could observe and compare from his memories that Green Star Village was definitely more prosperous than an ordinary village. The reason for this prosperity was that in recent years, a strong spirit master has appeared from the village, and now, he is returning the favor to the village for taking care of him in his younger years by helping the village develop quicker.
[Objective: Find a Settlement with a population of more than 5000.
Mission Rank: F
Time Limit: 3 hours.
Rewards: Li Feng's poetry.
Accept: Y/N]
[Status: Completed]
[Processing Rewards.]
At this moment, a soft grey glow escaped from the middle of Ja Sun's forehead and flashed in front of him. The light turned into threads in between the glow, developing the shape of a three-dimensional book that slowly turned real. The process lasted a few seconds.
This was Ja Sun's other restriction. The moment the mission is deemed completed, the reward will be created instantly. So, it is upto Ja Sun to hide his secret and use it in a responsible manner where others don't know about his limits.
Leaning against a tree, Ja Sun slowly opened the book. It was covered by worn leather and the paper seemed to be made out of some sort of rubber material.
'Li Feng's poetry... hmm, A Maid's Danger... Like a waning moon, her face is hidden from me. My body throbs for her; An Undying image...
Well, this is just smut poetry.'
Ja Sun skimmed through the contents and sighed with an amused smile.
'Well, that's an f-rank mission for you.'
Ja Sun continued to wait and eventually sat down under the shade of the tree. He observed the Green Star Village from a distance and started thinking of another mission. This was Ja Sun's routine. He simply didn't like to work towards anything without a clear reward in his mind and his trait's function was just the thing to motivate him.
"Set Mission."
Once again, the black screen popped in front of Ja Sun.
[Set Perimeters.]
"Find a location to rest. Additional Objectives—
1) Don't let my true identity slip away.
2) Find a source of earning."
Time limit: 24 hours."
[Setting up mission.]
[Calculating Rewards.]
[Objective: Find a place to stay.
Optional:
1) Keep your identity hidden.
2) Earn 10 copper coins.
Mission Rank: F-D-E
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Rewards: Tang Chen's toothpick—Guide to Spirit Rings—Great Era of Spirit Beasts.
Accept: Y/N]
The mission trait has various forms. Additional objectives are one of them. By adding additional objectives, not only can Ja Sun increase the difficulty, but he can also earn more rewards. Of course, if he can't complete the main objective then no reward is issued so usually, Ja Sun kept his main mission simple and made his additional objectives dangerous.
Still, the rewards are given out separately. If he completed the main mission, he would gain the main reward. If he completed the second objective, he will gain the corresponding reward.
Now that he had set up his tasks, Ja Sun stood up and stashed away the worn book of poetry inside his cloak.
Not waiting anymore, he began to walk towards the village while keeping his head low.
"Hey, look. A newcomer... tch, he looks filthy."
"Don't point fingers! It is rude!"
"What? Dad said to always be true to yourself! He's filthy! Filthy! Filthy!"
"Unnn... I'll tell your father that you're bullying Xiao Xiao again!"
"Ack! Traitor! Just for a girl, you'll betray your brother?!"
"Just a girl? Is that what you think of me?!"
"Dad said that girls are second only to brothers! I, all of your lord, will never snitch you out for another girl from the village! Not even Big Sister Hua!
Maybe for Aunty Hua... she is so nice..."
Ja Sun looked on with an amused smile as a small group of children— two boys and one girl started bickering close to the village entrance. The boys and the girl wore simple clothes that were slightly worn and it was still better than Ja Sun's outfit.
Not paying them further attention, Ja Sun stopped in front of the entrance.
The village wasn't protected by walls and there were many points of entry into the village but in front of Ja Sun was a bronze Steele with the word Green Star carved into the block. The entrance was quite unremarkable but the paved pathways that could be seen a little further away alongside various cottages and sheds gave the village a peaceful image.
Smoke rose from a few chimneys, wooden poles hung outside the cottages to dry clothes as well as a few men and women glancing at Ja Sun's direction out of curiosity and vigilance.
'Right, now I need to find a place to stay. Usually, a village has a tavern or an inn. More than one in larger villages. Hmm... the spirit energy does refine one's body passively. Even though I haven't trained at all and am forced to run away, my body is still quite sturdy.'
Ja Sun observed the men in the outskirts of the village with farm tools— plowing the land. They did not wear their robes at this time to prevent the fabric to stick to them due to sweat and despite various shapes and sizes of body, a feeling of innate power could be felt. The women of the village were the same. They had delicate physique than males due to most of the physically intensive tasks taken by the men of the village but none of the women looked tired despite working for a longer period of time.
Ja Sun's appearance in the village attracted a few eyes and caution of a few parents as they would hold their children at the sight of his haggard appearance.
Aimlessly walking around the village, Ja Sun finally glanced at a larger cottage. A wooden plaque was hung over the entrance with a jug marked over its surface.
Pushing open the entrance, Ja Sun was impacted by a refreshingly cold interior. Unlike usual houses, the cottage had a large and open ground floor with tables and stools set. The place was rather empty save for a few men sitting on the tables alone and eating their meals.
Walking up to the wooded counter behind which was a rather varnished kitchen, Ja Sun waited and saw one of the two burly and bald men glancing towards him and indicating to wait for a few seconds.
The two of them were bald and had thick mustaches. Their robes were sleeveless and revealed their bulky arms with a few scars on them. Presently, the two men were feeding the fire under the large wok. One continued to throw in wood while the other one knelt on one knee. A mystical, glowing ring— a White one— continued to rotate beneath him and in his hands he held a flaming torch pushed under the wok that continuously lit the wooden stumps.
After throwing in every wooden piece in his arms, one of the two walked forward and smiled lightly.
"What is it brother? Do you want to stay?"
"Yes," Ja Sun stated faintly. At this time, his demeanor seemed rather conserved.
"How much for a room?" Ja Sun inquired.
"2 copper coins a night, brother," the man chuckled.
"Alright," Ja Sun nodded. Since there was no point in sleeping now, Ja Sun began inquiring a little from the man in front of him.
"Brother, my name is Li Feng. I'm a wandering poet," Ja Sun stated. Aside from his green eyes, his face was covered by the pulled-up neck of the cloak. But his chipper tone made the man in front slightly relieved.
"A wandering poet? Brother Li Feng must have seen amazing things, right?" The man inquired curiously.
"Just a little. I was fortunate enough to witness a battle between an expert and a ten-thousand-year-old beast," Ja Sun stated.
The man in front of him took a deep breath. To ordinary individuals, spirit masters, much less strong experts, were quite rare. Even if the village itself produced a spirit master that could help develop the village, the said spirit master did not stay in the village himself.
The man's gaze shone.
"How was it, brother Li Feng? Ah, where are my manners! We are the Ice Fire Inn. Although I and my brother are spirit masters... we can only be considered slightly stronger than ordinary men and women. My name is Xue Bing. Brother Li, don't keep me waiting. Hurry, tell me a little more."
The man persuaded Ja Sun for a good story. Since the both of them didn't have anything better to do, Ja Sun nodded calmly and began.
"Brother Xue, it was a warm summer evening. Like usual, I continued to travel wherever the summer wind took me," Ja Sun began with a chuckle.
"Suddenly!" he gasped, "The ground in front of me tore apart. From within, a giant ant rose. Its body larger than cottages and a dark-red carapace surrounding it only made it look the most dangerous spirit beast I have had the fortune of seeing. Its claws were larger than the wheels of a cart and sharper than any sword I have ever witnessed! It was at this moment, a young master appeared. Flowing golden hair and seven rings around him as if he was everything divine and lordly."
By now, the attention of Xue Bing's brother was placed onto the counter, too. His ears twitched while he poured a meager volume of oil into the wok.
"The young master looked barely in his middle twenties!" Ja Sun continued to recall the man who almost caught him in this world and added a light to his story.
"His gaze so ferocious and majestic. His golden pupils shone with an ethereal luster. A beautiful sword in his hand seemed to deter the giant ant beast for a moment. But, the ant suddenly spewed a large amount of toxic liquid from an appendage on his back. A sneak attack! Brother Xue, can you believe that? A spirit beast needed to sneak attack this young master! This is how strong that man was!"
Ja Sun sighed while his gaze revealed a sense of nostalgia.
"Then... then what happened?" One of the other patrons eating their meals inquired with a gulp. All of their gazes were focused on Ja Sun by now.
"Brother, you wouldn't believe what happened next."
Ja Sun raised his left hand and revealed his index finger.
"One strike. I was just lucky enough to see one slash of the sword as the young master cut open the ant beast in half. The toxic liquid blew away by the sheer pressure of the slash and it was at that time I saw it... a beautiful black spirit ring. This was my first time seeing it and I... I regret that I'm a poet and not a spirit master!
Heavens in hand; Beasts underfoot!
My strike trembles gods and spirits alike!
That is a spirit master! That man was a true master!
He didn't even look at the ring. Instead, he landed in front of me. The world around me seemed to have come to a standstill!"
Ja Sun's words captured everyone's complete attention now.
'The world did come to a standstill when that guy wanted to kill me... my god, he is dangerous,' Ja Sun mumbled internally.
"Brothers, do you know what he said to me?"
Ja Sun inquired.
'Your life is not needed.' He answered the rhetorical question internally but continued with a fervent voice.
"Are you harmed? A true spirit master actually showed concern over this poor poet... I..." Ja Sun shook his head.
"Brother Li... that is a true spirit master. Untainted by arrogance and filled with peace," Xue Bing sighed.
'His words dripped with arrogance while trying to kill a 6-year-old...' Ja Sun clicked his tongue inwardly.
"Yes, it seems so," Ja Sun nodded. "Brother Xue, I'm new in this part of the empire and won't be staying for more than a week. But I also need to earn my living. Is there a market in the village? I have my journal of poems to sell."