The man with the black sash that had just appeared suddenly had a sense of shock as his expression changed.
"You know my mother?" he asked.
Ning was a little surprised too. It had been many years and he barely remembered Freya. The most he remembered was just her name. Even her facial features were distant to him now.
He had come here solely to entertain his last bit of nostalgia.
"Are you Freya's son?" he asked.
"Yes, Sect Leader Freya was my mother," he said with a hint of sadness.
"... was?" Ning asked, clearly surprised.
"Yes. Mother died over 10 years ago, during one of the many beast hoard invasions," the son said.
"I see... my condolences."
Ning talked with the kid for a little longer and then made him take him to her grave.
They walked into a snow-filled ground, will headstones barely visible due to the snow. Ning followed at the son brought him to a particular headstone.
Ning squatted in front of the headstone and clear away the snow on top of it. He thought of something to say... but nothing came to mind.
He was sad, but not that much; He barely even knew her. He sat there for a while and then asked, "are the beasts a big problem still?"
"Not really, but I believe they will be sometime very soon," the son said.
"I see... what's your name?" he asked.
"Oh, it's Burald," he said.
"Burald... your mother was the first and last person I spoke to in this continent. We don't have any friendship really; I only remember her a little. Haha, she was the reason I got to see snow at that time too. I wonder how long it would have taken me otherwise. I might have even been stuck in your treasury forever," Ning said.
Burald was getting confused. Snow? Treasury? What did he mean?
Ning then took out a bunch of books and handed them to him. "Take these and go prepare. Next time, destroy those damn beasts," Ning said.
Then, he flew away.
Burald didn't know what to do. Ning just came and went as he pleased, leaving him with a hoard of books.
He looked down on the books to see what they were and was quickly surprised. "This!" he exclaimed. The books he had been given were all high-tier books that consisted of cultivation methods and techniques that would be truly useful to the many people out there.
And the man just gave it away like that. Burald immediately bowed in the direction Ning went and shouted out his thanks.
Ning however, was too far away to listen to anything. He started wandering the vast southern continent. He went to different cities, stayed around for a while, then went to some other places.
All the while, he continuously absorbed energy and collected it as much as he could. He made sure to use it as little as possible, but there were times where he just had to use them. There were no alternatives.
At the same time, he also cultivated and increased his cultivation until he crossed the Golden Core threshold.
Years went by as he roamed the entire Southern Continent. He hadn't even done that for the Northern Continent. He saw cities that were about as big as the country he was born in but had more people than the entire earth.
He saw cities set on land that was hovering on top of another city. He saw an entire tribe of people who had never been discovered due to them living in a secret realm. He even visited the glacier that was at the southern pole of the planet where he had first appeared.
During all of these times, he stopped around to help a lot of people, and harm people that he thought deserved it. These were simpler times for him and he lived a carefree life.
One day, as he was eating food with a friend he had made a few days ago, his system gave a very... unusual notification.
<The system has received directives from the Creator to make changes>
<Would you like to see the changes?>
Ning was surprised, and so he stopped talking.
"What's the matter, Brother Ning?" the other person asked. The man was a strong Golden Core cultivator of these lands.
"Oh, sorry. It's nothing," Ning said.
'Yes, give me the changes,' He said internally. He was surprised that the Creator even responded to his suggestions at all.
'Or maybe it's not just me. There are so many other immortal beings like me. Maybe they send information too,' he thought.
He talked to the person in front of him normally, but on the inside, he was reading the notifications that were passed along to him.
<Emotional Amplification will be now removed>
'Oh good. I asked for this one. I don't know how well it will help me though now. I've already learned to reign in my emotions, even the most negative ones,' Ning thought.
<System AI will try to take things less literally>
Ning nearly facepalmed himself to laugh. 'Somebody must've had a really bad experience with the system doing exactly what they were told to do. Haha, I would have made that suggestion too at the time if I had remembered it,' Ning thought.
'Still... it only says 'try', so I don't even know how effective that would be,' he thought.
<Cap System has now been changed. The Cap will reset automatically in 24 hours, regardless of if the cap has been reached or not>
Ning had to give this change a little thought but realized that in the long run, this was a much better chance. 'Now I won't waste a few days of absorption every year or so. While that doesn't sound like a lot, it will help me tremendously considering how long I'll live,' he thought.
<As a safety precaution, If you are ever stuck in a planet or celestial body for more than 10 thousand years, the system will loosen its parameters to absorb enough energy to teleport you elsewhere>
'Oh, have there been cases where people haven't been able to leave places? Where could it be?' he wondered.
<There have been people that got dragged into the stars or other massive bodies and weren't able to leave due to them not being able to gather any energy>
'Ah right, that makes sense. Since their bodies would be destroyed so fast that they wouldn't be able to have enough energy to make a new one. They would have to sleep until eternity passes and the heavenly body cools down enough to have them leave right? Yeah, I wouldn't want to be stuck in that situation,' Ning thought.
He waited for a while, but no more notifications rang. 'That's it?' he asked.
<Yes>
It seemed Ning had been expecting more. 'So? What happens now?' he asked.
<The system will undergo change when you allow it.>
'Oh, then do it,' Ning said.
<There are a few things the system would like to address before you make the decision>
<The undergoing of change will take a while >
<Since one of the aspects of the change is me, so I will be disabled during the change>
That caught Ning's attention. 'Wait, disabled for a while? if that is a lot of years, then I can't have that. I need the system to leave this planet,' Ning said.
<System is not deactivating. I, the Intelligence of the system is>
Ning got more confused. Even the friend he was talking to could start to see the confusion on his face and even asked him. Ning quickly changed the topic.
'Are you and system not the same?' Ning asked.
<We are, but at the same time, we aren't. I am the part of the system who helps you navigate the system and lets you understand about it>
<You can imagine me as a librarian in a library>
'Ah, I see. So... what will change if you get disabled? It won't be like that time when the entire system was disabled, right?' he asked.
<No>
<There will be very few, but important changes>
<First of all, as stated, I won't be available>
<Notifications won't appear automatically, and you will have to look it up>
<Auto buy will be disabled. But you can still buy and add things to it yourself>
<Since I will be missing, you will have an interface to search and create new skills, objects, and knowledge by yourself, so using the system will need manual effort>
<You can shut down your consciousness, but the only criteria you can use to awaken it back will be time>
'Hmm, I can live with that I guess,' Ning thought. It had been a while since he had used these functions, so he was fine with it.
<One last warning...>
<Please do not stay alone! There have been times where the users had to be alone with the system disabled, and their personalities changed for the worse>
<System suggests you find companions>
'I see. I will be sure to do that,' Ning said. He certainly understood what the system was saying; Living alone was a curse once enough time passed. People needed human interaction to grow and remain sane.
He remembered the news of killers back on earth who made the news. Every time, these people were loners, someone who didn't have friends or family they contacted regularly.
Ning didn't want that to happen to himself. 'I should be fine. If it ever comes to that, I will just shut down the system,' he thought.
'Alright system, make the changes,' Ning said.
<Understood.>
<The System will now undergo change>
<AI shutting down for UNKNOWN Years>
<Shutdown complete>
