William and Charlotte parted ways after the lecture since Charlotte said she needed to take care of some things at her residence. Before she left, they agreed to meet at Wild Clover later that night.
William checked the status of his challenge to Kevin and was surprised to see that the request had been approved already. There would be a match held the following day at a predetermined location.
The Ranking Board flashed and showed William the location of the fight, which would be at a battle Arena near the training area.
'That was fast, I didn't expect to fight until at least a week from now.' William commented inwardly. This worked out well though, as the time was conveniently set for an hour after his duties at the Alchemy Hall were completed.
What do I do now? I still have a few hours before meeting back up with Charlotte.
After a moment of deliberation, William decided to visit the market and purchase a map. Since the Sect Master teleported him here, William still didn't know what part of the Continent he was in.
Judging by Charlotte's explanation of her travels, he must be somewhere further East, but he didn't know exactly where.
He spent half an hour searching various shops until he found what he was looking for. Displayed in a large frame was a square map about two meters long. He spoke to the shopkeeper and was able to secure a copy about half the size for 20 Gold Coins.
The price was a bit expensive for a map, but William didn't complain since this specific one detailed not only the regions and their borders, but also many other features.
There were various known ruins depicted on the map as coffins, with checkmarks on the cleared ones. The regions were shaded out and highlighted in 3 different colors of green, yellow, and red based on their danger level, while cities and capitals were shown as small and large stars. Next to the stars were family crests, showing which family currently held ownership of the city.
According to the map, William had teleported nearly 800 kilometers East of Blue Moon City. He was now situated almost exactly halfway from Thin Creek Village to the edge of the Providence Zone. All the regions around the Sect were shaded in a bright green, suggesting this area was one of the safest locations on the Continent.
William rolled up the map and put it in the Space Ring with his money. He would inspect it later for more details when there was a chance.
He shopped around a bit but didn't find much else of interest. Some of the shopkeepers were very friendly and suggested William visit during the night market since they would begin selling Cultivation resources then.
The invitation was too tempting to pass up, so William decided he would have to visit in the future. He almost regretted telling Glen no before when he was invited last time.
He returned to the residence and took a quick nap before dinner. He realized he had missed lunch, but it was no matter since that would leave more room for one of Wild Clover's delicious meals.
He walked to Wild Clover, where Charlotte was already waiting. She was dressed in the same medium length white dress that she wore when he first met her. Her hair was done in a single ponytail in the back, and her skin was glowing like a goddess.
Charlotte looked confused. "What is it?"
"Oh nothing, you just look great today." William said with a smile. This almost seemed like a date, so William was a bit nervous.
Charlotte blushed, "Thank you. Are we ready to go in?"
William nodded. They walked into the restaurant and took their seats. An unfamiliar disciple took their orders, with William ordering something new from the menu once again. He went all out, going for the Spirit Super Meal, a combination of many different prized cuts from different beasts.
The order was a bit expensive at 40 Gold Coins, but William could handle it for today. Charlotte on the other hand at the Glittering Salad with Spirit Ham.
"This is delicious!" she said with a mouthful of food. Her reaction was surprisingly attractive; her small cheeks bunched up like a raccoon's and her eyes glittered with delight.
William nodded, "It's a bit embarrassing but I've eaten here pretty much every night since I got here. They have so many different good meals, and they're guaranteed to help with Cultivation." he explained in between bites.
They are and chatted for a while before it was time to pay for their meal and leave. William offered to pay Charlotte's portion, but she refused kindly and paid her share. She didn't want to seem like the kind of girl that took advantage of others.
William and Charlotte walked to her residence since it was close by, then said their goodbyes. "I'll see you again in about a week, right?" she asked.
"Sure, I will probably be pretty busy with my Ranking Board challenges, but we should eat here again." he offered. Thɪs chapter is updated by n0velfire.net
"Sure!" Charlotte blushed a little thinking about how eager William was to spend a night out with her again. Once William left for his residence, she ran inside and started jumping around with excitement.
Charlotte was worried that her time at the Sect would be dull or boring with no one familiar around, but now that William was here, she was relieved. Let's become stronger together, William.
William went back to his residence in high spirits. After basically spending all day with a cute girl and eating good food, there was no way he wouldn't be in a good mood. There weren't even any jealous young men trying to cause trouble for no reason like in some of the books William had read in the past.
The only downside was that the night ended there. Maybe I should have invited her to the Night Market with me.
He had thought about it, but William didn't know what kind of place it was. He didn't want to bring Charlotte along and there be trouble on the way.
-Earned affection from a close acquaintance: +10 Potential Points
William was surprised. Did this mean Charlotte liked him? Even though they had a good time, William didn't think much of it before. But now, the System gave him an obvious hint that he couldn't possibly miss.
What's with that weird verbage though? From a close acquaintance? William didn't worry too much about it. He was happy enough knowing Charlotte liked him and was already contributing precious Potential Points to him.