Easygoing Sect Leader

Aki woke up to a head-splitting headache. While groggily examining his surroundings, he began to realize that something was quite horribly wrong. Instead of the cramped student apartment he had expected to see, he was splayed in the middle of something that looked like a dubious eldritch ritual. Around him was a circle of wooden talismans carved with mysterious symbols, crackling with an unnatural light. Aki began to slowly gather his thoughts.

What on earth… This is not any place I recognize. Have I been kidnapped? This doesn feel like a dream. Im pretty sure you
e not supposed to feel such painful headaches in dreams.

The last thing he could remember was his feverish reading binge, during which he had attempted to read all 1200 chapters of ”Begone Jade Beauties, This Lord Only Wishes to Defy the Heavens ” in one sitting. He had just gotten past chapter 1000, when the dehydration, hunger and exhaustion had finally caught up to him. He vaguely recalled feeling some kind of pain in his chest and falling unconscious.

Suddenly, the wooden talismans around him flashed with one last bit of energy, before crumbling to dust. Aki watched the piles of dust warily, but they remained inert.

Well, that certainly didn seem natural. I don think laying on the floor is going to help me figure out this situation.

Aki stood up shakily and began to take stock of the situation. First, he noticed that he was not in his comfortable loungewear. Instead, he was wearing flowing white and blue robes embroidered with gold highlights. At his waist hung a sheath containing a finely ornamented knife. He was also feeling a lot more energetic than he should have. Considering his recent life habits, he should not have been feeling more full of energy than he had been in years. It began to feel downright unnatural, like there was some sort of energy trapped inside his body, searching for a way out.

He looked around, rubbed his eyes, then looked around again, but the world around him still looked very different from how it should. Everywhere around him, wisps and threads of light were drifting off from nearby surfaces. Brown, firm strands of light were drifting off from the wooden floor below him while the lit candles around the room gave off red, energetic sparks.

Whats with these lights? Am I under the influence of some drug?

The room was rather austere in appearance. The surfaces were made of stark, undecorated wood. Instead of a comfortable bed, the room contained an elevated wooden plank. The shelves in the room were filled with slips of jade, and the simple desk in the corner contained no writing implements. A simple stone washing basin filled with water stood next to the elevated plank.

As Aki stumbled to the washing basin, he gasped in surprise at the reflection gazing back at him from within the water. It was an unfamiliar face, with sharp, intelligent features and eyes that shone with a golden light. An elegant black beard was complimented by a stylish moustache as well as a mane of long, flowing black hair. It was the face of a wise eastern philosopher, not the face of a 23-year-old student.

Now, as a man quick on the uptake, who had read several hundred reincarnation light novels in the last few years, Aki started to gradually get the picture of what was going on.

”Is this some kind off isekai scenari- ”

Knock Knock

A sudden knock at the door was followed by an elegant female voice.

”Master, disciple Passionate Seeker offers greetings. May I come in? Did you finish the ritual successfully? ”

Evidently, Aki was not to be provided with time to get his bearings. He snapped to attention, and his mind began to race at increasing speeds.

At his core, Aki was a man of improvisation. So far, he had lived by the rule that if he did not know what was going on, he should pretend he did while going with the flow. He had learned through his years that a confident smile and vague, encouraging statements could get you a lot further in life than one might expect.

Thus, despite the absurdity of the situation, his mind quickly arrived at an appropriate plan of action. He walked next to the remains of the ritual and turned his gaze towards the door. He attempted to fix a knowing, wise expression to his face and adopted a confident, authoritative posture.

”You may enter, disciple. ”

Despite being surprised by how deep his voice now sounded, he managed to keep his voice steady and make it evoke a fatherly tone.

The door opened and a young woman carefully stepped into the room. Her auburn hair was arrayed in a loose bun, which was fixed in place with a thin wooden hairpin. She had clear blue eyes which eagerly darted around the room, as if in an attempt to commit every detail to memory. She eyed the remains of the ritual with an especially hungry gaze before politely bowing towards Aki.

”Greetings Master, I hope you have found success. ”

On closer inspection, the woman seemed to be somewhat beyond natural. Rather than just seeming young, her face had an ageless quality to it. Her eyes shone with the light of a summer sky, and blue strands of energy occasionally flickered across her unnaturally smooth skin.

Aki noticed that her robes appeared to be similar to his own, save that the golden highlights were replaced with silver ones.

Well, this appears to be quite the interesting situation. Aki began to ponder. It appears that Im some sort of teacher figure here. She introduced herself with a rather quaint name, I wonder if I have a similarly curious name? Taking into account this whole situation, this talk of a ”ritual ” and these threads of light drifting about everywhere, its probably safe to assume that some sorts of mystical forces are at play here.

By now, the Akis headache had had mostly faded away. He was still holding onto the hope that this was some elaborate hoax, which was a rather flimsy proposition. However, considering the absurdity of the situation, it was the best Aki could do. He elected to continue his charade, as going with the flow seemed to be going well so far.

After offering her greetings, Passionate Seeker frowned in concentration at Aki for a