Frank and Dawn could not refuse the couple's enthusiasm, with Jojo's dad bringing them a couple of lamb skewers.Smiling, he asked, "Are you two in a relationship or already married?"Dawn quickly shook her head as she took one. "There's a misunderstanding. We're just friends."Jojo's mother giggled. "Even if you're just friends, I'm sure you're considering the possibility?"Dawn blushed, at a loss for words.That was when a drunkard wobbled toward them, leering at Dawn through muddled eyes and immediately feeling a pang of lust.Mistaking that he was at a nightclub because of the music, he came up to her and giggled, "Come on, girl! Let's drink!" Frank glowered and snapped, "Go to bed if you're drunk, or quit yapping!""It's none of your business!" the drunkard bellowed. "Don't play the maiden if you're out to play—I won't fall for it! As for money… All I have is money!"Whipping out a handful of hundred dollar bills, he threw them at Dawn.However, Frank pulled her out of
The priestess then threw away the torch and gestured politely at Frank.Confused but undaunted, Frank strode into the picture of the dragon's head.The priestess raised both hands to the skies in response, her bare feet stamping the ground repeatedly.Soon, the flames danced, and a fiery dragon materialized, taking to the air!Everyone clapped, having no idea what was happening and presuming that it was a magic show.Only Frank knew that it was not—it was the priestess's spell, and she was one of a kind!That was when the fiery dragon streaked toward Frank, and the fiery dragon dematerialized.The priestess, who was walking circles around Frank, stopped.She leaned her head to the side as she stared at Frank, visibly stumped.But after studying Frank for a while, she sighed in relief.With a wave of her hand, the flames dispersed, and the crowd cheered again.At the same time, the priestess ran toward the bonfire, chanting and dancing like before to bless everyone.Jada wal
"Dream on!"Unlike the rest, Jojo was an agent of justice, and it was only natural that she sided with Frank and Jada for saving her life!Incensed, the drunkard snapped, "You asked for it, brat!"He raised his fist, ready for a spring, but was instead sent flying in an instant!Everyone around was shocked. What just happened—divine intervention?!While they were left confused, the drunkard's friends were sent flying, groaning in agony and screaming about being haunted as they landed.Jada chuckled. "Leave it to Mr. Frankton to have fun. Most people wouldn't have come up with something like this."As for the others, they had no idea what was happening, unlike Jada. Hearing that the place was haunted and having seen how those people were sent flying for no reason, they all started to flee.Even Jojo's parents lost composure, scooping Jojo up and fleeing without telling Frank.Soon enough, Frank's group left, and Alda came up to him, smirking. "That was on purpose, right?"
Frank could tell that the priestess and her fraternity were no villains, and so, he told them everything about the spiritron vein.And as expected, after hearing his story, the priestess did not think that he was lying—in fact, she felt sympathy for him. "Not treating humans as humans, even its host? It truly is evil! What a pity that my paltry skills can't destroy it!"Still, Frank remained curious. "I've told you everything I know. Shouldn't you tell me the source of your power too?"The priestess smiled. "I'm no angel, but I know a little courtesy. Come with me."With that, she stood up and started leading Frank up the mountain.The geezers behind them scrambled to their feet and followed, reasoning, "Let's think about this please, Your Excellency. He's an outsider—we can't reveal our secret to him!"The priestess simply laughed coolly. "Sure, then why don't you stop him? Let's see if you can."The geezers were left speechless right then, not because they were afraid to die,
Naturally, there would definitely have been differing circumstances, since the priestess's group looked no different from normal.And there was what she said about survival bias, and it was a million to one odds that something like this would happen. Otherwise, everyone in contact with the meteorite would mutate!Frank then suggested, "Should I get someone to research it?""Absolutely not! It belongs to us—no one gets to be near it!"While the geezers were absolutely vehement against the idea, the priestess snapped, "Yours? Is your name written on it? It's true that our predecessors passed on a tradition to us, but none of us even understand if it would hurt people."The geezers were simply bemused. "How could you say that?""If it does, why didn't our ancestors notice it over the last thousand years?"The priestess smiled in wry amusement—being uneducated was a terrible thing. "They wouldn't have felt it because of the low average life expectancy. Just read the stats—even now
The priestess took the ring, put on her mask, and started dancing.Halfway through, she suddenly threw it into the crater!She turned, ready to explain herself when she saw that Frank remained unaffected.That left her perplexed. "Aren't you worried that I'd take that ring for myself?"Frank chuckled. "I gave it to you, so I'm ready to lose it. It's not that important anyway!"The priestess smiled at Frank's unexpected generosity—she had certainly chosen wisely!Even as the thought crossed her mind, it happened—the ring shot out of the crater. But now, it was blindingly radiant and covered in runes that Frank did not recognize.Still, he could tell that it was useful for him and so asked, "How did you know this would work?"The priestess smiled. "I sensed it when I smelled the evil presence, and it felt familiar. I'm sure that it shares the same origins as the meteorite in that crater, so I tested it—I just didn't think it would work."Frank nodded. "Thanks!"The priestess sm
Jouri sighed. "Thank goodness I read up a little, or I really wouldn't know how I should explain it to you."See, the basic principle of radiation is the decay of the atoms. Those aren't actually particles, but 99.9999% of everything we see and touch every day is built up of it. Do you understand what that means?"Neither Jada nor Moxxi really got it, though that was when Frank strode up. "I'll try!"The spiritron vein was at stake, and there was a brighter future if this went well, so Frank was not about to give up on such an opportunity.Naturally, Moxxi was a little worried. "You shouldn't, Mr. Frankton. It's too dangerous! What if something happens to you, what with the high radiation?"Jada disagreed, since she had been with Frank longer and knew Frank's strength. "I think you should try! The spiritron vein is quite radioactive in the first place, so the meteorite might be neutralized if you got close. And you had said before that the spiritron vein does care about you, since
Frank then picked up the meteorite and only started to absorb the meteorite after ensuring that the crater would not collapse.But just as he did, the golden dragon spoke in his mind. "Have you come up with an idea on what to do with that? You're right that we come from the same place, but there are some elusive details… Would you like to know more?"Frank chuckled coolly. "Don't tease me. You'd never tell me anyway.""Smart. As expected of the one I chose!" The golden dragon laughed. "However, I can teach you how to handle it—who knows, it might help you absorb it."As the golden dragon finished, text that Frank somehow recognized appeared in his mind, telling him how to use the power of the spiritron vein.Not only could it be used against the meteorite, but it would still improve Frank further and grant him techniques that he had never used before.As such, he wasted no time and went to work, and just as expected, the radiation readings soon showed that the meteorite was harml