The Accidental Cultivator

The southern skies were gray.

Storm clouds brewed above the ruined village of Kaliganj as a caravan of elite royal guards marched down the broken trail. Their boots crushed ash and rubble underfoot. Banners fluttered in the wind—red with the insignia of Vaikunth Dham. Twin lions roaring in gold.

At the front rode Prince Rudraksh, face stone-hard, eyes scanning every inch of the destruction. He was dressed in armor laced with chakra threads, a glimmering halberd slung across his back.

Beside him rode Princess Roshni, silent but tense. Her hands were clenched tight around her reins.

They had prepared themselves for horror.

But what they saw still shook them.

The village… was gone.

No, not looted. Not burned in parts.

Erased.

Charred remains of huts lined the cracked earth like skeletons. Blackened trees leaned like broken limbs. The air was thick with smoke and silence—no birds, no insects, no wind.

Just the stench of ash and burnt blood.

Rudraksh signaled the troops to fan out and investigate.

Then—

A sound.

Low at first.

Then rising.

Laughter.

Manic. Wild. Uncontrolled.

It echoed from the heart of the devastation, like a beast howling at its own madness.

Roshni narrowed her eyes. "What... is that?"

They pushed forward, weaving through smoldering wreckage—until the source came into view.

In the center of a massive crater stood a figure in black.

He wore an obsidian mask, the same described in the reports.

A black cloak fluttered behind him.

His body was lean, bloodstained, bruised.

But his posture was upright. Victorious.

He stood amidst corpses and collapsed buildings like a man who'd just won a war—alone.

And he was laughing.

Head thrown back.

Arms outstretched.

As if the world itself had become a joke only he understood.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA—OH MAN, THIS IS TOO GOOD! I LOOK LIKE A VILLAIN! HELL, MAYBE I AM ONE!"

Roshni froze in the saddle.

Her voice dropped. "That… voice…"

Rudraksh's eyes narrowed. "You recognize him?"

She didn't answer immediately.

But deep down—beneath the fear, beneath the disbelief—her gut already knew.

That laugh.

That tone.

That wild energy.

It wasn't the masked boy from the destruction.

It was Aryan.

And in that moment…

He didn't look like a victim.

He looked like the one everyone else should fear.

The smoke curled into the sky like ghostly ribbons, rising from broken rooftops and scorched fields.

Roshni and Rudraksh stood with their royal guard at the edge of the destruction, the stench of ash and blood hanging thick in the air.

And there—at the center of it all—stood a boy.

Cloaked in black.

Wearing a sharp obsidian mask.

Standing in the middle of chaos like he belonged there.

He didn't run.

He didn't hide.

He just... turned.

And smiled.

Rudraksh narrowed his eyes. "Is that…?"

Roshni's face darkened. "It's him. The masked boy. The one I met in the treasury. I told you—he's not normal."

They started approaching slowly, hands ready on their weapons.

Aryan, meanwhile, was adjusting his new mask in the reflection of a broken pot.

"Damn," he whispered to himself. "I look insane. This thing fits better than my own skin."

System:

"Oh no. He's going full Insane. Abort mission. Abort."

Then Aryan looked up.

A small army was staring at him.

Not a single one smiling.

But he—bless his idiotic heart—completely misunderstood.

"Oh," he said, straightening proudly. "You saw that, huh?"

System:

"…No. Don't say it. Don't you dare—"

Aryan raised both arms like a wrestler winning a title match.

"You're welcome!"

Roshni flinched. "What... what did he just say, is he proud making this destruction"

Rudraksh took a step forward. "Are you mocking us?"

Aryan laughed. "Mocking? Nah! I mean, sure, it was flashy but come on—that guy needed to be taken down a peg. And I did it. BOOM. All cleaned up."

System:

"…Broth...Brother Use Your Words Properly."

Aryan spun around slowly, letting his cloak twirl around himself. "You like the cloak? Storage space inside. Ten meters wide! Beat that."

He grinned behind the mask, not noticing the horror growing on the faces before him.

Roshni whispered, "He's proud of it…"

"He's flaunting it," Rudraksh said. "Like a trophy."

The guards started murmuring.

"He's insane."

"Is he seriously showing off in a place where people just died?"

"He did this… and he's bragging?"

Aryan took a deep, satisfied breath. "I really nailed it this time. That explosion? Perfect aim. No collateral. Clean as a whistle."

System:

"STOP STOP Talking I will uninstall myself if you keep going."

A cough echoed nearby.

From the rubble behind the guards, a few surviving villagers stumbled out—bloodied, dazed.

They didn't know Aryan. They had never seen him before.

And all they saw now was a masked boy, laughing in flames.

"That's him!" one pointed with a shaky hand. "That's the one who caused this!"

"He did this! He's still here!"

Aryan didn't hear them—he was too far, still close to the royals, too busy admiring the cape's dramatic flair when he flicked it.

System:

"Oh great. Eyewitnesses. And you missed it because you were cosplaying."

Rudraksh turned to the survivors. "Are you sure?"

"We saw him! He's the one who was here when it all happened!"

Back near the ruined center, Aryan struck a pose, mask slightly tilted, cloak billowing.

"People are going to talk about this day," he said with a sigh. "The day a hero rose from the ashes."

System:

"…Yes. And they'll call you the worst hero in recorded history."

Roshni clenched her fists. "We need to arrest him. Now."

Aryan, seeing their serious faces, nodded with pride. "Yeah, I know. You're overwhelmed. Happens a lot when I enter a scene."

System:

"…God help us."

"Surround him!" Rudraksh commanded, as palace guards fanned out like a net closing in.

Roshni's eyes narrowed. "This fool's delusion ends now."

Aryan scratched the back of his head through the hood, completely confused.

"Wait, why's everyone so tense? What's with the swords? Was that not a 'good job' squad coming toward me?"

System:

"They are literally trying to arrest you. This is not a parade. This is not a fanclub. Please stop breathing like a golden retriever in cosplay."

Aryan stepped back.

One guard lunged.

Aryan flinched.

BOOM.

His foot struck the dirt at the wrong angle.

Passive Activation: +40% Boost of Acceleration

A flash of chakra surged through his body.

"W-Wait what just—"

Before he could finish the sentence, he vanished.

To the guards, it looked like he simply melted into the smoke and shadows.

"What the—WHERE DID HE GO?" shouted a soldier.

"Eyes up! He's still cloaked!"

The night was thick with smoke from earlier destruction, and Aryan's new Shadow Cloak shimmered perfectly in it—bending light just enough to make him blur into the environment.

Not only that, but the cloak's spatial enchantment lightened his body by 30%.

Every step now was feather soft Every movement, smoother.

He dashed over a broken fence. Leapt across two collapsed rooftops. His body moved like it wasn't even touching the ground.

And as he sprinted faster, the Acceleration doubled.

+40% speed after 100 seconds.

He was a blur. Then a whisper. Then gone.

Far from Kaliganj…

The air turned cooler. The ruins gave way to trees.

Leaves glistened under moonlight. Crickets chirped in silence.

Aryan finally slowed down—his breath fogging the air, his heart thudding against his ribs.

He stood atop a mossy ledge, blinking.

Before him, a hidden valley stretched wide. A forgotten glade surrounded by tall rock walls.

Moonlight fell through a break in the cliffside, illuminating the area in silver-blue light.

A narrow stream ran through the center, its surface glowing like liquid stars.

Soft flowers bloomed at the water's edge—deep purple and ghost-white, breathing under the wind.

Aryan stumbled forward, dazed. "Where… the hell am I?"

System:

"Wherever it is... stay here. Just—stay put, you are running disaster on legs."

Aryan nodded. His voice quiet for once.

"…Yeah. Let's not go back for now."

He dropped his backpack and sat beside the stream.

Behind the mask, a tired grin stretched across his face.

"…That was wild."

System:

"That was stupid. But… you're alive. Somehow."

Aryan stared at his reflection in the water—masked, cloaked, surrounded by stars and smoke and secrets.

He looked like a villain.

He felt like a mistake.

But somewhere inside… something was changing.