Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

Chapter 114: Buddha, the Tubian of Serenity

A 6 foot tall man came walking into the room. The aroma of drooling spices empowered by the presence of various vegetables succeeded him. As the young man entered the room, the kid who was previously eating lollipop peeped through the tears of the curtain.

The face without a moustache or beard was refreshing for eyes. His face that formed a handsome shape as it narrowed down, could have made him a playboy. The unusually dazzling eyelashes attributed vigour to the face. At the first glance, anyone can find the presence of a faint, but permanent smile on his face. As if God itself had created, he had a nose and a mouth so flawlessly fitting his being.

Neatly combed black hair of precise one and a half inches length gave evidence of hair oil. His strong build was easily outlined through the thin upperwear, which was full of faint stains of culinary skills. His half-pants looked old and was old, according to Lee's observation. The bright brown-black eyes on a beautiful wheat coloured face was the first of its kind Lee is seeing. As his sight fell on the women, the young man bowed as he stationed himself behind the desk.

"Welcome to Gauthama's Inn."

A voice that is most appropriate for a receptionist came out of his mouth, and Lee was starting to doubt his gender. Even the antelope next to Mia found this man strangely peaceful.

Yes, the man had a unique vibe of peace around him. Lee too felt this, as his thoughts and mind began to calm down. D was concerned about Lee's safety, so he pulled Lee out of his comfort zone and advised about the situation. Lee regained his composure and responded-

"We need 4 rooms."

As soon as Lee spoke, Mia overtook him and said-

"No, a room with four beds is fine!"

She made herself clear as she added an explanation with it. Lee could only nod to her suggestion as she gave priority to the unity of this family she has now. At the moment, the female from before came out of the door. The young man handed over a key to the girl and politely asked her to guide them to the room. She took the keys from his palm and led the women away towards the stairs.

The building under the protection of the Cultivator's Guild had an old stairway spiralling upward. The stairs originated from the same wall, on which the front door was also situated. Lee somehow did not look back and missed this information.

"May I know your name?"

As the women stepped away from him, Lee tried to establish a conversation between him and the young man. An and Ruella saw his attempt, and left him alone to talk.

Lee unconsciously glanced at the kid standing at the door. The young man followed his line of sight and saw the little boy peeping through the tears of the curtain, and called him near to give a candy. As soon as he got the candy, he ran inside after giving a kiss on the young man's cheek.

"My name is Siddhartha Gauthama."

The man straightened his body and smiled as he gave a reply.

"Oh....wait what?!"

Lee took a moment to realise that the name had striking similarity to a well-known personality from Earth. He recollected bits and pieces of the Siddhartha Gauthama he knew about. But the dissimilarity between their facial features and hair consoled Lee.

Lee was not satisfied by his evaluation, so he decided to throw a bait to find out whether this dimension has a similar naming sense.

"You have an unusual name!"

The young man smiled at Lee's remark. He had nothing to respond.

"I once heard of a man with a similar name. He was later called Buddha!"

Lee put up an act of walking towards the stairs, as he was slowly turned from the desk. For his surprise, the response that came from his behind, stunned him.

"It has been many millennia since I have seen an Earthling. Glad to meet you!"

Silence and surprise had completely flooded Lee's mind. He stood there like a statue for a whole minute, without blinking. D did not raise his voice, as it could interrupt Lee's flow of thoughts.

With wide eyes, Lee stared at the face of the Buddha. He found his features different from how the history and the stories depicted. Lee tried to speak out his amazement, but his throat swallowed the words.

"You are really the Buddha?!"

Unconsciously, Lee raised his doubt. His eyes could not confirm what they were looking at. The very usage of the term 'Earthling' confirmed his hypothesis. This is the real Buddha!!!

"How.how did you end up here.as a human?!"

For the first time, Lee was not composed when he was conversing. He literally wanted to scream, but he suppressed the urge to its maximum. His eyes went wide as he immediately stared at the wooden lotus carved with unrivalled precision and beauty. The index finger on his right hand repeatedly pointed towards the flower and Buddha. Now, he understood the reason why that wooden lotus on the shelf was so familiar. Lee had lived in a monastery for a couple of years. Gauthama had an amused expression, as he witnessed an earthling almost freaking out. D evaluated the situation as 'what the hell' because a man with 325 resolve was bloody restless!

"Wait.what do you mean by many millennia?"

Gauthama chuckled in reply and his words followed.

"It has been almost 3000 years since I have come here. And I am not a human!"

*gasp*

Lee gasped as he took a step backward, with wide open eyes. He forgot to breathe for a dozen of seconds and was staring utterly surprised at the face of Buddha. Gauthama found the necessity of a brief explanation.

"When my soul left the mortal shell on earth, I was not guided towards reincarnation, but to this dimension. Here, I was reborn in my previous form, the way I looked before accepting the path of enlightenment. Not only me, but many people who had been enlightened in their native dimension, get similarly transferred to other dimensions. The pick is random. Here, I belong to a race called Tubian, and have been given the title 'Tubian of Serenity'. The title does not hold anything special, but it conveys the emotion or entity, in which you have attained enlightenment."

*gasp*

Lee glanced over his shoulders and saw no one beside him. Then he realised that the gasp came from within. Yes, D gasped so loud that Lee mistook it for someone standing next to him. Gauthama told a few things, but the amount of information it had embedded in it, was much larger for an immediate compilation. D got his composure back and advised Lee not to mind him, as he would be going to take a few hours to compile the information into a sequenced and organised one.

'View.'

Lee felt an urge to use his system skill on Gauthama. He did not hesitate when the slightest desire arose.

=====

Name: Siddhartha Gauthama.

Race: Tubian.

Age: -

Law: Serenity.

-----

Health: -

Strength: -

Vitality: -

Agility: -

Defense: -

Endurance: -

Sense: -

Intelligence: -

Resolve: -

=====

For the first time, Lee met a super powerful, yet serene being that even the system skill 'View' failed to analyse. What is more interesting is that the person is also from Earth. He glimpsed at the wooden lotus and used 'View'. To his surprise, only a single line of information appeared.

=====

A Wooden Lotus.

=====

Gauthama had the same serene expression as Lee looked back at him. D, who also saw the incomprehensible status panel, advised not to mess with this person. Lee did not want D to advise that, as he himself was pale at such an overpowering presence. Noticing Lee frozen up like a statue, Gauthama spoke-

"Why don't we continue our conversation later? Your companions might be waiting for you upstairs. My sister is not too good at keeping the customers entertained."

Lee was knocked back to sense by these words. For a second, he remembered about the female from before.

"Is she also a Tubian?"

Siddhartha replied as he shook his head.

"No. She was the daughter of a dark elf male and a human female. She was abandoned as they were exiled from their communities. The parents perished in the wilderness, but she survived, broken hearted. I came across her when I was travelling, and I took her under me. She is my sister now."

"That boy?"

"He is the son of the blacksmith next door. Since his father is busy, he comes here to play."

Lee nodded as he heard the answer. He was about to ask something, when the hourly reminder popped up.

=====

7 P.M.

24625 Essence harvested.

=====

[Just compiled the information. What I found out from his explanation made sense. The doubts regarding the mysterious origin of Tubians and their powers are solved. His unknown status may not be a problem, as it will be uncovered eventually when you strengthen yourself up. I hope so. As a system, I still do not know the extent of my abilities, and I am still learning.

Used a few Essence to completely upgrade the Water Affinity to Greater grade. Just reminding you, that you still have a lot to travel and earn.]

Lee nodded at D's comment and excused himself from the presence of the Buddha. Before going up the stairs, Gauthama told Lee that the restaurant across the street serves good food, despite its old and dim appearance.

Lee gave a smile and nod in return and ascended the spiral stairs. The inn only had a first floor and there were seven rooms. The second room to his left was illuminated from the inside, and he assumed that that was the room.

Walking towards the door, Lee can hear conversing voices from the inside. As his figure appeared at the door, he saw four beds stuffed inside the 3 metres wide and 4 metres long room. Two lamps on the opposite walls shed their light in the room. The women can be seen sitting on each bed and talking with pleasant expressions. As soon as they caught sight of Lee, Gauthama's sister excused herself and left the room with an honest smile.

Noticing the happy faces, Lee felt guilt as he had ruined their bonding moments. Noticing his frown, Mia went to the door and dragged him inside.

"The inn owner, Gauthama, told me that the restaurant across the street serves good food. If you are feeling hungry, we can go there."

Ruella and An nodded as Mia jumped onto her bed. Though not as comfortable and cozy as the Perrafin's fur, it still delivered the punch. She felt into a molten state as her mind relaxed. Lee at once remembered about the beasts and left the room as he gave a short explanation before leaving. Descending the stairs, the sight he beheld was amazing!