The Dragon Girl’s Ascension Vol 3
Table of Contents
The Stupid Rabbit Appears
Again
The Stupid Rabbit Appears Again
After
bringing back the soldiers to work as slaves, Desaray worked with Regal on
making plans for the new expansion to encompass the entire building where the
dungeon that dropped computer parts is located.
After
the new expansion design blueprint was settled, Desaray retreated to her own
house. She sat in the living room with Lilly in her lap as she spread out the
computer parts in front of her. “Mama, what are these?”
“They
are computer parts. Give me a little while, and I will create something that
might help us a lot.” Desaray explained. She still could not get enough of the
fact that a dungeon dropped computer parts. Just the idea of such things
dropping was pure fantasy to her. This thought was coming from a dragon of all
people.
“Oh…”
Lilly had no idea what her Mama was talking about, so she just nodded as if she
knew. She was quite content with just snuggling up against her Mama. In no time
at all, she was peacefully sleeping.
Unsure
of what these did, she decided to start with the bank first to see what it was
exactly. When she opened the program, it asked her to create an account, which
she did. Once it was created, another screen popped up, not on the monitor but
in front of her, like her inventory. It looked like a currency exchange window.
“So
this is how much gold I have at this time, and these are my astral coins?”
Desaray pursed her lips. The exchange rate was two gold per astral dollar.
Scratching her head, Desaray decided to go ahead and add a hundred gold in to
get fifty astral dollars.
Once
she had astral dollars, she opened the astral shop. Just like the exchange
window, the astral shop was not displayed on the screen in front of her but
projected out. Within this window were many things. Potions, stat boosts, even
level boosts. “What is this, pay-to-win!?” Desaray’s expression sank when she
saw the prices. A single low-quality potion costs fifty astral dollars! A state
boost that boosted a single stat by one point cost one thousand! A level boost
that only boosted a single level cost one hundred million!
“This
place is a ripoff!” Desaray couldn’t help but exclaim. She quickly bought a
potion to spend the money she exchanged since she couldn’t afford anything
else. As soon as she hit the purchase button, a second window appeared next to
her that opened her inventory. When she looked at her
inventory, a red potion now appeared within it. “At least it actually gives you
the item…”
Although
it did give her the item, she still felt that the shop was a ripoff. “I guess
maybe it would be okay once you reached a high enough level and were bringing
in millions a day. By then, a single-level boost would probably be a godsend.”
The
more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was probably more geared
towards higher levels. Of course, this was partially to make herself feel
better about buying an expensive, low-quality potion. If she didn’t, she might
be depressed about it for days because, to her, one hundred gold was a lot!
She
played with the P.C., which was not much different from a normal P.C., except
it only had two programs that were useful to her. It did have a coding editor,
but she had no idea what coding language the system used or how to code
anything in the first place.
She
shut the P.C. off and looked down at the young girl, sleeping happily in her
arms and feeling as if her world was much better. She had taken Lilly in on a
whim, but she was very glad she did. The small girl was something she now
wished to protect, and wanted to give her a world where she could live happily.
This had allowed her to want to build Serenity into a place that could allow
all people who lived in it to follow their dreams and live free and happy
lives.
As
night fell, a new day rose. Desaray stood at the edge of the village, which
just had its wall opened up to start work on the new expansion. Regal stood
next to her and was explaining things. “We will only open this section for the
time being. This is so we can get our people through easier, and at this time,
things are relatively safe. But I suggest we encase this
entire section into a dome as well. The reason we Elder Dwarves had been able
to stay out of sight for so long and protected was because we built our cities
into mountains or underground. My suggestion is to build a dome just like we
did over the other dungeon entrance but over this entire new section and maybe
move the main village inside.”
Work
was well underway for the new expansion. Desaray was very happy with how things
were turning out. “Since things are going well here, I will take Lilly to the
low-level dungeon tomorrow.” She suddenly announced. “Oh right, any chance you
can make Lilly a bow? Something she can easily use.”
“A
bow? Yeah, can have something made up by tonight.” Regal rubbed his hands
together. To be able to make something for the Princess was an honor.
⧫⧫⧫
The
next morning at the gate, Oinktera ran over when he saw Juna and Desaray
standing there with Lilly, talking. “Boss, are you going to power-level your
daughter?”
“Yeah,
I asked Regal to craft a bow for Lilly last night,” Desaray answered. She
wanted to make sure that Lilly had a weapon she could use in the dungeon from a
safe distance. It would take her time to learn how to use it, but once she did,
it would be safer than using a dagger.
“A
bow?” Lilly looked up at her mother with a questioning gaze.
“It’s
so you can fight at a safer distance,” Desaray explained lightly as she patted
Lilly’s head.
“Are you really going to
let her use a weapon?” Oinktera asked
“Of
course she is! How stupid can you be!?” Juna snorted. “Princess Lilly needs to
be able to protect herself in case something happens. Boss already said this
before!”
“Oh!
Wait! Did you just call me stupid!?” Oinktera glared at Juna, who only snorted
back at him, causing Desaray to laugh. She loved how these two seemed like
enemies but loved each other.
“Alright,
you two are in charge of protecting the village. I will bring Lilly with me for
a few days.” Desaray patted both of her closest friends on the head, causing
them both to shiver from the cold. Desaray walked over, lifted the fully
armored Lilly into her arms, and carried her out of the house.
“Mama,
we are going to a dungeon?” Lilly asked.
“Yep!
We will go to a dungeon, and we will make it so you can level up. Don’t worry;
you will only need to be on my team, and you will get the experience points. So
when we are in the dungeon, just hold on to Mama, and Mama will make you
strong!” Desaray’s heart always softened for her daughter. Although she did
start to grow a bit now that she was eating better.
“Okay!”
Lilly hugged Desaray tightly, not wanting to let go. In her life, Desaray had
become her hero. Her Goddess. She would do everything she could in the future
to protect her. And most importantly, she was her Mama!
As
the two chatted about this and that, they walked towards the dungeon.
In
another area far, far away from Desaray, on a floating island, Ricky was
covered in blood. “Damn, Orcs!”
“Uncle
Ricky, we can’t keep going on like this!” Mike was not doing too well. He had
leveled up a lot, but the Orcs kept sending their kind in waves, and their
levels were getting higher as well!
“We
have no choice. We can not continue trying to hold this place. We will move to
a new location.” Ricky could only deal with things like this. He hated to admit
it, but the Orcs seemed like a machine that could reproduce new Orcs that grew
to ten feet tall in a matter of hours!
“Where
are we going to go?” Yu asked. She was so close to Level 19, just like the
others. They just wanted to reach the next evolutionary point, but they had yet
to meet any elites.
“What
about that place I saw last time?” Becky asked as she healed Ricky’s wounds. As
she leveled up, she actually got a healing spell that seemed to be related to
her dragon race.
“I
do not see why not. We can’t keep this up. Even at our level, having hundreds
of Orcs flying at us is not something we can handle easily. These bastards are
not afraid of death.” Ricky did not know what was in that place, but they found
a strange door on the side of a mountain cliff on the island. They did not know
what was behind it and had avoided it on purpose in case it was a place full of
high-level monsters.
“Then
we should retreat.” Becky no longer wanted to stay here. She had been doing her
best to try to keep everyone alive, but her healing magic took a lot of mana.
She just hoped that one day they could return to where Desaray was and reunite.
“Alright,
let’s go. Mike, you take the front, I will hold up the rear. The location of
the door is relatively safe. Our main concern is not being chased by the Orcs.”
Ricky got up and patted Becky on the head to say thanks for the healing before
raising his weapon again. He had taken up weapon smithing from the skills menu,
which has allowed him to make weapons for everyone. While rudimentary, they
were made of metal ore he found in the area. They were at least enough to cut
down Orcs, and that was all that mattered.
The
group quickly retreated to the camp and put everything away before making their
way to the door. The door was twenty minutes from their camp. The island they
were on was very big, much bigger than they had thought. This also confused
them because it did not seem big at all when you looked at the shadow on the
land below.
They
soon stood in front of the large door that had no markings except an image of a
tower engraved into it. “Remember, stick together and be ready to fight.” Ricky
reminded everyone.
Becky
and the rest nodded to tell Ricky they were ready before Ricky finally pushed
the door open. The group all stepped inside and had just passed the door when
the door suddenly slammed shut. “Welcome to the Tower of
Trials. A grand one thousand floors of trials.”
“This…”
Ricky looked at the large black obelisk in front of him that sat in the middle
of the room. When he tilted his head back and looked skyward, he could not see
the end of the obelisk. All he saw from where he was standing was an endless
spiral of floors that continued on and on into the darkness above.
“It
seems we have gotten ourselves into a bit of trouble.” Mike sighed as he
stepped forward.
“We
can just leave, right?” Yu asked nervously as she backed towards the door. But
when she turned to look for the handle to open the huge door again, she
couldn’t help but scream out: “Where is the door!?”
“This
is a trial,” Becky said helplessly. “You can enter the trial but can not leave
until you finish. Our only choice is to reach the top. We have supplies but not
enough to last us forever, so if we get a chance to kill any monsters, we will
need to use them as a food source.”
“Becky
is right. We can only go up. Maybe by the time we finish this place, we can
finally be strong enough to get off this damned island.” Ricky just wanted to
see his little girl. He was very worried about her safety and well-being. Even
if he had to search the entire world until the day he passed away. He would
keep searching for her, whether she was dead or alive. He had to see her
corpse, at the very least.
Only
then would he find a place to grow old in and build a place just for her.
Desaray was his daughter. He failed her by not protecting her. Since he could
not end his own life if he found out she was dead since
it would sadden her, he could only punish himself by living a life dedicated to
building a place just for her.
“Uncle
Ricky, you are thinking strange thoughts again.” Becky could tell Ricky was
thinking about Desaray once more. Even she hoped her best friend was safe and
sound.
“Let’s
just work on getting out of here.” Ricky walked up to the obelisk, since it was
the only thing in the room and frowned slightly. It was completely smooth
without any kind of runic markings or anything.
“Should
we touch it?” Mike asked. He was about to reach out and touch it with his stone
hands but was quickly stopped.
“Mike,
are you dumb!? You can not go and just touch everything. What if that thing is
some kind of magic item that feeds off life force?” Yu was worried her stupid
boyfriend would end up getting himself killed and turned into rubble!
“I
was just wondering…” Mike scratched his head. He did not know what it did! Nor
did he think about any of that, either.
“Okay,
first we will look around. The area here is quite wide, so we will check it out
first. If we can not find anything, I will be the one to touch it.” Ricky still
wanted to keep the kids safe as much as possible, even though they had been on
the brink of death for a while now.
Since
they had come up with a plan, they all spread out and began searching. It was
not until an hour later that Yu suddenly yelled out. “I found something! And
Ummm… You will all probably slap yourselves.”
“Ahem…”
Ricky coughed and turned around. He decided that it was best to ignore the fact
that this was already suggested once and almost completed.
He
walked over to the black obelisk and placed his hand on it. As soon as he did,
the obelisk began to shine with blue light from the runes that were forming on
the smooth black surface. Everyone quickly backed away as they watched the
obelisk continue to light up.
“First
Trial Activation initiated. All challengers must place their hand on the pillar
of fate.”
Ricky
and the others looked at each other before nodding and walking back to the
pillar of fate, as it was called, and placed their hands on it. The pillar
began to glow brightly as the voice rang out once more. “Four trial takers.
First Trial will now commence…”
⧫⧫⧫
In
a low-level dungeon, Desaray froze a monster to the wall and smiled at Lilly.
“Okay, draw the bow back and let it go. Even if you miss, it’s fine. We have
plenty of time. Just practice.”
Lilly
nodded and drew the bowstring back. Her eyes squinting as she did as she was
told. Her first try of notching the arrow ended in failure as it fell to the
ground. She blushed as she picked it up and tried again. After a few tries, she
finally pulled the bowstring back and tried to aim. Once she felt like she was
aiming correctly, she let the arrow go. Or so she had thought. The
arrow flew about a foot in front of her before dropping to the ground, and the
bowstring snapped back and hit her in the arm. Even though it was painful, she
did not give up. With each failure, she picked the arrow back up and tried
again.
A
few hours passed, and another monster's body turned into balls of light, and
Lilly suddenly jumped for joy. “I got to level 4!”
Desaray
smiled as she watched her daughter happily dancing around. She was glad this
power leveling was working well for Lilly. Lilly also seemed very happy as
well.
Night
fell, and Desaray and Lilly were outside the dungeon entrance, sitting next to
a fire. Desaray was roasting some fish and vegetables over the flame while
Lilly sat next to her, resting her little head against Desaray’s thigh. “Mama,
this is nice.”
“Hmmm?
You like camping?” Desaray asked as she reached over and gently caressed
Lilly’s head.
“Mm…
any time I can spend with Mama is a happy time.” These words made Desaray feel
slightly guilty. Since Lilly came, she had been working on other things and not
spending decent quality time with her. She pulled Lilly up off the ground and
into her lap.
“I
am sorry. I should be spending more time with you.” Desaray hugged Lilly
tightly. Lilly pushed into her embrace and smiled softly.
“It’s
fine, Mama. Auntie Nina has been taking care of me. I know you are working hard
to make our home a better place. That is why I cherish these times even more. I
know you are busy, but yet you are still willing to take time for me and spend
time doing things like this.” Lilly’s words made snowflakes fall
from Desaray’s eyes. She was truly lucky to have such an understanding
daughter!
“Food
should be ready.” Desaray reached over and plucked one of the fish off the
metal grill she had lying over the campfire. She then tore a piece of fish off
and blew on it before handing it to Lilly.
“Good!”
Lilly smiled as she watched her Mama keep the fish near the fire so it would
not freeze. Her Mama was the best in the world!
“Seems
like you are having a fun time.” A rabbit suddenly appeared out of the tree
line.
“You’re
still alive, Jake?” Desaray had long noticed the stupid rabbit man a while ago.
“Yes,
no thanks to you. Your little friend almost captured me a while back.” Jake
replied. He was surprised at first to see that Desaray had grown up so much and
even turned into a humanoid form. He hoped that since she was alone with a
little girl, he could ask her to help him level.
“Oinktera
still complains about not being able to roast you.” Desaray was not even
looking at Jake. She was busy feeding her daughter as she talked. “You should
know that by showing up before me, you have basically signed your life over,
right?”
“What,
why!?” Jake cried out. “Are you still hung up on the past!? It has been so long
already, and you are still worrying about such things!?”
“So
long? Jake, a half year has yet to pass, and you are talking out of your ass.
Do you think that I even want to talk to you? If not for
my daughter, I would have already speared you with ice spikes and roasted you
over the flames!”
“You
would eat me!?” Jake was taken aback. He never thought Desaray would even think
about eating him!
“Why
not? You are nothing more than a rabbit that talks. I haven’t had a horned
rabbit in a while, so I do not mind roasting you with a few herbs and having a
snack.” Desaray replied as she licked her lips. The sound of roasted rabbit did
sound good to her. “You also forget one important thing!”
“Wha-What!?”
Jake was already slowly backing away in case he needed to run for it.
“I
am a dragon! I am no longer human. And you are a horned rabbit. You are nothing
more than prey to me now. ” Desaray replied with a wicked smile.
“Mama…
the veggies are burning,” Lilly spoke up, breaking the tense atmosphere.
“Ah!
Mama’s sorry. Hold on, baby.” Desaray quickly pulled the vegetables off the
fire and placed them to the side so Lilly could snack on them. She even took
out a sauce from her inventory and poured some out for Lilly to dip the
vegetables in.
“Thanks,
Mama!” Lilly smiled and dug right in. She liked vegetables a lot! She liked any
kind of food a lot! After going hungry for most of her young life, she was not
a picky eater in the slightest.
Desaray
finally turned to Jake, who had backed far away. He was basically back at the
tree line. Slight fear could be seen in his beady eyes. “Speak. Why did you
show yourself? I know it was not because you wanted to chat about old times.”
“Help
you level? Huh? You are still level 5!? What the hell have you been doing these
past few months!?” She had not paid much attention to Jake since he showed up,
so she was very surprised to see his current level! Her daughter was five
levels higher!
“What
do you expect!? I only got my horn to fight with!” Jake shouted in anger. He
did not want to take it out on Desaray, but he was annoyed with how she
sounded, as if she was mocking him.
“Then
you are really not leveling correctly. You do know at level five. My daughter
could solo the same level monsters as her with ease, right? And look at how
young she is!” Of course, this was a lie. She was just making Jake feel
inferior to her daughter. As for Lilly, she put on a smug smile and nodded her
head.
“Wait,
daughter!? You had a child!?”
“Jake,
you have not changed a bit. Not only do you have selective hearing, but you are
still as dumb as an ox. Do you see how old my daughter is? She is ten years
old! How the hell could I have given birth to such a big child when I have only
been alive in human years for 14 years? While I did evolve to become eighteen,
I am still, in a sense, only fourteen! Use that little brain of yours and think
before you speak.” Desaray couldn’t handle idiots like this. He only heard the
part about her having a child and nothing else.
“Do
you know what adoption is?” Desaray stared at Jake with narrowed eyes. “Just
like how I was adopted, I did the same here for my little Lilly. Who I remind
you is stronger than you, so do not get any ideas!”
“I
would never….” Jake frowned. He was thinking it might be hopeless to get
Desaray to help him level up. “Are you really not going to help me?”
“Jake,
give me a good reason to do so. After you through a fit when I had helped you
so much. After you said all that shit to me as if I was your biggest enemy. Why
do you keep showing yourself around me? If you can’t even do a damn thing on
your own as a man, then why are you even trying to stay alive? I have worked
hard to get to the point that I am at. I risked life and death to reach my
level. I do not go around trying to make enemies with every person I meet just
to use them to advance my own agenda.
“But
from what I can see, this is your plan. You only want to ride on the coattails
of others. Why can’t you work a little harder? Plan methods to kill other
monsters to level up? If you just use your brain, maybe you can do much more
and level up quickly. It might be hard at first, but not impossible!” Desaray
had many words for this rabbit, but since Lilly was here, she was taking the
nicer approach.
“You
are already helping the little girl. Why can’t you just help me too!?!” Jake
was starting to get angry. He did not understand. He had known Desaray for so
long, but she was not willing to even help him. But some
unknown little girl she treats as a treasure she will help without issue.
“You
dare to raise your voice in the presence of my daughter!?” Desaray suddenly
roared out while covering Lilly’s ears. Her roar echoed through the air,
causing Jake to tumble back due to the shock wave. He sat up and looked at
Desaray in disbelief. A single roar from her was enough to knock him away and
damage him for 30 HP.
“I…
I didn’t mean to yell. I just do not understand.” Jake tried to calm himself
down and still argued.
“I
am warning you now, Jake. You have five seconds to disappear from my sight.
Then, another three minutes to leave my detection zone. Because if I even smell
your scent, I will kill you on the spot. Do you understand?” Desaray’s voice
was void of any emotion. Her gaze was cold as she stared at the rabbit. She was
only giving him this last chance to make himself scarce for old time’s sake.
Jake
looked at Desaray and knew she was serious. He could feel his blood turn cold
just from her gaze. Even the ground around her had begun to freeze over. He
finally realized this was the power of dragons. He gritted his teeth and turned
around. “Thanks for nothing!” With these last words, he hopped off into the
tree line.
After
three minutes of hopping, he had long left Desaray’s range. But what he did not
expect was that he would be entrapped in a cage of roots. “Looky what we have
here.” A voice rang out. A young woman looked at the rabbit in her cage and
licked her lips. “I am so glad you showed yourself. You see, my husband still
regrets not being able to eat you, so hehe….”
The
young woman looked at the hole with a small frown on her face. “Tch…. Got away
again…. Next time he shows himself, I will be sure to roast him for Oinktera.”
This
young woman was none other than Juna. She followed after her boss to keep
guard. She, of course, had to stay far enough away, but with her abilities, she
could easily detect what was around her boss. No strong monsters could even get
close to her boss. She had originally thought the rabbit was just a normal
rabbit. She did not think it would be that idiot.
“It
seems I will need to have our watchers keep an eye out for this rabbit in case
he dares to stir up any more trouble.” Juna sighed. She had heard the
conversation just now. She felt this rabbit was not someone that she could
allow to keep living.
Striking A Deal
“Lilly,
suck on this, it's sweet.” Desaray picked a few of what she calls sugar grass.
It was very sweet. Juna had shown it to her before and said the young Toblins
of her village used to love sucking on them.
“Mmm!”
Lilly’s eyes widened in shock. Her lips curled up into a big smile. “So
sweeeeeeeeet!”
“Soooo
cuuutee!” Desaray smiled and picked Lilly up, swinging her around a few times,
causing her to scream out in glee.
“Mama,
where are we going now?” Lilly asked as she rested her head on Desaray’s
shoulder.
“I
am taking you for a walk. We have been cooped up near the dungeon for a few
days. So I want to take a short walk and see what else is around. Then we will
go back and get you a few more levels before heading to the other dungeon!”
Desaray wanted to get Lilly to level 20 as soon as possible. She did not know
if she would grow up at all, but she did hope she would at least get a good
evolution. She did not know the human evolutionary
paths, so it would be completely up to her.
“We
will find out when the time comes. But no matter what, you are my daughter. So,
you do not need to worry about being too strong. You just need to be able to
protect yourself. I will handle anything you can not deal with.” Desaray did
not want her child standing in front of her to block a bullet. She wanted her
daughter to be able to protect herself, at least until she could arrive.
“I
still want to help you, though.” Lilly pursed her lips. Her mama was spoiling
her too much! This had to stop!
“We
will see.” Desaray smiled and continued to walk. As they did, Desaray noticed
something not too far from their location. “That is…..” She wrinkled her nose
and picked up her pace.
As
Desaray got closer, she realized she had stumbled upon a village of some kind.
She did not get too close, but instead, she adjusted her hold on Lilly and
jumped up into a tree to stand on a limb. When she looked down, she saw a large
encampment. Large tents made of leaves and animal hides. Larger spiked stakes
sticking out of the ground to make a fence around the encampment. As for those
living there. “Orcs? No, this looks more organized.”
“These
are Gorcs. They are much more intelligent.” Lilly suddenly explained.
“So
they think before they attack?” Desaray asked. Lilly had always been smart, so
she learned a lot since she began studying under Juna and the others.
“Well,
let’s see if they are willing to talk or if I have to force them to talk with a
show of strength.” Desaray did not like the fact that there was a group of
violent Gorcs near her village. While it was a distance away, it was still too
close for her liking.
She
hopped off the tree branch and walked towards the camp. She was not afraid of
being killed; she had checked all the levels inside, and the highest level was
level 40. None of them were elites either.
When
she exited the treeline in front of the encampment, two Gorcs immediately
spotted them. “Look, slave come to offer demselfs to us. We Gorcs very
popular.”
“Hehe,
brother, you are right. Grocs make all the women happy. Let’s ask her if we can
take a ride first.” Gorc guard number two licked his lips and went to step
forward but was quickly pulled back by his friend.
“Tograh,
this Gorc go first. You second. You owe me.” Gorc guard number one gave Gorc
guard number two a meaningful look. Gorc guard number two could only snort and
step back.
“Yeah,
no.” Desaray turned the two down. “Talk like that again in front of my
daughter, and this encampment will have two fewer Gorcs to keep guard. I am
here to talk to your leader.”
“Lizard
girl talks big. Let’s see if you talk the talk. Only the strong can give
orders.” Orc guard number one replied as he took the large wooden club off his
back.
*Boom!*
The
wooden club exploded, sending all the debris back into the Gorc's face. “Ahh!
My eyes!” Groc guard number one cried out as he danced about. His eyes bled
from having wood pieces stuck in them.
“Mama,
Gorcs have high healing. They can even regenerate lost limbs.” Lilly informed.
“Oh?
Then…. Hina? Want to play?” Desaray asked. She did not want to bother too much
about the Gorcs. But since they said strength wins, that was fine. It was just
that high healing while trying not to kill any of the Gorcs was not an easy
task. So, she would let Hina deal with it. She could do something… probably?
“I’m
sleeping, so no.” Hina instantly rejected, causing Desaray to stand there
feeling dumb! Her damn fairy said no!
Desaray
pursed her lips and wanted to kick the damn fairy, but doing so would mean she would
have to take her head off to do it, and that was not going to happen anytime
soon. Sighing, Desaray had no choice but to wave her hand and began sending out
ice spears one after the other. They were low cost and did not take up much
mana consumption. Her mana regeneration was even able to keep up with her
casting and made it even easier for her to cast as many as she wanted. She was
like an ice spear machine gun.
[You
Defeated A Gorc]
[Experience
Points Gained….]
One
down, one more to go. Desaray thought as she turned to look at the other Gorc,
who was standing there staring at her in shock, and asked: “Shall we continue?”
“No,
I recognize your strength. I show you the way.” The Gorc knew when to submit.
Seeing how easily the strange woman in front of him had taken down his comrade,
he did not dare to try to fight her. The Gorcs submitted to those who were
stronger, and since his comrade was stronger than him. He could only submit.
Desaray
nodded and said: “Then lead the way.”
The
Gorc did not make Desaray wait. He turned and walked into the encampment with
her following behind. The strange sight of a woman and a child walking into the
camp quickly caught the eye of the others, but no one went up to Desaray. The
look on the Gorc's faces showed it all. The woman was powerful. They knew when
to back down.
Desaray
looked at all the tents that were roughly made and found them to be quite
interesting. It was interesting to see what other races’ cultures were like.
After five minutes, she came to a stop in front of a large tent that was more
decorated than the others.
“Tograh,
hmm? Who has come to see me?” A large Gorc tapped the woman on top of him,
making her get up. She had a large metal collar on her neck and a chain
attached to it. Everything was roughly made, but it was thick and did the job
that needed to be done.
“It’s
a lizard girl and a child. She killed Kograth in a fair duel.” Tograh replied.
“I
see…” The large Gorc frowned slightly. To kill a Gorc was not easy, not with
how fast they regenerated, so for some stranger to kill one of his men and one
he thought highly of. “Let them in.”
Tograh
nodded and quickly went outside. “The chief said he will see you.”
Desaray
stepped through the current to see a level forty Gorc sitting on a large bed.
She quickly covered her daughter’s eyes as she stared coldly at the Gorc. “Put
some clothes on.”
“Little
lady, I do not think you have the right to…” Before he could finish speaking,
multiple ice spikes shot up from the ground and surrounded him.
“Ahhh!”
The girl who was at the side screamed out and quickly hid behind the bed.
“Tch…
A hot-headed woman.” The large Gorc did not dare to be careless. “Let me get my
pants on, at least.”
“You
are in my territory. Why wouldn’t I be here.” Desaray bluntly answered. She was
not scared of this man. He was not as scary as any boss she had fought so far.
“I
see…. And?” The large Gorc sat back and stared at Desaray. It was clear that he
did not plan to move his encampment.
“And,
I would prefer if we lived in peace, but this would mean you not touching any
other race within my territory. But it seems you already have.” Desaray could
see the pleading look in the girl’s eyes as she rushed to the back.
“This
I can not do. We Gorcs need breeders. We do not give birth to females. Only by
snatching other women can we continue our kind.” The large Gorc replied. He was
not going to budge on anything.
“I
see…. So you want war, then? Should I turn this entire encampment into a sheet
of ice, then?” Desaray asked. At the same time, ice began to form at her feet
and slowly began to spread outwards. “I will say this now. No matter how
quickly you regenerate. You can not regenerate what is frozen.”
The
large Gorc’s expression sank. He could tell this lizard girl was not a person
he could fight against. He did not become chief for no reason. He knew when he
was in over his head. “What if we made a deal? You mark on a map that we have
of the area where your territory is, and we will be sure not to touch any females within it. But you have to understand. We Gorcs are
unable to continue without mates.”
Desaray
also knew this. She did not like the idea, but if she was from a race that
needed men to help her reproduce, it would be a normal thing for her. She
sighed and nodded her head. “I am not too unfair. I can do that, but….”
“But?”
The large Gorc felt like he was about to be asked something he was not going to
like.
Sadly,
he was right about this. “Since you will be living in my territory. I want you
to have your men patrol the area. Any females that cross over into my territory
that you did not capture from outside of it are to be led to my village. You
will also have an ice needle placed in your heart and brain. You might be able
to regenerate fast, but if I am to blow both your major organs, you will either
be stupid for the rest of your life or dead. I will also have people come once
a week to check on things….”
At
this thought, Desaray pursed her lips and shouted: “Juna!”
“Yes,
Boss!?” Juna suddenly appeared from the ground as she rose up from it through a
root.
Desaray
had noticed she was around the entire time but did not say anything. “Have a
few of your roots monitor the situation here. They will be posted at the gates,
and others will roam around the encampment. If they are destroyed, let me know
I will snap my fingers and get rid of the problem. If they bring in new girls,
these girls need to be brought before your roots, and they are to state where
they come from.”
“This
is not an issue.” Juna nodded. She could easily do this and not use much mana
at all. She could even communicate with her roots while in a dungeon. She had
tested it before. Even if she couldn’t, the idea that
they were there already was enough to make the Gorcs behave.
The
large Gorc’s expression did not look good. This was not making a deal but using
force to get extra benefits. “Isn’t this going a bit…”
Desaray’s
cold gaze landed on the large Gorc, causing him to stop talking. “Are you not
happy? Not only do you get to stay in my territory. But you will also come
under my protection. Think about it. If another race decides that you are a
threat to them, would you not have a hard time if you are overwhelmed? I will
not force you. You can pack up and leave as well. I am not going to stop you.
You just need to understand that while you are in my territory, you WILL abide
by my rules.”
The
large Gorc lowered his eyes. He fell into deep thought. It was true. If she
wanted to fight them, she could have. Instead, she came to talk. It was not
that she wanted to make enemies. Her terms were not completely bad either. Even
though they would be under surveillance, it was not like they were stopping
them from breeding.
When
he and his men arrived in this strange place, they were unsure of what they
would be encountering. So far, they had only found weak humans and a few other
races here and there, but nothing too serious. They knew about the large
village, but since he did not know the strength of those inside, he did not
dare touch it. He had always been a careful Gorc. It was because of his
decision that he was alive until this day. The only thing he did not like was
the ice spike. It would make it so he could never go against her. But now,
hearing that she would come to his aid if he came under attack, he felt like
this was not such a bad deal at all.
Desaray
finally smiled and nodded her head. “I am Desaray. It’s a pleasure working with
you, Dormar.”
“Yes.
I hope we can work well together. Do not worry about my men breaking the rules.
All laws of the Gorcs are strictly followed. It means death to those who dare
to break the rules.” Dormar eyes were firm when he said this. He would not
allow anyone to anger this woman who seemed like she could destroy the world.
“I
will hold you to your promise. I would hate for us to turn into enemies. If you
need any resources, let me know. You can send what I call an ambassador to my
village. But just know if they cause any trouble, I will kill them without
hesitation.” Desaray wanted to give Dormar a little leeway. Gorcs were strong,
very strong, and could become excellent fighters. She actually wanted to train
up an army of them. While she could not stop their current means of
reproduction, she could at least keep those in her territory safe from being
enslaved.
“I
will do that.” Domar saw Desaray’s offer as a means of showing respect to his
race. This was something he truly appreciated. “I will need to think about who
I should send. Can I send word through one of these roots?”
“Yes.
I will have one here for you to use for communication if you need it. It will
sit outside a ways away from your tent so you will not feel like I am spying on
you.” Juna replied.
“I
will be grateful for that.”
“I
will.” Dormar could only put on a smile. He had to admit while he was getting
the short end of the stick, he did not feel any hate from the girl when facing
him. He only felt her intent to kill when he tried to face off with her.
He
watched as the lizard girl walked out of the room with her companions and
caught eyes with the little girl who was peeking over the lizard girl’s
shoulder. The little girl pulled her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at him,
causing him to laugh. “It seems one does not need to be tied by blood to take
after their parent.”
He
sat in his chair and looked at the root that was slowly making its way outside
and shook his head. “I might not be fully in charge anymore, but I feel that
things will work out well. Unlike our mindless cousins, we Gorcs are people of
our word since I made a promise we will keep it. Yohard!”
“Chief!”
A Gorc ran into the tent and stood at attention.
“Pass
down my rule of law. Within the territory marked on this map, we are no longer
allowed to capture any females. We can also not kill anyone unless we are
attacked first. It is better to help anyone who is lost find their way to the
village marked on the map. Our new master lives there.” Dormar looked at the Gorc in front of him, who seemed to be in a daze, and
sighed. “What are you waiting for!?”
“Chief!”
Yohard woke up from his daze but did not leave right away. “Chief, if I may be
so bold, if we are not able to capture women for breeding, what will we do?”
“We
can not capture women inside the territory. We can only go outside the
territory. Our camp is on the boundary of this territory. I worked it out, and
not only will we get that women’s protection in case we need it, but we will
also gain many more benefits down the road. Do not look down on the fact that
she is a woman. She is strong. I believe if she got serious, she could kill all
of us. Our rule of law is that the strong are who we follow. But I am not
following her just because of her strength. I believe that we Gorcs will soon
find a new place. A place that is not just hiding out in the forest, someplace
out of the eyes of others.
“But
don’t worry about not being able to birth new Gorcs. We just need to go further
out.” Dormar explained. Dormar already knew that if they were not Gorcs but
were orcs instead, this entire camp would have been wiped out.
“Understood!
I will relay orders down to the smallest Gorc.” With that, Yohard saluted
Dormar and turned around before rushing out. Such news was huge. He had to tell
everyone!
After
Desaray took Juna and Lilly out of the encampment, she walked back to the
dungeon and sat down at her small camp. Juna stood there, swaying back and
forth, looking around as if she had done something wrong.
“Juna,
you must have a lot of time on your hands. Or should I say you are lucky and
won at rocks, paper, scissors?” Desaray asked teasingly.
“Snacks!?”
Lilly’s eyes lit up. She was a foody. Now that she could eat to her heart’s
content, she wanted to have all kinds of good food!
Desaray
laughed as she rubbed the top of Lilly’s head. “Looks like you will need to
make twice as much.”
“I
guess so. Since my Princess has asked for it, I will be sure to produce some
high-quality snacks. I just got some really good sweet sap that is highly
nutritious as well. It will be good for her.” Juna was very proud of her
abilities.
“Yay!”
Lilly was very excited. She couldn’t wait to eat new snacks!
“Juna,
do you think Dormar will keep his word?” Desaray asked. She felt like he would,
but she wanted a second opinion.
“He
will. Gorcs, while similar to orcs, are nothing like them in most aspects. They
still need to breed like orcs, but they are highly intelligent and will always
keep their promises. Of course, I can’t say this about all Gorcs, but I do know
that with the ice needles stuck in his body, he will always think twice about
betraying you. If we can also train them to fight properly and build an army
using them as our leading force….” Juna had the same idea as Desaray.
“I
will think more about that. I want to talk with Dormar more about it later. I
do not want to force too much. I already have them patrolling the territory.”
“Almost
there!” Desaray looked at Lilly, who was now level 19. She had power-leveled
Lilly nonstop in hopes of allowing her to evolve as soon as possible.
“Mama,
when I hit level 20, what do you think I will turn into? Will I grow up some?”
Lilly asked. She kind of did not wish to grow up at all. She liked it when her
Mama carried her around.
“We
will have to wait and see.” Desaray reached out and rubbed the top of Lilly’s
head. “But no matter what, you will always be my daughter. Remember this.”
“Mmm!”
Lilly smiled and hugged Desaray. The two took a small break before going back
to leveling.
Since
Lilly could only really get levels off the bosses, they had to clear the
dungeon out two more times before Lilly finally hit level twenty. “I leveled
up! What should I do?”
“Don’t
press the evolution button just yet. Come sit over here.” Desaray made a small
seat for Lilly to sit on. “I will be waiting right here. When you are ready,
you can hit the button to start your evolution, okay?”
“Okay!”
Lilly nodded as she sat down. She closed her eyes for a few moments, taking a
few exaggerated deep breaths. Her actions looked so cute that Desaray wanted to
squeeze her! Only when she felt she was ready did Lilly press the button.
Desaray
could only watch as the normal wave of mana formed around Lilly and began
creating a vortex. Desaray did not move. Even as the hours passed by, she did
not move. But as these hours slowly ticked by, Desaray
started to become very worried. She did not know why it was taking Lilly so
long to evolve.
After
five hours, the swirling mana around Lilly slowly disappeared. What was
revealed was two white ears sticking straight up on top of a head of pure white
hair. The snow-white skin that was exposed had an extra appendage on it. A
fluffy snow-white tail swayed back and forth.
“A
fox girl?” Desaray pursed her lips. She did not expect her daughter to turn
into a fox girl!
“Hmmm?
Mama!” Lilly jumped up. She was full of energy. It was just that she was much
smaller than before! She looked like she was five years of age now! But Desaray
could feel a strong mana flow within Lilly!
“Lilly,
this? How did you become a fox girl?” Desaray asked in confusion. She did not
know humans from the other world could become another race!
“This…
Well, when I was evolving, the stool I was sitting on mixed in with the mana
that entered me. When I first got my choices I was only able to evolve into a
high human, but when the mana from the ice entered me, I got the ability to
turn into a Mystical Snow Fox.” Lily replied. Although she was now smaller, she
did not lose her intelligence.
“How
old does it say you are now?” Desaray asked.
“Seven!”
Lilly replied with a big smile. She was smaller than before! Now her Mama could
always carry her!
“It
seems you are very happy.” Desaray smiled and gave Lilly a kiss on the cheek.
“I
am sure everyone will be shocked to see your sudden change!” Desaray began
walking towards the dungeon exit. “We will head home now. We did what we came
to do.”
Hina,
who was on top of Desaray’s head, peeked over the top and gave Lilly a strange
look. Lilly turned and looked at Hina and pressed her finger to her mouth. Her
Mama might not have noticed, but next to her ears was a small patch of scales.
The real name of her race was the Mystical Snow Dragon Fox. But she wanted to
keep this a secret for now.
The
reason she wanted to keep it a secret was because she wanted to surprise her
mama one day when she was able to become a full-fledged dragon just like her.
But now she felt closer to her mama than ever. She hoped she could truly become
her mama’s child, not only in name but blood as well. But for now, this was
fine.
When
the two returned, a massive celebration was quickly put together. Of course,
Lilly was the center of attention. With her cuteness, she had already won the
hearts of everyone in the village. Now that she had the added fluff, her
cuteness shot up to a whole new level.
“Princess,
marry me when you get older!” A young man yelled out as she looked up on the
stage with sparkling eyes. Only the Princess was able to catch his heart.
“Look
how old you are! By the time she is old enough, you will be an old man!” The
boy’s mother quickly smacked him in the back of the head and put down his
dreams right then and there. She wondered if her son was
dropped on his head when she was not looking. She would need to talk to her
husband about this.
Of
course, he was not the only one who was yelling such things many people were.
But they were all ignored. Lilly was busy eating cake. When she had sweets in
front of her, no one but Desaray and Nina could get her attention.
Meeting Of Elders
In a
newly constructed building, Desaray sat at the head of a long table where Juna,
Oinktera, Nina, Mitch, Regal, Fel, Jose, and finally Dormar all sat. Lastly,
Lilly sat on Desaray’s lap since Nina was here, and there was no one to watch
over her. “I called you all here today to start the first elders meeting.
Serenity is slowly growing, and we are already expanding outwards. I want to
get everyone’s input and address a problem I have.”
Desaray’s
main problem was the Gorcs. They still had to capture females. While right now,
the girls they have captured have been treated better, the fact that they are
forced to be sex slaves did not sit well with her. Desaray, at this time, had
no way of dealing with it, which was why she decided to call this meeting. But
she also wished to find out what everyone else had to say about the village and
how they would want to progress from here on out.
“I
have a few things I would like to bring to the table.” Regal was the first to
speak. “I would like to build a few workshops to mass produce weapons and
armor. The men who are under our control can be used as laborers. I will only
need about fifty of them to make two facilities.”
“Hah!
Little Boss, myself, and those under me already call this place home. We will
not be wandering anywhere else. Since we have decided to settle down here, we
are under your rule. I hope you treat us well.” Regal smiled as he bowed his
head slightly.
“I
will do my best to make this a place you are proud of.” Desaray smiled back.
She was happy that Regal and his people were willing to stay.
“I
think we should set up a few festivities once a year,” Juna jumped in. She
liked celebrations. “Currently, we have three celebrations. One is the founding
of Serenity, the other is Princess Lilly’s birthday, while the other is Boss
Worsh… Ahem, two celebrations.”
Desaray
looked at Juna but did not call her out on her mistake. She was only finding
out now that there was a day of worship just for her! “So you wish to add a few
more?”
“I
was thinking one for each season.” Juna felt that they should have at least a
celebration for each season to allow people to unwind.
“You
can do as you please, but make sure we have enough resources for it. Currently,
we are okay, but what about winter? We will need to make sure we have plenty of
food stock before winter comes so we are not risking anything if a big storm
hits.” Desaray was all for celebrations. They seem to have them almost every
week as of late. But this would not always happen either. However,
once the seasons change and winter sets in, if crops can not grow, they will
need to survive off what was collected through the year.
“I
will keep all of this in mind and make sure I work around such situations.”
Juna nodded. She also understood this. She had dealt with it before!
“I
think we should have a fighting tournament once a year.” Oinktera suddenly
suggested. “One without magic. Just melee weapons.”
“As
long as it does not get in the way of anything else, you can set one up.”
Desaray liked all these ideas. Entertainment was just as important as work. If
the people of the village did not have a way to unwind, then there was nothing
but work and sleeping. This kind of endless cycle was never good. You needed to
have some breaks in between.
“Umm…”
Jose raised his hand. He felt a little inferior to all these other races. “I
would like to know if I can set up a proper school.”
“I
did plan to build one. The kids are going to school outside at this time,
right?” Desaray asked.
“Yes,
they are all meeting out in front of my house at the moment. A few of us are
doing our best to teach them what they need to know.” Jose replied.
“I
have been meaning to get a school built. I just kept forgetting about it. You
can talk with Oinktera and Juna after this meeting to get some people to start
work on it. Also, Jose, Mitch, you both have just as much say as everyone else
in the room, so if you have issues or needs, please let us know. We are all
friends and family here. Serenity Village is a place for all
races.” Desaray wanted these two to know that they could say whatever they
wanted here. This was a place for them to speak out and get the things they
needed. Make suggestions and requests.
“I
will keep that in mind. Thank you.” Jose replied. He breathed out a sigh of
relief. He was glad that Desaray did not look down on him.
After
hearing Desaray’s words, Mitch decided to speak up. “Since that is the case, I
would like to know if we could build a few boats. There is a large lake not far
from here that we can try to catch fish on.”
Desaray’s
eyes lit up. She had not thought about that. “That is a good idea. Regal, do
you think you can get a few people to build a few boats? Nothing fancy, just
enough to go out on the water.”
“I
can, but if there are monsters, you might be in trouble. I think we should
survey the water first. How about we build one boat, fortify it with runes, and
then myself and you Boss will go out?” Regal suggested. He also made a good
point. Unless they knew how dangerous the waters were, it was not a good idea
to go out on it.
“We
can do that. We will plan for it tomorrow. I can also dive down and take a look
as well. Although… The water might freeze.” Desaray pursed her lips. If she
dived in, wouldn’t she be digging her own grave? But when she thought about it,
she could easily just break the ice with ice manipulation. “Actually, no matter
what, it should be fine….”
“No.
If you did dive down, you would kill all the fish.” Regal rejected Desaray’s
idea. Out of everyone, he was probably the only one would not just go with
Desaray’s whims, like the others. He was someone she
needed by her side. He had the wisdom of the years behind his back, much more
than the others.
“I
will go. We Grocs are pretty good at swimming. And we are strong, so even if
something attacks us, we can still get away.” Domar finally had a chance to get
in Desaray’s good books, so he did not wish to pass this chance up. In other
words, he was trying to kiss ass.
“I
will keep an eye on you. If something does happen, I can always freeze the
water and bring you out.” Desaray knew Domar wouldn’t die if she froze the
water around him and quickly got him out.
“I
will be counting on you then.” Domar really wondered if Desaray understood that
Gorcs were still living beings! If they freeze, they will die!
“Don’t
worry. I will do everything I can to bring you back safely if you get
attacked.” Desaray meant this. Those who were willing to trust her, she was
willing to go out of her way to help.
“Now,
one of my main reasons for this meeting was to talk about the Gorc issue. Does
anyone know of any way to allow for a female Gorcs to be born?” If Desaray
could solve this issue, not only could the Gorcs stop their current kidnapping
of women, but she could actually allow the Gorcs to become more accepted.
“I
might know of a way.” Juna suddenly spoke up. “We Toblins once had the same
issue as the Goblins, Orcs, and Gorcs. We were all born from mana. Our races
only spread quickly due to our instinct to mate. But one day, female Toblins
began to be born because of a few of my ancestors working on a method to allow
the females who were enslaved to give birth to female Toblins.
Once the first one was born and she mated with her kin, she could give birth to
both boys and girls.”
“Juna,
why didn’t you mention this before?” Desaray had a headache.
“Because
no one asked.” This seemed to be the case! Desaray sighed as she looked at
Juna, who was staring back at her innocently.
“Okay.
Okay. So what needs to be done?” Desaray asked.
“You
will need a few females from other races to willingly undergo a special
procedure that will require other people to be in the room. Upon the moment of
release, the seed needs to be infused with mana that will alter its structure
and transform the male seed into a female seed.” Juna replied.
Desaray
was covering Lilly’s ears. She had not expected such graphic content in this
meeting! “Then we just need three girls.” Desaray looked at Domar.
“My
wives will be more than willing. They keep complaining they do not have a cute
daughter.” Domar replied, causing everyone to stare at him.
“Domar?
Wives?” Desaray was very confused. When did this man have wives!?
“You
saw one of them when you came to my camp the first time. That was Shelly. She
is an other world human.” Domar replied.
“But
she had chains on and was crying. She was even shaking in fear!” Desaray would
not let this go. He was calling a slave his wife!
“Oh… That… well, she
likes to role play.” Domar looked the other way. It was embarrassing.
“What!?”
Desaray couldn’t help but cry out. She did not know if what Domar said was true
or not, but since he had ice needles in his brain and heart, he should not be
lying!
“Boss,
it’s umm true. Some girls like Gorcs. Mainly because of the size.” Juna
blushed.
“Ah…”
Desaray finally understood.
“Why
do I feel like you guys are saying I am ugly!?” Domar was feeling like he was
really being looked down on!
“Anyway!”
Desaray quickly changed the subject tactfully, insinuating that they were
calling him ugly. “Just to be sure, there are slaves there, right?”
“Yes.”
Domar expression was gloomy. “But if we are able to do this, and we can have
girls, then I am sure we can finally put an end to this act.”
“Then
talk to your… Wi-Wives, let me know what they say. It will be Juna and I who
will be there during the entire process.” Desaray did not wish to be there, but
she had to be sure that nothing happened to Juna.
“Understood.
If we can really make this happen, we are willing to do anything.” Domar saw
this as his chance to break free from his orc cousins and walk a new path.
Since
there was no time like the present, the next day, Desaray left Lilly with Nina
and headed to Dormar’s camp with Juna. “So, do we need to be there during the
whole process?”
“Ugh…
just thinking about it makes me want to freeze the world.” Desaray was no
stranger to what goes on between a man and a woman. She had the internet, after
all, but she still did not want front-row seats to such a thing. At least not
until she found a man who could check off each mark on her list.
The
two talked until they reached the camp, which seemed to undergo a drastic
change. The way things were set up looked much more refined than before. It
seemed Dormar had slowly begun to change the face of the Gorcs.
“Lady
Desaray! Lady Juna!” A Gorc guard quickly greeted the two.
“Why
is no one guarding the gate?” Desaray asked.
“We
only have someone there at night. Because we are now regularly patrolling the
borders, we do not need to guard the gates as much.” The guard replied.
“You
should still station one person at the gate at all times. It is not good to
leave the door wide open. I will speak with your chief about it. Just select
one bored person and send them to the gate. Switch shift every four hours.”
Desaray had the same setup at her camp. However, they had a few guards guarding
the entrance to the village.
“I
will get it done.” The guard did not ask any questions. Orders were already
passed down that Desaray was their Master. Her words were law.
“Dormar,
I see you have changed quite a bit here,” Desaray said with a smile.
“I
have taken a lot of influence from your village. I am working on building
better homes for my people. I did want to ask once things have been settled
with my female slaves, if my clan would be able to move into Serenity Village?”
Dormar wanted to prove that his people had changed. If he could do so, he could
show the world that not all Gorcs are like their cousins.
“That
is fine. But we need to make sure that your wives can give birth to female
Gorcs.” Desaray knew the turnaround time for a birth cycle for a woman who was
impregnated by Gorc was 1 month. They would reach adulthood thirty days later.
In other words, if they were to do this a few times, they could give birth to
many girls in a short time span. The only difference and why these women were
able to give birth so often was due to the fact that when a Gorc was born, they
were not very big at all. The baby could fit in the palm of the mother’s hand.
So there was no stress on the mother’s body. The only reason the stomach
swelled up was that they gave birth to about five to ten Gorcs at a time. This
was also why Dormar’s camp was quickly expanding.
“Yes,
I understand. If we are lucky, we will have a new litter of all female Gorcs.”
Dormar was a little excited. He never had a daughter before. He had many sons
but no daughters.
“We
all want daughters. We do not care if you are there to help us with this. It’s
not like you will be joining. You are only doing the guiding process?” One of
the wives answered.
“Yes,
I am only here to back Juna up while Juna will be doing the hard work of
changing the seed to what will hopefully give birth to a female.” Desaray still
did not like having to do this, but she had to protect Juna.
“Then
we fine with it. My name is Sandilia. My sister here is Gania, and my other
sister whom you have met before is Yunli.” Sandilia introduced all three wives
to Desaray.
Yunli
blushed as she lowered her head. “I am sorry I was too into my act and ended up
causing you to misunderstand Marmar.”
“Yunli!
Don’t use that name in front of others!” Dormar tried his best to hide his
embarrassment, but his ears that were changing colors gave it away.
“Hehe!”
Yunli only giggled in response.
“I
see. So it seems you and Marmar have a good relationship.” Juna could not let
go of a bit of teasing, even for a second!
Dormar’s
expression was not good. He looked at his wives, who were giggling away, and
let out a sigh of defeat. “Let’s just get this going. The sooner I see my
daughters, the better.”
Half
a day later…
“I am never doing that
again!” Desaray had seen things she did not wish to see!
“I
also want to say that as well, but sadly, we have no choice if we wish to keep
the Gorcs as part of Serenity Village,” Juna replied. She understood where her
Boss was coming from, but she also knew that they had to do this.
“I
know! Luckily, you only needed to touch the girl’s stomach. If you had to touch
anything else, I might have turned blind.” Desaray was blushing from ear to
ear.
Juna
looked at her Boss and giggled as she thought about how her Boss was so
innocent. “Boss, you will one day be doing those things with the person you
fall in love with.”
“I
do not think so! I will not be doing that with anyone! One of them even had to
wear a collar and was yelling master this, master that!” Desaray had no desire
to have such kinks. “Let me ask you this, Juna, do you do that with Oinktera?”
Juna’s
cheeks instantly turned a shade darker as she shook her head. “We are not there
yet. I do not wish to make him too big-headed. If I were to cave and let him
have all of me, he would think he is king of the world.”
“No
wonder you still have him wrapped around your finger. I think I should pull a
play from your book.” Desaray liked this idea. Hold out so that they have no
choice but to do as you tell them!
“Haha!
It is working so far.” Juna smiled brightly. She loved Oinktera, but that did
not mean he would get everything.
“No.”
A small voice came from on top of her head. Desaray could only purse her lips.
Her ice fairy was not very cooperative!
Juna
couldn’t hold back her laughter as she watched her Boss try to get out of guard
duty. But sadly, out of everyone, only she was able to do so. Oinktera could do
it, but Juna refused to let him look at another girl. So her boss was stuck
doing the dirty work.
As
they walked, Juna had her hands behind her back. She looked up at the blue
skies and fell into thought. “Hey Boss…. What will happen in the next merger?
Do you think we will be overrun?”
“We
can only fight for survival at that time. My original plan was only to grow
stronger so I could find my family again. But now I am responsible for so many.
I would not feel right leaving this place to go on a journey any time soon. For
now, I can only hope things will work out. I have no idea if they are even
still alive. The floating island they were trapped on was gone before I knew
it.” Desaray mood became gloomy. Hina flew off her head, sat on her shoulder,
and kissed her cheek.
“Master,
you will be able to find them one day,” Hina spoke softly. She was connected to
Desaray, so she understood how lonely and sad she was.
“Yes,
Boss! Everyone will help. Once our forces have grown more and we are able to
spare people, we can begin to search for them.” Juna wanted to think in a
positive light.
“As
time goes by, we will work harder. Boss, we are all lived-long races. As long
as they are able to keep moving forward like you are, you will see them again.”
Juna’s words made Desaray’s mood much better.
“You
are right! As long as we keep moving forward, I know I will see them again. My
father is a hero. He is a man who gave me a second and third life. The first
time was when he pulled me, an unborn baby, from my mother’s stomach when she
died, giving me a real home by adopting me. To me, he is what a true hero is. I
respect him more than anyone else in the world.” Desaray had not talked much
about herself since she met the others, so Juna felt blessed that her Boss was
opening up to her. She couldn’t wait to brag about it at church!
“Boss,
when will we go back to the raid?” Juna had been wondering about this for a
while and also wished to change the subject so her Boss would not get gloomy
again.
“We
will be going soon. I am sure it will take us a while to do it, so we need to
make sure the village is set up with proper defenses. If the next merger
happens while we are in the raid, I do not want Serenity to be left defenseless
if all its powerhouses have gone to become stronger.”
In
truth, Desaray had no idea how long the raid would take, so she did not wish to
risk it just yet. She was glad she did not enter right
away as she had initially planned. Things were slowly coming together, and the
entrance itself was almost fully under her control. She figured once things
came under her control, she could slowly begin her descent into the raid.
“We
are back!” Desaray was very happy she would find out in a few days if the girls
were pregnant or not. If they were, she would not need to go back unless things
changed and more girls decided they wanted to become surrogates.
“Boss,
I will go look for Oinktera. He is probably not in a good mood.” Juna felt bad.
She knew Oinktera did not like the idea that she was going to be in a room with
another man doing that. But she had no choice since it was for the future of
Serenity Village.
“Okay!
Good luck!” Desaray smiled before heading off towards her own house. The people
in the village all greeted her with smiles as they went about their day. As she
walked, she opened her menu.
[Name]:
Desaray Harris
[Race]:
Ice Dragon Goddess
[Current
Realm] Mortal
[Age]:
18
[Level]:
33
[Monster
Rank]: E
[Realm
Advance Requirements]: Reach Level 50, Kill 1 thousand enemies, Raise your affinity
with Ice to 70%, Create a domain with 10,000 followers
[Evolution
Requirements]: Reach level 100, Kill 2 Demigods, Complete 3 level 100+ dungeons
solo
[HP]:
15278/15278
[MP]:
10987/10987
[Elemental Affinity]: Ice
(25%)
[Skill
Points]: 32
[Skills]
{Ice
Breath (Lvl 5)} {Ice Immunity (Lvl Max)} {Apprasial (Lvl 2)} {First Aid (Lvl
2)}{Toughened Skin (Lvl 2)} {Spark (Lvl 1)} {Cleanse (Lvl 1)} {Drink (Lvl 1)}
{Dig (Lvl 1} {Dry (Lvl 1)} {Ice Arrow (Lvl 5)} {Fireball (Lvl 1)} {Detection
(Lvl 1)} {Healing Snow (Lvl 5)} {Partial Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Full
Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Ice Manipulation (Lvl 5)} {Summon Ice Elemental (Lvl
1)} {Prison Of Absolute Cold (Lvl 1)} {Mana Reduction (Lvl 3)} {Mana
Regeneration (Lvl 3)}
[Goddess
Skills]
{Frozen
Step (Lvl Max)} {Absolute Zero(Lvl 1)}
[Professions]
{Weapon
Crafting (Lvl 3)} {Armor Crafting (Lvl 3)} {Hunting (Lvl 3)} {Foraging (Lvl 3)}
{Cooking (Lvl 3)}
Desaray
could only sigh. She has not made much progress lately. The only thing she did
notice was that her ice affinity had jumped 5%. But sadly, she was far off from
meeting any of the current requirements for evolution or realm advancement. She
needed to create a domain with ten thousand followers, which was like trying to
pull teeth when you did not have any.
She
could only sigh when she thought about this predicament. Currently, she has
four hundred and thirty people as followers. Why they were following her was
beyond her. But she had noticed the busiest place seemed to be the church that
Juna and Oinktera had built. The residents of Serenity Village were
always coming and going from there. Sometimes, even three or four times a day.
She
had also noticed some people clasping their hands and lowering their heads as
she walked by. She did not understand why they were doing this. She had never
done anything that would make people want to do such a thing, but she saw that
they were happy, so she allowed it. Even if they saw her as some kind of god,
she would not let it get to her head. She would still continue on her current
path. She wanted to grow strong and make a safe haven for all races.
As
she passed through the door of her house, a little fox girl ran up and jumped
into her arms. Desaray hugged the small figure tightly in her arms and kissed
the soft cheek. “Lilly!”
“Mama!
Hehe!” Lilly grinned and returned the kiss. She hugged her Mama’s neck, not
wanting to let go.
“Lilly!
I said you needed to finish your studies!” Nina came running out. When she saw
Desaray, her eyes lit up. “Boss!”
“I
am back. And don’t ask how it was. I never want to do that again.” Desaray
began to sulk once again.
“I
wouldn’t either.” Nina quickly agreed. She did not wish to be near any Gorcs,
at least not in that kind of situation.
“So
what is this about Lilly not finishing her studies?” Desaray looked down at
Lilly, who quickly looked at the ceiling as if it were the most interesting
thing in the world.
“She
keeps sneaking off. I would think she was always a fox with how sneaky she is!”
Nina threw her hands up in the air. It seemed she was exhausted.
“But
it has nothing to do with Mama, and only Mama is worth learning about,” Lilly
replied.
“Your
sweet-talking will not get you out of this.” Desaray wanted to scream and
cuddle her cute little fox girl, but she did not dare do so when she was trying
to teach her a lesson. “Just keep learning even if it is boring. You are
already very smart. So maybe you just need more of a challenge?”
“A
challenge!?” Lilly’s eyes lit up. The reason she hated studying was because it
was very boring. It was too easy!
Juna Finds A Loophole
“Yes,
a challenge. We will begin to teach you things that are harder to understand.
If you find these new teachings too easy, let us know, and we will think of
something else.” Desaray did not want to keep teaching Lilly the basics if she
already understood them all.
“Yay!”
Lilly jumped out of Desaray’s arms and jumped up and down, pumping her little
fists into the air. Desaray and Nina chuckled, looking at how excited she was.
Desaray
knew that Lilly was smart. Very smart. The little girl sucked up knowledge
quickly. She hoped that Lilly could find something she truly loved to do in the
future and make good use of all the information she was taking in and put it to
use towards her dreams.
Desaray
sighed. She had really become a mother! She was already worrying about her
child’s future! She let out another sigh at this thought. The system forcefully
made her eighteen. She would be just turning fifteen if not for the system. Now
that she thought about it. Her birthday was coming soon. She would then be
nineteen. That was unless the system had other ideas for her.
Currently,
Lilly was only learning other world stuff. But with how smart she was, if she
were to mix the two systems, she might be able to do something even more than
any of them could ever imagine. She also wanted to give a few things to Regal
as well.
“Don’t
worry, Boss. I will protect the Princess with my life!” Nina patted her chest
and put on a serious expression.
Lilly,
on the other hand, pouted, walked over, and hugged Desaray’s waist. Her fluffy
ears sagged along with her tail, showing that she was sad. “Mama, you are not
going to stay?”
“I
am going to go find you some things that will allow you to learn stuff from
this world. I want you to know about both worlds since your Mama is from this
world.” Desaray patted her head and scratched her ears. The once sagging tail
slowly began to wag. It was hard for Lilly to hide her emotions. “Mama will be
back soon, okay?”
“Mmm…
Don’t forget Lilly.” Lilly looked up at Desaray with her big, round, watery
eyes, causing Desaray to scream in her heart: My daughter is
too cute!
“Fine…”
Juna snorted and gave an angry glare at Oinktera, who was also a bit
disappointed. He wanted to go too, but from the sounds of it, even if he asked,
he would be rejected!
Desaray
left the village and walked down an unknown path. Her time so far in this new
world had been less lonely than she had ever imagined. She now had hundreds of
people looking up to her. The small community that was only just a few now had
grown so quickly. She hoped one day, she could look back on all of this and be
grateful that she had decided to make all the decisions she was making now. But
then again. She had no other choice if she wished to grow stronger. She wanted
to protect her loved ones from those who might wish harm on to them. She wanted
to make sure those who rely on her would not be put in harm’s way.
From
what she knew of the other world, war was rampant. People did not care for what
reason they went to war. They did it because they could. Kingdoms rose and
fell. Clans would be wiped out. Blood would flow down the rivers, dying them
red. It was a never-ending cycle. This was the world she was about to end up
in. As soon as the merge was completed, she would be thrown into this struggle
of life and death. This was not something she wanted.
Desaray
was lost in thought as she slowly walked through the forest, each step freezing
the ground around her. Her path behind her looked like a winter wasteland of
frozen plants and trees.
“Stop
right there, monster!” Desaray paused her steps. She had walked quite a ways,
almost half a day. The sun had already fallen. She was so lost in her thoughts
that she had not even noticed the sun had gone down, never mind the men in
military uniforms pointing weapons at her.
She
calmly looked over at the man who was pointing a machine gun at her and sighed.
“This world’s humans. Please do not point a gun at me. Believe it or not, I was
once a human too.”
“Like
we care. Now, you are nothing more than a monster!” The soldier said while
taking his safety off. “You have two choices. Die or leave. We do not want
anything to do with your kind. But this is our territory and will not allow you
to keep pushing into our area.”
“Ummm…
No?” Desaray looked at the man. She would not leave even if she had a gun
pointed at her, mainly because she needed to go this way! She did not wish to
break her promise to her daughter. Plus… “From what I can tell, you are
soldiers of the base that is near here, no?”
“Don’t
ask questions. Just leave.” The man’s eyes narrowed as he slowly began to aim
his gun.
“As
a soldier, you should be trying to understand who your opponent is before you
fire.” Desaray raised a finger and encased the muzzle of the soldier’s gun in
ice.
“I
do not wish to hurt any of you,” Desaray said slowly. “I do not want to fight
humans of my world. I have already had to deal with humans from the other world
who would be more than happy to use their magic to take everything you own.
Some may be good, but just like how Earth’s humanity had the bad, so do they.
And I have already dealt with the bad. They killed humans from our world for
what little meat and supplies they had. I saved as many as I could.”
Desaray
was not just saying all of this for no reason. Her main reason was… “If you
wish. You can bring your people to Serenity Village. A place where humans and
monsters, as you called me, can live together peacefully. I will be coming back
this way. I will not harm your people. Just point me in the direction you do
not want me to go in, and I will do my best not to stumble upon your fort. I
just want to go to the college and schools to see if I can get some books for
my daughter.”
The
eyes of the soldier wavered. He turned and looked back at his comrades, who
also had stiff expressions. One thing was for sure: they did not wish to start
a fight that might cause them to fail in protecting what they had left of
humanity. But at the same time, hearing Desaray’s words, they were a bit
surprised that this girl said that she saved other humans.
“Don’t
rush to answer me. Go back and talk to your people and your leader. See what
they have to say. If a few of you wish to come and see the village firsthand,
you can. Just know this option will always be open to you. But remember, when
the next merger starts, many more powerful monsters and beings will be appearing. Those with the same mindset need to band
together, and human world weapons will not do a thing.” Desaray wanted to let
them think about it. Nothing good came from rushing. She just hoped they would
quickly make up their minds before the next merger. She would hate to see good
people dying. The reason why she thought of them as good was because they never
once actually fired, even though they could have many times now.
“Go
northeast. You will run into the primary school there. From there, if you can
find the old road, head west to the college.” The soldier replied. “Just do not
head straight east. This is all I ask.”
“Don’t
worry, I won’t.” Desaray smiled and began heading northeast. Her senses were
much stronger than that of a human, so she could easily tell which direction
north was. Desaray left the soldiers behind with her tail swaying back and
forth. She hoped they would make the right decision.
“Ray,
what should we do?” Another soldier walked up and asked. He was speaking to the
man who had been talking to Desaray.
“We
can’t ignore this intel. From what I could see, that girl was much stronger
than anyone we have come across thus far. Let’s talk to the leader about this
and see what he says.” Ray replied. “Steven, you and two others check the
perimeter. We can’t let anyone follow us back.”
“On
it.” Steven quickly waved at two others, and they split up and began searching
the area.
In
the dark, hiding under some brush, was a small brown rabbit with a horn on its
head. Its beady black eyes looked at the humans, and a
sneer formed on its lips. “Didn’t you want to be friends with these humans? How
about I make you mortal enemies!”
If
Desaray had seen this rabbit, she would known right away who it was. But sadly,
she was being plotted against without even knowing. She was still walking in
the direction she was told. She wanted to hurry and pick up the books for her
daughter as promised. Only then could her daughter slowly begin to realize what
she wants to do in the future.
Just
thinking about it made Desaray smile. The thought of her little fox tail
wagging back and forth with her ears all perked up made Desaray smile brightly.
Her mood was so good she started humming.
⧫⧫⧫
A
group of soldiers made their way through the forest on an unmarked trail. They
were heading back to their base to speak to their leader and find out what
their thoughts were. What they did not know was that a certain rabbit was
slowly following at the side, using its only decent skill, which was stealth.
This rabbit was none other than Jake.
When
he saw Desaray offering help to humans who pulled a gun on her and not to him,
he could not allow her plans to bring these people under her control. He did
not understand why she would throw away years of friendship and even threaten
to eat him. He just could not let this slide at all, and he felt that she was
doing it just to spite him. So he was going to do something just to spite her.
Since she wanted to help these people, then he would make them enemies! He
wanted to see her face as she was forced to fight the very people she tried to
befriend. This thought brought a smile to his furry face.
“How
am I supposed to get past them?” Jake racked his brain before sensing something
nearby. His little rabbit lips curled up as he suddenly bolted into the forest
once more. He went towards the location he had pinpointed with his senses to
find a large, armored bear monster standing there. He smiled, picked up a rock,
and chucked it as hard as he could. “Come on, you little bitch!”
“Roar!”
Of course, the monster was not having any of this. It quickly turned and chased
after the small figure that had just thrown something at it. Its dignity as a
mighty armored bear was at stake. Its sleuth would laugh at him for being
picked on by an inferior creature! Just thinking about it made the armored bear
even more angry!
Jake
was excited to see what would happen when he dragged this bear into the human
base. He kept running the way he came making sure to shake his butt at the bear
a few times before suddenly breaking through the trees and entering the base
itself.
“Roar!”
the armored bear was very mad. This stupid inferior creature was trying to get
away!
“What
the hell!? Monster! Fire!” The soldiers all shouted. They quickly began firing
at the armored bear, causing the armored bear to come to a sliding stop. The
guards at the entrance to the subway also came forth to
try to kill the monster that had just appeared.
As
for Jake, the one who was causing this scene, he quickly bolted down the steps
into the subway. He never thought a plan he had thought up in such a short
period of time would work so easily. “I guess being a rabbit still makes me
smarter than a normal human!”
Feeling
proud of himself, Jake reached the bottom of the stairs, where he quickly hid
behind some boxes as a few soldiers ran by. “Quickly hurry up and help Team
Alpha! A huge monster appeared!”
Jake
snorted as she came out from hiding and sniffed the air. He could smell where
the food was stored and licked his lips. The best way to start a war with the
people of the apocalypse was to steal their food supplies!
Jake
quickly made his way down the long tunnel that was set up like a large camp. He
saw many humans, at least a few thousand, hanging out down here. He never even
knew that there was such a large space under Manhattan.
It
took a while, but he finally made it to the stock room. When he entered, he was
shocked to see just how big this room was, and it was filled to the brim.
“Hehe…” Jake rubbed his paws together and hopped into the room.
While
Jake was about to become even plumper and juicier than he already was, Ray was
standing in a room with three other people. Two of them were wearing military
uniforms, while the other was wearing a suit. “Ray, you are back. I heard you
wanted to speak with me.”
“Oh?
Why are you coming to tell me this? Rebirthers are nothing more than those who
lost their humanity.” General Ryan did not understand. He had been keeping the
humans here safe all this time after rounding many of them up over the past few
months.
“Because
she is powerful enough to wipe out our entire base alone. But she made us offer
and gave me some important intelligence.” Ray replied.
“Oh?
An offer and intel? Tell me the intel first.” General Ryan was not too
concerned about the offer. He did not know for sure if this person Ray was
talking about was actually powerful or just putting on a show with their
powers.
“Yes.
She mentioned that everything that has happened so far is not over. She called
it a merger, and another one will happen soon…”
“Merger,
huh?” General Ryan frowned slightly. He hated to say it, but he actually wanted
to talk to this woman. “When will you meet with her again?”
“I
believe she will come back through this way tomorrow at the latest. I can have
a few men wait for her at the point we saw her today,” Ray replied.
“Yes,
do that. Now tell me about this deal…” General Ryan hated to say it, but the
merger business did not sit well with him. He himself knew that human weapons
were hardly any use unless you concentrated fire.
“Alright.
Go do what you said. Bring her to me. I will speak to her.” General Ryan waved
Ray off and sat back in his chair. He looked at the well-dressed man next to
him and asked: “What do you think?”
“I
am just here under your protection. Whether or not we move to a new location
has nothing to do with me. But it’s true that our world has changed. If this
woman is willing to help us, I think we should take this chance. We can only
last so long as we are now. And going up top without being able to grow in
strength is of no use to us.” The man answered honestly. He had a feeling
things would come to this.
“We
have kicked all the rebirthers out, though. Mainly because they were scaring
the citizens; if we suddenly make this move, I am sure we will get backlash.”
General Ryan did not know what to do.
“We
can only hope for the best, even if there is backlash. These people can only
live so long. Our food supplies will also only last so long. We are unable to
determine what can and can’t be eaten. If this woman has a means for the human
race to continue living on without worrying about the new dangers as much, then
I think it will be worth it. I, for one, do not wish to be stuck in this subway
for the rest of my years.” The well-dressed man really did not want the people
to get upset over such a decision, but it was in their
best interest to follow along with what they had decided.
It
was not like they would force people to go. But they would not be leaving
anyone behind to protect those who decide to stay. They would move everything,
including what resources were left.
“Let’s
first talk to the girl. At least that way, we can have a better understanding
of what she wants to do. But you do realize that if we do decide to follow this
woman, we will lose control of everything. You will be under her rule.” General
Ryan wanted to make this clear to this man. If this woman was powerful, he
hoped his old friend would not try to do something that would cause him to end
up dead.
“Haha!
I know.” The man chuckled. “I am fine with it. Plus, Ryan… I am no longer the
politician of the past. Politics no longer rule this world. Only the strong
do.”
“Then
Greg, I will stop showing you so much respect.” General Ryan let out a laugh.
The two old friends smiled at each other before talking more about their
meeting with Desaray.
While
this was going on, a certain rabbit was already patting his belly. “Burp… Shit…
This was the best meal I have had in a while. Who told these people to stock up
on so much food? I can live here for months without issue, but…”
Jake
had gotten his fill, but he had not forgotten why he even came to this place.
“I need to find a way to ruin all of these supplies in one go and then blame it
all on the bitch.”
“Hurry
up and head out. We need to make sure we do not miss her. When you meet up with
her, bring her here!” A voice echoed through the room Jake was in. He saw some
soldiers running towards the exit. He was sure they were
talking about Desaray just now.
His
rabbit lips curled up as he squinted his eyes. “This will make things easier.
She can make them have a fallout when she is here.” At that point, he would
need to expose himself, but he was sure he could easily hightail it out of this
place before he was caught. If he was good at anything, it was escape!
⧫⧫⧫
In
another place, sitting in a tree, Juna looked down at the soldiers running
about below. “So Boss wants to bring these people under her wing. Why do I
smell a familiar scent coming from this place?”
Frowning
slightly, Juna waved her hand, causing a small root to pop up from the ground
and begin to slither its way into the base. “Hopefully, I can find the source
of this scent before something happens.”
Juna
was told to stay home, but her boss never said for how long. So, after a few
hours, Juna had already settled Oinktera and then headed out while leaving the
pig man to his lonesome self. She had found a loophole in her Boss’s orders.
Luckily,
she was smart and secretly sent a root to follow her Boss. So she was able to
find things out which had brought her here since she wanted to check out these
humans and their intentions.
Juna’s
root slithered into the base unnoticed. Unlike a certain chubby rabbit, the
root looked more like a worm and was something people would easily overlook. It
slithered inside, and through its connection with Juna, she could see
everything going on around it and follow the scent she had locked onto.
“Halt!
Who are you!?” The guards all went on full alert when they saw the beautiful
girl with nothing but leaves covering her body. Strangely, it did not look out
of place and actually looked like armor.
“My
name is Juna! I work for the benevolent Ice Goddess Desaray! I have come due to
a criminal that has escaped and is now hiding in your base.” Juna proudly made
her Boss a Goddess without her knowing.
“Criminal?
We have not seen any of your kind around here.” The guard answered in
confusion.
“This
does not mean one did not enter. There is a bastar-rabbit with a horn on its
head now hiding in a corner of your base. It’s got brown fur, and if you kick
it, it will speak in the human language. The Ice Goddess does not know of its
escape and has planned to set it free as long as it behaves, but it seems it is
still trying to steal what does not belong to it. If you send someone to your
food stores, you will know what I mean. I do not mind waiting here.” Juna
explained.
“Hold
on a second.” The soldier turned and spoke into his radio. A few minutes later,
a response came. “You are right. There are holes in some of our food, and lots
of it is scattered about. I can bring you in, but you will be under heavy
guard. The General did say he wished to see you.”
“Then
please wait a few minutes. A group will come up to get you.” The guard replied.
Juna
nodded and then took a seat on the root she was standing on. Her slender legs
dangled and swayed slightly, making the guards unable to look away. Juna’s
beauty was too much not to notice. She could entice any man if she wished.
Oinktera was very lucky to be able to capture the heart of such a girl.
Ten
minutes later, five heavily armed soldiers came over and greeted Juna. “Miss
Juna. My name is Ray. I will be guiding you in. Please do understand that the
armed escort is to allow the citizens of the base to feel secure. If we just
let you roam around by yourself, they might become afraid and even attack.”
Juna
nodded in understanding. These humans were down here to hide from monsters. She
would be seen as a monster to them. “Please lead the way. My main concern is so
that the criminal does not cause you any misunderstandings with my kind and my
Goddess.”
“Your
Goddess? I was told you mentioned some Ice Goddess named Desaray? Is she a girl
with blue scales on her body and a tail? She also has two horns that look like
they were carved out of blue ice.” Ray was curious if she was talking about the
person he had met not long ago.
“Yes.
She is the one who took me and my kin in when we came to this world. She who is
benevolent enough to allow my kind, who were shunned in the old world, to live
together with so many. She is someone who our Serenity
Village worships in secret. We even built a church in her name!” Juna’s words
were filled with pride.
“I-I
see…” Ray was starting to wish he had never asked, but from the looks of it,
this girl really liked the ice girl from early. Since that was the case, maybe
she could be trusted after all.
Juna
descended the staircase. She no longer used a root as it would harm the
structure of the base itself and walked lightly on her toes. She looked like a
delicate flower, which was causing the poor soldiers who were acting as her
guards to bite their lips and try not to look. Well, all except one soldier.
“Miss Juna… Do you have a boyfriend?”
“What
is this boyfriend you speak of?” Juna asked curiously. She felt like she had
heard this word before, but she couldn’t remember from whom.
“It’s
when a man and a woman become a couple that are not married.” The soldier
replied. He was very nervous. If he could get such a beauty, wouldn’t he be
able to brag to the world?
“Oh,
that. Sorry. My husband would never allow it. You see, he is very jealous. He
might even cut your head off just for mentioning such a thing.” Juna replied
honestly. She knew Oinktera well. He would fight to the death if anyone tried
to snatch her away.
The
soldier reflexively touched his neck and shivered. With a dry laugh, he said:
“Ahahaha… I was just kidding.” Then quickly went back to paying attention to
the front not daring to even look at the beauty. Juna giggled and smiled, which
caused the soldiers to almost trip and fall. Her smile was deadly!
Praising Her Goddess
“Miss
Juna, was it?” General Ryan stood up and extended his hand. Juna took it into
hers and shook it.
“Yes.
I heard you would like to speak to me.” Juna replied.
“Yes.
I did. You said you were a subordinate of this Ice Goddess? And that a criminal
from your village had escaped?” General Ryan asked. He was very curious about
this village. To have a woman with such power as Juna appear out of nowhere
without them being able to detect anything. And she was only a subordinate of
the strange woman.
“I
guess that is a good way to see it. But I like to see myself as her first true
believer. You see, the Ice Goddess Desaray does not ask much. She only wishes
for everyone to get along and work together to make a place where everyone can
live in peace. We have even taken in a clan of Gorcs who are known for their
enslavement of women. However, I should say we are working on a method to
relieve them of this need to enslave women. By doing so, they will finally be
able to give birth to female Gorcs and will be able to breed with their own
kind at that time.
Juna’s
voice lowered as her eyes turned cold, making the temperature in the room drop
a few degrees. “This bastar-Rabbit had caused problem after problem for my
Goddess. You see, he used to be human, a friend of my Ice Goddess. She even
saved his life, but in return, his selfishness made her have no choice but to
lock him up for a period of time. He escaped and has been on the loose since
then. And since my Goddess is unable to kill him outright, he has been causing
her problems left and right. As I said, she is too kind.”
General
Ryan wiped the sweat from his brow. When powerful people get mad, they really
get mad. He could see that this Juna woman really cared for her Goddess, as she
put it. But what startled him was that it seemed it was true. The ice woman was
once human. He was quite surprised to hear this since it did not seem possible
for humans to grow so strong so quickly. He did his best to compose himself as
he asked: “Miss Juna, were you….”
Juna
did not need him to finish as she interrupted him and shook her head. “No. I
was once called a Toblin. A cousin of the green men you all might have seen,
known as Goblins. Just like how Gorcs are cousins of the Orcs. But we have more
intelligence. My current form is also unique. As I am
what is called a Nymph Princess. My guess is that this is a special evolution
for my race. Toblins will normally evolve into Horned Trinity Fae. It was also
thanks to my Goddess that I was able to even evolve and become strong. She not
only saved me and my people, but she also gave us the ability to live in this
world without fear. If she were to die by a blade, I would happily take it for
her.”
General
Ryan furrowed his brow a little. This kind of devotion was not common to
humans. But he could see that this woman meant every word of it. “I see. I
guess I should not pry anymore.” Or more like he did not wish to hear anymore.
He was starting to feel very inferior, but this also showed him that if another
merger were to come and powerful beings like this Juna here came through, then
this entire complex would be at risk since any one of them could probably march
right in without issue and lay waste to everyone inside. He really wished to
speak to this Goddess of hers.
“That
is fine. I just hope my words will make you understand that we mean you and
your people no harm. But I can not leave the bastar-Rabbit here… I must take
him out of here before he causes any future problems.” She was doing two
services. Stopping any issues between her Goddess and the people of the base
from every happening and bringing home a fat plump rabbit for her husband to
eat.
“That’s
fine. Do you know his location within the base?” General Ryan felt much better
about things now. He had to admit this woman going off on her rants just now
had eased some of his worries. But he still had many questions.
“Then
I can have some men go with you to capture him.” General Ryan replied.
“Thank
you. He does seem to have gotten fatter and juicer...” Juna replied with a
smile, causing the smile on General Ryan’s face to stiffen. He really felt like
he heard something he should not have. But he did not dare ask. As long as he
pretended he did not hear anything, then it never happened.
Juna
found herself once more surrounded by a group of soldiers as she walked through
the subway with a small smile on her lips. This smile was enough to enchant
every man who looked her way. Even some women were staring at her with rosy
cheeks.
“It’s
here.” Juna’s lips curled up into an even brighter smile. The thought of a fat
rabbit roasting over an open fire really made her… Drool… “Jake, come out. I
know you’re there.”
A
certain fat rabbit twitched. He had sensed a familiar presence, but he did not
dare to move since he would most likely be seen if he did. He had hoped to use
his ‘rebellion’ against Desaray’s tyranny to make it seem like he was a victim.
But it was different when it came to this woman. She did not care for any
tricks he might have. She would kill him as soon as she saw him.
“Jake.
I said come out. Do not make me drag you out.” Juna’s words were growing colder
by the second. But even still, Jake hid behind the crate with his plump body
pushed as far as he could in the corner, hoping not to be seen.
“Let
me go, you maniac!” Jake yelled out. He was so scared at this moment that he
felt like he was about to soil himself from both ends!
“You
dared to cause trouble for my Goddess. Do you think I will just let you go? She
is very kind and will put up with your crap, but I am not. I know that you came
here to cause trouble. And I will not allow your plans to come to fruition.”
Juna replied as the struggling rabbit was wrapped in roots and then carried
over to Juna.
Juna
grabbed the fat rabbit by his ears and held him up to her face, her eyes
staring into his. “You ate the food these people worked hard to acquire. Just
like you did to my tribe. But I have to thank you for that since it allowed me
to meet my Goddess.”
“Goddess,
my ass! She is just selfish! Why won’t she help me level!? Why did she give the
Goblin to Mike for him to kill first to get his system!? I confessed my love to
her, and she turned me down! Why!? What the hell is wrong with me!? Why must
she look at me as if I have some kind of disease!?” Jake lost it. He could not
take it anymore. He did not know why he was being left out of everything!
“You
say she is selfish? Do you know how many people she has saved!? How she stained
her hands with the blood of others to save the humans of her world!? Do you
know how much pain she has had to live with!? She lost everything! Her father.
Her friends. The people she cared about disappeared
before she had a chance to try to reach them! She has given all of us outcasts
with no home to return to a new home! She has given us a new way of life. My
race, a race seen as a monster to the higher races, was even allowed to team up
with her. We now live among other races in a civilized manner, no longer hiding
in the deepest parts of the forest!
“Do
you know she has always put others first? She thinks of the others way before
she even puts herself in her own line of sight. If we do not stand up and take
care of her, who will? But you. You are always crying about what she is not
giving you. Have you ever stopped for a second and asked yourself what the hell
you have done to help her!?
“Listen
to me here and now, Jake; from this moment on, your life is forfeit. You have
messed with the wrong person. You dared to try to harm the savior of many. To
us, she is our Goddess who we worship because she cares so much for our own
well-being. She does not hand us anything but does her best to give us the
ability to provide for ourselves. Serenity Village is her vision, and one day,
it will be Serenity Kingdom! And the one ruling over it will be her.” Juna’s
chest was heaving up and down. She had never been so angry in her entire life.
This stupid rabbit really only cared about himself and nothing else.
“Why
do you keep calling her a Goddess! She is just a fourteen-year-old girl. What
can she do? She is nothing! She is just a bitch who will leave you all hanging
like she did to me! Heh…. Hehehe… Hahahaha!” Jake roared. He did not care about
being captured anymore. His laugh echoed through the subway. He had long gone
crazy.
“Juna?
Why are you here?”
Juna
quickly hid the rabbit behind her back as she put a smile on her face and said:
“Boss! I did not expect to see you here…”
Desaray
rolled her eyes. “You followed me again, didn’t you? I said you should stay
home with your husband, but you still came out. And why are you hiding Jake
behind your back?”
“I…
Boss, he was trying to do bad things again!” Juna replied as she held up the
horned rabbit. She could not lie to her boss, so she told the truth.“So I
planned to roast him for Oinktera!”
“I
see…” Desaray’s eyes turned cold. “Jake, I heard everything just now. I have
never met such a petty person in my life. I turned you down but still saved
your life when shit hit the fan. But you… You do nothing but try to get by
living off others. This is no longer the world you were raised in. You are no
longer the rich, pampered young master of your family. You are nothing but a
damn rabbit who looks like he would make a good dinner.”
“You!
Desa, I used to be human! You would still let her eat me!?” Jake roared. He
could not take it. He hated how he seemed to be on the lower end of the food
chain. Why did he not get Desaray’s powers? Why was he not a dragon!?
“Human?
If you were once human, then why do you not act like it?” Desaray looked around
her and pointed at the people working together as a community. “You see this!?
This is what it means to be human. You work as one. You work as a community to keep living even if all is lost. You are no human. You
are just a greedy fat rabbit. Juna, take him back and roast him. Tell Oinktera
he is the rabbit who escaped that day. I am sure he will shower you with love.”
“Boss!”
Juna blushed and stomped her feet. The shyness almost caused all the men and
some women to fall over from heart attacks.
“Juna,
you are too cute. You will cause a kingdom to fall if you act like this.”
Desaray smiled warmly at the blushing girl. She really did find her closest
friend quite cute.
“I
am not as cute as you.” Juna pursed her lips. In her mind, Desaray would always
be the most beautiful. If anyone said otherwise, she would kill them.
“Yes,
yes, I am cute. Now go. I will handle things here.” Desaray did not even glance
at Jake. His fate was now sealed. He could no longer escape. He had caused too
many problems and was now going to suffer for his actions.
“Desa!
You can’t do this! What will your father think!? What will Becky and the rest
think!? You sent an old friend to his death! You are nothing but a murderer!
Mumph!” Jake screamed at the top of his lungs as Juna took him away. But he
soon found his mouth restrained by a root.
Desaray
turned and looked at the bulging eyes of the stupid rabbit and sighed. “Jake,
my hands have long been stained with blood. When I find my father and Becky and
the others, I will tell them myself that I have killed. I have killed to save
people. And I have killed to keep you from harming others. Your blood is on my
hands. I will accept this fate and live with it for all eternity.”
Sometimes,
life is a harsh place. Sometimes, one has to deal with situations in a certain
way, even if they do not wish to. Desaray had accepted all of this. Even now,
she was thinking about the future and keeping the things that should not be
thought about deep in her heart. She meant every word of what she said just
now. She would remember this day. The day she had sentenced a classmate,
someone she grew up with, to death. But in order to keep going, she would not
dwell on the issue. After killing humans herself, she understood all of this.
She had changed. She had changed because the world had changed.
Desaray
turned to Ray, who had been standing there listening to everything, and
apologized. “I am sorry you had to see all of that.”
“No,
actually, what you said just now… You make a good leader. You do not run away
from your choices but embrace them. This is a sign of a good leader.” Ray
replied.
“He
is right!” An older man in a military uniform walked over. He looked Desaray up
and down and felt like this girl was not bad at all. “I heard you were
fourteen?”
“I
was… My evolution made me eighteen, but I am now nineteen. You can say I have
jumped five years since the apocalypse.” Desaray explained.
“Even
still. Fourteen, nineteen, you are still very young yet are able to understand
what is right and how to handle things calmly. My name is
General Ryan. It is a pleasure to meet the Ice Goddess that Miss Juna spoke so
fondly of.”
Desaray
tilted her head and could picture Juna going on and on about her. She had heard
it many times in secret as Juna talked to others as well. “I am not sure of
being a Goddess, but I will keep my people safe no matter what.”
“That
is all that matters!” General Ryan liked this girl even more. She was humble
and did not think of herself as being some high and mighty power. “Please
follow me to my office. There is someone who wishes to meet you.”
“Alright.”
Dearay nodded and followed the general to his office.
Inside,
a man stood at the side, seemingly nervous, as he watched the girl walk in. He
could feel the temperature of the room drop by a few degrees just from her
presence alone.
“Ah…
Sorry, I forgot to mention it is not good if you stand less than three feet
away from me. You will start to freeze if you get any closer. Sadly, I can not
seem to control the aura around my body.” Desaray looked at the man
apologetically. Although she still did not seem to notice that she had been
able to hold other people’s hands without issue, Nina being one of them.
“Noted.
No wonder I felt cold just now.” General Ryan tried to hide it, but he did feel
a cold chill once he got close to Desaray.
“I
am sorry.” Desaray felt guilty. She did not want to harm anyone here.
“It’s
fine. It’s fine. It is just proof of your immense power.” The man who was
standing there replied. “My name is Greg Billings. I was once a senator. Now, I
am nothing more than a human trying to survive. I help
run this base alongside General Ryan.”
“He
does more of the decision-making. I am just his lackey.” General Ryan replied
with a chuckle. “We want to understand more about this merger you spoke of.”
“Sure…”
Desaray began explaining things in more detail.
⧫⧫⧫
While
Desaray was busy explaining things inside Serenity Village, in the backyard of
a newly built home, a certain rabbit was strung up and devoid of its previous
hairy body. “Juna, I can’t believe you found him!” Oinktera licked his lips. He
had dreams of eating this damn rabbit.
“You
should thank Boss for letting us have such a feast. The rabbit even went and
fattened himself up just for us. Of course, I will yank his insides out and
stuff him with many herbs and spices. I am sure he will taste very good. Right,
Jake? You will taste amazing, won’t you.”
“Just
fucking kill me!” Jake’s eyes were wide and crazy looking. If this was modern
times, he would be mistaken for a rabid rabbit. “You will all suffer for
killing me! I will laugh when I see you all in hell!”
“Hell?
What place is this? Well, it doesn’t matter. I can’t go to a place I do not
know of.” Oinktera replied with a wave of his hand. “Juna, I finished the
sauce!”
“Thanks,
honey!” Juna grinned and gave Oinktera a smile she would only show him and her
Boss. While she did love Oinktera, her Boss was still her number one.
“You!
You all are crazy! I used to be human! I used to be human!” Jake finally
understood fear as Juna walked over with the knife in her hand and the smile on
her face that scared the hell out of him.
“So
what?” Juna asked in confusion as she tilted her head to the side. “You did one
thing that should never be done, and that is trying to harm our Goddess. The
one person who can save us all and allow us to live peaceful lives. Now my
husband wants me to roast you, so please scream loudly as I slice you open and
drain all your blood.”
“You
crazy woman! If I get a chance to return, I will kill you! I will kill you
alAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Jake felt the knife pierce his flesh and
slice down the length of his body. He could feel the beautiful girl in front of
him ripping his insides out. His eyes slowly dimmed as the world grew dark
around him. But even now…. Even now, he still did not understand what he did
wrong. Was it wrong of him to want to be noticed by her? Was it wrong of him to
want her as his own? Was it wrong of him to want her to help him grow in power
so he could be the strongest in the world? When he tried to get revenge for her
always sending him away without a single helping hand? Was it wrong for him to
want to live?
Jake
would never know the answer to this question. He died, still only caring about
himself. His selfish pride never changed, even after so
many hardships. Desaray had always hoped he would turn for the better, but he
was too petty and kept his pride even when asking for favors, believing
everyone owed him something. Desaray never wanted an outcome like this for
Jake. She tried to give him a chance after chance. She wanted him to live on
his own, learn more about the world, and maybe mature. And then maybe one day,
if they ran into each other again, they could talk like old friends.
But
now… “Burp… Juna, your cooking skills are amazing! I am one lucky oink.”
⧫⧫⧫
“So
that is the merger you are talking about?” General Ryan and Greg felt a heavy
weight on their shoulders. “We can expect people as powerful as you during the
next merger?”
“Mmm…
Maybe? I am not sure.” Desaray replied. She really did not know what to expect.
She was stronger than most people and could easily kill high-level bosses solo
so she did not know what to make of the other worlders.
“If
we were to join you, how would it work?” Greg asked. He wondered just how the
ruling system in Serenity Village was.
“I
formed a council of elders. Each is a group of their own. Since each race has
different needs, these needs can be addressed during the meeting, allowing
everyone to work in harmony. I might have the final say, but as long as the
request is doable, I will not refuse it. If the request is out there and has
nothing to do with the good of the people we are in charge of, I will reject it
as well. Although no one is trying to do such things at this time, and I am
sure with how loyal everyone has been to Serenity
Village, this will never happen either as long as the founding members are
still there.
“General,
Greg, I am not sure how long your life spans are, but mine is quite long.
Juna’s lifespan is also very long. Many of my villagers have lived hundreds of
years already. Long lives bring wisdom you can not get anywhere else. This
wisdom is soaked into the other races, and they all work towards a common goal
because of it. War is something we never wish for. Dealing with petty crimes is
also something we never wish for. So our laws are strict. You can live your
lives, but if you dare to harm anyone in the village, it is an automatic death
sentence after trial. Of course, this is only if the evidence is there.”
Desaray explained.
“Such
laws are really strict but it will make people think twice before acting out.
We have similar policies here. We do not imprison people here. Humanity does
not need people who wish to harm it. Those with greedy thoughts or do other
wrong deeds have popped up, and each one has been sentenced, taken up top, and
killed.” General Ryan agreed with Desaray’s laws. He felt they were very good.
“It’s
a sad day when you will need to do something like that. I myself have only
killed for the first time just recently. Humans from the other world kidnapped
and killed humans from our world. I saved who I could, and those who wished to
die, I laid to rest. I punished those who rapped and killed others while those
who were not pointed out were enslaved and are currently working inside
Serenity Village as manpower. Once they are no longer needed, the people they
have harmed will get to decide what to do with their lives.
“It
is true. That not all humans are good. But there are far more good humans than
bad. We will work together. But moving so many in a short time will not be
easy. Do you mind if we send a few soldiers and a few civilians to take a look
before having everyone begin packing up?” General Ryan asked. He was fully
willing to follow this girl. She had the ambition and ability to save the human
race.
“That
is fine. It will be good to hear it from others who have been there instead of
just me.” Desaray smiled as she answered. Her smile bloomed like a flower on
top of a glacier. Both men in the room stared at her with stunned expressions,
not even able to pull their eyes away for a second.
“Are
you okay?” Desaray asked, snapping the two out of their daze.
“Yes…
I am sorry, Ice Goddess, it was just that your smile was really captivating.”
General Ryan was always an honest man. His straightforwardness made Desaray
blush.
“I
will go.” Greg suddenly stepped forward. He had to know what this place was
like for himself. He wanted first-hand experience as to how things were run. He
figured that, with his position, he might even be able to
sit with these elders and talk with them to get the inside scoop.
“This
is fine.” Desaray readily agreed she felt that if one of the top brass here was
willing to come to her village to take a look around, that would be the best
since the top brass would have more sway over the civilians.
Gathering in Serenity Village
Because
they had to prepare to leave, Desaray consented to stay a night in their base.
In order to keep the people staying here from being scared or overreacting, she
also consented to have two soldiers guard her as she sat away from everyone
else. She took out some ore and a hammer and began hammering away.
Her
hammering was loud, but with so many people in one place, it was not so loud
that it would disturb others. Not that anyone would dare try to tell her not to
hammer anything. But it did gain quite a few curious gazes as they watched
Desaray hammer a solid piece of ore, and every so often, she would blow out a
wave of cold air onto it. The once unprocessed ore slowly took the shape of a
knife. The ore itself was dark grey, but now it had a sheen of blue to it.
This
was Desaray’s specialty, cold smithing. Something she thought she had come up
with herself, only to find out that it was actually an ancient technique lost
in time in the other world.
“Goddess
Desaray, is this a weapon?” General Ryan became curious when he heard the
hammering and came to take a look. He now called her Goddess Desaray.
“This
is truly amazing. Metal being shaped like this should be almost impossible
without heavy machinery. And even then, they would still heat the metal up to
make it soft.” General Ryan was truly amazed not only at Desaray’s strength but
also her talent.
“Want
to see it?” Desaray asked.
General
Ryan immediately nodded his head, but before he could even touch the blade, he
felt an ice-cold air coming off of it. “Ah… Hold on.”
Just
in case, General Ryan now had a pair of gloves on him. He did not know if he
would be shaking this girl’s hand when she left or not, which was customary for
him. So that he would not freeze, he decided to stuff a pair of gloves in his
back pocket. He took them out and put them on before taking the dagger in his
hands. To his surprise, the dagger was so cold he could feel it through the
gloves. But he was in awe at the ice-blue sheen to the blade. A very nice
blade.”
“You
can have it if you want. But let me make a hilt for it. Its current state is no
good.” Desaray took out a chunk of wood and also another knife. She slowly
began whittling away at it. She was not very good at this yet, but she was
slowly getting the hang of things. When she got a handle shape going, she
finally smoothed it out before notching the blade into place. With a bit of
trickery, the blade was now fitted into the slot she made and could be used by
anyone.
General
Ryan’s eyes glowed. He had a huge knife collection before things turned out the
way they did. So, seeing such a knife that was much different than anything he
had ever had before made him smile brightly. “Goddess Desaray, I will cherish
this. I really love blades. I lost my whole collection due to the apocalypse. I
have found a few since then, but this one will be the crown jewel of my current
collection.”
“I
am sure Regal will love to help you then. He loves to make swords the most. I
will ask him to make you one when I go back. Think of it as a meeting gift.”
Desaray hoped that General Ryan and the others could join her village. They
were good people, and they would make perfect leaders for her military. With
modern combat tactics that the other world has never seen, they could easily
mix in magic and tech to make a force that could defend Serenity Village with
ease.
“Haha,
I will not say no!” General Ryan was not ashamed at all for accepting Desaray’s
offer, in fact, he was happy too!
Desaray
only smiled before putting her stuff away. She quickly began feeling bored, so
she pulled out the books she found and began reading them. She was currently
only at freshman level knowledge and needed to continue her own education if
she wished to not be left behind by her daughter.
But,
of course, this could go for any race that was hungry for knowledge, not just
humans.
Twenty
civilians and ten soldiers gathered outside the human base. Desaray never
expected so many people. When General Ryan asked if anyone was willing to go
and experience life in Serenity Village, hundreds of people signed up. In the
end, it came to a lottery, and only those whose names were drawn from a
container were allowed to go.
It
was a decent mix of men and women. Surprisingly more women than men. “Everyone
ready?”
Greg
was leading the group since he was the one with the highest status. When he saw
the twenty people who carried nothing with them, he was slightly worried. He
turned to Desaray, who was next to him, and asked: “Goddess Desaray, is it okay
for us not to bring anything?”
“It’s
fine. Housing, food, clothing, everything will be provided for them during this
week.” Desaray replied.
“Alright,
then we can move out.” With these words, the large group began moving through
the forest. The scariest part of this for the people was the fear of monsters.
But they slightly relaxed when they saw how calm the Ice Goddess was. Because
such a powerful being was willing to protect them, they felt more at ease.
Desaray
walked through the forest, her each step freezing the ground underneath. This
scene alone made people look at her in an awe-struck
light. Desaray was used to people’s stares now, so she was not phased in the
slightest by these new gazes that befell her. She could not control her icy
nature, so there was not much else she could do.
“It’s
strange. Normally, we would have been attacked by now.” A soldier couldn’t help
but sigh. Having a truly powerful person at your side while walking in this new
world made things so much easier.
“It’s
to be expected.” Desaray began to explain. “First, my level is higher than the
monsters around here, which they will instinctively stay away from, and second,
my aura is also not something most monsters wish to deal with. When I was at a
lower level, they did not care as much, but now they stay away for fear of
being turned into ice cubes. This is why I have people stay a few feet back
from me at all times. The only person who is able to get close to me is my
adopted daughter.”
“You
have a daughter?” Greg raised an eyebrow. He was surprised since, from what he
understood, while her current age was now nineteen based on what her system
said, as a human, she was only fourteen.
“Yes,
she was teleported here during the last merger. At the time, she was skin and
bones. She was an orphan. So I took her in. She was too cute to ignore.”
Desaray smile bloomed, causing the men in the group to almost fall over and bow
their heads to her. The women of the group all blushed and looked away. Such a
beautiful smile was a sin in itself.
“I
see. That is tragic. To not only be an orphan who was just barely surviving but
to then be tossed into a new world. It seems very unfair. But for you to take
her in and, even as your daughter, is truly amazing. It shows you have a very
kind heart.” Greg had nothing but praise for this girl.
He could understand now why Juna was so obsessed with her. She was kind and
cared about those around her. She wanted to help her fellow humans even if she
was no longer human herself. The more he knew, the more he wished to follow her
himself!
“I
am not as kind as you think. I just sent away someone I went to school with to
be eaten by Juna and her husband.” Desaray mood soured a bit. She wondered if
she made the right decision or not. She knew that Juna planned to roast Jake
for Oinktera.
“He
deserved it.” Greg suddenly spoke up. “From what I heard, from what all of us
heard, he was like a cockroach that would not go away. You gave him chance
after chance, but he still wanted to scheme against you. Now, if this was the
old world, I would have probably said it was too much, but in this world where
magic is something everyone can wield, I think you did the right thing. Miss
Juna told us everything about the rabbit. And even after hearing everything, we
still decided to take you up on your offer. That is because we believe that you
are a good person.”
“Thank
you.” Desaray felt a little better, but she still wondered if she could have
done things differently. “Anyway, do not be startled when you see the Gorcs.
There are four up ahead.”
“Gorcs?”
Greg turned his head to see three huge humanoids with swords in their hands
walking over to them. He stepped back in fear since he could feel that they
were very strong.
“Boss!”
One of the Gorcs yelled out happily. “Miss Juna said that you were close by, so
we came to pick you up.”
“Haha!
We are having a big welcoming party back in the village! How could we not be
happy? Regal said he would break out the dwarven wine!”
Desaray
smiled as she said: “Then I will be relying on you guys to protect us well.”
“Leave
it to us!” The lead Gorc had a big grin on his face as he gave a salute. He
then turned and ordered the other Gorcs to get into formation. “Alright, you
heard the boss. We must protect her and the others well. Get into circle
formation!”
“Yes!”
The other Gorcs quickly did as they were told. The other two ran to the rear so
they could jump out in case of any issues while the lead Gorc stood in the
front. He looked at Desaray to see if it was okay to get going and only began
to move when he saw her nod.
Desaray
had to admit these guys were pretty easygoing. Domar was the same. While he was
protective of his clan, when you became his friend, he was very laid back and
willing to help with whatever he could. She also knew this had a lot to do with
Juna and her helping them turn their race into a normal one that could give
birth to both males and females.
The
group continued until they saw a massive stone gate that was attached to
massive stone walls. Just the height of these walls alone made everyone there
crane their necks. “My God.”
“No,
but there is a Goddess,” Greg replied with a chuckle.
Desaray
ignored the man as she walked towards the gate, which started to open upon her
arrival. “Boss! Welcome back!”
“Boss!
Boss is back!”
The
screams from on top of the gate made everyone realize that there were over a
hundred people sitting on the walls. Greg looked at the defenses of this place
and wondered just what a girl who in human years was only fifteen did in such a
short time. This was right out of a fantasy novel! He felt like he was walking
through the gates of some fortress city from Lord of the Bracelets or Mary
Trotter.
“Boss,
you are back! You need to take me along next time! Juna got to sneak out
again!” Oinktera whined as he came running out of the village.
“Damn
you, Tera! How dare you tattle on me!” Juna ran out chasing after her stupid
husband.
“Oinktera,
you will be going with me next time, don’t worry. And Juna had a reason to
leave, so don’t go tattling on your wife.” Desaray said helplessly. She looked
at the couple, who seemed more in love with her than with eachother.
“Hehe…
Anyway, you should taste Juna’s cooking. The roasted rabbit she made was
amazing.” Oinktera praised Juna’s cooking because it was just too good not to
tell others.
Greg,
who had seen all this interaction, could tell that these three were like
family. But more than that, he could see the people of this village loved this
Ice Goddess. “You really created something here…..”
“It
only started off as a small encampment. Now, it has grown this much. I did not
create this. They did. They look up to me as their leader, and I do what I can
to help them, but in truth, without them, there would be no Serenity Village.”
Desaray knew if she was by herself, she could never accomplish any of this. It
was them who came and began making her dream a reality.
“But
if not for you, no one would gather here. Do not belittle yourself. A great
leader does not need to search for people. People will flock to their side.
Just like how we are here now.” Greg looked at all the races here. There were
some grey-skinned Toblins, who were chatting away with humans in a friendly
manner. What amazed him most was that most of the population was mainly humans,
they were happy and running around. Kids were outside playing as if it was just
another day. The people of this village were living true lives.
“It’s
like the apocalypse never happened…” A woman suddenly said as she looked at the
people in the village.
“They
have just moved on and began anew,” Desaray replied. “They work hard every day
to build a new life. This is what humans and every race for that matter, are at
heart. We are no different. Some may be stronger or weaker, but so what? We can work together, share our abilities, and create a place
that everyone here can enjoy together. Communities started like this tens of
thousands of years ago, but at some point, the meaning of community was lost.”
“This
is true.” Greg had to admit that Desaray seemed more mature than even him. Her
way of thinking fit perfectly into this new world.
“Come,
I will give you a tour of the village,” Desaray said with a smile. She looked
at the eager faces of the people behind her and knew that she had already
hooked them. She had not expected everyone to come together like this, but when
she thought about it, she snuck a peek at Juna, who gave her a small smile and
a nod. Desaray had to admit Juna was truly amazing.
“Mama!”
A cute voice came from afar, as a little fox girl came running towards Desaray
at full speed.
“Lilly!
Don’t run! What if you fall!” Nina was right behind her with a worried
expression on her face.
“I
won’t fal… Ahh!” As she said this, her tail got caught between her legs,
causing her to trip.
Desaray’s
entire body flashed in an instant and appeared in front of Lilly and scooped
her up. “Lilly, you need to listen to Nina…”
Greg
was shocked to see Desaray holding the little girl in her arms. He did not
understand since he knew this woman gave off an ice aura that would freeze the
area around her.
“This…
How can the little girl be okay?” Greg had only now realized that it seemed off
for the Ice Goddess to have a child. When he looked at
the little girl who was perfectly fine in the Ice Goddess’s arms, he felt very
confused.
“Out
of everyone, only our Princess can get close to our Goddess.” Juna suddenly
explained. “Our Goddess has every once in a while shown she can restrain her
aura, but it has always been done without her realizing it. But when it comes
to the Princess, only she is able to give our Goddess the skinship she needs to
feel alive. Otherwise.”
Juna
did not continue. But she felt that maybe if Desaray did not have Lilly, then
Desaray would end up feeling alone. While she might have people around her, she
was always careful not to get too close. Distancing herself just enough to make
sure she would not harm anyone. Without any form of skinship, she would sooner
or later fall into a new state of mind, which Juna was most afraid of. But Juna
was willing to risk her own life if it meant to be able to help her Goddess,
but now, with the Princess around, she felt relieved. This is also why the
Princess is so loved as well. Not just because she is cute or because she is
their Goddess daughter but because she plays the role no one else can. The one
to give their Ice Goddess the affection and skinship she needs to keep being
herself.
“I
see. I guess not being able to interact with others willingly would take a toll
on a person’s mental state. I understand. It is good she met her daughter and
is living happily now, but… I thought the little girl was human?” Greg looked
at the fox girl and felt even more confused.
“She
had a special evolution. She may be young, but believe it or not, she is level
20. Our Goddess has power-leveled her to her first evolution in hopes of
allowing her to escape if anything ever happens. She will gain more levels as
well in the future.” Juna explained with a smile. “Just
know that if anyone dares to harm our Princess, who is our Goddess’s light, we
will make them live a life worse than hell. I know a few races who likes to eat
their prey alive, whether it be humans or any other race. They like to see them
struggle as they devour them.”
Greg
shivered and prayed that no one would dare try to do anything to the little
girl.
“Mama
books!” Lilly hugged Desaray’s neck and kissed her cheek before begging for her
books.
Desaray
chuckled and reached up and pinched the little fox’s cheek. “You will get them
later. Right now I am showing some new people around the village. Come with
Mama and explain to the newcomers what each place is.”
“Okay!”
Lilly was happy that she could help her Mama. She beamed a smile and gave her
mama another kiss on the cheek.
Desaray,
with Lilly in her arms, walked back over to Greg and the others. “Sorry about
that. My daughter was in a rush.”
“It’s
fine. Kids can be very active at a young age.” Greg replied with a smile. He
was slightly afraid to look at the little girl.
“Ice
Goddess! Your daughter is very cute!” But that did not mean the women of the
group were. Their eyes sparkled, looking at the cute creature in Desaray’s
arms. They wanted to pet her and pinch her cheeks!
“See,
I told you, you were the cutest.” Desaray smiled as she rubbed her nose against
Lilly’s.
“No.
Mama is still the cutest!” Lilly pouted. She would always think her mom was the
most beautiful!
“Alright,
let’s get going,” Desaray remembered her task at hand. And began the tour once
more.
Lilly
was in charge of explaining each place, which made the group of men and women
smile brightly.
While
this was happening on the third floor of the Tower of Trials, Ricky was holding
Yu who had lost an arm in his arms, with a sour expression. Becky was in front
of him, holding her hands over the wound with beads of sweat forming on her
forehead. He looked at the girl whose white light was starting to dim and felt
his heartache. They were just kids, but now they were fighting for their life.
“Mr. Harris, don’t worry, I can heal it…”
Each
one of them had leveled up to twenty and evolved and now had humanoid forms
once again. Even Ricky evolved to become younger and even more handsome. But
his problem was not their looks but the fact that these kids were only fourteen
to fifteen years old. And now… He looked at Yu’s arm, which was sitting beside
her, with a guilty expression.
“We
should have found a way to get down instead of entering this place. Why did I
let us enter…” Ricky regretted bringing the kids in here. Each floor was huge,
and the things they had to do were not easy.
“Mr. Harris, I need you to
hold her arm in place!” Becky yelled out after not getting a reply.
Ricky
quickly snapped out of his thoughts and did as he was told. A few minutes
later, Becky fell back while breathing heavily. She looked at the arm that had
been reattached and let out a sigh of relief. “It worked.”
“Thank
god because my walls will not hold them off much longer!” Mike yelled out as a
rumble could be heard, and then a loud explosion followed.
“Mike,
fall back!” Ricky yelled out as he lifted both Becky and Yu into his arms and
turned to run. Mike was right behind him, using his earth magic to try to trip
up the monsters that were surging forth. They were about six feet tall and
covered in an exoskeleton like armor. They were basically a rhinoceroses beetle
but giant.
“Why
are there so many!?” Mike yelled out.
“Just
run! Once we reach the river, I will get us across, and those damned things won’t
be able to follow us any longer.” Ricky yelled out. Out of all of them, only he
had magic mastery, which allowed him to use water, earth, fire, and wind magic.
With water came ice magic as well.
“Mr.
Harris, her arm is healed, but I am basically out of mana,” Becky replied. Her
forehead was full of sweat. She also felt very weak. She only had ten mana left
and had used all of it to heal Yu’s arm just now.
“Hold
on and keep Yu from falling. We will be able to rest soon.” Ricky already had a
hard enough time holding both girls in his arms and running as fast as he could
at the same time.
“Mr. Harris, I hate to
say it, but I am also out of mana!” Mike yelled.
“Alright,
Then come up here and take Yu! I will help slow them down.” Ricky yelled back.
Mike
quickly sped up and arrived at Ricky’s side. He reached out and carried Yu into
his arms without missing a beat. They had already gotten used to this. Someone
would get hurt, and then they would run. If not for Becky using her magic to
heal them, they would have all died on the first floor.
“There’s
the river!” Ricky yelled as he waved his hand. A sheet of ice formed over the
surface of the river, allowing the two men holding the two girls to run across
it. The horde of monsters behind them came to a halt as they arrived at the
river’s edge. They could sense that the ice was not strong enough to carry
them, which angered them as they let out ferocious roars.
“Shit!
That was not how I wanted to start off the day!” Ricky cursed as he let Becky
down and fell to the ground. He was tired. Very tired.
“Mr.
Harris, how are we supposed to fight such a huge swarm of monsters? There are
millions of them?” Becky asked. She was starting to panic a little; she did not
wish to die here. She did not wish to make Desaray sad. If they died, Desaray
would take all the blame herself.
“I
don’t know. For now, Becky. Just sit and rest. You need to recharge your mana.”
Ricky replied. They had to finish these thousand floors, or else they would
never get out of this place.
“Becky,
thanks.” Mike walked over with Yu in his arms. “You made it so she would not
hate herself.”
“All
three of you did a hell of a job,” Ricky spoke up. “I am sorry I can only do so
much. I can not allow you kids to be kids.”
“Mr.
Harris, it’s not like you caused all of this. We are all just trying to live to
see another day. We all have to change in order to do that. Death is always
right around the corner.” Mike spoke up. He hated seeing Ricky apologize to
them all the time.
*Clap!*
*Clap!* *Clap!*
“Well
said.” A voice came from behind them. Ricky jumped up and pulled the kids
behind him as he stared at the man in front of him. “Who are you? Where did you
come from!?”
“I
can not tell you my name at this time, but just know I am not here to cause you
harm. In fact, I am here to help you. I just never thought a tower of trials
would be on such a small world, but well, there is nothing that can be done
about that. But I will say this…. You must survive, or else my little dragon
girl will end up being very sad, and that is something I can not have. Although
she does not remember me at this time, I will wait until she does. Anyway, I am
here to tell you a trick to this place.”
⧫⧫⧫
“Ahhchoo!” Desaray
sneezed and rubbed her nose. “Did I catch a cold?”
“Ummm…
Ice Goddess, you are made of ice. You are always cold.” Greg couldn’t help but
speak up when he heard the girl’s comment.
Third Merger
After
showing Greg and the others around, Juna took over for Desaray so that Desaray
could bring Lilly back home. As she walked next to Greg she couldn’t help but
ask: “So Greg, what did you think of my Goddess?”
Greg
looked at Juna, whose eyes were glowing with anticipation. And knew this girl
just wanted to hear him praise her Goddess. But he had to admit he really did
have nothing but praise for the Ice Goddess. She was kind to a fault, but she
had people around her to make up for her faults. Or more like protecting her so
that no matter what, she will succeed.
“She
is amazing. She has brought so many of you together in such a short time. It’s
truly amazing.” Greg replied. This was how he truly felt. There were humans and
other races living in harmony. There was no discrimination here. There was no
one thinking that others were monsters. They worked together to make a place
that was truly what its name meant. A place of serenity. Calm and relaxing with
no troubles.
“Right!
Goddess Desaray is just too amazing.” Juna began fan-girling. When it came to
Desaray, she would talk for hours straight.
Greg
realized he was in for an earful. He could only nod his head while Juna went on
and on about Desaray. He even noticed the others were
also slowly getting sucked into her words and knew these people would be
indoctrinated into the worship of the Ice Goddess. Even he was convinced that
Desaray was worth worshiping.
In
her house, Desaray sat down on a chair made of ice with Lilly on her lap. “Did
you miss Mama?”
“Mmm!
Mama, how was your trip? What did you encounter besides the humans?” Lilly was
always curious about the things her Mama did. She loved hearing her stories the
most.
“Mm…
So after I met the humans…” Desaray began her small tale.
When
she left the others, she had gone through the forest. No monsters dared to get
near her, so she did not need to fight at all. She reached an elementary school
first. The entire place was covered in overgrowth, which made her worry that
she would not find any books for Lilly, but she got lucky and found a few books
in one of the desks. She did not need much. Just the science and math books. As
for the rest, they were basically useless now.
After
the elementary school, she went to the connecting building that held both
middle school and high school. She got the books she needed from there quite
easily since the building was sealed off pretty well. It was not until the
college that she ran into an issue. A group of rancor had made the place their
home. There were over fifty of them. While they were no challenge for her since
most of them ran away when they felt her aura, they had made a mess of the
place.
“But
luckily, Mama was able to find all the books she did. Those rancors almost
destroyed everything. I had to dig through the debris
until i found what i was looking for.” Desaray smiled and kissed Lilly’s cheek.
“Start off with the elementary books. And work from there. I will help with
what I can, but I never made it past my freshman year, so I can only teach you
so much.” Desaray felt it was slightly regretful. But there was nothing she
could do. She could only hope that Lilly could understand the things she did
not.
“Don’t
worry, Mama! I will do my best to make you proud!” Lilly couldn’t wait to start
reading the new books. These were books from her Mama’s world! She would make
sure to make good use of them!
“Don’t
work too hard. Remember you are still…” Desaray suddenly felt a strong
vibration under her feet. She lifted Lilly into her arms and stood up. “Nina!
Sound the alarm!”
“On
it, Boss!” Nina raced out of the house. There was a bell in the center of the
village. It was for emergencies. Desaray could only hope that everything would
hold up.
The
ground began to shake with more intensity. Compared to the last time, this was
much more violent. Desaray quickly left the house and went outside. She saw
people struggling to stand up. She looked up at the sky to see that it had
turned completely purple.
“Damn
it! Why now!?” Desaray bit her lip as she raised her hand towards the sky. She
was about to surround the entire place in an ice barrier but stopped when she
heard Regal yell out to her.
“Boss!
No need. We already prepared for this.” Regal came running over. “We have
prepared for this. Look.” Regal pointed to the sky. Glowing runes began to form
in the sky. The shaking within the village slowly began
to ease, but from what Desaray could see outside, the shaking was still going
on.
“How?”
Desaray turned and looked at Regal. She was stunned at what she was seeing.
“Those
are ancient runes. Only we Elder Dwarves are able to create them. They create a
barrier that will settle the ground contained within the runes dome. But I am
afraid those new humans might need to go back and check out the situation.”
Regal was a bit worried about underground areas that were not protected by his
people.
“Boss!
Big trouble! Sections of the human base collapsed!” Juna came running over.
Greg was right behind her.
Desaray
eyes narrowed. “Oinktera!”
“Boss!”
Oinktera appeared out of thin air. He was always at the ready for when his boss
called.
“Get
the Devil Hogs ready. Regal, I leave Lilly to you. Make sure you protect her.”
Desaray did not wish to leave Lilly alone at a time like this. But she had no
choice. “Move everyone to the shelter as well. Oinktera, his clansmen, Juna,
and myself will make our way to the base. Juna, get someone to inform Greg.
Tell him to keep his people calm. We will do what we can to bring back anyone
who is alive.”
“Understood!”
Everyone quickly went to work.
“Mama?”
Lilly looked at Desaray with a worried look.
“It’s
fine. Mama will be fine. You stay with Grandpa Regal and behave okay? When Mama
returns, she will read you a story.” Desaray gave Lilly
a kiss on the forehead before handing her over to Regal.
“Boss,
do not worry. This old Dwarf will protect the Princess with his life.” Regal
knew how important Lilly was to Desaray. He would make sure nothing happened to
her even if he had to use his old life. The young were to be protected by the
old.
“I
am counting on you. But Regal. No matter what, you can’t die either. Serenity
Village needs you. I need you as well.” Desaray did not want anyone she knew to
die. She knew that there would come a time when it would happen. She was just
not ready for such things at this time. Nor did she think she would ever be
ready.
“Understood.”
Regal smiled. This was why he chose to follow this girl. She was kind to a
fault, and she cared about the people who were under her.
A
rescue team was quickly put together. Oinktera and his kin were all very
strong, so lifting things would be easy for them. Combined with Juna’s roots,
they could dig out the collapsed section of the human base quickly.
“Let’s
go!” Desaray gave her orders and had just stepped past the gate of the village
when she felt the shaking once more. “Try to stay on your feet. We might be
slowed due to this shaking.”
“Boss!”
Dormar struggled to run over to Desaray, with a few of his men following him.
“Boss, are you okay!?”
“Dormar.
Good timing. Move your men and your families into the village. We need all of
our forces inside the village now. I am in a hurry, so I will leave it to you.”
Desaray gave a forced smile before running off towards the human base.
Dormar
could not wait to never have to say these words again. To him, it was torture.
It was as if his people were the enemies of all races, but they had no choice.
But soon. Soon, this would change.
“Chief,
we will move everyone at once so that we can protect them in the center.” One
of the Gorcs answered.
“Good!
Now go! We do not have much time!” Dormar turned and entered the village. Only
those with tokens on their body could pass through the dwarven barrier.
Everyone in the Gorc Clan had one.
“Sir
Regal! Princess!” Dormar smiled, seeing the cute little girl. He couldn’t wait
to have a princess of his own.
“Dormar,
you are just in time. Are you bringing your families here?” Regal asked.
“Yes,
my men are going to lead them here. With the merger happening, the world around
us will change again. Our Goddess told me to bring everyone here. My clan will
protect everyone.” Dormar did not wish any harm to come to this new home he had
found.
“Good.
I will leave that part to you. Once your men get back, have the few who are
free help the other citizens move to the shelter. Our defenses should be good
for the time being. But with Goddess Desaray not in the village, we must take
all precautions. We do not want to lose what she has
built up.” Regal explained. “Once everyone is in the shelter, we will go over
the map of the village, and I will point out the weak points we have to take
notice of.”
“Understood.”
Dormar nodded. He knew that when the three main leaders of the village were not
around, Regal was the next in charge. He would follow his orders, no questions
asked, as long as it did not harm anything that Desaray had built up.
A
few hours passed, and Desaray finally arrived at the human base. The world
around them was dyed in a purple hue. It was midnight but the area was still
very bright due to the purple sky above. The ground still shook as it had been
but not as strong as earlier.
“Goddess
Desaray!” General Ryan was worse for wear. He was covered in dust and wounds.
“General.
We are here to help. How many have you saved?” Desaray asked as she walked over
to General Ryan.
“There
are at least half of the civilians and soldiers trapped. What is this? Why is
the ground shaking so badly?” General Ryan asked.
“It’s
the third merger. But we can talk about that later. For now, we need to get
those people out of there.”
“Juna,
secure those walls!” Desaray yelled out. She was currently helping dig out the
rubble, trying to get to any survivors that she could find. She wondered if she
was becoming more like her father or not. Someone who would jump to action
instead of sitting at the side. Her father was the biggest hero in her life,
and she had always looked up to him. She wanted to grow up to be someone who
could also help those in need.
“General
Ryan, I am stronger than everyone here. We need to save people now, not later.
Me helping is the best option. Even if I was weak, I would still help because I
do not wish to see people suffer for no reason.” Desaray said as she took a
massive block of cement and tossed it into her inventory. She would empty it
out later or use it for something else.
“Plus,
the shaking has yet to stop. We do not know what will appear. If we are not
careful, then we might end up facing a massive monster or, worse, some kind of
army of some race from the other world.” Desaray was worried about this the
most. She did not know what to expect.
“Understood.
And sorry. You are right.” General Ryan realized that his way of thinking was
wrong. He needed to care about those in need and not about anything else at
this time.
“Boss!
I found a group of kids huddled together. Oinktera is trying to remove the
rubble now, but if we move too much, we risk a cave-in.” Juna suddenly yelled
over.
“Can
you encase the kids in roots?” Desaray asked as she stood up and stepped into
the air. She quickly made her way over to where Oinktera was.
“I
already have,” Juna replied. “But if for some reason the roots give out…”
“Juna,
have more faith in your abilities. If you encased them in roots, check if there
are others around before using a few more roots to burst
through the rubble and bring the kids up.” Desaray instructed. She was at the
ready in case anything went wrong. “Hina, fly around and check if there are
others nearby as well.”
“On
it!” Hina flew off the top of Desaray’s head. She had finally decided to make a
move.
The
sight of a fairy suddenly appearing caused the soldiers to be slightly shocked,
but it was only for a second. They quickly went back to work since they knew
what was most important at that time.
The
rubble in front of Desaray exploded out as a mass of roots burst through. They
slowly unfurled to reveal five kids all huddled together. When they opened
their eyes and looked around, they instantly locked on to Juna and began crying
out: “Big Sister Juna!”
The
kids all ran over to Juna and began hugging her. They were only around five to
seven years old. Desaray looked at Juna, who did not know how to react, and
giggled. She sent a teasing grin Juna’s way, making her blush. “Big Sister
Juna, send the kids to the others so you can come back and help.”
“Boss!
Don’t tease me!” Juna pouted, but when she saw the look in the kid’s big,
watery eyes, she sighed and said: “Come on. We will go someplace safe. Then Big
Sister needs to save more people, okay?”
“Okay!”
The kids all nodded their heads obediently. Luckily, they did not seem to be
too hurt. Some minor cuts and bruises.
“Alright,
we now have an area we can enter through. The roots are holding up the walls!
Everyone get down there and start searching!” Desaray once more gave out
orders.
A
few hours later, the shaking of the ground had yet to stop. But thanks to
Juna’s roots stabilizing the areas where people were still alive, they were
slowly getting into these areas and pulling people out.
Desaray
walked over to General Ryan and asked: “How many have we rescued so far?”
General
Ryan looked at the Ice Goddess a few feet from him, who had dirt smudges all
over her body, and felt he was truly lucky to have made friends with such a
person who was willing to send people out just to rescue what was left of the
human race of this world.
“We
have rescued over half of those who are missing. But the numbers of those who
are still under the rubble who are alive and the numbers of those who had been
trapped do not add up. I am afraid they were crushed…” A huge loss. His words
held a heavy meaning. A few hundred people had died.
Desaray
frowned. She turned to look at the cave-in and wondered what else she could do.
“We can hold a memorial once the merger has stopped. I will guide those who
have lost their loved ones or just wish to mourn their deaths back here after
the merger.”
“I
will follow with my men. We can not just let you take the burden if something
happens.” General Ryan did not want this girl to be blamed in case they got
attacked and people died. He felt it was best if he was there as well to act as
a witness. If anything, this girl was already a hero in
many people’s hearts, and he was sure they would soon probably end up like
Juna.
“This
is the last one!” A soldier yelled out as he carried a woman in his arms who
now had a missing leg.
“Alright,
gather all the injured in the middle. Everyone else will encircle them.
Soldiers who have injuries but can still walk and hold a weapon will be the
last line of defense. Anyone capable of fighting will protect the injured.
Oinktera, you and the other devil hogs will take Formation A. Juna will take
the rear, and I will take the front. We will move out now.” Desaray knew these
people needed to rest, but the shaking was slowing down, meaning the current
merger was coming to an end.
She
was afraid that if they did not move now, they would be sitting ducks and
unprepared for any attack. She did not want these people to suffer anymore.
From the final count, they lost over three hundred people. This was a big
number. Much too big for Desaray’s liking.
“You
heard the Ice Goddess! Follow her! We move out!” General Ryan backed up
Desaray. He wanted everyone to know that Desaray was the leader now and that
they should follow her orders.
With
the help of everyone, they quickly began to move. Desaray was quite surprised
at how well everyone was organizing. No fighting. None of the selfishness you
would see in such situations. People were helping one another and knew what was
the right thing to do.
They
moved at a steady pace, even if it was slightly slower than Desaray would have
liked. But she knew with so many injured, it was
impossible to move any faster than they already were.
“Ice
Goddess, with the way things are, we might need to rest a few times.” General
Ryan was worried he did not know how they were going to handle this.
“It’s
fine. We will keep going until we see people struggling, then take a
fifteen-minute break. But no more than that. We can not push our luck now that
the merger seems to have subsided.” Desaray wished she could give them more
time, but she felt that the monsters this time around would be much stronger.
She also did not know if she could protect these people without losing any of
them. If something attacks and she is unable to react quickly enough, they
might lose half the people here.
“Understood,
fifteen minutes is plenty of time.” General Ryan also understood what Desaray
was saying. He also knew he could not appoint any of his men to help those who
were in need because it would take away from their defense. This was a
situation they had all trained for. But it seemed a girl who would have
originally turned fifteen this year was more adapted to the situation than they
were. She knew exactly what needed to be done without any training at all.
“Boss,
I sense something coming!” The root sitting on Desaray’s shoulder transmitted
Juna’s voice.
“Alright.
Keep going and protect the group. If it is only one monster, I will deal with
it quickly.” Desaray replied.
“Understood.
Be careful, Boss. It seems to be much bigger than anything we have fought so
far. And it is coming from above.” Juna could use the surrounding trees to
spread out her senses so she could detect anything within a few miles away. Desaray felt kind of jealous since her senses had a much
shorter range.
“No
worries,” Desaray replied as she looked up towards the sky. “Juna, take the
front. I will go greet our guest.”
“Here!”
Juna appeared next to Desaray in almost an instant. Her ability to use her
roots to transport herself was quite amazing. Desaray felt that Juna would make
an amazing assassin.
With
Juna taking the lead, Desaray hopped into the sky and looked around. It did not
take her long to spot a silhouette coming towards her. It looked like a bird
from afar, but Desaray could tell it was no bird. “Heh… It’s been a while since
I stretched my wings!” Desaray has not really flown much. Normally, she used
her Frozen Step skill to move through the air. She was still not used to flying
and had really gotten used to making frozen footholds, which allowed her to
move more naturally. She did plan to learn to fly properly at some point, but
she had not had a chance to with how busy she had been.
“Roaaaaarrrrrrr!!!”
The monster in front of her roared when it saw something getting in its way. It
had sensed blood in this direction and knew there was food close by. It was
already confused as to why it was in a strange land, but since it found food, it
could at least eat before trying to figure out the rest.
“Why
are you yelling!?” Desaray pursed her lips. “Appraisal!”
[Earth
Wyvern]
[Level]:
45
[Monster
Rank]: C
“Oh?
A rank C monster, huh?” Desaray couldn’t help but curse her system for only
making her a rank E monster. She was already so
powerful, yet it still put her on the low end of things, not to mention the
long neck, ugly face, claws stuck in its wings, and tail that could be the
farthest from being cute. It made her wonder why the system was so unfair.
“Ugly, do you mind turning back? I mean, I do not mind having some wyvern meat
since I have never tried it before, but I will be nice and give you a choice. Leave
or become dinner! Pick.”
“Roaaarr!”
The wyvern did not like Desaray’s words at all.
“Why
are you spitting!? So disgusting! Not only are you ugly, but you also spit.
Here, let me shut you up so that you can’t spit at me anymore!” Desaray pursed
her lips and waved her hand. The wyvern who was getting ready to attack
suddenly found its mouth completely sealed shut with ice. No matter how much it
tried, it could not shake the ice off, and what made things worse was it
couldn’t breathe!
Dearay
had forgotten or maybe did not even realize that a wyvern’s nose was also right
there where its mouth was. Very quickly, the panicking Wyvern found it hard to
even stay in the air and fell towards the ground, crashing into the trees
below.
[You
Defeated A Earth Wyvern]
[Experience
Points Gained….]
[Level
Up!]
“….”
Desaray pursed her lips. “Were all wyverns this weak?”
Desaray
hopped out of the sky, stored away the wyvern, and returned to where Juna was.
Juna looked at her Goddess, who seemed to be in deep thought, and asked: “How
did it go?”
“Umm…
Boss, did you also cover its nose?” Juna was trying to hold back her laughter.
“Ah!
Now that you mention it, I did cover the entire muzzle. Now I understand!”
Desaray blushed slightly. She had not been paying attention. Although she knew
that dragons had their noses on their snouts for the most part, she had never
seen an earth wyvern before, and it was also from another world.
“Well…
Let’s get going.” Desaray was a bit embarrassed. She just wanted to go back
home. Her cute Lilly was there and needed her.
But
at least she confirmed higher-level monsters were now roaming the lands. This
meant that the same would go for the races as well. She only hoped nothing was
happening in the village.
⧫⧫⧫
One
sometimes wishes they could shoot themselves in the foot before really shooting
themselves in the foot. Desaray looked at the massive amount of people outside
her village, feeling a headache coming on. There were two armies of two
different races here, humans and elves. Now, this wouldn’t be so bad if not for
the fact that they were about to go into an all-out war with one another.
“Hey,
human, how dare you try to get ahead of the High Elves!” An elf on a
white-scaled lizard that looked like a raptor from the dinosaur age yelled out.
“Ahem…”
Desaray cleared her throat as she looked at the two armies that seemed to be at
least a thousand men each. “Mind not fighting in front of my village?”
“Who
are… Dragon!?” The elf on the raptor cried out. He had seen humanoid dragons
before, so he was sure that Desaray was a dragon.
“A
dragon…” The human frowned slightly. His gaze fell on Desaray as if trying to
see through her strength.
Desaray,
on the other hand, already used appraisal on them.
[Fen]
[High
Elf]
[Level
75]
[Garret]
[Human]
[Level
67]
“Yes,
I am a dragon. I am also wondering why you are standing outside my village
acting as if you wish to raid it?” Desaray’s voice turned cold as her icy aura
began to spread out. Juna was quick to react and enclosed the entire group of
refugees behind her in roots. But even they started to freeze over in a matter
of seconds.
“Everyone
back off now! Goddess Desaray is mad!” Juna shouted. She knew her Goddess was
very angry at this time. Someone dared to make a move on
the one place they should not have.
Whirls
of ice began to float in the air as Desaray slowly stepped forward. “Tell me
now. Did you plan to raid my home?”
“No!”
The human, Garret, quickly answered. “In fact, we were trying to stop these
long ears from attacking just now!”
“Bullshit!
You were the ones who wanted to raid it! We were the ones who were trying to
stop you!” The High Elf, Fen, was not going to take things sitting down.
“Not
only are you lying, you are still fighting in a place you shouldn’t be.”
Desaray took a few more steps closer, causing the air at the edge of the armies
to plummet. The frozen ground began to spread even faster. Some of the soldiers
from the armies had to quickly retreat or end up as ice cubes.
“Miss
Dragon… No Miss Goddess. You are a goddess, right? We did not mean to anger
you!” Fen had heard Juna calling her a goddess, so he quickly changed the way
he addressed Desaray.
“I
am the one asking the questions. I want to know what you plan to do here?”
Desaray tilted her head to the side. Her expression was ice cold as she took
another step forward.
“Hmm?
Fen?” A voice came from the gate. Desaray looked over to see Fel standing there
looking at the high elf. “Fen, what did you do to anger Boss? That’s not very
smart, you will die, you know. Angering Boss is the last thing any of you want
to do.”
Serenity Kingdom
“Your
Highness! You are alive!” Fen quickly knelt down, and so did his entire army.
“Fen,
you are not answering my question. Did you anger Boss? Why would you be so
stupid?” Fel had trauma after angering Desaray last time. He never wanted to go
through that ever again.
“This…
We did not know…” Fen pressed his head against the ground. He was not stupid
enough to think that Fel was talking about someone else. He knew he was talking
about the Goddess.
As
for Garret, he was starting to get nervous. If even an Eleven Prince was under
the care of this dragon, then it meant he really screwed up. He looked at his
most trusted aide, who understood what his glance meant, and slowly climbed off
his horse. He knelt down towards Desaray and said: “I am sorry! I should not
have had designs on your Village! Please allow us to make amends!”
“Hmmm?”
Desaray was actually really surprised by this sudden change of events, but she
kept a straight face as she looked at the two groups. “I can accept your
apology, but you must change your allegiance and follow me from now on. My village needs strong people. People who can help protect
it. Food, water, and housing is no issue. But to do this, you will all have an
ice needle placed into your hearts. This way if you even try to harm this
village or anyone in it, I only need a single thought to kill you.”
Both
Garret and Fen shivered at this thought. They were basically prisoners. They
both wanted to reject this offer and ask if there was another way to get her
forgiveness, but before they could, Fel suddenly said: “Haha! That is great!
You will not regret joining our Boss. She is very kind and treats people with
respect. Just make sure you work to help make the village a better place.”
Fen
looked up at his prince and only now realized his prince was not wearing fancy
clothing but the clothes of a commoner. His hands and face were covered in
dirt, along with his clothes. He did not look like a prince at all! “Prince,
are you saying you have decided to stay under someone else’s rule?”
“Yep!
I will never go back to being under the rule of those damn nobles and my father
ever again. What’s the point!? You live like this for a few months, and you
will understand that the way we lived before was wrong. This village is like a
paradise. Different races are able to live together in harmony. It’s a utopia
that we all should protect. Fen, help me protect this place. Follow Boss and
become one of her military leaders. I promise you will never regret it.” Fel
really did not want to give Fen a chance to find an escape route. He knew this
village needed more people to protect it.
“Boss!”
Domar jumped off the wall and ran towards Desaray. “I apologize. I failed to
stop this from happening!”
“Yes,
I followed the orders you gave me before in case of an invasion,” Domar
replied.
“Good.
That is all you need to do. The barrier will hold against small armies like
these, so it’s best to let them use up their resources. We lack nothing inside
the village. So we can hold up for years if needed. You made the right call. So
do not apologize to me.” Desaray knew Domar well. He was very loyal.
“Thank
you for your praise, Boss!” Domar smiled and turned around to see the stunned
gazes of the two groups in front of him. “What are you looking at!? Have you
never seen a Gorc before!?”
“This…
But I thought Gorcs were just like orcs….” Garret couldn’t help but say.
“How
dare you put us on the same level as them! We Gorcs are a proud race! We only
kneel to the strong and will only follow those who we deem to be worthy.
Goddess Desaray is such a being. Her kindness and willingness to see past our
need to kidnap women from other races has allowed us to turn over a new leaf.
We will not be a race that is seen as nothing more than an orc with higher
intelligence!” Domar hated being put in the same boat as his closest cousins.
“Domar,
ignore them, go in and tell the Regal they can come out of hiding. I will deal
with things here.” Desaray did not want them to start fighting, so she sent
Domar away. He bid farewell to Desaray before snorting at Garret and walking
into the village.
“Now then.” Desaray
looked at the two groups. “Do we fight, or do you join me?”
“We
will join!” Fen stood up and gave Desaray a salute. “Anyone who can make a
prince of the royal family want to follow you is worthy of me and my men
following suit.”
Fen
had to admit he was quite curious about Desaray. To make a prince speak so
highly of someone like this and even turn into a commoner to boot was someone
who had great charisma and was worth following.
“My
men and I will also follow you.” Garret was also wondering just what kind of
place he was about to enter. To have even Gorcs running around as military
power. He had to see things for himself.
“Good.” Desaray waved her
hand, and over two thousand ice needles spread out and shot into every elf and
human there. “Welcome to Serenity Village.”
A
few weeks had passed, and the new influx of citizens of Serenity Village had
settled in. Desaray sat at the end of the table in her normal seat while four
new faces were now present around the table.
“I
am glad you all could make it today,” Desaray said with a smile as she gently
stroked the top of Lilly’s head. “As you all know, Serenity Village has now
expanded its military to over three thousand. We are now able to protect our
village and the people within it without much worry.”
“Boss,
sorry to interrupt, but the lot of us have been discussing it, and we feel we
should upgrade the village to a kingdom. A small one
indeed, but it is only right considering that we are expanding and also have a
large number of people and military. Our land extends more than some of the
smaller lands in the other world.” Regal suddenly suggested.
“A
kingdom, huh?” Desaray never thought of naming her village a kingdom so soon.
It was hardly the size of a state. At most, it was about the size of Manhattan
at this time.
“Mama
will become a Queen?” Lilly looked up at Desaray with her big, round, watery
eyes with a hopeful look, making the dragon girl melt under her cuteness.
Juna
did not need Desaray to say anything as she suddenly said: “Then, In three
days’ time, we will hold a ceremony to crown Boss as our Queen and will
formally change our way of calling her to Her Majesty or Her Highness. I
suggest Fel as her adviser on royal formalities, and as prime minister, I
nominate Regal and myself.”
“You
guys… Her Majesty is a bit…” Desaray pursed her lips. Was she suddenly going to
be called Her Majesty? She wanted to stop them, but when she saw their
expressions, she could only give in. “Fine! I can never win when it comes to my
title.”
“Hehe!
Your Highness, please understand when one’s role changes, so does one’s title.
We must follow proper etiquette. If we are to host other nations at some point,
we all need to be on the same page.” Fel was already taking up his post as her
adviser on royal formalities.
“Alright!
I get it. Anyway, is this really okay? I mean, I will be off in dungeons as
well, you know. I plan to head into the raid soon to level up more-now that the
merger is over with.” Desaray wanted to gain more
levels. She needed to gain more levels because now the levels of people are
much higher than before.
“It
will be fine. With Regal or I here to handle things, the kingdom will be
protected.” Juna reassured. This was the reason why she wanted two prime
ministers by Desaray’s side. This way, there would always be one person to help
deal with things.
“Then
I guess that is fine. But I want Domar and his men as the royal guards. Fen and
Garret will be in charge of policing and patrol of our territory.” Desaray
decided since things were going to be like this, she would set up some new
posts as well. She already knew her mansion would soon turn into a castle. Juna
would definitely sneakily do it right under her nose.
“Your
Highness? Are you sure?” Domar was surprised. He couldn’t help but feel very
good at this moment since Desaray trusted him so much.
“You
and your kin are about to be free from your old ways. All your wives, plus some
of the girls who offered to help, are all pregnant, are they not?” Desaray
smiled as he looked at Domar. He was very loyal and was willing to do anything
to clean his race’s name.
“This
is true.” Domar rubbed his nose. “Then I gratefully accept. Thank you, Your
Highness.”
Garret
and Fen both glanced at each other and then at Domar. They felt like something
was off. Fen really could not hold back his curiosity and asked: “I thought
Gorcs could only have male offspring no matter which race they mated with.”
“It’s
not a matter of which race at all.” Juna stepped in. “Toblins were also like
Goblins once. But my kind was able to fix the issue by using magic that can
change the sex of the seed that is going to create the
offspring. I used my tribe’s abilities to help the Gorcs since Dormar and his
people are actually good people but are stuck doing what they had to do for
their race’s survival. I am sure everyone here knows what I mean.”
“I
see.” Fen smiled, looked at Domar, and bowed his head slightly.
“Congratulations. I hope you will have many new children in the future.”
“Yes
indeed, congratulations.” Garret did not know how he really felt about the
situation, but he had to admit it was an amazing thing to defeat what the gods
gave them, and now are able to break free of the chains that once bound them to
one way of life. Both men realized that none of this would not have been
possible if Desaray had not brought these tribes together. Gorcs would have
still had to kidnap women and enslave them for their own survival, while
Toblins would have hidden themselves deep in the forests someplace. But now.
Garret couldn’t help but admit that Juna was very beautiful.
⧫⧫⧫
While
Serenity Village was gearing towards its inauguration to become a kingdom and
crown Desaray as its queen, hundreds of miles away, a tall black castle
appeared in the middle of what used to be San Francisco.
Within
this castle were many people with horns on top of their heads. Each one was
feeling very much confused. “Your Highness!” They called out as they looked at
the young man on the throne.
“Calm
down everyone. We still do not know why this has happened. Since my father and
the rest of the mightiest warriors are nowhere to be found, we can only check
the area and secure it with what we have on hand. The
dragon race is not to be looked down upon. We will not let any of our enemies
take a single step into this castle.” The young man passed down his orders,
trying to hide his own worries. He had already looked outside. The strange
structures and items that they were surrounded by were by no means the
mountains the castle once resided in. But he could not let those who look
toward the royal family as gods down. He had to keep his own worries hidden and
lead his people to glory.
In
another place, closer to home, a young girl around eighteen years of age was
running through the forest in a state of confusion. “Where is this!? I was in
the palace halls, on my way to my room, when I was suddenly here.”
Her
red horns and dragon wings, along with her long red-scaled tail, were very
distinct. She was also from the dragon clan. A princess dubbed the Princess of
fire. She was once a pampered princess, but now her dress was torn, and her
fancy shoes were nothing more than a hindrance. She was now carrying them in
her hand as she rushed through the forest, trying to find some clue as to where
she was so she could return home.
What
this Princess did not realize was that a small root was slithering behind her.
In Serenity Village, which was still undergoing preparations, Juna pursed her
lips. “I need to inform Her Highness…”
Juna
stopped what she was doing and walked to the mansion where Desaray was sitting
outside on the now frozen grass, watching her daughter make a flower headdress.
She wished she could help, but Desaray knew that if she touched these flowers,
they would just freeze, so she could only watch as Nina helped Lilly make one.
“What’s
wrong, Juna? And please stand up. All these stiff formalities are not needed.”
Desaray hated this new way of being greeted.
Juna
giggled before standing up and saying: “I have come across what seems to be a
dragon girl. From her attire, she might be a Dragon Princess from the other
world.”
“I
see…” Desaray sighed. She hated when things like this suddenly popped up when
she was trying to spend quality time with her daughter. “I will go check it
out. Can you have a root lead the way for me?”
“Yes,
Your Majesty.” Juna grinned teasingly, causing Desaray to purse her lips.
Desaray
had no choice but to tell Lilly she would be back soon. Lilly was a good girl
and did not complain since she knew her Mama was busy. After giving Lilly a
kiss, she was about to leave when Juna stepped in front of her and said: “Your
Highness, as the new Queen of Serenity Kingdom, you must have a guard with you
at all times. Please take my worthless husband and Domar. At least this way,
one of them can be used as a meat shield to protect you.”
“I
am only going to pick up a princess, not start a war.” Desaray did not think
she needed any kind of escort, but under Juna’s persistence, she had no choice.
“We
are here to find out what is going on with this dragon. She is currently
running straight towards us, so keep your eye out for anything that might be
after her.” Desaray wanted Oinktera not to let his guard down.
“Understood!”
Oinktera smiled brightly. He was just enjoying the fact he could help out
Desaray.
“Your
Highness, is it okay for you to bring me along? Most people do not like Gorcs.”
Domar was worried this dragon might try to kill Desaray because of him.
“Don’t
worry. You are one of my people. That means you are different from others.
Never let others demean you because of what you were forced to do in the past.
You are you. You do not make up all of Gorc kind. Soon, you will be the one who
all Gorcs look up to when your wives give birth to daughters.” Desaray did not
like it when Domar put him and his people down. She did not care what others
thought about her. She would not hesitate to take her friends with her, no
matter what race they were.
“You
are right! I should not look down on myself. Sorry, Your Highness.” Domar bowed
his head slightly. He was glad he chose to follow Desaray.
“She’s
here.” Desaray walked to the front as the Princess darted out from the trees.
When the dragon girl saw Desaray standing there in what looked like nothing at
all, she was shocked and skidded to a stop. But she soon realized the woman was
a dragon and her scales were covering her important bits.
“You… Which Dragon Clan
are you from!?”
Desaray
just stared at the red-haired dragon girl. She did not really want to answer
such an arrogant person. It also did not seem like she needed to because
Oinktera was the first to yell out. “How dare you talk in such a manner to my
Queen!”
Desaray
held her head. She was not even a queen yet! “Oinktera, back down, please.”
“Huh?
Sure…” Oinktera quickly backed up. If it was Desaray’s order, he would follow
it no matter what!
Desaray
looked back at the red-haired dragon girl and said: “While what Oinktera said
is not wrong, I will say this… Asking someone who they are before introducing
yourself is very rude.”
“You…
Do you not know who I am!?” The red-haired dragon girl was very confused. All
beastkin knew who she was!
“No.
You are from the other world, so how would I know who you are? Did you not
realize you had long left the lands you are originally from?” Desaray was calm.
She knew this girl was probably very confused and was doing her best to put up
a front.
“Wait…
Other world? So. I am…” The red-haired dragon girl slipped to the ground. In a
daze. “My castle… My home… All of it is gone?”
“Not
exactly. We are not sure what is going on with the mergers, but your world and
mine are merging together. I will explain more later, but for now. My name is
Desaray Harris. I am a being from this world. My two friends here are Domar of
the Gorc tribe and Oinktera, a Devil Hog. They are both from your
world.” Desaray introduced herself and everyone else. She felt this was the
best way to start things.
“My
name is An’ne, An’ne Flamesworth. I am from the fire dragon tribe. Princess of
the current Dragon Emperor.” An’ne’s eyes watered up. She looked at Desaray
with a hopeful expression as she asked, “Is it possible for me to return home?”
“At
this time now,” Desaray replied honestly. “Right now, it is not possible to go
home until the two worlds fully merge together. The merger is still a mystery
to us, so it could be said that you are teleported to a random location. To be
honest, you are lucky to have arrived here. These lands are within my domain.
If you were to find yourself in a different area, you might have met with
danger.”
“I…
I see…” An’ne did not wish to end up with some kind of monster food. She looked
at the two men with Desaray but was startled to see Domar. “Ummm… Gorc? But I
thought they were just monsters?”
“Do
not lump my kind with Orcs!” Dormar bit his tongue, trying to hold back his
laughter.
“Please
do not look down on other races in my presence.” Desaray was giving An’ne a
verbal warning. She was not trying to be mean, but she knew this was Dormar’s
taboo.
Feeling
a cold bit of air sweep over her, An’ne shivered and quickly apologized.
“Sorry!”
“It’s
fine. Sorry, I overreacted.” Dormar bowed his head. “To another Kingdom’s
Princess, I was rude.”
“Dormar,
it’s fine. We should head back. An’ne, if you want to follow us, you can. But I
promise you that what I said just now is no lie. But let
me warn you that if you try to harm anyone in my kingdom, I will not stand for
it.” Desaray had to be sure to give these kinds of warnings ahead of time.
“No.
I wish to follow. I will make sure not to cause any problems. But umm… can I
ask you a question?” An’ne still couldn’t get used to Desaray’s getup.
“Hmm?
Sure, go ahead.” Desaray was curious as to what she was about to be asked.
“Why,
are you…. N-Na-Naked?” An’ne blushed and looked down at the ground.
“Naked?
Sorry, but I do not understand. My scales cover what needs to be covered. Any
armor I wear would just end up frozen. As you may have noticed, I have a
strong, icy aura, which is why I do not get too close to most people but my
daughter.” Desaray replied. “Plus…. Dragon scales are something to be proud of.
But if it makes you feel better I can wear a ice dress.”
“I-I
see…” An’ne did not ask anymore. She could tell that the coldness she had been
feeling drifting over to her was from Desaray. She did not know why this was,
but even she, who was a fire dragon, could not withstand the cold aura. In the
end Desaray also did not create an ice dress. Although, she did note to wear
one from now on during official occasions.
As
they walked, Desaray decided to find out more about An’ne since she seemed
quite nervous. “An’ne, you said you were a princess, right?”
“Yes.
I was actually walking through the castle when I ended up here. I have no idea
how it happened. It was as if the world around me instantly changed. In fact, I
was running around feeling like I was losing my mind.”
An’ne replied. Her head drooped slightly as she continued to follow behind
Desaray.
“It’s
normal to be scared and disoriented when suddenly having your surroundings
change. I would have done the same. But don’t worry. Until you meet more of
your people, you can stay in Serenity Kingdom.”
“Can
I ask why you are being so kind to me? No more like how you knew I was even
here?” An’ne was very curious about how Desaray knew she was here and why she
was willing to do so much for someone she had just met.
“Well,
to answer your second question, the root next to your foot is how I knew you
were here.” Desaray stopped and pointed to the small root slithering next to
An’ne’s foot.
The
fiery dragon girl looked down in surprise. She did not understand how this
worked. She had never seen anyone use magic like this before. “This… But how?”
“One
of my Prime Ministers is a Nymph Princess. She is very skilled in manipulating
the trees and roots around her. I’d say she could destroy an entire city in an
instant if she was angered too much.” Desaray could see it happening. An’ne was
stunned. She made a note not to anger this Nymph Princess. She had never even
heard of a nymph before.
“Yeah,
Juna can be scary when she is angry.” Oinktera shivered just thinking about it.
“Juna?”
An’ne asked again in confusion.
“That
is the name of the owner of the root and also Oinktera’s wife,” Desaray
explained lightly.
“Nah,
I am already lucky enough to have a gem like Juna.” Oinktera really loved Juna.
Not as much as his Goddess, but that was the same for Juna as well, which made
them a perfect couple.
“I…
I see…” An’ne looked at Oinktera and thought he was a very handsome man and
could tell he was in love with his wife. But he seemed to like being bullied by
others which was strange.
“To
answer your first question on why I am being so kind to you. Well, it’s simple.
Whether you are a commoner, I guess you would call it, or royalty, it does not
matter. You are someone who needs shelter from the storm. Serenity is a place
for people like you, but do note that my kingdom is for all races. We do not
tolerate violence or crime of any kind. Based on the crime committed, you could
be killed on the spot. Of course, we also have a court system and a punishment
that is slave labor to make up for your crimes. But everything is based on the
crime and conviction.
“Anyway,
you just need to learn how to get along with those of lower status than you
because there is no royalty in Serenity… well, not counting myself and my
daughter, but even we walk around and talk with everyone as equals.” Desaray
just wanted to explain things a bit, but she wondered if she was going to
overboard. She did feel that the information she was giving was important.
“To
be honest, I thought the dragons of the other world would be more stuck up. But
An’ne, you, yourself, are quite kind, are you not?” Desaray turned to look at
the dragon girl behind her. “I know earlier you were trying to put on airs,
that is normal. But from what I can see, you are, in truth, a kind girl. I
think you will get along just fine in my kingdom. So An’ne worry not. Live
freely and enjoy your new life until the day you can be reunited with your
loved ones.”
“I…”
Tears rolled down An’ne’s cheeks. She looked at Desaray, whose smile filled her
with hope, and wondered if this ice dragon was actually a Goddess of this
world. She truly felt that one day, she would really be reunited with her
brother.
“Your
Highness!” Juna came running over at top speed. She stopped in front of Desaray
and looked her over. She could not pat her down without being frozen to death,
but she did circle her ten times before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
“Juna,
you worry too much. I had Domar and Oinktera with me. Not to mention your root,
so you know I was perfectly fine.” Desaray sighed helplessly. The girl knew she
was fine but still acted in such a way.
An’ne
looked at Juna, who was a stunning beauty, and then looked at Desaray and
realized the people of this village had some truly beautiful girls. Her gaze
then fell on Oinktera, and she understood why he would fall for a city
destroyer and why she would fall for him.
Holy Kingdom Of Serenity
To
the far south of the newly founded kingdom, the Serenity Kingdom, a new city
had emerged out of thin air. The residents of this city were not human. They
were beastkin with human features. Currently, in the center of the city, a bear
man was standing on top of a large stage looking out over the crowd. “I know
you are all very confused. I am, as well. But we can not let the current
situation keep us from our daily lives. The city guard is currently patrolling
the outskirts of the city. The ruins that have appeared within the city are
also being checked. All humans who have appeared are being detained as well. We
will figure out what has happened. Once we do, I will announce it to you all.
So please stay calm, and continue your daily lives.
“Resources
are not scarce. We have enough grain to last us until next season, so farmers
please begin plowing the lands. Merchants, please continue to sell your wares.
We will all pull through this!” The bear man was indeed worried about what was
happening here, but luckily, he played it smart all these years and had a hefty
stock of all major goods. And luckily, his storage had followed him. Where he
was, he did not know. He could only try to get some information from the humans
who also appeared along with them.
Desaray
walked up next to Juna, making sure to keep a safe distance as she tried to
peek over her shoulder. Juna glanced at her Goddess and smiled. “My roots have
spread far and wide and I am keeping an eye on many locations. These locations
are all marked with the largest settlements since the last merger.”
Desaray
was quite shocked at Juna’s abilities. “You never cease to amaze me.”
“I
am here to please,” Juna replied with a smile. She loved being praised by her
Goddess. “With our current forces and now having a noble Dragon Princess, we
are able to be more diplomatic. I think we should try to form ties with the
beast kin in this location here. It’s a huge city with at least a good hundred
thousand people living there.”
“Oh?
We will work it out soon. We first need to finish the task at hand. While I am
okay with just running around and leveling up. You and everyone else decided to
go and make me a queen, so we need to get this finished first, and then I need
to level some.” Desaray really wanted to gain more levels.
She
was only level 34 and wanted to reach at least level eighty before the next
merger. Although she was very much surprised to see that An’ne was only level
30 and far weaker than Oinktera and Juna.
“Goddess!”
A cheery voice rang through the hall outside the room Desaray was currently in.
Just hearing the voice made Desaray hold her head. Someone went and
indoctrinated the Dragon Princess. Desaray looked over
at Juna, who quickly looked up at the ceiling and started whistling and sighed.
An’ne suddenly announced she was to become Desaray’s priestess.
An’ne
came running into the room wearing a new set of blue priest robes with a big
smile on her face. She stood in front of Desaray and knelt down while clasping
her hands together and bowing her head. “Praise the Ice Goddess.”
“Praise
the Ice Goddess!” Juna suddenly did the same thing as An’ne.
Desaray
did not know if she should be sending them to the loony bin or not, but she
knew one thing was for sure… She was actually almost halfway to her goal. She
now had 4325 followers. Basically, every person in the Serenity Kingdom had
become her follower!
“Can
you two please get up?” Desaray was starting to feel embarrassed. She had to
deal with the people outside who did it as she walked by now, too. She could
have sworn the church had also gotten much bigger.
“Your
Highness, I have a wonderful idea!” Juna suddenly announced.
“I
have a feeling I am not going to like it, but go ahead.” Desaray sighed. Seeing
Juna’s excited expression, she couldn’t say no.
“What
if… What if we rename the Serenity Village to the Holy Kingdom Of Serenity? You
said it yourself that you need people to follow you. If we make it so that we
turn the kingdom into a church -state you will be Her Holiness.” Juna had heard
about the church-states in the other world and even ran into some of the
fanatics. While she did not like them, she felt with Desaray as
the head, she could keep the state from turning into those that she had heard
about.
“What
Juna says is a very good idea. My father once tried to do the same, but no one
wished to worship him.” An’ne added.
Desaray
thought for a moment. While she did not care too much for religion itself, it
was a good idea since she might need more followers in the future as well for
her third evolution. “We will need to run it by everyone at the meeting before
the big event.”
⧫⧫⧫
“So,
as Juna said, we want to change the name to Holy Kingdom Of Serenity. We will
now take a vote. Raise your hand if you are for changing the name and structure
of the ruling house.” Desaray stood in front of her elder’s council, wondering
just how everyone would react.
To
her surprise, every person there raised their hands with huge smiles on their
faces. “Haha! Our Goddess is finally going to play her role!” Domar slapped the
table and yelled out.
“Domar,
it is now Her Holiness. We must also change how we call her.” Regal
reprimanded.
“So…
You are all okay with this?” Desaray was stunned. She never realized everyone
had been converted! She somehow became the head of some new cult!
“Your
Holiness, you need to understand that the Church of the Ice Goddess has to hold
service four times a week in order to accommodate everyone. Now, with you
finally taking up your rightful role, we naturally would not disagree.” Regal
replied with a big smile.
“Then
I will be in your care.” Desaray sighed and accepted her fate. “From this
moment on. The Kingdom of Serenity will be renamed to The Holy Kingdom Of
Serenity.”
“May
I say a word?” An’ne suddenly raised her hand.
“Of
course you can.” Desaray smiled. She was happy that An’ne was willing to become
an elder as well.
“Then,
can I be appointed the First Priestess of the Ice Goddess?” An’ne really wished
to follow Desaray now. After speaking to Juna and going over the Bible of the
Ice Goddess, she understood that Desaray was an amazing person whom she could
look up to and follow.
Desaray
still had yet to find out about the Bible of the Ice Goddess, however, An’ne
carried a copy around with her wherever she went and even read stories about
the tales of the Ice Goddess to the kids in the Kingdom. Where so many stories
came from that it could make a bible that was about three inches thick was
another story.
“I
will let you all vote on that. But as long as they say yes, I see no harm in
it.” With Desaray’s words, a few seconds later, An’ne was made the First
Priestess of the Ice Goddess. This now gave her the right to live in the
church, which had just recently been expanded to have multiple small apartments
inside. She was now the sole caretaker of the church.
⧫⧫⧫
In
the Holy Kingdom Of Serenity a day of celebration was being held as the once
Serenity Village jumped leaps and bounds to become a new kingdom. Up on the
high stage, Desaray stood with her daughter Lilly. Lilly was wearing an
ice-blue dress to match her mother’s scales.
Juna
stepped forward. She was wearing Priestess Robes as she was now the Prime
Minister of a church-state. “Today, our village. Our village could not have
been possible without our Goddess giving us all a place to live, work, eat, and
play. A place for us to rest our heads at night without worry of what is to
come. A place that holds great meaning to many of us as we all look towards a
new future that is filled with uncertainties. Serenity Village has become our
home and a place we all cherish greatly.
“But
now our village has expanded far beyond what it used to be. We have claimed
lands and dungeons as our own and even have many trades that embolden our daily
lives. Today, we embark on a new journey. We are no longer a village. No, we
are now a place that looks up to our Goddess and worships her freely. As of
today, we will now be known as the Holy Kingdom Of Serenity!”
As
soon as Juna finished speaking, the citizens of the Holy Kingdom Of Serenity
suddenly shouted cheers. The looks on their faces showe that they were all very
excited and happy about this new development. Desaray, who stood behind Juna
and listened to her speech, suddenly realized why she
had gained so many followers so quickly. This girl was great at brainwashing
people!
She
knew that if it was not her they were worshiping, she would be down in the
crowd as well, cheering away. Desaray sighed. She looked at the crowd below
with a complicated gaze before smiling helplessly.
“As
Juna has stated, we are now a kingdom. We will continue how we always have
been. So please do not worry. Nothing will change, except we will work harder
to make sure we do not lose what we have worked so hard to build. I promise you
that any wars that come will be met with me leading the way at the forefront. I
will stand beside those who are willing to fight and fight alongside them. I
will not hide. I will not let this world ruin our home.
“With
this being said… Let the festivities begin!”
Desaray
sat down with Lilly in her lap and looked at the people of her kingdom having
fun. Thousands of people were gathered, and yet there was not a single person
causing trouble. “Mama, you look pretty when you smile.”
“Oh?”
Desaray looked at her daughter, whose ears were twitching, and gently scratched
them. “But I think you look prettier when you smile.”
“Hehe!”
Lilly smiled brightly as she hugged her Mama. It was her wish to always be like
this with her Mama. Sitting in her lap and taking in her motherly warmth.
“Your
Holiness, I do not mean to interrupt, but it is time to name your apostles.”
Regal hated to get in between the mother-daughter
moment, but this had to be done before everyone got too drunk.
“Right…”
Desaray sighed. She did not know why she let Juna talk her into this. But since
she had decided to do it, she had to follow through with it.
She
walked over to the edge of the stage and looked at the crowd that was gathering
once more. “People of Serenity. Now that we have become a church-state, I have
decided to name three people as my Apostles. Their words shall be my words in
my absence.”
Desaray
looked at the crowd below and saw that no one thought she was crazy, but
instead seemed very excited. She took a deep breath and continued: “The first
Apostle and leader of the Apostles, Juna Harris! The second will be Regal
Harris. And finally, Oinktera Harris. You may have noticed that each of the
Apostles now has a last name. This is to signify that they are my closest
family. Each one now bears my last name. I hope you all will show them the same
respect as you show me. Now then. Let’s get back to the festivities!”
“Praise
the Ice Goddess!” Chants from below could be heard as the entire population of
Serenity suddenly knelt on the ground and chanted the same thing. Desaray, who
was about to go sit back down with her daughter, caught sight of this and felt
very strange. Bashful yet fearful, if she ever got used to such treatment,
would she ever turn into a tyrant? This was the last thing she would ever want.
With
this thought in mind, Desaray walked over to Juna. “Juna, please do me a
favor.”
“What’s wrong?” Juna could
tell that Desaray had something important to say.
“If
I ever become a tyrant. Put me down at all costs. I do not wish to harm those
who worship me.” Desaray whispered in a low voice so that only she and Juna
could hear.
Juna
stared at Desaray for a long time before finally nodding her head. “I will be
sure that no matter what, you will always be seen as a benevolent ruler. Even
if I must give up my life to do so.”
“Your
life is more important, so no. Just be sure to set me straight, or if need be,
kill me outright. I do not want to become a tyrant.” Desaray was helpless with
how quickly Juna was talking about death.
“Just
listen to her lass.” Regal had overheard them when Desaray raised her voice.
“We are to listen to what our Goddess tells us. If she says she does not wish
to turn into a tyrant, then it is our job to stop her. We just have to make
sure that we stop her before she harms anyone and realizes her mistakes.”
“Thank
you, Regal.” Desaray smiled. Having people like Regal, who were more
level-headed at her side, was a good thing.
“No
need to thank me. I understand where you are coming from. As you said, we are
now a family whom share the same surname. As a family, we should support one
another and stop the other from making stupid mistakes. This is how a family
works.” Regal was glad he came to this place and met Desaray. She was the
reason he decided to settle down. The young girl who knew little of this new
world but was trying her hardest to make a home. He saw her as a daughter and
wanted to watch over her. And now he was truly family
with her even though they were not related by blood. In his old age, he
couldn’t be happier.
“Regal
is right. We are now family, so we will stop you before it gets to that point.”
Juna smiled and gave Regal a grateful nod. She was glad that she did not need
to say yes to killing her Goddess.
With
a warm smile on her face, Desaray waved the two off. “Alright, then, I will be
counting on you two. Go have fun. Do not let me hold you both up from the
festivities. You have both worked hard and should play. Nina will bring Lilly
around to have some fun as well.”
“What
about you?” Juna asked. She did not want Desaray to have to sit by herself.
“I
wish I could, but my aura keeps fluctuating the past few days. I can’t seem to
restrain it at all, either. I do not want to freeze someone by accident.”
Desaray lifted her hand. The moist air around her hand began to turn into small
snowflakes. They were very tiny, but they were visible to the eye.
[Name]:
Desaray Harris
[Race]:
Ice Dragon Goddess
[Current
Realm] Mortal
[Age]:
19
[Level]:
34
[Monster
Rank]: E
[Realm
Advance Requirements]: Reach Level 50, Kill 1 thousand enemies, Raise your
affinity with Ice to 70%, Create a domain with 10,000 followers
[Evolution
Requirements]: Reach level 100, Kill 2 Demigods, Complete 3 level 100+ dungeons
solo
[MP]:
11258/11258
[Elemental
Affinity]: Ice (50%)
[Skill
Points]: 37
[Skills]
{Ice
Breath (Lvl 5)} {Ice Immunity (Lvl Max)} {Apprasial (Lvl 2)} {First Aid (Lvl
2)} {Toughened Skin (Lvl 2)} {Spark (Lvl 1)} {Cleanse (Lvl 1)} {Drink (Lvl 1)}
{Dig (Lvl 1} {Dry (Lvl 1)} {Ice Arrow (Lvl 5)} {Fireball (Lvl 1)} {Detection
(Lvl 1)} {Healing Snow (Lvl 5)} {Partial Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Full
Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Ice Manipulation (Lvl 5)} {Summon Ice Elemental (Lvl
1)} {Prison Of Absolute Cold (Lvl 1)} {Mana Reduction (Lvl 3)} {Mana
Regeneration (Lvl 3)}
[Goddess
Skills]
{Frozen
Step (Lvl Max)} {Absolute Zero(Lvl 1)}
[Professions]
{Weapon
Crafting (Lvl 3)} {Armor Crafting (Lvl 3)} {Hunting (Lvl 3)} {Foraging (Lvl 3)}
{Cooking (Lvl 3)}
Desaray
looked at her status screen to see a wall of text. She had acquired a lot.
“Hmmm? Is it because my Elemental Affinity has shot up?”
“What’s
wrong?” Juna asked in confusion.
“My
elemental affinity was recently only 25%, but now it’s 50%. I wonder if it is
because I have gotten more followers.” Desaray pursed her lips. She did not
remember doing anything that would have caused her ice affinity to go up unless
just the fact that she always had a frozen aura around her was the cause.
“No,
it is a good thing, but I think I will be causing snow in the house from now
on. Luckily, Lilly will not be affected by this.” She felt bad already that her
daughter has slept on a bed that freezes because of her.
Juna
lowered her head. She was trying to hold back her tears. If Her Goddess did not
have so many people worshiping her, how lonely would she be? How lonely would
she be without Lilly to give her the skinship she needs?
“Why
are you crying?” Desaray noticed the tear in Juna’s eyes.
“No…
I was just thinking, I am glad I met you. If you were all alone...” Juna burst
into tears, which made Desaray sigh. She knew Juna was always worried about
her. This girl had put all her faith in her and was so loyal to her that it was
beyond belief.
“Juna,
I am grateful that I have met all of you. Because of you all, I have been able
to continue on and work harder than before. You and everyone else are what is
allowing me to stand here today. Thank you for befriending me and giving me a
family.” Desaray smile blossomed, and even though her aura was cold, Juna felt
warmth flooding her entire body.
“You
holiness!” Juna wanted to give Desaray a hug but quickly kept herself under
control.
“Okay,
enough worry about me. Juna, get those who are ready for a raid together
starting tomorrow. We will be heading out to finally take on that raid. I will
be going through my skill list tonight as well in hopes
of finding some things to make the raid easier.” Desaray had decided. Things
were now set in motion here. She had people to take over when she was gone and
people so loyal she did not need to worry about any issues. But her main concern
was her level. She needed to be at a higher level.
When
the next merger happened, she doesn't know what levels she will need to fight
for those who appear, if they were hostile that is. But she wanted to raise her
level as soon as possible. She had never thought that her little village would
bloom so quickly. It has been close to two years since things began. And now
she was sitting on an entire kingdom.
“I
will get everyone ready. But, Your Holiness, please bring Oinktera with you. I
will stay behind this time to help Regal just in case something happens.” Juna
also wanted to go, but this time around, she knew it was not a good idea.
“No,
you will come to. Regal has promised me that anyone under level one hundred can
not break his runes. So we are fine. You need to level up, too, since the next
merger will bring in such people. At that time, we will have to take turns
grinding. The two of us are the main force with the best AOE abilities. So we
need to both be ready. Oinktera will also still be going, so have a bit more
faith in the others. Our people are also not weak.” Desaray gave Juna a
meaningful look. If something happened, she could not always be the one to take
care of things. Her people also needed practice as well. Now was the time.
“I
understand.” Juna thought her way of thinking was best, but it seemed she was
actually not on the right train of thought. But now, with her Goddess
explaining things to this point, she understood. She could not hold the hands
of others forever. And the strong should not appear unless it is absolutely
needed.
“Mama,
will the raid take a long time?” Lilly suddenly asked.
“I
am not sure. It could take days. It could take a week, maybe even months. But
no matter what happens, I will come back here as fast as I can. But you know
already that the next merger is coming. We need to have enough powerful people
above level 100 to make sure no one can look down on our kingdom.” Desaray
patted the top of Lilly’s head as she explained. She could see the fox girl’s
ears slowly drooping.
“I
will work hard so I can become stronger too!” Lilly suddenly said. “Mama, can
you let someone bring me into a higher-level dungeon? I want to grow stronger
as well.”
Seeing
Lilly’s pleading eyes, Desaray could only sigh. She thought for a moment before
saying: “I will arrange for someone to take you. But you must not do anything
dangerous.”
After
saying that, Desaray paused for a second before saying: “No, better yet, you
will come with me. If you wish to level up, then you will be safest coming with
me.”
“Yay!”
Lilly became extremely excited. She would get to go on a raid with her mama!
The
list of spells was quite amazing. She had no idea how many spells were in her
spell list, but some of the ones that seemed like godly-type spells cost
thousands of skill points. Scanning the list for spells in the lower tier, she
finally spotted something of use. “Aegis Barrier.”
[Aegis
Barrier]
[Surrounds
the target with a barrier for five minutes. Target is unable to leave the
barrier, and nothing will penetrate through. Cooldown: six hours.]
[Costs:
20 skill points]
Desaray
pursed her lips. It had a six-hour cool down but would allow five minutes of
absolute protection. If something were to happen, it might be worth it to keep
Lilly alive if they came upon a situation where they could not run. Of course,
she would do everything in her power to make sure Lilly would be safe after the
barrier was lifted. “No, we will skip it. The points are too much for something
that can only be used every six hours and last five minutes….”
Desaray
thought as she continued searching. She scanned through the list to find a few
ice spells she did not have. “Ice wall… No, I can just make an ice wall with
ice manipulation… I guess since spells are out, so what about some other
element?”
Desaray
continued her search but really could not find anything of much use. There were
many skills, but she saw no need for them since she could do the same with a
single spell of her own. “Oh? Twelve steps?”
[Destroy
the world in twelve steps.]
[With
each step you take, your attack power will jump by tenfold. A pressure will
also weigh down the area around you, slowing and even immobilizing those caught
within the radius.]
[Current
Radius: 100 feet]
[Max:
1000 feet]
[Costs:
15 skill points]
“A
gravity-type skill that boosts strength? Only 15 skill points…..” Desaray felt
this was worth it. Especially since she could easily mix this skill with her
frozen step skill, if she were to use it to launch herself forward while taking
twelve steps, she would be able to bypass the hundred foot radius and surprise
her enemies at the same time.
Desaray
thought for a moment before buying the skill.
[Skill
Acquired: Twelve Steps]
Desaray
still had 22 skill points, so she kept looking through the list to see what she
could find. After scrolling for almost two hours, she finally found a skill
that seemed interesting. “Empress’s Presence….”
[Empress’s
Presence]
[Passive
Skill]
[The
aura of an Empress. The user will exude the aura of an Empress. An aura that
will make those of lower level fear and love you. Monsters will not attack if
the user is of a higher or of equal level. If the user has a monster rank that
is higher but is of a lower level, Empress’s Presence will be half effective.]
“That
should do it. I will also level up detection to level three as well.” After
spending 12 more points, Desaray’s skill points dropped to six.
“With
this, I should be ready for the raid.”
While
she did not get anything for defense, if she was careful, she could easily
protect her daughter with her ice manipulation. She knew this was going to be
risky, but it was true that she wished for Lilly to get stronger just in case
anything happened down the road.
The Raid Starts
Desaray
stood with Lilly at her side. Behind her were Juna and Oinktera, along with
both of their clans, some humans, Gorcs, dwarves, and elves. What lay before
her was the entry of the raid. But what surprised her was that the raid looked
nothing like she had expected. Instead, she saw what looked more like a sci-fi
type scene. The floors had a blocky-shaped pattern on them. The walls had
glowing blue lights running through the cracks between the metal plates. The
ceiling had circular lights embedded into it. Wires and pipes ran along the
tops and bottoms of the walls. It looked more like an alien tomb than anything
else.
“Let
me go check monster levels before we start. Oinktera and Juna, besides
fighting, you are our main defense as well. We do not want to lose anyone.”
Desaray said as she looked back at the two. They were both used to this, so
they nodded without question.
Desaray
walked toward the middle of the room but stopped when a massive screen appeared
in front of her. “Welcome! This is the Arlec Trial Grounds. One thousand
floors, each with its own mini-boss and a major boss every five floors. Those
who take the trial must be ready to risk their lives. Once you step out of this
room, there is no turning back until the fiftieth floor. Good luck, my fellow
clansmen.”
“An
ancient civilization that was said to be masters of magic and machine,” Juna
replied. “I read about it once. My people found a cave with a bunch of ancient
texts. We kept them as a means of entertainment. In one of those texts, it
spoke of a clan called the Arlec. They spent their days merging machine and
magic, but from what I understood, they destroyed themselves, wiping out their
entire clan. Since they were an inter-species clan, they never married out of
their clan and rarely left.”
“I
see, so they were advanced in a different way.” Desaray had known some stories
that spoke of multiple different levels of technology based on magic. Some did
not care for technology since magic could do everything, and others wished to
expand the use of magic into new ways, which created mechanical golems.
“This
might be good for us. If we can get some drops that allow us to use parts of
their technology, then maybe we can apply it in many different ways.” Desaray
could only hope. She was unsure what kinds of drops she would get, but she did
hope to get something worth taking home.
“Alright,
Lilly, stay close to me. Let’s move out!” Desaray gave the order, and Lilly
quickly trotted to her mama’s side.
The
group began to move forward. Desaray had first planned to check out the levels,
but due to what she was told, if she passed the main entrance, she could not
return, so she could only try to handle things as they came.
They
walked about halfway when Desaray suddenly stopped and looked around. Her
instincts were telling her if she took another step, something bad would
happen. Sure enough, a notification suddenly popped up in front of her.
[Trap detected]
[Explosive trap:
Disarm?]
[Yes] [No]
Desaray
realized her detection skill was coming in really handy right now. She was glad
she upped it. She quickly hit yes, and in front of her, a puff of smoke rose
up, showing that the trap had been diffused. “Let’s continue.”
Desaray
and her group had to stop a few times along the catwalk to disarm traps. When
they finally reached the main platform, the group finally set their eyes on the
first enemy. It was not a monster but a robot. It looked like an overgrown pill
capsule with a large red glowing eye in the middle of its head. “Juna, watch
over Lilly, I will go test the waters. We need to figure out what each enemy
can do. Oinktera, you keep a close eye on what attacks it uses and note them
down. One enemy alone can give us an idea of what to expect further on.”
“Understood!”
Both Oinktera and Juna replied at the same time.
Desaray
moved forward cautiously and used her appraisal magic on the robot in front of
her.
[Level]: 80
[Monster Rank]: D
Seeing
the level of the robot, Desaray’s lips pursed. But she also felt excited
because this meant that she would be able to level up quite a bit! She opened
both her palms at her side and formed two swords made of ice before rushing
forward. She was keeping an eye out for any kind of notification of attack. She
ran right up to it, and when its back was turned to her, she realized that this
so-called elite had a very narrow range of vision. Licking her lips, she raised
her ice swords and slashed down…
*Ding!*
Desaray’s
ice swords sparked as they smashed into a barrier that was a few inches off the
robot. “Oinktera!”
“On
it!” Oinktera suddenly appeared in the air, his fist glowing with a red light.
He smashed his fist down, causing a cracking sound to be heard in the barrier.
The area around them also sunk down a few inches. Desaray jumped up and did a
flip in the air before slashing down once more, her swords piercing the barrier
and stabbing into the head of the robot.
[You
Defeated A (Elite)C-872]
[Experience
Points Gained….]
[Level
Up!]
[Level
Up!]
[Level
Up!]
[Level
Up!]
[Level
Up!]
“Mama!
I hit level 27!” Lilly yelled out happily as she danced around. The entire raid
team couldn’t help but smile at their Little Princess. Seeing her cute fluffy
tail wag back and forth as she danced was very heartwarming.
“Did
everyone get experience?” Desaray shouted out.
“Yes!
We all jumped from 5 to 7 levels!” Juna reported.
“Good!”
Desaray was very happy this dungeon was not attack-oriented. This meant that
they all could level up very quickly.
Desaray
looked down at the red orb on the ground and picked it up.
[High-Quality
Golem Core]
[Quality]:
Rare
[Can
be used in the creation of golems.]
“Oh?
Looks like we got something good then.” Desaray put the red orb away before
walking over to Lilly. She squatted down, kissed Lilly on the cheek, and patted
her head. “Good job!”
“Hehe!”
Lilly hugged Desaray’s neck and smiled sweetly. She was very happy she could
become stronger.
Desaray
picked Lilly up before turning to the others. “As you can see, these monsters
have a barrier surrounding them. As for the kinds of attacks, we will test it
when we reach the next platform.”
“Hey,
Juna, why would a trial turn into a dungeon?” Desaray had only thought of this
now. It made no sense to her why this place had suddenly become a dungeon if it
was a trial, to begin with.
“Ancient
ruins that have taken in enough mana will slowly turn into a dungeon. Some will
keep their current forms or be transformed completely. Some of the floors of
this raid might end up being different from what they originally were. We won’t
know until we reach these floors.” Juna explained. Desaray was happy that Juna
was an encyclopedia to the other world.
“Then
we should be more careful from here on out.” Desaray looked at her next
opponent, which she knew would be a bit harder since they needed to figure out
its attack ability.
Desaray
took on the role of tank as she ran up to the robot and kicked it over. The
robot tumbled and crashed across the ground until it finally skidded to a stop.
Its large red eye suddenly lit up as it got up and faced her. It grew brighter
and brighter until finally, a large red beam as thick as its red eye shot out
towards Desaray, causing her to quickly make an ice wall appear before dodging
out of the way.
*Boom!*
The
ray hit the ice wall, causing a massive explosion of ice. Water rained down
from the melted ice as Desaray shot forward with her ice
swords. Oinktera did not need her to say a word and was already in the air,
slamming his fist down toward the robot.
The
same scene as before appeared as the two quickly destroyed the robot. She was
not sure if this was all of its attacks, but she knew for now that they could
easily kill them. The group continued forward and killed each robot that they
came upon. If there were two, the others would use all the training they had
been enduring to the max while Desaray and Oinktera took care of the other one.
If three came, Desaray would shield Lilly, and Juna would join the fight. The
battles continued on and on, and the levels of everyone there rose quickly.
[Name]:
Desaray Harris
[Race]:
Ice Dragon Goddess
[Current
Realm] Mortal
[Age]:
19
[Level]:
52
[Monster
Rank]: E
[Realm
Advance Requirements]: Reach Level 50, Kill 1 thousand enemies, Raise your
affinity with Ice to 70%, Create a domain with 10,000 followers
[Evolution
Requirements]: Reach level 100, Kill 2 Demigods, Complete 3 level 100+ dungeons
solo
[HP]:
25890/25890
[MP]:
21378/21378
[Elemental
Affinity]: Ice (65%)
[Skill
Points]: 96
[Skills]
{Ice
Breath (Lvl 5)} {Ice Immunity (Lvl Max)} {Apprasial (Lvl 2)} {First Aid (Lvl
2)} {Toughened Skin (Lvl 2)} {Spark (Lvl 1)} {Cleanse
(Lvl 1)} {Drink (Lvl 1)} {Dig (Lvl 1} {Dry (Lvl 1)} {Ice Arrow (Lvl 5)}
{Fireball (Lvl 1)} {Detection (Lvl 3)} {Healing Snow (Lvl 5)} {Partial
Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Full Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Ice Manipulation
(Lvl 5)} {Summon Ice Elemental (Lvl 1)} {Prison Of Absolute Cold (Lvl 1)} {Mana
Reduction (Lvl 3)} {Mana Regeneration (Lvl 3)} {Twelve Steps (Lvl 1)} {Empress’s
Presence (Lvl 1)}
[Goddess
Skills]
{Frozen
Step (Lvl Max)} {Absolute Zero(Lvl 1)}
[Professions]
{Weapon
Crafting (Lvl 3)} {Armor Crafting (Lvl 3)} {Hunting (Lvl 3)} {Foraging (Lvl 3)}
{Cooking (Lvl 3)}
“Your
Holiness, why are you looking depressed?” Juna was a bit confused. Her Goddess
should be very much happy with how quickly they were leveling up, but for some
reason, she seemed depressed now.
“It’s
because I already reached one of the level requirements for one of my realm
advancements, but I am still missing almost half the followers and 5% more
affinity with the ice element.” Desaray couldn’t help but feel depressed, but
there was nothing she could do about it. She only had a little over four
thousand followers this time.
“When
we return, we will figure out a way to bring in more followers. We should be
able to do so if we go to the villages I marked on the maps.” Juna did not like
seeing her Goddess sad.
“It’s
fine. Things will come in time.” Desaray also did not know what the next realm
would be either. She was currently only a mortal, as it states, but she did not
know what would happen when she evolved again either. That one was even more nerve-wracking since it required her to solo three
level 100 dungeons and even kill demi gods. Her requirements were insane.
Nothing compared to the others. They only needed to reach level 100 for their
next evolution and kill enough elites. Which was strange now that she thought
about it. Because Juna had once said something about evolving every twenty
levels. Desaray decided to ask about this at a later time.
“Mama,
be happy!” Lilly looked up at Desaray with big, watery eyes and a quivering
lip. When her mama was sad, she was sad.
“I’m
happy, Lilly. How can I not be happy when I got such a cute daughter!?” Desaray
quickly perked up as she picked Lilly up and snuggled her.
“Hehe!”
Lilly grinned. She loved her mama’s smile the most!
“Your
Holiness, the scouts returned.” A Gorc came over and reported.
“Alright.”
Desaray walked over to where everyone else was. They had been resting since
they had been fighting for a while. “What did you see?”
“There
are some of the same robots, but up ahead are a few flying types as well as a
massive robot further in. When I say big, I mean it looks big even from our
current distance.” The Horned Trinity Fae, the true evolved form of Toblins,
reported.
“Then
that must be the boss. Hopefully, the level is not all that high. If we are
lucky, we can clear a floor per day. So far, we have also gotten a lot of golem
parts as well. We might even have enough materials to build a few golems if we
can figure out how to put them all together.” Desaray was happy about the
drops. The more things she has to defend her kingdom, the better.
“We
can only hope. But how do we deal with the boss?” Oinktera asked. He was more
concerned with the boss than creating golems.
“We
will do it like always. I will be the main tank. You and Juna will follow up as
defense and tanks. Everyone else will be on DPS and heals. We have enough Fae
here to heal us, so we should be good.” The Horned Trinity Fae were all able to
heal, which would lighten Desaray’s load and save some of her mana even though
she could cast her healing spell multiple times now without issue.
“We
will have three people stay behind to protect Lilly. Hargar, I will be counting
on you.” Desaray looked at the massive Gorc named Hargar and smiled. He had
been amazing so far, protecting Lilly from anything that came towards her. He
was quite skilled with his massive axe and even blocked a few attacks from the
robots.
“Yeah,
Uncle Hargar, protect me well!” Lilly raised her little chin and smiled at
Hargar, making the massive Gorc blush.
“I
will protect the Princess with my life.” Hargar bowed his head and said. He
couldn’t wait to have a daughter of his own. His own wife was pregnant now. He
was actually quite happy that the girl he kidnapped came to love him. He had
treated her with care right from the beginning. At first, she hated him, but
slowly, she began to fall for him. Although he did kidnap her, he never forced
her to do anything, even if he wanted to. He held back since he actually fell
for her at first sight. Eventually, his feelings got
through, and they became a real couple. Now, she was pregnant with his baby,
and she was to be a girl as well.
“Keep
your life as well. How will I explain things to your wife if you die?” Desaray
reprimanded. She hated how everyone said they would give up their lives so
easily.
“If
it’s for the Princess, she would understand.” Hargar wondered if his Goddess
understood that Lilly’s presence was just as needed as her own. Without Lilly,
they felt like their Goddess would not exist. Of course, this was all
indoctrinated by Juna. She had gone all out on everything to make sure everyone
protected both Lilly and Desaray.
“Alright,
alright. As stubborn as always, I see. Anyway, we will go as planned. If things
get bad, I will protect everyone with an ice barrier and use my ultimate
skills.”
⧫⧫⧫
“Ice
Lance!” Desaray shouted out as she created multiple lances made of ice in the
air above her. She then shot them forward, taking out the flying robots. “I
think that is all of them!”
“Your
Holiness, we cleaned up here.” A human woman named Tami reported. She was lucky
to be able to work with her Goddess in such close proximity and even got to see
just how powerful she truly was.
“We
clear here too. But isn’t this a bit unfair? Sending over thirty waves of
enemies at us right before the boss?” A male elf named Tine slumped down to the
ground, feeling exhausted.
“It’s
better to understand our enemies than to not. Since they had sent so many, we
now understand our own capabilities.” Desaray said
seriously. “Now that we have cleared these out, we can rest a bit longer before
we take on the boss.”
“But
still…” Tine knew this was true, but he still wished to complain.
“Mama,
I killed two!” Lilly hopped up and down in front of Desaray with her loot in
her hands. Desaray smiled and patted her fox daughter’s head. “You did very
well!”
Even
Desaray was surprised. A robot had rushed right at her, and Lilly did not even
flinch. Desaray was about to put up the barrier when she saw her daughter pull
out her dagger and charge forward in a beam of white light. A trail of snow
formed on the ground wherever she moved. Almost instantly, the robot was taken
out without issue. Then she turned and did it to another one who came towards
her.
Such
quick reaction and skill showed just how hard Lilly had been training. Desaray
felt a little lonely. Her daughter was growing up too fast! But at the same
time, she was happy her daughter was able to protect herself.
“When
we get back, I will give you a big reward!” Desaray picked Lilly up and
snuggled her in her arms. She really loved her daughter.
“Yay!”
Lilly did not know what she was getting, but if it was something from her mama,
she would love it!
The
group rested for a good hour before everyone got prepped for the boss. “As we
planned before. Let me gain some agro before you all jump in.”
Desaray
led her raid team to the entrance of the boss room. They all stepped onto the
massive platform that the boss sat in the middle of.
Desaray settled Lilly into a barrier of ice with some drinks and snacks so she
could watch the fight. As long as Lilly was there, she would get a bunch of
levels from killing the boss.
[(Boss)U-9999]
[Level]:
160
[Monster
Rank]: B
“Level
160….” Desaray pursed her lips as she stared at the massive robot. “Let’s do
this!”
Desaray
used her Frozen Step to charge forward as fast as she could. As soon as she
came within twenty feet of the boss, it finally reacted and began to activate.
Desaray did not slow her steps as she continued charging forward with her ice
swords in her hand. “Hina, watch over Lilly for me.”
“On
it!” Hina had expected this and was already ready to take action. She flew off
Desaray’s head and over to Lilly. She slipped inside the ice barrier and sat on
Lilly’s head.
“Hina!”
Lilly smiled as she reached up to poke Hina. The ice fairy reluctantly allowed
her to do so.
“Watch
your mama.” Hina tried to change the girl’s target of attention. She was here
to protect, not to be poked and prodded! The only reason she could easily slip
through the barrier was because she was bound to Desaray. If not for that, she
would not have been able to pass the barrier.
Back
on Desaray’s side, her ice swords slammed into the boss’s legs, causing a large
gash to appear in the hard metal. Desaray had figured out that as long as there
was no shield, she could easily use her ice swords as much as she wanted.
She
quickly looped back around, attacking its legs all at the same spot and point.
She wanted to chop a leg off and make it harder for the robot to support
itself! She had no idea what kind of weapons this thing had, but at such a
level, she was sure that it would be very dangerous. So, she wanted to limit
its ability to target anything.
⧫⧫⧫
As
Desaray was fighting the first boss, An’ne was on a mission! “High Priestess,
are you sure you wish to do this?” General Garret couldn’t help but be worried
about going out at a time like this.
“Of
course! We must spread our Goddess’s name! If we do not spread it, how will our
Holy Kingdom become known? Don’t worry, and just follow me! With the ten of
you, I do not think my life will be in danger.” An’ne couldn’t sit around.
Since her Goddess was gone, she became bored sitting around the church and
decided it was time to spread the faith of the Ice Goddess around to those poor
lambs who had yet to understand just how amazing her Goddess was.
“It’s
true we can protect you, but did you get Apostle Regal’s permission?” General
Garret asked.
“She
did.” Regal’s voice came from behind them. “Protect the High Priestess well.
Return in two weeks time.”
“Understood!”
General Garret saluted before kneeling and saying: “Praise the Ice Goddess.”
“Hayaaah!”
Desaray cried out as she slashed with all her might, slicing into the thick
metal leg of the boss. “Damnit, Oinktera!”
Desaray
was not happy. The defense of the boss was very strong. It had barriers upon
barriers on each part of its body. After almost thirty minutes of fighting,
they had just now broken through one of the barriers.
“On
it! Hah!” Oinktera slammed his fists down, causing a massive shock wave to
spread out in all directions. The armor on the boss’s leg cracked before
finally shattering, exposing the wires and parts underneath.
“Good
job! I will knock it down. Everyone get ready!” Desaray changed her direction
almost instantly and dragonfied her arm so that it was ten times bigger with
massive claws. She swiped at the boss’s leg, cleaving it into many parts
instantly. The boss’s body teetered to the side before slumping to the ground.
Sparks flew as the barriers surrounding the head began to flicker. “Everyone
full-on attack the head!”
Everyone
began sending out their best attacks. The boss’s health was quickly dropping
under such a heavy bombardment. When its health hit 75%, the boss suddenly
glowed with a red light, and sirens began to go off. Desaray’s gamer instincts
quickly told her this was not good. “Everyone fall back quickly! Watch for any
spots on the floor. Do not stand in them!”
Sure
enough, her instincts were right on. Large orange circles began to form on the
floor around the room. Everyone quickly moved to stand in the darker areas. Ten
seconds later, massive lasers shot down from the dark
abyss above and fell onto the platform, burning huge holes into it.
Desaray
frowned. Now, they had to fight around the holes. She waved her hand, undid the
ice barrier around Lilly, and shouted: “Lilly, move to a place with more
space!”
“Okay,
Mama!” Lilly quickly did as she was told. She did not dare to be slow. One of
the holes was only a few feet from her position, so she quickly moved to a spot
on the other side where there was no hole. Only then did she sit down again and
was once more covered in an ice barrier.
“Your
Holiness, what should we do? If it keeps firing those things every time we take
a quarter of its health, this won’t be good for us.” Oinktera was not liking
the situation. The holes that were formed were big enough to swallow all of
them if they had stood in the center. They had less room to maneuver now as
well.
“I
am not sure if it will work, but I will try to cast a barrier around the entire
platform to protect us and hopefully the platform as well.” Desaray did not
know if her barrier would work, but she hoped to at least diminish the power of
the lasers, if even just by a little bit.
⧫⧫⧫
In
another area, An’ne sat in her carriage with her guards surrounding her. The
carriage itself was quite spacious and was being pulled by a Night Deer. A kind
of deer from the other world that was actually very docile. It liked to pull
things, so it was perfect for pulling carriages and wagons. They were used
throughout the entire otherworld as a means to power their transportation.
“High Priestess, why have
you decided to start a missionary quest?” Garret asked.
“I
am doing it because our Goddess lacks followers. Her power will only grow
stronger if she has enough followers. I overheard Apostle Juna speak of it
before, saying that for our Goddess to evolve she needs ten thousand followers.
There are barely five thousand in our kingdom.” Of course, Juna tactfully said
this when she knew An’ne was around since An’ne was a devout follower of
Desaray’s now.
“I
see. It would be good if she could evolve. If she became stronger, then our
holy kingdom would be able to stand against all the other nations with ease. I
am glad you decided to take this into your own hands, High Priestess. I know I
was once from a human kingdom, but after spending time under the rule of our
Goddess, I have come to understand that all races are equal. We should not
discriminate against others just because we are different. No race should think
they are better than another. I am glad this merger has happened since it has
allowed me to see the light and see that only one true Goddess should oversee
the lands. Praise the Ice Goddess!” Garret lowered his head and cupped his
hands. He hoped that They could fulfill their duty and help their Goddess
evolve.
“We
only have two weeks, and we probably can only reach the first settlement, but
from Apostle Juna’s investigation, it has over ten thousand beastmen. Maybe
more. It seems the entire capital of the Western Beast Kingdom had dropped into
this world.” An’ne had high hopes. With her status as a Dragon Princess and her
determination to describe how amazing her Goddess was, she hoped to at least
make up for the lack of followers her Goddess needed. This was why she made her
team up of different races. There were Elves, Gorcs,
Toblins, Dwarves, Devil Hogs, and Humans. She wanted a big mix to show the
world that their Holy Kingdom did not discriminate due to race, that they lived
in harmony and followed an amazing Goddess who loved all.
Afterword
Volume
3! I want to thank everyone who has picked up Volume 3. It means a lot to me
that you are reading and enjoying my novels. I have many other novels also in
the works at the moment as well. One of which is currently on preorder: Beyond
Respawn: A Gamer's Rebirth (Volume 1)
Hopefully,
with the help of my new editor, the upcoming volumes of all my novels will be
more readable.
That
being said… I want to give a special thanks to my new artist, Marina. She has
done some amazing work with the new covers, starting from Volume 2.
I
also want to thank Clayden Reid-Stephens, my new editor, who has been helping
me a lot. He has pointed out many issues and things that should be addressed.
Lastly,
I want to thank all my fans. It is because of you that I can continue writing
and enjoy what I really like doing. Bringing my stories to all of you.
You
can find this and many other novels of mine on my website, Fore-Lore.com, and
more advanced chapters on my Patreon.
Once again, thank you for picking up Volume 3! See you all next volume!
