《Heavenly Zenith》 1 Arrival at Greenwood Village "Damn, it''s so hot... I''m sweating so much that I look like I''m melting..." A young boy no older than 10 trudged through a seemingly endless savannah, as he had been for the last two days. He had no idea how he got into his current predicament, only knowing that he needed to escape the grassy tree-less expanse before he died of dehydration. "As amazing as this system is, the map is complete garbage... it just shows this sea of grass." [The World Map and its minor functions require its user to discover the locations in question, whether in person or via external means.] "That doesn''t help me right now, does it? My journey hasn''t even started and I''m already about to die. Do something so I don''t die, please!" The boy begged the system to aid his plight. After a minute of silence, a small sigh came from the system, vaguely male-sounding, [In terms of the World Map, this will be the only time that a location will be revealed without your discovery. Do not ask again.] Another minute passed before it continued, [Your HUD should be operating fine, but the compass was malfunctioning so I repaired it. On your compass, you should be able to see the red arrow for the north, along with a new teal arrow. Head towards that teal arrow, it''s the closest civilization in the area. Think of the teal arrows as waypoints.] "Bloody hell, thank you so much... Wait, have I been walking in circles?" [Well, apparently the compass kept altering direction to the center of the savannah, so yes, you''ve been walking an endless circle. Still, this world has large amounts of open space, so I didn''t think it was odd.] "Brilliant... well, as long as I get out of here, I''m happy." The boy, exhausted as he was, immediately headed towards the waypoint to the northeast. The thought of civilization after two days lost and without any nourishment made him move faster than he thought he was. Thinking of water and food, along with a bed to sleep on, the boy almost ran for more than a half-hour before he finally saw an empty dirt road and the beginning of a forest just across it. Not two minutes later was he standing on the road, facing the trees as he shouted loudly, "FINALLY MADE IT OUT!" This startled the birds and little animals nearby, making them scurry away in a flash. The boy smiled and shook his head before continuing northeast into the forest. A hunting trail meandered through the forest from the road, potentially leading directly to the village he was looking for. Still, the sudden change from direct sunlight for 2 days straight to shaded woods exhausted his mind faster than he expected. As exhaustion took its toll and began to put the boy to sleep, he heard voices and knew he was very close to the village. Only a couple more steps later did he stumble through some bushes and into a small field of herbs just outside the spiked wooden barricades protecting the village. His rather hasty rustling through the bushes alerted some of the field workers, who were mostly women and children. Thinking it was a beast, they had called for a guard, or more likely a defender, and the guard had only just arrived at the field by the time the boy stumbled into the open. Then, to their surprise, he just smiled, looked up at the sky... and fell face-first into the ground as he passed out. -- "Nnh... my head..." groaned the boy as he sat himself up from small cot on which he laid. "Whoa, whoa, slowly now. Take it easy, kiddo," came the voice of an old woman with greying hair and green-ish eyes sitting at a desk not far away. "We barely managed to stabilize your condition, so don''t you go making it worse again." He blinked and was about to speak when his belly growled loud enough to startle both himself and the old woman. As he began blushing, the old lady chuckled, "There''s some hot soup on that small table beside the bed. Eat slowly. If you try and eat it all in one go, you''ll be spewing most of it out later." The boy could hear her rustling around her desk while he carefully ate the surprisingly delicious soup, making a sound that was not unlike that of a salt grinder. Over that sound, and of himself eating, he could hear what sounded like a bubbling liquid. A variety of scents pervaded the small home, herbal smells mixed with those of cooking and of nature just outside. After he finished the soup, cautiously placing the bowl down again, he said, "Thank you very much for helping me..." The old lady smiled as she worked away, "It''s what I do, kiddo. I might not be the village chief, but my status as the herbalist and healer puts me almost even with one. Other than that, I''m more impressed you survived two days in the Dreamless Savannah and still manage to get here." While he was surprised, it wasn''t too much, as he had expected a healer to be able to figure out what he''d been through to be in such bad condition. "Still, you didn''t have to help me..." "That is true, I did not have to. However, I''ve got a soft spot for children. Probably because I''m getting old..." She sighed quietly, "Other than that, there are other reasons why I helped you... such as the village''s guardian spirit wishing for you to be saved." The boy''s ears perked up, "Guardian spirit?" "Yes, a guardian spirit. It''s not time for you to meet the spirit yet, though, but you will one day. For now, get some more rest. It''ll be morning in a few hours, and then you should be good to go... physically at least." "Thank you, again... My name is Seran..." he bowed a little towards her before lying back down and almost immediately returning to sleep before he could hear her response. The old herbalist smiled again, looking back at him with a light sigh, "Going right back to sleep before I can tell him my name... Oh well, I''ll just tell him when he wakes up. The poor boy needs his rest." -- The next morning, Seran woke up to discover some newly sewn clothes beside him on the small side table. His previous ones had long since been worn well past the thread, to the point where he looked like even his underwear was nothing but a patch held together with a few pieces of thread. Half of the reason for that was because of his status as a slum orphan, while the other half was involved in him getting lost and worn out. As he slipped on the last piece, a slightly rough but still fitting shirt, the old herbalist came in with a small wicker basket full of herbs, "Ah, good morning, Seran. I see you''ve put on the clothes sewn by the village''s best seamstress. She almost immediately got to work on it. Didn''t sleep all night so when she went back to help in the fields, I chased her back home to sleep." Smiling, Seran nodded, "Yes, they fit perfectly. I need to thank her later." He continued to look himself over, making sure he looked moderately decent. "Since you fell asleep last night, I didn''t get to introduce myself in return. I am Eleanor Greenwood, current herbalist, and healer for this little village, as I have been for nearly 300 years," said the herbalist, who Seran was astonished to learn she was much, much older than what he expected. "Surprised? I''ve been in this Greenwood Village since it was founded by my father, Edric. My age has a lot to do with the guardian spirit and the elves much, much deeper in the forest." "Elves? This is the Primeval Forest?" said Seran incredulously. "Of course. We''re safe here for the most part because of the guardian spirit, our trade with the elves and the nearby kingdoms agreement to leave us as an independent village. The main reason for that is because we are the only human village that has ever been allowed to continue existing in the Primeval Forest, on top of which we have a good relationship with the elves. Our village is usually called the Gateway Village." Eleanor smiled and shook her head a little, "I still wonder why the Queen of the Elves allowed us to remain here, but the guardian spirit has never mentioned what it was, only that the founder made a deal that neither could refuse." "Do elves visit here often?" Seran was intrigued beyond all doubt, as he''d never met, let alone seen an elf. Eleanor laughed, "No, not often. Other than the two weeks in which a dozen or so elves come to trade towards the end of spring, we rarely get elven visitors. Still, it''s the best we could ask for." As Seran''s enthusiasm was curbed, she said, "However, sometimes, if you have great talent, the elves will request for you to be apprenticed to one of them. Most of my knowledge was given to me by the guardian spirit and by my master, who is a very old elf. You might just be lucky enough to catch their attention." After setting down her basket, Eleanor said, "Alright, come with me, kiddo. The village chief wants to meet you." His nerves starting to kick in, he nodded stiffly and followed behind her out of her house towards the chief''s house. 2 New Home Seran stayed on Eleanor''s heels on the way to the chief''s house, which was the only stone building in the village, along with being twice as big as the others. Apparently, it was meant to be used as a shelter in case of an attack, as the founder, Edric Greenwood, had a cellar dug out. "Once upon a time, our tiny village had only 3 people to protect it: my father, my brother, and my father''s childhood friend and war buddy, Uncle Shaun. The Dreamless Savannah was much more dangerous back then, and we were constantly being attacked by magic beasts. 3 years of living off everything we could get later, our guardian spirit came and protected us, as they have since... I''m getting nostalgic thinking about it," Eleanor sighed as she pushed her memories aside. "Anyway, the current chief is of the fifth generation and is my brother''s great-great-grandson. Eamon was just like our father, a natural leader, and it seems to run in the family. Meanwhile, I''m the one keeping their heads on straight." The young boy nodded as he listened to Eleanor talk about the past, her family and the chief. He rarely made any noises, except for some surprised noises at some of the things he saw here and there. It didn''t take very long to reach the chief''s house, to which Eleanor unceremoniously opened the door and said loudly, "Etienne, where are you?" She glared around the house. Through a doorway came a lightly tanned man only a few inches taller than Eleanor, roughly 5.9ft (180cm) tall, with dark brown hair and green eyes. His face and physique made him look no older than 40, yet his eyes had a childlike spark to them. "I''m coming, nan, I''m coming." Just like the rest of the villagers, he wore simple clothes, except for the leather boots on his feet. Seeing Seran, he smiled and held out his hand rather warmly, "Nice to meet you, Seran. I am the Greenwood Village Chief, Etienne Greenwood." Seran awkwardly shook his hand, "Nice to meet you too, sir... I''m sorry about the trouble I''ve caused." Etienne laughed, "No worries. If anything, I think we''d have more trouble if we didn''t save you. I don''t think I''ll survive a rampage of angry women if I let a kid die." "And you''d better remember that, young man, or nan will add a bump to your forehead," said Eleanor, staring pointedly at the chief, who immediately held his hands over his head. Apparently, he''d taken more than a few knocks to the head before. Shifting awkwardly in place, Seran asked, "I-is it okay if I live in the village..? I don''t exactly have a home anymore..." Etienne was about to answer when the old herbalist cut in, "Definitely. You can live here, there''s an empty room that used to be my brother''s before he became chief. It''s been empty for a long time." The chief shook his head with a smile, knowing that his nan had made her choice and wouldn''t let him change it. Besides, he had wanted the young lad to stay anyway. "Just like nan said, you can stay here. Until she approves of you to be able to help around the village, you don''t have to help with the fields or other tasks the children handle, nor can you go exploring the forest. That said, there''s not much to do around here. You''ll have to come up with your own entertainment, just like the rest of us. Understood, Seran?" When the boy nodded, Etienne clapped his hands and said, "Good, then it''s settled. From now on, you are a Greenwood Village resident. If nan approves, you can go explore the village, but not outside it." "That''s fine, a little exploration of his new home is okay. But if you go outside the village, kiddo, this granny will give you a couple knocks to the head." The old herbalist held up her cane with a smile that wasn''t a smile, causing Seran to nod hastily as he followed her out, waving to Etienne as he did. Sitting in a wooden chair, Etienne watched them through the window next to him, "A good kid, that one. He just might be the one that the guardian spirit was looking for, the one prophecized to change our little village into an empire." Looking towards the sky, he muttered, "The Oracle never said when it would happen, only that it would. Still, even if he isn''t, this will always be his home." -- Seran meandered through the village, looking at the scenery and taking in the sights of his new home. Eleanor had lightly patted him on the head after they left and told him to go look around. Everything attracted his interest, despite the many things he''d seen before. It''s probably because this was his home now, while everything else was just the places he had to look at whilst he lived in the slums. Suddenly, startling Seran, the system said, [I''ve got some good news and some bad news.] Nearly cursing out loud, Seran thought, "Damn it all, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" [Just because I''ve been silent doesn''t mean I''m not here, Seran. Anyway, good and bad news for you.] "What is it about, William?" [Well, it''s about the same thing, really. You know what that is, though.] "... Tell me the bad news then." [Bad news is that you still have two more weeks until the system lock ends.] "Oh, thank fuck. It''s been two years since we got here... it''s about fucking time." [No kidding. I couldn''t even help you most of the time. Anyway, the good news is that your access won''t be at a regular user level as it was supposed to be... Apparently, you''ve been given the developer and administrator controls... along with a lot of ridiculous things like being able to edit skill grades, attributes, and even alter the world around you far more than just the original kingdom management you had before with user-grade access... Don''t know how it happened, but it''s probably a good thing!] Seran nearly fell over when he heard this news, followed by barely keeping himself from jumping up and down in pure joy. "I can finally stop being so weak! Two years of weakness and starvation will finally end!" [Two more weeks, Seran, two more weeks. Now that you''ve got a good home, that time will fly by.] Seran sat down on a rock in the village next to the well in the central square, doing his best to calm his racing heart while he looked back on everything he''d been through until now. -- It''d been two full years since he was thrown into this world, so to speak, and he''d spent every minute of it in poverty low enough to make him steal just to be able to survive. Several times he''d come close to dying from starvation or from being beaten by slum gangs, and even when he wasn''t dying, he was damn close to being just a stretch from it. From slum gangs to nobles, and even guards, Seran was pretty sure he''d felt the feet of all of them at least once. Seran only remembered one thing about how he got into this world, and that was it involved a dimensional tear appearing suddenly in his house. Outside of feeling his body being shredded into dust, and watching his house suffering the same fate, all he could think of was, "Why me!?" He never got an answer to that question, or to why it happened on his 21st birthday. His family, to his relief, hadn''t been home at the time, or they would have joined him. Instead, he woke up in the body of a boy who''d just died of starvation with one of those systems that appear in novels and things like them. The system was sentient, with its own personality, and the two of them didn''t know why, or how they were even together, or alive for that matter. However, they both more-or-less accepted that they were bound together, and all they could do was do their best to survive... until the system''s abilities suddenly, and mysteriously, locked up. While he had managed to gain a lot within the first week he was in this world that didn''t require the system, the loss of it for two years had cost him a lot. Without the help of the system, his rate of successful theft had dropped so drastically that it was less than 5% possible for him to pull it off, no matter what it was. The fact that he survived in and of itself was almost miraculous. It was about four days ago that he''d finally been given what could only be called a heaven-sent chance at escaping his current life as a petty slum thief. All that he''d known was the city he had arrived in, and he''d never been lucky enough to read books to learn about the world. Thankfully, he''d already learned how to read and speak all of the world''s languages, so he could still learn from hearsay. A merchant caravan was planning to go towards the human city closest to the Primeval Forest, a fortress city named Lightwood, after the ancient general who defended the then motte-and-bailey castle-town from a month-long siege by a horde of orcs and ogres nearly 800 years ago. He''d heard of Lightwood Fortress before, and how it was one of the kingdom''s few recruiting locations without much prejudice. As it was his only hope to change his life for the better, Seran took a chance and asked, after nearly half a day in a kowtow before the caravan, if he could ride along with them. He explained how he wanted to be a soldier, and that only Lightwood Fortress would allow him to become one. After Seran vowed not to touch anything without permission, the caravan leader eventually took pity on him and allowed him to ride on the outside of the caravan, on the roof. However, bad luck seemed to follow him everywhere. A rough storm approached during their first day into their journey, with very strong winds. The merchants and their guards had grown used to such conditions and quickly began to strap everything to the ground no matter where they were standing. A large covered structure, similar to a modern horse trailer but far longer, made of wood and nearly hollow, had its wheels pulled off in practiced ease for the horses to take shelter inside. Seran, despite his inexperience, did his best to help. While he was only useful for small things like passing ropes and stakes around, making sure the ropes were taut, and relaying information between the carriages, several of the guards appreciated that the young slum child was brave enough to help with such strenuous tasks. During one information relay, a gust of wind suddenly slammed like a tidal wave into the caravan. While most of the guards were prepared, and those that weren''t were still capable of recovering their stability, and none of their merchandise was lost, Seran''s malnourished and weakened body was light enough to get yanked off his feet and thrown far, far away, his scream of terror almost drowned out by the raging storm. The guards could only watch with mixed emotions as the courageous boy was dragged away by misfortune. Sunlight was the first thing that Seran experienced when he recovered. He''d passed out after the windstorm''s impressive gust had sent him nearly a kilometer between the repetitive bounces he suffered on impact with the ground. He honestly thought that he was dead at first, but he managed to accept his reality... that he was lost in an endless expanse of grass... That is how Seran found himself in the Dreamless Savannah, two days prior. A boy that had planned to change his misfortune had instead been forcibly taken from his hopes. As for how he survived those two days in the Dreamless Savannah, he didn''t know, as most of it was a blur of exhaustion. What he knew now, though, was that he was given that second chance that he''d desperately wished for. Now, he could finally change his life for the better. 3 Little Monkey "Seran, can you give me a hand? Sammy managed to get his toy on the roof somehow." "I''m on it, Ms. Mary," said the young boy as he took a running start towards one of the houses. Jumping just high enough to step onto a windowsill, Seran kicked off on a slightly sideways angle to catch the corner of the roof and swing himself to be parallel to the ground. Thankfully, the village houses didn''t have steeply built roofs, so he was able to roll a little upward. After getting his balance, he got to his feet and made his way to the center of the roof, where a little sewn teddy bear with calming herbs mixed with ground leaves and grass inside lay. After the boy grabbed the stuffed bear, he went to the edge of the roof and, just for added flair, fell forward into a front flip, landing deftly on his feet. A lady in her mid-to-late-twenties, sitting with her 5-year-old son on her lap, watched with amazement once again at the display by the agile lad. Both mother and son had light gold hair, while the latter had blue eyes instead of the former''s brown irises. Little Samuel clapped and cheeredwith visible awe, as he usually did when Seran gave him a show, "Big brother''s so cool!" As Seran was about to give Samuel his toy back, he suddenly pulled it back. Crossing his arms in an over-expressed manner, he gave the smaller boy a look as he said, "Sammy, did you throw this up there just so you can see me do tricks for you?" Blushing a little as his ''plan'' was uncovered, Samuel looked down and nodded, "Y-yes, big brother..." He was always fascinated by Seran''s skills, to the point where he''d once asked to learn them. Seran said he couldn''t for three reasons: one was that his mother wouldn''t let him; another was that he was too young; the last one was because it''s far too dangerous to do as a child. When Samuel asked why the older boy knew it, a bleak look crossed Seran''s face as he said that Samuel was better off not knowing why. With a smile, Seran gave Samuel a hug after giving him his teddy bear. "Sammy, you know you can just ask for me to show you." The smaller boy nodded a little as he returned the hug, "I know... but big brother is busy sometimes so I can''t ask..." "For my little brother, I can take some time to show off. Now, next time, don''t throw your bear on the roof, just ask me, okay?" Seran gave Samuel a ruffle of his hair when he nodded, "Good." Mary watched as Seran gave his little brother a little speech and hug, a grin on her face the whole time. Samuel then ran off to play with his closest friend, Lila, who lived right next door, as his mother thanked the older boy, "Thanks again, Seran. You still have a way to get Sammy to listen." He shrugged calmly, "No worries, Ms. Mary. He''s like a little brother to me, and as the big brother, I''m supposed to be a good role model for him. The big brother should always be there for his little brother." "Nonetheless, thank you again. Having a reliable child like you in the village is a blessing." Seran shyly scratched his head as he smiled, "Thank you, ma''am... it''s almost time to go inside for the night, so I should be heading back. Have a good night, ma''am." Hearing the farewell from Mary, the boy began his short walk home. It''d been two weeks since he first arrived in Greenwood Village, and almost immediately he was a part of the large family that was the villagers. Even before Eleanor had given him permission to do fieldwork and the like, he helped with the smaller jobs like sewing and helping with other children. As he was very mature for his age, the adults in the village often forget about his age, paying more attention to his very reliable nature. The children loved him like a big brother, so it became his honorary ''title'', and the adults often asked him to help with things around the village. When he was cleared for work, he helped as much as he could. Fieldwork, making sure the village barricades and houses were still in good shape and helping the hunters with their kills. More than a few times, some of the villagers would watch him doing some exercises in the morning to keep his body fit. After explaining what he was doing and the purpose of the exercises, several people joined his morning routine. Despite the mild discomfort after finishing the movements, the participants noticed that they felt much calmer, along with a minor boost to their energy. After a week of his exercises past, results began showing, in the hunters especially as they brought in an additional 10% more than the usual amount for their semiweekly hunts. As young as he was, Seran was now an irreplaceable person in the village in several ways. The village, to him, was just as irreplaceable; it was his first true home, and he loved it far more than he''d expected to at first. Etienne was sitting in his chair when Seran entered with a casual announcement of his return, drinking a cup of herbal tea that Eleanor was especially proud of. The fireplace crackled across from him, the warm light making him look both younger and older. "Welcome back, kiddo. Did you have fun?" The village chief always asked this question with the same childish look in his eyes. "Mostly. Only one thing troublesome happened today, but it wasn''t anything major. Some of the crows that nest atop Elder Marcus''s house were being naughty. One of them kept swooping over little Airi''s head and scaring her, while two more were playing tug-of-war with one of the barricade ropes that were being replaced. If not for them being relatively harmless, along with being raised by Elder Marcus, I''d have given them a good kick." The chief laughed, "Those birds are at it again? Don''t mind them, they''re very naughty. The biggest one used to love mocking me. Nan could probably tell you about the times that he followed right behind me, trying to copy how I walked, only to hide out of my line of sight whenever I looked. Smart little bugger, he is." After a small grunt of agreement, Seran sat in front of the fireplace, on the cold stone floor that contrasted with the warmth of the fire. He sighed as he stared into the flickering fire, "Two weeks... I can barely believe two weeks have gone by so fast." Sipping his tea a little, Etienne teased, "Yes, it has. Two weeks since Greenwood Village''s little monkey arrived." Seran gave the chief a look, "That''s rich coming from a gorilla." The ''gorilla'' in question laughed for a good minute before managing to settle his amusement. "At least your monkey skills are being used for good things now." After the first week, the young boy had decided to explain why he had outstanding skills in feats of agility and stealth to the chief and the old herbalist, but without mentioning his cheat-like system. The latter, despite her age having strengthened her emotional control, felt tears coming to her eyes as she heard what Seran had suffered through. Etienne, on the other hand, was amazed at his willpower, as not many would be able to force themselves to survive in such conditions. Most people in the slums of the kingdom that he''d come from, which Eleanor had visited on her family''s journey to the village''s land, were in such bad shape that less than 1-in-5 would survive each year. The boy nodded just a bit, "I guess so... One day, though, I want to do something about that kingdom... and maybe find that merchant caravan. If not for them taking me along, I''d never have made it here." "I''m sure you''ll be able to, soon enough... There''s some bread and meat in the kitchen if you''re going to eat. It''s almost harvest time, so we''ll be getting more vegetables, along with some visitors from the elves." Before Seran could say anything, Etienne cut him off, "There''s still another two weeks until harvest, so don''t get too excited. Tomorrow''s going to be a big day for you. He had a mysterious yet playful look as he smiled at the boy. "Alright, alright... well, good night," said the boy as he headed to his room, snagging the bread and meat on the way. He heard Etienne answer in kind as he reached his doorway. He''d only taken two bites of bread and meat before he heard a chime from the system, along with William''s anxious yet excited voice. [It''s almost time!] 4 Freedom and Rebirth Seran was fidgeting in place, munching on his bread-and-meat meal as he saw a countdown appear in his vision, along with a robotic voiceover. [10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 0. Activating system protocols... administrator access granted... developer console control applied... All systems online. Welcome, user.] Seran felt a part of his being suddenly expanding, giving him a massive spiritual shock. The HUD flickered and glitched repeatedly before reforming with greater detail and with new features. The side menus had multiplied with the number of new options. While Seran''s mind was recovering from the startlingly powerful stimulus, William''s excited voice chimed in, [Ah, I feel so free!] The system''s lockdown had caged William even more than Seran, as the latter at least had a physical body. Being able to finally do things again made him happier and unfettered. A moment passed as Seran managed to overcome the spiritual shock from the system''s lockdown rescinding. His first thought was to check his status page, which he''d been unable to do since it shut down. -- Name: Seran (No surname) Age: 10 Class: Novice/Newbie Level: 5 Bloodline(s): N/A HP: 250/250 MP: 100/100 Attributes: STR: 12 AGI: 18 DEX: 16 END: 20 VIT: 16 INT: 26 WIS: 26 LCK: 10 CHA: 16 -- Seeing his stats had changed quite a bit since he last checked, Seran wasn''t surprised. Instead, he was thrilled to be able to see it again. Greenwood Village didn''t have any connection to an Adventurers Guild, so nobody actually knew much about their levels or stats. The aforementioned Guild was only able to check names, classes, levels, titles and criminal records save for a few of the major guild branches that had higher grade inspection items. "Those two years at least were worth something.My endurance went up by 10." [Definitely. Your agility and dexterity rose by 5 since then too, with the amount of escaping you had to do back in the city... Oh, right, look in your inventory! There''s some new stuff!] The eager boy pulled up his inventory to see his infinite storage full of new items, along with an item preview on the right side. It even showed his current appearance. With his oddly white hair color and purple irises, the frail and light-tanned reflection of Seran himself appeared in his vision. "Oh wow, that''s what I look like..? I look so strange..." His face had a slightly girlish look to it, along with his physique, making him look very cute. [Don''t ask me, I don''t know any more about that than you do. Anyway, look at the stuff in your inventory!] As Seran went through his inventory, he made sure to check over the items he knew he''d had before the lockdown. A handful of gold coins and a few jewels he''d lifted from a rich merchant, a pair of matching enchanted daggers with numerous chips on the edges, a case of silver acupuncture needles stolen from a healer and a gold ring he''d taken from a drunkard. All things he''d been unable to access without the system. Next to them, on the other hand, were three new items. -- [Ultimate Gacha Package] x1 This package is given to all new users and contains 100 Gacha tickets to be used with the three Gacha vendors. Tickets have no expiration date and can be used at any time. [Ultimate Starter Package] x 1 The best starter pack a user could ask for. It contains the following:250 attribute points, 250 skill points, 250 magic/technique points, 5 random passive abilities, 1 random bloodline, 50 health and mana potions, and a one-time use key that will allow the user to be almost any class simultaneously. [Divine Booster Package] x 5 The DBP contains two random items of Divine rarity. No more than 5 DBPs can be used by one user. -- "Holy shit, that''s insane! I knew there was one shop but there are 3 Gacha vendors too!?" [Apparently there''s even more than that, I''m still looking through everything. The 3 Gacha vendors are separated in what they do. The Cursed Gacha gives you something you need, while the Blessed Gacha gives you something you want. The Random Gacha will literally give you anything at random from a specified category. Say, a random ore. It''ll give you a random ore regardless of its grade.] William was still flipping through the other menus while he explained the Gachas to Seran, who was almost losing his mind from joy. "Ah, I can barely believe it! Let me open them!" Seran said as he bounced around the room. After clicking on each on the UGP and the USP, then selecting ''Use'', he gained: -- Gacha Tickets x100 Health Potions x50 Mana Potions x50 Master Class Key x1 250 Unassigned Attrib Pts. 250 Unassigned Skill Pts. 250 Unassigned M/T Pts. Passive Skills: [Meta Regeneration] [Water Monarch] [Infinite Flight] [Absorption] [Beast Mastery] [Zeus Bloodline] -- Suddenly being hit with a wave of drowsiness, Seran''s last thought was, "This is going to be epic!" -- The next morning, the young boy was woken up by a crow the size of a tiger cub fluttering in and pecking him in the forehead. "Agh! You little featherbrain, come here!" The crow cawed in a mocking tone and expertly flew back to the fireplace and outside. "Stupid bird..." grumbled Seran as he rubbed his reddening forehead. Etienne stuck his head in with a mildly teasing look, "He likes you, in his own special way. If he didn''t like you, he wouldn''t be messing with you. Trust me, he still tries to pull one over on me from time to time. You''re only getting pecked, just wait until he''s trying to drop snakes on you." This made the boy turn pale, "Has that really happened to you?" "Storm is a bit of a prankster, and he loves doing very over-the-top things, but he''s still very protective of the village. Don''t be fooled by his appearance, or those of his kin. All of them are rare magic beasts, rare enough to have 1% of the Golden Crow''s bloodline. Storm is even more so, as he was born atavistic, with 10%." The village chief chuckled, "They always warn us when a bad storm is coming, some of which have saved villagers in the past." "I know they''re cool and all, but it''s hard to take them seriously when the biggest one loves pranking me," Seran grumbled a little again. Etienne shook his head with a grin before looking over Seran seriously, "Something about you is different... I''m not sure what... it might be because today is the day you''ll be going to Lightwood Fortress''s Adventurer Guild. As today is your 10th birthday, by Aregard tradition we are going to awaken your class." "I can''t wait!" The boy wasn''t lying when he said he couldn''t wait to do so; it meant he could finally become a real professional. "Get ready then, kiddo. The two of us will be going together, as will Storm." When the chief got an incredulous look in response, he said, "If I know that bird, he''ll immediately follow us. He thinks it''s his duty to protect the village children... and that he thinks I''ll get us lost." Seran rolled his eyes, "I''ll get ready. Give me a couple of minutes." "No worries, I''ve got to get some things I have to get before we head out." Etienne walked off with a chuckle, heading to his office. Closing his room door, the boy called up his new status: -- Name: Seran (No surname) Age: 10 Class: Novice/Newbie Level: 5 Bloodline(s): Zeus Affinities: Water (Divine), Lightning (Divine), Darkness (Average) HP: 1000/1000 MP: 250/250 Attributes: STR: 24 (^12) AGI: 18 DEX: 16 END: 20 VIT: 50 (^34) INT: 26 WIS: 26 LCK: 24 (^14) CHA: 26 (^10) -- "Wow, it went up quite a bit." [Naturally, dude. Zeus was the Greek king of the gods, so it''s unlikely for his bloodline to be weak. Still, you need to use your Gacha tickets and the DBPs. You also need new abilities and techniques.] "I''ll do that later. Right now, I need to use the shop function..." [You don''t really even need to, to be honest. Just ask me to use the developer console to do what you need. There are only a few things that it can''t help with.] "I need skills related to weapon proficiency, lightning, water..." [I''d also recommend escape techniques... While I get to it, use your attribute points.] Seran nodded began distributing his unnecessarily abundant points. With a variety of internal debates over distribution, he eventually made the following changes: -- HP: 25000/25000 MP: 10,000/10,000 Attributes: STR: 50 (^26) AGI: 70 (^52) DEX: 60 (^44) END: 50 (^30) VIT: 50 INT: 50 (^24) WIS: 50 (^24) LCK: 50 (^26) CHA: 50 (^24) -- After looking it over, Seran noticed he was close to being an all-rounder type of fighter, which would suit what he hoped to do in the future. "This will do, I guess." [Alright, I''ve added new normal and professional skills, along with the abilities for you.] William pulled up Seran''s full list of skills. -- Skills: All Weapon Proficiency: 1/10 (Combined from multiple skills) Master Thief: 1/10 (Combined from multiple skills) Silent Steps: 7/10 Hand-to-Hand Combat: 1/10 Exotic Weapon Proficiency: 1/10 Spellcasting Proficiency: 1/10 Blacksmith: 1/10 Enchanting: 1/10 First Aid: 1/10 Cooking: 1/10 Crafting: 1/10 Tailoring: 1/10 Herbalism: 1/10 Mining: 1/10 Appraisal: 1/10 Alchemy: 1/10 Omnilingualism: 1/10 (Upgraded from Language) Beast Mastery: 1/10 Water Monarch: 1/10 Absorption: 1/10 Physical Resistance: 7/10 Mental Resistance 7/10 Elemental Resistance 2/10 Infinite Flight: 1/10 Meta Regeneration: 1/10 Immunity to: Water, Lightning Spells: [Summon: Weapon], [Summon: Shield], [Tsunami], [Imbue Element], [Enchant], [Alchemy], [Thunder Barricade], [Rainstorm], [Call Rain], [Master Heal], [Muffle Sound], [Quench], [Stormbird], [Truesight Orb], [Water Dragon] Abilities: [Water God Body], [Water God Combat Style], [Thunder God Body], [Thunder God Combat Style], [Camouflage], [Shadow Step], [Lightning Transformation], [Water Transformation], [Aegis], [Fade Out], [Escape Artist], [Flash Step], [King''s Aura] -- [You''ve got a shit ton of good things... You can figure them out by yourself, it''s too much for me to talk through. Use your skill points to upgrade them. Just so you know, the required points to upgrade them increase by 1 per level. and to upgrade them requires double the maximum. Combining is an exception, though, but that''s not going to happen much...] William sounded slightly distracted as he was still busy going through all of the things in the system that he was part of. [Shit, I almost forgot. Get your butt out the door, hairball, you''ve got a date with destiny today!] "Har de har har, William," muttered Seran as he headed out of his room. Etienne was waiting for him by the front door with a smile, a jade pendant carved into a tree around his neck. The chief was mildly confused again at Seran''s sudden and inexplicable change but shrugged it off. The two soon headed to the edge of the village, to the hunting trail that the boy had once come through. 5 Lightwood Fortress Journey As Etienne had predicted, Storm spontaneously swooped over Seran''s head after the two travelers had reached the road. The latter irritably shouted after the big crow, which circled back around to land on Etienne''s shoulder with a high-and-mighty posture. The chief just smiled and gave Storm a couple of small scratches on his chest, which made the big crow look goofy as his beak opened like a dog would when it was scratched just right. [You know, you should be paying more attention to your minimap...] William continued to ingest more and more information from the database, including the hidden locations, along with major hubs to add to the World Map. Seran didn''t answer that, as he knew William was correct. As he glared at the crow, who proceeded to look haughty, the boy thought, "Hey, are there any abilities to purify bloodlines, or to evolve creatures?" [Of course, but the prerequisite is that it can only be used on tamed ones. You can''t use them on untamed creatures. At least, not without having the highest grade of Beast Mastery... Speaking of which, you still need to use your skill points.] Seran had already gotten started on it when William mentioned it, and after using his skill points, his skills had changed. -- Skills: All Weapon Proficiency: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Master Thief: 3/10 (Combined from multiple skills) Silent Steps: 7/10 Hand-to-Hand Combat: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: 1/10 Spellcasting Proficiency: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Blacksmith: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Enchanting: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) First Aid: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Cooking: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Crafting: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Tailoring: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Herbalism: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Mining: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Appraisal: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Alchemy: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Omnilingualism: 10/10 Max! Beast Mastery: 10/10 Max! (Evolution Available) Water Monarch: 3/10 Absorption: 2/10 Physical Resistance: 7/10 Mental Resistance 7/10 Elemental Resistance 5/10 Infinite Flight: 3/10 Meta Regeneration: 10/10 Max! -- [Several evolutions are available, but you need skill points to evolve them, so don''t worry right now. Upgrade your abilities too. Some of them are in submenus of their parent skill, so don''t worry about not seeing them.] "I''m just going to use 70 of them to max out [Shadow Step], [Summon: Weapon], [Flash Step], [Camouflage], and [Master Heal], along with Beast Mastery''s [Contract] and [Summon]." [Got it... ah, [Summon: Weapon] evolved into [Manifest: Weapon], while [Master Heal] evolved into [Grand Restoration]. Damn, those are some high-level abilities. The second one is a Tier 5 spell, while the first is a Tier 3.] Seran couldn''t help dancing merrily along the road, to which Etienne beamed and Storm cocked his head at the odd child. He didn''t even notice he was actually dancing for an audience until he got too close to the crow, who then gave him a wing smack to the face. "Agh, why''d you hit me, birdbrain?" The bird visibly rolled his eyes before looking away. The chief whose shoulder he sat on just laughed, "Storm, you''re goofy." The crow looked very smug, puffing up its feathery chest in pride. The boy glared deeply at the bird before saying, "You''re lucky you''re Elder Marcus''s bird, or I''d pluck out your feathers one by one." This made Storm puff up in anger, opening his wings a little like he was ready to swiftly charge at Seran. "Come on, you overgrown pigeon, you wanna fight?" Etienne then casually knocked Seran on the head before giving Storm a few scratches to calm him down. "You two need to knock it off. We won''t make it there until tomorrow if you start fighting." After glaring at each other again, they both simultaneously huffed poutily and turned away from each other. Nearly a half-hour passed before the silence was broken by Seran, who said quietly, "Chief... will I always be part of the village..?" Etienne''s expression morphed into a serious one, "Of course. No matter what, you will always be part of Greenwood Village''s big family. That''s not just my promise, but Nan''s and the guardian spirit''s." The latter part perked up Seran''s ears, "Even the guardian spirit?" He''d only heard stories about the guardian spirit and its wondrous abilities, but only the chief and elders can meet with it one-on-one. Only for the annual founding festival at the end of spring, which coincides with harvest time and the annual visit from the elves, does it ever come out of seclusion. "Undoubtedly. When they heard of you, they even expressed the desire to meet you after your job awakening. So, when we get back, you''ll get to meet them, and I won''t have to be so tight-lipped about them with you." The chief wore a pleased grin as he mused about just how special Seran was. "... So even if I told you my biggest secret, which might make the whole world my enemy, would you still say that..?" This made the chief ponder for a brief moment before bluntly stating, "Even then, you''d be a Greenwood Village family member. You''re already a big part of our home, and I think everyone would be angry or sad if you left... Besides, in just two weeks, you''ve already managed to make our village''s hunting teams stronger. That''s already a big deal." [Are you sure you want to tell them, Seran? You might end up hurting them if you do...] William knew of what his partner wanted and had mostly accepted his choice. Only, the potential risk it posed to the people they both cared about caused him to fret. Seran didn''t answer his partner directly, instead only nodding before looking at Etienne earnestly, "When we get back home, I want to tell you and nan about it... The elders and the spirit should know about it too... I''ll be honest, I''m very worried that telling you guys will be dangerous for the village, but I love the village too much... it''s my first true home here." Nodding silently, Etienne replied, "It must be very important if you worry that much, but don''t worry. We''ll always protect you. I think Nan would happily make you a Greenwood family member right now. I''ll call a village meeting when we get back." After getting Etienne''s firm stance on protecting him, the boy looked at Storm and intoned a brief spell, "Translate: Beast Language." The boy''s purple eyes twinkled magically while the crow''s glowed in kind, making the chief rather shocked. But it wasn''t anywhere near as shocking as what came next. A voice akin to a middle-aged man came from the crow as he spoke, "What a special child, indeed. Even Lady Spirit wouldn''t be able to use such an ability without her special traits..." The chief nearly jumped out of his skin, "What!? You can talk!?" The bird rolled his eyes and smacked Etienne in the face with his wing, "No shit, genius. This kid cast a spell to translate me into your language. How else do you think I can talk?" Storm gave the chief a withering look, not unlike the look one gives to someone you''re tired of dealing with. "Wait... Seran did? You knew such a rare skill, kiddo? That''s at least a Tier 4 skill." Etienne had trouble bringing his mind back to earth, even after Storm smacked him again. "Yeah, it''s a part of my secret, but not much of it... what''s next is a bigger part, though... Storm, do you want to make a contract with me?" Seran had a solemn look as he asked the avian his question. "A contract, with a brat like you? Why would I want to do that? What kind of benefits would I get for following a boy still wet behind the ears?" Storm, just like Elder Marcus, didn''t mince his words, each of which struck the boy in his heart. "I can help you evolve... and make your Golden Crow bloodline purer..." This stunned both of the older male beings, the human of which remained stunned in pure shock while the feathered one stammered, "W-wait, what did you say..?" "I said I can help you evolve. And there''s a chance I can help you evolve into a pureblood Golden Crow." Seran hadn''t been this pressing before, even in the village. This is why the two of them took this statement as serious. "My ancestral predecessors, the Golden Crows, have already gone extinct. Are you really certain you can do this? I have no reason to believe you can do it. Can you even prove that you are capable of it?" The crow was fidgeting a lot on Etienne''s shoulder, the latter of which was biting his lip because the bird was forgetting about his talons. Seran opened his mouth to affirm his confidence when his expression changed to one of alertness. "There''s a group of bandits coming towards us on the road... I can''t directly prove my certainty in being able to evolve you, but I can definitely prove something to you. Chief, I need you to not get involved with this upcoming fight... leave it entirely to me..." Etienne angrily glowered, "Absolutely not, Seran! These are bandits! You aren''t able to kill them by yourself! Even I and Storm together would be forced to escape from them! There''s no way you can do it!" A wing smack then interrupted the chief, the bird that owned it giving the boy a worried yet steadfast look. "Are you trying to prove your sincerity through combat..? "Yes, and I''m 100% certain that I can defeat these bandits alone... which is why I need you both to not get involved and just watch... let me prove to you that I will fulfill my promises." Seran even gave Etienne and Storm a clasped-hand bow to prove his honesty. After a great deal of inner deliberation, the two just barely decided to give the lad a chance. The human chief said, "Fine, but if you can''t, Storm will carry you out of the fight no matter what. Got it?" The bird nodded in agreement. After getting a rather half-hearted approval from the two, Seran stood up straight and faced towards the bandits as the dust cloud came closer and closer. 6 Bandits on the Road The trio stood in place, bodies tense as a group of roughly 30 bandits came riding down the road on horseback. Two wagons and a carriage were being towed by the bandits, the outside of which had half-dried blood and several gouges from combat. Most likely, they had just raided a caravan on the way, with these being their spoils. From the looks of the bandits, they were at most mildly injured, so they were either very good raiders or the guards were very bad... The bandits were laughing raucously, likely about their recent conquest when one of them spotted the three travelers. "Oi, boss! Look there!" Following his subordinate''s gesture, the bandit leader, a grizzled man with a goatee that was partially marred by a scar stretching from beneath his right eye to his chin, saw the trio and immediately smirked, "Ho-ho, looks like we''ve got another catch here, boys! A pair of peasants and a bird... the kid''s pretty cute, he might sell at a good price, but the man and bird aren''t needed." He pointed at a random pair of men and ordered them to catch the boy but kill the other two. Etienne and Storm watched the two men speed up towards them, their sabers already drawn for battle, and the human sharply inhaled, "Those two are both Fighters, around Level 3. I don''t think our village has anyone that can fight them head-on... Seran, are you sure?" Seran didn''t answer his chief. Instead, he muttered, "[Manifest Weapon]." The boy held up his arms as if to block an attack, the inside of his left wrist touching the back of his right, with the back of his hands facing towards the bandits. Starting from his closed fists, electricity began to spark and jump. The elemental lightning began to quickly take the form of two katars, each blade less than 1ft(30cm) long. After the uniquely-shaped daggers took shape, he dropped his arms to his sides. He then took a step forward, "[Flash Step.]" Witnesses only saw a boy create two odd weapons with the power of lightning before suddenly disappearing. Even his traveling companions had lost sight of him. However, their shock didn''t last too long, as he soon reappeared on the road behind the charging duo, his electric-blue daggers crackling. Behind him, as he straightened his post-charge stance, the two bandits continued charging for a short distance before red lines appeared on their necks. Seran stared with a cold expression at the bandit boss as a pair of heads separated from their bodies. Etienne''s jaw had dropped in astonishment, as had Storm''s beak. They looked at each other, then back at Seran... then rubbed their eyes. They both had only one thought, "Am I seeing things?" The bandit boss, on the other hand, recovered his shock quickly as his face turned red with anger. "This brat dared to kill my men! I''ve changed my mind. Boys, kill all 3 of them!" Ten more bandits surged forward, weapons at the ready, as their boss drew his sword to direct them. The boy continued to stare down his adversaries as he threw his katars at the first two bandits. Upon spearing the men, both weapons suddenly exploded, killing their targets. The residual lightning jumped to strike the next bandits, electrocuting them but not managing to kill them. Seran then held up two large orbs of lightning energy before throwing them up. "Stormbirds!" The two orbs glowed before seeming to unfold into the shape of two large birds reminiscent of kestrels. With cries like an eagle, the two birds dived downward to slam head-on into the bandits. Large discharges of lightning lit up the area, with four more men joining the dead. The birds did not explode, though they were weakened significantly as they deftly flew past the remaining four charging bandits and toward the boss. The boy punched the ground as he shouted his next ability, "Thunder Barricade!" From the ground in front of him, two barriers designed like ''cheval de frise'' erupted. As they were too close to slow down, the four horsemen collided with the electric blockades, causing all four horses and four riders to die by both electrocution and skewering. As the barricades dissolved and the eight bodies fell to the ground, Seran held up an outstretched hand towards the remaining 18 bandits, "Water Dragon!" His other hand threw up a lightning ball twice as big as the previous ones, "Stormbirds!" A massive outpour of water emitted from the boy''s palm, rocketing forward before expanding from the end. A large dragon head took form from the water, with the rest of its body soon following after it. With a great roar, it charged towards the bandits, with two newly formed lightning birds chasing its advance. Two men hastily moved to defend their boss from the first two stormbirds. At the cost of most of their energy and one arm each, they managed to protect him from the first attack. Then, they and four others charged to defend against the water dragon. The great beast roared before bursting into a large tidal wave that surged over the six defenders, pushing them back to crash into their comrades just as it slammed into them. By now, the ground around the caravans was covered in water, with no man still standing except for the boss, who had managed to jump above the tidal wave ahead of time. The boss landed heavily on the carriage roof, just in time to watch the two stormbirds cry and dive-bomb into the ground. Upon collision with the wet ground, powerful lightning coursed through the water and electrocuted every being on the ground, frying them with electricity. Seran then manifested a lightning bow, which he drew back and aimed at the bandit boss. The latter had decided to take the boy seriously back when his first two stormbirds killed four of his men, let alone now that he was the only one left. He dropped to the ground and charged towards the boy, who stood his ground with his bow drawn. Everything seemed to come to slow down as the distance between the combatants rapidly closed. Seran''s pupils shrank as he released his bowstring, launching a bolt of lightning at the bandit leader. His intended target, to his credit, moved his saber in front of his chest, taking the strike directly. After holding his stance and being forcibly slid backward a good 6m (10.685ft), the boss managed to deflect the remaining power off to the side. While he heavily panted, body covered in sweat, he looked up just in time to see another bolt of lightning blasting towards him. The boy, the village chief, and the bird watched together as the bandit boss attempted to rise and block the incoming attack, but only managed to get halfway into a defensive stance before the bolt struck him in the sternum and carved a hole through his body. The boy formed two more Water Dragons to charge onward and wash away the blood and gristle on the road, and two new stormbirds collected the bodies of the bandits, or what was left of them, into a pile on the side of the road. When those tasks were done, the four magic creations burst apart, with the water dropping harmlessly to the ground while the lightning quickly dissipated. He then turned back towards his companions. Two statues of complete shock stood where his companions were. Neither of them was blinking, moving, or even breathing. With jaws seemingly strained from being open so far, the human village chief and the magical crow seemed to have been petrified... until Seran threw a ball of water above them. The ball ruptured and dumped a good amount of water over the pair, who began sputtering and coughing. Storm cawed irritably, rapidly shaking his feathers in an attempt to dry himself. As he readied himself to screech at the boy, his feathers suddenly puffed up, making him look more like an angry ball of fluff. "You brat, now I''m all wet! Come here, let me scratch you some!" As Seran was trying not to laugh at the less-than-threatening bird, Etienne took another minute to calm himself down. When he had recovered some sense of mental strength, he said, "Seran... what was that..?" "That was part of my secret... but that''s not important right now. I''ll still be telling you when we get back. What is important is that you believe me now, right?" The two older males looked at each other before sighing, the bird grunting a little, "If we didn''t believe you by now, we''d have to be stupid..." Seran nodded lightly, "So... will you form a contract with me..?" The crow fidgeted a little before quietly mumbling, "Fine, I guess it won''t hurt..." The boy calmly intoned, "[Contract]." Once again, Seran and Storm''s eyes glowed purple briefly before a notification popped up in both beings'' visions. "The contract has been formed." The bird fluffed up a bit more at the strange thing in his vision, "What''s this unholy magic!? I can''t get rid of it! Ah, I''m seeing things! Get it away!" Seran rolled his eyes, "Storm, calm down. It''s part of my unique contract. Now, hang on, I''m going to do something for you." He then pulled up the ''Contracted Beast'' submenu and clicked on Storm''s name. -- Name: Storm Species: Ash Crow Level: 11 Grade: Rare Bloodline(s): Golden Crow (10%) -- "There we go... just a minute, almost done..." [You can do three things right now. You can purify his bloodline, teach him a skill, or give him a beast item.] William had mostly been silent for this, though he knew that Seran was keeping himself visibly strong. Internally, the system personality knew the boy was very close to throwing up. After all, it was his first time killing. "Purify Storm''s bloodline," Seran stated. [You got it.] The bird continued to be very worried until he began to feel the heat... a lot of heat... followed by mild pain. "Why is it so hot and itchy..?" "Storm, land on the road. You''re going to experience a lot of heat and pain for a minute, but you''ll be okay." "WHAT!?" Seran gave him a serious expression, "Unless you want to rip off the chief''s arm, do it!" The crow blanched before dropping to the ground with a slight glide. Sure enough, he began to feel exactly what Seran had said he would. Squawking and screeching with pain as he rolled on the ground. Etienne and Seran were forced to watch for a good five minutes before the bird began to glow brightly before a pillar of flame erupted upward. At the top of the tall flame, a large pair of wings spread as a flaming crow took form. When it spread its wings, it cried powerfully before the flame, and itself, dispersed. The two looked at the ground, where Storm had been. In the black crow''s place was now a brilliantly golden crow that was visibly confused. 7 Golden Crows Return The shiny bird spread his wings and looked himself all over, "Gold feathers... a general feeling of power... a minor desire to spit fire for no reason... is this what I think it is?" Seran pulled up Storm''s new status window before sending it to the bird''s vision, "This is your new information." -- Name: Storm Species: Golden Crow Level: 20 (^9) Grade: Divine (New!) Bloodline(s): Golden Crow (100%) -- The little crow looked through the floating information box and screeched in surprise upon reading his species, "I''m a Golden Crow now!?" The boy nodded, "The first Golden Crow in more than a million years. After purifying your bloodline, your grade went up from Rare to Divine, which is a good 4 or 5 grades difference. You also went up 9 levels, and you will gain levels much faster than before. You should also be capable of changing your size." Etienne was dumbstruck once again as he watched the newly reborn Golden Crow wiggle before swiftly growing to become the size of an adult elephant. "Holy shit, this is incredible... More than incredible, this is insane! A new Golden Crow!" Seran smiled and turned around to head towards the wagons and carriage, "Come on, chief, let''s check and see if there''s anything important here. Storm, you can go fly around the area, get used to your new power." The big bird cawed with joy as he immediately took off, buffeting the area with his wings. Etienne took a minute to watch the gleeful bird with a wondrous grin before shaking his head to clear it. He quickly caught up with Seran, who had just reached the carriage which had led the two wagons. The boy opened the carriage doors and looked inside. "I don''t see anyone, chief... Looks completely empty. They likely killed everyone earlier." The chief nodded solemnly, "I''d have to say the same. The battle marks on the outside attest it as well... Look for any secret compartments. Merchant caravans often have such things, just in case." While Etienne searched the outside of the carriage for any oddities, Seran did likewise on the inside. Two or three compartments were uncovered, within which were small coin purses, the contents of which totaled just over 300 gold coins. After storing them in his Inventory, the boy continued looking around. Out of a spontaneous hunch, he knocked on the floorboards a few times. He heard a hollow sound when he rapped against the front side of the carriage seat''s frame, "Hmm..." Etienne came back as Seran was fiddling around with the frame, his clothes very dusty, "Under the carriage, I found a key and a seal that I don''t recognize. Might be important, so we''ll have to find out at the fortress... what are you doing?" "This seat sounds hollow, and I''m certain that something is in here. Help me find a way to open it. I can''t find a latch or anything, but there has to be something to open it... A hidden switch, a button, something around here..." Seran continued twiddling around the carriage in an attempt to locate anything that could open it. As he was doing so, his right knee nudged a spot on the door-jam, which made a clicking sound that alerted the two, especially when half of the seat''s frame popped out, like a modern sliding door design. Upon pulling the wooden plank out, Seran and Etienne found, hidden under the seat, a child much younger than Seran. A little boy, maybe 4 or 5 years old, with blonde brown-highlighted hair, lay on his side, either asleep or unconscious from a lack of air. Seran immediately said, "Chief, come up here. I don''t know anything about medical things, but you should be able to tell how he is." He moved out of the way quickly for the adult male to check on the smaller child. After a good minute or two of silence, while the chief examined the boy, Etienne said, "He''s not injured or harmed in any way. From what I can tell, someone put him to sleep and hid him away, most likely the people he was with." "Poor boy, he''s likely lost his family to these bandits... Can you take care of him, please? I''ll go quickly check the wagons. Storm should be much less energetic soon, so we''ll be able to continue soon." After getting an affirmative, the 10-year-old boy walked off, leaving the younger child to Etienne. -- The wind was rushing loudly past the chief''s ears as he, the rescued boy, and Seran rode atop the giant Storm in the direction of Lightwood Fortress. After about ten minutes had passed, Storm had come back, a look of joy still on his face. With the crow''s personality, upon finding out the fate that the little boy had been subjected to, he angrily burned the bandit corpses into ash, along with the carriage and, unintentionally, the wagons. Thankfully, Seran had already gone through the wagons and stored the cargo in his inventory. "Keep an eye out for signs of a recent battle. We might be able to find where those bandits raided the caravan. The little one deserves closure, no matter how little," said Etienne as he scanned the ground along with his traveling companions. Seran nodded, thinking to himself, and to William, "William, can you scan the World Map for a location like what we are looking for?" [I can try, but don''t get your hopes up.] Silence pervaded the air, save for rushing wind, as the trio continued to scan the ground. [Took me a while, but there''s one location nearby that fits the time frame. It''s another twenty minutes further along the road. You''ll be nearby when you see a shattered wagon. Don''t get your hopes up, there are no signs of life.] With a mental thanks to William, Seran said aloud, "I found the location of the caravan attack, but it''s about twenty minutes ahead. If you see a wagon that''s been destroyed, we''re close to the site... However, there are no survivors." Etienne had slowly gotten accustomed to Seran''s crazy abilities, so while he was slightly amazed, he brushed it off just as quickly as it started. Storm didn''t really care much about that; he was busy scanning the ground. Other than his contractor, he had the best tracking abilities, and he was determined to find the poor boy''s group, dead or alive. Sure enough, twenty minutes later, Storm began to coast downwards, "Found it. Going in for a landing." After taking a circle around the site to slow down his descent, Storm flapped his wings and cautiously landed. Around them, several bodies were strewn about, most of them being guardsmen from their outfits. Seran sighed solemnly, "Let''s gather the bodies together and wait until the little one wakes up. After that, we''ll give them a funeral pyre." Etienne, the boy, and the giant crow went around the battle site, bringing together a total of 15 bodies. 13 of them were guards and the remaining two were merchants, a male and a female. Based on appearances, they were most likely the boy''s parents, as the female had blonde hair and the male had brown. Neither of the two had a good ending, with the lady seeming to have been raped repeatedly before being killed. Seran, based on knowledge from his previous world, inferred that the bandits likely made her husband watch while being tortured. This briefly made the boy leak out a deadly air before it dissipated with a sigh. Out of his inventory, he took out two thin blankets and laid it over them to hide their bodies unfortunate states. The Golden Crow looked visibly enraged as he saw the scene, his tail feathers bursting into flames, before Seran gave him a look and told him to calm down. After recalling that the bandits were already dead, Storm did so despite looking very unhappy. After Seran lay a blanket on the ground for the boy to rest on, Storm moved over and lay next to the poor kid, keeping him between his wing and his side to keep him warm. "The boy''s definitely going to need a new home if he has no other family. If he doesn''t, and if he wants to, he can come with us to the village. I don''t want to face nan''s wrath if she finds out we left this poor boy in some orphanage without letting her see him." Etienne shivered as he thought of Eleanor with her cane at the ready, as did Seran. After two weeks, he''d managed to take a couple knocks to the head as well, so he knew why most of the villagers were scared of her cane. Nobody was safe from her cane, except for the littlest ones. Even Storm shifted in place uncomfortably. As Eleanor had the blessing of the guardian spirit, she''d managed to capture the crow with branches numerous times just to knock him senseless. The sky was beginning to redden as the sun began descending towards the horizon. According to William, the time was roughly 5:00pm, and, if they left know, they''d arrive at Lightwood Fortress by 9:00pm with Storm''s flight speed, which is much faster than before. Still, the gates would be closed for the night, so it would be best to camp out for the night. Seran went around gathering up the wood from the destroyed wagon into a pile, using rocks from around the road to encircle the pile. Etienne began setting up an over-the-fire pot to cook with after Seran took the items from his inventory. As they did so, and Etienne was in the midst of cooking a soup using some of the food in Seran''s inventory, along with water formed from magic, when Storm, who had been asleep, shifted in place as he looked towards his wing. Upon lifting it, the trio saw the little boy beginning to sit up while rubbing his eyes. Sparkling blue-and-green heterochromic eyes looked around as he took in the foreign scene. In a small voice, one mistakable for a girl''s, the boy squeaked, "W-who are you?" 8 Fortress Gates Seran smiled, "Just some ordinary travelers that happened to rescue you before the bandits found you." Etienne gave the 10-year-old boy a withering look at the ''ordinary'' part, which the latter ignored. The little boy''s mismatched eyes opened widely as he tried to get up quickly, "The bandits!" As he did so, he caused himself to fall back down, as his legs had been numb for a long time. This made Storm''s inner protectiveness kick in as he cautiously nuzzled the boy, who was briefly stunned at the giant bird, and at the crow''s evident worry. "Don''t worry, kiddo. The bandits are all dead. Burnt to ash a good several hours down the road," Etienne gave the boy a sympathetic look, "Besides, Storm here wouldn''t let you leave without him if you did want revenge." The enormous crow snorted indignantly, "Like hell I''d let him run off to die. He''d die in a heartbeat. I''d rather keep him safe." The exceptionally protective attitude of Storm surprised, and soothed, the younger boy. Of course, part of the surprise came from the fact that the bird could talk. The 10-year-old Seran sighed, "I really don''t want you to see this, but you should know about your company... and I believe, your parents." The boy''s two-colored eyes stared at Seran with evident shock, worry and a smidgen of hope, which pained the older boy to see, "My parents? Are they okay? Where are they?" When he got silence in response, with 3 beings staring into the fire, eventually he figured out why they didn''t speak. Tears immediately began to form as he quietly began to cry. Storm comfortingly curled a wing around the boy, who began to sob into the bird''s side. "If you think you''re strong enough to, you can see your parents bodies... but I recommend you don''t. All I can do is give you something to remember them by," Seran said as he took out a jade pendant and a red ring. He calmly walked over to give the items to the boy, "The pendant was your mother''s, the ring was your father''s. These, along with all the other things on their person, belong to you now." Etienne looked solemnly into the flames, "If you no longer have a home anymore, you can come and live in our village. It''s probably the safest place within several kingdoms of here. Storm there is just one of our village''s proud protectors." The bird in question puffed his chest in pride, which made the tear-faced boy giggle in surprised amusement. "Have you ever heard the story of the Gateway Village? Or the tale of Edric Greenwood?" He did his best to distract the boy from his sorrow. "Gateway Village..? Greenwood... I think so..." The boy thought for a long time, as his memory wasn''t very good. After a time, he squeaked rather adorably, "You mean the secret village that''s protected by a guardian spirit? In the forest?" "That''s the one. I''m the village chief, Etienne Greenwood, and 5th generation descendant of the founder, Edric Greenwood. Seran here is our village''s genius, and he''s just like you. He came to us, pretty close to death, and we took him in. Storm liked him immediately. He didn''t leave nan''s roof until Seran woke up." The bird then looked away when Seran stared at him. Etienne continued, "You don''t have to come with us, but if you do, you''ll be a part of our big family. I''d bet my title as village chief that nan would give all 3 of us some good hard knocks if we left you alone." The white-haired boy shivered, "Nan doesn''t hold back... anyway, you''ll be my little brother if you want to come with us. You won''t be alone. There are several other kids in the village, you''ll love it." The little boy looked down at the pendant and ring, then up at Storm, then the two next to the fire. "My parents were my only family... I''ve seen orphanages in the cities..." Seran sighed deeply, "You''d still be better off in an orphanage than living how I did in the slums. I''d rather you come back with us to the village. The entire village will immediately love you, I guarantee it. Especially Nan." The little boy cocked his head a little, "Who''s Nan?" After Seran explained who Nan was, the boy''s eyes lit up, "Really? She''s the blessed girl from the stories?" "Indeed. She''s the oldest member of the village, and everyone calls her Nan since she''s delivered even our grandparents as babies. Don''t call her old, though, or you''ll discover what a cane to the head feels like..." Etienne shivered again as he recalled that sharp pain. After thinking for some time, the boy looked up and nodded, "I want to go to the village." The childish determination in his eyes made the others smile. "Alright, then it''s settled. You can come with us on our journey to Lightwood Fortress first, then we''ll head back together. Sound good?" The chief wanted to go back first, but it would be best to stay together and make up for the lost time. After the little boy agreed, Etienne asked, "Well, if you''re going to be with us, we''ll need to know your name. You already know ours, but we don''t know yours." "Fenmore. Fenmore Rhodes," shyly answered the boy, who smiled cute enough to make everyone grin. "Nice to meet you Fenmore. Welcome to our little family, which will be bigger when we get back to the village... For now, it''s time to eat." Seran poured soup into two of the wooden bowls they''d brought from the village, giving one to Fenmore, who almost immediately began to eat. Storm yawned and shook his feathers, "Now that he''s okay, I''m going to go hunt for a rabbit or something. I''ll be back quickly." After lightly patting Fenmore''s head with his wings, Storm moved away from the camp before taking off with a short run. After a certain height was reached, he shrank down and dove towards the forest. Fenmore watched the bird with the eyes of a child who just discovered magic, making Etienne and Seran chuckle. "You''ll be riding on his back with us in the morning. You''ll love it. After we eat, we''re going to get some sleep. We''ll be leaving at dawn." The odd-eyed boy nodded at Etienne''s words as he ate eagerly. Not twenty minutes later, Storm came back and transformed into his huge form next to Fenmore, who immediately hugged his side upon being covered with a wing. -- An extremely happy Fenmore was squealing with joy as he and his newfound companions flew in the sky. They''d broke camp about 4 hours prior, but that hasn''t stopped the little boy from loving the experience of flying. Granted, it was an unforgettable experience and Seran was certain he''d grow up with a desire to fly as well. About ten minutes ago, they''d spotted the great fortress that was their destination, Lightwood Fortress. With worn but solid stone walls capable of withstanding heavy assault for days, the fortress city stood tall beside the Primeval Forest to its northern side. Several caravans, citizens and soldiers made their way in and out of the city now that the gates were open. It certainly stood out as a major military and trade hub on the Everd Kingdom''s northern border. As the enormous Golden Crow began to coast downward, the guards on the walls spotted them and began to prepare the ballistae and the longbows. In order to not directly cause problems, Storm began to circle downward outside of the walls by a good 100ft (30.48m) before deftly landing on the ground a ways from the road so as not to startle the civilian horses. After Storm shrunk himself and perched on Fenmore''s shoulder, who gave him lots of scratches, the group walked to the gates. The guards were visibly wary at the sight of the golden bird on the littlest boy''s shoulder, but as they weren''t behaving aggressively, the guards didn''t prepare for combat. One of the guards, a man with a thick mustache, stopped them, "After almost putting the city into a state of alert, I hope you have an ID. It''ll make it easier to explain to the General about it if you do." Etienne nodded and took out a card from his pocket, "This is my Adventurer Card. I am Etienne Greenwood, the chief of Greenwood Village. I came to bring one of my village children to the Adventurers Guild for the job awakening. I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier. This crow is one of our village''s protectors, so I''d forgotten how others react to him." The chief made it sound like Storm was always this powerful, which made the bird puff up with pride, much to Fenmore''s amusement. "Ah, it''s Sir Greenwood, I remember you now. The last time you were here was about 13 years ago. It makes sense that the Gateway Village would have such special creatures," said the guard, who Etienne quickly recognized as a previous new recruit the last time he was here. "Yes, well, it''s the first time since then that we''ve had someone old enough to be awakened. I see you''ve been promoted. Congratulations." The guard captain smiled and nodded, "Thank you. It''s still my first year as the gate guard captain, though, so you can tell I''m pretty worried about any problems." "I believe it. Well, good luck to you." Etienne thanked the captain as he took his Adventurer Card back before heading inside with Seran, Fenmore, and Storm, with the captain relaying the information to the walls that everything was fine. 9 Adventurers Guild Outside of what looked like a tavern one would find in a small town, except being triple the size of one, stood a group of four. Three were humans, of which were two were children and one was an adult. On the youngest one''s shoulder was a bright golden crow that radiated a mix of pride and clownish goofiness. Naturally, this group was the Greenwood Village''s traveling party, as they''d finally managed to reach the Adventurers Guild in Lightwood Fortress. Etienne sighed, "It''s been so long since I last came here... I wonder if old Theodore is still the Guild Master." The chief almost began to reminisce in his memories until a crow reminded him what they were here for by fluttering up and pecking his forehead. "Let''s go inside. I doubt anything has changed much since then." He then made his way inside, with Seran and Fenmore treading his heels. Upon entering the guild, the first thing that happened was Etienne getting body slammed into the floor. Apparently, two adventurers in the same party had gotten into a brawl, and Etienne happened to end up as collateral damage. Several tables and chairs had already broken, while most of the other adventurers were either watching casually or cheering. The poor chief damn near passed out after being slammed by professional fighters. This went on for a good minute or so, at which point a rogue punch came close to hitting Fenmore. A pair of immediate reactions happened: the first was Storm leaping forward to spear his beak into the fist, which stopped almost immediately as the adventurer howled in pain; the second was Seran''s bloodlust activating as he pounced, the chipped enchanted daggers both being held against one of the fighters necks, who stopped upon feeling cold steel on their skin. Seran had the darkest look on his face as he said coldly, "Quit your bullshit before I remove your heads." Despite his youth and unique appearance, the air the boy had attested to his words. "Fenmore, check on the chief." As the smaller child went to help Etienne, Seran glowered at the two adventurers, "Give me a reason why I shouldn''t remove your heads after you came damn close to killing a child." He didn''t get an answer from them, however, as a female voice cut in from the reception counter. "I''d like to know that myself," said a mid-forties woman in as close to a business suit as one could find in this era. One of the two fighters, a bald man with a busted lip and broken nose, stammered, "U-umm... guild master... We, we were just-" "Just about to critically injure a child after knocking one of their companions into the wall?" The guild master''s glare only deepened as she continued, "This is the third time you''ve fought this week, but this time, you could have killed two people. This is well beyond out of hand. I''ve had more than enough of this. As you two are both C-rankers, I can''t just expel you. However, I can enforce a license suspension on you, which would apply to all guilds." "Wait, guild master, let us ex-" "Don''t bother explaining it to me. Up until now, it was only fees for repairs and replacing broken furniture. Your incomes were more than enough for that. However, if you killed a child, even if it wasn''t in a guild building, you''d immediately be arrested for murder. Effective immediately, for the next 3 months, you will be forbidden from doing anything related to your adventurer statuses. If you haven''t managed to straighten yourselves out by then, it''ll be an indefinite suspension. Understood?" The two men could only nod meekly as she then had them leave the premises. "Cedric, would you mind sending the message along to the other guilds and their branches?" An older man, close to his 60s, nodded, "I''m on it, ma''am. I''ll make sure the other guilds are aware of their suspension. I''ll also handle the arrangements for the repairs." He then headed off to the back rooms behind the reception counter. After a deep, exasperated sigh, the guild master walked over, giving Seran a good look for the first time. Dark brown hair and matching eyes that carried much experience despite her age, she was undoubtedly the fiercest woman he''d met outside of the village. If Seran was going to take a guess, she was definitely at the peak of the A-rank. "My deepest apologies for what just transpired. I let such a thing get out of hand and nearly killed one of your companions." The white-haired boy smiled kindly, "It''s not your fault that adventurers tend to be a rowdy bunch." "Truer words haven''t been spoken around here for a long time. My thanks, though, for managing to defuse the situation somehow." She looked him up and down as if sizing him up, "How old are you?" "I just turned 10 yesterday. We came for my awakening. This isn''t the first time we''ve gotten into a fight on the journey here. The first time was a group of bandits that had just raided a merchant caravan. My smallest companion is the only survivor, who has decided to stay with us," Seran''s response didn''t fit his age, but neither did his reactions earlier. "A ten-year-old capable of instantly stopping a fight between C-rank adventurers is something I find very interesting... wait, bandits? Did one of them have a scar across his face?" Her question seemed rather urgent. "Yes, there was one like that. Not that it matters anymore. All of that bandit crew have been turned into ash several hours down the road." "They''re dead? They''ve just been given a B-rank bounty two days ago. Against that group, I''d have to go all out... How did you defeat them?" "Does it matter? I killed them all myself. The area is better off now. I can''t say the same for poor Fenmore. He just lost his parents to them yesterday." Seran looked over at the odd-eyed child, who was helping Etienne regain his bearings. Storm remained perched on the little boy''s shoulder like a vigilant guard. The guild master''s expression softened upon hearing of Fenmore''s circumstances as she looked at the boy. When she spotted the man he was helping, her eyes widened slightly as she flatly said, "Is that Etienne Greenwood I see?" Seran was about to answer, again, when Etienne quickly responded, "Of course. Are you that surprised to see me, June?" "Very surprised. After all, the last time you were here, old Theodore had to kick you out after you kept trying to hit on me for a week straight." Attempting to derail the direction of the conversation, the chief said, "Right, what happened to old Theodore? I can understand how you became the guild master, so I don''t need an answer for that." June frowned a little, "A year ago, an A-grade catastrophe came up to the south. We don''t have many A-ranks in the kingdom, and with Theodore being the only one we had here, he had to respond to the emergency summons. We got word not long afterward that the catastrophe was stopped via sealing. Several A-rank responders died, and quite a few disappeared during the chaotic battle. According to the survivors, Theodore and three other A-rank mages were casting a sealing spell while several others kept the catastrophe occupied. After the battle ended, the survivors came back to see what happened. The seal had been cast completely, with the entire area of the battle between and around the four mages being sealed off. Within the seal, everything was frozen, including the catastrophe''s magic spells." Etienne blanked for a moment, "Seal spell that freezes time within... isn''t that the forbidden spell ''Four Skies Demon Seal''? Nobody should be able to use it! Let alone Theodore, even an Archmage wouldn''t be able to cast that!" "You''d be correct if not for one thing: of the four mages, two weren''t human. One was an elf while another was a half-demon." Seeing Etienne''s dumbfounded expression, June continued, "The elf was the one who knew the spell and how to replace the single caster problem with four separate casters. The half-demon had enough mana to make up for the missing mana they needed for the spell. So, technically, there isn''t anyone that can castle it alone. Still, it means that Theodore is sealed as well. After we got the news, we had to decide on a new leader. As I was already the vice last year, I was almost unanimously chosen. I only became an A-rank six months ago." "Well, congratulations are in order, despite the circumstances... Anyway, let me introduce these three. This little one beside me is Fenmore Rhodes. The bird on his shoulder is our village''s avian defender, Storm. The white-haired genius in front of you is Seran, who I''m reasonably sure is the strongest human in the village." Etienne''s last sentence earned June''s astonishment as she looked at Seran, who shrugged casually. "I''m almost 100% sure that he''s already at the peak of C-rank, maybe even early B-rank." June had trouble pinning such capabilities on a small boy like Seran, but she had seen his reaction earlier so Etienne likely wasn''t lying. "I''d like to see what this genius can do, then." The white-haired boy grinned widely, "I''ll do my best!" 10 Record Breaker Etienne, Fenmore, and Storm stayed behind in the lobby while Seran began doing paperwork in one of the back offices. It was pretty simple, just forms about agreeing to the restrictions of being an adventurer, along with beginning the process for the Adventurer Card, which could only be finished with a drop of blood and a job awakening. "Now, the job awakening process is done alone, as is the job change process in the future. The guild is only given access to your chosen job, with criminals being the only exception to that. If you have a criminal record of any sort, the job change pedestal will chain you down and keep you in place until you are arrested." June elaborated further on how the process worked, which was pretty simple: touch the pedestal, it reads your stats and gives you the jobs you can choose from. After Seran confirmed that he understood, the guild master led him to a small closet-sized room just big enough to fit a very built man, with an orb-topped pedestal against the far wall. "Go on inside." After closing the door behind him, Seran touched the pedestal and received a pop-up from the system stating that the pedestal was analyzed and added to ''creatable artifacts''. "Sweet, I can make one at any time now..." Then, another pop-up came up, this time from the orb. -- Available Jobs: [Fighter], [Rogue], [Mage], [Beast Tamer] -- "Hmm... well, based on my fighting style, I should go for Rogue, since I focus mostly on my speed... Alright, let''s do that." He selected [Rogue] and confirmed his choice. Another pop-up appeared right afterward, though. One that even June hadn''t expected to show up during a first awakening. -- Job Advancement Available! Available Jobs: [Fighter], [Mage], [Beast Tamer], [Thief], [Archer] -- "Wait, already? That doesn''t make any sense... Hmm... maybe I should choose Fighter this time..." Even after choosing this time, the advancement notification popped up again... and again... and again... for a total of 13 times. After going through all of these jobs, Seran had reached his final pop-up. -- Job Advancement Available! Available Jobs: [Spellsword], [Swordsman], [Scout], [Ranger], [Beast Trainer], [Spellblade], [Shadowblade], [Magic Archer] -- "Please let this be the last one... It''s been a full 30 minutes... Let''s just go with Spellblade, since it seems to cover bladed weapons rather than just a sword like the Spellsword." No more pop-ups appeared after he selected [Spellblade], which made Seran sigh in relief, "About damn time..." [That was more than anyone could have expected for a first awakening... You''ve gone through more jobs in 30 minutes than most people have had in their entire lives... You''d best head back out. I''m completely sure that they''re getting worried...] William was just as exhausted mentally as Seran was. The major difference was that he had to do ability and skill sorting, so he was getting a bigger headache compared to the boy. When Seran came back out, there was a small crowd of guild staff waiting outside, June included because she was here in the beginning. The guild master quickly said, "You were in there a long time. Did something happen?" The boy shrugged a little, "Just took a lot of internal debate, really... Can we finish the process for the card, please? I''m getting a headache." Seeing that Seran didn''t say what his choice was, which was part of their ''Adventurers Rules and Rights,'' June led him back into her office. The crowd attempted to follow, but the guild master glared them away. After they sat back down in her office, with the door closed, June took out a strange-looking object that looked like a card-holder with a spike on top. Taking a blank Adventurer Card and fitting into the holding slot, June said, "Now all that the card needs is your blood. Go right ahead, after it gets your blood, it heals the cut." Doing as asked, the boy drew a drop of blood using the spike and let it drip down onto the card. After turning completely blood-red, the liquid drained off the card and into the bottom of the artifact. June then removed the card, which was completely dry, and examined it as she began to add the information to the register. When she read the [Job] section, she froze with a look of shock. "What? What''s wrong?" Seran was very confused, as June had said earlier that it would be a simple final step. "You''re a Spellblade..? It''s only your first awakening, but you''ve already gotten a specialized fourth-grade job... What were the jobs that you chose before? Job progression is added to the register as well, so do tell me so I can update it correctly." As befitting a guild master, she recovered her calm demeanor rapidly. "Well, in order, I chose [Rogue], [Fighter], [Mage], [Beast Tamer], [Thief], [Assassin], [Master Thief], [Sword Fighter], [Archer], [Dark Mage], [Lightning Mage], [Water Mage], and finally [Spellblade]." When he finished, the look of total shock had reappeared on June''s face. "Out of the 4 ''base'' jobs, the only one you didn''t get was Priest. You got 3 second-grade Mage jobs, 1 second-grade along with 2 third-grade Rogue jobs, a second-grade Fighter job, one rare first-grade Beast Tamer job, and a specialized fourth-grade job... You chose jobs 13 times on your first awakening?" She sat back in her chair, overwhelmed, "This is insane... once I put this data in, which I have to, you''ll immediately be a well-known name for the guild staff. You''ve broken the previous first awakening jobs record by a long shot..." "Wait, getting several jobs in your first awakening has happened before?" "Of course. It''s uncommon, but getting two in the first awakening has happened at least once to each guild branch office. Three only happens once or twice a decade. Four has only happened 5 times total, each of which was decades apart. Five was the record you just broke, which happened in our continent''s biggest city about a year ago. Thirteen, on the other hand, will be impossible to top... Give me a few minutes while I add this information." June wrote down the job progressions on his paperwork, stopping quite often in amazement. When she was finally done, she handed Seran''s card to him, "Alright, there you go. You''re officially an Adventurer. If you want to learn crafting professions, it doesn''t work the same as these kinds of jobs. You can theoretically learn all of them at once. Those jobs require you to visit the Merchant Guild to get them officially documented, as you can still learn them without an awakening." With a smile, June calmly said, "Alright, now I''ll have to let headquarters know, so I can''t show you out. Come back any time, Seran." After thanking her, Seran pocketed his card and walked out of the guild offices. Several staff members looked into June''s office to see her completely slumped in her chair like she''d seen the impossible. Fenmore was giving Storm lots of scratched while Etienne was starting to doze off when Seran came back out. The odd-eyed boy smiled, "Big brother Seran, you''re back!" This roused Etienne, who asked how it went. Upon receiving Seran''s card and giving it a look over, he spotted the Job spot as well. After five minutes of making sure he wasn''t seeing things, he handed the card back, "How many?" "Thirteen." "I knew it would be a ridiculous number but not that ridiculous... Alright, let''s get going. If we leave now, we can make it back just after midday." With that, the group got up and left the Adventurers Guild. --- June was speaking into a long-range communication crystal in the shape of a mirror. In the mirror was a desk in a very fancy-looking room. Seated at the desk was an old man with long white hair and a matching-length beard. He was listening attentively as June said, "A boy came in today for his first awakening. After spending 30 minutes in the job change room, he came out with the [Spellblade] job. That''s not the surprising part... What''s surprising is that he broke the 5 job record by a factor of 8. A total of 13 jobs on his first awakening..." The old man''s sparkling grey eyes squinted as he said, "You''re certain of this? This is an insane number to come up with." "I am completely certain of this, sir. 13 jobs total." She listed out what Seran said that he''d chosen, each of which astounded the old man. "Heavens above, a divine genius... Where is he now?" "He''s heading back home." The old man stood up after slamming his desk, "What!? You didn''t stop him!?" Through the mirror, one could see black flames crackling on his robes. "You know we don''t have that right, sir. On top of that, he''s a resident of Greenwood Village." Upon hearing that last part, the old man''s rage quelled as he collapsed in his chair, "So he''s that old witch''s villager... I can''t fault you for that." After a silent moment, the old man continued, "I''ll let the other branches know about this, so thank you for bringing it to my attention. Any news about this boy is top priority henceforth." "Yes sir, I will make sure of that. His name is Seran, no surname. I''ve already told my staff to remember his name and appearance, so they''d be able to recognize him." "Good, good..." The old man contemplated thoughts unknown to June. The female guild master then said, "Ah, that''s right. On the way here, he encountered a B-rank bounty target and completely flattened them. He said that he had killed them all, but he didn''t once mention the bounty or the reward." The old man''s eyes sparkled again as he hummed in thought, before replying, "How interesting... I can''t wait to see how he grows... Contact me if anything else happens, June." "Will do, Sir Greyson." After both nodded in acknowledgment, the communication was broken, with the female A-rank adventurer leaning back in exhaustion in her seat. As she stared up at the ceiling, she mumbled, "By tomorrow, he''ll likely have a new title... I have a feeling he''ll be a hero someday." 11 Village Council Meeting About 7 hours after June relayed Seran''s information to the headquarters, the boy and his companions were returning to Greenwood Village. Up until now, Storm wasn''t familiar with most of the area from above, but 5 minutes ago he recognized the area as being within 3.22 kilometers (2 miles) of the village. As such, Seran stopped giving directions, since he knew the crow would know how to return on his own. He did, however, advise the bird to land carefully above the well in the center of town, which was made with very sturdy wood and stone. It didn''t take very long for Storm to fly over the village and begin to circle downward. Unsurprisingly, a huge golden bird startled the villagers, most of which ran for safety in their houses. Only a handful of people, such as Eleanor and several protectors, remained outside, the latter being prepared for combat. Eleanor was watching the bird with a critical eye, which changed a little when the resident crows took flight from Elder Marcus''s roof and fluttered around the big bird in what could only be described as amazement and joy. The old herbalist contemplated before putting two-and-two together, discovering that the giant bird had to be Storm, which had left earlier. The crows didn''t like other magical birds except for their family, so such a reaction had to be towards family members. She ordered the protectors to stand down as the enormous crow landed lightly atop the well, which barely shuddered under the weight of him and his passengers. A man around 60 with salt-and-pepper hair came out of one of the houses, specifically Elder Marcus''s house. Having hurried from his living room to grab his old bow, the elder looked visibly disheveled as his eyes trained immediately onto what was causing the commotion. Compared to Eleanor, his reaction was much quicker as he rushed over to the giant crow that was being surrounded by smaller ones, even as Storm''s three passengers dismounted, which Marcus hadn''t noticed at all. "Storm..? Is that you? What happened?" The Golden Crow was about to answer when Etienne spoke first, "Elder Marcus, we can talk about that later. Right now, there''s something more important to do. It''s time for a council meeting. This is not an emergency meeting, but it''s still very urgent. What happened to Storm will be brought up, don''t worry." Although the elder was unhappy, he tacitly agreed and made his way toward a very well-hidden path far behind the furthest house from the well. Etienne, Eleanor, Seran, and Fenmore all followed Marcus, while Storm remained atop the well with his crow family. After trekking three minutes down a very unkempt path through hedges, the group stepped into a secluded grove surrounded by trees and flowery bushes. In the center of the grove was a small spring with rainbow-scaled little fish swimming around. In this world, Seran had never seen such a beautiful place, nor had Fenmore. The younger boy immediately rushed to kneel beside the pond and watch the fish. Eleanor, while concerned about who the boy was, instinctively said, "Don''t get any closer, dear. Those fish don''t take kindly to anyone being close to them." She looked at Etienne with a silent stare, which only made the chief sweat more. Two minutes passed as three more people entered the grove: two elders and a rather built man. A silver-haired lady was the third elder of the village, Elder Miranda, while the fourth elder was a bald man named Elder Carson. The built man was the village''s equivalent to a guard captain, Samuel. With all 4 elders, the chief, and Samuel present, only one was still missing. Each of the leading members bowed respectfully to the spring, speaking in unison, "We beseech the Lady Spirit to grace us with her presence." The spring bubbled ever so slightly, the fish unperturbed, and several ripples spread from the center of the water. An orb of clear water rose from the spring to stop about head-height before it began to expand and contract. In the span of a minute, the orb had transformed into a small female figure no more than 2ft(60cm) tall, save for a pair of butterfly wings she bore on her back. The fairy''s hands moved to press together before spreading her arms widely. Upon reaching T-position, the watery form became a solid, flesh-like one, save for everything about her being blue-tinted. With a mature, enchanting voice, the fairy spoke, "A summons so early in the year. This must be quite urgent." Etienne, who remained bent in a bow, said, "Yes, Lady Spirit, it is very urgent. More urgent than anything we''ve ever had before. I believe that the time the Oracle spoke of has come." This caused the four elders and the fairy to look at him with shock. Samuel wasn''t privy to such knowledge, but he knew it was extremely serious. Eleanor flatly stated, "You''d best not be joking about this, Etienne. You know just how serious that is." "I am very certain of this, and I have proof." The fairy hummed in thought before beckoning them to straighten up. After looking around at the group that circled her spring, she spotted the two children, especially the purple-eyed one. After looking him up and down, she said, "Ah, the special child I''d sensed earlier." "Yes, it is he, Seran. I am 100% certain that he is the one from the Oracle''s prophecy," Etienne''s eyes showed total certitude of his words, stunning the spirit. "I''m not totally sure how to start, though, but I''ll start from the easiest matter. He gained 13 jobs in his first awakening today." A simultaneous shout echoed through the spring, "THIRTEEN!?" Even the fairy was astonished, far more than any of them had seen before. Then, she recalled that he said it was the easiest matter... "On the way to Lightwood Fortress, we encountered bandits, a group of 30 with a B-grade bounty. Seran single-handedly annihilated them in less than two minutes. After which, we rescued little Fenmore here from them. I brought him back as he has no more family." Etienne calmly ruffled the smallest boy''s hair as he stared with sparkling eyes at the fairy. "And, as you have noticed, Storm has changed drastically thanks to him. He is now a pureblood Golden Crow, the first in a million years." Of the people present, the two most impacted were Marcus and the Lady Spirit. Marcus fell on his butt with total bewilderment before almost bursting into proud laughter from knowing he''d been the one to raise the first Golden Crow. The fairy''s hovering was temporarily broken, as it required a modicum of mental stability, but she did catch herself. She immediately cried, "I sensed a powerful fire from him, but I never expected that! And it''s because of Seran!?" "I am sure of it, yes. He swore that he was capable of it, and proved it. He also said he''d explain everything related to his secret upon returning. So, here he is." Etienne turned to Seran, who nodded quietly. The white-haired lad bowed in respect to the spirit, "Greetings, Lady Spirit. I am Seran. While I have no knowledge of a prophecy, I am certain of almost everything else." "You are most kind, little one. I am already amazed just from hearing what Etienne said, but I have a feeling you might tell me something that might make my manifestation collapse... Ah, I am Khloe, one of the helper spirits of Lady Demeter, and the protector of Greenwood Village by the divine contract between Her Ladyship and Edric Greenwood." The fairy, Khloe, gave a short yet regal curtsy, showing sincerity in her actions. The young boy sighed a little before saying, "This will take a few hours to talk about, so it would be best if we all got comfortable." With a casual wave of his hand, Seran summoned 7 well-made wooden chairs, four of which had soft cushions, from his inventory. Ignoring the amazement that appeared once again, he stated, "Take a seat, everyone. The four chairs with cushions are for the elders. I am unsure if Lady Khloe would like to sit, but do let me know if you would like to." Upon hearing her decline of seating, he reminded Fenmore not to fall in before beginning to speak from the very beginning of his story, from the day he was dragged into this world. 12 Seran Greenwood It was close to dusk when the white-haired boy finished his story, which consisted of his fate from his previous world and his biggest secrets. Dusk had already begun when the council members had managed to digest such information. The boy waited patiently, as he knew it was a lot to take in at once. The first to speak after Seran''s story ended was Eleanor, who sighed deeply, "I knew you were special, just not how special, when I first met you. Your manners were exceptional and much more refined than many noble children''s. Not just that, you also kept yourself busy helping around the village even when you were still recovering. Most kids would use it as an excuse to not work." Seran smiled, "It''s not in my nature to gain something in return for nothing. If this is to be my home, I must be a part of the village. I''m just happy to be the big brother of the village children, being a good role model for them." He ruffled Fenmore''s hair, who had dozed off earlier next to him, "This one has been through so much already. I want him to grow up still knowing what family is, even if it isn''t by blood." Khloe fluttered a little in thought, saying solemnly, "Lady Demeter contacted me during your first week here, emphasizing that she had a hunch about a purple-eyed boy being a world-changing person and that it would start here in Greenwood Village. As she is one of the major gods, specifically of life itself, when something changes lives on a grand scale, she must be aware of it. Her decision was to find out if you would be a good change or not. After meeting you and hearing your story, I am almost positive you would be a good change for the world." "I''m glad to hear that. Greenwood Village is my home, and if the patron goddess of the village''s guardian spirit was against my addition to the villagers, I would be back trudging my way to Lightwood Fortress to become a soldier." Etienne nodded, "You are a very special child, one that the village''s children needed to have as a role model. The fact that you are already dedicated to protecting the village is wonderful. In all honesty, I''d been planning to adopt you into the Greenwood family since the start of the second week you were here. I''ve never seen the village so lively, even on bad days. The kids haven''t caused any problems beyond little things like throwing a toy on the roof to get you to show off. Even Elder Marcus''s crows seem more cheerful than before." "Speaking of the crows, I plan to try to do the same thing I did with Storm to them. The village''s avian protectors will be the first generation of the new Golden Crows." Elder Marcus began fidgeting as he heard this, "Golden Crows, my little birds becoming Golden Crows would make me the happiest man alive." Etienne continued anyway, "So, with Nan''s consent, naturally, and with the blessing of our guardian spirit, Lady Khloe, I want to adopt you into the Greenwood family. Nan, Lady Khloe, do you agree? This would make him the village''s future chief." Eleanor was silent for a while before nodding, "I would have to agree. You still haven''t managed to get yourself a wife anyway. You''d best do that before you think I''m letting you be the end of the direct Greenwood bloodline." Seran cut in again, "Um, I can fix that problem. The bloodline part, at least. I''m able to modify my body and my bloodlines without causing major conflicts. As long as I have a drop of blood from the chief, I can change my bloodline to be a legitimate member of the Greenwoods." The old healer blinked a couple of times before continuing, "Still, get a wife and have a kid, Etienne. Even if we have Seran, you know I''ll still hound you about it." She turned to the white-haired lad, "I won''t ask you to change your bloodline, Seran, that''s your decision. You''ll still be a member of the Greenwood family anyway." "Nan, you''re already just like family to me. I''d like to actually be family. It''s something I''ve wanted for a long time..." He smiled widely. Khloe had been listening intently and had found very little to say that was negative about the situation. In fact, she was all for it. "If Seran became a member of the Greenwood family, which is one of Lady Demeter''s chosen families, it would certainly bring great change. I''m all for it. Lady Demeter, I''m sure, will be happy to hear about it too." "When we''re done here, I''ll modify my bloodline. When I do, you''ll be able to feel it, and I''ll be asleep while my body changes." He gave Etienne a cheeky smile, "So would it be dad or old man?" Etienne gave him a light tap on the noggin, "Don''t get carried away, kiddo." Elder Miranda, who had been silent, chuckled at the sight before stating, "If Seran is the prophetic child, then there''s one major thing we have to deal with: the elves. They are fine with our village, but once it begins to change from a little village, they might change their minds." Elder Carson grunted, "Not only that, but it would also be a reason for the kingdoms to attack us." Seran said, "I have two solutions to that. One is to make an underground city, the other is to make the beast of the Dreamless Savannah my contracted beast. If I do that, I can relocate it so we can make a city there. The village can stay the same, as it is the roots of our history. Only if it''s okay will I ever begin changing the village directly. The underground city can be done either with or without the earth above it as a ceiling. However, this would make it hard for the birds, so it would be best if I made a huge ravine first..." Etienne cut in. "Whoa, whoa, hold your horses. We''ll deal with that stuff later. Right now, there''s one thing you need to remember. You can''t start without handling the elves first. Wait until after their visit, okay?" Seran nodded in agreement then his eyes shined brightly, "Hey, nan, if Fen is okay with it, do you think I can make him a Greenwood family member?" Eleanor could only sigh with a smile, "Ask him when he wakes up, Seran. If he wants to, then I have nothing to say about it." The fairy fluttered in place again, "Don''t do anything too reckless, Seran." "I won''t. I''d never do anything to harm the village or its people... Is that the last thing?" After a brief silence, Eleanor coughed, "I''d say so. Which is good, since we should all be heading home to sleep. Seran, if you plan on changing your bloodline, wait until you get home." Khloe yawned and bade everyone a good night before returning to the spring. Then everyone dispersed back to the village, with Seran giving Fenmore a piggyback ride to the chief''s house, or rather his new home. Once they got home, Fenmore groaned, "Big brother, I wanna sleep..." "I know, Fen, don''t worry, you can sleep soon. Big brother has to tell you something important," said the white-haired boy, which caught Fenmore''s attention. "Big brother is going to be changing his bloodline tonight to that of the chief''s family, which will make me his son by blood. What I want to know is, do you want to become part of the family too?" "Family? Really? You can change me into chief''s son too? Then I''ll really be big brother''s little brother." Seran couldn''t help giving the little odd-eyed boy a hug, as Fen smiled with small tears, "I want to be family with big brother!" Etienne laughed, "You two are adorable together. Alright, if that''s the case, I''m happy to have you two as my sons." He bit the tip of his thumb and drew out a drop of blood, which Seran deftly caught in his palm. "Go do what you have to in your room. I''m going to sleep. Good night, boys." Both boys smiled cheekily, "Good night, dad!" Then they dashed into Seran''s room and onto his bed. [Greenwood family bloodline has been scanned and added to database. Are you ready to modify your body?] William was encouraging Seran to get a real family here, and he knew it was safe this way. [Since Fenmore wants it as well, I''ll modify him too.] Seran gave Fenmore a kiss on the forehead, "Okay, Fen, big brother''s going to start the change. We''ll both fall asleep while it happens. In the morning, we''ll be big brother and little brother!" Fenmore giggled, "Okay!" He hugged his big brother again, which Seran couldn''t help but hug him in return. The odd-eyed boy was just too cute. [Alright, here we go. Beginning bloodline alteration process.] Both boys fell back on the bed, almost instantly falling asleep as their bodies begin to change. 13 Harvest Festival 1 The next morning, Seran woke up as the sun entered the window, groaning as he sat up and stretched. [Good morning, Seran. The bloodline modification went perfectly. You are now a Greenwood family member, as is Fenmore. Because of the changing of some of your genes via the bloodline, your skin tone and physique changed a bit. For some reason, your hair and eyes overpowered the new genes, so you''re still pretty close to being albino. Fenmore''s genes changed more than yours, but his eyes remained the same. Apparently, they''re special as well. His hair changed to the regular hair color of the Greenwoods though.] William did his usual update on how things went for modifications, along with what changed. [Other than that, you''ve unlocked an achievement and a new questline.] "Really? What are they?" Seran wasn''t that surprised about his hair and eyes staying the same. Unique colors tend to be magical in nature in this world, so they were definitely special. [The achievement was ''Humble Beginnings''. Now that you have truly gained a home and a place to grow from, you have taken the first steps to become a king. As a reward, you have been given 2 random bloodlines, 100 Gacha tickets, 1000 points of all 3 kinds, and 5 random abilities. As you were asleep when it happened, the bloodlines and abilities were already chosen and assimilated. You gained the Poseidon and Terra Bloodlines. I''m not surprised you got the God of Water''s bloodline with your Divine-grade affinity, though. Your abilities were [Infinity], [Spell Creation], [Array Mastery], [Ageless], and [Ability Manipulation]. [Infinity] is the same as the unique power of Merlin from the universe of Nanatsu no Taizai, which I didn''t expect to be a part of this system... The next 3 are pretty simple to understand, while the last one, [Ability Manipulation], gives you the power to create, manipulate, remove, change or whatever else, the magical or supernatural energies/properties in all beings that give them their powers, including you yourself. Therefore, you are able to give anyone any ability, remove any ability, and who knows what else.] "What the fuck!? Those are some insane things! All from actually getting a real home? Damn, I love this administrator status... What''s the questline?" Seran was already having trouble keeping calm, so as not to wake up Fenmore, who looked positively adorable in his sleep. [The questline is pretty simple, yet complex. It''s also kind of vague without steps. It''s just ''Kingdom Creation''. The only major goal is to ''transform Greenwood Village into a true kingdom.''] "Oh dear, this will be difficult already. How am I supposed to do that? I mean, I know I have the system and you to help, but it doesn''t give me any guidelines..." [Currently, the most important thing you need to deal with is the elves. You need a way to speak with their queen. Speaking their language is easy with your Omnilingualism, so you have no need to worry about that part.] Seran began to ponder what to do going further when he heard Fenmore groan and rub his eyes, to which he smiled, "Morning, sleepyhead. How do you feel?" The cute boy yawned, "Sleepy... and hungry..." The older lad ruffled his hair and got up, "Come on, little brother, time to give dad a hug!" Hearing this perked up the sleepy boy, who almost tore out of the room. As he walked out of the room after Fenmore, he heard what sounded like a thud, a loud burst of laughter, and a giggling boy. Etienne, who had just been tackle-hugged by Fenmore, was giving his new youngest son a hug on the floor, "Good morning to you too, little Fen. Are you happy?" After getting an affirmative from the joyous child, he said, "That''s good. I don''t want my little boy to be sad." After managing to get his giggling youngest off of him, he spotted Seran making his way over to give him a less violent hug, "Good morning, Seran." "Good morning, dad. I''m sure Fen gave you quite a wake-up call." Seran smiled at his little brother, who cheekily stuck out his tongue and ran off to Eleanor''s house. "I bet nan will be thrilled to see Fen." "Knowing her, she will be very happy... provided he doesn''t try tackling her too." "As happy as he is, he won''t try that. He''ll just give her a very big hug." Seran chuckled a little, "Today is the start of the harvest, right?" "It is. The children won''t be able to help with the harvesting, but you''ll be needed. With your sword skills, you can replace several scythes for harvesting. If you make all the crows evolve, then it''ll take far less time to transport everything to the storage house." The boy said, "I''ve also gained a new power. I am now capable of becoming an Earth Mage. On top of that, I can create Golems for manpower. Helping with the harvest is something I must do as the future chief." Etienne smiled, "Good, I''m glad my boy knows his duties as future chief already. You can get right to it if you want. I''m going to be beginning the preparations for the elves'' visit." "Okay, dad. I''ll be doing all of the harvestings myself. The crows and my Golems will be enough to help. Everyone else can help with the festival preparations." Once they had decided what to do, Seran and Etienne split ways, with the former heading to Elder Marcus''s house and the latter heading to the village houses. -- "Whoo, that''s the last bunch from this field. Storm, when you and your kin are done taking these bundles to the storage, you can take a break." "You got it, Seran. We''ll still be around the village if you need us." The crow deftly swooped in to snag one of the three last bundles of wheat from upheld arms of an Earth Golem before flying off towards the storage house. Two more Golden Crows, both half of Storm''s size, swooped in to do the same with the remaining two bundles. With a command from Seran, the Golems he''d summoned began to plow and fertilize the fields for the next season, giving it time to restore the fields'' nutrients before they planted again. Some of the Golems also cleared the ground of things left over from harvesting and bundling the wheat. Two Water Dragons slowly flew over the fields, making a light drizzle over the fields to help the fertilizer set in. After all of that was done, the Golems moved to stand in a ring around the village like sentinels before going into a stasis mode. The Water Dragons then flew over the village and dispersed as a light misty rain over the houses. "There, all done for the day. The next two fields can be done later today or tomorrow morning. Midday tomorrow is supposed to be when the elves arrive, so the last field should be done in the morning." Seran was pondering how to do the next steps now that he was done with the two fields he was at. Meanwhile, in the village, children ran around putting little decorations up while many of the men and women were hanging special lanterns on the houses and in the trees. Some of the more dangerously placed ones were done with the help of Eleanor''s spirit blessing and some of the smallest crows. Fenmore charged over and tried to tackle Seran, who easily caught his little brother in a big hug. The little boy squealed with a semi-disappointed pout, "I didn''t catch big brother..." "Nope, big brother caught you, silly Fen," he poked his little brother''s nose, making his face scrunch up cutely. "Have you been having fun?" "Yup! Making the little butterflies and lanterns is really fun! Sammy keeps messing up when he tries and gets scolded by Ellie when he does." Fen happily told Seran about his experiences with the villagers, especially the children. Ellie, full name being Elena, was the oldest child in the village before Seran arrived, at 8 years old. She was affectionately referred to as the little mother of the village, because of how she was more of a parent than a child by her behavior. "Sammy always ends up getting scolded by Ellie, but you know she does it because she cares, right, Fen?" "I know, big brother. She helps me with everything I don''t get..." He mentioned how Ellie taught him how to make the lanterns, all with a smile. Seran nuzzled his little brother''s hair as he said, "Remember to listen to Ellie if big brother isn''t around, okay?" After managing to get Fenmore to agee, he set the odd-eyed boy down and let him go running off. "Now then, let''s go find out how dad''s doing." Seran then began to walk to his house, all while catching and dodging children. 14 Harvest Festival 2 Etienne was currently directing some of the guards, who had been given time to help thanks to the Golems taking their jobs temporarily, to begin clearing and preparing the large empty field next to the village that was used for the festival. Several long tables had been set up, while several firepits were being built. The chief himself was bringing in a keg of ale that had been acquired during the trip to Lightwood Fortress prior to Seran''s arrival. Seran walked over just as his father put the keg down on a stand by one of the firepits, "Looks like it''s going pretty well over here." The chief chuckled, "Much smoother than in previous years, yes. At this rate, we''ll be done by the end of today. How''d harvesting go?" "With the help of Storm and his kin, we''ve already cut, bundled, and stored 3 fields. The remaining 3 fields can be done in the morning or before nightfall depending on how the festival preparation goes." "Good, good. This will be the best festival we''ve had since the first few the village had." Etienne was all smiles as he pictured how festive everything would be. "Hey, dad... if I told you that, last night, I gained the power to give others abilities, what would you do?" Seran had sworn not to keep secrets from his family unless it was extremely crucial or dangerous. After stopping to ponder, Etienne sighed, "I wouldn''t do anything. It''s your ability, not mine. What you want to do with it is up to you. If you do decide to use it though, use it wisely. Giving powers to the villagers is fine, but make sure you''re careful with them. This village is one big family, so we trust each other wholeheartedly." "I know, dad. One of the reasons I''m asking is because it means I can also change talents... I can change your talent, dad, to be an S-rank Divine talent. Considering the highest talent in the village, other than me or Fen, is Nan with her D-rank Mortal, which is several major layers from the Divine class, then if I change the talents of the villagers..." He was about to continue when Etienne knocked him lightly on the forehead with a finger, "Hold that thought, kiddo. I''m more than happy that you want to do that. Do remember, though, that it''d be too dangerous to do so without having the power to protect the village. You still need to get the Elf Queen''s agreement for you to begin the process for starting a kingdom, as we are in the ancestral forest of their people. A foreign kingdom suddenly appearing in their lands is certainly not a good thing." After a light grumpy look from being tapped on the head, Seran nodded, "Yes, dad, I know that... I just need to find a way to meet with her. Since we don''t know who''s coming this year, I don''t know how to do that..." "Don''t worry about that right now, kiddo. Just enjoy the festival, be a kid for once." He gave his oldest son a hug and a ruffle of his hair, "You''re ten years old, Seran, you need to have fun sometimes." Returning his father''s hug, the purple-eyed boy smiled, "Okay, dad... I''m going to go visit Lady Khloe quickly, then I''ll go help Fen." Now that Etienne knew his son was going to take some time to enjoy himself, he let Seran head off towards the spirit spring, since the boy was now given permission to enter at any time, just like an elder or the chief. -- Ten minutes later, Seran was sitting in front of Khloe''s pond as he did his unique beseechment, simply with hands pressed together and eyes closed, "I humbly ask for Lady Spirit to speak with me." As with the previous time, Khloe took her fairy form from the water, her crystalline eyes bright as she gazed upon the mysterious yet kind child before her pond. "I am here, Seran. How can I help?" "Since you are a helper spirit of Lady Demeter, are you capable of relaying my words to her?" "I am, yes, though don''t expect an answer. That crisis is monumental, after all." Seran nodded, "Okay. I''ve never met her, but I honestly believe she cares about this village. I don''t know what deal my ancestor struck with the elves or with Her Ladyship, and I know I can''t find out from anyone but her. Ah, that''s not what I want to talk about though. In all honesty, what I want to do is something more for you." "For me? Are you sure you''re able to do something for me? Keep in mind, I am a fairy spirit. Material possessions are almost useless to me, while power is similarly pointless." Khloe folded her arms as she listened to the boy''s semi-rambling words. "I can. I want to give you a power thanks to my newfound ability. I want to give you the ability [Physical Manifestation]." This made the fairy''s eyes widen, "[Physical Manifestation]? That''s an extremely high-grade ability, one that only very ancient spirits have! Of Lady Demeter''s helper spirits, only the first has such a power, and he uses it to travel the world to help others." "I know what kind of ability it is. My version is a bit better, though. You''ll be invincible as long as you remain around your main source of power, which would be this spring. The reason I want to give this power to you is because of your help towards my village over the centuries. You haven''t really been given a true reward for such work, so I want to give you this as thanks. I truly want you to stay as a part of our village, even when it becomes a kingdom. You''re already an irreplacable part of our home here." Seran''s purple eyes, and his words, showed nothing but good intentions, as he honestly wished to repay her faithful duty. "I... I am... flattered... and honored... I was simply chosen by Lady Demeter to protect the village, I am just doing what I was asked to do..." The fairy was visibly awkward about accepting such a gift, seeing as she believed that she was just doing what she was told. "Yes, I am aware of that. Still, you have protecting this village for 300 years. You deserve something in return. I will give it to you, but there is something I want you to pass along to Lady Demeter." Khloe still looked very awkward as she listened, "Okay... what would you like to me to tell her?" "Please tell her that I would like to know what the deal was with my ancestor, and I am happy to give whatever I can in return for the information, no matter how difficult it is to do." Seran kowtowed towards the spring, emphasizing his sincerity. After a minute, Khloe beckoned for him to sit up as she agreed to relay the information. As she did so, Seran reached out and deftly tapped the fairy on her head lightly. The fairy spirit shivered, both literally and spiritually, as a new power assimilated itself into her soul. Light began to spill from her translucent liquid body, which began to swell in size. Her blue-tinted liquid body grew to 4ft (121.92cm) and rippled colorfully. Several colors flashed through her body, which became more opaque and solid over time. When her transformation completed, she was standing atop the water in the spring, a small girl with an appearance of a 6-year-old, save for her deep blue eyes and hair, along with her gorgeous wings. Seran blushed and turned around quickly in embarassment. William, quick to react as always, quickly created a little white dress along with personal garments for Seran to give her. As the white-haired lad did so, the fairy''s stunned demeanor changed as she realized why the boy looked away, and why he was holding clothes behind his back towards her. Blushing furiously, Khloe almost screamed as she slapped him out of the spring, making him fly out and crash into the wall of a house. Etienne and several others, children included, came to see what happened. Upon seeing a red hand mark on his face, most of the adults either grinned or were confused. Etienne was the latter, as he knew he''d went into the spirit spring. As the boy got to his feet, Khloe came out of spirit spring, still red-faced but absolutely beautiful in her new physical form and outfit. This further stunned the villagers, who had never seen such a person before. Khloe, very embarassed, walked over and gave Seran a look of embarrassed anger, "Next time, warn me when you plan to do something like that." The boy nodded with a very embarrassed look, especially as he now had to explain what happened to his father, who had a look of bemused schadenfreude. 15 Harvest Festival 3 Seran had a look of shameful awkwardness as he walked over to his father, who was already smiling. "You did something amazing again, didn''t you, Seran?" Khloe and Seran were both blushing, with the latter nodding as he said, "Yes..." Etienne shook his head with a grin, "Well, I''m glad nonetheless. Lady Khloe never had the opportunity to join in our festivals, so I''d be thrilled to have you join us." Khloe agreed quickly, "I''d always wanted to be a part of the festival... all I''ve been able to do is watch from the spring... Now I can join in." The chief turned to the very inquisitive and confused villagers to speak, "Everyone, I have great news. Thanks to Seran, our guardian spirit can finally join in our festival!" A chorus of happy and curious sounds came from the crowd, which was then cut off by Etienne as he walked over to kindly place a hand on Khloe''s shoulder, "This is Lady Khloe, our guardian spirit. She''s one of us, as she always has been." Before anyone could say anything, Fenmore and the other kids tore over to gather around her, nonstop talking about how pretty she was, how cool she is, and asking questions about what it''s like to be a spirit. Khloe was overwhelmed at first but quickly calmed down. Being lonely for so long, it was understandable for her to enjoy true company for once. This made the villagers all smile before giving her their best wishes and heading back to their work, knowing the children would be too distracted to help. Seran could only smile and follow after his father, who was also heading back to the festival field to finish up the major preparations. With the help of the crows, along with several Golems, most of the heavy work had already been completed, leaving only decorations left undone. "This is going to be one awesome party," said the boy as he began helping hang up lanterns. -- "Seran, you''d better get that last field done! There''s only an hour until the festival starts!" "Ah, shit! I forgot! I''m on it, dad!" The white-haired lad bolted off toward the last unharvested field, using his skills at parkour to shorten the distance faster than he could on the ground. After the wildly fun day of preparation yesterday, almost the entire village was completely ready for the festival. Only, Seran had fallen asleep before finishing the last field, which Etienne had just kicked his behind for. As he hurried to the field, he spotted Fenmore playing with the other kids, with Khloe still surrounded by happy kids. Storm had shrunk down to perch on Fenmore''s head, as protective of the odd-eyed boy as ever. Seran could only smile at the scene before hurrying onward. Fifteen minutes later, as Seran was cutting down the last stalks of wheat to bundle, he heard Fenmore charge over with huge eyes and an excited look on his face, "Big brother, the elves are here!" "Already? Shoot, I''ll be right there. Go on ahead, Fen, big brother will catch up!" He began to bundle up the last stalks himself, as two large Golden Crows took the previously finished bundles to the storage house. As Fenmore hurried back to look at the elves, Seran put the Golems on standby outside the village before using his parkour skills to speed to the storage house as well. He could already hear the festival getting ready to begin, and he spotted several pointy-eared beings entering from the north. Little did he know that, while he was making his way to the storage house, a male elf with dark grey hair and blue eyes spotted the white-haired lad''s abilities with interest. Watching Seran''s nimble movements, along with sensing his enormous power, surprised him. He''d come the previous year, and this boy had certainly not been here then. Of course, that wasn''t all he noticed. Several powerful Earth Golems and pureblood Golden Crows were undoubtedly what he saw first. Whilst the elf was contemplating the connections between Seran and the village''s changes, the boy in question had just put up the last bundle of wheat and was heading to the festival. Seeing all of the villagers in their best outfits, as cheap as they were in such a poor village, along with the huge smiles of joy on everyone''s faces, only made him happier knowing he''d helped to make such an event possible. When he reached the festival field, everyone was already having fun, with several people already drinking while some were cooking over the firepits. Etienne was talking to a blonde-haired female elf when he saw Seran running on the rooftops to the field. "Oi, Seran, come here for a minute!" As the boy expertly jumped a good 24ft (7.3m), with a front-flip, and landed beside his father, the chief said, "Seran, I want you to meet Lady Layla. She''s the leader of the visiting elves, and she often spends time chatting with Nan." With a big smile, Seran bowed to her overdramatically, "My pleasure to meet you, Lady Layla." His cheeky behavior earned him a knock on the head from his father, making the boy stick his tongue out at Etienne with a playful look. Layla had a slight grin as she looked at the pair, "Quite a charming lad, he is, Etienne." With a kind nod, she said, "Layla Moontears. Pleased to meet you as well, Seran. You''re very impressive for your age." Seran giggled just a bit, "Hopefully not too impressive. Any more than usual and Nan would knock me senseless." This statement made the elf lady''s smile widen, "That she would, indeed. She''s always been a strong woman, Eleanor. Takes a lot to rein in two hot-blooded men, let alone the many villagers she does now." "At the risk of sounding rude, did you know Nan when she was younger?" He asked very cautiously, knowing how dangerous it was to ask a lady her age. While noticing Seran''s nervousness from his question, Layla laughed, the bright sound mingled with the sounds of the festival, "Yes, I have. From when she was no bigger than you. She was just as hot-blooded as her kin then, but she had better control over it. I''ve seen her give her father and brother more than a dozen knocks to the head. Of course, that was before she was blessed by your guardian spirit. After that, she spent more time throwing them into the river that runs not far from here." The elf lady had a reminiscing look in her eyes, recalling many interesting moments involving Eleanor. Etienne shivered a little, "I''ve experienced her river-throw enough times to not want to endure it again... That river is cold year-round, so it''s quite shocking to the body." As Seran and his father both started to overthink things, Layla shook her head with a smile and was about to continue when a little figure squealed and tried to tackle-hug Etienne. Since the chief was lost in his mind, he didn''t react in time, but thanks to Seran, the little trouble-maker was caught in a big hug. The odd-eyed boy was halfway between giggling and pouting, "Big brother caught me again..." "Fen, I know you like to give big hugs, but right now isn''t the time, okay? You don''t want to embarrass dad in front of everyone, do you?" Seran nuzzled his little brother''s hair softly, knowing it would calm him down. "No..." mumbled Fenmore, who looked very sad all of a sudden. "Don''t worry, you can give dad big hugs later. Right now just isn''t the time." He set his little brother down on his feet and said, "Fen, this is Nan''s friend, Lady Layla." He gestured to the elf woman, who still had a grin on her face. "Hi, lady. You''re very pretty," the odd-eyed boy was always good at voicing his thoughts, which brought peals of bright laughter from the elf. With a small blush of embarrassment, Seran introduced his little brother while ruffling his hair, "This cheeky little bugger is my little brother, Fenmore." Layla smiled at the little boy, "Well, aren''t you an energetic bundle of giggles?" This only earned a big grin from Fenmore, who then heard several children calling for him to join them, so he ran off to play after saying goodbye. "He''s just as lively as Eamon was." "He''s a special boy, Fen. He''s been through a lot. Having lots of energy is the best thing for him." Etienne could only watch his youngest son play with the other children, a spectacle which attracted the attention of many villagers, and just as many elves, all of which were at least slightly smiling at the sight. The elf lady also watched before shaking her head amusedly; the sight of giggling and happy children was too pure to not enjoy. She was planning to continue talking about something else, but she noticed a male elf with dark grey hair and spectacles making his way over to them, a glitter of interest in his wise blue eyes. 16 Harvest Festival 4 Layla had a look of wonderment upon seeing this elf man make his way over. He generally stayed by himself, quietly watching the festival every year. Others rarely noticed him due to how silent and immobile he was, and even when he was spotted, the villagers didn''t approach him, save for a couple of children, to which he half-smiled. Seeing him walking towards them, a behavior which hadn''t happened in several decades. Layla had a suspicion about what he wanted. The elf man''s electric blue eyes stayed on Seran as he strode over to stand beside Layla. With a small grin, he said, "You''re quite a miracle worker, aren''t you, kid?" Those eyes seemed to peer through Seran''s entire being the longer they stared at him. Layla, who noticed the man''s old habit acting up, cut in after lightly tapping him on the shoulder, "Ahem, Brannon, you''re doing it again." "Ah, my bad." The elf man, Brannon, chuckled mildly as the electric blue in his eyes stopped glowing and returned to a normal blue. "Apologies. I should introduce myself first. This old man''s name is Brannon Fateseer." "Fateseer? As in fortune-teller?" The boy''s ears twitched as he heard a very peculiar word. "You''re a Fortune Teller?" Brannon''s eyes twinkled, "You''re a quick one, aren''t you? The answer is both yes and no. Currently, I am a Fate Reader, the third-grade job in the Fortune Teller path. While I am nowhere near as good as the Oracle, who is the only Prophet in all of Aregard, I''m one of the best in the Fate Readers." Etienne was surprised at hearing Brannon''s job, saying with amazement, "A Fate Reader? There''s no more than 50 of them at any time in the entire world! I never thought I''d get to even see one, let alone meet one." The old diviner chuckled, "Normally, you wouldn''t even get the chance to see one. Here, on the other hand, I can walk freely. This is the forest we elves call home, after all." Shaking his head, Brannon returned his gaze to the purple-eyed lad, "You''re a very intriguing lad. Even with my signature ability [Eyes of Divination], I can''t see through you. You must be the one that our Queen mentioned." Seran was stunned, "She knows about me? Is she a Fortune Teller too?" "No, she is not. Our Queen made a deal with your ancestor Edric, which was mediated by the Oracle herself, and several other trustworthy people. I was one of them, thus I know more about the contents of the deal than anyone here, including the related prophecy. You should have at least heard tell of such a thing by now, correct?" "Yes, I have. From what I heard, the Oracle said that a child would come that would change the world, starting from here in Greenwood Village." "Indeed, that is the prophecy in a brief summary. However, it misses the most important points." The old sage leaned over to whisper just low enough for Seran to hear, "With eyes of orchid and hair of ice and snow, the once and future king shall rise amidst the evergreens and bring change upon the world." He then straightened up again, a smile still hanging on his lips, "A single phrase from the original prophecy. What do you think, kid?" After a moment of silence, Seran said, "It''d be a lie to say that half of that sounds exactly like me..." "The original prophecy has many more phrases, but those are debatably the most important. So, as you are the prophetic child, I have a very simple question." Brannon''s slightly amused attitude shifted to a cold and calculating one, "What is your ultimatum?" Sensing the danger he could get himself into by answering incorrectly, Seran began to overthink things, to the point of visibly sweating like he was being interrogated. It took William''s interjection to his thoughts to remind him to say what he believed he should do as a king, the complete truth of the matter. After calming himself and taking a deep breath, he looked Brannon in the eyes and said, "As a king, I think that my citizens are more important than anything. I''d have nothing without them. I will protect my kingdom and its citizens with my life." He then thought for a minute before continuing, "I would not wage warfare needlessly, either. My policy would be not to strike first, but to always strike back. To my enemies, I will be cruel, but not cruel to the innocents involved. To my allies, I will always support them. Within my kingdom, all would be equal, and status is earned, not inherited, regardless of race, abilities, age or gender. Everyone will have the same opportunities, and everyone will be treated the same." Layla, Etienne, and Brannon all stared at the boy with shocked interest upon hearing his statement. Thankfully, it was too noisy with the festival for anyone to hear what he said very clearly. All 3 thought about what kind of a kingdom such a place would be, almost beginning to tremble with anticipation of what such a kingdom could be capable of. The first to regain a clear head was Brannon, who quickly broke into a bout of hearty laughter, a sound that mixed in with the festival sounds. Layla was the second, smiling mostly at Seran''s words and slightly at seeing the elf sage unable to hold back his mirth. Finally, Etienne returned to reality, immediately wrapping his son in a big hug, stunning the white-haired boy, who then awkwardly returned the hug. After laughing for a good while, Brannon smiled widely before saying to Layla, "I think he''s brilliant." "I''d have to agree. That''s already more than most rulers think of in their lifetime. Such a place, I''d love to see it," Layla replied, unable to keep herself from smiling as well. Etienne could barely keep from crying in pride, "Damn it, Seran, you''re too special to be my son." "Dad, if you start crying now, Nan won''t ever let you forget it." Seran just continued giving his father a hug, who was too happy about having a genius son to even hear what he said. Brannon chuckled before saying, "Well, anything else we have to talk about, we should do it in private. Do you have a place we can chat?" "I think the festival will be fine without us for a minute. We can go to my house, provided dad doesn''t keep hugging me forever." The young boy could only stand and let himself be hugged since Etienne felt like he''d lose Seran if he let go. "Dad, let go of me. I''m not gonna disappear, and you know it. You''re embarrassing me and you in front of everyone here." The emotional chief eventually let go, though he still looked like he wanted to hug his son again. He calmed down almost instantly after Seran said he''d get Nan if he had to. "Yes, we can go to our house if it''s the best for the conversation to continue..." The two elves followed the two humans away from the festival, which continued to just get more and more festive by the minute. Upon entering the chief''s house, they moved to sit in the living room, with Etienne and Brannon each occupying a chair, and Seran and Layla both sitting on the couch. Seran then said, "So, what''s the rest of the conversation you meant?" Brannon had a mischevious grin as he looked at Layla, "So, what do you think of him, your majesty?" Etienne caught on quickly and stared in shock at the elf lady beside his son. Seran, on the other hand, wasn''t that surprised. He just said bluntly, "I had a hunch that you were both important people, but I didn''t expect one to be a Fate Reader and the other to be the Elf Queen I''d hoped to meet." Layla, the Queen of the Elves, responded simply, "You''re a special child, indeed. I''m glad to have met you already. Still, if you wish to become a king, you need two things: the support of your people and at least one ally. Considering your village is within the Primeval Forest, which is a part of my territory, you can understand why I find the creation of a kingdom so important. "Yes, that''s true. Our village is still within your borders, even if we have been given a status similar to an embassy. I would need to be on good terms with you at the very least." "Yes, you would need to be. The forest is a part of the elves'' power, so the loss of any of it is detrimental to us as a whole. So, how do you intend to build a true kingdom in such a small village when you cannot do anything to the forest?" Layla''s gaze was sharp and leveled as she eyed the young boy inquisitively. 17 Harvest Festival 5 "To be honest, I had several ideas on how to do such a thing. The first idea is for me to conquer or kill the being within the Dreamless Savannah. Since it is a B-rank Danger Zone, there is no actual owner, though it is within the borders of the Everd Kingdom. If I successfully do so, then I''d have to use some of my more... ridiculous methods to create the city as fast as possible. However, the village may end up being abandoned, and we cannot separate our guardian spirit from her oath. While I have other ideas for keeping the village from being abandoned, they all involve minor alterations to the surrounding trees, and thus I have not considered them," Seran briefly explained one of his ideas to his audience, who were listening with rapt attention. Layla, her posture indicating that she was deep in thought, said, "What sort of alterations..? Will they be harmful?" "No, of course not. It would actually require the help of life magic to accomplish, though. I would move some of the trees to another location that could potentially benefit from an additional tree, or to places you would require them. I would keep several of the smaller ones, and grow more of them over time in the city. Some of the older trees, which would take time to find since these trees are enormously large, could be magically altered into a living house without harming its growth. However, the intricacies of such magic would limit those who use it to the elves or those given training by them, since it requires harmony with nature, and the elves are naturally gifted with such ability." This prompted Layla to say, "That kind of magic would be perfect for us elves. Someone once thought of something similar, but it would still end up harming the tree, so it was scrapped. If you could prove its abilities, I''d be extremely grateful if you could pass the method to us. That alone would convince the entire council, save a few, to ally with you." "I''m not capable of using such magic yet, but I should be able to... tomorrow?" "Tomorrow? That kind of mastery is impossible so quickly!" Brannon interjected, knowing just how hard such magic was. Etienne smiled, "You haven''t met my son, then. On his tenth birthday, he awakened with a total of 13 jobs. Of those, 3 were second-grade mage jobs. Furthermore, you haven''t seen his control over his magic." "That may be so, but I still don''t believe it. I''d have to see it myself." Brannon''s stance was solid, unshakeable even. Layla then spoke, keeping Brannon from continuing, "Seran, if you can truly pull off such a crazy stunt, along with such an amazing kind of magic, then I would have next to no reason not to ally with you and give you a small portion of the area we are in now. While that might sound like a lot now, it''s not worth even a scant amount of such magic''s worth." "No worries. In all honesty, you can also treat it as a gift for giving us a safe haven here in the Primeval Forest for so long, divine contract or not." Seran had a smile that was both kind and sagely, which did not match his youthful appearance. "Our biggest problem, in all honesty, is being able to trade easily with your people without building roads. So, I would have to also add space magic to my list of abilities by tomorrow... Actually, you know what, I''ll just skip all of that and add all of them at once." The latter comment was so ridiculous that Brannon nearly coughed blood, while Layla paled instantly. This kid sounded so laughably absurd, actually believing he could do such a thing overnight! "As insane as that sounds, I am confident that I can do it. Anyway, let''s move on. While I can''t prove it today, I can do so tomorrow. For now, we should decide how our alliance should work." Seran just waved his hand dismissively of the previous topic before continuing, "An alliance of mutual benefit would be best, honestly. You help us, we help you. Any new inventions made by us, you will be the first to receive them. As for what you choose to do, it has nothing to do with us unless it, in some way, causes problems for us, financially or otherwise." "You speak like you are certain that you will succeed in an overnight power-up," said Brannon, who was halfway between glaring and laughing. "You think I''m not capable of it? Do keep in mind that I single-handedly brought the Golden Crows back from extinction, gave [Physical Manifestation] to our guardian spirit and awakened 13 jobs during my first awakening. Tell me that all 3 of those things are impossible and can''t be done when I did them all in one day." Seran''s purple eyes were no longer shining as they were before, but were dark and cold. His good mood from the festival had slowly deteriorated, and he was close to just walking out of this, despite knowing how important it is. "Whenever I am confident in being able to do something, I will do it. I may be a child, but I am not a liar." The change of attitude from the white-haired boy was rather startling to the two elves, who briefly felt daunted from Seran''s emotionless eyes before recovering. Layla looked to Brannon, who had once again activated [Eyes of Divination]. While it was meant mainly for divination, it could also read the emotions and even some thoughts of the target. Brannon peered at Seran, who had William remove the [Inspection Immunity] cheat from the console. After he did so, not just Brannon, but even Layla and Etienne began to see things. From the young lad''s body came abnormal sounds, like the booming of thunder, waves of water and the rumbles of a landslide. Behind him, 3 phantasms began to shimmer: one was a man with short white hair and a full beard, muscular but not overly so, wearing only chainmail greaves and holding a bolt of lightning, a crown of lightning around his forehead. Another was a woman of unearthly beauty, hair a mix of browns bearing a crown of various gemstones while wearing a dark brown dress, seeming to give off a presence as heavy as the world. The third was a man similar to the first, muscular but not overly so, bearing a crown of sea-stones, wearing chainmail greaves and holding a trident. All 3 gave off domineering auras, none of which were mortal in nature. Behind them, two vague forms also appeared, but they were only silhouettes, one of a woman and another that was indistinguishable from the darkness around it. The auras forcibly deactivated Brannon''s [Eyes of Divination], the old elf''s eyes slightly bleeding from how powerful the auras were. After groaning in pain, the way he looked at Seran changed dramatically, as did Layla''s expression. Both of them were well-traveled and had visited the Monastery of Fate, the Oracle''s residence along with the Sisterhood of Fate. A lifelike statue of every major deity existed in the Monastery, so they recognized the three phantasms clearly. Neither of them had anything to say, or even think of, as they saw this scene. Etienne, while he was affected, was not as stunned. He knew Seran''s biggest secret, which made it easier for him to understand how he had such overbearing bloodline auras. As he wasn''t the one being targeted by the auras, he was only affected lightly, and even then, he knew his son would never hurt him. As the two elves were reeling in shock, an emotionless voice spoke from the one causing the scene, "Does this convince you enough of my confidence?" 18 Harvest Festival 6 Absolute silence filled the inside of the chief''s house in Greenwood Village, save for the three sounds that echoed from the phantasms of deities behind Seran. After a moment, the phantasms, and the two silhouettes behind them dispersed into several clouds of mist that were quickly absorbed back into the white-haired lad''s body before William reactivated [Inspection Immunity]. The first person to break the silence was Seran, who simply cleared his throat, which was enough to pull the two elves'' heads out of the clouds and back to reality. Brannon suddenly looked like he had aged decades as he sunk back into the chair, visibly exhausted and flabbergasted. "I feel... ancient all of a sudden... and extremely weak..." After the backlash of having his ability forcibly broken, the elf man had to get his breath back, which was now easier after the crushing pressures of the phantasms had left. Layla looked haggard but was in much better condition that Brannon, as she had become a Magic Swordsman before she ascended the throne, so her physique was much stronger than the non-combatant Fate Reader. "When we visited the Monastery of Fate, one of the Sisters told us something. People with powerful bloodlines, upon sufficient purity, will create a phantasm of their bloodline''s original ancestor. The purer the bloodline, the clearer the phantasms would be, and some abilities that were made for the bloodline itself would be empowered by them. A hero''s descendant would be able to create a phantasm of their hero ancestor, and it would reflect the moves of the descendant if they used one of the abilities made by the hero. Demigods would also make phantasms of their godly parent, which could empower almost any ability..." Brannon said, "At the Monastery, there are many statues of the gods... your phantasms match 3 of them... Poseidon, Terra and... Zeus... As for the two vague forms behind them, I assume one is Demeter from your Greenwood blood, while the other... I don''t know, it was too hard to see... Before now, I wouldn''t have been able to take you seriously, but... such an abnormally powerful demigod... I''d be a fool not to at least believe in you a little..." He coughed a little, a bit of blood leaking from his lips. "My apologies, but I wouldn''t have been able to convince you otherwise..." he channeled a great amount of mana into a spell before holding his hand palm up in front of him, "[Grand Restoration]." The spell converted the mana into pure life energy, which spread through the house, reinvigorating and healing the bodies of everyone within it. Once the spell ended, the four people in the house felt full of energy and without any fatigue. "You used [Grand Restoration]? That''s a Tier 5 spell of Life Magic! Only Grandmaster Theurgists can use that spell!" Layla had already been given several shocks today, yet Seran still seemed to have more. "I''m a wild card. Anything is possible. If you want to know why I can make magic such as what I said earlier, then I''ll also tell you I have the ability [Spell Creation]." Seran smiled, not minding that he was telling major details to them. "I see, that makes it much easier to believe... as long as you have the affinity, you should be capable of creating any magic..." Brannon pondered, stroking his chin in thought, "I honestly can''t find any major flaws in your confidence anymore... There''s a phrase about demigods with 100% pure bloodlines: to tell a lie is not in their nature, unless it is to protect another. Having seen your bloodline phantasms, which are so clear that they''re nearly physical, I''ll trust in that phrase, especially since it was once said by a predecessor of the Oracle, who had been a companion of a hero centuries ago." Seran calmly said, "I don''t mind you telling your trusted advisors, or the elven council members, as it will make it easier for them to believe your decision. I''ve never intended to hide my abilities, since if I hide too much, it will cause far more problems than being well-known, with some exceptions." He leaned forward a little before he continued, "Anyway, shall we discuss the terms of our alliance? I honestly wish for it to be of mutual benefit. The city I build will easily surpass even ancient sects in power over time, with endless amounts of inventions and innovations. As such, other than my people, you and your people will benefit from them before others." "My only problem with that is that we aren''t city-dwellers. Even if some of those creations aren''t meant for cities, trade is very hard because of the forest being... well, forest. There are no roads to connect us, and we can''t create any without harming the forest." Layla had quickly regained the bearing of a monarch, frankly stating the biggest problems in one go. "Once I master space magic, I intend to create teleportation arrays. I''m sure there are several groups of elves living in large communities in your realm, right? With the tree-shaping magic that I''ll create, they''ll be able to form towns. With my arrays, I can connect them to your biggest settlement, then connect that to us. This would solve the trade dilemma. As for the problem of the city-dweller items, even the nature-dwelling elves will benefit from nearly everything, I guarantee that." Brannon interrupted the two as he said, "Teleportation arrays are extremely expensive and nearly impossible to create. One has to be at least a Sage in Space Magic to make them. Only the ancient sects and the biggest cities on the continent even have them. If you could make them so easily, you''d revolutionize trading and diplomacy." Seran nodded, "I am aware. I would only do it for major cities outside of your realm, though, since I can''t build other transportation methods through the forest. I will wholeheartedly help your people, as I will always do for my allies." Layla thought over what Seran said before she replied, "This sounds heavily weighted towards us rather than you. This is hardly a fair deal..." "Don''t worry about that. I know what I''m doing. This is the best deal I can come up with. Anything else that happens, we can discuss when it comes up. I''d like to ask you to stay for a week, so you can fully see that I will keep my word. Ah, I should also add that the life magic that I''ll invent will also make elves capable of having nature aid them in battle, which would make you extremely hard to defeat in areas with lots of plant life, not to mention here in the Primeval Forest. You might be nearly invincible here with it." "Wait, really? That''s even more incredible than just the tree-shaping magic on its own!" Brannon nearly stood up from astonishment, before Layla pointedly looked at him to sit back down. The elf queen sighed, massaging her temples, "I can''t in good conscience turn down such a deal, especially when it will benefit my entire race as a whole... I''ll have to take you up on your offer to stay for a week though. I can''t immediately say no, but I would like to witness the truth with my own eyes first. My people can also remain here for a week, so it isn''t just the two of us watching it." Seran smiled widely, "Great! Unfortunately, I don''t have a place for your people to stay, but I can make one quickly." Layla shook her head, "Don''t worry about that. We camp out as we travel, usually. We can continue to do so for now." Etienne stood up and stretched, "Ah, my bones need some exercise after all of that. I''m going to go enjoy the festival. Seran, don''t do anything stupid." He gave his son a look that made him hold his hands up in surrender before the chief left the house. After going over the minor details of the alliance deal, the remaining three then exited the house, heading back to the party, where the two elves would have to spend a long time explaining what just happened and why they would be staying longer than usual. 19 Greenwood Demigod 1 Throughout the night, the elves experienced strange and powerful pressures coming from the village chief''s house, each of which was definitely not mortal in nature. Layla and Brannon had been informed ahead of time that strange things would likely happen in the night, and would most likely be Seran''s fault. This helped when they told their companions that everything was fine and that it would only last until dawn, and then not any further after. Despite this, the elves still felt a weak feeling of danger and minor inferiority to these pressures. Meanwhile, while he was sleeping, Seran''s body was undergoing yet another bloodline change. Through a combination of his Gacha Tickets and the developer console, he had gained the remaining major elemental deity bloodlines, each of which raised his affinity with their elements to Divine-grade. Outside of that, he''d also gained the bloodline of the Primordial Dragon, the ancestor of all dragons, including the Divine Beast known as the Azure Dragon. His status page now read: -- Name: Seran Greenwood Race: Human Demigod Age: 10 Class: Spellblade Level: 29/30 Bloodline(s): Zeus, Terra, Poseidon, Demeter, Ouranos, Chronos, Apollo, Shu, Osiris, Erebus, Amaterasu, Primordial Dragon Affinities: All (Divine) HP: 100,000,000/100,000,000 MP: 10,000,000/10,000,000 Attributes: STR: 225 (^175) AGI: 300 (^230) DEX: 240 (^180) END: 300 (^250) VIT: 400 (^350) INT: 500 (^450) WIS: 500 (^450) LCK: 500 (^450) CHA: 300 (^250) -- On top of his insane growth, his previous dual immunity to Water and Lightning evolved upon gaining all of the elements at a Divine-grade affinity. Now, he was immune to all of the elements. A ridiculous amount of new spells and abilities had been added to his list, so much that William had a migraine sorting all of them into drop-down menus just to make it easier in the long run. When the sun''s light had just begun to crest the horizon, the great pressures seemed to vanish almost instantly, leaving the elves very confused as to what happened. This only got worse when they realized that the human villagers hadn''t sensed anything. Brannon linked it to his status as a Greenwood Village resident, which protected them from the powers that Seran wielded. Soon, the villagers resumed their everyday lives like nothing had happened, spending the day cleaning up after the festival. The party was over, but the trading portion would happen the day after the party, that being today. Eventually, the elves managed to shake off their dazed states and went around the village to help, as they always did. Layla and Brannon, on the other hand, went to the chief''s house. As they reached the doorstep, Seran and Etienne stepped out, the former having a great smile and the latter looking like he was hung over when he actually wasn''t: he just fell off his bed a dozen or so times last night. Seran said cheerfully, "I assume you''re here to find out what happened last night, right?" Upon getting nods in response, he casually waved them inside, while Etienne left to help with the clean-up. Layla was the first to speak after they were seated, "Our companions were mildly confused and fearful last night, and even just ten minutes ago they were restless. What on Aregard happened?" Instead of speaking, the lad had William deactivate [Inspection Immunity] again. The scene from the day before reappeared again, except this time there were 12 phantasms instead of 3 and 2 silhouettes. Three of them were familiar, as they had appeared previously: Zeus, Terra, and Poseidon. The fourth silhouette was a woman with a graceful figure, shoulder-length green wavy hair, and bright green eyes. Wearing a dark green maxi dress with a right-side high slit sash, accented with many colors in ever-changing designs of living things, she gave off a general feeling of harmony and comfort. A wreath of flowers adorned her head, and an ornate sickle was strapped to the side of her right leg. This woman was undoubtedly Demeter, the goddess of life herself. Beside Demeter was a man that was very hard to describe, as his appearance was ever-changing. At times he was muscular, other times he was skinny as a bone. His hair was as black as the midnight sky, as were his eyes. His skin was just as hard to pin, as it was an ever-shifting shade of black and white. Most frequently he was very muscular and taller than the others, and his face bore an expression of total apathy. The god of space, Ouranos, was one of the most enigmatic deities in Aregard, and even the sculptors in the Monastery of Fate had trouble when they made the statue of his likeness. Another difficult to describe man stood next to Ouranos. While his hair always remained grey, at times it was long or short, as was his beard. Sometimes he looked like a child and others he looked like a man with a foot in the grave. The most consistent appearance was a man who had just passed his prime, with grey eyes full of wisdom. In one hand he held a staff with a circle at the top, within which an hourglass rotated and spun slowly. Wearing the robes of an old traveler, this man was Chronos, the god of time. After Chronos came a man with eyes like miniature suns, and bright yellow hair like a corona. Over his head with a halo that sometimes let out rings of light. A young man of average build, his face was full of youth and energy, as if he was ready to do anything. Wearing a chest-revealing himation, with an almost comically large golden bow strapped across his back, was Apollo, the energetic god of light. An old man with long, unkempt hair that always looked like it was going through a storm, and a sash covering both of his eyes, stood next to the god of light. Wearing a cloak that was ripped in places from the nonexistent wind raging through it, Shu, the god of wind, held an ancient pan flute with both hands, the sounds of which were just as the wind. A dark-skinned and thin man was beside Shu, an atef crown upon his head. With a crook and flail in each hand, his bright yet somehow dead eyes seemed to have seen too much of the world but still bore a mild sense of hope. This man, wearing a shendyt, was Osiris, the god of death. As someone who had died and been reborn as the god of death, he had seen almost as much of death as Demeter has of life. The next man was easily the hardest to describe, as he was literally a silhouette of pure darkness. The only features one could see of him were that of a cow-skull helmet that revealed the bottom half of his face and the loose, flowing robes that rippled and fluttered. This god of darkness, Erebus, had utterly stumped the sculptors at the Monastery of Fate, who only managed to create a figure similar to the legendary Grim Reaper with the help of an ancient Oracle. Standing beside Erebus was a beautiful woman wearing a regal kimono, with a disc surrounded by fire hovering around her head. With a small eight-sided mirror hovering over her left palm, and an ancient Eastern sword held in her right, the goddess of fire, Amaterasu, gave off sensations of both hearth and home, and of the beautiful power that fire held. Finally, behind the two lines of deities was only the head of a phantasm, the rest of which was obscured in a mist that seemed to be endless due to the size of the head, which was around that of a standard modern 4-wheel-drive farm tractor. With iridescent golden scales and sky blue irises, the massive dragon head gave off a truly awe-inspiring aura that didn''t lose out in the slightest to the deities before it. This showed the almighty power that the ancestor of all dragons, the Primordial Dragon, had. After letting the two take in the phantasms, Seran dispelled them and had William reactivate his [Inspection Immunity]. He then sat back and let the elves process what they had just witnessed. Brannon was the first to speak in the silence that filled the house, "All 11 major gods... Not even including the one I don''t recognize, the dragon one, there''s not a single major deity missing from your bloodline phantasms... You are without a doubt the strongest demigod to have ever existed, and you''re only 10 years old..." "It''s not surprising you don''t recognize the last one, as it is extremely ancient. It is the ancestor of the Azure Dragon, the Primordial Dragon." "The original dragon!? Gods almighty, you really never run out of surprises do you?" Brannon snapped as he heard this, as he certainly knew of the Primordial Dragon, but nobody had ever seen its appearance. Seran smiled widely, "Well, life wouldn''t be fun without surprises, would it?" 20 Greenwood Demigod 2 "Okay, so... I''ve just completed the magic I promised I would create. It doesn''t have a name, but I can explain the most important details very quickly. Firstly, it is possible for all elves to learn this at the same time. If this is done correctly, it will become the inherent racial power of the elves. All elves afterward will be able to use it as if it was natural, since it will become part of the elven race''s powers as a whole. Secondly, even I, the creator, don''t know the limits of this magic. I only know its current limits, which is related to the World Tree, Yggdrasil." Seran, along with the two elves, were standing outside the village, on the road facing the forest. They''d moved out here a good twenty or thirty minutes ago, when the boy had said he''d show them the magic. "That first detail alone is insanely powerful. Racial abilities have only ever been granted by excessive amounts of ancestral effort over generations, or gifted by the gods. For a mortal, demigod or no, to be able to create a unique racial ability so easily... Just the fact that it''ll be our racial ability naturally would make it impossible for us to ever betray you." Layla had to steady her racing heart as she spoke the honest truth, "We elves have long memories, and we do not forget great favors, especially such a favor that cannot possibly be repaid." "Don''t worry about it. I wholeheartedly help my allies, as is how I have always been. Now then, it''s time for you to see the magic''s abilities. I have an idea for a name, but as it is for your people, you should see the magic first." The boy smiled widely, "I''ll show you the easy method first, but it''s got two limits: it can''t be used for major things like tree-changing, and it''s meant mainly for all-purpose things, or for combat." He help up one hand and gave off a peaceful aura, while the phantasm of Demeter appeared behind him copying his motions. As his hand swayed left and right, the branches of the trees, the vines and the little plants all swayed in sync. Lifting his hand slightly like he wanted a high-five, 5 vines wrapped together before moving over and giving him a high-five, the ends of the vines taking a vague hand-like shape. Brannon and Layla were both astounded, with the former stuttering like a fish and the latter whispering, "Wow... that''s amazing..." They then got to watch as the hand-like vines threw a good punch at the boy, who caught it in his upheld hand, all without breaking the magic. After he released the magic, nature returned to its regular state, but the Demeter phantasm remained. "Now, this is the harder method, which requires a lot of control. It can''t be used for combat, as it is too hard to do in active combat." He held his hands in front of his chest like in prayer, but with his fingers laced as he began to sing in a strange and unclear language, one that didn''t even sound like it was meant to be spoken, but Demeter wasn''t copying him this time. Instead, she looked like a conductor as she gracefully moved her hands. The biggest tree before them began to rustle and shift as it began to swell at its base. The wood and bark seemed to flow like water as a large, 20ft tall (6m) enclosed room formed at the base, with only a basic arch of an entrance. He then spread his hands as he continued singing, to which the wood continued to flow, creating windows and stairs, along with a second floor. After that, walls for rooms began to grow from the tree walls until it became a two-bedroom two-story house. The last thing that happened was a simple bead-curtain like door formed from vines over the entryway, which magically kept the heat and cold out or in. During this spectacle, Brannon stuttered even faster than before, his well-experienced mind having trouble comprehending what it saw. This was undoubtedly the most natural and, possibly, beautiful act of life magic he''d ever seen, and he''d once seen a Grandmaster Theurgist cast the limb regrowing spell [Cell Resurgence]. Even seeing a quadriplegic man regain all four limbs didn''t move his as much as the magic in front of him did now. Layla''s legs gave out under her as she fell into a sitting position, just as moved as Brannon as she watched such beautiful magic. Both of them, like all elves, were intrinsically in tune with nature. While the trees and plants could not speak or convey thoughts, they gave off emotions that could be understood. The two elves felt joy, eagerness and not a single bit of negative emotions, not even pain. When it was finally over, and the Demeter phantasm dispersed, the newly formed tree-house remained in place, just as it was meant to. Seeing this, she was moved to tears. She had been present for the last person''s attempt to do such a thing, and all elves in the area felt pain from the trees. The emotions this time were enough to make them cry in happiness. Seran understood why they were behaving like they were, so he just calmly waited until they recovered enough to speak again, "Overall, this is the magic I have created, which will become the elven racial ability. I haven''t actually given it a name yet, but I have an idea. I want your thoughts on the name." Brannon, who finally stopped looking like a guppy, said, "Whatever you name it, I don''t think any elf would disagree with your choice. After all, the creator of a new spell or ability gets to name it." "I understand that, but this is going to be your racial ability.That''s why I wanted to get your input first. The overall name I gave this magic is Nature Magic, a sub-class of Life Magic." Layla mumbled it to herself over and over, "It just rolls off the tongue... it truly does seem exactly like magic that works with nature itself, rather than using it or something like it..." "It seemed the most fitting for it, after all. Other than myself, it will require elven blood to be used. The only other race that could manage to use it would be humans due to their insanely high adaptability. Still, it would require mentoring for years before they could really use it." Seran smiled as he stretched his limbs, "Oh, the phantasm of Demeter will always appear, though it won''t be as clear as mine." Brannon nodded slightly, "That''s understandable, since you''re a demigod." The boy shrugged before pointing a finger at each of their foreheads. A bolt of energy shot out of his fingertips and into their minds, imprinting Nature Magic into their minds, and into their souls in the process. He then lay down on his back and just listened to nature while the two went through what could be considered a metamorphosis. Seran ended up dozing off for a good two or three hours before he was woken up by Brannon, who had been the first to return from the state of metamorphosis. "So, how does it feel? Have you tried it yet?" "I have... I never thought a day would come when we elves could do such things..." The male elf held a staff that was shoulder-height to him, covered in leafy vines and flowers. "And to think that, through this magic, we can even have living items, like this staff. It was just a test I did to see if the trees would listen or agree. This little one was extremely keen on traveling the world with me. I have a feeling that it would stay a living thing, even after I die." He ran one hand over the vines of the staff, which rustled happily like a playful child. "The singing portion of Nature Magic is even more amazing. If one is strong enough, you can even give a small amount of sentience to them. The current limit that I am aware of is to use the World Tree, Yggdrasil''s sentient consciousness as a template to make another tree sentient. Still, I don''t plan to do that. The true limits of this magic is up to your people to discover." Seran smiled widely, "You can go ahead and teach this magic to your companions. Between elves, the method that I used, the mind transference, is the fastest and best. It''s between elves and humans that it requires actual teaching. Since I believe in yours and Queen Layla''s word, I will go ahead and conquer the being in the Dreamless Savannah. After that, I''d have to ask you to get my dad to have everyone come out to the road." After Brannon sat down next to Layla to wait for her to recover from her enlightenment of the Nature Magic, Seran headed back in the direction he''d once came from, directly into the grassy plains of a B-rank Danger Zone. 21 Greenwood Demigod 3 Using one of his new abilities, [All-Seeing Eyes], Seran inspected the ground of the savannah, searching for the being that made it so dangerous. Fortunately, the being seemed to encompass almost the entirety of the area. Upon inspecting them, Seran got a pop-up revealing its information: -- Species: Spirit Maze Devourer Level: 200+ Attribute: Earth The Spirit Maze Devourer is not a physical being, but more of a massive possessing entity. It cannot directly do anything, but it can use its innate ability [Endless Loop] to cause those who enter to wander in an endless circle until they die, after which they are absorbed by it as nourishment. Other than massive spells of at least sixth-grade or those used by an Archmage, there is no known way to kill one of these, nor has anyone succeeded in taming one. -- "I figured it was a nasty prick but I didn''t think it would be so strong... no wonder it''s a B-grade Danger Zone. William, do I have a spell that would work on this?" Seran contemplated. [Not currently, no. Do remember, however, you have [Spell Creation]... I recommend using Lightning, as it is the element that has the most effect on Earth.] With the insane amount of data that William now had with the administrator access, it''s extremely likely that, on his own, he could create a spell that transcended the Archmage class, which can only be gained by first mastering all of the spells that already exist for your affinities, then being acknowledged by other Archmages. To date, nobody has ever exceeded Archmage without being a demigod, and the spells made by those demigods were not passed down for good reason. "Okay then, let''s get to it... Ah, I got it. Let''s see here..." Using the limitless powers of his imagination, along with the help of William''s data and some memories of his old world, Seran began quickly crafting a powerful Lightning Magic spell. It took twenty-some minutes to complete due to its complexity, but by William''s preliminary observation, it would likely be among the strongest Lightning Magic spells in existence. "Now then, let''s get this show on the road." Using a famous hand seal of the Naruto universe, the Seal of Confrontation, Seran held his hand in front of his face before raising to the sky, shouting loudly, "Heavenly Lightning: Spear of Zeus!" The previous clear sky began to ominously darken, even over the village, as dark grey thunderclouds began to roll in, circling in the sky above the Dreamless Savannah like a tornado was about to drop. The villagers, along with the elves, all came dashing out upon seeing this, with most believing it was a natural disaster. What they saw instead was a white-haired boy casting a terrifying Lightning Magic Spell. The center of the cloud whirlpool began to churn and flicker before parting enough to see a very clear phantasm of Zeus, who raised his lightning bolt and hurled it at the ground. Almost instantly, the bolt struck and caused the entire savannah to quake and collapse, and a very faint mental scream of pure pain echoed from the shattered plains. The Zeus phantasm then waved his hands, calling the storm clouds to cover him once again before the sky''s darkness was dispersed like nothing had happened. Brannon, who had once been a Grandmaster Electromancer, knew just how powerful this spell was before it had truly struck. It had enough firepower to completely flatten a small mountain or a good sized city in just one strike. "Holy shit! What is that spell? I''ve never even heard of such a thing!" Seran, who had heard Brannon''s incredulous shouting, yelled back to them, "That''s because I just made it, Brannon!" The Fate Reader visibly staggered and had to lean on a tree to regain his bearings as he grumbled, "Of course you did, I can''t think anyone else could create such a spell..." Letting out a deep, heartfelt sigh, he looked at Layla and said, "I hope I get used to this feeling soon. I might get a heart attack otherwise." The elf queen nodded quietly, as she was still taking in the destroyed landscape. "Well, seems I won''t need to call everyone here now. Sweet. Now then, time to do some ridiculous Earth Magic." Yet another twenty minutes of spell-crafting later, Seran and William developed a spell that could theoretically encompass everything in the world depending on the amount of mana and control one has. Placing his palm on the ground, he intoned the spell, "Heavenly Earth: Terra''s Will." Just as with his last spell, a phantasm, this time of Terra, appeared in front of Seran. The goddess of earth''s phantasm held her hand on palm down, then quickly flipped it over. Upon doing so, the ground once again began to quake and shudder as the earth flowed like water into the crater of destruction. Leaving no spot unturned, Terra easily turned the destroyed plains back into the solid and stable savannah it had once been. Then it began to swell upward until it formed a large hill not unlike the one from Hobbiton in Middle Earth. Dropping her hand, the phantasm faded, and Seran stood up. The first spell might have been the most powerful, and gave the biggest impression, but the second spell was the most versatile and therefore most important of the two. A spell of such massive scale could easily change the course of a battle, manipulating the earth to one''s advantage. The creator of the spell didn''t even use it for such a thing. All he did with it was create the foundation for his city. Then he opened system control menu that he''d never used before: World Management. Thanks to his administrator access, he could build almost anything for free, even custom cities, which is what he was doing now. Everyone silently watched Seran just stand motionless for nearly 30 minutes before he said, "Alright, design complete. First thing''s first: clearing the trees and preparing to remove the village... and move the spring." He walked over to the large group and spoke to the villagers, "In a half-hour, I will be building a city for us. A real city. However, this means that I will have to remove the village houses. If there is anything that you want to keep from your homes, please retrieve it. It doesn''t matter what it is or how much of it there is, if it is important to you, then bring it. After the trees are changed and moved, it will be time to send off the village''s old houses." Most of the villagers were understandable unhappy, and more than a bit sorrowful. Especially the children, there were tears all around. It took Seran some time to cheer them up by explaining very quickly about the founder''s prophecy, and that it was all foretold. The children didn''t understand that, so he just told them it was meant to be, and that their new homes would be amazing and there''s be even more space to play. With more smiles than before, the villagers went around to the houses and collected everything they wanted to keep. Seran also went around and took a piece of each house, making each piece fit together into a large rectangle-like mural, which he would magically protect and place on display later as the last wood of the original village houses, as a memorial. It took almost an hour instead of half of one, but eventually everyone had gotten their stuff outside of the village, making it look like a yard sale of a sort. Seran turned to the elves and asked, "I will be transforming these trees into miniatures for you to take to other places. If you would like one, let me know." A couple of the female elves, and two of the males stepped forward, along with Layla and Brannon. After he nodded, Seran began to perform the second stage of Nature Magic, the phantasm of Demeter appearing as a conductor behind him as he sang. All of the trees around the village began to rustle and shiver before shrinking in synchronicity. It took a long time to complete, but eventually, each tree was small enough to fit in a small pot like a little cactus plant. The difference, however, was that their roots were protected by earth magic and life magic, so they wouldn''t die. Once this was done, Seran gave each elf that stepped forward one of the trees and told them that it would require the second stage of Nature Magic to undo the shrinking. Layla and Brannon had only just transmitted the knowledge and ability to them, but they still quickly understood what he meant. As expected, all of the elves were respectful to him, even though he waved off their praise by saying he wanted to do it. Seran stood in front of the village and simply waved his hand towards the houses, which all erupted into flame. There he stood, with the villagers, tears in their eyes as they watched their ancestral homes burn down, but with a mix of hope for the future. 22 Greenwood Demigod 4 "Sir, the monthly report for the town has been calculated." Etienne sat in a chair, writing quickly on various papers at his desk, "Hit me." "We''ve had an influx of merchants and travelers, bringing our population up to nearly quintuple our original number. Of the new arrivals, about 75% are permanent residents while the rest are merchants or adventurers on a journey. After lots of calculating, we have tallied about 1000 people living in the city as residents, while about 200 are travelers. Only about 100 of the residents are children, the rest are adults, and only 3% are elderly." A lady wearing a semi-formal dress shirt and pants flipped through a clipboard of papers, listing off important details. "That''s a good number. Make sure they get the education they need. Housing is still currently on loan, and only the first 2000 residents get that right. If any of them don''t have a house, get one prepared for them." "I''ve already gone ahead and ordered several houses to be built. With the influx of residents and the new education system, finding good craftsmen has been quite easy." "Excellent. What''s next?" Etienne''s eyes sparkled, even if he hated paperwork. He was still a natural leader, which included the duties of taking care of a village, or a town now. "That would be the income and expenditure. With His Majesty''s abilities, we have no need to farm, mine or anything related to such things, as he has already created self-sustaining devices for them. Because of that, we were able to save up 25% of our income. The remaining 75% was split between the salaries of the government and military workers, the child welfare and orphanage system, the judicial system, maintaining the town, and keeping the arrays running." She then flipped a page, "Next up is the census for professions. Thanks to His Majesty, we currently have 200 soldiers protecting the town as both defenders and as policemen. Once we have at least 100 professional policemen, we will be able to have the soldiers primarily be defenders of the town. We currently have 13 blacksmiths, 17 tailors, 26 carpenters, 35 cooks, of which 10 are chefs" "Good, good. It''s already been a month and I didn''t think it would be going so well. Anything else?" "Other than a handful of things like a few troublemakers going to the courthouse, nothing else." "I see. Thank you, Erica. I''m glad I picked you as my secretary," Etienne said that, but Seran was the one who recommended her. The brown-haired Greenwood village mother smiled, "Eti, you''d lose your head if someone didn''t keep it attached. Since Nan has been given a place to retire in peace, someone has to keep your head on, and it might as well be me, since I was doing it to you when we were kids." "And Ellie picked up that part of you expertly," chuckled Etienne, thinking of the town''s resident ''big sister''. Erica rolled her eyes, "She''s decided to become a policewoman already. You''ll definitely know if she has by then." As his secretary left his office, the former village chief turned city lord swiveled his chair around to face the window that looked over the town, tapping on the armrest as he thought of everything that had happened in the last month. -- Greenwood Town was founded one month ago, with little more than 100 residents from the village. Even though it was technically a royal capital, it looked like a modern town, with no fancy places like a palace. The two ''fanciest'' buildings were the city hall and the courthouse, both of which were still modern in design, followed by a couple guard towers. At first, nobody took the town seriously, but after it was announced that Greenwood Town was the home of a demigod king that had managed to make the entire elven race indebted to him, and it was proven by word from the queen to various countries, people began to visit. Not many came, naturally, due to the distance, but those that did often didn''t leave, as they learned that they had a second chance at life here. It would take much longer for the little one-town country to grow, but stories of the legendary Greenwood Village residents leaving the forest with the blessing of the elves and founding a kingdom atop the Dreamless Savannah had spread like crazy to surrounding kingdoms. Still, the town was actually ruled by Etienne, who was the city lord of Greenwood Town. The legendary demigod king wasn''t ever found, and there hadn''t been a portrait or likeness made of him so far. Only the knowledge of him having white hair and purple eyes made him stand out. However, Seran was currently going through the Primeval Forest with Queen Layla, as he had promised to set up teleporters for her people. Thanks to the power of the new education system, along with the many stores that had begun, everyone was given chances to do whatever they wanted, career-wise or lifestyle-wise. Several people that visited wanted to experience the education system, but Seran had made a rule about that: emissaries and important people from other countries were the only ones given exceptions to the rule of citizens only. Etienne had sent a letter to June in Lightwood Fortress about the new town founding, and that he wished to have an Adventurers Guild branch in the town. This surprised the guildmaster, who immediately contacted the continental guildmaster. As the only S-class non-fighter, a Water Sage at that, he was amongst the most knowledgeable of the events going in on around the continent. While he wasn''t an Archmage, he was still the strongest mage on the continent. He said he would send an investigator from headquarters, and June would have to take them there. With all that had happened so far, Greenwood Town had already become a part of the world, and a regular flow of currency had formed in the multifaceted community it held. In the future, both Seran and Etienne, along with the elven leaders, knew that the small town would soon skyrocket in size as word of it spread farther and farther, especially when the parts about the several no-longer-extinct Golden Crows that protected the town with the soldiers. Once Seran was done with the teleporters, he planned to go on an adventure and explore the world. Who knows, he might end up becoming a more well-known legend along the way. This is but the beginning of his journey. Now, young King Seran Greenwood, the Greenwood Demigod, would set off to change the world, one journey at a time. 23 Omens It began a few months after the founding of the new Greenwood Kingdom and its sole city. The Oracle, in the Monastery of Fate, had declared that she had been given a vision of the future of the five continents, and the world as a whole. Before the details of the vision are told, some of Aregard''s history should be explained. Originally, there had only been a single land mass, a supercontinent that was named the Ancient Land. On this supercontinent, there had been quite a few eras of peace and of war, as one would expect from a single landmass being home to dozens of races. An ancient Archmage by the name of Evandar Stormcrown spent many years documenting the many races of the world, their statuses and abilities, and, much later on, their fates. When he lay on his deathbed, he didn''t hope for anyone to be able to finish documenting this, as he didn''t want it to be lost to history forever. So, he sacrificed his entire power to enchant a large tome, writing his wish to the gods above to protect his life''s work, and to grant it the power to update itself to the changes of the world''s race. In order to preserve such dedicated work, and the irreplaceable documentation of the events before, during, and after the event, the gods obliged. The tome became known as the Worldly Archive. Within the legendary book, the list of races in the ancient era, some of which were combined into one supercategory, such as Undead Race, was as follows: -- Human Race High Elven Race Fairy Race (nymphs, dryads, pixies and similar are all fairies) Giant Race Magical Beast Race Beastman Race (also includes flying species) Dragon Race Draconian Race Divine Beast Race Orc Race Demon Race (includes various demon species such as succubi and oni) Angel Race Spirit Race (ghosts, poltergeists, and similar) Undead Race (vampires, skeletons, liches, etc) Dwarven Race Gnome Race -- However, at the end of the ancient era, several of these races were said to have gone extinct, and the Worldly Archive has documented if they were. The races that went extinct were the Giant Race, the Dragon Race, the Gnome Race, the Fairy Race, and the Divine Beast Race, along with various subspecies of the Demon, Undead, Beastman, and High Elven races. All of these losses came from one calamitous event. The Abyss Invasion. One day, a massive rift the height of the modern-day Tokyo Tower and the width of an Olympic stadium appeared in the mountain range beside a major city. From it came endless legions of horrible creatures, along with 13 terrifying beings: the Ten Devil Kings, the two Devil Ministers, and their ruler, the Devil Emperor. Each of the Devil Kings was capable of flattening a country alone, not to mention their ruler being capable of wiping the ten of them out with a flick of his finger. Faced with overwhelming power and unending armies of devils, it took only a few days for more than 70% of the Ancient Land''s countries to become ruins for eternity, along with the entire Giant Race and most of the Dragons and Divine Beasts. What made matters worse was that, by devouring the flesh of the fallen, the devils could continuously grow stronger. With a rapidly declining population, and thus a quickly lowering survival rate, the mortal races were forced into a corner in less than a month. By now, almost all of the remaining species had been exterminated to less than a tenth of their previous amount, while the Gnomes had died out completely. As one would expect, most had given up on survival and wept in despair. However, a miracle appeared out of the darkness. A brave company of 10 adventurers, the Sword of Hope, appeared one day at the defensive frontlines, behind each of which was the phantasm of a deity. Each of these adventurers had been given the unique job of [Hero], along with a subclass of it. Their names were recorded in history on this day, as they did what nobody had managed to do since the invasion began: they pushed back the devils. -- [Divine Swordsman] Alexander Rain [Oracle] Amelia Libelt [Mage King] Harlequin Juneau [Heavenly Marksman] Gerald Blackwell [Divine Medium] Miriam Astheme [Assassin King] Eric Astheme [Grand Paladin] Arthur Blackwell [Berserker] Jack Scarlett [Divine Warrior] Trevor Zion [Beast Emperor] Trina Zion -- With the appearance of the Sword of Hope, mortal-kind''s dwindling hope, and morale, began to surge again. Men and women, no matter what age, took up arms, doing their best to cut a future from amidst the tide of devils, all while following the beacon of light that was the ten heroes. Thanks to their aid, and the rise in morale, the remaining races were able to hunker down in a save place, the Divine Sanctuary and keep their state from collapsing further. As the Divine Sanctuary as protected by the worldly deities, it was much harder to do any lasting effect to it, but the Devil Emperor and his subordinates proved to be capable of damaging its defenses. Still, with the constant repairs to counterbalance the repetitive breakages, the situation had become a temporary stalemate. It was at this point that the Sword of Hope began their first, and only, journey. The Oracle had learned that the Devil Emperor was the overlord deity of another realm, the Abyss, and that he was immortal, even in Aregard. The only chance they had to rescue the world was to kill his 12 subordinates and seal the Emperor away. On the way to the Devil Emperor, many fell. [Heavenly Markman] Gerald Blackwell died of excessive blood loss after the company had killed the third Devil King. [Berserker] Jack Scarlett died with the 9th Devil King in self-sacrificial single combat. [Beast Emperor] Trina Zion, along with her many contracted companions, died in a last stand against a massive ambush while covering for the other heroes in retreat. [Divine Warrior] Trevor Zion succumbed to several internal wounds after the heroes had defeated the first Minister. [Divine Medium] Miriam Astheme sacrificed her soul to protect her companions from a preemptive attack by the Devil Emperor. [Assassin King] Eric Astheme was killed in single combat by the second minister, but dragged his killer to hell with him by detonating his entire power. When they finally reached the Devil Emperor, the original number of heroes had dropped to only four. Against the impossibly powerful abyssal being, they stood no chance. However, they still had trump cards that would help sway the course of battle. Donning their most powerful gear and holding nothing back, the last four heroes battled to the death with the Devil Emperor. Of the four, the first to die was the [Grand Paladin] Arthur Blackwell, who performed a similar act to that of Miriam and burned his soul to defend them from a massive attack. With his remaining physical willpower, even without a soul, his body charged forward and self-detonated, greatly wounding the Devil Emperor. The battle continued to rage for a full day before it came to an end. Drawing his trump card, one of the divine swords created by the goddess of balance, Nemesis, [Divine Swordsman] Alexander Rain also burned his soul for enough power to slice the Devil Emperor into five parts, then stab each part with a different divine sword, save for the torso, which was given a sword to the head and the heart. Using the great power that she held, the [Oracle] Amelia Libelt used her abilities to transfer several deities power into the [Mage King] Harlequin Juneau''s body, which was then used to do three things: to seal the Abyss again and expel the devils around the world; to separate the supercontinent into five separate ones; and to seal the Devil Emperor''s body parts on the five continents. Aregard''s mortal races had won, but at a great cost. Still, with the guidance of the last two heroes, the surviving races began to regrow and return the world back to how it had once been, except for the obvious change in land mass. Since then, it had been several millennia, and the Abyss''s overlord deity remained tightly sealed, protected by the descendants of the Mage King''s disciples. The Mage King''s descendants guarded the sealed Abyss, as was their ancient family duty. The first Oracle founded the Sisterhood of Fate, and from there continued the line of Oracles, who would oversee the destiny of the mortal world constantly. However, the news that the Oracle had released brought back the deeply buried instinctual fear and dread within all mortals hearts. The Abyss''s seal was breaking. 24 First Quests 1 Inspecting dozens of travelers daily was a normal part of the duties of a gate guard at any city, not just Lightwood Fortress. Merchants, Adventurers, hermits, and all manner of people passed through the gates regularly, making most of their jobs not very exciting. Every so often, a smuggler or bandit would get caught and either end up arrested or killed. Such was the norm, to which nobody would bat an eye at. Today, however, an unusual traveler intended to enter. The western gate of Lightwood Fortress was likely the one used the least, with no more than a dozen a day. Still, compared to the southern and eastern gates, they had the longest track record with strange characters. 40% of the criminal activity caught at the gates was from the western gate, and the criminals at the gate tended to be the more severe. As such, some of the best soldiers were stationed here on a rotation, to ensure that there was always someone capable enough to handle any situation. The not often heard sound of boots crunching dirt roused the attention of one such soldier, who swiveled his head slowly to focus on the source of the sound. Wearing a long grey hooded cloak that hid their face in shadow, a small figure tread towards the gate. Most of the soldiers at the western gate were mid-to-high-level second-grade Fighters, and their senses were much more attuned than those of civilians due to their regimen. Still, no energy fluctuations came from this figure, and all attempts to inspect his energy made it seem like they were a complete black hole, impossible to fathom. This prompted the five men on duty to heighten their senses, just in case the figure meant ill. When the figure was five paces from the gate, the guardsman who had reacted first said, "Hold, sir. I''d have to ask you to present some identification before we can let you pass, as per standard procedure." The figure silently walked over and stood before him, an interesting thing considering the figure was only as tall as his chest. Though the hood did not move, the soldier felt a gaze from the figure that was rather unnerving. This only served to disturb him more as the figure''s sleeve rose to hand an Adventurers Card to him, but it was quickly changed to confusion upon seeing the youthful hand that held it. The soldier took the card and checked it over before coughing, "The card is real, that much I am sure of. However, I''d have to ask you to provide more sufficient proof. Killers and bandits have tried to use the cards of their kills to enter before, so we must be cautious." As he finished his words, the guardsman watched the hooded figure use only the power of magic to create two nearly solid elemental daggers, formed completely from magic energy. While the level of control was far beyond a third-grade Magic, the spell that the figure had used was still considered one of the most important ones of a Spellblade, [Summon Dagger]. While it was nowhere near as effective as an actual magic dagger, it was good enough for quick skirmishes, the Spellblade''s specialty. It was automatically learned upon choosing the job, so it was easy to get, but the spell itself couldn''t be taught to non-Spellblades due to some heavenly restriction. This alone proved that the figure was, at the very least, a Spellblade of high grade. "Your card says your job is a Spellblade, and you have used its base spell, so that much is proven. However, it is not enough to allow you in." The guard looked over the card again and zoomed in on the name, which he made sure to read repeatedly before asking, "Unless you have real proof that you are this particular adventurer, I cannot let you pass." A vague sense of amusement came from the figure, which was rather odd to the five men. However, they noticed something wasn''t right... what happened to all of the noise?" They looked back at the city and saw everything seeming to be frozen, like time had fully stopped. To silently use such a powerful time spell, the figure was extremely powerful, which further raised their wariness. The first guardsman was prepared to speak again when the figure simply held up a hand to stop him. A very youthful voice came from the figure, one of a very calm young man that held a hint of mirth in it, "It''s good to see that the guards of the Lightwood Fortress are more thorough than the last time I came here. Things have changed quite a bit. Ah, you don''t have to worry about anything, I''ve just temporarily slowed time as much as I can without stopping it, since it''s much easier. Considering my identity, if one of you happened to shout it, I wouldn''t even get past the gate, let alone to the Adventurers Guild." The figure''s hands moved to lower his hood, revealing a young man with snow white hair and playful purple eyes, a smile on his youthful face. "Sorry about being tricky. I wasn''t hoping to get in this way in the first place, I was just testing you guys. You seem very talented, but I wanted to see if your minds were as tempered as your bodies." Relaxing their heightened wariness, the guards let out small sighs of relief; they were thankful that they didn''t have to fight him, as he was far more powerful than they could handle. The first guardsman handed back the card to the smiling boy, saying, "People who do that tend to cause trouble, but... I''ll take the benefit of the doubt this time. I''m pretty sure that someone of your status wouldn''t do such things. If I may, are you traveling for business or leisure?" "Well, both, technically. I need to change jobs now, and I really need to start taking quests to rank up. I''ve been busy and only recently am I able to start my adventures." He shrugged casually, "A slow start is better than nothing, right?" The guardsman chuckled, "Agreed. Okay, you''re cleared to pass, sir. I hope you enjoy your visit, and good luck to you." He bowed respectfully, as did the other four. Seran, quite liking these five, flicked a strand of thought at the five of them and put his hood back on before passing by, the time-slowing spell''s effects quickly returning to normal. Before he got lost in the throng of civilians, the last thing he heard from the five was them thanking him for his grace. This made his smile widen as he made his way to the Adventurers Guild. Purely because he liked their talents and personalities, he had imparted them with an energy cultivation method that was especially suited for soldiers, [Stances of Command], which had several combat and non-combat stances at each stage. Mediocre talents would only reach the second stage, which would be considered a second-grade Fighter job. Geniuses could reach the final tenth stage, which was said to be capable of surpassing the sixth-grade fighter jobs, such as Sword Sage. If the five of them cultivated it diligently, and wisely, it was possible for them to find great success in their future. Casually giving away such cultivation methods was something that only Seran would do. -- The grey-robed king entered the Adventurers Guild, immediately drawing attention from others for his deeply mysterious vibe. Of course, only adventurers of at least B-rank would detect such a thing from him. Most of the adventurers only saw a figure that looked weak trying to be mysterious. Seran calmly walked his way to the receptionist desk, barely paying any attention to anything going on around him, and, as one would expect, a pair of adventurers attempted to stop him. While Seran recognized the two of them as the ones from the bar fight months ago, they certainly couldn''t tell that the grey figure was the white-haired boy from back then. The bald man, who seemed to have lost an eye since that day, said gruffly, "Whoa there, kid, this place isn''t safe for someone like you." While his words were nice, his expression and behavior weren''t. Rolling his eyes under his cloak, Seran just kept walking forward. "Oi, did you hear me?" The bald man tried to stop him with his hand now, thinking that the figure would stop upon running into his hand. Instead, the two adventurers lost sight of him completely in the next second. After looking around, they soon realized that he had already reached the counter. "What the fuck was that?" What happened was pretty simple: Seran had once again slowed time to a crawl, but only for the two of them. He then casually phased his way through them with his space magic, all within the span of a second. Both acts were high-level magic spells, and they had been used so casually. The rest of the adventurers in the building immediately realized one big thing. This figure was not to be trifled with. 25 First Quests 2 The two foolish adventurers remained hyper-slowed as Seran spoke to the receptionist, "I see those two haven''t learned after their suspension. Maybe I ought to teach them a lesson. I didn''t last time, even after they nearly killed my little brother." The receptionist, a half-elf girl, blinked and raised an eyebrow slightly, "Excuse me, sir, you sound like you''ve been here before, but I don''t recognize someone so small and powerful..." "Ah, that''s right, you probably weren''t here for their bar fight, right? It stopped pretty quickly thanks to me." Seran calmly smiled, continuing to use his mysteriousness as his amusement. She shook her head, "No, I was off duty that day. You say you stopped it?" "A pair of daggers works wonders when held to someone''s neck." An adventurer who was listening in, as most were, suddenly exclaimed, "Wait, you''re that kid from back then! The super-genius!" Seran giggled, "Someone remembers me, I see. Anyway, I apologize for not removing my hood, but it''d cause a massive ruckus and I''d rather not cause that. Is Guildmaster June in? I''d like to speak with her." The receptionist, who was less wary after someone recognized the grey figure, still cautiously answered, "She is, but I can''t just let anyone meet her without confirming their identity. Can I see your guild card?" After Seran once again produced his card, he proved it to be his by dripping blood onto it. The blood was absorbed, which could only be possible with the original owner''s blood. She continued to inspect it before, as the guardsman had, honing in on the name and looking up in surprise. Before she could subconsciously shout, Seran cut in, "Ah, don''t shout. Isn''t it part of the rules not to announce details that adventurers don''t want to personally speak about?" Blushing a little at having such a person catch her nearly slipping on the job, the receptionist handed his card back, "I''ll go tell the guildmaster of your request quickly." She nearly dashed out of the room, her ears redder than her neck. At this point, Seran waved his hand and dispelled his time-slowing spell on the two adventurers, who looked around rapidly upon discovering the figure not being in front of them. They didn''t even notice the way that the other patrons were looking at them, a mix of pity and schadenfreude, as they looked for Seran, who they found already standing at the desk. The bald man leaned against the receptionist desk beside him, "Oi, did you ignore me?" It was as if he didn''t notice what had happened; what a fool. The adventurer who had recognized Seran earlier sighed, "You two better knock that off. If this kid wants to kill you, not even Guildmaster June could stop him. He nearly killed both of you last time you met, are you planning to forego his mercy?" The other fool, with close-cropped hair and a crooked nose, snapped, "This brat, nearly kill us? Bullshit. I''ve never even met him before." He was about to continue when he felt cold metal against his neck, as did his partner. Seran said with a hint of amusement, "Oh? Then you''ve never met these two daggers before either, right?" The two fools look at the daggers that were held against the other''s neck and spotted the highly chipped edges as striking. The bald man''s mouth opened slightly, "Y-you''re that kid from last time?" "Funny how a death threat reminds people of important details. You two still haven''t learned. I wonder if Guildmaster June would revoke your adventurer statuses permanently... It might make sure you really learn for once." "True, I''ve been considering it for a while." These words were spoken by June, who had just come out from the guild offices. "According to the guild code, which applies to all adventurers, you cannot bar entry to the guild unless the person is a criminal. What you are doing is exactly that, attempting to bar entry." Seran was quiet, but the two men both turned pale as they stammered, attempting to explain what was going on. Seeing that June did not respond, he put the two daggers away and calmly said, "I''m fine with dropping this here. I just want you two to remember the most important thing any adventurer, or even the strongest man in the world, should know: never underestimate anyone. no matter how they look. Even the world''s best adventurer would die if he underestimated even one enemy. Remember that clearly, and at least pay attention to the guild rules." June shrugged, "If you want to drop it, that''s okay with me." She stared at the two adventurers, "You''d best thank him, and remember his words. The ancient master of all magic, the [Grand Sage] Merlin warned many of the same thing, including his closest friend, the first man to unite all of the Ancient Land, [King] Arthur Pendragon. In the end, how did he die? Because he showed mercy to the young [Druid] Mordred, who later stabbed him in the back, killing him. If even the world''s greatest king could die because he underestimated the heart of the person called Mordred, then wouldn''t it make sense for everyone to learn from his fatal mistake?" Seran walked his way around the receptionist desk, "Alright, I think you''ve rebuked them enough for them to remember it this time... hopefully." "I hope so, too. Anyway, please, come with me." June guided Seran into the back area, making sure to ask, "My hunch tells me that you''re here to change jobs..." Seran grinned, "Partly. That''s not the most important one, though. If you want to do the job change before we talk about the important reason, I''m okay with that." She thought for a minute before going to the job change room, "I feel like I''ll need to be sitting down for that part, so go right ahead and change jobs first. Do you remember the way to my office?" "Yes, I do. I can meet you in your office once I''m done." "Alright. I''ll be getting the paperwork to update your guild card and files, so take your time." Seran thanked June as she left, then headed in. Seeing the orb that he''d once used before, he sighed in reminiscence like an old man before touching it again. "This is going to be more ridiculous than last time... Let''s see how many jobs I get this time!" 26 First Quests 3 Nearly an hour later, Seran walked into June''s office, looking very haggard for a 10-year-old. He flopped down in a chair and groaned, "Finally done... I hate doing that so much..." June, half-prepared for a ridiculous number as the answer, slowly spoke, "So... how many jobs did you go through this time...?" When Seran didn''t answer directly and said a math problem instead, it left her rather confused, but she still did it since Seran insisted it would lessen the blow just a bit. "Let''s see, 7 times 10 is 70, minus 3... 67... wait, 67?" When the white-haired boy gave her a halfhearted thumbs-up, smoke literally burst out of her ears from her brain being fried. The silence was almost deafening, twenty minutes passing by the time June managed to recover her senses. Just like Seran, she leaned back in her chair and groaned loudly, "Gods, dealing with you is going to be the death of me... What''s your current job, then?" "Well, do you remember when you mentioned Merlin earlier?" "Yes..?" "I''ve got his job now." Silence, followed by, "Grand Sage!? You''ve reached Sage in all magic jobs? Wait, 67 jobs... I can see how most of that is for magic classes, so it makes a bit more sense. Still, Grand Sage... Mind telling me the job progression you chose to do?" June was starting to develop the same mindset as those of Greenwood Town: don''t apply common sense to Seran, he''ll always do impossible things. "The first job I chose was Magic Archer, then I advanced all of the magic jobs to Sage. After that, I advanced from Beast Tamer to Beast King, followed by Spellsword, Magic Swordsman, and then Shadowblade. I then advanced to Thief King, Reaper, Master Spy and Marksman, and then finally, I became a Grand Sage..." "... give me a moment while I write all of this down... I might need to call the continental guildmaster again..." Poor June began to write down, as neatly as possible with a shaking hand, the job progression he had mentioned, along with changing his guild card and files to say his new current job. "Well, you might need to anyway, considering what I''m really here for might need approval from the highest authority of the guild on this continent. I want to do something crazy and reach S-rank as fast as possible. The easiest way for me to do it is to just straight up do an S-rank quest, but there aren''t any on the continent... So, I''d need to do one of the long-time unfinished A-rank quests... The one of the highest difficulty." After a minute of that all-too-familiar silence, June activated the mirror with the ''urgent'' setting rather than the usual. The old guildmaster appeared in the mirror, a serious look on his face as he asked, "What happened for it to be an urgent call? Lightwood Fortress hasn''t had an urgent call for 300 years..." "Well... Seran Greenwood is here, and there''s several things you need to know. I recommend you prepare yourself, as you might have a heart attack... or two." The expression June had almost screamed that she was far from joking about this. "... Let''s start from the easiest part, then." "He has progressed through 67 jobs this time, and has even gained the job of Grand Sage." As expected by both June and Seran, the continental guildmaster coughed so violently that blood splattered his beard. It took a long few minutes for the old man to recover enough to quickly wash his beard with water magic, "Stars above, you weren''t kidding... Grand Sage... only Merlin has ever had that job... 67 job progressions... Just... don''t bother telling me what jobs, it''s not important now. Anything else?" This time Seran cut in, "I''d like to go straight into S-class as soon as possible, which I believe would require an S-rank quest, of which there are none, or an A-rank quest of the highest difficulty. This was what I originally came for, and is the main reason that June called you..." The old man''s eyes swiveled to look at Seran with scrutiny, "So you''re the one causing my heart attacks. It''s about time we met, even if it is in such an odd way. I am Johann Juneau, the continental guildmaster and the only S-rank mage on the continent... officially at least, since there is now you. Ah, I am not actually a descendant of the Mage King, but I am descended from one of his siblings. Fitting than an S-rank mage would come from one of the descendants of the family that produced the likes of the Mage King." After his semi-boasting and semi-grounded introduction, Johann said, "As for your request... In all honesty, it is completely against all of the rules that we have in the guild. However, it would make no sense for such a powerful person to not be high-ranking as an adventurer." He pondered for a long time on what to do before he came to a decision, "I can agree to your request, but the highest-difficulty A-rank quest out of all of them might take a while to narrow down. After I converse with each of the guildmasters, then sort through their A-rank quests, I''ll call you back. In the meantime, please don''t do anything too crazy..." "I''ll do my best, though trouble seems to find me very easily." Seran said, which made both of the two guildmasters smile wryly in agreement. "I''ll just hang out here in the Lightwood Fortress branch then, since it''ll make it easier in the end. I''ll stay back here in the guild offices too, since taking off my hood in the front will likely cause a riot. June, do you mind if I just conk out here in this chair?" "Do what you want, it''s fine with me. Just let me know when Sir Johann calls back. I have to get back to some other stuff." June politely bowed to Johan, who nodded in response before both the call closed and June left the room. "Time for a nap..." mumbled the purple-eyed boy as he fell asleep right there in the chair. 27 First Quests 4 Five hours passed uneventfully, with June doing her usual job while Seran crashed in a chair in her office. They''d already known that it would take a very long time to gather and organize all of the highest difficulty A-rank missions on the continent. There were close to 500 guild branches, with some of them having more than just one A-rank quest of high difficulty. Still, true to his word, Johann soon called back, and Seran sent June a telepathic message to return. When June entered the room and sat at her desk, a rather tired Johann began to speak, "So, after a lot of consideration and help from the previous guildmasters here at the headquarters, we''ve finally managed to narrow it down to 3 requests... but that was as far as we got, as none of us could decide which was the highest in terms of difficulty. We''ve already agreed that you can pick one from them and it''d still count, so I''ll go ahead and explain them for you." Before he began to explain, he had the quest fliers appear in the mirror to see. -- Undead Subjugation/Investigation Location: A-rank Danger Zone ''Blood-Bone Cemetery Time Since Posting: 35yrs Cleanse the undead horde that continues to grow in the Cemetary. Investigate the cause and eliminate it if necessary. -- -- Hydra Defense (Updated Since Posting) Location: Heron''s Bay, Savicche Time Since Posting: 75 yrs (25 Since Revision) Prepare the port of Savicche to withstand the next request, which is the subjugation of the A-rank Hydra that has taken residence in the bay. Defense preparation alone will still receive payment as befitting, as the subjugation is optional but highly welcomed. -- -- Calamity Location: Chimera Hollow Time Since Posting: 2yr Eliminate the A-rank Calamity, an Alpha Chimera. -- "Now, the one considered to have the highest difficulty of success is the Calamity quest, which was an emergency quest. The Alpha Chimera, according to our sources, is almost ready to evolve into an S-rank, at which point it would require all S-rank adventurers to be involved. However, it is no longer as urgent with the fortunate sealing of it a little over two years ago. Still, if it could be killed, it would help rescue some of the continent''s best adventurers. This is why it is considered highest difficulty but not the most important," said Johann, who was reading this information off of a clipboard. June''s eyes focused more as the continental guildmaster mentioned this particular quest, "That''s the one Theodore responded to. The A-rank Calamity quest I mentioned when you first came here, Seran." "Oh, the one where the previous guildmaster and three other mages were forced to seal themselves with it? Chimeras are nasty bastards, and Alphas are even more so..." Seran pondered on this quest, thinking if he should complete it. After all, it had cost the continent several top-grade A-rank adventurers. Johann cleared his throat before continuing, "The one considered the most urgent is the Undead Subjugation request. There may be as many as a hundred thousand undead beings in the Cemetery, since word says it''s never stopped growing in numbers. So far, they haven''t left the area, but it is a severe enough threat to have caused three major cities to evacuate this year. This is definitely the work of something unusual, but it is far more important to deal with the threat of numbers first. Also, survivors from A-rank companies who entered to clear as many has possible have stated that most of the undead are C and B-rank, with several A-ranks involved. The only confirmed A-rank to date, however, is the Undead General, a peak A-rank." Seran thought in depth on this one too, "Even the Elf Queen mentioned this to me. She suspects that an Elder Lich may have awoken, which would make it a Calamity-type as well. She has no evidence, but she has had the experience of fighting an Elder Lich long ago, and it was an S-rank at that." This startled both of the guildmasters, with Johann saying, "She did? An Elder Lich is very bad news... Potentially, it is far more dangerous than the Alpha Chimera. The Elf Queen wouldn''t mention it unless she was relatively sure it could be true, and elves can''t lie... I''ll have to speak to the retired guildmasters again about this." "In her words, an Elder Lich may not be the strongest undead in existence, but it sure as hell is the most terrifying. Only an Elder Lich has the capabilities to create such a horde." Seran''s expression darkened, as did the others. Johann summoned his secretary, who he had track down the other guildmasters and have them come as quickly as possible, as it pertains to a new potentially S-rank quest. As the alarmed secretary dashed from his office, the old guildmaster continued, "While we wait, I''ll bring up the third quest. This used to be a severely urgent matter, but it was updated after half a century when it was confirmed that the Hydra has just taken to living in the bay and not bothered doing anything other than leave to go hunting every so often. Basically, the bay is its nest. Still, Savicche is always preparing for the day it goes on a rampage, and the city lord, the requestor in this case, always pays handsomely. It cost the city a lot to move their entire harbor to the outside of the bay due to the Hydra..." "I can see why it''s been around for so long, though it is odd for a Hydra to nest in a populated area...It''s been almost a century since this quest was issued, even with revision... A Hydra would require a very well-prepared party, but it might actually need several powerful mages to defeat it in the water..." Seran grunted, thinking about just how much training would be needed to handle such a beast. Hydras were partly descended from Dragons, but Dragons adamantly despised the former, as they had several heads but not enough brain power to think of complicated strategies like Dragons could. They could still give a Dragon a run for their money in a fight, though, since it would be akin to a Dragon fighting against 9 lesser kin at once. June sighed in melancholy, "All 3 of these quests are insanely difficult, and only one isn''t urgent... What''s really bad is the best A-rank parties we had ended up dealing with the Alpha Chimera, leaving none behind to help with the undead now. There were several specialists among them that dealt with the undead, like Theodore or Adrianna Skybreaker, the genius Paladin. Even that half-demon was reputed to be capable of anti-Undead enchanting, which is a very difficult task." Leaning back in his chair, Johann held his forehead in his hand, "Not just those three, we lost the entire Undead Hunter Company. That company was the leading front-runner for undead subjugations. From the reports, the only ones still alive from the company are sealed with the Alpha Chimera." The atmosphere darkened gravely after these statements, indicating just how severe the situation on the Western Continent was. All 3 remained dead silent for a very, very long time before Seran finally spoke with determination. "I''ll take them all." 28 First Quests 5 "I''ll take them all." Those four words didn''t just startle the two guild-masters, it straight up punched them in the face with how sudden they were. Johann opened and closed his mouth like a guppy before managing to put words together, "You... you said all three? Are you sure? Even one of these would immediately qualify you for S-rank, this was already decided by the retired guild-masters and I by consensus, and most of the other guild-masters on the continent agreed to it." Seran nodded, "I''m completely sure. I''m going to take all 3 quests at once. Two of them are too important to wait around for any longer, so it''s best that someone takes them immediately. I just need to have my card rank changed. After all, an F-rank taking three A-rank quests doesn''t make sense. Is there an S-rank (Provisional) version?" Johann thought briefly, "There isn''t, but this is important enough to make one for you... June, as the head guild-master of the continent, I''m giving you the permission to change his card''s rank to the provisional S-rank he suggested." The old man gave Seran a solemn look before saying simply, "Godspeed, Seran. Godspeed." Seran gave a respectful bow to Johann, who then switched off the mirror. June remained silent as she changed his card to read his current job and his new rank before handing it back to him. "Sir Johann said it best, but I must tell you the same. Godspeed, Seran." The white-haired boy smiled as he walked to the front of the guild building with her in tow, "Thank you, June. I''ll do the best I can." Then, in front of dozens of adventurers in the building, he turned to her and said, "When I come back, it''ll be with an Alpha Chimera''s head and Theodore as well." June had a graceful smile as she gave him a respectful adventurer''s salute, fist over the heart, "Good luck, kiddo." The guild then watched as the little grey figure set out of the building and disappeared in a flash of light. The half-elf receptionist curiously asked, "Ma''am, where is he going..?" With that same smile on her face, the guild-master said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "To clear the three highest A-rank quests on the continent, all by himself." --- As the sun rose in the morning sky, shadows of birds and clouds began to cover the ground, along with an unusual shadow of a... person. Flying as high as some of the birds in the sky, Seran sped through the sky towards the battlefield where the Alpha Chimera was sealed. He''d decided in advance to resolve this situation first, since doing so would result in having undead specialists in case something went wrong with the subjugation quest and some of them escaped the area. He hadn''t been able to receive the Priest job, as it was a tricky one to get without joining a church. He''d flown non-stop since he''d gotten the quests the day before, moving at well over supersonic speeds. The sooner he finished the first two quests, the better, especially with how urgent the undead one was. It would take about a week to reach it by normal means, but with the obnoxiously fast speed he was moving at, he''d be able to make it in the next twenty or thirty minutes. As Seran flew, he kept his eyes on the horizon, scanning for his destination: a giant pillar of light. Sure enough, he did find what he was looking for after another half-hour of flight: a huge tower of light coming from a crater in the ground with numerous cracks around it. From a distance, he didn''t see anything major, but the closer he got, the more dried blood and scattered shards there were. Even with the rain over the nearly two years, there was so much dried blood in the ground that couldn''t be washed away. From some closer investigation upon landing nearby, Seran concluded that the dried blood that still remained was from the Chimera. For it to last so long means it is highly toxic, or at least the dried ones had been. The toxins were gone now, absorbed by the dirt, keeping it from disappearing with the rain and wind. Seran walked a few paces forward to stand at the edge of the pillar of light, examining the massive seal that froze space-time within. "This is one high-grade seal spell. I think it''s based on an ancient devil sealing spell." [You''re not wrong. It''s an extremely downgraded version of [Four Skies Devil Seal], a spell designed by one of the Mage King''s disciples. The original is also derived from the five seals that keep the Devil Emperor''s body parts sealed up, the [Nine Divine Devil Seal] made by the Mage King himself. For someone to be able to downgrade it enough to be used by A-rank mages is amazing, since only those surpassing S-rank could even cast the original version, let alone the Mage King''s version.] William had more insight into the spell than Seran did, without much surprise. At one point during his journey in the Primeval Forest, he''d gained the bloodline of Hecate, the goddess of magic. Seeing as she knows everything about magic, it makes sense that the information of such things would be included with the new bloodline. "Well, either way, not important right now. What is important is dealing with the Alpha Chimera here." Seran''s gaze focused on the gnarly creature that was the cause of the seal. A disgusting amalgamation of who knows what, the somehow naturally-born Alpha Chimera had two heads, one of a lion and one of a lesser dragon, a body of a lion and a snake for a tail, fangs and all. It seemed to have originally had lesser dragon wings, but only stumps remained of them now. Covered in arrows and numerous wounds, the ferocious abomination was locked in mortal combat with a female Paladin with silver-blonde hair marred with black blood, some of her skin partly melted from the toxicity of the liquid. This woman was certainly Adrianna Skybreaker, the genius Paladin that June had mentioned. Similarly stuck in battle with the Alpha Chimera was a large, well-too-muscular man with a great-axe bigger than himself attempting to cleave off one of the fiend''s fore-paws, as well as a middle-aged man who was starting to grey wielding two hook-swords covered in green flame. Up in midair, the snakehead was pitting fang against longsword as a female assassin in kunoichi garb attempted to distract it from defending the rest of its body. Several archers stood at the edge of the crater, raining arrows from above. Behind them were several wounded adventurers, one of which was tending to the others with holy spells, a Bishop at the least considering the effectiveness of her spells. Dead or dying adventurers were scattered all over the crater, along with numerous metal shards and scraps of items. A brutal battle, no matter how one looked at it. 29 Chimera Subjugation 1 "William, can you help me take control of this seal? As long as I''m in control of it, I can focus it onto the Alpha Chimera and save these adventurers." [A good idea. It''ll cause some backlash to the four casters, but it''ll help in the long run... Okay, just put your hand on the seal and I''ll get to work.] As Seran did so, mana poured out of his hand and into the seal, carefully powering its way through the mana powering the spell and assimilating the spell into itself. The process took a good thirty minutes to complete, but eventually, the seal was under Seran''s complete control. [There, done. Now, be careful when you shrink it. If you move it too quickly, you could cause shock to the adventurers inside. Some might not survive it.] "No worries, William, I got it. I''ve made a spell perfect for such an occasion, [Seal Maker''s Mark]. All I need to do is mark someone with it, and they''ll be able to move about as freely as I can in the seal." Compared to the other adventurers, Seran easily walked into the seal, which did nothing to stop him at all. The first person he chose to move to was Theodore, an early-60s man in blue-and-green robes, holding his ornate dragon-headed staff aloft while his brown hair whipped about his face. Making sure to be careful, Seran marked Theodore with the [Seal Maker''s Mark], which began to cause Seran''s mana to flow over the mage''s body until it covered him completely, like a second layer of skin, only transparent. Theodore, unable to react in time to the sudden ability to move again, almost crumpled to the ground with mana exhaustion, but Seran managed to catch him before he did. "Whoa, whoa, easy there. Sit down and rest, Theodore. You''ve earned it after all of this." The guild-master of Lightwood Fortress''s branch took a minute to focus his green eyes on the boy in front of him. "Who are you..? Wait, what''s going on?" He looked around in a panic before discovering that everything around him was still frozen, save for Seran and himself. "Ah, don''t worry. The seal is still in effect, I''ve just taken over the spell so it''s now being powered solely by me. You can move because I''ve marked you with my mana, making you immune to its effects. I figured it would be best to start with someone more familiar compared to the others here." "But... I''ve never met you before. I''m sure I''d remember someone so powerful... or young," said the mage as he cocked his head slightly, giving himself mild vertigo by doing so. "Hold on just a minute, I want to do something first." Seran pulled a hand mirror out of his Inventory, to which Theodore muttered about space magic, before casting a spell on it and saying, "Call June." "June? My guild branch''s second strongest mage?" "Yes, June, the interim guild-master." Seran didn''t elaborate further, and they waited before an image of June at her desk appeared. "Hey, June!" "Seran! I didn''t expect you to call, though I''m not surprised you can. Is there a problem with the quests?" June sounded both unsurprised and mildly concerned. "No, no problems at all. I just want you to meet someone, vouch for my identity and all." She was silent for a moment before asking a one-word question, "Who?" When the boy swiveled the mirror to face the exhausted mage on the ground, she stood up in a hurry, hands slamming the desk, "Theodore! You''re okay!" Theodore rubbed his eyes a little, "I must be hallucinating. Is that you, June?" He took the mirror from Seran when he was handed it, "You look so... different." "You haven''t aged a day. Unsurprising, though. You have been sealed for two years now." June moved around the desk and stood in front of the mirror, as though ready to dive through it. "You''ll need some time to readjust after such a long time." "It''s been two years? Really? It just feels like time didn''t move at all..." Seran chimed in, "Ah, that''s because of the spell. It was a simplified version of one of the Mage King''s disciple''s spells, which was also a downgraded version of the Mage King''s devil sealing spell. It causes time to stop completely within its area, so naturally, it doesn''t move." Before Theodore could ask anything, June said, "Ah, I forgot. Vouching. Theodore, the genius beside you is Seran Greenwood. He has several titles, including the world''s strongest demigod, Greenwood King, Grand Sage, and who knows what else. He is also currently undergoing 3 quests that he requested the headquarters to give permission for. Oh, and his rank is temporarily S-rank until he completes the quests. One of them is the Calamity quest." "While I don''t understand the first two completely, I know what a Grand Sage is, and you''re telling me this kid is a Grand Sage?" Theodore could hardly believe his ears, even when June confirmed it again. "It''s like the second coming of Merlin, but even stronger... wicked." "Alright, now that you''ve vouched for me, June, I''m going to get started on the others. You can stay on the line until I''m done. It''ll make it easier later on." Waving his hand casually, Seran walked over to the Bishop, patting her on the shoulder and giving her his mark as well. Upon recovering from chronostasis, she fell backward. Thankfully, she was already kneeling and simply fell on her behind. "Ow, sharp rock..." She groaned and rubbed at her tailbone, not noticing Seran until he cleared his throat, "W-what?!" As Theodore did, she also saw everything with incredulity. "A lot of time to explain, not enough time to heal the wounded. Less talking, more healing. If you run out of mana, let me know and I''ll give you more. Even your most powerful healing spell won''t drain all of my mana." Ignoring her confusion, the white-haired boy moved to mark each adventurer that was injured or dying one by one, the sounds of pain quickly forcing the Bishop to collect her wits and rush to work, healing with as much power as she could. Thankfully, with Seran''s limitless amount of mana, she could use [Grand Restoration] as often as she could handle casting it. With the two of them powering through the area, almost everyone that could be saved was saved, while only a few of the rest didn''t survive. Those who were dead remained dead, as Seran wasn''t powerful enough to use resurrection magic, and the Bishop would need to be a Cardinal before she could. Theodore happened to be at the furthest distance from the Alpha Chimera of the 4 mages that sealed it, so, with June''s insistence, he called for all of the survivors to come over to him quickly. Thanks to June and himself, the guild-master explained what was going on, what had happened and what was going to happen with the Alpha Chimera. The half-demon, a black-haired mid-twenties man with one orange eye and one blue eye, directly passed out upon being unsealed, requiring two men to come and carry him over to the rest of the group. The same happened with the elf mage who was responsible for the seal itself, as casting such powerful magic had completely overwhelmed her mental strength. The third mage, a dark-skinned half-elf man, was in better shape, by comparison, only doing the same as Theodore and falling to the floor. Once every adventurer that could be rescued was rescued, Seran created a massive barrier in the shape of a box around the group before lifting it up into the sky a good thousand feet above the ground. Jumping up to the box and landing on the air beside it with wind magic, he said, "You''ll be completely safe up here. It''d take S-rank magic to break this barrier. Take your time to rest. You''ve all earned it." Dropping back to the ground, Seran, instead of constricting the seal, snapped his fingers and broke it. The Alpha Chimera was mid-swipe, which left a large gouge in the earth as its paw passed by. Realizing its prey was missing, it looked around to find nothing... and a white-haired boy standing in front of it, giving it the middle finger. 30 Chimera Subjugation 2 The Alpha Chimera instinctively knew what that gesture meant, but it quickly kept itself from raging; its intelligence wasn''t to be underestimated, as it was nearly S-rank in power and intelligence. The reason it managed to keep its cool was its instincts for sensing danger. This little human boy was far stronger than all of those who had attacked it previously combined, and then some! Seran had a dark smirk on his face as he declared, "I''m more than happy to simply crush you right now, but that''s not in my nature. I will give you four choices. First choice: surrender now and you will be given a quick death. Second choice: surrender, and accept me as your master. Third choice: fight, and die proudly. Or the fourth choice: fight, and I will throw you into a horde of undead so numerous that you will undoubtedly die." Considering his overwhelming power, he certainly had no need to be lenient, but that is not his way. He also snapped his fingers to trigger the translation spell he''d used on the Golden Crows. "Tell me your answer." One of the adventurers shouted angrily, "Oi! What are you doing!? That''s almost an S-rank calamity! Those things are capable of wiping countries off the map in one go! Just kill it!" The Alpha Chimera growled at the adventurer, but Seran ignored them and said, "I recommend that you choose the second option, as I am a very lenient master. At most, I''d just let you have an area all to yourself, and all you''d have to do is protect my home in an emergency. Cruelty is not in my blood, except when dealing with extreme criminals." The Alpha Chimera''s six eyes stared at Seran deeply, mostly with hostility as it growled in a bassy masculine voice, "You expect me to submit myself to a human? A child at that?" Unsurprisingly, the adventurers were astounded that the Alpha Chimera could speak, but Seran explained via telepathy that it was part of a spell he''d made. "No, I don''t expect you to. I hope that you do. There''s a difference between the two. I''m also the only being in existence that can change your entire existence without breaking your soul. Just so you know, I''ve already brought the Golden Crows back from extinction. If I can do that, surely I can do something with a chimera, right?" Seran had a big smile on his face, which was widened further when June confirmed his words, as she''d visited Greenwood Town twice in the past few months. The mention of such things caused the look of hostility to lessen just a little, hesitation filling in what space had opened up. As it had three minds, it had to debate with itself for a very long time before the lion head spoke, as it seemed to be the leader of the three, "... What kind of things can you do..?" "Ah, I have a single question for you then: Would you three like to have your own separate bodies?" This stumped the Alpha Chimera enough for it to sit down heavily, cracking the earth more than its paw had. A long time of silence passed, again, then the lion said, "... We do... but at the same time, we don''t... We''ve been together for too long..." "I know, it''s a difficult question. However, I can give the three of you a blessing each. All 3 of you will have your own bodies, but you will still be capable of recombining into an Alpha Chimera whenever you want. You''ve been family for such a long time, separating you completely would be cruel." He put one hand on his heart and the other pointed to the heavens with two fingers, "With the heavens as my witness, I will fulfill the terms of our contract, or I shall be struck down by heavenly wrath. I also swear this upon my name, as the world''s strongest demigod." While heavenly oaths didn''t have the same meaning for magical beasts as it did for other creatures, the severity was still the same. As such, it stopped to contemplate again before all three heads said in unison, "We agree." Seran stretched his body a little, "Alright, this might feel a bit weird, but it won''t hurt a bit." He then began to cast dozens of smaller spells, each of which formed into a symbol that floated around in a circle between him and the Alpha Chimera. One symbol for each spell, the white-haired boy cast nearly 500 spells before he got the exact combination he wanted. When he did, he slapped his palms together, with all of the symbols colliding together to form one massive Taiji diagram under the Alpha Chimera, "With this, I will also be changing your species when combined to a whole new one." He spread his hands again as he shouted, "[Beast God Art: Chimera''s Three Souls]!" The most obvious change began with the body, as the snake tail began to swell and extend into a long python bigger than two school buses before becoming separated from the main body. The main body then began to warp in the middle, with the dragon half taking the form of a large Lesser Dragon, and the lion gaining its own separate body the same size as the dragon. What happened spiritually, however, was the single powerful soul of the Alpha Chimera began to shift and warp until each gained their own separate soul, except they could still combine together. The amount of mana required to cast such an insanely powerful and unique spell was beyond what anyone could expect of mortals, along with the extreme precision necessary to do all of the splitting, physical and spiritual, without causing harm to any of them in the process. Seran staggered just a little before making sure that the spell had indeed imprinted the three as his contracted beasts. Now, he had three new contracted beasts, each of which had an interesting thing written under their ''Race'' spot. He pointed at each of them in turn and calmly said, first to the lion, "Leo," to the snake, "Ophiuchus," and the dragon, "Draco." With that, their information changed in the pop-ups: -- Name: Leo Race: Sun Lion (Chimera) Classification: S Level: 201 Innate Ability: [Solar Flare], [Chimera Fusion] -- -- Name: Ophiuchus Race: Quake Python (Chimera) Classification: S Level: 201 Innate Ability: [Earthquake], [Chimera Fusion] -- -- Name: Draco Race: Lesser Thunder Dragon (Chimera) Classification: S Level: 201 Innate Ability: [Thunderstorm], [Chimera Fusion] -- "Cool, all done. You can take your time and get used to your new bodies. You can use your Chimera Fusion ability to recombine whenever you want." Seran said, "Ah, and I apologize for my earlier gesture. I was testing your intellect and if you could control your emotions." The trio didn''t seem to notice his apology, though, since they were busy bouncing like children with new toys. Upon being returned to the ground and having the barrier removed, Theodore nearly rushed over and asked, "How in blazes did you do that?" Seran just smiled and shrugged, "What, make them my contracted beasts? It''s pretty easy, you know. By becoming my contracted beasts, they were given a chance to become much more powerful and retain most of their freedom. Win-win, as they say." 31 Chimera Subjugation 3 "Okay, now that all that''s done, June, can you let Johann know that the Calamity quest is complete?" Seran turned to June, who was still in the hand mirror held by Theodore. "Well, I guess making the Alpha Chimera into a contracted beast would still count as subjugation... so I''ll pass it on. What are you going to do with them now?" June, to Theodore''s worry and amazement, was only mildly fazed by what the white-haired demigod managed to do, as it had become pretty normal by now. "I''m going to send them to Greenwood Town. They can make themselves comfortable in the forest nearby until I get back to make dens for them. It''d be better to have them stay there where there''s at least someone capable of restraining them if necessary." "Right, Lady Eleanor is certainly capable of that..." After sighing and agreeing with Seran''s decision, June told Theodore to be careful and follow the little demigod on his next journey. "Wait, what''s his next quest? It sounds serious if he needs us to follow behind him, considering his power." Theodore was very quick to realize the inherent problem with them following along with the all-mighty demigod. He had absolutely no need for them earlier, so why would he need them now? Seran cut in to answer that question, "Undead horde subjugation. The situation in Blood-Bone Cemetery has been left unchecked for too long, and it''s suspected that there is not only at least a hundred thousand undead, but multiple A-ranks, and, most terrifyingly, an Elder Lich of S-rank." His tone and expression emphasized the gravity of the quest. "Elder Lich!? Those things are worse than a full-grown Dragon! No wonder you need help..." "Not entirely. I''m going in alone, as per my usual methods. The problem is that I don''t know if any will escape while I''m doing my extermination run. Since there are several undead specialists amongst you, I decided to deal with the Calamity quest first so I could get some specialists to defend the outer perimeter." He walked over and calmly said to the male guild-master, "I''d like for you to ask the others, but tell them it''s their choice above all. You just lost two years of time, so if you need to recover, it''s fine. Those who want to come along, I will make it worth your while. You have my word." Theodore was stunned momentarily, thinking about just what he wanted to do. As Seran had said, he''d just lost two whole years of time, leaving so much for him to have to readjust to. On the other hand, the Elder Lich was such a massive problem that it was hard to leave it alone. Yet, the demigod had promised a payment worthy of the quest, even if it was only outer perimeter defense. However, the Grandmaster Pyromancer found his resolve, his eyes shining with determination, "I''m going along with you. I can''t just sit by and do nothing when something so important is being left to a ten-year-old, no matter how strong. I''m not the best of the undead specialists here, not by a long shot, but my fire magic is second to none, and flames are one of the strongest counters to the undead." "Thank you. It''ll make it much easier for me, knowing that there is at least one person ready to keep the undead from escaping." Seran had a smile as he solemnly gave his thanks to the fire mage, who then bowed slightly before walking over to the group of adventurers. The mirror had gone dark now, as June had closed the connection so as to call Johann. The white-haired boy looked to the sky and sighed, "This is going to be one rough day, huh?" --- Two hours went by in a flash as Seran rocketed through the sky towards Blood-Bone Cemetery, going more than 10 times the speed of sound and blasting clouds out of the way. He couldn''t afford to wait much longer, as the situation only continued to get worse the longer it was left alone. Blood-Bone Cemetery was almost four countries away from Chimera Hollow, a distance that would take weeks to cross even at the fastest speed others had. Still, Seran wasn''t like others. He''d already crossed 3 countries and was closing in on the dark and gloomy valley shrouded in black fog that held the A-Rank Danger Zone. Earlier that day, he''d sent the three Chimera siblings via teleportation to the forest next to Greenwood Town, telling them to be quiet and not get into any trouble. If someone notices, make sure to tell them that the three of them are now part of Greenwood Town, by his order. Once that was sorted, he''d used powerful space magic to make an alternate dimension that held the thirty-three adventurers who had agreed to follow along. While it was a massive space, more than enough to fit four of Lightwood Fortress inside, it wasn''t locked in place as it was supposed to be. Instead, Seran had it anchored to a large gemstone he''d gotten in the Primeval Forest, from one of the elders of the elves. This way, he could carry all 33 of them safely and not have to worry about the space breaking apart due to it not being anchored down. Other than Theodore, Adrianna Skybreaker had immediately agreed to go along, saying it was her duty as a Paladin to cleanse the undead. The Undead Hunter Company also agreed after some discussion. The others who tagged along were the elf mage who''d used the seal spell, the half-demon, several fire specialists, two High Priests, and the female Bishop. Priests were indispensable for dealing with the undead, as many had corpse poisons that would render normal healing spells useless. Only the powerful healers that were the Priests could fully heal injuries caused by the undead. Seran began to slow down and glided over several small mountains to alight atop a tree. "Gods above, I can see the undead from here without even focusing." Though he was powerful, dealing with such numerous amounts of the undead is certainly frightening for anyone. From where he was standing, the valley that was his destination could be seen, but it wasn''t very clear due to the fog. Through it, even a villager would be able to see shining metal and bones so tightly packed together that it looked like a nightmarish sea of death. Just at a glance, C-rank zombies and skeleton soldiers smashed against each other, a throng of deathly wails and groans, clattering bones and crashing steel. A menagerie of equipment was used by the host of death, some of which was ancient beyond recognition, and some beyond repair. "Hoo... this is gonna suck." Seran used Nature Magic''s second version to relocate several trees into a formation he had devised. Marking the trees with runes, he activated a new array that would force the undead to only be able to escape from one direction: towards the eastern end of the valley. He then floated down and released the 33 adventurers into the space behind him before saying, "Welcome to the nightmare that is Blood-Bone Cemetery." Unsurprisingly, the insane amount of zombies and skeletons caused even the best of them to go pale with fear, but the quickest to respond were the three Priests, who quickly cast [Holy Sanctuary], an area-of-effect spell that created a massive rectangular space filled with holy light. With the aid of the holy magic, the potent undeath fear was reduced by a lot. Adrianna, who held aloft her heavy hammer and shield, shouted, "Do not fear the undead! Let them fear our strengths instead!" A Paladin''s biggest role was as a tank, but it was often overlooked that it was also one of the best at rallying one''s allies against the undead. It even had a passive job ability that empowered companions so long as the Paladin still stood. For this task, Adrianna was just as important as the Priests. Seran grinned seeing their quick reactions, "As I expected of professional A-rank adventurers." He cracked his neck and stretched his body, "Alright, you guys can prepare yourselves. Let me know when you''re ready to get started." 32 Ashes and Bones 1 The 33 adventurers spent some time preparing their combat formation and came down to the best decision they could. Adrianna, as the most effective tank, would hold the frontline, along with the two Guardians from the UHC. Several Grandmaster Swordsmen, Bowmasters, a Greatsword User and a Magic Swordsman would be the damage dealers. The two Grandmaster Luxomancers and three Grandmaster Pyromancers, Theodore included, kept up the magic damage and elemental defense, while the three Priests would handle healing and blessings. At the rear would be the sole Marksman, who had several abilities that were meant for one-hit kills and pinch hits. Considering the abilities of the fighters involved, this was undoubtedly the smartest and strongest formation they could design. Adrianna clanged her hammer against her shield, "We''re ready for battle." Her silver-blonde hair matched perfectly with her white-silver armor, fluttering with holy power. She''d pulled out all of the stops she had, which was only possible now thanks to a full recovery and Seran''s formation guiding the undead towards them if they escaped, funneling them into a path as wide as their formation was. Seran nodded, "Alright. Stand ready. My first spell might be a bit of overkill." He treaded forward to stand halfway between the adventurers and the undead. "Here we go." Clapping his palms together, an act which nearly alerted the horde, Seran began to cast a powerful light magic spell, "[Heavenly Light: Heaven''s Arrows]!" High up in the sky, a cloud formed around the sun, which then had a small wisp of cloud covering it like a window. In that window-like cover, one could see an Apollo phantasm stepping out of the sun, bow in hand. Drawing his bow back as far as possible, it seemed like the sun had become his arrow, blindingly bright even through the cloudy film. As he prepared to release the arrow, the film cleared, releasing the powerful solar light that had been hidden. Then, Apollo let his arrow fly. From the sky, hundreds of arrows of brilliant light came shooting down, piercing through metal, bone, rotten flesh, and earth, everything in its way. The unearthly sounds of the undead dying in droves brought chills to anyone that heard it, from high-pitched wails to loud groans and roars. When the last of the arrows fell, and Apollo''s phantasm dispersed from the sky, the wicked devastation that Seran''s spell had wrought was fully visible. As the powerful light arrows had burned away the fog of dark magic, one could spot innumerable holes in the ground and corpses were strewn around. Some of the more powerful corpses had holes drilled through their heads and sternums, and even their weapons were pierced through. This was exactly what Seran had designed the spell to be: a massive AOE attack meant to pierce anything with the power of light. As the adventurers lay eyes on the new scene, they finally understood just what kind of person Seran was. They hadn''t gotten to see him fight before, so they hadn''t been completely convinced. Now, however, they''d got a good look at the destructive power the young demigod wielded. They did recover quickly, as the remaining thousands of undead surged towards the suddenly appearing enemy. Seran almost grinned as he prepared to fight head-on, but he had to keep his face as calm as his mind for this battle. From his inventory, he withdrew a weapon he''d made during his journeys in the forest: a dragon-head guandao made of meteoric steel, one of the strongest metals in existence, and glossy black wood from one of Yggdrasil''s branches. Spinning his new weapon, which he''d named [Yggdrasil''s Comet], he infused the blade with fire, light and life magic before making a huge horizontal sweep. A long slash extended from the blade and cut down dozens of zombies and skeletons, which were quickly trampled by the following horde. The white-haired boy continued to make huge sweeps with his guandao, cutting down undead like stalks of wheat. Seran grunted and activated his demigod aura, which began to emanate a powerful aura of terror that even undead would feel. After a long time, the aura of fear Seran had built up began to affect the weaker undead, and, as Seran cut down as many as he could, several C-ranks escaped him and ran towards the exit of the formation. Seran wasn''t worried about them, as he knew they could handle themselves. Instead, he focused on taking down as many as he could with each move. While he was doing that, he made sure to strike the B-ranks and the handful of A-ranks that charged with the horde. Nearly an hour passed of nonstop combat, for both Seran and the adventurers, and exhaustion was already prevalent in some of the latter. Even with Seran cutting down more than a hundred with each attack, even hundreds, the number just didn''t seem to dwindle at all. However, after everyone had lost track of time, the number coming out of the cemetery began to lessen by a great deal. Seran saw a major difference after another hour, as the C-ranks had almost stopped coming, and those that still did ran away upon seeing him, with only B-ranks and A-ranks still attacking him. That didn''t mean anything good, though, and he couldn''t allow himself to relax at all. The guandao''s meteoric edge carved its way through even the mithril armor that the strongest of the A-ranks wore, turning expensive magic items into scrap metal with each strike. Then, finally, the onrush of enemies ended as Seran''s weapon sliced a Zombie General in half from the skull to its crotch. Even with his Infinity power, he felt quite exhausted from the constant physical and magical combat, which he''d never had to do since he was dragged into Aregard. Leaning on the guandao''s handle, the white-haired, green-and-red-stained boy panted as he tried to catch his breath. He wasn''t defenseless, though, as he still heard suspicious sounds from deeper in; it wasn''t empty yet. Not by a lot. He shouted back to the group, "That''s it for the horde! Take a break if you need it, and use my mirror to call June! I''m going deeper in!" Adrianna responded by yelling, "Good luck, Seran! We''ll let June know!" And with that, Seran waited until he recovered his energy before beginning to crunch his way forward with each step, using the blade of his guandao to light up the area, towards the dark and gloomy crypt at the back of the cemetery grounds. 33 Ashes and Bones 2 Outside of the cemetery, the 33 adventurers set up camp, since the sky had begun darkening an hour after Seran went into the crypt. One of the swordsmen was busy cooking a massive pot of soup, as he had a space ring full of emergency supplies in case they were needed, while the others were gathered in a semi-circle around Theodore, who was holding Seran''s hand mirror, through which one could see June, again. They''d been talking since the horde was cleared up and Seran had gone onward alone about what had happened in the last two years while they''d been frozen in time. "So, as I was saying, it was around springtime when Seran first came into the Lightwood Fortress branch. I remember it very clearly, even though it''s been nearly a year since then. His welcome into the guild was Etienne getting crushed under two idiots who couldn''t stop fighting, at the very instant he stepped through the door." June was currently recounting her first knowledge of Seran to her audience, who were listening with rapt attention. "Etienne did? He should''ve been able to protect himself quickly enough. He''s a decent D-ranker." Theodore sighed as he thought about his old friend, smiling just a bit at the thought of him getting tackled again. "Considering the two idiots were close to B-rank, it wasn''t much of a fight, Theodore. Etienne was fine, just hit his head pretty hard on the wall in the process. It was Braxton and Atmore, Theodore, that were fighting." "Oh, those two... eesh, poor Etienne. Those two are solid walls." Theodore shivered a little when he thought about being crushed by the two muscular men. One of the two High Priests, Rebecca, excitedly asked, "What happened next?" She was an avid lover of stories, as it was one of her childhood pastimes, and hearing the story of such a powerful person had caught her full attention. June shook her head quickly to regather her thoughts, "Right, next. Well, Braxton threw a wild punch that nearly killed Seran''s little brother, Fenmore. When Seran saw that, I''m telling you that I nearly lost my mind out of fear from that brief flash of killing intent. Even the strongest adventurer other than me present, which was Padric, the Aquamancer, wasn''t able to spot him move. Everyone blinked and, suddenly, a pair of chipped knives were right at their throats, with Seran growling irritably." The Greatsword User, a Tiger Beastman, scoffed lowly, "I would''ve flat out killed them for that." He cracked his knuckles for emphasis. Adrianna knocked him on the head with her gauntlet, "Shut up, Bracken. You''d do it if they looked at you funny." After a round of giggles from the audience, June was prepared to continue, when the Bishop girl suddenly stood up in surprise, a little gasp coming from her mouth. "What''s wrong, Jenn?" said Rebecca, as her fellow High Priest, Anna, stood up with her. Jenn was shaking visibly as she managed to stutter out, "T-te-terror... a-aura... Elder Lich!" --- Earlier, inside the crypt: The ominous, repetitive sound of metal on stone echoed in the silent corridor of the crypt as Seran strode past dozens of doors, in which were at least 30 different coffins, most of which had been shattered from the undead. The light of his guandao''s blade was brighter than the weak candle flames that sputtered at irregular intervals on the walls. Every time he passed a door, he used his minimap to place a bomb made of light-infused ashes in the room. When each bomb exploded, it did so quietly, with just a small poof sound, as the ashes dispersed throughout the room and scorched any still existing undead into yet more ash to add to the floor. This way, he was able to cleanse the area quickly, and without causing a sudden rampage. Other ash-based spells spread down the hallways he didn''t pass, permeating through the hallways and rooms to silently cremate the undead. As he did so, each tap of his guandao on the stone floor acted as a sensor, sending out pulses through the floor and air, quickly updating his localized Map with the details. Sure, he could cheat and remove the fog of war function, but it wouldn''t be as fun if he did. Of course, as he moved, he rekindled the flames of the candles he passed, making it so he would not need to light the way back. A full twenty minutes passed of him walking in a straight corridor, casting ash spells before he reached a solid metal pair of king''s court doors. While it was only steel and iron used for the construction, the designs were well-crafted, indicating that a person of good reputation was buried here. However, nothing was found in the entire crypt of who was buried here, or even what was. All of the old plaques and markers for the coffins had faded after countless centuries. Lighting up the pair of braziers hanging beside the doors, Seran had William scan the designs and investigate them with the data kept in his database. [Let''s see here... Most of this is written in the old Fairy Language, which died out after the Abyss Invasion ended due to their subsequent extinction... that would be about 3000 years ago. This... looks like it was around the same time period, so it would be related to the Abyss Invasion... Hold on, got a translation. Let me skim through it quickly." Seran hummed to himself as he waited, which didn''t take too long, as William came back just as quickly as he''d left, [So, a brief summary is that it''s about a fairy prince who set off on a journey to save the world, doomed to not return... it lists off his achievements here, along with several names of witnesses to his final stand... erm, it mentions that he is the last of his line following his sister''s death, making it so the line of fairy royalty died in battle. For some reason, it doesn''t mention his name, or who he fought with... it just has these two identical circular markings with the runic symbol for 10 inside it.] "Hmm... Abyss Invasion, last of his line, sister''s death, died in battle... saving the world... didn''t return... 10... wait... William, go through that again, then cross-reference it with the remnant records of fairy history that the elves managed to rescue." When William asked why, Seran simply said, "I have a hunch, and it''s not much to go on, but I think I know who''s buried here." Several minutes went by as William muttered to himself, doing dozens of calculations and cross-referencing with the few legible fairy scripts from the elves. Seran was nervous about the whole thing, as it was only a hunch, but his nerves went down considerably when William shouted, [Holy fuck, no way! They never found his body! It was buried here the whole time!?] "Is this place what I think it is, William?" [It is definitely what you think it is.] Silence pervaded, save for heavy breathing, before William finished, [It''s Eric Astheme, the Assassin King''s tomb!] 34 Elder Lich 1 "The Assassin King, Eric Astheme, is buried here? Even his body?" Seran was just as amazed as William; he knew the legends of the Sword of Hope and its 10 heroic members inside and out now. Eric Astheme was known as the most powerful assassin in the world back then, and even up until now there has never been someone as powerful as him in the assassin category. With his vicious strikes and unique poisons, Eric was often the hero dealing the most damage among his companions on a single target. Even the Divine Swordsman, Alexander rain was only able to match his damage with the help of the divine sword of Nemesis, Greyblade. In his final battle, told from the mouths of the Mage King Harlequin and the Oracle Amelia themselves, the five remaining heroes had been running through the upper floors to the exit of the floating castle that the Second Minister owned when Eric suddenly picked up in speed and shoved all of them as hard as he could through an archway that quickly closed behind them. Despite Alexander wanting to rescue him, both Eric and Harlequin''s insistence forced him to make a reluctant escape and leave yet another of his life-and-death brothers behind. By the time they got out of the floating castle and jumped onto the backs of Rock Eagles, the upper levels of the castle had been leveled, with more explosions happening with each passing minute. Two black figures could be seen clashing at high speeds and with great power: Eric himself and the Second Minister, a powerhouse of close combat and magic. The last scene that they remember of Eric was him, missing an arm and bleeding profusely, activating his last trump card that he''d been given to him when he prayed to the heavens for it at the cost of most of his remaining lifespan: a black hole bomb. With a victorious laugh that didn''t match his appearance, or situation, Eric was devoured by the black hole along with 90% of the floating castle and the Second Minister, who had been exhausted of enough mana for him to be unable to escape its pull, which then burst with a catastrophic power that rippled the heavens apart. In the end, there was no corpse of Eric left to be buried. It was not possible in the slightest, as the black hole had first shredded it apart, then the shredded parts were blown up with semi-divine power. For this tomb to say that it was actually in one piece, and buried here, was well beyond believable. [That''s what it says here... and that''s the emblem of the Sword of Hope right there, in those circles. This was likely made by the Mage King and the Oracle, so it''s unlikely to be false... However, that''s not important right now... what is important is that beyond here... is definitely stronger than the Alpha Chimera... by a lot.] The tone of surprise from their potential discovery changed into a solemn one as William restated their original goal: the Elder Lich. "Yes, it is... This will be my first one-on-one battle against an S-rank. William, I''ll need your help with blind spot defense." Seran shifted his guandao into both hands as he prepared to deliver a heavy kick to the steel doors. [As long as your mana is connected to the system, I''ll help you however I can. Don''t get distracted at all. This is by far the most dangerous battle you''ve ever had.] With a grim nod, the white-haired boy wound up his right leg and let a huge hook kick into the center of the doors, channeling most of the power in the blow to force the doors open quickly, but not fast enough for the heavy doors to slam into the walls. As he did, green-black miasma poured out of the doorway, a simple touch of it starting to melt his clothes like acid, though his body remained unharmed. With a grunt of effort, Seran released a shockwave of flame and wind, scorching enough miasma out of the way for him to create a defensive aura that used the same properties, protecting himself from the thick poisonous fog. Making Yggdrasil''s Comet''s blade shine like a small sun, Seran cautiously made his way inside, his body is a stance that would aid him in quick reactions. The tomb now seemed massive, enough to fit two modern-day football/soccer fields inside, and even half of one going upwards. Great pillars held the roof up at a height that, even with Seran''s mini-sun, kept it shrouded in total darkness. Miasma thicker than molasses squirmed on the outside of the pillars, while the central corridor, if one had to describe it that way, had lesser amounts, as if the pillars were keeping the miasma back. Other than the long stretch of path that Seran was cautiously making his way through, nothing could be seen through the miasma. What could be seen was a rather simple-looking coffin, little more than a stone box carved with more Fairy Language script, and a statue of a young man cast from stone: a messy undercut hairstyle that hung a little on the sides of his elfin face, wearing his full leather armor, holding both of his signature transforming war fans ready for battle. While his face was expressionless, the statue still gave off an incredible aura, like the hero himself was still alive and present there. Seran would have gladly taken his time to take in the statue and the coffin in their full glory, but, however, he was still deep in enemy territory. Hearing whistling sounds from around massive hall, the white-haired boy began spinning his guandao rapidly, constantly moving to block arrows, knives, needles and other throwing weapons. While he was busy doing that, two green-black skulls of flame charged out of the miasma and collided with his guandao, forcing him to stab the floor with the butt of his weapon''s handle to keep his balance from the powerful strength in the spells. Growling irritably to himself, he stowed Yggdrasil''s Comet into his inventory and withdrew a leaf-shaped longsword, with which he took a battle stance. A sword domain spread from him until it stopped 3m from him, within which he deftly made use of his agility and ability to avoid and defend against the numerous attacks that seemed to be endless. After ten minutes straight of him only being able to defend, his eyes sharpened as he smirked, "Found you." Dropping into an iai stance, Seran roared out, "[Sword God Art: Dimension Cutter]!" In one swift move, he drew his sword in a fierce diagonal slash before sheathing it again, within the span of a second. Nothing could be seen for a moment until a howl of unearthly pain echoed from within the miasma. As a large amount of the poisonous fog was sucked away into a spatial rift that had opened from the slash, the increase in clarity in the area revealed what Seran had targeted. A 2m tall skeleton wearing thick black robes, seemingly hunched over, with bones blackened from death magic, angrily pointed its gnarled bone staff at Seran as the two green flames it had for eyes burned with rage as it screeched, "What the fuck are you!?" With his dark smirk still plastered on his face, Seran laughed as he couldn''t help himself from saying a cliche line, "Your worst nightmare." 35 Elder Lich 2 The Elder Lich laughed with deep fury upon hearing Seran''s response, rattling its bone staff as it called forth more green fireballs from the miasma, "Say that again, brat, after you survive!" With a flick of its staff''s bone topper, a wave of fireballs charged towards the white-haired boy, who was forced to dodge and evade as rapidly as possible. The Elder Lich flung one bony hand toward the miasma beside it and sucked a great deal into an orb shape before wrapping it in green flame and throwing it like a regular fireball at Seran. Seran might be immune to elemental magic, but he wasn''t immune to the physical force that came with each attack, and just a pair of fireballs earlier nearly caused him to lose his footing completely. Using his sword, whatever attacks he didn''t manage to dodge, he cut through with space magic. The Elder Lich''s miasma orb fireball was one of them, as it had cast another wave of fireballs with it. Upon cutting through the fireball and sensing what felt like a membrane being broken, the white-haired boy cussed as he dropped the sword and jumped as far back as he could. The sword corroded into rust near instantly as the contained miasma erupted. So condensed was the miasma that it looked to be a tidal wave of green-black poison as it surged towards the young demigod. Drawing in more of the miasma, which had now lessened by a good amount, the Elder Lich devoured and converted it into more mana. With powerful spells, it summoned heavy full-body plate armor made of death magic, and its staff transformed into a large shadowy scythe. Using its remaining mana and absorbing more from the miasma to empower itself, the Elder Lich teleported towards Seran. "Son of a bitch, this bastard is hard to kill," hissed the white-haired demigod as he hastily summoned a life magic barrier around him. The tidal wave of liquid-esque miasma crashed into the barrier like a bulldozer, nearly shattering it from the impact alone. On top of that, the corrosion power it had continued to attack the cracks in the barrier in an attempt to seep through. It managed to hold on until the end of the surge but failed to withstand the powerful scythe blow of the Elder Lich who appeared behind the wave. Seran yowled in pain as the magic blade cut a long gash from his right shoulder to his left hip. The biggest pain he received wasn''t from the cut, but from the scythe''s deathly power, feeling like acid was being poured into his wound and into his bones. [Shit, I didn''t sense him appear with all of that miasma in the way! Hold on, let me clear up that power... how did it bypass the immunity?] William panicked at realizing that Seran had taken a nasty injury due to having their senses fooled, and he used a curative spell to remove the scythe''s power from the wound, which then healed rapidly from his Semi-Immortality ability. Still, the scythe''s blade had to have been formed from death magic, which Seran is immune to. For such a weapon to ignore his immunity and deal considerable damage to his body, the Elder Lich definitely knew some tricks. Seran released a pent-up breath after he felt the acidic pain leave his body, quickly withdrawing Yggdrasil''s Comet again to defend against the scythe as the Elder Lich attacked again. The meteoric blade proved too much for the deathly scythe to sever and corrode, making it Seran''s best counter to it. Still, he had trouble dealing with the onslaught of powerful scythe attacks and numerous green fireballs that the Elder Lich kept casting, and it was all he could do to block the scythe alone and let William handle the fireballs with space magic rifts. The Elder Lich''s eye flames still burned with anger, though it was now mixed with a gloating pride as it continued to slash and slice the enormous scythe at the boy, who it was surprised to realize had an item capable of surviving several strikes from the scythe. Whenever the demigod did manage to find an opportunity to strike back, the plate armor and constant attacks made each attempt into nothing more than a scratch due to how rushed he was to defend himself again. Dozens of subsequent cuts marked Seran''s body as the two remained locked in mortal combat, with the Elder Lich''s plate armor and scythe seeming to have taken no damage at all. As this was happening, William was still trying to analyze the ability that the Elder Lich was using, going through all of the data he could possibly find. [I got it! That''s not death magic he''s using! That''s devil magic from the Abyss!] He checked his data twice, thrice, even five times to be sure he wasn''t getting it wrong. [This Elder Lich is using the devil magic that the Sixth Devil King used! The miasma is all death and devil magic designed to devour all life and turn it into the caster''s power, which can then be used to empower them!] Seran''s eyes flickered with shock as he nearly shouted, "What!?" He quickly teleported backward about 5m before defending himself again. "Devil magic? You''re sure?" [Positive! There is miasma-based death magic, but none of their spells could bypass your immunity. It would have to be either divine in nature or from another source, namely the devils. This is certainly not divine magic, so it has to be devil magic! We don''t have anything to handle devil magic. You have to kill the Elder Lich now!] William''s urgency filled every word as the danger of the unique magic of devils became more and more prevalent. Divine magic wasn''t available for mortals, and for Seran it had one of the lowest chances of appearing in his Gacha draws. Angels were the only other beings that could use Divine magic, but they haven''t appeared on Aregard since the Abyss Invasion. The skeletal devil laughed wickedly, "I didn''t expect a child in this day and age to recognize my magic! Not that you can do anything about it though. No mortal can withstand my devil magic!" It continued to cast green fireballs at the boy, who could only defend himself with space rifts now. [Seran! Stop defending, leave that to me! Destroy its head! It''s undead now, so destroying its head will crush its soul!] Seran growled and began pouring tons of mana into his guandao blade, infusing it with all of the elements he could at once, as it was the best he could do to mimic a divine spell. Lowering himself into a thrusting stance, the white-haired demigod hissed, "I can''t enjoy this fight any longer. You''re too dangerous to leave alone." He made a silent apology to the tomb as he charged forward with as much speed as he could muster. All of the miasma was gone now, and all that remained was the power holding the plate armor together and the overwhelming strength empowering the scythe. The Elder Lich also charged power into its scythe and swung it with its full physical capabilities, space ripping and tearing as it was cut by the blade. The devilish magic weapon collided with the demigod''s guandao thrust with full force, both fighters putting their entire body into their attacks in an attempt to overpower the other. In the end, the Elder Lich''s strength weakened against Seran''s Infinity ability, and the scythe blade was shattered by the guandao as it crashed into the plate armor helmet, the magic strength breaking the summoned armor and obliterating the Elder Lich''s skull as its howl of rage was silenced. 36 Return to Lightwood Fortress 1 With the excessive amount of power Seran had put into his attack, the handle of Yggdrasil''s Comet flew from his grasp after it shattered the Elder Lich''s skull, rocketing through the air and colliding with the statue of Eric Astheme. Instead of being destroyed, the air rippled with magic and deflected the guandao, sending it to smash through one of the pillars nearby. Seran himself fell on his stomach, breathing heavily mixed between small hiccups like he''d taken several heavy punches to the stomach and was having trouble recovering. Rolling weakly onto his back to give himself more room to catch his breath, the demigod lay there for several minutes. He was obnoxiously powerful, yes, but he''d never had to use so much power at once before, which was why his body was seizing up from his overuse of mana. [I''d admonish you for going overboard, but the situation was far too serious for you to hold back... That said, you need to train yourself for handling your power more. Having infinite power but being unable to control it would only make it a weakness.] William sighed with both relief and exasperation at Seran''s current status. [Do you want me to summon one of the Chimera siblings to help you out of the crypt? If they shrink down enough, they can carry you through the corridor without much trouble.] Seran continued panting for a while before saying, "Yeah... summon Leo... he''ll have the easiest time getting around. Not one minute later, a circular portal opened by the two giant doors, through which a car-sized golden lion stepped through. The bright yellow eyes looked around the gloomy crypt with a mix of curiosity and mild fear, "Creepy giant hall... smells like death... I don''t like this already..." Leo was looking around warily when he spotted Seran lying on the ground next to a black skeleton that radiated death magic. "Master!" The lion swiftly dashed forward to stand beside the young demigod that was still handling mana overload. Leo seemed like a curiously worried puppy as he looked his master up and down, all around, sniffing and lightly prodding him with his nose, "What happened to you?" As he was connected to the lion via the system''s Beast/Pet menu, William answered for Seran, [The simple version is he overused his mana trying to kill that Elder Lich. He''s never had a real life-or-death battle before, so his body isn''t used to the amount of power he can use. Right now, he can''t even move. So we summoned you to carry him out of here.] Leo growled a little at the Elder Lich''s corpse, "Are you sure it''s dead? Do you want me to incinerate it to be safe?" [... As you are similar to Golden Crows in that you have solar flames, you should be able to cremate it completely. Please, burn as much of it as you can. If you can''t do it, then don''t worry.] The lion nodded and roared a veritable yellow-orange flamethrower over the black bone corpse, holding it as long as his energy was capable of allowing. Unlike Seran, Leo had spent years in battle, so his body even before the transformation was already able to handle his power. The flames continued for nearly ten minutes before the bones had been scorched into a pile of ash, which Leo then blasted away with a paw swipe. "There, all done. Now, how are we getting Master out of here?" [Just lay on your belly and I''ll levitate him onto you. He won''t be able to move, so be careful when you move, okay?] After getting a confirmation and the lion did as told, William used some of Seran''s mana to lift him up and onto the lion''s back like one would ride a horse. The difference was that Leo didn''t have a saddle and Seran couldn''t move an inch without assistance due to his condition. [Alright, now, all you have to do is go out of those two giant doors and keep walking straight. Everything in here is completely dead now, so you don''t have to worry about anything but keeping Seran on your back.] "Got it," said the lion as he began to pad out of the massive hall at a relaxed pace, chuckling a little to himself about how his first time helping his master was carrying him out of a tomb. --- Outside, the adventurers had been preparing for the worst after Jenn''s outburst. When the Astheme Crypt doors were opened, the powerful aura that was inside flooded through the tomb and out into the open cemetery. As it was a mix of death and devil magic, only one of which was recognized, the three Priests and Adrianna activated [Holy Sanctuary] to protect their companions from the disgusting magic. Fortunately, unlike Seran, Priest and Paladin spells are Divine in nature, making them a necessary counter against devils. However, they couldn''t tell that it had devil magic mixed in, as it had been 3000 years since the last time devil magic was seen. "Adrianna, the aura... the Elder Lich''s aura is gone..." Jenn, who had been busy holding her spell up, sensed the change in atmosphere as if the aura had lost its source. To further certify her words, the miasmic power thinned and soon dissipated enough for the four Holy Sanctuaries to be dispelled. "There''s no more death power coming out of the cemetery..." Theodore was the first to speak, as Adrianna was still in vigilance mode, "My senses aren''t as strong as yours, but I still feel a huge power inside that isn''t Seran... but it''s not the Elder Lich since the death magic is clearing up..." One of the Luxomancers, a blonde man named Harper, cast [Little Star], an upgraded version of the floating orb of light spell [Candlelight]. Raising it high above the group, the magical starlight illuminated several meters into the cemetery, and the vague outline of the tomb was visible. "We''ll see what it is when they come out, though." As the 33 adventurers once again stood ready to face an enemy, they heard a very non-hostile voice, "William''s right, master, you need more training. When you''re done with the Hydra, we''ll make sure you train." Seran''s voice responded although it sounded weak, "Oh no, I''m gonna end up worse than this aren''t I..." It was a rhetorical question, as he knew the answer would be yes. "Maybe you need to undergo reflection training. Where you have to fight and defeat yourself." The first voice suggested an option to Seran that made the demigod grumble but still concede. Jenn was the first person to relax her defensive posture, "Don''t worry, it''s a friend." Most of the others believed her, as she was known to be capable of sensing intent or hostility even from a distance. Sure enough, not a minute later, a large golden lion padded out of the tomb, talking to what looked like a limp child. Theodore rushed forward from June''s insistence, and the female guild-master said through the mirror, "Seran, what happened?" The white-haired boy chuckled, but the golden lion answered, "Master overused his mana. He won''t be able to move until tomorrow. Which is why he''s going to be training after he''s done with his missions." June just blinked and chuckled at Seran, "So you can look like a child every now and then." This evolved into laughing as Seran gained a pouty expression, though she did eventually stop and say, "Just take your time and relax then. Considering your physical state, I assume you defeated the Elder Lich?" "Yes, I did... though there are more important details involved... I''ll just report them later." Seran would have waved a hand in a dismissive manner on the topic, but he couldn''t move at all. Theodore and several other adventurers laughed at seeing the rather adorable behavior of Seran and the semi-teasing June converse with each other. With this incident and June''s brilliant comments on it, the views of everyone involved towards Seran changed from a terribly powerful demigod to ''a kid prone to overusing his ability'', just like most children. The only difference was that Seran had insane power that others didn''t. Still, it made them feel better, knowing that Seran was still a kid at heart. 37 Return to Lightwood Fortress 2 Seran woke up the next morning feeling mildly stiff, groaning as he got up from his spot, where he had been sleeping against Leo''s side. Walking to the edge of the camp, the white-haired demigod started doing some pre-sport stretches to loosen his muscles. William had sneakily made a personal quest for Seran that required him to do 10k pushups, 10k sit-ups, 10k pull-ups and run 10kms every day. If he didn''t, he would be forced into mana exhaustion for 4hrs and have half of his abilities locked for a full day. William was brutal was training methods, as the training requirements would only get harder and harder. The sun''s rays had pierced through the trees of the valley when the rest of adventurers rose and began packing up the campsite. The only person who wasn''t actively helping, outside of Seran, who was busy with his physical training, and Leo, who isn''t a person anyway, was Jenn who was suffering from nausea and mild fever. Despite her third-grade Priest job and incredible amounts of mana, the death and devil power contained in the cemetery was toxic to her. All of the other adventurers were told by her that it was part of her family''s inherited physique, making them weak to death and darkness magic. Seran, on the other hand, knew more of the specifics from the system: Jenn was descended from a line of half-angels. Naturally, the devil magic was much more effective on her than even a normal human. Still, it explained her talent with Divine magic, and why she had such strong senses. Within another thirty minutes, everyone was ready to move out again. Savicche was in the opposite direction from their current location, meaning Seran would have to cross the same distance he''d traveled to get here from Chimera Hollow thrice to arrive at Savicche, which was on the southwestern coast of the oval-like continent. Lightwood Fortress would shorten that distance to only double, which was better than nothing, so Seran had everyone enter his dimensional realm before teleporting himself directly into June''s guild-master office. Unsurprisingly, the sudden appearance of Seran caused the swordswoman to fall over, shrieking, "Terra''s tits!" Rubbing her head after hitting the wooden floor, June glared at the white-haired demigod, who had a shamefully apologetic look as he tried to help her up, "Did you really need to do that?" His ears were slightly pink with his embarrassment as he fidgeted, "Would have teleported outside the city, but that might cause more problems... especially when 33 adventurers and a lion appear as well... Is there like a training ground here? I''d assume so, I''ve just never seen it." Fixing her hair and brushing herself off, the female guild-master huffed and walked quickly out of the room, "Follow me." Without checking to see if Seran was following her, which he was, she purposefully marched her way through the offices, out into the lobby, around the receptionist desk and over to a pair of double doors with semi-opaque windows, which she then opened, ignoring the looks from the rest of the adventurers for her behavior, and for the kid following her, as he''d forgotten to put his hood on. Inside was a massive stadium-sized room with more than 30 people training in various ways. "This is the training hall, open to all adventurers. Generally, rank tests happen here... but you''re an exception, Mr. Superstar." She had a half-grin on her face when she saw how awkward that name made Seran feel. "What do you need it for?" "Two things, really. One is for my physical training, as you''ve seen the result from last night..." June laughed at the reminder of Seran''s immobile state previously, which attracted yet more looks from the area. "And the other is for this." Seran opened his dimensional realm and set everyone inside onto the training room floor. Seeing 33 A-rank adventurers, not to mention a huge golden lion, appear from a kid''s spell made most witnesses think they were hallucinating. They realized it wasn''t when June walked over to Theodore, who was standing near the front. "Welcome back, Theodore. It''s been far too long." In person, June''s smile was sweet as she stood in front of him. The Pyromancer couldn''t keep a straight face as he held June''s hands. "I''d say I''ve missed you, but it''s only been 2 days for me. Still, those endless 2 days made me miss you more, though I can''t match your 2 years of waiting for me..." He was halfway between elation and depression, feeling very conflicted now that he was with June in person again. June rolled her eyes, "You know full well that I''d wait even longer." As usual, June was the only one capable of seeing through the emotional exterior of Theodore''s mind. While this sappy scene was going on, UHC headed out to the lobby to wait, the three Priest girls watching the two like schoolgirls experiencing romance movies, and everyone else, Adrianna included, left to go enjoy the city after being stuck in limbo for two years. Seran, on the other hand, made silent gagging motions as he over-dramatically leaned against Leo, who was doing his best to not crack up or join in. Both of them were very powerful, that''s for sure, but Seran was only a 10-year-old, while Leo had a childish personality now that he could be a free and loved protector beast. Seran might have been 21 in his previous world, but his new body''s youth had a heavy influence on his personality now. The only time his old mind really showed itself was during a crisis or dealing with business. Of course, watching two long-lost lovers reuniting was something he was happy about; he just couldn''t help making bad jokes. June and Theodore had become engrossed in their conversation about their two years apart, but not enough for June to ignore Seran''s teasing actions, especially when the white-haired boy playfully mentioned that they had an office for being intimate, though he said it in only 3 words. Cheeks turning pink, June rolled up her sleeves, "Come here, little punk, I''m gonna give you a good whooping!" Seran giggled and ran around the training hall like a monkey, doing his best to escape from June, who proved to be harder than he expected. [Keep running, Seran. She''s got nearly 500 points in her AGI.] William was enjoying watching Seran get a bit of comeuppance, something the 10-year-old needed every once in a while from someone other than Eleanor. "Shit, that''s a lot!" Squeaking in partial fear, the demigod continued to dodge and weave all around the room, much to the entertainment of Theodore and the witnessing adventurers, some of even which started betting on how long Seran would last before he got caught. 38 Home Again, Home Again 1 Eventually, Seran was caught and given a noogie by June, making the white-haired ten-year-old squirm, "Ahh, no! Lemme go!" He struggled to escape June''s grasp; he was very strong, but William had added seals to his physical abilities as well for his training. Now, he was only as strong as he was before his first awakening, making him only half as strong as June. June kept giving Seran a noogie as she said, "What was that about getting a room, you little brat?" "Ah, nothing! I didn''t say anything!" He just kept wriggling in an attempt to break free, and fail to do so. "That''s what I thought." She dropped him onto Seran onto his feet, who then immediately dashed to freedom, a chorus of laughter following him. June shook her head and smiled, "A genius, sure, but still a little punk." Theodore walked over and gave June a side hug, "That''s just how he is, right?" Just like a lot of people that got to know the young demigod, he felt like both an older brother and a father figure. Seran was just a playful person when he wasn''t doing demigod things, a child at heart. "I''d much rather have Seran stay how he is than become a stuck-up brat..." "A problem you''d end up causing if we had one," said June casually, though it made Theodore sweat profusely. "Not yet, though. You''ve got two years to make up for." That statement alone caused the Pyromancer to shiver, knowing he was in for one hell of a time. --- The white-haired demigod sat outside the fortress walls, breathing like he''d just run a marathon. He might as well have, considering how fast June was and how long he spent running nonstop. Beside him was a chuckling lion, who was resting casually, "You got yourself into that mess, master." The lion couldn''t help teasing Seran, who just gave him a funny look. "So, where are we going now, master?" "Since the Hydra quest isn''t an emergency, we''ll head back home. I''m sure June will be able to tell." Seran hopped onto Leo''s back before teleporting them to Greenwood Town''s northern gate, right next to the pond where the village once stood. He then summoned Ophiuchus and Draco so he could address the three of them at once, "Okay, guys. We''re going into the city now, and don''t panic about anything. I will be announcing to everyone about you soon, so you will always be welcome here. I must remind you, though, to listen to my family, and to Storm, when I''m not around. Storm is the oldest of the new generation of Golden Crows and our village''s original magic beast protector. He''s like your big brother, too, since he''s also contracted to me." The three Chimera children nodded in unison, "Yes, master." Seran smiled, "Just call me big brother. Master makes me feel old." Seran gave Leo some scratches under his chin, then Draco some scratches behind his jaw. Ophiuchus also got some jaw scratches, and all 3 had big, happy grins as Seran rode Leo into the town. The guards of the town had been taught to recognize Seran, as trying to disguise as him wouldn''t work with his unique coloration. Thus, when they saw him riding in on a lion with a small dragon and a similarly sized snake in tow, they shrugged it off since they knew he was a demigod and just let him pass. After nearly a year since its founding, Greenwood Town had expanded from its original size of less than 1000 to nearly 50,000. 10,000 of these new residents were from the system''s kingdom menu, where he could create entirely unique people. These 10k people were created via the system to be professional full-time soldiers, a standing army. Currently, they were only infantrymen, most of them being at the third-grade job of Shield Warrior, other than the few commanding officers having a more versatile role. The top general of the army was a gruff man named Rhett George, a very adept commander who, at present, only served to protect the city. Shaun, the village''s head guardsman, had now been given the leadership position of the city police forces, and had grown from his second-grade job of Sword Fighter to the fourth-grade job of Swordmaster, the current best swordsman Greenwood Town had. Thanks to Shaun and his police force, General Rhett could focus on keeping the town safe, using the knowledge that he and his subordinates had gained via the education system that Seran had set up. Even with the influx of residents and merchants, the new government''s way of handling itself was much more effective than elsewhere on the Western Continent. Crime was extremely low, with the worst thing that happened since the founding being an attempted robbery. Major disputes and fights were solved quickly with the intervention of the police, who handled it in a modern way by having them settle their cases in a courthouse. Seran had also had to create and summon several officials of the law due to the lack of them. Street gangs could no longer enforce a protection fee, as the police always had someone on duty patrolling the streets. The police presence on the streets immediately made themselves known before Seran and the three beasts had entered the throng of the masses by staying ahead of him and clearing a path whilst making sure to tell the people that it was for their safety. Many weren''t happy about this, but they quickly changed their minds when they saw the 3 powerful creatures... and the white-haired boy on top of the lion, singing a song that none of them had ever heard, as it was from Earth. Several people from Earth would recognize the tune, even though the vocals certainly didn''t match the amazing skills of the original singer. An odd looking instrument was held in his hands, odd to Aregard''s peoples, but many from the modern age would know what it was from the song Seran was singing. "You get a shiver in the dark It''s a raining in the park but meantime- South of the river you stop and you hold everything A band is blowing Dixie, double four time You feel alright when you hear the music ring Well now you step inside but you don''t see too many faces Coming in out of the rain they hear the jazz go down Competition in other places Uh but the horns they blowin'' that sound Way on down south Way on down south London town" Hearing a kid singing a pub rock song, or any kid singing any song in this day and age, was a first for anyone. Just Seran''s casual rendition of the song, even as he tried to carry the emotions of the original tune, lightened the mood of the people. Many people down on their luck stopped thinking completely and only focused on the youthful voice singing. While it didn''t have the authentic musical accompaniment that would require more instruments, Seran''s guitar-only version still had some of its emotional appeal. A number of young residents, especially the children, discovered their passions through hearing Seran''s spur-of-the-moment performance. Seran, as he was performing in a way that made him forget he was in public, continued his rendition of a famous Earth song as William directed the three beasts to the city hall. Even they were feeling the infectious melody of the song as they moved with different steps in time with the music. William, to himself, thought, "A new thing to make Seran do... now that he''s made some musician hopefuls, he should do some concerts to introduce it more. We haven''t made radios yet, but having such things already being made would be incredible." He chuckled to himself, "Another training quest to make..." 39 Home Again, Home Again 2 "Dad, I''m home!" Seran shouted casually from Leo''s back as they entered the city hall like it was their house. The three Chimera siblings looked around curiously, oblivious to the looks they were receiving from the city hall employees. Etienne came out of the city lord''s office with a smile, "Welcome home, kiddo. How''re your adventures going?" Walking over to ruffle his son''s hair, the former Greenwood Village chief, now city lord of Greenwood Town, was always proud of his little genius. "Egh, dad, not the hair," grumbled Seran as he was given a hair ruffle. With a half-pouting look, the young demigod said, "I''m taking a short break from my adventures now, I''ve got a month before my last quest expires and I get fined, but its a simple quest so no hurry. Oh, dad, let me introduce these three." He gestured to Leo, "This is Leo," to Ophiuchus, "Ophiuchus," and to Draco, "and Draco. They''re my contracted partners. Leo is a Sun Lion, Ophiuchus is a Quake Python and Draco is a Lesser Thunder Dragon. Together, they can combine into their original form, an S-rank Alpha Chimera." "Another S-rank to add to our list of protectors, right?" Etienne gave him a wry smile, making Seran blush a little. "Alright, I''ll get right to it. We''ll announce it to the people later. Everyone here is familiar with our guardian spirit, Lady Khloe, and our famous Golden Crows. Adding three more won''t be a problem at all." He turned to look at all 3 of the magical beasts, "I''m sure Seran has mentioned it before, but I have to say it anyway. Besides my family and I, you need to listen to the other town elders, Lady Khloe, and Storm. Other than that, there may be times where the Guard Commander, Shaun, needs your help with dealing with problems. As long as you help the town and don''t cause mischief... much, you''ll always be welcome here." The three Chimera siblings nodded in unison, "Okay, sir." Seran giggled, "Call him dad, since I''m your big brother." He really viewed them as his little siblings, despite them being older chronologically. Mentally, they were younger, around Fenmore''s age. The trio looked at Etienne curiously, who shrugged and said it was fine. Therefore, with a chorus of "Dad!", a fuzzy boy and two scaly boys pounced to give the city lord hugs, catching him by surprise but making him very happy. He already had a demigod genius for a son, along with little Fenmore. Adding three more interesting kids to the family didn''t faze him in the slightest. He did, however, manage to pull Seran down into the group hug, making the white-haired boy squeak. The city hall employees were all smiles as well, seeing the odd but heartwarming scene of a family group hug. "Dad, just a heads up, but in the next day or two, I''ll be doing something crazy again. I''ll tell you once I complete it, so you are already prepared for it." Seran wanted to make several ridiculous ideas possible, and he certainly will, but he''d also have to add the processes for creating, maintaining and disposing of these ideas part of the specialized career educations. "Ridiculous, huh? Well, don''t blow up any buildings and you''ll be fine. I''ll call a town meeting in a few minutes to announce these three to the town, so no worries. For now, go and have fun. I''m sure the townsfolk would love to meet their legendary king." Etienne gave his son another hair ruffle, making Seran huff. "Okay, dad. I''ll have these three meet Storm, then." After a few more words, Seran left city hall with the Chimera siblings in tow. Once outside, he took a leaf off of a tree and blew into it, making a crisp sound that echoed over the town, bright and clear. Soon, the sound of powerful wings came through the air as a giant Golden Crow fluttered down to land atop the sturdy railing beside the demigod. "Oh, it''s you, kid. Been a while since I''ve seen you. Causing trouble again?" The eldest Golden Crow was just as straightforward as ever, with his usual mischievous personality mixed in. The only difference between his old self and now was that he had a newfound sense of pride in his race. "... Maybe. Have you been doing any more pranking, then?" Seran gave Storm a look that said that he knew the bird was just as guilty as he was. Sure enough, the big bird looked away like he saw something interesting. Chuckling, Seran said, "Storm, I want to introduce these three to you. Just like you, they are a S-rank magic beasts, just not Divine Beasts." "I''m Leo, the Sun Lion," said the golden feline in a rather adorable attempt to be proud. "I''m Ophiuchus, the Quake Python," introduced the dark brown serpent, bowing his head in respect. "And I''m Draco, the Lesser Thunder Dragon," proclaimed the electric blue dragon, trying to make himself look important... and failing. "Originally, they were one creature, an Alpha Chimera, but after they contracted with me, I gave them separate bodies. All three of them are, according to both age and contracting time, your younger brothers, so I wanted you to meet them." The big crow looked the three Chimera siblings over like an inspector, making observations of each one in turn, "Leo, you''re Fire-type, like me. We''re hot-blooded, yes, but you must remember to maintain a clear head. Ophiuchus, you''re Earth-type, very grounded, heh, and calm. For us Fire-types, Earth-types and Water-types keep us in line. Too much fire isn''t good. As for you, Draco, you''re a Lightning-type, an energetic bundle of power, and emotions. The most important thing for you to remember is that lightning can even hurt you, if you''re not careful." After reaching his new status, Storm had taken to teaching his avian brethren like an instructor would, and sometimes would even give advice to people in the town. This gave him a variety of nicknames, the most common being Master Crow and the most amusing being Brain-Storm. He embraced his new titles, mostly, and was always happy to give out advice to anyone. "As you''ve introduced yourselves, I should do the same. I am Storm, the first of the new generation of Golden Crows, and the current leader of the protector beasts of Greenwood Town. We''ll have a long time to get to know each other, but for now, just remember the laws of Greenwood Town and you''ll have no issues here. Even King Brat here isn''t free of those laws." "You wanna go, Yellow Chicken?" Seran started rolling up his sleeves like he wanted to fight, even though it was a joke. Storm puffed up his feathers and lightly spread his wings, "Bring it on, squirt!" A long staring competition between a bird and a boy went on until, unsurprisingly, the both burst into laughter. Shaking his feathers back to their natural state, Storm said, "You three can make your dens anywhere you want around the town, but I recommend it be on the Spring Hill. Lady Khloe will love having new additions to her family of magical creatures." The three nodded eagerly, taking their big brother''s words to heart. "Now then, I''m off to patrol around the city from above. I''ll see you guys later." With his parting words, the big bird flapped his wings, buffeting the quartet as he quickly took off over the city. Still laughing a little, Seran gave each of them a scratch and a hug, "Alright, now that you''ve met your big brother, you can meet your big sister Khloe. We''re going up the hill behind the city hall. At the top is where she lives, at the spirit spring. She''s been around since the beginning, always protecting us. Everyone gives her respect, as she''s spent 300 years as our guardian spirit. Even Storm listens to her words, so you should know how important she is to us. As dad said, Khloe is someone you have to listen to." Seran led them around the city hall and up the walking trail to the spirit spring, atop the lightly wooded hill where Khloe lived. 40 Home Again, Home Again 3 At the top of the hill, with a beautiful view of the town below, there was the spirit spring that oversaw and protected the town as it had once done for the village. In the center of the clear water were the same koi fish that had lived in it earlier, and sitting in the center of the water, floating like a lily-pad, was Khloe, in her physical child form, some of the smaller Golden Crows perched on her head and shoulders as she sang, operatic sounds echoing through the air. Other critters sat around and listened to her song, from squirrels and birds, rabbits and toads, and even some of the town''s cats and dogs, creating a fairy-tale-like scene. Seran and the trio stood at the edge of the circle of critters, listening to the song as a child listens to a lullaby. Through her voice, the serenity of nature, its warmth and protection, blossomed in her audience''s hearts, soothing even the most high-strung of them. Her song lasted a good ten minutes, during which time some of the critters had even fallen asleep peacefully, including two of the Golden Crows. Taking a few steps forward, careful to avoid the sleeping critters, Seran said quietly, "Hey, Khloe." The spirit smiled as she held the sleeping Golden Crows like a mother would her child, replying to Seran, "Hey to you too, Seran. Knowing you, you''re not here for a visit. What is it this time?" She wasn''t wrong in assuming such a thing about Seran, as his previous visits were all with a purpose in mind. "I brought some new family members to meet you." He beckoned the three forward and introduced them as he had to Storm earlier. "They''re going to be living here with us from now on, so I wanted to have them build a den under the hill. As the town''s resident spirit, it would be best to introduce them to you, as you are the voice of the animals here." "Voice of the animals, huh? Well, you''re not wrong about that. My word tends to trump that of the elders and your father when it comes to our magical friends." Khloe looked over the three of them with a kind smile, "I am Khloe, a helper spirit of Lady Demeter, and Greenwood Town''s guardian spirit. You are more than welcome to build a den under the hill, just be careful of how you build it. The hill is stronger than it looks, but the spring is still delicate. If you have anything to ask, you can always ask me." With her magic, she formed a hand of leaves and gave the three soft pats, "Welcome to your new home, little ones." The Chimera siblings respectfully bowed to her, acknowledging her words and status in their hearts. As magical beasts, they were much closer to nature than most races, save for elves, so the natural aura that Khloe had made them respect her from the bottom of their hearts. From the expressions of their eyes, they were bordering on thinking of her as a mother. Seran smiled, giving the three some scratches, "Alright, big brother has to go and do some things around the city. You can stay here with Khloe if you want to." The trio nodded and lay on the ground in front of the spring, quietly awaiting Khloe''s continuation of her song. With a chuckle, he bade farewell to the spirit before heading back down the hill. About halfway down, he could hear her song beginning anew. --- On the main road from the northern gate, the first few streets consisted of merchants, restaurants, smithies and the like. Most of these came from the residents who opened up their own places, while a handful of the merchant shops were made by companies who wanted to partake in a new kingdom''s growth. While the town was on the smaller side currently, it was suspected that it wouldn''t stay that way for long once travelers came flocking to the place that gave everyone a new chance at life. Some had even taken to calling it the City of Opportunity, as such a chance was next to impossible to find elsewhere. Walking down the main road, Seran attempted to take in the sights of the new town, as it had grown a lot since the last time he returned. Of course, it was next to impossible for him to do so peacefully, as many recognized him from earlier, riding in on a lion while playing an unusual musical instrument. Some of the more astute had noticed the attitudes that the policemen had towards Seran as well. This likely meant he was a very influential figure in the town, despite his unique entrance. An older man, bordering on his 60s based off his appearance, asked Seran, "You have a good voice, kid. Even when I worked in the capital of the Everd Kingdom as a palace cook, I''ve never heard such a voice except for a handful of occasions when the youngest princess sang in the palace." Flattered but not to a narcissistic level, Seran shrugged, "I only sing for fun, so I am nowhere near the skill level of someone who has trained to sing for their entire life. If my singing can cheer up one person, I''ve already done more than I expected." His response made the man think of him as very mature for his age, and he asked if he planned to sing in public again. "If you did, you could certainly make a lot of money." "For money? No. I don''t work that way. I''ll do it for fun. Inspiration is a fickle thing, it is fleeting and hard to find by yourself. If several people want to take the path of music and make it their passion through my performance, I''ll be happy." "You sound like you''ve experienced quite a lot, despite being so young... Ah, I was too curious and didn''t think of courtesy. I should really introduce myself, as I started this conversation in the first place. My name is Gordon Aglierri, former palace cook, now the owner of the local Star Spring Restaurant. If you''d like to, I''d be happy to have you perform there." With a kind smile at the honest intentions of Gordon''s words and demeanor, Seran said, "I''d be happy to. My name is Seran Greenwood, pleased to meet you." 41 Greenwood Town 1 "Greenwood? As in the city lord''s family name?" Gordon said curiously, almost as if he glazed over the first part of his name. "So you''re his son then?" Smiling at how the man didn''t recognize his name, he nodded, "Yes, his oldest son. Have you met my little brother, Fenmore?" "Ah, Fenmore! I have met him a couple of times. He''s a playful little rascal, isn''t he? Some of us have taken to calling him Little Crow, since he always has a Golden Crow with him. Of course, most of us call him Fen though, since he likes that nickname." Gordon chuckled as he thought of the rambunctious odd-eyed child that loved going around to all of the shops. "He''s definitely special, and I love him dearly. Technically, he''s the Greenwood Prince, since his older brother is the king." "Now that I think about it, he has said his big brother is the king, and is super cool and powerful, in his words... Wait a minute..." The older man''s eyes stared directly at Seran with shock and recognition, "That means...?" Seran put a finger to his own lips in a hushing manner, while giving Gordon a wink, "One of the good things about not being recognized is being able to go around town and not get swarmed or treated differently. I am just a regular citizen of Greenwood Town." Gordon made a sound of epiphany, "That does make sense. The royal family in Everd couldn''t go anywhere without a massive parade..." The white-haired boy smiled, "I live more like Lady Layla, the Queen of the Elves. My title is only a formality, important during affairs related to the kingdom. All other times, I am just a normal person." Nodding in agreement, Gordon said, "Yes, I quite like that idea. Your laws already state that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, and even foreign kings are not exempt from them, let alone the local king. If that is the case, why shouldn''t you be treated like everyone else?" Gordon started to think about other things, until Seran snapped him out of it with a snap of his fingers by his ear, "Ah, sorry, I do that sometimes. When I start thinking, I tend to zone out." "That''s okay. I''ve done that more than enough times to know what it''s like." "Well, do you have anywhere, in particular, you want to go, or are you just sightseeing?" Shrugging, the boy said, "I haven''t been in town since the founding, so it should be pretty easy to guess that I know nothing about my own town since then. So, right now, I''m just sightseeing and visiting all of the shops. Of course, it would take some time to visit every single place, so I''m doing it a couple at a time." Gordon chuckled, "If you need a guide, I''m more than happy to help. Whenever I''m not needed at the restaurant, which is quite often thanks to some new chefs from the culinary career courses at the school and some hired wait staff, I go around town as well." "Thank you, Gordon, I''d be very thankful for your expert guidance." "Bah, I''m no expert on anything. I just know almost every place there is since I was one of the earliest people to settle down here after the founding. Not the first, not by a long shot, but I moved here a good week or so after the founding, so I''m pretty close." The restaurateur gladly led Seran to the northern gate before beginning from there. Their first stop was at a general goods store owned by one of the original residence, Sammy''s mother, Mary. "Miss Mary, hello!" Gordon shouted as he came forward to the counter, behind which were three ladies and then Mary herself, all of which were running as cashiers and customer service. Mary, hair bound up in a bun, was just finishing up a transaction when she heard the shout, "Ah, Gordon! On another of your wandering breaks, I see." She had a smile on her face as she recognized the chef that often visited her store. "Not this time, I''m afraid. I''m giving a tour of the shops to this young man here," Gordon gestured to Seran, who smiled and winked. "Ah, Seran!" She stepped out from behind the counter and pulled the white-haired boy into a hug, "You little rascal, running off an adventure for nearly a year. Sammy was sad that his big brother disappeared without saying goodbye." Mary couldn''t help half-scolding the nearly 11-year-old boy like a mother would after seeing her child come home. Giggling, Seran returned the hug, "Sorry, Auntie Mary. I wanted to, but I promised Lady Layla that I''d help her, so I had to go. I didn''t even get to say goodbye to Fen." "I know, I know. Our little genius is very busy, can''t keep him here forever." After letting him go, she asked, "So, is this a short visit or long-term return?" "...Both? It''s a short visit back to the town, but it''ll be long-term after I finish my third quest. I''ve already been approved for my rank-up, so there are no worries about that. I just want to finish the third quest." "Greenwood Village''s young master has grown so much, already able to rank up as an adventurer. What rank are you about to be, then? Considering what you can do, it''s definitely a good one." Mary''s question perked up Gordon''s interest too. As with all of the residents, he''d heard dozens of stories about his legendary abilities, and wondered if it was true. Before Seran could answer, a disdainful snort came from one of the store''s customers, "What does it matter, he''s a kid. Even a genius wouldn''t be better than an E-rank. I bet he''s only getting a rank up because he''s special." Mary''s mother bear attitude kicked into high gear as she heard this customer''s words, "What was that, sir? Are you attempting to cause trouble in my store?" He shrugged calmly, "Of course not, that''d be a waste of time. I''m just stating the truth. He''s barely older than ten, just by looking at him. Even the Mage King was only an F-rank at his age. There''s no way he''s stronger than that." Silently, without letting Mary continue, Seran flicked his wrist, withdrawing his guild card from his inventory like a magic trick and handed it to the man. The card, as per standard setup, read out: -- Name: Seran Greenwood Known Titles: World''s Strongest Demigod, Greenwood King, Greenwood Demigod, Elven Benefactor, Chimera Tamer, Lich Subjugator, Heaven''s Child, Once and Future King Age: 10 Rank: S (Provisional) Class: Grand Sage -- 42 Greenwood Town 2 For a moment, the man was stunned, but he laughed as he read the card over again, "An impressive fake, kiddo. You know fake cards are illegal, right?" He held the card like a parent keeping a toy away from their child. Seran''s face was blank as he stayed silent, but Mary immediately went off, "How dare you insinuate that Seran would make a fake guild card! He''s just a boy!" If Mary was a Mage, her hair would probably start fluttering like living flames from her anger. "Never too early to be a criminal, you know," said the man as he continued to laugh about Seran''s ''fake'' card. He seemed to be completely sure of his card being fake, which was why he didn''t return the card. "You''d have to prove to me that it''s real before I''d believe it." The young demigod''s expression remained blank as he deadpanned, "Why would I need to prove anything to you? Causing trouble in my aunt''s store is already toeing my bottom line. Keep my card, I''ll be getting in back soon." The man still couldn''t stop laughing, "An F-rank brat like you? You wouldn''t be able to scratch my itch." Seran continued with an apathetic look, "In one minute, there will be an announcement for the entire town to gather in the main square. If you want to know the truth, go to the square." He turned to Mary with a smile, "No worries, Auntie, I''ll handle this later." With a calm smile on his face, Seran headed out of the store, Gordon following behind him awkwardly. Mary had to watch Seran leave the store while feeling like she failed to help. Irritable, she glared at the man, headed back behind the counter and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "From this moment forward, this man will be banned from this store permanently. Should he step foot in this store again, I will have him escorted from the premises and sued in court." As all eyes turned to the man, he exclaimed, "Oi, you can''t do that! I didn''t do anything wrong! I just spoke the truth!" Mary''s glare deepened, "According to the laws of this town, and this kingdom, the owner of a property may ban whoever they want for whatever reason from their property. As I have announced it in front of you, you cannot say you were unaware of your banning, and attempting to step foot in here again, you can be sentenced for trespassing. If you want to know the reason, you can find out at the town announcement soon. Now, get out of my store before I call for the police." The man''s face turned red with awkward anger, but he couldn''t do anything in full view of so many witnesses. "You..! I''ll get you back for this!" Slamming her fist on the counter, she said, "Is that a threat, sir? I will call the police if you don''t get out of my store right now. It''ll be far worse than trespassing if you''re threatening me too." The full-blown aura of a pissed off mother and store-owner radiated from her, making it look like she was more than ready to throw down with the man. Knowing he was in a losing battle, the man clicked his tongue and began leaving the store when a policeman stepped into the store to proclaim, "The city lord has called for everyone to gather at the town square for an announcement. Please make your way there at once, as he said that it was very important." The policeman also took a look at the man who was causing trouble and said, "I heard everything just now, and I will be reporting this to my superiors. This is the third time you''ve gotten yourself into trouble in the last week, so we''re already aware of your identity. This time, you might be brought to court and exiled from the kingdom." He then left without another word or a second glance to continue passing the announcement. The man received numerous silent glares as everyone in the store began to leave, with Mary being the last one. She glared at him and darkly said to get out, which he did awkwardly, so she could lock the store up. The man shivered as he felt yet more glares everywhere he went as rumors already began to travel. Gossip is a cruel mistress, indeed. --- About twenty minutes passed as several thousand residents came to the massive town square, which could easily hold four times their number, and gathered before an amphitheater-like platform with a small podium on the right side. Children rode on shoulders and some people had to strain to see from a distance, but most could see just fine. Seven men came onto the stage, five of which were high-ranking policemen, the sixth being the Chief of Police, Shaun, and the seventh being Etienne Greenwood, the city lord, who stood behind the podium as the six officers of the law took positions at the edge of the semi-circular stage. Shaun, and his officers, shouted loud enough for everyone to hear, "Please be silent for the city lord''s announcement!" It was much easier thanks to recent inventions, the amplifier and microphone. With Seran''s old world''s knowledge and William''s data power, they created several blueprints and inventions and left it to the people to create, and within the last month, the amplifier had made its debut, just after the microphone. They had yet to achieve the radio, but it seemed that they were very close to figuring it out. Clearing his throat, Etienne spoke into the podium''s microphone, "Hello, everyone. My apologies for calling this on such short notice, but this announcement requires swiftness, so it had to be done. There are a few things I must bring to your attention. The first topic of the announcement is related to our well-known resident Golden Crows." Etienne gestured to Storm, who had perched atop a tree behind the stage, along with several other crows. "They are our protectors and friends, as many of us have learned. We have given them the collective title of guardian beasts, so that everyone may understand that they are protectors of the town and its people. It should be known that the oldest of them, Storm, is an S-rank Divine Beast. Today, I am very pleased to announce that we will be gaining three more guardian beasts, each of which is also of the S-rank. Please, welcome our new guardian beasts." He turned to face the rear of the stage, and all eyes followed. Behind the stage, the Chimera trio became very self-conscious and nervous about so many people. When they were in combat, they forgot about such things, but crowds were not their forte. It took a minute or two before Storm said, "Go on, you three. There''s no need to fear. Don''t forget that Lady Khloe and Seran are both here for you." The few words that the big crow spoke managed to convince the trio to climb up onto the stage to stand beside each other, looking visibly nervous, which was rather cute despite each of them being the size of a car. Even with their tremendously powerful auras and their imposing physical appearances, their demeanor didn''t match up at all, making it hard for some to take them seriously... sort of. "Now, let me introduce them to you all," said Etienne with a grin. 43 Greenwood Town 3 Etienne took the microphone from its stand and walked across the stage to stand in front of the first of the three, who debatable looked the most nervous. "This is Draco, a Lesser Thunder Dragon." Hearing of the first new guardian beast being descended from the extinct Dragon Race, pure enough to be a Lesser Dragon, already astounded the crowd. On the entire Western Continent, there were only 2 known Lesser Dragons, each of which was capable of flattening a quarter of the continent. Just to handle one of them would require mobilizing every S-rank adventurer on the continent. For a new third one to appear in a small town and become its protector was ridiculous. Of course, it was hard to take Draco too seriously when he looked as stiff as a board. Moving to the next one, Etienne said, "This is Leo, a Sun Lion." While most people didn''t know of the species at all, someone whispered and spread the word around the crowd that any species with the words related to celestial objects were close to being Divine Beasts. From that, it was discovered that a Sun Lion was indefinitely powerful, despite the only one known looking like a frightened kitten trying to look brave. "And this is Ophiuchus, a Quake Python," continued Etienne as he stood in front of the giant snake that had coiled up like a ball out of anxiety. Compared to Sun Lions, which most likely had never appeared on the Western Continent, Quake Pythons had appeared before. Records spoke of them being able to stand toe-to-toe with a Lesser Dragon. Currently, there was one living in the same mountain range that one of the Lesser Dragons did. On rare occasions, the two would fight, and a magic recording showed them flattening mountains and tearing ravines open. Thankfully, they hadn''t fought in the last two decades. Even though Ophiuchus was very small compared to the 1600-some-meter python, nobody doubted that he would be capable of similar things once he grew older. Moving back to the Podium, Etienne spoke, "All 3 of these boys are very young, and, as you can see, are very nervous. Still, my son has told me what they are capable of in battle, and they are very trustworthy. With time, they will open up to us, of course. There is no need to be afraid of them, they are no older than a child. Lady Khloe and Storm have already welcomed them, and they assure me that the three of them will be taken care of. After this gathering, they will be going back up the Spirit Hill, but you can meet them later on." With a smile, he walked over and gave the three anxious Chimera siblings a hug, telling them they did well before sending them back up the hill. Their nerves still got the better of them, and Draco''s stiffness caused him to trip and slip off the stage, knocking Leo down in the process. Poor Ophiuchus got the short end of the stick and had both land on top of him. As the trio nearly dashed up the hill in embarrassment, the crowd laughed at both their clumsiness and their cute behaviors. Even a fool would know that the three were just like kids having to perform in front of an audience for the first time, making mistakes and trying to leave immediately upon messing up. Etienne stifled a laugh as he cleared his throat again to quiet the crowd. "The next announcement isn''t really an announcement, but another introduction. This time, it''s of someone that everyone should know, but mostly don''t. He''s been away for several months and was only present for the founding of Greenwood Town. Recently, he managed to finish most of the jobs he had to do, so he''s finally returned." He then walked towards the center of the stage as a white-haired boy came up from the back. Several people in the crowd that weren''t original residents recognized the boy for several reasons: one, he was riding into town on the three new guardian beasts while playing music; two, the policemen and soldiers all treated him with great respect; three, all of the Golden Crows seemed to love him, especially Storm; four, he was involved in a bit of trouble at a store near the north gate. It was hard to forget such unique features, or the interesting things that he was related to. Seran simply stood in the center of the stage with a casual smile as his father walked over, stood to the left behind him and put a hand on his son''s shoulder. "This is my oldest son, Seran Greenwood, the King of Greenwood and the World''s Strongest Demigod," introduced Etienne with great pride. A collective explosion went off in the crowds minds as they discovered Seran''s identity. So many things made sense all of a sudden: why he was treated with such great respect, why he was able to be so calm while riding S-rank creatures, why he could sing and play music that seemed otherworldly, and why he wasn''t offended in the slightest earlier during the minor incident in the store. The man involved paled so quickly that he looked just like Seran''s hair color. The shock was so intense to him that he forgot how to breathe, and subsequently fainted from holding his breath too long. With a simple wave of his hand, his Adventurer Card flew out from the man''s pockets and into his hand, which then placed it into his inventory. His smile was ever-present as he spoke to the crowd, using his magic instead of the microphone, "Hello, everyone. My apologies for my extended absence, but I had to fulfill a promise with the Elf Queen. Then I got side-tracked by increasing my guild rank and didn''t return home for an extra day or two." Shrugging, he continued, "Now, I am back home for a while before I have to finish my third quest, so I will be around town for quite some time." As he let the crowd digest his words for a moment, Seran asked some of the policemen to take the fainted man to the small hospital for treatment. "I must tell all of you this now, so you don''t misunderstand me. I may be king, but I am not any different from you. Even I am not exempt from the laws that I, my father, the Elders and Khloe made. I am only king as a formality, and it is a title only important during important affairs. Other than those times, I am just another citizen of Greenwood Town. Please, don''t treat me like a king. I''m just a regular person." He looked to his father and asked, "Do you want me to do the last announcement, dad?" Chuckling, Etienne agreed, "As long as you don''t do anything reckless, go right ahead." Nodding, Seran turned back to the crowd and said, "The final announcement today is pretty cut-and-dry, and it won''t take much time to explain. Within the next day or two, confirmation will be sent from the headquarters of the Adventurers Guild on my rank-up to S-rank. Because of this, a branch of the guild will be built in town down the road from the courthouse. Thanks to this, we will be able to start distributing quests for the town, and more people will come to know of our town and want to move here. I want to remind everyone here that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, and that you should help those who need it. Anyone who wants to become residents, please help them to the city hall so they can be registered. Thank you very much." He bowed to the crowd before giving his dad a hug and walking offstage and up the hill. The crowd vividly remembered the scene of a white-haired boy walking up the hill, a trio of nervous-looking heads sticking out of the bushes. 44 Greenwood City 1 In the blink of an eye, time flew, and soon it had already been nearly a month since Seran had returned to Greenwood Town. As he''d promised, he''d stayed almost until the end of the month, spending almost all of his time going around town and doing things for the people. He was always happy to play with and perform magic tricks for the children, pleased to be able to do concerts and give guidance to those who chose musical arts, excited to teach new things to his people, and joyous when new people came to join the town''s growing population. In the nearly 4 weeks since his return, the news of his abilities had spread between countries faster than wildfire, and immigrants flowed into the city like streams every day. So many people had moved into Greenwood Town that more city hall workers were needed just to handle the number of applicants, and William had to speed up the process even further with his assistance. Their 10,000-some number had swelled to nearly quadruple in these weeks, far faster than anyone had anticipated, and the city was rapidly expanding thanks to Seran''s abilities. To cope with the rapid influx of new residents, Seran and William had to brainstorm some ridiculous ideas and eventually managed to come up with something good. Using the power of a spirit, more akin to William than to Khloe, they would create something equivalent to a supercomputer that would manage the entire city from within. Creating a supercomputer-like spirit entity wasn''t difficult, as it was without emotions; the problems came with linking the spirit to William''s system database and world management comands and to Seran''s infinite mana. Seran and William created the spirit, code-named Zero, and had it anchor itself to the city hall. From there, they did some finagling to get the linkage to Seran and William''s powers correct, then set up the management authorities for the access. Highest access was, naturally, Seran and William, followed by Etienne, the Council of Elders, and the various government/military heads. Then the lesser officials were above the regular citizens. With Zero''s massive capabilities as a supercomputer, Seran also devised a banking system and founded the Heavenly Bank, which was apparently the first of its kind on the Western Continent. Needless to say, Seran had several exhausting weeks of work intermixed with brief intermissions of peaceful activities. With the massive influx of people, the young demigod had to build apartment buildings that stretched higher than some of the inns, the tallest standing at 10 stories tall, each story holding at least 10 apartments of varying sizes. This made the growth more manageable, while also catering to those who couldn''t afford some of the houses, or didn''t need them. In summary of everything over the course of almost a month, Seran had forced technology to jump forward several eras just to make up for the lack of necessities for such ridiculous population growth. --- On the 27th day since his return, Seran and several people of various ages stood doing basic martial arts practices. Seran, as the instructor, was teaching a technique set that William had devised, one that could be used as the bare basics for all martial arts techniques involving only the hands: [Ten Hands]. It was so easy to learn that virtually anyone that saw it could learn it just by copying the movements, hence it was referred to by the citizens as the basic martial arts technique set. The sets that came afterward were more unique, but the influences of the basics were prevalent, thus the [Ten Hands] was also called the foundation of the martial arts styles that had begun from the city. Each time Seran taught a class, he had Zero record him so that he could have a hologram take his place to teach. He did this for everything from martial arts to music, to cooking and even magic. All of the new martial arts styles that Seran had introduced through his school were the bare basics for both armed and unarmed combat, and each following technique required one to have a good foundation before learning them. Having holograms to teach it uniformly each time would make it much easier for everyone to learn without having Seran personally be there. While Seran''s basics would eventually spread internationally, and even on an intercontinental level, the unique style of the later techniques would be uniquely titled as the Greenwood Style. Soon enough, a sect would be formed in Greenwood City that would cater to various arts, such as crafting, magic and martial arts. Through this, the Greenwood Style would become famous as being created by the World''s Strongest Demigod, who made martial arts easy for everyone to learn and crafted a brand new style from his ideas. Techniques for sabers, swords, daggers, bows, throwing knives, chain-daggers, palm and fist, polearms, spears, and so many more would be formed from Seran''s genius intellect and William''s amazing support. Seran had even made a vow two days before, when he thought of doing such things, that he would only use his own creations in combat. It wasn''t to spread them in his travels, but to become one with them completely. This way, new ideas would come to him at a much greater rate, as would enlightenment of such things. As for magic, Seran also managed to simplify the methods of learning magic to several stages: sensing mana, feeling mana, channeling mana, imagine the desired result, cast the spell, then release the spell. Each class for magic he taught required an actual mage to be present to supervise it, in case of accidents or emergencies. He even created a new tier for magic spells: zero-stage or Tier 0. These spells were so easy to learn, let alone use, that most children starting school for the first time managed to learn them. Granted, each and every student was told repeatedly about the dangers of magic, so as to instill the knowledge of what could happen into their minds early. This didn''t always work, of course, since several kids still ended up trying to make fire appear and instead made either their hair catch on fire or blow something up. Children are extremely curious and impulsive beings, so it was natural for them to experiment with things they didn''t really understand. After 27 days, Seran now had seventeen titles, a handful of which he would use throughout his life: --- Titles: World''s Strongest Demigod, Greenwood King, Greenwood Demigod, Elven Benefactor, Chimera Tamer, Lich Subjugator, Heaven''s Child, Once and Future King, Matchless Teacher, Living Library, People''s King, Magic Sovereign, Combat Sovereign, Race Regenerator, Overlord of an Era, Progenitor of the New Age, Technological Progenitor -- 45 Greenwood City 2 Thanks to Seran and William, Greenwood City skipped several centuries of scientific breakthroughs to make up for what it couldn''t handle with the technology of their medieval-type era. Hence, it wasn''t too surprising for Seran, as the only person with the information of it in the first place, to be titled as the most influential inventor in the world, despite it only being in one location. Of course, even though he had done that, and had more-or-less managed to stabilize the rapid growth rate, it wasn''t always enough. Merchant caravans spread word in their travels of the insane technology of Greenwood City, which once again doubled the rate of growth. For a week straight, none of the government employees, including policemen, got any decent sleep. In fact, Etienne didn''t sleep for the entire week, which was only possible via Seran''s [Ability Manipulation] power. With the aid of William, Seran gave his father the ability of [Hyper Regen: Sleep], which would multiply any brief period of shut-eye by at least 100x. After a ten minute nap, Etienne had gained the same amount of rest he''d normally need 16 hours of sleep to get. This was undoubtedly vital in keeping the city functioning in its exorbitant inflow of new residents. Once again, due to the rapid growth of the city, the soldiers were needed to serve as policemen until either a great number of new policemen happened or the influx began to slow. Thankfully, with four S-rank magical creatures, at least one of which was a true Divine Beast, and the wholehearted backing of the entire Elf Race, next to nobody dared to even consider the act of conquering, even through bribery and blackmail. Considering the benefits of being a part of the growing economic powerhouse that was Greenwood City, every resident had silently vowed to protect their new home with their lives. After all, it was the only place in the world that could change the lives of anyone who entered. Other than the insane growth rate of people, the forcibly advanced technology, and the overwhelming military power of Greenwood City, the thing that also made great changes was the modern laws that Seran and the government leaders had decided to implement. Almost all of them were influential even outside of the one-city kingdom, especially one that was very detrimental to those of criminal organizations. Slavery was illegal, as was indentured servitude without judicial approval (such as in the rare case of a criminal being given a life sentence as a farmhand without parole), but new countries always attracted criminal organizations that wanted to use it as a foothold. While they could fool the inspection items at other towns, the ones that Greenwood City had were far more advanced. It would even read out secret information about those who used it. Say an upright merchant who secretly ran a smuggling ring for slaves touched it, it would show [Slaver] alongside their actual occupation, while a slave that was very well disguised by said merchant would also have to be checked, in which case it would read [Slave]. As each use was recorded by Zero, everyone who used it was documented in detail, making their capture rate skyrocket like their city''s growth. Within the first two weeks Seran had been back, he''d managed to root out a criminal ring that had only just began, with a total of 12 members and 30 slaves. Half a dozen caravans of 20-50 slavers were apprehended and dealt with accordingly, making Greenwood City the one city in the world with the lowest crime rate. All-in-all, Seran had managed to change the world even more in a month than he had in the last year. --- "Dad, I''m going to head out now. I''ve got to handle my last quest before the month ends in two days. I''ll be back in no more than two days." Seran had put on his custom leather trench coat style armor, tightening his combat boots before getting up and walking over to give his dad a hug, as he knew Etienne would want one. Smiling, the city lord returned his son''s hug, "Don''t go blowing anything up, kiddo." "Pff, I won''t, dad. It''s Savicche, a port city of the Tigrene Empire. If I destroyed it, it would have massive problems that might be beyond what I could afford to give to other countries that aren''t in a mutual alliance with us. Not to mention that Tigrene is one of the three major powers on the continent..." Ruffling his son''s hair and getting a pouty face in response, Etienne chuckled, "You know what I mean, kiddo." "Yeah, I know, dad..." Seran smiled before heading outside of the city hall, his father sighing with pride behind him. Once outside, the young demigod jumped with great power, rocketing up into the sky before activating his flight powers. With a sonic boom, Seran powered through the skies toward Savicche to the southwest. --- Nearly five hours of flying later, Seran had only crossed half of the distance despite going at 10 times the speed of sound. Considering the size of the Western Continent in its whole, this was understandable. It also didn''t help that several Danger Zones were in the direction he was trying to go. As he flew, Seran saw many things that intrigued him, such as a handful of adventurers in the wild, several strong beasts, unusual areas of weather, and several strange Danger Zones. One of the Danger Zones he passed was a volcano several dozen times bigger than Mount Everest on earth, with numerous Fire-type creatures crawling over its surface or flying in the air. Admittedly, he wanted to stop and explore, but he had a quest to finish, so he reluctantly kept flying, ignoring a handful of warning shots from the territorial fire beasts. Continuing on his way, Seran soon came across something he didn''t like: the ruins of a small town no bigger than 10,000 people. Landing amongst the destruction, the young demigod used his magic to search the area. After scoping out the area, he quickly spotted the only building that had taken the least amount of damage: a tiny castle that seemed to be used as a shelter. Hoping to find survivors, he trudged his way over the wreckage, remaining cautious as he did so. 46 Ethereal Nightmare 1 The distinctive sound of dirt and debris being crushed underfoot pervaded the eerie and silent ruined town. No matter how much Seran used his magic to search, no signs of life could be found. These ruins were confusing to try and date, as signs of extinguished flames still remained in the area, the ashes no older than the night before, but some other ashes and debris were centuries old. However, compared to the current era''s technology, excluding Seran of course, what didn''t match up was the town''s construction: every building was made in a manner older than even Greenwood Village''s design, with materials that were used more commonly centuries ago. The last time such style and materials were used was about 300 years ago. According to William''s database, the location they were currently in was once a part of a large power that, while not at the level of the Three Empires, it wasn''t far from them. This power was destroyed overnight around 300 years ago, under mysterious circumstances. This power, once known as the Polypheme Sect, one of the largest sects on the continent, had left behind only ruins and scraps of records. Not a soul was found, not even a corpse discovered. Thus, the Polypheme Sect''s inexplicable destruction was deemed one of the most mysterious and terrifying events that had happened since Western Continent was formed. Their headquarters, the Skystone Pillar, a mountain that was carved using magic into the shape of a giant pillar, was later named the Abandoned Mountain. As he walked towards the mostly intact bunker, Seran and William constantly tried to unravel the unusual nature of the town ruins. Nothing really made sense; the town looked to still be in the same condition, with some weathering, that it had been 300 years ago, but some of the debris seemed to indicate recent destruction. Despite their ruinous state, the town''s condition had stood the test of time and almost nothing had changed. So, for recent damage to be here means that something happened... Walking up to the doors of the bunker, which had numerous holes in the metal, Seran summoned a handgun, a weapon that took him dozens of tries to get right. The barrel had a dark glow on the end of it that acted as a silencer, absorbing the sound of gunfire. Readying himself, and his weapon, he put his back to the door and pushed the opposite door inward before ducking back for cover, just in case. When nothing happened except for the sound of the door creaking to a halt, Seran cautiously looked around the door and saw a distinctly lesser amount of debris inside... still no bodies, no signs of life. It looked like the bunker had once been used as a gathering hall, as some of the broken tables still remained in decent condition despite 300 years of time. As the only light came from the doorway, he couldn''t see very well, so he cast a Light spell, Minor Sun, and tossed it to the ceiling, where it hung and illuminated the bunker. Cautiously, Seran searched through the bunker, looking for any clues as to what happened recently. William also aided in his efforts with his database, [From the looks of it, nothing has moved in millennia... Hmm... Wait, look over there, by the back wall. It looks like a campfire.] As the demigod made his way over and inspected the fire, William continued, [There was definitely someone here last night... There were signs of them entering, but nothing of them leaving... Use your new time spell, the [Forgotten Lens]. It should be able to show us what happened.] Nodding, Seran began casting his spell, finishing it with simply stating the name of it, "Forgotten Lens." Within the bunker, the power of time spread out and a ghostly version of reality formed over everything, giving it the feeling of being in an illusion. The image of Seran walked backwards through the steps he''d done to arrive, while the real one stood and watched. Once the Seran illusion left the bunker, the time power sped up its reversal, taking only five minutes to reach the night before. Two blurs appeared, moving quickly with the rapid speed of time, before exiting, at which point the time power stopped and began to play forward. Two men, adventurers by the look of it, both injured but not majorly, entered into the bunker, panting from exertion to open one of the massive metal doors. One, a grizzled veteran, muttered, "We should be safe here, but make sure there isn''t anything suspicious in here. This place... is not a welcoming location." From his expression, the veteran knew a lot about the town, and by extension the Polypheme Sect''s disappearance. The other man, who looked to have just entered his twenties, searched through the area as Seran had, checking for any dangers, before eventually stating, "All clear. Nothing here at all." The two men then went to the back and used some of the ancient wood and broken stone to build a campfire, sitting beside it for both warmth and comfort. The veteran sighed, "Never wanted to end up here. This place is nothing but friendly..." "What do you mean, Gunther? It''s just ruins." The young man, obviously, didn''t know the same things that the older man did, so he asked. Chuckling, Gunther said, "It''s more than just ruins, boy. This town, along with many other places, once were part of a huge sect that was close to rivaling the Three Empires, standing for over a thousand years, called the Polypheme Sect." "Really? I wouldn''t be able to tell without you mentioning it. This place has been trashed to oblivion." "Don''t interrupt me." Clearing his throat, Gunther continued, "Anyway, one night about 300 years ago, without any explanation, no sound or sign, the entire Polypheme Sect and all of its citizens just... disappeared. Everything was destroyed, but there were no bodies, no souls, not even a speck of ashes from them. Think about it. A sect close to being the fourth empire, completely vanished overnight, and nobody knew why. Even the Mage King''s descendants came to investigate. The Polypheme Sect''s headquarters, the Skystone Pillar, was scoured top to bottom, but nothing was found except for scraps of old records and broken artifacts. Several million people, gone, just like that." He snapped his fingers, just to emphasize his point. The younger man''s pupils shrunk as he muttered, "No way. There wasn''t anything, at all? That doesn''t make sense..." "No, it doesn''t. It''s been 300 years since then, but the Polypheme Sect''s disappearance was the most disturbing event since the Western Continent was formed 3000 years ago. It alarmed the entire world at the time, but it only ended up being marked as a great mystery because nothing was ever found. And so, a massive power suddenly disappeared from the face of the planet, leaving only ruins behind." Gunther grunted as he shifted in place, "Staying in these ruins... is not something I''d wanted to do." 47 Ethereal Nightmare 2 The younger man shifted silently in place. After a minute of quiet thought, he said, "Don''t we go into the forests and stuff around these ruins all the time?" Gunther sighed, "Those places are different. It''s the areas where people once lived that are considered dangerous. When the investigation squads made their way through some of the ruins, a handful of them also vanished. One squad of 30 disappeared altogether. It only happened in the ruins, and the rest of the places searched were deemed safe. Only the ruined towns and cities have remained abandoned and untouched for 300 years out of silent fear." Looking around the bunker again, the veteran said, "All we can do now... is pray... pray that we survive the night." The scene began to move forward quickly, as they had stopped talking. An hour later, the pair had fallen asleep, the younger man half-curled into a ball while the veteran slept leaning against the wall. The fire continued to crackle in the dark and silent bunker, an eerie and unsettling sound amidst the ruins. Nothing happened until almost three o''clock in the morning, when the silence was broken. The first noise that happened was the distinctive sound of a blade biting into flesh, followed by a shriek of shock and pain. Gunther, being the veteran that he was, immediately awoke to full alertness, grabbing his sword and making his way quickly to the younger man, who had suddenly started bleeding from a hole in the right side of his chest. "Eric! What the fuck!? How did this happen!?" As Gunther attempted to stay to bleeding, the younger man stammered through the sharp pain, "I d-don''t know! A-all I felt was steel all of a s-sudden! I couldn''t e-even see a weapon!" "Damn it, I knew we shouldn''t have been here. This is my fault..." Gunther grunted irritably and regretfully as he managed to quickly bind the wound enough to lessen the bleeding, which was all he could do until they could escape. As he was preparing to help Eric up, his sixth sense kicked in, and he swung his sword behind him. Instead of striking anything, Gunther''s sword simply swung through the air, unable to touch what he felt from behind. Readying himself for a second attack, Eric having trouble holding his own sword, Gunther began to move his sword into a defensive posture when that sound echoed through the bunker again. This time, Gunther was the one stabbed by an intangible blade, causing his to groan in agony. The veteran, an experienced adventurer, ignored it and swung his sword again, yet still touched nothing. Blood trickled from his mouth as he held his wounded chest with his free hand, "Son of a bitch, it''s like ghosts! We''ve got to get out of here, we can''t fight what we can''t touch!" The two injured men made their way to the bunker doors, the older man being more injured than the younger. As they stepped outside, Gunther suddenly turned and shoved Eric out of the bunker. As the younger adventurer briefly shouted in pain, he looked up to see Gunther standing in the doorway, unmoving. The familiar sound of blood dripping on the ground attracted Eric''s attention, as he saw quite a bit of it coming from Gunther. Then, the veteran fell backwards and landed heavily on the stone floor. His eyes still held guilt, a minor fear, and sadness, though the light from them was gone. A vicious gash covered the fallen man''s sternum, cleaved nearly in half from shoulder to hip. "Gunther!" Eric shouted in terror and anger. As much as he didn''t want to believe it, he knew his companion was dead. Grabbing his friend''s sword from where it had slid from his hand after his fall, the younger man cried tearlessly, "I''m sorry, Gunther..." Turning and running as fast as his injured body could move, Eric headed towards the closest exit to the ruins he could get to. While he had nowhere near as good a sixth sense as Gunther, his hearing was abnormally good, and he heard another familiar sound: arrows in flight. "Damn it!" cursed the younger man as he ducked between stone buildings, behind broken pillars and dodged the invisible arrows that struck everywhere he had been. A good sprinting distance away from Eric now was the exit of the ruins. He had managed to get himself into a doorway of a collapsed house, using unhinged door as a defense against the arrows he couldn''t even see. "Shit, I can''t see these fuckers, and I can''t defend against their blades... If I stay here any longer, they''ll get to me... and I''ll end up like Gunther... fuck, I have to run for it." Steeling himself, Eric heaved the door onto his back, using only the handle to keep it in place as he rushed for the destroyed archway that was once a gatehouse. Arrow after arrow continued to strike the wooden door, splinters and holes covering its surface. Two arrows pierced through the door and stabbed Eric in the back, making his howl in pain as he kept running. When he finally reached the last five paces, Eric picked up speed, lowering his body for extra boost, dashing for his escape. He was so close to escaping this hellish place, and it only made him move faster. More arrows rained down on the door, turning it into less of a door and more of a rotten plank of wood. As the last few arrows shattered its stability, Eric dropped the door handle and ran faster, now unburdened by its weight. The younger adventurer''s foot thudded with each step as his body bolted under the half-destroyed archway. Then, Eric felt a cold sensation from his waist, one that startled him. The younger man felt himself falling, a bit backwards and sideways, landing on his back. Turning his head, eyes filled with shock, Eric watched his legs continue running a short distance before topping over and rolling to a stop. Straining his neck, Eric tried to look at his body... and saw that he had been cut in half at the waist, clean through. Blood gurgling in his throat, his last thoughts of unwillingness to die, he sputtered, "No..." Then his head rolled backwards and lay still, his face still wearing his expression of fear. Seran watched this with a dark look, which only grew darker as he watched the corpses of the pair seem to dissolve into nothingness, with even the blood drying up like water. As the scene came to a close, the time spell coming to a stop, he hissed quietly, "This... is a fearsome place..." 48 Ethereal Nightmare 3 Going over what he had just witnessed, Seran attempted to put together a decent image of what happened, together with William''s aid. "So, if we assume that there are invisible, incorporeal beings here in these ruins, more things fit together. A blade that can''t be touched by physical means but can pierce through flesh with ease. Polypheme Sect once attempted to create such an item but gave up due to the process being too costly, at least that''s what you said, William. With what we just saw, its safe to say that there are indeed ghostly blades that were successfully created." William was concentrating deeply on the time magic''s events, having recorded it in its entirety. [There''s several inconsistencies, though. The blade went through physical objects and only cut flesh, but the arrows didn''t pass through the doors or through stone. The blood from the bodies dried up like water instead of how it should have. When water dries up, it leaves no evidence behind... mostly. Blood is supposed to leave a modicum of evidence.] The recording zoomed in on whatever he was talking about, making it easier for the duo to see the things that didn''t make sense. Seran made a thoughtful sound as he said, "Those inconsistencies aside, there is one thing I''m certain of, as are you. There are definitely beings living in these ruins, but we can''t see them, even after going over the footage with magic sensors. Even with magic meant to find spirits, we can''t find anything..." [It''s possible that these beings are existing between realities, in a way that we can''t touch them but they can touch us... in which case, you''ll need to make a spell to cross between those realities...] With William''s guidance on the matter, Seran created [Parallel Connection], a Space-Time spell that pushed the dimensional borders open, so that he could cross through. Casting it immediately, Seran pushed out with his hand, stepping forward as he did. A strange sensation crossed his body with his movement, his vision warping and blurring briefly before returning to normal. He couldn''t see what had changed, but William assured him that he had crossed realities. Then, attempting to use his magic to sense anything in the area, Seran... found nothing. "So, that''s not it..." He reversed the spell and returned to his original reality, "Not between realities..." William grumbled as he tried to calculate any possible ideas, before sudden shouting, [I got it! I forgot about this! There are beings up in space that nobody understands, space beasts. Some of them have been discovered and categorized, as have their unique magics that our deities can''t comprehend. It''s very possible that this was caused by one of the space beasts'' magics. All of these space beasts are deity-grade, so they have more than enough power to flatten a land mass, which could also explain the destruction.] "Bit of a problem there, William. How am I supposed to know which space beast magic it is? You said there are numerous unknown space beasts, let alone how many kinds there are." Seran immediately noticed a problem with William''s idea, a large hole in the theory. [Well... I don''t know... but I have an idea on how to find out... sort of...] The system personality sounded very worried, like it was a very bad idea. [You''d... need to get in contact with Thoth, the god of wisdom and knowledge...] "And how am I supposed to do that, William? We could cheat and get his bloodline, but that wouldn''t give us unlimited access to all of his stores of knowledge..." The demigod cocked an eyebrow in query. [Umm... funnily enough, there''s a way to do that... See, you can''t physically enter the realm of deities yet, but you can indirectly view it through a spell I was thinking up out of curiosity... I never actually completed it, but it''d be named [Yata no Kagami], the Mirror of the Gods. You''d be able to view anything you wanted though it...] "Hold up, anything? Wouldn''t I just be able to see what we''re looking for here with it?" William was silent for a long time before muttering irritably, [Why didn''t I think of that... fuck. Just... I''ll make the spell, then a variation of it so that you can use [Yata no Kagami]''s power to see...] Perhaps out of embarrassment at not thinking of such an idea earlier, William quickly did as he said, with the original spell and a secondary version coming into existence. As Seran clicked the new spell in his Skill tab, he read through the details: -- Spell Name: Yata no Kagami Spell Type: Unique (Support) Spell Grade: Deity Description: The Mirror of the Gods, a divine relic created by the Goddess of Fire and Flame, Amaterasu. With its wondrous powers, one can project a thought into the mirror and channel a connection to view anything at all. By the divine power of Amaterasu herself, all things can be seen and seen through, all secrets laid bare under its burning gaze. -- Spell Name: Yata no Kagami: Enchantment Spell Type: Unique (Buff?) Spell Grade: Deity Description: A variation of the original spell, this spell enchants the eyes of the user or those they designate with the all-seeing power of the Mirror of the Gods. -- "Sweet. Let''s get right to it." Channeling the purest fire he could from his bloodline, Seran cast [Yata no Kagami: Enchantment] on himself. Feeling his eyes begin to change, the demigod looked at his reflection in part of a broken window, since he was outside after following Eric to his death spot. His purple irises had begun to burn with black flame, the purple shimmering with the flickering fires of Amaterasu. "I like this already." Chuckling to himself, Seran then hopped up atop the broken archway and looked over the town. "Holy fuck..." Beneath Seran''s gaze, and his feet, was a perfectly realistic town, completely whole and solid without even a tiny crack of damage. If Seran didn''t look closely, he wouldn''t be able to tell that the town wasn''t actually repaired, and the fixed parts had a slight haze to them, as did the destroyed parts that truly existed. Even the stone streets were back to perfect condition. Such a drastic change in vision stunned Seran, but that wasn''t what got him the most. What did get his undivided attention was that the hazy town had people living in it, as hazy as the town itself. Everyone behaved as if nothing was different, and every day was just another day. It was if it was locked in time, back before the disappearance. Seran could even hear some of them talking about things that happened, most of which happened 300 years ago, but nothing after then. "This town''s people are locked in a time loop of death... William, use Yata no Kagami''s power on the recording." Seran was astounded, but immediately had a suspicion he relayed to his partner. When William ran the recording through Yata no Kagami, instead of the hazy town before them, it was the destroyed town of reality, but with ghostly, twisted versions of the hazy townsfolk, with long sharp claws and mouths full of sharp, bloody fangs, each one holding a different, dangerous weapon. Depraved, maniacal shrieks and laughter echoed through the town as the twisted beings stood in place or wandered around. Above all of this stood Seran, who hissed to himself in amazed fear, "What the fuck happened here?" 49 The Hydra of Savicche 1 "What in blazes... William, please tell me you are recording this," said the dumbfounded Seran as he stared at the two scenes before him, one in a mirror and one in person. [I''m recording both scenes with Yata no Kagami''s powers. There are now 3 recordings: the original we saw first, the one we see in reality, and one of the recording via Yata no Kagami. I''ve made sure to save them completely, and I''m ready to download them into viewing crystals.] William, as astounded as he was, was still capable of immediate action, quickly and calmly performing his jobs with barely a thought needed. [You need to leave this town, now. If night falls before you do... you don''t have spells to handle them yet, you''d need to make another spell based on the second of Amaterasu''s Three Imperial Regalia, Kusanagi no Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutting Sword. The Mirror was much easier to create compared to the two, with the Sword being the hardest to create because it is the only one that was made for combat.] Nodding silently, Seran took to the skies again, flying away from the eerie town and canceling his ocular enchantment. "There''s got to be something more to this... We''ll have to send this information to Johann. He''s of the Juneau Clan, so I''m sure he can send this to the main clan''s leaders. This information might do a few things, the least of which being giving some form of closure to those who met their unfortunate end to these... nightly terrors..." As Seran flew through the air, continuing his journey, William went through a series of details, [They are definitely not of any relation to the Spirit Race... They are far too... twisted to be of any of the extinct races, so that''s not possible. Demons are nothing like those beings, nor are devils, that much we are sure of... They aren''t any form of space beasts, that''s certain... I think... whatever happened ended up causing the creation of a new race... I''m not sure what to call them, though...] "Worry about that later, William. It''s not that important what they''re called as long as people know they exist. What worries me is that, when Polypheme Sect was destroyed, it took up almost a fifth of the Western Continent, and it had a population of over 30 million people. If that scene back there was enough to go by, that means about 30 million of those things exist... That''s a racial superpower..." [Right... That''s almost as many of this new race as there are Elves in the Primeval Forest... On the bright side, it seems they''re unable to leave the ruins... Once we''re done with the Hydra and we deliver the recordings to Johann, we need to prepare to do some more investigation... and potentially some cleansing.] The rest of Seran''s flight was silent save for the sounds of the wind in the sky as he rocketed towards Savicche. --- It was almost sunset when Seran reached the skies over Savicche, the massive port city like a jewel in on the bay. After taking in the sights from above for a moment, the demigod suddenly dropped from the sky like a rock, not bothering to slow himself until he was right above the ground. He casually flipped to realign his feet with the ground and landed lightly with wind magic. Compared to the largest city Seran had been to, Lightwood Fortress, Savicche was nearly quadruple the size, a testament to the resources and potential of a huge empire and a port city. Even the infamous Hydra living in the bay didn''t do anything to lessen Savicche''s hustle and bustle. Contrary to the several long lines of people going into and out of the city, the swiftness of the procedures was outstanding; Seran, who had been about the 100th or so person in line, not counting all of the adventurer parties or the guards for the two or three caravans, was able to reach the front of the line after no more than 10 minutes. Single-person or small party checks were done much quicker than the caravans, but were still just as thorough. No criminals or contraband would be entering or leaving Savicche without a squad of guardsmen on their tails. An older man, maybe in his fifties, stood his guard attire with a homemade clipboard in hand, writing down details to add the register of daily travelers, routinely, and monotonously, asked Seran, "Name and registration, please." After Seran said his name and handed his guild card to the guardsman, the man lazily scanned over it, like always, before, as everyone did upon seeing it, froze on his title of S-rank Adventurer, among the rest of his titles. That didn''t include the most prominent two, the World''s Strongest Demigod and the Greenwood King. He was about to say something about him being disrespectful when the demigod''s hand cut him off, "Ah, don''t worry about that. I''m not here for anything political in the slightest. Right now, I''m just a wandering adventurer that came to help with the Hydra." "The Hydra? Oh, Ol'' Nessy? You''re here about him?" The guardsman, who remembered to introduce himself as Captain Uther Vanko, said, "We don''t worry about him at all any more. He''s just a big baby." This made Seran quirk an eyebrow, "Nessy?" "Yeah, Nessy. Not sure who came up with the name, or what it even means, but the residents quickly took to calling him that, and soon even the city lord made it official about... I think 20 or so years ago? He''s a big softie, not even slightly scary." "You''re telling me... a giant nine-headed relative of the Dragon Race... isn''t scary at all?" Seran had no idea where to begin with this. He felt he might have a headache by the end of the day. Captain Uther laughed, "Sure, everyone is scared of Hydras, it''s natural for a giant man-eating creature to be a source of terror. Nessy, on the other hand, is... special. Hard to be scared of him when all 9 heads immediately made little squeaks of fear and disappeared under the water of the bay when a dog barked at him." The image of a hydra being startled by a dog was so outlandish to Seran that it was downright funny. It reminded him of creatures on Earth being terrified of things that made little or no sense. Except for cats. It''s very entertaining seeing Pit Bulls, German Shepherds or even Great Danes looking at cats with fear and dreading to walk past them... or near them. The captain noticed Seran trying not to laugh and said, "See, it''s funny, isn''t it? Nessy reacts like that to dogs, some people and to two or three cats that hang out on the rails near his nest." He then shrugged a little, "Besides, he''s not all that bad. I''m not sure if you heard about it, but there was a right nasty monsoon a couple years back, and a lot of the city went underwater. Houses collapsed, boats flipped, you name it. Now, normally, a Hydra would bank on this chance to get free grub... Nessy did come over to the city, causing a little bit more of a panic during the monsoon, and, instead of doing anything to the people... well, he just went around rescuing citizens. Lifting boats out of the water, nosing debris apart for rescuers to get to trapped people, using his body to protect the city hall that doubled as a shelter from tidal waves... Before then, everyone was still a bit scared of him, but afterward, almost everyone views him as Savicche''s bay-dwelling hero." William was intrigued by this new information and quickly advised Seran to visit the city lord for alterations to the quest, as it hadn''t been updated in about 45 years. The young demigod said, "An interesting Hydra indeed. Well, even though I can do it, I''m not here to subjugate him. As such, I need to speak to the city lord, as he is the requestor." "Ah, Lord Danford? After that monsoon, he had planned to take the quest down, but repairs only just managed to be completed, even with aid from the imperial family, so he hasn''t gotten around to it yet. If you want to meet him, just follow this main road to the fountain square. Once you''re there, just look around until you see a manor on a bluff above the town. Shouldn''t be too hard to find." Handing Seran''s guild card back, Captain Uther smiled, "At any rate, enjoy your visit to Savicche, Sir Seran." With a chuckle and a small bag of about 100 gold coins, Seran went on his way, "For your kindness and help. Split them with your fellow guards if you want, it''s just my way of appreciation." 50 The Hydra of Savicche 2 The city of Savicche had a style to it that was reminiscent of the Italian city of Venice, except most of it was on solid ground and the waterways weren''t anywhere near as numerous. Well-made cobblestone roads spread the port city around the land and the harbor with a combination of decoration and ease of access. With more advanced technology compared to Lightwood Fortress, the combination of the semi-rustic design and the efficiency of a continental superpower''s economic capabilities truly made Savicche a marvel of a city. On top of all of this, as the third largest port city on the continent, the amount of international and intercontinental trade the city had was massive. A great deal of the Tigrene Empire''s economy came from Savicche and the other port cities alone, with Savicche itself being the one with the most influence on it. Even the Hydra in the bay did little to change this fact; instead, it seemed to have only made its trade expand further. Unable to help himself, Seran stopped at several local restaurants, enjoying himself on the many dishes that the city prided itself on. He bought so many, in fact, that he stored some in his inventory for later because he enjoyed them too much. Whatever he had extra of that he didn''t store away, he casually used his space magic to send it to Etienne in the city hall, or to Fenmore and Eleanor. A lot of the sweet foods were sent to Khloe, as she was a sweets lover, and to the ever energetic Fenmore. After wasting several hours in the restaurants, Seran finally managed to get himself to the city lord''s manor, which took a good thirty minutes to reach on foot. The vantage point that Lord Danford''s ancestors had chosen for the manor was extraordinary, providing a beautiful view of the entire city, the sea, and even the bay. Just by looking around with his bare vision, Seran could see the great numbers of citizens enjoying the city, and even managed to spot a single, enormous dragon-like head trying to hide itself under the water of the bay because of a pair of cats staring at it from the walkways. The demigod realized that Captain Uther wasn''t joking about Nessy being scared of cats and dogs, even though the Hydra''s mouth could swallow a small cow in one bite. As he walked up to the manor gates, along with a number of others, Seran was stopped by one of the guards. "Excuse me, sir, may I ask what your business is? Unless it is urgent, we have to ask you to wait." "I assume everyone else is someone of status in town, correct?" inquired Seran, indicating the other people who weren''t stopped. "City workers, secretaries and manor staff are exceptions, as are guards. Citizens, foreign or not, are always stopped, regardless of their status, save for the imperial family. May I ask again, what is your business and is it urgent?" The guard was very straightforward, making it clear that he made sure nobody was given a free pass without approval. Taking out his guild card and passing it to the guard, Seran smiled, "I am Seran Greenwood, an S-rank adventurer. I accepted the Hydra quest and came to meet with the city lord. Captain Uther directed me here." "Captain Uther did? Then he told you about Nessy and how Lord Danford was planning to remove the quest?" "He did, yes. As such, I came to inquire with Lord Danford about any changes to the quest before it is removed. Even if the Hydra is no longer a threat, I would like to be sure that the city lord is sure of his decision," said Seran as he retrieved his card from the guardsman. After some thought, the guard asked Seran to remain here before he headed inside to report to the city lord. As he waited, a little girl about 5 years old came dashing out of the manor, giggling her head off and wearing only a pair of pants. A lady with brilliant red hair came chasing out after her, "Stella Danford, get your butt back here!" She held a green-and-blue little dress in his left hand as she chased after the little one. Stella, giggling hysterically, ran around the manor grounds, "Can''t catch me!" Ducking between legs, around people, over flowerbeds, and between bushes, the little girl was nimble in her attempts to evade capture, as half-naked as she was. Smiling a little at how everyone looked at this as normal, Seran took a few steps sideways to hide behind the brick wall. While some of the people looked at him oddly, Seran waited patiently before pouncing and catching the rogue child, "Gotcha!" The little girl, half-started in her giggles, squeaked and made a little struggle, "No, let me go!" After a second of Seran tickling her, Stella quickly gave up and became unable to stop giggling. Once the redheaded woman managed to catch up, he stood up with his hand on Stella''s head, "I believe this little troublemaker is yours?" Although she was definitely nervous of the unknown person that had captured Stella, his youthful honesty and casual behavior made her believe he was simply being helpful. "Yes, thank you for managing to catch Stella. I can''t keep up with her anymore." Seran laughed, "Children are professionals at escaping their parents. My little brother Fen is a genius at it." Holding Stella in place so her mother could put her dress on, he just smiled and ruffled Stella''s hair, making the little girl pout a little. "She''s just as cute as he is." Picking up her little escape artist, the redhead chuckled, "Thanks again for snagging my little monster here, young man." She poked her daughter''s nose, making Stella scrunch up her face. "No problem, ma''am. Ah, where are my manners." He politely bowed to the mother and daughter, "Seran Greenwood, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Seeing a young boy being so polite, the redheaded mother''s view of him changed just a little. In the Tigrene Empire, proper manners for greeting were really only taught to nobility, making her think of Seran as a young noble. She half-curtsied in return, "Annabelle Danford, as is my pleasure to make yours, young master Seran." He waved his hand casually, "I''m not a Tigrene noble, you don''t need any formalities with me." "A foreigner? Such manners are reserved for nobility, so I assumed you were such." "Technically, I am and I am not. However, my status back in my home country isn''t important now. I''m here on Adventurers Guild business." Quirking an eyebrow, Annabelle said, "Really? I find that hard to believe, since Savicche hasn''t had any quests issued since the monsoon." "Well, I''m not here about those quests. With the approval of Continental Guildmaster Johann Juneau, I accepted the Hydra quest and came to complete it. However, Captain Uther explained the situation, and I saw the Hydra''s behavior myself, so instead of simply doing the quest, I came to find out if Lord Danford had any changes to make to the quest." "The Hydra quest? A small boy like you can accept it? Well, Sir Juneau most likely has his reasons for permitting it." She pondered a few things before Seran showed his card, again. "An S-rank adventurer at 10 years old!?" Seran rolled his eyes again. Stella shouted, "Wow, a real S-rank!" She had stars in her eyes, just like Fenmore did when he found out his brother''s new status. "You bet, Stella. I''m a real S-rank adventurer, verified a couple weeks ago," smiled Seran as he gave her a pat on the head, having to stretch to do so. Annabelle gave Seran a look once he put his card away, "... No wonder you were given permission to take the Hydra quest... You were here to subjugate Nessy, right?" "Originally, yes, but after viewing the situation myself, I''ve decided to get the city lord''s opinion before doing anything. After all, if I subjugate him now, it''ll cause major problems, so I must ask Lord Danford for alternative methods." Seran smiled, pulling a small flowery hat from his inventory and putting on the little redhead girl''s head, "A gift for the little troublemaker." Stella pouted at being called a trouble maker but quickly cheered up over the hat. "I see... well, just come with me, then. I''m sure the guards went to alert my husband, but I''ll just take you in myself." She led Seran into the manor, with the white-haired demigod distracting Stella with stories of his adventures upon her insistence. 51 The Hydra of Savicche 3 Seran drew quite a few eyes as he walked with Annabelle, retelling his adventures to the captivated Stella. He even performed a couple little magic tricks for her, making the little redhead squeal and clap excitedly, at which Annabelle smiled. After being with the village children, and now his kingdom''s children, and his family, for so long, he was a master of entertaining the young minds of kids. Most of the children around Stella''s age loved his magic tricks, and his more dramatic versions of his stories. He was partway through telling her about the Elves and the Primeval Forest when they reached the city lord''s office. The guardsman was just coming back out, and he bowed slightly to Seran and the two females, "His Lordship is expecting you, sir. I must return to my post. A good day to you." He then walked off, back to the gates. "It''s good to see guards taking their jobs so seriously... Compared to the Everd Kingdom, this place is wonderful." The young demigod sighed, praising the city''s overall solidarity in terms of occupational dedication. "It means a lot for the legendary Greenwood Demigod to say such about this one''s city," said a clean-shaven man with strawberry blonde short cropped hair, a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. A smile graced his lips as he looked up from his paperwork on the oak wood desk he sat at. With a courteous bow, Seran chuckled, "I''m not that impressive, really. I''m not even 11 yet, but your city has lasted nearly a century with a Hydra, nice or no. Seran Greenwood, at your service." "Terrence Danford, at yours. You''re here about Nessy, right?" The city lord laced his fingers and placed his chin atop them on his desk, looking at Seran with a casual smile. "I am, yes. I understand that you intended to have the quest withdrawn, and, having seen the Hydra''s behavior myself, I can see why. I still have a quest to complete, though. If subjugation is not possible anymore, then what would you recommend instead?" Seran''s attitude switched to his professional adventurer mode, exuding a calm and confident aura that truly made one believe he was a veteran S-rank. Nodding, Terrence said, "I did intend to have it withdrawn, but the monsoon repairs were extensive, so I have yet to get around to it. However, if you want to know a bigger reason, then it''s because of Nessy''s circumstances." At Seran''s confusion, the city lord continued, "Nessy isn''t the original Hydra that came to nest here, he''s actually the child of the original." "Really? That''s hard to believe, sir. A mother would never abandon their child in a... well, hostile environment, Hydra or no." "You''re not wrong, most mothers never would. There are some that do, but that''s not the point. What''s important in Nessy''s case is that his mother, the original Hydra, was heavily injured while carrying Nessy." He sat back in his chair with a solemn expression, "She was... very strong, and very protective despite her weakness. She was damn ready to fight for mutual destruction with anyone that approached her, which was why we left her alone for so long. My wife''s grandmother was the only person who was able to communicate with her without being attacked. She was a bearer of Poseidon''s Blessing, so she was protected by water and could speak with its creatures, which was the only reason the Hydra spoke with her." "A Blessed One? How rare..." Seran was amazed; he''d only met one other Blessed One, and that was his grandmother Eleanor. Annabelle had a big smile on her face as her husband continued, "Yes, she was amazing. Through her, we learned that she wasn''t going to survive long enough to help raise her child to adulthood, so she entrusted Nessy''s egg to her. That was about 45 years ago. Ten years after Nessy hatched, his mother felt her time coming, so she bade her farewells and left the harbor, leaving the very young Nessy behind." A sad atmosphere pervaded the room as Terrence continued, "We learned later from a cargo ship where she had gone: she went to fight to the death with a Leviathan, who apparently had been the one to nearly kill her. Leviathans are the hunting kings of the ocean world, and Hydras are among their favorite prey. To protect her child, she fought and killed the Leviathan at the cost of her own life... A brave and powerful mother, through and through." Seran had sat down, holding his forehead as he sighed, "That''s quite a story... The last time the quest updated was 45 years ago, which I assume was because of the change with the Hydra''s situation... As for the reinforcements, what were they for?" "Ah, when he was younger, Nessy was prone to... emotional outbursts. It started when his mother died. It was like he could sense her death, and he damn nearly crushed a portion of the city back then before Annabelle''s mother, Estelle, managed to calm him down. It happened every so many months afterward, and it only got worse when Estelle passed away, leaving him without someone to truly speak with. They stopped, thankfully, after the monsoon, when the citizens started taking him seriously and treating him normally. Even from the monsoon onward, he was always helping around the city, making him our little, heh, mascot." Terrence had a sad expression at first, but it quickly became a smile remembering how awkward and honest Nessy was when he tried to help. "Our only problem now is that we can''t communicate clearly with him, which is the last thing we need to do before we can fully make Nessy part of our Savicche family." Seran sat up and thought for a minute, "So, that''s the only problem you have left, since Nessy is so special, having been born and raised here?" Stella interrupted with her innocent input, "Nessy is big and cuddly! I want to talk with Nessy more!" This made the whole room break out into laughter, which lasted quite a while before Seran managed to say, "Alright, I see what I need to do then." He got up, casually dusted himself off and smiled, "Time for me to teach a Hydra to talk!" 52 The Hydra of Savicche 4 Down by the water, lounging on the railing of the walkway beside it, lay a fluffy tabby cat, lazily dozing off in the sunshine. Meanwhile, in the water beneath the walkway, there were nine pairs of eyes, and nine big heads, staring at the cat with apparent worry and a little bit of fear. Passersby saw this, of course, and, as most of them were residents, only smiled and went on their way. A handful attempted to pet the cat, of which the cat only allowed one to pet, and the rest got little scratches. Any time the nine heads started to come out of the water, the cat would suddenly sit up, making them duck back down, and earning a few chuckles from the area. This was routine, for the most part, in Savicche, but today was a bit different. A white-haired demigod soon walked over and casually pet the tabby, who immediately reacted in preparation to scratch, but quickly calmed down after he gave the lazy cat some good tummy rubs and scratches. Carefully, he picked up the cat, which made a little mewl of confusion, and calmly held it in his arms in a baby carry manner. The cat, after Seran gave it some soft nuzzles and scratches, and a fish that he''d bought fresh just a minute ago, was content for a while, and calmly let Seran move it over to sit by a bench a good ways from the railing. Making his way back over after handling the cat, Seran casually jumped up onto the railing, dusting the cat hair off himself and looked down into the water. Seeing the 18 wary eyes under the water, he smiled and beckoned for the Hydra to come up out of the water. Nessy, to no one''s surprise, was still afraid to do so, but, after some encouragement from Seran, he brought his nine carriage-sized headsout of the water to loom over the walkway, albeit unintentionally menacingly. Several locals cheered at Nessy''s ''bravery'', making the big, childish Hydra feel a bit better about himself, and one of the fishermen who had just came in with fresh catches threw 9 enormous 30-pounders to Nessy, immediately perking him up. Smiling at how innocent the big Hydra was, Seran looked into nine different pairs of eyes and said, "Are you lonely, Nessy?" His calm, mildly soothing demeanor made the Hydra feel less threatened by the unfamiliar person. One of the heads, the middlemost one, shook itself, and spoke in a very young, oddly child-like voice, like a very small boy''s, "No, I''m not lonely." "You seem a little lonely, though. What''s on your mind?" Nine heads swiveled to face him curiously, and with mild shock, "You can understand me? Really?" Seran giggled a little, "Of course I can, silly. I''m a lot like Estelle, but not the same. Do you remember her?" Sorrowful expressions came to the Hydra''s faces as he looked down at the water, "Yes... I miss Granny Estelle..." If the Hydra could cry, Seran was certain he would be right now. "Yes, I know you do, Nessy. Without her, you didn''t have anyone to really talk to anymore, right? Nobody else really understood you like she did." He waited patiently for the Hydra to speak, noting how sad the juvenile dragon-kin was. Quiet keening came from the other eight heads, making some of the listeners'' eyes begin to tear up, Seran included, as the middlemost head made sniffling sounds, "I felt so alone... I miss Granny so much... and Mama... nobody could talk with me, listen to me... play with me..." The white-haired lad sighed, sitting on the railing with his legs dangling over the water, "I know that feeling, Nessy, I really do. It''s a horrible feeling, being alone. But, I am here to change that for you." "Really?" The Hydra''s heads all cocked to the side in confusion. Seran nodded, "Yes, I am. You see, originally, I came here to... well, to kill you." This drew deep animosity and fear from both the crowd and the Hydra himself, but it was quickly diminished with his next words, "However, after seeing you for myself, and talking with Lord Danford and his family, that is no longer my mission. After all, even if I did kill you, I''d set an entire empire after me, and I''m not even sure it would end for a long time. Now, normally, nobody would leave a wild Hydra free in their town, but you''re special, Nessy." Nessy understandingly was confused, "I am..?" "Yes, very special. Everyone here loves you. That''s not something just any magical creature can just earn. You were born here, raised here, and everyone knows how sweet you are. I can''t hurt you, because that would be hurting a part of Savicche''s big family. You see how everyone gives you lots of love, right?" After the Hydra nodded in a mildly puzzled manner, Seran continued, "That''s why you''re special, Nessy. Everyone that lives in Savicche thinks of you as family, even if they can''t speak with you. Do you think of them as family too?" After a second, more certain nod, the demigod went on, "That''s what I thought. Therefore, I have come to give you one, very big gift." "A gift? What kind of gift? Is it food?" The innocent Hydra immediately perked up like a child that heard someone say candy. His infectious attitude, along with how his large body under the water was visibly bouncing in place, making ripples and small waves with his excitement, filled the atmosphere with smiles. "No, it''s not food... I''m not sure if it''s better, but you''ll definitely love it. Come over here so I can put my hand on your head, so I can give it to you." He held his hand out, smiling as the Hydra curiously, and tentatively, nosed his way over to press his nose to the demigod''s hand. "You''ll feel a bit of a chill, but you''ll be fine. Seran channeled his energy into his [Ability Manipulation] power, quickly creating the ability he wanted before giving it to the enormous childish Hydra. The big Hydra sneezed a little, making a good wind cover the walkway, though Seran deflected the germs of the sneeze into the water instead, "Whoa, that feels weird..." As he was shaking his heads to clear them of the odd feeling, every witness had suddenly stopped moving, jaws open, one lady dropping her bag and a fisherman getting slapped by a fish after he stopped trying to pin it. When Nessy had managed to feel better, he noticed this, and cautiously stuttered, "W-why is everyone looking at me like that..?" Seran giggled and just gestured towards the little Stella, who was being held by her mother, who stood next to Terrence Danford. "Ask little Stella, she can answer you." After Nessy looked over at her, the little redhead girl squealed in pure excitement, "Nessy can talk! Nessy can talk! Mommy, look! Nessy can talk!" Annabelle and Terrence both were stunned, but recovered quickly due to knowing Seran''s legendary status, and the former laughed, "Yes, sweetie, he can talk now!" Nessy''s nine jaws dropped and he looked at Seran, who just gave him a big smile and said that he''d no longer be lonely. The nine-headed Hydra trumpeted his happiness to the heavens, making the whole city smile at the innocent Nessy''s pure joy. 53 Another Short Journey 1 Two days went by in a flash, or a blur according to Seran. With Nessy''s new gift of speech, the entire city was full of joy, though none were as happy as the Hydra himself. He''d longed to be able to have actual conversations with everyone, for nearly 3 decades, and his wish was finally granted. Naturally, he couldn''t help himself and went around squealing happily and talking to everyone he could, then bouncing up and down when he got a real response. He was just so innocent it made everyone feel pure joy. A city-wide party started almost immediately after Nessy made his new voice known, and it went on for a full day, and didn''t end until late the next day. The Hydra himself got an endless amount of hugs from everyone, even though he caused a bit of damage with his hyperactive behavior. The city lord said he''d cover all damage, as it was because of the quest in the first place. Since Seran declined a reward, Terrence used it to pay for repairs. Seran didn''t manage to escape the city until after the party ended. Of course, his escape was a rushed one because he couldn''t slip away from the endless amount of people trying to give him hugs, pick him up to carry him around the city like a hero, or give him kisses all over his childish face... Needless to say, by the time he did manage to break free of Savicche, he was covered in kiss marks. The young demigod sneakily went over and gave the Danford family, and Nessy, his farewells and well wishes before taking to the skies. Terrence made sure to emphasize that he would always be welcome in Savicche, no matter when, why or how. This made Seran smile more as he flew through the air to the north, towards the city with the continental headquarters of the Adventurers Guild. With the apt nickname of the City in the Clouds, Skyhaven City sat atop a monumental mountain, taller than Earth''s Mount Everest by more than a dozen-fold. The top of the mountain had been sliced off by the city''s founder, and the founder of the first and strongest empire on the Western Continent, Barnett Starsword, the first Emperor of the Eridan Empire. Barnett successfully unified all of the human domains on the Western Continent under his rule nearly 2000 years ago, a feat which had never been matched since. Even to this day, while the founding emperor still lived due to him being blessed by Demeter millenia ago, the two empires that also reigned over the continent did not dare to offend them severely. The Tigrene Empire, being the second strongest empire, had been founded by a descendant of a man who served as a commander of Barnett''s troops in his campaign for unification, and still, they never thought to fight against the overlord of the continent. While they are sovereign empires, the Tigrene Empire and its lesser companion, the Utgard Empire, paid a small sum every century in return for the Eridan Empire''s support. They were close to being vassal forces rather than subjugated countries, giving them far more freedom than those who did fight back. There were very few ways to reach Skyhaven City, the first of which was by flight, either with magic or by magical creature. Transports to and from the city were constant, and the largest, most common of them were the massive flying beasts called Cloudrunner Cranes. These enormous birds stood taller than a 6-story building and had a wingspan rivaling those of a Lesser Dragon, though they had little to no offensive capabilities. While they were gargantuan in size, the Cloudrunner Cranes are quite docile by nature, and often enjoyed being given strokes or praise. This made then favorites for large party traveling, especially since they were immune to the cold from the heights. The most interesting thing about Skyhaven other than its location and history was the region it was in. The Stonetooth Mountain Range beneath Skyhaven was also home to the two S-rank beasts known to brawl every so many decades: the Lesser Fire Dragon and the Quake Python. Because quite a number of S-rank Adventurers lived in Skyhaven, especially the strongest on the continent, Founding Emperor Barnett, the two avoided the enormous mountain that held the city aloft. However, the mountain range was generally untouched by civilizations, save for explorers and adventurers. This made it both the most dangerous mountain range and the secondmost unexplored region on the Western Continent, with the Primeval Forest being the unrivaled first. The Elves had explored almost all of it, but they did not share that information with outsiders, which was why it held the number one title. Outside of flight, the second way to reach Skyhaven was via teleportation array. The largest teleportation array on the continent resided in the cloud-breaking city, and it connected to all of the major subordinate kingdoms of the Eridan Empire, and to the capital cities of the other two empires. At one point, it was also connected to the city that resided at the bottom of the Skystone Pillar of the Polypheme Sect, but that connection was sealed by Barnett after the infamous overnight decimation of the sect. Due to Seran''s newfound kingdom''s overwhelming internal growth rate and its 4 resident S-rank magical beasts that served as its guardian beasts, it was important for him to meet with the continent''s overlord. While he was very, very young in comparison to all other S-rank adventurers, his overall power put him at the level of the Founding Emperor himself, the Western Continent''s strongest man. This made him a potential threat to the Eridan Empire, thus he needed to clear up any misunderstandings and explain how his kingdom would work. With the Greenwood City''s government management methods, its free educational system and general freedom, there would be very few things that the Eridan Empire would be against. Only its military capabilities, and Seran himself, would be considered dangerous enough to require any attention. However, beyond his one-city kingdom, Seran also had the unanimous support of the entire Elven Race. While the Eridan Empire was the unchallenged continental overlord, only one area had outlasted Barnett''s attempts at complete unification: the Primeval Forest. Within the great Elven realm, the woodland rulers decimated any attempts from the legendary Emperor at conquest, losing less than 3% of their overall power and land while Barnett''s losses exceeded 25% of his military force. This led him to giving up on his conquest and attempting to make amends with the Elven Race. Thus, the only area that Barnett had never conquered was the Primeval Forest. With his only failure standing directly behind Seran and his kingdom, Barnett would have to make a very, very big decision. Even though he had long since stepped out of the affairs of the Eridan Empire, such a potential threat was something he would need to make the final call for. 54 Another Short Journey 2 As Seran soared through the sky, back to the ground to soak in the sunlight, he contemplated what his approaches to a negotiation with the legendary Founding Emperor Barnett. On Earth, there was a general rule of ''respect your seniors, whether you know them or not'', and he had a deep respect for the Western Continental Conqueror. Even back on Earth, with a total landmass of only as much as the Western Continent alone, nobody had ever managed to pull such a thing off. Only a handful of people had the title of conqueror, while nobody had ever managed to conquer the entire world. Genghis Khan remains the number one conqueror, and one of the few people to have ever invaded Russia and been victorious. Almost all of Asia was conquered by Khan, a significantly bigger total area than the Roman Empire, France during the era of Napoleon, and Germany''s occupations during the Nazi Regime combined. The British Empire, as it was once known, came the closest to world domination, but it was over a generational span. Knowing that his choices would impact the entire continent, Seran had to deeply plan his responses to Barnett. Offending such a legendary figure was not only less than ideal, it was downright suicidal in the grand scheme of things. If the Founding Emperor wanted to, he could once again conquer the two other empires with just a turn of the wrist. Crushing Greenwood City would be far easier that that. Seran was the most powerful person in his kingdom, and there was a good chance that, should he be defeated, his kingdom would perish. With 2000 years of experience on top of his incredible power, Barnett was easily the most terrifying person Seran could think of. Hopefully, he could manage to secure an agreement for mutual benefit, as he had originally planned to with the Elf Queen Layla. With his speed, it only took about 4 hours for Seran to cross the long distance and lay eyes on the towering mountain that held his destination aloft. Compared to the exalted World Tree, Yggdrasil, the mountain was not only taller than it, it was taller than it by a half. Considering Yggdrasil has been around since the beginning of the world,and it had never stopped growing, for a mountain to be so large was incredible. If not for the peak having been chopped off, it would be nearly double the height of Yggdrasil. The size of the mountain reminded Seran of Mount Olympus from the animated Disney movie, Hercules. Soaring above the clouds, Seran took in the sights of multiple Cloudrunner Cranes, the wondrous white birds flying at the speed of a modern passenger plane, yet ascending faster than one could. The white-haired demigod''s entire boy was smaller than the eyeball of the enormous bird, no bigger than a fly would be to a human. He smiled to himself as he casually flew up beside one, still laying on his back as he flew alongside it. The massive head turned a little so that its eye could face him, to which he waved. The Cloudrunner Crane made a little squawk of surprise at the tiny child with such immense power. Magical beasts all have a greater sense for magic than any other race, making it easier for them to pick up Seran''s quirks far faster than others. Applying a translation spell to himself this time, the boy spoke to the Crane, "Hey there! Mind if I catch a ride? I''ve been flying for hours." Once again, the Crane was stunned, as per the usual, when Seran spoke in the Beast Language, "A child that speak the tongue of Beasts? No no, that''s not important. A child that''s as strong as you exists?" Seran shrugged, "I''m used to people looking at me like that now. Comes with my status. Anyway, do you mind if I do?" The Crane turned its head back to its direction of travel and said, "While I don''t mind, my current master might not. Free rides aren''t common, and the company that I am a carrier for might not like it, no matter how strong you are. I suggest you ask him." "Well, where can I find him, then?" "You see the pavilion on my back, right? There''s a few floors, but the fourth is specifically for the crew and my master. If you wish to speak to him, he is most likely there... Still, it''s nice to meet someone who can speak with me so naturally." Seran laughed, casually pulling a fish out of his inventory, one the size of a full-grown orca on Earth, and tossed it to the Crane, "No problem. Thanks for the help." He flew towards the fourth level whilst the Crane happily caught the fish. --- "Sir, there''s something flying next to the Crane''s head..." A mustached man said as he stared forward from the fourth floor. At his level, which was roughly Level 40, which was 10 over the threshold for a second job advancement to a third-grade job, he could easily see the giant bird''s feathers with clarity, even the ones on its head. A large man, who Seran would likely to refer to as being the size of an exercise ball, grunted as he was awoken from his nap. "What, what is it? Is it a beast? Is it a threat?" "It''s not a beast, from what I can tell... It''s a child, about 10 years old." The large man stared at the crewman, "Hector, please don''t play games with me. It''s not funny." "Well, I''m not joking, Sir Arclight, it''s a white-haired child. You can see him just as well as I can. It seems he''s talking with the Crane." Hector''s gaze pierced the air as he watched the interaction between beast and child, "I don''t know what it was about, but the child was smiling the whole time... Wait, that''s a Great Whitefin Tuna! Where''d he get that!?" "Those giant fish? A child suddenly pulled a giant fish out of thin air? Are you drunk?" "I am most certainly not drunk. If you weren''t still sitting down, you''d see this! Ah, never mind, it seems the child is... flying here." Hector perked up an eyebrow in intrigue. As Sir Arclight was preparing to retort, Seran deftly flew in the window, the frame of which was enchanted to keep the wind out, landing lightly on his fight, "Oto, stuck the landing." Straightening his clothes out, the young demigod bowed in a semi-polite manner, "My apologies for intruding, sir. After speaking with your Crane, I learned it was best to ask you about catching a ride to Skyhaven." Sir Arclight sat up, giving Hector a mildly apologetic look before giving the odd youth a cold, militaristic stare, "And who are you, to break into the Crane Transport of the Cloud Palace Merchant Company?" "Ah, that''s right, I should have introduced myself. It is quite rude. breaking and entering." Expecting the ever-so-normal result from doing so, Seran gave his guild card to Sir Arclight and said, "I am Seran Greenwood. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." 55 Another Short Journey 3 Sure enough, Sir Arclight nearly screeched upon seeing Seran''s guild card, "An S-rank Adventurer!? At 10 years old!? What the fuck is this!?" His right hand, the one holding the card, was shaking, like holding the card was a hard task. "If you want to know the reason for my sudden visit to Skyhaven, just read through my titles. You should find ''Greenwood King'' in there somewhere." Seran just had his usual smile on his face as he patiently waited for Sir Arclight to discover what he said. Handing back the card delicately, despite his shaking hand, the large man wet his lips before speaking, "... I see. You''re the Greenwood Demigod. Word about you from the Adventurers Guild Headquarters is traveling like wildfire now. I should''ve figured it was you. There''s only one 10-year-old S-rank in the world, after all." He shook his head to clear it before continuing, "To be honest, it is against our regulations to allow a mid-flight addition, though exceptions have happened before. All of our seats have already been filled, too, as per usual for the Crane Transports. All I can do is let you stay up here, since most of the crew are downstairs anyway." "That''s more than enough for me. Savicche is a bit of a distance to fly from, and I really needed a place to rest. How much do I owe you? I''ll triple the regular fare, since I am breaking your regulations." Sir Arclight said neutrally, "Our regular fares increases depending on one''s status or job grade. Third-grade jobs and under pay 10 gold coins. Fourth-grade to seventh-grade pay 15g. Eight-grade and up pay 1 continental gold coin. Nobility or foreign dignitaries pay an extra 15g per person, while imperial family members pay 25g per person. Of course, there is a high likelihood of anyone over seventh-grade to have access to Spirit Stones, so those are taken as trade as well." The Spirit Stones are one of the various currencies in the world, one considered universal for nearly every transaction, even beyond that of the largest regular currency, the continental gold coin. From copper coins comes silver, then from silver comes gold. Continental gold thus follows, and is surpassed by spirit stones. As spirit stones can only be formed naturally by the world, and contain a great amount of energy depending on their grade, they are usually only used by the Three Empires on the continent, and even then, only in the major cities. According to William''s data, and quite a number of reliable sources, the general conversion rate was rather solid: -- 100 copper coins (1c) = 1 silver coin (1s) 100 silver coins (100s) = 1 gold coin (1g) 100 gold coins (100g) = 1 continental gold coin (1cg) 1 Low-Grade Spirit Stone = 1cg 1 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone = 10 Low-Grade Spirit Stones 1 High-Grade Spirit Stone = 10 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones 1 King-Grade Spirit Stone = Auction only 1 Emperor-Grade Spirit Stone = Auction only -- Now, it should be stressed that the higher the grade of spirit stone, the rarer it is. Low-grade spirit stones are the most common, and are often found in companies, clans and sects in the Three Empires, as are mid-grade spirit stones. As for high-grade spirit stones, only ancient clans, the imperial families and the Primeval Forest would have them. King-grade spirit stones are very rare, and have only been found a handful of times by explorers, who usually sold them at auctions for a fortune. As for Emperor-grade spirit stones, those were considered lost after the Abyss Invasion, as most of the defensive formations used to fight against the devils were powered by them, and almost all of those formations were broken. One could only tell the grade of spirit stone by the purity and density of the energy within it. A low-grade spirit stone, if one sensed with their mind, would feel like a small flame, about the size of a candle. Mid-grade would be like a fireplace, while high-grade would be a bonfire. If King-grade spirit stones were to be considered wildfires, then the Emperor-grades would be like the sun. Emperor- and King-grade spirit stones have been put up for auction since time immemorial, and each one would sell for an astronomical amount of money. The cheapest one could manage to buy a King-grade spirit stone for would still be more than 100 high-grade spirit stones, while an Emperor-grade in the current society would be worth an astronomical amount. It was likely that only the Eridan Imperial Family and the Primeval Forest would be capable of affording such an item. Seran, thinking through the payment amount, calculated how much he owed, "Okay, so, for me, it''d be 1cg and 15g. And, since I said I''d pay triple as an apology, that would make it 3cg and 45g" Using his inventory, the young demigod withdrew 45 thumb-sized gold coins and 3 large palm-sized gold coin. Putting the coins into a small coin purse, the white-haired boy handed it to the large man, "It''s a good thing I got the rewards for those first two quests I did before I hopped onboard, otherwise I''d be dead broke! That was almost all of my continental gold coins there. Oh well, it''s worth it to me." Seran shrugged and casually moved to sit in a nearby chair, perking his eyebrows, "Ooh, this is a good seat. Is it made by your company?" Getting up and storing the coin purse in a large safe that was used for storing them, Sir Arclight nodded with a mix of pride and sincerity, "Of course. Everything in the Crane Transport here was made by the Cloud Palace Merchant Company, one of the top companies on the Western Continent. We may not be as wealthy or influential as the Mages Guild and its alchemists and enchanters, but for non-magical items, we are among the best. Some of the best craftsmen around make a lot of their income through us too. For example, the chair you are sitting in was made by the Geldry Group, a company known for having 3 people at Grandmaster level in their professions, and at least 15 Masters." With a businessman smile, the large man continued, "If you should ever wish to, you can always commission something from us, and we will send it to the appropriate people." "Once I''m done with my business, I will certainly take your advice. I might just buy a house here, to make traveling back and forth much less strenuous." Seran began thinking about making a teleportation array in a house in Skyhaven, a thought that made him grin. "Just offhand, do you know the general price range for a house here, Sir Arclight?" "Just call me Eric. I might be part of a noble clan, but that doesn''t mean you need to treat me like one. I''m an oddity." Chuckling a little, the merchant said, "Well, depending on what you want, the cheapest house you could get in Skyhaven would be about 10g, and those would be on the outer edges of the city. Most of the ones closer to the center, where the Imperial Palace is, cost between 1cg and 100cg. As for the few available houses of noble stature, the cheapest of them is still worth about 250cg. While we do discounts for a number of things, housing is not one of them. We pride ourselves on reliability and honesty, so we don''t play games with such things." Nodding, Seran said, "Seems I''ll need to make a trip to your company, then. When I do, I''ll put in a good word for you, since you pointed the way for me." The rest of the flight consisted of Seran getting information about Skyhaven, all of its famous clans and companies, and the numerous geniuses that filled the city. Needless to say, Seran was deeply interested, and Eric Arclight was more than happy to share his knowledge with the lad. 56 Skyhaven City: Adventurers Guild 1 "Stop by the Cloud Palace Merchant Company when you can, Seran. I dare say you won''t be disappointed." "I''ll do that. Thanks again for the ride, Eric." Seran waved his hand in farewell as he strode from the enormous Crane Transport, heading into the massive city that towered over the continent. Before he''d even managed to get very far, he was already mesmerized by the city. Compared to all other forms of construction that Seran knew of in Aregard, Skyhaven was the closest to the modern style. Stores, houses, and many other buildings were all built more for functionalism rather than for decadence and gaudiness. A lot of exceptions, however, were the collections of planned communities, where every house was already designed and just needed to be put up. On Earth, one would usually think of such places as being a gated community, or as being built around a golf course. A number of retention ponds also took up space around the city, making it so that stormwater and snowmelt would be drained off and out of the way of most of the public. Only a few places were built more for fanciness than for purpose, a number of which were the compounds of the noble clans. Walking down the rather well-made stone road, on a sidewalk that Seran was surprised to find, the white-haired demigod leisurely wandered his way through the city, taking in the new sights and sounds. Considering that it was about lunchtime, traffic, both on foot and on carts, had increased greatly, making it so it was a bit difficult for the tiny lad to get much view. Still, thanks to Eric, he''d learned that, other than the Crane Transports, or the other methods of transportation by air that were approved by the Imperial Court, one could not fly through the city, otherwise he would have. It was quite fortunate that he''d caught that ride, or he could have gotten in big trouble. Once he was able to get a better view, by jumping straight up about 3m, Seran found a guard and quickly made his way over. Standing beside the guard, the young demigod half-shouted, "Excuse me, sir? Can I ask for directions?" The guard was mildly startled, as the boy was only half as tall as him, so he hadn''t seen him. "No need to shout, kid. I can hear you just fine." "Sorry, my bad. Do you know how to get to the Adventurers Guild Headquarters? I''ve never been to Skyhaven before, so I don''t know the way." "Ah, the Adventurers Guild? Go up 5 streets, make a right on Moonbeam Avenue, make a left on International Drive at the end, it''s a short street, then go up about a block or two. You''ll find it pretty easily, it''s hard to miss it. I don''t have a map on me, or I''d show you. The guild should have some, and I recommend you get one." "I see. Thank you very much for the help." Waving his hand again, Seran set off with purpose this time rather than leisure. Now that he had his destination, he could finally finish his third mission. --- Sure enough, what the guardsman said was true: it was really hard to miss the Adventurers Guild, considering it was the size of a massive cathedral. How Seran had not managed to see it before was most likely because of his short stature, and the amount of buildings and people between him and there. The entire street around the guild was full of adventurers, a sight that made Seran feel at home, in a sense. Dodging and weaving his way between pedestrians, Seran eventually managed to squeeze his way into the guild courtyard, where he stopped and let out a breath before making his way inside. While he was alone and very young compared to almost everyone, nobody bothered to stop him. The young nobles and imperial family members visit all the time, as they often take quests as a group for training. For someone as young as Seran to go to the Adventurers Guild wasn''t common, but it wasn''t uncommon either. Seran patiently waited in line for a receptionist for a good ten minutes. When he finally got to the desk, he smiled, handed over his guild card and said, "I need to speak to Johann Juneau, is he in today?" Smiling as she took the card, the receptionist replied, "Even if you''re a noble, you can''t just speak to the guildmaster just because you want to." Then, as per usual, she read his rank and immediately looked up in surprise. "Um... my apologies, I thought you were just another noble kid. I''ll let him know now." She handed his card back in a semi-awkward manner. Seran shrugged, "It''s fine, happens all the time. Please, take your time. I''ll go to the end of the desk and wait there, so I''m not in the way." He then casually walked away to the end of the desk, though he got numerous looks of curiosity. -- Meanwhile, upstairs, Johann was doing yet more paperwork and business calls when one of the communication crystals whirred. The receptionist''s voice came through clearly, "Guildmaster, there''s someone here that wants to talk with you. Someone important." "Important how? Unless it''s an imperial family member or one of the elders or the leaders of the noble clans, I don''t see how it could be important." He didn''t even look up from his work at all, "Even if it''s an S-rank Adventurer, I still don''t see how it''s important." "Sir, it''s Seran Greenwood." A silent three second passed before Johann looked up, "You said Seran Greenwood, correct?" "Yes sir, Seran Greenwood. His card checks out as authentic, so it is the real one." "Send him up to my office. Use the teleporter in the back of the desk if you have to." "Yes sir, will do." The crystal whirred and turned off. Johann sat back in his chair and sighed, "So the little monster managed to make his way here after all, huh? This is going to be interesting." The old man''s eyes stared at the teleporter in the corner of his office, which took all of a minute before lighting up. A young, white-haired demigod suddenly appeared on the teleporter, a smile on his face. "So, little monster, what are you here for?" Seran giggled a little, "Well, to turn in the Hydra quest, first of all. As for anything else... I have to talk to the Founding Emperor." The last line was spoken seriously, as he continued, "I''m sure he wants to meet me as well." 57 Skyhaven City: Adventurers Guild 2 Johann was dead silent as he processed what Seran had just said. A good five or ten minutes passed before he eventually discovered that, as the demigod had said, the two legendary beings needed to meet each other. A fight between the two of them would end very badly, potentially devastating wherever they fought. If they didn''t meet, some major problems could pop up that cause long-lasting damage. "Of course, that''s not the only reason I''m here. I''ve also finished the Hydra quest." Seran smiled, walking forward to sit in a chair in front of Johann''s desk. The old guildmaster leaned back in his chair and sighed, "I can''t do much about helping you meet the Founding Emperor. At best, I''ve only got a small chance to help you meet the current emperor... Right, one of the young princes is supposed to be dropping by in about an hour. If you hang out here until then, I can see what I can do." Seran nodded calmly, "That''s okay with me. I''ve got nothing but time recently." If it wasn''t for his quest, the white-haired boy might never have left Greenwood City, though there was a high chance he''d still need to meet the Founding Emperor. "Now, as for the Hydra quest, can you fill me in on what happened? All I got was the confirmation of completion from Terrence." The white-haired demigod began explaining, from the beginning of the story in its entirety. Starting with the truth of Nessy''s birth, just how Terrence Danford had told him, the short experiences he''d had when he''d talked with residents about the Hydra and how much they loved him, and what he''d learned about Nessy with the short conversation they''d had. He also spoke of how he''d given Nessy the gift of speech, and finished his tale with the nearly two-day party that took over the city, and how he''d refused the reward. By the time he reached the end of his story, his mouth was dry, and he casually withdrew a bottle of water from his inventory. Thanks to the rapid growth of Greenwood City, wherein factories had already begun to produce in high gear, multi-use water bottles had become a reality in Aregard, though they were still only in the one-city kingdom. There were also rapid-biodegrading plastic bottles, though they were still undergoing testing. Perking an eyebrow at the bottle, even after his face had already gone semi-numb from the surprises he''d just been given, Johann pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh, "I knew that Hydra was different. The guildmaster before my predecessor thought the same thing when the quest was altered doing his time in office. It made no sense for a Hydra to live next to a city without doing any damage to it, or eating anyone. I''m sure Terrence will be explaining the situation to the Emperor of Tigrene, since they now have a guardian Hydra in Savicche. They''re quite lucky to have one." Tapping his fingers on his desk, he said, "Well, it''s already been confirmed, so we can finally put this almost century-old quest to rest." Seran agreed completely, as he understood the importance of such a quest in the first place. Normally, their priority would have dropped by a lot, but considering how severe the implications of a Hydra were, it had remained a major A-rank quest for so long. For it to finally be completed meant that it could be archived permanently. "Other than that, I have more information that you''d really want to know. After all, it''s something we need to send to the Juneau Clan." "The Juneau Clan? It must be very serious if you need me to notify them... want to explain what you mean?" The guildmaster was intrigued by the sudden development from Seran. It''d been a number of years since he''d last spoken with the Juneau Clan, especially since they were on different continents. The boy nodded with a grave expression as he said, "I think I''ve discovered something crucial to the old investigation of the Polypheme Sect..." A dark look crossed Johann''s face as he leaned forward, "The one from 300 years ago that was deemed a failure? You actually managed to find something? We even lost some top-grade A-rank investigators to that case, and even a candidate for S-rank disappeared then." Instead of speaking, Seran took the three recording crystals out of his inventory and placed them on the desk. He played the first one, with Eric and Gunther, as he''d witnessed via time magic. "While I was there, I took a deeper look into it and, using one of my self-created spells based on Amaterasu''s Three Imperial Regalia, I then discovered this." He played the second recording, of the city that he''d found during the daytime, and how the citizens behaved. "All of the information I gained from looking at this pointed at the citizens being from 300 years ago. Still, it wasn''t enough for me to really get a lead on the case. It was what I found next, from looking over the original recording with the spell, that gave me the break in the case." The final recording, of the first but via Yata no Kagami''s abilities, revealing the nightmarish creatures that existed in the nighttime, and the real killers of anyone in the city at night. "These creatures... were once those citizens. They are the cause of the missing investigators and unlucky adventurers." He sat back in the chair and said, "Now, you see why I said you need to tell the Juneau Clan, right?" The old Sage processed what he''d just witnessed with a very grave look. This was far greater a discovery than he''d expected Seran to get; after all, it was a 300-year-old case. It''s highly possible that, with the demigod''s help, they''d finally manage to crack the case open. "I haven''t had to use this in decades, but this is extremely important, so I''ll have to." Johann got up and paced over to a painting on his wall. Running his finger down the edge of the frame, he found a button and pressed it. On the bookshelf beside him, a click sounded, and he made his way over. Shifting some of the books aside, he opened a hidden compartment and withdrew a what looked like a crystal disc, similar to the mirror between the guilds, and Seran''s little hand mirror. "This thing should still work. Give me a minute, I need to get it synced up again." Seran watched as the old Sage murmured a spell and imbued the disc with mana, then invoked it. The disc glimmered and shone, rippling like water as the spell kicked in. Soon, in the middle of it, the face of a man just a tad younger than Johann appeared, and they looked very much like siblings. "You''re using the emergency connector, Joey. You haven''t touched that in more than 40 years. What happened this time?" Ignoring the nickname that his brother, as they were siblings, had just called him, Johann grunted darkly, "I''ll tell you the full story later, right now you need to contact the clan elders. We''ve got a major breakthrough in the Polypheme Sect Case." 58 Skyhaven City: Adventurers Guild "The Polypheme Sect? That case was archived nearly 250 years ago. Even if it is a breakthrough, it''s not important enough to reopen such an ancient case," said Johann''s brother, face as serious as his voice. Johann shook his head, "Jake, we''ve discovered what happened to the inhabitants and why people disappear in the ruins... And there''s a high chance we may be able to solve the case completely." Jacob''s head titled slightly, an eyebrow quirked in confusion, "Even other S-rank Adventurers like you failed to discover anything. How on earth could you have managed to find anything?" He gestured for Seran to walk over, which he did, and Johann angled the mirror to put the lad in the shot, "This is Seran Greenwood, the discoverer of the lead on the case. He might be young, but don''t think of him as weak. He''s even got the title of World''s Strongest Demigod. Since you''re on the Central Continent, you haven''t gotten the information on him yet, or you''d believe it immediately. What he discovered is already big enough to change the case. You need to tell the clan elders, now. I''ll send the evidence to you, so you can see it." "You''d better not be lying, Joey. It might be archived, but it''s still a major case..." Jacob continued to give his brother a questioning look, but eventually gave in. Reaching out of view, the Juneau brother tapped on a crystal and said, "Gene, I need you to round up the elders for a meeting, now... make it an emergency priority." Getting up, Jacob looked at the crystal view of his brother and the young demigod, "I''ll call you back in just a bit. Don''t go anywhere." He gave both of them a very serious look before disconnecting the call. Johann sighed, "He hasn''t changed at all. Doesn''t surprise me, though. Considering his status as a clan leader candidate, he wouldn''t have much time to." He looked at Seran gravely, "This is going to be a very high priority meeting. They are most likely going to send investigators again, so we won''t be able to do much for a couple weeks." Seran nodded, as he understood the distance between the Central and Western Continents , and that intercontinental travel was still restricted to aquatic transportation. Teleportation arrays weren''t big enough to connect intercontinental passages, either, or it wouldn''t take long at all. "I''ll leave the crystals with you. I need a nap after all of the things that have happened today." He walked back around the desk and fell into the chair again, "Just wake me up later." With that, he dozed off. Chuckling at the youth, the guildmaster leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, "I''ll just let him sleep through the meeting. He needs some rest." -- Almost four hours later, just past sundown, the young lad awoke and stretched his stiff body, "Nnh..." "About time you woke up, kiddo. The meeting ended two hours ago," said Johann, who was finishing up a stack of papers for the night. "I''ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that the clan elders, and the clan leader, have agreed to send investigators to Skyhaven. You will have to come along for the investigation, of course, as you''re the one with the spell to see them in the first place." "Understandable. I can also use the spell on others, so that they can see them as well. And, I can also make a giant version that covers an entire city. It''ll make the mission to investigate much easier. By the time they get here, I will have developed another spell that''ll help with killing these nightmares." "If you do, the inability to fight back will be resolved, and we can perform a cleansing. From what the Elders, the Leader and I saw, these nightmares only operate on pure instinct. They have no humanity left in them, and what we see during the daytime recording is just their last day, being repeated endlessly. As such, we will most likely have to cleanse each ruin. Then, we can finally reclaim the 1/5th of the continent we''d lost from the event." Johan cleared his throat as he put down the last paper, before continuing, "So, the bad news is that it''ll be about a month before they will arrive. The first place to investigate will be the Skystone Tower, as there was a hunch back then of the source being inside the mountain." "I understand. The distance between the Western and Central continent is half of the size of the entire Western Continent, so it will take a very long time. As for the Skystone Tower, that makes sense to me as well." Seran yawned and stood up to stretch again, "Alright, I guess that''s it then. Oh, did the Prince come yet?" "He was here an hour ago, while you were still knocked out. I did manage to convince the young prince to try and get you an audience with the current Emperor, but don''t hope for anything." "Okay, that''s good enough for me. Well, I guess I''ll go find an inn to sleep at for the night. It''s a bit late to go house shopping, anyway. I''ll drop by tomorrow morning." He bade Johann a good night before heading back through the teleporter and back downstairs. The receptionist from earlier saw Seran coming back out and said, "While you were asleep, the guildmaster made an announcement to all of the guilds on the continent. Most likely, in a week or two, you''ll be recognized anywhere. This way, you won''t have too much trouble in your journeys." "I see. Thank you for telling me. Do you have an inn you could recommend me? I need somewhere to stay for the night. Somewhere affordable but also reliable would be nice." Eyes twinkling, as she rarely was asked such questions, she said, "Yes, there are a few, but there is one in particular that is what you would be looking for." She looked under the receptionist desk and pulled out a map and handed it to him, pointing to a part of it that was back near the main road he''d came through before, "Right here is the Dusk Horse Tavern. Most of their customers are adventurers, and they''ve been given high ratings for years. If you head over there and tell them that you were recommended, you''ll get a discount on price." "Ah, that''s good, I''m short on money right now. Thank you, ma''am. I''ll be back tomorrow. Have a good night." Seran gave his farewells and left the guild, following the map to the Dusk Horse Tavern. 59 Skyhaven City: Prince Andrew 1 Well rested, Seran walked into the Adventurers Guild the next morning, dressed in very casual clothes: just a t-shirt, a pair of shorts and slip-on shoes, all of which had been bought back at Greenwood City. Yawning, he walked past the line of people and went to the end of the receptionist desk to the one girl he''d talked to yesterday, "Sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I head on up to Johann''s office?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. While the adventurer she was helping was less than pleased, she briefly said, "Of course, go right ahead. He''s expecting you, after all." She smiled before returning to her work. "Thank you very much," Seran replied as he walked behind the desk and into the teleporter. As he left, the adventurer at the desk leaned in to ask, "Who is that kid? I thought the guildmaster rarely let anyone into his office." "He doesn''t, you''re correct. However, Seran is an exception." She waved off the question before simply saying, "Just remember that he''s one of the 3 most important people on the continent, and you''ll be fine." "Really? The three most important? I have trouble believing that..." The adventurer certainly sounded doubtful. "If the World''s Strongest Demigod isn''t that important, then nobody is." "Wait, that''s him? Seran Greenwood, the Greenwood Demigod King?" "I said his name earlier, you know. Yes, that''s him. He''s going up there to meet with one of the princes, Prince Andrew. As for what about, I don''t know." The adventurer hissed as he inhaled, "... He looks even younger than the posters said..." "He''s only 10, of course he''s young. Now then, let''s finish up here." The receptionist scrapped that topic and moved back to helping the man, who quickly remembered the reason he was here in the first place. -- When Seran arrived in Johann''s office, the first thing he did was nonchalantly wave his hand and say, "Morning, Johann." He then moved to take a seat, only to discover the seats were occupied. In one chair was a teenage boy, not much older than 13, with jet-black hair and blue eyes, and a face that was bordering on mature, but still had some of the baby-face appeal to it. He had a fair complexion, bordering on ''spoiled white kid'' pale. The teen wore clothes made of silk, very noble robes of purple and blue, and he gave off a feeling of both nobility and youth, both of which matched his status. The second chair was occupied by a much older man with brown hair, wearing the armor of an Imperial Knight, silver plate metal emblazoned with purple stars. Resting beside the chair was a longsword with a dragon-head pommel with a small black orb in its jaws. Based on William''s information, the sword was well-made, most likely by a Master Blacksmith, and was possibly enchanted by a Master Enchanter as well. Such a sword, even at the most mediocre of its kind, would still sell for 5cg at a minimum. That still didn''t include his armor, which was certainly worth 10cg or more. Based off a well-placed guess, this man was the teen''s guard, and his appearance certainly made it a good choice. Johann had on much better robes compared to yesterday''s old grey ones, and he had taken time to make himself look decent as well. Seeing Seran''s entrance, and his ever-casual attitude, he rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Good morning to you too, Seran. May I introduce young Prince Andrew," he gestured first to the teenager, "and his loyal guard, the Imperial Knight Rexus." Seran politely bowed as fitting for a noble, "Greetings, Your Highness, and Sir Rexus. I am Seran Greenwood, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." While Rexus was impressed with the young demigod''s impressive manners, he instinctively huffed, "You do not kneel to a member of the imperial family?" Seran did not look up, but he said gravely, "Would someone of my status need to kneel to anyone but a god?" He began to radiate his natural aura, the aura of a powerful demigod. In the current empire, only a handful of people had experienced a similar aura, and it was from the Founding Emperor himself. While he may not be an actual demigod, a Blessed One, like Barnett, with sufficient power was close enough to being one that even some real demigods would lose to him. So, it wouldn''t be wrong to call Barnett a pseudo-demigod. The young prince had once felt his ancestor''s aura, weakened and from a distance, but he knew it; it had been ingrained in his memory ever since. Such a familiar feeling of dominance and overwhelming power, along with an inherent aura of divinity, was impossible to replicate, so he knew the white-haired boy wasn''t a fake demigod. Prince Andrew gave Rexus a look, "Enough, Rexus. He doesn''t need to kneel to me. In all actuality, only the gods could make him kneel, and even then, I''m unsure." After the knight''s glare lessened and he looked away, the prince continued, "My apologies for my guard''s attitude now, the Imperial Knights are very serious about their duties. I hope you can understand." Retracting his aura, the young demigod smiled, "No worries, I understand. Having such loyal subordinates is Your Highness''s good fortune." He stood up straight again, looking nothing like a powerful demigod now. "Thank you, it means a lot to me. Loyalty is hard to come by." The young prince''s smile widened, "As Sir Johann has said, I am the 13th Prince, Andrew Eridan. Getting to meet a real demigod is already more than I could have asked for, let alone the officially titled ''strongest in the world''." "Being strong is not the most important thing in the world, Your Highness. What matters is how you use your strength. A true leader knows how to use his strength, and when it''s best to use and not use it. Otherwise, you are likely to make a mistake that could cost you everything." Seran shrugged with a grin, "Out of curiosity, what is your current standing among the princes? In terms of ''in line for the throne''." "I''ll be honest, out of the 20 princes, I am the 20th. That''s only of the current Emperor''s line. Counting my uncle''s as well, then I am completely in last place out of the 37 of us. Even my royal father has given up on my growth, and all I am now is an extra. Why do you ask?" The prince was less than pleased with his status among his relatives, but he wasn''t ashamed to admit it. If anything, his acceptance of it was already brilliant that he was capable of understanding his chances. Seran''s grin became a giggle as he said, "The lowest overall? That doesn''t make sense. With your talent, you should be able to become top 5 easily. I want to know how your progress has stagnated so badly, even with talent as great as yours." His eyes had a look that Johann was familiar with by now: pure interest and curiosity. When he had that look, like so many others, he would go all-in on investigating whatever had intrigued him. The old man sighed, knowing that Seran was likely going to do something crazy again. 61 Skyhaven City: Prince Andrew 3 The young prince clenched his fists as he processed his options. While the people loved and cared about him greatly, the imperial family, nobility and academies viewed him as next-to-nonexistent. This made it especially hard for him to even become an academic scholar, which even a normal person could become. On top of that, as a prince, he was supposed to receive an allowance per month, but his was discontinued upon being deemed worthless by his father, Emperor Valinor himself. If he said no to Seran now, it''s almost certain that no matter what he did, he''d amount to nothing in the end. The white-haired demigod was very patient, and he could read the prince''s thoughts just from his expression. In an attempt to give him another nudge, Seran spoke again, "I swear on the heavens themselves that my words are true, and should I go back on my word, all of the deities whose powers I bear shall destroy my existence." Despite his reluctance, even now, to accept Seran''s words as true, at this moment, Rexus could not help but speak up, "My prince, I think that, maybe, it''s time for you to do something for yourself." The old Water Sage cut in, a mild grin on his face, "For your information, Seran has never failed to do what he said he would, nor has he ever reneged on his word. If he says he will do it, he will. If my word isn''t enough, all of the guildmasters, retired and active, can attest to his capabilities. He''s singlehandedly killed an Elder Lich, an S-Grade Calamity, tamed and blessed the Alpha Chimera Calamity from two years ago, and given the Hydra in Savicche the gift of speech." When the prince and his guard nearly gave themselves whiplash from quickly looking at the old guildmaster, he chuckled, "It was confirmed just yesterday, and we were going to officially announce his accomplishments and rank. Oh, and don''t forget, he also single-handedly brought the extinct Golden Crows back to life, and he has at least four S-rank contracted beasts. Do you really think he needs to tell lies to you?" Prince Andrew, with a look of new determination and affirmation, stared Seran in the eyes fiercely, "If you can do as you say, I will even honor you as my master, ceremony and all." "Your highness..." Rexus wanted to speak up, reflexively due to his training and personality, but, of all people, he knew Andrew''s treatment better than anyone, no matter their status. Despite this vow the young prince spoke, for his life to be fully changed, it would be worth it. "Good. Since you have said those words, I must respond in kind. Upon becoming your master, I will teach you as a master should." With a small grin, Seran began to channel his immeasurable power and drew forth the energy of life and magic, causing a pair of phantoms to form behind him, one of which was Demeter. The second was a slender, silver blonde-haired woman clad in ghostly robes of iridescent silk that floated with her body, as she levitated half a meter above the floor. With a rainbow opal set in the middle of her forehead, and ever-changing eye colors, the Goddess of Magic, Hecate, held a crystal ball in one hand and a long mithril staff in the other. "Perfect phantoms!" The prince, the guard and even the guildmaster exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this. While the first two were clearly more affected, Johann eventually grunted with a smirk, chalking it up to the demigod''s overwhelming abilities. Taking Andrew''s wrist, Seran began to pour his fused energies into the prince''s body. The abundant powers of life purified the toxins and revitalized his flesh and bone, while the mysterious and enigmatic power of magic devoured the sealing magic that had fused with the young prince''s body and reinvigorated his crippled physical and magical abilities. Just one arm took 15 minutes to fully cleanse and restore, and nearly 10,000 mana was required to do so. Anyone other than Seran would likely collapse of overuse of mana, but this did not stop Seran, who stubbornly persevered. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Cleansing and restoring Andrew''s limbs was the easiest step, but those alone needed an hour and 40,000 mana to complete. Seran gave Andrew a small grin, looking slightly pale from the drain in his mental strength, "Your limbs are now how they should have been. Next up is your head, and it''ll take much longer since it is so critically important. How are you doing so far?" Prince Andrew experimentally shifted his other arm, immediately noticing a difference compared to before. It was much more smooth and natural, instead of the previous stiffness in his muscles and bones. "Wow... I can... Is this really my arm?" "Of course it is. It''s just been completely reconstructed, per se, after I cleansed the toxins and devoured the sealing magic. Now then, I need you to stay very still and keep your mind empty. If your mind jumps unexpectedly, I could screw this all up and you''ll be a vegetable." Seran gave Andrew a serious look, which the prince immediately nodded to before attempting to calm himself. Another half-an-hour passed as Seran carefully controlled his power to restore and revitalize Prince Andrew''s head, his mind included. This took twice the time of the limbs, but it required 10,000 more mana than the entire four limbs combined due to the precise control needed to operate without damaging any part of the brain. Once it was done, however, the young prince could feel an even more significant change compared to his limbs. Before, it was like he was sealed in a dark cell waist-deep in water, and he could only move so fast no matter what he did. Now, his mind felt like a bird in the sky, free and unfettered. The feeling of being unshackled felt so wonderful after a life of permanent ''imprisonment'' caused him to tear up unintentionally. Seeing his ''patient'' crying from the new sensations he''d never had before, Seran smiled wider than before, "Not to interrupt your happy moment, Prince Andrew, but we''re almost done. Another half-hour and you''ll be right as rain..." True to his words, Seran finished his operation after another half hour, and another 50,000 mana was consumed to finish the operation. His face now white as snow, the young demigod stumbled backward and collapsed into a chair, his mental strength having been almost entirely exhausted. "There... all done... I need a nap now... wake me up in a bit..." With that, young Seran just... fell asleep, at the drop of a hat. Johann, who rolled his eyes at the unchanged behavior of the little demigod, chuckled as he saw the prince crying with joy, and Rexus being stuck between excitement at Andrew''s revitalization and worry at Seran''s current status. "Don''t worry about Seran, Rexus. He''s fine. Give him an hour and he''ll be back to his usual self. For now, just accompany your young prince. I think he deserves to experience the world with new senses." Rexus nodded, "Yes, I think so too." He lightly placed a hand on Andrew''s shoulder, startling him just a bit, "Your Highness, before you break into uncontrollable sobbing, how about we go and experience the city the way you should have been able to before? We''ll come back later and talk with Seran again." After a brief moment of thought, Andrew, wiping his tears and sniffling a bit, agreed, making sure to tell Johann to thank Seran, who waved it off and told him to give his thanks to the demigod himself, before taking his first steps into a familiar world with unfamiliar senses. 64 Skyhaven City: Prince Andrew 6 Numerous ideas flickered through the prince''s mind, all of which ranged from mundane to outlandish, but concluding with all of his rampaging thoughts became complicated. This was when Seran began to speak again, "If you''re having trouble, would you like me to choose for one and you can take your time selecting the second?" Andrew thought it over once again, and he softly nodded, "Yes, please. One is already a lot to process." "Very true, it is particularly challenging to think over. Alright, this will be the first gift, and I''m certain it will grow with you." Seran cracked his knuckles, "You are descended from the man considered the strongest swordsman of the Western Continent, so you have his innate talent with swordsmanship. However, before arriving at the same heights as your ancestor, a sword is essential. I shall gift you a brand new unique ability that will be unmatched." He pointed a finger at Andrew, sending a bolt of light into the prince''s mind and causing him to physically jolt, nearly collapsing to the ground before catching himself. "Your new skill is named [Soul Sword]. Upon activating it, a sword will form in your hands that adheres to your skills, abilities and what you find most comfortable. The more powerful you get, the more powerful the Soul Sword will be. Not only does this eliminate the cost of replacing or repairing weapons, but it can also even cast the magic spells you learn. However, I need to warn you that the Soul Sword can break if it is hit hard enough by attacks beyond your capabilities. If it does, it will cause a large shock to your body and mind, so do not treat it as an indestructible object." Holding his head as he processed the new ability and its knowledge, Andrew sensed his new ability, though he couldn''t see his status like Seran could without external items. Standing up again, he held out his right hand and imagined to activate his power. From his palm, a simple sword akin to those of Earth''s 12th Century came into actuality. Feeling it in his hand, the prince gave it a couple of practice swings before noticing something odd about it, "There''s no weight to it..." "Correct. It''s a part of you, so you feel nothing of its weight. Also, it cannot be stolen from you. Should you be disarmed, it will dissolve and return to nothingness, giving you the ability to summon it again. If you become capable of using multiple swords at once, you can summon as many as you want and dismiss them at will, but that will require lots of training and skill. You currently have no skills, so you can''t see just how impressive this power is now, but you will in time. For now, explore what it can do, and take your time thinking over the second gift." Clapping his hands, Seran moved on, "Now, the third gift is something simple and yet profound. I don''t know if you can find its likeness on the continent, but I can''t say for certain that it doesn''t exist." He handed the prince a small wooden rectangular token with a depiction of a World Tree. "This token bears three life-saving powers. Upon activation, it will create a shield capable of enduring virtually any attack in the world, two times at maximum. The third is, should you suffer something that is considered fatal, the lethal wound or such will be removed and you will be forcibly teleported to Greenwood City rather than Skyhaven City so that I can see you immediately." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Dispelling the Soul Sword and receiving the token, Andrew knelt and kowtowed again, "Thank you, Master. I will live up to your expectations, I swear it." "You need not swear, Andrew, I know you can do it." Seran then turned his eyes to Rexus, "For my apprentice''s loyal guard, and friend, I believe you are also deserving a reward for keeping him safe, and this is my investment in you, as well. Continue to assist Andrew and you will discover just how wise it was for you to stubbornly defend him in his lowest times." He casually gifted the Imperial Guardsman an ability as well. "As you are his greatest defense, you should have something to match that standing. This ability, [Imperial Defense], makes your defensive prowess increase tenfold as long as you are within 100ft of Andrew, and any attack aimed at him while you are within that distance is instead diverted to you. As you are best suited to be a Shield Fighter, I have also given you an increase in skill growth for the Shield Fighter skills. On top of that, I have given you a counterpart to Andrew''s [Soul Sword], alternatively making yours the [Soul Shield]." Rexus, a man who wavered for very little outside of his young prince''s wellbeing, found himself overwhelmed with emotion; his stubborn stance of standing beside the pitiful imperial child through thick and thin wasn''t just part of the Imperial Guardsman''s creed, it was his ironclad vow to remain with him until his end after seeing all of the good that Andrew had done, even with his pitiful status. With Andrew''s newly reborn status, he got to see the start of the rise that he''d long hoped to see. He was already content to be a background character for the prince, but with this new gift for his steadfast loyalty, he reaffirmed his determination to stand beside the prince until the very end. He stood and took a knee, lowering his head in reverence, "An Imperial Guardsman is not meant to kneel to any but the Emperor and his kin, but I must to you today, Sir Greenwood. I will live up to the gifts you have given me today." "As I said to Andrew, I know that you can." Sighing and stretching his body from the constant standing in place, the demigod chuckled, "Now, let''s head to the palace. Johann is at the Palace Gates right now, so if we leave now, we''ll be right on time." With a smile on his youthful face, the Greenwood Demigod said, "Shall we?" 65 Skyhaven City - Emperor Valinor 1 Pristine white tiles prevailed as the flooring of the enormous hall that served as the entryway to the Eridan Imperial Palace. Built based on what appeared to be Aregard''s version of Greek architecture style, it commanded a sense of majesty and insignificance to all those who felt its effects. Grand candelabras hung from the ceiling, illuminating the hall in sync with the wall torches, giving off a feeling of imperiousness to its decor. Expertly crafted windows stretched from the floor to the ceiling, each bearing the imperial symbol in its centre, a greatsword emblazoned with a crest of the sun and moon on its blade. Seran, who had seen such architecture in his previous life, such as the ancient Parthenon in Athens, Greece on a vacation, along with those he found on the internet, felt the natural aura it possessed as soon as he entered the hall. While he had already experienced it once before, he always appreciated the feeling of dignity that such style pervaded. "Your ancestor certainly knows how to design a palace, Andrew." The prince, who was walking just a bit ahead of the demigod, smiled wryly, "Outside of a few additions by his word, most of the palace wasn''t designed by him at all. We have the famous architect Alessandro to thank for the palace''s creation. Almost the entirety of the Eridan Imperial Palace was designed by his hand alone, and, upon his passing at the age of one-hundred-thirty-five, no alterations have been made to it following, as deference to his legacy. Famous architects are incredibly rare, and those recognized universally as such are even more so. The Oracle at the time pronounced Alessandro as an equal to the designers of the Sisterhood of Fate''s Monastery, all of which were legendary figures in their own right. A figure of him at his desk as he designed the palace was cast in stone and placed in the palace''s library, the location most frequented by him during his time." Johann sighed, "It''s a shame that he never passed on his teachings. His only construction in his life was the palace, and it may never be replicated as well as the architect himself." "Many great men are stubborn until the end and prefer to take their secrets to the grave. He may have tried to, but it is very difficult to pass on a lifetime''s knowledge with only teachings." Seran clasped his hands behind his back, shaking his head slightly, "Enough about the past. We have an errand to run." The quartet, Rexus included, strode through the hall and into the corridors, with the prince in the lead. The imperial descendant inferred that the prime minister was likely to be in his office, built on the western side of the palace. As they walked, Seran thoroughly took in the decor and architecture, dedicating it to memory. In the future, he hoped to speak with Alessandro''s spirit and ask to acquire his architectural legacy to pass it on. Without the creator''s will, he would not do such, as it would afront the man behind it. A wizened old man, his age looking to have exceeded 500 years a long time ago, took an eagle''s quill pen through numerous documents with the ease that comes from countless years in office. Fine metal wire glasses adorned his face as his eyes skimmed the paperwork faster than most could read regularly. Hearing a knock at the door, the prime minister, without looking up, spoke, "Enter." As the quartet entered the office, the prince customarily greeting him as his senior, the old man continued his work, "As you can see, I am quite busy. Unless it is important, please do not waste my time. Some of these documents need to be cleared today, which is quite a tiring matter." Having experienced the frank personality of the prime minister when he was working many times before, the young prince just smiled, "Sir Johann has come with me to visit you in accordance with your message earlier today." "Oh? It hasn''t been more than an hour since I sent that letter. What, pray tell, is the meaning for such a quick response?" Other than the quirk of an eyebrow, the old official did not react much more. The Juneau Clan descendant stepped forward respectfully, bowing to the person of higher stature, "Prime Minister Wyndham, I came immediately after receiving your message due to the subject of it having arrived much earlier today." This caught the old man''s attention, his bespectacled eyes peering over the paperwork at the guild master, "Truly? And where is... I see." As he began to ask where the aforementioned subject was, Wyndham spotted the demigod that stood beside the prince. Setting his quill aside and sitting up in his chair, lacing his fingers atop the desk, the old official sagely viewed the white-haired lad. "His Imperial Majesty, the Founding Emperor had said you''d arrive by tomorrow, but I doubt even he was clear on the depths of your abilities." "One can never truly understand another being, wouldn''t you agree?" The demigod smiled, the depiction of peaceful but lively. The response of the boy caused the uncrackable visage of the old prime minister to grin just a little, something which surprised the other three witnesses, as it was known that Wyndham did not smile while on duty. "Wise words indeed. At this point, these documents can wait a little longer." Grunting with mild effort, the old man stood from his desk, cane in hand, and strode to greet the demigod, his aged yet strong hand stretched out to him, "A pleasure to meet you, Sir Greenwood. I am Wyndham, the 4th Prime Minister of the Eridan Empire." Giving the prime minister his hand in return, Seran responded in kind, "The pleasure is all mine, Sir Wyndham. My apologies about distracting you from your duties." "Nonsense, this is also a part of my duties. Foreign delegates to the imperial palace should be greeted in kind. If not for my inability to leave the palace due to innumerable documents to process, I would have come to greet you in person." "Not a problem at all. If anything, I would worry that you would hurt yourself with your advanced age." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The prime minister couldn''t refrain from breaking into a short fit of laughter, a stunning sight to three viewers on the side. "Other than His Majesty, Emperor Valinor, my children and grandchildren, and a few of the imperial family, you''re the first to tell me that. I''m not going to keel over that quickly. I may not look it, but I retain a quarter of my Elven heritage. I might not live as long as my ancestors, but I will persist until the very end." "Well said," chuckled the young demigod, who found this old man a delight from the beginning. 66 Skyhaven City - Emperor Valinor 2 "Well then, before we go elsewhere, there should be several questions between the two of us, just for insurance. After that, we will head to visit His Majesty. Is that fine, Sir Greenwood?" The aged prime minister peered at the demigod, smiling in a way that wasn''t fully a smile. After the 10-year-old gave his approval, he folded his hands and continued, "First question: what is your goal with this visitation?" Straight to the heart of the matter with nary an extra word, this man was a master of diplomacy and politics with a straight-forward style. Seran had expected this answer much earlier and had long since prepared a response, "Initially, I didn''t have a goal or even a plan. I guess I was hoping to achieve a mutual friendship pact or such. Now, on the other hand, it''s changed due to Andrew becoming my disciple after circumstances directed him to me." This made old Wyndham''s eyes enlarge with genuine surprise, "Disciple?" He stared at Andrew, who had a proud yet nervous look at being referred to as a disciple. "Yes, disciple. I completely purified and reforged his body to clear out the¡­ darkness and restart his journey. His talent should be more than a match for the current Crown Prince, only he has a far later start. Quite an unfortunate fate, you could say." He hinted to Wyndham, who took practically an instant to pick up on the meaning. Nobody was truly ignorant towards the secret hostilities between the various imperial family members, save for Andrew prior to meeting Seran and maybe children. The downfall of one prince is the benefit of another, and Wyndham had seen enough of this to not only notice the demigod''s hint, he quickly discovered the person benefiting the most from it. "I have given Andrew gifts as is customary for a master to do so, but another gift was given to Rexus for his loyalty." Wyndham sighed, "A belated yet highly welcome addition to the race for the throne, it seems. At any rate, such is how politics, especially imperial politics, continues to play out." He gave Andrew a deep look, "While I fully believe Sir Greenwood''s words, I''d like to hear confirmation from the disciple in question." Andrew respectfully responded, "I made a vow prior to being healed that, should Master manage to heal me, I will offer myself as a disciple. I will not go back on my vows." The aged official''s eyes sparkled as a small grin crossed his face, "A man that does not fulfil his vows is not a man worth supporting." Returning his gaze to Seran, he continued, "In that case, what would you intend to do now?" "After thinking it over, I''ve decided that I''d like to achieve a similar status as that of my good friend Queen Layla''s elven homeland. Speaking of which, I can mention this part since it''s not a secret, but I spent a year going through the ancient forest setting up teleportation arrays and such. They''re in the process of condensing their original tribal culture into towns for the first time. There is a capital location now, though, but until they''re ready, the only place to access it from is in Greenwood City. So, in essence, I am also the current trading hub and general relay location for the Primevil Forest''s residents. I guess I''m also technically a diplomat for two countries at once..." "Hoh... Does that mean you''re also planning to convince the elves to allow visitors?" "No, that''s not my intent. Without Queen Layla''s explicit instructions, there will be no teleportation into the forest from anyone. I''ve also added a spatial lock to the forest, so teleporting in won''t work, but teleporting out will. The only exception to this rule is the elves themselves, and the array in Greenwood City, which will only work with prior approval via an extra command to the array. However, she does hope to allow visits from those of important statuses in the future, once their civilization becomes more focused." Luca coughed briefly, "Sorry, dry throat. Ah, also, compared to their total isolationism before, they will begin contacting the outside world via Greenwood City as their startup." "You''ve even managed to convince the elves to do so much in just one year. No wonder you''re considered a miracle worker. Well, the Primeval Forest is considered a completely independent and autonomous country, compared to the two other major empires, which are vassals on a legal standpoint even though we influence them very little. That having been said, with the capabilities of your kingdom, even at present, I have half a mind that His Imperial Majesty would agree that he''d be hard-pressed to be able to conquer it, even at his prime. At the time, there were indeed several other S-ranked Adventurers among the elves 2000 years ago likely to still around today, but there is a large difference between humanoids and non-humanoids when it comes to prowess. You have an entire flock of newly revived Golden Crows, the first true appearance of Divine Beasts since the ancient Abyss Invasion, an Alpha Chimera that is capable of individually becoming S-ranked beings, a guardian spirit and a Blessed One of Demeter herself, and on top of that, there''s you, the one recognized by the world and all deities to be the strongest demigod. I don''t picture any good outcome from a war between our two nations, so it would indeed be best to avoid that." The old prime minister pondered for ten-some minutes before coming to a decision, "I''m sure I can convince His Majesty of the autonomy of the Greenwood Kingdom, but His Imperial Majesty might become involved directly for some matters." "I can guess what some of those reasons will be, and I understand that. I would agree that those matters would require him. Of course, there are other things, but they are not important at present, so bringing them up now is not necessary... Ah, except for one, but that will also need to be brought up to the Founding Emperor himself due to its magnitude. Johann is also involved, so he would have to be present as well." Johann, having been relegated to a silent witness, was briefly stunned upon being mentioned. "Huh, what?" After getting Seran''s eyes rolled at him, followed by a repetition of what the demigod had just said, he understood the conversation''s direction. "Ah, right, it involves my clan, so that topic, in particular, requires my presence, at the very least to relay it back to the clan." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Wyndham was quite intrigued as to what the pair meant, but if it was important enough for both the World''s Strongest Demigod and the Juneau Clan to be involved together, it was likely an extremely important subject. "In that case, we might need to speed up this visit. Come, let''s get moving. We''ll see His Majesty immediately." 67 Skyhaven City - Emperor Valinor 3 The sound of fingers tapping on wood permeated the side chamber as a mid-40s man that clearly resembled Andrew pondered the information he''d just received. This meeting was too sudden to be formal, so it was held in a small tearoom meant for receptions and such. "So, you''re telling me that, while you were midway through a journey to Savicche for the Hydra quest, thank you again for that, you went through the old Polypheme Sect territory and happened to discover a lead in a 300-year-old cold case? Not only that, but the evidence was conclusive enough for THE Juneau Clan to immediately gather an expedition force in response?" It''s not that he, Emperor Valinor, didn''t believe it. On the contrary, he fully believed it. What he had trouble believing was how it was done entirely by sheer coincidence. Seran nodded sagely, as did Johann off to the side, who said, "It was conclusive enough for one of the clan elders to personally make the trip. I know that elder very well, he''s one of the few in the world who are Sage-grade in more than one magic specialization, in Earth and Fire, and is one of the five strongest mages of the Juneau Clan. You might even know his title from his prime, the Volcanic Sage of Juneau." "Even an old heroic figure like Aracar Juneau is responding to this, then it''s clearly undeniable. Solving this ancient cold case would finally put to rest one of the biggest mysteries within more than a thousand years. Can I see the evidence you have at present? It''ll be about a month before they arrive, so the sooner we can act the better." Valinor, to Luca''s surprise earlier, was a rather easygoing and amiable man, yet his sense of duty constantly outshone his natural demeanour of casualness. "I understand the difficulties regarding this case already, so if I can see the proof in order to clearly convey the severity of the coming investigation, I can call upon all of the available S- and A-rank Adventurers, retired or no, to at the very least be aware of what is coming. I know of a few that would definitely want to be involved directly." Johann politely added, "As the incumbent continental guildmaster for the Adventurers Guild, after getting Your Majesty''s approval, and potentially His Imperial Majesty''s as well, I fully intend to post an emergency quest to all guild branches on the Western Continent with a minimum requirement of A-rank to participate. Since the creation of this continent, such an event has never occurred, but this is far too important to pass up." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Emperor Valinor agreed quite quickly, "Thank you, Johann, that will make it much easier. You already have my approval, so you can add that to the list of the requestors for it. As for our Founding Emperor, I''m sure he will agree but I dare not declare my thoughts to be fact." He folded his hands under his chin, leaning upon them as his elbows rested on the table, "Tell me more about this... phenomenon that you witnessed." Seran took out the three recording crystals and played them in order, one by one. He paused continuously throughout to explain various things, such as the strange physics behind the otherworldly spectres'' abilities, "As you can see here, they possess the ability to remain completely undetectable and yet can sever a body in half with almost nonexistent resistance. However, their powers do not extend to inanimate objects, as proven by the arrows being incapable of penetrating the door that this lad used as a shield. It also happened only at night, as the second and third videos proved upon the use of my specialized ability. From this, we can conclude that, at nightfall, the spirits of the former denizens, who seem to be stuck in some temporal distortion or locked dimension, are twisted into what appear to be spectral demons and set to kill any living targets in the area of the town. Through my investigations, it seems they are in a plane between dimensions, providing them complete protection and the best abilities for an assassin in existence. An assassin with the ability to hide in the void and kill without detection is terrifying beyond belief." Andrew felt the urge to speak at this point, "Thank the gods they can''t leave the town..." Everyone silently agreed as the fallout from such beings would be catastrophic, potentially exceeding that of an Elder Lich, with the one Seran defeated being a unique exception due to its Devil King status. "Currently, I am in the process of creating a second ability meant to counteract their special immunity based on another of the Three Imperial Regalia of Amaterasu, Kusanagi no Tsurugi. Hopefully, it will be an effective measure, as it is meant to be capable of damaging them and protecting against their inter-dimensional attacks. I have already mastered a branch ability of the spell I used to create these images, [Yata no Kagami: Enchantment], allowing me to bestow its unique sight upon others. Provided it works and the assistance we receive is more than sufficient, we can theoretically reclaim the missing third of the Western Continent''s territory and solve the 300-year-old mystery." The old prime minister made a sound akin to that of one thinking deeply on an issue before asking, "I am all for this mission, make no mistake of that. The topic I''d like to bring forth is quite simple: what does everyone thinks happened to the Polypheme Sect now that this information has come to light?" The first to speak was, surprisingly, Andrew, who had remained silent save for one sentence earlier, "I''d say that something, or someone, within the Polypheme Sect, was likely meddling with something they shouldn''t have. There''s no way this was natural, but it doesn''t seem to conform to any known forms of magic, even those of the Devils based on the old records. It would be a completely unique type of magic unseen before, even by the gods. Either the Polypheme Sect was intending to create a new form of magic or they had something unusual that caused their unfortunate disaster." 68 Skyhaven City - Speculations and Storytelling 1 The others present in the chamber nodded in agreement as they began to ponder in silence. After a moment or two, Seran was the first to speak, "I have a theory that just might match up with what happened, mostly. Do you know about space beasts, by any chance?" Seran had to ask this question, as very few people in Aregard were aware that such creatures existed beyond the sky. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. With confirmations of ignorance coming from all but one, Johann, Seran sighed, "That''s fine, I doubt there''s anyone that can really explain these creatures that''s still alive. The Juneau Clan should have records of them, but those are rare cases, correct?" He looked at Johann with a small grin. The old mage nodded, "Indeed. Due to their exceptional rarity, in the last 3000 years of accurate records, only 2 cases were ever confirmed. Before then, what records we had that were undamaged after the Invasion only listed another two, and the Juneau Clan had existed for at least two millennia at that point. That means only 4 cases in 5000 years have ever been proven to be real. That is how rare they are. Outside of my clan, I believe only the Oracle and a handful of Fate Seers know about them due to their unique capabilities." As the others were astonished by the new information about a particularly unusual race, Seran continued, "In that case, I will explain to everyone else. A space beast is less of a race and more of a term used for an unnaturally powerful existence that dwells mostly in space or between spaces. On average, a single space beast, when mature, is capable of rivalling a god." Horror took over the expressions of the listeners, who only calmed down after being reminded of their scarcity, "Every space beast is considered to be unique, as are their individual abilities. They all possess the ability to live in space and have little interest in anything other than others of their kind, but no two space beasts are alike. Johann, do those documents specify what abilities these space beasts incidents consisted of?" Closing his eyes to concentrate, the Juneau clansman stated, "The first two no longer have that information due to the damage caused by the Invasion, but the more recent pair of events do. The first one was the worst incident overall, due to its timing and its scale. When the Invasion was starting to get into full swing and the Demon Kings had just crossed over, a space beast happened to be travelling by our world. While they, meaning the gods, did not give descriptions to the Oracle, they emphasized that it had appendages similar to wings that fluttered as it moved through space for no apparent reason. As it was above us, it appeared to ruffle one wing a tad, like one would do if your hand gets tired after lots of writing. That one action caused a ripple that, once it descended to our world, smashed open the rift tenfold and allowed the two Devil Ministers and the Devil Emperor to cross over." Soundless explosions went off in the minds of those present, save for the two speakers, as this new information brought new fears and revelations to their previous knowledge. Seran, noticing this, calmly stated, "Remember that this was 3000 years ago, not now. From what I know, there are no space beasts anywhere near Aregard." Sighs of relief came from all around as the boy demigod smiled. After taking a sip of tea to quench his mild thirst, Johann continued, "As for the second, it was roughly 1500-1750 years ago, I can''t recall specifically when it occurred, but I remember what happened because those of Juneau Clan are taught about it when we are being brought up as children, in particular when we are learning the ancestors of the family. Two generations prior to the Volcanic Sage''s appearance, one of our most senior still living elders, Sage Heavensfall Varric Juneau, bore witness to this event and was fortunate enough to not only live to tell about it, he even benefited from it immensely. According to his oath-sworn retelling of the event, he had been standing on a beach on the northern side of the Central Continent, about five or six kilometres of a nearby city, at around sunrise when he saw what looked to be a meteor dropping from the sky. He said he was only an Earth Mage at this point in his life, so his instinctive reaction, after watching for some time and realizing to his horror that it was flying in a direction that would land near him, was to immediately bolt for his life perpendicular to its path." As the imagery of the incident was painted vividly in his listeners'' heads, Johann continued to recite the story he knew by heart, the climactic drama thick in his tone, "Not even three minutes passed after he started running when he heard what he could only describe as a combination of multiple volcanoes erupting simultaneously at the same location, followed by a brief silence... and then, WHAM!" He slammed his hands on the table, making everyone, except for Seran who had been expecting it, jump in fright before giving him mildly annoyed yet thoroughly curious looks, "An extremely hot wave of air smashed into his body, leaving most of his body broken in the process as he was catapulted 10 kilometres eastward and more than a kilometre into the sky. From his unfortunate vantage point, as he was falling, he witnessed the devastating aftermath: the entire city, about half the size of Skyhaven, had completely disappeared, leaving an enormous crater big enough to fit the entire Cloudy Mountain we stand upon inside it and still leave enough space for another half to fit on top of it. The coastline had collapsed as well, and ocean water flooded into the now open space that still radiated smoke and ash into the sky." 69 Skyhaven City - Speculations and Storytelling 2 As vivid images of the events surfaced in the minds of those listening, Johann continued narrating the story as if he was truly there, though it was mostly because of how heated the original storyteller was when he himself told it, "By all rights, Sage Varric should have died after falling from such a height without magic to save himself. However, fate was on his side as a High Elven princess was flying by at the time on her faithful Sky-crossing Peacock and managed to catch him. They got married three hundred years later, but that''s not important. What is important is the cause of the event. With the Juneau Clan at the helm, along with the aid of the Worldly Archive, the Oracle and Varric''s testimony, the event was investigated down to the smallest detail. It turns out that a scale of a reptilian-like space beast fell into our world and caused an entire city to become a crater." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Seran tapped his fingers on the table as he added his own information, "The scale, which seemed to have come from an area near the tail-tip, was big enough to crush this palace. I''m sure your Founding Emperor would know about this event as well." "A scale near the end of the tail is rather small compared to others, but it was still big enough to cause that much damage? I can''t imagine what would happen if a bigger scale fell," mumbled Wyndham, who had been listening with rapture. "You don''t have to, because if it did, there wouldn''t be a Central Continent." The blunt response from the demigod stunned the room once again, though he continued as if it never happened, "The resulting crater has been listed as a forbidden area since the calamitous incident, along with being named the Watervale City Crater as a memorial to the lost city. The scale has remained at the bottom of the crater due to the inability to move it and the wariness towards the strangeness of space beasts. I should also add that the crater is always boiling due to the scale''s extremely high temperature." Seran then sat up with a look of solemnity, "The disappearance of the Polypheme Sect was infamous and inexplicable, but if you look at it by comparing it to the supremely unique space beasts, it becomes less confusing. Only a space beast could cause such an odd case. My guess is that the Polypheme Sect somehow got their hands on something related to a space beast and tried to use it for something. Whatever it was, we don''t know, but it certainly failed." The other listeners had several thoughts running through their heads, but Johann had already understood what Seran was getting at when he mentioned space beasts, "As inexplicable as the disappearance is, there is a high chance that it was caused by a space beast''s unique powers. What the power is or how long ago the supposed article appeared would require the Oracle''s aid." "Not anymore with me here, don''t forget." Seran did not miss the opportunity to bring to Johann''s, along with the others, attention that the demigod was also capable of the same abilities as the Oracle, albeit in a different way. "True enough, Seran. Anyway, according to our current understanding of it, we can assume that this event involves the displacement of a very large area of inhabitants into a separate space from our own, what can only be described as a corruption of sorts to the inhabitants, and a time loop of the day of the event three centuries prior according to some of the information in the recordings. This means we are dealing with the power of a space beast that possesses power over time along with the ability to corrupt an entire empire''s worth of people within only a few hours, causing the inhabitants to become those creatures by nightfall. This can only be caused by a space beast, as no magic exists akin to this ability on Aregard. We made sure to relay all of this to the investigation group coming from across the ocean, so we''re just making sure everyone is up to speed." Emperor Valinor had listened silently, making not a single sound as he listened to the discussion. After pondering the matter himself, he understood the severity of the matter, "It seems I will certainly have to go and intrude on our Ancestral Founder''s solitude. Since the disappearance happened on the Western Continent, as the strongest person on the continent, he went to personally investigate as well, due to it being his responsibility as the Founding Emperor and his oath to protect the continent. Although the original investigation was deemed a failure, with this new information, I''m almost certain he will want to be present for it." Andrew decided to cut into the conversation here as he exclaimed, "Can I come too? I''ve never met our ancestor before!" All members of the Eridan Imperial Family practically worshipped their founding father, Andrew himself being more idolizing of him than others of his generation. Meeting the Founding Emperor was like a rite of passage for a new emperor, while it was the highest honour for any other member. The emperor chuckled a little, "You''d better listen to what we say, Andrew, or you''ll be in serious trouble. Our ancestor''s conqueror era might have passed but his demeanour has only gotten sharper with time. Ah, and, whatever you do, don''t look at the sword on the wall behind him. After centuries of use, that sword is capable of killing lesser beings simply by being seen. The only people capable of viewing it without fear are His Imperial Majesty, myself, and Seran due to his uniqueness. Succeeding emperors must be blessed by our ancestor himself, in a rite that involves that sword. After receiving a drop of the successor, His Imperial Majesty injects a piece of the aura of his legendary Starsword into them. If they manage to assimilate it, they are worthy of the throne. Otherwise, failure leads to the possibility of being crippled or killed due to its power." Andrew began to do what he often does and started to overthink things when Seran calmed him down, "Don''t worry, you''ll be fine. As long as you stand next to me, nothing will happen. I''ll just fiddle around with the light in the room so the sword isn''t there for you. The aura of the sword still exists, but it''ll seem to be coming from your ancestor." After the young prince nodded and agreed to remain with Seran, the incumbent emperor sighed and rose to his feet, "Alright, let''s get going then. Time waits for no man and neither does our ancestor." 70 Skyhaven City - Barnett Starsword 1 The Eridan Imperial Palace grounds were expansive, covering thrice the size of the palace itself, and none of it was unused. Massive gardens surrounded the palace, ponds with little fish swimming about, numerous high-altitude trees within which numerous special avians nested were only some of the sights of the palace grounds. Of course, quite a few magical creatures lived in the area, such as a Fierce Tiger that behaved closer to a big dog than a powerful hunter, a Thunderhawk half the size of the Golden Crow Storm that often aided the groundskeepers with watering the flora, and a vigilant Wind Wolf that was an honorary Imperial Guard due to its self-taught discipline and quick response time. Towards the central parts of the grounds, as the palace stood closer to the gates than the centre of the area, surrounded by serene gardens and the occasional bird tweet, stood a gazebo built over a large pond full of rare fish. One side of the gazebo was entirely wood, while the remaining three were opened to the world as one would expect. Reaching this gazebo was a challenge, as all ways to reach it were removed, leaving only the method of walking on the water to it. Seated just in front of the solid side of the gazebo was a grey-haired man dressed in simple yet elegant robes, his eyes closed as he remained in a perpetual state of meditation. Hung on the wall behind him was an oddly-shaped sword that bore colours of purple, black and blue, designed with a blade akin to those of Halo''s Energy Swords, save for an orb that took the place of where the original handle should have been. The two gave off extremely sharp and powerful auras, which was thankfully restricted to just the area covering the gazebo and pond. This man was the Founding Emperor of the Eridan Empire and the legendary continental conqueror, Barnett Starsword, who remained in the gazebo for meditation for nearly eighteen centuries. This scene was what greeted the group of three men and two boys as they reached their intended destination. Other than Emperor Valinor, who had met his ancestor previously, the other four were emotional, albeit in varying ways: Prime Minister Wyndham had a look of reverence akin to a priest, Continental Guildmaste Johann Juneau was nervous and fidgeting with his sleeves, Prince Andrew Eridan was ecstatic and hyper, and lastly the Greenwood Demigod King Seran Greenwood was thoroughly impressed and respectful. The young demigod mentally sighed as his mental image of the legendary being that brought about a seventh-tier class that only had two betters in history, the revered [Sword King] class, which was then superseded by a following eighth-tier class by the same being to become the strongest non-hero Fighter class, the almost mythical [Sword Emperor], was finally given a proper figure to match his vision. Emperor Valinor beckoned for Seran to come forward, "We must cross the water on foot, but Johann is too busy being nervous to focus, Andrew can''t use it yet and old Wyndham doesn''t know how to. I''ll have to ask you to help ferry them across." After Seran gave a quick affirmation, the incumbent emperor began calmly walking towards the gazebo, his steps uniform as he barely alighted on the water''s surface. After a minute of crossing, attributed to the needed requirement of adjusting to the truly grand pressure of the Founding Emperor''s aura, he arrived at the gazebo and immediately kowtowed in silence, as was customary for such a visit. After quickly enchanting the remaining three with a [Water Walk] spell, Seran began bringing them across one-by-one beginning with Wyndham for his advanced age. His presence lessened the crushing weight of Barnett''s aura enough for the old official to handle with his brittle body. After assisting Wyndham to the gazebo and leaving enough of his mana to resist the aura to some extent, he returned and did the same thing with Johann, who was still lost in his mind. It took much less energy for Seran to defend against the aura for Johann, who eventually recollected himself upon feeling it. Eventually, the Water Sage proved himself worthy of S-rank by withstanding the pressure on his own after he adjusted, leaving only young Andrew back on the shore. For him, due to his borderline newborn physical state, Seran fully fended off the aura, remaining directly beside the prince to do so. Andrew had been left until last for this very reason as well. Once everyone had arrived, with only Seran not taking the position of kowtow but still adopting a respectful position by sitting in seiza, silence reigned until the Ancestral Emperor spoke, his eyes still closed, "For what reason have you disturbed my meditation, Valinor, and with company?" From his position in kowtow, Emperor Valinor began to explain, "Ancestor, I apologise for disturbing you. I have two reasons for doing so, and I will accept punishment if they should be lacking. The first reason is to introduce this young lad to Your Imperial Majesty, as I believed was necessary." This reason, oddly phrased as it was, led to a slightly displeased tone in Barnett''s following words, "A minor reason such as this was worth disturbing me?" Sensing the emotions of his ancestor, the incumbent emperor continued after being permitted to, "If it had been any other, it would not have been. However, I presumptuously decided that Your Imperial Majesty would wish to meet this one, as it was critical to the state of the Western Continent''s peace." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. After a moment of silence that scratched away at the nerves of four of the five visitors, the ancient swordsman spoke again, "Is it the one sensed a year prior?" Unsurprisingly, despite his solitary meditation, the Ancestral Emperor was not completely isolated from the outside world. For him, it was no challenge at all to sense fluctuations in the Western Continent''s relatively stable state. "Yes, ancestor, it is him. Upon hearing he was coming to Skyhaven City, I thought it best to bring him here as soon as I could." A small hmm came from the old swordsman as he released more of his aura towards Seran, who continued to remain unaffected by it without much issue aside from the intense sharpness. After a moment of probing the demigod, the aged Founding Emperor finally opened his eyes, causing his aura to strengthen universally in the area and cause discomfort to most present. His blue-grey irises slowly scanned the room before finding on Seran, who respectfully bowed his head to him, "You are the boy that caused a large ripple in a small pond when you awakened. Seeing you in person confirms my suspicions of your demigodhood." Barnett''s long-closed eyes quickly focused on the boy as he continued, "I am Barnett Eridan, titled as Starsword by the goddess Demeter herself, and the guardian of the Western Continent for two millennia." 71 Skyhaven City - Barnett Starsword 2 Cupping his fist in a respectful bow, Seran greeted the ancient legend, \"Thank you for taking the time to listen to this young one. I am Seran Greenwood, I shall refrain from mentioning my titles for they are not as impressive as yours.\" Even if his [World''s Strongest Demigod] title declared his status as exceeding Barnett''s own, he nonetheless deferred to the other as superior due to his legendary conqueror achievements and his 2000 years of dedicated protection of the Western Continent. Seran was only 11 years old, at any rate, and he was always deeply respectful to his elders. Barnett''s stoic expression remained uncracked, \"There would be no need to tell them to me anyway, as Lady Demeter answered my inquiry three months prior. She also mentioned your general behaviour, giving me cause to agree with her that you would likely aim for mutual neutrality or an alliance between this empire and your Greenwood Kingdom.\" The young demigod nodded, \"That is correct, sir. As long as trade between us is unrestricted, both of us will benefit greatly. At the same time, the long-isolated elves of the Primeval Forest will slowly coalesce into a true nation through mine. In this way, it''ll be a three-way benefit. Once the elves become a nation, I''m sure Queen Layla will speak with you personally, as she mentioned once that she desired to do so before but her people lacked the unity necessary for her to truly be the queen of the Primeval Forest elves.\" With a small smile, Seran said, \"Also, she wanted to convey her understanding of your intent to unite the continent.\" This caused the otherwise emotionless eyes to flicker a bit with mild interest, \"It seems the current holder of the Elf Queen title saw the truth where her predecessors did not. Most impressive.\" The ancient Starsword strapped to the wall shivered a little at the change of emotions in its owner, indicating to Seran that it had long since developed its own spirit. \"My intent of continental unity was well-known by the time I set aside my sword, and the various races of the continent came to understand it through the actions of what followed. Only the ruler of the Primeval Forest Elves stubbornly persisted in ignorance of my true goal, as they did for the following three generations. Such mentalities can be attributed to their long-standing isolationism, for they would otherwise know of the unending chaos that existed before I took up my sword.\" \"I agree. Queen Layla is also the only Elf Queen that has ever left the forest, setting out to understand the world outside of the forest. During her journeys, she ended up becoming acquainted with a young human girl that would eventually become the Oracle two generations prior to the current one. This helped her narrow view on the world broaden.\" Seran shifted in place a little due to his stiff leg muscles, \"Now, she believes the time has come for the elves to break their self-imposed chains and open up to the world bit by bit.\" A silent period of time hovered in the gazebo before the ancient conqueror spoke again, \"I would be most interested in speaking with this young queen when the time comes. As for the two nations of the Greenwood Kingdom and the Eridan Empire, so long as the agreement of mutual benefit stands, I can agree to the total independent sovereignty of your kingdom. With time, perhaps an alliance may form.\" Bowing out of deep respect to the Ancestral Emperor, the young demigod thanked him for taking the time to listen to his ramblings. Emperor Valinor followed up by explaining Seran''s acceptance of Andrew as a disciple and the various completions of high-ranking quests, of which only the Elder Lich caught his attention. With his extensive combat experience and unparalleled wisdom from centuries of age, he understood the severity of such a being far more than any other. If the Elder Lich had received enough time to ascend to the peak of its potential, only he and Seran possessed the chance of victory against it. Hearing that the undead entity had been thoroughly destroyed, however, put his briefly startled mind at ease again. Of course, as he could not verify the Elder Lich''s true identity without meeting the Oracle first, Seran did not bring it up. Seran did mention one other thing before he forgot to, \"I''d like this to remain extremely confidential, but I discovered an ancient Fairy Race tomb where the Elder Lich had taken residence... According to the texts on the doors, on the sarcophagus and the base of the aged statue... it was the tomb of [Assassin King] Eric Astheme, the last of the royal bloodline of the Fairies.\" For the first time in any recent memory, true emotion showed on Barnett''s stony visage as his eyes widened with surprise, \"Impossible. If such a place existed, I would have long since discovered it.\" \"The doors of the tomb were enchanted to hide it from all senses, meaning the only way to find it was to do so in person. As for whether it is real or not, the emblem of the Sword of Hope was emblazoned on the doors and the sarcophagus, while the statue was made in the last Fairy Prince''s image. Only two people at the time remained that could not only use that emblem but create the likeness of the person himself in such detail.\" Seran used a spell to create an illusion of the Fairy Prince''s statue and sarcophagus, \"This was the statue I saw in the tomb. The emblem can be seen on the sarcophagus as well.\" The aged legend took quite a while to return to his previous stoicism, though his eyes now held a look of reverence as he viewed the illusion. \"For such a place to exist, it could indeed only be the work of those two individuals... I understand why it was made in such a manner. Let us not spread the word of this discovery so as not to disturb the peace of a hero''s grave.\" The topic of the Polypheme Sect incident followed this, marking the most important topic of the meeting. Other than a reiteration of the prior conversation in the side hall earlier, very little else was spoken between the visitors. By the end of the meeting, Barnett had agreed to assist in any way he could with the investigation, to the point of once more taking up his sword should something go awry. If he did indeed do so, the continent would quake as it once did 300 years prior. 72 Returning Home, With Guests 1 Hundreds, if not more, people arrived every day to see and experience the splendours of the now famous and constantly growing Greenwood City, as it seemed to hold enough potential to equal, or even surpass, the continent''s greatest mountain-top city. Whether it was the extremely innovating inventions, the revolutionary concept of universalized education, the insane dependable justice system, the legendary demigod leader that shot up to S-rank Adventurer status within three months of registration that led it, or the numerous special creatures, four of which were not only solidly categorized at S-rank, and one of those four was a member of a resurrected Divine Beast species, there was very little shortage when it came to new experiences in the newly founded city-kingdom. Among the important locations in the city was a teleportation array that was not only larger, but it was also more stable compared to those of other cities. This was one of the projects that Seran had completed about midway through his second month between S-rank quests, as he had planned to complete the arrays in the Primeval Forest before the one in his own city. In his mind, by doing so, he was also giving the xenophobic forest-dwellers assurance that he did indeed view them as important. At the same time, he had made sure to emphasize repeatedly that all of the elves would be welcomed, without any fear of the hard-to-track-down slave traders. The fact that he had already created a new racial talent in the form of Nature Magic alone was enough for them to wholeheartedly listen. By adding on this pledge, along with mentioning that it would be upheld by the newly reborn Golden Crows and the exceptionally well-trained soldiers, hardly any voices of dissent appeared during his year of travel. Before he had departed for Savicche, Seran had made sure to send a telepathic message to Elf Queen Layla that he had finished synchronizing the city''s portal with the one that was created at the bottom of the World Tree Yggdrasil that was their sacred place. Of course, with his extremely precise control of the newly created magic, Yggdrasil was carefully shaped into a living, breathing city, with the crown of the great tree housing four most important places: the newly created Elven Council room, the ''palace'' where the family of the current ruler would reside, the residence for the appointed advisor (Layla had originally intended to have a person of the Fortune Teller class or above, but they were relatively rare, so they settled for having that class be a priority for choosing but not the requirement), and the room that Seran and his elven companions designed to be able to view the entire forest from above, akin to how satellites work. As it was their sacred place, the Living City of Yggdrasil, as it was unanimously named, became the capital of the Primeval Forest''s elven population. Within the two-or-so weeks between the message and Seran''s arrival in Skyhaven City, a couple of curious forest-dwellers came to visit the city, in no small part due to the encouragement of their representative ruler, to discover the incredible atmosphere that pervaded the city was beyond what their secondhand knowledge could convey. At first, they were incredible afraid, but, within second of their arrival, one of the famous resident Golden Crows (the third-largest of the murder) landed in front of them, bade them welcome while simultaneously calming their nerves. They were told that the city''s spiritual AI was told to alert the leading figures of the city of arrivals from the Living City so that they could send a guide to assist them. As Storm was preoccupied with his duties of patrolling the perimeter of the city-kingdom so as to relieve the soldiers of enough duties to better focus on internal security, and his second was appointed as the regulator for the crows within the city itself and was therefore unavailable, the third-in-command was sent as the mediator. Due to his size, he was incapable of riding upon their shoulders, so he stayed with them until a smaller member of his kin arrived to guide them around, after which he returned to his previous duties. A handful of incidents did occur during the visits, most ranging from the unfortunately common harassment (usually of the sexual or oppressive kind) to the attempted drugging and kidnapping of two visitors when their Golden Crow guide had been left briefly to relay a question to the city lord Etienne. All of these incidents were handled the same as others in the city: swiftly and according to the law. The only severe punishments came during the attempted kidnapping, which led to a rather extensive case that ended with the perpetrators suffering the worst punishment imaginable in Aregard: having their entire life''s work (levels, classes, abilities, etc) stripped, all of their property investigated then seized, and being thrown out of the city with only their smallclothes. This punishment had never occurred in Greenwood City, and all had hoped it never would; it was wishful thinking, though, as there would always be foolhardy people in the world. The judicial system, with input from the residents, had decided that capital punishment should be abolished unless absolutely necessary for a particular case, therefore leaving the Deadman''s Exile (as it was called) to be the most extreme sentence for the Greenwood Judicial Court. Thanks to the swift actions of the soldiers, court system, and even nearby residents, any unfortunate elves caught in these incidents were protected and soothed until their discomfort or fear had subsided. When the visiting elves eventually returned to the Living City, though the misfortunate stories did cause some fear at first, the promised assistance from Greenwood City that was fulfilled to the letter greatly improved their already profound respect for the young demigod, who had said he would never leave an oath unfulfilled. By doing so, more and more elves took the chance to explore the new city and understand why their queen had wholeheartedly believed in Seran. 73 Returning Home, With Guests 2 The teleportation array in Greenwood City was not left unused, as travellers from other major cities arrived every day. Due to this, most people ignored the new arrivals or departures, save for the guards assigned to the array as gatekeepers, or, to use the official term for their new post in the Greenwood City system, as agents of the Greenwood Department of National Defense''s subdivision, the Border Control Agency, which was kept separate from the Police Department to reduce the chances of information mismanagement or loss. Therefore, nobody paid much attention to it when it began to operate around an hour past sunrise. Of course, the exceptions to this were the four assigned guards, who had been placing bets on who would be the first people to arrive. It had become somewhat of a game for those at this particular post to do so, and it could often get rowdy, but never violent. The standard rules were a maximum of 1g per bet, the bet specifications had to apply to at least one of the first arrivals to qualify, and if more than one person was correct, it was split between them, with the solitary exception in the case of one bet''s specifications being more applicable than the others. The best chance to win big was to bet on if the first arrival would be an elf, which required a minimum bet of 50s. One of the younger members of the quartet took out a pouch and slammed it on the table, declaring with a grin, \"I''m betting twenty-five silvers it''ll be an adventurer, the professional kind, not the noble kind that likes to play around with swords.\" His statement sounded full of certainty as if he believed he would win. \"Hoho, do you now? In that case, I''ll wager my ten silvers it''ll be an unmarried soldier. Same chance as yours, but I''ll lose less if I''m wrong.\" This man was one of the guards most familiar with the position, as he was assigned to train some of the new additions. He was also known for bad luck, as he often lost his bets. The only female of the quartet, listening to the first pair, laughed as she flipped a gold coin in her hand before slamming it down, \"You''re all gonna lose this round to me today, boys. I''m betting a whole gold coin it''ll be royalty!\" \"Oi, no specifics? Just royalty?\" asked the first man. \"Nope, just the one: royalty. As long as its a royal, I win!\" If the first man sounded confident, she sounded reckless. The fourth man sighed, abstaining from the bet, \"My wife beat my ass after I lost my last bet to a goat. How the hell was I supposed to guess a goat would be the first arrival!?\" If not for the fact that he was on duty, he''d be drinking as he grumbled, \"Left me outside in the rain until I swore not to bet anymore, and that was after she''d chased me out with her broom!\" The first two men winced at the retelling of the unfortunate guard''s home life, while the lady chuckled a little, saying, \"Yeah, she''d try to strangle you to death if you made another bet, just to find out you lost two weeks of pay to a bearded lady.\" This led to a bout of raucous laughter from the quartet, the unlucky husband included. The second guard sat up as he saw the array beginning to activate, \"Alright, bets are in, let''s see who''s making bank today,\" all as he rubbed his hands in anticipation. Not a minute passed before three figures formed in the centre of the array, a pair of boys and an adult male. First glance didn''t give any help to their bet''s conclusion, so they decided to complete the bet after receiving the three arrivals. As the seniormost member of the crew, the second man, followed by the fourth, stood up and moved to greet the trio as they exited the array''s range, with the former greeting them, \"Welcome to Greenwood City, sirs. Allow us to first perform a check of you, to ensure both your safety and that of the city''s people. It will be quick, unless it becomes serious, in which case we will have to involve our police department.\" One of the boys and the adult male were both surprised at this, but the second boy was not, chuckling a little as he said, \"Go right ahead, I know it''s your jobs.\" Honestly, the second guard was mildly impressed that the boy was so astute, but he quickly continued his duties, \"Firstly, if you have any form of identification, I''d like you to pass them to us. We have professional devices to prove their authenticity, after which, provided they are real, we will return them.\" The two boys took out their respective Adventurer Cards, while the adult had to hand over an engraved emblem from his breast pocket. As the fourth guard began scanning them, the second guard spoke again, \"Just for clarification, I''ll need your names, ages, place of origin, and your intended business in the city.\" 74 Returning Home, With Guests 3 The first to answer was the oldest member of the three new arrivals, who had already expected such questions due to having been briefed on them before their teleportation. Clearing his throat, mostly to remind the older of the two boys that he was in public, the man said, "Imperial Guard Rexus Maro, 27, Eridan Empire, accompanying the prince to his new residence." Off to the side, the female gatekeeper pumped her fist in the air while giving a smug grin to the two that could see her, who then glared back. The lead gatekeeper cocked an eyebrow as he received the engraved emblem from his colleague, who affirmed its authenticity, "Though I honestly am bewildered as to your reason, we are honoured to welcome you to Greenwood City." He returned the emblem to Rexus before looking at the two boys. The older of the two nervously began stuttering, as he was unused to being in unfamiliar locations with unfamiliar people before his loyal guard pat his shoulder to calm him. After a short moment to recollect himself, the older boy said, "13th Prince Andrew Eridan, 13, Eridan Empire, following my master to his home." The lady earlier was having trouble not laughing as she gloated over her victory. Handing back Andrew''s Adventurer Card with a smile, the lead gatekeeper gave a small but respectful bow to the young prince, "Ah, so this is the prince in question. Welcome to Greenwood City, Your Highness." After the teen boy awkwardly accepted his greetings, the lead gatekeeper turned to face the last one, only to immediately freeze, albeit briefly, before chuckling, "I don''t think I even need to ask yours, but you''d probably say it anyway, right, sir?" The youngest boy gave a big smile, "Of course I would, it''s a standard policy. Let''s just get it out of the way. Seran Greenwood, 11, Greenwood City, returning home with my disciple and his loyal retainer." Now that this had been said, the female guard really couldn''t keep it together, immediately breaking into fits of stifled laughter, at least until her colleague that abstained from betting earlier reminded her that Seran was a professional Adventurer. This revelation quickly startled her, leaving her gaping like a fish while the guard that had scanned the identifications had a smug grin as he enjoyed her sudden shock. "Welcome home, Your Majesty... And don''t mind them, they''re just fooling around a little." The lead guard respectfully bowed as he returned his young king''s Adventurer Card to him. Seran just casually waved it off, "No worries, I get it. Early morning gatekeeping is slow, after all." As the lead gatekeeper stepped aside to bid them entrance to the city, the young demigod stopped briefly to say, "Oh, and yes, Rexus is not married." He then winked and continued on his way, a pair of confused followers behind him. Coughing with a bit of surprise, the lead guard flushed at having been seen through by his king. As he returned to sit at the table with his colleagues, the fourth guard chuckled, "So, how are you three planning on splitting one gold coin and 35 silvers?" After some grumbling between the three betting parties, they eventually decided to split it 3 ways, with each receiving 45 silvers. Two of the three got a decent return for their bet, while the lady ended up being the one with the worst luck, as the bet cost her 55 silvers, much to the enjoyment of the lucky pair. "Congratulations, you''re even worse than me when it comes to luck. You won the bet yet still lost money." The female guard grumbled and put her head on the table, all while her three male colleagues chuckled. ___ As Seran and his two companions left the array''s guard station, the white-haired boy turned around, spread his arms and overdramatically said, "And welcome to Greenwood City!" Thankfully, the prince and his guard were too preoccupied with the new sights to notice his goofy antics. Smiling at this, he snapped his fingers until the pair came back to themselves, "Come on, you two. You''ll have a long time to spend exploring the city once we get everything settled for you." The teenage prince followed right behind his master as he continued looking around, "It''s almost like I stepped into a different dimension, but it''s still the same one..." For Andrew, who had never left Skyhaven City for his entire life, seeing a new city, especially one with things that his hometown didn''t have, was a momentous occasion. At that moment, the sound of large wings flapping overrode the early morning bustle. The prince and his guard looked up to see a gold-feathered bird the size of a coyote swiftly zoom over them. "A Golden Crow!" The prince''s eyes sparkled with that innocent joy one could see when a child saw something incredible. The demigod laughed at his disciple''s innocence as he said, "Yes, that''s a Golden Crow. You''ll have lots of time to get to know all of the amazing things here, so there''s no need to rush. Also, if you think that one was big, just wait until you meet Storm, the leader of the Golden Crows. He''s enormous." A good ten to fifteen minutes passed before the trio managed to reach the City Hall, mostly due to Seran having to almost drag his student along. As the young demigod casually entered the building, he whispered to his two companions, "Watch this," before saying, "I''m home, Zero." Suddenly, the reception hall rang with the electronic voice of the spiritual AI, "Magic signature and vocal analysis complete. Welcome home, King Seran." The centre of the hall had a large round table-like object about the size of a small car, along with a matching one on the ceiling. Between the two objects, a holographic display the planet of Aregard slowly rotated. Other than the huge display, a handful of other holographic display screens took position around the room. Zero then spoke a second time, "I have detected the appearance of two unscanned individuals with you." Before the AI could finish, Seran cut the female voice off, "I know, Zero. I''m bringing them to get scanned now. We still need to install a scanner at the array station too." After the AI acknowledge his words and stated that the array''s scanner was scheduled for installation today, Seran brought the two spellbound individuals towards a side chamber with four separate tube-shaped scanning pods. These were the in-depth scanners, capable of retrieving data from even the cells in the body and properly decoding them into legible figures. The scanners elsewhere in the city, aside for the ones in the Department of National Defense and their subsidiaries, did not have such detailed procedures, forgoing extreme detail in exchange for efficiency and basic information. "Upon becoming residents of Greenwood City, everyone is required to undergo scanning with the most thorough of the scanning devices, these Extensive Individual Scanning Pods, or ScanPods for short. When these were made, every resident was required to get scanned. The exceptions to this were the magical beasts, though we did eventually make a floor-based version of a ScanPod for them." He smiled at the pair, "Now that you will be living here, let''s get you both scanned. Hop on in and Zero will get you all set." 75 Citizen Registration By now, Andrew and Rexus had developed a belief that Seran would do no harm to them at any point, so they wasted no time in following his words. Once both males entered the ScanPods, the tube''s rotating door closed and sealed, providing the ScanPod with complete access to every angle for scanning. Two blue rings of light formed, one at the top and one at the bottom of the ScanPods, which then moved up and down several times at a slow pace. At the same time, two vertical blue lines, each on opposite sides of the tube, spun around the ScanPod''s surface. Every now and then, Zero would prompt the two to perform a small action, such as blinking several times, twiddling their fingers or raising their arms above their heads as best they can. By doing so, more data, such as reaction time, could be gathered. One of the scans required the pair to speak a set phrase so that Zero could record their vocal signature. Magic signatures were gathered by having the occupant circulate mana while thinking of performing an action. After twenty minutes of borderline invasive observation and recording came to a close, the two ScanPod occupants had to rub their eyes after all the blue lights as they stepped out. Zero''s voice came from the room''s built-in speakers, "Scanning completed. Residential status granted. Andrew Eridan and Rexus Maro are now listed under Category A: Humanoid, Subcategory A: Human, and are now Class 1: Civilians." Seran smiled as he quickly explained, "In order to make the data easier to organize and understand, we had to set up a classification system. It''s purely for the system''s benefit and has no impact on the social order of the city. There are currently 2 Categories, Humanoid and Non-Humanoid, under which are several subcategories such as Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Tigers, and more. By doing this, finding information takes less time than sorting through a ton of files at once." The young demigod continued as he sighed, "As for the class system, there is no order to it. No class stands above or below any other, as it is entirely for the system to manage information. Most citizens are Class 1: Civilians, which can cover night uncountable walks of life. Military servicemen are Class 2: Military, while emergency personnel such as medics, police officers and firemen are Class 3: Emergency Personnel. Those directly involved with the government''s operations, such as my father, the City Lord, or the three members of the Elder Council, are Class 4: Executive. Then there is the unique fifth class, which is where most, if not all, of the strongest individuals, are in, Class 5: Special Individuals. Finally, there is Class 6: Non-Mortal. At present, there is only one being belonging only to that category and to no others, and that is our resident guardian spirit, Lady Khloe. Other than her, I am technically the second member of that class, but that''s all. Officially, Lady Khloe is the only Class 6 individual on record, while I am a dual member of Classes 4 and 5. There aren''t too many dual-classes, for intentional reasons." After the rather wordy explanation from the demigod king, Rexus was the first to speak, "As we have only just been registered and have yet to take up any position, I assume that we must first become accustomed to Class 1 before taking it upon ourselves to find purpose?" Seran nodded calmly, "Indeed. For now, you two don''t have to actively try to find a place to begin. Take your time and get used to the city first." The door to the ScanPod bay slid open with a minor whir as Etienne appeared, giving his son a look a father would give to a troublesome child, "You say that like you won''t cause an uproar every time you return home." The white-haired lad chuckled shyly, a small blush on his face, as he walked over to give his father a hug. Etienne said to the pair of newly registered citizens, "Welcome to Greenwood City. I hope my son hasn''t been too outrageous." This time, Andrew spoke first, "Not at all, sir! Master would only be outrageous if he tried flipping a city." Though this was spoken randomly, all four males knew it was well within the realm of possibilities with the young demigod. "Ah, manners!" He politely bowed to Etienne, "City Lord Etienne, I am pleased to meet you. I am Andrew Eridan, 13th prince of the Eridan Empire and first disciple of Master Seran." Etienne fully heard what Andrew said, but he had little time to process as Rexus spoke up, "Likewise, sir Etienne. I am Rexus Maro, Imperial Guard of his highness." Briefly taking a moment to collect his thoughts, the City Lord gave his son a withering look, "As usual, you come back home with abnormally incredible gains. Last time it was an Alpha Chimera, now it''s a prince of the Western Continent''s dominating empire and his guard. On top of all of that, the prince is your disciple?" Unable to come up with a decent excuse for himself, as he knew that his luck was obscenely good, Seran just awkwardly smiled, "Hehe... You can ask them almost anything, dad, they''ll tell you all about what happened." He then quickly shifted the topic before it went any further, "Before I forget, though your identities as an imperial prince and his guard are very important, within Greenwood City, those identities are only titles. For the foreseeable future, the two of you will have to live exactly as the rest of the citizens do, and build your way up on your own. All that we provide to new citizens is a house and about 500 silvers to last them the first month. After that, you''re on your own. Furthermore, you cannot divulge your original identities to anyone without approval from myself, my father, the Elders or Zero. This means that you must, at least for now, adopt secondary surnames." Andrew took this surprisingly well, "No problem! I''ve always wanted to be a normal person for once. Now it''s like a distant hope became reality. Whatever I have to do to enjoy normalcy, I''ll do it. How do I go about getting the second surname?" "Zero will record it and add it to your record. Aside from those it pertains to and those that need to know, all that anyone will see will be your secondary name and identity." Etienne was just as clear about Zero''s abilities as he was about Seran''s uniqueness, "As for what the names are, that''s up to you two alone." 76 New Beginnings 1 After some contemplation, Seran suggested a rather straightforward idea: for the two to have the same surname and identify as orphans who eventually became siblings as they grew older. Of course, that would mean that Rexus, as the elder sibling, would have had to raise his little brother on his own, which, unfortunately, was a very common story throughout Aregard. While Rexus initially objected, as he still had his Imperial Guard principles instilled in him, Andrew''s innocent heart and Etienne''s reminder that, in Greenwood City, he would not be an Imperial Guard, Rexus did eventually agree to the suggestion. After deciding that the pair would take on the surname of Kingswell, which meant ''by the king''s well'', denoting their very obvious new home''s location, Zero drew up their alternative identity files. Once this was complete, Etienne, who had slipped out momentarily, returned with two flexible silver wristbands, which he handed to the pair. "We have yet to fully integrate Zero''s capabilities to the entirety of Greenwood City, so we came up with these bracelets for personal use. You can access most of what the public can use when it comes to Zero, such as the currently small-scale Internet, city maps, a 12hr digital clock, a calendar, and more. Each unit has its own ten-digit code, which, once you get used to it, you can use to have either audio-only or holographic conversations with other units. As for the rest, take your time to explore." He chuckled, "All citizens get one, and each is encoded to a single individual. Those two devices cannot be accessed by anyone other than you, though Zero obviously is the exception." As Andrew equipped his wristband, which Etienne mentioned was called a Z-Band (Zero Wristband formally), he felt the strange sensation of the metallic item briefly fusing itself to his skin to identify its proper user, before returning to its original state. Afterwards, blue lines formed into a four-digit digital clock, a three-letter abbreviation of the current day, and a DD/MM-style calendar date, on its surface. "Um... let''s see... Zero, where do I live?" The familiar electronic voice came from the wristband, "You do not have a set residence. To set a residence, move to its location and say, ''Zero, set this location as my home''." Seran smiled, "Zero, locate appropriate apartments for our two new arrivals." In no time flat, the spiritual AI used a wall-mounted display to reveal a list of locations for the new pair. Each one, when clicked, showed several realty-style snapshots of the interior and exterior, along with detailed introductions and what it contained. "As you have no need to worry about security here in Greenwood City, thanks to Zero and our police officers, you can choose whichever one you like. Do remember, though, you only have 500 silvers, so do choose wisely. The first month of rent is free, but, Rexus, you will need to get yourself a job to support the two of you. As for Andrew, you have the least amount of responsibility, meaning you get to be just like a regular child. In Greenwood City, children between the ages of 3-to-6 years old attend small kindergarten before they begin to attend the school system at 7, which they will then continue until they graduate at around 16-18 years old. Due to your upbringing, you are currently at the average level of a 15-year-old student, which would make you either a Grade 9 or 10 student. However, so you can meet kids your own age and make real friends, we are going to have you go into Grade 7, where you will be just a bit older than most of the students, but not by more than two months." Taking finances into account now that he would be listed as both Andrew''s guardian and the only working member of their two-man family, Rexus eventually chose a small 1 bedroom apartment located about three kilometres from one of the three schools, fully furnished with a full-size bed and standard amenities thanks to recent technological advances, on the third floor of the complex. Though he preferred to be on the ground floor simply out of his occupational habit, his new situation and Andrew''s insistence convinced him otherwise. After Zero finished registering the apartment under Rexus''s name, with Andrew as a dependent, Rexus inquired as to how he was to get a job. "There are a few methods for you to get a job in Greenwood City. First, you can use Zero''s help to search up places that are hiring employees. Second, you can walk around town and look in person. Third, you can visit the Department of Occupational Employment down the street, where they will assist you in finding a job that fits your capabilities. For new citizens, we highly recommend using the third option, as they have the advantage of Class 4 occupational access, which can only be used while on the job. With that access, they can do in-depth job searches and help you find a good fit." Etienne, having been responsible for the development of the city aside from Seran''s genius concepts, was even more familiar with how the city''s system operated than his son. "We do need to emphasise this again, just so we''re clear, but you cannot mention your original occupation as an Imperial Guard. If they ask for your previous work experiences, come up with alternatives, like being a former caravan guard, a retired soldier or mercenary, something like that. As you have Andrew to think about, I suggest you say you retired from your previous job as a guard-cum-general labourer in a merchant association." Rexus agreed that it would make sense for him to use such as a cover, as it wasn''t too far from the truth. "Is that it, or is there more for me to do?" Seran smiled, shaking his head a little, "With how simple we''ve managed to make this process, that''s all there is to it. As it is very early in the morning, I suggest going to your new home and getting comfortable. Zero will register Andrew into the school system so you can attend as soon as possible. As it is a Saturday, however, students get the weekend off, so you can enjoy the city for two days before you start school. Here in Greenwood City, thanks to our police force, Zero''s vigilance and the resident Golden Crows, children can run around all they want without too much fear. Still, be careful of troublemakers. There''s always a few of them." 77 New Beginnings 2 Once the two new citizens'' residential process was completed, Seran led them out of the City Hall after giving his father a hug, as Etienne still had work to do. With the exceptional processing capabilities of Zero, he no longer fully needed the [Hyper Regen: Sleep] ability, but his year-plus experience of having it made it difficult for it to be removed. As such, he just told his son not to worry about it. As the trio left City Hall, Seran guided them towards the central Spring Hill of Greenwood City. Most citizens, even new ones, would have met at least one of the four resident S-rank magical creatures, not to mention the dozens of smaller Golden Crows, during their time in the city. Rexus and Andrew, on the other hand, did not have the experience of meeting any of them, as most of the semi-arduous background check process, which required Zero and international negotiations, had been skipped due to their history being more-or-less public from the beginning. As such, Seran planned to have them immediately meet the three Chimera siblings, as they were the only ones in town presently. Of course, he also wanted Andrew to meet Khloe, as he was a descendant of a Blessed One of Demeter, even if said blood had been diluted after numerous generations in the almost 2000 years since. "I want you two to remember this, but aside from Storm, the other three S-rank magical creatures, the Chimera siblings, are basically children. Although they are capable of putting up a hell of a fight, their minds are not fully matured. For the most part, we try to let them enjoy themselves, whether that means spending time with Lady Khloe, helping citizens in need, plain old goofing around, or even playing with children. During the weekdays, they each go to a different school like students do and learn just as they do. Ophiuchus enjoys learning about magical creatures, Draco relishes learning about history, and Leo can''t decide if he prefers obstacle courses or acting more." The idea of three S-rank creatures in a classroom, behaving like good students, was just so outlandish that Andrew and Rexus had no idea on how to react to it. "As for Lady Khloe, she''s very kind and caring. She''s basically the voice of our magical creatures, so her words can trump even mine at times." Andrew listened intently, processing everything his master conveyed, "So I''ll end up being schoolmates with an S-rank magical creature? Sounds both weird and fun." When Khloe was brought up, his nerves returned, albeit slightly, "Sh-she''s a spirit of nature, right? One of Demeter''s kin?" The young demigod confirmed his teenage student''s thoughts, "Yes, she is indeed one of Demeter''s spirit kin. She was born from the spirit spring, so she is also technically a water spirit, but the heavy infusion of life energy was the cause for her growth, so she sways more in Demeter''s favour. When Demeter blessed my grandmother, Eleanor, the vitality that spread from her was the indirect cause of Khloe''s spiritualization. As such, Nan and Khloe''s souls are naturally close to each other. Technically, Nan can live as long as Khloe, which is infinitely, but her human nature and soul will not be able to handle it. Unless she becomes a fourth or fifth-grade Mage or a Fate Reader, her soul will eventually succumb to the stress that having such a powerful blessing and, sadly, pass away." Hearing that his master''s grandmother would inevitably perish due to the blessing of Demeter came as a surprise to Andrew, "There''s nothing else you can do, master?" "It''s not that I can''t do anything. On the contrary, I can do something immediately. It''s that Nan is heavily against it. I can''t resist her if she wants to kick my butt because I did something against her will. She also insists that I not be willful with personal matters. Death is a natural part of life, something she has already accepted. If I ignored her will, I''m 100% certain she''d convince Osiris to send her back as a ghost to haunt me for eternity just because of that." Knowing Eleanor''s temperament, Seran had no doubt she''d somehow manage to pull such a thing off. The calming sound of leaves rustling in the breeze filled the ears of the trio as they summited the Spring Hill. They took in the sight of countless animals, magical and mundane, lying on the soft grass, mostly napping, surrounding the central pond. It was a peaceful, harmonious scene, a perfect match for the nature of the spirit spring. As per usual, Khloe, in her physical form, sat cross-legged atop the crystal clear water, four Golden Crows asleep on her shoulders, a tuxedo cat curled up around her neck like a scarf, and two other cats, one a calico and one a Siamese, having occupied her lap. Allowing Rexus and Andrew to take in the sight of such a picturesque moment, Seran smiled before using Wind Magic to isolate their voices so as not to awaken the sleeping critters. "Andrew, Rexus, meet Khloe, the spirit of Greenwood City''s spirit spring." Opening her eyes upon hearing visitors, the little spirit smiled a little, "And here I thought you were trying to hide from me." Seran chuckled, "If I wanted to do that, I''d need to be able to hide from Demeter''s power. Since it''s divine power, I''ve got a long way to go." He waved a hand casually, trying to change the subject, "Anyway, meet our two new citizens. Rexus Pavo, an Imperial Guard of the Eridan Empire, and Andrew Eridan, the 13th Prince of the Eridan Empire, and descendant of the Starsword, Barnett Eridan." "Hmm, I wondered why I sensed an extremely faint hint of Her Ladyship''s blessing on him. Being that man''s descendant, it makes sense." With a small nod of her head, so as not to wake her sleeping friends, Khloe acknowledged the pair, "I welcome you both, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance." She looked at Andrew again, "As you are a descended of Her Ladyship''s strongest Blessed One, you are welcomed by the nature of this hill by nature of your bloodline. Your personality, as well, is a reason why nature is fond of you. Whenever you have the time, you will always be welcome here." 78 New Beginnings 3 The prince and his guard politely bowed to the famous spirit of Greenwood City, with the former speaking kindly, "It is an honour to meet you, Lady Khloe." The latter Seran smiled a little, "Khloe, these two will be living in the city from now on, so I wanted to have them meet you before settling in. Of course, wherever the Chimera siblings are, I''d like them to meet as well." Khloe quirked an eyebrow sceptically, "You didn''t go doing any funny business, did you? You tend to do rather abnormal things whenever you leave." She could easily say that everything he did tended to be abnormal at times, but that would be a bit much... maybe. "I might have... Andrew''s my first disciple now and I''ve managed to secure the assistance of Barnett for an important continental matter." "That, right there. You did something crazy again. What on earth happened this time, for you to rope in the Western Continent''s legendary guardian''s assistance?" While the surprise of Andrew becoming Seran''s disciple was quite good, the absurdity of his latter statement utterly crushed the former. Even with the unusual standards that she''d managed to make into a baseline for her understanding of the young demigod, Khloe still couldn''t process this new information. After a long, exasperated sigh, Seran began to explain what Khloe desired to hear, beginning with his accidental discovery of the strange phenomenon in the ghost town of Polypheme Sect territory, then his conversations with Johann Juneau, then with the incumbent Emperor Valinor, and finally with Founding Emperor Barnett ''Starsword'' Eridan. Once all of his narration came to an end, he sighed a second time, "It''ll be about a month until the Juneau Clan''s investigation team arrives, so we have some time before things get moving. I''d like you to mention this to Lady Demeter, as I''m unsure if she has learned this already from Barnett." Appearing to be nursing a headache but suffering through it due to being unable to move without waking her animal friends, Khloe grumbled, "You''re going to kill me with the sheer number of shenanigans you''re capable of... I''ll pass it on, but I''m not sure if she''ll respond for a while." "Understandable... Ah, also, I think Lady Demeter would want to hear this even more than what we just talked about, though she might know already. The tomb of the last Fairy Prince, Assassin King Eric Astheme, was discovered in Blood-Bone Cemetary. I had to exterminate an Elder Lich that had taken up residence there. Currently, only I, Leo, Andrew, Rexus, Valinor and Barnett know this, and we agreed to keep it from being known indefinitely. As the Fairy Race was one of the two beloved races of Her Ladyship, I''m sure she would like to know that his tomb has been cleansed of evil." Khloe''s eyes flickered with a combination of surprise, again, and tacit understanding, "I see. She would indeed wish to know that one of her fallen champions'' tombs has been purified... That can''t be all, though, knowing you." After enough time dealing with young Seran, the spirit had learned that very few things related to him were ever simple. Though he didn''t wish to mention this with the present company, Seran sighed and asked the two listeners to keep this secret from absolutely anyone other than the four of them. Only once he received confirmation did he continue, "The Elder Lich used miasma-based magic that bypassed my magical immunity. As it was completely undead, it couldn''t use divine magic, so only one possible method could exist. From my analysis in battle with it, that Elder Lich used the Sixth Devil King''s miasmic magic." Only with great willpower did Khloe not lose control of herself and jump to her feet as she shouted, "WHAT!?" Thankfully, Seran''s wind magic had isolated her voice. "You''re certain of it?" "Absolutely. The Elder Lich even confirmed it personally. Only the Sixth Devil King''s miasma was capable of devouring all life and converting it into the caster''s power. I have no idea how or why it was in the Assassin King''s tomb, but I know it wasn''t good." Seran only had conjectures for the reasons to his questions, which weren''t enough to be used. One of his guesses was that the Sixth Devil King desired to corrupt the Assassin King''s body into a devil corpse, which would serve him eternally. Most of the devil corpse''s original abilities would be voided due to the need for devil mana, which it did not have, but its combat prowess would remain unchanged. Considering Eric Astheme''s strength, even without his original abilities, he could trounce anything against him. Seran summarized this thought for the spirit before continuing, "From a brief investigation of the tomb as I left with Leo, I can tell that, if that was his goal, he failed due to the residual magic left behind by the Mage King Harlequinn Juneau and the first Oracle, Amelia Libelt. The crest of the Sword of Hope also bore the blessings of all eleven major gods, so it would require at least 3 Devil Kings to break through all of that protection. Based on that, Eric Astheme remains untainted." Khloe sighed in relief, "Thank the heavens. If I had to tell Lady Demeter that one of her beloved champions was corrupted into a devil corpse, I''m not sure if I''d be able to handle the amount of power that would come from her rage." After a few moments of silent thought, the nature spirit spoke again, "I will tell this to Lady Demeter immediately. I recommend you come back in a few days, I''ll have to focus a lot of power to pass this on as quickly as possible." She smiled politely to the two new residents, "My apologies for not being able to speak more with you. I truly hope you''ll enjoy your new home here." Andrew and Rexus bowed a second time, stating that it was understandable given the circumstances, and the former pledged to visit when he could. Only after this did the three visitors leave Khloe to her new business, descending the hill towards a large tunnel on the eastern slope of the city''s central hill, intending to visit the three Chimera siblings in their dens. 79 New Beginnings 4 The tunnel delved down to the core of the hill, just close enough to the spirit spring to still feel its influence but without damaging its integrity. Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, the trio discovered an enormous cylindrical cavern that descended much farther underground. Around the edges of the cavern were several layers in rings, each of which had caves carved into the walls, with carefully made ramps between each floor. The centre of the cavern was empty, completely, and one could not see the bottom. With the exceptionally deep cave''s lack of guardrails, mostly due to it having been built by an enormous snake, Seran did not let either of them get close to the edge of the layers, as he didn''t know if he could catch them due to the darkness. Unable to help himself, as he really liked how the three Chimera siblings chose to design the place, something he certainly chalked up to their experiences in school, the demigod boy used his powerful Earth Magic to form an enormous transparent pillar in the very centre of the cavern extending down to the very bottom. Then, using his Water Magic, he analyzed and copied the exact composition of the spirit spring''s water, all the way down to its natural mana signature. Beginning from the bottom of the hollow pillar, Seran quickly filled it to the very top. With expert ease, he removed the last barrier between the original spring and the pillar, causing the two to merge flawlessly. Up above, Khloe felt an odd sensation, like the spirit spring she was a part of had suddenly doubled, but she could only feel the other half. She could not connect with it like her original, but the strange feeling truly confused her. At least until she perceived the bottom of her original spring had suddenly disappeared. After a brief sensation of falling, spiritually rather than literally, that odd other-half she felt crashed into her original self, causing her to gasp in surprise as her natural power expanded threefold due to the exceptionally large amount of water in the hollow pillar underground. It took her a hot minute to get a handle on her newfound power and suppress it properly so that she didn''t wake up her animal friends. Grumbling a little, she mentally cursed the boy she knew had caused this unusual event, making a note in her mind to kick his butt the next opportunity she had. Back underground, the sudden appearance of diffused light through the enormous pillar filled with crystal clear water brightened up the cavern with a cool but natural colouration. With the new light in the cave under the hill, the two boys and one man could see the area much easier than before. Thanks to this, they could spot the three Chimera siblings nestled together in a den not far from them, mumbling in surprise at the odd appearance of light where there had once not been any. The first to spot the white-haired boy and his companions heading towards them was Ophiuchus, upon whom Leo had been sleeping. Chuckling a little at seeing the trio of childish creatures'' confusion, Seran walked over with a smile. When he arrived, before he could even speak, he was pounced upon by the trio as they exclaimed, "Big brother!" The sight of the powerful demigod being ''attacked'' by strong creatures briefly shocked the two witnesses, only for them to realize he was actually being cuddled tightly by the three. Quite an odd sight for the pair, but not too odd, considering the demigod himself. "Agh, can''t breathe!" He did his best to shove one of the three goofballs off of his belly, "You''re gonna be holding big brother''s corpse if you don''t let me breathe!" "Ah!" said the trio, in sync, as they quickly unwrapped themselves from their important family member and lined up side by side before him. "S-sorry, big brother..." The three siblings, upon interpreting Seran''s words as an admonishment, immediately began to feel apologetic. Sighing, he walked over and gave the three a hug each, "I''m not angry, you goofballs." After he eventually managed to soothe the trio back to their normal selves, he waved to the two who had followed him, "Come here, guys." Andrew and Rexus went to stand behind the little demigod, who smiled as he asked the siblings to introduce themselves. The first to work up the courage to speak to the strangers that their big brother had brought, which made the trio more nervous compared to all other strangers, was Leo, who awkwardly attempted to bow, "H-hi, I''m Leo... I-I-I''m a Sun Lion." Seran gave Leo a supportive pat and another hug, making him cheer up just a bit more. Second was Ophiuchus, who usually was the shyest of the siblings, "M-my name is O-Ophiuchus... I''m a Q-Quake Python..." As he had before with Leo, Seran gave the slithery boy a big hug. Finally, Draco managed to speak, "I-I''m D-Draco... I''m a L-Lesser Thunder Dragon." The dragonkin made a small rumbling purr upon receiving his own hug from Seran. The sight of three S-rank magical creatures behaving like nervous children, like the citizens had seen when they had first arrived, amazed Andrew, whose eyes sparkled, and Rexus, who was having trouble chuckling. The former also introduced himself to the three siblings, only to end up assaulted by questions from them, as their endless curiosity took over. This just made Seran laugh, knowing that his disciple would be occupied for a while. He then led Rexus towards the edge of the upper layer, dangling their legs off as Seran began answering some of the Imperial Guard''s inquiries on the city. Unsurprisingly, there was quite a number of them, but the demigod was undoubtedly one of the best to get proper answers to them. Of course, the best person to ask would be Eleanor. Discounting her seniority over 99% of the entire populace, her caring nature and willingness to provide advice to anyone made her one of the most beloved members of the community. Of the citizens of Greenwood City, few had not taken to calling her Nan, just as the original villagers had. At the same time, she was also feared to some extent, as she was known to take her cane and smack someone upside the rear or knock them on the head. Therefore, Eleanor Greenwood was still a community pillar and a force to be reckoned with. 76 Introductions 1 After some contemplation, Seran suggested a rather straightforward idea: for the two to have the same surname and identify as orphans who eventually became siblings as they grew older. Of course, that would mean that Rexus, as the elder sibling, would have had to raise his little brother on his own, which, unfortunately, was a very common story throughout Aregard. While Rexus initially objected, as he still had his Imperial Guard principles instilled in him, Andrew''s innocent heart and Etienne''s reminder that, in Greenwood City, he would not be an Imperial Guard, Rexus did eventually agree to the suggestion. After deciding that the pair would take on the surname of Kingswell, which meant ''by the king''s well'', denoting their very obvious new home''s location, Zero drew up their alternative identity files. Once this was complete, Etienne, who had slipped out momentarily, returned with two flexible silver wristbands, which he handed to the pair. "We have yet to fully integrate Zero''s capabilities to the entirety of Greenwood City, so we came up with these bracelets for personal use. You can access most of what the public can use when it comes to Zero, such as the currently small-scale Internet, city maps, a 12hr digital clock, a calendar, and more. Each unit has its own ten-digit code, which, once you get used to it, you can use to have either audio-only or holographic conversations with other units. As for the rest, take your time to explore." He chuckled, "All citizens get one, and each is encoded to a single individual. Those two devices cannot be accessed by anyone other than you, though Zero obviously is the exception." As Andrew equipped his wristband, which Etienne mentioned was called a Z-Band (Zero Wristband formally), he felt the strange sensation of the metallic item briefly fusing itself to his skin to identify its proper user, before returning to its original state. Afterwards, blue lines formed into a four-digit digital clock, a three-letter abbreviation of the current day, and a DD/MM-style calendar date, on its surface. "Um... let''s see... Zero, where do I live?" The familiar electronic voice came from the wristband, "You do not have a set residence. To set a residence, move to its location and say, ''Zero, set this location as my home''." Seran smiled, "Zero, locate appropriate apartments for our two new arrivals." In no time flat, the spiritual AI used a wall-mounted display to reveal a list of locations for the new pair. Each one, when clicked, showed several realty-style snapshots of the interior and exterior, along with detailed introductions and what it contained. "As you have no need to worry about security here in Greenwood City, thanks to Zero and our police officers, you can choose whichever one you like. Do remember, though, you only have 500 silvers, so do choose wisely. The first month of rent is free, but, Rexus, you will need to get yourself a job to support the two of you. As for Andrew, you have the least amount of responsibility, meaning you get to be just like a regular child. In Greenwood City, children between the ages of 3-to-6 years old attend small kindergarten before they begin to attend the school system at 7, which they will then continue until they graduate at around 16-18 years old. Due to your upbringing, you are currently at the average level of a 15-year-old student, which would make you either a Grade 9 or 10 student. However, so you can meet kids your own age and make real friends, we are going to have you go into Grade 7, where you will be just a bit older than most of the students, but not by more than two months." Taking finances into account now that he would be listed as both Andrew''s guardian and the only working member of their two-man family, Rexus eventually chose a small 1 bedroom apartment located about three kilometres from one of the three schools, fully furnished with a full-size bed and standard amenities thanks to recent technological advances, on the third floor of the complex. Though he preferred to be on the ground floor simply out of his occupational habit, his new situation and Andrew''s insistence convinced him otherwise. After Zero finished registering the apartment under Rexus''s name, with Andrew as a dependent, Rexus inquired as to how he was to get a job. "There are a few methods for you to get a job in Greenwood City. First, you can use Zero''s help to search up places that are hiring employees. Second, you can walk around town and look in person. Third, you can visit the Department of Occupational Employment down the street, where they will assist you in finding a job that fits your capabilities. For new citizens, we highly recommend using the third option, as they have the advantage of Class 4 occupational access, which can only be used while on the job. With that access, they can do in-depth job searches and help you find a good fit." Etienne, having been responsible for the development of the city aside from Seran''s genius concepts, was even more familiar with how the city''s system operated than his son. "We do need to emphasise this again, just so we''re clear, but you cannot mention your original occupation as an Imperial Guard. If they ask for your previous work experiences, come up with alternatives, like being a former caravan guard, a retired soldier or mercenary, something like that. As you have Andrew to think about, I suggest you say you retired from your previous job as a guard-cum-general labourer in a merchant association." Rexus agreed that it would make sense for him to use such as a cover, as it wasn''t too far from the truth. "Is that it, or is there more for me to do?" Seran smiled, shaking his head a little, "With how simple we''ve managed to make this process, that''s all there is to it. As it is very early in the morning, I suggest going to your new home and getting comfortable. Zero will register Andrew into the school system so you can attend as soon as possible. As it is a Saturday, however, students get the weekend off, so you can enjoy the city for two days before you start school. Here in Greenwood City, thanks to our police force, Zero''s vigilance and the resident Golden Crows, children can run around all they want without too much fear. Still, be careful of troublemakers. There''s always a few of them." 77 Introductions 2 Once the two new citizens'' residential process was completed, Seran led them out of the City Hall after giving his father a hug, as Etienne still had work to do. With the exceptional processing capabilities of Zero, he no longer fully needed the [Hyper Regen: Sleep] ability, but his year-plus experience of having it made it difficult for it to be removed. As such, he just told his son not to worry about it. As the trio left City Hall, Seran guided them towards the central Spring Hill of Greenwood City. Most citizens, even new ones, would have met at least one of the four resident S-rank magical creatures, not to mention the dozens of smaller Golden Crows, during their time in the city. Rexus and Andrew, on the other hand, did not have the experience of meeting any of them, as most of the semi-arduous background check process, which required Zero and international negotiations, had been skipped due to their history being more-or-less public from the beginning. As such, Seran planned to have them immediately meet the three Chimera siblings, as they were the only ones in town presently. Of course, he also wanted Andrew to meet Khloe, as he was a descendant of a Blessed One of Demeter, even if said blood had been diluted after numerous generations in the almost 2000 years since. "I want you two to remember this, but aside from Storm, the other three S-rank magical creatures, the Chimera siblings, are basically children. Although they are capable of putting up a hell of a fight, their minds are not fully matured. For the most part, we try to let them enjoy themselves, whether that means spending time with Lady Khloe, helping citizens in need, plain old goofing around, or even playing with children. During the weekdays, they each go to a different school like students do and learn just as they do. Ophiuchus enjoys learning about magical creatures, Draco relishes learning about history, and Leo can''t decide if he prefers obstacle courses or acting more." The idea of three S-rank creatures in a classroom, behaving like good students, was just so outlandish that Andrew and Rexus had no idea on how to react to it. "As for Lady Khloe, she''s very kind and caring. She''s basically the voice of our magical creatures, so her words can trump even mine at times." Andrew listened intently, processing everything his master conveyed, "So I''ll end up being schoolmates with an S-rank magical creature? Sounds both weird and fun." When Khloe was brought up, his nerves returned, albeit slightly, "Sh-she''s a spirit of nature, right? One of Demeter''s kin?" The young demigod confirmed his teenage student''s thoughts, "Yes, she is indeed one of Demeter''s spirit kin. She was born from the spirit spring, so she is also technically a water spirit, but the heavy infusion of life energy was the cause for her growth, so she sways more in Demeter''s favour. When Demeter blessed my grandmother, Eleanor, the vitality that spread from her was the indirect cause of Khloe''s spiritualization. As such, Nan and Khloe''s souls are naturally close to each other. Technically, Nan can live as long as Khloe, which is infinitely, but her human nature and soul will not be able to handle it. Unless she becomes a fourth or fifth-grade Mage or a Fate Reader, her soul will eventually succumb to the stress that having such a powerful blessing and, sadly, pass away." Hearing that his master''s grandmother would inevitably perish due to the blessing of Demeter came as a surprise to Andrew, "There''s nothing else you can do, master?" "It''s not that I can''t do anything. On the contrary, I can do something immediately. It''s that Nan is heavily against it. I can''t resist her if she wants to kick my butt because I did something against her will. She also insists that I not be willful with personal matters. Death is a natural part of life, something she has already accepted. If I ignored her will, I''m 100% certain she''d convince Osiris to send her back as a ghost to haunt me for eternity just because of that." Knowing Eleanor''s temperament, Seran had no doubt she''d somehow manage to pull such a thing off. The calming sound of leaves rustling in the breeze filled the ears of the trio as they summited the Spring Hill. They took in the sight of countless animals, magical and mundane, lying on the soft grass, mostly napping, surrounding the central pond. It was a peaceful, harmonious scene, a perfect match for the nature of the spirit spring. As per usual, Khloe, in her physical form, sat cross-legged atop the crystal clear water, four Golden Crows asleep on her shoulders, a tuxedo cat curled up around her neck like a scarf, and two other cats, one a calico and one a Siamese, having occupied her lap. Allowing Rexus and Andrew to take in the sight of such a picturesque moment, Seran smiled before using Wind Magic to isolate their voices so as not to awaken the sleeping critters. "Andrew, Rexus, meet Khloe, the spirit of Greenwood City''s spirit spring." Opening her eyes upon hearing visitors, the little spirit smiled a little, "And here I thought you were trying to hide from me." Seran chuckled, "If I wanted to do that, I''d need to be able to hide from Demeter''s power. Since it''s divine power, I''ve got a long way to go." He waved a hand casually, trying to change the subject, "Anyway, meet our two new citizens. Rexus Pavo, an Imperial Guard of the Eridan Empire, and Andrew Eridan, the 13th Prince of the Eridan Empire, and descendant of the Starsword, Barnett Eridan." "Hmm, I wondered why I sensed an extremely faint hint of Her Ladyship''s blessing on him. Being that man''s descendant, it makes sense." With a small nod of her head, so as not to wake her sleeping friends, Khloe acknowledged the pair, "I welcome you both, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance." She looked at Andrew again, "As you are a descended of Her Ladyship''s strongest Blessed One, you are welcomed by the nature of this hill by nature of your bloodline. Your personality, as well, is a reason why nature is fond of you. Whenever you have the time, you will always be welcome here." 78 Introductions 3 The prince and his guard politely bowed to the famous spirit of Greenwood City, with the former speaking kindly, "It is an honour to meet you, Lady Khloe." The latter Seran smiled a little, "Khloe, these two will be living in the city from now on, so I wanted to have them meet you before settling in. Of course, wherever the Chimera siblings are, I''d like them to meet as well." Khloe quirked an eyebrow sceptically, "You didn''t go doing any funny business, did you? You tend to do rather abnormal things whenever you leave." She could easily say that everything he did tended to be abnormal at times, but that would be a bit much... maybe. "I might have... Andrew''s my first disciple now and I''ve managed to secure the assistance of Barnett for an important continental matter." "That, right there. You did something crazy again. What on earth happened this time, for you to rope in the Western Continent''s legendary guardian''s assistance?" While the surprise of Andrew becoming Seran''s disciple was quite good, the absurdity of his latter statement utterly crushed the former. Even with the unusual standards that she''d managed to make into a baseline for her understanding of the young demigod, Khloe still couldn''t process this new information. After a long, exasperated sigh, Seran began to explain what Khloe desired to hear, beginning with his accidental discovery of the strange phenomenon in the ghost town of Polypheme Sect territory, then his conversations with Johann Juneau, then with the incumbent Emperor Valinor, and finally with Founding Emperor Barnett ''Starsword'' Eridan. Once all of his narration came to an end, he sighed a second time, "It''ll be about a month until the Juneau Clan''s investigation team arrives, so we have some time before things get moving. I''d like you to mention this to Lady Demeter, as I''m unsure if she has learned this already from Barnett." Appearing to be nursing a headache but suffering through it due to being unable to move without waking her animal friends, Khloe grumbled, "You''re going to kill me with the sheer number of shenanigans you''re capable of... I''ll pass it on, but I''m not sure if she''ll respond for a while." "Understandable... Ah, also, I think Lady Demeter would want to hear this even more than what we just talked about, though she might know already. The tomb of the last Fairy Prince, Assassin King Eric Astheme, was discovered in Blood-Bone Cemetary. I had to exterminate an Elder Lich that had taken up residence there. Currently, only I, Leo, Andrew, Rexus, Valinor and Barnett know this, and we agreed to keep it from being known indefinitely. As the Fairy Race was one of the two beloved races of Her Ladyship, I''m sure she would like to know that his tomb has been cleansed of evil." Khloe''s eyes flickered with a combination of surprise, again, and tacit understanding, "I see. She would indeed wish to know that one of her fallen champions'' tombs has been purified... That can''t be all, though, knowing you." After enough time dealing with young Seran, the spirit had learned that very few things related to him were ever simple. Though he didn''t wish to mention this with the present company, Seran sighed and asked the two listeners to keep this secret from absolutely anyone other than the four of them. Only once he received confirmation did he continue, "The Elder Lich used miasma-based magic that bypassed my magical immunity. As it was completely undead, it couldn''t use divine magic, so only one possible method could exist. From my analysis in battle with it, that Elder Lich used the Sixth Devil King''s miasmic magic." Only with great willpower did Khloe not lose control of herself and jump to her feet as she shouted, "WHAT!?" Thankfully, Seran''s wind magic had isolated her voice. "You''re certain of it?" "Absolutely. The Elder Lich even confirmed it personally. Only the Sixth Devil King''s miasma was capable of devouring all life and converting it into the caster''s power. I have no idea how or why it was in the Assassin King''s tomb, but I know it wasn''t good." Seran only had conjectures for the reasons to his questions, which weren''t enough to be used. One of his guesses was that the Sixth Devil King desired to corrupt the Assassin King''s body into a devil corpse, which would serve him eternally. Most of the devil corpse''s original abilities would be voided due to the need for devil mana, which it did not have, but its combat prowess would remain unchanged. Considering Eric Astheme''s strength, even without his original abilities, he could trounce anything against him. Seran summarized this thought for the spirit before continuing, "From a brief investigation of the tomb as I left with Leo, I can tell that, if that was his goal, he failed due to the residual magic left behind by the Mage King Harlequinn Juneau and the first Oracle, Amelia Libelt. The crest of the Sword of Hope also bore the blessings of all eleven major gods, so it would require at least 3 Devil Kings to break through all of that protection. Based on that, Eric Astheme remains untainted." Khloe sighed in relief, "Thank the heavens. If I had to tell Lady Demeter that one of her beloved champions was corrupted into a devil corpse, I''m not sure if I''d be able to handle the amount of power that would come from her rage." After a few moments of silent thought, the nature spirit spoke again, "I will tell this to Lady Demeter immediately. I recommend you come back in a few days, I''ll have to focus a lot of power to pass this on as quickly as possible." She smiled politely to the two new residents, "My apologies for not being able to speak more with you. I truly hope you''ll enjoy your new home here." Andrew and Rexus bowed a second time, stating that it was understandable given the circumstances, and the former pledged to visit when he could. Only after this did the three visitors leave Khloe to her new business, descending the hill towards a large tunnel on the eastern slope of the city''s central hill, intending to visit the three Chimera siblings in their dens. 79 Introductions 4 The tunnel delved down to the core of the hill, just close enough to the spirit spring to still feel its influence but without damaging its integrity. Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, the trio discovered an enormous cylindrical cavern that descended much farther underground. Around the edges of the cavern were several layers in rings, each of which had caves carved into the walls, with carefully made ramps between each floor. The centre of the cavern was empty, completely, and one could not see the bottom. With the exceptionally deep cave''s lack of guardrails, mostly due to it having been built by an enormous snake, Seran did not let either of them get close to the edge of the layers, as he didn''t know if he could catch them due to the darkness. Unable to help himself, as he really liked how the three Chimera siblings chose to design the place, something he certainly chalked up to their experiences in school, the demigod boy used his powerful Earth Magic to form an enormous transparent pillar in the very centre of the cavern extending down to the very bottom. Then, using his Water Magic, he analyzed and copied the exact composition of the spirit spring''s water, all the way down to its natural mana signature. Beginning from the bottom of the hollow pillar, Seran quickly filled it to the very top. With expert ease, he removed the last barrier between the original spring and the pillar, causing the two to merge flawlessly. Up above, Khloe felt an odd sensation, like the spirit spring she was a part of had suddenly doubled, but she could only feel the other half. She could not connect with it like her original, but the strange feeling truly confused her. At least until she perceived the bottom of her original spring had suddenly disappeared. After a brief sensation of falling, spiritually rather than literally, that odd other-half she felt crashed into her original self, causing her to gasp in surprise as her natural power expanded threefold due to the exceptionally large amount of water in the hollow pillar underground. It took her a hot minute to get a handle on her newfound power and suppress it properly so that she didn''t wake up her animal friends. Grumbling a little, she mentally cursed the boy she knew had caused this unusual event, making a note in her mind to kick his butt the next opportunity she had. Back underground, the sudden appearance of diffused light through the enormous pillar filled with crystal clear water brightened up the cavern with a cool but natural colouration. With the new light in the cave under the hill, the two boys and one man could see the area much easier than before. Thanks to this, they could spot the three Chimera siblings nestled together in a den not far from them, mumbling in surprise at the odd appearance of light where there had once not been any. The first to spot the white-haired boy and his companions heading towards them was Ophiuchus, upon whom Leo had been sleeping. Chuckling a little at seeing the trio of childish creatures'' confusion, Seran walked over with a smile. When he arrived, before he could even speak, he was pounced upon by the trio as they exclaimed, "Big brother!" The sight of the powerful demigod being ''attacked'' by strong creatures briefly shocked the two witnesses, only for them to realize he was actually being cuddled tightly by the three. Quite an odd sight for the pair, but not too odd, considering the demigod himself. "Agh, can''t breathe!" He did his best to shove one of the three goofballs off of his belly, "You''re gonna be holding big brother''s corpse if you don''t let me breathe!" "Ah!" said the trio, in sync, as they quickly unwrapped themselves from their important family member and lined up side by side before him. "S-sorry, big brother..." The three siblings, upon interpreting Seran''s words as an admonishment, immediately began to feel apologetic. Sighing, he walked over and gave the three a hug each, "I''m not angry, you goofballs." After he eventually managed to soothe the trio back to their normal selves, he waved to the two who had followed him, "Come here, guys." Andrew and Rexus went to stand behind the little demigod, who smiled as he asked the siblings to introduce themselves. The first to work up the courage to speak to the strangers that their big brother had brought, which made the trio more nervous compared to all other strangers, was Leo, who awkwardly attempted to bow, "H-hi, I''m Leo... I-I-I''m a Sun Lion." Seran gave Leo a supportive pat and another hug, making him cheer up just a bit more. Second was Ophiuchus, who usually was the shyest of the siblings, "M-my name is O-Ophiuchus... I''m a Q-Quake Python..." As he had before with Leo, Seran gave the slithery boy a big hug. Finally, Draco managed to speak, "I-I''m D-Draco... I''m a L-Lesser Thunder Dragon." The dragonkin made a small rumbling purr upon receiving his own hug from Seran. The sight of three S-rank magical creatures behaving like nervous children, like the citizens had seen when they had first arrived, amazed Andrew, whose eyes sparkled, and Rexus, who was having trouble chuckling. The former also introduced himself to the three siblings, only to end up assaulted by questions from them, as their endless curiosity took over. This just made Seran laugh, knowing that his disciple would be occupied for a while. He then led Rexus towards the edge of the upper layer, dangling their legs off as Seran began answering some of the Imperial Guard''s inquiries on the city. Unsurprisingly, there was quite a number of them, but the demigod was undoubtedly one of the best to get proper answers to them. Of course, the best person to ask would be Eleanor. Discounting her seniority over 99% of the entire populace, her caring nature and willingness to provide advice to anyone made her one of the most beloved members of the community. Of the citizens of Greenwood City, few had not taken to calling her Nan, just as the original villagers had. At the same time, she was also feared to some extent, as she was known to take her cane and smack someone upside the rear or knock them on the head. Therefore, Eleanor Greenwood was still a community pillar and a force to be reckoned with. 80 Introductions 5 It took about half an hour for the curious questions to subside enough for Andrew to get assistance from Seran and Rexus with escaping the barrage. At this point, Seran just laughed and asked the trio to calm down, reminding them that Andrew would be living in the city from now on, so they had lots of time to talk. "Now, I have to bring both of these guys to their new home so that they can get settled. You can see them later, okay?" Though reluctant, the three siblings did agree, cheering up a little after Andrew promised to visit when he could and gave them all hugs. As the Chimera siblings returned to their den, Seran just smiled, shaking his head before addressing the two new residents, "Alright, you''ve now met the three goofballs, Lady Khloe, and my dad. That only leaves Storm, who''s out on patrol, and Nan, who''s certainly out and about in the city right now, so you''ll get to meet both of them later. For now, let''s just get you two home." After a rather long walk back through the tunnel, then down the hill, Seran and his two companions made their way through town. With his easily recognizable features, many people greeted the demigod as they passed by, with Seran responding in kind. It was well-known by now that Seran only ever used his title as the king for governmental matters and preferred to be treated like a normal citizen any other time. This made the citizens feel closer to the demigod, as most had expected him to be just like other ruling figures. He also didn''t keep his past as a slum child secret either, making them also sympathetic to him yet admiring his perseverance. His transmigration, on the other hand, was only known a handful of people. One day, when he was confident enough, he''d publicize that too. Eventually, the group of three arrived at the apartment complex where Andrew and Rexus would live. At the front of the complex was the residential office, where the managers and maintenance crew operated from. Opening the door, Seran led his companions into the lobby, which presently only had two people sitting in some rather comfortable chairs as the two managers spoke with others in separate, private offices. At first, the arrival of the three new people only elicited the natural reaction of looking to the door, but the unmistakable sight of a boy with white hair almost changed it. Only after Seran gave them a funny look, since he often had to reclarify his desire to be treated as a normal citizen, did the two managers and the two in the lobby had little smiles before returning to normal. Having a nostalgic experience was unusual for Seran after his arrival in Aregard. Sitting in an apartment complex office waiting to speak with a manager was one of the few things that reminded him of life on Earth. He''d long since lost his desire to return, as he enjoyed his new life far too much to give it up. He just quietly led Andrew and Rexus to a couch nearby and they all sat down. As it would be a while, Andrew found a pamphlet of the complex and began studying it while Rexus began familiarizing himself with the Z-band''s functions. About twenty minutes passed before one of the managers was free, after which one of the two individuals who had been seated prior to their arrival, went in. The other manager took the second individual five minutes later. Both were apparently already residents, while the previous meetings had been interviews from those who were attempting to find a place to live on their own. Soon enough, after Andrew had started dozing off a little and Rexus had discovered how extremely detailed the city map was, one of the managers finally called them in. Out of courtesy for residential privacy, he closed the door before greeting them. After asking their names, the manager spent little time using the computer that Zero had prioritized the development of to pull up their information. Only a few questions were needed before the manager fully approved of their application. With the assistance of Zero, a small iPad-sized holographic screen appeared on the table, revealing the lease agreement. Seran reminded Rexus to read it thoroughly, as he was needed to know it inside and out. Andrew was given a small knock upside the head when he tried, with the demigod reminding him to act his age. Little time was wasted once Rexus signed the lease agreement. The manager, who had introduced himself as James Kirkland, shook Rexus''s hand and happily welcomed them to the complex''s growing number of residents. He gave Rexus directions to the apartment, which was in one of the buildings closest to the residential office. The walk to the apartment building was short and uneventful, though the ponds filled teeming with life drew the prince''s attention immediately, along with the playground and pool built behind the office. Seran reminded him that he could go play around once he learned the location of his new home. Two flights of stairs later, the door to the apartment was found, with the apartment itself facing towards the ponds and playground for a rather wholesome view. The door had two separate methods of entry: keys or Z-band. The keys were not really needed, but Seran had had them installed in case he needed to upgrade Zero, which would potentially disable anything tied to the AI. Besides, even if controlling AI was off, the locking system was far more secure than keys could be. Luca quickly led them inside. A semi-modern living room and furnishings were revealed to the three pairs of eyes, the oldest of which quickly beginning to scope it out to fully understand the floor plan despite having already seen it before virtually. Seran smiled and just calmly insisted for them to get comfortable and learn about their new home. With that, he headed over to sit on the couch without another word. 81 Side Story 1 - Andrew Eridan 1 [POV - Andrew Eridan] Two days. It sounds slightly long when imagined, but that''s not always the case. My last two days had blurred over from the speed of the events that took place. In two days, my old existence as the reject prince was shattered. In two days, I became a new person, free from old pains. All of it was from one person: my master, Seran Greenwood. Our first meeting was less than ideal, in all honesty. On the bright side, maybe, I can''t recall it correctly. What I remember was being told that I had been crippled and that my adolescent views of the imperial family dynamics were an innocent lie, a lie I dreamed up in an attempt to blind myself from reality. I truly believed that my family was just dysfunctional to some extent, and I guess that is still true. What I didn''t want to believe was the cruelty of being a prince, that I had been crippled by my own family, and that it was silently ignored by my father, who undoubtedly knew about it. Master recognized the truth in an instant and revealed it to me without hesitation. In a moment where I wasn''t thinking clearly, I said I would be his disciple if he could do what he said and cure me. He then showed his overwhelming power and completely cured my body and soul, and the explosion of sensation that came from being, for lack of a better explanation, set free was beyond all words. It was like a heavy grey fog over my existence had been blown away, purifying and enriching what had been hidden away for years. If that wasn''t enough, he even gave me gifts upon accepting my discipleship that, honestly, I can never repay: a life-saving charm that could not be traded for anything in the world, and a unique ability named [Soul Sword] to assist me in my new journey through the class grades and chase after my ancestor. Even Rexus, my ever-loyal companion and protector, received gifts to match, enough to make him kneel in respect. After that, time went in a blur as we went to the Imperial Palace to meet Grandpa Wyndham, the Prime Minister that had witnessed the ascension of six generations of emperors and seniormost official still in office. Master had been summoned due to his need to speak with my father, both as representatives of their nations. Grandpa Wyndham was happier than I''d ever seen before when he met Master, something I found incredible from the get-go. Of course, the most incredible knowledge I''d ever learned came when we all met together for informal negotiation. The ancient Polypheme Sect may have been messing around with something beyond our world? Wait, before that, there are things other than gods outside our world? Those space beast creatures are horrifying, to say the least. I mean, one was indirectly responsible for the appearance of the Devil Emperor, while another annihilated a city with a tiny scale! Guildmaster Johann had already summoned his clansmen earlier after Master had explained it to him. Once again, Master is incredible, cracking an ancient unsolved case wide open, and by accident! Then we got to meet my legendary ancestor, Barnett Eridan, the conqueror of the Western Continent and one of the first Blessed Ones of Demeter. Sadly, I recall very little of it, as his aura and pressure was overwhelming. Even with Master''s help, I was incapable of moving at all. I''m sure even my thoughts slowed down. If there''s anything I do recall, it was his shock at hearing of the discovery of the resting place of one of the ancient Sword of Hope heroes. I mean, that makes sense, after all. The legendary Assassin King was well-known to have left no remains behind after his final battle with the Second Devil Minister. The crest of the Sword of Hope on his sarcophagus and his likeness perfectly carved to stand behind it, there was almost no doubt that the last two heroes buried him in the Western Continent. For the last few hours of the day, Master imparted me with his teachings. With the help of one of his innumerable, for all that anyone knows, abilities, he looked into what particular aspect I should focus on. Based on my physique and soul, he said I should aim for speed or agility. One of his metaphors for the pinnacle of this aspect was that there are two kinds of strengths that are invincible: unmatched power that can crush everything in its path and unrivalled speed that can move faster than anything can react. The former was the path that my ancestor followed, and it had led him to the summit of the continent, while the latter was Master''s suggestion for me. Considering I had always been physically weak, the only thing I had ever been good at was running. With that in mind, I had no qualms deciding to follow Master''s advice. Come morning time, Master, Rexus, and I took the teleportation array to Greenwood City. No matter how it was described, words could not do it justice. I''d never seen such creations, nor had I ever witnessed a society where all were equal, and slaves were nonexistent. According to Master, Greenwood City''s government was centred on what he called a ''semi-constitutional monarchy'', where the king was, for the most part, a ceremonial monarch, but where royalty still holds significant executive and/or legislative power. Apparently, his reasoning was that he wanted to make a country where the monarch was not the highest power, but it still could help shape the nation. Of the government branches in Greenwood City, the highest power, in theory, was the Judicial system. Without any exceptions, even the monarch was not above the law, a fact that Master stressed greatly. As he said, a corrupt ruler brings about a corrupt nation. 82 Side Story 1 - Andrew Eridan 2 I remember being in silent awe of the scenery of Greenwood City as the three of us walked to the City Hall, guided by Master. The walk was short compared to the distance I had expected, but, considering that the teleportation array was placed only a stone''s throw away from the Spring Hill, it made sense. The sudden appearance of what I can only describe as an illusionary board that could rival the size of an adult Giant was my first interaction with Greenwood City''s brilliant AI, Zero. Honestly, it was the astonishing amount of information that it could process and maintain that thoroughly amazed me. According to Master, the entire city and all of its information, both internal and external, was completely stored and managed by the spiritual AI. If one had to get technical, only two people and one group held more power than it: Master, his father, Etienne, and the Elder Council. By that fact alone, Zero was essentially akin to a prime minister. Being scanned on a very, very deep level by Zero was a novel experience, one I would remember forever and yet sort of wished to forget permanently. It felt like my entire existence, soul and all, had been examined by its processing powers. My everything was exposed to its mind, something that made me feel... violated, for lack of a better explanation. Thankfully, Master explained that it would only be required again for extreme circumstances, such as unique plagues or space beast magic. Otherwise, I wouldn''t be able to handle that feeling, even infrequently. Then came the idea of being set free, albeit only on an identity basis, of my imperial status. With Master and Zero together, Rexus and I could set aside our original identities and become, for better or worse, regular people. Master stated that I could attend school and make friends, I could be a normal boy for once. The idea of those imperial ''shackles'' being removed, allowing me to chase after my long-buried wish of a normal civilian childhood, was... well, it was emotional. I wholeheartedly agreed without a second thought. Only Rexus needed a few more pushes to accept the idea, mostly due to his long-ingrained Imperial Guard lifestyle and attitude. We all knew it would be some time before both of us could fully integrate with our new identities as Rexus and Andrew Kingswell, but that would come eventually. Afterwards, we went to visit Lady Khloe, the legendary guardian spirit of Greenwood City. I had not expected a child-like form, but this was explained by Master later as the result of his bestowal of [Physical Manifestation], an ability only possessed by the strongest of Demeter''s spirits. Despite that, she was just as beautiful and kind as I''d envisioned. If anything, the beauty part would better fit the description of ''cute'' rather than ''beautiful'', but I could only chalk that up to her physical form. Master explained our circumstances after introducing us to her, mostly after causing poor Lady Khloe to be exasperated at his unmatched ability to do outrageous things. She had no issues whatsoever with our arrival, even welcoming me to her spring whenever I was free. Master wasn''t done laying out more heavy subject matter, even after causing several headaches along the way. His discussion with Lady Khloe, after introducing us, consisted almost entirely of his adventure into Blood Bone Cemetary for his Undead Extermination Quest. The Elder Lich was not new to me, as I''d gotten the opportunity of learning about it after several conversations with both my father and my ancestor. As she was not only the sole being on the Western Continent with a greater status of Demeter''s kin than both Barnett and Eleanor, Lady Khloe was also capable of direct conversation with the Goddess of Nature, a feat neither Blessed One could match. Because of this, Master decided to fully lay out his entire experience with the Elder Lich, including the tomb of the legendary hero Eric Astheme. I was surprised to learn that [Assassin King] Eric Astheme''s primary identity was that of the Fairy Prince, an unfortunate person who witnessed the fall of his entire species, all the way down to his own sister. When [Beast Emperor] Miriam Astheme fell, Eric became the last Fairy in existence. While Fairies were capable of sexual reproduction, they were also similar to spirits in that they can also be born from nature over time. The Fairy Race was debatably Demeter''s most beloved race, as Fairies are famous for being even more in tune with nature than Elves, and by a vast difference. When Eric Astheme sacrificed himself, it was said that the Goddess of Nature wept for seven days in deep sorrow, with the first Oracle herself being bedridden afterwards due to her extremely sensitive connection with the deities. The intensity of Demeter''s grief was said to be enough to overwhelm the barrier between the deities realms and the mortal realms, causing those seven sorrowful days to be called Nature''s Mourning Week. Following this week, the Goddess of Nature''s rage caused all life, sentient or not, to feel a wave of unifying anger towards the Devils, with many mortals that had once been fearful choosing to take up arms to fight back harder than they had before. Lady Khloe was thoroughly relieved at the news of Eric Astheme''s remains having outlasted the attempted corruption of the Elder Lich that had taken residence in his tomb. The spring spirit hadn''t even existed at the time of Demeter''s immense wrath, but the eldest of Demeter''s kin had been at the time. He instilled in every spirit that followed Demeter afterwards that, no matter what, never let Mother Nature''s ire flare up again. The amount of power that flowed through the eldest spirit at the time nearly caused him to collapse and implode from being incapable of bearing it. If the strongest of them couldn''t hack it, then Lady Khloe certainly wouldn''t be able to. However, once again, Master wasn''t done with his story. 83 Side Story - Andrew Eridan 3 When Master told Lady Khloe about his battle with the Elder Lich, he mentioned a detail that he hadn''t with my ancestor. The reason was lost to me, even if he explained it. Probably better if I didn''t know it anyway. According to Master, the Elder Lich used miasma-type magic that was designed to corrupt everything within it before raising corpses as undead minions. Miasma-type magics weren''t unheard of. There was one for the element of Darkness, one for Fire, and even one for Life and Death. The Death miasma-type magic could also do similar things to what Master described, such as raising undead minions and corrupting the environment. The Elder Lich''s version, on the other hand, was far worse. Based on his battle, Master had hypothesized, then confirmed via the Elder Lich itself, that it was the unique magic of the Sixth Devil King. The Elder Lich was, in fact, the Sixth Devil King after taking an undead form. Lady Khloe was horrified when she heard this, enough for even me to clearly see on her face. While she was not born until 2700 years had passed since the Abyss Invasion, her eldest ''sibling'' spent many years teaching each spirit the horrors of the ancient war, at least from what Master told me. Some were accompanied by projections of the era, whether it was an active or abandoned battlefield, ruins of civilizations forced to run for sanctuary, and even his own battles. He was only a little over a century in age at the time, and he was nowhere near powerful enough to be of any major influence on the battlefield. Instead, he was one of the spirits that stood at the frontlines in defensive battles, and one of the few that assisted healers at all times. The vividly gory scenes depicted by her eldest ''sibling'' haunted the minds of those who came after him, and they did not take for granted the frequently peaceful era that followed the enormous war. Greenwood City''s guardian spirit blanched, immediately stating that she would pass it on to Mother Nature urgently. Given the Sixth Devil King''s attempt to corrupt the remains of one of Lady Demeter''s beloved champions, as hypothesized by Master, Lady Khloe was thoroughly relieved to hear that Eric Astheme remained untainted, mostly due to the remnant powers of the [Mage King] and the original [Oracle], along with the Sword of Hope''s blessed insignia. The loss of the Fairy Prince, and the Fairy Race as a whole with him, was traumatic enough for Mother Nature three millennia ago. If Eric Astheme had been revived as a corrupted undead by the Sixth Devil King, Lady Demeter''s wrath might have even exceeded that which followed Nature''s Mourning Week. If even the eldest, and most powerful, spirit of Lady Demeter wasn''t able to handle her anger an era ago, the nature spirits certainly knew that they would not survive it. After bidding farewell to Lady Khloe, Master led us underground to a magically made underground beast den. It was quite a walk, but the walk was nothing compared to the grand size of the cavern at its heart. Curious, I cautiously dropped a pebble from the top floor, where we were, and patiently waited to hear a sound. Of course, Master caught me just as a dropped it, insisting that I stay away from the edge. Thankfully, I did hear something a few seconds later. After a lot of mental math, I had a rough estimate of the cavern''s depth: just shy of 800m. Once I got that number, I hastily moved away from the edge. Meanwhile, Master was doing another of his incredible magical acts to create an enormous, transparent column of water to illuminate the cavern with natural, though diluted, light. Now that I could actually see, the depth of the cavern really sank in. Hoo, I am definitely not going to play around down here! I got to meet three of Greenwood City''s famous S-rank creatures, the famous Chimera siblings. Despite their power and appearances, they looked very sweet and cute snuggled up to each other in their den. Of course, they didn''t even notice Rexus and me. The first thing they did was pounce on Master, calling him ''big brother''. Seeing Master suddenly buried under scales and fluff, we both were briefly worried he''d be hurt, but, aside from his already super-powerful self keeping himself from being seriously hurt, it was obvious that the three were only cuddling him. Master wasn''t kidding when he said they were basically toddlers mentally, as they immediately became guilty and sad upon being told that he couldn''t breathe from all of their hugs. Unsurprisingly, they calmed down after some soothing hugs from Master. As always, the legendary demigod continues to do incredible things. The three S-rank creatures even behaved nervously when Master introduced me to them. Leo nearly fell on his face, poor boy. Ophiuchus actually bit his tongue, rather ironic for a snake to do so, and Draco took three seconds to speak up after his scaled sibling did. That cute nervousness didn''t take long to be buried under curiosity as the Chimera triplets began to question me about Skyhaven City. Ophiuchus and Draco were more enthusiastic, as they''d heard about their kin below the enormous mountain. As I answered countless questions from Ophiuchus, Draco and Leo, Master smirked and snuck away to talk with Rexus. Why, Master? How do you handle this all by yourself every day? Please help me! 83 Side Story 1 - Andrew Eridan 3 When Master told Lady Khloe about his battle with the Elder Lich, he mentioned a detail that he hadn''t with my ancestor. The reason was lost to me, even if he explained it. Probably better if I didn''t know it anyway. According to Master, the Elder Lich used miasma-type magic that was designed to corrupt everything within it before raising corpses as undead minions. Miasma-type magics weren''t unheard of. There was one for the element of Darkness, one for Fire, and even one for Life and Death. The Death miasma-type magic could also do similar things to what Master described, such as raising undead minions and corrupting the environment. The Elder Lich''s version, on the other hand, was far worse. Based on his battle, Master had hypothesized, then confirmed via the Elder Lich itself, that it was the unique magic of the Sixth Devil King. The Elder Lich was, in fact, the Sixth Devil King after taking an undead form. Lady Khloe was horrified when she heard this, enough for even me to clearly see on her face. While she was not born until 2700 years had passed since the Abyss Invasion, her eldest ''sibling'' spent many years teaching each spirit the horrors of the ancient war, at least from what Master told me. Some were accompanied by projections of the era, whether it was an active or abandoned battlefield, ruins of civilizations forced to run for sanctuary, and even his own battles. He was only a little over a century in age at the time, and he was nowhere near powerful enough to be of any major influence on the battlefield. Instead, he was one of the spirits that stood at the frontlines in defensive battles, and one of the few that assisted healers at all times. The vividly gory scenes depicted by her eldest ''sibling'' haunted the minds of those who came after him, and they did not take for granted the frequently peaceful era that followed the enormous war. Greenwood City''s guardian spirit blanched, immediately stating that she would pass it on to Mother Nature urgently. Given the Sixth Devil King''s attempt to corrupt the remains of one of Lady Demeter''s beloved champions, as hypothesized by Master, Lady Khloe was thoroughly relieved to hear that Eric Astheme remained untainted, mostly due to the remnant powers of the [Mage King] and the original [Oracle], along with the Sword of Hope''s blessed insignia. The loss of the Fairy Prince, and the Fairy Race as a whole with him, was traumatic enough for Mother Nature three millennia ago. If Eric Astheme had been revived as a corrupted undead by the Sixth Devil King, Lady Demeter''s wrath might have even exceeded that which followed Nature''s Mourning Week. If even the eldest, and most powerful, spirit of Lady Demeter wasn''t able to handle her anger an era ago, the nature spirits certainly knew that they would not survive it. After bidding farewell to Lady Khloe, Master led us underground to a magically made underground beast den. It was quite a walk, but the walk was nothing compared to the grand size of the cavern at its heart. Curious, I cautiously dropped a pebble from the top floor, where we were, and patiently waited to hear a sound. Of course, Master caught me just as a dropped it, insisting that I stay away from the edge. Thankfully, I did hear something a few seconds later. After a lot of mental math, I had a rough estimate of the cavern''s depth: just shy of 800m. Once I got that number, I hastily moved away from the edge. Meanwhile, Master was doing another of his incredible magical acts to create an enormous, transparent column of water to illuminate the cavern with natural, though diluted, light. Now that I could actually see, the depth of the cavern really sank in. Hoo, I am definitely not going to play around down here! I got to meet three of Greenwood City''s famous S-rank creatures, the famous Chimera siblings. Despite their power and appearances, they looked very sweet and cute snuggled up to each other in their den. Of course, they didn''t even notice Rexus and me. The first thing they did was pounce on Master, calling him ''big brother''. Seeing Master suddenly buried under scales and fluff, we both were briefly worried he''d be hurt, but, aside from his already super-powerful self keeping himself from being seriously hurt, it was obvious that the three were only cuddling him. Master wasn''t kidding when he said they were basically toddlers mentally, as they immediately became guilty and sad upon being told that he couldn''t breathe from all of their hugs. Unsurprisingly, they calmed down after some soothing hugs from Master. As always, the legendary demigod continues to do incredible things. The three S-rank creatures even behaved nervously when Master introduced me to them. Leo nearly fell on his face, poor boy. Ophiuchus actually bit his tongue, rather ironic for a snake to do so, and Draco took three seconds to speak up after his scaled sibling did. That cute nervousness didn''t take long to be buried under curiosity as the Chimera triplets began to question me about Skyhaven City. Ophiuchus and Draco were more enthusiastic, as they''d heard about their kin below the enormous mountain. As I answered countless questions from Ophiuchus, Draco and Leo, Master smirked and snuck away to talk with Rexus. Why, Master? How do you handle this all by yourself every day? Please help me! 84 Side Story 1 - Andrew Eridan 4 As we made out way out of the underground cavern, I kept a consisted pout on my face. Master had no qualms about leaving me to fend for myself against the onslaught of curiosity that was the childlike Chimera triplets. I have no idea how he manages to withstand them so well. I wonder if it has anything to do with them being so spoiled. Apparently, they were almost as beloved as Storm, the undisputed ruler of the newly reborn Golden Crows, or even Master''s little brother Fenmore, the odd-eyed boy that always cheerful. Their minds, according to Master, currently only had the intelligence of the average 5-year-old human, discounting their combat prowess and instincts. This was part of the reason that they caused so much trouble prior to Master''s intervention. Chimeras were uncommon in Andor, but they do exist since they are a form of natural phenomenon taking the form of life, a very rare being that also has the capabilities of reproduction. The Western Continent, however, has no Chimeras, so the three siblings never had guidance from a senior and let their curiosity take them into the world and inadvertently cause an emergency quest. Because of this, the citizens treat them like children and guide them appropriately. By doing so, they would gradually ensure that the triplets had the guidance they lacked from the beginning. Of course, that didn''t keep them from being spoiled from time to time. After making sure to give the three goofballs hugs, Master led us out of the cavern and back down to the city. According to him, we''d met most of the people he wanted us to meet, except for Storm and Lady Eleanor, Master''s Nan. As Storm was out on patrol as per his usual routine, and Lady Eleanor was constantly out and about, they''d have to wait until later. As we walked, Master greeted everyone he passed, sometimes even stopping to help a few people he spotted having trouble. Once, a small group of four-to-six-year-old children came over to ask him to play music for them. With a small smile, Master said that he was busy now, but he''d be free in about an hour. After promising to play music for them at the park the children had come from, they let him go on his way, but not without one brave little girl ''threatening'' to ignore him forever if he didn''t. I had trouble not laughing when I saw him playfully kneel and beg for forgiveness from the little girl, who started giggling and just gave him a hug before running away. Master never ceases to amaze me. With Master''s assistance, we finally reached the management building for the apartment complex we''d be living in. Unsurprisingly, Master had a funny look when the few people present prepared to get up for him. He never liked having a title like that of a king from the beginning, but he knew that he needed to take up the role, even if only symbolically, for many reasons. Still, he was also aware that the people in Andor had the instinctual reaction to respect nobility, royalty or extremely powerful individuals after countless generations. That''s also why the concept of a form of government not headed by a royal or imperial power had never truly formed. All great powers that did not have such leaders were either neutral or affiliated with ones that did possess them. The word ''feudal'' is an inescapable concept in Andor, at least for a very long time. I must admit, the complex that Zero had recommended was astonishing at the very least. It had multiple amenities, such as a park with a playground, an exercise gym, ponds, a pool and 24/hr emergency maintenance services! There was even a snack machine by the pool. Naturally, the Master had to have been the one to design these things. In the pamphlet that I read while we waited for a manager, all garbage and household waste, such as old furniture and the like, was to be either chucked into an enormous crate called a dumpster if it was the former or placed beside it if it was the latter. The dumpsters would be hauled by several strong men, or one of the S-rank creatures if they were available, onto a giant cart before taking it to a site just outside of the north end of town, to a large refuse site about 250km2(96.52sq miles) in size. As recycling centres were still in development, Master had just created a very deep pit with magma at the bottom to handle garbage. A wind barrier filtered the air at the top of the pit so the awful odour and potentially dangerous gasses did not escape. Furniture and the like was kept separate if it could be reused or repurposed, or chucked into the trash pit if it wasn''t salvageable. Garbage was always a tricky thing to manage in the world, but Master''s current methods are already groundbreaking. Once Rexus had signed the paperwork for our new apartment, we made our way to see it ourselves. The first thing I did when we arrived was to charge out onto the balcony and take in the view of the park while the breeze brushed against me. Seeing children younger than me playing and having fun in the park while their parents were either at home or nearby just gave me an odd sense of peacefulness that I''d never experienced before. The idea of getting to be a real kid for once made a smile permanently stick to my face. I think I''m really going to love it here. 85 Spirits Evolution About half a month passed in relative peace following the return of the ever-adventurous demigod boy. Within that time, nothing absurdly momentous occurred which, in and of itself, was an eventful matter when it involved Seran. Of course, it wasn''t as if nothing happened at all. In fact, many things happened, but it''s best to understand them separately. Roughly three days into Seran''s return, the city was abuzz with chatter about the Golden Crows, more so than usual. The first members of the second generation of Golden Crows hatched, heralding a true rebirth of a species. Divine Beast species have more unique circumstances for their existences. The eggs, a total of 16, a fifth of the total species population, had been laid just a year ago, during which they were constantly sunned in one on the largest trees next to Khloe''s spring. Only after a full year of incubation did they hatch. As the second generation was brand new, the reproduction rate was vastly increased. From the fourth onward, however, it would return to its ancestral numbers of 5-7% per season. On top of this, Golden Crows only became adults after 25 years. That said, a new generation of Divine Beasts was still a great event. Two days following the hatching of the Golden Crows, Rexus had finally decided on what his new life goal should be. Rather, he knew he needed one, so he did his best to find one. After many years as Andrew''s chief guard and confidante, he had developed a strong sense of justice. A justice that followed virtues rather than the twisted forms of justice that were taken and abused. Five of the seven accustoming days helped him explore the city, meet new people and learn new things. In particular, he ended up talking a lot with people who were of law enforcement careers. Many of those conversations led to revelations for the Imperial Guardsman, but none more so than when he met Eleanor Greenwood by coincidence. After a good chat, she simply told him, "Follow your heart. Your heart can be one of the best things to listen to when it comes to your future. Greenwood City is a place full of opportunities, for everyone. Sometimes, you just need a little nudge to find what you''re looking for." The very next day, he went to apply as an officer of the law. Similarly, young Andrew had adapted marvellously to his new life. Within the first week, he had made a few friends that he felt a real connection with, rather than the pitifully fragile ones between nobles. Aside from a few classes that constantly made him drowsy, the prince had discovered a passion for art. He''d stumbled upon an art class for some of the older children and teens and ended up being thoroughly entranced as he watched the instructor, a middle-aged woman just beginning to grey, begin painting on a canvas. The more he watched, the more amazed he got, as it seemed to be profound yet simple. After asking Zero if her job was public information, he learned that she was a retired Novice that wanted to pioneer a new job by taking art to its pinnacle. Her mastery was flawless and seemed to infuse life into every motion, every line, and every dot on her canvas. When she completed the painting of a Fairy girl playing the flute, the painting''s centrepiece actually began to play soothing music, as if it were just a window made of paint! Apparently, if not for her left leg being crippled from the knee down, she would have gone to an Adventurers Guild or a temple and find out if she had achieved her goal. Thankfully, a friend brought her to Greenwood City, where she received assistance with a temporary prosthetic until a better one could be made. When Seran heard of her, he visited her immediately and used his powers to speak to the deities, who then gave him permission to alter her class into a new one they named as [Inkweaver]. The lady had burst into tears of joy at having her life mission accomplished, but Seran also told her that the deities knew she could go further. The fourth event, however, was considered a huge celebration for the city. Thanks to Seran''s spur of the moment alterations to the Spring Hill by expanding the spring into the underground, which increased its capacity more than tenfold, Khloe entered a state of temporary hibernation. From the third day to the thirteenth day, she slept atop the spring, constantly giving off fluctuations of natural energy. When she awoke at noon on day thirteen, her body changed from a human child''s form to that of a teenage Fairy Race, which she originally had the appearance of as a spirit. According to her, Lady Demeter noticed the change and intervened, as the new capacity had expanded her power exponentially. As her previous form barely touched the threshold needed to contain it, Lady Demeter decided that it was best to evolve her. While she was not an authentic Fairy Race, as she was a spirit that evolved through external assistance rather than one naturally born by nature, her new status as a [Fairy Spirit] made her almost as beloved to Mother Nature as her eldest child. Spirits rarely evolve, so it was worth celebrating, but Khloe''s significance to the city, along with all of her assistance for three centuries, made the celebration into a festival. The fourteenth day was made into an impromptu festival on Spring Hill, where everyone was invited to enjoy the festivities. Local vendors brought food for everyone to enjoy, free of charge (though Etienne made sure to pay them accordingly later out of the city''s budget), several musicians plied their trade, and an old wandering bard that had settled down in Greenwood City happily told anyone that listened about the stories of Greenwood Village and Seran Greenwood. During all of the fun, Khloe was certainly not left out. If anything, she had the most fun of everyone, as she started dancing around to the music while several animals playfully attempted the same. The smile and laughter she had became memorized by all, especially by Seran, who sneakily photographed her using a Z-band before being urged by children to play with them. Who was he to say no? 86 First Elven Immigrants 1? Partway into Seran''s third week back home, he got an interesting message from Queen Layla, who he hadn''t had an opportunity to speak with for quite some time. After all, he''d been running around continuously since he took off to finish his third quest in Savicche. Layla herself was also occupied by becoming a mediator for her people''s disputes now that they''d condensed into communities instead of their previous tribal lives. Most of the communities in the Primeval Forest adapted with little to no troubles, as they composed of likeminded people and their families. Some were less than harmonious, especially a handful of them that formed a community despite formerly being rival tribes. Such long-standing inter-tribe rivalries were far from easy to dispel, so quarrels would arise inevitably. Of her troublesome community quarrels, which had lessened considerably over time, three particular cases warranted direct intervention. Despite their long lives and naturally peaceful natures, some groups would fight enough for it to evolve into an inter-tribe war. The communities these three cases appeared in were made prior to any major investigation into the tribes themselves, as it was intended to create the communities to make it much simpler to investigate, among other things. Blood was shed, though no lives were lost, between the forming of the communities and the present time, something that could not be ignored by a ruler. Layla originally planned to relocate one of the former tribes of each location to a different community, but almost all of them directly rejected, as these tribes had become a subject of fear, a fear that the communities would end up suffering their hostilities. As such, the Queen could only compromise by suggesting a relocation to a place outside of the forest, in Greenwood City. Technically speaking, this was considered a legal banishment, as, once they left the Primeval Forest, the tribes would no longer be under her rule, severing her responsibilities to them and effectively denying them return. Since this would be thrusting the troublesome people over to Greenwood City, it was understandably unfair to not compensate the recipient for taking them in. An hour of legal discussion ensued between Seran, Layla and the tribal representatives, who each vehemently rejected the very idea of leaving the forest. After Queen Layla slammed her fist down, she ordered them to listen to her before directly telling them that this was her final attempt at ending this unnecessary hassle in a peaceful manner that would still ultimately benefit all sides. After declaring that her last resort was to fully exile them from the forest and make them brave the world without any help, they realized the severity of the situation, a severity they''d blinded themselves to by emotion. An official deal was struck not too long later, in which each party received benefits. The Primeval Forest would be rid of the three tribes, allowing for it to develop without having to worry about unneeded bloodshed. Greenwood City would receive the three tribes as immigrant citizens, who still needed to undergo the full citizenship process to gain their official citizen status, along with several valuable items from the communities that were thankful for their intervention, not to mention those from Queen Layla as an apology. The three tribes would relocate to the only city at present that would protect and support them indiscriminately so that they could lead new lives, on top of being able to grow faster and understand more about the world than they would in the forest. Layla did not fully ban the tribesmen from returning, but the tribes as a whole were effectively exiled. Individuals were allowed to return occasionally, but the entire tribe could not. Seran quickly got to designing a separate section of the city for the tribes to start in. He said to the tribal leaders that, in time, it would be integrated with the rest of the city, but it would remain as it is so that the tribes could adapt at their own pace. He also said that, no matter where in the city, they must follow the laws and live as a citizen of Greenwood City does. On top of that, their tribal status would become defunct upon immigrating, as large clans and tribes were not recognized in the city. Inevitably, these organizations would form, but the city was too young for them to begin just yet. As such, the elven section would be designed just like an apartment complex, but with some of their amenities and community-related places would be located within. The largest exception to this was the school system, as Seran did not plan to make an elf-only school. Even if it would help them adapt slowly, it could be easily seen as discriminatory, so he decided not to make such an establishment. The children would also be sent to the three schools based on the official districts and standards. Should problems arise, transfers would always be a possibility. Seran did, however, give the elves a small bonus by having their community built relatively close to Spring Hill, as he knew that Khloe''s status as a Spirit of Demeter would help their integration as well. He did not doubt that Khloe would serve a better voice than him for these elves, no matter what his position was. Khloe agreed, of course, but reminded them that she could be even more strict compared to the young demigod, and she did not mince words or play games. By the end of the third week, Seran had built up the elven community as a very large gated apartment neighbourhood, made sure that its administrative building employed open-minded individuals, and prepared each apartment for its new occupants. After much deliberation, it was decided that direct families would live together unless specified by circumstance. For example, parents and children were always together, but grandparents would only have one of their children''s families with them if they so chose. There was only just over 200 total, and most were within three generations, so there weren''t too many problems with this method. Aside from one family, which had managed to have six generations together, most families lived in a one- or two-bedroom apartment, though some had three bedrooms. The one with six generations, as the eldest two generations had mobility issues and needed assistance at times due to the tribal lifestyle long impacting their bodies, and the youngest hadn''t even reached 2 years old, was made as an exception by giving them a separate six-bedroom house. Surprisingly, none of the immigrant elves opposed this. Rather, they were very happy with it, as filial piety was a value the elves held sacred. 87 First Elven Immigrants 2 On Sunday of the fourth week, Seran teleported himself individually into the Primeval Forest, directly to where the three tribes had designated as a gathering location. The demigod would teleport the tribes together straight into the elven complex rather than bring them through the city''s teleportation array. He did not want to thrust them into a large crowd right off the bat, so he decided to personally take them to their new home. By doing this, he could meet the tribe members in person and ensure that they weren''t forced into something too unfamiliar without sufficient mental preparedness. With Layla''s permission, he also took some of the ancient forest''s tree seeds to plant in the complex. He''d grow them into saplings, then leave them to the elves so they still felt some connection to the forest where they''d lived their entire lives. As he went into the forest, he brought along a device he made with Zero''s assistance. This device would basically be a miniature version of Zero, only without the expansive database and connection to the entire city. Presently, it was only capable of doing the initial scans of an individual, like the ones at the entrances to the city. However, as the elves were not considered citizens yet, it was enough. Plus, compared to others, he had no concerns about their backgrounds. Several of the elves jumped and hid behind others, while the older adults and elders all looked at the device with a mix of apprehension and interest. After the three tribe leaders took the initiative to get scanned, and Seran explained that this process is required for everything that enters the city, the rest of the eves relented to the scanning. Once the device had stored the information, it would upload it to Zero upon returning to the city. With a casual wave of his hand, the demigod boy teleported the 200-some elves and himself into the elven complex. Initially, the unfamiliar surroundings alarmed the elves, some briefly and others intensely. However, the tribe leaders and the various elders adapted to the situation quickly by calming their kin''s worries. Seran began introducing them to the complex, along with giving them each a Z-band so that Zero would better assist them. He did explain that these were meant for proper citizens, but they would need them to get better acclimated to their new environs. In combination with Seran, Zero gave the elves a far better overview of how they would live now that they resided in Greenwood City. Eventually, the long explanation came to an end, at which point the tribe leaders, or elven representatives now, lead them to the administration office to get their assigned homes. The exception to this was the six-gen family, which received the guidance from Seran himself to their house. As they walked the short distance to the house, which Seran had built close to the administration office, exclamations of awe came from the younger elves in the area. Seran did not need to look up, because he knew what it was. Atop the great hill in the centre of the city, nestled at the top of the largest tree, was an enormous elephant-sized golden bird surrounded by many smaller birds. Some ranged from the size of a bull to the size of a juvenile eagle, but all had the same golden plumage. Zero''s voice explained to the elves that they had just seen the city''s famous Divine Beast, the original Golden Crow of the new first-generation, Storm, and his kin. The tops of the Spring Hill''s trees were the nests of these legendary avians, making them noticeable even from a distance. Divine Beasts were considered beings of worship in ancient times for many races. When the last Divine Beasts fell in the Abyss Invasion, the practice of worshipping them went with them. Of the races that had worshipped such beings were the Fairies, Dwarves, High Elves, Beastmen, Gnomes, Humans, Magical Beasts and even Demons. The Fairies and Elves had the highest synergy with these legendary beings, making the loss of the target of their faith much more devastating to them. That said, even the modern elves, descendants of the more advanced High Elves, could feel the unique energy that the Golden Crows possessed, especially that of Storm himself. Divine Beasts species are named as such due to the ascension of one of their kin to the status of a deity. When such an ascension occurs, the entire species undergo evolution as well, marking them as an entire species of demigods. Due to their natural affinity, elves could instinctively feel the divine energy of Divine Beasts and the new first-generation''s leader was the strongest of them all. If not for Zero explaining that he refuses to be an object of worship, a cult might have formed around him already. As the elves explored the complex over the span of two hours, another change came in the form of Khloe, who had descended the mountain on foot rather than through flight. After explaining to Seran that she originally planned to greet them when they had arrived, she had gotten held up by a sudden communication from Lady Demeter. Sure enough, Mother Nature was very pleased that her late champion remained untainted by the Sixth Devil King''s magic. Although she could not do anything to reward him, she thanked Seran in a manner that seemed reminiscent of a mother who had received closure, a feeling he felt conflicted over. Khloe also states that according to the Goddess of Nature, who had spoken with Ouranos later, seven space beasts in total had ever passed by Aregard, two of which did not cause any problems. The fifth was undocumented by mortals as its only real impact was deep in the ocean between the Western and Northern Continents. Its appearance was said to be akin to seeing motion in water but never seeing the cause of the motion. Amaterasu proved able to see its true appearance, as it existed between dimensions. This made it so that aside from Ouranos who could see and exist in any space, the Goddess of the Sun and Flames''s eyes could see through all dimensions, illusions, and falsehoods. This space beast went by seven centuries ago, leaving behind only a pearl-like object at the bottom of the ocean. The problem was that, aside from the deities, who could not directly explain how, nobody could find an explanation on how the Polypheme Sect could have discovered and then retrieved an intangible and invisible object from the depths of the ocean, returned to the Western Continent, and experimented with it, all without it ever being uncovered.