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1Chapter 345: Trap
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5The snow seemed to have no intentions of stopping. These two individuals, who were both at the peak of ice magic, had met the most difficult opponents—in ice magic—they'd ever met. To their astonishment, they both discovered that the attacks they were the proudest of seemed to be completely ineffective. It was as if both were immune to the other's attacks.
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7The bone giant Mars was pounding the earth, his heavy fists as quick as lightning despite the bulk of his colossal body. He would pierce right through Zero, but each time the result was the same: it was as if he was hitting nothing but the reflection of the moon in water. Zero would simply flicker and then vanish, reappearing in a nearby location.
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9"Absolute immunity to physical attacks…"
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11I tossed an ice ball which promptly exploded, sending icicles flying everywhere. These icicles transformed into ice birds—or ice bridges—and there was even a white-bearded old man sitting on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, together with a naughty child chasing after him, demanding presents… My foundational magic of ice sculpting allowed me to draw anything I imagined in the air. It was impossible to dodge these icicles that behaved just like real animals… But the result was the same as the physical attacks from earlier. They simply passed right through Zero, without the sensation of having hit anything at all.
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13"Complete immunity to ice magic. No, judging by how I also infused Holy Light into my attacks and there still wasn't any effect, her immunity is at an even higher level—complete immunity to all energy attacks…"
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15This ancient ghost continued to make an effort to avoid and dodge the ice dragon that was chasing after her. It would seem that the Frigid Nightmares' special talent of being able to directly damage souls was effective against her. However, the huge power level difference between them meant it was absolutely impossible for Erebella to catch up.
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17Still, Zero was kept busy by Erebella, and could only watch as Mars did as he pleased on the ground. All her high-level undead subordinates that she likely worked hard at accumulating over the years were now transforming into nothing more than ice sculptures—of course, some moved so slowly they became nothing but food for my newly-born undead creature.
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19Zero shot through the sky like a meteor, transforming every place she passed into an area of extremely low temperature. Large amounts of ice and snow rushed at me like a vicious ocean tidal wave, yet she was unable to shatter my seemingly light armor of ice.
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21"Although she's almost invulnerable, is changing the temperature her only method of attack…?"
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23I was observing my opponent, while my opponent was also observing me. I figured that Zero was the most confused right now about how her low temperature ice magic didn't even affect my summoned undead creature, on top of not being able to affect me.
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25Duels between high-level archmages were typically as boring as this one. Take risks to have the first move, testing each other, defending, learning the enemy's attacks, attacking again, additional testing, and slowly learning about each other's aces while fighting each other. Archmages would attempt to understand the special nature of their opponent's powers and the foundations of how they worked in order to find a weakness. And once all preparations were complete, when the archmage was certain that he or she would win, only then would they finally attack all-out for the critical blow.
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27Of course, this type of situation could only occur between two powerful individuals at similar levels. Otherwise, if there was a power level difference, the stronger one would only need to suppress the weaker with higher-level magic.
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29By now, I had pretty much figured out what was going on.
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31It was common knowledge that the Undead Emperors had been exiled by the mortal plane itself. In such a situation, it was impossible for her to be at her full power while in the mortal plane. In that case, she could only be an existence similar to an incarnation, and from pondering over her condition where she appeared to exist here but also not, I made an educated guess.
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33"She's nothing more than an astral projection. According to the mortal plane's judgement, she isn't even here. Not a single person is able to attack someone who doesn't exist, which is why she can obtain near invulnerability. However, the cost for this is that someone who doesn't exist is also unable to perform any targeted attacks. All she can do here is use her ability to steal heat to create extremely low temperatures and change the environment around her astral projection. She's unable to attack on her own!"
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35"…Roland, you're being looked down upon."
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37I found it impossible to counter Harloys' words. Intending to deal with me with only an astral projection? That was obviously looking down on me. But looking at it from another angle, perhaps she was only here to gather information on me. While astral projections indeed lacked attack power, their near invulnerability was also very difficult to deal with. It appeared as if she couldn't lose from the very start.
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39"Hah, how can there possibly be true invulnerability in this world? Allow me to tell my senior that the times have changed, and that she shouldn't bring out these dated techniques anymore."
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41"How specifically are you going to do that?"
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43"By waiting."
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45"Waiting? What, is she going to self-destruct if you wait long enough?"
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47"That's right."
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49"Haha, do you really think that it's so easy for an Undead Emperor to self-destruct? Or…"
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51Harloys didn't finish her sentence, because Zero's astral projection in the air suddenly shook and fell downwards. Although she soon recovered her balance, her shocked and confused expression revealed that she didn't comprehend the reason she had taken an attack in the first place. Yet, it was indeed true that she had suffered an invisible attack, which confused her greatly.
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53"How did you do it?"
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55"Heh, I had a marvelous plan… Forget it, I won't explain it as you wouldn't understand."
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57"Impossible! I'm Harloys the All-Knowing; how can there possibly be any magic I don't understand! Just what did you do?"
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59"Have you taken high school physics classes? Do you know the Law of Energy Conservation? Have you graduated from high school? All-Knowing? I think you're nothing more than an illiterate teacher without a single certificate… Stop biting me, have you ever seen a sword that can bite its owner? Fine, fine, I'll explain it for you later, so could you please work hard for me for now? Go! I choose you, Harloys!"
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61The Pokéball—er—magic sword sliced through the air. However, its target wasn't the ghost in the air; instead, it sped towards the few Myth-ranked Winter Demons alive and struggling within Mars' hands. High-level existences part of an Undead Emperor's personal army definitely wouldn't be easy-to-come-by weaklings. Since they were strong enough to have survived for so long in such circumstances, not even an Undead Emperor would be willing to freely sacrifice them.
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63And, as I expected, Zero arced elegantly through the air and created another large area of extreme low temperature, causing countless ice pillars to form. And amongst her ice pillars were all sorts of snowballs, snow mountains, and large pieces of ice.
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65She discovered that extreme low temperatures were ineffective against me, so she decided to start using physical attacks? And in order to increase the attack power and difficulty of dodging her attacks, she even made her pieces of ice into all sorts of strange shapes, but…
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67"Damn, this suddenly makes me recall a really old game…"
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69"…Whack-a-Mole?"
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71This situation caused Harloys to have a rather bad thought, but she was off the mark.
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73"Tetris!"
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75Fine, I suppose that both games were about smashing things from above. One game depended on your speed and reaction, while the other required logical processing, but considering the fact that both games were about smashing things down from above, there wasn't much of a difference…
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77"Circle, triangle, square. How am I supposed to put these pieces together? Are you intending to kill those with obsessive-compulsive disorder?"
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79[That's enough out of you. Nobody's forcing you to put the pieces together here, and even if you put them together in a line they won't automatically disappear! System Notification: Don't you agree that my commenting service is excellent as always? 5 Justice Points have been deducted.]
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81"Nobody wanted you to comment at all!"
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83Although I looked quite unseemly as I dodged these heavy objects, I still smiled victoriously. That was because I noticed how Zero's complexion was becoming worse and worse. It seemed her own power was taking worse and worse of a toll on her body.
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85Her own power? Yep, actually, right after I detected that her true method of attack was to rob the heat in the air, I already placed a trap for her. And after fighting each other with magic for so long, it would appear that this trap had finally been activated.
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87"Stealing the heat? Then where did all the stolen heat go? This is far too unscientific!"
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89To be honest, I never could understand just where the heat stolen by ghosts would disappear off to. But, in the world of Eich, the Law of Energy Conservation wasn't in effect. The stolen heat would simply mysteriously disappear somewhere.
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91It was apparent that this world where magic existed was an unscientific one. Perhaps magic wasn't even the biggest unscientific culprit—when it came to the myriad racial talents, even magic theory was unable to explain some of the more powerful ones.
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93"Well, let's at least make my world a more scientific one."
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95Frigidwinter Earth was my personal world. Its natural laws were based on my own beliefs of how worlds should be constructed. In my world, I could create the Absolute Coldest Ice that didn't seem magical to the outside world. Naturally, I would also be able to make even magic become more scientific.
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97The Law of Energy Conservation was a basic law of physics that I understood well enough. Since Zero had entered my world, she would need to obey the basic laws of my world.
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99The moment I used Frigidwinter Earth to envelop her Soul World of ice, she had already stepped into my trap. According to the natural laws of my world, she could still steal heat as she pleased. However, this heat wouldn't just magically disappear on its own. Just like how Yins mentioned the karma of cause and effect earlier, every action taken would have a reaction, every cause would have an equivalent effect. All of the heat that Zero stole was absorbed by Zero's main body!
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101"All the heat you stole and the temperature difference you lowered this entire area by will be forcefully experienced by your main body as an equivalent amount of high temperature!"
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103This was the power of a Concept. Perhaps it seemed rather weak—even dangerous as it wouldn't differentiate between enemy and ally—but any action a natural law took would give a headache to even the most powerful of individuals.
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105When dealing with natural laws, the greatest trouble was that they were completely unreasonable. They would be able to suppress any other power out there. Yet at the same time its greatest threat was also that it was reasonable. Everything would be fine and dandy as long as you obeyed the reason of the natural law. Anything deemed unreasonable by the natural law would be forcibly suppressed.
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107And as the only Creator of this world, only I knew all the "reasons" and natural laws of my world. This was also why the Goddesses of Chaos and Order were basically undefeatable in Eich. Apart from their personal power levels easily being able to defeat everyone else, their ridiculous administrator privileges and knowledge constituted the biggest reason behind their invincibility.
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109But we were now in my world, where I made the natural laws. Zero had created countless ice mountains and low temperature areas and sent down large amounts of ice and snow. She had stolen away a countless amount of heat already.
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111It would have been fine still if she had used normal ice magic. After all, one of the natural laws of my world was indeed the construction of the elements. Yet she had used her natural talent of robbing heat. In that case, the heat that she stole wouldn't simply vanish like it would in Eich or the Undead Planes. It was time for her to enjoy the consequences of her own actions.
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113That was why, from the very start, I had no intentions of stopping her from lowering the temperatures here with her Soul World. Instead, I even helped her out, allowing her unscientific natural talent to be used to the utmost. Perhaps her astral projection would still seem fine—it was impossible for anyone to harm something that didn't actually exist. However, her main body might already be literally ignited on fire with all the heat energy she absorbed, without her even knowing it.
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115And if you calculate the cause and effect of all this, then it would count as self-harm. How would it be possible for anyone to avoid the effects of self-harm? That was why her astral projection's invulnerability and non-existence were finally losing effect as well. There was no need for me to completely analyze just how she accomplished being able to count as a non-existence here in the mortal plane. I only need to take advantage of my own world's natural laws to make her bear the consequences of her own actions.
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117"…Just what did you do!"
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119The translucent ghost's body began to melt, and burn marks appeared on her ancient clothes. At the current moment, Zero experienced the strongest sensation of fear she had ever felt in her life. Her main body, which was still back in the Ice Plane, was actually attacked? Not only that, the attack was the type she feared most, a high-temperature attack. And high-temperature attacks were one of the few she wasn't immune to.
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121Seeing this, I nodded and smiled.
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123"Haha, would you like to know how it was that I managed to attack your main body?"
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125"…"
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127Although she didn't reply, the look of expectation in her eyes mixed with obvious traces of confusion made it evident that she hoped I would tell her.
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129"Hehe, I won't tell you~~~ Don't glare at me like that; I'm no idiot villain who dies just because I told too much information to my enemy. How could I possibly tell you about my trump card? But what I can tell you is that if you don't want your main body's situation to become worse, you shouldn't do anything more at all."
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131Of course, I didn't tell her the truth, but I also didn't lie. To be honest, as long as she stopped using her heat-stealing ability, then she naturally wouldn't receive any backlash. And after I told her this much, no matter whether she believed me or not, it would still become a mental restraint on her and limit the actions she could take.
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133The ghost glared at me one last time before she started to fade. It would seem that she had given up on this situation and was intending to cancel her astral projection so that her soul could return to the Ice Plane.
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135However, once she became clear to a certain extent, her ghostly body suddenly went back to a near solid state. This time, her expression was even more afraid as she cowered and looked at me. It would seem that she had noticed that her astral projection was unable to leave.
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137Clap!
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139I copied Zero's magic casting and clapped my hands, dispelling the blizzard and making the sun shine from through the clouds again, revealing to her the true form of my Frigidwinter Earth.
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141This world was no longer just barren, ice-filled plains with nothing in it. Icy waters could be seen in the distance, while giant magical whales were shooting out jets over a dozen meters high. Glaciers were floating in the ocean, while endless mountains could be discerned in the distance. There were even the intermittent faint sounds of roaring beasts.
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143And we were currently located at the foot of a mountain, inside an ice crystal forest. The faint outline of buildings could be seen afar: this was becoming more and more like a real world.
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145"Would you like to know why it is that you can't leave?"
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147"…"
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149"Ha, I won't tell you~~~ Leave this astral projection behind, and then go think about it by yourself! Right, your essence… give me all your knowledge! Otherwise, I'll use your astral projection to film porn videos, and I'll sell the videos to the fairies and gnomes! Don't people love teacher fantasies? …Ah! Silly cat! Don't bite me, you're not a teacher—you're a master! Besides, nobody would buy a porn video focused on a cat!"
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151Chapter 346: The Two Dragons
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154
155Satisfied, I made my return to the mortal plane from the Frigidwinter Earth. What greeted my eyes were battles nearly at their conclusion.
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157The undead armies had become nourishment for this newly-born Mars, devoured in large numbers. In fact, the scene of undead "committing suicide" in large numbers as if they had gone insane greatly frightened the living adventurers.
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159If it weren't for the fact that Samantha had explained to the adventurers that this was due to the high-ranked Calamity Rankings individual that the wood spirits had hired, perhaps the combat situation would have been even more chaotic amid the adventurers' mass panic.
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161Still, things definitely weren't over. That was because…
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163"The Titan Giants are truly existences that give one headaches."
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165Existences that had surpassed the Myth rank understood that one of the main differences between SemiGods and True Gods was in their understanding of the world's natural laws. Existences at these levels could, indeed, utilize the natural laws but they'd be restrained by them all the same. A SemiGod that had lived long enough might not be any weaker than a True God without the power of natural laws, but when the amazing power of these laws is taken into account, even the weakest of the True Gods wouldn't be easy to deal with.
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167Unfortunately, the weaker True Gods over here were getting beaten up by the not-so-weak Titan Giants.
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169Blackened all over, Mary's current appearance wasn't as golden and shiny as when she had first appeared after being scorched by thunder. On the other side, Solo now appeared half-frozen, practically confirming the fact that Yins was indeed an ancestor to the frost giants. Apart from beast taming, he had an obvious power over ice.
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171I could understand why the True Gods seemed to be losing. After all, Solo was the God of Music and Dance, while Mary was technically a Smithing God—her Concept included that of Hammers. Neither of them was likely to be adept at fighting, and this wasn't even taking into account the untold years of combat experience these old, veteran Titan Giants had.
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173Now, however, came a turning point in the battle.
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175Because of certain reasons that shall not be stated, the Goddess of Wealth's battle against the lion divine beast ended far earlier than expected. She chose to battle alongside Mary, and it would be ridiculous for two True Gods fighting two-on-one against a Titan Giant to lose, granted they all were incarnations. However, the thunder Titan Giant seemed to grow wilder and wilder as he fought, filling the entire sky with his summoned thunder. He actually held the advantage.
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177"We should be able to win."
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179This was no guess—it was my judgment based on the situation. Both sides were peak incarnations, held back only by the mortal plane's limitations. There wasn't much of a difference foundationally in their power levels. If the thunder Titan Giant really forced the two True Goddesses to the brink, they could simply self-destruct their incarnations, which would seriously injure the Titan Giant.
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181Meanwhile, the battle between the two dragons at Oak Town's castle gate ended far quicker than expected. Apart from the fact that Little Red's anger helped greatly augment her combat strength, Molly was in no state of mind to fight.
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183Ever since Molly had been forcibly converted into an Inferno Dragon back in the Underground World, although she gained better melee fighting abilities and improved fire dragonbreath, Inferno Dragons had a reputation equal to street rats in the mortal plane. They also possessed negative racial talents, such as Bloodthirst and Berserk. From no angle did this look like a good deal.
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185Since Molly didn't want to flee to the Chaos Abyss, she had to think of a method to deal with this problem.
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187And so, Molly had tried using secret dragon techniques to cancel the Inferno Dragon transformation and return to her pure Immemorial Dragon bloodline. Luckily for her, she had been successful, and this was due to many reasons—she had many secret dragon techniques at her disposal, she hadn't transformed for long, and the original individual who had converted her had perished.
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189However, canceling her Inferno Dragon transformation had a price—such a cancellation was the equivalent of slicing off parts of her being that had already transformed into an Inferno Dragon. She had hence lost a large amount of blood and had entered a weakened state that would not end for many years to come. Not only did her power level decrease by at least twenty percent, but she also needed to utilize another portion of her remaining power to suppress the remnant Inferno Dragon blood in her body. All she had left to fight with was half of her original power.
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191And that was how she was viciously beaten by her own daughter.
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193Still, everyone was aware of Molly's personality. Threatened by the Demon Earl, she had surrendered immediately. When the situation turned awry, she had instantly ditched her new boss. Even though she possessed sufficient power to fight against the Undead Emperors in the Bardi Empire's capital when she had been blocked by the undead, she surrendered without a fight, under the combination of the undead's carrot and the stick. Not only that, she wrote a letter to her daughter—one with enmity towards her—pleading for help. To quote Little Red, "Molly keeps talking about how the pride of dragons is more important than anything while rubbing that very pride under her ass. She's the shame of all dragons."
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195So, the moment Molly discovered that her own daughter was far stronger than herself, she immediately surrendered. Yet unfortunately for her, the result was an even worse beating. Upon seeing Molly's actions that lacked any shred of dignity, Little Red had been angered all the more.
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197"I—I surrender! Little Ein, please stop hitting me!"
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199Protecting herself with her wings and arms, Molly repeatedly called out Little Red's baby nickname, but this cowardly behavior only served to make Little Red even more furious. Little Red used her tails, claws, and fists to continuously deliver combination attacks that viciously pounded Molly's face.
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201"…No matter what, I'm still your mother. Can't you give me some face in front of everyone! You're still hitting me! You disobedient daughter, I'm going to go all out against you!"
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203Molly's resistance made Little Red's combat fervor rise yet some more—Little Red even started using dragon magic and began spitting dragonbreath directly at Molly's face.
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205"…Please stop hitting me—it hurts! Please forgive me! After all, I gave birth to you!"
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207Molly started pleading again, causing Little Red to thrash her even harder…
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209"Fine then, we can just die together!"
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211Molly was filled with ever more indignation and wanted to regain some lost face, so Little Red beat her harder…
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213From a certain standpoint, Molly was truly unfortunate. If she had been able to keep up a defiant attitude to the end, Little Red would have calmed down after venting through a single beatdown. However, the end result of Molly continuously waffling between pleading for mercy and resisting in anger was that Little Red continuously upgraded the degree of Molly's beating. In the end, Molly was injured so badly that her scales were dropping off everywhere and her dragon blood was spewing furiously… causing even the spectating adventurers to want to get a piece.
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215"An Immemorial Dragon's blood! One liter can be sold for one thousand gold coins! And these dragon scales! Dragonscale armor costs 50,000 gold a suit!"
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217"Don't go over there, Captain! You'll die if you get too close!"
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219A certain greedy adventurer team captain leered at the dangerous battle and tried to approach it without regards to his life, causing his teammates to restrain him tightly. They wouldn't let him go.
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221However, a certain priest suddenly sighed, helpless, as he cast all the Divine Art buff spells he knew upon himself. Ever so carefully he started edging closer, all to gather some of the precious dragon blood.
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223"Anlan, are you insane? Even if you're a Goddess of Wealth priest, this is taking things too far! You were never this crazy for money before! This is just suicide! No matter how much you need money, is it really necessary to go to this degree?"
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225However, the priest named Anlan could only smile wryly and shake his head in response to his teammate's concern.
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227"It's not that I'm crazy for money; it's that I just received a divine message from Beyana herself. If I can obtain enough dragon blood, she'll increase her divine favor for me by two levels. And if I fail, then she's going to send me all the way back to the acolyte priest school and demote me to a novice priest. And if I'm not careful enough and die here, she'll make me into a God Envoy in her Divine Kingdom."
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229Anlan's teammate's jaw dropped in surprise as he looked towards the north, where the Goddess of Wealth had displayed herself to everyone and, along with Mary, was currently locked in a brutal battle against a Thunder Titan Giant.
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231Molly and Little Red were both SemiGods, and an incarnation of a True God would be at a similar level of power. No natural laws existed that forbade True Gods from involving themselves with mundane matters. An Immemorial Dragon's blood would be precious to even a True God, but shamelessly making a believer risk their life to gather it was something only the Goddess of Wealth could pull off.
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233"Should I say that it's expected of the Goddess of Wealth Beyana? That greedy Goddess, even at such a time—"
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235The person who was speaking was suddenly cut off as his teammates hurriedly covered his mouth. Anlan himself was frightened to the point of shivering in fear.
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237"Are you an idiot? This is desecration! And she's so close to us right now, and you even uttered her name out loud! What if she hears you—"
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239Anlan's raving shouts weren't even over when he suddenly stopped. A strange expression manifested on his face as he spoke again to his unlucky teammate who had, evidently, caused his own misfortune.
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241"Oscar, the Goddess just sent another divine message. She said she heard everything you said and if you don't help me obtain two liters of dragon blood, she'll make you bankrupt tomorrow… True Gods never lie, and based on my understanding of the Goddess and how miserly she is, she'll definitely do it—ahhh! My glorious Goddess, I didn't mean it to be desecration! Please don't increase my task to three liters—I'll really die!"
242
243Alright then. There were now two unlucky desecrators. But the pitiful part was that their task was destined to fail because someone far more dangerous, vicious, and powerful had arrived.
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245"Everyone, leave this area. Little Red, restrain Molly for me. I'm going to draw out some of her blood!"
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247Yep, I had returned. As for the battle between the True Gods and the Titan Giants? I might as well let them take it slowly. Since the True Gods still hadn't yet self-destructed their incarnations, I knew what was going on. They probably wanted to gather information on the Titan Giants to prepare for the real battle against the Titan Giants' main bodies. They were all quite busy, so I might as well finish my own evolution Quest first.
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249What? You're saying I've already completed it? Wasn't it 'choose one of three?' Why would I choose this lower-ranked Quest when I already had a better choice in completing the hunt the Undead Emperor Quest?
250
251"Hmph! After years of digging pitfalls for me, I would be foolish to blindly listen to the System and not see the trap within these Quests."
252
253This was what my System had said earlier:
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255[You have achieved the peak of Gold. You have activated more than three bloodline abilities. The combination of your soul and physical body has reached 100%. Soul Imprints have been activated. SemiGod-level undead, Order, and divine powered items detected in the nearby area. Bloodline activation hunting quest has been activated. System Notification: It's time to show off the true value of your physical body and make those Titan Giants that think they're physical perfection see what a true Double Diamond Bloodline is.]
256
257[A choice of Quests has been activated. You can pick any of the following three, and your bloodline will evolve based on how well you complete them. Remember, your bloodline can currently withstand undergoing only one evolution.]
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259[After you complete this bloodline evolution Quest, the path for you to become a Legend shall open. Your War Angel and Original Sin Demon forms shall evolve together with your bloodline.]
260
261Indeed, my System did say that my bloodline could only withstand one evolution. However, it never said that I couldn't simultaneously use two materials together to evolve my bloodline! And, based on my analysis, the most important sentence in this trap was "You can pick any of the following three, and your bloodline will evolve based on how well you complete them." Basically, this meant that this was an open Quest just like the main storyline Quests from before, and that the reward was only based on how well I completed the Quest.
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263If I completed only one of these three choices, although I'd still finish the Quest, my System would most probably insult me in the end with something like "You couldn't even grab this chance; it's not my fault!"
264
265"Tsk! I remember all those pitfalls you've set for me in the past!"
266
267[Hah, don't be so happy quite yet. You need more than half of the blood in an Immemorial Dragon's body in order to evolve your bloodline with the power of dragons. Are you sure Little Red won't turn on you if you kill Molly? No matter what, she's still Little Red's mother. Or are you intending on breaking up with Little Red?]
268
269"Do you really think I'm that much of an idiot? The Quest said 'Defeat Molly Ein Mezus and obtain an amount of fresh Immemorial Dragon blood that exceeds half the blood in a dragon's body.' That means it's fine as long as I have enough dragon blood and it doesn't need to all come from Molly. I can simply take some blood from Molly and ask Little Red for the rest. This way neither of them will die. You really think I'd fall for such a simple trap?"
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271Fine then, the System fell silent at this, which meant that I had been right on the mark. As for the Titan Giant ingredients I needed for the final optional Quest, I glanced over at the five-colored Ultraman fight still going on not far in the distance.
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273"Go, go! Please fight until both sides are seriously injured! Beyana! Hurry up and use self-destruction, hmm hmm ha hee~! Hurry and take each other out! Hmm hmm ha hee~! Roland's song version! Hmm? Who are you supposed to be? Don't bother me, I'm super busy right now!" [1][1]
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275The priest named Anlan tugged on my shirt sleeve and could only smile wryly as he explained:
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277"The Goddess heard everything you said just now. She says that she's taking half of the dragon blood, otherwise she's going to stop fighting right now and let the Titan Giant come over to deal with you."
278
279"In her wildest dreams! Tell her that there's no blood for her! If she wants my life, she should come for it herself!"
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281Note:
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283[1] TL/N: If this sentence is confusing, it's because Roland is humming in the middle. 
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285[1] TL/N: If this sentence is confusing, it's because Roland is humming in the middle.
286
287Chapter 347: Difference
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289
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291"Little Red, no matter what, she's still your mother. How about giving her a little face?"
292
293Alright then. The enraged Little Red glared at me. I should have known better. No matter what an outsider did or said, it would never end well to get involved in someone else's family affairs. I really should have not said anything.
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295"…I feel that she's glaring at you more because you're currently withdrawing her mother's blood. Also, how did you randomly pull out this super-thick syringe? Just what were you intending, carrying such a thing with you?"
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297"I crafted it using parts from my Frigidwinter Earth. It only took three minutes, instant and convenient! Would you like to buy one? Relax, I have no interest in giving an injection to a cat."
298
299Harloys was commenting on my giant needle—or perhaps I should call it a needle-shaped giant electric drill? Anyways, I was currently drilling the pitiful Molly, while the dragon blood that poured out of her was directly frozen by me into blood cake—er, blocks of frozen blood—and then stored in my Frigidwinter Earth.
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301"Hey—hey—Little Red, I'm simply taking out some of her blood to make her weaker so that she won't cause any trouble."
302
303Giant restraints of ice tightly tied Molly down. I suddenly noticed that many people seemed to be staring at me, which me feel quite awkward. So, I directly opened up my Frigidwinter Earth and tossed Molly inside. I still had troublesome enemies to deal with, and this would be fine for the time being—it would be impossible for her to exit my Frigidwinter Earth unless I wanted her to.
304
305"…The Goddess says that—"
306
307"Tell her that I won't take all the dragon blood for myself."
308
309I understood what this Goddess of Wealth priest Anlan had to tell me before he even finished half of his sentence. Just what was with Beyana, already thinking about the loot before we even won… Silly cat, don't laugh—I'm not locking Molly up for the combat loot! I'm doing this so that we have one less thing to worry about! You're still laughing? Stop laughing! There's a battle right now, be more serious!
310
311Little Red transformed back into her human form and was still in good shape. Since the current Molly was far too much of a pushover, that so-called fight with her was only a somewhat vigorous warmup for Little Red.
312
313Currently, Little Red's long black hair was dyed pure red by the fire element, while her white skin was similarly flushed red. This appropriate amount of exercise filled her with energy, while the weakened Molly had been unable to even injure her.
314
315"Roland?"
316
317"Relax. It'll be impossible for her to escape from my prison. We'll deal with her when this is all over."
318
319Little Red nodded without asking anything more. Being able to meet Molly in such a situation was a good thing for Little Red. After delivering a brutal beatdown to the 'shame of all dragons,' Little Red felt much better as well. However, she started frowning when she looked at the battle raging on not far from us.
320
321"Roland. Are we taking action?"
322
323Although her question came with no clarification as to what she was referring to, I understood what she meant. She was asking if we should interfere with the battle between the True Gods and the Titan Giants. And the fact that she asked such a question was in a way evidence of her lack of confidence in doing so.
324
325Little Red was a SemiGod, but part of it was an artificial boost from her Immemorial Dragon bloodline. Her true understanding wasn't quite at that level. To be honest, SemiGod dragons were typically ancient dragons that had lived for countless eons, on par with the Dragon Gods. Little Red was still far from such a level.
326
327From a certain standpoint, dragons and Titan Giants were ancient foes. The dragons probably possessed various records about the Titan Giants. When faced with all the myths about Titan Giants passed down in her tribe, Little Red had no assurance that she could win at all, especially after watching these Titan Giant incarnations in action.
328
329In fact, as I watched them, the Titan Giants were actually getting stronger and stronger as they fought.
330
331The thunder that rampaged at a tremendous speed had transformed into a physical weapon. The Thunder Titan Giant Hatley wielded a classic great sword in one hand while his other hand tossed thunder javelins at the True Gods opposing him. This caused them to be too busy defending to even know which way was north.
332
333The energy attacks of thunder exquisitely complemented the beautiful sword techniques. Every attack was filled with the Titan Giant's heart and soul. Compared to him, the True Gods were nothing more than oversized existences that he saw through every move of. Every Divine Art they used was directly countered, and from the very start, the two True Gods had inflicted zero damage upon the Titan Giant. They were nothing more than toys in the palm of his hand.
334
335Perhaps both sides technically had power levels on the same level, but it was evident for anyone to see who was better at martial techniques and combat.
336
337"They're going to be forced to self-destruct."
338
339If energy and power level represented true combat strength, then there would be no more need for fights. Simply compare who had the higher level, and the lower one could commit suicide. Due to the mortal plane's natural laws limiting top-level strength, both sides were pretty much at the same power level. But since combat experience, techniques, and other such factors were also at play, the outcome of this battle was evident despite the True Gods' advantage in numbers.
340
341This was akin to how True Gods' incarnations would typically be able to dominate normal SemiGods, as the True Gods had experienced and accumulated far too much. Even if normal SemiGods were at the same basic power level as a True God, they would lose out in experience, special abilities, and many other factors. Tight now, the exact same was occurring, only with the True Gods' incarnations for once on the losing end.
342
343When placed alongside the Titan Giants that had who knows how many eons of experience, even the True Gods were merely their juniors. The difference between the ancient Titan Giants and the True Gods was as tremendous as the difference between True Gods and ordinary humans. This wasn't a gulf that could be covered only with effort.
344
345"If only an incarnation has so much power, just how strong is a Titan Giant's full potential?"
346
347Perhaps I would sometimes be arrogant and self-confident, or sometimes I would insanely fight back like a wild dog if pushed to the brink. But I was still a normal person—fine—someone who barely counted as a normal person, who didn't enjoy always being at the brink of life and death… Yep, after saying this much, I simply wanted to say that I… couldn't win, I definitely couldn't win!
348
349At the very most, I only had a little under four hundred years of knowledge, and my current physical body's age was younger than four years old. True Gods would always have ages counting in the thousands as the basic unit, and it was said that the Titan Giants were capable of casually hibernating for tens of thousands of years, waking up afterwards as if only a single night had passed. In that case, a Titan Giant's theoretical lifespan… just casually trying to calculate it made me think that a new unit of time needed to be invented just for them.
350
351This type of opponent was quite depressing to face. Don't tell me how hard work would definitely pay off in the end, or how the long-lived were all useless pieces of garbage that only knew how to eat and sleep… Although there were such species like that, most of them had long since gone extinct as the eras passed. The ones that didn't go extinct had the most ridiculously powerful natural talents of all… Yep, I'm definitely talking about dragons, who love to only sleep all day.
352
353Perhaps the Titan Giants were quite unlucky. Their first appearance in this generation caused the True Gods to band together and hunt them. However, it was precisely the Titan Giants' opponents' strength that showed off how powerful the Titan Giants truly were. I tried calculating what would happen if I personally went up to fight them…
354
355"I'd probably be instant one-hit KO'd… System, you really have it in for me."
356
357By now, cold sweat was dripping down my back. If it weren't for these "nice Gods" that came out to help me, we would have ended up directly facing against the Titan Giants, who would easily tear us apart.
358
359Even Little Red, who always acted before she thought, was asking me about taking action this time—the best evidence of her own lack of confidence. She was no novice, nor was she some arrogant harem protagonist who always believed in her own victory. Simple observation let her discover the frightening power behind those seemingly simple and clumsy fighting techniques of the Titan Giants.
360
361"He's seeing through every single one of the True God's attacks and is dodging each one prematurely. He appears clumsy, but it's actually total suppression. Even if I reach the next dragon power level, I have no guarantee of winning…"
362
363Not only Little Red, but it would be the same for me, even back in the day when I was Emperor Yongye. Me and my army could indeed scare off some of the weaker Gods, but the Goddess of Wealth and the other Gods here helping me right now were no weak Low Gods and were still being beaten into such a sorry state. Even though their opponents were only the Titan Giants' incarnations, this was still far beyond what any mortal would be able to deal with. If the Titan Giants managed to revive… No wonder even the prideful dragons were so worried and asking for help everywhere. It was all because the Titan Giants were far too strong.
364
365[…No need to think so much into things. Although Yins 'The Thinker' is ranked fourth among the Titan Giants, he's not actually well known for melee combat skills. Still, he's one of the most veteran Titan Giants that even the Titan Giant King must respect. 'Silverbow Wargod' Hatley may not be ranked in the top ten, but he would actually be ranked fifth if you only look at fighting abilities. Neither of them are easy to deal with, and they don't actually represent the average combat strength of Titan Giants. You still have a chance against the weakest Titan Giants.]
366
367For once, my System tried consoling me, while simultaneously astonishing me with just how much it knew on the Titan Giants. It also made me not know whether to laugh or cry. Wasn't what the System told me the best evidence that, right now, I absolutely would be unable to defeat them?
368
369"Little Red, since the True Gods haven't yet asked us for help, let's just watch."
370
371"…Yeah."
372
373Little Red's answer contained a rare trace of depression. Red Dragons were famed for their high pride, even among the dragon species. She typically had a great amount of pride in herself, but this time, she didn't even dare to challenge this opponent, something she found humiliating.
374
375"It would seem that I can only give up on that Quest."
376
377Of course I wanted to do the third, "SemiGod ranked," evolution Quest. After all, I even had True God helpers, and my opponents would only be at the SemiGod rank, not to mention not even at their fullest power level. But looking at the current situation, the System would never make it easy for me. Even with True Gods on my side, this would be far more difficult than facing off against any normal SemiGod.
378
379"Even if there's profit to be made, it's useless if I'm not alive to spend it. Completing two out of three Quests is pretty good, and I should still have a chance in the future…"
380
381I couldn't help but recall the future of the "game history." By a certain point, even normal SemiGods became nothing but cannon fodder. If the Titan Giants ever revived, that time would instantly arrive upon us.
382
383When faced with such opponents, it seemed that it would be impossible for me to complete every single one of my evolution Quests. Yet the desire to become stronger still burned within my heart. I didn't possess any so-called dragon pride. It could even be said that I was willing to stoop to any measures at all for the sake of my goals. But, as someone who took things step-by-step to reach my current power level, how could I possibly not desire to be on the battlefield, standing against such opponents?
384
385"…Next time, I won't be simply observing on the sidelines. Titan Giants? Even if this time is no good, I'll make you into my food for evolution, sooner or later."
386
387I clenched my fists, sinking my nails into my palms. Watching from the sidelines had given me this helpless feeling, making me truly feel tired. Suddenly, I felt a warm feeling in my hand, and I looked in surprise to my side. Little Red's hand felt slightly hot to the touch, and her face was red, likely due to her passionate emotions about wanting to get stronger.
388
389"Next time, we definitely won't only be watching. I will help you…"
390
391Little Red's hoarse voice was filled with unwillingness and somewhat broken pride from discovering the difference in power. But her voice was also filled with ambition to become stronger and a strange passion.
392
393"Yep…"
394
395Her hand's warmth really did reassure me. From what I could see, the current Little Red's face was completely red, all the way to her ears. This faint blush made her seem incredibly beautiful, but, at the same time, was a sign that she was filled with immense fervor for battle, just like I was. With such a reliable teammate, what was I still worried and hesitating about?
396
397"No matter how difficult the future is, we shall face it together!"
398
399Yep, we still had plenty of room for growth. Didn't I start over once again just for the sake of breaking through the bottleneck and growing even more powerful? And even if I met yet another opponent that I wouldn't be able to defeat in a short period of time, I could just use my same tactic from the past and fight that enemy with all my friends and teammates. Even if, right now, we could only act as observers, there was no need for us to get down on ourselves.
400
401Perhaps I didn't say my feelings clearly enough, but I trusted that Little Red would definitely believe it, too. At the very least, my hand would transmit my feelings to her.
402
403"Yeah…"
404
405As I energetically stated my combat declaration filled with passion for battle, I heard Little Red replying in only a tiny whisper. When I looked over at her, she lowered her head and her face grew even more flushed. It would seem that she was quite depressed. Well, she was a prideful dragon—this must be the effects of having her pride injured.
406
407"…Roland, it's truly and completely your fault that you've been single for so many years."
408
409The silly cat always managed to pick the best moments to ruin my mood. But, this time, even the System joined in.
410
411[Right after beating up the mother, you're requesting to get married to her daughter? Nice. System Notification: Considering that there's soon a great show for me to watch, I'll give you this time's commenting service for free.]
412
413"Ptui, what great show are you talking about? This time, I'm only going to act like a cowardly turtle."
414
415I had made up my mind that I would put safety first. And of course someone wasn't going to let me do that.
416
417"Your Highness Roland, the Goddess wishes for your assistance…"
418
419"…Even if I go out there, I'll be useless. Does she want me to clean up her corpse?"
420
421"Yes, clean up her corpse… Fine then, the Goddess's original words were 'It's whatever if you don't help me, but you're even tossing bombs at my heart? Don't you know that I've been single for more than three thousand years? If you keep doing that, I'll burn you to death. Fine, you've reached your goal, and I'm going to self-destruct my incarnation now. Remember to pick up all the God Equipment on my body. I'll make you pay if you're missing even a single piece of equipment!'"
422
423"…Can I say that she's miserly to the point of death? She's truly miserly to the point of death in the literal sense!"
424
425"My Goddess says 'Thank you for the compliment…'"
426
427"…Her shamelessness can even compare to mine."
428
429"My Goddess says 'Thank you for the compliment again, but I still can't compare to you in shamelessness.'"
430
431When faced with such a shameless Goddess, I could only laugh and shake my head and prepare myself to "loot the corpse as quickly as possible the moment the boss died."
432
433"I feel like I'm forgetting something… Forget it, if it's something I forgot, it probably isn't important."
434
435While I was preparing in high spirits, a certain female dragon in an icy world was restrained and suffering from severe blood loss. She was frozen and pale all over, weakened almost to the point of death.
436
437For Red Dragons of the fire element, magma and volcanoes would be the most comfortable home of all, while any place of snow and ice would be like hell. All Red Dragons had negative ice resistance and would even take double the damage when receiving ice attacks. And the current Molly had just been seriously injured and thrown into this freezing world, which made her unable to move apart from breathing.
438
439"…Save me… I'm going to die with all my blood loss and this cold… I surrender… I surrender… let me go, and I'll listen to anything you say…"
440
441Chapter 348: Mars’ Evolution
442
443
444
445Incarnations, astral projections, and other similar constructions weren't that rare. Many powerful existences of other planes were limited by the mortal plane's natural laws and, unable to use their true bodies to enter the mortal plane, could only send their incarnations or projections.
446
447From a certain standpoint, such dimensional natural laws were a way of protecting the world of Eich.
448
449As long as the Elemental Tide's density remained insufficient, the very existence of top-level existences in the mortal plane could distort this world's natural laws, causing unpredictable influences upon an area or even the entire plane.
450
451For instance, if a God whose Divine Concept was Rain descended, then a radius of several hundred kilometers around them would likely become a permanent rainstorm, the worst enemy of any farmer… I definitely wasn't commenting on a certain "Rain God" who always met with rainstorms every time he tried to hold a concert, nor was I trying to reference a certain unlucky person who would always have a major incident befall them upon trying to steal the headlines—nope! [1][1]
452
453Cough, getting back on track, it would still be alright if a Rain God descended as the Divine Concept of Rain was relatively mellow. The descent of some sort of Volcano God or War God would cause even greater havoc.
454
455For instance, when the Demon Earl's main body descended, vast swathes of land were infused with Chaos, scorching the land. Anywhere his blood fell became akin to a barren, lifeless land that could no longer harbor life, even today. Unless someone acted to improve the situation, this negative influence could last for several dozen or hundreds of years.
456
457In most heroic epics, there were stories about how "Eternal shadowy winds would blow where a Demon King has fallen." Actually, it was it was the same here, too.
458
459The increase in the Elemental Tide made it so the dimensional natural laws were gradually changing as well. This was just like how if you dripped a drop of vivid paint into a glass of water, the water would swiftly change color. But if you dripped paint into a bucket of water, a pool of water, or even a river, lake, or ocean of water, that the influence would be hardly noticeable.
460
461Just as how human bodies possessed natural mechanisms to resist against outside virus invaders, the world of Eich would also automatically reject these "large viruses" unless they proved to be "harmless." For instance, in the game's history, when the Elemental Tide reached its highest, the mortal plane became just like an "ocean" in which all the doors to the mortal plane were thrown wide open.
462
463Yet currently, the Elemental Tide was much lower, and the doors were opened by a small crack. You wanted to enter? Sure, but you still needed to obey the dimensional natural laws. Anything overly destructive would be left outside. Powerful existences could only send incarnations, astral projections and such.
464
465Countless techniques were out there to do such a thing, but they foundationally worked the same way. First, construct a physical body that the mortal plane was willing to accept. Then, inject one's willpower, soul, or whatever into it. Based on the different techniques used, the main body would either fall into a deep sleep or act just like normal.
466
467And so, just like how airport security worked in my previous world, a country's airport would treat you differently based on your status. If you were a visitor from a friendly country, the security process would be quite simple. If you were from a not-so-friendly country, perhaps first you would be checked to see if you were a spy, maybe directly marked as a potentially mega-dangerous terrorist together with twenty-four hour surveillance, or simply refused entry altogether.
468
469The incarnations for the powerful existences in other planes were similar. They would be discriminated against when they entered and limited in how powerful their incarnations were allowed to be. It would be the easiest for the mortal plane's True Gods. After all, the Gods were existences that already understood part of the mortal plane's dimensional laws, making them the equivalent of a country's government workers. Any security clearance was nothing more than a formality, and they could simply descend using their own churches. Nor would their incarnations require extra divine power to maintain.
470
471Since the True Gods counted as VIPs that could skip the security clearance process, of course there were also existences that were highly limited in being allowed to enter the mortal plane.
472
473The harshest conditions of all would be imposed against the demons and devils. After all, they wielded the powers of Chaos and were the mortal enemies of all living beings on the side of Order. And with their track record, they would never be up to any good in the mortal plane.
474
475The descent of some demon or devil lord would cause a huge incident wherever they appeared. Sometimes, it might be a plot that would affect a massive area, perhaps even the entire continent. Typically, all the Gods' churches would take action together and thoroughly begin cleansing all the heretical demon and devil worshippers. If some great demon's incarnation truly succeeded in descending and doing something, it was highly likely that a True God's incarnation would arrive shortly thereafter to handle it.
476
477So, the strongest existences in the lower planes would be refused entry in over ninety-nine percent of all cases, making it quite difficult for them to arrive. They were like illegal immigrants with the "most-hated" status. Not only did they need blood sacrifices and other such evil rituals to open the door for them, they also needed to pay a constant price to maintain their incarnations in the mortal plane. Sooner or later, they would no longer be able to pay that price and would be forced to obediently return to the Chaos Abyss or Hell. It was just like an illegal immigrant who was caught during a surprise inspection and forced to return home.
478
479By the way, I should mention that not long ago, Elisa the Demon Marchioness finally used up all the power of the beastmen blood sacrifice which allowed her to descend. She could only helplessly cancel her incarnation and return to the Chaos Abyss, while I returned to the awkward situation of having to call her every morning and night…
480
481Cough, it wasn't that easy, however, for the True Gods to send out incarnations. Incarnations would typically contain divine power and shards of their Concept, along with part of their divine soul. The death of an incarnation would be a huge loss to any True God, perhaps causing a large decrease in their divine power and would take an incredible amount of belief, along with time, to recover.
482
483That was why there were even plenty of plots aimed against the True Gods. Since it was impossible for anyone to destroy their main bodies, safe far away in their Divine Kingdoms, the final goal would be to destroy an incarnation. It was also possible for a God to have an incarnation killed off by mere mortals. Either would become a huge historical event. Of course, the former would be a heroic deed, while the latter would become a joke of an event that other undying existences would laugh about for several hundred years.
484
485Although incarnations were limited in power level, there was also no need to be as concerned with an incarnation's death compared to the main body. So, there were both advantages and disadvantages. But from a certain standpoint, an incarnation dying was the equivalent of one's soul experiencing a virtual death, and it was unavoidable that it would weaken any existence who lost that incarnation.
486
487That was why the Gods would prefer performing a God's Descent upon one of their own believers or priests over sending down an incarnation. Not only would this let them reach power levels that surpassed incarnations, they also wouldn't have to worry about the negative effects of an incarnation's death. However, there were far too few mortals that possessed the ability and body necessary for a God's Descent. Not only that, the death rate of mortals acting as vessels for God's Descent was rather high, which was why incarnations still remained the common choice.
488
489But for a True God, losing an incarnation meant being set back several hundred years in power level, and it was also common for their main body to enter a period of weakness, which might cause their enemies to gang up on them. This was no small matter. Numerous powerful demons and True Gods had all been forever deleted from the ranks of history after losing an incarnation in the mortal plane and then being ambushed by their enemies.
490
491Right now, the Goddess of Wealth was forced into voluntarily self-destructing her own incarnation. This was the best evidence that she had been forced to the very brink and that she no longer had any confidence in winning. She knew that at this rate, she would be defeated in the end and lose her incarnation anyways, which meant she might as well self-destruct and take her opponent with her.
492
493As Beyana was one of the younger Gods, being forced to such a brink by a far older Titan Giant wasn't something that humiliating. Still, she was going to lose a lot of divine power. It was perfectly understandable why she sounded so angry and why she was trying so hard to at least recoup some of her losses.
494
495"…Have a nice trip. You're such a generous person, willing to sacrifice yourself for others. I'll miss you."
496
497I energetically waved my handkerchief and wished Beyana a good trip. However, all I received was a hostile glare. So, I changed to using the farewell greeting from my hometown and began to sing the legendary hymn used for saying goodbye to heroic warriors.
498
499"Ah, friend, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye! Beyana~ Hurry and self-destruct, I can't take this anymore! Ah, friend, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye! I shall bury you in a tall hillside and plant a pretty flower… I seem to have forgotten the rest of this song. Forget it, it's fine as long as I convey my meaning. May the heroic warrior Beyana rest in peace. No need to have any worries, as I shall help loot your corpse for your items."
500
501The little song I sung was transmitted directly to Beyana through her priest Anlan as I waved ever more energetically. The end result was that I was glared at even more viciously.
502
503Suddenly, Beyana, whose incarnation appeared just like pure gold, bit her teeth with an aggrieved expression and started collapsing like a demolished statue. Countless beams of golden light poured out from her, transforming the entire world into gold.
504
505Boom!
506
507Then, a powerful light blinded everyone, and a deafening boom made everyone's ears stop working.
508
509"Sigh, I thought that the Goddess of Wealth's self-destruction would have something creative about it, like dropping a large amount of money. It would seem that as long as its self-destruction, apart from the visual effects, there's still no foundational difference or creativity."
510
511"Your Highness Roland… The Goddess says she heard everything you said and she's quite angry. She says, 'Why don't you try and come up with some creative method of self-destruction for me.' Also, if you miss a single piece of her God Equipment, she swears she'll make you regret it."
512
513Alright then, since I did promise to bring back her equipment for her, I might as well start working.
514
515Without wasting any more time I created a thick pair of anti-blinding glasses out of ice, hopped atop Erebella and flew into the sky. I rushed to the scene but suddenly stopped when I got closer and saw what was before me.
516
517A True God's incarnation's self-destruction was basically activating all of the divine power and Divine Concept contained within an incarnation. As an attack, it would far surpass even the attacks used by the True God's main body. From an energy level, it was basically using one's divine power gathered over many years all at once for an explosive attack. When counting how much power of faith and the portion of the divine soul that the True God would lose, its destructive power would be truly fearsome.
518
519Normally speaking, a True God's incarnation's self-destruction would not only be more than enough to kill a similar level incarnation, but it would even be possible to kill a True God's main body. This was also why numerous Gods' incarnations could walk the mortal plane but rarely fought each other. All Gods were capable of self-destructing their incarnations, which would end in a lose-lose scenario for both sides.
520
521However, the maxim about how a True God's incarnation's self-destruction would absolutely kill the opponent was now broken by this opponent.
522
523"…He's still not dead, even like this?"
524
525The Thunder Titan Giant had lost half his body, including his entire right arm and foot. Bones could also be seen in the right side of his face, giving him a frightening appearance. Meanwhile, the remnants of his thunder shield on the ground was perhaps the explanation behind how he had managed to survive.
526
527In that moment, with just a short instant to react, he had transformed all his power of thunder into a physical shield which he used to block the force of the self-destruction to protect his core.
528
529"False Gods, is that still the only technique you know, even after all these years? If I was in my physical body, such a weak and powerless attack wouldn't even make me bleed."
530
531A True God's incarnation's self-destruction wouldn't be that easy to take. It would probably be impossible for this Titan Giant to recover within any short period of time. But even though he was so seriously injured, he was still laughing loudly, as if he was the true victor.
532
533Perhaps he could indeed be termed the victor as he was able to force a True God to self-destruct—and survived.
534
535Although he was collapsed on the ground, the Thunder Titan Giant's remaining eye was glaring at Mary the Shield Dwarf Goddess. He supported himself with his left hand and tried to stand up, but apparently lost his balance.
536
537Then, he grit his teeth, and the thunder at his right leg transformed into a false limb that resembled sculpted armor. His empty right arm was replaced by jagged thunder, and there was a savage look in his single remaining eye. Even though the right half of his face was nothing but bone, his jagged thunder arm boomed loudly. Despite his condition he still wanted to fight.
538
539Mary paused in surprise for a moment but then lifted her war hammer and unhesitatingly rushed towards him.
540
541A Dwarf Goddess like her would never fear a challenge. Since her opponent hadn't collapsed, this battle between the God-level powers would naturally still continue.
542
543An injured beast would always become more dangerous. With these two powerful presences renewing their battle, I felt that things would turn dangerous for me. If I rushed forward and was scraped by their battle, wouldn't that cause me to directly reincarnate yet again?
544
545"Um, I feel like if I go out there, I'll just die. Shouldn't this count as irresistible outside factors?"
546
547"…The Goddess says that if you're unable to retrieve her Gold Staff of Authority and Seraphim Feather Pen, she'll put a deep freeze upon your Contract Hero account. Then, she'll curse you to become the unluckiest person in the world in all matters related to wealth, and that the curse will persist for a minimum of three years. At such a time, no amount of money on you will last for more than two hours. You'll end up eating in a robbers' den every time you eat at a restaurant, you'll always meet with fake and pirated products every time you buy something, and even going out to buy some groceries will see you meeting three scammers and a dozen thieves."
548
549"…It couldn't possibly be that bad."
550
551"…It's even worse than what I said. Previously, a high-level priest in our church made fake accounts and scammed others, so the Goddess personally cursed him to go bankrupt. On the very same day, his merchant association went bankrupt, and his wife and daughter ran out on him. Then, the only house he had left was smashed to pieces by a meteor from the sky. And even when he became a beggar, other beggars always robbed his money. He only lasted for one week before committing suicide."
552
553Alright then, I was beginning to break out into a cold sweat upon hearing this. Since I had promised Beyana that I would retrieve her equipment, I likely had to do it no matter what the situation was like.
554
555However, before I took any action, a certain voice spoke up.
556
557"…I'm so full! Is this self-destruction? Is this battle? It's so wonderful! So delicious!"
558
559I looked behind me to see the faceless Mars. Even though I couldn't see any expression on him, I could faintly sense that he was staring at the Gods' incarnations and the Titan Giants, as if he was looking at delicious food.
560
561This newly-born child of war would only be able to grow through battle. The "prematurely-born" him required large amounts of nourishment to grow, and his future path required plenty of actual combat experiences. From a certain standpoint, this battle between the Gods and the Titan Giants was one of the best opportunities for his growth.
562
563For a graveyard demon like him, a God's corpse would naturally be one of the most nutritious meals of all. The self-destruction's power and attention-grabbing boom from earlier helped Mars make a decision on his own—he now had knowledge and desires about his future.
564
565"Battle, this is war! Explosions are war! War is explosions!"
566
567A faint face seemed to suddenly appear on that empty face of his. This face was rather similar to Beyana, who had just exploded herself. I didn't even have the time yet to comment how easy it was for children to go down the wrong path before Mars disappeared right before me.
568
569Right after that, an earthquake shook the entire battlefield, and a large sinkhole suddenly appeared. The pitch-black hole seemed as if some demon from hell was being released.
570
571"…That's Davey and his undead army!"
572
573And from this sudden crevice in the ground, the undead army that had vanished completely rushed forth, charging towards the True Gods and the Titan Giants.
574
575"Mars, the Gods are our allies! Kill those Titan Giants!"
576
577Luckily, I reacted quickly, which helped Mars' undead army target only the Titan Giants.
578
579Yet the two Titan Giants didn't even glance at these "little toys" surrounding them. Only the powerful Gods were worthy of being faced by them. How could they possibly care about these little things? No mortal or undead army would be able to withstand even the casual flick of their fingers.
580
581Boom!
582
583The death knight rushing at the very forefront self-destructed in an explosion. The explosion's power caused one Titan Giant's foot to go numb, so he frowned.
584
585Boom!
586
587A Bone Dragon biting at his head self-destructed. This explosion's power made his forehead hurt, and the power of ice contained in the explosion also annoyed him.
588
589Boom!
590
591A lich that climbed up onto his knee self-destructed. This Myth-ranked lich's magical explosion made the Titan Giant clutch his knee in pain.
592
593Boom!
594
595An agile Ghoul Lord jumped into the Titan Giant's mouth. Then, the sudden explosion that came from within was from this Myth-ranked Undead Lord's self-destruction, causing several shattered Titan Giant teeth to fly through the air.
596
597Boom! Boom!
598
599Countless undead self-destructed simultaneously on the thunder Titan Giant's single remaining leg. This time, he was no longer able to stand up steady and could only fall to the ground with a tremendous crash.
600
601Boom! Boom! Boom!
602
603When the undead army climbed up like ants onto the Titan Giant's body, the sound of explosions never stopped.
604
605And the most frightening part of all was that the undead didn't decrease in number despite the self-destructions—they continued crawling back out of the crevice. The same lich from earlier that had just self-destructed on the Titan Giant's knee now grabbed onto the Titan Giant's ear and lit up its own crazed soulfire with yet another explosion.
606
607Boom!
608
609The entire area was filled with the booming sounds of self-destruction. Even the Shield Dwarf Goddess Mary paused in surprise.
610
611"…This is the ability of a graveyard demon to revive the undead? Even if the collective will loses an individual portion, it can be endlessly revived? Roland, you've even created such a monstrosity—do you actually intend to destroy the world?"
612
613"Wahh, Mars is truly a nice and compassionate son. He helped Daddy out of his own volition when he saw that Daddy was worried; I should buy him some presents. Right, I should give him a zeroth birthday party… Harloys, what did you say just now?"
614
615I was so moved that hot tears were flowing out of my eyes. However, the people next to me all silently backed away, as if they viewed me as a dangerous individual, a forbidden plague. Meanwhile, I thought of something and laughed as I talked to the magic sword in my hand.
616
617"Harloys, as Mars' mother, you should remember to prepare a birthday present for him. It's definitely no good to give him only a Happy Birthday song… Ah! Can't you act more maturely, with your age? Now a mother, and you still bite others!? Ah, you're now biting me even harder!"
618
619Note:
620
621[1] ED/N: Don't know who this is referencing too…
622
623[1] ED/N: Don't know who this is referencing too…
624
625Chapter 349: Fortunate Brat
626
627
628
629It was said that when Beyana self-destructed, divine golden light lit up the entire sky. Not only were the brilliant streaks seen by people in the Forest of Dreams and Nightrain City, but even those in the Mage Country across the sea were able catch the great spectacle.
630
631If it weren't for the fact that Beyana had carefully controlled the radius of her self-destruction, she could have blown up the entire Oak Town together with her incarnation's death.
632
633When the suddenly-evolved Mars displayed his potential, giving what remained of the Thunder Titan Giant actual danger, the Thunder Titan Giant's older brother was unable to simply sit by and watch his younger brother's incarnation perish. After all, the Titan Giants were still sealed in statues, and every bit of strength was valuable.
634
635Yins "The Thinker," who had been holding back all this time, finally went all out. He proceeded to crush a part of Mars' undead army and save the other Titan Giant, Hatley, but when he did so none of the True Gods' incarnations moved to stop him.
636
637If a Titan Giant was forced to the brink, their incarnations, too, were capable of self-destructing themselves. None of the True Gods were confident enough to claim that their incarnations could survive the self-destruction of that of a Titan Giant.
638
639This was also why it was a terrible idea to use numbers to surround and attack a high-level existence's incarnation. Forcing it to the brink and making it self-destruct would end in nothing but losses for all sides—nobody, of course, wanted to have anything to do with such a prickly porcupine… It was like dealing with certain monsters in video games. Nobody would want to challenge a boss monster that was incredibly difficult to fight and wouldn't even give you any money, experience, or special items.
640
641Since the main fighters—the True Gods' incarnations—didn't want to fight this to the end, none of us would be able to do anything to stop the Titan Giants that had decided to make their escape.
642
643Although Mars wanted to continue fighting, he didn't possess the ability to travel at high speeds, so he was unable to catch them.
644
645And so, this battle concluded.
646
647"We've won!" "We've finally survived…" Cheers resounded throughout Oak Town simultaneously with sighs exclaiming how lucky they were to survive. Powerful existences came out one after another, fighting with power that could casually shatter the body of any ordinary adventurer with a single touch. It was only natural for the adventurers to all feel chills run down their collective spines.
648
649For these first-generation "Contract Heroes," today was a day destined to be one they'd never forget. Today's battles would have outstanding impact.
650
651The Titan Giants, True Gods, Undead Emperors, and Undead Calamity. Not only did these mythical existences appear in real life, but they even fought against each other. This had long since surpassed the comprehension of the Contract Heroes.
652
653The adventurers typically did their jobs to make a living or to obtain more resources to reach the next power level. But, today, the Titan Giants and True Gods seemed to step right out of the pages of history, giving them a chance to encounter top-level strength of the world. By now, they all realized that they had gotten involved in a huge incident. This was a revolution, one destined to occur as the generation changed. It was also a great opportunity for the courageous.
654
655"…Perhaps one day we, too, will have the power to accomplish things on this type of battlefield instead of hiding in the corner and praying."
656
657For some things, one would only realize their importance upon coming into contact with them. Only by noticing the difference between them would one be motivated to work harder. Some things weren't actually impossible—it was just that people didn't dare to think about them. But once the fires of ambition ignited in people's minds, it would be near impossible to extinguish them.
658
659This was exactly why the video games in my previous world would put out all sorts of cool and flashy opening videos as their advertisements. Perhaps you wouldn't be able to accomplish what's depicted in them right away, or maybe you might never reach the skill shown in the advertisement. Yet at least you would have hopes and expectations not only towards the game itself but also from what you would obtain from playing it.
660
661"Perhaps many things now are different from before." I did also believe that treading on the brink of life and death and witnessing a battle of such epic proportions would make many adventurers quit the job tomorrow. Still, there would be people who would become ever more passionate. This was a trial given to them by this generation, as well as an opportunity. They could reach the peak with this Contract Hero shortcut as no other method would give them this opportunity—the opportunity to reach the peak with such speed.
662
663"Let's increase the number of Hero Armlets we hand out for the second batch of Contract Heroes. How about 300,000 for all of Eich—no—let's go with 500,000!"
664
665This was my hope as well. After today, the second batch of Contract Heroes would become more popular with the signups. Unless people accepted this contract, they would never be able to even come into contact with such high-level battles.
666
667I didn't need to care about the advertising channels for now. With their actions, the Ayer Faction's True Gods proved their full support for the Contract Heroes system—another reason the Goddess of Wealth chose to self-destruct her incarnation in the end.
668
669Who stood to lose the most if the two Titan Giants were allowed to destroy Oak Town? While the wood spirits would fail in developing a new territory for the Forest of Dreams, they wouldn't actually have concrete losses. Most of the wood spirits would have been able to retreat, and it was always possible to simply try again. But if this first-ever batch of Contract Heroes met with an insurmountably powerful opponent and died off in droves on their very first major mission, the credibility rating of the entire Contract Heroes system would suffer a huge hit.
670
671While losing people didn't count as much, losing believability in "Justice Points" counted for much more.
672
673Although the first batch of Contract Heroes was drawn to us by the rewards we offered, they also joined us because of the Ayer Faction's strength and credibility. Otherwise, no matter how many treasures we offered, none would be willing to join the crew of a sinking boat.
674
675No idiot could obtain Godhood. Beyana knew these hidden factors full well.
676
677"Failure is fine for the second or third times. Great risks are associated with great rewards, and most people can understand that. However, failure nor large-scale deaths absolutely can't be permitted for the first time. Otherwise, a serious credibility problem will arise." That was why Beyana had secretly made preparations to prevent this first ever large-scale mission from failing. She, along with several other True Gods, had descended with their incarnations. She could have chosen to make her incarnation escape instead of self-destructing, leaving the Titan Giants up to others more powerful than her.
678
679After all, if things developed to a certain extent, it was possible that even Ayer himself would come down and intervene. However, Beyana still chose the action that would bring her the greatest losses, self-destructing her incarnation.
680
681She didn't choose to protect her incarnation…
682
683Not only did Beyana want this large-scale mission to succeed, but she also hoped for the Contract Heroes to take as few losses as possible. And, on another level, her self-destruction was evidence of the Gods' attitude: "Even I'm willing to self-destruct myself, so what are you mortals afraid of?" From a certain standpoint, her self-destruction would make for excellent propaganda. When even the True Gods were seen as willing to pay the price of losing an incarnation, when even the legendary Titan Giants were forced to retreat, when not a single Contract Hero had perished, the support for the Contract Hero system would rise to unprecedented heights.
684
685From another level, Beyana's losses could be recouped from her allies. From what I knew, Ayer was never stingy. He would perhaps even give her more than what she lost. And her self-destruction not only helped her obtain my friendship but it also made me owe her a favor.
686
687A favor wasn't much? For some people, owing a favor meant nothing to them at all as some people were capable of repaying kindness with evil. But others were more willing to be stabbed by a sword than to owe someone else a favor… Fine then, I admit it! I hated owing favors more than anything as it was quite an unpleasant feeling to look at others and feel like I owed them money. Let's just think of a way to repay this favor as soon as possible.
688
689"…As expected of the Goddess of Wealth. Perhaps she'll even stand to profit from her self-destruction. She probably calculated everything quite clearly from the very start." Actually, Beyana currently jumping up and down in anger in her Divine Kingdom was the best evidence that Roland had thought too much into things. Beyana had merely had a faint feeling that that suffering defeat in this battle would make her lose more in the end, even if she didn't lose her incarnation. But as Roland kept "cheering" her on, her blood pressure kept increasing, and she ended up self-destructing her incarnation in a fit of rage. Not only that, this self-destruction didn't even kill her opponent, which she found humiliating. She was so furious that she even closed off her Divine Kingdom and refused to see any of her allies that came to console her.
690
691Beyana was never someone who had a kind and forgiving nature, so blaming others when she was angry was quite normal. Now that she thought about it, she even wrote Roland's name down on her list of grudges, looking for an opportunity to take revenge.
692
693Of course, they were still on the same side, so doing something directly to him was off the table. Still, it was more than fine for her to prank Roland and give him a hard time.
694
695The 'Even though I'm rich, buying a single luxury item will bring me misfortune to the point where I can afford nothing but instant noodles in the end' curse. The 'Even though I have a harem, I can only afford a three square meter room, and my harem all ran off in the end' curse.
696
697The 'Even though this lottery ticket is clearly the number that I choose every time, I discovered that I filled in the number wrong the one time it won' curse.
698
699The 'What's living paycheck to paycheck? My paycheck lasts less than three hours, and my wallet will never have more than five copper coins' curse.
700
701The 'Excellent luck with women who will make off with all my money' curse.
702
703"Darn it, I've developed too many poverty curses… just which one should I use on him…?"
704
705But, for certain reasons, no matter which curse Beyana chose, she discovered that she couldn't obtain any payback.
706
707"What? It's actually ineffective? Could his fortune be forever fixed to be the best…? That's almost impossible—even the Fate God would be unable to do such a thing. Or, based on the natural laws where a weaker curse is unable to override a stronger one, could it be that an even more powerful poverty curse is already upon him? How is this possible!" Even my 'Poor? That's an adjective I'm really jealous of. I'm a girl from an illustrious family who owes 30,000,000 gold coins and can't find anyone to purchase my debt' curse isn't working against him? Just what's going on with his wealth fortune?" Actually, from the very start, all curses related to fate were ineffective against Roland. Perhaps from the very day his System was bound to him, or from the very day he was born as the Child of Fate, he was destined to break all known standards for negative luck. In front of his extreme misfortune, how could these somewhat unlucky poverty curses possibly have any effect on him?
708
709"…I'm truly impressed with how he can persist in living on despite how unfortunate he is." Out of curiosity, Beyana obtained records about Roland's past. When she saw how Roland's country and family were both destroyed, that his first ever girlfriend deceived and stabbed him, that the Holy Light betrayed and stabbed him, that a hero he personally raised fought and stabbed him, and that his disciple he treated as his daughter judged and stabbed him… As she read about the succession of tragedies in Roland's life, even the Goddess Beyana who had the nickname of the "Heartless and Tearless" Goddess ended up crying tears of sympathy.
710
711"He's truly, truly so strong. His life can't even be sufficiently described by the word 'tragedy.' His life is basically like a cutting board with countless knives stuck in it, or a sponge... filled with holes! Roland, you've truly had a tough life." In the future, people also asked the Goddess of Wealth why it was that she only ever made an exception for Roland and gave him a 1% discount on her goods and services, along with many other benefits, when she was renowned as the stingiest Goddess in the entire world. Was it really, as people gossiped, that they were actually lovers? Anyone that asked discovered to their surprise that this Goddess who "only cared about money" would actually tear up and become quite emotional.
712
713"As long as you can live a pitiful life like his and still smile every day and somehow have fun, I can give you a 1% discount as well."
714
715Of course there were some skeptics who didn't believe this and even requested to try it out. Yet Beyana only had to cast several hundred different poverty curses upon them—without even asking the Love Goddess to add a "Single forever" curse or the God of Victories to add a "Forever almost successful" curse—before they would pathetically crawl towards her, wailing and beg for mercy. Legend had it that if Beyana had been slow by even a second in removing her curses, they would have truly committed suicide.
716
717In fact, after such rumors started spreading, Roland gained the eye-popping nickname of "Envoy of Misfortune"…
718
719Cough, let's get back on topic to the present. No matter what, this battle ended in a victory for Roland's side and would be greatly influential to future events.
720
721And, currently, I didn't have the time to do anything like holding a celebration party as new bothersome things were lying in wait. I was currently apologizing to Little Red while trying my best to resuscitate a gigantic Red Dragon.
722
723The pitiful Molly was now barely breathing after major blood loss… maybe it was that she had been forgotten in a world of ice and snow—a world that was her greatest weakness.
724
725"How about you try some CPR on her… why are you hitting me? Isn't it normal to perform CPR when there are no signs of breathing? Fine, if you don't want to give her CPR, I will—stop hitting me! Even Buddha has times when he gets angry! I'm going to go all out against you crazy women!"
726
727Chapter 350: Military Achievement Emblems
728
729
730
731In the newly-born Oak Town, enormous oak trees were growing at a pace discernable to the naked eye. A faint green essence of nature spread through the air, while white specks of light traveled between the trees. Soon, the height of these trees far surpassed that of ordinary ones, and it only took an hour for nothing but skyscraper trees to be seen.
732
733And what came together with the trees was a change in the dimensional natural laws. Any slightly powerful individual could detect something changing in the air—a powerful sensation arose, one that brought about the feeling of being in a different world. Amelia's dimensional will was descending upon this location.
734
735And what came together with the dimensional will was a massive wooden door that suddenly appeared before the oak trees.
736
737This door was a bit more than twenty meters tall and over fifty meters wide. Adorned with wood spirit-style decorations, its wooden doorframe was covered in vines, while the runes, which appeared carved onto it, were actually made of trees and plants. It exuded a simple natural beauty.
738
739In front of this towering door, Samantha was but a tiny pea. Yet she attracted everyone's attention when she placed her hand on the door handle.
740
741*Creak!*
742
743A gentle push opened the door slowly. Only then did the adventurers discover that it was even brighter on the other side.
744
745*Boom.*
746
747Wooden feet made the earth tremble with every step. Colossal plant war machines that were only capable of growing in the Forest of Dreams passed through this door, heralding the arrival of the heaviest artillery in the wood spirits' arsenal in Oak Town. Along with these machines came wood spirit guards who brought with them various strange mechanisms.
748
749Unlike forest fairies from fairy tales, they didn't drive magical carriages—they rode atop mechanical objects, painting a scene that, indeed, seemed to be out of place. A tiny wood spirit would be perched on the seat of a motorcycle, forced to use her tiptoes to drive. Meanwhile, a whopping total of six wood spirits would manage to fit themselves into one sidecar. Watching this, I couldn't help but recall a certain motorcycle show at a certain major country's military parade. [1] Wasn't there some joke about one motorcycle being able to fit a full camp of soldiers…?
750
751Only now could everyone breathe a sigh of relief. These seemingly cute fellows were the true elites of the wood spirits. Their arrival represented that Oak Town had truly become a part of the Forest of Dreams.
752
753And this mismatched style of the wood spirits wasn't limited only to motorcycles—they also carried the newest dwarven rifles and cannons and were equipped with steam valves on their belts. These valves were capable of shooting out hooks attached to claws in under half a second, which would stick into tree bark and allow them to swing between the trees. This was a roaming tool that I especially prepared for them.
754
755Although the newly-born wood spirits race possessed excellent magic talent, especially in nature magic, they had no intentions of rejecting the mechanical. Instead, due to the special relationship I had with them, they were hugely interested in the newest products of magical engineering—and this wasn't mentioning how they assisted me in running Thorn Garden and selling the latest products. They even ordered large amounts of magical engineering products for themselves, and many wood spirits focused on further researching this field in the hope it would become one of the foundational treasures for their species.
756
757What they researched and purchased was based on their physical advantages and shortcomings. Their specialties were quite obvious, and they possessed many excellent qualities which didn't need to be explained. Their shortcomings were that they were very diminutive in size, which induced in them a lack of mobility and melee combat prowess. This made them particularly interested in transportation tools and long-range weapons—not in mechas as they already possessed magical plants and strengthened outer shells.
758
759This wood spirit, who had to use her tiptoes to drive the motorcycle, was the best evidence that normal-sized transportation tools would be quite difficult for them to use. In fact, Samantha had even requested for me to create smaller versions of these tools just for the wood spirits' use. I had hence offered a certain design to her that caused even Samantha to break out into a full smile, a rare sight. But it was only the second day when she had flipped out on me and even sent a full squad to hunt me down—what an unreasonable personality!
760
761"…Which idiot told her that my design originated from baby carriages? I'm definitely not going to forgive her. Hmph, with wood spirits' body shapes, it's quite obvious that large baby carriages are of the perfect size for them. Forget it—even if this design of mine gets rejected, I still have backups."
762
763"Does it even need pointing out? Samantha was just too pure to notice. You bastard; you even put baby toys and bells on top. Don't you know that Samantha is now treating this as the greatest humiliation of her life? You actually dare to even make a backup design plan? Let me guess—is it a baby chair or a baby bed?"
764
765"…Neither—it's a toddler sized scooter! You can ride it with only a single foot! It's perfect for those who are incredibly short. Would you like one for yourself, Harloys?"
766
767"All I need is for you to become a nicer person and allow me to return my normal body size… luckily you didn't say roller skates. Have you heard that there's a new addictive song going around recently? Let me sing it to you…"
768
769Cough, let's not go off on a tangent anymore. From a certain standpoint, the wood spirit species and I had a very special relationship.
770
771From an outsider's point of view, we were obviously all on the same side. And, to tell the truth, the Three Virtues indeed listened to me.
772
773Currently, Samantha had total control over the entire species, which basically meant that the entire species was on my side. But if you truly looked at the source, the real creator of the wood spirits race was Amelia. My current authority over them came from Amelia delegating her authority to me. If Amelia woke up, and she had any conflicts with me, the wood spirits were likely to listen to their mother, instead…
774
775"Isn't this pretty much just like how, when most children see their parents fighting, they choose to side with their mother that raised them rather than the father who's outside working to make money?"
776
777The silly cat's analogy made me feel mysteriously uncomfortable, but I had to nod in agreement. This was the logic behind the world's working. Although everyone knew in their minds to choose logic over emotion, when it came down to it, people—by far—would choose emotion over logic
778
779"Not only that, the very foundation for why they listen to me is that Amelia told them to listen to me. Especially when you consider that the wood spirits had intelligence and their own wills right from the moment of their birth, and that Amelia's very existence is also the Forest of Dreams that nourishes them. The wood spirits have an astonishingly high level of dependency on Amelia. Perhaps, under Amelia's leadership, the wood spirits will be the single most unified intelligent species in all of history."
780
781I felt that that was quite an acceptable result as I had no ambitions to steal away the wood spirits for myself. However…
782
783"For some reason, I feel uneasy when I think about how Amelia has control over such a powerful species."
784
785"…Don't mention the possibility. I'm also worried that she'll suddenly go insane and have some strange thoughts. In the past, her insane rampages had limits, but if an entire species goes wild together with her… that would be quite the sight."
786
787Alright then. When I considered the insane Plants vs. Zombies along with the fact that Amelia kept climbing the Calamity Rankings, I had a strong feeling that this was all the more dangerous—in fact, it was no different to an insane woman with a nuclear button.
788
789What, you're saying that I match all of the above conditions as well? That I'm also highly dangerous? Humph! I must defend myself! I—I—I… Hmm, why do I feel that these words actually sound quite reasonable?
790
791"…Maybe. At the very least. Just barely. My actions still have limits to them. I should be, at the minimum, someone slightly less dangerous and prone to rampages than Amelia."
792
793Cough, to normalize the conversation, even if I didn't feel safe, there was nothing I could do about it. I could only try to create some sort of "safety" in the future.
794
795Right now, after the wood spirits took full control over Oak Town, the happiest were actually the Contract Heroes. After all their hard work, the time had now come for them to reap the rewards.
796
797An all-out battle had been expected from the very beginning, so the wood spirits gave out abundant Justice Point rewards. Although the main fighting was done by others, in the end, the adventurers had done their jobs. Even though there were no performance bonuses, the base promised payment was still given to them.
798
799Also, they received a little something I had created.
800
801"Oak Town Divine Miracle Battle, Copper Medal?"
802
803"…I have one as well? All I did was guard the town."
804
805Military achievement medals were also a part of the credibility system I established. In this era where knights were reigned supreme in terms of popularity, nothing signified glory more to a warrior than military accomplishments, accolades, and rewards. Yet the review systems in this world were far too rough. Only nobles would record their glorious past accomplishments on their family emblems.
806
807Even for nobles, only truly amazing deeds—like, for instance, slaying a dragon—would get recorded in the family records and emblem. And this would typically not be accomplished within one's lifetime. Any commoner warrior would only be able to "prove" their accomplishments by telling everyone about them. Unless a commoner was able to reach the level where bards started making embellished stories about your deeds, a warrior's reputation would never even leave his locality.
808
809But now, I was making things much simpler. A small military achievement emblem would be proof that you participated in and contributed to this battle. Even if it didn't prove much, it would still look quite cool to wear—perhaps it would fool a few girls.
810
811"It's nothing more than a piece of battle memorabilia and costs only a few copper coins to make. But it's quite excellent at attracting people and increasing the degree of their loyalty… Once all of them have a bunch of medals on their hands, it won't be easy for them to just toss aside their achievements. From a certain standpoint, this is another type of wealth, but one accumulated through hard work."
812
813Considering that the average intelligence of people in this world wasn't low at all, and that I'd witnessed plenty of fake and pirated products with high degrees of similarity, I figured that just like my previous world, counterfeiters would soon be appearing. But since my military medals all had serial numbers and recorded all the names of the individuals they were awarded to, counterfeiting these would be quite difficult.
814
815I wore a medal as well, although mine was golden. For this first ever major battle, I had created three types of achievement medals: bronze, silver, and gold. The gold-ranked medals for each battle would forever be handed out in an amount less than ten. And since I felt that I indeed helped out in this battle more than any other mortal, I took a gold medal for myself.
816
817Upon hearing that the Goddess of Wealth shut herself in her Divine Kingdom after her incarnation's self-destruction, and considering how she viewed money as more important than her life, I had Mary give Beyana a 24 karat pure gold special, custom-made medal along with her two pieces of God Equipment for me, a sign of my friendship. I even made sure it would glow in the dark so that she could use it as a light bulb at night even if she didn't want to wear it. It would shine even from one kilometer away, which would make one appear really rich.
818
819But several days later, one dawn, I discovered a meteor above. Before I even had the time to make a wish, I discovered that it was aimed directly at my head. If it weren't for the fact that I reacted fast enough, my head would have been crushed.
820
821"…Hey—hey—hey, isn't this just too rude? Even if she didn't want it, she didn't have to do this to me."
822
823And when I discovered that this almost-fatal "weapon" was actually that custom-made military medal, of course I was enraged.
824
825"…Really? I don't think that Beyana would be that type of person, let me take a look…"
826
827The silly cat was skeptical as she snatched the military medal and read the words engraved on its back out loud.
828
829"I give my gratitude to the venerated Goddess of Wealth for her self-destruction. She is a classy Goddess, a pure Goddess—one who has risen above vulgar interests. When she self-destructed herself, she had let forth a blinding flash that illuminated the path towards to future for every one of us. Her gravestone is the stirring symbol for our progress. To remember her glory and carve her greatness in stone, I shall erect a great sculpture. It shall symbolize the illustrious moment of her self-destruction. --Roland Mist. …Roland, I'm truly astonished she didn't personally descend again to kill you herself."
830
831Actually, if it weren't for the fact that others were currently blocking Beyana's Divine Kingdom, perhaps she truly would have done so! Beyana was currently busy shouting "Let me go, I'm definitely going to kill him!"
832
833"What? I'm just following the clichés and making top-level equipment seem cooler. In this day and age, without some commentary etched onto Myth-level equipment, it won't seem cool no matter how good its stats are."
834
835"…Um, considering that Goddess's past record, I think that you should give your wallet over to me for safekeeping. At the very least, you can't let my stomach suffer together with yours. It's wrong to abuse cats."
836
837"Only when your personal benefits are involved will you recall that you're a pet. How convenient."
838
839Although I was complaining, it did seem like I really antagonized—accidentally, of course—the Goddess of Wealth this time around. When considering that I usually wasn't lucky to begin with when it came to my money, I directly handed over my wallet to Harloys, but…
840
841"Ahh, where's my money?"
842
843"…Were you robbed? Has she cursed you that quickly?"
844
845"…Beyana! She actually took action so swiftly!"
846
847[…I have two pieces of news for you, one good and one bad. The good news is that you weren't cursed. The bad news is that you don't need a curse, because your luck stat is already zero. You should stop blaming others for your bad luck—it's completely your own misfortune. Still, you should feel lucky that, with your luck stat, you don't have to worry about it ever getting any worse. Are you sure you don't want to change your job class to spearman? A curse of giving you a luck rating of E is probably more like a luck increase blessing to you.]
848
849Fine, I directly ignored my System's comments. Since the System promised that I wasn't cursed, I felt slightly reassured. The rather "vindictive" Goddess of Wealth was indeed someone who gave me a headache.
850
851"Harloys, do you have any money? Otherwise, we're going to be sleeping on the streets."
852
853"…Have you ever seen any house cat that carries around money? How about you pawn that new gold medal of yours for some cash?"
854
855"…I'll consider it. However, I have an even better idea. You can transform into a magic sword, right? I'll pretend to be someone lucky enough to have picked up a magic weapon on the battlefield—wicked merchants will automatically come to me. Then, I'll sell you off, and you can return to me by yourself. Repeat a couple times, and that'll make enough money for our room and board. Hey, don't run! I'll even give you one-third… fine! Half! Half!"
856
857In the end, my plan to punish the wicked merchants failed due to the uncooperative nature of the "product" I wanted to sell. At least the wood spirits took us in, saving us from the pitiful fate of having to sleep out on the streets.
858
859The True Gods had all returned to their Divine Kingdoms, tossing Ah Gen to me to take care of. As for Auntie Mary and the gay Wood Elf God, the former had zero interest in military achievement medals and instead made me give her a large batch of high-quality alcohol. As for the latter… I wanted nothing more than to hide from this gay God that I couldn't win against in a fight as he kept sending seductive glances towards me. Why would I go contact him of my own volition?
860
861With Little Red's assistance, I had finished the preparations for the first part of my evolution Quest. The blood let out before us was more than enough to fill a swimming pool.
862
863"How strange. Little Red was so quick to agree to donate some of her blood. Recently, Little Red's been acting a little strange... Could it be that—"
864
865"Spring's arrived, a time when every species becomes more active. It's now the season for animals to go into heat."
866
867Harloys casually added more to the mess on my plate, but how could I possibly be distracted by her red herring? I kept thinking about it over and over before I finally came to a realization and stated my conclusion.
868
869"…Could it be that she picked up something dirty off the ground and ate it? She's so old already—how could she possibly do something so foolish?"
870
871Note:
872
873[1] ED/N: Any idea what this is referencing?
874
875Chapter 351: Interesting
876
877
878
879"I would like to thank everyone for their hard work. I hope our future cooperation will be ever more successful."
880
881After taking a glance at the thick bundle of papers she was holding, the young girl atop the stage tilted her head, thought for a moment, then nodded before tossing her speech papers to the wind. She then continued speaking off script.
882
883"…Let's not waste everyone's time. Again, many thanks to everyone for their support. Cheers!"
884
885"Ohhh, everyone's worked hard!"
886
887"Lolis—I mean wood spirits—banzai! The cutest one of them all, little Samantha, is truly amazing. She's my angel."
888
889"Who's your angel? Miss Samantha belongs to everyone!"
890
891At the celebration party, the cold-faced Samantha started giving a speech before deciding to discard the long speech when she received a fervent round of applause from the adventurers. However, the way they welcomed her seemed rather strange…
892
893"Why does it feel more and more like she's a celebrity idol instead of the leader of her species?"
894
895"Sister, you were the one who asked me to write a speech—you even said it was very important! You asked me to put as much effort as I could into writing it… Is this how you treat the product I came up with after pulling two all-nighters…"
896
897Alright, let's ignore Rosa, who had dark circles under her eyes and was glaring at her older sister, as if she held a terrible grudge against her. The thirty-page speech that she spent all night working on was discarded with a single comment of "Let's not waste everyone's time." It was likely that a sibling conflict would take place later tonight. Yet what was with those strange supporters behind her shouting as well?
898
899"Rosa's dark form is cute as well!"
900
901"As expected, pink on the outside, black on the inside!"
902
903Cough, it would seem that as the wood spirits became more like humans, the number of strange individuals attracted by them would keep increasing as well.
904
905From some unknown point in time, the wood spirits had started enjoying an abnormally high popularity. Now plenty of strange adventuring teams existed out there similar to the one Beyana had created; in fact, they could now be said to be quite common.
906
907Of course, there were also some wicked individuals with unspeakable intentions. But with the plants watching over, they were caught before they could even put their plots into action. It was unknown whether they would be punished by thorns, roots, or something else.
908
909Unlike most ordinary wood spirits who were very easy to approach, Samantha was typically cold-faced and never spoke a single unnecessary word. If she could answer with one word, she would never use two. And, most of the time she spoke, it was to scold. She almost never smiled. Yet it was, for some strange reason, this very way she acted that made her astonishingly popular. In fact, she had the largest fan club out of all the wood spirits… Should I be commenting here that no matter what world I was in, there would be plenty of gentlemen? This type of loli who was short, soft, and seemingly easy to push down, with a perpetual icy expression and a venomous tongue actually became the most popular of the wood spirits.
910
911"Little Samantha worked hard as well."
912
913As I looked at Little Red energetically giving Samantha a bear hug, and seeing that Samantha was struggling yet unable to escape the ridiculously strong Dragon lady's embrace, pleading with her eyes for me to help her, I didn't know what to say.
914
915When I heard that the leader of the "Wood Spirits Fan Club" was Little Red, I wasn't surprised in the least. I could only sigh. This former "fake loli" was probably feeling her motherly instincts overly flow again.
916
917I must say, sometimes one's outer appearance was truly important. For instance, my undead armies. Even though they ended up saving Sulfur Mountain City—which helped to greatly improved their relationship with the living residents—there was still a sense of distance between them. It could only be said that the living and the undead there were neighbors with relatively good affinity.
918
919Meanwhile, the wood spirits only needed to come out and wave their hands for a group of adventurers to follow after them like loyal dogs. In the future, the "Wood Spirits Fan Club" membership would exceed 100,000 members, and the adventurers even started organizing personal guard groups to act as the wood spirits' free workers. I have no idea what I should even say.
920
921And when Samantha lifted a trophy in celebration of our victory, the gentlemen started encouraging her to sing a song to liven up the atmosphere. I felt greatly relieved, and proceeded to enjoy a luxurious feast that I haven't had in a really long time.
922
923Last night, I stayed the night over at Samantha's place. While the wood spirits didn't treat me poorly, the problem was that all they ate was vegetables and fruit. Naturally, I was unable to refuse their friendly service, and I was unwilling to spend my hard-earned Justice Points on chicken or pork. And so, I could only make do with their diet. Unfortunately, their food was all-natural, with zero seasonings or additives whatsoever. While it was adequate to fill my stomach, the flavor… to quote my silly cat, "I'd rather eat a rat than any more of this grass. At least rats have some flavor to them."
924
925"It would seem that I need to think of some idea to earn some gold coins for myself."
926
927I was quite curious about just who had managed to secretly steal my money. Actually, the money I had lost from my wallet wasn't much—just two or three hundred gold coins. The only annoying part was that some of my personal items had also disappeared from my wallet.
928
929"…Is it that you never carry much money since you always end up losing it?"
930
931"No, I just think it's too bothersome to carry a lot of money. Things will get much better after the Goddess of Wealth opens up her 'banking service.'"
932
933Yep, while "banks" already existed in this world, they were more like safety deposit boxes rather than financial institutes. You would only be able to retrieve your money at the exact place you stored it at. You also needed to pay a fee at regular intervals; otherwise, the bank would claim whatever was stored within.
934
935Carry money on you? Dimensional storage equipment was few and far between—not to mention expensive—and there would be limitations to both storage space and weight. It wasn't even enough to store backup equipment, much less gold coins.
936
937Those heroes from legends who spent several thousand gold coins at once would need to have tremendous strength as well. This was since carrying several thousand gold coins meant carrying several dozen kilograms. No ordinary person would be able to carry ten thousand gold coins. It would be impossible to casually pay over one hundred thousand gold coins unless you had a carriage filled with coins following after you.
938
939Of course, paper money was barely used and remained largely unsuccessful. Merchant associations and mercenary guilds ended up taking on the roles of "banking services" in this world. However, not only would you only be able to do business at one place, it was both highly inconvenient and unreliable.
940
941The members of a mercenary guild would be mercenaries, untrustworthy to begin with. Merchant associations forever held with them the danger of bankruptcy. No matter how well-off they were, any merchant association that was rich but without its own private money was akin to an ATM filled with free cash in the eyes of local domain lords. It was simple and common enough for a domain lord to use some random passable excuse to drive a merchant association bankrupt in a single night.
942
943So the end result was that due to too many failures with previous systems, precious metals and magic metals were forever the main currency in this world. After all, these metals could be used to forge weapons and equipment and perform research on alchemy and magic. Metals were the most precious consumables.
944
945As for the new "banking service" that Beyana was going to offer, it was basically solidifying Justice Points as a new type of currency. It would work like this: a person would be able to exchange precious metals for Justice Points, and, at certain locations, exchange Justice Points for precious metals.
946
947In order to avoid people using large amounts of gold coins to exchange for Justice Points—thereby causing inflation in our system—Justice Points obtained using metals could only be used as a simple currency, and could not be used to exchange for special items. Although this sounded rather complex, it was actually quite simple: it was the appearance of a true universal equivalent product.
948
949The Justice Points obtained using money were also called "Wealth Points," yet that wouldn't affect their fundamental nature. And since the Gods were guaranteeing the authenticity of this system, it seemed that the entire world was actually willing to accept it. If Beyana succeeded, perhaps Wealth Points would truly be able to replace clunky metal coins and become the universal currency of this world.
950
951This wasn't any wild or innovative concept. However, since this was a feudal generation, nobody had been able to accomplish it. Most nobles viewed their own domains as their personal property, and they were used to collecting their own taxes and forcibly conscripting their people. Even though there was the occasional open-minded, reformist noble, wars and changes in royal authority often occurred. This forced even these few nobles to concentrate all their wealth on the endless cycle of warfare instead. After all, if you weren't even able to protect your life, who cared about ripping up a contract agreement or two?
952
953Since nobles, royals, and merchants destroyed the credibility of any paper-money system, it was only natural for most people to not trust paper money in the end. Since Justice Points were gradually becoming accepted by everyone, Beyana wouldn't miss this excellent opportunity for anything.
954
955Using divine authority to guarantee a new currency had never been tried before, which meant the future was unpredictable. But as long as this succeeded… even if it only succeeded by half, it would mean a great increase in the power level of the Divine Concept of Wealth. For example, Finance, Futures, Loans, and similar financial industries would develop as Concepts under Wealth. By that time, it was likely that many things would change.
956
957"…Perhaps the first God from the Ayer Faction who becomes a Main God won't actually be the God of Fate or the Moonlight Goddess as most people expect. I'm betting on the originally weaker Goddess of Wealth."
958
959Of course, such significant societal changes wouldn't happen overnight. No country would be willing to watch a more widely used currency become more popular than their national currency. No matter how successful Beyana became in the end, this path was destined to be filled with thorns.
960
961Back in the present, when the Contract Heroes discovered that their Justice Points could be exchanged for actual gold and silver in addition to all those treasures, they were quite excited and felt that they had made the right choice in joining this system.
962
963Most people didn't think about the potential impacts of these changes. They were simply delighted at obtaining concrete benefits. Once they discovered that their own lives would be changed by certain things, they would only be able to passively accept. But some people had already seen through many matters and even viewed this as an opportunity.
964
965"Your Highness Roland, could I speak with you in private?"
966
967A certain ridiculously handsome magic knight contacted me. This time, his handsome face appeared far more nervous than in our previous meeting, causing me to ponder on a few things.
968
969Actually, since the wood spirits' primary objective had been leaked by a spy, I had suspected that there was a traitor among the highest ranked adventurers. Since Kaise was the only "outsider" directly allowed to enter the wood spirits' core command centers, he was naturally the prime suspect.
970
971His subordinates were the ones who had helped discover the bronze-ranked undead mage spy. This actually made Kaise seem all the more suspicious in my eyes, as it was a common tactic to sacrifice a pawn to protect the king. Kaise was treated to twenty-four seven plant surveillance at my orders.
972
973Only when the real spy Molly jumped out near the battle's end did that finally clear my suspicions on Kaise. Since Kaise was the highest-ranked leader of the adventurers, he naturally received a silver military achievement emblem for his contributions.
974
975But to be honest, I never expected him to come and contact me after the battle was over.
976
977After all, my identity was now exposed. It was well known to powerful individuals that the "Undying Roland" on the Calamity Rankings was also the Undead Emperor Yongye who brought with him death and darkness. The high-level adventurers with knowledge of my real identity had all acted quite restrained over the past few days whenever they saw me. Not only would they not come to chat with me, they would all sit up properly whenever I looked over, with pale expressions and sweat dripping down their foreheads, as if I were a man-eating tiger.
978
979Even the novice adventurers, who didn't really know who I was, would become rather reserved when noticing the gold military achievement emblem on my chest. The smarter ones among the novices recalled that there was a high-ranked Calamity Rankings individual who had acted to protect Oak Town in the battle, so they also knew just how to act around this "gold military achievement emblem person."
980
981But still, I didn't really enjoy this type of atmosphere. Recently, I was feeling incredibly bored. Even though I didn't pay any attention whatsoever to my image and stuffed my face at this celebration party feast, nobody had said a word about my ill manners. But this young fellow had actually come to speak to me of his own volition, which made me rather interested in him.
982
983"I would like to talk to you about cooperating…"
984
985Obviously, some things weren't suitable for discussing in public. We went to an empty room, and had a good chat. The end result was that we both discovered that we could agree on mutual goals, so we ended up signing a few contracts that weren't suitable for seeing the light of day.
986
987"Alright then, it's time for me to say goodbye, Your Highness. I look forward to meeting you again in the Bardi Empire's capital."
988
989Kaise Elowen, the "Black Guardian" and leader of the Westwood Guardian mercenary group, left in satisfaction. Although we didn't have the most joyous meeting the first time we met, perhaps we would have more opportunities to work together in the future.
990
991"This Kaise fellow is no normal individual. I feel he's going to become a great person in the future. Oh, right, I should check the game history whether he appears in it or not…"
992
993There were far too many stories about legends, heroes, epics, the mystical, and so on. Just recording all their names alone would make a book thicker than a dictionary. Often times, when hearing the name of some great hero or villain who was quite well known and powerful, the game history might have nothing more than their name. Nor was it possible for me to remember every single name in the game's history. But it would simply take a few minutes of my time for me to check if a person's name appeared in my game history walkthrough.
994
995[Kaise Elowen, page 367, line 7. By the way, he's quite an interesting fellow.]
996
997In a way, the moment my System spoke up, I figured that something was going on. And so, I speedily flipped to that page and looked at what was written there. And then, I immediately understood.
998
999"Kaise Elowen… he truly is an interesting person."
1000
1001******
1002
1003Red blood filled an entire pool. The strange part was, however, that although this was all obviously so bloody, there was no nauseous stench whatsoever.
1004
1005This was the blood of Immemorial Red Dragons, something incredibly difficult to obtain no matter how much money you paid. But the moment I sunk myself into the pool of blood, my body's sensory system went crazy, with numbness, soreness, swelling, and all sorts of sensations attacking me together. I itched so much all over that I wanted to cut off my own skin, but it only took a moment for me to lose all senses entirely.
1006
1007[Sensory deprivation service, at a charge of 10—no—100 Justice Points.]
1008
1009"…You're taking advantage of me when I'm down! Can't you be at least a little nicer!"
1010
1011[In that case, should I cancel this service and refund your Justice Points? I shall do it in three, two…]
1012
1013"…You win."
1014
1015Everything went silent again. Since I needed to soak myself in this pool of blood for the time being, I decided to focus on the harvest I had received, which I had placed in my Frigidwinter Earth. From a certain standpoint, as a victor who successfully "looted corpses," I gained much from this battle. However, turning my harvest into concrete benefits wasn't something nearly so easy.
1016
1017I had enough of only being able to watch from the sidelines. It was quite clear what I needed to do.
1018
1019"I need to get stronger. Fast."
1020
1021Chapter 352: Two Undead Emperors
1022
1023
1024
1025Eich's fundamental units were the four elements of wind, fire, water, and earth, not molecules and atoms like my previous world. It was obvious that this world wasn't a scientific one.
1026
1027But some things remained the same. Intelligent species liked to research the foundational nature and workings of the world—this was common to all intelligent species, no matter how different they were. If science on Earth could be called humanity's search for knowledge about Earth and nature, then magic was how mages searched for knowledge about Eich's workings and reason.
1028
1029Since the four elements were the basic units that made up this world, no matter how advanced magic civilization was, everything was forever based on elemental magic. This was just like how the technology in my previous world had advanced to the extent of traveling to the moon while physics had reached the particle level. It just so happened that these two fields' theories and research results even complemented each other, helping both to progress. The most famous one among them would be the Theory of Relativity. It laid the foundation for how humans understood space and gravity and even allowed them to explore space. Much of this originated from the analysis of the fundamental particles that made up the universe.
1030
1031The seekers of truth in this world were the same. They would dare to hypothesize and carefully search for proof while gradually analyzing the nature of the world of Eich. This was the only thing that all mages had in common. Sometimes, the understanding of something minute, which seemed only a useless theory, might actually be the mainspring of a huge leap forward in technology or magic.
1032
1033Perhaps nobody would expect that in this sudden battle that had ended so quickly, the person who benefited the greatest wasn't actually Roland who was currently taking a bath in dragon's blood, nor was it the Goddess of Wealth, who was both in pain and delight as her believers and faith had greatly increased with the expansion of Wealth Points yet her divine soul had suffered from her incarnation's self-destruction. Instead, the greatest beneficiary was actually someone on the losing side of that battle: Zero.
1034
1035In the core of the Ice Plane, there was a place tucked within numerous snowy mountains which went by the name of Amber Palace in the undead Tark Republic's language.
1036
1037This ancient palace of snow and ice was decorated in a "historical" style. Unlike Aso who was born a slave, Zero was from a later generation, one where the Tark Republic was at its peak. All the decorations and spacing had clear geometrical patterns, while divine beasts were etched onto the door's knockers. A school of ice fish frolicked in the crystal waves of an icy river, seeming almost alive. These were all remnants from that ancient generation.
1038
1039In a flower garden, ice maids were unhurriedly moving about, serving guests similarly made of ice. Musicians were giving performances. The normal sounds of activity and music made it seem that everything was still going on as normal in the Amber Palace. But in the empty main hall of this palace forgotten to history, there was a lonely throne, upon which the palace's master was hibernating. Her long, ceremonial clothing reached all the way to the steps.
1040
1041Zero was currently in a deep sleep. The only thing different from her projection's appearance was that there was a tiny golden crown resting on her head.
1042
1043However, she seemed to be not doing so well right now. The left side of her physical body was emanating chilling mist and frost, while the right half of her body was on fire. Running down her middle was an invisible line that seemed to separate her into two halves that didn't affect each other.
1044
1045This ancient Undead Emperor slept here as she always did for the past several thousand years. Only now, one side of her throne was filled with icicles, while the other half was beginning to melt, a sign certain changes were occurring.
1046
1047In this world, the concept of time was meaningless—it practically stood still. It was only after an unknown length of time that a light sigh sounded in the empty hall, amid the forever gray skies and the perpetual snow and ice.
1048
1049"…As expected, there's only that possibility… I never expected that a junior would end up teaching me a lesson… Is this one of the fundamental natural laws of the world?"
1050
1051She was asking herself, and there was no need for her to answer out loud. At Zero's level, her knowledge alone was capable of changing her world.
1052
1053"…Energy… is always conserved equally?"
1054
1055For the master of the Ice Plane, words were power, and her understanding was reality. The moment she spoke, the entire plane lit up in a brilliant, golden light, the source of which was her throne. Everywhere the light touched was changed.
1056
1057Observation meant the confirmation of existence. Under the Undead Emperor's observation, her entire plane was changed, as if an invisible brush was applying color to her world.
1058
1059The snow-white castle walls of ice were colored with gray, as if they had now experienced the passing eons of history. The ice maids that appeared like dolls now had colors like the living. Apart from their still crystal clear eyes, it was impossible to tell them apart from the living.
1060
1061The ice flowers in the garden were colored with the colors of the rainbow, while the ice fish jumping in the waves finally dived back into the water. The wheels of time that had stopped for several thousand years in the Ice Plane finally started turning again.
1062
1063Around the Amber Palace, the snow mountains transformed into green mountains, while the frozen earth had now returned to the earth's natural brown color. This frozen amber transformed into a gem amongst the mountains.
1064
1065"…Is this the feeling of breathing? This is a heartbeat?"
1066
1067The greatest change was in Zero herself. Her clear skin now had the natural color of white skin while red blood flowed underneath. Her ethereal ceremonial clothing transformed into true silk.
1068
1069*Thump*
1070
1071*Thump*
1072
1073*Thump*
1074
1075Her heartbeat that had stopped for tens of thousands of years had revived. Emotions of delight and nervousness suffused her blood. This mysterious change happened to Zero as her accumulated experience was added on to by knowledge she had gained from another world, as if she was a stone that had achieved enlightenment. Perhaps Zero was still an Undead Emperor, but the current her was no longer living or undead. She was no longer the same as her past self.
1076
1077"Zero? No, from today onwards, my new name shall be 'Conservation.'"
1078
1079Only the similarly ancient Senators of the Tark Republic knew that it was "Zero's" personal habit to use her greatest field of achievement as her name, abandoning her original name to history.
1080
1081"Ice River," "Snow Stream," "Hibernation Freeze," "Under the Ice" and "Zero" were the five previous names of Zero, each representing a stage of her power. And "Zero" was the name she had used by far the longest. And today, she had changed her name yet again.
1082
1083But the incomprehensible part was that the scene of her left half being icy and the right half burning up remained. Her soft skin had a clear line drawn down the middle, with the skin on her left white and clear, and the skin on the right bright red. Her hair on the left was a shade of silvery white, while her hair on the right was a shade of scarlet, akin to a burning fire. At her power level, it would be quite easy for her to change her physical appearance as she pleased, but she decided to maintain this unique characteristic.
1084
1085"This… I'll save this as a reminder, a memory."
1086
1087But suddenly, Conservation paused—she had a thought that interrupted her delight. She recalled the astral projection that she had lost, which was most likely being analyzed by Roland at the moment. If she was capable of obtaining this much information from him which greatly improved her own understanding and power level, then it was also completely possible for Roland to completely analyze her astral projection and obtain similar information.
1088
1089"I doubt it's possible… it's only an astral projection. Without a deep understanding of the concept of heat, it won't be possible…"
1090
1091But against all her expectations, in another small world, a similar brush was adding color. White seas of ice were being painted blue, while the pale sunlight was now turning a shade of scarlet. The wolves roaming around the plains were now a grassy green.
1092
1093As Roland's physical body sunk into a deep slumber, his will descended upon his world as he changed it as he pleased.
1094
1095And the vessel which acted as the host for his will was Conservation's lost astral projection, who was currently working hard at adding color to Frigidwinter Earth.
1096
1097"No wonder this evolution was ranked higher than the dragon's blood evolution. This time, I've truly picked up an excellent treasure. I obtained the key that I had lacked the most."
1098
1099******
1100
1101From a certain standpoint, undead mages and mages didn't have any foundational differences. Unlike warlocks who were able to use magic from birth due to their bloodlines, undead mages and mages were all scholars who pursued the truth and were skilled at transforming knowledge and theory into actual power.
1102
1103If you had to look for differences, it would mostly be that undead mages typically had very few moral limits. Not only would undead mages not hesitate to break normal taboos, they did not fear danger. More importantly, undead mages typically researched the area of "life" itself.
1104
1105"How do body parts work? Why is it that without this organ, a person can't move? What if I add this part—will he be able to move again? Also… just what exactly is a soul!?"
1106
1107As for the details, since time was limited while knowledge was limitless, the undead mages' research naturally created many different research factions—this was similar to how researching a subject to a certain extent would turn into researching about a specific area in that subject.
1108
1109There was no research that was considered superior or inferior, just as how those who researched top-level technologies in my original world didn't actually make much more money than a top-level physicist. Undead mages who focused on researching Undead Calamity and other forbidden spells might not even be able to defeat a flesh and blood living alchemist who specialized in creating Abominations. If there had to be a way of seeing who was superior, then you could only measure them by how far each person had gone down their respective paths, which was why there were ranked power levels like Myth and SemiGod.
1110
1111Since undead mages were mages as well, they, too, had to reach the rank of SemiGod by walking down the same path of ordinary mages in producing research results. If one hoped to bring about research results as an undead mage, one would need to become a top-level expert in their field.
1112
1113Perhaps due to the mortal plane's own unfriendliness towards undead, it was more difficult for the undead to advance in power level than any other species. A normal SemiGod mage's equivalent would be a Myth-ranked undead, as Myth-ranked undead were already the foremost experts in their research fields. As for the SemiGod Undead Emperors, they weren't as simple as existences who were merely the foremost experts in their field. It could even be said that they created domains where only they reigned supreme, possessing power over some unclaimed concept which nobody else possessed. This was how they reached the level of being existences that the mortal plane wouldn't recognize, yet they still existed as enemies of the mortal plane.
1114
1115This was also why even though Undead Emperors were only SemiGod in power level, but still obtained the same exiled status as the other Evil Gods and Gods from other dimensional planes. From a certain standpoint, the Undead Emperors had indeed walked down too far in a taboo field, dangerously touching the brink.
1116
1117No matter how far an Undead Emperor traveled down their path, it all started with a basic research question. My basic research question could be considered "The quality of the soul," while the secrets I obtained from that astral projection told me that "Zero's" research question was "the temperature of life."
1118
1119"Why is the weight of the soul 21 grams?"
1120
1121"Why is it that the great majority of mammalian lifeforms and birds have a constant, set body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius?"
1122
1123From a certain standpoint, these two questions were rather similar. They both appeared quite simple and it appeared easy to answer. But if you really tried to answer them and chased the reason down to the very foundation, you would touch on the innermost secrets of this world: the very essence of a soul, and the secrets of life.
1124
1125Yep, from the very start, undead mages that researched topics like corpse zombie construction or Ice Dragon strengthening were all idiots attracted by the illusion of power but went down the wrong path. When taking the four elements to the extreme, it would return to the basic foundations of what the elements were, which was why the Frigid Nightmares' foundational magic and simple yet powerful forbidden spells existed. Undead magic started out from researching the living and the dead, and the final, highest-level topics of all would be the same as the very beginning source: souls and life.
1126
1127The reason I was able to achieve so much in my knowledge about souls, apart from my own stubbornness and knowledge gained from two separate worlds, was that my soul refused to enter the Cycle of Reincarnation like everyone else. No normal path would carry one to the level of an unstoppable Undead Emperor. Apart from 99% hard work, 1% talent was absolutely required.
1128
1129Although it sounded rather depressing, Undead Emperors were at a realm no normal path would lead to, and it was impossible for anyone to achieve it no matter how hard they worked, unless they were an ultra-rare genius among geniuses.
1130
1131For instance, if it wasn't for the fact that I had experience tempering my soul in the Cycle of Reincarnation, personally witnessing the nature of souls in the Cycle, personally singing and showering in the River Styx, and repeatedly patching up my injured soul, it wouldn't have been possible for me to reach the level of an Undead Emperor.
1132
1133As long as there was enough population, and the environment was suitable enough to foster a genius, these 0.00000001% of geniuses— perhaps I should call them heaven-favored geniuses or miracle talents—would end up appearing. Not only did they need talent, they would also need to temper their talent to the very utmost, to the point where their talent separated them from everyone else. Once-in-a-lifetime luck as well as working hard for centuries were both necessaries, so of course there were incredibly few that could become Undead Emperors. The fact that "no normal path" could be taken meant that this path was far too difficult. Theoretically speaking, no Undead Emperor was younger than two thousand years old …
1134
1135Exceptions? You're mentioning how I reached this level despite being only three hundred something years old? In a way, I had my System to thank for this. Without her assistance and the cheat-like level of growth, I couldn't possibly have accumulated so much in this comparatively short period of time. Also, my largest cheat of all was that I had knowledge from two completely different worlds. In any field of research, looking at things from a different angle might end up with a completely different result, and coming up with revolutionary ways of thinking was the most difficult. Many geniuses with an extraordinary amount of talent were stuck in some area where they lacked insight and realization… I definitely wasn't referring to the silly cat, as her problem was far different from most Myth-ranked undead.
1136
1137Cough—cough—getting back on topic, from a certain standpoint, "Zero" was doubtlessly one such incredibly rare genius among geniuses. She must have spent countless years to reach her current level, and her age… Fine, just as how I decided not to pursue Harloys and Little Red's real ages, I decided to be a gentleman and not think about how her age would be calculated in the tens of thousands of years as the basic unit . Yep, it definitely wasn't because I was worried that if I thought too much about this topic, my thoughts would be leaked to her through our soul connection, causing that silly cat to bite my head. Nor was it because recently I was so poor that I needed the silly cat's charity so that I wouldn't starve… A pet cat like her actually had a secret gold hoard stashed away! Can you believe it!?
1138
1139Cough, once again, trying to get on topic, "Zero" was a ghost, and her natural talent ability was to rob any living she touched of their heat. This wasn't a rare talent at all, nor was she a special high-ranked undead. Ghosts were limited in both growth potential and combat strength. But, what was slightly different about her was that she was incredibly sensitive to heat stealing. While other ghosts simply robbed as much heat as they could upon contact, she was able to finely determine just how much heat she robbed down to the very specific units, giving her the ability to play all sorts of tricks based on precise calculations.
1140
1141Perhaps this talent of hers wasn't much practical use in combat, but her precise control over energy vastly helped her in the area of negative energy research, allowing her to reach the peak. And what truly helped her enter the "nearly unreachable" status of an Undead Emperor were her research results in the topic of "The effect of energy on the living."
1142
1143Her natural talent made it easy for her to discern every change in energy. She was capable of observing the changes to a living individual with great precision—the slightest modification in temperature would not be missed. In fact, one of her research fields—unique to her alone—was "negative energy temperature" undead creatures, which were capable of producing negative energy fields. With her unique talent, she needed only a single glance to determine a living being or undead's power level. Her negative energy research was top-level amongst all the Undead Emperors, and her undead armies constituted a true perpetual motion machine and source of negative energy, making them fearsome existences in any battle of attrition.
1144
1145Ever since she had started viewing energy as one of the sources of life for living creatures, she had gained the ability to send out incarnations of self with a portion of her power. The truly frightening part about Zero was her perfect control over energy.
1146
1147However, that was where she had reached her limit. She only knew the effects of energy on living creatures and the undead, but she was unable to comprehend the effect of energy on this entire world. This wasn't because she was foolish or overly traditional. It was because undead mages forever focused only on souls and the living and were uninterested in the mechanical or the environment. And if you abandoned researching about energy in other areas, how would you possibly be able to obtain the overarching truth about energy? It just so happened that this magical world's research results arrived from "I saw it, so it existed"—obviously, such an attitude made obtaining the truth incredibly difficult.
1148
1149Perhaps someone taught it to her in the past, or perhaps she obtained esoteric knowledge from some texts. However, any Undead Emperor would have an understanding of the world similar to how it really worked. Undead Emperors were even capable of sending out incarnations to influence the mortal plane, so modifying their own world was even easier.
1150
1151Yet an existence at a level equal to hers had used a real world of his own and an inexplicable method beyond her understanding, giving her a vicious slap in the face. One that had woken her up.
1152
1153"So energy is always conserved. Energy can be transmitted from the sun and moon to trees and plants, and from trees and plants to humans, and from humans' corpses back to nature. Perhaps our world isn't isolated after all. Negative energy can be transmitted as well. Perhaps the very end of the negative energy which powers all undead is the positive energy that powers all life."
1154
1155Once she updated her own concept of the world, her world finally progressed. The transference of negative and positive energy broke the boundaries between life and death. Fortunately, the Undead Emperor was the highest level achievable by any undead. Otherwise, a brand new title and level might be needed just for her.
1156
1157From a certain standpoint, this was a research result she had obtained together with Roland. This was the combined crystallized wisdom of two Undead Emperors. While Zero evolved into "Conservation" because of this, Roland, too, obtained part of her research results from her astral projection and, in fact, ended up benefiting much more than her by adding on to his theories through another method.
1158
1159Originally, Roland should have been incapable of analyzing Zero's astral projection. However, Aso just happened to give him large amounts of undead knowledge as a parting gift. While Aso's knowledge might not necessarily be at a higher level than Roland's, and his esoteric, top-level knowledge wasn't given to Roland, Roland had still obtained the Tark Republic's standard teaching materials and common research theories. Zero herself had also used these theories to gradually increase in power. With all of this, it was as if Roland possessed a key to open the gate to successfully analyze this astral projection.
1160
1161"…I've already reconstructed the energy cycle of my world. This isn't Earth where only positive energy exists. A cycle of negative energy is one of the main reasons behind the existence of souls, and one of the truly most amazing things about a magical world. Zero's eyes are wonderful! Everything I see may not be the truth, and I was limited by past beliefs. This isn't the purely physical world that I was from in the past. This is a world that's constructed of both the physical and the mental. While Zero was restricted by this world's way of thinking, I, too, was limited by my so-called scientific knowledge that I had valued so much."
1162
1163At this moment, the shattered "Crown of Undead" Soul Imprint had reformed. But unlike the now completely fixed Ice Treader Soul Imprint, the undead magic Soul Imprint was the crystallized wisdom of three Undead Emperors; in fact, it represented an entirely new path. A path more difficult than before was now before Roland.
1164
1165It was a face, a male face, split down the middle. One side was made of skeletal bones, while the other was a living person. The skeleton was smiling, while the living half was crying. He had broken the boundaries of life and death, gazing into the depths of the true nature of souls. He was…
1166
1167"…Since he understands the Cycle of Reincarnation, the role of Judge of the Dead is the most suitable for him. Then, let's name him 'Judge of the River Styx.'"
1168
1169There were no simple individuals among the Undead Emperors. While Zero had obtained much from Roland and had progressed down her path, the victor of their battle, Roland, had gained even more. It was only his power level that was limiting him—he was unable to completely display what he had obtained.
1170
1171Yet some benefits could now be noticed.
1172
1173When Roland had broken through, he had been greeted with a System Notification.
1174
1175[Congratulations for successfully fixing the Crown of Undead Soul Imprint. You have now awakened your SemiGod Racial Talent, 'Stare of the Hell God'! System Reminder: This natural talent is dangerous. Very, very dangerous. Please use it carefully. Additional System Reminder: This racial talent can be further evolved. And please, take extra caution when using it.]
1176
1177Chapter 353: Direction of Evolution
1178
1179
1180
1181When I awoke from my long slumber, I was unable to move. Yet I was greeted with a world no longer the same.
1182
1183If a mirror were present, I would have been able to see that my eyes were different. One eye had a normal white eye and a black pupil, while the other had a black eye and white pupil. Like the opposite halves of a Yin Yang diagram, it gave off a frightening appearance.
1184
1185Meanwhile, what I saw was far stranger. On one side was a world of energy that appeared like infrared lights, with red, yellow, orange and other warm colors. The other half was filled with decayed bones and black gunk, as if all the filth of the world was before me.
1186
1187Luckily, when I canceled the "Stare of the Hell God," my eyes returned to normal. Otherwise, I would have had to find a bandage to cover my eyes, like a certain unlucky fellow who was "imprisoned for ten thousand years…" Hmmm. Having bandages over my eyes would actually look quite cool, but going around with a naked upper body would seem quite embarrassing. And I felt that if I uttered that classical line, "You seek your own death!", I would collapse of embarrassment halfway through—that would be even more embarrassing. [1]1
1188
1189I took a deep breath and quickly discovered that the dragon's blood in the blood pool I was soaking in had decreased by more than half. Meanwhile, some mysterious change seemed to have occurred in my body.
1190
1191"System?"
1192
1193I figured that now was the time to consult an expert. At the very least, her showing me my status would be able to help me understand my situation with precise numbers and words.
1194
1195Unluckily for me, although I could check it, my racial talents and stats kept changing constantly in a quick blur that was impossible to read. My body was still undergoing changes.
1196
1197"Ha, it would seem that it's still too early."
1198
1199My physical body was evidently still evolving. I took a deep breath and intended to place my consciousness back within my Frigidwinter Earth. However, I received a reply from the System at this moment.
1200
1201[Your physical body is now entering its youth stage. Please choose the direction of your evolution. System Reminder: Please be careful about your choice. There will be no going back.]
1202
1203I was surprised for a moment upon hearing this, but soon, the System gave me a great amount of information that helped me understand.
1204
1205[Arbiter Bloodline. 19 Strength, 19 Dexterity, 19 Constitution, 29 Intelligence, 19 Will, 19 Charisma. Racial talents: War Angel Form, Original Sin Demon Form. Overall assessment: Double Diamond Bloodline. Recommended job classes: Order Knight, Chaos Lich King. System Evaluation: Your Arbiter Bloodline is on the border between Order and Chaos and belongs to neither faction, but it's compatible with both factions. This bloodline with both foundational powers that are so different created a miraculous physical body for you. Perhaps it's not the strongest body, but it's by far the one with the most potential.]
1206
1207I had always found it quite strange. Even though I clearly possessed a Double Diamond Bloodline, it never performed anywhere near as well in battles as the Titan Giants' Semi-Diamond Bloodline. In fact, I felt like it was far weaker than even Little Red's Immemorial Dragon Bloodline. It was only now that I understood what the problem was.
1208
1209From a certain standpoint, the System was just like me. Although she never lied, she would often be intentionally misleading with her words.
1210
1211This time, the part that made me suffer was the final sentence of her explanation, "Perhaps it's not the strongest body, but it's by far the one with the most potential."
1212
1213Whenever a teacher praised a student for having potential, there would typically be an unstated sentence behind it: "This student is currently not that great." And so, what the System gave me was basically an infant's body. How far it could develop would depend on my path and the choices I made.
1214
1215And so—intentionally or unintentionally—the System dug a pitfall for me. At the very least, what she gave me wasn't a complete Arbiter Bloodline, but an infant Arbiter Bloodline, instead.
1216
1217This was also why my physical body was stuck in a juvenile form. For a young child who had just finished his earliest years of education, whether he became an athlete, artist, musician or whatever in the future would depend on his future studies and practices. Someone at such a young age would first learn to run and speak.
1218
1219The world was forever unfair—no matter the world. In my previous world of Earth, people gifted in athletics or intelligence could accomplish feats no ordinary person could, no matter how hard the ordinary person worked. For example, in certain sports, Africans were far more skilled than the Chinese, no matter how much the Chinese exercised. [2]2
1220
1221There were even larger differences between the species in this world, with more obvious imbalances. The beastmen were naturally talented at physical combat, the elves were born with talent in archery and magic, the dragons were skilled at both physical and magical combat but had slow growth rates, and the undead possessed a natural affinity for negative energy. The only race that had balanced skills in all aspects, the humans, were literally the representative of "Jack of all trades, master of none."
1222
1223The physical body with the most potential? The path leading to the strongest? Nobody would know what power would be the most suitable for them, or what type of fighting style would lead them down the ultimate path. What power you wanted was the same as the so-called greatest potential: giving you a choice to create the physical body and natural talents you desired the most.
1224
1225[Discard a minimum of two of your racial natural talents and elaborate how you wish to strengthen yourself. The more detailed you elaborate, the better. System Notification: Congratulations on your graduation from elementary school. It's time for you to become a middle schooler!]
1226
1227"As an infant, my growth was balanced. Now that I'm a youth, it is time to make a choice?"
1228
1229From the information I received from the System I knew that the Arbiter Bloodline was akin to an insect's metamorphosis. Upon breaking through a bottleneck, this bloodline would evolve. And now, it was time for me to make a choice, one based on my rich experience.
1230
1231"Choice? Choice? Choosing a path also means choosing something to give up. If something's the most important, then there exists something that's not as important."
1232
1233Indeed. While I would have wanted to be as agile as the elves, as strong as the beastmen, and to have an undead's natural affinity for negative energy so that I could use negative energy as I pleased, together with an angel's natural affinity for positive energy, my desires were no good… Even if my ridiculously unreasonable bloodline was able to give me all these traits, the special, unique advantages of each would be lost, and I would only seem ordinary in comparison—nothing would stand out. It would be more of a loss than a gain.
1234
1235[…War Angel Form, Original Sin Demon Form, Sword of Order, Titan Body, Feet of Ethereal Shadow, Divine Child, and Chaos Barrier. I'm going to have to discard a minimum of two of these abilities? And strengthen the others? Which should I strengthen?]
1236
1237These were the natural talents my body currently possessed. I was mulling over which were the most useful to me and what fighting style I should adopt in the future. However, I was now stuck in a quandary. All of these abilities were excellent ones, but if I looked at my past uses for them, there were still obvious differences.
1238
1239I absolutely had to keep the War Angel and Original Sin Demon Forms. No matter if it was in practical combat or the power of Creation within Frigidwinter Earth, they were both incredibly effective. Besides, I felt that since they were the first two abilities that came together with this physical body of mine, I shouldn't make the choice to discard them. Divine Child was an ability that made it easier for me to perform God's Descent with Wumianzhe, which was one of the aces up my sleeve, so naturally I wouldn't choose to discard Divine Child.
1240
1241In that case, let's start the process of elimination with the natural talent I used the least. Of course, planning was always better with more than one person, so I decided to ask the living library Harloys for her advice.
1242
1243"Feet of Ethereal Shadow is the natural talent I've used the least out of all of them. This is the ability for me to escape to the Shadow Plane, which can help me escape from any dangerous situation. However, it also means that I've transported myself to another plane, and that I would need to figure out a way to return to the mortal plane afterwards. It won't be easy for me to return in any short period of time, which is why I've never used it at all. Still, it's a lifesaving ability, which means it might come in useful in the future…"
1244
1245"…Is it even possible for you to consider escaping? Even when the Titan Giants were right before you just now, weren't you raring for battle? I think you should just face your true self and change your job class to Berserker."
1246
1247"Hmph, that's because it wasn't a life-or-death battle. Otherwise, I definitely would have fled to the Shadow Plane."
1248
1249As a mage, fleeing when you couldn't win was completely normal. Mages had far slower growth than other job classes to begin with. For any mage who wanted to go out adventuring, preparing two or three specialized "tactical retreat" spells was absolutely necessary. Harloys telling me to change my job class to Berserker was a veiled insult—she was basically insulting me by calling me a brainless barbarian.
1250
1251"No. I feel that as long as you're forced to the brink, you'd just enter your insanity mode and try to drag your opponent down with him. Back when Aso was casting his forbidden spell, you could have escaped to the Shadow Plane, but instead you attempted to immolate your own soul to take him down with you. Just think about it. Over so many years, have you ever tried to run away even once?"
1252
1253"…I think so—it's possible—it seems…. that indeed I haven't."
1254
1255"You really are the same as all those stubborn tin can knights."
1256
1257Now that she said this, I couldn't help but recall the teachings of Estrada, my Holy Knight teacher who was also known as the strongest Holy Knight. He would prattle on every day for more than three hours on knighthood, which was no different from brainwashing.
1258
1259"…We Holy Knights shall never despair. As long as we fight to the end… even if we must sacrifice ourselves, it's for a worthy cause…"
1260
1261Actually, the greatest advantage of the Holy Knight job class was near absolute immunity to any mental magics related to fear and despair. Adventuring teams were accustomed to having Holy Knights perform the most dangerous tasks. In fact, since there were far too many examples of Holy Knights who loved to sacrifice themselves, back when Beyana in her Betty form was making fun of Holy Knights for this self-sacrificing addiction problem and dragging me away, I couldn't counter her with anything at all.
1262
1263Personally, I was the type who didn't believe that one's childhood education would affect that person for the rest of their life. But the truth was indeed that even if I was forced to the very brink, as long as there was still a one percent possibility I could turn things around, I wouldn't even think about escaping. The fact that I had never used this Feet of Ethereal Shadow ability even once was the best evidence.
1264
1265"So you're advising me against strengthening this life-saving ability?"
1266
1267"For you, it's indeed unnecessary. After all, you'll never think about running away. Besides, you're the Undying Roland. Even if you die, you can just start over again."
1268
1269Alright then. I settled on the first ability to discard. And the second ability, the one I used the second least, was…
1270
1271"Apart from the Feet of Ethereal Shadow ability that's used for escaping, the ability that I've used the second least is the one to summon a 'Sacred Sword' of Order."
1272
1273I had used this ability for only a few times in the very beginning but practically stopped using it afterwards.
1274
1275The Sword of Order ability was limited to being used only once per day, and the issue of the short time that the sword could be summoned was also a small one. The greatest regret about this ability was the fact that I didn't lack for weapons.
1276
1277Pale Justice, the Roland Sacred Sword, and the Slayer of the Undying Warhammer were all excellent weapons which could act as vessels for Holy Light or the power of Law. Although I gave the God Equipment Roland Sacred Sword to Reyne, I was now mainly using the Ice Calamity magic sword that my silly cat could transform into ever since she had evolved to possess the powers of "Calamity Chill" and "Hibernation Chill".
1278
1279And as I improved in my understanding of ice magic, Erebella's passive buff to my ice magic along with the fatal time-freezing Hibernation Chill ability meant that Harloys' transformed Ice Calamity magic sword was just as powerful as the Roland Sacred Sword—reaching the level of God Equipment.
1280
1281In that case, the conclusion was quite obvious. The choices for which two abilities to discard had now been decided.
1282
1283"You don't lack close-combat attacking methods. The Sacred Sword of Order that purely uses Holy Light and the power of Law is barely of any use to you."
1284
1285Harloys was being quite reasonable, but why was it that I felt like she only wanted to eliminate her competitor and become my only beloved sword…? Fine, since I accidentally thought this and forgot about our soul connection, I now needed to figure out how to remove her from my head again. Recently, she somehow learned a technique to make her fangs as tough as diamonds. As she bit into my skull, I was given a headache in more than one meaning of the word…
1286
1287"So, a close combat ability is meaningless to you, and an escape ability is meaningless to you. That gives us an obvious conclusion. Just what is the natural talent ability you've used the most?"
1288
1289She didn't even need to ask, because the answer was of course…
1290
1291[Titan's Body, Diamond level racial talent: Your physical body possesses the original power of Titan Giants, and every day your skin will become more like that of a Titan Giant. All damage and negative effects are reduced by 30. All damage is reduced by an additional 5.]
1292
1293[Chaos Barrier, Gold level racial talent: Protect your mind and soul from the suppression of Divine Kingdoms and Soul Worlds. Reduce the effectiveness of all Will-affecting and hallucinatory spells and abilities used against you.]
1294
1295Yep, the natural talents I used the most were actually these two passive, purely defensive abilities. One was used to protect my physical body, while the other protected my soul. These two combined were the main reason I could live to today.
1296
1297As I looked over the word "Titan" in my ability "Titan's Body," I couldn't help but recall the Titan Giant incarnation who didn't even die against a True God's incarnation's self-destruction. The deepest impression the two Titan Giants left on me was their truly outstanding defensive capabilities.
1298
1299Thanks to my Frigidwinter Earth, along with my abilities in ice magic, undead magic, Holy Light, and Law—these four different areas—I didn't lack attack power or attacking methods. However, my greatest weakness was my defense. If someone was accidentally stepped on and squashed to death on a battlefield, they would only be able to take their grudges with them to the grave no matter how powerful or talented they were.
1300
1301My ice armor containing the Cold Flames of Despair had seemed impossible to break against Emordilorcan, but that had been nothing more than a mere bluff, used to scare someone who valued his own life. If I met with a hotheaded idiot of an enemy who truly rushed over to shatter my armor without caring for their own life, even I myself would have been frozen in time for eternity—and by my own power.
1302
1303Living on would mean hope still existed, hope that I could win in the end.
1304
1305"…Perhaps strengthening my defensive abilities is the most suitable path for me to take."
1306
1307[…I don't recommend you to choose this direction of evolution. Unless you have Titan Giant body parts to help, you won't be able to evolve as strongly as you wish for. And once you make your choice, you'll be unable to change your mind. System Reminder: It's your own fault for not completing the Titan Giant Hunting Quest. Try again next time.]
1308
1309Although the System was being quite critical of me, I could tell that the System was, in her own way, looking out for me.
1310
1311The fact that she gave me Quests while I was battling against Zero was probably because Zero's knowledge would be one of the greatest possible benefits for me. It would be an excellent chance for me to improve my overall understanding of undead magic and fix my Undead Magic Soul Imprint. Meanwhile, my Titan's Body ability was probably the most suitable direction for me to evolve my physical body. The Immemorial Red Dragon Bloodline evolution Quest was very easy due to Little Red's assistance against Molly, and the rewards for that were pretty much nothing more than a consolation prize.
1312
1313Just the recent battle against the Titan Giants made it easy to see that the dragons' physical strength and the Titan Giants' physical strength were on completely different levels. If I chose the Dragon Bloodline's evolution path, although it would greatly increase my physical body's strength and maybe even give me dragon-based attacks, the pure defensive prowess of a Dragon Bloodline wouldn't be anywhere close to the Titan Giant Bloodline's.
1314
1315I hesitated now as well. After working so hard to reach this step, taking a wrong path would really be pitiful.
1316
1317I could already guess at what abilities evolving myself with a Dragon Bloodline would give me. After all, dragons were all true to their base desires so there were many other species with partial dragon blood in them. Not only that, there were quite a few Dragon Bloodline Warlocks in this world, and all the Dragon Bloodline abilities had already been thoroughly researched by others.
1318
1319Of course, the Dragon Bloodline would greatly improve the base physical stats of ordinary people who had much weaker bodies. However, since my base stats were far too high compared to most, the increase for me would likely be limited. I didn't want to take this path if possible.
1320
1321The Dragon Bloodline could also help me to grow dragon scales. In the past, I would have said that having my own personal dragonscale armor on my body would make me impregnable due to its high defense against both physical and magic attacks. But I already possessed the power ability Titan's Body and had witnessed the ridiculous defensive prowess of real Titan Giants. How could I possibly be satisfied with mere dragon scales?
1322
1323The Dragon Bloodline could also help me grow dragon wings and give me the ability of flight. While flight seemed like a simple power, it was forever a practical one. The unfortunate part was that I already possessed my War Angel form. As my power level increased, the time I could keep myself in the War Angel form—as well as number of transformations per day—kept increasing. So this power of flight from the Dragon Bloodline would be quite useless.
1324
1325The Dragon Bloodline could also give me the ability to use dragon breath, which was indeed a powerful attack. It would have a wide area of affect, powerful strength, and quick activation. But the main problem with this was just as I had mentioned earlier: I didn't lack attacking methods. Still, this ability would be the best out of all these mostly useless abilities the Dragon Bloodline would give me.
1326
1327I could also obtain dragon claws and a dragon tail to increase my physical combat prowess… but honestly, that would be the most useless of all. I was no monk who specialized in barehanded combat; I used swords. This emptyhanded combat strength would be meaningless, and possessing dragon claws would even lower my skill with the sword as I would need to get used to gripping a sword with claws instead of hands.
1328
1329And if I really did grow claws, fangs, and a tail, apart from ruining my handsome appearance, I was even more worried about a certain legendary individual. Yep, I'm talking about a certain dracon who mysteriously managed to tame even a divine beast! He was more familiar with dragons than anyone! He could definitely accomplish anything!
1330
1331The more I thought about it, the more I was regretting things. Not only was a Dragon Bloodline evolution mostly useless to me, but it might even be dangerous for me…
1332
1333Wait a moment. Suddenly, an outrageous idea came to mind. I turned to Harloys and Erebella who were being forced to soak in dragon's blood together with me due to their soul contracts. If this idea of mine worked, then this Dragon Bloodline evolution would no longer be useless. Instead, it would actually be a shortcut to improving my overall combat strength.
1334
1335And so, I hesitatingly made my request to my System.
1336
1337However, I was met with a long period of silence, as if the System was making its calculations. Yet, I was delighted at this, as what I was most afraid of was instant refusal. This doubtlessly meant that my idea was possible to carry out.
1338
1339[…There will be a fee of 150,000 Fate Points. Haggling… is impossible. This is the final price!]
1340
1341I instantly became furious upon hearing this. I currently possessed 143,451 Fate Points—just a little short. By naming such a price, wasn't the System making it obvious that she wanted me to suffer?
1342
1343"You bastard! Even making a new body for me wouldn't be this expensive. Also, why does it just happen to be more Fate Points than what I have right now? Don't even think for a moment that I don't know why it's always a whole number—it's because you're always raking in the profits by jacking up the prices!"
1344
1345[You think my prices are too expensive? Feel free to shop at other stores.]
1346
1347Alright then. This condescending tone made me instantly imagine a female merchant picking her nose while looking down on me.
1348
1349While I really wanted to shop elsewhere, my System had a full monopoly in that market. What other store could I possibly shop at? Not only that, this monopoly was the type where I was already stuck on a pirate ship, with nowhere else to run to! It was just like if someone purchased a computer system, they would be forced to continue downloading that system's patches and purchasing additional system services! Otherwise, all sorts of system loopholes and viruses would kill you.
1350
1351"…You win. What should I do about the points shortage? Can I just owe you the rest?"
1352
1353I had now realized that the System was pretty much intending to suck me dry of all my Fate Points and was probably intending to force me into doing those ridiculous Daily Quests.
1354
1355[No.]
1356
1357When I heard this, I paused in surprise. I never expected her to actually refuse. Could it be that she was nice enough for once to only give me the manufacturing cost's price, which was why I wasn't allowed to owe her money?
1358
1359If that was really the case, what was I supposed to do? Give up on this idea of mine that I finally came up with? Force myself to use the Dragon Bloodline evolution? I really didn't want to do that!
1360
1361[You can owe me the rest, but you need to pay the remainder in Justice Points. First, give the 2300 Justice Points you possess right now to me, and pay a deposit on the item I want.]
1362
1363Fine then. I had underestimated a certain black-bellied System's lack of limits. At this moment, I couldn't help but think of certain pitiful men back in my previous world. Without even having received their salaries yet, their women would already lay claim to it. At such a time, as a manly man, I could only sigh deeply, and then… lower my head and beg for mercy!
1364
1365"…You win, but please leave me at least 100 Justice Points of spare change! You also know that it's not so easy for me to come by Justice Points."
1366
1367Yet no matter how pitiful a man acted, the woman wouldn't let him go so easily.
1368
1369[I'll leave you 50 Justice Points. There's no need to thank me. Pay the rest of the balance within six months; otherwise, there will be a 40% compound interest rate.]
1370
1371[You understand how it is.]
1372
1373Note:
1374
1375[1] TL/N: Illidan Stormrage reference, from World of Warcraft.
1376
1377[2] ED/N: Is this true? I couldn't find any reliable sources on the web with information that said such.
1378
1379    TL/N: Illidan Stormrage reference, from World of Warcraft.
1380    ED/N: Is this true? I couldn't find any reliable sources on the web with information that said such.
1381
1382Chapter 354: The Powerful Sure Have Messy Lifestyles
1383
1384
1385
1386"They've already been in there for seven days. Why haven't they come out yet?"
1387
1388Little Red was in quite a foul mood. And her mood only worsened as time passed.
1389
1390Dragons were the epitome of the dictionary's definition of "impatient." This was especially so for Red Dragons who also served as the dictionary's definitions for "arrogance," "unreasonable," and "bad at listening to others."
1391
1392While dragons were all one species, the differences among them were huge. Although they had managed to escape from needing to fight in the eternal Holy War, Red, White, Black, Green, Blue, and other Color Dragons were all the Chaos Goddess's creations and were viewed as part of the Chaos Faction. Considering the fact that the most representative species of Chaos, the demons, had terrible tempers, in a way that was the best evidence for how difficult Color Dragons were to get along with.
1393
1394Red Dragons, who were of the fire element, had incredibly short tempers along with incredible arrogance and pride. They were typically sensitive about territory and authority. The thunder element Blue Dragons were huge combat maniacs and loved to hunt other intelligent species as food. Black Dragons, skilled in corrosion and darkness magic, were vicious and evil—they were also the greediest of the dragons.
1395
1396Meanwhile, Green Dragons and White Dragons were significantly weaker than their other Color Dragon relatives. White Dragons were particularly infamous for their low Intelligence, which was why Red, Black, and Blue Dragons were the main three species of Color Dragons, with the highest populations. Any of these would cause a huge disturbance if they appeared anywhere in the mortal plane. And when the entire Dragon Species as a whole exiled the Red and Black Dragons to the Underground World, many species that had suffered due to "Dragon Calamities" were so thrilled at hearing the news that they threw celebration parties lasting several days.
1397
1398Yep, "Dragon Calamity" was actually a term in this world and was treated just like a natural calamity. A Dragon Calamity fit the exact definition of a natural calamity, as Dragon Calamities were unpredictable, unstoppable, and would cause major amounts of damage.
1399
1400One-time robbery victims of dragons randomly coming out by chance didn't count as victims of Dragon Calamities. True Dragon Calamities were typically viewed as the shame of an entire species. The species would forever be helpless about the Dragon Calamities and could only allow them to keep happening.
1401
1402Little Red was an Immemorial Red Dragon. This was more than enough for her to rule over an entire city and easily defeat and kill the average SemiGod. In that case, who could possibly stop dragons even older and more powerful than her, dragons that had experienced the battles from the very first ever Holy War, from running amok? Not only that, an Immemorial Red Dragon wasn't even close to the peak of dragon strength. There were also Supreme Immemorial Dragons that had experienced countless eons. At their level, not even the True Gods would dare to antagonize them. The Dragon power levels went from Dragon Egg, Baby Dragon, Infant Dragon, Young Dragon, Mature Dragon, Adult Dragon, Elder Dragon, Ancient Dragon, Immemorial Dragon, Great Immemorial Dragon, and Supreme Immemorial Dragon. [1]1
1403
1404It was said that an Supreme Immemorial Green Dragon had made its nest in the Wood Elves' holy grounds and had no intentions of giving it up. That Green Dragon treated the Wood Elves' holy grounds as his own home even today. Also, the royalty of one Shield Dwarf Country accidentally broke a certain seal while digging and released a Great Immemorial Shadow Dragon, a species similar to Black Dragons. This Shadow Dragon took over the Shield Dwarves' royal palace for countless eons and even enslaved the country's Shield Dwarves. Also, the incredibly powerful mega-empire named the Gerbai Kingdom was destroyed all due to the anger of a single Supreme Immemorial Red Dragon.
1405
1406By the way, the Supreme Immemorial Green Dragon was ranked #7 on the Calamity Rankings and was known as the "Elf Devourer". The Great Immemorial Shadow Dragon was ranked #33 on the Calamity Rankings and was known as the "Shadow Kingdom Emperor". As for the Supreme Immemorial Red Dragon who destroyed an entire mega-empire all by itself, it hadn't appeared in far too long, which is why it wasn't in the Calamity Rankings. But if it ever resurfaced, it would definitely be in the top 10. Any Color Dragon that was an Supreme Immemorial Dragon would receive this type of due to how incredibly destructive they were.
1407
1408There was only a small difference between Immemorial and Great Immemorial Dragons. For some more powerful dragon species, perhaps an Immemorial Red Dragon would even be able to give a Great Immemorial White Dragon a run for its money, even if the Immemorial Red Dragon would most likely lose in the end. But for dragons that reached the highest level of all, the standard of Supreme Immemorial Dragon, they had witnessed countless Gods dying and being born ever since the first generation. No Great Immemorial Dragon would dare to challenge an Supreme Immemorial Dragon.
1409
1410The world of Eich was massive, and secret locations and areas with low population were even more common than highly populated areas. For such powerful existences like Supreme Immemorial Dragons, they had far surpassed the normal level of being able to defeat by issuing a mission to the adventurers to subjugate them. In most situations, the local ruling authorities would simply draw a dragon on the map and warn travelers to avoid that area. Anyone foolish enough to venture into an Supreme Immemorial Dragon's territory would be given up for lost, with nobody going to save them, even if that person was the princess of some kingdom.
1411
1412Luckily, Great Immemorial and Supreme Immemorial Dragons were both incredibly rare sights in Eich. They typically stayed in their Dragon nests and had plenty of subordinates that brought them food. Also, they had equal-leveled enemy dragons so they kept each other in check. From a certain standpoint, since these most powerful of dragons all had their own established territories and large numbers of subordinate citizens, and even sometimes their own loyal subordinate dragons and knights, each individual Great or Supreme Immemorial Dragon was more like a country's existence rather than an individual existence.
1413
1414Dragon Cities? Dragon Cities were unable to command Great and Supreme Immemorial Dragons. Dragons were an example of a species where only the powerful were respected. When Molly, an Immemorial Red Dragon, became the Dragon Queen, she had incredibly few equal-leveled Immemorial Dragon subordinates under her. When her husband, who barely qualified as having reached the Great Immemorial Dragon power level, had been in charge before her as the Dragon Emperor, there had been more Immemorial Dragons under his command. But there wasn't a single Great Immemorial Dragon under his command. As for the Supreme Immemorial Dragons, it was confirmed that there were only two Red Supreme Immemorial Dragons. However, both of them were viewed as evil Demon Kings, and even when the entire Red Dragon species was exiled to the Underground World, neither of the two Supreme Immemorial Red Dragons were seen to take any action about it.
1415
1416Of course, there were some places where Great and Supreme Immemorial Dragons could be found: Dragon Island and Dragon World. But there was no hoping that they would listen to anyone's orders as these proud and ancient individuals wouldn't even allow younger dragons to fly above their heads, much less listen to a younger dragon's commands.
1417
1418Of course, for any ordinary human, no matter if they met an Immemorial Dragon or just an Adult Dragon, there was no difference. The result would always be death.
1419
1420Alright then. By now, you should be able to come to a conclusion.
1421
1422Together with the dragon power levels and the fact that it was well known how Red Dragons commonly raided other species, Little Red was certain to enter the Calamity Rankings even if she didn't hide her status as the Dragon Queen.
1423
1424But it wasn't only that. Little Red even went around using her real name: Belon's Calamity, Ein Mezus. She was one of the very few Immemorial Red Dragons who had been highly active in the mortal plane. And as for her combat achievements… fine, perhaps I should call it dark history, as she had burned numerous cities down to the ground in the past, destroyed several small countries, kidnapped princesses for ransom, and even schemed to destroy larger countries all so she could rob their treasuries. She was unmistakably an evil and vicious dragon. And she was even one of the smartest and most successful of such evil and vicious Dragons.
1425
1426From a certain standpoint, before the nostalgic adventurer team that we had worked together in was formed, Little Red would unmistakably be considered a purely evil dragon. Red Dragons were famed for being one of the more powerful dragon species who possessed outstanding combat talent. Judging by how easily she won the duel against her mother Molly—who was also incredibly experienced in combat—treating Little Red as an evil Immemorial Red Dragon would seem like no mistake.
1427
1428After her name started spreading thanks to this recent battle, it was a definite that Little Red's name would be entering the Calamity Rankings, although I wouldn't know if she would be ranked before or after me.
1429
1430"Although I don't know why 'The Undying Roland' is ranked so highly in the Calamity Rankings, just seeing that he's able to command this Immemorial Red Dragon to work under him is the best explanation of how ridiculous he is."
1431
1432"…Have you heard? Those two Immemorial Red Dragons are still in this city…"
1433
1434The reason why intelligent species survived for so long was that they had the ability to pass knowledge down to others. At the very least, intelligent species would tell other members of their own kind how to deal with threats. When a humanoid, living Calamity was right next to everyone, how people acted around and treated her was quite obvious.
1435
1436And so, Little Red enjoyed a "Mega Mega VIP" treatment everywhere she went. Every bar she went to, she could drink everything wanted for free, paid for by the Wood Spirits, except for alcohol, thanks to me telling Samantha beforehand that Little Red was a terrible and that she would go on a rampage upon consuming any alcohol. Nobody dared to even chat to Little Red, and she didn't have to pay any money for anything she wanted to purchase… it wasn't that Little Red didn't want to pay, it was that every store owner would run away at top speed upon seeing her. Who was she supposed to pay?
1437
1438Her mood was made even worse by the fact that Samantha and most of the other Wood Spirits all returned to the Forest of Dreams. Everyone else around her would only tentatively avoid her as much as possible, be afraid when talking to her and even look at her with obvious fear in her eyes—this made, Molly, who Little Red hated the most, into the only person who could hold a conversation with her. For Little Red, simply "eating, sleeping, and beating up Molly" every day was considered an improvement in her patience.
1439
1440Actually, even if there was a ban upon her drinking alcohol, Little Red would typically find ways to sneak some alcohol anyways. But it just so happened to be that she was in charge of guarding the troublesome Molly that was so difficult to find and catch, so Little Red was worried that Molly would escape if she went out and drank alcohol. Not only that, guarding Molly meant that Little Red was unable to take long naps as she pleased, which naturally made her temper only worse and worse.
1441
1442And for Molly, she was also hoping for Roland to come back as soon as possible. Over the past week, she had received many painful beatings due to accidentally enraging her own daughter or simply because Little Red wanted a target to vent her displeasure.
1443
1444Of course, half of the beatings were well-deserved due to Molly's behavior, such as trying to escape, poison Little Red, or rebel in some way. After a few times, Little Red directly started withdrawing a small pool of Molly's blood every morning, making her so weak that she was unable to plot any tricks. And if Little Red was in a bad mood, she would simply deliver a vicious beating to Molly, making Molly half-dead for the entire day.
1445
1446Considering how the former Dragon Queen Molly obtained her position by killing off Little Red's father and all of Little Red's siblings, along with attempting to hunt down and kill Little Red herself, in a way it was impossible to say who was right or wrong here. Even if Little Red directly killed Molly, it would be perfectly acceptable.
1447
1448And if Roland was here, he would probably only sigh and say that "The powerful have messy lifestyles" while he wouldn't interfere at all, since it was another family's… another dragon family's internal affairs.
1449
1450But at this moment, this dragon family's internal affairs were now involving him.
1451
1452"Are you sure? You should know what this means, right?"
1453
1454"…While half-blood dragon descendants are indeed discriminated against, do you think anyone will dare to mistreat me and Roland's future baby?"
1455
1456Baby? That's right, Little Red had been acting strange lately, and Harloys had told Roland the reason quite clearly: spring was here, and it was the season for animals to breed future generations.
1457
1458"Relax, I have no interest in bones. Although Roland is indeed someone I'd be quite interested in, my goal is to give birth to Baby Dragons, although I suppose I can bring myself to accept half-blood dragon descendants as well. But he's unable to even have sex with me. And, I'm no necrophile."
1459
1460Two years ago, back in Sulfur Mountain City, Elisa had been worried that Little Red was her rival in love and had sent a challenge saying that "I definitely won't lose to you" to Little Red in a certain bar. The above was Little Red's response at the time. Little Red hadn't lied at all with her response. She was indeed somewhat interested in Roland, but her feelings were more akin to friendship for him, not romantic ones. She mostly just wanted children of her own.
1461
1462From a certain standpoint, the foundational reason for Little Red to completely cast away her former identity as an evil dragon was the increase in her motherly nature as she grew older.
1463
1464Although she had once been an evil dragon with a fearsome reputation, not only did she dote on Annie like she would her own real daughter, Little Red often went around in human form to play with other species' young children in the parks, transforming into a "kind and friendly black-haired big sister." Doubtlessly, those who knew her real identity were thrown into incredible disbelief at the news. In fact, some newcomer Holy Knights at the time even caused a few small conflicts because of this.
1465
1466Recently, her motherly nature had grown even more and caused her to target Samantha. She even attempted to lure Samantha into becoming her second adopted daughter.
1467
1468Dragons were relatively independent creatures who had incredibly strong feelings about territory. Even after mating and giving birth to children, most adult dragons would live by themselves, mostly because the female dragons would turn on the male dragons and demand that they leave. Also, it just happened to be that in the dragon species, female dragons were stronger than the males, so the victors in securing the rights to raise the children and heartlessly exiling the other was typically the female dragons as well…
1469
1470In a female dragon's mind, a family of her own would be fine without a husband—but a child was absolutely necessary. A nest of children would be even better. However, it was no easy task for an Immemorial Red Dragon to have a child.
1471
1472In this world of Eich, the more powerful the existence, the more difficult it would be to leave a descendant. There were many mixed-blood dragon descendants mostly because the dragons were far too true to their base desires. It was also especially because the male dragons typically suffered much abuse from female dragons, so they could only vent their sexual frustrations on other species' females. This was the main reason behind the high number of mixed-blood dragon descendants.
1473
1474But for a female Immemorial Dragon to want descendants was something truly difficult.
1475
1476First, she would need to find a male individual who had a power level similar to her Immemorial Dragon Bloodline's strength. Then, she would need to have sex very often with him, due to the very low pregnancy rate she would have as a powerful individual. This meant that she would need to stay together with him for a relatively long period of time, and she at least needed to not dislike him.
1477
1478For the past Little Red, this was evidently impossible.
1479
1480She was being hunted by her own species and was a clean freak. She also loved cute little girls more than anything. By the time she became an Immemorial Dragon, she could only go look for the other, limited-in-number Immemorial Dragons, or look for a powerful individual from another species. However, she looked down upon the violent and foolish members of her own species, which was why she remained stuck, forever drooling at other peoples' daughters.
1481
1482In conclusion, Little Red was just like a "leftover woman" who accidentally passed peak marriageability age without realizing it. "Those interested in me are all so terrible, but the ones I'm interested in aren't good enough to be with me." And so, as time passed, Little Red's grudges accumulated, and she kept becoming worse and worse in a certain area.
1483
1484Actually, Little Red had quite a good relationship with Momo. From a certain standpoint, both of them belonged to the "strange auntie" alliance. It was just that one was a lolicon, while the other was a shotacon. Whenever they got together to secretly exchange experiences in fooling young children, Sulfur Mountain City's Town Security would often receive reports from the citizens about their actions…
1485
1486Alright then, from a certain standpoint, once Roland revived, Little Red was delighted and astonished to discover that his very bloodline had changed. She could even faintly detect that it was above her own Immemorial Red Dragon Bloodline, which meant that a certain type of trouble was destined to come looking for Roland.
1487
1488"Roland is currently undergoing the process of Dragon Bloodline evolution. After he successfully incorporates the Red Dragon Bloodline into his own bloodline, it'll greatly increase the probability that I can get pregnant from him, along with further increasing the strength of any child we have. Even if our child is a mixed-blood dragon descendant, we can use the Bloodline Cleansing Ritual to help our child become a real, pure Dragon. No, I can sense that with how powerful Roland's current bloodline is, our child might even surpass a true dragon's bloodline."
1489
1490This was why Little Red, from the Red Dragon species well-known to be stingy, unhesitatingly donated a great amount of her blood to Roland. In fact, she even donated more than was "donated" from Molly.
1491
1492If it weren't for the fact that she donated so much blood as to almost reach the point of death, Little Red wouldn't have wanted Roland's bloodline to be tainted by Molly's blood at all. That's right, she viewed her own mother's blood as nothing more than a source of pollution.
1493
1494Cough, I should add here that many Dragon Bloodline Warlock families married within themselves; brothers, sisters, and other close relatives would marry each other in order to preserve the special abilities of their bloodline. Anything related to the dragons truly could be summed up with the sentence "The powerful sure have messy lifestyles," and a great example was certain more and more outrageous Beast Tamer.
1495
1496But when faced with Little Red's excitement, Molly hesitated for a moment before deciding to say what she wanted out loud.
1497
1498"I'm not talking about your potential children. I'm saying that if you stay together with that man, do you truly like him? If you're only going to be with him for the sake of potential children, you'll definitely meet an unfortunate end in this relationship."
1499
1500Little Red paused in surprise for a moment. This didn't sound like something Molly would say at all.
1501
1502"I have experience…"
1503
1504Molly's voice grew softer and softer as she recalled her past crazy and painful experiences. This red-haired woman who always appeared so strong-willed was showing off her rare weak side in front of her own daughter.
1505
1506Little Red clenched her fists. Wasn't Molly just trying to find an excuse to pass off her sins? She actually dared to malign Little Red's father who she really looked up to? Did Molly want a beating that badly?
1507
1508"…I'm telling the truth. There's no need for me to lie at such a time. Perhaps in your eyes, Acdandy was a great father as well as a heroic dragon leader. But to me, he's nothing more than a bastard who forcibly stole my father's Emperor position and then raped me, forcing me to have his children. I…"
1509
1510Seeing this rare weak side of Molly, and thinking about the information she had seen in the past, Little Red hesitated for a long while before finally putting down her fists.
1511
1512In the dragons' records, the heroic Dragon City Emperor Acdandy had defeated the previous generation's depraved, greedy despot to gain his position. But if you looked at the former Dragon generation Princess Molly's angle, Acdandy was indeed nothing more than a bastard who killed her own father and raped her.
1513
1514As most of the individuals involved were now deceased, the past could only remain in the past. If one truly wanted to analyze everything that happened, once again, that sentence "The powerful sure have messy lifestyles" could be used here yet again.
1515
1516Little Red sunk into deep consideration for a while upon hearing her mother act motherly for once and give her such advice. But moments later, Little Red started laughing.
1517
1518"You're just trying to confuse me. My situation is different from yours. There are no hatred or grudges between me and Roland."
1519
1520"But there's no love between you, either. Do you really think that he will agree? Aren't you afraid that this difficult-to-come-by friendship will be ruined? Perhaps, in this entire world, he's one of your very few friends, or maybe even the only true friend."
1521
1522Molly worked hard to try to convince Little Red against mating with Roland, and she was right. Back in the day of Roland's adventuring team, there was a chaotic dodecahedron of relationships as well. Little Red and Roland who acted ridiculously together had the best relationship of all. And later in Sulfur Mountain City, rather than saying that Little Red was Roland's jailer, she was more like a good friend who stayed together in jail with Roland to keep him company.
1523
1524"…Him? He hasn't even evolved cells of love yet. He doesn't even know what the term 'love' means. It's perfect, because I don't need love either. Relax, if he doesn't agree, I've already made backup preparations."
1525
1526Little Red's expression was rather hesitant but showed that she was willing to make some sacrifices.
1527
1528"Backup preparations? How could something about love possibly have backup preparations? Could it be that you…"
1529
1530For some reason, Molly felt that she had accidentally stumbled upon a fearsome plot.
1531
1532"Yep, I should have listened to Momo's long ago and drugged him! I prepared some special secret drugs of the dragons, which will make him horny… and then I'll jump on him and have sex. Who cares, it's fine as long as I get pregnant. After it's over, he'll just think that he had a sexy dream, and it's best if he doesn't ever find out! Nothing will change about our relationship!"
1533
1534"This is date rape! This is a crime!"
1535
1536Molly never expected that one day she would be the one wanting to stop a crime from occurring. But suddenly, the magical restraints upon her instantly tied her down and prevented her from moving or speaking.
1537
1538Molly had an expression of panic but was powerless. She could sense that Roland had now arrived, while Little Red organized her appearance and went over to greet him. Meanwhile, there seemed to be some abnormal liquid inside a bottle in her breast pocket.
1539
1540The former Dragon Queen was filled with anxiety. Molly was confident that her daughter would be capable of doing anything for the sake of obtaining children and a family. Would the tragedies of the past repeat themselves in the present? But soon, she heard Little Red's astonished shrieks.
1541
1542"Roland, weren't you supposed to be performing a Dragon Bloodline evolution? Why has the Dragon Bloodline disappeared? Why do I sense that you're currently so weak!?"
1543
1544Notes:
1545
1546[1] TL/N: The author leaves a note here saying that he is in the process of scorrecting and standardizing the dragon power levels, and that he has apparently added more power levels here than in the past.
1547
1548    TL/N: The author leaves a note here saying that he is in the process of scorrecting and standardizing the dragon power levels, and that he has apparently added more power levels here than in the past.