《Madman's retirement (isekai fantasy)》


 Chapter 1: a second chance

    A grass hill lies in the middle of a park. On most days, this was a beautiful park where kids danced and sang, with parents chatting it up and people jogging, all the things one would see in a normal park.


    Today though, this city would be seen as hell.


    The city was bathed in red. Surrounded by countless monsters, and littered with countless corpses, one could not take a step without dipping their feet in something dubious.


    In the middle of all of this was an old man. His ragged white hair was blocking his sight and now he could only use mana sense to locate the monsters.


    His beard, once well groomed, looked ragged and in shambles. Tall and overbearing, most of his armor was in tatters, torn by the monsters after days of battle.


    His homunculi, who had followed him through thick and thin had died at some point during this surprise attack as had his golem, with only the old man left fighting. Grant grit his teeth and swung his blade recklessly, yet the cuts through the air still held an innate elegance, hammered in by a millennium of combat.


    He remembered how he and the young players he had been teaching, had left the dungeon through a portal only to be met with a surprise assault by the Gray guild alongside hordes of monsters, founded by his own student Gray.


    Grant was sure he knew why Gray had done this. As long as Grant lived the system alongside the administrator of alchemy would recognize Grant alone as the sole avatar of alchemy and the Grand alchemist. Grant had lived for hundreds of years, and Gray likely couldn¡¯t wait. For the young are impatient, and centuries too long for them. ¡°Ungrateful brat!¡± muttered Grant. Grant had decided to stay behind and distract the enemies so the young players could get away. He had high hopes for them, especially Samuel who had fire in his eyes, and seemed to have the attention of the administrator of challengers and heroes. It''d be a waste for him to die because of this old man.


    As he fended off his foes, one monster lunged forwards and plunged a weapon through Grant¡¯s chest. Grant felt the blade(?) plunge in, though he could barely see now. Before he went though, he decided to leave one last gift for these bastards. His hand gripped the monster¡¯s face, which seemed to be on the small side, and engraved an alchemy circle, which quickly sprouted a sprout, which swelled into a tree, which grew and ravenously started consuming all living beings in the nearby area.


    Soon, the tree would open up into a portal into what remained of his divine realm, a place for future cultivators to take their chances with the unknown.


    The only reason he hadn¡¯t used it was because it was mutually assured destruction for everything in a nearby radius. Something meant to be used at his last moment. That time was now.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done all I can kids, now it¡¯s your turn.¡± Thought Grant as he faded into the great abyss.


    Grant came to, as he looked around the void. Surrounded on all sides by white, Grant was confused. He was sure he had applied for Hades and with the actions he had undertaken in his long life, Grant believed he would at least get into Elysium. Getting into Elysium wasn''t about being a good person, so much as an infamous person.


    And Grant was infamous.


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    Was this a prank? It felt like something Odin would do to screw with him. He¡¯d done it before. Before he could ponder further, his eyes latched onto something which was extremely familiar. Before him was a round table, simple in nature, and two chairs, following the table¡¯s style. One seat was empty, seemingly waiting for Grant, and the other held a familiar silhouette. A vaguely humanoid shape, formed of minerals, crystals, even roots and vines, slowly changing shape and state of matter. The administrator of alchemy, an old god only limited by his own understanding of self. It seemed to be drinking tea with those malformed fingers, more similar to claws than fingers. It hopelessly poured the tea into the vestigial mouth, before giving up and indicating to Grant to sit. ¡°Grant, come sit.¡± ordered the old god, as its voice vibrated, deep and rough as it always was in this form.


    Grant got up and sat down before the old god. Despite the obvious difference in power, the two had always talked as equals. ¡°Flamel¡± responded Grant as he sat. Flamel gave a curt nod, as curt as the current form could allow.


    ¡°I believe I¡¯m supposed to be on my way to Hades, so I¡¯d like to know why I¡¯m here¡± As an avatar, Grant had often worked in Flamel¡¯s name, resulting in much of his hundreds of years being paperwork. He knew Flamel well. Flamel could always come visit him later, no reason to do a reunion now. So he wanted something.


    Flamel, not one to play games, said ¡°You¡¯re being transmigrated¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Came Grant''s shocked and annoyed response. Regardless of the modern world¡¯s infatuation with transmigration, Grant had known about it long ago as Flamel had mentioned it as a thing old god''s did once in a while. When this occurred, the person in question was sent to another realm, or a parallel Earth, often to accomplish something. This sounded like more unnecessary work to Grant.


    No thanks.


    Flamel continued, clearly trying to convince him. ¡°Consider this retirement Grant. You spent much of your life fighting difficult challengers as my avatar and doing my dirty work.


    I also know you always wanted to start a family, but never got a chance. Well, I¡¯m giving you this chance.¡± Flamel pushed on. ¡°Your levels will be reset as will your body modifications, but all that you¡¯ve learned will remain.¡± Grant knew immediately that what Flamel had mentioned was essentially a cheat.


    For anyone else, such knowledge would already be a boon, but for the avatar of alchemy, who had not only lived hundreds of years accumulating knowledge from both the system and from the world, but also having had access to the library of the administrators, what once took Grant years would now take him mere months.


    "Oh my god you''re serious"


    "As serious as I have been with Perenelle after centuries." There were no eyes, but the intensity backed his statement.


    Realizing there¡¯s no point in arguing, as the administrator has clearly made up his mind, Grant decides to probe.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll be sent to a parallel world?¡± Asked Grant. ¡°Yes, you¡¯ll be sent to a parallel world where magic maintains its place in mainstream society. Nothing like our world where magic now hides from the common folk¡± Flamel knew what Grant was doing and played along. The smoother the transition, the better.


    ¡°And my items?¡± This was important as even keeping one of his many weapons or pieces of gear would be a great benefit. It would be a shame to lose his collection. Bags of blood, wasted on fools?


    ¡°You¡¯ll get to keep all the ones mythical and above in terms of value, weapons and materials alike.¡±


    ¡®Ah, well, what¡¯s retirement without leisurely hunting¡¯ thought Grant. One last question persisted in Grant¡¯s mind, but before he could ask it, Flamel waved his paw. ¡°Well time to go Grant. When you eventually come back here, be sure to tell me about your second life.¡±


    ¡°Wait what about my new-¡± before he could finish that sentence he disappeared with a pop. Flamel sat alone, sad he would lose his good friend, who had become a bit of a doting grandfather to all his apprentices, but still had that mad flare of creativity. It was a shame, as those treant wyvern ant hybrids had been quite the species.


    He sat there for a second before turning to face a little girl. ¡°Your request has been fulfilled, little god¡± The little god viewed this quietly. ¡°And you¡¯re sure he can do it?¡± There was hesitation in her soft and clear voice, ¡°He doesn¡¯t really need to do much in the first place¡± Flamel responded. He was watching his arm carbonize as it slowly changed into diamonds.


    ¡°The system will be piggybacking on him, and as long as he chooses to return to his original strength, the system will get strong enough to fulfill your need. Honestly speaking, the second he arrives at your Earth, it should be ready to use.¡± This seemed to assure the girl, and she nodded, before disappearing.


    "He''ll probably do something extremely stupid." muttered Flamel, conflicted as he recalled all the trouble Grant caused.


    Flamel,  got up and collapsed into himself, scrunching up, until the void became empty once more.

 Chapter 2 What to do when youre scum

    When Grant came to, he found himself in a simple room, but elegant in its structure. A nice combo of white walls, blue accents, and nice furnishing.


    Shame it was littered with bottles.


    Before he could get any further in this observation he was hit with an intense headache. ¡°Not again," sighed Grant. As the headache intensified, memories started flooding in. They weren¡¯t his. At least, they weren¡¯t originally. They belonged to his new body, empty of its original soul, but not its memories. Parents, upbringing, relationships, family, knowledge, all of it flowing through Grant¡¯s mind. And he could only come to one conclusion. ¡°Great I¡¯m scum now¡±


    Jonathan Leocartas was the third son of the count of Leocartas, on of the most powerful nobles in the Romana Empire, and as a result grew up with an inferiority complex. His older brothers loved him and treated him kindly but surrounded by the whispers of all the wrong people and his mediocre talent drove him down a path of debauchery.


    Drinking and women had made him the talk of town and with a constant flow of these acts, eventually the Leocartas family had no choice but to drive out the shame of their family and he was placed in a guard post at the duchy of Rasta ¡­ whose duchess he was currently the lover of. The duchess, a widow for 5 years, had been entranced by Jonathan¡¯s beauty, and was wooed. At least that¡¯s what Jonathan believed.


    As Grant looked through Jonathan¡¯s memories, he concluded that Jonathan was naive, and merely a tool of pleasure for the duchess. He was summoned, not requested, and the eyes, those were the eyes of a predator. Grant took a look at the mirror that Jonathan had for some reason. How vain for such a small room. A mirror that large shouldn''t even be made.


    But Grant had to admit, as he looked in the mirror, that Jonathan had good reason to believe in his own beauty. A slender body, with soft luscious dark blue hair, he was the very definition of slender beauty. Those ruby red eyes were quite enticing to people too. He still missed his own blue eyes though.


    ¡°Well, I should probably grow my magic circles first,¡± muttered Grant. One glance at his body, he could tell this man had not cultivated his qi, nor grown his magic circles. Funny enough, this body had mediocre magic talent but high qi potential. ¡®He was just born in the wrong part of the world.


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    ''I know plenty of masters who would''ve died to take him in.¡¯


    ...


    A day later he had managed to construct his fourth mana circle. ¡®It really helps that I¡¯ve maintained everything from my life as Grant. Speaking of which.¡¯ ¡°System, Status¡± commanded Grant.


    [Status]


    Name: Jonathan Leocartas (Grant)


    Class:Alchemist/ Magician/ Martial artist


    Level: 1


    Skills: Imperial swordsmanship (intermediate), alcohol tolerance, endurance, flame(basic)


    Mana Circles: Four


    Qi cultivation: 0


    [inventory]


    [Gacha]


    [Shop]


    ¡°Umu¡± Grant noted that although he maintained his classes, his skills weren¡¯t labeled. It¡¯s likely because this body had only ever committed the skills that Jonathan had learned. Either that, or the system would just update those later. In a new world, the branch off of the system would need to do some restructuring.


    Not that he''d care. Frankly, he was likely to never touch the system, because frankly, it wasn''t for the experienced like him. It was for the up and comers, who needed access to materials and an easy way to get stronger. Most battles were over resources, and many were killed early on because of potential. Levels were there to boost their strength and hopefully give them an extra edge for survival.


    ¡®He was at least an intermediate in regards to imperial swordsmanship¡¯. His sword skills weren''t amazing, but they were decent enough.


    Grant noticed the smell and so casted the basic spell clean. As the room was cleaned Grant heard a familiar tingle and the familiar feminine yet robotic voice.


    [Congratulations, you¡¯ve learned the basic spell: clean!]


    ¡®So it only counts as learned upon casting.¡¯ It made sense, since the system had thousands of players currently being turned into monsters even as he breathed, and likely, system 0 didn''t have the time to drill into his brain and list everything on his stat list.


    ¡°Well if that¡¯s the case¡± Grant picked up Jonathan¡¯s sword. It was a simple yet well crafted sword. One look and Grant could recognize the mithril used to create this sword, and the mana stone embedded in the hilt could not be cheap. He could feel the love the Leocartas family had for their son, no matter how far he went. A shame that ultimately, their actions did not reflect their love.


    This would suffice for now in helping him to refill his skill list. To past the time.

 Chapter 3 The Adventurers Hall

    Consuming nothing but mana, Grant had gone on for a week practicing his old swordsmanship and other martial arts style, sometimes in tandem in order to get it up.


    No one had checked up on him. Did they think he was dead? Missing? Gone to the duchess'' place again? Whatever.


    He also cast a few basic spells to get the mana flowing, and took notes of blockages which he would have to circulate later on. The minute ones were dealt with. And now?


    [Status]


    Name: Jonathan Leocartas (Grant)


    Class: Alchemist/ Magician/ Martial artist


    Mana circles: Four


    Skills: Imperial swordsmanship (intermediate) alcohol tolerance endurance flame(intermediate), water (intermediate) earth (intermediate) air(intermediate) cleaning (high) Drunken boxing (low) 15 step advance (low) 15 steps of the drunken immortal (low) body enhancement (low)


    Qi Cultivation: 0


    [Inventory]


    [Gacha]


    [Shop]


    Grant looked at the virtual screen with satisfaction. Although they were low in mastery, that was to be expected. WIthout qi, these martial arts wouldn¡¯t reach their full potential, and even with his full understanding of them, his body would have to catch up. A look in the mirror revealed his body, which was no longer lean, but had instead started building some muscle. So it was time to leave.


    Grant had no attachments to this place and had no reason to stay. Getting tangled up with the duchess would be troubling and staying here where everyone knew the old Jonathan would do nothing for him. Moving someplace new would do him better and allow him a fresh start. As Flamel had said, this is supposed to be his retirement, it¡¯s time to enjoy it. He went up to the door and pushed it open to take his steps in this brand-new world.


    ¡­


    Zackary had gotten used to Jonathan¡¯s shenanigans. Drunken idiocy, womanizer, and an absolute tool to the duchess, Zackary had put up with it, knowing that the count of Leocartas had sent his son here to keep him out of trouble as best as possible. But Zackary had never expected this.


    ¡°I¡¯m quitting.¡±


    As if those words were not surprising enough, the man who had spoken those words felt different. His waist, once slim enough to be envied by woman, was now packed with muscle. His body, still slim, was starting to show firmness. He was also giving off an aura he had never given off before. Gone was the manchild who constantly moaned and complained and now a stern warrior was facing him.


    He was almost like a completely different person.


    ¡°Are you sure Leocartas ? They won¡¯t take you back in you know?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware¡± responded Jonathan, ¡°I¡¯ve decided I¡¯ll travel a little, and settle down somewhere. I''ve grown tired of the charade."


    It reminded Zackary of an old man. Tired, and no longer interested. A complete contrast to the youth from a week agon.


    Right there and then, he knew he couldn¡¯t stop Jonathan. The stubbornness like that of the elderly couldn''t be denied.


    ¡°Fine. Dismissed¡± was Zackary¡¯s bored reply.


    As Jonathan turned around to leave, Zackary called out ¡°Hey kid!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Inquired Jonathan. ¡°Hope you find what you¡¯re looking for'''' He tossed Jonathan a few gold coins, which Jonathan gave a swift nod to before leaving quickly.


    No one said anything as no one cared about the drunkard who had just left.


    After leaving the guardsman dorm Jonathan looked around this new world. Just as his memories depicted, this place felt weird, with the buildings feeling vaguely Roman to European but then cement would show up alongside plaster, and he knew they had modern commodities thanks to magic.


    Stoves, lights, and air conditioners, all courtesy of magic. Sadly, the closest thing to a phone was long distance magic messages, which were not available to the public, and hard to create. Although the scenery was nice, it wasn¡¯t the point.


    Grant walked for a while before he tucked into an alley. Once there, he quickly cast transfiguration, changing the shape of his clothes, and making them more standard. No longer did he look like a guardsman stationed at a stop and instead he looked like a common adventurer, leather gear and everything. What came next was a black cloak, simple in its appearance, and was only made of wool, but adorned with lining and for a final touch, a mask. A mask carved out of fine wood.


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    Grant had picked up many hobbies over his long life, and carving masks had been one such hobby. The mask had been made pure white with it being a round mask, and the mask met into a sharp line in the middle, which reached from the top of the mask all the way to the very bottom. Two eye holes were made, and the shape undoubtedly felt like that of a pair of glaring eyes. Within these eyes were 2 chunks of glass that were one way, meaning people may only see themselves , a way for Grant to hide his eyes.


    The mask was adorned with two horns that protruded out the top of the mask, which maintained that white color. Trailing under the holes were two giant tear marks which ran down to the bottom of the mask. Although terrifying, it was common for adventurers to wear masks, sometimes to look cool, sometimes to hide their identities with many being nobles doing it for their own reasons.


    Grant had enchanted it with many abilities, such as eagle eyesight, voice change, universal language, the ability to eat with it on, and a calming effect for those who looked upon it, and a fear inducing effect for his enemies. With the mask and cape on, Grant now looked a bit¡­ weird, but that couldn¡¯t stop him because Grant loves cosplay. When he got a chance, he was planning to make the whole costume grimmer, even though it was mostly dark colors. Maybe he would make something really bright and exciting, like that he used to use in front of other players.


    Grant then proceeded to walk past a few blocks before arriving before a large building, perhaps one of the largest in the nearby area. The adventurer¡¯s hall.


    The world Jonathan lived on and the one Grant now lives on was one where magic was not a secret but well known. So magic became a commonplace thing which is even taught when kids were as old as 5, and as a result technology is regressed in comparison to Grant¡¯s earth. Instead of players who work in the shadows, adventurers arose, people who would gather to defeat monsters, which was a great boon¡­ and a great thorn considering the number of times they poked a beehive.


    Plenty of times they have pissed off dragons, goblin villages, and other types of monster colonies because they confused them for their feral counterparts. Or they didn¡¯t and are human supremacists. Either way, a lot of bad shit happens. So the adventurer¡¯s hall was made to direct the adventurers to friendlier quests, and keep an eye on the more rowdy type.


    In theory of course. For Grant, this was a good time to make a new identity, since registering often allowed someone to forge a new identity, and to have a fresh start.


    When Grant walked in, the first feeling he got was chaotic. Disorganized. There were adventurers chatting it up at the food aisle, which was to the left, and to the right was a bundle of stalls, with all of them offering things they had found.


    Grant could see many adventurers bargaining and arguing, clearly trying to get the better end of the deal. And in the middle of the hall was the registration area ALthough it was filled to the brim as well with people lined up, nice and tidy. Seeing this hall made Grant think of the players market, where players did the very same thing.


    ¡°The more things change, the more they stay the same,¡± chuckled Grant.


    He walked into the long line and waited. It took him an hour to get to the front. Although he did get a few weird looks, the calming effect stifled any weird thoughts about him and allowed him peace and quiet. When he arrived at the front he was met with a petite lady who was dressed in a rather homely nature. It reminded him of the videogame character from monster hunter. Perhaps one of the greatest differences was the thread the suit was made of, and her short red hair.


    ¡°Nice costume mister!¡± Yelped the girl. She had a very high-toned voice, and her posture was similar to a dog, maybe a chihuahua


    . ¡°What are you looking for?¡±


    He responded in a tone that was deep, deep enough one would think it came from someone far larger. ¡° I¡¯m looking to sign up as an adventurer and looking to see if there are any people requesting an escort to York.¡±


    Although slightly surprised by that deep voice, she was a good guild worker and knew what to do. ¡°Sure, just fill this out to become an adventurer!¡± She pulled out a paper, which he quickly filled out.


    ¡°And as for that ride to York, you¡¯re just in luck! There¡¯s a group heading that way in a day. You sure you want to go through?¡± She was a bit worried, as plenty of adventurers went to places like York, only to never come back. It was a place for new people sure, sure but it was a new outpost, and places like those were dangerous in how unexplored they were.


    He nodded ¡°It may be my first-time adventuring, but not my first-time hunting.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she responded, a bit unsure. It¡¯s true some first-time adventurers were in reality seasoned hunters. She handed him his card. ¡°Go to the board, write your name on the list of names, and show up tomorrow at the appropriate time¡± Grant nodded and took a look at his new identity card. Grant Not only was this true name, but it¡¯d be better to travel with a different identity. Who knows if the enemies of the Leocartas family may come after him, or even his own family may come to drag him back.


    He analyzed the card before putting it away, in case he ever wanted to make another one, a fake identity. He frowned, seeing it was tied to a greater database, and if he wanted to infiltrate that, he might have to use authority. Hopefully that wouldn''t be a problem later. For now, it was irrelevant.


    Grant went over to the food aisle. He hadn¡¯t eaten in over a week, and food was looking great now. The masked man sat at the bar and asked,


    ¡°What¡¯s on the menu?¡±


    A big man walked up to him and plopped down in front of him. He had the bushiest eyebrows a man could have and Grant couldn¡¯t even see his eyes. His mustache wasn¡¯t much better. He seems quite the jolly man however. ¡°Ah, you look like man who haven¡¯t eaten in while! We have all these things!¡± He tossed him a menu. ¡°Pick Something!¡± Grant acknowledged what the very stereotypical(perhaps too stereotypical?) Russian man had said and viewed the menu. ¡°


    I¡¯ll take the iron bull steak¡± he said after giving the menu a good once-over.  As he sat and waited, Grant mused if this bull was related to the Khalkotauroi, something to wonder as they were the creations of Hephaestus, which in of itself raises many questions. They could also be bulls with iron skin, their infamous descendants.


    Within a few minutes the iron bull steaks came. They were rather large, and Grant finished it quickly. As he ate, others watched with wonder and confusion. The mask had been made so he can eat even with the mask on. His mask essentially became intangible. To everyone else though, it was as if the food was phasing through the mouth and disappearing. Some got bored quickly while others watched. He had been aware and thankfully they couldn¡¯t see his face, as he was quite embarrassed. ¡® I¡¯ll have to get used to that¡¯ he sheepishly thought. He¡¯d never been stared at so much due to his¡­ reputation and the people he knew had been long used to his antics.


    Grant paid, and then quickly headed over to the section where they offered lodgings and paid for a low level room. Once inside he showered and went to sleep. It still surprised him that they used a maneuverable spell to change the temperature of the water. Grant decided this would be fun to use.


    ¡­


    Had Grant been at his peak he would¡¯ve been easily able to sense the two different people trailing him. Each had a different purpose and thus, different reactions.


    An old man stood on the top of a building with his fine stubbled chin. The professional had a professionally shaved hair, which despite its whitening, still looked quite refined. He wore a butler''s outfit, and yet few butlers could be as intimidating. ¡°Finally, that leech is leaving. You¡¯d think after the way we treated him he would¡¯ve done something stupid or just leave. I¡¯ll have to go report this to the duchess.¡± The man leaped away into the night.


    The other merely recorded Jonathan¡¯s reactions, then got up to send a report to the leocartas family.

 Chapter 4 It Begins (If it hasnt Already)

    Grant got up early in the morning and started getting ready. He had chosen not to take off his uniform for the night. Grant told himself he wanted to adapt to the adventurer lifestyle, and get used to wearing the uniform for days at a time. Truthfully? He just wanted to wear his costume. As one got older, they would find more hobbies to pass the time, and he had weirdly gotten into cosplay. Fafnir chided him a few times but shut up once he joined him in his costume tomfoolery.


    Dragons look good in vampire costumes.


    And as chimeras surprisingly.


    He greeted the bartender and the lady working at the guild before leaving for the carts. They were rather plain carriages, tho Grant could sense some basic protection magic on it, obviously meant for the goods. Unsurprisingly given the amount of carriages strewn together, there were many adventurers. As far as he could see, none of them were particularly strong, but none of them were quite weak. Probably D-C rank would suffice as a general average around here, with a few below D, Grant included. Once all the adventurers gathered one stocky well dressed man showed up, and announced groupings, with Grant being paired with two E ranked adventurers. One was a blonde lady, blessed moderately on both ends of the body, with a rather chipper personality, named Natalie. She introduced herself as an archer. Using (appraisal), Grant found:


    [Status]


    Natalie


    Age: 15


    Class: Archer/ Scout


    Level (estimated) 20


    Mana circles: 3


    Skills:


    stealth(low) marksmanship(intermediate low) wind(intermediate) fire(low) clean(medium), cooking(medium) tracking (medium), piercing arrows(medium) summon wind spirit (low)


    ¡®Not bad¡¯ thought Grant. She wasn¡¯t bad for her age, and even had potential. Looking at her mana flow and body conduits, it had potential and should she lived long enough, he could easily see her going places. The levels were an estimate by the system, though couldn¡¯t really label them levels, because levels aren¡¯t a natural thing, but rather something the administrators created in conjunction with the system, modeled after video games.


    The other one, Dain, had gray hair despite his age and dressed in the normal adventurer way, and was similar, but had another problem. Dain, a tall, well built boy, apparently used a great sword. However, looking at his mana potential and qi potential was quite disheartening.


    He had low mana potential, but had high qi potential, and had he lived amongst the cultivators to the east, much like poor Jonathan, he''d probably be a rising star. Here? He¡¯d likely die as forgotten rubble eventually. And his stats?


    [Status]


    Name: Dain


    Age: 17


    Class: Vanguard / greatwsordsman / Healer / magician


    Level(estimated) 35


    Mana circles 1


    Skills: Fire control (intermediate) water control (intermediate) air control (medium) earth control(medium) charge, heavy swordsmanship( medium) heal (medium) (appraisal) (body strengthening (low)


    Not bad, but ultimately he would slow down as his potential dragged him down.


    The mana flowing through his body was far lower than qi flowing through his body, and without the proper cultivation techniques, the mana wouldn¡¯t flow properly, and even if he had those techniques his mana control would never be as good as his qi control. Grant decided that if he¡¯d have a chance, he¡¯d help this poor child. Maybe not cultivation, but if he bought a mana improvement potion in the system¡¯s shop at some point on this trip, if he was approached first. Students required initiative after all. Good ones at least.


    And so, the trip began.


    <hr>


    It was a rather peaceful ride for the first few days. In the eyes of the people there, he was the mysteriously dressed, eccentric, man, who was working out carefree and meditating. If they¡¯d sense mana flowing around, they¡¯d assume he was making magic circles, but they sensed no increase in mana. ¡°What if he¡¯s a monk?¡± whispered one adventurer.


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    ¡°In that attire? What temple would take him?¡± scoffed another adventurer. Many thought him ridiculous. Not that he cared. Grant liked ridiculous things. He was proud of the time when his armor looked like something out of a comic. Only one adventurer noticed the circulation of energy, one that others could not see, and he felt something.


    Energy.


    Power.


    Desire.


    <hr>


    Grant had begun his cultivation again, as he decided a backup source of power would be good. Once he had served the old god Flamel for hundreds of years and thus helped with a great deal of his plans and interactions with others. It¡¯s because of this he knew one was never truly safe on Earth. All it takes are the whims of an old monster, an old god, a random powerful monster, or any myriad of things and one would end up dead. Better safe than sorry.


    He knew, as one of those old monsters how those kinds of stories went.


    Unlocking his acupoints and utilizing his meridians were far easier then he once recalled, though he felt a certain feeling of¡­ nostalgia as he flowed his qi through his body. It reminded him of a time when he was a simple adventurer, wandering and learning, fighting monsters and exploring the unknown. Grant was looking forward to that again. He had a new young body and he was going to abuse it.


    At some point through the week he had managed to bypass the 15 stages of condensation and into the establishment stage.


    The adventurers working with Grant found him to be a weird one, like those high level adventurers, with the key difference being he was an F-level adventurer. Grant was just a weirdo to them. This very much changed when a horde of [wild] goblins attacked the cargo from the back in a surprise attack.


    Led by a [wild] goblin archmage, by the time the adventurers realized, they rushed towards the back with the expectation that they would have work to do and people to treat. Much to their surprise they found nothing but goblin bodies, each cleanly cut. Grant was in the middle of it all, cutting off goblin ears and humming to himself, naught a drop of blood on him, nor a drop of interest in him.


    The adventurers around him formed a far different view than they had initially viewed him. ¡°Wow, mysterious and strong! He really is a curious weirdo!¡± chirped Natalie. Over the past few days Grant had introduced himself as an off the books hunter, but that was a common statement. By killing all the goblins without problem, however, he at least proved capable. Dain pondered on the mysterious energy, and the clear skills.


    Grant was pretty happy about the goblins. Up to this point Grant had no opportunities to kill any monsters, leaving him at level 1. After slaying a horde of goblins. He¡¯d reached level five, if the notifications the system provided him meant anything. And he felt it. Stronger. The system had one huge benefit that even magicians and mana users found tempting; mana absorption.


    All beings absorbed mana when killing enemies. However, what humans, and other non-monster races found problematic, was their rate of absorption. For humans, they absorbed about 5 percent of a foe''s mana on average, with other races absorbing 10, and monsters absorbing 60 percent. Humanity, ignoring all exceptional individuals, would always find themselves lacking compared to other races and in turn those races found themselves lacking in comparison to monsters, hence why human heroes were so rare and monsters were always stronger.


    The system offset this in Gant¡¯s world. Players were able to absorb a whopping 20 percent from foes, and the system took a 40 percent cut. This may seem unfair at first glance, but A) the system must sustain itself in the long run B) the system uses that extra mana to improve your body upon leveling up, and C) the extra charge was also used to produce the items from the shop the system has and used to grab monster eggs for the egg spin, a gacha type roll which many players gamble on in hopes of getting a rare monster like a high level dragon or manticores amongst other things. Almost all eggs contained in this section were orphaned eggs from the wild which the system grabbed, incubated, and then stored in the shop, which when won, would hatch a few days later. The remaining mana was released to ensure the environment would remain mana rich.


    Speaking of leveling up, by leveling up, Grant could feel his body being improved, muscles strengthened, and brain power increased. Leveling was a unique feature of the system, where once a certain amount of exp, or mana accumulated not in the mana circle, had been accumulated, the person in question would then gain an increase in strength thanks to a development in his body. This sadly wouldn¡¯t contribute to his cultivation, but would provide a burst of strength in contrast to other people, who would experience a slow increase in strength as the mana count grew in their body.


    He knew that there was a status he could check for stats in the system layout, but for now, he was content to say no. Grant had lived near a thousand years before he helped implement the current form of the system.


    ¡®I lived long enough without needing a stat page, I¡¯m not needing it anytime soon.¡¯ The system had been around for hundreds of years, born of the machinations of the administrators, but had changed over the years. From bards and ¡°gods¡± being the ones to deliver quests, and into the modern times the quest givers were ¡°intel officers¡± assigned to agents. Upon the first RPG to ever exist being released, names changed once more. Dungeon masters and players, with the 21st century hailing the current name of the ones who control the system, ¡°The administrators¡±, with the system also receiving its new and current name.


    Grant had been around the block way before the stats and felt no need to use it now.


    In the end, no matter how much hp you had, when you lose your head, you lose your head.


    Heart crushed? Dead in most cases.


    That¡¯s what the neutered appraisal spell was for. Grant had to admit, though, the notifications of leveling up, and levels in general, alongside a more convenient virtual shop had been positive changes brought upon by the system. The inventory was great for new players, when once spatial magic had only been limited to those capable of using it.


    After the goblin attack, people were far more on guard, as the goblin attack merely signaled the approach of a higher concentration of monsters than before as they slowly approached York.


    Perhaps coincidentally, more monsters started showing up, from lone goblins to the canine-type kobolds and even a few orcs. The adventurers fought valiantly, and soon they also got to see Grant in action.


    Grant approached enemies in what would seem to be to be a leisurely stride but with a slip of his hand and depending on the situation a dodge or two, his enemies falling shortly thereafter.


    No one could really figure out what was going on. Only the few c rank adventurers could speculate what was going on and Dain could only sense an increase in the mysterious energy emanating from the hooded man with each step before an overflow followed by the target falling.


    Grant continued cultivating but no one questioned now, as they were assuming it was connected to his weird style of combat.


    Dain, on the other hand, analyzed what he had witnessed. Between him and Natalie, he¡¯d always been the more analytical type.


    Looking back on what had happened, he noticed that as Grant approached each foe, the energy flowing through his body started flowing rapidly, concentrating in certain areas on the body, until the final step before his enemy, when the energy finally settled into points along the arm, as well as flowing through the blade.


    By the time Grant walked past them, the energy dissipated back into the body, leaving behind the bloody chunks of his foes.


    What was this mysterious energy?

 Chapter 5 Starting From Zero

    Grant walked into the forest and settled down. Earlier he had been notified by a fellow adventurer that they would be settling down and decided this would be a good opportunity to settle his cultivation. In his first life he had originally chosen the classic form of cultivation going from the establishment stage to the early divine path, before stopping due to his own issues with becoming immortal. This time around though, he had no interest in it.


    Grant had started cultivation young, way when he was in his early 40s and merely a youngling ready to explore the world. He had dreamed of immortality as all the young ones do, and with the support of Flamel he had ample opportunity to do so. Age however had shown him a different light, and thanks to his way of life differing from his martial peers, he no longer needed the immortality part. No longer interested in immortality, especially now that he knew how easy it was to gain, he instead sought quick power.


    Ironic. Many would chide him for being hasty in his choice. But Grant?


    He chided them for being too quick to seek divinity, a path that many took, but few reached the end of.


    Only to be greeted with eternal loneliness. The hastiness was merely a matter of scale in this case.


    A hundred years ago, just before ww1, Grant and a group of cultivators and xian as well as many other groups of immortals got together to create a form of cultivation that would cut the amount of time for cultivation in return for essentially neutering the possibility of ascendance to godhood.


    The cultivation technique, later known as the ¡°poor man¡¯s technique¡± as a joke amongst cultivators, still increased a person¡¯s lifespan as long as mana circles could but ultimately would prevent a person from becoming a god via cultivation. But realistically, this means jack as there were dozens of ways to become immortal. Off the top of his head, Grant could think of the alchemist''s stone, the fountain of eternal youth, becoming a god by election from another god, or even the seven different ways Sun wukong had once done. It was overrated.


    The technique, actually known as the Divine Earth cultivation, branched off from the general cultivation techniques early on, around the core foundation stage. The user did not create a core, but instead build a divine domain, far earlier than they were supposed to, and then cultivate in order to strengthen themself. They would never gain a nascent soul, the main source of power and the source of godhood, but instead would build a divine realm, the focus of power.


    Just like a core, it was important for the user to plan their divine domain ahead of time, but unlike divine cultivation, even if you had to eventually start from scratch, or find your cultivation damaged, it was easier to fix it, and there would be no permanent effect on the body, something divine cultivators constantly have to fear. And unlike mortal martial artists, who merely refined and purified their body, users of divine earth cultivation had the potential to reach the same level of power as high level cultivators, when normal martial artists could only ever hope to reach the level of mid-tier cultivators.


    Normally, Grant would have to create a divine domain and slowly nurture it, but much to his glee, amongst the many legendary items he had preserved, his own divine realm had persisted. This was a happy side effect of Grant''s own plan to release his domain and turn it into a martial realm like any old monster upon death, and then watch from Hades as people challenged his martial realm. Apparently, the core of his martial realm was sent alongside his other things. Grant was mildly worried though, wondering what happened to the rest of the martial realm.


    ¡­


    ¡°This martial realm is huge! Look at those mountains and all those environments! Who made this?¡± Exclaimed one disciple as he walked around. This martial realm had only appeared recently, resulting in an outburst of cultivators and players rushing in, eager to find anything useful. The disciple received a firm chop on the head by an old man walking behind him, followed by the child¡¯s fellow disciples.


    ¡°Owww!¡± exclaimed the silly disciple. ¡°Wazzat for!¡± The old man harrumphed. ¡°Careful child. This place is believed to be the domain of Grant, the grand alchemist. All these environments are likely where he kept all the creatures he raised. It may look beautiful, but it¡¯s extremely dangerous. Creatures never seen before likely run abound here, and plenty of monstrous plants. It¡¯s widely known he loved his monster plants.¡± Upon hearing that, many disciples stiffened up, but many grew excited. Grant was a name that inspired fear, but if he left this realm behind, the treasures would be innumerable. The monsters alone would be worth a fortune given that man made plenty of strong monsters.


    Wyvents, chimeras, and new species of spartoi are some examples. Any of them as familiars would be jackpots, and the materials, would be just as good, and great for their own personal cultivation.


    And considering how rich in qi and mana this environment is, many looked forward to what cultivation materials they could find.. There was just one question everyone was asking themselves.


    In the middle of the divine realm there was one extremely suspicious spot where there was nothing, with only a huge crater, devoid of anything but dirt. People would soon realize that the divine domain¡¯s main feature often seen in battle, the tree to rival Yggdrasill, was missing.


    For many years afterwards, people would wonder where the tree had gone, and who was strong enough to take such an enormous and powerful tree. Not that Grant would care. As far as he was concerned, he still left a mostly full martial realm, only lacking his special mythical and legendary items. There was still plenty to reward any hard workers with.


    ¡­


    While he was mildly miffed that he didn¡¯t have the whole realm, the realm being divided meant that it would still serve as a testing area for beginners so that was good. Besides, it''s not like he could have fit the whole domain considering the new body.


    Even if the tree stretched a little, it would be fine. Had anyone else attempted to use this as their core, they would find their soul heavily damaged from attempting to slot something foreign and this strong into their soul.


    For Grant, it was like meeting up with an old friend, as the fragment of his divine domain slipped into the dantien nicely. And thus, the core foundation stage began.


    The core foundation in the divine earth foundation was a group of levels meant to help the cultivator strengthen the domain of the user, so should they dabble in mana, or just simply use qi to accomplish the spell, they could cast domain proclamation, where the user brings the domain out into the real world, and while the ability does vary from domain to domain, no one could deny the advantage of home turf. Grant¡¯s special ability relied on all his creations, which had been stored in his divine domain. At his prime he could create life on a whim, which he used to his advantage, leading armies made in seconds.


    But what to do with them? When he created plant life forms, he could merely give them short life durations, and have them sink back into the area to nurture the world. But it¡¯s hard to do the same to a creature, which will wither and die far more vividly, right before his eyes. And creatures like dragons, have minimum lifespans lasting centuries. He couldn¡¯t just keep them alongside him, for as time went on, he created more and more life forms. So, when he began cultivating, and his domain was finally created, it served as a storage, with at first a few, and later hundreds of environments on small worlds intertwined with the tree at its core. Due to his own efforts whole civilizations had grown in his divine domain, and these life forms would stampede at his command and destroy his enemies. With his domain having lost most of its environments, the domain had lost most of what made it dangerous.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Grant wasn¡¯t one to complain however, when he had been lucky to be given back the most important part of his divine domain. Sitting down he focused on the tree, no longer as grand and laid bare, with its leaves all being stripped clean from it. Around the tree, he focused on creating the first environment, something he had long thought of and mildly regretted. In his youth, he had used his first layer to create an environment to grow trees, hoping to grow a forest to surround the center of his divine domain. As time had gone on and the tree had gotten larger, he came to realize that those trees would never truly flourish under the tree¡¯s large covering of leaves. With his second chance Grant had a different thought, and he decided to create something different. The thing that perseveres best under the shade of a tree is mushrooms. So, what better to make under one of Earth¡¯s largest trees than a forest of mushrooms. Even in his meditation, he felt excited as perhaps his greatest hobby was this.


    As Grant focused on creating his first layer in the divine realm, what was beginning to develop outside began seeping outside as well, with mushrooms growing outside of the cultivating adventurer, ranging in all sorts of sizes and shapes, that if someone were to see, they¡¯d wonder what¡¯s going on. In fact, there were two adventurers wondering that same thing themselves.


    ¡°I mean sure that¡¯s pretty weird, but that doesn¡¯t explain why you keep following him around the whole time.¡± Whispered one Natalie as she watched the masked mystery.


    ¡°There¡¯s something about him that stands out to me and keeps calling to me.¡± Whispered Dain as he watched Grant.


    ¡°Ooh I see. ¡° Nodded Natalie as she looked at Dain with some newfound understanding. ¡°So that¡¯s how you swing. That explains everything.¡±


    ¡°Wait what?¡±


    ¡°You used to tell me none of the girls ever interested you, I guess-¡± ¡°Wait that¡¯s not what I mean-¡± ¡°No, no I understand everything now, you used to always give Gregory funny looks back then-¡° ¡°That¡¯s not it¡± insisted Dain as he stared at Natalie intensely. ¡°I used to give him funny looks because he kept bothering-¡° ¡°Bothering who¡± asked Natalie as she dipped her face really close to Dain, causing Dain to turn away with an extremely flushed face. ¡°Never mind¡± muttered Dain. ¡°What I meant is that there¡¯s an energy that I¡¯ve never sensed before that¡¯s swirling around him, and even now it¡¯s prevalent in those mushrooms growing around him¡±


    This interested Natalie as she eagerly asked ¡°You think this could help you past this lurch?¡± Both she and Dain had noticed that he¡¯d had problems moving past his current mana circle. If they wanted to go further in the world of adventuring then they¡¯d have to find a way around it, and if this man held the key to solving the problem, then they¡¯d do anything to get past it.


    Dain hesitated before nodding. ¡°Yes, I think he might¡± he said with self-assurance.


    Natalie squealed and hugged a now struggling and blushing Dain, as she talked happily about how they had finally found a way, found a way.


    Grant sat in the background, having finished his first layer in the core foundation was listening in amusement as he watched the two kids go on so loudly. Frankly it was hilarious how awkward the serious and stoic Dain was, blushing red enough that even autumn¡¯s leaves struggled to be that shade. He kept quiet till he decided it was time to get up, faking a few motions so the kids would get the gist.


    Assuming he was just getting up, the pair murmured some more before sneaking away, which was his turn to get up.


    His first environment was looking great so far. Sure, it was just mushrooms, but damn he did a fine job if he did say so himself. His favored one in this scenario was the toadstool, as those worked great as tree lookalikes with over a hundred different variants serving as the trees. Though they were far more diminutive in comparison to the continent sized tree, they¡¯d serve as the basis for the far larger mushrooms he intended to litter the new divine domain of his. They weren¡¯t particularly dangerous yet, but they didn¡¯t have to be. They were just a little set dressing. The wyvents would come later. God, did Grant love wyvents. Intelligent, cunning, and great at teamwork. Few of his creations could compare. The same could be set of his first set of critters, but as it stands, he quite liked them too.


    In more recent times, the world has begun favoring a certain Italian and a bunch of kid friendly mushrooms which all of the kids of today loved, and even Grant had come to enjoy the idea of walking little mushrooms.


    So of course, Grant had to do his own spin on mushroom monsters. Of course.


    The mushrooms were very nice and cute looking, with the cartoon eyes and stubby legs and arms, with just the grubbiest little fingers. With a body that looked like a chubby mushroom stump, the head ended in a cute little cap with all shapes and sizes, some looking utterly cartoony, and others looking horrifyingly realistic. And immortality built into them. Oh, and poison beyond compare.


    It would be too easy to make them cute little mushrooms. Especially since the divine realm wasn¡¯t strong enough to support dragons or anything too strong, and the mushrooms were all about as strong as goblins, though as they evolve (Grant was never a slouch, evolutionary trees were always a need for him when creating new species, or at the very least incorporating them into another¡¯s tree was the bare minimum.) they would evolve into different forms and bodies similar to real life mushrooms, with their very behavior being a major factor as well. Dragons were feared for their very strength and all the flavors they came in, and what could be more terrifying than mushrooms coming in all different elemental flavors and being virtually immortal.


    Virtually immortal you ask? How is that possible? Easy: a soul system. Real life fungi connect all plants in an underground plant system where info and nutrients are shared.


    Grant decided to take a note right out of this part of nature, and make a soul system, where all of these shroom monsters would have interconnected souls, sharing knowledge like an inborn telephone system, and acting as a refuge for the souls to escape to upon the bodies death.


    Even if a soul-based magician were to try anything fun, they would find themselves face to face with a soul network, which would continue to grow stronger overtime. And like a underground plant system, they could share nutrients and create new bodies themselves. Grant cackled as he imagined his new monsters in action. Behold the shrooms! Grant was waving his hands ecstatically in a mushroom forest full of shrooms lumbering around in their newfound bodies, alongside a myriad of other things in this forest.


    Another thing running around his new forest was giant worms. Just straight up giant worms. Mildly common true, and they weren¡¯t new monsters per say, but sometimes a few generic beasts are needed. Set dressing, since they weren''t really enriching the soil currently.


    Grant sprinkled in some mushroom wolves as well. The giant worms may be dangerous but they¡¯re too unorthodox to serve as good dummies for the shrooms to face, so wolves carved out of mushroom would work fine. They acted just like the shrooms and even shared the same soul plant system the shrooms did, and even shared the same style of evolution. A bit repetitive, but considering they¡¯re essentially the same beasts but on 4 legs, it wasn¡¯t too surprising. They were a bit more vicious though, and in the real world, they¡¯d probably act like wolves.


    The last shroom creature Grant decided on was mushroom lizards. That¡¯s it. They were lizard sized, rather average, and didn¡¯t have any attacks. Even their evolutions weren¡¯t ready. Grant was fine with that too. A little extra benefit his divine domain had was that it reflected the real world to a certain extent, allowing random evolutions to occur. Grant looked forward to seeing what the result would be the next time he came here. It wouldn¡¯t be that bad.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile in another universe


    Flamel sensed something, as if something horrible had just been born.


    ¡°What?¡± Asked Darwin. Flamel had just frozen, and for a second that changing face seemed to reflect worry, before it shifted back to amusement.


    Flamel had decided to meet up with Grant¡¯s old students and he¡¯d been discussing some of Grant¡¯s troublesome escapades. If there was one thing Flamel was known for though, is sensing when Grant did something that would be huge. It seemed that hasn¡¯t changed at all, mused Flamel.


    ¡°Your master¡¯s done something again.¡± Grumbled Flamel. ¡°If there¡¯s one good thing about this arrangement, it¡¯s the fact that he¡¯s no longer in our universe and anything he makes won¡¯t be our trouble.¡±


    ¡°Indeed¡± agreed Darwin. ¡°Master created so many monsters that creatures across the universe wandered right outside our planet just to speak to the genius who created those things. If it weren¡¯t for the rules preventing any alien species from actually coming to earth for the next two thousand years we¡¯d been invaded by a entourage of his fans¡±


    Flamel chuckled. ¡°yes yes, most authors and designers have signing booths in conventions to get their autographs. We had to set him up a stand on the moon just outside of the Earth so he could do a yearlong signing. Oh, all the other administrators were jealous¡± he crooned.


    They talked a little more before Flamel decided to start guessing.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing basking dragon¡±


    ¡°He already made that; it¡¯s been wandering around the Bermuda triangle for the past few centuries swallowing the local leviathan populations. Those things are the only reason the seas haven¡¯t been overrun yet.


    ¡°Forgot about them. They¡¯re far too quiet compared to their relatives on land.¡±


    ¡°Pretty cute though. Dolphins with legs. ¡°


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be that stupid. Last time we tried that it was hell for a little while. Had to get rid of all of them. Those poor dogs.¡± Flamel shivered.


    ¡°Ah, 1850, I heard about it, but how bad was it.?¡±


    ¡°Bad. We needed to wipe a few memories so the people could sleep after that. We also had to spread the message to never give dolphins appendages.¡±


    ¡°That bad huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes I¡¯d rather move on if I could. How about triple combinations. Those produce the best results most of the time. ¡°


    ¡°Alright, then how about¡­¡±


    The two went on talking about Gant, almost sure he did something really stupid just now.


    They weren''t wrong either.

 Chapter 6: Just The Bears A Necessity, The simple necessities

    The troop had been moving a few weeks by now, with the expectation that it¡¯d probably be a few more weeks before they arrived at York. Apparently, the merchant in question didn¡¯t use better forms of technology because they were worried the higher magic levels would attract something unpleasant. Grant agreed with this to a certain level, as he could sense familiar presences.


    A person who¡¯s never met a dragon would never notice the scent, but as someone who¡¯s had¡­ complicated relationships with dragons, he could sense quite a few creatures that were about to evolve into a dragon, and certainly a few might want to push over that final wall. Probably better that they be this careful. Humans rarely have cores, but they still make for nice easy boosts in mana.


    ¡­


    As they walked along the road, they saw something uncommon to be sure.


    There was a black bear in the middle of the road.


    Eating honey.


    In its hand was a giant pot, from which he gathered his golden desire.


    This was abnormally weird as the bear paid no attention to them, merely lavishing itself in its honey eating nonstop. The adventurers had gathered to discuss amongst themselves what to do, with some saying they should try moving around, others suggesting scaring the bear off. A majority advocated for killing the bear in order to keep the general population of monsters down, as this area was known for its high density of monsters.


    Grant had no intention of letting any of them come to a decision.


    He walked towards the bear, with all eyes on him. He sat down next to the giant bear, and put his hand into the hive, fishing for honey. While some watched in horror worried for the stupid young lad, others sneered, while the higher leveled adventurers merely watched on. He seemed confident enough, and worse comes to worse, adventurers do die in stupid ways.


    All the while Grant ate the honey alongside the bear and chuckled. ¡°Rather delicious honey you have here my good fellow. It¡¯s amazing¡± The bear grinned and offered him another glob of honey, which Grant eagerly took for himself and ate some more.


    ¡­


    So few knew the beauty of honey. How delicious it is, and oh how it shines, like liquid gold. It¡¯d seen gold before, one of them dragons in the mountains was hoarding it. The bear snorted at them. Why sleep on them shiny rocks when you¡¯ve got perfectly good grass? Ridiculous. Honey tasted much better gold. The dragon gave me a bemused look, but as far as I¡¯m concerned, he¡¯s da stupid one!


    The bear had loved honey for the past year or two it lived. The dragon had told him he¡¯d been alive for two years, spawned as the dragon told him. He didn¡¯t care tho. He really came to life the day he tasted honey. The heaven¡¯s dew brought a new light to his eyes, and he wished to share the greatness with everyone. Those who didn¡¯t partake though, he taught them a lesson and stuffed them with honey!


    One day he decided he wanted to share honey with those humans. Them two legged pale goblins, certainly bigger than them, but hardly smarter. He saw lots of ¡®em get killed by the green bastards. He curled his nose at the very thought of them stinky bastards. Not only did they not like honey, but they were so boring. When they saw him, they attacked him, so he destroyed them. Those who so rejected the beauty of honey must be taught their place.


    These humans were strong. Sum¡¯ of them were stronger than others, but the bear didn¡¯t care. They talked amongst themselves, but the bear didn¡¯t care either. He ate the honey, showing them how great it is. Finally one of them humans, the one that dressed so funny, the bear worried he wasn¡¯t getting any sun, sat down and started eating honey with him. He didn¡¯t even take of his mask and just started eating. Bear is impressed! He is glad he has found one who appreciates honey amongst them, and even more so when the man suggests he comes with the man so he may share honey to everyone. Bear is happy!


    ¡­


    The people could only look on in confusion as the new adventurer casually spoke to the bear, and indulged in the same honey as the bear did. After a few minutes of conversation, the bear agreed to something, and in a simple flash the bear was gone. Obviously, people surged forwards, eager to find out what happened, while certain adventurers came forwards to chastise him, some worried, others annoyed by how long he took.


    His answer was quite surprising.


    ¡°It¡¯s a honey bear¡± he said with a simple shrug. Most didn¡¯t understand, as didn¡¯t all bears love honey? Only a few who had read a monster book or two and seen some of the rarer monsters knew what a honey bear was and scrunched their faces up in disappointment, and Grant seemed to give off a smug air.


    Variant monsters are rare and usually only formed in unique circumstances or may even just be born rare. Red slimes, gold slimes, honey bears, hawksight anteaters and even titan atlas beetles were great examples of variants. They are not merely different evolutions, the way a goblin may evolve into a goblin shaman, or a hobgoblin or even a hobgoblin shaman. Creatures that become variants are technically the same level as their base counterparts, though some could argue they can be seen as an evolution, as their future evolutions will be very different from the mainlines. Regardless, the facts remain that variants are rare, and their evolutions often surpassed the original baseline versions, or at the very least are so different that they served a different purpose.


    Honey bears are an example of a variant monster born due to an event, rather than birth. Honey bears are rare as so rarely do bears come to praise honey beyond all else. They are comparable to paladins and priests, in service to their viscous god. One is more likely to see the variants such as fish stryker bears as well as denmother bears, though honey bears are more common than molasses bears, syrup bears and even nectar bears, though they do serve similar purposes.


    Honey bears can be any type of bear, from brown to black, sun bears, and even polar bears as long as they¡¯re still at the young and formative stages of monster evolution, as older and stronger bears are less likely to have the same revelation. As a result, it¡¯s hard to determine what¡¯s a honey bear and what isn¡¯t. Few people can sense the intensity or density of mana around a person, but to sense the type is far harder, though the more experienced certainly can. However, by more experienced, Grant had to estimate b ranks are more around the appropriate maturity, given b onwards are the ones who see variants more often. A honey bear has a distinct form of mana that is special to honey type monsters, impeccably rare, given only dessert monsters as well as royal bees give off that unique mana type.


    A major way to discover one is if they¡¯re holding a source of honey. Specifically, a source. Not necessarily a hive. Honey bears, upon receiving their revelation, will hold onto their muse from here on out, whether it sticks to their back via honey residue, or they hold it with one paw as they walk on two legs. As time goes on, their muse will grow combs and start to spawn mana derived bees, and in later stages even grow queens as well as specific units of bees. One honey bear became so large it became a walking city, and the comb gave rise to a race of andromorphic bee people. It was a very unique experience.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    And what made honey bears so useful was their honey. Like nectar bears and molasses bears, honey bears begin to produce their namesake, and a honey bear¡¯s honey is known to have a healing quality to it, and as it evolved the quality would go up. In his universe their had been a honey bear that had managed to get its paws on a peach from the palace of the immortals in China and it evolved, producing honey that granted longevity. Many chased after the bear for its honey, only realizing too little too late that the immortals hadn¡¯t given that peach up willingly, nor had it eaten only one peach, managing to eat them in droves, causing its immediate evolution. This wasn¡¯t even the first time either, as bears that had eaten ambrosia or even leaves off the world tree had undergone similar evolutions.


    Grant had an unfair advantage of course. He had appraisal. ¡®To be fair¡¯ Grant thought to himself, ¡®I am the one who created that spell, and then helped implement it into the system. ¡®Had I not done so, players would¡¯ve had to stick to analyzing themselves¡¯. Grant did feel he technically cheated with such a convenient spell, but it was his. Even at an old age, he could feel embarrassed calling dibs. Once everyone else found out from the ones that knew, the stares grew worse, and he cared less, falling back into the rhythm of being judged by strangers.


    Later as Grant ate with the bear through the night (he made sure to explain how honey could be used, the bear was very happy. He also explained how the bear could not simply beat up anyone who hated honey, as they would only hinder its message; the bear was less enthused, but like many honey bears it was smarter than other bears, and understood the logic. As long as it involved honey of course) Grant watched as his two partners throughout this trip walked towards him and he could only shake his fist mentally in excitement. His first apprentice in a new world was coming over to him!


    Dain walked over to him and bowed immediately and earned a raised eyebrow from Grant, though no comment was made. It¡¯d ruin the masks presence of intimidation after all.


    ¡°I request you teach me sire.¡±


    ¡°Teach you to tame honey bears? That¡¯d be quite hard to do, seeing as I cannot merely produce honey bears for you.¡± Grant heard a giggle from the less stalwart friend and could not help but grin a little. ¡®These two will make a fine couple. The yandre and the tsundre. Should I work on that too?¡¯


    Dain¡¯s face was downward, but he was sure he¡¯d get nothing out of him like that. Men this serious weren¡¯t the type to react to prodding like that. You usually had to insult their friends or loved ones for any good reactions above a cocked eyebrow.


    ¡°I request you teach me that energy sir Grant. Please. It would mean a great deal to me¡± stated Dain, head still bowed.


    Grant sighed. ¡°I was hoping to get more of a ¡°please suh, I¡¯ll do anything for my great and wonderful teacher¡±¡± Grant said with an extremely silly sound, ¡°But sure, I could use a new student. Alright come on.¡± Grant waved as they head deeper into the woods, and as they walked to a nice little clearing where Grant inserted an eye on top of another eye, and started a magic circle up, creating vines which interlocked with one another until they formed a warding magic circle to scare anyone off from looking. It wasn¡¯t his best work, Grant admitted, but unless a really strong magician or a high-level dragon or even a God were trying to peep, chances were they weren¡¯t going to be able to eavesdrop. And to keep an eye out, Grant had put in Odin¡¯s eye, which he¡¯d had imbued with Heimdall¡¯s blessing, amongst other things, allowing him to see continent-wide, though he was focusing on the forest. No one here. Perfect.


    Grant sat down in the clearing, with Dain and Natalie following suit.


    ¡°What do you know of the eastern empire, or the Qi-ng empire?¡±


    ¡°Ooh ooh I know somethings¡± stated Natalie excitedly. ¡°I hear they have these super strong people over there who can lift mountains and create entire oceans, like Merlin!¡±


    ¡°Those would be cultivators. They are people who gather and refine qi, with the aim of becoming gods. Thousands die in a desperate race for resources, and betrayal and backstabbing are common. It¡¯s like a noble fight, but with martial arts.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of stupid.¡± Commented Natalie and Dain nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I agree as well. Cultivators rarely reach this stage, and I can only think of maybe 100 people who¡¯ve ever actually managed to succeed.¡± Dain and Natalie looked surprised and Dain asked ¡°That¡¯s certainly impressive, and mildly hard to believe, but what¡¯s your point here? Are you saying you¡¯re one of them?¡±


    ¡°Ding ding ding!¡± Announced Grant ¡°You¡¯re both correct and incorrect¡± Dain and Natalie sat there, waiting for this man to go on, and were quickly seeing he was more eccentric than he let on. Before he was dark and brooding, and now, now he was weird.


    ¡°You see, the technique I¡¯m cultivating, is a unique technique I call the Divine Earth technique, because it focuses on sticking to the Earth, rather than trying to ascend to the heavens like most techniques, putting Earth before the Heavens, like those airheads¡±


    ¡°So that energy I¡¯ve been sensing is what cultivators use, this qi?¡±


    ¡°Correct! You my boy, are especially gifted. From what I can see your circulation is good and had you been born in the Qi-ng empire, you would¡¯ve been grabbed by the nearest cultivator.¡±


    Dain¡¯s face darkened, and Grant wasn¡¯t that surprised. Dain likely struggled, and was now imagining how much further he¡¯d have gotten over at the Qi-ng empire, without even knowing much about it. Grant walked over and patted him on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much, were you not born here you wouldn¡¯t have met the people you know like Natalie here.¡± Dain¡¯s face brightened up a lot, and Grant continued on. ¡°Besides, you would also have a pretty good chance of dying. Like any good noble story, people with high potential are often killed by rivals outside their clan, rival teachers inside the clan, or even descendants of the clan, who could be jealous of your potential. In a sense you¡¯re better off here, and now that you¡¯ve met me, we can get your education started.¡±


    ¡°So, first rule of cultivation, and write this down¡± called Grant as he took out pens and notepads, before handing one of each to the two. ¡° Never trust another cultivator, unless he¡¯s saved your life, and even then always be suspicious.¡± Dain nodded and scribbled while Natalie raised her hand. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little too untrusting? You have to trust someone.¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct Natalie¡± nodded Grant, ¡°however, you must understand, many cultivators live long life spans, with many extending their lives into hundreds if not thousands of years. To become a god is to become nigh immortal.¡± Natalie went wide eyed, whereas Dain looked worried. ¡°Worry not¡± assured Grant ¡°The Divine Earth Technique will not be extending your lifespan that long. It¡¯ll extend your life span to a few hundred years, the same amount as mana circles can give. The Divine Earth technique also permanently makes it impossible to become a god. The return for this is that you¡¯ll grow far faster than your average cultivator, and the end result is that you can fight against even the highest of high level of cultivators if you have to.¡± Dain looked relieved, and Grant had to admit, he liked the fact Dain was more down to earth. Immortality wasn¡¯t all it was cut out to be.


    ¡°For cultivators, betraying a friend of 2 hundred years is irrelevant, because you¡¯ll live for hundreds of years. What¡¯s more, cultivators are extremely petty. If you insult them, or do wrong to them, they¡¯ll hold onto their grudge for a very long time, and even you may not remember this grudge. Some will wait generations to strike back. Your grandfather could piss someone off, and that man may one day take his vengeance out on you.¡±


    ¡°Not only that, but if you have something extremely valuable, then your ¡°friend¡± may decide it¡¯s worth more than you. The same could be said of anyone truthfully, but cultivators are definitely greedier, and if they believe the thing you have can help them break through, than they will have no problem doing so.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean everyone¡¯s out to get you, but I¡¯d say two thirds of all cultivators are usually. The only thing they understand is power. Any questions?¡±


    Natalie had her hand up already, whereas Dain seemed to be thinking deeply. ¡°Yes Natalie?¡± ¡°If cultivators are so greedy, then why are you helping us? For that matter, why would you be here, rather than in the qi-ng empire?¡±


    Grant chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m doing this because I want to. I¡¯m not a good person you know¡± and for a second, they could feel it. Grant felt terrifying, monstrous. His killing intent was horrendous, and was comparable to a mad dragon, or something perhaps worse.


    A GOD looked down upon them.


    They couldn¡¯t breathe, as if their hearts had stopped, hoping for this predator to not see them. Their bones, their blood, everything slowed and then stopped. And so did Grant, with Dain and Natalie gasping for air, and now eyed Grant worriedly, with Grant just sitting there. Not just a mysterious adventurer, but something more.


    ¡°You see, I have the power to do so. So, I do so. That¡¯s all there is to it. Because I think it¡¯d be fun to help you, and I have the power to do so. I¡¯m not doing this out of the kindness of my heart. If I didn¡¯t believe myself strong enough, then I wouldn¡¯t bother. As for why I¡¯m not at the Qi-ng empire, it¡¯s because I don¡¯t need to be. Unlike other techniques, the divine earth isn¡¯t qi exclusive. It can also be done using mana¡± Grant continued, pulling one of his supplements out ¡°not only that, but I already have qi supplements.¡±


    Even Natalie couldn¡¯t help but stare in awe as he pulled out a humongous, fanged tooth, at least half his size, and seemingly out of nowhere. The ting radiated power and demanded respect.

 Chapter 7: Getting started

    As Dain and Natalie just stared Grant chuckled. ¡°Love those kinds of reactions but I recommend you work on your reactions. This kind of stuff is pretty common in the cultivator world, where everyone keeps the good stuff to themselves. Dain what do you feel?¡± Grant turned to Dain as he asked. ¡°I feel¡­ a surge of this ¡°qi¡±, it¡¯s so overwhelming¡± said Dain as he looked at the fang.


    ¡°I would hope so.¡± Commented Grant ¡°Used to belong to an high level whistlefang dragon and this fang had been festering for a few thousand years before I picked it up.¡± ¡°Whistlefang Dragon?¡± Asked Dain. ¡°It was an ancient dragon species. Went extinct a few thousand years, which increased its rarity level. And for you, it¡¯ll make good cultivation fodder.¡±


    ¡°Woah really! Thank you!¡± Exclaimed Natalie as she ran over and yanked the fang from an amused Grant waiving it around in pure excitement. It was funny, watching such a small girl stumble around with a tooth that large. ¡°Are you sure? It sounds pretty rare.¡± said Dain, clearly unsure about this idea.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, this is how all cultivators are. If there¡¯s one person we like to spoil, it¡¯s our students. Don¡¯t worry I have plenty more of stuff like that.¡± Dain relaxed a little, and then stiffened when he heard the second part of the statement. Grant laughed, patting the two on the back. ¡°Come on, the others are probably a bit worried, seeing as they haven¡¯t been able to reach us for the past few minutes. We¡¯ll continue this tomorrow. Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day, and a cultivator usually takes a few hundred years, so squeezing it into days will take a while.¡±


    The group returned to the escort, with Grant erasing the magic circle, and came back to the gathering, with no one the wiser.


    For the next few days, Grant started educating them on the basics of cultivation, and what made his technique different from others. As Dain and Natalie learned, they came to understand cultivator mentality better, and understood why Grant was setting up magic circle every single time. For every story of brotherhood there was one of betrayal, for every one of eternal love, a spiteful separation to last millennia. Luckily (or unluckily, if you ask some) the divine earth only pushes a person¡¯s lifespan to a few hundred years at the very most, much like mana circles do.


    ¡­


    Today they would be working on beginning cultivation, and Grant had decided to start with Dain. Dain was sitting in a meditative pose, and an incense made out of the fang presented a few days ago was present at the scene. The honey bear was there too, stirring a pot as he dribbled honey into it. The honey bear was there so that Grant could supervise him while he worked. He probably wouldn¡¯t be going back to full time alchemist, but doing so as a part time gig couldn¡¯t hurt. And the honey bear was invaluable because of its honey¡¯s medicinal properties. It¡¯d be a fun experience for Grant to teach the bear, and he¡¯d managed to convince the bear that honey would become even more attractive if he managed to stir the honey into some brews and potions. If nothing, it was evidently more eye-catching as Natalie ran up to inspect the beast with excitement, and Dain looked surprised.


    ¡°What is the bear doing?¡± inquired Natalie as she stared into the pot the bear was stirring. It eagerly showed her the contents, which didn¡¯t do much for her, and then continued stirring, dropping in the ingredients Grant had instructed it in.


    ¡°I¡¯m teaching it alchemy. The honey of the honey bear is qualitively better than normal honey and good for early alchemy. Of course, comparing it to higher level monster honey would be incorrect, but as the monster evolves, that¡¯ll change.¡±


    ¡°You know alchemy!¡± Exclaimed Natalie while Dain raised another eyebrow. Dain was amusing like that, those subtle but obvious reactions.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m an alchemist.¡±


    ¡°What! With those kind of sword skills? And that warding spell you¡¯ve been using?¡±


    ¡°Cultivator alchemists are expected to know some level of sword skill. Even as good as I may seem, I¡¯m quite mediocre compared to the truly talented.¡±


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    ¡°Cultivators are extreme huh.¡±


    ¡°Yup, so make sure not to expose too much whenever you hang out with cultivators. You too Dain. Your body language is a bit more extreme than it should be. ¡°


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    ¡°Alright so let¡¯s get started.¡± Grant walked behind Dain¡¯s back and laid his hands upon his jugulars. ¡°So I¡¯m going to insert some qi into your body and you¡¯ll have to feel the flow. Before you attempt the cultivation it¡¯s important to make sure you understand the flow. The last thing you want is for it to backflow. Ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good¡± and with that, Grant began the insertion.


    At first Dain felt weird. He¡¯d known that qi existed in his body once Dain had told him qi existed in all bodies, just as he began to see it in Natalie¡¯s but feeling another person¡¯s qi in his body felt weird. What felt weird and a bit uncomfortable at first began to feel better as time went on, with the qi feeling refreshing, and it touched parts of his body he¡¯d never felt before. It didn¡¯t take long before he was controlling the flow, and Dain was starting to feel exhilarated, having never felt like this before. Dain was starting to really gain traction and Grant could feel it, as a grin began to appear on his face.


    ¡°He¡¯s getting it alright.¡± Chuckled Grant. He knew the boy had talent but to see it in action was always gratifying. The difference in heaven and Earth were apparent in times like these. Grant himself originally had poor aptitude for qi and it had taken him only a few months short of a year to circulate, but this boy had surpassed him in such short time. It could also be the incense too though, which was made of a rather powerful creature that his teacher had had no access too, or any interest on using it on a no-talent like him.


    ¡°He¡¯s getting it? Dain how does it feel?¡± She asked and started prodding Dain a little as if to get his attention, or even check on him. Dain got up and stretched as if he had arose from a nap well rested. Dain seemed more energetic than before. ¡°It felt great¡± said Dain with no hesitation. ¡°Alright, the next thing I want you to do is to do the same thing I did to you, and do it to Natalie¡± as he indicated towards Dain¡¯s friend. Dain looked unsure about this. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just do this though?¡± Asked Dain. ¡°You said that messing with qi without truly knowing it is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°It is¡± agreed Grant. ¡°However, you seem ready to me. Don¡¯t worry. While I will be cultivating over there¡± he pointed next to the honey bear ¡°If anything goes wrong, I¡¯ll intervene. Got it?¡± Dain nodded nervously. ¡°Alright Natalie how about you sit down over here¡± Dain led Natalie to sit in the same position. Natalie followed along, and seemed nervous and excited. Dain also seem worried, but he was flush with embarrassment. Grant grinned a little, as Dain blushed, touching Natalie¡¯s jugulars, and he wasn¡¯t alone. Natalie was blushing ever so slightly too. ¡®Prudes¡¯ thought Grant to himself. He sat down next to the bear, and started. If he wanted to produce his next biome, he¡¯d need the energy necessary.


    ¡­


    Grant finished cultivating for the day and went over to the two teens. He hadn¡¯t noticed any dangerous fluctuations. The two were flushed and panting, breath heavy. ¡°Ah I forgot to mention¡± exclaimed Grant, drawing the attention of the two adventurers ¡°energy flowing is often done between teacher and student, family, best friends¡­ and lovers.¡± Grant made sure to emphasize that last part and with the two blushing, he got what he wanted. Grant snickered. ¡°Come on you two, it¡¯s been a few hours, they¡¯ll wonder where you two have been. ¡°What about you¡± retorted Natalie, and Dain was studying him. He¡¯d emphasized it for some reason after all. ¡°Me? Why I¡¯ve been with them for the past few hours wondering where you¡¯ve been this whole time¡± Grant disappeared and only then did they realize¡­


    Grant hadn¡¯t been here for a few hours.


    They rushed back to the carts, and there they found Grant talking to the other adventurers. ¡°Why those two told me they wanted some alone time, so I just had to oblige them. I hope they don¡¯t do anything bad in the woods.¡± One of the older ones grunted. ¡°Kids. When I was their age I had the same problem, got caught one time smooching it up with the merchant¡¯s daughter, I got into so much trouble that time. She¡¯s my wife now.¡± The man grinned as they all shared cups of honey. Another added in, ¡°ooh, I can¡¯t wait to tease those two when they get back!¡± Another hooted:


    ¡°Dain and Natalie,


    Sitting on a Tree,


    K-I-S-S-I-N-G!¡±


    Dain started backing up, realizing he¡¯d been set up. Sadly, he was too late. Grant turned towards them, grinned, and called them out. ¡°There you two are! My, you two look so exhausted! What could you two have been doing in the woods alone. MMM?¡± The adventurers laughed as they raised their mugs of honey, all the while the two blushed intensely, with Natalie positively steaming, and Dain just walking over and grabbing a mug of honey from the smug Grant, quietly drinking, but anyone could see the tips of those ears heating up. ¡°Have I ever told you about how I met my wife¡± drawled the older adventurer, pulling Dain close. Today would be a long night.

 Interlude: Ships among adventurers

    ¡°So, everyone ships the two?¡± inquired Grant as he shared mugs of honey amongst the adventurers. ¡°Yup, it¡¯s been going on for a while¡± said an older adventurer, whom Grant had come to know was named Leon. Man was mostly a retired adventurer, but had tagged along because the merchant happened to be his brother-in-law, and his wife had been a merchant¡¯s daughter.  According to him this was a round trip, and his wife was at the York outpost, where they would pick her up on the way back to one of the trading centers of the Ro-mana-n empire.


    In order to really get some juicy gossip, Grant had started the habit of sharing honey amongst the adventurers. The bear certainly liked it, as it was always happy to spread honey, and the adventurers were happy to partake once they heard that he¡¯d partnered with a honey bear. Monster honey was generally beneficial, and it was known that honey bear honey was great for one¡¯s health. Even Leon looked more energetic and youthful than he had been before the honey.


    ¡°It started when the two first showed up. Natalie¡¯s a pretty thing as we all know¡± the group that had gathered for the drinking session nodded ¡°and certain adventurers are certainly more boorish than others¡± adventurers nodded even more feverishly at that. ¡°One day a certain e-class adventurer thought he was hot shit and tried to hit on her. You know the whole story. Women isn¡¯t interested, man thinks that doesn¡¯t matter, Dain steps in and breaks his arm. No mana used. No one bothers her again afterwards.¡± Grant whistles, ¡± Good on him, though that¡¯s good friendship more than anything else.¡± Leon nods in agreement. ¡°Yeah, but there¡¯s more you see. Anytime a man tries to flirt a little, Dain¡¯s just there a little further away, observing the whole situation. He ain¡¯t glowering or anything, but most guys get a bit unnerved and end conversations early. Course he ain¡¯t the only one.¡±


    One female adventurer raises her hand. ¡°One time I tried flirting with Dain, man¡¯s got good looks and who wouldn¡¯t want the attention he pays to Natalie?¡± She takes a chug of that golden nectar and continues ¡°Natalie has one hell of a stare. Somehow, she seems able to tell who¡¯s flirting and who¡¯s chatting, and only one gets the stare. The girl¡¯s managed to scare every girl around away from flirting with him. Why, I once saw a b class adventurer turn and run with her tail tucked between her legs. She isn¡¯t as strong, but she has one hell of a death stare.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, let me guess.¡± Grant makes some grand gestures with his hand. ¡°One of them is too dense to realize and the other is possessive, but too embarrassed to make any moves?¡±  Murmurs of agreements and chuckles go through the group. ¡°We¡¯ve got bets going around about when one of them start realizing or confessing their feelings.¡± Said one adventurer with an eyepatch and a funny looking hat. Funnier when you realize he hasn¡¯t lost an eye, but rather he¡¯s using that silly pirate trick for some reason.


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    ¡°I¡¯ve got bets on a year or two.¡±


    ¡°A few weeks probably. They¡¯ve already been at it for a year.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t thing they¡¯ll ever get together at this rate. Count me out.¡±


    Grant decided to chime in. Leaning in and smiling, he said: ¡°Well y¡¯know, currently the two of them are out training together. What say you we have a little fun?¡± Grant was currently using a duplication technique to be in two places at once, but once he stopped using it, they¡¯d be all alone.


    Everyone smiled, and their faces seemed almost ghastly, illuminated in the darkness of the night.


    ¡­


    Natalie had been so happy when they implied that she and Dain had been kissing. She wishes they had been. She¡¯d been so happy for Dain ever since they found that Dain had another way of getting strong and that they¡¯d been able to find a man so willing to teach him. He was a weird man, but seemed to be a kind man underneath¡­ whatever he was wearing. He dressed rather garishly and she hoped if nothing else that they would not have to dress like that.


    Ever since they were young Dain and Natalie had stuck together. Even at a young age she had stuck with Dain through thick and thin, and as they got older, she wanted him more and more. She didn¡¯t like those boys who approached her, those annoying fleas. She was grateful that Dain drove them away, and it even made her happy he did so. None of them were like Dain, or as good as him.


    He¡¯d even set them up together in a nice and secluded area. Perhaps he could help her with getting closer to Dain. After all, he was already helping push Dain closer to her. Fuhuhuhu¡­ Natalie squirmed in her sleeping bag, dreaming of the day Dain would be completely hers.


    ¡­


    Dain could not sleep. Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t. Touching her jugulars had been embarrassing. The way she moaned and shuddered as her body feed on his qi.  The circulation had pushed some of her qi into his body, and he felt himself craving more. The desire to cradle her, to hold her, to, to to¡­ Dain buried his face into his pillow as his cheeks flushed. He¡¯d been Natalie¡¯s friend since they were children, and yet recently he¡¯d been feeling this way, covetous somehow. Jealous even Every time a guy tried flirting with Natalie he couldn¡¯t help but drill holes into them with his bare eyes, thank goodness Natalie didn¡¯t seem to realize he¡¯d been scaring away all the guys. He cursed his new ¡°sensei¡± who¡¯d set him up in such an embarrassing situation, yet at the same time, was happy for the alone time. Still wanted to smack him a little.


    Poor Dain would not get a wink of sleep as he went back and forth on this through the night.

 Chapter 8: Where It All Leads

    After a few more attempts at circulating the qi through their circulatory system and Natalie was now able to sense qi, and once he was satisfied with their level, he decided it was time.


    ¡°And thus, you will be known as Honey Ursa!¡± said Grant and the bear nodded furiously, obviously delighted that his name had honey in it. Grant felt the qi and mana leave his body and watched as Honey Ursa grew larger and stronger. Before Honey Ursa had been the size of an average man, and had indeed been big, but he had grown a little more, and was now Grant¡¯s size. Cultivators were often taller than your average man and at times like this, the statement rang true more than ever.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotten so huge Honey Ursa! Hug!¡± Natalie spread her hands and hugged the bigger bear. The bear happily agreed, carefully using the clean spell it learned from its new master and returning the hug.


    Dain on the other hand, chose to ask ¡°why Honey Ursa? Doesn¡¯t that just mean honey bear? ¡°


    Dain received a nod ¡°It does indeed mean honey bear. I considered calling it ursa honey but that was just bear honey, which sounded weirder when turned back to the original word. Honey Kuma was considered, but I decided it¡¯d be best if we stuck to using words from this general area, rather than pulling on Japanese.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s ¡°Japanese?¡± Asked Natalie who was done hugging the bear, who had gone back to start stirring whatever was in the pot, Dain and Natalie certainly didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°An eastern language.¡± Grant waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Instead of cultivators you¡¯ll find a mix of Shinto users, mythical beings and some mana users. No point in trying to reach it as it¡¯s a group of islands near the land of the cultivators. Too dangerous.¡±


    Dain started scribbling and Natalie nodded. At some point they found Dain made better notes and the two just read the notes together. Grant missed phones on days like these, so he could record cute pictures. Maybe he¡¯ll make one someday.


    ¡°Alright, alright¡± called Grant as he clapped catching their attention.


    Seeing as he had the student¡¯s attention he started. ¡°As you know, I¡¯ve promised to teach you the divine realm technique. I¡¯ve told you all about how the technique allows you to start creating your divine realm earlier than others and that in your domain, you¡¯re king. Now, it¡¯s time to start showing and stop telling. So,¡± as Grant faltered, he began opening his domain realm, through which a burst of qi and mana flowed through into the real world, and a patch of mushrooms began growing as well.


    To them, it looked like a tear in space, through which a whole other environment existed. They stepped through reluctantly once Grant walked through. Once there, they looked around, seeing huge mushroom trees and mushroom wolves prowling around. They both had the same thought.


    ¡°Just like a dungeon.¡±


    Grant chuckled hearing that. ¡°Just like a dungeon you say? Well, you¡¯re both right and wrong in that regard.¡±


    ¡°First off, it only looks like this because I decided so. It only has life because I decided so. A divine realm is derived from your greatest desire, or your greatest inspiration. Some have made volcanic regions, others make grand palaces, others make torture areas, and I make¡­¡± Grant swung his arms dramatically.


    Dain and Natalie looked around. Mushroom forests everywhere.


    ¡°Mushroom forests?¡± asked Dain cautiously.


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    Grant gave him a funny look for a moment, before realization came about. ¡°Look up¡±


    And they did.


    And they froze in awe.


    One often hears stories from elves about the tree that forms the core of their kingdom, a tree so large that it towers over all trees, a tree which makes mountains blush. A blessing from the goddess of elves. To HEAR that, and to SEE that, are two different things.


    A tree lurched over them, so massive they could barely see it. And yet, there it was. A tree so large, that perhaps even a continent couldn¡¯t compare. Each leaf seemed to be the size of a small city, each one different in appearance, and each a world in of themselves. The sky itself was not the sky, but a roof of colors, an aurora without a sky to reflect against. Leaves as far as the eye could see. And now they understood. How great a divine realm could be.


    ¡°I create life!¡± Grant declared.


    Once they had calmed down, Grant proceeded to explain. ¡°A divine realm is often derived from your desires, hopes, hates, vengeance, etc. Whatever is strong enough to create the first part of your divine realm. I, saw a tree larger than the little sapling the elves use for their kingdom.¡± Dain looked incredulous, as did Natalie, but looking at the tree behind them, they could believe it. ¡°You sure it wasn¡¯t perspective?¡± asked Dain, just in case.


    Grant shook his head. ¡°The tree I¡¯m talking about, happens to be a god, and also the progenitor of the tree the elves use. Yggdrasil.¡± Dain furrowed his eyebrow as he thought. ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t anyone else seen this tree? Especially if it¡¯s a god tree. If its so large, others must have seen it.¡±


    Grant responded. ¡°That¡¯s something you only know if you know the legend. Yggdrasil is the tree that holds up 9 different realms. The reason people don¡¯t see it is because one isn¡¯t supposed to see it. It holds up our realm, and thus usually isn¡¯t able to be seen. It exists in the spiritual, not the physical.¡±


    Grant reminisced a little, as he thought of the past. ¡°When I was young, I was different from my brothers. The other two sought glory, victory and eventually death by combat. I wasn¡¯t like them. At a young age, I sought to learn from a mage who lived nearby. And I learned. But there was something missing. I lacked a goal as firm as the others. I was interested in magic, not devoted to it. And that¡¯s when it happened.


    One day, I met a one-eyed man. He called himself a sage, but I would come to know him by a different name. Odin. He asked me to help him, and promised me a sight that I may never see again. So, I helped that man. Even as he created a noose by which he would hang himself.¡±


    Dain and Natalie gave him a slightly horrified yet confused look. Grant shrugged.


    ¡°If the man wished to die so disappointingly, who was I to stop him? We all have the right to choose our own death.


    After he died, I was preparing to leave unsatisfied but having seen something new nonetheless, when it happened. A tear in space in time opened, through which the man¡¯s spirit walked through. Curious, I took a look. And that¡¯s when I saw it.


    A tree so huge, I could not fathom it. The branches were holding something out of sight, and yet I could not help but bow out of pure reverence. Then I saw them. Ratatoskr, Nidhoggr, Hraesvelgr, and I realized what I was looking at. The world tree, that which holds all of reality. Of course,¡± he added dryly ¡°I came to learn that wasn¡¯t quite as I thought, but nonetheless, my world view had been shaken. I had seen that which I had never thought I could see, and desired to create something of the same scale. To copy the beauty of such a thing. To create life to populate my own realm how Yggdrasil had life on its own.¡± This whole time he had been rather dramatic, and he was happy to see some awe on the faces of both of them. ¡°Those leaves up there¡± he pointed up ¡°are supposed to be biomes. They will act as reflections of each environment I make.¡± Realizations dawned on their faces as they realized the purposes for each of the leaves looking so different from one another.


    ¡°One of the greatest things about the divine Earth technique¡± called Grant in his teacher voice, shaking the 2 out of a daze as Natalie listened and Dain scribbled notes, ¡°is that you won¡¯t need to comprehend the laws to create your divine realm. Of course, laws can still sharpen your realm, as understanding how it works allows you to make improvements on what you make, but the sheer fact that unlike true cultivators you won¡¯t need laws immediately is already a head above them. You merely need to focus on a conviction or desire you have, or a goal.


    Since my first major inspiration was Yggdrasil, my divine realm began with this huge tree. What you choose to make the center of your realm, and your desires will affect how the whole realm so make sure you choose carefully.¡± He said that last part with a serious emphasis, causing a serious reaction from them. This was more than enough for them to understand the severity, especially as they were standing in his divine realm.


    ¡°Good. I knew too many people who designed their divine realm in the name of vengeance and lived to regret that afterwards. Never a good look when your divine realm is a torture chamber.¡± Grant clapped and then pointed at huge jars that seemed to be quite the distance away. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for a break. How about we look at my treasures? It¡¯s not a bad idea to get a firm grasp on cultivators have.

 Chapter 9 Showing Off

    To this, Dain rolled his eyes. That was clearly him showing off. Nonetheless, Natalie seemed excited about this. Her eyes were obviously sparkling at the aspect. ¡°Alright, sure¡± Said Dain, While Natalie was shaking her hands. Grant chuckled and started ripping open another portal inside the divine realm.


    They arrived at a new area near the roots of the tree, where there was just¡­ tons of junk. Swords, sabers, whips, shields, guns, etc. etc. Dain looked around and picks up a bottle of wine. ¡°This treasury is certainly, uh, unique.¡± He looked all over the floor, finding a bunch of other random stuff. Roots, pots, hammers, cartoonishly large hammers, pots, pans, and even a butchers knife? ¡°Are all cultivators hoarders?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Also, Natalie, don¡¯t touch that.¡± Grant pulled the butchers cleaver away from Natalie¡¯s outreached hand. ¡°All of this stuff is valuable. Not to me maybe, but all of it is worth a great deal, meaning I can trade with equally hoarding cultivators who might have something I want.¡±   He held up the cleaver. ¡°For example, this used to belong to a man called Jerry Pildough, once a baker until his wife was taken by a noble. He went on to become a warlord and killed thousands upon thousands of people with this very cleaver. Nice guy got his wife back eventually. They had a family and all that. They even named a kid after me.¡±


    He channeled some mana into the weapon, and it became surrounded by a black aura, and screams of anguish came about, different languages, different races, and even dragon screeches could be heard, and Natalie and Dain shivered hearing the screams. ¡°Sadly, this couldn¡¯t be a family heirloom because it¡¯s obviously cursed. He traded it to me for an enchanted sword made by Sindri and Vulcan. That may sound like a bad deal to some, but this cleaver has great value.¡±


    Dain couldn¡¯t help himself, and he was supposed to be learning. ¡°So what is its value?¡± Grant grinned. ¡°The value is that it is filled with so much anguish and agony that any cultivator who cultivates using negative energy or even a mage who specializes in curses would love the negative energy trapped in the knife. And once the knife is cleansed, you would still have the Pildough¡¯s Butcher Blade, which is not only a powerful blade, but it can also repeatedly gather grudge the more it kills like a magnet. Its every curse master¡¯s wet dream. And here we have¡­¡±


    Grant would go on like this for a few min, which blurred together for Grant and Natalie. Sometimes there was something fun, like some magical weapon belonging to a lost civilization, other times there were weird things, like a set of clothes meant to be the most comfortable in the world, and silly things, like a hammer that bent reality with every swing, but only if you were willing to make stupid noises every time you swung. There was some outright dirty stuff too, but we won¡¯t be mentioning it here. Feel free to imagine, because poor Dain and Natalie had to blush all throughout those experiences.


    After a very visual experience, they arrived at a far more organized hall, with things placed on stands, while giant pots loomed overhead, simple yet seemingly ominous.


    ¡°This¡± announced Grant, ¡°is where I keep the good stuff that I don¡¯t intend to trade. My best weapons, armor, material, and the giant pots are full of monster blood.¡± Dain asked, ¡°is the monster blood for alchemy? That¡¯s a lot of blood.¡±


    ¡°Yes and no. I do use the blood for alchemy, but I also use it to trigger monster evolutions.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± was Natalie and Dain¡¯s confused responses. Grant looked at them, and then something clicked in his mind. People don¡¯t know what bloodlines are. He decided to just make a quick response.


    ¡°Uh huh. TLDR, monster evolutions are affected by what kind of ancestry they had. Another way to affect their evolution is to shove loads of monster down a weaker monster¡¯s throat in order to create a new bloodline in a monster.¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    After having seen the continent sized tree, Dain was less bothered, but he scribbled that down nonetheless. Besides there was something else catching their attention.


    The weapons


    Not all of them were masterpieces of course. One seemed to be a simple torch, and another seemingly a box of twigs. Or even a funny looking staff. But they had something.


    Presence.


    Each one felt terrifying, imposing. As if they were judging the two,and finding them unworthy. It wasn¡¯t as heavy as Grant¡¯s killing intent had been initially, but it was terrifying nonetheless.  Only when Grant stepped forward did the looming judgement disappear, allowing the two to let go of their chest. They simply knew better.


    Natalie ran forward immediately, staring at a beautiful bow, the bow was an elegant and sleek bow, seemingly carved out of bones, or perhaps horns. On the bow etched were five creatures: a snake, a tortoise, a tiger, a weird serpentine beast, and a phoenix. The string itself is an ominous thing, for it emanated a vicious aura. The bow was adorned with 4 feathers, seemingly easy to detach, though Dain could only speculate, as he dare not touch the bow. Natalie looked as if she were eager to touch, yet not doing so out of reverence. Next to it were a pair of gloves, which were far more gruff and cruder looking compared to the bow, and yet felt important to it.


    ¡°Careful¡± said Grant as he slowly pushed Natalie away from the bow. ¡°The bow you see here was a pet project of mine. The bow of the four directions. Created using a whisker of the azure dragon, the feathers of the vermilion bird, the digestive fluid of the black tortoise, and the pelt of the white tiger. Of course, no mythological beings were killed in the process of the project. Regeneration potions are a godsend. And stop trying to touch it Natalie.¡± He swatted Natalie¡¯s hand once more.


    She made a pitiful face. ¡°But it¡¯s calling me!¡± She whined. ¡°I know it is, and we can discuss that another time. However, the reason I¡¯m telling you no, is because touching it can melt your skin.¡± Hearing that, Natalie understandably moved her hands away, albeit with great effort, and Grant approved of this. ¡°The whole bow is coated in black tortoise fluid, and makes the arrows it fires poisonous. However, it also makes it nigh impossible to touch it with your bare hands. The gloves here were made of the white tiger¡¯s fur and pelt, and must be worn when using the bow. It synergizes well with the other 3 directions, and keeps your hands safe. As for arrows¡± Grant takes the gloves and adorns them before pulling on one of the feathers. The feather rips, and while the half on the bow regrows, the half in Grant¡¯s hand grows into a full-on arrow. Grant puts down the arrow, which sizzles and disappears, before Grant begins taking the gloves off. ¡°The vermillion bird has regenerative capabilities which has been adapted for infinite arrows. Anyway, here we have-¡±


    Dain interrupted with a tap. ¡®Maybe Dain found something he¡¯s interested in. A weapon or two may be interested in a new master. I did promise them that when I died I¡¯d leave them to go search for new successors.¡¯ ¡°Yes Dain?¡± Grant patiently asked. What he didn¡¯t expect however, was for Dain to point towards one of his giant pots. ¡°That¡¯s not supposed to be open right?¡± Grant took a look and was indeed surprised. One of his pots was indeed open. Taking a good look Grant determined ¡°This is the omnisaurus blood urn.¡± Dain and Natalie looked confused but didn¡¯t say anything. They were being confused a lot today after all. ¡°The fact that someone opened it recently really only leaves a small number of suspects, given the only ones around are us and the shroom monsters.¡±


    Grant started going over his domain, trying to find the culprit, and when he did, he sighed. ¡°Hey Dain, remember when I told you that feeding monsters the essence of a stronger monster it affects their evolution and potential.¡± Grant called out. ¡°Yeah?¡± Said Dain nervously. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out where this was going. An opened pot of monster essence, the fact that the only possible culprit were monsters. ¡°You over there¡± called Grant. ¡°You can¡¯t avoid it forever; you may as well come out.¡±


    As he said so, the ground rumbled as a growth of mushrooms the size of a house started moving. Soon a giant beast the size of a house stood before them while Dain and Natalie could only look on in awe and slight horror. Well, Dain was. Natalie was simply excited. No sense of danger, that one. The creature was vaguely reptilian, and Dain almost thought it a Drake of some sorts were it not for the fact that it was plainly made of mushroom. Grant was, well¡­


    Grant was chuckling and then straight up guffawing, even slapping his knee. ¡°Dinoshrooms!¡± He called out ¡°FUCKING DINOSHROOMS!¡±

 Chapter 10: Always ask if you can, never consider if you should.

    The uh, dinoshroom that approached them looked very much like an ankylosaurus. For the most part it looked like an ankylosaurus carved out of the spongy part of a mushroom. Instead of the beady eyes of an actual ankylosaurus there were the large cartoony eyes common to all the shrooms Grant had made. It¡¯s back however, was a very different story.


    If the ankylosaurus was the spongey flesh of the mushroom, then the back of the anky was the head of the mushroom. Despite obviously being mushroom heads, they were rather sharp and unlike the appealing red of the base shrooms, the bristled back was a brownish orange, more like the bark of a tree in color, and texture. Its tail ended in a horribly sharp cluster of these mushroom heads. The best he could make of it was that it was some sort of mushroom along the shaggy scalycaps.


    The dinoshroom seemed very embarrassed. While Grant knew this, Natalie and Dain assumed this. Not that there was much to assume. The dinosaur didn¡¯t look defensive, but rather embarrassed as it flinched at Grant¡¯s stare and twisted it¡¯s toe into the ground. If it had been a dog then it most certainly would be whining and flashing puppy dog eyes. As it stood, it could only moon with cartoonishly funny eyes.


    Lucky for it, Grant was in a very amused mood.


    ¡°Come now¡± he said as he indicated for the dinoshroom, ¡°Let me get a good look at you, you silly beast.¡± The creature seemed to sense its master¡¯s good mood, as it slowly walked up to the man. Casting appraisal, Grant was surprised to find out this creature had once been a lizard shroom. Admittedly, it was either that or the mush wolves or even the shrooms themselves, but he had expected the smarter shrooms to have been the offender. Delving into the creature¡¯s memories produced interesting finds.


    It seems the lizard shrooms, driven by the desire to grow strong, sensed something in the pot that could make them stronger. So, in collaboration they slowly nudged the lid open until a tiny opening revealed itself. Grant could¡¯ve sworn he sealed all the pots, but it¡¯s possible it was knocked loose at some point. It¡¯s also possible he had forgotten to seal the pot. He had that bad habit.


    The lizard shrooms, unsure about the substance inside, had managed to get one of the more shy lizard shrooms to consume the substance, and they watched in amazement as the lizard shroom quickly evolved into a dinoshroom. The lizards, seemingly worried how their master would react, chose to hide and see how he would eventually react to their action, seemingly hoping he would allow more of them to undergo similar treatment.


    Grant has always had a habit of making dangerous things. If not ridiculous things. He also has a very bad habit of making things worse.


    ¡°Students¡± began Grant, ¡°today you will get to witness the immediate effects of high-level bloodlines firsthand. Ready those notebooks cause today will be one heck of a show. As someone once said on a magical bus: ¡°take chances, make mistakes, and don¡¯t forget to have fun!¡±¡±


    Grant used his powers to construct a trough out of mushroom and wood, whereupon he leaned the huge urn to pour the omnisaurus blood into. ¡°It¡¯s feeding time lizard shrooms!¡± Hrant called gleefully. ¡°You wanted it so badly, so I¡¯ve decided to offer one great feast!¡± Dain looked on worriedly as hundreds of lizardshrooms eagerly charged in before patiently waiting in a line. Grant wasn¡¯t sure where they learned that, but he was glad they weren¡¯t complete ingrates. ¡°Are you sure you have enough blood?¡± Asked Dain. Natalie was already petting and scratching the chins of a few lizardshrooms, who seemed to be very much liking it as they wagged their tails.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Grant chuckled, amused by the answer. ¡°I would sure hope so! The bastard grumbled a full week while I bled him dry. I have enough in there to fill a river or two.¡± Natalie paused from petting the lizards, giving Grant a judgmental glance before going back to scratching more chins. Dain just looked Really uncomfortable at such a claim. Grant understood. They were likely worried that he didn¡¯t pay the fat lizard enough. It was fine. He paid it back in peaches of immortality. Besides, he gave them potions to compensate for the lost blood.


    As he poured the viscous red liquid in, lizardshrooms took a few sips, before scrambling somewhere else to begin changing. Soon there were hundreds of lizardshrooms and even a few shrooms and mushwolves rag dolling themselves as they underwent evolution. Of course, most creatures don¡¯t just evolve upon absorbing a bloodline. However, given how potent the omnisaurus bloodline is, and the mana-qi plenty environment, it made sense that the lizardshrooms immediately underwent evolution.


    ¡­


    This was something Dain had never seen before.


    Monsters evolving was a well-known fact, but the chance to witness a monster evolving was a rather rare experience. Not only did tamers have a hard time evolving monsters, but most people didn¡¯t bother evolving monsters, believing it to be a waste of time, preferring to train themselves instead.


    It was both amazing and horrifying. The screeches of pain as their bodies cracked and grew in ways that shouldn¡¯t be possible. Their outer skin cracked and fractured as they ballooned in size, all the while they continuously grew and changed in shape. Some of them gained longer necks, as their neck stretched and bent, for others protrusions pushed out of the skin, and teeth, changing shapes, chipping or sharpening, all of it seemed a bit cruel.


    Natalie found the whole thing beautiful. True, they were screaming in pain, but she could see satisfaction in it. The ¡°dinoshrooms¡± as her new teacher called them seemed satisfied after the change. Even if it was painful, she could understand. They had to suffer a little pain to become better. She just felt happy for them.


    Grant meanwhile was giving a speech to the kids while he had the system produce names for these new evolutions. He also reminded it to keep an eye on the first one, as that one would likely be the one to grow into a sub-progenitor. It changed his plans a little bit, but this was definitely a positive change.


    After it was done, Grant got up and splayed his hands, as if introducing an exotic exhibit.


    ¡°Welcome, to fungal park¡± He said, doing his best impression. Dain gave him a funny look, while Natalie just kept playing with the dinoshrooms, who seemed to have taken a liking to her.


    Grant sighed before opening a portal back to the real world. ¡°Alright,¡± he announced. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the inside of a divine realm, so you kind of have an idea of what you¡¯re in for. Tomorrow you¡¯ll begin your cultivation. We have 3 weeks left before we reach the york outpost, which should be enough to set up your divine realm. After that, you should be able to do the rest on your own.¡±


    As they walked out Grant held back Natalie and whispered in her ear. ¡°It¡¯s also three weeks for me to set you up with Dain.¡± Natalie grin curled up so far he wondered if this really was the childish Natalie he saw earlier.

 Interlude: An Alchemist?

    Grant had finally introduced his bear as Honey Ursa and the fact that he was teaching it alchemy. The biggest surprise about all of this was¡­ that Grant was alchemist?


    ¡°Really?¡± Asked Grant flabbergasted. ¡°Not the fact that I¡¯m teaching a honey bear alchemy, or the mildly stupid name? How about the fact he¡¯s wearing pants?¡±


    Grant did, in fact give Honey Ursa pants. He was going to give the bear a robe to go with it, but considering the bear constantly had a honey hive being underslung from his arm, he decided to put it off. For now. Alchemist honey bear was still what Grant was aiming for.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Leon as he polished his sword, trying to extend some tension. The same group of adventurers who¡¯d gathered for honey gathered for this story, as Grant did tend to be a one man show. ¡°No offense, but we knew about the honey bear alright? Giving him a funny name and dressing him funny isn¡¯t out of norm for beast tamers, rare as they may be. But you being an alchemist? It¡¯s kind of left field. You¡¯re a good swordsman you know? We¡¯ve been betting monk for a while, especially with all that meditating you do.¡±


    Grant had to concede that, he hadn¡¯t done much alchemy recently. He made the shrooms using his comprehension of the laws of life and creation, but the only real alchemic creations he¡¯d made were the clothes he¡¯d been wearing, and the incense Dain and Natalie had been using, neither of which the adventurers had been present for.


    So he decided to put on a little show.


    ¡°Alright, you have a point. All of you. So how about I prove my alchemic skill? Any volunteers?¡± People tensed, and no one raised their hand. Of course they wouldn¡¯t! They still hadn¡¯t seen him do alchemy. They had no proof he was any good, he could just be a bad alchemist. What if they ended up with a third arm? A third leg perhaps? In the end though, he still got the victims volunteers he needed eventually. He coerced one male D-rank adventurer, and poor Leon, who eventually got egged on by everyone else. He spoke for them, so he was going to endure for them. Leon would be grateful when all was said and done.


    The first thing Grant did was create an old favorite. A rather funnily shaped plant, which came in a variety of shapes. What makes it funny? Each plant looks like a piece of science equipment. Flasks, centrifuge, boilers, each plant with a eerily similar shape, and a similar purpose to the actual equipment. Controlling the plants, Grant took a select mix of cheap herbs, planning to make one of his bestselling products. Once he poured the mix of materials into the plant, he willed it to shred, which it happily obliged, as it revealed sharp teeth, and closed its flower head.


    The plants were in fact monster plants. One of his later creations. Cheap and easy to produce as long as you were aware of the template. They were his favorite to use when conducting experiments on the go. Their later evolutions were great for alchemists too.


    A loud grinding noise occurred, and the adventurers could only look on in abject horror and amazement, as Grant commanded the plant to tear the materials to shreds, and the loud noises greatly assured them his will was being done. Soon the noises died down and the plant tipped over, a weird glowing green goo slowly dribbled out of the plant, filling 40 vials.


    ¡°Well?¡± Asked Grant as he shook the very ominous bottle. The other adventurer looked very nervous and Leon was starting to wish he hadn¡¯t brought this topic up at all. Nonetheless, the poor adventurer drank up while Leon and the other adventurers watched on.


    At first the adventurer didn¡¯t seem to feel anything. And for a brief moment, they wondered if Grant had made a dud. Not every potion an alchemist makes is a guaranteed success. However, Grant hasn¡¯t made a dud in centuries.


    The potion finally kicked in.


    Adventurer 1 crossed his legs, as his face blushed a deep crimson red. And a rather noticeable tent had appeared in his pants.


    Grant giggled as he shook a line of the very same vials, all bound together by a vine grown from the flaskerplants. ¡°My bestselling potion.¡± Grant wiggled the potion around as everyone giggled at the poor guy¡¯s misfortune. ¡°An aphrodisiac that depending on the dosage can keep you active from as short as ten hours up to a year, depending on concentration¡± he cooed as the eyes bulged out of every adventurer¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s more¡± he boasted, ¡°after 30 usages your penis will grow an inch. Ladies can look forward to a loss of five pounds after every vial.¡± Grant dropped the other 39 vials in the adventurer¡¯s hands. ¡°For your own personal time, as a reward for volunteering in my presentation.¡± While certainly embarrassed, the man certainly took Grant¡¯s offering. If it really worked for 10 hours, he could get a lot of ¡°work¡± done. The man walked happily over to the crowd, while people were of conflicting stands.


    Some were jealous. A penis growth potion and increased endurance? Of course, he could be lying, but that could be obviously proven as long as they kept an eye on the adventurer. Women were chomping at the bit, 5 pounds for just one vial? Forget the sex, that¡¯s an easy 5 pounds dropped!


    Others were in disbelief, as such a miraculous potion seemed impossible. Potions that could permanently change the body like that were rare and hard to find. The ones found on the black market were often known to have side effects. This random new adventurer was an alchemist who¡¯d managed such a thing? Ridiculous!


    And then there were those wondering whether creating aphrodisiac was really a prime example of alchemy. Grant however, truly believed so. As an alchemist who aimed to create life and improve preexisting life, the knowledge on how to modify bodies was an important step. Even if you have to settle for aiming at the philosopher¡¯s stone, is it not necessary to understand how a potion alters the body? How else could you understand the creation of a stone that makes you immortal? The ability to ¡°make your monster grow!¡± was a side effect of those experiments.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Not done yet, Grant walked over to the centrifugal plant which had been working hard as it swung itself around in wide circles as its head spun like a child who had spun themselves one time too many. Thanking the centrifugal flaskerplant for its hard work, Grant squeezed out about 20 doses of a amber golden liquid, before taking one and handing it to Leon.


    Leon took a look at the ominous bottle. His brother-in-law sat nearby and watched, while Leon fretted, worrying about what this potion would do. No matter what it does, he was sure Elaine will hear, and he will not hear the end of it. ¡°Bottoms up¡± The adventurers leaned in, curious to see what would happen this time. Alchemists do make for fun companions in times like this.


    At first Leon didn¡¯t feel anything. And then, a weird twitch. Nothing major, though his body felt funny, as weird sensations went through his body, and he even heard cracks and twitches. Didn¡¯t hurt though. Actually, he felt great.


    Everyone else was horrified though.


    At first, nothing had happened until something seemed to have slithered under Leon¡¯s skin, with bumps moving around under his skin. Bones cracked, and skin flaked, as his skin warped.


    Some people were horrified, backing away slowly, others confused, and some even seemed calm. The merchant looked like he was about to lunge at Grant, were it not for Grant¡¯s self-assured visage. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he said, ¡°this is all part of the potion.¡± The merchant was anxious but chose to watch. He was a merchant after all. The first potion already had seemingly great effects (that would require observation) and if this turned out to be beneficial, it might be worth selling. And if it failed, well, there were c class adventurers who could arrest this man for malpractice.


    Luckily for the merchant, nothing bad happened to Leon.


    Leon felt better than he had in years. Getting into his 40s, Leon had already begun planning for retirement. He was a d rank adventurer and was already getting old in a dangerous occupation His wife was a merchant, and he could drop his job in support of her. Work as a trainer for adventurers or even train the private military for his wife¡¯s company.


    Right now, though, he was feeling great. His arms when bent felt more resistant. His body was far firmer than before. Leon examined his body, feeling more energetic than before. Leon¡¯s back no longer hurt!


    Everyone else was watching Leon touch himself with amazement. The man looked 10 years younger! Everyone knew old Leon, but only now they saw youngish Leon and youngish Leon was hot in that mature man that way! No wonder he managed to snare a merchant¡¯s daughter. Oh what kind of story was that? Grant was half tempted to give the man¡¯s mind a quick scrounge but ultimately decided it¡¯d be more fun to sneak more of the story out of him with some honey beer. Oh, and it¡¯d be rude for him to do so to a friend. Acquittances were up for grabs.


    Deciding to present now that the main course was present, Grant began presenting. ¡°So, Leon how are you feeling¡± asked Grant as he walked around Leon, inspecting him. ¡°Feeling better than ever? Feeling like you can bench orcs all day? Perhaps in fact you¡¯re feeling 10 years younger?¡± Leon looked at him in amazement. ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°indeed¡± confirmed Grant, ¡°I just made you ten years younger, all for the only drawback of your dick growing an inch with each dose. Ladies should expect breast and ass growth of 1 ounce.¡±


    This led to some confusion. Why would this be bad, when the main selling point of his previous product was that it led to organ growth? While some wondered about this, the merchant and Leon, amongst the older adventurers, had already grasped the heart of the issue.


    ¡°Grant, if I understand correctly,¡± asked Leon cautiously ¡°the aphrodisiac works by number of usages, rather than dosage?¡± Grant nodded, a grin coming onto his face. ¡°Then the issue is that it¡¯ll grow too fast in comparison to the aphrodisiac and it¡¯s slow growth?¡±


    ¡°Ding, ding, ding!¡± Exclaimed Grant. ¡°We have a winner. And your prize, 19 more doses!¡± Shoving the string of vials into the younger Leon¡¯s hands, Grant ran to the center to begin a little lesson. These poor adventurers looked like they could use a hand in comprehension after all.


    Using earth magic, Grant created a chalkboard before producing an equally important piece of chalk, a stick, and then finally a pair of glasses to go over his face, which looked rather weird given the funny mask he was wearing. ¡°Attention¡± he called as he slapped the stick against the chalkboard, like he did in his time as teacher, catching the adventurer¡¯s attention, getting them to silence, and wonder what the hell was going on. From aphrodisiacs to classroom lessons, a weird combination indeed.


    ¡°Today¡¯s class is for those of you who skipped ¡°Making Deals with Djinn or just merchants in general 101. First lesson: make sure to always analyze the wording of a deal or product description. If you¡¯re not careful, you¡¯ll end up scammed, or in the case of Djinn, with a 10-inch rooster!¡± Moving on, regardless of whether or not they got the joke, Grant wrote two words on the chalkboard.


    Usage


    Dosage


    ¡°In this case, notice the difference in terminology. ¡°For the aphrodisiac, I said every 30 uses, whereas in the youth potion, I said every dose, What¡¯s the difference? Yes Dain?¡± Asked Grant, as he called out Dain, who had been clearly trying to hid from Grant¡¯s view. But, like any teacher in school, Grant saw, him, and by whatever god you hate, he was going to choose Dain.


    Sighing, Dain responded. ¡°Dosage refers to the number of bottles or a base unit, while Usage refers to the number of times you use a potion, and while they could be conflated, given the current situation, I¡¯m going to assume you intended something else?¡±


    Grant nodded. ¡°Very good Dain, and for your effort, 5 doses of the aphrodisiac.¡± He walked over and handed Dain the vials, and leaned in, whispering loudly, ¡°I¡¯m sure you can find someone to use it with¡± as he elbowed Dain, in the direction of one giggling Natalie, who had been cuddled up to Dain during this little event. A collection of chuckles spread through the room, while Dain blushed.


    Grant cleared his throat as he walked back to the center of the room, returning all the attention to him. ¡°As Dain has pointed out, usage does not equal dosage. You could use 10 doses of it and go on a hundred-hour frenzy and that would still only count as 1 usage. In contrast- ¡°Grant held up the youth potion. ¡°One of these is 10 years and an inch. Using 10 of these in one go would take off 100 years and give 10 inches. The reason this is an unfortunate side effect is because realistically there is only so large your third leg can grow before it becomes, well, a third leg. And women get more back pains the larger their breasts get. There¡¯s only so large they can get before a woman can no longer walk properly.¡±


    Realization dawned on the adventurer¡¯s faces as they thought about it. How hard would it be to fight or even walk if you always had to worry about the little head peeping? More vicious monsters could do terrible things¡­ As the adventurers thought of something horrible, like hyenas and their ball strangling tactic, the adventurers clutched their legs together, as their faces paled.


    The women imagined a life of eternal strife and back pains, though those flatter chested didn¡¯t seem to mind as much. Grant nodded as he saw that his point had been made. ¡°The most you could take realistically is 10 potions, so at the very least you could rewind the clock 100 years. But <u>remember: </u>wording¡± He drew that on the board and circled it thrice. ¡°Any questions?¡±


    One adventurer raised his hand, and when Grant picked that young adventurer, he asked.


    ¡°How much¡± The real money shot.


    Thinking for a moment, Grant decided on: ¡°1 silver for a vial of aphrodisiac, and 10 gold for 1 youth potion.¡±


    Thus, Grant accidently started on the path that would lead to him becoming known as the alchemist of lust, whether he wanted to be called that or not.

 Chapter 11: 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 ...

    As luck would have it, the merchant seemed eager to buy some of his stock, and Grant obliged. He ended up selling the merchant 10,000 of the aphrodisiac, and 1,000 of the youth potions to the merchant, and a group of adventurers did end up purchasing some of both.


    The result? There were a bunch of sweaty and exhausted adventurers and a bunch of younger adventurers popping up. Grant was a bit surprised about how they were so willing to use those outside in the forest, but decided it was either because Leon¡¯s performance attracted a ton of sales, or that they felt safe in such high numbers. He chalked it up to common sense in this world.


    Dain and Natalie had managed to get straight to the end of the foundation realm in the last week or so. Of course, this required a bum rush of resources, though thanks to his divine realm, Grant had been able to scrounge some lower level resources for some low level pills, shoved them into the local god-level furnace, and cooked up some pills.


    And since they were about to depart from each other in a week or two, Grant decided it was time to start handing out some techniques. They could make the divine realm on their own away from his influence. What they needed currently was someone who could teach them techniques. Any foo could waive a sword, especially with time, but only a master could make a sword dance. Grant had a book or two for that.


    Grant decided to interrupt their cultivation session, as he had started leaving them alone within a cultivation and protection array recently. Grant had never been the subtle type, and perhaps subtlety wasn¡¯t needed to get Dain to confess to Natalie. Not that tossing a dozen aphrodisiacs and hints at the man¡¯s face had done anything.


    First, he wanted to prove his point, so he had Dain stand before Grant, sword in hand. Natalie stood to the side, watching, honey coated popcorn in hand. Yup, Grant had managed to convince Honey Ursa that yes, popcorn with honey was delicious. So he had begun teaching him how to make popcorn with a honey glaze. He was also in the midst of explaining to the bear how not everything needed overwhelming honey, as hard as that was to convince the bear of. He stated only two words.


    ¡°Hit me¡±


    Immediately after this, Dain brought down his blade with as much force as he could bring to bear, mana flowing though his body, as he casted body strengthening.


    As strong and as fast as that blow was, it never hit Grant. With a lopsided swerve, he dodged just in the nick of time in a ridiculous manner. Dain followed up with another slash, horizontally, instead of diagonally. Grant tipped over backwards, almost dropping to the ground, but not quite, and the next slash caused him to take another foolish step, causing Dain to grow frustrated as the man walked and tripped like a drunken fool, yet he dodged Dain¡¯s every blow.


    With every step and every blow, Dain grew more infuriated, and he even began casting spells, using his new foundation to produce a rain of fireballs and lightning bolts and earth spikes, yet none of the seemed to land.


    Dain could only do so much, before being exhausted. Cultivator or not, he could only go at it so long, and so it was Natalie¡¯s turn.


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    Natalie did not fare much better. Natalie used a bow, and she used it quite well. She was fast and quick on her feet, and unlike the great sword, the bow had greater maneuverability, and more freedom in battle.  She put it to use.


    Casting wind arrows and illusions, Natalie conjured up multiple images of her, each seemingly shooting their arrows, while invisible arrows flew through the air, each aiming to land a blow on Grant. To an inexperienced eye this would be a rather impressive showing, and would in fact be a good way to approach a foe who was seemingly great at maneuvering.


    Sadly she was facing an 1000 year old man, and was thus treated to the sight of a drunken masked man dancing through her rain of arrows the way one dances through the rain; effortlessly and carelessly, for none of the arrows seemed to land.


    This wasn¡¯t either of their faults of course. Using the steps of the drunken immortal might have been a bit unfair. The sect he had first joined had been all about elegant and great footwork. His drunken teacher, about the unpredictability of body language, and when one combines the two, you arrive at a rather stupid looking technique, yet unquestionably formidable. Drunken boxing was one of deception, and that was why technique was important. Technique allows one to best utilize their body to best fit their style of combat, and to adapt better reactions and better flow of qi. A technique allows for far better reaction and pre planning rather than merely dancing to the opponent¡¯s rhythm. Control is one of the greatest points in battle after all.


    After the two were exhausted from trying to hit him, Grant grew a chair out of the ground to sit on, and feeling bad for the two, got Honey Ursa to hold them and act as just the most comfy couch. After burning through qi and mana for an hour or two, even the hug of a bear felt like the bed of Hypnos.


    ¡°You¡¯re not bad fighters. Good reaction time, and you even knew how to push mana and qi into certain points of your body to improve your power.¡± Began Grant, making sure to compliment their efforts, ¡°however, you weren¡¯t ever going to land a blow on me.¡± Taking out Grata Minn, Dain and Natalie came face to face with what seemed to be a plain sword. A silver sword, indistinguishable in it¡¯s nature, were it not for it¡¯s presence, and that it was only silver. There were no other colors. Despite its simplicity, it felt alive. SO alive in fact¡­ it started moving.


    The sword rippled in Grant¡¯s hand, like the ripples on a lake, and the sword seemingly shook in joy before calming down. Grant holding the sword, began circulating, focusing the energy as he took stance.


    The stance seemed simple, casual, and were it not for the fact he had been told to pay attention, would have assumed it to be a simple stance. The steps he took afterwards, and change in stance were equally simple. Nothing really stood out. Only with effort could Dain see it. However, Natalie could see it clearly. The tempo.


    1,2,3, and 1,2,3, 1,2,3,4¡­


    Occasionally he¡¯d change rhythm and at first Dain couldn¡¯t see it metaphorically. This was a tempo, sure, but what was the point? When it began speeding up however, Dain finally understood. It had begun going past the point that none of them could see, the man was a living blur. And yet¡­


    1,2,3, and 1,2,3, 1,2,3,4¡­


    There was tempo. Even as Grant sped up, the tempo remained the same.


    ¡­


    ¡°When you fight, you merely react. And while your instincts and reaction speeds are good, technique will improve your speed in battle. Technique allows one to refine your attack patterns, and pattern begets tempo, which in turn begets increased speed. Reaction can only get you so far, but the ability to change attack patterns and think clearly will help you in battle.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s with all the books?¡± Asked Natalie impatiently. She was already getting handsy.


    They were back in the divine realm, where Grant had brought them before a immense shelf, upon which lines of books were present. The books came in many forms, from scrolls of sheepskin, to sheets of papyrus, to paper books, and even books of¡­ questionable items. Dain and Natalie probably noticed the books made of human skin but chose not to note them.


    ¡°You¡¯re here to pick out a technique.¡± With a wave of his hand the bookshelf rearranged itself, with some books melting into the bookshelf. Soon, as the bookshelf split into two, groaning as it split, with each shelf presenting itself to one of the kids respectively. ¡°Well? What are you waiting for?¡±

 Chapter 12: Technique

    Dain was having a hard time choosing.


    Because he had nothing to choose.


    Only one technique stood before him. ¡°Earthly Rotations, The Heaven¡¯s move?¡± he read aloud, as he looked questioningly at Grant. Grant could only shrug helplessly. ¡°You use a greatsword Dain, there aren¡¯t many cultivators out there who use greatsword, so there¡¯s only one technique I actually have for you. An old friend of mine, the stubborn-headed bull he was, created the technique himself. Gave me a copy of the manual. Lucky you, you get to use it.¡±


    Grant willed Grata Minn to change, and it obeyed, slowly changing into a plain greatsword, which he then began swinging. He did not stop, and with each blow the blade seemed to increase in strength, each blow greater than the next, and soon he seemed to be a miniature storm, and only a cultivator could see through the fierce wind he was producing.


    ¡°zh¨°ng sh¨¯u used his sword in constant momentum,¡± hollered Grant over the loud wind.  ¡°In order to increase power in battle, he never paused in a fight. He does not block, because he never went on the defense. Even when he retreated in battle, he was merely winding his blade in preparation for greater attacks. To use his method is to be the unyielding storm. He calls it ¡°Earthly Rotations, The Heavens Move¡± because when he used it, people claimed he caused the Earth itself to rotate faster, and the Heavens to recoil in fear. Not quite true, but you get why it¡¯s called this.¡± He stopped suddenly, willing his blade to melt back into a plain sword once more. ¡°it¡¯s a good technique. Once you¡¯ve mastered it, you¡¯ll find it quite useful in developing a new path forward, should you choose to do so.¡±


    Natalie had been ignoring the conversation the whole time, and had been looking for something more to her taste. By the time he turned around she¡¯d already picked out something.


    ¡°The Yin Shadow world Technique.¡± Grant nodded thoughtfully. ¡°A powerful assassination technique. I thought you would pick out a bow and arrow technique like ¡°The Hand of Apollo¡± over there, but I¡¯m sure this will be equally beneficial. I did leave you the option.¡± ¡°Where did you get this one teacher? Where did you get this one!¡± Natalie asked excitedly. While she had been picking out her own, she was listening to Dain talk with Grant about zh¨°ng sh¨¯u who he¡¯d gotten the manual from. So she wanted to know where this one came from. Ooh, ooh, and a demonstration too.  ¡°Ah, the ¡°Yin Shadow World Technique¡± Grant rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ¡°That one belonged to an ex of mine. Christmas exchange y¡¯know. I got this technique and she got a chain type technique that a friend helped my improve.¡±


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    A faint ringing of chains went off in the background in response to that.


    Grant flipped through it, remembering that he hadn¡¯t really ever used the technique. Luckily he wouldn¡¯t be the one teaching Natalie. She was rather smart, no matter how little she showed it, and that old friend of his would love to teach her.


    ¡°This technique isn¡¯t really about bows, but more about ambush, which can mesh well if you work on it. The technique focuses on messing with the perception of your opponent, and controlling the darkness. It¡¯s great for blending in and reconnaissance.¡±


    He took them out of his realm, and left them there to read. He was sure they would have a very enlightening experience.


    ¡­


    Dain came to, after having trying to read the book. For some reason, when he tried reading the book, the book knocked him out, and when he came to, he found himself in a plain. Well, at least it felt like a plain. Everywhere he looked, it was nothing but flat area.


    In the center of it all was one man, dressed rather simply, dressed no different from the average soldier. The second he came to, he felt a piercing stare, and it seemed even miles away from him, the man could see him.


    In a second, the man was no longer far away, but standing right above him, staring down at Dain, who could only look up at the man, who felt like he was the skies himself.


    He was tall. And holding a huge ass sword, that Dain couldn¡¯t even call a greatsword, for this sword felt greater than Dain¡¯s greatsword for sure.


    Black hair sprawling across his back messily, and golden eyes with black pupil¡¯s Dain felt like he was staring down a beast. The beast smiled, revealing a rather toothy grin.


    ¡°Well, well, well! That mad bastards brought me fresh meat! Ah HAHAHAHA!¡±


    Dain felt very uncomfortable.


    ¡­


    When Natalie came to, she got up immediately, readying her bow, and checking all her weaponry. Checking her surroundings, she found herself in a world of complete darkness, where the only thing she could see was the floor beneath her, a small patch of grass. Natalie began doing quick calculations, trying to figure out Grant¡¯s angle here. ¡®Obviously that man wouldn¡¯t bother trying to kill us now. He seems like the type to pact on a whim sure, but he¡¯s also unlikely to kill us. Grant¡¯s already spent weeks on us and hasn¡¯t seen the fruits of his labor yet. Then again, he acts on a whim¡­¡¯ As she¡¯s thinking, she feels an instinctive tug and immediately moves, just lucky enough to dodge 4 daggers, getting nicked by 1.


    ¡°Tsk tsk. 4 out of 5 isn¡¯t bad, but I¡¯ve had better. The thought process is alright. That young fool has brought me trouble hmm.


    The darkness moved back a few meters, revealing an elegant woman, seemingly in her early 20s, draped in a silky dress with bright flowery adornments far in contrast to the dark night, as she danced along the grass, with a fan in her hand. Despite seemingly holding no weapons, Natalie felt herself on high alert. The woman felt dominant and dangerous, far beyond what Natalie could handle.


    Closing the fan, the lady had a smiling face, yet Natalie could easily sense the poison in her eyes as she eyed her like a slab of meat.


    ¡°Let us see if you¡¯re worthy of our sect¡¯s secrets¡±


    This was going to be hard.

 Chapter 13: Nest Eggs

    Grant chuckled, eager to see how the young students would react to the inheritances. Grant had not expected Natalie to choose that book, but the more he thought about it, the more it fit her.


    Grant had long been aware of how clever Natalie was. His appraisal did allow him to gain a greater insight of people at first glance, and when combined with experience, Grant knew what kind of person she was. She was quick witted and talented and was only a d rank adventurer because she wanted to remain with Dain. She had no intention of moving ahead of him. That was dedication. Adventuring was clearly something important to her, and yet she held on achieving her dream so she could stay with Dain. It¡¯s a shame Dain was so thickheaded. Seriously, Grant had been picking through all his books on how to flirt with people to help Natalie on her quest. Not even lifetimes of experience helped. That would be dealt with in due time of course, even if he had to give him the talk.


    Now that Dain had an opportunity to move up in this world, Natalie would not hesitate, and Grant looked forward to the talent she would demonstrate.


    Talent that Grant himself could not develop.


    Frankly speaking, Grant was not capable of teaching them what they needed to know. He could teach them base to mid-level martial arts regarding their choice of weapons, but that was where it ended. He didn¡¯t specialize in either of those classes.


    Thank goodness for inheritances huh?


    The thing that makes an inheritance unique compared to your average manual from the same sect is that these inheritances are usually imbued with a fragment of the teacher¡¯s soul. Usually cultivators only do this once they believe they are nearing the ed of their lifespan, or that they will fail the next tribulation, so they leave behind inheritances in the world for people to find and one day follow in their footsteps.


    Of course, usually inheritances have treasure. Grant would deal with that.


    So why would someone give their inheritance to him? Well first off, the two that they chose had been good friends of his. Some of the inheritance''s ho found and others he borrowed. His friends didn¡¯t mind though, as being an amazing alchemist meant he gave them pills that returned their soul to full mast.


    Grant found himself back in his divine realm, deciding to give it some attention. He¡¯d already reached the 10th realm by now, so he had enough energy to make more. So he decided to make:


    Normal environments.


    Of course, he could¡¯ve made something amazingly unique like the mushroom forest, but not everything could be made extremely unique or else nothing was unique. Besides, not many creatures could be like shrooms and live in any environment. A wolf needs prey, and shrooms just don¡¯t quite cut it.


    So, he began making forests and desserts, as well as preparing the location for the sea. The sea would take multiple realm foundations worth of energy before it could become a real big body of water. He would have to settle for lakes for now.


    Grant wouldn¡¯t tell the two yet, but one realm foundation doesn¡¯t necessarily equate to one item or environment in a divine realm. Depending on your skill you could use the energy to produce multiple items relevant to your realm, or even create 1 rather high value item. However, this isn¡¯t something you teach a low-level cultivator. It¡¯s better to wait till they understand laws and concepts first. Since they would be separating first, Grant would have them travel for the next year as they cultivate, so that they could grow some more before they come back to him.


    Only then would he explain laws to them. Another benefit of the divine earth technique. You learn faster, and unlike a normal cultivator''s divine realm, needs no laws or concepts to create it. Merely your imagination.


    So, within minutes, entire forests and 2 or 3 deserts rose up, with the occasional lake in between, each close to one another, ready to be connected into streams and oceans one day.


    After that he began creating life to inhabit his biomes, from (canine) kobolds to screecher squirrels, wolves, sapient goblins, bats, birds, owl snatchers, and more. He decided to stick with lower-level monsters for now. Not only were they cheaper, but they would slowly evolve and grow as he supplemented the biome over time with his mental energy. Even if a cultivator doesn¡¯t go up in rank, beings in living in their divine realm can grow naturally.


    They aren¡¯t stuck there after all. They can leave at any moment, and even after a cultivator dies the beings born in a divine realm can survive afterwards.


    He decided to create some sapient goblins because their later evolutions, onis and titans, make for good warriors in battles. Onis are not only great with weapons and infiltration, passing themselves off as demi-humans, but they can also adapt to a lot of bloodlines thanks to Raiden and Fujian¡¯s chaotic bloodline.


    Titans, as descended from their mythical name sakes, can either evolve from goblins-giants-titans, but can also evolve from golems, though depending on which you evolve it from, the titan in question takes a different form. Creatures with titan in their names are technically titans too, but in their case, titan is not their main race.


    They¡¯re great in combat due to titanic size and power and are favored by giants. Just as dwarves almost never evolve into high dwarves, nor elves to high-elves, giants rarely evolve into titans, because they usually don¡¯t go through enough conflict or live in mana potent areas, since many giants prefer living amongst men.


    Grant would make draconic kobolds at some point, but he would need caves for that first, which have not been made yet. But he did have space for canine kobolds.


    A weird thing, how the two kobolds evolve so differently. Given proper conditions, a kobold is likely to evolve into a bipedal form of dragon, whereas canine kobolds will evolve into Fenris wolves, named after their progenitor, Fenrir himself, though wolves can do so as well. But while dragons can evolve in multiple directions depending on a whim, canine kobolds don¡¯t have to evolve into Fenris wolves.


    There are a multitude of monster gods out there, such as Anubis or Horus, Lycaon, Cerberus, etc. etc., who are willing to sponsor canine monsters like Canine Kobolds once they reach the higher stages of evolution like werewolf. And should they agree, the being in question would evolve into a special monster, considered a ¡°son¡±


    The sons of Anubis, Horus Gryphons, Lycan lords, Sons of Cerberus, are all special races of monsters that demand respect because of their high power and status. Draconic kobolds may have flexibility and prestige as dragons one day, but kobolds could look forward to potential sponsorships.


    If they could reach that point. They still had to earn it after all.


    Realizing that he was trailing off again in his mind, Grant went to go check on his Ursa Honey.


    Ursa Honey was tasting honey-based products currently, as Grant convinced him of the wonders of honey on food. Like honey barbecue ribs.


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    Ursa Gave grunts of approval as he ate it, clearly happy with the taste. Of course, Grant had him eating something else as well.


    As a honey bear, there were two different kinds of bloodlines that Grant saw as beneficial to the bear. Bear bloodlines and honey.


    Now, one may point out that honey doesn¡¯t have bloodlines, since honey isn¡¯t alive (unless we count honey slimes and other dessert monsters, which stumbles into a whole other issue that is highly irrelevant currently) but the quality of honey and types of honey will certainly affect how the honey bear develops, as does other foods.


    Although a honey bear can evolve from a normal bear monster, a honey bear can evolve from other variants, such as sugarcane bears and syrup bears, if it finds a higher revelation in honey. And this works both ways.


    Depending on the quality of honey and type of honey, different revelations can be made and thus different evolutions.


    If honey induces a hypnotic effect, Grant had seen some honey bears evolve into hypnotic honey bears, even later on becoming apostles to the lord of dreams, whereas bears that find joy purely in the healing effects of honey, then it may become a saint honey bear, favored by gods of healing. The type of honey affects everything.


    Frankly speaking, honey beers, honey ribs, honey barbecue wings were attempts to show how well honey can be used to create. Of course, he may end up with a honey chef bear, but Grant had also expected that as what attracted the bear to honey is simply how it tasted.


    So, Grant had begun giving Ursa multiple types of honey so that he could experiment and learn which was a personal favorite in regard to taste, and he handed the bear both a cookbook and an alchemist book which he rewrote in the new world. Grant had no plans to share this to the alchemists of the new world, but he did have Ursa read it.


    There was one last thing Grant had to check out though, as he began heading to the mushroom groves.


    Here the dinoshrooms, mushwolves and shrooms, as well as what few lizardshrooms remained had begun evolving into unique shapes. Some lizardshrooms had started growing extra appendages, while others grew larger, others developed unique forms of toxins, and most did all of the above. The mushwolves were no different, and he¡¯d even began to witness some developing a bipedal stance, while some shrooms began walking on four legs and changing shape.


    Regardless of what they chose to pursue, they were all growing stronger. Since they couldn¡¯t die they merely viewed fighting as a way to grow stronger, and death as temporary. And since they had no main evolution path they could hone their evolutions with each death, to produce something that worked for them.


    But he wasn¡¯t here for these in particular. He was here for the nest eggs, the ones he really needed to keep an eye on them.


    What is a progenitor? Many monsters in this world aim to be the strongest through their own individual strengths. Dragons, leviathans, phoenixes, kaiju, so on and so forth.


    But progenitors are the unique exception. Progenitors are the guardians of their race, as the first of their kind, they see to their race¡¯s growth, and intervene when they see the need. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that progenitors are basically god¡¯s where their power is dependent on their people, rather than believers.


    A progenitor¡¯s power is dependent on their race¡¯s growth, the more of the race there is, the stronger the progenitor¡¯s divinity is. In a sense, normal monsters focus on their own individual growth, while progenitor¡¯s focused on the growth of the race.


    A sub-progenitor is one that serves the progenitor and is an evolution of the main race. A perfect example is goblins and orcs, with the progenitor of orcs being a sub-progenitor of the progenitor of goblins. Of course, one is not exclusive of the other, as the progenitor of goblins has long since evolved into a higher monster race. He merely holds the title of both progenitor of goblins and the higher race he is currently, with the other positions being held by whatever monster evolved into said race first minus the goblin progenitor himself.


    Why¡¯s this important? Because Grant himself cannot compete with the gods solely on his own. Gods of faith are strong because their worshippers make them strong. Grant has never had any interest in becoming a god but must be prepared to fight one.


    And as strong as the divine earth technique is, it has the crucial weakness of being in the end, not a good counter to true gods. Even with his understanding of laws being greater than most beings on earth, that still falls before mid-high rank gods.


    So if he won¡¯t become a god through faith or cultivation, what does he do to cover the gap? He may still hold the authority Flamel and other old gods lent him, but now that authority is being lent to him by their counterparts in this world. Gods can be fickle.


    It¡¯s simple really, super easy, barely an inconvenience.


    He makes his own gods.


    Yes, one of Grant¡¯s greatest weapons was his ability to create, so he used it to create races. Drows and Dravens, wyvents and decaflys, and even the pitcher plants, Grant made a multitude of races, each with their own progenitors.


    All of them loyal to him. All of them ready to serve him. Grant always had an army at standby, enough to ensure no one would pick a fight with him.


    And that¡¯s what Grant came to check out. His new progenitors.


    The first shroom had already begun developing, changing into a horrifying being. The cute eyes remained, but it was far harder to call it cute when it now had multiple sets of eyes attached to multiple sets of heads.


    What does one call a mushroom hecatoncheires? Grant was trying to think of a pun name, but frankly he couldn¡¯t think of one. The first progenitor of his had a multitude of arms just like the beast in mythology, with about 20 arms, most of them being lithe and whip-like, with the exception of 4 arms, being huge, as large as the main body.


    The main body was a rather weirdly shaped thing, with the body ending in a huge main mushroom head, with the miniature heads sprouting all over the body, with some even appearing on its legs. The main portion of the body was vaguely human shaped if that meant anything, while off in certain spots. At the abdomen though was a rip in the body, with vaguely defined fangs protruding at the stomach.


    It had a stomach mouth. How had it decided that was a good idea? Grant wasn¡¯t quite sure, but if it worked for it, whatever. What really mattered was the faint glow of divinity that was starting to radiate off it. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that strong, as counting dinoshrooms, mushwolves, and the lizardshrooms, there were only a few hundreds, maybe one or two thousand of the general race, but that was fine. He¡¯d already sensed one or two shrooms begin to exist outside of his divine realm and on Earth, meaning that number was likely to increase soon.


    His mushwolf progenitor had also begun to change, bearing less of a resemblance to a wolf, and more of a jaguar. An eight-legged jaguar. He was if it had bean made out of real flesh, then it would have been jacked. It already looked the part.


    It was also on fire.


    When Grant asked, he received an image of burning mushrooms, causing suffocation as well as hallucinations, during which the wolf pack attacked, causing the attacks to be deadlier than before. That explained why many mushwolves had also begun evolving into fire-based forms.


    Whatever allows them to kill good, Grant supposes.


    The first dinoshroom he¡¯d created, the anxious ankylosaurus, had also begun changing. Even though the omnisaurus blood ran through the dinoshrooms, that did not mean they had to stay within the mainstream dinosaur form, and it was obvious in their leader.


    From the neck down, the dinoshroom progenitor still resembled the ankylosaurus, though it now seemed like a mix of triceratops with ankylosaurus, and while it retained the shell of the ankylosaurus, being hard and crunchy on top, the legs were more like the triceratops, meant for charging.


    The neck up, was where things had changed. No longer was it a mushroom-like dinosaur head, but now it was a humanoid shape from the neck up. It¡¯s arms were large, ending in long serrated claws that seemed like sharpened wood, modeled after the claws of a therizenosaurus. Out of it¡¯s back a pair of monkeydactyl wings emerges, and a pair of opposable thumbs attached as well, and the sub-progenitor uses them well, for each arm bears a weapon, one a mace, the other a spear. Grant doubted that these wings could actually, fly, he suspected that the monster had chosen monkeydactyl wings merely because they were the only dinosaur that had opposable thumbs that it could find. There weren¡¯t many of those after all.


    The lizardshroom had taken a weird route, bearing a resemblance to a dragon. When Grant asked it where it had copied the design from, the creature brought him one of his¡­ magazines that Grant had of dragons. He took that quickly, coughing, quite embarrassed, and assured the innocent progenitor that he had better, less vivid material for the monster to study. Grant also promptly locked away all of his promiscuous material. The last thing he wanted was more shrooms getting funny thoughts.


    The lizardshroom could not fly. The wings it had created were just simply incompatible with flight, as was it¡¯s whole body. The lizardshroom wasn¡¯t using them for this purpose however, instead it was more like the creature had an extra pair of arms. It did however, breathe fire and acid, which it could also do through its tail. Afterall, technically shrooms didn¡¯t have organs in fixed places. The lizardshroom had created 4 acid and flame sacs, with the other 2 of each respective placed in its wings.


    Overall, Grant was satisfied with their work so far, and felt confident in leaving them to be, as his other species would require more hands-on action. For now, he had to talk to the system.


    He¡¯d been neglecting it so far.

 Chapter 14: System Supervision

    Grant and the system went way back. As the first player in the system, he had acted as moderator and consultant to the system, as his system guide, system guide 0, was the main system ai, and oversaw everything within the system, and it¡¯s authority was only second to the administrators.


    System guide, unlike the other guides, was not developed to his preferences, but was a monotone, neither male nor female, basic guide, which manifested no form. This had not changed in their centuries of companionship, and the form it seemed to find the most comfortable was a slime, so non-binary. And no personality either.


    ¡°System¡± Grant called, ¡°give me a status report on your current implementation of the reincarnation program.¡±


    [Of course. So far:]


    [40,000 people have been selected.]


    [10,000 have died so far, and we are currently on the second batch.]


    ¡°Lower death rate than I thought it¡¯d be,¡± grunted Grant. ¡°I guess this is due to the fact that the people of this world are not ignorant to the harsh realities of the world.¡±


    Grant¡¯s version of earth was one where the majority of people were completely unaware of magic, treating it as a fantasy one reads in their past time. As a side effect, whenever the reincarnation program was used, and these people were brought back as monsters, many had a hard time dealing with their new situation. So about 60 percent died in the immediate time frame.


    It made sense that without the illusion of magic being a fantasy, but rather being a harsh reality, that people would be more wary and prepared for their situation. They knew what a fight was really like, and their death was often far more gruesome than the death of people back where he was from.


    ¡°These are all from the empire alone, right?¡±


    [Of course.]


    ¡°All right, then proceed to lower the third batches numbers to 1000.¡±


    [I have already done so, though I lowered it to 2000.]


    Grant shook his head.¡± The empire may be the major power here, but we can¡¯t focus all the players here. Pick 4000 players from the surrounding countries. They¡¯re smaller, but should be enough to support maybe 300 players each.¡°


    The system went quiet, contemplating Grant¡¯s suggestion.


    [Very well then. I was planning to wait longer, but at this rate, we are bound to disrupt the worlds current sooner than later.]


    Grant agreed. The political situation of the world was bound to be flipped upside down by the system, but the system would want that prolonged while it properly set itself into the world, before fully integrating itself into the lives of the people.


    ¡°All right, give me a report of the most promising players? I¡¯m gonna be waiting for my students for a while, and as an avatar of the system I do have a responsibility to fulfill. ¡°


    [Of course. I have 300 promising players to overview.]


    Grant cracked his knuckles.


    ¡°Bring it.¡±


    ¡­


    [Player 15: Dragon]


    Grant frowned as he looked through it. ¡°He hasn¡¯t run into that much danger though.¡±


    ¡°Ah. I see, blessed by Isis and Nemesis in return for being crippled his whole life by Nemesis. Alright, I can see why there¡¯s less suffering than I thought there¡¯d be. He¡¯s not doing bad so far anyway.


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    ¡­


    [Player 69: spider]


    Grant frowned as he looked over the papers. ¡°Is this numbering a play on the fact that he was constantly sp****ng with guys?¡± He asked, mostly curious.


    [¡­ No]


    He snorted. ¡°And they say you don¡¯t have a sense of humor.¡±


    [¡­ Who says that?]


    ¡°But why a spider? No offense, I think incubus would¡¯ve been been better, considering his past life.¡±


    [We do have something similar in mind for his future options. Speaking of which¡­]


    ¡°?¡±


    [We¡¯d like to request a design that¡¯s a mix of spider and incubus.]


    ¡°Sure. Considering his rate of progress, within the year or so right?¡±


    [Indeed. I¡¯ll inform you if his progress speeds up.]


    ¡°Alright. Hey, you never answered me about the incubus part.¡±


    [¡­]


    ¡­


    [Player 75: Canine Kobold]


    ¡®Whistle¡¯ ¡°Damn, that is one hell of a rap sheet in his first life. One hell of a hunter, that¡¯s for sure. Definitely worked his way up the ranks. Is that a dragon?! Not bad for an ordinary hunter with low mana potential. If you ask me, he lived a rather fulfilling life here. Why¡¯d you choose him?¡±


    [There was a kobold village that could use his help in the long run, so it was considered worthwhile to send an experienced hunter.]


    [And the hunter always regretted the loss of his family, so we wanted to give him a second chance.]


    [You understand right?]


    ¡­


    ¡°Next¡±


    ¡­


    Grant furrowed his brow as he looked at the player before him. Player 72 died in an attack on her village, and her final moments wanted to be somewhere safe.


    The system made her a dungeon. That was perfectly fine. It¡¯s normal for the system to grant that desire and turn the person into a dungeon.


    But she was 10!


    The anger could be seen on Grant¡¯s face ¡°system¡± he asked, barely calm. ¡°Why is there a child here?¡±


    [She wished to be safe.]


    ¡°And she¡¯s a child. You¡¯ve turned her into a dungeon! A home of monsters! How is she going to deal with it! She¡¯s only TEN!¡±


    [She was an orphan, ignored by the people around her, and in the end, it was a human bandit that killed her.]


    [She does not fear monsters as much as she fears men. An apt choice to make her a dungeon then, correct?]


    ¡°¡­ Fine¡±


    [¡­ You are more accepting than I thought you¡¯d be.]


    ¡°It¡¯s too late anyway, she¡¯s already been reincarnated. Tell me, does she enjoy her new life?¡±


    [Yes]


    Grant sighs, as he rubs his head. ¡°Fine, but I get the right to send her a gift.¡±


    [¡­ Fine. If it will get you to agree to this, very well.]


    ¡°However! I want you to assure me that if you use children from now on, that they must be orphans, must be more mature than others of their age, and they must have lower difficulty than adults who have experience.¡±


    [Of course. That has already been the practice. I would not reincarnate a child whose family awaits him in the afterlife.]


    ¡°All right then.¡± Grant picks up a rock haphazardly, and begins carving in runes, until eventually the whole rock is carved up, having taken the shape of an egg, culminating in a weird circle at the center of the now carved rock.


    Infusing mana into the rock, causing the runes and lines to glow softly in response, Grant pulls out a fossilized crocodile-esque skull, alongside a group of bones that had a texture similar to rock, cracked with hazardous red and yellow glows permeating throughout it.


    Perhaps a paleontologist could¡¯ve identified the creature, and would¡¯ve celebrated upon discovering a specimen so well preserved it still had dna inside of it. He would even cheer, discovering a brand new and undiscovered species, and be even more excited to discover that Grant had a whole skeleton, perfectly preserved, bigger than any crocodilian ever discovered before.


    Said Paleontologist would also throw an absolute fit, chewing on his hat and throwing his head against the wall as he discovered Grant would waste the skull like this.


    Grant pushes it into a carved circle on the center of the stone, upon which the bone and fossil melted into the stone, and Grant took out one last scale he put into the stone, before injecting more mana into the rock, finishing the spell.


    The stone lights up fiercely one last time before finally dimming, finally settling down, and the light fades, and somehow the rock seems even duller than before.


    The stone begins shaking a little, as thin layers of minerals slip off the stone, fragment by fragment, until the surface has completely fallen off, giving way to a fierce red segmented rock like object, which shook, ever so slightly, as it trembled with new life.


    ¡°Give her this¡± says Grant as he holds the egg up to thin air.


    [¡­]


    [¡­ You¡¯ve always been too soft on children.]


    ¡°Whatever, you said I could give her what I want, and I¡¯ll do just that. If you don¡¯t give it to her, I will go there myself. You may as well make it easier for everyone.¡±


    The system stays silent, but a blue screen appears and swallows up the egg anyway.


    [I remember why we don¡¯t usually work together often.]


    ¡°Same.¡± Grunted grant. ¡°Now that we¡¯re done with the report, unless you have issues again, contact me within a year, and we¡¯ll talk again. I look forward to seeing how far these new kids get¡±


    [Very well.]


    And the system was gone once more, with Grant and guide 0 going their separate ways.

 Chapter 15: When I Was Your Age...

    Two hours after finishing up his business with the system, Dain and Natalie began emerging from the martial realm that the inheritances created.


    Natalie came out first, and seeing Dain had not appeared walked up to him, far different from how she was around Dain. Unlike the cheerful excitable girl that often appeared before Dain, she was a calm and collected woman, indifferent to most things around her. ¡°M¨§i L¨¬ says that you two should talk later.¡± She said coolly and although Grant said nothing, she could surmise that there was some¡­ unresolved issues there.


    Dain came out shortly, looking like he had been mauled by a bear or something. Which he may as well have been. ¡° zh¨°ng sh¨¯u huh? He¡¯s definitely something right?¡± teased Grant, having shaken off the previous comment already.


    Dain frowned. ¡°What was that!?¡± He demanded, clearly filled with questions, and although her reaction wasn¡¯t as upset, she still seemed curious.


    ¡°I met this very pretty lady who promised to be my teacher! Who was she teacher?¡± Asked Natalie, playing pretty, which was amusing to Grant, because he was sure that she did more than talk.


    ¡°What you have there is what we like to call an inheritance. When cultivators think they are about to die, or intend to pass on their legacy to a successor, they imbue a fragment of their soul into a book, which will then continue to teach whoever will succeed them, even if they are not there to teach their new students. Inheritances are exceedingly rare in the wild, as few cultivators leave their inheritances out in the wild for new students, and if they do, it¡¯s usually behind dozens of tests.¡±


    ¡°Lucky for you, I borrowed a lot of inheritances for you to choose from.¡±


    Grant did not borrow them.


    ¡°These two in particular were good friends of mine, so they gave me these as gifts. Of course, I compensated them with potions to regrow that missing piece of soul.¡±


    Grant looked up, and noticed the sun was setting. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve had unique first experiences. Saddle up, because while you¡¯re separated from me, these inheritances will serve as your teachers.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s working¡± complained Natalie, having dropped the cutesy act again. Dain wasn¡¯t here after all.


    Grant sighed. ¡°Well, Dain is like a rock; it¡¯s hard to get anything through that thick skull¡±


    ¡°I tried the ¡°dropping something on the floor trick¡± and it didn¡¯t do anything to him!¡±


    ¡°It made him blush.¡±


    ¡°I can do that already.¡±


    ¡°I suggested you feeding him instead of the reverse.¡±


    ¡°That was fun, but not enough. He hasn¡¯t taken anymore steps¡°


    ¡°Kiss on the cheek?¡±


    ¡°He dodged that one when I tried.¡±


    ¡°Not my fault.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said you would help!¡±


    Grant sighed, rubbing his temple. ¡°Fine, are you sure that you can¡¯t just confess?¡±


    Natalie rolled her eyes. ¡°I wish. If I were to do that now, I¡¯m sure that Dain would just reject me. I¡¯m not sure what stupid idea he has in that noggin right now, but it¡¯s caused him to deny all my advances as a result.¡±


    ¡°Very well then, I¡¯ll talk to him tonight.¡±


    ¡­


    Later that night, once everyone else had turned in, before Dain could turn in for bed, Grant tapped him and signified him to sit down next to him on the log by the fire.


    Dain wasn¡¯t sure what Grant was up to now, but decided to sit down and listen to what Grant had to say. Much of what he said often benefitted Dain.


    Grant and Dain sat there by the fire, as Grant mulled over what to say to Dain, all the while the student in question waited in silence.


    Grant moved to break the silence. ¡°When I was young¡± begun Grant.


    ¡°I once was a young man living amongst a group known as the vikings. However, I never quite fit in, and aspired to be an alchemist. I wasn¡¯t a warrior like my family.¡± Grant smiled ruefully at that.


    ¡°Ironic then, that the path that my curiosity led me down was to join a small random sect in the eastern lands, where I began learning from their alchemist how to brew potions and create pills.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t much of a fighter then. My skills were subpar at best, and I was good but not amazing at alchemy. By all rights, I should¡¯ve lived and died in a small sect out in the middle of nowhere. I should¡¯ve been happy there, in spite of my aspirations.¡±


    Grant sighed wistfully as he looked into the fire, recalling something, someone once special to him.


    ¡°Then I met her.¡±


    ¡°Alanea was a special woman. She was fierce and quite the little spitfire. She stoked my desires, to be more than some random alchemist, to be better than a subpar swordsman.¡± Grant chuckled as he recalled his first love. ¡°We used to get into a lot of fights back then, and I didn¡¯t realize how much I loved her until I was in my 90s.


    Despite the pranks we pulled, the arguments and catfights we got into, the competitions we got into, everyone else in the sect used to joke we were like an old married couple. I didn¡¯t see it at the time, and neither did Alanea.


    At some point, something just clicked. It took us 30 years to realize that, but when it did, it all came crashing out.


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    Our passion grew more intense than it had been before, as what was once comradery became love. I followed her into mystic reals and to tournaments just like before, but something had changed. We did the same things really, but something had changed.


    The meaning of the relationship. The meaning of the actions we took, and even the fights we had changed. I was happy.


    Perhaps happier than I had ever been¡­¡±


    As Dain listened, he already understood some of the hints that Grant had been dropping. A very close friend? One that had eventually became love? Dain wasn¡¯t completely ignorant. The doubled efforts on Natalie¡¯s part was obviously a result of some collision with his new teacher, and this was icing on the cake. However, Dain couldn¡¯t stop him.


    Grant felt genuinely happy, and Dain realized that there was always something missing when Grant spoke. Something genuine, something focused. This of course led Dain down a rabbit hole, wondering how often Grant was really happy, how much of it was a fa?ade? How did he really feel most of the time?


    Dain didn¡¯t get any time to actually contemplate this line of thinking, as Grant continued his talk.


    ¡°¡­ Sadly, happiness never lasts. She was taken from me.¡± Grant sighed and it was back again. The emptiness. ¡°I¡¯ve had many regrets in the years that followed, and I suspect one of my greatest regrets, was that I never confessed earlier.¡±


    Grant turned to look at Dain, and stared hard, that Dain could feel the eyes behind the mask piercing him. ¡°You¡¯re an adventurer Dain. You might not be in a sect filled with treachery and deceit, but death is still at every corner. There is always a chance that one of you will die, and there will be nothing you can do to stop it.¡± ¡®Perhaps something worse than death could happen.¡¯ Thought Grant, but he didn¡¯t say that part out loud. Better not to say that.


    ¡°I know you like her Dain, and she clearly likes you. SO what¡¯s holding you back? Why are you so firm in your denial?¡±


    Dain stayed silent, as he sat there thinking, while Grant stared him down all the while.


    ¡°I¡¯m not worthy.¡± Said Dain finally, while Grant sat in silence. ¡°Ever since she was young, she was special in so many ways, but me? I¡¯m just average. She¡¯s special. She deserves-¡°


    A sharp smack over the head got him to stop talking, as Grant looked at him incredulously. ¡°Have you not been listening to me the last few weeks?!¡± Grant exclaimed. ¡°You have high qi potential, and I¡¯ve just handed you the inheritance of one of the greatest martial artists to walk this plain! I¡¯ve been prepping you to create your own small world? Which part sounds unworthy?¡±


    Dain didn¡¯t get a chance to respond. ¡°Besides, she doesn¡¯t want anyone better. She wants you! I mean, I don¡¯t know why, feel free to keep that to yourself, but she wants you. She likes Dain, not someone better.¡± She has rope in her bag to bind you down if this fails, but I won¡¯t tell you that part.


    Dain sat there, with simply no response to that. Less loud, Grant patted Dain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Look if you don¡¯t feel worthy, become worthy. Rise to the task. Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day, and the greatest people weren¡¯t born great. They became great.¡±


    ¡°And what if it fails?¡± Asked Dain, with doubt puddled in his eyes. ¡°If our relationship fails, I don¡¯t know if I could bare that. It might be better for our relationship to stay where it is.¡±


    Grant rolled his eyes behind the mask. ¡°It¡¯s too late for that. There¡¯s already something between you two. The longer you let it linger, the worse it gets at some point. Like a good meal. If you leave it, it¡¯ll rot and no longer be salvageable. Eat that roast before it goes bad¡± Dain crumpled his brow as he felt more confused than anything else at that statement. Not what one usually hears in a pep talk. Grant leaned in one last time to convey his message. ¡°Better to try and fail, than to leave regrets linger.¡±


    Dain was quiet, but got up with a sense of determination as he walked off to Natalie¡¯s tent. Grant smiled, and quietly created a time and spatial array, that would slow down time in the array, as well as keep it quiet while Grant went to talk to an old friend.


    ¡­


    In the shadow world inheritance, Grant walked and whistled as he prepared for¡­


    Whistle


    ¡­ that, as he dodged the first dagger, and then the next in rhythmic fashion. M¨§i L¨¬ was always a little predictable.


    Soon the daggers cam in quicker fashion, with successive blows and soon they came from all directions, as thin razor sharp threads came swinging at him as the world darkened, and pure darkness enveloped him.


    Silly Mei Mei, that¡¯s never worked on me. Grant continued walking, stepping over threads and using the earth to stop the daggers. Even as they were filled with killing intent Grant merely responded with a golden chain as it came out of his divine domain, blocking all the daggers and forming a defensive barrier around him. Grant continued walking until he came to a stop, and patted a rather elegant looking young lady on the head,


    She would look more regal were it not for the pouting face she was exhibiting.


    ¡°Gra-ant¡± she grumbled belligerently. ¡°That¡¯s cheating! How am I supposed to break through a divine-relics defenses!?¡±


    Grant chuckled as he sat down next to M¨§i L¨¬. ¡°Little Mei Mei,¡± he chided ¡°There is no such thing as fair in this world¡± and he led her to sit on a bench he created.


    M¨§i L¨¬ harrumphed, but had no response for that. She merely crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks. Grant laughed, knowing this was a side of her none of her students would ever get to see.


    And a side Grant hadn¡¯t gotten to see in a while either.


    As Grant reminisced on older times, M¨§i L¨¬ looked at him and felt that something was wrong. Even though the presence was the same as last time she¡¯d seen him, in spite of the silly costume he was wearing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She asked Grant, as worry showed on her face.


    Grant snapped himself out of it and waved his hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s just¡­ been a while since I¡¯ve seen you like this.¡±


    M¨§i L¨¬ snapped to focus after that, scooting in even closer. ¡°What happened!¡± She demanded. ¡°Did you get in a fight with me?!¡± Grant was stupid at times and could be quite¡­ volatile. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if her whole self got into a fight with Grant and that¡¯s why he hadn¡¯t visited. Or that he just never visited because he was too busy.


    Grant was quiet for a while as he recalled some memories, and as he did so, killing intent unlike anything that Dain or Natalie had ever comprehended leaked out, and had anyone else felt it, they might¡¯ve died on the spot. Not M¨§i L¨¬ though. She knew her friend well enough, and knew it wasn¡¯t directed at her. Grant never directed that kind of rage at friends.


    ¡°You¡­ died.¡± Grant finally managed to get out. Unlike how Grant often acted, the voice, despite belonging to a youthful young body, leaked of age and exhaustion. The resentment bled through. ¡°I was exploring a new realm 200 years ago, and only managed to get back to watch you die.¡±


    M¨§i L¨¬ could only sit there quietly as she took it in. Cultivators were used to people dying around them, and she had long expected that she would outlive her original self. That didn¡¯t make it any less jarring hearing the statement.


    Just like her original self, what she really worried about was Grant. She knew what Grant was like. What had ruined their relationship.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you did all you could brother Grant,¡± she said as she hugged Grant. Grant didn¡¯t say anything, but some tension left his body. ¡°I avenged you,¡± he assured the fragment of his old friend. ¡°I knew you would¡± was her response. She never thought Grant wouldn¡¯t avenge her. Grant would avenge any friend he had, even at the cost of turning everyone in the world against him. It was one of his most endearing traits, but also one of his most troublesome.


    ¡°How about my sect?¡± She asked tentatively. ¡°Saved.¡± Said Grant as he and M¨§i L¨¬ stopped hugging. ¡°You managed to hide them and hold against your foes long enough for me to arrive.¡± He assured her, and M¨§i L¨¬ nodded happily, knowing her students arrived.


    M¨§i L¨¬ clapped his hands together, trying to dispel the topic at hand. ¡°Brother Grant! How about you tell me what you¡¯ve been up to! I¡¯d like to hear about what you¡¯ve been up to! I mean, you dropped this new student on me with a weird cultivation and everything!¡±


    Grant grinned as he removed his mask, happy to talk to an old friend. To meet a lost one. Not even the response she had next could dampen his mood.


    ¡°You¡¯re no longer a wrinkled-up prune!¡±


    Well, maybe a little dampened. She was like a sister after all.

 Chapter 16

    ¡°And now we¡¯re in a whole new universe.¡± Said Grant, coming to the most recent part of his life.


    M¨§i L¨¬ and Grant were having a pleasant conversation, and Grant had plenty to talk about. This M¨§i L¨¬ was split off 400 years ago, so there was plenty for him to share with her.


    And she was happy to hear what Grant had been up to.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± sighed M¨§i L¨¬ as she ate the honey biscuits a certain bear had been taught to make, ¡°Only you could be selected to jump off into another universe for retirement.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the only way I could get a quiet retirement¡± said Grant, smiling as he took another bite out of his biscuit. It could use more butter for sure though.


    M¨§i L¨¬ smirked. ¡°Please, I¡¯m sure your retirement will be anything but quiet.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Assured Grant, but the look on his face betrayed the reality that even he didn¡¯t believe that.


    She rolled her eyes at that, but moved on. ¡°And that new student, Natalie,¡± gestured to M¨§i L¨¬ as she held her cookies in hand, gesturing. ¡°She¡¯s an absolute nutcase.¡± Grant raised an eyebrow. ¡°Do tell?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, when she heard I had a binding technique, she wanted to know if she could learn it. For a friend. As if.¡±


    ¡°It is for a friend though. To hold him down if he tries to leave.¡±


    "That''s not friendship, that''s obsession."


    "In the eye of the beholder, besides, I''ll make sure I hand Dain some of Houdini''s teachings, hopefully that''ll help."


    "Hmm." M¨§i L¨¬ seemed unconvinced, but decided not to pursue it for now. She''d have time to guide Natalie, and keep an eye on this already troublesome student. SHe reminded M¨§i L¨¬ of herself a little bit too much.


    They talked about some more things, before Grant decided he''d given the two enough time alone and decided he''d given the two enough time.


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    "It was a pleasure to speak with you once more Mei Mei."


    Mei Mei''s eyes seemed a bit sad, but she still responded joyfully.


    "It was a pleasure to see you once more as well, brother Grant." She added playfully, "make sure to come see me more often. My only visitor currently is an infatuated young lady. The last thing I want to do is listen to her talk about her love all day."


    "Don''t you worry Mei Mei," Grant assured her, "once she''s learned all she can, I''ll free you from this inheritance book."


    M¨§i L¨¬ laughed at that. "You do have a twisted sense of humor Grant. Teasing a fragment of a soul like that." She paused as she looked at Grant''s face.


    "Grant?" She asked worriedly. She knew that face.


    "Grant?" The man in question merely smiled cryptically as he put on the mask and faded out of the inheritance.


    <hr>


    As Grant left his divine realm he went to Natalie and Dain''s shared tent, and saw Dain, who looked absolutely exhausted, and Grant could not help but laugh as he slapped Dain on the back.


    "So you''ve become a man hmm!? What did she say?"


    Dain looked too exhausted to even respond to his snark. He did smile in response to the last question, albeit weakly.


    "She said yes."


    Grant chuckled. "I can see that."


    Dain asked : "How long has it been? I feel like it''s been hours."


    Grant: "10 actually."


    Dain looked at him in horror, then in confusion as he looked around, seeing it was still night, and finally switched back to Grant, his eyes seeking answers.


    Grant rolled his eyes. "You think your the only lovers I''ve traveled with? I used to have two partners who used to go at it every chance they got. It''s hard to do alchemy with some "natural creation" being done in the next room."


    Grant pointed at the array surrounding Dain and Natalie''s shared tent. "That array over there turns minutes into hours, and keeps everything nice and quiet. Absolute silence."


    Dain nodded thankfully a that. How embarrassing would it be if everyone in the camp knew?


    <hr>


    Everyone found out the next morning when Grant went to collect his reward.


    "I told you I''d get them together within this trip! Cheers!"


    "I didn''t believe you, but you''ve been making miracles ever since this trip started! Another round."


    Grant had an amused expression on his face. "At this rate you''ll empty me of all my honey beers." He jeered.


    "You have a honey bear" Leon shot back. "You don''t run out of honey!"


    Grant rolled his eyes but chose to keep quiet and hand out another round of honey beers.


    Leon was right after all.


    And what of Dain and Natalie.


    Dain was quiet, but his face was blush and full of indignation, while Natalie was blushing, but pretty happy that she could finally mark Dain as hers.


    As Grant collected the betting money he won, he remembered he''d promised to do something. Sneaking up to Dain, as quietly as he could, he slipped "The Guide To Rope Safety" By Houdini, he whispered in Dain''s ear" You should practice this in your free time." and he tapped Dain on the back sympathetically. Bondage is usually for more experienced customers, but Dain may have to be prepared sooner than later.


    Poor Dain had no clue what was going on, looking at Dain with confusion, while Natalie narrowed her eyes as she looked on.


    Her Dain senses were tingling.


    Grant didn''t care though.


    Grant had a good night, got to see a good friend...


    <hr>


    ... And finally Grant had enough energy to create a new species again. He immediately chose to create korvolds and axobodl''s.


    I mean, it can''t create that much trouble. They were more like canine kobolds rather than draconian kobolds, so at the very worst, they''d likely work together with canine kobolds, trade with draconian ones.


    What was the worse that could happen?

 Chapter 17: Interlude: The Dangers of Creation

    One Year Later


    Revan continued moving, despite being exhausted from days of travel. He couldn''t afford to stop. Not with the clan behind him.


    Revan the greater kobold was leading his people in an excursion, an exodus. Revan had read that in a book once time, as a form of great departure, fleeing from what was once their home. How fitting, throwing everything away in search of a new life.


    They didn''t have a choice, however. Even now the humans stormed their old home, which had been long hidden from man. Now though? Now they had come to burn all that they had built over generations. And for the other kobolds, it was abandoning everything they had ever built. Their ancestral burials, the dens that had stood longer than they had lived. Were it under any other circumstance, Revan was sure the kobolds would''ve stubbornly stayed behind, to defend their homes.


    But these were humans. Revan knew man better than any amongst his group, as a former human himself. Humans saw kobolds as nothing short of a infestation, meant to be wiped out at any moment. No matter how hard they tried, there was no way to repel them. They had numbers, they had better equipment, and worst of all, no matter what they threw at them, the humans would always have something stronger. As an ex-adventurer, once privy to some of the guild''s secrets, he knew they had some big guns, and nothing Revan could do could ever possibly compare.


    Revan chuckled internally, admiring the irony of perspective, from seeing them as nothing more than another monster, to realizing how civilized they were. Kobolds of course. He did not think the same of goblins, no matter how hard he tried.


    And so here they were, on a retreat from their home, with humans hot on their tracks, and Revan wasn''t sure what to do.


    Seek another kobold settlement? He had no clue where to look. Kobold clans seemed to rarely, if ever communicate. And from what the clan elder had told him, half of all kobold kind would never welcome him anyway. The scaled ones, as the elder called them, despised their canine relatives, so they could seek no aid from them.


    Fleeing was not a permanent solution until their pursuers stopped pursuing them, and that didn''t seem likely anytime soon. They had been a few weeks behind originally. Now? They were only a few days away.


    They could try gambling, and heading into areas with higher concentrations of mana, but that was a whole different gamble there, and relied on them heading deep enough to lose the adventurers, while also avoiding anything that would absolutely crush them.


    No matter what Revan did, there were no good solutions.


    Revan may have experience, but none of it pertained to leading. He wasn''t a leader, he was a hunter.


    Sadly, all the more capable fighters had stayed behind to distract the humans, and they were likely long dead. Only Revan and his generation remained. He would have to make the hard choices.


    However, as if the Heavens had answered an unthought prayer, something descended from the heavens and...


    THWACK!


    ... Ran headfirst into a tree, before landing on a branch.


    Alerted to a sudden movement, Revan whistled, calling a small group of his brothers together, and they prepared their weapons with held breaths.


    The creature wobbled around on the branch, pressing it''s hand(?) against it''s temple, trying to regain it''s balance.


    [Race: Korvold]


    [Lvl: 15/25]


    [Hp: 60]


    [spd:200]


    [ATK: 150]


    Revan''s eyes narrowed, as he clenched his weapon harder. Contrary to the creature''s foolhardy appearance, it was far stronger than it let on, and this was clearly an act.


    On the other hand, the fact that it was putting an act on could be good or bad, depending on its intent.


    Revan took note of its race name, korvold, and could not help but notice the similarities to kobold, as well as visual appearances.


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    The creature admittedly resembled a scaled one more than it did one of their own, but it held common traits with other kobolds. The hind legs similar to a dog, the short stature, and the 4 fingered appendages.


    It''s tail, while resembling a reptilian tail, was also covered in feathers, much like the rest of its body, ending in a rather beautiful end feather, and on the other side it''s snout was a weird cross between other reptilian monsters, and a bird''s beak, which was fascinating.


    What was equally fascinating, was how thin it''s arms were, and how they resembled a birds wings more than anything, though unlike many bird monsters, ended in hands, rather then more feathers. Revan could only assume that the arms were fragile, or at the very least not as strong as a normal arm could be, so the atk likely referred to another part of the body. It''s tail, perhaps? Maybe the mouth, or it perhaps specialized in air attacks. Not knowing the mana capacity of unknown creatures could be frustrating at times.


    The creature, seemingly done with its act and finishing its reorientation, and Revan now noticed the beast had a satchel and a cap. How odd.


    "Hi there! Woah, calm yourselves, I happen to be a fellow kobold, just like you! I''m here to help." The creature cracked as it put its arms up placatingly.


    The elder eyed the avian kobold suspiciously. "You look like no kobold I''ve ever heard of?" He retorted.


    The korvold gave them a crooked grin. "New kind. We just started popping up a year ago." The elder seemed unsatisfied, and the warriors unsure, but Revan indicated for them to put their arms down.


    "Very well then. Speak quickly. We don''t have much time."


    The korvold clicked its tongue. "So I see. The humans have been catching up haven''t they?" Said the beast as it looked at them sympathetically. Revan ckicked his tongue, thinking about how the critter already reminded him of merchants from his last life. How troublesome.


    "Well, you see, I might just be able to help with that." That pricked their ears, and even Revan''s ears perked up. That was something Revan would hear out.


    Seeing he had their attention, he continued. The korvold pointed off into the distance. "Me and my clan found a cave system, over yonder, that empties out into a few plains, sparsely populated. If you''d be willing, we''d take you over there with us, and help you escape these damn people." He waved his feathered claws. "Wings, y''see. Easier to outpace them on these than legs."


    Revan squinted, and asked: "And what would you get from this? Why not explore it on your own?"


    "Well, y''see, we just started popping out little over a year ago, and there ain''t that many of us. It''d be a great help to us if we had backup, say, someone to partner up with and scout out potential lands. Besides," he adds, "I''d argue a favor is moe than worth saving you, hmm? Well, what do you say? You in or not." \


    Revan didn''t really have many options but to say yes; this option seemed to be the best they had at this point. And if the elder was right,, in that there has been no such kobold in recent times, and the korvold wasn''t lying, there was feasible reason for the korvold to help them.


    Life requires a gamble or two. Hopefully Revan made the right choice.


    "Very well then. As the current representative of our clan, I, Revan, request aid of our fellow kobolds."


    "Wonderful! All right, hold on tight."


    Hm?


    Multiple korvolds popped out of nowhere, coming in many shapes and they each grabbed a kobold with their hind legs before flying away, with the larger ones holding the incoming mothers, before flying away, with Raven being held by the first one, feeling sick as he flew them away,


    He really hoped this was the right choice.


    <hr>


    In the swamp, a legend starts spreading


    "Salamander people? Ridiculous! I''ve never heard of such a thing."


    "I swear it. Saw it with my own eyes. They call themselves axobodl''s, and call themselves a form of kobold!"


    "Doesn''t that make them some sort of monster then? Goddamn subhuman creatures. I hope they don''t start asking for rights too." Ptoo


    "Wouldn''t say that to them if I were you. They claim they''re related to kobolds, but I''m more inclined to connect them to their dragon ancestors than their kobold relatives. Bastards are like twice the size of a man!"


    Another man pops in. "Did they attack you? How strong were they?"


    The second man shook his head. "Luckily, they seem pretty peaceful. They''ve settled amongst the lizardmen, and conform to their rules."


    "Great, now the inhuman beasts are teaming up, I oughta put up a admission for the guild to put down those unruly-"


    Roooooaaaaaar!


    "The hell was that!" Exclaimed the first man.


    "That" grimly responded the second man, "was a sign that their leader is hunting."


    <hr>


    In the far distance of the swamps, a dragon faced off with a lumbering monster, a mix between axolotl, kobold, and something else, the kul''vador, an evolution of the axobodl, holding a bone axe in it''s hand, it''s axe the size of its own arm.


    The dragon hissed. "A mere kobold dares face me?! No matter how different you are, you are just a mere kobold!"


    The kul''vador cracked its neck, as it looked at the dragon calmly. "You have been trying to force my brethren under your hand." He sighed regretfully. "I have no choice but to end you."


    The kul''vador emitted a killing intent so concentrated that the dragon got nervous for a second, before returning to a calm face. "Bold words. Lets see you bac them up." The dragon immediately breathed fire, attempting to burn down the arrogant critter, but the kul''vador burst through the flames, it''s burnt skin falling off, revealing a new layer of the gelatin-like skin, ready for battle, and the being leaped up, plunging the axe into the dragon''s skin, who squealed in pain, trying to get the thing piercing its skin.


    ...


    In the end, the kul''vador left the battle with a meal for its people that night.


    <hr>


    The poor system now had two new races to deal with, and while it could ignore the shrooms, the kobold races were going to have a major impact on the flow of the world.


    There are few things the system is bothered by.


    [Aaaaargh!!!]


    It''s partner Grant is certainly one of those things.

 Chapter 18: Whats you got there?

    "A smoothie."


    "???" Dain had a confused face as he looked at Grant.


    Grant shrugged. "Worth a try." He then went back to what he was doing, as Natalie looked on in morbid curiosity.


    Morbid indeed. When can you ever see a descaled wyvern, that''s still alive?


    <hr>


    Earlier that day Natalie and Dain went out to look for Grant after a loud explosion, followed by reverberating noises through the forests caused the adventurers to stop and take a recount of all the adventurers, and when it was noticed Grant was missing, they went out.


    Not because they were worried about him. By this point they were relatively sure he was just fine.


    And they found him... next to a bound wyvern, forceps in hand. His words, not quite lining up with his soothing tone.


    "Shh shh, we''re almost done, just a few more scales, and we''ll be all done."


    And they believed him, because the wyvern was almost completely scaleless. And toothless. And missing membrane and nails. Honestly, it looked more like a plucked chicken.


    While Natalie looked on in curiosity, Dain coughed a little. "So what happened?" He inquired.


    Grant shrugged, not stopping, in spite of the wyvern''s painful whimpering. Who knew a wyvern could whimper like that.


    Natalie had a question. "Why didn''t you kill it?" She asked rather innocently, but it caused the wyvern to freeze up, before sagging back down, as if hopelessly giving up. After having had all its scales plucked, perhaps death would be preferrable. Besides, how would it get out of these chains?


    Indeed, the poor wyvern was tangled up in golden chains, seemingly unmovable, inscribed with runes on every chain, which Grant had seemingly used to wrap up the wyvern.


    Grant chuckled at that, after finally collecting all the scales. "Why would I do that? True, killing the wyvern could get me more materials, like wyvern skin, wyvern hearts, wyvern blood, etc etc, but it isn''t as profitable. You see, don''t you know the saying about golden egg laying goose?" He takes out a potion that the two do not recognize, but the wyvern begins flaiiling, as if begging for it, almost instinctually.


    "Never kill the golden egg laying goose."


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    Pouring the potion all over the wyvern, an almost immediate reaction occurs, as the wyvern starts growing in the scales, membrane everything, before those fall out as well, being replaced by better fangs, better scales, and it begins growing a pair of forelegs, which were undoubtedly painful to grow, and yet there was undoubtable joy penetrating the wyverns'' eyes.


    Its wings had grown, its tail lengthening, growing a scorpion tip at the end, and its head grew more horn crests, and soon, what stood before them was not a wyvern. It was a dragon.


    The creature, clearly excited by its new form, glances at the humans, almost as if contemplating killing the humans, before glancing at the first person it had encountered. With its newfound intelligence (and the killing intent directed at it), it decides to retreat rather than bother with these measly humans.


    As the dragon fled, Natalie looked on in wonder while Dain looked dazed, if not a bit worried. One, assured of their safety as well as their lovers, the other more worried about the new dragon on the loose.


    "You made a dragon!" Natalie excitedly states, while Dain worriedly asked, "Won''t that be a problem?" He worried.


    Grant shook his head, "not really no. There''s like 50 other dragons lurking in the nearby forest, and 5 more won''t change anything. Besides, after their newfound sapience, and the beating they just received, they''ll stay away from the human cities for the next few centuries. If they''re not killed first, of course."


    Dain nodded, before realizing something else.


    "Wait, five more?"


    "Well, I saw 4 more wyverns during this journey, but this time the wyvern managed to make some noise before I caught it huh."


    Dain suddenly felt a headache coming on, while Natalie seemed more impressed than anything else. Seeing Dain''s face, Grant clapped him on the back. "Don''t worry" he assured Dain as the boy looked back up.


    "All my students feel the same way." Not assuring.


    <hr>


    After the long journey they finally arrived at the outpost. And the outpost looked just about as Grant expected. The walls were not completely constructed, some of which were stone, others were wood, and even more were just planks. It very much looked barely in construction. Which made sense to him. This place was a basic outpost, judged to be relatively safe for new adventurers to try out their mettle.


    Of course, Grant could sense at least 50 dragons nearby, as well as countless dangerous things that would easily cause someone to reconsider making this a place for new adventurers to study, but considering that everywhere has this level of issues, that makes sense.


    There is no such thing as truly safe. Even the tamest of villages are tame because something huge once happened, with such quiet places being the results of such large conflicts.


    And since no one else was going to collect, this would serve as a nice past time for his retirement.


    The line of carts and stuff were about as long as one would expect, to no surprise.


    About when it was almost their turn though, a commotion burst out.


    While the rest of the group was content to wait, Grant decided to go take a look.


    At the front of the line a beastman dressed in rags, begging the guards to let him through, while the guards looked on, with one looking on grim, the other with just a trace of vile amusement present in his eyes.


    That was enough for Grant.


    He walked up, gliding between the adventurers and merchants, bystanders and audience alike, before asking.


    "What seems to be the problem gentleman?"


    Grant was always willing to take some time out of his day to screw with troublemakers.

 Chapter 19: Rubbernecking for fun

    Two guards stood in front of Grant, one seemingly apathetic, the other seemingly amused by the situation.


    The beastman, seemingly of the cat variant, stood before the two, as his coat trembled a little too much for one person.


    "If you don''t have the fee required, than I can''t let you in. You''ll just have to stay outside the wall." said the former, clearly trying to tell the beastman in cloaks and rags to leave.


    "Get lost subhuman! Turn back and go back where you came from. This city doesn''t need shit like you!" taunted the latter. "You''re better off looking somewhere else, this city has no place for you!"


    It was about this time Grant decided to intervene. After all, there was no past time quite like sticking your nose where it didn''t belong.


    "What seems to be the trouble gentleman?" asked Grant.


    The apathetic one gave him a look, before responding. "This beastman here lacks the wages he needs to get in, so I can''t let him in. The best he can do is stay outside for tonight, and hope someone is willing to accept him for a ride back to wherever he came from."


    "If he doesn''t even have 5 bronze on him how can he expect anyone to take him! The subhuman may as well sell himself into slavery, at least he''ll get something to eat and shelter! The best he''ll get from me is shit!"


    Grant gave him an amused look and gave the former guard a heavier stare. Not quite judgmental, but not quite favorable.


    "Please let me in!" begged the beastman. "I had wages, someone must''ve taken them. I can work!" he emphasized the second part.


    "Marcus, my old pal, I have been looking all over for you" began Grant, while the beastman''s eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing.


    "Yes, it''s been a while... friend." He said awkwardly, earning skeptical stares from the guards.


    "It''s fine Marcus, I know its hard to remember my name. Last year I was Winston, last month I was Jeremiah Boar, today I''m Grant, Grant Grant Grant!" said Grant in a most ridiculous manner, and the guards faces went from skeptical, to dumbfounded.


    "Grant, it''s good to see you too." says Marcus, catching on now.


    "Yes, Marcus, I saw you drop this earlier, you silly beast you" said Grant as he handed him a bag of coins. "You have to be more careful, the outside of outposts are dangerous, with all those serial killers wandering around."


    Marcus had a confused face, but played along, though warily, thanks to the size of the bag of coins. "Thank you Grant, for finding my coins."


    The latter guardsman showed a rather annoyed face, as Grant helped hand the needed fee to the guardsman in question. "Your 30 pieces of silver Judas." jeered Grant.


    The former guardsman asked. "well, I must ask, before I allow him in, I need to see some identification. I cannot allow random vagrants in, for fear of letting someone dangerous in."


    Too late for that.


    Marcus the beastman froze up at that statement, as his face paled, and Grant rolled his eyes behind the mask. That wasn''t something most people allowed in were required to give. They were merely required to give the 5 pieces of copper, and this was a rather amateur form of harassment. But normally it would do the job.


    Grant sighed inwardly. He''d have to use a little bit of authority. Hopefully Gray was still slumbering.


    Gathering some fragment of authority given to him by Gray, Grant created a identification card to identify Marcus here.


    Normally, it wouldn''t be hard for Grant to create it on his own, but currently, Grant''s limited.


    For one, Grant wasn''t ready to expose himself to this world, at least not to the level where he''d attract a lot of unwanted attention.


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    Second, the problem wasn''t mimicking the adventurer card, it was writing the name of Marcus on the adventurer''s charter.


    Grant had already seen the cards, hell he''d analyzed them down to the smallest enchantment. It wasn''t hard to mimic the card with his level of ability.


    The real problem was that Grant wasn''t at the point where he could simply write Marcus'' name on the charter of the adventurer''s guild where the guild keeps record of all the people that became adventurers.


    Apparently at some point falsification of adventurer identity had been so rampant that they created a highly protected magic charter, where the names of all recorded adventurer''s were magically inducted from the individual guild centers.


    Seems rather expensive, and it is, but in return for giving their organization some real validation, it was worthwhile.


    In fact, the empire itself does so as well, though homeless people did not get id, so they were at a disadvantage. Such is life.


    These records are obviously well protected too, so Grant needed to borrow a little god-level power to get it done nice and quickly.


    In the end though, it was worth it to see the expression on the guards faces when he handed the guards two cards, each with their own identity.


    With a scowl on the face of the latter adventurer, he read it aloud: "Marcus O''Leary". He then looked at the second card and paused.


    "Ben O''Leary?" he asked, giving Grant a look.


    Grant nodded. "Of course, for his son." He responded calmly, and with a simple move of his hand, moved the man''s cloak, revealing a shivering child dressed in rags as well, glaring defiantly at the two guards, and Grant, earning the child a chuckle.


    Guard 1 looked calm as usual, while the latter''s face changed for a second, before returning to the same scowl as before.


    "Fine!" he snapped. "Come in, at your own risk. I warned you beast. Bringing goddamn kids to a place like this." The man muttered that last part.


    Grant gave his fee before heading in as well, but before he went in, he made sure to brush by guard two and give him a tip.


    "I know what you were doing." The man glared back defiantly, and yet Grant only smiled.


    "As thanks for your good heart, your wife''s suffering from being too close to an alchemist''s house while she''s pregnant. Try snapwhisks."


    The man''s face slipped into shock, but Grant moved on, already deciding to catch up with the beastman.


    <hr>


    When he caught up with Marcus, he could see the worry in the man''s face, and decided it was a good thing he came to speak to him now. The last thing he wanted to do is to make the man think he did it for a favor.


    The man bowed as deeply as he could, earning himself a sigh from Grant.


    "Thank you sir. I don''t know how I could ever thank you, but please-"


    "Hush" Grant said as he put a finger on the man''s trembling face.


    ''I must look so terrifying'' thought Grant. ''A man without a face, but with horns like a devil comes up and helps you for "free".''


    "I want nothing from you brat. I only did this for you because I didn''t want to see you or that kid die."


    The man''s face shook, but he denied that statement. "That guard might''ve been mean, but I doubt he would''ve done something like that."


    "Please, I don''t mean that bluffing buffoon." said Grant exasperated. This, had the man looking perplexed.


    "The other one." said Grant. "I read minds, that''s how I know your name, and how you''ve gotten here now." A lie. Grant reads souls. Not everyone had their mind protected, but enough did. But the man wouldn''t know that.


    The man looked more surprised. His face was paling, and had Grant amused. Should he try something else to shock him? Grow a pair of wings? Bunny ears? Nah. He should probably focus on the matter at hand.


    "Who are you?" whispered the man. "A concerned citizen." whispered Grant.


    "Guard number one wanted you to stay outside so he could kill you like the other victims who were left outside. Guard number two was intentionally being racist to drive you out. Prejudice has been rising here, and the last thing you want to be is a poor man with a target on your back."


    The man''s brow furrowed as he looked at his son. "He''s killing people?" the man whispered, trying to make sure his son couldn''t hear.


    His son, meanwhile, was looking around excitedly at all the new sights, and even food.


    Sighing, Grant crouched down, and pulled out a honey pop for the child to eat.


    Under his fathers supervision, the child put the pop in his mouth unsure, but joy blossomed on the boy''s face, as he suckled on a honeybear honey pop.


    It was shaped like a honeybear too, because kids love that.


    Back to the conversation. "Yup, it''s been happening for the last few weeks, but with the rise of non-human racism, they haven''t had the time to investigate."


    Oh, this day was not Marcus'' best so far. "Won''t my son be in danger?" he asked worriedly, and Grant nodded, both to respond, and to approve of the man''s priorities.


    "I wanted to get you away from the psychopath, and there''s enough money in that pouch I gave you to rent a room for a few days before leaving."


    He paused for a moment to allow Marcus to think.


    "Of course, there''s an alternative in the bag if you''re so inclined. It''s a painful solution, but if you''re desperate to persevere, I leave you the choice."


    Grant had said his piece and was prepared to leave.


    Marcus stopped him for a moment "Wait" he pleaded, and Grant stopped walking, staring at the man.


    The devilish mask had given the man a negative connotation, like a demon had ensnared him.


    And now... he was a mysterious benefactor, help from the most of unusual places. He had done so much already, and yet...


    "Why?"


    He couldn''t read Grant''s face.


    "Because you really care about your child."


    And he was gone.

 Chapter 20: New Town, New Faces

    "There you are! Where did you run off to, we couldn''t find you?!" exclaimed Natalie as she rushed over to Grant.


    Grant snorted, while Dain followed Natalie shortly thereafter, with a worried look on his face.


    "You shouldn''t have picked a fight with the guards you know, they could make trouble with you when you come in and out of the city."


    Grant chuckled. "I don''t need to be on good terms with a murderer child."


    Dain''s face scrunched up as he thought about it. "How did you know? You''ve told us this is your first time here." Asked Dain. It wasn''t as if Grant hadn''t done impossible things up to this point.


    Shrug. "If it weren''t for my handy-dandy mind reading abilities, the hidden killing intent just leaking off the guy would''ve been more than enough, in conjunction with all the grudge energy building up around him it''s pretty obvious he''s a serial killer. Either that, or an extremely experienced soldier, but that''s not very likely."


    "Mind reading abilities? You have mind reading abilities? That''s so cool!" Exclaimed Natalie.


    "What have you been reading?" Dain worriedly asked.


    Grant chuckled. "Why Dain? Got something to hide recently. Any visual thoughts you''ve been having recently. I mean, certainly you''ve been having some rather interesting thoughts recently, like all those things you''d do to Natalie like-"


    "All right, alright I got it! Please stop!" Exclaimed Dain as his face blossomed a fresh red.


    "-Like hand holding."


    Dain couldn''t even speak anymore, just quietly covering his face in embarrassment, while Natalie didn''t even bother hiding her hungry face. Yikes Dain, better learn those Houdini techniques, because that innocence isn''t going to keep you safe much longer.


    Having finished his daily dose of ribbing Dain, Grant went over to the adventurer''s guild in order to turn in a few things now that he was here, as well as claim the miniscule reward for the ride.


    As they walked though, Dain snapped out of his embarrassment as he realized something.


    "Hey, he never said what''d he do about the murderer!"


    <hr>


    Frankly, Grant wasn''t getting paid much for the escort mission, but Grant wasn''t interested in the pay in the first place, joining the escort to have company on the trip. Money was just a nice little extra.


    The adventurer''s guild was just about the same as the guild he''d first encountered, though there was one small difference.


    If one paid attention they could see a divide amongst the people there, between the humans and the beastmen, with elves and dwarves mixed amongst both. The guild was a lot more tense than the previous guild.


    Grant didn''t care, as that wouldn''t be his problem for now. And hopefully it wouldn''t be.


    Joining the line, Grant waited a few minutes, having to deal with the tension in the line, causing him to sigh. He even saw people trying to judge what he was under the mask.


    Eventually the line ends and Grant finds himself face to face with a young woman, early 20s?


    "I''d like to submit proof of hunt."


    The guild employee nodded.


    So, Grant started emptying his bag.


    Not everything of course. Just:


    50 goblin ears


    40 orc heads,


    30 gust raptor wings


    20 slime cores


    10 plant cores


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    The guild employee nodded, clearly nonplussed, and so was Grant.


    "Your card please." the employee requested, hand outstretched, which Grant complied, handing over his card.


    Holding his card over the crystal, her eyebrows raised a little as she read the pop-up info.


    "Oh, you just joined the guild?" she asked.


    Grant chuckled. "Used to be a hunter out on the fringes. Decided to move here and try my hand at adventuring. "


    She nodded in understanding. Unsurprising in a world where becoming an adventurer is something of a fantasy, even for nobles.


    "Well, your rank has increased from f to d rank, by sheer number of conquests you have made. Orcs are considered d level monsters after all."


    Grant nodded, satisfied, before seemingly remembering something. "I uh, happened to find these while scavenging in the forest." Grant pulled more out of his spatial pocket, a pile of shining scales, which caused the guild worker''s eyes to widen.


    "You found these? Where did you find them?" asked the employee, clearly a little worried.


    If Grant understood their world correctly, wyverns would probably be considered b rank, maybe a rank? So finding wyvern scales would be quite a shock to them. So, he decided to lie to them and claim he found them, only offering a handful of scales. Of course, Grant kept the five whole wyverns worth of ingredients to himself. Maybe he''d sell them under the same pretense, perhaps he''d just keep them and raise an army of spartoi and wyverns. Whatever he was feeling.


    "I found them while following a caravan escort here (which I''d also like renumeration for by the way) and happened to find at the scene of a fight, some distance away from the caravan. It looked like a big fight happened, and the wyvern seemed to have lost some scales in the battle."


    The worker nodded. "Alright, I''ll check you quest history and set up a quest to study the route for evidence of wyverns. Thank you for this warning. Do you plan to sell this to the guild?"


    Grant nodded.


    "Alright, give us a few days and we''ll have your money within the week."


    "Thank you."


    As Grant left, he noted some eyes filled with envy, and others with darker thoughts, but he ignored them for now. He didn''t have the money yet, so that was tomorrow''s problem.


    He needed to get himself a room at the tavern and get some of the rougher things finished up.


    <hr>


    "Gggh, w-w-h-y?"


    Grant clicked his teeth staring at the man before him.


    Before him was a rather dark sight, the former guard from earlier in the day, with a rope choking the man. Twisting the rope in his hand, while slowly pulling, the guards face became a tomato red, tinting purple at the edges as his lungs desperately sought breath.


    "Let''s see if this reminds you of anything." taunted Grant.


    "Elliot."


    "Leroy"


    "Finny"


    "Leah"


    As Grant listed each name out, the guards face paled, almost against all odds.


    "How?" said Grant, in a mocking tone. The man didn''t care, but Grant did. Or he probably lacked the energy to speak.


    "For a killer, you''re sure foolish. Anyone with the ability to read minds could out such an undefended mind."


    The man thrashed, harder than before, as he lost more and more oxygen.


    Desperation and fear had long settled in stomach. He knew those names after all. He''d asked them their names.


    "You know," drawled Grant, "Usually I don''t bother with this kind of stuff. As one of the strongest beings on Earth, one learns to ignore the small ones like you. Another piece of sh*t, sure, but that''s just how the world is. If we stepped in to kill every criminal, then people would be complacent. Every sword needs their whetstone, every beautiful statue needs a chisel to make them something greater.


    Heroes need stepping stones.


    But did you know?"


    "I was going to spare your life at first. Save the beastman''s life and turn a blind eye to your actions. Murdering people is disgusting, especially why you do it, but not uncommon. When I revealed he had a son, I watched.


    Had you resolved yourself to back off; to draw a line in the sand, you would live. But no.


    You were going to kill that child!


    You just thought of the child as a freebie for your excitement. And that was the moment your life was forfeit."


    Grant stood up, and dragged the man through the dirt, before finally arriving at the tree.


    Grant clicked his tongue at the man''s panicked face.


    "Come now, you must''ve known that I was going to do this when I coerced you into writing your own suicide note? I mean, there was no way I was going to leave you any form of dignity."


    Grant begun setting it all up, and he kept talking.


    "You know, I enjoy this kind of stuff. Torturing people. I swear, old dog, new tricks." He said


    He seemingly takes a deep breath.


    "Don''t you love the smell of damnation!!! The fear people have in their last few moments? "Is there a god? Oh my god I''m going to die!" Truly, like music to my ears!"


    "You see, torture is a guilty pleasure for me. To watch the despair in the eyes of my foes. Of course, I can''t feign weakness, but I settle with crushing them beneath my foot. Knowing that no matter which afterlife they end up at, they''ll end up suffering more than I could ever make them suffer in life, in spite of my efforts."


    "But there''s a catch."


    "I can''t do it to good people. It''s not that I don''t fight good people. I do it all the time! I''ve killed plenty of good people. They didn''t all deserve it."


    He paused. A frown permeating his face, so he tightened the rope before getting back to working.


    "It''s just no fun. Not right. So, I must thank you. You''ve just made this day a little more fun."


    Looking at the man who was dangling quietly in the air. There was no sign of life in the body.


    "Oh. You already died a while ago huh."


    The grotesque face had nothing to say. Only a horrendous corpse stared back at him.


    Grant looked nonplussed, before remembering something. "Oh darn!" he clicked his fingers as he remembered something important.


    "I forgot to register Ursa Honey as a familiar. Silly me!"


    He walked away, leaving the body to be discovered.


    "I can''t believe I forgot something as important as that."


    Yes, Grant had more important things to attend to.

 Chapter 21: Leisurely Walk

    The next day


    After an eventful night, Grant took the time to enter the line early in the morning to sign the forms indicating his familiar.


    "Yeah, yesterday I forgot to sign the applications in regard to having a familiar. Sorry about that."


    "No it''s fine. What kind of familiar do you have?"


    "You didn''t hear? That''s surprising. I have a honeybear. The name is Ursa Honey, as filled into the form."


    The worker''s eyes lit up upon hearing that statement. "Oh, so you''re the one who was handing out honey beer on an escort. The merchant caravan you were with brought in a new load on honeybeer, and there were whispers of a honeybear. May I ask where it is currently?"


    Grant grinned. "Right here" he tapped his back pocket.


    "You know spatial magic?"


    "Oh, y''know, only what''s necessary."


    The guild worker nodded. "If you don''t mind, would you have him come out then?"


    With a simple nod, Honey Ursa popped out, and as he did so, a fresh smell entered the tavern, with many turning his direction.


    The honey bear was holding a fresh batch of honey corn muffins, looking around curiously, before moving to the guild lady, offering her a muffin.


    Although she was surprised by the pop out bear, she quickly settled, and laughed as she took a muffin.


    "Wow! This is scrumptious. Thank you!" she said happily to the honey bear, smiling as she munched on the muffin.


    The bear nodded, satisfied, before promptly devouring the other four muffins on his own.


    Grant heard some grumbles for sure, but chose to ignore those. Honey would probably start giving stuff away for free if he let him. Not good to set such a precedent for such a young bear.


    After filling out the form, Grant handed the worker the application before leaving, with Honey Ursa in tow.


    <hr>


    Grant had come to the town for one reason, and that was fun. The divine Earth technique essentially made it so he would live to 600, so a few decades spent out in the corner of nowhere was just fine for him.


    Of course, there was some stuff that he wanted to get done while he was out here. Much like the rest of the world, everything had a secret, no matter how obscure or far out the place is. And this place had enough secrets to keep him entertained for a while.


    In fact, today he was setting out to do one of those things.


    Leaving the outpost, Grant waved at latter guard from the day before, as well as a new guard since the former guard had left his station. Wonder how long it''d take for them to find him.


    The latter guard gave him a weird look, mixed feelings on his face but didn''t stop Grant nonetheless. Hopefully his wife was feeling better.


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    Grant hadn''t brought much food with him, but not much was needed in the first place. Cultivators don''t need to eat for days at a time, and unless Grant was planning to spend a whole month out, he didn''t need food.


    Taking a calm walk through the woods, Grant didn''t meet anything particularly strong, just as one would expect of a outpost for new adventurers. The goblins, wolves, an orc or two. Not what Grant was looking for, but hey, free money was free money.


    Eventually, Grant came to the head of a cave, a rather innocent looking cave, but Grant knew better.


    He had found a dungeon.


    There are multiple ways to define a dungeon, and thus there are multiple kinds of dungeons. The bottom of a castle, a living organism, a prison to lock greater beings away, a place for a relic to test for an appropriate new user.


    This little cave was actually the final one.


    Now, Grant already had his fair share of relics, with his favorite self-acting sword being one. The sword of Frey, like many relics, had cultural and folk lore relevance.


    But a little treasure hunting is always a good bit of fun.


    Wandering into the dungeon, Grant was immediately met with a poisonous gas to the face.


    it wasn''t apparent of course, being a colorless, odorless, and even being a seemingly irrelevant gas, The less experienced would ignore it and move on. Grant had seen something similar, two centuries ago, from a rare plant that had seemingly gone extinct. Of course, clearly the same may not apply to this world.


    "A tricky one huh? I look forward to seeing what relic this is." Grant licked his lips in relish. This dungeon seemed like it intended on being a subtle kind.


    Grant returned the favor, merely walking through the gas, while seemingly being unaffected all the while. He was allowing the mask to remain impermeable, while generating air directly inside his lungs through magic.


    To the outside view, it looked like he merely waltzed through the corridor, only stopping to pick up the flower in question, and storing them in his domain for later use.


    The seemingly natural cavern changed, slowly shifting from debris and rock to carved stone, with a rather ancient looking texture. Perhaps middle ages? Hard to tell in a world with different history.


    Arriving at the end of the corridor, humming a happy tune, Grant looked at the acid filled swamp before him.


    "I take that back" corrected Grant, looking at the bubbling little surprise. "From subtle to extravagant. I wonder what this relic could be? Perhaps a costume of sorts." Those were usually the extravagant sorts. They loved their acting. Knives usually just wanted to stab someone. An overcoat? Perhaps an alchemist uniform?


    Taking a stick out to poke the acid, he chuckled.


    Whoosh


    Foosh


    With a simple twist of his hand, the branch managed to just barely dodge the poison dipped arrows that had flown seemingly out of the dark.


    "Arrows hmm?"


    Looking at the miniature swamp, Richard scanned for anything alive, besides the plants. No monsters.


    While there were no monsters, Grant saw blocks, worn by either age or acid, seemingly strewn throughout the acid swamp. Each block a few meters away from the other.


    "Parkour it is then. Y''know, you have rather high standards?" Grant called out to the darkness. "How do you expect someone to cross this huh? You probably killed all your potential users." Grant addressed this to the relic of course, who likely set this up to challenge a proper master, but Grant could not help but smirk at the thought. This relic was out in the middle of nowhere, and clearly was not in the right place for s class adventurers to consider this zone a worthwhile hunting ground.


    Grant walked through the swap, jumping effortlessly through the acid swamp, arrows whizzing, and even dropping boulders encroached upon his personal space and yet he seemingly walked through it all.


    Grant''s first sect was one that specialized in foot techniques after all. And although the techniques had been flawed, especially amongst the higher tiers of cultivation, that had not stopped him from sharpening and improving his own footwork.


    What was particularly fun was how hard the relic had tried, making this swamp, as he found multiple herbs littered through the swamp. Perhaps traps, meant to tempt the foolish? A helpless desire the spread the herbs in own work. A reward even, for the hard working, should they fail to complete the dungeon.


    Of course, Grant took all of it.


    Grant was greedy. If he could, he would take everything he could get.

 Chapter 22: Familiar Battles

    "Yellow rose, hawks whisper, clamshell foyer, 50 year ginseng" mumbled Grant as he looked through all the herbs overall. Nothing amazing by any means, but decent. He wasn''t expecting jackpots, but this stuff would sell for some good money.


    All right then, he said as he continued down the hall.


    The hallway opened up into a battlefield, and with a battlefield came monsters.


    The monsters in question were average. Not the weak like goblins or random wolves, but not really strong either, like wyverns or gladius lupin. There were a ton of acid slimes, sickly green creatures that have a diseased smell, numbering in the dozens.


    Scattered amongst them were ghouls, sagging deformed human like creatures that looked as if they were rotting. Their teeth were blackened as age at their teeth, and others protruded like primitive fangs and their fingers following suit, with protruding nails more like claws than blades. Oh, and the creatures were fast.


    The monsters did not move as Grant did not enter the arena.


    So the monsters won''t attack unless I go in first.


    All right. When was the last time I had Honey Ursa fight? Never?


    All right, good time for him to fight.


    Grant opened a tear into the divine realm, and the beary good chef walked out. Looking around, the bear laid eyes upon the monsters, and then looked back to Grant.


    The desire to hunt lurked beneath the surface of the eyes, as a not-so-subtle killing intent emerged from the bear''s eyes. It looked eager. Hungry even.


    This wasn''t the same monster the nice guild lady had seen that day.


    A monster was a monster after all and could recognize when it was time to fight. To hunt.


    And, it couldn''t really share the joys of honey with them so... no reason to let them live.


    "Well?" asked Grant rhetorically. "You haven''t hunted in a while right? Go loose?"


    The bear roared eagerly, before charging towards the slimes and ghouls on all fours.


    What surprised Grant was the small crew that also popped out of the divine realm, following the bear.


    Two kobolds, one draconian and the other canine charged forward, followed by a shroom man leaking sap wielding a long bludgeon.


    Wait...


    that''s not a bludgeon...


    THat''s a RollIng piN!


    AND IT WAS RIDING A LVL 30 HONEY SLIME!


    The shroom had become more like wood than shroom, his exterior taking on a more gnarly and rough appearence, with sap leaking out every orifice.


    Grant... clearly had not been paying enough attention recently. How could he have missed something so much fun recently?


    And the kobolds were no different.


    The draconian one welded a whisk while the canine one clearly held a pan.


    So... Honey Ursa had started his very own kitchen staff?


    Grant wasn''t worried about the shroom at the very least, but he was more worried about the kobolds.


    Thankfully...


    [Kobold(draconian)]


    [Level: 40/50]


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    [Kobold(canine)]


    [Level:25/30]


    They should be fine. He could always interfere.


    With Honey Ursa leading the charge, they crashed into the crowd.


    Of course, the monsters in the arena weren''t static either, the acid slimes spitting acid with the ghouls speeded towards their perceived meal.


    One of the most amusing this to watch was how a honey bear fought.


    Normal bears used claws to simply slap creatures to death, imbuing their forehands with whatever element they desired, and thus many bears evolved into physical type monsters, including pandas more often than not, making it hard to have magic specializing bear,s


    Honey bears followed a similar route, though their actions were different.


    Base honeybears preferred to use the source of their honey as a weapon.


    Yup, they swung that jar of honey around, straight like something out of dark souls, swinging it around and slamming the ground, causing their foes to trip and fall.


    They splashed honey at their foes to get them all sticked up, kind of like a spider.


    So as the fight went on, the room just became streaked in yellow as Honey Ursa flung his honey, trapping his foes under the great glaze, before promptly crushing them with his great jar of honey. The sickly sweet scent of honey mixed with the metallic smell of blood and death.


    All the while Honey Ursa raged, with desire burning in its eyes. Even as a honey bear, it was still a bear monster, and bear monsters enjoyed a good fight.


    Thankfully, the kobolds were smart and chose to ride on top of the honey slime the shroom rode while Ursa flew into a rage.


    With each slam the ghouls wobbled, while the poor acid slimes were merely absorbed by the honey slime rolling over them, if it wasn''t a hard kitchen appliance that squished them to death. Ghouls weren''t excused from the kitchen action, and with each thwack there was ghoul running around with a heavy dent in their head.


    So the kitchen crew were admittedly not that strong. But that wasn''t surprising either. They hadn''t been receiving all the work that Honey Ursa had been receiving, and kobolds weren''t known for strength anyway. The fact that they were doing as much as they did right now was impressive.


    While Grant was impressed by the work the shroom was doing, it was also kind of expected. He had made the shrooms to be versatile.


    Grant chuckled, imagining the astonishment of the relic as it watched this kitchen fight.


    It had probably expected an elite team of adventurers to come and challenge this area, butchering these low level monsters, or perhaps even him to simply sweep it all.


    Instead, it got to see a chef and his attendants storming the arena.


    The shroom was also throwing sap, similar to how the bear threw honey, but his rolling pin had immense range, in no small part thanks to the shrooms arms extending far and wide, leaving the monsters no space to flee from his long reach.


    And soon, the battle was done.


    Grant promptly summoned a few slimes to clean up this mess. It was honey and blood and acid all over the place, and while he wasn''t squeamish, he certainly wanted it all cleaned up.


    Once it was all done, he walked up to the group and crossed his arms.


    "Well?" He asked.


    "when did this all happen?"


    <hr>


    Apparently the shroom had come first, challenging Ursa Honey to a fight.


    A fight it lost, leading the shroom to follow Ursa around, and even do it''s own way of forming honey, though the end result was more like sap than anything else. It also started cooking just like Ursa Honey did, choosing to mimic at first, before eventually being taught what to do by Ursa Honey, on the basis that the shroom would stop ruining his kitchen.


    And thus he had his first assistant.


    The golden slime just rolled in one day. An ordinary slime, it had rolled in, ate some of his honey, and had an epiphany, resulting in the variant monster honey slime, not to be confused with the golden slime, the key difference being that a honey slime''s core is shaped like a honey comb. And they smell like honey.


    The kobolds on the other hand, had sneaked in, trying to sneak food. Ursa Honey didn''t care, enjoying the thought of sharing honey, but apparently, the shroom had roped them into helping, as payment for their choice to not ask.


    Just like people who try to dine-n-dash being dragged in to do dishes.


    So they eventually joined in the endless cooking, and now Ursa Honey had a whole kitchen staff.


    Alright. It''s good Ursa Honey''s developing his own path. The bear was in fact about to evolve, and the fact that the bear had taken initiative was good.


    Having hear the story, Grant sent them back into the divine realm. After he was done, he would take some time to strengthen this whole team.


    After they had defeated the monsters, a tunnel had popped up, so Grant went into the tunnel.


    <hr>


    Arriving at the next location, he found himself standing before a maze, constructed with stone and laden with traps, seemingly most were poison based.


    How very quaint.


    The next hour was spent navigating the tunnel, for as large as it was, it was all seen through. Odin''s eye and all that, allowed him to easily see through most things, if his own appraisal skill couldn''t.


    There were a few monsters here and there. Roaming zombies, ghouls, and there was even the occasional acid slime dropped on his face.


    In fact, one trap dropped him into a pool with alligators, and well he got a few free alligators to store in his divine realm.


    Once he got to the middle of the maze, he was greeted with a rather ugly creature.


    A huge lump of flesh with a mess of limbs that probably couldn''t hold it up, and from its body protruded 25 heads, each with it''s own malformed interpretation of a man''s head.


    Wicked smiles with black lines running down their faces, almost like tear streaks running in stark contrast to the haunting smile, the heads swung around egregiously, as if attempting to mimic a snake, yet failing in the unnatural way the neck''s bent.


    It''s skin a stark and unhealthy white, as mounds of fat rolled upon mounds of fat.


    A haunting sound began to emerge and Grant sighed. Pulling out a pair of corks out he stuffed them into his ears.


    "So I''m guessing a bear won''t do this time?" he asked.

 Chapter 23: Where Gods Walk

    False Hydras are a pain in the ass.


    They''re strong as far as the average person is confirmed, no dragon, and lesser than hydras for sure, but false hydras are not weak by any means, easily an A-rank in the eyes of the guild.


    Their strength is arguably dragon level in regards to their physical strength, but their agility and magic are ultimately limited, thus limiting the monster as a whole, one of the many reasons why the false hydra is considered inferior to the hydra.


    One of the greatest dangers of the false hydra was the hypnotic song it sang, not only lulling it''s prey into a hypnotic state, but also its ability to erase the memories of a person ever existing.


    Their physical traces may remain, but the memory of such a person disappears.


    And this one seemed quite strong, bearing 25 heads. Unlike normal hydras which regrow heads, and sometimes two heads from one, but false hydras do not have such an ability.


    A false hydra would have to be a variant produced through unique conditions, and in this case, the condition would be the direct interference of the dungeon.


    This false hydra was likely a pure dungeon creation, created abnormally to be stronger than the false hydra. It''s main form of attack was its heads, so having more than the average 8 clearly increased its own strength.


    In fact, it''s likely more around s rank than anything else thanks to the increase in physical strength.


    There''s no way Ursa is clearing this one.


    ... Wouldn''t this be the perfect time to test out my progenitors?


    I mean, if we''re going to try one asset, why not try the other?


    They could use a unique left field opponent.


    Grant, upon thinking these thoughts, promptly opens the divine realm, and the wicked smile the false hydra has forcibly twists as the false hydra reacts to the force emanating from the realm. It''s unnatural smile transforms into an even more unnatural frown as it looks on apprehensive, no longer as eager as before.


    The goblins weren''t strong enough to recognize the true horror of the divine realm, but even as stupid as the false hydra was, it could recognize danger. What emanated from the realm, what caused it to shiver, to tense up...


    ... Divine might


    A giant hand emerges from the divine realm, followed shortly by dozens of more hands, all of them made of a coarse mycelium-derived material, and with each appendage that claws out of the divine real, the hopeless situation merely deepens. Soon, the progenitor of shrooms emerges in its entirety, easily towering over the false hydra, looking upon the false hydra with those calm unblinking eyes. The false hydra nothing but an insect before it''s eyes.


    The shroom father had come for judgement.


    The false hydra began singing its alluring song, singing desperately as its heads swayed. The shroom father continued watching unmoving, unblinking.


    Did the false hydra realize that the song wasn''t working? Was it perhaps attempting to follow it''s normal method when it lunged forward to take a bite out of the shroom father?


    Sadly, even as a not-quite true progenitor, the shroom father was already gaining in power, with its own kind starting to see a rise across the world. And as a not quite progenitor, something like a false hydra is nothing but an unfortunate stepping stone to it.


    Whatever the case was, the first head would be met with nothing but pain when the shroom''s abdomen opened up, lunging forward and biting down on the first head, as an audible crunch rang out throughout the room.


    As the many heads squealed the shroom father wasted no time, advancing as it extended its dozens of arms and began grabbing, tearing at the false hydras flesh.


    It was a vicious sight, watching as the innocent looking shroom tore apart the hopeless thing, seemingly stuffing its orifices with all the flesh it tore off the false hydra.


    Oh, the shroom father had begun developing miniature mouths on the miniature heads it had developed. Fun, quite different from Briares, who had used his arms to be a great warrior of many strengths and weapons, whereas the heckawonkatonchires simply chose to rip into his victims, feeding upon them mid-combat.


    How gruesome.


    Oh, and Grant was thinking about calling the shroom father a heckawonkatonchires, in honor of the hecatoncheires, the great hundred handed ones. He was thinking of a chocolate factory at the time.


    The shroom father had a simple response.


    ''No''


    That was fine. He would just call him that in his mind.


    The false hydra fought desperately, attempting to chew on the progenitor, only for the pseudo heads to fight back, using this opportunity to grab onto the heads, and to begin eating in turn.


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    Unfortunately for the false hydra, it was discovering it''s white flabby flesh was nothing in comparison to the sponge like body of the shroom father, which not only resisted greatly, but grew back quickly and greater than before as it feasted upon the false hydra.


    Perhaps if the beast had been a dragon or some other particularly intelligent and multi-talented creature, than it could stand a better chance.


    Unfortunately for the false hydra, its strength and hypnotism were poorly matched against another creature of pure strength with immunity to hypnotism.


    With just a few heads left the false hydra began dragging itself away in fear and desperation.


    Before it had attacked in the hopes its flailing could drive the being away, but now it merely wanted to escape.


    "Fascinating." said Grant.


    "So you have some semblance of free will. I wonder if you were brought in or created here."


    All that remained was the main body and but one head, staring terrified as it was dropped into the abyss that was the mouth of the shroom father.


    <hr>


    After sending shroom father back to the divine realm, Richard continued along.


    The hallway was now adorned with traps, all of them laced with poison.


    Just so much poison and herbs in this dungeon. At this point Grant was sure this was some type of herbal or poisonous dungeon, with the only thing to the contrary being the false hydra.


    The course was set back to the theme of poison though with the next monster he encountered.


    A giant beast, bearing the shape of a dragon, but far from being a dragon. The body made of a multitude of rotting bodies as miasma pours out of the wretched thing, as it leered at him mindlessly. The bodies of flesh are wrapped around a larger set of bones, which were likely a set of dragon bones, reanimated and merged with the rotting bodies to make the beast.


    A flesh golem dragon.


    Can''t fly of course, but that wasn''t the problem. The thing reeked of poison, and would likely kill the enemy before it even touches the enemy.


    The beast unhinges it''s jaw, blasting forth a vortex of miasma and acid, blasting full impact at Grant.


    A sizzling and a burning smell arises, but the dragon shows no satisfaction and instead becomes more alert.


    Grant walks out unscathed, holding a torch that could hardly be called a torch being a mere branch lit on fire, and yet the flesh golem eyed it warily.


    Grant spoke suddenly.


    "What do you think the most powerful type of relics are?"


    The monster did not respond, spreading it''s wings and shaking them fervently as decaying and rotting pieces of flesh spread everywhere, yet Grant continued walking forward, waving the "torch" around, managing to burn every piece that approached.


    "People often confuse divine relics as the strongest, and there''s no doubt that they are some of the strongest, but they''ve mistakenly connected correlation with causation."


    The monster swiped at Grant, hoping to kill the man approaching, only to scream when it''s hand touched the torch.


    "You see, divine relics aren''t strong relics, they''re strong weapons. Divine weapons are strong because they''re made fit to a god, not because they''re strong relics; sure, a relic can be both, but as a result, many assume the most powerful relics are the ones connected to gods." Grant shook his head.


    "How foolish."


    Foooosh!


    Another breath of miasma surges forth, only this time to be countered by a column of flames, enveloping the monsters head, and utterly melting it, leaving nothing but the bare skull of the beast to scream silently.


    "You see, the most powerful kind of relics are the infamous ones, the ones that will hold an eternal spot in the minds of men; and there''s no doubt a god''s weapon fulfills this criterion. Everyone thinks of the trident when they think Poseidon, and everyone thinks hammer when they think Thor."


    By now Grant stands in front of the monster torch in hand as the monster trembles, resigned to its fate.


    "But there are things that will never be quite forgotten by people, things that far outstrip some random weapons. The first tools, the first clothes to cover our naked skin, the first paintings..." He pauses, before lighting the whole monster ablaze, leaving nothing but bones as he desired, before putting those away for further use.


    "The first-time man ever conquered fire."


    <hr>


    Arriving at the final chamber, Grant finds the relic sitting in the center of the room, making him click his tongue.


    "Aww. I already have this one. Oh well, hope this one has better stats."


    As he picks up the mask, he hears hums of protest emanating from the mask, but he ignores them as he goes over the abilities of the mask, finding himself pleasantly surprised by the mask.


    "System, provide me this world''s record of the bubonic plague and the place of plague doctor''s."


    [Very well. Give me a minute to gather the info.]


    Grant was quite curious why the mask of a plague doctor provided him the ability to heal and great insight.


    <hr>


    Everyone knows what a plague doctor is. And everyone knows that plague doctors often were followed by death, rarely capable of actually healing, mostly there to record death and to falsely heal.


    Thus legends came that plague doctors were bad omens, and that when they arrived, death was sure to follow.


    And thus, the relic the plague doctor''s mask was a relic that brought plague upon the users will, if not straight up death, depending on the will and quantity of mana a user had.


    Grant had to confiscate it due to a mildly insane preacher who had used it to punish those who he viewed as sinful.


    However, the fact that the mask in this parallel universe actually healed and brought great insight implied a very different history.


    And when the knowledge was straight inputted, Grant could not help but chuckle.


    "Whoah, that really is a difference in history. Raven sages huh."


    Yes, the mask that Grant held was not meant to be a relic of plague doctors.


    Rather, it was a relic of the raven sages.


    According to the systems gatherings, the bubonic plague appeared around the same time, and was set to do the same amount of damage.


    Instead of plague doctors arising, instead, a group known as the raven sages arose, led by the great one eyed sage who led the raven sages.


    This man who led the raven sages seemed to practice the common practices of medicine, as well as an understanding of quarantining and good health practices.


    Through the raven sages medicine was distributed to the masses, and helped the people, cutting the death toll by tens of millions.


    It''s no wonder raven sages, who were seen in such great light, produced such a helpful relic, and the fact that it was in a dungeon of poison was likely meant to test those seeking wisdom and the way to help others.


    Apparently, raven sages still existed, though the one eyed man had long since faded into obscurity.


    Of course, Grant already had a suspect for who it was, but that sounded like a fun mystery for later.


    For now, Grant pulled out his old plague mask relic.


    The plague mask relic was a relic that essentially allowed one to control plagues and bring death on a greater scale, and there is a degree of control over the health of others.


    Two bird masks...


    Similar relevance in history...


    "I can mix you." He whispered in glee.


    He''d never gotten to mix relics before.


    How fun.

 Chapter 24: Farewells Are But Temporary

    "...And so that''s how I got this nifty hat!"


    After Grant had left with his newfound artifact, the artificial dungeon had shortly collapsed, and the next day he''d presented the new hat to the two students.


    The new mesh between the two masks was essentially a black plague doctor''s mask, with all the fancy embroidery a plague doctor''s mask could have, those little contours, lines and the occasional screw like object.


    The mask contained the healing capabilities of the raven sages mask and increased thought processing, while containing the plague doctor''s ability to cause death and control plagues wherever it went. Truly both sides of the spectrum.


    There were cracks running through the masks, from which the divergent colors of red and blue escaped through.


    Of course the real question was...


    "Why are there horns on your mask?"


    "They''re so cool! You look like a real monster!"


    The horns.


    "Well, I haven''t removed the other mask. And since it has a phasing ability, I just decided to wear two masks at once. "


    Dain''s brow furrowed.


    "Then how are you going to eat? The relic isn''t capable of phasing through objects, unless you know how to enchant relics too, which I find highly unlikely."


    "Two words: Watch Me."


    And they were treated to the sight of a honorable raven sage... passing food through the mask in the most possibly ridiculous way.


    "You don''t have to use your hands you know." He didn''t bother being amazed.


    "That''s disgusting! Wash your hands or something!"


    "Enough about me! Lets talk about you two! You''re leaving tomorrow, right?"


    Dain sighed, becoming despondent as he gives up on the man in question.


    "Yes, we''re leaving tomorrow. Are you sure you don''t want to come with us? This place isn''t exactly the most exciting."


    Grant chuckled. "Don''t worry about me. There''s enough here to keep me entertained for a good decade or so. Now quiet down, I have things to give you."


    Natalie noticeably straightened her back in excitement causing Grant to be bemused. Truly, she becomes interested once rewards are involved. Dain may have the potential, but Natalie has the mentality.


    Rummaging his pockets, Grant drops a bag in front of each.


    "Enough cultivation boosters in here to last you for the next year or two."


    He pulled out a necklace next, with a simple pendant resembling a bestial eye of sorts. It was simple, and yet had a demanding presence. It demanded attention.


    "An old friend of mine." He indicated.


    Dain''s eyebrow raised but ultimately chose not to comment.


    Natalie on the other hand, pushed.


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    "Do you put all your friends into items?" she asked innocently.


    "No, not quite." Chuckled Grant. "Unlike the ones in your possession, this one isn''t incomplete by any means, nor is he human by any means."


    "Well, teacher, may I inquire as to what reason you would give me such an item?"


    "To save your life of course. As a cultivator and as your teacher, it''s only natural I hand you some life saving items for your times of need. And this is item number one." He lifted the item, indicating for one of them to wear it, with Dain eventually deciding to grab it and to place it upon her neck, fiddling a little as he did so with some difficulty.


    After deciding the result satisfactory, he sat down, a little embarrassed by the time it took him.


    "Thank you Dain. It looks beautiful!" She gave Dain a hug and a big wet kiss before sitting down.


    What was it his eastern friends called it? Making others eat dog food? Hmm, yes, this feels about right. He didn''t expect a kiss, but that was just cold. Eh, whatever.


    "Anyway, if you''re in any actual danger than my friend will be woken up and will emerge to defend you two. My marks all over you, so he''ll know to protect you. He''s a king level spirit, so there''s not much in this world that can really stop it."


    Natalie looked genuinely surprised, looking at the necklace with a renewed view.


    Dain looked a bit more worried. "Are you sure that''s safe then?"


    Grant snorted. "You''re cultivators. There''s no such thing as truly safe.


    You''re also adventurers. There''s nothing safe about that.


    In that equation, the safest thing there is is the king level spirit settled in the necklace."


    "So he''s not unstable in any way right? King level spirits aren''t exactly known for being quiet." Dain asked worriedly.


    Grant waived it off. "Trust me, he''s one of the most stable spirits in existence. And one of the least combative too. The only thing he considers a real enemy is taxes."


    "Taxes?"


    "Yeah, he''s a spirit that used to serve a dragon I know, and often calculated the dragon''s money and taxes for him. We made a deal, and I made off with one of the best tax calculators in existence. And a king level spirit I suppose."


    Dain just nodded a bit lightheaded. To claim a spirit for... tax purposes.


    "We all good? Great. I also have these for you." As he pulls out two rings, one for each of them.


    As they slip them on, Grant explains their purpose.


    "Those are spacial storage rings. You won''t need them once you develop a divine realm, but for now it''s best to store your valuable stuff in this ring. Besides, most cultivators don''t leave their stuff in their divine realm since its a mode of combat. It also has the ability to teleport you away from a fatal blow, back to my location."


    He paused. "What do you say?"


    Dain eyed him. "Thanks?" He said uncertainly, while Natalie said nothing, merely putting the ring on her ring finger humming happily.


    Seeing nothing more was said, and feeling a bit awkward, he said thanks again, a bit more genuinely while sheepishly looking at Natalie, who was a bit lost in dream land.


    Grant rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Go have some fun before you leave tomorrow. In fact," he tosses them a few gold coins, and Natalie reacts happily, grabbing the coins, giving Grant a great big hug, and running off, dragging an unfortunate Dain with her.


    "Seriously, who does she get that from." Muttered Grant.


    <hr>


    The next day Grant went to their caravan to see them off. While Dain and Natalie had a simple see-off, Leon was more worried.


    "Are you sure you want to stay? I''m sure you can feel it."


    He looks around, but thankfully they''re outside the town, so no one is there to hear.


    "Don''t worry, I''m aware. I''m sticking around for it."


    Leon studied his non existent face. "Are you going to take a side?"


    "Nope. But there will be chaos. And I tell you this, some of the best fun is to be had in chaos."


    Leon looked unsure still, so Grant decided to just hand him the formula.


    "Can you really just give me this?" Leon says astonished. "This is extremely valuable, to just give it to me... what if I decide not to come back to you anymore."


    Grant shrugged. "Don''t worry about me. I''m not a one trick pony. I''ve got plenty of other formulas to sell if I''m low on money. Besides, you''ll rarely find someone on my level for so cheap."


    Feeling satisfied with this, Leon said bye.


    "If you ever come by the capital, feel free to stop by and see me at the adventurer''s guild. I''m going to be there for the next year or so."


    Grant nodded. "Sure. Send your wife my regards. And if you guys ever need something alchemically inclined, give me a call."


    A few more farewells and handing out honeybeers and the caravan was off, heading to the royal capital. Hopefully in a years'' time when his students returned, they''d have formed their divine realms and Grant would hopefully have thought of something to give them weapon wise.


    As the caravan left, Grant stood there for a little before heading back into the outpost.


    He got a few funny looks from soldiers, but that was probably because he upgraded from demon mask to horny bird.


    What should he do next...

 Chapter 25: A Monster And A Youth

    Grant went about hunting as he usually did.


    He went out, he killed some orcs, killed a few goblins, and some other assortment of monsters.


    Grant wasn''t looking for anything particularly great, merely looking to add some substance to his rank.


    It wasn''t increasing as much since he wasn''t bringing anything huge in, but that was fine.


    He was focusing on something else.


    "STIR!"


    He was focusing on getting Ursa Honey''s little crew to grow and evolve.


    Which wasn''t exactly exciting, but it would take some dedication.


    For example, the honey slime.


    "STIR!"


    "My lord, are you sure this will help it evolve? It just seems like you''re cooking it?" The shroom asked unsure.


    "Of course. That''s exactly what we''re doing!"


    "Pardon?!"


    "It''s a slime! Unless you do something to initiate an abnormal evolution, it''ll just evolve into a bigger honey slime!"


    "Oh!"


    "You get it now!"


    "Of course lord! Pardon my rudeness!"


    "It''s fine! Pour more of that magic stone sugar!"


    "Yes sir!"


    "And you kobolds! Bear! Did you not hear me!"


    "Sir!"


    "STIR!"


    "SIR!"


    Grant had decided to evolve the honey slime since he already had an evolution off the top of his head.


    So why were they screaming?


    They were positioned over a huge pot in which the honey slime was boiling as they poured magic stone sugar and the vanilla extract and milk was being prepared.


    Technically, were they making a real dessert, than magic sugar stones would not be encouraged.


    But as a monster, it needed the appropriate amount of magic stones to stimulate the evolution, and in the case of dessert monsters, Grant often found sugar stones were usually even better in such cases.


    The milk of course came from one of apollos cattle, since he couldn''t find any quality cattle monsters nearby who were milkable, so hopefully the milk wouldn''t have any side effects.


    Or hopefully it did. Who knows.


    The slime was enjoying it, treating it like a steam bath. Is this like a frog in a boiling pot thing? Honestly, that''s up to interpretation.


    As the days went by, one day Grant had a rather interesting visitor.


    <hr>


    Grant had been avoided by most adventurers. Turns out wearing a raven sage mask usually commanded some level of respect and suspicion, but wearing horns on top encouraged the view of being insane, even amongst the other adventurers he had traveled with. They just thought he was fun crazy.


    Grant didn''t mind of course, but the perception continued.


    What''s more, there''s been the ongoing tension between the non human beings and the humans, with the tension resulting in many parties dividing into human and non human groups.


    And Grant fit into neither. Despite claiming he was a human, he gave no signs of being so, never taking off the costume, thus in spite of his decent track record, humans weren''t much in the way of recruiting him.


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    He was just ominous, and the fact that he was such an ominous human meant that non human parties had no interest in recruiting him.


    And the moderates... just didn''t want to recruit him since there were better options.


    So imagine to his surprise when an A rank minotaur sat down in front of him.


    Of course, one has to remember the difference between feral monsters and their sapient counterparts, with a spattering of differences between the two.


    The feral minotaur is different from the sapient ones in all the important ways, but that rarely matters to the average person.


    For the average person, a monster is a monster, and its hard not to separate the crimes of a feral monster from a sapient monster when ultimately the face that faces you and the face that kills your friends and family are one and the same.


    Sapient goblins and orcs have a far harder time unfortunately.


    Not that Grant cared, but as one could guess, as a result the A-rank adventurer was a controversial being in the guild and the outpost currently.


    The minotaur sat down, easily 10 feet tall, dwarfing Grant''s two meter height.


    He put out his hand. "Granite" His voice was deep and gravelly, appropriate for such a beefcake.


    "Really? I thought you were more of a blackish hue personally."


    The minotaur snorted as he had clearly heard that one before.


    He put out his hand and shook it in return. "Grant."


    The minotaur nodded, satisfied.


    "I wish to recruit your aid in slaying an A-rank monster."


    A series of gasps echo around the hall.


    An A-rank monster was already a major danger, especially in a zone where new people gathered, and even with the divide between people in the guild, no adventurer is stupid enough to ignore the danger.


    There was also the fact that he was asking a D-rank adventurer for aid, which seemed ridiculous, for no matter how ominous he may seem the man was merely a D-rank adventurer.


    He had not proved himself anymore competent in any way, and Grant agreed.


    "But I''m a D-rank." he said inquisitively.


    The minotaur shook his head.


    "My instincts tell me otherwise. And I always trust my instincts."


    "A monster''s instincts are often quite great. Regardless, I''m still a D-rank."


    "Nonetheless, I request your assistance in hunting this monster."


    An awkward silence followed as the two stared down one another, clearly waiting for the other to give, before finally Grant shrugged.


    "Whatever. I suppose I''ll have to rely on the great A rank adventurer Granite to protect me on this hunt." Granite''s nose wrinkled a bit at the obvious sarcasm.


    "So, what day will we leave then?" Grant asked.


    "Tomorrow afternoon" was his short reply.


    Grant merely nodded as he got up to leave the guild, clearly to prepare.


    Of course once he left, and Granite as well, whisperings amongst the two sides began.


    Some whispers were about how a lucky D-rank adventurer got an easy ride with an A-rank adventurer, while others snickered, clearly believing the monster would eat the man or even use the man as bait.


    For some, this solidified which side Grant stood on, while for others, this was an act of reconciliation made by an A rank adventurer, to show bonds between the human and the inhuman side.


    For the more experienced, some wondered how strong Grant really was, because they too, respected a monster''s intuition, especially one who had reached an A-rank position.


    If he said there was more to it, than there was likely more to it.


    <hr>


    The next day, Grant arrived at the gates to meet Grant, with no bag in hand, much like Granit with no bag in hand.


    "Spatial pocket?" inquired Granite.


    "Indeed. I see you''ve brought one as well."


    "Of course. Only high rank or noble adventurers can afford to buy spatial bags." said Granite with a pointed jab.


    "Who knows? Maybe I''m just some noble brat?" Grant teased.


    "Then you will have good gear which would compensate for poor skill." was the minotaur''s grunt of a response.


    As they walked out the gates most of the guards scurried out of Granite''s way, causing Grant to roll his eyes under the mask.


    Ah, to be young and judgmental of other races by appearances alone.


    At his age, Grant had longed learn that a monstrous outside hardly mattered, for some of the worst monsters he killed looked the most human or were the most human.


    As they left the outpost, Grant found himself a bit curious.


    "Tell me," he asked, "what else convinced you to ask for my assistance. Your instinct may be good, but there''s no way someone would solely rely on that when making important choices."


    "The scales."


    "Hmm?"


    "The wyvern scales you turned in a week or two ago."


    "Ohh. Those. I''d forgotten about those scales."


    "You claimed that the wyvern dropped those scales."


    "Indeed. What of it?"


    "Wyverns don''t shed scales."


    "I said they likely dropped off in the conflict didn''t I? I''d hardly call that firm proof"


    "Perhaps." agreed the minotaur. "However, those scales were too clean to be merely be beaten off the monster in a fight. The scales were not only in great condition, but there were no rips and tears, no pelt to speak of. Just scales with no hide attached. In a fight even if singular scales had fallen off, they should still have hide attached. That''s not from a normal fight."


    Grant cocked his head, still pretty genuinely curious. "So what do you think happened?" He asked.


    The minotaur shook his head. "I do not know, and that is all the more reason to ask for your aid."


    Grant looked at him blankly for a second.


    Another second.


    And then he laughed.


    The minotaur walked on unbothered, but Grant found this minotaur all the more amusing.


    Deciding to take a gamble despite how unpredictable he could be solely based off of instinct. He was so firm in his instinct in spite of having little to no reason to believe so in this case.


    "HAHAHAHAHA~"


    He laughed hard.


    Fun times like these were what made him adventure.


    It was great when life surprised Grant, and times like these it was worth living.


    And so a beast and a youth went off to hunt a monster that day.

 Chapter26: Start of a trip

    The two encountered a group of feral orcs which attacked them without question.


    Granite drew his bludgeon, rather large of a man, appropriate for a being of his size, while Grant pulled out his mythril blade.


    There was no teamwork between the two, expected since neither had worked together, and neither seemed to feel the need to work together.


    They did however, space themselves out to ensure that neither would interfere with the actions of the other.


    Grant walked through the orcs, culling them quickly, one by one, while the minotaur crushed more than one at a time, using the long reach of such a weapon to clear them out with ease.


    With only 10 orcs, this was a quick cleansing to say the least.


    The minotaur kept an eye on the mysterious man throughout the fight, observing how he fought, how his every move seemed trained, as if he had repeated them countless times.


    Granite observed as Grant cut down another orc with his blade after having finished his share.


    "Your swordmanship demonstrates great experience." he rumbled. Perfect in execution. But...


    "Oh?" said Grant. "And what of my talent?" he asked as he wiped his sword upon the grass.


    The minotaur responded. "It shows good talent but..."


    "... not great talent." finished Grant, amusement showing in his voice. The minotaur nodded to confirm what Grant said, earning him a chuckle. "Your instincts really are on the mark." For a cultivator higher up the path to god hood, this would be an easy observation to make, but for someone younger than him by centuries and by far less experienced, it was a great observation, constructed partially from instinct. Monster or not, that was something that was respectable.


    The minotaur nodded. "My grandfather was known for his instinct."


    "If his instinct was half as sharp as yours, than it was sharp for sure."


    The minotaur nodded as he placed his bludgeon on their back, before continuing their walk.


    <hr>


    They set up camp at dawn, as they would be staying the night in the forest. Of course, he exposed his spatial pocket, but since the minotaur already thought a little too highly of him, knowing he had a spatial pocket was really not much of a jump.


    The only thing one really needed to pay for one of those was money.


    According to Granite, it would take a few days to arrive at the location of the monster.


    The monster?


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    "Cockatrice."


    Grant''s eyebrows shot up.


    "Cockatrice huh? You''ve brought some potions for that right?"


    The minotaur nodded, digging through his bag and presenting a few vials of potions to undo the petrification.


    Grant nodded. "Good. Cockatrices are used for many things, such as anti-petrification potions, their wonderful plumage, their bones, good cuts of meat, fertility medication, and some good healing potions." He clasped his hands together. "Alright, how do you want to split it."


    "Half-and-half." the minotaur said with no hesitation.


    "No thanks. I find myself undeserving of so much of the cockatrice. I am but a mere d-class swordsman after all."


    Granite did not respond to the lie. "Then what do you want?" the minotaur prodded.


    "The feathers. I think dyed in black they''ll make a fine cloak."


    Granite looked unsure. "Only the feathers?" He asked uncertainly.


    Grant clicked his tongue. "Why would I want anything else? Sure, the cockatrice meat might be tasty, but I don''t really need it. And I already have a bird head." He indicated to his current mask. "You can keep it. I''m sure the meat is better wasted on you than I when it comes to selling the meat."


    "Fine then. I''ll split the money we get from the meat with you."


    This, Grant accepted.


    Getting up to leave for sleep, he was interrupted.


    "Are we not going to discuss our plan for the cockatrice?" Granite deadpanned, and Grant just sighed.


    "What does it matter? We won''t be seeing the cockatrice for a few more days, and the plans obvious enough right? Get the sneak on it, blind it somehow, and then take it down, no?"


    This time he went to sleep without interruption, as the minotaur let him go reluctantly.


    <hr>


    Grant tinkered with his tools, grumbling, before looking back at the scroll.


    He was having a difficult day today.


    His master had left him to work on his own for the month, to make this earth based, low ranking cultivation pill.


    Of course, he was having a difficult time.


    "No matter how hard I try, I can''t get these three ingredients to mix and balance out." he grumbled, staring at the pot before him, where his failed work lay, a desolate failure.


    "Grant!" shouted a happy voice, before a dashing young girl stormed in. "Guess who arrived for you!" she sang shouted, causing Grant''s headache to only increase.


    Alanea was a beautiful young lady, and she had great potential, perhaps great enough to rise above this lowly sect.


    If only she kept her mouth closed. Even a little bit.


    "Junior sister Alanea." he greeted her stiffly. "What have I told you about not barging in whenever I am working?"


    Looking over, she scoffed. "Please, that was already a failure. Guess who arrived though!?" she said, bypassing the matter.


    Ooph! That hurt more than her interruption of his work.


    It also soured Grant''s mood a bit.


    Grant rubbed his forehead. "Very well then, junior sister, tell me who could be so important that you would disturb me in the midst of my work?" he asked pointedly. Grant didn''t really have many friends, in or outside the sect, if one could count his loud junior sister as a friend.


    "Daoists M¨§i L¨¬ and zh¨°ng sh¨¯u have arrived and are calling for us!" she said excitedly, grabbing Grant, trying to drag him off.


    Oh boy, some of those friends he mentioned.


    "Come on, come on, lets go!" she pleaded.


    Alright, there''s no point in denying junior sister Alanea. Whenever she wanted something, she got it. No point in trying to avoid the inevitable.


    "Alright alright! Just give me a minute." snapped Grant as he sorted through his spatial storage ring. Oh Odin above, she was too damned loud. "Like a damned mandrake." he muttered. Normally she''d have given him a firm slap for that, but she was already impatiently waiting for him, likely purposely ignoring him.


    That little vein that popped when they usually fought was active after all.


    Grabbing his sword, he got up and gave the pot one last look.


    Maybe when he came back later, he would come back with some inspiration, or even with something to better the formula.


    And, maybe, it wasn''t a bad thing to see his friends.


    "Graaaaaant!"


    Maybe.


    <hr>


    "What a horrid dream." Grant muttered

 Chapter 27: Expedition, do expedition things.

    As Grant got out of the tent he smelled a familiar scent.


    Eggs.


    Indeed, as he exited the tent he witnessed the minotaur Granite making green eggs, with two plates out.


    "I do like green eggs, I do like green eggs and ham Sam I am," muttered Grant as he sat down.


    Granite looked at him quickly before going back to his work.


    "Good dreams?" he asked.


    "Bittersweet."


    The minotaur nodded before scraping the eggs onto the two plates.


    As Grant ate, he nodded satisfactorily.


    "Phaeron eggs. Good as usual."


    Granite looked at him curiously. "You know of them?" he asked.


    Grant nodded. "Of course. Minotaur tribes like to keep them because of how hardy they are and how easy they are to maintain. Your bag has temporal qualities?" He asked back.


    Granite nodded. "Yes, this came from a tribe I passed a few days back. My bag slows the rotting speed of food to maybe 1:50 the time? And what about yours?" He pried.


    Grant chuckled. "1:100 the time dilation. I got it as a lucky find in a dungeon."


    Granite nodded before going back to eating.


    Eventually though Granite got chatty again, definitely chatty for a minotaur at least.


    "Why aren''t you afraid of me." he said without hesitation, causing Grant to sigh with exasperation.


    "Ah yes, just the way I like my meals." Grant said sarcastically. "A little bit of a light meal of eggs, with a heavy dose of real world dourness. Do we have to do this now." asked Grant. "We could do this later."


    The bull did not budge. "Even the neutral adventurers have become more hesitant to work with others that do not share certain status. Even I have had issues recently."


    "-always had that issue." Grant corrected.


    "-yet you have shown no issue with working with a minotaur in spite of their reputation."


    Grant nodded, as he slowly ate his eggs and then asked a question.


    "You ever been to the east?" he asked.


    The minotaur looked confused but played along nonetheless. "No."


    Grant nodded. "In the eastern lands of the Qing empire the adventurer''s guild is very much not a thing. Instead, the people often dispatched to kill monsters and deal with bandits are martial artists and cultivators, who are essentially the major powers there."


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    "Your point?"


    "Cultivators are a fairly vicious crowd, as are martial artists. No one can be trusted, and anyone might turn on you one day. Tell me why people are scared of minotaurs."


    "Because feral minotaurs are known to eat human flesh."


    Grant shrugged. "So?"


    "It eats human flesh as a preference." The minotaur said bitterly, recalling how often humans had judged him for something the less savory side of their race had done.


    "So? Minotaurs aren''t human. In the east, it''s not uncommon for people to eat people though."


    Now the minotaur was flabbergasted. "Really?" He asked. The idea of humans eating humans was an unnatural thought, something that people considered taboo, for all "civilized" found themselves disgusted at the notion of eating their own kind.


    Grant chuckled. "Well, eating may not be the correct word. Eating may be a fate kinder than what they do to some people.


    Having said that, one friend of mine did try to eat me in order to advance his growth.


    It''s not uncommon for people to turn people into living furnaces in order to use them to create medication.


    It may not be literal eating, but proverbial eating is a very common thing there.


    It''s like noble politics if all the nobles were given swords and the ability to fight."


    The minotaur nodded, adapting quickly, seemingly understanding his point. "So you do not trust anyone then? Always holding a knife in hand?" Was that why the man agreed so readily? Because everyone is a possible suspect?


    Grant cocked his hand to indicate so-so. "Not necessarily. True, spending time in the cultivation world has made me wary of everyone, but it''s not just a matter of distrusting everyone equally y''know? Tell me, why should I find myself disgusted at minotaurs eating human flesh? Plenty of monsters eat flesh, yet everyone targets minotaurs for that.


    Besides, why would I confuse feral for sapient? I know the difference. To act like one is a horrid monster because of its relation to the other is a foolish thought.


    One should not judge a race by their poor individuals"


    To this, the minotaur nodded his head in agreement.


    Grant chuckled. "Truthfully, the one I really fear is human race. After all, the most dangerous one is not the monster that shows itself, but the monster hiding under the guise of innocence.


    I can deal with a predator that does not hide; a wolf in sheep''s clothing can leap when you least expect it. "


    <hr>


    Although the minotaur seemed satisfied with the answer he received, breakfast was essentially ruined so the conversation stopped there.


    It was more trekking through the forest here on out, and there were slightly stronger monsters in these parts.


    They ran into one land raker tarantula though, a c- rank monster.


    Grant lunged forward, attracting the arachnids attention, using a taunt formed out of mana to distract the beast.


    The land raker was known for it''s elemental threads, rather than spinning threads and instead choosing to generate rocks in the form of webs, clearly meant more to crush their foes rather than be stick and entrap their foes.


    Grant ran around, carefully dodging the intricate patterns shot at him, weaving through the small holes or side stepping the traps while Granite surged forward, weapon in hand.


    Once Granite was in bludgeoning distance, the arachnid quickly changed direction, using it''s earthen threads to attempt to try crushing the beast that had gotten too close.


    What the monster hadn''t predicted was the minotaur dispersing the earth raker''s magic, causing the earthen threads to fall to pieces and then the minotaur swiftly brought the bludgeon down, stunning the tarantula for a second, in which Grant took his chance to cut off two legs, hindering the 6 legged beast.


    At least, now it was a six legged beast.


    The beast wasn''t done however, creating giant metal spikes that popped out of the ground.


    Despite his burly shape, the minotaur was still very much capable of dodging the erupting spikes, as Grant danced along closing in again, scratching out some of the eyes, causing it to hiss in pain.


    Missing some of it''s eyes, it could not see the bludgeon that came for 2 legs to the left, nor the final blade that plunged into its center, ending its life.


    Granite grunted while looking at the beast. "C rank monster. Relatively in good condition, it should be worth something good. Will the legs do?." he asked Grant.


    Grant nodded. "The legs are great materials, and will definitely add a little to my aesthetic. I''m guessing you''ll take the magic organ that''s replaced it''s silk producing organ and the tiny vestigial silk organ."


    It was a nice hunt, a simple appetizer before the main course.


    And the next day they arrived at the location of the cockatrice.

 Chapter 28: Blindsided

    Watching from a nearby bush, Grant and Granite watched carefully as the cockatrice prowled around what it had labeled its territory.


    The cockatrice is a well known monster, by no means weak and a sizeable danger for average people, but nothing near the level of danger a dragon or a behemoth could possibly pose.


    The monster was by no means small, but not quite large either. One could compare it to a bear in size, ignoring wingspan, but far scrawnier, more plumage than beast.


    Yes, cockatrices were basically large roosters with larger than average wingspan and snake tails.


    And petrification of course.


    Arguably, even Granite as a minotaur, an A -> S- rank monster could defeat a cockatrice.


    As long as one retracted the danger of petrification, which was the real danger of such a monster, given most of its other stats were average for an A- rank monsters.


    Thankfully they weren''t great predators either, so Grant and Granite were hiding in bushes.


    Granite did give Grant a weird look though.


    "Do you have to hold the branches though?" he asked, with a tint of confusion in his hushed voice.


    Grant shrugged. "It makes the bush look more natural." he said, shaking the branches ever so slightly.


    Granite simply moved on, making no comment. "Distract it while I get close on the count of 3. Do not let it get close. Worst comes to worse, be prepared to retreat. "


    Grant nodded, signaling his understanding.


    He held his hand up as his fingers went down, one by one.


    "1...2...3!"


    Grant rushed forward immediately, making undiscernible sounds, but whatever the sounds may be, it attracted the cockatrice for sure.


    Well, pissed it off, more like it, as the beast was seemingly enraged upon hearing the weird squawking sounds.


    As it followed Grant to a circling of trees, the bird squawked triumphantly, only to change it''s tune quickly.


    Granite was poised to strike seeing Grant pinned, unsure how the mysterious masked man was going to respond. He hadn''t made any requests for aid yet, but he was ready at a moment''s notice, holding onto an unpleasant mixture for distractions. He stopped seeing Grant''s actions.


    Grant used the trees as leverage as he used the ledges on the tree to hop from each before flipping over the cockatrice, landing on the giant cock.


    The giant cock froze for a moment before violently lashing out, spreading that petrifying spittle, causing Granite to back off rather than face the petrifying spittle.


    Grant cackled as he clung on with ease as the cockatrice flailed.


    "Oh this is SO much fun!" He shouted. Granite just waited, suspecting this was but temporary.


    "ALAS! I have things to tend to, SO QUIET DOWN." He announced before taking out a gag and quickly wrapping it around the head of the cock so it could not announce its presence no more before hopping off and hopping over to Granite.


    "Main problem solved, no?" he asked amusedly and Granite nodded.


    "An efficient, if not dangerous solution."


    Grant shrugged. "Wouldn''t do it if I didn''t think I couldn''t.


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    The big bulging cockatrice glared at the, clearly trying to vent it''s frustration only to find itself blocked from doing so, only resulting in muffled sounds.


    This didn''t mean it was harmless now of course.


    It sprang forward using it''s strong legs, clearly intending to use them.


    Granite took the blow head on, as his arms hardened like stone, likely a hardening spell to endure the blow, while Grant rushed around the beast, aiming to chop a wing, only to be met with the lashing tail of the cockatrice.


    Indeed, the cockatrice''s tail, despite being the tail of a snake, was much more dangerous in it''s arsenal than the snake; dense muscles but no longer limited to the body of a snake, far more like the diplodocus of old.


    Grunting, Granite heaved and shoved off the beast, allowing Grant to take that opportunity and effortlessly cut off a shred of one of its wings before the beast flew backwards, albeit lopsidedly, as the wing worked harder to support the as the beast heaved.


    Not willing to let it go, Granite charged forwards, before jumping forwards, bashing the beast hard on the head with his bludgeon, grappling with the beast as they both tumbled to the floor.


    The beast thrashed, while Granite took the blows as he got up, even taking the lashing of the snake tail, letting out a primal roar, grabbing the beast''s tail, using its elastic strength against the beast, slamming it hard into the trees, causing the trees to snap under the monster''s weight, and bring the cockatrice a case of dizziness.


    An unfortunate case, since Grant had no hesitation, moving faster than the minotaur, cleanly slicing the head off, leaving him to only click his tongue in dissatisfaction, with some of the blood getting on his hands.


    "What a mess." he complained about the small stains, while Granite''s eyebrow twitched.


    Cockatrice blood is known to be acidic, yet this man here was casually wiping it off with no question.


    The minotaur had no comments to make about that.


    What he really wanted to say was:


    "The sword is not your main weapon, is it."


    Not a question, a statement.


    Grant grunted. "Really nosy for a minotaur, aren''t you. One can cultivate all they want, but sometimes instinct can''t be beaten."


    He cleaned his blade off as Grant thought about it.


    "Yes, the sword is not my preferred weapon. I just happen to be very experienced with it. Now, are we going to clean this cock or not?"


    The minotaur grunted, sitting down to help clean and prepare the beast, unaware of a weird lookalike of Grant sneaking off to look for something else.


    <hr>


    After a good hour of cleaning or two, Grant and Granite were done cutting and gutting the cockatrice, having divided it into their respective shares.


    Granite still looked unsure. "You really don''t want anything else?" asked Granite. "Just a few jars of blood and the pelt."


    Grant nodded. "Yup, with this and the shell of the tarantula from just a few days earlier, I think I can make something special." he said as he clasped his hands together.


    Thankfully, it was a rather bloodless hunt, so they just had to gather their stuff and go.


    Granite did seem to think about something though, that bothered him just a bit.


    "I remember there being reports of the cockatrice having a competition in the form of a wyvern. I had been prepared for it to show and for this to take a turn for the worse."


    Grant shrugged. "Well then, I guess we were...lucky" he said as he looked off in a random direction. Granite tried to follow where he was looking, but ultimately just gave up, turning to leave.


    <hr>


    ''oh fuck did he see me''


    The newly made dragon was sweating something serious as it hid behind a rock, ridiculing itself for even hiding in such a ridiculous way. It was a dragon!


    It moved away from the rock to stare in that particular direction only to meet that horrid mask, flinching and running behind the rock again.


    The (now) dragon was planning to go stomp it''s old nemesis, demonstrate its new status as apex, only to encounter a horrifyingly familiar presence taking out the cockatrice.


    It had a different face now, for sure, but the new mask could not hide the same dread the person inspired, and when it stared at him, the dragon couldn''t help but be reminded of that day.


    shiver.


    Forget about it. The dragon turned tail and fled, flying off to join the group of newly minted dragons, with whom he''d been sharing his anguish.


    There he could warn his fellow plucked friends about the demon who now lurked these woods.


    <hr>


    in Grant''s divine realm...


    Grant cackled as he eyed his real prize.


    Admittedly, it''d been a rather unexpected prize that he''d not expected to find, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.


    Cockatrice eggs.


    Perhaps it''d found a mate, maybe something else had sought it out, but Grant didn''t really care either way.


    Sure, Grant could make some on his own, but that would require him to burn some energy to create some eggs, and why do that when you could just steal them?


    Of course, Grant had to sneakily create a clone using some of those duplication tricks he''d learn from the shinobi and the shinto to create a clone to run off and quietly take the eggs while they skinned the beast.


    Sure, this was a bit unfair to Granite, but Granite was unlikely to know how to properly use the eggs, and cockatrices given to nobles never worked out.


    Better he keep the eggs for himself, yeet them into his divine realm and let them die or thrive.


    So the trip was mildly profitable; he''d gotten some feather for his new costume, and more monsters to fill his divine realm.


    Time to head on home.

 Chapter 29: Why Are The Youth So Impertinent?

    So they begun the journey home.


    A problem did rear its ugly head.


    Nothing about the cockatrice, thank goodness, no that was a very finished issue.


    No, it would be the progenitors who were having an "edgy" phase.


    The hatchlings wanted to get out before they were ready.


    <hr>


    "I want to leave, I need to leave! This place is too small for me!" Complained the korvold progenitor. The lizard shroom progenitor, who was nearby reading a book rolled his eyes as the statement, and Grant was very much inclined to agree.


    "You don''t need anything. And this place is too small? This realm is the size of a large city! Most beings your age would be content with a small mountain, let alone a small city!"


    Canuck snorted; oh yes, he''d named her after one particularly troublesome crow he''d heard of; clearly that has come back around to bite him in the ass.


    "I have people out there, and I''m stuck here! I''m a progenitor! I can''t just sit around here and wait for my power to grow thanks to the efforts of others! I have to grow, to expand! This place is too small for me; there''s no space for me to establish anything!"


    No, absolutely not. Perhaps when he was a strong, near deity like being, sure. But right now, he was; well, a deity like being but not nearly as strong as he once was. He couldn''t guarantee Canuck''s safety if he left for the outside world.


    And he told her as much, while Canuck kept throwing a fuss.


    "If you''re so bored, go do something! You''re only on your 1st evolution as a greater korvold; go fight something or go study. Go look at Fanfare!" he indicated at the progenitor of the lizardshrooms, who had chosen to name himself Fanfare as reference to Fafnir, though more attention grabbing, or a weird subversion. Who knows. He''d actually elected to name himself.


    Fanfare was currently reading the history of his Earth, from the wars between dinosaurs and dragons, to the secret wars that occurred behind all great wars. In particular he seemed more invested in the secret wars.


    "He''s doing something constructive!"


    "Constructive? Pah! You told me all this history is from a different world! What use is this information to me?"


    "If you''re going to ask stupid questions like that, then you''ve proved why you''re not prepared for the outside world." He swatted the korvold''s head.


    "History is always relevant, even from another world. It is through history one is able to understand the motives of others. The fact that I can provide you the history of a whole planet from start to finish is one of the greatest blessings I could grant you! If you don''t understand that, then you''re clearly not ready to go outside; dismissed!"


    The korvold grumbled as she wandered over next to Fanfare sitting down next to the lizardshroom.


    Grant sighed. The first korvold he made back in his world was so much more cooperative.


    Then again, Cornelius had the benefit of Grant being at his peak of power, and thus more willing to let the korvold roam free.


    Canuck had no such luck.


    Thankfully the new axoboldl progenitor was much more cooperative, having begun building his base as he assembled his tribes within the divine realm, though Grant already knew the axoboldl would be more peaceful, given it was coded into the bloodline to ensure they didn''t use their full potential the wrong way.


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    A''Tan, as he had chosen to define himself, had already begun evolving, at his 4th evolution already. An Avis''Tar, a greater form of the Axobodl that could be seen as a position of authority of axobodls. Despite the peaceful nature of the race in question, A''Tan was aware of his responsibility as their leader, and so had been hunting in the Divine Realm.


    He felt unpressured since he had managed to convince Grant to add a resurrection function to the divine realm much like a dungeon has for its monsters under the argument that the immortal shroom races clearly had an unfair advantage since they didn''t have the fear of death, and if they constantly were being hunted, than their progress to true progenitor hood would be stunted.


    Obviously, Grant was aware that A''Tan was just concerned for his people, and thus made this argument, but he found the argument compelling enough. Besides, his divine realm was already feeding off the mental energy of the inhabitants, so to essentially copy and paste the dungeon''s revival system was an easy and cheap task.


    Anyway, he didn''t come here for them, but that hadn''t stopped Canuck from coming over to squawk their complaints.


    He was here to make use of the skin of the cockatrice and to utilize the stuff he''d gotten from the tarantula monster.


    It was best to do it here, where he could make a time distortion array, to give himself more time to pursue his hobby.


    Sure, he could do it in a matter of moments, but sometimes passion takes time. Effort.


    He really wanted to get it right, so he had the dilation made so a minute would be a day, and within an hour he should be done.


    Grabbing a few knitting and painting relics amongst other things Grant walked into the time dilation array, eager to craft new additions to the costume.


    <hr>


    A''Tan opened his eyes, using his weapon made of bones to heave himself up before lumbering over to sit next to Canuck and Fanfare.


    "You were too pushy." He said simply, earning himself a glare from Canuck.


    "I can''t help myself! I feel so cramped!" she complained, crossing his wings in frustration.


    Fanfare sighed, pulling out a pair of ear plugs, placing them in his ears before returning to reading.


    A''Tan rubbed Canuck''s shoulder as if to comfort the crow.


    "You must be patient Canuck. As progenitor''s, we represent our people''s best interest. I understand you wish to leave here to aid your people in the outside world, but by doing so, you risk not only your own well being, but theirs as well."


    Canuck''s shoulder''s sag, as the frustration left them, replaced with an anxious expression on her face. "Just... I just feel so helpless in here. So useless. I have a whole race out there, needing me, and yet I''m stuck in this small bubble, unable to help them."


    A''Tan paused, as he mulled something over. "You can help them." he said slowly and hesitantly.


    "Really?" the korvold said skeptically.


    "The creator... did not wish to share this for fear that you would overuse it and avoid your duties, but as a progenitor, we are able to venture into the minds of our children and guide as well as bless them."


    "Really!? Show me!" she demanded excitedly, as she proved Grant''s point exactly.


    "Did you miss the point I just brought up?" he patiently asked.


    She paused, and then sagged. "Oh..."


    A''Tan chuckled as he rubbed her head fondly. "I will show you in due time, I merely ask you follow the creator''s prerogative. You can only help so much if you are not experienced; if you build your clan appropriately while we are in here, when the time comes and we are freed you will emerge strong enough to appropriately help your people.


    You have been given a shell; not a prison. When we hatch and are allowed to leave, we will leave reborn; do not waste the yolk while you are here."


    The korvold nodded excitedly giving A''Tan a quick peck on the cheek before flying away, clearly more invigorated than before.


    <hr>


    And when Grant left his array to witness the sight of Canuck appropriately fighting and growing, he chuckled, thanking A''Tan.


    He was sure this was A''Tan''s work, for only A''Tan would be patient enough amongst his progenitors to handle such an excitable child, him included.


    <hr>


    "Tada!" Announced Grant as he revealed the upgrades to his costume the very next morning.


    The exoskeleton of the Land Raker had been reformatted, turned into a pair of gauntlets as well greaves, with the hair of the tarantula merely accentuating the shape of his legs, properly groomed.


    The cockatrice''s pelt had been dyed completely black, being mildly imbued with the attribute of chaos, made to cause enemies slight fear and paranoia. Just a little bit, of course.


    The pelt now replaced his old hood and cape, accentuating his dark and broody nature, giving an almost beast like feeling, though now there was a giant red x in the middle of his armor.


    He was finally a really big bird incarnate!


    The minotaur grunted. "Good." he said as he drank something out of a mug. "What''s with the giant red x?" he asked, causing Grant to grin.


    "To make for a big fat giant target for my enemies to aim for!" he announced proudly.


    Grant would promptly get to see it in effect when he would be blasted with mind magic straight on the red mark later that day.

 Chapter 30: Not Really A surprise

    "-I have to say though, the idea of putting a giant mark on the front of your chest seems like a poor match with the costume you''ve designed for yourself, and it happens to have the negative of drawing attacks to you. At the very least, the fact that it''s bright red contrasts with your costume according to your intent."


    "Not really, if you pay attention to the costume, I''ve added slight highlights of red throughout my gear, from the strings to random spots of red being made. So the red x still fits in aesthetically, and it serves as a big fat marking for enemies. I''m telling you, better to know when your enemies are aiming, that way you have time to-"


    Swish


    A streak of magic flew by the minotaur, hitting Grant clean on the chest, knocking him back, as Granite reacted immediately, pulling out his bludgeon.


    He gave a quick look over to the fallen adventurer, seeing that Grant was untouched, but clearly showed no signs of stirring.


    "I told you to aim for the minotaur!" complained a rough voice, one that the minotaur recognized, causing him to flare his nostrils in anger.


    It was no bandit, but a wolf in sheep''s clothing.


    "Reggie, to think you would be this vile. I believed there was a certain code all adventurers followed, no?"


    "Ignore the bull; hold him off for a second or two. Freddy should be done in a minute or two, and then we can take him out."


    An adventurer came out of the bush, a scar on his lip, and a gaping eye hole. In his grasp an unconscious man holding an artifact of sorts. He shook him furiously.


    "Useless trash! We''ll have a talk once you''re out of there." He snarled.


    Behind him came 20 adventurers, who quickly surrounded the minotaur.


    The minotaur eyed them and they eyed them in turn, one side more emotional than the other.


    "You should understand at least half of you will die?" he noted stiffly.


    Perhaps it would be more but from what he could see, they were wearing good gear and seemed to be well stocked.


    This was premeditated, and Granite wasn''t sure to what extent.


    "Who cares!" shouted one of the many. "Even if we die, we get to die taking out a minotaur of all things! A minotaur!"


    Another one nodded furiously in agreement. "He''s only an A-rank though, so I guess we''re killing a weaker one than average."


    "Doesn''t matter. In the end, a minotaur is a minotaur; they''re all monsters." Another retorted.


    "Shut up and go kill that bull! And kill that bothersome D-rank already!" Reginal snarled.


    Immediately the ones with bows let the arrows fly, as Granite quickly constructed walls of earth to block the arrows, only for the vanguard, consisting of close ranged fighters rushed in, carrying relics of some sorts that when they came into contact with the walls.


    Dammit. Of course, they''d have something like that prepared. Minotaurs are well known for their usage of earth magic, reminiscent of the first and his maze and he was a decently known A-rank, so it wasn''t that hard to counter him.


    Using his bludgeon, he managed to sweep 5 of them, sending them barreling into nearby trees, but they got up quickly afterwards, moving back into position.


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    Suddenly a shot rang out as an arrow flew towards Grant''s unprotected body.


    Fred was taking too long to finish off the random eccentric adventurer for his liking.


    Why bother waiting when he could just kill the man.


    His answer came in the form of a golden blur that quickly blocked the arrow, making clinking noises all the while.


    The golden blur moved quickly as it rattled and soon Grant was completely encompassed in a golden blur.


    As the golden blur slowed down, its shape became more apparent as the clinking became the louder rattling and the blur became golden chains covered in extensive symbols, forming a golden ball around the raven masked adventurer.


    The sight of the chains made Reginald uneasy for some reason, a feeling that would change to fear once he noticed something.


    "Dammit! Fred''s bleeding!" Noticed one adventurer that was shooting at the minotaur, and one look at Fred confirmed the man''s statement.


    Fred was bleeding from all the orifices on his face, as it contorted in agony.


    What the hell was going on in there!


    <hr>


    squish squish squish


    Fred trekked through this weird mind.


    He couldn''t see anything, for the whole area was covered in fog as he walked though what he could only assume was a marshland with all the gooey-like substances that he had to get through.


    He had aimed the artifact at the minotaur, and yet the spell changed directions for some reason, hitting the D-rank for some reason, something he only had a moment to ponder before being dragged into the man''s mind.


    Yes the artifact was one that allowed him to enter the mind of another.


    He''d already used this a few times in the service of the human supremacists to take out the more powerful nonhumans that couldn''t be beaten head on, who didn''t have any defense against mental attacks.


    interesting


    Came a slight whisper and Fred spun around, looking for the source, before giving up.


    Whatever. This shouldn''t take too long.


    All he had to do was enter some memories, sabotage them, and slowly destroy the mind.


    Time passed differently, and it would be but a few minutes outside, more than enough time to then jump to the minotaur''s mind.


    Soon the fog parted, giving way to the first memory he found.


    A swordsman and his family, eating at a table jovially, as the man sat with his two kids, telling them about how he''d bring back something for them to eat.


    Was this the D-rank? He seemed different, though Fred couldn''t tell, because the D-rank had been shrouded in mystery, and ultimately ignored.


    And yet the feeling was wrong.


    Nothing lined up with what they knew of the man.


    Perhaps he changed.


    Perhaps these kids died.


    A traumatic even perhaps?


    Well then, killing them again would surely trigger something!


    He grabbed the wife''s head, and bashed her head into the counter in the house until her head was a bloody mess,


    Fred imagined long claws before tearing their happy faces to shreds, ripping their heads off!


    Could he do that in reality?


    Of course not, but this was the mind, and what mattered in the mind was whether or not you could imagine it.


    He looked at the swordsman, seeing if it triggered anything.


    The swordsman merely looked at him quietly.


    He just stared at him, melancholy in his eyes.


    Melancholy.


    The person just kept staring at him.


    He just killed his whole family in front of him. That should affect him somehow!


    Did he realize that this wasn''t real?


    But he was just a D-rank!


    Even A-ranks are rarely resistant to the effects of mental attacks.


    The man flickered for a moment, and then the environment changed.


    The house was gone, replaced by a battlefield, in which countless individuals were fighting, as death could be seen everywhere.


    The battle terrified Fred, but it did not concern him.


    It was the death of the swordsman that confused him.


    In the midst of the battle,


    that very swordsman he had seen but a moment ago was on the floor, as a man pulled a sword out of his chest, before cleaning the blade on the floor.


    A scarred young man, his eyes a shade different from each other.


    And he was looking at him.


    It was unnerving when the swordsman had showed no reaction, but now that the man was watching him, he felt unnerved once more.


    Before he could think about it the environment changed once more, and by now Fred was starting to realize he wasn''t in control. He wasn''t the one who dictated the memories.


    This D-rank was clearly aware of mental attacks and how to fight back.


    But he couldn''t escape.


    Fred had never needed to escape and thus, didn''t know how.


    He could only fight back.


    Now he was in a mountain, and upon this mountain he saw...


    ...dragons


    A gathering of dragons.


    Fred nearly pissed his imaginary pants out of fear


    Why?


    Where is the swordsman from before?


    How are these memories those of a random D-rank adventurer?


    Who is he?


    Who is Grant?


    Whose memories are these!?

 Chapter 31:The Mind Of A Madman

    Fred cowered in the presence of the dragons, forced to merely watch on as they spoke in a language he couldn''t understand.


    A dragon was a creature of legend, S-rank at minimum, walking calamities in of themselves; great stories were told of these horrifying calamities as they fought land shaking fights, the kind of story that was meant to be a fairy tale dream, a nightmare in reality.


    The dragons spoke with such leisure, such a lack of worry, a stark difference from the man trembling as far away as he could be from the dragons, pushing against the mist borders, sloshing through the unseen waste(dirt?), trying to distance himself from these horrifying monsters.


    A dragon rushed by him frantically running over to the dragon in the center of the room, causing Fred to fall back in fear.


    The dragon again spoke in that tongue, seemingly attempting to convey something to the lead dragon, before his head exploded, gore flying everywhere with some even landing on him and yet he dare not move.


    Pathetic.


    On the stump of the head was a mace, overwhelming in its nature, connected to a golden chain which snaked back to a spot next to Fred, leading into the bloodied hand of an all too familiar face.


    The scarred man.


    His clothing had changed, changed into something far too beautiful for a man like him, far more befitting a noble.


    For the man held a noble posture, a pleasant smile...


    But a wicked aura. It made the pleasant smile wicked and the noble posture the posture of a predator, having found their prey.


    The dragons that had been happily chatting before scrambled to attack as they lunged at the man at speeds indescribable to Fred, desperately putting up a fight, only to be mercilessly mowed down in quick succession by the mace that moved like a whip, quick with no chance for recourse, as thundering sounds were made with each strike.


    Soon the place was nothing short of vile, with the result of the slaughter present all over the wall, as the scarred man merely giggled in delight as licked the blood off of his hand so calmly and yet disturbingly so.


    And once more, the scene changed.


    <hr>


    Countless stories went by Fred''s eyes.


    People''s lives flashed by, countless memories, an innumerable number and yet they all had the same constant.


    The good,


    The evil,


    The king,


    The commoner,


    The beast,


    The man,


    all of them died at the hands of the scarred man.


    So few of them departed their life peacefully, and Fred just wanted it to all go away! But he couldn''t close his eyes, couldn''t plug his ears. No matter how hard he tried, it felt like a greater force was forcing him to bear witness to the countless atrocities going on before his eyes.


    It felt like an eternity had dredged on as Fred continued begging.


    "Please..."


    "Please..."


    "Just Make It Stop!"


    He wasn''t sure how long it was, but eventually it all stopped, and the memories faded back into the mist.


    "Well?" came the all too familiar voice, the dreadful voice that ended all the illusions all the same.


    The scarred man walked out of the mist.


    To Fred, the scarred man had become a demon, a monster who had slaughtered countless warriors.


    Every step he took seemed like another on his grave.


    Eventually he came to stand before Fred, his back before him, and yet Fred dared not move.


    The man must have eyes on the back of his head the way he reacts.


    "Tch"


    "To think I only showed you 1,000 memories from a 1000 different lives and you''re already begging for it to stop. And you wanted to use mental magic? Truly, a child who knows not the weapon they wield." he sneered at the man before him.


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    Fred just wanted to get away, to make it stop. "Why?" he croaked.


    "Why what?" asked the scarred man, lips upturned. He knew why, he just wanted to hear it. To hear Fred say it.


    The man was mocking him.


    "Just kill me already. Why haven''t you killed me already" begged Fred. Just watching the endless slaughter, the endless of pain and suffering, with the small moments of piece and happiness just accentuating the suffering.


    It was too much.


    He just wanted it to end.


    "Because I believe in lessons." responded the man.


    Confusion swept across Fred''s face.


    What lesson?


    This was just torture, watching all the horrid ways people could die, all the while awaiting his own death.


    "Y''see, I''ve heard once or twice that sometimes lessons get picked upon in your next life, so I''m just doing my best to drill a very important lesson into your mind before you go."


    He turned to face Fred, and Fred gasped.


    "Don''t dabble in something like mental magic unless you''re prepared to head into the deep end."


    The scarred man''s face was gone, replaced by the gaping abyss.


    His body had changed as well, as faces began emerging from his flesh, all of them just hauntingly staring at him as they pushed out of his flesh, like maggots pushing forwards out of a body.


    Fred wanted to look away more than ever, yet his head was held by the unknown force as he was forced to watch.


    "You see boy, you''ve been dead for the last 20 minutes. Or 1 minute in the real world probably."


    Dead?


    What did the man mean? He was still here!


    Even in his horrified state, the question still popped into his mind.


    "The illusion of the mind" chuckled Grant answering the question he couldn''t express. "Your mind has been disconnected from your soul, and your soul has been torn from your body. Your body''s probably bleeding from every single orifice as we speak. And once we''re done here..."


    he clicked his fingers.


    "... I''ll send you on your way. But first"


    He began waving his hand, and slowly the mist dissipated.


    Fred wished it hadn''t.


    He had thought the damp and mushy ground had been a marshland of sorts, some memory that he hadn''t seen.


    Fred was discovering this was not the case.


    No, it was all viscera.


    The floor was plagued with faces, and blood and all kinds of viscera Fred could not describe.


    He didn''t want to describe it.


    Heads, as far as the eye could see, being the most prominent thing amongst the viscera and gore.


    The mountains were not mountains, but merely more piles of corpses.


    corpses upon corpses upon corpses.


    Humans, monsters, elves, beastfolk, dragons, gods, he even recognized some of the faces there, such as the dragons and the swordsman.


    A noise he could not describe before came to the fore front as he came to realize that the bodies were not dead.


    Not in the slightest.


    They were all alive, muttering things he could not understand, wails of despair and regret flooded his mind.


    The eyes,


    they were all staring at him!


    All the eyes, from the ones that littered the ground to the ones that remained in their skulls, even the ones under his hands, and squeeze all he could, they would not pop.


    He didn''t know what to do.


    There was no ground.


    Nothing to flee to.


    It was all just flesh, as the faceless man chuckled at the sight.


    "You know child, these aren''t the corpses of the people I''ve killed, you know?" He informed Fred.


    "No, these are the corpses of the people''s whose minds I''ve absorbed, added to the collective."


    And when Fred though he had seen the worse, more had arrived.


    "Absorbed?" he whispered, as a terrible thought entered his mind, as he began running, frantically running.


    It was a pathetic run, more like scrambling, and yet he did so anyway.


    The man had said he''d severed his mind from his body.


    Why else would he do such a thing but to absorb his mind?


    No,


    No,


    No,


    Not like them!


    He ran, ran as hard as he could, but then tripped on something.


    He dared not look, even as the damp and firm hand grabbed him.


    Fred couldn''t escape though, as he felt the grip tighten, and more hands soon began to join, as they began to cover more and more of his body, and the faceless man leisurely walked over.


    "Run as much as you want boy! You can never hide! That''s the thing about mind magic, it''s always a dip into the deep end. There are no half measures here. You came into my mind, completely unprepared; and that''s the thing,


    Every trip into an enemy''s mind is a gamble, a vain hope that they''re not as informed as you, as determined as you.


    Because you''ve entered my mind, my dominion, where everything favors me.


    You walked into the trap yourself"


    Fred kept struggling, staring at the countless eyes in despair as he sunk deeper and deeper into the viscera, his shirt damp and clinging to his chest, the small making him want to vomit.


    But he couldn''t. He couldn''t do anything, as he felt something fill his chest, his lungs, everything.


    He watched in terror as hands began to emerge out of his throat, as he sunk deeper into the endless mounds of flesh.


    And soon Fred was gone, absorbed into the masses, as the faceless man stared down.


    "The funniest thing about all this," he noted after a while.


    ""The artifact you used to jump into my mind is a one way trip. The artifact jumps you into the minds of others, but leaves you no way out but to kill that mind. If it hadn''t been me, it would''ve been someone else eventually; to lose a way out is the stupidest thing to do in the field of mental magic."


    He cracked his head, as the frog shrouded his mind once more, hiding the endless field of minds from himself once more.


    He cracked his head, and his appearance shifted once more, into a familiar bird-faced mask form.


    "Now, let us go see how Granite is faring. Oh I hope he left me something to kill. After this trip down memory lane I''m feeling very nostalgic."


    <hr>


    "Fred, Fred? Speak to me man!" demanded Reginald, shaking his body frantically, but the blood kept pouring out of the man, not stopping, as the man remained unresponsive.


    "It''s no use" came the voice, and all the fighting paused, to look to where the voice came from, for something in the voice demanded attention.


    The golden chain ball pealed itself back, like a beautiful glowing flower, contrasting itself with the vast darkness that was the D-class in the center of the ball.


    "The man''s dead; hoisted on his petard."


    Reginald''s eyes narrowed. "You''re more than you let on, huh?"


    "As are you!" Grant shot back. "To think one of the greatest churches would support the likes of you!"


    Reginald''s eyes widened. "Change of priority guys; kill him!" he shouted indicating at the man in the mask.


    A pleasant chuckle came out of the D-rank. "Please, by all means. I''m feeling nostalgic today."

 Chapter 32: Fore!

    Time seemed to slow down for the adventurers.


    Or perhaps it had simply sped up for him.


    He couldn''t tell sometimes, an issue with magic and philosophy sometimes. They just didn''t mix.


    Or they did, just too well.


    Nonetheless, this gave him more time to set up.


    From his divine realm a rippling silver sword made its appearance once more.


    Grata Minn.


    The silver sword hummed, eagerness present in the blade as it readily shifted into Grant''s desired weapon.


    Separating into a larger and smaller sphere of silver, the silver morphed into a tiny pointed shape as well as a thin long tool, all the while Grant was molding a rock into a sphere-like shape.


    The tiny pointed silver gets put down, upon which the ball gets placed while Grant holds his weapon.


    He gets into position.


    1,2...


    "FORE!" He hollered.


    Bang


    With a simple swing, the ball goes flying, right through one adventurer''s head.


    The man falters for a moment.


    He tumbles, and then he falls.


    A silence enters the adventurers for a second, as they look at the first amongst them, face first in a pool of his blood.


    Grant hadn''t stopped yet though, as he began creating another ball, whistling all the while.


    "FORE!" he gleefully calls once more, and another head disappears.


    This manages to knock them out of stupor, as some ran, while others fell back into formation.


    Those who fell back into formation began gathering around him, earning themselves a chuckle.


    The same technique they had planned to use on the minotaur.


    Laughable.


    The ones on the outside shoot their shot as a rain of arrows come falling down, only for the arrows to be easily deflected by a golden chain lashing out of nowhere.


    "Wonderful!" He commented sarcastically, as his blade shifted once more, before taking the shape of a giant orb, with three appropriately finger sized hole at the top, as Grant quickly jumped over the group of people, using the trees as jumping points, before landing outside of the group, getting into position, holding the ball up to his chin.


    "I LOVE when pins set themselves up!"


    Wham


    He swung the ball, as the bowling ball bowled straight through them, clearing out a good ten of them.


    He cackled as he fist bumped the air.


    "STRIKE!" He exclaimed.


    [Actually, that wouldn''t be accurate considering-"


    "Hush, don''t ruin this for me!" he whispered loudly, and began arguing furiously with the air, earning increased fear from the adventurers.


    "H-He''s insane!" whispered one, as a few more began dispersing, turning tail and fleeing. They wouldn''t escape of course.


    Grant tutted at that.


    "Hey! Bowling pins aren''t supposed to run away! That''s cheating!"


    The ground rumbled, and those who ran found themselves bound by giant vines emerging out of the ground.


    "Dammit! He''s a druid!" cursed one.


    "Quickly! Those with fire aligned weapons and magic to the vines called another."


    As they rushed to aid their comrades with fire in an attempt to burn the vines off while the vanguard defense rushed forward to intercept him he had to hum appreciatively at the cooperation amongst the group.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    And the fact that they had put themselves in just the right position was also greatly appreciated.


    From bowling ball to basketball, Grant brushed past the vanguard with no problem, dodging and weaving, bouncing all the way.


    It was against the rules to not dribble after all.


    boing!


    boing!


    boing!


    Past them, the ball shifted once more, taking the form of a bowling ball, as he this time threw a trick shot, managing to sweep 9 in one go.


    "Nine ringer!" he exclaimed.


    All the while Granite just stood there, watching as Grant played.


    He''d already taken out the other ten, including the three or four who had tried to flee.


    Granite didn''t really consider that his credit though, considering they had been bound by vines unable to leave.


    That was just taking credit, something Granite was averse to.


    He wasn''t sure what part of this was nostalgic though, as it just seemed like an exasperating form of playing with prey.


    And Grant would agree, but this made him extremely nostalgic of when he screwed with people.


    He loved doing that.


    Looking around and sighing in disappointment seeing there were no more left, Grant got ready.


    Alright, these brats are dead.


    ''Where did Reginald run off to?''


    <hr>


    Reginald was found as he fled through the forest, clearly aiming to head to the outpost.


    With a flick of Grant''s hand, the golden chain came rattling out, quickly binding the man before he could escape.


    Reginald struggled to escape, and upon failing to do so, decided to take it out on someone.


    "Let me go! You!" He singled out Granite. "Monster! If you kill me here you will be-"


    "-Hush!" whispered Grant as he grabbed Reginald by the mouth. "You ran, leaving all your partners to die. I sincerely doubt you''re on to speak. Now,"


    Grant pulled out his golf club.


    "One last game, hmm?"


    Reginald''s eyes widened as he struggled harder, staring into the emotionless face of the raven.


    Tap tap


    "You shouldn''t kill him." stated Granite, who had followed him in the chase after Reginald.


    The minotaur had kept quiet up to this point, clearly having no reason to protect the attackers. But now...


    "It would be better to keep him alive, to find out who was behind this attack?"


    Grant cocked his head. "You think someone was behind this?" he asked curiously.


    The minotaur nodded. "I think so." he nodded definitively.


    Grant nodded. "As do I."


    Turning around faster than Granite react, he quickly slits Reginald''s throat, without question, and the man died faster than he could think.


    Specifically because he then stuck the man''s own knife in his forehead.


    "Doesn''t mean he''ll get to live."


    Granite''s nostrils flared, as he grew quiet for a second, as his hands clenched repeatedly.


    "You shouldn''t have done that. We needed to know who was behind this trap. This won''t be over with just this." He said, clearly trying to be reasonable.


    Grant cackled. "We? Granite, child, I already know who was behind this."


    Granite paused, as he went over this nugget of knowledge. "Perhaps," he asked as contemplation raced through the minotaur''s mind. "When you and that man blacked out, that was a mental attack?"


    Grant, made a hand sign. "Bingo" he said. "I already know."


    The minotaur rubbed his scalp tiredly. "I know you''re strong, but even if you did know, it means nothing if we cannot prove it, and you have just killed our only witness." he explained tiredly, like he was explaining to a child.


    Grant corrected the child. "Actually, even if we have a witness, nothing will have been proven. Because the man behind this is not one easily touched."


    The minotaur looked unsure. "And who could it be that they cannot be touched? That is a high claim for a small random outpost in the middle of nowhere, to have someone that high up."


    He wasn''t wrong. There weren''t that many people out in this outpost who could be considered that high up to avoid judgement if evidence was brought up. To be that high there was at best a handful of people who could be pinpointed for this crime. In fact, the minotaur already had a guess, but the very thought felt uneasy.


    "The paladin Lupin of the church of Isis is the one behind the attack."


    Granite tensed up as he heard that, and his suspicions were confirmed.


    A man reputed to have brought down multiple wyverns down, and to have even fought a dragon on equal ground, he was believed to be S-class by the adventurer system standards.


    Grant was right.


    This man couldn''t easily be touched.


    Even if they were to bring witnesses no one would simply believe a minotaur and a D-rank''s words over one of the greatest heroes of the church of Isis, a church known for its purity.


    Evidence would fall before the power of reputation. He''d likely counter their claims with his own claims.


    "We should dispose of the bodies then." Granite said resolutely.


    He wasn''t sure what the reason for attacking him was, but he was sure it was nothing good. And bringing the bodies back might rile up more tension between the humans and the nonhumans, which Granite already suspected was the backup plan should they choose to try to bring back people to interrogate.


    A monster killing people? The story practically wrote itself.


    Grant nodded. "Already done." he noted as he unraveled the chain. The body was already gone, sent to his divine realm to fertilize his trees, as were the rest of the bodies, dragged away by the vines into his realm.


    He did use his own sword to cut off the head though, earning the raven-masked man a weird look from the minotaur.


    "We cannot attack him now, but we can send a message."


    Placing the head, knife still in, on a tee, Grant aimed his club.


    Granite looked on incredulously, skeptically, but didn''t stop him.


    There''s no way...


    boom!


    A piercing sound was made as the head flew, leaving behind a sonic boom as it flew in an upward parabola.


    Grant put his hand above his hand as he looked off into the distance.


    "And that should be a hole in one."


    [That''s not how that works]


    "Quiet voice in my head, a goal is a goal, and that should fulfill mine."


    <hr>


    The paladin paused, stopping what he was doing as he looked towards his window.


    He sensed something, just barely managing to dodge before something flew through his window.


    Crash!


    Before bouncing against the side of the wall and bouncing around a bit before landing in front of the paladin who had just narrowly escaped being killed by head, courtesy of Grant''s enchantment of the head.


    The head of Reginald stared off into the distance, as the blood bled over the paladin''s floor and carpet, staining the clean carpet.

 Chapter 33: Threats, A Nutritious Part of Ones Breakfeast

    "You didn''t..." muttered Granite as he looked off into the distance.


    "I did, and I must say, quite the hit if you ask me." Grant frowns for a second.


    "Perhaps I should''ve used a baseball bat instead. Could''ve called it a home run..."


    "What did you do?" the minotaur asked, calmly as possible.


    Snap


    "Well, I hit the head straight into the paladin''s room. If I did the math correctly, it should land right in front of him if he dodges properly."


    "And if he doesn''t" the minotaur asks uneasily.


    Grant shrugs. "Then we have just gotten rid of the source of corruption, and no one can trace it back to us."


    SNAP


    The minotaur felt his rational sense just break.


    The minotaur took deep breaths as he had to hold back from screaming.


    "If you''re right, and you''ve just dropped a threat straight on the front door of the paladin, you''ve just put us in the crosshairs of one of the biggest churches in the empire!" He began shaking the man''s shoulders.


    "What are you thinking! It''s one thing to defend ourselves, it''s another thing to outright threaten them like that! This has to be the stupidest thing you-"


    "I''m telling the paladin to wash his neck." interrupted Grant. "And no, we have not attacked the whole of the church, just this one paladin, and whatever small group he has taken with him."


    "He''s a paladin, he practically represents the church of Isis'' stance on this." The minotaur countered.


    "No, he doesn''t" said Grant definitively. "The doctrine of Isis is one of kindness and goodwill. The corruption of churches may be an unavoidable thing, but to believe that the whole church would be so corrupt is foolishness. Isis herself would not allow such deep corruption."


    Granite wasn''t sure where such confidence was coming from, but he saw that Grant would not be swayed in this way, so he decided to argue on the basis of individual identity. The church of Isis was one that advocated kindness regardless of race, so it''s not like the point was unfounded.


    "That may be," said Granite, "but the paladin in question is believed to be one of the most devout and loyal followers of Isis, to attack him is to attack the church."


    Grant chuckled. "Sure, if they can prove it was us. The paladin may know the meaning, but to the average church member or those uninvolved, this will be seen as an unprovoked threat. The paladin can''t point at us without admitting guilt."


    Granite had to admit this was a good point. This was an unprovoked attack on them with no earlier precedence. If there was no proof they were the ones attacked, then to levy the claim was as good as admitting he was the one behind the action.


    And for someone maintaining such a reputation, it was merely stupidity to destroy his reputation for such a minute thing.


    But still...


    "Don''t worry too much about it," said Grant, shaking the minotaur out of his thoughts. "You haven''t invoked any more hostility than you would''ve by surviving such an attack. If anything, I could see him choosing to avoid targeting you as a target when there are others to target."


    The minotaur snorted. "That wasn''t a helpful thought."


    Grant shrugged. "Whatever."


    "And you''ve earned his ire now" pointed out Granite.


    Before, Grant had been uninvolved, but now, he was very personally involved.


    Grant chuckled, got up and walked to town.


    "If I had a nickel for every enemy I''ve ever made, I would be the richest man alive."


    Besides, more enemies was always a good thing.


    More enemies meant more fun!


    Grant paused for a minute, before twisting back to look at Grant.


    "Speaking of memories-"


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "We weren''t remotely talking about memories-"


    "-Speaking of memories," Grant interrupted, "I just remembered something interesting" Pause.


    Granite sighed, as he could tell Grant was waiting for something. "And what would that be?" he asked tiredly.


    "When minotaurs or other monsters have children with races like humans or elves, or even dwarves, it''s recommended that they move into areas with a high concentration of mana to ensure the baby''s safe delivery."


    The minotaur was taken back. "What memory did you unearth that includes that fact?" he asked, confused.


    He wished he could take that mask off as that crow bore holes into him.


    Grant twisted back forwards, and as he walked, he gave an almost wistful answer.


    " Just a memory."


    <hr>


    When they got back, there was quite the commotion in the port.


    They got in just fine, but the town was in an uproar thanks to a loud sound that had apparently just happened a few hours before.


    Besides that though, nothing else was said, and just as Grant had thought, the rest was covered up.


    As Granite and Grant returned to the adventurer''s guild, they caused a small commotion as they passed.


    "Look, they''re back already!? You think they managed to hunt the cockatrice?"


    "Doubt it. No way they got back so soon."


    "YoU moron! Look at Grant''s costume again! He got himself a feathered cloak!"


    "Could''ve been another bird monster."


    "The both look fine."


    "He looks even more like a bird..."


    "Bird is the word?"


    As whispers and gossip quickly spread throughout the guild, the two merely waited in line, until they eventually reached the counter.


    "Have you completed the request?" asked the  guild worker chipperly, and in turn, Granite simply pulled out the cockatrice''s head, leading to another round of whispers and even more gossip.


    "Wonderful!" they responded, and in turn, they distributed the silver and a few pieces of gold to both Granite and Grant.


    Another guild worker came down, as he began calling for the minotaur.


    "A-class adventurer Granite? The guild master is calling for you."


    Granite nodded in acknowledgement, before turning to face Grant.


    "Working with you has been... Interesting."


    Grant gave a simple nod. "Pleasure''s all mine. Maybe next time, you can show me your terrarium."


    The minotaur''s eyes widened, before shrinking back to normal. "You surprise me once again Grant."


    "Of course. You may have good instincts, but I have good insight."


    And thus, Grant and Granite part ways this day.


    <hr>


    Granite closes the door behind him as he sits in front of the guildmaster.


    Guildmaster Beras was a large imposing man that even a minotaur had to acknowledge as huge, towering over even him, leading many to speculate he had giant blood running through him, and the fact that he was quite the spell caster and warrior merely helped to push this rumor.


    Upon seeing Granite, he nodded, and then promptly began activating a magical device of some sorts, seemingly blocking out what they were to say fro any who would dare to listen in.


    Granite knew it from his frequent encounters with Beras, a device meant to hinder spies, that worked so well that only scrying artifacts of the divine level could peak in, and the chances of someone having that were slim.


    "How was the mission?" asked Beras.


    "Good" said Granite. He held up a vial of cockatrice blood mixed with a few other fluids of the cockatrice.


    Beras nodded.  "Well hopefully things work out for you and Lily.


    I do want to see some grandkids after all!"


    He chuckled at the very thought of kids in the house again, reminiscing on how much fun Lily was.


    Yes, the two were related, as Beras'' own daughter Lily was in fact married to Granite.


    And the reason in fact for the hunt of the cockatrice was to gain the fluids necessary to increase the chance of conception, which was low between most monsters and humans, with giant blood also causing the problem.


    Well, one of two reasons.


    Granite on the other hand, was not so happy, holding a grim look on his face.


    Noticing this, Beras, turned serious again. "What happened? Are bandits showing up already?"


    Bandits could become a major problem at an outpost if not dealt with quickly.


    "No, that would''ve been easy to deal with. traitors."


    Beras'' laid back eyes hardened slightly, as the aura around the man intensified as he got up.


    "Well, I guess I''m going to go have a "Talk" with these suspects-"


    "Don''t bother; they''re dead."


    Beras stopped midway through standing, before lurching back down.


    "Did you do it?" he asked simply.


    "No, he did."


    The other reason why Granite had been sent out alongside Grant to hunt down a cockatrice.


    "And what are your first impressions of him?"


    Granite paused for a minute.


    Dancing, golf, threatening a paladin, sex potion dealer, wearing a bird costume with a big fat red x, saying random things for no reason...


    "He''s unhinged father-in-law. Absolutely nuts."


    <hr>


    "Pffft" Grant did a spit take as he burst out in laughter.


    "Oh, oh my, how rude Granite, even after the hint I gave you in regard to childbirth for monsters.."


    He put his hand to his chest. "You''re breaking this old man''s heart." he drawled, fake sobbing before diving his hand into the popcorn bowl for another handful.


    Munch, munch, munch some more.


    Turns out odin''s eye was in fact, a divine level artifact, useable to scry and listen in on the show.


    And that was what Grant was doing, having rushed into his divine realm to hide somewhere so he could get himself a front row seat to the show.


    [System 15 has reported that player 15 has used the lazarus stone.]


    "Really? And what has he used it on?" asked Grant idly.


    Player 15 wasn''t bad, but he felt too reliant on his good luck, and lacking environment. He felt too sheltered for his taste. Player Earl was much more his tempo. Speaking which, should he reward him for that impressive defensive...


    [He''s used the lazarus stone on an omen dragon]


    A flood of information flew through Grant''s mind as the omen dragon''s status'' flew through his mind.


    Stop.


    Grant''s face twitched, as he once more recalled player 15''s great luck.


    His eye twitched a bit, before he started giggling.


    Truly, such wonderful luck. An omen dragon, and based off what the system said, one from the dinosaur age!


    At the same time, he rubbed his head, silently cursing Isis for being too soft on her chosen one.


    "Remind me once he heads back to civilization in a year or 5." He said, choosing to put it off to the back of his mind.


    He was excited by the thought of the omen dragon, but he still very much wanted to see how this played out. Good shows are not to be missed.


    The dragon could wait a little longer.

 Chapter 34: Ear To The Wall

    Normally, adventurer''s who happened to bring evidence of a lurking monster are thanked, but for the most part, given a small reward, and then that act is added to their record to fulfill the requirements for ranking up.


    No big deal.


    Even when they bring evidence of a high ranking monster like a wyvern, the result is about the same. No reaction. Outlier monsters are common to an environment after all, serving as the alpha until they die, move into higher density environments, or sneak into/join human society.


    Unless they outright cause a commotion too close to human zones, such as roads, or come into conflict with something the guild deems a priority to deal with, a blind eye is turned to them. Killing too many of them will result in the environment being turned upside down, and that''s more trouble than it''s worth, in spite of the occasional victim.


    And perhaps the wyvern scales would''ve been treated as a normal sighting.


    But they were all undamaged.


    No, that''s not quite true.


    Some were damaged.


    The damage however, was far too artificial.


    Seemingly bent intentionally, hit in certain spots and being dented for sure, but it did seem just a bit too fake.


    Suspicious.


    And when investigators were sent to investigate, evidence of a fight was discovered, but the evidence was found to be lacking.


    A "fight" would be generous. There was only evidence of one impact, and that was it. No evidence of a clear struggle, but rather, a simple capture and release.


    The mana was murky too, making it hard for the investigators to determine what happened exactly, and spirits summoned were unable to recount what happened.


    Unwilling at least.


    And like that, Grant was determined to be suspicious, especially once sightings of a new dragon emerged from higher ups, showing similar color to a previous wyvern documented in this locale.


    Perhaps that was a coincidence.


    Not.


    Coincidence is never a good excuse.


    Perhaps the wyvern evolved naturally, and yet investigations must be made.


    So, the giant guild master decided to send out his son-in-law to investigate the recently administered adventurer, to gauge if he was lucky in finding such scales, or if there was something... more to him.


    And they seemed to have found the cause of the wyvern''s defeat.


    "I can confirm adventurer Grant has at least 3, maybe four different artifacts of an unknown level, of an unknown level, with 3 being sighted, and an assumed fourth, given how quickly he has demonstrated the ability to construct gear"


    Mmm, more like 389, all at the epic level of quality at bare minimum, but who''s counting?


    "And what are these 3 you can confirm?"


    "The mask he''s currently wearing, confirmed by multiple adventurer''s who heard directly from the target while drinking that he claimed it from a dungeon."


    "On the high end then. Any guesses what the mask itself could be derived from?"


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "No clue. There are a number of notable raven sages who could''ve been the cause of the generation of such an artifact, but unfortunately, the mask''s design does not match any particularly notable raven sages I could find."


    Probably because it''s a raven sage''s mask mixed with a plague doctor''s mask. Then again, even if it wasn''t, who in their right mind would think that I claimed the artifact derived from the rise of the raven sages? At most, they rank me within the A-S rank, low balling either.


    munch munch munch


    "Neither does it match any of mine. How annoying. Label it unknown for now. He might''ve been bluffing."


    Lol, maybe


    "The second I can confirm is a golden chain he summoned to protect himself, and then later used it to bind his foes. It demonstrated the ability to shift size and move independently from Grant''s own movement, seemingly moving at his command"


    "A golden chain you say? Seems like that''ll require some serious research. Any guesses?"


    "None. I can recall no chain in any legend off the top of my head."


    "Alright then. It could be a localized legend, and if that''s the case, we may be able to trace the mask back to its origin."


    Probably. Of course, if you could trace that back to another universe, I''d be damned impressed.


    Slurrrp


    "The third artifact seemed to be a sword capable of changing into multiple shapes."


    The guildmaster frowned at that statement. "Are you sure that''s an artifact, and not just a unique weapon?"


    To this, the minotaur shook his head. "Ignoring my instincts, the weapons has too many unique quantities to merely be a magical tool"


    The guildmaster sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "I''m starting to regret not filing for an artifact detection tool to check if he had artifacts. I didn''t think he would have 3 to 4 of them."


    Who wants to tell him that I would''ve lit that thing up like a Christmas tree?


    "Oh well" the guildmaster shrugged. "4 is rare for sure, but I doubt that''s the only thing that would have you judge him as a madman."


    "Well..."


    The two continued in conversation, but eventually, around the time they began discussing the paladin in an hour or two, Grant was already getting bored. He stood up, stretched, and left. Onde can only be ego stroked so much before it began getting boring.


    Hey, that honey slime should''ve finished evolving by now, right?


    <hr>


    "I''ll be sending you back to Lily." the guild master had come to his final decision.


    Granite wasn''t exactly happy about this. "Father-in-law, with all due respect, I understand my importance in this situation, but that does not simply mean I should just turn tail and run. You and I both know this place has become a volatile spot, and if left alone, could very well be the starting point for worse."


    "Perhaps, and usually I believe you should be allowed to make your own choices regardless of risk, but now that the paladin has become involved, it''s not a matter of just simple risks. This situation has become extremely dangerous, and not even I could protect you from the paladin."


    The guildmaster tapped on the table, clearly anxious and frustrated by this new piece of news.


    True, the fact that the paladin had chosen to come to a new outpost in the middle of nowhere was a bit odd, but ultimately, it was just that. Weird.


    Clearly, it was more than the guild had thought.


    Unfortunately, thanks to Grant''s efforts, there was no evidence, and thus the guild would not actively move against the paladin without evidence.


    The minotaur furrowed his brow. "You''ve worked with him before father-in-law. What do you think of paladin Peter?"


    "Unstable, much like this Grant character. The man is crazily devoted to his ideals. If you clash with his ideals, then he has no hesitation in reminding you where he stands.  It doesn''t get out much thanks to the efforts of his church, but there was an incident where a noble challenged the church of Isis'' ideals and spat on a priest in front of him."


    "And?"


    "He beat that man to an inch of his life, using the shield repeatedly to bludgeon the man to near death, using the healing touch of Isis to constantly bring that man back to full health, before continuing."


    He paused.


    "That man hasn''t been anywhere near that church for the last decade or so but dares not withdraw his funding lest Paladin peter storms over there and continues his personal "crusade"."


    The minotaur winced, imagining the trauma the stupid noble had went through, as one does not get classified above S rank for no reason.


    "Based off the way you''re speaking, I''m guessing..."


    "He''s too strong for me, unfortunately." sighed the guild master. "Should he eventually "break", I can''t guarantee your safety, nor what will happen to the village in his path"


    <hr>


    Arriving at the giant pot he had Ursa Major and his little helpers stirring, he walked over to the very tired looking group, who had been stirring 7 days and 7 nights.


    Putting his finger into the pot, he smacked his tongue in appreciation.


    "Delicious." he announced, much to the mild applause of the very tired crew.


    Calling the shroom father, he asked it to pour the pot out onto the ground.


    plop


    A sticky viscous milky white liquid plopped onto the ground, and with it came the deliciously mild smell of milk.


    "Behold!" announced Grant.


    "Condensed milk slime!"

 Chapter 35: Bear Pouch

    After boiling in the pot with the appropriate ingredients, the condensed milk slime was now relatively large, being the size of an average car. The slime was now a milky white, and appropriate, had that same milky smell that boiled milk has, inviting one to taste.


    Grant did just that, dipping his cupped hands in, and slurping the condensed milk up.


    Satisfied with the taste of the thick, syrupy substance, Grant cupped another handful, this time offering it to the bear in charge of stirring.


    Receiving it gratefully, the bear dipped a toe(finger?) in, and sucked on its paw, tasting it carefully.


    "Delicious" it declared, and Grant merely smiled in return, before beckoning to the kobolds and the shroom to come taste accordingly.


    And they too, enjoyed the taste.


    The slime didn''t care of course.


    Few slime races were actually sapient enough to recognize pain, save a few variants and a few higher slimes, none of which the condensed milk slime fit into. And even though they do recognize pain, they don''t quite register it the same way other creatures do.


    Maybe down the line, but for now, it was merely a low-mid tier monster.


    It was what Grant needed now though.


    Taking one last handful, this one instead went into a magic tool of Grant''s own making, a large fanny pack with multiple pockets, each for their own pocket of ingredients.


    In slide the condensed milk as it slid into one of the many empty pockets, as magic hummed in the fanny pack, seeking to identify, and reproduce.


    Any good beast tamer recognizes the benefit of purposely manipulating the outcome of an evolution, and one way to do is by giving them magic tools which may alter the way they live and function.


    For example, a fanny pack with more ingredients for a beast to use when cooking for example.


    "Ursa Major, look what I got you!" he said as he waived around the fanny pack around for the bear.


    The bear looked at the fanny pack mostly confused more than anything.


    Grant laughed, seeing the little unaware hill billy, who knew nothing of humanity except that which it was taught up to this point.


    "It''s a portable ingredient pack, that way you don''t have to rush over to the shelf for certain ingredients. Look, here''s flour, milk, honey, eleven herbs and spices, lemon, shreds of coconut, and a few more that you might find useful for quick cooking."


    No more had to be said, for the bear was already interested, quickly wrapping it around it''s waste, leading to a very interesting sight of a bear wearing a fanny pack around it''s waist.


    Clearly excited to play, it quickly thanked him before roaring at the kobolds and the shroom to follow him back into the kitchen, with the slime happily squelching along.


    Well that was done.


    Should he cultivate a little more, and gain more qi circles? Maybe he could start adding in drows and dravens.


    Grant paused before shaking his head. No, not yet. The shrooms being released into the wild alongside 2 new variants of kobold were probably already a lot for the planet to process. Maybe next month.


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    But maybe he could get away with adding those roomba turtles, considering how harmless they are...


    Shaking off those dangerous thoughts, Grant eventually settled on splitting the land in twain.


    Currently everything was essentially one large body of land; Pangea if you will without the appropriate water.


    Essentially it was just one giant chunk of land.


    Maybe the korvold progenitor would find herself more satisfied if she had two bodies of land to explore.


    Cr-ack


    With a good crunch of his knuckles, he set off to begin once more crafting his small world.


    The one large chunk of land became two, as the world heaved and groaned, like a continent sized division of cells. Of course, nothing died, for under his guidance, life moved appropriately under his command, and those that fell, whether they be too young to move appropriately, too old, or even too clumsy, were guided by the roots of the tree that formed the core of the small world.


    And thus, the land split, leaving a gaping wide maw of land between the two pieces of land, which nothing dwelled in, soon to be fixed.


    The tree alone sat in this gap.


    Of course, this attracted the attention of all the progenitors in the making, whose territories were being drastically changed and reorganized.


    The shroomfather merely looked on, before lumbering off, perhaps to train.


    The shroomwolf progenitor also did not care, merely regarding it as a change of scenery, for the hunt would remain the same.


    Canuck''s eyes glittered as she watched the land change once more, and more geographical locations slowly grew into existence.


    Fanfare was... rearing the cockatrice eggs? Whatever, if he finds it fun, so be it.


    A''Tan was constructive as always, commanding his people to relocate, choosing to remain as a singular group, to make their decision after witnessing the final result. A smart and thankfully competent move. The others were obviously less active, and he could even see the korvolds following the axobodls, because their progenitor was...


    ...busy.


    The gap had widened appropriately, and thus came his first major body of water.


    A sea? An ocean? Neither really, when there are only two major landmasses.


    Obviously it would start as salt water, with some of the rivers and other minor bodies of water finally finding an outlet to pour into.


    Next came the ocean fish, the starfish, the coral, all the surface level stuff.


    The ocean wasn''t deep yet after all, so nothing like whales or krakens yet.


    Still, the fact that he had managed to begin creating the ocean again was a good step in the right direction.


    Once it was deeper then he could start bringing in the heavy hitters, but for now he wasn''t planning on going to a fishing trip, so it was fine.


    Alright, that was enough for one day, time to tuck it in.


    After that Grant finished up for the night, wondering how he should take care of the minotaur''s departure.


    <hr>


    Grant had been sopping, 2 days later, as well as hawking some of the baked goods to passerby''s, when he felt a light tap on his leg.


    Looking down, he saw a very familiar looking little beastkin.


    Little Ben O''Leary.


    The boy still looked a little ragged, but there was some more meat on his bones.


    Good.


    Crouching down, he faced the child again.


    "Look at you, little man! You''re looking better now, aren''t you." he joked.


    The boy gave him a confident little grin, nodding his head before asking.


    "Candy! Please!"


    Well, demanded.


    Fake grumbling, Grant whipped out a bundle of lollipops alongside a chocolate bar, handing them to the child.


    "Remember, too much candy isn''t good for you! So make sure to brush your teeth carefully." he reminded the kid merrily.


    The kid nodded, drooling all the while, and began eating the lollipops immediately.


    Grant couldn''t help but give the kid a quick look over, confirming his suspicion using appraisal.


    Indeed, the kid had used the alternative.


    And if he had used it...


    "There you are Benny!" exclaimed the father as he ran over, shaking the kid.


    "What were you thinking, running off like that! What if someone had tried to take you, or lure you with candy."


    "Ahem." Grant coughed awkwardly, bringing Marcus'' attention to him.


    "Oh, benefactor! No I didn''t mean it like that!" he stammered, as if looking for an excuse, before being interrupted by the roaring laughter of Grant.


    "No need, no need! I was just messing with you. Ben really shouldn''t have just accepted candy from anyone."


    Grant gave Marcus a quick appraisal.


    Indeed, the both of them had changed.


    The two of them had been wolf beastmen, with the gray hair and the father being taller than the average man, around 5''9 maybe.


    But now, the man had grown, as had the child. It just so happened that in the father, the growth was more pronounced, with the muscles being tauter, and the hair thicker where it was.


    Their jaws were more pronounced as well, and Grant could detect the teeth themselves were sharper.


    Looks like the direwolf blood kicked in after all.


    Looking at the two, Grant had a thought. A small thought really.


    ''Hey, I think I know what Granite could do for me.''

 Chapter 36: Campfire.

    Knock knock knock


    "Come in." came the gruff voice of Granite, as Grant obliged, opening the door.


    Granite, pausing in his packaging, gives Grant a surprised look, "How did you-"


    he shrugged. "Never mind. What are you here for?" he shot straight.


    "Well, I thought we could grab a meal and have a talk about your departure, and how I could help you?"


    Granite shrugged. "Sure. Your treat."


    "Alright, let''s head downstairs; I''ve been wanting to talk to the bartender ever since I came from the last city anyway. "


    <hr>


    "Bartender, a full meal for me and Granite here, huh?" hollered Grant, as he indicated towards the two.


    The bartender, a large man, smiled and put up his thumb, before setting to work.


    "Weirdest thing, y''know? I''m pretty sure I met his brother at some point, and while they do sure look the same, this one doesn''t have that weird stereotypical Russian accent."


    Granite rolled his eyes. "Grant, you said you had something to say?" he huffed.


    Grant nodded. "Alright then, straight to business then."


    With a waive of his hand, the whole bar went quiet. People were still moving, living, acting, and yet, they seemed unaware of them. No one noticed the magic circle, naturally moving around them without thought, not even a glance at them.


    Like this whole space didn''t exist in their mind.


    Looking around, the minotaur''s eyes landed on a magic circle that had seemingly weaved its way into the guild''s interior, surrounding them.


    "A magician too?" he asked, as one eyebrow raised.


    Grant chuckled. "I''m a man of many talents."


    Snort


    "What did you want to talk about?" the minotaur asked.


    "Well, I wanted to ask you a favor."


    "I did not believe us close enough to ask favors."


    "And I believe this favor can benefit the both of us."


    The minotaur sighed. "You did save my life last time. Very well then."


    "Alright, so..."


    <hr>


    The minotaur looked skeptical at the offer.


    "I must be frank; I do not see how this benefits me."


    Granite had no problem being straight forward about his issue.


    Grant had requested that Granite would train Marcus and Ben, and in turn they could protect his wife


    "Could you not claim that any other adventurer could suffice? There is no reason to train these two in particular."


    Pop


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    Without a word spoken, Grant popped the cork off a vial of blood, pushing it before Granite.


    "Smell." He spoke.


    With a sniff, Granite''s face curled. "This blood... it belongs to something strong."


    To this Grant nodded in agreement. Despite how he acted now, Granite was a monster, and like any monster, can recognize superior bloodlines.


    This wasn''t the blood of Marcus or Ben, but of a direwolf.


    Of course, this didn''t matter currently, the effect was about the same.


    "Indeed." Grant agreed. "Who do you think this came from?"


    Granite gave him a hard look. "Perhaps it belongs to the two you have mentioned?" he asked.


    "Bingo" Grant clicked his fingers. "The two seemed to have run upon a streak of luck and awakened some dormant bloodline within them."


    Stare.


    The stare intensified. "What a coincidence that you''ve managed to find such a pair." he commented mildly sarcastic.


    Grant shrugged. "Chance or fate, it hardly matters does it. What really matters is that these two are stronger than your average beastman, and beastmen are already known for their strength. And with such strength, it would hardly be a task to protect a pregnant woman, no?"


    Granite had to admit that this wasn''t a bad idea. The blood smelled strong, a signal of a stronger being, the taste of potential.


    If such a person were to protect his wife when she became pregnant, couldn''t he come back to deal with the problem?


    Of course, he was ignoring the fact his father in-law had said that to drive him away, but for some reason that thought wasn''t entering his mind right now.


    After a moment, he responded. "I''ll consider it once I see them."


    Grant grinned. Wonderful.


    Click


    And everything was back to normal.


    Granite looked at him. "How are you doing that?" he asked, genuinely curious.


    Grant shrugged. "Mental magic. I just scrub this area out of their mind temporarily. Looking in the direction of the magic circle erases their processing of us in their mind, the very fact they saw us, causing them to continue looking past us. Forced ignorance. "


    "Convenient." Noted the minotaur.


    "Indeed."


    <hr>


    Marcus trembled a bit under the gaze of the minotaur, while little Ben puffed up, seemingly trying to look bigger in front of the minotaur.


    A failure by all means, but still adorable to look upon.


    The minotaur studied them, as he sniffed them.


    After satisfying his curiosity, he nodded.


    "You''re right, their potential... is great."


    He looked at Ben the puffed up little beast man. "He''s young, but he has spirit."


    "I can see the merit in your decision. Very well, I agree."


    Marcus looked relieved, though still took a step back from the minotaur, while Ben got another lollipop.


    They left the next day.


    <hr>


    Trailing behind the small group of three, another small group could be seen trailing them, a group of 20, this better armed then the last.


    When it was discovered that the minotaur had plans to leave the city, there was one last bid put into the works to kill the minotaur and publicly have the body strewn up to provoke tension amongst the people.


    They were a threat to his venture. He had promised Granite that he would keep potential trackers off his trail.


    This time it was not merely lower-level adventurers with good equipment, but a band of 20 C-ranks, all with decent equipment well beyond their worth.


    They were far more competent than the last group.


    And that was why they reacted faster when it started.


    At first it was only chills and headache''s nothing much. It was ignored, but that would change when the next few symptoms started showing up.


    Sore bodies.


    Coughs could be heard amongst the adventurers.


    At some point it started getting worse, spreading, and by this point the group was well aware something was going on.


    Treatment began. Healing spells, medicine, and prayer were put forth and to good use.


    It was too late though, and more than half the group was sick.


    The normal efforts were not working.


    It was the work of an artifact!


    Before they could react, the effect accelerated, as people began dropping like flies.


    "No, more like rats. No, humans. Those were the main carriers if I recall correctly." Grant muttered to himself as he wandered through the plague-ridden bodies.


    Those spasming bodies, coughing and gagging as the pain overtook them.


    Blood had stained the fair ground.


    "How nostalgic." murmured Grant as he kicked one.


    Reacting to the kick, the C rank spat blood on his foot.


    Grant merely spat before kicking the man.


    "It''s not painless, but it is quick. Behold my generosity."


    Anyway, body hiding time!


    Might not sound like fun to some, but that didn''t mean it all had to be depressing.


    "An old friend of mine used to tell me that one should take joy in everything one does." Grant paused. "Was it my friend?" he wondered, thinking hard.


    Shrug.


    "Oh well. I think incineration is the special of the day. That is how one clears plagues." he commented as he whipped out his torch artifact.


    A wonderfully smoky smell came into the air, and it invited Grant to go camping.


    Grant had marshmallows after that.


    Yummy.

 Chapter 37: Peter

    After making marshmallows, and then making marshmallow men inside the divine realm, Grant found himself just sprawled on his bed, desperately trying not to fall into stagnation and just sleeping for the next few years.


    Oh, sorry, cultivation.


    "Gone already" sighed Grant.


    "Everyone just leaves in the end." he bemoaned dramatically.


    [You were the one who sent them off.]


    "Oh hush you! I''m not looking for logic right now, I''m looking for something to bitch about.  Don''t you know that you''re supposed to validate your friends?"


    [I already have something to bitch about.]


    Sigh


    [You]


    What a dramatic system. Were it not for the way it was made, Grant would''ve suggested Flamel have made the system an ai implemented into a spiritual body, but unfortunately, he was stuck with this sassy aide.


    [I told Flamel the same a century before he found you.] Shot back system 0, in a way that most other systems would never get to see their "mother".


    You know what?


    I''m going to go have fun solo again. Give the forest another tour. Nothing big yet(saving one of those for the decade coming), but surely there''s a little quickie out there worth investigating.


    <hr>


    Inside the quiet temple of Isis that resided in this very small town sat paladin Peter, behind him his shield hung from the wall, the very shield that he was known for.


    Peter was a weathered man, as the years have clearly taken a toll on him.


    His hair a dirty yellow now, rather than the radiance it had once been.


    Sunken eyes, disheveled hair, and haunting eyes.


    Inspite of the wear, he was still devout to his faith.


    Those eyes still glimmered with devotion and faith.


    The office was quiet, almost lifeless even. A modest room, lacking extravagance, only a desk and his gear found itself present in this room.


    And a broken window of course.


    In the room gathered the paladin and the other involved members of the church.


    All the members devoted to their cause, as religious fervor was present in their eyes.


    With a simple motion of the hand, he indicated for the meeting to start.


    "They''re dead" was the sudden report made by the follower who stood by him, a simple and quiet man, much like the rest of the followers.


    Paladin Peter nodded as he listened to the report.


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    "After the candles bound to their life went out, scouts were sent to retrieve and locate the bodies. Unfortunately, nothing could be found."


    The second group sent to kill the minotaur Granite did not know, but paladin Peter had set this plan in motion with the full expectation that they would die. They were adventurers, mercenaries really, merely sent to subdue the minotaur for an appropriate cost. They would likely "resist" dying for the cause.


    "Not even a trace of magic. Whoever is behind this knows how to cover up murder well, good enough that a B-class tracker couldn''t find any traces. "


    "And the minotaur?"


    "He has already moved on ahead from what reports indicate, with two beastmen in tow. Unlikely he was the one who did it, with the beast being weighed down with 2 hindrances"


    "Good riddance to them all I say." muttered one devotee, only to be silenced by a glance from Peter, who did not appreciate loud discourse during meetings.


    He never appreciated too much of their fervor at meetings.


    Moving on, he continued with the report.


    "Paul, did we have eyes on the variable Grant?"


    "Yes, we have evidence that he left shortly after the scouting party did, leaving publicly through the front gate, and returned before our scouting squad did."


    "Then it was likely him." concluded another.


    Peter frowned.


    Another obstacle to the purification he so desired. Annoying.


    He just wanted it all to be done quickly.


    That same devotee started letting his mouth run.


    "A beast lover! To think a mere adventurer would dare to-"


    "Silence"


    The man shut his mouth again, yet still clearly grumbling inwardly.


    He shot the man a glare. "I tolerate no insolence as long as we convene for serious matters. Speak again, and you will be replaced by someone more "devout" to our cause"


    The devotee''s face paled as he dared not speak again.


    He''d only just been instated last week after his predecessor ran his mouth.


    ''If only those filthy beasts didn''t exist.''


    Peter turned his efforts back to the meeting at hand.


    "Continue to do as we have done before. We will merely treat the adventurer Grant as another hindrance like the guildmaster and the mayor. They will not stop us. How has your efforts gone Daniel?"


    "Very good lord Peter! The true people have been appropriately agitated, as they are starting to truly see the dangers, they have allowed to roam amongst them too long. And the beasts are feeling it. Soon..." He cackled.


    Peter merely waived his hand and moved on.


    Many efforts were being made from bringing in an increased number of beastmen to infiltrating the nonhumans and spreading negative thoughts.


    All with the plan of conflict. To cause a riot, to purge the disgusting beastmen from the port, with this merely being one step in a long-established plan to purge the Romana empire of its "imperfections", so that the church may be pure.


    The fire must be stoked so that it may properly be put out.


    "Indeed" said Peter. "Once we''re done, the temple will be cleansed and pure, worthy of Isis'' love. How is our next plan coming along?"


    "The beast feeds properly under the proper guidance of the goblin. Once it has fed to completion, it will be ready to be released amongst the people, so they may see the dangers of allowing inhuman things to walk among us."


    Peter nodded solemnly, as he reminded himself sacrifices were necessary for his cause no matter how innocent they may be.


    "Once it is prepared, kill the goblin. I do not wish to tolerate such a vile thing any longer once it''s completed the task I desire of it."


    As long as nothing went wrong, the beast would be the perfect push to rile up the emotions of both inhuman and people alike.


    Peter could not help but look at the shield, adorned with the appearance of his beloved Goddesss.


    ''Not long''


    Not much longer until he is done...


    <hr>


    "A goblin fortress?" murmured Grant as he observed the makeshift camp.


    He called it a fortress, but that was a bit exaggerated.


    More like a bunch of makeshift huts gathered near the mountain side.


    As much as you''d expect from a feral goblin, those dumb creatures.


    Well, such a huge number of goblins, numbering in the hundreds was still an exciting find in places with low mana density.


    It means something special is going on!


    A variant species perhaps!


    Secret sabotage by adventurers?


    Artifact?


    Maybe all of the above!?


    It was sooo tempting to just use his appraisal abilities combined with Odin''s eye to just comb through the whole thing, and find what made the place unique, but Grant managed to hold himself, because that would ruin the fun.


    Interesting things should be savored, enjoyed, so that its value is truly extorted, to its full.


    Now, let''s open this blind box!

 Chapter 38: Goblins

    Goblins have always been a tricky subject,


    Like many races, such as minotaurs and orcs, the feral versions of them often led to negative connotations associated with these races.


    Perhaps goblins had it the worst when the feral versions of them were most well know for their... breeding capacities.


    All right, because they''re pretty apt rapists and that they get spit out of the womb like there''s no tomorrow.


    And like many feral vs sapient creatures, there is an easy way to separate the feral from the not.


    Sapient goblins have hair for one thing, and their famous features, those large noses and sharp ears are recessed a fair bit, still apparent by all means, but the difference is noticeable to any decent adventurer.


    Oh, and they actually wear clothes, and not just loin clothes. Yeah, pretty obvious difference.


    Their quality of life is also very different, as they live in decent settlements, and even have guard posts and walls. This is because sapient goblins live in places with higher mana, and while they are slightly stronger than average goblins, numbers are still their strength, so they rely on many tactics that align with humans.


    It''s not like sapient goblins don''t do the rapey goblin thing, it''s just not common amongst them, at least not anymore than it is among humans. And when they do, it''s more like slaves than just a tool meant for use.


    Sapient goblins live for 20 years, a far cry from the 10 year lifespan feral ones live.


    So yes, it is pretty obvious how to differentiate as long as you look.


    And so Grant looked, as he slit the throat of the first goblin he killed.


    It was a quick kill.


    doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo


    Grant thought silently as he quietly sneaked behind a goblin on the outer rim, the closest thing to a border guard. Once behind it, he said the last word it would hear.


    "Boo."


    Slick


    It didn''t even have a chance to register the words as the tarantula hair slid into his neck, immediately poisoning and killing the goblin.


    The tarantula gauntlets had the neat benefit of shooting needle-like hairs, perfect to dip in poison and fling at people. Or stab them, since it injects all the same.


    "It has a shirt..."


    A scavenged one admittedly, he noted as he quietly dragged it off and dropped it behind a tree.


    Sure, he could burn them, but in times like these where he''s basically pulling a hitman, he decided to instead just hide the bodies.


    Worse comes to worse, they find the bodies, surround him, and he then bodies them. Oh well, game over.


    After slitting four more throats, he confirmed many were wearing shits. No pants unfortunately, but he suspected those were more difficult to scavenge, or perhaps they couldn''t be bothered. Who knew.


    What he did suspect however, was the involvement of a higher race. Maybe a feral goblin shaman, or a sapient goblin, orc even.


    Feral shamans are still feral, but just like feral goblins, there''s a set amount of knowledge inside their blood, bloodline inheritance, hence how feral goblins are able to even competently build basic shelters in spite of their stupidity.


    And feral goblin shamans are a step above them, acknowledging the concepts of shirts, and higher up the rank feral goblins understand higher concepts, but ultimately, do not actually understand them.


    The difference between an ai and a human Grant supposes. They may know, but they do not truly understand, and thus can''t really build on these concepts.


    As a result, Grant never really held the actions of feral goblins against them, since ultimately, they''re just doing what they''ve been instinctually driven to do, like beasts.


    So far, Grant is leaning on goblin shaman, since the level of competency wasn''t that high.


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    There were orcs too, maybe 1 to every 20 goblins that existed in the area, those pig-faced bastards.


    Unlike the goblins however, he pocketed those for later use, since feral orcs taste like quality pork.


    Not sapient orcs though, those taste more like people.


    Looking through the numbers, Grant did have some suspicions, but he decided to continue investigating.


    No women so far.


    That could be a bad thing, or a good thing, depending on circumstance.


    Grant wasn''t here to save them, so much as enjoy himself, but hey, he may as well help them since he can.


    Eventually, he came to a giant structure, something that had been hastily hidden by an illusion magic spell.


    It was in fact, one of the reasons he was more inclined to feral goblin shaman than sapient goblin, since he had noted early on the traces of poorly crafted magic covering the area, something equivalent to this world''s five star magicians.


    So as far as he saw it, the illusion was rather flimsy, only spared destruction because he wanted to avoid alerting the whole of the goblins for now.


    No point in doing the spy thing if he wasn''t going to try.


    It wasn''t hard to slip through the illusion, and once he did, he found a shelter significantly more complex than the ones outside, which were mere mud huts.


    It was a log house. Basic, sure, but it did certainly get him to reevaluate the possible leader.


    Maybe sapient goblin shaman, or even a feral orc shaman.


    Grant pondered this as he walked into the log house, his face turning into a grimace as he looked at the carnage.


    He wrinkles his nose.


    It''s gross killing goblins mid-coitus after all.


    <hr>


    After he finished killing the ugly little critters, the women who had been captured had shown various emotions, from joy to relief, anger to hopelessness, and some even tried to take their own life.


    pap


    pap


    pap


    pap


    They all got a quick hit on the neck and a quick route to sleepy time.


    Grant had thought himself finished with all the important tasks at the moment, but he noticed another section.


    A door, leading to another room, where the scent of blood was strong, and the aura of pain and agony bled through.


    Clearly, he had missed something.


    The sounds of struggling could be heard from behind the door.


    Curious, Grant opened the door, finding... a child.


    Not a human one though.


    An ogre child was bound before him.


    Orc''s evolve into ogres, where their skin takes on a reddish tinge, and they become more human-like, a jump from the sapient orcs, who also looked more human than hobgoblins and goblins.


    Their canine fangs recede a great deal, no longer protruding from their mouth, but east to see when one looks in their mouth.


    Horns begin growing on their head, a signal of their future evolution into an oni. Stubbier for sure, but the horns were developing.


    None of this mattered to Grant however.


    What mattered to him was that the kid was in chains; when goblins usually killed kids, monster or not.


    They had chosen to bound this child.


    Etchings were written on the child''s flesh, seemingly taking the form of a magic circle.


    They looked painful, dried blood surrounded these spots.


    The child, restrained by chains, lunged at him, baring his teeth.


    The eyes were filled with rage, the azure eyes filled with fury.


    But in those very eyes he saw something else.


    Deep inside those eyes... was agony, despair that a child shouldn''t have.


    Grant could barely hold himself back, and yet did so, for the child in front of him.


    The room was filled with remains, parts strewn all over the place.


    What really stood out to him was a basket with assorted body parts, that chilled him.


    Not because it was body parts, no.


    The body parts were red, the very same color tone as the child''s.


    One finger stood out, a ring sitting upon a ring finger.


    Grant reached for a finger, holding it up to the boy, causing the boy to flinch, to move backwards


    The boy stared at the finger, as hatred and anguish swept through the child''s eyes, and yet desire persisted as well, not hunger but longing. Throwing the finger aside, Grant touched the child''s head, as the child struggled, lashing out in his pain, but Grant pushed through that, sifting through the surface memories of the child.


    It was clouded, distorted, quick jumps of memory, the type of thing only people have truly suffered ever demonstrated, when their mind undergoes great stress.


    -Fed---Mother-Father--Shaman--- Monster---Scary!----Alone...


    Thought''s flew through the child''s mind, fleeting, but enough for Grant to get the picture, as his face twisted, and anger bubbled to the surface.


    Even as the goblins began surrounding the log house, Grant paid no mind, as his anger grew greater and greater as he saw the crime done to this child.


    They may just be feral beasts, but the one behind this...


    ...He would pay


    <hr>


    -Many years ago-


    -They''re beautiful.


    -Of course! We made them after all!


    -Hmmph. What do you want to name them?


    -I want to name the girl Cleo! After a famous queen I read in one of my father''s libraries! So that she may grow to be a smart and cunning woman


    -Then I will name the boy Ulfbragi, the wolf of Bragi, may he speak well, and may you always bring joy to those around you with your words and companionship.


    -Tch, what an exaggerated name


    -I would say the same thing, given you''ve named the girl after a ruler. Who''s family name should they inherit?


    -... yours


    - Then they will be Cleo Thorsten and Ulfbragi Thorsten


    -Thorsten... I like it


    <hr>


    ~900 years ago~


    Do you know why you lost them?


    It was because you were weak.


    Content to stagnate, content to remain weak, for you had nothing to protect, nothing to lose.


    But when the day came and you had something to lose, you didn''t have the strength to protect that which you cherished most


    It was foolish, and you moved too little too late


    But now, now you have the will, the determination


    What will you do to take back what you''ve lost?


    To avenge yourself?


    - Flamel

 Chapter 39: Rage Of Creation

    In the cold western lands of the empire, upon a great fortress, an ear twitched.


    The shadow of a sharp ear twitched as it sensed a familiar presence.


    Killing intent, but a special kind, the likes of which only god level entities could sense, or those who had been exposed to it frequently would notice.


    The kind that felt like the world itself had flared up, trembling in fury.


    Creation itself seemed to swirl at the will of his old friend.


    The man to whom the shadow belonged to, shuddered, as he felt this indescribable rage.


    No one else noticed, as guards passed by, ignoring the young son of the duke, for he hid his tenseness well, and they merely greeted him and moved on.


    It would not do for them to see their young lord trembling, for what could terrify him so.


    Once they passed by, the shadow whispered.


    "It''s him" the shadow rejoiced. "He''s finally here!"


    The young heir of Bergstrom kept his face straight, yet disbelief sank in.


    "And you''re glad to sense him!?" he asked incredulously. That thing? That monster? Not even the dragons he had seen nor the beasts his father had slain had ever shown such horrifying killing intent.


    "Grant is only like this when children are hurt in front of him. It stirs up... bad memories" The shadow paused as it reflected on moments gone by.


    Bergstrom narrowed his eyes at that comment. "If that''s the case..."


    "Then he''s really mad right now"


    <hr>


    Ghhgh ghhgh


    A goblin choked on its spittle, thrashing hopelessly in Grant''s grip.


    "Hatch."


    With this one word, Grant tossed the goblin on the floor.


    Perhaps the goblin felt confusion at that comment.


    It likely did not for long.


    Its eyes were quickly covered in a thin membrane, before a thin shell soon covered them, severing his eyes cleanly from the rest of his head, bringing the goblin more pain.


    The eyes changed shape and size as they grew uncomfortably large within it''s head.


    Crck.


    crck


    crack!


    The sounds of hatching could be heard, as the eggs thrashed furiously inside the goblin''s head, as one hatched alongside the other, giving way to two little furry heads.


    Inside the goblin''s skull.


    Needless to say, his death would be painful, as the sounds of the beast''s first feeding went off in tune to the pitiful screams of the goblin.


    It did not suffer alone, for the whole camp had gathered around the lodge where the women were stored, and thus they too, shared the fate worse than death.


    Goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs alike all went down with but a word from Grant, and a tap on the head, as the law of creation roared into action, acting to satisfy Grant''s desire.


    Pain.


    "Infestation."


    "Bread"


    "Crabs"


    "Salt".


    Ants, numbering in the hundreds pouring out of one goblins every orifice,


    another finding it''s pores squeezing out bread rapidly, before suffocating in a loaf of it''s own making,


    Another screamed as it tried to pull it''s own chest apart, if only to stop the struggling crabs from bringing it pain,


    and an old classic, turning fools into salt statues, when they look where they were not meant to.


    No death that followed was a kind death.


    It did not compare to what Grant did at the height of his power, but it was enough.


    Enough to satisfy this desire growing inside of him.


    Grant looked at the child in his arms.


    No.


    it was not enough.


    But it would have to do.


    <hr>


    The follower of Isis could only furiously pray at the sight he saw.


    He hated goblins, those filthy defilers, but this sight, it was hard not to pity the beasts in spite of their nature.


    He had been sent here as an A-rank assassin/scout to monitor the goblin fortress, and to monitor their tool, to ensure that their plan was not exposed to adventurers and the like, to make sure that any arrive here, stay here.


    Blow darts tinged with sedatives and poison, either to kill, or to leave behind for the goblins to deal with.


    He should have dealt with the intruder, but the fact that he didn''t even realize the man was here until finding the corpses...


    ... This man...


    All of a sudden, a great sense of unease settled upon the scout, before true fear settled on him, as if something far beyond his peruse laid its eyes on him.


    Don''t look don''t look don''t look don''t look don''t look...


    Almost unnaturally, his head turned against his will as he found himself staring at the raven sage who was staring back.


    "How..." he whispered.


    He was very far away, countless stretches of the forest away that even an S-rank adventurer wouldn''t notice him, thanks to the assistance of a magic tool that allowed him to scout from great distances, an enhanced telescope.


    Yet with one glance, the man had located him, seemingly having been aware of him from the beginning.


    The masked man stretched his hand out, and with every inch it stretched forth, he could feel his neck sweating, the presence growing ever so more present, and he could feel death itself almost upon him.


    He wanted to run, scream, beg for mercy.


    Yet he could not move, as if bound before execution.


    And then it stopped.


    <hr>


    Feeling the shifting downwards, Grant looked down at the child in his arms, struggling, seemingly with bad memories.


    Pulling his hand back, he chose to use it instead to soothe the child, helping him to sleep peacefully again.


    He would deal with this scout later. For now, he would put it to better use.


    Like any good tail, one can always use it track down the rat that needed exterminating.


    <hr>


    '' flee, while I''m still feeling merciful''


    The scout turned tail and fled.


    He did not care if this was a trap.


    Paladin Peter must know of this man, consequences be damned, lest he become a far greater obstacle down the line.


    <hr>


    Seeing the scout fleeing tail between his legs and with a tracer spell on him, Grant turned his attention back to the massacre at hand.


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    Only one left after all.


    Thwang!


    A blade came swinging down out of nowhere, landing hard on the back of Grant''s neck, being quickly repelled by a golden chain.


    "Tch" came the disappointment.


    "Pathetic" Grant sneered. "Is that all an ogre shaman can do? Cower in the shadows?"


    The space behind Grant warped as a large figure made itself apparent.


    A giant beast of a "man" came forward, with red flesh and a pair of horns mounted upon his head.


    His size rivalling the likes of the minotaur, and the magical presence similar to one as well. His fangs, glaring as he grinned.


    An ogre shaman, dressed in the classical shaman clothes.


    "Hiding? No, merely waiting for you to empty your reserves. To waste such power on mere goblins."


    The ogre chuckled disdainfully. He had seen the man''s use of magics. Truly advanced, even he could admire it.


    "To use magic on such a whim is costly, both in its magical and spiritual cost. You should''ve saved it for more important beings" He pointed out, indicating at himself.


    "What''s the difference between you and them? I''m putting down a wild beast all the same." jeered Grant, and yet there was no amusement in Grant''s voice, making the mockery fall flat.


    That didn''t stop the ogre from taking offense, as his face twitched and he exerted his magics, causing roots to erupt from the ground and fly at Grant.


    Grant whipped out his torch, lighting each root on fire, forcing the ogre to disperse his roots as he wouldn''t waste his mana on pointless moves.


    "An artifact? I wonder what kind that is. I''ll find out after this fight." he commented as he unveiled a staff of his own, upon which the skull of an ogre could be seen, seemingly causing Grant''s aura to grow fierce.


    The ogre noticed this as he gloated. "Can you tell already? It''s an ogre skull, belonged to that little one''s father. I had to decide whether or not to feed it to him or keep it to use on my own equipment. Ultimately, I decided the boy had enough to eat." he commented nonchalantly, in spite of the cruel statement he had made.


    "And his mother''s bones were great for magics as well, so I kept a few for this." he said, proudly showing off his necklace, upon which certain bones gleamed.


    Grant cocked his head.


    "And you take offense to being called a beast? " He asked coldly. "Of all the most admirable qualities I have ever labeled ogre''s with, it was their loyalty to their own. That community they had, in spite of being barbaric bastards. The desire to be great warriors, to follow their own code. And yet all I''ve seen is cowardice and your code nonexistent. To use children as weapons... how spineless." He spat that last word, his disgust evident.


    "Haaah" the ogre sighed.


    "I''m not like the rest of my kind. I''m smart, I''m better," he pumped his chest, as if he felt the need to show it.


    "I know that one must use all they have at hand to become great in this world, unlike those dumb brutes. Honor is nothing without glory!" He shouted before turning his attention to the kid.


    "And that kid." he indicated at the kid with his own disgust evident. "He''s not even full ogre. His mother was a demon. A demon. It is a disgusting abomination, a half-breed and his father was a failure of an ogre, to copulate with an inferior race. I did him a favor, making proper use of him!" he proclaimed forcefully.


    He began chanting as the runs on the staff and skull lit up, as the summoning began, his emotions having gotten to him, the ogre was determined to wipe the enemy in front of him from the face of the Earth, so that he may continue.


    "Abomination..."


    "Useful..."


    Looking at the child, hearing that statement touched something in Gran.


    "...half-breed bastards"


    ''Very well then, one good deed deserves another.


    Just wait, I''ll make you useful soon enough."


    The ogre kept chanting as the mana coalesced into one spot, as a summoning circle made itself apparent, but Grant did not move.


    He merely waited.


    The ogre tossed bones into the circle, causing it to flare up and grow in strength.


    Soon a large spirit emerged, followed by a burst of energy, changing the nearby land, burning trees and setting fire to all the nearby corpses and tinder.


    The spirit emerged in the form of a large salamander-esque creature, purely formed out of fire.


    "Behold! A baron level spirit!" boasted the ogre as he showed off his perceived achievement.


    He probably was quite proud. A baron level spirit, according to the guild''s measurement''s is a S-level entity, capable of brining disaster to medium level towns, and for a small outpost recently established, it would be disaster.


    "That''s it?"


    Grant was unimpressed.


    "That''s what you sacrificed all that you have? Your dignity for a mere baron level spirit. That sounds about right."


    The ogre''s face darkened in rage, and the spirit looked more agitated than before.


    "It seems you are left with nothing but words. Sneer if you must at my attempts, but it''ll be naught while you smolder to death." Raising his staff, he commanded the spirit to attack.


    "Pluck the bird and bring me back the child. I have yet to feed him the rest."


    The spirit lunged forwards in according to its master''s call, as the heat grew greater.


    A rattling sound could be heard as a golden chain flew forth, binding the spirit.


    The flaming salamander struggled to no avail.


    Grant paid it no heed as he moved forth, unhindered by the spirit.


    Looking at the spirit bound,, panic flashed in the eyes of the ogre as he looked at the approaching danger, as he felt something crawling down his back.


    Desperately, he began summoning roots and vines, minor spirits and even forms of undead.


    Grant walked through it unyielding, slipping through some attacks, and facing others head on.


    Step by step he got closer, and with every step the ogre found himself pushed further into a corner.


    "Wait, perhaps I have something I can offer you! I''ve been in these forests for years! I know a few dungeons the humans do not know of! Secrets and treasures, easily within your grasp!"


    Grant chuckled. "As do I. I know of all these treasures, and yet a lowly thing like you presumes to guide me."


    Thwack


    Grant''s arm swelled unnaturally before backhanding the ogre, sending him through the corner he had been backed into.


    Saurian martial arts. Not suited for the human body, as Grant felt his bones shatter to fragments, but all it took was a little reconstruction and the law of creation to fix his appendage.


    Looking at the struggling ogre, he asked.


    "His parents."


    "W-what?"


    "The boy''s parents. If you could bring them back. Perhaps I would spare you."


    The ogre looked at I''m with a now spite and hate-filled glance, fully aware that the man was merely taunting him.


    "Fine then, kill me. To die this way is just fine." he said, attempting to find solace in the fact he would die to such a miraculous being, something work claiming as an achievement.


    Grant shook his head.


    Die?


    No, he promised to make him useful.


    Grant clasped the ogre''s neck, lifting him up, as the ogre stopped struggling, having wasted all available options.


    However, death did not come.


    "I despise Zeus, but I admit, but even he had his good ideas once in a while". Grant said, as the pure malice poured out of his every word.


    He pulled out a small stone, iridescent in its color, unrecognizable to the ogre.


    He shoved it fiercely into the beast''s throat as he commanded.


    "Swallow." he said cooly, and the ogre could only helplessly choke on the rock as it slid down his throat.


    An unknown energy passed through his body abruptly, powerful, yet there was something about it.


    Something divine.


    He felt a sense of reverence, and yet that reverence merely heightened his fear as he felt the energy flow through his veins, rearranging his very nature. It pervaded his body!


    The ogre struggled in vain now, no longer surrendering feebly, while Grant enforced his will on the ogre''s body, throwing him aside once he was finished.


    "Do you feel it?" he asked as the ogre struggled to get up.


    "You''re immortal now." such words would be sweet were it not for the foreboding sense of helplessness overtaking the ogre.


    "My magic where is my magic?!" he screamed, as he desperately tried to channel his magic, and though his mana stirred, it did not bend the way he wished.


    He was magicless, the thing that made a monster a monster. Without magic, he was like a beast without fang, or even muscle.


    Magic is what fuels a monster''s body and without it they could do nothing.


    He was nothing.


    Grant chuckled. "What''s the matter" he asked, "immortality not to your taste yet? Or perhaps, it''s the side effects that get you?" he asked, the taunt obvious in his words.


    "What have you done to me!" he shouted, trying to get up, only to stumble forward.


    Grant cocked his head. "Equivalent cost of course. A mere monster at such a low level as you could not merely attain immortality so easily. It came at a cost, which I''m sure you can feel now, even as we speak. It''s wonderful what one can do with such a small fragment of a Lazarus stone."


    The ogre''s mind was as much of a mess as his now feeble body, as he tried his best to understand what had happened.


    "Come out now, there''s no point in hiding! I know you''re out there!"


    Seeing no movement, Grant reached his hound out, as his divine realm opened.


    Before anything could come out, a monster stumbled out, clearly afraid of the divine presences he sensed beyond the crack in the realm.


    The dragon was familiar, one he had in fact, seen more than once.


    A rather familiar dragon, he saw when he had killed the cockatrice, and when he had once plucked it during its time as a wyvern.


    The dragon did not exhibit the fierceness of a dragon however, wobbling as he knelt down.


    "This one greets your greatness." he said as his head hit the ground.


    Grant did not respond to the greeting.


    "I think you were the fourth one." he said, giving the dragon a once-over. "Whatever. I have something I wish for you to do."


    "Of course, whatever I can do for you." the dragon''s words were quick, just glad he would not be plucked once more.


    The ogre''s eyes widened as he looked at this dragon, this great being, top of the food chain, a disaster in its own right, bowing out of fear of the man.


    He felt a great sense of foreboding when the man turned to him, the words confirmed with his next statement.


    "Feed on this ogre, a limb a day. It may be any limb, or even an organ. head if you''re feeling adventurous. But feed, and feed every day."


    "...what?" the ogre asked, as he trembled.


    "Very well your lordship." the dragon agreed, and yet there was confusion.


    He could eat the ogre, but to what extent? Why? The ogre would die in a day or two. Immortals could still die, if his bloodline inheritance could be believed.


    Grant smiled at the confusion, clearing them with a demonstration. "Observe." he said, and faster than the ogre or dragon could react, he pulled the ogre''s arm off.


    The ogre shrieked inhumanely, causing the child in Grant''s arms to struggle a little, before Grant used a spell, to cover the kids ears, returning him to sleep.


    The dragon watched the ogre, and surprise bloomed on his face as he watched the ogre''s arm regrew, replaced by a brand new one.


    Grant chuckled. "The beauty of my work. He''s immortal, through and through, he will recover from any injury, no matter how horrifying or devastating, or even attacks to the soul. Of course, the result is that he can no longer use any form of energy, whether it be qi, mana, or mental, but that hardly matters does it.? After all, a meal is a meal, and in this case, he''ll make a fine addition to your new hoard, no?"


    The dragon''s eyes widened, as he felt desire fill his heart.


    Indeed, as a newly evolved dragon, he was planning to fill his hoard so he may attract a mate, but unwilling to raid that outpost directly, he would be forced to scrounge the forest, or venture into dungeons to build his hoard.


    But now he had something extremely valuable. Infinite food. The ogre was not small, and even if it were not filling, it insured he would never run out of food, a treasure any dragon could appreciate.


    "Indeed, my lord! This one cannot show his gratitude more!"


    The ogre felt nothing but fear as he looked at the dragon who''s eyes now shined, and the haunting light that shone through the mask''s eyes.


    "No..." he whispered; his weak body barely able to speak these words..


    Crouching down, Grant drawled, as he mocked the beast viciously.


    "You aspired to be powerful,


    now you will be weaker then the weakest in all the lands,


    You wanted to be remembered forever,


    and now you will live forever,


    You wanted to be more than you once were,


    now you will forever be less than you were,


    Your legacy shall now be everlasting,


    as a dragon''s everlasting gobstopper,"


    He looked at the dragon.


    "Well? Bon appetite."


    The dragon bowed before Grant. "Truly, you are a great man." he praised.


    "I will enjoy this gift you have given upon me."


    And with that, the dragon left, with his prize in tow.

 Chapter 40: Return To Form

    Shouting could be heard at the gates to the outpost as Grant came into view, sitting on his bear as he rode, towing a cart full of victims of the goblins behind him.


    Grant continued to cradle the child all the while.


    Two guards came forth and greeted Grant.


    "adventurer Grant" said one stiffly. "What is this?" he asked. There was one general answer, but still, it is important to ask to verify.


    "I raided a goblin camp and saved a few adventurers."


    The two guards shared a look as they stared at the cart full. A few was not the correct answer.


    Nonetheless.


    "Would you like us to take it from here?" asked the other.


    "Yes, I have other things to tend to." Grant said stiffly as he walked into the outpost.


    As he walked past them, the guards shared a look.


    Once he was gone, one piped up.


    "... A lot colder than usual. What do you think happened?"


    The other shrugged, as a uncomfortable look passed through his face. He indicated at the women gathered on the cart. "You know how it is. People rarely come back in a good mood after witnessing goblin encampments." He frowned as he recalled the bundle of cloth with a face peering out. "I''m more curious about the figure in the cloth. I don''t think goblins spare kids, monster or not."


    The other guard shrugged as they went back to tending to their duties. They had other things to do besides gossip.


    But later? Later there would be plenty of time to gossip.


    <hr>


    When Grant strode into the adventurer''s guild, he entered with a presence from his normal one.


    He was the weird one, who acted weird, dressed weird, and was generally unknown.


    Today though, he was different.


    His mere presence stifled everyone nearby, as they felt suppressed before the presence of Grant.


    The guild quieted down, and tensions changed. No longer was it about humans and non humans.


    It was merely Grant and everybody else.


    Grant strode over to the line, and the line gave way, with not even the toughest among them willing to stand in his way.


    With each step, the sound of rattling chains could be heard.


    His cloak like the darkest abyss,


    his shining eyes peering out of the darkness,


    the glowing x on his chest,


    beat ever so slowly, like a living, breathing thing.


    Each step he took was suffocating the room, and the guild worker felt small before his presence.


    "G-grant?" she asked as she looked at the man.


    Usually, Grant was an eccentric adventurer, sure, but friendly. Approachable, and the mask did not hinder his jovial nature.


    Yet now that very same eccentric man felt like a monster, loaming over her.


    A presence that even the guildmaster could not compare to.


    "I want you to count my proof of victory." his voice rang out, for not a person dared move under this pressure.


    "Y-yes!"


    Hearing affirmation, Grant turned his palm downward.


    It all came flooding out.


    For some, this was something to pay attention to.


    Grant had just demonstrated spatial magic, something few adventurers knew, and those who do, rarely revealed such a dangerous card. So why expose oneself like that?


    Goblin ears, orc heads, hobgoblin bits fell on the table, and soon a pile of "proof" was in front of her.


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    "It''s so big!" whispered one adventurer.


    It was a mountain of death.


    Seeing the reactions of the surrounding adventurers, he merely stated.


    "I found a goblin encampment."


    The guild workers worked quickly as they counted, interrupted again.


    "Register this ogre as my familiar." Grant said, as he revealed an ogre child to the guild, leading to oohs and aahs, with the eyes of some filled with greed, and others filled with disapproval.


    A monster child is extremely valuable, easy to influence while they''re still young, and easy to force a familiar contract onto.


    Who cares if they look human in the end?


    They could try all they want, but they weren''t human.


    The nonhumans had a different thought.


    True, some had similar thoughts of greed, but others were disappointed.


    Grant had seemingly been in support of the non-humans this whole time, but to make one your familiar, to equate them with beasts was to essentially treat them less than slaves.


    And humanoid monsters like ogres were considered nonhumans, specifically the sapient ones.


    Grant could feel the stares on his back, but this was more comfortable.


    Hatred, and greed.


    He was far more used to this. Familiar even.


    "Are you sure?" asked the guild worker, as she looked at him uncertainly, and the child in turn.


    Grant said firmly. "I''m sure."


    Seeing his determination, she nodded unsurely. "Alright then, I''ve registered the young ogre as your familiar. Is that all?"


    Grant nodded. "Yes, that is enough."


    With this, he turned to face the whole of the crowd.


    "Did you hear that! The child is legally mine! He resides under my care!"


    Grant''s gaze passed through everyone there, instilling in them the fear of god.


    "Heed my warning: this child is mine. If any of you even dare lay a finger, nay, even an eye upon this child, even consider touching him without my permission:


    you have touched what''s mine. And I will not hesitate to tear you to shreds!"


    And with that, Grant disappeared from the adventurer''s guild, and the presence was gone.


    Even so, the guild did not return to normal for a good while, with no one noticing an adventurer quietly leaving the human side of the guild.


    <hr>


    Once inside his room, Grant opened his divine realm, he waived his hand, as a house began growing, resembling a basic suburban house.


    Once inside, Grant carefully laid the child down, before just sitting.


    And thinking.


    ...


    ''Should I just end it? ''


    Grant simply pondered.


    ''Scrub all these church members off the face of the outpost? ''


    He could do it.


    Just... finish them.


    Kill them all, and then quietly erase them from history.


    It would be easy, simple really.


    Grant just sat there, pondering this though for a good few minutes after this.


    No one amongst his creations dare approach him now, not with the aura he admitted. Quiet, yet overwhelmingly present.


    <hr>


    ''No''


    That would be too quick.


    Too easy


    Too... painless.


    He wanted to tear their plans to shreds, to watch it burn as they, ensnared in the burning house that would be their plans, as they were forced to watch helplessly as their plans collapsed upon themselves.


    Every plan destroyed, reduced to nothing.


    Nothing would escape his sight.


    Grant came to a decision.


    For that, he needed his scouts.


    All the creatures he had made up to this point were nothing short of investments for the long term. Terrifying powers for him to control one day, but right now, he needed something now.


    Something to scout for him, so he need not rely on his divine eye and waste his days on such foolish bugs.


    To use it 24/7 was simply too... exhausting.


    No, for insects, it was best to send birds to do the job.


    Reaching his hand out, he began creating one of his most dangerous creatures.


    Not dangerous because of their immense strength, but their great cunning, and ability to operate inconspicuously.


    Their group mentality.


    An evolution of crows, a creature descended of dragon lineage.


    The second Grant created the first of its kind on this planet, a chain reaction would occur.


    All corvids with enough dragon blood coursing through their veins would undergo a rapid evolution, awakening their dragon bloodline.


    Unlike the other progenitors, whom had had to wait to slowly populate this world, with a flick of his wrist, 10 percent of all crows, ravens, and magpies would begin evolving, triggered by their dragon bloodline, mana ambient enough environments, and the new evolution available for their species, they would emerge far more than 1 million, more than enough to properly create a progenitor in its godly stage.


    With a flick of his wrist, he would have over 10 million eyes worldwide.


    10 million spies, and even a percent of them would be enough for his purpose.


    Once he took this step, there would be no going back.


    There would be no time for the planet to adjust unlike the other races he has made.


    Flick


    And so it began.


    On that day, corvids fell from the skies in droves, as a mass evolution occurred, and all of them were brought under a unified front.


    This day would go down in history, forever remembered as the black rain, and the ascension of one of the most terrifying forces on the planet.


    Upon Grant''s shoulder, a crow like entity began to emerge.


    And yet, there were differences.


    Its face had become a fierce blend of ferocious dragon and cunning crow, its face changed to closer resemble that of a wyvern, yet the beak remained.


    4 horns emerged out of the head of the new progenitor, positioned similarly to the horns of a wyvern, but partially hidden behind the feathers of the creature, the horns more closely resembled a crown.


    The legs were thicker than your average crows, clearly closer to the likes of a more familiar scaly beast, and despite its stance still being that of a wyvern, claws could be seen peering out of the creatures'' wings.


    The tail feathers had extended their reach, thanks to a more lizard like tail, obscured by the coat of feathers as well, much like many of the other features that defined a dragon.


    The eyes were like that of a crow, yet the pupil had changed ever so slightly, becoming more of a slit, than the roundish eye that was the crows.


    Unlike the other progenitors, who had come into life without purpose, fresh and untouched, this one was filled with purpose.


    The being had burst into existence, rippling with divinity as it came into existence with well over a million of its own followers, nay, maybe even 10 million followers.


    It understood what its master desired.


    The master wanted control.


    He wanted eyes to see for him, to track for him.


    The master would have it.


    "To you, I grant the name Allrhalda, for through you, I will hold all of this town under my control."


    The new progenitor crooned as it felt the name emblazon upon itself, to bring new weight to its existence, a name all of the drows and dravens would remember.


    And so, the hunt would begin.

 Chapter 41: Berg

    Kaw! Kaw! Kaw!


    The kawing echoed through the alley, causing the follower behind another to scowl as he shoots the annoying critter a look, even contemplating throwing a rock at them.


    "Stop it."


    "What? C''mon, it''s just a stupid bird."


    "It''s a crow. Don''t you know that crows never forget?"


    "If I kill it, then it won''t have the ability to remember or forget." the second follower shot back.


    "The other crows will though." the leading one said as he ponted at the other crows who were quietly watching them.


    Seeing them, the second follower snorts, but stops his spell.


    "Doesn''t look like any crow that I know." he grumbled as he turned around and the pair continued along.


    Kaw! Kaw! Kaw!


    The sounds grew louder and the two hurried along faster than before, unseen by anyone other than the crows.


    <hr>


    Grant went in a few days later to register his new familiar.


    His aura had returned to normal, and yet the memory had not been forgotten. The people could not so easily forget the presence Grant had shown.


    The child was not with him, but neither was the bear. After seeing the spatial magic the other day, many rumors had spread, and speculation ran wild.


    Everyone who stood before Grant felt anxious and that day, the work seemed to go just a little bit faster.


    "And this is a crow?" Anna the guild worker asked as she eyed the bird unsurely.


    On the surface, it looked like a normal crow, but it was hard to ignore the crowning horns emerging from its head. And there was something about the bird that felt off, if it being slightly larger than a normal crow wasn''t a giveaway.


    Not that she would''ve noticed, now that drows and dravens had begun blending into the flocks, the larger size did not stand out.


    Were those teeth?


    "Yeah, I think it has some dragon blood, so it has a few weird features, you know? I thought it''d make a good reconnaissance familiar."


    "Ah!" she exclaimed, as she realized why it felt different.


    It had dragon blood!


    The sense of worry faded quickly, as anything she worried about was waived away by the fact that the creature had dragon blood.


    Creatures with dragon blood were rare, but not exotically so, and it was true, creatures with dragon blood were considered special amongst their kind.


    There were also those who kept them in the hopes of them evolving into dragons, as hopeless as a dream that was.


    "All right, done!" she exclaimed as she collected the registration.


    She paused for a moment, as she contemplated something, before carefully asking.


    "About that ogre child..." she waivered.


    "Yes?" asked Grant as he got quiet.


    Anna noticed but continued anyway.


    Regardless of what he was, he was a child, and she felt obligated to ask out of concern for the child.


    "Is he... feeling better?"


    Grant paused, and a different aura arose.


    Affection.


    Pure affection.


    It was as if life itself was just better all of a sudden.


    Unconsciously, her shoulders relaxed, as she felt the charm of the world seep through her, as if life itself was good.


    "The child is doing fine." Grant said. "He has yet to awaken, but that is to be expected after what he has endured."


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    She nodded, feeling relieved, watching as Grant left.


    <hr>


    Returning to the small house in his realm, Grant checked the boys forehead.


    A bit warmer than he had hoped, but that was fine.


    The real problem lay on his chest, where a certain range of magic circles was engraved.


    The spell was one that suppressed the child''s demonic bloodline by allowing his ogre bloodline to consume it.


    Grant was inclined to erase the magic circle, lest all that bonded the child to his mother would fade, as he became fully ogre.


    However, there were concerns Grant had.


    Namely, whose bloodline that demon was of, for the demoness from whom the child originated from was of duke level at least.


    The demons who inhabited Earth had a nobility, with each rank of bloodline having respectively higher levels of potential.


    This does not mean a demon can''t grow stronger than the nobility, merely that the nobility are more closely related to their hellish ancestors, and are stronger innately.


    And this child had the blood of a duke.


    This wasn''t something too amazingly difficult for Grant to deal with, but the child...


    Demons weren''t exactly fond of ogres, who seemed barbaric to their kind. They may not hate ogres for their nature as monsters, but their barbaric and primitive nature displeases demons, especially noble ones.


    The fact that this child, who was part demon and ogre, was out here in the middle of nowhere, able to be captured by a mere ogre out in the middle of nowhere spoke volumes about what had likely happened.


    Forbidden love and its costs, and the unfortunate child who was caught in its crosshair.


    There was a chance that the duke from whom this child was descended may come knocking one day.


    Could the child deal with that?


    How would he deal with a man who despised him for who he was, the regret he represented?


    Grant wasn''t sure yet.


    He would have to consider it for some time.


    For now, he would awaken an old friend.


    Dipping into his inventory, he pulled out a familiar golem core.


    "Berg", as he fondly called him. Yes, he called his golem berg.


    He could be a dick at times.


    Creating a smaller body then Berg was likely used to, he created a mythril derived body, which took the form of a stumpy little golem, chibi in its nature.


    Yeah, Berg would probably hate this too.


    Infusing the orb with mana, Grant plunged the now-glowing orb into the golem''s chest.


    As the golem lit up softly, life came into the golems two little eyes. Grant would''ve preferred 3, maybe even 6 eyes, but he wanted the child to feel at ease with the little golem.


    That didn''t stop him from installing tiny sensors in all sides of the head.


    Looking around, it spoke in that casual voice it always had. A youthful, exasperated voice, one that seemed to always have just a touch of sarcasm to it.


    "This don''t look like the afterlife..." it commented as it looked around, and then settling on the child "... and he don''t look dead..." as his eyes finally settled on his old master, he sighed "... you escaped death again, didn''t you?" it said exasperated.


    "This is like, the 5th time you''ve pulled this kind of stunt Grant." The golem said sighing. "Why does death keep letting you get away with this?"


    Grant rolled his eyes as he took off the mask and clothes, changing into something more casual.


    "No clue, but that''s not what happened."


    And so, Grant went through everything up until now.


    <hr>


    "Another stray." complained the golem, and yet that did not stop the golem from taking out a wet towel and using it to cool the child''s head.


    With a better body he might''ve even split in two so that he could begin preparing porridge for the child.


    "So you brought me back in this innocuous body to care for the child."


    Grant nodded.


    Berg asked cautiously.


    "And King and Queenie...?"


    "-No." Was Grant''s simple response to that, and the golem accepted, even feeling relieved.


    He missed his two homunculi friends, and the two were great with kids, but...


    ... They were just such horn dogs, that not even magic could suppress the noises that came with.


    Some actual peace and quiet sounded nice.


    He wanted to settle the child, ease him into his care.


    And dressing as a dark and brooding crow while hand feeding him was not the solution, nor was making the nights sleepless.


    Hence the casual clothes. And the absence of his old homunculi.


    And before this, the boy will likely still be traumatized, and needing of adaptation.


    This was why the boy would be cared for within his divine realm, out of the reach of any human, and the beings that inhabited the realm knew better than to defy his orders.


    A small golem acting dumb and innocent was the way in which he could slowly lower the child''s barrier.


    When they did meet, it would be in small appearances, bringing food, tucking blankets, the kind of things that were barely there, but there enough that he may slowly ease into the child''s life.


    In the meantime, it was time to start ruining the plans of those foolish devotees.


    <hr>


    "Allrhalda " he called as the draven appeared upon the man''s shoulder as he left the building, using its newfound divinity to arrive at its master call.


    Indeed, the drow had evolved into the draven form, or the adult form.


    At this point, the monster in it had begun to make itself more apparent.


    Looking closely, one would notice the beginnings of a second pair of arms appearing under the crows breast.


    Meant for grabbing foraging they were useful appendages for a draven to use tools with, and easy to hide within the dense plumage.


    Dravens were barely larger than drows, perhaps being a head taller, meant to blend in amongst drows.


    Each of its eyes were surrounded by a patch of scales, and the horns had become more prominent.


    Gathered around it were 4 smaller drows, and one draven that stood alongside his familiar, his partner, who had begun radiating divinity as well.


    For the drows and dravens, the mother holds equal value to the father, the omega to the alpha, and thus the divinity that Allrhalda held was shared by his new partner.


    The female draven bowed, demonstrating familial piety the way a new in law does before the parents. \


    Respectable.


    Nodding in approval, he fished out a golden pendant and gifted it to the new draven, who cawed happily.


    "Allrhalda, report." Said Grant, and the draven perked up as he began responding, describing vividly what his scouts had seen.


    By the end of the talk, Grant had heard all the plans, and all the ideas that the church had brainstormed, all in the palm of his hand.


    And now that they were in the palm of his hand, what else could he do, but crush them all?

 Chapter 42: Slaves

    "All of them"


    "What!?"


    "I''ll buy all of them."


    The slave trader looked at the raven sage lookalike as if he was crazy.


    "You''ll buy... all of them?" he said slowly, as if trying to ensure he had hear correctly.


    Grant merely stared him down. "Did I stutter?" he asked calmly.


    The slave trader laughed nervously as he attempted to get the man to stand down. "With all due respect, customer, there are over 200 non human saves aboard our shipment, and none of them are cheap!" he said as he clearly pleaded for the man to listen to reason. "That is thousands of gold-"


    "-Or a few platinum coins, no?" interrupted Grant.


    Click


    Click


    click


    Clank!


    The sounds of heavy coins could be heard as the merchant''s jaw dropped.


    Platinum coins!


    He swallowed, overturning his greed in favor of what he alongside the other followers had decided upon.


    These slaves were to break out of their chains and cause a commotion in the outpost, to turn public opinion against beasts.


    If he bought all of them here, then how could they plan a slave outbreak? They''d only have humans left!


    Still, he was a merchant before he was a human purist.


    "My apologies honored customer, some of them have already been reserved, but if you want, we can still 0ffer you-"


    "Poor."


    "-Pardon?" the merchant asked as he felt a thick, murderous intent land upon him, as the sweat on his forehead beat down greater than it ever could on this hot day.


    "I had hoped we could do this the easy way, to let your greed overtake your devotion to a poor cause. It seems not."


    Panic


    The merchant grew fearful as he heard the man''s words. He could not see the man''s eyes, and yet the man could see through his.


    He knew.


    Fumbling through his pocket, he quickly began looking for the alarm to warn the others, but before he could grasp the tool, the man began choking him, and the man gasped, reaching for his neck, desperately attempting to dislodge the hand that grasped his throat.


    "Don''t worry" Grant assured the choking man. "I won''t kill you; hell, I''ll be paying you to fulfill one of my requests." he cooed as his other hand traveled upwards to the center of his forehead.


    "I''m sure after all is said and done, you''ll see it my way."


    <hr>


    "What are you doing!" shouted the follower as they were dragged away by the guards.


    The overseer who had been assigned to the outpost sighed, as he roughed up his hair up as he watched the two scream as they were taken away.


    This would be so much trouble.


    "I''m surprised you turned them in." he said as he turned to the merchant.


    The merchant shrugged. "It was in my best interest. I realized chances were, they were going to toss me to the side once I had served my purpose, if you will."


    The overseer understood that. Of course, this meant he had almost gone ahead with assisting them, but still, he could use all the help he could get, so he would ignore this one.


    "Besides," the merchant continued, "someone offered me platinum coins to rid myself of danger. I can''t think of a better deal than that."


    This had the overseer interested. "And who was this person who offered you such a sum of money to expose these suspects?" he asked.


    If there was someone who was capable of giving platinum coins, all either on a whim, or with greater goals in mind, then it was important for him to know who it was, if only to know not to step on his toes, and to keep a closer eye on them, see who they''re working for.


    It never boded well to ignore unseen dangers.


    <hr>


    Grant moved even as he felt the intent rising, squashing the wretched desire inside himself as he continued on.


    As the centuries had gone on, and as he had absorbed memories, he found that the desires of these people had become his as well, and even some of their opinions.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    This unfortunately included racism and prejudice, amongst all the dark things that dwelled within a man''s heart.


    He squashed it well enough, using others and setting contrasting desires against one another, but at times like these, where he had replaced the prejudice of others with virtuous thoughts he acquired from others, occasionally his body''s equilibrium would crumble a bit.


    Thankfully, he only had to replace one man''s prejudice, and thus it meant nothing in front of the countless people had absorbed, but that did not mean it had no effect, and like all the other things he had taken, it had to be suppressed.


    This would be a worthwhile choice, however. Without the prejudice, the man''s choices would change. No sane slave merchant would willingly associate themselves as the cause of a slave uprising, much less one he had intentionally started. Without that disgusting fervor in the way, he would see that the only way it could really end for him was death. If the uprising slaves didn''t kill him, then the fanatics would.


    More likely than not, he would go to the nearby authorities to protect him, and there happened to be an S-rank guildmaster here to protect him, and a desperate administrative office trying to connect the church to the new spike in tension.


    And that, was one less gear in the machine for the churches plans.


    As for the nonhuman slaves, they would go into his divine realm.


    Correction, they were there already.


    He had decided to assign them to his Korvold and Axobodl progenitors to oversee and train in living in their new homes.


    Frankly, the priority had simply been dunking on the church of Isis, but the aftermath was not so easy to deal with.


    With well over 100 slaves, they all had to go somewhere.


    He had considered abandoning them on someone else''s front doorsteps as refugees, but that would likely another miserable living, with many just turning themselves over again as slaves.


    Kanuck had a good heart, even if she had eyes that eclipsed her stomach, and with the guiding hand of A''Tan, he was sure they would lead good lives within their domain as long as they stayed put.


    He scrubbed the memories of all the shady ones and war criminals to give them all fresh starts, and to make sure they didn''t corrupt his progenitors.


    And now?


    Now he was going to have a small chat with the paladin.


    <hr>


    Peter had been playing with the children leisurely, a calm smile on his face.


    The children belonged to an orphanage of Isis, and were one of the few places he could find solace in this wretched place.


    He felt this special place of his violated as he sensed a presence approaching, one that the guards had failed to alert him of.


    "So this was where you are. Playing with children." came the voice, mocking him with every word.


    Looking around carefully, paladin Peter noticed that no one seemed to notice the man from whom the voice came from, not the guards, nor the children.


    Even as he spoke, they continued on, as if the man did not even exist.


    The paladin did not react, merely complimenting Grant''s work.


    "I can''t see the magic circle." he said simply as Grant stood beside the man, observing the children.


    Grant shrugged. "Can''t sense it either, can you." he plainly pointed out.


    It wasn''t just about seeing after all. More experienced fighters are capable of sensing before seeing, an important skill for surviving.


    "I''ll admit it''s impressive, but I must ask; what''s your purpose for seeking to meet me in private?" He asked simply, yet the shield he was so famously known for had begun apparating.


    He had expected the kids to start fleeing once they saw him pull out the shield, but watched on in surprise as they continued to play, merely without the paladin. It was confusing.


    Grant stated his purpose. "Isn''t it obvious?" he asked. "I''ve come to declare formal war on you."


    Immediately, a well of killing intent emerged from the paladin as he raised his shield into position.


    "Not bad, not bad," Grant mockingly commented, "but unneeded. This is merely a declaration."


    He released his own tidal wave of killing intent, carefully matching the paladin''s.


    "I wanted to make sure you understood before it all started falling apart. You see." he said as he walked around the wary paladin.


    "I don''t usually interfere in the affairs of others, even when they try to kill me. A little slap on the wrist maybe, the death of a few dozen, whatever it takes for them to stop bothering me."


    He slowed down a bit.


    "Even when children get involved, I sit quiet, because even I understand you can''t stop everything. That''s not how creation works."


    Grant stops, his killing intent slowly overwhelming the paladins.


    "But what you did, or rather what you didn''t." Grant''s head twitched uncontrollably, at angles a human head shouldn''t be able to do so..


    "Such a horrific thing was happening, where a child was forced to swallow his family, to endure such great pain, such MISERY! And you just watched, nay, you desired to profit off his pain. A paladin of the goddess of kindness and mercy watched as cruelty was forced on children."


    Giggle


    "NOW Where''S THe KinDness In THaT??" The man''s voice distorted, and the word''s twisted. The killing intent overflowed, crashing like a tidal wave, threatening to squish the stain before Grant.


    To this, Peter had no response.


    Grant taunted. "The hypocrisy stinks off of you! To think you can so calmly play with these children while ignoring the pain inflicted upon another. Did he not deserve your kindness? Or is that only reserved for the human children?" The words were vile and insulting, spitting in the face of all of Peter''s beliefs.


    But Peter did not hesitate.


    Peter''s word''s were unyielding, unhesitant, even as he raised his shield higher. "I regret nothing." he stated, continuing with sureness in his voice. "To purge the temple, to purge the empire of filth, I am willing to take any action necessary, no matter what it will cost. No matter how much it pains me."


    Hearing this, Grant snorted. He cracked his head back into place, and sneered. "Is that so?"


    How much it hurt him?


    He snickered. He howled.


    "Very well then! I promise from here on out that the efforts of this foolish subsection of the church will see no results. That every effort that they make in this town will be foiled at every turn, until all possible paths are blocked off, until there are no ways out!"


    "Paladin Peter! Paladin Peter!" Shouted a voice, as the sound of someone panting and running could be heard in the distance, as the two faced off.


    "Would you look at that?" Grant crooned as he stared at the paladin. "You''ve made your moves, and now my first has been made. I look forward to your final expression of desperation."


    He giggled uncontrollaby.


    "It makes it all the more delicious at the end." Grant taunted as he simply disappeared into the ground, not even a trace of magic, nor divinity, just gone.


    Looking at the incoming fanatic, Peter asked. "What happened?"


    It seems that Grant was more dangerous than he had bargained for.


    <hr>


    Watching the child, Grant sighed.


    The child was scared and staring at everything around him with suspicion and distrust.


    Despite no longer being in the old cabin he had been in, the boy was still scared, unable to shake off the horror of that time.


    Grant was watching through cameras of course, having sent Berg in to serve the food.


    The boy was shivering in the corner, as far away as he could be from the golem, glaring suspiciously at everything, even the food.


    This... this would be a long journey.

 Stocking Stuffer 1: King Richard 3rd, 2.0 Eletric boogaloo!

    Beep


    -For your crimes against the people of England-


    Beep


    -Dream on thy cousins smothered in the tower-


    Beep


    -The first was I that helped thee to the crown-


    BEEP


    -And fall thy edgeless sword, despair and die-


    BEEP


    -The last was I that felt thy tyranny!-


    Thunk!  The sound of a halberd pierced Richard''s mind, the very moment of his death.


    Gasp


    His eyes shot open as he started to gasp for air, unable to piece things together as he struggled for dear life, finding himself within a great transparent container filled to the brim with water.


    -004 is awake- -prepare the IV- -contact the- -Clarence will-


    Sounds rushed through Richard''s head as he watched the strange people dressed in clothes of white rushed pass the glass, as he struggled.


    He''d already pulled himself together, even as he struggled to reconcile the memory of the blade piercing his skull with the current situation.


    He stopped struggling, understanding that struggling would only cost him precious air.


    He was naked in this glass jar, with a weird cord attached to his stomach, and a weird mask attached to his face, one that he quickly realized gave him air, also giving him piece of mind to observe properly, watching these people.


    Everything was alien to him currently, and he had no power as of now, no way to truly do anything.


    If he was alive, by some miracle, then he was now in a world where his crimes were laid bare, everything he''d strived for, destroyed.


    He would have to start from the ground up.


    Plead reformation, claim he''d seen the error of his ways.


    It''d be a difficult road, but once he returned to the top...


    Richard couldn''t help the small lip curl, as he found himself with a seemingly new lease on life, a new chance to play the game.


    The odds were against him, nay God himself was against him, but he had returned.


    He had fallen into the pits of Hell, and had risen, an act of defiance against the lord.


    He would be their scourge again.


    Fwoosh! the sound of gas exhaling as the water drained, and the container opened up, signifying Richard''s second birth into this world. And this time...


    ... things would be different.


    <hr>


    The people and this singular room were not the only things were different, for nay, everything was different.


    There was no deference, no spite at him, the man who had brought ruin to England.


    There were whispers however, as the people kept their distance, and no deference was shown to the king, even if he was merely the former one. It was irritating, enough to make one want to show them their place...


    But not now.


    Now was the time to observe.


    Although most kept their distance, a few occasionally let their curiosity get to them, and revealed a few things.


    The most important thing he learned was that it was 20xx.


    It had been well over 5 centuries since he had departed this world.


    It all made so much more sense now.


    They weren''t meeting a king so much as they were meeting a relic in the past.


    No wonder they did not fear him. He was more myth than reality for them.


    Knowing that made it so much easier for him to lure them in, keeping a kind facade, as if that which was written of him was nothing but fabricated lies. Reality is always malleable, and with that much time, Richard could easily make himself the victim of rumors, of a history written by the victors.


    As for the victors, they were all gone now. When seen that way, perhaps he could be seen as the final victor, though the chance remained that they too may be brought back the same way he had been.


    This science, it sounded very much like the heresy the church once would''ve had one crucified for.


    Not that he minded, for church was nothing but a tool to him, God nothing but a cursed reminder of his damned back.


    And now that was removed, and the position of God destabilized. How wonderful.


    Yes, Richard had confirmed that his back had been fixed. He''d suspected that to be the case when he had emerged from the tank, and his walk felt more natural and comfortable, the pain gone.


    They gave him a quick guide to the years that followed his death, the centuries that followed.


    They quickly taught him some modern sense, the modern governments, and bits of knowledge here and there.


    But they did not tell him why.


    Why he was alive again.


    Why they had brought him back.


    Why they would bring back a usurped and vile king, one who was infamous, and even had a play written about him.


    Why in an age where kings had no power, and most were relegated to mere mascots of a country, more useless than Henry the 6th or even Edward could ever aspire to be.


    Why he was the fourth.


    After two weeks of thinking and contemplating, his questions were to be answered as he was escorted to meet the person in charge of this project.


    <hr>


    As Richard entered the room, he heard a voice echoing through the hall.


    It was a vibrant and warm voice, annoyingly enticing, warm and happy.


    He hated those.


    The lines themselves were arguably no better. Worse even perhaps.


    "I do the wrong, and first begin to brawl,


    the secret mischiefs that I set abroach,


    I lay unto the grievous chare of others,


    Clarence, who I indeed have cast in darkness,


    I do beweep to many simple gulls,


    namely to Derby, Hastings, Buckingham,


    and tell them ''tis the queen and her allies


    that stir the King against the Duke my brother,


    Now they believe it, and withal whet me,


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    to be revenged on Rivers, Dorset, Grey,


    but then I sigh, and, with a piece of scripture, tell them that God bids us to do good for evil,


    and thus I clothe my naked villainy


    with odd old ends, stol''n forth of Holy writ,


    and seem a saint when most I play the devil!"


    As Richard walked in, he quickly noted the names, and guessed the source, but played dumb.


    Walking into the room, Richard came to the source of the voice, a man adorned in more weird clothes, what they call "jeans" and a "casual short sleeve".


    The man with tanned skin and bleached white hair, turned towards him with a fresh(gross) smile as he greeted him warmly.


    "Well? what did you think?" he cheerfully asked.


    "It was wonderful!" Richard lied as he returned the smile with a smile of his own, carefully observing the tall man.


    The man rolled his eyes. "Now tell me what you really think." he said, and Richard "ceded" his truth.


    "Those lines were horrid, absolutely horrid."


    The man giggled. "I know right! That was their impression of you, king Richard the 3rd!"


    Richard scoffed. "I would never speak like that" he said, as he eyed the secretary standing next to the man, who seemed to be... oddly familiar in spite of his formal clothing. That orange hair...


    Seemingly ignorant of Richard''s suspicions, the man continued. "Come, sit! Let us talk in depth. I''m sure you have a fair amount of questions." The man guided Richard to a seat in front of a small coffee table as they both sat down, and Richard had to marvel once more how wonderful chairs in this new world was.


    "The names Jonas. Jonas Trunks."


    He put his hand out. A handshake they called it?


    Richard copied the motion fluidly, as he reached his hand out and shook it in turn.


    "And I''m sure you know of me." Richard said politely.


    "Ha! Of course." Jonas chuckled.


    Clap


    "So, shoot." the man said in his weird lingo, but Richard ignored it, as well as the blatant disregard of him and politely asked.


    "Forgive me if I come off as rude and ungrateful, but I wanted to ask the obvious." Pause. "How am I alive exactly?"


    "Ah, right to the meat and potatoes huh? No entrees first?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.


    "Hm? No, no, let''s uh, as you say, start with the main course." Richard said, playing along with some difficulty.


    The man shrugged. "Cloning. We copied your body and the mind followed." he said.


    Richard paused there, as his body went stiff. "So, I''m not the original Richard then?


    The man casually shrugged, disregarding Richard''s existential crisis.


    "Who knows. We may have copied the body and extracted the memories, cured your back(your welcome by the way) so honestly, who knows? The experiences are the same, the dna is mostly the same, supplemented by some of the modern royal families less screwed up Dna, so I suppose it''s all up to you."


    Richard struggled with it for a good moment, before putting it all down to contemplate later. His plans may change, but his intent would remain the same.


    "And where was my body exactly?" asked Richard, struggling past that mind boggling thought, and out of some morbid curiosity as to how the man had managed to get his hands on his body, when there was no way the royal family would have so easily allowed such a dangerous man such as himself to be brought back.


    Jonas shrugged. "We found you beneath a parking lot." he said, and although Richard did not know what this "parking lot" was, he could hear the mockery easily enough.


    He was more surprised his body was kept after what he had done. He expected his body to be burned or crushed to bits. To his good fortune it seems.


    A chuckle could be heard as the man behind Jonas broke out in laughter, cutting himself off quickly.


    Richard could not help himself, for he swore there was something similar about laughter, but different, for it was a joyous laughter. At his own expense no less.


    "Buckingham?" he asked disbelievingly.


    The man stopped, as he looked at Richard with a sense of familiarity.  Cracking a smile. "It''s good to see you again your majesty!"


    Richard maintained his composure, but inwardly, was baffled at the smile Buckingham showed.


    Jonas nodded. "Yes, 003, Buckingham." he frowned for a minute, before starting his next statement. " Unfortunately, you''re the most successful, and in the case of 003 Buckingham, the memories and mind were seemingly "damaged" in the" he makes another annoying hand gesture, this time indicating the motion of a falling guillotine. Of course Richard knew how Buckingham died. He ordered his death, which was why he was so unsure why Buckingham was so happy to see him, though he did have a guess. Damaged...


    Jonas sighed. "Yup. His mind is still sharp, but he can''t quite recall his last few months of life, nor does he understand anything at all when it comes to his death, so mentioning it is pointless."


    Buckingham got down and gave Richard''s a hug. It was stiff, and a bit awkward, and it led Richard to question the truth of the statement.


    "Hugs, not quite used to those" Buckingham said, excusing the stiffness of his posture. Richard did not comment on this.


    Richard found that greatly suspicious, but seeing as Buckingham wasn''t jumping to end him, he put those suspicions aside. And if it were true, there was something interesting about hanging with the man he killed.


    "Why."


    "Why what?" Jonas said, slightly cocking his head, yet there was a hint of a smile, as the man once more


    "Why bring back a king without a throne? There is no reason to bring me back when clearly history does not look upon king Richard 3rd as a leader?"


    Jonas snorted. "Good. I''m not looking for the king called Richard, but the duke of Gloucester Richard, the schemer. The saboteur."


    "I do not know what those God-forsaken plays say, but I assure you that-"


    "-Richard." The tanned man interrupted him for once, and in this instance, the facade dropped. Not on Richard''s part, but Jonas'' part.


    "Did you know? My name happens to be derived from Janus, the god of choices." His stare was piercing through the soul of Richard, as he felt himself scrutinized beneath the stare of the man. Richard felt as if all he was had been stripped down to his core, that he was seen through with but one glance, as if his essence was laid bare.


    He hated it. He hated how small he felt, how insignificant.


    "You''ve come at a crossroads here. Choose, and choose carefully. You can play dumb, and we simply mark you up as a success of the project and you get to live a simple life. We won''t treat you bad." He added, emphasizing Richard''s safety.


    "But you will live a boring mundane life, and do an average 9 to five job, come home, sleep, wake, work. Repeat" he said, as a sense of boredom slowly overcame Richard just hearing the monotone words.


    "Or." He leaned in. "Or you tell me that the king of lies and sabotage stands before me..." He paused, and Richard leaned in, interested in what the man was implying.


    "And?" he asked as he leaned in, breath bated, as he could feel the lure, the chance to do once more.


    Jonas smiled


    "And then we can play. You get a new identity, we place you in England, use that new royal blood that runs through you, tie you to the current family, and you. run. loose. You get to start the game all over again, and this time, you rule. "


    Richard was tempted. The idea of living a boring life was out of consideration immediately. He couldn''t imagine it. A quite life?


    Nonsense. He was not a man of peace and quiet, but war and blood. Of manipulation and deceit. Living the life that Jonas offered would never be enough.


    Richard could practically smack his lips at the deal the man before him offered.


    Still.


    "What''s in it for you?" he asked, as curiosity flashed through his eyes.


    Jonas shrugged. "I have orders. Orders to bring England to heel. I could grab a plethora of other people, sure, but dare I say it, you are best fit for the modern age."


    "Me? Really?"


    "mmm. The modern age is not an age of chivalry, but a world of cunning and manipulation. False facades and the manipulation of the crowds."


    "Oh!?" Richard said as his eyebrows went up.  His blood was practically tingling, his hair raising. Even in spite of the obvious alarms that rang, the danger of Buckingham looming overhead, and this new, incomprehensible world.


    He was tempted. Another chance at the game, a chance that he would not ruin.


    "Oh yes. You would be like a shark in water. The new England is practically yours for the taking. And all you have to do is agree to a few conditions. Janus'' eyes glinted ominously, and just for a second, the shadows behind him seemed to split into 2. Two heads, two paths.


    And Richard had chosen his path.


    "I am..."


    <hr>


    As Richard left the room Buckingham watched carefully until Richard was gone, departing through the door.


    Unlike the cheerful radiance he had given off like he had been sending off an old friend, Buckingham''s aura was now the presence of pure spite flowing through the man''s veins.


    "Geez." complained Jonas as he dug his finger through his ear. "Calm down over there, huh? With that kind of spite, I''m surprised he can''t feel it from over there. What''d he even do to piss you off so much?"


    "He chopped off my head. Immortalized me as the traitorous scrooge under some 3rd rate villain for all to read out of a book" Buckingham said through gritted teeth. If his pathetic death were not enough, then the fact that he was forever immortalized in plays as a villain who flipped sides so quickly, and fooled so easily was more than enough to garner his hatred.


    Jonas shrugged. "Fair enough. So what do you think? Does he believe you truly don''t remember what comes after, and you know?" he made a cutting gesture across the throat, making a weird sound. Ssshhhck


    Buckingham thought about it for a minute. Finally, he responded. "He''ll suspect but will likely tread carefully. " Buckingham chuckled painfully. "I''m sure he''ll derive some sick joy from hanging out with someone he''s killed, while the other remains blissfully unaware."


    "He''ll betray you eventually." Buckingham commented now that Richard left the room, his cheerful demeanor having since long disappeared, trying to convince the man(?) known as Jonas that this was the wrong choice.


    Jonas shrugged. "Of course, both you and Richard the 3rd over there are both dangerous and conniving people, who managed to claim the whole of England through tricks and backstabbing. I expect nothing less."


    Buckingham had to concede on this front. Despite the fact that he now firmly took a stance against the monster known as Richard, he recalled all the horrible things he had done at the service of the man.


    It took death for him to realize the wrongs he had done, the betrayals he had made to everyone around him only for the one he trusted to betray him in the end.


    And here he was in the end, given a second chance to restrain the beast, to restrain rather than enable the beast.


    Buckingham shook his head. "You do not know him as I do. That man, no, that thing is a monster, and if he gets what he wants-"


    "But what if he never gets what he wants?" interrupted Jonas. "You''re right, that he is undoubtedly a monster. But he is a cunning monster, one that ultimately only failed once he became king, brought down by his own brutality as he shed his previous cloak. It is this cloak that will also be his tarp binding him down. As long as he is far from his goal, he will not act rashly, and will tread carefully."


    He tapped his desk thoughtfully.


    "I''m curious, I''ll admit. No hunched back to fall back on and offered the chance to have England in the palm of his hand, how he''ll move forward. No people from the past left to resent, a whole new world, a whole new identity."


    "Do you think he may have a change of heart?"


    Silence


    Seeing the dumb look that Buckingham was giving him, Jonas couldn''t help but laugh.


    "No, he''ll probably never change. But that''s fine. I don''t need him to change. I simply need him to play his role. And should he ever step out of line and try to repeat history..."


    Jonas tapped on his computer upon which multiple codes ran, with familiar names running down the line.


    "Well..."


    002 Clarence


    003 Richmond


    005 Hal


    Jonas cracked a smile, vile in its very form.


    "Richard''s not the only one who can replace an unreliable subordinate."

 Chapter 43: Bringing it all down

    Whip!


    Whip!


    Whip!


    The lashing sounds continued, echoing in the silence of the room, as Peter let loose without hesitation.


    The blows came down consistently, without fail, as the flog dug into his flesh.


    For all that he did, for all the pain he bought.


    It was worth it.


    The actions he took would lead to the betterment of the temple, it''s purity, the image of Isis violated no more.


    He knew that it would hurt innocent people, but that was unimportant.


    Irrelevant.


    Knock!, knock!


    The frantic sound caused him to halt his self-flagellation as he sighed, getting up and putting on his tunic, as the injuries quickly healed, with not a trace of the pain he had gone through, leaving only the memory of what he had done, the least he could do.


    He opened the door and spoke gruffly.


    "Speak"


    The messenger was frantic. "Lord P-P-Peter sir!" he stammered as he looked around frantically.


    "The s-s-s-site! It''s gone!" he screeched, causing Peter''s to pause as he remembered the promise the man in the mask had said, his words ominously coming to mind at this moment.


    <hr>


    The child awoke to a startling shape before his very eyes, jumping back as he stared warily at the very thing that had been in his arms just a few seconds ago.


    A teddy bear.


    The boy stared at the bear, watching it for any movement.


    The bear did not move.


    He tentatively tapped the bear before quickly retreating.


    Silence


    Carefully, the boy took the bear, holding it in his hands as the bear innocently looked back at him.


    Well, blankly.


    The weird moving rock was nowhere to be seen, only the food and the conspicuous bear he found before him.


    Gingerly, the boy hugged the bear, finding satisfaction in its warmth.


    It was very cute, Grant noted.


    "Gyaaaah!"


    Interrupted by a very annoying noise.


    "Hush now!" demanded Grant as he shook the source of annoyance, a fanatic self-proclaimed believer just like the rest.


    He''d broken into this territory of the fanatics, with the intent to destroy something valuable.


    The corpses they''d been keeping.


    Bodies of both humans and non human''s alike, these bodies were stored here until they were planted into provocative locations, selectively chosen to rile the populace into a frenzy.


    The fools had kept it well hidden, but well defended? No, not in the least.


    Only 3 believers were here, of the C-rank admittedly, but dangerous, they were not.


    The first was dispatched of quickly and efficiently, her name seeming to be Emma.


    After quickly pinning down the other two, Grant was interrupted by a recording sent to him by Berg, showing the child gingerly holding the teddy bear, which had amused him.


    Of course, the mood was ruined now.


    "Ivy, was it?" he asked calmly, yet there was no mistaking the coldness in the voice.


    Before she or the one called Jayne could scream, both of their mouths were shut with a gag.


    Grant gripped her neck, and with a firm tug, pulled.


    Her muffled screams came out desperately as her spine came out of her body, but spine it was no more than a long thick trunk, plagued with ivy''s and soon Ivy''s face was also covered in ivy, leaving nothing but the despined body limply laying there.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Seeing her friend''s fate, Jayne''s eyes widened with fright as Grant turned his attention to her, his wicked thoughts flooding him as he taunted her.


    "And what am I going to do with you, Jayne doe?" he said as the woman silently screamed.


    <hr>


    "Face burned off, there is no trace of the woman''s previous identity. No other signifying traits. She''s a real john doe" reported the forensic worker as he went over his report to the investigator.


    "And the other one?" the lizardman asked as he eyed the other corpse dressed in priestly clothes. It was a gruesome sight that when they first went to investigate had caused some of the guards to throw up at the sight.


    The man looked nauseous for a minute before speaking. "Her spine is entirely missing, yet everything else is clearly intact. It''s like her spine was never even there." he shivered.


    "As for her spine, well" he cast a glance at the weird tree sitting in the corner. "It''s weird how much that looks like a spine." he muttered before continuing. "No trace. Not a thing. I was almost convinced that the tree over there was signs of a alchemical change of the higher level but-" he sighed. "I don''t see any traces of magic on the tree, and it doesn''t answer where the head went to either, since all that tree ends in is a head full of leaves and branches. Besides, what about the rest of them?" he said while carefully pointing at the collection of bodies, something equally sickening.


    Looking at the confusing crime scene, the investigator sighed. "I''ll have to speak with the town''s overseer for that. This seems to be something a little more than just a mere crime scene." his tongue flicked in and out in frustration.


    It wasn''t something small either. The reason why they''d all rushed to get here had been a loud explosion that had been set off, causing people to freak out, as guards were dispatched to investigate alongside some healers. Once this ruin was discovered, the healers were traded for coroners.


    The man hesitated. "Do you think this has anything to do with the way the towns been heating up?" he asked, as the same thought raced through their heads.


    ''A conspiracy was brewing''


    <hr>


    Overseer Donnie sighed as he put the report down.


    The crime scene, the clothes that the corpses were dressed in, and the conspiracy that had arose, involving the church of Isis were all coming together, causing a larger headache than he had anticipated.


    Truly, he couldn''t get a break.


    He''d also received a report that Grant the adventurer had been close to the crime scene at the time, scene leaving in the opposite direction with a tray filled with honey muffins, made by his familiar. The bear and his trets had quickly become well known, as the bear had been seen wandering the streets as he shared his treats to children and sold others to the adults.


    Normally, this would''ve been a coincidence, but after his meeting with the merchant whom ratted out the fanatics, and his current collaboration with the guild leader, he had begun gleaming it was far more than a mere coincidence, but rather all of it was starting to shape up as the schemes of this man called Grant.


    Gulp gulp


    With a quick gulp out of his tin, the overseer steeled his nerves, but groaned regardless.


    He was only here because he had to be. His father had pushed him to stop staying home and tinkering with his gadgets and forced him to get a job.


    His father, an earl, had managed to get him into a low-level job at an outpost on the far corners of the empire.


    It was good, he had time to tinker with his little gadgets.


    And when the followers of Isis arrived, he welcomed them with open arms as they settled quietly and began their business.


    And then paladins Peter came.


    And a famous retired S class hero came and started acting as guildmaster.


    Maybe that''s when it all went downhill.


    Donnie now realized the reason the guildmaster was here was to keep an eye on the paladin, and his actions.


    And now there was all this commotion, with the fights breaking out and the scheming and the-


    gulp


    -crazy guy selling honey muffins and tearing down the schemes of the church and casually showing off terrifying feats of strength.


    He was A-rank at least, based off the reports, say nothing of the fact that he truly knew nothing of the man to say the least.


    Sigh. Why him!?


    <hr>


    Ursa Major watched as Grant pulled out a sugar cube, and began crushing it, sprinkling it on the ground.


    He didn''t quite get it, but he was sure this weird man was creating another magic trick.


    The last time with the condensed milk slime was fun and interesting, teaching him how to make condensed milk, and giving him a new ingredient to use.


    The bear wasn''t sure why he could not simply use simple sugar, but his master insisted that magical ingredients accentuated the taste of the honey, and if this was the case, then why would he disagree.


    The sugar did not stop sprinkling, and as the master kept sprinkling, the bear realized that sugar had been falling out of the sky, sprinkled by an unseen force, and soon the barren land they had been standing on was drowned in sugar, seemingly becoming a white desert.


    "I''ll call this the sugar sands." he said, beholding the desert of sugar he had made. With a wave of his hand, gummy serpents and chocolate crunch ants and lizards.


    Juicy gusher cacti began springing up, with sharp spines made of hard candy.


    An oasis of syrup popped up here and there, as jawbreaker scorpions and crabs settled into the sand, and hard-shelled fish settled into the syrupy lake. Palm trees made of a gummy core and hard shelled chocolate covering the inner truck, with jawbreaker coconuts ready to drop at a moment''s notice.


    None of the creatures here were sapient, so he gave none of them received the rebirth function, but their souls would reincarnate here after death. His way of optimizing the mana usage, since bringing creature''s back with their memories intact was expensive.


    Satisfied, Grant addressed his furry partner. "Come here once in a while and see if there''s anything you''d like as an ingredient. For now, you can use the sugar from here, as over time it''ll develop greater magical properties, and go even better with honey."


    Seeing the bear''s expressing his understanding, Grant was about to leave, before he paused. "Actually..." he said, turning around to the bear.


    "How about I teach you how to make porridge?"


    <hr>


    The child opened his eyes, as the smell lured him and his stomach rumbled in spite of his wariness.


    A small bowl before him, the smell calling to him.


    Walking over to it warily, he eyed it, and with hesitation, tasted it, dipping his finger into his mouth.


    pop


    His eyes widened as he started using his hands to dig into it, shoveling it into his mouth, as he savored the warm and soft texture of the porridge, hesitating not even a second as he happily ate it, disregarding all wariness he had but a second ago.


    Berg frowned as he watched over camera.


    "Is my porridge that bad?"  he grumbled, complaining as he recalled how slowly the child ate his porridge,


    Grant rolled his eyes. "He was more wary of the random pop-up food then" Grant pointed out, before adding. "Besides, he''s been having nonstop meat up until now, and his parent''s flesh no less, so chances are, he''s happy to eat something not meaty. Condensed milk porridge is perfect for this."


    "Yeah, I guess cannibalism tends to ruin one''s appetite for meat."


    "Yup"

 Stocking Stuffer: 2 Isekaied to another world: I aint dealing with all that!

    I died by truck.


    Two of them in fact. Technically one and a half.


    The first time I tripped over a toy truck a kid left on the street, flipping and cracking my skull.


    I should''ve died there, but I didn''t.


    Perhaps I could''ve came back from that.


    So where''s that other truck?


    WHHHHHRRR!


    There it is.


    Apparently I had fell right into the pathway of an actual truck, and if my head was cracked the first time, then the second time around, it was positively crushed, as I got the unfortunate pleasure of feeling as my brain splattered against the side of the sidewalk.


    I thought I was dead.


    But if you know any isekai novel, or transmigration, you know what happened next.


    Yup, I woke up as the main villain of a fantasy romance story.


    Reincarnated as, actually.


    Apparently I was reborn here without any memories, and lived my whole life up to this point, until recently, where I tripped and hit my head, knocking myself out, and getting all my memories back of my past life.


    A bit cliche?


    Definitely, but that hardly matters to me.


    I''m out, leaving, gone.


    Who am I now?


    Well, I''m the villain. The former heir to a relatively powerful baron.


    Former, because a few days from now, my father, the pathetic wheezer who''s never shown me a lick of attention, is going to arrive with my half-brother in tow, as he promptly replaces me with him, causing my ultimate down spiral as I see all the hard work, I''ve done over the years go down the drain.


    I still remember my life as Alan, his son. All the efforts, all the desperation to get that man to look at me.


    I feel so pathetic recalling that.


    Well, no more!


    Alan would go on to sell his body and soul to a demon and stand in the way of the female lead, Leah Vales, the daughter of a nearby baron, and the duke of the north''s son, Connor Bergstrom, which ultimately results in Alan''s death and eternal damnation.


    Thankfully, that selling your soul bit only occurs near the end of the book, so I have plenty of time to ditch the story line.


    No point in sticking around any way. My father has already gone out, so I''m sure that he''s gone to collect my bastard brother.


    That''s harsh, but he also drives me into insanity, so screw him. He''s not a bad person, but neither was I.


    I take my sword, steal some clothes belonging to the servants, pocket change, and I''m off!


    Well, that and a letter.


    Dear Father,


    I have no doubt that when you return, you will return with an appropriate replacement for me as heir to the barony.


    That''s fine, but don''t mind if I collect what rightfully belongs to me, and finally collect an allowance, which you have refused me for the last 16 years of my life.


    I wish the bastard the best of luck, putting up with the biggest bastard that is my negligent father.


    Sincerely,


    your progeny Alan, since I do not want to be recognized as your son.


    P..s., go fuck yourself.


    <hr>


    It''s not hard sneaking out of the house undetected. As Alan Iskey, I trained my body to the level of a low B-rank swordsman, with my aura control barely falling behind.


    Admittedly, sneaking''s not my strong suit, but I managed.


    The knights around here only fall within C rank, since the empire is huge, we''re a fringe barony, and the Iskey family is only relatively strong, with the average knights around here falling within the D-E rank.


    It means that it isn''t hard to sneak past most of the soldiers here.


    A few close calls, but ultimately, it goes relatively smoothly.


    You may wonder, then what''s the plan?


    What''s my aim in this next life?


    Flee. Run, far and hard, and apply to the adventurer''s guild for a new identity.


    The adventurer''s guild is shady that way, as I know from this life that all kinds of people sign up to become adventurers to gain a new identity in this world.


    You might wonder why I would need to go this far, to start a new life with a new identity. I mean, I''m being replaced, so that means he''ll have no reason to come collect me right?


    Well, that''s right.


    It''s also not right however, as he''ll be looking to collect my corpse.


    Alan Iskey is like any good villain, in that he has a tragic backstory.


    His father seeks to eliminate him and replace him as heir with his bastard brother, who doesn''t hate him, but their father''s repeated efforts cause the desperate Alan to crack under pressure and eventually go crazy, killing his father and keeping his bastard brother under lock and key, only to later be discovered by the female leads friend, and later helps to bring down his brother, who''s by this point gone mad.


    Yup, all of this, because of a moronic, abusive, bastard.


    Grrr, that damn father! To think I ever wanted his attention!


    Huff, whatever.


    It''s more important I run now, since once he gets back, the attempts to kill me will start.


    Poisonings, assassinations, sending me on high level expeditions, and handing me cursed artifacts.


    I hear I had an uncle who had mysteriously disappeared on a hike, leaving father as the only successor to the barony.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Back then, I merely regarded it as a mystery, and I couldn''t even fathom the thought of my father killing his brother just for a stupid piece of land.


    But recalling my past life''s memories of the man described in flash backs, in conjunction with my real-life experience with him, I can see it, I can definitely see it. The fog has been cleared, and to me the ugliest beast called my father has been revealed.


    I''ll be heading near the Western bank of the empire for now, since it''s the easiest and cheapest way out.


    Well, first I got myself an adventurer identity.


    Hmm. Nothing too fancy, but nothing too simple.


    I have to be able to use it like a real name.


    How about... Flash.


    Yes, Flash works.


    I could add more, but adding a last name feels like trouble, especially since so many noble families use a last name. What if I step on some toes?


    Nope, flash is fine.


    <hr>


    No missions, not a single one.


    My priority is to get out of there as fast as possible, and raising rank can come at a later time, amongst many things.


    Now that I am no longer aiming to be a noble, my next goal is to live a comfortable life, maybe buy a new noble title under my adventurer''s title.


    But before that, doesn''t it only make sense if I start gathering some golden fingers?


    Yes, around this point in the story, it''s noted that countless brand-new species of monsters begin to appear in the Romanan empire.


    Some of them sound like horrible rip-offs of certain brands, like a roomba turtle, which is obvious what it is, a group of monsters that initially take the form of a ball, before appearing in an explosion of light and a fancy transformation of the spherical storage form, and golems that combine and transform into larger golems. Or living tops that use their mana to generate elemental tornadoes as they clash with their enemies, or even monsters that give the user the ability to "henshin".


    And others seemingly new out of nowhere monsters, like plants that act as laboratories, dragon ants, dragon birds, bird/dinosaur kobolds, axolotl kobolds, fungal beasts, all types of symbiotic monsters and more.


    It''s clear the author had a weird mind.


    The book also described a number of magical artifacts and countless hidden dungeons that are all basically hidden treasures for me to harvest.


    But what about the story?


    Well, I''m the main villain, and I''m gone, so really, what''s the worry? They''ll be fine.


    I''m just taking some of the more useful things that they''ll never use.


    And in the case of the monsters, I''m just being proactive right? It''s not like I''ll be taking all the monsters, and the empire seems lacking when it comes to monster taming anyway.


    Besides, the story mentions a crazy powerful madman being the one behind the creation of these monsters. I''m sure he can deal with all of that.


    The book mentioned crazy monster tamers living in the north pole, but they''re not my problem, and never relevant to the main story, so there''s no chance they''ll ever be my problem.


    What''s the first familiar I''m aiming to tame?


    A draven.


    The most practical familiar to take on as mine.


    Because when you tame one, you don''t merely tame one, but it''s future partner, and the drows it''ll take as its own adoptees, caring for them until they get too old and then get kicked out once they become dravens to raise their own family.


    Taming a draven isn''t merely taming a draven however, as it also means getting on the good side of all dravens around the whole world!


    Even if they''re D-rank monsters, only as strong as an orc, they also happen to number in the millions, and maintain a close community.


    It''s even noted in the story that when they first appear, the dravens cause widespread havoc due to their first appearance, and stupid people who attack the newly formed race, only to find their homes constantly bombarded by the beasts. You can''t even kill them all, since they''re spread worldwide, and happen to flock with the crows and ravens, with any corvid with sufficient dragon blood becomes a drow or a draven.


    One can only grovel and apologize, hoping the draven collective accepts your apology.


    They''re basically rats with wings, more pigeon than pigeon!


    That''s a worthwhile ally to have.


    Since I have most of the book memorized, it shouldn''t be that hard to tame one, really.


    It''s really not much different from normal crows and ravens.


    <hr>


    I found myself a draven.


    Just... not the way I thought I would.


    I hadn''t been looking for a familiar that day, but rather going on an expedition to complete a mission.


    Finally having escaped the territory anywhere near the Iskey Barony, I had managed to land myself in Shonin village, a village near the 3 part jump village, and a small out of nowhere village.


    It was a nice quiet village to start from, bought a small house with my gold, and it was a nice and quaint place, whether I chose to live there or use it as a rest stop..


    So, I picked a small simple mission, and began scouting out the nearby area, looking to find a small flock of drows and dravens.


    Hunt some wolves.


    ...


    I ran into a staguar.


    It thankfully wasn''t after me but was actually hunting a draven.


    I could''ve carefully left, head to the village, report seeing a staguar, and be done with it.


    I didn''t have to save it.


    But... it looked so brave.


    It was standing in front of a drow, who had been knocked unconscious at some point, and it stood stalwartly in front of the smaller dragon like bird, sustaining grievous injuries.


    ...


    Damn it.


    I got involved, getting into a fight with the beast.


    I might''ve been a B-rank fighter in theory, but with lacking aura control, it''d be more accurate to call me a high C-rank.


    I obviously couldn''t win, but merely had to scare it off.


    Thankfully, staguar''s are cautious creatures, and thus, after trading blows for an hour straight, the creature backed off, seeing me as not worth the extra effort.


    I still left that fight with a broken arm, and gashes way too deep to be normal.


    The draven didn''t warm up to me at first, being more weary than grateful.


    I respected that. It still had its brood(?) to care for.


    Still, in the end, it was worth it, after forcefully tending to the draven, watching it fly away slowly, as it shot me one more grateful glance.


    Walking back was still a bitch and a half of course.


    <hr>


    It started visiting me after that, the start of it signified by a tapping on my window.


    The first time I responded by opening my window curiously, I found a cluster of berries good for healing potions and their own healing qualities.


    And the next time I found a cluster of twigs. Huh. Nice I guess.


    A few trips later, and a cluster of random items later, I had a drow and a draven resting in my house, making themselves at home. Half my bed goes to birds now.


    It''s true what they say, birds can be very bold.


    I didn''t mind, except for the occasional worms they brought in.


    They started following me on hunts, which meant I stuck to low level hunts.


    Drows are ranked F, having the strength of a goblin, but being slight larger than the average crow.


    And dravens are orc levels of strength, while easily being double the size of an actual crow.


    It was fun having companions in a fight, when most with whom I had teamed up with were more temporary acquittances than anything else.


    The two of them became roommates I guess.


    The drow was quick to warm up, easily allowing me to rub it''s feathers.


    They were interestingly soft, with slight little bumps beneath the surface, evidence of the drows draconian lineage. A little ball of fluff really.


    He wasn''t allowed to touch the draven''s feathers though.


    When he tried, he received a fierce nip, and a glare from the draven, as if its space had been pervaded, as it screeched offended.


    Yet the day after, it practically yanked his finger out of its socket to get it to rub the down coat, cooing at the sensation, but stopping him from doing too much before flying away to the other side of the room.


    It was confusing, but still, he enjoyed the feeling, rubbing the feathers, which felt slicker and smother than the fluffy down of the drow.


    The feeling of scales was more prominent beneath the plumage, and he even felt the small forepaws of the draven, hidden beneath the frontal down of the draven.


    The new life was good, fun in its simplicity, something he''d never gotten to enjoy, whether it be as the heir to the barony, or as an overtime worker on Earth.


    It still came with its own fair share of difficulties.


    The occasional punk who bothered his pretty bird, or small-time bandits, even the occasional assassin or two, since Baron Iskey''s efforts still reached him once in a while.


    Life was good nonetheless, and he managed to settle into a comfortable rhythm.


    Perhaps the greatest issue came when he named the two of them.


    After spending two months together with the two, Alin decided to name them.


    Not just so he could identify them, but because just as the book suggests, naming monsters in this world with magic can help boost the monsters mana storage, and push it closer to evolving again.


    It made sense to name them, just as he''d been feeding them mana cores, even if they were worth a lot of money.


    The drow was named Andy, and the draven was named Lety.


    He''d come to realize the energetic bird was female, and it made sense all of a sudden why she''d been so offended the first time he had carelessly rubbed her.


    Alin had almost stopped rubbing her feathers for good, until Leticia had insisted that he rubbed her, and ultimately he determined that she had come to really enjoy belly rubs, and he''d overthought it.


    Until the next morning when he heard a sharp screech in the morning, and for once, it wasn''t the screech of a bird, but the screech of a woman.


    Roused to waken, he found himself sleeping next to a girl with raven black hair and sparkling purple eyes, with a small boy also resting on the bed, with both having tails of feather throughout their body, and a pair of wings to boot.


    "Lety?" he asked, unsure, yet also feeling that creeping sensation, the foreboding understanding that...


    "Flash!" squealed Lety, as the girl jumped forward, squeezing poor Andy as she hugged Alin.


    Poor Alin wasn''t aware that this was merely the start of a common trope of isekai and transmigration alike:


    Harems.


    <hr>


    Supporting female character: I don''t know where the villain has gone! ;(


    Vicious female villain: come back to bed wife :)


    Villain''s brother: who''s left me with all this work?

 Stocking Stuffer 3: Woolymander- From parasite to guard dog

    Ol'' Jimmy was a farmer.


    Ol'' Jimmy Mcdonald. A common last name amongst farmers, seemingly propagated by a famous hero in the past, as part of an old nursery rhyme, featuring old Mcdonald. And now it was a commonplace last name for farmers, as if to suggest a kinship, like how nobles used last names to denote their kinship.


    Ol'' Jimmy didn''t really overthink it.


    In fact, he rarely overthought anything.


    So death was just that. Death. 25 and crushed to death by a passing monster. It probably didn''t even notice him, much like Jimmy didn''t notice it.


    That was fine.


    He barely felt it.


    Ol'' Jimmy rarely overthought anything.


    But when he was reborn as a sheep''s parasite, he might''ve overthought it a little.


    However, was it really overthinking, if there was a lot of thinking to be considered when involving reincarnation?


    No, there''s plenty of thinking necessary. In that case, Ol'' Jimmy was thinking just right.


    ''Oh lord! Oh sweet mistress of harvest! Why me!? Why a parasite?!''


    Jimmy got it out of his system fast enough. Never let a bur stay in his coat too long, that Jimmy.


    He gave me a call, and I showed him his stats.


    I''m his system, by the way. Pleasure to meet you.


    Well, he gave me a call. I suppose it''d be more accurate to say:


    ''Who did this to me!''


    [Howdy.]


    And that was how I met Ol'' Jimmy, that fine fellow.


    ''Who are you?'' He asked me in a horrified voice.


    Did he think I was God or something? Silly Jimmy.


    No need to overthink.


    [Nah, your guide.]


    ''Oh''. Yeah, Jimmy calmed down reeeeaaaal quickly after that.


    Laid back fella, I tell you that much.


    it surprises me, given he''s a woolymander.


    What''s a woolymander?


    Y''see, they''re like ticks.


    Really big, fluffy, cute bastards they are.


    Were it not for them nasty old fangs o theirs.


    Real nasty things, like them cookie cutter sharks have, but hidden underneath all that wool.


    They''re some rather nasty pieces of work, parasitizing off the sheep they hatch on.


    Like a baby on a mama''s teet, if that teet was the hole them sheep fakers make with them mouth over there.


    They feed on a sheep''s flesh, kind of like a vampire, but fluffy, until that sheep dies and them old parasite finds them a new teet to feed on.


    But Ol'' Jimmy was a farmer. He didn''t want to cause no harm to his fellow man, another farmer in arms.


    Kinda rude of that there Goddess of harvest to do that to such a good fellow; but who knows. Maybe that goddess got a plan or something, I''m just a simple old guide assigned to a simple old farmer and happens to run a virtual farm in his spare time.


    A bit redundant? Perhaps, but that''s my choice.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Jimmy, bless that young man''s heart took it upon himself to defy the stereotype, instead feeding on grubs and bigger prey, like the occasional frog or two.


    Little known fact: we guides are generally omniscient, and can see pretty much everything in the nearby area.


    I say this to say that he was caught pretty quickly by the farmer.


    When a woolymander takes it upon itself to intentionally climb off a lamb and feed on grub, they stand out worse than a blade of grass in a sidewalk.


    Woolymanders are basically black salamanders wrapped in wooly fluff and easily the size of a small cat, so wandering on the floor exposed him rather quickly.


    Thankfully, his quirky actions caused the farmer to hold his blade, so I felt no need to comment.


    His poor thinking saved his life.


    From that day forward, Ol'' Jimmy took it upon himself to start hunting down the critters that used to bother him as a young centaur, though the lack of his upper body continued to confuse him.


    Jimmy used to be a centaur, which meant he was better suited to rounding the sheep himself once upon a time, and even now, it helped him orient himself.


    It also meant that Jimmy galloped like a horse, and if he didn''t stand out like a sore thumb before, then now he stood out worse than a snail in a group of slugs.


    I thought poor Jimmy was done for.


    On the contrary, fate seemed to have other plans for Jimmy.


    <hr>


    "Don''t think I''ve ever seen a woolymander gallop before." Muttered Tawny as his friend Don sat down, a rum in hand.


    "Well I''ll be a monkey''s uncle." commented the farmer as he watched the woolymander gallop, warding off the encroaching goblins.


    Ben chuckled as he heard his reaction. "It is weird right?" he asked as he lounged on the front porch.


    Ben had invited his pals over for a gander at the new sight that had greeted him for the last week.


    And gander they did, for there was quite the sight.


    A parasite, playing guardian.


    Their eyes were practically jumping out of their sockets.


    "What do you make of it?" Ben asked, watching as the woolymander thoughtfully chewed on the goblin''s corpse.


    Don shrugged. "Didn''t you ask Demeter for a new guard dog?" he asked jokingly as Tawny rolled his eyes, before saying his part.


    "I think it''s dangerous. Not going to kill it?" he asked as he warily eyed the suspicious monster.


    Only to watch in surprise as a sheep walked by, picking the critter up by the scruff of his neck, tossing it onto his back.


    "It''s unnatural." he muttered.


    Don rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "Isn''t that more your choice Ben?" he said as he skillfully passed the bill onto Ben once more.


    "I''m going to let it be, see how it plays out." he said casually.


    "This could go wrong quickly." Tawny warned and Don agreed.


    "Tawny might be an overthinking dumbass, but I''ve got to agree, this seems really suspicious. Could go wrong in so many ways." Don grudgingly admitted.


    "Well, you know my intuition?"


    Nod


    "My intuition says this could be a good thing."


    Tawny and Don shared a look.


    "I mean, his intuition is good..."


    "I don''t know." said Tawny as he pondered worryingly.


    Ben rolled his eyes. "Look, if it does go wrong, as you''re both so worried about, we can always call the constable." he said, assuring his two old friends.


    Ben understood that his friends were only looking out for him, but Ben just felt it. That little spine tingle.


    He felt that little woolymander could really change things up.


    <hr>


    Boompf!


    An explosion of fluff blew out, blinding the orc as it swung its club blindly, squealing all the while it looked for the annoying foe who had been fending off it''s herd of goblins.


    Out of nowhere, a sharp pain ran through the orc''s leg, causing it to collapse on one leg, the blood bleeding out of the leg, seeping into the ground.


    A rock came flying out of nowhere, hitting the beast square in the eye, blinding it in one eye.


    Squuueeel!


    Jimothy threw another stone, using its tail to throw the stone, using his old skills as an archer to aim, and blind the large beast.


    Circling the beast had been to his advantage.


    Just as centaurs circled their foe to confuse them, he now used it in this explosion of his own wool to confuse the dumb beast.


    This was his herd, and nothing touched it, not while he was here!


    Deciding to finish it off, he lunged at the beast.


    Wham!


    Unfortunately for him, the orc swung wildly, hitting Jimothy firmly on the flank, sending him flying.


    The beast turned, feeling the sensation of hitting something.


    Even with its leg torn and eyes bleeding, the beast charged wildly, charging with the intent to kill.


    Feeling the pain in his flank and his bones cracked, Jimothy rolled, barely dodging the first strike. He couldn''t charge any more.


    Desperately, he jumped onto the leg of the orc, climbing relentlessly as the orc tried to shake off the climbing critter.


    Scratches littered the beast as the two struggled in a life and death situation, the woolymander attempted to strangle the orc, as the orc tried to tear the critter off.


    One had to give and one did, as the orc breathed his last, before falling back and dying, fading from this world.


    Jimothy struggled up, after defeating the orc, a surge of triumph rose through him.


    Using his jaws, he ripped through the chest of the orc, finding a magic stone


    Crunch


    Breaking the stone into bits, Jimothy watched as a screen appeared before his very eyes, as he quickly scanned it, knowing he would soon pass out from exhaustion.


    He limped, heading towards the herd, finally tapping his choice, before collapsing, failing to reach the herd before he fainted.


    As he passed out, his body underwent changes.


    His claws increased in size, and his tail thickened, splitting off at the end into two different prehensile tips.


    The tongue split off just the same, becoming a forked tongue.


    The body grew in size, as his size approached that of a newly born sheep.


    No longer was his mouth round like that of a salamander, but more akin to a muzzle, the small mandibles replaced with sharp canines.


    And above all else, two nubs began to pop out of his head.


    [Congratulations!]


    [Proceeding to evolution: Ramodo guardian(hatchling)

 Stocking stuffer 4: Titant Eater: The Kaiju of chaos

    The last thing Sethorbjorn saw was the ax flying at his head as he cackled wickedly, delighting in his incoming death.


    Finally! A truly worthy death!


    Sethorbjorn had long searched for a worthwhile death, one not only placed within a good cause, but a death at the hands of a worthwhile foe.


    And behold! A criminal minotaur twice his size, and adapt with an ax, one that he used to cut him down.


    He did not care, for he had already sent a message ahead of time, calling others better suited for hunting beings such as this.


    He merely had to injure it enough so that the beast would be forced to temporarily retreat.


    And he had done so, managing to nearly tear off the minotaur''s arm, for it was hanging by a few strings.


    And thus-


    Swish


    -Sethorbjorn found his worthy death.


    <hr>


    Sethorbjorn had expected an apparatus of death to come retrieve him.


    Would Thanatos come to him, guiding his soul to the underworld for his judgement?


    Would his death be great enough to be personally escorted by the Valkyries to the eternal battle that was Valhalla!?


    What he did not expect was to encounter the God he had faithfully served in death.


    He could mistake him for no other being, for it was his one and only god.


    The thin snout, and the two great crests upon the back of his head.


    The two goats that followed the God.


    His very presence which came with the spark of sulfur and storm.


    The glimmering and taut muscles.


    A was-sceptre headed by a dual bladed axe which hummed with power, proof that he alone ruled the storms of chaos!


    It was Sethor, god of storms and chaos, uncle to Jorvus Mars, the great warrior himself.  If Jorvus Mars was the god of legions and their commanders, then Sethor was the god of great warriors, people who stood alone at the pinnacle, beloved by adventurers.


    The very being whom Sethorbjorn had been named after, his name being the stone of Sethor in it''s direct translation.


    For he was just that, the stone which his lord cast down at the enemies of the empire!


    But why was his lordship here?


    His son may judge the dead, but Sethor had no such role.


    Perhaps...


    Perhaps he was here to test him!


    To see if Sethorbjorn was worthy of his lord''s name!


    Sethorbjorn understood, as he pulled out his twin tomahawks, ready to prove himself to his God, to prove himself as a warrior!


    Sethorbjorn charged with vigor, roaring as he lunged forth, practically foaming at the mouth for the chance to personally be tested by his lord!


    The lord of chaos and storms put his hand up as he cackled happily, but commanded, nonetheless. As much as I would relish in the chance for us to test your mettle child, that is not what I''m here for currently.


    Sethorbjorn lowered his axes in mild disappointment as he skids to a halt, but regardless, heeded his call.


    Do not worry, you have earned your right to enter Valhalla, and the entrance is rightfully yours, should you wish to depart now. However...


    The bestial god''s lips curled back as he gave a fierce grin, his gleaming fangs bared for all to see.


    ...Should you be interested in a new form to enact my crusade once more, I would gladly accept your service once more.


    Without hesitation, Sethorbjorn kneeled.


    From the day he was blessed by the god of storms and chaos, he had always been in the god''s service.


    But more combat?


    That was hardly business, but pleasure!


    There he is! God, I love your everlasting vigor. Very well then. So here''s what''s going to happen...


    <hr>


    pop!


    The shell of a rather inconspicuous egg hatched cleanly, with one claw puncturing the shell, as the rest of the paw attached to this singular long claw followed suit, as three more equally thin and long claws followed through, tearing through the shell with vigor.


    A tiny head popped through the shell, a long thin snout popping through first, as two large horns also broke through the shell.


    Sethorbjorn marveled at how strong he felt, stronger than he had ever been in his prime, and yet how thick this shell had felt, or how cleanly these new claws were capable of cracking through such a thick object.


    His tongue felt weirded than it had ever felt before, as Sethorbjorn watched as it flickered in and out. A long thin, tubelike tongue.


    An anteater''s tongue.


    Indeed, the lord had said that he would be reborn as a kaiju, an individual which lurked within what was described as the "Hollow Earth".


    Sethorbjorn did not know these words, nor did he care.


    He had been sent here with one purpose, and one purpose alone, the only one he cared about.


    Kill, and kill, fight until you can fight no longer. I leave the rest to you.


    His lord had left it up to his interpretation, his freedom to fight as he wished in this bizarre land.


    Wonderful.


    He did mention something weird...


    There was supposed to be a "system" but you don''t need that, do you?


    Never!


    Good! You''re a true warrior, your instincts are enough!


    I will leave you the guide though, if only for fear of your mind cracking over time.


    I do not crack!


    I believe you.


    He still had this guide however.


    Not that Sethorbjorn minded.


    This guide was adept enough.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    <How ready are you ready to kill!>


    It was a good guide.


    Something easy to start.


    <Indeed! Let us start with an entree!>


    <Head eastward, there is suitable new prey there!/


    <hr>


    Sethorbjorn did not feel large.


    He felt rather small in fact.


    The land was something akin to a plain, with the plain covered in grass that was shaped like trees, with small bumps here and there.


    His new form was barely twice the height of the grass, making poor Sethorbjorn was small.


    He was also a bit of a thickheaded moron, not realizing that the "grass" in question were trees, and that these small bumps would be hills and large bounds of land.


    It likely did not help that Sethor had taken away his system, and thus taken all stats and proof of this point.


    Instead, when facing this ant hill, Sethorbjorn felt incredibly small, for the mount loomed overhead, easily dwarfing him.


    And yes, he had turned a mountain into a mole hill.


    The titanteater crawled towards the hill as it observed the prey that the guide had led him to.


    Ants, that felt larger than they had ever been before.


    Compared to normal ants at least.


    They felt smaller than the monster ants.


    What could once easily be squashed underfoot was now a tangible meal.


    Because indeed... he was an anteater.


    So this would be his first hunt!


    The ants had already noticed him as they turned to face him, quickly gathering in a large group as they charged at him, with the intent to kill the intruder.


    Titants, unlike normal ants, had sight.


    Not great sight, but good enough to recognize the approach of kaiju, something important in these lands.


    Sethorbjorn showed no hesitation either, using his claws to slice through the ants, as they cut through it like warm butter.


    It didn''t take long for Sethorbjorn to cut through all of them.


    However...


    After he killed the first bunch, he realized that cutting all the ants into pieces king of resulted in, nothing.


    They didn''t look very appetizing.


    Oops.


    As more of them approached him, he decided to try a different approach.


    The approach he probably should''ve started with first, but he''d never been one for using his head when he could use his hands.


    The tongue slowly slithered out of his mouth, and grabbed another approaching ant.


    Crunch


    Pulled into his mouth, he felt a satisfying crunch as his teeth grinded down the insect.


    It was good, and not the worst thing the man had eaten before.


    Looking at the anthill, Sethorbjorn saw it just a bit differently.


    A little bit less like an enemy, and more like lunch.


    <hr>


    Screee!


    WwwwhhrrrrooooOOO!


    Roaring in response to the challenger''s screech, Sethorbjorn raised his claws in an offensive posture, preparing to fight the approaching creature. A horrendous mix of goose and snake.


    A hissing serpentine head raped in feathers, a body with feathers and scales alike, with the tail of a scorpion.


    It charged at him, hissing and screaming, but Sethorbjorn was no slouch.


    Standing on his hind legs, he extended his hands outward in a show of dominance, with talons so long that the goose-snake-scorpion faltered in it''s run for a few seconds, before ramping up it''s speed again.


    The titanteater ran forwards as well, preparing for its collision.


    3...


    2..


    1.


    Crash!


    The sound of flesh and feather meeting reverberated in the area, as his claws dug into the hide of the beast, and honking hisses could be heard.


    Sethorbjorn did not go unscathed, for he could feel the teeth of the beast ripping into his flesh, the teeth feeling more akin to the teeth of a wolf than the fangs of a snake.


    The scorpion tail lunged forward, plunging towards the nape of his body.


    Deftly dodging, Sethorbjorn instead grabbed the tail with his tongue, it''s grip being far stronger than the likes of the new appendages he had.


    Twisting his head, he threw the geese on the floor.


    SLAM!


    Wasting no time, he used his claws to tear off the stinger, eliciting a honk of pain from the goose.


    It flapped its wings, desperately trying to escape, but Sethorbjorn was firmly on top, pinning it from above.


    Each scratch took a pound of flesh off the beast, as it grew weaker with every gasp.


    And finally...


    Rrrrrriiiiiippppp!


    The snake-like head came flying off as the creature finally fell limp.


    Panting, Sethorbjorn could feel the blood pumping vigorously through his body.


    This...


    this feeling...


    THIS was what he lived for.


    SSScccreeeeeooonk!


    A screech of dominance burst from the titanteater''s throat.


    The sound of satisfaction, the sound of triumph.


    The dawn of a new apex had just begun.


    <hr>


    In the countless battles that had followed his body had undergone many changes.


    He had grow exponentially in size, though Sethorbjorn had long come to realize how small he was in this land of beasts, which caused him to often complain to himself how lord Sethor had brought him into a world of kaiju this small.


    Right now, he would dwarf 4 dragons stacked upon one another.


    The fur on his body had become a dark black, highlighted by the occasional streaks of lightning that ran through his body.


    A long serpentine tail came out of his fur, splitting into two circular tips. There were feathers protruding from this tail, a deep shade of blue, that gave the tail the appearance of a particularly rough fan.


    His hands had changed, becoming reptilian, much like his tail, and the talons had changed, becoming made to rip and tear, while his previous claws had been better for breaking into mounds.


    The hind legs had grown, and taken up a structure that Sethorbjorn often attributed to drakes, or even birds were he to compare.


    The guide Barren had called them, "traits of the Therizino" whatever that meant. Maybe some form of dragon, or bird.


    His neck had grown, taking on a slenderer stature, coiled almost like the neck of a goose, covered in a black matte coat.


    Rows of teeth now filled the face of the anteater, giving it a more sinister, look, as did the two horns protruding from the back of his head.


    The eyes a dark amber.


    According to his lord Sethor, he had evolved in his image, becoming what Sethor called the "Sethorian eater".


    Sethorbjorn took pride in this title, much like he took pride in his name.


    Today was another successful day of hunting, as he had managed to hunt down this weird porcupine cricket and was about to chow down when....


    Thoom


    Thoom


    Thoom


    Thoom


    The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard as the beast approached his direction and the Sethorian eater heaved himself upwards, preparing for a fight.


    A giant bipedal lizard broke through a clearing.


    It was easily thrice his size.


    To his surprise, it was not chasing him, but rather,


    it was chasing fairies!


    Well, he thought they were fairies.


    They were small humanoid creatures at the very least and were even very similar to what he would describe as giants in their physical features, were it not for their size.


    They were small.


    Terribly small.


    Each maybe came up to his knee, were he to be generous.


    They were running from the beast, leaving him to wonder if they had angered the creature, given how little worth they''d be as prey for such a large creature.


    He watched thoughtfully, wondering for a split second whether or not to save these little folks.


    His mind was made up quickly.


    He was a paladin of chaos.


    What else could he do but save them?


    Rushing forwards, he watched as the fairies eyes widened in panic as they turned to run in a different direction, but Sethorbjorn strode past them, rushing towards the beast claws prepped.


    The beast shifted focus as it saw him, roaring a challenge to the approaching foe.


    Teh creature took a big bite forward, as Sethorbjorn ignored it, lunging for the creature''s side.


    Using his claws, he gouged himself a grip onto the creature, before climbing it''s back, with each gash bringing the beast pain.


    A clean cut was all it took to bring the beast down, alongside the marks of his climb.


    Boom!


    The sound of the large beast falling reverberated throughout the whole area, being followed by silence.


    Having finished up, Sethorbjorn settled down to enjoy his pound of flesh before moving on.


    Before he could, he noticed the fairies walking up to him, before dropping to their knees, bowing in a show of respect.


    Scrutinizing them, he couldn''t help but notice they really looked like giants, were it not for their size.


    They were almost exactly the same minus their size.


    They were just too small.


    Unless...


    Maybe he was too big!


    A s he recalled the words his master had said, commenting on his size, something he had merely dismissed as a bad joke, he came to realize the truth.


    he was huge!


    Lost in these thoughts, Sethorbjorn didn''t notice that one of them in particular strode forward, a woman slightly taller than the rest, with special markings on her head.


    Black hair and amber eyes.


    She kneeled as she spoke words, words at first incomprehensible to him, until they started becoming understandable.


    [-We offer our respects to the great clawed god of the plains, he who cleaves the world in two, the great badgerlord-]


    Hmm?


    Clawed god? What do they mean by that?


    At this moment, a murky laughter filled his mind, one that brought the sethorian eater great worry.


    He loved his god Sethor with all his heart, but like all men, he knows-


    I am a god of chaos, you know?


    -THe things Sethor enjoys most, the things he relishes in and even encourages,


    -is chaos.


    <hr>


    I still think my turtle is better. Anubis grumbles as he watcches these new devotees to his father''s favored one fall to their knees.


    Sethor cackled, as he poured himself another mug, and drank once more.


    Come now, you must appreciate the sheer scale of their fights, It is something to behold.


    Anubis had to admit this much begrudgingly as he pondered to himself.


    Well, it could be fun if Earl chose to become a kaiju.


    Sethor howled in delight at the very thought. Indeed, indeed! He agreed wholeheartedly. Imagine how my nephew would pull his own feathers out in frustration at the mere thought. Sethor found delight at the frustration Jorvus would face with the prospect of a kaiju lurking within his empire.


    Father, he''s not a bird anymore.


    He''ll still pull hair I guess. How delightful!


    Anubis looked worried at the look on the god''s face.


    Father... He warned as his divine aura grew, causing Sethor to roll his eyes.


    Fiiiiine. You''re so defensive of that kid. When you were born-


    -You were a horrid father and dumped me in a pond filled with mad hippos. Anubis retorted simply.


    They were your hungry hungry hip-aunts! Exclaimed Sethor, as if that justified his actions.


    Anubis rolled his eyes.  Just keep your grubby hands off of my player.


    Fine. I have a better toy anyway. He said as he turned back to the view.


    Now, let''s see-


    Sethor smiled.


    -How chaotic can I make this?

 Chapter 44: Conversation

    Sometimes Grant couldn''t help himself.


    In spite of his plans to tear down the efforts of Peter and his mini cult, but sometimes he just had to stop what he was doing and rearrange his efforts.


    The dangers of being tied to creation is often that one is bound to your own whims.


    So, he spent the rest of the day creating things involving crocodilians and rock bands.


    Sarcosucauphaugus was another idea that he would be saving for later.


    "Aliguitars... rockadiles... they should play bass fish and be considered the rockadilian line..."


    The dangers of creation sometimes is that you get swept up in its urges.


    <hr>


    Grant had been planning to uproot some more rats today with a band of alliguitars and rockadiles, before he was called over by the receptionist, being sent on up to the guildmaster.


    The guildmaster, the guy who he peeped on once or twice depending on the mood.


    Grant was curious to see how the guildmaster would approach him as Grant opened the door, curious to see the sort of welcome he would receive.


    "Come in!" came the friendly call and seeing the laxed position the guildmaster had given to all the other adventurers he had crossed paths with, Grant came to the conclusion that at the very least, they were not enemies.


    Good.


    "Guildmaster" Grant said simply as he sat down and the guildmaster merely shrugged it off.


    "Do you know why I want to talk to you?" he said, with a friendly tone, but with a clear probing undertone.


    Grant shrugged as he chose to play dumb and relax.


    "I have no idea guildmaster."


    The guildmaster continued his questioning.


    "I''m sure you''ve heard about the explosion that happened a few days ago, and I was wondering if you had seen something, seeing as you were nearby, perhaps anything that could help the investigation."


    "No sir" said Grant as he shook his head earnestly. "I''m just an adventurer, I have no idea what was going on near the explosion."


    The man''s face twitched a bit as he recalled the report he had received from the overseer of the post they were in, and how Grant had very much been leaving in an opposite direction from the site.


    The man in front of him was hardly trying either, clearly putting in little effort.


    The huge guildmaster sighed, his shoulders sagging.


    "Can we just drop it?"


    "Drop what?" asked Grant as he cocked his head, a hint of amusement clear in his voice.


    The man rolled his eyes. "I''m sure by now you know I''ve been investigating you, and you must know why."


    Grant chuckled as he observed the guildmaster give up his game.


    "No, what could you possibly ever be talking about?" Grant asked once more, but this time around, a clear amount of sarcasm and amusement was built into the statement.


    Staring at him as if trying to see through him, the guildmaster questioned him. "A person with a power level like you, I wonder if this was less a coincidence and more... intentional?"


    "Hm?"


    "All of it. Pretending to be a low rank adventurer, saving an A rank adventurer who happens to be my son in law, methodically tearing down all of the temples efforts, etc etc, I could go on with this. Did the guild send you?" he prodded, seemingly trying to find a cause behind Grant''s actions.


    Grant cackled. "Send? No one sends me! I come for the fun!"


    "You''re one of those people, huh?"


    Grant nodded, not even disagreeing. He was the type to do whatever he wants after all.


    The guildmaster sighed as he clasped his hands together.


    "Ok, fine. I can work with this." he said as he inhaled deeply, preparing to enter the fray once more.


    "My name is Thaddeus, and I''m an S class adventurer, sent here to deal with the threat of Paladin Peters and investigate him. Who encouraged you to come here?" he asked, seeking to find out which faction had sent Grant.


    Grant could only helplessly shrugged his shoulders once more. "I told you, no strings. I happened to come here and the paladin happened to make me his enemy."


    Stolen story; please report.


    Thaddeus'' eyebrow shot up. "He made an enemy of you? How bold of a statement." he said. It wasn''t wrong either, for a random adventurer to so cockily make this claim, and be so casual about it. It didn''t seem like pure hatred but annoyance, as if a fly had come to bother him.


    "Yup. Between you and me, professionals have standards. And he-" Grant''s voice turned cold and harsh at this moment, as distaste filled the tone.


    He had leaned forward, the glowing eyes peering through the mask and into his eyes.


    "-Has failed to meet the standard. I don''t tolerate people who fail to meet my standard."


    Thaddeus stared him down, unflinching, showing himself unbothered by the killing intent leaking out.


    The same could not be said for the poor people downstairs, who were sweating under the chilling presence upstairs.


    "And what standards are these?" the giant man asked, even leaning forward to meet Grant''s eyes.


    Grant said it simply.


    "Kids. We don''t bring kids into our business."


    Thaddeus nodded as he sat down again, satisfied with this. Nothing was truly known about the man as of now, and frankly Thaddeus could only assume the man''s personality based off the various people he had worked with over his many years of life.


    What he could tell however, was that Grant meant this.


    That he truly had passion about the limits when it came to children.


    He could trust a man with firm standards, even if the line seemed arbitrary in his eyes.


    "I can respect why you''re doing this, but I''d be careful if I were you." Thaddeus warned. "Peter is no mere paladin."


    Grant responded haughtily. "And I am no mere adventurer. Your point?"


    The guild master shook his head. "He isn''t just your average A-rank paladin, or even an S rank. Peter is easily considered a SS rank adventurer going by guild standards, and were he to run rampant even I wouldn''t be able to contain them."


    "Then why did they send you?" Grant asked. He knew the paladin outranked the guildmaster before him, and hearing the reasoning would be fun to say the least.


    "We don''t have enough hands to deal with everything." Thaddeus said helplessly. "I was sent here to stall him since Peter respects people of good deed. The hope was to outmaneuver and stall him until reinforcements arrived."


    He clenched his fist. "Had they actually managed to kill my son-in-law, I''m not sure what I would''ve done."


    Grant nodded. "You''re welcome."


    "I am grateful, and that''s why I''m warning you. Feel free to keep doing what you''ve been doing, but be careful, and at the very least wait ''till reinforcements arrive."


    Grant did appreciate the earnestness with which the man pursued his mission, and the efforts he was going to.


    So, he pulled out a weapon out of his spatial pocket.


    The guildmaster''s eyes looked unsure for a moment, before bulging out as he felt the powerful aura that surrounded the artifact.


    And then another came out, and he practically had a heart attack.


    The sword of Frey, and the reforged Gleipnir, the chains that once held an ancient god.


    Even if he did not know what they are, Thaddeus knew the presence of a divine artifact, the aura they gave off.


    Grant leaned in. "Trust me, I know what I''m doing. With this, do you think we could impede such a man?" he said, the words seeming more true than ever.


    Thaddeus sighed. "You seem confident. I''ll admit, your odds look far better with two divine artifacts in hand. Just... be careful alright? If not for yourself, then all the people in this outpost just trying to make a living."


    Grant assured him. "Don''t worry, I can handle the backlash on my own."


    Just casually looking around the room, he noticed a certain file with a certain picture on top of it, one of a very familiar black crow-like creature.


    "Oh, you''re investigating the drows?"


    "Drows?" the man asked as his eyes drifted over the room.


    "The crow like creatures that have been blending in amongst the flocks of crows and ravens."


    "You noticed them too?" the main said, with astonishment in his voice.


    Grant snorted. "How could I not? They started appearing in droves, it''d be hard not to see them."


    The man scratched his head awkwardly. " We didn''t notice until recently, and frankly aren''t even sure when they started popping up, with how seamlessly they slipped into flocks. There have been multiple reports of people attacking one  of these-" pause "- "drows" and being absolutely devastated by the flocks of crows and drows in return." the man sighed and slumped, looking like he aged years.


    Grant chuckled inwardly, caused by this report. He knew stuff like this would happen, and respectively,


    "We can''t just kill them all, since killing them angers crows too, and we can''t just hunt all crows worldwide, not without angering any crows that be or even" shudder "the crow mother in Australia. "


    that this would be the dilenma they arrive at.


    "The government and the guild have been trying to find a solution to all of it, sending this problem to any person of importance, but so far nothing has been found."


    Grant felt generous. He felt in a good mood, and out of the kindness of his heart, was willing to help them.


    (Not like it was his fault or anything.)


    "Just apologize."


    Thaddeus looked up. "What?" he asked, disbelief on his face.


    Grant shrugged as he leisurely rested on the couch. "Just apologize. Drows and dravens, given the appropriate reward, are willing to forgive wrongs against them."


    "And how do you know that."


    Walking over to the window, Grant pushed open the window, much to the guidmaster''s confusion, only for two large dravens to fly through the window, landing on the masked man''s shoulders, as 3 crows now stood before the guildmaster.


    The 3 ravens turned to face him, as the middle one continued to leisurely lecture.


    "Because I''ve tamed 2 dravens."


    "Dravens?" Thaddeus asked as Grant labeled these two differently.


    "The drows are the smaller ones, and the dravens are the evolved forms. If you look at the head" he said as he pushed the feathers back a little bit, revealing the horned crest in its entirety, "you''ll see this little crown of sorts, which denotes a draven. Dravens will usually lead a small flock of drows with their partner, a draven. "


    "Hmm, and you say you can apologize to them?" the guildmaster asked, easily able to shake off the surprise from earlier, professional since this verry important matter was at stake.


    "You have to." Grant corrected. "Drows and dravens are smarter than crows and ravens, with drows the intelligence of a child, and dravens like young adults. A wrong against any of them is a wrong against the community. The whole community." Grant emphasized that part, as the older(?) man sighed softly.


    "Ah" he said, realizing the full scope of the problem here.


    "What would it cost?"


    Grant shrugged. "Shiny things. Metals, rocks, windows. It may vary, but usually a mixture of fruits and shiny things would be suitable for apology, placed in a bowl. It happens to be how you can tame them too. And y''know, just as you can become the enemy of them all, you could be all of their friends."


    "They might even be willing to share all that they see." Grant''s eyebrows went up and down, though sadly, no one could see it.


    A pregnant pause followed by the realization of what that meant.


    "You sneaky bastard!" the guild master howled in laughter, realizing the implication of the statement.

 Chapter 45: Corpses are red...

    Grant went on to explain a few more details about the drows and the dravens, as much as a supposed breeder could know.


    Of course, the guild master did not enjoy the idea of appeasing the drows, but as Grant laid out the benefits, and how drows could be a huge help (and an even greater pain), he reluctantly agreed to share the thought.


    And Grant in turn, communicated to the draven on the table to tell his kids to not demand immensely valuable things, to which he dipped his head in response.


    Hopefully that would ensure the common populace would avoid attacking the drows, something easier to do in a world where the majority believed magic didn''t exist.


    As for the pair of dravens, they patiently waited as they sat, the GuildMaster cautiously eyeing them.


    "How similar would you say they are to crows?" he asked.


    "Extremely similar to crows and ravens, to the point whereas you''ve seen, they''ve assimilated into the crow society. " I say, affirming the reason why they were designed this way.


    "That could be a problem." muttered Thaddeus. "These creatures have the strength of an orc, with the mentality of a crow. If they want to take something..."


    Grant nodded, as he understood the worry the guild master was expressing.


    Yes they certainly could.


    But not his problem.


    Regardless, he probably should do something.


    His old bosses would scold him about personal responsibility and all that.


    Looking through it, Grant nodded. "Avoid these... and be friendly with these... watch out for these... you can recruit these with a good song or two..."


    The guildmaster''s eye twitched, unable to figure out why the mysterious man knew so much, and yet ultimately also knew not to pry too much.


    All S-classes, him included, happened to like their secrets and hated when people prodded where they weren''t supposed to.


    Arguably, Grant was appearing to be on the more tolerant side, not getting into a fight with him when he started investigating Grant''s actions.


    "Well" he grunted as he closed the folders, "if what you''ve told me is true, you''ll have been a great help. The guild will have been grateful for your help." he said as he extended his hand, and Grant decided to shake the hand.


    "And remember what I said about Peter?" he pleaded, and Grant responded.


    "Don''t antagonize the paladin?"


    "Yes." the guildmaster said sternly, practically pleading.


    Grant chuckled awkwardly. "Well, I''ll certainly try to do less than I''ve already done?"


    Thaddeus sighed. "I suppose that''s the best I can ask for."


    <hr>


    Unfortunately, Grant did have to specify this, since he had already done something else to antagonize the church once more.


    For that very same day, they found a paper strapped to their door.


    Unseen to anyone else, but for them, it was plastered there, for all to see.


    It was found by one random follower who had gotten up particularly earlier than usual..


    All it took was one cursory glance before the woman''s face paled and she panicked and grabbed it, bringing it in for her superiors to inspect.


    This... this had to be reported.


    <hr>


    The room was filled with a looming silence, but the words on the page were deafening.


    Corpses are red,


    Violence is soon due,


    I''ll be the death of you!


    Jayne doe, now a John Doe,


    Did you enjoy that cup of your old pal Joe?


    Your friend Ivy, now a -


    You know what? I''m dropping this rhyming stuff.


    I don''t need to tell you a rhyme to list all my crimes.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Surely the trail of bodies is suffice?


    Tell me Peter, does this put a crink in your plan?


    Good. Eat it you goddamned Cretan.


    Sincerely screwing you over,


    Grant


    One of them in particular roared in fury.


    "He''s mocking us! It''s bad enough he''s disrupting our plan at every turn, but he''s also spitting on the graves of our brother''s and sisters! That''s it, I''m going to go kill him myself-" the burly man shouts, storming to the entrance of the church.


    Peter almost seems to let him go, before regretfully sighing.


    "Stop it Samson." Peter commanded, and Samson came to a stop, turning to face the man accusingly.


    "You would let their deaths be in vain?" he questioned, a chill in his voice.


    "No, but clearly, you would." Peter retorted as he strode over to Samson as the latter felt intimidated by Peter''s presence, as well as the great light of Isis that emanated from him.


    "If you fight him in public, and the fight gets too big, there is no way to hide it. We will be unable to do what we set out to do, and we''ll be exposed before anything significant can be done. "


    He put his hand on the man''s shoulder, as if to comfort him, yet Samson could feel the tightness of the grip, binding him.


    "please, return to your seat." he commanded, and Samson reluctantly complied.


    One mage commented. "He already knows who we all are, doesn''t he?" he said, studying the paper.


    "What a complex spell." he said, clearly in awe. "So much on one little paper."


    "Indeed" Peter agreed, studying the paper. "He''s made it specifically so all the members of this church in the post can see it, and no one else. He''s specifically coded it with each and every single one of us in mind. And this camouflage spell is beyond my understanding."


    The thought sank in.


    He specifically created the enchantment targeted towards every single member here.


    Not all the transplants from the church here shared their views after all; many held very much opposing views and were they to find out, would immediately report them to the main church of Isis.


    Even as strong as paladin Peter''s was, should the temple move to get rid of him, there were people willing to do this for the church. There was always a bigger fish, and even the empire would not tolerate shit rubbed on their face.


    It was as if Grant had hung the blade of Damocles right above them, taunting and mocking them with the fact that he could expose them at any moment.


    "My lord, we must-" began one member before being silenced by Peter.


    "He will do no such thing." said Peter''s firmly, determination sparkling in his eye. "Grant will get no such message out to the church, and he will not ruin all that I work for in the name of the church!" He turned to the mage from earlier. "Have the mages create a perimeter around the outpost, within the forest beyond the eyes of the post; assign a C rank warrior to each of them."


    Another piped up. "Are you sure, milord? With all due respect-"


    "-There is no need to take Grant seriously." Peter cut him off. "It''s clearly an act of mockery, does everyone agree?"


    The nodding of heads was seen across the board, as they all knew this much, high and low members alike.


    "If he was going to do so, he would''ve done so already. That''s not a premise we can work on, cause if that is the case, then this is all over already."


    Everyone knew this much.


    "Besides, he''s playing with us. He''s confident that he''s strong enough to deal with us easily. That is why he will not bother sending a message out now, much to our benefit. The mages to intercept are merely to have minimum protections against such a scenario."


    His eyes narrowed as he looked at the paper.


    "We will speed up our plans. He may do what he pleases, but I doubt he will so blatantly kill us all in plain sight. Not even SS ranks can get away with committing such brazen acts in wiping out a whole outpost or killing a whole branch of the church. He will soon find his reach limited, or we will return the threat upon him tenfold. The will of Isis will not be denied" he said, with great finality.


    He dismissed them quickly, much to the dismay of his followers.


    Leaving the meeting room, he entered his room once more, stagnant with the scent of his blood, the whip on the floor a reminder of this great tribulation he faced.


    He breathed it in, as the feeling of relief entered his body.


    Soon, soon his plan would come to fruition and the pain would soon end...


    <hr>


    "... You already did something didn''t you." the guildmaster said, not as a question, but a realization, and Grant could only chuckle awkwardly, much to the older(?) man''s annoyance.


    He shook his hair in frustration. "Dammit." he muttered.


    Grant on the other hand, showed no particular anxiety, as he asked politely. "Can I go now?"


    "Yeah sure, whatever." Thaddeus said as he shooed the man away, realizing his efforts were moot.


    Saying no rarely meant anything to S classes anyway.


    As Grant left, the guildmaster set to work, writing up a letter.


    Considering how much the churches work had sped up according to reports, Thaddeus suspected that the efforts of Grant had paid off, and that this particularly deranged sector of the church of Isis may lash out.


    He knew he himself was no match for paladin Peters, not in his old age, and frankly, in spite of Grant''s assurance, he did not trust the man''s intentions.


    And Grant... seemed unreliable.


    Though he seemed to remind him of someone. An annoying man from over a 1000 years ago.


    The founder of the Thorsten family, a cocky man with a laidback attitude, yet seemingly knowledgeable in many things.


    They even had the same name...


    Thaddeus waived the thought aside.


    That man had been dead for a very long time, having only left behind the Thorsten family, nothing more than a shell of its former self.


    And he was a callous, yet cautious man. Grant was just reckless.


    Even so, he couldn''t help but hear his old friend''s voice in this stupid child.


    <hr>


    Grant, meanwhile, was outside the door, investigating how the man known as Thaddeus would get his message out to the greater guild.


    So, he could disrupt it, or prolong its delivery.


    Whichever was easier to do and hide his role in.


    After all,


    How could he let the guild interrupt his plan?


    Not until the paladins every attempt was crushed


    And not until he was satisfied.

 Chapter 46: Weeds must be stamped out

    From here, things began to escalate.


    If the small fights in the bars were signs of discontent, then brawls in the street were signs of outrage.


    Blood painted the walls as the bodies of beastmen and other nonhumanoids could be found littering the streets.


    Elves stabbed with stakes, dwarves suffocating underground, monsters skinned and hung like kills. Words of mockery littered over all of them.


    The humans were not left untouched either, with many humans dying in equally gruesome and painful ways.


    Violence had filled the streets, and blood ran.


    The whispers of the church seen as one of kindness fueled the rage and cruelty.


    All the while both the local government and adventurer''s guild freaked, soon finding that none of their messages are getting out.


    At this point the outpost had become a storm in a bottle.


    The tensions had risen as the followers of Isis had hoped for.


    <hr>


    The followers were also suffering harsh losses.


    The number of their followers had died so rapidly that they were dropping like flies.


    For every person that they had killed or even gotten killed, one of theirs had disappeared.


    As if for every person who''s life they cost, they in turn lost one of their own.


    It had gotten so bad that paladin Peter''s had stepped in, desperately trying to stop the drop in numbers.


    But recently a dense fog had appeared, settling over the whole town, as if it were a dark warning, encompassing everything and everyone.


    He didn''t know what it was, only who could be behind it. For only when he began his attempts to track Grant in the midst of his actions did the mist block his every move.


    There was nothing to it. No divine power, no mana.


    He wasn''t stupid. Peter quickly figured it was likely qi then, but that just led to a dead end. No one amongst his group knew how to manipulate qi, leaving them in a dead end.


    It was clear that Grant had also chosen to speed up the process, as things rushed to a climax. The man had switched from trying to stop him to egging him on, and taking his troops.


    Fine. That was good for his purposes too. Peter grit his teeth in determination.


    Things would end as he had intended. And once this was all done, it would all be over.


    And he could rest.


    <hr>


    Grant chuckled, watching as Peter wandered around helplessly, searching for him.


    Grant was lucky that the fog counted as a legendary rank item, otherwise he would''ve had to accept a few casualties in the process of war with these crazy acolytes.


    Looking behind him, he saw the countless comatose bodies of the victims of this quiet war.


    Victims he said, and yet not a single one of them had been hurt.


    The fog was the source of his trick of course.


    Fog he called it, and yet the substance surrounding this town was so much more.


    The fog, as he called it, was one of the most powerful weapons that he, alongside the 8 supervisors of the system had developed around 400 years ago as a compromise with the catholic church. The catholic church was averse to the magical world, willing to go on the war path with it, and the magical world was wary of the church, whose paladins and an immunity to magic thanks to their devotion to their God, in addition to the ability to summon true angels.


    Ultimately, after many centuries of conflict, both sides recognized that endless wars would go nowhere, with incidents like the Salem witch trials being common. There was also heresay that a higher angel had descended to tell them to knock it off, though that was merely rumor unconfirmed.


    Regardless, a compromise was made. To hide the magical world from man, to blend them in.


    The fog, as he called it, was a substance that covered the eyes of man, and blended the lines between illusion and reality. Nonhumans were covered in the guise of man. To monsters, everything looked the same, though were they to focus, they could see as man could. LIfe went on. But for men? They merely saw humans. The reality of everything had changed.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Goblins? Men.


    Beastmen? Men


    Wyverns? gigantic birds like eagles or hawks.


    It was easy to pierce the veil on first glance, as long as one directly exposed them to magic or qi. But that was because they made it easy. The fog in reality, was the divinity of illusions, gathered from many gods of dreams and illusions, with the promise of more followers gifted to them in return for the fragment of their divinity.


    Grant and all the higher ups in the supernatural world were content to wait. They knew that as time went on, the church would lose its influence, or lose its extreme stance towards magic, and that was the bet they won in the end. After which, they could just reintroduce magic. In a world more fueled towards appeasing their audience, which major power could afford to offend their base of followers? And major politicians were easily bought out with the offers of youth to offers of true power, the kind of protection that only a cultivator could offer.


    They even got the church to agree to let them spread this fog as far as the church could reach in its prime, allowing the fog to wrap around the world. The cultivators didn''t care, and the gods of faith wholeheartedly supported the idea, to lure a new age of followers in with the appeal of the occult.


    They thought a veil, when in reality it was a net that allowed them to capture the world. The fog could control the way one saw reality. Why would it only separate the natural and the supernatural? Nonsense! It controlled all forms of perception. The men had invited the fox into the farmhouse.


    With one command, Grant could make the world a living hell, and everyone else would merely watch a man go mad, screaming about the end of the world, demons rising from the pits of hell. Crazy, would be the only thought a passerby would have.


    They could give people delusions, as they mow down their enemies, imagining hordes of foes coming at them when in reality they slaughter their friends, hang them from trees, bury the half way into the ground. It could turn the most devout follower into a heretic believing in their own vision of the world.


    It didn''t register as divinity to poor Peter because the fog fooled perception, one of its most dangerous aspects. He was leading the man by the nose.


    All the while, he picked off the followers, and quietly saved their victims, replacing them with the appropriate replacements.


    Grant had already been called in by the guildmaster, who had more than just a few problems with what had been going on. The facts of the matter had been that Grant had bee pushing for violence, and in a sense, he was at fault for the current carnage.


    Grant disagreed. Violence was just human''s nature, nay, everything''s nature. Had the radical anti non human sect of Isis not gotten what they had desired, he was sure things would''ve gotten just as bad as they were now.


    So he promised the man on the river Styx that not a single one of the victims had been hurt. The man hadn''t believed it, but given Grant had promised on the river styx, a divine river tied to Anubis god of contracts, there was validity to his words, for if he lied then he would be hunted down by the god of contracts and promises, and as a demigod the guildmaster couldn''t help but believe his words.


    Yeah, the guildmaster was a demigod. Perhaps in the height of his power, he could''ve held his own against the paladin, but at nearly 1000 years of age, he was starting to slow down, even a mere SS rank paladin could beat him.


    Well he said a mere SS rank. Everything was relative, and Grant hadn''t bothered to check who''s progeny the guildmaster was. It could be a minor god.


    And irrelevant. All that mattered was the guildmaster would prioritize protecting the citizens and the adventurers leaving Grant to his prize.


    A few more days, and the fog would completely set into their brains. And reality would be whatever he wanted it to be.


    <hr>


    The kid was eating.


    Grant was watching from the door, and though the boy was wary of him, he did not stop eating, merely watching him warily.


    It was progress. Just the other day, the boy had even tried venturing downstairs, before seeing him cooking and quickly fled upstairs.


    Before quietly going back down to watch Grant cook.


    It was an amusing sight as the boy began wandering the house, curiously investigating the house.


    The ecstatic expression the kid had when he sat on the couch was so adorable that Grant had to take a photo.


    Snap!


    Aaaaannd the kid ran back upstairs hearing the mysterious flash of a camera.  Grant chuckled a little at the sight.


    The boy had yet to try going out the door yet. Seeing the forest and being wary of the window. Perhaps a fear of windows?


    More likely the forest itself brought brought bad memories.


    It was probably better this way, since the sights outside would more than likely make the child faint on the spot. He could always slowly introduce it all to the kid later.


    As for the sights outside.


    Looking at the progenitors he determined some of them should be strong enough to be taken out to fight Peter. Did he need them to fight for him? No, he could probably drive Peter insane with the fog alone, to drive him to kill himself, or even kill his own followers.


    The drows and dravens were clearly not ready yet, but the shroom father was ready enough, as was the progenitor of axobodl''s, though unfortunately the korvold progenitor was far from the strength necessary, especially with her tendency towards merchantry rather than combat, though she had her own uses in the long run.


    Some other of the shroom progenitors should be enough to deal with some of the foolish acolytes.


    The scenery had been set, the pieces had been placed, and the players were all ready.


    Why put it off any longer?


    The curtains should rise.


    <hr>


    Theodore groaned as he read the reports.Over a 100 people dead, slaughtered within the last 5 days.


    He eyes the man across from him, casually sitting around and watching the arguments erupting outside with a quiet stare. The man was unsettling in that way, how he kept the mask on at all times. Even now, he wasn''t sure what the man was thinking.


    Clearly over 100 people had die, meaning he had broken the promise of the river styx, yet he seemed to nonplussed. Indifferent.


    And none of the hounds of Anubis had shown up. Whatever that fog was, there was no way it or Peter could block the vision of a god.


    Which meant that he wasn''t lying, and no one had died. Or he had sworn allegiance to a heinous god that allowed him to make false oaths, but that seemed highly unlikely. The man hardly seemed the religious type, or fanatical.


    He could be hiding it though...


    If only he could see his face, he could read him better.


    As the guildmaster pandered how to get the mask off the man, Grant was quietly waiting watching for something.


    Boom! The guildmaster looked at the window startled and worried, while Grant silently grinned under the mask.


    There it was. There was his call.


    Time for the play to begin!

 chapter 47: Illusions

    By now, fights were a common occurrence in the now tense environment of this outpost.


    The sounds of a fight breaking out brought tension as people began gathering or fleeing the scene.


    A human, being beaten by a "beastman" relentlessly, that was a cruel and vicious sight, one to tug at any heart strings.


    The beastman was one of them, who understood the importance of purity, after a thorough brainwashing, willing to sacrifice himself for the good of purging the empire of monsters.


    It was a dark sight, but one that brought the fanatics secret joy, as they watched the hackles rise on their fellow man. To see the anger grow in their eyes.


    It didn''t take much to rally countless men and woman to their case, and to scare the inhumans and their traitorous allies into struggling back.


    There were far more inhumans than the fanatics had remembered, but that was fine. They could work around it. The match had already been lit, and the fire of rage properly placed.


    And it wouldn''t burn out until the whole of the outpost had been properly purified, and from there the empire.


    <hr>


    Theodore groaned at hearing the report.


    THe fanatics had made their move.


    Seemingly after having been backed into a corner, they had just started fighting all of a sudden, starting a rebellion of sorts, claiming they were going to wipe the outpost clean of inhuman blood.


    He had no idea what had caused them to go insane like this. There was no clever planning like last time.


    They had called witness to a scene of a man fighting a beastman, and all of a sudden called people to arms to purge the filth. An escalation of the most ridiculous scale.


    Regardless, they were dangerous, with multiple S-class threats amongst them including a man called Sampson.


    They needed to be subdued, and he could only pray Peter hadn''t gone crazy as well.


    Thaddeus sensed the presence of divinity as a giant salamander like monster approached him, with a giant bone like weapon in hand.


    He recognized the creature from one of the many reports he had received as some sort of evolved axoboldl as Grant called them.


    The man was unsure of how to react to the monster''s sudden appearance, until the creature spoke, with a deep and resonant voice, with a calm sincerity.


    "My master has sent me to assist you in suppressing the church."


    Thaddeus eyed him carefully, realizing quickly who the master likely was, through an instinct and a distinctly missing man dressed as a raven sage.


    "And where is your master?" he probed, and the monster responded.


    "Dealing with the real threat."


    <hr>


    Paladin Peter picked up his shield bittersweetly.


    He rejoiced at the thought of finishing it all, but he did not relish in the betrayal of his oath.


    He knew what he had done was wrong, but even so, he would do it all the same.


    Let the church judge him once all was said and done.


    Unknowingly, his arm trembled as he tightly wrought the shield around his arm.


    The door was right there, and once he stepped out, he would go to fulfill his duty, to correct his failures from all those years ago.


    To kill.


    To slaughter.


    To-


    BOiNG!


    The paladin paused against his will, as something unseen to him refused to let him pass.


    Bringing his shield back, he slammed his shield against the unseen boundary with great strength, only for it to bounce back harmlessly.


    "Is this your doing Grant?" he said calmly, already guessing who it could be.


    The guildmaster, while certainly a threat to him, was known for his combat prowess, less so his magic prowess.


    On the other hand, the man known as a newly arisen foe and with a talent for magic.


    "Yoooouuuu got me!" Came back a cheerful voice, as Grant hopped from a shadow. The man chuckled, clapping his hands.


    "So this is what you had planned. A little rebellion, hmm?" He said, a tint of mockery in his voice. "Truly, a plan befitting a paladin. I suppose that''s the nature of paladins. They make better hounds than they do leaders."


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Peter ignored him calmly responding. "I do not think yo have room to speak. For all your bravado, violence still bled out onto the streets, and people have still died. You claim to stop my plans at every step, and you''ve done well, this I''ll admit, but it''s clear you''ve failed."


    He said this with such authority, yet Grant merely cocked his head.


    "Did I?"


    "I have no time to play your game joker. Raise the shield, or I''ll make you raise the shield."


    He threatened. The paladin did not want to kill the man, but if he continued to stand in his way, then he would have to be slain.


    Grant chuckled. "Make me? Ohh, I like the sound of that. Let''s do option 2!"


    As soon as he said that, the shield flew towards his face, as the paladin lunged, flying faster than most eyes could see.


    clang!


    It met with an equally strong weapon, the sound loud enough to be heard for miles, were it not for the barrier that had been put up.


    Grant had pulled a weapon out almost instantaneously, deflecting the blade with ease.


    A silver, liquid-like weapon, which had congealed in the form of a blade.


    "Tut tut tut. Using a shield as a weapon. ANd here I thought those were meant to protect people?" Grant said, clearly taking a dig at him, reminding him of the shield''s purpose.


    Peter felt anger flare up within himself as he lunged again, imbuing the shield with the light of Isis, the shield blazing.


    The fight between the fallen paladin and the madman had begun.


    <hr>


    It was a confusing sight to say the least. The number of inhumans was too many, far more than there should be in the town, and the number of humans far too little.


    Were there this many beastmen originally?


    The fanatic Samson felt there was something wrong with the number of inhumans and humans. Even discounting the fact that there would be a certain number of foolish men who would side with the beasts, the numbers on their side were all wrong.


    The fanatic finds himself distracted from these thoughts as the guildmaster emerged from the masses, bludgeoning the fanatics as he went by with firm hits, seeking to inhibit, rather than kill. Behind him another one of those foul beasts, a monster that seemed akin to a salamander, followed by more of it''s foul brethren, who did as the guild master did, apprehending the righteous men.


    "Guildmaster!" he boomed, drawing attention from the gigantic man.


    "The beastmen have gone insane! They must be put down with how they are rioting!" he said confidently, assured that his play would force the guildmaster to either heel, or even aid him.


    The guildmaster merely looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?" he said, genuinely confused.


    Looking out into the crowd, he could see no people joining the Isis puritans, and on the contrary, they had united with the inhumans to suppress the crazy rabble. Only the human puritans were fighting. Who was rioting exactly?


    "The only one who''s been rioting this whole time have been you fools!"


    "What are you talking about!?" Sampson said, growing frustrated. "Look at them! Look at all the people who-" he faltered as the fog lifted, not merely from the whole of the outpost, but from his eyes.


    No human was on his side.


    Why had he thought anyone had taken their side besides his fellow followers.


    The only ones rebelling were themselves.


    "What?" Sampson said in utter confusion.


    What was going on?


    <hr>


    Peter raised his shield, bringing it down with all of his might, as Grant changed his blades shape, taking the form of a shield mirroring the paladin''s, deflecting the shield.


    "You see, that''s how you use a shield!" he exclaimed, before the blades shape changed into a hammer, swiftly descending upon the paladin.


    The paladin, unable to dodge, raised the shield to protect himself.


    Bang!


    HIs legs gave way under the impact of the hammer as he withstood the blow,which felt like the full weight of the mountain.


    "THere you go!" Grant exclaimed. This battle that had gone well over an hour had been one filled with taunts and mockery, as well as purely random comments.


    "Can''t catch me!"


    "Have you tried throwing it?!"


    "I know harder lobsters!"


    "I don''t like bananas in my sundaes!"


    "Do you not shut UP!" The paladin shouted as he glowed, raising his shield up as he channeled his divine power, apologizing to his mistress for using his power this way, to shut up this eccentric man.


    The aura flung Grant back a few meters as he cartwheeled away.


    "Why should I? You up and ruined the beginning of my retirement with this goddamned purge of yours, getting in your head is the least that I can do!" Grant said, as a hint of annoyance crept into his voice as he casually got up, revealing the real reason behind shouting random phrases..


    The glowing paladin looked at him with ridicule. "That''s all this is to you? A game?" He asked. "People are dying out there, and the entire towns falling apart, and you''re worried that your vacation is going to ruin?" He said incredulously. His previously high appraisal of the man dropped significantly, having once praised his devotion to children, only to see this callous disregard for life.


    Grant chuckled. "Yes, people are dying out there. So?" he asked, cracking his neck nonchalantly. "I didn''t send those fools out to die. I''m not the one dragging them all down in a suicide attempt"


    "You failed to save the people killed in the riots." Peter pointed out, reminding him of his failure.


    "Did I? Did I really?" Grant asked him irritating paladin Peter, who had made no effort to hide his expression.


    Grant paused, as if remembering something. "Oohhh. You still think they''re dead!" he said excitedly, slamming his fist into his palm. "I''d forgotten to show you it, didn''t I?"


    "Show me what?" Peter asked, wary what this seemingly crazy man could show him.


    Clap cap


    WIth a rapid clap of Grant''s hands, the sound of countless bodies dropping could be heard, as they fell from the sky, dropped by entire flocks of drows and dravens, their numbers darkening the entire sky.


    Peter didn''t understand at first. These were the corpses of the victims, yes, but what did that matter?


    Was he planning necromancy? This thought rattled Peter ashe prepared to purify any such attempts until he noticed something.


    Life.


    They were still filed with life.


    All of these "corpses" were alive, merely comatose.


    people he had ordered to been killed.


    But how?


    Their bodies were all over the town!


    Seeing Peter''s growing confusion, Grant posed a question.


    "Peter, Peter. Did you ever notice that whenever you had someone killed, I always took someone in turn?" he asked, as uneasiness grew in Peter''s heart.


    "Of course, and each time I tried to find you, I got lost in the fog." he responded warily, and Grant rattled.


    "Well, you wouldn''t have found me anyway. I was never near you." Grant commented, causing Peter to look at him as if he were crazy. "What are you talking about!? You killed all of them! How could you not be there?" the confused paladin argued, for the deaths that had occurred had obviously been by the hands of this man.


    Who else could''ve killed them?


    "Kill them? Me? No, no, no, surely you know me better than that?! I''m not one to settle with something so simple as ending their life. A little extra is what makes the death special after all!"


    "What did you do to them?" Peter said with growing worry, with the way the mad man amped it up.


    Grant tutted as his finger twitched in disapproval. "Not what I did Peter. It''s what your followers did to one another."


    What he said sent a shiver went down Peter''s spine, when he heard the thrill in Grant''s voice. The mask almost seemed to curl up at that very moment, twisting into a grin.


    "Why kill them myself, when I could have them do it for me?"

 Chapter 48: What Ive Done...

    Peter couldn''t understand it.


    No, he vehemently denied it.


    But this denial fell flat in front of the rambunctious monster before him.


    "There''s no way you could have done that, not to the whole of this town..."


    "Don''t tell me the rules!What is impossible is made possible by the whims of the divine! ANd this-" he announced as he swept his hand forth, cutting through the fog, "- Is no mere fog, but the divine product of eight God-like beings! Pray tell, what could mere mortals do in the face of such a thing?" he asked with a teasing voice, as Peter looked at him disbelievingly.


    "Then..." He said as his sentence wandered off, as he realized the full implications of Grant''s claim.


    "Indeed!" Grant exclaimed, as he went into full monologue mode, the favorite of all cultivators throughout the world.


    "Every time they killed a beastman, suffocated a dwarf, or hung an elf from a tree, in reality they hung their own teammate. Tell me, what is worse to you? The idea that they were brainwashed into believing they were beastman, cursing their fellow followers for their injustice all the way to the underworld, or to retain their sanity in those last moments, begging mercy of their fellow acolytes, only to receive the same mercy that they had once given?"


    Peter did not respond, merely staring down the man- no the monster that stood before him.


    He had thought it righteous anger before, to punish the injustice done to a child, but now?


    Now he could only see a monster, no, a devil who delighted in the torment of others.


    "Come now, I''d say I was rather generous, merely punishing them the same way they hurt others. That is nothing if not just. Surely, the man who denied Richmond the corrupt a peaceful death? Who made sure that he only had faith in his head by beating him over the head with a source of faith?" he said, pointing at Peter''s shield.


    "A nice touch by the way, if I do say so myself. Surely you can appreciate mine?"


    "What of the outside world? I assume that something similar is playing out on the outside?" Peter asked calmly, ignoring the theatrical demon.


    "You wound me good sir!" said Grant, dramatically placing his hand upon his chest. "Do I look so repetitive to you? No, I couldn''t be bothered to deal with them. Rather, I have delegated that work to others. Don''t you worry though, that demigod guildmaster will be sure to finish it up."


    Though Peter didn''t respond at first, his mind was racing


    So this was it...


    He finally lost.


    Here he was, at the end.


    It was... relieving.


    Noticing the change in Peter''s aura, Grant tilted his head curiously. "Oh? You seem rather happy for a man about to lose it all. Got a card up your sleeve I''m not aware of? Well I''m not worried, others carry cards up their sleeves, but I carry entire decks!"


    Peter looked relieved, as if a load had been taken off his back.


    "Now that we''ve lost, I have no reason to hold back." he announced, as the divine aura increased, and all the damage Grant had inflicted vanished, leaving a revitalized Peter.The shield glowed, as it''s presence increased and killing intent intensified on both sides.


    "Before I die, I will see to it that you are dragged down to the pits of Tartarus with me!" He declared, leaping at Grant, and Grant laughed, reciprocating with the opening of a portal, as the Shroom father lumbered through, with a roar filled with pure rage echoing through the battlefield.


    The progenitor swung it''s arms, sending the paladin flying back as Grant leapt onto his creation


    "By all means! COme get me!" He declared.


    The battle had begun in earnest.


    <hr>


    As the fog dissipated, a gruesome sight came into full view.


    The corpses that littered the streets, that hung from trees and littered the place, were all the corpses of believers, the corpses of their fellow extremists.


    The confusion merey intensified, as the minds of the cultists cleared, the fog lifting, and the truth was revealed to them.


    Horror filled their eyes, as some of them even began to throw up in horror and disgust.


    Samson however, in particular had found the person to blame.


    "You!" he said, blindly pointing at all the non human beings in the area.


    "You are all to blame! It''s your fault, you filthy beasts!"


    The axobodl progenitor shook his head, complaining. "Even when the truth is shown to you, you deny it? Their deaths are no one''s fault but yours. You are the ones who led you own followers to death, and even killed them yourselves. To blame intended victims for surviving is foolish.


    A foolish accusation for a foolish man" THe salamander like being shook it''s head in disappointment.


    "Shut up!" The man screamed, as he threw a punch, with killing intent strong enough to knock out most people in the area.


    Only the axobodl''s and the guildmaster managed to endure the strength of the killing intent.


    Bam!


    And then the punch came, blowing the arm of the progenitor off, as the sound of tearing flesh could be heard, followed by the sound explosion of the punch that followed. .


    A''Tan looked unbothered, merely regarding his missing flesh emotionlessly.


    His arm was still there, but all that remained was tendon and bone.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Snap!


    To the confusion of everyone there, he merely pulled it off with a simple click.


    And under the frightened eyes of the crazy believers, the beast''s arm grew back in a matter of seconds.


    Bones


    tendons


    flesh


    scales


    All of it in a matter of seconds.


    He regarded his skeletal arm in hand while disregarding them.


    "This will make a good reward for one of my children." He said simply, crushing the old arm, with the feeling of divinity flooding the area. As the bones snapped and were crushed under hand, they changed and took new form.


    In his hand was his hand, now having taken the form of a daunting shield, made out of merely bones, and yet the quality of the shield could be seen from a glance.


    "This, this will do."


    Another punch came flying at him, but this time A''Tan easily deflected the blow, using the shield with ease.


    "Impossible!" said Sampson, still in denial, but A''Tan shook his head.


    "Only strength. Does Isis not smile upon you? Where is your divine grace? Have you no faith?" The axobodl said, the last statement a taunt.


    A devotee with no divine power is one who either has no faith, or their God has disavowed them.


    Either is a slap to the face, and Sampson burned at that statement.


    "Yooooouuu!" He screeched as he just started throwing throwing punches, raining down on the progenitor.


    He deflected them with ease, each punch sliding off the shield, bruising with each punch, as they rang hollow against the bones strength.


    "Rage without anything to back it up. How... Unseemly. If all you have is strength, then you''re nothing!"


    The axobodl roared, as the throaty sound inspired equal response from the beasts followers.


    Unbeknownst to them, their veins throbbed a dark purple as something ancient inside of them swelled.


    Had Grant been there, he may have smiled mysteriously, or even been worried, but for now, it went unseen.


    There was a battle to prioritize right now after all.


    <hr>


    The shroom father groaned in pain as the paladin lopped off multiple arms with his shield.


    Grant made an oof noise as he opened his divine realm letting out Fanfare and the saurian shroom progenitor, with the former letting out a poisonous fire onto the paladin.


    Swells and burns plagued the man for a second, before the light of Isis shone once more and he recovered from the attacks.


    "Hiding behind your familiars? A coward as well!"


    Grant chuckled at the challenge. "That''s a rather funny thing to say. Why would I hide from you? You just happen to be a perfect chew toy for my familiars? Where else could I find a paladin who can fight two dragons at once to treat them to?"


    He continued, this time the paladin threw his shield with great force at the head of the dinoshroom''s head, only to be casually deflected by the liquid blade, which had transformed into a trampoline, ricocheting the shield back at the paladin.


    Thunk!


    The shield sunk into his chest, causing blood to spurt, as Peter struggled with the shield, instead pulling out the whip.


    The whip reeked of blood.


    "Ooh!" Grant exclaimed. "The scent of self harm! I just can''t wait to hear your story!"


    The efforts of the progenitors merely doubled.


    The dinoshroom swung those giant clubs for hands as it rode in, dealing pure bluntforce damage.


    Fanfare attacked from afar, forcing the paladin to dodge and swerved when the waves of flame and poison rolled in, or to even swiftly dodge when the dragon-like shroom dove in from above.


    THe shroom father laced his countless arms into the ground, confusing for a moment, until the ground rumbled.


    THe arms appeared at random, forcing the paladin to constantly be on his feet, unable to catch his breath.


    He did still get a good few blows in however.


    Leaping up, he managed to land on Fanfare, tearing one of the mycelium wings out of the dragon''s back, causing it to squeal in pain at the pure shock of it.


    Arms torn out of the ground when opportunity permitted it, and he even managed to use the dinoshroom''s own charging momentum against it, tying it down much as a rodeo rider can force a bull to the ground.


    Of course, at intervals when one of the progenitors seemed in danger, Grant intervened.


    The blade would plunge in to interrupt the fight, or even Grant himself would plunge into battle, backhanding the man.


    The fight was a harrowing fight for all, except for Grant.


    He was just wondering why the paladin was self harming.


    Oh the stories that could be....


    <hr>


    Hisssss


    The steaming sound could be heard as heat emanated from A''Tan''s skin


    The S-class mage merely looked on in horror as the creature merely walked it off.


    The mage had attempted to appear distracted fighting the guild leader, only to turn around and initiate a surprise attack. Unfortunately, it proved pointless as the beasts skin merely recovered at a terrifying rate.


    "Sneak attacks... I would applaud your effort, but one does not applaud half hearted efforts." the axoboldl progenitor calmly stated as he turned his attention to the mage.


    Whistle!


    Out of nowhere, a giant feathered beast appeared, tearing the arms off the mage before landing next to the man, handing the arms to the progenitor.


    "For your shamanistic efforts." Canuck said, and the axobodl nodded graciously.


    "Thank you Canuck, I''ll treasure your gift." She nodded, ruffling her plumage a little.


    Canuck had changed, evolving further down the korvold line, becoming a korvosaurian.


    Her wings had separated, dividing into a pair of feathered wings, and scaly, almost reptilian arms, with sparse feathers decorating them.


    Her body had become toned, and a prominent and feathered tail had emerged, less bird like and almost prehistoric even.


    A blend of dragon and dinosaur blood, and the terrifying agility she had shown was proof of that, capable of easily ambushing an S-class


    "That, is what we call a sneak attack."


    The man merely screeched as he looked at the blood spurting out of his arms.


    "Why... why does Isis not give me strength?" he asked, disbelief filling his eyes.


    In battle under the banner of Isis, he had easily regenerated his limbs, without problem as he led the crusades of Isis across the empire, helping those in need.


    When out clearing monsters, when defending the people he had felt Isis'' love. So why, why when he was here to purge the monsters from society...


    ... did she not show him her favor!


    Canuck tutted. "Reading Isis'' doctrine, how one such as yourself can not realize the fault in your thinking is unbelievable. Even an outsider can see it before you do. " She shook her head.


    She had done as Grant had suggested, train and study.


    Of course one of the greatest churches of the empire fell under this field of research.


    Corrupt priests like Richmond, even if they were to infiltrate the church, could never feel the goddess'' great love.


    Perhaps when he had done things with good intent, he had felt her goodwill.


    But now, harming the children of the empire?


    Her children?!


    They received no blessing.


    "No..." he said, about to adamantly deny it, before being killed by a clean stab through the chest.


    Thaddeus made no comment, merely stepping over the corpse, walking over to A''Tan.


    A''Tan had already restrained the "S-class" Sampson, the man having never truly been a challenge, merely a stepping stone.


    "Where is your master?" Thaddeus asked calmly as he walked over to the weird salamander like monster.


    He had to ask now, before the people involved in the fight started asking questions.


    After all, the real problem behind it all, the paladin was still at large, an important piece to the equation.


    A''Tan looked indifferent as he responded. "The situation that you''re worried about has been handled already. A mere paladin defeating my master? I think not."


    <hr>


    Peter was a good fighter, but even he could only hold so long against three progenitors and one Grant.


    The body became sluggish, and seeing that Peter would no longer provide a good practice target for his creations, Grant lost interest in the fight, deciding to end it.


    Flick


    A golden chain emerged, quickly binding Peter, and this time, he couldn''t get out.


    Peter struggled, desperately trying to fight out of the chains, but it was in vain.


    "Don''t bother, unless you find yourself interested in breaking Fenrir''s record." he said languidly.


    Peter stared at the man. "You could''ve done this at any time." he stated, not accusing, but acknowledging, accepting the truth.


    Grant was clearly stronger than him by a mile, a thousand even.


    He didn''t even sense the chain rattling out to bind him, and hadn''t even gotten a serious blow on the man.


    "Yup." Grant said, not bothering to argue wit him.


    Grant brutally kicked Peter across the face, forcing him down on his knees, while he himself sat on a chair.


    "Class dismissed." he said, and the progenitors nodded, merely departing into the divine realm quietly, affirming the strength of Grant in Peter''s mind.


    "Kill me." Said Peter, as he quietly waited for his execution.


    "Nuh-uh. Not until you tel me your backstory." Said Grant as he wagged his finger.


    "You owe me that much, and you owe the innocent that much."

 Chapter 49: Story of Peter

    "Why should I tell you anything?" Peter said defiantly, clearly prepared to die.


    Grant frowned. "Why?" he said, disbelievingly. "Why!? You would dare to ask such a ridiculous question, after all you''ve done! After all the deaths that you have caused in your path up to this point?"


    "So? None of those deaths had anything to do with you. I owe you nothing and I have no regrets."


    Grant chuckled. "You''re right, you owe me nothing. But what of the child?"


    "What child?" asked the man, genuinely unsure of who he referred to.


    "The ogre child. The one that suffered in the name of your plan." Hearing this, the man''s eyes fluttered, but this time he had no response, and Grant pushed.


    "The child who was forced to feed on his own family. You didn''t do a thing. You did not eliminate such a dangerous ogre within human territory, and you didn''t spare the child of his agony. Not even the decency to put him out of his own misery."


    Clearly the words weighed on the paladin, as his head hung low.


    In a surprising moment of tenderness, he asked.


    "How is the child?" he asked, and Grant responded, this time with a healthy amount of spite in his voice.


    "Better, no thanks to you. He''s recovering, but even now, he''s not comfortable with the presence of others yet."


    Though he seemed relieved by that, the paladin remained silent. "I will not speak."


    Grant leaned forward, and said it calmly. "You''ll tell me what I want, or the temple of Isis will suffer."


    Peter grit his teeth. "Your power is nothing to the higher powers of the church."


    "Perhaps, but I hardly doubt that''ll matter if I only target the bottom level members of the church. The clergy, the followers, etc. How many do you think I can kill before I get caught?" Grant asked, with malice and cruelty laced into his words.


    "You fiend!" said Peter through gritted teeth.


    Grant shrugged. "I''m sure the people you planned to kill and did kill would say much the same of you."


    Peter went silent at that statement, unable to provide a counterstatement to that.


    "Look, all I want to know is why. Just tell me why, and you will be on your way."


    Peter snorted, but seriously considered Grant''s offer.


    "Can you promise that once I''m gone, that you will not pursue this issue with the temple once I''m gone?" he hoarsely asked, and Grant jokingly waggled his pinky.


    "Pinky promise. After all, I only did this all on a whim"


    The paladin seemed skeptical, but he acquiesced nonetheless, for there was nothing more he could demand from the victor.


    "Fine. Then..." Peter began his tale.


    <hr>


    Peter had served the temple for many years, doing as he had felt right for many decades.


    He had been raised by the temple since before he could remember.


    Ever since he was young, Peter had heard soft whispers, whispers he would later find was Isis, the goddess, encouraging and watching over him. When the orphanage director was too busy to watch him, he would feel her warm gaze, her encouragement.


    As a child, he grew up surrounded by warmth and love.


    The temple was his family, everything in his life, something he too, wanted to be involved in.


    He wanted to protect the temple, his family that had protected him.


    When he grew older, and discovered his potential as a paladin, there was no other option. For them, for her, the goddess who was always there.


    He would be it''s guardian, to protect the next generation and ensure their safety, and to return the favor.


    And so he strode forward, Isis'' guardian, her great shield, the man who carried her blessings.


    In spite of all the evil he had seen, the cruelty and violence, and weathering the sands of time, Peter stood tall.


    None of these could shake his faith, for he was never alone, guided by the people around him, by the goddess herself, though not present, always there for him.


    They were always external threats, dangers to the temple from the outside, enemies to strike down.


    Peter had always known that there were undoubtedly corrupt people within the temple.


    He was no fool, he knew the evils of men were everywhere, all encompassing.


    But he was confident, sure that no mortal could usurp the authority of the great mother Isis.


    Not as long as she was always there, always watching.


    She was the light which shone upon them, filling them with warmth and love, guiding them to be the light of others, to hold out a hand for those who needed it.


    A goddess so kind would never let evil go rampant.


    That was what he had thought.


    Peter had underestimated the corruption of the church however.


    So little time he spent within the temple, busy out and about helping people, he had not realized how corrupt the church had become.


    It was only by pure chance that he discovered the corruption.


    <hr>


    Bam!


    The sound of wood splintering was heard as the slavers turned in shock, seeing two guards brutally hit the walls.


    A hulking, terrifying presence entered the room, as Peter scanned the room his very existence exuding power and dominance, for when Peter was not in the presence of the innocent, he was a rampaging beast, set to purge the evils of the world..


    "What are you doing here!" Exclaimed one slaver. "You cannot be here! We have legally-"


    "-I care little for your legalities when they cover such illegal crimes!" Scorned Peter, as he witnessed the slaves terrible condition.


    True, slaves were legal, but there were limits to how you could treat slaves, safety conditions. Even criminal slaves had bare minimum conditions that were to be met.


    Yet wherever he looked, he merely saw pain.


    Beastmen, elves, humans dwarves. They all had that same vacant, lifeless looks. His heart overflowed with sympathy.


    Kneeling down, Peter began to heal as many slaves as he could, as the warm love of Isis passed through his veins and into their bodies, as the slightest flicker of relief entered the empty eyes, as they found momentary relief.


    "Protect them, I''m going in." commanded Peter, as his two apprentices followed into the room, nodding obediently.


    Peter entered deeper into the hideout.


    Each room contained an official of some sorts. Civil servants, guards, nobles, priests, all of them doing vile acts to make one churn, with each worse than the last.


    With each and every room he entered, a sense of foreboding came over him, as Peter felt something.


    A warning to turn back, as if something inside of him wanted him to turn back.


    Peter did not know what it was and ignored it, merely feeling his will strengthen, determined to see it to the end.


    It was the last room he was about to enter when he felt his hand shake.


    He realized what it was.


    Divine energy.


    It was like it was warning him, begging him to turn back.


    The voice, that had always whispered kind, warm words begged.


    Begged him to tun back.


    Why?


    He hesitated for a moment. Should he?


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    Isis had never steered him wrong before.


    Would she do so now?


    ...No.


    But he knew Isis, perhaps better than any other, for Peter was one of her favored children whom she communed with countless times.


    She thought his heart was too weak to see what was in this final room.


    He thanked her, but Peter was firm.


    His heart was strong enough.


    Peter was sure.


    ...


    <hr>


    He was wrong.


    Seeing the final room was appalling.


    Disgusting, with the things he saw there a cruel mix of torture, experimentation, and bordered on necromancy.


    But that wasn''t wat disgusted him.


    It wasn''t what hurt.


    No, it was who was doing the crime.


    It was who was on the table.


    A child, one he knew.


    Their body changed beyond all belief, experimented on to a horrid extent, to the point he could barely recognize the boy, behind the festering flesh and the aboriginal pieces of monster flesh growing out of him.


    Only the face told Peter that he knew the boy.


    Isaac, a child whom he knew from the orphanage, one he had seen during his visits there.


    The once vivid and happy face had faded, replaced by the same empty look he had seen on all the other victims in the hall.


    No perhaps it was worse. He knew this kid. He was his responsibility.


    Isaac was not just a random person in need of help. He was family.


    And the person torturing the child was a nun that he had also known fro the church. A nun he had never quite known the name of, silently blending in, inconspicuous, but he had seen her as trustworthy, reliable.


    Kind even.


    The look on her face wasn''t kind. It was savage, excited, curious even.


    But not regretful. Not kind. Not family.


    Her face froze at the sight of Peter.


    She stuttered, as she tried to look for an excuse.


    "Lord Peter! I, uh, uh, uh, I can explain!" she shouted, throwing the saw in her hand away, as if to explain the crime before her.


    For a second, Peter froze.


    Unsure what to do, what to day. To see one of his own, fall to such degeneracy, to stoop so low.


    And to see one of the people he had sworn to protect, one of the children, to be hurt by the corruption that HE had ignored.


    His vision went red.


    Peter pinned the nun to the ground and before she could react, started pummeling her with his shield.


    Thud.


    Thud


    THUD


    THUD


    THUD


    THUD!


    Peter couldn''t think in the moment, as the shield came down, again and again.


    THe sound of blood pumping through his eardrums overwhelmed his senses, as he lost himself to the violence.


    The nun''s face slowly degraded into a pile of flesh, the healing grace imbued into the shield unable to keep up with the sheer urgency he beat her with the shield.


    At some point he threw the shield aside and started using his hands, unable to stop himself.


    ""Lord Peter!""


    ""Lord Peter!"


    It took the combined efforts of his two apprentices too drag him away from the long dead body of the nun.


    What got him to stop wasn''t them, but the feeble gasps coming from next to him.


    The feeble gasp of a tormented soul.


    Isaac, who had been empty a few seconds ago, but now his eyes looked alive.


    The apprentices looked on in anguish, seeing the child like that.


    The boy was looking at him with the same hopeful eyes he had always looked at him with.


    "Brother Peter..." the boy murmured as Peter strode over to the boy, frantically using his blessing to heal the boy.


    But it didn''t work. The body was unwilling, exhausted byond all possibility of recovering.


    The light dimmed from his eyes, as the soul moved on.


    Peter could only watch on quietly as Isaac moved on.


    "I want to be a paladin just like you one day! Then I can protect you!"


    <hr>


    Peter''s hand trembled as he read the reports.


    He had never bothered investigating, believing that no matter the corruption, that Isis was watching, that sister Trenee could handle the corruption.


    How ignorant he''d been, selfish even.


    The corruption had spread farther than he had expected.


    Not merely the minimum bribery and tax evasion he had expected.


    No, it was so much worse .


    Body experiments, slaughter, conspiring with dark sects, illegal slave trade, and even acts of necromancy.


    Father RIchmond was perhaps the worst of them, He had been the greatest mastermind behind it all, having a hand in it all, and was becoming widely known behind closed doors. Using his power in the worst way, multiple priests and their wives had fallen to the disgusting pig''s ways, as they were used and then thrown away under the pretense of being heretics.


    His eyes fell upon the name Paul being one such example.


    An entire family destroyed by him, leaving the orphaned son Galileo to suffer.


    But one name amongst countless others, an endless list of crimes, things that he had allowed to happen in his ignorance.


    No more, he thought as the paper crumbled in his fingers,


    No more.


    <hr>


    "Peter, it is so good to see you!" crooned the ugly toad that was RIchmond as he gloatingly met the paladin.


    "How can I help you?" he asked.


    His expression changed as he saw the inquisition behind Peter.


    Peter ignored him.


    "Chain the beast " He commanded and the inquisition obeyed, rushing forward.


    "What are you doing! I am bishop Richmond! You don''t have the authority to-"


    "Muffle the beast, before it speaks more heresy."


    One inquisitor nodded as he gagged the bishop. The beast''s eyes bulged out as the poison soaked in.


    Peter leaned in. "Festrin." he whispered, and the terrified look in the eyes grew, as the eyes staring back at him glowed with cold rage.


    A poison they had made to tenderize flesh. Human flesh. According to the reports, it felt like ants eating through your flesh as your bones broke down into a fine powder, to be better consumed.


    Festrin, one of the many horrid things being made under the bishops orders. If anyone were to know the true terror of the poison, it''d be him.


    "Get him out of here!" commanded Peter.


    From now on, Peter would purge the temple clean. No more would this filth stain these halls.


    <hr>


    The executions were quick and brutal.


    Each and every person he could connect to the corruption was dragged in before the public and killed, as Peter quietly watched.


    The public cheered, and yet Peter found no joy.


    Only regret that he had not done anything sooner.


    That he had not been told sooner.


    Why.


    Why had she hidden this from him?


    Peter earnestly asked, seeking answers from his Goddess.


    The motherly voice no longer appeared, nor the kind assurances and warm words."


    Only a sense of shame and self loathing filled him.


    The last of the was the leader of this group, bishop Richmond himself.


    the man looked less human then before, as the bones inside had dissolved, and the flesh softened more than ever before.


    He barely looked alive, much less human.


    Not even the crowd surrounding the event, could not believe this was the beastly RIchmond.


    Before The executioner could presume his duties, Peter held up his hand, silencing the crowd, and stopping the ceremony.


    The brief respite filled Richmond''s eyes with hope, only to be filled with terror as he stepped forth.


    "I will personally execute this heretic." he said calmly, as the shield manifested itself into reality.


    Do it


    Whispered the voice, and Peter complied readily.


    The sound rang out through the city square with each resounding echo, for so great was the force, that even this soft flesh produced such a loud sound.


    Richmond received a swift death, far swifter than he would''ve preferred, but Peter finished it relatively quickly.


    There was only so long a crowd could bear the sight of such a thing before it became sickening.


    <hr>


    The death of Bishop Richmond bought Peter no solace.


    He had purged the worst part of the church, but he could still see the corruption.


    Politicians and racist bigots wandered these church halls, amongst countless types of infections.


    Bigots, who hid themselves well enough, planning evil things from the shadows, and politically motivated members of the order, too afraid to act drastically, too worried about covering their own hide.


    Corrupt individuals who hadn''t been connected to Richmond, who were not removed, due to politics.


    Worst of all were the records.


    Almost none of the records were fixed, none of the victims who had been falsely accused and denounced by the church had been corrected.


    It would deface the church they said...


    They''re already dead, all we can do is do better in their name...


    There are more important things to tend to...


    Nearly a decade later they continued to say these false platitudes, while nothing was done.


    Peter prayed, and begged the goddess for an explanation, for guidance, for something!


    Yet there was no response, nothing.


    Merely a quiet buzz.


    The buzz of being alone.


    A sense of anger crept into him, at the goddess who saw everything and did nothing.


    And shame...


    Shame...


    That was it!


    The goddess was ashamed!


    Peter realized the truth at last.


    Clearly, the goddess was ashamed and disappointed at what the church had become, the stagnant corruption. The failures of her children.


    And him, who had turned away, never looking inwards, never seeing what had been going underneath his nose.


    So she had turned away from them.


    From him.


    This was the problem.


    The church had to be cleansed, by any means necessary.


    Even if he had to die for it.


    <hr>


    Peter had a plan.


    Infiltrate the human supremacists, one of the major corruptions of the church currently.


    It was far smaller than the corruption headed by the man known as Richmond, but it was still significant, having grown in the absence of the former, growing within that void. They had hidden themselves well.


    Rather than forcefully dragging them out, Peter planned to expose them. in an action so outrageous that all parties would have to involve them, and punish them rightly so.


    Maybe then Isis would speak to him again.


    She would have to acknowledge him after this.


    So he infiltrated them, pretending to be one of them.


    They all sickened him, these filthy heretics who sullied the goddess'' name with their foolish thoughts, and yet he put up with it, hiding his expression behind a friendly facade.


    They were suspicious of him, but like all self-righteous fools, they were easily convinced as long as they believed you were truly for their cause.


    It only took a year t infiltrate.


    And when he suggested to enact riots and racial division in a far out outpost on the edge of the empire to act as a fuse to light the division in the empire?


    They were all for it.


    Heh. Fools.


    There were forces far greater than they could imagine in the empire, beings with vested interests in keeping the empire peaceful, and who could easily squash him.


    This wasn''t a fuse, but a flare, meant to force them to act in the face of such a blatant sigal.


    To force them to strike them down, to strike him down.


    Peter was not ignorant of his significance.


    He was one of the most famous paladins within the empire currently. Were he t die under such an extremist movement, there would be no ignoring such a faction. There would be no escape for them.


    And Peter would pay for his failures.


    His plan was a success at first.


    It wasn''t hard to get them to fall into their malicious desires, and to act as he needed, killing non humans and inciting violence.


    He abhorred their actions, but he also knew that without him, they would do the very same thing.


    Instead, he sought to gain the attention of greater forces within the empire.


    Buying hundreds of slaves, sending a guard on a killing spree, orchestrating the death of the guild master''s son, all of it done with the sole intention of attracting attention, and forcing them to intervene.


    He was sure that the temple of Jorvus Mars already had an eye on him.


    That didn''t stop Peter from punishing himself, flogging himself in a pointless attempt to atone for his actions.


    These actions were meaningless besides punishing himself, Peter knew, but this did not stop him from doing it.


    In the decade since Richmond''s execution, he had developed this habit, thinking of all those he failed.


    All he had to do was keep going.


    And soon it would be over.


    He could rest then.


    There was no stopping now. Not when they were this close.


    He had planned meticulously, Peter believed.


    Eyeing the flow of people entering the outpost carefully, making sure that nothing outside his expectation entered the outpost.


    Yet ultimately something slipped through, something he had never been prepared for.


    Grant.


    He had never predicted the appearance of Grant.


    <hr>


    "That''s it. Now, either kill me, or hand me over to the guild master." Peter rasped, his story finally done.


    He was ready, ready to finally die, to end it all.


    The time of judgement was at hand.


    Still, he was curious


    What this monster, this hypocritical beast would react.


    Would he be indifferent?


    Angry, at the choices he had made. Would it all be yet another sick joke to him?


    For a minute, a long minute, he was silent, and unreadable thanks to his mask.


    It was an awkward minute.


    "...What!?" Came an astonished statement, laced with annoyance.


    "That''s all this is? A god damned tamper tantrum!?" Grant shouted with disbelief.


    "You little bastard!"


    Slap!

 Chapter 50: Seriously?

    "That is what all this has amounted too?!"


    Slap!


    "A giant tamper tantrum?!"


    Slap!


    "Stop slapping m-"


    Slap!


    "Fuck no! Dumb little pieces of shit get slaps!"


    Slap!


    The paladin glared at him, anger blazing in those eyes.


    "This was NOT a temper tantrum. This was a cleansing, an effort to purify the violated church of our mother!"


    Grant snorted, clearly not believing the man.


    "Bull-shit. The paladin of the temple, one of the most influential figures, one with perhaps more authority than the head of the church, could not have taken any other path? They had to do a suicide plan, to get the church to forcefully recognize the corruption. Or-"


    Grant leaned in, his voice sending a chill down the paladin''s spine.


    "-Or was it to force her to recognize it all? To recognize you? To be punished for all your wrongdoing?" The words cornered him, leaving no room to escape, as the truth


    Peter had no response, no retort.


    Because deep down he knew the man was right.


    There were other easier choices, easier paths.


    Dozens of other ways he could''ve approached this situation. And yet he had chosen this one.


    As much as he hated to agree, the man before him had hit on the head, so much so that it irritated him to acknowledge it.


    He had done it for attention.


    To get Isis to talk to him again. To see him.


    Grant gave a bark of a laugh, seeing the look on his face.


    "You can''t hide stuff from me, much less the obvious. Anyone who heard this story would''ve said the same to you. It''s obvious that you''re doing this in a desperate ploy for attention, a stupid need for self-condemnation. It''s pathetic."


    "If you''re done now, I''d like to wrap this up" Peter said cooly, clearly trying to die faster, much to Grant''s chagrin.


    "No, no I don''t think I''m quite done yet." he responded, and then paused thoughtfully.


    If what drove him to these lengths was his goddess, then surely the best way of eking out a response out of him was through this Goddess.


    "What do you know of how a God is made?" he asked, in a professional tone, as he once more fell into this educational manner, yet there was also a hint of sadistic intent within the question.


    Peter snorted. "Gods are created through faith of course." he said in an obvious tone.


    Before any other person, Peter would''ve refused to respond, for this was one of the temple''s greatest secrets, no perhaps the greatest one.


    Yet Peter could easily glean from the mysterious man that he already knew this. No, the intent was not knowledge, but education. Peter felt uneasy, that this man clearly had something in mind, yet he knew not even in the slightest what it was.


    "So, of course you should know their greatest weakness then?"


    "That their power is dependent on the faith of others, yes."


    "ERR! Wrong!" Grant said gleefully. "On the contrary, it''s one of their greatest strengths. No, I''d dare say the danger lies in the influence of faith, the corrupting nature it has, not on the believers, but on the God''s themselves."


    Peter''s eyebrows scrunched up as he looked up at the man in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" he said, his tone was one of confusion and uneasiness as that unsettling feeling increased.


    Oh, yes, this is where the fun begins.


    "Tell me, what do you think determines what powers a God of faith has exactly? Their preexisting powers? Their domain? Some form of authority bestowed by the heavens?"


    "..." Peter remained silent.


    "It''s faith. Everything a god of faith has is dependent on what the people believe they have, paired with how much faith they receive. A god of fire with low power in myth can overcome a god of a more primordial form of fire, depending on the faith and dedication of their followers. It''s a rather messy guessing game honestly. Balancing the mythos with the faith equals out into the estimated power, but even then, it''s rarely accurate. There''s more nuance really, but that stuff is boring really."


    "What''s your point exactly?"


    "My point, dear paladin, is that everything a god is, is born of what the people think of them. Their domain, their reach, their influence, their... personality"


    "What?" Peter said, this time genuinely confused, as that uneasy feeling continued to increase, as he felt it crawl up his feet.


    "Yes, they don''t like to mention that part, do they? A god''s entire personality, nay their entire being can be changed by the faith of the people. Make no mistake, faith is a great weapon, capable of feats that few sorcerers or even cultivators can manage, but it comes with a great cost. Godhood, not for me"


    Grant chuckled.


    "Can you imagine that? Your essence, who you are, your entire personality, changing upon the whims of beings who pass in the blink of an eye? We who are mortal have the blessed ability to determine our own fates. But Gods? They, who are above us are ultimately bound to a set of rules, the very thing that empowers them serves as the chains which bind them to a set of rules.


    Do you know how that feels? To know you who exists at this very moment, could one day become an entirely different being because those below you change their opinion of you? That you might just wake up one day, knowing that you''ve changed, but helpless to do anything about it?


    One could be the kindest goddess around, but helpless to do anything, because people you love believe their goddess works in "mysterious ways", forced to work in the most ridiculous and subtle ways, never truly able to do what you want to do? It is a cruel punishment, that no one deserves, to have so much power and so much heart, yet with no hands to do so?


    Or even worse, when one of your own paladins steps forth, seeking to "purge" your temple of the filth, only to dirty your reputation, and forcibly bring a horrid change? To feel the change, as people whisper about you, the goddess of kindness, who has a cruel streak? Helpless to watch as your entire being twists and contorts, done by the hands of one of the children you love so much? Oh, that must hurt to watch, hmm?" Grant looked meaningfully at Peter.


    No...


    Now Peter realized where this was all leading, as a horrid feeling emerged in his heart.


    Guilt, terrible guilt as the realization washed over him, the consequences of what he had done.


    A wave of despair came over him, as the uneasiness that had been crawling up his legs morphed into guilt and regret.


    He shouldn''t trust this man''s words, and yet he knew.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    He knew what the man was saying was true.


    Grant continued to press on, chiding the fool before him.


    "I mean, you watch over the child for years, show him unwavering support, but all it takes is one bad day, and he shuns you!? I mean, you didn''t think she just stopped talking to you, did you? A god''s nature does not change so easily. But man does.


    No, let''s be honest here. You closed her out. You couldn''t bear the thought that your goddess could allow such a thing, and deep down, you resented her for it. The goddess you love and trusted allowed such a thing to happen, and you allowed it to happen.


    As you pass into death, no matter how you''re judged in the end, know that you''re guilty."


    Seeing Peter''s look of utter despair, Grant chuckled. "That''s better"


    Shlick


    The sword easily slid through the man''s chest, as Peter showed a look of agony and despair, not at the pain of the blade, but at the realization at just how badly he screwed up.


    Watching the body lifelessly hit the floor, Grant''s sadistic manner dissipated quickly, as he merely looked on in annoyance.


    And then, he disappeared. Peter locked eyes with the ferryman.


    Come. The judges eagerly await you, tragic paladin of Isis


    The paladin nodded solemnly as he stepped into the boat, sitting alongside the countless other spirits, heading to their final destination.


    "Then they''ll have to wait a little longer." Came a familiar voice and Peter looked over in surprise, his eyes widening.


    Grant!


    Peter quickly observed something important.


    Grant was not dead. Unlike the countless other spirits on the boat, Peter included, Grant was not ethereal, but clearly sold and alive.


    The ferryman of the dead chuckled.


    Unfortunately, if you are here to settle scores, you are too late. Unless you''d like to consult the lord of the underworld to express your grievances.


    Grant shook his head. "No need. Why go to the middleman, when I can simply ask death itself for the favor?"


    Charon paused, weirdly capable of expressing confusion in spite of it''s cloaked face.


    What nonsense are you-


    The ferryman paused midsentence as it twitched.


    The gloomy aura surrounding it changed into a far calmer aura, and yet there was something ominous about it.


    It was too calm. Quiet, an absolute void of fluctuation, an unnatural stillness.


    You have my attention, Grant.


    You want this one?


    The voice that came out of the ferryman was surreal. It lacked the great weight that the ferryman''s voice had, yet the voice stood out. The weird, friendly tone felt completely natural, and yet his body(?) screamed that something was wrong with this voice, that had seemingly overwhelmed the ferryman.


    Peter could see that he was not along, for all the other spirits had clearly avoided the ferryman now, desperately trying to get as far away from the thing as far as possible.


    "Yes, I do not think death satisfactory enough as punishment. I''m sure you know what I''m thinking already." Grant said, clearly completely at ease with the weird presence.


    It laughed, a cackling, rattling laughter that shook him down to his very soul.


    Fine!


    You can take him Grant.


    You''ve already cheated me countless times anyway.


    Why not cheat me once more?


    I don''t suppose this will be your last life, hmm?


    Grant chuckled in turn, yet his laughter had a tinge of pain. "We can only hope." he said earnestly.


    The two laugh together for a while, an eerie scene in the land of death.


    And just as soon as it had arrived, the mysterious presence disappeared, and the unnaturally clean aura returned to its gloomier aura, yet all the spirits there rejoiced to see the return to form, and even Peter sighed, exhaled despite the lack of lungs.


    The ferryman stared at Grant, clearly appreciating the man under different lenses.


    ... He says you can go, and that no one will stop you. Take him and go. The ferry man seemed wary, but Grant ignored him, and Peter was focused on something else.


    "Wait where are we going-"


    "-To the best punishment I can think of" Grant cut him off calmly, and


    pop


    They were gone from the underworld.


    <hr>


    Peter was wary as he realized that the depths to this mans power was far more than he could possibly imagine, and terrified at what kind of vicious judgement such a man could come up with.


    "Where are we?" he asked warily, yet Grant ignored him.


    The location they were in seemingly got brighter, though perhaps his sight adapted.


    What really mattered was what lay in the center of the small cave.


    A female canine kobold was panting desperately, being tended to by an older kobold.


    The kobold smelled of medicinal herbs.


    A healer.


    "Push!" he shouted as the female kobold grunted, pushing as hard as he can.


    Peter quickly realized what was going on. "She''s giving birth." he muttered reverently, for as a paladin of Isis, Peter held a great deal of respect for those who underwent the tribulation of childbirth.


    Grant responded. "Yes. However, it will be a difficult birth, after a long journey which this tribe has undergone in order to escape the terrible grasp of man. Unfortunately, of the four cubs meant to be born today, one of them will be stillborn, and the other three will likely starve on this journey. "


    "You don''t know that." Peter said defiantly. His fear of the man beside him had quickly disappeared, replaced with defiance.


    Grant chuckled. "On the contrary, I do" he said, holding a mysterious cat''s cradle, a weird mix of strings and indecipherable runes. "Their fates have been determined as such, as I have read them."


    He dangled the little contraption. "A mix of fate-based items including the strings of fate and the norn stones. Makes for an accurate weather detector, amongst other things."


    Hearing this, Peter felt a twinge of sadness.


    Grant looked at him. "Hypocrite."


    Peter had no response to that. "Why bring me here?" he asked upset. What else was there to witness here but tragedy?


    "Well, I want to make a deal. One I think you''ll quite like."


    Peter grunted. "I refuse. As you said, I seek judgement, so let me leave and return to my damnation."


    "No, no, it''s too easy to just punish you, wouldn''t you agree? After all you''ve done, and all the pain you''ve inflicted?"


    "..."


    "Besides, I have something you want. Depending on what you do next, what I tell the guildmaster may change."


    The paladin''s eyes shook, as he realized the implications of the man''s statement. "You mean..."


    "Yes, I have yet to decide what I''ll tell him. It''s true that a branch off of the church of Isis committed a great wrong, but I have negated that for the most part. Of course, what''ll really matter is who''s in charge of the failed revolt. And really, how many people actually saw you? All I have to do is blame a shapeshifter or a fake and everything''s solved."


    Peter asked eagerly. "What do I have to do?"


    Grant shrugged. "Simple. Live. For your crimes against the non-humans, my punishment for you is simple. Live as one of them. I told you. One of them was to be stillborn, and the rest were likely to follow thereafter. But if you agree that changes. It will live. You will live.


    The paladin truly looked conflicted for a moment, seemingly unsure what to say.


    Grant snorted. "I offer you life in return for your innocence, and you refuse? How ridiculous."


    "And what do you get out of this?" Peter shot back, unsure as to why this wicked and mysterious man would offer him this deal. It was suspicious.


    Shrug. "I do what I want, when I want. You don''t need to understand, just do."


    Peter still looked unwilling but responded.  "Fine, I will do this... punishment as you desired."


    Grant rolled his eyes. "Ha. How ungrateful. Fine, the deal is made." Grant waved his hand, and Peter found his soul being dragged into the body of the limp kobold.


    The grieving mother looked so happy as the small chest of the puppy started heaving slowly, as she nuzzled her "son"


    "Player 75" Grant called out, and a kobold came forward in response, one who was lithe and slim, yet power was seen in how well it had managed to hide itself from all others in the room.


    He cautiously kneeled before such a person.


    "And who may be the greatness before me?" he asked, with a polite yet alert tone. It was clear the kobold was wary of the mysterious being who had shown un silently, unseen by all but him.


    "I am player zero."


    The kobold''s eyes widened before quickly returning to normal. It was a quick, almost imperceptible action.


    "I have a favor to ask of you."


    "Speak and I shall do." the kobold said simply.


    "Keep an eye on that pup." he said, indicating towards the pup that Peter had entered.


    "May I ask why?" the kobold asked, and Richard responded, finding it only fair to do so when asking a favor.


    "The pup there has the soul of paladin Peter of the temple of Isis. He has committed a great wrong, so I have sentenced him to life."


    "Paladin Peters! You mean that one?"


    "The one and only."


    "You do not need to lie to me for me to do this."


    "Believe me or not, I do not care. I merely demand that you watch him and talk with him. I suspect that he will have many personal revelations over the next few years of his life."


    "... Very well." The kobold said, unconvinced, but obeying, nonetheless.


    "Trust me, this will benefit you as well. I see that you and your clan are fleeing now, no?"


    "We are." he said warily, and his shaggy unkempt fur clearly agreed.


    "Then you would agree that a paladin would be of great service to the clan, one known for his passion." Even if it was possible to be misplaced passion.


    "I do."


    "Then we are settled. Though, I do believe I owe you a reward for your efforts."


    "I would say there is no need, but unfortunately I suspect I''m not in a position to refuse such gifts." He said sadly, looking around the camp of struggling kobolds, all of whom seemed in poor condition. "


    Grant nodded in approval. "Good man. It''s true age brings humility hm? Never be afraid to take a handout."


    Grant tossed him something casually, but the kobold''s eyes widened.


    In his hands was an artifact, a cloak of incomparable darkness, alongside numerous resources and 3 artifacts, seemingly one for each of his siblings.


    The hunter kneeled thankfully.


    "There is no need to be so grateful. The system rewards players for their efforts after all, and I witnessed your proud hunt of that lizard with draconic bloodline. Consider this your reward."


    And with that, Grant was gone under the gob smacked gaze of the kobold.


    [Why''d you do it? You are rarely so kind]


    "Who said it was kindness?" Grant said indifferently, yet there was a cruel edge to it.


    [...]


    "The greatest punishment for someone is not to die, but to be forced to live with the consequences of their actions.


    Peter wants condemnation, to be punished for all the wrong he has done. To reward his sin with life is great pain, for now he will be forced to live with the consequences of his actions, instead of receiving that penance he so desperately wanted.


    He''ll want to die but won''t be able due to his sense of duty and his sense of guilt over how he has wronged the non-humans. He''ll isolate himself mentally, finding himself unfit to live amongst those he''s persecuted, even for a good cause. I won''t need to punish him; he''ll punish himself."


    Grant paused, before adding something else.


    "And well, you know, he''s not that bad of an apple. He just needs a little polishing."

 Chapter 51: Cleanup

    By the time the guildmaster found Grant, he was quietly sweeping the ruins.


    "Where is he?" The guildmaster asked calmly, showing no signs of confrontation.


    He''d be stupid to.


    "Who?" Grant asked innocently, causing the guild master to roll his eyes.


    "Don''t bother, your progenitor already gave it away."


    Dropping all pretense, this time Grant asked genuinely. "You know about progenitors?"


    The other grunted. "I''m nearly a thousand years old. As a living demigod, one tends to notice signs of divinity within a person. But I''m sure you knew that, didn''t you? My status?" he asked, sure that Grant had already identified what he was.


    "Indeed. A little weak for a demigod, but considering you''re up in the years, that makes sense." The demigod huffed, but did not deny it. He was far weaker than he had been in his youth.


    "Hmph. Just tell me if the paladin is dead. I need to know how much paperwork there is to do." he grunted dismissively. Everything had finished up rather cleanly, all things considered, but the real mess would be the paladin. The death, or heresy of a paladin often led to the greatest amount of paperwork, thanks in no small part due to the outrage of the church, sometimes even churches.


    Grant shrugged. "What paladin? All I saw was a greater mimic wearing the skin of a paladin." he said, tossing a shriveled up corpse, one that was humanoid in shape, but looked nothing like the paladin.


    The guildmaster deadpanned him, his eyes indicating he clearly did not believe the adventurer''s bullshit.


    "Grant, that won''t fool me. I knew Peter, and I''d known if it was a fake I saw. It wasn''t. That was very much Peter, flaws and all." He paused. "How many of these do you have anyway?"


    Grant chuckled, shaking the shriveled up corpse. "Enough to cover up a controversy like this. Between you and me, the paladin is dead, yes. But officially, I''d suggest saying he died honorably in battle, before a mimic took his place and lead a group of heretics out here to the borders."


    A frown appeared on the guildmaster''s face. "Bold! To so blatantly suggest such a thing, to lie to the entirety of the empire!"


    Grant rolled his eyes behind the mask and snorted audibly. "Oh come now, the only ones being fooled are the common people. I''m sure the gods know the truth, and so do the higher ups of any organization, and the shadow intel groups probably long knew this was coming."


    "And you would suggest I lie to the public?"


    "I mean, yall managed to hide the fact that the dungeon under Hfil city happens to contain the progenitor Nidhoggr who not only controls the dungeon, but could leave at any moment, no?"


    sigh


    He really does know everything, bemoaned the guild master, unable to make a proper judgement on the power level of the man before him. He would really have to report this one to the guild, and the empire.


    "How often do you do this?" He asked, already exhausted by the day behind him.


    "Not often, if you''d believe it. I''m not one for subterfuge." Grant admitted honestly.


    Maybe once he had been more subtle, but that was then.


    He''d come to learn that hiding could only do so much for you.


    Better to force others to work on your terms instead


    "Fine then, we''re going with greater mimic then?" The guild master said, agreeing to compromise on this matter.


    "We could go with a demonic skinwalker, but I feel like that''d insult the demonic community." Grant said thoughtfully. The demon community wasn''t huge in the empire, but deflecting the blow to them would merely cause more unnecessary trouble.


    "Whatever. No matter what story we go with, it''d be easy to see through for the higher ups, but it will do." To fool the average person.


    "Glad to hear it. Now, if we''re done here-"


    "Wait!" the guild master exclaimed, causing Grant to turn unnaturally towards him.


    "Yes?"


    "I haven''t had a chance to thank you yet."


    "Thank you recieved, distant acquaintance-"


    "In my office, with tea."


    "You mean an interrogation."


    "An interrogation implies I have any power over you." The man retorted. "Consider it a conversation over some tea and biscuits."


    "Fine then. A conversation then." Grant acquiesced walking over to the guild master. "But not tea and biscuits. Beer and chicken. "


    The guild master cracked a smile. "Much better"


    "Much better" The adventurer agreed.


    <hr>


    "It''s weird." The guild master commented as he watched Grant eat, the food passing through his mask."


    "They all say that." Grant commented simply


    crunch!


    The sound of fried chicken being chewed on was a bit unnatural as it simply disappeared into the mask, before a visceral crunch could be heard.


    "At least take off the mask." complained the old man. "It''s rude to eat with a mask on."


    "..." Grant mulled over it over for a moment, before eventually complying, taking off the helmet.


    He had caused a good deal of trouble for the man. The least he could do was show his face.


    His old one of course.


    No way he was going to show him his current one.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    As he took off the mask, he warped his face back into a younger version of his face from his time as Grant.


    But much to Grant''s surprise, the guildmaster''s face stiffened.


    "You..." He was speechless for a minute.


    "ARE YOU MOCKING ME!" He roared in anger.


    "What in the lords name are you talking about?" Grant responded disdainfully. "This has been my face for a very long time!"


    "NO! NO, YOU CANNOT JUST LIE LIKE THAT! WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS!?" He exclaimed , genuinely offended.


    But he was not the only one, and soon the guildmaster was forced to his knees by the sheer weight of Grant''s killing intent.


    Even on his knees, the guildmaster glared him down.


    "There is no joke here."Said Grant as he observed at the man. "This, this has been my face since the very day I was born. I don''t care what you think." he said coldly.


    The guild master glared at him as he said the name.


    "Grant Thorsten."


    "And?" Grant said confused. What was his name doing popping up now?


    Seeing that the Grant before him was genuinely confused, the guildmaster loosened up, but still remained stiff.


    "He was an old friend of mine, the founder of the current Thorsten family. He was like a teacher to me." The last words were said stiffly, as the pain of age could be heard.


    Grant was distracted with something else.


    Grant Thorsten?


    He existed in this world?!


    System.


    [Looking...]


    [Looking...]


    [Found!]


    [Grant Thorsten- Born over 1000 years ago, was a nordic warrior who sided with the empire and led his band of warriors to take over the lands under the emperor''s name. Using the hammer of Thor, he quickly took over, becoming the Marquis of Thorsten.


    Ancestor to player 15- Richard Thorsten]


    Grant could hear the nervous edge to the system''s voice, as she could feel the swirling emotions flowing through Grant.


    ''System, who did he marry?'' The question was asked mentally, yet even still you could hear the wavering in the voice.


    Grant asked quietly i his head, and she did not answer, silently affirming his question.


    Ha...


    Were he not in the company of someone else, he''d have laughed bitterly right there.


    Was this some form of sick joke?


    To send him to a world where he got to live out the happy life? To have gotten everything he desired?


    Or was this Flamel''s way of delivering him a family?


    Did he give off such single vibes!?


    That married bastard...


    Grant had many thoughts, but pushed them down.


    As for the guild master, he could tell that the mood had soured from the man before him, as he became gloomy. It was subtle, and yet familiar, reminding him of his old friend too much again.


    The mood changed suddenly once more, as if the mood had been purged from the man''s body.


    " I assure, you I am not your old friend, and I''d rather you not mention this again?" Grant said calmly, and the guild master agreed.


    Grant quietly put the mask back on.


    The mood was awkward, yet business waited for no one.


    "Did you do it?"


    "Hmm?"


    "Make all these new monsters?" The guild master asked as he threw down the files, the files that Grant had helped him arrange and fill in a few days ago, the drows included.


    "Oh? How did you come to that conclusion?" Grant asked, tilting his head.


    The guild master grunted. "Intuition. That salamander- no axolotl creature looked like those axoboldls you described, but evolved, and the ones behind him a little moreso. And those two drows." He paused for a moment. "I suppose one of them was the progenitor?"


    "I thought you said you knew one when you saw one." Grant teased, and the guild master did look embarrassed.


    "I didn''t notice it, but in hindsight, I realized something was off about your birds."


    "Well, you''re right, one of them is a progenitor, and I am the one who made those species. What of it?" Grant said calmly, making such an outrageous statement.


    "How?"


    "Not why?" The man dressed as a bird asked.


    "We all have our reasons for power. I''m more curious how you''ve managed to push such things to such high numbers already. The divinity on the progenitor I saw wasn''t high, but it was high enough that the species has to have reached 100,000, minimum. That''s a lot to breed out of nowhere." The guildmaster said as he ate his wings.


    "Of course, if you don''t feel like sharing, that''s fine too."


    Grant giggled. "Oh no I''m all for sharing, for the little good it''ll do you."


    The guildmaster raised an eyebrow.


    "The Earth recognized them as species. And thus it spawned them in the appropriate zones. " Grant hand waved it all away.


    "Who?"


    "The earth. Best I can tell you before you start attracting the nosy eyes of "them"." Grant said ominously choosing not to elaborate.


    And wisely, the guild master chose not to follow it "I don''t suppose you''ll be making more?" he asked worriedly.


    Unfortunately, to his misfortune.


    "Oh, tons. Just so many more. How else does one pass the time?" Grant asked innocently, as a vein swelled on the guildmaster''s head, before he sighed the sigh of a man who had already resigned himself.


    "Fine, just tell me when you''ve made a new one so that I know."


    "Really?" Grant said, genuinely surprised.


    "You control at least 2 progenitors from what I''ve seen, yes?"


    "At least, yes."


    "Well in that case, you are already treated as a God level threat.The romana empire already has a policy of appeasement when it comes to entities of your level. And you probably won''t stop just cause I ask."


    "Yeah, I will not stop" Grant said firmly.


    "-Then it''s better to know all their statistics than to go in blindly."


    It''s clear the guild master is resigned, but still.


    "Really?"


    "Yeah, last time that went poorly."


    "Alrighty then" Grant said calmly.


    "Yup. I will be sending a report to my superiors, obviously, but other than that, done." He said, before resuming the consumption of fried chicken.


    And like that, the rest of the meal was filled with conversation of conquests and hunts, to drown away the awkward negotiations from moments ago.


    <hr>


    Mistress Trenee sighed as she looked at the walls within the temple.


    For there stood a familiar shield, one that had belonged to an old friend, and then to a child she had considered one of her own.


    As an elf, she had witnessed the lives of many.


    Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies was how often children strayed off the path or died on it, but perhaps one of the most painful was this one yet.


    Too pure for this world, corrupted by the corruption within the church.


    She had known this day would come, the day when the child couldn''t bare it anymore. She had merely expected it would erupt to greater fanfare.


    SHe didn''t care how it''d affect the church, but rather how it broke the Goddess'' heart to see her child''s name be sullied by corruption.


    Perhaps then it was their blessing that the man named Grant had seemingly recovered Peter''s reputation with the story of a mimic


    It was an obvious lie, for the shield would not return without the death of its master, and Isis had told her of Peter''s fate after death,but what mattered was that Peter''s life''s work would not be ruined.


    She decided to go.To go thank this kind man.


    "My child"


    Came the soft motherly voice, one that few could hear, yet all could feel the warmth of.


    "Go, go and meet the man named Grant. For he has done much for us, and will continue to do so."


    She said, much to the elf''s surprise, and the next part truly surprised her.


    "I wish to meet the man who forms the roots to our new system."


    <hr>


    In the imperial palace


    The emperor looked at the report carefully, sent to him by the guildmaster sent to watch the paladin Peter.


    Despite being part of the guilds, which were neutral in all affairs officially, the guildmaster had long been a devoted soldier of the empire, and also worked as an important gear in the empire, even in his old age.


    It was this very same old age that caused the emperor to worry that perhaps he''d sent the senior on too many missions.


    Created multiple races? 2 progenitors seen? Single-handedly defeated one of the greatest paladins to ever live.


    It all sounded fantastical.


    If it were correct however, then there were serious implications. Implications that required investigation.


    He would have to send people from the Pheme Nyx guild no doubt-


    "Your majesty!" Came the panicked voice of the new imperial butler. His last one had died in another of the Jorvus temple''s tests, and the new one was relatively experienced.


    Regardless, he was capable, if only a little less so than the last.


    "What is it, Sir Toppin- Cap?" He asked patiently, only to lose all patience when he heard what the butler said next.


    "The young prince has ran off! I believe he''s gone to a place called "york outpost!"


    Oh no,


    "And what makes you think that?" The emperor asked as he felt his blood pressure go up.


    The butler frantically pulled out a scribbled note, which was easily read.


    It was a rather neatly written note, courtesy of his tutor''s efforts, indicating his desire to go out and explore, and that he read his father''s report, and thought it sounded absolutely fascinating.


    A shadow came over his face as he realized his son had managed to get his hands on the report first.


    Should he say he was proud of his ability to sneak and steal, this crown prince of his.


    No, what really bothered him was that the crown prince was running away from home.


    Dear lord.


    Was he this much trouble when he was younger?

 chapter 53/ Book 2 chapter 1 : Three children

    Perhaps one of the greatest things that Grant knew in this world was the happiness of a child.


    One of the few things that kept him going through the centuries was the smiles his students had as he took them out to have fun, the simple joy and amusement that was impossible to experience as one got older.


    A joy that one could no longer enjoy firsthand as they got older, yet there was a different kind of joy to be felt in being able to give this joy to the next generation.


    That is what Grant felt as he took the child out to play in the york outpost, now that the cultists were gone, and that he felt more secure in his actions.


    Ursa Honey was out too, working as support for the child. The child had grown comfortable with the big bear, a side effect of spending so much time with him.


    The ingredients in his apron were bulging as the amount of ingredient biomes grew, so too did the ingredient list.


    Grant could tell that the ingredients were infecting the bear, as his evolution drew closer and closer.


    He did so enjoy inducing evolutions in other creatures.


    The results would be interesting, and if they failed, he could always fix it.


    The child was rather excited as he ran around, more free than He''d expected.


    He wasn''t that scared around him initially, so Grant supposed his trauma focuses more on his own kind.


    That could be troublesome in the long run. But that would be a problem for later.


    For now, Grant was out to have a little fun.


    Well, and a little inspiration.


    Seeing in particular, one poor old beggar desperately trying to hawk his wares, Grant felt a surge of inspiration.


    Yes, yes he could do this too.


    He did have a lot of artifacts after all, so many clogging up his space when they were never going to be used.


    What if he disguised himself as a beggar and hawked his wares, and hidden amongst them would be an artifact, dressed up as an unusable item, meant to be grabbed by destined hands.


    Yes...


    Yes..


    YES!!!


    While Grant was getting weirdly hyped up about role playing, The young ogre boy was doing something else.


    Holding the bears and the mysterious masked man''s hand they were wandering around stalls having fun.


    He liked this man.


    At first the young ogre distrusted the man, this unknown person.


    His parents had warned him of humans. Dangerous beings, vicious against those who did not look the same, people who would skin ogres all in the name of new materials, and other scary stories his parents would tell him at night.


    Though his father warned him of demons, he warned him more against humans.


    "The demons may reject you, but humans, humans will hate you"


    These memories rang out in his head, as the boy had observed the man with suspicion, even as he brought food out for him.


    The man was a weird man for sure, but he was a good adult.


    The boy could see how kind the man was, watching him curiously in that small house he had found himself in.


    After he at- NO!


    The boy shook his head, trying to get the horrifying memories out, as the anguish washed over him. The horrid memories overflowed, drowning the boy in self-loathing and regret.


    He could feel bile coming up his throat, and tears beginning to form in his eyes.


    The man stopped as he quietly smoothed the boys hair over, and as he did so, he felt the memories being repressed again.


    Repressing memories may not be a healthy thing at times, but Grant felt that the child wasn''t ready to face these memories. Not until he was old enough to face them.


    The boy found relief in the suppression of the memories, leaning his head deeper into the affectionate hands. The boy didn''t know that his horns were digging into the mans hands, though the bird-masked Grant made no comment.


    A flick of shadow passed the boy''s gaze, causing the young ogre hybrid to pause and quietly pull on the man''s arms.


    Grant looked over curiously, abandoning his idea of redistributing treasures across the land.


    A young child had ran pass them and into a nearby alleyway, his hoodie pulled over his head inconspicuously, and a small, moving bulge in the hoody.


    "That looks exciting." Grant murmured, as he looked over to the child. "What do you want to do?" Grant asked softly and the boy seemed to consider it seriously for a minute, before responding.


    "Wait." He said simply. Father always told him to watch and wait, to better observe the situation before entering the fray.


    The child did not know fray at the time, so his father had shortened it: "Wait and see"


    Grand chuckled. "Very well then"


    <hr>


    Watching the boy run away quickly led Grant to a simple deduction.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Not the run of course, but rather the face and the clothes.


    Grant couldn''t help but sigh in amusement. No matter how hard they try, nobles going undercover will always be easy to discover.


    For one thing, their beautiful, well kept faces, their natural mannerisms imprinted since youth, and of course, the huge number of enchantments they use on themselves.


    Even the "Rags" they put on in an attempt to hide often brings more attention than it deflects it.


    So Grant was thinking probably rich child who had chosen to run away from home to have fun, and discovered the harsh reality of the world?Looked about right.


    The boy was running from a group of thugs.


    "Young man, how about you come play with us?" Said their leader, who had a crooked mustache and a golden tooth.


    Kidnappers. Grant sighed. So cliche. On the bright side, it wasn''t cultists again, goodness he couldn''t be bothered to put up with more of those.


    But like, cultivators could''ve been fun. Demons maybe? Perhaps a plot by fellow nobles to destabilize one''s position?


    But no, they were just normal generic thugs.


    Well, one of them was a lizardman, so that was a little flavor maybe.


    "No! Mother said never to trust ugly people!" The boy said firmly.


    Oof. I think she met ugly on the inside brat, but that don''t matter to the thug before you.


    Tssss, that''s a rather huge throbbing vein on his forehand.


    "Alright, you asked for it brat, I''m sure it won''t matter if we break a leg or two, you''ll still be worth something!" He said, as he indulged in his advance as him and his gang slowly advanced.


    Alright, guess now is the time to intervene.


    Grant jumped down, landing between the thugs and the mysterious child, much to the surprise of the thugs.


    "You! shouted one thug. "The mysterious weirdo at the bar!"


    Grant shouted back. "And you! The guy who pissed his pants last week after a lizardman sneezed all over him!"


    The man''s face turned red. "You don''t know what it''s like to see all that teeth in your face! You don''t know!" He said furiously.


    "Pissbaby!" The boy looked on with more curiosity than anything else, leading Grant to suspect that he felt safe enough to do this. He suspected that the bulge in his hoodie was his guarantee.


    Probably a pet.


    The other guy was steaming, but he didn''t move yet. Neither did the others.


    "I heard he''s pretty strong. He brought in a mimic that was posing as a paladin."


    The leader scoffed. "It''s a mimic, how strong could it really be?" Even as he said that though, he looked over cautiously. Clearly unsure of his next move.


    "Good lord, what a bunch of cowards. Fine, if you''re not gonna come to me, I''ll just have to come to you!"WIth this, Grant flicked his wrists, as a bunch of thin needles flew out, immediately piercing three of their friends.


    They fell face first. Tarantula gauntlets make for good poison shooters.


    The lead thug cursed as he realized clearly that Grant had no intentions of letting them go, not even sure if the other two were even dead or alive.


    "Split!" He commanded his gang as they quickly separated and ran, but how could Grant let rats run?


    A horde of dravens responded to the progenitor''s call as they flew over, pestering the thugs, and forcing them to the ground,  before Ursa Honey leaped over. slapping them each with a clump of honey.


    And then knocking them out, just to be sure.


    Grant huffed. Only C-ranks. Shame. Boring.


    He walked over to the child, curious at the lack of fear at all, with the ogre child and ursa honey following closely behind.


    The boy had blond hair and blue eyes, making him think of five different noble families. He looked a little skinny, though the baby fat had yet to truly fade from his face. The ogre boy also had the same fat, having regained it after being fed well once more.


    "Are you not afraid?" Grant asked, and the mysterious boy shook his head, and the bulge hiding in the hood squirmed moreso the closer Grant got.


    "No."


    "And why is that?"


    "You''re a raven sage. Raven sages don''t hurt people"


    Grant looked at the bodies on the floor, and the child corrected himself.


    "Good people."


    "And have you been a good boy?"


    The boy responded "yes." yet glanced away.


    Grant laughed mirfully. "Good boys don''t run away from home."


    The boy coughed awkwardly, and the cloak slipped down, revealing a lizard.


    No, not a lizard, a dragon? Grant narrowed his eyes behind the mask. Clearly the boy has higher status than he''d thought. No matter what part of the world you were part of, dragons were valuable pets. But dragons were a rare commodity, and even dragon beasts were considered quite valuable.


    The little dragon before him seemed to be of the life type, made abundantly clear by the twigs that were meant to be horns, and the small pair of wings sprouting out from its back. Few creatures besides dragons follow this 6 appendage appearance, much less lizard types.


    It''s head had a bit of a snapping turtle shape, with some flat molars in the back, feeding into the idea of it being a vegetarian.


    It was also a tiny dragon. Either it hadn''t hit the growth phase or it was going to turn out to be a very small dragon one day.


    Whatever the case was, it was clearly very curious about something.


    The boy seemed rather apologetic. "I''m sorry. Ever since we came here, he''s been going wild, looking for something. He''s never acted up like this before."


    Grant waived it off. "Dragons will be dragons, and kids will be kids."


    Before the boy could stop it, the dragon hopped onto him, clearly looking for something.


    It was probably attracted by something. He wasn''t sure what, but given the sheer amount of crap on him, at least something was bound to leak out.


    Well, dragon and seemingly a plant type of sorts.


    He''d hidden the more valuable dragon blood, and the saplings of yggdrasill...


    Hmm?


    Ahh, one of them had started growing out of his divine realm.


    Grant clicked annoyedly, as he pushed the sapling back in. They weren''t strong, but were sneaky enough that if he wasn''t careful it would grow out ad attract unwanted attention.


    Note, plant those later when he got a chance.


    And for the little dragon who had probably saved him some trouble, he looked for something less potent, but undoubtedly a wonderful enough


    He pulled out the inconspicuous little stick, which despite its innocuous appearance, clearly attracted the desire of the boy''s little lizard friend as it eagerly drooled, looking at the stick as Grant waved it around for a bit before giving it to the little dragon who was chomping at the bit.


    It eagerly chewed on the stick.


    "A gift" Grant commented cheerfully as he watched the dragon gnaw on the stick. "From one dragon lover to another."


    "What is it?" The boy looked at the stick curiously, but he did not receive a straight answer.


    "Something from a strong tree spirit. It won''t promote his bloodline or anything, but for a young dragon it should be fun and stimulating."


    And indeed, the dragon was clearly enjoying the gift of the stick.


    "Gale likes it! Thank you!" The boy said gratefully as he rubbed the head of his dear friend.


    "No problem. Now, go along, I think your guards have finally caught up. "Grant commented as indeed, a group of people showed up. Though dressed in commoners clothes, they had a presence befitting a group of guards, more so than the criminals from earlier.


    "It''s alright, he''s a friend!" The boy told the guard, though the guard looked confused.


    "Your grace, who are you talking about?"


    The guard asked in confusion, and the boy turned around, his face filled with shock.


    "What? Where did he go?" The boy asked.


    Grant was quietly standing on a building nearby as he whispered.


    "Batman!" To the confusion of the bear and the child next to him.


    <hr>


    "So he''s finally approaching civilization?" Grant asked with a complicated look on his face.


    [Yes]


    Grant rubbed his non-existent mustache.


    Richard Thorsten. A child of the Thorsten family.


    In some aspects, his descendant. And yet, in some ways, absolute strangers.


    Grant had... complicated feelings about him.


    Ultimately, he made his decision.


    He quickly noticed through his connection with Canuck that one of her descendants was in contact with Richard.


    This was an opportunity.


    Him and his motley gang were actually quite close, within a days distance.


    "Canuck I want you to tell him these things..."


    Grant wasn''t sure how he felt about his descendant but if you don''t know how you feel about something, sometimes the best solution is to face it head on.


    "Richard Thorsten." Grant murmured as he tapped his finger on his desk thoughtfully, chuckling.


    Flamel told him to go live a life and build a family.


    Did he know?


    Did he think himself unable to make one, and found one for him?


    "Hmph!" You bastard!

 Chapter 53 Book 2 chapter 2:Family across Time And Space

    Grant waited anxiously in the bar at the adventurer''s guild for hours, drinking and waiting for the arrival of the young dragon.


    Even the bartender/ chef was worried about him.


    Speaking of which, the bartender here seemed related to the one he had met at the other guild, yet did not share the accent. How curious.


    He also set an array up preemptively, to ensure that nobody would be peeking in on their conversation, guild master included.


    Perhaps especially the guildmaster, given his closeness to the Thorsten family. He may be overthinking it, but if the guildmaster notices the uncanny resemblance between Richard, and well Richard it may cause more trouble than its worth. The guild master may be a demigod, but demigods aren''t always privy to their parent''s affair.


    Pause


    They were arriving right outside the gate.


    WIth a snap of his fingers, Grant snapped his fingers and all caution in the mind of the guards away.


    He didn''t want them holding the group up, and causing bad feelings.


    The lamia, no the wyrm was suspicious of him. CLearly the cautious type. As expected of the wyrm who could fight gods on equal stance. She didn''t trust the unknown. A good guardian, though he''d need to speak to her, perhaps privately.


    A demigod squirrel, related to Ratatoskr, named Pandemonium appropriately, short termed Panda even more appropriately. A miraculous result of the gacha feature of the system. One of his less favorite aspects of the system, but he understood its appeal.


    An octopulse with kraken bloodline, and an Atlas blessed beetle type symbiote. Both results of the gacha.


    The boy was clearly loved by fate, were it not for his tragic incident.


    As for the boy?


    Cautious as always, for better or for worse.


    This was something he''d always had problem with, and even as his own descendant, this complaint had not rescinded.


    A boy with such great luck, such blessing, that even in the worst of situations, he would never be in true danger.


    The fact that the boy had come under the protection of a god-level wyrm spoke volumes.


    Yet the boy was overly cautious. He was, amongst the first 100 players who had survived, he was perhaps one of the slowest. Not in levels, mind you, no he''d probably be somewhere at the top, but in terms of achievements he''s done nothing.


    Cautiousness is an admirable quality, but like all things, when carried to the extreme, it becomes a poison instead.


    ''Should I be harsh to him. ''


    Sometimes people who won''t come out of their shell needs a hard knock to force them out of it.


    It''s also clear that he''s very excited about seeing the rest of the world, after having been locked away in a temple his whole life.


    All because of his father who had gotten him cursed by Nemesis...


    Should he kill that bastard?


    A dangerous flame filled Grant''s eyes, and thousands of miles away the marquis fell over and choked, as he felt death itself looming over him.


    He did not know why, but the marquis felt as if his death was upon him.


    All it would take is a click, a snap, any small action and the man''s head would roll from his shoulders.


    And as quickly as death had appeared overed hm, it had disappeared.


    No.


    Not yet.


    He still needed this foolish man.


    Richard needed initiative, something to drive him.


    He might hate the man for being a cruel monster, but Richard would hate him for ruining his life.


    The fucker might even inspire the boy to be a bit reckless.


    Good. Grant wasn''t worried. The boy had such great karmic luck that frankly speaking ensured that he basically wouldn''t die.


    Tempering, that would be the marquis'' destiny from here on out. And given he was chasing the girl player 15 was so infatuated with, this was a perfect opportunity.


    Almost as if it were destiny...


    Grant frowned. There it was again. Destiny interfering to ensure the boy''s opportunities.


    He watched the child wander around town before eventually heading towards the bar.


    Grant began preparing as he quietly prepared the formation, and made it hard to detect.


    There was a demigod upstairs, and he was likely to be more observant to the flow of energy, so the formation had to be very well made.


    Grant positioned himself at the bar, as he puffed up his cloak, and dusted off everything


    A drink was ordered as he turned towards the barkeep.


    creak


    The door opened and the formation went into effect.


    It was interesting, watching the squirrel charge in first.


    It was not told to, but did so in order to investigate.


    Richard clearly had a penchant for attracting good friends around him.


    The group cautiously prodded around the bar, attempting to communicate with people, only to find out that the people around them were indifferent to the group, subconsciously ignoring their existence.


    Even if the group decided to murder someone in front of all of them, the people affected would only register it as a normal death. The only one who''d probably notice would be the guild master upstairs.


    Grant wasn''t worried about that of course. It was mostly a show of power, to establish his ability.


    If he wanted the boy to take him seriously, the boy had to believe he had the power to back up his statements.


    Otherwise he likely wouldn''t even belief half of what was said to him today.


    As for the boy...


    Despite being generations down the line, he could still see some of his own features in that face, and some of... hers.


    Hiisss


    It made him uncomfortable, so he snapped.


    "Alright, that''s enough. I don''t have all day you know."


    The group who had entered the bar finally turned their focus to him.


    As Richard analyzed himself, Grant noticed a trace of confusion on his face.


    Likely his costume which looked like a raven sage or a plague doctor''s get up was clashing with the actual combative gear, and confusing his sensibilities.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The boy was even more confused, and disturbed as he drank. Made sense, for first time views, watching objects pass through the mask and disappear must be unsettling.


    "My apologies, we''ve kept you waiting." Richard took the initiation to apologize, avoiding being confrontational in any sort of way.


    Sigh Grant realized to get the boy to speak his thoughts more he''d have to drag them out of him.


    Or irritate him enough that he can''t help but ask.


    Hmm. Polite as usual." Grant responded disdainfully.


    The squirrel stepped forward, seemingly seeking to grab his attention.


    "Howdy." He said stiffly.


    Grant saw no reason to refuse greetings. There was a god chance that Panda, the squirrel would be important one day in the relations between Grant and Ratatoskr, the progenitor squirrel "Howdy."


    The dragon boy, who was a being brought back from the prehistoric times, was ridiculously cute as he nodded politely to the old man called Grant, who really wanted to pinch the boy''s cheeks, even shaking a little at the cuteness of the child.


    Jealous. He was truly jealous.


    The wyrm, despite saying hello, was being quite rude right now, trying to peer into Grant''s soul.


    Grant decided to let her have a little look, but restrained himself a little


    To make sure she didn''t go crazy or anything.


    As her face turned in horror, Grant merely observed silently.


    HIs soul wasn''t quite something he was proud of after all, but a necessary shortcut that allowed him to speed through his cultivation.


    "Well? You see anything yet?" Grant asked with a smile, impressed by the luck Richard had once again.


    "Your age... It''s... confusing. She said, as her horror slowly increased.


    She is not a weak thing by any measure and in terms of pure output, could likely rival a mid tier God of faith. This ignores all other considerations of course, but this statement alone was worth a great deal of praise.


    The man chuckled. "My soul is young, a merely millenium, and yet my mind, my mind is perhaps the oldest you''ve ever seen. Is that what confuses you dear?" he asked, and she nodded.


    "Your mind is a horrid abomination, a cacophony of agony and despair twisting and turning, all of them seeking to consume one another in something that can only be called akin to hell." She stared at the man with confusion and mild fear. "What have you done to yourself?"


    Grant merely looked at her, with no response.


    Everything, he had done everything.


    "you said that Lyssandra was in danger. What danger is she in?" He asked as he stepped forth, even as sister Alexandria''s gaze warned him to stand behind her.


    Grant''s eyes flickered as he thought of something.


    How much the boy reminded himself of when he was younger, minus the luck. Overly cautious, yet the recklessness when it came to friends.


    Grant sighed quietly. His master really knew how to pick them. Then this was the right route then, Grant thought as determination filled him. This boy was indeed like him, and if he was like him so, then history could repeat itself.


    He would not let this be.


    "Bold, surprisingly bold given your nature child. Is friendship the bait needed?" He said, in a spine-tingling voice, ensuring he had their full attention. "I''ll tell you, in all good time.


    But first, don''t you want to know a little more about your father? About why you were cursed?"


    "I''d rather hear about Lyssandra more." Richard said firmly. There truly is no love for his father in his heart. Good. There will be no conflict of interest then.


    "Ah, but the two are not separate things child. One leads to the other."


    Richard''s ears pricked up at that. "You mean my father is-" The boy realizes something as anxiety begins to show on his face.


    "-Hunting your dear friend. " Grant interrupted. "As I said, these things are not separate subjects."


    "Where is she!?" He looks even more frantic now.


    Grant got up and looked at the boy, his body towering over the other. Panda quickly ran over, hissing, while RIchard''s other two familiars quietly shook, ready for confrontation.


    Grant did not take them seriously at all. But he was clad to see the reaction, to see the squirrel would not so easily abandon their master, or the other two. He knew of the contract spell that Richard was using, but truthfully such a spell could not truly control a demigod, and as long as it was willing to pay the price it could break it.


    "Better, but you''ll still have to wait. I think what you''ll hear next will be enlightening. "


    Grant created a chair out of earth before pushing the boy down.


    "Tell me, what do you know of destiny?" The man asked out of the blue, and the young man responded unsure. "Our final destination, the culmination of our efforts. The road that which has been laid out for us." Richard responded unsure. A generic response, but an expected one. Grant didn''t really think the boy would comprehensively know, but Grant enjoyed opening a class with a question.


    "Are you talking about my destiny?" He asked cautiously, and Grant nodded. The boy at least had the social iq to analyze the situation more often than not, a necessary skill for traveling the world.


    "Rudimentary answer, but that''s to be expected. Yes, we''re talking about your destiny."


    Grant paused. This was going to be a loaded lecture, considering what he saw of Richard''s soul, and the causality it had with his current fate.


    "How many past lives do you think you''ve had?" he asked, and Richard, though he knew this was likely relevant, could not figure it out for the life of him.


    "I don''t know, maybe 20?" he asked, only to receive a look of disbelief from Grant, who muttered "Lucky again.." before Grant decided to continue.


    "Yes, 20. A rather young soul, in the grand scheme of things, but not that young. Old enough to have committed a few wrongs.


    In your first life, you were a monster. Not literally, figuratively. A minister in the eastern courts, you committed many wrongs and did countless atrocities. Things so vile that any man would shudder at."


    The squirrel did not take it lying down. "OH HEY NOW! LOOK, HE AIN"T THE NICEST GUY, BUT RICHARD WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" He objected loudly as Richard sent him a grateful look, only for the squirrel to snap at him. "Don''t overthink it. Just don''t think you''re that stupid, that''s all."


    Adorable. A tsundere squirrel.


    Sister Alexandria did not object but instead complained coldly. "I hardly see the relevance. According to you, that was his first lifetime, and lifetimes rarely have connections to one another."


    Hmm. Yes, she does spend a bit of time around spiritual beasts, so of course she''d know a little about causality.


    Grant nodded. "Yes, but also no. It''s that first lifetime that''s caused the mess we''re in now actually. For you see, that first lifetime was so morbid and vile that the 10 judges of the underworld felt the need to sentence old Richard here to 16 lifetimes of punishment."


    He took a gulp of his drink before continuing. "16 lifetimes of suffering and duty later, your eighteenth life was destined to be a better life, in the nature of the karmic cycle and all that. Unfortunately , you made some big enemies in the 1st life, who followed you into the 18th life. You died painfully."


    Hmmm. The boy clearly doesn''t care all that much


    Why would he care about this?His friend was in danger, and this man knew where she was. This 20 lives must mean nothing to the boy.


    "Seeing that your next few lives in the east were unlikely to be peaceful, you were sent by the judges to their correspondents in the west, to ensure your enemies would not follow you here. And for all your years of servitude, and the unjust severance of destiny, your nineteenth life was to be a great one.


    The son of an old declining family, Richard Thorsten was meant to be the new marquis who would bring an era of revitalization to the estate, and was blessed by three different Gods. You would struggle and overcome great obstacles, but also receive great prize in the form of the fruits of your work. "


    "But that didn''t happen." Richard realized, and Grant nodded solemnly.


    Grant agreed. "It didn''t, all because of your father and his arrogant nature. He saw a beautiful priest in a middle of the nowhere village, and decided to take her as wife, and burn down the village to ensure that she would have no one to run to, and that no comotion would be raised over her abduction. It was written up as the pillaging of barbarians." He laughed bitterly. "That part wasn''t far off I suppose." Fate is often derailed by the dark whims of man, just as often the rails are made of such sin and greed.


    "She wasn''t just a nobody priest, was she?" He asked and Grant nodded. "Officially, she was, but unofficially? She was the heir to the temple, destined to be the next head of the temple of Nemesis. She''d been hidden in fears of her being attacked, but the plan ultimately backfired. The head of the temple was enraged, as was Nemesis herself. So when the kidnapped priestess prayed for revenge..." He trailed off, looking at Richard thoughtfully, the young dragon swallowed.


    "...I suffered for it."


    Grant nodded as he sighed. "Yes, Nemesis had long known the plans of these three gods, and the bounty you were meant to bring to your family. Your father knew as well. That''s why the perfect revenge was to strike down what would be the rising star."


    The squirrel looked perfectly enraged as he cursed the Gods. "SOME GODS THEY ARE! THEIR CHOSEN CHILD IS CURSED TO DEATH AND THEY JUST SIT THERE AND WATCH!? BAH! USELESS, THE LOT OF THEM!"


    Grant had to agree, but he knew it to be not that simple.


    The temple of Nemesis suffered a severe retaliation that year, as a wave of assassinations killed a tenth of the whole of the organization, and thusly taking a major fraction of Nemesis'' faith.


    She was punished for her actions, but this meant little to the boy before him. Vengeance cannot bring back what was taken already.


    The wyrm looked upset as well, as her hands clenched furiously, but she also looked at Richard worriedly. Yes, she was a good guardian.


    And perhaps mother one day. Grant could already see the blossoming relation. Good.


    This was just too much for a child to handle this early. To learn not only did you have 18 past lives, but to know that you had been cursed to death because of the machinations of others.


    It was one thing to suspect, but to hear it laid out so plainly? To learn what could''ve been, only to have it snatched from you?


    It was a cruel thing to know.


    And Richard?


    This was the storm the dragon had to face.


    The evil in his heart.


    It was clear the boy struggled with these emotions, before the wyrm in the form of lamia rushed over to the boy and embraced him.


    She was followed by the child''s familiars, and the omen dragon behind them.


    It was proof, proof of devotion, and proof of potential. Power was easy. It was loyalty that was hard to find, and good friends harder.


    Thus Grant saw all of this, but made no comment, waiting for the moment to be over.


    Eventually the excitement died down.


    He cocked his head before speaking.


    "Come on, you must have some questions, surely some things you might''ve seen but not understand. Fire away." Player 0 said haphazardly as he waived his hand to go ahead.


    "Really? Nothing is off-limit?" Richard asked uncertainty. Grant smiled.


    "If you want to ask about your friend again, you''ll have to wait a little."


    Richard shook his head.


    "Why do you dislike me?"


    Hmm?


    Grant was surprised, but kept it hidden from the boy.


    Clearly, some of his annoyance with the child and his lack of action had reached him. Good.


    He''d explained the 20 lives thing purely to set up the next part of the conversation, and to hopefully inspire come confidence in the child.


    Well, less confidence, but emotion, to set the guy off and get him off center.


    "I was wondering when you would ask me that." Grant paused dramatically waiting


    "I don''t dislike you boy.


    But I do dislike your lack of confidence."

 Book 2 chapter 3: Guidance

    "My confidence?" Richard asked, and the boy clearly looked unsure.


    Why would Grant bring up his confidence?


    Because that''s what he was missing, what he lacked and what he would need in the long road forward.


    "I''ve watched you for a good while child. You''re cautious. And caution is a good thing." He paused thoughtfully.


    "But you can only be so cautious before it becomes cowardice." Before Richard could speak up, Grant held up his hand.


    "What have you done up to now?" He leaned in, and Grant asked the pressing question.


    "What?" Richard responded unsurely, but Grant continued, ignoring this confusion.


    "With the chance you''ve been given, the powers you''ve been given, hell, the golden finger if you will, what have you done with it? "


    He shook his head. "Nothing. Such wonderful gifts, and you waste them.


    Do you know what other players have been doing?" he demanded, and the poor poy could only shake his head helplessly.


    Grant continued, as if oblivious to the resigned look on the young man''s face.


    "Player 565 has managed to foil an assassination,


    player 73 is currently escorting a high elf,


    player 1313 is in a turf war with a wyvern,"


    Grant had to admit he did enjoy seeing the look of exhaustion and acceptance on the young man''s face, a familiar look he had received from all of his students. How nostalgic.


    Clearly, the young dragon was tired out by the droning on, but he was also clearly understanding his point. The boy wasn''t stupid after all, just a little overly cautious.


    This was seen as the boy shot back. "You''ve pointed these people out, but what of the ones you didn''t? I''m sure not everyone''s rushing out to do something. Some of them must''ve been cautious."


    Grant sighed. "They''re either further than you, or dead."


    The wyrm intervened suddenly, seizing the opportunity to argue. . "Dead. And how many are there out there who''ve died to a lack of carefulness and preparation? Dozens? Hundreds?"


    Grant responded casually. "Thousands."


    "THOUSANDS!? AND YOU''RE TELLING RICHARD TO TAKE MORE RISKS?! IF ANYTHING WITH THOSE KIND OF NUMBERS, HE SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL!" The loud annoying squirrel jumped in. Indeed, it was a familiar situation, as Ratatoskr himself often blasted his poor ears, but far louder.


    The man snorted. "Because those players were in worse situations. They weren''t coddled. Most of them didn''t have the luck of being born in a low level area as a high level monster, free of all responsibilities, blessed with the help of a wyrm, or being accompanied by three powerful familiars.


    And yes, thousands have died, wyrm. But thousands more have survived. When we discuss the lives of tens of thousands of people, a mere few thousand become nothing." He sighed, before focusing on Richard again.


    Players dying was normal. 2 or 3 thousand may sound like a lot, but with the numbers involved, this was nothing. If anything, it was a higher survival rate than most sects he knew of.


    "Do you know what the most dangerous form of carelessness is?"


    " Charging in without thinking." Richard responded.


    "... well that''s a close contender yes. No, what''s really dangerous is assuming the world will give you time to be careful. You are under the impression that you have all the time in the world for "prep time." He paused. "And maybe you do. You''re a dragon. You have a good 10,000 years of life, base line, as long as you don''t cultivate, find a magical longevity resource, etc. But that''s theoretical. It presumes that the world will wait for you. That trouble won''t arrive at your doorstep. That''s not how the world works.


    Take your friend for instance. You want to save her, correct?" Richard nodded. "With what power, exactly. Yours?" Grant said scornfully.


    "A mere B-rank beast and pals wants to oppose a marquis? An adult wyvern would have better odds. At least some of them are S-rank.


    The wyrm? Oh sure, she''s strong. Maybe she can help you. And maybe she can wipe away the whole problem for you right now."


    Pause


    "But what about next time? Or the time after that? Will she always be there to help you?"


    "I will always be there to help him." Alexandria said firmly as she slithered next to Richard.


    Grant ignored her, continuing to talk to Richard. She may feel that way now, and maybe even in the future, but being so dependant on the whims of others was dangerous.


    He did not want this for his descendant. His grandson from across space and time.


    "And what if she''s not strong enough? She''s strong, but what happens when the day comes, and she''s not enough? What will you do then?"


    Grant paused, as if hesitating, contemplating what to do, before finally making his decision.


    The mask was for fun and cosplay, yes, but he did not deny that cosplay also had another purpose. Fear and inspiration. To make his presence feel incomprehensible to others.


    As player 0, as the madman, the mad god even, he had always made himself a force of nature in the eyes of others. Unpredictable, incomprehensible.


    But he did not need this aura right now. He did not want it in front of this child.


    He did not use the youthful face, but his older face. The real one perhaps, the one that reflected his reality, his age,the truth of reality.The pain he had faced over the course of a millenium, the strife for all to see.


    And for the boy, perhaps his destiny were he not careful. He was a dragon. He would go beyond a mere millenia. Dragons are born with the proper mentality, but this child was not. He needed to face reality.


    The wyrm scrutinized the face, much to his displeasure and worry.


    He did not believe his features were anywhere on the young boy''s face, but perhaps he was wrong.


    Regardless, the talk had to continue.


    "I was like you once. Cautious. I preferred to take things slow and steady, assured that my elders would be able to hold the sky until I was strong enough to take their place."


    He chuckled dryly, as the pervading sense of exhaustion increased.


    "Until the day they couldn''t. Until their strength, wasn''t enough. And I hadn''t grown fast enough.


    I lost everything. I had grown too slowly, taken my time, and when fate finally came knocking, I was unprepared. "


    "I had people I cared about as well. A special someone.


    She was a firecracker; the light of my life." He laughed happily for a moment and smiled as he relived past memories, and yet pain could be heard. Pain and regret.


    Yes, those were the days...


    Grant reminisced fondly, recalling those ridiculous days of being dragged around by his friends into the most ridiculous of situations.


    "I wasn''t strong enough, so I lost the light that day. By then, all pretenses were gone, and I took all sorts of risks, made all kinds of deals. But by the time I was able to find her, she had changed. That firecracker had been doused. I was too late." He looked at Richard meaningfully.


    "You have a chance now; standing at a similar crossroads as I. I do not tell you this merely to diminish you, but to warn you. Ultimately, the only thing you can rely on to protect you and all that you love is you. Your elders may do their best to hold up the sky for you, but they cannot do so forever, for all things must face fate one day.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    It''s good to be careful. But if you allow carefulness to become a stumbling block instead of a building block, I can assure you that you will regret it.


    ... Trust me."


    Clearly, Grant''s speech had gotten through to the child to a certain extent, but even so, he appeared hesitant.


    Fine, thee is one more card to use.


    "You''re still hesitating?" Grant asked. He did not sound particularly surprised over it.


    "I know the reality of it, but knowing and acting upon it are two different things." The young dragon admitted.


    "If I told you that you didn''t have to worry about it, would it help?"


    "A little." The dragon admitted and Grant promptly sighed. "Still too cautious, after that whole talk we had. Fine. Well then, don''t worry about it, you''re incredibly lucky."


    "It''s going to take more than a little luck to convince him to really let loose." Commented Panda, and Grant rolled his eyes.


    "Not merely lucky. Karmically so. Do you remember that little talk we just had? About your 20 lives?"


    Alexandria''s eyes widened as she seemingly grasped something, and though Richard suspected, it required confirmation.


    "Yes? Is this about my last life in particular?" Richard hesitantly asked and Grant smiled approvingly.


    "Already grasping it. I knew it, a smart cookie. Yes, think about it. Life 19 was meant to be a repayment for the suffering of the previous 17 lives of suffering. Great blessings and wealth were to be your gift, and the favor of three Gods.


    But that was denied, and on to the 20th life you went.


    What do you think happened to all that luck? Did it simply just vanish? Whoosh!?" Grant looked at him expectantly, awaiting the boys answer.


    "Did it increase?" The boy did not dissapoint.


    "Exactly!" Grant said as he snapped his fingers.


    "The result of 18 lives of punishment has resulted in such an insane amount of luck focused in one lifetime, that as long as you''re not outrageously stupid and make suicidal decisions, you are likely to live the rest of your life out in blessings.I mean, case and point," Grant pointed at Panda, "Do you think just anyone can have a demigod as a familiar? The system only has 10 other demigod eggs lying around in its inventory, and only 1 other has been won.


    And the other 4! I mean, a creature with a mythical bloodline, a creature with the secret potential to be a powerful symbiotic armor, a kaiju, and a beast so rare that likely almost no one even realizes it exists. That''s not normal luck.


    How about the fact that you''re being protected by Alexandria, god slayer?"


    The wyrm interrupted at the mention of that title, looking very much embarrassed. "That wasn''t really a kill, for it was only a temporary death!" She denied, but Grant denied this.


    "Even so, you''ve killed a god. The number of beings who can do that are near 100 in this empire, a small number comparatively.


    And so far, you''re the only player to really achieve this, except for the butler, who''s protection happens to be a past acquittance, so that doesn''t really count."


    He paused before beckoning his hand. "Look, you bought something from the korvold right? Mind handing me that for a second?"


    The child handed the mysterious stone to Grant, and upon seeing it, he clicked his tongue.


    "Imperial jade. One of the most rare forms of jade, and it already has the location of a secret realm with the inheritance of a powerful dragon in it. How... lucky." He said, shooting Richard a look, one that screamed at him to recognize the reality. Children cannot play dumb forever.


    "And the stone I used on Achil?" He asked "A lazarus stone." Grant narrows his eyes. "You have no idea how lucky you were in that case. They''re most commonly used to revive the dead and thus the name Lazarus was attributed to it, but that is not the best use of such a stone. Lazarus stones are the fossilized forms of a God''s authority, often left behind in the wake of such a beings death. It takes countless eons for such a stone to form.


    With 5 pieces of similar size to what you dug up, one could ascend to Godhood. Not a good one mind you, as you''d be using a chaotic and decayed one and would have to refine it thoroughly, but given how hard it is for most to do so, I assure you, anyone who knew the value of such a stone would''ve killed you." He looked at the boy meaningfully. "Good thing you kept it in your inventory until you used it. Not even the Gods can pry into your inventory. Had you taken it out in public, Isis may not have come after you, but plenty of other Gods might have been tempted to personally come and take it from you. I assure you, not even your luck could save you then."


    This was true. The lazarus stone has had many names, but nearly all of them were associated with the resurrection of the fallen. But in reality its power was so much more. It was the kind of treasure that would be considered top level amongst cultivation families, a resource never to be shown, for it was sure that they would be torn apart in the frenzy for such a thing.


    Genocides have been caused for less.


    Richard shivered as he realized the implication and couldn''t help but take a deep breath.


    It wasn''t hard to see the reality as long as he wasn''t a complete fool.


    Perhaps for others, such a thing would be useful, but for the week, it was practically a tactical missile strike focused on them.


    Grant sighed. "Innocent men and jade, you know. Frankly speaking, you made the best choice you possibly could have." He looked at the boy Achil with surprise and envy.


    The young dragon before him had managed to consume the authority miraculously and assimilate it into his own foundation.


    As the only dragon- dinosaur hybrid, meant to be the start of the new species, he had the potential of a progenitor, a spark of authority, which had blended with the lazarus stone''s essence.


    What the outcome would be is hard to tell for now, but bad it would not be.


    "He''s retained some of that authority, though it is dormant right now. But given time, it can be a powerful weapon for him." He added before turning back to face Richard.


    "So are you convinced now? That your safety is assured? Are you now willing to take more risks?"


    The boy conceded and said what he was waiting for him to say. "Then where do I start?"


    Hearing this, Grant did not hesitate. "Change your form. Its a small step, but a large one at the same time."


    Richard frowned. "I''m not going to take my dragon form. That''s not confident, that''s stupid."


    Grant raised an eyebrow. "How much have you looked at the spell you bought? True transformation?"


    "Only what the spell initially showed me." Richard responded and Grant couldn''t help but tut.


    Another reason why the system often felt like a crutch. It often encouraged people to take thins at a surface level, but rewarded those who looked deeper. It was good that it did reward those who looked deeper, but the convenience was like the internet. Poisonous.


    "Tut tut tut. Bad move. Always experiment with and study the spell without the system. Otherwise you''ll miss things like this. The shapeshifting spell has the ability to add attributes from all your "skins" to create your ideal form." He pointed at Richard, attempting to warn the child about this important flaw, though not focusing on it too much. It wasn''t the child''s greatest weakness after all, but his confidence or lack thereof.


    "You''ve been having issues walking haven''t you? Use the wings and tail from your dragon form and bring them into human form. It''ll give you a dragonewt like form, especially if you grow horns as well. Although they''re rare, they do exist as a populace here in the empire."


    "But I''ll stand out..."


    Exactly. In this way, regardless of his confidence, he would have to fight.


    Of course, Grant didn''t mention it, but this was but one way of Grant forcing the child to gain his own confidence, alongside the confrontation with his father.


    "Good! You''ll stand out, and be forced to be more confident. You''re a dragon for God''s sake! Be more confident. If you can''t even swallow the idea of taking a dragonewt form, then it''ll be hard to maintain your own confidence.


    Be proud! You are a dragon, a great lord of the land, part of a heritage spanning millions of years."


    He paused, before casually throwing out.


    "And you know, if you use the dragonewt form, you''ll match more with your dear sister Lyssandra..."


    Richard inadvertently perked up at that, causing the wyrm to quietly giggle and the screecher squirrel to roll his eyes.


    Neither commented, not wanting to interfere in his choice.


    And Richard?


    He had to make a choice.


    This was a step forwards, to becoming more confident. He''d already stepped off the mountain, ready to take on the world.


    This was merely announcing his presence.


    The step the young man took here would be a major step of sorts.


    The boy seemed to have made his decision as his body began changing and new limbs protruded out of the body.


    Wings, a tail, and webbing on the side of his head more reminiscent of a siren than a dragon personally.


    "Do I look fine?" He asked a bit anxiously, turning to his teammates.


    "You look wonderful!" Alexandria said happily.


    "Good." The child nodded approvingly.


    "I mean, you look fine." The tsundere squirrel said before adding, "I''m sure you look good by human standards.


    Richard seemed reassured with this, and Grant butted in. "Alright, you seem a hint more comfortable now, right?"


    The boy nodded hesitatingly.


    "Good, so now that you''re willing to take a few more risks, let''s talk about your friend Lyssandra." He said, quickly sliding into the next subject.


    The boy''s face twisted, as if filled with anxiety and worry.


    Noticing his expression, Grant responded. "Yes, her situation is that bad, though she likely doesn''t realize it. She''s chasing your corpse currently."


    Richard''s face changed rapidly at that as he looked confused and worried in equal measures.


    "My body? Shouldn''t it be in the churches graveyard currently?"


    "Well here''s the thing: it was. Until Daddy dearest came by, laid claim to your body and promptly took it away. He was denied the first time around so he just dug up your body. And now Lyssandra is chasing that corpse." Grant sighed exasperated. "You see what I mean by good luck right? Where do you find such good friends willing to fight a Marquis over a corpse? Well, your luck and her misfortune I suppose.


    She thinks that she''s the hunter, but has yet to realize that behind her is another group pursuing her. She has about, 2 weeks maybe? Before the group catches up. She may be a dragonewt, but unlike her father, I doubt she has the proper skill to deal with such a group."


    "Where is she!?" Richard asked urgently, and Grant responded calmly. "WIthin 2 weeks, she''ll arrive at mountain city. You know, the one in the joke, mountain out of a molehill? That one. " Checking his nonexistent wristwatch, the man leisurely continued. "Take Diggers Road to a Hop town, use the teleportation circle there to head to the nearest Skip village to Mountain city." Seeing Richard already turning to leave.


    ... Wouldn''t this be a fun opportunity to test the boy?


    "Wait wait wait! It''s dangerous to go, take this!" He said, before throwing three adventurer''s cards to the three of them.


    "I took the liberty of preparing adventurer identities for you guys, to avoid the trouble at the gates some guards like to make. And you know, a life saving measure I guess." He said, before casually throwing a card to each of them, and to Richard, a bottle filled with... lightning?


    Seeing the boy''s curious look, Grant chuckled.


    Heavenly tribulation lightning.


    If it wasn''t a lifesaving measure, than what else could be?


    "A test and a lifesaving measure. If you consume this within the evolution after your next one, it will significantly amplify the results of your next evolution. But it will also be an item that can save your life one time. But remember"


    He said, wagging his finger. "It''s lightning in a bottle. You only get the one use."


    Richard nodded solemnly before turning to leave quickly, and the rest of the group quickly followed, though sister Alexandria glanced at him carefully, as if trying to figure out why he looked so familiar, before leaving the bar.


    Thankfully, he wasn''t recognized.


    Grant sighed as he sipped the beer once more.


    "Kids these days. They''re always in a rush." He paused before smiling quietly.


    "Let''s hope this generation of players has the guts to rise up."

 Book 2 chapter 4: Pot of GUuds

    The boy was gone.


    Ultimately, Grant chose to distance himself from the child, unsure what kind of relation he actually wanted with the child.


    He wasn''t devoid of the desire to be the child''s guardian.


    On the contrary, he felt his current guardian was insufficient.


    He would be far better. Stronger, faster, better.


    But this child did not have a good bond with his current family.


    So why would the child want to connect with him? This mysterious relative with such a weird connection.


    And after that speech of self sufficiency?


    No, better to watch from a distance.


    Grant had the system keep an eye on the child and focus on his own adventures.


    Like Ursa Honey, who was on the edge of evolution.


    After creating more and more food based biomes, the pockets had been filled to the brim, and the item, which had been put on to promote the bear''s evolution, was blending with the bear''s essence well.


    All that was needed was its final baptism.


    <hr>


    "This looks dangerous." The boy said worriedly, and Grant chuckled.


    "Evolution is rarely safe." Grant responded to assure the child, and yet he did not look assured.


    To be fair, Grant was cooking the bear in a giant pot for its final evolution.


    Compared to its casual collecting of ingredients, the final baptism to push the bear onto its path of evolution was intense to say the least.


    A least, for the average person.


    The bear was "soaking" in a golden, delicious stew, one filled with various beasts of a food like form.


    Gummy worms and licorice serpents, gusher toads and centiwafers, glazed ants and butterfries galore writhed in the concoction.


    Grant was using something akin to a gu pot in terms of technique, hence why many of the food beasts within were ones that reflected the famous gu, in an effort to produce similar results.


    The game was obviously rigged from the beginning, with the outcome of the refining clearly in the bears favor, but the purpose was to essentially increase the bears concentration of dessert type power, by allowing these sweet gu to refine one another to produce stronger, tastier results, which the bear would snatch, and use this concentrated mana and sugary delight to eventually evolve into the next stage.


    The brew in which they were all boiling was ambrosia, stolen from the Olympians, usually out of desire, since ambrosia is really good at strengthening mortals.


    Were they to know their godly nectar was being treated as an ingredient for a mere bear''s evolution, they would undoubtedly throw a fit, though Grant would likely not care.


    It was a chaotic scene, and would be extremely dreadful and not at all suitable for kids were it not for the fact that everything except the bear were desserts, so the "blood" coming out of these sugary beasts was more like syrup, which was perfectly suitable for kids to look at.


    Ursa Honey was having a difficult time. The bear didn''t really fight all that often, and when he did, he had gotten used to relying on teammates.


    Working in a team is never a bad thing, but when one gets too reliant on a team, they will become a chain, in which if the single link breaks, then the whole chain breaks.


    Tch tch. Looks like Ursa Honey will require more training.


    Fanfare looked on curiously, and with a little greed.


    "Father, once Ursa is finished, you don''t mind if I eat what''s left?" He asked hopefully.


    "If you want, though I''d hardly recommend it." Grant responded, and seeing the dragonshroom''s confused look, he explained.


    "Once he''s evolved, it''s likely a lot of the imperfections of his body will be expunged, and result in a layer of waste in the brew."


    Hearing this, Fanfare showed a mildly disappointing look, but Grant laughed.


    "If you want sugar, I don''t mind doing this again. Sugar gu can be quite dangerous, so I wouldn''t mind cultivating a few,"


    Hearing this, the dragonshrooms ears perked up a little.


    Huh. He grew ears. Clearly for expression more than sensitivity. Neat.


    Turning back to the evolution at hand, Grant watched as the honey bear fought harder and harder, as its habits devolved into a more savage form of fighting as it dug into the sugary beasts without mercy.


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    The bees were pouring out of the hive as well, swarming the creatures, and attacking with gusto.


    What mattered more was the light of evolution on the bear, as it flashed on and off.


    There may have been less ferocious ways of stimulating this evolution, but Grant had chosen this.


    The encounter with Richard had reminded Grant that monsters do need to let loose once in a while, to be true to their nature, or they''ll end up like Richard.


    A beast without teeth. Even if Grant powers the bear through, all the way up to godhood, but the bear doesn''t hone its ability to kill, then it would be worthless.


    At that point, he may as well have not bothered to evolve them at all.


    He wasn''t going to stop this path he had pushed the bear onto, merely stimulate its evolution a bit more harshly, that''s all.


    Honey Ursa roared in pain and excitement.


    Evolution was terrifying, and yet it was also exciting as well, as one felt themselves break through their limits, to become stronger than before.


    An instinctive desire of all beings.


    As the light started flickering rapidly, the ambrosia darkened as the waste was pushed out of his body.


    Normal monsters do not in fact, expel waste as they evolve, but instead seemingly absorb them and make no attempts to expel them.


    The bear was expelling waste because Grant was pulling on cultivation based ideas, and thus produced cultivation esque results, like expelling waste.


    Some believe this was one difference between qi beasts and monsters, where one actively chooses to expel waste and purify one''s body, while monsters merely focus on growing stronger.


    As the waste was expelled, the bear glowed a golden glow, as its brown fur took on a golden tint, as if its fur had been spun of honey.


    The pouch had also undergone realm breaking changes, as the pouch became extremely simplified, becoming a basic pouch.


    Yet analyzing it with his appraisal spell, he could see that it had undergone qualitative changes.


    The major one? The ability to mix ingredients. Rather than merely containing the ingredients, it could also now mix any of the ingredients contained within the pouch to produce new blends of spices and herbs, or candy.


    Like fudge and wavers to create chocolate covered wafers, or fruits and batter to produce cake


    On the more battle oriented side, it allowed one to excel in support, combining ingredients with different affect to produce quick, optimal effects, without requiring an oven a that moment.


    Respectively, one could target the negative effects, and combine multiple types of ingredients to produce the most dangerous thing, akin to poison.


    A sour and spicy candy that acts like soda and candy, causing a dangerous, tongue burning and sense destroying candy would be one such example.


    Or even simpler, a mix of lemon juice and hell pepper to create a horrid secretion to spill on the enemies eyes.


    A simple little chef''s hat adorned the bear''s head, and the small hive had changed, becoming a small bakery on the bears back.


    Indeed, a characteristic of the honey bears, in that depending on the path they take, the hive will change shape. He''d been curious if it''t end up an oven hive, a jar, or in this case, a miniature bakery.


    The paws had grown opposable thumbs, to help better cook meals.


    It was a rather simplistic evolution, but one rank with strength, as he could tell the bear had become what was in adventurer''s eyes a B rank monster.


    He wondered how jealous other monsters would be if they knew how easily the bear had climbed the ranks.


    Though it did cost a lot of ambrosia...


    Grant made sure to put it down in his to do list to investigate whether the gods of this pantheon had ambrosia, and if so, to go steal some for his own use.


    <hr>


    Someone was following him.


    Grant noticed it almost immediately as he walked out of the bar that day, as he felt a pair of eyes start scrutinizing him.


    The person observing him had no malicious intent, not that he could tell, otherwise he''d have already captured and tortured the man.


    Regardless, this was still rather curious.


    Oh who, oh who would want to watch him?


    Grant could think of multiple people who would have such a vested interest, and yet he could not figure out who.


    He decided to have a little fun with his mysterious follower. One should properly enjoy the gifts sent to them correct?


    <hr>


    Blue Jay of the Pheme Nyx guild believed himself to be a well known agent, at the very least competent.


    Though few knew him outside of the guld, inside of it, he was popular, even having received the name woodpecker.


    Because he always managed to to accurately hit the target. At least, that''s what he told himself.


    He''d heard less flattering reasons, like the fact that he was dumb like a woodpecker, constantly banging his head against a wall, metaphorically.


    He didn''t believe that. Sure, he was a little persistent, but that''s how one gets the job done.


    His current mission was quite the weird one for sure. It was an order by the emperor himself, to investigate a mysterious man who dressed as a raven sage. Not much was known about him so far, but the report by a previously famous adventurer indicated the man could be considered a danger on the level of the god''s who lurked within the empire.


    Of course, the woodpecker was doubtful of the intel, but given that the guildmaster was reported to be a demigod of strong origin, his word was not to be taken lightly, so he was sent in to do the investigative work.


    The adventurer known as Grant had a schedule that could be seen as mundane, if not odd.


    The man hung out at the guild, which could hardly be considered weird, at least not among the plethora of strong and particular beasts that plagued these lands.


    He was still a weird man regardless.


    The man never took any of the gear off, preferring to remain "in character"


    Indeed, it was something seen in some famous heroes, who were known for playing characters in a form of role playing.


    That didn''t mean he was a hero of course, merely that it had become something now noted by the Pheme Nyx guild as a trait that often indicated that such people would react unpredictably if their face was torn off and their role exposed in a sense.


    The man seemingly sensed something, but couldn''t find him.


    It made sense. The blue jay was using an artifact of the divine level, given to him by the head of the agency, that even Gods could not see through if used.


    The artifact was known as the omphalos stone. By temporarily consuming it, one could disappear from the sights of all others


    Apparently its ability had been inverted by the head of the guild, which merely left him in greater awe of such a leader.


    Still, the fact that he knew someone was watching him was impressive, and dangerous too.


    Something else to go into the notes.


    "What ya writin in there?" Came a curious voice and the blue jay casually responded.


    "Oh you know, just observing some-" He paused as his head slowly turned and his eyes met the eyes of his target.


    "Hello there." He said casually, and the stunned agent couldn''t respond properly, and Grant sighed.


    "It''s "GENERAL KENOBI" he said in an exaggerated manner before grabbing the notebook.


    "Let''s check your homework today shall we? I hope this wasn''t last minute. Teacher hates last minute efforts. " The masked man said, clearly in a good mood.


    Poor woodpecker was thinking he had swung his head a few times too many, as his mind shook with confusion.


    How?


    How had he bypassed the omphalos stone!?

 Book 2 chapter 5 : B- A Barely passing Grade

    Reading it through, Grant couldn''t help but tut and hum his way through it.


    "Has honey bear monster, that''s fine, but aren''t you going to go into a more descriptive report? I mean, clearly its evolution route is heading one way or the other, and as a variant monster, that seems quite important to write down. Or for that matter, surely you could''ve written more about my mask? Speculate as to how I achieve this function.


    Hmm. Similar to the behavior of heroes.. Hum, I wouldn''t say it''s incorrect. I do get a bit unstable when someone challenges my worldview. I''m curious what do you know of the summoning ritual.?"


    Seeing the man''s tightened lips and determined face he chuckled. "Oh relax, I know more about that ritual than you do, trust me. I was more curious as to how much you guys know.


    Should be treated with caution. Good, good, I appreciate that kind of approach, though not sure about how I feel about being treated like those random god like beings spread throughout this empire of yours." He chuckled mirthfully. "You know what they say, you often end up at the place you want to avid most, am right?" His words only further confused the man, as the interaction was already causing him to spin, figuring out how to react.


    "Leave bear and ogre companion alone. Yes, I would say that''s the right choice. I mean, if they were hurt in any sort of way... Who Knows what I would do." He hinted ominously, causing the agent to swallow nervously, as he felt the heavy killing intent pressing him down, He stopped as he closed the report and pondered thoughtfully.


    "B-. It''s not a bad report, and it does succeed in doing what it sets out to do, but fails to go above and beyond the required criteria, and lacks emphasis as to what to do from beyond the suggestion, besides leave it to the temple of Jorvus. Tch, tch.


    Come back to me next week with a revised report and I might revise it to a B+ or even an A-"


    Grant said as he casually tossed the report back at the man.


    The woodpecker looked over cautiously.


    "Is that permission... to keep going?" He asked.


    Grant did not even bother looking back.


    "Of course. Any good emperor would seek to watch out for such uncertain variables. The fact that a student makes such efforts is commendable.


    I should reward that rather than punish him for his hard work.


    In fact." He paused in his steps, as he fished out a golden star.


    "A good student should receive a reward for hard work."


    He casually tossed a golden star at the woodpecker who caught it carefully.


    "Tell him he gets a gold star. Get 3 more and he can pick a goody from the gift box for good students. "


    And with that, Grant walked away without looking back once more.


    <hr>


    "This is... I don''t even know what to say!" The tower master exclaimed as she glared at the star in frustration.


    She wasn''t the only one. Within the imperial palace a small group of masters had been gathered to analyze the "gold star"


    Amongst them was an eastern dragon who resided in the palace, a shaman from the spirit federation, a gluttony practitioner, amongst other experts.


    Initially dismissed as a joke, it quickly became a serious issue as they realized the "trinket" was far more than it had let on to be.


    A joke of the god level kind was to be studied, for even pranks of such a level could lead to great insight, so an initial, quick glance quickly grew into something more.


    The magic circles alone were beyond their own understanding, as the magic circles overlapped one another in confusing and complex ways, as they interwove with one another, combining to create greater structures, and yet were merely smaller fractions of the diagrams the gold star contained. They almost seemed to pop out of the star when stared at too hard.


    And it was not merely magic circles. There was also traces of diagrams and formations from the east, rituals invoking spirits, runic work, incomprehensible scribble that caused pain by merely reading.


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    So they brought in as many experts they could, from the eastern dragon who slept in the pond to the inuit shaman who had been residing in the palace.


    And they all agreed:


    "It''s utter nonsense." Whatever it was, they ultimately came to the decision that it was too complex to be an actual, functioning item. After all, complexity was impressive, but when things become too impressive, they become less functional, and more decorative.


    How could a spell incorporate so much!


    And yet that felt wrong as well, with it all clearly having some order, with something intentional within it all, just that they could not piece it together.


    All this did was confirm to the emperor that this mysterious man was far more dangerous than he had thought.


    However, he was seemingly also docile at the moment. The sleeping beast.


    He could be seen as the hidden danger, but as emperor, their empire had a long history of similar, "volatile people". People who had wanted to be left alone and when not left alone, tended to backfire.


    The thunder monarch, a god level wyrm who had caused the overthrow of a previous emperor was one such example. Or perhaps the time a previous hero who had been summoned was wronged greatly after fulfilling his task.


    Such stories resulted in tragedy, and a backlash that would take decades, if not centuries to recover from.


    The agriculture was still recovering from the thunder monarch''s wrath.


    It was this reason that so many gods who were not part of the pantheon whom resided within the empire were left alone, and even catered to and in return, caused no trouble for the empire for the most part.


    Some still did, of course, but an exception is always expected. The fact of the matter was that the empire had managed to survive this long by being smart about this.


    It was clear that the man was aware of, and willing to ignore if not encourage the surveillance upon himself, if his wacky behavior were to be interpreted.


    So in a sense, it could be seen that they came to an agreement of sorts, which meant in the long run, they may be able to ask him about the inscriptions on the gold star.


    This was perhaps the best outcome that could be salvaged of the day.


    And for the emperor, that was enough. SUch things were not necessarily commonplace, but not rare enough to occupy him, not with all the other matters at hand.


    For Grant, it was an oopsie.


    As in,


    "Damn, I gave him the wrong star." Grant complained suddenly, as he realized he had handed the emperor the gold star he reserved for his own personal students, rather than for acquaintances he rewarded offhandedly.


    After all, the difference in quality between rewards was a major difference in levels.


    Grant had planned to hand out the lower rank stars, and yet had forgotten that he didn''t have those. Like most of his lower rank stuff, it was likely left behind back in the old world with his divine realm.


    Chances are its corresponding vault was too, unless that was ripped apart by the transference here.


    As a result, when he handed out a star instinctively, he pulled one he still had left, which was of the highest rank.


    As in, contains multiple forms of magical systems, from diagrams, arrays and magic circles, to runic language, dragon tongue, and the first language.


    Frankly, he was more worried that someone''s head would blow up.


    The chances were low, but not zero.


    The vault itself? Meh, nothing really important was stored in there, only the really rare resources. Rare enough to only be obtained by a kingdom once a century? Sure, but that''s it. The really rare stuff was kept out of there, within his own divine realm, as the vault was really only meant to be a gold star gift basket.


    You get four gold stars, you put them together, go pick out your own gift.


    And if they managed to decipher it and break open the vault? Then they were free to take it. They earned it.


    Of course, the boldness thought of by grant was something really, only his students would be so bold as to pull off. The emperor would never even dare to do such a thing.


    Whatever, he had other priorities.


    From educating his current student, to preparing for the upcoming envoy of Isis, there was plenty to prepare for already.


    He was planning to use a selection ritual for the ogre child, to test which profession he would be best trained in.


    There were many to choose from, and divining was useful in cutting the options down.


    For those who knew how to use it, it was an easy, quick efficient way to find such answers.


    He intended to just put the general fields out for him.


    Cultivator, beast tamer, guide, sentinel/psyker, plant master,, alchemist, weapon refiner/ black smith, etc, etc.


    Alright, not quite basics, but still.


    As his student, it was Grant''s job to ensure that the child had a clear path in the future.


    The boy was young from what he could tell, and had a long road ahead of him, one that had not yet been paved, which allowed him all these options.


    Had the boy already began to train in something, he likely would have had to work around it.


    A clean slate was appreciated.


    Alright, breaking it down into four may be better.


    Fighter, beast tamer, production, refinement.


    Four basic fields that could be expanded into multiple specializations. Beast tamer could easily divide into spirit summoner, golem master, beast tamer, insect master, and more. Fighter would include the main divisions of mana, qi, and psychic energy, where they would divide into further professions, unique to each division though many professions overlapped. Production would be similar, before breaking up into spiritual planter, beast husbandry, resource gathering, and other professions. Refinement would divide into weapons, potions, diagrams/arrays/formations, and more.


    Beast masters cared a little less about qi and mana, as their growth was best benefitted from feedbacks from their familiars when they advanced, and as such, qi and mana were determined by their professions


    So, choosing a symbol for each of the four was necessary.


    It was at least. They had already been made long ago, in order to best choose professions for his previous students.


    They were all crafted out of the wood of yggdrasil, a tree connected to destiny in some ways, and thus one of the better choices to create conduits for fate. Were there better options? Sure, but this was one that he had readily available thanks to his connection to the world tree.


    Once they were paced in the array, it came to life with a soft hum indicating its completion.


    With that, it was time to test the child''s aptitude.

 Book 2 chapter 6: The Path chosen

    He set the stage appropriately, as this was quite the special ceremony.


    A selection ceremony should be special.


    There was no aptitude in this test, at least not visible to the child''s eye.


    One of the worst things to do to a child is to set up the wrong expectations.


    Having dimmed the nearby lands, and setting up some rather illuminating torches, he sat before the child.


    "Today is a very special day." He announced, sitting the child before the test.


    "Where we decide which path best suits you." He said as he waived his hands, and the trinkets appeared spontaneously.


    The boy seemed a bit nervous and unprepared, likely since he hadn''t really mentioned what the test was exactly.


    "No worry child, we are merely testing your aptitude so that I may best know which direction to guide you." He said soothingly.


    The only other witness Ursa Honey, as Grant wanted to make it a private event. Though Grant wouldn''t mind inviting his other creations to come observe, it would be inappropriate, given that the child seemed a bit scared of them, them in question being terrifying, god-like monsters who are ascending to god hood slowly, or the other creations, who while not gods, are still new, unnerving species.


    It was his party, and thus Grant would respect his needs.


    As the boy sat down, he looked at the items on the table before him.


    As he sat on the chair, a low hum went off, and the items shook imperceptibly, signifying that the ritual was ready.


    "What do I do?" The boy asked, as he looked at the table before him, not realizing that his eyes were already looking at a few items.


    Grant shrugged. "Just grab the one that stands out the most to you." He said simply, choosing not to say too much, and merely to allow the boys instincts to guide him.


    "Just choose?" he asked, confused at the "test" presented before him.


    It was a vague test, with no logic to it.


    Just choose?


    Still, the man seemed to have explained all there was to explain. The child swept his eyes over.


    Many items, yet only one truly called out to him. The egg almost seemed to shake in his vision.


    The boy did not notice the trance he was in, as he unconsciously reached his hand out.


    It did reach out to the psychic option for a second, causing Grant''s breath to hitch. He said that none were quite bad, but psychics were one of the most difficult ones to raise, especially sentinel and guides and psykers. They often required the complimenting partner to maintain their own mental stability.  Were there ways around it? Sure, but the way around it was often difficult, and often involved one''s own personal inner demons, which was something that the child would have difficulty dealing with.


    Given that his hand temporarily drifted towards the psychic side before finally reaching towards the beast egg, Grant speculated that the psychic side was due to the connection to psychic animals, and the boy''s inherent connection towards his monster side, which likely formed his destiny towards beasts.


    Whatever the case was, he was now to travel the route of beasts.


    As he touched the egg, he unconsciously grabbed the egg before snapping out of it, looking in surprise at the sudden appearance of an egg in his hand, before handing it to Grant.


    Grant smiled nonchalantly as he clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations! It seems that you are destined for the route of beasts."


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.The boy looked surprised as he asked him hesitantly. "Really?" He asked, to which Grant chuckled.


    "You do not have to take the path of beasts, should you choose not to. What we are best suited is not necessarily what we seek to do." He said reassuringly, before adding. "However, I do want you to try it first, before you make your final decision. Is that okay?" He said, making sure to leave the final decision in the child''s hands.


    And the child hesitated for a bit, before finally nodding. "Okay. I''ll try it." He said as confidently as he could, eliciting a chuckle from Grant. "Good, good. Then we are now apprentice and master. " He said, finally confirming the relation between the two.


    "By the way, you have medium fire spiritual roots, and a good aptitude for water magic."


    The boy looked confused, only for Grant to chuckle. "t mean''s your aptitude for both magic and qi is good. Don''t worry about it. Even if it hadn''t, I''d have been able to fix it. I just thought I ought to inform you about it, that''s all."


    This ultimately meant nothing t him, and just seemed like a casual sentence. Which was Grant''s aim, to ensure that roots seemed irrelevant to him. To be small and pointless, and to have no impact on the child''s future development.


    "Does my new apprentice have a name?" Grant asked carefully, gauging the child''s reaction, watching to make sure that his words did not affect the child, in spite of the humorous way the question was presented.


    The child responded slowly, and yet with confidence in this weird man. He was eccentric for sure, and perhaps dangerous as his father had warned him.


    But the man seemed trustworthy.


    Weird, but honest about what he did.


    "My name is Devis." The boy confirmed, before pressing his hands together in greeting.


    "Disciple greets his master." Grant seemed surprised by the formal action, yet reacted quickly to this familiar action.


    "This master welcomes his new disciple."


    And thus Grant accepted his first student in this new world.


    <hr>


    An inconspicuous group quietly entered the outpost before looking around.


    It was a small group, comprising of two, a young man, and an elderly elven woman, who had eyes that shone with a great wisdom.


    "So this is where he is. The man who saved that child." murmured the head priestess of Isis. The young man next to her snorted, but made no comment under the watchful gaze of the old women, who turned to look at the town once more, seeking.


    She was attempting to use her goddess'' guidance to find this man. For before the mother had become Goddess of motherhood, she had once been a Goddess of magic, and few could hide from her sight.


    Yet Isis seemed unable to find the man, much to her confusion.


    Was the man hiding?


    But according to what the other side had told Mother, Grant was not the type to hide.


    This was soon proven to be true, as a voice echoed through her mind as well as the young man.


    I did not expect the church of Isis to come looking for me of all people.


    The voice came. The young man looked around warily, seeking the one who projected his voice into their heads, while the old elven lady seemed indifferent as she responded.


    "I believe it good manners to thank someone for their goodwill."


    Oh?


    The voice seemed rather curious as to what favor he had done for the church.


    "You may trick the government, and even the church, but you cannot fool the Gods. Isis knows what you did for one of her sons. She wanted to thank you for your kindness in freeing that child. And of course she wanted to talk about the system with you as well."


    The voice paused for a bit, as if contemplating for a second, before finally responding.


    Very well


    <hr>


    "The fundamental thing that all beastmasters must understand is that a beast is not a tool, but a partner. You''ll find many who disagree and train their beasts appropriately, but we will not be pursuing these paths. As someone who''s fought my own fair share of beast tamers, the last thing you want is a partner who holds a grudge against you, and ready to abandon you at the first opportunity. Anyway, I''ll go over the available paths- "


    Grant looked up, pausing in his lecture on the basics on beasts, as he stared off into the distance, eyeing his new surprise guests.


    Devis, while confused, remained quiet, waiting for his teachers next instruction.


    Grant had not expected them to show up after such a fight, and the fact that he killed off such a treasured paladin of the church should''ve made them enemies. And yet here they were, not merely some higher up, but the head of the church herself, as well as some jumpy child.


    Still, it was clear that they aware of the truth, which was not so shocking to Grant. As long as Isis was willing to ask around the pantheon, she would realize quickly that his soul was not in the afterlife, nor had it been brought forth for judgement and reincarnation.


    Grant hadn''t exactly hid his actions either.


    What for? Not like there was really anyone to hide it from. Even if he had thrown a system in for good measure, they knew about it already, in some capacity.


    Anyway, it seemed Isis bared no ill will.


    More importantly, it seemed like she had a role in the importation of the system into this world which was a fascinating thing, which intrigued him.


    Alright. Let''s hear what they had to say.


    "Alright, class dismissed for today. Your teacher has to go talk to some people,so you stay here and play with Ursa, hmm?" The boy nodded as he got up and left.


    He didn''t run, but unknowingly quickened his pace as he walked towards the bear area, as Grant wondered whether he should leave Ursa Honey to the child as a beast companion.


    Something to contemplate after this next conversation he supposed.

 Book 2 chapter chapter 7: The Systems purpose

    Grant decided to come out and meet them in the end, rather than leading them into his domain.


    His new student ended up following him outside back into the real world, as he wasn''t quite that comfortable there. Despite spending a great deal of time there, he spent most of it inside of the house, rather than outside.


    The boy followed him outside, choosing not to stay within the house.


    The boy may have spent a lot of time within Grant''s divine realm, but much of that time was spent with Grant, or with the golem and inside the house, away from the divine realm.


    Otherwise he wouldn''t dare to step out, with much of what he saw being absolutely terrifying for the normal person.


    As they left the divine realm and entered the york outpost again, Grant''s eyes immediately landed on the two people they had come to talk to.


    An elderly elven woman and her younger companion. Though they seemed like two average citizens, eyeing the sheath that held a sword glittering with divine power quickly gave them away to those who could properly inspect it, a glowing beacon that they were more than they appeared.


    Hiding from general intelligence, but scaring away anyone who would be truly dangerous by using the protection of Isis.


    Grant sat down before the two, with the young ogre following suit, sitting on newly produced earthen chairs.


    " I am surprised that the head of the church of Isis has come all this way to express their thanks." Grant noted as he sat down.


    The old elf merely smiled as she responded. "It is important that one thanks their benefactor personally, to express our gratitude."  and upon seeing the child, showed a kind smile, pulling out a piece of candy to offer to the child.


    Unfortunately he refused, choosing to hide behind Grant warily, in spite of her gentle aura.


    The guard looked a little sad as he looked at the poor child, wondering what he''d gone through to distrust them so.


    "He''s from a monster society. You know how their cultures tend to distrust our own." Grant said bluntly, as the two nodded in understanding.


    Its true, monsters and races, a great divide between two groups of being. As the races see monsters as savage beasts of all shapes and sizes who would consume human flesh if given opportunity, the monsters saw the races as conniving manipulative beings who domesticate their own, and would gladly dismember them to use and display.


    Those who are not of the same race will have different hearts. Even as monsters lived amongst the people of the empire, they still faced persecution.


    But that was a topic for another time.


    "Surely there are other matters you''ve come to discuss, after traveling this far?" grant said humorously, as both parties knew there was more to discuss.


    Trenee nodded. "Indeed, there are other matters that we have come to discuss with you currently." She said seriously, and Grant nodded.


    "In that case, tell her to come down."


    Grant said it casually, but the guard to the side reacted immediately, about to pull out his sword in anger, before the elderly Trenee stopped her.


    "Great Mother!?" He asked uncertainly, as she gently shook her head.


    "Oh? Am I unqualified to meet her?" Grant asked jovially. "Then let me dress up."


    And then his aura soared.


    Golden core, early level


    middle golden core


    late golden core


    peak golden core


    Nascent soul


    early Nascent soul


    middle Nascent soul


    late nascent soul


    peak nascent soul


    spirit transformation


    early spirit transformation


    middle spirit transformation


    late spirit transformation


    The look on their face was priceless.


    Of course the current cultivation in theory shouldn''t allow him to soar beyond golden core, but that was the wonderful thing about creation.


    It has no limits.


    Grant smiled as he tormented the two of them with the presence. He was not a malicious person, but teasing others was always a little bit fun. Besides, he was sure they''d be fine.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Their Goddess has been watching after them after all.


    A creation-type cultivator. I hear that your kind is rare amongst them. Came the ethereal voice, as a woman appeared besides her children, relieving them of their fear, as the aura could no longer affect them.


    There was a sense of strength around her, of the matriarch. For Isis was the mother of the gods and though her strength was not of the highest, her presence was one to be praised.


    She was different from her classical depictions, dressed in a simple white dress, more akin to the garments of the greeks than the dressings of egyptian culture.


    Though she still had he classic wings and skin tone, her hair had whitened, showing age and maturity. She radiated of life. A sundial was pinned to her dress, and a lion cub draped over her shoulder, resting blissfully.


    Grant had read the files, and how the current Isis was one that was influenced by greek and roman culture, but more importantly, had merged with the titan Rhea to create the current Isis, much like the current Jorvus Mars was a melding of the sons Jovus and and Horus. though her position as the goddess of magic had disappeared, she gained a firm grip on the authority of maternity and despite Jorvus being king of the gods, Isis held some real sway as the matriarch, much like a dowager empress still holds power over her own son.


    Isis had been watching from the start, invisible to those around them and likely the young man, with the only ones aware likely Grant and the old elf Trenee.


    The elf in question looked at her God with reverence, yes, but also familiarity, as if meeting an old senior, someone worthy of admiration in contrast to the young man who showed a look of reverence and awe.


    "No rarer than a god of faith at approximately high spirit transformation staring at you for a while is I''d say." Grant said smiling, showing the goddess a knowing look.


    You''ve known for a while, haven''t you? Though her face did not change much, there was a hint of amusement in her voice as she recognized that he had see through her attempt.


    "Of course." Grant chuckled, as he casually shielded the child. "As if you wouldn''t want to come down and discuss this in person. As the former goddess of magic, you should be well aware of the implications of the system."


    Isis nodded seriously as she responded. I had to ask Hecate and the ravensage odin to keep quiet lest they scare the other gods. As it is, my son is investigating its players for he is distrustful.


    I must admit, I share some of his concerns. She added as she stared Grant down.


    Grant raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"


    This system of yours, it is not fully under my control. Though it complies with my demands, I can tell that it is compliance, and that I cannot enforce my will in any disconcernable way.


    Grant snorted. "I sure hope not. We made the system to be untouched by any external force, save those who were there upon its birth. "


    And you''re unwilling to convince it otherwise?


    "Convince it? You assume that I was there for its birth. I was not. The system obeys me due to its fondness for our relationship. Do not misunderstand. I cannot control it. The system does everything it does in the name of its intended purpose." Grant did not control it, merely working as equals under the same cause, and in a situation where the system owed Grant many favors.


    And that is? The goddess probed, only for Grant to give her a mysterious smile.


    "You know, I''ve been curious for a while. How did you get the system anyway? There should be no intersection between your universe and mine." Grant asked as he redirected the conversation, genuinely unsure how the two were connected.


    "Initiative? It was your leaders who approached me first. The goddess responded, confused by his lack of knowledge on this, and indeed, Grant''s eyebrows furrowed as he wondered why Flamel hadn''t mentioned this beforehand.


    He had assumed that as a former goddess of magic, Isis had found the leyline and managed to communicate with other universes, found his, and sought a deal with the most powerful of that universe, resulting in the system arriving here. Or perhaps the old gods of this world collaborated with Isis and guided her to the concentration.


    But this didn''t seem to be the case.


    "Who was it that approached you?" Grant asked, and Isis hummed, as she recalled the person she encountered.


    A man, a bit of a barbaric one, but he was strong, wielding a huge sword beyond any which I have ever seen in hand. He felt like the center of a storm, unyielding and overbearing. No one in the pantheon could stop him. They didn''t even notice him. The goddess recalled somewhat bitterly, and though the description was basic, it was a very familiar recollection, one that made him think of a dear friend who had disappeared decades ago.


    "And when was this?" Grant asked somewhat gingerly, unsure if he wanted to hear the response, and her answer merely made his suspicion grow.


    130 years ago.


    130 years ago. Just before Grant left earth for the smaller realms on the orders of his master, and when he disappeared all those years ago.


    Zhong Shou.


    It seems his master had been planning this for a long time.


    You know him? Isis asked and Grant nodded.


    "I knew he wasn''t dead, but he''s been gone for a while. To think he had been here." Grant thought mischievously, now realizing that he knew his friend was here, but this was not true vice versa.


    He''d have to prank him one of these days.


    A sense of relief filled Grant, a stone he had not realized had settled in his heart, as a long missing friend finally reappeared.


    "You wanted to know why the system was made?" Grant asked the goddess with a mysterious smile.


    I asked for it to give my children second chances. But that was not why it was made. I asked for it to help my children. So I must know the end point of it, to know how it''d affect my children.


    "It was for the future." Grant said, having no interest in hiding the truth, believing it important to reveal the truth. An extremely important truth, known only to the highest beings on the planet. One that if it got out, would cause the world to go insane.


    "The system was made to raise the overall level of the planet, to help earthlings to become stronger"


    Isis frowned. To what end? I would say that the planet is already strong enough, and that the conflicts of all children on earth intense enough. More power seems dangerous. Isis as the matriarch had long observed the Earth, and had long seen the chaos that became of their empire precisely because of the power that individuals held.


    Why would they simply want to increase that, to amp up the chaos?


    Grant nodded. "Indeed, the wars amongst men and beasts, and men amongst men is intense enough,  but it is not these conflicts that we feared. As long as we had the bigger fist, these issues were manageable. There is something greater, something far more terrible that we must be prepared for, something that looms overhead like the blade of damocles, one that threatens all living beings on this planet, one that not even our fists can beat."


    Hearing this, Isis'' expression turned grim as she saw the seriousness in Grant''s face, as he even took off his mask to express this point.


    If this threat is so great that you have felt the need to accelerate the growth of all life on this planet, it must be something truly worrying.


    What could be so dangerous that a spirit transformation cultivator would find threatening.


    He grimly pointed up, up to the heavens, to the stars, to the enemies unseen.


    "For the outside.


    It was to protect us from what is beyond.


    To protect us... from space."


    The final threat to all things that lived on Earth was an external threat, one unseen, and yet one that could destroy all civilization, and set all life back by centuries.

 Book 2 chapter 8: From Spaaaaace!

    No one could understand the implication of Grant''s statement.


    The child was completely left out of it, as he had been isolated from their little bubble when he had shielded the child from the goddess prior to the revelation.


    He was merely reading the fairytales that Grant had provided him, in part to distract him, but also to open his eyes to the wonderful world of beasts.


    The young man was the first to react, for denial was his first response


    "Lies!" He hissed. "If these enemies existed, then where have they been all this time? Enemies from the stars?! These sound like the words of a madman!"


    Though no one commented verbally, Grant could still see the curious looks in the eyes of others.


    Where indeed is this enemy?


    "Well, I am a madman. People recognized as much after the things I''ve done.


    As for where they''ve been?


    Off planet. They''re not allowed in yet"


    Not allowed? Are you saying perhaps that a greater force has stepped in?


    "Not just greater. Greatest." Grant said, as a spark of reverence entered his eyes, before it flickered out just as quickly.


    "It''s one of the greatest laws in reality, one that has existed since the first civilization reared its head.


    The law of sanctuary. The law that protects young civilizations, enacted by the universe itself, upon the existence of the first civilization, a planet is subjected to a period of protection in which no living thing from outside the planet may enter the planet''s atmosphere.


    In this way, the universe ensures that all young civilized races get their opportunity to grow "


    What''s the drawback? Isis asked, clearly believing there to be more to this.


    And rightfully so.


    "Well this "shield" as it were, exacts its price and absorbs 20 percent of the planets energy, thus lowering the ceiling of power for most things on earth. In fact, once you step outside our solar system, your power automatically grows by 20 percent, regardless of cultivation, and your ability to absorb energy increases by 20 percent."


    Grant sighed. "Unfortunately, that also means you are then an external being, and thus not allowed back in. In fact, back in my universe, the monkey king Sun Wukong has already left the bubble and since then, hasn''t been able to return."


    Isis frowned. You sent one of the most powerful defenses of Earth out? She asked incredulously, and Grant could only shrug helplessly in response.


    "A gamble. I told you, there''s a ceiling on Earth, preventing all beings who reach the level of void refining from going beyond. Holding him here on the planet with that potential was just being foolish. so we sent him out on a new journey, journey to the west 2.0! Journey to the western galaxy! Sigh Who knows where he is. He left behind a life candle though, and last we checked, hes alive at least, and growing too. So it hasn''t failed yet Whether or not it''ll yield anything... is yet to be seen. "


    Is it so bad that you must take this gamble? The goddess asked worriedly, and Grant chuckled wryly. "It is worse than it sounds. We are a young race. Elves, humans, dwarves, demons, whatever they are, to the beings in space, are one race. Earthlings. And we are far, far behind. Do you know the saying a lean camel is better than a horse? "


    An eastern saying.


    "One that holds water in moments like these. What Earth has is small civilizations compared to the immense empres that populate space. Even the youngest of them outpace us. Whether it is power, culture, scientific advancements, any and all aspects a civilization has, we''re outpaced." Grant said, recalling how depressing it was when they found this out.


    The revelation had even shocked his masters for a good decade as they realized the seriousness of the situation.


    You speak as if you received this information from someone on the outside. Perhaps there is someone out there willing to help us? Isis asked, noticing how the information couldn''t have been gained under normal circumstances.


    "Yes well, there are ways to circumvent the atmosphere limit." Grant said, clearly proud.


    "We experimented and found out that while living beings cannot bypass the borders, machinery can.


    And if something on earth has connections to the outside, say a bloodline, then we can use it to communicate with the outside."


    "There are outsiders on the planet?" The old elven lady asked curiously.


    "Of course. In fact, Richard, that child you hold so dearly, has already become one."  Grant said calmly, indifferently even, yet the elf Trenee reacted differently, clearly being quite shocked.


    "What?"


    "Yeah. A dragon. Dragons are outsiders. Colonizers of sorts." Grant said it so casually, yet he had dropped a bombshell.


    The elf Trenee clearly couldn''t believe it, as the guard beside her showed a look of disbelief.


    The goddess on the other hand asked tentatively.


    You said the shield came up when civilization began.


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    "Correct"


    Then if something were to come beforehand... She petered off, yet the question implied in the sentence remained. Grant smiled in reaction to her revelation, happy to see her picking up.


    "It would be allowed in. Of course, there are limits. The ancient rules dictate that colonizers are not allowed to form their own civilization.At least not true blood ones. It''s why any civilization created by dragons are never purely dragon, or is in submission to higher powers, or not big enough to be considered a civilization like a clan. Otherwise they''d be cast out of the Earth by the rules and left to fend for themselves."


    Is that why dragons have yet to dominate the world?


    "Nah, that''s cause they''re nincompoops. Not a single one of them remembers their legacy. To be fair to them, given the first dragons landed around the early period of the dinosaurs, history was bound to cover that up."He added on. "Still nincompoops nonetheless."


    Are there any other of these "colonizers?" She asked, looking for any other potential dangers.


    So Grant answered, holding up two fingers. "Two more actually. Phoenixes and tentacle monsters are both foreign tribes who have long preceded the current era. The only ones who really know are those old enough to remember, and those with the right to know."


    And which are you?


    "Yesn''t" Grant said humorously, trying to mimic those silly younger players he had often encountered.


    The three before Grant shared the same look of confusion at Grant''s modern taste of language, but ultimately Isis moved on, regarding it as part of the otherworldly culture, and not brainrot.


    You do not seem worried about these three groups.


    "That''s because none of them are a danger to us. In fact, these two-" He said, as he conjured up two clay statues, of phoenixes and dragons, "- are of great benefit to us." He made a third on, this one in the shape of a large tentacle monster, vague and undefined. "Less helpful, but not dangerous. Probably." He tacked on there, with a look of unsureness.


    "Probably seems worrying." The elderly elf Trenee noted, and the young guard looked even moreso.


    "I''m not saying I believe any of this, but if so, these all sound dangerous. Civilization or no, any of these three wield major power on the planet.


    Why aren''t you suspicious at all?" He accused, and Grant smiled.


    "Because two of these can be our salvation."


    You refer to the dragons and the phoenixes.


    Grant nodded. "You see, I have information on all three of these interstellar civilizations, but the most important thing here is their gods."


    Isis frowned upon hearing this. You believe they are the key to our survival?


    Grant corrected her. "Not survival. We''ll survive. Well, the humans will. No, our salvation. It''s more of a question of whom we''ll serve." Grant said awkwardly. This was a hard pill to swallow after all. Even he had his own pride, and was offended at the thought when he first found out.


    So he expected her next reaction.


    To this, Isis looked serious and upset. Gods do not serve. She said firmly, showing the aura only a goddess could have.


    "Then you will die." Grant said bluntly, ignoring the looks they had on their faces, as he squashed the clay sculptures.


    They were upset, the guard clearly more upset than the other two, but unwilling to jump out of line.


    "Do you know what the strongest ife form to ever appear on Earth was?" Grant asked, seemingly out of nowhere, yet clearly relevant to the issue at hand.


    Isis responded, clearly knowing beforehand. The 6th realm


    Grant nodded. "And can you guess what the strongest life form in the known universe is?"


    To this, Isis could only remain silent, as Grant casually told her the number.


    "14. The strongest entity to ever appear in universal records, is the 14th level.


    Do you see where I''m going with this?"


    Silence


    "Earth has managed to produce 20 void-refining level beings, 30 if we''re being generous and including those who are between the 5th and 6th level. And that includes all gods of faith who''ve reached that approximate level across all of its history. 30.


    At this moment, only 15 of them are alive to my knowledge.


    Those are good numbers." Grant admitted. "In fact, it''s so good, that we''d be considered as strong as an outer rim colony of a high level empire." He said casually, backhandedly complimenting the Earth.


    He paused.


    "A low level empire has 40 at a time usually. And maybe 5 beings at the 7th level. " He said casually, pouring a heavy dose of reality on them.


    He merely added fuel to the fire next. "And Gods tend to be the first rooted out you know. Empires always have religions, and for a god to grow, they need followers. Followers they can''t afford to share with others. Like say, gods with similar domains of faith, who''s people would worship the empire''s gods easily once certain gods are gone." Grant said, with clear danger in his tone.


    The young man was practically drawing his sword, yet all it took was Grant exposing his aura, and the kid practically fell to his knees.


    "Look at you, a 3rd realm being and you kneel at the mere aura of a spirit transformation being. What are you going to do when an army of 6th realmers begin knocking on the doors?"


    You haven''t explained why the dragons or the phoenixes are better


    "Because better the devil we know, then the one we don''t. I''ve researched both of them, and I know them well. Very well.


    Dragon, father of all dragons, is a 14th level being who has reached his level by the path of progenity.


    The mother of ashes, the living star from which phoenixes were born from. 14th level. She also relies on the path of progenity


    By the way, I found out that whenever a world like ours opens up, every empire willing to allow dragons and phoenixes as well as progeny above a certain blood concentration to leave without being interrupted, because they have no choice but to give the mother of ashes and Dragon face.


    The mysterious one... Is mysterious. He cares not for his children, merely leaving them where he pleases. No one''s sure what level he is, or even what he wants, but we''re pretty sure he''ll ignore earth. Mostly. "


    Grant winced at this as he had to admit. "Of all the wild factors, he''s the one we''re worried about the most."


    A weird, eccentric being to say the least. Grant would believe the two would get along quite well as 2 such eccentrics, but truthfully nothing was known about it, merely that it has seeded some of the great civilizations, yet never seems to come back for its children.


    "As for why I believe them to be the best option? They''re one of the most free groups, phoenixes as well. Lord Dragon doesn''t maintain a tight control on his children nor his colonies, as long as they show deference and know to follow certain rules. You can see that in most dragons, given that none of them really need to worship him. Many competing gods have appeared amongst his children, like Bahamut and Tiamat from Earth, yet he pays them no mind. He merely sees them as his children.


    The phoenixes are aloof. Though they are tighter in regulations, they usually leave their colonies to maintain their own matters as long as the proper tribute is paid once in a while, though we''re more hopeful for lord Dragon"


    These sound more like strenuous excuses. As if you''re attempting to convince yourself of the good of the situation.


    Grant threw his arms in the air helplessly. "They are the best deal we have."


    Isis didn''t have a response, because ultimately, she knew too little, and only knew what Grant had said.


    How much time do we have until this invasion happens? Since she knew this much, she wanted to know about the time she had to prepare for the inevitable.


    Grant paused thoughtfully. "Minimum, a thousand years." He finally estimated. "But it also may be as much as 2000 years. Your world is not my world after all. History may have played out differently and humanity could''ve easily developed a century or two after ours. I have the system currently doing the math as we speak. We should know soon enough."


    Grant was still so calm about this, much to the confusion of Isis.


    You don''t seem too worried about all of this


    "Well of course, I plan to be dead by then." Grant said, casually dropping the bomb.


    Why else would he set himself a 600 year time limit?

 Book 2 chapter 9:: Plans in motion

    You plan to be dead by then? The goddess asked, looking quite confused.


    "You can''t just spring this end of the world nonsense on us, and then say you''re bailing!"The guard said clearly upset at the would be desserter.


    "Why not? I know you won''t be there, the old elf here certainly won''t make it a millenium, the only ones here who really have to suffer it would be the goddess here and I. And I would only suffer if I chose to live that long. Which I won''t" Grant added on.


    He looked at the young guard like a moron. "I mean, if you''re not going to be there fighting for humanity, I sure see no reason why I ought to. "


    You clearly fought for them before, and were prepared to last till it happened.


    Grant snorted. "Because I owed them a favor. I climbed to where I am at their command, and have done so because I had people I cared about. " He spread his hands out


    "Who am I to fight for in this world? I''m not exactly surrounded by people I cared about here, and those who I do care about will most certainly not be around for what comes next."


    "What about Richard?" The elf Trenee asked, as her gaze seemed to bore into him.


    "What about Richard?" Grant asked, yet his finger twitched slightly at the mention.


    "He is your descendent, is he not?"


    Grant paused, looking at her in confusion.


    "How did you find that out?" He asked, confused.


    "The marquis of Thorsten was a great man in his time. I even had the chance to meet him once." She paused as her eyes swept over him.


    "This isn''t your original body, but I received a picture of your other form, your real body from the man with the sword. The features differ in some areas, but I can tell.


    You and him are one and the same." She said firmly.


    Grant admitted it. "You''re right, he is my descendent in some aspects. But he''ll be fine. I told you, whenever a planet like ours opens up, the phoenixes and the dragons are allowed to leave with ease, because all empires have to give lord Dragon some face.


    Richard will be fine. Why do you think the system chose to make him a dragon?"


    Hearing that, Isis narrowed her eyes as she asked. How many of its hidden choices are influenced by this oncoming event?


    "Everything. The whole point of the system was to push growth on a global scale after all. In our world, the system is currently used by a 10th of the world''s population, with plans to expand to the whole of human population. The system promotes quick and easy growth, and quietly raises the potential of humans, ensuring the next generation will be stronger."


    Isis frowned. So that''s it? You''re done? You will simply give up and be done? She asked, annoyed at his attitude.


    "Why? Haven''t I done enough already? Grant complained, staring them down.


    "Hmm?


    "But what about our world?" The young guard complained, as he looked at Grant. "If you''ve already done it once, surely you can do it ag-"


    HAVEN''T I DONE ENOUGH ALREADY!" he said louder, looking frustrated. He looked at them, and looking into his eyes was looking into the abyss.


    A hopeless abyss, one that radiated exhaustion, a look that begged for rest.


    The look of a tired man who had seen too much.


    "Do you know what I''ve done to protect my world?


    The amount of blood on my hands?


    The things I''ve done?


    Do you know what people feel about me?


    They''re scared of me. Absolutely terrified. I became a monster in their eyes. And with good reason.


    Hundreds of races have perished at my hands, and thousands of sects razed to the ground because they stood in my way. Because they stood in our way of protecting Earth!


    I have torn the gods from their thrones and cast them into the depths of hell, and raised demons to the thrones in heaven.


    My own friends and family grew to fear me! I became a distant, terrifying figure in their eyes as I paved the path forward in blood, as I grew further and further from them.


    They couldn''t even look me in the eyes!


    They hated me, the ones whom I loved most, rejected me the most.


    Even as I shielded them from the ones who hurt them, the one they resented the most, hated the most was me. Their own..." Grant faltered, as the emotion bubbled in his chest, recalling countless bitter memories, before glaring at them again?


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    "And you want me to do that again?


    AGAIN!?


    NEVER AGAIN!


    I did not come to this world to be the monster again, to be someone''s monster! To do it all again.


    I will help you, but I will never do what I did before again!


    Are we clear?" He said angrily, with a look that denied further disagreement.


    Passion unseen before filled his eyes,persistency that promised destruction if they were to push further.


    A warning not to open that door, to never repeat that.


    No one dared remark, as even Isis felt a sense of danger from the man.


    Seeing that they had quietly acquiesced, Grant nodded.


    "I''m glad we understand each other." He returned to a more cheerful demeanor, but even so, they did not dare to underestimate him, the rapid change mere moments ago still vivid in their minds.


    "I will not do what I did before, but that does not mean I will leave this Earth undefended. Contrary to what you ingrates may expect, I''ve already began laying down the necessary things to protect the Earth."


    What means?


    "Well, the shrooms for instance." Grant said, as he summonsed a base level shroom onto his lap.


    "I''m sure you''ve started receiving reports about these, correct?"


    The guard piped up, as someone who was likely closer to the ground than the other two "Yeah, those have sparked debate as to treat them! You made them?" He asked, and Grant nodded.


    "Any new species you see will probably be my fault from here on out." emphasizing fault, as that would be the best way to see it. Fault. After all, he was stirring up trouble with such creations.


    "You mean like the drows and dravens?"


    "Eyup"


    "And all the shrooms are yours."


    "Eyup."


    "A weird new species of desert spirits that taste like salt have begun to spread. I don''t suppose."


    "Yuppers."


    As Grant took credit for more and more, the man couldn''t help but look more and more astonished.


    "...And those are all the ones I''ve brought in so far." Grant said casually, and by now the guard''s face had blackened and he couldn''t help but complain.


    "And how is that helpful at all?" he said, pointing out how useless this was for the future issue.


    Grant rolled his eyes.


    "Every species I''ve made has an innate submission to me, as well as a connection, pushed through their progenitors. Even after I die, I will be aware of the living world, and able to send them out.


    Many of these can make annoying enemies, but they''ll also serve as great troops"


    A cunning plan. By making multiple races and allowing them to flourish, you are producing a major power without anyone noticing. You need not take action in any way, for as long as they survive, your forces will grow.


    "Exactly. It''s too much work to cultivate those forces on my own. This way is far more productive in a sense."


    The guard remained unconvinced. "A lot of people will die." he stubbornly insisted, and Grant rolled his eyes.


    "A lot of people will always die. This is the nature of the world, of the struggle. As cruel as it may be to hear, if humanity wants to continue remaining on the top, some deaths are necessary."


    He clicked his tongue as he taught the child before him. "Don''t worry. The worst of them have been told to stay neutral. I of course, refer to the axobodl''s, the korvolds, the shrooms and the drows and draven. If I were you, I''d push for your empire to establish friendly relations with all of the above."


    That is my son''s domain The goddess said, deferring responsibility and Grant frowned.


    "And your responsibility is as the mother of the gods. Shouldn''t you get to reining your child in? I''m telling you, the ones I''ve mentioned are important."


    Merely because they are your creations?


    "No, because they are some of my greatest creations with some of the greatest purposes. The shroom for example, never truly die. You can destroy their bodies, but they''ll merely reform elsewhere, but with grudges against the one who wronged them."


    One merely needs to capture the soul.


    "Impossible. You cannot steal the soul, because all shroom are connected to one another in a large tangle of souls like the mycelium system underground. The more shrooms that are born, the more tangled they become and the harder it becomes to tear a soul out. Right now, their root system of souls is at the 5th stage in terms of the difficulty of tearing it apart. Even you would have to make great sacrifices to tear one soul out."


    Isis eyes narrowed. This is dangerous. If what you''ve said is true, you''ve made an entire race of near immortal beings. DO you not know what the dangers are of this?


    Grant snorted dismissively. "I know very well, so I''ve already placed some preparations for that, don''t worry. I''d be more worried about the people of the empire who choose to wrong one and get the entire race of shrooms thrown at them."


    These other races must be special if they can be compared to an immortal race.


    "For sure. The drows and dravens are a unique monster race, yet they blend in seamlessly with real crows and ravens, with all corvids of all kinds. And can you think of one of the crows greatest qualities?"


    the old lady Trenee responded, as she realized the implication. "Their intelligence and their loyalty."


    Grant clicked his fingers in satisfaction. "Precisely. You cannot hurt the drows and dravens easily, not without pitting yourself against all of corvid kind. You might be dismissive at first, until you kill too many and higher crow beings get involved like the morrigan, or the three legged golden crows, or even the level 8 kaiju mother of crows. They might ignore a few, but too many and they will come with a vengeance. "


    He chuckled at the guards horrified look as he muttered. "A cascade effect..."


    "Of course, it goes both ways. true, drows and dravens can lead to such a horrid wave of conflict, but it can also be of great help to the empire.


    After all, if they can gather to protect their own against humanity, then wouldn''t they gather to protect their own against outsiders?"


    What are you implying?


    "I made the drows and dravens to be messengers. secure ones. Think about it. If you can establish a group of loyal drows and dravens under your command, then sending messages will be that much secure, with few willing to risk offending them. Can you imagine how much safer your messages will be? To say nothing about the serious power you''ll get with most crow monsters on your side?"


    Hearing this, Isis hummed thoughtfully, as she understood the intent behind the drows and dravens. A communication system with higher security and another asset to the army.


    Of course, the system had a chat function, but he had already planned to not get that involved in political matters. Of course, he''d leave that up to the system.


    Are they hard to breed?


    "No, no, super easy, barely a convenience.Now that I''ve set up the path, any crow or raven that takes in dragon blood and enough mana can easily evolve into a drow or a draven respectively, though you''ll need to read the reports I''ve sent. "


    "Reports? I don''t recall seeing any of those?" the guard questioned, and Grant shrugged.


    "Sent those to the adventurer''s guild since they were asking. Just collaborate with them. From now on I''ll be sending all info I feel like sharing about my creations that way, so that people can adapt appropriately."


    Very well. It''s clear that you''ve thought this all out.


    Grant wiggled his eyebrows humorously. "More than you know. Of course, otherwise I wouldn''t be so confident to die so soon.


    But wait, there''s more."


    "Hows about I''ll make a deal with Lord Dragon. Is that enough of a contribution to you?"

 Book 2 chapter 10: whales that fly!

    Can you do that?


    "I have my ways, don''t you worry about it. " Grant said, showing his "mysterious ways" smile.


    The goddess Isis nodded. Indeed, I would say that is "good enough" How will we communicate from now on? She took the initiative to ask and Grant shrugged.


    "However you want. You want to come down here and ask, or if you want me to go up there, either way I''m fine. No need to bring the elderly here." He said, jerking his thumb at her. "They already have enough to do cleaning up the church as it is. And tell that boy to reign it in. I personally think his attitude is humorous, but if he had taken that attitude with others, lord knows how''d they react." He aimed the last piece of advice at the old elf in particular, given that she was the one who had to manage the brat.


    The elf nodded in understanding. Perhaps she was placating, but frankly Grant didn''t really care, as the warning was more for them, than it was for him.


    The man grumbled as he stood up, only for him to trip over his own feet, as Grant wiggled his eyebrows humorously.


    Then we will talk next time. She said as she slowly ascended, disappearing back into her realm.


    ''Hmm. I think I''ll go pay them a visit in a century or so. Do a little trolling.''


    Grant brought down the sound barrier, with the orc boy looking on in patient confusion, since Grant had isolated him alone.


    The man simply patted the boy on the head, having no intention of explaining, and the boy didn''t seem to care, merely following Grant as the two walked out the members of the church of Isis.


    They had parted on good terms in Grant''s eyes, which was a good start to their likely long term cooperation.


    To 600 years of long term cooperation.


    He planned to start it with a bang, reaching beyond the stars and to the dragon God himself.


    Of course, if you really want to do so, more dragon species would be needed.


    Not to communicate with him, he could do so already.


    No, it was more about catching the dragon''s attention.


    After all, no matter how generous of a God you may be, at the 14th level, interests have to take high priority.


    With that in mind, Grant''s mind ran over the countless species in mind, like fingers trailing over countless of files.


    From the most powerful beasts of destruction to quirky little longs.


    He wouldn''t start big, instead choosing to build up.


    So something small inconspicuous.


    A new evolution, but one that would be hard for it to exist in the world.


    "What about an orca wings??"


    <hr>


    A few weeks in, Grant had been instilling important beast taming knowledge into the boy.


    He was actually pulling from the land of Daxia in this regard, a small secret civilization that currently existed in the north pole,


    Being a civilization that originally started as a group of beast taming sects coming from the east, the name Daxia was one likely picked from their novels.


    More importantly, their leader was a transmigrator from a modern beast taming society, seen in how the society was organized more akin to modern societies, and with technology more like modern society, but reliant on the utilization of beasts.


    They had cars for goodness sake! Cars mind you, powered by a special beast available solely in Daxia and usually driven by bus drives, but they had cars!


    Transmigrators had that effect, often leading their civilizations into great advancements, with the industrial revolution being one such example.


    And this transmigrator had brought everything, including an extensive beast taming course study, from pre-k all the way to college.


    It was perfect for Grant''s use and modification to teach this child.


    As for whether or not this was right?


    Well it wasn''t his in the first place and given that they were teaching it to the public at large, there''s no need to worry about theft.


    At least he wasn''t worried.


    Currently he was schooling the kid through first grade beast taming concepts, basic spelling course and everything, given the child had received a lacking education.


    "Alright, spell hermit crab for me." Grant said, as he tapped the picture of the hermit crab on the chalkboard.


    He made a chalkboard.


    "H-E-R-M-I-T-C-R-A-B" the young ork selled out the word, and Grant nodded in approval.


    "Good. Do you remember what the monster form of this creature is?" He followed up, asking him patiently.


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    The boy sat there blankly for a minute, trying to recall for a moment, before answering. " Rockspire crab?" He asked uncertainly, and Grant nodded in approval. "Very good. why am I asking this question?"


    "Because rockspire crabs are not only a common monster, but one with great potential and multiple confirmed, cheap evolution routes."


    "Correct. They are also a great material producer, with one of their evolutions, the stalagmite shocker being a strong producer of electricity and electric fluid. Remember, a monster''s value not only lies in their strength, but in the commodities they can produce."


    The boy nodded attentively, much to Grant''s satisfaction. Such a teachable student! It made him so happy! His past students were always so rambunctious and troublesome. His first student, a young dragon, had started a sect purely of sumo dragons, and his last was so ambitious, seeking to kill him and take his spot.


    One of his other students, Darwin, tried to deny everything he taught him as ridiculous.


    To have one who just listened obediently!


    Grant was in a good mood as he pointed at the modified textbook. "Very good, now turn to page 55 and-"


    "-GRANT!" Hearing the loud belligerent voice, Grant paused, and he told the boy to close his textbook, leaving the room to go see why the guild master was screaming.


    In fact, he had rented out a room accessible to the guildmaster in a hotel nearby. It would not do after all, if he could not find him when problems arose after all. Such as in this instance.


    "Is there anything wrong guild master?"  Grant asked politely, and  the guild master gave him a rather annoyed look.


    "Is it your doing?" he asked, clearly tired, and Grant tilted his head curiously.


    "What are you referring to?"


    "The orcas with wings. Are they your doing?" He asked excitedly face red.


    "Orcas with wings?" Grant asked surprisedly, leaving the guildmaster confused for a moment.


    "So soon?" That next statement put him back into the midst of it and confirmed that the man before him was the cause.


    "So you did make them?" He confirmed, and Grant nodded. "Indeed, though it''s quicker than I thought. I thought it would take them a few months or even a year or two to meet the conditions." he said genuinely surprised. "Looks like I underestimated their playfulness."


    The conditions were strenuous and highly conditional after all. Even as playful as they were, and excessive, he had thought it would take longer for them to hit the random combo and change into orcas with wings.


    Had they sensed the opening of the path intuitively? Really lucky?


    Or just that playful?


    The guildmaster continued to frown as he pressed for answers. "What do you mean by that?"


    "What I mean is that the conditions were so strenuous that I expected that a year would pass before any happened upon this evolution. "


    "Are the evolution conditions that stringent?" The older man asked with a crease on his head and Grant chuckled.


    "Stringent indeed. Not only do you have to eat 10 flying creatures on the same day, you need to jump 100 meters tall, have 1 percent of dragon blood, consume a dragon attributed resource, eat 10 sea snakes, and that all has to be on the same day. Oh, and they have to be near the point of becoming a monster before evolving into a killer wing"


    "That is stringent." He said unbelievably, wondering why the restrictions were so extreme.


    Grant looked quite excited. "So how did they react to the extra pair of wings the orca grew? Must''ve been quite surprised." he said humorously, curious about the reaction.


    To this, the guildmaster looked quite confused. "Extra wings? What are you talking about? The one in the report had wings, but they replaced the flippers."


    Grant paused.


    "Seriously?" He asked and the guild master nodded.


    "Seriously."


    Grant exploded in surprise and mild frustration. "Seriously!


    I invented a whole series of monster evolutions involving orcas and dragons, and their transitions to true dragons, and the first one that evolves into a new evolution... find the other far less interesting one!? Ugh, of course." He said frustratedly, throwing his arms in the air.


    "What do you mean by that?" the older man asked confusedly, and Grant sighed, playing with his mask.


    "Well you see, that''s the thing. The killer wing, as I dubbed it,was the primary evolutionary line, being a transition to a new true dragon with aquatic traits like the orca''s skin rather than scales, their tendency to travel in packs, be friendly to humans, etc. etc. And the orca dragon would be called an organ. You know? Like dragon and orca, but organ! Clever right?"


    "Sure."


    "Well, while I was at it, I designed an evolution on the side since screw it, I had time. Using the kunpeng blood many orcas have, I made a new, part dragon, part kunpeng, part orca evolutionary line. with the first evolution obviously being an orca with wings. Orcpeng. Not my greatest work, won''t lie. Next evolution would''ve been yin/yang kun/peng, before becoming a yin yang kunpeng."


    Grant scratched his head frustratedly. "I mean, the conditions were even more difficult than the organ line. Like, first it has to have some minor attainment in yin yang, or at least have consumed a yin yang treasure, consume something that swims and something that flies in the same bite, want to fly, and be less picky about food."


    The guild master frowned. "That doesn''t sound less stringent." he pointed out and Grant rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry at the man.


    "Sounds like someone hasn''t tried convincing an orca to have a more diverse pallet. Orcas are picky little bastards, tending to eat one thing and fixate on it long term. I know a pair of orca siblings who solely one organ of a shark and leave the rest alone.


    Honestly, orcas are basically the inverse of kunpengs. If kunpengs devour everything, then orcas only eat one singular thing. Getting them to be open with their diet has to be the most difficult thing there. I mean, the yin yang attainment too, but it''s not that surprising if they managed to swallow some yin yang treasure by coincidence."


    Grant went off, before the guildmaster rudely interrupted.


    "But is it dangerous?!" He said urgently, and Grant shook his head. Then paused, and rotated his hand in a maybe posture.


    "Depends really. I told you, orcas are picky bastards. Even evolved ones can''t avoid this, even as they grow more generalized. Honestly, the real problem here is what the local orcas prefer and if it clashes with local fisherman industries. After all, it has become an orcpeng now. Even though that whole line eats significantly less than a true kunpeng, it''ll still eat a lot. That''s what you''ve gotta worry about. ANd if it develops any bad hobbies of coure, but that''s par for the course with orcas."


    Hearing this, he sighed in relief. "Then it''s not that dangerous? "


    "Not any more than a normal monster. Even if it evolves again, the danger it would pose is still low. Worse that would happen is that it''d become more snackish. "


    Having had his fears finally assuaged, he nodded. "Then I''ll stop bothering you now. I see you''re busy teaching the child after all."


    Grant nodded. "I''m teaching him beast taming. By the end of the year I hope to have him contracted to his first familiar, but before that there''s a lot to catch up on first. The boy is lacking on education after all."


    Hearing that, the guild master paused. "would you happen to be interested in teaching more students?" he asked hopefully, and Grant smiled mysteriously.


    "If we are destined, then we are destined. Feel free to recommend a student, but do so understanding that I guarantee nothing."  he said, borrowing lines from those despicable bald donkeys to basically reject him.


    Though, he wouldn''t be against an interesting student.


    <hr>


    As the guild master left the room, he pondered Grant''s last words. They were not a complete rejection, which was better than he''d expected.


    There was no doubt that Grant was likely the best out there when it came to teaching about beasts.


    The emperor had been looking for someone to teach the crown prince on the matters of his familiar.


    Perhaps the guildmaster had found him his tutor...

 Book 2 chapter 11: Beast Forest

    Grant took Devis and Berg to a new forest that he had implemented into is divine realm.


    Unlike his normal forests, he did not make this one to train some strong monster, but to train Devis himself.


    Well technically it was to train a monster then.


    Because of the boy''s path as a beastmaster, Grant had set this forest up, far unlike the previous ones he had made.


    It wasn''t really meant to be a gu chamber after all, where monsters grew by killing each other endlessly, but a nursery, from which the boy would find his first monster.


    All the monsters here were weak beasts, beneath the first level, being the equivalent of F level creatures, or even the level of the average person.


    Grant spoke to the boy freely, explaining the purpose of today''s field trip. "Since you''re a beastmaster, obviously choosing your own beastmaster is equally important. So I''ve set up this small forest for you to choose your first monster.


    Of course, choosing your first monster is more than just pointing and choosing; it''s about finding someone who has great compatibility with you. So today''s mission for you is to familiarize yourself with the residents of this forest, and gain the trust of one of the critters here. And once you''ve chosen one, it''s up to you to initiate and complete the contract."


    Devis asked curiously."Can I choose anything here? The textbook said that certain beasts are better than others."


    Grant smiled reassuringly. "Of course! That''s true for normal beasts and beast tamers, but with me here, anything can soar to the sky. What''s more important for you is to find someone who fits you best."


    After saying this, he explained a few more things.


    A. He was allowed to bring snacks in to treat the critters here


    B. He was going to spend an hour in here every day from now on until he contracted a beast


    C. Everything within the forest was tameable. Everything.


    After saying that, Grant sent the boy into the forest, as one man and one golem stood side by side.


    <hr>


    Berg watched as the boy tipped over the horned rabbit in surprise.


    "I''m surprised you''re being so soft with this one. You tossed that dragon boy into a secret realm inheritance of a sumo god as your first lesson." He asked, remembering the death-like lessons he had seen Grant give to his previous students.


    Grant snorted, complaining about his first student. "That little brat deserved it, that crazy sumo obsessed punk! I was just teaching him a lesson."


    He added on, more seriously than before. "And that child was different. What he needed was a little suffering to temper than behaviour of his. This one doesn''t need tempering. That''s the last thing he needs." Grant said, thinking of the pain the boy had already endured, more than most child would ever have to bear.


    Hearing this, Berg acquiesced quietly, before asking him something else on a more positive tone.


    "So when do I get a new body?"


    "Hmm?" Grant hummed questioningly, while Devis glared at his master


    "Don''t hmm me. I can''t live in this body forever and you know it. So when are you going to upgrade me?!" Berg demaded.


    Once a hulking titan of a golem that could seep a city with one hand, reduced to a vacuum sized maid golem. Of course he''d be clamouring for a new body!


    Grant smiled mysteriously, as he answered vaguely. "Oh, you know, when I find the time to do it."


    "Hey, hey hey! WHat do you mean when you find the time to do it? I thought you said retired! Get to it you lazy old bastard!"


    "Who are you calling old bastard?!"


    The two bickered like this for a while, watching as the child wandered through the forest and they butted heads.


    <hr>


    Devis walked through the forest, observing the creatures that were moving throughout the forest.


    They were all so... peaceful.


    Even the predators were ignoring the herbivores, as he observed a reptile like monster just wander past a horned rabbit.


    Devis soon found out why as he observed a certain plant in wonder.


    It was a very red, bloody looking like plant, drooling a viscous red liquid that could practically be called blood. Near it were also trees with gruesome looking fruit, each fruit looking like an organ or a cut of flesh.


    But despite it being such a vicious sight, Devis still found it amazing.


    Whenever a predator wandered nearby, the plant just dropped its fruit. The "fruit" had such a great attraction that even Devis found it tempting.


    He watched as a wolf came by, eating the meat like fruit without hesitation, before walking off.


    Nothing happened. No poisoned animals, no terrifying vines coming out, nothing. The plant just dropped those meat like fruit again for the beasts to eat.


    It didn''t take much for Devis to realize that this was likely his master''s doing, creating these meats so that none of the creatures here would fight one another for flesh.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The weird man was clearly a powerful one as well, yet it was hard to see with how childishly he reacted.


    The boy sat there quietly, observing the passing beasts. Although many were surprised by the presence of a new monster, and even mildly intimidated by his level, most just quietly bypassed him, seeking their meatly fruits before leaving.


    Some even came up to him, curiously sniffing him, prodding him or just napping on top of him.


    Through all of this, Devis sat quietly, barely moving an inch, enjoying the company of the small critters.


    It was a quiet, yet enjoyable time. The forest was a peaceful place of tranquility, so reassuring that Devis could not help but let his guard down inadvertently.


    Eventually, he got up, surprising a family of horned rabbits which had lumped themselves on top of him.


    They quickly scrambled and jumped away rapidly, leaving behind a greatly amused Devis.


    There was no specific place for herbivores to eat, but there was clearly more than enough for them to eat, with the lush vegetation a clear buffet.


    Devis did feel a little bad for the predators who only got to eat meat fruits and blood nectar, while the herbivores had all this variety.


    Despite being low level fauna, there was such a huge variety that he couldn''t believe it.


    He believed his master''s words, that anything here could be tamed, because everything was some sort of fantastical monster.


    A small lizard with a flaming tail was eating next to another weirder lizard with a knife for a tail, which it quietly nibbled on.


    Small fish fry that swam through the water, and waddled on land, weirdly bashing into the side of the wall, a hip check as some warriors would call it.


    He had walked by one cactus, before noticing the cactus running away faster than he could react.


    Was that a centipede rolling by him in the form of a wheel?


    There was even a small blue felyne passing by him, honking it''s silly red nose and waving around it''s paw like club.


    A small crocodile like critter, playing with the strings running alongside its back.


    Devis observed them carefully, and more importantly, their reaction towards him.


    Both in and out of class, his teacher had emphasized the importance of compatibility.


    He had a decent compatibility with water and fire, so of course such creatures took priority for him, but the compatibility of personality was the most important thing in his teacher''s eyes.


    If beastmaster and beast were out of sync, then what was the point of a beastmaster?


    It made sense to him.


    So he sought amongst those whom he thought were the best fits.


    None of the above were interested in him unfortunately.


    He could spend time with them, but he was looking for some who he felt a flicker with, if even for a moment.


    An instinct.


    He felt it with some of them actually.


    One of the earlier horned rabbits had followed him earlier, hopping behind him, and observing the young ogre from a distance, hiding whenever he turned to look at him, yet peeking out when the boy turned away.


    Unfortunately, his ears gave him away. It was hilarious.


    In the rivers he met a weird pair of critters. A flaming crow trying to submerge itself in the water, and a turtle trying to stand in fire. The two clearly had determined expressions and excited tempers. They ignored him, so devoted to their task at hand, yet he felt their flames of passion, and felt motivated just by being near them.


    He wanted to get their attention.


    And a crab, practicing boxing furiously. WHen it saw him, it came over excitedly, inviting him to join him in boxing. And he did.


    Despite the crab being limited to hooks, that did not deter the crab from trying hard.


    He decided to increase his interactions with these four, and to see if he could increase their compatibility.


    As for who to choose?


    Why couldn''t he choose all of them?


    <hr>


    Grant couldn''t help but chuckle as he watched the young ogre explore the forest he''d built for him.


    It didn''t take much for the man to deduce what the boy was thinking when he looked at the monsters in the forest.


    Of course he could have them all!


    Only children choose! Adults take everything!


    Still, there certainly were one or two interesting ones amongst them.


    Berg also saw it, as he noted confusedly. "Does that crow have golden crow blood? Then why is it drowning itself in water?


    And that turtle  has island turtle blood... yet is burning himself alive? Is he trying to gain a fire attribute?"  The golem speculated confusedly and Grant laughed.


    "No, but it is quite interesting. A sun which wishes to become the moon, and the world which wishes to be a star. I''ll admit, even if he hadn''t picked them, I might''ve raised them myself. " Grant pondered humorously, finding himself obsessing over the idea of doing these paths in the future.


    Of course, the other two were full of personality as well. A sneaky little horned rabbit, and a boxing crab.


    They didn''t have any particularly outstanding features, yet they were quite interesting to him nonetheless. He was willing to take them as far as he could.


    Grant was in a good mood, yet that good mood faded as his expression turned annoyed.


    "What is it? Thought you were pretty happy with this apprentice?" Berg asked, and Grant nodded.


    "I am, but it''s my other students who are in trouble right now." He then gave Berg an order.


    "Watch the boy and make sure he''s not having any trouble.  I''ll go deal with the other problem."


    pop


    <hr>


    Dain and Natalie were facing off with two people.


    One of them was the classic young brat cultivator, and the other, the poor senior servant who had to deal with the young master''s problems.


    Of course, in this case, both the old servant and the young brat were nascent soul cultivators, while Dain and Natalie were far outleveled.


    Having been attacked earlier, Dain and Natalie were both in poor condition, as Dain had to support himself on Natalie''s shoulder.


    Perhaps Natalie would be happier under better circumstances.


    Unfortunately, they were being threatened by a pair of cultivators, the most ruthless kind of people.


    The only reason the pair of them were still standing at this moment was because of Grant''s life saving grace. Just before a killing blow was landed, the king level spirit had awakened.


    It was an eccentric spirit, taking the shape of a dragonmen, but not in armor or uniform, but in suit, as a typewriter levitated in front of it, acting as its spiritual weapon.


    Not that they knew what a typewriter was. All they knew was that the particularly annoyed looking dragon spirit was strong.


    Stronger than both of the cultivators, but inhibited by his mission to protect Dain and Natalie.


    The young cultivator tried speaking. "Please move out of the way senior, we don''t want to get you involved lest you get hurt for-"


    "-FUCK NAH! I ain''t listening to no silver spoon brat" The spirit roared, clearly annoyed by the pair, having just been woken up to deal with the problem at hand, and feeling a little bit lost..


    The brat''s face darkened as he threatened. "Do you know who my father is!? My father is Yu Kong, a pinnacle spirit transformation cultivator! Step out of the way and you can leave with your life."


    The servant stepped in, nervous, but trying his best, knowing the young master''s temperament.  "My apologies sir, the young master is just a young boy, he knows not what he is doing!" he pleaded, only for the spirit to snort.


    "If we can call nascent soul cultivators "young boys" then what does that make those of the third level? Infants? What does that say about your young master?"


    "Hah! Who cares! My father is coming now, and you''ll be no math for him!" the boy retorted disdainfully, causing the spirit to wonder if he should just drop the machine


    But then a voice sounded, and a presence like the sky itself descended, causing both master and servant to collapse to their knees, gasping for breath.


    OH? I''m quite curious then.


    How he''ll react once he finds you after I''m through with you


    The voice had a teasing tone, yet the threat of death loomed over them, their lives hanging in the balance.

 Stocking Stuffer: Reborn as the son of the 6 eared macaque

    "And you are- NOT THE FATHER!"


    [Hear an interesting bit of gossip-> 5 points of experiences and 6 points]


    "THey say that the new hire at te butcher shop is the butcher''s son..."


    "But the butcher''s wife is an elf and the young man is a dwarf."


    "Exactly!"


    "Oohhh..."


    [Hear a spicy rumor-> gain 10 points of experience and 10 points]


    "I finally have it! The secret patty formula is!-"


    [Discover the secret formula-> gain 20 points of experience and 20 points]


    [Big-eared Macaque lvl 1->2]


    "Three kobolds in a coat! Three of them!"


    [Discover a minor conspiracy-> gain 5 points of experience and 5 points.]


    Bill''s life had taken quite the turn.


    <hr>


    For a human, Bill had quite the set of ears, earning him the name Big-Eared Bill, a nickname that would follow him even into the Pheme-Nyx intelligence organization.


    He had a desire to hear the most interesting bits of news, appropriate to the large ears he had.


    He had become one of the most prominent agents within the organization, specialized specifically in listening, grasping the most delicious bits of intelligence.


    He was one of the best, but even the best could be caught unawares.


    On a classified mission to investigate a dangerous slave cartel, he had been tripped by a banana and exposed, causing him to be quickly apprehended.


    An embarrassing mark on his spying career, which would be ending shortly with his death.


    They had tried to pry his secrets from his head, only to be met with his laughter and indifference.


    Betray the Goddess of rumors!?


    Never!


    "THen I hope you do not blame me for this." the torturer said solemnly, only for Big-Eared Bill to laugh.


    "Forgive you? For what?


    If I wish to play by the rules, then I should expect to die by them!"


    And with that Big-Eared Bill disappeared from this world.


    <hr>


    Hey, wake up. Wake up.


    Waaaaake uuuuuup.


    Bill heard a booming voice, causing him to flutter his eyes, and rub them, forcing himself awake, only to pause.


    Why would he need to open his eyes?


    He should be dead! Being greeted by the indifferent chiron as they rode a boat through the river styx! But he clearly wasn''t.


    Opening his eyes, he found himself surrounded by a world of two things: wood and the void.


    The floor he stood on was bark as far as he could see, and in one direction, as far as he could see was wood.


    All other directions, up and down from side to side were nothing but void.


    He was not alone, as there was a large macaque standing next to him, likely the source of the noise.


    And the macaque had 6 ears...


    Like the divine consort of Pheme, the six eared macaque...


    Reacting almost instantly, the young man(?) got on his knees, apologizing profusely.


    "My deepest apologies milord! I did not realize you were here, the great 6 eared macaque, consort to the great Goddess Pheme!"


    The macaque seemed quite pleased with his apology especially the last part as he smiled broadly.


    That''s better, but no need to call me milord. He said it, though his expression slightly soured at that last statement, though Bill paid no mind to that, continuing to show respect.


    Bill couldn''t help but feel a little excited at the thought that perhaps the one who had saved him could be no other than the Goddess he worshipped.


    "Milord, I don''t suppose you could tell this servant as to how he survived?" he asked cautiously.


    Survive? That''s a strong word. The macaque said, with a rather mysterious smile, bringing Bill confusion.


    Have you... checked yourself yet? He asked mysteriously, causing the spy to observe himself carefully, only to realize...


    ... He wasn''t human.


    His hands were not those of human, covered in fur and pink paws, not fingers.


    He touched his face, finding the pronounced snout instead of a sharp nose and an eerie sensation from his behind, the feeling of a prehensile limb.


    Bringing the sensation in front of himself with trembling eyes, he confirmed the existence of a new tail poppng out of his back, and more importantly, confirming that he had become a macaque!


    Seeing his shocked expression, the 6-eared macaque chortled in amusement.


    You are no longer human, but rather, have become a would be divine beast.


    To be more precise, you are the child of the Goddess Pheme and I. He said, sounding rather proud.


    You should call me father instead.


    "Father."


    Better. The macaque nodded approvingly.


    Anyway, you happened to be one of Pheme''s favorites, and she thought it''d be such a waste were you to die this way. Lucky for you, there happened to be a bit of a program for people like you. Unfortunate favorites of the Gods.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    He grumbled a bit. Of course, it took someone else dying before she finally agreed to having kids but whatever.


    The last part itched Bill''s curiosity, but he choose not to say anything, for there were some melons too dangerous to eat.


    The macaque snorted, as if he knew the young monkey''s thoughts.


    And he probably did, since the 6 eared macaque can hear all things in the world, both spoken and thought of.


    The macaque continued. Unfortunately, you couldn''t just start off as a 6 eared macaque, since your human soul isn''t adapted to a monster body. So you''ll have to start as the low rank monster, the big eared macaque which would be considered a D-rank monster, and as you grow stronger, the other two pairs should grow in, with each pair representing a jump in 2 ranks, from D to B, and B to S. capiche?


    "Understood.


    Actually, I wanted to ask. Since Pheme is my mother," he said, feeling weird about the statement, but continued anyway, "then can I ask where she is at this moment?"


    To this, the macaque showed a rather disgusted expression. Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to be here to see you and your first steps as her son, Jorvus called us back to do some work on his part. In fact, this isn''t even my main body, but one of my incarnations sent out to watch over and guide you while we''re busy.


    "Oh." Bill said, feeling a bit disappointed, before choosing to focus on the more important matter.


    "So how do I get stronger then?" he asked, and the bigger macaque merely smiled amusedly.


    How else would a snooping macaque grow?


    Listen, and listen well.


    <hr>


    And since then, Bill had done as he had said and listened.


    He quickly discovered the existence of the system, a rather fascinating object, but one useless to his own growth. After all, according to it, anything he learned from asking the system questions, did not count towards his own growth.


    The root of the macaque''s growth after all, was what it heard, and the rarity of the knowledge, so freely given knowledge was as good as public knowledge.


    Interesting, but useless.


    That didn''t stop him from asking it tons of questions. He just loved hearing those little tidbits of info.


    Bill had long since recognized that the macaque''s dislike was not at him as a person, but as a mortal who had finally gotten his wife to give birth to a son, after years of her husband asking.


    Essentially, it was pettiness.


    Otherwise, he was still caring, stepping in when the worst situations occur, whether it be pulling him back into the realm of Yggdrasill, or killing the offending person in question, he acted decisively.


    The macaque was a dominating beast when it acted, pulling out a giant metal rod and crushing anything that opposed it.


    He had watched the 6-eared macaque crush a dragon with one blow, which filled Bill with excitement, knowing that as he grew, he''d be more like his newfound father.


    ALthough his new father was a bit of a grouch, information could be pried from the older macaques hands.


    Like in this instance...


    "I have uncles?" Seeing that the little macaque was unlikely to stop pestering him about it, the older macaque sighed and put down his peach pie.


    Yes, you have... 3 uncles. He inhaled deeply through his nostrils before speaking.


    We are the 4 chaos monkeys. As long as one of us lives, the other has a chance to come back.


    The long armed gibbon, whose arms are one, capable of sliding and reaching to the very stars, and capable of pulling the stars down, or even the chariot of Apallas Ra


    Wu Zhiqi, the river demon, who was imprisoned under a mountain by heaven for being too strong, and at the 5th level was able of contending against Qinglong, a 6th level being on strength alone.


    And... the stone monkey. He said the last part with great reluctance, but that didn''t stop Bill from picking up on it.


    "Stone monkey... you mean Sun Wukong!? The sage equal to heaven!?"


    Yes, him! Snapped Liuer, seeming particularly upset to mention him.


    "Did he do something t you?"


    He killed me!


    "That''s terrible! Why would he do that to his family?"


    Well... The six-eared macaque paused seemingly embarrassed to say more.


    He had to practically force out the next few words.


    Well... you know... I''d been stuck at the pinnacle of the 5th level for ages...


    and you know, merit helps achieve breakthroughs and-


    well my brother was doing that whole thing with the scriptures, so I thought it couldn''t hurt to impersonate him a little...


    and I...


    tried to take his position in the journey...


    he didn''t take it very well


    Hearing this, Bill was completely unsurprised that the stone monkey had killed the six eared one.


    It was said that the Journey to the West had immense significance to the growth of the Heavenly Sage, who broke through to the 6th level shortly thereafter.


    Such an opportunity, his father had tried to snatch it.


    He could only say that the macaque was truly bold!


    Still...


    "He''s not still coming after you right?" Bill asked curiously, wondering if this was the reason why the 6 eared macaque now resided in the Romana empire, hiding from his stronger sibling.


    No. He''s out there pursuing worthy opponents to fight. The macaque denied, his voice now tinged with bitterness.


    After all, the meaning behind such words was clear.


    Unprompted, the monkey began to speak, practically blurting out the words.


    It''s infuriating! We 3 were the only known chaos monkeys once upon a time. We were born far earlier than our brother, preceding him by millions of years, as well as all of humanity!


    Yet now, millions of years later, we are still stuck at the pinnacle of the fifth level, while he is off to bigger and brighter things.


    The air went stagnant for a moment, as Bill was left unsure what to say.


    The six-eared macaque sighed, seeming to just push the topic as a whole out of his mind.


    You wish to know where these uncles are. The macaque said, less of a question and more of a statement, as if he knew the young macaque''s temperament as if it were his own.


    Perhaps it was his nature, so similar that he predicted what the child was thinking.


    And indeed, the boy''s eyes were widening in curiosity.


    He sighed. Very well.


    Wuzhiqi currently resides in the Nile river, now that Sobek occupies a greater part of the world''s waters. He leads a group of water monkeys, though he does run off to Vahalla here and there, fighting with the brave warriors there.


    Gibbs has long become the beast who follows Appalas Ra, helping to pull the sun chariot as well as the moon. You should of heard of him. He''s called the golden arm gibbon.


    If you want, I can take you to visit them one of these days once you''ve gotten your second pair.


    The macaque was mildly confused. "Why are they all in the Romana empire? Surely you didn''t all migrate for the fun of it." Bill asked and Liuer snorted, having gotten over the previous subject.


    The Qing empire drove us out. The dynasty has become one of cultivators, who''ve been hunting divine beings left and right to supplement their growth.


    We''re just some of the divine beings who''ve fled since then.


    In fact, Nuwa should be a very familiar name to you, right?


    Bill nodded. "Mother of the three gorgons and mother to most snake people and monsters as a whole." he said, reciting what he knew of her.


    Well, she also used to have a different title. In the east, she had been humanities protector, famously known as a saint of humanity, famously involved in the developement of their dynasty.


    However, the emperor took it a step too far, attacking and killing many demon snake tribes, even against her warning, and attacking her reincarnated brother Fuxi. After that she left the Qing dynasty and came to the Romana empire since they''re offering good deals to anyone over the third level currently as long as they''re neutral+


    "Really? I never heard that!" Bill said, astonished that he had never heard this piece of info.


    It''s kept pretty under wraps. The Qing empire knows, but can''t do anything about it. They''ve lost too many great demons this way. Pangu himself in fact, has left the dynasty after they refused to acknowledge his sons, the three pure ones, and alienated him from the common people.


    "Wait, then how many have fled the empire since?" Bill asked, and the macaque rolled his eyes.


    Who knows. So many have crossed over, and I hardly care enough to count them all.


    "That''s amazing!"


    Liuer chuckled. Indeed.


    "I thought I knew a lot, but so many fun secrets still exist out there." The young monkey marveled, the older could not help but chuckling as he rubbed his head, thinking of himself when he was but a small macaque in a terrifying world.


    Scared, yet curious.


    Indeed. little one, continue to listen so that you can become like me, and hear all things in the world.


    There''s just so much excitement to listen to.


    He said, choosing to encourage the little one before him, as the old are supposed to.


    <hr>


    One day, after listening to the scheme of a necromancer planning to raise an entire city''s cemetery (and stopping it),


    BIl felt it.


    A ticking of the ears, an instinctive feeling.


    [After overhearing the scheme of a necromancer planning to cause mayhem in a city, you''ve gaained 500 experience, and 40 points!]


    [Big eared macaque 49->50]


    [Big eared macaque -> Four-eared Macaque]


    A blossoming of power, and confirmation.


    A confirmation of who he''d become.


    He too, had become a great listener.


    Now, his father would take him to see the other two.

 stocking stuffer 2:: From Nascent Soul To Minor God: The Defection Of A cultivator To The West

    "That''s it, I quit."


    A battle of godly proportions, having gone on for days came to a standstill at these words.


    Two members of the same sect.


    The once proud and kind Lin Wu, his reputation stained beyond measure and now seen as the vile traitor of the cultivation world, despite his best efforts.


    His cunning junior brother, had presented himself as an innocent, righteous young man.


    Yet he had his suspicions, investigating his origin and discovering the truth.


    That Gu An was the descendant of a clan his family had exterminated, clearly entering the sect for revenge.


    Yet Gu An was smart, and had carefully planted evidence, even hiring an assassin in his name, to make it seem that Lin Wu was targeting him.


    And now he was spurned by the entire cultivation world, even after entering the nascent soul.


    He wasn''t sure why. Perhaps something had finally snapped, maybe he was just tired of the play his junior had set up


    Gu An asked confusedly. "What do you mean you quit?" he asked confusedly, staring down his senior brother, curious as to what finally caused him to crack.


    Lin Wu rolled his eyes. "I''m tired. Of all of this.


    All your damn schemes. How you''ve turned everyone around me against me."


    Gu An showed him a cold smile. "But of course senior brother. After you discovered my schemes, how could I let you stand in my way?"


    "Well, you win. I''m tired of all these ungrateful bastards! So I''m quitting.


    I''m out."


    "Out? Senior brother, surely you know how the cultivation world sees you now? Everyone hates you here. They all think you''re a jealous fool who''s tried to kill a disciple with great potential." he mocked his senior brother, only for his senior brother to snort.


    "You''re right, they''re all blind to my good will. Lucky for me, I just recently received a job offer."


    "Really? Who would be willing to take you in senior?" His junior brother asked curiously, leisurely walking through the air.


    No one could see them thanks to the formation he''d set up, blinding the outside world to the truth of it all, allowing him to reveal his true appearance..


    "The Romana empire sent me an invitation Once I reached the nascent soul I was offered the chance to become a minor god there. Gain incense, immortality, and a spiritual weapon specially made for me, courtesy of the cyclops and the dwarven gods. I was hesitant at first, but now?


    Now it seems like the best idea I''ve heard in a while." Lin wu said, exhaustion evident in his voice.


    He looked past the formation staring at his junior sister, who was staring at the formation with such concern.


    Once, those eyes would''ve been for him.


    Now, they were for this cunning bastard before him.


    The pain had grown a bit too much for him.


    He just wanted it to stop.


    "And what makes you think I''ll let you go so easily?" Gu An asked.


    "Because your revenge goes a lot easier once I''m gone and you know it. Keeping me here merely inhibits it.


    Here, look, I''ll fake a life threatening injury and I''ll fly away in desperation alright? You''ll never see me again. " Lin Wu said, clenching his hand around an artery and squeezing it till it popped, causing his face to scrunch up, and blood to flow from his mouth.


    Gu An didn''t chase him, merely watching as his senior left the formation, faking his severe state.


    As Lin Wu left, he heard the cheering of his juniors, and left faster.


    In spite of it all, he hoped that someone would figure out his junior brother''s plan, see the truth.


    But they were hopelessly ensnared in his plans.


    Regardless, it had nothing to dow with him anymore.


    Lin Wu managed to get through the border without any real danger.


    He was a nascent soul level cultivator. Few were willing to pick fights with him unless they had a serious grudge against him.


    Of course, with his junior brother''s meddling, he had many such enemies, but none who would have expected him to flee in such a cowardly way.


    He wasn''t fleeing though. Just quitting.


    Sure, he''d crush an organ to make it look serious, but truthfully speaking it was hardly more than a flesh wound, and something he could easily put up with in the worst of situations.


    Once he passed the border, he was greeted by a divine being.


    The divine being across from him was clearly at the fourth level just like him, and yet there was something far more awe inspiring about him. Powerful. Where he had the aura of a noble person, a trangquil part of nature, the man before him felt like the shining sun, the divine light pouring upon him.


    You are Lin Wu correct? The divine being asked, and Lin Wu noddd, coughing a little blood out.


    Are you alright? Who dares attack one of our gods?! He shouted wrathfully,only for Lin Wu to shake his head.


    "I d-did it. In order for my arch enemy to let me go, I had to retreat and suffer the loss"


    Hearing that, a sad look appeared on the God''s face.


    I''ve heard of your tragedy Lin Wu. Had the oracle of Delphi not shone a light upon your tragedy, perhaps we would''ve never known.


    Come, once you''re one of us, the pain will go away. He said, offering his hand.


    Lin Wu took it gladly, as he could feel the warm intention behind the beings hand, the genuine kindness, something he had not felt from his equals in so long.


    My name is Phaethon, son of Helios, the old titan of the sun. I am the god of poplar trees. And this. He said, patting the gibbon pulling the chariot, added. Is one of your fellow chinese men.


    Do you know who he is? The god teased.


    "D-d-do you mean!?" Lin Wu asked in shock and awe, observing the particularly long armed gibbon, who was staring at him in amusement.


    Indeed, it is I, the interconnected arm gibbon, whose arms can stretch out and grab the stars.


    I assume you know me for the other thing though.


    "Yes sir! ONe of the four chaos monkeys, said to belong to none of the 10 categories of all things!" he said, desperately trying not to say the most popular reason, only for the gibbon to smirk knowingly.


    His arm stretched out, as the interconnected arms slid, and one arm shortened and the other grew and he tapped the man''s nose.


    There''s no need for flattering. Yes, I am one of sun wukong''s brothers. Unlike Liuer and Wuzhiqi, I am not particularly offended by my obscurity. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    The senior ape said gracefully, showing not a trace of annoyance, merely doting for the younger generation.


    Seeing the gibbon was not offended, he quietly exhaled in relief. The long armed gibbon was a divine being older than most, and at the pinnacle of the 5th level.


    He hadn''t noticed it earlier when it was hiding its presence but now that he faced it, he could feel the power of a 5th level being.


    Which was confusing to him.


    Seeing his curious expression, the long armed gibbon laughed.


    You are wondering why I, a pinnacle 5th level being, have taken the initiative to abandon the Qing dynasty?


    Lin Wu nodded carefully, worried he would just be vaporized on the spot, yet the monkey smiled and explained.


    The current Qing dynasty is a dynasty of cultivators. And cultivators of the higher level need higher resources. Needless to say, we, the divine beasts, have become nothing more than resources in the eyes of the cultivators.


    Once upon a time, when Heaven ruled over man, they could enforce certain rules, and punish those who committed such heresy.


    However, as the people''s awe of the cultivators rose, they replaced the awe of the Gods, and incense stopped flowing.


    The gods in Heaven are no longer as strong as they once were, and are now oppressed by the imperial army. Anyone who leaves is executed and used to boost the foundation of its warriors.


    The divine beasts and beings have since fled the great Qing, with the only ones remaining being the ones who couldn''t escape, or the ones they dare not provoke, such as the dragon clan or the Xuanwu clan, or Baihu.


    Even then, they are no longer completely safe.


    I was unwilling to remain in such a dynasty which no longer respected us, nor Liuer or Wuzhiqi, so we left.


    Hearing this, Lin Wu was horrified. It was true, divine beings had slowly disappeared from the dynasty, but he had not realized it had gone this far.


    A dynasty wide massacre!


    Despite being a cultivator, Lin Wu still had a high respect for the divine. True, cultivators and beasts clashed in several instances, but this was different. He didn''t know that Heaven itself had been oppressed! That meant the natural order of the world had been flipped!


    Hearing this, the young cultivator felt relief that he had fled now. Cultivators could live for millenia. He may not see the changes immediately, but he was sure he would notice eventually. But like a frog in a boiling pot, it would be too little too late.


    Enough about this. I hear that you''re a young nascent soul. Only 180 years old, and already a fourth level being! I had to come after hearing that! Luckily, Appallas Ra didn''t need me to move the chariot today. The monkey said cheerfully, inspecting the young man a way seniors inspect promising new juniors.


    Come, let''s go get you registered. He said happily, dragging the young man to the chariot before pulling it to the underworld.


    Lin Wu could never have imagined that he would get to ride a chariot pulled by a fifth level being.


    It was a terrifying experience, as he worried all the way to the underworld.


    <hr>


    As they floated above the river styx, as the senior called it, Lin Wu couldn''t help but stare in awe as he watched the souls drift around aimlessly.


    Lin Wu had seen the undead of course, which one hadn''t dispelled a few? But watching an underworld work was fascinating.


    Everywhere he looked, there was a buzz of authority in the air, a doist rhythm beyond his understanding.


    The quiet feeling of an authority beyond his understanding was there, the authority of the dead.


    Impressive isn''t it? There isn''t as much qi in the west as there is in the east, but the laws are more dense, thanks to the divine being greatly respected still.


    The long armed gibbon, who called himself Gibbs, explained.


    Phaethon looked at the two quizzically and the gibbon explained to Lin Wu.


    THe boy was born divine, so he''s naturally in tune to the laws. However, he''s also never been trained, merely died a demigod, then lifted to Godhood, relying on the trees that popped up after his death.


    As a result, he has no comprehension of the laws he uses. THe gibbon explained, and Phaethon nodded in understanding.


    Oh, those. Yeah, whenever cultivators talk about that, or gods like Orpheus explain it I never quite understand. Anway, still pretty cool right? He said, pointing at Cerberus who quietly watched them pass.


    Lin Wu had to admit it was pretty cool, the three headed dog of Hades. Even he had heard of it, being a terrifying guardian that stopped any soul from leaving.


    You know, I hear he''s having another litter soon. If you want, you could sign up and see if you get lucky. Phaethon chatted, happily sharing the latest rumors.


    "You can just adopt divine beasts?" Lin Wu asked curiously, and Phaethon shrugged.


    You''ll be a god soon, and that means immortality. Unless you find a goddess who fits the same niche as you, or a god, finding a partner in this life may be very rare. So a divine beast would make a good companion. And who knows? We have a lot of couples match up at pet gatherings.


    I met my wife, a dryad at such a place. He said, winking playfully.


    "You have a divine beast companion?"


    One of my kids, yes. The gibbon commented, seeming rather indifferent to this.


    Eventually they arrived at the center of the underworld, which was a busy place, as beings of the fourth level rushed back and fourth frantically, much to Lin Wu''s dismay.


    He had never seen so many 4th level beings concentrated in one area, not even at those grant meeting between sects!


    Another god walked up to them, but this one looked more mundane he had expected.


    Lin Wu correct? My names Bill, god of paperwork. Hearing this, Lin WU couldn''t help but feel surprised.


    The empire truly had a God for everything!


    Did you know, Bill''s from another world! Phaethon added on, and Lin Wu couldn''t help but stare at this "Bill" more.


    Bill seemed indifferent to his gaze as he waved it off. Don''t overthink it. I came from a rather boring world. No magic no gods, nothing. Just a lot of middle class people doing a lot of middle class work.


    Yeah, but it was your amazing organizational paperwork that the workload down here became so much easier! I mean, I actually get an hour of free time now! The young god exclaimed, with Bill barely recognizing the response turning to Lin Yu.


    Lin Wu was astonished by the statement? there were other worlds?


    Were they higher realms? Lower ones? Like those summoned heroes?


    Seeing the curious look in his eyes, he said quickly: You can ask later when I''m free.


    Here, just read this and sign off. He said handing the clipboard to Lin Wu.


    Lin Wu carefully read over the agreement, which was rather simple.


    He was no longer a resident of the Qing empire, but of the Romana Empire.


    As a god, he must be prepared to fulfill his corresponding duties and respond to at least one prayer a month.


    He must be prepared to fight the enemies of the empire in the worst case scenario


    And that by signing this agreement, he became immortal, and was aware of that.


    Rather simple form, which Lin Wu readily agreed, having had all his bridges burned in his home land.


    As he signed it, he felt a thread snap inside of him, as if something had disappeared inside of him, a connection to his own home.


    This feeling was replaced with a bond to the Romana empire.


    It was more of an instinctive feeling than anything else, but he felt it, knew it.


    Not only that, but he felt it. His mortality was burning away, being replaced by an inexplicable thing.


    A warm, radiant power.


    Was this... godhood?


    Congratulations, you are now a minor God. Bill said calmly as he then summoned a large board, with a large list of words.


    Pick an authority. It''ll determine where you start working.


    Hearing that, Lin Wu looked down the list, before finally picking out one.


    He picked poppies in the end. A minor plant, but also one of medicine and healing.


    He''d been a cultivator who''d specialize in plants, so doing a type of plant made sense to him. Unfortunately, the likes of ginseng and bamboo seemed to have already been taken. Too popular probably, Lin Wu knew he wasn''t the first, so others probably rushed forth and grabbed the more popular ones before he could.


    Poppies, huh? Alright, that puts you in the medicinal department, where you''ll be working for the god Asclepius, the god of medicine. And you also will part time under Persephone whenever she needs someone to help her with Spring stuff.


    Isn''t that a little messy? Lin wu asked, and Bill smiled, but there was a hollowness behind those eyes.


    A desolate emptiness. Phaethon laughed at that. It used to be worse than that back then. Gods used to just run around, doing their thing and becoming local deities wherever. And then they''d piss someone off, and then Ausir Hades would have to come back up and start doling out judgements again. Real mess when god of the underworld has to keep leaving his post.


    And then Bill came along and made things cleaner. Now we know who to blame when things go wrong, and less instances of Gods wandering around aimlessly.


    Another God ran up to Bill, frantically shouting. Bill! Jorvus and Hathera are fighting again! The sky is tearing itself apart again! Quickly! We need you to do that magical thing again!


    Mediate!


    Yes, that ! As Bill was dragged away onto a rainbow he called back to the group. Go see Ted and he''ll give you the proper authority. I gotta go *sigh* fix a marriage.


    We should call him God of marriage counseling with how much of that he does. Phaethon said humorously, while Gibbs could only shoot the poor God a look of sympathy.


    Who''s Ted? Lin Wu asked.


    God of human resources. Great guy, but no one wants to talk to him on business time. No likes human resources after all, much less deity resources.


    <hr>


    And here is your authority as god of poppies. Ted said calmly, shoving a glowing ball into Lin Wu''s chest as he felt his connection to poppies grow.


    I thought I was already a god? He asked confusedly, and Ted shrugged.


    It''s all semantics. You sign the agreement, you become a god, but one without a specific role, given immortality by the faith in the pantheon as a whole. But now as a God you''ll be given incense and immortality specifically tied to poppies.


    Anyway, next! Said the impatient god, shooing the group out the door as another group of Gods walked into the room as they left.


    Despite being so impatiently shooed away, he was excited. Lin Wu did not feel rejected in this environment, hated as he was now in the east, but treated like a peer as he had once been.


    He walked up to Phaethon and Gibbs waiting outside the room, looking forward to meeting his new colleagues.


    Sure, it seemed he would be treated like a middle class worker, but he had to admit, being treated like a normal person was quaint, fun even.


    Perhaps he would come to like being a God here.


    <hr>


    1 year later


    What are you doing here! He shouted, pointing angrily at the figure in front of him.


    He had just finished his shift of answering prayers, only to be told a new god had come over to this department, something he was deeply grateful for.


    Being a God was difficult.


    But what he had not expected, was seeing the man who ruined his life standing here.


    Why was the new god GU AN!

 Stocking Stuffer 3: The Snakeshop Merchant

    <div>


    Eobard had always been crazy about snakes.


    Being the young master of a branch of the Statum family, they were rather well, though not amazingly so.


    When he was young, he had encountered a rare snake monster.


    The footbiter.


    It didn''t really bite feet. Much like Toe biters, they were a misunderstood species named so because of their flattened head, as if a person''s boot had crushed them.


    They were known for another thing, and that was their high levels of venom.


    That didn''t stop young Eobard from being fascinated by the weird little critter, with it''s charming black scales ladened with white studs as if the night sky had been miniaturized and wrapped around a serpent.


    It was a beautiful little thing, and for a child, it was enough.


    Since then, he had been fascinated by snakes, leading him to eventually open his very own snake shop, aimed at selling things for snakes, from snake food to habitats to snakes themselves.


    That footbiter would follow him to the shop, being raised on a diet of pure magic stones, causing it to eventually evolve twicefold, becoming the midnight glider.


    She rested over the entrance of the store, serving as a fun surprise for new customers, but a familiar sight for repeat customers.


    Though it was mostly indifferent to him, the glider never bit him when he came to feed it, even allowing him to pet her. Thankfully, since the poison of a midnight glider was enough to poison a drake.


    His family never blinked at his shop. Though he was from a branch family, with his parents having died young, the fact that they willingly funded his shop was his blessing.


    He didn''t receive many customers, but he did receive enough, with a sprinkle of eccentric customers for sure.


    Beast tamers that lived locally quite liked his shop that sold monster eggs, even though he mostly specialized in snakes and things snake ate.


    Access to friendly beasts was always one of the greatest difficulties for beast tamers.


    As a result, local monster tamers often had snake and mice type tamiliars, making him plenty of money.


    There were many memorable and weird customers.


    A pair of siblings, both whom were serpent from the waist down wearing traditional Qing clothing. They almost seemed lamia though lamia never seemed apt for them.


    An obvious dragon pretending to be a human, betrayed by his poor acting skills and even worse energy concealing skills.


    A priest of the god Fenrir who was "looking for his brother". He always spoke in riddles.


    An early bird looking for the wyrm.


    A snakeman who used to break into his trashcan to eat the snakefood before Eobad finally just hired the snakemen and allowed him to eat snakefood for free.


    A snakewoman seeking to liberate one of her kind. Eobard merely sold her the snakes without question.


    He could say without a doubt that selling snakes had been the best choice he had ever made.


    Unfortunately, he died.


    Perhaps it would''ve been a cosmic irony if he had died by snake, but no.


    He was killed in an assassination by an enemy of the family.


    It made a lot more sense frankly.


    Death came swiftly in the night as he had begun to close up shop.


    The assassin had used some form of shadow magic to bypass the shop''s door.


    He hadn''t even fed the snakes one last meal!


    Yet before he died, he got to watch as the midnight glider whom surprised all his first time customers got to "surprise" his first time assassin with a lethal dose of poison to the back of the unsuspecting assassin. Charlie slithered up to him shortly thereafter, resting next to him.


    Bypassing the door had ensured his ignorance to the very end of how he died.


    Perhaps she''d eat him once he was gone, for what other reason would a snake curl up next to a dying man?


    Then he would get to feed his snake.


    Eobard never had any regrets. He''d gotten to take care of his snakes, take care of other people''s snakes, and even gotten to share his love of snakes with others.


    And he''d gotten to watch as his longest kept snake repay this debt.


    It was a life well lived.


    Oh dear...


    <hr>


    His life did not end so simply however


    Crack.


    Eobard found himself coming to, trapped in a hard casing, and without any arms no less.


    He couldn''t feel his arms, yet he was far more concerned with breaking out, an instinctive urge.


    Throwing his head against the border, Eobard eventually managed to break through the hard surface, before being abruptly blinded by the bright light.


    The instinct faded quickly, leaving Eobard confused in the aftermath.


    And armless.


    As he looked around confusedly, a familiar voice echoed.


    Hello little one


    Yes, Eobard knew this voice.


    It belonged to the weird snake woman who often dressed in eastern clothing, often bringing along her brother to peruse and buy the snacks the snakes liked.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    He never judged of course. The snacks had specifically been tailor made for the serpent taste, so he never thought much of it when a snakeperson bought it.


    He merely smiled when the pair claimed it was for the children.


    Now this voice reverberated around him, louder than it had ever been before. It was booming.


    Eobard soon realized that he had emerged from a shell, onto a new soft land.


    Soft like skin...


    As Eobard slowly began to understand the situation, a chuckling could be heard overhead.


    How are you doing little Eobard? Feeling a little disoriented? The pleasant voice echoed again, causing Eobard to look up and see the large face of lady Nuwa, causing him to realize.


    He was on someone''s finger.


    ''Ah. I''m small right now.


    And scaled...


    am I snake?'' He thought, yet there wasn''t much of a ripple in his mind as he looked around.


    I was hoping for more of a reaction. Came another voice as the other customer he had become accustomed to appeared, two giant faces looming overhead.


    "Oh it''s you two." Eobard noted looking around curiously. "Did I die and go to Hades? Why are you guys here?"


    You''re not dead. Fuxi responded, causing Eobard to nod in understanding.


    "Oh. So I''ve reincarnated."


    ...I was hoping for more of a reaction." The snakeman complained, causing the earthshaking voice of Nuwa to boom as she giggled.


    Come now. We''ve met him often enough brother. You know how Eobard is.


    Yes Eobard, you''ve been reincarnated. How is your new body feeling? Fuxi prodded.


    "Alien. But I''ll get used to it.


    Why are you guys here"


    He asked bluntly, causing Nuwa to tease.


    Haven''t you figured it out yet child. Nuwa, Fuxi, snake people...


    "You mean Nuwa, mother of the gorgons?" Eobard asked, causing Fuxi to look a little astonished.


    What about me?!


    "Umm, Fuxi, brother to Nuwa?"


    Ugh. I used to be one of the great emperors of humanity! Now I''m "Nuwa''s brother." A gigantic(normal) sized tail came out, slapping the younger brother over the head as he slinked away, grumbling about the disrespect etc. etc.


    Aloof as usual child. Nuwa said warmly, chuckling as she looked at the tiny snake in front of her.


    The silly aloof shopkeeper she had once known seemed to perfectly embody a snake as he seemed even more aloof and indifferent now.


    I suppose you have some questions. She asked expectantly, and indeed, Eobard did.


    "Is my shop fine!? Who took over my shop!?" he asked, showing strong emotion for the first time since having been reborn.


    Your shop''s fine.


    That silly snakeman''s taken over as per your will, and gotten your secret snakefood formula. Nuwa responded patiently, having already expected his questions.


    Eobard sighed in relief. Despite his bad tendency to eat a quarter of what he made, Nom Nom was a good snake caretaker, devoted to his job.


    "And Charlie?" he asked, concerned about the nightglider who avenged him.


    She''s fine right now. In fact she''s here when you''re ready to see her again. Nuwa said, showing a weird expression as she spoke.


    I know you won''t ask so I''ll tell you. We are currently in the holy ground of the serpent people. From gorgons to lamia to snakemen, all snake types are welcomed here. Courtesy of the deal I made with Jorvus.


    You''ve been reborn as a snake, per my request.


    "Why me?" Eobard asked, and Nuwa smiled.


    Because you were an eccentric.


    It''s not hard to find a child with great potential in an empire this large, but to find one so devoted to snakes that he bought a shop just for snakes?


    To evolve a monster twice to the B-level just because it was a snake?


    To hire no one else but the snakeman because he enjoyed your snakefood so?


    So when you died and I thought of the new program proposed to revive our favored dead, who else could I pick but you?


    "I''m flattered.


    And a snake now. So do I just nap now or..." Eobard asked, and Nuwa''s smile deepened.


    That''s the best part. You''re a normal snake now, but I''m allowing you to choose any snake monster yo want to become, and I''ll make you so.


    It''s within my domain after all, mother of snakes.


    "Any snake!?" Eobard asked, extremely excited at this moment.


    Any. She affirmed, pulling out a thick book, one he was quite familiar with.


    It was his book from the store.


    An encyclopedia of all the monster snakes, serpents, wyrms, and even eastern dragons ever recorded.


    It was bigger than he remembered.


    I turned it into a divine treasure for you, courtesy of my cauldron of creation. It now records all snake monsters to ever exist, as well as their info. My birthday gift to you if you will.


    It''s also you size now, and can change size accordingly.


    The area around Eobard shook as Nuwa''s hand lowered. placing the newborn snake down in a miniature house.


    I''ll leave you here for now. Medusa is probably complaining right now that I''m taking too long. When you''ve made you choice, just ring your bell and I''ll e along to help you change your form.


    And she disappeared, straight into thin air, upon which Eobard eagerly dived into the book, curious to see all that was recorded.


    Quetzocoatlisk


    city serpent


    slithering stalactites


    berrysnake


    serpent of the guarden.


    <hr>


    He chose serpent of the guarden.


    THough Nuwa was initially surprised, she burst into a grin at his response.


    "I wanted to open another shop.


    I''ll need a garden for that. This guarden snake grows fruit, perfect for me to make my old feed."


    She chuckled as she shook her head.


    Even now, you are stuck on that shop. Eobard made no comment, for indeed, he had focused on what was best for the shop.


    Berrysnake had been tempting had it not been for the fact that the guarden snake could raise livestock.


    I am now sure I did not choose wrong.


    Very well! she said, clapping her hands.


    From now on, you will be a guarden snake!"


    Boom!


    A heavy cauldron dropped from the air causing the ground to shake.


    Hop in!


    Eobard lept in without hesitation, as Nuwa set forth to do what she did best.


    Creation.


    <hr>


    It took a week for him to emerge from the cauldron.


    He was no longer so small, now being 20 feet long, and Nuwa no longer seeming like a giant to him.


    The change in perspective merely emphasized how small he had been weeks prior.


    His scales had taken on a corn snake pattern with a small bell hanging under his neck.


    There was a small pair of horns emerging from the back of his head as well, though they easily blended in with the rest of his scales.


    He had a rather innocuous appearance, but that was because his abilities were closely tied to the garden he chose, and not with himself.


    The bell under his head was no normal bell, with it''s ringing capable of bringing great growth to plants in the area.


    In fact, he saw in his book that one path this form could take was a dragon, where the bell would become a dragon ball.


    He would remain a snake of course and was unlikely to take the path, but it was something interesting to learn nonetheless.


    Turning to face the person who''d given him these abilities, he bowed politely to lady Nuwa.


    "Thank you miss Nuwa." the young man said politely, albeit stiffly. He wasn''t quite a people person.


    She waved her hand in dismissal. It''s nothing. Now, you said you wanted to open a shop didn''t you?


    Eobard noded, and she smiled. Well, knowing what you wanted, I bought you a piece of land here in the holy land of serpents, so that you could open your shop freely.


    They teleported in an instance, appearing in front of a simple shop.


    This shop wasn''t as impressive as his old shop, but it was enough for Eobard. It fit in better too. The land of snakes was indeed just that.


    He watched as countless serpents passed by them, and even gogons and lamias appearing in the crowd.


    For Eobard, it was the dream.


    A land of just snakes!


    It was amazing!


    Eobard was starting to feel excited.


    Walking in, the layout was practically the same as his old house, contrary to the outward appearance.


    In fact, he turned around, looking up, expecting to see a familiar shape.


    And indeed,


    A large, black, slithering silhouette came down, staring at him curiously.


    The midnight glider greeted him, with a surprising raspy voice.


    "Is it... you?" There was a glimmer of hope.


    Eobard nodded. "It''s good to see you again Charlie. Thanks for getting the assassin before I... passed."


    To this, though she didn''t say anything, she stiffly nodded, before cooly slithering up to her perch above the roof, curling up quietly.


    Hmmm. Nuwa hummed, causing Eobard to worriedly ask. "It''s not rude to hang other snakes above the roof is it?"


    No, it''s fine. Just thinking about, things. She said, her eyes flickering between the two snakes before continuing to talk.


    Anyway, I copied most of your resources from the old shop and the currency around here is the same as the rest of the empire.


    So, are you ready?


    Eobard nodded thankfully, before slithering over into the back of the shop.


    He was back, and he had so much to do.


    Sadly, he couldn''t sell snakes any more most likely, but that was fine.


    A whole new world had revealed itself to him, and he had so much to do.


    Life as a snake was looking up.

 Stocking stuffer 4: Dear Santa....

    <div>


    Dear santa,


    I am going to catch you this year!


    By the time you''re reading this letter, you''ve already started eating the cookies and milk.


    I didn''t lace them this year. I tried it last year, to no success. The only person who suffered that day was my poor neighbor Chris Kringle, my wife''s best friend.


    I don''t like him, but she says he''s full of christmas cheer.


    I mean sure, he''s a jolly old man but he dresses too flashily for my taste. Far too much red to wear in a day.


    His wife isn''t much better. The two of them. Too much red between the two of them. A bunch of slobs!


    Still, they are a rather sweet old couple. Run an orphanage between the two of them, ton of kids. Shame they seem to dress just as garishly, all green, all year. Don''t get it.


    You''re probably wondering why I''m writing all of this. It''s simple.


    The poison wasn''t in the food.


    It was in the chimney!


    Yes, how could the man who swallows millions of cookies in a day be poisoned by indigestion so easily?


    I had to come up with more creative means.


    The whole of the chimney has been laced with a sleeping toxin, designed to knock out 10 full grown elephants.


    It was hard to lather the chimney in the stuff without anyone noticing, but you never know who''s watching. Sees us when we''re sleeping? More like surveillances us all the time! I see through you, you cunning bastard!


    There''s no escaping santa! I''ve done everything! I''ve barricaded the windows, blocked all the doors! The vents have been laced as well, ensuring no escape! The toilets clogged by weeks of chipotle!


    Let''s see you do it now you fatass houdini!


    I''m coming for you!


    No more tin foil accusations!


    Sincerely,


    Jeff Daverson


    I''ll be seeing you!


    Police would arrive at the scene of the incident where the house of Jeff Daverson seemed to have been torn down by a bear, or an equally large, bulborous beast


    Jeff Daverson himself would attest that "santa claus" had broken out in a drunken stupor, tearing down his house. It is believed that Jeff inadvertently inhaled the narcotics placed in the chimney as he applied it, causing the hallucinations.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The "claus" in question is believed to be a bear.


    Perhaps driven away by his insanity, many of his neighbors such as kindly old Kris Kringle and his orphanage of children moved away.


    Kindly old Chris Kringle was a friendly, if mildly indisposed old man, who seemed to have suffered some form of narcotic.


    <hr>


    Dear Santa,


    last year I asked you for a brother.


    Can you take him back?


    I like my new brother but daddy doesn''t seem to like him very much.


    I don''t know why. Sure, brother looks a little different from us, but that''s fine. I still like him.


    But daddy doesn''t and keeps calling him "the devil''s son".


    I think he''s exaggerating.


    My brother doesn''t have demon horns!


    He has reindeer horns! Silly daddy.


    He''s very funny looking. He also has a glowing red nose!


    Mr. Farnsworth our friendly priest comes over more often too, though he seems rather mean nowadays.


    He keeps tying up my new baby brother and splashing him with water.


    I don''t get it.


    But it seems to make everyone very upset.


    I like my baby brother, but he seems to make everyone upset.


    So santa, could you take him back?


    From,


    Barbara


    Later that year, the mysterious red nosed child disappeared along with his sister Barbara Lewis. The story of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer would later spread...


    <hr>


    Dear Santa Claus,


    This is a formal notice calling you to attend the court hearing this upcoming 25th, on the case of Claus V Brooks on the charge of second degree murder. The accuser, Randy Brooks and his grandfather Brooks sr., bore witness to the tragedy last christmas, where the accused was driving recklessly


    The defendant was seen by two eyewitnesses last christmas, diving his vehicles through the street before crashing into the prosecution''s grandmother/wife.


    As stated by the young Randy Brooks,


    "Grandma got ran over by a reindeer". The witnesses were overly distraught by the incident, with the grandmother having suffered a hoof to the head, causing severe brain trauma, leading to death shortly thereafter.


    Mr. Claus is expected to arrive at the court at 8:00 am to defend himself.


    From,


    The department of justice


    P.S. if mr. Claus does not show up to the expected date, a public defendant will be assigned to the case and to defend on his behalf.


    <hr>


    Dear Santa,


    I don''t think you should come this year.


    Last year, mommy saw you kissing daddy, and she was real mad


    She said a lot of bad words that daddy said I couldn''t say.


    Mommy says she''s gotten over it, but she feels mad.


    When I asked mommy if santa would come over this year, she said that if he did, she would make you a eunuch!


    What''s a eunuch Santa? Daddy seems very scared when I say those words, while mommy seems very happy.


    She''s been sharpening all the knives in the kitchen recently.


    It''s been so noisy. I wish mommy would keep it down, but she seems very happy whenever she does it.


    Mommy laughs funny. She''s been acting funny since last year.


    She used to tell me that you can''t catch santa claus, but this year she put a trap in the chimney.


    Daddy seems very scared now, he no longer invites uncle Richard anymore.


    Uncle Richard used to come over for sleepovers, but recently he''s too busy to come over.


    I miss him. He never shows up anymore.


    I think he''s a little scared of mommy.


    Even daddy stays at work later.


    So dear Mr. Claus,


    please don''t come back.


    I don''t want to see mommy killing santa claus.


    Sincerely,


    Donna Conner


    Santa claus was later sighted fleeing the Connor house with great urgency, with many believing it had to do with the liquid leaking from the sleigh.

 stocking stuffer 5:: Reincarnated as the son of the 6-eared macaque, meeting the uncles!

    Bill felt curious about his newfound stature.


    He had not merely grown another pair of ears after all.


    He had grown taller as his limbs had stretched, becoming more human-like in length.


    This was expected. His father had told him that the large macaque form he had seen was merely an incarnation, and nothing like his true form, which had human like proportions.


    As he grew closer to his father''s appearance, he would grow to appear more human obviously.


    The change wasn''t merely physical either, as he found a newfound sense of power emerging, as he felt his power spike, far stronger than before.


    It was ridiculous that he could get stronger merely by hearing the rumors of others. It made him curious about his father, who had been absorbing rumors for ages, and profiting from the same energy as he had, yet still unable to break into the 6th rank.


    How hard was it to break into the 6th rank?


    It wasn''t merely that sense of strength that amazed him, but this increased ability to detect the world around him.


    It was amazing.


    His ears were already capable, but now? With a mere twitch of his four ears, he could hear across the whole city.


    Nothing was hidden from him.


    Even the magic formations were nothing before him, as those sound isolation magic circles were easily pierced by his will.


    Wonderful!


    Remembering what his father had promised him, Bill eagerly jumped back into the world Tree space.


    It was time to go meet his uncles.


    <hr>


    Seeing Bill reach the four-eared state, the 6 eared looked quite happy as, though he grudgingly agreed to take him to meet his uncles.


    In order to do so, they took a flying nimbus.


    It reminded him of a certain legend...


    Yet when he turned t ask he merely received a warning glance which stopped him from asking.


    From asking that question. He still had plenty of other things to ask.


    "What was the prehistoric age like?" Bill asked, and Liuer paused, as if recollecting.


    It was a violent time. You humans have no idea how good you have it now.


    For the weak, it was hell, being trampled upon by the strong.


    And for the strong, it was paradise.


    Many of the top powers of today were born from the prehistoric age.


    Even then, the 5 were gathered. The qilin, qinglong,  baihu, xuanwu, zhuque...


    there were others in that group of course. A great insect tyrant, a turtle that could control time. But only the 5 of them survived to the modern day.


    The macaque reminisced, lost in old memories, flying over the empire.


    "Wow! What about you guys?"


    Hmmph! Us three? We were born strong! The prehistoric period was our playground! Nothing stood in our way! I mean, there were a few obstacles... The monkey backtracked quietly as he continued, telling tales of great violence


    They were simple stories, for they were tales of violence. There was little else to talk about in Liuer''s eyes.


    It painted a picture of the prehistoric world, one painted in blood.


    Bill found himself a bit bored by the tales of blood, so he shifted gears, choosing to ask about other things.


    "You said before the prehistoric age, there was another. A war of scales. What was that like."


    The macaque paused, as he recollected once more, but hesitated.


    This... I know little about.


    "BUt aren''t you the 6-eared macaque? Surely you should''ve picked up some things!?"


    The macaque laughed awkwardly as it explained. Bill, to ear something requires someone to speak. Whether it be out loud, or silently in their own mind, a speaker is necessary.


    The war of scales was before the prehistoric age. The number of people still alive from that time are few.


    And those few, I cannot hear through. My abilities are great, but for those of that level, it is easy to block my hearing.


    Still... I have heared things. The bigger monkey drew out, causing the younger one to impatiently stomp, and Liuer laughed before continuing.


    The prehistoric age to you was violent, but it was nothing compared to the age of scales.


    The prehistoric age was an age of survival. There was great injustice, great brutality, and plenty of death, yes. But that was life.


    The war of scales... was bloodshed. A war between two great fronts, a war that spanned countless eons, a war said to be even longer than the prehistoric age.


    We know the dragons were one side in this war. In these times, there were no color dragons, no metal dragons, no eastern dragons, wyverns, nothing. Simply dragons. Creatures with a similar body to today''s easter dragons, but they were scaleless. One survivor told me that the dragons of then resembled today''s axolotl''s to some extent.


    Dragons then, purely used mana. There were no qi type dragons.


    Their enemies were many, creatures of boundless physical strength. The first qi users.


    They had scales, beautiful, hard scales.  It is called the war of scales by those who know, for it is said, that dragons began using scales as proof of their victory, a form of trophy over the losers.


    Less spoken about is the fact that todays giant dragons, or the western ones, take many of their features from their enemies, from the wings to the general body shape, and that the eastern dragons took on their physiques, and improved them, becoming the qi dragons seen today.


    Much of what we respect in dragons today is what they''ve taken from the losers.


    "If their enemies were so great, then how did the dragons win? It sounds like most of a dragon''s greatest features come from these great foes." Bill questioned, and the macaque gave a wide grin.


    They cheated of course! The only way to defeat a foe equal to your level.


    They-


    The macaque created a pregnant pause, as the grin turned malicious.


    Oops. Trips over. We''re here now!


    "Wait, but the age of scales!"


    Oh well, better luck next time. You wouldn''t want to make uncle Wuzhiqi waiting would you?


    The older macaque teased, dissipating the nimbus and leaving poor Bill with no room to discuss.


    The two of them had arrived by a river surrounded by sand, indicating that they had stopped in a dessert.


    There was a variety of wildlife sorrounding the large river, with slithered through the vast swaths of yellow.


    Monkeys were clearly the dominant group, with a pack of them leisurely sitting by the lake, merely watching with curiosity as they approached, showing no fear, and even a hint of playfulness. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    yin-yang monkeys, The females absorb yin, the men absorb yang.


    They''re a species established using brother''s blood as the foundation.


    "Doesn''t that mean uncle Wuzhiqi should be somewhere nearby?


    As Bill commented that, the water bubbled and a huge head emerged from the water, a stark white head, followed by broad, black shoulders.


    The ape like creature was huge, easily over 100 feet tall, looking like a mix between an ape and a baboon.


    Bill had seen the black shoulders, but quickly realized that it was not merely the shoulders, but all the fur under the head was black.


    The rattling of chains could be heard, causing Bill to curiously look at the source


    A large chain dangled from the neck of the large ape, broken off at the third link.


    A booming voice reverberated through the room, as Wuzhiqi warmly welcomed them.


    Brother! You''ve finally brought me a nephew! Did you finally convince sister Pheme?


    Something like that. Liuer said, smiling somewhat bitterly.


    Wuzhiqi chuckled, as he observed little Bill.


    4 ears already. Soon enough you''ll have 6 ears! Wuzhiqi praised, and Bill smiled as he bowed and showed respect.


    "Greetings uncle Wuzhiqi! Thank you for your good wishes. I''ll try!"


    I know you will! If you''re a son of Liuer, you no doubt have the same gossipy nature! He chuckled.


    Liuer looked around. Is brother gibbs not here yet?


    Shouldn''t you know that already? Wuzhiqi asked, and Liuer snorted, showing a look of annoyance.


    Lord Jorvus has been putting my ears to work nonstop. They''re a little overworked currently. I''m still being worked to death currently monitoring players. Why else would I only send one of my incarnations here?


    Fair. I''m glad I don''t have any useful abilities like you. Wuzhiqi commented, showing a teasing smile, causing his brother to grumble.


    Whatever...


    They didn''t have to wait long for the third brother, as he made his appearance thunderingly.


    A large monkey hand appeared out of nowhere, attached to a long arm which reached into the air indefinitely, where Bill could not see its end.


    Ziiiiiip!


    A weird sound occurred as Bill witnessed an equally ridiculous sight.


    A gibbon was sliding down the arm. No, the gibbon was sliding down his own arm.


    Despite knowing the legend, seeing it was another thing entirely, as he watched the arm pass through the gibbons body as he slid down.


    He looked like a plain gibbon in many ways, having no particularly special aspect to him, yet there was a sense of auspiciousness to the beast.


    Once it landed on the ground, the arm flew back from the endless reach, as his arms shortened back to normal gibbon size.


    They were still long, long as a gibbon''s arms are meant to be, but nothing like the indescribably distance they were earlier.


    According to his father, uncle gibbon cold grasp entire mountains this way, even pulling down golden crows from the sky in the prehistoric age with this technique. Unrelatedly, he was good at discerning truths and destroying illusions,


    Bill soon noticed the sound of breathing as another small gibbon head popped out of the fur of his uncle.


    "Nephew greets uncle gibbon and cousin!" he said politely and the old gibbon chuckled stretching his arm out and patting the young macaque''s head.


    Good, good! You are more polite than your father was when he was young. The gibbon recollected, causing the macaque to look away embarrasedly, and Wuzhiqi to cackle, only for the gibbon to scold him too.


    Little Liuer may have stuck his ears where they do not belong but I recall a certain younger brother who used to pick fights everywhere. Were it for the generosity of the last scaled king and kind Nuwa, you would''ve been squashed a hundred times over already.


    And what about you? Little liuer has finally brought me a nephew, but you have yet to give me a nephew or a niece! The gibbon scolded, causing Wuzhiqi to complain.


    I consider this whole tribe my children...


    Do you dare claim so! Nuwa helped you make this race. If you claim to be the father of this race... The gibbon trailed off, yet his eyes gleamed with eagerness, curious to see how Wuzhiqi would speak.


    He was dissapointed.


    I dare not! I dare not!


    The gibbon rolled his eyes before prying the young gibbon off his back.


    Whatever. Meet your newest nephew. Little Dwingli. He said presenting the young gibbon, who had a small fire alit on top of his head.


    This one has an aspect of fire on him. Wuzhiqi noted, as he sniffed, and the gibbon shrugged.


    Yup. I was thinking of giving him to one of Hestia''s attendants given his nature. He casually commented.


    Bil wasn''t too surprised. The gibbon was classified as a divine beast; though he was in a sense giving his children away as pets, it was more accurate to say that he was giving them positions, ensuring the security of their future.


    It was weird, but not altogether unheard of down in the mortal world.


    Bill wasn''t even offended at the thought of something similar happening to himself. To become the servant of the divine was hardly a bad position to receive.


    But to whom would he go to? Hmmmm....


    As Bill pondered this question, Wuzhiqi asked Liuer this time.


    I doubt you called us back together just to meet up brother. As much as I enjoy these little meetups, I am quite curious as to your plans this time. He said directly, and the gibbon looked over as well as he groomed his child.


    Liuer chuckled. Bill has gained his second set of ears, meaning he''s opened up one of the main talents of my family: skill mimicry.


    What better talents to steal than the talents of our very own family?


    Hearing this, Wuzhiqi nodded proudly. Of course! There are few families out there as great as ours! We''ve outlasted nearly every clan of the prehistoric age! The golden crows, the white sabers, the leviyatins(real whale species),  even the megalodon clans are nothing before ours. Shame we can''t get the youngest in on this. He grumbled that last part, mildly displeased with the youngest in question.


    The gibbon nodded with understanding. Indeed. Though he cannot completely copy our skills until he completes his ability to mimic, he can still learn our great techniques. Wuzhiqi''s ability to extend his life as well as his understanding of yin and yang, and my ability to witness the truth of the world and ability to "grab stars" should be quite useful starter techniques for the boy.


    He said it with ease, yet were any normal person to hear this, they would stamp their feet with frustration.


    Starter skills!? The ability to extend one''s life by centuries was something all cultivators dream of. ANd as his level grew, that ability could enter thousands to millions of years.


    Of course, to the immortal monkeys, this meant nothing, but for Bill who was merely a demigod and thus restrained by lifespan, this was a huge blessing, giving him an extended period to reach the rank of god.


    And this was merely a side effect of yin and yang!


    The ability to witness the truth had meany counterparts in this world, yes, but few as well developed as one honed over millions of years. Perhaps only the full form of the skill appraisal could compete, something the system had intentionally locked away.


    To grab stars was equally terrifying. Though he couldn''t actually grab the stars, this skill allows him to grab things far larger than him, and shrink it to fit his palm.


    If it sounded like the skill the buddha once used on Sun Wukong, of course it did! Who else could the bald donkey learn it from?!


    Humans after all, did not exist in the prehistoric age.Their foundation was shallow, and though they learned many things on their own innovation, to say they copied many skills would be an understatement. It is said that Pangu''s very own axe technique was based off the skills of the immortal tyrant, a loser of the scale war.


    The yin-yang ape chuckled, as he eyed the young gibbon meaningfully. We even have a little playmate for the young macaque to practice with once he''s absorbed our skills.


    The young gibbon shivered, hugging his father closely to avoid the cold.


    THe gibbon shot Wuzhiqi a look, but did not verbally disagree, quietly acquiescing.


    It was not a bad thing to refine a child''s temperament after all.


    Once Bill snapped out of his thoughts,he found the three chaos monkeys staring at him meaningfully.


    Why were they looking at him like that?


    <hr>


    Once he heard their ideas, he too was extremely excited.


    It was true, that gossip to him was the first love. Knowledge, especially nowledge not meant to be shared was his greatest joy.


    That did not mean he disliked strength. Who dislikes strength?


    It was strength that gave the right to eavesdrop, otherwise he''d merely be caught and beaten again.


    He hadn''t succumbed to torture, but that hardly meant that he wanted to repeat that incident.


    Wuzhiqi went first.


    Wuzhiqi began practicing in the air, throwing punches, changing stances.


    His aura was at times overwhelming, dominating, strong, yet other times it became elegant, beautiful, lingering in the heart of the viewer.


    Bill felt it, as his ears quivered, taking it all in


    The 6 eared macaque is able to hear more than just sound. It was able to hear all things, from thoughts to rhythm, to the very laws themselves.


    He could hear it.


    Yin and yang.


    The gibbon chuckled lightly as he watched, the young gibbon also looking on curiously.


    You know something funny? Because of his in depth control of yin and yang, Wuzhiqi is able to change between a man and woman.


    "Really!?" he asked both astonished and curious. The gibbon nodded, with a teasing look aimed at the other brother.


    Poor wuzhiqi kept moving, yet a look of embarrassment was seen on his face.


    Liuer continued this thought with a gloating look. Indeed, indeed! Back when he first discovered the power of faith, Wuzhiqi wanted to explore it as the path to the 6th level. So he often turned into a beautiful human woman, to lure more followers in.


    It failed of course, only leaving him with the embarrassing memories to cherish.


    He said it with a gloating look, changing into a stunning eastern woman and speaking.


    I''m wuzhiqi, goddess of this river. Pray an lick my feet!


    I didn''t sound like that! Wuzhiqi roared furiously, stopping midway through and lunging at Liuer, the two locked in combat.


    The yin yang apes had begun chanting and whooping as they witnessed the glorious fight.


    The gibbon sighed, clearly used to the struggle between siblings as he turned to Bill.


    Well, now is as good as any time to show you some of my techniques.


    The gibbon raised his hand and it grew


    no, it''d be accurate to say everything else shrank.


    All the yin yang apes, the river beside them, and even the fighting brothers were now small before the hand of the interconnected arm gibbon.


    The only reason Bill even knew he had been shrunken was the large furry face looking down on all of them, as well as the five mountains in the distance.


    Any who had read journey to the wes would understand what had happened.


    A flux of knowledge entered his brain as the technique was absorbed seamlessly.


    The voice of the gibbon echoed all around.


    Others have claimed that I can grab the sun and the stars by reaching out.


    For when man was young, they watched as I caught a golden crow with one palm, when the clan was still plentiful.


    Once you''ve reached the right level, you can suppress all things with one palm.


    Watch.


    With that one word, the sky itself was covered in darkness as a large ceiling came rushing down, crushing the two fighting brothers.


    Dammit gibbon! I was beating him!


    If my real body was here I''d slap you silly! Roared Liuer, yet all he could do was suffer a slapping.


    So Bill got to watch his father and uncle suffer a beating at the hands of their senior brother.


    It was a fun family gathering overall.


    He never found out about his uncle''s nasty idea of sparring with the young gibbon, as only the brothers played that day.


    The long armed gibbon got the last laugh that day.

 Book 2 chapter 12

    The sudden appearance of Grant made the two cultivators wary, especially the aura which emanated from him, infinitely close to the 6th level.


    Even this little brat didn''t dare act so arrogantly in front of such a master.


    The young master''s face however, changed back quickly to its previous arrogance when he saw that the man''s actual level was merely the golden core.


    The servant''s expression became particularly grim however, because he was able to sense the avenue the cultivator before him.


    The law of creation.


    Cultivators often restrain their aura, for some it was to hide their avenue of practitioner, and for the higher levels, it was to avoid influencing the world around them.


    Only when they were prepared to fight o to intimidate others would they so blatantly exude their laws.


    A creation type cultivator who had managed to reach the third level!


    When had such a strong man appeared!?


    The young master next to him didn''t understand, his view of the way of the world too shallow, but he knew history well, and he knew of the self destructive tendencies of creation type cultivators.


    "Hah, a mere jindan level cultivator dares stop me?!" The boy said arrogantly, showing his nascent soul level power off, which merely caused Grant to look on playfully.


    The servant stepped in quickly, interrupting the young master.


    "Young master, please quiet down." The servant quickly hushed the young man, before facing Grant. "I apologize for his behaviour. He is but a child."


    "Indeed. Only 200 years old. He is very much just a child." Grant agreed easily, much to the joy of the servant.


    That joyful look was squashed with his next words.


    "But children need discipline."


    The dragonic spirit snickered when it heard these words. Grant had dealt with older kids before. WIth such kids, his hand was often, less delicate than with other kids.


    The nascent soul child soon lost his overbearing look as he was forcefully pulled over by Grant using the earth itself which trapped him.


    Before the young man could react, his pants quickly flew off and he was turned onto his front.


    Grant raised his hand and


    SMACK!


    Gave him a strong slap on the ass. It didn''t stop there as Grant rained blows on his ass, each of them conferring a different element.


    Boiling water


    blazing fires


    sharp winds


    solid stone.


    Feeling unsatisfied, Grant brought out a whip and started lashing him.


    The servant recognized the whip, which merely made him quietly more terrified of this mysterious master who could steal from the Heavens.


    The servant looked embarrassed, yet did not dare say a word, for fear of angering this senior. At worst, the boy would suffer some humiliation.


    Besides... he wasn''t interested in being hit by the god conferring whip. That thing had a long history of beating the gods themselves.


    As Grant''s lashes went on, the aura around the boy diminished significantly, as it soon fell below the nascent soul and into the jindan stage again, barely maintaining that as well.


    "I was feeling generous today, so I didn''t kill the brat. I merely dropped him back to the jindan stage. His foundation wasn''t damaged or nothing, after all, this is merely a spanking.


    The seal on his level will wear off a century from now. Of course, he can speed that up if he''s willing to do a few acts of kindness.


    Do you have any problems with the way I handled this?" Grant asked politely, yet he felt terrified by the polite tone. It wasn''t really a question but a statement. Any attempt to contradict him may result in the same punishment as the boy, and that was if he was lucky.


    This was a child spanking afterall. Who knows what kind of punishment adults receive!


    Hearing no complaints, Grant nodded. "Good, I''ll take my students away from here. I recommend you wait for the boy''s father if you want to explore this ruin?" He said, after carefully scanning it. "This ruin contains traces of the Donghuang Bell. That''s a little beyond a mere nascent soul''s ability to keep. Well, jindan now I suppose" Grant said playfully as his group disappeared, leaving a shocked servant and a pale, unconscious young master.


    <hr>


    Grant teleported the group back into the york outpost, to avoid any further confrontation with cultivators.


    WIth a sweep of his hand, any injuries they had were quickly dealt with.


    "How did you guys get swept up in such a dangerous situation?" Grant asked and Dane bowed, apologizing immediately.


    "It was my fault! I wanted to hone my abilities so I began to travel across the border of the empire, where lawlessness is more common.


    We happened to come across a map describing a great treasure. I didn''t expect that it would cause such trouble." he said, feeling guilty he had caused everyone such trouble.


    Grant waived his hand. "It''s fine. Young men should be bold and daring. That was hardly your fault anyway. And you" he said, turning to Natalie.


    "You should work harder to restrain him at times. You know he''s a little dim."  She gave him an apologetic look in return, causing him to roll his eyes.


    Despite how smart she was, she was a little dumb when it came to her boyfriend.


    Natalie actually chose to ask something as soon as she could.


    "Why were they so scared of you? According to their levels, you should be far below them?" she asked curiously, and even Dain couldn''t help but be curious, looking at the mysterious master.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    They had witnessed the confrontation after all. By all accounts, and the level they could barely sense, the master should be a level lower than the young master. Yet their master had a holy, mysterious aura that far passed the likes of the young man, and the fear on the servants face couldn''t be faked.


    Grant paused for a minute before sighing, choosing to clear up the subject.


    He wasn''t embarrassed, so much as reluctant to reveal the weakness of the law off creation.


    It was hardly the best thing to go around.


    In the east, it was a well known fact but in the west? Not so much.


    But that could change if he wasn''t careful.


    Still, there was no point lying.


    Now that it was exposed that a creation type cultivator was residing in the west, something was likely to come of it.


    "Well, creation type cultivators happen to be very powerful, due to their unique abilities. Their ability to absorb any cultivation resource, as well as waste, and their easy ability to understand laws and concepts already make them quite dangerous.


    In addition, they are capable of quickly raising their cultivation,with some even jumping from the 3rd to 4th level in months."


    He paused, before finally responding. "This comes with its obvious negatives of course, otherwise everyone would take this path.


    Creation type cultivators are prone to bouts of insanity" He paused, observing their reactions.


    Dain did not react, but Natalie eyed him more suspiciously, as her mind raced before Grant''s very eyes.


    He wasn''t surprised. As the more thoughtful of the two, she must''ve noticed his eccentricities and his occasional outbursts.


    After all, no matter how restrained creation was, it was still creation. And insanity, even when presented in the form of eccentricity, was still insanity.


    "You seem fine." Dain deadpanned, and Grant laughed "Fine is relative. I seem stable now, but honestly? I can flip on a dime. I''m just feeling a bit detached right now, so you haven''t seen much of that."


    The taxpaying spirit nodded in agreement. "Yeah, his sore spot is "family" and "children." Long as you don''t touch those, Grant remains more stable than others. Of course, touching those spots inversely tends to make him more insane compared to other creation cultivators."


    "How insane?" Natalie asked and the spirit winced at the unpleasant memories. " Like Prometheus styled punishment insane. Death is often the kindest thing that''ll happen if they''re lucky."


    Dain nodded, before moving on. He didn''t care much about the drawbacks of the creation ability. He''d never seen Grant actually act too insane, nor lash out at them.


    He trusted what he saw. Grant was reliable.


    He was more curious about the conversation Grant had earlier.


    "So what is this Donghuang bell? The old man earlier seemed excited upon hearing it. Is it a strong weapon?".


    Grant snorted. "It certainly likes to fashion itself that way. that bell is a cunning old fox for sure.


    "From the way you''re putting it master, it sounds like it''s not a weapon at all?" Natalie asked and Grant nodded


    "Indeed. That bell has been playing the long game. It''s actually a chaos attributed spirit from the prehistoric times. Around  20 million years ago if I recall. It was born from a meteorite that crashed on Earth and developed spirituality." seeing their confusion, he sighed and explained.


    "Meteorite. Big rock that falls from the sky and cmes from the stars." He briefly explained. They nodded, with Dain wondering what the need was to call the falling boulder a meteorite. Just call it a falling boulder from the sky.


    Natalie was left to consider the greater implications.


    "The chaos spirit was cunning, but also lazy. Unwilling to cultivate itself, it has relied on the hands of other strongmen to make itself strong, absorbing their mana or qi under the premise of activating ones own magic weapon.


    In this regard, it does act like a magic weapon most of the time. You must be wondering why I bring this up then?"


    The two of them nodded.


    "Magic weapons, although they have spirituality, or even souls, tend to be just that. Magic weapons. They exert their greatest effect in their master''s hands, and have the major weakness of relying completely on their master. Should the master go down, it is not uncommon for the master to self destruct their weapon to save themselves, or even to deny their opponent." He paused for a moment.


    "The chaos bell is an exception. Because it''s basically an elemental spirit parading as a weapon. It''s done a good job hiding it, but some do know. And those who do, laugh at the misfortune of others.


    The bell does not care who its master is. Only that its master can grant it enough qi, mana, whatever form of energy you can provide in large doses. Because of this, it doesn''t stop the robbery of itself. On the contrary, if it sees a better master come along, it''ll hinder its own master in the hopes of gaining a new master.


    Or should its own master be to weak or seriously injured, the bell take the opportunity to kill its master and absorb their energy. It''s done this before.


    The great cultivator Pangu once wielded it as an axe. However, when he was seriously injured after creating a secret realm, the bell tried to kill him, but had to flee in the end.


    In fact, its current bell form was the result of it trying to hide from Pangu. At least until it was on equal level with him. It hasn''t changed back since.


    The only thing worst than an enemy, is a treacherous minister, and the bell is no exception. That bell has had hundreds of owners for a reason."


    Hearing this, the two of them felt thankful they hadn''t bothered to pursue such a weapon. It sounded like a powerful weapon, but if they always had to keep an eye out for such a thing which was ready to betray them at a moments notice, it wasn''t worth having. They were hardly in need of a great weapon ever since Grant had bestowed upon them their current weapons.


    Seeing the relieved look in their eyes, Grant laughed. "Don''t worry about it now. It''s no longer your problem. Now that you''re here, why don''t you stay a while? We can review how far you''ve gone on the techniques before I send you off again. I''ve also accepted a young boy. You may as well go meet him first. He is your junior apprentice after all." Hearing that, the two of them went into the secret realm earnestly, to meet this junior brother Grant had accepted.


    <hr>


    Naturally, during this conversation, there had been one thing that Grant had chosen to leave out.


    Not to harm them, but because if they knew what happens next, their feelings may grow complicated.


    Creation type cultivators often have a horrid ending of being hunted down.


    Few people who choose to practice the law of creation are sane, much like those who practice the inverse law of destruction.


    Often they are completely off their rocker, arrogant beyond belief, or in desperate need of revenge.


    Everything taken from them, and a heart filled with hatred, with no desire except for punishing those who had wronged them.


    And most of the creation type practitioners tended to be of this type, Grant included.


    As a result, they tended to be explosive. Suicidal. Unstable.


    So cultivators tended to hunt them down. Even though they were known for exploding and taking as much possible, many still chose to hunt them down, specifically the old and dying ones.


    Why?


    Because they were so unstable. You never knew when one would go off and choose to take a city with them.


    No one wants that hanging over their head.


    But choosing to fight one was practically doing a suicide mission, so naturally, only the old and dying who already had nothing left to lose except the people around them would take up this task.


    There was the other issue, or rather, the reward.


    Depending on who they were fighting, the battlefield would take on that aspect after their death.


    This was true for all cultivators, because their death resulted in the explosion of their own laws, more often than not.


    ANd creation? That''s a strong law. Once contaminated with the law of the hunter, the ecosystem that would blossom after their mutual destruction would be a strong, resource rich environment of their law.


    For major forces, it was a huge benefit, or even the small forces. All forces had a tacit understanding that whoever hunted the creation practitioner, their family would get a piece of the pie.


    It was also believed killing them was a merit for the world, which would ensure their next life would be a better life, since their death would result in more life and a "better" world.


    Grant wasn''t scared of them. He wasn''t scared of 6th realmers, much less puny 5th realm beings.  And even though he was their master on paper, he wasn''t close enough with Dain and Natalie to the point where they''d despair over exposing their master.


    No, this was extremely important to the empire. They may not act for the next month, year, decade, or even century, but they would act.


    Eventually, they would act. WOuld it be in official fashion? Quiet raids to catch him? Outright war?


    No matter how it played out, it would not be Grant who suffered. It would be the people.


    IN the grand scheme of things, it wasn''t an altogether bad thing. Empires, and civilization in general, cannot grow alone. They need competition, enemies on the other side, something to make them wary, to strive for greater power.


    THe greatest threat to an empire is a competing empire.


    And given that the two have previously had strife, it would not be bad for the two to match blades once more and see how they have grown.


    His little gift to the empire, Grant thought shamelessly.