ă€ŠHarem Overlord: I ALWAYS Finish Quick!ă€‹


 Chapter 1 An Unexpected Visitor [R-18]

    Pleasure is power.

    Pleasure is necessary.

    Pleasure is the goal.

    When one obtains power, one obtains pleasure. Pleasure is the drug that drives innovation, that drives society to advancement. Without pleasure, there would be no purpose in taking a step forward.

    - Sage Omar Medlock

    ===

    Ryan''s breaths became rapid as he gripped his elongated shaft, his pace quickening. Clutching a phone in his chubby hands, Ryan longingly gazed at the hazel eyes staring back at him.

    Biting his lip, Ryan stifled a moan looking at her bare breasts.

    He had always loved how her hard nipples looked when covered by a bra or shirt. However, seeing them uncovered, Ryan perceived his naivete.

    Sulent circr mounds left his mouthwatering and cock aching. Crested by stiff lone pink peaks, her nipples enticed Ryan to touch and suck them.

    ''Three years,'' Ryan moaned, ''She''s left me waiting for three years.'' Three years ago today, Ryan watched his beloved friend, mentor, savior, and love die. Aliza had pulled him from the pits of hell and shown him the pleasures of heaven.

    The news of her condition came out of nowhere, devastating him. The two fought many battles together, but stage 4 cancer wasn''t an opponent they could beat.

    Aliza, however, didn''t let things end on a sour note.

    Remembering Aliza''s cheeky smile lying in the hospital bed, he grinned, ''She always was a tease, even until the very end.''

    Aliza left him a ''surprise'' that came in an automated email three yearster.

    "Dear Ryan, I know you''ve missed me these past three years. Wouldn''t it be nice if we could meet again? I''ve left an image attached to this email that will allow you to cum to me." Even in death, she haunted him with sex puns.

    Feeling the familiar tingle, Ryan quickened his strokes. Staring at her mesmerizing bust, Ryan couldn''t hold on any longer and spurted.

    Breathing heavily, Ryan ced his phone on his bed and exhaled, ''God, I miss her.''

    Wanting to clean himself and shower, Ryan slowly rose. Then, getting to his feet, Ryan abruptly faltered and felt the world rotate around him. Unable to catch his bnce, Ryan plummeted head-first into his dresser.

    mming into the corner, Ryan saw stars before everything faded to ck.

    ===

    Gingerly, Ryan''s eyelids began to flutter open, and his vision slowly returned. As he rolled his neck around, he touched his head, inspecting it for any injuries.

    ''Why are my pillows so fluffy?'' He thought, bewildered by the heavenly sensation he felt supporting his neck and head.

    Patting around the mattress, Ryan endeavored to find his phone. Abruptly halting his hand, Ryan thought, ''Was my ceiling always white?'' Tilting his head forward, he narrowed his eyes.

    Everywhere Ryan looked, he saw white. Everything inside his room had turned white overnight, from his chairs to his desk and even his carpet.

    ''There''s no way I came that hard. . . right?''

    Shrugging off the ridiculous thought, Ryan started to fling his legs out of bed when the door to his room squeaked open.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Damnndlord," Ryan shouted. "I told you I''ll pay you next week!"

    Ready to kick the greasy bastard in his balls again, Ryan slipped on his now-white slippers and stormed towards the door.

    Arriving at the door, Ryan flung it aside, ready to pound the money-grubbing brute into mincemeat, only to lower his hands as he stared ck-jawed at what was in the doorway.

    A beauty that could turn heads no matter where she was, stood with her arms sped behind her back in the entrance. Her proportions were breathtaking, neither overly big nor small. Gorgeous blonde hair with a frost blue hue cascaded down over ck lingerie, leaving little to the imagination.

    Everything about her was perfect, except for her bodynguage. Her sky-blue eyes had a touch of coldness as she pursed her lips.

    Lifting her head, she said, "So you''re the enhancer I''ve been assigned to?"

    Pushing Ryan out of the doorway, she said, "What are you doing out of bed?"

    Staggering backward, Ryan said, "What are you doing here? Why are you barging into my apartment?"

    Frowning, the girl said, "Didn''t your parents teach you manners? Men should know their ce."

    Lunging forward, the girl grasped Ryan''s arms, twisting them behind his back.

    Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Ryan''s reflexes weren''t fast to save him, allowing his arms to be locked behind him.

    sping Ryan''s hands behind his back like handcuffs, she used her free hand to reach over Ryan''s shoulder and began to grope his chest.

    "You''ve got some nice stuff here, for a guy." She said, impressed by his physique.

    Ryan was confused, ''Does she like fat men?'' But when he looked down, he was astonished to see his once overweight body had disappeared, reced by a firm muscr physique.

    ''I was not holding in that much cum. . . no way.''

    Feeling her hand start to lower, Ryan said, "You know, if this was what you were after, all you had to do was ask."

    "Humph, like I''d believe that," She said, snorting. "If you want to lie,e up with a better one."

    Furrowing his brow, Ryan couldn''t make heads or tails of what she said, ''Who wouldn''t want to sleep with a beauty like her?''

    Removing her hand from his lower chest, she said, "Do I have to carry you to the bed, or will you walk?"

    ncing over his shoulder, Ryan winked, "Why don''t I carry you to the bed?"

    Crinkling her nose, she intensified her grip on his hands as she said, "Don''t try and get smart with me."

    "Fucks sake, woman! I''ll have sex with you, damn!" Ryan cursed as, for the first time since Aliza''s teachings, he couldn''t get a read on a woman.

    Loosening her grip, she narrowed her eyes and said, "Are you telling the truth?"

    "Yes! I''ll fuck you till kingdom cums, or whatever the saying is," Ryan said, exacerbated at this woman''s antics.

    "Okay," She reluctantly said, releasing his hands. "But if you try anything-"

    "Don''t worry," Ryan said, rubbing his palms together, "You won''t hear meining."

 Chapter 2 The Ice Queen Melts [R-18]

    Making steady eye contact, Ryan backed toward his bed.  Having spent the previous three years locked up in his bedroom, he knew itsyout like the back of his hand. Carefully evading his lethal dresser, he kept his eyes locked on his target.

    Waggling his eyebrows, Ryan said, "Do you want the good Ryan," reaching the bed, he raised one eyebrow. "Or the naughty one?"

    Tilting her head, she pressed her lips together, "I prefer my males submissive and docile," she said. However, Ryan could see a gleam in her eye that told a different story.

    Shaking his head ''no'' he said, "I understand," and climbed onto the bed, taking off his shirt.

    Lying back on the fluffy mattress, Ryan felt his body sink into its heavenly embrace, thinking, ''Okay, I know my cum doesn''t have magical properties. My bed was never this soft. However, that begs the question, who did this to my room, and why?''

    Sauntering over to the side of the bed, the girl frowned, "Why aren''t your pants off?"

    Stepping forward, she yanked Ryan''s pants and boxers free, causing Ryan''s snarky reply to catch in his throat.

    "I said, submissive and docile. Do you understand?" She said, throwing his pants and underwear across the room.

    Faking a pout, Ryan said, "At least buy me dinner first."

    "Why would I buy you dinner? This is your exam, after all." Then, exasperated, she sighed, "If only I thought of another way to get back at my mother."

    Raising his eyebrows, Ryan attempted to ask what she was talking about but felt his speaking ability failed him.

    "That will onlyst until this is over," She slumped her shoulders and said. "I just want to get this over with."

    Deciding it was now or never, Ryan sprang forward and grabbed her arms.

    "What do you think you''re doing?" Then, she screamed, "Do you think you can get away?"

    Not listening to her nonsense, Ryan slowly exerted his control and wrestled her onto the bed, pinning her below him.

    "W-Why are you so strong?!" Stammering, she gasped, feeling Ryan''s abnormal amount of strength.

    "No man can be this strong!" She said, judging Ryan''s grip to be equivalent to a cultivator exerting 780 units of energy.

    "I work out," Ryan said, smiling enigmatically, regaining his ability to speak.

    Gripping her arms, he leaned forward and kissed her neck.

    She gasped from the unexpected pleasure. Her lips quivered, "Y-You, don''t just tease me."

    Sensing her pent-up desires, Ryan felt like he was a hunter, and she was his prey.

    "W-What are you-" Stifling the remainder of her words, she shivered, frozen by his evil grin, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

    "I prefer my girls," He paused, licking his lips, "squirming in pleasure."

    Moving his head towards the back of her neck, he lightly nibbled her earlobe, eliciting a moan of delight.

    Proceeding downward, Ryan released her ear, pressing his wet lips against her neck and corbone.

    Arriving at her lingerie, Ryan hesitated when Aliza''s instructions rang in his mind, "If she''s covered beneath the sheets, use your teeth!"

    Knowing what to do, Ryan bit the silk fabric and yanked his teeth back, ripping a hole in her lingerie.

    Ryan never got over the satisfaction of freeing the masterpieces attached to girls'' chests and once again swore his oath to continue his calling in life, "I swear to thee, oh breasts I adore to see, I wille one day to set you all free."

    Gazing at her soft mounds, Ryan held her hands above her and stole her move, utilizing one hand to dominate both of hers while his other explored her chest.

    Ryan meticulously inched his fingers toward her nipples as he traced circles with his fingertips, getting closer to the sulent tip.

    Panting with need, the girl desperately strained to press her nipples forward to make contact with his tortuous fingers.

    But how could Ryan allow that? Quickly reaching above, he brought her arms to her sides, pinning and locking them with his legs. Sitting atop her, licking his lips as his prey was now truly caged.

    "What''s your name?" Feeling obligated to find out his new pet''s name, he asked. Continuing to tease her unhurriedly.

    "M-Mara sir," She moaned, squirming beneath him, not to get out, but because his touch felt divine.

    "Mara," Ryan said, mulling it over. "For reference, my name is Ryan. You might need it when you''re screaming in pleasure in a moment."

    Mara''s pants contorted into whimpers as the lust she felt only built, never tipping over. Ryan''s tortuous circles came so close but never that half an inch required for ecstasy.

    When Mara was losing her mind from lust, Ryanpleted the circle and pinched her nipples.

    Jolting pleasure rampaged through Mara''s body as she spasmed in euphoria.

    Wave after wave of unceasing pleasure crashed into Mara as Ryan tweaked and pinched her nipples skillfully.

    In a state of heightened arousal, Mara''s body couldn''t handle any more pleasure, her pussy clenching, juices flowing into her panties as she came.

    "Ryan. . .Ryan, Ryan!" Convulsing in pleasure, she screamed Ryan''s name, again and again, her body experiencing orgasmic bliss.

    Gasping for breath Mara gradually came down from her orgasmic high, looking into Ryan''s eyes.

    Although her mind was foggy, Mara held some semnce of reality from being a cultivator. Studying Ryan''s face for the first time, she realized this man wasˇ­ handsome.

    Mara had seen a lot of nobles before, frequenting gs and balls, and while some were good-looking, she had never seen one as captivating as him.

    Ryan had slick raven-ck hair, emerald green eyes, a chiseled face, and a sharp jawline. Gawking at his chest, she wondered if Ryan stole this body from some divine being who decided to carve this physique solely to express his vanity.

    Catching her breath, Mara felt her heartbeat quicken again as more arousal flooded her system.

    The bit of sanity she had remaining after the tortuous encounter was conquered by a raging lust that seemed to have crept up on her since Ryan pinned her to the mattress.

    Seeing Mara''s lust, Ryan acted on instinct, breathing it like life-giving air as energy poured into him.

    Regaining rity, he realized that energy had flowed into him, feeling it settle inside his lower stomach.

    Not having the wherewithal to focus on such a thing now, he concentrated on the task at hand, gettingid.

    Slowly getting off Mara, Ryan stripped free of his remaining clothes. Seeing Mara''s wide eyes, Ryan frowned and looked down.

    Fixing their gazes on his cock, both stared ck-jawed at the monster released from his pants.

    His penis before had been above average, a solid 6 inches, butpared to the girthy 9 of this current monstrosity, it seemed like a joke.

    Mara''s pussy throbbed as a line of drool escaped her mouth. Guided by instinct, she stood up and took off the torn lingerie and panties while staring into Ryan''s eyes.

    Watching the once Ice Queen exposing her most private parts to his eyes, Ryan''s cock throbbed.

    Abruptly visions of him dominating and subjugating Mara started to invade his thoughts as an overwhelming desire to conquer this woman welled inside him.

    Ryan couldn''t sense where this desire came from, but discerning from its primal nature, he knew there was no room for argument.

    Unable to control his body, he grabbed Mara''s naked frame and threw her onto the bed, climbing atop her.

    Not even giving her a moment''s respite, he jammed his dick into her sopping-wet hole.

    Holding on to thest semnce of control, he tried to slow the entrance in hopes of sparing her pain. Seeding only for a moment, he lost all control and became a blissed-out observer, controlled by his animalistic instincts.

    Mara cried in joy as Ryan''s member prated her, breaking her seal, not having any pain whatsoever.

    Feeling his member relentlessly attacking her walls, the violent thrust of his hips made her moan out in bliss.

    As her body started to heat up, she reciprocated Ryan''s thrusts by moving her hips towards his thrusting cock every time he came towards her.

    Her cries turned louder as she reached to Ryan''s back, pulling her body closer to him and allowing Ryan to prate even deeper.

    Ryan''s started to grunt and growl, his animalistic sounds making Mara scream, "Please! Ryan, give it to me!"

    Thrusting his whole nine inches into her, Ryan roared, feeling all the energy built up from Mara''s lust shoot out with his seed into Mara''s eagerly waiting pussy.

    Feeling his seed enter, Mara''s body turned scorching hot as her senses screamed out in delight, feeling as though her body was on cloud nine.

    Shaking and spasming, Mara experienced the most intense orgasm of her life before her and Ryan''s visions faded to ck.

 Chapter 3 A New World

    Yawning, Ryan rubbed his eyes, stretching his arms above his head.

    Hearing the satisfying crack of his back muscles, Ryan abruptly paused mid-pose as he gaped at where he was sitting. This room was rtively spacious, with unadorned white walls, much like his own repainted room. However, the peculiar part of the room was not its interior but its inhabitants.

    Sitting shoulder to shoulder along the walls were hundreds of boys who appeared to be around the age of 18.

    Ryan, too, was crunched in between two boys.

    "Do you know what''s going on?" Ryan asked, tapping the boy to his right on the shoulder.

    "Don''t touch me, mongrel," The boy spat, flicking Ryan''s hand off his shoulder.

    Stunned by the boy''s reaction, Ryan tried his luck with the boy on his left.

    "Do you, by chance, know what''s going on here?"

    "M-Me?" The boy asked, adjusting his crocked sses.

    "I don''t see anyone else here, do you?" Ryan asked sarcastically.

    "I see 551 people here, not including me," The boy retorted, examining Ryan quizzically.

    Rubbing his forehead, Ryan said, "Forget it," and decided to wait and see why they were all in this nd space.

    Surveying the room, he sensed he had overlooked something, ''Why is everyone so tense?''

    Racking his brain for an exnation for the unusually tense atmosphere, he saw a hole in the middle of the floor appear.

    As the floor opened up, a woman emerged, standing on a rising pedestal.

    As Ryan watched her ascent, he felt a feeling between fear and arousal well up inside him. She was arge, athletic, curly-haired brte with golden amber eyes.

    "Quiet," she shouted, stomping her cktex boots on the ground. She stepped off the podium and strode around the room, her pitch-ck skirt swishing from side to side.

    "My name is First Lieutenant Valeria Waters." Speaking in a loud,manding tone, she addressed the audience, "I''d first and foremost like to congratte you all on behalf of the Kheaweth Military forpleting the orientation test." As she spoke, her green military uniform bounced up and down.

    The medals adorning her uniform jingled as they bounced, allowing the onlookers to receive both pleasant scenery and a melody as a bonus.

    "To see your ranking, simply look at the grey wristband on your dominant hand, and will the data to appear."

    "This wristband will be your new best friend and is built to resemble the heavenly screen."

    ''What on earth is this chick talking about?'' Ryan wondered, ''First my room, and now this? What is going on today?''

    Hearing excited murmurs sounding from the audience as they activated their new wristbands, Ryan gazed down at his own.

    Rubbing his neck Ryan looked around to see if there were any hidden cameras, but honestly, this would be the lousiest prank show in existence.

    "What the fuck!" Ryan blurted as he saw a screen pop up in midair.

    The room suddenly turned deathly quiet, everyone cringing, expecting the Lieutenant to rip Ryan a new one. Unexpectedly, she only nced at him before turning and addressing the rest of the room, ignoring the outburst.

    "If your ss rank is in the top 100, congrattions! You have just entered the illustrious list of ranked members of the Kheaweth Military!"

    Shrugging off the feeling of death that came over him, Ryan exerted his will on his wristband.

    <Name: Anthony Dire>

    <ss Rank: 1>

    Gasps and passionate exmations of joy and sorrow filled the room as 99 people voiced their excitement and 452 their disappointment.

    The 552nd, Ryan, however, waspletely baffled, ''What the hell is going on?'' Feeling like this was surely a dream, he kept pinching himself, yet he didn''t wake up. ''Is this real?''

    "Before I send you all on your way, does anyone have any questions?"

    "My name is Marcus Montgomery, of house Montgomery, and I am sorry if I sound rude, First Lieutenant." The man to Ryan''s right introduced himself as he stood, giving a low bow in the Lieutenant''s direction. "But I fail to see how I could possibly be ranked ninth! What qualities is  this test supposed to cover that it dares to rank me ninth?"

    "Oh, it''s Mr. Marcus of house Montgomery, is it?" She said, twirling her hair in her finger, "I didn''t realize it was you."

    "Of course, such a lovely madam as yourself is forgiven for such a small offense." Marcus said, his belly jiggling as he talked.

    "Well, if that''s the caseˇ­" She said, biting her lip, "If you want to know. . .get on your knees and beg me."

    Silence echoed in the room, everyone holding their breath.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Marcus''s chubby face contorted, clenching his jaw. "Do you know who my mother is?" He snorted, looking at the Lieutenant as though she was swine.

    "A small Lieutenant like you cannot touch me. It should be you who gets on your knees." He said, pointing his finger at the Lieutenant.

    The facade of the Lieutenant fell off, her lips twisting in a half-smile giving her a sinister look.

    "There''s always a little noble like you who hasn''t been taught properly," she said, exerting her aura on the man. "Boys should know their ce."

    As Ryan observed the scene in wide-eyed fascination, his hands began to rub together on their own as he felt the anticipation building in his body. He wanted to fight.

    Ryan had never been one to start a fight. However, he feltˇ­ battle lust.

    He pictured himself half-dressed, covered in blood, and surrounded by women screaming their love for their protector. In this daydream, he threw his head back and beganughing, towering over his enemy''s bloodied corpses.

    However, another feeling swept over him a momentter as he stared ck-jawed. It was an overwhelming sense of pure power.

    Feeling the Lieutenant release her aura, Ryan recognized it as the same energy he felt inside of him.

    Focusing on his lower stomach, he discovered thatparable energy released by the Lieutenant was lying dormant inside him.

    ''What is this power?''

    Watching as Marcus curled into the fetal position and cried, Ryan felt indignation. ''Are nobles so weak as to not withstand a sliver of her aura?''

    Frowning, Ryan thought, ''How do I know it was only a sliver? Why am I getting angry at such a nonsensical thing?''

    "One thing you all should learn," She said, making firm and precise movements, "That man will be you if you dare to insult a higher rank than yours."

    "It doesn''t matter who your mommy is, and even less who your daddy is. If you cannot do this," she said, manifesting a glowing sphere of light on her fingertip, "you are worthless."

    Tugging her ear, she capitted, "At least in battle. Some of you are at least useful in the bedroom."

    Hearing her concede some potential prowess, a collective sigh of relief resounded through the room.

    Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, she said, "Alright, any more moronic questions?"

    "Good, then we''ll ge-." Abruptly stopping, she raised her eyebrows and stared with wide eyes at a hand slowly rising.

    Boosting her aura to the max, she directed at the foolish man.

    ''Fuck! It''s him!'' Swerving her aura to the side, she crashed it into the recruit sitting beside the man with his hand raised.

    The crowd, expecting Ryan to get obliterated by the Lieutenant''s aura, stared ck-jawed as Marcus squealed like a pig roasting over a fire, getting a second dose of now the cultivator''s entire aura.

    "What was your question?" She asked, ignoring the shrieking Marcus.

    "What did you mean by useful in the bedroom?" Ryan asked, tilting his head innocently, "Do you think we could have a private session where you showed me privately, Valery?"

    Ryan made a calcted move, recalling Aliza''s "The rules of conquering women."

    "Always press an advantage."

    "Always leave a unique impression."

    "Get into her thoughts. . .and pants."

    Lieutenant Valeria was frozen, unable to move after hearing a recruit call her "Valery."

    Hearing it from him soundedˇ­good. ''Why does it sound so good?'' She questioned herself.

    Looking away from the man''s unblinking stare, she tried to make eye contact but couldn''t hold it for more than a second.

    Blushing and giving up, she settled for looking at his raven locs, "When I say useful in the bedroom," she said, clearing her throat. "I am referring to your abilities as enhancers."

    Seeing his wayward expression, her eyelid twitched, and she wondered, ''What do the higher-ups see in this guy?''

    "Enhancers deposit their sperm into a cultivator''s mouth, vagina, or other orifices improving the cultivator''s cultivation depending on each other''s ranks." Not daring to ask another rhetorical question, Valeria paused and waited.

    Seeing Ryan nod and wave his arms in a "shoo" motion, her eyebrows lowered, and a vein throbbed on her forehead.

    Witnessing the exchange between the two, everyone stared, their gazes fixed on Ryan, wondering who he was.

 Chapter 4 Anthony Dire

    Following Valery, Ryan made his way down a long corridor. The sound of a hundred pairs of shoes ttering against the ground echoed off the dimly lit metal walls.

    Only a hundred left after the Lieutenant ordered the 400 unranked recruits through a suspicious door, back in the unadorned chamber they hade from. As he snuck a peek through the door, Ryan saw only darkness, giving him the feeling of peering into a void.

    Coming to the end of the corridor, Ryan saw an entrance to an auditorium stage. Bright lights shone from above, forcing the ranked into the spotlight. Squinting his eyes, Ryan found it difficult to pinpoint the exact number of people in the auditorium. He could clearly see the people seated in the front row, but things became blurry as he looked further into the audience.

    Ushered into seats on the stage arranged like bleachers, they were told to sit down in order of ss rank.

    Ryan saw a few jaws drop as he imed his seat in the top left, marked with the number one.

    "Attention, recruits!" Invisible speakers broadcasted a high-pitched female voice throughout the vast auditorium. "As the faction leader of the Golden Tridents, I''d like to wee the 415th enhancer ss to the Military Training Academy."

    A roar of apuse bellowed from the seats. Whistling and catcalls were thrown in for good measure.

    After the noise settled, themanding voice continued, "In a moment, the bleachers will relocate you to the back of the stage, and we shall begin our faction recruitment ceremony."

    "But before that, to inspire and motivate our new batch of unranked enhancers in the audience, we will show exactly what you''re going up against. I present the top five cement''s individual category rankings!"

    Five holographic screens appeared midair, each showing a face with a name below and four rankings attached.

    <Name: Austin Richelle>

    <Speed Ranking: (C+)>

    <Quality Ranking: (C-)>

    <Special Characteristic Ranking: (D+)>

    <ss Ranking: (2)>

    After only bothering to nce at second ce, Ryan looked at where his spot should be but was baffled by what he saw.

    <Name: Anthony Dire>

    <Speed Ranking: (A-)>

    <Quality Ranking: (ssified)>

    <Special Characteristic Ranking: (Unable To Determine)>

    <ss Ranking: (1)>

    The cheering suddenly stopped, and the whole auditorium came to a standstill. After several ufortable seconds, a gruff female voice shouted, "Why is Anthony Dire ranked #1? Who let an obvious cheater rank first?!"

    Like the match that sparked an inferno, the whole auditorium zed to life with chatter.

    Ryan covered his ears, trying to drown out the deafening noise.

    The roar of the crowd only abided when a loud "Quiet!" sounded out from the speakers.

    "Congrattions to those of you who deserve to be here," The voice said. "Please remain in your seats as the bleacher''s transport you backstage."

    As her voice faded, the bleachers shook and slowly raised off the ground. Wheels extended from the bottoms and began rolling them towards the stage wall.

    As the bleachers slowly moved, Ryan heard murmurings in the crowd.

    "Is Goddess M going to allow that bastard to get away with it?"

    "Even though his body is alluringˇ­ he''s too arrogant."

    "Nobles are getting more and more pretentious these days."

    ''Are they referring to me?'' Ryan wondered, still baffled at the goings on. The number one ranked enhancer hologram had his own beautiful face. And, as Ryan looked at his reflection in one of the mirrors on the wall, it was certainly beautiful.

    ''But why are they calling me Anthony Dire? It''s not Anthony that is  #1, it''s me that is listed first in the rankings.''

    Feeling his blood turn cold, a sudden foreboding feeling washed over him as he thought, ''My room changed, and my body suddenly became strong. That weird girl appeared, this energy, my new bodyˇ­ did I really die?''<novelnext></novelnext>

    As the thought struck him, he realized the indisputable facts that all pointed to a solitary answer. ''Yes, I did die. And somehow, I am either undead, or I have been transported into a different world and in a new body.''

    Ryan wanted to curl up in a fetal position, but the stage wall was only a few feet away.

    Only when they were within an inch of the wall did a passageway open, allowing them backstage.

    After the bleachers locked into position and lowered to the ground, Ryan rested his elbows on his knees and massaged his temple with his palms.

    "She used you too hard as well, huh?" The boy to his left said.

    Frowning, Ryan looked over at the boy and asked, "What do you mean?"

    Smiling wryly at Ryan, the boy answered, "I mean, it''s clear that you got squeezed."

    "I don''t know what all that shouting was about as I ain''t no noble, but I know a squeezer victim when I see one."

    Seeing Ryan''s eyebrow raised, the boy sighed, "Guess it''s your first time."

    "Squeezed is the term when we enhancers get used as a pleasure toy until all our juices are squeezed dry."

    "From your bodynguage, it seems to be the most logical conclusion that you got used and abused by whoever was in your BCN replica."

    The boy ced anguid hand on Ryan''s shoulder, "Don''t worry, they''re not all like that. My name''s Austin, by the way. What''s yours?"

    Ryan looked at Austin''s hand on his shoulder and realized there was a misunderstanding, but didn''t correct Austin as the real reason for his mood was much moreplicated.

    As Ryan was about to reply, he saw a man appear below them, walking towards them.

    As he got closer, Ryan recognized the man from earlier, Marcus, the cumbersome son of a pompous noble, or so Ryan thought.

    As Marcus approached, his eyes widened and he eximed, "It''s you!" Like an exuberant toddler, he excitedly pointed his finger towards Ryan.

    Brow furrowed, Ryan thought, ''Did this man know the previous me?'' Thinking of the possibility, his heartbeat picked up. ''If that was the case, maybe this guy has some answers.''

    Maintaining eye contact with Marcus, Ryan pushed his chest out and said, "Do you perhaps know me? I don''t think I''ve had the honor yet." Knowing this man was a noble, if Ryan wanted to glean any information from Marcus, it was best to be cordial.

    Combining the way Lieutenant Valeria treated Ryan, the information he had, and his cool, confident demeanor, Marcus was sure. It was him.  "My apologies for my boorish actions. My name is Marcus Montgomery, of house Montgomery. We are a low Viscount family, but today it is the honor of our house to meet your esteemed self."

    Ryan''s calm exterior almost cracked at the turnaround he had just witnessed. One second, Marcus was acting like the ruler of the world, the next, tame as ap dog.

    "My name is Anthony Dire, and the pleasure is mine, Marcus Montgomery." Seeing the hologram call him Anthony Dire, he guessed that was his previous name.

    "Haha, my goodman, you jest. Oh my, I haven''tughed like that since Father''s birthday ballst spring!" Marcus said, throwing his head back inughter.

    Sitting beside Ryan, even Austin started shaking withughter.

    "Why do you bothugh at my name? Do you think my name is worthughing at?" ying the role of the superior aristocrat Ryan tilted his head and asked.

    Seeing Ryan''s scowling face, Marcus stoppedughing and wiped the tears from his eyes, "Are you iming your real name is Anthony Dire? Surely you jest, my goodman!"

    Frowning, Ryan sensed he was missing something. Was his name well known? Was he some despicable person before?

    "Do you truly not know what Anthony Dire represents?" Marcus asked, seeing the bewilderment on Ryan''s face.

    ''Does Anthony Dire trante to something profane in anothernguage?''

    "Dude, you aren''t one of them, are you?" Hurriedly raising his hands in mock surrender, Austin stammered, "I didn''t mean tough, honest! I thought you were joking!"

    Sneering at Austin, Marcus said, "Someone of his ilk cannot be one of them."

    Marcus jolted and turned towards Ryan. "I''m so sorry. I didn''t mean to. . . I didn''t know you wanted to hideˇ­." Marcus babbled, seeming to think he was making everything worse. Looking out the corner of his eye at Austin, he said, "I''m sorry. I''ll just stop before I say anything else." Bowing to Ryan, he returned to his seat.

    His brow furrowed, Ryan watched Marcus leave. Determined to get answers, Ryan turned toward Austin but shook his head, realizing Austin had already escaped.

    Resolving to find the answerster, he started to calm his brain and fell into a deep meditative state.

 Chapter 5 Mila

    "What do you think about the recruits this year M? Any caught your fancy?" Abby asked, flinging her beautiful long red hair toy over her seat. Her plump curves and fawn brown eyes drew a few looks from the female audience members as she moved.

    ncing at her sister, M waved dismissively, continuing to look through the files of new recruits.

    "Oh,e on, sis, there has to be someone who catches your eye this year, right?" Abby teasingly said as she walked toward her younger sister.

    M stuck her nose in the air. "They are not good enough for me," her haughty tone signaling the end of the conversation.

    Abby leaned close to M, brushed aside her auburn hair, and whispered, "Or are you waiting for him, the one that saved you."

    Jerking away from Abby''s hot breath and teasing words, M''s cheeks turned scarlet as she stuttered, "N-No, I am not! And I don''t want to talk about that again."

    M peeked around to make sure no one was listening. Not wanting to meet Abby''s eyes, she nuzzled up to her neck and whispered, "And even if I was, you are not to speak of him here!"

    Seeing her usually haughty sister act so bashful made Abby even more eager to tease M.

    Unfortunately, her teasing was interrupted by a gasp from M. "This recruit got B rank in quality!"

    Showing her sister the file, M felt more enraged at the enhancer who came in "first" ce.

    The heavens were ruthless when giving rankings, and being born with a B rank in one of the three categories was easily 1 in 10,000.

    Normally getting an A- in a category would stir up a storm when first entering the academy, but after seeing the name Anthony Dire, the ssified, and "cannot be determined" messages that appeared when the top 5 enhancers were announced. Everyone knew the truth. That man was a fraud.

    Nobles were notorious for forcing their sons to be enhancers, which was totally eptable and epted as a privilege of the higher ss.

    However, did the fraud enhancer really believe he could use his mother''s power to fake his speed test and get the others redacted? He even had the gull to hide behind the name Anthony Dire. Pathetic!

    M didn''t know which house the brat came from, but she was sure as hell going to find out.

    Although the students right now might think the brat was going to get away with it, that man had another thinging.

    She was going to strip any chance he had to get into a faction.

    Although the other faction leaders must havee to a simr conclusion as her, especially after his pathetic attempt to hide his name, they might pick him in an attempt to curry favor with his backer.

    Having her own powerful backers, she felt confident that her fellow faction leaders would drop him if she asked them.

    Everyone knew it wasn''t a worthwhile trade to offend a backer in exchange for a favor, as one carried a lot more weight than the other.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If M could sessfully keep the fraud from joining a faction, she would stunt his growth by arge margin.

    ===

    Ryan sat backstage. Even though he couldn''t move and talk, he had a sense of awareness of his surroundings. He knew that Marcus and Austin sheepishly ran away after their talk with him. He remembered falling on the chair and now couldn''t move. And he knew that a tunnel of knowledge was forming in his subconscious, trying to make its way to his conscious thoughts.

    The puzzle was beginning to fit together and the facts were sliding into ce. His quest to uncover the truth was bing less hazy.

    He realized that he had fallen into a trance-like state, and it had cleared his mind of the fog that had gued him since he first arrived in this new world.

    While in this trance-like state, he could hear the outside chatter of the new enhancers that were milling around backstage, as well as a few murmurings from the audience from the auditorium.

    Ryan felt as though he could have a thousand conversations at once, but he couldn''t talk. So all he did was listen to the girls chatter allowing the constant hum to lull him through his trance.

    Little pings of conversation were zeroing in to his consciousness, allowing him to hear and somewhat process what these girls were saying.

    "Don''t you think that Anthony Dire is cute?" one girl giggled.

    "You do realize that Anthony isn''t his real name, right?" another voice responded. "He''s an orphan."

    "Huh?" the first girl sounded very confused.

    The second girl said in a low voice. "All Alissa''s and Anthony Dires are orphans. They are unidentifiable people."

    "Well he''s still cute!" The first girl giggled again. "I''d smash that in a minute!"

    "You may want him for a minute, but he''s not a keeper. Orphans are the dregs of society. They are trained for all the dirty jobs, and a few unlucky ones even get traded as ves," the second girl responded. "Yuck!"

    A third voice chimed in. "You know that enhancers, once they are as a ranked member of the military, they get a female ve to practice their techniques on," the girl groaned, "I need a ve to practice my techniques on too! Lucky dogs!"

    Another voice, sounding a little closer than the first set of girls chimed in, "There are tons of paid ves here on Ravier," she exined, "I''ve heard that people willing be paid ves and sign a ve contract with their master for a period of time in return for a predetermined amount of money."

    The first girl giggled again, "Oooh, service, practice, and pay. How fun! But don''t they have a ve seal?"

    The third voice sounding confinent in her knowledge responded, "No, they would be treated the same as other ves, except that they don''t have a ve seal. Their empire, not their owners determine their treatment."

 Chapter 6 Little Angel

    Ryan woke up from his meditation, he didn''t know how long it hadsted, but he felt rejuvenated.

    Although he had been listening to a lot of conversations, whatever trance-like state he was in wasn''t omnipotent and didn''t allow him to listen to everyone. Still, he learned a lot from the mindless chatter because there were so many people.

    First, he learned what his name meant, he was an orphan, the dregs of society. Second, he learned a little more about the ve system, though he still had a lot of questions about how to go about getting ves. Third, it seemed like this''s men were a little bit different than earth''s men...

    He turned and saw Austin looking at him nkly. Ignoring their past conversation, Ryan asked, "How long was I asleep? Is the wait almost over?"

    Jerking out of thought, Austin looked for the source of the voice with wide eyes full of fear. Seeing it was Ryan, he calmed his racing heart, "Sorry you startled me for a sec," He said while trying to catch his breath.

    "Dude, you were totally out of it." Austin gave Ryan a questioning look, "You woke up just in time!"

    Seeing Austin''s look, Ryan furrowed his own brow and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have some pudding on my face?"

    Snorting, Austin replied, "I doubt you eat pudding, no. What exactly were you doing earlier?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, me and Marc tried to wake you up, but we couldn''t. Did she squeeze you that dry?"

    Ryan was now really confused, he hadn''t felt anyone try to wake him up.

    If Austin was telling the truth, then he would have to be careful when and where he fell into that state again.

    "I was just sleeping, and when did Marcus change his name to Marc?" Ryan said, trying to change the subject.

    Austin looked like he wanted to continue the conversation, but then a voice sounded from their right.

    "Oh good, you''re finally up, Anthony! I thought you had been taken by the reaper, A-n-t-h-o-n-y!" Marcus interjected, making sure to stress that he was pointing out the low ss name.

    While Austin face-palmed beside him, Ryan replied jokingly, "No, but if death wants to be taken, I wouldn''t mind her from behind."

    Marcus overly guffawed at Ryan''s joke, making a scene that caught the attention of several recruits by falling out of his chair and rolling on the floor. His fist mmed the innocent wooden tiles making them take the brunt of hisughter.

    After his little charade was over, Marcus got up and whipped the non-existent tears out of his eyes and said, "Oh my, A-n-t-h-o-n-y, you sure know how to jest." Once again entuating the word Anthony to make sure everyone heard it.

    Ryan looked at the noble with a dark expression. It was clear that Marcus thought that he had offended him earlier and was trying to make up for it by sucking up to him.

    Trying to nip this little misunderstanding in the bud, he said, "Marcus, please know that I was not offended earlier. Since I just woke up, why don''t you tell me about what news I missed while I was sleeping."

    Widening his eyes in realization that Ryan truly didn''t care about the earlier incident, Marcus smiled and chortled, "Good, my good man, yes, yes."

    Getting back into his seat, Marcus leaned over the railing of his chair and whispered into Ryan''s ear, "Word on the street is that some ranker offended the faction head of the Golden Tridents and won''t be chosen by a faction while staying in the undergraduate campus."

    Startled that Marcus actually had news he hadn''t heard, Ryan asked, "Who?"

    "No clue. But whoever it is, seemed to piss her off pretty bad, as even my spies heard about it through the grapevine!"

    Mulling it over for a moment, Ryan had to agree. From what he already had learned about this world, although Marcus was from a Viscount house, he was only a son. He had only just be an enhancer, which would raise his status, but that was in the future.

    Daughters from noble houses were raised as cultivators, as even if they weren''t born with the blessing, they could be artificial cultivators.

    Sons, however, were raised to be the best noble husbands they could be. They were focused on learning etiquette, manners, and husband duties that would please their future wife.

    Whoever this person was that had offended a faction head wasn''t that smart. Aliza had taught him that while there was a time and ce for provoking a woman''s ire, and it was never a good idea if they were stronger than you.

    Suddenly the wall that covered the backstage disintegrated, and the chairs under the recruit''s feet suddenly shot forward and came to rest at the front of the stage.

    Several recruits were standing up off their seats and were flung forward off the stage by the sudden moment of the bleacher-chair extravaganza.

    Other recruits were standing off to the side, away from the chairs, and had to walk to the front of the stage pitifully but were stopped from getting in their seats by several armed army officers.

    A moment after the movement started, it stopped, and the only sound was the groans of pain from a group of the new male recruits.

    "Pathetic!" A voice rang out above the sounds of pain, "Whoever is not in their seat will have their first month''s credits confiscated."

    Smiling, M looked at the rest of the people in the chairs and continued talking, "As for the rest of you," Then she looked toward Ryan, who unfortunately wasn''t one of the ones to fall, and frowned, "Don''t expect to get apliment. You only did well enough."

    Turning around, M signaled to the other faction leaders toe forward, "When your name is called, please step forward."

    "Jake Balmer!"

    Therge hologram screen floated at the front of the room just to the right of the bleachers. The enhancer''s names and stats began appearing on the hovering screen.

    <name: jake="" balmer=""></name:>

    <speed ranking:="" (f)=""></speed>

    <quality ranking:="" (f+)=""></quality>

    <special characteristic="" ranking:="" (f-)=""></special>

    <ss ranking:="" (100)=""></ss>

    Stepping onto the stage a mediocre-looking shaggy hair guy shrugged his shoulders and hung his head in shame. His clothes were a bit too big for him, making Ryan think he was trying to make people believe he was built and not so thin.

    "A full F rank, poor chap."

    "Wasn''t the exam time limit three hours?"

    "Doesn''t that mean he ejacted within three hours? My servant takes six!"

    "Guess F rank isn''t so bad."

    M shouted, "Quiet!" Turning toward her fellow faction leaders she said, "Does anyone wish to bid?"

    The girls were shaking their heads side to side and grimacing. Not one of them wanted to look poor Jake in the face.

    Seeing them all shake their heads she said, "Sorry, Mr. Balmer, it seems that none of the faction leaders are interested in you at this time. If you try and work hard enough, there is still a chance that you can get recruitedter on down the line."

    After Jake was escorted off stage by a female security guard, M continued.

    "Next up Hugh. . . I''m not saying that."

    <name: hugh="" anus=""></name:>

    <speed ranking:="" (f-)=""></speed>

    <quality ranking:="" (f-)=""></quality>

    <special characteristic="" ranking:="" (e-)=""></special>

    "Good name! Hopefully, it''s big enough to fit my strap-on!"

    "Got anything else that''s huge, big boy?"

    "I said, quiet!" Mara roared, mming the table. Turning towards the girls she asked, "Anyone want Mr. Anus?"

    "Eh, E- is good enough. I''ll bid one faction point," the leader for the Blue Eagles said. Seeing everyone pass on Mr. Ass, M looked at Hugh and said, "Congrattions, sir! Please swiftly exit the stage, a representative from Blue Eagles will meet you outside."

    "Next up is Kevin Hamsin," M called, thankful for a normal name.

    <name: kevin="" hamsin=""></name:>

    <speed ranking:="" (e)=""></speed>

    "Quality Ranking: (F-)>

    <special characteristic="" ranking:="" (f-)=""></special>

    "I bet he''ll be ackey for the Dawn Pavilion and rot in the BCN. He looks like a suck-up," an enhancer next to Ryan muttered.

    Ryan heard the words and felt something he heard something familiar.

    It was a conversation that must have been buried during his trance because he heard two girls talk of empires and magical forces.

    "Yes, I know women have been the only ones able to cultivate since ancient times," a girl said.

    "But from the coboration of the Red Dragon Empire, Holy Phoenix Empire, our Human Kheaweth Empire, and The Dawn Pavilion, we have created the ''Blissful Cultivation Network'' or BCN for short. This has given males a new purpose!"

    "But what good are men?" a second girl asked the first.

    "As I''m sure you''re aware of the Dawn Pavilion, right? The one who made the Dawn Net and is currently the biggest force on Ravier?"

    Seeing the girl nod, girl one continued, "Well they made an inte hookup room called the BCN, which allows the 1 in 10,000 males who are born enhancers to be useful!"

    "Why aren''t they ruling the world then?"

    "When the Dawn family first founded the Dawn Pavilion, and the four great empires were barely considered kingdoms by the heavens, the Dawn family signed a heavenly contract with the four Queens that forbid them or their descendants from ever establishing an empire."

    "In return, the Dawn family was allowed to grow undisturbed throughout every empire or kingdom in the world as no force was worried about them taking power. As none of their forces couldunch a heavenly invasion."

    ===

    Feeling a tap on his shoulder Ryan jolted out of his memory, screaming, "What!"

    His re terrified the recruit that had tapped him on the shoulder. The recruit pointed and trembled out, "I-It''s your turn, Anthony."

    Ryan was confused, his name wasn''t Anthony. What was this kid talking about?

    Following the kid''s finger, his eyes located seven figures; none of them looked familiarˇ­ except, "Little angel? What are you doing here?"

 Chapter 7 Mila: "Remove Your Shirt"

    M looked down at the piece of paper and smiled. The time had finallye.

    She couldn''t wait to see the look on that brat''s face when no one bid for him and he was passed by.

    <name: anthony="" dire=""></name:>

    <speed ranking:="" (a-)=""></speed>

    <quality ranking:="" (ssified)=""></quality>

    <special characteristic="" ranking:="" (unable="" to="" determine)=""></special>

    <ss ranking:="" (1)=""></ss>

    M''s eyes turned to Ryan. Her look was triumphant. Suddenly a haze covered her eyes and she lost her focus. Memories mmed her thoughts and she felt like she was transported in time.

    She was sweating, covered in dirt, racing down a deserted road except for the group of bandits headed her way.

    She shouldn''t have been alone but at the time, she was only 15 and had gotten separated from her group of bodyguards.

    It was supposed to be a great trip, surrounded by her friends and ssmates. They were learning about the ecosystem of the and focusing on nt growth near the edge of the empire when a group ofscivious bandits ambushed her.

    The bandits had easily captured her and stripped off her clothes with lust radiating from their eyes.

    She had pleaded with them not to hurt her. She tried to bargain with them and screamed that her family would give them a lot of money if they handed her over, but they didn''t care.

    All they saw was her body.

    That''s when He appeared.

    He appeared out of nowhere and instantly decapitated the person on top of her with a long sword.

    His small stature,bined with his baby face, made him look around her age.

    His movements weren''t shy like she was used to seeing by nobles, but they were effective.

    His skills put the bandits to shame, and he had dispatched all the bandits in under a minute.

    While she was happy the bandits were dead, she had been worried that he, too, would lust after her body like every other man.

    But as he walked over to her, only sadness filled his eyes as he looked at her.

    He took off his shirt and covered her nakedness with it.

    When M looked at him, she gasped. M could not see a ce on his chest or back that wasn''t covered by a scar.

    She couldn''t fathom what this young man had been through in order to attain those scars and live to talk about it.

    When she was wondering how to express her thanks, the teen turned to the side and, after staring into the distance for a few seconds said, "Your bodyguards will be here in a minute. It''s time for me to leave."

    Grabbing his hand, M cried, "Don''t go! Please stay with me!"

    It was the first time she had held a boy''s hand. It was rough and calloused like it had worked all its life to fight and survive. She felt safe in its embrace, but it onlysted a moment.

    He softly took M''s hand out of his and said, "Goodbye, litt¨C"

    "Little angel? What are you doing here?"

    Like lightning bolts, the words crashed into M, and she raised her head to look at the source of the sound.

    Seeing that it was the brat who cheated his way into the academy, she questioned with a slightly trembling voice, "What d-did you say?"

    ===

    The worst headache of his life assaulted Ryan. ''Why did those wordse out of my mouth? What am I talking about?'' He felt as though someone was taking a jackhammer and trying to drill a hole in his skull.

    Clenching his teeth to avoid screaming, he only barely heard M''s trembling voice.

    "What d-did you say?"

    Taking a second topose himself, Ryan said, "Sorry, I''m not sure what I just said," he mumbled as he squeezed his temples, trying to rid himself of the pain.

    As the pain slowly died down he raised his hand and said. "I''ll be there in a second," as he began walking up to the front of the stage.

    M looked at Ryan. Her left eyebrow raised high on her forehead. Her lips pursed into a tight bunch, and her nose and forehead wrinkled clearly disying her confusion. She detested this brat. "Why had he just called her ''little angel''? Only her blonde savior had called her that.''

    ''But this guy with his ugly raven ck hair looks nothing like the guy who saved me.'' But to be sure, she said, "Remove your shirt."

    The other leaders were expecting M to say something after they had been "asked" not to bid for the man going by Anthony Dire. But when M said those words, they all looked at each other with open mouths.

    The talkative auditorium instantly fell silent. All eyes were on M. Things were getting interesting.

    Hearing the venue turn silent, M looked at her fellow faction leaders at the table to see if she had missed something, but what greeted her was six mouths opened in shock, staring at her.

    "Why are you staring at me? What''s wrong?" M asked, puzzled.

    The other faction leaders looked at each other before the ck Tiger''s leader mumbled, "You just asked him to take off his shirt?"

    Looking at the ck Tiger''s leader like an idiot, M said, "Yes, to see if his body is the same one I remember."

    After taking a second to process her words, the auditorium turned into chaos as the cries of teenage girls flooded the auditorium.

    On the stage, Ryan heard thousands of teenage girls scream and shriek and thought, ''Huh, guess this is what being in a group like BTS feels like,'' after he remembered seeing a clip of a BTS concert.

    "The Fairy Queen has had a boyfriend?!"

    "Waaaaaa, my Queen! I thought you''d be mine!"

    "I can''t believe the Fairy Queen has been with a boy before!"

    Hearing all the shouts, M suddenly realized what she had said, and her face turned beet red as she stammered, "That''s notˇ­ We haven''tˇ­."

    Realizing she could only double down, M looked at Ryan on the stage in rage and screamed, "I said take off your shirt, dammit!"

    On the stage, Ryan only looked at M with a raised eyebrow before he slowly moved his hands down to the bottom of his shirt.

    The audience fell silent as though Ryan was about to unveil a painting in a museum.

    Slowly Ryan gripped the fabric of his shirt before inching it up ever so tantalizingly.

    The audience fell into a trance as a stadium full of girls watched Ryan slowly strip his shirt off.

    One girl who had just gotten done shouting at M looked at Ryan and screamed, "He''s so hot!"

    Suddenly the auditorium erupted once again, this time even louder with shrieks from all the girls as Ryan''s carved physique was revealed.

    From the girl''s perspective, it looked like Ryan''s body was a painting that should be unveiled at a museum. It was perfect, hyper-masculine. The lights reflected the gold tint in his unblemished skin. His shoulders were wide, a perfectpliment to his cut abdomen. His smooth muscr physique gave off a feeling of rugged charm.

    M looked at Ryan and furrowed her brow, "I guess it really isn''t him."

    After Ryan was done with his strip tease, he blew a kiss to the audience.

    This was met with even more shrieks as crazed teenage girls wed at each other in their seats, moring, "He''s mine!" "No, he''s mine!"

    "Quiet!" M yelled once she regained herposure after making sure Ryan wasn''t the man she was searching for. She looked a Ryan and said, "Well I almost mistook you for someone else, but he wouldn''t be so crass."

    After a moment''s pause, she looked to her sides and added, "It''s time for the bidding. Would anyone like to bid on Mr. Dire?"

    The information for Anthony Dire popped up on the hologram.

    "Wait, that''s him?"

    "He''s the cheater?"

    Murmurs spread throughout the crowd as people realized that the hot man they saw in front of him was the one that was suspected of cheating by the faction head of the Golden Tridents.

    The rumor had long since circted. Since many of the students in the auditorium were people of high status, most of them heard about Anthony Dire through the school''s active grapevine.

    Almost everyone in the audience knew of M''s attempt to block Anthony Dire from getting into a faction because she suspected him of using his connections to cheat on the test.

    Looking at each other, the faction leaders all shook their heads and sounded out one by one,

    "No bid!"

    "No bid!"

    "No bid!"

    After thest leader sounded, M turned to Ryan with a smug smile and said, "Sorry, Mr. Dire, it seems that none of the faction leaders are interested in you at this time. If you try and work hard enough, there is still a chance that you can get recruitedter on down the line."

    Even though M had given every ranked member who didn''t get recruited this speech, the audience felt her tone was particrly acidic when speaking to Ryan.

    After no one bid on him, Ryan was escorted off stage and was led outside the auditorium.

 Chapter 8 Meeting Emily

    Outside the auditorium, Ryan looked at the building behind him in fascination. The building looked like a regr brick house on the outside, but just through those doors, the space was many timesrger than it would appear outside.

    Seeing Ryan''s look, the guard escorting Ryan chuckled, "Guess it''s your first time seeing spatialpression."

    "Spatial Compression? Is it the same thing they used with the unranked recruits?" Ryan asked.

    "It''s all spatial rted but notpression. What they used was an item called ''connected spatial doors''." The guard looked happy that she knew something Ryan wasn''t aware of and didn''t mind showing off her knowledge.

    "Some of the doors are connected on campus, and the owner of the door can select where anyone who enters that door will go as long as it''s through another connecting door."

    "Some students even have rooms that are connected to thework."

    "But don''t get your hopes up," the guard interacted as she saw the hopeful look on Ryan''s face, "Only the top 100 ranked cultivators and top 10 enhancers get special privileges like that."

    However, the hopeful look on Ryan''s face didn''t fade as he asked, "How do rankings work?"

    The guard thought for a second, then realized that she was still standing outside the auditorium talking to a recruit, "I''ve already spent enough time away from my post. Go to the ve house on 5th street to pick out your two ves, they will tell you all about the academy."

    Ryan wanted to ask where 5th street was, but before he could say anything, the guard was already back inside the auditorium.

    "Guess I''ll find my own way around," Ryan muttered as he headed off to find some ves.

    ===

    Today was Emily''s first day at the Military academy. Unlike enhancers, which would have soldiers show up on their doorstep to drag them to the academy if they weremoners, female nobles, were given a letter in the mail and told to appear.

    Cultivators were given a lot better treatment. They didn''t have to go through testing and would only get evaluated after their first few months in the academy.

    Although every cultivator/enchancer was technically required to serve for five years at the age of 18, nobles could get out of it. But Emily''s family believed in service.

    They were told when and where to meet for orientation on the campus years in advance and were provided transportation free of charge to the academy if they desired.

    Emily''s day had started off splendidly. She had lived in the capital all her life and was spoiled rotten by her parents and older sisters but was never allowed outside to y.

    Emily had three older sisters who were alumni of the academy, so in her younger years, she had been to various events at the academy.

    They had told her about their academy adventures and how much freedom they enjoyed.

    Emily had craved that freedom for so long that when she finally got the chance to leave her family''s estate, she insisted she be allowed to fly to the academy.

    She had made a big show in front of her parents, iming that she had memorized the roadmap to the academy and that it would only take her 15 minutes to fly on her sword to the academy, but who would have thought that she had gotten lost?

    Her parents had sent bodyguards with her, of course, but she didn''t want to ask them for directions out of spite after making such a big scene.

    After flying around for two hours, she finally managed to stumble onto the academy gates. The only problem was that she was over an hourte.

    Orientation for first years started off in the auditorium, students called it the "cherry picker event".

    They could arrive anytime, from dusk to the start time, and sit down and mingle with their ssmates while the enhancers sat waiting backstage.

    While Emily had wanted to go early to mingle with people, her family insisted she observes noble protocol and only arrive when the main event started.

    As nobles always put protocols about their own feelings, Emily had to obey.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But now she was evente for the main event! She felt so disgruntled that when she got through the gates and left her bodyguards, she sat on a bench and started crying.

    ===

    As Ryan wandered around the campus, he suddenly noticed a girl softly crying on a bench.

    She had light green neon hair and a green sundress that matched perfectly with her hair.

    He had seen others meandering around the campus, but every time he looked at one of them and started to approach, he felt a hostile aura surround the person.

    As he approached, this girl gave off no such aura, so it seemed she was allowing him to approach or didn''t notice him.

    He didn''t know etiquette at the academy, but since he wasn''t a trained warrior, the hostility he felt should be a deterrent mechanism.

    ''Besides, what could I have already done to warrant such hostility from everyone?''

    Now that he was close enough, Ryan could tell she looked much younger than the other people he had seen.

    Although she had a rather t chest, he didn''t discriminate. His oath to free every breast wouldn''t be neglected on ount of such a minute detail.

    Sitting beside her, he said, "What causes a girl as beautiful as you to cry on a day as gorgeous as this?"

    It was a cheesy line, Ryan admitted, but the girl looked young and na?ve, so he hoped she would see it as his normal appraisal.

    Seeing the girl look over at him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, he knew it had worked.

    ''Man, Ryan, you''re on a roll today,'' mentally fist bumping himself, he continued his white knight act.

    Reaching over and clearing a tear off her cheek, he said, "These don''t belong on a princess like you."

    Emily''s face turned scarlet as she weakly squeaked, "I waste for orientation todayˇ­ I was afraid of having no friends."

    Emily didn''t know why she told this stranger about her problems, but she felt as though she could trust him.

    She looked into his emerald green eyes and was instantaneously mesmerized.

    Oh, how she loved the color green. She had been overly infatuated with the color since birth, and seeing such beautiful green eyes made her almost fall in love.

    The caring look in his eyes made her problems feel a thousand miles away.

    After hearing Ryan''s cough, she realized she had been staring at a man''s eyes for over ten seconds, and her cheeks turned an even darker shade of crimson.

    Adverting her eyes, she stammered, "B-But I''ll be okay; you don''t have to worry."

    "Nonsense, I know where the auditorium is and the guard that works there. She''ll be able to help you get in, even if you''rete."

    Emily raised her widened eyes and started at Ryan like he was her savior.

    Grabbing Emily''s hand, Ryan yanked her off the bench and headed to the auditorium.

 Chapter 9 Slave House (1)

    Georgia was a third-year student at the academy and had signed up for a shift to guard the cherry-picking ceremony at the auditorium today.

    She had been having a good day until that brat had shown up and made her get fined for "rxing while on duty".

    Trying to be a good up upperssman, she had helped a new enhancer with his questions. But what was she rewarded with? A big ol¨¦'' fine.

    She couldn''t take her hate out on the military, and she sure as heck wasn''t going to me herself, so the only logical option left was the brat who dared to ask questions to a superior.

    Georgia was daydreaming about tying him up and ying him alive when the man appeared right in front of her eyes!

    About to fly into a rage, Georgia abruptly stopped her movements, seeing the person whose hand he was holding.

    She looked like a small girl on the outside, but Georgia couldn''t help but tremble when she recognized the pin on her dress.

    "You must be young Miss Emily! We''re so d you could make it. Please allow me to escort you inside."

    When she had taken this job, she had been instructed to be on the lookout for the daughter of Duke Vanroth and treat her with the utmost respect.

    Letting go of her hand, Ryan whispered something into Emily''s ear and walked away.

    Georgia thanked her lucky stars she didn''t try anything when she saw the brat, although she wondered how someone like him knew the duke''s favorite daughter.

    ===

    Ryan left Emily in a very happy mood. He had gained a lot from his talk with Emily and had made great progress in getting close to her.

    Ryan knew right away from the looks people were giving them that Emily was someone important.

    He memorized the pin she had on, which seemed to signify what house they belonged to.

    Marcus had worn one, but his just said Montgomery, while Emile''s had a bow with three arrows loaded on the string.

    From what he had gathered, Emily would fit into groups 1, 2, and 4. Group 3 was also possible due to her important identity, but the girl was clueless.

    1. Helpful with money/items

    2. Helpful with power

    3. Helpful with information

    4. Helpful with loyalty

    He was delighted that he had gotten close to a quadruple group maiden on his first day in this new world.

    While talking with Emily, he not only found out where the ve house was located but also learned a lot about the differences between cultivators and enhancers in the academy.

    For instance, the number of cultivators to enhancers on campus was 1000 to 1. However, a cultivation ss would start every year, but an enhancer ss only started every 5th year.

    The enhancer would have to wait until the next ss started after turning 18 to begin their required military service.

    But that didn''t mean everyone left after five years at the academy.

    Many chose to continue in the military, but a majority of cultivators and enhancers chose privatepanies like the Dawn Pavilion to work for afterpleting their five years here.

    Ryan had been confused as to why the military would even require military service if they were giving free training and just watching people leave. Still, Emily exined that it was because while a majority of people chose to leave, almost 30% of people chose to stay.

    That''s 30% of the entire poption base that can cultivate or is an enhancer.

    That 30% would be a lot lower than not if not for the academy. Also, the four great empires had signed a heavenly contract that forbids forcing their citizens to fight for their empire except in times of war, so they couldn''t even if they wanted to.

    Smiling happily, Ryan made his way to the ve house and entered inside.

    Ryan thought this ce would stink, and everyone inside would be a creepy old man who lusted after the girls or ves who looked lifeless, but Ryan saw neither.

    When he entered, he smelled the fresh scent of pears wafting in from a table in the lounge area.

    This building was also spatially contracted, and the room he entered looked like the entrance to a casino.

    Bright red carpets covered the floors, and smiling attendants could be seen walking to-and-fro.

    Chandeliers hung down from the ceiling with bright crystals reflecting the light seeminglying from everywhere.

    Ryan couldn''t see any lights, but everywhere was somehow bright. He just put it in the "new world magic" category and told himself to worry about itter.

    Ryan was about 10 feet away from the front desk when the receptionist put on a big smile and asked, "What a cute face you have! The girls will be dying for you to take them home. You''re a new freshie, right?"

    Ryan instantly felt she was a good first target for starting his new group three on Ravier. Helpful with information, and maybe group 5 if he got a better look.

    "What if I want to take you home?" Ryan asked, formting a n in his mind.

    The woman''s smile widened into an O as her mouth was big enough to fit a fist. Something he might put to the testter...

    "Wellˇ­" biting her lip, she seemed to be considering Ryan''s proposal when a burly man walked over and said, "Mistress Elena wishes to see him."

    Surprised, the receptionist turned to Ryan with a quizzical gaze, "She always takes the best ones, doesn''t she!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan wasn''t sure who this Mistress Elena was, but from the sound of it, he would soon find out.

    Following the brawny man through a door, Ryan felt a subtle force move him and knew he had walked through a spatial door.

    Behind the desk sat ady with a red veil over her face and two girls with white veils covering their own faces standing behind her.

    Thedy with the red veil wore a very revealing ck dress with a pink bra peeking out of her profoundly entuated bosom area.

    Looking at the breasts, Ryan wondered if there was some magic at y as he felt a maic force in his eyes guiding them toward the two mounds.

    Thedies behind her wore maid uniforms, but the uniforms seemed to be purposely several sizes too big which caused them to look baggy, making their body shape rtively hard to distinguish.

    They also wore a bo covering their hair, which seemed odd and out of ce.

    The veils had special magic properties that didn''t allow people to view their faces unless consent was given.

    Ryan instinctually felt that if he willed it, he could see any of their faces, but he would be discovered in doing so.

    Ryan once again recounted his teachings with Aliza,

    "Never let your hand be discovered. Whoever has more information gets to decide the rules of the game."

    "Never trade a secret for a secret. There is only one of you, but everyone else is your enemy."

    "Always remember, silence is only bad if you''re the first to break it."

    Like a mantra in his mind, he reyed her teachings as he looked at the trio in silence.

    The silencested upwards of a minute before the presumed Mistress Elena spoke, "I must say I''m surprised."

    "It''s your first day, and you''re already soˇ­ popr."

    Ryan kept silent while waiting for Mistress Elena to y her hand.

    The silence Aliza taught him about did not just apply to theck of noise, no. It applied to anything that didn''t give information.

    Mistress Elena sighed after seeing Ryan keep his cool and motioned behind her.

    "The reason I called you here is for these two."

    Seeing Ryan''s cid stare, Mistress Elena twitched her eyelid in frustration and thought, ''Although the rumors say he cheated to get a good score, he''s at least got some brains up there. Perhaps he could be useful...''

    "As the first ce contestant of the ss of 415, instead of getting one ve, you get to take home two."

    "All you have to do is ce your hand on their ve mark, and I will transfer them over to you."

    Sinceing in here, Ryan had a stoic expression but hearing the words from Mistress Elena, his lips couldn''t help but break out into a grin.

    "Mistress Elena, I presume?"

    Taken aback, Elena slowly nodded. Just what was this man ying at?

    "It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mistress Elena," Ryan said, bowing. "But the first time I meet someone, I usually don''t try and swindle them."

    "Usually makes for a bad first impression." Lowing his tone, Ryan''s smile turned into a frown, and he unconsciously released his battle aura.

    In the eyes of the three women, when Ryan unleashed his aura, he turned from a smiling young man to a beast of ughter.

    Mistress Elena''s eyes widened, and she instinctively pressed the panic button under the desk.

    A momentter, a female guard came through the door with an axe in her hand as she looked around the room for the reason for the rm.

    But the moment the door opened, Ryan''s focus shifted, and the aura that Ryan somehow conjured disappeared, leaving both him and the three women baffled at what had just happened.

    After the guard didn''t see or sense anything amiss, she turned to Mistress Elena, "What''s the problem, Mistress?"

    Elena hesitatingly looked at Ryan before saying, "Sorry, identally pressed it."

    The guard looked at Elena, confused as the button required the user to mean to press the rm, but she didn''t sense any lie in Mistress'' voice, so bowing, she left the room.

    After the guard left, Ryan turned towards Elena and said, "Tell me one good reason why I shouldn''t walk out of this room right now and go pick two ves from the pool of trained ones like I''m authorized to?"

    Hearing this, Elena rubbed her forehead and said, "It''s not exactly what you thinkˇ­."

    Seeing Ryan turn towards the door, Elena says, "They are trained! It''s justˇ­."

    As her voice trailed off and she stopped talking, Ryan continued towards the door and was reaching for the handle when he heard a soft and tearful voice cry, "Wait, please!"

    Ryan''s body jolted, and he stopped.

    He remembered a voice like that.

    His voice.

 Chapter 10 Slave House (2)

    Ryan walked along an Ally on the west side of LA.

    Ryan had been homeless for upwards of 2 years now after running away from the many foster homes the state had tried to imprison him in.

    Out here, he felt free, but freedom came with a heavy price.

    He clutched his stomach as he felt the ss shards from the bottle the drunken bastard had hit him with, was now lodged in his side.

    He pulled his hand up to inspect it, only to see his hand covered in red.

    Ryan sighed and sat down, his back against the cold ally wall.

    He was tired. So very tired.

    Ryan knew that he should get up and call for help. But even if he called, who would care?

    Everyone only cared about themselves.

    But that''s when he saw something, a random silhouette passed by the ally, and grasping onto hope, in ast-ditched effort to survive, he cried, "Wait, please!"

    He saw a woman''s silhouette enter the ally''s entrance, and then everything went ck.

    ===

    Ryan stood frozen by the door for several seconds before he turned around and looked at the speaker of the voice.

    She was one of the two girls in white veils. She had pressed her head against the floor, and although she wasn''t crying, she was shaking. Ryan assumed it was from fear.

    Sighing, Ryan looked at the other girl in the white veil, but she only bowed low in response.

    Looking at Elena, Ryan felt that the situation had shifted. He was letting his emotions get to him, which was something Aliza had peppered him time and time again to make sure it never happened.

    Attempting to get things back under his control, he asked, "You said they were trained. Why aren''t they with the others, then? Why have you attempted to trick me into iming them?"

    Mistress Elena looked at Ryan, then at the girls, then back at Ryan before sighing. "Lizzy and Izzy are sisters who came into my care about a year ago."

    "Lizzy here," pointing to the kneeling girl, "Is blind."

    "While Izzy," pointing to the still bowing girl, "Is mute."

    "An unfortunate turn of events forced my hand," She said, ncing at the duo, "And I had to put these girls into the enhancer ve pool."

    "Usually, this meant they would be split up, but the winner gets to take home two."

    Ryan nodded. Everything Elena said was reasonable and made senseˇ­ except for one thing.

    "Then why did you feel the need to trick me? You can''t be so uninformed that you''d think I wouldn''t know about what the winner would get?"

    "Surely a better strategy would have been to simplyy your cards on the table and offer something extra in exchange. If that is, you really need to keep these two together."

    Ryan had heard about the winner getting to take two ves from multiple recruits, Emily and the guard.

    And choosing your own ve was basically all the recruits were bbing about in the end.

    Power was something males craved but rarely got the chance to get. So when the recruits were given the power to choose their own ve, it really got their blood flowing.

    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Mistress Elena looked up at the ceiling and sighed, "It''s because of a use in their contract."

    Ryan''s unease after getting emotional finally went away as he had found the missing piece of the puzzle.

    Ryan knew that a ve''s contract stated what their master could and couldn''t do. But it also stated a plethora of other things. For example, whoever created the contract could set uses for future owners, such as pay, living expenses, time off, or anything else the creator wanted.

    Every paid ve had such uses, while the fallen ves usually didn''t have such things as the owners were required byw to do a bare minimum.

    Ryan knew that all the ves the enhancers would be getting were fallen ves, so he was surprised that the duo had uses, but it now made perfect sense why the Mistress tried to trick him into iming these ves.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What are the uses?" Ryan was intrigued, and since the Mistress seemed like she wanted the girls to go together, Ryan might be able to strike a deal if the terms were right.

    As Aliza always loved to say, "Ryan, both sex and deals are great. But with your stamina, dealsst much longer."

    Elena looked hopefully at Ryan before motioning Lizzy and Izzy towards her before she held their right hands, and a sigil appeared on the back of their hands.

    Then Ryan saw a transparent screen above the sigil that seemed to hover in mid-air.

    It read:

    [ve Contract]

    [Owner: Kheaweth Empire]

    [ve: Lizzy]

    [ve Type: Fallen ve]

    [Term Remaining: 37 Years]

    [uses: Next owner will take the ve for the remainder of their term, the owner is not to see the face or body of the ve until after the contract is signed.]

    Lizzy''s and Izzy''s screens were identical apart from their names, and everything seemed normal until Ryan got to the two uses.

    While it would be off-putting, either use by itself wouldn''t be to the point where it would cause a headache.

    In the case of the first use, the owner could transfer the ve, they would just have to get someone else to sign that same use.

    And that would be simple as long as the ve was beautiful. But the second use made it impossible to know what the ve looked like beforehand.

    Meaning, if the ve were ugly, they would be stuck with that ve for 37 years.

    Being stuck with an unwanted ve was a big problem on this strange, Ravier, as one could only own many ves, depending on rank.

    ves were limited to 3 before getting your heavenly screen and multiplied by three for every cultivation rank and two for enhancer rank.

    For an E-Rank enhancer, you could have up to 6 ves. D-Rank up to 12, C-Rank 24, and so on and so forth.

    But each rank was a colossal leap and could take decades to advance even to E-Rank, which meant that if Ryan imed these two ves, he could only get one more in the next 10ish years if he advanced at an above-average pace.

    Paired with this, these were only fallen, ves. Any resources or time he used to build up these ves or teach them anything would eventually be lost as they would be free eventually.

    Seeing Ryan''s gloomy look, Elena said, "This is the reason. Now all my cards are on the table."

    Thinking for a moment, Ryan said, "As my teacher once said, ''even if all the cards are dealt, there are still other decks.''"

    Hearing Ryan''s reply, Elena''s eyebrows raised in understanding. He was looking for a deal.

    But while she did feel bad for the girls, she had lived on Ravier for too long not to know the truth of this world.

    It wasn''t a ce one could afford to care for others before themselves, lest they be swallowed up with them.

    Still, she would try her best, saying, "I know you must be worried about their looks, but they are very beautiful."

    "Also, 37 years is the longest term in this year''s batch. If you end up selling themter, you can make a lot of profit!"

    Ryan stared at the woman as if she was an idiot. After her just attempt to swindle him, would he really believe her?

    Seemingly aware, Izzy tugged at her sister''s clothes and seemed to bemunicating with her.

    After a few seconds, Lizzy looked toward her sister in shock. After frantic whispers and inaudiblemunication by the duo, Lizzy sighed in defeat. She said, "If you take us on as ves, we''ll swear the oath of eternal servitude if you can cure our conditions within our term."

 Chapter 11 Slave House (3)

    Elena had been confused about what the girls were whispering about, but when Lizzy said they said they would say the oath of eternal servitude, she gasped in horror.

    The oath of eternal servitude was to be a death ve.

    Death ves were the rarest and most sought-after ves out there.

    But after bing a death ve, your life was the property of the owner for eternity.

    He could kill you, torture you, and nobody would be able to say a thing.

    On top of that, in order to swear the oath, one of the parties had to be a cultivator with a heavenly screen.

    For a female to swear to be a man''s death ve was something considered far worse than death.

    Since one had to swear the oath of eternal servitude voluntarily, it happened so rarely that there had been only a handful in the past millennia that Elena had even heard about.

    Even male death ves were so rare that Elena only knew of 20 families having such ves.

    To be a death ve, you had to have extreme faith and love for the master. Or be in such a desperate position that you''d be willing to give up your life for whatever they provided for that position.

    "Lizzy, you can''t be serious! It''s not worth giving up your life to stay together. It''s only 37 years. You can make it apart."

    Elena tried to persuade the duo, but Izzy resolutely looked Elena in the eye and shook her head.

    Her mind was made up.

    ===

    Ryan was bbergasted at the turn of events.

    He had been disappointed that Elena didn''t want to give anything for him taking the duo, but when the girl made him that offer, he felt it was too good to be true.

    Reying her words in his mind, he found the problem, conditions.

    He didn''t know what conditions these girls were talking about, but he doubted it would be as simple as blindness and being mute as those could be cured with a few expensive pills.

    Nothing worth throwing your life away for, still Ryan felt it was worth the risk.

    Even if he couldn''t cure the two girls, worst case scenario, they were ugly, and he could just buy some pills to make them prettier.

    It didn''t turn one into a smoke show he had heard, but it would cure the uglies.

    Of course, this was by Ravier''s standards. As on earth, this pill would sell for millions and make someone a star instantly.

    Looking at the girl, Ryan said, "Then it shall be so," and inserted his will into the master''s sigil.

    He noticed the wristband that he had gotten on the chair in the auditorium vibrate and a screen projected into mid-air.

    [This ve is imable. Would you like to im them?]

    [Yes/No]<novelnext></novelnext>

    Selecting yes, Ryan felt his mind establish a connection with the ve seal on Lizzyˇ­ or was this Izzy?

    Anyway, it didn''t matter.

    He resolutely walked over to the other and repeated the process.

    After his wristband vibrated and two messages popped up.

    [No more ve credits remaining]

    [Chamber 117A has been prepared for you]

    After receiving the messages, he still didn''t uncover the veils to look at the girls yet.

    He wanted to do it in private but also convey the message to the two that he wasn''t anxious to see what they looked like.

    He could see them both fidgeting waiting for hismand, but he recalled Aliza''s wise words.

    "If a girl wants you to do something but won''t ask you to do it, force her to squirm and beg for it."

    "That way, she''ll learn that only after begging does a good girl get a treat."

    Ryan had been hesitant at first to follow Aliza''s teachings, but after spending so many years under her tutge, he knew everything she said worked.

    Smiling for the first time since Ryan walked into the room, Mistress Elena asked, "Would you like me to send you to the dorms directly? Or would you like to walk?"

    Only thinking about it for a moment, Ryan replied, "We''ll walk."

    ===

    Outside the ve house, Ryan meandered through the walkways with an inscrutable expression on his face.

    He was followed by two girls in white veils sping hands as they trotted behind him.

    Ryan took in the goings-on while a silent struggle was going on inside his mind.

    Ever since he had the immense headache in the auditorium, Ryan felt as though some sort of dam inside his head was leaking and but the contents of the dam weren''t water; it was memories.

    Ryan had tried to suppress the dam until he could get to his dorm, but he miscalcted.

    He thought that he would have enough time even if they walked, but as he was walking, he saw a girl out of the corner of his eye sitting on a bench.

    There was nothing special about her. She wore in clothes and looked like she was fiddling with her bracelet.

    But when Ryan looked at her, he felt the unmistakable feeling of dread well up in the pit of his stomach.

    His instincts were telling him to run, that a monster was sitting right in front of him, and he was its favorite prey.

    Along with the feeling of dread, the dam that had been slowly leaking a moment ago turned into a torrent as the defenses Ryan had tried to erect to slow the leakage were broken the moment the torrent touched them, and he dropped to the ground unconscious.

 Chapter 12 Where Is Ryan? [R-18]

    In room 36A of the cultivator dormitory, a picturesque scene was taking ce.

    An Ice Cold beauty sat with her legs crossed on a bed as she looked at her two servants kneeling before her.

    "Can you please repeat what you just said to me? I must be hard of hearing, for surely you didn''t say that you couldn''t find him?" Thedy said as she re-crossed her legs, exposing her thighs for the briefest of seconds before they were once more covered.

    The two female servants on the ground trembled in fear as they both lowered their heads to the ground while the one on the right said, "La-ady Frost, the records show that no man named Ryan was recruited this year."

    Hearing the servant call her Frost, thedy nted her heel on the servant''s head and said, "I told you to call me Lady Mara," Mara said as she ground her heel against the female''s head, "Do you understand?"

    Showing an expression between pain and delight, the servant squeaked out, "Yes, Lady Mara."

    While the other servant was looking at herpatriot with a twinge of jealousy in her eyes, she said, "Maybe he used a fake name? Although if he did, he must not have known who you were, Lady Mara, as no one would lie to the infamous Frost Queen''s face."

    Only coldly snorting, Mara got up, removing her foot from her servant''s head as she said, "Find him. And don''te back until you do."

    ===

    Valeriay on her bed in the teacher''s dormitory as she used her heavenly screen to ess the teacher''s database.

    For thest 30 minutes, she had been scrolling through the list of recruits to find the name of the miscreant that had caused her to be unable to sleep.

    His expressionless face as he teased her with his eyes and words reyed through her mind in a loop that she couldn''t escape from.

    She huffed in frustration as she just couldn''t find him!

    She was sure she had looked through all the names on the list, but none of the pictures matched his.

    She decided she would start with the letter A onest time, and if she couldn''t find him by going through again until the letter Z, she would stop.

    She was clicking one by one when she suddenly paused.

    "Anthony Direˇ­ we have an orphan this year?" As the main liaison between the enhancers and the teachers, it was her duty to know of any outliers that might need special attention.

    The teachers at the academy weren''t divided into enhancer teachers and cultivation teachers. Rather, some cultivation teachers taught the enhancers on their days without sses.

    The course for an enhancer didn''t have to do with technical skills, rather, it had to do with knowledge rted to enhancers.

    How to advance on the path of being an enhancer, and what pills or nts would help you in certain circumstances, for instance.

    Enhancers only had ss once a week, so the main part of her liaison job was to coordinate when and where the enhancers were needed.

    Enhancers were at the academy to ''enhance''. Since they couldn''t ess the BCN, their only choice was to do it in person.

    Her job was to get them some of those chances.

    On the days they weren''t in ss, they would have one scheduled "appointment" with a particr ss.

    The teacher would either instruct them who to go with, usually the person who scored first on thetest test. Or if that person rejected going with the enhancer, the enhancer would get to decide.

    Outliers like orphans might need more time to adjust to their environment before they engage in such a public spectacle, such as publicly choosing a partner.

    But she had read the briefing on this year''s students, they shouldn''t have an orphan.

    Clicking on the name Valeria looked at her screen in puzzlement.

    While the other students had their picture, date of birth, hometown, and even specific measurementsˇ­ Anthony Dire''s page waspletely bare. Not even his picture was on the file.

    Recalling the earlier conversation with her superiors, she was told to give "this one" her full support in secret and not to hinder him in any way, after being shown a photo of the man she had met earlier.

    That had been the reason for her unease when interacting with Ryan.

    Who was this boy to not only demand she does not hinder him but give him her full support?

    Not even a Duke''s child would receive such treatment!

    Looking at the nk page again, Valeria''s mind reyed the scene of him ignoring her rank as he teased her with her eyes.

    His thick muscles contained just below his clothes as he got up and grabbed her by the back of the head, pulling her hair back.

    He pressed her down on the floor in front of all those recruits as he sadistically grinned, tearing off her top as she squirmed beneath him.

    Valeria slipped her fingers inside her pants down to her panties only to plunge two fingers inside her sopping-wet pussy.

    Sloshing sounds filled her room as she continued her fantasy.

    In her mind, Ryan ravaged her in front of all the recruits as his emerald gaze held her locked in its embrace.

    He towered above her, his thick rod piercing her, taking her in any way it pleased. His animalistic grunts and growls sent shivers down her spine as she imagined just what it would be like to be his. A man''s toy, used in front of so many of her students.

    Her fingers quickened their voyage to paradise, as on her bed, Valeria''s breathing was onlying in short, shallow bursts as she moaned in ecstasy.

    In her fantasy, Ryan was calling her all sorts of disgusting, filthy things in front of so many of her lessersˇ­ but that just made her go faster.

    "AHHHH!" Screaming, Valeria plunged her fingers in onest time as her back arched and her toes curled as juices spurted out of her pussy, soaking her panties and leaking into her pants.

    As Valeriay panting on the bed, soaked in her own juices. She wondered just what was happening to her. Why had she had these fantasies? Why was she constantly thinking about him?

    Feeling drowsiness take her over, she swore she would find him justˇ­ in the morning.

 Chapter 13 The System Has Arrived?

    Ryan felt as if he was floating in a dense fog. His senses were muffled, and his thoughts felt covered in tar.

    He couldn''t remember what he had been doing earlier or where he was.

    Looking around, Ryan seemed to be in a dark room, strapped to a chair. He heard footsteps echoing eerily outside the door.

    Ryan felt that he had been here before like he was experiencing deja vu as Ryan tried to remember what this ce was.

    The footsteps got right up to the entrance before a loud creek signaled the opening of the door.

    Ryan tried to move his head but felt that it, too, was strapped down.

    The dim light from outside the door streamed inside only for a moment, but what lit up made Ryan shiver.

    The walls of the room were rimmed with dried red blood. Looking at the dried blood Ryan felt the urge to vomit, but nothing came out.

    The door closed, and a holographic screen appeared in front of Ryan as he read the shing words on the screen.

    "Obey"

    "Forget"

    "Obey"

    "Forget"

    On a loop, these words shed by, with the words resonating in his mind.

    He sensed time pass by, but he couldn''t be sure how long the loop had been yed. A day, a week? He wasn''t sure, as all he saw were the words on the screen.

    The words kept ying, and Ryan kept watching until he left just as abruptly as Ryan came.

    Waking up, Ryan felt the same dense fog around him. His thoughts were still damped, but as he looked around his new environment, he saw something strange.

    Ryan saw a younger version of himself and the girl he saw before he passed out.

    Wait, he had passed out!

    Ryan suddenly could remember what he had been doing before, and like a flood, the past day''s events came rushing at him.

    He remembered dying anding to a strange new world. He remembered his test and losing control of his body as he ravaged that girl.

    He remembered epting a deal with those two girls and thenˇ­

    Turning towards the girl in the fog, he saw her looking at the younger him.

    What were these? Dreams? Memories? Whatever he saw, he felt it was pivotal to getting the answers he wanted about his past.

    The girl turned towards the slightly younger Ryan sitting in a chair reading a book.

    The girl whispered something into Ryan''s ear, and the book he had been holding fell to the ground.

    Ryan looked at the ''him'' as the feeling of dread welled up in his stomach again.

    The Ryan in the memory looked like he was a zombie, his eyes zing over.

    Once his eyes were fully zed over, the girl asked, "What is your name?"

    "Anthony Dire."

    "Who is your family?"

    "I don''t remember."

    "What do you remember?"

    "I rememberˇ­"<novelnext></novelnext>

    As the question was asked, the zed look in the boy''s eyes turned clear for a second, and the girl immediately stuck a needle in his arm, making the boy fall unconscious.

    "Looks like we''ll have to try again tomorrow." Murmured the girl as the real Ryan felt his consciousness fade once again.

    ===

    Ryan awoke lying on afortable bed. He stretched his limbs, feeling as if he had just taken the best nap of his life.

    His limbs were rather sore, but he still felt refreshed, his mind as clear as ever.

    He could vividly remember everything that happened in the dreams and the events that led up to him bing unconscious.

    His mind was, in fact, working so well that Ryan noticed that his brain power seemed to have improved as well.

    He was so caught up in his new-found brain capabilities that he almost missed the bright red exmation mark in the top right of his vision shing.

    After a brief thought about it opening, Ryan saw a screen pop up simr to a hologram in front of his face.

    [The Heavens greet all those who are worthy]

    As the message appeared, a trumpet''s resounding call echoed throughout his room.

    Stunned by the ring noise, he jolted out of bed as the door to his bedroom flew open.

    Staring at the two intruders, Ryan instinctively activated his powers but held back at thest moment recognizing their white veils.

    Calming his beating heart, he suddenly jolted like he was struck by lightning. He had used his powers!

    He felt energy flowing through his veins, and though he couldn''t manipte it, it seemed to be flowing automatically.

    He couldn''t exin how he knew what to do, only that he could do it.

    It was like asking a professional athlete how they kick the ball so well or how they throw a ball so urately.

    For a lot of them, they couldn''t tell you, only show you. The same was true for Ryan''s powers.

    He felt that he had learned it at one point and had gotten so good at it that he had ingrained it into his reflexes.

    Although he didn''t remember what he had learned, his reflexes still existed.

    The two servants observed their new master with both fear and awe. They were both cultivators, and they knew what that trumpet call meant, but what they witnessed, they couldn''tprehend.

    This was a man, a man! There had never been a male cultivator on Ravier, not in the hundreds of thousands of years since the heavens came to this jaded!

    Yet how could they mistake this for anything else?

    Their minds tried toe up with a reasonable exnation, but the only one they could think of was that this wasn''t a man at all.

    Two pairs of eyes wandered downwardˇ­ past Ryan''s chestˇ­ past his abdomenˇ­

    Ryan, currently lost in his exploration of the power coursing through him, felt a shiver down the back of his spine.

    His head looked up as he felt two pairs of eyes on him.

    He could only make out the sister''s face from the nose down, so he couldn''t tell where their eyes were looking, but as he saw their posture and head angleˇ­

    Ryan nced down at his pants, thankful he wasn''t rocking a hard-on.

    But what were they looking at?

    Wasn''t Lizzy blind? Why was she staring? What was she staring with?

    ncing back up at the duo, he saw two pursed lips and two heads shaking in sadness.

    Ryan didn''t know what was going on, but it felt like it was an attack against his masculinity in some fashion.

 Chapter 14 Blood Of The Overlord

    Quickly shooing the sisters out of the room, Ryan told them to get food at the campus store.

    When they said they had food, he told them he wanted to eat chicken specifically.

    When Izzy ran to the kitchen and produced a frozen chicken, he red at them, and they finally got the message, leaving the room.

    Pulling up his heavenly screen for the first time, Ryan couldn''t contain his excitement as his hands were shaking in anticipation.

    [Status(!), Allegiance, Quests(!)]

    Seeing the three tabs, his brows raised in surprise. Valery had said that they would get two tabs when they first ranked up to an E-Rank Enhancer, but maybe it was because he was also a cultivator.

    Selecting status first, he saw his screen open, and his eyes widened, and he opened his mouth as his jaw dropped.

    [Name: Anthony Dire]

    [Age: 18]

    [Gender: Male]

    [Race: F-Rank Human]

    [Cultivation Rank: F-Rank]

    [Enhancer Rank: F-Rank]

    [Talents: (F-Rank Upgradable) Blood of the Overlord]

    [Heavenly Credits: 0]

    "Are you fucking kidding me!" In outrage, Ryan screamed and punched a hole in the wall, or at least he tried.

    Even with his power flowing to his fist, he heard cracking sounds when his knuckles came into contact with the wall, and he howled, "Fuck! Fuck! That Fucking hurt!"

    Shaking his fist, he looked back at the wall and found his first worthy opponent in this new world... a wall.

    ===

    After getting some ice to put on his fist, Ryan cooled his first and raging emotions.

    He was enraged because his name was Anthony Dire on the heavenly screen.

    How did that make sense?

    The "All-powerful" heavens couldn''t even tell him his birth name?

    He couldn''t actually be an orphan in this life, too, right?

    He suddenly felt the fear and loneliness he once left behind in his past life creep back into his soul.

    In his previous life on earth, he had been on the verge of death before he met someone he could call family.

    He couldn''t let such a thing happen twice.

    He had been hoping to find his name and track down his family to get a better grasp of his background and what those visions meant.

    But it looked like it wouldn''t be so easy.

    Bringing up his status screen for the second time, he looked at the rest of the info, as he had instantly gone ballistic when he saw the first line.

    [Name: Anthony Dire]

    [Age: 18]

    [Gender: Male]

    [Race: F-Rank Human]

    [Cultivation Rank: F-Rank]

    [Enhancer Rank: F-Rank]

    [Talents: (F-Rank Upgradable) Blood of the Overlord]

    [Heavenly Credits: 0]<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Looks like I somehow got F-Rank in both cultivation and enhancer butˇ­ how is that possible?"

    Ryan couldn''t understand how he got F-Rank in both, but that''s when his eyes fell on his talent.

    "Blood of the Overlord?" What an imposing name, and it''s upgradable.

    Looks like he would have to do some research into what talents were, as well as how he somehow upgraded at least his cultivation rank in his sleep.

    He felt the power inside him was at least 20% bigger than when he had inspected it the first day he arrived in Ravier.

    First dayˇ­ wait, what day was it?

    Ryan felt through his inner clock that at least a day had passed, but that meant that he had missed the first day at the academy.

    He opened the door to his bedroom but was greeted by two figures standing in the doorway, their fists raised as if they were ready to knock.

    ===

    Ryan looked at the two girls sitting across from him at his dorm room''s dining room table.

    Apparently, the little bedroom stocked with its own fridge and kitchen wasn''t his whole room but a spare bedroom on the first floor.

    Lizzy had exined that after he had fallen unconscious, they had carried him back to the ve house and had Mistress Elena transport them to the male dormitories.

    Ryan was displeased that he was in such a vulnerable position in front of that woman, but he guessed it was better than having the two carry him through the whole campus.

    After they got back to the dorm, they tried several methods to wake him up, but nothing worked.

    They were about to go to the teachers after he hadn''t awakened for three days, but Lieutenant Valeria came to check why he wasn''t attending sses.

    After checking, she left, saying to inform her when he woke up.

    Day after day came and went, and three weeks passed. They had been worried that he might never wake up until they heard that trumpet''s callˇ­

    Ever since Lizzy brought up the trumpet call, the atmosphere had changed, and the three sat in silence, eating the chicken the sisters had made.

    Disregarding everything else, this chicken was something special. He didn''t know which of them cooked it, but he would definitely be requesting more meals from them.

    However, the taste of the food couldn''t make up for the fact that he had missed the first three weeks at the academy.

    He didn''t know what he had missed as the girls said they had stayed inside waiting for him to wake up, besides the regr visits to the campus store for food.

    Ryan looked at the duo with a contemting gaze. They still wore their veils, but they had put on regr maid outfits that showed off their amazing figures.

    The fabric hugged their amazingly bountiful bosoms and lean stomachs.

    The hair that a bo had hidden in the ve house was uncovered, and the duo, who looked identical in every other way he could see, varied in hair color.

    Lizzy (blind) had light ocean-blue hair. It was partially braided, but Ryan could tell that if she let it loose, it would easily fall below her shoulders.

    Izzy (mute) had ming red hair she wore proudly as it flowed downward behind her back.

    Ever since he hadid eyes on them, he felt the same sensation he had experienced back when he was with the Ice Queen, the hunger to conquer.

    He felt that urge to conquer in his veins, the need to have them pinned below him.

    Ryan had been able to control it thus far, but he felt he was slowly losing control.

    "Lizzy, Izzy," Ryan said, gaining the attention of the sisters.

    "You should leave the room. I''m not feeling quite right at this moment." The pain in his voice was evident as he was slightly clenching his teeth while averting his gaze from the two.

    His thoughts were bing more about lust, the need to dominate these women and make them his.

    Izzy tapped Lizzy on the shoulder a few times in their normalmunication method, and after a few moments, Lizzy spoke, "Master, we can''t go. If something happens again, even if we weren''t at fault, Lieutenant Valeria would hold us ountable."

    The urge was getting worse and worse as, with hisst vestiges of control, he got up and tried to lunge for the door, hoping that distance between the girls would cool down this raging feeling.

    But before he could even take two steps, the girls were already out of their chairs, and in front of him, Lizzy holding his right arm, and Izzy holding his left.

    Things were about to get interesting.

 Chapter 15 Primal Lust [R-18]

    Ovee with lust, Ryan felt his thoughts invaded with desire and domination.

    With no other choice left, Ryan could only give in to his feelings and turn his thoughts into actions, grabbing Izzy''s ass with his left hand, pressing her body against the left side of his chest, and pinning her right arm in the process.

    With his right hand, he grabbed the back of Lizzy''s head and pulled her into a kiss.

    Ryan pushed his tongue into Lizzy''s mouth, and only after a second of hesitation did he feel Lizzy reciprocate in kind.

    Izzy wasn''t idle as he heard her tiny whimpers escape her otherwise silent mouth. She started to press against Ryan''s hand that was fondling her ass and undo his belt''s buckles with her free hand.

    Ryan felt insulted. Did this ve think she was in control?

    Ryan''s right hand grabbed Lizzy''s braid and pulled it, yanking her head back and removing her lips from his. A thin strand of saliva was thest surviving connection between their lips.

    Ryan stared into the veil and growled, "Take that thing off, ve, and get on your knees."

    Then he turned his sole attention to Izzy.

    Izzy felt Ryan''s gaze lock on her as the hand that had been groping her ass started to wander lower. His right hand came up to her veil and ripped it free, revealing her face to his lustful eyes.

    Her eyes were like her hair, fiery red. Ryan saw them burning with a hot passion that zed so seductively that he felt his body was on fire.

    As their gazes locked, Izzy''s body started to tremble, and her knees buckled, but Ryan held her firm and continued to stare into her eyes.

    Her fiery passion called to Ryan''s primal side and seemed to form a connection.

    The next second, a heart-shaped ck tail sprouted from her sacrum, and her eyes reddened even further.

    Atop her head, twin horns budded out, and wings sprouted from her back.

    Her lips which had been quivering, turned into a wide grin as sheughed, revealing fanged teeth.

    "Sister, it is him! We were right! We were right! Praise Zol''gan!"

    Hearing her sister''s words, the kneeling Lizzy trembled and wept, "Praise Zol''gan! We weren''t wrong, sister!"

    But Lizzy''s transformation shocked Ryan so considerably that he fell into a stupor and didn''t hear what the girls were saying, as he had just regained control of his body from his primal side.

    Ryan immediately revolved his energy andunched forward, propelling Lizzy to the side.

    The adrenaline in his mind activated and caused him to focus solely on escape, blocking out any noise from the surroundings making the booming thunder of his heart the only sound he could hear.

    Bolting for the door, Ryan leapt over a couch and onto a carpet, his bare feet causing static to build up in his hands.

    Reaching the door, he grasped the handle feeling a static shock run through his hands.

    Ignoring the pain, he opened the door, hoping to escape thedy demon inside.

    Only toe face to face with a demon in her own right, Mara.

    ===

    Mara walked through the campus with an inscrutable expression. Her high heels ttered as she strode confidently through the bustling walkway.

    Before, Mara had tried to act friendly with these people, but her constitution made everything she did seem cold.

    Slowly but surely, even the other nobles steered clear of her.

    As she walked, she felt the gazes of her peers.

    Even though she didn''t have any friends, that didn''t mean she wasn''t admired.<novelnext></novelnext>

    On campus, she was known as the Frost Queen due to her mother being the famous Frost General, and her icy demeanor.

    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m She hated her mother, not only for forcing her to be part of the military but also for her famous frosty demeanor.

    Her mother had a simr constitution to her and was born without being able to exude any emotions.

    After she was born with a simr constitution, the empress changed theirst name to Frost as this was a sign from the heavens.

    Mara felt that she and her mother were the same in that regard butplete opposites in others.

    Mara had never seen her mother smile at her, tell her something positive, or congratte her.

    She felt that her mother treated her as just one of her soldiers.

    She gave Mara orders, and she was forced to obey them.

    Mara had been too afraid to disobey any because she saw her ice-cold stare every day, but after being out of her mother''s sight for over a year, she mustered up the courage and vited an order.

    She had nned everything out to perfection. She had signed up for the enhancer program and was going to squeeze the enhancer dry.

    Squeezing was a technique she had learned while researching the act of "sex" as the Dawn Net dubbed it.

    To squeeze an enhancer, one had to capture them, tie them up, and vigorously use their body for one''s own pleasure.

    She was going to use it for a different purpose; however, retaliation.

    She wanted to force the enhancer to ejacte in her mouth,plete the test and then pronounce to the world that she had participated in the test and lost her virginity to this enhancer.

    This would not only announce to her mother that she had disobeyed her, but it would also cause her mother great shame.

    She thought her n was foolproof until she saw him enter her room.

    His aura had been so domineering that when she saw him, all her previous ns flew out the window.

    She had her suspicions about something but would need further verification before she came to a firm conclusion.

    In the end, she was left writhing in pleasure while he disappeared.

    For the past three weeks, she had been searching for him and had even been to the enhancer''s weekly ss but to no avail.

    But today, she found a lead. A student suddenly fell unconscious after the exam and had yet to awaken.

    This was why she was currently on the way to the male dorms.

    As she walked up to the big building that hosted all the non-faction male students on campus, she felt many gazes on her fixate on her next movements, wanting to confirm that she really was going inside the male dormitory.

    Mara paused her movements before making a show of walking into the male''s dormitory, making it known that she knew people were watching, and she didn''t care.

    As Mara entered, her heart started to beat faster. She hade here to teach this guy a lesson. How dare he lie to her face and just leave like that!

    But the closer she got to his door, the more her heartbeat sped up and the more anxious she became.

    Getting to his door, she held up her hand to knock, but her fist faltered before hitting the door.

    Why was she here? What would she say to him?

    As she was hesitating, the door swung open, and she came face to face with the man who had gued her thoughts for the past three weeks, Ryan.

 Chapter 16 Overlord

    As Ryan saw Mara in the door, his eyes widened in further rm.

    He just could not catch a break today.

    First, he was screwed out of finding his name, he exposed his cultivation powers to his servants, and his servants turned out to be demons in disguise!

    Now on top of all that, he had the Ice Queen breathing down his neck!

    Ryan only dyed for a second, but that second was enough for any cultivator to catch up, Lizzy and Izzy included.

    Turning around, Ryan was about to throw an attack, but he didn''t see the ws of an ugly demon attacking him. Instead, he saw two girls on the ground with puffy eyes and tears running down their cheeks.

    Izzy was sitting on the ground, her tail and wings on disy behind her. Her maid uniform was slightly disheveled, and Ryan could see a red bra that matched the color of her eyes and hair on her right shoulder.

    Lizzy was still in the same position he had ordered her to kneel in, and for the first time, he saw her face.

    Her eyes, like her sister''s, matched the color of her hair.

    The alluring ocean-blue eyes reminded him of Mara''s eyes.

    Maraˇ­ swiveling back around, he saw Mara''s eyes open in shock as she stared ck-jawed at Izzy.

    "It''s actually true," Mara muttered as she turned her gaze on Ryan, but contrary to Ryan''s expectation, there was no malice in her eyes.

    Instead, there wasˇ­ reverence. But he had to be mistaken...

    Sensing no hostility from either the sisters or Mara, Ryan slowly released his energy and looked at Izzy.

    As Ryan released the tension in his body, his hearing came back to him.

    "Izzy, what is this? Why can you talk now?" Ryan asked while gesturing to her transformation.

    Izzy, teary-eyed and shaking, looked at Ryan with a mixture of hope, fear, and adoration.

    Lizzy had scooted over to her sister and was stroking her sister''s hair as she tried to calm her down. But her own face was smothered in tears as well, although a hopeful smile had appeared on her face.

    Izzy shakingly got to her feet with the help of Lizzy, and as she stood, she pointed at Mara and said, "Before that, who is she?"

    Hearing her not answer immediately, Ryan felt that primal side of him roar and try to break free. Ryan clearly felt that this primal side had a will of its own and that it was both urging him to take action and trying to control him at the same time.

    Ryan suppressed the growing feeling of domination, and, turning to Mara, he began scrutinizing her.

    Ryan didn''t particrly know what was going on, but he heard the hidden meaning in Izzy''s words.

    ''Is she on our side?'' Ryan didn''t know even if Izzy was on his side, but she was still his ve... at least he hoped.

    Ryan had learned that the paid and fallen ve contracts weren''t foolproof, and thus why heavenly contracts were so valuable.

    But he didn''t know how a person could get out of one, whether it was based on strength or something else.<novelnext></novelnext>

    For now, Ryan decided to side with the one not looking at him as if he was the worst human ever to exist.

    Seriously, Mara''s stare was intense.

    Mara had recovered from her earlier shock and had her usual Icey persona on disy.

    She red at the two girls and then looked back at Ryan, asking, "Who are you?"

    Ryan, who had prepared himself for almost anything, faltered as the question hit him.

    Did he make this girl cum so hard that she lost her memory? Was that possible?

    Seeing Ryan''s awestruck stare, she knew she was misunderstood.

    Her constitution not only made her bodynguagee across as cold, but also made her word choicese across in unfortunate ways.

    "Your name, what is your name?" Mara said while staring at Ryan.

    Inside, her heart was going a million miles an hour as she realized who Ryan was.

    But on the outside, her chilly stare made Ryan defensive toward her.

    Ryan heard the question, but he didn''t know how to respond.

    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 The first time he met Mara, he said his name was Ryan.

    The heavenly screen said his name was Anthony, and he didn''t even know his birth name on this.

    The whole situation just gave Ryan a headache.

    "My name is Anthony Dire, but I like to be called Ryan." He decided to say it as that would limit the confusion. Also, he would rather people call him Ryan, and he assumed other orphans didn''t like being called Anthony Dire all the time as well.

    Hearing this, Mara was frantically trying toe up with a way to appease Ryan as she knew she had messed up.

    She had stormed over here and was nning on teaching him a lesson for lying to her, but not only had Ryan not lied, but he wasˇ­

    Mara was so anxious that she didn''t detect Ryan closing the distance between them until his hand touched her cheek.

    She reflexively tried to move away as she felt a warm touch, but her body wouldn''t budge.

    She felt her body trying to attach itself to his hand, making sure he wouldn''t let go.

    All she could do was allow Ryan to move her face so that their eyes were connected.

    Looking into his emerald green orbs, she muttered, "Overlord."

 Chapter 17 The Chosen

    Ryan sat at the dining room table.

    To his right sat the newly transformed Izzy,plete with her new wings, tail, and budding horns.

    To his left sat Lizzy. Her eyes, while they couldn''t see, somehow still red at what was sitting in hisp.

    Yes, Mara, the Frost Queen, was currently sitting in hisp with a blissed-out expression on her face as Ryan gently stroked her hair.

    She had insisted this was where she was allowed to sit, iming to be afraid of Izzy''s demon form.

    However, the re she gave the twins spoke about another possibility, but Ryan didn''t have time for female drama as he was trying to get answers about what happened.

    Izzy was trying to exin what had transpired, but the words out of her mouth just seemed so nonsensical.

    "You''re saying I''m some kind of "chosen" one?" Ryan asked, his brows raised in a look that said, ''do you take me for a fool?''

    Izzy tapped her chin, contemting how best to describe it, "Everyone calls you people heaven''s chosen because you are the only ones in history to be able tomunicate with the heavens directly."

    "Meaningˇ­"

    "Meaning they get direct contact with the all-mighty heavens!" Izzy eximed emphatically.

    Ryan huffed and muttered, "All-mighty heavens, my ass."

    When Mara, who was in blisstopia sipping a nice warm cup of euphoria tea, heard what Ryan said, she coughed as her imaginary tea disappeared, and she shifted on Ryan''sp to look at him in horror.

    "Don''t say that! The heavens aren''t merciful with those that nder its name." Mara said, having a pleading look in her eyes.

    Ryan turned away from her cute appearance and mumbled, "It''s not nder if it''s true."

    Sighing, Mara got off Ryan''sp and took a seat across the table from him.

    Trying to change the subject, Mara turned towards Izzy after sitting down and asked, "My question is, how did you find him?"

    "This couldn''t be a coincidence that you two ended up as his ves."

    Lizzy had exined their rtionship with Ryan earlier after things calmed down.

    As Izzy was about to answer, Ryan asked, "What do you mean?"

    Mara turned her head from Izzy to look at Ryan quizzically. "You mean you don''t know what they are?"

    Scratching his head, Ryan said, "They''re demons, right?"

    Mara looked like she was waiting for Ryan to finish talking, but when Ryan didn''t say anything else, she said, "But do you know what type of demons they are, right?"

    Seeing Ryan slowly shake his head, Izzy and Mara were taken aback.

    "Waitˇ­ you mean you didn''t run to prevent the ritual?" Izzy asked, her lips quivering as she looked at Ryan with expectancy.

    "What ritual? You suddenly turned into a demon with wings and a tail after I looked into your eyes." Ryan said, frustrated that these girls made it seem as though this knowledge was the most basic in the world.

    Hearing this, both Izzy and Mara gasped in shock.

    Lizzy, silent since they sat down, said, "Do you know why Mara called you an Overlord?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Hearing the bizarre question, Izzy looked at her sister like she was an idiot, but before she could call her out on her stupidity, Ryan said, "No, figured I misheard her or something."

    "How is that possible?!" Izzy mored in astonishment, "You clearly activated your heavenly screen earlier, the legendary quest tab should have appeared with your mission."

    Mara wasn''t surprised that Ryan didn''t know he was an Overlord, as the bloodline would only be activated when one turned 18.

    Even then, for someone who needed help understanding what they were looking for, it would only be possible to tell what it was with a heavenly screen.

    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c But when Mara heard Izzy''s exmation, she blurted, "You''ve already activated your heavenly screen?!"

    Hearing the girl''s shrieks, Ryan held his ears as they were not used to such frequencies.

    "I saw the quest tab but was interrupted before I could read it. But what''s that got to do with anything?"

    Hearing this, all three girls at the table copsed in their seats.

    Lizzy: "Heavens, why did you pick him?"

    Izzy: "I feel so attracted to an idiot?"

    Mara: "I feel sickˇ­"

    ===

    Ryan grumbled to himself in his room. The trio of girls was too heartless, they treated him like he was some genie who was all-knowing. He''d only been awake for less than 24 hours in this world. How was he supposed to know everything?

    Yes, he was outstanding.

    Yes, he was a woman''s fantasy.

    Yes, he was really, really, really good-looking.

    But if he could find one fault in himˇ­ well, it wasn''t exactly a fault per se.

    "When did I be so narcissistic?" Muttering to himself, Ryan knew from his past experiences that he was anything but an egomaniac.

    For most of his previous life, he couldn''t find a single good quality about himself.

    Aliza had worked with him at length about developing good self-esteem but never bing egocentric, as if one could not see one''s ws, one could not improve.

    Focusing back on the task at hand, he opened his heavenly screen.

    All three girls had assured him all he needed to do was to look at the quests tab, and all of his questions would be unraveled.

    [Status, Allegiance, Quests(!)]

    Seeing no exmation mark on his status screen, he figured that meant that nothing had changed since thest time he viewed it, so he directly clicked the quests tab.

    As soon as he mentally clicked the quests tab, a ring trumpet sound many times louder than the previous one bellowed out around him.

    Ryan thought he would be deaf because the trumpet was so loud, but when the noise reached his ears, instead of the expected pain, his ears felt onlyfort from the noise.

    After the 10-second trumpet promation, the trumpets ended on one final re, and a heavenly voice boomed, "Rejoice, humans, for an Overlord has emerged this day."

 Chapter 18 Do Bunny Girls Exist?

    After the noise ended, Ryan sighed, "Thankfully, the girls told me that this would happen, or I''d be freaking out right now."

    Mara had exined that when a heaven''s chosen first opened his quests screen, a loud trumpet promation would sound and that any human who had a heavenly screen would get a notification, and when pressed, they would get that same sound.

    The sound would just appear for that person and wouldn''t affect their surroundings. Thankfully as he didn''t want to be swarmed with questions as to why he had a heavenly screen as a new recruit.

    After the sound yed, he received a notification.

    [Buff Gained: Overlord''s Emergence]

    Looking at it, Ryan figured he had to select it to get more details, so he mentally clicked on it.

    [Name: Overlord''s Emergence]

    [Duration: 365 Days]

    [Buff: 50% increase in cultivation speed]

    Whistling, Ryan admired the buff. 50% increase in cultivation speed for an entire ye. That was some crazy shit.

    But he had time to admire thingster, he needed to get answers, and for that, he finally pulled up the quests tab.

    [Quests (1)]

    [Overlord''s Path]

    Wait a secondˇ­

    Ryan saw the screen, but instead of clicking on the ''Overlord''s Path'' option, he backed out and went back to his status screen.

    [Name: Anthony Dire]

    [Age: 18]

    [Gender: Male]

    [Race: F-Rank Human]

    [Cultivation Rank: F-Rank]

    [Enhancer Rank: F-Rank]

    [Talents: (F-Rank Upgradable) Blood of the Overlord]

    [Heavenly Credits: 0]

    Mentally preparing himself for what whatever he was about to see, he clicked on the name option.

    [Name: Anthony Dire]

    [Note: This name is what you regard your name as in your heart]

    Seeing the message pop up, Ryan was depressed in two ways.

    1. He couldn''t even be mad at the heavens anymore because this told him he regarded himself as Anthony Dire.

    2. That he identified himself as Anthony Dire, which was him identifying himself as an orphan.

    This revtion hurt him all the more because Ryan knew it was true.

    Sighing, he tried checking the rest of the tabs out, just to make sure he didn''t miss anything.

    [Gender: Male]

    [Note: This is your biological gender]

    [Race: F-Grade Human]

    [Progress: 0/10 F-Grade Race Crystals]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Note: Upgrades to your race increase lifespan and cultivation limit]

    After seeing the race tab before, he was interested, but seeing it only improved lifespan and the limit of cultivation, he decided to leave it forter.

    [Cultivation Rank: F-Rank]

    [Progress: 3% Of Energy umted]

    [Note: Upgrades to your cultivation increase your energies impact on the world as well as your control over it]

    After looking at the cultivation description, Ryan felt that the heavens weren''t really exining a whole lot.

    But he guessed if the heavens told him everything, there would be no need for teachers at the academy.

    Moving on to the enhancer tab, he took back his previous words and licked his lips in excitement.

    [Enhancer Rank: F-Rank]

    [Progress: 3% Of Energy umted]

    [Note: Upgrades to your enhancer rank will increase your speed of cultivation, your seed''s energy output, and your special characteristic]

    [Special Characteristic: Harem Master]

    His hands were trembling as he mentally pressed on the special characteristic, eager to see what his ability did.

    Once he saw it, Ryan was not disappointed.

    [Special Characteristic: Harem Master]

    [Abilities]

    [1. Master Of Pleasure (Passive Ability): Increases all forms of pleasure created from you for potential/existing harem members]

    [Current amplification: 15%]

    [2. Seed of Lust (Active Ability): When engaging in sexual activities, harness lust from potential/existing harem members and use it to enhance your seed]

    [Lust -> Energy: 1:5]

    [3. Harem Bond (Active/Passive Ability): Activate to form a heavenly bond with a female that makes them harem members. This bond allows both the master and members to receive benefits that include: Telepathicmunication, member location monitoring, and more you have yet to ess]

    [Telepathicmunication: Within a range of 100 yards]

    [Member Location Tracking: Within a range of 10 miles]

    [Uses: 3/3]

    [Note(1): Bond is length indefinite]

    [Note(2): Both participants must be willing and have no hidden ill will toward each other]

    [Note(3): Harem members receive double the energy and influence from other abilities from the Harem Master]

    ? [Note(4): More possibilities are avable upon increasing the level of this ability]

    Ryan was ecstatic. He had what you could call a "harem" on earth, but none of the other girls knew about each other.

    This "special characteristic" made his previous life''s fantasy of one big happy family where the only members of the said family other than himself were bountiful, beautiful, and most importantly, bosomed women of all different colors, shapes, and sizes possible!

    His fantasies were already roaming wild. Dragons existed. Did dragon girls? Phoenix''s existed. Would he be able to touch upon their sacred nirvana and let his dick experience a rebirth?

    If dragons and phoenixes existed. Did bunny girls? Did a totally unknown species exist that focused on the cultivation of pleasure?

    He didn''t know, but if they had breasts he could freeˇ­ he swore he would liberate them all!

 Chapter 19 SSS-Rank Harem Overlord

    After letting his fantasies run wild, he calmed himself down and got down to thest item on the list, apart from the heavenly credits he had already tried. That message just told him he was broke.

    [Talents: (F-Rank Upgradable) Blood of the Overlord]

    Selecting the talents page, he facepalmed as he realized that if he had read this before, he wouldn''t have gotten into such a big mess earlier.

    As he clicked on it, instead of opening up a new window that slightly covered his status screen like had happened previously, the whole page changed.

    [Talent: Blood of the Overlord]

    [Activation: Age 18 (21 days ago)]

    [Rank: F-Rank (Upgradable)]

    [Abilities: Aura of the Overlord, Overlord''s Conversion]

    [Curse: Primal Evolution]

    Seeing a new page pop up, Ryan thought that meant that he could open new pages, and after he tried, he knew he was right as a mini window appeared.

    [Abilities]

    [1. Aura of the Overlord (Passive)]

    [You exude the aura of an overlord, affecting people''s willpower and control over their thoughts]

    [Note: As this ability levels up, more things will be affected and your control will increase]

    [2. Overlord''s Conversion (Active)]

    [Activate to convert a cursed member of a race into one of your eternal subordinates]

    [Uses: 3/3]

    [Note: Converting a cursed member of a race removes their curse and turns them into a regr form of their race]

    While the two abilities sounded alright, he was rather let down. His harem master characteristic felt like it was much better than this overlord one, and this was meant to have received the "all-mighty heavens" blessing.

    "Although this does have an upgradable tag on it. I wonder if I could get more abilitiester?" If so, it would make this possible to be way better than the harem master characteristic.

    Unfortunately for Ryan, however, he wasn''t destined to find out now, as he wasn''t able to select any other page for further rification except for thest.

    The title curse didn''t provoke optimism in Ryan''s heart, but it was still better to know than not to know.

    [Curse: Primal Evolution]

    [In times of great emotion, you will feel your thinking is instinctive rather than calcted. Your mind will turn into that of a beast only acting on its primal nature]

    [Evolution Stage: N/A]

    [Note(1): With great poweres great responsibility. As a chosen member of the human race, you must ovee your primitive thoughts and actions and evolve]

    [Note(2): See Quests tab for further details]

    Looking at the message, Ryan had mixed feelings.

    On the one hand, he was happy he wasn''t going insane.

    He had been worried that he was losing it and bing some kind of beast.

    He had been unable to control his actions and worried that if this progressed, he might do something he wouldter regret.

    Turns out he was just cursed! Hooray!

    Ryan finally turned his attention to the thing he hade here in the first ce to look at, his quest.

    [Overlord''s Path]

    [Summary: You have earned a power few possess but many yearn for. Your remarkable prowess before your age ceremony allows you to embark on the path of an Overlord. Being an Overlord means overpowering all others and then pushing higher. It means breaking the things that need to be broken, no matter what they might be or who stands in your way. Will you defy the odds and stand atop the masses? Or will history remember you as someone who could have been?]

    [To embark on this journey, please select one of the following specialties which will define your future:]

    [(C-Rank) [Sword Overlord]

    [(B-Rank) [Magic Overlord]

    [(D-Rank) [Body Overlord]

    [(SSS-Rank) [Harem Overlord] (Unique)]

    "I am power! I am retribution! Ravier, prepare to feel my wrath!" Ryan was so excited after seeing the SSS-Rank on the specialty he would have picked regardless he inadvertently activated his curse and screamed out his raw emotions.

    After calming down, Ryan still wore a goofy grin on his face as he inspected his soon-to-be specialty.

    [Harem Overlord]

    [Rank: SSS (Unique)]

    [Summary: Qualifying for this specialty by having the following traits: Cultivation Rank, Enhancer Rank, special characteristic "Harem Master", and Talent "Blood of the Overlord"]

    [Description: This specialty will allow you tobine your greatest strengths and form the universe''s first harem blessed by the heavens. Your strength willy not in your physical abilities, magical talents, or mighty weapons. Instead, it will be decided by the length (quality) and girth (strength) of your harem]

    [Ability Changes]

    [Master Of Pleasure & Aura of the Overlordbine to form:] [Overlord''s Pleasure Aura]

    [Seed of Lust turns into:] [Overlord of Lust]

    [Harem Bond & Overlord''s Conversionbine to form:] [Overlord''s Harem Conversion]

    [New Ability: Overlord''s Harem Pce]

    [1. Overlord''s Pleasure Aura (Controble Passive)]

    [When active, you exude the aura of an Overlord of pleasure, this entices the opposite sex and amplifies any pleasure felt in your vicinity.]

    [Current amplification: 50%]

    [2. Harem of Lust (Active)]

    [Activate to gain the power over Lust, harnessing, multiplying, and creating lust for you and your harem members.]

    [Current Rank: F]

    [3. Overlord''s Harem Conversion (Active/Passive)]

    [Activate to turn willing females into your harem members. Harem members experience a rebirth changing their race to "evolved" of their race. (ex: evolved human, evolved demon, etc.) This gives them better talents, better potential, better cultivation speed, and other advantages.]

    [The passive part of this ability allows you, the harem master, to receive one talent, special characteristic, ability, or other unique gifts from each of your harem members.]

    [Harem Member Slots: 3/3]

    [Gifts Taken: 0]

    [Note(1): Absolute submission to the Harem Overlord is required to be a harem member]

    [Note (2): At the time of activation, potential harem members must be clear-headed and agree to the absolute submission of the Harem Overlord]

    [Note (3): More possibilities are avable upon the increase of your cultivation level]

    [4. Overlord''s Harem Pce (Active/Passive)]

    [Activate to ce a spatial device in a location that willst for a period of time. You can use this spatial device to teleport into your Harem Pce, over which you have absolute control. You and your harem members can only ess your pce space for a limited time per day]

    [Time avable per day: 2 hours (Resets at midnight each night)]

    [Spatial Device Lifespan: 30 Days (When activating, 24 hours are required before the first activation)]

    [Buffs: N/A]

    [Note(1): Spatial Device cannot be moved and will be destroyed upon lifespanpletion]

    [Note(2): More possibilities are avable upon the increase of cultivation level]

 Chapter 20 Coincidence... Maybe [R-18]

    Ryan read through the summary, description, and abilities several times before wrapping his head around what the words meant.

    This would allow him to travel around, fight battles, and take over the world by doing what he loved the most: conquering women.

    If this was just what he got starting out with this specialty, he couldn''t wait to level it up and see what was in store for him.

    Not hesitating another second, he selected his path.

    [Congrattions on selecting your new specialty: Harem Overlord]

    As soon as that message came into focus, Ryan screamed in pain as he felt as though he was being bitten alive by millions of small ants.

    His inner organs felt as though they disintegrated and reformed over and over, gaining a little strength each time.

    His brain turned to mush as ck stars entered his vision, and he passed out.

    Waking up covered in sweat, Ryan checked his heavenly screen to assess how much time had passed, thankfully, it was only 30 minutes. In total, he had been away from the three vixens for an hour, which was much more time than he would like before he had them locked down as his harem members.

    He was about to storm out of the room to confront them about this topic, but his nose caught a whiff of his stench, and he looked down in disgust.

    ck goo covered his body under his clothes; the smell was positively putrid.

    Quickly turning around, he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

    The water was cold, but he didn''t care. He retched as he started to scrum the gunk off, the revolting smell invading his nostrils.

    Finally, after a good 10 minutes of scrubbing, all the ck goop was off, and he thought back to earlier and decided it was probably a good idea to jack off and relieve some sexual tension.

    Hopefully, mitigating the curse as much as possible.

    As Ryan started to run his hand over his shaft, he pictured Aliza in the shower with him. Her beautiful breasts pressed against his chest, her mouth nibbling at his ear while her silky smooth hand stroked his shaft.

    His hand-picked up the pace as he bit his lip, trying to hold back spurting, but it was no use.

    Grunting, he sprayed the shower''s ss wall with his sperm and, panting, almost fell to the ground as ck spots clouded his vision.

    He had forgotten that his body technically hadn''t cum in three weeks. He had died masturbating after two days of absence, he was lucky this body was stronger than thest, or he might have had to leave this world sooner than he wanted.

    As he finished cleaning himself and the shower after his session, he grabbed a towel hanging next to the shower and went over to the condensation-covered mirror.

    After wiping off the condensation, his face, which he hadn''t seen before, came into view, and he was stunned.

    His jade-like skin shined as he ran his hand over his cheek, feeling the baby-like softness.

    His face had a heavy-set jaw and a delicate look to it, depending on how he controlled his facial muscles.

    He noticed that while his face did look different from his past life, they were simr. His eyes were the same emerald green, and he could vaguely see some resemnce to the younger him, but if the two would stand side by side, he doubted anyone would say they were rted.

    The man in the mirror was too handsome to be rted to the old him, if someone imed they were, it would just be an insult to the current him.

    In his previous life, Ryan wasn''t bad looking in his younger years, but after Aliza diedˇ­ he fell on bad times and gave up the lifestyle he once enjoyed.

    He swore he would stand atop this world, if not for himself, then to fulfill his promise to her.

    Aliza had always talked about her dreams of freedom and glory but said that some things weren''t meant to be because of "heaven''s enforced limitations."

    He assumed she meant mortality and the inevitability of death.

    She had talked a lot about weird things that Ryan disregarded as ramblings, but as that line came back to Ryan, he wondered if it was just a coincidence she had used the name heavens.

    "Probably just a weird coincidence," Ryan shrugged off the thought as he knew what he had to do in his first step towards achieving the promise he gave up on in hisst life.

    Before she died, Aliza said, "If there''s ever a next life, I hope we can be together."

    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c Ryan didn''t know the strength limitations in this world, but if he could survive dying on earth, why couldn''t she?

    Perhaps she was out there somewhere in the universe, just waiting for him to be strong enough, but he would still try even if she wasn''t.

    He would be strong enough to reverse death and defy fate, even if he had to take on the heavens themselves.

    ===

    After calming down, Ryan realized that the curse had again affected his thoughts.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But after that little episode, he had the motivation to move forward and a goal to aim towards.

    It was a long shot, but it was better than not trying.

    As Ryan dried off with the towel, he looked around for a fresh set of clothes since his old ones were caked in dried goo, but couldn''t find any.

    Wrapping the towel around him, he went out of the bathroom and towards his bedroom door.

    ===

    Mara eyed Izzy and Lizzy in suspicion.

    So far, the two had been silently observing her for the past 30 minutes, with Izzy asionally tapping Lizzy on the shoulder for some reason.

    Mara eventually figured out they weremunicating somehow after Izzy''s tail kept on wiggling in odd patterns as if she was expressing her emotions.

    After figuring this out, she concluded she might as well start the conversation, "So you never answered my question earlier. How did you find him?"

    Hearing the question, Izzy said, "If we tell you, will you tell us why you came to Ryan''s room?"

    Biting her lip, Mara thought for a second before nodding in agreement.

    "We paid for a diviner to help us locate someone to help with ourˇ­ condition. All the diviner told us was ''be a ve in the human empire''.  At first, we figured she was a fake, but as our time was running out and we had no other options, we used our connections to be fallen ves in the human empire and ended up at the academy ve house. The rest is just luck."

    Mara was stunned by the story. If this was true, then either they had gotten really lucky, or they had met a real diviner!

    Real diviners were extremely rare because the heavens saw diviners as nuisances.

    While it did not outright kill them if one started down the path of bing a diviner, their cultivation would slowly deteriorate until a point where they would be as weak as a mortal. While diviners could still ingest pills to live longer, their bodies couldn''t handle many, and they would die a "premature" death.

    This deterred a lot from the profession as one needed a high level of cultivation to start to sense the powers of the divine.

    As most cultivators had an innate drive to get stronger and strive to live a long life, not many would give that up for a chance at bing a diviner.

    Mara couldn''t know for sure if Izzy was being truthful, but the look in her eyes was genuine.

    "Well, then, I guess it''s my turn." Mara said as she took out a device from her pocket and erected a sound barrier, "But I prefer if Ryan doesn''t hear this."

    ===

    After Mara told the sisters about her shindig with Ryan and here suspicious of him being an Overlord, the girls both gave her looks of jealousy as they were hoping to be his first.

    Of course, they couldn''t have known that Ryan had been with many women on earth, although Ryan didn''t know if he had slept with anyone on Ravier before Mara.

    Eventually, the two girls calmed down and got to the real topic they wanted to discuss, "What are your intentions with Ryan? You said you came here to "confront him" but now that you know he didn''t lie to you and is, in fact, an Overlord, what are you going to do?"

    Mara opened her mouth to answer, but as hard as she tried, no words seemed toe out. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish before sighing, "I honestly don''t know,"

    "Being with him has given me joy for the first time in my life."

    "He didn''t care about my Icey persona and helped me in ways even my mother couldn''t."

    Thinking for a second, she would have blushed if her constitution allowed it, "If possible, I would like to be with him."

    Lizzy, who had just been listening to the conversation for a while, spoke, "Then I think we should work together."

    Both Izzy and Mara, who had been staring at each other for the past 15 minutes going back and forth, turned their heads in unison to look at Lizzy.

    "What do you have in mind sis?"

    Mara looked at the two in confusion and asked, "You''re willing to share him?"

    Laughing, Izzy said, "Oh, Hunny, you''re so na?ve."

    "Even the empress herself would want this man, it''s not like we can keep him to ourselves. He is, after all, the first male cultivator."

    Mara''s eyes widened, and she stammered, "W-What?!"

    "Oh, you didn''t know?" Izzy said teasingly, "I guess he was willing to share a bed with you but not share his secrets."

    Mara looked bitterly at Izzy before slumping back against her chair, saying, "Alright, what''s the n?"

 Chapter 21 The Girls Came To Play [R-18]

    As Ryan headed to the door, he heard a popping sound from outside, and a secondter, his door started to swing open.

    Ryan was just in a bath towel, but he''d been in much more precarious situations with all of these women, so he didn''t raise a fuss about them barging into his room when he was half-naked.

    As the door opened, he saw three figures step through the door, but when he saw what the girls were wearing, his mouth dropped open, and his hands, one of which was holding his towel, dropped to his side.

    Mara, wearing the most conservative clothing of the three, wore ck lingerie that covered her top half, looking like a one-piece swimsuit. The bottom half had a mini skirt covering just enough to leave one imagining while still entuating her beautiful ass.

    However, unlike Mara''s dress, Izzy''s outfit left little to the imagination. She wore a red bra with a pink bow in the center, doing little to hide her bountiful breasts. Her lower half was exposed, covered only by red panties and ck fis stockings.

    But the star of the show was Lizzy. Lizzy only wore two ck Xs over her nipples and a thin G-String that allowed Ryan to see her peeking lips while it covered her opening.

    As the trio came through the door, they turned their attention to Ryan, only to see his towel fall to the floor the next second, exposing his naked body to their eyes.

    While the trio stood frozen in shock, Ryan''s brain seemed to realize the situation immediately, "Looks like they were as eager for this as I was."

    Or, as Aliza would say, "Sometimes the fish just stuffs itself on your rod."

    Grinning at the turn of events, Ryan activated "Overlord''s Pleasure Aura" making sure things would be as pleasurable as possible.

    Once the aura was activated, Izzy and Mara, practically salivating at the sight before them, felt their faces turn a deep shade of red and countless fantasies poor into their mind.

    The two felt their inhibitions fade away and started to advance on Ryan.

    Lizzy, who couldn''t see Ryan and didn''t know he was standing naked a few feet away from her, was still no less turned on than the other two girls, as theck of sight made her fantasies run wild.

    She knew she was the most exposed and had only agreed to wear this because she desperately wanted to be cured of her curse.

    She wasn''t like her sister or Maya, who were already attracted to Ryan. That didn''t mean she hated Ryan by any means. Still, since she would be pledging eternal servitude to him, that made her want to like him.

    She just hoped that he wouldn''t be like the demon chosen to who she and Izzy had gone, wanting them to be a breeding ve for him.

    It was lucky that she was born into her family, or the demon would have just lied and said he would treat them with some decency.

    As the aura impacted Lizzy, she didn''t gain any more attraction for Ryan. Instead, her feelings regarding him, whether good or bad, became more prominent, and her thoughts about him became crystal clear.

    Even though she didn''t know it, this allowed her to experience her true feelings, away from all the impractical thoughts.

    Lizzy''s first emotion when she met Ryan was intrigue since he hadn''t fallen for Mistress Elena''s ploy.

    Then it turned into gratitude when he heard them out after she instinctively called for him to wait.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She felt hope when Ryan epted her and Izzy, even with their... disabilities.

    Lizzy remembered Ryan falling unconscious and the worry in her heart, not for herself potentially losing a way to her cure, but for the person who had epted both her and Izzy even with their curses.

    When Ryan was being taken over by his primal side, and he tried to leave, she felt that such a man was worthy of her love and devotion.

    After realizing that was how she truly felt, Lizzy advanced as well, wanting to show Ryan how sincere she was.

    ===

    As the three girls advanced on him, Ryan felt his growing arousal, and his erged member responded by doing some growing of its own.

    As his cock grew, Izzy''s eyes turned wider and wider, and as he got to his full size, Ryan saw a line of droll escape her mouth.

    "This one''s trouble," Ryan recalled that Izzy was the one who tried to take the lead earlier, and even though he had jacked off in the bathroom, he was starting to feel his curse slowly dropping his IQ lower and lower.

    He didn''t want to hurt her, at least not until he knew if she enjoyed that kind of thing. He had experiences with such women in his past life and couldn''t im to hate them all.

    "I assume you all came here for this?" Ryan asked as he wiggled his hips, his dick fidgeting from side to side.

    Izzy nodded emphatically as Mara gulped and then nodded her agreement as well.

    Lizzy said, "I can imagine what you are referring to by my sister''s heavy breathing."

    Lizzy bit her lip, "While that is why we are here... before we start, we have a request to ask."

    Izzy and Mara turned to look at Lizzy with hostile eyes, as their thinking had long since been overrun with lust-filled fantasies. They had entirely lost interest in what they had nned to do before.

    Ryan also felt his thoughts bing rather strained as he tried to keep his sanity but still said, "Go ahead."

    "Izzy and I plead with you to ept us as your eternal servants, thus ending our curse," Lizzy said, bowing.

    Izzy''s eyes seemed to gain rity, and she said, "What my sister said is true. I would love to service you."

    "I mean, serve you," she corrected teasingly as she licked her lips.

    "I agree," he said, taking a step forward and losing himself in his lust.

 Chapter 22 The First Step [R-18]

    Stepping forward, Ryan seized Izzy, picked her up, and tossed her onto the bed.

    Squealing with delight, Izzynded on the bed as her hungry eyes reddened further.

    Pouncing on top of her, Ryan looked back at the two standingdies and, with an inviting tone, said, "Come on,dies, I''ve got enough for all of you."

    Not continuing the conversation further, Ryan''s body turned fiery hot as he stared at the famished beauty pinned below his arms.

    Ryan felt his lower body rubbing on something and looked down to see his elongated shaft grinding against her soaking lingerie.

    He could feel the slick cloth and the moisture leaking through the fabric as his rod slid back and forth as his hips moved hypnotically on their own.

    Izzy, who was pinned below, was squirming in Ryan''s embrace, trying to press her wetness against his cock faster and faster, but as hard as she tried, she couldn''t move extensively as Ryan''s grip was like a vice.

    Izzy started to moan as Ryan''s hips rocked back and forth, and her pelvis tried its hardest to meet the thrusts with jitters of her own.

    In Ryan''s primal state, he felt that even though he had cum less than 10 minutes ago, he was quickly reaching a climax.

    He wasn''t known as the king of quickness for nothing.

    As he kept thrusting, his primal state didn''t allow him to care about where the seed would end up. All it cared about was pleasure.

    As his thrusts became faster and Izzy leaked more of her juices, Ryan started to utter guttural noises as he let go of Izzy''s arms and grabbed onto her hips, picking her up off the bed and into the air.

    Holding Izzy''s hips, he started to lift them up and down with his arms as he used his hips to gyrate against her now sopping wet panties and pussy lips.

    The sensation was too much for Ryan as he spurted all over her panties, stomach, and red bra with the pink bow.

    As Ryan came, Izzy''s face widened in unforeseen delight as she felt his pulsing member thrust her over the edge and into an orgasm of her own.

    Still holding the twitching Izzy, Ryan copsed back onto the bed with Izzy lying on top of him, both covered in each other''s juices.

    As Ryan experienced the after-orgasm high, his senses came back to him, and his primal thoughts temporarily abided.

    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lizzy and Mara start masturbating.

    Mara had her eyes glued onto him, rhythmically alternating between tweaking her clit and nipples to pushing two fingers inside herself as she let out low moans of pleasure.

    Lizzy was also engrossed in pleasure as her visionless fantasies were multiplied by all the sultry noises Ryan and Izzy had been making.

    Mara saw Ryan''s gaze, and her body shuttered as she fidgeted like a girl caught doing something naughty.

    Curling his finger in a beckoning motion, Ryan stared down Mara as he felt his arousal was not yet satiated.

    As Mara slowly got up and came over, he rolled the blissed-out Izzy off his stomach and onto the bed, exposing her stomach, which was covered with his seed.

    Seeing a woman d in his cum with a blissed-out expression on her face made his cock start to harden, and primal thoughts began to stir.

    As Mara got to the bed, she looked at Ryan with eyes filled with a plea, and he nodded.

    Seeing Ryan nod, she bit her lips, climbed onto the bed right onto Izzy, and began licking up Ryan''s seed.

    After the exam, Ryan learned that enhancer sperm was not like regr sperm. Not only could women cultivators increase their cultivation by ingesting it, but an enhancer''s sperm also caused women to fall into a blissed-out euphoria depending on the amount and strength.

    It was THE drug for women on the, and felt was said to feel like a liquid paradise.

    For instance, when he had slept with Mara before, he had cum inside her which caused her to fall into a blissed-out state for almost 10 minutes.

    But that was before Ryan became a cultivator or a Harem Overlord. Ryan had justthered Izzy in his cum, and while she barely absorbed any, she still had her tongue hanging out of her mouth with a happy smile on her face.

    As Mara climbed atop Izzy and started to lick up his sperm, her juicy ass was stuck right into Ryan''s face.

    Seeing the teasing lines of her lingerie, Ryan felt his rod stand to full mast, and the thoughtse full force.

    But this time, Ryan was prepared. He had just cum twice in half an hour, and by the description of the curse, he knew he could ovee this power.

    Restraining his urge to stick his dick inside her immediately, Ryan pulled the fabric covering her pussy to the side, exposing her wonderful box to him once more.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Seeing her wet lips made his cock twitch in anticipation, but Ryan restrained the impulse and pierced her wet folds with his tongue tasting her juices.

    Mara''s juices tasted like honey, which was an unexpected delight for Ryan.

    While slurping and sucking Mara''s cunt, the girl herself was in extreme bliss.

    She still tried to lick up Ryan''s seed, but her thoughts turned incoherent, and only guttural groans came out of her mouth as she squirmed in pleasure, pressing against Ryan''s tongue.

    Ryan lightly tweaked her clit, and that sent her over the edge as her body started to spasm with wave after wave of orgasm.

    Seeing Mara lost in pleasure, Ryan took one final lick of her honeypot and stepped towards his final course, Lizzy.

    Lizzy was currently sitting in a chair, her legs spread apart as she rubbed her sensitive clit, fantasies having invaded her mind.

    Hearing the low whimpers Lizzy was making made his rock-hard cock throb with desire so intense he nearly lost control, but he somehow held on.

    Gritting his teeth so as not to lose to the desire, he said, "Lizzy, stand up."

    Hearing Ryan''s voice, her hand stopped, and her breath caught as she realized Ryan was watching her y with herself.

    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c She was practically fully nude when she walked into the room, but now her G-string was pulled to the side, exposing her needy cunt.

    Flushing red with the indecency of it all, she said, "I''m all yours."

    "Please be gentle, it''s my first time."

    Ryan had to pinch his thigh and bite his lower lip not to ravage her instantly.

    Her voice was soft and charming, yet filled with a deep desire. This created a deadlybination making Ryan feel as if his ear was experiencing an orgasm.

    As Lizzy got up, Ryan ced a hand on her waist and gently picked her up as he sat down in the chair.

    cing Lizzy on hisp, he started roaming her body with his hands while softly kissing her neck.

    Lizzy''s heart rate increased, and her already shallow breathing became a mix of moans and whimpers.

    As Ryan kissed her neck, Lizzy realized that something hard and long was pressed against her slit.

    Reaching her hand down, she grasped it, only to feel it pulse and hear Ryan groan in pleasure.

    Lizzy was shocked, as she had just heard Ryan cum. How was he hard already? Not even an Overlord was this talented! Was she going to get to have his cum?

    Thinking this, she started to fumble around with her hands, attempting to stroke his tip which she had been told men liked.

    She was rewarded with Ryan''s moan, which made her feel his hot breath against her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

    As Ryan was trying to hold onto his sanity, he knew he had to end it quickly, or he''d lose himself.

    Luckily, that was his forte.

    Lightly lifting Lizzy up, Ryan stuck his rod against her opening.

    Feeling Ryan lift her and position himself for entry, Lizzy wrapped her arms around Ryan''s neck, instinctively kissing his tender flesh.

    Gentle pushing forward, Ryan didn''t feel resistance as he entered, although she was extremely tight.

    As Ryan mustered up all his brain power not to blow his load in the first second, he remembered thinking Mara was a virgin as well, and he didn''t remember seeing blood.

    That distraction worked just as well as the others, and after about five slow thrusts of his hips, Ryan couldn''t handle any more stimtion and shouted in pleasure, releasing inside of Lizzy.

    Feeling Ryan enter her, Mara squirmed atop his member with pleasure. After feeling her pussy contracting around him and feeling her body''s desire for him to release, she was delighted when she felt the warm fluid enter her and fill her up.

    "Oh God, yes, Ryan!" Lizzy said as she sensed the pure bliss contained in that energy as she felt it enter her womb and dissolve, flowing directly to her cultivation base and brain.

    As she felt her cultivation increase and the euphoria overwhelm her senses, she smiled as she realized she had made the right choice. He was a cultivator, a realmunicator, and an extremely fast ejactor.

 Chapter 23 The Dao Of Thrusting

    As Ryan felt the cold water crashing against his back, his thoughts inevitably strayed back to the previous events.

    He was overall pleased with the oue from a logical point of view. While he didn''t get any of the three to be his harem members, he was sure at least the sisters would agree.

    Being a harem member sounded a lot more pleasing than being an "eternal ve". The binding would free them of their curse and help them evolve into something better than most of their species.

    He himself had be the "F-Rank Human Overlord" race in his status screen.

    But while evolving into a new race was enticing, no cultivator would give up their freedom to be one.

    That''s why Ryan hade up with an oath, his pledge of love.

    He would swear that he would treat them as family from the moment they became his. Protecting them, cherishing them, and their loved ones.

    Their problems would be his problems, and they would face the hardships of life together.

    He would swear to them that he would take them to the peak of this world and beyond.

    He knew either way that Lizzy and Izzy would ept him, regardless of his pledge. But for someone like Mara, he would have to take his time, slowly showing his sincerity towards her until she trusted him enough to take his oath as fact.

    While from a logical point of view, he might be pleased, Ryan couldn''t help but feel crestfallen.

    He had just had three beautiful women in his bedroom, and even though he had prepared by cumming beforehand, he still took less than 10 minutes to climax two times!

    Frustrated, Ryan pounded the shower ss with his fists as he let out his anger.

    Sighing, hemented over his performance and swore to find a technique to help himst longer.

    He knew that all three girls would hate him trying to find a way tost longer, as he had seen their blissed-out faces as they experienced the euphoria in his seed''s energy.

    But he knew a problem would arise once he expanded his harem. He''d have to satisfy a lot of women. How was he going to look if he kept cumming in thirty seconds even after he had cum so many times!

    Although he knew that was not the real reason.

    He had been training for longevity in the dao of thrusts for years and wanted to experience the end of this path (or at least the first realm).

    One said that if longevity in the dao of thrusts were mastered, one would be able to have simultaneous sex with 10,000 women for 10,000 hours without breaking a sweat.

    Finishing up in the shower, Ryan exited the bathroom and saw Mara and Izzy hugging each other with blissed-out expressions on their faces as they slept.

    On the chair, Lizzy was curled up in a ball sleeping soundly with a warm smile on her face.

    Ryan wondered why she didn''t transform into her demon form like Izzy had done when he had contact with her, but he''d have to ask herter.

    Leaving the bedroom, Ryan stepped into the main room, where he saw a dresser, on top of whichy a few male academy uniforms.

    After dressing, he decided he better go to see Valery as he needed to be caught up on the past three weeks.

    Writing a note and leaving it on the table for the girls, he headed out of the dorms, ready to finally start his school arc.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ===

    After exiting the male dormitories, Ryan didn''t know where Lieutenant Valeria''s office was, so after he left the dorms, he started meandering around campus, looking for some campus helpdesk or at least a map of some sort.

    Finally, after about 15 minutes of walking, Ryan saw a building that had the words "Student Hub" hovering above it. Figuring that was his best lead, he walked up to the door and pushed it open.

    Entering the room, Ryan saw that there were massive tv screens covering the walls of the room, which were categorized into different groups disying all types of information. Ryan saw entire sections of screens dedicated to anything from various cultivation techniques to battle videos and requests to spar. They even had sections dedicated to things like gossip about other students, royalty, and even other kingdoms.

    He noticed that while some of the screens had a ''free'' sticker, others had a price listed to ess that information.

    Turning his attention to the middle of the room, Ryan saw a circr booth with five attendants, waiting and talking with anyone who got in their lines.

    Figuring that was what he was looking for, he got into the smallest line and waited.

    Standing in line, Ryan looked around at all the people bustling around the hub and whistled.

    Everywhere he looked, all he saw were girls, girls, girls!

    He saw girls with tight short shorts and itty bitty tittes, girls with breasts so gigantic he could fit his whole head inside them. Ryan fantasized about what it would be like to be surrounded by them, immersed in the mounds as his brain tried desperately to get oxygen, only to breathe in the sulent smell of those heavenly mounds. Soon his mind would join his body, being absorbed in her bust.

    "Sir, sir?" Ryan jolted out of his fantasies as he felt a voice intrude on his sacred thoughts.

    Looking around and remembering where he was, he walked up to the counter as if nothing had happened and said, "I''m looking for Valery. She said she wanted to see me as soon as I woke up."

    Ryan said, intentionally miswording the sentence to provoke one''s imagination.

    The receptionist narrowed her eyes in suspicion, scrutinizing him before asking, "I presume you''re talking about Lieutenant Valeria? Are you perhaps a new enhancer? But why don''t you know where her office is?"

    Scratching his head, Ryan avoided the question, answering, "Well, after she visited my room, she just left me passed out and told my servants toe to her when I was conscious again."

    "I haven''t seen her in three weeks, missing all my sses. So how could I know where her office is?"

    Technically everything Ryan said was true, but the way he worded it implied something rather nefarious urred.

    Still, Ryan thought that as long as he didn''t lie, Valery wouldn''t care, seeing how she had treated him.

    Hearing Ryan, the receptionist blushed and coughed, asking, "What did you say your name was?"

    The receptionist was eager to get his name, not to verify his identity, but to sell this hot scoop to the people who ran the gossip clubs on campus.

    Lieutenant Valeria was quite popr as she was in charge of all the new enhancers.

    Her outfits and personality were always shy, making more than one fan club already sprout up on campus.

    If Valeria turned out to have engaged in this type of behavior with one of her students, it would be the biggest scoop in years!

    Seeing the receptionist suddenly perk up and be interested, he realized he got the reaction he wanted, "My name is Anthony Dire. Now, how about that office number?"

 Chapter 24 Ryan Rejects The Beast

    Arriving in front of a gorgeous courtyard, Ryan double-checked the sign''s number, but after confirming this was the right ce, he headed towards the inside, stepping into a revolving door.

    After exiting on the other side, he was mesmerized by the paradise thaty before his eyes.

    An indoor waterfall flowed down from a sculpted mountain, on top of which sat living beasts that looked like a mix between a cheetah and a zebra with ck and white stripes running down their lean physique.

    Upon seeing him, the biggest of the beasts looked down at Ryan but bent its head low in respect and averted its gaze.

    Ryan was puzzled as to why the beast would do such a thing but figured the beast might be female and could feel his masculine aura wafting from his being.

    Ryan appraised the beast but didn''t feel any sexual attraction towards it.

    Turning his gaze away and looking at the rest of the building, he saw a little bridge crossing over a river that probably looped back around to feed the waterfall.

    Across the bridge, he saw a door that had a name card hanging from the door that read "Lieutenant Valeria."

    Crossing the bridge, Ryan heard a ssh in the water below and felt ite up, hitting his face. Looking down, he saw a small aquatic creature that resembled a fish but had retractable limbs on the sides of its body.

    He would have truly mistaken it for a fish if he hadn''t caught the little guy sshing him with one of his front limbs.

    "What a cheeky guy." Ryan chuckled, wiping the water off his face with his uniform.

    Knocking on the door, Ryan waited for a second before a "Come in" sounded from inside.

    Creaking open the door, Ryan peered inside seeing Valery sitting at her desk looking over some paperwork.

    ''Guess you can''t get away from paperwork even if you live in a fantasy world.''

    Looking at Valery, Ryan could only see her top half, but already he was enjoying his view.

    She wore a white dress shirt that hugged her upper chest oh-so tightly.

    Beneath her dress shirt, Ryan could clearly see a ck bra.

    Ryan wondered what the point of the shirt was in the first ce since it wasn''t hiding much at all.

    Sitting on a chair arranged in front of her desk, Ryan stared at Valery, who still hadn''t looked up from her stack of papers.

    As he was wondering what to say, Valery annoyedly said, "What is it? I don''t have all day."

    Seeing she still hadn''t looked up, Ryan grinned, realizing she didn''t know it was him yet.

    Clearing his throat, Ryan spoke in a higher-than-normal-pitched voice, "I wanted to ask you about love, Lieutenant."

    Still looking down at the papers, Valery muttered, "Love is something made up by the heavens. Never chase it, or you''ll end up heartbroken and alone."

    "But I felt it, Lieutenant. I felt love as I dumped my seed onto her, coating her beautiful stomach in my jizz. I loved the moment I plunged my tongue inside her, tasting her sweet honey. And I felt loved as I took another for the first time as she writhed atop me in pleasure."

    At first, the Lieutenant was more concentrated on her papers, but as she heard the words, she mmed the papers down and looked up, wanting to see who thought they could talk to their superior with such vulgarnguage.

    But as she looked around from her chair, she didn''t see anyone.

    Confused, she got up and peered around the other side of her desk but didn''t see anything.

    "Heavens, I am losing itˇ­ that brat better wake up soon. These fantasies keep getting worse and worse." Sighing, she went back to her chair and sat down, rubbing her eyes with her hands.

    She had constantly been getting fantasies about the teasing brat at night, but now they were happening during working hours.

    Ryan, who had squeezed between the other side of Valery''s desk and the wall, had a big smile on his face as he heard her ramblings.

    Ryan hadn''t been aware of it at the time, but his previous aura activated at their first interaction caused women he viewed as "potential harem members" to have their thoughts about him amplified.

    Thankfully he could control his new and improved aura as he wanted now, but that didn''t mean he wasn''t going to exploit the good his old aura had done.

    Scooting out from the crack, he hopped onto his feet and dusted himself off.

    "Valery, you should really get someone to clean down there. It''s pretty disgusting."

    Valery, hearing Ryan''s voice, pushed her head into the table and groaned, "Now I''m hearing his voice too."

    Chuckling, Ryan stated, "Now, that''s not something to get sad about, darling. Women who fantasize about me are much more likely to maximize their highs as they take my full-size."

    "Now he''s rhyming? Why would he be rhyming in my fantasies? Guys who rhyme are just soˇ­."

    "We''re what?!" Ryan interrupted as he felt the need to defend his honor as a cultivator of the dao of rhyme.

    Just like with the dao of thrusting, the dao of rhyme had great possibilities if one could master itˇ­ unfortunately, his two dao''s had formed a pact, pledging to only increase as the other increases.

    Hearing the abrupt sound interrupt, Valery looked up. Suddenly opening her eyes wide, she jolted out of her chair.

    "Y-Your here!" She said, pointing at Ryan.

    Ryan couldn''t help snickering and forming a smile looking at theical Lieutenant, whose mouth was agape and eyes were wide open with stupefaction.

    "You!" Valery said as she saw Ryanughing at her, "Why are you even here anyway?" She huffed in embarrassment as she could only think to redirect the conversation.

    ''Oh no, please tell me he didn''t hear what I said,'' Valery thought as she suddenly had a bad premonition.

    "How could I note when my favorite Lieutenant requests my presence?"

    Biting her lip, she wondered what to do. After thinking for a few seconds, she countered, "I just asked your servants to inform me when you woke up."

    "I was not requesting your presence."

    Ryan''s smile got wider, and he said, "Oh, so you''re saying that you want me to leave?"

    "No, I-" Impulsively answering, Valery caught herself as she reddened with embarrassment as she realized that she had been duped.

    Ryan approached her as he moved to her side of the desk. Inclining his lips towards her ear, he whispered, "Then tell me to stay."

 Chapter 25 Mila, Im Coming For You

    Valery shivered as she felt Ryan''s hot breath on her neck and his words tickle the inside of her ears.

    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m She wanted to tell him to do a lot more than stay, but she knew that once they crossed that line, there was no going back.

    Lightly pushing Ryan away, she said, "We can''t," Controlling her rapidly beating heart, she continued, "The academy rules don''t allow teachers to intermix with undergraduate enhancers."

    Ryan shrugged, "What about for regr enhancers?" He had already essed his heavenly screen, so he technically wasn''t an undergraduate anymore.

    Biting her lip, Valery looked longingly at Ryan before shaking her head, "I''m just a First Lieutenant. I can''t be with someone like you."

    Ryan was about to press the issue, but he identified the look in her eye to be self-deprecating. It urred to Ryan that she wasn''t talking about her status being too high for him. She was saying his status was too high for her.

    Walking back around the desk, Ryan sat in the same chair he upied earlier and asked in a monotone voice, "So you know then?"

    Looking up, Valery saw Ryan, with a nk expression sitting in a chair opposite her. His eyes were emotionless, as if the scene that just took ce never urred.

    This saddened her even more as she inferred by his actions that Ryan had just been ying with her before.

    "They only told me not to get in your way and to support you from the shadows."

    "They never told me who you were, but it''s obvious you''re important to the empire."

    ===

    Ryan sat with his back pressed against the wooden backside of the chair, his arms propped up on the armrest, his hands stroking his nonexistent facial hair with a forlorn expression on his face.

    ''That girl probably works for the military then,'' Ryan thought back on his previous experience with the unknown girl that caused his three-week ckout.

    ''But if that''s true, then who was I that the military wanted to seal my memories but at the same time support me in the shadows?'' This was the main problem that irked him.

    All he knew was that he had been drugged and brainwashed to forgetˇ­ something? Everything? He still didn''t know.

    But the news that he was someone important to the human empire made him rethink his previous assessment.

    He had figured that since Marcus had known something about him, he must not be THAT important. But since the Lieutenant was making such a big deal about this, he knew Marcus probably only heard a rumor.

    ''That only leavesˇ­ M.'' He also had a shback when seeing M in the auditorium, but the scene was still fuzzy.

    ''Plus, I still have to pay her back for getting me excluded from the factions.'' Ryan wouldn''t have agreed to join a faction, but that wasn''t his main issue.

    If she wanted to exclude him from her faction, fine. Even if she wanted to exclude him from ALL the factions, fine. But when she tried to humiliate him in front of all the freshmenˇ­ that crossed a line.

    If she had been sessful, it would virtually be impossible for him to find anyone to cultivate with for an entire year.

    ''No one messes with my right to putang.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    ===

    Valery sat watching the change of emotions on Ryan''s face. She saw apprehension, confusion, anger, and anticipation y across his face before she couldn''t handle the silence any longer.

    "The reason I wanted to see you is to update you on the past three weeks and tell you about the event happening at the end of the month."

    Drifting out of his thoughts, Ryan looked at Valery, waiting for her to continue.

    "Over the past three weeks, your 99 other ranked ssmates have made varying degrees of progress which you can check via your wristband." She said, pointing to the military-issued bracelet he got from the auditorium.

    Bringing up his wristband, he focused his mental energy on the bracelet, and a series of options popped up.

    Mentally clicking on the ss option, he saw a list of 100 names, of which he was at the very bottom.

    "Your ss rank is determined by how many times and how much you enhance a female cadet of the first year. Any other activities aren''t counted, for instance, with your servants or upperssman."

    Looking at the list of names, he saw the top name was Gregory Vanroth.

    "What do these points mean?" Ryan asked as Gregory Vanroth had 2568.3 "points."

    "Points are calcted based are calcted via our own system of enhancement. This ranks all enhancers as the same enhancer rank and only differentiates based on sperm quality. Typical F-Ranked quality sperm will enhance a cultivator by 100 points. E-Rank will enhance by 125, D-Rank by 175, C-Rank by 250, B-Rank by 350, and A-Rank by 500. The range varies; for instance, anyone with B-Rank quality will have at least 350 points per ejaction but could be up to 499 points."

    "Then it''s just simple multiplication with how many times you''ve done the deed."

    Nodding his head, Ryan understood.

    "Do these points have any worth?" Having sex was great, but he''d rather be doing it with people with higher cultivation bases than just first years.

    "Points can be traded in a 10:1 ratio with campus credits, and your total points allow you to attend special events on campus."

    "Which reminds me of the real purpose of my wanting to talk with you."

    "The first event ising up at the end of the month, and the top 10 enhancer students in your ss get to attend."

    Ryan looked at Valery, seemingly not interested at all in the event, until he heard her next words.

    "I heard you didn''t get into any factions, which is why it''s so important to you. The heads of all the factions run the event."

    But all Ryan heard was, ''M will be there.''

    His chance for revenge wasing.

 Chapter 26 Prince Ryan To The Rescue!

    As Ryan walked back to his dorm, he went over his conversation with Valery in his mind.

    After they talked about the faction party, Valery said he didn''t miss much. Aside from the weekly sses, enhancer recruits were required toplete one mission per week that would be transmitted to their bracelets, but that was waved for the first month. Most of the time on campus for enhancers was spent looking for cultivators to "connect" with and then waiting for their bodies to recover enough to do it again.

    He was thankful that he was in the enhancer ss and not cultivators, as they had rigorous daily sses and a much more strict training regiment enforced on them.

    But the most important thing he learned was about his bracelet. It let him ess the academy shop, check out library books, and have a map of the campus he was currently looking at.

    Ryan was about to turn into the "enhancer district", but when he looked up, he saw a familiar face approaching at rapid speed.

    ===

    Emily was merrily strolling along with a group of three other ssmates. She had met Reba, Jasmine, and Tiff (short for Tiffany) in her Advanced Mana Maniption ss which was for students who naturally excelled at controlling mana or were guided since their 18th birthday by private tutors.

    Naturally, this ss was mostly made up of nobles which made mingling in the ss much more formal. Still, she had somehow made three friends who seemed to be genuinely nice.

    Emily didn''t have a lot of experience with friends, so when these three girls approached her on the first day of ss, she felt extremely delighted. The four of them usually just hung out in their ss and talked about cultivation, but today they invited her to the training arena with them.

    "Jasmine, do you see that swine over there?" Tiff eximed, "His clothes are wet. Perhaps the swine just got done drinking with its snout."

    Jasmine and Reba both looked where Tiff was pointing and saw an enhancer in uniform with his shirt soaked.

    "Perhaps he was trying to take a bath but forgot to remove his shirt." Reba chortled, trying to stroke Tiff''s erged ego.

    It seemed to work as she and Reba responded withughter that sounded like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

    Reba wished she didn''t have to be friends with those two spoiled brats, but her father said that daughters of a Marquess couldn''t be denied the friendship they offered to a daughter of an Earl.

    But the true thing she regretted was that the fourth girl with them was even more powerful than these two but was about as shrewd as a newborn kitten, allowing her to fall prey to the two she-devils.

    Jasmine and Tiffany hade up with a n to befriend Emily and exploit their friendship with a Duke''s daughter into acquiring a high position within the faction all four of them had joined, The Golden Tridents.

    At first, Reba had just known about the befriending part, and she was happy she might have someone in the group who wasn''t a total asshat. But after their first few interactions, she could tell that this girl was very na?ve and soon found out that Emily was the daughter of a Duke.

    Upon this revtion, she confronted Jasmine and Tiffany, and they didn''t even hide their ns from her, telling her if she bbed, her family wouldn''t survive the day.

    Emily heard the words of the three girls, but after hearing what she thought was them ridiculing someone, she just assumed she misunderstood them again.

    These three often talked like that with inferences in ways she thought were mocking, but they had kindly exined that they weren''t mocking people. They were doing their noble duty of correcting themoner''s mistakes.

    She remembered that Tiffany had exined that others might want to be her friend to use the fact she was a Duke''s daughter for their benefit.

    Emily smiled as she once again felt how lucky she was that she hade across such nice and considerate people.

    ''I''m lucky that I met the kindest people on campus,'' She thought, ''Well, actually, second kindest people.'' Blushing as she remembered her first day on campus.

    Coming out of her thoughts, she took a look at the person the trio was talking about. She couldn''t be the only noble present to not partake in the nobility of helpingmoners correct themselves.

    But as she looked at the face... "My Prince!"

    Running past the three girls, she jumped andunched herself into Ryan''s arms.

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    Catching Emily, Ryan chuckled, "How''s my princess doing?"

    Holding Emily in his arms, he gently sat her down and apologized, "Sorry, I''m so wet. That pet Valery keeps practically drenched me in water."

    Ryan had been leaving Valery''s office when that aquatic fish monster flung virtually half the river water at him. He had expected the little guy to strike, so he was prepared, but when the guy summoned Poseidon to st him with water, he could only dodge so much.

    "I don''t mind," Emily giggled while being set down, "But that''s strange that Aria would st you with water. She only does it to those upperssmen close to breaking through to the F-Rank in their cultivation. Even then, she only does it to the geniuses."

    Emily appraised his face with a scrunched-up nose, "You aren''t a girl, right?"

    "You told me you''d be willing to be my prince before you left. That meant you''re a man!"

    As Emily cried, she realized what she said and blushed, turning her head towards the ground in embarrassment.

    "I''m about as man as you can get," Ryan said, chuckling. Although he did have his fingers crossed, thinking, ''At least in every area but that.''

    Seeing three figures approach them, Ryan looked at Emily and asked, "Are these your friends?"

    Still holding on to Ryan''s damp shirt, Emily let go and looked up to see her three "friends."

    Blushing, she said, "These are my ssmates, Reba, Jasmine, and Tif-"

    Interrupting her, Tiffany walked over to Emily and said, "What are you doing, Emily?" Grabbing her arm, she started to drag her away, "You can''t get too close to those swine."

    Emily winced in pain as she was dragged away by Tiffany''s vice-like grip.

    "Stop it, Tiffany!" Emily cried as she tried to struggle out of her grip.

    Tiffany ignored her cries and continued hauling her away. "You''re not to get close to those filthy beasts, Emily. That''s an order."

    As she was being dragged away, Emily turned towards Ryan, her eyes looking into his with a plea.

    Seeing Emily in pain, Ryan felt a burning rage ignite inside him. He oozed malice from his very being, his aura turning blood red.

    Tiffany, who was carrying Emily away, shuttered as she felt the aura of a blood-sucking beast fixate on her.

    Turning around, she looked at Ryan with wide eyes, but the next second, he disappeared, only to reappear in front of her mping down with the force of a freight train onto her arm.

    As Ryan gripped down with his right hand, he felt the arm holding Emily snap as her bone split in two.

    Tiffany shrieked in pain and let go of Emily''s hand as she felt her bone snap clean in half. Seeing her let go, Ryan''s rage abated, and he turned to Emily and asked, "Are you alright, my princess?"

    Emily was frightened when Tiffany came over and suddenly seized her hand. She had tried to pull away, but when she couldn''t, she was ovee with fear. She was so afraid that she couldn''t think straight enough to activate her powers. All she could do was look to Ryan with a plea.

    Ryan said he would be her prince. Princes in the novels saved their princesses, but she knew it was only a fantasy; Ryan wasn''t a cultivator. She closed her eyes as she felt a bruise starting to form on her delicate skin where Tiffany was clutching.

    She started to cry when she felt the grip loosen and a voice like an angel sound in her ear, "Are you alright, my princess?"

    Crying, Emily leaped into Ryan''s arms as she couldn''t control the sobs that came shuttering through her body.

    Ryan turned to re at the three girls and engraved the face of Tiffany into his mind before walking away with Emily safe in his embrace.

 Chapter 27 Dr. Rubenstein

    "What''s the update with subject one?" Darius asked in his customary gruff voice, "Thest I heard, he was still unconscious."

    Urisa looked at Darius, sitting across from her with a cigar in his mouth, blowing smoke that wafted and disappeared into the ceiling tiles above them.

    "He''s awake now and went to see First Lieutenant Valeriaˇ­." Urisa''s words faltered as she seemed to have more but didn''t know how.

    "Dammit, woman. It''s like a charade with you every time. Just get on with it, Major!"

    "There seems to be a rumor going around campus that Lieutenant Valeria had an affair with subject one."

    Seeing Darius about to rage, she continued, "Before you rant at me for bringing up silly rumors, I have located the source, and it appeared from one, Anthony Dire." She said, looking meaningfully at Darius, who calmed down and asked, "Is that true? That''s not possible, right?"

    Darius knew Ryan had fallen unconscious and had just only woken up. It should have been impossible for him to have done something so soon.

    Sighing, Urisa responded, "The hub receptionist who sold the information to the gossip clubs recounted his words, and what he said only insinuated that it happened."

    "However, since the possibility existed, I had the Lieutenant checked, and her test came back clean."

    Nodding, Darius said, "Leak the test results to the gossip clubs confidentially. Let them think it came from one of their insiders."

    Bowing, Urisa left the room to perform her duties.

    "Harold, get me Dr. Rubenstein on the line." After Urisa left, Darius summoned his servant to call the second person from whom he had to get a report today.

    After a few seconds, he received a notification on his heavenly screen that Dr. Rubenstein was calling.

    A beautiful woman who looked in her early 20s appeared on his screen. Her white porcin skin glowed as she basked in the sun.

    "Hello, Dariussss," The Dr. said, her voice sounding like a snake sending an involuntary shiver down Darius'' spine.

    "Dr., have you anything to report on subject one''s possible reasoning for unconsciousness?" Darius spoke as he gritted his teeth. He hated this woman, and while he was technically her superior, he knew that was anything but the truth.

    Dr. Rubenstein had been hired by the grand empress, to turn Ryan into subject one sessfully.

    While she had been sessful, after watching a session of hers, he had trouble sleeping for weeks.

    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c The agonizing screams of pain still haunted his dreams as he remembered her torturing subject one for hours with a haunting smile stered on her face.

    "Now, now, Dariussss, issss that any way to talk to a gorgeoussss woman?" Her slithering words made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and he pressed his fingernails into his arm to keep from showing any emotion on his face.

    Seeing no reaction from him, Dr. Rubenstein huffed and changed into her actual appearance, which looked like a wrinkled old hag one step away from madness.

    Her skin was dry and turning gray as her face sported moles that had hair sprouting from them.

    She smiled at the scowl that appeared on Darius'' face, showing her two remaining teeth.

    "I have indeed figured out why subject one fell unconscious." The olddy cooed, her voice no longer like a snake but rather one of an angel.

    The change in her voice caused Darius to grimace even more as his sheer delirium towards this woman showed on his face.

    But he did ask, "And what''s the reason?"

    The uncouth hag licked her chapped lips as they widened further, the dry skin crackling and breaking, causing blood to leak out.

    Seeing the mad Dr. have such a smile, Darius felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as he knew such a thing was never good.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "He''s achieved the F-Rank in cultivation, activating his heavenly screen."

    ===

    Ryan held Emily in his arms as he stroked her hair. She had mostly calmed down and was currently resting her head on his chest.

    "Do you think I''m weak for crying?" Emily asked as she wiped her eyes and looked up at Ryan.

    Looking into her eyes, he smiled, "No. I would only think you were weak if you didn''t fight back."

    Seeing the emerald green eyes she adored so dearly and hearing his words, she couldn''t stay gloomy for long.

    Sitting up, she questioned, "I just don''t understand. Why did she grab me like that?"

    Emily had the hardest time wrapping her mind around the fact that her seemingly thoughtful friend had tried to hurt her and order her not to see Ryan again.

    Ryan thought for a moment before asking, "She called me a swine. Does she insult people like that a lot?"

    "She''s not insulting them. She''s performing the noble act of correctingmoner''s mistakes," Emily responded, looking at Ryan like he should know better.

    Ryan massaged his forehead and sighed.

    This girl was more na?ve than he thought.

    Lightly grasping Emily by the shoulders, he looked into her eyes and said, "Emily, she lied to you. She only likes insulting people."

    Widening her eyes, Emily shook her head, "No, no, she said that normal people wouldn''t understand and that you had to be in the know to know. And that I now know I am in the know if someone who isn''t in the know says that; I should tell them no, they aren''t in the know."

    Ryan brained took a second to process all the o''s contained in such a dense grouping of words before asking, "Emily, who does a princess trust most in the world?"

    Blinking up at Ryan, Emily responded, "Her prince."

    "Would a prince ever lie to their princess?"

    "Never!" Emily said, gripping Ryan''s shirt and staring up at him fervently.

    "After being saved by her prince, would the princess defend her attacker against her prince?"

    "Never!" Emily shouted passionately, nowpletely engrossed in Ryan''s words.

    "Would I not be the prince who saved you, my princess, from your attacker Tiffany?"

    Widening her eyes in realization, her mouth fell open. She tried toe up with some counter, but she couldn''t.

    Slowly closing her mouth, Emily sheepishly said, "I''m sorry."

    Patting her head, Ryan said, "It''s okay. I forgive you."

    "Now, let''s go to a ce where you can meet some real friends." A slow smile started to appear at the corners of his mouth as an idea started to form, allowing him to not only rank in the top 10 by the end of the week but get an endless amount of pleasure while doing it.

    School was about to get a lot more interesting.

 Chapter 28 Nova Ball

    Standing in front of a big football field, Ryan and Emily had opposing expressions stered on their faces.

    Ryan held arge smile while Emily''s brow was raised in puzzlement.

    "How are we going to make friends here?"

    Turning toward Emily, Ryan said, "It''s simple, we join the school''s sports club."

    "Sports are a great way of meeting people."

    ''Plus, girls love the captain of the football team.'' Ryan added in his mind.

    Ryan had seen the sports club advertisements in the hub that proimed them the biggest campus club. Figuring it would be an easy way to meet and show off to thedies, Ryan had decided to at least see what the club was about.

    While talking with Emily, he realized that she would be isted if she were without friends, so he decided to bring her along.

    Walking up to the duo was a purple-haired girl with her hair tucked into a baseball cap with the words "Tiger Squad" written on it.

    He could see she wore the number 7 on her purple jersey that had a captain tag on her right shoulder.

    "Are you too looking to join the sports club?" She asked, her brown eyes scanning the duo, "We''re just getting a game started. Care to join?" She said, indicating behind her to 18 other people on the field.

    Nodding, Ryan stretched out his hand and said, "I''m Anthony. This is Emily. We''d love to join you." ncing at his hand, the girl grinned at him, turned towards the field, and started running away, "I''ll shake your hand if you can beat me, Anthony."

    Seeing the girl run off, Ryan got a glint in his eye and turned to Emily, "Let''s show them what Royalty can do."

    Nodding vehemently, Emily started running toward the field. She looked at the girl running away and swore she would teach that arrogant brat a lesson.

    No one refused a handshake from her prince and get''s away with it.

    As Ryan got to the opposite side of the field from the Tiger Squad, he met with his other nine teammates: eight girls and one man.

    Ryan had also noticed two males on the other team and asked, "Why are so many guys in the sports club?"

    The male-to-female poption on campus was close to 1:1000. Seeing three guys out of neen was definitely out of the ordinary.

    A girl with abnormallyrge breasts wearing the number 22 answered, "Enhancers like you don''t have a lot of ss time, and I heard you have a requirement for physical activity that can be met by joining the sports club."

    The only other male on the team nodded his head in agreement.

    "So, how does this game work?" Ryan asked as he saw that seems weren''t the same on earth.

    The goalposts that one could score a goal in were about twice as long as normal and almost three times the height.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Emily looked at him, questioning, "You don''t know how to y Nova Ball?"

    Seeing Ryan shake his head, Emily beamed, "Then I''ll exin it to you!"

    "The objective of the game is to score goals with the Nova Ball by getting it in thoses."

    "Each time you score a goal into the, your team gets one point, and the first to five points is the winner!"

    "You can''t touch the ball with your hands or go out of those white lines around the field. There are rules like offsides and penalties, but you''ll learn those as you go." Emily said nonchntly, waving her hand in cation.

    Ryan''s eyebrows twitched as Emily brushed over the mostplex part of the game and prayed the rules were the same as the Football (American Ser) he was used to.

    "Hmˇ­ anything else?" Emily said as she tapped her chin, contemting.

    "You forgot the most important part for him," Number 22, who spoke up earlier, added, "While ying Nova Ball, cultivators aren''t allowed to activate any energy besides enhancing their kick. However, the ball can calcte how strong the cultivator is and adjust ordingly, making the game actually favor the enhancers."

    Confused, Ryan asked, "What do you mean?"

    "Say I am 500 energy points away from F-Rank. The ball will detect that and adjust my kick to that strength. However, if I can''t control my full energy, I might only be able to output the strength of 550 energy points away from F-Rank, making my kick weaker than someone who has no energy and can always exude their full power."

    Ryan''s eyes lit up, and asked, "So, Nova Ball allows you to practice your energy control?"

    Nodding, she said, "Not only that, but the Nova Ball itself is a treasure, allowing a cultivator to gain a higher energy control if they score while using at least 80% of their energy''s maximum power."

    Ryan was eager to y, but he had to ask, "Then why are the goals so big? Won''t it be too easy to score?"

    Emily, who was waiting for her chance to jump in, immediately answered, "It''s because the goalie can use their energy for speed, but if they''re fast enough, they have to wear special shoes that limit their speed, but that''s only for people with heavenly screens."

    Nodding in agreement, number 22 said, "Correct, and the goalie will gain a slight improvement to their speed control if they stop a ball from getting into the."

    "Nova Ball is an official sport of the four great empires, and an official tournament is held every ten years, including all the major empires and kingdoms. Even the Dawn Pavilion has a team and has won thest three tournaments in a row!"

    Ryan wasn''t too surprised that sports were such a popr event. He had seen stadiums filled with fans on earth and had heard of events being watched by hundreds of millions of people.

    While this world contained cultivation and magic, he could feel the imperceptible connection to earth, especially in the academy.

    The inte, cell phones, academies, and now sports.

    The world had dragons, demons, and a system, for fucks sake. There was no coincidence that he had heard about them on earth, Ryan was sure. The worlds had to be connected. Somehow.

 Chapter 29 A Wild Tsundere Appears!

    Tiger Squad started the kick-off with number 7 taking the lead. She quickly ran past the first three yers on Ryan''s side of the field, showing off her coordinated dribbling skills.

    As she traveled down the field, Ryan noticed the ringly obvious fact that both teams didn''t know how to position.

    All the Tiger Squad''s midfielders and their forwards advanced toward the ball like bees buzzing toward honey.

    On his team, since the ball was on their side of the field, everyone except for him and the goalie ran toward the ball mindlessly.

    Sighing, Ryan tried to see if he could activate his energy but was surprised to find that he could only use it to fuel his legs for kicking, not for speed.

    As the Tiger Squad slowly made progress toward his Ryan looked at the oing pack of yers with a smile and made his way over to join in the fun.

    "Pass the ball, 7!" 15 called out from across the field.

    Seeing her open, 7 kicked the ball as hard as she could but felt that she only could control 60% of her possible strength.

    "Ugh, I hope I score today," 7 mumbled as she watched the ball fall short.

    "Huh? When did he get there?" 15 cried as she saw Ryan appear and intercept the pass attempt.

    Stopping the ball with his feet, Ryan tapped the ball, but instead of kicking it, he saw the world turn upside down as his face hit the dirt.

    When he tried to kick the ball, it felt as solid as a rock and must have weighed almost 250 pounds.

    Realizing his mistake, Ryan stood up and poured a small amount of energy into his legs and feet.

    This time the ball moved about a foot before stopping.

    He would have tried to use more energy, but 15 appeared in front of him and stole the ball, passing it to 7, who was in front of their goal.

    Ryan watched helplessly as 7 scored the goal and turned to look at him, sticking out her tongue.

    Shrugging off her attempt to upset him, Ryan joined the rest of his team, who tried to cheer him up.

    "It''s your first game. You''ll get used to it," 22 said, "By the way, what should I call you? In Nova Ball, we call people by the number on our jersey, but since it''s your first game, I can''t call you the cute guy." She said, blinking innocently.

    "You can call me Anthony."

    "That''s Emily," Ryan said, nodding to Emily, who was red in the face after running for the first time in her life.

    "Anthony . . . I don''t know if I can . . . do this," Emily said while gasping for air.

    Walking over to her, Ryanid a hand on her shoulder, "My princess wouldn''t be thinking of quitting now, would she?"

    "How would it look for a princess to leave her prince''s side during a battle?" Ryan didn''t care about the game, but if Emily would quit at the first hurdle on the road, she couldn''t stand by his side.

    Ryan had a goal that was bigger than any in this world, and he couldn''t allow anything or anyone to hold him back.

    Even if he had fun spending time with the na?ve green-haired beauty, they''d eventually have to part ways if she quit now.

    Not knowing the oue of her entire life would be shifted massively based on her decision, Emily looked up at Ryan''s face.

    She gazed into his loving emerald eyes, her lips automatically curling up into a smile.

    Wrapping her arms around Ryan, she said, "Don''t worry, my prince, I''ll protect you."

    Letting go of Ryan, she ran toward the center, shouting, "You girls stink! Celebrate while you can because that will be the only goal you score today!"

    Watching Emily run away, Ryan chuckled and started to run after her.

    There was still time to win this game yet.

    ===

    Dribbling the ball, Emily felt sweat pour down her forehead, her back aching, and her legs on fire.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Her body had told her to quit countless times, but she knew she couldn''t.

    Looking up from the ball, Emily surveyed the field and noticed Ryan waving his hand.

    Bringing her leg back, she kicked will all her might, sending the ball flying.

    Stopping the momentum of the ball with his chest, Ryan watched the ball travel down to his right foot, which was already infused with his energy.

    mming the sole of his foot into the ball, he watched as the ball traveledˇ­

    "Yes! We won!" Fist pumping up in the air, Ryan shouted, followed by the cheers of his teammates.

    Looking over toward Emily, he saw her running over to him with a wide smile on her face.

    Outstretching his arms, he awaited her arrival with a smile of his own.

    Reaching Ryan, Emily jumped into his arms, curling her legs around his back.

    Feeling Ryan''s hands secure her waist made her feel safe and protected.

    She loved this feeling, it made her feel a warmth she had never experienced before, and she wanted more.

    Gazing into his eyes, she felt a bubbly sensation fill her stomach, and without knowing what she was doing, she leaned in and kissed his lips.

    After holding it for a second, she opened her eyes wide, pushed off Ryan, and ran away.

    ===

    Watching Emily''s outline fade into the distance, Ryan sighed.

    He knew she likely was overwhelmed with emotions and just acted on impulse.

    Hoping she wouldn''t regret her decision, but knowing he couldn''t change the oue, he turned his attention to the woman he had just beaten, number 7.

    Walking over to her, he stretched out his hand, saying, "I think someone owes me a handshake if I recall."

    Chuckling lightly, number seven shrugged and said, "I don''t recall that."

    Raising his eyebrows, Ryan was about to disregard this one as bratty, but then he saw her hands shaking.

    Looking closer, he saw her fists were balled tight, with her fingernails pressed into her skin, causing it to turn red.

    ''I met a tsundere already?''

    Taking back his hand Ryan turned around to leave.

    He wasn''t interested in ying games, he had a rankingdder to climb.

    Watching Ryan turn his back to leave, Avery shouted, "Wait! I''m sorry . . . My name''s Avery."

    Surprised, Ryan spun around, "Gave up the act so soon?"

    Turning red, Avery shouted, "W-What act?! I j-just have to tell you something, that''s all!" She said, trying to sound convincing.

    "The sports club is having an event for enhancers. Since you are now part of the club, you have toe!"

    "It''s in room A14 in the Blue Eagles dorm at 8 pm," Avery said while running off.

    Ryan shook his head as he watched the girl leave.

    "I don''t know when I joined the club..."

    "Still, an event for enhancersˇ­ I like the sound of that."

 Chapter 30 Claiming My Destiny

    Lizzy slowly opened her eyes as she saw two blurry outlines sitting across from her.

    Slowing sitting up, Lizzy wiped her eyes and yawned.

    "Sis, why are you so big now?" Lizzy asked as she recognized one of the blurry outlines as her sister.

    But her sister had grown from her memory. Her legs were longer, hips wider, and her chest plumper.

    "What''s with the essories? Are we pretending we''ve found the one again?" She said as she looked at Izzy''s tail, wings, and horns.

    "Sister, I think we should give up and marry a Demon. Then at least, we''d be leaving mother some grandchildren before we passed."

    Noticing her sister starting to cry, she paused, "Izzy, why are you crying? We''ve had this conversation hundreds of times. You should get over your obsession with finding the one and move on."

    "Sister, don''t you remember? We found him!" Izzy shouted, crying while running over to Lizzy.

    "You can see again! Our curses are suppressed! Soon we''llplete the ceremony and be finally rid of the curse."

    Lizzy looked at her sister in confusion. Found him? Him? "Sister, don''t tell me your fantasy of finding a male chosen has caused you to turn delirious."

    "Just because I can see doesn''t meanˇ­." Trailing off, Lizzy''s eyes widened,

    "I can seeˇ­ I can see!" Breaking out in a gleeful smile, tears flowing down her cheek, she hugged her sister.

    "I can''t believe it, sister! We''ve found him! We''ve found him! He''s epted us."

    Watching the two sisters hug, Mara felt awkward seeing such an intimate moment.

    But she was happy for the sisters. Being born a cursed, their luck was already rock bottom.

    Each race had a chance for their offspring to be born with a curse, but being born a demon cursed was the worst. Each race''s curse was different. For humans, cursed children were born without the ability to walk. Dragons born cursed had no wings. Phoenix cursed were born with no feathers. But demons who were cursed were born slowly deteriorating until they couldn''t turn into their true forms and started to develop disabilities, like Lizzy''s blindness. Eventually, they''d sumb to their curses and die.

    Mara didn''t know the reason why curses affected demons the worst, but she had read in one of her mother''s books that there had been a time when curses didn''t exist on Ravier.

    But that was in the days before the heavens descended. What was now known as the "Dark Days."

    Seeing the two sisters like this, Mara felt a twinge of jealousy.

    Their lives thus far had been filled with struggles and hardships, but in the end, they found someone who would ept them.

    She was still alone. It''s not like she was cursed and could be converted into his follower.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''What am I thinking? Would I even want that?''

    ''You''ve just met him, Mara. You don''t know anything about him.'' Mara had just met Ryan and was already thinking about pledging herself to him.

    But even if she wanted to pledge herself, she''d still have to get her mother''s approval.

    Even though she had defied her mother, she wouldn''t risk her true iry.

    ''But how can I stay with him?'' Biting her lip, Mara felt she couldn''t risk losing him, but her fear of her mother wouldn''t let hermit.

    ''I heardmoners do this thing called ''dating,'' which is like courting but with more intimacy.''

    ''I wonder if he''d be willing to date me?'' Mara felt a twinge of hope enter her heart as she prayed he would be.

    ===

    Ryan walked back to the dorms, checking his heavenly screen.

    [Curse: Primal Evolution]

    [In times of great emotion, you will feel your thinking is instinctive rather than calcted. Your mind will turn into that of a beast only acting on its primal nature]

    [Evolution Stage: Infancy]

    [Note: Upgrade your evolutionary stage to increase your control over this curse, eventually turning it from a hindrance into your own power]

    The evolution stage, which had just been N/A, now said infancy but didn''t have a progress bar like his cultivation, which was now up from 3% to 15% after his fornication session with the three girls.

    ''Hopefully, this helps with my stamina.''

    Ryan arrived at his door, breathing in.

    After opening that door, he knew there was no going back. He''d officially step on the path of a Harem Overlord.

    Crowning his first harem member.

    Holding the doorknob, Ryan paused before pushing forward. iming his destiny.

 Chapter 31 Demon Sisters Of The Royal House Of Argallod

    Hearing the door open, Lizzy, Izzy, and Mara turned to look at the source of the noise.

    "Are you..." Lizzy''s voice caught in her throat as she stared at the man who walked through the doorway.

    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 While she couldn''t see Ryan before, she had a lot of fantasies.

    She had prepared herself to be disappointed, even though her sister assured her he was handsome. But it looks like the fantasies didn''t do him justice.

    Seeing Lizzy sporting wings, a tail, and horns like her sister, Ryan assumed by her tone that she had regained her vision.

    Coming over to her, he cupped her cheek and asked, "Do you like what you see?"

    Blushing, Lizzy ducked her head and ran to hide behind her sister.

    "That''s what I should be asking. You haven''t even said anything about them." Lizzy said, retorting from being Izzy.

    Not hearing Ryan respond, she tentatively peeked around her sister, looking at Ryan, "Do you not like it?"

    Feeling a lump form in his throat, Ryan coughed and said, "Yes, I mean no." Quickly backtracking, "You''re both very beautiful in your true forms."

    Lighting up in a smile, Lizzy seemed appeased.

    Mara was watching on, with the twinge of jealousy that sprouted before growing in her heart every second she saw them flirt.

    The jealousy wasn''t directed at the girls. Rather it was directed at their position.

    On Ravier, the strong got to im what they wanted. Empresses, on the surface, had dozens of male harem members. But from her mother, she knew that was just a fa?ade to keep the poption from depleting.

    If an empress had a wife, for example, it would set a precedent that cultivators might follow, thus leading to fewer and fewer births.

    Mara knew Ryan was destined to be someone great, as he was not only a male overlord but also the first male cultivator on Ravier.

    He was also a natural-born enhancer that could cum so . . . very . . . quick.

    Biting her lip, she remembered the warm sensation filling him up the first time the two connected.

    Her legs started to squirm as she thought about the ecstasy that overflowed from her being.

    She had never heard of someone like Ryan, but that made him all the more appealing.

    Mara didn''t care about sharing him. That wasmon practice on Ravier. What she cared about was having a piece of him at all.

    Seeing the squirming Mara, Ryan down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

    He grabbed a piece of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers while motioning the sisters to sit opposite them on the couch.

    After they were settled, Ryan continued ying with Mara''s hair and started to talk with the girls.

    "Lizzy, Izzy," Ryan said, nodding to each of them, "I will not be turning you into my eternal servants."

    The two girls who had just sat down were stunned. Izzy gasped in shock while Lizzy''s eyes opened wide as she processed the words.

    "Why?!" Izzy cried, standing up, tears starting to form in her eyes, "You said you''d save us."

    Lizzy looked at Ryan before slowly pulling her sister back down. "I trust him, Izzy. He''d said he''d ept us, and I believe him."

    Lizzy didn''t know where this trust came from, but she trusted her instincts, and they were telling her Ryan was the one to save them.

    Ryan looked at Lizzy in surprise, he''d wanted to see the girl''s reactions to confirm their willingness to go through with this.

    Ryan loathed the idea of forcing someone to be part of his harem.

    Aliza had firmly embedded into his mind that while women were great sources of pleasure and prosperity, lovemaking was an act between two people.

    If only one was finding the act pleasurable, it was only a transaction.

    Aliza detested people who weren''t satisfactory enough to learn how to please a woman properly. She said many people used their power or wealth to attract beautiful women but couldn''t keep their hearts.

    Aliza valued a woman''s heart more than anything else. iming that building an empire was something one couldn''t do by themselves, no matter how strong.

    One needed loyal people, and for that, you needed their hearts.

    She asserted that love was the strongest motivator in the universe.

    One would kill for love, die for love, and ve for love without asking for anything in return.

    Love conquerors all.

    Ryan knew that while harems were mostly about sex, without trust and loyalty, he wouldn''t be able to sleep at night.

    That''s why he had to give them a choice.

    Ryan repeated, "I won''t be turning you into my eternal servants."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Instead, I want you to be my harem members. My future partners in life."

    "I desire you not to stand with your head lowered in servitude, but your head held high standing next to me."

    "This might sound pleasant, but my goals are lofty, and my path is covered in thorns."

    "I give you two choices, one is to be turned into my partner or the other my ve."

    "You will be given the same rights as paid ves if you choose thetter. Simply serve me for ten years, and I will release you."

    "However, if you choose to stand beside me, I swear to protect you, cherish you, and treat your loved ones as my loved ones."

    "I swear your challenges will be my challenges, and we shall face the hardships of life together as one."

    "I swear I will take you to the peak of this world, then further, or die trying."

    "Will you be mine and stand beside me?"

    Ryan fished his oath pausing, gauging the sister''s reactions.

    Izzy slowly opened her mouth and asked, "And we''ll still be cured?"

    Nodding, Ryan responded, "Either way, I have given my word to cure you, and that is what I will do."

    ===

    "What do you think, Liz?" Izzy whispered.

    Lizzy paused, ncing between Ryan and Izzy.

    "I think he''s telling the truth," Lizzy said after a moment.

    Izzy''s brows furrowed as she considered the choices.

    After a few seconds of silence, Izzy said, "If we be ves, we''ll be home in 10 years."

    "We would still have the rest of our lives ahead of us," Izzy said, pausing for a moment before sighing, "But frankly, what would we be going back for? To be stronger? His potential is clearly better than anyone we''ve ever seen."

    Lizzy nodded, "I agree, but the question is, are you willing to share him? Be with him as his wife but as his harem member?"

    Pursing her lips, Izzy slowly nodded, "I think so. Not ten minutes ago, we were thanking Zol''gan for allowing us to be his ves. Harem member sounds much better than a ve."

    Lizzy shook her head, "But we didn''t know that he''d let us be free."

    Izzy looked at her sister, smiling, "Who are you trying to fool? I know you want him just as much as I do."

    Lizzy blushed, her heart starting to race, "But are you sure? There''s no going back about this."

    "You know what we must do."

    Izzy''s heart started to beat in tune with her sisters as she acknowledged that she could walk away in a short ten years being curse free. But she would rather spend her life beside the man who gave her that freedom without asking for anything in return.

    She''d made up her mind. Her decision was final.

    ===

    Seeing the two girls stop talking, he felt Mara tense up next to him in anticipation.

    Feigning to be unconcerned about the whole ordeal, Ryan kept stroking Mara''s hair, but inside, his thoughts were in turmoil.

    He was taking a massive risk by offering to set them free.

    If they said they''d rather be ves, he''d lose many resources he could have used elsewhere.

    He also cared about the two sisters. He wanted them to want to be with him as he could see a lot of likable qualities in both of them.

    He loved that Lizzy was the bashful, structured girlfriend his past self dreamed of having. Her sister, Izzy, was everything her sister wasn''t. Being the energetic, extroverted lover who couldn''t wait to get kinky. The two came together, forming the perfect bnce, making Ryan hope all the more they would say yes.

    Seeing the girls stand, he did so, leaving Mara awkwardly sitting on the couch.

    Lizzy and Izzy looked at each other and nodded.

    They raised their heads high and locked gazes with Ryan.

    "When you didn''t have to, you took us in," Lizzy said, getting on one knee.

    "When ovee with your curse, you tried to protect us," Izzy said, joining her sister on one knee.

    "When we''ve already sold ourselves to you, you choose to free us," They said, looking up into his eyes.

    "We Demon Sisters of the Royal House of Argallod swear our eternal love to Anthony Dire, the human man standing before us. May heavens strike us down if we break our vow."

 Chapter 32 A Blowjob Of Course! [R-18]

    Thunderclouds covered the sky, their ps shaking the dorm.

    Ryan was at a loss in his dorm room for what to say.

    When the girls finished saying their oath, he felt energy course into his body, his blood vessels changing, adapting to a new power.

    Heat coursed through his upper chest into his right shoulder.

    Feeling his flesh slowly burnt, Ryan ripped off his shirt, witnessing the most magical scene sinceing to Ravier.

    A tattoo was forming on his upper right shoulder before his eyes.

    Intricate lines began to form a pattern of two horns with a skull in the middle.

    As the invisible needle was weaving, Ryan saw a bright red exmation mark in the top right light up.

    Clicking on it, a notification came into view.

    [Congrattions: 2 Demons of the Royal House of Argallod have sworn their eternal love to you]

    [You have gained: Son of Argallod]

    [You have gained: 2 Oaths]

    Clicking on the "Son of Argallod" tab, a new window opened.

    [Son of Argallod]

    [Description: Having reigned since the Dark Days, the Royal House of Argallod is known by all as the strongest Demon family on Ravier. With this tattoo, you carry theplete authority of a son of Argallod. Use this power wisely, as misuse coulde with unknown consequences.]

    After reading it, he clicked on the oath''s notification.

    [Oaths]

    [Number: 2]

    [Oath Types: Royalty of Eternal Love]

    Curious at the name, he expanded the tab.

    [Royalty of Eternal Love]

    [Description: Members of the ruling Royal family of a race can invoke this oath to make their partner part of their royal family. This grants their partner rights of the royal family, the ability to produce offspring with a superior bloodline, and the knowledge that their partner is forever faithful to them.]

    Noticing the pain from his arm starting to fade, Ryan closed his heavenly screen and turned his attention to the two kneeling girls.

    "Are you two ready?" He asked, preparing [Overlord''s Harem Conversion].

    sping each other''s hands, the two girls nodded, looking toward Ryan expectantly.

    Activating his ability, Ryan saw the two slump to the ground, falling unconscious.

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 14 Days, 2 Hours, 43 Minutes, 21 Seconds]

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 14 Days, 2 Hours, 43 Minutes, 20 Seconds]

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 14 Days, 2 Hours, 43 Minutes, 19 Seconds]

    Seeing identical screens pop up in his vision when looking at the two, he decided to carry them to their beds.

    Landing on the Sofa, Ryan sighed. "They''ll be out for two weeks."

    "Two weeks?" Mara shifted in her seat.

    ''That''s two weeks without anypetition.''

    "What are you doing the rest of the day?"

    Shrugging, Ryan said, "I''m going to a party at 8. Until then, I''m free."

    Biting her lip, Mara stole a nce at Ryan, "Do you want toˇ­."

    Mara''s voice trailed off as she felt Ryan activate his aura.

    Walking over to her, Ryan picked her up and carried her to his room.

    Setting her down on the bed, he slowly unzipped her pants while staring into her eyes.

    Panting with desire, Mara bit her lip to attempt to suppress the building anticipation.

    Pulling her pants below her waist, he kissed her inner thigh.

    Shivering from the unexpected pleasure, she gripped the bedsheets and closed her eyes.

    Ryan continued his kisses down her leg, nting a kiss for every inch he revealed with the removal of fabric.

    After pulling her pantspletely off, Ryan started kissing the other leg, slowly making his way back to her inner thigh.

    As he neared her secret cave, Mara began moaning and started to thrust her legs upwards in rhythm with his kisses, trying to make the sensationst just a bit longer.

    ''You can''t cum before he touches you, Mara.''

    ''Not again.''

    But as she tried to resist, she felt a growing need, and her hips wouldn''t stop thrusting. Soon the thrusts didn''t follow the previous rhythm and only started to buck upwards, frantically trying to find pleasure.

    Ryan got to her panties, but instead of moving them aside, he moved his mouth directly over her vulva and licked.

    Mara felt Ryan nt his face right over her hole. Continuing to buck her hips in preparation for the long-awaited touch, she went over the edge when she felt his lips colliding with her panties.

    "Oh, Ryan." She moaned as pleasure assaulted her body.

    Reaching down, she grabbed Ryan''s hair and pressed him deeper onto her.

    "Yes, yes, yes. Just like that . . . Fuck!" Screaming in pleasure, she felt Ryan trying to suck out her very soul through her panties as pleasure wracked through her body.

    Breathing heavily for a few seconds, Mara turned her lust-filled eyes towards Ryan''s bulge and said, "Now it''s my turn."

    ===

    Ryan looked at the sign: [Blue Eagle''s Dorm]

    The dormitory wasn''t shrunken like other campus buildings, making the tall structure a lot more domineering from the outside.

    Inside he saw arge courtyard filled with lounging students partaking in various activities.

    Catching sight of a poster with a bright red arrow with the words "Sport''s club enhancer party" Ryan followed its direction.

    Coming in front of a door, Ryan was about to knock when the door swung open.

    "You''re Anthony, *pop* right?" A blonde girl said, popping out the lollipop she was sucking mid-sentence.

    "Yes," Ryan said, distractedly looking at the girl sucking the lollipop in front of him.

    "Well then,e in. We''ve been waiting for you." She said, beckoning inside.

    Stepping in, Ryan saw a group of seven girls and six guys sitting in a circle, one of whom was Avery.

    Sitting down next to Avery, Ryan said in a hushed tone, "What are we ying?"

    Leaning towards Ryan, Avery replied, "Strip poker."

    Ryan''s eyes lit up at the discovery.

    He never attended college, so he''d never had the chance to y strip poker, only seeing it depicted in T.V. shows.

    The same could not be said for Ryan''s poker career, however.

    He''d lived in L.A. his whole life. Knowing your way around a card table was a survival skill there.

    "Have you yed before Anthony?" Lollipop girl said, still sucking on the tip.

    "Yes."

    "Alright, good. Kiera, can you be our dealer?" She shouted.

    Heavy footsteps pounded down a set of stairs, and a door attached to the rest of the house creaked open.

    "Anything for you, Jessie," Kiera said, pinching the girl''s cheek and stealing her lollipop. "But I''ll need this as payment."

    Sitting down with a "Hmph," Jessie crossed her arms and looked away from the thief.

    Scanning the crowd, Kiera''s eyesnded on Ryan.

    "Looks like we have a new face!"

    "And such a handsome one, too," Kiera purred.

    "Has little miss brat here exined the house rules to you yetˇ­."

    "My name is Anthony," Ryan said, nodding to everyone, "And no, I don''t know the house''s rules yet."

    Nodding, Kiera exined, "We first split you all into partners. One male and one female."

    "The chips are our clothes."

    "One shirt, one pair of pants, one set of underwear, to keep it fair for the boys." She giggled.

    "And one pair of socks."

    "We don''t y with an ante. The winner of each hand gets to take off one piece of their partner''s clothes."

    "When your partner is naked, you win!"

    Ryan asked, "What does the person win?"

    Seeing a big smile on Kiera''s face, Ryan expected the answer.

    "You get a blowjob, of course!"

 Chapter 33 There Is Hope For Me! [R-18]

    Looking at a pair of 9s, Ryan raised the bid to 0.3.

    He''d had bad luck so far and was currently one pair of socks lighter than his partner, Avery.

    Two people came into the pot with him, willing to try their luck.

    The flop came: Jack of clubs, Ace of spades, and nine of hearts.

    Fist-pumping inside Ryan, bid to 0.5, keeping a calm exterior.

    Only one person decided toe along to the turn revealing a duce of spades.

    Rechecking my cards, he noticed one of his 9s is a spade, reducing the odds of his opponent having spades.

    Wanting to make them pay for seeing the river, he bid 0.3. Seemingly going for value, if this was real poker, that is.

    For their house rules, if you won the hand, you''d only be able to take your chips back, not take the opponents. Making people hesitant to bid.

    Kiera also constructed barriers, so no one could see opponents while still in the round.

    It was to prevent people from only ying when their partner called since the only goal of this game was to make your partner lose all their clothes, not caring about the other yers.

    Seeing the other party call, the river came four of spades.

    Deciding too much was in this pot already, Ryan checked, passing the decision on to his opponent.

    His opponent thought for a second before bidding 2.9.

    Since the maximum amount of chips a person had was 4, this was an all-in.

    Thinking for a second, he discerned the only person left with all their clothes was his partner, Avery.

    Thinking of meeting Avery for the first time, he remembered her seemingly bratty exterior that she loved to show off to people.

    She loved to put on a fa?ade.

    "I call."

    Laying his cards down, his opponent was revealed; sure enough, it was Avery.

    Reddened in the face, Avery''s hands shook as she heard the call. She saw Ryany down his three-of-a-kind and nced down at her cards.

    Before disying a queen and a three, neither of which were spades.

    *p* *p*

    "Our new boy strikes!" Kiera said, pping, "House rules. Whoever is the first to fail a bluffˇ­."

    The crowd responded, "Has to be in the buff."

    Feeling the crowd''s gaze on her, Avery turned as red as a tomato and only squeaked out, "I''ll be in my room," Before disappearing behind the door and running up the stairs.

    Kiera chuckled, "Alright, hotshot. Looks like she wants to save the entire view for you."

    "Her room is the first one up the stairs to the left."

    Nodding, Ryan stoop up and walked upstairs.

    Getting to the door, Ryan felt hopeful that he''d receive his first points on the rankingdder but paused at the door.

    He couldn''t help thinking back to just two hours ago when he''d been with Mara.

    He''d delicately teased the Frost Queen so tenderly that she came while still wearing her panties.

    Admittedly his aura yed a helping hand, but he''d mastered the craft of teasing well enough that he knew he was skilled in it.

    After his masterful performance, Mara felt he deserved punishment in the form of a reward.

    She slowly yed with his dick, teasing it with kisses as he had at first.

    Moving on to licks, she carefully cleaned his entire shaft.

    This agonizingly slow build was a torturous delight for Ryan as he felt his primal side trying to take control.

    While he could only control himself for 5 minutes before his mentality broke, and he lustfully jammed his rod deeper into her, he felt his control over his curse increase.

    While the heavenly screen couldn''t show progress on his primal evolution, he knew he had gained something.

    However, he felt the possibility that control over his curse may be the key to fixing the greatest w in the universe, Ryan''s stamina.

    Eager to test his theory, he wanted to see how long he couldst with Avery, but seeing the closed door, he wondered if she had changed her mind.

    Ryan assumed she knew about the terms before the game began, but maybe that wasn''t the case.

    Knocking on the door, Ryan decided there was only one way to find out.

    "Come in," A confident female voice from inside said.

    ''Oh right, I forgot what she was.'' Ryan said, sighing self-deprecatingly.

    Walking through the door, Ryan saw Avery sitting on the bed, her purple hair let loose.

    She had changed from her earlier conservative wear into a tank top and jean shorts.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan could see her hard nipples poking through the tank top fabric, allowing Ryan to see she wasn''t wearing a bra.

    Looking at the girl, Ryan grinned, turning around, shutting and locking the door behind him.

    Avery tried to keep her performance running, but she couldn''t help but gulp at the innuendo.

    Sitting down beside her, Ryan leaned into her and bit her earlobe.

    "Do you want me?" Ryan whispered, his hot breath making her tremble.

    Seeing the imperceptible nod, Ryan turned her head towards him and kissed her soft lips.

    Pulling back, he stood up and took off his shirt, revealing his exquisite build to Avery''s shocked gaze.

    Avery reached forward towards his chest but hesitated, looking at Ryan to seek permission.

    Seeking her gaze, Ryan''s primal side shuttered, and both sides of him nodded their eptance.

    Pressing her hand against his firm abs, she leaned forward and kissed his stomach, sliding off the bed and onto her knees.

    Gazing up into his eyes, she slowly removed his pants, making his cock spring free.

    Eyes wide with amazement, she touched his hard penis with fascination.

    She had seen a penis before, but none like this. It was already hard, and she could see a bit of pre-cum leaking from the tip.

    Quickly slurping it up, she felt the rich energy contained inside and opened her eyes wide as she moaned from the ecstasy assaulting her body.

    "Oh, fuck." She had tasted enhancer seed before, butparing it to this was likeparing McDonald''s to a five-star restaurant.

    Her body reacted to it, wanting more. Acting of its own ord, her body used her head as an extractor bobbing up and down on his shaft, eager to draw out more of the heavenly substance.

    Reaching around him, she gripped his hips, pulling his cock deeper into his mouth.

    Ryan felt Avery grip his hips, but he didn''t stop her. Instead, he focused on the primal force trying to take over his mind.

    Focusing inside his mind, he saw a stream of energy entering his brain.

    It was pure white energy that seemed to be his arousal.

    However, looking closely, he saw tiny blood-red dots mixed with the white energy, giving it a chaotic feeling.

    He exuded force on these red dots as the energy entered his mind.

    Ryan was only able to stop about 5% of the red dots from passing before they reached his brain, but the difference was substantial.

    Thinking of his previous theory, he tried to set up a blockade to try and slow the white energy from overloading his brain.

    Setting up a to try and catch something, he felt as though he could only control 1% of the white energy, but that was enough.

    He felt endorphins rush through his brain as red energy overwhelmed his defenses, but he didn''t care.

    ''I won''t be a waste forever.''

    Gripping his hips, Avery felt Ryan''s start to gyrate as his dick touched the back of her throat.

    Pulling off him, she coughed before sucking in a fresh breath of air and plunging right back on, taking his cock even deeper down her throat.

    She suddenly felt a pair of hands on the back of her head pushing her deeper, but she didn''t care.

    She had ingested at least two more leaks of pre-cum which made her whole body hot and her throat more than fuckable.

    Whenever a cultivator tasted an enhancer''s seed, part of that energy would automatically go to all their holes, increasing the pleasure and reducing any chance for pain.

    As she gagged on his dick, she felt his cock twitch and licked the underside of his shaft in response, desiring to coax out his cum.

    Pressing her head as hard as he could against his cock Ryan thrust forward, shooting his load directly down her throat and into her stomach.

    Spurt after spurt filled her inside as Ryan held her firm, making sure she didn''t miss a drop.

    After the extraction wasplete, he slid her mouth off.

    Avery''s whole body felt on fire. The heat touching every inch of her skin felt like a thousand different hands were caressing her at once.

    At the same time, every nook and cranny of her body was being assaulted by the licks of a thousand tongues, causing her back to arch as she spasmed in orgasm.

    However, the pleasure didn''t stop, it only continued to build.

    Watching Avery writhe on the ground in pleasure for 30 minutes, he only left after putting her on her bed after she passed out and fell asleep.

    His eyebrows shot up at his wristband as he looked at the points he got from that one session.

    [Anthony Dire (C415.N342)]

    [ss Rank: 27]

    [Points: 1271.4]

    Remembering Valery''s words, he thought, ''If I gained almost 1300 points from one session, and 500 is A-Rankˇ­ does that mean I have S-ss sperm?''

 Chapter 34 Will You Leave Like A Coward?

    Leaving the Blue Eagle''s dorms, Ryan headed back to his own.

    He checked his heavenly screen and saw that his cultivation rank had risen from 15% at F-Rank to 23% from his enhancement sessions with Mara and Avery.

    Thinking about Avery, he wondered if she would be a good addition to his harem but didn''t know enough about her.

    It was possible she was a good fit for group 4, helpful with loyalty.

    But only time would tell.

    Helpful with loyalty not only meant they were loyal, but they also had to be helpful in gaining others'' loyalty.

    On earth, Aliza would say group four was to find potential people that qualified for the other groups.

    They were his recruiters in that sense but more so served to bring the loyalty of the group up.

    Even though they might not be the best in wealth or strength, they brought to the table the undying devotion that was infectious to others.

    It''s the feeling people get when someone in the room has a contagiousugh. Shortly, smiles start to appear, then chuckles, and everyone soon finds themselvesughing.

    The sisters he now knew fell into groups two and three.

    Helpful with power and information.

    They qualified for group two based on their ability to cultivate and their royal bloodline.

    But even if they didn''t have a royal bloodline, it didn''t matter. He could make them strong.

    They got extra points for allowing him to join the royal family, although he didn''t know how useful his new tattoo would be.

    They qualified for group three not only because Ryan was desperate for any information but also because they were another race and likely had ess to different types of knowledge.

    There were different types inside each group, for instance, individual power vs. a group''s power.

    Even if Lizzy or Izzy couldn''t cultivate, they could still qualify for group two based on their ties to a royal family. The same was true for information.

    The sisters might have some informationworks, but right now, all he knew was that they contained more information than him. Who knows what hidden knowledge their demon brains contained? Heck, he just learned that they were royalty, and now they were asleep for two weeks.

    ''I''m going to have a good long talk when those two wake up.''

    Arriving in front of his room, Ryan walked in and sat on the couch.

    Looking at the coffee table right in front of him, he saw a note which had "Ryan" written in bold on the top.

    Picking it up, he was bbergasted when he read the contents.

    "Ryan, somethingse up at home. I don''t know when I''ll be back. - Mara."

    Ryan tried contacting her on the wristband, but he got an automatic response that stated she wasn''t on campus. Thus, the message couldn''t be delivered.

    "And just like that, I''m all alone again." Ryan sighed, checking on the girls who were still unconscious before going to his room for some shut-eye.

    ===

    "Abby! Have you dug up anything on that boy''s real identity yet?" M said while looking towards her older sister, Abby.

    Abby''s smile turned mischievous as she tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear.

    "I don''t know which boy you''re referring to, sis."

    Seeing M''s nk look, Abby pouted, "Humph, you''re no fun. At least pretend to y along."

    She said, crossing her arms under her gigantic milkers.

    "It''s been three weeks. Can the ''ck-cloaked queen'' really not get any information?"

    Abby scowled, "I did get information. It only came in today, however."

    "He appeared at the hub, and a rumor spread about him being unconscious due to First Lieutenant Valeria squeezing him."

    "Though that rumor was disproven by some leaked documents," Abby said, looking disgruntled.

    "But there''s a different rumor that was started circling just recently, so I haven''t been able to validate it."

    "Oh? What is it?" M asked, looking curiously at her sister. These past three weeks, she had been out of her mind with anxiety due to what happened with Anthony.

    She felt like the whole experience was a dream. If her sister hadn''t said he had called her Little Angel, she would have convinced herself she had made it up.

    ''What if it really is him?''

    ''But why didn''t he have any scars?''<novelnext></novelnext>

    Abby paused and looked at her sister seriously, "Like I said, I don''t know if this is true."

    Nodding, M said, "Don''t worry, I understand."

    "Rumor has it that he broke Tiffany Vanrich''s arm protecting someone from one of her escapades."

    M shrugged and looked at her sister in puzzlement, "I don''t understand. He did have some muscles, so that shouldn''t be too surprising. Tiff is known for her cruelty, not her strength."

    Shaking her head, Abby said, "Are you forgetting who sticks to her side like glue?"

    Thinking for a second, M''s expression changed, "You don''t mean she was thereˇ­ do you?"

    Nodding, "If rumors are to be believed, she was."

    "If Jasmine was there, why didn''t she stop him?" M asked slowly.

    Looking her sister in the eyes, Abby said, "She couldn''t stop him."

    ===

    In a faraway castle, a woman sat on her throne, the seat a skull and its armrests horns.

    Her usual nk face broke, a small smile appearing.

    All those who saw this smile would shiver at the sight, as it usually only meant one thing, death.

    But the mother of Demons, as she was known, wasn''t nning a ughter. Instead, she was looking at a message from her daughters.

    "A man we have found, worthy he is, to wear the crown. We will go on a journey together to great heights, we will try to strive together to show heaven our might. Forgive us, mother, for we must go now. I hope we will make you proud."

    Seeing her daughters use the tongue of rhymes, she knew they had found their cure.

    Hearing the message, the mother bowed and prayed, "Zol''gan be with them. May he be the one."

    ===

    In an icy pce, an expressionless woman stared at her blue-eyed daughter.

    "Is this my daughter?" The expressionless woman asked.

    "Mother, It''s me," Mara said, eyes cast to the floor, her shoulders shaking.

    Since being summoned back by her mother, Mara had been afraid of this moment. She had spent time with Ryan all day today and had been filled with his energy twice.

    She felt her constitution, while still existing, would not be a problem again for a long time.

    This was fantastic news for her, but it seemed like the worst thing possible.

    Her mother was a tyrant in her eyes, and she knew she liked her daughter just as dead in the eyes as she was.

    The Frost General had only taken a second to discern something was different about her daughter.

    ''How has she suppressed the Frost?'' The Frost General knew her daughter was born with the same "condition" she had. She had lied and told everyone her situation was due to her constitution and that her daughter had the same, but only she knew the truth.

    ''But how? I''ve tried for thousands of years, but the frost has never abated.''

    She was hoping to ask her daughter how she had done it, but as she looked at her daughter, she saw her shoulders shaking and a tear running down her cheek.

    Seeing her daughter so afraid of her, she couldn''t help but break a little inside. She had been unable to feel emotions for hundreds of years at this point, except for her daughter.

    Seeing her daughter being born 19 years ago, she smiled for the first time since her 9th birthday.

    Raising her had been the best years of her life, but she slowly realized that her daughter had inherited her misfortune and contracted the same condition.

    This broke her inside. Every time she looked at Mara now, all she saw was her failure as a mother to protect her daughter.

    Seeing her daughter shed tears at her, she only felt hollow inside.

    "Okay, I''ll talk to you tomorrow." The Frost General said, getting up from her chair and walking away.

    Watching her mother walk away, Mara continued to cry, ''Did she even notice that I changed?''

    Walking towards her bedroom, Mara tried her best to calm her crying.

    Reaching her bedroom door, she paused, gripping the handle.

    She acknowledged she could turn around and run, but is that what she wanted?

    ''Will you spend all your life turning back when things get tough? Will you cry and leave like a coward? Or will you continue to fight and press on? So many adventures await. All you have to do is take a step forward.''

 Chapter 35 The Sexy Librarian

    Feeling the light droplets of dew covering the grass below his feet, Ryan ran barefoot across a field.

    It had been three days since Mara left, and the sisters started their conversion.

    In these past three days, Ryan had sessfully adapted to academy life, setting a strict training routine for him to follow.

    Ryan knew from his previous life that if he left himself unattended, he would stray down the wrong path.

    Aliza had taught him that holding yourself ountable was one of the most important things for personal growth.

    While she had mostly focused on the aspect of conquering women, she delved into self-help a few times to "correct" Ryan''s state of mind.

    Ryan felt correct was a nice way of saying, "You need professional help."

    Finishing his 10thp around the field, Ryan dropped to the ground and started to do pushups.

    Ryan had learned from going to the library that exercise was important for cultivators.

    If cultivators didn''t use energy when working out and actively contained it in their core, they could break down their muscles by working out and then release energy to repair them.

    By repeating the process, one could build up their bodies rtively fast, although there was a limit to the amount you could do per day.

    Building the body was important for upgrading your race, which Ryan also learned was moreplex than he first thought.

    His race started off being an F-Ranked Human, but after choosing his specialty, he became an F-Ranked Human Overlord.

    He found a book called "Why you should start training your race today," the book was written by Dr. Porter of the Dragon Consortium.

    In the book, Dr. Porter exined that building up your body was akin to building your foundation.

    You could advance by taking special potions or cramming yourself with pills, but that would do a lot of harm in the long run.

    Naturally attaining your upgrades in your race through daily exercise equates to a 50% increase in strength at B-Tier, as opposed to someone who artificially upgrades their rank.

    Even the heavens say the same as when trying to level up your race artificially, cultivators will get a warning message saying that it could have permanent consequences if they choose to proceed.

    Naturally, all the influential people already knew this, and when theing of age ceremony happened for their children at 18, some had already achieved E-Rank in their race.

    The book next went over the differences between race rankings. As an example, for humans, the ranks were Cursed Human -> Human -> Evolved Human -> Human Overlord.

    Mostly these rankings were determined at birth. The children of two regr humans had a 0.01% chance of having a cursed human and a 99.99% chance of having a regr human.

    Two evolved humans had a 99.98% chance of having an evolved human child and a 0.02% chance of having a cursed or regr human baby.

    One evolved human having a child with a regr human would give them a 50/50 chance of having an evolved or regr with the same small chances of something going wrong.

    No data was avable for human overlords, but the book stated no one has ever been born an overlord.

    Ryan also learned from the book that the "chosen" the girls were referring to weren''t all overlords.

    Humans chosen are called Overlords

    The dragons chosen are called Dragon Kings

    Phoenixes have chosen called Divine Feathered Monarchs

    Demons have Demon Lords

    Angels have the Celestial Winged Archangel

    After reading about angels, he searched further but couldn''t find anything rted to them.

    Focusing back on his workout Ryan finished his pushups and began to do squats.

    These past three days, he had been mainly spending in the library when he was done exercising since he needed to fill the void of information.

    His three girls were gone, and Emily still hadn''t messaged him back.

    He had thought about messaging her but decided against it. He knew he couldn''t take the lead on this one.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Finishing his squats, he ran back to his dorm for a shower, then headed toward the library.

    While he had been reading these past three days, he noticed two pairs of eyes watching him.

    At first, he was cautious, but these pairs of eyes didn''t carry with them any malicious intent.

    Intending to introduce himself to the two pairs of eyes and the exquisite bodies they were attached to, he walked up to the library''s counter.

    His first watcher currently sat behind the desk. She had beige hair she wore up in a bun, thick rounded sses, and a nice conservative flowery pink dress.

    As she sat behind the counter, she was looking down, reading a book that gave her the perfect nerdy girl vibe.

    "Hello, I''m looking to check out something."

    Slightly startled by the close voice, the girl looked up from her reading.

    Seeing Ryan''s smiling face looking at her, she blushed and squeaked, "I''m not the librarian," Clearing her throat, she tried to sound more professional, "I can''t process book checkouts. She should be back soon, though."

    Tapping his chin, Ryan asked, "What if I''m not here to check out a book?"

    "What would you be here to check out?" The girl asked obliviously.

    Leaning towards her conspiratorially, Ryan whispered, "I''m actually here to see why two girls have been staring at me these past three days while I''ve been in the library."

    "Oh, who are they?" The girl whispered back, leaning towards him to keep the conversation confidential while looking around for possible suspects.

    "Well, I still don''t know their names. I''ve only just started a conversation with one of them."

    Nodding, the girl said, "Well, don''t worry, Suzy will be back soon."

    "We''ll help you track them down and get answers from them."

    "Oh, one of their names is Suzy." Ryan suddenly said.

    Looking at him sideways, she asked, "I thought you didn''t know any of their names?"

    Just as she said, a ck-haired beauty wearing high heels, a ck mini-skirt, and a white blouse came through a door behind the desk.

    Holding a coffee, she didn''t notice Ryan standing in front of the desk and said, "Good morning Leah."

    "Good morning Suzy. Have you seen anyone suspicious in the library these past three days?"

    Putting down her coffee, she turned towards Leah, asking, "I don''t think so. Unless you count the guy who starteding in three days ago. But he''s only suspiciously ho-"

    Failing to continue, she stared at Ryan, who was looking at her with a bemused smile.

    Blinking, she turned towards Leah and slowly asked, "Why haven''t you introduced me to your friend here?"

    Blushing, Leah nced at Ryan before leaning into Suzy and whispering, "Stop embarrassing me, mom. He just came for help."

    Pinching her face, she whispered, "Don''t call me that here. Here, I''m Suzy, remember?"

    Clearing her throat, Suzy said, "Hello, my assistant tells me you need some help. What can I do for you?"

    Biting his tongue to keep from cracking a smile, Ryan said, "Ah, yes. I came here to get to the bottom of a mystery."

    "A mystery?" Suzy said, relieved he didn''t bring up her previous words, which happened to be about him.

    "Yes," Ryan nodded, "The mystery I find myself a part of is why two stunningly beautiful women constantly stare at me while I read in the library."

    Opening her mouth to reply, Suzy felt her lips falter as she processed his words.

    "Oh, and I think I now know their names."

    "One is known as Leah, and the other goes by Suzy."

 Chapter 36 Obsession

    "One is known as Leah, and the other goes by Suzy."

    Leah''s face scrunched up for a second before she muttered to herself, "Leah and Suzyˇ­ those are our names?"

    Suzy turned bright red, but she felt as an adult, she should still be able to control the situation, "Young man, I don''t know who you''re using of being-"

    "Beautiful? I''m using the two of you." Ryan interrupted her.

    "I don''t mind you gawking at me. I just thought I should introduce myself since I''ve attracted the attention of two lovelydies such as yourselves."

    Leah finally understood and pulled nervously at the corners of her dress. She had never been called pretty before.

    All the guys she saw went for the athletic girls, she''d never seen a guye into the library before except for assignments. She had been fascinated by why a guy as handsome as Ryan woulde into the library in the first month when there were no assignments. These past three days, she indeed had been gawking at him. But she didn''t dare hope he woulde to her and say this.

    As her insecure thoughts gued her mind, she stammered while looking down, "B-But I''m not attractive."

    Tilting his head, Ryan asked, "Are you calling me a liar?"

    Looking up, Leah frantically shook her head, saying, "No, I''m sorry." She started tearing up from the stress of the moment and wanted to run away.

    She closed her eyes and turned her body to do just that, but she felt a warmth radiate from her head, soothing her worries.

    "There''s no need to apologize, Leah. My name is Anthony, but I like to be called Ryan." He said while patting her head, calming the distressed girl.

    While the two were flirting, Suzy was handling her own distress.

    She had been the librarian here for over 70 years, and even though she looked in herte 20s, she was several hundred years old on the outside.

    Yes, she had been gawking at this extremely attractive boy, but it was all harmless looking.

    She had never envisioned Ryaning up and talking to her in such a forceful manner before, even having the balls to interrupt her.

    But hearing him call her beautiful, she felt a me inside her that had been dormant for many years spark to life.

    She had tried having rtionships before. Living a few hundred years causes you to yearn for the pleasant things in life.

    But the past rtionships she had tried didn''t seem to work out.

    Eventually, she found a man to impregnate her, and after trying for a few months, she got lucky and was sessful.

    She didn''t have any feelings for the man and just wanted her daughter, who she loved more than anything in the world.

    She had raised her in this library, which might have been a mistake.

    As a mother, she wanted to see her child live a happy life with a man she could love, but even though her daughter could cultivate, she only wanted to read love novels alone in the library.

    This made her nearly invisible in the eyes of the enhancers at the school, and even though she was a student, none of them had approached her.

    But when Ryan stated that he found her attractive and her daughter, it raised a new emotion in her.

    She could only identify this emotion as . . . obsession.

    ===

    Ryan left the two at the counter with a cheeky grin, having aplished more than he sought to.

    He had sessfully gained both of their bracelet''s numbers so he could contact themter, but he also learned their secret.

    Knowing that they were mother and daughter, Ryan thought that Suzy would be more inclined to give way for her daughter, but unexpectedly she not only didn''t do that, but she also became more aggressive.

    By the time he left, the look she was giving him made Ryan sure if he asked to take her to the back room for some fun, she would oblige.

    But as much as he wanted to, that wouldn''t serve his purpose.

    For starters, he had to continue studying, but the more important thing was that asking her now was counterproductive.

    Aliza always taught patience. Women crave what they can''t have. Sometimes that meant leaving them only with a taste like he had done with Mara and Avery.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But other times, it meant presenting the meal with no utensils. If they wanted the meal, they would have to get their hands dirty to taste it.

    As Ryan picked up the book he scouted yesterday, he read the title once more. "How To Take Over A Heavenly Blessed Empire."

    The title sounded intriguing, and after scanning the synopsis yesterday, he knew it was worth a read.

    Picking up the book, he flipped to the first page and began to read.

    "The Heavens may seem like a high and mighty force that you have no contact with in your day-to-day lives, but I am here to inform you of your misconceptions."

    "The Heavens have control over almost everything on Ravier."

    "In the Dark Days, kingdoms rose and fell countless times, but that all changed when the Heavens descended."

    "While you probably don''t quite understand it, I''m sure you''ve heard about a Heavenly Invasion." Ryan was surprised because that was something he was aware of. He remembered Valery mentioning it before his exam.

    "Heavenly invasions are the only way for one force to take over another on Ravier."

    "For instance, if the Red Dragon Empire decided it wanted to take over the Holy Phoenix Empire, it would first have to apply for a Heavenly Invasion."

    "If they decided for some reason to attack without one, the heavens themselves would strike them down for attacking a Heaven Blessed Empire."

    "To understand Heavenly Invasions, however, you first have to understand how one bes a Heavenly blessed empire, or blessed in anything for that matter."

    "When creating a force, you first have to specify what type it will be. Will you rule over thend like a king? Or will you be someone who is merely allowed to stay on thatnd?"

    "For instance, the Dawn Pavilion, who, as of writing, is Ravier''s biggest force, is of thedder and is a civilian force."

    "Civilian forces have different requirements and are not protected like Kingdom forces."

    "To qualify for a heavenly blessed citizen force, you must give a specific amount of taxes to the heavens. You can raise your forces rank, which will lower the tax you are required to give."

    "But this offers little in the way of protection. Rather it serves to enhance the force in other ways."

    "But for a kingdom force, the requirements are not only stricter, but also almost impossible to aplish."

    "First, to qualify for the test to be a kingdom force, you have to upy and control an area of at least 100 miles for ten years."

    "At the end of that term, your force has to have at least 1 B-Rank Cultivator, 10 C-Rank Cultivators, and 1000 D-Rank cultivators."

    "This is only to qualify for the lowest kingdom''s test."

    "The test itself is said to be virtually impossible to aplish without at least twice the required amount of forces."

    "If you pass it, congrattions! The heavens officially will bless your kingdom."

    "That means that no force can take over your kingdom from the outside unless they have applied for a heavenly invasion (Keep in mind that you can still die, and the leadership would be passed to your second inmand. So on and so forth)."

    "But you''re not reading this to understand how to keep yourself safe, you want to know how to take over an empire!"

    "After gaining the blessing of the heavens, they will impose certain rules on you. Such as not recklessly ughtering your citizens and all that nonsense."

    "But you''re interested in the rule that allows you to attack a heavenly blessed kingdom or empire! All you need is an invasion pass."

    "However, gaining an invasion pass is a lot more tricky than one might think."

    "On Ravier, there are thousands of kingdoms, but why? Is it because the four great empires can''t control such vastnd? No."

    "It''s because once you established a blessed Heavenly Kingdom, in order to uproot it, you need an invasion pass."

    "No one knows of a surefire way of obtaining them, but the forces on Ravier have gotten them from heavenly-sanctioned events like tournaments and sporting events on rare asions."

    "Currently, only one force on Ravier is known to have an invasion pass."

    "The Dawn Pavilion."

 Chapter 37 Ryans First Assignment

    While Ryan was reading, he felt his wristband vibrate, and a message came into view.

    [Anthony Dire: Please proceed to enhancer room 7 toplete your assigned task.]

    Seeing the message, Ryan remembered Valery telling him something about enhancers being assigned partners once a week. He guessed that this message was pertaining to that.

    He winked at Suzy and Leah and got up from his chair, then left the library.

    Opening up his map, he saw that inside the enhancer district, a building called "Enhancer Rooms" had a red dot on it.

    Curious, he tapped the red dot, and the view enhanced, showing a room with a doorbeled 7.

    ''Guess it''s like a minimap.''

    Turning off the map, he headed towards his destination.

    ===

    Grace made her way toward the enhancer room with a gloomy face.

    This wasn''t her first time going to this particr room. In fact, it was her 4th time this month.

    She had received the same message after getting first ce in all three of her weekly exams.

    But he never came every time she would go to the room to wait for the enhancer to show up.

    She had thought about going toin to Lieutenant Valeria but was too afraid of upsetting her and getting kicked out of the academy.

    Grace came from a poor vige where her mother was the town''s chief.

    When the vigers discovered she could cultivate, they spent every dime they could to prepare Grace for the academy.

    Her ssmates knew her as the strong and confident girl that finished first ce in every exam she took.

    But on the inside, she wasn''t confident or strong. All she was, was scared.

    She had the hopes of her whole vige riding on her. If she failed, she wouldn''t only fail her dreams but fail the ones who depended on her.

    While the vigers told her not to worry about paying them back, she could see the desperate situation of the vige. She knew this had been a calcted gamble that would lead to either the destruction or resurrection of the vige.

    When she first came to the academy, she learned that paying for pills was the mostmon way of cultivating.

    But since she didn''t have any money, she was desperate for another solution, and that''s when the prize for getting first ce in the weekly exam was brought up.

    After learning that, she knew this was a big opportunity for her.

    The ratio of cultivators to enhancers at the academy was 1000:1. If she could get first ce in an exam and form some sort of deal with the enhancer, that could be her golden ticket.

    The only problem was what could she offer?

    As she was entering the enhancer district, lost in her thoughts, she suddenly bumped into a solid figure, falling to the ground.

    Rubbing her back, she heard, "Sorry, I wasn''t paying attention."

    Looking up, she saw a handsome man with raven ck hair, his face glowing from the sun behind his back.

    Seeing his hand being offered, she graciously took it and said, "I was lost in my thoughts. It was my mistake too."

    Dusting off her clothes, she eyed the man, "Are you a student here?"

    "Do I not look like a student?" Ryan asked with his brow raised.

    Grace said, smiling, "I was just wondering if you mind answering a question."

    "If I can. But can we do it while we walk? I have an urgent appointment that I cannot bete for."

    Grace looked surprised and muttered, "If only you were assigned to me."

    "I was wondering if you would know why an enhancer would not show up to his assigned time."

    Ryan looked at the girl quizzically, "If it is with you?" bowing, he said, "It could only mean his death, mydy."

    "Haha!" Grace burst outughing, drawing a few odd stares from the people around them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Oh, my," Grace said while wiping off her tears ofughter.

    "Thank you. I really needed that." Grace said, looking into Ryan''s eyes before turning to run off.

    Seeing the girl speed away, Ryan muttered to himself, "Why are girls always running away from me?"

    At first, it felt like every girl was attached at the hip to him. Valery kept staring at him before the exam, Mara melted for him in mere moments, and the demon sisters practically begged him to take them inˇ­ why did everything suddenly change?

    Sighing, Ryan opened back up his map and continued navigating the winding streets to his destination.

    ===

    Mara opened the door to her old room, memories she wished to forget flooding her mind.

    Looking around the big room, she came to the middle of the room and said, "I know you''re here. You cane out now."

    Two figures peeked their heads out from either side of the bed, ncing at each other before walking toward their young master.

    Bowing their heads, they giggled at each other, "We''d thought we would surprise you. Looks like you know us too well."

    Seeing her two housemaids, Mara couldn''t help but feel tearse into her eyes.

    Soon the tears became sobs, tears starting pouring down her cheeks as she began to wail.

    She had never been able to convey how truly grateful she was for them. Growing up, Mara had always felt in her heart that these two were the mother she never had.

    Having such a cold mother, waking up to two warm faces in the morning gave her hope that things wouldn''t be bad forever.

    They had been the me on her cold winter nights that kept her from freezing.

    Even when they were met with her ice-cold stare every morning, they never once took off their happy smiles.

    She had said Ryan was the first person to see her true self, but in a way, she was wrong. These women, for whatever reason, never gave up on her.

    Seeing Mara start crying, the housemaids fell into a stupor.

    Was this their Mara? The one who never showed an ounce of emotion?

    But soon, they recovered and rushed to hug and whisperforting thoughts into Mara''s ear.

    After Mara stopped crying, the three climbed onto Mara''s bed to talk.

    "Mara, I have to say, I''m stunned that you''ve been able to ovee the negative side of your constitution. How did you do it?" Heather asked.

    Blowing her nose, Mara shook her head, "I didn''t do anything."

    "What do you mean?"

    "He did everything." She answered.

    Heather and Ruth looked at each other, seeing both of their eyes wide in rm and amazement.

    Quickly the two of them sprang up and concocted a sound barrier.

    Seeing Ruth nod, Heather asked, "Who exactly is he?"

    Mara looked at the two''s odd movements and asked, "Why did you erect a sound barrier?"

    Ruth sat down beside Mara, wrapping her arm around her.

    "We think it''s best if this conversation doesn''t leak out," Ruth said.

    Tilting her head, Mara asked, "What does that mean? And why was I called back here all of a sudden?"

    Biting her lip, Ruth looked at Heather.

    Nodding, Heather said, "She deserves to know. She''ll know about it tomorrow, anyway."

    Ruth looked at Mara, hesitating for a second before saying, "You were called back for your . . . engagement ceremony."

 Chapter 38 The Battle In The Bedroom [R-18]

    Ryan got to the door and put his wristband against the lock, letting him enter.

    The "room" was more like a house as he could see furniture, a fridge, a microwave, and other appliances.

    He saw a holographic screen set up to watch battle highlights or sporting reys.

    Looking further into the house, he saw a shower,undry room, a master bedroom, and even a jacuzzi.

    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 As he was looking around, he heard the front door lock click as it unlocked.

    ''Guess it''s time.''

    Seeing the lights off, Grace sighed. "Guess he''s not here again."

    Slumping down on the couch, she turned on the hologram to pass the time.

    Ryan watched Grace sit down on the couch in confusion. Was it her?

    Recalling his previous conversation, he thought of the possibility of him being the one who stood her up.

    ''I said the only possibility was death...Death-unconsciousness close enough.''

    Walking up behind her, Ryan said, "Fate has brought us together once more it seems."

    Grace leaped out of her seat, throwing a punch toward Ryan.

    Ryan deftly dodged and said, "Ah, it seems the time we spent apart has strengthened our bond even further. You''re even sending me presents!"

    Grace prepared another attack but was caught by his words.

    Pulling her arms back, she only noticed he was the same man from earlier.

    "What are you doing in here?" Grace asked in confusion.

    Ryan said, "Same thing as you, mydy," pulling up his bracelet and showing the notification he had received earlier.

    Calming down, Grace said, "My apologies, I thought you were an intruder."

    "If you''re into that, I could roley one," Ryan said, a smile forming.

    Graceughed, "Oh goodness, where were you earlier in my life."

    Without skipping a beat, Ryan rhymed back, "I was preparing for today in order to make you my wife."

    Grace opened her mouth, processing the words before rolling over andughing. "A wife you make me? Perhaps I will be, if that is, you can show me your peepee."

    Hearing Grace''sughingeback, Ryan''s heart trembled, and he replied, "If my dick is what you seek,e hither to sneak a peek."

    Pulling down his shorts, his dick sprang to life, hard from the rhymes. . . of course.

    He totally hadn''t already gotten hard because he hadn''t cum in three days...

    Whileughing on the floor, Grace turned towards Ryan and widened her eyes in amazement.

    "I think that''s better than a rhyme," Grace murmured.

    Looking at him conflicted, Grace asked, "Why haven''t you been here these past three weeks?"

    Ryan, bare from the waist down, was surprised at this girl''s self-control. She seemed more of it than the other woman he''s been with.

    "I''ve been. . . indisposed," Ryan replied cryptically.

    "But it doesn''t matter. I''ll make up for my tardiness."

    Saying that, Ryan lifted his shirt over his head, exposing his thick muscles.

    Nowpletely in the nude, Ryan started to walk slowly over to Grace, who was still on the floor.

    Standing in front of her, Ryan gazed down from above and asked, "Or are you all talk?"

    Grace leaped up from the floor and huffed, throwing off her top in a swift motion.

    Left with only a bra covering her upper body, she slowly turned around, showing Ryan her ass.

    Wiggling her hips side to side, she teased Ryan as she lowered her pants to the ground. Her nice, firm assing into view.

    Reaching forward, Ryan squeezed her butt with his left hand and wrapped his right hand around her stomach.

    As his left hand groped her juicy ass, his right hand drifted toward her bra.

    Her boobs weren''t all thatrge, but they were all-natural.

    Ryan didn''t care about the size. As long as they are legal, they are nice.

    Using his patented technique, he formed a three-sided triangle with his right hand''s thumb, pointer, and middle finger and pulled the center of the bra while his left hand came up and unsped the back with lightning speed.

    The technique was sessful, and another pair of breasts had been freed.

    ''One point for the good guys.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    Taking both hands now, he pressed his rock-hard cock into her butt as he wrapped his arms around her back and started fondling her breasts.

    Ryan still needed to activate his aura, he was only waiting for the right moment.

    After fondling her breasts for a minute, Ryan got ready and activated his aura, from rubbing her breasts to teasing her nipples.

    Feeling the change in sensation, Grace gasped and started to grind her backside into Ryan''s throbbing member more vigorously.

    Keeping calm, Ryan put up his mental defenses and prepared for an arduous battle.

    Grace was desperate for Ryan to touch her nipples, but no matter how much Grace strained, she couldn''t move that half an inch required for his fingers to make contact with her hard pink peaks.

    Grace had her hands free, but she felt that touching her nipples who be losing.

    She needed to win this war.

    Seemingly hopeless at using her body to get him to touch her, she moved on to a different tactic.

    Her butt, which was rhythmically rocking back and forth, pressing against his rod, hoisted up and lined up with her panties as she aimed his dick in between her cheeks.

    Swaying back and forth, his dick slid against her panties, sliding against the building''s wet spot that was forming.

    Ryan felt Grace switch her tactic but continued his teasing. He was eager to build his stamina, and this was a perfect opportunity.

    Reinforcing his defenses, he felt confident he coul-

    As he was busy in his mind, he didn''t feel it when Grace''s hand started to slip in between his legs until it was toote.

    Feeling her massaging his balls, he sensed his imprable fortress suddenly crack.

    He tried to wriggle free, but her hands were ced perfectly.

    Finally, he couldn''t wait any longer and pinched her nipples, making Grace''s body tense up as her juices leaked into her panties, soaking them.

    Stepping back, Ryan fixed the gap in his defenses and looked at the panting girl.

    While she hadn''t cum quite yet, Grace was nearly there.

    Deciding it was now or never, Ryan moved forward, picking Grace up and tossing her on the couch.

    Jumping on her, Ryan aimed his dick at her soaking panties and stared into Grace''s eyes, waiting.

    Getting the message, Grace slid her panties to the side and wrapped her arms around the back of Ryan''s neck.

    Sliding into Grace, Ryan felt the warm slick insides he missed so dearly.

    It had only been three days, but for a degenerate like him, it might as well have been an eternity.

    Her wet insides contracted around him as he thrust, forcing out a bit of precum.

    Grace gasped and moaned as she sensed the power contained in the drop.

    Feeling her body start to heat up, Grace started to move her hips to greet Ryan''s thrusts, increasing the momentum.

    Ryan looked at the girl below him and leaned overtop her, kissing her lips.

    The unexpected intimate act only served to enhance Grace''s pleasure further as she pried inside Ryan''s mouth with her tongue. As the two explored each other''s mouths with their tongues, Ryan reached down and started to caress her body.

    The sensation was too much for Grace, and she scratched at Ryan''s back, her pussy clenching on Ryan''s dick as she came moaning into his mouth.

    Ryan felt his walls copsing, and with a groan, he shot his thick load inside her.

    Rope after rope of cum lined her innards as Ryan forced his load into her deepest parts.

    Inaudible sounds wereing from Grace''s mouth as she spasmed in pleasure.

    Ryan stayed inside her while she erupted in pleasure.

    After about 20 minutes, Grace regained enough sense to feel Ryan still inside her.

    Her hazy brain state didn''t allow her to register the irregrity of the situation, only that it was happening.

    Moving her hips, her body ventured to coax out more of the miracle liquid she had just ingested.

    Ryan, who had his eyes closed as basked in the warmth surrounding his dick, felt Grace start to thrust against his growing cock and began his hip movements.

    The wet pping sounds of flesh meeting flesh filled the room as two horny bodies collided.

    It was no longer two cultivators making love but two rabid beasts using each other for pleasure.

    Ryan concentrated on the feeling of his cock being coated by warmth, the feeling of it being caressed on all sides by the slick walls, and their juices sloshing as they moved.

    Helpless to the pleasure, Ryan felt his heartrate skyrocket, and he reached, grabbing ahold of her hips, pressing himself deeper into her.

    With a loud groan, he came deep and hard inside her for a second time.

    Feeling his load shooting into her, Grace was pushed over the edge and screamed incoherently as the pleasure melted her brain.

 Chapter 39 Youre No Mother Of Mine

    "My engagement ceremony?" Mara felt her worlde crashing down as the possibility of being with Ryan shattered just as fast as she had it.

    Her constitution would turn icy again, and her life would be full of sadness once more.

    Her mother had received several offers for her hand in marriage, but she had rejected all of them.

    As the only daughter of such a prominent and powerful figure in the human empire, her marriage partner''s family would gain a lot politically, so it had to be considered carefully.

    "How could she do this?" Mara wailed as tears streamed down her cheek, leaning against Ruth''s shoulder.

    Stroking Mara''s hairfortingly, Ruth pursed her lips and said nothing.

    Heather only looked into the distance as tears of her own dropped to the floor.

    Falling asleep in Ruth''s and Heather''s embrace, Mara woke up to the smell wafting off a freshly made stack of buttermilk pancakes.

    Groggily looking over, Mara smiled as she saw Heather in her maid outfit holding a tray of food.

    The spread included berries, fruits, pancakes, and a small bottle of syrup.

    Feeling her tiredness fade, Mara sat up and eagerly started feasting on the food.

    The food at the academy wasn''t bad, but it wasn''t anythingpared to a home-cooked meal.

    "Your breakfast was even better than I remembered, Heather." Maraplimented as she licked her te clean.

    "I''m d you enjoyed it, Lady Mara," Heather said, bowing. "I was instructed to inform you after your meal to head to Master Frost''s office." Gazing at the ground, Heather finished saying, "She has something she wishes to discuss with you."

    Feeling her food starting to rise in her stomach, Mara suppressed her urge to vomit and slowly got to her feet, intending to meet her fate head-on.

    Striving past Heather, Mara marched toward her mother''s room, resolved to do what she had to do.

    Making a decision, Mara''s eyes turned icy, and her aura turned chilly as she forcefully removed Ryan''s influence on her constitution.

    ===

    Sitting at her desk, the Frost General massaged her temples, hoping to get rid of her throbbing headache.

    Two days ago, she had received an order from the only person on Ravier capable ofmanding her.

    If not for this person''s identity, she would have torn up the letter and set fire to the sender''s home, but instead, she sat pondering why the matriarch of the Kheaweth family would force her daughter to marry one of her grandsons.

    The Kheaweth family, who ruled the Human Kheaweth Empire, had existed long before the dark days. Their might only grew when the Heavens descended, and they formed the Kheaweth Empire, which wouldter be known as the human empire.

    The matriarch of the family, the mother of the current empress, had trained her since she was just a babe.

    She never knew her mother, and even though that woman was the closest thing to a mother she had, she never considered her one.

    The woman was cruel, evil, and wicked. Both she and her daughter suffered from the actions of that woman, but at the end of the day, she couldn''t defy her. She didn''t have the strength.

    Before turning 18, the woman imnted an element of Frost, which fused with her soul, causing her to develop what she now called her "constitution."

    The Frost inside her soul gave her unprecedented control over the element, but the drawbacks were immense.

    Hearing the creaking of the door, she looked up to see her daughter.

    Shame and guilt were the words that came to mind looking at her, but as much as she tried, she couldn''t feel those emotions.

    "Please sit," she said, motioning towards a chair in front of her.

    Sitting down, Mara looked around in silence as her icy eyes took in her surroundings.

    "I assume those two already told you?" After a minute of silence, the Frost General said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Mara kept looking around the room only nodding in response, happy to look anywhere but at her mother.

    "I don''t think you''ll believe me when I say this, but as your mother, this hurts me just as much as it hurts you."

    Hearing her mother say that, Mara couldn''t help feeling enraged.

    Hurts you just as much as it does me? Is that a joke?

    Looking at her mother for the first time since entering the room, Mara said, "I don''t know why you''re doing this. But let me be clear, I might be your daughter. . . but you are no mother to me."

    The Frost General felt like she had been punched in the gut.

    The daughter, who had been the only ray of light in a sea of darkness, was now gone from her as well.

    She inwardly shed a lone tear at all she had just lost, but on the outside, she was as stoic as ever.

    Seeing her mother''sck of reaction, Mara shook her head in pity.

    Pity at her situation.

    Pity at her mother''s seeming disregard when being condemned by her daughter.

    Pity for what she once had.

    "The man is of good background and is handsome. He is well adjusted and will make a good mate."

    Mara replied, feeling sick to her stomach, "I don''t care about those things, and you know it."

    "Is bet this is your revenge for me daring to disobey you."

    "Well, sorry, Ester, I''m not your puppet to manipte. You might be able to force me to marry someone, but you''ve overdrawn your hand."

    "You''ll no longer be able to touch me once I''m married."

    "The day I''m married will be thest time I''ll have to see your disgusting face."

    Jumping out of her chair Mara stormed out of the room, mming the door behind her.

    Mara sat alone in her room, curled up in a ball, crying.

    "Why, why can''t I be with Ryan? Why is the world so unfair?" As she sobbed, her constitution unable to contain her sadness, her thoughts kept drifting back to Ryan.

    If she had been in this same position a month ago, she might have even seen this marriage as a good thing. It would get her out of her mother''s grasp and allow her to be a free woman, at least as thew was concerned.

    Thew for normal citizens was that when one turned 18, they were their own person, independent from their parents.

    But nobles weren''t their own person until they got married.

    Parents could wave the right and give their children legal independence, but almost no one did it.

    When people lived thousands of years, an 18-year-old was seen as a toddler in their eyes. Why should they give a toddler independence? They clearly knew better.

    As she was crying, the door to her bedroom opened, and Heather and Ruth rushed over tofort her.

    Stroking Mara''s hair, the way she liked, Mara soon started to calm down and stopped crying.

    "I understand why you''re so upset, but isn''t there some good out of this?" Heather asked.

    Ruth nodded, "You''ve always wanted to get out of your mother''s grasp, and the boy is someone influential. With his family''s support, your cultivation journey will be even smoother than before."

    Sniffling, Mara shook her head. "You don''t understand." She said, "I . . . met someone."

 Chapter 40 Ryan? Hes Just An Above-Average Enhancer.

    "You met someone? What do you mean?" Ruth asked as she looked at Heather apprehensively.

    Mara blew her nose into a tissue and said, "I met a man."

    Ruth and Heather looked at each other in shock before erecting a sound barrier.

    Heather looked at Mara with a solemn expression, "Did you sleep with him?"

    Mara nodded, "I applied for the enhancer exchange this year and was assigned to him."

    Ruth came over to Mara and ced a hand on her shoulder. "You know that this is a problem, right?"

    Mara cocked her head, "I know that nobles prefer it if their partner is a maiden but that only applies if one is marrying up."

    Catching Ruth and Heather ncing at each other, Mara questioned, "Why are you two looking at each other?"

    "You are marrying up," Heather said after contemting for a second.

    Mara looked quizzically at the pair, waiting for the "sike" but it never came.

    "How can I be marrying up?" Mara asked, baffled at the implication.

    ''Mother would never marry me to someone from another empire, so it has to be someone from the human empire. . . but who?'' Mara thought.

    ''Even the empress greets my mother when she walks in the roomˇ­'' Mara tried toe up with an exnation but couldn''t figure it out.

    While Mara was thinking, Ruth and Heather were whispering, deciding whether they should reveal the suitor''s identity.

    "She deserves to know," Heather said.

    "But if she learns the truth, she might lose all hope. That man is infamous for his actions, after all."

    Heather said, "But who do you think this guy is that she met? Do you think he has something to do with her constitution being suppressed?"

    "I already messaged our private team to figure it out," Ruth said.

    Suddenly a red exmation mark appeared in the top right of her vision. Clicking on it, she saw a notification from the dawn.

    [Your contacts marked as Spy1, Spy2, Spy3, and Spy4 are deceased and have been removed from your friend list.]

    Seeing Ruth turn pale white, Heather asked, "What''s wrong, Ruth?"

    "Ruth!" She had to yell and shake her shoulders before Ruth shakily answered, "w-what?"

    Looking around dazed, Ruth found it hard to breathe as she felt a panic attack forming.

    Hearing the yell, Mara looked over at the two and saw that Ruth was hyperventting while pale as a sheet.

    Running over to her, Mara took a pill and stuffed it into Ruth''s mouth.

    After waiting a few seconds, Ruth''s breathing steadied, and her skin returned to its natural rosy color.

    "What happened?" Mara asked Heather while still making sure Ruth was alright.

    "I don''t know. She suddenly stopped talking and turned as white as a ghost."

    "They''re all dead," Ruth whispered while looking up at Heather.

    "Who''s dead?" Heather asked.

    "Our spies."

    Heather frowned for a second beforeing to a horrifying realization.

    "You don''t mean. . ."

    Ruth nodded.

    "Spies?" Mara asked, confused about who they were referring to.

    Heather turned towards Mara, hesitated, then asked, "Who was the boy you met?"

    Mara was confused but still answered, "His actual name is Anthony Dire, but he goes by Ryan."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Anthony Dire as in. . ."

    "Yes, he''s an orphan." Mara nodded.

    Ruth was bbergasted, "How is that possible?" She screamed.

    "They died within minutes of their job confirmation. That''s not a coincidence."

    Heather mulled over the details and then asked, "Mara, is there anything. . . strange about Ryan?"

    Mara thought about Ryan. The first time they met, he miraculously suppressed her constitution and ejacted faster than most men took to get their dick out of their pants.

    In their second meeting, she found out he was one of only two living Overlords in the human race.

    To top it off, only hours after their second meeting, he became a sworn brother of the demon royal family, something no one to her knowledge had done before.

    "I don''t think so," Mara touched her chin, pondering, "He''s just an above-average enhancer."

    The two looked at Mara skeptically, but before either had a turn to argue, a servant burst into the room and shouted, "Lady Mara, Master Frost requests your presence in her chambers."

    ===

    Stretching, Ryan slowly got out of bed as he weed a new day.

    Time had been flying by, and he was now only one day away from the enhancer event.

    Today was also thest day he could get points that would go toward his ranking for the first month.

    As he pulled up his wristband, he saw his current ss ranking.

    <Anthony Dire>

    <ss Rank: 14>

    Ryan remembered he had somewhere around 1200 points before his night with Grace. The first time he saw his points only increase by 1100, he was baffled.

    ''What happened to my S-Rank sperm?''

    But recalling that the first girl he had been with, Avery, was some cultivator not assigned to him, he figured she must have had much lower cultivation than Grace.

    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Grace was, after all, the first in her ss. She must have been in a much higher bracket because he shot two loads into her and got around the same as the one he shot into Avery.

    Suddenly a thought just urred to him. ''Is the military incentivizing us to enhance worse students?''

    For Ryan, the logic didn''t make much sense. Enhancer''s got stronger by sleeping with powerful cultivators. Why would they reward sleeping with the lowest-ranked cultivators?

    Abruptly his mind went back to his earlier conversation with Emily, where the two talked about the military getting only 30% of recruitsing out of the academy.

    ''I bet those are the lowest ranked 30%.''

    Ryan''s distaste for the military and the human empire grew.

    He already had suspicions that his memories were altered by someone high up in the military. Although Ryan didn''t know how men were treated in other empires, Ryan had overheard a lot of conversations that pointed to men being in abysmal conditions in the human empire, which only added to his hatred.

    Now that they were possibly using underhanded tactics to keep enhancers down, he decided that just because they were called the "human" empire didn''t mean he had to side with them.

    Going over to Lizzy and Izzy''s rooms, Ryan fed them a pill he had purchased for a few campus credits to help maintain their body.

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 8 Days, 15 Hours, 24 Minutes, 56 Seconds]

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 8 Days, 15 Hours, 24 Minutes, 55 Seconds]

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 8 Days, 15 Hours, 24 Minutes, 54 Seconds]

    Making sure nothing changed with the conversion time, Ryan headed out of the house in search of hisst remaining points.

    "One more boob I must set free. The top 10 in the ranks is what I seek. My goal tomorrow is to p M on her proverbial cheek."

 Chapter 41 Will He Save Me?

    Walking towards the hub, Ryan looked at his map, thinking of ces he should go to look for the girl he needed to acquire before the day was out.

    He could contact Avery or Grace, whom he had contact information for, and most likely would be eager to have a second scuffle, but he would only do so if he had no other alternative.

    It would be impolite of him to keep himself from the women who had never experienced Ryan''s pizazz.

    Not finding a ce, he decided to walk into the hub and see if there were any leads.

    The best option would be to ask Valery, but he felt that asking a girl who liked him if she could help find women to sleep with wouldn''t go so well.

    In either case, he was wary of her, seeing as she was part of the military that worked to remove his memories.

    Walking into the hub, he looked around, not intending to go to the counter immediately.

    Scanning the holographic screens on the walls, he saw an interesting section.

    "Enhancers for hire" was the title of the section. Curious, he looked at the screens wanting to see how much they were charging.

    Seeing the prices, Ryan''s jaw ckened as he read aloud, "50 Campus points for a night? That''s highway robbery!"

    "Yeah, you''d be a fool to trust someone selling that cheap." A feminine voice sounded from behind him.

    Turning around, Ryan saw a girl who appeared to be a first-year recruit.

    She had on a short blue skirt with knee-high socks, atop which she wore a red v-neck that Ryan could tell was outfitted with a pushup bra.

    "And how would you know that?" Ryan asked.

    "You could say I help run this section." The girl answered.

    Tilting his head, Ryan asked, "Oh, is that right?" Chuckling, he said, "Well then, what would you say my fee should be?"

    Hearing Ryan, the girl suddenly got a glint in her eye and said, "I think a thorough investigation would be needed for such a thing. Why don''t you join me back in my office?"

    Nodding, Ryan smiled while being led back to the tiger''s den.

    ===

    Sitting in her mother''s chamber, Mara sipped a ss of tea while waiting for her mother to arrive.

    Hearing the creaking of the door behind her, Mara didn''t turn around but just waited on the corner of her bed.

    "Thank you foring, Mara," Ester said, sitting beside her daughter.

    "I''ve thought some things over, and there''s something I need to tell you." She said, turning Mara''s cheek so they were looking eye to eye.

    Hearing her serious tone, Mara nodded, at least pretending to be willing to hear her mother out.

    "For your safety, I can''t tell you everything going on, and even though you won''t believe me, I think it''s important that I tell you this upfront."

    Seeing Mara nod again, she continued, "Two days ago, I received a letter, inside which was a royal decreemanding me to inform you that you have been selected as the bride for Raven Kheaweth, the only son of the empress."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Mara shook at the news as she processed what this all meant.

    After a minute of silence, Mara calmed down and asked, "Why would the empress choose to marry him to me?"

    "If he married into one of the other three great kingdoms, our rtionship with them would skyrocket."

    Looking at her mother, she said, "No offense. . . mother, but securing your loyalty surely isn''t worth the marriage of a prince."

    "You are indeed wise, my daughter," Ester said. "All that money I spent on tutors didn''t go to waste, I see."

    Smiling bitterly at her mother, Mara only nodded again. Even though she switched back to calling her mother, she wouldn''t be won over by a few half-hearted words.

    "I do not know as of yet why this has urred. All I know is that it is happening, and soon."

    "What do you mean, soon?" Mara trembled out, her heart dropping at more bad news.

    "The letter stated that the announcement ceremony will take ce a week from today, and the wedding three months after."

    ''Three months.'' Mara felt the world cave in, herst vestiges of hope falling into the void.

    "Although the letter did mention something rather intriguing." Ester suddenly said.

    "It mentioned that the wedding will be held in the medieval style, a tournament for the bride to be yed the day of the wedding. I guess they want to show their might to the world."

    Mara felt her hope sinking into the void suddenly reverse course ande flooding into her in force, multiplying as she realized what a medieval-style wedding meant.

    Mara''s face lit up, and her slumped posture straightened as she couldn''t help but let out a giggle.

    Once the giggle was set free, it was like a dam being released, and her giggle turned into deliriousughter as she held her stomach rolling on the bed inughter.

    Ester only stared at her daughter, her cold, calcting brain contemting the various possibilities for her daughter''sughter, but finding none, she continued watching in silence.

    Only catching her breath ten minutester, Mara wiped the tears from her eyes and sat back on the edge of the bed.

    "I''m sorry, I couldn''t help myself," Mara said, hoping she didn''t offend her mother.

    "It doesn''t matter," Ester said, "Thest thing the letter said is that you are no longer a recruit at the academy."

    "I''m sure you''ll be pleased about that, seeing how much you detested me sending you there."

    Mara was shell-shocked by the news but calmed herself down momentster.

    Although she couldn''t be with Ryan for the next three months, she could send a message to him.

    All she could do was pray he cared about her as much as she cared about him.

    "Will he save me?"

 Chapter 42 Deja Vu

    As Ryan walked alongside the mysterious girl down a long hallway, he subtly inspected her.

    Since Ryan had arrived at the academy, he had experienced several Deja vu moments, and after seeing this girl, something was tugging at his memory.

    Arriving in front of a door, the girl pushed it open and beckoned him inside.

    Entering the room, Ryan cautiously nced around but rxed when he only saw a desk, some chairs, and an oddly ced couch in the corner of the room.

    ''If that''s not a casting couch, well, I''ll be damned.''

    The girl went over to her desk and sat down, "Okay, why don''t you start by telling me your full name and current ranking."

    Sitting down opposite the girl, he said, "My name is Anthony Dire, and my current rank is 14."

    "May I inquire about thydy''s name?"

    Writing down Ryan''s information, she looked up and smiled, "You can call me Bee."

    "Now, what I''ll need you to do is to-"

    Bee abruptly stopped talking and scrunched her nose, "One second." Flicking her wrist, she looked at her bracelet and sighed.

    "Forgive me; I''ll be back in just a moment. Could you wait here?" Bee asked, standing up and walking towards the door.

    Ryan felt something amiss but couldn''t quite ce it.

    Standing up, Ryan was about to voice his apprehension, but as soon as he stood up, Bee dashed for the door.

    Ryan was stunned but reacted fast, activating his energy and making a beeline toward the door.

    Unfortunately for Ryan, he was a tad toote, and Bee was already on the other side of the door, having shut and locked him inside.

    Ryan banged on the door with his fists over and over, the strikes causing shock waves of destruction inside the room but not leaving a scratch on the door.

    As Ryan pounded on the door, he felt anger starting to corrode his thoughts.

    Anger at the door for blocking his path.

    Anger at himself for letting his guard down.

    Anger at the woman who dared trap him, an Overlord.

    Anger at the human race for not bowing down and worshiping him.

    Ryan abruptly stopped banging on the door and steadied his breathing.

    Those weren''t his thoughts, at least not his rational ones.

    He was in a precarious situation with several unknowns. Being controlled by his curse wouldn''t help him in this situation.

    Looking around the room, Ryan wondered what the point of trapping him here was.

    Did one of the students notice his fast rise and wanted to trap him here until the time limit for the event was over?

    ''That seems unlikely,'' Ryan thought after mulling over the details.

    That woman was fast, almost as fast as him. He could tell she didn''t have a heavenly screen. A perk he learned that he acquired when became an Overlord.

    But she certainly wasn''t a first-year student. Someone went through a lot of trouble to get her to make it seem she was a first-year and trap him in this room.

    That only left one suspect, the military.

    Just as Ryan came to that conclusion, he heard a hissing sound and sensed gas starting to leak in from the air vent.

    Taking off his shirt, Ryan wrapped it around his mouth, trying his best not to breathe in the suspicious gas.

    Backing up to the furthest corner of the room from the air vent, Ryan wracked his mind for solutions to the mess he was in.

    Assuming it was the military, Ryan knew they wouldn''t kill him unless something drastically changed.

    Confirming his thoughts, Ryan started to feel tired but fortified his mind from the gas.

    Surprisingly his defenses were rather effective at thwarting the gas''s effects.

    Ryan knew his mind''s defenses were another special ability acquired only by those who evolved their race or got to at least C-Rank in the regr human race.

    ''Perhaps they don''t know about me bing an Overlord.''

    Ryan had considered the human military some omniscient force, at least concerning him. But it looks like he was mistaken.

    As the gas started trying to invade his mind, he started slowly rxing his muscles, pretending to fall asleep.

    Twenty minutester, Ryan heard the creaking of the door and the sound of two pairs of footsteps.

    "Just like you instructed Dr. Rubenstein, this humble one hopes she has done well." Ryan heard the voice of Bee say.

    As the footsteps stopped only a few feet away, Ryan tried his best not to move a muscle as he listened.

    He didn''t have the idea to escape, at least not at this point.

    Where would he run? He wasn''t strong enough to go against an E-Rank warrior, let alone a whole empire.

    He could take refuge in the demons, but he was sure their territory was far, far away. He estimated his chances of reaching the demon''s territory before being caught about the same as himsting 5 minutes inside Mara.

    Instead, he wanted to use this opportunity to learn more about why the military wiped his memory and real identity.

    "Exquissssite," Ryan heard a feminine voice that sounded eerily snake-likee from the other person in the room.

    "Move ssssubject one to theb for tessssting," After the voice said that, Ryan heard her turn around and leave the room.

    Ryan felt his body levitate upwards and had to keep himself from tensing.

    "Sorry about this subject one, no hard feelings. I can''t go against Master Rubenstein''s orders, right?"

    "You understand" Her voice suddenly changed, bing cold and lifeless, "better than anyone else."

    Ryan felt her hands touch his upper chest and move across them in a line, "I can''t believe they could remove your scars."

    "The first time I saw you, you looked like a piece of flesh that happened to have a human living inside it." Her hand suddenly stopped, "Well, not like you can remember it anyways."

    Feeling his body starting to move, he felt the familiar fluctuations of spatial teleportation before his environment changed, and a foul smell assaulted his nostrils.

    The air turned from pleasantly warm to cold and musty.

    Ryan felt his body continue to move before he sensed himself in a familiar environment.

    ''It''s the same as the vision,'' Ryan thought, recognizing the horrifying reality, ''That proves the vision was real.''

    As he entered the chamber in which he had been brainwashed for what felt like an eternity, he sensed the same presence from earlier, the one Bee had called Dr. Rubenstein.

    "ce him on the table and load up the induction."

    Feeling his back, which previously felt like it was floating,e into contact with a cold metal surface.

    Thankfully his pants were on, or he''d have an entirely different problem.

    His arms and legs were strapped to the table, and he felt a metal mp secure his head.

    "Inject the wakener and start the video. He should wake up immediately but feel dazed for a few minutes, which will help slip him into a trance."

    Directly after she said that, Ryan felt a prick in his arm and a liquid flow into his bloodstream, screaming for him to wake up.

    Slowly opening his eyes, Ryan noticed the same screen he remembered and the familiar words "Forget" and "Obey" before everything turned hazy.

 Chapter 43 I Will Obey?

    Slowly opening his eyes, Ryan noticed the same screen as he remembered and the familiar words words "Forget" and "Obey" before everything turned hazy.

    Ryan felt the "wakener" drug title was misleading because his mind suddenly turned hazy, and his focus was trapped on the images.

    He found his eyes forced open by the metal mp but stayed calm directing his focus inward.

    Inside his mind, Ryan saw a jet-ck energy streaming toward his brain. Ryan sensed the ck energy trying to wrap around his consciousness and start exerting its control. Like a puppet master, the ck energy spread out and started directing his consciousness on how to act.

    Ryan tried to exert his power over the ck energy but couldn''t. All he could do is concentrate all his defense on staying aware of what was happening as he gave up fighting.

    Slowly he sank deep into a state of trance.

    The ck energy tried to break his defenses, wanting to control himpletely, but since Ryan concentrated all his energy on that one point, he was able to hold on and stay aware.

    After the ck energy manipted parts of his brain Ryan didn''t know existed, it dissipated.

    Ryan then felt as though his consciousness was floating, and he experienced an out-of-body state as he watched himself lying on the table from above.

    He saw the screen with the shing words in front of him and the dark and damp room surrounding him.

    Nothing changed until he heard a voice. The voice wasn''t from Bee or the other one he had heard earlier. This voice was pleasant and sounded like a heavenly maiden calling to him.

    "What is your name?" The voice said.

    "Anthony Dire," he heard his body reply.

    It was confusing watching and hearing himself talk outside of his body.

    His body being shirtless and strapped down to a metal table didn''t help either.

    "What do you remember about your childhood?"

    "Nothing."

    Ryan hoped they wouldn''t ask him about anything pertaining to the "new" Ryan, as he wasn''t sure whether he could manipte the answers or not.

    "Why did you fall unconscious four weeks ago?"

    Quickly Ryan exerted control over himself and stopped the answer that was forming.

    "I upgraded to F-Rank in cultivation." Ryan decided he had to give them something, and he had already disyed his energy in that room, so he knew they at least had that information on him.

    "Like I thought," He heard the voice mutter.

    "What feelings do you have for Mara Frost?" The voice asked after several seconds.

    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Ryan was stunned, and in the second, he lost the ability to control the answering out of his mouth, "She was my first in this world. I already think of her as mine."

    "If you were to learn of a tournament being held for her, one where if you participated and won, you could save her from a lifetime of sadness. Would you risk exposing your secret to win?"

    Ryan, who was trying to gain back control over his brain, felt utterly shell-shocked hearing her words but was prepared.

    "No."

    He said the answer he thought she was looking for, although he wondered what the real answer would be.

    "Are you prepared to receive amand?"

    "Yes," Ryan answered, eager to finally learn something.

    "Your firstmand is to attend the tournament being held for Mara and participate."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I will obey." Ryan felt those words suddenlye to him, and he let them out.

    "Your secondmand is to win the tournament and expose your cultivation while fighting the prince."

    Ryan was confused as to what the girl was talking about but still replied, "I will obey."

    "Your thirdmand is to follow protocol Z when the tournament is over,"

    Having no clue what protocol Z was, Ryan could only say, "I will obey."

    "Your finalmand is to forget your entire day thus far. You will not notice any abnormalities and will believe your body needed extra rest today."

    "I will obey."

    After he replied, he saw Beee into the room and stick a needle into his arm, and his consciousness faded to ck.

    ===

    "Darius, how good it is to see you," Dr. Rubenstein said, "It''s been a long time since we''ve met in person."

    Seeing the hideous old woman Darius did his best to keep a straight face, "Yes, it has," he grumbled.

    "Yes, well, time waits for no woman. Let''s get started," Darius said, trying to get the conversation over with.

    "Very well," she said, "As I suspected, subject one fell unconscious due to the effect of achieving F-Rank in cultivation."

    "As we know, subject one was close to achieving this beforeing into the academy. We are working in unprecedented waters since he is the first male to achieve the ability to cultivate."

    "And although we know the reason for his ability to cultivate, we do not know if the pill that woman gave him has unknown side effects."

    "Most likely, this is just a one-off urrence. We tested his energy for any harm done, but it came back clean."

    Nodding, Darius asked, "How''s his memory?"

    "Nice and nk, just as a good boy should be." She said, licking her lips.

    Darius felt a shiver down the back of his neck at this old witch saying "good boy" and felt bile fill the back of his throat.

    Swallowing it back, he said, "And the grand empress''s orders have been followed?"

    Showing her two remaining teeth in a wide grin, she said, "Yes, he''s ready and set for the event."

    "I can''t believe we caught such a big break as having one of our biggest obstacles, daughters fall in love with subject one."

    "Not only can weplete our original objective, but we can get rid of a thorn in our side that''s been guing the grand empress for years."

    Darius nodded his head, he had to agree.

    "I still thank the Heavens that the grand empress decided to imnt the Frost into them. Without it, we wouldn''t be able to control her."

    Dr. Rubenstein slipped a hand below the table and said, "I still can''t believe she''d humiliate her grandson for the n."

    "It gets me sssso turned on thinking about it." She said as she suddenly transformed into her pretty appearance, her snake voiceing back as her cheeks flushed from the below-the-table activities.

    Darius wasn''t sure if he wanted to vomit or nce below the table, but before he could do either, Dr. Rubenstein stood up and straightened herb coat, "Right, I think I have an appointment to attend to."

    And just as fast as Dr. Rubenstein came, she was gone.

 Chapter 44 An Arrogant Noble? Who Could Have Seen That Coming?

    Ryan felt the familiar haze surround his brain and tried to recall what he had been doing before.

    A memory came to him, he was strapped down to a chair in a dark room while some voice gave himmands, then everything turned ck.

    ''I must be in another dream,'' He thought.

    Ryan tried to activate his mental defenses to ward off the haze, but to his dismay, he couldn''t conjure any energy in this dreamlike state.

    The setting of the dream was the room he had juste from, but the "him" in the vision didn''t seem as conscious as he had been.

    He saw his eyes rolled to the back of his head and droll oozing from the corner of his mouth.

    Long whip marks covered his chest, and he saw countless scars covering his body.

    Most of the scars were old, but the new whip marks caused them to tear open, leaking blood from the openings.

    "Are you prepared to receive a protocol?" The same feminine voice he had heard previously sounded in the room, sending a shiver into Ryan''s soul.

    "I will receive," He heard himself gurgle out.

    "Protocol Z is the name of this protocol. Acknowledge the name."

    "Protocol Z," He said.

    "When this protocol is activated, you will REMEMBER your childhood from birth to age five, and nothing else."

    "Do you understand?"

    "Subject one understands."

    Suddenly a machine from the side moved, and a whip appeared above his body and pped down.

    "Your name is Anthony Dire. Do you understand?" The feminine voice asked.

    "Anthony Dire understands."

    ===

    Gasping and sitting up, Ryan looked down at his chest.

    In theter part of the dream, he had been thrust into his younger body.

    Sensing what the previous him felt was something Ryan never wanted to experience again.

    "I have to find that woman and make her pay." He swore, gritting his teeth as anger burned inside him.

    Looking around, Ryan slowly rxed when he saw the familiar environment of his room.

    Suddenly widening his eyes, he opened his wristband interface to check the time, "Oh crap, I only have 3 hours left!"

    Running out of his dorm room, he was stepping out of the door when he saw a group of six enhancers standing outside.

    One of the boys spotted him and eximed, "Hey, that''s him!"

    Hearing the exmation, the other five boys turned towards him.

    Frowning, Ryan examined the boys in front of him.

    They looked like typical douchebags that you would find pushing some kid against a locker at school.

    However, these weren''t any ordinary douchebags. They were rich!

    Ryan stared greedily at what was hanging on four of their pouches, "Spatial bags," Ryan murmured.

    "What did you say, orphan?" A big guy who looked like a failed bodybuilder strode towards him. His chest was puffed out, and he red out his arms, trying to make himself look more intimidating.

    "Do you think you have permission to speak to us just because you got into this academy?" He said, attempting to push Ryan over.

    Seeing Ryan not fall over, the man tried again, but as hard as he pushed, he seemed to be pressed against a wall.

    "He''s got some type of defensive treasure." The man said, scoffing and walking away.

    Frowning, a man who looked like the leader said, "I have something to deal with it, but I''d rather not waste it on scum like him," he eyed Ryan for a second before breaking out in an amicable smile, "My friend, I have a proposition."

    Ryan looked at the man in wonder. He had heard Aliza say the phrase, "An idiot who can''t figure out how to walk can only be saved by the size of his fathers. . . wallet."

    The first time she said it, he had been certain thest word was different, but he soon understood it to mean a rich son who grew up sucking off his father''s. . . money.

    In his previous life, he had never encountered someone who fit those criteria but judging by their spatial bags, the clothes they wore, and the pendants on their shirts, he was sure they fit the bill.

    For a second, Ryan thought he recognized the leader''s pendant but put off that thought for now.

    Slightly smiling, Ryan said, "What would this proposition entail?"

    "Who do you think you''re talking to?" The man who tried to push Ryan earlier huffed, "Just because Lord Gregory Vanroth doesn''t deem you worthy enough to use such a valuable treasure, you think you''re worthy to speak to him without addressing him properly?"

    "Calm down, Illius. I''m sure our friend here is just eager to work with someone as great as me."

    "Oh, so you''re the guy who''s in first ce," Ryan recalled checking the ranking list a week ago and seeing Gregory Vanroth as the first name.

    Seeing Gregory stiffen, Ryan couldn''t suppress a smile as he realized this man wasn''t in first ce anymore.

    Pulling up the ranking on his bracelet, Ryan saw Gregory Vanroth sittingfortably atˇ­

    "10th ce?" Ryan said, holding his stomach as heughed.

    Suddenly he looked at the number nine and said, "What happened to your lordship?" Ryan said, "Did youe to me for advice?"

    "My student seems to be ranked higher than you, after all."

    Sitting firmly above Lord Gregory in ninth ce was Ryan''s wannabe student, Cole Gallop.

    Red in the face, Gregory clenched his fist as he tried to calm his furry. "No, I did not," He said through gritted teeth, "I came to invite you to spend the next hours with us."

    "Hm," Ryan touched his chin, pretending to ponder about the offer, "I''ll have to pass," he finally said.

    "Do you have a sister by chance, Gregory?" Ryan suddenly asked, "I''d rather spend my time with her."

    Gregory looked confused at Ryan, but one of his goons behind him chortled, "Yeah, he does!"

    "But she''s way out of your league. She''s ranked in the top 100 in the first year!"

    Ryan had only asked in jest but hearing the goons reply, he focused on him and asked, "You wouldn''t happen to have her dorm number, would you?"

    Gregory turned around to shout for his servant to stop, but he wasn''t in time.

    "She''s ranked 58th, so she''s in room A58, obviously!"

    "What''s wrong, boss?" The man asked, looking over at the enraged Gregory.

    Gregory screamed and unleashed his pent-up rage on his servant, taking out an object no bigger than a USB drive and throwing it at him.

    What Ryan expected didn''t happen as the pellet-shaped object detonated, and a boom shook the sidewalk, debris flying everywhere.

    Ryan averted his gaze as the light became too bright to look directly at.

    Hearing the rumbles fade, Ryan looked back only to stare in shock as he saw burnt body parts scattered in several directions.

 Chapter 45 Something Seems Off...

    Seeing the grotesque scene in front of him, Ryan only felt numb.

    He saw the body parts, charred and malformed, strewn about in front of the dorm, but he didn''t feel sickened like he thought he would.

    This was Ryan''s first time seeing a dead body, at least that he could remember.

    But feeling his reaction, he wondered if he had seen such a scene previously.

    Gregory looked at the body and turned towards Ryan, "Come with me, or I''ll do the same thing to you."

    Ryan, who had just been lured into a trap, surveyed the situation.

    Gregory had killed a man in broad daylight; technically, it was nighttime, but that didn''t make it any less heinous a crime.

    From everything Ryan had witnessed, this world didn''t seem like one without the rule ofw.

    In all the gruesome stories about how men were treated, anyone did not mention death as a punishment.

    Would a noble truly be callous enough to kill a servant in the middle of the military academy?

    Looking around, Ryan noticed something abnormal. Usually, the sidewalks were upied by cultivators walking from ce to ce, even thiste at night, he could normally see many people passing by.

    But as he looked behind Gregory and his entourage, he didn''t see any.

    Looking at Gregory''s friend''s faces, there wasn''t one of them that looked apprehensive at the act justmitted.

    Was it possible five other boys not older than 18 wouldn''t have any reaction to a person they knew dying?

    "I give you an A for effort, but you''ll have to do better to fool me," Ryan said.

    He had to give them credit, if he hadn''t been duped by Bee earlier today, he would have fallen for the trick.

    Gregory looked at Ryan for a second before bursting intoughter, "Well done. Looks like your rise in ranks wasn''t from luck."

    Cutting off hisughter, Gregory gravely said, "But I''ll still have to ask you to oblige ande with me."

    Ryan cracked his knuckles and said, "I don''t think you understand what I said earlier."

    Saying that Ryan started to walk forward toward the group.

    "I''d suggest, for your sake, not stopping me."

    The five men red at Ryan menacingly before encircling him.

    "Looks like you won''t take my advice."

    Deciding it was best if he didn''t activate his energy, Ryan threw a kick at the biggest guy''s balls.

    *Pop* Oops, maybe that was too hard.

    Saying a silent prayer for the manˇ­ well, guess he wasn''t a man anymore.

    Turning around, he bent, dodging a leg flying from his rear.

    Catching the leg after it passed, he mmed the body to the ground.

    Hearing the man groan, Ryan wasn''t able to relish in his glory, sensing a punching from his left.

    Blocking a fist, he was about to counterattack but felt a sharp pain in the back of his knee joint.

    Gritting his teeth to numb the pain, he turned around and punched his assant in the ribs, sending him sprawling backward.

    Not having time to inflict greater pain on the man who dared touch him, he turned back to hisst three upright attackers, growling.

    "I will end you all for daring to touch my flesh, you heathens," Ryan said as foam frothed at his mouth.

    Seeing Ryan in his current state, Gregory, Illius, and Reginald looked at each other in fear.

    Gregory didn''t know who this beast was, but whatever it was, it wasn''t a man.

    "Reginald, you hold that beast back while Illius and I escape," Gregory said with a shaky voice.

    Reginald at Gregory in shock, "P-Please, my lord, have mercy!"

    "Don''t worry, he won''t kill you, I think," Gregory said, thest part hesitatingly, "I''ll make sure to give you an extra month''s pay."

    "Now stop him!"

    "None of you are getting away." Saying that Ryan flew forward, grabbing Reginald''s left shoulder and pressing down.

    The *crunch* of his shoulder joint dislocating and rubbing into his chest rang out. Reginald let loose a terrifyingly high-pitched wail as he slumped to the ground, clutching his shoulder.

    Staring into the two remaining foes'' eyes, Ryan grinned.

    To Gregory and Illius, Ryan''s smile looked like the maw of a beast stained with the blood of its freshly eaten foe.

    "I was wrong!" Gregory shouted, "You can leave!" He said, stumbling backward, "Just don''t hurt me!"

    Ryan scoffed, "You filth. We, humans, were designed to rise about others, but scum like you is what is holding us back from achieving greatness."

    Stepping over the moaning Reginald, Ryan slowly advanced on the terrified duo.

    "No, please!" Illius whispered while liquid dripped down his legs.

    Looking at the two pathetic weaklings, he muttered, "How can these people be human?"

    ''Wait, now I sound like them,'' Ryan thought as he heard his words.

    ''Wait. . .''

    Looking inside, Ryan saw that the defense he had activated earlier waspletely torn down and was being invaded by dark-red energy that he had never felt before.

    Primal rage was the only word that came to mind when looking at the energy.

    He watched as it rampaged through his mind and controlled his emotions, pumping his adrenaline, anger, and superiority sky-high.

    Ryan now understood why his actions had be so chaotic.

    ''This damn curse.''

    Ryan concentrated on thergest amount of energy, which was making him feel akin to a god.

    He figured his superiority had been amplified by so much because his first reaction when he saw Gregory and his posy was, ''Are these guys seriously picking on a cultivator stronger than all of thembined?''

    If that was his conscious reaction, he understood how easily the curse easily overtook him.

    He had never been in a real fight since attaining the curse. Even the scuffle with Emily''s ex-friends had only been a small altercation that was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

    This instance was something premeditated. The curse had ample time to slowly and methodically take over his senses without alerting him.

    ''I have to be more vignt in the future.'' Activating his defenses, he pushed the red energy away from him forcefully while calming his nerves.

    Gregory and Illius, who were lying on the ground in fear, were more terrified that Ryan suddenly stopped and closed his eyes.

    "He''s deciding whether or not to eat us!" Illius cried, "Mommy, I don''t want to die!"

    Gregory''s thoughts were racing, ''How did thingse to this?''

    All he wanted to do was to trick the orphan into following them until the time for the event was up.

    Now he faced a bloodthirsty monster who he saw didn''t react in the slightest to the fake corpse he bought.

    The first time he saw the thing, he almost vomited. He had to be around the thing for several hours before he could look at it with a cid expression.

    ''Were all orphans this crazy? Is that why they are segregated from everyone?''

    ''Sister, I''m sorry, you told me not to bother him, but I didn''t listen.''

    Seeing Ryan open his eyes, he watched in terror as he slowly approached and bent toward him.

    Shutting his eyes as Ryan grabbed his shirt, he tensed up, expecting pain.

    "What rtionship do you have with this pendant?"

    "W-What?" Blinking, Gregory said, thinking he was delirious in fear and had hallucinated the voice.

    "This pin, what does it mean?" Ryan said, pointing to the pin with a bow with three arrows loaded on the string.

    Gregory looked to where Ryan''s finger was pointing, seeing his family''s crest.

    "I-It''s my family''s crest. The Vanroth crest." Said hope filling his heart. Did this brat not know who his family was?

    Feeling confidence and indignation, Gregory huffed, "Yeah, that''s right, I''m the son of a Duke. You can''t touch me!"

    Ryan''s eyes turned chilly, and he gripped Gregory''s shirt tighter and hoisted him into the air.

    Shoving his face close to Gregory, he spat, "I don''t give a damn who your parents are."

    "But you can credit me for not beating you further to your sister."

    Saying that he grabbed the back of Gregory''s belt and readjusted his grip on his cor, and carried him over to a gpole.

    "W-What are you doing?" Gregory said, recovering from the terror of Ryan''s initial look, "You said you wouldn''t hurt me!"

    Chuckling coldly, Ryan said, "But I didn''t say anything about humiliation."

    Lowering the human empire''s g, he secured Gregory''s boxers to the hook and said, "Farewell."

    After a few seconds of tugging, Gregory was firmly twenty feet in the air, secured only by his underpants, which made Gregory sport a massively ufortable wedgie.

    "My anus! It hurts!" Hearing the sweet cries of Gregory, Ryan dusted off his hands and looked back at the group.

    Deciding to hand the rest of them up by nearby gpoles, he got to work.

    While hanging the rest of them up, he discovered a barrier that appeared set up to be like a greenscreen.

    The name illusion barrier came to his mind as a fitting description.

    Lowering it, he saw a few students minding their business, not noticing the barrier.

    Seems it worked both ways.

    After finishing the dirty work, he looked at the time. "Two hours left."

    Smiling, he headed towards the dorm of the girl he hadn''t seen since she kissed him and ran off.

    "Emily Vanroth, you won''t have to wait long. Your prince is on his way."

 Chapter 46 Thank God For Older Sisters!

    Emily sat alone in her room, holding her wristband, contemting her next decision.

    Her brother hade to her earlier in the week asking if she knew Ryan.

    She had stated she knew him but didn''t go into detail.

    That day he came was after she kissed Ryan, so she was certain he had heard about the incident.

    But contrary to her expectation, Gregory said that Ryan had suddenly shot up in ranks and imed he wanted to keep the top 10 list clear of cheaters, as is a royal''s duty.

    Emily immediately berated him and vehemently denied Ryan could do such a thing.

    A prince never lied. He was a symbol of justice and love.

    Besides, Ryan was different from other guys. He was sweet, charming, and protective. A person like that wouldn''t cheat, at least for no good reason.

    Her brother imed he had already been caught cheating on the entrance exam, but she didn''t buy it.

    She trusted Ryan much more than her brother.

    Her brother was the ck sheep of the family, and her other siblings didn''t even talk to him because all he did was unt his status and money.

    He was older than her by two years, which is why the two were closer than the other siblings, but she felt sickened that her brother would nder Ryan behind his back.

    She told him he''d regret it if he dared to touch Ryan and figured he''d leave it alone.

    But right now, she''d gotten a message from a ssmate that said a big illusion barrier had been discovered around the boy''s dorm.

    Just as she was starting to message Ryan, she heard a knock at her door.

    Thinking it was the friend who had messaged her, she ran to the door.

    But to her shock and delight, it wasn''t her friend. It was Ryan.

    Countless thoughts shed through her mind as she envisioned the afternoon a week ago out of the Astro Ball field.

    His lips were moist and tasted like freedom. His hands wrapped around her waist like a shield that could block and attack. Their chests pressed together, signifying the union of man and woman, the holiest of holy acts.

    She had broken away and run, not because she disliked the feeling.

    No, she found the feeling too good.

    As she ran, the sensations made her euphorically happy, and anyone that saw her as she ran back to her room couldn''t help smiling from how contagious her smile was.

    She had returned to her dorm and only realized that she had left Ryan alone in the field. She wanted to contact him right then and there but was too afraid.

    ''What if he misunderstands and thinks I regretted kissing him?'' Her thoughts raced. She couldn''t make up her mind and ended up spending the past nights rolling in bed as she thought about his lips.

    She had found herself at night having dreams of them together, where Ryan would say she did nothing wrong, and they would connect as her sister taught her.

    He would hug her from behind and whisper sweet nothings into her ear.

    He would wrap his lips around hers and call her princess.

    She loved being called a princess. It seemed like the bestpliment in the world whening out of Ryan''s mouth.

    He would burst into the room and say she couldn''t be away from him anymore and they had to be together forever.

    She wanted it so bad it hurt.

    Staring up at him now, her previous dreams that had seemed inconceivable no longer felt so far off.

    Seeing Emily open the door, Ryan was delighted, and when he saw what she was wearing, his little brother joined him in his delight.

    She wore short tan silk pajamas that matched her silky smooth legs.

    The pajamas invoked one''s imagination by revealing her nice legs that went up until a short pair of bottoms covered them.

    Her top left her shoulders exposed, which were covered by her lime green hair that cascaded down from her lovely head.

    Her eyes sparkled as they opened wide in their own delight at seeing him.

    The joy of being wanted was something Ryan had missed.

    His rtionship with the other girls had started off fast and needed more time to develop properly.

    His rtionship with Mara started off with a simple transaction in the exam, something that didn''t exactly spark feelings.

    His rtionship with the demon sisters started off unconventional, as, in their first meeting, Ryan epted them as ves.

    But with Emily, he had taken things slowly and worked hard to make sure there was a genuine connection before taking this step.

    As for Grace, Avery, and Valery, he wasn''t interested in converting them, at least not yet.

    He only had three slots; since Mara was away, Emily was the obvious choice.

    "My princess, your prince has missed you," Ryan said as he saw the red-faced Emily gawk at him for several seconds.

    Emily felt tears spring into her eyes, and she jumped toward Ryan.

    Catching Emily just like he had on the field a week ago, Ryan felt the silk below his palms and became more aroused.

    Looking into her eyes, Ryan whispered, "Emily," Ryan paused and then said, "If I asked you to be mine, would you?"

    Ryan felt Emily shutter as those words caused an orgasmic-like sensation to erupt inside Emily.

    "Yes," a soft whisper was her only reply.

    Ryan entered her room, holding her, and closed the door behind him.

    Carrying Emily to the bed, he sat down with Emily on hisp, the two eye-to-eye.

    "Do you know how men and women express their love, my princess?" Ryan said as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

    Emily bit her lip, looked into Ryan''s emerald eye, and said, "I know I''m pretty na?ve, but how about I show you what I know about expressing love."

    Emily pushed Ryan back on the bed and stood, "Just sit back and enjoy the show."

    Emily''s heartbeat was racing, but she tried to remain calm.

    She had three older sisters, all of whom hade to this school before and had gotten into trouble for the same reason, premarital sex.

    For children of Dukes and high-ranking military members, there was pretty much no way to marry up in society unless you fell in love with someone from another kingdom.

    The royal family was the only way to marry up in rank, but their lineage was small, and any possible marriage would be with a foreign empire.

    Thus preserving chastity for them wasn''t seen as an end-all-be-all.

    There was still the humiliation of the parent, but in that case, their mother didn''t care.

    She was known for her carnivorous appetite for sex when it came to both men and women, and she raised her daughters the same way.

    But most of her training came from her sisters. They had instructed her on how to please both men and women.

    Slowly turning around, Emily danced with her hips swaying in a circr motion.

    Ryan watched Emily''s ass move hypnotizingly side to side in awe, ''There''s no wayˇ­''

    Out of all the girls he''s been with, would Emily really be the one to take the most control?

    Ryan prepared his defenses as he strapped himself in for a pleasant show that was certainly going to end in a sticky situation one way or another.

 Chapter 47 Make Me Yours [R-18]

    Emily''s hips moved in a mesmerizing technique that looked like a mix between belly dancing and ap dance.

    Her hips moved through the air like a fish in water. Ryan was stunned to realize that Emily was controlling her energy and directing it toward her hips to make them sway just that little bit more elegantly.

    The effect was beyond Ryan''s wildest dreams as he saw Emily no longer as a na?ve princess but as a lustful goddess of dance.

    She ced her hands on her hips and pulled her silk shorts down just an inch to show the top of her green panties beneath.

    Teasing Ryan by showing more and more of the tantalizing fabric each time, she was getting to the point of lowering them enough for him to see her exquisite outline before pulling them up again and repeating this over and over.

    The tease was relentless, but after a minute, she finally turned around and presented her ass, sliding them all the way off.

    Seeing her panties on full disy made Ryan''s cock throb beneath his pants as he stared intently at the fabric, hoping to see an outline of her slit.

    Although he couldn''t, the sight didn''t disappoint him as her wonderfully shaped ass more than made up for the fabric''s ungodly act of covering up her pussy.

    Emily turned around to stare into Ryan''s eyes as she began to slowly inch her shirt over her head, revealing a matching green bra.

    Her boobs might not have been the biggest, but how they sat in the bra made them look like they were the most delectable thing Ryan had ever seen.

    Keeping eye contact with Ryan, Emily slowly moved forward and climbed atop his lying body.

    "Keep your arms by your sides. I''ll take care of everything."

    Feeling the halfmand, half-plea from Emily made Ryan feel a pleasurable burst from inside that spread through his limbs and torso.

    Emily first slowly removed Ryan''s shirt and began to kiss his upper neck.

    Closing his eyes, Ryan focused on the pleasure as he tried to live in the moment as much as possible.

    Every kiss sent another wave of pleasure from the contact of her soft wet lips shot down to his cock as he became more and more aroused.

    Ryan started to concentrate on his breathing as his heartbeat quickened, her kisses continuing lower down his chest.

    She slowly made sure every inch of Ryan''s chest received attention, including his nipples which sent an even bigger burst of pleasure toward his aching cock.

    As she continued lower and lower, Ryan had to actively bite his lip to keep from moaning as he felt Emily start to inject her kisses with energy which heightened the bursts of pleasure to unimaginable levels.

    Not able to contain himself, Ryan let out a moan of pleasure as she got right above his hips.

    Continuing kissing, Ryan felt his pants start to be unbuckled as he gripped the mattress to help resist the building pleasure.

    Pulling down his pants, Ryan felt her continuing to kiss lower, over his boxers.

    Arriving just an inch away from his penis, she started to circle around it as she went lower and kissed his balls through his boxers.

    Letting out another moan, Ryan started panting as the lust was making his head dizzy.

    Feeling Emily slowly sliding off his boxers, Ryan opened his eyes and looked down to see Emily''s lustful eyes widen at the sight of his cock.

    Seeing a drop of pre-cum sitting atop his head, Emily leaned forward and licked it.

    Emily shivered as her eyes rolled back, and her tongue stuck out, making a lewd expression as her body ingested the pleasurable energy packed in that one drop.

    Seeing the lewd expression on Emily''s face, Ryan''s cock twitched, producing another drop.

    Emily eagerly lowered her mouth, needing the next hit of ecstasy.

    She wrapped her lips around Ryan''s head and slowly twirled her tongue over his head''s bumps, teasing out the third drop.

    Seeing her efforts were paying off, Emily moved her lips off his head and began kissing up and down his shaft.

    Ryan felt Emily''s energy-infused kisses on his cock and tensed as he felt an orgasming.

    Feeling Ryan starting to tense up, she gasped but quickly moved her head over Ryan''s tip and plunged downward, taking him into her throat.

    Feeling his twitching member inside her mouth, she began to bob up and down, swirling her tongue over his head as she came to the top.

    Ryan felt the pleasure be too much, and he groaned, "Fuck!" as he ripped a hole in the mattress he was clutching as he came down Emily''s throat.

    ===

    Half an hourter, when Emily regained rity, Ryan asked, "How was it, princess?"

    Snuggling up to Ryan, Emilyid her head on hisp and said, "I think I should ask you that question."

    Remembering something, Emily turned her head upward, looking into his eyes. "How did you do it so fast?"

    Pausing, Ryan shrugged and said, "I was born with a gift. What can I say?"

    Emily wanted to ask more but decided against it.

    "What happens now? About. . . us?" She asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

    Stroking her hair, Ryan said, "I asked you if you would be mine, and you agreed."

    Looking into her eyes, he said, "Do you still want to be mine?"

    Emily''s eyes widened, and she sat up and nodded emphatically, "Yes," She questioned, "But what does that mean?"

    "I have a special skill that allows me to convert willing people into my. . . partners." He said.

    "It will allow you to be stronger than you could imagine and allow us to stay together."

    "But," Ryan said, switching his tone, "the price is to swear your loyalty to me."

    "I don''t want to force you, but if yo-"

    "I''ll do it," Emily said, interrupting Ryan.

    "What?" Ryan said, baffled, as he had prepared his oath and a whole spiel about princes'' and princesses'' forever love that, apparently, was not needed.

    "Are you sure? You''ve only just met me." Ryan said, curious as to why this girl would do such a drastic thing from what appeared to be the drop of a hat.

    "My mother once said that a man is as easy to find as a grain of sand on a beach."

    "But a good man is like trying to find a particr grain on the same beach."

    "I knew I got lucky when I met you," pausing, Emily said, "and I trust that you won''t hurt me."

    "Make me yours."

 Chapter 48 Emilys Conversion And Conversation With A Duchess

    "Make me yours."

    Running his knuckle down Emily''s cheek, Ryan nodded and picked her up, "Don''t you worry, I will."

    Ryan poured energy into his legs and feet, carrying the squealing Emily while racing through the campus at lightning speeds.

    Arriving in front of his dorm room, he kicked the door open, gentlyying Emily down on the couch, making sure she disembarked safely.

    "That was fast!" Emily said, "Can we do it again?"

    Laughing, the two held hands, "Are you ready, Emily?" Ryan asked, feeling her hands shaking.

    "O-Of course!" She stammered overenthusiastically, releasing Ryan''s hands,  "Just. . . will it hurt?"

    Scratching his nose, Ryan said, "No! Don''t be silly. It''spletely safe!"

    ''Lizzy and Izzy are still breathing...st time I checked.'' He thought, ncing over his shoulder at the room they were staying in.

    "What did you just look at?" Emily said, sitting up and looking in the same direction.

    Crossing his arms, Ryan said, "Emily are you trying to stall?"

    Furrowing her brow, Emily looked at Ryan and then back at the door, "Ryan, what''s in the room."

    Sighing, Ryan knew the jig was up.

    "It''s my porn collection," Ryan said, holding his hands up in surrender, "Your prince is a filthy man, Emily."

    Covering her face with her hands, Emily stammered, "Y-You scoundrel!"

    Blushing, she removed her hands from her face, "You can get rid of it now," biting her lip, she stammered, "B-Because you can use me instead, M-" lowering her head, she squeaked out, "Master."

    Unable to move, Ryan gaped wide-eyed at Emily as his lips broke out in a devilish grin, "I''ll hold you to it, princess."

    "Close your eyes, and do not resist my will." Instructing Emily to lie down on her back, activating [Overlord''s Harem Conversion].

    A bright glow surrounded Emily, levitating her body in midair. The only thing still touching the couch was her slick green hair that cascaded downward.

    Suddenly her clothes ripped apart, the fabric bursting into mes.

    Ryan watched in awe as Emily''s nude body was covered in intricate tattoos that started to form over every inch of her body.

    Standing on top of a chair for a better view, Ryan glimpsed a pattern in the tattoos and felt the potent power contained within. Lighting up inpletion, the pattern sank down inside Emily''s skin as she fell unconscious, never once having screamed in pain.

    Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ryanmented that he hadn''t got to look at the pattern for longer, as Ryan felt it contained some heavenly secret.

    Watching Emily slowly descend, Ryan got a nket and wrapped her up, deciding to ce her in the same room as Lizzy and Izzy.

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 6 Days, 9 Hours, 12 Minutes, 11 Seconds]

    Looking at Emily''s conversion time, Ryan paused, narrowing his eyes as he rechecked the time.

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 6 Days, 9 Hours, 12 Minutes, 7 Seconds]

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 6 Days, 9 Hours, 12 Minutes, 6 Seconds]

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 6 Days, 9 Hours, 12 Minutes, 5 Seconds]

    ''Why is her time so much shorter than the sisters?'' Ryan thought, ''Perhapsˇ­''

    "Either it''s because they are demons, or they were cursed," Pinching his nose, Ryan muttered, "Either way, it''s good that I can save some time."

    However, Ryan suddenly thought of a different problem, ''There won''t be likeˇ­ an update or anything, right?''<novelnext></novelnext>

    Pushing his palms on his forehead, he exhaled a deep breath, ''Ryan, the good days areing,'' Trying to cheer him up, he imagined his future, "Soon you''ll be surrounded by loads of powerful woman at your beck and call. Even the human military will bow their heads as they offer their daughters as tribute!"

    Tapping his fingers on the desk, he muttered, "If only soon could be now." ncing at his tapping fingers, he suddenly fixed his gaze on his wristband.

    After everything that happened, he hadn''t checked his ranking yet.

    Exerting his will, he pulled up his ranking.

    <Name: Anthony Dire (C415.N342)>

    <ss Rank: 10>

    Looking at the clock, he watched as the hour hand passed the twelve, locking the ranks.

    Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryan grinned, thinking about tomorrow.

    Feeling fatigued from the long, stressful day, Ryan climbed into bed and dozed off to sleep.

    ===

    Gregory knelt in front of his mother. Feeling cold, rage, fear, and exhaustion. His hair was matted to his head, his tears running through rivers of dirt on his face. His snot streaming down from his nose gathered in his mouth, making it seem like he has swallowed a cup of salt. He felt helpless, weak, and totally out of control.

    Why couldn''t he do anything, right? Why wasn''t he stronger? And really, why was life not fair? Why was he born a dude?

    His sisters didn''t have this trouble. They were strong they held their heads up high, not having to fight off thugs. Everyone thought he was stupid, a pansy. A limp fish.

    And look, right before him, the Duchess, his mother. He could see it in her eyes. This is exactly the way that she was looking at him now.

    Who cares? He was tired of it. He was just going to beg.

    "Gregory, get up off the ground. What are you doing whining and sniffling in front of me?"

    "Mom, I mean, Duchess," Gregory wiped his eyes as he scrambled to stand in front of her, "you have to go after him!"

    "Sit down, boy. Why is it my job to fight your battles? You''re not a woman, but I didn''t raise you to be so weak." The Duchess took a sip of her energy-infused tea.

    Looking over at her servant, sheplimented, "Very good this time. I can already feel my bottleneck loosening."

    "But mom," Gregory whined as he dragged his arm across his wet nose, leaving a snail''s trail of snot covering his ripped shirt.

    "I''m the victim."

    The Duchess snorted. "If you think that you''re the victim now, and you''re saying that you''re a victim, then you will always remain a victim."

    Gregory shook his head, "Mom! They put me up on a g pole by my underwear. I was waving in the wind! Everyone could see my junk, I thought I was royalty."

    "No, darling," the Duchess shook her head, "You are not royalty. Your sisters and I are royalty."

    "Well, OK then, I''m not royalty, but I''m rted to royalty. Shouldn''t that be enough?"

    "Only if you can defend your honor."

    "That''s my whole point, mom! I''m trying to defend my honor! My honor is the family. It wasn''t like I was walking around looking for trouble. He knew who I was. I was wearing our family crest!"

    The Duchess lean back and took another sip of tea. "So what does that have to do with anything?"

    "Mom, by attacking me, he attacked our family. Don''t you see? I was wearing the crest, and he tore it off my body, disgracing our family. Aren''t you going to do anything about that, or is that OK now?"

 Chapter 49 A Nice Day For Revenge, Dont You Think?

    A stab of light jarred Ryan out of a dream. In the dream, he had a stranglehold on the sniveling Gregory. His muscles were flexing, his heart was racing, and all he could hear were whimpers out of the little pipsqueak. Then someone shone a shlight in his eye.

    He looked around the room. No shlight, just rays of light that streamed through his window.

    Too bad Gregory could''ve been a goner.

    ''Oh well, there''s always this afternoon,'' he thought, grinning.

    Though warm under the covers, he knew the day awaited him. A perfect day for revenge.

    "A good n for revenge always starts out with stretching."

    Flexing his arms, Ryan pulled one wrist in front of his chest, grabbed the elbow, and stretched his other arm.

    "Perfect. My arms are ready to do a little mental pping."

    Now toe touches. First one, then bending to the other. He chimed, "A slow stretch will guarantee sess!"

    Now pushups. Thinking of his chest like a snare, Ryan envisioned a poor little bunny hopping around, looking for food. Unsuspecting until. . . snap!

    ''M won''t know what hit her.'' He thought, grinning as sweat poured down his brow.

    nks. Everyone makes fun of nks, but Ryan could rte to nks.

    People find them hard and their ability tost more than a minute doing them is questionable.

    Ryan looked at himself in the mirror,  a chiseled beast. A warrior.

    No one can equal the fine chiseled cut of this beautiful face. He turned to the side view. Maybe there was something he could improve on.

    Nope.

    He turned to the other side. Maybe he was mistaken?

    Nope.

    "Let''s say it together," Ryan spoke to himself as he looked in the mirror, "I''m a god."

    Now that the preparation wasplete, it was time to move on to the bothersome aspects of this n, M.

    Today was the day she was going to have all the crap she dealt smacked right back in her face.

    She was going to feel every ounce of humiliation that he felt. It would be like pulling out her nails one by one. But mentally, of course.

    She was going to feel like someone had taken a razor and shaved off her beautiful lock one slow strip at a time and then poured salt on each of the marks left by the razor. But of course, mentally.

    Ryan wasn''t going to leave any bruises, cuts, or breaks. He was going to take away the most important thing from M, her status.

    Her adoring fans were going to leave one by one. Her time of ruling the masses would be over, soon. Very, very soon.

    Ryan clutched his fists. His veins bulged out of his arms. He threw back his head andughed. "This is going to be great."

    Now. Time for my armor.

    First, his helmet. He took out one of his most prized possessions, hisb.

    Whisking it gently, ever so gently, through his prized hair, he became entranced at the gentle wave of the raven locks. Like a nimble cat, like a strong raven, sweet, like ck licorice, his helmet wasplete.

    Now, his breastte. A skintight shirt with a couple of buttons undone. "Let thedies look. They won''t be able to resist my gleaming pecs."

    Moving on to his special scent, his cologne. "Eh, never mind." He shrugged, "My natural masculine scent will bring them like bees to the hive."

    Now, countering the tight look on top, he decided to wear slouchy pants for the bottom. Tightening his belt, he made sure his pants wrinkled in such a way that his manhood was the central focus for thedies.

    The shoes. Of course, it had to be the Romeo slip-ins. The casual yet sexy look that the woman could not resist.

    Although Ryan was not going after all the women today, he was going after one woman. His main target. His tool for revenge. He was going after Abby.

    ===

    Sauntering down the sidewalk, Ryan began gathering his power. He was going to need all of his strength and sexual energy to pull off today''s grand event.

    It was purely by ident that just two days ago, while he was walking past the open door in the administration building that he heard two campus administrators talking about an auction.

    He hadn''t been paying much attention until he dropped his pen on the floor and was bending down to pick it up when onedy said, "I hope for a lot of money this year." Ryan pretended to tie his shoe as other people walked by in the hallway. ''What are they talking about?''

    The otherdy giggled. "Only ten get to enjoy the enhancers for the evening. I wonder how much they will bid."

    "Unbelievable," Ryan said. He and the other nine guys are going to be auctioned off.

    Who are they kidding? Was he prime meat? Cattle? Sheer entertainment?

    He was worth more than that.

    He was worth, well, at least a new Armani suit. Catching a nce at himself in the ss partition, he posed.

    This was going to be too easy. What were they raising funds for, a new building? A new campus? He brushed his hair back. Yep. He could give them a new campus.

    "Youdies deserve all that and more," he said, swiveling his hips and thrusting them towards the two, "I got a big biding your way!"

    Bothdies suddenly turned. Winking, he blew them a kiss.

    Leaving the red faces behind and knowing they were actually looking at his behind, he sauntered away. Just then, a sinister n started to form.

    ''OK, back to today''s event,'' Ryan thought as he continued to gather his energy. He began to finalize his sinister n. It was going to be a perfect n, a n of revenge.

    ncing towards the crowds of women, Ryan saw Abby''s long red locks beckoning him, no, begging him to take them and make them his own.

    He started slowly, emitting his aura delicately through the crowd.

    He wound his way in and out, making sure his aura was having an effect.

    His aura swirled around, gathering as he walked, touching all the private parts of each girl, making them tingle inside. The girls began murmuring, looking around, casting their nces. Wiping their sweat off their brows, they shifted their bras, pulling back their shoulders. ''Perfect.''

    Slight sexual agitation was exactly what he was going for.

    Starting to heat things up, he began whispering things just slowly enough that they would reach the girl''s ears.

    "Nice hips"

    "Love the hair"

    "Looking good"

    "Mmm mmm mmm"

    "Nice ass"

    "Would like some of that"

    Most of this was under his breath, but it made many girls turn and look at each other.

    Giving him a sideways nce and a little grin, each girl knew that they heard a uniquepliment given by him.

    As he was near Abby''s group of friends, he turned up his aura.

    The girls started ying more with their hair, pulling it off their necks and wiping their brows. Clearing their throats and unbuttoning buttons, they tried entuating their cleavage.

    As he neared Abby, he pretended to trip. He grabbed her around the shoulders, identally touching her breasts. Pressing himself against her, he let off his full aura. He felt her shudder and backed away quickly, shutting down his aura. "Oh, I''m so sorry. Are you OK? Is everyone OK here? Did I hurt you? My name is Anthony. And please excuse me,dies, if you are OK. I need to head inside."

    Abby just stared at him, almost panting. The gleam in her eye was piercing, direct. He knew it worked. She was hooked. She was his.

 Chapter 50 Revenge Complete

    Ryan milled about the room, seeing one of thedies from the office tapping the microphone at the front of the room.

    "Excuse me, enhancers. Enhancers! Can youe up front?" She said, slightly giggling. "You are needed on stage!"

    Making his way up front, Ryan made sure to activate his aura, spreading a low dose throughout the crowd so that it touched a majority of the girls.

    As he joined the nine others on stage, Ryan put on a confused face to match the others.

    "Okay, boys," Thedy said, looking at them.

    Ryan couldn''t help himself, winking at her.

    Her eyes rolled up, and she couldn''t remember what she was going to say, stuttering into the microphone as her cheeks turned pink.

    Running his hands through his hair, Ryan watched her stutter as fantasies invaded her mind.

    After thirty seconds, he frowned, putting his hands back in his pocket, thinking, ''Okay,dy, let''s get on with the program. I have some revenge work to do.''

    Finally, the seconddy from the office appeared, taking the microphone from the ipetent hostess.

    "Boys, today''s your lucky day! Each of you is going to have the great opportunity of walking the catwalk and having every eye upon you." She said, winking at them, "I know you''ll enjoy it."

    "But, unfortunately, you can''t have all the women here. You will be going home with one luckydy that bids the most for a date with you this evening."

    "We are being sold?"

    "Is this fair?"

    "I thought I wasing to a concert."

    "I thought I wasing to an orgy."

    "Now, boys," thedy continued. "This is your chance to do a good deed for these luckydies and for your school. Plus, we wouldn''t leave you empty-handed. You will each receive 10% of the proceeds. So shake it, boys, let''s get going."

    Drawing straws, Ryan reached in and picked thest number. Perfect. This was going to be perfect.

    The auction started. The roar of the crowd was deafening as hoots and hollers rang out from every direction.

    "First up, we have Roger McDaniel!" A man strode out on the runway, lifting his head and puffing his chest to show thedies his worth.

    His moderately chiseled jawline immediately attracted thedies as they began whispering to their friends.

    "Our starting bid for all contestants is 100 campus credits. Do I have a bid for 100?"

    "100!" A girl in a green ballgown shouted.

    "125. He''sing home to mommy," A woman twice as round as the girl in green blubbered out.

    As the biddingmenced, Ryan focused on his aura, making sure toyer it through the crowd thinly.

    Hearing the final price of 175 campus credits, Ryan slowed his breathing falling into a forgotten memory that pulled him away.

    ===

    "Ryan, did you really bid $175 for a turkey leg on eBay?" Aliza asked, wrapping her arms around Ryan''s shoulders.

    "It''s a golden turkey leg Ali," Ryan said, leaning his head against her arms. "Gold is for the bold."

    "I wish you would stop using my own lines against me," She said, nudging his cheek. "I''m not some omnipotent deity that you need to worship my every word."

    "Listen when a beautifuldy talks," Ryan retorted with another line of hers.

    Stroking her silky smooth azure hair, Ryan said, "I don''t worship you. I adore you. There''s a difference."

    Aliza stared into Ryan''s emerald-green eyes, raising one eyebrow, "And what would that difference be?"

    Looking away, Ryan said, "That''s for me to know and for you to find out."

    "You can''t use my own tricks against me," She said, rolling her eyes at Ryan''s attempt to y her. Going into mentor mode, she said, "You shouldn''t disclose how you feel. Remember al-."

    "Always be secretive. Always leave her guessing." Ryan interrupted, bowing his head, knowing he lost this round.

    "It''s okay, my student," She said, patting Ryan on the cheek.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "However," She said, removing her arms from around Ryan. "Spending $175 on a piece of chicken is not."

    ===

    As thest person was bid on, Ryan came out of his thoughts.

    "Going onceˇ­going twiceˇ­we have a winner!" pping, the hostess said, ushering the man towards the winner.

    "For those who haven''t gotten a man yet, we have one final piece of meat for you to suck on."

    "Give it up for Anthony Dire!"

    Standing up, Ryan rolled his shoulders back and strode onto the stage.

    Gathering his energy, Ryan prepared for the riskiest part of the n.

    Manipting his aura, he condensed it into a small ball the size of an acorn.

    Stepping onto the catwalk, Ryan took one final nce at his target and fired.

    Praying it wouldnd, he watched as the ball only visible to him flying through the air straight towards M.

    M jolted as the force hit her, looking around in confusion. Frowning, she gulped as a coursing heat started to burn from within her.

    Reaching for her water, she grasped the cup bringing it up to her mouth, gulping it down. Wiping her mouth dry, her frown deepened as the heat hadn''t dissipated, only growing stronger.

    Looking back on stage, she recognized the problem. Ryan glistened, his skintight shirt bulging, showing his carved and defined muscles. Looking at him, M recalled the man who had saved her all those years ago. Ryan didn''t have the scars, but his eyesˇ­

    Remembering the unforgettable emerald eyes, M smacked her palm against her forehead. ''How could I forget?''

    Leaning toward the stage, M squinted, trying to see Ryan''s eyes.

    Gasping, she saw them, those eyes she thought she would never forget.

    M was so caught up in seeing Ryan''s eyes that she hadn''t noticed her flushed face or rapid breathing.

    Not thinking about her actions, she yelled, "I''ll take him for 500!"

    Suddenly the room fell deathly silent as they gawked at M.

    Whispers started to circte.

    "M bidding?"

    "After what she did to him?"

    M ignored the whispers and started walking towards the stage, yelling, "Ok, everyone, thank you foring. You can leave now."

    Having been saturated with Ryan''s aura for the past half an hour, a sudden tense atmosphere filled the hall.

    "He''s mine for 550!" A shout rang out.

    "He''s mine for 800!" A girl jumped on a table screaming.

    "No, he''s mine!" M turned and put her hands toward the crowd like she was holding off a mob.

    Then the frenzy began.

    The girls were wild, shouting out higher and higher prices. The mob started ripping each other''s hair, ripping their clothes, all trying to scramble toward Ryan.

    M was pushed out of the way and flung back into a corner before she was trampled.

    Ryan just stood on the stage. In the spotlight. In all of his glory.

    At the very end of the runway, he stood still, hands on hips, head tilted back, a confident grin adorning his face.

    Appearing by his side, Abby grabbed his face and began French kissing him.

    Stopping long enough to shout, "50000, he''s mine," she began dragging off the stage out a side door, leaving M in disbelief and crying in the corner.

    Revengeplete.

 Chapter 51 Abby In The Ally [R-18]

    Abby forcefully pushed Ryan into the wall of the ally, cing her hands on the cold bricks and pinning Ryan against the wall.

    "I can''t wait any longer," She said in a breathy voice. Feeling her engorged clitoris pressing into her damp panties, she squatted down, reaching under her skirt to rub her needy love button.

    With her free hand, she loosened his belt and dropped his pants, exposing his erection.

    Seeing his heat-seeking missile spring free, her hunger zed into an inferno.

    Grabbing his bulge, she took him into her mouth, her craze making her engulf his joystick. Feeling his cockhead bump the back of her throat, she was besotted with excitement.

    Ryan held her crown as his biological urge forced him to buck his hips.

    Fucking her face, Ryan felt a wave of euphoria seeing M''s sister blowing his rod. The naughty act of exhibition adding heat to his debaucherous arousal.

    "I know you were the one that saved my sister," Abby said as she shifted to lick his family jewels. "But that makes this all the hotter."

    Ryan tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and said, "How are you so sure it was me?"

    Continuing to caress his balls with her tongue, she sped his cock with her palm, elegantly stroking his throbbing member. "I knew since I firstid eyes on you."

    Rolling her palm on his cockhead she said, "Her body unconsciously trembled the first time you walked on stage."

    "It was barely noticeable, but I caught it." Lightly kissing his base, she grasped his circumference, smacking it against her cheek.

    Groaning, Ryan sensed his cock twitch and leaked a drop of pre-cum onto her chin.

    Raising one eyebrow, Abby plucked the liquid with her index finger eyeing it suspiciously.

    Widening her eyes, she quickly stuffed her finger into her mouth.

    Euphoria washed over her senses as a wave of contentment unleashed inside her body.

    Witnessing the busty redhead lick his precum madly, Ryan felt a strong urge erupt in his groin and grabbed the back of her dome.

    Feeling his will, Abby promptly took his length back into her mouth.

    Consuming his entire length, Abby''s appetite grew as her fingers gyrated between her legs.

    Leaning into her, Ryan reached for her ample ass, delivering a smack.

    Bracing her free hand against the wall, her mouth constricted over his cock.

    Hiking up her skirt, he saw the blooming blush on her ass redden further as heshed her again.

    The lewdness of the scenario made Abby intoxicated. Feeling her facial muscles contract and her toes starting to curl, she shuttered, moaning onto Ryan''s thick shaft.

    Feeling the point of no return, she dug her free hand into Ryan''s hip as she came, spasming as her mouth wrapped around his cock.

    Pulsing from the wet heat, Ryan growled, arching his neck as he blew his load into her throat.

    Staggering backward, Ryan leaned his back on the ally wall.

    Seeing Abby''s blissed-out face and her body starting to convulse from the sensory overload, he lowered himself down the wall until his butt hit the cement.

    Waiting until her body stopped shaking, he picked her up and raced toward his dorm room.

    ===

    "Tell me again why we have to work for this brat?" Arge, sturdy woman sporting a military cut said.

    "Mura, the kids right there," The petite leader with model-like facial features pointed to Gregory and said. "We''re here at the behest of his mother, Duchess of the Vanroth family."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Puffing out his chest, Gregory slightly tucked his chin and said, "Naomi is right. My mother ordered you toe here, so you ran like the dog you were."

    Staring at Gregory with wide eyes, Naomi slowly turned toward Mura.

    Mura''s face was flushed, the veins on her neck throbbing as her jaw clenched.

    "Mura, don''t make a rash decisionˇ­ this is a duke''s son," Naomi said, gripping Mura''s shoulders.

    As Naomi thought she''d have to restrain Mura, Gregory shouted, "I saw him! He just went into the dorms!"

    Both girls looked at Gregory and then towards the dorms.

    "Let''s go; we''ve got a man to catch."

    ===

    Ryan briskly opened his door andy Abby down on the couch.

    Feeling Deja vu fromst night, he turned towards the room that housed Emily.

    Recalling he needed to feed her a pill, he headed into her room.

    [Conversion Time Remaining: 5 Days, 18 Hours, 36 Minutes, 50 Seconds]

    Checking on her time, he thanked the heavens that the time didn''t increase.

    "I''m not thanking you," Ryan muttered, addressing the "actual" heavens.

    After feeding her the pill, he checked on the sisters.

    Walking over to Izzy, Ryan peeled off her robe, checking her body for any rashes.

    As her curvy hips spread open, Ryan assured himself, ''It''s for her health.''

    Not seeing anything, he moved upward toward her cleavage. ''I have to touch themˇ­ to ensure they didn''t dete.''

    Groping her pillows, Ryan felt their weight and twisted his mouth as he muttered, "These have grown."

    He turned towards Lizzy, thinking, ''Will her pears grow into melons?''

    Slowly advancing, he loosened her robe, feeling her curves. Sighing, he said, "You two are like fire and ice."

    Not only had Lizzy''s breasts not grown, but Ryan was 90% sure they had decreased in size.

    Saying a silent prayer, Ryan voiced, "God of breasts, god of bumps, god of cleavage, god of jugs, god of bosoms, god of racks, please help Lizzy to have a bigger chest."

    Ryan didn''t care how big Lizzy''s breasts were, but he knew Lizzy envied Izzy''s size.

    Finishing his exam, Ryan covered Lizzy back up. About to head out of the room, Ryan paused, hearing a loud crash, and saw his front door fly off its hinges.

    "Anthony Dire, we''re going to need you toe with us," Mura said, her brass voice reverberating around Ryan''s room.

    Frowning, Ryan crossed his arms and said, "Ladies, if you wanted to enter my room so badly, you could''ve knocked."

    Seeing Gregory walk in behind the two, Ryan raised his eyebrows and said, "If it isn''t the little pipsqueak!"

    "You won''t get away this time!" Gregory chirped, showing his usual misced confidence.

    Smiling enigmatically, Ryan raised his eyebrows and said, "We''ll see, won''t we."

 Chapter 52 Losing Control

    "Boy, you can''t possibly think you can take on two cultivators," Naomi said, shaking her head. "It''s better for you toe with us. The Duchess just wants to talk."

    ncing sideways at Naomi, Ryan shook his head, "I''m sorry tiny tits, but I can''t do that."

    Puffing out her cheeks, Naomi was about to scorch Ryan when Gregory screamed, "Is that Emily?!"

    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Seeing Gregory pointing, Naomi followed his finger seeing a girl lying on the bed behind Ryan.

    Captivating neon green hair sprawled over a sleeping beauty''s chest, which was barely covered by a robe.

    Narrowing her eyes, Naomi scrutinized the body.

    Green hair ??

    Soft, smooth skin ??

    Na?ve aura ??

    Small but perky tits ??

    Petite but tantalizing frame ??

    Drawing a sword from a spatial bag, Naomi aimed it at Ryan, "Lady Emily! Lady Emily, wake up! We''re here on orders from your mother."

    Seeing Emily not so much as twitch, Naomi barred her teeth, her nostrils ring. Moving one leg back into a fighting stance, she said, "You better awaken Lady Emily this instant, or by the heavens, I will cut you down."

    Clenching his jaw Ryan squinted his eyebrows and released his battle-lust aura, "She cannot be awoken. If you take a step forward, it will be yourst."

    Even though this aura didn''t contain any energy, Naomi''s hands started to shake, and the sword she was holding wobbled. Mura stepped back, and a thin line of yellow liquid trailed down Gregory''s leg.

    "You stage a plot to keep me from the top 10 rankings. Fine."

    "You cry to your mommy about me, ndering my name in the process. Fine."

    "Youe to my residence and break down my door. Fine."

    "But if you threaten my woman again, you''ll know true pain."

    "Is what he says true?" Naomi asked, hearing the malice and truth inside his words.

    After a few seconds of hesitation, Gregory abruptly changed in demeanor and frantically shook his head, saying, "Of course not! This mongrel attacked me out of nowhere on the street. I''ve got witnesses!"

    The words soundedpelling, but seeing Gregory''s eyes shifting contact, not daring to meet her own, she sneered. "Apparently, you''re better at begging than lying."

    Turning towards Ryan, she said, "However that being said, I cannot allow you to stay here will Lady Emily. It is improper of a noble of her status to-."

    "You know as well as I do that the Duchess wouldn''t give a damn about her sleeping with me." Ryan interrupted, waving his hand dismissively.

    He had done his research on Emily''s family, and although he hadn''t found anything rted to Gregory, he had found plenty of "information" on the Duchess.

    She was a top Patron of the Blissful Cultivation Network, known for her high-end demands. She had been dubbed the "Mind Breaker" for making three of the enhancers she "dueled" fall into madness.

    A woman like that who so publicly fraternized with enhancers wasn''t one to care about their daughter''s virginity.

    "Be that as it may, she is not yours to possess," Mura said, taking over for her leader.

    "It seems to me that you''re overly cocky for someone whose power relies on a repelling treasure," She said, thinking she had cracked the code.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Raising one eyebrow, Ryan sped his arms behind his back and looked at Gregory, "Last time, he imed I had a defensive treasure. Now you''re iming I have a repelling treasure. Say, how rich do you think I am?"

    Before the auction, he had yet to manage to scrap together 300 campus credits. A treasure like the one Mura imed he had, cost close to 10,000.

    "Rich enough to pay your way in here," Gregory retorted, curling his lip.

    "Give us the girl," Mura said, her patience wearing thin. "If you don''t, we''ll have to take her and awaken her by force."

    Ryan started to breathe rapidly, sweat pouring down his forehead. His respiratory system started going into overload as he felt pure unadulterated rage coursing through his veins.

    It had snuck up on him again. His curse had won.

    Frothing at the mouth, Ryan lunged for Mura,nding a devastating blow that sent her sprawling to the ground.

    In his crazed state, he didn''t see Naomi move as the girl''s knee took him by surprise.

    Feeling his left rib crack, he knew he was in for a fight.

    Knotting up his fists, heunched a pair of brutal strokes at Naomi.

    She staggered back from the blow, holding her head and seeing stars.

    Not giving her a moment of respite, he brought his heel down on the intruder''s throat with merciless force.

    "Never threaten my family!" Ryan roared, his battle lust soaring.

    Haunted by horror, all she could do was watch helplessly as ruthless fists and kicks from years of training connected with her.

    Mura watched as her friend and leader''s blood sprayed and bones shattered like pretzels. Nothing of her remained as Mura was paralyzed with fright.

    It was more than fright; it was a freezing of the soul.

    The fear choked the scream from her throat as she watched Ryan pick up her dropped sword and saw the ssh of blood even before she knew she''d been stabbed.

    Ryan sliced, stabbed, cutting until no life was left, feeling rage capture his soul.

    Turning towards Gregory, Ryan roared, "You forced this! You threatened my family! May my de bring you sce and deliver your soul to the afterlife."

    The knife was a crimson stinger, and hate was its venom. Ryan shed down, the knife cutting Gregory''s vocal cords before he could scream.

    The dead Gregory hit the ground with a sickening thud.

    Ryan''s blood boiled with the foulness of hate, but only despair dwelled in the smoking ruins of his soul.

    "I let it win," Ryan murmured, falling to his knees. "Why did it have toe to this?"

    Despair twisted and turned inside him as a gray light of gloom cast its deathless shadow over him.

    Feeling the misery of what he had done, he started to feel dizzy as a notification appeared.

    [Congrattions on achieving-]

    Not having time to read the message, Ryan promptly fell unconscious.

 Chapter 53 The Truth

    Emily''s eyes slowly fluttered open. "Where am I?" She murmured, touching her head as shey in an unfamiliar dark room.

    Sitting up, she noticed a red exmation mark in the top right of her vision that wouldn''t stop blinking.

    "Where is that stupid prince," Emily said, grumbling, surveying the room. Ignoring the blinking exmation mark, she moved back the sheets and was about to leave the bed when she froze, feeling something touch her hand. Slowly turning her head, she gulped as she prayed it wasn''t a spider. She hated spiders.

    ''Oh,'' She thought, gulping, ''that''s not a spider.'' Lying in her bed, she saw a humanoid creature with a heart-shaped tail dangling free, horns jutting out of her head. ''A real-life demon.''

    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Touching her wrist, she essed her spatial bracelet and drew a dagger.

    Torn between a feeling of anticipation and dread, she shakily raised the dagger.

    Gradually moving off the bed, she crept quietly to the other side of the sleeping figure and crouched into position. Slowly Emily rose and hovered the knife over the demon''s jugr.

    Noticing her hand shaking, she took a few deep breaths, staring like a hawk at the sleeping girl for any sudden movements.

    Wiping the dripping sweat from her brow, she lined up her knife precisely, aiming for the artery on her neck.

    Breathing in one final time, she activated her energy and, with all her momentum, thrust the knife into the demon''s neck, blood flowering from the wound in crimson petals.

    Or at least that''s how she pictured it. In reality, when Emily attempted to thrust her knife into the demon, her hand froze midair, held back by an invisible force.

    [Warning: You do not have authorization from the Harem Overlord to attack this Harem Member.]

    [Warning: Continuing this action without authorization will lead to the Harem Overlord being notified.]

    Notifications appeared in her vision, apanied by ring sirens warning her not to continue, and she begrudgingly lowered her dagger.

    ''Harem member?'' Emily thought, her eyes shifting to the blinking exmation mark.

    [Conversion Sessful]

    [Congrattions on upgrading to F-Rank in Cultivation]

    [Congrattions on evolving your race from F-Rank Human -> F-Rank Evolved Human]

    [Your will is bound to a Human Overlord +1 Cosmic Luck]

    Stunned by the messages, she staggered back and fell onto the mattress. Activating internal focus, she looked at her core in her lower stomach. ''Just as the message said, the energy contained inside my core is exactly 1000 energy units!''

    ''Then that meansˇ­'' gasping, she prostrated on the floor.

    "Thank you, heavens!" She shouted, holding her hands together above her head. "Thank you for delivering me into his hands."

    "Thank you for your gifts!"

    "And most of all, thank you for the message you sent," she said, bowing and taking out the letter she received two days after kissing Ryan on the Nova Ball field.

    Reading the message once more, she thanked her lucky stars that she followed the heavenly letter''s advice.

    "Emily, the man you call your prince is destined for extraordinary things. If he should ask you a question, one no one would ept lightly, ept it without hesitation."

    "Do not worry about your parents, sisters, or society''s etiquette. Choose for yourself what you do with your life."

    "Also, don''t let Ry-." Seeing some scribbled-out letters, she skipped to the next word, "your prince, see this letter."

    Folding the note, she thought about all the times the heavens sent letters that helped her make crucial life changes.

    First, when she was six, she received a letter that said, "The heavens cherish all those who eat their Brussels sprouts."

    At age thirteen, it was "The heavens cherish all those who learn to give massages to their mothers."<novelnext></novelnext>

    After she turned sixteen, the letters started to address her directly, telling her about the best study habits and a secret technique called "Squats."

    Emily grinned as she again thanked the heavens and especially that she had something more important guiding her than her meddlesome mother.

    Getting off the ground, she pumped her fist in the air, failing to contain her excitement.

    "Thank you for watching over me, heavens." She said, calming her racing heart.

    Although she didn''t know it, a pair of eyes was truly staring at her, just not the ones she would''ve expected.

    Leaving the demon-infested room, she recognized the couch and living room where she had been "converted" as she knew now.

    "My Prince!" She yelled in excitement, seeing Ryan lying on the couch. Running, she leapt off the ground and threw herself into Ryan''s embrace. "I missed you so much!"

    Kissing his forehead, she questioned, "Do you know why there''s a demon in your room?"

    "Why aren''t you answering me? Ryan? Ryan!" Calling out, she started to shake his limp body, realizing something was terribly wrong.

    ===

    Steam from the tea warmed her lips as she delicately held the China cup, enjoying the scene.

    The duchess sat alone in her dark room,ser-focused on the hologram in front of her.

    "Oh, my darling, Emily, you are still so innocent. You still believe that the heavens are your personal guide and not your mother. Someday you''ll realize how much you love me."

    Seeing Emily frantically shaking Ryan, she sighed. "It doesn''t matter how much you shake him, darling. He won''t wake up.  He''s been asleep for five days. And you, my sweetheart, have been asleep for longer."

    "You don''t even know your bastard of a bother is dead."

    "I even got blood on my favorite dress trying to clean him up," Frowning as she remembered the disgusting procedure.

    Sipping her hot tea, she watched as her daughter continue to cry and shake Ryan.

    ===

    A familiar grey mist surrounded Ryan, clouding his senses. Unlike his previous visions, he was not close-up spectating something. This time, he was high in the sky, flying on the back of a raven.

    He overlooked a vast mountain range as he flew, gazing in awe at their snow-covered peaks.

    As the raven started to dive, Ryan saw a small clearing inside the mountain range, squeezed between two smaller cliffs.

    Lower and lower, the raven dove until Ryan could make out the scene, but he wished he had dismounted and run away.

    All around were the dead, dying, blood-spattered and broken. A lone man stood, his de radiating, thirsting for blood. In his expert hands, the sword sang sweet songs of death while his body was crowned in crimson.

    Blood was the lubrication of life, but also death, and he gloried in it.

    Ryan looked at the indescribable butchery¨Cthe bodies no longer resembled anything human.

    The man raised his head and stared at the sky, his eyes growing hot with hate.

    Thunder rolled across thend like the haunting images that reyed in Ryan''s mind of what he''d done. Images of who he''d been.

    "I hate you!" The man''s voice was ice cold and sharp as a scalpel. "Humanity!"

    Lightning struck, and in the sh, the terrible truth was revealed.

    The man was Ryan.

 Chapter 54 Awake [R-18]

    A sense of calm swept through Ryan as he wielded his de of death. Swinging in a predictable pattern, he created an almost sensual rhythm.

    He had been asleep almost six days, but it could have been six lifetimes.

    Stepping forward, he weaved to the side, stabbing the practice dummy in a fluid motion.

    Unknowingly Gregory''s death had triggered an explosion of memories.

    The memories he had were nightmarish. ughtering thousands while drenched in blood, he sent soul after soul to the afterlife.

    The unceasing visions came one after the other. Not able to stop them, he had to endure each, growing more numb after each head parted from its body.

    By the end of the nearly week-long trip down memoryne, he knew one thing was certain. He was a killer. A killer bathed in blood so red, his very soul was tainted crimson.

    Seeing the dummy fully regenerated, he started another barrage of attacks, honing his now masterful skills.

    The first thing he had done when he awoke was reached for a sword, for now, he felt bare without one.

    He didn''t know who he was before or why he was forced to kill all those people.

    He had seen three people above the mountain range while on the back of the raven, watching his ughter. Unable to make out their faces, all he could recognize was the KW on their emblem. The Kweaweth family. The rulers of the human empire, the ones he suspected, were now confirmed to be behind his torture and brainwashing.

    "Humanity, I hate you." The words echoed in his mind reying over and over as he remembered the fiery hate the younger Ryan exhibited.

    Whatever the reason for his current situation, now that he had the skill, he had to practice. He had to get stronger.

    Starting a simtion, he watched two fightersing towards him. Raising his sword for an overhead strike and spun in an aerial kick disemboweling his first attacker. Swirling his sword, the knife squished home in his foe''s neck, making the hologram disappear.

    Hearing cheers to his left, he turned and raised one eyebrow, grinning at Lizzy, Izzy, and Emily, who were lounging on the porch and watching his every move.

    "Damn, daddy! Come and use your techniques on me!" Izzy said, leaning forward and showing off her sweat-covered slick cleavage.

    "No fair! Why does he get to have his innards rearranged, but you won''t rearrange mine?" Emily said, blinking her eyes innocently.

    "Nice form," Lizzy said, nodding at Ryan.

    "Thank you for not distracting me, Liz," Ryan said, ignoring the other two.

    "I''d rather see it clothless, though," Lizzy said, finishing her thought.

    Narrowing his eyes, Ryan let out an exasperated sigh.

    Trying not to let the beauties distract him, Ryan breathed deeply, focusing on his body. Small tingles ran through him, his battle instinct not letting him fall too deep in case an attack came from one of the three.

    Having no luck getting rid of the tingle, he focused instead on his three new abilities, reading them again.

    [Pleasant Face (Activatable Passive) (Emily)]

    [Description: This ability allows the user to activate an aura making any onlooker see only what pleases them.]

    [Energy Vision (Active) (Lizzy)]

    [Description: This ability allows the user to see the energy levels of people within two ranks of the user.]

    [Death Before Fear (Passive) (Izzy)]

    [Description: This ability gives the user no fear of death.]

    Ryan had received an ability when he had awoken from each of his new harem members as part of his specialty.

    Surprised that they each already had an ability, he asked them, only to drop his jaw when they told him they were now F-Rank. All of them.

    Ryan thought he needed at least a few weeks to raise their ranks to his, but low and behold; his worries were for naught.

    However, the thought of the three reminded him that he still couldn''t exin how Emily came to find him on a couch, Gregory''s body nowhere to be found.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Someoneing into his house and standing over his unconscious body unnerved him.

    ''Was it the military?'' Ryan thought. ''Or was it someone else?''

    Ryan didn''t know which thought he would rather be true. Either way, he was too weak to dig deeper.

    ''Strength. It''s the only way.''

    Turning around, he closed his lips and smiled, looking at his path to strength. Oh, it was a gorgeous sight.

    Lizzy and Izzy were currently sitting to either side of the lying Emily, peeling off her olive green sundress, exposing the green lingerie underneath.

    Unhurriedly getting up, Ryan made his presence known by activating his aura and newly activatable ability [Overlord of Lust]. The twobining to form a symbiosis of lechery.

    Nodding for the girls to continue, Ryan watched as Emily gazed into his eyes with an inferno of need.

    Lizzy reached under Emily''s back and unsped her bra, making the pesky fabric fall to the floor.

    Izzy was more forward and had already wiggled Emily out of her panties, exposing the apex of her thighs.

    Panting, Emily continued to stare straight ahead into Ryan''s eyes.

    Unable to hold himself back, Ryan dropped his pants and began stroking his erection.

    Seeing Ryan release his package, Izzy began slurping Emily''s canal while twisting her button between her fingers.

    Lizzy wasn''t idle either, fondling Emily''s bosom while asionally tweaking her peaks.

    Moaning, Emily began to buck her hips against Izzy''s probing fingers as she slid her right hand under Lizzy''s shirt and began squeezing her breast.

    Feeling his cock twitch, Ryan stopped, desiring to savor the sight.

    Walking towards the kneeling Izzy, who was leaned forward solely focused on her task of pleasuring Emily, Ryan slipped off Izzy''s leggings.

    Seeing Izzy increase her pace as her fingers started to gyrate, Ryan rubbed his hands together and branded Izzy''s cheek with his palm.

    "One!" Izzy cried as her ass wiggled back and forth, her pace increasing even further.

    Emily started to convulse as Izzy''s lightning-fast fingers made her clit vibrate.

    "Two!" Izzy screamed, her tail standing straight up as Ryan connected with his target.

    "Three!" Izzy gasped as Ryan inserted his girth into her while making her ass blister.

    Ryan kept smacking Izzy''s cheeks as he began iming Izzy''s box.

    Emily couldn''t handle it anymore, nking out in oblivion, feeling the rush of ecstasy.

    Izzy lost track of the count and began to blubber out incoherent sounds as she was ovee by Ryan''s dominance.

    Ryan started to bellow as his cheeks flushed, his hips smacking Izzy''s reddened flesh, picking up speed.

    Opening his mouth, he tensed as he released, coating Izzy''s inside with spurt after spurt of his thick white goodness.

    Izzy began to drool as she slumped to the floor, her face sporting a blissed-out lewd expression.

    Feeling nirvana, Emily, Izzy, and Ryan enjoyed their own orgasms in kind, Lizzy the only one left out of bliss. Seeing that was the case, Ryan unleashed the built-up lust and aimed it at Lizzy.

    Shaking from the onught, she screamed as warmth spread through her body straight toward her cunt. Reaching down, she frantically kicked off her leggings and panties, beginning to rub her pussy as juices leaked between her fingers.

    Bucking her hips, she looked like she was trying to fuck her hand.

    Curling her toes, she was carried away as she emptied herself onto the porch in front of the smiling Ryan.

 Chapter 55 First Class

    Ryan walked down a long jagged corridor on his way to ss. Having been in this world for five weeks without attending a lesson, he figured today was as good as any to start his true school arc.

    [Congrattions on upgrading to E-Rank in your race]

    [Your curse Primal Evolution has been removed and is reced by Overlord''s Arrogance (Passive)]

    Rereading the notifications he had missed when he passed out, he still couldn''t believe how much killing Gregory had changed him.

    The first change was a race upgrade which gave Ryan a 500-year lifespan, an improved cultivation speed, and the ability to upgrade to E-Rank. Because he was an overlord, he also gained the ability of [Racial Suppression], which worked on humans F-Ranked and below.

    Even without using his energy, he could use the ability to suppress anyone within a 30 feet vicinity.

    The second change was to his curse, which was even more prevalent. He now had "integrated" with the curse, changing his personality permanently, at least for now.

    Rereading his ability''s description, hemented and wished he could go back to the good old days.

    [Overlord''s Arrogance(Passive): Your arrogance is domineering, making all who see it have a higher chance of submitting to it. As the added bonus of increasing the user''s arrogance automatically.]

    This little bonus was more noughing matter. His new ability was passive and couldn''t be turned off, which meant all he could do was be stronger and force the damn thing off himself.

    While he could consciously avoid bing arrogant, Ryan decided against it, as he had proven hisck of control time and time again in the bedroom.

    Reaching the doorknob, he creaked it open and peered inside. Arge ssroomy before him with straight rows of chairs lined up ten by ten.

    "Ah, Mr. Dire, just the man we were waiting for." A grizzled woman with weathered yet oddly tantalizing features stood at the front of the room looking at him.

    Sitting down at the back of the room, Ryan yawned and said, "Oh, professor, you didn''t have to wait for little ol¨¦'' me!"

    Waving her hand dismissively, the teacher started her boring lecture as Ryan yawned and recalled his morning escapade.

    He had been asleep for almost a week, yet he didn''t feel refreshed in the slightest, and cumming didn''t help his tired body either. Having been awake for almost 24 hours since his visions stopped, he started to nod in and out of sleep.

    Slipping into a dream, Ryan looked confused at what was happening before him.

    "Fuck Ryan, my little slut hole is aching just thinking aboutst week," Abby said, her mouth drooling as her pussy dribbled liquids onto the ground, frantically rubbing her cunt.

    Fixing his gaze on Abby, he muttered, "What are you doing here?"

    "I''m teaching, of course, Mr. Dire." Thedy responded, narrowing her eyes, she said, "You wouldn''t be daydreaming of your romp with Ms. Torres, would you?"

    Fumbling awake, Ryan blinked, trying to regain rity.

    The whispers in the ssroom grew louder as conversations about the hottest topic on campus, dubbed the "Torres sister battle", started circling around the room.

    "In fact, professor, I was daydreaming about us. I suddenly exuded a charm unlike any other, and you became flustered," he said, taking the initiative to release his aura.

    "You started squirming, your breath bing hot and heavy," Ryan continued.

    Sure enough, just a secondter, the professor started to pant, her eyes locking onto his.

    "You started to grind your panties against my hard rod and," abruptly cutting off his aura, Ryan bit his lip, "then you interrupted me."

    A hundred boys in the room stared at their professor who had tortured them these past four weeks whimpering from the sheer presence of Ryan with ck jaws and wide eyes.

    "Is professor Frances joking?"

    "Why does she look so good when she blushes?"

    "Fuck, this is hot! If this continued for another 30 minutes, I might have been able to get hard!"

    "Alright, settle down, everyone!" The professor yelled, straightening her spine and ncing over her shoulder at Ryan.

    Blushing, she turned back towards the ss. "Today, I have a very important announcement."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Having never heard professor Frances use the words "important", the ss leaned in, eager for what she would say.

    "Our cultivators are having an uing portal excursion to any unknown ne."

    "As enhancers, you are meant to aid and improve the overall well-being of cultivators, not just fill them up." She said, looking up through hershes at Ryan.

    "Life is full of perilous encounters, but in danger lies opportunity."

    "You shall apany one of the top 100 cultivators inside the portal to help not only them but also find possible opportunities for yourselves."

    Seeing some recruits start sweating and shaking, she said, "I know you must be worried about your safety but fret not, you''ll be perfectly safe. The portal is a low-grade one that only allows people 18 and younger to enter. Thus, we know it has no F-Ranked beasts inside."

    "The chance ofing into intelligent life in these portals is also rtively rare but again-"

    "With dangeres opportunity," The ss chanted.

    "Professor Frances, do we get to choose our partner?"

    Seeing a boy raise his hand and ask, she responded, "Yes, you will choose in order of rank which you cedst month."

    "A list of names will appear on your wristband, and you each will have 10 minutes to look over their information."

    "Also, in order to qualify for the trip, you will need to pass your task, which is due tomorrow. Make sure you do, or else you''ll be left behind, and treasures will be passed on bye."

    Ryan abruptly jolted in his chair as he remembered Valery''s words that they would have one task a week after the first month. He already knew who he wanted to choose, so not wasting any time, he activated his bracelet and willed it to show him his task.

    <Task: Earn 300 campus credits this week>

    Seeing the progress bar, Ryan shifted in his seat as he tapped his feet, checking the time.

    He had to make 300 campus credits by night''s end. His body wasn''t refreshed from his nearly week-long nap, and his morning hostile takeover of the trio didn''t leave him any stamina for tonight.

    As the rest of the ss droned by, Ryan thought of different ways to make money until an epiphany struck him.

    He had magical abilities, and there was a casino on campus. He was sure this was a match made in heaven.

    ''Hopefully, they don''t have good defenses, thoughˇ­'' He thought, realizing this wasn''t earth and the forces here probably had some safeguard against cheating.

    "Anthony Dire, it''s your turn to choose," Ryan felt a finger nudged against his face.

    Ignoring the woman, he pulled up the option to select a partner but twisted his mouth as he saw the grayed-out name of Emily Vanroth.

    "Who took Emily Vanroth?" Ryan''s baritone growl made the room fall into silence, everyone feeling the temperature turn frigid.

    "Roger did it," Roger said as he stood up and spoke to Ryan.

    ring his nostrils, Ryan grit his teeth. "Why?" He asked, clenching his teeth so hard he heard one start to crack.

    Shrugging, Roger said, "Roger likes Emily."

    "Emily was kind to Roger."

    Sighing, Ryan nodded. "Okay, justˇ­ don''t touch her," He said, looking at Roger with a tight-lipped smile.

    Seeing Roger nod, Ryan confirmed his suspicion that this guy had run out of brain cells and was as harmless as a fly. ''Besides, she''s a cultivator.''

    Deciding to let the matter slide, he looked at the list but didn''t recognize any names.

    "I don''t even see Grace''s name here," He muttered as he decided to pick the first name avable, Brooke Skr.

 Chapter 56 The Dealer

    Ryan pulled up his map and meandered through campus, arriving at the bustling casino.

    The shing lights and loud noises peppered Ryan as he walked in the magnificent golden doors that seemed to m behind him, forcing him to enter deeper into the jaws of a lion.

    As he entered the ying floor, a hologram hovered in front of him,  "1 Campus Credits = 1 Chip."

    Roulette, barat, ckjack, so many games he could choose from. However, Ryan had already set his sights on a target.

    "Student or staff," the security guard drilled, ncing up at Ryan between the slits of her eyelids.

    "Student," Ryan said, showing his campus bracelet.

    The muscles of the guard''s biceps rippled as she took out a device that looked like a mix between abel scanner and aser gun. She pointed it at his wristband and asked, "Alright, how many campus credits would you like to convert into chips?"

    "All of them," Ryan said, confident that, at the very least, he could win 300 credits using at least a small portion of the 5000 campus credits in his ount.

    Ryan gathered his chips, stuffing them into his spatial pouch, activated [Pleasant Face], and walked over to the closest poker table.

    "An enhancer joins us," a rail-thin blondedy wearing dark sunsses gave a sarcastic grin. Her short hair and long bangs gave her a bug-like quality.

    Another yer, seated to her left, said, "Wait, isn''t he the one from the Torres sister war?" Her eyes momentarily leaving her cards to scan Ryan''s face.

    The other three people at the table nced at Ryan, their eyes reflecting their shock.

    "It is him. Man, we''ve got ourselves a celebrity at the table."

    Winking, Ryan said, "Don''t be too happy to see me." You may lose all your money to me tonight.

    Dealing the next hand, the dealer said, "Am I dealing you in? If so, put in your ante."

    cing the one-chip ante, Ryan got his cards. Ace of clubs and a 3 of spades.

    Tapping the table, Ryan passed as he waited for someone else to make a move.

    "Bet of 5," the dealer said, collecting the chips from blondie.

    Everyone folded until it was passed to Ryan. He looked at blondie. He had his pleasant face ability active, so he should be able to glean an advantage. If she wanted him to fold, he would appear to be on the verge of folding and vice versa.

    "Call," Ryan said, staring intently to see her reaction.

    Seeing her lip twitch imperceptivity, Ryan smiled, knowing he had her.

    The flop came. Ace of hearts, queen of spades, and ten of clubs. Checking again, Ryan waited to see if the girl would dig herself into an even deeper hole.

    "Bet of 15," blondie called out.

    Waiting a moment, Ryan made sure his reading was correct by watching the girl''s lips and said, "I call."

    Coughing, the girl looked at Ryan and pursed her lips.

    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Flipping the card, the dealer revealed the turn, another queen. Apparently, the girl really liked that card, and she watched Ryan''s facial expressions closely.

    Passing for the third time, Ryan waited, and sure enough, "Bet of 50," the dealer shouted.

    This time Ryan paid and pushed energy into the pleasant face ability to enhance the reaction, making it seem to blondie that Ryan was the one bluffing.

    The dealer revealed the river, and the Ace of spades appeared, giving Ryan a full house.

    Blondie peered again at Ryan. Her eyes betrayed her glee that she believed Ryan''s bluff.

    "I bet 200," Ryan said, hoping she would think it was a pathetic attempt to bluff.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''Sometimes the fish just stuffs itself on your rod,'' Remembering Aliza''s iconic line for a second time, he watched as not only did blondie call, she raised.

    "A bet of 500," blondie pushed her chips forward. Her chin jutted up in the air, revealing her confidence.

    "I''m all in," Ryan said, pushing the remainder of his 5000 chips into the middle.

    Narrowing her eyes, the blonde bit her lip and then screamed, "Fuck it, I call," as she tossed down king high.

    ===

    Walking gingerly out of the casino, a total of 10,000 credits richer after 2 hours of y, Ryan felt a presence behind him. He cast a nce in the nearby window and caught the reflection of the dealer who was at his first poker table.

    ''Looks like my ability worked on him too.''

    Ryan had guessed something like this might happen, the vague wording of the ability giving endless possibilities of what could happen.

    ''She must have thought I looked like an easy target.''

    Disappearing into an ally, Ryan hid behind a garbage bin, wanting to conceal his presence from the dealer.

    "Hey, kid! You forgot your jacket!" The dealer called out, looking around for the disappearing Ryan.

    "Kid!" After calling out and looking for Ryan for several minutes, the dealer shrugged his shoulders, not willing to expend the energy to chase after a punk who must have left the area.

    After the dealer turned around and began walking toward the casino, Ryan decided to follow him. He lowered his stance and hugged the walls, trying to keep to the shadows. Something about the dealer''s mannerisms made him wary.

    After following him for several minutes, Ryan saw the dealer enter a backroom in the casino. Catching the door before it closed, Ryan quietly entered through the narrow space,  shutting the door silently behind him.

    Deciding to be on the safe side, Ryan activated his pleasant face ability again. ''Maybe it will get me out of trouble if someone recognizes me.''

    The back of the casino waspletely different from the opulent front of the casino. A shabby environment and shabby people surround the tables. They looked greedy and hungry, their shoulders hunched with dirty hair and dirty fingernails crusted with dirt.

    "What do you mean I lost?!" yelled a weathered man, screaming and kicking as the guards drag them out of the back doors and threw him into the alley.

    Ryan walked slowly around the room, trying not to gather anyone''s attention.  He decided to slide up next to the overflowing giant dumpsters in the side of the room. Trash bags, rotten food, and lots of cigarettes were piled in the corner. The stench was almost unbearable. Definitely, no one was looking in this area.

    "You all know I got game!" Shrieked a voice near Ryan.

    He looked over at what appeared to be the ckjack table. An adorable petite girl with long light pink hair was standing on her chair, waving her hands in the air.

    "It''s my time, suckers! Watch and learn, losers!"

    A loud shriek propelled the girl forward as she gathered up all the chips from the table. "In your face, losers!"

    The yers barely batted an eye, apparently already used to this girl and her antics.

    Ryan smiled appreciatively. She was really, really cute.

    "So the n is a go for tomorrow night,'''' a gravelly voice caught Ryan''s attention.

    Ryan took a step back and peered through the trash

    Two men stood talking quietly, their backs turned to Ryan. They had no idea he was listening.

    Ryan recognized one of the guys. It was the dealer he had followed here.

    The gravelly voice continued, "We have the crew ready. We bought the codes to get into their server room where they''re hosting the BCN in all the human empire. By the end of the night, BCN will be down across the human empire."

 Chapter 57 Bunny Girls Are Real!

    A piercing scream jolted Ryan''s head around. Focusing his gaze on two guards, he saw the cute pink-haired girl being hauled off. She was struggling, and her legs were flying out, trying to kick the guards on either side.

    "Get the heck off me, you brutes!"

    "You know I can make my money back. This is your fault!"

    "What kind of crappy ce do you all run?" Somehow getting her arms free, she dropped to the floor and began running around the room. The guards pursued her as she darted around the tables.

    "The dealers are cheating! Check your cards; this isn''t a legal casino!" Running towards the door, her hands in the air, her middle fingers flying at anyone that looked at her. She mmed through the door and was gone.

    Taking advantage of all themotion, Ryan walked around the perimeter of the room and quietly let himself out of the seedy enclosure, taking a deep breath of fresh air as he entered the alley.

    ''Interesting. Do these guys really think they can take down the BCN? Isn''t it a coboration between the Red Dragon Empire, Holy Phoenix Empire, The Human Kheaweth Empire, and the Dawn Pavilion? How can two stupid guys take down such arge coboration?''

    Not really paying attention to where he was going, Ryan found himself heading across the campus straight toward the library.

    I should check it out. I bet I can learn a little bit more about BCN. I could find someone to talk to over there and capitalize on this little tidbit of information and make some extra money. Oh yes, I need the money now that I''ve upgraded to E-Rank in my race. Race crystals are 50,000 campus credits each, and I need 10 to upgrade to D-Rank.''

    Not seeing Suzy or Leah, he walked up to the automated attendant.

    "What do you need?" The automated attendant questioned Ryan as he stepped into the information booth.

    Cubicles lined the front part of the student library. Inside each cubicle, students could ask their questions to the virtual assistant, and they would point them to the area of the library that held the most information for their questions.

    "Yeah," Ryan mused, "I think I''m looking into the Dawn pavilion, BCN, and, let''s say, their server room."

    "Go to floor three, Aisle 42," the monotone voice answered.

    Ryan headed to one of the six space lifts that carried students between floors. The lifts were cylinder shaped and all ss. Stepping into the nearest one, Ryan almost tripped over a foot sticking out from what appeared to be a sleeping girl lying on the floor.

    Ryan crouched down to check on the girl. "Hey. Are you OK?" He shook her shoulders a little so that she would wake up. Or move. Or something.

    Chocte eyes, longshes, a beautiful pixie face, and long pink hair took Ryan''s breath away. It was the crazy girl from the casino. Crazy cute, that is.

    "Would you be OK if you lost all your money? Don''t mind me. I''m just here for the ride."

    "Well, if you''re about done with your ride, any chance you could point me in the direction of Aisle 42 on the third floor? My name is Ryan, by the way. I saw you in the casino. Sucks for you." Ryan''s new skill [Death Before Fear] made him unable to continue calling himself Anthony. ''Only people who are afraid need to lie to people weaker than them.''

    "Yeah, whatever," the girl mumbled as she uncoiled herself and slowly pulled herself up, holding onto Ryan''s outstretched hand. "Yeah, I''ll take you. I have nothing better to do."

    "So why are you here?" she asked, brushing her hands together and smoothing down her hair. "The name is Zoey, and if you won in the casino, then I am your best friend for today," Sheughed, hooked her arm with his, and stood a little too close to be called friendly.

    Ryanughed, not pulling his arm away. "Yes, I did win, though I''m not one to squander money."

    Zoe began to pull her arm away from his.

    But he held her arm and didn''t let her escape. "Although if you help me, I don''t mind sharing in on my nned windfall. But to do that, I need to look into the Dawn Pavilion."

    "You had me at windfall," Zoe said as she pulled Ryan through the space lift doors and marched him down the aisle. "I''ll show you a shortcut to ess any information you want."

    Zoey lead Ryan to a ce in Aisle 42. Hundreds of books titled, The History of the Dawn Pavilion, Chronicles of the Dawn Pavilion, Hierarchy of the Dawn pavilion, Heirs of the Dawn Pavilion, and the Dawn Pavilion Throughout the Ages filled the library stacks.

    Zoe threw up her hands and waved them in front of a blinking button on the stacks making a hologram appear.

    "There you go. Type in any question you want, and the information will shuffle through all of the books that appear on the shelf. Some of the information that appears in the books is not in the main system and has been added in a separate feature. Only the older students know that you can ess the holograms to retrieve information rather than looking through each and every book." She looked up at Ryan, put her finger to her lips, and whispered, "That''s something that the teachers don''t let you know your first year. They want you to suffer."

    Twitching his eyelids, Ryan muttered, "Haha, yeah, that would have been nice to know."

    For the next several minutes, Ryan looked up Dawn Pavilion hierarchy, Dawn Pavilion leadership, BCN, and Dawn Pavilion schematics; finally, he located the ce where he could go to cash in on his information.

    He was having a difficult time concentrating, though. As he was trying to focus his energy on learning facts, Zoey was trying to focus her energy on learning his facts.

    Ryan felt a sensation on his inner thigh as Zoey wetted her lips. "You wouldn''t need help with something else, would you, Ryan?"

    "Go ahead. I''m not one to keep a girl from her meal," Ryan said as he continued looking through the books.

    Kneeling on the ground, Zoey unbuckled Ryan''s belt and dropped his trousers. Starting to rub Ryan''s circumference through his boxers, Zoey lightly kissed it through the thin fabric, the warmth and wetness of her saliva-soaked lips making Ryan grunt in pleasure.

    As his cock started to lengthen, Zoey''s eyes began to widen in surprise, ''It hasn''t even been 2 minutes yet. How can it be getting hard already?''

    ''It must be my amazing technique,'' Zoey grinned to herself, expertly teasing Ryan''s cock through his boxers.

    The sensation was heavenly, but after two minutes of constant kisses, Ryan knew he needed more sensation to take it to the next level.

    Touching the hologram with one hand, he looked around to make sure no one was watching and slipped his dick through the hole in his boxers and activated his aura.

    Seeing Ryan''s hard pulsating cock spring free, Zoey''s craving for debauchery enormously intensified. Her breaths became haggard, and her throat let out a purring sound.

    Raising one eyebrow, Ryan momentarily took his eyes away from the screen to see pink bunny ears spring free from her head.

 Chapter 58 Poor Bunny Girl [R-18]

    "Fuck, this bunny girl is so horny, Ryan," Zoey said, making Ryan''s cock ache in desire.

    "I''m not one to make a bunny girl wait for her meal either." Taking his rock-hard cock he grabbed the back of Zoey''s head and entered her slippery throat, eliciting a moan of appreciation from the bunny girl.

    "Zoeyˇ­ or should I call you bunny girl?" Ryan asked.

    Zoey said nothing due to the fact that her mouth was filled to capacity with Ryan''s pulsating member. "Poor bunny girl can''t answer?"

    "What, lost your tongue like you lost your money?"

    Releasing his grip on the back of her hair, he let her up for air. Gasping for air, she looked at Ryan with eyes zed over, crazed with longing. "Please call me bunny girl Ryan."

    Ryan frowned as he delicately held Zoey''s chin with one hand while forcefully gripping the back of Zoey''s head with the other.

    "It''s overlord, bunny girl," Ryan growled, his new egotism taking control.

    Zoey responded by opening her mouth wider, starting to push his cock deeper and deeper. Her rose-pink hair, tied in a long ponytail, started to sway with every bob of her head as she worked the cock with her expert mouth and tongue.

    "R-Ryan! Hello." A shrill call made Ryan turn his head but didn''t interrupt Zoey as she continued to consume Ryan''s girth.

    "Fancy seeing you here, Leah," Ryan said, looking over the cubical, nothing but his face visible to Leah''s eyes.

    "W-Well, I do work here," She said, ducking her head shyly.

    "Your mother isn''t around here, is she?" Ryan asked, thinking, ''It wouldn''t be good if the obsessed librarian came and saw what was happening.''

    "No, she''s on another floor. Would you like me to go and get her?"

    "No, it''s all g-good," Ryan said with a slight tremble in his voice, feeling his cock bumping the back of Zoey''s throat.

    "Okay, well, do visit her sometime. She''s been talking about you a lottely," Leah said, blushing, and turned, scurrying away.

    Returning his sight to the bunny girl on her knees, he started to rub her ears between his index finger and thumb, prompting Zoey to moan around his cock.

    Feeling the point of no return approaching, Ryan thrust forward, driving the back of Zoey''s head into the cubical wall. Holding her head in ce, Ryan proceeded to viciously fuck her throat as Zoey squirmed against his grip.

    Bellowing out, Ryan pushed as deep as he could into her throat, exploding as cum spewed, bypassing her throat, and entering her stomach. Zoey made sure not a drop of the white heavenly liquid had a possibility of being stuck in her mouth.

    Heaving, Ryan released his grip on Zoey and watched her slump to the floor with a blissed-out expression, no doubt enjoying the white liquid he had graciously given her.

    "Ah shit, it happened again," Ryan said, sighing as he looked at the convulsing bunny girl.

    "Hopefully, I wasn''t too rough on her," Ryan muttered as he berated himself for what he just did.

    Ryan wanted to believe that the curse was in control when he turned like this. Slowly, however, he was realizing that the curse, now called [Death Before Fear], was either turning him into someone different or was uncovering his true self.

    "That''s such a misleading name."

    Seeing Zoey starting to sit up, Ryan raised his eyebrows, curious how she came out of the throngs of pleasure so soon.

    "I haven''t had a man use me like that. . . well, ever," Zoey said, looking gratefully into Ryan''s eyes. "Although I couldn''t tell the time that well, as all my senses were focused on that cock of yours," Zoey said, ncing down at his now-covered dick, "I have to say you''re speed ranking must be pretty high if you can get hard that fast."

    "Thanks," Ryan said dryly, pressing his lips together.

    "Well, let me get your contact details. I have to leave now to go to the nearest Dawn Pavilion."

    Zoey grabbed his hand, "Hey. you''re not getting rid of me that easy. I''m going with you. An adventure to the Dawn Pavilion is just what I need to take my mind off of losing all my money. She snickered, "Of course, I wasn''t quite thinking of my losses a couple of minutes ago!"

    "Besides," Zoey said, biting her lip. "I do work there, after all."

    "You''re not a student?" Ryan said, widening his eyes.

    "Oh, you thought I was a student?"

    "Oh sweetie, no. I might look young, but I''m an F-Rank cultivator. I just know how to y nice." She said, winking, seeing Ryan''s jaw drop.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Activating energy vision, Ryan knew she wasn''t lying. She was currently at 1578 energy units.

    ''She''s less than 500 units away from E-Rank!'' Ryan eximed in his mind.

    ''I wonder how much I gained from that?'' Taking a look at his own progress, he pulled up his status page.

    [Name: Anthony Dire]

    [Age: 18]

    [Gender: Male]

    [Race: E-Rank Human Overlord]

    [Cultivation Rank: F-Rank]

    [Enhancer Rank: F-Rank]

    [Specialty: Harem Overlord]

    [Heavenly Credits: 0]

    Clicking on cultivation, he saw a smaller window hovering in front of his status screen.

    [Cultivation Rank: F-Rank]

    [Progress: 97% Of Energy umted]

    When he had awoken from his vision, he had been at 83%, which was 1830 energy units. Now he was only 30 energy units away from attaining E-Rank.

    ''I hope I don''t pass out againˇ­''

    Ryan rolled his eyes and grabbed her around the waist. "You better not have been thinking of a loss a few minutes ago. ording to my book, you had a BIG win!"

    Ryan and Zoey left the building, Ryan''s hand firmly around her hip. The air was fresh, and the sky was just a bit bluer than when Ryan went in. Was that a bird singing? As they walked forward, he smacked Zoey''s ass, "Perhaps I should visit the library more. It really puts me in a good mood!"

    ''Getting my hands on a bunny girl helps a bit in that category as well.''

    "Where are we going first?" Zoey gazed at Ryan while stretching, directing attention to her massive mounds.

    "To the campus store. I''ve got a magic sword to purchase."

    "Can I hop? If you keep touching me like this, I''m going to go crazy," Zoey said, squirming against Ryan''s masterfully groping hands.

    Releasing the bunny to hop, he scrutinized her, wondering if she would make a good harem member.

    ''I get three more slots when I rank up to E-Rank in cultivation. Let''s see who are the potential targets.''

    "There''s Grace. She seemed to be someone with a story to tell," Ryan said, remembering her eyes that spoke of someone like him. Born without privilege.

    "Avery is a handful, and while she doesn''t appear to bring something to the table, Aliza always said never to discount anyone."

    "Abby and Mˇ­ I don''t know what to think about them. Abby seemed already indoctrinated into the church of Ryan, while M did bid for me at the auction. There''s also the memory I have of saving her. Perhaps she can shed some light on who I am."

    "The girls I can discount for sure, at least for now, are Mara and Valery. Caution doesn''t exist in my dictionary, but bedding Valery now would bring more trouble than good."

    "Mara is locked away from my ess until her wedding, still have to think about that one," Ryan said, letting out an exacerbated sigh.

    "And now there''s a fucking bunny girl to throw into the mix. Why can''t I have all the woman?" Ryan said, throwing his head back to gaze at the heavens.

    [New Quest Alert!]

    "Oh, fuck you!"

 Chapter 59 I Must Save Them... And Their Defective Members

    [New Quest Alert!]

    [First Upgrade]

    [Description: Your first crowning milestone is swiftly approaching. The road of cultivation is long and treacherous, but as long as one is alive, there is hope. Upgrade your cultivation rank to improve your specialty, receiving unexpected rewards.]

    "Thanks, really needed you to encourage me to get stronger," Ryan said to the heavens, rolling his eyes.

    ''Hopefully, the upgrade will help me with my harem slot shortage.''

    Arge ss structure towered over Ryan. Holograms advertising cultivation pills, pills that could help one get hard in under an hour, armor, and magic swords bounced around in various windows.

    ''And here sits the Campus Store,'' Ryan thought as he entered the pandemonium inside. Shoppers milled through the aisles, asking their questions, watching videos of products in use, and live demonstrations. ''Crazy.''

    "Come over here and watch as the best squeezer pill in the Kheaweth Empire is being demonstrated live!" Ryan heard a fat man caked in jewelry, a golden suit, and bright golden boots holler at the crowd.

    Curious, Ryan walked over, only to wish he hadn''t.

    Chained up sitting in a chair, a stripped-down boy who was made up of more bones than flesh sat gagged. The clock ced beside him acted like a stopwatch and said this was his 3rd p" currently a total of 20 hours in.

    Thenky boy writhed in the chair, foam leaking behind the ball gag stuffed in his mouth, causing a mixture of saliva and the tears streaming down his cheeks to pool on the floor.

    His cock was covered with his expended juices. Having been over 17 hours since his first climax, the cum had hardened on his pubes, causing his hip movements to be filled with painful pleasure.

    "I think he''s about ready for his fourth shot!" The salesman proimed holding up his golden staff, topped off by a gleaming serpent.

    The man''s eyes popped out of their sockets as a thick stream of seed spewed like a fountain out of his pulsating member.

    Blood slowly dripped down from his mouth as his head and limbs fell limply to either side of him.

    "In under 21 hours, even his seed of life is sucked dry, allowing you to get every drop. Now, who wants one?"

    Watching cultivators moring to buy the product a shiver ran down Ryan''s spine. After watching the grotesque sight Ryan reaffirmed his ambitions to bring down this sick empire.

    ''This Overlord must bring justice to men... and their defective members.''

    "How may I help you?" An automated voice droned as Ryan stood in front of the help desk.

    "Magic swords, please," Ryan said, rubbing his hands together. Seeing a dropdown list of swords of all kinds, Ryan salivated, looking at all the beautiful des.

    His current non-magical sword was stolen from the dead intruder who dared barge into his room with Gregory.  It was good enough forbat but couldn''t fly.

    In order for his n to work, he had to acquire transportation to the Dawn Pavilion, or he''d spend a whole day walking there even if he used his energy. It would have been so much easier if he could use the spatial doors, but they only worked on campus.

    Rubbing his hand together, Ryan looked through the des. ''Oh, yeah, The Imperial Kingyer. That one looks awesome. I can cut down my enemies three at a time. Not only that, but I will get a 50% increase against higher-ranked opponents. Bingo. Purchase.''

    Denied.

    ''Crap. What? Ok. Whatever,'' Ryan really wanted that Kingyer, but there might be one that is a little more affordable. He swiped through the pictures and found another sword that made him salivate. The Blood Reaper. ''Nice! That will suit this Overlord nicely!'' Ryan beamed as he hit the purchase button.

    Denied.

    ''Crap! What can I afford?'' Ryan noticed an area on the screen where he could put in his buying price. Pictures of des flicked off the screen, leaving only one option. Ryan''s face fell. "What the hell!?''''

    <flying stick:="" a="" stick="" that="" can="" fly="" when="" energy="" is="" inserted.=""></flying>

    <cost: 15,000="" campus="" credits=""></cost:>

    Trying to flick his finger to scroll for more options desperately, he clenched his fist as the taunting message <cannot afford="" other="" items=""> appeared after every swipe.</cannot>

    Sighing, Ryan begrudgingly chose to buy the stick and exit the store. Ryan now had to go to the administration building to buy a leave of absence pass, as anyone leaving campus had to.

    ===

    "Darius!" Urisa yelled, unceremoniously throwing open the door that read Manager, Project: Subject One and barging into Darius''s office.

    "For heaven''s sake, Major, calm down," Darius said, stroking his beard. "What''s the matter?"

    "It''s subject one. . . he''s just gone to the administration building and. . . asked for a leave of absence," Urisa said between gasps of air.

    "Is that all? Woman, I swear if you-."

    "No!" Urisa screamed, interrupting her superior. "He''s going to the Dawn Pavilion!"

    "What?!" Turning pale, Darius felt his chest tighten and a sharp pain stab inside his chest. He clutched his heart as he gasped for air, looking wide-eyed at Urisa.

    "Harold!" Urisa screamed at Darius''s servant, taking a healing pill from her spatial bag and forcing Darius to swallow it.

    Harold appeared in the doorway, and upon seeing that his master''s face was pale and that he was clutching his chest, Harold called for the standby healer.

    Within seconds, a white-robed d man walked through the nearest spatial door. A sense of calm spread throughout the room. It was as if a healing balm covered everyone.

    Touching Darius''s chest, the healer closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, injecting his energy into Darius''s body.

    A warm white glow surrounded Darius as his breath calmed and his heartbeat returned to normal.

    "When did subject one start to move?" Darius asked after taking a moment to calm his mind.

    "Less than 30 minutes ago, I''ve already instructed the people following him to continue."

    "Do we know if he''s found out about his heritage? Or is it something else?" Darius asked, feeling his heart tighten again, anticipating the answer.

    In response, the healer frowned and exerted more effort, increasing the energy flow.

    "We believe subject one uncovered a plot by the Zol''Gans to disrupt our efforts within the BCN."

    "How have I not heard of this plot?" Darius asked, his pressure dropping as he found out Ryan hadn''t yet uncovered the truth about his identity.

    "In fact, we have only just heard about it. We received a notification that subject one was poking into the Dawn Pavilion''s server rooms," Urisa said, scratching her ear.

    mming his fist on the desk, Darius roared, "You mean to tell me those idiots would have seeded if not for a bumbling fool who barely has the mental capacity to stay awake for a week at a time?"

    Avoiding Darius''s gaze, Urisa looked at the healer, who was currently sweating as he pumped more and more of his energy reserves into the fuming Darius.

    Wanting to avoid the topic, Urisa said, "They''ve also sent people to follow subject one, as someone appears to have tipped the Zol''Gans off about his library search history."

    "It''s not a surprise the demons have spies in our academy," Darius grumbled. "If the watchers have to interfere, so be it. But only interfere if subject one is on death''s door."

    "Anything can go wrong with another brainwashing session."

    Urisa turned to leave the room but stopped when she heard Darius''s voice.

    "Don''t let that idiot enter the Pavilion. It''s too early for HER to know where he is. The grand empress is still getting things ready for the wedding."

    Gulping, Urisa shakily nodded and left the room toplete her superior''s orders.

 Chapter 60 Battle Blowjob! [R-18]

    "Why didn''t youe to the store?" Ryan shouted as they flew, albeit only a few feet off the ground. "And howe you''re not wearing the same clothes?" He asked, flinging the hair that kept blowing into his face aside.

    In the library, Zoey was wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a loose pink t-shirt. They had been covered in dirt after she was thrown out of the casino. ''I don''t believe you suddenly went home to change.''

    "When I was hopping to the campus store, I saw someone eating ice cream. Obviously, I had to learn where they got it," Zoey said, using her energy to project her voice directly into Ryan''s ears as she stood behind him.

    Since he couldn''t project his voice like her, at least without giving away the fact that he was a cultivator, Ryan shouted, "That literally exins nothing!"

    "Then you obviously don''t know how much bunnies love ice cream," She said, rolling her eyes.

    ''Maybe this girl isn''t the right one.''

    Zoey suddenly pressed her breasts into Ryan''s back while she wrapped her arms around his stomach. Leaning into his neck, she lightly nibbled on his ear and said, "But there''s one more thing this bunny loves more than ice cream."

    ''Then againˇ­''

    Abruptly twisting mid-air, Ryan barely avoided a dirty w-like hand that had appeared out of nowhere.

    Crashing into the ground, Ryan barely kept his footing as he came face-to-face with a figure d all in ck with only slits for eyes

    "You are sticking your nose into business that you have no right to be sticking it into," the gravelly voice said.

    Ryan recognized the voice. It was the chick from the back room of the casino. How did he not realize the woman was following him?

    Activating energy vision Ryan saw the woman was D-Rank. ''Wellˇ­ fuck.''

    Ryan wasn''t afraid of death due to his skill, but he was still at a loss on how to get out of this situation. The woman''s energy value was 5371, more than 2.5x Ryan''s 1970 energy value.

    Stepping back, Ryan tried to think of a solution.

    Ryan rattled his brain. ''What are my advantages over this chick?''

    ''My race is superior to hers, probably. But I can''t use racial suppression because she''s a higher rank.''

    ''My looks are better than hers, even though I can''t see her face.''

    ''But it''s my specialty that makes me uniqueˇ­ well, that and my speed.''

    ''If only my specialty had actualbat potential,'' Ryan frowned. ''Maybe at my next upgrade, there would have been something. If only there were a way to upgrade my rank nowˇ­''

    As if being hit by a lightning bolt, Ryan shook as an epiphany bestowed upon the heavens enlightened him to the true path.

    "A battle blowjob!"

    "Are you so scared you''ve frozen up in fear?" The figure d in ck asked, a white smile appearing under the hood as she licked her lips. "I love my boys frozen in fear."

    "Oh really, what a coincidence," Ryan said as he activated his pleasure aura. "I prefer my girls frozen in lust."

    ''Get on your knees and start sucking me, quickly!'' Ryan said, projecting his voice directly into Zoey''s mind. Ryan grit his teeth as he struggled against his ego and lowered himself to say, ''I''ll exin everythingter, but-.'' Zoey, however, didn''t need to be told why and was already kneeling in front of Ryan, loosening his belt.

    "What do you think you''re doing?" The figure asked, subtly rubbing her massive thighs together.

    "Sorry, I need a blowjob to reduce stress."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "If I had a panic attack, I might end up suing you. You wouldn''t want awsuit toe, would you?" Ryan said, grabbing Zoey''s sprouted pink ears as he jammed into her.

    "Haha, from the fantasy, I get it!" The figure said, pping her knee as she heartilyughed.  "I hope when I breakthrough to A-Rank, the heavens will bestow upon me the chance of going there."

    "Well, at least dreaming of it, as everyone knows the fantasy isn''t real."

    Zoey had already ramped up her speed, her face flickering from how fast her head was bobbing.

    Ryan heard the wonderful sloshing sounds, and this time he didn''t stop the wonderful pleasure from assaulting his mind. ''It''s good to be me.''

    "Well, it''s been fun talking to you," The figure said, wiping the tears from her eyes as she stood up.

    As his intensity increased, Ryan could feel his dick being engulfed by Zoey''s lovely warm lips and slick mouth.

    "But it''s time we finished this."

    "I couldn''t agree more," Ryan said as he threw his head back, emptying himself down Zoey''s throat.

    [Congrattions on upgrading to E-Rank in Cultivation]

    [Congrattions on gaining the ability ''Harem Summon'']

    [Congratu-

    After Ryan saw the first ability, he closed the heavenly screen and shouted, "Activate Harem Summon!"

    Ryan turned off his aura, getting ready to fight.

    A dark portal opened, and three figures ran out, armed with different weapons.

    Emily, who was only wearing a bath towel, held a curling iron like a battle mace as she stared threateningly at the figure in ck.

    Lizzy was properly dressed in a dark ck robe. Although she wasn''t in her demon form, she was truly stunning.

    Izzy came out in her demon form but quickly retracted her "essories", seeing Zoey, who appeared to be on Ryan''s side.

    "Who do you think you are to threaten my prince!" Emily bravely shouted, waving the curling iron.

    Izzy nced at Emily''s barely covered frame and stepped in front of her, pulling out her family heirloom.

    A scythe cker than twilight and sharper than any de was unleashed as darkness condensed around its form.

    "Leave. Leave, or your soul will be trapped in damnation for all eternity inside my scythe."

    "W-Where did you get ''The Reaper''?" The figure asked, her voice trembling. "No one can use it exceptˇ­"

    "How do you know my family heirloom''s name?" Izzy asked, narrowing her eyes.

    Kneeling, the figure removed her hood, allowing all to see her two small protruding horns.

 Chapter 61 The Curse Is Back

    A few minutes earlierˇ­

    Zoey shuttered in pleasure feeling Ryan''s hot seed enter her throat. ''Now''s not the time to enjoy this, sadly.'' Relocating his side inside herself, she stored itter for safekeeping. ''Nice and safe inside my cum box.''

    Zoey suddenly felt ripples of energy condense, and a portal appeared, summoning three women. They were all gorgeous, although one looked like she wasn''t prepared for battle and was more prepared for a blow-drying session.

    However, Zoey wasn''t concerned about how Ryan summoned these girls. Why? Simple. Zoey does what Zoey feels like doing. She felt that Ryan was worth sticking to and that she shouldn''t ask unnecessary questions.

    Feeling a pair of eyes peering in on her, she frowned and turned around. Bunnies had powerful senses; although these people were very good at hiding, she could sniff them out. Not paying any heed to her safety, she started hopping away at full speed toward the watchers.

    ===

    Ryan, Izzy, Lizzy, and Emily studied the figure kneeling on the ground.

    "My name is Velmuuth, and I''m part of her majesty''s great infiltration division."

    "Your part of the Empress''s death squad?" Izzy asked, withdrawing her scythe from Valmuuth''s neck still holding it at the ready.

    "She''s picky about who she chooses to serve in that division," Lizzymented to Ryan, seeing his eyebrows raise.

    "Ok, if that is true, then you won''t mind answering some questions," Izzy said, turning back to Velmuuth.

    "What is the national slogan for the Empire?"

    "Death to the Holy Alliance."

    ''I''ll have to askter who''s in this Holy Alliance,'' Ryan thought.

    "Who leads the death squad?

    "Her majesty Argallod."

    ''Argallod? Isn''t my tattoo called Son of Argallod?'' Ryan thought, checking, while Lizzy continued her questions.

    "Ok, you have the general questions correct. Now I will ask you some things that only a few know."

    "How often does her majesty smile?"

    "Well, that''s a trick question. It''s not how often, but at what," Velmuuth answered, raising her lowered head to look at Lizzy.

    "Exin."

    "Her majesty only finds two things worthy of a smile. The death of her enemies and the prosperity of her family."

    "Correct."

    Ryan turned and looked at Izzy. "How exactly are you rted to her majesty?" Ryan asked, after confirming that his tattoo was called Son of Argallod.

    "She''s our mother," Lizzy added from behind him.

    Izzy nodded.

    "And you didn''t think I needed to know this information?" Ryan said, frowning as he suddenly thought of the girls keeping things from him.

    "You didn''t know?" Izzy asked, raising her eyebrows as she looked at her sister who only shrugged.

    ''Right Ryan, no memories, low knowledge. Not everyone is out to get you.'' Seeing Ryan wave catingly Izzy continued.

    "Now for something only a member of her majesty''s inner circle would know. A secret less than 100 living people are aware of."

    "Who is our greatest ally?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Velmuuth widened her eyes, ncing between Emily and Ryan before turning back to Izzy and asking, "Are they trusted?"

    "I''m just as much a royal as they are. Shouldn''t you be bowing to me?" Ryan said, turning his lips up in a sneer. "Although you''re D-Rank, that doesn''t mean I couldn''t detach your head from your spine, you insolent swine."

    Frowning, Velmuuth turned her head to look at Lizzy and Izzy but seeing them nod, she gulped. "How could I have known? You''re not in your demon form, sire."

    "I am not a lowly demon!" Ryan roared. ''Who does this vermin think she is to call me, ME, a lowly insect like a demon!''

    Feeling two heated gazes from his back, Ryan turned and screamed, "What?"

    "Your curse is acting up, your lordship," Izzy said furrowing her brows, sarcastically adding the lordship title to her words.

    ''Curse? I don''t have a curse anymore. It became a skill.'' Ryan''s hard face left no room for disagreement.

    ''Oh fuck you, heavens! Just when I thought you were being kind.''

    Looking inside his mind, he saw the all-too-familiar red energy flowing into his mind, making his thoughts more primal.

    ''This energy hasn''t reappeared since I upgraded my race.''

    ''Wait a secondˇ­ don''t tell me.''

    [Congrattions on upgrading to E-Rank in Cultivation]

    [Congrattions on gaining the ability ''Harem Summon'']

    [Congrattions on upgrading the following abilities: Overlord''s Pleasure Aura, Overlord of Lust, Overlord''s Harem Conversion, Overlord''s Harem Pce]

    [Please note because your race rank is no longer superior to your cultivation, your curse ''Primal Evolution'' has be active again]

    ''I''m such an idiot,'' Ryan thought, pping his forehead. ''My curse didn''t transform into Izzy''s ability. It was just inactive.''

    ''That means I''ll have to deal with bothˇ­ at least until I can level up my race.''

    Ryan cleared away the negative energy and looked at Velmuuth, scratching his cheek. "Sorry about my temper," Ryan said, shrugging, " but you''re not going to get more out of me. Be grateful for that much."

    ''Although I want to apologize further, she needs to see me as someone superior.''

    Velmuuth, who was still kneeling, lowered her head. "Your words, although hurtful, I know,e from a ce of misunderstanding, not malice."

    ''Nope. I definitely meant them as an insult.''

    "You obviously don''t know that Zol''Gan Empire is the third strongest empire in the world since the humans would rather you believe we are weak beings. So I know your wordse out of a misced belief indoctrinated by your empire."

    ''Nope. Never heard of the Zol''Gan Empire before today.''

    "Seeing as you don''t know how to activate your royalty symbol, I can only assume you also don''t know about the powers associated with royalty."

    ''Nop- well, yeah. I''m as na?ve as Emily on this topic. Not about to admit that, thoughˇ­''

    "What''s the answer to the question?" Ryan asked, pulling out his stick from the ground and waving it threateningly at Velmuuth. "We still can''t confirm who you say you are."

    "And her, your lordship?" Velmuuth asked with a slight smile on her face.

    "She''s with me," Ryan said, wrapping his hand around Emily and her slightly damp towel.

    The slight smile on her face dropped and her expression became solemn, "Our secret alliance, one we are not to share with anyone is..."

 Chapter 62 Wheres Zoey?

    The slight smile on her face dropped and her expression became solemn, "Our secret alliance, one we are not to share with anyone is The Dawn Pavilion."

    Ryan took a step back and thought, ''There''s no way this person is telling the tru-.''

    "You are correct," Izzy said, putting away her scythe.

    "What!" Ryan shouted while widening his eyes. "That''s impossible you were going to attack them!"

    "No, we weren''t. It was an attack on the BCN," Velmuuth responded.

    "Isn''t that the same thing?" Ryan asked, narrowing his eyes.

    "No. The BCN is the main revenue source for the Holy Alliance, the Dawn Pavilion gets nothing. The Dawn Pavilion might look on friendly terms with the Holy Alliance on the outside, but it couldn''t be further from the truth."

    Frowning, Ryan asked, "Zoey is this true?"

    Lizzy beganughing, her light ocean blue hair highlighted even more by her dark ck robe swaying side to side.

    Izzy joined in theughter, her ming red hair and ming red dress rippling in the light wind.

    Emily rewrapped her towel, her neon green hair covering her eyes, "Your so silly, Ryan!"

    "She left," Lizzy said, after seeing Ryan''s puzzled look.

    Ryan turned to Lizzy. Most of the time, she didn''t say much, but when she talked, Ryan always listened. "Who left?" Ryan asked, looking around in bewilderment.

    "I''m assuming you''re talking about the bunny girl. She left," Emily stated manner-of-factly.

    "She''s right there. What do you mean?" Ryan said, pointing behind him.

    The group of women all stared at where Ryan was pointing, exceptˇ­

    "Ryan, there''s no one there," Emily said while clinging to him.

    Frowning, Ryan turned around slowly, only to see that the space where he was pointing was absent of any bunny or girl.

    ''I feel her in that direction, though.'' Injecting energy into his eyes, Ryan enhanced his vision 2x, 5x, 10x. As he was reaching his limit, he jolted and started running. "Looks like we got ourselves a battle!"

    ===

    "Subject one is in sight, prepare the camouge device," said a ripped, ck-painted face femalemander sporting hairy arms and equally hairy knuckles. A KW insignia adorned her uniform.

    A highly skilled younger officer stood at mock attention, her ck leather military boots nted firmly on the ground, "Commander is that really necessary?" she asked. "The subject is only an F-Ranked human. He''s not going to be able to detect us," pointedly, touching her de sheathed on her hip.

    "Protocol is protocol, soldier," replied the hairymander.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "He''s just a pawn for us to use," grumbled the young officer, not mincing her obvious disgust.

    "Be that as it may, he''s the only man on Ravier who can cultivate. Besides, he''s got an even more important identity," the hairymander barked.

    "I know, I know," sighed the young officer. "Every time we talk about this, you say, ''we''ve been waiting for thousands of years for an opportunity to take them overpletely.''"

    The young officer kicked the ground, dust covering the top of her polished boots, "I just don''t understand why we need a man in order to take them over."

    "That''s none of your conc-." The hairymander cut off her sentence as her whole body tensed. "Someone''s approaching," she pointed to the skyline, making sure the young officer also looked into the distance.

    "It''s that bunny girl he was with; she works at the Dawn Pavilion. Do you think she recognized subject one?" the young officer turned from the figure in the distance and looked to themander for answers.

    "Are you stupid?" the hairymander rolled her eyes, taking a momentary break from watching her approaching opponent. "With the number of transnts that snake-thing Dr. Rubenstein did to him, only his mother could recognize him." "And that''s the point."

    Seeing Zoey only 100 feet from their camouge barrier, themander released her D-Rank aura and attacked.

    Zoey didn''t notice the attack until toote.

    Themander sprung out of a bush like a panther and struck,nding a devastating blow to Zoey''s abdomen, sending her sprawling to the ground.

    Zoey wed at the dirt, gasping for breath, trying to get up, but a hairy fist cracked against her jaw. The punch left her reeling, spitting teeth. Digging into the ground with her feet, Zoey propelled herself away from the hairy attacker and started to use her best asset, speed.

    Dancing side to side, Zoey weaved and dodged the uglymander''s lightning blows. After a few seconds of dodging, she started grinning and ying with themander. But right when her guard was lowered, her second hidden attacker struck.

    The young officer came from behind, her fists knotted up, andunched a pair of brutal strokes.

    Zoeynded a lucky blow and dazed the hairy officer, but the distraction caused by the young officer was too much and a massive fist impacted against Zoey''s temple, sending her sprawling.

    Lying on the ground, Zoey''s face lit up in a smile as she spits out her blood between her broken teeth, saying, "You''ll never be able to kill him. He''s too strong."

    "Kill him? Oh no, no, no. We''d never do that," The young officer said, kicking her,ughing as she watched Zoey double over in pain.

    Zoey spewed vomit from her red lips as the young officer''s boots drove into her guts.

    The young officer continued kicking until she felt a pressure bear down on her, causing her leg to halt mid-air.

    "You dare harm my woman!" Ryan let out a bestial roar, like a lion roaring its rage.

    "Allow me to take the hairy one," Velmuuth said running up behind Ryan and looking at Lizzy and Izzy. However, seeing them looking at Ryan she tilted her head, ''Why does it seem like he''s in charge?''

    "Ryan what should we do?" Izzy asked. "Which one do you want us to take?"

    "Neither. Girls, take care of Zoey, don''t let her die." His voice grew cold, harsh, and stony with years of hate, "There are some things that I''ve forgotten. But I know one thing is true. Today, I''ve got some humans to kill."

 Chapter 63 Corroded By Hate

    "What should we domander?" The young officer asked.

    "Kill the girls and take him back for another session with the Dr," themander said, pointing her hairy fingers toward Lizzy, Izzy, Emily, Velmuuth, and Zoey.

    With mounting rage, Ryan''s hostile re was as sharp as daggers and was directed at the two human scum. He recognized them, he recognized them all too well as he relived the scene buried deep inside him. A scene that the empire didn''t want him to remember.

    The scene began to w its way into his conscious thought. Ryan tried to tamp it down and focus on the mounting threat that themander posed, but the memories captured his attention.

    He was in a clearing, deep in a mountain range.

    "Hit him harder, officer!" Themander shouted, "Our goal is pain!"

    It was the samemander that stood frozen before him now. It was as if time had stood still and allowed him this brief look into his past.

    The sadistic woman was chuckling softly, brandishing her whip.

    Smack!

    The whip had stung and had peeled the soft flesh from his bones in cruel strips.

    "You shall know what true pain is," themander had said, as a searing pain still in his memory, shot up from the site of Ryan''s agony.

    Stinging, burning pain had be the whole of his world. With everysh of the officer''s whip, themander had repeated a hypnotic phrase.

    "Pain causes you to forget."

    Not wanting to loose to these scum, he had chanted his own phrases, ''Pain causes me to remember,'' in his mind after each time themander repeated the chant.

    Smack!

    "When you experience pain, you will forget."

    ''When I experience pain, I will remember!''

    Smack!

    "Pain soothes your soul."

    ''Pain creates hate!''

    The whipping continued without respite or relief and had turned him into a freak of yed skin.

    By the time they were done with him, his voice had given out from screaming; only his tortured brain was thest line of defense, screaming with shrill cries of revenge.

    Vengeance was his lover, hate his only emotion.

    ===

    Only a split second passed in reality, but in that split second, Ryan''s aura had changed, his hate igniting like arson in his veins.

    "Take care of subject one, I''ll get the rest-," themander tried to say but was interrupted by Ryan''s fist. Ryan''s knuckles knotted with hate, he struck the first blow.

    Ryan hit hard and strong as he rained down a flurry of blows.

    ? Since increasing to E-Rank, Ryan had felt an obscene amount of power inside of him. He felt he was at least 5x as strong as his F-Rank body, and could crush his previous self in under a second.

    "You taught me skills, but why?" The cauldron of his eyes burned with scalding fury as he smashed themander''s face in.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Every word was filled with enmity, every look with hate.

    "You brainwashed me, to be your puppet, but why?" Spit sprayed and hate flew from his cruel mouth as he spoke.

    Hate came off him in waves. His hatred made him blind, but at the same time, it gave him the ability to see.

    "You took away my memories, you took away my emotions, you took my soul!" Ryan screamed, a ck curtain of hate falling over his graveyard eyes.

    Storm clouds gathered overhead, ck and terrible. The ck clouds shed with the clearness of the sky.

    "I will never forgive you!" Anger burned hell-hot in his gaze as he looked down at the battered and beatenmander at his feet.

    Standing over her, Ryan''s angry voice stabbed the air, "I will burn down your empire for what it has done to me." Rain poured down in sheets, soaking everyone to the bone.

    "I will send you down to the mes of the ignis cruciatu pit," Ryan said, as he started to speak in Latin, thenguage of the gods. The storm raged and lightning struck nearer each time.

    "For my name is Velox Metam the Harem Overlord of Ravier. I swear by the heavens that the human empire will be no more ten years from this day, and will be destroyed by my hands."

    [Warning Inhabitants of the world Ravier: A heaven''s chosen has made an Oath of Critical Magnitude]

    [Should they seed in their quest, the world will be deemed to have birthed a significant chosen, resulting in the expansion and ressification of the world, and the official integration of Ravier into the Multiverse. Please prepare in the event of an integration.]

    The nose pulped, the fingers smashed, and still, the beating continued, "Lustitiae primum servitur (Justice is served first)."

    Themander''s skull exploded from the eyebrows up, vaporizing brain and bone.

    Everyone stilled, the officer looking downcast at her fallenmander before saying, "Long live the Holy Alliance," and before anyone could stop her, she swallowed a pill with a knowing smile.

    Her breathing becamebored, her footsteps unsteady as she copsed to the ground and gurgled something inaudible; the only thing Ryan was able to make out was ". . . LI . . . ZA . . . won''t . . . win," before she died.

    Ryan fell to his knees as a sharp pain assaulted his senses.

    [Warning: Curse has started corroding your soul. Current corrosion percentage: 2%]

    Ignoring the message Ryan closed his eyes, feeling the raindrop on his skin as he reyed the dying girl''sst words.

    ''Liza? No, she said something in front of it. Maybe it''s a code word?'' Ryan thought will all his brain power but the haunting simrity to the name Aliza made his brain unable to make any actual progress.

    ''She''s dead Ryan. She died in front of you on the hospital bed,'' forcing his thoughts to sober, he felt the anger, hatred, and sadness in his heart grow stronger and a notification popped up.

    [Warning: Curse is corroding your soul. Current corrosion percentage: 2.01%]

    Clicking on the notification he received a somber message.

    [Curse Corrosion]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.01%]

    [Time until imminent death: 454 Days 23 Hours 58 Minutes 46 Seconds]

    [Description: You will fundamentally change every time you let a piece of your soul be corroded. Although the effects are reversible, even the gods have difficulty doing so.]

    [Every being has ws, even the gods. The curse was put in ce to see if you were worthy of power. Think of the curse like an academic course. You have failed the first test but can still pass the course. You only need to do a little extra credit to pass.]

    [Note: The time until imminent death will not change with the increase in soul corrosion, but unlesspletely gone, your end guaranteed.]

 Chapter 64 Harem Ranks

    ''That does not sound promising,'' Ryan thought, seeing a timer slowly ticking down towards his death.

    Not even bothering to remove the red energy from inside his mind, Ryan let the red energy seep into his soul.

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.11%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.37%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.59%]

    The fierceness of his hate zed like a ming hot oven.

    Ryan didn''t know why he hated the human empire so much.

    Yes, they had tortured him.

    Yes, they had brainwashed him.

    Yes, they had tried turning him into a broken man. And maybe they seeded.

    But the cruelty of his hatred knew no bounds. His morals were thrown to the wayside when thinking of the human empire.

    ''I''ve never felt this much emotion.''

    ''Except when it came to her.''

    On earth, Aliza had taken him out of the pits of hell and brought him into the heavens of paradise.

    She had taught him about the wonderful carnality of seduction and sensuality of maniption. She taught him about the need for vignce but the hunger for desire.

    Until this point on Ravier, Ryan had taken things easy. He hadn''t used his powers for evil, well, not too much evil.

    But as he knelt in the pouring rain, Ryan saw the error in his ways.

    ''This empire is broken. It needs to be burned to the ground in order to save it.''

    As his hate was consuming him, he felt a soft, delicate hug from behind.

    "Aliza," Ryan whispered as he remembered the way her soft frame soothed his soul in so many times of heartache.

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.59%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.589%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.588%]

    And just like that the hate he felt disappeared, leaving him tired and empty.

    Ryan didn''t feel relief. He only felt sadness. His hate was an open wound only love could heal. But how could he truly love any but her?

    Looking back at who he knew wasn''t Aliza, he saw Zoey. Ryan swore to himself that he would find someone he could love. He would conquer every empire and take every empress and princess for his own.

    ''If love doesn''te to you, pull her by the hair and take her from behind.''

    ''Consensually, of course,'' Even in his hate and madness, Ryan would never break Aliza''s number one rule. She had never failed him when it came to women.

    ''Every time I asked her how she knew so much about women, she always shrugged it off.''

    ''She never dated anyone, no man or woman that I saw.''

    ''She practically never even looked at anyone else but me.'' Being the egotistical maniac he was on earth, Ryan had viewed this as inevitable, but aftering to this new world, Ryan realized how much of a fool he had been.

    Although Ryan was biased, if he knew one thing about Aliza, it was her temperament.

    Aliza always had control over her emotions. Even when it appeared that she was carefree,ughing, and brimming with desire, Ryan knew that she was carefully monitoring her own movements.

    She was never flustered, never angry, and always could control her emotions. Always.

    If Aliza couldn''t keep her eyes off of Ryan, but Grace could stayposed while seeing his better-looking body naked, didn''t that mean Grace had better control over her emotions than Aliza?<novelnext></novelnext>

    That was impossible.

    "We''ve cleaned up their bodies, sire," Velmuuth said, kneeling in the mud, her head lowered.

    "Forgive me for my rudeness earlier. My arrogance has blinded me to the truth. If you should wish it, I am willing to cut out my eyes permanently as a tribute for my misdeeds."

    Looking over at the woman kneeling on the ground, he saw that her eyes were firm, and her hand was steady. She meant what she said.

    "That won''t be necessary," Ryan said.

    Standing up, Ryan was about to check the messages that appeared before and during the battle, but he saw the Velmuuth still with her head lowered and kneeling.

    "You may stand."

    "Lord. . . no Overlord. Allow me to serve you, son of Argallod let me be your sword. Allow me to pave your path with your enemy''s blood," She said, as she pieced the ground with her sword.

    "Who said I needed a sword?" Ryan said, frowning.

    "Are you a Lord if you have no servants to rule? Are you a king if you have no kingdom to rule? If you im to be an Overlord, should you not rule over all?"

    "Let me be the first of your knights on your conquest to conquer the Holy Alliance."

    As much as her speech had struck a chord with Ryan, he had no way to ensure loyalty.

    He only could tolerate the girl''spany because his specialty made them sign their rights away. The oath of love they had to take in their soul didn''t allow the girls to betray him.

    As Ryan was opening his mouth to refuse her offer, a prompt appeared in front of him.

    [A willing soul has been found!]

    [Do you wish to convert them into a Harem Knight?] [Yes/No]

    Ryan raised his eyebrows and checked the only ability he had that had ''conversion'' in the title, and dropped his jaw when he saw what awaited him.

    [Overlord''s Harem Conversion (Active/Passive)]

    [Activate to turn willing females into your harem members. Harem members are ssified into ranks:]

    [1. Harem Empress(1): Inside the Harem, they are second only to the Harem Master]

    [2. Harem Queen(3): Given kingdoms in the Harem Pce, Harem Queens can speak on the Harem Master''s behalf]

    [3. Harem Noble(5): Given their ownnd in the Harem Pce, these nobles can lead knights or regr harem members on tasks for the master]

    [4. Harem Member (3/6): The regr members of the Harem (Have to swear an oath of love)]

    [5. Harem Knight (0/100): The battle forces of the Harem Master (Have to swear an oath of loyalty)]

    [6. Harem Servant (0/100): The Harem Master & Harem Royalty''s servants (Have to swear an oath of servitude)]

    [The passive part of this ability allows you, the harem master, to receive one talent, special characteristic, ability, or other unique gifts from harem members and the ranks above]

    [Gifts Taken: 3]

    [Note(1): Ranking someone as a Harem Empress, Harem Queen, or Harem Noble is irreversible and is a permanent action. The slots are fixed in number, and once they are used, cannot be recovered.]

    [Note (2): Freedom of action is bestowed on all noble ranks or higher (All oaths no longer apply)]

    [Note (3): No gifts or energy can be earned from Harem Knights & Servants]

    [Note (4): Conversion time for official harem members is reduced to 0 if a sensual ceremony is performed (knights & servants cannot be upgraded to an evolved race by this ability)]

    [Note (5): More possibilities are avable upon the increase of your cultivation level]

    Ryan''s eyes turned from the messages and studied Velmuuth. His eyes bore into her soul as he asked, "Although I am a son of Argallod, I don''t swear allegiance to them. Are you willing to forsake your people to serve me, knowing that one day I might ask you to fight them?"

    Velmuuth bowed her head. Her right hand crossed her breastte and her left hand held the sword that was piercing the ground. "I will fight for you."

 Chapter 65 Codename: Aurora (1)

    Selecting [Yes], Ryan waited. And waited. And waited.

    No notification, no shy lights, nothing. Ryan would have thought the conversion failed, if not for opening his ability page and seeing this:

    [5. Harem Knight (1/100): The battle forces of the Harem Master (Have to swear an oath of loyalty)]

    ''Sometimes heavens, you are so helpful, other timesˇ­''

    "Thank you for epting me, my liege," Velmuuth said, raising her head and standing.

    Still clinging to Ryan''s back, Zoey whispered, "What about me?"

    "I''ll tell you when we get back to campus," Ryan said, thinking of the 0 cooldowns if a ''sensual ceremony'' is performed.

    ''For once, the heavens and I are speaking the samenguage.''

    "I''ll see you there," Zoey said and suddenly leaped off his back and hopped into the distance toward the academy.

    ''Should I go after her?'' Ryan thought, seeing Zoey bound into the distance. ''Nah, if she does tell someone, who''s going to believe her? Plus if she truly is going to wait for me, I''ll know she''s worth keeping around.''

    "Emily, are you alright?" Ryan asked, thinking this might have been her first sight of blood.

    "Alright?" Emily asked, tilting her head.

    "With the blood."

    "Yeah, none of it got on me," She replied, rechecking her now rain-soaked bath towel.

    "Well, ok then. Good to know," Ryan shook his head a little. They always kept him guessing.

    Ryan stared at the rain clouds that were slowly receding. They reminded him of his oath and what it signified.

    ''What did the heavens mean by Multiverse?'' Ryan asked Lizzy telepathically. He was willing to expose his naivete in this subject to get some answers, although only to the smartest member of his harem.

    Lizzy responded in kind, ''Mother has told me that every few thousand years, a heaven''s chosen does something that has the potential to integrate Ravier into the Multiverse.''

    ''Although nobody knows for sure what the Multiverse is, rumor has it that the heavens once gave a quest to a chosen rting to the Multiverse. Inside the quest, it described the Multiverse as a collection of every gxy that has birthed an ''average'' chosen.''

    ''The rumor ims that our S-Rank cultivators are like ants before the true powers of the Multiverse.''

    Ryan mulled over Lizzy''s information in silence until he was interrupted by Velmuuth.

    "My liege," Velmuuth said tentatively, "if you are nning to act before the attack on the BCN, we should leave quickly."

    ''What should I do about the Dawn Pavilion?''

    At first, he had wanted to get a few heavenly credits from the Dawn Pavilion, but now he was stuck in a conundrum.

    ''Since those two soldiers had been following me, the human empire must know about the plot. Since the human empire seems to be rted to this Holy Alliance by association, the BCN. They are sure to stop the attack.''

    "Do you have a way to contact the rest of your team?" Ryan asked.

    "No, we disabled ourmunication devices so we couldn''t be tracked, just like these two people from the military did. It''s amon tactic used when you are in an open space, not surrounded by a lot of people," Velmuuth said, looking at the two dead bodies on the ground.

    Ryan was about to tell Velmuuth that the human empire probably knew about the attack when a small dark portal appeared.

    [Time limit for ''Harem Summon'' has expired, transporting Harem Members back to respective locations.]

    With a sucking pull, the three girls were swallowed by the portal vanishing from sight.

    ''I wonder if,'' looking down at his pants he shook his head. ''No too dangerous.''

    Letting the portal close without risking his manhood, Ryan turned to Velmuuth, "Where is your team now?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    '' I''ll die in 10 years if I don''t destroy the human empire, even if I somehow cure my curse in a year and a half. So, I might as well stop them from killing their enemy''s special forces.''

    Velmuuth replied, "The team should be waiting outside the Dawn Pavilion 35 miles from here. This location is thergest Dawn Pavilion outside of the capital of the human empire. Half the space is used to store the servers that work inside Kheaweth''s territory."

    ===

    (Inside the Dawn Pavilion 35 miles from Ryan)

    "Sargent, have you heard frommander hairy er I meanmander Pycheck?" A stout, red-faced woman in a dark blue uniform asked a tall young sergeant.

    "No. They''ve turned off theirmunications. Butst we heard, they had orders to stop subject one from entering any of the Dawn Pavilions."

    "Why?" The officer looked puzzled. "I don''t understand."

    "Our spies informed us that codename ''Aurora'' set up aura scanners at each of her Pavilions in secret to look for subject one."

    "Aurora did what?" The officer''s face went white. "Doesn''t the Holy Alliance control the Dawn Pavilion? How could we let this happen?"

    The sergeant replied, "The contract is not absolute, officer. Aurora has the right to conduct private business there. In fact, Aurora owns it outright. We would have liked for her to join the Holy Alliance as our ally. Unfortunately, Aurora didn''t, leaving the previous three empresses no choice but to enact the secret uses. The uses have helped them to manipte the situation to suit the Alliance."

    ''I still think the grand empress lied to us and really would have enacted the uses no matter what,'' the sergeant thought.

    The sergeant continued, "Plus, remember the fact that we don''t want to alert ''Aurora'' or the other alliance members that we are the one''s behind the school fire thirteen years ago."

    As the officer was about to respond she heard a man shout: "OK thank you! See you soon. I''ll be back. Can you tell me your names and maybe you can help me with the tour?"

    ===

    A few minutes earlierˇ­

    Landing near the Dawn Pavilion, Velmuuth then scanned the area, trying to look for signs of her team.

    She turned to look at Ryan, "Are you sure the out that the humans found out?"

    "Yes. Those two had probably been following me for weeks," Ryan said, referring to the hairymander and young officer who just died.

    "My teammates appear to have already gone inside. My liege, will you allow me to go in?"

    "I''m going inside, You wait for your team out here."

    ''Worst case scenario I have to fake being brainwashed again.''

    Ryan entered a clearing and held his breath looking at a set ofrge ss doors connected to avish building. Water features, marble columns, gilded sculptures, and rich gems decorated the ornate building. ''Well, such is the riches of the Dawn Pavilion.''

    Unbeknownst to Ryan, as he entered the door to thevish building, rms went off in the restricted floors of an equally lush Dawn Pavilion in a remote part of Ravier.

    Two security guards approached Ryan as he walked around the lobby of the breathtaking building.

    "Excuse me," one security guard asked,ing almost face-to-face with Ryan. "Can I help you?"

    "Well, I''m doing a project on ornate or baroque architecture, so I thought I woulde inside the building to take some notes," Ryan said, waving one hand across the air as if he was selling the building.

    "Normally schools inform us of studentsing in for projects," the pudgy guard said.

    "No one informed us of a visit," sniffed the second guard. "By the way, I don''t see you writing anything down."

    "It''s all locked up here," Ryan replied, pointing to his head, nodding. "You would be amazed at what my brain retains!" He began chuckling.

    "Excuse me, guards," interjected the receptionist. "Can youe here for a moment?"

 Chapter 66 Codename: Aurora (2)

    At a remote location, inside one of the thousands of Dawn Pavilions on theˇ­

    The sentry guard ran down a corridor. His heart was pounding in his chest, his mouth dry, and the floorboards seemed to groan beneath his feet.

    The guard rushed and opened the door to his boss''s office.

    Thundering rms rang out all around as the sentry guard shouted, "I have an alert for Aurora. Is she inside her office? Please, can you pass on a message or allow me to enter?"

    A prim, beautiful secretary sat at the desk, not acknowledging the ring rm.

    The prim girl looked up and begrudgingly replied, "Yes, Aurora is in her office, but she cannot be disturbed now. Leave your message with me."

    The guard said, "Right now is exactly when Aurora has to be disturbed. Please let me speak to her. Now." He raised his voice further at the end of the sentence to convey the importance.

    Nonplussed, the secretary replied, "As I said, Aurora cannot be disturbed.

    The guard cursed, brushing past the prim secretary, and tried to open the door.

    The secretary gasped, "Stop, you maniac, you''ll be hanged! Aurora said not to interrupt her no matter what!"

    The guard growled, "This is the one asion where Aurora said always to interrupt her. A person she was investigating entered one of the Dawn Pavilions."

    "Well, good grief, why didn''t you say that?" the secretary said, immediately buzzing the door open. "You better tell her that yourself and exin the situation."

    The guard entered the soundproof office. Aurora stretched, her lithe body taut like an oiled spring. She let out a long breath, the soft sound of music filled the office.

    Aurora''s eyes peered out from under the thick azure locks of her hair, her hazel green eyes shone from behind her ckshes. Her lips were painted a deep crimson. She wore a short skirt and a low-cut blouse, the top button undone, exposing the swell of her breasts.

    "Is there a problem? I requested that no one disturb me for at least 20 minutes," She said, trying to hide her annoyance.

    With a bow, the guard said, "I''m sorry for disturbing you, Miss. Please excuse me, but an rm notified us that a person you were investigating has tripped your aura sensor in one of our locations. I thought you needed to know this immediately."

    The woman stood motionless, still as a statue, the only movement being the slight quiver of her chest.

    Aurora looked up into the face of the guard, and said in a soft voice, "Are you sure?"

    Seeing the guard nod, she regained herposure, pointed to the screens, andmanded, "Bring up the monitor of the lobby and instruct the front desk to keep them there as long as possible. I need to assess the situation, but no matter what, you need to keep him there."

    The guard pressed a few buttons on the console, and the monitor flickered to life.

    Aurora leaned in, scooting to the edge of her chair. She breathed in the scent of the room, the faint smell of the incense burning on the altar, the lingering aroma of coffee and chocte.

    On the monitor, two guards were seemingly questioning a ck-haired young man. He was gesturing around the room, pointing at various beautiful features.

    ''Is he a builder? A buyer? A decorator, perhaps?''

    The young man then turned and looked straight into the lens of the camera, his piercing emerald eyes staring out at her, daring her to look away. He had long ck hair and a square jawline.

    Aurora''s heart raced, and the blood pounded in her ears. She could feel her skin burning and knew it would be glowing red when she stood up.

    Her breath caught. Those eyes. The eyes called to her from years gone by. ''How many people have those eyes? Eyes that beckoned with an unspoken promise of warmth,fort, and love.''

    Aurora rose and walked to the screen. She raised her hand, palm t against the surface. The muscles in her forearm tensed. Her fingers twitched. She caressed the face of the man on the screen, envisioning herself running her fingers over the smooth skin, the fine hair. ''He is so handsome. I bet my child is at least this handsome.''

    Her arms hung limp at her sides, the delicate bones of her wrists exposed, the nails painted a soft pink.

    It had been thirteen years since Aurorast saw her child''s face. Thirteen years from when they took him away.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She had signed a contract hundreds of thousands of years ago, but it was the biggest mistake in her life. Her best friends at the time, Deja the Holy Phoenix, Sersal the Red Dragoness, and Iva Kheaweth, hade to her with an idea to sign a contract with her smaller Heavenly Kingdom, The Dawn Pavilion.

    How na?ve she had been.

    She had been so eager to sign the contract to be on the same level as her friends and theirrge kingdoms that she hadn''t even read the fine print.

    Because of that mistake, her force was voided of its status as a Heavenly Kingdom and downgraded to civilian status, while she was turned into nothing more than a tool for the Holy Alliance with no real power.

    She had festered with hate for years until, one day, she found a loophole that would allow her to bypass and void the contract, achieving her dream of making the Dawn Pavilion a Heavenly Kingdom once more.

    But the loophole was moreplex than she''d hoped. The contract stated that not only could she, nor anyone with her family''s blood, create a Heavenly Kingdom, but she couldn''t even transfer the Dawn Pavilion to a non-rted female and let them rule it in her stead. Only a male would suffice.

    But for that, the male needed to be able to cultivate.

    So she spent the next hundred thousand years searching until she found it, the pill of unlimited power.

    It was a pill so powerful it could raise an A-Ranked cultivator directly to the peak of S-Rank, but it had one other property that nobody looked at.

    The ability to make anyone a cultivator.

    ===

    One of the uses buried deep in the contract was the ''Education Relocation use''. Every 100 years, a member of the Holy Alliance would ''relocate'' one of her underage kin to their empire for education.

    Thirteen years ago, the human empire came knocking and said they were being generous this year and would take a male instead a female.

    The human empire said that they would care for them and educate them. Then only a monthter, they said he died in the school fire. But when she went to the school to look for the body, she knew it wasn''t her adopted baby. It wasn''t his aura that surrounded the dead boy''s body they imed was his.

    She was convinced he wasn''t dead. For years she sent guards to scour the for her adopted son.

    They found nothing, no trace of him.

    But looking at the man on the monitor, she knew it wasn''t him. Her son would be an 18-year-old blonde man with emerald eyes. The hair, the face, nothing was familiar except the eyes. Maybe it was the simrity to the eyes that tripped up the sensors. Maybe she incorrectly coded the aura scans.

    "There''s someone that entered Pavilion 384B that I need to see right away. I need to ask him a few questions," she said, turning to her secretary.

    The secretary replied in a clipped voice, "OK, I''m sure many people just came into the building. Can you tell me what he looks like?"

    Aurora almost shouted, "''Whatever''s happening in the lobby, record it and tell the guards in Pavilion 384B to stop the ck-haired boy and contact me back."

    ''What was wrong with this secretary?''

    "I''ll do it," the guard assured Aurora and turned to leave.

    "No, I''ve got it." The prissy secretary raised her nose and glided to her desk, "You can handle the recording on your end." She pointed to the door, letting the guard know it was time to leave.

    The secretary slowly turned off the rm and pulled up another hologram, turning to make sure Aurora''s door was closed.

    A figure appeared on the screen, waiting for the message.

    "I believe subject one has somehow made it into Pavilion 384B. The grand empress, Iva Kheaweth, has stated that Aurora isn''t to have contact with him before the wedding, so get him out."

    The hologram disappeared, and the secretary primly sat down on her chair.

 Chapter 67 Codename: Aurora (3)

    Inside The Human Empire''s security department office, located in the Dawn Pavilion where Ryan isˇ­

    Receiving a call from their mole in Aurora''s main office, the head of the human empire''s security department in Pavilion 384B focused on the camera in the lobby.

    Sure enough, subject one was in the building.

    ''While today we have about 100 armed cultivators ready for an ambush awaiting those cultivators from the Zol''Gan Empire, they have that young sergeant in chargeˇ­''

    ''She''s likely to mess up. I better go with the safer option.''

    Deciding to call the front desk receptionist, who was just a regr employee of the Dawn Pavilion he said, "Bethan, a young man with ck hair just entered the building. He is not a threat, but he is not wee. Please have him politely trespassed immediately."

    Back to Ryan''s POVˇ­

    Walking over to the receptionist''s desk, the pudgy guard bent over the counter, and the receptionist whispered something in his ear. He nodded and turned, walking back to Ryan. Holding out one arm he began ushering Ryan backward toward the entry doors.

    "Well, sir," the pudgy guard said, "I am sorry to say that you need an appointment in order to walk through the building. You can arrange it with your school to ess any architecture you would like in this building."

    Wanting to buy more time, Ryan stopped, putting his hands on his hips, and in an exaggerated astonishment, eximed, "What? Make an appointment just to look at this?" Ryan''s outstretched hand fanned around the room, indicating the beauty surrounding them. "I can see it right now, but if that was an innuendo.... sorry not interested!" he said, pretending to gag.

    The pudgy guard clenched her teeth and signaled the other guard with a thumb, gesturing towards the door.

    Guard one said, "Young man, as we said, there is a process that you need to take, and when you take that process, we will amodate you with your own tour guide that can exin the architecture. Now we will see you when you return." All the while, both guards were backing Ryan to the door.

    By this point, Ryan had been backed all the way into the door, the bar jabbing his back, and the second guard pushed the doors open, shoved Ryan out, and closed the doors. Both guards turned their backs and blocked his reentry to the ss doors.

    Ryan yelled through the doors, "OK, thank you! See you soon. I''ll be back. Can you tell me your names, and maybe you can help me with the tour?"

    Waving his hands dismissively, Ryan turned around and darted back towards the trees, not really wanting the guards to chase him. Hopefully, he bought some time for Velmuuth to find the team and prevent the attack.

    As he was ducking through the trees, he tried to shake off the feeling of being watched, too little sess.

    In the Woods Near the Dawn Pavilionˇ­

    Velmuuth hovered on her sword, her presence hidden byrge trees. She hadn''t heard anything from Ryan, nor had she seen her team. But, if there were a battle inside, most likely she would have sensed somemotion.

    Velmuuth heard what sounded like birds heading in her direction. ''It''s not migration time... Most birds have headed to the south part of the already. It must be my team.''

    She pointed her sword toward the oing noise, hoping she could intercept the team before the attack.

    The team flew in formation. They moved lightning quick; the wind whipped their faces and clothes around them, their bodies twisting in midair as they circled Velmuuth.

    The leader pulled up her head, and everyone slowed, "Velmuuth, weren''t you meant to meet us inside? Well it doesn''t matter now,e let''s go, we''re alreadyte," The leader said, turning to fly away.

    "That doesn''t matter now," Velmuuth yelled, "The n has beenpromised! You have to leave before it''s toote!"

    The low whispers of the other teammates turned into growls and curses.

    The leader''s face turned red. She screamed, "What! Did you tell them? Are you a leak? You''re dead!"

    Velmuuth flipped her off, "Bite me," she screamed back, "I don''t know who told them, but myˇ­ friend overheard the security team. I''m not dead. You''ll be dead if you had that direction, though. We have toe up with a new n."

    "Boss, V. isn''t really known to lie," one of the riders said. "And we''re sunk if the humans know the n. Even the empress said this would only work if it were a surprise operation. We didn''t even tell our people at Dawn about this attack."

    "Is your position in the academypromised?" The leader asked Velmuuth after hesitating a moment.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Velmuuth shook her head, "I don''t believe so."

    "You better be telling the truth about this. We''ll investigate. If you just lied to meˇ­"

    "I didn''t. Now go before it''s toote."

    Cursing, the team turned around and flew off.

    Velmuuth slowly flew towards the building, looking for any hint of Ryan.

    She heard a whooshing sound. Ready to fight, she swung in an arc and faced her enemy. Her smile broke out, "Ryan!" she eximed. "What happened?"

    ===

    Aurora slipped through her portal, transporting herself to the lobby of the Dawn Pavilion. She couldn''t wait to ask the beautiful ck-haired boy some questions.

    The lobby was busy as usual, but she didn''t see anything out of the ordinary.

    "Excuse me," Aurora banged on the desk, making the receptionist jump.

    Flustered, the receptionist stammered, "Ma''am, we were not expecting you. Is everything alright?"

    "Where''s the young man?" Aurora barked.

    "I-I''m sorry," stammered the receptionist, "what, young man?"

    "The dark-haired young man that I specifically asked the guards to detain," she said, unconsciously releasing some of her aura.

    "Ma''amm-," the receptionist gasped, her breath halting as her face turned pale fromck of oxygen.

    Dismissing her aura, Aurora waited for the receptionist to catch her breath.

    "I-I got the order to. . . send a ck-haired. . . man out of the building by the Human Empire''s security division," The receptionist said through gasping breaths.

    ''Human Empire? What do they have to do with that man?''

    Aurora red at the shaking receptionist. ''Could they have known that my sensors were targeting my son? No. They didn''t know he was a cultivator.''

    The receptionist squirmed under Aurora''s wrath. She had no idea what to do.

    Aurora''s eyes hazed over. She didn''t notice the quivering receptionist or the people walking around in the lobby. She was lost in her thoughts.

    ''They assumed I used the pill on myself because I happened to rank up to S-Rank right after the Nova Ball tournament,'' she thought. The image of the baby she held in her arms 18 years ago was as clear today as when the event happened.

    She was cradling her cooing baby, and as she was singing lubies, she slipped the precious pill into the waiting mouth. A notification had then appeared in front of herˇ­

    [Congrattions: You are the first on this to use the Pill of Unlimited Power for its intended use.]

    [Reward: Increase One Cultivation Rank]

    Since they don''t know about him, this must be her. I was right she''s a mole... hopefully she''s still there. I haven''t tortured anyone in thousands of years.

    The haze lifted from Aurora''s eyes as she again zeroed in on the receptionist, "So my secretary never called you?"

 Chapter 68 A Hot Interrogation [R-18]

    Aurora opened a portal back to her original location, striding angrily towards the door, her short ck skirt billowing around her thighs, the buttons on her blouse straining to contain the firm mounds of her breasts.

    The door swung open with a click, revealing the prim secretary still sitting behind her desk.

    "It was you, wasn''t it?" Aurora said, narrowing her eyes.

    "What do you mean?" Feigning ignorance, the prim secretary tilted her head and responded.

    "It was you who tipped off the human empire about the alert," Aurora stated, leaving no room for doubt.

    The prim secretary''s cordial smile suddenly turned vicious. "I guess there''s no use in hiding it, yes. How does it feel to know you''ve had a mole working as your secretary for two years?"

    Aurora dug her fingernails into her palms as she tried to control her anger. She was usually as calm as a monk, but whenever the topic of her adopted son came up, she turned into a raging storm in an instant.

    "You think you''re safe because of the contract, don''t you?" Aurora asked, regaining herposure.

    The secretary''s eyebrow twitched, and she said, "I am safe. You can''t scare me with your empty threats."

    Licking her lips, Aurora said, "You know, a hundred thousand years ago, when I read the contract for the thousandth time, I would have thought the same."

    "I would have begrudgingly let you leave here with your mind intact."

    "But although the contract states I cannot harm any military member of any Holy Alliance if I was not attacked first, it says nothing about inflicting pleasure."

    Walking up to the secretary, Aurora delicately brushed her brown hair aside, freeing her ear, and whispered, "But it says nothing about breaking your mind with pleasure."

    ===

    Aurora carried the squirming secretary to the room she had specifically prepared for such asions, strapped her down, and sighed.

    "It''s good the heavens constitute attack as inflicting pain or injury. I would hate to do either of those two things to you today," Aurora said as she stroked the now-gagged secretary''s cheek.

    ''Sensuality is important when arousing women. I should start teasing her over her clothes to get her nice and worked up.''

    The captive woman gasped at the soft touch of the hand on her clothed body. The sensation sent shivers down her spine.

    Her breath started to get shallower as she strained against the restraints, writhing around, trying to get Aurora''s fingers to linger longer on those sweet spots.

    "Now, now, what''s the rush? We''ve got all the time in the world to y. It''s not like I haven''t been trapped in this stupid contract for millennia."

    Continuing to tease her, Aurora started to focus on her breasts, which were covered by a tight shirt that showed off their shape nicely and left plenty of cleavage showing through. The fact that she had suchrge boobs didn''t help matters either ¨C they looked so delicious in that outfit.

    Aurora stared intently at her chest through the fabric, feeling the smoothness of her skin. The nipples stood erect, hard, and round. They were small, but they were still perfectly shaped.

    Although she wasn''tpletely lesbian, no powerful woman on Ravier could im to be totally straight.

    "You''re so beautiful," Aurora said as she removed her gag, pushing her tongue into the secretaries mouth. Aurora tasted her while digging her fingers into the soft flesh of the secretary''s back.

    The secretary hesitantly kissed back, moaning softly into her mouth as Aurora started teasing her nipples again. The building pressure between the secretary''s legs grew as she struggled against the chains.

    Feeling her captive''s arousal starting to build, Aurora slowly broke away from the kiss, leaving a string of saliva on her secretary''s chin, and stopped teasing her nipples.

    Panting and shaking, the secretary gazed at Aurora with want and fervor.

    Aurora smiled, running her hands down her secretary''s body, tracing the lines of her body.

    Abruptly stopping, Aurora removed her own jacket and unbuttoned her blouse, revealing the dark pink bra beneath.

    The secretary watched in lustful wonder as Aurora turned around and shed her pitch-ck skirt, exposing her long, shapely legs. Aurora now stood in a dark pink bra and panties that barely covered her ass.

    The secretary looked at the beautiful woman before her with her green eyes, azure hair, and wless skin.

    "Please," The secretary whimpered. The danger of what was happening, knowing that if she talked, the Grand Empress would cut off her head, didn''t calm her down. No. The thought of being killed only caused her arousal to grow.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Tearing off her shirt, Aurora reached down toward the girl''s waistband, pulling them up, exposing the secretary''s panties.

    Her panties were white with a small bow and hadce at the top of the leg holes. Aurora could see them soaked with desire, glistening with her juices.

    Panting as if she was in heat, the secretary watched as Aurora take off her own bra, exposing her breasts. The secretary''s mouth opened in awe as she saw Aurora removing her panties, her wetness dripping down her thighs.

    She stared at Aurora''s naked body with lustful longing as gulped down her drooling saliva.

    The secretary gazed at Aurora''s exposed breasts and shuddered as she saw her nipples erect, begging for attention.

    "Every piece of information you tell me that I don''t know get''s you one minute with my breasts. If you tell me three things I know in a row, you get restrained again."

    Her muddled mind tried to focus on anything other than the pleasure that was building inside of her.

    As she was just on the verge of sanity, Aurora''s tongue licked her neck as she started to moan softly, her eyes closing in bliss.

    "I. . . don''t know. . . anything," the secretary said between gasps from Aurora''s licks.

    Without pausing her licks, Aurora said, "That''s strike one, two more, and you''ll be stuck here and edged for hours."

    Shuttering at the thought of that happening, the secretary closed her eyes and arched her back, moaning loudly as Aurora''s tongue continued to lick her neck.

    "I can''t!" Her body started to convulse as the pleasure grew, tears rolling down her cheeks as she moaned in desperation. Aurora''s lips were on her breasts now, her tongue licking them hungrily.

    "Please, touch me more!" She moaned loudly as she felt the pressure building up in her loins, her legs opening wide to allow her thighs to part, her back arching slightly to help give Aurora more ess.

    Just as the sensation was getting too much, Aurora stopped, looking at the secretary with an evil smile.

    "You''ll have to prove yourself before you get anything more from me, little secretary," Aurora said,ughing maniacally.

    Desperately wracking her mind for any information that she could say without getting her killed, the secretary''s hazed mind finally came to a conclusion.

    "Swear a heavenly oath that you will let me after I tell you that man''s future location," the secretary said and then added in a low voice, "after you help me cum."

    Mulling it over, Aurora slowly nodded, thinking that this ''future location'' was where he was staying. As Aurora nodded, thunder rumbled above the building, and heavenly sparks seemed to coalesce around the two.

    The heavens had heard their words and, after receiving Aurora''s consent, started the process of forcing both of the parties to hold up their end of the deal.

    Gulping while looking at Aurora''s naked frame, the secretaryughed manically in relief, "You fool! I can''t believe that worked!"

    "The future location is in a little less than three months!" the secretary said while watching Aurora frown and her fists clench.

    "And the location is the grand prince''s wedding!" Holding her stomach, the secretaryughed. Her eyes, though, never left Aurora''s bare breasts.

    "Now finish me off and release me."

    Scooting towards her, the secretary closed her eyes as she felt Aurora reach her hand down between her legs, her breathing growing ragged as she felt Aurora''s fingers inside her.

    The wetness between her legs oozed and leaked, dripping onto the floor. Aurora''s fingers delved into the moist folds of her flesh, massaging the tender, pink skin as her other hand rubbed the head of her clit, making small circles around the sensitive area.

    She moaned loudly as she felt Aurora''s tongue lick up her neck, her hips bucking as the pleasure grew.

    "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Screaming, she started thrusting herself forward, as if trying to attach herself to Aurora''s fingers.

    Unbeknownst to her, the frown on Aurora''s face had started to curve upward, forming into a wicked smile.

    "Yes! I''m almost there!" Feeling the point of no return approaching she thrust her hips forward onest timeˇ­

    "No!" Feeling the sensation of pleasure suddenly stop as Aurora removed her tongue and fingers, she tried desperately to hold it back, but it was no use. Crying, she opened her mouth and started to whimper, her hips bucking as the liquid gushed out.

 Chapter 69 Secretary Dishes Some Denial Of Her Own [R-18]

    Flying on his magic sword, aptly named ''Flying Stick'', Ryan made his way back towards campus but couldn''t shake the feeling that he was being watched.

    The feeling had only grown since he left the forest near the Dawn Pavilion and reentered the clearing where the battle had taken ce.

    "Velmuuth, do you sense anyone following us?" Ryan asked, seeing if his higher-ranked knight had any better sensing skills than he did.

    Tilting her head, Velmuuth, flying on her own sword, emitted a small pulse of energy. Ryan felt the pulse pass through him as if revealing his every cell''s location.

    "There are no living beings in a 1-mile radius that have a rank of C or lower."

    This news only bothered Ryan further, as the feeling of being watched turned into one of being seen through.

    But this feeling of dread made his senses tingle and made him understand the unequivocal truth. ''They knew I was a cultivator.''

    When he had attacked that hairymander, Ryan hadn''t heard a shocked exmation from the officer, only a look that said, ''You are stronger than I thought.''

    Ryan thought about the times that he may have inadvertently let the human empire know of his cultivation status.

    ''The first time would have been when Bee kidnapped me and I emitted energy. There were only a few other times I emitted energy that they could have seen.''

    ''But really, it was such a low level of energy. When I did it in front of other cultivators, the guys mistook it for a type of treasure and had no clue that I was a cultivator.''

    ''Since I know the human empire is following me, I just have to figure out why.''

    ''Why did they kidnap me and train me to be a fighter? And then they just stopped training me. Why stick me in the enhancer ss and not the cultivation ss? Why did they take away my memories?''

    ''And then Dr. Rubenstein said when Protocol Z is activated at the wedding, I would remember the first five years of my life. Maybe I should wait till then to find out more answers.''

    ''But the human empire thinks I am still brainwashed, yet I''ve kept my memories from earth, and I keep having these shbacks.''

    Distracted by his thoughts, Ryan didn''t notice an uing sign until they were right in front of it. [Dawn Pavilion, 120 miles]

    ''Wait! ''That logoˇ­'' Ryan shook his head as the sign''s image of a bright blue suning up showed the morning sun invaded his mind. The same sign he had seen over the door, and the same one he had seen all those years agoˇ­

    Smiling faces surrounded him. The familiar strains of "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you," was keeping the grin on his 5-year-old face.

    He saw a smiling woman with a hazy face bending down close to him.

    "Happy Birthday, my precious Velox," she said. And though his memory could not focus on her face, he could see the carving of her ne dangling right in front of his eyes. A morning sun, rising over the hills, rays of sunshine shooting in every direction.

    He felt himself jolt and almost fell off his sword. He looked around, realizing that he had been flying while in a trance. ''Not good! Now they''re happening when I''m hurtling through the air.''

    Giving his head a slight shake, he attempted to clear the fog that lingered. ''It must have been from my 5th birthday. Who was thedy? She said that I was precious, and she was wearing the same logo on the Dawn Pavilion sign.''

    As he didn''t have the answers, all he could do was put his questions aside for now.

    Deciding not to waste time, Ryan opened up the first message he had missed after ranking up.

    [4. Overlord''s Harem Pce (Active/Passive)]

    [New Ability: Pocket Dimension]

    [A luxurious pce pocket dimension ced inside the host''s body to hold any Harem Members/Royalty.]

    [Space: 20000 Sq Ft]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Buffs: Satisfaction]

    [Note: More possibilities are avable upon the increase of cultivation level]

    ''This is insane!'' Ryan shouted in his mind. He hadn''t even used this ability since he got his specialty, and it already evolved into a pocket dimension.

    ''The pocket dimension is inside my body? Doesn''t that mean I can bring my Emily, Lizzy, and Izzy with me through to the portal dimension?''

    He didn''t know how old Lizzy and Izzy were, but he could guess they were over 18. ''It''s practically impossible to tell, as no cultivator looks over 30.''

    Arriving back on campus, Ryan closed his heavenly screen and headed toward his dorm.

    ===

    After her capture, and subsequent release, Aurora''s secretary stood in front of Darius with a cid look on her face.

    Darius leaned back in his cushioned chair and after an ufortable pause, he said, "Getting out of there is impressive. I''m sure Aurora''s been studying those techniques for thousands of years. Even though she couldn''t use energy on you, it is still impressive you were not only able to get out alive but further the ''subject one'' project."

    Darius slowly rose out of his chair, unkinked his neck, and came around the desk. Casually leaning on the front of the desk he continued, "Although subject one did trip Aurora''s sensors, his modifications have been so major that she probably thought him to be one of those girls who like to dress up as guys. Gah, what was the name?"

    "Crossdressers, sir," Aurora''s previous secretary responded.

    "Ah yes, well, in any case, I believe that things went even better than we could have hoped. It''s just a shame those Zol''Gan bastards killedmander Pycheck and officer Rudders."

    Yes, sir, the secretary responded, "Although we weren''t able to get our hands on the Zol''Gan empire''s death squad if everything goes ording to n, we''ll have the Dawn Pavilion all to ourselves."

    Sitting back in his seat behind his desk, Darius leaned his elbows on the desk and stared at the secretary. "You know, I have been looking for a secretary for a while. You''ve been ying the role for so long. Want to continue?"

    ''That bastard can see me squirming,'' the secretary thought. ''If only Aurora hadn''t denied me, I wouldn''t be this needy, that I would have to be wanting a mortal''s cock.''

    Darius grinned at the secretary, who was sitting on her knees before him, looking up into his eyes. She started unzipping his trousers and took hold of his penis with her hand.

    He sat back in his chair, closed his eyes, and leaned back, feeling the pressure of the girl''s mouth against the shaft, as it slid up and down the length of him, the wetness making it slippery and pleasant.

    The secretary stroked and licked and sucked on his cock, which felt good but was not very satisfying.

    ''I wish I was back with Aurora right now,'' the secretary thought. Slowly her hands moved down to her panties, and she began rubbing herself, her fingers working quickly between her legs.

    The secretary''s head was bobbing up and down, her tongue darting out, licking the tip of his limp dick.

    Still busy with his cock, she began to feel on the verge of orgasm after that intense teasing job Aurora did.

    Darius watched the secretary masturbate, his eyes fixed on her hand, moving rapidly between her legs as he thought, ''Fuck yeah, this is it! I''m going to break my own record and cum in under two hours!''

    The secretary started to moan and pant on his slightly chubby cock. She was shaking, shuddering, her thighs pressed tightly together, eyes closed.

    ''Aurora, use me!'' she screamed in her mind as she came, her body spasming, her pussy gushing. She fell to the ground, the aftershocks of her orgasm rolling through her body.

    After a few moments, the secretary slid her panties back into ce and straightened her outfit.

    "I''m not interested in a secretary position," she said, looking spitefully at Darius. "Especially not from a mortal man." Saying that she left the office, havingpleted her task.

 Chapter 70 Breeding The Bunny [R-18] (1)

    Ryan felt the weight of the day settle on him. He felt like he had been run over by a truck.

    Although cultivators needed less and less sleep as they progressed, Ryan was only E-Rank and he had been up since his morning training with the girlsˇ­ yesterday.

    As he was just shutting his eyes, Ryan heard, "You''re finally back."

    Unleashing his aura, Ryan drew his battle sword andˇ­ "Zoey?!"

    "Oh, don''t hurt this poor bunny girl!" Zoey said, holding up her hands in mock surrender.

    "How did you get into my dorm room?"

    "Well, I do work on campus, you know," Zoey said, rolling her eyes. "I am a popr bunny girl."

    Ryan pursed his lips and bluntly said, "I''m fucking tired, but I''m not tired enough not to fuck."

    "But," Abruptly holding out his hand to stop Zoey from kneeling, Ryan said, "I need to know if you''ll swear an oath of love to me."

    "I''m not a cruel man, but I''m not kind enough to keep giving out my seed for free," Ryan said, lying through his teeth.

    Zoey tilted her head as bunny ears sprouted, "I doubt you''re just offering your seed for my "love" and a bunny knows when to trust her instincts."

    Blinking, Ryan thought these women were epting a little too easily. "Just how secure is an oath of love?" Ryan thought out loud.

    "You don''t know?" Zoey asked.

    Seeing Ryan shake his head Zoey chuckled. "They aren''t real heavenly oaths, like the one you said that caused the announcement everyone is sure to be talking about."

    "Then what are the consequences for breaking it?" Ryan asked, getting a sinking feeling in his chest.

    "Well, first, for any of the non-heavenly oaths, one has to be a cultivator. You don''t have to have a heavenly screen either."

    "The consequences all depend on the severances of the vition"

    "For instance, if a person swears an oath of loyalty, and they do something that jeopardizes the person they swore the oath to, they might be dropped a rank or two in cultivation."

    "But if that same person does something deliberate like attacking the person in their sleep, they would lose their whole cultivation base and could be permanently crippled."

    Feeling lightheaded, Ryan sat back on the couch and held his head. ''Great, I thought it was my charm. It turns out they weren''t signing a death ve contract. It was more like they were signing a web novel contract.''

    "What about an oath of love?" Ryan asked because, right now, Emily, Lizzy, and Izzy were all on that wavelength.

    "An oath of love is tricky," Zoey said, tapping her chin. "It involves a lot more than an oath of loyalty, but not as much as a ve contract."

    "It takes into ount who the person receiving the oath is. You did read the contents of their oaths, right?"

    ''I read Lizzy and Izzy''s, but I didn''t receive a notification for either Emily or Velmuuth.''

    Bringing up his normal page, something he hadn''t done in a while, he saw these lights and once again felt like a boomer messing with a smartphone.

    [Status(!),Allegiance(!),Quests(!),Oaths(!)]

    Feeling a little overwhelmed, Ryan was just about to open the status screen when he heard Zoey cough.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Look, I don''t care what kind of oath you want me to say, heck you want yourself a little bunny servant. That''s fine. Just as long as you keepyin'' that pipe and making me a momma bunny, we''ll be just fine."

    Breaking into a coughing fit, Ryan asked, "Hm, can we leave thest bit until after world domination?"

    Zoey walked over to him and ran her fingers down his shirt, her fingernails gliding sensually, tracing the outline of his muscles.

    Bringing her mouth to his ear, she asked, "Even if I beg for it?"

    ===

    Throwing Zoey onto the bed, Ryan stared at her mesmerizing frame as she slowly undid her top buttons.

    "Don''t worry," Zoey cooed. "I''ll make lots of bunny babies for you."

    ''Ryan focus. You can''t breed her. World domination, remember? Getting strong enough to find Aliza?''

    Gulping, Ryan set up his defenses in his mind to thwart the curse''s red energy that was already banging on his walls.

    "I''ll make you a momma," Ryan said. "But after I destroy the human empire."

    Zoey put on her best pouting face she cooed, "That''s too bad."

    "You''re a very handsome man," Zoey said, looking at him with adoring eyes. "It''s a shame you won''t put some babies inside me."

    Zoey lifted her shirt over her head and let it fall to the floor, herrge breasts bouncing as she did so.

    Ryan reached out for her hand. Zoey looked at him, smiling, and slipped her hand into his. Zoey leaned forward and kissed Ryan.

    Ryan felt a jolt of electricity course through his body as Zoey pressed her lips against his. Grabbing Zoey''s hips, Ryan pushed her onto the bed at the same time as Zoey threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down on top of her, and warped her legs around him. Pulling his head down, Zoey kissed him again.

    "Oh, it''s on," Ryan said, releasing his pleasure aura.

    Zoey worked her fingers beneath the thin cotton, feeling every vein in the strong pectorals and the smooth, hard stomach.

    Sucking in air to draw a deep breath, she ced a kiss upon Ryan''s chin and pulled away slightly before kissing his cheek, then his earlobe. She nted another light kiss on each side of his face before she started moving lower toward his corbone.

    Moving back up, Zoey found his ear, whispering, "Your voice is really cute." Her soft breathing caused goose bumps on his skin from where her warm breath was caressing him. As her kisses trailed across his chest and belly, Zoey could feel him flex as her hands moved over his washboard abs.

    When they finally made it to his belt line, he was alreadypletely rigid, and Zoey couldn''t help but purr when she felt the hardness pushing against her palm through the material of his pants. She cupped it between the cheeks of her ass and squeezed it gently, making Ryan grunt above her.

    Zoey chuckled and whispered into the sensitive shell of his ear, "I can tell you like your dick sucked. It makes my pussy all wet inside. Would you be okay if I used this opportunity to make myself nice and wet?"

    Ryan groaned into her shoulder as his body tensed under her fingers, which were now kneading her rear, while Zoey continued to y with his shaft in earnest. His balls felt heavy in her hand, so she wrapped them in her fingers, squeezing them gently in one hand, then pulling them down with her other hand until they rested in the hollow just below the base of his cock.

    They shifted out of position as she began rolling both testes together, teasing herself by dragging a single finger along their surface. Then slowly sliding that same finger between them, dipping her middle digit into the opening of her hot, steamy box, feeling the heat building up deep within her canal. She slid two more fingers into her drenched channel and brought those three digits back up, circling her clit, her breathinging faster, each thrust bringing her closer and closer to her climax.

    "I want to have your cum," Zoey moaned.

    "Fuck me hard!"

    (Now the readers are getting denied...)

 Chapter 71 Breeding The Bunny [R-18] (2)

    "I want to have your cum," Zoey moaned.

    "Fuck me hard!"

    Grabbing her thighs and throwing her legs wide open, Zoey dug her heels into his hips and felt his powerful cock p against her tender folds. She held him tightly with her arms as she ground into his groin. "Harder."

    "You sure?" Ryan asked, looking into her eyes with a devilish look.

    "Yes!" Zoey said, bucking her hips up as he prated deeper inside of her. "Pleaseˇ­ please fill me with your seed..." Her voice trailed off to a breathy whisper, then gasped for air. "Make love to my pussy."

    The sound of flesh pping together filled the room as Ryan grabbed a handful of hair on the back of her head, forcing it to the pillow, pushing himself in even farther than before until he could feel every inch of their bodies pressing together.

    With one hand pinning her head in ce and one arm wrapped around her chest, he pulled his body away from hers by an inch, staring into her lust-filled eyes, and thrust again.

    "Unghhh...unggghhhh..." Zoey groaned as she felt his cock slide deep into her belly.

    "God damn," Ryan moaned. His mouth pressed into Zoey''s ear. He bit down gently on the lobe while driving harder and faster inside her tight wetness.

    Zoey''s eyes shot open at the words only spoken by a real man who was about toe! The energy radiating off of Ryan was intense, making her tingle and shake all over.

    Each time his cock bottomed out in her channel, there would be a slight squish noise that echoed throughout the room, causing Zoey to gasp with each pration. Her soft hands dug into his shoulders, but the soundsing from above didn''t escape her notice.

    She looked up to see the sweat dripping onto his face as he pushed himself further into her hot depths. Then she nced back at her lower half, noticing how hard he was getting. The tip of his penis had swollen up, turning purple like he was pumping blood right through it, giving her an idea of just how good this was going to feel for him when he finally came!

    The pace quickly picked up, and Ryan let loose a low guttural grunt as he started hammering into her, making sure to pull his balls tightly against her ass so they''d feel the impact of the p against her thighs.

    "Ahhhhhhh...aahhh...ahhhhh!" Both cried out in pleasure together as they crashed together over and over.

    "I''m cumming!" Ryan growled, mming in deep before letting go. "Oh god...you fucking bunny girl...fuck!" As soon as she felt his cock twitch within her canal, she reached down with one hand and grabbed onto his thrusting hips, pulling him deep inside her and feeling every single spurt filling everyst inch of her pussy.

    She buried her face into his neck and held on tight while his cock softened until eventually slipped from between her thighs,pletely spent.

    As their breathing calmed, Ryan turned them both over so that he wasying t on top of Zoey, still holding himself up on his elbows. He kissed her shoulder des and ran a finger across her lower back, moving it towards the small of her back where it traveled downward toward the juncture between her ass cheeks.

    "So," he whispered into her ear. "How do you not go into the throws of your own orgasm?"

    Zoeyughed as she felt him smack against her bare ass cheek.

    "I have a special ability that allows me to store sexual energy in a separate space, allowing me to umte it forˇ­ter use," Zoey said, running her fingers through Ryan''s hair.

    He pinched her buttock and pulled away quickly. "What?! What did you say?!" Ryan cried, grabbing her head and bringing it close to his. ''If I get her ability, could I store the mana I get from my harem members and then release it when needed?''

    She smiled at his aggressive nature.

    ''But how many guys has she used this on?''

    "Don''t be jealous! It only works on one person." Zoey grinned at him as she saw the rage sh across his face.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Are you ready to be converted?" Ryan asked, pulling her into an embrace and kissing her deeply.

    Zoey nodded her agreement as he released her and got up off the bed.

    Ryan had gotten this notification earlier, but he still asked.

    [A willing soul has been found!]

    [Do you wish to convert them into a Harem Member?] [Yes/No]

    [Note: Sensual Ceremony has beenpleted within 10 minutes (Conversion time reduced to 0)]

    "Yes," he answered. The text window disappeared. Above them shone an enormous orb of shimmering pinkness; below their feet was a second sphere whose color deepened until it became nearly crimson at the center.

    Between these two orbs, Zoey hung suspended with no visible means of support. She turned around, facing Ryan as the pink and red spheres began moving closer and closer together, making the world look like she was dancing on the border between life and death.

    A soft white glow appeared beneath her, and she started floating downward slowly toward its surface before gently touching down on what felt like cold ice.

    As soon as shended on her feet, the sky above darkened in tone. Tworge stars grew brighter by the moment and streaked away from each other toward her.

    When they met in front of Zoey, their energy burst forth in an explosion that caused both Ryan and Zoey to fall back onto their rear ends. There was a crackle of light, then another loud pop which made Ryan shield his eyes while his ears rang for several seconds after it ended.

    When his vision returned, he saw Zoey standing there calmly, wearing nothing but a ck string bikini bottom and his leather cor wrapped around her neck.

    She looked at him with wide innocent chocte-colored eyes as if to ask, ''Did I do good?''

    Ryan''s cock leaped against his trousers like an unchained beast, ready to tear his zipper open with its teeth and leap out into the world.

    ''Fuck if this continues I''m really not going to be able to turn off my fertility like I just did...''

    He imagined it springing forth from his body like some mythical creature from Greek or Egyptian mythology; he could see it coiling around itself like a cobra striking, wrapping its serpentine form tight around Zoey''s hip so that her buttocks would be crushed between their bodies.

    Then biting her on the neck as they rolled on the bed, their nakedness hidden only by a tangle of limbs, their gasps of pleasure echoing off the walls and floors and ceiling and dying in their wake like a plume of smoke blown by the wind over the top of a distant mountain.

    Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Ryan said, "As much as I would love to ravage again right now, the trip through the portal dimension starts in onlyˇ­"

    "Thirty minutes!" Ryan shouted, looking at the time on his bracelet.

    His heart pounded with excitement at being able to explore a totally unknownndˇ­ again.

    "Can Ie with you?" Zoey asked, giving him a cheeky smile and lifting her back foot.

    Ryan rolled his eyes and left Zoey there. She''d be better to leave here and be an asset inside the academy, getting to know something about his past. Maybe she already knew something about his past...

    But now was not the time nor ce, as he headed out of his dorm room towards his ssroom.

 Chapter 72 The Duchesss Plan

    The Duchess of the Vanroth family raged around the room, knocking her prized nt off the marble table and sending it to the floor, shattering in a pile of broken porcin, torn leaves, and newly watered dirt. How could she be so blindsided by that beautiful boy?

    He seemed so honorable, so upstanding, and here, right in front of her, at least right in front of her screen, he had just said that he was going to destroy the human empire.

    Looking around at the mess she created, she gave an exasperated sigh.

    ''He made a damned heavenly oath!''

    There was absolutely no way that Emily can be with this guy. ''Not even if he''s an Overlord.''

    Luckily, Emily had yet to clue into her mother''s tricks. ''I love my girl, but she seems a little na?ve!''

    She had heard the ridiculous tale about young children believing in a man with a white beard and a red suit flying through the air to bring them presents. If Emily lived on the fantasy world, she might''ve believed in that guy for a lifetime!

    ''I could care less if the human empire is attacked. But there is no way that Ryan''s actions will hurt my baby girl! A dumb guy can''t destroy her! No matter how fast he is in bed!''

    ''OK, time for another letter. That is, my heavenly letter.'' She chuckled and shook her head.

    "The heavens are watching and warning their precious child. You are dancing with someone dangerous. He is a rebel, a life form from another. He is here to destroy the human empire and take control of the."

    "His aura has tricked your heart. Open your eyes to his truth. You heard his truth, his oath. The oath will kill not only the entire human empire but will first kill you and your family. Take care, our precious child. Take care and open your eyes to the truth."

    ''Hopefully, she''s na?ve enough to believe my lie about the other bit, she''ll hopefully get spooked after going through the dimension portal, but it''s only a low-tier one with no intelligent life...''

    ''Hmˇ­ how about we create a little chaos to put the final nail in the coffin?''

    ===

    Brooke frowned as she ran for her morning jog, her weighted vest making her movements difficult.

    ''I hate stupid, weak men. They alwaysin about how unfairly they are treated while doing nothing to further themselves.''

    ''And orphans are even worse. They have this deadpan look in their eyes. Be strong, change your nameˇ­ as I did.''

    The muscr girl slowed down, sweat dripping off her glistening body.

    "You seem to be getting your workout in."

    Brooke whipped around, activating her energy as she got ready to brawl the idiot into minced meat.

    The raven-haired man dodged to the side and held up his hands in mock surrender, "Look,dy, I meant no offense."

    "Just couldn''t help but say something looking at those bombs of yours," Ryan grinned.

    ''Bombs?''

    Seeing the girl''s quizzical look, Ryan chuckled. "Your breasts, the soft... Well, softer mounds of flesh on your chest," Ryan said, poking her firm rack.

    Brooke''s jaw dropped as she couldn''tprehend a male being so forward. ''Does he think I won''t pound him into the ground?''

    "What the fuck do you think you''re doing, weakling?" Brooke said, stepping threateningly towards Ryan.

    "Just touching the flesh of a beautiful woman. What? That''s not against thew, is it?" Ryan asked, shrugging.

    Brooke was frozen in shock. She had never met a man so forceful, even the creeps at the orphanage who tried to fondle her breasts had slouched shoulders.

    ''Of course, after I was done with them, they didn''t have shoulders.'' Brook''s hands clenched, preparing to strike. "I believe thew of strength gives the winner the right to do anything they want."

    Ryan tapped his chin and asked, "You''re here for the portal dimension event, correct?"

    Seeing Brooke nod, Ryan smiled and said, "Then let''s make a wager."

    "What kind of wager?" Brooke asked, narrowing her eyes.

    "The kind of fun, a kinky wager that only a pervertˇ­ I mean, gentlemen like myself coulde up with," Ryan said, hastily correcting himself.

    "Whichever person''s team ranks the highest, the other person must call the other Daddy/Mommy," Ryan said, licking his lips.

    ''She''s already conquered. She just doesn''t know it yet.'' Ryan''s eyes sparkled.

    Earlier, Ryan had used energy vision on her and had seen something entirely unexpected.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan had thought his skill only allowed him to see someone''s energy level, but either the skill mutated or something because it now had the hidden feature: Talent Sight.

    He had felt, more than saw, the woman''s talent for body strength was a high level when inspecting her earlier.

    He looked around andpared the feeling he got from this woman to the other cultivators and even went back to check Zoey''s newly converted form.

    ''Okay, so the newly evolved Zoey still wins by a small margin, but everyone else is in the dust.''

    "Call you, daddy?!" Brooke said, her nails now digging painfully into her palms. ''How dare this vile, weak man ask me to call him that to his face.''

    "You scum, fine. But I want another condition added," Brooke spat, looking at Ryan as though he was a garbage bag.

    "The winner gets to keep the loser as a ve until either one leaves campus."

    Ryan mulled the thought over before nodding, "Agreed."

    ===

    "Wee, wee everyone, to this year''s first portal dimension journey!" A thin, good-looking female said, her massive knockers weighing down her tiny frame.

    "We have saved this portal for four years and let it mature since receiving it."

    "Before I give the presentation, let''s get everyone together with their partners." Thedy hopped out from behind the podium and activated a hologram.

    Lighting up, the hologram covered the courtyard and designated different ces for the teams to go.

    Looking over, Ryan saw Emily''s neon green hair sparkling under the lights. He winded his way through the crowd, snuck up behind her, and whispered, "Hey, princess, " grabbing her around the waist from behind, whispered, "I''m d you''re safe."

    "Ryan!" Emily eximed, spinning herself around and out of his arms. "Umm, it''s nice to see you."

    Ryan tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, "What''s up with the tone?"

    Emily gave a forcedugh and pped his shoulder. "You''re funny!" Her fakeugh not reaching her beautiful eyes.

    "What happened?" He asked. "You are acting so different. Is it the oath? Do you even know what happened to me?" he asked, anger slipping into his tone.

    "Not now,ter," Emily said, ncing around.

    Ryan nodded. "Ok then,ter," he said, gritting his teeth as he hoped he was misunderstanding something.

    He headed to his appointed section and did a double take, seeing who was standing directly in the center of the floor.

    "What are you doing here?" Ryan asked, looking at the muscr woman with whom he had made a bet.

    Turning around, Brooke froze, then said, "What are you doing here, weakling?"

    "You can keep calling me weak, but as your partner, I would say to try not to be so pessimistic."

    "Partner?" Brooke have a half-smile, and then her draw dropped. ''This was an orphan?''

    She had been sure that Ryan was some rich son of a prominent noblewoman who overly pampered him.

    "Your name is Anthony Dire? I haven''t heard of that house before," Brooke said, hopeful that she hadn''t misjudged him so tantly.

    "Ah yes, the noble house ofˇ­ wait, I don''t even remember what orphanage I''m from, so that joke can''t work," Ryan muttered.

    "Hm, even if you''re an orphan, your still a man. Weaklings shouldn''t be making bets they can''t affect."

    Ryan arched his eyebrow, "Why don''t we continue our bet then."

    Tilting her head, her jet ck hair falling to the side, trying to shut out its'' bright white streaks, Brooke asked, "How?"

    "Instead of having partners, we willpete as singles rather than doubles. Our bet will be separate from our assignment. Whoever gets the most points wins."

    "An-nd same consequences for the loser?"

    Raising his smile wickedly, Ryan said, "Why don''t we add one more."

 Chapter 73 The Xygar Races Inheritance

    The pinched voice belonging to the thin announcer rang through the courtyard, "Alright, everyone! Since everyone has found their partner, let''s begin."

    "As many of you know, portal dimensions first appeared on Ravier when the heavens descended. They connect us to smallers than ours to collect resources to qualify to join the Multiverse eventually!"

    "I''m sure you''ve all heard that for the first time in over 2000 years, Ravier has someone who wants to defy fate and be an ''upgraded chosen''."

    "But I want to implore that while you''re on this dangerous, not to get greedy as there will always be other opportunities down the line."

    "Today, we are going through a G-Rank portal that leads to a realm less prestigious than ours to gather resources for cultivation and enhancement."

    "Our report says that this realm is void of intelligent life living. The monsters inhabiting the are below F rank and should be easy to deal with."

    "Remember, killing these monsters isn''t the same as on Ravier. On Ravier, we have our own monsters that lurk in the forgotten regions of our, but as local inhabitants of Ravier, we cannot gain cultivation by killing."

    "In this realm, you will not have such a restriction ced upon you, so feel free to kill to your heart''s content and gain the resources that fall from their bodies."

    "Before you enter the portal, I will cast a "return" teleportation spell on you, so if you will it, five days from now, you''ll be able to return to this exact location."

    "Even though you all don''t have heavenly screens, you can still see indications for these rare items for seven days after passing through a dimensional portal. The top 5 teams that get the most resources will be rewarded when they get back."

    "Remember, going through a portal will teleport you to a random location. Remember to hold your partner''s hand so you are teleported together."

    "Ok, then," the announcer looked around, "you can leave!"

    The groups of two began walking up to the portal, waiting for the thindy to cast the spell on them, and then walked anxiously through the portal.

    ''I don''t need a group. Better I go alone and not risk anyone seeing me use my cultivation,'' Ryan thought.

    Ryan and Brooke walked side by side and nced at each other, nodding.

    Letting go of her hand at thest second, Ryan walked through the portal alone.

    A small ball of light appeared before him, his eyes widening as he saw the world disappear into nothingness.

    He felt an instant rush of cold air hit his face, then came to stop with an audible thud on what seemed like solid ground.

    Ryan stood up, feeling himself again, noticing how ufortable standing in a different environment made him feel.

    After a few seconds, he turned to look around to scan his environment. He could see some massive trees off in the distance. ''A forest?'' The trees were sorge that they seemed to reach into the heavens and grab ahold of the stars.

    Ryan checked his surroundings and noticed no sign of any animals besides a flock of birds flying overhead. They were chirping loudly enough for Ryan to want to cover his ears.

    Looking back toward the portal entrance, he saw something that caught his eye: The portal was different from the one he saw in the courtyard.

    Ryan activated energy vision and saw that the energy contained within this portal was multiple times bigger than the one in the courtyard.

    Ryan got a sinking feeling in his gut when suddenly the portal disappeared, taking all traces of itself along with it.

    With only being able to sense the size difference between these two portals, he couldn''t tell if he had gone to another realm... or a real with intelligent life. All he knew was that he wasn''t on the he was meant to go to.

    Ryan shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever."

    ''Either way, in five days, I can go back.''

    He started walking to see where he might end up.

    ''I guess I should try to gather resources before nightfall,'' Ryan thought, ''maybe I''ll even run into some monsters.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''Hopefully, there will be some free exp,'' Ryan thought, licking his lips.

    ===

    Back on Ravierˇ­

    The Duchess reclined on her plush purple couch, slowly stroking her beloved Voolf, the pure white wolf she raised from a young pup.

    On the hologram floating in front of her, she watched as the participants catapulted through the portal andnded on the new.

    She had bribed and forced the thin announcer to put an extra spell on the students that would track and give her sight. She had switched out the portal and changed it from a G-Rank portal to an ''official'' portal at the F-Rank, which she knew Emily could handle since she had received a heavenly screen thanks to Ryan.

    ''Although there is a chance of something going wrongˇ­ no, what are the odds of that?''

    ''I wish that kid wasn''t a maniac that went up against a whole empire,'' the Duchess thought as shemented.

    ===

    After a couple of hours of wandering through the woods, Ryan still hadn''t found a single living soul other than himself, yet he felt like people weren''t far behind him and maybe even watching him.

    Even though he tried to look around for anyone else, his main focus was getting something that could help him destroy the human empire.

    Although it looked like his chances of that were slim to noneˇ­

    As the sun set, Ryan noticed something glowing above his head. A tree was giving off a faint glow so bright that Ryan''s eyes didn''t want to follow its path upward. He reached out for support, touched the base of the tree, and was surprised by how warm it waspared to the air around it.

    It must have been getting closer to evening because Ryan felt a little chilly, so he leaned on it for warmth.

    Looking at it closely, he saw that it seemed almost too symmetrical. Even when he looked directly up, he saw no branches or leavesˇ­ not even bark on any part of the trunk.

    It looked almost manmade... but who would build an enormous tree?

    Walking up to the tree, he realized it had multiple trunks instead of one. The thickest trunk had tworge rings forming, each ring having two smaller circles stacked together, which gave them an odd three-ringed appearance.

    Touching one of thoserger, thicker rings, Ryan found it warm to touch, his finger making a dull sound against it. It didn''t feel like a natural material; it felt like stone or metal.

    Jumping back in surprise, Ryan received a notification.

    [New Quest: Xygar Race Inheritance]

    [Description: The goal is to discover the identity of your race and its legacy for the universe. To aplish this, speak with the god known as ''The Old Man'' within the ancient city ruins, andplete his test.]

    [ept / Decline]

    [You ept the quest ''Xygar Race Inheritance''.]

    Ryan epted without hesitation.

    With all that had happened since waking up on Ravier''s, he needed a good distraction to keep his mind from dwelling on anything else that might be going on right now. It was worth a shot if it helped him be stronger than ever.

    A roar rose from the depths of the Earth, shaking the tree so hard it broke from its base into two pieces. The top half fell towards the ground, the bottom falling on the other side; both crashed down upon the Earth. Trees toppled all around. Animals screamed and fled.

    Ryan watched from a safe distance, already having headed into the forest. ''Show off,'' Ryan thought, seeing the heavens show of "strength".

 Chapter 74 Catgirls Are Real Too?!

    The quest didn''t give him any map or locator to find the ancient city ruins, but Ryan hoped he wouldn''t need one.

    A short way off into the woods, there was a very small clearing where someone had left a huge pile of firewood in a heap.

    "Maybe it''s kindling for a campfire," he said out loud while looking at his surroundings for anyone watching.

    He saw an axeying on top of the firewood. He could smell the freshly cut wood.

    "Who are you?" a voice asked behind Ryan.

    Spinning around, Ryan saw two women dressed in leather standing in front of him, one of which held a spear in her hands. They both looked rtively human, except for the cat ears sticking from either side of their heads.

    One seemed to be about as old as Ryan, with dark brown hair that came down past her shoulders, and wore thin red robes with long sleeves.

    The other woman was much taller than the first, wearing only a few pieces of armor instead of aplete outfit, exposingrge breasts with hard metal points covering her nipples. Her face was hidden under a headdress, simr to how Lizzy and Izzy wore their veils when Ryan first met them.

    The armored catwoman one held up a spear and red at him suspiciously. "Who are you?"

    "Rx,dies," Ryan said, exuding the thinnestyer of his pleasure aura he could muster.

    "Everything will be alright... Just put your weapon away," He spoke telepathically to them without moving his mouth.

    "What''s that sound? Is there a monster near us? Oh my gosh!" The smaller one jumped, frantically ncing around.

    Ryan smiled widely and shook his head before speaking aloud again, "That was me, darling."

    The woman''s mouth widened into an ''O'', and she hurriedly indicated to the other cady to lower her weapon.

    The tall woman frowned and pointed her spear at Ryan while whispering something inaudible to the long-haired one.

    The long-haired woman looked at him questioningly and tilted her head slightly.

    "I''m sorry," she said in a sad voice, "but we''re going to have to kill you now."

    "Kill me?" Ryan asked, a grin forming on his face.

    She nodded slowly but didn''t move toward or make aggressive gestures toward him.

    Ryan felt something amiss, but as he was about to nt his back foot in a defensive position, he was lifted off the ground and dragged backward by some unseen force that forced him through the trees.

    ''What is this?''

    He tried looking around for who it was that was dragging him, only to realize that all his energy was being pulled out of his body along with his ability to think.

    As his fatigue and loss of strength clouded his mind, Ryan watched as the two catwomen came closer until they were directly above him.

    Just as the catwoman was about to bring her spear down on Ryan''s head, she froze in ce and... Darkness.

    ***

    "Mistress Hannah, we''ve brought him, just as you''ve asked!" said the long-haired catgirl.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Thankfully, you were able to divert Diana''s de right when she was about to kill the male, although he still got cut a little in the ribs."

    "Yes," replied Hannah, "He was quite lucky. Perhaps it was fate that our dear friend and savior was there for us. A little help from above!" She looked up at the ceiling where The Old Man watched over everything without a word.

    Ryan could hear the conversation but couldn''t stir or open his eyes.

    "We remain thankful that the Old Man is a source of knowledge to everyone in this world, though we still cannot see his true form," continued Hannah.

    Everyone knew The Old Man existed; the people in this world just epted it as fact, although Hannah''s n was different. They were the direct n of catpeople who served the Xygar during their time of dominance in the Multiverse eons ago.

    Ryan''s eyes began to twitch.

    "So," she spoke as she stared at Ryan curiously, "you''re awake."

    Ryan''s face contorted into an expression of confusion and shock. "Who are you?"

    "My name is Hannah, the tribe leader of the Catservants of Xygar," Hannah said proudly with her chest puffed out, showing off her breasts. She was barely covered by a thin piece of leather that clung tightly to her body.

    "You seem to be one of the heaven''s chosen. Are you here for the inheritance? If so, then it must have been fate that allowed me to find my savior... again," Hannah said, whispering thest part.

    "Fate..." Ryan whispered while staring at the tall woman who stood beside Hannah, looking at him like he was something nasty she had stepped in.

    "Is this how you usually greet your saviors?" Ryan asked, watching Diana re at him.

    Hannah shook her head self-deprecatingly. "No, not really. Diana here," Hannah said, pointing to the one who almost gutted him, "has had some bad experiences with males."

    "Why do I feel like that''s an understatement?" Ryan thought out loud.

    Diana red at Ryan, a popping sounding from how hard she was squeezing her fingers.

    "Why have you brought me here?" Ryan asked, ignoring the anger directed toward himself. "And what happened to my clothes? And where are we?"

    "You could say this is your first test," Hannah said, stepping forward and kneeling down on one knee until they were almost eye level.

    "The Xygar race passed away long ago and left us in ruin, but we still remain proud servants of Xygar in all their forms."

    Hannah''s hand reached out for his right shoulder in an attempt to touch Ryan, which caused her breast to move seductively against her chest. The look on her face suggested that touching Ryan was the highest honor a person could ever achieve.

    She was about to lean in closer to make her wish a reality when a man suddenly appeared behind her, cing a palm over her shoulders, and gently pushed her back a couple of steps before she fell t onto her butt.

    "Hannah, do not touch our potential Lord," he spoke with authority.

    The man spoke with the voice of someone who sounded like he should bemanding armies or maybe being the ruler of a small country somewhere. He also wore an odd outfit, made of ck cloth that draped around him like a cloak.

    It didn''t seem like it would be enough to stop Hannah''s lust-filled eyes from gazing at Ryan, but it did distract her from what she was about to do.

    "But it''s time to test you now," said the male, taking another step forward.

 Chapter 75 Hannahs A Yandere?

    "Please tell me your name."

    "My name is Ryan... Who are you?" Ryan asked. His gaze slowly turned towards the new figure until he locked on the hooded man''s ck hair.

    His short, ck hair framed his round face perfectly, his eyes looking directly into his own while smiling with amusement and interest. He had thin lips and a tall nose within his soft face that looked just like a cherub in an oil painting.

    "My name is Shade," answered the man, taking a step toward Ryan without breaking eye contact. "I am the protector of the Xygar."

    "I was sent here by The Old Man for a... preliminary test," continued Shade.

    Ryan watched as the man removed his cloak.

    His skin was covered with intricate tattoos, which matched his dark ck hair.

    "He told me to test if you were worthy to be given the directions to the ruins, as that is the majority of the test."

    "Why would he give me the answer to a majority of the test?" Ryan asked in bewilderment.

    "Because he knows you are under a time restraint, that''s why!" replied Diana.

    Shade ignored her and held up a finger to silence her. "The test is to cure Hannah of her curse."

    Hannah gasped, and even Diana took a step back at Shade''s words.

    "A curse?" Ryan asked in disbelief. "What kind of curse?"

    ''Are they going to make me convert her?'' Ryan thought. ''I would run out of here except...''

    When Ryan had used energy vision on Shade, he couldn''t tell his rank, meaning he must be at least C-Rank.

    But that wasn''t the most terrifying thing. His ability also didn''t work on the three catgirls.

    "That''s not fair," muttered Diana angrily, cing a hand over her mouth in shock. "Even though I hate men, he deserves a fair shot."

    Shade shrugged, "It''s straight from The Old Man''s mouth."

    Ryan furrowed his brow as Shade put away his hooded cloak and knelt down next to Hannah, who still remained stunned by what Shade said. The man reached forward with his fingers and touched Hannah''s forehead before bringing his other arm around and pressing his palm against her chest right above her heart.

    As soon as he ced his hand against Hannah''s chest there was an intense burning sensation in Ryan''s eyes that caused him to throw up his hands in an attempt to block out the blinding light that was now covering his entire vision.

    Deactivating energy vision, Ryan''s sight returned to normal.

    Ryan furrowed his brow looking at Hannah. "Okay, but I''ll need you all to leave the room."

    Shade only nodded and escorted out the two catgirls without a word ofint. Once they were gone and the door shut behind them, he watched silently as Hannah rubbed her temples and massaged her forehead.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What happened?!" she finally asked. "I remember wanting to touch your cheek when my hand got taken away, then everything went ck!"

    "You''re cursed," Ryan spoke slowly as if trying to get the words out carefully. He couldn''t believe it either until Shade did... what did he just do?

    ''Whatever he did, allowed me to tell exactly what her curse was. I should be cautious around that guy.''

    "Your curse is that whenever you are close to someone you lust for..." Shade looked at Ryan questioningly with one eyebrow raised, "...you be infatuated with them."

    Hannah frowned at the revtion, thinking about every time she felt something like this. She could recall how often she would sneak a look at a male and find herself getting lost in their beautiful features and how the sun hit their skin.

    It wasn''t always men, though. Some females could work her up as well. The mostmon type of people she found attractive were human males, which was ironic considering she had only seen two in her life.

    Her first was a tall man, about five foot nine or ten inches, with long dark hair that fell past his shoulders, brown eyes, paleplexion, thin lips, and muscr arms and legs. But he turned out to be gay... or at least that''s what he told her.

    "I''m not crazy. You understand... right?" Hannah looked at Ryan with eyes filled with craze and desire.

    ''She''s starting to look like a yandere. Although, since she has breasts, she passes the test,'' Ryan thought.

    "I believe I can help you with your curse," Ryan said, recalling how he helped Mara with her icy constitution.

    ''And I won''t have to waste a slot on her.''

    "Is that possible?!" Hannah asked while looking at him with hopeful eyes.

    Ryan nodded and stood up, stroking Hannah''s cheek. "But in exchange, tell me about the Multiverse."

    Hannah smiled and teasingly punched Ryan''s chest, "You''re so silly."

    "You either won''t need that information, or you''ll be able tomand me to do... whatever you want," Hannah purred into Ryan''s ears, her small whiskers tickling his cheeks.

    She licked her lips as she ced both hands against his head before she moved her hand away from his face, running her fingers through his hair yfully while gazing at him with eyes of devotion.

    "What do you mean I won''t need that information?" Ryan asked, tilting his head.

    "You''ll be dead silly," Hannah said, giggling. "It''s not like the test for a King-Tier civilization''s inheritance in the Multiverse is easy to obtain."

    Pursing his lips, Ryan shrugged. ''Not like I''m likely to live long anyway.''

    Hannah smirked happily before she leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead, and then stepped back and poked her tongue out at him.

    "Now, how are you going to cure me, silly boy?" Hannah asked seductively as she brushed her hips. She took a moment to look up at him with those innocent eyes again while slowly swaying her hips as if trying to entice a man into having sex with her.

    "Well, as my master use to say, ''The cure lies in the source''," Ryan said, licking his lips.

 Chapter 76 Curing Hannah, Ryan Style [R-18]

    Activating his aura, Ryan threw Hannah onto the bed behind him. Falling on top of Hannah and wrapping his arms around her waist.

    Hannah moaned as Ryan''srge hands roamed her sides as he nted soft kisses on her neck while softly sucking on her skin. Next, his hands reached toward her breasts, gently squeezing them between his fingers before moving lower toward her pants.

    He pulled the zipper before sliding his fingers inside the front opening, feeling her tiny frame through her panties.

    Hannah grabbed Ryan''s shoulders when he started to move upwards to remove her shirt and pushed him back onto the mattress with one arm under him.

    "Not yet," she said yfully, giving a mischievous wink with a wicked grin before pushing him back again so that he was lying on his stomach.

    She kissed each of Ryan''s shoulder des before nting another kiss on his neck, slowly working until her lips met his earlobe, kissing it passionately.

    Hannah heard Ryan''s heartbeat getting louder and faster as she licked and sucked at his earlobe, slowly working her hand into the gap between their bodies.

    The catgirl teased him by stroking his bare side while rubbing against his sensitive erection for several minutes with an erotic expression on her face.

    Ryan finally got fed up with this teasing and turned over, grabbing a handful of Hannah''s hair to pull her head away from him while staring lustfully at her pretty face.

    He put both hands on her hips, forcing them to separate so he could get ess to her body before leaning forward to begin sucking hard on her left nipple.

    Her body tensed up as he pulled back, only to thrust his tongue out towards the other nipple before sucking again.

    Hannah''s legs parted slightly but still held onto his sides tightly. Ryan held Hannah''s wrists firmly above her head while cing one hand on her cheek with the palm facing inward while the fingers curled around the sides of her neck, gently tugging her closer.

    His lips made their way down her torso until he was just below her waistline, and then Ryan kissed her soft skin before moving upward toward her neck and shoulders, kissing and licking every inch of flesh he passed along the way.

    He made sure to give her ample time between kisses and licks to enjoy what she was feeling.

    Hannah bit her lip in anticipation as Ryan ced a kiss against her earlobe as he stood up.

    Hannah gasped as Ryan lifted her and sat her on hisp, wrapping his arms around her chest while standing up. His cock brushed up against her slit quickly, causing Hannah to gasp, but not in arousal this time.

    "Oh my... How is that even possible?" Hannah asked in shock as she stared at the long shaft that seemed ready to enter her.

    Ryan grabbed her hips to keep himself upright before leaning over and biting her neck.

    Hannah moaned happily, "Yes! Please!"

    Ryan looked between their bodies before licking his lips slowly while gazing into Hannah''s eyes and smiling.

    His expression grew dark and more intense as a single bead of sweat dripped down his forehead onto her shoulder. She knew what he was about to do next.

    Hannah heard a slight ripping sound as her panties ripped off her body and the rest of her clothes, leaving only her ck lingerie covering her lower half. Her knees suddenly became weak, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around Ryan for support.

    Ryan''s breath hitched when he saw the sight before him but quickly took deep breaths after steadying the red energy pounding against his mind.

    Hannah licked her lips nervously and looked at him through her longshed blue-green cat eyes before taking his head between her hands. "Fuck me already," she pleaded with desperation in her voice.

    Grinning devilishly as he enjoyed every moment of her torture, Ryan forced her to kneel on all fours while leaning forward until his tip was touching the entrance of her vagina.

    Ryan ced his shaft against the soft wet pussy lips.

    Hannah''s heart raced wildly in her chest as she panted heavily, trying not to hyperventte or faint from embarrassment as he began moving his hips back and forth slowly, watching as the glistening pre-cum spread out over the hooded crown of his penis, dripping toward her clit.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The scent alone had Hannah ready to orgasm within seconds, but instead of going inside, he continued rubbing between her legs with light strokes.

    With a growl, Ryan bit hard on Hannah''s neck again, making the catgirl tremble. His eyes bore into hers so intensely they seemed like twin suns burning into their sockets.

    "How much longer must I wait?" She whispered into his ear in a low tone filled with lust.

    "Until you''re begging," Ryan growled.

    Hannah blushed and stared at him with wide eyes as she licked her lips, biting her tongue to prevent herself from moaning in frustration as he moved faster, causing her to gasp with every thrust.

    It wasn''t long before her body tensed up, and she let out an animalistic whine before exploding into a loud shriek as she came harder than she ever thought possible.

    Her body trembled and convulsed as she screamed his name before falling onto the ground while shuddering for several minutes until the trembling stopped entirely.

    Ryan looked at Hannah''s body sprawled on the floor, covered in sweat, while his erection grew even stiffer by the moment.

    The red energy surrounding his mind burned hotter and stronger, bing unbearable.

    He could feel his energy surging through his veins, taking control of his thoughts, and he watched with glee as the girl kneeled on all fours before standing back up, spreading her legs.

    "Please... Please..." Hannah pleaded as her heart began to race again after seeing the look of desire burning inside Ryan''s eyes as she sat up. "I''m begging you."

    Without any warning or hesitation whatsoever, Ryan shoved forward hard into her soft wet slit in one swift motion that made them both grunt from the impact.

    His entire cock was engulfed within her pussy, and then everything became a blur as he used every ounce of strength to forcefully drive deeper into her quivering flesh without stopping.

    Hannah screamed with pleasure from being stretched beyond belief, but she had been pleasantly wrong because Ryan didn''t stop moving until she felt him bottom out inside her stomach.

    Hannah shivered violently when she saw how big his balls were hanging beneath his member while they jerked up and against her clit each time he thrust his hips in order to keep going.

    "Oh God," She whimpered loudly as the walls of her vagina gripped and massaged his throbbing member with unrelenting pressure.

    Hannah''s vision blurred as the tears rolled down her cheeks as every inch of his manhood filled every single crevice of her most sensitive part, causing an earth-shattering orgasm so powerful, she feared her body would tear apart from it.

    Her screams echoed off the wooden walls around them, only getting louder and more intense by the second as her body went into spasms after another release that caused her insides to tighten like a vice grip, making her chest tremble before releasing one final cry that ended in a deep breathless gasp before finally letting go entirely.

    Ryan growled in pleasure while mming in and out of Hannah at such a fast pace that it felt as though he was about ready to pull out in seconds but somehow found himself unable to stop what he was doing altogether.

    The red energy swirled faster and stronger inside him as every moment passed. The air was practically scorching hot now, with only pure white light pouring into his mind from the endless pool of red power filling his veins with its irresistible, overpowering nature.

    Ryan closed his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth together while the muscles on his arms bulged as he continued to m in and out of Hannah''s pussy harder than ever before. His entire body shook as he drove deeper and deeper inside her quivering wet folds without stopping or slowing down a second.

    He didn''t know how much longer he couldst with the way things were going but somehow knew that it had already been too long since starting this encounter, and he felt the longer hested, the more benefits he would have.

    Hannah screamed in pleasure when the tip of Ryan''s cock rubbed against her G-spot while making her feel like her whole body was exploding into a million pieces at once. She heard a loud groan escape her lips as her eyes rolled back into her head as another orgasm swept through her trembling frame beforepletely emptying her juices onto the ground beneath them.

    Her vision faded out entirely as her thoughts grew hazy, causing Hannah to pass out entirely as another wave of orgasm washed over her weakened mind with so many sparks flying before finally ending again.

    Ryan spurted his load inside Hannah''s convulsing slit, letting out heavy panting breaths while squeezing both of her breasts hard in his hands, trying desperately to keep himself froming all over himself.

    The girl looked almost dead in front of him after taking so much of his strength, but that only turned him on because he enjoyed seeing people struggle in pain and pleasure from being taken by him.

 Chapter 77 The Voyeur [R-18]

    The Duchess sat alone, still stroking Volf with an expression of intrigue.

    Currently, her holograms only disyed three individuals: Ryan, Emily, and Roger.

    Ryan was currently knocked unconscious by a tribe of catpeople, a race the Duchess was not that familiar with.

    Looking at Ryan''s unconscious body, although she didn''t have sound, things were not going as nned from the previous happenings.

    As Ryan was knocked unconscious, a woman appeared and had begun shouting at the catwoman with the spear, who was about to solve all her problems.

    "No, no, no!" the Duchess had shouted, as the spear aimed at the boy''s head only grazed his side.

    Gnashing her teeth in anger, she hadn''t noticed her daughter''s and Roger''s predicament for several minutes.

    A group of gargoyles had attacked them, and for some reason, they appeared to be strong enough to inflict damage on Emily.

    When she had noticed, she thrashed around her room, breaking vases, shattering picture frames, and even knocking her goldfish onto the floor while it sshed around, gasping for breath.

    "Some insolent monster hurt my baby?!" she had screamed.

    The Duchess had wanted to teleport to her baby right then and there, but when she triedˇ­

    "What?!" the Duchess''s eyes went wide and stumbled back, stepping on her goldfish, squashing it, and slipping.

    Crashing to the floor on her butt, she was too stunned to care as the message she received chilled her to the very core.

    [This realm is closed]

    Someone inexperienced might think this was normal, but the Duchess knew better.

    "There is someone who has broken the barrier in that realm," She muttered while a tingle ran through her limbs.

    "It''s a testing sight."

    Sitting back in her chair, the Duchess continued to watch in silence for the next few minutes until Ryan had awoken.

    She already knew that he was an Overlord, the name for a human chosen, so she guessed he was the one being tested in this realm.

    A realm would only close if the test had begun and the quest epted. Although she wasn''t a heavenly choice, she knew someone who was. ''Although we aren''t exactly on speaking terms, not after I told her what her mother was up to.''

    "I wonder what his test will be?" she thought out loud.

    "What is he doing?" Leaning into the hologram, she enhanced the view, and her breath hitched as she felt arousal assemble in her body.

    The Duchess watched as Ryan threw Hannah onto the bed and began to kiss and caress her.

    The Duchess licked her lips and muttered, "Well, I''ve always turned off Emily''s screens during their sessions since I value her privacy. Let''s see what a man who can conquer my daughter can do in the bedroom."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Her mouth started to hang open as she saw Hannah''s mouth start to scream and plea. The scene was so hot that a slut like her couldn''t stand it and had to reach her hands lower, and touch the outline of pussy through her exposed panties.

    She liked wearing dresses, so she could always have ess to what was important.

    "Oh fuck," as she continued to watch the scene, the Duchess was getting more and more aroused looking at the lewd expression Hannah was making.

    Pushing her panties to the side, the Duchess ced two fingers inside herself and began ying with her walls. Her eyes locked on Ryan, who appeared to be enjoying himself greatly by touching all parts of Hannah''s body while he sucked on her neck.

    ''This guy looks great! I wonder if I can convince him to try me? It seems like he''d be worth trying... Maybe if I offered him something special for taking me?''

    The moment Ryan pushed into Hannah''s cunt hard enough to make his balls p against her ass made the Duchess feel extremely warm inside while squeezing her legs tightly together. She wanted to taste every drop of his cum as soon as possible.

    ''What is happening to me?'' she thought as she tried to take her attention away from the screen but couldn''t. "Fuck it, I need this. This is what makes my bodye alive."

    Hannah''s voice reached out, saying, "I''m begging you..." As they watched, Hannah sat up and begged, spreading her long, luscious legs apart.

    "Please," Hannah began again before she was pushed forward as Ryan began fucking her at an incredible pace, one the Duchess had never seen in real life. He didn''t stop until his cock waspletely buried deep within her pussy over and over.

    The Duchess felt like she was going to burst as she watched Ryan fill Hannah''s tight little pussy full of red hot flesh each time his hips met hers.

    The Duchess''s hands were trembling inside herself at how good it looked, even though she couldn''t hear their words. Sadly, the only thing she could do was watch everything unfold through the hologram.

    Hannah screamed around the cock filling her insides while crying tears of joy, but there wasn''t a hint of pain or difort anywhere on her face, which made the Duchess sigh heavily. She wondered why she hadn''t noticed how attractive this boy was yet. ''It would be nice to have a man who can satisfy me.''

    Hannah''s breasts shook as Ryan pounded into her without mercy, Ryan grabbing her boobs roughly, causing her to squeal in pleasure.

    Ryan held onto Hannah by cing his arms under her legs as he pulled back into his own ass for every thrust forward and mmed back into her dripping wet cunt over and over again, making them groan together, panting and sweating from all the exertion.

    The girl looked like she might pass out after enduring so much pleasure from Ryan.

    ''Fuck, I''m going to cum!'' The Duchess thought. She wanted nothing more than to drink the load right out of him. Her body was tingling everywhere, and she had to touch herself to get off, rubbing her clit hard while watching the two of them have sex.

    The sight of Hannah''s body rocking side to side was too good for anyone to handle without being turned on, even if you were just looking at an image on a screen with no sound.

    Hannah''s expression said it all when it came to how happy she was to feel something inside of her that felt both painful and pleasurable at the same time her cries filled the room as they fucked each other faster and harder untilˇ­

    "I want your seed inside me!" the Duchess shouted as she imagined herself being banged without mercy by Ryan. "Fill me! Fill me now!"

    "Fuck," Ryan grunted before shoving his cock deep into Hannah once, twice, thrice, four times, five, six... He pushed deeper still. Seven, eight, nine. The moment his balls touched her ass on hisst thrusts, he blew his load inside her. She cried out in ecstasy around him while he let go, filling her insidespletely while coating her insides in white hot cum.

    The Duchess convulsed around her fingers, feeling pleasure course through every part of her body. Her face flushed red as she squirted between her legs again and again until the orgasm stopped. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she tried desperately to hold back another round of orgasms.

    It didn''t work, and she fell forward onto the floor again, knocking another goldfish to the ground and smashing it to pieces with her own body.

    As shey sprawling on the floor, the Duchess didn''t notice Emily and Roger getting into their own sticky situation.

 Chapter 78 Emily Gets Taken

    Emily and Roger had been stumbling around the trying to fulfill their mission. But things didn''t seem to be going to n. Emily walked with a slight limp, and Roger held his injured arm.

    ''Those monsters deserved to die,'' Emily mused. Trying to focus her anger on their earlier attackers rather than on the useless partner that trudged beside her. ''Ryan''s so much better.''

    ''Wait, why am I thinking about Ryan... that letter, it''s the heavens themselves.''

    The creepy gargoyles had attacked them from their perches on the deserted building they stumbled upon two days into their mission.

    Luckily, the gargoyles were of lower rank, and Emily was able to cut them down with her green saber, leaving Emily and Roger sore and somewhat injured.

    After the gargoyle attack, Emily and Roger begrudgingly continued their mission. At this point in their journey, they were too tired to speak. They were heading back to the meeting point. Emily was tired and hungry. Earlier that morning, they agreed they would only take breaks if absolutely necessary. She felt like she needed a long break with a huge meal and a hot soak in a tub.

    As Emily wobbled on some moss, she was about to call out to her... interesting partner when he slipped on the moss and tumbled on the ground, slicing his hand on a sharp rock.

    "Roger got hurt!" Roger eximed, taking a healing pill from his sack and popping it in his mouth.

    Distracted by the fall, neither one heard the rustle of the trees behind them.

    A strange feeling crawled up her neck as Emily gave Roger a helping hand.

    "Roger, thanks, Emily," Roger said, turning his hand over to check the healing process.

    Emily whispered almost under her breath, "I think we are being watched."

    "Roger understands," Roger whispered back.

    Roger and Emily slowly looked around, trying not to show any fear.

    A howl rang through the air, followed by several other howls that encircled the duo in a cacophony of malice.

    "Roger," Emily muttered, "We have to make it to the trees. If they attack, I will try to hold them off while you climb."

    "Roger understands," Roger replied as they slowly began moving toward the nearest set of trees.

    Another howl, now closer, stopped them from moving.

    "Head in that direction," Emily said, pointing toward a cluster ofrge boulders halfway between them and a different clump of trees. "We may have a chance if we hide there. Go!"

    They ran, and just as they reached the rocks, they heard several growls, and the air wooshed around them.

    They dove into a crevice between the stones, Emily''s saber flying in an arc around them, swinging in a circle above her head.

    A wolf-like monster with ck fur and a frothy, foaming maw leaped out of the woods as the circling saber sliced through its Achilles tendon.

    A crying howl boomeranged around the forest, and a spray of purple blood erupted from the wound.

    The wolf slunk back to the forest, gnashing its teeth in fury.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Rrrooggerr allmosstt noo mooreee Rooggerr," Roger said, his voiceing out in shaky spurts.

    Emily peered out, her forehead and eyes extending out from the safety of the boulders. She sucked in, her breath sounding like a whoosh of wind on a stormy night.

    Three ragged ck wolf beasts were circling their stone hideout. One of the wolf beasts seemedrger and wiser than the others. That wolf caught Emily''s eyes.

    The wolf''s eyes narrowed, showing only the red pupils. The wolf barked and shifted her head, signaling the other two wolves to attack.

    The two beasts flew through the air, their long yellow fangs gnashing as saliva dripped down the wolf''s mouth. They leaped on the boulders jumping and avoiding the saber slicing through the air.

    Long bands of slime covered Emily, the saliva loosening her grip on the saber. Grabbing the slippery handle with both hands, she was able to keep a hold of the end, but this caused her to falter, her bnce thrown off.

    She slipped just as another bark howl came from a distance. Her saber hit the rock, bouncing down and crashing to the ground. Emily and Roger bent to pick up the saber seemingly lodged in the crack and felt fangs grab their necks and drag them out of the boulders.

    Screaming and iling, they tried to attack the beasts with their hands and feet, but they were no match for the agile, strong beasts. The wolves dragged them in front of the queen, waiting for instructions.

    Crying with fear and pain, Emily and Roger stared at each other, knowing this was the end. Emily had just enough time to initiate an instinctive cry for help on her heavenly screen as ckness enveloped her, and she knew no more.

    The pack of three caught up with the limping wolf. They darted through the trees, deeper into the forest, and raced in and out of the trees, down through jagged breaks in the mountain while dragging their prey in their dirty fangs.

    Emily and Roger felt nothing as rocks and trees shredded them. They couldn''t see that their bodies were mming and bouncing off any obstacle in the pack''s pathway.

    They had no idea they were thrown into their alongside three sleeping pups, awaiting their limbs to be torn and eaten. Their bodies going to be feasted on. Fueling the wolfpack for several days.

    ===

    The duchess screamed in disbelief. "My girl is dead! My girl is dead!" Wailing at the top of her lungs, the Duchess threw anything she could get her hands on. The priceless volcanic vases bounced off the walls, the cushions went flying, knocking off a whole shelf of handmade ss butterflies, and the side tables were overturned, sendingmps, books, and knickknacks flying.

    Volf ran to hide under therge balsam wood table, traumatized from the events of today. Tail tucked under his legs, ears t, he lowered his head to the floor, his eyes never leaving the duchess.

    Still wailing, the Duchess flung open her pantry. She grabbed cookies, chips, and the priceless choctes she was saving for gifts and began shoving the food in her mouth.

    Volf''s eyes lit up, and his head raised a bit. He was always in the mood for some extra food.

    Chomping, spitting, and throwing, the Duchess, fell to the floor weeping. Surrounded by mostly empty packages, the Duchess rolled around on the floor, hands and feet iling, not noticing the choctes painting her clothes and the chip and cookie crumbs crushing in her tangled hair.

    After about an hour, the Duchess lightly brushed herself off and got back into her chair.

    Volf began helping the Duchess out by cleaning up the pile of food in the kitchen. For a moment, he took his eyes off his master, and hearing a scream, he frantically dodged to the side, almost dying from the te of croissants that the Duchess towards the cupboard.

    The Duchess curled up on the chair, softly crying and moaning, "My girl is in trouble, and there''s nothing I can do!"

    Realizing he needed to console his master, Volf gave the floor a few more licks before he headed over andid his head on his master''s hands.

 Chapter 79 Ryans Choice

    "Shade, we''re done here," Ryan called out, looking at the disheveled Hannah on the floor.

    Shade creaked the door open and peered inside, seeing Hannah''s blissed-out expression as shey drooling on the floor.

    "I asked you to cure her of her curse, not the symptoms of it," Shade said, looking a little disappointed at Ryan. ''I thought he could be our master. Unfortunately, it appears he''s just another hotˇ­ hot head,'' Shade thought, shaking his head to clear the visions of debauchery that had entered his mind.

    "I think you should take a closer look, Shade," Diana said from behind Shade, her eyes gleaming with awe.

    Shade raised his eyebrow at Diana before moving closer, cing a hand on the slobbering Hannah.

    "Well, I''ll be damned," Shade whispered in excitement and astonishment.

    Not only had Hannah''s curse been lifted, but it had also been reced by something actively helping her.

    "What is this power inside of her?" Shade asked, turning towards Ryan.

    "From where Ie from, it''s called liquid gold, but you probably know it as baby milk."

    "That''s your life essence?" Shade asked, recognizing the phrase baby milk.

    "Yeah, don''t you have enhancers here?"

    "Enhancersˇ­ Do you mean others have this power where youe from?" Shade asked, widening his eyes.

    "It''s pretty rare on Ravier, but there are thousands," Ryan said, trying to gauge Shade''s reaction.

    "I assume your is not connected to the Multiverse. Yes?"

    Seeing Ryan nod, Shade sucked in a deep breath, unable to contain a grin.

    "Does your have an Owner?"

    ''Can someone own a?''

    Ryan was about to say he didn''t know when a girl with long brown hair, who was with Diana, when Ryan was knocked unconscious, walked into the room.

    "He needs to be on his way since he''s past the test," the girl said. "My name is Kaitlyn, and I''ll be your guide to the test site."

    ===

    Ryan flew side by side with Kaitlyn, each on their magic swords. Although Ryan''s ''Flying Stick'' wasn''t the most useful forbat, it couldn''t fly more than 10 feet off the ground, looked more like a long toothpick than a sword, andˇ­

    ''I need an upgrade,'' Ryan thought as he nced over at the midnight ck de under Kaitlyn''s feet.

    [Harem Alert: Harem Member ''Emily'' has sent a distress signal]

    [Select this prompt for location]

    Ryan did a double-take looking at the message. ''Is she even in the same realm as me?'' Ryan thought.

    When he was transferred, he didn''t exactly know his situation. All he understood before the portal had disappeared was that he hadn''t ended up in a G-Rank realm.

    Clicking on the location, Ryan now knew she was in the same realm and was rtively close.

    Ryan now had a decision to make. He could turn his back on Emily and continue towards the testing site, orˇ­

    ''I made an oath.'' Ryan had sworn to Emily that her problems would be his problems. He swore he would protect her, even if she acted strange to him this morning.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''A true man always keeps his word.''

    ''...Also, it would be a shame to lose both a slot and someone influential within the human empire.''

    Ryan decided he needed to know exactly why Emily was acting the way she was and if the situation was fixable. He knew deep inside what he had to do if it wasn''t.

    "Kailyn!" Ryan shouted, swerving his sword to a stop.

    Kaitlyn maneuvered the air like a fish in water, doing a clean 180-degree turn on her sword. "What''s the matter?"

    "One of my women is in trouble. I need to save her," Ryan said, turning toward the direction that the prompt pointed him in.

    "Here, take this," She said, handing an item to Ryan.

    "Thanks."

    ===

    Ryan plummeted through the chilly air, his flying stick weaving through the forest. ''Maybe Emily sent the warning by ident.''

    Coming dangerously close to mming into arge pine tree, he refocused his mind and allowed his sword to follow Emily''s coordinates.

    Breaking so hard that he spun in a circle, Ryan leaped off the stick and ran to the boulders in the darkening forest. No sounds came from the woods, the stones, or anywhere surrounding him.

    "Emily," he whispered. Nothing. "Emily," he said a bit louder. Nothing. "Emily!" he shouted. Nothing.

    He climbed on the boulders and peered inside the crevice. There was something. He reached his hand through the gap in the rocks and grabbed onto cold metal. He slid it out. ''Emily''s saber!''

    He stood on the boulders and slowly turned in aplete circle. Dusk was deepening the colors in the sky, bringing out the deep blue of the evening''s light.

    He threw up the device Kaitlyn had given him and activated its thermal energy function.

    Ryan watched as long red images crawled through the screen. Two humans and four animals.

    He turned his screen in all directions until he found the thermal energy heading through the forest.

    Ryantched the saber to a leather strap on his back, jumped on his stick, the device''s holographic screen floating in front of him, and again flew through the trees, desperately chasing quickly fading thermal energy body prints.

    Seeing the prints extended for several miles, he turned off the device and flew without the thermal map.

    If he were looking at something besides his path, the flight would take much longer.

    The forest was silent save for hoots and caws from night birds of prey. They wouldn''t attack humans, so Ryan wasn''t concernedˇ­ at least, he hoped.

    Soon Ryan threw up his hologram and noticed that the thermal heat energy slowed up ahead and was hovering down a steep mountain.

    Ryan quietly flew down toward the base of the mountain, carefully dodging any branches that might give his location away.

    Closing the gap to where the thermal energy stopped, he rose up to where the trees were thinning to see if he could grasp the situation and determine the danger.

    He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from gasping with utter shock. Hundreds of bones and skeletons littered the ground at the base of the mountain in what looked like a dried-out old riverbed.

    A small trail cut through the remains leading to the mouth of a cave. Flying closer, Ryan could see piles of red energying through the thermal screen.

    An increasing fear began storming his mind and capturing his breath. ''Emily is dead. There''s no way I let someone dieˇ­ not again.''

 Chapter 80 Emilys Revelation

    Weaving in and out of consciousness, glimpses of Emily''s life tried to awaken her.

    She wasughing with Ryan as they sat in the open courtyard at school, eyes shining as they shared their secrets. Then ckness.

    Another memory nudged her into semi-consciousness. She was a young girl, dressed in an expensive flower cover dress, hair ringleted down her back. She could hear her mother say, "You are my perfect girl. I will always guide you through every step. No one will ever hurt you."

    ckness.

    A heavenly letter swam in her memory. Her helpful guide. Just like her mother.

    ckness.

    Emily''s eyes shot open. Then, not moving and trying to breathe softly, she allowed her eyes to take in her surroundings.

    She was almost in pitch darkness. She could feel the body curled up, facing her. ''Roger! Was he dead? No.'' She could feel his chest rising and falling.

    A putrid smell attacked her nose. Her eyes stung as she slowly rolled them around, trying to catch a glimpse of something without letting her attackers know she was alive.

    Thest thing she remembered was the wolves dragging them off through the trees.

    ''The distress call! I sent it to Ryan, butˇ­'' Where is Ryan?

    Emily looked around, genuinely confused.

    ''I must have been asleep for at least an hour. He should be here. He''s always so quick.''

    Emily abruptly paused her thoughts to question why she had so much faith in Ryan despite the heaven''s letter telling her he was someone who secretly wanted to kill her family.

    Emily furrowed her brow in thought, thinking over the two problems. She strained her mind to the limit for maybe the first time in her life.

    She came to both conclusions at about the same time.

    ''The signal pinged my previous location. That''s why my love, my lightˇ­ my prince couldn''t save me.''

    Making sure to avoid making a rustle, Emily pulled up her heavenly screen and contacted Ryan. ''Need help. Urgent.'' And she tagged the coordinates.

    Around her, she could hear muffled whimpers and snores.

    And the smell. ''What was that awful smell?''

    Not hearing anything other than sleeping sounds, she raised her head a little to peer over Roger''s curled body.

    Even the act of lifting her head up an inch hurt. She saw Roger covered with scrapes, scratches, and blood. It even looked like his arm was bent at a weird angle. ''I probably look the same.''

    As she peered above Roger''s body, she could see the bloody carcass of some animal, partly eaten and dead. Maggots feasted on the open wounds, andrge ck flies swarmed the flesh. ''That must be the cause of the horrible smell. Maybe that beast was lunch, and we are supper. Gross.''

    Sheid her head back to contemte the thoughts suddenly swarming her head.

    ===

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.588%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.589%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.59%]

    ˇ­

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.64%]

    Outside, as Ryan was in the throws of madness and his soul was continuously being corroded, he received Emily''s alert out of the blue.

    Gasping for breath Ryan felt euphoric relief wash over his senses as he thought, ''She''s alive! I haven''t failed my oath yet!''

    A huge grin sprouted on his face as his hands started to shake.

    ''Now, how do I get her out.''

    The coordinates came from inside the cave, knowing Emily was probably injured. He didn''t want to attack head-on. He needed a distraction.

    Using Emily''s saber, Ryan sliced through several trees, allowing the sap to flow freely from the trunks. Then, using tree branches that he cut, he smeared sap along the trees and down on the bones, heading to the cave entrance.

    Thest part of the n was to light the sap, but to do so, he needed to create some sparks. He didn''t want to make noise hitting the saber against a rock to create sparks, so he needed some hot energy to create mes. ''My stick!"

    When he bought the stick, he received a prompt saying that due to itsˇ­ exceptional build quality, it had theˇ­ feature of catching on fire if you exceeded the rmended speed limit.

    Ryan decided to make use of this feature. Racing his stick up and down the mountain, creating a hot spot in the back of the stick, Ryan began to whip the stick through some dead trees, igniting mes as the hot end of the stick touched the brittle wood.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He sliced through one burning branch and, using its base, hurtled it to an area near the mouth of the cave where sap was covering the bones.

    mes and smoke were all around him as he heard the howlsing from the cave.

    Emily could smell the smoke, trying desperately not to cough. She didn''t want her captors to be alerted. Toote. She couldn''t hold it.

    But it didn''t matter. Two wolves leaped over the carcass and, snapping their jaws on the back of Emily and Roger''s necks dragged them out of the cave. The other wolves were bringing the babies and were herding them away from the cave.

    Distracted, the wolves noticed the flying stick only when Ryan was near Emily, not seeing Ryan toss Emily her saber.

    Grabbing the saber midair, Emily swung it in a clean arc, cutting the wolf''s head clean off.

    She ttered to the ground, shifting many of the bones that caught her fall. Then, desperately swinging again, she barely managed to slice the side of the wolf carrying Roger.

    The wolf howled in pain, dropping the unconscious Roger to the ground.

    Ryan flew by her, pulling her on the stick and yelling, "Grab his leg."

    Emily caught Roger by the ankle as Ryan grabbed his wrist, and they flew up the mountain, Roger dangling at the side until Emily yelled, "He''s slipping!"

    Ryannded the stick and said, "Get in front; I''ll hold Roger."

    Emily climbed in front, and Ryan put Roger in front of him, wrapped his arms around Roger, holding tightly to Emily''s waistband, and yelled, "Let''s go!"

    Behind them, they could hear the howls and snarls from the wolves trying to catch up with them, their anger apparent in their vicious screaming cries.

    Emily felt Ryan''s hands tucked in her waistband. As soon as she heard him, she knew she would be safe. She would be secure.

    She couldn''t wait to tell her mother how Ryan saved her. Her mother would adore Ryan forever. Her mother would also be pleased that she was able to fight and defend herself. Then the memory that called to her in the cave appeared vividly. Her mother said she would always guide her.

    That statement, for some reason, irked her, ''Why do I need her guidance? Am I not my own woman?''

    Emily then realized that she wasn''t.

    She had deep feelings for Ryan, saying an oath of love to prove it.

    Yet one letter was able to disrupt the feelings raging inside of her, and against her better judgment, she allowed the letter to affect her actions.

    The heavens manipted Emily, and she allowed it even though she didn''t honestly believe in the words.

    ''Have I ever decided for myself?''

    Emily thought back to her childhood. She wanted to y with her friends, but her mother told her it was too dangerous.

    She had wanted to eat sweets, but her mother told her vegetables were better.

    She wanted to visit her siblings, but her mother said she would rather stay home with her.

    Simr memories flooded Emily like a title wave.

    She realized how much the sentence, ''her own woman'' didn''t apply to her.

    Thest memory, however, gave her pause.

    She was reading a letter simr to the one she had received that told her about Ryan''s apparent heinous ns.

    "Dear Emily, the heavens tell you to love your mother with all your heart and soul and to give her lots of kisses."

    "P.S.: Mother loves you."

    She nearly fell off the flying stick, Ryan having to tighten his grip as he swung to the left, trying to reset the bnce of Emily''s leaning.

    ''I''ve been a fool this whole time.''

    ''It''s been her all along.''

    [The Heavens Reward The Strong: +1 Common Sense (Attribute: -1 -> 0)]

    ''MOM!'' she frustratingly screamed in her mind.

    Her mother wrote the letters. Her mother was her guide, not the heavens.

    ''Wait till I get home, Mom!!''

    Her head shaking, she blocked her mind from her frustration and concentrated on flying.

 Chapter 81 So Im From Another World, Huh?

    The Duchess awoke to Volf''s nudging. She had been asleep for several hours, curled up on her favorite chair. "Let me sleep, Volf," she moaned. "I have nothing to live for."

    Volf kept nudging and finally took her hand in his mouth and gently let his teeth brush her skin.

    "Volf!" The Duchess sat up, "No, no, baaadddd boy!" Looking crossly at Volf for only a moment, she slumped back to her sleeping position.

    "Oh well, you might as well eat me. Look, I even made myself fatter just for your dining pleasure," she muttered as she detangled a sticky piece of chocte from her hair and popped it into her mouth.

    Volf nudged her and looked toward the screen.

    Finally, the Duchess looked up and saw Ryan flying through the woods, nearing the cave.

    "Ryan!" she gasped. "Ryan, did you find her?"

    ''Why was Ryan smearing stuff everywhere? Yuck, what were all those bones doing there?''

    "Bones!" she screamed. "Bones! Are those Emily''s bones?" Her wailing started, and she threw her arms around Volf, burying her head in his fur.

    Volf''s eyes rolled toward the ceiling. He waited patiently for his master to let his head go.

    His mouth raised on one side in a semi-snarl, ''she''s pulling my fur,'' he thought, letting out a low growl.

    The Duchess flung herself back on the chair, "So sorry, Volf, but my favorite baby is dead. Look, there are her bones."

    Whipping her head back towards the screen, she began violently pointing, wanting Volf to notice the bones.

    Peering closer, she saw that fire was spreading through the trees and racing down through the bones. "Huh?" she said, tilting her head to one side, hoping that might help her see what was going on.

    Then she saw the mass exodus from the cave and began screaming when she saw Emily and Roger held by the wolf''s mouths and dragged from the cave.

    "Help! Help!" she screamed and began pounding her emergency button, "Save them! Save them!" she yelled, not hearing the emergency responders'' voice say, "How can we help? We are on our way."

    "Ryan, do something," she screamed as she saw Ryan zoom through the pack of wolves and throw Emily on his stick. "Aagh! Aagh!" she cried, "They''re getting away," as she watched Ryan and Emily grab Roger and fly away from the mes.

    She jumped up on the chair, screaming, "Volf! Look! Look! They are safe! My baby girl ising home!" She leaped off the chair and headed to the freezer. This deserves ice cream!

    Volf also thought so and mored after her, his shaggy tail wagging with glee.

    Just then, there was a pounding on the door, the Duchess turned to see her door splinter in half, and a group of rescuers raced through, shouting, "Where did they go? Where are you injured?"

    The Duchess stood gaping, her face partway in a tub of ice cream, her hair matted with crumbs, chips, and chocte. Her dress was ripped, and she looked like she had just rolled in poop.

    Volf looked from the Duchess to the rescuers and slunk off to the bedroom. He was staying out of this one.

    ===

    When Ryan and Emily entered a clearing, Ryan lowered his sword to the ground and dismounted.

    "Emily w-" but before he could finish, Emily had already leapt into his arms and was balling her eyes out.

    Not wanting to show this moment to anyone, Ryan lightly tapped Roger on the side of the neck, knocking him unconscious again for safe measure.

    "I-I-I''mm s-so s-s-sorryyy!" Emily cried in short gasps, snot dribbling down her face.

    Ryan retrieved a cloth from his spatial bag and wiped Emily''s face while looking at her with mixed emotions.

    "What happened, my princess, for you to betray your faithful prince?" Ryan asked, lightly stroking Emily''s hair.

    Emily sucked in short breaths to calm her rapid and erratic breathing.

    When Emily finally calmed down, Ryan saw a mixture of shame, regret, and love in her eyes.

    Seeing Ryan looking at her, Emily tried to pull away in shame, but Ryan didn''t allow it, wrapping her into his arms.

    "Emily, I need to know what happened. We aren''t in a typical rtionship, and I gave you my trust when I allowed you to know my secrets. If you aren''t going to do the same, I can only assume you don''t want to be with me."

    Hearing the name Emilye out of Ryan''s mouth somehow dampened Emily''s mood further, and she shrunk her head in shame.

    "I. . . Ryan, do you think I''m dumb?"

    *RED ALERT* Sirens red in Ryan''s mind, and his training from Aliza automatically kicked in with a "No, of course not" response.

    Realizing his knee-jerk reaction wasn''t appropriate for the scenario, he added, "I do think you areˇ­ inexperienced in a lot of life."

    "For instance, the friends you made at school weren''t the best," Ryan said, remembering Tiffany and her nasty habits. ''When I take down the human empire, her house is the first to go.''

    "But what does that have to do with the oath I made? That was why you were upset, right?"

    Seeing Emily lower her head further, Ryan asked, "Then what is it?"

    "If me saying I will destroy your empire didn''t make you betr-" Ryan thought, then changed his wording. "Made you change your mind about me, that what did?"

    With a long sigh, Emily mustered her courage and picked her head up, looking into Ryan''s emerald eyes.

    "My mother."

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    After Emily finished exining everything, Ryan felt both happy and troubled.

    ''Does that mean the Duchess is with the human empire or just against me?''

    This situation. . . could have been better. If the human empire knew Ryan made that oath, he was dead, ''But why am I still alive?''

    It had taken hours since he swore his oath to make it back to the academy. If the Duchess watched that happen, he should be dead or hooked up to the ''old brain zapper'' again.

    Ryan thought for a while, then asked, "How does one be nobility?"

    Tapping her chin, Emily said, "From what I understand, one can be nobility either through inheritance or deeds."

    "Inside your Alliances tab, when a person "officially" bes an enhancer with a heavenly screen, they are added to the human empires tab, which means you can earn merit points."

    Ryan nodded. He had explored the Alliances tab in-depth and knew a thing or two about it from his explorations in the library.

    "How did your mothere to power?"

    Smiling for the first time since her rescue, Emily gazed into Ryan''s eyes proudly, "She was a founder."

    "What''s a founder?" Ryan asked, cutting off Emily''s momentum and making her eye twitch.

    Sighing, she narrowed her eyes at Ryan. "For how na?ve I am, you sure don''t know a lot."

    Ryan raised one eyebrow and said, "Are you suggesting your mother was right and that I am from another,e to rid your world of humanity?"

    "N-n-n-o, of course not," Emily sputtered, realizing what she had insinuated.

    "I can''t imagine the only male cultivator on Ravier didn''te from some prominent background."

    Ryan shrugged. In truth, he had his doubts as well. After seeing the Dawn Pavilion''s insignia and having the shback, he didn''t know how he was rted to Ravier''s most significant force.

    A cough interrupted the silence as the atmosphere turned awkward, causing Ryan and Emily to jump.

    "As much as I love seeing two lovebirds'' makeup, if you want the inheritance, you''ll need to hurry," Kaitlyn said.

    "There''s no telling how long the test will take, and even though timepression is involved, you were asleep for two days, meaning you have less than three days until you depart from this realm."

    Ryan widened his eyes and looked at his bracelet, which confirmed Kaitlyn''s words.

    "Who is this girl? And what is she talking about?" Emily asked, eyeing the long-haired beauty suspiciously.

    "It''s none of your business," the girl replied, huffing.

    "Actually, it is, seeing as she''ll be taking the test with me," Ryan said. He wouldn''t let anyone talk down on one of his family, especially in his presence.

    Scoffing, Kaitlyn replied, "She cannot take the test for you. You must pass it with your own power."

    Ryan cocked his eyebrow and said, "We''ll see."

    ***

    Ryan stood atop a mountain overseeing rivers that flowed from its base to create arge waterfall that eventually emptied into an ocean. The wind was blowing in from the sea, and Ryan closed his eyes while sighing.

    Opening them, he noticed Kaitlyn standing next to him. She had a faint smile on her lips.

    ncing back at the horizon, he saw the sun setting and knew the time hade.

    They had been waiting for an hour next to the cliff''s edge. Simply watching the river fall off the mountainside and ssh into the ocean below.

    Kaitlyn stepped beside Ryan as they both peered into the turbulent waves created by the giant wave.

    "Okay, you can jump now," Kaitlyn said, tapping Ryan''s shoulder.

    Looking up at the beautiful brte standing next to him, only one word came out, "What?"

    Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "The test sight is down there."

    Ryan nced at the ocean below and their dangerous currents, then looked at Kaitlyn. Her arms were crossed, showing how bored she was.

    Ryan turned around and peered over the edge feeling his stomach drop from dizziness.

    "Emily, enter me," Ryan said, sending a prompt for her to enter his Harem Pce.

    Kaitlyn, who was putting on her best ''cool otherworlder'' act, almost spurt blood hearing Ryan''s words. "You''re not going to die. There is no reason for ast-minute romp."

    Kailyn abruptly halted her bombardment as she watched Emily wink out of existence.

    Ryan turned towards the cliff, and before Kaitlyn had time to say anything, Ryan plummeted toward the raging waters.

    The ground below disappeared from view as the air rippled with the shockwaves created by the water''s impact on the cliff wall.

    When Kaitlyn heard an almighty ssh, she shook her head and began walking back toward her tribe, taking the sleeping Roger with her.

 Chapter 82 I Dont Cum In Caves

    After swimming through the rapids, Ryan''s eyes adjusted to underwater darkness.

    Ryan was almost about to call bullshit when he saw a small dark opening on the riverbed. It was a tiny fissure in the ground, just big enough for a person to squeeze through.

    Entering the crevice, Ryan suddenly felt the sensation of falling as the liquid disappeared, and slick walls became his only support.

    Starting to fall deeper into the passageway, it didn''t take long for him to m into the floor, a sharp pain spreading from his back all over his body.

    "Shit," groaned Ryan. "That could have gone better."

    Ryan took a deep breath and climbed off the floor, examining himself. There were several scrapes along both thighs, but there wasn''t any bleeding.

    Ryan examined every part of his body, but after finding no significant wounds, he started to take in his surroundings.

    Ryan determined he had somehow entered a cave, its floor slick with algae, its walls wet with moss, its ceiling high above him, a ck void that seemed to go on forever.

    He looked above but didn''t see the hole he hade from. Instead, he saw a ceiling filled with stctites.

    Examining the walls closer, he saw the same three-ring symbol he had witnessed on the destroyed tree when he had so graciously given this quest.

    "You havee," A voice boomed throughout the chamber.

    Frowning, Ryan replied, "No, I don''t cum in caves."

    ''I am a man of ss, after all.''

    The voice carried on, signifying it as a recording. "The first test you have passed bying here, and although it is the longest task, it is hardly the most difficult."

    "For your next test, you must pass the test of the vessel."

    Suddenly a rumbling noise echoed through the cave, and the whole ce shook before Ryan could hear something rising from the ground.

    Breaking through the ground was an altar made from obsidian stone. The altar held the same symbol of three rings, each linked to another.

    As the altar rose, a white fog followed it from the opening, filling the room and bathing Ryan and the walls in light.

    "ce your hand on the altar. This test is not one of skill but of talent," the voice stated.

    With his jaw clenched tightly, Ryan slowly walked towards the glowing rock until he felt its warmth wash over his arm. Once he touched it, Ryan found that he couldn''t move his hands anymore, so he closed his eyes and entered his mind.

    With each step, he became more invincible. More powerful and more ferocious. Ryan stepped forward, his stride filled with the sheer weight of the world.

    Taking a deep breath, Ryan ced both of his palms down onto the ck surface, feeling the coldness seep into his skin like a leeching poison as it crept into his veins. The chill spread to his wrists, traveling and filling every inch of his flesh and bones.

    Ryan felt the energy settle into his entire being. Opening his eyes, he stared straight ahead without flinching.

    The symbols on the walls began to glow brighter, and the white fog dissipated, leaving only pure white light everywhere except behind him, where there was only darkness.

    A symbol on the floor also began to glow, sending out beams of light that made Ryan''s pupils shrink almost instantly before they grew again when the light vanished.

    The sound of water dripping echoed in the distance as several things moved above him, along with a strange scratching noiseing from somewhere close.

    ===

    The Old Man watched Ryan as hended in the testing room and sighed. Then, with a groan, he grabbed a drink from his private stock. Before he could even start pouring it, though, he saw a bright light in the bottle''s reflection and frowned, turning.

    Dropping the bottle, he didn''t care that it had broken. Instead, he felt joy as he watched what hadn''t happened since he came to this realm 16 eons ago take ce.

    Tears streamed down the old man''s face, "I can''t believe it. Finally, after so long."<novelnext></novelnext>

    The tears vanished, and his voice turned colder than ice. "I can have what''s rightfully mine."

    ===

    The scratching turned into a pounding noise as loud thuds and cracks began to echo throughout the cave. Something was breaking through the walls and ceiling of the chamber. Ryan barely noticed as he kept his hand on the obsidian altar while the white light slowly faded from around him. As soon as the lightpletely disappeared, he heard a familiar voice booming around him.

    "Congrattions! You have passed your first trial!"

    The rumbling sound stopped, but there were more noises from above, cracking and creaking, along with splintering wood and grinding rock.

    A door made of granite fell from the ceiling and mmed against the ground with a deafening crash.

    "This doorway will lead you to your second test. After entering, you will be transported to an independent heavenly space and given tasks via your heavenly screen."

    Ryan heard the voice, but his attention was on the door. Intricate patterns adorned the granite, some of which he recognized from Shade''s tattoos.

    The door hadnded rather oddly in the middle of the room, so as Ryan circled it, he saw both sides that looked identical.

    Deciding it was now or never, Ryan touched the handle and opened it.

    "Not that easy, huh."

    Ryan peered into the doorway. Just as he had that first day on Ravier, he felt like he was looking into the abyss.

    Trying to activate energy vision didn''t help either, as he didn''t even see a spec of energy anywhere near the door.

    "Well, as Aliza always said, ''When it doubt, pull it out.''"

    As Ryan was contemting whether he remembered the right line, he passed through the door, as The Old Manughed maniacally, watching the scene.

    ===

    Green meadows filled with tall grass and flowers greeted his eyes when Ryan stepped through the door. A light wind blew across his body, causing his long ck hair to whip behind him. It also smelled a little damp but pleasant. Everything about his new surroundings seemed perfect. ''This aura is amazing!''

    When he had been inside the portal realm, he could feel the energy density was much lower than it had been on Ravier. But the difference was nothingpared to how much energy he felt inside this heavenly space.

    Taking a deep breath, Ryan felt like he had bathed for the first time in years.

    The feeling was euphoric and a little orgasmic. Ryan instantly wanted to share this feeling with the girls inside his pce but first decided to look around for any danger.

    As he was starting to look around, he received a notification.

    [First Task: Kill 10 E-Grade Monsters]

    [Time Limit: 24 hours]

    [Note: Completing the task in 1 hour is required for eligibility for the entire inheritance.]

    "Well, as Aliza always said, ''Aim for the best, so you don''t cum inst.''"

    "Or was it ''Cumst is always the best?''" Ryan stroked his imaginary beard in contemtion.

    "Either way, I''m getting ahead of myself. Let''s take care of this beastly monster menace."

    With that said, he drew his sword and started toward where he thought he might find a target.

 Chapter 83 Please Let Me See Your Face... Or Boobs

    Ryan stopped and looked at a small ck antelope, who stared back at him with its big brown eyes. It stood about five feet high with short legs and long ears.

    Its coat was covered in greenish spots that had white hair along the edges. However, the most distinctive feature was the long tongue sticking out between its front teeth, which seemed to be able to taste the air.

    The creature''s face was extremely peculiar.

    "These things look like my ex-girlfriend!" Ryan snorted.

    It blinked several times, not knowing what to make of Ryan''s appearance. The situation would have been more humorous than rming if it wasn''t for how many others were starting to appear behind the creature.

    Ryan figured he might as well not fight them alone, so he finally sent a prompt, and three figures appeared beside him.

    Lizzy, Izzy, and Emily walked up together, looking quite surprised creatures.

    There were approximately 11 E-Grade antelopes, 19 F-Grade antelopes, and a cohort of lesser beasts.

    "Izzy, back at the dorms when I told you we''d be fighting, you seemed excited, right?" Ryan smiled as he got ready.

    "Yes!" Izzy said, licking her lips and pulling out her battle-axe. "I relish the opportunity to lick my enemy''s blood off my axe. It sends shivers down my spine."

    "What about ''the reaper''? Why are you using a battle-axe?" Ryan asked.

    "My family heirloom can''t be used against such beasts, it''s only fit for killing sentient beings."

    Lizzy rolled her eyes. "She got these traits from our mother. Although mother isn''t exactly this vocal about herˇ­ tendencies," Lizzy said, sighing and pulling out her dagger.

    Emily looked at the ground with a forlorn expression, still distraught over what she had done.

    Still, she mustered up some courage and pulled out her saber, which Ryan had returned to her.

    Ryan pulled out his non-magic sword and surrounded his vital points with energy, as he had no armor.

    A feeling of peace entered his mind as he held the de, a familiar sensation that reminded him of the first time he wielded a sword back when he was four.

    ===

    A small Ryan was standing in the center of a circle. The dirt below his feet was smooth, brushed free of pebbles and debris. White rocks lined the outside of the circle. He heard a voice say, "Stay inside the circle. The circle is your center, your area of control, and right now, the circle is the only world you know."

    It was a female''s voice that spoke to him. Familiar longing rang through his body, bringing a tear to his eye. He was small, so small.

    The person towered above him. A flowing skirt blew through the wind, and as small Ryan looked up, he squinted at the face that appeared hazy in his memories.

    "Here is your wooden sword. You will get your own swordter when you are ready. But for right now, we are going to study. You are going to learn. And you will be the best sword master our world has seen!"

    Ryan remembered holding the wooden sword and gazing longingly at it. It felt good, the smooth handle shapely carved, and the end didn''t have a sharp point as he had seen on most swords; instead, it was t.

    He remembered waving it through the air, around and around in a circle. He was shouting, yelling, and jumping.

    "Velox," the voice said, "focus. This is not a game. You''re here to learn. Stand quietly. And hold your sword outstretched in your hands just like this." Her hands, a delicate white, held another wooden sword the same size as his.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Now ce your left foot in front of you just like this. We call this the front foot, the leading foot that will lead you through the path of life. And you can rock just like this," she said as she rocked back and forth on her back foot.

    "Your back foot is your stabilizer. That will keep you strong and true, and as you walk through life, you will keep bnced with one foot behind and one foot ahead."

    "Now, feel your body standing centered. Your weight is equal to your front foot and your back foot. You are in bnce, harmonious with the world."

    Ryan remembered carefully cing his feet and rocking. Feeling the bnce shift between his feet and finding his center as he finally stood, one foot in front and one foot behind.

    "We stand like this, our hips are facing forward, facing our opponent. They are not sideways, like this," as she turned her body to the side, "we face forward."

    "Now lift your arm and hold it at shoulder level. Bring it up again; smooth, not jerky. Smooth. Now bring your sword forward, and point it towards me."

    "If my swordes out like this," she brought her sword out and down, "you can hit it away." As she said this, she hit Ryan''s sword very lightly, and he crashed his sword back into her sword, making it fly through the air. She startedughing. "Very good! Exactly!"

    "See, I am leaving your circle," thedy said, stepping outside of the circle. "I am leaving your world, I have to retrieve my sword. Meaning you''ve won."

    Ryan remembered the words of praise. He felt pride as he stuck his small wooden sword as high up as he could reach and shouted, "I won! I won!"

    He remembered herugh as she said, "Now, back to the stance, one foot forward, one foot back, feel the bnce. Bring your sword down."

    "If you step straight ahead, you might get my sword in your stomach, but if you step to the side, you will most likely stay away from my shing sword."

    "See, I have just attacked. As you step to the side, I put my foot forward to sh my sword. Now you put your sword forward and look. Now I''m off bnce, so your sword can sh down and knock away my sword."

    During her directions, Ryan remembered following her lead, doing what she said, and loving every minute of the game.

    "Now, let''s start again. Feet separated, sword out, step to the side, and this time tilt your head in the direction you''re going. This way, if my sword goes out to sh, you have already dodged my sword, and now you can attack."

    Ryan, remember the feeling of tion. The sh of the wooden swords. The joy in the defeat. Thefort in knowing that someone was instructing him.

    Perhaps a beautifuldy? He tried to concentrate, his eyes tightly closed. He wanted so desperately to see the faceˇ­ or her boobs. Either one so he could identify her. But all he could do was hear her voice.

    ''Who is she? Is she my teacher? Or someone closer?''

    They had yed many hours at sportbat. Ryan had moved up from a small wooden sword to arger one and finally took a blunt-edged de with a rounded tip used solely for sportbat.

    Thedy repeatedly said that they were preparing for battle. But he had yet to hear who they were fighting or why. So, in the end, he never got his precious sword.

    But in hisst memory, she showed him the sword he would receive as an adult.

    Ryan focused harder, trying to remember the intricate details of the sword. It was silver and bent to look like a half-moon.

    He drew in his breath, trying to hold the picture of the sword in his mind.

    He could see an emblem engraved at the edge of the metal, very near to the handle. He took another deep breath to focus his sight on the emblem.

    His eyes shot open. It was the same emblem. The emblem from his birthday cake and the emblem from the sign he had seen just a few days ago. It was the emblem of the Dawn Pavilion.

 Chapter 84 The Things I Do For Power

    The first ck antelope charged toward Ryan as soon as he noticed Ryan standing still. Coming out of the memory only a split secondter, Ryan brought up his de to meet the charge and cut it in half down the middle.

    A wave of power rippled through the air in front of his hand before bursting outward in all directions. As Ryan watched its blood gush out onto the grass below, he took a deep breath, smelling the sweet metallic scent of blood.

    As the red liquid mixed with the green grass, he looked over and saw that Izzy had already sliced through two of the F-Grade beasts with her battle-axe. Leaving behind a trail of sloppy innards and dripping blood on her beautiful dress.

    Emily was slicing away at another antelope, but she only managed to make shallow cuts along its side as it quickly evaded her attacks. She was getting frustrated by this point and stabbed faster as if trying to beat the beast to death by punching the creature''s sides.

    Lizzy was doing good for someone using a dagger, cutting into one beast and then spinning around to attack the other from behind in a sh.

    Ryan ran forward and attacked the nearest target with his sword, cutting right across the head with a loud squishy sound.

    Blood sprayed everywhere as he pulled back his sword and found it covered with a dark fluid. He shook his weapon off after a second and let his senses wash over the area again.

    The same thing happened every few seconds now. Ryan would stab something and get covered in a sticky ck substance, which dripped on his de when removed.

    Finally, after several more hits, he had enough of being peppered in filth, so he decided to end the fight.

    He drew his de back and sent an arc of energy that spread between the antelopes, instantly killing all of them.

    The girls turned to face him, looking exhausted and happy at once.

    "Nice!" Izzy said, wiping the gore from her forehead with her hand.

    "Thanks," Emily replied, panting slightly before she realized she was still on uncertain terms with Ryan and blushed.

    "We didn''t die." Lizzy sighed with relief. "Thank you... Master!"

    Ryan chuckled and nodded at them. "I''d be a fool if I didn''t protect my harem." He walked over to where the bodies were piled up and inspected the dead creatures'' wounds.

    Each body looked the same to him as theyy limp in the grass, except for the apparent difference in their levels.

    There was one pile of E-Grade antelopes, one big mound of F-Grade antelope corpses, and two piles of G-Grade antelope corpses that weren''t worth mentioning.

    After seeing no immediate danger, he knelt and examined the corpse he had just killed, finding nothing out of ce about its appearance.

    It was standard skin color but had green splotches all over its fur, simr to a leopard.

    He picked it up by the neck and tried to examine the head by opening it like a can of beans to check inside, only to find that he couldn''t even see through the skull due to how thick it was.

    As he was about to throw the beasts into his spatial bag, he got a prompt.

    [Harvest ''Green-Spotted Antelopes''?]

    [Yes/No]

    He took his time with this choice as he wanted to have a taste test with them first. He feltpelled to try them in some way or another. But what could he do?

    ''The things I do for power,'' Ryanmented, shaking his head.

    Selecting yes, his worst fears were imagined.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Dammit, all they gave were the quest items, not even one stick of jerky."

    [Congrattions onpleting your first task.]

    [Second Task: Climb the tower of monsters]

    [Select this prompt to be teleported inside the tower]

    [Note: The higher you climb, the better the rewards you will receive at the top. Only those whoplete the final stage will be eligible for the entire inheritance]

    Ryan felt energy rush into him after the first notification. He had been looking forward to doing something a little more dangerous now.

    He looked back to where Lizzy and Izzy were standing and saw Emily off in the distance chasing some smaller animals, her eyes shining bright with excitement.

    Shaking his head, Ryan called, "Come over here, girls!"

    The three figures walked over slowly with their weapons still in hand while their bodies stiffened like wooden soldiers awaiting orders.

    "I have my next task."

    "What is it?" Lizzy asked from behind.

    Izzy grinned wickedly and stepped beside Ryan as she licked her lips, eager to hear his answer.

    "Our goal today is to make it to the very top of this thing," Ryan replied, pointing toward the massive structure that appeared in the sky above them. But, unfortunately, it stretched far into the clouds, making its tip impossible for them to see.

    "How are we going to get there?" Emily asked.

    "It''s letting me teleport there, so everyone hop in my pce, and let''s get going."

    ===

    The Old Man''s POV...

    ''Hopefully, this tower can provide him with some much-needed energy. He is, after all, only E-Rank.''

    ''The lowest Xygar ever born was already C-Rank. Pretty sure that guy''s mother threw him off a cliff... or was that my mother?''

    The Old Man watched as Ryanpleted his tasks, unconcerned that he had improved the difficulty of the tests by multitudes by making Ryan go into the tower of monsters.

    ''Either way, no one can pass the final test. At least no one I''ve tried.''

    He had been to the Fygar, Jahna, Ottoman trading houses, and Maru gxies, searching for someone worthy enough for ''the egg''.

    The egg that made his race jump straight from an S-Tier Kingdom to King-Tier, but no one was worthy, not even to be a vessel.

    ''Although we weren''t a true King-Tier civilization, the rest of our legacy would make any lower-tier civilization drool with envy.''

    The Old Man leaned back on his chair as he watched Ryan enter the tower with a hopeful look.

 Chapter 85 Inside The Tower

    Inside the tower of monstersˇ­

    Teleporting to the tower of monsters, Ryan released the trio as he found himself trapped inside a coliseum-like battle arena where only the haunting images of monsters littered the walls instead of rows of seats.

    He saw hundreds of them: winged creatures that looked like giant bats; scorpions with tails and ws on their hands; beastmen made of metal parts who could use magic; men with snakelike hair crawling over each other; cyborgs with metallic bodies.

    Elves whose skin was a mixture of half-ck and half-white; humanoids with tentaclesing from all directions; demonic beings with two heads; a giant bird covered in green feathersˇŞand so much more!

    With his eyebrows raised, Ryan looked at the pictures of all the creatures and said, "Girls, are you seeing this?" Ryan waited, but after no reply, he turned and saw all three staring at the ceiling instead of focusing on him.

    He followed their gaze until he spotted something that made him gasp aloud. "You''ve got to be kidding me!"

    There was nothing but open air on top, with no roof or walls around it. Instead, Ryan could seeyers of floors above them and a giant hole in the middle of each floor, allowing him to see beasts peering at him from above but held back by a barrier that seemed to keep them from leaping downward.

    Seeing something flicker in the corner of his eye, Ryan jerked to the side as he caught five humanoids slipping from the shadows and charging toward him with spears in hand.

    They looked like normal humans, except for some glowing runes inscribed red across their chests. Their eyes also glowed brightly and had a piercing quality that didn''t seem natural.

    The leader shouted something to his followers before throwing his spear straight at Ryan''s chest, forcing him to dive to the side to dodge.

    Ryan jumped back a few feet when he realized how close those des came to hitting him, then quickly got ready to attack.

    Ryan yelled, swinging his sword, and slicing through the center of an oing humanoid. The torso flew to the ground, quickly detaching from the twitching legs.

    Next to him, Emily swiped her saber down, cutting another attacker straight down the middle, the two halves falling neatly to each side.

    Izzy, pinned against the wall, deflected the onught of blows and used her battle-axe to slice through her opponent''s stomach, entrails spilling out before the attacker realized he was dead.

    Lizzy, howling a battle cry, jumped on the back of another one of Ryan''s attackers and stabbed them between their shoulders. The attacker fell to the ground with Lizzy on top, leaving her plenty of time to slice through the Achilles tendons of another attacker.

    Not wanting to be outdone by her sister, Izzy rushed over and chopped down on the man''s neck with her battle-axe, sessfully making the man a few inches shorter.

    Everything stilled except for the panting breaths of Ryan''s teams. "That wasˇ­ electric," Ryan said, smiling as he wiped his brow, leaving a trail of dirt and blood across his forehead.

    "Fuck, being covered in blood always gets me so turned on," Izzy said as she unconsciously released her demon form.

    Simmering down from the battle, the group started to feel the ground around them rumble. As if they were in the middle of an earthquake.

    The sounds grew louder until they became deafening; the tower''s ground floor seemingly broke apart.

    Feeling the floor beneath them start to rise, Ryan realized that the holes above them weren''t for spectating. They were entrances.

    As everyone was already in the middle of the floor, they were all within the circle''s range, so they all started upward, seeing the beasts staring down at them.

    Before Ryan could scrutinize them too heavily, he felt something bite his leg.

    Emily screamed. Izzy yelled. Lizzy jumped back, drew out her dagger, and sliced through the snakes that suddenly appeared from beneath the tform.

    The snakes were fast, slithering up the sides of the tform, gripping tightly to Emily''s and Izzy''s legs. After Lizzy freed their legs, they all began waving their weapons around, trying desperately to cut through the slithery creatures while attempting not to impale each other.

    The tform kept rising. The snakes, which had mostly fallen to the floor below them, were all dead.

    Not noticing what was behind them, a long tongue caught Izzy''s cheek, lifting her into the air before Izzy could sh at it. But when she did, a spray of crimson soaked her madly grinning face.

    Stunned, they looked and saw several eyes staring back at them.

    They looked like great lizards, with rows and rows of sharp teeth along their maws. Thick armor-like skin covered most of their bodies but not up to its head, exposing long pointed snouts with nostrils at the end.

    Ryan''s eyes fixed on the lizard that was slithering towards him. His sword was radiating with battle lust.

    The lizard hissed and lunged at him. Ryan dodged the attack and swung his sword.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The lizard roared in pain and retreated, its tailshing. Ryan struck at the lizard, again and again, his sword shing through the air.

    Finally, with a final, decisive blow, Ryannded the killing sh, and a crimson fountain rained from where the de had connected.

    With her tail and horns out, Izzy charged at the lizards with a fierce yell.

    She wielded her battle-axe and struck at the lizard''s head. The lizard tried to bite and w at her, but she was too quick and quickly severed its head.

    Lizzy was able to evade the lizards'' attacks. She wielded her dagger and struck at the lizards'' underbellies and legs, causing them to stumble and fall.

    Emily activated her ability when the lizard attacked, causing it to stop for a moment, thinking it was attacking one of its own.

    Using the moment''s hesitation, she struck her lizard on the back. The lizard hissed in pain, opened its jaws to attack, and just then, Ryan jumped in and stuck his sword into the lizard''s back.

    Breathless, they looked at the carnage around them. "Let''s go," said Ryan. "We have got to get the tform."

    They leaped onto the tform as it rose, peering above at the creatures waiting for them next.

    They looked like bears, but they were far more extensive than any normal one could be. They had long arms with ws that looked deadly sharp. Their mouths seemed to stretch across their entire head, making it appear that the monsters were grinning at them.

    When the tform settled, they began to charge.

    Ryan yelled, "Lizzy, Izzy, go right. I''ll go left. Emily stays back to help when needed."

    Izzy charged the beast; her eyes narrowed in determination.

    She held a gleaming battle-axe in her hand, its sharp edge ready to strike. But, instead, the beast snarled and lunged at her, its massive ws extended. Izzy was quick on her feet, dodging the beast''s attack easily.

    She swung her battle-axe with brutal strength, slicing through the air towards the beast''s neck. The beast roared in pain as the de made contact, and it stumbled back, blood gushing from the wound.

    The bear copsed to the ground. Panting and covered in sweat, the girl stood over the defeated beast, her battle-axe still clutched in her hand.

    Lizzy was also attacking her beast, her dagger shing in the light.

    The bear lunged towards her, its massive ws extended. The girl sidestepped the attack and swung her dagger, aiming for the bear''s chest.

    The de hit its mark, and the bear roared in pain, stumbling back as she struck her beast repeatedly.

    Finally, with a final, mighty blow, she stabbed the beast, ending his screams.

    Ryan gazed at the oing bear, who was snarling and charging toward him, fangs bared and his eyes glowing with a hunger for prey.

    The beast was fast and agile and quickly closed in on Ryan. He was determined to defend himself, and Emily stood behind him.

    Ryan pivoted back and forth, trying to keep the bear off bnce. But, instead, the bear barked and charged at him, its ws extended, its eyes wild with rage.

    Ryan met the bear''s attack with a series of quick strikes. He swung his sword with cool calction, aiming for the bear''s head and chest. It didn''t roar in pain as it made contact.

    Ryan knew he had to use his skill rather than strength to kill this beast. In one final lunge, the rabid bear opened his jaw in a roar that propelled him forward as saliva flew in every direction.

    Ryan yelled to Emily, "Go left!" as he lunged with his sword catching the bear''s chest mid-air. He drew the sword out of the bear''s chest and lunged left toward the girls.

    The great jaws and ws barely missed Ryan as the bear crashed into the wall behind the group, bounced off, and was hacked to pieces by the waiting Izzy.

    Ryan, Izzy, and Lizzy stood panting and covered in sweat, their bloody weapons hanging at their side.

    As the tform started to rise, Ryan took out a bottle of what he assumed were energy supplements, but as he drank, he began to notice a sensation of arousal starting to build inside of him.

    ''Don''t tell me I just drank liquid viagraˇ­''

 Chapter 86 The Allure Of A Milf

    The Old Man leaned back in his chair, watching Ryan battle with the beasts, sipping his favorite wine.

    "Ah, the good old days of fighting with a sword and not wordsˇ­" The Old Man drawled.

    "The Multiverse has changed so much since the heavens took control. I remember the bett-"

    A beat of sweat ran down his forehead as he felt an immense pressure weighing on him. "The dark days, yes, what terrible days those were."

    Shaking his head, The Old Man sighed and put down his wine ss.

    Reaching over to his precious, he rubbed its round and smooth surface with love and affection.

    "I can''t believe anyone would abandon you. I still can''t believe my luck finding you that day."

    Fifteen million years ago, The Old Man had been meandering from gxy to gxy when he stumbled upon a Universe amid a brutal war.

    As a little god-ranked cultivator, he wasn''t fit to stick his neck into things that didn''t concern him, but as he was about to leave, a voice called to him.

    "Take me away. This ce is not fit for one such as I," an alluring female voice had said.

    "Take me away, and I will grant you infinite power and possibilities. . . if you are worthy."

    As any cultivator would attest, the words ''infinite'' and ''possibilities'' were the same as mas, drawing cultivators like fruit flies to a rotting apple.

    Any cultivator would jump into the abyss for such things. Words like ''worthy'' didn''te into the equation.

    Unfortunately, he didn''t pass the test, but the voice promised that if he found a vessel for them to inhabit, he would receive everything a man dreamed of and more.

    He had sacrificed his n, race, and everything else for this little egg that promised him infinite power.

    "Don''t worry. Now that I''ve found a suitable vessel for you, everything will be fine."

    Hundreds of thousands of chosen ones had appeared throughout the eons fighting to inherit the ''legacy'' of the Xygar.

    But all had failed the first test, their bodies unsuitable to be vessels.

    ''Of course, if he gets the full inheritanceˇ­ but that''s impossible.''

    Shaking his head, The Old Man sighed since he knew the truth. The test of souls was the final test the challenger had to pass to be the dominant one in the contract with the egg.

    ''Unfortunately, I''m destined only to get half-credit as I found a vessel, not a master.''

    How could a child at E-Rankpare in a soul test vs. an ancient being as ''the egg''?

    Looking back at the monitor, The Old Man set down his ss of wine and nodded.

    "Although he will have a shot, seeing as he''s at thest level of the tower. But Milf has been training for millions of years. Her techniques are out of this world. Or so I hopeˇ­ She still is a virgin, after all. But if he can somehow get past Milfˇ­" Jumping up, the second wine ss of the day crashed to the floor as The Old Man saw something he had not seen in years. "How can it already be so hard and so bigˇ­"

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan stood on the tform as it rose to what he assumed was the final level.

    Unlike previous times, he didn''t see any beasts peering at him, eagerly waiting for his arrival.

    As the tform shook and locked into ce, Ryan nced around only to see a singr person.

    ncing to either side of him, he saw that Emily, Lizzy, and Izzy were about to copse, the day''s long battle having pushed them to their limits.

    "Head inside the pce. I think I can handle this one myself," Ryan said, sending a prompt to each girl.

    After each of them voiced their disagreement, as was expected, he finally convinced them to leave.

    The person was standing idle in a corner, ying with her fingernails.

    "Well, well, well," a sultry voice greeted him as she walked towards him.

    ===

    Her hair was a light violet, her eyes a deep crimson red, and her skin a pale pink like snow kissed by the sun. Ryan took a moment to admire the sight before him.

    She wore a cktex armor that hugged her body and glistened in the sunlight as if it were oiled, but nothing could hide that figure.

    Those tits!

    His gaze wandered downwards, and his mouth watered at seeing those big, round boobs hanging below the armor.

    With her tall stature and slender frame, her breasts had an illusion of being more prominent than they were due to the outfit hugging them oh-so-nicely.

    "A challenger appears after all these years..." The girl smiled broadly as her crimson eyes twinkled. "I''ve been waiting for you for so longˇ­" She turned away from him as she ran a hand through her violet hair that hung just above her waist.

    Her features looked youthful even though she was a few million years old. Her body was perfectly proportioned, not too skinny or thick, just right to have the most pleasurable experience when mating with the vessel, whoever they might be.

    Turning back around, her crimson eyes stared into his green ones, sending shivers down his spine at the impact of her intense stare.

    "What''s your name?" Ryan asked her curiously while wondering how best to approach her, considering this level of intrigue.

    "Call me Milf," she replied bluntly before looking up again and moving closer toward him. "You seem to be rather young?"

    "Well, yeah," he answered without a moment of thought. "I''m only eighteen."

    A shudder ran through Milf''s body. "I. . . see," she said, taking a moment between the pants that had started to rack her body.

    "Well, since you''ve made it this far, that means you''ve at least qualified for theˇ­ minimum inheritance," Milf said, slowly walking towards Ryan.

    "And what do I get as the minimum inheritance?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.

    ncing down at Ryan''s throbbing cock, which he had obtained from the liquid viagra he mistakenly had drunk, she replied, "Me."

 Chapter 87 To Cum Or Not To Cum [R-18] (1)

    Pure passion boiled inside Ryan as Milf drew in close. Her tits brushed against him with each breath, causing his head to spin.

    ''She seems to have an aphrodisiac power simr to mine,'' Ryan thought. ''Well, two can y at that game.''

    Activating his aura, Ryan wrapped his arms around MIlf''s waist and pushed her flush body against his.

    She gasped at the sudden force behind the move as they both looked into each other''s eyes, feeling a wave of lust roll through them.

    "Mmmˇ­" she moaned as Ryan pulled her body harder into him.

    Her crimson eyes looked into his green ones, silently pleading for him to continue until she couldn''t take anymore.

    Ryan obliged by pressing Milf against him while he pressed down upon her back. Her face was bright red as she continued to look back into his emerald eyes that seemed to burn into her.

    Milf reached up with one hand and ced it on the back of his head before pulling herself closer still. "Please," she whispered urgently. "I''ve waited so long."

    As soon as their lips met, Ryan could feel his already aching dick raging inside his pants, pulsing with every heartbeat, begging for her touch, her body, anything.

    ''Fuck Ryan, this isn''t earth. You can''t cum in your pants.''

    As their tongues entwined and danced in each other''s mouths, Ryan realized this wasn''t an ordinary kiss. Instead, he felt an overwhelming pressure that threatened to make him explode if he didn''t let go, or he would surely die from the sheer ecstasy that assaulted him.

    Although Ryan wasn''t the only one struggling, the girl pushing her tongue down his throat had no idea how to control the pleasure her body was experiencing.

    She had been waiting for this moment her entire life but had never imagined it being with someone like himˇŞsomeone so young and fresh.

    She was born and bred for this moment to make the soon-to-be vessel lower their guard. So they could be taken over before the soul battle even began.

    But now she was losing grip of reality, unsure what to do next, and unable to control herself as she fell into a deeper state of bliss than ever dreamed possible.

    As much as she tried to control her emotions, Milf was too far gone as she pressed harder against his chest while squeezing his rock-hard cock against his trousers, causing a strangled moan out of Ryan as they continued kissing passionately.

    ''You''re supposed to be trying to conquer this tower, Ryan! Don''t forget your mission!'' he thought while enjoying her body squashing against his even more. His heart pounded faster and faster as he struggled with himself.

    Breaking away from their kiss, Ryan noticed that Milf looked surprised by this and by the fact that he hadn''t given in yet despite everything.

    "Why did you break our kiss?" She asked, staring directly into his eyes.

    Ryan knew why but couldn''t exin it to her since it wasn''t something he understood.

    As he was thinking, his gaze wandered downwards before stopping on her lips.

    Seeing them quivering in anticipation made him think twice about answering her honestly.

    She quickly nced down at the bulge in his pants and then back at him as she started licking her red lips in anticipation of him saying yes or no.

    Although some of him wanted to give into this woman and fuck the shit out of her until she begged for mercy and/or died from pleasure, another stronger, older voice warned him to run far and fast.

    Ryan couldn''t exin what this voice sounded like, only that the word ''ancient'' resonated within him.

    Ryan hurriedly thought of a solution, as his energy vision told him he couldn''t fight this woman.

    "How about we y a little game?" Ryan asked, a smile forming on his dry lips.

    "What kind of game?" Milf questioned, tilting her head.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Let''s call it, to cum or not to cum."

    ===

    Milfy strapped and naked to a table she had brought out of a spatial bag.

    Ryan was suspicious of why someone would be holding a table with metal mps, straps, and buckles all over the top.

    Although he tried talking with her before they began the session, Ryan soon found it pointless as the same questions kepting back at him each time he attempted to engage her in conversation. It seemed she wasn''t interested in any topic other than getting fucked hard.

    "Again, the game is whether or not I can get you to beg me to let you cum," Ryan exined. "If you say those magic words, I win, and it''s the same as me having bested you in battle."

    "What happens if you don''t seed?" She asked curiously.

    "I''m afraid you won''t be able to control yourself around me," he answered truthfully. "But if you don''t beg me within 10 minutes, I''ll let you take over my mind like you were nning."

    Milf''s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open as she struggled against the bindings.

    "What?! How did you know?!" She cried out.

    "I meanˇ­ uhˇ­ nothing special," Ryan shrugged, pursing his lips and looking away.

    "So, swear the heavenly oath, and let''s begin!" Ryan shouted, making sure anyone watching would hear loud and clear.

    Gritting her teeth, Milf swore the oath, as did Ryan.

    After the heavens confirmed that the oath was official, a clock appeared in front of them that started ticking.

    The only thing that mattered now was to make this woman so delirious that she''d say whatever he wanted.

    Walking unhurriedly towards Milf, Ryan ran a hand up her leg as he kissed her neck softly. Her body responded instantly with a moan of pleasureing forth.

    He continued moving upward until he reached her breasts, held captive by metal mps with dangling chains attached.

    With gentle movements, he yed with one breast while teasing another with his tongue and kissing all over it before taking her nipples between his fingers and lightly squeezing them before pulling back and flicking her nipple back and forth on his tongue.

    He looked back to see the color leaving her face, but still, the woman showed no signs of begging. ''Maybe she is trying to resist...''

    "That''s enough ying," Ryan said to her as he stepped behind the table and leaned against its edge. "Let''s get down to the good stuff."

    "Oh god..." she whimpered as she tried resisting his advances. "Pleaseˇ­ don''t hurt me."

    Milf had never been naked in front of someone. It made her feel vulnerable, which scared and aroused her at the same time.

    The man in front of her was an unknown entity that could do anything he wanted for her. But, unfortunately, she hadn''t thought the situation through. He could ruin her insides with some poisonous substance or break her limbs with just a flick of his wrist if she didn''t obey him properly.

    He might be handsome, but she doubted she would ever forget her helplessness when bound while this stranger saw her nudeness.

    Ryan bent over her and ced his hands against her thighs. His palms were warm, his touch light. He pulled her legs apart as his gaze drifted toward her crotch.

    (To Be Continued...)

 Chapter 88 To Cum Or Not To Cum [R-18] (2)

    The arousal inside Milf was unbearable as her pussy drooled down the length of her thigh while it started dripping onto the floor beneath them as Ryan continued gazing at her body.

    The moisture soaked into the cobblestone surface, making it slippery underfoot as Milf''s eyes darted around, looking for an escape.

    Her mind told her to stop what she was doing, but something stopped her from listening to reason. This feeling couldn''t be right, yet she knew there wasn''t much she could do about it either.

    ''I can''t take anymore,'' she thought as she gave in, closed her eyes, and took deep breaths to calm herself down. She tried to squeeze her legs together, hoping this might slow Ryan down, but he didn''t seem interested in stopping anytime soon.

    With one hand still on her leg, Ryan ran the other up the side of her stomach before wrapping it gently around her breast. As his fingers dug deeper into the flesh of her chest, his thumb caressed the nipple between his index finger and middle finger.

    Milf''s moans turned into whimpers of pleasure as Ryan''s actions slowly sent her spiraling out of control. "Pleaseˇ­ Noˇ­ Please... Put it inside of me."

    She realized this man had no idea of the power he held over her body, not that she had any means to fight him if she wanted to.

    Her resistance was pointless anyway because she was already past the point where she could have said anything to make him back off.

    With every second, Milf felt herself losing ground, fighting against an invisible force that fought against every instinct inside her that screamed at her toeˇŞto surrender entirely into his carefree hands.

    It felt like hours since she started crying, begging for his seed, until a familiar pressure formed deep inside her, pressing upward toward a ce only meant for release.

    It wouldn''t be long before everything inside her exploded in bliss as she let herself go and fell into a world of ecstasy beyond anything imaginable.

    "You''re going to have to beg me, darling," like a devil''s whisper, Ryan''s voice echoed throughout the tower. "Tell me you need my cock."

    Milf''s mouth opened and closed without sounding forth while her body shuddered with each throb of the building wave of pleasure rolling through her veins.

    Her head thrashed side to side of its own volition, forcing tears to fall from her eyes even though she refused to open them anymore.

    Thest thing she wanted was for him to see how much she struggled.

    But then she heard him speak again.

    "If you don''t beg me soon, I''ll have to deny you."

    "Remember, you don''t lose if all you do is beg for my cock," Ryan said as he gently squeezed her breast once more and licked the bottom of her ear as his other hand moved lower to her stomach.

    Milf''s body shook as the desire took hold of her mind and pushed it further down into the realm of senselessness.

    As the pressure increased inside Milf, a whimper escaped between her lips as she started speaking nonsense words that sounded nothing like what she intended them to be but were just sounds that came out naturally from her mouth.

    "I''m going crazy..." She whispered, shaking in fear, not wanting Ryan to know this truth. "I can''t stop myself... It feels so good!"

    "It sure does," Ryan nodded in response to Milf''s pleas while slowly stroking his fingers over her belly button with his thumb while massaging one of her breasts with his other hand. "But if you want to experience true bliss..."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I need you to b-e-g."

    Milf started to feel an orgasm form deep within her core and take control of every muscle, bone, and organ, forcing them into motion and taking her past the point where she could think coherently.

    Milf fought as best she could before losing all sense of herself entirely and giving into a world full of pleasure impossible for a mortal.

    Involuntarily moans left her lips as tears rolled down her face as her whole being gave itself to the waves of blissful ecstasy racing through her bodyˇŞsomething only a woman would ever experience from a man''s touch.

    Her mind grew distant from what was happening to her body, making it harder and harder for her to think straight until she said, "Please... give me your cock."

    It took everything in her power to push them from between her lips. It felt like she was holding back a giant boulder with each breath that tried passing through her chest without making any sound.

    Ryan knew exactly what he needed to do at this moment. His eyes turned into two slits, which made him look like a different person altogetherpared to his earlier calm expression.

    Reaching behind himself, he pulled his belt free, undid his pants, then pushed his boxers down to reveal his throbbing erection, thick and long and looking ready to go inside anyone''s pussy who dared ask for it.

    Milf''s mind stopped thinking and went numb as she looked upon the most perfect piece of manhood she''d ever seenˇŞand that''s saying a lot considering the number of men she had seen over the years for her training.

    She watched as Ryan rubbed the tip of his penis up her thigh before stopping just short of her clit and leaving his glistening shaft resting against her flesh while he held her legs open wide by grasping onto her knees.

    With his other hand, he rubbed her swollen lips, massaging them gently before moving his fingers inward, dipping them inside her moist entrance, feeling her walls for any resistance. Finally, after a few moments, he found one ce where Milf resisted, causing him to slip another finger inside and slowly push it deeper into her hole. The warm wetness coated his middle finger almost instantly, adding more pleasure to Milf''s already overwhelmed senses.

    As if on cue, Milf felt herself shudder with anticipation at the sight of seeing Ryan sliding another finger in beside the first with a grin spreading across his face.

    "It looks like you''re still fighting me."

    Milf wanted to scream but couldn''t form words with which to do so. Instead, her eyes rolled back as she moaned uncontrobly and begged in her mind for his cock to fill her body with its warmth and make her feel better than she ever could have imagined.

    Ryan continued to y with her pussy, now that he knew how far to go and when to stop. He reached around her waist and grabbed hold of her butt, squeezing it roughly as he began grinding his rigid member between herbia before slipping it inside.

    The way he slipped inside was smooth yet forceful enough to knock the wind out of her lungs as the wave of ecstasy finally took control of Milf''s brain.

    She bit down on her lower lip tightly while Ryan pulled his hips back until the head popped past the opening of her tunnel.

    He paused there for a moment before pushing back inside, ensuring everything loosened up for him without putting too much pressure on her delicate insides.

    With this newfound knowledge, Ryan quickly went deeper and deeper into Milf, reaching ces within her never touched by any other man in the entire Multiverse.

    (To Be Continued...)

 Chapter 89 To Cum Or Not To Cum [R-18] (3)

    Ryan looked with smug satisfaction at Milf''s face twisting into different emotions as she realized what she was about to endure.

    Her mouth opened and closed in time with each thrust he made in return, letting out small whimpers at times while she let out moans of pleasure at other moments.

    "You can''t deny me... Please! Give me your seed," Milf pleaded desperately after realizing she couldn''t stop herself from saying it, even though it sounded more like an order than anything else.

    "You have to say the words," Ryan said, a sadistic smile forming.

    "I''ll say anything. Please tell me what to say!"

    "What were the words again?" Ryan tapped his chin as he licked his lips, teasing her even further.

    The torture made her so insanely irrational that Milf remembered a memory from a week ago about a recent conversation with Hannah and how helpless she had been afterward.

    Hannah had mentioned not being able to feel any physical sensations during sex because of how high-level she was bing.

    ''Why am I feeling this way then?'' Milf wondered but kept that thought buried deep inside her mind, too focused on the pleasure to care.

    She looked at Ryan with half-closed eyes, her breaths shallow and fast, while gazing into Ryan''s emerald eyes.

    Ryan''s gaze turned dark as he slowly started moving his hips in a circr motion, pushing deeper into her while reaching around and grabbing hold of one of her breasts before pinching a nipple between his fingers and thumb.

    "Please... cum."

    "I think you mean ''please let me cum'' darling," Ryan replied before sliding his hand down over her body until it reached her clit, giving it a slight pinch before starting to pull out before mming back home hard enough to cause Milf to bite down harder on her lower lip. "Say it!" he said forcefully with a smirk.

    "Please! Let me cum!" Milf cried out through clenched teeth as she felt her pussy tighten up around Ryan''s cock, trying to make hime just as quickly as possible so she could join him in ecstasy and relieve the buildup of pleasure she was experiencing inside herself.

    "Good girl..." Ryan smiled, loving every second of Milf begging for release and the fact that he had forced her to say words that meant his victory.

    "Here''s your reward."

    With that final word, he pushed forward with all of his might, burying himself balls-deep into Milf''s warm depths with such an overwhelming feeling of pure bliss it caused a rush of heat to flow throughout his entire body.

    His lips formed a wicked grin as he pulled back once more, only to m back in again, this time making sure to give Milf as much pleasure as possible.

    Milking her for everything she had, they both screamed in unison from the euphoria coursing through their bodies.

    Ryan continued thrusting until his orgasm hit and sent shockwaves racing from the top of his head straight down to the tip of his dick. But it didn''t stop there as the sensation traveled down to his toes, causing him to quiver and jerk at each new peak of pleasure he experienced.

    Ryan held onto Milf tightly while watching with pride as the waves washed over her face one after another, eventually crashing over her features like a tsunami. While at the same time, Ryan unleashed streams of cum deep inside her tunnel.

    The pressure inside Milf''s body built up even further when she felt something other than her juices spilling out of Ryan''s cock, but she was too far gone in ecstasy to pay any mind to what was happening between them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Feeling a rush of warmth fill her pussy before pouring out from within, coating Ryan''s shaft and sending rivulets of fluid flowing along its surface before running back into itself, creating an oily texture that looked nothing short of perfect covering it.

    She cried out louder this time, squeezing Ryan with all of her strength while clenching every muscle around his member just long enough for his pleasure-filled groans to echo off the walls surrounding their makeshift love nest.

    It was simply unique, and unlike anything Milf had ever experienced before in her life.

    Of course, she knew it would end soon, but at least right now, nothing existed aside from her own body going through so much pleasure that it made her brain think twice about whether her body still belonged to her.

    Milf''s body trembled beneath Ryan''s grasp while he continued moving inside her with slow yet powerful strokes, letting each push he made cause ripples of bliss to radiate throughout their shared flesh.

    Each thrust sent waves of light surging through Milf''s mind while she clenched hard against his pulsing member.

    Ryan remained focused on his release until the veryst moment when his hips mmed forward, causing his entire shaft to stiffen again beforeing down hard against her ass.

    He watched Milf''s face as her expression changed from ecstasy to pure satisfaction as her toes curled up and her back arched, taking him even deeper within.

    The second wave of orgasm hit and raced from the top of Ryan''s head to the base of his dick, giving way to another surge that moved further south with a series of smaller peaks that followed one after the other. Again, the sensations washed over Ryan in waves, leaving asting mark far beyond the initial explosion.

    It went all the way down into his stomach before starting to build in strength again before, eventually ending in a massive spurt of cum shot out at full force inside Milf''s tight pussy.

    With all this pleasure running through their systems, it was only natural for their orgasms to match each other.

    Their bodies shook violently as they screamed out loud--screams filled with passion and desire for their pleasure.

    Milf finally came first this time as she felt her legs begin trembling uncontrobly around Ryan''s waist.

    Her arms fell limp against her sides while her eyes rolled back into her skull, showing the whites as she lost consciousness while pounded mercilessly by Ryan''s thick cock. Finally, her mind melted awaypletely, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of sexual energy that coursed through her veins.

    The energy transformed into mana that surrounded them like an aura before being absorbed deep within her core.

    It then spread across her body in waves before rushing outwards through every inch of skin it touched, including her lips, ears, and eyelids, as they fluttered open slowly once more and took in their surroundings.

    As soon as she could see again, Milf realized what had happened.

    Ryan had pulled his member out of Milf''s pussy and started wiping himself off with his hands. Milf blushed a little when she remembered that he had been using her as a sex toy just a few moments ago... but now the moment had passed, leaving nothing behind except the memory of how good everything felt.

    "You look happy for someone who just lost. Why?" Ryan asked, unlocking her shackles.

    Milf looked around before biting her lip. "Don''t be afraid of him. He can''t hurt you. Only be afraid of the egg! Please be our master. He''s not-."

    But before she could finish, she fell to the ground, unconscious.

 Chapter 90 The Egg

    Yoko, known by others as ''the egg'' was currently salivating at the sight before her.

    ''A perfect vessel after all these years!''

    ''Finally!''

    After seeing Ryan for the first time Yoko had practically been doing summersaults inside her egg as she watched the boy pass test after test.

    ''I can also feel the heavenly aura on this boy. Although his soul is a little corroded, it''s not like it will be left after I transfer into him anyway.''

    Yoko had waited for many more years than The Old Man knew. Although she had never spoken to him, why would someone of her status talk to a measly God-Tier cultivator from a S-Tier kingdom?

    Although she hadn''t been born yet, as technically she was still in incubation, waiting for the right type of energy to break her out, she had a brilliant idea 15 million years ago.

    ''Why don''t I find someone for my vessel?''

    Although she had waited so long, what was time for a being like her?

    Even seeing Ryan defeat Milf, the ve of theˇ­ thing that had kept herpany for so many years brought her great joy.

    ''His body and mind are immacte for someone so ripe. Oh, I can''t wait!''

    Just as Ryan finished off the girl andpleted the heavenly contract, she received a notification from the heavens that she could view Ryan''s status page.

    As someone of her ilk got special privileges, this was one. She was duly impressed by Ryan''s screen. ''An SSS-Ranked specialty?!'' Her unborn mouth dropped open as she checked and rechecked Ryan''s specialty to ensure she wasn''t making a mistake.

    ''But those are rarer than a Hydra''s head!''

    ''Waitˇ­'' as she was inspecting Ryan''s race, a frown came over her embryonic face. ''This says he''s only at E-Rank in his raceˇ­''

    To be her vessel, a person had to have either a King-Tier ranked race orˇ­

    ''He''s not like me, is he? But I don''t sense any of the 7''s blood in him.''

    Using her ability, ''Soul Touch'', she peered into Ryan''s soul and shifted through the outeryer.

    ''Nothing really to see hereˇ­ what''s this?'' Getting closer to the inneryer of Ryan''s soul, she saw a forcefield-like dome that blocked her entry.

    ''A pathetic E-Ranked cultivator has a soul protector?'' For a moment, Yoko thought she was losing her mind. ''What kind of world did this brate from that he needs a soul protector at E-Rank?''

    As she was contemting reality, Yoko tried touching the barrier but immediately regretted her action as she felt pain ripple down her body from her fingertips all the way up to her neck.

    She had never known pain before today! Even if she had, it wouldn''t be anythingpared to now. ''Why would someone as weak as him have such an borate defense?''

    As soon as the wave of pain left her hands and neck, the field vanished, and she moved in with ease until she touched his heart.

    ''Thisˇ­ isn''t just a shield.'' Looking around, she could feel nothinging near Ryan''s core and knew something strange was happening.

    ''This is... a Gxy-Tier soul guard!''

    ''I don''t know who he is, but he must have some powerful ancestors or parents for that to happen.''

    ''If I could get him as my soul master... maybe he''d even ept me as his harem empress!''

    Coming to that conclusion, she sent him a prompt.

    ===

    As soon as Milf fell to the ground, Ryan received a notification.

    [Congrattions onpleting your second task.]

    [Third Task: im ''the egg'' as your soul pet]

    [Select this prompt to be teleported to ''the egg'']

    Ryan was about to take his time and gather his energy. But he raised his eyebrow and started madlyughing as he received the following prompt:

    [''the egg'' wishes to be your soul pet]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [ept / Decline]

    ===

    mming his fist on the table, The Old Man roared, "That fucking Milf bitch couldn''t keep her mouth shut for 10 minutes!"

    "Fuck!" Screaming, The Old Man threw his wine ss across the room, making ss shards fly in every direction.

    "You look happy for someone who just lost. Why?" Hearing Ryan talk, The Old Man spun around and sent his energy through the ve seal.

    After Milf, as The Old Man had named her, fell over, The Old Man clenched his fist and was about to curse up another storm when he heard a whooshing sound and-

    "Greetings!" Ryan said. Pleased with the Old Man''s unnerved look.

    Ryan nced down. He saw a pitch-ck object that looked like an egg. The egg was sitting in a marble basin on a table near The Old Man''s leftovers from breakfast.

    As deftly as ever, Ryan snatched the egg and tossed it into the air.

    ck-jawed, The Old Man''s mouth hung open, and his eyes bulged.

    His head traveled up and down, watching the egg transfer from Ryan''s hand to the air and back into Ryan''s hand.

    The Old Man''s hands were waving in the air. He couldn''t speak "st.. stˇ­sstttt.."

    Ignoring the senile man, Ryan kept tossing the egg up and down while walking back and forth.

    "So that was an interesting challenge that you had me do. We could''ve died a thousand deaths as we were attacked by snake, bear, and monkey monsters at the different levels, but no, I proved my strength. And then what happens?"

    He tossed the egg, higher and higher into the air, spinning around and catching it.

    Leaping ballerina style Ryan performed a spin and caught it.

    He twirled and put his hands behind his back and caught it.

    The Old Man''s face turned purple as he quivered. "It took me a million years to touch my precious!" he cried, his crooked fingers pointing at Ryan.

    Ignoring The Old Man, Ryan grabbed a stone and began juggling it with the egg.

    Starting to perform tricks, Ryan did some ssics like under the leg, behind the back, and over the shoulder.

    The Old Man''s hand went to his head as he fell back into his chair. "No, no, stop! Stop!"

    "So," Ryan said, tossing the egg up again, spinning and catching it, "at the final level, a woman. A very clever trick Old Man, very clever. Yeah, she was beautiful. Good job on getting my taste right."

    "But no, I didn''t fall for your tricks."

    Ryan tossed the egg one final time in the air and snugly put it in his pocket.

    "Thanks for the egg, Old Man."

    The Old Man wept. "It took me millions of years for her to allow me to touch it, and you''re hurling it through the air."

    "My pet egg! My precious! My salvation! Get out! I should''ve never let you in here!"

    "You all are right, Old Man. You shouldn''t have let me in. But you did, and it was your mistake to try and trick me."

    "Who are you?" The Old Man cried.

    "No one, absolutely no one other than me, should be able to touch the egg!"

    "To im the egg, you have to be an elite! A descendant from one of THEM! Not an orphan like you! What don''t I know? What aren''t you telling me?"  The Old Man almost slid off his chair in despair.

    "That''s why I''m here, to get answers from you. It''s true; I am an orphan. Maybe I''m just lucky. Maybe I have the magic touch, or maybe you''re insane."

    "Maybe you''ve spent too many years locked in here with your own crazy brain."

    "Perhaps you just think this egg is something special. But a minor orphan like me could toss it in the air and take it as my own. You''re losing your touch, Old Man."

 Chapter 91 Yoko Might Be Trouble...

    When Ryan had entered the room, he had inherently felt the power radiating from The Old Man. But contrary to what one might expect, he didn''t feel any fear.

    Not only was his ''Death Before Fear'' ability at work, but also a tacit understanding of why The Old Man wasn''t a threat to him.

    God-Tier cultivators can''t hurt lower-tiered cultivators unless attacked.

    Ryan didn''t know how he knew this, but he somehow attributed it to something other than hisck of memory.

    This feeling was the same when the voice spoke to him, warning him of Milf.

    "Why is her name Milf?" Ryan suddenly thought out loud.

    The Old Man Laughed, "That stupid bitch begged me to let her have kids, but after I forced her to stay a virgin for so many years she forgot about wanting to be a mother. So I changed her name to Milf so that she would remember," after getting over his initial shock at the sudden outburst, The Old Man was eager to tell Ryan of his misdeeds.

    "Did you feel her skill? I can give her to you... all you have to do is give me that egg back."

    Ryan burst intoughter. "You''re still calling it an egg. Do you not even know it''s a she?" Ryan asked, wiping tears ofughter from his eyes.

    "How. . . how do you know it''s a she?" The Old Man asked with trembling rage. He wanted nothing more than to obliterate the brat standing before him, but the heavenlyws forbade him. When one upgrades from SSS-Tier to God-Tier, one undergoes a transformation that changes their fundamentals.

    Cultivators from the Multiverse look at the letter ranks as the foundation-building period and use this time to ensure they maintain a healthy bnce between upgrading their race, cultivation, and specialty, which, unlike Ryan, others have to do thest two independently.

    "She spoke to me, duh," Ryan said, waving his hands in a dismissive gesture.

    Clutching his heart The Old Man slumped back on his chair. His face turned bright red, and he began sweating profusely. "What did she say?" he demanded. "I don''t want her! Tell her I never wanted her!"

    The Old Man screeched as he stood up. "Never mind, let go of her already! Give her back now, or I''ll kill you right here!"

    Ryan reached into his pocket and held out the egg to him. "Here, you can have her."

    "Give me my precious. Give it to me now!"

    "Here she is." Ryan tossed the egg toward The Old Man''s hand. "Are we done here?"

    "Wait... what?" The Old Man asked with suspicion.

    He picked up the egg and looked at it closely for several minutes before returning his attention to the boy standing before him with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation.

    "What did you do?" The Old Man asked, still curiously looking at the egg.

    "Nothing," Ryan said, shrugging while he checked the time on his nonexistent watch.

    The Old Man''s eyebrow twitched as he looked at the fa?ade of the youngster. "Boy, if you don''t hand over the real egg, I will cut you down where you stand. I could easily cut you down before the heavenlyws obliterate me."

    Giving a long sigh Ryan took out an egg of the same size and weight and handed it to The Old Man.

    "Ah yes, this is her!" The Old Man eximed. "Now run brat, before I change my mind."<novelnext></novelnext>

    As Ryan turned to leave he heard the now familiar voice of Yoko in his head. "That''s the decoy I used when I snuck out of this miserable ce," Yoko said telepathically.

    "You know, I still haven''t epted you," Ryan replied, looking down at his pocket.

    As Ryan returned his sight forward, walking out of the room, he didn''t notice a small puff of air escape from the egg in his pocket.

    The room began filling with an overpowering putrid scent as Ryan closed the door behind him.

    Inside the room, The Old Man was delicately rubbing the egg, a fanatical expression on his face.

    Suddenly he started choking and coughing. His eyes turned wide and began stinging. Tears appeared, and he couldn''t catch his breath.

    He wed at his throat, trying to get air. He pounded his chest, trying just to catch one little breath, a breath that never came.

    The Old Man slumped into his chair and slid down slowly until he hit the floor, his face purple, his legs syed out in odd directions, and saliva puddled slowly underneath his rigid face.

    "Oh, but you will," Yoko said, a small smile spreading over her face.

    ===

    "Any news on the test?" Hannah called as she bit her lip.

    "Just like the previous 20 times you''ve asked Hannah, no. Our Lord does not give us such news," Shade said, looking at Hannah disapprovingly.

    "But does that mean he''s going to be turned into a vessel? How can we ever escape his clutches?" The fa?ade that Hannah had been putting on for The Old Man dropped, and she desperately wanted to know if her savior was okay.

    She had wanted to warn Ryan, but she was only a ve. If she refused The Old Man''s orders, she died.

    "Ryan was skillful enough to cure you. Have some faith in the boy," Shade said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

    "You mean you believe in him?" Hannah asked, leaning toward Shade, gazing at him, her eyes filled with hope.

    "I-" before Shade could respond, every member of the catservants of Xygar got a notification.

    [Your Master Has Died. Your contract isplete.]

    Everyone in the room fell silent and turned towards Shade. Although, over the years, Shade had gotten close with the catservants, he was not one of them.

    He was first and foremost the protector of Xygar and now that thest remaining member of their race was dead...

    "I''m free," Shade muttered. "I can''t believe I''m free from that bastard''s control after so many years."

    The mask that Shade had worn of the loyal servant who would do anything for his master crumbled and he disregarded everyone in the room as he sprinted toward a hut at the edge of the vige.

    ''Don''t worry sister, your brother ising.''

 Chapter 92 First Clan Secured

    Reaching a rundown wooden house, Shade quickly utched the door to see Ryan and what must be his long-lost sister Milf standing, holding each other, his sister in tears.

    ''That''s my sister!'' Shade grinned, the empty space in his heart now filled. Shade had never seen such a beautiful girl before in his life. She was perfect to the extent that she didn''t exist. He had been waiting for this moment for what seemed to be all his life.

    Shade had grown up alone on an isted ind for centuries until The Old Man came along. He hadn''t even known how long it took for The Old Man to find him or what he looked like, but when they met, The Old Man decided that this boy with half-broken eyes would be one of his ves.

    The Old Man was able to run a King-Tier kingdom, not because of his own strength, but because of how strong he made his subordinates. The Old Man''s specialty allowed him to multiply the speed of growth of those who swore eternal loyalty to him by several times their usual rate.

    Added up over millions of years, this turned even mediocre cultivators into superpowers.

    This wasn''t limited only to people though. Some animals had been turned into creatures capable of doing things that would''ve normally seemed impossible if witnessed. That''s why The Old Man was obsessed with gaining power over the egg.

    He secretly still held onto hope after all these years that he might be the one to bond with the egg. His ego couldn''t take the thought of having someone else bond with it first.

    The moment the Old Man died and left Shade free, he knew where he needed to go first--back home to his family.

    "You must be Shade," Milf said, holding back her tears.

    Shade gave a slight nod as a tear ran down his face too.

    The Old Man was cruel. For millions of years, The Old Man allowed Shade to know of Milf''s existence, but although they were so geographically close, The Old Man refused to let them near each other.

    The Old Man thrived off the pain of others. He tortured people not for the sake of strength but for pleasure. In his mind, he wanted nothing less than to bring everyone under the rule of Xygar so that he could create a utopia filled with ves to worship him.

    "What happened?" Ryan asked as he released Milf from his arms and walked closer to Shade.

    "The Old Man is dead," Shade answered with a dry voice.

    Ryan opened his eyes wide at this new piece of information and slowly looked around in confusion before turning behind him to look at Milf. "Well, I''ll leave you two alone."

    Milf shook her head from side to side and sniffled softly, the tears flowing more freely now that she had finally seen Shade again. "I need to say something."

    "I meant what I said, I want you to be our new Master. All of our new masters," she said, indicating to Shade and the vige around her.

    "I don''t know if you''ve noticed, but I''m E-Rank," Ryan said, scratching his head awkwardly.

    "That doesn''t necessarily matter," Shade said, interjecting. "My sister is right. We don''t exactly have a ce to go. We need someone to take us in. And someone with your future talents is exactly who we should be looking for to hedge our bets on."

    Ryan pondered for a moment before asking, "How did The Old Man ensure loyalty?"

    "He did it through a Heavenly item called ''Contract of eternity''. It costs 4500 Heavenly Credits per contract, but for the price, it can enve anyone up to King-Tier or a n if they don''t have anyone above God-Tier."

    "How exactly strong are you?" Ryan asked, curiously.

    "Strength in the Multiverse isn''t what you would expect," Shade replied, hesitating. "The higher in cultivation one gets, the less it is about personally fighting, and more about controlling others to fight."

    "I think in all my years, I''ve seen a total of five fights of anyone above King-Tier, and when they happen, crowds from across the Multiversee to watch."

    Ryan was even more intrigued by this revtion. But before he could ask any more questions, he heard a knock at the door. "Ryan?" a small voice asked, as Hannah peered through the doorway.

    After Hannah locked eyes with Ryan she squealed and jumped on him, starting to meow as she rubbed herself against Ryan''s chest.

    ''Did I just hear a grown woman meow?'' Ryan thought, finding the sound not too annoying.

    Patting Hannah on the head he asked, "What''s the matter?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I thought I lost mew," Hannah cried, rubbing her fluffy ears against Ryan''s neck.

    Tingling from the fluffiness, Ryan was only pulled out of his reverie by Shade''s cough.

    "Hannah, I think you came here to ask Ryan something, not to... uh... I don''t even want to know what you''re doing," Shade said, shivering as he looked at the catwoman''s vicious re.

    Hannah smiled, seeing she had quelled Shade''s attempt at cockblocking her. "Ryan, you wouldn''t abandon a n full of kittens, would you?" she asked, her lower lip beginning to quiver.

    Ryan''s eyebrow twitch as he looked to Shade for help but was rejected when he saw Shade had suddenly started to have an unhealthy fascination with the ceiling.

    "Look, I don''t have any Heavenly Credits to buy the contracts we need," Ryan said, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

    "I would, but..."

    "Actually, you do," Shade said, seemingly over his ceiling fetish. "I don''t know how much of the inheritance you''ve received, but if you''ve even passed floor two on the tower of monsters, you''ll have enough HCs to buy a contract."

    Ryan abruptly shut his mouth and turned to his heavenly screen.

    [Congrattions onpleting your third task.]

    [Gain 106,892 Heavenly Credits]

    [Maximum spendable Heavenly Credits by a lettered cultivator is 10,000 total]

    "That''s it?" Ryan thought out loud. ''Dang, what a letdown.''

    ''I''ll I got was a stupid egg and a bit of cash. Hm, I have two problems and two avenues I can take. I have to defeat the human empire, and I have to cure my corrosion.''

    ''If I throw the egg at my soul corrosion, will it boil?''

    ''Or maybe if I throw the egg into the human empire, they will go as crazy as The Old Man and kill themselves?''

    "Don''t be too hasty to judge," Shade said. "Heavenly Credits are the most valuable resource in the Multiverse as they can be used to buy everything but the rarest of resources."

    "One can never have enough Heavenly Credits and even the big 7''s don''t throw away Heavenly Credits willy-nilly."

    "So how much is one worth? You just said a contract was worth 4500, they can''t be that valuable."

    Shade chuckled. "The contract is one of the most expensive things The Old Man owned. In fact, besides the egg, it was. The rest of his power he kept in Heavenly Credits in case he found something he could use to im the egg one day."

    "I''d say his entire stash was worth somewhere above 150,000 Heavenly Credits, which would be enough to buy an E-Ranked," Shade continued.

    ''Hm... a does sound nice,'' Ryan thought.

    "Anyway, we''re getting off-topic," Shade said, waving his hand. "We would love to join you in your world and are willing to sign the same contracts as we did with The Old Man."

    "However, your world has yet to be connected to the Multiverse and we are not allowed within its borders," Shade said with a sigh.

    "What about an independent space?" Ryan said after a moment of hesitation.

    Shade, Milf, and Hannah all looked at Ryan with an expression of hope. "Does that mean you''ll take us?" Hannah asked, rubbing herself against Ryan more fervently.

    "If you sign the contracts... yes."

 Chapter 93 Ryan Emerald

    Excited smiles covered Shade, Milf, and Hannah''s faces.

    "We''ll sign," Hannah said, jumping for joy.

    "As will I," Shade added. "You''ve reunited me with my sister; I''ll be eternally grateful for that."

    As Ryan was about to correct Shade, he suddenly thought better of it and shut his mouth. It wasn''t the time to exin the egg and her powers.

    "Okay, how do I purchase these contracts?" Ryan asked, looking at Shade while quietly trying to remove Hannah from his chest.

    "I assume, my Lord, that this is your first time acquiring any Heavenly Credits?" Shade asked.

    Seeing Ryan nod his head, Shade exined, "You should be able to order one from a reputable Heavenly Merchant of B-Rank or higher... but I doubt you have such a force on your. Kingdom and Merchant ranks are much harder to obtain than cultivation ranks after all."

    Mulling the problem over, Ryan only found two options.

    ''Well, I don''t have any danger in putting them inside the Harem Pce, as even though I''ve never been inside, I should have full control. They would have to swear the standard oath of loyalty.''

    "Either you trust me enough to stay inside my pocket dimension without a contract, or we''ll have to meet after I fulfill my oath," Ryan said.

    "Oath?" Hannah asked, tilting her head.

    "Do not pry into confidential information, woman!" Shade said, mming his fist on a rickety table, causing it to break.

    Ignoring the mess he made, Shade stepped close to Ryan and whispered, "Now, what is this about an oath, my Lord, and what can I do to help?"

    Seeing the intrigue on Shade''s and Hanna''s faces, Ryan pressed his lips together and looked at Milf. "What about you? Will you join me?"

    "I already asked you to take us as your people. Although you''re not strong yet, you''ve proved yourself as a future powerhouse in my eyes," Milf said, gazing into Ryan''s eyes.

    "Then you deserve a new name. What was your name before?" Ryan asked Milf, who he''de to see as a potential harem member, as her ability was particrly suited for him.

    "It''s been so long that my previous name no longer applies to me," Milf said, shaking her head. "Please give me a new name."

    Ryan paused, sensing an opportunity.

    On earth, he was an orphan. On Ravier, he was an orphan. But slowly, he was building a family, albeit a non-standard family, but a family nheless.

    "Your new name shall be Veronica Emerald," he nodded to Milf, hoping she would like her new name.

    "I, before the heavens, dere my name Ryan Emerald."

    The heavens boomed with a mighty p as Ryan pronounced his new surname. Ryan didn''t know it at the time, but that simple sentence had been enough to seal the fate of all humanity on Ravier. And usher in an age of utter chaos for the Multiverse.

    ===

    After everyone said the appropriate oaths and Ryan secured them inside his pce, Ryan got down to the most important topic. The egg.

    "You''re the one that requested to be my soul pet, so why should I agree?" Ryan asked Yoko, who was currently hopping around on the bed inside her shell.

    "You should agree because I''m a main descendant from the Dragon n, one of the 7," Yoko eximed triumphantly.

    "What type of Dragon are you exactly... and why haven''t you hatched?"

    "How dare you ask ady such a thing, Mr. Emerald!" Yoko cried in outrage.

    Rolling his eyes, Ryan asked, "Okay, can you tell me what the advantages would be for a normal cultivator to get a normal spirit pet?"

    "It depends on the spirit pet, but they gain certain abilities based on the pet''s race and level."

    ''Kinda sounds like my harem... the heavens doesn''t want me to raise my girls as pets, do they?''

    "Spirit pets also live inside a person''s soul. Depending on the cultivator''s rank, they can only have so many."<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''Fuck, fuck, fuck, no way.''

    "They can also. . . have. . . hahaha," unable to contain herughter anymore, Yoko''s shell rolled on the floor while sheughed.

    Wiping her non-existent tear from her unborn face Yoko said, "Sorry, one of my abilities allows me to look into other people''s specialties and I couldn''t help myself."

    "So, can you tell me what the advantage is now?" Ryan said, letting out a huge breath.

    "Bloodlines."

    ===

    Inside the Harem Pce...

    Shade sighed in relief at seeing his sister safe. "How are you feeling?" he asked his sister after pulling her inside the new room he had been designated.

    "Happy," Veronica said, falling on the bed next to Shade and hugging his arm. "For the first time since we were kids, we are together, and we''re away from The Old Man."

    The two siblings remained silent, eyes locked. Neither had to speak to understand what the other was thinking.

    For so many years, they hadn''t been able tomunicate. It was Hannah that acted as their mediator. But that didn''t mean they didn''t have a bond.

    The three had been tighter than siblings and had even hatched a n to steal Yoko from The Old Man''s clutches.

    Shade had discovered long ago that Yoko would sneak off and soon discovered her real identity by watching where she went.

    The n only formed after Shade received a strange message from a diviner informing him of a Cultivatoring to their realm who could pass The Old Man''s test.

    He didn''t believe the diviner at first, but after confirming with his sources that the diviner was well-known in the Multiverse, Shade epted the knowledge as fact.

    The two sat in silence until Hannah came through the door wearing a happy grin.

    "Veronica!" Hannah eximed with joyful tears as she ran up to Veronica.

    "I can''t believe we''re all finally free of that man," Veronica said as she embraced Hannah. "I thought it was never going to happen."

    "It took too long, but our n worked! I just can''t believe our savior is so young."

    Hannah paused, realizing what she had just said, and nced at Shade.

    "What did you just say?" Shade asked, raising his eyebrows.

    "Nothing," Hannah mumbled. She noticed the displeasure on Shade''s face and added, "Everything''s fine now. We''ve seeded, so let''s talk about more pleasant things. How much longer do you think the egg will take to hatch?"

    "About two more months," Shade said, gazing into the distance with a frown.

    Hearing this, both Veronica and Hannah immediately became anxious to know why Shade looked unhappy.

    "Why would anything be wrong?" Veronica questioned, looking at him with concern in her eyes. "Almost everything went to n! We didn''t even have to use our ace to knock Yoko unconscious."

    "I meant what I said to the boy. I am indebted to him. And..." Shade replied coldly before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I think Ryan Emerald is a descendant of the First Ones."

    Veronica and Hannah gasped, then turned their gazes towards each other while muttering a single word over and over again, ''Impossible.''

    "It appears you weren''t paying attention to me when I told you the diviner who sold me the information said our savior was someone unique in the Multiverse," Shade exined with annoyance.

    "But a descendant of the First Ones? How sure are you?" Hannah asked.

    Looking away, Shade scratched his head and said, "About 20, no. 15 percent."

    Face palming, the two women sighed and shook their heads.

 Chapter 94 I Have An Evil Bloodline?

    "Bloodlines?" Ryan hadn''t heard of bloodlines, only about races.  He looked at the vibrating egg, "Can you perhaps expand on that?"

    "Bloodlines are powers outside of the heavens'' parameters. In fact, cultivation wasn''t the main source of power in the Multiverse until the heavens descended," Yoko said as the egg shook.

    "Bloodlines of the strongest races once activated to their true potential, can be just as devastating as the best cultivators in the Multiverse, if not better."

    "There was even a bloodline so powerful that the heavens removed them off the face of the Multiverse by giving anyone who saw them a quest to kill them. The quests caused a mass exodus of the greatest race the Multiverse had ever seen," Yoko said, shaking her shell.

    "Are they still alive?" Ryan asked, intrigued about the story. He always loved rooting for the underdogs.

    "My mother said they probably still exist but have found some way of hiding their identities from the heavens."

    Ryan''s head was spinning from all this knowledge that he had to get back to the main point.

    "Okay, bloodlines. Does that mean I get your bloodline... or?"

    "When we form a soul contract-"

    "If we form a soul contract," Ryan corrected, interrupting Yoko.

    "If we form a soul contract, we form a bond that allows us to advance our bloodlines several times faster. The only catch is that the two people forming the contract have to have simr types of bloodlines," Yoko stated.

    "Yes, I''m sure that''s the only catch," Ryan muttered.

    "So, what type of bloodline do you have?" Ryan asked, now curious at what his bloodline was.

    "Uh... well... I have the bloodline of the Evil Dragon," Yoko said, trying her best to sound as innocent as possible.

    "Actually, you don''t have an evil bloodline within you, but you can change it to one," Yoko said, seeing Ryan''s glum face.

    "What do you mean? You can change bloodlines?" Ryan asked, baffled at this piece of news.

    "Normally, no, but it looks like something is corroding your soul. If you allow it to corrode further."

    "How much would I have to corrode it exactly?" Ryan asked, not counting out any possibility.

    "You''d have to change at least 50% of your soul into what the heavens determine is ''evil''. Personally, I think they''re the evil ones," Yoko said, whispering thest sentence.

    "Says the one who killed someone who went crazy with love for them," Ryan retorted, referring to Yoko''s not-so-subtle killing of The Old Man.

    Seeing the egg twitch and fall silent, Ryan fell into contemtion on whether he should make a proverbial deal with the devil, signing his soul unto evil.

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    Back on Ravier, The Duchess''s POV...

    "Volf," the Duchess sighed, "what do you think Ryan was doing in that cave?"

    Volfy on the ground, eyes rolling back and forth between the hologram, the Duchess, and the cupboard with all the excellent food.

    He gave a little whimper. ''Maybe his master would feel bad for him, or she may get angry again and empty all the cupboards. What a feast! Too bad those men hade in and interrupted. I could''ve eaten for days while the Dutchessy sobbing on the floor.''

    The duchess stamped her feet on the carpeted floor, "Why didn''t the video feed work when Ryan was in the cave! st!" The wine in her hand almost went flying over her newly clean home.

    "Ryan was looking pretty good after he swaggered out of that cave, though, Volf," the Duchess said, eyebrows wiggling at the wolf.

    ''In fact,'' she thought, swirling her wine around in her ss, ''Ryan was looking pretty fine this whole trip.''

    "I can see why Emily likes him. He has strong muscles and stamina...," the Duchess exined to Volf, using her free hand to fan her face, "but he still isn''t good enough for my daughter."

    The Duchess stared at the screen again. Ryan was on his flying stick weaving in and out of the trees, his hair blowing back in the wind, his shirt open, revealing his tanned, muscr chest.

    She began to get an idea in her mind. "Volf, I''m thinking about my life. It''s a little lonely right now. After all, I am a duchess. I deserve to be happy. No matter who I take as a partner, no one can say anything. Even if I take on an orphan."

    "On the other hand, Volf, there''s Emily. Young and beautiful, she has her whole life ahead of her. My Emily is untarnished, pure, and doesn''t need to marry. She is valued. The empire loves her. I think even the Empress may have her eye on Emily.  Ryan will only take her away from her future. What do you think, Volf?"

    Volf looked at her and looked back toward the cupboard. Maybe he could give her subliminal messages. Food. Food. Food. His eyes moved back and forth from the Duchess to the cupboard.

    "I think I will do my daughter a favor, Volf," the Duchess said, finishing the wine in her ss and pouring some more. "What if I take that poor orphan off of her hands? Emily would be so grateful to me. Maybe not at first. She might get a little upset at the start. But then she''ll know his true colors, and she set her sights on something much higher than a hot boy."

    Volf whined.

    The Duchess pped her hands. "Volf! In order to make a new n we need to think. Really think. And you know what?" The Duchess'' eyes glistened, "Thinking requires food."

    Volf''s eyes brightened, and his head lifted off his paws. ''It worked?'' He tilted his head.

    The Duchess got up off the couch and padded over to the cupboard. Volf followed his tail, wagging back and forth.

    "Let''s see, crackers, cheese, and some dried meat," the Duchess said, not noticing Volf panting at her side.

    The Duchess took her snacks and sat down at the table. Opening the packages, she chewed a few pieces and threw some little bits to Volf, who caught them mid-air.

    "Volf, you are so smart. I know precisely what I will do," she said, pping her hands. "Let''s have a dinner. A sweet dinner of seduction. We''ll see what Ryan''s made of and show Emily that no one is good enough for her on this."

    Volf ced his head on the table next to the Duchess. She leaned down and grabbed his neck, giving him a big hug. Volf''s tongue was just able to reach the pack of dried meat. He held it with his tongue, took it in his mouth, and swallowed it. He liked this n.

 Chapter 95 Turning Into A Villain To Go Against The Heavens

    After contemting his life choices, Ryan realized he had to take a gamble.

    His life wasn''t as easy as it previously had been, and his cultivation wasn''t progressing at the speed it needed to. He could only ce his hope in his bloodline.

    "Okay fine, I''ll do it," Ryan said, turning towards the egg. "But you''re going to need to say a heavenly oath that forbids you from betrayal."

    "That would be redundant," Yoko said. "You''ll realize once you start to form the pact that it is unbreakable, and as the lesser in the contract, I would die if something happened to you."

    Ryan''s jaw dropped. "Then why would you agree to such a thing?"

    "You don''t exactly strike me as the trusting type," Ryan said, furrowing his brow.

    "I was born with a curse that makes it impossible to hatch unless I get a vessel or a master. A master is preferable since I could inhabit my intended body and dominate the Multiverse as my species has done for millennia," Yoko said, theatrically waving her unborn hand inside the shell.

    "I''ll still have you sign the oath," Ryan said, not believing a word from Yoko until he had it in writing.

    "Fine, I swear by the heavens that I will not harm the man standing before me unless betrayal  befalls me first."

    [You have received an oath of loyalty from Yoko Draco]

    [ept / Decline]

    Although it wasn''t foolproof, Ryan now knew that nothing was unless you paid for it. ''Stupid capitalistic heavens,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

    After epting, Ryan started to release the thoughts he had suppressed since starting this journey on Ravier more than a month ago.

    He thought about Aliza and her death. He thought about the rage he felt towards the human empire and what they had done to him.

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 2.67%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 4.56%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 7.9%]

    His eyes started to grow hot with hate as he felt his helplessness against the human empire.

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 10.42%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 12.67%]

    The fires of hell stoked the hate in his heart as he recalled the torture he had endured at the sadistic doctor.

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 18.9%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 24.8%]

    The hatred festered in his thoughts as he released his hatred in a torrent of death.

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 37.5%]

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 42.9%]

    "Easy tiger, you don''t want to overdo it," Yoko said, starting to be a little wary at the hate radiating off Ryan.

    Ryan turned his hostile re that was as hard as daggers on the egg as he roared, "Nothing can bind me. No one can hold me. I will have my revenge on those who betrayed me and those who wronged me. For I am Ryan Emerald, and I am the Harem Overlord."

    [Percentage of soul corroded: 50.1%]

    Like a valve, Ryan shut off the red energy coursing through his mind and turned to Yoko.

    He could feel an ethereal connection to the egg as if his blood was calling for him to step toward the beast and im it.

    He ced his hand upon the egg and said, "Give me your blood. Give me your soul. Give me your power so I can give you life."

    An earth-changing vortex started to rotate around Ryan as energy gathered from all over the portal realm.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Beasts and humanoids felt the energy in the air be thinner and thinner as the vortex around Ryan grew.

    nts and trees began to die, and animals too weak to resist started to have their energy sucked away.

    Some of the cultivators from the academy felt their pitiful amounts of energy stripped away as it flew toward Ryan.

    "Together we shall rule, together we shall rise. In evil, there is light. In evil, I ce my life. Against the heavens we shall rise, for the true evil we shall im, death is but a spell that only changes our name."

    With the final words and an unpleased p of thunder, everything stilled as Ryan fell to the ground. Unconscious.

    "Give me two months, master, and I''ll be out of my shell. Then, together we shall rise, first one."

    ===

    Brooke meandered through overgrown brush as she stalked her prey. Standing as tall as a tree and with a hulking physique, Brooke wasn''t proportioned for stalking but surprisingly, she was rtively nimble.

    Pouncing like a cheetah, Brooke tackled the mooselike beast to the ground and started to punch its side with a ferocious set of blows.

    As the thickest part of its body, the moose beast thought it could withstand the human''s punches, but after getting the wind blown out of its body on the first punch, it realized its mistake.

    In the shutters of death, the only thought the beast had was how unfair this fight had been.

    After collecting her 22nd F-Grade beast core, Brooke checked the time on her school bracelet and sat to wait for the time to expire.

    It was only five minutes before the return spell would bring her back, and she was exhausted.

    She had only slept two nights out of the five but knew it would be worth seeing the stupid boy''s face when she produced more beast cores than him and could officially enve the man.

    Thinking back, she shuttered at what would have happened if she had lost to the man after Ryan put forth the final term for the bet.

    ''Wearing a maid costume all dayˇ­ impossible,'' she thought.

    As she felt the return spell pour over her body and attempt to have her ''return'' she didn''t resist and allowed the spell to activate.

    After retching, Brooke opened her eyes to find herself in the same courtyard they had entered the portal in, exceptˇ­

    "What happened?" Brooke thought out loud.

    She saw almost no males, and all female cultivators had cuts and bruises all over their bodies.

    It looked like they hadn''t gone to a foreign realm but a warzone where they had been fighting for years and had just gotten back home. But their looks told Brooke that might not be far from the truth.

    The thin instructor who had first sent them into the realm looked at the significantly diminished group in horror as she muttered, "What did the Duchess do this time?"

    Seemingly the only one to notice, Brooke frowned and suddenly had a sinking feeling in her chest.

    She was strong and happy that the beasts were surprisingly challenging to defeat. But she never stopped to consider how others would be handling it.

    ''Stupid nobles are ying their stupid games,'' Brooke thought as she reyed the instructor''s words.

    Regaining her former calm, the instructor carried on as if nothing had happened. "Wee back, students. It seems we have a few more casualties than in previous years, but that''s to be expected."

    "Now to tally up your rankings!" Hurriedly getting on with the scheduled show, the instructor carried her huge tits over to a hologram and tapped a few buttons.

    Row upon row of information was disyed, and the instructor started to exin. "Your wristbands calcted how much each item you obtained is worth and have put one campus credit to equal 1 point of score.

    A beast core of a G-Grade monster is calcted at a hundred campus points, and if any of you teamed up to conquer an F-Grade beast, it is worth one thousand campus points.

    As the instructor started to rattle on and on, Brooke suddenly thought that her partner might be dead.

    Dread crept up on her, but she didn''t know why. ''I just met the man. Why do I care if a weak boy is injured?''

    Looking around, she gasped, which drew a crowd. Seeing her looking at something, the spectators turned their gaze and raised their eyebrows, seeing Ryan lying face up, unconscious, with an egg sitting in the middle of his chest.

 Chapter 96 Brooke The Maid

    A face hung over him like an angelic mask: smooth skin, deep green eyes; azure hair draped across his chest; lips slightly parted; white teeth; sharp chin; long fingers; full breasts.

    "Alizaˇ­" Ryan muttered.

    "I see you''re awake," a voice said to his right.

    Ryan whipped his head around to see Brooke. He was about to ask why she was in the room but couldn''t help bursting intoughter seeing what she was wearing.

    "I can''t. . . believe you actually. . . wore it!" Ryan said in betweenughs.

    From within a tight maid uniform stood a body like an armored tank. A figure built to take any punishment and dish it back tenfold.

    Every bit of cloth straining over her toned shoulders, each strap across her thickly muscled arms digging into skin as taut and shiny as fresh snow.

    Her hair obscured her face, but I could imagine its smooth perfection. Beneath those pantyhose-d legs, calves strong enough to crush walnuts with their iron grip.

    Brooke clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I keep my word. Although I would like to know how you scored so many points?" Brooke asked with usation in her tone.

    "Points?" Ryan asked. "Wait, we aren''t in the portal realm still?"

    Last thing Ryan remembered, he had been talking with that egg. "Wait, where''s the egg?" Ryan asked, frantically looking around.

    Brooke pursed her lips and looked to the ground. "The Duchess took it away. She said that once you awoke, I should give you the invitation to retrieve it, but you must attend a dinner with her tomorrow night."

    Ryan furrowed his brow and asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

    "A week. The Duchess originally asked for you toe after you awoke, but since you slept for too long, she came over here yesterday to invite you to an event she said she was holding tomorrow night."

    Mulling over this information, Ryan didn''t notice Brooke start to be increasingly ufortable.

    "Can you stop looking at me?" Brooke demanded.

    "Huh?" Ryan''s head snapped up. "What are you talking about."

    "You are staring right at my breasts!"

    Ryan grinned. "I believe you should be calling me something based on our wager. I think it started with a D, but I can''t remember the rest," Ryan said, tapping his finger on his chin.

    "Perhaps you could help me remember, ''Miss I keep my word''."

    Gritting her teeth, she repeated her question, "Can you stop looking at me Daˇ­ Daddy?"

    Snapping his fingers, Ryan felt a shiver run through his spine. "Lovely. I always love hearing that word."

    Getting up from the bed, Ryan started to stretch, paying the maid no mind.

    Now frustrated that Ryan wasn''t looking at her, Brooke bit her lip and awkwardly stood by Ryan''s bed.

    After a few minutes of him stretching, she couldn''t take it anymore and said, "Look. Can you please re-"

    "No," Ryan said, interrupting her. "I will not release you."

    Brooks''s eyes began to moisten, having already known the answer.

    His new bloodline having activated, Ryan didn''t care about the tears forming in Brook''s eyes.

    Thinking of his bloodline, he looked inward and saw something immacte.

    While his cultivation is stored inside his core, located in his lower stomach, his bloodline is him.

    Someone coulde along and lock up his core or break it, but to block his bloodline, one would have to kill him.

    Yoko hadn''t exined how to use his bloodline, and because it wasn''t a heavenly ability, he couldn''t get any help there. ''I should probably experiment a bit.''

    "Brooke, can you get me some coffee? I''m feeling the need for some extra energy."

    Wiping away her tears, Brook headed to the coffeepot.

    Focusing his energy on his blood, Ryan attempted to tap into the power to activate it.

    After failing repeatedly, Ryan was about to give up before he pped his forehead, ''I''m so stupid. Bloodline doesn''t use cultivation, so why would energy activate it?''

    Using his mental strength, Ryan focused on his blood again and exerted his will.

    After only a second, Ryan immediately sensed a changed and recognized this feeling. It was the same feeling he got on his first day in this world when he fell into a meditative state, able to hear a thousand conversations at once.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The only difference was that he could interact with the world this time.

    He could hear Brooke in the kitchen and could hear sounds from outside. But he was more interested in listening to a conversation happening next door.

    "It''s only two months until the Grand Prince''s wedding. I can''t believe he''s marrying the daughter of the Frost general," his neighbor said.

    "Why would the Grand Prince want Mara? She''s as cold as ice, just like her mom. So he''ll never be able to touch her."

    Another girl startedughing. "Or he''ll try to touch her, and she''ll throw him across the room."

    Both girls howled withughter.

    "I don''t know why he''s a favorite of the Grand Empress. He is a boy. Shouldn''t she save her favorites for the granddaughters?"

    "And to have such a big borate wedding. We should have been having that wedding. We should be marrying the Grand Prince. Who is this, Mara?"

    The girls continued, "Did you hear they''re holding the tournament before the wedding, and it''s a medieval tournament inspired by the fantasy world? Who chose that style?"

    "What''s done is done. Ice queen Mara gets the Grand Prince since no one would dare defeat the grand prince. We paupers left in the dust. By the way, what are you going to wear?"

    "Well, I was thinking about a butter goldˇ­.

    ===

    Coming out of the meditative state, Ryan was delighted. ''This allows me to influence things in a range of 20m (~65ft), and if this ability improves, I might even be able to use it while conscious.''

    ''It would be like a domain in which I am the ultimate ruler.''

    ''I think I saw an anime like thatˇ­''

    Seeing Brooke enter the room, Ryan extended his hand and took the coffee without a word of thanks. He felt pure evil.

    "Can you please find and inform Zoey that I wish to speak with her in my chambers?" Ryan asked.

    "Who''s this Zoey?" Brooke asked, skeptical about why he would need to meet with a woman in his chambers.

    "It''s none of your concern, and please address me by my proper name in every sentence," Ryan said, frowning at his new servant''s attitude.

    "Yes, Daddy," Brooke said as she clenched her fists, bowed, and walked out of the room.

    Ryan slowly rose from his bed and walked out of the room toward his dorm.

    ===

    Grace sat alone, crying and bleeding and bruised, in a dark alley on campus.

    "Nothing, I mean absolutely nothing is going right," she sobbed.

    She was doing great when she first got to the Academy. She even had a session with an enhancer, a handsome enhancer.

    Grace was at the top of her ss, an elite. But after that session, everything has gone downhill. She couldn''t focus, she lost rankings,

    She had been spiraling downhill for weeks.

    She must''ve looked like a victim leaving ss. Someone had targeted her and had taken all her campus credits, leaving her bruised and battered. Now she was so weak that she could barely move.

    Alone,pletely discouraged, she felt like she was dying in the middle of this deserted alley.

    There is no one to turn to for help. Grace was the one that was supposed to help everyone. So many people counted on her. Her vige needed her. Now they weren''t going to receive the necessary funds she had been sending them.

    Not only that, she would have to return to her vige, once a heroine, now a fallen savior.

    She heard a slight shuffling sound.

    ''Oh great, now I''m going to be eaten alive by rats. Can it get any worse?''

    A throat cleared.

    She looked up. There, a shadowed face with a familiar body stood.

    Of course, her rescuer had to be her greatest enemy, Ryan.

 Chapter 97 Blue Death

    "Grace?" Ryan asked, furrowing his brow. He barely recognized the woman he had been assigned to, what felt like a lifetime ago.

    "Hey, Ryan," Grace said, staring at the alley floor.

    Looking around, Ryan said, "This isn''t the ce to talk. Come to my dorm room."

    Not waiting for an answer, Ryan picked up Grace princess style and started to walk toward his dorm.

    "What are you doing? You''re supposed to take me to the infirmary!" Graceined as she tried to put some space between her and him.

    Ryan ignored her and continued walking. His strides were long and powerful while secretly putting energy into his legs to speed them up.

    After about two minutes of walking, Ryan stopped in front of a door that Ryan could tell was a spatial door.

    Now that he was in the top 10 enhancers, he got special privileges like his own spatial door.

    Pushing open the door, he willed the door to take him to his dorm room and allowed Grace to follow him.

    Once inside the room, Ryan locked the door behind them and ced Grace on his bed. She fell asleep almost instantly from exhaustion and pain.

    Taking out a plethora of pills, Ryan poured them into Grace''s mouth, forcing them down with his hand.

    When all the pills had gone down, Ryan watched the effect of his medication. The bruises faded away, but the wounds seemed to be getting worse.

    Frowning, Ryan took a closer look at her wounds.

    "What are these?" Ryan asked, looking at the wounds again. He didn''t know how he had missed it before. Little blue veins wereing through her skin.

    Grace sighed and turned over onto her back, groaning when she did so.

    Thinking, Ryan brought out his girls to see if they knew anything.

    With a sh and a p of lightning, three beautiful women appeared in front of Ryan.

    Emily was short and t, as always. She had green hair tied in pigtails with a ribbon that matched her shirt. Her eyes were peanut brown and had eyeliner around them. She wore a green top and skirt that went up just above her knee-length socks.

    Izzy was tall and busty with bright red, waist-length hair with two ck bows on the side. She wore sses and held a booklet.

    Lizzy was a bit taller yet even tter than Emily. She had blue, wavy, waist-length hair, wore fake sses, and held a booklet. She wore a leather corset dress with lots of holes and buttons that fit her oh-so-nicely.

    They all looked at him as if waiting for orders. They always thought he could fix everything right away, like he was some magical superhero who could save the world whenever he wanted to.

    Ryan frowned at the trio of gorgeous women standing there before him.

    "Do any of you know anything about these wounds?" Ryan asked them, pointing to Grace''s injuries.

    ? All three girls started to talk at once but stopped when Grace spoke up and said, "I''m sorry, but I have to interrupt."

    The three girls stood quietly, looking ashamed and embarrassed. Grace let out a long sigh and continued speaking with an exhausted voice, "Yes, it hurts, okay? I''ve been beaten half to death! But why are you making it sound worse than it is?"

    "It''s because you are poisoned by Blue Death," Lizzy replied carefully.

    "What exactly does that mean?" Grace asked worriedly.

    "You were injected with a poison that causes your blood to be blue. It will slowly kill you unless you remove the toxins from your body," Lizzy exined.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Grace swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a moment before asking again, "How do I remove this stuff? How am I supposed to get rid of it?"

    Izzy patted down her hair, contemting her next move. Then, "I got it!" she screeched. "I''ll be right back," she said as she raced to Ryan''s courtyard.

    Grace cast her eyes on Ryan, a hopeful glimmer driving her tears away. "Do you think Izzy can help me?"

    Ryan gave a sideways nce towards Lizzy, who shook her head quickly.

    Ryan tried not to look disappointed as he turned back to Grace. "Let''s try to see what she has nned. Sometimes Izzy has some... out of the box ideas."

    Ryan tried not to look at Lizzy, who was rolling her eyes, signaling there wasn''t a chance that Izzy knew what she was doing.

    Meanwhile, Izzy searched the courtyard and found what she was looking for.

    She returned inside and said, "This is a treatment that our Grandmother used to use to rid our bodies of most everything," holding up a thorn from a bush and a strong piece of grass.

    "Izzy! Are you serious?" Lizzy groaned.

    "Well, it worked for us," Izzy retorted. She turned toward Grace, "Give me your finger." Not waiting for a reply, she grabbed Grace''s hand.

    Quickly, Izzy wrapped the grass around one of Grace''s fingers, licked the thorn, poked a hole in the top of the wrapped finger, and waited for the blood to appear.

    Once drops of blood began seeping out of Grace''s fingers, Grace felt a pang in her stomach.

    A loud belch came out of Grace''s mouth, and Grace turned beet red.

    Lizzy said, "Our Grandma used this method when we had an upset stomach."

    "And other things," Izzy said, defending herself. "But," she said to Grace, "I don''t think this will work. I think we have to find another way. I''m sorry."

    Grace mumbled, "Thank you for trying."

    Finally, Emily turned to Ryan, "From what I have heard, this poison can be removed, but even for a noble house, the antidote would bankrupt them."

    A single tear ran down Grace''s cheek as she closed her eyes. She knew she was going to die. The one thing she did right was trying to help her vige. Now that was all undone. She had failed. She had let everyone else down.

    Emily kept her eyes on Ryan, her gaze asking the question on his mind. ''Do I save her?''

    Ryan''s hand reached up and stroked Emily''s hair before he said, "Grace, we haven''t known each other long. But I can tell you''re like me. You''re someone who was born and raised without a lot."

    He took a deep breath before continuing, "There is an easy way out of here. But... it involves you bing part of my harem."

    At first, Grace didn''t say anything, but after a minute of thinking about it, she smiled sadly. Her lips curved upwards into an amused smile as if she had just heard a joke she could barely believe.

    "Thank you for trying to give me hope," Grace whispered to him in response to his offer. Then she stood and started walking towards the door.

    She stopped and looked back at Ryan before saying with her best attempt at bravery, "You have nothing to worry about! I''m not afraid! I don''t want to burden you," Grace said, realizing her thoughts had been misced. ''He didn''t cause me to go astray. My love for him did.''

    Before Ryan knew what was happening, Grace pulled an item from under her skirt and threw it over to him.

    "My vige token is on there. If... if you could let them know, I tried my best. That I did all, I could. They should be able to send some money for my funeral," She said before running away.

    Ryan carefully picked up the object she had given him and held it in his hand. It had a white stone polished perfectly by loving hands. He brought the stone closer to see a heart with Grace''s name in the middle. Underneath the heart, he read ''Wakana Vige.''

 Chapter 98 Youre Pregnant?! And Its Mine?! [R-18]

    Ryan was about to follow Grace, but Lizzy''s arm halted him. "She won''t die soon, and somethings wrong."

    "Obviously, she''s poisoned," Izzy said, looking at her sister with a raised eyebrow.

    "No. Grace''s just a normal student. So why was she poisoned with something so expensive?" Lizzy questioned all three of them.

    "How do you know Grace is just a normal student?" Ryan asked. ''I don''t even know what she is.''

    All three girls reacted to Ryan''s words by adverting their gazes, suddenly bing very interested in what Ryan''s bedroom looked like.

    "What did you do?" Ryan asked, already having a guess.

    Lizzy slowly turned back to him and said with caution, "Just to let you know, this isn''t something we were proud of."

    "We needed to look into your future choices, okay?" Izzy said, huffing, still adverting her eyes.

    "Wait, I didn''t sleep with her before we became official. Who else did you look into?" Ryan said, narrowing his eyes.

    Emily took the te this time. "We looked into everyone."

    "Who exactly is everyone?" Ryan said as he sighed.

    Izzy turned to Lizzy, who pushed her fake sses against her nose and pulled out a binder.

    "We looked into everyone who would make a good member and everyone you are likely to select because of your attachments."

    Ryan''s eyebrow twitched as he nced at the binder as thick as Izzy''s plump ass.

    "I don''t know whether I should thank you or punish you," Ryan said, shaking his head.

    "Please punish me, sir!" A voice shouted from the entrance.

    Turning, Ryan saw Zoey wearing a pink robe that matched her socks that went up just above her knee.

    Ryan was about to shrug herment off as flirting when he abruptly took a step back. "W-Why is your stomachrger thanst time?" he stuttered, eyeing the woman''s protruding belly.

    "This is due to all my love for you," she said while blushing red and looking away shyly. Then, she walked closer and reached out towards him but then stopped and started talking again in a much quieter voice, almost whispering.

    "And it will continue to get bigger and even more pregnant until we be one."

    Ryan gulped down hard at the thought. "Ahhhhhh..." He groaned, unable to hold it back.

    Zoey leaned over and ced her hands on his waist before saying quietly with her cheeks bright red, "Sooo... please give me some more. Give me lots of children!" Her lips turned upwards into an excited smile as her eyes zed slightly before returning to normal.

    "But I turned off my semen fertility," Ryan said as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

    Zoey chuckled at his reaction, showing a slight giggle as she replied, "Hunny, I am going to have you fuck me over and over, breeding me again and again! I''ll build you a bunny army so loyal they can never betray you!"

    "Mmmm..." He grumbled under his breath while cing a hand on her butt cheek. His fingers stroked along its curve while feeling her warmth through her robe.

    "Yes, yesssss..." She moaned out loudly from behind him while her body stiffened.

    Ryan pulled the robe up higher, revealing the pale flesh underneath. She wore nothing below the robe but thin underwear that didn''t hide much about how she was ready for him to touch and explore her body as much as possible. It was like she had been waiting for him to do this for hours.

    *Cough* *Cough* "Ahem!"

    Lizzy cleared her throat to avoid letting their sex act get too raunchy... yet.

    "There''s one thing important that I haven''t said yet," Lizzy said, changing the subject with her finger raised as if she just remembered something. "I believe you''ve all forgotten."

    "What is it?" Ryan asked, knowing there must be something wrong since all three of them were suddenly quiet.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s right! The Blue Death is the favorite poison used by the human empire''s grand empress and her servants," Izzy eximed, remembering the fact her mother had taught her.

    Ryan was suddenly very interested and said, "Alright, since you three seem so eager to spy, go see if anyone is following her."

    "Also, Emily," turning to Emily, Ryan said, "go check in at the Administration building and make sure they know you''re alive."

    "Actually," a voice from the door spoke, "Daddy, you don''t have to worry about that. The Duchess said she took her already. I don''t know how she''s here."

    This news unnerved Ryan but confirmed his suspicion that the Duchess was somehow watching him.

    "Thank you, Brooke," Ryan said. "d you''ve learned how to say my title properly."

    Huffing, Brooke walked out of the room, muttering, "Whatever."

    "Alright then," he turned to the girls. "Let''s get to work."

    ===

    "Time for us to do some work," Ryan said, pinning Zoey against the wall with one arm around her waist and the other hand reaching into her robe to feel up her enormous tits.

    "I''ve been waiting for you all day long," she cooed, leaning in and pressing her lips onto his neck as she kissed him.

    Ryan returned her kisses with his own along the side of her face. Slowly he slid his tongue along her cheek, jawline, neck and finally rested it on the swell of her breast through her robe.

    Lightly nipping her buds, he heard her moan as he pulled back slightly to give himself more leverage to bite each tender spot yfully.

    "You... like... this?" She asked between heavy breaths that came fast from excitement.

    "Yes," he answered, cking off after realizing she wasn''t wearing any bra under her robe. He felt her smooth flesh against his fingers and smelled the faint scent of sweat from her chest. Her skin was much softer than thest time he touched her. The cold weather must have made her shiver a bit because the tips of his ears were getting chilly too. "I can warm you up if you''d like."

    She closed her eyes slowly in pleasure and nodded while tilting her head forward in anticipation for what was toe.

    Gently taking hold of the front sp at the top of her robe with both hands, Ryan used his other arm to push her legs apart until they spread wide enough for him to slide the fabric downwards towards the floor.

    "Ohhhh..." Zoey purred, breathing hard as she stared at him, not minding how exposed she looked now that the light cloth had fallen below her waistline.

    She pushed out her ample bosom, pushing them upwards and outwards, begging to be held by his hands and filled with something hard and thick.

    She waited eagerly and expectantly, hoping for some love-filled touch or kiss to relieve her loneliness.

    Ryan watched her reaction closely before smiling slightly and rubbing one finger over her soft nipple, making it stiffen up from his simple contact.

    "You''ve been a naughty bunny," he teased in an airy tone while running the tip of his middle finger over her other nipple, causing it to poke out more like the other.

    She squirmed on the wall with excitement as he moved back to run his fingers around the edge of the small patch of dark brown fur surrounding her pussy.

    The area was wet and aroused but soon became even more so when she felt his fingertips sliding along its curve as she pressed herself back against his hand and moaned into his neck. "Yesˇ­ Yes, I haveˇ­" she whispered as she felt him press just inside the folds that covered her mound.

    "Mmmm..." She moaned again, feeling something much more significant than his two fingers push through the barrier. Her clit stood up quickly after being touched by the thing, throbbing under pressure, growing hotter and harder from the stimtion.

    His index finger traced the sensitive flesh until finding its targetˇŞher g-spot, which gave off intense heat upon touching it.

    Zoey''s eyes rolled back, and her mouth dropped open in ecstasy, arching her back ever so slightly to give him more essible ess to reach deeper within her body.

    He leaned in closer to listen to her breaths getting faster and louder with each passing moment, knowing that her body would soon explode with pleasure.

    His ears were met with a sharp inhale of air as she began panting heavily while grinding herself against his palm.

    "And naughty bunnies deserved to be punished."

 Chapter 99 Bad Bunnies Get Punished [R-18]

    Ryan inserted his middle finger a little deeper while pressing it firmly on her spot, making her whole body shiver with blissful delight before moving it around the edges of the softness underneath and pulling outpletely.

    Her voice grew higher and louder as she cried out, "I need more! Please, give me more!" She then moved both hands back from his face to grab his wrists and hold them close so she could pull him further inside as she felt herself reaching orgasmic heights.

    Not allowing her any leeway, Ryan removed his fingers from her pussy to grasp the hand that held his wrist tightly, squeezing it painfully until the girl gasped and screamed in pleasure. Then he let go of the hand to embrace the top part of the girl''s buttocks instead, kneading the flesh in circr motions and watching how they quivered under the force of his fingertips.

    "Give me more!" Zoey begged between breaths, unable to take much more after already reaching her limit. Her body became like a small child begging for a toy, pleading with a grown-up who refused to give up what she wanted. "Give me more! Pleaseˇ­ please give me more."

    Ryan ignored her pleas but resumed thrusting two fingers deep into her tight opening while slowly moving his thumb around the outer rim.

    The heavenly sensation drove her to new heights of bliss. Ryan''s fingers seemed to delve into her very core and lit it on fire, forcing every nerve ending in her to vibrate with ecstasy.

    She felt so light and full of energy simultaneouslyˇŞbesotted with a craving for him.

    She thought this might be the best feeling ever in her life when Ryan released his hand from her ass to grab the base of her neck and pull her forward, so their bodies touched even closer together. His tongue then moved across hers in search of her taste.

    Zoey moaned louder against his lips before breaking away from his kiss to cry, "I''m gonna cum! I''m... I''m going toˇŞ"

    He cut off her words by kissing her again and stopped her from cumming by sliding his fingers from her dripping wet pussy.

    "Noooo!" she whined as she struggled against him, trying to reconnect Ryan''s fingers with her cunt. Desperately reaching, Zoey tried in vain to get any sort of sensation to rub against the apex between her thighs.

    Panting, Zoey stared into Ryan''s eyes, so lost in the throws of debauchery that she couldn''t muster words. Only a look that said, ''Please fill me!''

    "What?" he asked while turning her head to face his eyes with one hand still holding her down.

    She tried pushing the other hand out between them, hoping she could reach for what she was missing. But Ryan wouldn''t allow that.

    Pulling his arm out with both hands, he gripped the wall above the bunny''s hips for support.

    "I said, bad bunnies get punished."

    Zoey watched in wide-eyed amazement as Ryan slid his finger back in until it made contact with her g-spot once more.

    She gasped in euphoria, feeling the top of his finger rubbing along her sensitive flesh as if to tell her it knew precisely which spot it needed to find again to trigger her pleasure even more than before.

    She stared at Ryan, unable to think of anything besides his soft yet forceful touch on her throbbing clit.

    His middle finger slowly pushed deeper inside her, making her whole body quiver and tremble slightly.

    It became difficult for her to remain upright and breathe properly under such pressure without choking herself.

    His other hand reached up and gently kissed her cheek after pushing the strands of hair away from her face.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Her breathing then changed as her head fell back towards the ceiling while feeling an orgasm growing stronger within her belly with each passing moment.

    "I''m gonna cum... Oh God! Please... don''t stop... Ooooooh... Mmmm!" She screamed with all the breaths she could take in a single moment, squeezing his wrist tightly enough that he finally had to release his hold over her buttocks or risk losing it entirely.

    ? She held onto him instead, as she could not stand alone, keeping his hands between their bodies.

    Zoey''s toes started to curl as she gasped and bellowed out while she began to convulse.

    Her pussy tightened around Ryan''s fingers, prating her before she exploded with blissful pleasure as she squeezed out every drop of juice she''d ever stored inside.

    She thought there must be gallons of fluid running down her thighs because they were getting wetter than when she had bathed earlier today.

    The tingling sensation didn''t let up eitherˇŞit grew even more intense for some reason until it spread through her whole body, leaving her trembling and shivering at its full force.

    The fingers inside her moved faster and harder, and Zoey began crying and whimpering into his chest, gasping for air, trying to stay awake long enough to savor the feel of the warm liquid pouring into her panties.

    She couldn''t remember what had happened after that. All she remembered about the next few minutes was being ovee with bliss while she let out countless moans and groans, feeling as though she fell into oblivion.

    ===

    When she returned to reality, she first noticed the familiar scent ofvender filling her nostrils and a pair of soft lips kissing her cheek tenderly.

    At the same time, a hand cupped the side of her head while another ran gently through her hair.

    She opened her eyes to see two sparkling green orbs staring right back at her. She felt herself smile uncontrobly without realizing why until her mind cleared up enough for her to realize where she wasˇŞin Ryan''sp.

    His arms were around her back again while she rested against his chest on hisp, feeling his hot breath blowing past her earlobe every so often as they shared pleasant silence.

    "Are you sure you''re pregnant?" Ryan asked her as he moved his fingers through the long strands of her hair slowly and softly as if he was caressing it between both palms.

    Zoey giggled lightly before smiling wide and running the tip of her tongue across her top lip like an innocent child before speaking. "Yesˇ­ I am very sure."

    He chuckled before sighing heavily into her ear, causing her body to shiver again just from hearing its sound.

    He then let out another deep breath when she began blushing redder than usual, something she always found sexy since there were times when she would purposely make himugh simply to get that reaction from him.

    It worked well for them during their short time together, though she never thought things could go this far.

    "Is there a way to tell which gender it is?" he asked with a grin while tracing a finger over her belly button in a circr motion with each passing moment. The movement made her stomach quiver with excitement because it knew what wasing next after a few moments of rest.

    Zoey looked up at Ryan from hisp, a smile tugging at her lips. "Don''t you mean what gender they are? After all, bunnies give birth to multiple."

 Chapter 100 The Cloaked Woman

    "Multiple!?" Ryan gasped.

    "Look at your face!" Sheughed again as he froze mid-blush. Then she felt herself grow dizzy once more when the back of his hand started moving downwards along the middle of her waist, ending at the top of the curve of her ass where she sat on his thighs.

    "It''s a girl and that. . . was just a. . . joke," She said in between pants. "You don''t have to worry about itˇ­ I''m a bunny girl, not a bunny."

    "I''m so relieved." He breathed out with relief while chuckling into her ear. "But tell me, how do you know it''s going to be a girl?"

    She paused before replying, trying hard not to break into another fit of giggles for fear of sounding even more like a fool for what she was about to say nextˇŞsomething only a child would ever think.

    "Because I already saw her in my dreamst night..." she admitted sheepishly after pulling away from his arms to look him dead in the eyes.

    Her face became more serious as she leaned closer to kiss him again but hesitated before they connected. "But I have to askˇ­ Do you want children too?" Zoey asked while tilting her head slightly.

    ''I took a big risk doing this... if he doesn''t want it now,'' she thought while looking into those bright green eyes highlighting his attractive masculine face. She didn''t know why she forced herself to get pregnant or wanted to push things with this man who hade into her life for some unknown reason. He had seemed so perfect at first sight.

    ''Breeding my harem members?'' Ryan imagined a paradise filled with thousands of his offspring. He, the ruler over an entire gxy, and his children, the monarchs ofs.

    "Yes," came out in a low tone between her soft lips.

    Ryan''s arms wrapped around her waist in a gentle embrace that made her shiver from excitement. His hand rested lightly on her hip as their faces remained close together. Zoey''s breath tickled the skin near the neckline of his shirt as he spoke. "I do want it."

    Zoey couldn''t help smiling wider than before when she felt him nod. Her eyes closed, and she kissed his nose and mouth once more before pulling herself away with enough force to cause him to fall backward slightly.

    Her body was hot again despite being wet a few moments ago.

    Ryan said, "From today onward, you shall be known as Zoey Emerald. The first of my harem to be a mother of my child."

    "Thank you." Getting down on one knee, Zoey lowered her head and said in a solemn tone filled with pride, "I promise to raise my bunnies with care and love so they will be strong and powerful leaders for you."

    She took a deep breath and stood straight again, staring into his bright green eyes and deciding that she needed more of him.

    ===

    Emily, Lizzy, and Izzy POVˇ­

    Walking out of Ryan''s dorm room, the girls set off to find Grace.

    ? After two hours of searching around campus and having seen no sign of her, the girls decided to go directly to the source of the mysteries. Wakana Vige.

    After Emily bought a map at the campus store, the three were about to set off for their trip but couldn''t locate the vige on the map.

    "Hello, could you tell me where Wakana Vige is?" Emily asked the store clerk.

    Turning around, a big burly woman with a gigantic mole on her lower chin said, "What did you say, miss?"

    Her hoarse voice irritated the trio''s ears, making their eardrums tingle. "Sorry, we''re looking for Wakana Vige on this map," Emily said, pulling out her recently purchased map and presenting it to the clerk.

    Not looking down at the map, the store clerk said, "Ain''t no map that can tell you that, at least not that I sell."

    Tilting her head, Emily asked, "What do you mean?"

    "I want nothing to do with them, so beat it," she said and promptly kicked the trio out of the store.

    Standing outside the campus store, the three looked at each other in bewilderment.

    ===

    Right after Grace ran from Ryan''s dorm roomˇ­<novelnext></novelnext>

    Grace meandered through the alleyways outside the boy''s dorm with a forlorn expression.

    The air was so cold that Grace could almost hear her bones crack as she walked along.

    Keeping her eyes downcast, she didn''t notice that the sun had vanished and nightfall had taken over.

    ''Why did Ie here? There is nothing here for me.'' She thought to herself again, not realizing that she was heading to the outskirts of the Academy''s property. ''Mother was right. I shouldn''t have tried to be the vige''s savior,'' Her mind kept reying scenes from her life back home, wondering why everything had ended up like this.

    ''I won''t be able to see my family again, my vigeˇ­Ryan. I might as well give up right now.'' Sobbing uncontrobly, she tripped over a rock and fell t on the ground.

    "Excuse me, youngdy?" A voice came from behind her.

    Grace looked up to see who spoke to her and saw an older woman with a dark cloak shrouding her face standing there. "Yes... Can I help you?" Grace asked timidly.

    "My name is Ino. What can I do for you?" The woman replied.

    Grace sat up and looked around her, noticing the deserted area she had stumbled into, ''Oh well. Who cares if I''m scared, I''m going to die anyway.''

    "Well," Grace paused. Then she started crying again. "I''mmmˇ­.dying," she blubbered, "and I want to go home."

    Ino put a hand on Grace''s shoulder, guiding her inside a nearby shack where Grace could get shelter.

    "Sit here, dearie." the gentle old voice said. "I will make you some tea," as she pulled a small bag filled with various herbs and dumped it into a mug. Then taking hot water off her iron stove, she poured the water over the herbs and shoved the mug in front of Grace.

    Grace looked up and muttered, "Thhhannnkk you," as she tried to wipe the tears and snot off her face with her hands.

    The olddy said, "My name is Ino. I have lived here on the outskirts a very long time. When I saw you on the ground, I knew why you were crying. I can see it on your skin."

    Grace howled, "Noooo, not yet. I don''t want to die yet!"

    Now, dearie, Ino said, patting Grace''s hand, "I''ve seen a case like yours before, so I know what kind of ingredients are necessary. Here," Ino said, pointing to the mug. "Drink this. This special tea will remove the poison from your body."

    Grace looked up at her, hope taking hold of her heart. "Really? This tea?" She tried to gulp the tea down but yelled, "It''s too hot."

    "Just let it cool a minute. In the meantime," Ino said, taking out several dried leaves and cing them into Grace''s bag. "You will need these to treat your wounds and remove the remaining poison from your body." She then took some green leaves and crushed them up between her fingers.

    Grace was still unsure about the woman''s motives until the woman added, "What I am giving you is an ancient herb called ''Greenheart.'' It is very rare. The best thing is that it grows in abundance in my homnd near our forest''s edge."

    Ino quickly put the rest of her ingredients back in her pouch and tied it closed once more. She extended her hand for Grace to drink, saying, "The herbs in your sack should also eliminate any remaining pain. You just have to keep chewing these leaves every few hours. But do not eat it all at once, or you''ll get sick."

    Grace gingerly held her pouch.

    Ino continued, "It looks like you don''t have anyone you can rely on here?" Ino asked, noticing how quiet and lonely she appeared.

    "No..." she replied quietly. "I''m alone."

    "Well," Ino began. "I might be able to take you wherever you might go."

    "Really?" Grace whispered excitedly. "I want to go to my home, Wakana Vige. I want to say goodbye, but if I live, I will introduce my savior."

    Ino smiled gently and said, "Yes." She paused, nced at Grace, and noticing that all the tea was gone, she began heading toward the shack door.

    "Wait! Where are you going?" Grace called out after her. "Don''t leave me!" She started running toward the exit.

    A small smile yed on Ino''s lips as she stopped and turned, "Of course, dearie. I don''t know where your home is. You must show me."

 Chapter 101 Upgrades

    After leaving Zoey drooling and unconscious on the bed, Ryan decided he needed to talk to his new followers.

    But first, he pulled up his heavenly screen to review his haul from the portal realm trip one final time.

    [Overlord''s Harem Conversion (Active/Passive)]

    [Harem Empress (0/1)]

    [Harem Queen (0/3)]

    [Harem Noble (0/5)]

    [Harem Member (4/6)]

    [Harem Knight (16/100)]

    [Harem Servant (49/100)]

    [Gifts Taken: 4]

    The cat servants weren''t exactly arge bunch, making perfect for Ryan. Since he only had a maximum of 100 spots, he was more than happy to ept them. However, only a tiny portion of the servants could leave his pce realm and enter Ravier due to the heaven''s limit on strength. Or so they imed.

    In reality, Ryan had doubts about this situation, ''but either way,'' he thought, ''keep your friends close and your enemies closer.''

    Chuckling, Ryan reflected on his life on Ravier. ''I guess I''ve been doing that all along. The human empire and I aren''t exactly on good terms, and I''ve been living inside their territory and am technically a part of their military still.''

    Ryan pulled up the new ability that had been gifted from Zoey.

    [Energy Storage (Passive/Active)]

    [Energy umted: 2257]

    [Description: Automatically stores all energy umted from any source forter use.]

    The description was vague, but after Ryan tried it for the first time, he knew it would be a game-changer.

    He could umte any and all energy from lust, his enhancer feedback, and regr cultivation into one ce and use it for whatever purpose he wanted.

    The best application would have been upgrading harem members'' cultivation at a pivotal moment if not for something that stole the limelight.

    [Congrattions: Due to your skill ''Overlord''s Harem Pce'' and ''Energy Storage'' simrities, they havebined to form the following skill: ''Overlord''s Pce of Energy'']

    [Overlord''s Pce of Energy (Active/Passive)]

    [A luxurious pce pocket dimension ced inside the host''s body to hold anyone the host allows inside]

    [Space: 100,000 sq. Ft (~9290 sq. meters)]

    [Energy umted: 2257]

    [Energy generated: 10/hour]

    [Buffs: Satisfaction]

    [Note: The amount and ranks of cultivators inside determine energy generation]

    ''I still can''t believe I can rank up to D-Rank whenever I want.''

    Clenching his fists in excitement, Ryan entered his pce.

    ***

    A little earlier inside Ryan''s Pce...<novelnext></novelnext>

    Shade, Hannah, and Veronica stood around a campfire, the three drinking tea and talking about their past lives and how everything started out with the Old Man and Shade taking on the role of the protector.

    "I still can''t believe The Old Man never found out my true identity," Shade said, "but I guess It doesn''t matter anymore." He paused for a moment and kicked the ground. "He is dead. Let him rot in hell!"

    Hannah raised her eyebrows as she looked at Shade. "You mean our true identities. It''s not like you''re the only one she hired."

    Grunting in agreement, Shade nced at his sister who nodded in agreement.

    "I still can''t believe we were fortunate to meet someone like her," Veronica said, her eyes glowing with hope while gazing into the mes. She added, "The Dragon Monarch is truly a beauty."

    "We still haven''t decided what we''re going to do about the other person we''re lucky we met. You know, the boy who saved us. If we break the oath, we''ll need an oath-breaking pill, but those are practically extinct since only the First Ones can make them," Shade said.

    "The Dragon Monarch didn''t give us a time frame to return her daughter. What if I exin our situation to Ryan? He did save me after all," Hannah said, looking at the siblings with hope.

    Shade shook his head. "As much as I like our new Lord, we don''t know him well enough. If I found out he was a First One, I''d abandon the Dragon Monarch in a heartbeat, but we just don''t have enough information."

    Suddenly, a vortex in space appeared near them, and a figure appeared like a God descending upon his world.

    Ryan materialized in front of Shade and the two women, with light fluttering from the hole that served as a doorway between his pce and the outside world.

    "I have some questions to ask you," Ryan said, the atmosphere suddenly tense.

    Gulping at the imposing aura Ryan was giving off inside his own realm, Shade said, "Ask away my Lord."

    Ryan nodded. "Yoko. What do you know about her?"

    Shade paused before answering, thinking about it carefully. ''The Old Man didn''t know much about the egg, but Ryan doesn''t know that. If I don''t tell him enough details he might be suspicious.''

    Influenced by Ryan''s aura, Shade said, "I know she is of the Evil Dragon race, and she has a powerful hunger for power and riches... she is greedy, my Lord."

    Ryan smiled slightly as he considered this answer. "Thank you for your honesty." Finished with talking to the only man he had conversed with in quite a while, Ryan turned toward the two members of the more appealing gender.

    "Hannah, is your curse gonepletely? Is everything fine now?" asked Ryan, taking note of both girls'' gloomy looks. He added, "And Veronica, how are you after spending some time with your brother?"

    Hannah and Veronica nced at each other and began blushing at his questions.

    Shade looked at Hannah and his sister, shaking his head as he thought, ''What happened to the girls who wanted nothing to do with our new Lord?''

    "Everything is fine now, thankfully," Hannah replied.

    "Thank you for reuniting me with my brother," Veronica said simultaneously, bowing toward Ryan.

    Waving his hand dismissively, Ryan looked at the surroundings. The campfire zed bright, orange mes illuminating their shapes and casting an eerie light. In front of the fire sat Shade, Hannah, and Veronica in a circle, looking into the glowing embers.

    A small waterfall in front of them formed a pool of drinkable water. He could see small wildlife in the surroundings but could tell there was something different about them.

    Walking over to what appeared to be a butterfly, Ryan held out his palm, and the butterfly happily flew over, nuzzling against Ryan''s finger like a cat seeing its mother.

    The creature felt almost ethereal, and as he was amazed at the intricate beauty of the insect''s wings, it pped its body rapidly and took off into the air beforending again in his palm. Doing so repeatedly, it finally became exhausted and fell asleep mid-air with one of its tiny legs wrapped around his pinky.

    "I''ve never seen an energy creature so intimate with anyone," Veronica said, turning to Hannah, "have you?"

    Hannah shook her head and looked at Ryan. "I don''t even know how our Lord obtained such rare creatures."

    Raising his eyebrows, Ryan nced at the sleeping insect in interest. ''Perhaps this has something to do with the new energy features of the pce. I''ll have to ask the girls if they were here before the integration.''

    As Ryan turned to go, a voice sounded from behind him. "Before you go, my Lord, do you mind answering a few questions?"

    Turning around, Ryan narrowed his eyes, seeing Shade standing awkwardly while the two girls whispered. ''Something''s wrong here.''

 Chapter 102 May The Heavens Have Mercy On The Multiverse

    ?"What do you want to ask me?" Ryan replied, narrowing his eyes at the trio.

    ''They can''t do anything to me here, and if they betray me so brazenly, then surely their punishment will be deadly,'' Ryan thought. ''I''m not taking any chances. For all I know, the human empire could have nned that entire trip to get these people into my group.''

    "It''s about Yoko," Shade said, scratching his head.

    "What about Yoko?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Well, you see-" Shade began but was cut off by his sister.

    "Yoko is dangerous, Ryan," Veronica said, interrupting Shade. "She can''t be trusted. No Evil Dragon can be trusted."

    "I''ll take that under advisement," Ryan said, vanishing.

    Hannah looked at the siblings and pursed her lips before asking, "How are you going to test if he''s a First One?"

    Shade shook his head. "There is no foolproof way. We can only test it via his bloodline."

    "But doesn''t he have to awaken it?" Hannah asked.

    "He already did," Veronica said, looking at Shade. "You saw it, too, right?"

    Shade nodded grimly, "He has bonded with Yoko."

    "If he is a First One, may the heavens have mercy on the Multiverse."

    ===

    Returning to Emily, Lizzy, and Izzy''s POVˇ­

    Standing outside the campus store, the three looked at each other in bewilderment.

    "What do you think that old hag meant?" Izzy said, ring back at the clerk inside the campus store.

    "I don''t know," Lizzy said, shaking her head.

    Emily frowned and thought for a second before slowly saying, "I think I have an idea."

    Seeing the sisters turn to her, Emily said, "My mother taught me a technique that she used to get information when nothing else worked."

    "I can''t believe you! You dirtbag scum swine!" Emily yelled at the top of her lungs.

    The clerk inside the store red at Emily, but the green-haired beauty didn''t pay her any heed and kept shouting. "Rude to your customers! Refusing service for no reason!"

    "You should be ashamed of yourself-." Emily continued until a palm covered her mouth and dragged her inside the store.

    After the clerk hauled Emily inside and was about to shut the door, Izzy and Lizzy slipped in.

    "What do you think you''re doing barking up a storm?" the clerk asked, gripping Emily''s arm.

    Emily shrugged off the clerk''s arm and said, "I''m not the one who refused to tell us where Wakana Vige is."

    The clerk clenched her teeth and looked around. Not seeing anyone watching them, she walked away and said, "Follow me."

    Entering a staff-only break room, the store clerk suddenly turned around and looked at Emily with a vicious re. "Where did you hear that name, girl?"

    Caught off guard by the sudden change in demeanor again, Emily tripped but was caught on one side by Lizzy and the other by Izzy. "Don''t worry. We''ve got you," Lizzy said, nodding.

    Straightening herself out, Emily looked at the clerk with newfound confidence and said, "What''s it to you?"

    The clerk''s eyebrow twitched as she looked over at the girl, half her height, half her weight, and probably four times as tiny in the chest department.

    But as she was about to make a move, she felt a bloodthirsty pressure radiate off of Izzy that told her if the clerk dared to make a move, she''d be doing so for thest time.

    Even though physical strength was lovely, it didn''t match against a cultivator, and seeing as the clerk wasn''t one, she could only grit her teeth and mutter, "Never mind."

    Puffing her chest and turning away from the girls, the clerk said, "Wakana Vige is more a myth than anything."

    Turning back towards them, she continued, "It''s supposedly a secret vige where the re-"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Ms. Garish!" A shill cry interrupted the store clerks'' talk from outside the break room, and anky woman burst into the room a secondter.

    "What is it, Jacklyn?" Ms. Garish asked, seeing an opportunity to escape.

    "Is it okay to say it here?" Jacklyn asked, looking at the unfamiliar trio.

    Waving her hand dismissively, Ms. Garish said, "Yes, hurry up."

    ''Not like it''s anything important,'' Ms. Garish thought.

    Nodding, Jacklyn said, "The guards reported a transfer of two women to a location at the outer edges of the empire just now."

    "So what?" Ms. Garish asked, slightly agitated.

    "They were talking about Wakana Vige. They reported it to me immediately since you told me you wanted to keep an eye out for any information on that. I had to pay them top dor, but I think it was worth it," Jacklyn said proudly.

    The smile that had been forming on Ms. Garish''s face froze and she slowly turned to the trio of women, but they were already gone.

    Sighing Ms. Garish turned to Jacklyn and put her hand on Jacklyn''s shoulder, slightly squeezing. "Sometimes you just don''t know when to shut up, do you?"

    Teary-eyed, the poor Jacklyn only had one thought, ''But you said to tell them.''

    ===

    Grace''s POVˇ­

    Ino and Grace walked along a gravel path in the remote town of Ushmed. The teleporter had taken them to a roundabout town just a few miles away from her vige.

    The problem was that neither Ino nor Grace had the magic stone required to enter the vige since she had given hers to Ryan.

    Ino said she had lost hers, ''How unfortunate,'' Grace thought.

    After stumbling around the town for a few hours, they finally caught a break when Grace saw one of her vige members. "Cassius!" Grace called out, running over to him.

    Cassius was a friend who''d always helped her gather herbs and medicinal nts back home. He also used to carry food back to their house. "Grace!" Cassius cried out happily upon seeing his childhood friend again.

    "You''re alive!" he eximed, grabbing her hand and giving it a big shake.

    Grace smiled weakly, happy to see an old face but unsure why he looked so shocked. "What?"

    "I''ve been worried sick about you," he replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Then looking into Grace''s eyes, he added, "You look exhausted."

    "I am," Grace admitted with a shrug. "But I''m alright."

    Cassius frowned, shaking his head and putting a finger against Grace''s cheek, "No. I can tell that something happened! What is it?"

    Biting her lip, Grace looked back at Ino before answering, "It''s nothing important."

    Cassius seemed confused by her answer, saying, "Well..." then pointing at Ino, standing beside them, continued, "Are you...uhˇ­her servant? Or something?"

    Grace sighed heavily. Her voice was weak, and she said, "She saved my life. I was bringing her back to Wakana, but I gave my key to a... friend, so I don''t have any way to get back into the vige."

    Cassius paused for a moment before narrowing his eyes at Ino. "You said your name was what, friend?"

    Seeing Cassius''s demeanor, Grace lightly punched him in the arm, saying, "This is my savior, don''t look at her like that!" Then, she turned toward Ino and apologized.

    Ino replied kindly with an expressionless face and bowed slightly. "My apologies," She replied simply.

    Cassius nodded but still seemed hesitant.

    "So, are you going to help us?" Grace said, giving her best flirtatious batting of the eyes.

    Cassius gulped before sighing. "Fine, Grace, you cane with me."

    Giving him a tight squeeze, Grace said, "Thank you, Cassius!"

 Chapter 103 Scum Who Call Themselves The Human Empire

    ?A little while earlier...

    Emily, Lizzy, and Izzy appeared through the teleporter in the small town of Ushmed.

    "You girls, go check the surroundings. It shouldn''t be hard to find Grace if she''s here," Lizzy ordered, her voice uncharacteristically sharp.

    But before any of them could take a step, the stone Grace had given to Ryan and now to Lizzy lit up and started to glow.

    Stunned, the trio looked at the glowing rock with open mouths as the stone began to indicate where they should walk.

    Moving the stone in the indicated direction, the stone started to glow a bit brighter, and when she moved the stone away, the glow slightly faded.

    "Well, I don''t think we have to look for Grace," Izzy said.

    "Thank you for the helpfulment," Lizzy replied sarcastically.

    "No worries," Izzy said, giving her sister a thumbs up.

    Walking along a stone''s path, the trio exited the town and entered the wilderness surrounding Ushmed.

    After walking about half an hour without seeing anyone besides a few animals running past them, Emily said, "I hope we''re not being too hasty by following this thing. After what the shopdy said, we truly don''t know what kind of vige Grace is from."

    "Still, it''s not like we can turn around," Lizzy responded, giving a slight shrug. "This is the first thing Ryan has asked us to do. How would it look if we fail without even trying?"

    Emily nodded in response. "You''re right as always, sister Lizzy."

    "And when did I be your sister?" Lizzy asked, looking over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

    "You''re right. Since you were in Ryan''s harem first, it''s older sister, Lizzy," Emily corrected.

    "I didn''t mean-"

    "Haha, yes. We''re your older sisters," Izzy said, interrupting Lizzy while wrapping a hand around Emily''s shoulder.

    As Lizzy was about to protest, the stone in her hand started to emit a faint heat.

    "I think we''re almost there," Lizzy said, looking around.

    A short distance ahead, a group of boulders looked like well-ced columns.

    "Let''s take a look at those. They don''t appear random," Lizzy said, the stone bing bright and quivering.

    The trio Walked through the columns of stone, a thick fog greeting them.

    Stopping for a moment, Lizzy was about to turn back when the stone emitted a bright light, and the fog parted around them.

    Continuing on their path, they became surrounded by the mist but had a little pocket of space where the only light source was the stone that disempowered the fog.

    As they climbed up what seemed to be a steep hill, the stone kept vibrating and getting brighter.

    As they got closer to the top of the hill, the mist began to thin and disappear.

    Beneath them in a valley was arge group of shacks. A waterway snaked through the middle of the vige, and a rickety bridge joined the two sides together.

    "I guess this is it,'''' said Izzy. "It looks pretty shabby to me. But looks can be deceiving."

    "Let''s go check it out," Lizzy said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The three wound down the hill on a path that led them into the broken-down vige.

    ''Is this ce so poor that they can''t even afford to fix up their homes?'' Lizzy thought, seeing broken wood, leaning porches, and doors off their hinges greeting them.

    Several people lounged on their stoops and stared at them curiously. "Excuse me," Izzy said. "We have a question."

    Hearing Izzy speak by one, the people slunk back into their old homes, disappearing.

    "They''re not very friendly here," Emily said.

    "Maybe they''ve never seen hair color like ours," Izzy muttered.

    "Let''s head over there," Emily pointed to a slightlyrger, less broken down building than the others, "That seems like a newer building."

    As they approached the building, the trio heard the nking sounds of dishes and someughter. Inhaling, they smelled something so good that their stomach started growling.

    "Maybe we should go in and try to get some food," Izzy said.

    "I''m not so sure about that. People here don''t seem too friendly," Lizzy responded.

    "Let''s see if we can wait a couple of minutes to see what''s going on," Emily said as the three girls snuck around the building and waited underneath some open windows.

    They listened for several minutes and soon heard two distinct female voices talking.

    Quietly they leaned against the building.

    "Do you think she''ll ever change?" one of the voices said.

    "She is perfect in every way, but when ites to her daughter. It''s like she''s got a blind eye when ites to Grace."

    The three girls looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

    "Grace should be here in the vige learning how to lead. And fighting the good fight. But no, Captain didn''t want to disclose to Grace what we do and agreed to send her off to that bourgeois Academy."

    "I agree," another voice continued, "It''s just a waste of time. Nothing should distract us from our mission. Grace should be fighting alongside us and not learning anything from that scum who call themselves the human empire."

    The voices continued talking, but the trio could no longer make out their words.

    ? Lizzy beckoned the girls, "Let''s go."

    The girl snuck back through the vige, trying to keep out of sight. Lizzie pointed toward a cluster of trees.

    Safely behind the trees, and out of sight of the vigers, Lizzy said, "There''s definitely something wrong with the vige."

    "Well, duh, sis. They unmistakably hate the human empire, which is strange seeing as we''re in the human empire," Izzy said, staring at her sister with an expression that said, ''you should have known better.''

    "No, you dingus," Lizzy said, whacking Izzy up top the head. "I used energy vision on them."

    "They had a ton of cultivators!"

    Emily frowned and asked, "What do you think ''this fight'' meant?

    "Grace''s mom has to be someone in this vige, probably like the leader. But then what did they mean by ''keeping it from Grace''?"

    Both sisters nodded in agreement. Lizzy said, "Yeah, it''s strange all around, but we shouldn''t focus on what''s happening now. We should find Grace. Since it appears she''s not here, let''s go beyond the stones and wait for her."

 Chapter 104 The Truth Behind Ryans Curse

    ?Ryan''s POV...

    The portal closed as Ryan left his harem pce and returned to his dorm room.

    Finally rxing, Ryanid back on his bed and closed his eyes. ''I''d like to know if there''s a way to fix the portal so it won''t be open while I''m in my harem. What if someone essed it while I was in there?''

    He could feel a slight winding through his window, bringing a fresh flower scent into his room, and energizing his thoughts. ''The most pressing matter is strength. Now that I have enough to rank up to D-rank, there''s no time like the present.''

    He sat up, stretched, and put his feet on the floor. And with a simple allocation of energy points, Ryan received the following prompts.

    [Congrattions on upgrading to D-Rank in Cultivation]

    [Congrattions on gaining the ability ''Harem Oath'']

    [Congrattions on upgrading the following ability: Overlord''s Harem Conversion]

    [Please note because you have 50% corrosion and your race rank is inferior to your cultivation, your curse ''Primal Evolution'' is reced by Overlord''s Constitution'']

    Baffled at what Overlord''s constitution was, he clicked on that first.

    [Overlord''s Constitution]

    [Overlords never waver, Overlords never shake. Overlords never bow, Overlords never break.]

    [Description: Primal Evolution was always a means to an end. And you seem to have chosen the correct path. The path of an Overlord was never about oveing your previous inhibitions. It was about embracing them. Congrattions on passing the test, and officially bing an Overlord.]

    [Changes]

    [Your death timer is removed]

    [You haveplete control over your body]

    [You gain the following abilities:]

    [Overlord''s Authority]

    [Overlord''s Reign]

    [Overlord''s Judgment]

    A scorching heat filled his body, and Ryan cried out in pain. Roaring, Ryan began to scream, but no words came out. Instead, a giant ck blob of matter oozed out from his mouth and pores. He began choking.

    The chunk of matter smelled like death and was so ascetic that it burned a hole through his dorm floor.

    As his mind started to be foggy, the only thought ying through Ryan''s mind as he fell back on his bed was, ''For fuck sake, not agai-"

    Not able to finish his words, darkness took hold.

    ===

    Emily, Izzy, and Lizzy sat in the shade near the boulders.

    "Let''s just wait here for a while to see if Grace will appear," Lizzy said.

    "I''m hot. Let''s just go," whined Izzy.

    "No, Ryan asked us to do a job, and we need toplete it," Lizzy retorted.

    Izzy grumbled and sat back.

    The girls sat for a while, not talking, just looking over thendscape and enjoying a moment of peace.

    They heard Grace before they saw her.

    "I''m so excited for you to meet my mother. She''s going to be so grateful. Thank you so much, Cassius, for taking us there," Grace said.

    Grace kept talking without a break, "I have missed you all so much. Unfortunately, things got a little tense back at the school, and I had to take off for a while."

    "Cassius, did you know I''m going to die? I''m so grateful to Ino."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Cassius was just about to reply when Grace said, "Wait! What are they doing here?" She raced toward the rocks and shouted to Cassius and Ino. "Give me a minute. I''ll be right back."

    Lizzy looked at Grace as she ran toward them, muttering to Izzy and Emily, "She''s not blue anymore. Something must have happened."

    Grace approached the three girls. Her face showed the confusion she was feeling. "What are you guys doing here? Why are you near my home?"

    Emily''s hand shot out, grabbing Grace''s wrist, pulling her close and out of the sightline of the other two travelers.

    Izzy hissed, "So you''re not blue anymore? I guess you''re not dying?"

    Lizzy poked her in the back.

    Izzy''s tone lightened. "We are d you''re not dying, but what happened?"

    Grace was too happy to notice that all three girls'' faces bore no expression of delight.

    "I know, right?" Grace squealed. "I mean, I thought I was a goner. I was almost going to sh my wrist. Jump off a building. I don''t know. But then I met this olddy. And she had this tea. And she cured me!"

    "So let me get this straight," Emily responded, her voice holding a note of sarcasm, "You happened to meet an olddy who happened to have just the right tea that would counteract the Grand Empresses'' poison."

    Grace''s face fell. "What do you mean the Grand Empresses'' poison?"

    "Exactly," Emily said. "The Grand Empress is the one who poisoned you."

    Grace tried to back away from the girls. She held out her hands, waving them in the air. "Why would she want to poison me? I think you guys are mistaken."

    Emily grabbed Grace''s wrist, not letting Grace leave the trio''spany. "No mistake. Come on. We have some questions for that nice olddy of yours."

    Emily kept hold of Grace''s wrist as they walked out from the boulders toward where Grace had left Cassius and Ino.

    "Ino, Cassius," Grace yelled, "Where are you?"

    Emily, Izzy, and Lizzy looked at each other and shook their heads.

    Grace looked at them. "Oh, don''t worry. Cassius has a rock. He probably was excited to have Ino meet my mother. I''m sure they already went through to the vige. Let''s go." Grace began pulling Emily along, motioning for the other girls to follow.

    She suddenly stopped, "Oh, wait. No, I don''t have my rock. Oh no!" Grace wailed, "I''m so stupid. Why didn''t I take the rock from Cassius? I guess he forgot that I didn''t have my key."

    "Grace, calm down," Emily said. "We have your rock. Do you remember you threw it at Ryan? He gave it to us to go looking for you. We''ve already been to your vige."

    Grace stopped crying and looked at Emily dumbfounded. "You have my rock? Have you been to my vige? Did you see my mother?"

    Grace''s eyes held so much hope that even Izzy felt sour for her, "No, we haven''t seen your mother, but Grace, we have some questions for you. Somethings weird in there."

    Not paying any attention to Emily, Grace broke loose of the hold on her wrist and began running toward the stones. "Let''s go!" she yelled, "I want to see my mother. Mom! I''ming!"

    "Fine," Lizzy muttered. "Come on, girls. Hopefully, we''ll get our questions answered when we go back inside."

    Catching up to Grace, the four girls went through the columns, quickly surrounded again by the thick fog.

    "Oh," Grace yelped as she fell to the ground. "What did I hit?"

    A scream instantly followed her thud on the ground. "Cassius," Grace screamed, "What happened, Cassius?"

    Emily, Izzy, and Lizzy ran over and saw a body but all three stopped seeing Cassius''s remains.

    His mouth was open impossibly wide, and his face looked like a dried grape from how sunken in his cheeks were.

    Grace was wailing while Emily, Izzy, and Lizzy looked at each other, concern filling their eyes.

    "Let''s go," Lizzy said, grabbing Grace''s wrist and pushing all four to charge through the fog.

    Grace kept sobbing.

    "Shut up, Grace," Izzy barked, "Something is wrong. We have to get your vige now."

 Chapter 105 Everything For The Booty

    Walking through the stone, the metallic scent of blood continued to fill the nostrils of Emily, Izzy, Lizzy, and Grace.

    A pair of gory remains greeted them as they walked forward, a testament to what they would find if they ventured further.

    Izzy saw the corpse of the woman she had called out to earlier, her face frozen in a terrified scream.

    However, even seeing this sight, none of the girls had upset stomachs. If Ryan were here, he would think it was a testament to this world''s condition that four young women wouldn''t even blink at a rotting body.

    However, not everyone had full poker faces. Grace started to rush forward, ignoring the bloody scene, to look for her mother.

    "Wait," said Lizzy. "If that woman is who I think she is, we''re dead if we get in her way."

    Grace looked back with an angry expression before realizing what Izzy meant and stopping short. She stood still for another moment until she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, frustrated at herck of power.

    Finally, after two more deep breaths, Grace turned around without saying anything else and returned to the others.

    Lizzy let out a sigh of relief at having stopped the girl from acting on impulse.

    But this wasn''t something to be relieved about or concerned over now.

    "What can we do?" Grace asked, turning to Lizzy. "And who do you think Ino really is?"

    Lizzy shook her head slightly, then began walking forward. "Probably the same person who poisoned you, the grand empress''s apprentice, Nadeko."

    Emily, Izzy, and Grace opened their mouths as they stared wide-eyed at Lizzy as she continued toward the vige.

    ===

    Ryan woke up with a jolt, coughing foul-tasting liquid pooling from his throat. Sitting up, Ryan felt... "I feel amazing," Ryan muttered, feeling energy coursing through his body.

    Alongside the energy, Ryan noticed that he could sense his bloodline for the first time since obtaining it.

    After only thinking about activating it for a millisecond, his bloodline roared to life. He could sense and control everything within a 50m (~164ft) after falling into an out-of-body state.

    "What an upgrade!" Ryan said,ing out of his state of insensibility. ''Not only has the upgrade given me more range, but I can also now use energy.''

    Activating his bloodline again, he instantly fell unmoving and felt the space around him.

    This was his space. This was his domain. He was the Overlord here.

    [Activating Overlord''s Reign]

    A thick aura spread out in the 50m range, which was thankfully entirely Ryan''s apartment. Ryan felt that if he willed it, any matter within this space would be disintegrated instantly.

    Unfortunately, only two seconds after activating this hiddenbination, Ryan fell unconscious as ckness again imed him.

    Waking up only a few minutester, Ryan felt drained for the first time sinceing to Ravier.

    He felt his body had been a grape, but now he was a raisin, sucked dry of all the good juices inside him.

    "And it wasn''t even a girl that did it," Ryan muttered.

    Having not noticed the filth he was covered in before, having been too caught up in his newfound strength, Ryan slugged out of bed and headed to the shower, trying not to gag.

    ''This feels like Deja vu,'' Ryan thought, remembering the situation upgrading to F-Rank.

    Getting in the shower, Ryan remembered he had jacked off and thought about Aliza but brushed aside the notion of doing so again.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''An Overlord does not break.''

    Mentality was key, and masturbating to a dead girl wasn''t something Ryan considered mentally sound.

    Cleaning himself off without jacking himself off, Ryan exited the shower, clean as a baby''s butt.

    ''Babyˇ­ I still can''t believe I''m going to be a father,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

    Checking the time on his bracelet, Ryan quickly exited his dorm room, looking around.

    ''Thank god she''s here.''

    "Brooke, what time is the dinner with The Duchess?" Ryan asked, seeing his muscr maid slouching against the wall.

    Jolting at Ryan''s voice, Brooke turned and had to clench her fists from beating the man right then and there.

    "What took you so long?" Brooke asked. "I''ve been waiting here all day. You could have at least let me inside."

    "I didn''t hear my name," Ryan said, frowning.

    Brooke''s forehead vein throbbed and turned dark purple as she tried to hold in her anger. "D. . . Daddy," Brooke said, managing to say it after sharp inhales of air.

    "Better," Ryan said. "Now answer my question."

    Defeated, Brooke turned her back on Ryan and said, "It starts in five minutes inside a campus restaurant known as ''Le Booty''."

    Ryan twitched his eyebrow at the name but sped off while opening his map.

    ''For the booty, Ie. To the booty, I go.''

    ===

    The Duchess waited inside Le Booty with a frown on her face. She had expected Ryan to be eager to receive his egg back, but after waiting for thirty minutes, Ryan still hadn''t shown up.

    ''He''s not going to wait until the start time, is he?'' She thought, unnerved at how a man could keep her waiting.

    ''At the same timeˇ­'' Feeling a familiar tingle between her legs, she fantasized about Ryan bursting into the private booth and taking her then and there.

    Her fantasies continued while she thought of Ryan making her moan, forcing all the restaurant patrons to hear her getting thrust while on top of the table.

    "Fuck, please take me, Ryan," she moaned as she reached a hand towards her wettening panties.

    *Cough*

    Jerking, the Duchess removed her hand from her slut hole and looked to see the source of the noise.

    "Rya-" cutting herself off mid-sentence, the Duchess didn''t see Ryan standing in the doorway as she expected; instead, she saw two female maids outfitted with emblems that let her know they were direct subordinates of the Frost General.

    The Duchess furrowed her brow and slowly rose from her seat. "What do two subordinates of the Frost General want with me?"

    "Pleasee with us," one of the maids said, stepping forward. "The Frost General will see you now."

    And before the Duchess could protest, she was teleported away.

 Chapter 106 The New Ryan [R-18]

    Arriving one minute before the start of his dinner, Ryan pushed through the crowd waiting outside Le Booty.

    Making it into the restaurant, Ryan was stopped by the receptionist, who asked if he had an appointment to get inside.

    After clearing his throat, Ryan spoke up and gave a deep voice. "I have business with the Duchess."

    The receptionist''s eyes grew wide, and she gulped nervously. "Ah, you must be Mr. Dire. Pleasee with me," she replied in a shaky voice.

    Ryan nodded once and followed her to the elevator directly to the private room where the Duchess should be waiting.

    "Are you Emily''s mother?" Ryan asked, tilting his head at the person sitting alone at the table in front of him.

    The woman took a moment before replying, scrutinizing Ryan from head to toe.

    "Duchess Vanroth is not attending tonight," the woman said, crossing her legs.

    Ryan frowned but sat down opposite the woman. "How about you join me for a meal?" Ryan asked.

    The woman''s cocky demeanor faltered at Ryan''s forwardness.

    "What would you like me to eat?" the woman asked, trying to regain the momentum.

    "You."

    Ryan''s pleasure aura zed to life, making the woman''s stomach flutter.

    Gulping, the woman went pale as she watched Ryan''s eyes re and his teeth bare themselves in a cruel smile. She couldn''t move a muscle as he got closer and licked her neck before biting her skin.

    "Mmm!" she moaned, pushing her hands against Ryan''s chest before his tongue plunged into her mouth, kissing her with full force.

    Her hand reached up to pull Ryan closer as their tongues intertwined inside each other''s mouths, tasting one another.

    The woman frowned, thinking, ''Why am I kissing him? And why does it feel so good?''

    Too lost in her pleasure, she didn''t notice Ryan''s free hand had moved under her skirt until it found what it was looking for.

    The girl gasped when her sex was roughly fingered. "Oh Fuck... Fuck! Please Fuck Me!" The woman groaned. "My name is Tammy. Please call me Tammy."

    Ryan grunted and kept fingerfucking the woman while moving his lips to her ear and whispering, "Why are you here, Tammy?"

    "I''m a servant of the Frost General," the young blonde whispered back. "I was sent here to retrieve the Duchess," she said, gulping down air before having her breath stolen away by a sudden kiss.

    Breaking away from her lips, Ryan kissed along the side of Tammy''s neck. "Then why are you still here? I don''t see the Duchess?" he asked.

    Tammy swallowed hard as her heart thundered in her chest, causing Ryan''s erection to throb inside his pants.

    "She... She asked that I stay for your meal."

    "I don''t think so."

    Ryan pushed himself up from his seat and stood next to the table. Then, taking hold of both sides of the chair, he mmed it into the wall with such force the ss shattered all over the floor.

    The woman cowered on her knees before him as she watched blood drip out onto her dress.

    "I have more important business than a dinner with some lying whore," Ryan growled, lifting her chin. "Now tell me the truth."

    "What do you want to know?" the woman moaned.

    "Why does the Frost General want the Duchess?" Ryan demanded, squeezing her jaw tightly enough to make her wince in pain. "Tell me now, or you''ll never get to use this mouth for its intended purpose again."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "She wants The Duchess because they''re lovers," Tammy gasped between gasps of air and heavy pants of pleasure. "And she has an offer for The Duchess that will benefit them both..."

    Ryan blinked at what she just said and moved his grip away from the woman''s face so she could breathe normally.

    "I''ve got a feeling you''re not telling me everything, but that''s good enough to constitute a reward. I always reward my pets when I''m satisfied," Ryan replied, undoing his belt buckle before stepping towards the terrified woman shaking in fear and lust as her eyes fixated on Ryan''s manhood.

    "What are you going to do to me?" Tammy asked, licking her lips as she stared up at him like a bitch in heat.

    "Whatever I please."

    Ryan leaned toward the trembling servant and ripped open her blouse, revealing her perky breasts, which looked soft and delicious. He ced both hands on her chest, pinching her pink nipple hard, causing it to be erect under his touch.

    Moving her hands off her breasts, Ryan pulled her panties aside, then slid one finger inside her sex while moving another into her mouth, making her suck on it fervently.

    "Oh fuck!" Tammy cried around his finger, clutching the table for dear life as Ryan inserted a second finger inside her dripping cunt.

    "What does the Frost General want from The Duchess?" Ryan asked after pulling his fingers out and switching their ces with the one Tammy waspping at with her tongue.

    Tammy moaned against his flesh, unable to speak with Ryan forcing his two fingers deep down her throat and giving her such pleasure that she forgot about the question.

    After swallowing every inch of wetness in his fingers, Tammy moaned, sucking on them vigorously before attempting to spit them out.

    She slumped back in her chair and gulped, trying not to throw up.

    "I asked you a question whore. Now answer me," Ryan said sharply as he forced a third finger inside the woman''s pussy and fucked her with a slow rhythm. "Or I''ll make you regret it."

    "I... I don''t know," Tammy said through heavy pants, desperately trying to catch her breath to continue speaking without gagging herself. "She doesn''t tell us, servants, her ns..."

    Ryan scoffed at this im but decided to test whether or not it was true. He yanked his fingers away from Tammy''s mouth, dripping womanhood, then got to his feet and began walking towards the door.

    "Please wait!" the young blonde begged him, scrambling from her chair after him. "I''ll tell you, just please don''t leave yet!"

    "I''ve had enough of your lies," Ryan replied, grabbing the doorknob.

    "It wasn''t a lie! Please believe me!" Tammy pleaded as tears rolled down her cheeks, her eyes begging for mercy.

    "No more talking whore," Ryan spat. Then, with a violent jerk, he tore open the door and disappeared into the hallway before Tammy could say anything else.

    The woman watched him go with his head held high and an air of arrogance surrounding him like a cloak.

    As soon as he was gone from sight, Tammy sunk to her knees and cried with relief, thankful that she would finally be able to breathe again.

    "That bastard," she growled at Ryan, her body shaking in rage.

    She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

    After getting herposure back, Tammy stood on shaky legs, knowing there was no use in running after him.

    Grabbing her blouse from the floor, Tammy wiped the blood off the fabric and tried putting it back over her breasts without tearing apart any further.

    After straightening up her hair and doing her bra, the young blonde adjusted her skirt and looked out the window nkly.

    "Whatever he is, he''s no longer brainwashed," the girl who imed to be Tammy muttered.

    "I must report this to Dr. Rubenstein and the grand empress."

    But before she could take a step further, Ryan reentered the room. "I don''t think you''ll be going anywhere."

 Chapter 107 Being Anal About It [R-18]

    **WARNING: If you felt ANY difort from thest chapter... better turn off the novel now.**

    **You''ve Been Warned**

    Ryan smirked as he saw the frightened servant kneeling in front of him. Walking over, he bent down, cing his hands around Tammy''s neck, choking her with all his strength.

    The young blonde squirmed against his hold and struggled to get free but was too weak to fight him.

    Tammy whimpered, clutching at her throat, feeling her life gradually slipping away with each passing second.

    "Are you ready to answer my questions?" Ryan asked.

    "I. . . don''t know. . . what you want me. . . to say," Tammy panted, unable to breathe correctly under such a tight grip. "Plea-se," she cried out in desperation as she began losing consciousness fromck of oxygen.

    Ryan loosened his grip and ced a finger on the woman''s lips to silence her before moving his free hand down between her legs until it touched the opening of her ass.

    Tammy moaned into her hand, tears welling in her eyes, when the tip of his finger found her tiny hole and pressed hard enough for it to go inside.

    She couldn''t help herself anymore and released a muffled scream, gurgling noises escaping her mouth.

    Ryan gave her ass another little push. Then two fingers slipped deep inside. "Answer my question, or your suffering will continue," he threatened before pressing his thumb on the clenched muscle above her anus, causing her asshole to loosen just enough for him to put three of his fingers inside her back passage.

    "Ooooh! Nooooo!" the blonde whined, pushing her hips backward to feel more Ryan''s fingers inside her.

    "Whore, are you enjoying this? Maybe I should fuck you harder so you remember this lesson," Ryan growled as he worked his digits deeper and deeper inside her ravaged body until all five were buried within her guts.

    Tammy gasped with every thrust and cried in agony as her ass became fuller with each pration. The pain was unbearable, but it was also turning her on even more than before.

    She wanted to beg him to stop hurting her, but instead bit down on her own arm to keep silent, hoping she would be able to endure the punishment a little longer if it meant having another orgasm.

    "Who are you, really?" Ryan asked, twisting his fingers inside the woman''s ass. "What rtionship do you have with the human empire?"

    Tammy could only grunt and cry out while trying to think of how best to answer his questions without being killed by the man who seemed hell-bent on fucking her ass until it turned into an open wound.

    "Answer me or suffer," he said, fingers twisting around each other inside her anus like an ordion.

    "I... I don''t know," Tammy moaned, squeezing her eyes shut as the pleasure grew more powerful than any pain ever experienced before.

    She couldn''t believe this was happening. Subject one was only supposed to be F-Rank!

    This man was not F-Rank and clearly knew more than he was meant to.

    Although she was only an F-Rank, she had an A-Ranked specialty in covert operations that allowed her to go undetected even from C-Ranks! But she got cocky and saw an opening when the Duchess left.

    She regretted joining the military. When she first joined, there had been promises of great rewards, but all she got was stuck on an assignment watching an F-Rank.

    Yet when she thought about rewards, Tammy thought she''d rather be loyal to the man who had his fist deep inside her ass, as that was all the reward she could ever ask for.

    What she felt between her legs was beyond anything she had ever known.

    "If I tell you everything I can, will you... leave my ass alone?" Tammy begged, wanting to take advantage of the situation as much as possible.

    "Maybe," he replied, his hand still buried in her bowels.

    "Fine." Tammy sighed and took a deep breath through her nose. "They told me to follow you, and I saw an opening once the Duchess left."

    Ryan pulled his fingers out with a slurping sound and then shoved them back inside, causing the woman to scream out with another muffled whimper from the intense painful pleasure.

    "That''s all?" Ryan asked. He reached into the woman''s ass and grabbed something hard.

    "P-Please!" Tammy cried, tears rolling down her cheeks while trying not to shatter into pieces from pure ecstasy at what was happening between her legs.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She didn''t understand why she felt this way or how he could make her feel this good. She only knew for sure that she wanted more than ever before.

    "I thought you were supposed to be trained by Dr. Rubenstein," he continued as he held his fist inside her hole, waiting for her body to rx enough to pull out his fingers. "Why would the grand empress send someone untrained on a mission like this? That doesn''t make sense..."

    "I... I don''t know! Please don''t take your hand out yet! Don''t stop! Oh, fuck! I''m so close!" Tammy moaned, biting onto her arm to keep silent instead of begging him to go faster.

    The pain was lessening now but reced with pleasure so strong that she couldn''t believe anything else existed besides herself and her ass being fucked.

    "If you want me to continue, you''ll need to answer my questions properly."

    Tammy gasped n bliss when Ryan began moving his fingers back and forth. "Oohhh yes," the blonde whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut.

    "What is the human empire''s purpose in brainwashing me?" he asked.

    "I-I d-don''t kn-know," Tammy stammered, closing her eyes as she moved her hips back against him.

    "Then don''t expect to be rewarded," Ryan said as he pulled out his hand from her ass, leaving behind a zing trail where they had been inside. He grabbed hold of her ponytail again and yanked it forcefully until her face pointed toward his groin.

    The woman coughed painfully at this sudden movement making Ryan smirk. He pped the young woman''s cheek several times before finally letting go and looking down at the bruises already beginning to form on the woman''s flesh.

    "Tell me what the grand empress''s n is!" he demanded, grabbing her chin. His fingers dug into her skin hard enough for her to cry out in pain, but he didn''t care. "Or I won''t let you off with a simple punishment."

    Tammy gagged and bit her lips so she wouldn''t scream too loudly. She needed every ounce of strength to keep herself alive and not spill any information that would lead him to Dr. Rubenstein or the grand empress.

    Tammy closed her eyes tight as tears welled up in them while trying desperately to think about something other than being fucked by that man who seemed like a god with how his hand felt between her legs.

    It was all she could do not to pass out right there and then, giving away everything she knew because that''s precisely how good he was feeling.

    "Tell me," he continued, pressing his thumb on her clit, causing the blonde''s body to shiver.

    "Oohhh," Tammy moaned softly, still refusing to speak even though the sharp p across her cheek caused her vision to blur and blood to drip from her mouth. "Plea-se," she whispered through bloody lips. "Don''t... Don''t make m-me d-do th-this..."

    "Who is Dr. Rubenstein?" Ryan asked, massaging her sore face until it turned back to its original color as he ensured he had hurt her enough for her mind to start thinking properly again.

    "A g-great h-healer wh-who c-can help us t-t-turn f-f-fools into p-p-princes!" Tammy replied in a hoarse voice while keeping her eyes closed tight.

    "A great healer?!" Ryan repeated in shock before smacking her on the nose and forcing open the woman''s eyelids with his fingers so she couldn''t hide behind closed eyes. "That''s all you have to say?! Do you think I''m some fool?"

    "I kn-know you''re not a fool! I just don''t wan-nt to d-d-die yet," the blonde stammered, finally opening her eyes to look at him, but quickly shut them when he grabbed her ponytail again.

    The man was clearly furious, which was strange because he didn''t usually show anger toward others.

    His gaze was cold and scary as he looked at her with menacing dark green eyes.

    "What is the empire''s purpose with me?" Ryan demanded, still gripping Tammy''s hair as hard as he could, pulling it forcefully, causing her head to turn left and right.

    Tammy gasped each time her neck got yanked from side to side. It felt like a fire raged between her shoulders.

    She struggled to hold herself upright against the pain. Her arms trembled uncontrobly from being pulled around by such an unfamiliar feeling of helplessness.

    "W-W-What do you want me t-t-to d-d-do?!" she begged, tears already streaming down her face once more for how painful everything seemed. "They''ll kill me. I can''t tell you anything!" she whimpered, realizing that she only wanted this all to stop. She knew there would be plenty more for herter if she continued to live.

    "If you tell me, I can help you live," Ryan said as he reached down and gripped the young woman''s hand, squeezing tightly enough that his fingers dug into the soft skin of her palm and began cutting off blood flow into her hands and feet. He wasn''t going to allow any chance of her escaping in case she tried something funny or betrayed him somehow.

    The blonde cried out in agony as blood rushed through her body in a wild torrent so strong that it made her feel lightheaded and dizzy with pleasure.

    "I-I w-w-w-will t-tell y-y-you everyth-thing," Tammy promised, gritting her teeth hard enough to crack them, but not before he squeezed too hard and caused the pain to worsen even further. She could barely speak due to the pain rippling throughout her body, but the words were still loud and clear. "B-But I n-need an oath," the blonde stammered. "A heavenly oath..." she added when she saw the man about to release his grip on her hand. "Swear... swear that you will h-help me live if I tell you."

    "Fine." Swearing the oath, Ryan waited for the girl to speak.

 Chapter 108 Getting Some Answers

    Tammy gulped nervously before speaking. "You must promise me you won''t kill anyone if I tell you what you want to know unless they give you a reason to. That''s my condition for telling you anything."

    Ryan smiled viciously and leaned back against the wall, retaking hold of her ponytail as he lifted her head slightly and gave her a few more ps around her face while she screamed out in pain.

    "I don''t think you understand the situation you''re in," he began in a threatening voice that sent shivers down the woman''s spine. "Do you believe you somehow hold ANY power here?" He looked at her with cold eyes that seemed to stare right through her skull.

    "I can easily snap your neck and cut off your pretty legs, leaving only pieces scattered across this godforsaken!"

    "I kn-know! P-Please, s-stop it! Please!" Tammy whimpered, her whole body shaking uncontrobly from the intense pain.

    She tried her best to ignore the feeling of being utterly helpless by focusing on the intense pleasure she was experiencing rather than the fear of how much danger she was in.

    The man hadn''t broken any bones or damaged anything vital yetˇŞjust hurt like hell on certain parts of her body.

    Taking a deep breath, Tammy said, "It all started when the Dawn Pa-" but before she could say anything else, her face copsed inward. Her eyes popped, nose ttened against cheekbones, lips were pulled back by skin pulling at flesh; then they burst; the top and sides of her skull blew apart like an overinted balloon.

    Ryan watched as bits of bone and blood sttered onto the wall behind him as the girl''s body fell lifelessly beside him. "Damn you!" Ryan seethed, gritting his teeth as he raged out of the room, leaving the body behind.

    Unlike before, Ryan''s hate didn''t consume him but lingered inside him like burning coal.

    ''I swear I''ll find out the truth. And kill you all.''

    ===

    Back at Wakana Vigeˇ­

    The next thing Emily, Lizzy, Izzy, and Grace saw was a scene so grotesque they could hardly believe it was real.

    It was hard to say whether the people were the corpses of animals or humans, but the bodies piled together, dripping with blood, limbs cut off, and eyes gouged out.

    They had probably been alive just moments ago. But there were no survivors among them. No one moved anywhere within the pile. It seemed like everyst person had died here in an instant.

    "Wow," said Izzy in admiration and shock.

    Izzy couldn''t understand how one person could dispose of so many people in such a short period. Even if a hundred clones of her came and tried the same thing, she''d need more time.

    "I don''t think Ino was her apprentice," Lizzy said, her face pale after seeing all the carnage up close.

    "I think that Ino is the grand empress."

    "You mean, she''s the mother of the current empress?" Emily asked doubtfully.

    "What does this matter? My mother could be in danger!" Grace said, speeding up and rushing ahead of everyone else again, forgetting about any danger.

    Her tone had changed from angry and frustrated a moment ago to panicked and urgent as she ran into a room where several more peopley on the floor, trying desperately not to die from their wounds.

    "No! Mother!" Grace cried out when she saw her mother on the ground. The woman was still breathing but looked half-dead, with blood covering her body and her hair drenched.

    Grace immediately knelt beside her, feeling her chest with her hands, then called out for help.

    "Grace," Grace''s mother groaned weakly, struggling through pain to get words out of her mouth. "Please...forgive me..."

    Grace turned to look at Lizzy and Izzy behind her, panic in her eyes.

    "Mother, everything will be okay," Grace cried, wiping off the flowing tears from her own face.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''m sorry for. . . leaving you in the dark," the woman said, gasping for breath before puking out a mouthful of blood.

    "Mother!" Grace screamed, frantically trying to help her.

    "Hush now," said Grace''s mother in a weak voice. "Just listen."

    As Grace talked with her mother, Lizzy, Izzy, and Emily watched in case the potential grand empress of the human empire returned.

    "We were never a poor vige, Grace," Grace''s mother croaked and ced a bloodied hand on Grace''s cheek. "We were runaways from the human empire, traitors."

    The shock on Grace''s face was evident, but her mother carried on with a dazed expression.

    "The human empire isn''t what everyone thinks it is. The current empress has no real power. It''s the grand empress who rules everything. And ever since the heavens descended, she has been the one who has suppressed the men of Ravier."

    "What do you mean, mother?" Grace asked, delirious in grief to understand. "You''re not making any sense."

    But her mother didn''t hear her and only continued talking. "The grand empress has always wanted to rule Ravierpletely. She has her sights set on the Dawn Pavilion and has enacted a top-secret project called ''subject one''."

    "You can only trust the Frost General and Duchess Vanroth. Tell them... it will be at the wedding," Grace''s mother said, her voice fading. "Everything will happen at the weddin-"

    Slumping over, Grace''s mother, the rebel leader, breathed herst breath.

    Grace couldn''t even cry anymore. Instead, she sat beside her mother, staring at the bloodied corpse.

    "Grace..." Lizzy whispered beside her.

    "This...is wrong," Grace muttered, wiping the tears away from her face again. "This isn''t happening."

    Grace took a deep breath and turned around toward Lizzy, Izzy, and Emily. "I''m going to kill them." Her eyes were like ice as she stared at the trio before continuing to whisper anger and revenge. "Those bastards are dead!"

    Her hands tightened into fists as she red at Lizzy and Izzy.

    Lizzy could see that rage in the girl''s eyes. It was in as day how much Grace hated the human empire, but she knew there was one person who hated them more.

    "I think Ryan will like you."

    ===

    Inside the Frost General''s residenceˇ­

    Ester, the Frost General, and the Duchess sat across from each other on a round table surrounded by stone walls covered with red velvet tapestries.

    After clearing her throat, Ester immediately began her business as always, "The wedding, I''m assuming you''ve heard about it?"

    The Duchess kept eating, listening intently as she brought a crystal goblet filled with wine to her lips.

    She knew Ester wasn''t asking if she''d heard of the wedding in the literal sense. Everyone in the kingdom knew about the wedding. No. She was asking if she knew why the wedding was happening.

    "I can''t say that I have," the Duchess answered honestly, leaning back in her seat and looking curiously at Ester.

    Ester crossed her arms over her chest and sat forward slightly, her expression icy as always as the two stared at each other, the food growing cold under the long silence.

    Eyes piercing, Ester broke the silence by coldly asking, "Then do you perhaps know of a boy named Anthony Dire, who is in the same ss year as our daughters?"

 Chapter 109 The Frost General Vs The Duchess

    Caught off-guard, the Duchess froze momentarily before snapping back to attention. "Well, I know a few orphans... But I''ve never heard you ask about a man before."

    Ester leaned closer to the Duchess before whispering, "I''ve heard he''s around your precious daughter, so you must know something. He is not who he seems to be."

    "I see," the Duchess replied, surprised but unwilling to let it show on her face. ''She seems to have learned something about project ''subject one'','' the Duchess thought, scrutinizing the General. ''Does the wedding have something to do with the project?''

    Although the Duchess knew of the project''s existence and its corrtion to Ryan, she was as clueless regarding the empire''s goals as Ryan.

    "I''ve also heard a rumor that you and the Grand Empress aren''t on good terms," the Frost General suddenly said.

    The Duchess tensed, expecting the Grand Empress to appear and slit her throat any second. ''Does everyone know that we aren''t on good terms? I might be ruined!''

    Seeing the Duchess''s horrified look, the Frost General knew her instincts were correct.

    "It... could be better," The Duchess said, trying to keep her expression neutral, ''I need to figure out what she knows.''

    "But why would you think we aren''t on good terms?" The Duchess asked.

    The Frost General rxed a bit. Then, waving her hand dismissively, she said, "You know, rumors and all."

    The Duchess let out a fakeugh. "Oh, those rumors. They fly around all the time. It''s good that smart people like us don''t believe in them."

    "Well, good enough. So then you''ll being to the wedding?"

    "Of course, I''ming to the wedding. It''s the most significant event in decades, your daughter, Mara, and the Grand Prince''s wedding! You must be ecstatic," The Duchess said, a fake smile pasted on her lips.

    "Why wouldn''t I want to align my house with the Grand Empress? My daughter would be on the same level as royaltyˇ­ and she wouldn''t be with an orphan."

    The Duchess asked, "By orphan, I''m assuming you''re referring to the Anthony Dire earlier? Was your Mara interested in this Anthony Dire?"

    The Frost General gazed at the Duchess for several minutes without a word.

    The Duchess could tell that an evaluation was happening, indicated by the shift in the atmosphere.

    "OK. I''m telling you this as a mother, our positions aside," Ester quietly responded.

    The Dutchess tried hard to pull off a sympathetic, maternal look, while curiosity almost caused her to jump from her seat.

    Ester continued, "I brought Mara home from school a while ago, and she talked to her maids about someone named Anthony Dire. The maids, of course, looking out for her best interest, sent spies out to look into this young man. However, we soon found out that the spies died less than 10 minutes after receiving the assignment."

    The Duchess''s eyes grew wide, and she pped her hand over her mouth, trying her best to look shocked.

    The Frost General mmed her hand on the table, "And that''s why I need to know about this, Anthony Dire. Something is not right, and if my daughter is going to get harmed in any way, I need to know."

    Casually, The Frost General flicked a crumb off the table, "Maybe this Anthony Dire is dangerous, and maybe he needs to be taken care of."

    The duchess spoke before thinking, "Oh, no, don''t hurt him. He saved my daughter''s life! Don''t hurt him."

    "Interesting,'''' replied the Frost General. "Please tell me more."

    Grinning sheepishly, the Duchess scratched her head. "What can I sayˇ­ I''m a paranoid mother."

    If the Frost General had been capable ofughter, she would have burst into tears at those words.

    ''Really? A paranoid mother, you say? Didn''t you once destroy three noble families because you thought the toys their children shared had explosives inside?'' the Ice General thought but kept her cool.

    Seeing no response from the Frost General, the Duchess kept talking, words tumbling from her mouth. "I don''t think he''s good enough for her, but he did save her life and rescued her from these wolf beasts."

    The Frost General''s eyebrows raised a fraction.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "OK. OK, long story. Anyway, I agree something is different with Ryan, but I don''t think Ryan knows that he''s different. People have been following him."

    The Frost General said, "Ryanˇ­ By people, you mean-"

    The Duchess cut her off. "People that are not trying to kill him, just keep an eye on him. And by their movements, my gut feelingˇ­" and the following words rushed out, "I think the human empire has something to do with Ryan."

    The Frost Generall nodded her head, ''Exactly as I thought.''

    The Duchess'' eyes darted back and forth, hoping this wasn''t a trap.

    "I think the Grand Empress has some n, and Ryan is in the middle. But I can''t figure out what it is," the Duchess said, seeing no ninjas spring out at her.

    The Frost General nodded, silent for a moment, and said, "Agreed. And from what you''re saying, I don''t think you support this n."

    The Duchess responded, "I am wary of this n."

    The Frost General nodded, "As am I."

    ===

    After the meeting was over and the Duchess left her residence, the Frost General started to think of a way to obtain more information on Ryan without alerting the Duchess.

    ''I still don''t trust the Duchesspletely, but if what she said is true, then Ryan is caught up in something big. If the wedding is part of a n, the Grand Empress wouldn''t use her grandson as a chip unless the target goal was unprecedented.''

    While inption, Ester heard a knock on her door, and in came her daughter, Mara.

    "Mara, my daughter, long time no see."

    "Hello, mother," Mara greeted Ester before sitting across from her.

    "Have you talked with the Duchess?" Mara asked.

    "Yes, we got done not even 10 minutes ago."

    "Did she have anything to say aboutˇ­ him," Mara said, her icy constitution breaking slightly thinking about Ryan.

    ''It''s been so long since he stroked my hair,'' Mara thought, touching her head in longing.

    "She did. I know you said you didn''t notice anything strange about Ryan, but are you sure there was nothing?" Ester said, narrowing her eyes.

    "I''ve told you this a thousand times, mother. The only thing strange about Ryan was his charm. But, overall, he''s just an above-average enhancer. Okay, if that''s all, mother, I''ll be going."

    Ester suddenly got an idea while watching her daughter walk out of the room.

    Pulling out a piece of paper, she began to write a letter.

    "Dear Ryan, I know you must have heard about my wedding, but what you''ve heard is not true. Pleasee and meet me at this address tomorrow night. Hope to see you soon, love Mara."

    "Ruth, Heather!" Ester called out, licking the envelope shut.

    "Yes, Master Frost?" Ruth said as the two handmaids appeared before Ester.

    "I want you to deliver a letter for me."

    "Of course, Master. To whom should we give this letter?"

    "Give it to Anthony Dire. Or should I say, Ryan, the 10th-ranked enhancer at the academy."

 Chapter 110 The Duchess Vs The Empress

    The Duchess''s POV...

    Leaving the Frost General''s abode, the Duchess headed straight toward a personal friend''s house. The Empress.

    Arriving in front of a big mansion on a hill, she was greeted by several guards at the gate, who, after checking her identification, cleared her to go to the mansion. Therge ornate thick wooden doors opened immediately, and a butler ushered the Duchess into a magnificent hall with high ceilings.

    The interior was decorated like an ancient temple, and its walls were lined with paintings of battles that made her feel as if she had traveled back through time.

    "Lady Vanroth," the Empress said when she appeared after the butler announced the visitor. "How nice it is to see you."

    "I havee to tell you a bit of news and ask you to reconsider our previous conversation," the Duchess replied, bowing politely.

    The Empress smiled brightly. "Okay, let''s sit down and talk." She waved over two servant girls standing nearby who approached carrying tea trays.

    One tray held a teapot, teacups, and a choice selection of the most expensive teas. The other tray held a te of biscuits covered in frosting, delicious-looking cookies, and a bowl of dried dates and grapes.

    The servants bowed before them and ced their offerings on the table between the twodies, and went back to their ces against the wall.

    "So it is very nice to see you," said the Empress, "please, let''s start with tea."

    The Empress chose her tea and selected one for the Duchess. "Do you like this vor? It''s a blend of raspberry and ckberry with a touch of pineapple. It was my favorite blend of this season."

    "Oh yes," the Duchess said, "that sounds delicious."  As she gave the Empress a delightful smile, "Thank you!"

    "Okay, enough of the pleasantries. Now exin again what you need?" The Empress sipped her tea and graciously waited for the Duchess to respond.

    "Well," started the Duchess, and took a sideways nce in the direction of the two servants.

    The Empress waved her hands. "Please leave us alone," she said.

    Obeying her order, the servants scurried out of the room.

    "Okay all is clear," the Empress said, sipping her tea leaning in close.

    "So." Stretching the truth a bit, the Duchess said, "You see, General Frost called me for an urgent request that only I could answer. She begged me to give her some advice to help her understand her daughter better."

    "What''s wrong with Mara? She''s delightful. My beautiful soon to be daughter-inw." The Empress pped her hands in delight.

    "Mara must be so happy right now. She gets to marry my handsome son, the Grand Prince, who is the Grand Empress''s favorite one of my children. And to show it, I''m sure the Grand Empress has sent over a huge selection of clothes and jewelry. I hear mother is nning a magnificent celebration!"

    The Duchess stopped for a moment. It looked up, distracted, trying to envision the selection of jewelry and dresses parading through Mara''s house. She was so lost in thought that she jolted when she heard the Empress clear her throat.

    "Oh. Excuse me. Wait. Are you not nning the wedding?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Empress giggled. "Absolutely not! The Grand Empress said she has everything nned, and I can justy back and get spa treatments."

    ''That''s strange,'' the Duchess thought. ''Why doesn''t she want the Empress involved in the wedding.''

    "Okay, back to my story," the Duchess continued, "So, I hate to tell you this, but the Frost General confided in me that apparently Mara became fascinated with a young man at school."

    "What?" The Empress jumped up. "Is she cheating on my son?"

    The Duchess shook her head. "I don''t think so, but the Frost General told me that she sent some servants to look into the matter, and they were killed... by the military."

    "Strange," the Empress tilted her head in wonder.

    "So, I was thinking that maybe you might want to also look into this young man to make sure that nothing is going on between him and Mara," exined the Duchess.

    "Why yes!" Eximed the Empress. "I will tell Mother right away."

    ''Every time I bring up something, it''s mother this, mother that. Why don''t you listen to me when I tell you the Grand Empress isn''t who you think she is?'' the Duchess thought in frustration.

    Coming up with a new tactic, the Duchess said, "Well, if you tell the Grand Empress now before you have any real facts, it might backfire. She might punish you instead of the perpetrators."

    The Empress nodded her head slowly. "Do you think I should ask the Grand Prince or even ask Mara about what''s going on?"

    The Duchess quickly shook her head, "Absolutely not! You don''t want your son to hate you for taking his bride away, and you don''t want to let Mara know that you''re questioning her loyalty to the crown."

    "You are right!" the Empress eximed. Then she looked confused, "So what should I do?"

    The Duchess leaned in close and whispered, "You need to look into a project called ''Subject One''. I think that the boy is somehow connected, and I think Mara and the Grand Prince might be in trouble."

    The Empress looked skeptical, "I will ask one of my guards..."

    "No!" The Duchess said in a firm tone, "We don''t know if anyone is against the Grand Prince and starting these rumors. It may backfire on you if you mention this to anyone."

    The Empress said, "No one is hurting the Grand Prince. Not on my watch!"

    "By the way," the Empress asked, "what''s his name?"

    The Duchess stood up, gathered her belongings, and said, "He goes by Anthony Dire. But his real name is Ryan Emerald."

    ''I hope she can find out the truth. If we could get her on our side, we might have a chance at stopping whatever the Grand Empress has nned,'' the Duchess thought as she left the Empress''s estate.

 Chapter 111 The Grand Empress Of The Human Empire

    Hearing a knock at her door, Ino slowly removed her hood to reveal her lovely face. She was the spitting image of the Empress, someone countless people would recognize. However, her face conveyed a little more wear after ying all the inhabitants of an entire vige.

    "Come in," she called out politely as she saw one of her servants entering the room.

    Darius entered with his head held low and immediately prepared tea for himself and his mistress.

    After several minutes, he finished setting down two cups and a bowl filled with berries and nuts.

    "Alright, Darius, you may begin with your report," Ino instructed.

    The man bowed once before beginning. "Grand Empress, so far, everything is going ording to n," he said, staring straight ahead. "We''ve found most locations where the traitors were hiding away, along with the biggest one, the vige, which your almighty strength has already destroyed."

    Ino only nodded and expected Darius to leave.

    Darius, however, seemed to be hesitating.

    "What is it?" Ino questioned.

    Darius finally lifted his head and met her eyes, telling her something was wrong. "There was a slight problem with one of our newer recruits," Darius exined quietly. "Tammy, the one with an A-Ranked specialty in recognizance, was following subject one when her imnted chip exploded."

    Ino frowned and asked, "Which one?"

    Darius twitched his eyebrows as he thought, "Right... she did have me install more than one chip on the newer people in the project.''

    "The exact chip that exploded was for anti-treason, Grand Empress."

    Ino nodded. This was quite the predicament for them. It would be a pain in the ass if someone discovered this plot beforehand.

    "Do we know who was responsible and what knowledge the people could gain?"

    Dropping to his knees, Darius quivered before Ino. "P-Please spare my life," he begged before spitting out words faster than Ino''s ears could follow. "We don''t know anything. All we know is that it happened inside Le Booty." He continued muttering apologies and begging for forgiveness.

    "Darius, you know how much I like the carpet. Don''t stain it with your filthy man legs." Ino''s demeanor suddenly changed as her hand reached out and gripped his neck, cutting off his airflow and making him choke and gag on his own saliva.

    "You filthy man, do you remember why I put you in charge of this project?"

    Gasping for breath after Ino let go of his neck, Darius tried to answer but couldn''t get any words out past a gasp or a groan.

    After a few seconds, he was about to speak, but a sudden jolt of pain shot through his back when Ino stabbed him with a butterknife.

    "Speak up, now, filthy man!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Blood poured from the wounds until the knife slid out of his flesh.

    "Ino Empress-"

    "It was because I couldn''t stand the sight of subject one, so if I needed someone to kill, you''d always be there instead of him." Ino pulled the knife out again and cut off another chunk of his skin as blood sprayed. "Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn''t have your head taken off now."

    ''I know we go through this every time, but I just wish I wouldn''t have to do this for once,'' Darius thought, as he defeatedly said, "This filthy man begs for mercy and is willing to sacrifice his manhood for you, Grand Empress!" He then began weeping uncontrobly before getting pped several times for good measure. Finally, his entire body turned red as the blows continued to rain down upon him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Finally deciding she had had enough fun with him, Ino released him with a p that sent him tumbling onto his face.

    "Don''t worry, I''ll be generous and spare your manhood this time," she informed him coldly.

    "Thank you, Grand Empress," Darius said,pleting their tradition as he limped out of the room.

    ===

    The Duchessˇ­

    The Duchess curled up on a lounge chair, the ever-present Volf sleeping on the floor beside her.

    ''Back in my beautiful mansion,'' the Duchess smiled, ''though not asrge as the Empress''s'', she frowned. ''Well, whateverˇ­''

    "Now, Volf," she said, using her toe to poke the sleeping animal in the ribs, "wake up. I have an important question for you."

    The animal didn''t move, but he did give a big sigh.

    "Good, you''re awake," the Duchess said. "If you were a man, wouldn''t you love to receive a letter requesting your presence at a dinner?"

    Volf''s head popped up, eyes intent, ''dinner''?

    "I will take that as a yes," smiled the Duchess. "Okay. Now that I''ve talked to the Empress, she will look into Ryan and find out something happened between him and Mara, hopefully canceling the wedding. After that, she''ll just have to figure out how to deal with her mother."

    Realizing no food was forting, Volf sighed again and put his head back on the floor.

    "Meanwhile, I must ensure my Emily doesn''t stay with Ryan." She poked Volf''s ribs again, "Maybe Volf, when Mara and the Grand Prince break up, that will be the perfect time for the Grand Prince and Emily to get together." The Duchess pped her hands in glee.

    "And, Volf," she almost poked again, but Volf''s upper lip went up, a hint of his white fangs peeking out.

    Ignoring Volf''s testiness, the Duchess continued, "And I, of course, will have my boy toy Ryan all ready to go!" She giggled, kicking her feet up and down.

    The Duchess brought up the hologram and entered the message,

    "Ryan, I have something vitality essential to talk to you about. Please meet me at my house tomorrow evening.

    Also, I am so very sorry for the egg mix-up. You can take it with you when you leave, I promise I have not made any scrambled eggs with it!

    Sincerely, the Duchess."

    "Well, Volf," The Duchess said, leaning back in her chair, "that should do it. When Ryan gets here tomorrow, he will have more than dinnerˇ­he''ll be having dessert!" The Duchess covered her face and giggled.

    Volf''s head popped up again. ''That word dinner again. She must mean it this time.'' Volf jumped up and ran to the cupboard, a loud howl conveying his hunger.

    ''Forget that pansy ass man. You''ve got a real animal here to feed,dy.''

 Chapter 112 I Need Power, I Need Control

    NO MORE POV switches for a whileˇ­

    Ryan sat in his dark dorm room alone, contemting his next move.

    Although if someone walked in on him at this moment, they would sense a badass anime viin plotting some scheme, Ryan didn''t feel all that badass.

    ''Things just keep slipping out of control. I need strength. I need Yoko back, and I need to upgrade my cultivation. Fast.''

    Ryan had already gone over his new Overlord Constitution abilities while sitting.

    Overlord''s Authority was a passive ability used as identification in the Multiverse. It allowed him to enter specific zones only essible by the heavenly chosen. ''It did mention something about a heavenly academy, but that''s forter.''

    Overlord''s Reign was the ability he had already partially experienced inbination with his bloodline. ''It supposedly allows me to exert my will on other species of lesser ranks, but inbination with my bloodline, it allows me to control everythingˇ­ the only problem is the energy output.''

    Finally, Overlord''s judgment was the most exciting and possibly the best of the three.

    It allowed Ryan to trap any target at his rank or lower inside a heavenly realm for a period of time for a one-on-one battle. ''Although with my specialty, it won''t exactly be a fair fight.''

    Now that Ryan had finished going over his constitution abilities, he needed to check out his new ''Harem Oath'' ability he had gotten. ''I hope this is what I think it is.''

    [Harem Oath (Active/Passive)]

    [Description: In the Multiverse, there are many ways of getting one to submit to power. Whether it be through intimidation, bribery, coercion, loyalty, or deceit humankind has always found a way as well. But as your species is not of higher status, you don''t have an integrated way of forcing others to your will]

    [Any who take the Harem Oath to the Harem Master will have their name show up on a list. This list will allow the Harem Master to check their loyalty in real-time. Although this method is not foolproof, this ability will rank up over time.]

    [Note: Harem Royalty & above have the right to exclude themselves from this list anytime.]

    Ryan raised his eyebrow at his new ability. ''This is not exactly what I needed, but it''s about as close as it gets.''

    Clenching his fist, Ryan was about to enter his Harem Pce to test his new ability on his new cat servants when knocking came from the door.

    "Come in."

    Brooke strolled into the room and handed a letter to Ryan. As she was turning to leave, Ryan reached out and grabbed her wrist.

    "For some reason, you don''t look happy to be here," Ryan said, looking into Brooke''s face. She tried to pull away again, but he didn''t let go of her wrist. Her eyes widened with surprise as he lifted her chin with his hand until their faces came eye to eye.

    Brooke tried to use her massive physical strength against him, but it only ended with his grip tightening and holding her like a vice.

    "What''s wrong? Is there a problem?" he asked innocently. "You can tell me."

    "It''s not that," she responded. "I''m just busy. I have to prepare for my ss tomorrow."<novelnext></novelnext>

    He looked at her, confused. "What part of bing my servant didn''t you understand? You''re mine now!"

    "But that''s just until the end of the academy-"

    Ryan ced his index finger on her lips to silence her.

    "If you want to make it through the next two months alive," He whispered seductively into her ear. "I suggest you keep your mouth shut about this arrangement. If they found out about usˇ­ well, I wouldn''t think they would take it lying down."

    Brooke furrowed her brow as she looked at Ryan questioningly. It wasn''t often that someone scared Brooke, but feeling his iron grip on her wrist and hearing his threatening words, she couldn''t help swallowing nervously. "Who are they?" She finally squeaked out.

    Ryan''s face suddenly turned cold, and his grip tightened around Brooke''s wrist again. His eyes burned with a resounding fury, and he growled dangerously in her face before speaking again in a low voice. "You should really learn to read between the lines when people threaten you. And not ask stupid questions."

    As quickly as he turned cold, Ryan returned to normal and said, "Thank you for delivering this letter, Brooke. If that''ll be all..."

    "Of course, Daddy," Brooke said hastily. As soon as she could, she backed up and left the room, leaving Ryan alone once more.

    He sat on his bed, looking at the note, reading it over carefully several times with a frown.

    "Mara..." He muttered under his breath while ripping it into pieces and throwing it away from him into his trashcan.

    Ryany on his bed and contemted, reviewing all the details he knew about the wedding.

    ''Mara suddenly got called home and left me, leaving that cryptic note.''

    ''I know the wedding is between her and the Grand Prince, who should be out of her league. But if this letter is to be believed, she''s somehow being forced into marriage...''

    ''There''s also the fact that the human empire will most likely force me to attend this wedding and think they have brainwashed me intopeting in this tournament.''

    ''But why does the human empire want me to beat their Grand Prince at such a big event? What''s the point?''

    ''Why do they want me to remember the first five years of my life at the wedding?''

    ''Nothing makes sense!''

    Ryan tried wrapping his mind around the facts, trying to find answers to the questions that gued him. But, after nearly an hour, he still hadn''t thought of any new ideas or ways he could use against them.

    The only thing he was sure about was that he didn''t like what he had discovered so far. Ryan hated this feeling of being in the dark. He needed answers. He needed control.

    Just as Ryan was starting to get up, the door burst open, and four girls came rushing into his room.

    "What''s the matter?" Ryan said, seeing Emily, Izzy, Lizzy, and Grace enter his room.

 Chapter 113 Just A Bitch In Heat

    As the girls entered his room, Ryan furrowed his brow, seeing the distraught looks on the four girl''s faces.

    "What happened?"

    Emily ran over to Ryan and grabbed him tightly, burying her face in his chest. "Ryanˇ­"

    Lightly stroking her hair, Ryan looked at Grace, raising his eyebrows. "Are you healed?"

    The blue veins Ryan had been expecting to see weren''t present, but that didn''t mean she looked healthy.

    Sunken cheeks and puffy eyes made her look like she hadn''t slept in days and had been crying nonstop.

    Emily stared up at him from his chest, saying, "It''s her vigeˇ­"

    "What about Wakana Vige?" Ryan asked, looking at Grace.

    "It''s gone. It''s gone. They are all dead!" Grace cried, started sobbing uncontrobly, and flung herself onto Ryan''s bed.

    Ryan looked at the three girls. "You better tell me what''s going on."

    "I''ll start," Emily said as she nced at Lizzy and Izzy.

    "So our search for Grace led us to Wakana Vige. We went into the vige and thought something was strange."

    "Why?" Ryan asked.

    "Because there were cultivators, but the vige looked very poor."

    Emily continued, "We didn''t find Grace in the vige, so we stopped investigating and waited outside the vige, hoping Grace would show up.  She did, but she showed up with two travelers, an olddy and someone who lived in the vige."

    Izzy cut in, "When we first saw Grace, we were surprised because she didn''t look bad. She told us that the olddy had given her some tea which cured her."

    Emily continued, "We found that very strange. Why would some random olddy have a tea that cured the Grand Empress'' poison?"

    "By the time we figured that out, the olddy was gone. We raced to the vige knowing something might be wrongˇ­"

    Grace howled, "My Mother, my people, all dead!"

    Izzy continued, "Ryan, it was awful. The vigers were hacked to pieces, disemboweled, blood everywhere."

    ''It was, however, very skillfully done,'' Izzy added in her mind.

    "By the time we found Emily''s mom, she only had a few minutes to live."

    Ryan''s folded his hands across his chest as he stared without emotion. "What did she say?"

    Lizzy finally spoke. "She told Emily we could only trust the Duchess Vanroth and the Frost General. She also said that only the Grand Empress had real power in the human empire, not the Empress. Then, finally, she told Grace that the Grand Empress has somehow been repressing the men on Ravier."

    Ryan''s eyebrows rose, "Repressing men?"

    ''I must save their defective membersˇ­''

    Lizzy waved her hand in the air, "Whatever, that''s not the most important thing."

    Ryan cocked his head, ''Have I been repressed though? If I have, I would love to see what I am like when I''m not repressed!''

    Lizzy continued, rolling her eyes at Ryan. "I know exactly what you are thinking, but right now isn''t the time. Apparently, the Grand Empress has her sights set on the Dawn Pavillionˇ­"

    Izzy cut her off, her voice up an octave, and she bounced on her toes, "She''s enacted a secret project she calls ''subject one.'' Andˇ­"

    "Everything will happen at the wedding," all three girls said in unison.

    ''The Dawn Pavilionˇ­ the same as my vision,'' Ryan thought.

    "Why the wedding?" Ryan asked.

    The three girls shook their heads and raised their shoulders.

    "We don''t know," answered Emily.

    Ryan looked at the three girls,  "Was it the olddy who killed everyone in the vige?

    Grace sobbed. "Yes, the olddy cured me, then killed everyone I love. I led her to my vige," she wailed, "it was my life for all of theirs." Emily rolled herself up in the nkets and continued to sob.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Emily said in a low voice, "Ryan, it was a rebel vige. At least that''s what Grace''s mother said."

    Ryan looked at Grace, confused.

    Lizzy said, "We don''t think Grace knew anything about the rebel movement or what her mother did. That''s why she was sent away to school and why she''s still alive."

    Ryan asked, "So you think the Grand Empress ughtered the vige because they were rebels?"

    "Yes," answered Lizzy, "We''re pretty sure the Grand Empress poisoned Grace, then cured Grace to manipte her so that the Grand Empress could find the location of Wakana Vige."

    "So now we have to find out what the Grand Empress'' ns are for the wedding and what exactly is this ''project one.'' Ryan looked lost in thought.

    The girls nodded in agreement as they all looked toward the sobbing Grace.

    ===

    ? Ryan headed out of his dorm room, filled with vigor now that he at least had some answers.

    ''Hopefully, this meeting with Mara will shed further light on this plot for the Dawn Pavilion.''

    As Ryan headed off campus after getting permission, he decided to test his new bloodline to see if he could detect anyone following him.

    Pretending to sit on a bench, Ryan fell into his meditative state, sensing every molecule within a 50m range.

    ''Sure enough,'' Ryan thought as two people entered his domain.

    Focusing on the two figures, he could sense that they were B-Ranked cultivators. ''My bloodline even enhances my energy vision,'' Ryan thought, surprised that he could perceive someone two ranks higher than himself.

    Deciding it was for the best that he allowed them to suspect he didn''t know of their presence, Ryan got off the bench and continued toward the location Mara had given him.

    After walking a few more minutes, Ryan was greeted by a luxurious mansion surrounded by high walls and a gate stationed by not one, not two, but three C-Ranked cultivators.

    "Halt!" the cultivator closest to Ryan shouted, pointing their spear towards Ryan.

    Ryan raised his eyebrow. "Is this how you greet your Young Master''s guests?"

    The guard''s smug smile faltered as she said, "You''re here for Lady Frost?"

    "I call her Mara, but I bet she calls you dog." Then, striding toward the gate, Ryan walked past the baffled guard, who didn''t dare touch the man who so confidently talked down a high-ranking cultivator.

    Entering the premises, Ryan stopped for a second and sat on the ground. ''I know I look weird, but I need to know if those people from the military are going to follow me.''

    The three guards, who had just watched an arrogant man stroll past them, about lost their minds when he suddenly dropped to the ground in a meditative pose.

    "What do you think Lady Frost''s guest is doing?" the first guard asked.

    "He''s probably preparing to meet ourdy. She isn''t exactly the easiest person to get along with."

    "I bet he''s pissing his pants. Seems like the type of man to do it anyway," the first guard said, trying to get over the humiliation of Ryan saying Mara called her a dog.

    Rising from the ground, Ryan turned to look at the first guard and turned on his aura.

    ''Although I probably can''t beat you in a fight, that doesn''t mean I can''t win in other ways.''

    Focusing his pleasure aura on the first guard exclusively, Ryan started to walk toward her.

    "You know Mara isn''t the only one who calls you a mutt."

    "People call you a bitch in the heat behind your back all the time. You just don''t hear it."

    As Ryan was talking, the guard started to squirm under Ryan''s aura as she felt a tingling sensation in herher regions.

    ''What is happening to me?'' the guard thought. ''I''m usually only this horny when I get stepped on by the General!''

    "''Just a bitch in heat,'' they say. ''Nothing but a bitch in heat,''" As Ryan got close to the guard, his breath started to tickle the guard''s neck, making her hairs stand to attention.

    Starting to whimper from the mixture of pleasure, humiliation, and shame, the guard''s gaze stuck to the floor as she muttered, "I-I didn''t mean-"

    "I don''t care what you meant. Now drop to your knees and-"

    Before Ryan could finish his statement, he heard, "Pleasee inside, Mr. Dire."

 Chapter 114 I Can Do A Lot More Than Cure You

    Stopping his tirade, Ryan turned to see... "Mara?"

    Ryan stared at the girl, who looked like Mara, a beauty that could turn heads no matter where she stood, with her arms sped behind her back at the entrance. Her proportions were breathtaking, nice, and plump. Gorgeous blonde hair with a frost blue hue cascaded down a military uniform...

    ''Mara wouldn''t wear a military uniform,'' Ryan thought, looking closer.

    The frost blue eyes Ryan had stared into the first day ofing into this new world were different. They were colder, much colder.

    ''This looks like Mara, but it''s not,'' Ryan thought as he started to get an odd feeling about the whole situation.

    "Please follow me inside, Mr. Dire," The Frost General said as she walked through a vast hall toward a room with a long table and ten chairs. The entire ce seemed elegant yet rxed for a meeting between a general and a person who swore to destroy the same empire the general was serving.

    Deciding to follow this mysterious person, as he didn''t feel any hostility from her so far, Ryan followed behind her until they entered the main chamber, illuminated by countless candles in every corner of the massive room.

    ''I wonder why she uses candles?'' Ryan thought, remembering the energy light sources he had seen around campus.

    "Please have a seat." As the Frost General took a chair at the head of the table, she looked over at Ryan with those piercing ice-blue eyes and then spoke. "I''m sure you''re wondering who I am, Ryan."

    Hearing his actual name, Ryan raised his eyebrow and simply nodded.

    "But first, we must take care of those pesky bugs following you."

    Abruptly flicking her eyes to look over Ryan''s shoulder, the Frost General said, "You''re insane master should have taught her mutts better manners."

    Raising her hands, the Frost General unleashed an aura so cold, Ryan thought he was in the middle of a blizzard.

    Ryan heard two muffled cries followed by a pair of thuds as he turned around to see his previous stalkers on the ground, frozen from the knees up.

    "Ruth!" the Frost General yelled, and a secondter, a brte woman with crimson eyes came into view.

    "What do you need, Master?" Ruth asked, not so much as ncing at the two screaming icicles.

    "Take these two to the dungeon. See what they know."

    Ruth swiftly bowed, picked the two frozendies, and hauled them away.

    Ryan scratched his head as he watched the two women get dragged away. ''I wonder if this is a charade or I can trust her.''

    Ryan had been in thought since hearing about Grace''s mother''s im that he could trust Emily and Mara''s mothers.

    "Now that we have privacy," the Frost General said, erecting a sound barrier, "we can get started."

    "Get started with what exactly?" Ryan said, breaking out of his thoughts. "You haven''t told me who you are."

    The Frost General sighed. "You should be more perspective Ryan. I''m Mara''s mother."

    "Oh..." Ryan gasped in fake surprise. "I-I''m sorry for my rudeness Lady Frost, I-"

    Interrupting Ryan before he could continue, she said, "Please call me Ester."

    "Ester, I don''t understand what you could want from someone like me," Ryan said, doing his best to hold back a smirk.

    "Oh really? Let me ask you a question then. Do you perhaps know why my daughter''s constitution was healed when even the best healers in the empire couldn''t do anything?"

    Ryan didn''t answer immediately as his eyes grew dark. Praying that the information from Grace''s mother was correct, he said, "I do." Correcting himself, he added, "Well, I know the cause, maybe not the exact reason."

    Waving her hand for Ryan to continue, Ester took a sip of tea that was sitting on the table.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "It was me. And I can cure you too."

    Ester, who had been mid-swallow, suddenly choked and spat out some liquid onto the floor. As she stared at the green stain on the marble tiles, she thought, ''This boy is more trouble than I thought.''

    Raising her head, the Frost General was about reprimand Ryan but could only blink as she looked at the handsome man who was only a few feet away.

    "I can do much more than cure you," Ryan said with a grin.

    The Frost General tried to focus on Ryan''s face so she could retort with a scathingment or something to get rid of him, but his appearance was hard to ignore. He wasn''t just pretty... he was stunningly gorgeous! She felt like she wanted to touch his hair.

    The way his white skin reflected light seemed unnatural, especially given how young he appeared to be. His sharp cheekbones, high nose bridge, strong jawline, and clearplexion were all well-defined. Ester felt heat start to rise in her chest as she watched those sparkling emerald-green eyes that showed no emotion whatsoever stare into hers.

    ''I haven''t felt this way since...'' widening her eyes, the Frost General gulped, realizing that the Frost inside her soul was beginning to melt just from the sheer presence of this man.

    ''Who is he that even the elements fear him?'' the Frost General thought.

    Seeing Ryan''s smile grow wider at his realization of her inner conflict, she knew she was in trouble.

    "Ester," he said.

    "Yes?"

    "Do you wish to be cured?"

    Ester didn''t say anything but stared back at the man standing before her. A few momentster, the room filled with the sounds of Ester breathing heavily. The air grew cold as the Frost element started to seep into the air.

    Every candle flickered and swayed with the intensity of Ester''s aura.

    "Did she send you?" Ester said, her icy tone returning.

    "I''m pretty sure you''re the one who sent for me," Ryan said, seemingly not phased by the intense cold radiating off of Ester.

    The Frost General chuckled slightly before saying, "Then swear an oath. Swear that the Grand Empress of the Kheaweth Empire doesn''t control you."

    Ryan froze, not from the icy atmosphere but from shock. ''I don''t know if I can swear that oath.''

    Ryan didn''t feel controlled, but would the heavens agree?

    After thinking a moment, Ryan said, "I don''t go around swearing oaths."

    It wasmon practice not to use heavenly oaths, as the heavens themselves didn''t like their overuse.

    People had been known to be struck by lightning after one too many oaths.

    The Frost General seemed to respect his decision, as Ryan wasn''t instantly obliterated.

    "Then give me a reason to trust you," Ester said. "Prove to me that you''re not working for her."

    Ryan paused then an evil smile started to form on his face.

    His smile kept growing until it stretched to the point that Ester couldn''t help but shiver.

    "If you want me to prove that I am not working for the Grand Empress and thus with the human empire, I believe I have sufficient proof," as he spoke, Ryan pulled up his heavenly screen and selected his given oaths menu.

    essing his oath to destroy the human empire within ten years, he selected the option to share and hit ''yes''.

 Chapter 115 Claiming A General

    Seeing a heavenly screen pop up, Ester was shocked that Ryan was a cultivator.

    But as she began to read, her mouth kept dropping further open.

    "Wha-... What is this?!" Ester yelled.

    "Y-You''re the heavenly chosen who took a critical level oath!" Ester stammered, pointing at the screen. "How? Why?"

    "It doesn''t matter how or why anymore," Ryan said. "What matters is what you''ll do now."

    Turning her eyes on Ryan, Ester looked at him, truly looked.

    As they gazed into each other''s eyes, neither moved nor said anything. The only sound was the slight squeak of the chair legs as they scraped across the floor.

    A momentter, the Frost General broke eye contact and let out a deep breath. "Okay, I''ll trust you."

    Feeling like he had just crossed a dangerous chasm, Ryan let out a breath that he didn''t realize he had been holding.

    "Good. Now we can begin discussing the payment for my cure," Ryan said, his smile never leaving his face.

    Feeling something was wrong with that sentence, Ester frowned but couldn''t quite put her finger on it.

    "Are you serious about paying for the cure?" Ester asked with disbelief in her voice. "I mean-" she cut herself off and gave a curt nod before continuing, "Okay, fine! How much do you want?"

    Ryan grinned, shaking his head. "I don''t want money, sweetheart. I want you."

    Ryan started stalking forward, his eyes filled with lust. His every step sent goosebumps down Ester''s back as he stalked toward her until he was mere inches away from where she sat at the table. She could feel him breathing heavily as he leaned over to whisper into her ear. "You will submit to me and be mine."

    "I will teach you the pleasures you''ve been missing out on. I will heal you, restore you, and change you."

    "I will make you mine," Ryan said huskily into her ear.

    Ester shivered as the man whispered words of desire. He was right. She had missed this... this feeling of being wanted and needed... loved.

    But when he said he would ''make'' her his own, the word made her shudder.

    "Make?" Ester questioned softly, unsure if she heard correctly.

    "Yes, frosty goddess. You must give yourself up to me," he said, looking directly into her eyes with a promise-filled gaze. "And once you are mine, I will make you strong. Stronger than you could ever imagine."

    His voice changed pitch and became deep and seductive. It sent a shiver down Ester''s spine that felt like it traveled down to her toes.

    The Frost element slowly dissipated from Ester''s body as she continued listening to his voice. Her heart began beating faster, sending blood pumping throughout her veins.

    "B-But how?" she asked in disbelief as Ester stared at him.

    "The first step is to trust me, sweetheart," Ryan replied. "Just believe in me."

    With the sound of ripping fabric, the two came together in an instant. Ryan pressed himself against Ester, reaching behind her and grabbing her hair tightly. His hands were rough on her soft locks as he pulled them forcefully back.

    Not one to be outdone, the Frost General''s instincts kicked in. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew Ester''s lips towards his as Ryan brought his face closer to hers.

    With their faces mere inches apart, Ester locked eyes with Ryan and began kissing his cheek passionately.

    "I can''t believe I''m doing this," she said after a moment. As she looked at the man, she had just kissed.

    Seeing his audacious grin, Ester began chuckling, realizing she had just given a man what he wanted.

    "Why are you so confident?" Ester questioned while staring into those captivating emerald-green eyes that seemed to glow. "How do you know you can beat her?"

    "Because of who I am, darling."

    "I will bring down the human empire."

    "I will kill the Grand Empress."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I will conquer this world."

    Ryan paused, looking into Ester''s icy-blue eyes.

    "But I''ll start by iming you."

    Ester was startled and went stiff. This man knew how to get a girl''s attention.

    Not even her cold nature could stop her from wanting him.

    "What does that mean? How could I be yours? Our ranks are so far apart, she asked, trying to y it cool, as her voice shook slightly.

    Ryan ced his hands on either side of her head as he leaned forward, bringing his lips close to hers as he whispered, "I''m no ordinary man."

    "I don''t understand what you''re talking about!" Ester said breathlessly. She felt butterflies in her stomach and found herself fighting the urge to giggle orugh.

    "I want you..."

    Ester froze.

    This wasn''t what she had expected, not one bit! She had expected this man toe into the room and beg her to spare his life, throw himself at her feet.

    But she couldn''t deny the growing feeling inside.

    The Grand Empress had forced her emotions from her body by injecting her soul with the frost element.

    But now that this strange yet captivating man was before her, Ester felt like her body was regaining what she had lost.

    Seeing how Ester looked at him, Ryan knew his instincts were right. ''Like mother like daughter.''

    Ryan remembered his first encounter with Mara and how frosty she had acted toward him at first.

    All it took was a little bit of Ryan magic to make her a squirming mess.

    The moment Ryan''s tongue touched her skin, Ester''s cold demeanor disappeared entirely.

    ''I don''t know why I have this power over the elements, but maybe I can use it to my advantage in other ways... but we''ll save that forter,'' Ryan thought as he licked her corbone.

    "That tickles," Ester said, her voice shaky and unsteady. "But I won''t be yours." She shook her head from side to side.

    "I am going to possess you."

    Ester shuddered slightly at the sound of those words.

    "And you will submit to me."

    Ester froze again. A part of her wanted to do just that, especially after the way he kissed her.

    "I-I can''t-"

    "You can and you will. You belong to me now, darling," Ryan replied. His eyes burned brightly into hers like hot coals from the depths of hell. "Do not fight against your fate any longer and ept your destiny." He then leaned closer, closing the distance between them until their lips almost touched together.

    She knew she should stop him before it was toote... but she didn''t want to stop. Being wrapped in Ryan''s arms, she couldn''t help but wonder what would happen if she gave in.

    If she became his, giving herself over to a man.

    "Yes," Ester said with a husky voice.

    The word sent a shiver down Ryan''s spine, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Then, with his face only inches away from Ester''s, he paused briefly as he stared into her beautiful icy blue eyes.

    When he saw the desire and longing reflected within those cold orbs, he immediately pressed his lips forward. He kissed Ester passionately, savoring every moment as he moved one hand behind her head while using the other to grab onto her waist tightly.

    "You''ve made the right decision."

 Chapter 116 Fuck Me, My Young Stud [R-18]

    Ester gasped as they came together in an instant. Her body shuddered slightly when his rough hands pulled her head toward him, bringing their lips together again.

    She had never felt this feeling before... a warmth that began deep inside of her heart spread throughout her entire being like a wildfire.

    As their kiss went on and on, all thought left their minds... All that mattered was kissing each other hungrily. As he caressed and stroked along her jawline and cheekbones, Ryan could feel her soft skin under his fingertips.

    ''Younger women are nice, but a mature woman knows how to move,'' Ryan mused as his lips traveled from Ester''s cheekbone to the tip of her chin.

    Ryan loved how she tasted. A mixture of sweet honey mixed with a hint of sourness. But now that she had epted him into her mouth, the taste of it became intoxicatingly addictive.

    Her tongue yed with his, causing Ryan to let out a slight grunt of pleasure.

    With his fingers still wrapped around her waist, Ryan broke off their passionate makeout session and lifted his face away from hers.

    She looked at Ryan with dreamy eyes as her cheeks flushed pink. ''How long has it been since I''ve felt thisplete?'' Ester asked herself, looking into his eyes.

    ''I can''t believe such a young man is making me feel this way. It feels so wrong,'' she thought, almost ashamed to admit it. The moment their lips locked, everything else seemed to fade into the background for her. No longer was Ryan a lower rank or just an orphan.

    He was the hero who would save her.

    It was clear to her that Ryan was much more than what he appeared on the surface. "You know you''re mine now."

    "Y-Yes," Ester said after swallowing hard.

    She couldn''t believe how hot her chest had be and how satisfying saying ''yes'' was. It was almost as if she could finally be honest about how she felt...

    The heat and sin she felt only grew as more and more reasons why she shouldn''t be with this man crept into her mind. ''Fuck it!'' She thought to herself.

    She didn''t care that she was the general of the empire.

    She didn''t care that Ryan was of a lower rank.

    All she cared about was his warmth, his touch.

    But most of all, Ryan was her savior. He would fight the Grand Empress, who had the power to beat her... at least in the future.

    The Grand Empress had taken everything from her when she was a little girl, even her name.

    She had lost hope thousands of years ago. But now she saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

    This boy, this man, hade to change her fatepletely. He was her salvation. She wanted him with every fiber of her being.

    "Take me, Ryan. Make me yours." Ester said with a whisper while gazing into his eyes like a child on Christmas morning.

    Her eyes shimmered as she gave in to her emotions and surrendered herself to himpletely. "Make me your woman."

    Ryan slowly stood, removing Ester from his waist.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I want our first time to be somewhere special. Soe with me," Ryan said, entering his pce.

    Entering avish bedroom, Ester could see an open balcony with white curtains blowing in the cool breeze. She knew what he was nning and couldn''t help but blush slightly as he brought her close to the window.

    Kissing her neck from behind, Ryan tenderly undid the buttons on her military uniform shirt, sliding it off her shoulders, exposing hercy blue bra.

    Her breasts bounced gently, causing Ryan to smirk.

    As Ester turned around to face him again, she watched as his mouth curled into a devious smile that made her heart skip a beat.

    "I assume you know this, but I feel obligated to tell you this," Ryan said, his face bing serious for the first time today.

    "I treat my women well. Your problems will be my problems. Your family, my family. I will grant you power and protection... once I am strong enough."

    "But in return, I require your loyalty and devotion."

    "Are you willing to make this trade?" Ryan asked, gazing into her eyes.

    Ester did her best not to scream yes immediately, but after a few seconds, she threw herself at the domineering young man and said, "Yes. I hope you''ll take care of my daughter and me."

    ? Ryan abruptly froze. ''I forgot about Mara.''

    "And you''ll be okay with me having your daughter as well?" Ryan said cautiously.

    Ester tilted her head and giggled. "That''s a strange question. But, of course, I don''t care."

    ''Guess people in this world are more open than I thought,'' Ryan thought, smirking.

    Ryan reached around her back and undid the sp of her bra, saying, "That''s good. Very good."

    Gazing at her exposed bosom, he began to pinch and squeeze her perky breasts, causing her to moan loudly while purring like a kitten. Her cheeks flushed bright red as she felt his stiff cock rub against her soft thigh.

    Her heart pounded hard in her chest, sending blood rushing through every inch of her body, including her thighs, and down between her legs, where she could feel her already dripping pussy throbbing uncontrobly.

    She couldn''t believe how excited she had be so quickly.

    Her arousal became painful as it swelled inside her tight panties. She wanted nothing more than for Ryan to rip them off right there.

    ''It''s been so long... I hope I don''t die from the orgasm,'' she thought, her fear only adding to her lust.

    Before Ester knew what was happening, all the emotions built up into a crescendo and became too much to handle. She stood next to Ryan, staring into dark green eyes; everything seemed surreal and dreamlike.

    "Fuck me, my young stud." The words slipped out of Ester''s mouth before she could stop them.

    "Your wish is mymand, mydy."

 Chapter 117 Frost General? Ill Call You MINE [R-18]

    Ryany atop the panting Frost General, who looked more like a soldier than a general now that she waspletely naked in his bedroom.

    The sight of the muscr female warrior pinned below him caused an intense feeling of dominance and pride to wash over his senses. He admired her golden hair, pale skin, giant breasts, and perfectly toned figure with a lust-filled gaze.

    "Please stick it in already!" Ester screamed for the thousandth time that night.

    "You have yet to cum, Lady," Ryan said in a soft, gentle voice as he continued teasing the outside of her wet pussy lips with his fingers.

    "I told you it would be too dangerous to give you a full-blown orgasm at first. The risk is too great, so you''ll cum from just this stimtion," Ryan said, chuckling.

    Whimpering, Ester begged him for more, "Please use more than one finger... it''s torture."

    Smiling devilishly, Ryan put his index and middle fingers together, rubbing them against her clit while massaging her swollenbia and outer folds with his thumb.

    He could feel her inner walls bing tighter and slicker as she neared climax. As soon as she began to shudder, he pulled back his hand, leaving her gasping in desperation.

    "Oh no! Don''t stop!" Ester pleaded.

    "You''ll need to keep on begging!" Ryanughed before pushing forward again, continuing to pleasure the beautiful woman underneath him by running the tips of his nails along the length of her slit.

    Ester cried out in pleasure when Ryan added a little pressure to his touch, causing her body to tremble uncontrobly. Her hands tried to reach toward her needy cunt, but just like her previous attempts, Ryan''s will stopped them.

    "In my pce, I am god. So beg me to let you cum!" he demanded.

    "Y-Yes, master," Ester replied between moans and pants of air as she continued to wriggle beneath him. She couldn''t believe how needy she had gotten from her new master''s single finger.

    Her breaths became erratic and desperate as her body grew hotter and flushed red with each passing second.

    "Please... please don''t make me wait any longer... Please... let me... cum..."

    With thatst word, Ester finally gave up on controlling herself, letting go entirely as the feelings overwhelmed her entire being. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head while her toes curled and tensed under the bed sheets.

    She was going to die if this kept happening to her! If this man wouldn''t take pity on a poor girl who needed it so desperately! "Ahhh!! Fuckkkk!!" she screamed in ecstasy, trembling uncontrobly as a long wave of pleasure crashed over her body.

    "Good lord... I can feel it," Ryan whispered in awe, staring at the beautiful woman below him, whose face twisted in blissful pleasure, showing every emotion imaginable through her expressions.

    The sexual energy the general was giving off was enormous. Ryan quickly gathered it all using his lust ability and stored it inside his energy pce.

    As energy poured into his storage, Ryan could tell he had been one wrong move away from death today. ''This woman is strong.''

    As Ester''s climax ended, she copsed against the bedsheets.

    The feeling of power sent shivers down his spine as he smiled to himself smugly, knowing he had just gained something more valuable than just strength.

    "Thank you for taking care of me, master," Ester said after catching her breath as her body stopped shaking.

    Although the negative connotation had surrounded that word for her, as the Grand Empress had been her ''master'' before this young man, the term brought unexpected joy when saying it now.

    "It''s my honor, Lady Frost," Ryan said, looking up from where they were lying together on their sides before meeting her gaze again.

    "But to seal our pact, I must deposit my seed."

    "That''s fine. It will take a while, anyway. By the time you''re hard, I''ll be rea-"

    Ester froze, seeing Ryan drop his pants to the floor and pull out his erect, throbbing cock with one smooth motion.

    "How is that possible?" she gasped in disbelief, eyes wide as she gazed at his enormous member.

    Ryan smirked as he ran two fingers over its tip, coating them in pre-cum. He then reached between Ester''s legs and slid his fingers past her folds into her cunt where he stuck his pre-cum soaked fingers.

    Ester''s mind nked as she felt the most pleasurable experience of her life pulsate through her body.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was too much... the pressure inside of her was getting stronger...

    She began to feel herself get wetter and hotter inside... the room seemed to grow brighter... the air became heavy... She could feel something inside her head telling her to reach down to her clit... that if she did, it would all end right there and then...

    The moment her fingers wrapped around her swollen pearl, everything exploded. A powerful wave of orgasmic pleasure rushed through every inch of Ester''s body, making it impossible for her to control it. Then, as her knees buckled, she lost consciousness as well.

    As Ester faded into oblivion, she heard a deep chuckle from next to her, "Ahhh! It took longer than I thought, but you''re finally mine."

    Herst conscious thought before cking out was, ''What have I done?''

    ===

    Ester and Ryany in bed, soft silken sheets intertwined around their bodies.

    Ester yed with Ryan''s hair, curling it with her fingers

    "So," she asked, "how well do you know Duchess Vanroth?"

    Ryan looked at her quizzically, "Well, that''s an odd question here, of all ces. Do you want to bring the Duchess to bed?"

    Esterughed. "No, that is not what I was thinking."

    ''Although she does have a nice rack,'' Ester thought.

    "I just had an interesting conversation with the Duchess, and I thought you might like to know what she said."

    Ryan yawned, "That''s fine. I don''t need to know what she said. She''s invited me over, so I''m sure she''ll let me know."

    Ester sat up. "What? You can''t go over to her house!"

    "And why not," asked Ryan, turning on his side, leaning his head against his bent arm. "Is this you being jealous? It''s not a good look on you, sweety."

    Ester lightly smacked his shoulder. "You cad. I''m sure she would not go to bed with you anyway. She doesn''t like you."

    Ryan scoffed. "Is that a challenge?"

    "Not a challenge, a fact. Do you know that she has been watching you? Almost your every move?"

    "What do you mean?" Ryan also sat up and leaned against the leather headboard.

    "She has been following you, trying to keep you away from Emily. She also said that you''re not good enough for her daughter."

    "Oh, did she now?" Ryan said, chuckling.

    "Duchess Vanroth even saw what you were doing when you rescued Emily; apparently, that was your saving grace. That''s the only thing she likes about you."

    Ryanughed. "Honestly, I could care less. All that means is that she''s a busybody. She can watch me all she wants. Not like she''s the only one. I think that means she''s a bit of a voyeur.

    Ester snorted. "You would think that. It means she''s an overbearing mother trying to get you away from her daughter."

    "Well, thank you for the information. I don''t think it affects me one way or the other. I just need to get my egg back."

    "Your egg?"

    "Don''t worry about it. I had something the Duchess took away, and I need it back. That''s why she invited me over."

    "Well, don''t say I didn''t warn you. Now, please release me from your pce. I must attend to my duties."

 Chapter 118 A Test Of Loyalty

    Ryan exited the Frost General''s residence with a smile on his face.

    Although he didn''t meet with Mara, he had gained something far greater.

    ''Support of the most powerful human general? I''d say today was okay,'' Ryan thought, smirking.

    The Frost General was Ryan''s most powerful harem member by far, and although she was not as strong as the cat servants, she was a native of Ravier, which was more important right now.

    ''I still have to have the cat servants swear the oath,'' Ryan thought.

    After his fun with Ester, he had made her swear the oaths and officially be his 5th harem member. Luckily she needed him to remove her frosty constitution. Now that he had ranked up to D-Rank, he had 9 total slots which he could fill with any beauty he desired.

    ''Things are starting to look up for once,'' Ryan thought. ''Hopefully, I didn''t just jinx it...''

    Walking toward his dorm room, Ryan frowned, feeling another vibrationing from his wrist. ''This thing''s been zing up since the girls returned from the vige.''

    Ryan hadn''t bothered to check it, since he didn''t care about the academy at this point, but this was getting annoying.

    <Ryan, this is Duchess Vanroth. I''m sorry for missing our previous meeting. Pleasee and retrieve your egg.>

    <Ryan, I am formally inviting you to dinner. This is Duchess Vanroth, Emily''s mother.>

    <I''m sorry for ignoring you, okay? I didn''t mean to miss our previous meeting.>

    <You good for nothing man! How dare you ignore my messages!>

    <I''m sorry for my previous message. Please ignore it.>

    <I apologize, okay? Pleasee and see me.>

    <Ryan...>

    Ryan continued to scroll through the holographic messages, his eye twitching as he kept reading the woman''s ridiculous words.

    ''This woman can''t decide whether she wants me or hates me...''

    Shaking his head, Ryan replied to thetest message, saying, "Give me a time and ce."

    <Dinner will be held in three hours at the same location as our previous appointment>

    A message popped up almost immediately, making Ryan chuckle. ''Oh, she wants me.''

    ===

    Arriving back in his dorm room, Ryan swiftly activated his portal into his pce, this time entering the area with other people present.

    "Shade, Hannah, bring my people here," Ryan called, startling the duo.

    "Who do you mean, my Lord?" Shade asked.

    "All of them."

    A few minutester, Ryan''s servants, knights, and harem members lined up before him. ''Excluding my newly acquired frosty member,'' Ryan thought.

    Looking at his 4 harem members who stood in front, 15 knights who stood behind them, and 49 servants who were located in the very back, nodding his head.

    ''I am missing one more, but she''s doing something else,'' Ryan thought, remembering his first knight Velmuuth.

    "I have gathered you all here today because I have acquired some new abilities. Ones that will both benefit you and weed out those of you who wish me harm," Ryan said, in a loud andmanding tone.

    The people all stared nkly as he exined what he had acquired. "I have acquired an ability that allows us to train, gain levels, and build our strength. But to receive its benefits, you must all swear a new oath."

    "This new oath is mandatory and doesn''t ce any more restrictions on you, so I expect you all toply," Ryan said, looking over each person in the room.

    "Lizzy, Izzy, as my first harem members I wee you two with open arms," Ryan continued with a grin. "As your leader, friend, and lover, I would like for you to be the first to swear this oath. By swearing this oath, you agree not to betray me or cause harm to those I im as my own."

    "Do you swear?" Ryan asked, his voice booming inside his realm.

    Ryan activated his [Harem Oath] ability, and a prompt popped up in the sister''s visions.

    "We swear," they said in unison, not even hesitating.

    Ryan held his breath as he checked on their loyalty numbers.

    [Lizzy Argallod]

    [Loyalty: 87]

    --

    [Izzy Argallod]

    [Loyalty: 88]

    --

    ''Wow, those numbers are insane!'' Ryan eximed in his mind. ''Ester''s was only 72!''

    ''The heavens said that 0 was neutral, anything above 40 was liked, 60 was adored, 80 was loved, 90 was worshiped, and each rank above worshiped came with unique names and special bonuses for anyone who gained that level of loyalty.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''Does that mean Lizzy and Izzy are almost to the point that they worship me?'' Ryan thought, looking at the pair of sisters with newfound love.

    ''I do love those who love me...''

    Genuinely smiling, Ryan said, "Thank you, girls."

    As Lizzy and Izzy took their seats, Ryan called up Emily.

    Before Ryan could speak, Emily said, "I swear it, Ryan. I won''t let you regret the choice you made."

    Nodding in response, Ryan sent the prompt.

    Seeing the score pop up, Ryan rubbed his eyes, his jaw dropping, as he muttered, "Holy fuck."

    [Emily Vanroth]

    [Loyalty: 92]

    Emily blushed, hearing Ryan''s exmation, and scurried away to the back to Lizzy and Izzy.

    "Zoey," Ryan said, regaining hisposure.

    [Zoey Emerald]

    [Loyalty: 102]

    [Rank: Devoted Love]

    [Bonus: A Mother''s Adoration]

    Ryan almost curled over on the spot, but thankfully he had been prepared for the psycho bunny girl to have high loyalty. ''Someone who forces their partner to be pregnant both loves their partner and hates them in my book,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head. ''Still, this is a little over the top.''

    Advancing, Ryan cupped Zoey''s face in his own, whispering into her ear, "You''ve done well."

    [Loyalty: 103]

    Walking back to his original position, Ryan said, "Now for my knights."

    Fifteen cat warriors stood at attention in front of Ryan, 10 of which were women and 5 of which were men, including Shade.

    ''Maybe Grace''s mother was right, and the Grand Empress is doing something to the men on Ravier.''

    Ryan had found out from Shade and the rest of the men in the cat servant vige that while male cultivators were slightly scarcer than female cultivators in the multiverse, they still existed.

    "Do you wish to swear the oath?" Ryan asked.

    All of the knights bowed their heads, saying in unison. "We swear."

    "The oath," Ryan began again. "You swear to protect me above all else, even your life," he paused as he saw one of his soldiers grimace.

    Looking at him, Ryan smiled as he continued. "I will train with each of you, and we will fight together to improve myself as an individual and amander."

    Allowing a few moments for his words to sink in before continuing, "Your skills and abilities are superior inbat to mine at the moment. You might even feel superior to me in some ways," Ryan said, narrowing his eyes.

    "But I don''t care if you feel superior as long as you fight on my side and be my de. I don''t care if you hate me as long as you''re loyal. I will grant you power and riches. I will grant you these things and more, only if you follow me."

    "Now do you swear?!" Ryan asked, roaring.

    The knights stood frozen before Ryan, before Shade fell to his knee and shouted, "I swear!"

    One by one the knights did the same, Ryan receiving prompt after prompt.

    [Shade Xygar]

    [Loyalty: 76]

    --

    [Priya Xygar]

    [Loyalty 89]

    --

    [Jackson Xygar]

    [Loyalty -144]

    Ryan looked over the numbers and blinked, frowning. ''What''s this?'' He thought, seeing this Jackson''s loyalty so low.

    ''To have a number that low...''

    "What?" Jackson demanded, seeing Ryan looking at him. He started to back away, asking, "Why are you smiling like that?"

    "Because you have betrayed me," Ryan said, grinning maliciously.

 Chapter 119 There Are Traitors Among Us

    Jackson turned to run, but before he could move, a female burst out from the crowd and sliced his body in two, cutting him clean in half.

    Silence filled the courtyard as everyone looked at the figure standing with her bloodied de.

    Dropping to one knee, Priya shouted, "My apologies, my Lord, I acted without your consent. Please punish me."

    *p* *p* *p*

    "Well done," Ryan said, pping as he looked at the cleanly cut traitor''s corpse.

    ''I doubt there was a big plot, seeing as he was the only one with a low loyalty score,'' Ryan thought. ''Guess my instincts about the cat people were wrong.''

    "Now for my servants," Ryan continued. "Aside from Hannah, Diana, Kaitlyn, and Veronica, all of you step forward."

    "Now swear the oath," Ryan said, sending the prompts.

    With no surprises this time, everyone seemed much more cheery, especially since they saw Ryan in a good mood.

    "Now, Hannah, Diana, Kaitlyn, and Veronica, will you please step forward?"

    Hannah, the first to react, stepped forward with grace and elegance. She smiled brightly as she walked up to Ryan, took his hand, and ced it against her chest over her heart.

    "I swear," she said, her eyes sparkling with love and devotion.

    ''I forgot what she was!'' Ryan thought, remembering his guess on Hanna''s secret identity. ''Hopefully, a yandere will get some good bonus.''

    [Hannah Xygar]

    [Loyalty: 62]

    Ryan looked at the number in contemtion. ''Although this number seems alright, for a yandere prone to mood swings, this number might be a little low.''

    Hannah looked at Ryan, who wasn''t pleased with her score, and suddenly got nervous. "What''s wrong, Lord Ryan? Is my service not enough to satisfy you?"

    "Oh no," Ryan said quickly, holding his hands to stop her. "No one is ever displeased by your efforts."

    "But I haven''t tried hard enough..."

    [Loyalty: 34]

    "You''re doing well enough!" Ryan said quickly, waving his hand dismissively as he shook his head in disbelief.

    "Really?" Hannah said, hope filling her eyes.

    [Loyalty: 76]

    "Yes, now, Diana, can you please step up," Ryan said, ncing at Shade, who took his cue and took Hannah away.

    Diana stood before Ryan, taking hold of his hand and cing it over her heart. "I swear," she said solemnly. "I will protect and serve my master with everything I have. You are my hero and savior."

    Her words sounded good, but when Ryan saw her score, he lightly chuckled.

    [Diana Xygar]

    [Loyalty: 34]

    ''It''s to be expected,'' Ryan thought. ''As long as nobody is negative, I''ll consider it eptable.''

    [Kaitlyn Xygar]

    [Loyalty: 14]

    ''Borderline, but she doesn''t hate me,'' Ryan said, trying to find a reason not to throw everything into disarray.

    ''Kaitlyn was the first cat girl I met in the portal world, along with Diana. Although I would have expected Diana''s hostility toward me to be more than Kaitlyn''s, seeing as she was the one with the spear...''

    "Last up, we have Veronica Emerald," Ryan said to the previously named Milf.

    As Veronica stepped up and swore her oath, the environment suddenly changed, and the once calm and cheerful atmosphere suddenly became tense.

    Ryan activated his new ability granted to him by the Frost General, [Frosty atmosphere], to drop the temperature and turn everything frigid.

    "Veronica, what have you done?" Ryan said, his voice hollow and cold.

    Veronica stared wide-eyed at Ryan, her mouth tried to speak, but no sound came out of her lips. Her body trembled uncontrobly as she fell to the ground, her legs giving out.

    "How could I be so blind!" Ryan shouted angrily. "I gave you myst name. I gave into your desires for what?"

    "How could you do this, Veronica? Or should I even call you that? Should I go back to the name that Old Man gave you, Milf?"

    Veronica''s body shook from the cold as she tried to say something, but all she did was shiver violently on the stone floor.

    "My Lord," Shade said in a low whisper. "Please forgive my sister, and take my life in her stead."

    "And why should I do such a thing?!" Ryan roared, thunder crackling above him as he conquered a slight amount of the power avable to him inside his domain.

    Shade started to shake from the aura Ryan was giving off, coughing a bit of blood.

    The rest of the soldiers looked on, most drawing their des, some only looking at Shade and Veronica in sadness.

    Ryan turned to the crowd. "And you. You who just swore your oaths of loyalty to me, do you have no shame?"

    "Say one thing, do another?" Ryan shouted. "You who swore to follow mymands and protect me from my enemies would now turn your swords upon me?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The crowd looked at each other, one by one, their heads fell, and their swords dropped.

    Ryan drew his de and put the tip against Veronica''s neck.

    Shade, knowing he couldn''t do anything to Ryan while in his pce realm, pleaded with him, "Lord Emerald, please wait!"

    "Before you die, tell me why," Ryan said, ignoring the kneeling Shade.

    "Tell me why you betrayed me. Or was this your n from the start?" Ryan asked, a hint of sadness leaking into his tone.

    Veronica wept on the ground, her tears flowing into cracks in the frozen stone ground.

    Shade took hold of Ryan''s leg as his sister cried, trying to get Ryan to pull away from Veronica in a desperate attempt for her to live.

    "I... I''m sorry..." Veronica cried. "We never meant to hurt you. We just thought that-"

    Shade interrupted her sister, shouting, "It was my fault, my Lord. I am the one to me!"

    "No. It was me!" Hannah shouted, stepping forward and getting on both knees.

    "I was the one who convinced both of them," Hannah said, prostrating herself.

    "Tell me more," Ryan said coldly, still hovering his sword tip against Veronica''s throat.

    Hannah started crying as she continued to exin what had happened with the Dragon Empress.

    "It''s Yoko. She is a runaway from the Dragon Race''s main family branch. We were hired to return her," Hannah exined through her tears. "But things got messy when you bonded with her."

    Ryan stayed silent, listening to the story, and waited patiently for it to end.

    "I don''t know how I truly feel, but if the test says I''m against you, then I guess I deserve my fate," Veronica said, sniffling and wiping away some tears as they fell onto her cheek. "My savior... my lord... I''m sorry."

    Ryan grinned, pulling up her score one more time.

    [Veronica Emerald]

    [Loyalty: 107]

    [Bonus: Love through the pain]

    The icy aura suddenly vanished, and warmth filled the courtyard again. "Do not mistake this mercy for kindness," Ryan shouted.

    "I am not a kind ruler, only a fair one. Had her loyalty been negative, her corpse would lie headless on the ground. However, her loyalty is not in the negative and is the highest of any today."

    "Let this be a lesson to you all. Loyalty will be rewarded. Even if you make mistakes," Ryan said, looking at Veronica.

    He turned his gaze to Shade and Hannah. "You two are on probation until your loyalties reach the same level as Veronica''s," Ryan said. "Now, is there anything else I should know about?"

    Shade and Hannah looked at each other before Shade spoke. "Yes, my Lord. We lied about two things."

    "And they are?" Ryan asked with a raised brow.

    "The first is we lied about the contract the Old Man had us under. No such contract exists in the Multiverse, none that is foolproof."

    ''Besides the first one''s blood contract,'' Shade thought.

    "And the second?"

    "We can visit non-Multiverse worlds, although our power will be significantly reduced," Shade said, lowering his head.

    ''Knew it,'' Ryan thought, clenching his fists in celebration. ''This improves my chances, even if their power is delepted.''

    "How much is it reduced?" Ryan asked, crossing his fingers behind his back.

    "We are reduced to 5% of our energy."

    ''Ah well, it was worth a shot,'' Ryan thought.

    "Now, my new brethren, everyone before me are now my people. I swear I will bring you power and glory or die trying."

    "But to get that power requires hard training," Ryan said, a smile slowly forming on his face.

    "That is why I present the tower of training."

    It appeared as a massive set of pirs rising from the ground into the clouds. The outside was made of white stone embedded with reflective ss. It shone like a beacon of light.

    Ryan pointed to the tower. "Inside this tower, not only can you learn the knowledge and secrets of the Multiverse as I increase in rank, every hour you spend training inside awards you with a certain amount of energy depending on your rank."

    Ryan waved his hand, and the tower description appeared for all to see.

    [Overlord''s Harem Tower of Training]

    [Description: A tower designed for an Overlord and his harem to gain the necessary knowledge to survive and rule over the Multiverse.]

    Gasps and murmurs broke out over the crowd. Ryan activated his [Harem Oath] ability to look at the people''s loyalty levels and saw a few increases.

    "This will be avable 24/7, and I encourage all to participate, although only four hours a day is required for knights who are not serving in missions," Ryan said, seeing the looks of appreciation and a few increases in loyalty at his exmation.

    "Now that that''s settled, Shade, Hannah, and Dianna, I have a task for you..."

 Chapter 120 Green-Haired Bimbo

    Leaving his pce, Ryan returned to his bedroom to see Grace lying on his bed, still sleeping from the grief she was experiencing after losing her mother and the vige.

    "I wish I could say it gets easier," Ryan muttered. "But I''d be lying."

    Exiting his dorm room, Ryan headed toward Le Booty.

    Ever since Ester had killed the two people following Ryan, he had periodically checked to see if the military had sent more people after him, but as far as Ryan could tell, there was no one.

    Stopping to check one more time, Ryan felt two auras enter his domain. This time, however, they were too strong to detect.

    ''Looks like they brought out the big guns,'' Ryan thought.

    Walking directly to the front of the line, Ryan only nced at the waitress, seemingly prepared for him, and bowed as he passed.

    ''Having friends does have some benefits. But having friends with benefits is better.''

    Entering the same elevator as his previous trip here, Ryan was about to close the door when he heard, "Wait!"

    A gorgeous green-haired beauty wearing a white dress stepped into the elevator just before the doors closed. The girl looked at Ryan, saying, "Sorry about that."

    As the woman politely nodded and moved to the side opposite Ryan, he couldn''t help but notice how herrge breasts shook with each movement.

    She wore white high heels, which also entuated her sizable buns.

    "Oops!" Abruptly the woman cried out and tripped over her high heels, crashing into the elevator buttons.

    [Emergency Stop Engaged]

    A loud siren red, and the elevator screeched to a halt.

    Slowly rising from the floor, the woman sheepishly said, "I''m so sorry."

    Ryan shrugged, "idents happen."

    Ryan had never tried wearing high heels, but Aliza said it was the hardest thing she''d ever done besides cultivating.

    ''I still never understood what she meant by cultivating,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

    ''Probably just another coincidence.''

    Coming out of his thoughts, Ryan asked, "Do you know how long this thing will be stopped?"

    Watching the woman shake her head, Ryan sighed and decided to chat up the prettydy since he had nothing else to do.

    "My name''s Ryan," he introduced himself with a smile. "And you are...?"

    The woman smiled and extended her hand, saying, "Jessica."

    "Nice to meet you, Jessica." Taking the woman''s slender fingers in his own, Ryan added, "I hope you''re not hurt."

    "Oh, no, it didn''t hurt!" She eximed. "I don''t think I''ve ever fallen like that before!"

    "No, you don''t look like the kind of woman who often trips in front of a man."

    Looking at Jessica closely, Ryan realized that she wasn''t wearing any makeup. Aside from being tall, blessed with bountiful plump assets, and having luscious green hair, there was something familiar about Jessica he couldn''t quite put his finger on.

    Ryan turned to look at the panel on the elevator. "Let me see if I can do something to get us out of here."

    Jessica pulled back his arm. "Oh, you don''t need to worry your beautiful head about that. Just let the people who run the elevator worry about that."

    Ryan looked at Jessica quizzically, "What do you mean by that?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Oh," she tittered and pped his shoulder. "I just mean with someone who looks like you," she squeezed his biceps," with all the strength and brawn." She put her hand on his chest to feel his pecs. "I mean, you don''t have to use that pretty head of yours."

    Ryan tried to back up, but unfortunately, there was nowhere to go. So finally, he gave a little side step to signal his difort.

    He snorted. "You do know that men can be both strong and smart."

    Jessica tittered. "You''re so cute when you talk like that. I love that you believe that."

    Ryan closed his eyes and gave his head a little shake. ''A lion does not worry about the bites of fleas.''

    "I mean," Jessica continued, batting her eyes, "why would you want to waste any of that muscle power by trying to figure out something as ridiculous as a little stuck elevator?"

    She licked her lips. "After all, there are more important things to figure out."

    "Oh yeah," Ryan leaned back against the cold metal of the elevator wall, "like what?"

    Jessica curled her hair around her finger and looked him up and down.

    "Well, first off, I''m sure someone like you could benefit by having someone like me on your side backing you up?"

    "Interesting,'''' said Ryan, realizing his jaw was beginning to hurt from clenching his teeth.

    "Well," she gave a littleugh. "I know I''m beautiful, but that''s beside the point," she said, running her hands up and down her body.

    "But also, I have a lot of money and power that someone like you, I''m sure, would be pleased to have at your side." A satisfied smile lingered on her face as if waiting for shouts of appreciation toe from Ryan.

    Ryan said sarcastically, "So you''re saying I should sit and look pretty for you, and you will support me and be my sugar mamma?"

    Jessica shivered in delight. "Doesn''t that sound lovely? You could even move in with me. You don''t have to do one single little thing with that cute head of yours. All you have to do is please me and use those muscles, taking care of all my needs." Her face flushed, her eyebrows wiggled and she pouted her mouth for a kiss.

    Suddenly the elevator jolted; Jessica gave a little screech and fell back, her butt nting on the floor. The doors slid open, and Ryan stalked out.

    "Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Jessica begged. "Aren''t you going to help me up?"

    Outside the elevator, Ryan pushed the down button and, not even looking at Jessica, said, "Let me think about it. I''ll get back to you."

    ''What a crazy woman. I''m sure that line works on some people, but it sure doesn''t work on me. How dare she think that I''m just a nobody who looks good. I mean, I do look good, but really, she''s too much!''

    He slid open the doors to the private event room and faced an empty table.

    He shook his head. "Where is that woman?" ''If only I hadn''t run into shabby sugar mamma today, I could''ve gotten Yoko back!''

    He ran from the room down the stairwell. ''Maybe I just missed the Duchess.'' He stopped at one of the floors and sent a message to the Duchess.

    <Sorry I missed you. I got held up. I got stuck in the elevator with some bizarre, green-haired bimbo. Are you still in the building?>

    He waited a minute with no reply.

    <Let me know when we can meet up again. I really would like the egg.>

    Meanwhile, too embarrassed to move, lying on the elevator floor, Jessica sighed, ''What did I do wrong? He should be begging me for my attention right now.''

    Just then, a message popped up. <Sorry I missed you. I got held up...>

    "Bimbo!" The Duchess cried, "He thought I was a bimbo? Now I''m really embarrassed!"

    "Does this mean he turned down my offer?"

 Chapter 121 The Conspiracy

    Ryan started to return to his dorm room with a frown on his face, deep in thought.

    ''I can''t catch a break when ites to this egg. Yoko''s the daughter of a runaway ruler of the Multiverse, one of the big 7 races, and now I don''t even have contact with her. I wonder why a person would even run away from their family.''

    ''I wish I had a family,'' Ryan shook his head.

    [New Message From: Harem Knight Velmuuth]

    Having turned on his messages to disy automatically, Ryan jolted when the notification appeared in his vision. ''Real smooth, Ryan.''

    Clicking to view the prompt, Ryan grinned, seeing the three-word message.

    [I have returned.]

    Assuming she was in his dorm room, Ryan quickened his pace.

    ===

    shback to outside the Dawn Pavilion before Ryan''s trip to the portal realm...

    "Velmuuth," Ryan said, looking at his newly acquired knight.

    "Yes, my Lord?"

    "How do you think the Zol''Gan Empire would react if they heard about me?"

    "What exactly do you mean, my Lord?" Velmuuth asked, tilting her head.

    "If they learned a human overlord swore an oath to destroy the Kheaweth Empire and is currently bedding two of their princesses. How would they react?"

    A smirk appeared on Velmuuth''s chiseled face. "I''d say the Empress would dere you a national hero, seeing as we hate the Kheaweth Empire and the Holy Alliance almost as much as you."

    "Why?"

    "It''s a long story, but the short version is that the four original Empress''s of the Holy Alliance attacked and fatally injured our original Empress, Lady Zol''Gan."

    "Was there a reason?"

    "If there was, it''s not well known."

    Nodding, Ryan told Velmuuth his n. "I want you to set up a meeting between myself and Lizzy and Izzy''s mother."

    "You won''t regret this, my Lord," Velmuuth said enthusiastically.

    "Alright, go meet up with your team."

    ===

    Back to the present...

    Ryan entered his dorm room and found Velmuuth waiting for him in front of therge window in the corner of his room, her back against the wall so that she could look out into the night sky. She looked over her shoulder, hearing Ryan enter.

    "My Lord!" Velmuuth said, inclining her head.

    Ryan waved his hand dismissively and said, "Let''s get down to business. Please take a seat."

    The two sat on opposite couches facing each other, and Velmuuth waited patiently until Ryan began to speak. "How did the trip to Zol''Gan Empire go?"

    Velmuuth cleared her throat. "Everything went perfectly, my Lord. The Empress agreed to your request. But, unfortunately, the earliest she can meet is three weeks from today due to unchangeable circumstances."

    "That''s fine. It seems nothing will happen until the wedding anyway," Ryan muttered.

    "The Grand Prince''s wedding, my Lord?"

    "You know about it?"

    "Everyone knows about it, my Lord. It''s the most important news the Four Great Empires has had in decades."

    "Then, can you tell me what you know about it?" Ryan asked curiously.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What exactly do you want to know about it?" Velmuuth answered, still sitting rigidly on the edge of the couch as if waiting for an attack from an unknown enemy.

    Ryan mused, "Let''s just say something seems off."

    Velmuuth nodded, "It''s funny you should say that because that''s what my squad thinks too."

    "The wedding should have never happened. No one knows why the Grand Empress, the real head of the Kheaweth Empire, would trade her precious grandson to the Ice General."

    Velmuuth continued, "Although the Frost General is strong, the Holy alliance isn''t as tight-knit as they would want you to believe. They are different from what their name suggests, they have rivalries with each other all the time, but it never esctes to anything significant."

    Ryan nodded without a word.

    Getting permission to continue, Velmuuth exined, "Obtaining a marriage to a direct descendant of the Kheaweth Empire would make the Alliance side in Kheaweth''s favor since there are only two other alliance members."

    "You mean the Red Dragon Empire and the Holy Phoenix Empire?" Ryan asked.

    Velmuuth nodded, "Yes."

    Ryan asked another question, "Then why is the wedding happening?"

    Velmuuth answered, "Do you remember how I told you that the Holy Alliance is controlling the Dawn Pavilion?

    Seeing Ryan''s silent agreement, Velmuuth continued, "Several years ago, Grand Empress Kheaweth offered to buy the remaining shares of the Dawn Pavilion from the other alliance members for an astronomical sum. When she was rejected, the alliance fell into disarray as things became very tense. We believe Empress Kheaweth is spiteful and would marry her grandson to gain favor with her most prestigious and highest-ranked general rather than marry him to one of the alliance members.

    Ryan frowned, thinking, ''Although that theory makes sense, there''s no way a highly intelligent cultivator would throw away such an excellent opportunity to gain the advantage in their turbulent Alliance.''

    ''Could Grace''s mother be right, and this is an attempt to take over the Dawn Pavilion? And what does this have to do with me?''

    Ryan broke his silence and looked up at Velmuuth, "Can you tell me about this wedding tournament?"

    Velmuuth nodded, "It used to be a tradition long ago. It''s Inspired by medieval times in the Fantasy World. The-"

    Ryan interrupted, "I hear about this Fantasy World a lot. What is it exactly?"

    Velmuuth grinned, "The Fantasy World is like a portal spell, but it happens in a dream. For example, high-ranking cultivators, when they rank up to A-Rank or higher, they have a chance to fall into this deep trance-like state thatsts years, but in reality, it happens in a blink of an eye.

    "Some manage to have Enlightenment from the heavens and are transported to the Fantasy World inside their mind."

    Ryan asked, "Why is it called the Fantasy World?"

    Velmuuth answered, "We can ess the realm in some fashion, but it contains no energy, so it''s not exactly real. The people inside are likely figments of our imagination; at least, that''s what everyone believes."

    "Alright, let''s get back on topic," Ryan said, anxious to hear more.

    "The tournament will determine the true groom of the Frost General''s daughter. Since no one would dare beat the Prince, it''s just a way for the Kheaweth Empire to show its power," Velmuuth said.

    ''Unless they happened to brainwash someone to beat the Grand Prince,'' Ryan thought and asked, "What would happen if someone were to beat the Prince?"

    Velmuuth paused, tapping her chin. "That person would probably die on the spot. Then war would break out against the kingdom that dared do such a thing."

    ''Great,'' Ryan thought, ''just great.''

    His mind went to memories of Protocol Z, where he had been instructed to remember the first five years of his life. Ryan thought it unlikely that the Human Empire would want to kill him if he won.

    ''But then, what is their goal?''

    Noticing Ryan''s sad look, Velmuuth thought that Ryan was confused about why no war would break out.

    She exined, "Weddings on Ravier aren''t so much about love; they are about alliances."

    "If someone were to defeat the Grand Prince and take the Frost General''s daughter as his own, that would be paramount to saying they are now allied with the Frost General."

    Ryan rified, "You said Grand Empress Kheaweth was interested in taking over the other portions of the Dawn Pavilion? Does that mean someone else also owns a portion?"

    Velmuuth nodded, "The Holy Alliance members own 90% of the organization''s profits. But Aurora owns everything. She just can''t move it. At least that''s the rumor."

 Chapter 122 Cheap Change For A God Like Me

    Mulling over the information he had received, Ryan concluded, ''Once I take over the Kheaweth Empire, I might be able to take over the Dawn Pavilion. If that were the case, I would truly have the resources to conquer Ravier.''

    The thought of him being the ruler of a gave Ryan orgasmic pleasure, making him shudder in delight.

    But he still had to do it and at least finish conquering the human empire within the first ten years.

    ''Stupid me and my loud mouth,'' Ryan thought, thinking about his oath.

    Ryan decided his next goal should be to gain strength and research the Dawn Pavilion. ''What better way than to check out the BCN?''

    Concluding his thoughts, Ryan decided to fill in Velmuuth on everything that had happened since they parted ways.

    "You mean that you somehow ended up on a portal world with a testing sight for an inheritance?" Velmuuth asked, shocked.

    "That isn''t even the most frightening part. I also got a n of cat people who agreed to be my servants. Oh, that reminds me, say this oath."

    [Velmuuth Knight]

    [Loyalty: 100]

    [Bonus: A Knights Honor]

    Ryan had been shocked by a few loyalty levels, but he felt this one made sense. ''Velmuuth takes her word very seriously. If she didn''t want to serve me, she wouldn''t have sworn an oath.''

    "Like I told my other servants, knights, and harem members. Anyone with a loyalty level of 100 or higher can be promoted when I receive other ranks in my specialty. Also, anyone with a loyalty level of 125 or higher can take Emerald as theirst name, receiving the prestige it will one day bring," Ryan said, sharing the [Loyalty: 100] prompt with Velmuuth.

    "Wow, this is an exceedingly rare ability!" Velmuuth eximed. "I''ve only heard of three people possessing such abilities, and they were all killed for fear of them bing too strong."

    "Is it that good?" Ryan asked, scratching his head. ''This isn''t even in my top 5.''

    Velmuuth nodded emphatically. "Yes! ording to our ranking system, this is ssified as an S-Rank ability."

    "Abilities have ranks?"

    "Yes and no," Velmuuth said. "They don''t have official ranks but unofficial ones, at least on Ravier."

    "What is the highest rank for abilities on Ravier?"

    "It''s the same as cultivation, SSS-Rank, but no one has achieved either in cultivation or in an official or unifacial ability/specialty rank."

    "Good to know," Ryan said, mentally shouting, ''Who''s the best? Ryan! Who''s the coolest? Ryan! Who has the only SSS-Rank ability? You do!''

    Coughing Ryan broke out of his self-reverie once he started coughing from holding backughter. He had just realized that he was still a nobody and hadn''t even taken the first step to dominating the human empire, let alone the Multiverse. ''Just you wait; I''ll show everyone who they''re messing with.''

    "Are you alright, my Lord?" Velmuuth asked in concern.

    ''Hm, yes, I''m fine. But, say Velmuuth, I''ll take a trip to the Dawn Pavilion shortly, but you can rx and train inside my pce. Oh, you haven''t been inside. Let me show you," Ryan said, ignoring her question, eager to get off the topic.

    ===

    After spending an hour showing Velmuuth the training tower, which she reacted to like a kid in a candy store, Ryan decided he needed to buy something to disguise his appearance and aura before going to the Dawn Pavilion.

    ''I''m d sses were canceled since most of the enhancers died in the portal realm, so I don''t have to wait to go to the Dawn Pavilion and can spend a good amount of time training in the BCN and tower,'' Ryan thought.

    Ryan desperately needed to get stronger before the wedding since he still didn''t know if he was helpful to the human empire or would be killed directly after the wedding.

    ''As long as I can''t go against an empire alone, I need to train every spare second.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    He also had to somehow orchestrate the downfall of what Ryan slowly realized was the most powerful empire on Ravier, all within ten years.

    Heading to the campus store, Ryan meandered through the isles, frowning. ''None of these do jackshit!''

    Finally, Ryan asked an attendant, "Do you have anything better?"

    "What do you mean by better, sir?" the young woman asked in confusion.

    "Better than this shit! These cloaks don''t even hide aura''s from an F-Rank!"

    "Why would you need to hide an aura, sir?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

    Blinking, Ryan remembered that he was a man on a that didn''t have female cultivators. ''Being around those cat servant warriors made me lose focus,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

    "It''s for a friend, miss," Ryan said, putting on a fake smile.

    "Oh, of course, Sir, apologies," the attendant replied, bowing deeply. "Pleasee to the back for our exclusive collection. However, they are all bought in Heavenly Credits... I don''t know if-" the attendant drawled, looking at Ryan with a raised brow.

    "Yes, that''s fine," Ryan said, nodding. ''Not like I have that many campus credits anyway.''

    Venturing into the back of the store, Ryan saw an extravagant selection of clothes, including several ck cloaks and hoods.

    The quality looked impressive too, and the craftsmanship seemed exceptionally well done.

    "These are some of the best items we offer, sir."

    "Thank you," Ryan said, picking out three different cloaks in various sizes, one pair of gloves, four pairs of shoes, a bag, and a weapon belt to go over it all.

    ''Might as well stock up while I''m here,'' Ryan thought, seeing these cloaks could hide auras from anyone A-Rank or below.''

    "Sir, those are our most expensive items. I''m not sure you can afford those," the attendantmented. "Oh, but there is this cloak which is more affordable."

    Ryan frowned, noticing that the attendant had brought him the least expensive item.

    "You know what? I''ll take two more cloaks," Ryan said, watching the attendant''s face twitch.

    "Okay, sir," the woman said, smiling smugly. "That will be a total of 1.25 Heavenly Credits."

    "I''m sorry, how much?" Ryan asked, thinking he had heard wrong.

    "I knew it. You''re just a poser. A loser who pretends to have money but nothing to back it up," she spat.

    "1.25, is it? Here take your money and be gone, filthy beast!" Ryan said, epting the prompt he had gotten when he touched the clothes.

    Hearing the *Ding* of a sessful purchase, the woman''s face went white, and she stuttered, "H-How?!"

    Exiting the store, Ryan didn''t bother turning around, saying, "Cheap change for a god like me."

    Dawning the cloak, Ryan also purchases a new flying sword, although not one that is all that shy since he wants to avoid standing out. ''I want to... fly under the radar,'' Ryan chuckled.

    Heading to the administration building, Ryan applied for a two-week leave from campus. The people there were skeptical but couldn''t refuse him since all leaves were allowed for enhancers while sses were canceled.

    Stepping out of the campus grounds, Ryan paused and used his bloodline to check for any people following him.

    Sensing no one, Ryan began his journey toward the Dawn Pavilion and the BCN.

 Chapter 123 A Dragon Girl?

    "Come get your cumquats! Cumquats for sale!"

    "You idiot, it''s kumquats!"

    "You''re the idiot, I''m not selling a fruit."

    Arriving near a different Dawn Pavilion from his previous visit, Ryan heard the bustle of merchants eagerly selling their various products.

    This Dawn Pavilion was located in a remote city that would likely never have had the opportunity to catch his radar if it was not for the Pavilion being located here.

    Looking at the numerous stalls, Ryan could tell that the atmosphere seemed odd for a remote city. ''Is someone important in town?'' Ryan thought.

    Sure enough, a secondter, the sound of hoofs and someone shouting, "Make way for the Baroness''s daughter! Make way!"

    Ryan turned to see a giant wagon pulled by four horses speeding through the streets. It had tattered curtains and a filthy canopy overtop with only a single hole to peer out.

    The wagon appeared to have been salvaged from the garbage before having its body painted ck in an attempt to hide what it looked like underneath the paint job. The horse harnesses were dirty, too, and held no bridles or reins. Instead, ropes dangled loosely, barely holding on as the horses galloped down the road.

    Not bothering to stop, the wagon plowed through the crowd like a meat truck through a group of vegans.

    "Move out of the way, peasants. Nobility is here!"

    Ryan watched the wagon pass with a frown on his face. Most of the people she ran over were men, and Ryan had grown to think of himself as the guardian of men on Ravier, who would free them from the chastity cages the Grand Empress had put them in. ''I will free you and get revenge, my brothers,'' Ryan swore in his heart.

    If there was one thing Ryan took seriously, it was manhood.

    After a few more minutes of walking, Ryan looked at a set of familiarrge ss doors connected to avish building. Water features, marble columns, gilded sculptures, and rich gems decorated the ornate building. ''Looks exactly like the other location,'' Ryan thought.

    Entering the doors, Ryan wasn''t stopped by security guards likest time. Instead, he only saw a sleeping receptionist behind a counter.

    "Uh, hello?" Ryan asked, wondering if he had somehow gone to the wrong location.

    "Huh?!" Jolting away, the receptionist looked around, her bleary eyes trying to find the noise source.

    Fixating on Ryan, the receptionist gave a pout and proceeded to go back to sleep.

    Feeling his eyebrow twitch, Ryan stalked toward the desk and mmed his fist next to the secretary, shouting, "Wake up!"

    Leaping out of her chair, the secretary stared wide-eyed at Ryan. "What was that?!"

    "What was what?" Ryan looked around questioningly.

    The secretary opened and closed her mouth like a fish trying to suck in oxygen, unable to form aeback.

    "Anyway, I''m looking to register for the BCN," Ryan said, ignoring the baffled look the secretary was giving him.

    "Uh... okay," the secretary mumbled, starting to type on aputer-esque device in front of her. "I''ll need your pseudonym and how much you would like to charge."

    Ryan thought for a second before smiling. "Name me 2Fast2ForU," Ryan said, remembering his old username back on earth.

    ''Aliza always said I needed to change it, but I know she loved it,'' Ryan thought, remembering the good ol'' days.

    "And the charge will be... the highest amount possible."

    ===

    Seeing Ryan disappear into the heavenly space to prepare for his client, the secretary muttered, "What a dick."

    After thinking for a second, the secretary''s grin turned malicious as she thought, ''He didn''t specify what type of client he was looking for... maybe that man meant he wanted to book people in advance for three years?''

    ''No,'' she shook her head. ''He would catch on after the first hour. Then I''d be out of a job.

    ''What about...'' chuckling, she thought, ''I got it.''

    ===

    Dragoness Amanda Kaigo entered one of the many Dawn Pavilions inside the Red Dragon Empire with an excited expression. ''I''ve been waiting for weeks for my appointment with Tom Middleton! Finally, finally, my time hase!'' she thought, eager for her appointment with her first-ever enhancer.

    Usually, cultivators/enhancers didn''t need to go to the Dawn Pavilion for appointments, as they could pay a fee to have themselves teleported from their original location. Still, since Amanda was so eager to meet with Tom Middleton, she had used up all her money to buy an advanced opening, meaning she needed more to pay the transportation fee.

    "I''m here for an enhancer appointment," the silver-haired beauty said to the receptionist.

    "Name?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Amanda Kaigo."

    The receptionist looked at her monitor and then shook her head. "I''m sorry, honey. Tom Middleton had to cancel. You should have been notified on your heavenly screen and received a refund yesterday."

    Shocked, Amanda quickly opened her heavenly screen to check her notifications. "Oh no!"

    The receptionist was right.

    "Would you like to view our avable listings?" the receptionist asked, looking at the disheartened Amanda.

    "What''s the point? It''s not like any of them will be within my price range," Amanda grumbled, knowing that real-time enhancers were the most expensive.

    "Actually," the receptionist said, raising a brow. "There''s a D-Rank enhancer avable for the minimum life price, which is just within your price range."

    Shocked, Amanda whirled around. "Are you serious?!"

    Seeing the secretary''s nod, Amanda said, "I''ll take it!"

    ===

    A few minutes ago...

    Ryan felt the familiar sensation of teleportation whisk his body away to a new location.

    [Temporary Buff Gained: Unlimited Stamina]

    [Description: No amount of y will tire you.]

    --

    [Temporary Buff Gained: Blissful Cultivation]

    [Description: Receive pleasure feedback equal to output.]

    Gaining two buffs as he entered the new heavenly space, Ryan felt the changes almost immediately.

    It felt like he had chugged two cans of Redbull, downed three Adderall, and swallowed six Viagra.

    "Woooo, what a rush!" Ryan screamed, feeling every bit of fatigue disappear from him and be reced with a jolt of energy. "Time to fuck some bitches!"

    Almost immediately after shouting, Ryan received a notification.

    [Buyer Alert!]

    [Name: Purple-Tail]

    [Race: Dragon]

    [Buyer Rank: 0]

    [Cultivation Rank: D-Rank]

    [ept / Decline]

    "Fuck, I''m going to have sex with a dragon chick?!" Ryan said, screaming as his energy-filled brain rapidly processed and his cock swelled.

    ''Please be humanoid! please be humanoid!'' Ryan thought, hitting ept.

    ''Please be humanoid! please be humanoid!'' Ryan thought, hitting ept and activating his aura in anticipation.

    A crack in space opened beside him before a powerful wave of bliss shot out of it. The iing waves mmed into Ryan''s body, causing his muscles to tingle like millions of tiny needles stabbing them while his mind exploded like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

    ''Not good!'' Ryan thought, frantically turning off his aura.

    Gasping for breath, Ryan panted, looking at the beauty before him.

    Silver hair, magical blue eyes, and a body so good Ryan was tempted to pounce on her right then, and there appeared before his eyes.

    She had red wings, two horns on either side of her head, and a thick purple dragon tail connected to her plump buttocks.

    "H-H-Hello," Amanda said, flustered from Ryan''s release of his aura.

 Chapter 124 The Dragoness Virginity [R-18]

    "H-H-Hello," Amanda said, flustered from Ryan''s release of his aura.

    "I''m Purple-tail. Nice to meet you," Amanda said, saying her pseudonym.

    Ryan nodded as he nced around the room. In the center of the room sat an immense king-sized mattress with no bed frame or pillows, just pure white sheets covering it to its edges like clouds over mountains.

    Besides the bed, the room was sparse, but Ryan only needed the bed for what he had nned next.

    "Since you''re a paying customer, I will give you two options," Ryan said. "Either I pump you full of my cum, and we can move on with our days. Or..."

    "I can make you a writhing mess of pleasure," Ryan said confidently.

    Amanda looked at him questioningly before replying. "Um... I don''t know. This is my first time," Amanda said, biting her lip.

    "You''re a virgin?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.

    Seeing her nod, Ryan said, "Well then, I''ll be gentle."

    Ryan advanced toward the woman before him, noticing that she was blushing furiously.

    The closer he got to her, the more aroused Amanda became until she finally reached up and grabbed onto the back of his head, pulling him down into an embrace.

    "Mmm," Amanda moaned into his ear. "I''ve wanted this for so long," she whispered.

    Ryan smiled into her ears and kissed them gently.

    "Good girl," he said with a chuckle, moving away from her and taking off his pants while still mid-stride. He tossed his pants and boxers to the floor as he continued walking forward.

    As Ryan neared the bed, the dragoness'' body shivered.

    "Now,e here," Ryan said, getting excited as he approached the bed.

    Hearing him approach, Amanda stepped out of her shoes, pulled off a ck thong, and removed the rest of her clothes before cing everything on a nearby chair.

    "Lay on the bed," Ryanmanded.

    Without hesitating, Amanda climbed onto the massive mattress like a cat would climb a tree trunk.

    Biting his lip, Ryan stared at his wriggling prey.

    "Is your tail controble?" Ryan asked curiously, seeing how the tip swayed like a snake''s.

    "It responds to my emotions," came a muffled reply.

    "Then let''s make it dance."

    Ryan leaped forward, diving below her and wrapping his arms around her legs before pulling her ass onto his face.

    "Ah!" Amanda yelped before instinctually thrusting her hips down toward his waiting tongue.

    "You can move freely now," Ryan said, panting between licks. "But try not to get toofortable," he added with augh, reaching up with one hand to pinch one of the dragoness'' plump cheeks while she gyrated on top of him.

    The dragoness squealed as she felt a sharp pain shoot through her sensitive body, causing her to twitch as she quickly turned away from him and ced both hands on his chest for bnce.

    "That hurt?" Ryan teased before blowing hot air over her clit.

    "Ooohhh..." the dragoness moaned loudly, wiggling back and forth.

    "I know I said I''d be gentle, but..." Ryan said in a yful tone before giving her ass another hard squeeze that caused the dragoness to cry loudly. "I''d rather be rough."

    Seeing his expression, Amanda closed her eyes and nodded.

    "Please do anything you want to me," she pleaded. "Anything at all."

    "Good girl," he whispered into her ear. He kissed and nibbled on her ears before pulling away and moving upward until he was on top of her.

    "Oh!" Amanda gasped when she saw hisrge cock. She looked down at it and smiled before looking up into his dark green eyes.

    "Come here," Ryan said as he wrapped his arm around the dragoness'' shoulders. "You''re going to get fucked tonight."

    "What?" Amanda asked, blushing furiously again. "Why?"

    Ryanughed as he bit and sucked her breasts like a starving man would eat a juicy steak while his hand rubbed her clit.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You are such a prude," Ryan scoffed yfully.

    The dragoness moaned and pressed herself harder against his hand.

    "That''s not fair," she pouted in annoyance. "My life is being destroyed by my husband, who keeps taking more lovers than I have fingers and toes!"

    "I thought you said you were a virgin?"

    "I am!"

    "Then that''s the problem!" Ryan said, rolling his eyes as he continued his y.

    "I don''t enjoy sex! It''s not my fault!"

    "Then why does your pussy taste so good? Why do you feel so hot between your legs?"

    "I...I..."

    "Your face says it all. You want this."

    "No, no, no. That doesn''t mean anything," Amanda replied weakly.

    Ryan stopped his hand from rubbing her sensitive spot and ced two fingers inside her.

    "Ah!" Amanda cried out.

    "Are we clear now?" Ryan asked as he put another finger in her. "You''ve been wanting to get fucked since we met."

    Amanda bit her lip before nodding slowly.

    "Good girl," Ryan said with a smile. He removed his hands and slid his cock down her body until his tip pressed against the dragoness''s wet slit. The dragoness'' lips quivered and twitched.

    "Let''s see how far you can take me," he whispered into her ear while grinding against her opening.

    Amanda looked at him curiously before moaning, taking him into her warm, moist depths.

    She could hear his chuckles as she pulled back, only to be pushed forward again, burying himself deeper in her hot, tight pussy.

    She began bouncing on hisp, feeling every inch of his rock-hard shaft push through the small barrier between them until it finally pierced the dragoness'' tunnel and sank deep within her.

    "Nnnnngh," Amanda moaned softly, arching her back slightly when Ryan''s balls pressed firmly against the soft skin around her asshole. She continued to bounce, but now a bit faster and harder.

    "That''s right," Ryan moaned happily as he gripped the sides of the bed for support. "You''re getting what you deserve."

    His eyes closed as he imagined theirbined essence oozing from his dick like syrup over the walls of her dripping hole.

    "Ahh!" Amanda screamed as her ass pped onto his crotch with each thrust.

    Ryan grunted in satisfaction as he felt the dragoness'' wet pussy squeeze tighter and tighter around him with every passing moment. The dragoness was hotter than a burning me inside and out!

    He didn''t know how much more he could take before blowing a load that would shake the earth.

    So instead, he did what came naturally--he reached up with one hand to pinch her plump cheeks, which caused the woman to scream louder, buck harder, and send shivers of pleasure throughout her entire body.

    Her nails dug into the sheets beneath her, and she yelped when she looked down to see two red lines left behind by Ryan''s fingertips.

    The dragoness had no idea why she wanted this man or needed his seed. She just knew she''d been craving something she couldn''t quite describe since her husband started cheating on her, and it became impossible for her to stand his constant phndering.

    She never realized until now how desperate she truly was until Ryan entered her life and made her feel whole again...even if only temporarily.

    But getting fucked by this stranger, Amanda knew this wasn''t a dreame true, it was an experience of a lifetime. It was the greatest day of her life.

    "Ohhhhhh!" Amanda screamed as a fireball exploded between her legs and began racing through the rest of her body.

    "Yes!" Ryan shouted as he felt the dragoness'' pussy grip tightly around his shaft, milking his cum like thousands of hungry mouths waiting in line at his tip.

    "That''s right! Take my cock! Make me explode inside your hot little pussy! Ohhh yeah! Yes! That''s it! Take it! Squeeze it! Fucking squeeze it! Don''t stop squeezing it! Mmmm fuck! Yes yes yes yes yes..."

    He gasped for air before mming himself hard against her hips, causing them both to moan loudly before falling onto the mattress with a loud thud.

 Chapter 125 SS-Rank... In What?

    After Ryan finished inside Amanda, she was teleported to a separate location to experience bliss, while Ryan experienced the world''s weirdest sensation.

    ''I just came, and it felt amazing... but at the same time, I feel as though I had never cum in the first ce.''

    As Ryan fell into a profound philosophical conundrum about the ways of pleasure and the true paradise of mankind, he received another notification.

    [Buyer Alert!]

    [Name: WetCougar]

    [Race: Human]

    [Buyer Rank: 469]

    ? [Cultivation Rank: C-Rank]

    [ept / Decline]

    ''Welp, guess it''s grinding time.''

    ===

    After a strenuous few hours, Ryan felt... ''I don''t know how to feel.''

    ''It''s like my body is thrusting into these girls, I''m experiencing pleasure, but in the middle, there''s some sort of disconnect."

    Ryan noticed that he gained significantly less energy while having intercourse within the BCN. He could sense that he only acquired about a 10th of the normal amount, and with the way it made him feel as though he was being used, he preferred having women in the real world. Not this make-believe one.

    ''Just one more reason to take over the human empire and the Dawn Pavilion,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

    He also finally understood how much energy he gained from each session.

    He usually would gain 1.25% of the energy required to rank up per climax with a non-harem member. However, he also had figured out his limit: he could only umte 10% of a rank in one day via his ''activities''.

    Now that he was D-Rank, Ryan had 5,000 energy units assigned to his cultivation, and he needed 25,000 to rank up to C-Rank. He required 20,000 EU to rank up, meaning Ryan could gain 2,000 daily.

    ''I wonder how long this canst,'' Ryan thought, realizing that if he spent a measly month, he could be at A-Rank. ''And by the time the weddinges, I could be at SSS-Rank. But I doubt that the heavens will let it be so easy.''

    Finished for the day, Ryan exited the BCN and arrived in his previous location inside the Dawn Pavilion.

    As he was heading out, Ryan noticed a girl standing at the front of the Pavilion, no less than five years old. She had a mark on her hand that Ryan recognized as a ve seal, meaning she wasn''t a paid ve. She was a fallen ve.

    ''What happened that a girl that young became a ve?'' Ryan wondered. He suddenly thought of his unborn child inside of Zoey. ''What would happen if she was this girl.''

    "Hey ve, what are you doing?" a fat greasy man who appeared to be her owner asked her from behind. The girl trembled with fear and started crying.

    ''Ryan, don''t do it...''

    "Hey, mister," Ryan said before he could stop himself.

    Turning around the greasy man was about to blubber out an insult, but when he saw Ryaning from the BCN section, he realized he was an enhancer.

    "What can I do for you, oh esteemed one?" the man replied in a servile tone.

    "That girl... is she yours?"

    "Yes sir! Would you perhaps like her? She''s not much to look at, but her mother was a goody before she sold her for Hay money," he said.

    ''Poor girl, this Hay is probably a drug. I''ve seen a lot of bad things in my life while I was living on the streets, but selling your child for drug money...''

    "How much?" Ryan asked, looking at the frightened girl who was as skinny as a twig.

    "She has 200 years on her term so she ain''t cheap..."

    "Just give me your price, merchant," Ryan said, giving the man a look of warning.

    Putting up his hands in mock surrender, the man said, "0.25 Heavenly Credits should do."<novelnext></novelnext>

    A cough came from Ryan''s right and he turned, seeing a well dressed young nobledy who looked to be around 14.

    "That''s an awful price!" the young noble said, as she puffed out her non-existant chest.

    Ignoring her Ryan said, "Sure."

    "Did you not hear me? I said that was an awful price!" thedy who thought she owned the world said.

    "Splendid! Let me call my assistant here, and we canplete the transaction," the fat man said.

    ''He must not be an enhancer and thus doesn''t have a heavenly screen. On the other hand, I guess he deserves some respect for aplishing so much without that. Or, most likely, his mother is someone,'' Ryan thought, correcting himself.

    "Are you just going to ignore me?" the girl said from behind Ryan, stomping her boots on the ground like an angry child.

    "Sorry, kid," Ryan said, turning around. "I was talking with an adult."

    "W-Why you!"

    "Sophia," a man''s call echoed through the pavilion from the entrance.

    "Coming, father!" Turning toward Ryan, she clutched her fist and waved at Ryan, saying, "This isn''t over!"

    ''Strange girl,'' Ryan thought. Then, as he watched Sophia and her father, he noticed them enter a worn-down carriage, the same one plowing through the streets. ''Like father like daughter.''

    "Esteemed sir, my partner is here," the fat merchant called behind Ryan.

    Turning around, Ryan saw a well-dresseddy who seemed, rather than a partner, someone who facilitated such trades regrly.

    "Edward, you know you''re not allowed to keep calling me your partner. The guild will ban you if you keep it up," thedy spat.

    Edward chuckled. "Well, I wouldn''t mind being your partner anytime you wanted, Linda," Edward said as he licked his greasy lips.

    Ignoring Edward''sment, Linda turned toward Ryan. "Are you the buyer?"

    Seeing Ryan''s nod, Linda waved her hand, and a prompt appeared.

    Reading the terms, Ryan found everything in order but didn''t immediately ept. Instead, he walked over to thenky girl curled up in the fetal position in the corner.

    "What''s your name?" Ryan asked, squatting on his knees.

    The girl looked at him but only shivered in response.

    "Her name is Joy because she''s always happy," Edward tried to say, but Ryan zoned him out as he looked at the girl.

    ''I saw something earlier, but where... Ah! There it is.'' Earlier, when he had seen the little girl, he had coincidently had energy vision enabled. Of course, this girl wasn''t 18, so she wasn''t a cultivator, but Ryan''s energy vision had gained the ability to see talents, and this girl''s talent was off the chart.

    ''It''s an SS-Ranked talent in... management?''

    At first, Ryan had yet to see what the talent was in, only the overall rank. But unlike what one would expect when seeing talent in management, Ryan was ecstatic. ''This is exactly what I need!''

    He could already picture the boosts to productivity and loyalty. The only problem is that he''d have to wait until she was 18. ''Always wait until they''re 18...''

    "She''s a mute, isn''t she?" Ryan asked, turning toward Edward.

    "Uh," Edward stuttered, his face reddening as he fidgeted with his hands. "I don''t know what you''re talking about."

    "Don''t get me wrong. I''m still taking her. I just wanted her to know that I knew before I bought her," Ryan said, looking back at the girl.

    The girl looked at Ryan with teary eyes and hugged his leg.

    "Well, isn''t that heartwarming," Edward said, his eyes sparkling from his profit.

    ''Thank goodness I ran into a fool today. I would never have gotten a copper for her otherwise,'' Edward thought, rubbing his hands together.

 Chapter 126 Bad Memories [R-18]

    Ryan walked away from the Dawn Pavilion with Joy in his hands and joy in his heart. "Today was a profitable day," Ryan muttered, looking at the new five-year-old sleeping in his arms.

    ''I wonder how the girls will react when they see this,'' Ryan chuckled.

    Ryan headed to the hotel he had booked in the more agreeable part of the city for his two-week stay.

    ''Although I''ll just spend my nights inside my pce with a guard watching the portal in the bedroom. I still have to find a way not to make my portal stay open while I''m inside my pce... that could be a problem.''

    Arriving inside his dorm room, Ryan activated his portal and teleported into the main square that had been constructed. ''I''m d building in here is so easy. All I have to do is think, and it appears.''

    "Victoria," Ryan whispered, trying not to wake Joy.

    Hearing her name, Victoria turned around, and her face lit up in a smile seeing it was Ryan.

    As she was about to rush over, she abruptly paused and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

    "W-Who''s child is that?" Victoria asked, pointing a shaky finger at Joy.

    "Mine," Ryan replied bluntly. "And I need you to watch her while I go out for the night."

    "Oh, and she''s mute."

    Dumping his new servant on Victoria, Ryan called over two of his knights and had them guard the hotel room, even though he was closing the portal, ''Always got to be safe.''

    ''Now to get some fresh air,'' Ryan thought. ''I saved a child''s life today. I can take a break, right?''

    Once outside his hotel room, Ryan tried to listen to the conversations around him.

    "Did you hear about the auction being held tonight?" one man said.

    "Yeah, I heard a noble came to town specifically for it," another responded.

    "Can you believe a baron came to our little city?"

    "I only believed it after I heard the auction house master acquired a rare item," the first man said.

    "You''ve gotta be kidding. What did she get? An archfiend''s essence or something?" the second man asked.

    "I don''t know, but rumor says she was offered at least ten times more than she paid. Can you believe she refused? Some say she has too much pride and will only sell his wares outside the auction if it gets ridiculous amounts of profit. It sounds like such an extravagant event that many rich nobles would show up to buy whatever she had for sale today."

    "You mean more nobles areing?"

    "I believe our small town will even be getting a Viscount!"

    "Ahh... I''m curious to see what that item turns out to be..."

    ''Although I doubt they will have anything amazing, I''ve got money to burn,'' Ryan thought, bringing up his 10,000 Heavenly Credit bnce to gaze at.

    ''Oh, I love me some money.''

    ===

    "Do you really think this little ce has found the item, Albert?" Rory asked in a whisper.

    "It doesn''t matter if she does," Albert said while watching the crowd gathered around the stage to watch the auction. "Our master wants us to buy whatever it is. No matter if it''s that item or not."

    "I hope we can get it for cheap, so it doesn''t cost us too much," Rory responded.

    "Me too, but let''s enjoy ourselves now and see what happens. It''s not like anyone here has enough Heavenly Credits topete with us anyway."

    As Albert and Rory discussed, Ryan entered the auction house wearing his usual ck clothes and hooded cloak. The moment he stepped inside, the murmurs from the audience grew quiet as someone stepped on stage.

    "Good evening, everyone. Tonight, we''re going to start by selling a unique treasure that one of mypanions acquired recently," the auctioneer began as Ryan took a seat at the back of the room near Albert and Rory.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "But before that item, we will be going through our other delectable items, starting with this lovely red-haired boy who has been raised within my family for many years. He turned fourteen yesterday, and his virginity will be sold starting at 0.1 Heavenly Credits. Do I hear 0.1 Heavenly Credits?"

    The audience fell silent, seeing the young boy in front of them.

    ''Oh good. I thought this world was worse than I thought,'' Ryan thought, seeing the crowd''s reaction.

    "0.2 Heavenly Credits! He''s mine!" a noble screamed out.

    "What? This little child has a face that even a corpse would find charming! 0.25!" another cried out, attracting more people into bidding on him.

    "I hear 0.3! Who wouldn''t want to fuck this innocent little angel?" the auction master yelled.

    "0.5!" someone shouted, but it didn''t seem to matter since another person ced a bit right after.

    ''Looks like I spoke too soon.'' Ryan shook his head.

    "Sold for 1.21 Heavenly Credits. Congrattions, mam!" the auctioneer announced as she bowed to the winner. "Now, the next item for sale is the ultimate sex toy for thedies!"

    The audience gasped in shock, and the entire room seemed to stop breathing as they watched the man ce a hand on a blonde-haired boy whose age was unrecognizable. He had no clothes on his body and looked like a small doll that had been used and abused over many years until only this remained.

    The crowd roared excitedly as the female lifted the boy''s legs so everyone could see whaty between them. A considerable penis grew from the boy''s crotch, bing erect while he stared at the ground with a nk expression.

    "Do I hear 2 Heavenly Credits?" the auction master asked.

    "Yes, I do!" an excited noble cried out.

    "Do I hear 4 Heavenly Credits? That''s not muchpared to thest item," the auctioneer said to another group of bidders. "Oh? Who will take it? Oh, here we go. It''s going for 5! Who will top that bid? Let me see... who will it be? Ah yes, 6 Heavenly Credit! Sold to number nine! Congrattions!"

    Everyone seemed surprised when a young girl walked towards her winning purchase and hugged him tightly before picking him up like a baby.

    Ryan recognized the girl as Sophia, the daughter of the Baron from earlier today.

    "Timmy, you tried to run away all those years ago. But now, my darling Timmy has returned to where he belonged," Sophia whispered loud enough for Ryan to hear.

    Ryan watched as a single tear fell from the otherwise expressionless boy''s eyes.

    Ryan''s heart ached as he watched the scene, feeling like someone had kicked his puppy into the gutter.

    He had seen a lot of horrible things on the street in LA, and prostitution was a big part of the streets for females.

    It was a known way of life that people epted as reality. But Ryan specifically remembered her. A girl named Tina.

    ===

    "Get off of me!" Tina screamed while struggling against two men holding her down by her wrists and ankles.

    "Why would anyone pay to fuck some dumb bitch who can''t even walk straight?" one man yelled. "You''re giving it to us for free.

    "Help, someone help!" she begged.

    The other three prostitutes working for the brothel had their hands over their mouths with tears flowing out from underneath their eyelids at seeing the situation unfold.

    The moment the man pinched her nose with his fingers so hard that blood squirted out onto his hand, the young woman fainted right then and there from the pain.

    However, he didn''t stop, and instead of letting her go, he dragged her towards a nearby table and spread her legs apart. Her thighs trembled as he mmed himself inside of her.

    The girl gagged and coughed as somethingrge and thick began painfully entering her mouth.

    The girl was tiny, no bigger than five feet tall. She had blonde hair and blue eyes and was as thin as a twig.

    As she took it in both holes, all he saw was nkness in her blue eyes. A look he hadn''t forgotten since that day when he was nine. The same look of nkness he saw in the boys eyes.

 Chapter 127 Archfiends Essence

    Regaining his focus, Ryan looked into Timmy''s eyes again and saw the same nk look he had seen that day on Tina.

    ''This sick bastard must pay. Getting justice and freeing that man shall be my first act at solving the tumor festering inside this for too long,'' Ryan swore, clenching his fists.

    As the bid was over for Timmy, Ryan couldn''t free Timmy the legal way. ''But there''s always the illegal one.''

    Ryan put that thought aside as he continued watching the auction.

    The auctioneer pushed her hair off her face and looked at the audience. "You all are going to love this next piece. [Ne of Charm] gives the wearer better appeal to anyone they desire," the auctioneer said, pointing to the model wearing a ne as she crossed the stage.

    "Now, tell me what you see. Isn''t it the most beautiful image you''ve ever seen?"

    "Oh, I love her blonde hair!" a woman shouted.

    "What do you mean? She has red hair, my favorite," another barked.

    "Red hair, what are you on about? She has ck hair, just like my wife," a fat woman shouted.

    "Either way she''s nice and petite, just like I like them," a woman in front of Ryan added.

    "Petite?" anotherdy asked. "She''s not petite. She is a delicious amazondy!"

    The auctioneerughed. "You see what I mean? Now watch as she takes the ne off."

    A medium size brte appeared as the model lifted the ne over her neck. The audience gasped and pped.

    "As you can see, wearing the [Ne of Charm] makes the wearer instantly appeal to the viewer''s deepest desire."

    "Now, who wants to start the bid? Let''s start it atˇ­"

    As the audience fell into a bidding frenzy, Ryan leaned back in his chair, uninterested.

    ''They can have the ne. I am extraordinary, just as I am. Why would I want to change my looks for someone else''s taste when I am perfect,'' Ryan thought, grinning.

    Loud apuse thundered around the room as an excited audience member jumped up and down, screaming, "It''s me! I won!

    A short, squatty olddy raced to the stage to try to grab her ne.

    Ryan chuckled. ''I feel sorry for whoever she meets!''

    The auctioneerughed. "Let''s keep up these bids. This next item is the [Water Breath Pill]. The pill allows the user to breathe underwater for 30 minutes. One lucky audience member will take home a pack of 12 today! Let''s start the bidding war!"

    Ryan sat back and watched as the auction continued to put forth item after item, nothing much catching his fancy.

    A few itemster, a mask appeared on the stage that caught Ryan''s eye.

    "Now, the next item," the auctioneer said. "This is a novelty item, but its uses are boundless! [Gender Neutral Mask] is a mask that will never have you discriminated against, as no one can tell what your gender is in the first ce!

    A gorgeous model walked onto the stage, holding a mask. As Ryan leaned forward to take a closer look at herˇ­ *Cough* the mask, she suddenly ced the mask on her face andˇ­ ''That''s what I need,'' Ryan thought, seeing the girl appear as genderless as a doll rather than the exquisite female she once had been.

    "Does she still look like a girl?"

    "I don''t think so."

    "But she doesn''t look like a boy, either!"

    "I can''t tell what she is!"

    When the auctioneer called, "Let''s bid!"

    Ryan was the first to bid and started at 3 Heavenly Credits, meaning he had fewpetitors. After three rounds of offers, Ryan secured the mask for a total of 5.25 Heavenly Credits.

    "Perfect," he said, leaning back, "this wille in handy."

    "Now for the final item you''ve all been waiting for!" the auctioneer said. "I''m sure most of our patrons here today are here for this marvelous item, and we''ve sure heard spection," chuckled the auctioneer.

    "So without further ado, let me present [Archfiend''s Essence]!

    "This, my friends, is the ultrarare Archfiend''s Essence, an extremely valuable geode. When opened, one can ess the essence of a primordial being, which has traveled lightyears from outside our sr system to arrive here. When ingested, this essence will strengthen your race rank by a whole level up to C-Rank!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The auctioneer couldn''t bang her gavel hard enough to quiet the audience.

    Suddenly, loud whistles and sharp cries filled the air. The guards surrounding the room''s edges blew high, piercing whistles to silence the audience.

    "Sorry about that," the auctioneer said, apologizing. "But we can''t manage an auction with all of this noise. So now that everything has quieted down, we''re going to take preliminary bids on this item, and we will start with the highest bid after a moment."

    ===

    Ryan sat in his chair, mouth open, chest heaving. ''What is this feeling?''

    As the auctioneer brought the [Archfiend''s Essence] onto the stage, Ryan felt a calling deep within his soul for the mysterious geode.

    It almost felt like some other being was calling for him to reach out and snatch it and feed it.

    ''This can''t beˇ­ Yoko?''

    ===

    Still trapped inside her egg, Yoko was currently engaged in a plight unlike any a being of her status had ever endured.

    "You stupid mutt, do you know who I am!" Yoko roared, screaming at Volf.

    "Get your stupid mouth off my egg!"

    ''Since when can uncooked omelets talk?'' Volf wondered as he tried munching on the raw yet appetizing egg once more.

    "What even are you? You''re not a wolf beast! You might as well be a dog for all your manners! Hey! Hey! Don''t do that! Stop it!"

    As Yoko tried unsessfully to get Volf to stop nibbling on her shell, she reached her tolerance limit and was about to fry Volf into minced meat when suddenly she felt a radiating heat within her chest.

    ''This sensation, it can''t be!'' Yoko stopped paying attention to the hungry mutt and focused on the feeling from her link to Ryan.

    ''My connection with Master is weak, and though I can''t talk with him, there''s no mistaking that auraˇ­ that''s Archfiend''s essence! How on earth is it on this small world?!''

    ''I have to get this for myself. It won''t be helpful to someone like Ryan, but for me, it''s invaluable.''

    Yoko calmed her mind from the heat radiating off of Volf''s maw and focused on sending Ryan a signal of desire for the object. ''Hopefully, he understands.''

    ===

    "The results are in! The preliminary bid is 75 Heavenly Credits from bidder 39!" the announcer shouted. "Do I hear 80?"

    "80 Credits!" a voice yelled from across the room.

    "85 credits!" a shout from behind Ryan wrang.

    "90 credits!" the first person responded.

    "95 credits!" was the reply.

    "Do I hear 100 credits?" the auctioneer said.

    "100 credits?" the auctioneer asked, looking to either bidder.

    "We''ve got this in the bag. Our master will reward us heavily," Rory whispered to Albert.

    "Thank goodness, since Master only gave us 100 Heavenly Credits," Albert said, wiping sweat from his brow.

    "100 Credits!" a voice boomed, causing Albert and Rory to look at each other in surprise and horror.

    Turning, the pair looked at a cloaked figure heading toward the stage as the announcer yelled, "Going once, going twice, sold!"

    "Isn''t that the same man who bought the mask?" Rory asked, looking at Albert.

    Albert nodded solemnly, "It appears we''ll have to go with n B."

 Chapter 128 Fantasy World = Earth?

    After Ryan sessfully retrieved his two items, he exited the auction house with a pep in his step.

    ''It appears someone didn''t have enough cash to ssh and wants to take my items the old fashion way,'' Ryan thought, sensing two figures following him.

    ''Although I don''t know what two non-cultivators think they can do against me.''

    Walking through the bustling town, Ryan meandered between the stalls at a slow pace, allowing his followers to keep track of him.

    After exiting the market district, Ryan headed toward a deserted dead-end ally.

    "That''s far enough," a voice came behind Ryan as he got 3m (~10ft) into the ally.

    Turning around, Ryan came face to face with the most beautiful two men he had ever seen, besides himself of course.

    Ryan first noted that both men appeared to be in theirte twenties.

    The taller man was dressed in all ck, while the shorter one wore a brown leather jacket and navy blue pants over a white shirt and red tie.

    Their skin was pale but, unlike many humans, somewhat golden-tanned, giving them an almost holy appearance.

    As Ryan scrutinized them further, he could see feathers sprouting out of their hair.

    "We won''t kill you if you hand over the geode," the taller man said.

    "What do you mean?" asked Ryan with a raised brow. "I''m the one in control here."

    The two looked at each other for a moment before turning back to face Ryan.

    "It seems we are dealing with another fool after all," they chuckled, advancing towards him.

    "No offense, but I was just about to go home, so why don''t you try your luck elsewhere? I''ve had a long day, and although I''d love to teach you a lesson for wasting my time, I can be persuaded otherwise if you leave the items you won," Ryan told them, making the duo stop in their tracks.

    "Oh, sure," the short man said, snickering with a sinister grin. "We''ll be happy to talk business."

    "Please, then, follow me," Ryan walked to the end of the alley, the two following him.

    He continued walking until he reached the concrete wall.

    "Well, now that''s more like it!" The tall one cackled as he began advancing toward Ryan, who remainedpletely still and calm. "Let''s get this party started!"

    "Wait," Ryan said, abruptly remembering something.

    "Look, Rory, he''s scared," the taller one said.

    "He''s pissing his pants in fear of us," Rory replied,ughing with Albert.

    "Can you give me a minute? Thanks," Ryan said as he proceeded to drop to the ally floor in a meditative position.

    "Does the boy think he''s a monk from the fantasy world?" Albert asked, the two bursting into furtherughter.

    Ryan zoned out the senseless noise as he concentrated on operating his bloodline. ''This is the perfect chance to test it out on living people,'' Ryan thought.

    Although Ryan had no problem with defeating these two without his bloodline, he had never tried using it on living creatures before.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Finding this situation perfect for testing, Ryan exerted his will on the two.

    The two stopped mid-step and stared at each other, frozen in ce.

    "He''s got some type of treasure!" Albert eximed after a few moments, breaking the silence of the alley.

    ''Ah, I see. I don''t have power over everything in my domain, just the elements,'' Ryan thought as he tried unsessfully to use his will to influence the two.

    Ryan tried various tricks on his frozen captives but found his ability limiting.

    ''I need the elements to be present to influence them,'' he thought, trying to summon lightning or water.

    ''I''m already sensing my bloodline dropping to dangerous levels, and it won''t do to drain myself too much.''

    With that idea in mind, Ryan decided not to exert his will on the space around the men anymore. Taking a deep breath, Ryan stood up, allowing his captives to be set free.

    "Looks like your treasure isn''t as good as you thought it was,'' Rory said as he took a step toward Ryan. "Now what? You''re going to fight us barehanded?" Rory taunted as he pulled out a knife from the back of his belt.

    Ryan shook his head with a slight chuckle. "I won''t need to fight either of you."

    ''You can take them out now,'' Ryan said telepathically to Izzy, who had been standing at the alleyway''s entrance for the past three minutes. ''Don''t kill them. Just knock them unconscious.''

    With one fluid motion, Izzy lifted her leg, sending her knee right into the side of Rory''s face while kicking Albert in his crotch, causing him to crumble to his knees and release an embarrassing grunt and groan.

    "Did I do good, Master?" Izzy asked, batting her eyes innocently as she finished off the duo with two chops to the neck.

    Patting her head, Ryan chuckled. "Yes, but don''t let your mind get clouded with false praise. These two weren''t the concrete they nowy on. Take them back to the pce and get answers as to why they were here. I bet Veronica has some experience in torture. Let her help," Ryan said, not knowing he had condemned the two to a fate worse than death.

    ''I bet Hannah would be better, but she''s on the mission with Shade and Dianna,'' Ryan thought, thinking of the yandere he still couldn''t decide whether to keep or lock in a cell.

    After Ryan exited the ally, he once more thought about the boy, Timmy, which he had seen in the auction.

    ''I can''t save everyone... but I can save some.''

    Pulling out his flying new magic sword, Ryan started heading in the direction he saw Sophia''s beatdown wagon head in.

    As he flew above the heads of the bustling crowds below him, one question came to his mind, remembering what Rory had said in the ally.

    ''Earth and this world seem so simr. I keep hearing about this Fantasy World that has no energy. The people of Ravier say that the Fantasy World isn''t real, but they reason that it has no energy. Is it possible that earth and this Fantasy World are the same?''

    Ryan thought it was likely, seeing as this world took a lot of inspiration from Earth, ''Or it could be the other way around.''

    The only reason he was still hesitant to believe it was real was because of her. ''If Ravier is somehow connected to Earth, does that mean Aliza could have been from this?''

    Ryan recalled all of Aliza''s words once more and got a pang in his chest. ''Aliza always talked about her dreams of freedom and glory but said some things weren''t meant to be because of both her mistakes and "heaven''s enforced limitations".

    He remembered hisst thought about her saying cultivation was the only thing harder than wearing high heels.

    And he remembered thest thing she sent before she passed away. "If you''re real, I promise I''lle to find you one day."

    Ryan had written it off at the time as the ramblings of a dying person, but he felt a shiver run down his spine as he contemted his thoughts.

 Chapter 129 I Guess Being The Hero Does Pay Off

    Every time Ryan thought about Aliza in this new world, he got a headache, and this time it was the worst of all.

    Shaking his head, he forcefully stopped thinking about her and concentrated on flying toward the moving wagon he could see being pulled by four horses in the distance.

    ''I wish I could activate my aura right now,'' Ryan thought, thinking it would be the perfect scouting tool since he could tell what was inside the wagon if it was inside his domain.

    Ryan had been brainstorming different ways to use his bloodline since he still hadn''t gotten Yoko from the Duchess, who skipped out on him the first time and left too early the second.

    ''For how much you want me, Duchess, you couldn''t even wait a few minutes,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

    Gaining speed on his new de [Darkness Calls], Ryan got within 30m (~98ft) before he felt an aura above him.

    ''Crap, she has guards.''

    Looking above him, Ryan could see three figures floating above him riding on magic swords simr to his. They were huge women that seemed to have nothing else but muscles.

    "Stop right there," one of them said, pointing their sword at Ryan''s face as she descended upon him. The other two followed behind the first, ready if Ryan tried anything funny.

    Below him, Ryan sensed the wagone to a halt, so he decided it wasn''t necessary to kill these low F-Ranked guards immediately.

    "Lower yourself to the ground and remove your mask," the first one ordered, noticing Ryan wearing his new [Gender Neutral Mask].

    Seeing no reason not toply, Ryan lowered himself to the ground but waited for the wagon''s upants to exit before removing his mask.

    As soon as he saw Sophia, Ryan took off his mask.

    "It''s you!" Sophia eximed, pointing at Ryan. "You''re the one that ignored me this morning."

    "I''m sorry. Do I know you?" Ryan asked, eliciting a "grrrr" from Sophia.

    "Father! Order the guards to kill him!" Sophia hollered.

    Ryan turned, raising his brow, as he saw a giant man with a big white beard and mustache step from the wagon. He wore purple robes and looked like a schr or priest type.

    "Good sir, what''s the meaning of you following us? Might I get your name?" the man asked, trying to determine if Ryan was someone important.

    "My name is Ryan Emerald," Ryan stated as he stared at the old man. "I came to take the boy you bought at the auction."

    "You can''t take Timmy! He''s mine! He''s always been mine, and he''ll always be mine!" Sophia snarled.

    "Young man, I haven''t heard of your family before. Can you please enlighten me as to what house youe from?" the old man asked, still trying to discern if he was a noble.

    "I''m an orphan," Ryan said calmly. "And if you do not hand over the boy, I''ll have to relieve you of him myself."

    Breathing out a sigh of relief, the old man''s attitude changed, and he grunted to the guards, "Kill him, then set his body on fire. But, feel free to have your way with him before you kill him. He looks like someone you girls would like."

    The three muscr women looked at each other with lustful eyes before taking their positions in front of Ryan.

    They dismounted and changed their swords into battle mode, beginning to circle Ryan.

    "You''re not going to escape!" Sophia yelled.

    "Wasn''t nning on it," Ryan said, turning toward her and meeting Sophia''s re head-on.

    Swiveling back around, Ryan deflected a de shing at him from the first of his attackers.

    nting his foot, Ryan filled his legs with energy and shot toward the first guard, stabbing a hole straight through her neck.

    Blood sttered everywhere as the woman died before her body plunged to the ground.

    Flipping over andnding softly upon the grassy field, Ryan gripped his sword tighter and rolled away as the second guard''s swing.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "How is he fighting cultivators?" Sophia gasped. "How is he so fast?!"

    ''You have no idea,dy,'' Ryan thought, sidestepping another swing from the second guard and thrusting his de forward as it squished home inside the guard''s stomach.

    Gasping for breath like a beached whale, the guard stumbled backward until she copsed on the ground, clutching her throat as her crimson essence left her body until she was reimed by the cycle of reincarnation once more.

    The third one stood watching but, seeing how easy it was to take down two guards quickly, decided that waiting wasn''t going to help her cause.

    Turning to leave, the third guard only made it two steps before Ryan made her a head shorter and a head lighter.

    Looking over his shoulder at the trembling Sophia and the despondent old man, Ryan said, "Nice try. But you''d need a lot more of them to deal with me."

    Seeing the old man reach for a treasure, Ryan stalked forward and unceremoniously decapitated him.

    Moving forward, Ryan saw Sophia fall to the ground, pleading, "P-P-Please don''t k-kill m-me! You can take him! He''s yours!"

    Ryan shook his head, but as he brought up his de, he heard a soft voice say, "Wait, please," from inside the wagon.

    Ignoring the girl, Ryan advanced toward the wagon and saw Timmy lying inside, naked and chained to a bed.

    Swiftly cutting the bindings, Ryan pulled out a robe and clothed the man asking, "Why don''t you want me to kill her?"

    Shaking his head, Timmy said, "Death is too easy a punishment Lord. Please allow me to serve you.

    Timmy weakly kneeled on the ground as Ryan gazed at him, intrigued. "And what do you want from me in return for your loyalty."

    "Her."

    "Why?" Ryan asked, even more, fascinated by this man.

    "To torture her, as she did to me."

    ''An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,'' Ryan thought, slowly nodding his head.

    "Thank you, Master," Timmy said, kowtowing on the ground. "I won''t disappoint you."

    "Say these words, Timmy, to be my servant," Ryan said as he read him the required oaths to be his servant and for Ryan to see his loyalty.

    [Timmy Marks]

    [Loyalty: 122]

    [Bonus: Resurrection of Faith]

    Ryan''s mouth opened and quickly shut as he tried to remain calm. ''What the fuck did I do to this kid?''

    ''Being the hero does pay off.''

    Eager to see what the bonus meant with such an illustrious name, Ryan clicked, but he couldn''t hide his awe this time.

    [Bonus Resurrection of Faith]

    [Ability: Resurrect this loyal follower as long as his faith in you remains true, for you have saved him once, and in his mind, you will save him again.]

    "What''s wrong, Master?" Timmy asked, seeing Ryan''s open mouth. "Did I do something wrong?"

    "No, Timmy, my boy. How would you like to meet your new brothers and sisters? I''m sure you''ve got a lot to teach them about faith."

    Timmy looked quizzically at Ryan, not knowing yearster he would count this moment as the turning point in his life, giving interviews around the Multiverse about the mysterious man that came and saved him, changing his future forever.

 Chapter 130 The Dao Of Rhymes Is The Only Dao That Matters

    After returning to his hotel room and greeting his two guards, Ryan activated his heavenly portal to his pce and stepped inside.

    Stepping into the pce''s garden area, Ryan looked at his lovely meadows, orchards, and fields.

    Behind the garden was a building Ryan had designed to house his servants and knights.

    Besides the main housing, a luxurious building sat, which Ryan had built with his own two hands, ''Or thoughts,'' he chuckled.

    The luxurious building houses his Harem Members, including Lizzy, Izzy, Emily, and Zoey, and soon would house Ester and Grace. ''I still have to im Grace, although I doubt she would reject it,'' Ryan thought, remembering he technically hadn''t imed Grace yet.

    Sitting on a bench, Ryan was just about to rx whenˇ­

    "Ryan, you''re finally back!" Veronica wailed.

    "Technically, you''ve been inside me this whole time," Ryan said, chuckling as Veronica hugged him tight.

    "Don''t say it like that," Veronica grumbled, nuzzling her cat ears against his chest.

    "Where''s Joy?" Ryan asked, looking around.

    At the sound of her name, a head poked out from the top of a tree, looking at Ryan, then eagerly climbing down the trunk before running toward him.

    Just like Emily loved to do, Joy got a running start and leaped up onto Ryan''s chest. This, of course, would have been fine if not for the cat woman clung to his chest.

    Twisting his body, Ryan caught the girl on his back and used his free arm to hold her up until she warped her arms around his neck.

    "Ladies, I love the attention and all, but could you go one at a time?" Ryan pleaded, trying not to let Joy fall.

    "If you wanted that, why did you make a Harem?" Victoria asked, giggling as Ryan narrowed his brow.

    "Is my Master back?" Zoey asked as she walked out from the luxurious building she had been resting in.

    "Oh my gosh!" Zoey yelled, startling Joy, who quickly buried her face into Ryan''s neck. "You already have a baby? She''s so cute! How old is she? What''s her race? Tell me, is sheˇ­"

    As Zoey''s questions rambled on and on, Ryan coughed, interrupting the bunny girl. "She''s not my daughter," Ryan said.

    "Ouch!" Ryan yelped, feeling a bite on his neck.

    Reaching behind him, Ryan grabbed onto the culprit, swinging his arm until Joy pouted in front of him.

    "What was that for?" Ryan asked, touching the bite mark on his neck.

    His only response from the little miscreant was a look that said, ''I don''t know, why don''t you figure it out.''

    ring at the five-year-old, Ryan sighed and turned to Zoey. "She''s someone I rescued from a ve trader who I saw promise in."

    "Promise, huh," Zoey said, raising an eyebrow.

    "You get a girl pregnant but can''t wait a few months, so you go out to adopt," Zoey muttered, shaking her head.

    "That''s not what-"

    "Ryan, is that you?!" Grace''s voice came from the entrance of the same building Zoey had just walked out of.

    Standing at the entrance were Lizzy, Izzy, Emily, and Grace.

    Flustered at her own shout, Grace''s face reddened, but she didn''t give up and started stalking forward, her fists clenched.

    Getting in front of the bewildered Ryan, she nted her feet and shouted, "Make me your woman!"

    Ryan blinked.

    Joy, still being held by Ryan, blinked.

    Zoey, who was still rubbing on Ryan, intoxicated by his scent, blinked.

    "Yeah, I think I could manage that," Ryan said,ing out of his reverie. ''This woman sure is unique.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    "But," Ryan said, trying to throw her off her game, "what''s in it for me?"

    As if expecting this, Grace replied, "Not only will you get this amazing body of mine," while running her hands over her luscious curves that were not too big nor too small. "You''ll also get my unwavering and undying loyalty," Grace said as she dropped to one knee.

    "Although I don''t know much about the things Lizzy, Izzy, and Emily have tried to tell me, I know what faith and love look like," Grace said, staring Ryan into his eyes. "These girls are head over heels for you, andˇ­ I think I am too."

    "You were always on my mind, ever since my first time. I checked the clock every hour of every day, but all I felt was sour while I tried to downy my feelings for you," Grace said, getting into her rhyme rhythm.

    "At first, I hated you, but then I debated the truth. Finally, I found out through self-reflection that my inspection was wed through an act of god; I found the truth: I had to get rid of everything up above for my true love to shine true for you."

    Ryan sat, stunned at the rhymes he had just heard.

    He remembered his love for the Dao, the Dao of rhymes. He remembered Grace''s face as theyughed and yed.

    "Thank you for that," Ryan said. "I needed something to cheer me up."

    Even with everything seeming alright for Ryan, he still felt tired of having the human empire looming over him seemingly at every turn.

    "I ept you as my own. Even when I ascend to the throne, I will love your every bone."

    "Now, let''s skip the small talk, and girls, don''t you dare cockblock while I take Grace and undo this deadlock."

    After finishing his rhymes, Ryan advanced, scooped up Grace, and teleported away to his private room, leaving the girls happy he stopped his rhymes but sad that they weren''t in Grace''s shoes.

    ===

    A few minutesˇ­ I mean hoursterˇ­

    After leaving Grace panting, begging, and spent, Ryan converted her and sessfully added his sixth harem member to his ever-growing family.

    Exiting his private room, Ryan decided he needed to start training in the tower, gain knowledge about this world, and increase his energy levels.

    If he couldbine the tower training, his daily yield from his pce, and his trips to the BCN, he figured he could rank up three times before his two-week trip was over, cing him at a solid A-Rank.

    ''Although that isn''t enough for me to go against the empire myself, Ester gave me a rundown of what I would need to take on the human empire.''

    After his romp with the Frost General, she had been gracious and provided Ryan with how the rankings worked.

    Unlike what he expected, Ryan found that SSS-Rank''s only difference from S-Rank or even A-Rank was simply the amount of energy inside one''s body.

    After he asked his cat knights about it, he received the answer that the letter ranks (F-SSS) were more of a foundation stage, and only when one became a ''Master-Ranked'' cultivator did one truly step onto the path.

    ''I wonder how the people of this world would react if they knew the truth,'' Ryan thought, arriving in front of the tower.

    [Select Training Category]

    [Knowledge]

    [Combat]

    [Specialty]

    Selecting knowledge, Ryan was transported into an empty room with four unadorned white walls.

    Knowing what to do, Ryan said, "Open knowledge test."

    [Knowledge Test Initiated]

    [Select Difficulty]

    [Easy / Medium / Hard]

    [Note: Must Pass F-Rank Memory Test before selecting ''Easy'' Difficulty]

 Chapter 131 This Test Is Harder Than I Thought... No Pun Intended [R-18]

    [Memory Test]

    [Description: To retain the infinite knowledge of the universe, one must first have the capacity to hold it. This test will allow you to train your memory, and once passed, the participant will be rewarded will be allowed to take the knowledge test.]

    Selecting the memory test, Ryan''s room was turned into an active warzone before he heard, "Hey, you, you''re finally awake."

    Ryan blinked, seeing a soldier in... "Why are you in a bikini?"

    The woman shrugged as if that were perfectly natural for her to wear such attire when out on duty.

    She walked over, crouching next to the bed, which gave Ryan enough time to notice she had breasts quite a lotrger than what he thought they would be,, considering how thin her body seemed.

    Suddenly the room went nk, and three options popped up.

    [What color were her boots?]

    [1. ck]

    [2. Brown]

    [3. Do you mean boobs?]

    Ryan, ever the optimist, went to click on option 3 before the screen faded to ck and a new message appeared.

    [Wee to the Memory Test]

    [Since it is your first time, we gave you a demo of what your tests will look like.]

    [Each scene is tailored to each individual''s most distractible pardicament.]

    [You will be given an interactive scene in which you will have autonomy. Your goal is to remember as many details as possible.]

    [Since your test is the ''F-Ranked Memory Test'' your goal will be to ''remember important details of the scene'']

    [Good Luck]

    ''This should be easy,'' Ryan thought. ''I always remember the important things. Boobs are squishy, booty is juicy.''

    The scene around him shifted, and though he didn''t feel like he had been teleported, Ryan could feel the objects around him as though he was there.

    This time he was looking at six women wearing little more than loincloths dancing on top of a stage that appeared simr to a strip club.

    One of the girls, a blonde with long hair, reached out with one hand, cing it on his chest with a gentle smile before she spoke. "You want a dance, sweetheart?"

    "Lead the way, beautiful," Ryan replied with a grin.

    The girl smiled brightly before spinning away from Ryan in an elegant motion. As she turned, her eyes looked over her shoulder for a moment beforeing to rest upon him again and said, "Well? Follow me."

    ''Don''t you dare end this test early, you stupid heavens,'' Ryan thought, following the girl.

    Arriving in a back room, Ryan raised his brow as he saw three women waiting, half-naked, just like the first girl.

    "These are my sisters," the dancer introduced the women as they approached him before he was escorted to a chair in the middle of the room.

    The music started, and the sisters did what they did best. They danced.

    As they moved, each woman swayed their hips to a slow tune and slowly ground against Ryan.

    Ryan felt himself bing aroused even as he tried to focus on each minute detail, just in case.

    ''Her butt is round.''

    ''Her booty makes me smile.

    ''Her boobs look nice.

    ''And her rack makes me inticed!''

    Soon enough, all four women began strippingpletely.

    Their asses jiggled as they yed and teased each other, exposing themselves inch by inch until finally taking off every piece of clothing down to their boots before falling into hisp with mouths open ready for him.

    As one was undoing his pants, Ryan screamed as everything faded to ck.

    [Question 1: How many women were there on the first stage?]

    ? [1. 5 Women]

    [2. 6 Women]

    [3. 7 Women]

    Ryan cursed as he felt his hard dick throb inside his pants. ''Fuck you, heavens! Fuck you!''

    Calming down, Ryan thought for a moment before selecting option 2.

    [Question 2: What color was the hair of thest four women?]

    [1. Blonde]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [2. Brte]

    [3. ck]

    Instantly picking the first option, Ryan was eager to pass the test, but his smile faltered when he saw thest question.

    [Question 3: What rtion did the fourst women have?]

    [1. Friends]

    [2. Cousins]

    [3. Siblings]

    Scratching his head, he admitted, ''I was much more focused on the rtion between their asses and my cock.''

    Mulling it over, he tried reying the scene in his mind, but all he got for his efforts was another twitch of his dick.

    ''Well, they all have blonde hair, so the most likely option is three, fuck it.''

    [Congrattions: You have sessfully passed your F-Ranked Memory Test!]

    Ryan chuckled. ''He shoots, he scores.''

    The environment around him changed again, and he was returned to the four familiar white walls.

    [Knowledge Test Initiated]

    [Select Difficulty]

    [Easy / Medium / Hard]

    Selecting the ''Easy'' difficulty, since his harem members had told him no one had yet to pass this level, Ryan''s scene changed, and a message appeared.

    [Knowledge Test Initiated]

    [Description: To gain knowledge of the universe, one must be willing to put aside one''s wants and discover their need for knowledge. You have sixty minutes to remember all the knowledge inside the book before you. While you are tested, you will be distracted with various things the heavens have found to your liking.]

    [Reward: 1 Memory Stone]

    [Note: Offers made by the fictitious characters WILL be carried out.]

    ''Resist women?'' Ryan thought, dusting off his shoulders. ''Piece of cake.''

    ===

    "Fuck me, daddy, please!"

    "Please fuck me, daddy, I''m begging you!"

    "Put your hard throbbing manhood inside me and fill me with your seed."

    "I''ve never had a man before, and my first time is all for you, baby."

    "So, please? Will you fill this slut up?"

    "She''s been a good girl and waited for daddy all these years."

    "I know this slut will make daddy cum really, really hard if she''s given the chance."

    "Please give this slut what she wants. Make it happen. This slut needs it so bad right now."

    Ryan''s mind was between heaven and hell right now as he tried to focus on the scriptures before him.

    ''This test is a lot harder than I thought. No pun intended,'' Ryan thought, as he felt the girl teasing him with her words suddenly move to rub her hand against his throbbing cock through his pants.

    "Elements make up all matter in the universe, no matter how infinitely small," Ryan started to read the texts in the book before him.

    "Elements are broken down into three categories. ''Manmade'' ''Heavenly'' ''Chaotic''."

    "The Man-" Ryan had to pause as he felt the buckle of his pants starting to be undone.

    Getting up, Ryan ran as he carried the book, saying the passages outloud.

    "The Manmade elements are any elements thatbine the Heavenly and Chaotic elements," Ryan said, dodging a leaping attempt to grab him.

    "If you stop reading this slut will suck your cock! Please shove it down this slut''s throat, daddy! She needs it bad," the girl cried, chasing after Ryan.

    "The Chaotic elements are Time and Space, as well as Life and Death."

    "They are grouped in these pairs as beings known as ''First Ones'' were able to harness a pair of these elements, making them neigh unstoppable in the Multiverse."

    ''Fuck, that sounds overpowered,'' Ryan thought.

    Scanning the following line, Ryan''s mouth twitched, and he thought, ''Heavens, you''re not evil are you?''

 Chapter 132 Are The Heavens Evil?

    "They are grouped in these pairs as beings known as ''First Ones'' were able to harness a pair of these elements, making them neigh unstoppable in the Multiverse."

    "Thus, the heavens destroyed them, making what is known as the Heavenly elements from their leader''s corpses." As Ryan read the line out of the scripture, he abruptly got a tight feeling in his chest.

    As he was contemting what this feeling meant, Ryan''s momentarypse in focus was used by the girl chasing him to catch up and stuff her face into his crotch.

    Frantically pulling at his belt, the girl freed his member and jammed it into her mouth in one fluid motion.

    Sighing at his stupidity for being easily distracted, Ryan simply closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

    ''No pain, no gain,'' he thought with grim determination as the woman started sucking on his cock.

    "Descendants of these First Ones still exist, but the heavens have maintained its kill-on-sight policy for any who cross their paths."

    "The Heavenly ele-" Ryan had to stop and grab the back of the girl''s head, forcing her deeper onto his cock before thrusting his hips forward, ensuring she took every inch of his rod.

    ''That''s better.''

    "The Heavenly elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Spirit."

    "All more minor elements besides these main five are Manmade."

    As Ryan read thest line and blew his load down the girl''s throat, his scene returned to the four white walls again.

    [Question 1: What were the three elemental categories?]

    [Answer: (Say Out loud)]

    As Ryan heaved, he looked at the screen and, in between pants, said, "Heavenly. . .Chaotic and Manmade."

    [Question 2: Why did the heavens kill the leaders of the "First Ones"?]

    [1. To save the Multiverse]

    [2. To create the Heavenly elements]

    [3. To save itself]

    As Ryan steadied his breathing, he frowned, looking at the options.

    ''I guess this is why everyone failed,'' Ryan thought, as this was more of an interpretation of heaven''s motives.

    ''Maybe the knowledge test isn''t so much about memorizing what''s in the book as it is,bining knowledge you''ve gathered through your own experiences with what''s in the book.''

    Thinking, Ryan selected the first one since, as far as he''d gathered, the heavens liked stroking its ego, and the other two options seemed to be something negative about the heavens.

    [You have failed the test]

    [Time remaining until retry is possible: 24 hours]

    As Ryan appeared in front of the tower, his thoughts couldn''t help going to option 3.

    ''The heavens seem awful sentient. Is it possible that it''s not so much of a cater but a ruler instead?''

    A call came from behind him as different possibilities came through his mind.

    "Lord Ryan! Sorry, am I disturbing you?"

    Ryan didn''t recognize the voice, but when he turned around, he smiled. "Priya, how are you?"

    The figure stopped and blushed. "I''m fine, my Lord. Thank you for remembering this lowly one''s name."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan looked at Priya, the cat knight who scored 89 on loyalty after never talking to Ryan and only seeing him a handful of times.

    He had automatically assigned her to captain after her act of decisively killing Jackson, the one who scored -144 on the loyalty test. ''I still have no exnation on why Jackson scored so low.''

    ''But hopefully, it''s nothing...''

    "Come now, Priya, how would I not remember my first captain''s name?" Ryan asked, chuckling.

    Ryan added, "Actually, I wanted to talk with you about something."

    "Anything, my Lord. All I need is yourmand, and my squad and I are ready to march against the forces of this world. Restriction or no, they won''t be a match for us," Priya said, clenching her fists and looking into Ryan''s eyes with a fire for battle.

    "As much as I''d love to, we can''t conquer a Heavenly Kingdom without an invasion pass. Plus, we have to own a Heavenly Kingdom of our own," Ryan said, shaking his head. "No. I have another purpose. Is there some way to make a cultivator?"

    "As in, create a non-birthed cultivator?" Priya asked.

    Seeing Ryan''s nod, her smile lit up, "Of course! There are lots of ways. The mostmon is through a pill known as the ''Way To Immortality''.

    She chuckled. "Of course, with such a fancy name, one would think it was for high-ranking cultivators, but it''s a pill one can purchase from any heavenly blessed merchant for a reasonable 50 Heavenly Credits."

    "That reminds me," Ryan suddenly eximed. "I was purchasing some products, and although the price was rather low in the amount of Heavenly Credits, it was still not on par with what I was expecting, seeing as Shade told me my stash of credits could buy a."

    Priya nodded. "It''smon on non-Multiverses that something like this urs. But, of course, since trade is limited, they can''t know the actual price of Heavenly Credits, and they wouldn''t care even if they knew."

    Priya continued, "It''s like if I had gold and you had an apple. If we were raised on a deserted ind, we would rather have the apple than the gold."

    Ryan bounced as he realized what this meant. ''Doesn''t that mean this world is waiting to be plundered?''

    As Ryan fantasized about a world filled with riches at his disposal, Priya said something that made all his fantasiese crashing down.

    "Although one can only have so much gold in this case, gaining Heavenly Credits isn''t possible for you since you''ve hit the world limit."

    "World limit?" Ryan asked, teary-eyed as he thought about all the possible things he could have squandered his money on evaporating before his eyes.

    "The word limit for any non-Multiverse world is usually 10,000 Heavenly Credits, but you could bypass this limit due to a rule known as ''Inheritor''s Law''.

    Inheritor''s Law states: any inheritor within a certain rank can pass down all of their property, no matter the limit, to whomever they desire," Priya replied.

    Ryan sadly nodded and asked, "Okay, so you can supposedly purchase this ''Way To Immortality'' pill at any heavenly blessed merchant, correct?"

    Continuing, he said, "But if that''s the case, why isn''t it avable in the Dawn Pavilion? The males on this can''t cultivate, and if they had this pill, many of them could be cultivators."

    Priya tapped her chin and tilted her head in thought. "Ah ha! The world''s owner must have banned both the sale of such items and males bing cultivators!"

    "I knew the answer to this''s mystery was on the tip of my tongue!" Priya said in self-admiration, pumping her fist.

    ''Ravier has a owner?'' Ryan thought. "What does one have to do to be a world owner?"

    "Oh, that''s simple," Priya said. "First, the easiest way is if the has an owner since it''s as simple as killing them and iming their title."

    "The other way is through a list of requirements, which you have to meet all of."

    "1. Be at least a Master-Ranked cultivator." (Right above SSS-Rank)

    "2. Pass the Heaven''s Test for ownership.

    "3. Be the strongest cultivator on the you want to take ownership of at the time of your test."

 Chapter 133 Craving For Power

    Ryan frowned. ''If Ravier has a owner, who could it be?''

    Ryan''s thoughts were inevitably drawn back to Grace''s mother''s words.

    ''If the Grand Empress of the Kheaweth Empire is the one who is responsible for the male''s inferiority, that means she''s not only a Master-Ranked cultivator, she was and most likely still is Ravier''s strongest cultivator.''

    "Can someone im ownership over a that the heavens aren''t a part of?" Ryan asked.

    He knew that the Grand Empress didn''t steal the ownership from someone else if one couldn''t because the inability of males to cultivate had been present since the heavens first descended on this.

    "No," Priya shook her head. "One cannot even enter a non-heavenly world unless it''s some special case."

    ''This makes my n for conquering the human empire even more impossible,'' Ryan thought.

    "Alright, thank you, Priya. Have a good training session," Ryan said before vanishing.

    ===

    For the next few days, Ryan spent his time between training in the tower and trips to the BCN.

    As he was heading into the Dawn Pavilion, he noticed a sign that hadn''t been above the Pavilion yesterday that read [Dawn''s Annual Dueling Tournament Sign-Up (Last Day)].

    Confused, Ryan put on his mask and went inside,ing to the receptionist''s desk.

    "Hello, Sir- er," the receptionist who expected Ryan at this time started to say her usual line but stopped, seeing the genderless person standing before her.

    "I''d like information on this tournament," Ryan said.

    The woman nodded slowly. "Yes, of course, ma''am," the receptionist said, assuming Ryan was a female cultivator looking to participate.

    "The tournament is our famous yearly event where all of the best swordsmen are invited from across Ravier to duel one another for a chance at winning an enormous prize."

    "What exactly is the prize?" Ryan asked.

    "It varies yearly, usually slightly more extravagant thanst year. For example,st year, it was a pill that could instantly improve one''s race rank by one level up to S-Rank."

    ''My race is a bitcking right now, and I do have time to kill,'' Ryan thought, deciding to give it a whirl.

    As he signed up, the woman gave him details about the rules and schedule.

    "Alright, since you''re the only one participating at this location, you don''t have to worry abouting directly at noon to be teleported to the independent space, but please be here by 12:30."

    Nodding, Ryan left the establishment, returned a few minutester without the mask, and went inside for his regr training.

    ===

    After finishing at the BCN for the day, Ryan returned to his dorm room and then his pce before lying on his bed and pulling out a shiny stone.

    ''This had better have been worth it.''

    After trying daily for almost a week, Ryan passed the knowledge test.

    The answer to question two had been as he had expected, and the heavens had done it to save themselves.

    That cued Ryan in on one of two possibilities.

    Either the heavens weren''t in control of the training tower''s information, or the heavens didn''t care/couldn''t care if someone found out about the truth.

    ''I don''t know which option I would prefer more, but I hope this memory stone was worth the hassle,'' Ryan thought and activated the stone by pouring his energy into it.

    *Whoosh*

    His consciousness was flung through time and space andnded in what seemed like apletely new ceˇŞan arena packed with millions upon millions of spectators. The stadium was so big that the audience from the highest vantage point had a better view of the stars than the action.

    But that didn''t stop them from enjoying the show.

    Each of these spectators had colossal power, at leastpared to Ryan.

    Although Ryan couldn''t discern it from the vision, he instinctually knew these people were at least of the Master Rank!<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''This is exactly what I needed to see,'' Ryan thought, the tension in his body leaving him as he stared at the vast amount of powerful cultivators.

    ''I''ve been too worried about the Grand Empress, and her supposed abilities, that I''ve lost sight of the greater goal. Total domination.''

    Since Ryan had awoken his bloodline and transferred to his Overlord''s Constitution, the desire to conquer and dominate had only grown.

    Ryanpared it to his first few curse attacks on Ravier, where he had no control. Although he had control over his body, the feeling of wanting to control this primal urge wasn''t there in the least.

    Instead, when he gave into the desire for power, he became stronger... and his desire for power grew.

    It was an all-epassing cycle of craving power, getting power, craving power, and getting it again.

    The more he got, the more he wanted.

    It was like a drug to Ryan that he couldn''t stop taking.

    "I just hope there aren''t any side effects," Ryan muttered.

    Focusing on the stage, Ryan saw two humanoid beasts as tall as mountains fighting each other inside the arena.

    They had long horns protruding from their foreheads, glowing brightly before releasing bursts of fire at one another.

    A strange battle ensued, with both creatures mming each other with tremendous force.

    The energy released from each blow caused the ground to tremble and shake, sending dust flying everywhere around them.

    As they kept going at one another, they created cracks across the entire surface of the battlefield that made the stage look like it was ready to crumble into pieces.

    However, as Ryan looked closer, he could tell it was just simted damage, and the stage was still in pristine condition.

    The techniques the two used were nothing short of barbaric as they continuously mmed into each other repeatedly.

    As Ryan watched on, he was somehow gaining insight into their techniques.

    The way their bodies shed with each other, while it didn''t seem on the surface as elegant, suddenly opened themselves up to Ryan, and he could see the truth.

    The two were engaged in a dance of sorts, back and forth and side to side; they swayed in a rhythm of death and destruction, causing Ryan to be mesmerized.

    For minutes Ryan stared transfixed at the battle dance before his eyes, only broken by the sounds of gongs nging and the boo''s of the crowds that signaled a tie.

    Ryan, however, wasn''t booing. Instead, he was in awe at the disy he had just witnessed.

    It was like reading a good book for the first time and being unable to take your eyes away for hours.

    He only truly wakened up when a prompt filled his vision.

    [Congrattions! You have gained the ability ''Dueling Tactics'']

    ===

    Waking up the following day, Ryan got dressed, showered, shaved, and finally dawned his cloak and mask as he made his way to the Dawn Pavilion.

    He decided that after the tournament, he would return to the academy, as he had both business with the Duchess and a certain Lieutenant.

    Entering the familiar Pavilion, the receptionist warmly greeted him and directed Ryan to a set of teleporters different from the BCN.

    Seeing Ryan''s quizzical look, the receptionist said, "The teleporters for the tournament have to be assembled each year and aren''t like the BCN teleporters, which are active year-round."

    Nodding, Ryan stepped through the portal and vanished from the receptionist''s sight.

    The receptionist sighed. "I hope sheˇ­ at least I think it''s a she," the receptionist said, tapping her chin. "I hope whatever they are, they do well. I would get some nice bonus money if they ced well," she said, licking her lips.

    "Oh no! I forgot to tell her the most important part!" the receptionist eximed before sighing.

    "Looks like I won''t be getting any bonus money this year after all."

 Chapter 134 The Tournament Begins!

    Stepping through the portal, Ryan found himself in an arena simr to the one he saw in his vision, although the stadium was less sizable and didn''t have an area for spectators.

    Ryan was currently standing in the middle of the arena, surrounded by otherbatants, seemingly waiting for the start of the tournament.

    As Ryan looked around, he could see that although there were quite a few people, there weren''t as many as Ryan expected.

    Wanting to find out why, Ryan tapped a redhead on the shoulder, asking, "Excuse me, do you know why there aren''t more people here?"

    As the girl turned toward Ryan, the first thing Ryan noticed was her cute face with dimples and orange pupils.

    She seemed to be of some snake race, but as she talked, Ryan wouldn''t have been able to tell from her voice alone.

    "Oh, this must be your first year," she said in a chipper tone.

    "Yes," Ryan nodded while giving his bestdy-killer smile.

    Although he was wearing the mask, that didn''t mean his handsome features were any less attractive, one would not be able to tell what gender he was.

    Ryan had practiced in the mirror for hours, although he had gotten distracted, getting a little worked up and staring at himself in the mirror. ''Okay, a girl version of me would be the hottest being in existence, so it''s perfectly natural,'' he reasoned, but still couldn''t help but shudder, remembering the few minutes he spent transfixed looking at his face.

    "Well then, good luck! This is the regional qualifiers for the main event!" the chipper snakedy exined.

    "Only the top 50 advance from here," she continued looking around. "Last year, I ced in the top 500, but there are more participants this year for some reason."

    "I''ve heard it''s because the prize this year is at least two times better than the rewardst year," a gruff voice cut in from behind the snakedy.

    "Oh, hi Jamie!" the snakedy eximed.

    "Patricia," Jamie nodded. "Who''s your friend?"

    "Oh, I haven''t gotten her name yet," Patricia said, turning towards Ryan.

    Not bothering to correct her, Ryan said, "I go by Emerald."

    "Fancy name," Jamie said, chuckling.

    [The Tournament Will Begin In 60 Seconds]

    [Participants will be given their matchup and will be given a prompt to teleport to their dueling arenas when the countdown is over.]

    [This tournament is single elimination.]

    [Good luck, participants.]

    As the hologram faded, another took its ce, and it started counting down from 60.

    "Well, good luck Jamie and Emerald!" Patricia said, grinning and taking out a moss-green de.

    "Good luck to you both," Jamie grunted.

    "Same to you," Ryan said as he was teleported away.

    ===

    In a spectators booth in an unknown location...

    "Mistress Aurora, is there anything I can get for you today?" a servant asked, bowing to the azure-haired Monarch of the Dawn Pavilion.

    Not turning her head, Aurora replied, "No, you can leave me."

    Aurora sighed as the servant left her alone in her viewing room.

    Although she was the head of the Dawn Pavilion, she always liked viewing her tournaments each year, precisely because the Holy Alliance detested that almost every year, some Zol''Gan Empire soldier won thepetition, pping the three empires in the face.

    ''I hope the same remains true,'' Aurora thought as the servant returned.

    "I thought I told you I didn''t want anything," Aura said as she swiveled her body to look at the servant.

    "You did, Mistress. I just thought I should inform you that the aura rm you ced in one of the Pavilions has gone off."

    Widening her eyes, Aurora jumped and asked, "When did this happen, and where? Tell me the location."

    In her excitement at the news, she missed the look of fear and the servants trembling hands. "Mistress," the servant began in a hushed tone.

    Hearing the fear in the servant''s voice, Aurora knew something was wrong and calmed herself, asking, "What is it? Don''t worry. You should know by now that I don''t shoot the messenger."

    Breathing a sigh of relief, the girl said, "The aura rm went off a week ago, but because of the suspect wearing some sort of cloak that stopped the recognition of their aura, the rm didn''t go off until now."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Clenching her fists, Aurora let out a defeated breath and went to sit back down when the servant said, "But it appears we''re in luck since the person seems to be inside thepetition."

    Raising her eyebrows, Aurora said, "Okay, thank you, Penelope. You can go now."

    "Go find me the participant''s pseudonym."

    Bowing, Penelope left the room to follow her Mistress''s order.

    ''Let''s see who you are. Are you my son? Or are you just a fraud?"

    ===

    As the timer reached zero, Ryan felt the familiar sensation of teleportation as his vision blurred.

    He reappeared in the middle of a simr, smaller arena. The only difference besides the size was the number of people inside was cut down from tens of thousands to two.

    [Emerald vs. Crimson Grate]

    As the notification disyed above them, a timer started counting down from 30 as Ryan saw his opponent pull out her de.

    She was a burly woman who appeared to be at the E-Rank in cultivation.

    Ryan used his energy vision to determine her ss was a warriors ss, the mostmon ss type as far as Ryan could tell.

    "May the gods be merciful on your soul," the challenger said as Ryan approached her.

    "Funny," Ryan said, chuckling. "I was about to say the same thing.

    [5]

    [4]

    [3]

    [2]

    [1]

    [Start]

    The barrier separating the two halves disappeared, and Ryan sprang into action.

    Bringing out his de, he dodged a blow that would have torn his spleen from his stomach as he rolled to the side.

    Springing from the ground, Ryan lunged toward his opponent, stabbing his sword toward her chest before she even realized what had happened.

    Unfortunately for him, the de went right through her body, only his fist lightly connecting with her chest.

    Not knowing what happened, Ryan lost grip of his sword as it went tumbling off into the distance, ttering against the side of the arena.

    Now weaponless, Ryan tried backing away but received a sh across the face.

    The force of the strike was so great it caused Ryan to spin around and fall to his back, his head hitting the dirt hard.

    Feeling dizzy from the hit, Ryan pushed himself up and turned to look at his opponent.

    The burly woman was now holding her sword and breathing heavily but was pleased with her current position as Ryan had lost his de.

    ''Why am I so weak?'' Ryan thought as he tried to use his energy to boost his legs to run but found himself unable to.

    [Warning: Energy Not Allowed]

    [Warning: Use of Lethal Hits Not Allowed]

    As Ryan was going to look up and swear at the heavens, he saw two messages floating that made him pause and instead curse someone else.

    ''Fuck you,dy! You''re so getting it when I return,'' Ryan thought, thinking of the receptionist.

    ===

    Back at the Dawn Pavilion, where Ryan had started, the receptionist watched some of the more popr battles while at her desk when she felt a shiver down her spine.

    ''I must have a cold,'' she thought, reaching under her desk for a nket.

 Chapter 135 The Sacred One

    Looking at his opponent, Ryan knew what he had been doing wrong, but his position was less than optimal.

    Slowly circling her, Ryan touched his cheek and brought his hand away to see a crimson stain.

    ''That bitch cut me!'' he thought angrily, shaking the blood from his fingers. ''Well if I can''t use energy...''

    Ryan abruptly sat on the arena floor and activated his bloodline.

    "Given up?" Crimson Grate asked with an amused smile. "Don''t worry. This will would have been over either way."

    "Shut your fucking mouth," Ryan growled as a red aura surrounded him. His de, lying on the arena floor, quivered and rose, flying toward Ryan''s opponent''s back.

    Crimson Grate tried to dodge the oing assault but the de ran through her like water through a sieve.

    [Winner Emerald]

    As the woman was teleported out before she hit the ground, Ryan unsteadily got to his feet, his bloodline having drained him more than he thought.

    [Next Match In 30 Minutes]

    Thankful for the respite, Ryan didn''t bother retrieving his sword. Instead, he sat on the ground and tried to meditate. He needed to recover what little bloodline energy he could with the scraped-together recovery technique he had invented.

    ===

    Aurora''s POV...

    Changing the hologram to watch ''Emerald vs. Crimson Gate,'' Aurora saw a burly female warrior and a handsome... ''Are they handsome? Or are they beautiful?''

    ''Either way, they are neither my boy nor the previous man who set off the aura rm.''

    Pausing for a moment, Aurora thought the most likely scenario was that this genderless person and the man who had previously set off her aura had the same employer, the human empire.

    ''Kheaweth probably somehow knew about my aura rms and sent people with fake signatures to throw me off. Although they could never have known I was trying to find my son.'' Aurora sighed as she continued watching the duel, "It''s a good thing the empire doesn''t know about my son surviving the school fire. If they did know, they certainly would use him against me."

    "Penelope!" Aurora called.

    A secondter, the maid entered, bowing to Aurora, "Yes, mistress?"

    "Go and-" she faltered as she was about to give Penelope an order. She drew closer to the screen and saw that Ryan, who had been losing the fight, suddenly sat down.

    ''What''s that person doing?'' she thought, but her confusion quickly gave way to awe. "This person has the power of the originals!" Aurora eximed, watching as Ryan used his bloodline powers.

    "I haven''t seen someone use the power of the originals in a thousand years!" Aurora murmured, turning back to the confused Penelope.

    "Ah," Aurora said, realizing Penelope wouldn''t know who the originals were. "Originals have power that activates without the heavens intervention."

    Penelope nodded. "Thank you for the exnation, Mistress."

    Waving her hand, Aurora said, "Go bring me Queen Tree Vine. I have a person to handle."

    ''If the human empire thinks they can send someone to trick my sensors and win the tournament, they have another thinging.''

    ===

    Ryan wiped the sweat off his brow at his narrow victory. ''Hopefully, bloodlines are at leastmon enough that someone knows what''s happening and doesn''t think I''m cheating,'' Ryan thought.

    The pride that kept his back straight and chest puffed out, also demanded perfection in everything he put his mind to.

    Thus, if he entered apetition, he would win it. No matter the cost.

    ''Only the weak need to bow in defeat,'' he recited his mantra in his mind.

    Ryan realized that sinceing to Ravier, he had been afraid. Afraid of the human empire, fearful of this world, and most of all, petrified of the unknown.

    He still didn''t know why the human empire was using him, although some pieces were slowlying together.

    He still didn''t know who he truly was, and why he was able to cultivate Ravier.

    He also didn''t know why he could manipte the elements, specifically the element of space.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan continued to meditate, sitting on the arena floor, waiting for his next opponent. Waiting gave him time to think.

    ''I still haven''t been able to touch on the element of time, so I''m not sure I''m a First One. But, on the other hand, I can easily bend space to my will, freezing it when I''m only in the first tier.

    Ryan had figured out that there were tiers to his bloodline, like ranks, and he had just barely nudged over into the first tier when activating his bond with Yoko.

    [Time Is Up]

    [New Round Start]

    [Emerald vs. Queen Tree Vine]

    With a small warp, which Ryan could senseing, even before anything visual appeared, a woman that seemed to be made entirely from nts entered the arena.

    Ryan tilted his head as he tried to get a better look at her features.

    Her head looked like a Venus flytrap. This aroused curious feelings inside Ryan''sher regions as he thought of all the possible ways that could both be a blessing and a curse.

    [30]

    [29]

    [28]

    As the timer started the countdown, Ryan took out his de and walked toward his opponent, waiting for the barrier to drop.

    "May your soul burn in hell for eternity," she said calmly.

    "I''m sorry. What did you say?" Ryan asked, confused, thinking he might have misheard.

    The only response was an icy re and silence.

    Shrugging it off, Ryan waited for the timer to hit [3] before charging toward the barrier, trying to time his attack.

    Falling to the ground after passing through the barrier, Ryan felt dread wash over him as he again heard the calm voice, with a hint of disdain, say, "May this sword end your life."

    Dodging the sword''s strike, he thought, ''You can''t even kill me. So what are you whining about?''

    He felt a sting on his side, ''She cut me!'' Am I out-skilled?''

    ''No, she''s using energy!'' Ryan realized in rm.

    Flicking his sword, Ryan managed to stop the tip of the attacking de from piercing his ribs. However, blood seeping from his side made it hard to keep a grip on his sword, and as he went in for a counterattack, his de slipped from his hands and ttered to the floor.

    Whirling around him, the queen prepared to swing at him with all her might, but she stopped when she heard a whisper in her ear. "We can''t kill him, Queen!" the little creature hidden in her hair said.

    "What do you mean?" Queen Tree Vine whispered, "We''ve been tasked by Aurora to y this person. Her words arew."

    "He is of the protected, the sacred, I can feel it!" the little creature said, getting desperate as the Queen pulled back her arm to strike at Ryan.

    Lowering her de, the Queen stared at Ryan in shock.

    Ryan used the momentary pause to his advantage, activating his bloodline and stabbing the girl through the heart with his flying de.

    ''Fuck,'' Ryan thought, expecting the de to pass through the Queen.

    But to his shock, the de pierced the Queen''s chest, puncturing her heart.

    A little tree creature exited the Queen. He slowly trekked toward Ryan, hobbling and staggering, his body failing him after his life source was destroyed.

    "Oh, Sacred One," the little creature croaked. "Thank you for showing us your light, if only for a brief moment."

    "We will die happy, knowing our actions might have saved you today."

    "Sacred One, leave now before it is toote. For there are those that want to steal your fate."

    With hisst words, the little creature copsed to the ground, dead.

 Chapter 136 Is The Heavens Wanting Me To Conquer Mother-Daughter Pairs?

    Shocked by the little creature''s words, Ryan regretfully stared at the Queen''s corpse.

    ''That mouth could have done so many things,'' Ryan sighed.

    Deciding things were too strange, Ryan withdrew from the event and activated his token to leave.

    ''So much for my ''win or die mentality,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

    Arriving back in the Dawn Pavilion, Ryan quickly exited the building and headed towards the nearest teleportation array.

    Little did he know, someone was following him. Someone he wouldn''t have been able to sense even if he had checked with his bloodline.

    ===

    Arriving back at the academy, Ryan first contacted the Duchess and set up an appointment for the evening.

    He was hellbent on securing Yoko tonight, and if he couldn''t get the damned bird, he''d storm the Duchess'' castle himself.

    "Girls!" Ryan called, entering his pce.

    Soon an assortment of women, including Emily, Lizzy, Izzy, Grace, and Zoey, arrived before him.

    "Zoey, I don''t require your services this time," Ryan said.

    "I''m only in my first month," Zoeyined. "Bunny girls need a year until they give birth."

    Ryan blinked. "I know that," Ryan said, scratching his head.

    ''A year?! Thank god!'' Ryan thought, breathing a silent sigh of relief.

    "I was just testing your enthusiasm. Still great as ever," Ryan said, smiling.

    "So what do you need us to do, Master?" Emily asked, tilting her head.

    "Is it a battle?" Izzy asked, licking her lips. "I hope it''s a battle.

    "No." Ryan shook his head. "We''re going to be going into the tower to train as a group today," Ryan said.

    "Well, specifically, you girls will train while I do nothing. You need to start building chemistry with each other as you are my greatest ally with my ability [Harem Summon], which, for now, only summons my harem members," Ryan said, gauging the groups'' reactions.

    Lizzy raised her hand. "Who''s going to be the leader, M-Master?" she asked, blushing when she used my new mandatory name.

    ''I would void the rule for my harem members, but respect is important, and with loyalty being such a big part, it''s doubly so,'' Ryan thought.

    Ryan, of course, loved beautiful women calling him master and would neverin.

    Still, it was important for his cat servants and knights to hear his more experienced members be respectful when talking so they knew they weren''t being singled out.

    "It''s going to be our newest member, Grace," Ryan said, raising a few of the group''s eyebrows.

    Ryan chuckled, asking, "Is anyone doubting my judgment?"

    Izzy started to raise her hand teasingly, but Lizzy held it down.

    "You''re no fun, sis," Izzy muttered.

    "Well then, if anyone has anyints after the training session, you can find me," Ryan said, locking eyes with Grace, the two sharing a knowing smile.

    ===

    After the training session, the five came out of the training tower, all smiling and everyone sharing augh.

    Ryan chuckled. "It seems you girls had a good time in there?"

    Although he had told the girls he would do nothing, he had already gone inside the tower and used his bloodline to the max, climbing the tower''sbat training tower simtor as high and fast as possible.

    "You cheated," Lizzy said, smiling.

    "That''s Master, soldier," Grace said, teasingly poking Lizzy in the side, eliciting a yelp.

    "How were we supposed to know Grace''s specialty was inbat experience?" Izzy grumbled, still peeved that her uniqueness in battle was now taken away.

    "Why don''t you show them exactly what it is, Grace," Ryan said, nodding.

    "Yes, master," Grace replied, waving her hand as she showed everyone her new ability.

    [Battle Master (Passive)]

    [Description: This ability gives anyone the user directs in battle 2x knowledge gain.]

    "Double?!" Lizzy eximed, her mouth dropping open.

    "No wonder," Zoey murmured. "It felt as though my very instincts were changing in real-time."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What a useful ability," Emily said, pouting.

    "Emily," Ryan said. "Your ability is extremely advantageous. It just requires the user to take some risk to use it properly."

    "Pleasant face isn''t something you need to use on Ravier, as you''re the daughter of a Duke, but once we leave, it will be instrumental."

    "Leave?" the collective chorus asked.

    "That''s forter," Ryan said. "We still have to join the multiverse, but eventually, we''ll be leaving."

    Lizzy and Izzy bit their lips and looked at each other.

    "Ryan," Lizzy said. "Could we talk to you alone?"

    "Sure," Ryan said, noting her serious tone. "That''s enough training for today, girls. But I expect this daily from now on."

    As the group dispersed, Ryan couldn''t help but give them some motivation. "If you manage to cross floor 50, I''ll give you a little surprise."

    The girls paused, and Zoey muttered, "I hope it''s a big surprise."

    Giggling, the three girls left, leaving only the demon sisters.

    "What''s on your mind,dies," Ryan asked, conjuring some couches for them to sit on.

    Izzy sat awkwardly, looking up and away from Ryan at the sky, while Lizzy bit her fingernails, something Ryan had never seen her do before.

    "Girls," Ryan sighed. "I''m not some monster, not to you."

    "You two were my first true harem members. Who can I trust if I can''t trust you to be open and honest with me?" Ryan asked.

    Touched by his words, the two looked at Ryan. "We''ve been talking," Lizzy started.

    "We know this is a lot to ask," Izzy continued.

    "But would you please sleep with our mother when you meet her?" they both asked.

    Coughing, Ryan wheezed, "What?"

    "I knew it," Lizzy said, copsing against the couch.

    "We shouldn''t have told him all those stories about mother. Now he thinks she''ll eat him up or isn''t pretty enough for him," Izzy said regretfully.

    "Wait, what?" Ryan asked, confused at their line of reasoning. "Do you girls not care that she''s your mother?"

    Blinking, the girls asked, "What do you mean?"

    "You wouldn''t care that I slept with your mother?" Ryan asked, bewildered.

    ''Come to think of it; Ester was the same way. When I mentioned Mara, she shrugged it off like it was no big deal.''

    "Why would we care?" Izzy asked.

    "It''s pervasive for unmarried mothers to take the same spouse as their children. After all, there are only so many good men to go around," Lizzy said. "That''s why you got Mara''s mother, right?"

    Ryan grinned, rubbing his chin in thought. ''I think this world fits me perfectly.''

    "That''s not exactly what I had in mind," Ryan admitted. "But it couldn''t hurt."

    ''Wait, does that mean my trip tonight with the Duchess could get hot and heavy?'' Ryan suddenly thought. ''Is my harem going to be filled with a bunch of mother-daughter pairs?''

    ''Although that sounds lovely, I wasn''t nning on having so many.''

    While this conundrum gued his thoughts, the two girls started whispering.

    "Have you noticed how Ryan doesn''t know much about Ravier?" Lizzy whispered.

    "Yeah," Izzy nodded. "It''s almost like what Emily''s mother said was true, at least about him being from another world."

    "I think it''s just his upbringing," Lizzy replied, shaking her head at her sister''s stupidity. "The chance that he''s somehow from another world is too small."

    "But it would exin a lot," Izzy said, nudging her sister. "He is, after all he''s the quickest man the Zol''Gan Empire has ever seen."

    "Don''t remind me that our mother keeps that list," Lizzy put her head in her hands in embarrassment.

    "Actually, I think she keeps it for a friend," Izzy said, remembering her mother mentioning the list.

    "Mother has a friend?" Lizzy asked, surprised.

    "Of course," Izzy nodded. "Aurora."

 Chapter 137 Booty Massage = Answers

    Ryan made his way toward the Duchess'' estate for their designated meeting.

    ''Maybe, this was her n all along, and this is a terrible decision,'' Ryan thought, still debating his decision to attend this dinner.

    ''Maybe I should have brought Emily, but she''s been away from ss too long. She needed to see her teachers.''

    As Ryan''s mind debated, he ran out of time as he stood before the Duchess'' front gates.

    As he approached, the gates opened automatically, allowing him to step inside.

    No guards like the Frost General''s abode gave the huge mansion an ominous atmosphere.

    "Wee, Ryan," a voice said from the doorway.

    Out stepped a figure in a green silken dress with a marvelous hourss frame and a veil that covered her face.

    "Green hair, just like your daughter," Ryan said. "You''re even more beautiful than I imagined."

    Striding forward, Ryan reached out his hand and took hers, kissing it.

    A shiver went down the Duchess'' spine, but Ryan was too upied with sensing his surroundings to notice.

    "Pleasee inside," she said, "we can talk while we wait for dinner to be finished."

    Nodding, Ryan followed her into the mansion, the doors shutting behind him.

    As Ryan entered, he first noticed arge room ahead of them filled with nts and furniture set up for entertaining guests.

    Walking toward the room, the hall had various weapons hanging on the walls, including swords so extravagant Ryan felt a little drool escape his mouth.

    Sitting on a couch, Ryan rxed and quickly activated his bloodline to scout the mansion.

    ''Strange, there is no one here,'' Ryan thought, sensing no one.''

    ''Even stranger, I can''t sense the Duchess with my bloodline. If she weren''t in front of me, I''d say she wasn''t real,'' Ryan thought, shivering, knowing this could have led to his downfall more than once.

    "So," the Duchess began. "I assume you''d like to know why I brought you here?"

    "I think I know why you brought me here," Ryan said, rxing now that he knew the housecked servants.

    ''Either I''m here to die, or...''

    "You want me," Ryan stated confidently.

    The Duchess''s eyes widened, and she was about to agree when she had to keep herself from coughing blood, hearing Ryan''s words.

    "To stay away from your daughter," Ryan finished.

    Coughing, the Duchess took a second to regain her breath. Then, clearing her throat, she said, "You''re quite the smart one, aren''t you."

    "Never heard someone say otherwise," Ryan said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

    ''Never lie without having your fingers crossed, it saves your karma, as Aliza would say,'' Ryan thought.

    Raising an eyebrow, the Duchess let out a low chuckle. "You''re not wrong, young man. I don''t want you near my daughter."

    As the Duchess was ying with her veil, Ryan squinted his eyes. "Have we met before, Duchess?"

    Freezing, the Duchess thought, ''Does he know? No. He wouldn''t treat me with such respect after calling me a bimbo. God, I hope this works.''

    "Ah, I think dinner is ready," she said, rising from her chair.

    Shrugging, Ryan rose from his seat and asked, "Well, what are you going to do about it?"

    Not understanding his words, the Duchess turned, but instead of Ryan being a few feet away, she came face to face with Ryan''s emerald eyes.

    ''They''re so beautiful,'' she thought, mesmerized.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I-I, what was the question?" the Duchess asked, blinking.

    Using his advantage, Ryan tucked a loose strand of her hair over her ear and said, "What are you going to do about it?"

    The Duchess''s heartbeat increased as the question took on an entirely different meaning from its original.

    "I-" before the duchess could speak, Ryan lifted off her veil and kissed her soft, plump lips.

    "Mmmmm," the Duchess moaned in pleasure as she felt his warm mouth move against hers. But, unfortunately, the kiss onlysted momentarily when she realized he''d stopped.

    Blinking at him several times, she looked into Ryan''s eyes again, feeling embarrassed that she had fallen victim to him so abruptly.

    "Tell me what you''re going to do about me being with your daughter," Ryan said, smiling confidently.

    "Y-you know..." the Duchess said with a shaky voice. "You could have me instead. I''d be willing to make the sacrifice if it meant saving my daughter."

    Ryan''s grin turned devious, and heughed loudly before saying, "Oh, Duchess, just be honest with yourself. You''ve wanted this since you firstid eyes on me."

    As the Duchess opened her mouth to refute his words, she found herself unable to form anyments.

    Taking advantage of her helplessness Ryan pulled her close, kissing her neck as she squeaked out pleasured sounds.

    He slowly ran his hands down her back, allowing his fingertips to trail along every curve until they reached her juicy butt.

    Pulling his lips away from her soft cheek, Ryan grabbed thecy bottom and squeezed her ass hard, making the Duchess let out a long gasp.

    "Tell me, Duchess," Ryan said, rubbing her ass. "What do you know about me?"

    "What do you mean?" the Duchess asked, pulling away slightly to look into his eyes again. "You are... well," she began, blushing. "You are handsome."

    "I know, but that''s not what I meant," Ryan said, grabbing a handful of flesh again as he continued his squeezing motions on her rear end. "Tell me what you know. Don''t you dare lie," he growled.

    The duchess swallowed hard before letting out a breath as if releasing a weight from her shoulders. "I know you''re strong, a cultivator."

    "Go on," Ryan muttered, gripping the Duchess''s plump booty tighter.

    "I know you''re very quick in b-" the Duchess started to say but was interrupted by Ryan smacking her ass.

    "I mean about my identity," Ryan said, giving her a momentary respite from the spanking.

    Taking a deep breath, the Duchess tried to gather her thoughts and keep her story straight so it wouldn''te out as a jumbled mess.

    She looked at his hand, which had moved away from her rump, and it appeared that he wasn''t nning on resuming his punishment.

    "I know the human empire has been following you," she started. "At first, I wasn''t concerned, but when you turned out to be a cultivator, I looked into it."

    "You did?" Ryan said, raising an eyebrow. "And what did you find?"

    "I found that the Grand Empress had started a secret project called ''subject one'', and you were rted to it. That''s all I know, really," the Duchess confessed.

    "That doesn''t help me at all," Ryan muttered disappointedly.

    "What do you know about the Kheaweth family?" Ryan suddenly asked, realizing he was talking to royalty.

    ''Although Ester is the highest-ranking general in the human empire, she doesn''t pay attention to politics,'' Ryan thought, hoping that this state of arousal and fear he was making the Duchess endure would help her find answers easier.

    Feeling Ryan''s hand caress her rear again, she cleared her throat and tried her best not to wince or whimper from his spanks as they''d started as well.

    "That I know," The Duchess answered with a shake in her voice. "Everything bad about the human empire is that woman''s fault."

    "Who?" Ryan asked, unconsciously increasing the pressure on the duchess''s cheeks.

    "The- the Grand Empress!" the duchess stuttered. "She''s an evil woman who had Ravier in the palm of her hand for millennia without anyone being the wiser! Even her daughter."

 Chapter 138 Interrupted [R-18]

    Ryan shuddered, hearing those bone-chilling words.

    "What do you mean?" Ryan asked, wishing for further boration.

    "I think it''s time for a reward, don''t you say?" the Duchess asked, a wicked grin on her face.

    Grabbing Ryan''s wrist, she pulled him closer before whispering into his ear, "Let''s see how far I can push you tonight, shall we?"

    Looking into the Duchess''s eyes, Ryan could feel his body hardening. ''I forgot who I was dealing with.''

    Pulling the duchess toward him by her arm, he kissed her neck gently.

    As their lips moved against each other, Ryan wanted to touch more than just her soft skin.

    His fingers trailed down to her corbone, and he heard her sigh happily when he began to run them along its curve.

    Wrapping his arms around her waist, Ryan pressed the Duchess up against the wall.

    She gasped as his cock brushed against her thigh, causing a new wave of desire to course through her.

    Pressing his mouth onto hers again, Ryan allowed the Duchess to lead this time, slowly sucking on her lower lip as she nibbled on his.

    "You''re such a tease," the Duchess panted.

    "I''m not sure that''s what you''d call it," Ryan replied, moving his hands under her dress.

    As they kissed, Ryan could feel the Duchess''s heart beating rapidly in her chest like a drum.

    "Tell me your name, Duchess Vanroth," he said before biting her earlobe softly.

    Her entire body shuddered from the contact with his tongue before she gave a muffled moan into his mouth.

    "I-I... it''s Sienna," she murmured, blushing furiously.

    "Well, Sienna," Ryan said, looking deep into her eyes while she gazed back at him. "It''s time for your reward."

    The Duchess''s breath hitched as he reached behind her and unzipped her dress so fast her head spun.

    Reaching down to the corset, he undid theces with practiced ease, then let the top fall off to reveal a bra he quickly unsnapped and discarded.

    Breaking the kiss, the Duchess gasped when his hand went over the front of her panties, giving a soft groan when his fingers brushed across her mound.

    His finger made a trail toward her dripping slit but stopped right before touching her wet flesh as the Duchess trembled excitedly in his grasp.

    "Take them off," hemanded after staring at the duchess''s flushed face.

    "W-what?" the Duchess asked hesitantly.

    "You heard me," Ryan growled, causing her to jump slightly. "Now!"

    The duchess gulped hard before letting go of her skirt to stand still,pletely naked except for her shoes.

    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ryan pulled out his member from inside his pants before moving closer to the Duchess.

    He could feel his dick rub against her stomach until it reached the center of her pussy.

    Running his hands along the sides of the Duchess''s hips, he looked into her eyes as he pushed forward.

    With a loud moan, she parted her legs further so he could enter deeper into her body.

    "Please..." Sienna whispered, feeling him push through the walls of her channel. "Do... do it... please... harder... faster... oh my-"

    Her pleas were cut off by a muffled sound that escaped deep within her throat.

    It took her several seconds to realize what had happened, and then she realized her mouth was being forced open.

    Ryan slid his fingers into her warm mouth while looking down at the Duchess. Sienna''s cheeks burned red hot as he stared at her before pulling his fingers away and moving back just an inch or two.

    "Open wider," he said firmly, pressing back in again with two long slender fingers.

    The duchessplied, letting out a small whimper as his finger slowly moved in and out of her depths, stretching her inner walls.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As they were going at it, a voice came behind them, causing the pair to freeze in shock.

    "How could you betray Aurora?"

    Turning around, the pair saw a woman d in ck, drenched in the darkness like it was her shield.

    Ryan pulled out of the Duchess and drew his sword, getting ready to summon his harem when he heard, "Wait!"

    "Asmaya, what are you doing here?" the Duchess asked. "And what do you mean? I would never betray sister Aurora."

    ''Aurora from the Dawn Pavilion?'' Ryan thought, remembering what Velmuuth had told him about the leader of the Dawn Pavilion.

    "Then what are you doing with him?" Asmaya questioned, pointing a ck de drenched in darkness at Ryan.

    ? "He killed the Tree Vine Queen!" Asmaya roared. "He set off the aura rm my sister erected. She sent me here to follow him, and what do I find."

    "Sienna Vanroth, someone I thought we had finally found within the human empire we could trust, yet it was all a facade, wasn''t it?" Asmaya spat.

    Bewildered, the Duchess turned to Ryan, who seemed just as confused.

    "You do realize that you sent the Queen against me, right?" Ryan asked, tilting his head.

    "I just joined thepetition, and I got greeted with an attempt against my life," Ryan said, irked by the situation.

    "Tell me, Asmaya, how do you know Ryan is working for the human empire?" the Duchess asked.

    "Because I know for sure that he isn''t. He''s the one in this room with the most reasons to try and bring it to the ground," the Duchess said.

    Furrowing her brow, Asmaya looked confused but kept her de pointed at Ryan.

    "What do you mean? What makes you so sure?" Asmaya asked, hearing the confidence in the Duchess''s tone.

    "Because," Ryan drawled, tired of this charade, "of this."

    Waving his hand, he disyed his oath as he had for the Frost General.

    Ryan knew the Duchess already knew about his oath from Emily''s letter.

    He just hoped this Asmaya was really from the Dawn Pavilion and the Duchess wasn''t being yed.

    "My heavens," Asmaya whispered, withdrawing her de.

    Falling to one knee, she lowered her head and said, "Forgive me. I have offendedˇ­" abruptly halting her words, Asmaya slowly widened her eyes, trembled, and looked up.

    "It can''t be. You don''t look like him. You don''t have the same hair or looks, but your eyesˇ­"

    Seeing Ryan''s exposed member, there was no doubt that this man was a boy.

    "V-v-velox?" Asmaya trembled.

    Like a bolt of lightning, Ryan was struck dumb at hearing that name.

    The name he had uttered when saying the critical-level oath. And the name the woman in his dreams called him.

    Opening her mouth to speak again, she gasped as an arrow slunk into her stomach, causing blood to spurt from her mouth instead of words.

    The Duchess''s aura red, and she flew at supersonic speed toward the archer, cutting their head off.

    But it was toote.

    As Asmayay shaking on the ground, she whispered, "Velox,e here."

    Tears filled his eyes for unknown reasons, Ryan''s body moved on its own, and he arrived in front of the dying woman.

    "You''ve grown so big, my little Velox. Aunty is proud of you," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

    "Y-You ha-ave to be. . . strong. Find Aurora," Asmaya coughed, spraying blood onto the cold ground.

    "Find your mother."

 Chapter 139 True Identity

    "Darius," the Grand Empress started, but couldn''t help but thrash the man again with her whip.

    *Smack*

    "I know men are ipetent, good for nothing, with zero worth in the Multiverse, but you are the lowest of the low."

    *Smack*

    "I''m sorry, Grand Empress," Darius tried to say, but as he was gagged, all that came out was: "Sow-wa... sow-wa... sow-wa... sow-wa..." It sounded like the wheezing of a broken car engine. His body shook from fear and pain as he hung over the ground, his legs tied together so they didn''t fall apart under him.

    The Grand Empress walked back and forth before him. Then, she stopped suddenly, turning around slowly.

    "Every one of the people you send to watch subject one is dead. And nothing! Nothing! Nothing to show for it!" she screamed.

    "No intelligence on why they died or who killed them," she continued. "You have failed me."

    "You have failed me. In thest millennia, you are the only man I gave responsibility to since I sealed off the men from this world from cultivation," she repeated angrily. "Do you know what the punishment is for failure?"

    "Death!"

    Slicing his abdomen open, she watched as the gagged man''s organs spilled onto the floor of her room in the pce. The blood spurted out in every direction, making arge puddle underneath him. After a few seconds, only a slight tremor remained on his body, and then he became still.

    "Bee?" the Grand Empress called.

    "Yes, Grand Empress?" Bee asked, ignoring the stone floor''s red pools and wet stters.

    "Have him disposed of, would you? My chambers are starting to smell again."

    "Yes, Grand Empress."

    "Oh, and bring me, Dr. Rubenstein. She will be taking over the project from now on."

    ===

    Ryan left the Duchess''s abode feeling half-dead. After the brief fight with the archer killed the mood for Duchess and Ryan, they made ns to meet back up the following evening toplete what they had started.

    Although his aunt hadn''t died, the arrow wasced with a potent poison.

    She was currently being treated by his servants with healing specialties inside his pce but was unconscious.

    ''All I can do is pray they can save her.''

    Early estimates by his servants looked promising, but they said she would likely remain unconscious until Hannah returned from the mission Ryan had sent them on.

    ''Although my aunt could tell me a lot of useful information, the mission Hannah would tell me even more.''

    Visions of his childhood with his aunt yed like a movie reel shing over and over.

    ''I know who I am.''

    Ryan knew for certain that he came from the Dawn Pavilion, and his original name was Velox Metam.

    ''I wonder what that trantes to in Latin?'' Ryan thought, but he shook that thought aside as an idea began to form.

    ''If my mother is this Aurora, then why am I in this predicament in the first ce?'' Ryan thought.

    ''Surely, if Aurora owns the Dawn Pavilion, she''s powerful enough to protect me.''

    ''That might not be true, Master,'' a voice inside his head responded.

    Luckily he had Yoko now. He had almost forgotten Yoko at the Duchess'' mansion until he saw Volf prance into the room, his slobbering maw holding an egg, acting all innocent.

    Yoko had ranted for at least ten minutes about Volf''s torture. Ryan chuckled at the memory.

    ''What do you mean, Yoko?'' Ryan asked the egg, now safely tucked away in his pce.

    ''I mean,'' Yoko responded. ''That, based on what I was able to gather while being stuck inside Sienna''s garbage dump of a house, is that the Dawn Pavilion isn''t a Heavenly Kingdom.''

    ''Correct,'' Ryan replied.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Using their connection, the two could talk telepathically if they were close enough, and thankfully that applied if Yoko was in his pce.

    Ryan could also allow Yoko to look through his vision, which would be extremely helpful as she could give him tips and tricks while Ryan wouldn''t have to expose the fact that he had an evil dragon talking to him.

    ''Then she probably can''t protect you. At least not against this Grand Empress.''

    ''Why?''

    ''Because,'' Yoko sighed. ''A Heavenly Kingdom has many advantages, like its famous protection, but it also has offensive advantages.''

    ''Such as?'' Ryan asked, intrigued.

    ''They canunch an invasion at any time against merchant forces like the Dawn Pavilion as long as they pay an appropriate amount of Heavenly Credits.''

    ''The crux is that it sounds like the Holy Alliance controls the Dawn Pavilion and probably has what''s known as a ''voters veto''.''

    ''They could veto the invasion and change it to a duel, forcing Aurora into a one-on-one challenge, or she could lose her ownership.''

    ''They haven''t done it yet because they don''t want to give the other alliance member power, and using someone like Aurora to hold power is the perfect solution.''

    ''But if she refuses to give you up, that could force the Holy Alliance to act,'' Yoko finished.

    Ryan thought about the dragon''s words. ''Thought the Holy Alliance supports the Grand Empress, they might not be involved with my brainwashing.''

    As far as he knew, the Grand Empress was acting on her own, and the rest of the alliance wasn''t the wiser.

    ''What if only the Grand Empress is involved?'' Ryan asked.

    ''Well, you''ve said she''s likely the owner of this world, correct?''

    Ryan nodded and then, realizing that Yoko couldn''t see his nod continued, ''You know, although I can see your vision shaking, I can''t actually see you nod,'' Yoko said, chuckling.

    ''Well, if that''s the case, that would be worse.''

    ''Why?'' Ryan asked, perplexed.

    ''Because that would mean she''s more likely to get desperate, and a world owner has a lot of ways they can screw someone over if they get desperate.''

    Scratching his chin, Ryan sighed. ''Guess I can''t go run to mommy.''

    Seeing a shing exmation mark in the top right of his vision appear, Ryan clicked, and a notification came into view.

    [Harem Message Alert!]

    Clicking to open the message, Ryan saw it was from the Frost General.

    [Harem Member: Ester Frost]

    [Message: We need to speak. Come meet me at my mansion as soon as possible.]

    Raising his eyebrows, Ryan asked Yoko, ''Could you see that?''

    ''See what?'' Yoko asked, confused.

    ''Never mind. Change of ns, we need to go to the Frost General''s house.''

    ''Why?''

    ''Oh, I guess you wouldn''t know,'' Ryan said, chuckling. ''She''s in my harem now.''

    ''What?!'' Yoko squealed. ''She allowed you to sleep with her?''

    ''I overheard from the Duchess that her personality is as cold as ice and that she hasn''t had any emotions in thousands of years! So how did you do it?'' Yoko asked.

    ''Let''s just say it wasn''t my personality that won her over.''

 Chapter 140 Shes An Overlord

    Arriving at Ester''s mansion, Ryan dismounted his flying sword and stepped toward the familiar guards.

    "Hello again," Ryan said. "I think your master is expecting me."

    Gritting her teeth, the soldier murmured, "Just you wait," as Ryan walked out of her sight and into the house.

    Entering the familiar environment, Ryan stalked forward and was about to call out when he felt someone pounce at him from behind.

    "I''ve missed you so much," Ester said, leaping on Ryan and caressing his cheek.

    "You have no idea how hard it''s been for me to stay away from you."

    ''This is the Frost General?!" Yoko shouted in Ryan''s mind.

    ''She wasn''t always like this,'' Ryan responded, remembering Yoko was still watching.

    Not minding having a voyeur, Ryan allowed Yoko to keep watching as he embraced Ester.

    "What did you call me here for, my Frost Goddess?" Ryan asked, using her new nickname for added emphasis.

    "Frost Goddess?" Ester eximed, her cheeks bing flushed.

    "Oh, right, I forgot!" Ester said, shaking her head. "It''s about the Empress."

    "She wants to meet."

    "Which Empress are we talking about?" Ryan asked, arching his eyebrow.

    Giggling like a little schoolgirl, the Frost General said, "The human one, silly."

    ''This is insane. You have no idea how much the Duchess fears this woman''s temperament. You''re amazing, Master,'' Yoko said telepathically.

    Ignoring Yoko''s praise, Ryan asked, "Why would she want to meet? And are you sure it''s a good idea? I mean, I do want to destroy her empire."

    Frantically shaking her head, Ester said, "No. That''s where you''re wrong. The Grand Empress has deceived the Empress, and even though she holds the title of Empress, she has even less political power than Duchess Vanroth."

    Frowning, Ryan asked, "Then what would be the point of meeting with her?"

    "What does she bring to the table?"

    Smirking, Ester said, "She''s an Overlord."

    The room fell silent as Ryan gawked at Ester.

    ''Ah, to be born on a young,'' Yoko sighed.

    ''What do you mean?'' Ryan asked telepathically.

    ''I mean that it is nearly impossible for one to be a heavenly chosen if they are born on a already connected to the Multiverse.''

    ''How rare is it exactly?''

    ''I can''t quantify how rare they are until you experience just how vast the Multiverse is, but just know that even in a 100x the size of this one, it would be a rarity if there were two.''

    Ryan''s mind nked as he took in that information.

    Seeing the look on Ryan''s face, Ester thought Ryan was overwhelmed by the fact that the Empress was an Overlord.

    "Although she''s only at S-Rank, she''s as powerful as an SSS-Rank cultivator in battle," Ester said. "She can be a great asset to us."

    Taking a deep breath, Ryan cleared his thoughts and asked, "I agree. But why now? Did you ask her to meet?"

    "Actually, she''s been looking into you, probably after being tipped off by Duchess Vanroth."

    "By the way, did you go and see her?" Ester suddenly asked, remembering their previous conversation.

    Ryan nodded solemnly. "I just came from there."

    Hearing the sadness in Ryan''s voice, Ester wanted tofort him but knew time was critical.

    "Well, she wants to meet right now."

    "Now?" Ryan asked, looking Ester in the eye.

    Gulping, Ester couldn''t help but blush, seeing Ryan''s emerald eyes and remembering their night together.

    "Yes," she said, looking at the ground.

    "Then let''s go."

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    After theynded their flying swords, Ryan sat down and activated his bloodline while surveying his surroundings.

    Even though it was pitch ck outside, that didn''t impede Ryan in the slightest.

    "No traps nearby," Ryan said.

    He had gotten good enough with his bloodline that he could talk while in a trance-like state.

    Although he still couldn''t move, this was a step in the right direction.

    "She wouldn''t set any traps," Ester said, trying to reassure Ryan.

    "Although I can''t exactly call us friends, she is the closest thing I''ve had to one since the Grand Empress took me."

    "What do you mean took you?"

    "Ah, never mind," Ester said hastily.

    "Oh look, there shees now," Ester said, pointing to a flying sword iing at supersonic speed.

    Slowing down, a gorgeous woman with soft ck-brown hair, translucent skin, and deep blue eyes stepped off a jaded sword.

    "Ester, it''s good to see you," the woman said.

    "This must be Ryan Emerald," the woman said, turning toward Ryan.

    Surprised at hearing his real name, Ryan asked, "Do we know each other? I would remember meeting such a beautifuldy before."

    Used to hearing suchpliments, the Empress said, "Thank you, but I''m not here for such ttery. I''m here to get the truth."

    "And what truth would that be, Empress?" Ester asked, frowning at the way the Empress brushed off Ryan''spliment.

    "Ester?" Taking a step back, the Empress asked, "Why are you defending him?"

    "That''s not important," Ryan said, cutting in before Ester gave away too much information. "What is important is why we''re meeting here and what we can do for each other."

    "What could you possibly do for me?" the Empress asked, contempt filling her voice.

    Seething, the Frost General released her Frost Aura, aiming it at the space around the Empress.

    "Although I can''t attack you directly without alerting your mother, don''t think you can say such things about my Master in front of me," Ester said, her icy tone sending a shiver down the Empress''s spine.

    ''Yoko, do you think my conversation changes how my harem members see me?'' Ryan asked, puzzled at Ester''s use of the word Master.

    ''Absolutely, Master,'' Yoko said. ''Haven''t you noticed me treating you with respect as well?''

    ''I just figured you were smarter.''

    Inside Ryan''s pce, Yoko muttered, "This Master of mine needs some lessons inmon sense."

    ''Although it didn''t improve their loyalty towards you, it changed how they see you. In their eyes and mine, we are not on equal footing.'' Yoko exined, ''You are akin to a celebrity in our eyes, as you would say.''

    Turning his attention back to the Empress, Ryan heard the Empress exim, "Master?!"

    "Ester, calm down," Ryan ordered.

    Massaging the bridge of his nose, Ryan said, "Empress, please forgive Ester."

    Turning to Ester, Ryan said, "Apologize to the Empress."

    Pouting, Ester''s aura vanished, and she lowered her head. "Sorry."

    Blinking, the Empress muttered, "Is that really you, Ester?"

    Smiling at the Empress''s reaction Ester said, "Yes! Master cured me and took away the frost in my soul."

    Seeing Ester smile, the Empress''s jaw dropped as she gawked at the miracle unfolding before her eyes.

    "Empress," Ryan said, trying to get things back on track. "You invited me here. Would you mind telling us why?"

    The Empress stared at Ryan for a second before sighing in defeat.

    "I''m sorry," she said, her shoulders slumping. "I tried to act tough, but all I did was embarrass myself."

    "Throughout my investigation into project ''subject one,'' I realized just how naive I have been about my mother and her true nature."

    The Empress continued, "I''ve found out that she''s been tricking me for so many years, and when I found out what she did to you," she paused, gazing with regret and sadness into Ryan''s eyes, "I couldn''t bare it."

 Chapter 141 The Emerald Family

    "What do you mean you couldn''t bear your mother''s actions?" Ryan asked, not liking the pity he saw in the Empress''s eyes.

    "I mean," the Empress began, "after I learned of Mother ordering Dr. Rubenstein to torture and brainwash you, I felt shame."

    "Shame that I didn''t know about my mother''s dealings."

    "Shame that I didn''t stop her."

    "Shame that I couldn''t stop her."

    As the Empress fell silent, Ryan asked, "Do you know why they brainwashed me?"

    "So you''re not surprised that she brainwashed you to control you?" the Empress gasped.

    "But, wait, they still believe you''re under their control. Are you?"

    Ryan shook his head. "No. They kidnapped me for testing, but I was aware during the testing and could manipte the answers. So I can confidently say no. Their brainwashing did not work, and I am not under their control."

    Ester, having calmed down, turned to Ryan and asked, "Then do you remember?"

    Shaking his head, Ryan replied, "I only remember bits and pieces, but I don''t remember who I am."

    "You mean you don''t know?" the Empress asked.

    "Know what?"

    "The reason why they wanted you. The reason why they brainwashed you, tortured you, and took away your memories."

    Ryan felt his heart rate increase as he slowly shook his head, eyes locked on the Empress.

    "That''s unfortunate because neither do I," she said.

    Ryan nearly lost his bnce as he heard the Empress bait him.

    "Why''d you have to say it like that?" Ryan muttered.

    "Anyway," Ryan said, trying to refocus the conversation. "Are you interested in setting up an alliance?"

    "What do you mean?" the Empress asked.

    "Are you just going to let the Grand Empress get away with everything?" Ryan asked.

    "What else can I do?"

    "Believe in me," Ryan said and then asked, "You''re  an Overlord, but what''s your specialty rank?"

    Seeing no reason to lie, the Empress said, "D-Rank."

    Grinning, Ryan asked, "You already know I''m a cultivator, correct?"

    The Empress nodded, so Ryan continued, "But you didn''t find out one crucial detail."

    "I''m an Overlord too."

    Widening her eyes, the Empress looked to Ester for confirmation, and when she saw Ester''s nod, she gulped and said, "You just asked my rank. That means you must be confident in yours."

    "Is your specialty a C-Rank?"

    Seeing Ryan shake his head, she asked, "B-Rank?" Ryan shook his head.

    "You have an A-Rank specialty?!" Ester and the Empress shrieked.

    "Read it and weep,dies."

    [Harem Overlord (SSS-Rank)]

    Ester''s mouth dropped open, and the Empress startedughing hysterically.

    "This is fabulous!" the Empress eximed.

    "This is... wait, what is your specialties name?" She abruptly paused and turned back to Ryan''s still-active prompt.

    "H-H-Harem Overlord?" the Empress sputtered, blushing.

    "Wait, then that means..." the Empress fell silent, looking between Ryan and the Kheaweth''s famous Frost General, known for her icy demeanor and not caring about anyone''s attitude.

    As if on cue, Ester leaned over to Ryan and gave him a peck on the cheek, Ryan responding by squeezing her firm ass.

    Blushing, the Empress squeaked, "Who else of importance have you seduced?"

    "Not anyone important." Ryan shrugged.

    "Just Duchess Vanroth, her daughter, Mara, and Grace, the rebel leader''s daughter.

    Sighing, the Empress reached into her spatial bag and pulled out a velvet chair, sitting down.

    "To think I''d see the day when a male had a harem full of powerful women," the Empress shook her head.

    "Well, Ryan Emerald," the Empress said, standing.

    "I''ll choose to believe in you. Tell me your n, and you might as well call me Ba."

    ===

    [Are you sure you wish to create the heavenly force ''Emerald Family''?]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Yes / No]

    [You have selected ''Yes'']

    [Invite ''Ba Kheaweth'' to join ''Emerald Family''?]

    [Yes / No]

    "To a prosperous future," Ryan said, selecting yes.

    "To a future rid of my mother," Ba replied, epting Ryan''s invitation.

    [Note: Your faction is owned by a Heaven''s Chosen. Buff: 10% increase in speed in cultivation for all members]

    [Note: You have promoted a Heaven''s Chosen to a leadership position in your heavenly force, ''Emerald Family.'' The following buff is applied. Buff: 5% increase speed in cultivation for all leadership]

    A series of notifications came into Ryan''s view after he promoted Ba to the rank of [Duke], the default name for the second-highest position, the first position being his.

    Inviting Ester and promoting her to the same rank, Ryan nodded. ''I''d say we''re off to a pretty good start.''

    Assuming Sienna joined his new organization, Ryan now had Empress Ba, Duchess Sienna, and Ester, the highest-ranked General of the empire, fighting on his side.

    "Alright, now that we''ve got a heavenly force and we''re all officers, we can send each other messages through the staff group chat in the [Allegiances] tab," Ba said.

    "Although it will take a while, we can eventually build up a force and pass the challenge to be a Heavenly Kingdom and somehow acquire an invasion pass."

    Ryan nodded, although he was thinking, ''Hopefully, Aurora will be able to provide us the invasion pass and help us with the manpower.''

    Although Ryan had to trust the Empress with some information, he didn''t want to give away all of his cards.

    "Oh, right," Ryan said. "You''re okay with working with the Zol''Gan Empire, correct?"

    The Empress was about to say something, but a re from Ester made her close her mouth.

    "I''ll manage," Ba said with a forced smile.

    ===

    After the three split up and went their separate ways, Ryan went to his dorm room and used the flight time to talk with Yoko.

    ''So tell me, why couldn''t you fly away from the Duchess?'' Ryan asked Yoko telepathically, knowing she had been able to move and sneak away from the Old Man from Shade.

    Yoko sighed. ''When you and I formed a bond, my shell hardened, preparing me to hatch, making it nearly impossible to send any energy in or out.''

    ''So you''re hatching soon?'' Ryan asked enthusiastically.

    ''Yes. I''ll be hatching in about two months.''

    ''Two months?'' Ryan thought. ''That''s about the same as the wedding.''

    Shaking off the thought, Ryan returned to his conversation with Yoko.

    ''So, can you tell me about bloodlines?'' Ryan asked.

    He had been eager to get Yoko because he wanted to know about his bloodline and how to use it properly.

    Flying on his sword, Ryan shook from the anticipation so much that his flight path wobbled.

    Breathing deeply, Ryan calmed down his nervous expectation as he awaited the all-knowing dragon''s reply.

    ''No,'' Yoko abruptly stated.

    ''No?'' Ryan asked, puzzled. ''What do you mean no?''

    ''I can''t tell you about bloodlines,'' Yoko said. ''At least not about how to use yours or get stronger.''

    ''If you think just because you''re in a shell that I can''t get to you...,'' Ryan started, but Yoko cut him off.

    ''Master, don''t jump to any conclusions,'' Yoko said, chuckling.

    ''It''s not that I don''t want to tell you; it''s simply because I can''t.''

    ''What do you mean?'' Ryan asked, arching his brow.

    ''I can''t tell you because every bloodline is different and unique.''

    ''Everything about them is unique, from how they level up, regenerate, increase over time, and many other factors add to their uniqueness.''

    Ryan frowned. ''Well, it is what it is.''

    ''What are your future ns?'' Yoko asked, noticing Ryan was falling silent.

    ''Well, to conquer the human empire, obviously,'' Ryan replied.

    ''I know that, but how?''

    Tapping his chin, Ryan thought of his strategy so far. ''I guess by gaining powerful allies and raising my strength.''

    ''I agree. And I know the perfect ce to start next,'' Yoko said.

    ''Where?''

    ''The Red Dragon Empire.''

 Chapter 142 Expelled

    Dr. Rubenstein chuckled as she sat at arge table and sifted through documents on her hologram.

    "This guy really screwed everything up, didn''t he, Bee?" Dr. Rubenstein asked, turning to her assistant.

    "Yes, mistress," Bee said, staring stoically at the wall in front of her.

    "Well, it''s not like anything can go wrong now. Subject one has been sessfully brainwashed, and all we have to do is wait for the wedding tomence, and we''ll have met our goal."

    "Bee, go to the school and order subject one''s expulsion immediately."

    "Also, take this," Dr. Rubenstein reached into her desk door and brought out a bag full of powder.

    The stoic Bee trembled at seeing the bag, her eyes widening. She couldn''t help but mutter, "Tracking powder," before catching herself and falling silent again.

    "Excellent, Bee," Dr. Rubensteinplimented. "Take this tracking powder and put it on his expulsion letter. Make sure he receives it so we can track him."

    Bowing, Bee took the precious powder and left the room.

    "He might think that he''s not brainwashed, but we''ll see who beats whom in the end," Dr. Rubenstein smiled and startedughing maniacally.

    ===

    Ryan returned to his dorm room only to find two female officers, one of whom he recognized. "Valery?"

    The curly-haired lieutenant looked at him with regret in her eyes as she handed him a note. "Recruit Anthony Dire, you are hereby expelled from this academy and dishonorably discharged from your mandatory duties as a recruit of the Kheaweth Military," Valery said, not meeting Ryan in the eye.

    "Please hand over your wristband," the second officer said, keeping an eye on Ryan.

    Shocked at the sudden turn of events, Ryan looked at Valery but seeing the hurt in her eyes, he knew she had nothing to do with this.

    ''Not like this is exactly bad. Not much for me to gain here anyway,'' Ryan thought.

    "Alright, here," Ryan handed them the bracelet and took the letter from Valery.

    "Now what?" Ryan asked.

    "We need to escort you off campus," Valery said awkwardly. "Protocol."

    Nodding, Ryan walked off campus, messaging Emily to meet him at her mother''s house since Ryan had nned to meet her back at his dorm room.

    Next, Ryan decided he needed to go to the Duchess'' house again. This visit would take ce earlier than anticipated.

    "Ryan?" Sienna asked, surprised at seeing Ryan back so soon. "I thought we were meeting tomorrow."

    "Change of ns," Ryan chuckled. "I got expelled from the academy."

    "Expelled?" the Duchess asked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay,e inside."

    After settling down in the ornate main room, the room his aunt had almost been killed in, and the room where he had been plowing the Duchess a few hours ago, Ryan looked at the green-haired beauty as she poured the tea.

    "The look on your face tells me something else happened tonight," the Duchess said, handing Ryan a ss of tea, then she sat back and took a sip from her bone china teacup.

    Nodding, Ryan said, "I met with the Empress."

    The Duchess spat out her tea, eximing, "You did what?!"

    "How did it go?" she hurriedly asked, looking Ryan over, making sure no injuries had urred during his meeting.

    Ryan replied by waving his hand, showing his new ''Emerald Family'' force with the Empress as a [Duke] rank.

    Whistling, the Duchess looked at Ryan with eyes full of enthusiasm, "You''re a great man."<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Duchess put her teacup down and leaned close to Ryan, her hand began stroking his hair when suddenly a voice came from the entrance, "I''m home!"

    "Emily?!" the Duchess shouted, shocked at hearing her daughter''s voice.

    A secondter, a smaller version of the Duchess appeared in the hall and walked toward the duo, noticing a second toote that the two were very close together.

    "What are you two doing?" Emily asked tentatively, seeing her mother and Ryan''s precarious situation.

    "It''s not what it looks like!" the Duchess shouted.

    "I was about to bang your mom," Ryan said bluntly.

    Emily looked at Ryan, then back at her mother before turning back to Ryan and asking, "I thought we hated her, though?"

    The words hit her with such force that the Duchess fell off her chair, hitting the floor with a thud.

    Hearing something hit the floor, Volf appeared, scrambling to see if a lump of meat had somehow ended up on the floor.

    Seeing Volf appear, Yoko shouted in Ryan''s mind, ''Kill it! Kill the beast who defiled this great one!''

    Volf, sensing tension and seeing no b of meat, looked around and spotted Ryan. Meandering over to him, Volf sat like a puppy before his master and seemingly waited for instructions.

    Patting Volf on the head, Ryan told Yoko, ''I don''t see any beast, so I think you must be mistaken.''

    ''Why, youuu!''

    ''Enough,'' Ryan said. ''We''re not killing the Duchess''s pet. End of discussion.''

    "Hello, my princess," Ryan said, turning to Emily, who beamed, hearing her pet namee out of Ryan''s mouth.

    "My prince, I''ve missed you!" Emily eximed, throwing herself on Ryan''sp and curling up in his arms.

    The Duchess, trying to get off the floor without Ryan''s assistance, slowly rose and looked at the duo with narrowed eyes.

    With a mixture of jealousy and heartbreak in her tone, she said, "Why do you hate me, daughter?"

    "You tricked me!" Emily eximed. "You were the one who made the letters to the heavens! You were the one who tried to get me away from Ryan!"

    ring at her mother from Ryan''sp Emily finished, "That''s why I hate you."

    "Oh, that," the Duchess replied awkwardly. "I was just trying to look out for you, sweetie."

    "That''s enough, Mom. If you don''t apologize to Ryan and tell him it''s okay for us to be together, I will hate you forever!"

    ''Hate me forever?'' The words echoed in the Duchess''s mind over and over.

    ''My precious daughter will hate me forever?!''

    "Of course, I forgive Ryan, sweetie," said the Duchess as her voice suddenly turned gentle.

    "In fact, I was about to be a harem member myself, isn''t that right, Ryan?" the Duchess asked, looking into Ryan''s eyes with a plea.

    Ryan gave her a devilish grin that asked, ''Will you pay the price for this tonight?''

    Knowing what Ryan wanted, the Duchess''s cunt lips quivered as she slowly nodded.

    "Yes, that''s right," Ryan said, staring directly into the Duchess''s eyes.

    Emily snuggled against Ryan''s chest, saying, "Whatever you say, my prince."

 Chapter 143 The Duchess Gets What She Deserves [R-18]

    After putting Emily into his harem pce and turning off Yoko''s viewing permissions, Ryan stood over the Duchess, mast out.

    "Suck it," Ryan ordered Sienna.

    The busty girl obeyed immediately, sliding his cockhead between her lips and sucking his head into her mouth before wrapping her warm hand around his shaft.

    "You should know you''ve caused me quite the headache with your little meddling. It''s your turn to pay."

    Grabbing the back of her head, Ryan began fucking Sienna''s face while she continued slurping away at his cockmeat.

    The more he fucked her, the louder she moaned around his shaft, which made Ryan harder than ever.

    ''She seems to like being used and abused,'' Ryan grinned.

    Sliding his hips forward and back, thrusting deep into Sienna''s throat and giving her head a little tap every time he reached the back of her throat, Ryan smirked.

    "What? Do you like how my dick feels back there?" He asked her cheekily.

    She nodded enthusiastically up at him while her eyes rolled back inside their sockets.

    Ryan knew from his previous research that Sienna was a prominent patron of the BCN, and now that she was going down on him, he could tell all those hours weren''t wasted.

    Her tongue licked against the underside of his cock while her hands clutched around its base.

    Sliding her hands off his base, she slipped them around until both were warped tight against Ryan''s ass.

    She used this leverage to shove her lips down to the base of his cock, letting it sit there while shepped at his underside.

    Her eyes never left him for more than half a second during these movements, which made it clear to Ryan that she loved every second.

    She wanted Ryan to use her however he saw fit, which further aroused Ryan as he moaned and grunted in pleasure underneath the attack of her talented mouth.

    "That''s it!" Ryan roared out as his legs started trembling, barely holding his bnce as he fucked her face as hard as possible, using her for his pleasure.

    With every thrust, his hips mmed into Sienna''s face harder and faster while her arms gripped Ryan''s thighs and waist, desperately holding them for support.

    Her body shook every time he shoved into her gullet, making her groan whenever Ryan hit the back.

    When finally his cock exploded, spurting his seed directly onto Sienna''s tongue, it sent her over the edge atst, screaming while tears streamed down her cheeks due to the immense bliss and pressure building inside her.

    Sienna trembled uncontrobly from the overwhelming orgasm she had just received before Sienna copsed to the ground with a loud thud.

    Her breasts bounced freely from the impact, but she didn''t care since she was so close to passing out from how good it felt when she came.

    But unlike Sienna, Ryan was nowhere near finished. "I did say punishment didn''t I?"

    On the ground, in her tired state, Sienna heard a faint chuckle before pleasure assaulted her core.

    Ryan rubbed himself against her sopping wet pussy before burying his entire cock deep into her dripping sex in one swift motion.

    He began slowly pumping his shaft within her depths until he was balls deep while smirking at the girl below him.

    "Did you enjoy our little warm-up?" Ryan asked Sienna, who couldn''t do anything more than moan as he pleasured her.

    "Oh, God..." Sienna whimpered and whined as Ryan fucked her with long and fast thrusts of his cock, using all his weight and strength as he pressed down on and pounded into her, leaving no room for her to move.

    As the feeling of her tight walls mped around his member got too much, Ryan picked up speed. He wasn''t about to hold back for any reason.

    This was his turn for pleasure.

    "Ah! Aaah!" Sienna squeaked as her hips bucked against his own.

    Wrapping his hands around her throat, Ryan lifted her head off the floor slightly.

    Holding her by her hair and mming his cock hard and deep inside her pussy, Ryan let out a growl of satisfaction at the sight of the girl struggling and screaming beneath him.

    "Aaaaah! Fuckkkk... Ngggh... Ooooh! Godddd! Unnghhh! Sssshhheeeeeeet!" Sienna choked out between grunts and groans.

    Ryan couldn''t help but grin while he kept fucking her relentlessly, banging her into the floor as he went on top of her, ensuring he gave this woman exactly what she deserved.

    "Pleaaaaassse..."

    "That''s right, little girl," Ryan replied, letting go of her throat before nting another kiss on her mouth. "You''ve been asking for this."

    The next moment, Ryan shoved himself in onest time before grabbing onto both sides of Sienna''s face and pressing them firmly against the bed.

    Her eyes opened wide in shock when he prated her anally with his cock.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She let out a sharp yelp and clenched her jaw to stifle any sound as pain coursed through her body from the sudden intrusion into a previously untouched orifice.

    Her toes curled up as he buried his cock to the hilt inside her rectum as far as possible.

    "Aaah! Fuck! N-no! Oh! N-nooo!" Sienna squeaked out, trembling.

    She could feel Ryan''s thick member spread her walls wide as it moved back and forth inside her, pounding deeper and harder into her anus with each thrust.

    "Oooh... Uhh... Ah... Aaaaah! Fuuuckk!"

    Her cries echoed loudly around the room while she squeezed tightly onto herself with both hands to prevent more pleasure from spilling over from her groin, where he was hammering into her relentlessly.

    "That''s right, you''re gonna be a good little whore now," he smirked down at Sienna.

    "I can see how much you want my cock. You''d do anything for me if you got what you wanted."

    "Nngh... Pleeassse..." Sienna whimpered as Ryan moved in and out of her rear rapidly while using his total weight on top of her body.

    "Breed me!"

    Her cry was barely heard amidst her constant grunts, moans, squeals, yells, and screams, but it was clear that Sienna was finally starting to get used to Ryan''s cock prating her anally.

    The fact that it was not just a one-time thing also helped because Ryan had been able to take her ass bareback after his first thrust.

    The woman was getting used to his size after his cock had slowly entered her rectum before reaching its final position at the back end as they were now.

    She wondered how far she could take the monster inside her now, wondering if he could stretch her out a little more or if she could ever go all the way.

    She feared what might happen if he reached the bottom of her bowels.

    "Fuuuck!" Ryan groaned from above her face and within her ear. "I can''t wait anymore."

    Sienna gasped when Ryan suddenly grabbed both sides of her head and pulled them forward while burying his member as deep as possible into her butt hole.

    This was too much! This man was so strong! It felt like nothing Sienna did was enough to please him...

    Her hands started trembling, and her eyes widened in surprise as another orgasm rolled through her body.

    She tried desperately to squeeze herself together to prevent anything from leaking out of her depths, but it seemed futile since she couldn''t stop shaking or clenching around his cock in pleasure.

    Ryan held onto her long hair firmly by the base, where he began tugging it harshly, yanking it painfully away from the rest of her head while still keeping his cock deep inside her rear until he knew she hade to the point of no return.

    "Oh fuckkkk!" Sienna squeaked out between gasps before letting go of all control and sumbing to an intense and explosive climax which sent her body crashing hard into Ryan''s own with a loud thud and squelch that echoed across her bedroom. "Uuuhhhhhh..."

    "I''m gonna fill you up, good," Ryan told Sienna as his member slowly slid out of her rectum back towards the entrance, dragging over every inch of skin along the way. "You''re my toy now."

    With his thick member out of her depths, Sienna gasped for breath beforeying her head against the carpeted floor and squeezing her eyes shut to prevent them from tearing from the extreme pleasure coursing through her whole being right then.

    She could feel the air flow freely past her cheeks and lips but didn''t care since she couldn''t help but cling to it desperately to keep herself calm.

    It felt like she would melt into a puddle if she wasn''t careful enough.

    "Ooh... Godddd... Nngggh!" She groaned in relief when Ryan shoved his cock back in her asshole, making sure to reach the bottom this time.

    He did not stop there, though.

    Instead, he took advantage of the opportunity by grabbing both sides of her head.

    He pulled forward again while sinking himself entirely inside her ass with one single motion before pumping fast and hard inside her bowels with more force than before.

    "Take it!" Sienna''s body started shaking violently from how intense everything had be.

    "N-no! Unngghhh! Oooooh!"

    This man, this hero, this... this monster...

    "God damn... Fuuuckkk..." Sienna moaned loudly under Ryan''s iron grip as her whole world spun in circles and began spinning faster and faster until everything became a blur.

    Everything suddenly disappeared altogether in a blinding sh before turning into darkness and nothingness as she lost consciousness and fell limp in his arms with a faint whimper escaping her lips.

    At the same time, Ryan continued fucking her relentlessly with a brutal force so much stronger than before.

    "Aaahhh! Fuck!" Ryan groaned as he came deep inside her bowels, emptying himself inside the girl''s anus.

 Chapter 144 Dragons > Humans

    After cleaning up Sienna, Ryan found an unupied bedroom and activated a portal into his pce.

    He ordered two guards to watch the room outside the portal and then made his way toward the training tower, not for work, but to check on the girl''s progress.

    As he got close, however, he saw Timmy and switched his path.

    "Timmy, how goes your training?" Ryan asked, seeing the ve boy he saved.

    "Master Emerald!" Timmy responded as he halted his sword midswing to turn and bow in Ryan''s direction. "My training is going well, Master. Teacher Priya has been doing a splendid job."

    Ryan had instructed Priya to give the boy some lessons since Ryan now knew that everyone could be cultivators. Timmy''s skill that allowed Ryan to resurrect him would make him a key asset in the future.

    "The boys are doing good, my Lord," Priya said. "He''s a natural."

    "Is that so," Ryan said, arching an eyebrow.

    As they were talking, the tower''s doors opened, and Emily, Lizzy, Izzy, Grace, and Zoey stepped out, d in their skimpy battle armor.

    ''Got to love magical logic,'' Ryan thought, grinning. "What floor did you get to today,dies?" Ryan asked.

    "Master!" Grace beamed. "We were able to get to floor 42 today, only 8 off our goal."

    "And reward," Izzy added, licking her lips.

    "Do you know where Asmaya is?" Ryan asked, getting to the topic of why he was truly here.

    Lizzy nodded. "Come with me."

    A sign that read, "Master''s family, Do not disturb." greeted Ryan as he walked into the harem members'' building.

    Opening the door to one of therge master rooms, Ryan saw his aunt lying on a kingsized bed, seemingly asleep.

    By the side of the bed were two of his servants who appeared to be sleeping from exhaustion, their bodies practically falling off the chairs they were sitting in.

    Walking close to the bed, Ryan activated energy vision, trying to see if he could sense anything.

    But, unfortunately, he couldn''t. Ryan sighed and left the room.

    "Message me if her situation changes," Ryan said. "It''s time I move us to our new destination."

    "What do you mean?" Emily asked.

    " I just got expelled from the academy," Ryan scratched his head. "It''s not like there was much for me to do there anyway."

    Emily paused before eximing, "I know! You should go to the Red Dragon Empire!"

    Raising his eyebrow, Ryan asked, "Interesting; why?"

    Ryan was nning on heading there anyway after his conversation with Yoko. Still, all he was going there to do was try and find unique materials to speed up Yoko''s hatching so she could free be free of her shell before the wedding in 53 days.

    "Because I overheard some teachers talking, and they said that the Dragon Empress was looking to expand her harem and was holding apetition!"

    Emily continued, "If you could get into her harem without anyone knowing and win her over, that would be the power of an entire empire on our side against the human empire."

    Taken aback by the news, Ryan put his hand on his chin in thought. ''That''s actually not a bad idea.''

    "Good job, my princess," Ryan walked over to Emily, patting her head.

    Addressing the rest of the group, Ryan simply said, "Then I''m off," and disappeared.

    ===

    The next day (52 days until the wedding)...

    ''I still can''t believe they make you walk thest few miles between the borders,'' Ryan said telepathically to Yoko. ''It''s not like the empires aren''t on good terms.''

    ''Well, that''s probably not entirely true,'' Yoko replied. ''The main reason is because of the empire''s spatial barrier.''

    ''Can you sense it?''<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''No, but even on a non-Multiverse world like this, they are verymon,'' Yoko said, saying non-Multiverse like it''s the gue.

    Ryan frowned. ''Why do you always say Multiverse like it''s the holiest thing in existence?''

    ''You don''t understand. When you''re integrated into the Multiverse, everything changes. You are no longer trapped in one singr world but now have ess to an almost infinite number of others, right at your fingertips.''

    Thinking about it, Ryan could see Yoko''s point.

    Ravier was already so much different from earth. Ryan couldn''t wait to go out and explore. ''But is it civilized?'' Ryan asked.

    Ryan couldn''t imagine such powerful beings trillions of times stronger than him willing to coexist with others peacefully when they had another, more profitable option.

    ''In the multiverse, there is one central world known as Omega. The closer one gets to Omega, the more energy there is in the atmosphere, and the faster one can cultivate.''

    Yoko continued, ''On Omega and the seven surroundings. There are even anomalies like energy sprits that cultivators can form contracts with because of the density.''

    ''You''ve heard me talk about the Big 7, yes?''

    ''Yes,'' Ryan said, reflexively nodding.

    ''They each own a around Omega, called ''the seven gateways to heaven'' as every cultivator wants to go to Omega, known as the paradise of cultivation.''

    Yoko exined, ''It''s unlike any other world in the Multiverse, unique in itsck of technology.''

    Ryan raised his eyebrow and asked, ''What does that have to do with my question? Is the Multiverse civilized? Do uber-strong beings go around blowing ups?''

    Yoko shook her head but, realizing Ryan couldn''t see her said, ''No. Though I don''t know why, I assume it''s due to some sort of heavenly protection.''

    ''So to answer your question, the closer one gets to the center of the Multiverse, the more civilized it gets because if you own a, you are in some way rted to the big 7. The closer to the center you are, the closer you''re rted.''

    Trying to figure out how to word it, Yoko fell silent for a few seconds before saying, ''It''s like seven big alliances exist in the Multiverse, and you have to choose a side or get pushed away. The closer you are to Omega, the higher rank you can obtain in the alliance.''

    ''At least when ites to ownership,'' Yoko finished.

    Ryan tried to process the information, but after a few minutes of flying on his magic sword, he had arrived at the border of the Red Dragon Empire.

    "What is this ce?" Ryan muttered, awe struck at the sudden change in atmosphere and environment.

    Ryan could instantly tell he had entered a new environment because of the misty, cloud-covered sky and the reddish terrain surrounding him.

    There was a sharp sting in the air, almost as if it were irritating the eyes, but as soon as Ryan began walking through it, he realized it wasn''t painful to breathe as much as it made his body tingle slightly, like his blood feeling hot and prideful.

    ''The pride of a dragon is no joke,'' Ryan chuckled.

    "Looks like I''ll like it here more than I thought," he muttered.

    Flying for another mile, Ryan came upon a floating structure that appeared to house a guard station.

    "Halt!" a booming voice echoed through the mountainous terrain. "Who goes there?"

    Ryan stopped short, seeing two massive dragons with arge g that read "Red Dragon Empire".

    Thinking he would have to fight, Ryan reached for his spatial bag but heard Yoko say, ''Wait!''

    The first dragon stepped forward and said, "A pleasure to meet you, traveler," turning into a man. His skin had a steel texture and was the color of a bright red sunset. He wore what looked like leather armor and had a long white beard.

    "You''vee far," the bearded one continued.

    "We don''t get many humans, especially males, in our neck of the woods. Care to stop for a drink?"

    The second one also transformed into a male, looking at Ryan curiously before nodding.

    "Don''t mind Garf," the first one said. "He''s a bit shy."

    Ryan paused at the unexpected disy of friendship. "You won''t ask why a man ising to your empire alone?"

    The two dragons looked at each other before the bearded man shrugged. "I don''t see why it''s any of our business."

 Chapter 145 Necklace Of Holy Dragon Blood

    After saying goodbye to the guards and taking a map they so graciously provided, Ryan made his way toward the Dragon Capital.

    "Is... Is that...?" Ryan whispered as he approached the gigantic golden towers floating high above him, their presence casting an eerie light across the kingdom below it.

    Yoko chuckled. ''Don''t be surprised by this sight. Wait until you see the rest of the Multiverse. This city will look like a child made it out of y inparison.''

    Aiming his sword upward, Ryan started his trek toward the sky city, passing by a multitude of dragons, some of who nodded in greeting as they passed, while others blew steam out of their nostrils and turned away.

    ''Looks like all dragons aren''t made equal,'' Ryan thought.

    ''Don''t call these things dragons,'' Yoko said, disgusted. ''These things barely qualify as lizardspared to me.''

    Ryan fell silent. He had heard these types ofments more and more from Yoko as she seemingly got used to his presence.

    Shaking his head, Ryan steadied his de as he continued toward the Dragon Capital, eager to see the luscious city up close.

    ===

    Inside the Dragon Capital (51 days until the wedding)...

    "Tours! Get your tours here!" a small dragonkin shouted. Her tail swished in the wind as everyone ignored her.

    Vimmi was trying and failing to find any customers as usual, but she didn''t seem to mind as she continued yelling, much to the chagrin of passersby.

    "Kid, knock it off already," one passerby said.

    "It''s not like people need a guide. People can just buy a map for a fraction of a Heavenly Credit!" another said.

    Ignoring the people like usual, Vimmi kept shouting, her raggedy clothes not deterring her as she held a cheerful smile stered on her face.

    "Hello, sir," Vimmi said, hand outstretched to the cloaked figure approaching her. "Would you like a tour?"

    Seeing the figure nod, she smiled brightly. "Thene with me."

    As she walked, she said, "We have three packages for you to choose from, the standard package, avable for 3 Heavenly Credits, which includes a tour of everything one might like to know in the city."

    "A deluxe package avable for 10 Heavenly Credits in which I will personally take you to all the best stops only few dragon folks know about," she said, directing Ryan into an ally.

    "And our ultra deluxe package, avable for 100 Heavenly Credits."

    She finished her pitch and turned to the cloaked figure. "Which would you like today, sir?"

    Ryan, the cloaked figure, stared at the girl with a look between curiosity and contempt stered on his face.

    ''Who does this half-lizard bitch think she is trying to rip off Master?!'' Yoko screamed telepathically, attempting to break out of her shell and rip the dragonkin to pieces.

    ''It is rather odd that she is charging so much,'' Ryan replied. ''But I''m more interested in what''s around her neck.''

    While listening to the girl''s ridiculous prices, Ryan had zoned out the girl''s pitch long ago, transfixed on the girl''s ne.

    "What exactlyes in this ultra deluxe package?" Ryan asked, wanting to scrutinize the ne for longer.

    The obsidian crystal glowed on her skin. A powerful-looking dragon wound around the pendant and through the intricately carved scrolls and symbols that decorated the ne.

    "Oh, I''m d you asked!" Vimmi replied with a chipper swish of her tail. "It''s a special offer we have for the Empress''s tournament."

    Ryan paused, looking at the girl''s ne to gaze up at her eyes, and asked, "What about it?"

    "We offer one guaranteed slot into the tournament!" she eximed, pping her hands.

    Blinking, Ryan started to walk away when he heard, "Such a shame that only dragons can participate in the tournament. I wish the Dragon Empress would be more open-minded."

    Stopping in his tracks, Ryan turned around, narrowing his eyes.

    "What did you say?"

    Fluttering her eyshes innocently, the girl said, "I was saying how happy I''d be to see some other species participating. It''ll make for an interesting change of pace. But it''s no matter to me who wins, right?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan''s eyes narrowed further, trying to read between the lines of what the girl was trying to say.

    "Are you dumb?" the girl finally asked. "I can get you in if you pay me."

    Ryan''s eyebrow twitched. "I got that, but how will that help me win?"

    "If the Dragon Empress wants a dragon in her haremˇ­ how will that help me?" Ryan asked.

    Rubbing her forehead, Vimmi muttered, "Please don''t be him. Heavens, please don''t be him."

    Regaining her usual smile, Vimmi said, "The testing required to be a harem member is done before the start of thepetition. The Dragon Empress requires all her harem members never to go into dragon form. Thusˇ­"

    "Thus, if I could pass these tests, I could get in," Ryan finished after she stopped talking.

    "Ding! Ding! Ding! We got a brainiac over here!" Vimmi shouted.

    But Ryan stepping toward her in the dark ally made her squeak.

    Then remembering she was facing a man, she regained her confidence and said, "Nice try, trying to scare me."

    "Is that so," Ryan growled but stopped, seeing the ne again.

    He couldn''t understand why, but he knew that if he attacked the girl, even touched her, the ne wouldn''t allow him to im itter.

    ''Yoko, do you know what that ne is?'' Ryan asked, finally remembering he had a knowledgeable dragon who could see what he saw.

    ''Yoko?'' not hearing a reply, Ryan tried again but didn''t hear anything.

    ''YOKO!" screaming as loud as he could telepathically, he finally got a response.

    ''What kind of luck do you have, kid?'' came her reply.

    ''What do you mean?'' Ryan asked, thinking, ''I think my luck can be considered abysmal.''

    ''That''s the Ne of Holy Dragon Blood. The sacred relic of the dragon race,'' Yoko said, still astonished.

    ''What does it do?'' Ryan asked excitedly, thinking, ''This is my big break! Finally!''

    ''Nothing.''

    ''Pardon?'' Ryan asked, blinking.

    ''It doesn''t do anything,'' Yoko said awkwardly. ''It only does something if you have the rest of the six essories of the big seven.''

    ''So then, why do I want it so bad?'' Ryan asked, looking at the smirking Vimmi''s neck where the ney.

    Inside Ryan''s pce, Yoko had difficulty keeping the smile off her face, thinking, ''I knew it!''

    Between the Gxy-Tier soul protection spell, his weird bloodline, his ability to manipte space, and now one of the holy relics, something only the First Ones can useˇ­

    ''He is a First One. I''m positive.''

    ''But how is he a heaven''s chosen?'' Yoko thought.

    She suddenly widened her eyes and eximed, "It''s his soul protection! Anything above Sage-Tier can influence the heavens themselves. So it must be hiding his identity from them.''

    Inside her shell, her tiny body was doing circles as she was unable to sit still from excitement.

    After a second, however, she frowned. ''But Master can''t use timeˇ­ that must be because his soul protection is blocking it!''

    ''I remember mother once telling me that powerful spells used on someone not developed in cultivation had serious side effectsˇ­''

    ''Maybe that exins hisck of brains.''

 Chapter 146 Dragons Take Viagra?

    FROM NOW ON, All [ ] now be used for all telepathicmunication.

    [Yoko?] Ryan asked, not hearing her respond.

    Yoko debated whether to tell Ryan his heritage, as it could cause him harm, but decided she didn''t want Ryan to get the wrong impression and think she was keeping it from him.

    [Master, I think you''re a First One,] Yoko sighed. [I had a suspicion before, but finding that ne and it calling you almost guarantees you''re a living, breathing First One.]

    Ryan paused, scratching his head. [Yeah, I figured that. But I don''t get the big deal.]

    "Hello, are you just going to stare at me all day?" Vimmi said, huffing. "Are you going to take the deal or not?"

    "Can''t we do any less than 100?"

    As every good Overlord should, Ryan had a greedy side that made giving away anything for free impossible.

    Even though he had over 100,000 Heavenly Credits, he knew they would onlyst for a while, and if 10,000 Heavenly Credits could buy a, 100 wasn''t something to sniff at.

    Vimmi looked stunned, muttering, "Has the day finallye? After all these years?"

    Shaking away her thoughts, she replied, "No, I''m sorry. My price is firm."

    Ryan wanted to press further but felt the ne again warn him not to.

    Inwardly sighing, Ryan nodded his head. "Okay, it''s a deal."

    ===

    A few hourster, Ryan hadpleted Vimmi''s ''Makeover'' to be a dragon, but it left him, and Yokopletely baffled.

    "Why am I wearing a speedo?" Ryan asked, looking down to see his naked body only covered by the thin fabric of the smallest bathing suit he''d ever seen.

    Vimmi, who had been furiously blushing since Ryan had removed his clothes, coughed, trying topose herself.

    "It has to do with the testing," she replied, trying to sound confident.

    "I get how this would help me pass a test to get into a harem," Ryan shrugged. "But how would this help me be a dragon? Don''t tell me I''ve wasted 100 Credits for nothing."

    "You haven''t even paid me, and you''re alreadyining," Vimmi mumbled. "But it''s the speedo that is the special part."

    Ryan looked down at his crotch. He could perfectly see his bulge, down to every minor vein.

    "I don''t understand."

    "Don''t you feel it?" Vimmi asked, puzzled.

    "All I feel is horny. But that''s not out of the norm."

    ''Pleeease heavens, don''t be him,'' Vimmi thought.

    ''Although,'' Vimmi looked at his growing bulge, ''I don''t think I''m going to hate what I''m about to do...''

    "The speedo right now is injecting Dragon-Agra, which gives the user a raging erection."

    Vimmi continued, "However after the user ejactes, he will have dragon energy inside him for a very short period."

    At that moment, Ryan felt the intensity of the drug starting to ramp up in intensity.

    "When does the tournament testing start?" Ryan asked, thinking it would be any second, as he felt he could cum just from a few strokes.

    ''Not any different from how I used to be,'' Ryanmented.

    "Oh crap!" Vimmi eximed.

    "I forgot. Why are you so hard already?" Vimmi asked frantically.

    "It''s not supposed to work for another two hours!"

    Ryan gritted his teeth, deciding since he couldn''t take his anger out on the girl, he should try distracting himself.

    "What do you know about your ne?" Ryan asked, steadying his breathing.

    "My ne?" Vimmi''s eyes widened.

    ''Could it truly be him?''

    Vimmi''s heartbeat increased as the possibility that she had found the man that the supposed diviner told her about flooded her mind.

    Vimmi gulped. "Why do you ask?" she asked shakily.

    Not noticing Vimmi''s attitude since his entire focus was on trying to stop himself from growing even harder, Ryan said, "It looks good, alright?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Should be prettymon for people to try and steal it since it looks so expensive."

    Vimmi frowned. Ryan''s logic was sound, but the problem was no one had even noticed she was wearing one until she had pointed it out to them.

    Even then, people would shrug and call it ''alright.''

    Thinking of the woman''s words, Vimmi said, "What would you be willing to give me for the ne?"

    If this person was the one she sought, she had been told he could provide her with a new life.

    Although she''d have to make a difficult choice.

    "I can offer you. . . 1,000. . . Heavenly Credits," Ryan said, his breathing bing unsteady.

    ''Although 1,000 Credits is a lot, I don''t think a diviner woulde to me just for that little amount,'' Vimmi frowned.

    [Yoko! Can you do something about this energy?] Ryan asked.

    [Can it help you break out of your shell faster?]

    Yoko pursed her unborn lips and said in disgust, [I could, but that stuff is filthy.]

    [Yoko, I don''t want to order you. But I need the Dragon Empress on our side.]

    [If I can get into this tournament and then her harem, I can make my way into her bedchambers and then her heart.]

    Yoko gagged but started slowly siphoning a portion of the energy away from Ryan, muttering, [Fine, Master, but you owe me one.]

    [Fine,] Ryan sighed with relief. [Thank you.]

    After contemting, Vimmi said, "Isn''t there anything else you can offer me?"

    "I don''t particrly need Heavenly Credits."

    Ryan relieved that his cock was not on fire anymore, looked at the small dragonkin before him.

    They were in her house at the moment. She wore a maid outfit that barely covered her chest. Her hair was done in pigtails, and her tail curled around her legs.

    The girl''s face was calcting, and Ryan could tell she hadn''t lived the pampered life of some noble.

    ''Don''t tell me I have to take in another one,'' Ryan thought.

    ''Although someone who hase into possession of a holy relic can''t be normal.''

    Ryan activated energy vision and focused it on Vimmi, trying to see her talent.

    "Holy crap," Ryan started chuckling. "Guess there are no coincidences in this world."

    Vimmi had the same talent as Joy, the girl he had picked up about a week ago.

    [Yoko, when someonees to check up on you can you talk with Joy?] Ryan asked, remembering he hadn''t exactly been the best adoptive father as ofte.

    "What do you mean?" Vimmi asked, tilting her head at Ryan''s odd words.

    Looking at Vimmi, he said, "Come be my servant."

    "I don''t know how you got that ne, but that doesn''t matter."

    Slowly standing, Ryan extended his hand toward the dragonkin, "I see talent for leadership inside you. Come, be my servant, and I''ll give you more power than you could ever dream of."

    "I''ll let you oversee thousands of servants who will answer to your every whim and beck and call."

    Vimmi''s jaw dropped as she couldn''t believe the wordsing out of Ryan''s mouth.

    ''How does he know I have a management talent? I only found out three days ago when I awoke my heavenly screen!''

    Seeing the awe on Vimmi''s face, Ryan grinned.

    "What do you say? I can offer you a direct leadership position over all of my servants, and as you grow in rank, your power within my faction will also increase."

    The look of temptation on Vimmi''s face was evident, but she still asked, "But you''re just a man? You can''t cultivate. What would I gain-"

    Before she could finish, Ryan released his D-Rank aura and asked, "Who said I couldn''t cultivate?"

    Tears of joy dripped down Vimmi''s cheeks as she muttered, "I finally found you. Imperfect as you are."

    Choosing to only listen to the first sentence, Ryan said, "Then be mine," and sent a set of prompts to Vimmi.

 Chapter 147 The Voluptuous Dragon Empress

    Ryan and Vimmi made their way toward the tournament testing location with grins on both of their faces.

    Ryan was grinning because he had just experienced a dragonkin''s tongue for the first time around his shaft.

    Although he had intercourse with a few dragons inside the BCN, he never had a half-dragon.

    ''It''s like her tongue was made for the underside of my shaft,'' Ryan grinned.

    Vimmi was also grinning, much for the same reason as she was still riding the high of Ryan''s superior-ranked cum inside her stomach.

    Ryan had tried to have her enter his harem pce, but Vimmi said it would be too suspicious if Ryan didn''te with a female for protection.

    Arriving at arge gate, the two entered a quick-moving line entering inside a gymnasium door.

    The guards at the door only took a moment before allowing entry inside.

    Seeing her new Master''s eyebrow raised, Vimmi said, "It''s a timepression device."

    Whistling, Ryan asked, "Are those rare?"

    "Extremely, and they have serious side effects if the devices are at the lower ranks."

    "Like?"

    "Like that," Vimmi pointed as Ryan saw one of the male guards wither into old age before his eyes and slump over on his chair, having to be dragged away.

    "It''s rare, but time abnormalities asionally happen to people who stay in unstable time environments for long periods."

    Ryan clenched his fist and asked, "Is that why those were male guards?"

    Vimmi looked sideways at Ryan, "No, the jobs themselves are extremely well paid, and all their injuries will be healed with the power of medication."

    As she spoke, the man was given a pill and returned to his usual young self, although he was still unconscious.

    Ryan furrowed his brow, thinking, ''Are the other empires truly different from the human empire?''

    As the line started to move again after the abnormality, Ryan asked, "Do males get treated worse here?"

    Vimmi turned to Ryan and looked into his eyes, searching.

    "I''m sorry, Master, it must have been hard living in that woman''s empire," she said, realizing why Ryan asked such a question.

    Ryan fell silent as they approached the gate and entered the timepression device''s range.

    "Name?" the new guard who reced the injured one asked.

    "Ryan Emerald."

    "Age?"

    "18."

    "18?!" Vimmi released a low gasp. ''Master''s more impressive than I thought,'' remembering Ryan was a D-Rank cultivator.

    Ignoring the woman''s outburst, the other guard said, "Lower your pants and pee into this bucket."

    Tapping an empty bucket, the guard stared at Ryan''s crotch like a pervert.

    Knowing this was what he had to do, he pulled down his pants and let his willy free.

    Yellow rain touched the bottom of the bucket before disappearing, the man still staring at his penis like it would fall off any second.

    After Ryan shook out thest drops, he looked at the two guards, who were both muttering, "Pretty good."

    Ryan didn''t know if these guys had some weird fetishes, but he wanted no part in it either way.

    "Am I good to go?" Ryan asked.

    "Oh, yes," the first guard nodded.

    "Make your way through the gates and into thatrge building. You''ll be instructed on how this will work inside."

    Nodding, Ryan turned to Vimmi and said, "Go back home. I''ll meet you after."

    Vimmi smirked, "I''ll be cheering you on from the stands!"

    "What?" Ryan asked, but Vimmi just waved as she walked away.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ===

    Inside therge building, Ryan found himself in a giant gymnasium filled to the brim with countless males.

    "I haven''t seen this many men since I looked at my ex''s boyfriend history," Ryan muttered.

    All the men sat down and were either talking with one another or simply sitting in a meditative pose, rxing.

    Finding a spot at the back of the room, Ryan didn''t have to wait long for it to start, as only half an hourter, the doors to the gymnasium shut, and a stage that was hidden behind a set ofrge curtains was unveiled.

    A woman in a ck skirt, high heels, and a red blouse walked out on the stage. The woman herself looked like an average office worker with a forgettable face.

    "Greetings, all potential harem members!" she chirped, looking over her notes on a podium stand before her. "My name is Lady Gweh. But those of you staying with us can call me Lady Gwen."

    "Today, to not waste anyone''s time, we will be going over some physical and character traits the Dragon Empress requires of her harem members and eliminating anyone without those desired traits," Lady Gwen pped, making a hologram appear.

    "The Dragon Empress is looking for one male that fits the following physical characteristics:"

    <Race: Dragon>

    <Gender: Male>

    <Enhancer Status: Does Not Matter (Preferred: Yes)>

    <Cock: Not shorter than 4 inches>

    <Speed: Climax within 4 hours>

    Ryan expected the physical traits the Empress was looking for, like blonde hair and blue eyes, but instead, she preferred what was below the belt rather than above it.

    "Although we list speed as a requirement, we will not test it today."

    "However," she continued, "if you fail to climax within 5 hours, you will have to pay a fine of 10 Heavenly Credits."

    "So be sure you are aware of your own capabilities."

    She walked over to the other side of the stage, waving her hand as the character traits appeared.

    <Character Traits: Loyal, Kind, Protective, Trustworthy, Honorable>

    Squinting at this list, Ryan thought, ''So she wants the best of both worlds. A good lover in the bedroom and a sweet talker outside.''

    ''Piece of cake.''

    "If you know you don''t have either the character or physical traits described here, please exit the gymnasium so as not to waste any of our time," thedy said, indicating to the door Ryan had entered.

    After about a quarter of the contestants filed out of the gymnasium, thedy pped her hands and said, "For everyone remaining, please excuse what we''re about to do."

    As she finished speaking, the stage was suddenly covered by a curtain, and the door to the outside world mmed shut.

    A hissing sound starteding from the air vents as Ryan could sense something enter the air.

    ''This feels like the time Bee tried the same thing on me,'' Ryan chuckled as he sat on the ground and pretended to fall asleep.

    ''Hopefully, this time, it will be more pleasurable.''

    ===

    "Mistress!" a dragonkin servant ran up to Lady Gwen and bowed before her. "Master has returned!"

    Lady Gwen looked at the servant with a surprised expression. "Is the Empress back early?"

    "No, mydy! She arrived almost two hours ago. Master went into one of the rooms where she is currently resting."

    Lady Gwen''s eyes narrowed as she red over the servants, then walked off toward the room the servants had indicated.

    Knocking on the door, Gwen waited until a "Enter." rang through her ears.

    Opening the door, she found a beautiful dragon woman sleeping in bed.

    Lady Gwen gulped at the voluptuous sight of her Empress''s bountiful mounds.

    Licking her lips, Gwen whispered, "I''m sure the Empress wouldn''t mind me touching them, right?"

 Chapter 148 That Name Seems Familiar...

    The Dragon Empress stirred on her bed and turned around. "No fair, Gwen!"

    "It''s just a bit of touching. It won''t hurt," Gwen teased.

    Sitting up, the Empress''s white hair fell off her shoulders as she rubbed her eyes.

    "Enough of your antics," the Empress chuckled. "Tell me how the search is going."

    Gwen looked up and away as she said, "It''s going alright."

    Narrowing her eyes, the Empress said, "You didn''t, Gweh!"

    Gwen smiled awkwardly and said, "It''s the easiest way to show them who''s in charge!"

    Sighing, the Dragon Empress rose and touched Gweh''s shoulder.

    "Gwen," the Empress said softly. "You''ve been with me since the Grand Empress," the Empress paused, "may she rest in peace."

    "If you don''t know how to follow orders, how can they?"

    Gwen, who was staring at the ground, looked up at her Master. "I''m sorry."

    The Empress shook her head. "You''re still too used to my mother''s ways of strife and conflict."

    "There''s a reason why us dragons are not the strongest empire, and it has everything to do with my mother''s tyrannical behavior."

    Sighing, the Empress said, "Next time you disobey an order, you''re finished."

    "Now, go wake them up and fix this."

    ===

    After Ryan had pretended to be asleep, he activated his bloodline and inspected his surroundings.

    Ryan chuckled. ''I wish all my enemies would let me do this.''

    With his bloodline, Ryan saw many females enter the gym wearing gas masks and scrubs.

    As they entered, they carried the closest people to the door and off to another building.

    ''As long as this isn''t some mass execution or mass sperm extraction, I shouldn''t cause a scene,'' Ryan thought.

    Although Ryan eventually aimed to bring down the Red Dragon Empire because of its alliance with the Kheaweth Empire, he knew he couldn''t do it by brute force.

    I need to be slick about it. I need to slide between her walls, open her up from the inside and blowˇ­

    ''Just like in Starwars,'' Ryan thought.

    ''Although I still wonder which star wars I watchedˇ­ the lights in the theatre were all red, and I heard some pping sounds.''

    After it was his turn to be picked up and carried, Ryan kept his bloodline active and used this as a training exercise.

    Although he had tried many things while using his bloodline, he had never been able to keep it active while moving.

    Steadying his breathing Ryan focused on the blood running through his veins as his arms and legs were lifted by two women who did their best not to put any strain on him during the carry.

    Feeling his connection deepening and the familiar drowsiness set in, Ryan fell into his normal trance-like state as he focused on the feeling of each cell being infused with power and then pushing that power outward into his domain.

    When he activated his bloodline, he was infusing each object, person, nt, animal, or anything else with his power to manipte them to his will.

    Right now, he couldn''t do anything crazy, but he could influence space to freeze around the target, using his power as a beacon for the space to know where to lock.

    The more he municated'' with space, the more he understood it wasn''t so much that he was taking space and freezing it but telling space to freeze.

    It was like telling a dog to sit rather than reaching over and pressing the dog''s back into the ground until he was in a seated position.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Attaching his bloodline energy to everything within a 50m range, Ryan tried as fast as he could to update his surroundings but couldn''t keep up and eventually had to stop.

    [Hey, Master,] Yoko''s voice sounded in Ryan''s brain.

    [What?] Ryan replied, still groggy from being abruptly ejected from his trance.

    [You should lower your range. If your maximum is 50m, try 25 or even 10m to start.]

    Ryan had to fight the urge to p his forehead as he thought, ''Now an egg is smarter than me.''

    Although on the inside, Ryan knew Yoko was an ancient being, she was, after all, still an egg.

    It was hard to think of her as some ancient being directly rted to one of the most powerful families in the Multiverse.

    Reactivating his bloodline, Ryan only sent out his bloodline energy 10m around himself and was shocked at how easy it was to control.

    As he was being carried, Ryan came across different beds filled with participants getting their junk checked.

    ''Don''t tell me she meant four inchesid?!'' Ryan thought.

    Thankfully dragon cocks weren''t that big, as he saw the males being injected with some substance that made their dicks get hard temporarily.

    Not wanting to be injected with a foreign drug, Ryan fantasized about the different erotic experiences he had gone through while on Ravier, trying to make his cock stiffen.

    First was his experience with Mara, the girl he hadn''t seen since his second experience with Lizzy, Izzy, and her in his dorm room.

    When he had gone to Ester, the Frost General''s house, he had asked but was told the Grand Empress had long ago escorted her to the Imperial Pce.

    His third experience came from a girl named Avery he had only met that day when he had been ying Nova Ball.

    ''Oh, those lips were so sweet,'' Ryan thought, suppressing a grin as he started to harden.

    His fourth experience was with Grace, now his harem member, and his first time experiencing a woman able to stand her own against him in the bedroom.

    ''And with the rhymes.''

    His fifth was with Emily, as they connected as one.

    The sixth was with Abby, M''s sister. ''I still don''t know who they were. Maybe they can help me in the human empire.''

    As he recounted time after time, he finally got to his final length when he got to his seventh, his time with Emily, Lizzy, and Izzy after waking up.

    Feeling himself be ced on a bed, Ryan''s hard length was currently covered by his cloak, but as the examiner came over and tried to remove his fabric to inject him with a needle, she let out a low gasp, seeing Ryan''s bulge.

    "I hope we didn''t hurt you. You have quite an impressive dick. The Dragon Empress will love it,'' thedy examiner muttered.

    Looking with his bloodline vision, Ryan saw the examiner quickly scribbling down some notes on a holographic tablet and walking over to a printer beside the bed.

    She took the piece of paper from the printer, which seemed to be a sticker, as she peeled it off the page and pressed it against Ryan''s cloak.

    It read: ''Participant #42''

    ''Looks like I passed the cock test,'' Ryan grinned.

    After she seemed done, Ryan sensed an approaching figure and lost his smile, returning to his unconscious appearance.

    "Did this one pass? The figure asked.

    "Yes, in fact, he seems to be one of the ones we should keep an eye on," his examiner said.

    The figure nodded. "Understood. I''ll let Organizer Amanda know."

    Seeing his examiner leave, Ryan thought, "Amandaˇ­ where do I know that name from?''

 Chapter 149 Sorry, Im Not An Honorable Man

    Being lifted and carried, instead of using his bloodline Ryan tried to remember where he had heard that name.

    [Yoko, do you remember hearing me talk about an Amanda?] Ryan asked, wanting to narrow it down.

    [Nope. But don''t expect me to be your memory folder,] Yoko said.

    [What can I expect you to do then?] Ryan asked, thinking, ''After all, your just a shell for the next two months.''

    Yoko huffed. [Be awesome. Attract lots of worshiping dragons. Rule the Multiverse!]

    Ryan bit his tongue, holding back a smile. [And what rank will you be when you hatch again?]

    Yoko gasped. [How could you, Master!] she said, putting her unborn w to her chest. [You know that''s a sore subject.]

    [Isn''t it F-Rank?] Ryan asked, hearing the dramatic tone in her voice.

    Clutching her heart, Yoko sank to the bottom of her shell. [You didn''t have to say it aloud.]

    [I didn''t. I said it in my head.]

    [Youuuu] Yoko said, shaking her fist.

    [Quiet, looks like I''m here... wherever here is.]

    Hearing a door squeak open, Ryan felt the women ce him on a chair and was about to activate his bloodline when sniffing salts were ced right below his nostrils causing him to jolt awake.

    "Cocks on winter''s eve!" Ryan shouted, causing the woman seated across the table from him to snort, trying to hold back herughter.

    "I''ll say, I''ve never heard that one before," the examiner said.

    Ryan shook his head, sniffing to try and get the smell out.

    Either not noticing or most likely not caring about Ryan''s condition, the examiner continued, "You''ve passed the first round of physical testing. You will now be injected with a vile of truth serum and asked questions to determine if you will pass the character traits section."

    The examiner then pped her hands, and one of the guards that had brought Ryan into the room removed a syringe from her pocket and swiftly stuck it into his arm.

    ''This is all just a show,'' Ryan thought. ''They could have injected me when I was unconscious, but they wanted me to see who was in charge.''

    Ryan didn''t immediately feel anything. Then, a few secondster, he sensed a weak energy source from the liquid that tried to work toward his brain but instantly disintegrated due to the energy inside his body.

    ''Guess it only works on non-cultivators.''

    Ryan thought it made sense because if there were a truth serum that could work against cultivators, it would be expensive.

    It wouldn''t be something someone would use for the thousands of contestants Ryan had seen inside the gymnasium.

    The examiner waited a moment before asking, "Our first question is, do you hate the Red Dragon Empire or the Dragon Empress?"

    "No," Ryan said immediately.

    "Are you here today for anything other than wanting to be the Dragon Empress''s true lover?"

    "No."

    Hearing Ryan''s answer, the examiner nodded to the guards behind Ryan.

    The two guards nodded back and left the room, presumably to escort another contestant to a simr interrogation.

    "Do you possess loyalty?"

    "Yes," Ryan nodded enthusiastically. ''I am always loyal to my own family.''

    "Are you kind?"

    "Yes," Ryan said. ''To those that deserve my kindness.''

    "Are you protective of your lovers?"

    "Extremely."

    "Would you say you are trustworthy?" the examiner asked, starting to lean forward.

    "Yes," Ryan said. ''I will keep a secret even if you swear a heavenly oath not to tell.''

    "Lastly, are you honorable?" the examiner asked, practically leaning off her chair.

    Ryan paused, considering this question.

    ''Although I''m not dishonorable, I don''t know if I''m honorable.''

    As he was thinking, a sudden reflection came to mind. ''Does the Empress truly want someone honorable?''

    From what Ryan had gathered, she wanted someone willing to fill a void in her heart.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''But why does that person have to be honorable? What did honorable mean?''

    "Can you define honorable?" Ryan asked, willing to take the risk.

    A slight smile yed on the examiner''s lips as she said, "Someone who believes in truth and doing the right thing."

    "Then I''m sorry, examiner," Ryan said, smiling. "For I am not an honorable man."

    The examiner raised her eyebrows as she scribbled something on her tablet and stood.

    Reaching out a hand, she said, "Wee to thepetition, participant #42. You''ve passed."

    Shaking the examiner''s hand, Ryan said, "Thank you."

    "You''ll be staying here for the next few days until either you pass and move on to the final round or are sent packing," the examiner said while escorting Ryan outside.

    After a few minutes, Ryan saw a dormitory simr to the academies.

    "Is that a Nova Ball field?" Ryan asked, seeing arge field to the left of the dorm.

    The examiner chuckled. "Oh yes. The Dragon Empress loves her Nova Ball."

    "In fact, you''ll be participating in a round tonight."

    Arching his eyebrow, Ryan wanted to ask more questions, but the examiner gave him a wave saying, "I have to get back number #42. Good luck!"

    Ryan nodded and headed inside his dorm.

    ===

    After locating his dorm room, Ryan was told he had an hour of free time before the Nova Ball game wouldmence.

    Not daring to activate a portal to his pce in an unknown environment, Ryan did what he had been postponing.

    "I need to rank up."

    Ryan had enough energy to rank up to C-Rank and about half the energy required for B-Rank but didn''t upgrade for fear of further repercussions due to his racial disparity.

    Ryan chuckled. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

    Although everything seemed to be going well, Ryan knew the truth.

    He had 51 days until the wedding, and although he had powerful allies in the Duchess, Frost General, and Empress, he knew he needed more.

    ''I still have that meeting with Lizzy and Izzy''s mother in less than three weeks. I hope to add the Zol''Gan Empress to that list.

    Either way, if Ryan could secure the Dragon Empress, he would feel more confident opposing the Grand Empress at the wedding.

    But he needed every bit of strength he could muster to do that.

    Releasing the valve on his energy, Ryan directed it towards his cultivation as he closed his eyes, enjoying the sweet feeling of pure power.

    [Congrattions on upgrading to C-Rank in Cultivation]

    [Congrattions on upgrading the following ability: Overlord''s Harem Conversion (New Ranks!)]

    [Please note your Overlord''s Constitution abilities are now inactive while your race rank is two ranks behind]

    ''Looks like I didn''t get much this time,'' Ryan thought but wasn''t too surprised.

    If he kept getting an ability every time he ranked up, Ryan would be nigh unstoppable by the time he reached SSS-Rank.

    He didn''t use his Overlord''s constitution for much as he had only tested ''Overlord''s Reign'', which instantly drained all of his energy the one time he had used it.

    Overall, he was pleased, as long as the ability upgrade to his primary ability was worth it.

    [Overlord''s Harem Conversion]

    [New Ranks:]

    [General (0/1)]

    [Officers (0/10)]

    [Servant Manager (0/1)]

    [Servant Leaders (0/10]

    [Note(1): Leadership positions can give buffs depending on the leader''s rank and specialty]

    [Note(2): Slots for Knights & Servants upgraded from 100 -> 200]

 Chapter 150 Nova Ball Returns

    After checking the individual ranks, Ryan was relieved to find that, unlike the royalty ranks, he could remove a member from their position and rece them with someone else.

    ''Hm, I think Shade is the best fit for General since his rank seems to be the highest.''

    ''As for officers, I don''t want to promote them without them earning their ce, as that would lead to chaos.''

    ''Servants are less of an issue since I''ve promoted Vimmi to the manager position, and she has exactly the skills for it.''

    ''She can also train Joy until we get her something that allows her to cultivate.''

    Ryan felt that overall, the upgrade was decent, but the most significant jump in power wasn''t in any ability; it was his cultivation.

    Although he wouldn''t wish it, Ryan knew he could fight a B-Rank in pure power even though his energy reserve was 4x less than the weakest of B-Ranks.

    Sitting in a meditative position, Ryan allowed the energy to flow through his veins as he asked Yoko, [How does cultivation work?]

    [You know,] Yoko said, sighing exasperatingly, [sometimes your questions could be like, ''how''s your day, Yoko?'' ''What did you eat this morning, Yoko?'']

    [But instead, they have to tackle things like the purpose of life, what is right and what is wrong, and how cultivation works!] Yoko said, getting louder with each passing word as she ended it with a scream.

    [Humph, I thought I was talking to an ancient dragonˇ­ turns out I was sorely mistaken,] Ryan said, making sure Yoko heard his long sigh after.

    Yoko grit her baby teeth. Ryan''sment had hit a nerve.

    Ryan chuckled. [What I meant to ask was, how does cultivation differ from rank to rank?]

    [Someone told me that up until SSS-Rank, you are just gathering energy in your body, but I feel as though I''m gaining more power than just an upgrade in capacity.]

    Calming down, Yoko said, [During the letter ranks F through SSS, while you are gaining capacity, each rank also gains the ability to use slightly more energy in each attack.]

    Ryan tilted his head. [So, like at F-Rank, I could use 100 energy points per attack, and now at C-Rank, I could use 1,000 points?]

    [Exactly. That''s the gist of it, although your numbers are wrong,] Yoko replied, thankful that her Master could understand that much.

    As Ryan adjusted to his new power, he heard an announcement, "All participants to the Nova Ball field!"

    "All participants to the Nova Ball field!" it rang again.

    Rising from the bed, Ryan stretched and headed toward the field, ready to take another step toward iming yet another Empress.

    ===

    Ryan arrived at the field as dusk was settling, making the field be a bright neon green that seemed to glow in the dark.

    Illuminated by the glowing grass, Ryan saw stands on the far side of the field. Although the stands weren''t full, they held at least a few thousand spectators at the moment.

    Ryan rubbed his chin. ''I guess those are the Empress''s servants.''

    Ryan headed to the participant''s area, and at theck of participants, he looked around, somewhat confused.

    A screechy voice broke Ryan out of his thoughts, "Okay, good, you''re all here."

    Ryan widened his eyes, he had seen thousands of participants, and now all he saw were 40 men!

    "As the official sport of the Red Dragon Empire, Nova Ball holds a special ce in the Dragon Empress''s heart; thus, she wants her future harem member to have the appropriate skill level," Lady Gwen said.

    "Thepetition will be as follows: We have enough people for four teams, but we''ll split you up into teams of 20."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You will draw lots for your order on the team. Each team will start with numbers 1-10, and then a new participant will rece the lowest number on each team every five minutes."

    "For instance, after the first five minutes, number #1 will be reced by #11, the next five minutes #2 by #12, and so forth."

    "Also, when a person scores, they will be removed from the field, having passed the exam. They will then be reced by the lowest number on the bench.

    "After 10 goals, thepetition will end, and those that have not scored will be eliminated."

    Gwen smiled. "May the best men win."

    Stepping toward the indicated table, Ryan drew his number. The field hologram board read Ryan Emerald, Blue Team, Number #7.

    Making his way to the left side of the field, Ryan waved to the crowd, eliciting a fewughs and cheers.

    Ryan already had a n of attack, but to pull it off, he needed a bit of luck.

    ''Although it appears that thispetition is straightforward, I''m guessing the Dragon Empress is watching our behavior rather than if we can score a goal.''

    Even though Ryan didn''t doubt the validity of Lady Gwen''s words, he still didn''t think thispetition was solely about the game.

    As everyone took their position on the field, #1-#3 yed forward, #4-6 yed midfield, and #7-10 yed defense.

    Cracking his neck, Ryan waited as the teams got ready and #1 and #2 of the Red Team tapped the ball into y.

    Although the numbers on the field were supposed to dictate positions, everything immediately fell into chaos as all yers rushed toward the ball.

    Ryan was the only person to stay in his position when the whistle started other than the designated goalies, the female servants of the Empress.

    Staying back on defense, Ryan watched his teame out of the mad scramble with the ball. #4 of the Blue Team had broken away from the defense and was alone with the goalie.

    Making sure he stayed in his proper position, Ryan watched as his team scored, pping as #4 of the Blue Team was the first to secure his passage into the next round of thepetition.

    Ryan kept ying his assigned position wherever he was until, after a few switches, it was his time to y forward.

    After another kickoff, a mad dash ensued. Ryan joined in the fun, swiftly got the ball in his possession, and ran down the field.

    His control over his energy had vastly improved with his trips to his training tower, so he no longer struggled when dribbling.

    As he arrived within the penalty box and had an avable shot, Ryan suddenly paused and did what no man had done beforeˇ­ he passed the ball.

    As the ball flew through the air toward the wide-open recipient, everyone''s mind nked, thinking, ''Why?''

    The recipient, who had been hoping for a lucky ball bounce, was also thinking the same thing.

    However, when the ball was within a few inches of his body, he reacted, caught the ball with his chest, and shot a clean goal.

    "Congrattions, Blue Team''s #6, for passing this round!" Lady Gwen''s voice broke the quiet atmosphere.

    The stands erupted as audience members yelled their opinions at the participant who gave up his opportunity to Blue Team''s #6.

    "He betrayed the Dragon Empress!" a drunk dragon yelled.

    "He''s gay!" yelled another dragon. "His boyfriend is #6!"

    The jeers continued, but Ryan was only concerned about the Dragon Empress and what she thought of his little act of selflessness.

 Chapter 151 I Always Finish Last

    After Gweh returned to her seat, she pressed her earpiece and asked, "How was he, Master?"

    On the other side of the earpiece, the Dragon Empress didn''t immediately respond.

    After a few seconds, she asked, "How was his testing?"

    "He was indeed interesting," Gwen said. "He either knew the truth serum wasn''t genuine, or is the perfect candidate because he not only answered each question honestly, but he answered "no" to the honorable question."

    Inside her room, the Dragon Empress watched the Nova Ball game on a set of holograms. She shuddered as she thought of a man who could be loyal, kind, protective, and trustworthy while not being honorable.

    ''A true perfect bad boy,'' the Dragon Empress thought.

    After seeing her mother''s downfall, the Dragon Empress knew that the right way was the good way, and that''s why she insisted her first public harem member be loyal, kind, protective, and trustworthy.

    But part of her craved the dark side and put in a condition that one could answer either yes or no to honorable.

    All they had to do to pass was to answer yes while not lying on the first four questions, and they''d pass.

    ''I never expected someone like him actually to exist,'' the Dragon Empress thought, watching the man with raven ck locs on her screen.

    As he turned toward the hidden camera, the Dragon Empress could see the sweat glistening off his silky smooth skin as his emerald eyes reflected the fading sunlight, giving him an almost divine look.

    "He''s good. Keep an eye on him," the Dragon Empress said, closing hermunication link to Gwen.

    ===

    "Blue Team, #7 substitution for #19," Lady Gwen yelled.

    After the first round of rotations, it was Ryan''s turn to return to the field.

    So far, five people have scored: Blue Team''s #4 and #6 and Red Team''s #8, #11, and #12.

    After his first pass and the criticism he received, everyone thought Ryan would have stopped passing the ball, but he did the opposite.

    Every time Ryan had the ball, he would pass it to someone open, or if he were in the position of midfielder or forward, he would skilfully dribble the ball past some defenders and make space for someone to get open.

    His antics got him the nickname ''the 7th angel'' from his teammates and ''stupid moronic idiot'' by the opposing team.

    He ran on the field again, ying the forward position, and the jeers began.

    "Hey, look, the moron''s here."

    "Yo, looser, why don''t you walk the ball over to me? I''ll help you out."

    "Are you ying to lose? Meet me after for a great game of ckjack."

    "Can you grab me some food while you are ying? It seems like you have a lot of time to waste."

    Ryan chuckled. "I''m sure you can say those words now, but when you''re no longer in the running for being a part of the beautiful Empress''s harem, I''m sure those words will be harder to say."

    Getting into position, Ryan caught the ball and passed it to his left.

    His teammates had be ustomed to him passing, so they were always ready to receive.

    As the game progressed, another goal was scored, but Ryan still had yet to get one in the back of the.

    By the time it was Ryan''s turn to leave the field, the total goals were up to six.

    ''The next round should be the perfect time,'' Ryan thought, preparing to set his n''s final part in motion.

    As he sat on the bench, Ryan activated his bloodline to locate the hidden camera he knew monitored each of their moves.

    After locating the nearest one to the Red Team''s goal, he spent the remainder of his timeing up with the perfect line for his victory.

    ===

    "Gwen, what is #7 doing?" the Dragon Empress asked. "Although I love his selflessness, one can sometimes be too selfless for their own good."

    In the stands, watching the game, Gwen looked at Ryan sitting on the bench and smiled. "You mean participant #42, correct?" she asked teasingly.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Gweh, even though I reprimanded you earlier, you still tease meˇ­ good. But yes, I do mean him," the Dragon Empress said, chuckling.

    "Maybe he''s showing us something besides selflessness. But for my hunch to be correct, we''ll have to wait and see," Gwen said, narrowing her eyes at the sitting Ryan.

    The Dragon Empress sighed. "Well, either way, I hope your right. It''d be a shame if he turned out to be too selfless."

    After the Dragon Empress''s words, they both fell silent, continuing to watch the game unfold.

    ===

    "Herees the bootlicker again!" came a shout from the Red Team.

    "I think he can''t score. He''s too afraid," another yelled.

    ''You know, I wonder how these guys passed the test if they were all tested with the kindness characteristic.'' Ryan thought. ''It doesn''t make sense.''

    After mulling it over, Ryan came up with two theories. " In this world, people might perceive kindness differently, or they have convinced themselves that they are kind; thus, when given truth serum, they told their truth."

    In either case, it didn''t matter to Ryan as he refocused on his test.

    Eight goals had been scored, so only two more wouldplete the game.

    Toplete his n, Ryan needed to participate in thest two scoring goals.

    The Red Team started with the ball as Ryan and the opposing yer''s equivalent swapped in.

    The ensuing dogpile surrounding the ball was fierce. Ryan could see a few lousy punches fly between yers as their animalistic instincts took over in their craze to be one of thest to score.

    Apparently, the Dragon Empress had anticipated the melee. No fouls were called. It was a free-for-all.

    Deciding it was now or never, Ryan joined the fight for the ball. After a few shoves, he came out of the other side with the ball, his teammates happily shouting as they ran down the field, "Angel 7, over here!"

    "I''m open, Angel 7!"

    As he ran along the left side of the field, Ryan saw #9 open right next to the goal, and he booted the ball.

    The ball arched through the air. Both the Dragon Empress and Gwen held their breath.

    To their dismay, Ryan''s teammate was able to tap in the oing ball to score the most straightforward goal of the night.

    Ryan made a show of pumping his fists in celebration as he looked into the camera and muttered, "I always love bringing others pleasure."

    The Dragon Empress felt a tingle run down her spine at Ryan''s words and grew hotter as she scooted forward, now on the edge of her seat.

    "This is itˇ­ only one more goal," she muttered.

    Back on the field, the Red Team was the first to start with the ball, but it didn''t matter because a second after #14 touched the ball, a Blue Team yer mmed into him, taking him down like an American linebacker tackling a quarterback.

    Ryan took advantage before anyone was the wiser and snatched the ball, staying clear of the pile-up.

    Three of his Blue teammates noticed he had the ball and began frantically following him.

    "I''m open, Angel!"

    "I''m cutting to the right, Angel!"

    "Pass it upfront Angel!"

    The familiar calls echoed around him, but he ignored their pleas, unlike before.

    Dribbling the ball toward the goal, Ryan came face to face with the goalkeeper, and while he could fake pass the ball and the goalie would most likely fall for it, Ryan didn''t need to.

    Ryan mmed the ball with all his might, spiraling end over end and arching into the top right corner of the.

    Ryan turned toward the camera as the ball stopped in the back of the. "Don''t worry, Empress," Ryan grinned. "Just like in the bedroom, I always finishst."

 Chapter 152 A Dragons Song

    The Dragon Empress sat on the edge of her seat, an inch away from falling off.

    Her vision was fixed on thest kickoff deciding the final participant.

    As the Red Team member who touched the ball got tackled, the Dragon Empress screamed, "It''s your chance. Go!"

    Her breath caught, watching as Ryan got the ball and started his journey down the field.

    "Oh no! He''s going to pass it again, isn''t he," she muttered, seeing three open Blue Team members.

    The Dragon Empress ced her hands atop her head as she bit her lower lip in anticipation of the oue.

    Watching as Ryan suddenly stopped, she held her breath, waiting for his decision.

    "He shot!" she eximed.

    "He scored!"

    She was so happy that she almost missed what Ryan said.

    "He... he''s so smooth!" she gasped.

    "I wonder if he can back up those words in the bedroom," the Dragon Empress purred.

    She was so excited at what happened that she hadn''t noticed her microphone was on.

    "Master?" Gwen asked slowly, a bright smile on her face.

    "You wouldn''t happen to have a favorite for the harem position already, now, would you?"

    The Dragon Empress''s smile suddenly froze, and she asked, "How long has my microphone been on?"

    "The whole time," came Gwen''s reply.

    "Well, fine. I admit it. I''m happy that man isn''t a total moron," the Dragon Empress said, sitting back in her seat with a huff.

    Gwen shook her head, knowing the Dragon Empress had already fallen for the man.

    She had her suspicions about Ryan''s actions.

    One could always be cautious. An empire falling due to lust was an age-old story.

    ''Thankfully, he''s been tested. Otherwise, I would be willing to bet this was an executed attack against our empire,'' Gwen thought.

    ===

    After the Nova Ball tournament, the men were given the rest of the day off and told they were free to use the hot springs behind the dormitories.

    Because he was a cultivator, Ryan wasn''t all that sweaty, but wanting to blend in, he went anyway.

    The structure was made of marble, making it look out of ce, surrounded by such modern buildings.

    The entryway leading to tall ss double doors was carpeted, making the building look even grander.

    After entering the double doors, the group was escorted into a changing room where they were left to their own devices and told that the next activity would be the following day at 8 A.M.

    Entering the changing room, Ryan first put his clothes in a locker.

    After wrapping himself in a towel, he exited the locker room and entered the hot springs.

    The atmosphere was warm and inviting as he stepped into the heated water.

    ''I rarely ever take baths, always showers. But this makes me regret my choice,'' Ryan thought, remembering his times in Los Angeles with Aliza.

    She would often tease him with misty showers and ask for a towel.

    Ryan, like a fool, would go up to the fog-covered ss and try to see through the mist, only to be scared by an already-clothed Aliza.

    Ryan chuckled. ''That woman always got to me.''

    "What youughing about, Angel?" #6, the first person he had helped secure a spot in the next round, asked.

    "Thank you, by the way. That was generous of you."

    The man also had a towel around his waist as he entered the pool. His broad features and blonde hair made him look like some supermodel.

    ''I guess he fits right in, considering this is like a dating show,'' Ryan thought.

    "Just memories. Name''s Ryan, by the way," Ryan said, reaching out his hand.

    "James," the man replied, shaking the outstretched hand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "So, what type of dragon are you?" James asked, raising his brow.

    "You''re pretty generous, so I was thinking a dragon of light, but when you said your final line, it gave me dark vibes. So perhaps you''re a crimson dragon?"

    "A crimson dragon?" another teammate of theirs asked.

    "Hey Mark, I was just asking Ryan, our Angel, to tell us the type of dragon he is."

    Mark frowned. "And why are you trying to pry information out of him?"

    "It''s rude if he happens to be from a noble line."

    [I prefer this lizard to the first one,] Yoko sounded in Ryan''s mind.

    [He at least knows about real dragon culture. Never ask a dragon their type unless you''re willing to pay in blood.]

    [Noted,] Ryan replied, thankful for the information.

    "Thank you, Mark. My name is Ryan," he said, outstretching his hand to an older-looking well-built man with a fiery red beard.

    "Nice to meet you, and thank you for your assistance, although James and I," Mark said, punching James a little too hard to be considered friendly, "know that I would have passed either way."

    James coughed, "Man, I told you to stop doing that."

    "Your yful punches leave me with bruises."

    "Hahaha," Mark let out a bellowingugh. "James, my boy, that just means you have to eat more meat!"

    "Even if we''re men, we are dragons! If we don''t show the other races, who are the real kings, who will?"

    "We are dragons! The greatest race to ever grace the Multiverse! We fight! We eat! And we plunder!"

    "With goblins as our brothers," Mark started singing.

    "We will rid every other," he got louder.

    "Of their gold and plunder!" a multitude of other voices chimed in, singing the song.

    "Oh, we are dragons!" they sang together.

    "That means we''re GREAT!"

    "We''ll fight till thest to get to those golden gates!"

    "For its riches we seek, not health or power!"

    "For we are dragons, and we don''t fight for honor!"

    As the group finished singing, Ryan heard Yoko say, [It''s possible they aren''t just lizards after all.]

    Ryan shook his head as he rxed back into the bath.

    After the dragons started singing more merry tunes, Ryan got a prickling feeling on the back of his neck and turned around.

    Not seeing anything in the sky or the trees surrounding the outdoor hot springs, Ryan sat in the shallow end and activated his bloodline.

    Moving it to its full 50m range, Ryan could immediately sense the cameras watching him.

    ''I don''t mind them spying, as they''ve already seen my junk.''

    ''But who''s to say they''re not lying about thepetition pausing till morning?''

    ''What if they''re watching us right now and deciding who to eliminate?''

    As that thought urred to Ryan, he figured it was better to be safe than sorry and decided to head in early. He figured that sticking within range of other dragons would only heighten his risk of getting caught.

    As Ryan entered the locker room, dried off, and retrieved his clothes, his thoughts returned to the name he had heard the examiner say when examining his penis.

    ''Amanda, where do I know an Amanda from?''

    Shaking his head, Ryan exited the locker room and almost bumped into a cleaningdy.

    "Oh, I''m so sorry," Ryan said. "Are you alright?"

    The cleaningdy looked up at Ryan. She pushed her silver hair to the side, revealing magical blue eyes.

    Ryan blinked and looked around the girl, noticing her red wings, two horns on either side of her head, and a thick purple dragon tail connected to her plump buttocks.

    "Amanda?!" Ryan gasped, seeing his first-ever BCN client in the flesh.

 Chapter 153 The Midnight Suprise

    "Amanda?!"

    Amanda gasped. "Ryan? What are you doing here?"

    "I''mpeting for the Dragon Empress''s new harem position," Ryan said.

    ''I don''t think she knows I''m human, right?'' Ryan tensed.

    "You''re in thepetition?" Amanda frowned.

    "I never knew you were a dragon, but that makes sense," Amanda nodded.

    "You were very attracting to me, so it makes sense that we''re of the same species, and you were just fully retracted," Amanda purred.

    "But we can''t talk here,e," Amanda said, grabbing Ryan by the arm and leading him away.

    After a few turns, they arrived at a janitor''s closet with cleaning supplies and chemicals.

    "There are no cameras in here," Amanda said, visibly rxing.

    "So now that I''ve answered your question," Ryan raised his eyebrow. "How about you answer mine."

    "What are you doing here?"

    "Well, isn''t it obvious," Amanda said, indicating around them.

    Ryan shook his head. "What are you truly doing here."

    "You can''t expect me to believe that a cultivator is a cleaningdy."

    "Even if you im to be one, no cleaningdy would go through the trouble hiding from cameras and have extra money to spend in the BCN."

    Amanda pursed her lips. "Fine, my real role is her Majesty''s servant, and she sent me here to garner information on the contestants."

    Seeing Ryan''s narrowed eyes, Amanda waved, "No, no, that''s not what I''m doing right now."

    "I truly didn''t expect to see you here and was surprised."

    Ryan recalled hisst time with Amanda and asked, "If you''re a servant of the Dragon Empress, doesn''t that mean you wouldn''t have a husband?"

    "Of course, I don''t have a husband," Amanda said, looking at Ryan in confusion.

    ''I specifically remember this girl talking about her cheating husband because she was still a virgin.''

    "You said you had a cheating husband," Ryan said, deciding to confront her head-on.

    Amanda paused, then widened her eyes as she realized her mistake.

    Lowering her head she said, "I do have an unfaithful partner, but it isn''t a man."

    "It''s the Dragon Empress."

    ===

    After Amanda finished exining things to him, Ryan was left with a mess of information ranging from intriguing to possibly dangerous.

    Amanda first exined that Amanda was in the Dragon Empress''s harem but that it was the unofficial harem that all Empress''s had on Ravier.

    The unofficial harem consisted of females.

    Ryan asked, "Why does the Empress need to hide the fact that she has women''s harem members?"

    Amanda had exined, "It''s because they don''t want people to follow in their footsteps, especially the cultivators."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Bing a cultivator is mainly based on gics for females, so if even a slight minority of cultivators were affected by any of the Empress''s actions, there would be fewer cultivators in the Empire."

    After Amanda had finished talking, she left Ryan, saying, "Oh, sleep well tonight," with a wink.

    As Ryan walked toward his dorm room, he still contemted Amanda''sst words and decided that he better stay vignt tonight.

    ===

    Just after midnight inside Ryan''s dorm room (50 Days until the wedding)...

    Ryany awake, talking with Yoko about the many adventures she had been through on her journeys as an egg through the Multiverse, when a sudden creak of the door caused Ryan''s body to tense.

    Closing his eyes and activating his bloodline vision, Ryan sensed three masked figures.

    ''Have I been found out?'' Ryan thought as he got ready to circte his energy.

    [Wait!] Yoko shouted in his mind. [One of them is the Lady Gwen from earlier.]

    [She wouldn''t be here if they knew you were a human. This must be some sort of test.]

    Indeed, thanks to his bloodline, Ryan could tell the faces of the three figures behind the masks, one of them being Lady Gwen, one being unknown, and one being Amanda.

    Deactivating his bloodline, Ryan pretended to be asleep as they got into position before pouncing on Ryan''s limp body.

    "Don''t you dare move!" the masked Lady Gwen yelled, her voice modified to sound different.

    "Bring him to the milking chambers!"

    ''I like the sound of that,'' Ryan thought, holding back a grin.

    As Ryan was carried, he pretended to put up a struggle, but a gag had been ced over his mouth, so he didn''t have to try too hard.

    ''Speaking about things that are hard, I wish Amanda would stop rubbing her hand over my crotch,'' Ryan gritted his teeth and tried to think of disgusting thoughts, trying not to get an erection.

    The trio entered a tiny, white-walled room that one would find at a mental hospital.

    Seeing padded walls and a white table in the middle, Ryan was eager to see which liquid he would be milked of and how the operation would work.

    ''I think I''ll be adding some more white to this room in a few minutes,'' he thought.

    After they ced him on the table, they proceeded to strap him tightly with mps on his wrists and ankles.

    Although they could certainly hold an ordinary man, if Ryan wanted to, he could have broken out of the restraints as though he was being tied down with toilet paper.

    Two of the figures left the room, and only one stayed.

    "There are no cameras in here," Amanda licked her lips as she removed her mask.

    Pretending to be surprised, Ryan widened his eyes and moved his mouth, attempting to speak against the gag.

    Amanda bit her lower lip as she trailed Ryan''s body with her eyes.

    "Although, after ourst session where you were in charge... and seeing you all helpless like this, I kind of want to try something different."

    Narrowing his eyes, Ryan watched as Amanda pulled out a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut away his clothes.

    ''Thankfully, I''m not wearing anything valuable like my cloak,'' Ryan thought.

    Although he could stop the woman, he wanted to go for the more subtle approach he had nned.

    ''By the time this is over, she''ll be wishing she had never entered this locked room in the first ce,'' he thought, smiling maliciously under his gag.

 Chapter 154 To Receive The Nipple, One Must First Present Thy Pickle [R-18]

    As Amanda finished cutting away all of Ryan''s clothes, her breathing became increasingly rapid as Ryan silently activated his pleasure aura.

    Her hands danced along his exposed skin like the most delicate and precious gem.

    She couldn''t contain the building anticipation as her thoughts turned toward the activities she was about to perform.

    "I was supposed just to make you ejacte as fast as possible, but I experienced how fast you were in the BCN; I already know you can pass the test."

    "You wouldn''t mind if I had a ride again, would you?"

    Seeing Ryan''s slow nod, Amanda gulped, and a big smile appeared as she removed her clothes.

    The curves of her body further added to Ryan''s exposed erection, making him rock hard in a matter of seconds.

    As Amanda''s pink nipples sprouted free, Ryan had to hold himself back from immediately ripping his restraints free and sucking on them.

    ''Patience, young one,'' Aliza''s voice rang in his mind.

    ''To receive the nipple, one must first present thy pickle.''

    Remembering Aliza''s wise words, Ryan teasingly moved his hips as the final piece of fabric covering them slid away, causing his manhood to be exposed to Amanda''s lustful eyes.

    "Just as big as I remember," she said, licking her lips.

    Unable to wait longer, she moved her head to hover over Ryan''s shaft.

    He could feel her hot breath tease his cock.

    The situation was so arousing, the thought that anyone coulde into the room and see Amanda doing such naughty things to him that he let out a drop of pre-cum in excitement.

    Amanda''s hungry lips moved into action and swiftly slurped Ryan''s cockhead into their warm embrace.

    Ecstasy filled Amanda''s and Ryan''s minds as each experience their first hit of pleasure.

    Amanda''s lips seemingly moved on their own, trying to do their intended purpose and suck out Ryan''s magical seed.

    Not one to disappoint, Ryan leaked drop after drop, allowing Amanda to fall deeper into the pleasure and depravity of her actions of sucking a tied-up man''s cock.

    Seeing Amanda''s eyes closed in pleasure, Ryan freed his arms and a little of the restraints holding his hips as he began thrusting deeper into her mouth.

    As the magical drops of Ryan''s seed already seeped into her throat, Amanda wasn''t at all displeased by this action and took Ryan deeper and deeper into her throat pussy.

    Her lips contracted around Ryan''s member as he ran a hand through her hair.

    Amanda either didn''t notice that Ryan''s hands were free or didn''t care as she mindlessly bobbed up and down on his cock.

    "Ah," she moaned around his cock, "I knew I hit the jackpot when they allowed me to service you."

    Ryan smiled and tightened his grip on her silky mane, moving his hips faster.

    Amanda''s tongue started doing circles around Ryan''s shaft as he thrust in and out, but never wholly leaving her throat.

    Amanda''s body started heating up as more and more of Ryan''s pre-cum entered her core.

    As Ryan started frantically bucking his hips and holding her head, Amanda''s mind nked as all she could feel was the pleasure of being used again.

    Ryan felt Amanda suddenly press down, her lips touching the base of his shaft and grazing his balls.

    Ryan did miniature thrusts while holding the back of her head as his legs wrapped around her neck.

    The pressure inside his balls was too great as he let out a guttural growl before shooting ropes of cum out into Amanda''s hot mouth.

    He groaned as he emptied every drop into her mouth, not bothering to pull out.

    When he finally stopped spasming, he released his hold on her head and let Amanda fall to the floor.

    As Amanday sprawled on the floor, Ryan performed a trick Yoko had taught him and used his energy to make Amanda''s absorption of the energy contained in his sperm to quicken.

    Amanda''s eyes recovered from their zed-out look and her breathing recovered in only a minute.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But before she recovered fully, Ryan brought her to the bed and strapped her down, reversing their roles.

    Luckily Ryan found a switch on the side of the table, allowing a hole to appear for her tail to fit through; otherwise, he couldn''t have performed such an action.

    "W-What are you doing?" Amanda asked groggily.

    Ryan didn''t answer until he finished tying the restraint and towered over her.

    "I need some answers about thispetition," Ryan grinned devilishly.

    "In return for answering my questions, I''ll," Ryan paused, licking his lips as he trailed a finger over her now naked skin.

    "Well, I think you can guess what I''ll do for you if you''re willing to talk."

    Amanda felt herself growing wetter at the thought of having sex with Ryan again.

    The first time had been one thing, having permission from the Dragon Empress to use the BCN whenever she liked, but sex outside of it was frowned upon.

    "No... No, I can''t do that again," Amanda panted.

    Her hands shook as she fought against her bonds and tried to stop her body''s lustful reaction.

    Ryan chuckled. "You say one thing, but your body says another."

    "Be honest with yourself. You know you want this," Ryan said, running his fingers along the straps that bound her wrists.

    "I can make you cum without even touching your pussy. So don''t think of it as cheating on the Dragon Empress," Ryan teased, rubbing his thumb over the tips of her breasts.

    Amanda trembled uncontrobly as Ryan touched her.

    ''He''s right. It wouldn''t be sex if he didn''t touch me there,'' she thought.

    Seeing her starting to ept this fact, Ryan let out a bigugh as he pulled away from the young woman.

    "You''re pathetic," Ryan said as he went back to untie Amanda and ce her on hisp as he sat on the bed.

    "But that''s okay, as long as you tell me what I need to know."

    Ryan slowly ran his hands down Amanda''s exposed thighs and stopped at her buttocks.

    Amanda gulped, unable to hide the look of anticipation in her eyes.

    "No," she moaned quietly, feeling him parting her cheeks and massaging them softly.

    "You said-" She started to say before being silenced by his kiss.

    The kiss was filled with passion and hunger. Their tongues met each other and danced around for a moment until Ryan broke it off.

    "I won''t be touching it with my fingers," Ryan smiled wickedly. "Now answer me."

    "What do you want to know exactly?" Amanda trembled.

    Ryan''s face turned serious. "What is the Empress looking for in a man?"

    Breathing out a sigh of relief that the question was something she knew, Amanda said, "She''s looking for you."

    Tilting his head, Ryan asked, "Me?"

    "Not you specifically, but you in terms of personality," Amanda corrected.

    "Someone whoes off as a loving, caring person, but once you get to know them, they turn out to be cold and calcting."

    Ryan chuckled. "I''ll take that as apliment,ing from someone who would have happily strapped me down and had your way with me."

    Amanda was about to say something but then looked down at the table.

    "How did you get out of your restraints anyway?"

 Chapter 155 A Sticky Situation

    Ryan shrugged off the question with one of his own.

    "Tell me about the Empress. What is she like?"

    Narrowing her eyes, Amanda thought about continuing her line of questioning but shook her head, forgetting about it.

    "The Empress is kind, but she has a thing against dragons, which her mother brought on."

    "What do you mean?" Ryan asked, confused.

    ''How can she have a thing against dragons? Isn''t she a dragon?'' Ryan thought.

    Then remembering his own predicament, he thought, ''Well, I''m different. I don''t hate humans, just an empire full of them.''

    Amanda sighed. "Her mother, thete Grand Empress, was an evil person who didn''t care for anyone or anything."

    "Being raised by that woman, the Empress has had a bad impression of dragons since a young age, since she had witnessed her mother''s tyranny first hand."

    "That''s why she requires you contestants to be in your dragon forms at all times and swear never to transform into them again," Amanda said, leaning her head against Ryan''s shoulder.

    ''Sounds like someone selfish to me,'' Ryan thought.

    "What about the human empire? What is the rtionship like between her and them?" Ryan asked, softly stroking her hair.

    Sighing happily, Amanda wrapped her arms around Ryan and leaned into him further. "She is in an alliance with them but doesn''t like the Grand Empress."

    Ryan grinned.

    As Ryan was about to ask another question, there was a knock at the door.

    "We felt an energy fluctuation in there," a voice yelled.

    "If the test has beenpleted, you must end it, Amanda."

    Jumping up, Amanda said, "Crap, they''re right. How do I exin this?"

    Thinking for a moment, Ryan let out a chuckle. "Let me handle it."

    ===

    Walking out the doors, Amanda looked toward the floor with an apologetic look on her face.

    "Sorry I took so long to report. I just was shocked at what had happened inside,mander," Amanda said, looking up at themander.

    "What happened?" themander asked, narrowing her eyes and looking past Amanda into the room.

    "N-No,mander, you can''t go in!" Amanda said, attempting to block themander''s line of sight.

    "Get out of my way Amanda," themander ordered.

    Looking toward the floor, Amanda stepped out of the way and allowed themander to pass.

    Amanda smiled as themander passed her and muttered, "I tried to warn you."

    Entering the white room, themander gasped, seeing a sight she couldn''t unsee.

    "So much cum!"

    Although the room was white, it looked like it had been repainted with a freshyer of cum that seemingly covered every inch.

    Putting her finger to the wall, she brought it away, feeling the slimy liquid between her fingers.

    Sniffing, she licked her lips as touching the substance produced a response inside her body.

    Slowly bringing her fingers to her mouth, she put them inside and moaned, feeling orgasmic sensations fill her body.

    She couldn''t stop herself as shepped at the walls, desperately licking the heavenly liquid.

    As Amanda returned to the room, sheughed, "I can''t believe that worked."

    Ryan, who had been hiding behind the bed, popped out and shook his head as he watched themander in heat as she slurped up his spent seed.

    "If a girls thirsty, I shall provide thy liquid," Ryan said as he walked out of the room.

    After parting ways with Amanda, who said the next activity would be at 8 A.M., as stated before, he headed toward his room.

    ===

    The next day Ryan awoke to a loud noise that seemed to vibrate the building.

    Walking out of his room, Ryan saw that he wasn''t the only one awoken by the noise as 13 other men joined him outside.

    "Good morning, potential harem members!" Lady Gwen''s voice sounded.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Fourteen of you have passedst night''s test, and we shall now get on to the next round ofpetition."

    Looking toward the sky, Ryan and the other contestants could see the source of the noise, an enormous helicopter.

    "We will now take the helicopter to our next testing sight, so please enter."

    As the helicopternded and everyone filed in, they were each handed a box containing a hot breakfast.

    Everyone put on noise-canceling headphones, taking off in record time, and Lady Gwen continued speaking.

    "Yesterday, you were tested not only on your physical and character traits but also your ability in Nova Ball."

    "However, today''s test will be more about what we dragons value, strength."

    "If you look out the side of your windows," Gwen said, pointing to arge hill caked in mud, "you''ll be able to see our next testing zone."

    One of the contestants excitedly asked, "Are we ying king of the mud?"

    Gwen grinned. "Yes, king of the mud, for those of you who don''t know is a game that pits one against all."

    "Your objective is to be one of the three remaining people on that mud hill," Gwen continued.

    "Push your opponents into the dirt below to eliminate them from y."

    "It doesn''t matter how long this gamests, but the one with the most eliminations at the end will receive a special prize," Gwen said, ncing at Ryan.

    Ryan arched his eyebrow.

    [Yoko, have you heard of this game?] Ryan asked.

    [Indeed, it''s a tradition all over the Multiverse for dragons to participate in king of the mud.]

    Ryan rolled his eyes, ''Why wouldn''t it be.''

    [Then, can you tell me the best strategy? I don''t exactly want to use energy and expose myself.]

    Yoko chortled, [So my Master needs my help, does he?]

    ''Oh great,'' Ryan thought.

    [What do you want this time, Yoko?]

    Every time he asked about Yoko, Ryan was forced to do something for the annoying dragon.

    [I want to hear about this Aliza person again. She''s so interesting.]

    At first, Ryan didn''t know what Yoko wanted, but like most children, she loved story time.

    As most of his stories revolved around his time on earth with Aliza, she inevitably came up.

    Ever since Ryan had told the first story of her saving Ryan in the ally, Yoko had practically fallen in love with the girl who had saved her Master.

    [Okay, fine,] Ryan relented, as they still had a few minutes before the helicopternded on the ground.

    [Once upon a time, Aliza and I were staking out a client in Mexico.]

    [This girl was dangerous, one of the highest-level leaders of the cartel.]

    [What''s the cartel?] Yoko asked.

    [It was the criminal organization that basically ran the whole country,] Ryan exined.

    [Now, I thought Aliza would tell me that since this person was so well-known and respected as someone with power and prestige, we should do an in-depth analysis of her and over the course of a few months, make a n for her to fall in love with me slowly.]

    Yoko shook with anticipation as she asked,[What did she tell you to do this time?]

    Ryan stifled augh, remembering the words she had told him. [She told me that I should sneak into her room and cut off a piece of her hair.]

    [I, of course, thought she was insane. But she told me that if we could sessfully do it, she was guaranteed to fall in love with me.]

    [So, what did you do?] Yoko asked.

    [Wellˇ­ I might have misinterpreted what Aliza meant by a piece of her hair.]

    [Noˇ­] Yoko gasped.

    [I might have cut off half her hair, thinking Aliza meant she needed to notice the difference.]

    [But apparently, the n was that I would cut off a piece of her hair, present it to her a dayter and tell her I snuck into her bedroom but didn''t touch her, as a man shouldn''t force himself on such a beautifuldy,] Ryan said, shaking his head.

    [Instead, I cut off half her hair and got kicked in the nuts for my attempted love.]

 Chapter 156 Meeting With Aurora

    [I''ve fulfilled my end of the deal,] Ryan said.

    [So, what''s the best strategy for tackling this ''king of the mud''?]

    Yokoughed. [There is no strategy; that''s why it''s fun. Simply try and knock each other off and stay alive.]

    Yoko paused. [However, I would rmend teaming up with a few more people, usually, in king of the mud, only one person would be the winner, but since three people can win in this, you might be able to get people to trust you.]

    [Thanks, Yoko,] Ryan said, shaking his head.

    "Alright, everyone. Your time hase. The helicopter is hovering a few feet off the ground, so go jump out, and may the best man win!" Gwen shouted.

    Ryan was the first one with his headphones off as he bolted for the helicopter door.

    Jumping out, Ryannded near the base of the mud-soaked hill with a thud and started his climb toward the top.

    "Angel!" a voice behind him called. Ryan turned to see James, the blonde-haired model he had met inside the hot springs.

    "Do you want to form a team with us, Angel?" James asked, pointing to Mark, the joyous bearded man who looked more like a lumberjack than a dragon.

    "Sure, follow me," Ryan said. "And it''s Ryan."

    As they trekked up the hill, Ryan saw a giant hologram appear above the mud-caked mountain.

    <1 Participant Eliminated 10 Eliminations Remaining>

    As the message appeared, a contestant who was knocked off the hill screamed in disappointment.

    "This is bullshit!" he yelled, "I''m not eliminated!" Then, as he tried to step back on the hill, a tranquilizer dart suddenly hit the back of the man''s neck, and he fell unconscious.

    Ryan chuckled. ''Well, guess that exins how we''re going to be eliminated.''

    Arriving at the mountain''s peak, the trio watched the carnage below.

    When nine members remained, it was calm enough for them to make their first move.

    "That guy," Ryan said, pointing to a lone man on the right side of the hill.

    The three sloshed through the mud, making their way toward the poor man who didn''t know he was targeted for elimination.

    "H-Hey what are you guys doing?" the man asked, seeing Ryan, Mark, and James approach him.

    "Y-You''re not allowed to form teams in king of the mud."

    James chuckled. "And when did Lady Gwen say that, hm?"

    No words came out of his mouth other than an "OOF" as Mark''s tackle knocked the wind out of him.

    Ryan watched as the burly man mmed the poor boy to the ground, both getting covered in mud.

    James then went over and picked up the boy, tossing him over the edge as though he was worth less than the mud they stood on.

    "On to the next one, Angel!" James grinned, turning away.

    As both James and Mark turned their back on Ryan, a n started to form, ensuring he could end the game faster by making sure he could eliminate his greatestpetition.

    ===

    Inside one of the many Dawn Pavilions (50 Days until the wedding)...

    While Ryan was battling in the mud, another scene was taking ce that, if everything went ording to n, would provide just as many changes as securing the Red Dragon Empire.

    Since her sister had gone missing, Aurora had been worried, but when she received a message from Duchess Vanroth of the Kheaweth Empire about her sister, she had been downright horrified.

    The message had stated that her sister was safe and Sienna and her were on the same side against a mon enemy.''

    Although the message sounded friendly enough, she didn''t take any chances and decided to postpone the meeting until now so she could get some defenses in ce for safety''s sake.

    Sienna sat opposite Aurora, leisurely sipping some tea while waiting for Aurora to talk.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sienna had been given detailed instructions by Ryan on what to say and what not to say.

    "Where is my sister?" Aurora asked, breaking the silence.

    "Your sister is with my Master," Sienna responded immediately.

    "You call the Grand Empress Master now?" Aurora chuckled, disturbed at how much the Grand Empress seemed to have control over her empire.

    Sienna burst intoughter. "Is that what you think?"

    Aurora raised her eyebrow, asking, "What do you mean?"

    "I told you in my letter, didn''t I? We have amon enemy, the Grand Empress."

    Narrowing her eyes, Aurora didn''t immediately respond. Instead, she started frantically going through information on her heavenly screen that was invisible to Sienna.

    "I don''t seem to see you have any other connections. Who is this Master you speak of?" Aurora asked, after finding her notes on the Duchesscking any other ties besides the Empire.

    "They wish to remain anonymous for now," Sienna said, carefully using they and not he.

    Aurora shook her head. "What exactly do you want then?"

    "I havee here on behalf of my Master to invite you to an alliance."

    "An alliance, huh?" Aurora mused. "Why should I trust anything you say?"

    As if waiting for that question, Sienna smiled and produced a folded envelope, handing it to Aurora.

    Taking it warily, Aurora scanned the document for any foreign chemicals. Seeing nothing, she slowly opened it and began reading the message inside.

    As she read, her eyes started getting wider and wider.

    Her hands started to shake, and her breathing began to speed up.

    "H-He''s..." her breath caught as she looked up at Sienna.

    "Yes," Sienna smiled, nodding. "We''ve found him."

    "Your son is alive."

    ===

    After Aurora calmed down, she became much more friendly with Sienna.

    Although Aurora wanted to take Sienna to a torture room to find out where her son was being held, she restrained herself.

    Not only was there a heavenly contract stopping her, but also the letter itself.

    The letter had read: "Aunt Asmaya is safe, and so am I. Sienna''s Master is taking good care of us."

    Aurora would have thrown it away if not for the line "all the way" at the bottom of the page.

    "By the way, I''m still looking forward to receiving the family sword - Love, your precious Velox."

    She had told no one of her idea of giving Velox the Dawn family''s sword, and although someone from the human empire could have figured it out, this was the most hope she had received since that imposter walked into the Dawn Pavilion almost a month ago.

    "What exactly is your Master proposing?" Aurora said, finally recovering after reading the letter.

    "My Master is proposing taking a stand against the Grand Empress at the wedding, although not to the death."

    "My Master is hoping that you will provide sufficient forces and the heavenly invasion pass you have in your possession. If something breaks out, we can count on your forces to either defend or attack against a heavenly invasion."

    Aurora pretended to mull it over. In reality, she would have given anything to have her son back, as not only was he her hope at bing free of the heavenly contract, Velox was her light and joy.

    "If your Master returns my son and sister to me safely, I think an alliance is more than appropriate," Aurora nodded.

 Chapter 157 Death To Those Who Betray Me

    Looking up at the scoreboard, Ryan saw that only six participants remained. ''Perfect, I only need to eliminate one more for my n to start.''

    "Mark, James," Ryan called, making the two turn toward him.

    Ryan pointed, "See that guy?"

    They both nodded.

    "He''s the other one alone, and those two are separate," Ryan said, pointing to the other two contestants.

    "I''ll go distract those two while you both go and eliminate him. How does that sound?" Ryan asked, eyeing the duo.

    Mark and James looked at each other before nodding. "Sound good to us," James said.

    "No problem here," Mark said, chuckling.

    Ryan nodded, and the group split. Ryan made his way a distance from the pair of his supposed allies and then headed to the other side of the hill and sat down."

    ''Let''s see their ns,'' Ryan thought, activating his bloodline.

    Sending out his energy, everything within a 50m range came into view.

    Focusing on James and Mark as they walked away, Ryan listened to their conversation.

    "Do you think Angel bought our act?" James asked, turning to Mark.

    Mark shrugged, "Either way, once we eliminate this straggler and meet up with Dennis and Robbin, we''ll throw him off the hill and decide who gets thrown over."

    ''Dennis and Robbin must be the two otherpetitors,'' Ryan thought.

    ''Looks like they were going to betray me, just like I thought.''

    Ryan had been observing Mark and James as the three trudged through the mud eliminating thepetitors.

    They had acted suspicious the entire time, ncing sideways at Ryan and the remaining participants every few seconds.

    Deactivating his bloodline, Ryan followed Mark and James, hoping they wouldn''t turn around as there wasn''t much cover.

    "Grab his legs, Mark!" James yelled, rushing toward a man caked in mud, smiling viciously.

    "The Dragon Empress is mine! And there''s nothing you can do about it," said the man as he dove toward Mark.

    Caught off guard by the man''s sudden assault, Mark was tackled by the man as the two fell into the thick mud below them with a squelch.

    However, the fight wasn''t fair, as James was soon atop the man beating him into submission.

    James didn''t hold back as his punches rained down on the man, turning his face into a bloody mess.

    After the man stopped resisting, James picked up his feet, Mark picked up his arms, and the two threw him over the edge.

    As the twoughed triumphantly, watching the plummeting body, a cold voice sounded behind them, "Death to those who betray me."

    James and Mark started to turn but began screaming in fear as they flew over the ledge, plummeting into the mudke below.

    "Congrattions remaining participants!" boomed a voice, amplified by arge set of speakers.

    "We have our three finalists!"

    Confetti dropped from above as the two other contestants, covered in mud, were coated with ayer of confetti for their troubles.

    Ryan hadn''t taken a mud bath once and cleaned himself free of glitter, save for his mud-covered knee-high boots.

    A loud whirring came from the sky. As the three contestants looked up, they saw three sets of seats attached to long cables descending from a helicopter.

    The contestants looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders, and then each took a flying seat to the helicopter. Once aside, they buckled in, and the hovering helicopter took off.

    "Make yourselvesfortable," the pilot said, "we''re going to the Dragon Empress''s private beach-side vacation home."

    "What are we doing there?" one of the contestants asked.

    The pilotughed, "convince her."

    "Convince her of what?"

    Ryan answered, "Who to choose."

    ''This is getting more like a dating show by the second,'' Ryan thought.

    [Yoko, is this custommon in the Multiverse for picking harem members?]

    ''Maybe I should have been doing that this whole time for my harem,'' Ryan thought.

    [No,] Yoko responded. [I''ve never heard of something so strange.]

    [But then again, the fact that these lizards proim themselves as dragons is also strange in my eyes.]

    Getting no help from Yoko, he turned to hisst two remaining rivals.

    Ryan put on a cheerful smile, turned, and stretched out  his hand to the closest rival, "Name''s Ryan."

    The man shook his head, signaling to Ryan that he couldn''t hear.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan tapped the microphone on his headset.

    The seatmate turned on the microphone on his headset and stretched out his hand, "Name''s Dennis. Nice to meet you, Brian."

    Ryan smiled, "Ryan," and then motioned to the man now sleeping next to Dennis and asked, "I suppose that''s Robbin then?"

    Dennis chuckled. "I guess it wasn''t an ident that Mark and James were pushed offst?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

    Ryan shrugged. "They slipped. What can I say?"

    Dennis grinned. "You look like you have a question on the tip of your tongue, tell me, what do you want to know?"

    Ryan furrowed his brow. ''Am I that easy to read?''

    "Yes," was Dennis''s response to his unasked question.

    ''Well, guess if I''m strong enough, I don''t have to hide my emotions,'' Ryan thought.

    "What is the deal with thispetition?"

    "What''s the point of all these silly tests?"

    "You mean you don''t know?" Dennis asked.

    Ryan shook his head.

    "The Dragon Empress loves these things called ''Dating Shows'' in the fantasy world."

    "She''s been known to pay top dor to any cultivator who can remember a show and recreate it with the help of her artists."

    Ryan bit his tongue, trying not to show his surprise.

    ''Dating shows in the fantasy world too?''

    "Would one of these shows happen to be called ''The Bachelor''?"

    "Yeah, you got it," Dennis said, pping Ryan on the arm.

    Bringing his hand away, Dennis winced.

    "You''ve got some strong arms there, bud."

    Ryan had instinctually sent energy to that one spot as he sensed Dennis''s arm approach, so when Dennis pped it, it was like pping a brick wall.

    "Haha," Ryan tried tough it off.

    "I''m sure not as good as the Dragon Empress''s."

    Dennis sighed, imagining the Dragon Empress''s biceps.

    ''Dragons sure have a weird thing for strength,'' Ryan shook his head.

    [Yoko, I''ve been meaning to ask you if you''ve sensed any people from the human empire following me.] Ryan asked.

    He had been so focused on the other empire constantly watching him that he hadn''t paid attention to the original empire that had followed his every move since the beginning of his adventure on Ravier.

    [Oh, you mean the letter?] Yoko asked, yawning.

    [What letter?] Ryan asked, confused.

    [The letter you received informing you of your expulsion that had the tracking powder on it.]

    Ryan violently coughed on his seat and had to turn off his microphone not to blow out Dennis''s eardrums.

    After the coughing stopped, he heard Dennis ask, "Are you okay, bud?"

    Clearing his throat, Ryan turned back on his microphone and replied, "Yeah, sorry, I think a bug flew into my throat."

    [What do you mean tracking powder?!] Ryan screamed telepathically at Yoko.

    [It''s just a low A-Rank tracking powder, It''s not like-] as Yoko started, her words suddenly faltered, and she cringed.

    [Oh, I forgot. Master''s not as strong as he is in my dreams.]

    Yoko had been having wondrous visions of her and Ryan defeating world after world in their conquest to conquer every world of vile, filthy rodents like that creature named ''Volf''.

    She had been having these visions so frequently that she forgot that Ryan was only C-Rank in cultivation and couldn''t conquer even this tiny, let alone an entire sr system.

    [Well, the tracking powder worked until we passed into the Red Dragon Empire''s territory. It will reactivate when we leave,] Yoko said sheepishly.

    Scratching his head, Ryan asked, [Can you disable it or dy it from activating?]

    Yoko thought, then said, [No, but I could tell your servants how to do it.]

    [Remember, inside your pce, they have all their energy, meaning they can use their full Master Ranked abilities.]

    [My servants are Master Ranked?!]

 Chapter 158 The Dragon Empress Appears

    [They didn''t tell you?] Yoko asked, puzzled.

    [Whatever, let''s continue this conversationter,] Ryan sighed as they approached the Dragon Empress''s private beach-side vacation home.

    A luxurious white beach mansion with a dark red roof sprawled out on an immense estate. A lush green forest covered three sides of the estate, hiding what looked like some small buildings.

    The fourth side of the immense mansion was covered in ss panels, had four long decks that ran the length of the building, and faced the ocean.

    The helicopternded on the home''s roof, the des twirling to a stop.

    As they took in the borate setting, Dennis and Robbin''s mouths hung open as they crawled out of the helicopter.

    Ryan had to admit that the sight evoked simr feelings inside of him, but Yoko''s voice caused the scene not to be as picturesque as it could have been.

    [She dares call this a vacation house?!]

    [My mother''s servants have better bathrooms than this!]

    Ryan tried not tough at thestment as Lady Gwen appeared from behind one of the buildings wearing a bikini made entirely from diamonds.

    It sparkled like stars, the shine bouncing off her translucent skin.

    ''If only she had a better face,'' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

    "Wee contestants to the final showdown between Dennis, Robbin, and Ryan," said Lady Gwen, putting on a friendly smile while pointing to each of the three men in turn. "You are here because you''ve passed the tests we have put forth before you."

    "Each of you has risen to the top, and your contributions have allowed us to narrow down our list for choosing a new member of the Dragon Empress''s harem."

    A dark shadow suddenly fell over all their heads as all three noticed something descending from the sky.

    The clouds were torn apart by some kind of great winged beast as itnded upon the beach with its enormous feet sinking deep into the soft white sand. It wore armorposed entirely of crimson-red scales.

    Its tail whipped back and forth angrily with every movement, almost causing the three to jump out of their skin with fright.

    [A lizard ying dress-up. Pathetic.]

    Yoko''s voice rang in Ryan''s mind as Yoko released a sliver of her aura, causing the Dragon Empress, who had wanted to make a big show, to shiver with fright.

    [Why did you do that?] Ryan asked, refraining from face-palming.

    Yoko huffed. [She deserved it. The lizard was acting all high and mighty in front of my Master.]

    "I-Is there a great one here?" the Dragon Empress asked tentatively.

    After a few moments of silence, the Dragon Empress shook her head and muttered, "I must just be too anxious."

    Changing into her human form, Ryan saw a stunning silver-haired beauty with gigantic mounds and soft, supple skin appear in a ck bikini top and tiny shorts.

    Herrge breasts looked so plump they were about ready to burst out of her tight outfit.

    "Wee, my three potential harem members. You have done well in thispetition."

    She paused to give each of them a once-over.

    "You all look very well endowed, but only one man will get to join me in bed," she said, giving Ryan a slight nce.

    "Tomorrow, the three of you each will get to n and execute a date with me somewhere on this property," she said, turning to Gwen.

    "Lady Gwen can give you further information on what type of amenities and activities we have avable that you can choose from."

    "Let''s see, James, you can go in the morning, Dennis in the afternoon, and Ryan in the evening."

    The Dragon Empress then gave the three a sweet smile. "Good luck to all of you!"

    As if by cue, lightning shed, and as the light diminished, the Dragon Empress disappeared.

    [So dramatic,] Yoko rolled her eyes.

    [Using a lightning spell like that.]

    [She could have at least called in a lightning elemental,] Yoko muttered.

    Clearing her throat, Lady Gwen waited for Robbin, Dennis, and Ryan''s attention before speaking.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Please get acquainted with our facilities before asking me any questions about possible date spots."

    "No," she said, seeing Robbin start to raise his hand. "I will not give you suggestions."

    With a nod towards the three, she left, her barely-covered rump a sight to behold as it bobbled away.

    ===

    A pixie-like girl stood in front of the three contestants, her arm bent and her palm outstretched. "Please apany me to your rooms."

    Robbin asked, "Are we bunking together, or do we each get a separate space?"

    Ryan snorted, "As if!"

    Taking her job very seriously, the girl trotted ahead and responded in a clipped tone, "Each contestant will be supplied with their own luxury suite and spa room. In addition, we have updated your holograms with a map of the mansion, your schedule, and an updated meal list for any food you would like delivered to your room."

    Dennis responded, "A cold beer and a steak sounds good about now."

    As she walked, the pixie opened her hologram, found the food screen, and ordered Dennis'' food without missing a step. "Your food will be ready when we get to your suite."

    "Awesome," Dennis eximed as the three contestants looked at each other and grinned.

    They each took in the fantastic decor as they continued to their rooms.

    ss partitions allowed the natural light to bounce through the rooms.

    The light highlighted white and beige marble floors, columns embedded with pearls and sea ss, and creamy mosaics featuring whimsical dragons.

    It was too much, and Ryan started to zone out and think about his date.

    Ryan didn''t have to think long before he knew what he would do for his dinner date.

    However, he would have to change his strategy if one of the other two contestants chose the same idea.

    "A sunset pic on the beach," Ryan muttered, looking at the mesmerizing waves as they crashed against the shore.

    "Those guys are going to overthink it and believe that the Dragon Empress wants to be wowed on their date with a fancy activity, but how can poor men wow an Empress?" Ryanughed.

    ''As Aliza always taught me, if you''re a pauper, don''t use your copper to make yourself look proper.''

    As Ryan entered his room, he picked up his conversation with Yoko.

    [Now, what did you mean that my servants are Master-Ranked?] Ryan asked.

    Yoko yawned. [All the servants and knights are Master-Ranked cultivators, although most will never rise above that rank.]

    [All of them? Even Shade?]

    Yoko sighed. [Yes, there is a big discrepancy between people in the same ranks.]

    [So even though Shade could battle all of your other servants ande out unscathed, he''s still the same rank.]

    Ryan whistled. [Wow, but how strong would that make them on Ravier if they only had 5% of their energy?]

    [It''s not just 5% of their energy. It also limits how much they can use per ability use,] Yoko said, dampening Ryan''s enthusiasm.

    [But still, they would be quite powerful,] Yoko said, giving Ryan a little hope.

    [They''d be ranked somewhere around S-Rank, maybe SS-Rank.]

    [Shade though, he might be equivalent to ate-stage SSS-Rank cultivator,] Yoko said after thinking for a few seconds.

    That gave Ryan some hope, but he still didn''t know how he''d be able to deal with the Grand Empress, who, in all likelihood, was a Master-Ranked cultivator.

    And unlike his servants, she wasn''t under any penalty.

    As he was trying to think of a solution, Ryan received the message that he had been expecting and hoping for ever since he had asked Sienna to visit his mother.

    [Message From Harem Member: Sienna Vanroth]

    [She''s in.]

 Chapter 159 A Date With The Dragon Empress

    The next day (49 days until the wedding)...

    As the hours passed, Ryan didn''t have much to prepare for his dinner date, so he explored the facility and talked with Yoko.

    As they swapped stories about their various adventures, Ryan started to feel the pang in his chest grow as he told stories about his times with Aliza.

    The years he had spent with her were the best in his life, and although hisst months on Ravier had been exciting, the fun he had experienced with Aliza would always remain the fondest of memories.

    ''That''s why I have to get stronger,'' Ryan remembered his first goal whening to Ravier.

    ''If Aliza is somehow connected to this world, then strength is the one thing I need to find her.''

    Although Ryan wanted nothing more than to reunite with his beloved lover and mentor, he couldn''t now as he tried to court a Dragon Empress.

    As Ryan packed up his prepared food, Yoko started her usual chatter.

    [Master do you think after we take over this world, I could have some of these lizards to eat?]

    [Although they act repulsive, with a bit of spice, their lizard bodies would taste well barbequed.]

    Ryan thought about the Dragon Empress''s dragon form he had seen yesterday being roasted over a fire pit like a pig and couldn''t help but be interested.

    [No,] Ryan couldn''t bring himself to eat another intelligent species.

    [Torture is fine, but eating another intelligent species is a no.]

    Yoko scoffed. [You call these lizards intelligent?]

    [Master, please, I''ve seen more intelligence out of feces than any of these lizards.]

    Laughing, Ryan shook his head. [Still, it''s a no for now.]

    [I will do as Mastermands,] Yoko said, pouting.

    "I feel like a father already," Ryan grumbled.

    "What was that?" a voice came from Ryan''s entrance, making Ryan turn.

    "Hello, Lady Gwen," Ryan said. "It''s a pleasure to such a lovelydy on a-"

    "Stop," Lady Gwen interrupted Ryan, holding up her hand.

    "I''m not in the mood for your sweet talk. Are you ready? Have you decided what you''ll be doing for your date?"

    Ryan nodded.

    "I''ll be having a pic on the beach," Ryan said, holding up his pic basket.

    "Oh?" Gwen raised her eyebrows.

    "Good, alright then." Gwen pped her hands as a smile came to her face.

    "Then follow me."

    "Oh, by the way, call Her Majesty Page."

    ===

    At the appointed time of the date, Ryan appeared at Page''s bedroom door. His jet ck hair was slicked back, his shirt open, revealing his muscr chest, and in his armsy a bouquet of fragrant flowers he had picked from her well-tended garden.

    Yoko scoffed. [Why are you bringing her those ugly weeds?]

    When the door opened, he gasped. "You look lovely this evening, Page. I hope you are ready for our date."

    "Just a moment, Page said, I need to get my shoes."

    Ryan said, "No need, this date doesn''t require shoes, as he handed her the flowers."

    Yoko grinned. [Why don''t you just have her leave her clothes as well?]

    Page buried her head in the flowers and looked up in surprise. "Are these from my garden?"

    Ryan''s face broke out in a grin. "Good guess. I picked them for you this afternoon."

    Page looked at him, joy on her face. "You really are amazing, Ryan. These are my favorite. I spend quite a bit of time making them perfect."

    Ryan gazed into her eyes, "Not as perfect as you."

    Yoko gagged. [I''m going to throw up.]

    Page blushed. "Let me put these in water. I''ll just be a moment."

    In a sh, she was back. Ryan held out his hand and said, "I have a surprise for you."

    Page giggled, "What is it, Ryan? I''m intrigued."

    Ryan squeezed her hand. "Just trust me, Page. It''s a special surprise."

    Page almost whispered, "Alright, I trust you."

    Ryan lead the Empress down to the beach, holding her hand and guiding her through the sand.

    "Are we having a beach date, Ryan? Is this why we don''t need shoes."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Smart and beautiful," Ryan responded with a chuckle. "Will wonders never cease?"

    [Good one.] Yoko snorted. [But now you need to take her down a notch. Can''t have the lizard thinking she''s too can, can we?]

    Page yfully smacked him on the arm.

    Ryan grabbed her hand again as they continued walking along the shoreline.

    Ryan kicking at rocks, and Page squealing and darting away when the water came too close.

    As they rounded the bend, Page saw a beautiful private cove set up for their romantic date.

    The beach cove was secluded and quiet, with the sound of waves softly crashing against the shore.

    Arge nket spread out on the sand, surrounded by flickering candles and strewn with rose petals.

    A basket sat on nket, filled with delicious cheeses, breads, fruits, and a bottle of wine.

    The cove was illuminated by the soft glow of the setting sun, casting a warm light on everything. The air was filled with the scent of salt water and the gentle breeze blowing through the trees.

    Page drew in a breath, "Oh, Ryan. This is beautiful. How did you manage this?"

    Ryan leaned close to her, making sure to use a gentle and soothing tone to calm and reassure her,  "I wanted to do something special for you, Page. I wanted to create a moment for us to remember."

    Yoko whined. [Ughˇ­ Forget the moment. Get to the sex already]

    Page tilted her head and brushed her hair to one side,  "This is perfect, Ryan. Thank you."

    Ryan gestured to the soft, inviting nket, "Shall we sit and enjoy the meal?"

    Page pped her hands and turned to him with a girlish smile, "Yes, let''s."

    Ryan opened the bottle of wine, filled two crystal goblets, and handed one to Page.

    Ryan held his ss up and gazed into Page''s eyes, "Here''s to the start of something beautiful, to the attraction that brought us together and the hope that keeps us looking forward. Let''s cherish every moment, everyugh, and every kiss. Let''s make memories that willst a lifetime and build a love that will only continue to grow stronger. Cheers to us and to the journey that lies ahead."

    Page blushed with happiness. She took a sip of wine and turned to look at the sunset glowing over the water. "Ryan, this is wonderful. You know, I appreciate the simple things in life, like this beautiful cove. It''s much more meaningful to me than the other over-the-top, gaudy dates."

    Ryan softly said, "I''m d you like it, Page. I wanted to create something special for you that is just for us, creating memories that willst a lifetime."

    [You''ve got to be kidding me. Master, stop with the cheesy lines and just eat the cheese in the basket instead.]

    Page gushed, "You have seeded, Ryan. I will always remember this evening. It''s not about the expense or grandeur. It''s about the thought and effort you put into creating this moment for me. I couldn''t ask for more."

    Using a tender and affectionate tone to hopefully express love, Ryan said, "I am so happy that you enjoyed it, Page. I will always make sure to make special moments for us to remember."

    ''Was heying it on too thick?''  [Yes! YES!] Yoko screamed.

    Page, sounding yful and flirtatious, teased, "I look forward to it, Ryan. You are a wonderful man. I will be lucky to have you by my side if I choose you."

    She took a few more sips of wine and looked down at Ryan, who was now lying t on his back, arms behind his head, and the bottom of the wine ss buried securely in the sand,  "Ryan, I am curious to know more about you. Where are you from, and how did you get so strong?"

    In a low and melodic tone, Ryan said, with a hint of vulnerability, "Page, let''s not focus on me.  You are the most important thing in my life. You are my everything. I would do anything for you; all that is important for me is serving and making you happy."

    [Yuck! Yuck! Gross Master, disgusting!]

    Page smiled and yed with Ryan''s hair, "I appreciate your loyalty, Ryan. But I also want to know more about you as a person. I want to understand you more."

    Ryan sat up again, firmly held Page''s stare, and then softened his eyes, "I understand, Page. But please understand that my past is insignificantpared to my love for you and my duty to serve you and your kingdom. All that matters is our present and future together."

    Page smiled with understanding, "I understand, Ryan. But I hope you will feelfortable enough to share your past with me one day."

    Ryan leaned over and whispered, brushing his lips to her ear, "Of course, Your Majesty. I will always be open to sharing my thoughts and feelings with you. It is my honor to be by your side. And I am always here to serve you."

    Ryan murmured, "I''m so happy to be here with you, experiencing this beautiful moment."

    Yoko yawned. [Happy? Master, you''re only when you''re inside a woman, not sweet talking her.]

    Page whispered back and gave him a kiss on his cheek, "Me too, this is truly magical"

    [Nice, a kiss! Now start to kiss him lowerˇ­]

    As the sun set, the sky turned a brilliant orange and pink, casting a warm glow on the cove.

    ''Now''s the time to seal the deal.''

    [I''m about to fall asleep. This is taking way too long.]

    Ryan held Page''s hand, "Page, I am humbled by your kind words. I am honored to have won thepetition and to hopefully serve you in your harem. My strength is nothingpared to your wisdom and leadership."

    Page squeezed his hand. "Beautiful Ryan. Your strength is admirable and will be a valuable asset to my kingdom."

    Ryan looking humble, leaned over and kissed Page. "Thank you, Page. I am honored to serve you and our kingdom."

    Kissing her neck, Ryan murmured, "Why don''t we go and serve the kingdom in the water?"

    "You didn''t tell me to wear my swimsuit," Page said.

    "Exactly!" Ryan responded with a grin as he began to unbutton his top.

 Chapter 160 Smut Isnt Necessary, Its A Necessity

    Later that night (49 days until the wedding)...

    "Alright," Page said. "I''ve made my decision on who is going to be in my harem and who will be my servants!"

    Ryan raised his eyebrow. ''I don''t remember anything about bing her servant if we lost.''

    ncing over at Dennis and Robbin, Ryan saw they didn''t seem to mind the news; they seemed surprised but cheerful.

    ''Guess Page is truly loved by her people.''

    "Dennis, Robbin, please step forward," Page said, looking the two in their eyes.

    Dennis and Robbin looked at each other and nodded, stepping forward.

    "You both have proven your strength and skills as dragons, but I''m sorry," Page shook her head.

    "You both won''t be my new harem member."

    Seemingly expecting this oue, the duo dropped to one knee and said, "We are grateful to be able to serve you."

    Page smiled. "I expect great things out of you both."

    Turning her eyes upon Ryan, her expression softened, and a blush lit up her cheeks.

    "Ryan, please step forward."

    Doing as asked, Ryan came within a few feet of the Dragon Empress before stopping, looking into her purple plum-colored eyes.

    "Throughout thispetition, your skill, strength, and, most of all, personality has won me over."

    "Last night on our date, I truly felt feelings for you and wished you to be a member of my harem," she said, her hands slightly trembling.

    She looked into Ryan''s emerald eyes and stuttered, "D-Do you ept?"

    Giving a confident grin, Ryan walked up to Page and took her hand, kissing the back.

    "I do."

    Page''s heart skipped a beat as Ryan took her hand in his.

    "Then," Page turned to Gwen, "I''ll leave the rest to you," before she shed away, leaving Ryan bewildered.

    Gwen chuckled. "Congrattions, Ryan Emerald, on bing the Dragon Empress''s first official harem member."

    "Don''t we have to perform a sacred ceremony?" Ryan said in disappointment.

    Gwen arched her eyebrow. "Are you that eager to have sex?"

    Ryan turned, his gaze suddenly bing as serious as a gaze could get.

    "I am always ready to have sex."

    "But when ites to a woman as hot as that one," Ryan said, pointing at the disappearing dragon.

    "It''s not about being eager."

    "It''s about a necessity."

    "About the lust, the insatiable craving to be buried deep inside her, fondling her breasts while she moans in pleasure."

    "The need for her to scream my name while her thoughts focus on nothing but my cock deep inside her cunt."

    "It''s about-"

    [MASTER!] Yoko''s scream inside his head cut off Ryan''s thoughts as he abruptly paused his sentence.

    Blinking, Ryan looked, seeing Lady Gwen''s face beet red, her mouth open.

    "Uh, yeah. I guess you could say I like her a bit," Ryan said, scratching his head.

    "Uh, well, um..." Lady Gwen tried toe up with something to say, but her words only came out as a jumbled mess.

    "It''s good that you''re so eager," she said, finally focusing her thoughts.

    "But you''ll need to give her some time. She''s not exactly an experienced lover."

    Ryan grinned. "Oh, don''t worry, I can change that."

    ===

    On the way toward the Dragon Empire''s pce, Ryan recalled what Lady Gwen had just told him.

    "Harem members are respected members of the Dragon Empresses court and are treated as nobility."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You will be able to prove your worth and climb in rank and responsibility."

    "Although your main job is to look good for the Dragon Empress, your future is limitless."

    Lady Gwen had gone on to say beautiful things about being in the care of the Dragon Empress, but Ryan knew he wouldn''t be sticking around forever.

    ''Just as long as needed,'' Ryan thought.

    Arriving at arge castle, Ryan was ushered into a room where five women waited for him, two of whom Ryan recognized.

    "Wee, newest harem member," a tall brown-haired girl wearing high heels said.

    Ryan felt a chill down his spine looking at the woman, not from fear but from disgust.

    This woman was a viper, the same as many he had met in his previous life.

    Usually, women like this didn''t exist in this world because power ruled Ravier, but apparently, deception and maniption ruled the Dragon Empress''s harem, and this viper seemed to be in charge.

    "You will greet me properly, dog," the woman said, her evil smile giving Ryan the urge to vomit.

    "On your knees."

    After she spoke, the two remaining women, not Gwen or Amanda, stepped toward Ryan, licking their lips.

    "Is this really necessary, Isabelle?" Gwen asked, frowning.

    Isabelle snarled, "You had to do the same. It''s just initiation."

    Amanda, however, only smiled at Isabelle''s words, muttering, "It''s not like this is going to work anyway."

    As the two girls got close to Ryan, he said, "I won''t be kneeling."

    Looking directly into Isabelle''s eyes, Ryan put his hands on the two women''s wrists and lightly put pressure on their vital points, forcing his energy into them and causing them to fall unconscious.

    Isabelle gritted her teeth as she looked down at her two servants and fellow harem members lying on the ground.

    Finally, she growled, "You''ll pay for this!" Then she grabbed the two unconscious girls by the hair and dragged them out the door.

    Ryan shook his head and walked up to Lady Gwen and Amanda.

    "Hello, Lady Gwen. Amanda," Ryan said, nodding to both.

    Gwen shook her head, "We''re equals now, and in some ways, you''re higher ranked than me because you''re an official member."

    "Please call me Gwen," Gwen said, reaching out her arm.

    Instead of grabbing her hand, Ryan leaned in and kissed her cheek, whispering, "Feel free to call me anything you''d like."

    Gulping, Gwen nervously blushed and chuckled before bowing and hurrying out of the room.

    Ryan turned to Amanda and raised his eyebrow.

    "What exactly was that?"

    Amanda sighed, shaking her head. "That was Isabelle and her two goons that run the harem."

    "She was here before Gwen or me and is Page''s favorite."

    Ryan looked perplexed, asking, "How is Isabelle the Dragon Empress''s favorite?"

    "Apparently, the two grew up together, and Isabelle was some high noble before she became part of Page''s harem."

    Remembering what Gwen had said, Ryan asked, "Gwen said that the Dragon Empress wasn''t that experienced a lover. How?"

    Lightly chuckling, Amanda looked into Ryan''s eyes. "It''s because she doesn''t sleep with us. At least she hasn''t yet."

    Biting her lip, she said, "Something tells me you''ll be the first of us to seed."

    Shrugging, Ryan said, "Then what do you do all day?"

    ''My harem members train in my pce all day or go on missions, but I''m preparing for war. I doubt that the Dragon Empress requires them to do anything of the sort,'' Ryan thought, thinking of his harem.

    Tapping her chin, Amanda said, "Well, we usually interact with the nobles and keep them in check."

    "Gwen is higher ranked than me, and she helps with some politicalponents, but I stay in myne and help here and there while being a good friend and confidant to Page."

    Ryan chuckled. "Yes, you were a great confidant when you spilled all her secrets to me," Ryan said as he gripped her chin.

    "That was different. I didn''t tell you anything you wouldn''t find out after you won," Amanda said, moving toward the door.

    Turning around, she winked. "Come, let me show you to your new room."

 Chapter 161 Why Cant I Be My Own Man?

    After Amanda showed Ryan his new room, she, unfortunately, didn''t stick around for party time, saying she should probably talk to Isabelle before things got too heated.

    Ryan pretended to nap after Amanda left the room. He activated his bloodline, looking for any hidden monitoring devices.

    [What the fuck,] Yoko and Ryan both muttered simultaneously.

    The room was practically littered with listening devices, from themps to the ceiling fan, to under the mattress. Ryan and Yoko counted a total of 112 listening devices inside his moderately sized room.

    [Yoko, do you know why she would put so many listening devices?]

    Scrutinizing the listening devices for another few seconds, Yoko said, [They aren''t from the same person, at least I don''t think so.]

    [What do you mean?]

    [Take a look at the types of listening devices. There would be no point in putting so many in such close proximity. The most likely scenario is that more than one person put monitoring devices in here.]

    The most obvious culprits that came to Ryan''s mind were Page and Isabelle, but he couldn''t discount the theory that he simply hadn''t met all the parties that would want to track a new harem member.

    ''Not like I''m not used to being watched.''

    Clearing his thoughts, Ryan started mentally noting the tasks he had to do.

    He still had his meeting in around two weeks with the Zol''Gan Empress.

    He had toplete the mission with Shade, Hannah, and Dianna once they found what he was looking for. ''Hopefully, that mission will be lucrative. Especially if it can raise me to S-Rank before the wedding,'' Ryan thought.

    His immediate goals were to fit in with the Dragon Empress''s harem and try to win her over.

    If nothing else, at least get into Page''s head and make her rethink whether or not she wanted to be in the Holy Alliance.

    ''I also have to go pick up my ne... and the girl wearing it,'' Ryan thought, remembering Vimmi, who had escorted him to the testing center.

    But seeing as he couldn''t do anything, Ryan decided some shut-eye was in order.

    ===

    The next day (48 days until the wedding)...

    Ryan awoke to the sound of footsteps outside his room.

    Circting his energy just in case, Ryan said, "Come in," when he heard the knock.

    Unexpectedly, it was someone Ryan wasn''t acquainted with, but from her maid outfit, Ryan assumed she was one of the Dragon Empress''s many servants.

    "Hello, Master Ryan. I''m here to escort you to the ballroom where the other members of Her Majesty''s harem are currently," the maid spoke, bowing to Ryan.

    Not seeing any point in asking questions, Ryan followed the maid silently as they walked through the gigantic pce.

    ''I''m d there''s someone to lead me around. I''d surely get lost in a ce thisrge,'' Ryan thought.

    ''Thankfully, I don''t have that problem in my pce. Or getting lost would be pretty embarrassing.''

    Entering a dining hall in which a gigantic table stood, Ryan saw the familiar faces of Amanda, Gwen, Isabelle, and Isabelle''s two henchwomen.

    "Good morning, you two," Ryan said, looking at Amanda and Gwen,pletely ignoring Isabelle, the head of the harem.

    Isabelle gritted her teeth but didn''t say anything, which, for any woman, was never a good sign.

    "Good morning Ryan," Amanda said, her cheerful smile lightening up the room.

    Gwen blushed and nodded but didn''t make eye contact with Ryan.

    After Ryan sat opposite Amanda and Gwen in one of the ornate chairs, Isabelle began speaking in a monotone voice.

    "Today, Her Majesty Page has some business to take care of and would like us to visit a local club to wee Ryan into our family."

    "A club?" Ryan raised an eyebrow.

    "We often go to Dragons on Polls for our nighttime entertainment," Amanda said, chuckling at Gwen''s blush.

    "They have all sorts of hotties and cater to your every need and desire."

    ''Ah, so the good kind of club,'' Ryan grinned.

    "Sounds like my type of ce," Ryan said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "But is Page okay with us, especially me going there?"

    Aliza had always taught him to be careful and never trust a woman unless she was beneath him in the sheets.

    ''Could this be another test?''

    But Amandaughed away his worries. "I know what you''re thinking, no," she said, shaking her head."

    "This isn''t another test. We go there all the time."

    One of Isabelle''s henchwomen grumbled, "You could have at least made him sweat a bit."

    Ryan rxed and was thankful that this wasn''t another test and that he might be able to enjoy himself.

    ''Though I would prefer to get into the Dragon Empress''s bedsheets than some strippers.''

    Ryan hoped there would be few days in the future when he would be apart from Page, or he would have to abandon this venture before he even started.

    "But before we begin, I propose we get to know our newest and lowest-ranked harem member, Rion, better."

    Ryan twitched his eyebrows and then chuckled. "Sure thing Annabelle."

    Amanda couldn''t hold back augh, but a stern look from Isabelle made her turn it into a cough.

    "Where exactly did you grow up?" Isabelle questioned.

    "I have never heard of a noble family named Emerald."

    Ryan shrugged. "I''m not a noble."

    Grinning, Isabelle pointed at Ryan like she had just caught him in a lie. "I knew it!"

    "I never said I was."

    [What''s this lizard''s deal?] Yoko asked Ryan, confused as to why she was getting so riled up about something so small.

    Ryan responded, [People like her, who crave power, have to hold anything they have over a person.]

    [Since she was born a noble and she feels threatened by my strength, good looks, my smile, attitude, domineering swagger, my-]

    [Master,] Yoko coughed, interrupting Ryan''s internal ego boost.

    [Since she has this one thing over me, she will make it seem like it''s the only thing that matters.]

    Isabelle''s smile didn''t leave her face at Ryan''s words, though. "Then what type of family did youe from?"

    "Amanda here," she said, pointing to Amanda, "came from a wealthy family of merchants that regrly gives Heavenly Credits to the Dragon Empress."

    "Gwen is from an even more influential family. Her father is the ambassador to the Holy Phoenix Empire."

    Ryan looked at Gwen, who, this time, met his eyes and nodded.

    "That''s amazing," Ryan said. ''Maybe she can give me more information on the Holy Alliance dynamic.''

    "So, what''s your family? And what can they contribute to the empire?"

    Ryan sat back in his chair and put his feet on the table. "My family?"

    "I''d say my true parents are somewhere near the middle of the Multiverse, sipping on some liquor or whatever beings of that level do."

    "That''s if they''re still alive."

    Ryan paused, then snickered. "I used to get so mad when people asked me about my family, but I didn''t feel pain when you just asked."

    "I felt indignant."

    "Why do my parents need to do everything for me?"

    "Why can''t I be my own man?"

    "Why can''t I be the one to contribute and better the empire instead of relying on mommy and daddy."

    Looking into Isabelle''s eyes, he said, "Because people who only take and take from their parents are parasites that should keel over and die."

 Chapter 162 A Set Up [R-18]

    After the conversation finished, the groups split into two, one with Isabelle''s crew, with Isabelle and her two minions, and Ryan''s crew,posed of Ryan, Gwen, and Amanda.

    Arriving at a club, Ryan saw a familiar sight ofrge male bouncers at the door in dark sunsses.

    Although Ryan detected one noticeable difference immediately, the line was full of women.

    "Come, we get to skip the line," Amanda said, beckoning Ryan toward her as the three walked toward the front of the line, where the bouncer nodded at Amanda.

    "He''s with us, too," Amanda said, nodding to Ryan.

    The bouncer only took a second before nodding his head.

    Entering the club, Ryan felt the familiar popping music and loud environment of the clubs on earth.

    The dim lighting mixed with the strobe lights created an almost hypnotic effect that made one want to either dance or puke.

    ''Ah, same old club.''

    When the trio stepped a few feet in, ady was already there, waiting to serve them.

    "Hello, Lady Gwen, Lady Amanda, pleasee with me. I presume this is the new Master Ryan?" thedy asked, ncing at Ryan with a big smile.

    "Isabelle called, didn''t she?" Gwen asked.

    Thedy waved her hands, "She''s already set up everything. All you have to do ise with me."

    Following thedy, Ryan''s crew entered the VIP backrooms that housed several ''dark rooms'' as they were called on earth, since no cameras were inside.

    However, the unspeakable actsmitted in dark rooms were no stranger to Ryan, as strippers were a great source of information.

    They dealt with the most high-profile people on the in the most intimate ways.

    It was truly the only profession that brought such wealthy and powerful people to such vulnerable positions.

    "This room is for you twodies," thedy escorting Ryan''s crew said, indicating dark room #4.

    "And this one," she said, indicating dark room #5, "is for Master Ryan."

    Feeling an itch at the back of his neck, Ryan wondered if Isabelle would try to get back at him somehow.

    Perhaps a man would be waiting for him inside that room.

    Perhaps she would try and poison him.

    In any case, Ryan wasn''t worried as he didn''t believe she could do anything to harm his position so quickly that he couldn''t fix it.

    Walking into the room, Ryan looked around to see a bench, a stripper pole, and arge bed in the corner.

    ''Yep, this is a dark room, alright.''

    Lying on the bed was a gorgeous brte wearing nothing but a white ve cor, two thin pieces of ck lingerie, and a white veil that covered her face.

    Ryan frowned. ''This woman seems familiar.''

    ''Perhaps she was one from the BCN?'' Ryan thought but felt he had seen this woman more recently.

    Walking closer, Ryan tilted his head, trying to get a clear view of the woman''s face.

    As he stepped away from the door, it automatically shut behind him, and he heard an audible click indicating the lock.

    ''Something feels off.''

    Ryan''s senses were warning him that something about this situation was wrong, terribly wrong.

    As he turned to leave, Ryan heard, "Where do you think you''re going, Ryan Emerald?"

    ''That voice...''

    Slowly turning back toward the woman, Ryan said, "Isabelle, I wouldn''t have guessed you were a stripper."

    "But I guess that checks out."

    The woman lying on the bed was none other than the Dragon Empress''s head of harem, Isabelle.

    Isabelleughed while removing her veil.

    Her evil brown eyes stared mockingly at Ryan as she sat up on the bed.

    "You know, you male dragons all think you''re so great just because you''re better than the human males."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Pathetic."

    Getting off the bed, Isabelle stalked toward Ryan, activating her A-Rank aura.

    Ryan''s eyes widened, and he prepared to activate his own aura when he remembered he was in the heart of the Red Dragon Empire.

    Even though he might be able to escape, it would cause a huge scene, and Grand Empress Kheaweth would undoubtedly be notified, and his n would be ruined.

    ''I can only act if she wants to kill me. Everything else is secondary,'' Ryan thought, trying to think of the bigger picture.

    Ryan gritted his teeth, trying to hold himself back.

    Isabelle took hisck of action for fear and beganughing.

    "It''s so sad that the Dragon Empress has taken a liking to you. I would have loved to keep you inside the harem as a torture ve."

    "But it appears that I''ll just have to do things the old fashion way and frame you."

    As she finished speaking, she pulled out a vile and handed it to Ryan.

    "Drink, or I''ll kill you."

    [Do you know what''s in the vile?] Ryan asked Yoko.

    Yoko pondered, then said, [It''s a paralyzing poison. It won''t kill you, but it will make you unable to move. With this dosage, you''ll be paralyzed for a week.]

    [Can I break out of it?] Ryan asked.

    [No, but if worstes to worst, I can break you out, although if I do, it will take another month for me to hatch, and I''ll fall unconscious.]

    Ryan mulled over the possibilities before downing the liquid, but not before he said, "You''ll pay for this."

    Ryan discretely let a bit of the poison drop to the ground, hoping that Isabelle wouldn''t notice, but she did.

    As Ryan fell to the ground, the poison taking effect immediately, she took out a syringe and injected another dose.

    "Your body is stronger than the average male, and I can''t have you getting out of the trap I''ve sprung for you."

    "Just like Master Kheaweth said, never trust anyone."

    Ryan''s face palled as he heard her words.

    ''Does she know that I''m subject one?'' Ryan thought frantically.

    ''Is the Grand Empress already aware of my schemes and she was toying with me all this time?''

    ''Was Page in on it all along, and I''ve been made to look like a fool?''

    "Oops, I guess I shouldn''t have said that," Isabelle chuckled.

    "But you''ll be dead by the time this wears off, so it''s not like it matters."

    As Ryan was lifted off the ground and ced on the bed, Ryan asked Yoko, [Can you still remove the poison?]

    [Yes, but it will cost me another month.]

    Ryan mentally breathed a sigh of relief, ''At least I still have that going for me.''

    As he was ced on the bed, Isabelle started to remove Ryan''s pants.

    ''Wait, what?'' Ryan thought.

    ''Lady, I know I''m handsome, but if you did all this to get my dick out, you underestimate how horny I am!''

    Isabelle chuckled as she shook Ryan from his boxers, freeing his manhood.

    "Now for the framing part."

    Moving her panties to the side, she revealed her wet pussy lips.

    "This makes me so wet. I love how helpless you are and how you can do nothing to stop me."

    As she pressed Ryan against her opening, she looked into his emerald eyes.

    "Before the Dragon Empress sentences you to die, I want you to know that the only reason I framed you was because I could."

    "The only reason was that I wanted to."

 Chapter 163 The Girl Who Called Rape [R-18]

    Ryan gazed at the evil vixen with eyes filled with venom but couldn''t move a muscle.

    He had Yoko on standby in case Isabelle made a move against his life, but he doubted she would, seeing she went through all this trouble to frame him.

    Pulling out a vile of blood, she poured it on Ryan''s cock before locking eyes with him and sliding his cock inside.

    For the first time in his life, Ryan didn''t experience pleasure when entering a woman, all he felt was hollow.

    The look of fanatical hatred in Isabelle''s eyes grew as she whispered, "Master says all men deserve to die."

    "All men are trash and should be treated as such."

    "I wish I could live in the human empire like her, but Master''s orders are absolute."

    Taking a vile of the same liquid she had made Ryan swallow, she gulped it down and shivered on Ryan''s cock.

    Flipping Ryan on top of her, they entered the missionary position as Isabelle started to scratch Ryan''s back and her own clothes, making them ruffled.

    Starting to convulse, she smiled and then started screaming.

    "Rape! Rape!"

    "Help, he''s raping me!"

    As Isabelle was shouting, she positioned the needle she had used earlier to inject Ryan right beside his left arm and started thrashing around, making it appear they had been in a struggle.

    Her screams were deafening, and in mere moments, the door was flung open by four female security guards, Isabelle''sckeys, and Gwen and Amanda.

    The security guards were the first to act and ran forward, knocking the motionless Ryan off of Isabelle.

    "He poisoned me with something!" Isabelle screamed.

    "I managed to stab him with that needle, but he still forced some of it down my throat first."

    Gwen, who had entered the room, looked at Ryan disgustedly and shook her head. "I thought better of you."

    However, Amanda looked at the situation with a furrowed brow, thinking, ''Did she actually go through with it?''

    Recallingst night, when she had seen Isabelle receive a package called ''paralyzing anthrax'' from her servant, she clenched her fists.

    But as much as she wanted to say something, she knew she could do nothing.

    ''At least not at the moment,'' Amanda thought, biting her lip and clutching the pill in her pants pocket.

    Gwen walked over to Isabelle, who had stopped convulsing andy paralyzed. "It''s ''paralyzinghrax''," she said after inspecting the needle.

    "It''s a costly drug with an even more expensive antidote."

    Gwen moved a nket to cover the now paralyzed Isabelle. "But I believe the Dragon Empress will be more than willing to buy some for you from the Dawn Pavilion."

    Turning to Ryan, her concerned look changed back into one of disgust. "But she surely won''t be buying one for you."

    "Please bind him and present him before the Dragon Empress," Gwen said, turning to Amanda.

    "I''ll go ahead and rush Isabelle to the Dragon Empress."

    Gwen quickly left the room with Isabelle, and Isabelle''sckeys followed shortly after.

    The security guards also left, knowing this was well beyond their pay grade.

    Left in the room alone with Ryan, Amanda walked over to him and looked into his eyes.

    "Did you do it?"

    Not able to move or speak, Ryan only stared at her unblinkingly.

    Amanda bit her lip and looked over her shoulder.

    "I know I''m going to regret thister, but god, I hate Isabelle."

    Reaching into her pants pocket, she retrieved a pill and fed it to Ryan.

    Almost immediately, Ryan started to feel control returning to his fingers and toes.

    A few secondster, he could freely move his ankles and wrists.

    After a full minute, his body was more or less fully under his control.

    Ryan looked at Amanda in awe and asked, "Why?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Amanda smiled. "I don''t know."

    "Maybe it''s because I hate Isabelle," she said, looking away.

    "Or maybe it''s because you dying would be a waste of a good cock."

    Ryan chuckled dryly and touched Amanda''s cheek.

    "Will she really side with Isabelle?"

    Ryan wanted to stay and get Page on his side, but it was best to leave if it was a lost cause.

    "She will."

    "When I went to talk with Isabellest night, I overheard a conversation between her and one of her servants."

    "She apparently isn''t an actual part of Page''s harem but a member of Grand Empress Kheaweth''s party who is in charge of keeping the Red Dragon Kingdom in control."

    Looking over her shoulder again and making sure no one was listening, she whispered, "Not a lot of people know this, but Grand Empress Kheaweth and the Holy Phoenix Empress are the only two people in charge of the Holy Alliance."

    "What do you mean?" Ryan asked, frowning.

    "The Red Dragon Empire isn''t an equal part of the Holy Alliance or even has any part in the alliance other than to be the Grand Empress''s bitch."

    "It looks like I was wasting my time here then," Ryan grumbled.

    "What do you mean?" Amanda asked, tilting her head.

    Ignoring her question, Ryan held Amanda''s hand. "Come with me."

    Amanda shook her head. "I knew you''d ask, but no. I can''t."

    Ryan couldn''t help himself and asked, "Why?"

    "I love Page too much."

    Getting off the bed, Ryan turned to go but paused at the door.

    "Why did you have the antidote with you?"

    Amanda said, "I saw her receive it from one of her servantsst night and went to the Dawn Pavilion in the middle of the night to purchase an antidote just in case."

    Ryan shook his head and turned to Amanda. "And you''re sure you don''t want toe with me?"

    Amanda looked at Ryan with a hint of hesitation, but she still shook her head in the end.

    "Then how much did it cost?"

    "It doesn''t matter. You should hurry and leave before someonees back," Amanda said as tears formed in her eyes.

    "How much?"

    As the tears flowed faster, she gave up and said, "Fine, I spent 100 Heavenly Credits, alright?"

    "Now, please go before someonees."

    Ryan nodded and sent her a prompt which Amanda thought was some money Ryan had scrapped together, obviously not the 100 Heavenly Credits that had bankrupted her to buy.

    She looked at the notification as she slumped to the ground, watching Ryan disappear behind the corner.

    "W-What?!" Scrambling to her feet, she raced out of the room, trying to find Ryan.

    Looking in the lobby and not seeing him, she frantically ran outside and looked around, but Ryan was nowhere to be found.

    As she ran through the streets, her thoughts raced even faster than her legs could carry her, thinking about both the message she had received and the man who had sent them.

    ''Why would he have 1000 Heavenly Credits?''

    ''I don''t even know if Page has that many...''

    ''And why would he give them to me?''

    Not finding Ryan, she slumped to the ground in exhaustion from all the stress she had endured and her decision to help and trust Ryan with the information.

    ''I wonder who he truly is and what he meant by wasting his time...''

 Chapter 164 Leaving The Red Dragon Empire

    Ryan zigged-zagged through alleys and stopped to activate his bloodline every few minutes to check if he was being followed.

    After confirming he wasn''t, Ryan started making his way toward Vimmi''s house.

    "I wonder what that dragonkin is up to?" he muttered.

    Arriving in front of the street where her house was located, Ryan suddenly stopped. There were three guards at Vimmi''s front door.

    ''Did they discover my connection to Vimmi and already get the news about Isabelle?''

    Pressing his back against the alley wall, he sat and activated his bloodline, listening in on the guard''s conversation.

    "Can you believe the girl who sold overpriced tours actually got so lucky as to give her first and only tour to the most important harem member of the Dragon Empress," one said.

    "I heard she''s just some slum rat," another added. "Master Ryan probably doesn''t even remember her existence."

    "But either way, we were ordered to protect her until we get orders from Master Ryan," the third woman said. "She''s his only known contact that our people could find."

    Listening to their conversation Ryan was relieved that the news about Isabelle hadn''t spread.

    He thought his best course was introducing himself and taking Vimmi away directly.

    Walking out from behind the alley, Ryan approached the three women at the entrance. He made a point to walk casually, not alerting them to any trouble.

    "Hello,dies!" He called in greeting while smiling brightly.

    The guard who had been talking looked up sharply.

    Not recognizing Ryan, she was about to ask his business but stopped when a gasp came from the woman to her right.

    "Master Ryan!" the guard yelled out.

    Ryan chuckled, "Well, it seems my reputation precedes me."

    Nodding to him, the third guard asked, "Are you here for Lady Vimmi?"

    Ryan chuckled. ''She''s ady now?''

    "Yes, I am. Is she inside?"

    Hearing Ryan''s voice, Vimmi shouted, "Master?!" from inside.

    The guards, who had just been talking about Vimmi as a street rat, wiped the sweat off their foreheads, thankful they hadn''t been overheard.

    Vimmi appeared on the porch where the guards stood wearing a simple blue dress. Her tail swayed back and forth behind her like an excited puppy, making one of the guards snicker.

    Not caring for the guards, Vimmi rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Ryan''s neck.

    "When the guards showed up, I knew you had won!" She cried happily.

    Ryan raised an eyebrow and stroked Vimmi''s short purple hair.

    Her light purple tail happily wagged behind her whenever Ryan''s hand lightly touched her horns.

    "And how would you know that?" he asked with a smile.

    "Because of the look on their face," she said with a cheeky grin.

    "What if I had done something indecent and was locked up?" Ryan countered.

    Ryan shook his head with a chuckle and said in a serious tone, "Okay, well, pack your stuff and let me put it in my spatial bag. It''s time to go."

    Vimmi disappeared inside and reappeared only a momentter, holding threerge bags.

    "I''ve been ready since you left, Master."

    As Ryan reached for the bags, he noticed that the three guards'' faces had suddenly drained of color.

    Ryan activated his energy. ''Looks like time is up.''

    "Master Ryan, please allow us to escort you to the Dragon Empress''s Pce. She wants to see you," one guard spoke out.

    Ryan turned to look at the three guards who had tensed up, one holding her de behind her back in a not-so-sneaky way.

    "And what if I refuse?" Ryan asked, motioning behind his back for Vimmi to move back inside the house, out of harm''s way.

    "I think we''ll have to insist," the guard with the de said, bringing it in front of her body.

    Seeing theirpatriot''s determination, the other two guards drew their des.

    Scanning the three with energy vision, Ryan saw they were nothing special. They were only D-Rank.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''If they were humans, I could knock them out in a second with racial superiority. Too bad I have to waste my energy on scum like this,'' Ryan thought and flew into action.

    Before the guards had time to blink, they were on the ground, twitching.

    "Leave a message for Isabelle."

    "I''ll be back for her."

    ===

    Taking Vimmi and putting her inside his pce, Ryan picked a direction and started flying on his sword.

    [Yoko, can you tell me when we''re about to hit the border?]

    [Sure, Master, what''s your n?] she responded.

    [I want to stop at an inn and go inside the pce to check on thedies and deactivate the tracking powder.]

    After chatting with Yoko for another hour while flying on his sword, Ryan received an alert that he was nearing the border, so he lowered himself from the clouds and found an inn to stay the night.

    After checking into his room, Ryan activated his portal and entered his pce.

    First, he set up some guards to watch the portal entrance in the real world, then called a meeting with his harem members.

    Lizzy, Izzy, Emily, Grace, and Zoey appeared before Ryan in a sh of light.

    "Alright, everyone," He began, looking around the group. "How have things been while I''ve been away?"

    Although Ryan constantly interacted with each of them via his heavenly screen, texting was always different from seeing your lover in real life.

    All the girls smiled and turned to Grace, who seemed to have be the leader while Ryan was away.

    "I''m happy to report we''ve conquered until the 60th floor, Master," Grace said, mockingly saluting Ryan.

    "Also, each of us has gone from F-Rank to the peek of E-Rank!"

    Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Impressive girls."

    "Is there anything else I should know about?" Ryan asked.

    The atmosphere turned awkward as Grace looked away.

    The rest of the girls seemingly didn''t want to look Ryan in the eyes, either.

    "What is it?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow at their behavior.

    "Oh! Nothing..." They all said together.

    "Fine... what happened? If something''s wrong, tell me now!" He demanded when no one spoke up.

    Ryan stalked forward, looking for the person most likely to crack under pressure.

    Squeezing Emily''s cheeks and tickling her side, she squealed and giggled. "S-stop that, you bully!" She cried out, trying to escape from his grasp.

    Her face turned bright red, and tears entered her eyes as she fought against his attacks.

    "What happened, Emily?" he asked, squeezing and tickling the girl.

    "Mmmh! Noooo!" The young woman wailed as she tried desperately to fight him off, but he easily kept control of the situation.

    Emily lost the battle betweenughing and crying and fell onto her stomach in a puddle ofughter.

    "We... we might have broken Joy," Emily said timidly.

    "Broken?" Ryan repeated with a frown. "What do you mean?"

    Emily fidgeted with embarrassment as she exined how they had been trying to talk with the little girl when Zoey got the great idea to y dress-up with her.

    Ryan groaned at the thought of the little girl''s antics, shaking his head at the image of her dressed up in silly costumes.

    "What exactly happened?"

    Behind Emily, Zoey bit her lip. "I-It was an honest mistake. I didn''t know dressing her as a bunny would suddenly make her cry."

    "Well, it''s not like she only cried," Grace added.

    "She started changing into another creature."

 Chapter 165 Meeting With The Parents

    Ryan abruptly turned to Grace. "What did you say?"

    Grace sighed. "We don''t know what happened, but she suddenly started screaming and began to change into... well, we don''t exactly know."

    Ryan looked at Lizzy. If anyone knew something, it would be her.

    "Sorry, Master," Lizzy looked down. "I don''t know what happened either."

    "Take me."

    ===

    Joy stood looking at the horizon, feeling the wind against her cheek as she watched the sun begin to set over the ocean far in the distance.

    The ''Master sure set up his realm nice,'' Joy thought.

    "Joy?"

    Hearing a voice call her name, she smiled, and her body shook in anticipation of seeing his face.

    "Joy, is that you?" Ryan asked as he took a step closer to her.

    Ryan could only see her back at the moment, but he already saw something different.

    ck wings protruded from her shoulder des, making her look slightly like Lizzy or Izzy from behind.

    But Ryan could instantly tell she wasn''t a demon because no horns or tail adorned her petite figure.

    ''Speaking of her figure... has she grown?''

    As Ryan got closer, he tried to picture what she looked like before, the afraid and skinny girl, but couldn''t.

    From behind, she held her back straight, and although she still had a child-like quality about her, it didn''t seem to be from a 5-year-old but a teenager.

    As she slowly turned around, Ryan was shocked by her appearance. Her white skin seemed almost transparentpared to her jet-ck hair that flowed down past her shoulders.

    Her eyes were now crimson instead of brown.

    But the biggest change was her smile.

    Long fangs jutted out of her upper jaw as she grinned at him. "Master," Joy said with an unmistakable sense of excitement. "I''ve been waiting for you to visit."

    "W-What happened?" Ryan stammered, taken aback by how different she looked. "And wait... you can talk?"

    Joyughed and threw herself on his chest, hugging tightly to his body and pushing her face into his neck. She gave a few happy little mews while rubbing up against his body.

    Ryan couldn''t help butugh and returned the gesture, rubbing the little girl''s headfortingly between his hands.

    "I am no longer a child, Master," Joy said, pouting. "Now that you''re here, we''ll be able to do all sorts of things together!"

    Ryan coughed and tried to back away from the girl, but she clung tighter to him.

    "Joy, let go. We need to talk about things slowly."

    She tightened her hold even more as she started crying, mumbling something in an unknownnguage as her tears dripped onto his shoulder.

    "Hush now..." He stroked her hair. "We''ll get everything worked out soon."

    Ryan calmed the small child before he asked again, "What happened? What did you change into?"

    "Oh! Oh!" Joy suddenly stopped sobbing and looked up at him. "You don''t know what you''ve done for me!" She looked at him with a bright smile on her face.

    "Did for you?" Ryan repeated. "What do you mean?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You helped me break free from my shackles."

    "I''m a vampire, a member of the race of the big 7."

    ===

    2.5 weekster (30 days until the wedding...)

    Ryan stalked toward his meeting point, his journey finally nearing itspletion.

    Over the course of the previous two and a half weeks, Ryan had sessfully raised his rank to B-Rank thanks to his nightly visits with his harem members.

    This had also boosted them up as well, all of the members reaching an astounding A-Rank.

    Ryan had been so shocked at their speed of progression that he went a little too hard on Izzy, who was the most enthusiastic participant.

    He had tried to have double daily sessions with the demon, but after day two, she started speaking incoherently and was in a constant state of bliss, making it impossible for her to train in the tower.

    Ryan relented after that and kept his sessions to once a day with the five of them.

    If he had Ester and Sienna there, he would have included them as well, but sadly they were in the human empire.

    Around a week ago, Ryan had heard from Hannah for the first time since their excursion had begun.

    The message told him they were close to finding what Yoko said was hidden deep within the world.

    Yoko had been extremely excited that Ryan was from a non-Multiverse world. She was happy not only because of the heavenly blessings and rewards one could receive but because of something called the ''world dungeon.''

    Every world had a dungeon that anyone could ess before the world integrated into the Multiverse.

    But once it was integrated into the Multiverse, the world owner could shut it down for everyone but their own use or disable it entirely.

    The dungeon was a great way of gaining experience, as the monsters inside gave energy and could drop loot specified for the person''s specialty.

    As Ryan got closer to the meeting point, he started to feel a tingle on the back of his neck.

    Their meeting point wasn''t inside the capital but rather in the woods outside of it.

    Ryan chuckled. ''It appears she broughtpany.''

    Ryan knew from Lizzy and Izzy that the Zol''Gan Empress was at least an SS-Ranked cultivator, so with his measly B-Rank, he was sure that if she was the one watching him, he wouldn''t be able to detect it.

    Walking into a clearing, Ryan spotted a figure with their back to him.

    The figure wore a red robe with the emblem of the Zol''Gan empire embroidered on the back.

    "It appears my daughter''s suitor is here." The voice was like ice to Ryan''s ears.

    As she turned slowly around, the figure came face to face with Ryan, who was shocked by her beauty.

    She was about 5-6 inches taller than Ryan, and she was very lean but with very sexy proportions. Her long blond hair flowed almost to her waist.

    While her initial appearance was friendly enough, after gazing at her, Ryan realized that she gave off an unmistakable air of danger.

    Her eyes were blue, but they were piercing enough to make even a dragon quiver in fear of what they could do if they wanted to hurt you.

    Her lips curled into a grin showing sharp fangs that looked chiseled from stone instead of being part of her actual mouth.

    "Did youe here to be my dinner?" The girl''s fangs glistened and dripped with saliva.

    "Because momma always loves a piece of human meat. Especially as one as delectable as you."

 Chapter 166 ZolGan Empresss True Desire

    Ryan grinned. "Well, I wouldn''t be opposed to giving you some of my meat to taste for dinner."

    The Zol''Gan Empress''s eyes sparkled, and she licked her lips. "Is that so? But that will have to wait. I hear we have business to discuss."

    Waving her hand, a table and a set of chairs appeared in front of her. On the table sat piping hot tea, fruit, bread, sds, and an assortment of cheeses.

    "Let us get down to business then," the Empress said, sitting across from Ryan with an expectant smile.

    Ryan shivered at the sight. ''I thought this woman only smiled when bad things were about to happen...''

    [I think something bad is about to happen,] Yoko said as if reading his mind.

    "I heard from Velmuuth that you took an oath against the Human Empire, but you know one can never be too careful. Would you mind me seeing it?" The Zol''Gan Empress asked while taking a sip of her tea.

    ''I was expecting to have to do this anyway.'' Ryan shrugged and extended his arm, allowing part of his critical-level oath to show.

    "My, it''s more wonderful than I was expecting," she said, eyes filled with awe, lust, and obsession. "Your cause is so noble. Topletely eradicate the Human Empire... Now tell me, why did you choose such a noble cause for yourself?"

    "It''s personal," Ryan replied. "I hope you understand."

    She giggled as a dark fire lit up her eyes. "Don''t worry. I can see everything I need to in your eyes."

    "The hate in them makes me shiver with delight." She reached out a long graceful finger to touch his cheek and caress it softly.

    "You know, I''ve never met a male so... different before. I can see that my daughters were blessed to have found someone like you who could cure their condition and be their future Master."

    Ryan was a little surprised. He hadn''t expected Lizzy and Izzy''s mother to be ''happy'' that they were under a man''s control.

    Seeing Ryan''s confusion, the Zol''Gan Empress sighed deeply. "You have no idea how distraught I was after discovering that my only two daughters were born cursed..."

    "I am eternally grateful for you, and if there''s anything you need," she purred, pausing her hand on his cheek to look into his eyes, "I would consider it a great honor you were the father of both of my daughter''s children when they are ready to breed."

    "I''d also be willing to have your children," she said, looking down at the table. Her fingers toyed with the teacup.

    Ryan didn''t know what to say. His jaw dropped in shock as he looked at her.

    He knew from experience that mothers and daughters married the same man, but she was so forward about it.

    ''Not that I mind,'' Ryan grinned.

    "I think we could arrange that," Ryan said, running his eyes over her form once again.

    "But before that, I must insist you join my alliance."

    "If you join, I require you to help me fight against the Holy Alliance with all the resources in the Zol''Gan Empire."

    "In return, I promise that the Zol''Gan Empire will remain independent if you so wish it, and when we take over thend and resources of the Kheaweth Empire, you can share in it''s riches."

    After talking, Ryan sent an offer for her to join the ''Emerald Family''.

    The Zol''Gan Empress mulled over the offer and shook her head.

    "I don''t need anything like that," she said.

    "All I want is for me to be able to see that bastard Grand Empress dead. And her head mounted on a spike."

    [Komma Argallod has joined ''Emerald Family'']

    As Ryan grinned and stood up, he started advancing when he suddenly stopped, and his eyes opened wide with shock.

    "They found it!" Ryan gasped.

    "Who found what?" Komma said, a slight quiver in her voice.

    Truth be told, she wasn''t the ruthless woman she portrayed herself as. At least not to her family. To those she cared about, she would do anything for them.

    Kill anyone who touched them, kill anyone who thought about possessing them or even made them frown.

    When she had gotten the message from her daughters that they had found someone, she had vowed that if that person would have her, she would join her daughters if he was a man of worth.

    "Come with me," Ryan said as he took the Zol''Gan Empress''s hand and hopped on his sword, taking her toward the World Dungeon.

    ===

    "Master, it''s been too long," Hannah said, tears running down her cheek as she silently sobbed.

    Over the past few weeks, she had been away from Ryan. She regretted more and more her decision to betray Ryan and keep the information about Yoko and how they didn''t tell Ryan Veronica, Shade, and her were employed to take her away in secret.

    Ryan nodded to Shade, Dianna, and Hannah and checked their loyalty levels.

    Ryan chuckled as he saw that Shade and Hannah were up a few points each, but Dianna stayed the same, the lowest of any of his servants or knights.

    "This is Komma, Lizzy and Izzy''s mother and the Empress of the Zol''Gan empire," Ryan said, introducing his flying mate.

    "Speaking of Lizzy and Izzy, I think it''s time they joined us."

    "Joined you?" Komma asked, raising her eyebrows.

    Ryan chuckled as he sent a prompt for his five harem members inside his pce toe out.

    With a sh of light, Emily, Grace, Zoey, Lizzy, and Izzy appeared.

    Lizzy and Izzy immediately ran over to their mother and hugged her.

    "It''s good to see you girls, too," Komma said, with a big smile stered on her face.

    Shade and the rest of the girls shivered at the sight. Ryan only chuckled at how ufortable they were with the fanged woman''s eerie smile.

    "So, where is this entrance?" Ryan asked, turning to Shade.

    "You''re standing on it, my Lord," Shade replied, pointing to the ground underneath Ryan.

    "All we needed was a heaven''s chosen at the entrance, and it will activate, as Yoko previously told us."

    [I like this feline,] Yoko said into his mind. [He pays attention when the important people speak.]

    [Yeah, whatever,] Ryan replied. [Just tell me how to activate it.]

    [First, you must get the ten people you want to stand over the marking. Are you sure these 10 are the ones you want?]

    Looking at Shade, Hannah, Dianna, and Komma, Ryan hesitated, but after thinking a few moments, he nodded.

    They were all his allies, and excluding them would only lower their loyalty even more.

    He would have rather given this chance to Joy or Vimmi as their specialties were of higher rank, and the dungeon was specifically designed to help increase the rank of the participant''s specialty.

    The consequences of not including them could be catastrophic.

    Hannah, Shade, and Dianna were the backbone of the cat servants. If they became disloyal, he would have a hard time keeping order.

    As for Komma, well, he doubted saying no to her would be the most advantageous thing to do right now, seeing as she held the key to an entire Empire worth of resources inside his Emerald Family.

 Chapter 167 Escaping A Sex Dungeon [R-18]

    Yoko had exined to Ryan earlier that the dungeon was a single-person dungeon, meaning that each person went in and had a different experience.

    ording to Yoko, each world dungeon was the same and would be tailored for each person individually.

    As the dungeon activated, Ryan felt his connection with Yoko suddenly terminated, as she told him it would, so he in no way could cheat.

    Inside a room simr to the one inside his training tower, Ryan got a heavenly notification with a simple choice.

    [Would you like to begin ''Ravier''s World Dungeon''?]

    [Yes / No]

    Selecting yes, Ryan saw the white walls surrounding him shift, and he was suddenly inside a dark space with a series of options in front of him.

    [Which ability would you like to upgrade?]

    [Overlord''s Pleasure Aura]

    [Overlord of Lust]

    [Overlord''s Oath]

    Ryan snapped his fingers. ''Disappointing my conversion or pce abilities weren''t on the list, but at least pleasure aura is.''

    Selecting the first option, a set of rules appeared in his vision.

    [Goal: Escape From The Woman''s Sex Dungeon]

    [Reward: Upgrade of ''Overlord''s Pleasure Aura'']

    [Description: All other abilities besides ''Overlord''s Pleasure Aura'' will be blocked for the duration of this trial. Any death you experience not be real.]

    [Reward: Upgrade of ''Overlord''s Pleasure Aura'']

    After a few seconds, the room around him shifted, and he felt his clothes stripped from his body, leaving himpletely bare.

    His arms and legs felt weak and powerless, tied with rope while his back pressed against a wall made out of rock.

    He couldn''t feel any part of his body except his head and manhood, which was hard as the stone behind him from anticipation.

    His heart started beating faster as sweat poured down his forehead. ''What kind of kinky trial is this?''

    He was expecting to fight monsters in a dungeon, not appear in a sex dungeon!

    ''Although that seems to be a lot more fitting for me,'' Ryan thought as he heard high heels clicking closer.

    Ryan closed his eyes and imagined himself standing up straight and putting on the most charming face he could muster withoutughing at how ridiculous the situation he found himself in.

    A secondter, the door opened slowly.

    "Oh, look who decided to grace us with their presence," the woman said, entering the room with her ck heels, which made a soft click after each step she took until they stopped right before the wall where Ryan was pressed against, his legs spread apart.

    She looked like the epitome of sin. Her dark hair was cut short, and her sexy facial features gave an impression of dominance despite her small frame.

    She wore ck leather gloves over her hands, ck knee-high boots over her feet, ck pants above it all, and a tight top that hugged her breasts tightly, leaving little to the imagination of what was hiding underneath those clothes.

    "I know you''re undergoing a heavenly trial... but that skill you have doesn''t work on me. So you can go ahead and try."

    Ryan narrowed his eyes and did as requested, activating his pleasure aura full force against the woman.

    Ryan frowned. ''They seem to be doing nothing, but would the heavens give me an impossible task?''

    "Aw, don''t worry about it, lovey. You still have a chance at passing the trial." Walking closer to Ryan, she ran a finger down his chest until it stopped just below his waistline. "All you have to do is not exit the trial within 24 hours. If you can do that, I''ll release you!"

    Ryan''s frown deepened. ''Is there really no other way?''

    Eventually deciding to y along with the seductress for now, Ryan nodded his head.

    "Excellent!" she shouted, pping her hands in delight.

    Her ck leather gloves continued to roam Ryan''s naked skin, stroking himpellingly, causing his heart to beat faster.

    The feeling of powerlessness from being tied up didn''t help him either, as he feltpletely defenseless against this woman.

    ''Defenseless... maybe that''s the key.''

    As the woman continued lower and lower, circling his shaft, Ryan tried to exert the smallest amount of his pleasure aura as he could muster and influence the woman''s subconscious.

    Ryan had to suppress a grin as his aura slipped past her defenses erected for an all-out attack.

    It was like she had been expecting a tank toe barreling in, but instead, a little mosquito that flew in unnoticed would be her death.

    For the next hour, Ryan experienced myriad pleasurable sensations and had been on the verge of orgasm for the past twenty minutes. Still, the woman had never let him ejacte.

    He had almost lost his concentration, but when he noticed that the woman''s defenses were loosening and he could push more of his aura into her, he knew his waiting was almost over.

    "I have to say, Mr.," the woman groaned. "ying with you has been one of the most pleasurable experiences I''ve had in a while."

    "It''s not every day we get someone as young as you in our pleasure dungeons," the woman murmured, her body starting to rub against Ryan''s.

    "Why aren''t you talking to me," she pouted. "Oh, that''s right, you''re gagged."

    Removing Ryan''s gag, she pressed her lips against his instead of letting him talk and began kissing him.

    Her tongue slipped into his mouth and slowly moved around before she pulled away and stared at him intently while wiping a bead of saliva from his chin.

    "We''re going to have so much fun together, won''t you like that?" she asked.

    Ryan nodded but sighed a secondter.

    "What''s wrong lovely?" the woman asked, looking at the disheartened Ryan.

    "Well, no, I shouldn''t say it," Ryan started, then shook his head.

    "Tell me, please?" she asked, pressing her breasts against Ryan''s chest.

    "Well," Ryan looked up, discreetly activating his pleasure aura even further. "If you don''t untie me, my hands can''t feel your lovely breasts."

    "If I can''t feel your breasts, how can I pleasure you?"

    The woman gulped, feeling conflicted.

    "B-But... If I untie you, won''t you run?"

    Ryan grinned. "I swear upon the heavens that I will not exit this room until you scream from pleasure."

    The woman locked eyes with Ryan and slowly moved her hands toward Ryan''s bindings.

    Undoing first his right hand, then his left, she moaned when his hands immediately started fondling her massive flesh bags.

    "Oh yes!" She could not stop herself from copping a feel of his chest and running her fingers along it as he leaned forward in what she thought was an attempt to kiss her neck.

    Instead, Ryan grabbed her shoulder des and pressed her body against his.

    As the two were now touching, and Ryan sessfully distracted her focus, Ryan unleashed his pleasure aura full force, making the woman shutter as waves of ecstasy assaulted her core.

    Ryan could feel a line of liquid flowing down her thigh as it ran off onto his lower leg.

    "W-What did you do?" she stammered, trying to wriggle free, but her legs grew weak from the tingling sensation between her legs.

    "I told you," Ryan said, undoing the bindings on his legs with one hand while holding the girl upright."

    "It''s my turn to bring you pleasure."

 Chapter 168 Conquering A Sex Dungeon [R-18]

    Ryan had sessfully switched roles as he now stood in front of the strapped-down and stripped-down girl he now knew was named Vee.

    "Now tell me, Vee," Ryan said in a sultry tone. "Do you enjoy the situation you''re in right now?"

    "T-That''s impossible! How could someone so young possibly have such a powerful skill?" Vee replied after taking a deep breath and regaining herposure. "It shouldn''t have gone through my defenses!"

    Ryan chuckled. "It didn''t. I slowly corroded you from the inside."

    "Don''t you remember the building lust you felt?"

    "The aching deep in your loins that made you want me?"

    Vee trembled as the reality of the situation dawned on her.

    She had been beaten at her own game.

    Ryan ran his hands over her, making the bound girl writhe.

    Her sweet whimpers and moans sent shivers down Ryan''s spine as he enjoyed himself even more.

    As she continued her fruitless attempts to free herself, Ryan said, "Your struggle makes you look beautiful."

    Staring into her eyes, Ryan reached out with one hand to stroke her hair away from her face.

    "Tell me, is there anything you like about this moment?" He whispered, moving closer until their lips were inches apart.

    Vee didn''t want to admit it, but she loved every second of being bound by his will and by his ropes.

    She was used to tying up people, but she had always seen the pleasure on the faces of those tied up and wondered what sensations they experienced.

    "I... It feels so good..." Vee gasped, biting her lip as her hips rolled against Ryan''s fingers.

    "You see?" Ryan said with a devious smirk. "When you''re the one tied up, it''s all about your pleasure."

    "Well... that''s until I pull out," he added with an evil smile. "Then you get a taste of pain instead."

    Vee stopped trying to squirm free as she knew he would not stop until she screamed in pleasure... or agony.

    She stared at him, begging for something he couldn''t give.

    He just smiled and watched her in amusement as he gently kissed her neck and shoulders.

    Soon, her body responded to his touch, but she still fought as she tried to hide her growing arousal by focusing on the sounds around them.

    She could hear the water dripping from the ceiling above the floorboards, the light breathing from Ryan''s nostrils tickling her skin and the asional slurping noises between the woman''s thighs.

    "Ungh!" Vee moaned when Ryan bit into her earlobe, causing sparks to fly through her entire body and leaving a wave of bliss throughout her core.

    "Mmm! You shouldn''t be doing that! That is very udylike."

    Ryan released the girl after finishing his bite. "What a naughty girl you are."

    Vee said nothing but looked at him with eyes filled with lustful desire as she panted heavily.

    Her heart was beating so fast she felt it would burst.

    Reaching his hand down to her inner thigh, Ryan slid a finger along the crease, making Vee''s legs shake under the anticipation.

    "You had fun ying with me, didn''t you?" Ryan asked as he leaned closer to her face, smirking devilishly.

    Vee nodded her head and closed her eyes, "Y-Yes..." Vee whimpered in submission, letting out an even louder moan as Ryan stroked one of her outer lips.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Ahh... Ahhhh... Ah!" Vee grunted loudly as the waves of pleasure washed over her, making her body quiver from its intensity.

    "It seems that I now have to return the favor," Ryan said, leaning close to the bound girl''s mouth. He paused before kissing the woman full on the mouth, his tongue pushing into her wet heat like a snake seeking shelter for the night.

    As their mouths mashed together, both tasted each other''s tongues and became drunk on passion. The two were lost in a world only they understood and soon found themselves enjoying every second of it.

    Vee could feel herself getting close to orgasm but didn''t want to show it as she was sure Ryan would stop if he knew.

    ? However, how could Ryan not know?

    Snickering, Ryan pulled back his hand but kept kissing her.

    Vee whimpered into Ryan''s mouth but could do nothing as the heavenly sensation disappeared from between her legs.

    "Ugh! No! Please! Don''t make me wait any longer! It feels so good! Just let me cum! Pleaaase!" Vee begged with tears in the corners of her eyes and a needy moaning out of her lips. "Just fuck me!"

    Ryanughed again and began running his fingers along Vee''s thigh up to her butt, stopping just short of reaching her pussy. "You don''t really want to be fucked by your examinee, do you?" He teased, then pped Vee across the face when she didn''t reply fast enough.

    Vee shook under the sudden attack. Her face felt warm from embarrassment and shock. She had never been hit before and had always wondered what it would feel like.

    The first time wasn''t bad, as it stung a little and left a mark that looked like a tattoo, but that was about it.

    "You know you seem rtively inexperienced for someone soˇ­ experienced," Ryan said, alluding to the fact she was operating a sex dungeon but was still begging and pleading like a virgin.

    Vee looked to the ground and shuttered. "It''s a job. It''s not like I''m some slut that goes and does this on my own. It''s not like I enjoy this."

    Ryan chuckled. "Is that so? You looked pretty happy when you yed with me earlier."

    Vee blushed. "In any case, the fact that I''mˇ­ not very experienced doesn''t mean I''m not good at my job," Vee said. "I don''t exactly go out and do this on my days outside this ce."

    When Ryan returned to stroking her thighs and ass cheeks, Vee shivered but said nothing. The silence grew thick between them for a moment until Ryan broke it once more.

    "Tell me," Ryan said. "What exactly is this ce?"

    "What ce?" Vee asked nervously.

    "The testing area," Ryan replied. "You don''t exactly appear as fake, as the testing sites I''m used to aren''t real."

    "Oh, that''s what you meant!" Vee breathed a sigh of relief. "The testing site is part of the heaven''s testing sights for world dungeons! I''m an employee of the heavens."

    "The heavens have employees?" Ryan asked, tilting his head.

    The bound girl, taking the moment of respite to clear her mind, looked at Ryan, confused. "Don''t tell me you''re also from a non-Multiverse world that would be-"

    "I''m not," Ryan interjected before she could finish.

    Vee''s mouth fell agape. "How... Why...?" she sputtered for a second, then seemed toe to some realization.

    "Ah, you''re some offspring of the world owner, right?" Vee said after a while with a sarcastic smile on her face. "I''m such a fool for not seeing it earlier."

    "I''m not-" Ryan started but then stopped. ''Why am I trying to justify myself to her?''

    ''Lions do not have to justify themselves to ants!''

    "I''m getting bored of this back and forth," Ryan drawled, his tone suddenly changing to a darker, husky voice.

    "I think it''s time we stop having this conversation with our mouths and start moving this conversation a little lower."

    "Between your hips."

 Chapter 169 The Sex Dungeon Finale [R-18]

    Ryan pressed his cock head against her sex and teased her tiny opening before inching back.

    Vee''s eyes rolled into the back of her head at the new sensations washing over her body.

    She had tried to calm down before to try and resist, but now she was trying to calm down for an entirely different reason.

    "Please give me pleasure, sir," Vee pleaded as she trembled from lustful anticipation. "I need you so bad!"

    "Oh? You want me inside you?" Ryan asked as he stroked himself up and down along Vee''s slit, making her shudder. "You were so quiet during all of that."

    Vee shook her head rapidly from side to side. "N-No... I''m sorry... please don''t... no more..." She begged. "Just fuck me... please just let me cum!"

    Ryan grinned, cing one hand on the small woman''s back while the other gently ran through her hair. He pushed his member deeper between the girl''s lips, making her scream in pain until she felt him touch something deep within the folds of her pussy walls.

    "Ah! Ahhh! Ah! Please nooo! Oh, Sage''s above and beyond. Help meee!" Vee screamed in pleasure when she realized what she felt was a cock entering her depths for the first time.

    Her entire body trembled uncontrobly under the sheer sensation.

    It felt like Ryan had been given a giant spear to thrust into her core, it hurt and made her cry, yet it also gave her immense pleasure at the same moment.

    Her arms strained against their bonds as she fought to reach around herself, but nothing helped.

    She didn''t care anymore. The only thing that mattered was therge object invading her inner sanctum.

    As Vee reached climax, she heard someone say in a husky voice, "What is going on?!"

    "Sir! It''s... sir!" Vee stammered, remembering what Ryan had said earlier. "I''m cumming. Please allow me to cum!"

    "Noooo!" Ryan shouted, pulling his cock out of her with a wet slurp and pressing it into her mouth.

    Vee moaned from the sudden intrusion of his manhood and the sweet taste of her juices dripping down his shaft from where he''d left himself inside her.

    She began sucking hard on the tip, taking more of him into her hungry mouth.

    Ryan''s hips rocked forward while he slowly filled the girl''s warm embrace.

    "Ahhh! Yes! Yessss!" Vee moaned around his cock as she felt herself receiving blissful amounts of some sort of energy within her mouth.

    "Fuck! Cum from the cock down your throat!" Ryan grunted as he thrust down her gullet again and again until finally pushing deep enough into her stomach to make her feel full and release what seemed like an endless supply of fluids into her mouth and throat.

    Vee was desperately breathing through her nose, but when she felt Ryan pinch her nostrils shut, she panicked a little.

    Her eyes widened in horror when Vee realized that she would drown if she couldn''t breathe soon or she would pass out fromck of oxygen.

    Her heart thudded in her chest and pounded in her ears, making her head hurt but, at the same time, making the biggest, hardest orgasm of her life possible.

    The pleasure surged through her body as she held her breath for longer than she thought capable of and kept sucking harder and faster.

    Letting out an animalistic whimper of ecstasy as she choked on Ryan''s cock, Vee could do nothing except continue sucking and swallowing every drop of semen the man pumped into her mouth as she was pushed over the edge.

    "Ungh! Unghh! Ugh! Ah!" Vee gasped loudly with a loud moan to match it as she came again from having cum forced into her by someone she had just been torturing.

    Ryan let the girl get a few gasps of breaths in as he pulled out just in time for thest drop to leave his member, leaving it to stand out proud in front of Vee''s eyes before disappearing back between her lips like a ghostly specter.

    "For someone who looked so proud earlier when you were standing in my position, you sure took your sweet ass time getting off," Ryan said with a devilish smile. "Are we done now?"

    Vee nodded dumbly. She was still trying to catch up from what she''d experienced during that single encounter and couldn''t keep track of everything that had happened.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Then all be taking my leave..."

    "I''ll leave you here for the next person to find. Bet you''ll get off just thinking about being walked in on by a colleague, all bound, naked, and tied up with cum dripping from your mouth as the fluids you released, making it obvious how much you enjoyed yourself," Ryan taunted Vee as he turned away from her.

    "Maybe they''ll have their own turns with you, and you''ll just be turned into some fuck doll for the office men, never leaving your bound position. Wouldn''t you enjoy that more?"

    Vee was silent at thisment as she stared nkly at him after hearing these words.

    "Well, I''m off. Happy dreams!"

    ===

    [Congrattions on conquering ''Ravier''s World Dungeon'']

    [Reward: Overlord''s Pleasure Aura is now 2x more effective and 2x easier to control]

    Ryan raised his eyebrow as he stepped out of the dungeon.

    ''Double the effectiveness... isn''t that overpowered?!''

    Ryan remembered using this aura in his battle against Veelmuth the first time the two had met, and at that point, he had been behind by several levels.

    Still, he had sessfully stalled for time. Could he now influence people at A-Rank amid battle and make them tremble with ecstasy?

    Could he make an enemy cum by thrusting his sword into them?

    As Ryan licked his lips,ing up with more and more devious ways to make the guilty women of Ravier pay for what they had done, he heard a familiar voice and sensation return.

    [Wee back, Master! How was the dungeon?]

    Coming back to reality, Ryan looked around for the source of the voice, only to remember it was Yoko.

    [Good, I... passed, you could say,] Ryan replied with a wry smile. [Where is everyone else? Is anyone else inside still?]

    Just as Yoko was about to respond, a sh of light behind Ryan and five girls appeared before him.

    "Sir! We did it!" Grace eximed, the first one to speak.

    "We? What do you mean? Didn''t you take the trial individually?" Ryan asked, seeing the five girls appear together.

    "No, for some reason, ourbined status as your harem members most likely made us go through the trial together and receive abined reward. I''m sure you''ll be thrilled to see it!" Lizzy said, shaking with anticipation.

    Seeing Lizzy, someone who barely expressed any emotion except when it came to her sister Izzy or him, show such excitement was rare enough that it caught his attention.

    "Well, don''t keep me waiting. What is it? What happened?"

    The four other girls turned to Zoey, who puffed out her chest.

    "I guess I''ll do the honors! Seeing as I''m the group''s hero!" Zoey smiled triumphantly at them and then began speaking in a theatrical tone. "We fought bravely against hordes of monsters much more vicious than anything we had experienced in the training tower. Some of them even managed to get past our defensive barriers." She paused here for dramatic effect. "But with all five of us working together, we were able to y each one, until finally, with just me left standing, the rest of the team passed out..."

    "We won and got this skill," Unable to take her theatrics, Izzy blurted and revealed the new ability to Ryan.

    [Pentagram of Combination]

    [Description: Like a pentagram has five connecting points, so do the five who wield this ability. Combined by the tethers of fate, those who wield this ability canbine their powers as they fight, each exhibiting the full force of the five.]

 Chapter 170 The Breasts Call Me To Set Them Free

    Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Have you tested the skill?"

    Seeing the girls shake their heads, Ryan pped his hands.

    "Well, there''s no time like the present!" He walked up to Grace and pulled out a training dummy.

    "Hey! Isn''t that my missing training dummy from my academy dorm room?!" Emily eximed.

    Ryan scratched his head. "How''d this get here?"

    "Anyway, moving on to the important stuff," Ryan began. "Let''s see what this skill can do."

    After configuring the dummy to the proper mode, Ryan stepped back and watched as the girls activated their skill.

    Grace was the first to activate her skill, making a pentagram of light descend from the heavens onto the ground below the girls.

    After each girl got on their respective points of the star, it lit up and a shockwave of energy flowed out of it, entering each of the five women.

    Ryan activated energy vision and saw something he couldn''t exin.

    It was like they were gaining each other''s strength, talent, and abilities in front of his eyes.

    He couldn''t differentiate their ''temporary strength'' like he could if someone swallowed a pill that would boost their energy temporarily, either.

    In his vision, they had suddenly undergone a fundamental transformation.

    Ryan let out a whistle and smirked at how strong this ability was.

    "Test it out!" Ryan said with a grin.

    After a nod from Grace, Izzy stepped up first with her battle axe and put her full force behind her swing, seemingly chopping the air in two.

    With a slunk, the axe prated the dummy''s torso.

    Holding his breath, Ryan turned to the hologram that showed the result and dropped his jaw.

    [SS-Rank Attack Has Been Taken]

    [Interesting,] Yoko suddenly chimed in.

    [Did you notice something, Yoko?] Ryan responded telepathically.

    [They are connected not only in abilities but their very beings are connected. If one got hurt, the others would experience the same level of injury.]

    [So you''re saying if one would die...]

    [They all would,] Yoko confirmed. [But on the bright side, they all have more defensive capabilities.]

    As Yoko and Ryan talked, four bursts of light over a few seconds revealed Shade, Hannah, Dianna, and the Zol''Gan Empress.

    Seeing they all wore grins, Ryan suspected they had seeded in their attempts against the dungeon.

    [Was the dungeon set to easy mode by ident?] Ryan jokingly asked Yoko.

    [Sort of,] Yoko replied. [A person can challenge different world dungeons throughout their lifetime, but the first time is always the easiest.]

    Yoko continued, [And it is also configured to your rank. Thus everyone not even being a Master Cultivator certainly made things a whole lot more simple.]

    Immediately aftering out of the dungeon, the Zol''Gan Empress turned to Ryan and began speaking. "I felt the time flowed differently inside. How long has passed?"

    Ryan blinked dumbly at the Zol''Gan Empress before he asked Yoko, [How long has passed?]

    [A week.]

    "Seven days?!" Ryan yelled, astonished by the revtion.

    "Fuck!" the Zol''Gan Empress cursed. "I need to leave. I''ll have to meet up with you after the wedding to... finalize our binding."

    Ryan lightly smiled at the mental image of what the ''binding'' would entail and asked, "What''s so urgent?"

    "The Grand Empress has been putting pressure on my empire in full force as ofte. It''s almost like she doesn''t want me to be at full strength for the wedding," The Zol''Gan Empress exined.

    "I would offer my help as you''ve already said you''d be mine, but I''ve got my own war to prepare for."

    Waving her hand dismissively, she started to leave but suddenly halted.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Maybe there is something that can help with that," she said, turning around.

    Reaching into her spatial bag, she pulled out a token with the Zol''Gan Empire''s seal.

    "This token will allow you to attend the Military Summit for the younger generation being held in the Holy Phoenix Empire in... two days from now," She tossed the coin over to him and left without waiting to hear his response.

    ===

    As Ryan had been nning to go to the Holy Phoenix Empire, Ryan decided he would head toward this Military Summit.

    Thankfully, even though the Zol''Gan Empress left without telling him the details, he had Lizzy and Izzy happy to fill him in.

    "The Military Summit is a heavenly event thatsts for a week and is held in a different empire yearly," Lizzy began.

    "The event''s purpose is to allow young talents to better their military tactics and show off their abilities to their superiors," Izzy exined.

    "Thousands of young military leaderse to participate, and the heavens themselves reward the most outstanding," Emily added. "In fact..." she continued but was cut short by Zoey.

    "The top-ranked member gets a heavenly skill!" she said.

    Ryan raised his eyebrows. ''I guess I should take this even more seriously. I haven''t gotten any new skills since D-Rank!''

    Thankfully, traveling to the Holy Phoenix Empire was much smoother and quicker than traveling to the Zol''Gan Empire since they could use teleportation points.

    Arriving at the border, they had to set out thest few miles on foot again, just like when he visited the Red Dragon Empire.

    After muchining, Ryan returned his harem members and knights to his pce and started his solitary journey toward the Phoenix capital.

    Well, it would have been solitary without the constant chirping in his ear.

    [I can''t believe how stupid lucky you are,] Yokoined for the umpteenth time.

    Ryan sighed. [What are youining about now, Yoko?]

    [It''s this event.]

    [The Military Summit? What about it?]

    [Do you know how rare Heavenly Abilities are?] Yoko asked.

    Ryan shrugged. [Not really. But I have a few of them, and the girls just got another one, so they can''t be that rare.]

    [They''re extremely rare! In fact, they are impossible to obtain artificially unless it''s at the Heavenly Academy!]

    Ryan''s ears perked up. [Heavenly Academy?]

    [Yes,] Yoko continued. [The Heavenly Academy is the only heavenly-sanctioned Multiverse school. Any heavenly-blessed individual can apply to enter, but most must pass a test.]

    [What did you mean about artificial abilities being avable at the academy, though?]

    [From what I know, the academy is a magical ce that even my mother attended and graduated from.]

    [It allows one to skyrocket in power and make a name for themselves in their area of expertise.]

    [You mean...] Ryan''s eyes sparkled.

    [Yes,] Yoko chuckled. [They have a whole department dedicated to the pleasures of the Multiverse.]

    [In fact, it''s the most powerful department.]

    Ryan licked his lips. ''Maybe my goal can be achieved! If I can create so much pleasure that any contact with a woman''s nipple would make them cum, it would be impossible for them to wear bras!''

    The sudden realization that Ryan''s dream of creating a bra-free universe was possible crashed into his consciousness like a title wave.

    It surged through every fiber of his being like an explosion of bliss and ecstasy as he thought of the possibilities of their flesh having freedom of movement. His hands began shaking uncontrobly at the mere possibility of all these setting them all free.

    "They call to me to set them free."

    "I shall answer the call with glee."

    "For its bare breasts I seek."

    "Their nipples I shall tweak."

 Chapter 171 My Prince Charmander Has Come?

    The Holy Phoenix Empire (23 days until the wedding)...

    Unlike entering the Red Dragon Empire, Ryan experienced no border checkpoints.

    After showing the token he received from the Zol''Gan Empress, he was allowed into the Holy Phoenix Empire''s capital without issue.

    Lizzy and Izzy had exined that although the Zol''Gan Empire and Holy Phoenix Empire were anything but friendly, no one wanted to cause trouble and face heaven''s wrath when a heavenly event urred.

    Plenty of signs pointed Ryan in the right direction to the Military Summit, which was apparently deeper into the capital.

    But before he ventured in too deep, he wanted to secure lodging near the outer part of the capital.

    ''There will be a lot of highly skilled cultivators at this summit as advisors or mentors,'' Ryan thought. ''And my pce entrance is still vulnerable. I don''t know if they''ll be able to sense it. Better to be on the safe side.''

    As he walked up to a rtively good establishment, Ryan cocked his head to the side, noticing a girl appear before him wearing tattered clothing and dirty hair.

    She looked about eighteen years old and wore a tired smile.

    "Hello, sir. Could I interest you in a money-making opportunity you''ve never seen before?"

    "No," Ryan instantly said, pushing past the girl and walking into the inn.

    Ryan scoffed. ''A beggar with a money-making opportunity? Please.''

    "The grand prize is a night with one of the three princesses!" the girl shouted.

    Ryan stopped and scratched his ear. ''Then again, some man''s trash is another man''s treasure.''

    "What are you peddling? What scam is it today?" Ryan asked, unable to keep from chuckling.

    He reached out and grabbed her arm. "You look like you need food."

    She opened her eyes wide and puffed up her chest. "I do not! How dare you!" she barked. "But if you had some..."

    Ryan chuckled and nodded inside, "Let''s see if they have something good to eat."

    The girl hesitated.

    "What?" Ryan asked. "Come on, spit it out."

    "Well, this ce is slightly over-priced and has the worst grub in town."

    Ryan waved his hand. "Then please, lead the way."

    Smiling, the girl trotted off with Ryan in toe, following a well-worn path through the city.

    While they walked, the girl said, "Since you''re being so kind as to buy me a meal, I''ll give you the contest overview."

    "Contest?" he repeated.

    "Yes, sir. Whenever the Military Summit is held in the Holy Phoenix Empire, the princesses hold a contest to see if there are any men worthy enough to bed them," The girl exined excitedly.

    "What does one do when they partake in such a contest?" Ryan asked skeptically.

    "One gets to y with our tied-up prisoners who have been jailed for some crime and will get a lighter punishment for participating."

    "All females, of course," she added, seeing Ryan''s look.

    "And you said this would be lucrative... how?"

    "That''s the fun part!" the girl said enthusiastically, which seemed out of ce for how poorly she was dressed.

    "The more pleasure you make the ve, which is how they''ll be referred to just to be extra kinky," the girl added, giggling, "experience will determine how many heavenly credits you earn."

    Ryan shrugged his shoulders. ''I''m free for the two days before the event anyway.''

    "Does this mean there are a lot of men that attend the Military Summit?" Ryan asked, recalling that the reason for thispetition was the Holy Phoenix Empire''s hosting of the Military Summit.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yes," the girl nodded. "At leastpared to other military-rted things. At least men can be useful in tactics."

    "No offense," she hurriedly added, waving her hands.

    Ryan looked at the girl but didn''t see any hate or scorn in her eyes, so he shrugged.

    "I don''t care," Ryan said. "It looks like we''re here."

    In front of them was arge building made of wood. It looked like a cozy log cabin that Ryan wouldn''t have taken for an inn without the sign that read, "Nancy''s Inn".

    Ryan felt a refreshing and rxing warmthe over his body as the two entered the inn.

    "Greetings, Stacy. Have you brought back a customer?" the woman from behind the counter asked, looking at the two.

    Ryan chuckled. ''Looks like I''ve been yed for a fool.''

    Turning to the girl he now knew was Stacy, Ryan raised his eyebrow and asked, "So, this is the best inn in town, huh?"

    Stacy, shameless as ever, simply stared at Ryan and said, "Damn right it is."

    "A room for one and a meal for two," Ryan said, turning and walking toward the counter.

    "Sorry about my daughter, she sometimes likes to... mislead customers. But I promise we are a good establishment," the woman said, giving her daughter a stare.

    "Quite alright, ma''am." Ryan leaned closer to the older woman and whispered, "What''s with her clothes, though? It looks like you could afford some better ones."

    Letting out a long sigh, the woman shook her head. "She says rich men like poor girls, and one day her prince Charmander, or whatever his name was, wille and save her."

    "It''s prince charming, mother!" Stacy shrieked, then blushed, seeing Ryan''s gaze.

    "Yes, prince charming from the Fantasy World. She''s obsessed with a non-existent world," the woman said in disappointment.

    Ryan raised his eyebrows as he turned to Stacy. "Is that so? Mind answering a few questions for me?"

    Stacy grinned. "If it''s over a fresh hot and free meal, I''m always willing to talk."

    After a few minutes of Nancy, Stacy''s mother, getting the food prepared, Stacy and Ryan sat in a booth in the corner of the room.

    "So," Ryan said, taking a bite from his cheese pizza, "what does one need to get into the Fantasy World?"

    Stacy was munching on nachos covered in cheese and said, "Oh, you can''t."

    Ryan tilted his head. "I''ve heard people say that if one gets lucky, the heavens will send them to the Fantasy World if they upgrade in cultivation."

    Stacy nodded. "Exactly," she said with a mouthful of nacho, "which is why you''ll never be able to go."

    Ryan''s eyebrow twitched, and he had to calm his breathing. "Is there no other way?"

    "Not that I know of," Stacy shrugged, stuffing her face with another nacho.

    "Then can you exin to me what happens when a person goes to the Fantasy World as a cultivator?"

    "Ah, look, a man can ask a good question," Stacy said sarcastically.

    Ryan bit back a reply as Stacy kept speaking.

    "Once someone is graced with the opportunity to visit the Fantasy World, they take over the body of someone in that world who is about to die."

    Ryan''s hands started shaking as a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. "How long can some of these visitsst?"

    Stacy pondered the question before replying, "They canst anywhere from a few weeks to years."

    "Does that mean that people who go to the Fantasy World are still alive, even if they die on Earth?"

    "I don''t know what this Earth is, but in the Fantasy World, yes. The body must die for the cultivator to return to Ravier."

 Chapter 172 Stacys From Earth?

    (22 days until the wedding)...

    The next day, Ryan was alerted by one of his guards that a girl was approaching his inn''s room.

    Thanks tost night''s activities, Ryan quickly dug through the mound of clothes on the floor and reentered the real world.

    Just a few seconds after he switched ces with his guards, Ryan heard a knock on the door.

    Ryan already knew it was Stacy thanks to a new feature he had received when Lizzy had gotten to A-Rank in Energy Vision which allowed him to see weak energy signatures through walls.

    "Good morning Stacy. What can I do for you today?" Ryan asked, looking at the girl who wore much nicer clothes than the rags she wore yesterday.

    "Well, didn''t you say you were interested in the contest? It''s happening in just an hour!" she said excitedly. "I wanted to offer my services as your guide."

    "How much is this service going to cost me?" Ryan asked.

    "Do you know how to get there?" She asked.

    Ryan chuckled. "I''ll pay you 25 copper and not a penny more."

    Ryan had gotten some hard currency from the Dragon Empress as pocket money but never had the chance to use it since everything involving cultivators used Heavenly Credits.

    Last night he had used silver coins to pay for his room, and he certainly wasn''t going to spend Heavenly Credits on something like a guide.

    "How about 50?" Stacy asked, licking her lips at the thought of more money.

    "40, and that''s all you''re getting," Ryan said, handing the girl 40 copper coins.

    "Pleasure doing business with you... I never got your name."

    "Just call me daddy."

    ===

    Ryan and Stacy arrived at what appeared to be a sports stadium with a stage instead of a field or court.

    Stacy led him to a sign-up booth that was located in front of the enormous stadium.

    After paying a nominal sign-up fee, Ryan got his contestant number and was told the event would start in 30 minutes.

    Stacy was given her fee cut on the spot, which made Ryan assume Stacy wasn''t employed directly by the princesses but more like a contractor.

    Entering the stadium, Ryan saw many seats already filled.

    Many men were gathered below the stage, waiting for the contest to start, while Ryan could see a small group of girls in chains surrounded by several military guards.

    Ryan raised his eyebrow. ''Those must be the prisoners we''ll get to test our stuff on. I wonder how far they''ll let us take it.''

    As Ryan was about to turn away, he frowned and looked closer at one of the prisoners.

    She wasn''t anything special, a short girl with dark skin and brown hair. A girl that was pretty, but in this world, one wouldn''t look twice at.

    However, what Ryan was looking at wasn''t her looks but the tattoo on her arm.

    It was the Kheaweth Military symbol, and as he stared at it, her face shed through his memory like a haunting song that always ys when you''ve forgotten something important.

    Ryan''s heart started beating faster as sweat broke out across his forehead.

    "Damn..." he muttered under his breath then shook his head clear of any memories from long ago.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ording to his shbacks, she had been one of seven torturers that had ''conditioned'' him during hister teen years.

    He recalled her being ruthless, so much to the point where even the other tortures feared her.

    Yet now the girl was sitting there, chains around her wrists and a nk expression.

    As Stacy pulled on his hand, Ryan was still shaking off the old memory.

    "Hey! Are you alright?" She asked. "You looked like you were having a nightmare!"

    "Yeah, yeah, I''m fine," Ryan said, taking a deep breath.

    Stacy frowned. ''Look at this guy. I wonder what''s wrong with him.''

    Stacy looked over to Ryan, noticing he was sweating profusely and staring at one of the prisoners.

    "Do you need me toe with you to your seat? Or are you just going to stay here by yourself?" Stacy asked as she started tugging on his arm again.

    "I said I''m fine," Ryan growled, but when he saw fear on the young girl''s face, he sighed.

    "Fine, follow me," he grumbled and led her down towards his seat, which was located at the top of the bleachers, second-row center.

    As they got closer, Stacy realized howrge the stadium was and that more people had gathered in their seats than she thought.

    Ryan handed her a water bottle before pointing to his right and said, "Our spot."

    "There''s only one seat?" Stacy gasped. "Where am I supposed to sit?"

    "What did you expect? This is the contestant seating area. If you want to sit here, you''ll have to do it on myp," Ryan said, hoping this would make the girl disappear.

    But to his dismay, Stacy said, "If you don''t mind, daddy!" She smiled yfully and then stood up on his chair as if it were a pedestal for a statue.

    Staring into her dark brown eyes, Ryan felt a lump forming in his throat as he noticed a light blush across her face.

    Ryan walked over and grabbed hold of her hand, holding onto the back of the seat. Then he helped her down and guided her onto hisp.

    Ryan erected a sound and illusion barrier to make it seem like the two peacefully napped before he did anything else.

    The sound made Ryan''s heart skip several beats, and his mouth went dry.

    Then she reached down and took his hands into hers, cing her head on his shoulder, her chin resting on his left shoulder de.

    He could feel her soft breath on the side of his neck. The heat of her body against him made him shiver with excitement. ''I''ve never done it in front of a crowd before, but there''s a first time for everything.''

    As he stared at the stage, waiting for the event to begin, Stacy turned to look at him with those pretty little brown eyes filled with curiosity, admiration, love... whatever emotion she was feeling was lost to him.

    But what was not lost was howfortable she was sitting on hisp. It was like an extension of his arm as they were perfectly fitted together.

    "You know, most say that the Fantasy World isn''t real, but you seem to think differently," Stacy suddenly said. "Why?"

    "What makes you think that?" Ryan asked curiously.

    "Your reactionst night," Stacy replied. "The questions you asked... were the same as the ones I had in mind when I came to Ravier."

    She paused as if thinking of something important, then looked up at Ryan''s face with a smile and continued, "You said the name Earth yesterday, and I said I didn''t know it. But that''s not true, seeing as I grew up on Earth, just like you."

 Chapter 173 The Start Of The Contest [R-18]

    Ryan narrowed his eyes at her in surprise. ''She''s like me?!''

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about," Ryan tried denying it, but even he knew he was lying through his teeth.

    Stacy looked into his eyes and started to cry. "I didn''t live long on Earth, only 14 years. I died, and so did my parents..." Her voice broke off, and she began sobbing, causing tears to flow from her dark brown eyes and down her cheeks.

    Ryan could feel the warmth of Stacy''s body against him as she cried. He gently patted the top of her head with the palm of his hand as he rubbed the back of her head in a soothing motion.

    ''She must have been really sad,'' he thought, unsure what else he should do now.

    He felt close to this girl, a connection he hadn''t noticed before but became evident once he recognized it.

    She probably lived an even worse life than Ryan had if she died at 14 with her family.

    Although Ryan died on Earth, he did so without pain or suffering, only the regret he felt over Aliza''s death.

    "B-But then I was born as a baby, and I came to this world and was adopted by mother Nancy."

    "She''s raised me with love and care just like my old mother used to," she said between her sobs.

    Ryan didn''t say anything and just kept stroking her hair as she continued telling him about her life''s story as the seats began to fill.

    Eventually, the seats to either side of them became upied, and Ryan slowly dismissed the sound and illusion barriers as Stacy fell asleep in his arms.

    A beautiful woman slowly walked onto the stage, and the lights started dimming in the stadium.

    The crowd fell into a peaceful silence waiting for the event to begin.

    When she was at the from of the stage she started speaking. "Greetings participants and spectators simr to our event ''Who''s Got The Magic Touch!''"

    The crowd burst into apuse. Then, the announcer signaled to the guards at the side of the stage, waiting with the prisoners.

    "The event will be held as follows. We have thirty-two participants," she said, pulling a piece of paper from her back pocket. "Each participant will get five minutes to show us their worth on a designateddy. Then, if they can sessfully make them climax, they will move on to the next round."

    Some murmurs spread through the crowd, asking if they were being too generous, but the announcer quickly gave a follow-up message.

    "The ves, as we''ll be calling them, have been told that if they can resist cumming in the first round, they will be given more time off their sentence."

    The crowd was much more excited at this news and began chatting fervently.

    None of this mattered much to Ryan, as he was eager to see what the next rounds would have for him.

    With his upgraded aura, he could probably make the girl cum by whispering dirty thoughts to her.

    ''That''s not a bad idea,'' Ryan thought, stroking Stacy''s hair. ''This would give me a great ce to test my limits without having one of my girls be a testing dummy.''

    Although Ryan was sure any of his girls would volunteer in a second, he didn''t like degrading his girls to such a degree.

    Ryan hade to think of his harem members as future Queens and Princesses that would rule over his vastwork of territories.

    How would it look if a future Queen was treated as a test dummy for a sex skill?

    At the very least, he didn''t want to harm the girls'' confidence.

    Deciding this was the perfect opportunity to test his stuff, he licked his lips and refocused on the announcer, who was now on stage with the first participant and ve.

    "Remember, all you have to do is make her cum," the announcer said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She then motioned for the guards to bring over a rack of various devices that ranged from small vibrators, nipple mps, clothing pins, and ice cubes to dildos the size of logs, whips with nails attached, and a branding iron.

    The man nodded as he looked over the vast devices with lust.

    The girl, tied naked to a giant X, started shaking at the sight of all the hideous devices on the table.

    As the girl started to beg the man not to use those more extensive devices, the man got a devilish smile and said, "Do not worry, my dear. I''m here to give you pleasure."

    The announcer looked at the man, who wore a sign reading ''Contestant #1'' and asked, "Are you ready?"

    The man licked his lips and nodded. "I am."

    As soon as the timer started, the man went over to the table and got a blindfold and mouth gag, instantly making the girl tense up.

    In his seat, Ryan was silently critiquing the man with a look of scorn on his face. ''He''s being too forceful. She is obviously not into the heavy stuff. He should have gone with a more loving route.''

    Ryan could tell the woman wasn''t a lover of bondage as, first, she wasn''t producing any fluid between her legs, and second, she looked as scared as a child on their way to the dentist.

    The following act was hard to watch, making Ryan redder and angrier the longer he sat there.

    The man obviously didn''t know what he was doing and tried to use the biggest and most brutal devices thinking it would get the girl off.

    ''This man needs a lesson from Aliza. He is about as skilled in the art of pleasure as a 40-year-old virgin.''

    But to the man''s dismay and Ryan''s expectation, the girl only continued to scream through her gag as the man prated her with various devices until the time limit was up.

    "Stupid whore!" the man screamed as he was dragged off stage by the guards. "You can''t cum when a real man gives you his attention? Pathetic!"

    The man''s words made Ryan clench his fist and harden the hand, stroking Stacy''s hair, causing the girl to frown and awaken.

    Yawning, Stacy rubbed her eyes as she looked up into the face of this mysterious man who seemingly came from Earth, just like she had.

    "What did I miss?" Stacy asked, looking at Ryan''s disgruntled face. "What''s the matter?"

    Ryan didn''t say anything and just nodded to the stage.

    Stacy scooted her butt, which was now firmly seated in Ryan''s crotch, as she faced the stage. "Ah, looks like one of those appeared again."

    "Those?" Ryan questioned.

    "A man who only applied to this contest to inflict pain upon a female."

    Seeing Ryan''s look of confusion, Stacy patted Ryan''s head. "You''re a good man. But unlike you, some people desire to hurt others for the sake of hurting them."

    Ryan chuckled. ''Am I a good man?''

    Putting his righteousness aside, Ryan watched as person after the person failed to make the first girl climax.

    Thankfully, the rest were much more skilled than the first and had tried to undo the damage the first participant had done but to no avail.

    Ryan thought he might have a chance at seeing the first girl at this rate, even though he was participant number #22.

    However, right before his turn, participant #21 finally made her cum with a brilliantbination of nipple tugging and a two-fingerbo that made Ryan nod in approval.

    "Participant number #22, if you''ll please make your way to the stage," the announcer said after the stage was cleared of the blood, bodily fluids, and various other chemicals from the devices off the stage.

 Chapter 174 The Daddy Pervert [R-18]

    Ryan got up, sitting Stacy in the seat behind him as he walked to the stage with bated breath.

    Would he get matched with his torturer?

    Fortunately or unfortunately, Ryan saw an unfamiliar face getting strapped to the giant X as he stepped onto the stage.

    Arriving before the announcer, he surveyed the various devices but shook his head.

    The announcer raised her eyebrows. "Are you not selecting any device?"

    "Does a pianist need a violin? Does a pianist need any apanying instrument?" Ryan asked rhetorically.

    When the announcer shook her head, Ryan nodded.

    "Exactly, a pianist only needs a piano," Ryan said, indicating himself as the pianist and the piano as thedy tied to the X.

    "While a pianist could use apanying instruments," Ryan indicated to the devices, "it''s unnecessary."

    On the X, thedy looked at Ryan with awe and wonder in her eyes.

    She had been expecting something rough but wasn''t prepared for Ryan''s elegant words.

    Ryan didn''t even wait for the announcer to start as he walked over to the girl, activated his aura, and whispered something into her ear.

    It was like the woman had been hit by a freight train as her body jolted and started shaking uncontrobly.

    She started moaning as Ryan chuckled and walked back toward his seat.

    As the announcer was about to ask why he was leaving, the girl gave a mighty scream as liquid gushed from her pussy.

    The crowd fell silent, watching the mysterious participant #22 return to his seat.

    "Uh... Well, you have it, folks! It looks like participant number #22 is moving on to the second round!" The announcer said nervously before fanning herself with her hand.

    "Let''s give a big wee to participant #23!"

    As Ryan got back to his seat, Stacy looked at him with shock.

    "What was that," she whispered. "What on earth did you say to her?"

    Stacy blushed. "And... can you say it to me?"

    Ryan raised his eyebrow as he picked up the girl, reiming his seat.

    Sitting her down on hisp, Ryan leaned into her ear, and instead of saying something, he breathed, making his hot breath enter her ear canal.

    Stacy shivered, causing her ass to rub against Ryan''s stiffening cock.

    "Y-You''re such a tease," Stacy whined as she tried to sit on Ryan''s knee instead.

    Ryan let her do as she pleased but sent a little of his aura into Stacy, making her ever so slightly grind her hips against his leg.

    Stacy didn''t seem to notice her face getting redder and redder as the onlookers started to take notice of the mystery man having someone seated on hisp.

    "Don''t mind her," Ryan said as he saw people staring. "She''s-

    "Oh fuck, daddy," Stacy suddenly said as she started grinding harder against his leg.

    "That''s your daughter... is it?" a participant behind Ryan asked, looking at the odd scene.

    "Yes," Ryan answered quickly. "My poor innocent daughter. She gets too wound up when daddy works. Her pent-up lust makes her a little... frustrated."

    The man gulped as his eyes turned perverted. "You wouldn''t mind if I had a turnˇ­ would you?"

    Ryan narrowed his eyes at the man and turned to Stacy, who was lost in her sensations.

    ''Poor girl''s probably experiencing something like this for the first timeˇ­ just how I like it.'' Ryan grinned.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan suddenly removed Stacy from his leg as she gasped. "Stacy, you need to control yourself in public," Ryan said.

    Then, leaning forward, he whispered, "How would Nancy feel if she saw you now?"

    Ryan loved embarrassing girls and seeing Nancy''s beat red face made the devilish part of his grin.

    "I-I''m sorry, I''m not sure what came over me," she said, lowering her head.

    "Never mind that. Just try to control yourself and wait until we''re home."

    The man behind Ryan was drooling at the fantasies running through his mind.

    He couldn''t believe he had witnessed such a scene. ''Maybe I can get the girl on stage to call me daddy when it''s my turn?''

    As the minutes passed and more and more contestants failed, the first round ended with one more contestant making it out.

    "So it''s me, contestant #21, and that daughter pervert," Ryan muttered as he scoped out hispetition.

    "You''re one to call him a daughter pervert, making me call you daddy," Stacy said sarcastically as she poked his cheek.

    "Hush," Ryan said as he patted Stacy''s head gently before returning to the stage where the announcer began her announcement on the second round.

    "For the second round, our three remaining contestants will perform on one girl each. Then, we will attach a device to the ves to measure the amount of pleasure they feel. Whoever creates the most pleasure for the ve wins!"

    Three girls were brought behind the announcer, one of whom was Ryan''s torturer.

    Ryan clenched his fists as he looked at the girl with a steely gaze.

    "Participant #22, since you finished the fastest in round one, we''ll let you decide which girl you''d like for your round, and if you''d like to go first, second, or third," the announcer said after checking her notes.

    Without leaving his seat, Ryan said, "I''ll take the girl on my left, and I''ll gost."

    After making his choices, Ryan closed his eyes as he turned inward, preparing a n to inflict as much punishment as he could on the girl. And possibly get some information out of her as well.

    The other two participants selected their girls in turn.

    The daughter pervert getting to choose second, chose a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes.

    The one who wentst got a dark-haired beauty with bright green eyes.

    The daughter pervert walked up to the stage, eager to have another session with a woman calling him daddy.

    "Oh, and this time you can''t use any form of sound for pleasure ormunicate with thedies," the announcer suddenly said, startling the audience and the three remaining participants.

    The purpose of the ban onmunication was evident to everyone, to stop Ryan from repeating his trick and ending thepetition without any fanfare.

    But little did the organizers know that Ryan''s trick wasn''t in his voice but in his aura.

    Ryan chuckled. ''It''s not like I need my aura to win anyway.''

    [Master, you''ve been looking at that woman you''ve picked a lottely. Is she to your liking?] Yoko asked.

    From what Yoko could gather based on Ryan''s harem members, he liked all women, both big and small, round and petite of all ethnicities.

    But he was acting somewhat abnormal toward the female on stage, so she wondered if he had a type and her master was more of a manwhore who threw himself at everyone with a set of knockers.

    Ryan shook his head. [No, Yoko, precisely the opposite. She was one of my tortures from the human empire.]

    [What?! Let me at the bitch! I''ve trained your girls well. They''re nice and ready. They can tear her to pieces!] Yoko eximed in excitement, hoping for an opportunity to rip the girl apart.

    She could feel the heat building up inside herself as visions of the ve girl in pain and despair filled her mind.

    [You''ve been doing what?] Ryan asked, surprised.

 Chapter 175 Bound, Gagged, And Whipped [R-18]

    [You''ve been doing what?] Ryan asked, surprised.

    Yoko was still a little flustered when she answered back. [Nothing, Master, carry on.]

    Ryan wanted to press Yoko for answers but decided it didn''t really matter if his dragon was training his harem members.

    ''That sentence sounds so badass,'' Ryan thought as he turned his attention to the daughter pervert and his failing attempts to make anything happen.

    ===

    "What do you think, Piki?" a beautiful girl with feathered sprouting from behind her ear and orange hair asked.

    "It feels a little tight," another girl who looked exactly like her sister except for her pink hair said, running her hands over her skin-tight outfit. "But not too ufortable."

    "I think Kiki meant about the three boys," the third feathered girl, who had grey hair, said. "Not your dress."

    "Thank you, Zizi. I was obviously joking," Piki retorted.

    Huffing, Zizi didn''t reply. Her two younger sisters were their mother''s favorite and were always given preferential treatment, making them think they were superior to her.

    "Well, I think participant number #22 is interesting. He''s not bad looking either," Kikimented while eyeing the ck-haired man sitting in the stands.

    "Of course, you would think that," Piki snapped at Kiki as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I think he''s just a phony, and are rule change will take him out."

    "Then prepared to be proven wrong," muttered Zizi, too low for her sisters to hear. "And don''t you dare think you''ll be getting him."

    ===

    After his two fellow participants scored 276 and 394 in 10 minutes, 100 constituting a regr orgasm, Ryan stepped onto the stage to meet with his previous tormentor.

    It was apparent the girl didn''t recognize him, as her face still held an uninterested look.

    Ryan chuckled. ''She won''t be wearing that look for long.''

    This time Ryan didn''t forgo any of the devices on the table.

    He grabbed a medium-sized dildo, a set of nipple mps, and a leather whip and started walking toward his bound-up tormentor.

    Ryan didn''t need anything heavy for what he had nned. Simple was best.

    Seeing Ryan''s choices, the bound girl didn''t seem all that afraid and even let out a little smirk.

    Ryan approached the girl''s right side and waited for the timer to start.

    As soon as the timer started, Ryan activated his aura, focusing it solely on the bound girl.

    The intensity of Ryan''s aura immediately made the score counter react ''28''.

    ''34''

    ''48''

    The score counter continued ticking every second as Ryan bathed the girl in his pleasure aura.

    As not to cause too much confusion, Ryan lightly stroked the girl''s hair and lightly applied the nipple mps.

    The nipple mps came attached with a small chain that connected the two so Ryan could tug, eliciting such wonderful whimpers of delight from the bound woman.

    Her bare pussy leaked juices at a rate that put the other contestants to shame.

    The floor was soaked with her arousal as she panted like she was having an orgasm.

    Her eyes rolled back into her head as she struggled against the chains.

    She couldn''t stand being treated as a sex toy.

    But although Ryan''s ruthless torturer wanted to fight against the feelings creeping up inside her body, she was finding it more and more challenging to find a reason to.

    The arousal was all-consuming and overwhelming.

    She started to feel the tingling sensation between her legs as her score counter passed 100, meaning her first orgasm would be anything but ordinary.

    Ryan ran the whip over her body with a nk expression.

    Right now, he was performing an art he held sacred as his mentor had taught him to do.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Aliza had told him when performing art on those who elicit feelings of hate. You cannot let hatred ovee you, for the art would be tainted.

    Ryan''s silent dance with his hands and devices mesmerized the audience, making them fall silent.

    In the giant stadium, only the tiny whimpers that escaped between the gagged girl''s mouth could be heard as everyone was encapsted in the performance.

    Ryan brought the whip up and smacked down on her sensitive breasts, leaving red lines in its wake.

    The bound girl tried to keep herself still in hopes it would stop. But after another strike, it was clear that it wouldn''t.

    The more pain she received, the more excited she became.

    This brought back memories of her previous experiences in the Kheaweth Military and her short stint in project ''subject one''.

    Suddenly the girl looked up at Ryan, looking not at his face but at his eyes.

    Although some of his features had changed since shest saw subject one, she would never forget those eyes.

    The emerald eyes had be lifeless before as she struck with her whip.

    Her eyes widened. ''It''s him.''

    ''How could he be here? Has hee for revenge?''

    As the girl''s thoughts raced, Ryan saw the girl''s look of recognition in her eyes and lightly smiled.

    [Okay, Yoko, establish the connection.]

    Yoko had informed him that she could establish a mental connection with the girl using a technique too advanced for someone on Ravier to detect.

    Ryan could activate a mental connection himself, but he ran the risk of someone watching noticing the connection, and that would instantly blow his cover.

    [Can you hear me?] Ryan asked telepathically to his former torturer.

    The girl looked at Ryan, now sure he knew who she was.

    [I was just hired for a job, you have to understand,] the girl replied through tears.

    Ryan smacked the whip hard against her stomach.

    [Why are you here? Did the Grand Empress send you to keep watch on me?]

    [What? I ran away from that hellhole a year ago. I have the traitor title to prove it,] the girl said defensively as she tried to escape the pain by biting down on her gag.

    The audience held their breath in anticipation of what would happen next as they watched Ryan and the bound girl.

    Seeing the sudden elegant man turn harsh yet still hold a grace to his movements made them sit on the edge of their seats.

    Ryan leaned over his bound victim and ced his mouth at the girl''s ear.

    [Tell me what you know about project ''subject one'',] Ryan growled telepathically to the girl. [And your name, give me your name.]

    [My name is Zuna, and I don''t know much, I''m afraid.]

    Bringing down his whip even harder, Ryan''s eyes remained nk as Zuna whimpered in pain and shame.

    [You''re lying. Now tell me or so help me, god, I will make you suffer until there is nothing left of your body.]

    Ryan smacked the whip against the girl''s stomach once more.

    Her entire body shivered uncontrobly as the mixture of pain, pleasure, hesitation, and regret coursed through her.

    Zuna wanted to tell Ryan all she knew, but she feared the Grand Empress and what would happen if she found out.

    She had only survived this long by keeping her mouth shut and lying low.

    But she knew the Grand Empress would see if she talked here.

    She always knew.

    Still sensing the girl''s hesitation, Ryan scoffed and put the whip down.

    [Since you''re not ready to answer, I think a few orgasms will do you good. But first, I need to teach you some manners, little ve girl.]

 Chapter 176 Zuna, The Sex Doll [R-18]

    Zuna let out a soft whimper as she shook her head slightly from side to side.

    Ryan chuckled. [It''s not like I was asking your permission.]

    Ryan lightly tugged on the nipple mps while his remaining fingers trailed up and down her skin. He then brought himself close enough to blow into Zuna''s ear.

    Zuna''s body started shaking as she moaned at the sensation of his breath in her ear and his warm fingers caressing her skin.

    Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked at him in awe and fear.

    Ryan could see that her hole was lubricated enough from the liquid steadily dripping.

    He ced a hand around the base of her neck, gently forcing her to look back into his eyes. [I know you want to run.]

    [But there''s no escaping fate.]

    Zuna said nothing as Ryan rubbed the dildo against her pussy lips and slowly pushed it inside her.

    Zuna bit down hard on her gag, trying to stop herself from feeling the pleasure flowing through her veins as Ryan entered her wet cunt with the toy.

    The audience watched the show silently as they couldn''t help but get caught up in the moment.

    The only sounds heard were the grunts and whimpers barely audible through the gag as they felt as though they were involved in this performance.

    Ryan then moved the tip of a second, smaller dildo against the entrance of Zuna''s womb and slipped it in quickly as she struggled.

    A small trickle escaped out between her legs, making everyone watching hold their breath.

    Her body tensed as tears of pleasure rolled down her cheeks.

    Zuna felt like she had to fight harder than she ever did before.

    She fought for every breath she took on the battlefield that was happening between her legs.

    Zuna felt that if she came now, it would be all over. She would copse and give in to the man''s desires, whatever they were.

    Zuna knew she would die if she gave information on the Grand Empress, she had been told as much, and everything those people from the Kheaweth Military said was true.

    But she couldn''t stop herself from wanting him.

    She had never wanted a man so severely, and his identity excited her even more.

    She didn''t know his real name, but she still thought of him by his fake one.

    Subject one.

    [I don''t want to die, sir,] Zuna pleaded, squirming against the pleasure.

    Her insides were on fire, and she could do nothing to quell the inferno raging between her legs besides thrust her hips against the two dildos inside her.

    [You won''t die,] Ryan suddenly said telpathically. [At least not today. If you ept this gift, I will protect you, not from myself but from the Grand Empress.]

    Ryan then sent a prompt to his former torturer.

    While Ryan had been gaining ranks, he received few upgrades, but an upgrade he did receive was a new role in his Harem.

    Sex Doll.<novelnext></novelnext>

    This role was his first true ''Negative'' role. It was the lowest role in the hierarchy, putting the word ''ve'' to shame.

    The description for the role was: [The person who agrees to this role agrees to be used as though they were a doll. They cannot say no to anything other than the taking of their life if it has to do with sex.]

    Ryan had the option of choosing another type of doll, such as a pain doll, information doll, or death doll, each of which came with their own set of benefits and drawbacks.

    But of course, Ryan being the pervert he was, chose sex doll.

    Dominance in sex was the most primal dominance one could have.

    If you inflict pain upon someone, would that get them to suffer?

    If you force someone to tell you information, would that really get all the details?

    If you sentenced someone to death, isn''t death its own form of relief?

    But sex had none of these limitations.

    If Ryan wanted someone to suffer during sex, he could.

    If Ryan wanted every single detail from a woman during sex, he could.

    If Ryan wanted the person to beg for death during sex, he could.

    Ryan didn''t like the negative aspects because he liked the idea of torturing people, but rather the benefits of wielding such power.

    Looking at the agreement in her mind Zuna gasped as she realized what she would be signing on.

    Ecstasy was making her mind fuzzy but she still held on to some rational.

    [Can you truly save me?] Zuna asked.

    [What does it mean to be truly saved? I''ve already told you what I would do. Now give your answer before I lose my patience and take away everything you have ever loved in this world.]

    Zuna felt her heart break inside of herself for the cowardly decision she was about to make.

    Ryan didn''t let up his assault as her decision was being made, making her mind on the brink of orgasm drift between answering yes and no.

    Zuna closed her eyes. ''I must atone for my sins.'' Zuna epted the prompt.

    Ryan felt a tether stronger than any he had with anyone else connected to Zuna''s mind.

    He felt he could take down her defenses in a second if it were for sex.

    He sensed that if he willed her to do anything other than something sexual, his control would instantly disappear for 24 hours.

    [This connection I have established with you is safe, no one can detect its existence, meaning the device the Grand Empress has imnted in you cannot either,] Ryan exined telepathically.

    His hands started to work faster and harder as the two devices rhythmically moved in and out in a sultry rhythm.

    [Oh fuck,] Zuna moaned in her mind that someone had transferred to Ryan.

    Ryan then moved closer to her face as he started to speak again.

    [And now, may we begin?] Ryan said with an evil grin on his face.

 Chapter 177 The Mysterious Grand Prince... Or Is It Princess? [R-18]

    Zuna shuttered at Ryan''s gaze but still nodded in response. Her body began shaking even more as she felt the pleasure through both dildos moving slowly up and down inside her wet slit.

    Ryan intensified his movements, rapidly thrusting as he rubbed against her clit with his thumb every time he pushed the dildos to their bases.

    Zuna was having trouble breathing and couldn''t hold herself together anymore.

    She knew it was all or nothing right here and now, so she just decided to ept it for what it was.

    Zuna arched her back slightly and gave in to what Ryan demanded.

    She no longer tried to fight it. Zuna didn''t care about anything else except for this moment, this feeling of bliss.

    Ryan knew this woman wasn''t responsible for her torture sessions, as the Grand Empress would have had someone else do it if it wasn''t Zuna.

    [I''m going to reward my new doll with an orgasm, say thank you, Master,] Ryanmanded before furiously pumping his hands between her legs.

    The room erupted into cheers andughter at how Ryan made a woman squirm in ecstasy in mere moments.

    The audience loved watching himpletely take control of the woman and force them to endure endless pleasure. Their cries for more vicious torture rang out, causing the atmosphere to feel a little chaotic.

    [Thank you, Master!] Zuna screamed against her gag as her entire body quaked uncontrobly. Her pussy gushed liquid onto the floor as she fell limp, making guttural whimpers from her throat.

    Her head turned towards the direction of the exit as she hoped she could make it there alive.

    Ryan smirked. [Good doll.]

    Ryan quickly removed both toys and set them down on the table.

    He then selected a vibrator and slid it against her clit.

    Zuna tried to keep her eyes open, but she couldn''t see through the haze of pleasure.

    She wanted to close her eyes but needed to remember this moment forever.

    Zuna felt like she was flying through the air as Ryan continued his assault upon her helpless cunt. She felt his fingers inside her as he started ying with her insides again.

    His tongue licked around her ear before it trailed across her neck and sucked one of her tender mounds into his mouth.

    He took his time, building her to an even more explosive orgasm.

    [What do you know about project ''subject one''?] Ryan asked.

    He bit her shoulder softly to remind her that his question wasn''t a joke or something else silly to ease the tension between them.

    Zuna looked back at him nkly for a few moments before responding.

    Zuna proceeded to tell Ryan what she knew, but it was things Ryan had already heard from the Frost General and Duchess Vanroth.

    As Ryan was getting discouraged, Zuna said, [I also know something about the Grand Prince.]

    ''The Grand Prince?'' Ryan cocked his eyebrow and slowed down his fingers to give her some time to breathe. [Go on.]

    [You know how the Grand Empress hates men, right?] Zuna asked.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She had to wait again until he responded.

    [Yes. She has a strong hatred of males. But there is one man she''s loved, and that''s the Grand Prince,] Ryan responded.

    Zuna shut her eyes, fearing that what she was about to say would lead to her death.

    [The Grand Prince is a woman!]

    Shocked, Ryan fell into thought.

    After a few seconds of mindlessly moving his fingers inside Zuna, Ryan asked. [While that is shocking, what does that have to do with me?]

    Zuna breathed a sigh of relief that she was still alive. [Do you know about protocol Z?]

    [Yes,] Ryan responded, remembering the protocol that would be enacted at the wedding, allowing him to remember the first five years of his life.

    [You were practically attached at the hip with her. You always talked with her and had to be dragged away from her. One would say you were in love if one didn''t know any better.]

    "Your time is up!" the announcer called, cutting off any response Ryan might have made.

    The lights turned on, revealing Ryan''s score for all to see.

    ''1089''

    The audience members began cheering as they realized who had just won the contest.

    Ryan silently stood there, contemting Zuna''sst statement.

    ''I loved her when I was a child?'' Ryan thought, confused by the answer he was given. ''That can''t be possible.''

    ''Even if I didn''t know that the Kheaweth Grand Empress was bad, surely my mother wouldn''t have allowed such a meeting.''

    [What if your mother didn''t know she was the Grand Prince, er, rted to the Grand Empress?] Yoko suddenly said telepathically, causing Ryan to flinch.

    "Congrattions, participant #22. We will know to wait for the princesses to decide whether or not you are worthy of bedding them. Until then, you may stay here."

    Ryan ignored the announcer''s voice as he replied to Yoko, [If my mother didn''t know who the Grand Prince was, how could a five-year-old fall in love?]

    Yoko didn''t reply, so Ryan theorized on his own.

    ''I don''t know if I had my previous life''s memories when I was a child or if I was apletely different person when I was young.''

    ''And I don''t know whether or not this ''Grand Prince'' was valuable to the previous inhabitant of this body or if I was always Ryan.''

    ''Either way, she would be valuable to me, and if she''s not part of the Grand Empress''s n and is being used by her, I have to save her.''

    ''Either for my own sake or to repay the previous inhabitant of the body I now possess. Because they surely have lived a fucked up life, and if this one person is the person they loved the most besides family, then I have a duty to save her,'' he thought.

    "Participant number #22," the announcer said as she received a message. "Congrattions, you''ve been selected to bed one of the princesses!"

 Chapter 178 Meeting The Princesses

    Ryan was moved from the stage and escorted down a long corridor by several heavily armed guards.

    Ryan knew he could take the guards, but since his n all along had been to win the contest and get into the good graces of one of the princesses, he didn''t act against them.

    "You''re rather lucky," one guard escorted him spoke. "It''s been a fewpetitions since one of the princesses has chosen the winner to sleep with."

    Ryan raised his eyebrows at the words. ''I guess Stacy was right.''

    Stacy had told him that the princesses would decide amongst themselves who would bed the winner if any wanted to.

    If more than one wanted the winner, they would ask the winner to decide.

    After about ten minutes of walking and waiting, Ryan''s group arrived at a room in which were three of the most beautiful and simr girls Ryan had ever seen.

    ''Well, maybe, except for Lizzy and Izzy,'' Ryan thought.

    Thebination of their pink, orange, and gray hair and feather colors made them seem like an odd rainbow standing before Ryan.

    "Greetings, participant number #22," Piki, the pink-haired phoenix, said. "My sisters and I have all been impressed by your disy of talent."

    "We''ve all concluded that you''d be a fine bedmate and have thus decided that you will get to decide your partner," Kiki, the orange-haired phoenix, added.

    Ryan started to open his mouth, but Piki held up a hand. "However, we should warn you that one of our sisters has put a stiption on your ess to her den."

    Ryan wouldn''t have minded being interrupted, but the way Piki put up her hand gave him the feeling that the girl was a real bitch and wouldn''t be one to work with him.

    "Our sister, Zizi," Kiki began, pointing to the gray-haired phoenix. "Put up the stiption that you had to be in the Military Summit and rank higher than her to bed her."

    Zizi rolled her eyes at her sister''s antics and said, "Thank you, dear sisters, for your kind introduction."

    Ryan instantly picked up on the dynamic in the room. ''Seems like I found my target.''

    If the two sisters liked to gang up on this Zizi, then she would be the most willing to betray her family if she felt wronged by them.

    ''Although I''m unsure if the Holy Phoenix Empire is as bad as the Kheaweth Empire regarding nobility treatment. They are allied with them, so it wouldn''t be too far a stretch to think that a noble could betray their empire,'' Ryan thought, thinking of Duchess Vanroth, the Frost General, and even the Empress herself, who agreed to go against the Grand Empress.

    Seeing it was his turn to speak, Ryan put on a charming smile and said, "Ladies, I have to say, you''re all gorgeous."

    "But I couldn''t help but be instantly captivated by Zizi the moment Iid my eyes on her," he said, looking at Zizi.

    Ryan bit his lower lip. "I would love to fluff those feathers, thenther them in my essence while we spend the night pressed against one another."

    Kiki and Piki frowned while Zizi furiously blushed, catching up in Ryan''s words.

    Ryan took it a step further, advancing toward Zizi.

    The guards on either side of the princesses started to step forward to intercept Ryan but were told off begrudgingly by Kiki.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You may have some extra requirements, but that doesn''t discourage me in the least."

    Zizi put her hand over her mouth and nodded, not daring to meet the man''s gaze.

    Ryan looked at Kiki and Piki but immediately turned away after seeing their scathing looks.

    ''It seems they''re trying to be impartial for now.'' He thought. ''So long as they don''t interfere with my goal, then there''s no harm.''

    "Ladies," Ryan began again as he walked towards the exit.

    Ryan reached into his fake spatial bag and produced his token of participation for the Military Summit. "I''ll see you after the Summit."

    Watching Ryan leave, Kiki and Piki turned to Zizi.

    Kiki was the first to speak. "Although he did select you, don''t think you can throw the contest and finally have a mate. He''ll have to get top 20 in the contest."

    Piki frowned. "Sister, I know we hate Zizi but isn''t top 20 for a male... almost impossible?"

    "It''s been done before," Kiki huffed. "Besides, if he wants to free our sister, he''ll have to be someone worthy."

    Kiki continued, "I can''t believe we''re even this generous to allow her to have the chance at freedom after what she did to us."

    Piki mulled it over, then nodded. "I do see your point, sister. Her act was terrible. Betraying the family is a crime worthy of death."

    Kiki chuckled. "And we didn''t even tell mother about it. She would have gone ballistic. So instead, we kept her as a toy for our amusement."

    "I think that decision was rather wise. Zizi has been very cooperative," Piki replied as they turned to Zizi, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but before them.

    "But at any rate," Kiki began again after another moment. "If he does manage to get into the top 20, it will be the heavens that want her released."

    Piki only nodded in agreement.

    Zizi only slightly grinned as she heard her sisters speak of her as though she wasn''t there.

    She had a unique talent that allowed her to see the fate of specific people, and although it barely ever worked, it had shown that Ryan would win their little contest here and choose her.

    Zizi didn''t know how Ryan would do at the Military Summit, but she believed that the heavens wouldn''t show his fate for no reason.

    Zizi couldn''t have known that although there was a reason she was shown Ryan''s fate, it wasn''t by the heavens doing.

    But by someone so strong even the heaven''s considered them a threat to its very existence.

    ''I believe in you, mysterious raven-haired man.''

    ''Maybe you are the one I''ve been searching for.''

 Chapter 179 Military Summit Recruitment

    Ryan exited the stadium after asking around about Zuna.

    He wasn''t worried that she would tell, as now that she was his sex doll, Zuna couldn''t talk about him even if she wanted to.

    He was more interested in what information she had, both about the other torturers and the Grand Prince.

    Ryan was told she had already been transported back to the prison, so he''d have to ask about her with Zizi after he took thepetition by storm.

    ===

    The following day (21 days until the wedding...)

    Today was the start of thepetition, and after asking Stacy about the details, he was pretty sure he''d be screwed or dominate thepetition.

    Walking toward therge building erected just for the sign-up to the Military Summit, Ryan''s eyes were wide in wonder as he saw all kinds of people walking in and out.

    He saw dragons, lion-men, kobolds, dog people, and several different races he had never seen before.

    Most looked humanoid, but Ryan spotted a crab-like race with giant blue tentaclesing from their backs.

    He also caught a glimpse of a flying monster shaped vaguely like a bat.

    But by far, the most prevalent race he saw was human.

    Female members of the Kheaweth Military littered the streets alongside males.

    The two groups stood apart, though. The male group walked towards the stadiums while the others headed into the building where they would register for the Military Summit.

    After another moment, Ryan was surprised when he found himself standing in line, as well as many other male students awaiting admittance.

    He saw about a 1/4th ratio of men to women, which, for a military event, was astounding in Ryan''s eyes.

    Ryan smiled. ''Looks like men''s yearning to be a part of war didn''t diminish on this either.''

    After waiting for several minutes, Ryan was at the front of the line.

    "Token, please," the guard said as she held up her hand.

    Ryan handed over his token, and the woman inspected it before looking at Ryan with a sneer. "Scum from the Zol''Gan Empire, are you?"

    Inspecting Ryan further, she chuckled. "And you don''t even dare to be in your true form. Pathetic."

    Ryan ignored the guard''sments and walked inside after he received the document of approval from the guard.

    He had expected suchments long ago and was, in part, more relieved that the guard said something rather than remaining silent.

    ''The silent ones are always the dangerous ones,'' Ryan recounted Aliza''s words.

    Usually, a person would be told what to do by the empire''s representative they came with, but as Ryan was alone, he had to get his information from Stacy.

    While Stacy didn''t im to know everything, she at least told him that the next step after getting his approval document was to seek out recruits.<novelnext></novelnext>

    For the Military Summit, the hosting empire would gather independent cultivators, usually from the Dawn Pavilion, to participate in battles, with the participants acting as leaders.

    Looking up, Ryan saw a holographic sign with arge arrow pointing to the left saying, "Recruits Barracks."

    Starting down this corridor, Ryan thought, ''Stacy told me that I would get a sheet of paper, and I could put down 15 names from the list of recruits in this barracks.''

    Ryan''s rubbed his chin. ''If anyone else put down the same name as me, they would do a lottery to see who gets the recruit. So it would be advantageous to find a diamond in the rough and contend with no one, then pick some superstar and have to get a lottery with 20 different people for them.''

    Ryan knew the number of people participating in thepetition was around 300, but there weren''t enough recruits for everyone to get a squad.

    The first test was to put down the correct names on the sheet. Only 100 participants would be allowed to form teams of five.

    Those who could not garner five recruits from their list, for example, if the people they chose all got allocated via lottery to someone else, would be disqualified.

    Ryan rubbed his hands together. ''But luckily, I have my energy vision from Emily, which can allow me to see the specialties of the recruits.''

    Ryan entered arge seating area. He saw the 300 recruits demonstrating their abilities against various practice dummies. Many were using swords, staffs, daggers, and other weapons Ryan had never seen before.

    Ryan needed to figure out where he wanted to start but decided that he''d first look for any high-ranking powerhouses.

    He knew everyone in thepetition would be capped at F-Rank, but generally, the higher the cultivation, the more experience and expertise one had.

    ''Oh, there''s someone here that''s A-Rank,'' Ryan thought, seeing a girl swinging her long spear at another dummy.

    She easily hit its weak spot, piercing it through.

    Ryan walked over to the stands nearest the female soldier and called out activating pleasent face which he gathered from Emily. "Pardon me."

    The young woman turned to him, showing a small, youthful face.

    "Yes?"

    Ryan showed his document of approval. "I was wondering if anyone had asked you to be part of their team yet.

    She shook her head and said with a hesitant smile, "no, why?"

    Ryan grinned and pushed his hair back, "Would you be willing to be a part of mine?"

    This was another step in the process. First, one had to gain permission from the recruit to put them on your scorecard.

    Ryan had activated a pleasant face because he assumed many women wouldn''t be inclined to team up with a man.

    ''The skill has improved dramatically since its early stages, but I don''t know how well it will work on an A-Ranked cultivator,'' Ryan thought.

    The girl looked at Ryan quizzically for a few seconds, then blushed. "I-I''m sorry. Yes, I''ll be happy to be part of your team."

    Ryan raised his eyebrow. ''I don''t know what this girl is seeing, but she sure seems to like it.''

 Chapter 180 A Member Of The Dawn Family Appears

    "That''s wonderful!" Ryan replied, putting on a dazzling smile. "But did anyone already ask you to join your team?"

    The girl paused, then blushed as if she was ashamed. "Yes, two people have already asked me to join their team."

    Ryan nodded. "Then I''ll have to pass on you, my love, good luck in thepetition!"

    Ryan started to walk away but stopped when he heard the girl frantically call, "Wait!"

    ''I guess this pleasant face is better than I thought,'' Ryan mused.

    "What if I stop epting people? You''ll still have a one out of three chance at getting me?" the girl asked, a tinge of worry in her eyes.

    Ryan raised his eyebrows. ''From what Stacy told me, these recruits would rather let luck decide it than choose themselves. For they believe the heavens will guide them.''

    Ryan scoffed. ''What a load of horse shit.''

    Ryan faked a sigh. "I''m sorry. Maybe if I can''t fill out the rest of my list, I will return."

    He added off-handedly, "But it would be a shame if you epted anymore. There wouldn''t be a chance then."

    The girl got a fiery look in her eyes and nodded.

    Walking away, Ryan lightly chuckled as he made his way to the next person.

    ===

    After going around the stadium and using energy vision, and pleasant face, Ryan was able to garner a solid force of four women who swore that Ryan was the first one to pick them and who swore they wouldn''t ept any remaining people.

    Ryan also had a few run-ins with recruits who didn''t take the initiative to offer to stop epting participants and even one who t-out rejected him from adding her name to his list.

    Ryan wasn''t disturbed by the news. Instead, he treated it as limit testing his pleasant face ability as he continued asking more recruits.

    By the time 15 minutes remaining was called, Ryan had decided on his top five recruits he wished he had, three of which he had ''secured'' as the only participant to ask and be epted, the remaining two having already epted a few before him.

    Cracking his neck, Ryan wrote down the names in the best order he thought, hoping he wouldn''t get screwed.

    ''Although thest four names on my list all are ''secured'', I still hope I don''t have to ept any of them,'' Ryan sighed.

    Ryan didn''t know how far his pleasant face ability worked and whether he could trust the girl''s words that they didn''t already ept any participants or if they lied to get on his good side, so he had to have a few more ''secured ones'' for protection.

    "Time''s up, participants," a booming voice rang out around the stadium.

    As soon as the voice sounded, the piece of paper in Ryan''s hand was pulled like a maic force toward the middle of the stadium.

    The person standing there was also the source of the voice let all of the papers fly into a spatial bag that was pulling them and waited.

    After about five minutes of waiting, he suddenly pped. "The time hase. The heavens have decided your fates."

    Ryan furrowed his brow but still looked up at the giant holographic screen that had suddenlye into view.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Looking for his name, he found it,plete with his 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 9th choices.

    ''I wonder if it was the heavens who decided it or the Holy Phoenix Empire,'' Ryan thought after seeing how quickly everything was decided.

    As if hearing Ryan''s, a few of the participants in the audience started shouting, "Why is that fair? Why is my name not on the screen?"

    "Howe you get to decide who moves on and who doesn''t?!" another yelled.

    The man in the center, seemingly undisturbed by the growing rage of the disqualified participants, said, "I know some of you must be thinking that thispetition is rigged. But that''d be assuming I was from the Holy Phoenix Empire."

    The man suddenly flicked his wrist and produced a token which caused a collective gasp to resonate around the stadium.

    "The Holy Phoenix Empire has hired me, but as you should know, no one can bribe the Dawn Family."

    Ryan looked intently at the man. [Yoko, that man didn''t say Pavilion, he said family right?]

    [Correct Master,] Yoko replied. [We found a simr crest on your aunt''s person when treating her earlier.]

    Ryan''s hair stood on end. He had been so preupied that he had forgotten about his aunt and her status.

    [Now that Hannah is back, is my aunt awake?] Ryan asked eagerly.

    Yoko hesitated but said, [I''m sorry, Master, no. She hasn''t woken up yet.]

    Ryan felt a small punch in the gut. [Has Hannah said anything about her status?]

    [She...] Yoko started, then seemingly didn''t want to continue, until Ryan said [Tell me, Yoko.]

    [She said that she has nothing to treat this poison and that our best bet is with your mother.]

    Ryan exhaled and let out a long sigh. [Then it looks like I''ll have to contact this man and see how we''re rted.]

    Focusing back on the man, Ryan saw that the crowd had calmed down, and the disqualified candidates had begun to file out.

    "Now," the man began once again. "You are all free to meet with your teams and begin their training."

    "The next round of thepetition will begin tomorrow with your first battle against another team."

    One of the participants raised their hands, and the man asked the person to speak.

    "Are we allowed to spar with other teams today?" the participant asked.

    Everyone eagerly awaited the reply, as sparring was a fast way to gain chemistry in battle.

    The man smiled. "Yes, as in every Military Summit, each of your teams will be given a Dawn Net training room and ess to a private server to spar against any of the teams here."

    "Your matches will also be yed on the Dawn Net, which will allow for no casualties and for each of the recruits full abilities to be disyed."

 Chapter 181 Auroras Memories

    Ryan hopped down to the lower part of the stadium to meet with his five teammates in his little corner marked with the name ''Ryan Smith'', the pseudonym Ryan had chosen.

    He knew people from the Kheaweth Military would be here, so he wasn''t stupid enough to put his full name on disy.

    "Hello, everyone," Ryan said, approaching the five recruits standing at attention.

    "Commander," the five shouted as Ryan approached, doing various salutes.

    Three of the warriors were phoenixes, one was a dragon in human form, and thest was a human.

    Ryan waved his hand dismissively, and the five dropped their salutes.

    "I''m d you all told the truth," Ryan said, looking at the three phoenixes who were his first three picks.

    Ryan then looked at the dragon and human. "And I''m d you two are joining us as well."

    All the warriors smiled as they had been enthralled by Ryan''s pleasant face ability earlier.

    Ryan was currently still keeping it active, although only at the lowest amount, as he would run out of energy if he kept using it at full strength.

    As Ryan led his warriors to their new training room, he heard Yoko start talking.

    [You know, Master, I''ve never really thought about it, but you''re rather strong for someone of your rank.]

    Ryan arched his eyebrow as he continued walking. [I mean, I have an SSS-Rank specialty, and I''m a heaven''s chosen.]

    Yoko huffed. [I''m obviously aware of that, Master. What I''m talking about is that you''re not only strong in terms of strength on this baby, but in the entire Multiverse!]

    Ryan didn''t see the big deal. [Shouldn''t I be? I have the strongest specialty. I have-]

    [Hahaha, Master, don''t tell me you think SSS-Rank is the highest specialty rank, right?]

    Ryan suddenly stopped, which caused the warriors following behind him to suddenly halt and look around, the dragon even unsheathing her saber.

    "Just testing your reaction time," Ryan said. "One point to the dragon, everyone else. Step up your game!"

    Ryan cleared his thoughts and went back to his conversation with Yoko. [Of course, I didn''t think that,] Ryan lied.

    Yoko chuckled. [It''s okay, Master. Honestly, you''re right about one thing. It''s the best specialty you could''ve gotten.]

    [A specialty at Master-Rank or above needs to be evolved from a ''lettered specialty''.]

    [But for the big families and ns of the Multiverse, it''s chump change to rank a specialty up from F to SSS.]

    Ryan frowned. [Then do I get no advantage for starting out with an SSS-Rank specialty?]

    Yoko licked her lips. [You get a huge advantage. Although the rank of the specialty goes up, the rarity does not.]

    Yoko exined. [Rarity determines the usefulness of the specialty, while rank determines its power. So if someone is a Master-Ranked brewmaster, they can make great beer, but they won''t suddenly be as strong as someone with a battle specialty.]<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ryan scratched his head. [Then howe I''ve been getting new specialty abilities even though it hasn''t increased in rank?]

    Inside her shell, Yoko nodded sagely. [Master, it is not that you are getting new abilities. Rather it is you are unlocking, locked abilities. If you had gotten an F-ss, you wouldn''t have gotten any ''new abilities''; instead, you would have had to upgrade your specialty to get more benefits.]

    Ryan''s eyelid twitched, but he kept calm as he tuned out Yoko, arriving at the team''s training room.

    Although Ryan didn''t have any military tactic training, he did have Grace''s ability which gave him a boost to the training speed of those under hismand.

    But he wouldn''t have to rely on that for long, as Ryan had received a quest that if he won his first battle, he would get an upgradable military tactics skill.

    The quest was a continuing one, so if he managed to win the first round, he would get a follow-up quest that could increase the ability''s rank.

    "Is everyone ready for training?" Ryan asked, but the question seemed redundant as five eager faces stared back at him.

    Chuckling, Ryan activated the training device and set it to search for any sparring partners.

    ===

    "Are you sure it was him, Leon?" Aurora''s voice asked through theirmunication devices.

    The man from the stadium somberly nodded his head. "The picture you provided matches him perfectly. He''s the man who is potentially involved with the Frost General and the one who came to broker an alliance on behalf of their mysterious Master."

    Aurora pursed her lips on the other side of themunication device as she contemted what to do.

    She hadn''t told her cousin the other identity of the man, who tripped the rms only her son could have set off.

    "You introduced yourself as a member of the Dawn family, right?" Aurora suddenly asked.

    "Yes, I did."

    "Then it''s simple. See if hees up to interact with you," Aurora said, cutting off themunication link.

    Although she didn''t know how this mysterious raven-haired man set off the rms, and why her sister went missing after she followed him.

    Since receiving the letter from her son, she was positive this boy was in some way rted to him.

    ''And if he''s rted to the mysterious boss I''ve allied with, it''s best not to probe further. I''ve waited 13 years. I can wait a few more days until the wedding,'' Aurora thought.

    Aurora sighed as she sat back in her chair. "I wish I could go back to those good old days, the days of teaching that..."

    Aurora shook her head. "He''s not real, and even if he was, I''ve used up my one chance to be with him."

    Aurora couldn''t help but smile and feel a blush form as memories of what once was started to pour over her mind.

    "Those few years we spent together were some of the best in my long life."

    Then, remembering what she had done, sheughed. "I wonder how he liked my surprise I left him before I departed."

 Chapter 182 The Feeling Of Family

    Ryan stepped out of the training room, wiping sweat off his brow. "Alright, girls, good training."

    Ryan was happy with his group''s progress.

    They had started with about a 70% win rate against their fellowbatants but progressed to an almost 87% win rate by the end.

    While it wasn''t 100%, thepetition wasn''t based on a single elimination.

    Ryan would have preferred to keep training, but their training room informed them that it would shut down for the rest of the day.

    The girls asked Ryan out for drinks, and while he usually would have epted the invitation, the next day would be the start of thepetition, and he had to meet with one of his kin before anything else.

    Saying goodbye to thedies, Ryan decided the first ce to look for the man who imed to be from the Dawn family would be in the administration building.

    Starting toward the building, Ryan was about to speed up his travels by hopping on his flying sword when he spotted Leon talking with a woman.

    Ryan only spotted the duo because he had activated energy vision and had noticed the aura of the one opposite Leon.

    Although a veil covered her face, her aura was oddly familiar.

    "The plot thickens," Ryan muttered as he realized it was Kiki, one of the Holy Phoenix Empire''s princesses, talking earnestly with Leon, the man from the Dawn family.

    Getting closer, Ryan injected energy into his ears so he could listen, a trick he had learned from Yoko.

    "I said, I want this Ryan Smith eliminated before 20th ce," Kiki said.

    Leon frowned. "What is this really about? You can''t possibly think he''ll make it into the top 20."

    Kikiughed maniacally. "You seem to be forgetting your ce. The Dawn Family are the Holy Alliance''s dogs. Meaning you bark when you''re told."

    Leon lowered his head, clenching his fists. "Fine. But what exactly do you want me to do?"

    Kiki patted Leon on the head. "Good doggy. It''s not like I want you to rig thepetition or anything. Just put Ryan Smith''s team against the best opponents in the opening rounds. People won''t know the difference since they don''t have ess to the sparring data."

    Leon nodded and started to walk away.

    Ryan decided to follow the man since that was his original target.

    Leon only rounded before he started running. He ran for about a minute until he was in an alley before he started retching and throwing up.

    "Despicable Holy Alliance. Velox, Velox, where are you? Are you still out there, cousin?" the man started crying.

    "We''ve been taking this abuse for hundreds of thousands of years. But, oh Velox, why did you have to pass away."

    As Ryan listened to the man sobbing, he felt a tightness in his chest.

    p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨ş|,§ă¨°§® The family that he didn''t know he had was hurting.

    Ryan had always wanted a family and even didn''t know if this was his biological family besides Aliza. He had never had anyone to call his own.

    He was starting to gather a family inside his harem, but while there was sexual love, he had never felt any familial love besides a few sparks seeing Zoey''s erged belly.

    But now, like a title wave, he was feeling emotions he didn''t know he possessed wash over him.

    But his aunt, who was still on the verge of death and could only be helped by Aurora, brought him back to reality.

    The most familial love he had felt was toward that woman since she was closest to his mother.

    Walking over to the vomit-covered man Ryan produced a napkin.

    The members of the Dawn family should not be seen in such deplorable conditions.

    The man, solely focused on his grief over his cousin''s loss, was jarred by the unexpected voice and looked up.

    "Velox?" the man gasped, seeing only the bright emerald eyes.

    But as the rest of the man''s face came into view, he knew it couldn''t be him.

    Velox had blonde hair and wouldn''t have such an intimidating aura.

    "Thank you Mr. Smith," Leon said.

    Ryan feigned surprise. "You know meˇ­."

    "Leon, please call me Leon," the man introduced himself, taking the napkin and cleaning his face. "Yes, your results have been impressive so far. One of the most improved groups on the first day of sparring."

    Ryan nodded. "But I don''t think that''s why you know me. Right?"

    Leon smiled. "No, but before we discuss that any further, let me bring you back to a more private venue."

    After a few minutes of travel, the two entered an office, which Ryan could tell was surrounded by ayer of sound barriers.

    Leon excused himself to shower, which Ryan was thankful for since his cousin''s smell was horrid.

    Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Ryan erected his sound barrier just in front of the one already in ce. ''Who knows if this office was provided to him by the Holy Phoenix Empire or Leon erected the sound barrier himself.''

    After a few minutes, Leon emerged wearing a fresh suit and looking as proper as a noble heading to a feast.

    "Shall we begin?" Leon asked, sitting down at his desk.

    Ryan nodded.

    Leon started, "You are right, we do know of your identityˇ­ although we don''t know much. If you''d please inform us-"

    Ryan interrupted, "I''ll have to stop you there. I came here with one purpose and it wasn''t to disclose my identity."

    Leon raised an eyebrow. "Please, go ahead."

    Ryan then sent a message to Velmuuth and had her carry his aunt out of his pce.

    With a sh of light, Velmuuth appeared, holding his aunt.

    "Asmaya!" Leon gasped.

    "We have been trying to treat her, but the poison is not something we have the antidote for," Ryan exined. "The Master has instructed me to hand her over to you in hopes Aurora can cure her."

    Ryan didn''t want to blow his cover as Aurora''s son, as he didn''t know what kind of person she was and if she''de running over to him.

    While he would love to reconnect with his mother, he knew she wasn''t strong enough to contend with the Grand Empress. The Kheaweth Military still thought he was brainwashed so exploiting that fact was most likely the best course of action.

    Leon''s hands shook as he rushed over to Asmaya, unconcerned about the demon cultivator holding her.

    Seemingly having some medical skill, Leon felt Asmaya''s pulse and frowned.

    "She''s weak. She can''t handle teleportation, so Aurora muste here with the antidote. But she can''t enter the Holy Phoenix Empire after what happenedst time," Leon''s mutterings were loud enough for both Ryan and Velmuuth to overhear, causing the duo to look at each other.

    Leon frowned. "But if anyone finds out about Asmaya''s state, they could try and exploit us, slowing down our passage out of the Holy Phoenix Empire."

    [My lord,] Velmuuth said telepathically. [Would you allow me to take one of your legions and escort your aunt out of this empire?]

    While everyone had been gaining strength, Velmuuth wasn''t one to fall behind. She was B-Rank in cultivation which, for his troops from Ravier, was considerable, seeing as he couldn''t raise her cultivation by sleeping with her.

    ''Not that I would,'' Ryan thought, looking over at the hairy soldier.

    Ryan had always wondered about the differences between other members of the same race.

    For instance, there were dragons and phoenixes with fire, wind, and storm capabilities, but he had never heard that humans or demons having these powers.

    But as he was looking at Velmuuth, he couldn''t helpparing her frame and build to Lizzy''s and Izzy''s, which was a night and day difference.

    Ryan shook his head. ''Now''s not the time for this, Ryan.''

    Ryan turned to Velmuuth. [Take Emily with you. She will be able to help with her pleasant face ability at checkpoints.]

    Velmuuth nodded, then turned to Leon. "Sir, allow me and my party to escort Asmaya out of the empire and to Aurora."

    Leon looked up from staring at his cousin. "While they might not target you, do you have the strength to defend yourself on the road? There are a lot of dangers when traveling between empires, and even inside the Holy Phoenix, dangers are around every corner."

    While what Leon said was technically correct, he was exaggerating things to arge degree to gauge whether or not his cousin would be safe with these people.

    Ryan stepped forward and ced a hand on Leon''s shoulder. "We''ve taken care of her since her injury, and we will get her safely to the destination. But if you''re not convincedˇ­."

    There was a second sh of light, and Emily appeared, exuding the aura of an A-Ranked cultivator.

    Leon''s body shook as he fell to one knee, unable to stand due to the pressure from Emily''s aura.

    "I-I think that will do," Leon chuckled from his knee.

 Chapter 183 The Quest Changes

    ?

    The following day (20 days until the weddingˇ­)

    Ryan woke up early at left the inn before Stacy could harass him.

    Yesterday after Velmuuth and Emily had left, Ryan returned to the inn only to be bombarded by Stacy.

    He had to admit that he was also curious about her experience on earth, but he had more significant issues than earth to figure out right now.

    He had only managed to sneak away from her after promising her to visit after the Military Summit.

    Today was the start of the Summit, and he knew it would be a struggle, seeing as Leon had no choice but to follow the phoenix princess'' demands.

    However, Leon had been gracious enough to provide him with the details of the ones they would be matching up against, which made nning a bit easier.

    The team, his squad, was facing first was known as the ShortWieners, a team his squad had faced four times in the scrimmages yesterday,ing out with two wins and two losses.

    As Ryan made his way from the inn to the Military Summit''s training area, he did his usual routine of stopping every few hundred feet and activating his bloodline for a split second.

    He had made this a habit after being followed for so long when he noticed two strong auras to his left.

    Usually, he would have disregarded and not paid attention to this, as messing with a strong cultivator''s business was asking for a quick death.

    But when he felt a fourth aura, he suddenly stopped, recognizing it.

    The aura sent a chill down his spine, something that not even an S-Ranked cultivator could do.

    But although this person did have higher cultivation than him, her cultivation didn''t make him shiver. It was her identity. ''Why is Dr. Rubenstein here?!''

    The vicious snake woman was currently talking with two people Ryan didn''t recognize, but even though they were wearing masks, he could make out their appearances with his bloodline.

    They both had tattoos of the Dawn Pavilion engrained on their arms, which gave him a sinking feeling.

    Ryan bit his lip in thought. ''If Dr. Rubenstein is here, something will happen with the tournament.''

    Deciding to hunker down and observe the trio, Ryan turned his attention to their conversation.

    "We need thissss to be wlessss," Dr. Rubenstein said. "The Holy Phoenix Empire cannot know of our involvement."

    "We understand, Dr., everyone will be under the impression that this was Dawn Paivlion''s doing," one of the figures said.

    "Only three weeks until the final phase of the n can be set into motion. I can''t wait," the third one trembled with excitement.

    Dr. Rubenstein chuckled. "Indeed, a joyoussss event."

    Pulling out two pills, Dr. Rubenstein handed one to each figure. "Now, both of you take these pills. There can be no capture; no one can know who actually killed the gray phoenix princesssss."

    The third figure took the pill and stuffed it into her pouch as swiftly, but the second hesitated but took the pill after some hesitation, putting it into her spatial bag with a heavy breath.

    Dr. Rubenstein licked her lips and pped. "Very good, now go. She must die before the first event happens in the Military Summit."

    ˇ­

    Ryan frowned. "What should I do?"

    Ryan knew if he tried to save Zizi, he wouldn''t have enough time to participate in the first round of the Military Summit, which would cause his spot to be forfeited,

    Assuming the gray phoenix princess was Zizi, the same one he identified as the most likely to betray the Holy Phoenix Empire for him, Ryan could either save her, hoping she could see through the falsehood of the fake Dawn Pavilion soldiers.

    Or he could continue participating in the Military Summit and go for the promised skill as long as he kept progressing.

    As Ryan was about to decide, he got a prompt.

    [Quest Update]

    [Quest: Military Tactics]

    [Update: Quest can now bepleted by saving the gray phoenix princess]

    [Bonus: A bonus will be rewarded if the fake soldiers of the Dawn Pavilion kill the orange and pink phoenix princesses and get away with it]

    [Note(1): For the bonus to apply, the Holy Phoenix Empire must think it was the Dawn Pavilion who caused the killings]

    [Note (2): Quest can bepleted as normal as well]

    Ryan licked his lips. ''Well, I do like a bonus.''<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Ryan had already seen the military tactics abilities stats and if he could get an upgraded version of that, he would be one happy man.

    Rereading what he had to do with the bonus, Ryan saw that he only needed to make the Holy Phoenix Empire think that it was the Dawn Pavilion who caused the killings, he didn''t have to make Zizi think so as well.

    If he made Zizi aware of the truth, it would be easier to help her switch sides.

    Making his choice, Ryan diverted his path, following the two figures that walked away from Dr. Rubenstein.

    ˇ­

    After following them for fifteen minutes, Ryan saw the two figures stop and start setting up what appeared to be an ambush.

    ''I guess they know which path the princesses will take to the Summit''s training arena,'' Ryan figured. ''I doubt the princesses have too many bodyguards, as who would dare attack them in their own capital.''

    Sure enough, only twenty minutester, Ryan saw a group of no less than 10 cultivators flying on swords heading in the duo''s direction.

    When the group entered Ryan''s bloodline range, he spotted Zizi and decided to act.

    [It''s showtime, girls!] Ryan shouted telepathically to Izzy, Lizzy, Grace, and Zoey.

    Ryan had nned everything out while waiting, now was time to see if his natural military tactics could pass the test.

    Lizzy and Grace yed the role of containment as they surrounded the fight.

    Although someone from the group had to be alive to report that it was the ''Dawn Pavilion'' who attacked, Ryan had to make sure if someone else saw his or one of his girl''s identities, he could stop them from leaving.

    Zoey yed the role of the distraction, a massive explosion going off as soon a second after she exited from Ryan''s pce.

    The st didn''t cause much damage but pushed the group apart.

    That was Ryan''s cue, flying toward the group and catching the dazed Zizi.

    As Ryan was wearing a mask right now, Zizi wanted to scream but was stopped by Ryan sping a hand over her mouth.

    As Ryan escaped, he sensed the two fake Dawn Pavilion soldiers, who had appeared stunned from the sudden explosion, leap into action and target the other princesses, who stood out among the debris due to their extravagant clothing.

    Thankful that his assumption about them being okay with killing any princess, not just Zizi, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief.

    As he looked down at Zizi in his arms, Ryan''s breath caught as he saw Zizi''s eyes red and puffy, tears flowing down her cheek.

    Stopping a mile from the initial attack, Ryan lowered himself to the ground while holding Zizi like a princess with one hand and removed his mask. "Zizi, are you alright?"

    Zizi, who was silently sobbing, looked up and opened her mouth.

    Her mouth hung open as she looked at Ryan as though looking at a deity.

    "Raven?" Zizi muttered, still starring at Ryan.

    Ryan tilted his head, then touched his hair. "My name is Ryan, but you can call me raven if you''d like."

    Lightly chuckling, Ryan poured energy into his eyes and looked back at the battlefield to see the current situation.

    Thest part of his n was going perfectly as Ryan saw Izzy cutting the throats of the two princesses.

    Izzy, of course, having the part of the true killer.

    The Fake Dawn Pavilion soldiers were A-Ranked cultivators, like his girls, but ording to Yoko, his girls got a boost when they formed a bond with him, even more than the racial boost.

    It wasn''t something she could say in words, as she imed Ryan wouldn''t understand it, but she used the words ''upgrade to their foundation'' as a ceholder for now.

    Zizi closed her mouth and looked off into the distance. "What''s happening? Why are you here?"

    "The Kheaweth Empire sent people here to assassinate you, and I couldn''t sit idly by while such a lovely woman was murdered," Ryan responded.

    Zizi wiped off her dress and looked back at Ryan. "Is that why I just saw your people kill my sisters?"

    Ryan widened his eyes and prepared to turn his sword from flying mode into battle mode when Zizi startedughing.

    She clutched her stomach and fell to the ground as sheughed, staring at the heavens. "I''m finally free of them, free of the two monsters I used to call sisters."

    Ryan didn''t know if the girl had just gone crazy or if this was some type of show, but Ryan didn''t lower his guard as he tentatively got ready for a fight.

 Chapter 184 Ryan Gets A Wife?

    ?

    Afterughing, Zizi looked at Ryan, but seeing his tense stance, she shook her head.

    "You don''t have to be wary of retribution from me," Zizi said, wiping a joyful tear from underneath her eyelid. "They treated me like I was a ve. They deserved far worse than that."

    Ryan frowned. "You don''t care that they were family?"

    Ryan understood that he didn''t know the full extent of the evils those sisters hadmitted, but growing up without a family, Ryan couldn''t fathom someone being wonderful with their family members being killed.

    Zizi snarled. "Maybe once they were considered my family. But after the years of torment I spent under them. I have no love for those two creatures."

    Shrugging, Ryan let the matter subside as he sensed no hostility from the woman.

    Besides, she was a C-Ranked cultivator. So she couldn''t harm Ryan even if she tried.

    Moving his focus back to the fight, Ryan saw that things looked sessful as he received an alert from the heavens.

    [Quest Complete]

    [Reward: Military Tactics]

    As soon as the prompt appeared in his vision, Ryan felt a torrent of information enters his mind.

    Battle strategies, troop positioning, military espionage, and more poured into his mind.

    Ryan was amazed at the amount of new information he held. He felt he majored in military tactics at the world''s best university and was a straight-A student.

    But what came next further knocked his socks off.

    [Bonus Achievement Met]

    [Reward: Upgrade to Military Tactics]

    A piece of information flowed into his mind, allowing him to understand the upgrade.

    While no new battle tactics were endowed, his ability had significantly changed.

    Instead of being simply a passive ability, it was now an active one.

    Activating Military Tactics would bring up a real-time battle map with all his troop locations and list several possible strategies that could prove helpful in fighting anybatants.

    He could also mark hostile forces on this map, simplifying nning and organizing troop movements.

    ''I guess this means someone has already reported the false news of the Dawn Pavilion''s involvement to the Holy Phoenix Empire.''

    Although he was happy with the upgrades, there was no going back now that this n had been set in motion.

    Turning to Zizi, Ryan somberly said, "Although I would love to sleep with you, I don''t think we''ll have the opportunity now. I can''t exin everything to you now, but I need to knowˇ­"

    Ryan''s voice turned deeper. "Are you willing to betray the Holy Phoenix Empire?"

    Ryan knew she hated her sisters but did Zizi also hate the rest of her family?

    A grin spread across Zizi''s face. "I was wondering who my savior would be."

    Right as Ryan said those words, her ability to discern the fate of others activated, but for the first time, it was used on herself.

    She saw a vision of a life filled with happiness. Although hardships were involved, she constantly smiled, something she hadn''t done in years.

    Zizi''s resolve hardened, and she said, "It''s not betrayal if they did it first."

    ===

    Ryan made Zizi swear an oath of servitude. However, after Zizi disclosed her unique ability, Ryan wanted to make her a harem member on the spot.

    Unfortunately, the heavens informed him that he couldn''t receive her gift even if she became a harem member.

    What Zizi had was a special blessing from the heavens known as the gift of fate.

    Yoko said she had never heard of it but imed that it was probably a new initiative the heavens were trying to do tobat the number of diviners.

    [Diviners can see people''s fate, but doing so not with heaven''s blessing, but going against them makes them a strict target of the heavens causing them to bebeled heretics in the eyes of many,] Yoko had imed.

    Yoko added, [But more saw them as a necessity in the Multiverse, so the heaven''s probably decided to give people this gift to allow the illusion of the same. But in reality, the heaven''s still decides what fate will be shown and when.]

    Ryan''s reason foring to the Holy Phoenix Empire wasplete, so he decided that his time was up.

    Ryan gave Zizi some simplemands, such as not exposing anything, trying to climb in social status, and, most importantly, rising in her mother''s eyes as fast as possible.

    Ryan departed after picking up Lizzy, Izzy, Grace, and Zoey.

    As he left the city, Ryan felt a pang in his chest and realized he had forgotten something.

    Stacy.

    Although his time with the inn girl was short, Stacy was an earthling like him, and he felt she could help him understand how earth and Ravier were connected.

    Even if she wasn''t, Ryan didn''t rte to anyone more than Stacy, as they were practically in the same boat, although Ryan transmigrated here and wasn''t reincarnated.

    At least, he thought.

    Entering the inn he had been staying at, Ryan walked up to the counter where Stacy was sleeping.

    "Sleeping on the job, we''ll have to fix that," Ryan said, lightly scratching Stacy''s hair.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Stacy rubbed against the touch. Her hazy eyes opened, and a smile formed on her lips.

    "It''s not like we get any customers."

    Stacy frowned, then looked at the clock.

    Gasping, she looked at Ryan. "Why aren''t you at the arena? You''re going to lose your ce!"

    Ryan stopped rubbing Stacy''s hair and cupped her cheek. "I''m leaving the Holy Phoenix Empire. I came here to say goodbye."

    Ryan wouldn''t force Stacy to leave with him, and ording to Aliza''s teachings, it was best if she did the asking rather than him.

    "You can''t!" Stacy said, tears starting toe to her eyes.

    She frantically exited from behind the counter and came to stand before Ryan.

    "I believe you''re the one I''ve been looking for. So please don''t leave," Stacy said, hugging Ryan.

    Ryan let out a long sigh and stroked the back of her head as she clung to his abdomen. "I have to leave, something is happening soon that will change Ravier forever, and I have to be prepared."

    Stacy''s eyes suddenly shot up to Ryan''s. "Take me with you!"

    Ryan arched his eyebrow. "What? Why should I?"

    Stacy''s mouth opened, but no sound came out.

    Stacy tried to form a reason why Ryan would take her, and then a lightbulb came on. "You''re a man. I can protect you. This isn''t earth where men are stronger. In this world wo-"

    Stacy was cut off by Ryan executing his energy to bring a ss of water to himself.

    Stacy nched as she saw the floating cup enter Ryan''s palm and stared wide-eyed as Ryan took a sip of the refreshing liquid.

    "You were saying?" Ryan asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

    "I-Iˇ­ what?" Stacy huffed, "I thought males couldn''t be cultivators. It looks like I was lied to."

    Ryan shook his head. "No, actually it''s a long story, but men on Ravier can''t cultivate."

    Stacy narrowed her eyes. "By the way you''re talking, it sounds like on others men can cultivate."

    Ryan nodded. "That''s true. But you still haven''t told me why I should take you."

    Ryan pretended to look at a watch. "And I don''t have long before I need to be going soˇ­"

    Seeming to contemte somehting, Stacy''s face hardened, apparently making a decision.

    "If you take me with youˇ­"

    ''Does she have some magical treasure?'' Ryan thought. ''Perhaps another artifact like the Holy Dragon Blood?''

    Ryan''s thoughts grew wilder as the potential of what Stacy would offer made his hearrate increase. ''Maybe she has a gift like Zizi or something even crazier!''

    "I''ll be your girlfriend."

    "What?" Ryan asked, thinking he heard wrong.

    "I''ll be your girlfriend."

    Ryan looked the girl up and down.

    Stacy was cute, but she wasn''t that pretty. All of his harem members were better looking than her, although he considered his harem members top ss in this world.

    The only thing Ryan considered ''girlfriend material'' about her was that Ryan could rte to her.

    Their shared experience ofing from earth into this vast and unknown was something Ryan did find sparked a me inside him.

    But Ryan wouldn''t ept just anyone into his harem.

    ''Besides, it seems she thinks she can have me all to herself.''

    "I''m sorry, but while I think you''re a good girl, I have plenty of women," Ryan said, walking toward the door.

    Ryan was cautious about epting Stacy, for the same reason he wanted her.

    She was an earthling.

    While an inhabitant of Ravier might be willing to sign a ve contract because they knew what the world was like, an earthling would scoff at the notion. ''If she wants it, she''ll have to give me more of a reason than that.''

    Stacy bit her lip. "I don''t have anything other than myself to give. I know this world is a cruel ce. I thought I would be special since I was a baby with the mind of a fourteen-year-old, but I was wrong."

    "Nancy saved me once from the terror that was the orphanage of the human empire, but I don''t want my second life to be wasted like my first one wasˇ­"

    "I want to have the strength to change, and I can''t stay cooped up in my mother''s inn to do that."

    "I don''t know exactly who you are in this world, but since you''re the only male cultivator I''ve ever heard of, you must have a special identity."

    "Please allow me to apany you, I swear that I will not betray you and will follow yourmandsˇ­"

    Stacy looked into Ryan''s eyes with a determined look. "And I''ll be your wife."

 Chapter 185 Leaving The Holy Phoenix Empire

    ?

    Ryan seemed to think over his words carefully, but he was very pleased on the inside. ''It looks like Stacy isn''t as naive as I thought she''d be.''

    "And what makes you think you''re fit to be my wife?" Ryan asked, half amused, half curious.

    Stacy huffed and ran a hand along her hourss frame.

    She puffed out her chest as she made swaying motions with her hips, causing Ryan''s brow to raise.

    "I''m grateful for the show, but if you''re trying to tempt me with your body, it''s not going to work," Ryan said, shaking his head.

    Ryan had seen countless beauties already, and even though Stacy was alluring, Ryan couldn''t be swayed by flesh easily.

    Stopping her movements, Stacy grumbled, "Well, if you don''t want a girlfriend or wife, what do you want?"

    Ryan rubbed his chin, looking at the ceiling. ''Taking Stacy as a servant doesn''t seem appropriate, but she''s not harem material, at least not yet.''

    [Why don''t you let her be my servant?] Yoko suddenly asked, causing Ryan to raise his eyebrow.

    [Why do you want her to be your servant?] Ryan asked, suspicious of Yoko''s intentions.

    [I need a servant, and she can tell me all about Master''s home world,] Yoko said, not hiding her intentions.

    Ryan turned to look at Stacy once more. [Well, that could work, but do you have some way to form a bond?]

    Stacy was shaking with anticipation, and when she saw Ryan look at her, her heart seemed to stop.

    "It turns out that I require someone with your particr set of skills," Ryan said, trying to make the offer sound better than it was.

    "Really?" Stacy''s eyes lit up. "What will I be doing?"

    "Will I be fighting big monsters?"

    She heroically stood up and got into a terrible battle stance.

    "Or will I be in charge of all your money?"

    Stacy''s eyes sparkled with greed as she envisioned herself drenched in Heavenly Credits, her hands rubbing together.

    [Yep, I like this one,] Yoko said, seeing a simr greed to a dragon''s in the girl''s eyes.

    "Close," Ryan chuckled. "You''ll be taking care of my most valuableˇ­"

    Ryan paused as he tried to devise a better word than ''possession''.

    "You''ll be taking care of someone valuable to me, who definitely needs someone to watch her," Ryan said, thinking it got the wording perfect.

    [Who needs someone to watch over them, brat!] Yoko shouted in his mind. [I''ll have you know that just because I''m an egg doesn''t mean I''ve lived for countless years.]

    Stacy felt a sinking feeling in her chest. "Y-You don''t mean your daughter do you?"

    Ryan looked at Stacy, confused. "No."

    "Oh, that''s a relief," Stacy wiped the sweat off her brow. "I was about to say if-"

    "Joy doesn''t need to be watched. She''s a lot smarter than this one," Ryan said, thinking of his adoptive ve, whom he was starting to see as a daughter more and more.

    Stacy''s mouth dropped open. "What?! You do have a daughter?!"

    "She''s not my daughter," Ryan shook his head.

    Stacy started, "That''s a re-" but was interrupted by Ryan again.

    "My firstborn will beter this year, although I''m starting to doubt that since she hasn''t grown any bigger."

    "I''ll have to talk to her about that," Ryan muttered.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Stacy started beating Ryan''s chest, "You''re a big bully! How many women do you have!"

    Part of Stacy wanted to hear the answer, while the other desperately wanted Ryan to remain silent.

    "Seven. Lizzy, Izzy, Emily, Zoey, Elsa, Grace, and Sienna, all of whom you''ll meet in the future."

    ''Eight if you count Lizzy and Izzy''s mom, the Zol''Gan empress, though,'' Ryan added in his mind.

    "Seven!" Stacy gasped.

    "H-How do you manage them all," Stacy whispered. "I heard men on thisˇ­"

    Stacy suddenly looked quizzically at Ryan. "You''re a cultivation. Are you also anˇ­"

    "Enhancer? Yes."

    Stacy narrowed her eyes. "But do you also cum slow?"

    "No."

    Stacy widened her eyes. "What! Then aren''t you, like, overpowered?!"

    Ryan chuckled and flicked his raven locs. "It wouldn''t be a stretch to think so?"

    "Then could you help me gain cultivation?" Stacy asked, blushing as she realized what she had just said.

    "I-I didn''t mean that," Stacy spluttered.

    Ryan grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Then what did you mean?"

    "I-"

    But before Stacy could finish her sentence, Ryan pressed her against a wall and whispered, "Don''t worry. I know what you mean."

    ===

    After Ryan had given Stacy a proper wee to the ''Emerald Family,'' he left the Holy Phoenix Empire.

    His main goal was to meet up with the Duchess, Sienna Vanroth, and the Frost General, Ester Frost, who were inside the Kheaweth Empire.

    They had been slowly but steadily siphoning their resources out of the Kheaweth Empire and toward the Zol''Gan Empire per Ryan''s orders.

    Ryan wanted to go to the Kheaweth Empire to check back with the two mature members of his harem and check on a hunch he had.

    But before he could go to the Kheaweth Empire, he had to pick up Emily and Velmuuth from their mission to drop off his aunt.

    He messaged Emily and received coordinates about ten hours away from his location.

    She had said that Aurora hadn''t arrived but was expected soon.

    Ryan said it didn''t matter and that he''d be there shortly.

    Ryan could have taken the teleporters to her, but Yoko advised him against it.

    So far, he hadn''t used a teleporter in the Holy Phoenix Empire, and using out would leave a trace that he had been there, no matter what.

    So, in the end, he decided to make the trek on his flying sword.

    After flying the rest of the day, Ryannded in a bustling town less than a minute''s walk from the coordinates.

    As Ryannded, he caused quite a stir among themon folk, who parted ways for him and looked at him fearfully.

    However, before Ryan had time to take another step, Ryan heard a voice. "You should be more careful. You never know who''s watching."

 Chapter 186 Strang Lady Aurora

    ?

    Ryan turned to see a woman in a gorgeous blue dress with a blue veil covering her face.

    However, from what Ryan could tell, this woman was stunning!

    Her features were heavenly and made even Ryan''s breath catch.

    "I beg your pardon, miss. But I don''t understand your meaning," Ryan said, acting the part of the true gentleman.

    The woman seemed startled by the look of concern in Ryan''s eyes.

    However, instead of repeating what she had said or rifying, the woman suddenly turned and flew away on a magical sword.

    Ryan frowned. "Strangedy."

    ===

    The woman, Aurora, felt a pang of sadness in her chest as she flew away.

    Those emerald eyes were unique to two people whom she loved dearly.

    The more she looked at that man, the more she was reminded of those two people, one her son and another a strange boy who constantly filled her dreams.

    And nightmares.

    When Aurora received the message from Leon that the mysterious raven-haired man boy had approached him and given Asmaya to him, she at first had been ted.

    But the more and more she thought about it, the situation didn''t seem right. ''If the Master behind this boy wanted to give me Asmaya, why didn''t they do it right away? And why did he trick me with that boy''s aura matching Velox''s?''

    Aurora didn''t even consider that Velox could be Ryan, for just now, she tested to see if he genuinely possessed her son''s aura, and they didn''t match.

    Aurora shook her head and was about to loop back around to talk with Ryan, as he could shed some light on the situation when she received amunication.

    [We''ve been framed!]

    ===

    Ryan shook his head as he watched the woman flutter into the sunset, unaware that he had justmunicated with Aurora.

    Ryan messaged Emily, asking where she was, but he saw Emily''s bright green dress in the distance right before he could hit send.

    Ryan scratched his chin and decided to have a little fun with the girl.

    "Let''s see just how loyal she truly is," Ryan muttered, putting on his cloak and activating a few of his abilities.

    Walking up to Emily''s group, which consisted of Emily, Velmuuth, and a few of her subordinates, Ryan suddenly stumbled into her path and fell t on his ass.

    Velmuuth frowned and stepped forward, but Emily stopped her from harming the man who only appeared to have tripped.

    "Are you alright, sir?" Emily asked in a calm and patient voice.

    "I think so," Ryan mumbled, not moving from the ground.

    Emily suddenly felt an attraction towards the strange man on the ground.

    An attraction that subconsciously wanted to make her step forward and reach out to him.

    As she started to step forward, Velmuuth noticed her strange actions and stopped Emily.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Emily, snap out of it!" Velmuuth said, sounding more like a mother than a soldier talking to her superior.

    As far as harem ranks went, his harem members even stood above his generals, although he would certainly not think of his generals as less critical than his harem members.

    Emily seemed to snap out of a daze, but before she could do anything, she was snatched by the man on the ground, and both Emily and the man disappeared.

    Velmuuth stood there in shock but took only a second to snap out of it and begin frantically searching the area with her subordinates.

    Holding Emily, Ryan ran a reasonable distance away before gently cing her on the ground and exerting his pleasure aura on her.

    As Ryan was still cloaked, Emily couldn''t see his face.

    "What do you want from me?" Emily asked calmly.

    Ryan was surprised. He had tied her up with a rope he had ''found'' on a cultivator who attacked him on his way to the Holy Phoenix Empire.

    The rope could temporarily bind anyone at A-Rank or below in cultivation, which meant that Emily couldn''t use her energy or activate her heavenly screen.

    Artifacts that could block heavenly screens were widely avable.

    They were also heavily sought after, for if someone could ess their heavenly screens during a fight, it would allow the person to call for backup.

    "What I want is to know who your Master is," Ryan said, altering his voice.

    [You''re really cruel for this Master. I like it,] Yoko teased.

    [It''s just a harmless prank. I''m sure she''ll pass the test," Ryan replied.

    "My Master is the most beautiful person in the world!" Emily said, huffing.

    Ryan was stunned. ''She gave me up just like that! If anyone with eyes heard that, they''d automatically know it was me!''

    ''But in all seriousness, she did give up something without knowing it. I''ll have to teach these girls better,'' Ryan shook his head.

    He had been tox with his harem member''s training and would have to get Hannah or Shade to train them on maniption and deception.

    While he would love to spread Aliza''s holy teachings, he simply didn''t have the time. ''I guess that''s why they say a king needs his subjects.''

    "Can you be a little bit moreˇ­ descriptive?" Ryan asked, still keeping up his facade.

    Emily turned away, but Ryan turned up his pleasure aura, it''s new upgraded status breaking down Emily''s defenses in a matter of seconds.

    Emily was struggling to figure out why she was suddenly feeling a tingle in her crotch when she realized that she must have been drugged.

    ''Is this man nning on raping me?'' she thought in horror.

    Suddenly this wasn''t a game anymore. She had thought about how she was currently the damsel in distress.

    Emily knew Ryan had to be close to them, so she expected Velmuuth to contact Ryan immediately and that Ryan woulde and save the day.

    And although she knew the man in front of her had some tools that might be able to kill her, it wouldn''t be a fast death, so she would have plenty of time for Ryan to arrive.

    But if this man vited her, would Ryan still want her? Would her previous sins of betraying Ryan''s truste back to bite her?

    "P-Please," Emily whimpered. "D-Don''t do it!"

 Chapter 187 One Week Until The Wedding

    ?

    Ryan looked at the crying Emily and sighed. ''I guess it''s time to give it up.''

    Deactivating his pleasure aura, he reached for the hood of his cloak but was stopped by one of Velmuuth''s women.

    "Halt!" the guard shouted, pointing their spear at Ryan.

    ''On second thought, the guards could use some training too,'' Ryan mused.

    Even though the training tower was a perfect training environment, it couldn''t simte a real fear of death since one would always be teleported out before that could happen.

    Ryan startedughing, making the guard tense up.

    The guard didn''t know their attacker was a man, so they assumed Ryan was a woman under the mask.

    The guard suddenly realized that if their attacker could kidnap Emily, the attacker could most definitely deal with them.

    But to Ryan''s surprise, the guard didn''t retreat like he thought she would. Instead, she stood her ground and shouted, "Free the young miss, or you''ll be headed to an early grave."

    Ryan was impressed by the woman''s bravery and activated his loyalty skill on the knight.

    [Jassard Kile]

    [Loyalty: 84]

    ''Not bad,'' Ryan had to admit.

    While he was looking at Jassard''s loyalty, she wasn''t wasting time like him and had already alerted Velmuuth of her find.

    Soon Ryan was surrounded by guards.

    "Give it up. You''re surrounded. No matter how strong you are, you''re no match for all of us," Velmuuth said, stepping forward.

    "Oh?" Ryan raised an eyebrow.

    Hearing the confidence in Yan''s tone, Velmuuth got a sinking feeling in her chest, and she once again reached out to Ryan.

    "Why are you messaging me when you can just talk to me, Velmuuth?" Ryan suddenly said, causing everyone except Velmuuth to frown.

    "M-My Lord?!" Velmuuth gasped.

    Ryan removed his cloak and started speaking. "I have seen howx you are in your training. We''ll have to work on this as we move forward."

    Turning to Emily, Ryan continued. "And my beloved Emily, you should have the power to at least react when I attack. I am, after all, a lower rank than you."

    On the ground, Emily sighed in relief but then shook in indignation as she realized what Ryan had just put her through.

    "Why would you do something like that?" Emily questioned, ignoring Ryan''s statement.

    Seeing that she avoided his question out of embarrassment rather than an unwillingness to answer, Ryan allowed her tone to slide as he had been slightly out of line.

    "I did it because soon, you won''t get a second chance to get it right," Ryan said solemnly. "We''re going into battle against the strongest cultivator on the, someone not even I can face. For that, we need to be strong."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Ryan shook his head. "But besides the bravery I saw from Jassard. I am seeing nothing but weakness right now."

    Jassard blushed, seeing that the Lord knew her name.

    Ryan always used his loyalty skill to see other people''s names, as remembering one''s name is a guaranteed way to get more loyalty from them. ''At least, ording to Aliza.''

    Ryan then pped his hands. "Alright, it''s time we got a move on, we''re wasting daylight, and we''ve got a long road ahead if we want to reach Kheaweth.

    ===

    Two weekster (7 days until the weddingˇ­)

    In these past two weeks, Ryan didn''t make much progress in cultivation, as his ability to rank up at the speed of sound had massively fallen.

    He was currently A-Rank, while his harem members had risen to S-Rank across the board.

    He had arrived in the Kheaweth Empire only to find that there wasn''t much to be done before the wedding.

    The forces under Sienna and Ester were working like clockwork and had almost entirely moved their massive fortunes out of the Kheaweth Empire.

    Ba Kheaweth, the current but useless Empress of the Kheaweth Empire, was also trying to siphon off some wealth from her family, but Ryan had suggested she keep it at a bare minimum.

    Her power didn''te from the forces she controlled, as she practically possessed none. It came from herself.

    Ryan had suggested she go and train, and that''s exactly what she had done, which caused her not to gain cultivation ranks, but to increase her battle experience.

    He would have loved to send Grace to train with her, but Ba insisted on training alone.

    She had a shadow over her since she discovered her mother''s betrayal, so she wasn''t trusting anyone.

    Besides the developments inside the Kheaweth Empire, Ryan had heard of a massive string of attacks against the Zol''Gan Empire, which caused them to suffer heavy losses.

    While one could not destroy or take over a heavenly blessed kingdom without an invasion pass, they could cause chaos, and that was precisely what the Kheaweth Empire was doing.

    But the matter with the Dawn Pavilion was undoubtedly the most significant development in the past two weeks.

    The framing of the Dawn Pavilion was an act that sent shockwaves through both the Holy Alliance and the secret alliance of the Zol''Gan and Dawn Pavilion.

    The counterattack was nothing short of devastating from the Holy Pheonix Empire, killing every staff member of the Dawn Pavilion in the Holy Phoenix Empire.

    Millions lost their lives, as the Holy Phoenix Empire housed the second most Dawn Pavilions besides the Kheaweth Empire.

    While Ryan felt it was a shame he couldn''t iste the Kheaweth Empire from the Holy Phoenix Empire in the uing war, he knew it was a long shot from the beginning.

    Now he just had to n for the uing wedding, which was why Ryan was currently at a table with everyone involved with the uing wedding, including the illusive and mysterious Aurora.

    His harem members, Lizzy, Izzy, Emily, Grace, Zoey, Sienna Vanroth (Duchess Vanroth), and Ester Frost (Frost General), sat on one side of the table. In contrast, Ba Kheaweth (Kheaweth Empress), Komma Argallod (Zol''Gan Empress), and Aurora sat on the other side of the table.

    The two groups looked at each other before Ryan started to speak. "Wee to the first gathering of the war against the Kheaweth Empire."

 Chapter 188 The Heated Meeting Begins

    ?

    Unlike usual, none of the faces seated at the table were jovial.

    Instead, they wore stoic and cid faces as they all looked at Ryan, waiting for him to begin the meeting.

    "Wee to the first gathering of the war against the Kheaweth Empire," Ryan said, addressing both sides of the table. "First, I want to address the most pressing matter, the wedding. But befor-"

    Before Ryan could finish speaking, Komma Argallod interrupted him. "I think you mean the most pressing matter of the attacks on the Zol''Gan Empire."

    Ryan raised his eyebrows. Looking at the Zol''Gan Empress, Ryan wasn''t afraid. He was angry.

    "Your plight against the Kheaweth Empire is noted," Ryan said, his voice turning icy cold. "But you should know that you''re not the only one facing attacks from the Holy Alliance."

    After speaking, Ryan turned to Aurora, who had yet to join the Emerald Family, but since Ryan knew her identity as his mother, he wasn''t worried about a betrayal.

    "Aurora''s Dawn Pavilion is experiencing far worse attacks than your empire, yet you still have the gull to im that your empire is the most pressing issue?" Ryan''s voice was getting heated, not because he felt enraged by the demon''s interruption but because he had to establish dominance.

    Ryan knew that his leadership would be tested in this meeting. He was, after all, sitting at a table full of leaders in their own right.

    Sitting opposite him were two Empresses and a leader of an equally strong force, which wouldn''t ept the leadership of another easily.

    "I still don''t understand why your Master is not the one speaking," Aurora said, but still nodded in thanks at the recognition Ryan gave her issue.

    Before the meeting, Ryan exined to everyone that he was acting as his Master''s spokesperson, not himself.

    So even the Zol''Gan Empress, disgruntled at Ryan''s reply, wouldn''t give up his identity.

    "My Master is preparing for the wedding, which I will exin in a moment why it is the most pressing issue," Ryan said, looking back at Komma.

    Komma nodded and seemed to be subdued, at least for now.

    "But before that, Aurora, are you sure you won''t be joining the Emerald Family?" Ryan asked.

    Aurora shook her head. "I have stated that once my son has been returned to me, I will join whatever alliance you want. But before then, we''ll just have to make do with trust."

    Ryan sighed. "As I''ve exined before, my Master-"

    "Yes, your Master said that my son is safe but doesn''t want to see me before the wedding," Aurora waved her hand.

    That was the lie Ryan had told Aurora, as he didn''t want to expose his identity before the wedding for two reasons.

    The first was that, as Aliza had taught him, mothers were unpredictable regarding their children.

    Right now, Ryan had Aurora on a leash that he could tug on anytime he chose. It was her weakness.

    But what if his mother tried to take control and stop his ns for the wedding?

    What he would be doing was risky and required him to put his life on the line.

    Would Aurora let her son risk his life like that?

    That wasn''t a risk Ryan was willing to take.

    The second reason was that for this n to work, Ryan needed a genuine reaction from Aurora when his abilities were revealed at the wedding.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The Kheaweth Grand Empress wasn''t someone who would be easily fooled, as she was a master of foolery herself. After all, she had fooled an entire world for hundreds of thousands of years.

    "As you wish," Ryan said. Then, standing up, Ryan waved his hand, making a hologram appear.

    "The reason why the wedding is a pivotal moment is because ofˇ­ me," Ryan said.

    While Ryan''s harem members were in the know, the opposite side was confused, besides a knowing expression from Ba Kheaweth.

    "What do you mean?" Komma Argallod asked, frowning.

    She knew the wedding was essential, but her previous outburst wasn''t a y.

    She was confident that the attacks on her empire were more pressing.

    Waving his hand, a file titled ''Project: Subject One'' was disyed on the screen.

    Several things from the file had been redacted, as Ryan didn''t want to give away anything that could indicate he was Aurora''s son to her.

    "What is this?" Aurora asked, looking over the file.

    As Aurora scrutinized the file, she started frowning, seeing several concerning details.

    "Brainwashing? Torture? The Academy?" Aurora suddenly remembered her secretary she had ''tortured'' and gotten information from about this raven-haired man attending the wedding.

    Aurora had been trying to discover how the secretary could know this, but now it all made sense.

    Aurora didn''t hesitate and immediately activated her aura, epassing everyone except for Emily, Ba, Ester, Sienna, and Komma.

    Expecting this, Ryan wasn''t perturbed by the pressure. Instead, he was calm and stated, "Do you normally have enemiese and present themselves defenseless to your door?"

    Ba calmly said, "Aurora, let him finish. I think you''ll be surprised."

    Aurora snarled. "Do you think I take orders from an imbecile like you? You, who couldn''t even realize her own mother was evil?"

    Biting her tongue, Ba couldn''t refute the words Aurora was saying, as she hade to the same conclusion.

    Aurora turned to Ryan, expecting him to be hunched over due to her aura, but to her surprise, he was standing upright and looking her in the eye.

    Although she wore a veil that covered her features, she still couldn''t help but get lost in those emerald eyes.

    ''It''s not him. It''s not him,'' Aurora continued to repeat in her head, knowing Ryan wasn''t the man she wanted to be there.

    Although she didn''t know if she was hoping it was her son or the man she dreamed of.

    Seeing herpse in concentration, Ryan started speaking, "Although what that file says is true, there is one thing it leaves out."

    "And what''s that?" Aurora asked after calming down.

    "I''m not brainwashed."

 Chapter 189 Ryans Plan

    ?

    "Is that not what a brainwashed person would say?" Aurora asked, raising her eyebrows. "And how do you know you''re not being tricked into thinking that?"

    Ryan raised his hands in mock surrender. "I guess so. But what if I''m not?"

    "What do you mean?" Aurora asked, frowning.

    "What if the Grand Empress thinks I''m brainwashed, but I''m not?" Ryan grinned. "What if she thinks she has full control over me yet doesn''t have any?"

    "And what if men could cultivate and dogs could fly?" Aurora retorted. "You speak of what-ifs as though they were reality. Speak inly."

    "What if I could trick her into thinking she controls us, the Emerald Family, through me?" Ryan finally got to the point.

    Although Aurora didn''t know it, Ryan was also her son, and when she learned of it, Ryan would be transferred to the Dawn Pavilion and its assets.

    With the Dawn Pavilion''s assets in Ryan''s hands, they could set up a heavenly blessed kingdom and eventually fight the Kheaweth Empire.

    "Then, after the wedding, she''ll coincidently hear about your boy being alive and joining the Emerald Family. When you transfer him to the Dawn Pavilionˇ­"

    Aurora''s face went white. ''How do they know!''

    Aurora was sure no one else knew about the contract''s loophole unlessˇ­

    Turning to Ba, she said, "Does your mother know?"

    "Yes," Ba nodded. "My mother knows of the contract''s loophole."

    During Ba''s recent investigations, she discovered the contract''s loophole, and Ryan let her into the loop.

    After discovering that Ryan was Aurora''s son, Ba was initially shocked, but it exined everything.

    Why had her mother been so secretive from everyone, including her?

    She wanted the Dawn Pavilion.

    After finding that out, she first wanted to check if the rest of the Holy Alliance was in on this, but after finding out that they weren''t, she immediately knew the terrifying truth.

    That''s when she went to talk with Ryanˇ­

    ===

    One week earlier (14 days until the wedding)...

    "My mother isn''t interested in only the Dawn Pavilion," Ba said, standing before Ryan. "She wants all of Ravier."

    Training in Sienna''s courtyard, Ryan put away his sword and looked at his visitor. "Good to see you too, Ba."

    "Now''s not the time for games. This is serious. I think I''ve figured everything out!" Ba shouted fervently.

    Ryan put on a mischievous smile but said, "Please, exin," while bringing out a set of chairs for them to sit on.

    Ryan wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and sat in his seat while waiting for Ba to do the same.

    After a hmph, Ba sat and began.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Haven''t you wondered why the wedding is happening in the first ce?" Ba asked. "ording to you, the Grand Empress still thinks you don''t have any memories and are totally brainwashed."

    "Yes, but if the Empress simply dropped me off at a Dawn Pavilion without any memories, Aurora would be suspicious and start to investigate," Ryan said, smiling. "To make Aurora less suspicious, she has to let Aurora find out about me on her own."

    Ba huffed at Ryan''s smile and retorted, "But that still begged the question, how would the Kheaweth Empire deal with the Holy Phoenix Empire? How would they exin away the fact that they suddenly were going to war with the Dawn Pavilion? Because one can only transfer a force of the Dawn Pavilion''s size every few thousand years, the only way to im it would be via battle."

    Ryan arched his eyebrows, not knowing thest part.

    "Couldn''t she just wait?" Ryan asked, starting to sit up in his chair.

    "My mother isn''t the type to wait," Ba said, rolling her eyes.

    "Haven''t you wondered why the Kheaweth Empire attacked the Holy Phoenix Empire in the name of the Dawn Pavilion?" Ba asked.

    Ryan nodded.

    Ba gave a confident smile, not that Ryan was adequately paying attention. "My mother wanted the Holy Alliance, Ravier''s biggest alliance, to join in against their war vs. the Dawn Pavilion. That would exin why the Kheaweth Empire attacked the Holy Phoenix Empire in the name of the Dawn Pavilion."

    Ryan''s face grew dim, "That would also exin why the Kheaweth Empire has been continuously attacking the Zol''Gan Empire for months on end. The Grand Empress wanted the only force willing to oppose her to join in a war and stand alongside the Dawn Pavilion."

    "We have to tell Aurora," Ba said. "She probably doesn''t even know she''s about to be in the middle of a war!"

    Ryan shook his head. "We can''t."

    "Why?" Ba asked.

    When Ryan exined two reasons for not telling Aurora, she frowned. "What n?"

    Ryan grinned. "Well, I guess it''s about time I let everyone in on the n."

    Ryan then called Lizzy, Izzy, Emily, Grace, Zoey, Sienna, and Ester to join him at Sienna''s residence, and in less than ten minutes, they were present.

    Ryan then had a meeting much like the one he would be having a week from now, discussing his n for the wedding. And their n for the meeting a week from now.

    "Wow, Ryan, I have to say this n is awesome," Izzy said, giving Ryan a thumbs up in approval.

    Lizzy, however, frowned. "This is dangerous. What if the Grand Empress realized you''re not brainwashed and decided to kill you?"

    "As long as she doesn''t do it before I join the Dawn Pavilion, I''ll be fine," Ryan said. "And besides, I''m confident she doesn''t know."

    Ba felt like her brain had been fried as she sat, looking at Sienna. "When you told me he was insane, I didn''t think you meant it literally."

    Siennaughed. "He''s not insane. I have confidence in my hubby''s n," she said, wrapping her arms around Ryan''s left bicep.

    "What do you think, Ester?"

    Ryan hoped Ester, the Grand Empress''s previous student, could shed a new light on the n as she probably knew the Grand Empress the best.

    "I think it''s possibleˇ­ if everything goes ording to n at the meeting in a week."

 Chapter 190 Everythings Coming Together

    ?

    The meeting (7 days until the weddingˇ­)

    Aurora frowned. ''If Grand Empress Kheaweth knew about the contract loophole, maybe she took Velox on purpose.''

    "Okay, so assuming the Grand Empress thinks you''re brainwashed and assuming you are actually in control of your body," Aurora said, then paused. "Why you?"

    Aurora narrowed her eyes. "Why would the Grand Empress pick you?"

    ''Because I''m your son,'' Ryan wanted to say but held himself back.

    "Because I''m Ravier''s best enhancer," Ryan said with pride. "That''s what allowed me to win over all of thesedies," Ryan said, gesturing to everyone sitting on his side of the table.

    "For my Master, of course," Ryan added to keep his story straight.

    He had told Aurora that his Master was the one that saved him from the brainwashing and that he was the one who hated the Kheaweth Empire with a burning passion.

    Aurora''s lips tugged up in a slight smile. "You captured all thesedies?"

    Ryan nodded.

    Expecting her to ridicule him, Ryan was surprised when she only nodded respect, a smile of appreciation appearing under her veil that Ryan could not see.

    "Are we ready to move on to the proposed n?" Ryan asked, taking this moment of shared appreciation to move things along.

    Seeing Aurora nod, Ryan looked at the Zol''Gan Empress and Ba to keep up appearances.

    This was all ording to n.

    Directing everyone''s attention to the hologram again, Ryan said, "The preliminary n we''vee up with is slightly bold, but I think you''ll appreciate its uniqueness."

    A slew of images popped up. They were pictures of different nobles, some of which Ryan had already met.

    Among the images were M, Abby, and Mara, who would all appear at the wedding.

    Ryan''s hunch was about M and Abby, a big reason why he wanted to return to the Kheaweth Empire straight away from the Holy Phoenix Empire.

    M was the leader of thergest faction in the academy, something even Mara, the Frost General''s daughter, wasn''t.

    This begged the question of who she was exactly.

    The strange part was that even after asking Ester and Sienna, Ryan couldn''t learn her identity.

    M''s arrogant attitude was of someone above and beyond others, something nobles were known for.

    But that''s not where the strangeness stopped.

    Abby, M''s sister, was not only not rted by blood, but her roots also traced back to a lowly Baron.

    The conspiracy got even more bizarre when Ryan asked Ba to look into the day of his arrival in the academy.

    The day M sent out an order to have him blocked from all factions.

    But what Ba found out shocked Ryan to his very core.

    M''s order was initially blocked by the Kheaweth Military, as Ryan was subject one and was to be prioritized and allowed to grow uninhibited.

    But almost immediately after the block, Ba found an overruled message sent out from none other than the direct leader of the operation. The Grand Empress.

    This led Ryan to believe there was only one logical conclusion about who M was.

    "This girl here," Ryan said, indicating to M. "Is the Grand Prince of the Kheaweth Empire."

    "ˇ­" Aurora and the Zol''Gan Empress looked at each other.

    "Uhhˇ­ there''s just one problem," Ba said, going along with the n, "I think I would know if I gave birth to a daughter and not a boy."

    "That''s a valid point." Ryan nodded. "I captured one of my torturers and asked them a few questions, although sadly, I couldn''t keep her and return the favor. Nevertheless, she did have something good to say."

    "That''s a shame," the Zol''Gan Empress muttered. "I do love a good torture."

    "And that is?" Ba asked, ignoring the Zol''Gan Empress.

    "The Grand Empress is known for her hatred of men, isn''t that right?" Ryan asked.

    Ba nodded. "Yes, but not to my Timmy."

    Ester and Sienna, doing their part, looked at each other and muttered, "So that''s his name. I always wondered what it was."

    Aurora and the Zol''Gan Empress started to frown.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You''ve never seen this Timmy before?" the Zol''Gan Empress asked Ester.

    Ester shook her head.

    "I''ve never seen him either," Sienna said, shaking her head.

    "Well, mother always said to keep him close, lest bad people get too close and hurt him," Ba said, sounding unsure of herself.

    Aurora frowned and asked, "Ba, can I perform a memory scan on you? But, of course, it won''t hurt since you''re a cultivator."

    Aurora nced at Ryan and muttered, "I wish he had some cultivation base so I could use it on him.

    Ba, ying her part beautifully, looked horrified at the very thought. "What a rude request."

    Ester had already performed a scan on Ba''s memory and found it had been heavily tampered with, resulting in the theory that M was the Grand Prince to be usible.

    For all they knew, M herself might not even be aware.

    Aurora sighed. "I''m sorry to make this request of you."

    But instead of offering something in exchange to let her test it, as Ryan had anticipated, Ryan''s jaw almost dropped when he saw Aurora lean forward and tuck a string of loose hair around Ester''s ear.

    "It must have been hard to keep Timmy hidden all these years," Aurora whispered, pressing her lips against Ba''s ear.

    Aurora''s hot breath made Ba''s face heat up and her mind nken.

    "You want to discover why your mother wanted to hide Timmy, right? I can help. Just allow me inside your mind," Aurora said, and under the shocked gazes of everyone, she exerted her energy into Ba''s open mind.

    Ryan trembled as he watched Aurora manipte Ba like a Master. ''Fuck, it seems like Aliza wasn''t the only woman who knows the mastery of maniption.''

    Aurora worked for a few minutes before she withdrew her energy from Ba''s brain.

    "Well, there''s no doubt that her mind has been tampered with. As for what the contents of the tampering are, I can''t be sure," Aurora shook her head. "But the one thing I can be sure of isˇ­ the Grand Prince is not named Timmy."

    Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

    When Ester had scanned Ba''s brain for the tampering of memory, all she could figure out was that it had been tampered with.

    Ryan had felt that was enough information to go on, but now Aurora was saying that the Grand Prince wasn''t fake.

    "Yes," Aurora slowly nodded,ing out of the trance-like state she had been in. "I could feel the memories around Timmy had been altered, although I''m sure she has a child," Aurora said, looking at Ba.

    Hearing the unexpected news confirmed, Ba fell to the ground and started crying.

    As mother''s themselves, Aurora and the Zol''Gan Empress felt her pain but didn''tfort her.

    She was, after all, the Empress of a rivaled Empire, and until recently, they had been on opposite sides.

    "My baby''s not real?" Ba wailed. She had been hoping that Ryan was wrong and Timmy was honest, but she had been living a lie this whole time.

    After a few minutes of sobbing, Ba slowly rose from the ground, a me of hatred in her eyes.

    "Please continue," Ba said, nodding to Ryan and sitting back in her chair.

    Ryan nodded. ''If there was one thing Aliza said to watch out for, it was a mother''s fury.''

    He did not want to be the Grand Empress right now.

    Ryan cleared his throat. "To know the n, you first must know what the Kheaweth Empire instilled in me to do at the wedding."

    Ryan looked at the three women opposite him, holding their gazes for a second each. "They programmed me to beat the prince at the wedding tournament. The whole thing is a show, and the ''wedding'' is just a puppet y where the Grand Empress is the puppet master controlling everything from behind the scenes."

    Aurora was stoic, showing no emotion, which caused Ryan to arch his eyebrow. ''Had she always been that controlled with her emotion?''

    However, the Zol''Gan Empress wasn''t so controlled. "They did what?"

    Rubbing her forehead, the Zol''Gan Empress muttered, "But why? Why would they do that?"

    The actual reason was that when Ryan unleashed his cultivation, it would stun the audience and cause Aurora to realize that Ryan was her son.

    Ryan surmised that when he beat the Grand Prince in the duel, the Grand Empress would threaten him, and then Aurora would have to give up something that the Grand Empress wanted in exchange, most likely the invasion pass in her possession.

    But at the wedding, Ryan was supposed to remember the first five years of his life, and supposedly he was in love with M.

    If Ryan were just recovering his memories, he would also remember Aurora was his mother and ask her to save M, but he expected that to be a trap. The Grand Empress would use that opportunity to start the war vs. the Dawn Pavilion.

 Chapter 191 Going Back To The Academy

    ?

    But since Ryan couldn''t tell her why they programmed him to win vs. the Grand Prince, he told a half-truth.

    "Aurora, do you find anything strange about M?" Ryan suddenly asked.

    Aurora raised her eyebrow and looked at the hologram.

    Scrutinizing M''s face, Aurora''s eyes suddenly lit up. "I believe my son used to y with her at a young age. Although I would have recognized her in person because I usually recognize people based on their auras, I would have never known if you hadn''t pointed it out to me."

    Ryan nodded. ''Looks like my torturer''s information was correct.

    Ryan then said the ''alternative theory''. "We believe the Grand Empress would use that to your disadvantage by sending someone to bet with you."

    "Oh? What do you mean?" Aurora asked.

    "We believe that the Grand Empress wants the invasion pass in your possession, so she can invade the Dawn Pavilion after it bes a heavenly blessed kingdom," Ryan replied.

    Aurora frowned. "I wouldn''t be so naive to bet my heavenly invasion pass on a mere duel, even if I was certain of the oue."

    Ryan chuckled. "Even if they swore by the heavens that they had vital information on your son?"

    Aurora froze. Her son was her weakness, and the more she thought about it, the more she found it usible that she would fall for it if someone came up to her with that deal.

    "Okay, now that we know the backstory, what''s the n?" the Zol''Gan Empress asked, eager to hear the n.

    Ryan then started saying the modified version of the n, save for a few details that couldn''t be disclosed to keep his identity a secret.

    "The n is pretty straightforward. First, we give the Grand Empress what she wants," Ryan stated.

    The opposite side of the table frowned and looked at each other, Ba doing an excellent job showing her chagrin.

    "Although I was following you until this point," Ba slowly said, "giving my mother what she wants sounds like a dangerous proposition."

    Ryan nodded. "Normally, I would agree, but this is a rare opportunity to take down the Kheaweth Empire and possibly the whole of the Holy Alliance."

    "How?" Aurora asked.

    The eyes of Aurora and the Zol''Gan Empress zed like an inferno as they eagerly awaited Ryan''s following words.

    Ryan stood up and started to pace. "We know she will start a war against the Zol''Gan Empire and the Dawn Pavilion."

    Ryan stopped walking and turned towards the three mighty women. "But why is she confident to go against such arge force?"

    Aurora''s eyes lit up in understanding.

    If she transferred the Dawn Pavilion to her son, the Dawn Pavilion would genuinely be the most potent force on Ravier.

    Although the Grand Empress had the biggest cultivation base, the Multiverse wasn''t a ce where a single person reigned supreme by themselves.

    It was the power behind that person that mattered the most.

    "The reason she has the confidenceˇ­ is me. She thinks she controls me, thinks she can use me like a puppet and get away with it," Ryan said, his tone turning colder.

    His hatred toward the Kheaweth Empire slipped into his tone as he snarled. "They think I am their tool to use. They think they crafted me to be their bitch."

    "But I''m nobody''s tool to use, and I say we give them the war they want."

    Ryan then looked his mother, Aurora, directly in the eyes. "I won''t give up until they''re all dead."

    Silence filled the room as Aurora slowly nodded. "What do you have in mind?"

    Ryan grinned. "I will beat the Grand Prince, and you will let the Grand Empress take the invasion pass. Then, once the Grand Empress issues an attack vs. the Zol''Gan Empire, you will transfer ownership of the Dawn Pavilion to your son, who will be there, and he will join the Zol''Gan Empire''s side."

    Ryan then looked at the Zol''Gan Empress. "You will then transfer control over the defense to me in front of the Grand Empress, giving her more confidence in the matter."

    The Zol''Gan Empress nodded. She had been filled in by her daughters about what kind of man Ryan was and wasn''t worried about handing him control.

    "The Holy Phoenix Empire will then join the Kheaweth Empire''s invasion force, and the war will begin," Ryan finished.

    Seeing everyone nodding, Ryan thenid out what everyone should be doing next week to prepare for the wedding and the war toe.

    He acted like a true leader, and since everyone else there epted his authority without question, Aurora felt like she should also take a gamble on the young man.

    Ryan first had Ba continue getting stronger, as she was currently S-Rank. Although her cultivation wouldn''t rise to SS-Rank before the wedding, she could train her auxiliary skills or specialty, which was even more critical because she was an Overlord.

    He gave the Zol''Gan Empress the mission of working with Ester and Sienna to understand the Kheaweth Military and infiltrate their systems and personnel as deeply as possible. At the same time, they still had ess since Ryan would have them dere their siding with him at the wedding.

    While they could serve as good spies, Ryan felt it would be too obvious they were on his side once he started disying that he had some secrets he kept from the Grand Empress, and she looked into his past.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He would instead drop the Kheaweth Empire morale by having their highest ranking general and a Duchess defect, then risk losing them.

    Ryan also had to think about his future off of Ravier.

    These women were indispensable to him now, so losing one off the start would be a devastating blow to his consciousness. He genuinely cared about every one of his harem members and harmed his overall future strength.

    To Aurora, he didn''t order her to do anything. Instead, he asked her if she would be willing to go over the Dawn Pavilion''s resources with Vimmi, his dragonkin servant.

    Ryan needed to know what he was working with when going up against a powerful force like the Grand Empress and two empires.

    He reminded everyone that they should get their families out of either empire if they were there, but only Emily, Ester, and Zoey had rtives inside the Kheaweth Empire.

    The meeting then broke up, and people went their separate ways.

    Ryan, of course, had the most important job of all.

    He had to confirm that M was the Grand Prince and how he was rted to her.

    "Well, that meeting went well. Hopefully, our n goes smoothly," Ryan muttered as he flew on his sword.

    Yoko, who had watched the whole thing, only shook her head. ''How could things ever go so smoothly?''

    ===

    The Kheaweth Military Academy (7 days until the weddingˇ­)

    Ryan flew toward the academy with a new wristband that Ester had provided him.

    His identity showed he was a noble that was simply visiting the school.

    This was rtivelymon as prospecting noble students often came onto campus, so the guards at the gate merely waved him through.

    Ryan had several stops inside the academy but had a whole week to prepare, so he was in no rush.

    But right now, Ryan''s main goal was not to be found out.

    Ryan had instructed Yoko to make it seem as though his tracking device that the Kheaweth Empire turned on again and was leaving the Red Dragon Empire and currently traveling to the Kheaweth Empire.

    If he were found now, he wouldn''t have a way to exin why the tracker had an error.

    Ryan was about to head to the information hub when he overheard a conversation that instantly piqued his interest.

    "Have you heard of the enhancerpetitioning up?" A girl asked her friend.

    "Who hasn''t? It''s the enhancers from all three of the Holy Alliance''s academiespeting to see who has the best loads around," the other girl answered, licking her lips.

    "You''re disgusting," the first girl said, yfully pushing her friend.

    "Hey, all I''m saying is that even the faction leaders have taken notice of thepetition, and Queen M herself said that she would bed the winner if it were from our Kheaweth Empire," the second girl said. "If Queen M is interested in it, a little girl like me would be lucky to have a taste."

    Interested, Ryan butted in and said, "Excuse me,dies, I overheard your conversation. Where exactly is thispetition taking ce?"

    Hearing a male voice, both girls were prepared to give Ryan a beating for interrupting them, but when they turned, they gapped at Ryan''s gorgeous face.

    Ryan had activated a pleasant face before interacting, just to ensure he would get the answers he sought.

    "Well, hello, handsome. Are you a freshman this year?" the second girl said, hurrying up to Ryan andying her hand on his chest.

    Ryan sped her hand and slowly moved it down until even the girl''s face turned scarlet, and she forcefully moved away from Ryan.

    "Yes," Ryan lied. "But I''ve been ill for a while and haven''t heard about thispetition."

    The first girl huffed and muttered, "Stupid men and their ability to get sick. Why don''t you just cultivate and save yourselves the trouble."

    Ryan ignored the imbecile and hoped the second woman was more mentally sound.

    Thankfully it looked like she was, and after she had calmed down from overexcitement, she said, "Thepetition starts tomorrow and is hosted here in our military academy."

    The girl continued, "As I said, it''s thepetition of the Holy Phoenix Empire, the Red Dragon Empire, and the Kheaweth Empire''s young enhancers."

    "Can anyone join, or is it just students?" Ryan asked.

    "Wow, you don''t know anything," the first girl said, rolling her eyes. "Not only do you have to be a student, but you also have to be in the top 10 of your year."

 Chapter 192 Meeting An Old Acquaintance [R-18]

    ?

    As Ryan walked away from the girls, he wondered if he could get into thispetition, as it would be a surefire way to contact M.

    Deciding he needed more information on thepetition, he headed toward the information bizarre.

    After entering the information bizarre, he found the familiar walls filled with holographic screens and decided to see if his old ''friend'' Bee was still around in the enhancer section.

    Unfortunately, she wasn''t, so Ryan would have to catch up with the little girl who conspired to kidnap himter.

    Turning his attention to the information booth in the middle of the room, he stood in line for a few minutes before it was his turn.

    "What can I do for you, sir?" the attendant asked in a chipper tone.

    "I''d like to purchase an information packet on thepetition. After that, anything frompetitors from other regions to the schedule will suffice," Ryan answered.

    The attendant tapped the hologram in front of her for a few seconds before she said, "I have information on both the top 10 enhancers from the Holy Phoenix Empire and the Red Dragon Empire, as well as a few other tidbits of information about past tournaments. If you''d like to buy all our information on the enhancer tournament, I can offer you a discount."

    Ryan nodded, paid the nominal fee to ess the information, and presented his wristband to receive the information.

    Ryan obliged, and the girl''s eyebrows raised.

    "Is there a problem?" Ryan asked.

    The attendant quickly regained herself and shook her head. "No, it''s no trouble. I just thought I''d seen you somewhere."

    Ryan smiled and thanked the attendant before leaving with the information.

    The attendant watched Ryan leave with a peculiar face. "Wasn''t he the one from the auction?"

    ===

    Ryan left the bizarre and quickly headed toward his next destination.

    Because of the cameras, Ryan couldn''t keep his pleasant face active 24/7 and hadn''t been using it when he was up at the counter for a particr purpose.

    The cameras wouldn''t be affected by his pleasant face ability, so there would be no point in using it when at the counter.

    "I just forgot how popr I was at the school," Ryan muttered.

    His next destination was to see a person he would kill today or possibly recruit.

    He was going to see Lieutenant Valery.

    Walking into the courtyard where her office was located, Ryan suddenly felt the presence of the beast he had seen the first time he hade to Valery''s residence.

    The beast was a mix between a cheetah and a zebra with ck and white stripes running down their lean physiques.

    ''Odd, why can''t I feel their cultivation base?''

    [Master! What is this paradise?] Yoko suddenly shouted in his mind.

    Ryan stopped in his tracks and raised his eyebrows.

    [What do you mean?] Ryan asked, responding to Yoko''s telepathic message.

    [Do you know what that species is? And that fish swimming in the pond, do you know what that is?] Yoko asked enthusiastically.

    [No, but how powerful could they be? We''re in a non-Multiverse world.]

    [Sometimes rare beasts pop up in small worlds like this, although it is umon, it''s not unheard of,] Yoko said. [This girl is probably a beast tamer with a special affinity with rare beasts.]

    Ryan was intrigued by this possibility and vowed to use his energy vision to her talent as soon as he saw Valery.

    As he crossed the small bridge, the small fish creature flicked some water on him and jumped out of the water in greeting, causing Ryan to chuckle.

    As he approached the door, he saw the name card that read, "Lieutenant Valeria" as before.

    Knocking twice, he heard a e in" from inside.

    Turning the knob, he entered the tiger''s den with confidence.

    Sitting behind her desk was arge, athletic, curly-haired brte with golden amber eyes.

    "Good to see you haven''t died from boredom while I''ve been gone," Ryan said as he entered her office.

    Valery was reading a holographic message from behind the chair, but she jolted when she heard the voice.

    "A-Anthony?" Valery asked.

    "It''s Ryan. That''s my real name," he said, sitting opposite the lieutenant.

    "Why are you here? You got expelled. You shouldn''t be here!" she said, frantically looking around.

    Ryan chuckled. "Are you saying I shouldn''t be in the academy or your office?" Ryan teased.

    Valery mmed the desk. "You know what I meant. Now tell me why you''re here?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Ryan licked his lips. "Well, of course, I came back for you. You didn''t think I''d forget about you, did I?"

    Valery suddenly blushed, remembering the filthy fantasies that had gued her thoughts when Ryan had been a student.

    She had several after Ryan''s expulsion, but she had been on a three-day streek without a vision of him ruthlessly pounding her before he showed up.

    Valery''s breath couldn''t help but speed up as she recalled her fantasies of Ryan humiliating her in front of all the students, them seeing her naked body being manhandled.

    None of this escaped Ryan''s prying eye as he slowly stood, activating his pleasure aura.

    How could the little C-Rank cultivator withstand Ryan''s entire aura?

    Her fantasies rapidly yed through her mind, meshing with reality as Ryan drew nearer.

    Her lips started quivering, and her breath came out in short, breathy bursts.

    "W-We can''t," she said, although even she knew she sounded pitifully weak.

    "But we will," Ryan said, a devilish grin forming.

    Valery scooted her chair away from Ryan until it was backed up against the wall, where she had no more room to run.

    Ryan approached her and ran a hand down her shivering cheek.

    Her soft skin tingled under Ryan''s careful touch making Valery let out a soft whimper.

    Ryan leaned into her ear and whispered, "Tell me, do you know who I am?"

    The hot breath made Valery''s skin feel like it was on fire, but the words confused her mind.

    "No sir, I mean Ryan," she said, blushing at the automatic response of sir.

    Ryan''s cock throbbed in his pants as he heard this muscr girl call him sir subconsciously.

    Seeing no deceit in her voice or mannerisms, he dug deeper. "Do you know anything about a project: ''subject one''?"

    Valery slowly shook her head.

    [I don''t think she''s lying, Master,] Yoko said after observing Valery. [I think we should recruit her.]

    [What do you think I''m doing,] Ryan growled and turned off Yoko''s ess to his vision.

    [Hey! I want to see Master!] Yoko protested, but Ryan wasn''t having any of it and cut off his connection with the overprivileged lizard for now.

    "Do you like the Kheaweth Empire?" Ryan asked Valery, looking into her golden amber eyes.

    Valery assumed Ryan was part of the Kheaweth Empire, so she hurriedly said, "Of course, I love it with all my heart!"

    Ryan grinned because he could tell that statement wasn''t truthful.

    "Do you want to know a secret?" Ryan asked as he touched Valery''s lower thigh, slowly trailing his fingers upward. "I''m against the Kheaweth Empire, not for it."

    Valery was trying to focus on Ryan''s words, but her concentration couldn''t help but be drawn to his hand that was making its way ever closer to her most private ce.

    "W-What did you say?" Valery asked, too distracted to hear Ryan properly.

    Ryan didn''t stop his hand as he repeated himself, but Valery had enough awareness to hear him this time and gasped, both because of his words and the fact that his hand was now resting on her inner thigh.

    She gripped the armrests of her chair as she closed her eyes, and said, "How do I know that''s true."

    Ryan chuckled and opened up his oath screen. "Open your eyes to find out."

    Biting her lip, she pried her eyes open and moaned as Ryan''s hand made contact with her apex through her clothes.

    As she was moaning, she couldn''t help but see the words in front of her. However, she didn''t know whether she was hallucinating or the words were indeed there.

    "I-Is that real?" she managed to say, holding back her whimpers of pleasure.

    "Yes, Valery, it is."

    Valery shivered, knowing she was about to lose control.

    Her submissive nature didn''t allow her to move against Ryan''s touch without his permission, afraid of upsetting this man before her.

    "W-What do you want from me?" Valery asked in a low voice, a tear of ecstasy escaping her eye as she tried to contain herself from moving against Ryan''s probing fingers.

    "Everything."

    The word was like a tidal wave as Valery''s eyes rolled to the back of her head as she convulsed against the fingers attacking her sopping pussy through her clothes.

    The orgasmsted for hours, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she had the best and longest orgasm of her life.

    "Yes! Thank you, sir! Thank you!" Valery cried as an enormous smile formed as the bliss continued rampaging through her body.

 Chapter 193 The Lieutenants Submission [R-18]

    ?

    Her clothes were now drenched in a mixture of her sweat and juices, but that didn''t matter as, in the next second, Ryan tore off her shirt and bra.

    Her body quaked at his touch as he ran his hands all over her chest. His rough palms traced around every curve on her perfect tits and across her muscled stomach to rest on the crotch of her pants. He yanked her panties away, throwing them on the floor beside her chair.

    Valery couldn''t even react because she still had spasms after returning to reality.

    She gasped when she saw Ryan''s thick cock standing out between his legs and throbbing between his legs.

    She could feel it pulsing with anticipation, knowing what would happen. It was almost painful as it brushed against her clit and lips, sending shivers up and down her spine.

    Valery looked up into Ryan''s face. Her vision blurred with lust as she licked her lips hungrily.

    Ryan leaned down, and his mouth crashed onto her, devouring her moans as hepped at her tongue.

    He swirled his tongue around hers until they kissed, their tongues dueling for dominance while Valery slowly guided him toward her opening.

    His kiss became more demanding, more passionate. Their mouths moved faster and harder until there was nothing else in the world except for the two of them making love right here in this small room in Valery''s office.

    "Ah! Oh! God! Ah! Yes!" she screamed, her mind entirely focused on Ryan.

    Ryan knew exactly how much she loved the sensation of his fingers slipping inside her and pressing against her g-spot. He slid his finger along her walls to reach her sweet spot where her inner walls were so thin that his finger quickly passed through as if it weren''t even there. He twisted his hand as he pressed inward, rubbing her swollen clit simultaneously.

    Valery moved back against his thrusts, grinding her ass against his fingers. She felt the pressure build-up, reaching a point where she wanted to scream from sheer pleasure. She finally gave up all control to Ryan when he gripped her waist tightly.

    "Yes!" she cried again, throwing her head back and gripping the arms of her chair as she came all over Ryan''s hands. "Oh yes! Fuck me!"

    Her entire body quivered with delight at every touch of his hands.

    Her second orgasm was less intense than the first one, but it was still good enough to leave her breathless, sweaty, and weak.

    As she started toe down from the high, Ryan kissed her lips gently.

    "Don''t worry, you''re yet to experience anything yet," Ryan said.

    Reaching forward, Ryan grabbed the back of her head and guided it toward his member.

    "I promise you''ll find my shaft more enjoyable than your imagination."

    Valery nodded as her eyes widened and darted around before focusing on his thick cockhead. Her mouth opened as soon as his tip made contact with her tongue and began swirling around it.

    She slowly bobbed her head up and down on Ryan''s long pole, licking around his ns.

    "Suck it harder!" Ryan ordered in a deep voice that left no room for discussion.

    She obeyed him instantly and let out a muffled moan when she felt therge girth of his rod slide between her lips and fill them. After that, the room was silent except for theirbored breathing and Valery''s moans of pleasure.

    Ryan knew this girl was good and wouldn''t disappoint, so he didn''t rush her.

    He enjoyed how she took every inch of his length into her hot throat as she choked and asionally coughed, making his grin wider and his cock harder.

    After several minutes of sucking, Ryan pulled back and released her head. He ran his hand down her chest and stomach, pressing against her warm body.

    Valery watched Ryan with wide, lust-filled eyes as he rubbed his hips against her ass.

    "Please!" Valery begged, clutching at his shoulders as if begging to be carried off.

    "Please, what?" Ryan asked.

    "I want you inside me!"

    Ryan grinned wickedly and pressed his cock against her entrance again.

    She couldn''t speak as he entered her with one hard thrust, filling herpletely.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The two of them were still locked together as he started to move. His cock was now resting snuggly in Valery''s tight pussy. She wrapped her legs around his waist tightly. Their bodies moved in perfect rhythm until she felt him pulse inside of her.

    "Oh my god! Yes!" she screamed in bliss. "Yes yes yes!"

    Valery threw her head back and cried out repeatedly as Ryan fucked into her like a man possessed, mming his hips against hers.

    "Y-You''re too fast for me!" Valery said between cries of pleasure, but Ryan only smiled, keeping his pace steady and driving deeper into her warmth each time he mmed into her, leaving Valery gasping for breath between moans of joyous rapture.

    He looked down at the beautiful face before him while they continued moving faster and harder together. Her eyes were closed with ecstasy, hair sticking to her forehead with sweat, breasts bouncing with every impact as she gripped onto the armrests of the chair.

    It seemed as if every movement their bodies made caused their groins to bump together with greater intensity as they came closer to their orgasms. Ryan could feel Valery''s pussy walls clenching and unclenching around his shaft as he held on tighter to her body.

    His fingers dug into her skin as he pulled back to make it hurt more. He felt her entire body shudder as he did so, and he grinned widely, enjoying how much she loved this.

    He knew she wouldn''t be able to stop herself from cumming soon because there was nothing else left in the world except for him fucking her right then and there in her office.

    She tried to control her voice when she spoke next, saying, "I...I love you, sir."

    "You''re going to cum, now," Ryan whispered as his mouth kissed her neck.

    "I-I know! I''m gonna c-cum!" Valery replied as she continued being impaled by Ryan''s cock with forceful thrusts of his hips.

    He felt his balls tightening up. The moment he felt them tighten up, he felt himself surge with hot, thick liquid that rushed out of him and flooded Valery''s pussy.

    Valery cried out and moaned as she felt hisrge member pulsing inside of her, releasing a warm gush of his seed into her pussy.

    Valery whimpered softly and squeezed her legs tightly around Ryan as she felt his ejacte spilling deep into her womb. Her knees buckled a bit from the pleasure coursing through her body, but the two managed to hold on until they finisheding down together after an intense orgasm together.

    They stayed together like this for a while, not moving while they caught their breaths from their climaxes together. When Valery was finally ready to move again, they both parted their sweaty lips. They shared another soft kiss before pulling away from one another slowly.

    "That was..." Valery started to say when she saw a glimmering tear fall off her cheek onto her chest. "What?" she asked, confused at the emotion that made her feel such joy and sadness simultaneously. "You said you wanted everything, but what does that mean?"

    Ryan grinned. "It means I want you in my harem."

    Her eyes widened as his words sunk in. "WhaˇŞ What?!" she gasped in surprise. "Are you sure it''s me you''re talking about here, or is this just some kind of joke?"

    Valery had a high opinion of the man in front of her, and he wasn''t something a lowly Lieutenant could afford to have feelings toward.

    Ryan chuckled. "I''m serious. I would be more than happy to ept a woman as a lover who has so many things to offer me."

    Valery looked up at him a tear forming in her eye. "I have things I can offer you?"

    "Yes," he said, smiling. "And a lot more than just your obedience."

    Ryan pretended to reach into his spatial bag that was on the floor and proceeded to pull out a fresh set of clothes for Valery.

    "Here, get dressed. You''re a lot more to me than a nice fuckdoll."

    Valery shivered at the words and obediently got dressed.

    Once she was dressed, Ryan looked her in the eyes, his pleasure aura long since turned off.

    "I''d like to know whether or not you''re willing to leave this empire with me, and turn against it," Ryan said solemnly.

    Expecting this after Ryan''s earlier words, Valery took a deep breath and then nodded. "I am prepared."

    "Then ept the contract."

    Ryan sent a prompt to Valery, who was instantly stunned by both the suspicion that Ryan had a heavenly screen and that he even knew how to send a prompt.

    But when she read the contents of the contract, her mouth fell open, and she shouted, "You''re a cultivator?!"

 Chapter 194 The Tournament Starts [R-18]

    ?

    Seeing Valery''s reaction, Ryan was satisfied that she knew nothing.

    He had put in the contract that he was a cultivator for this exact purpose.

    Ryan nodded. "Yes, and it''s a secret, so it''s best not to shout it out."

    Valery blushed and nodded. "I understand, sir. I''ll keep it to myself from now on."

    Valery looked at Ryan oddly and asked, "What happens now?"

    Ryan scratched his chin. "Now? Well, right now, I need a way to get in contact with M. You know the faction leader?"

    Valery frowned and looked deep in thought. "If it were anyone else, it would be a piece of cake, but the faction leaders have their unique privileges on campus, and it''s not something I can interfere with."

    Ryan nodded, expecting this oue. ''If the teachers could boss around the faction leaders, then the scene in the auditorium the first day I came to Ravier wouldn''t have happened.''

    "Then, can you get me into the tournament happening tomorrow?"

    "The tournament?" Valery asked, then fell deep into thought.

    After contemting it for several seconds, she nodded. "Technically, it''s not the top 10 enhancers in the rankings; it''s the top 10 enhancers I choose to send. So I do have discretion, but for that, you''d need at least to be a visiting member of the nobility, and I doubt-"

    "Would this work?" Ryan asked, producing his visitor''s wristband.

    Valery blinked at it, then scanned it with her wristband.

    Her eyes widened as she whispered, "The Frost General!"

    Ryan grinned. ''Looks like having Ester on my side is working out already.''

    "Yes, this works," Valery nodded hastily and got to work typing some things in a hologram behind her desk.

    When she was done, she returned Ryan''s wristband with a smile. "You are officially ranked 10th in participation in the uing Enhancer Games!"

    Ryan''s mouth twitched. "The Enhancer Games? Don''t tell me it''s going to be like the hunger games," Ryan said offhandedly.

    "That''s exactly right!" Valery said enthusiastically. "It''s based on the hunger games franchise from the fantasy world."

    Ryan suddenly had a sh in his mind of 12 naked dudes in the middle of the wilderness ying ''sword fighting'' with their genitalia to the crowd''s amusement and shivering.

    "Can you exin it more in-depth?" Ryan asked, a hint of trepidation in his voice.

    "Certainly," Valery said, sitting down. "The Enhancer games will feature a free for all, much like the hunger games, where everyone starts out in arge arena. However, you won''t be killing the other contestants. Instead, you''ll be..."

    ''Please don''t be cumming on them, please don''t be cumming on them,'' Ryan prayed.

    "Instead of killing your fellow contestants, you''ll fight them in a race against the clock. Do you remember the gamemaker''s punishments in the hunger games? When the game makers made a deadly fog appear or those mutated beasts? It will be like that."

    Ryan tilted his head. "But how is this apetition for enhancers?"

    "Inside the arena, we have tied down prisoners of the female gender, and for every seed let loose, depending on the power, you''ll get an item to help youst inside the arena. For example, if a beast horde is the next on the list, and you have already spilled your seed beforehand, you''ll get either a defensive protection device if you''re fast or have high ranking sperm, or something like a stick to thwack your enemies if you do poorly," Valery exined.

    The concept seemed like it''d make a bad porno to Ryan but still agreed nheless. ''For glory and honor, I shall cum in their vaginas to build the great wall of china.''

    Ryan would sacrifice if it meant he could achieve his overarching goal.

    Ryan shook his head. ''The sacrifices I make for power.''

    Valery then signed the contract, which immediately made her go a transformation.

    Her race was upgraded, her cultivation leveled up, and her muscles...

    "Okay, her muscles were already big. Did you have to make them bigger?" Ryan muttered, staring up towards the heavens.

    Sighing, Ryan only shook his head. "Looks like tomorrow will be a long one... in more ways than one."

    ===

    The Enhancer Games (6 days until the wedding...)

    "Ladies and gentlemen! I present to you the Enhancer Games!" the voice boomed through the viewing area and the contestant''s arena.

    The contestants took a second to take everything in. They were raised on tubes just like in the games, so is was the first time they saw the arena for themselves.

    The arena wasn''t so much an arena as it looked like an endless expanse of forest that stretched beyond what the eye could see.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Now for the rules of our game..."

    "Every enhancer has been given the same buff they would have in the Blissful Cultivation Network, which grants them stamina and ultimate recovery of their sperm."

    "Your goal is to survive and reach the final battle. The stronger you are, the further you can make it, and the better chances you''ll win the entire thing."

    "And don''t worry about your lives as you''ll be transported out automatically at the first sign of danger."

    "You can gain bonuses byying your seed into any of the women ced around the battlefield."

    "Let the games begin!"

    The contestants rushed toward the center, which held many different devices, including pills to increase one''s sperm output, other enhancers, and more such items.

    Ryan, however, was the only one who didn''t rush forward, as he did not need such items.

    Instead, he turned around and headed into the forest.

    After walking well, he found his first victim strapped to a set of logs at an odd angle.

    Her butt and breasts were exposed, and she was tied down with her hands behind her back. She was trying to rub herself against her bindings to reach her clitoris but failing due to the awkwardness of her position.

    "Why do you resist me?" Ryan said coldly. "It''s pointless to fight it. You''re not going anywhere,"

    He knelt next to the woman and began to touch her breast, gently fondling it before slowly moving on to its neighbors and rubbing over her nipples while pinching them between his finger and thumb. He leaned forward and kissed her neck where he''d put his lips.

    The girl shivered from pleasure. "Please..." she begged him, almost crying in joy.

    Ryan chuckled. ''It seems like these girls may not be prisoners in the most traditional sense.''

    He took his time kissing and licking at her neckline, making sure that everyone could see what was happening. He knew there were cameras around, and he already had a n for how to deal with them. ''I am not a exabistionist.''

    As he continued kissing her and groping her, Ryan slowly activated an illusion field and changed the scene.

    He wanted to make it look like he had pulled out his dick and finished after around 40 minutes which was still staggeringly fast, but not something that anyone should look too closely at.

    After setting up the illusion field, Ryan licked his lips. He now had unadultirated ess to this tied up woman for the next 40 minutes and nobody would find out what he did.

    His devious thoughts however, were inturrupted by Yoko. [Master, you''re going to let me watch this time, right?]

    Hearing the pleading words of his dragon, Ryan frowned. [Why? Are you so eager to see my dong?]

    Yoko huffed, sounding indignant. [I''m not eager to see your anything! I-I just want to observe your teachers actions in work.]

    Ryan rolled his eyes. [Aliza''s teachings should be shared with the world, I agree. But I don''t think I want to give you a live demonstration.]

    [Hmph,] was Yoko''s only response.

    Shaking his head, Ryan turned off his mental connection with Yoko and focused back on the woman tied down.

    He had been mindlessly fondling the woman while letting his pleasure aura work it''s magic and when he returned his attention to her, she was practically drooling.

    "Please... master..." she whispered as she trembled from pleasure. "Please..." she moaned, then squealed from what he was doing to her.

    "You''re a good girl, aren''t you?" Ryan asked in a soft tone. "A nice, obedient little toy."

    The girl nodded vigorously in reply.

    "Yes," Ryan continued, pressing a finger against her clitoris. He used his other hand to rub over the woman''s breasts and belly before moving his fingers along the underside of her thighs.

    "What are you called?" Ryan asked, lightly pinching her hood between his thumb and forefinger.

    "Gaomi-san!" She gasped in answer, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

    "What were you before you became... this?" Ryan asked, as he looked at the ve/prisoner before him.

    She shook her head slightly in a motion that made the chains around her body jingle ever so softly. "Just a normal person. A wife, a mother, a teacher... my name was Gaomi."

    Her voice dropped lower into a husky whisper, almost like she was afraid someone might hear. "I did everything right. I taught my students how to grow their strength. How to do well in life. And yet, now I''m nothing more than a helpless piece of meat for some pervert to use and abuse as he sees fit."

    Ryan nodded. "Right you are."

 Chapter 195 Tied Up And No Where To Go [R-18]

    ?

    Ryan leaned down and caressed her naked frame, bound for his amusement.

    She was entirely nude, and the logs she was tied to make her ass visible for all to see.

    Her hands were tied in a simple but tight knot behind her back. The ropes weren''t too ufortable, and she seemed to have taken care not to pull them on herself by straining or twisting. If she wanted to try, it''d probably take about an hour of practice before she could break free.

    But where would she go? She was in a forest full of ravenous men ready to attack any moment so they could bury their seed inside her.

    Ryan inched his hand toward her opening without rushing since his illusion field was active.

    The girl tried to squirm against her restraints, but it was useless.

    "Why don''t you describe what you want me to do?" Ryan asked as he ran the tip of one finger against her clitoris. "Don''t worry, if you ask nicely enough, I might even allow it," he said, running his other hand over the woman''s stomach and breasts again.

    Whimpers escaped the poor girl''s mouth, making it seem like she didn''t believe him until she realized that this man knew how she felt. "Please..." she begged.

    "Alright then," Ryan said before taking off his clothes. He began slowly stroking, looking down at the helpless girl before him. His erection grew bigger with every passing second, growing thicker before reaching its maximum size after around 20 seconds.

    He quickly went into position, pushing his hips forward as he aimed his dick toward her opening.

    Holding still for a moment, he waited for her to adjust to his presence before pushing inwards. Her body shook in pleasure as her inner walls gave way, taking him inside her.

    She whimpered and moaned as he pressed further and further in, feeling his balls m against her butt and backside as they continued their journey deep within her depths.

    His member filled her, causing her toes to curl and her eyes to roll up. She gripped her bonds tighter than she had when he started, the ropes digging painfully into her wrists as they fought against the pressure of her body.

    The pain of her bondage caused her to squeeze her legs shut, her knees pulling together tightly and locking, trapping his cock inside of her.

    The woman screamed and yelped from the sharp difort, but Ryan paid it no mind, instead pressing on with his movements.

    He slowly pulled out of her again while watching her expression closely, only to thrust himself in faster this time.

    It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion for the poor girl''s sake, who could not move or even cry for help since her hands were bound behind her back and she was trapped in ce by the logs that kept her secure.

    Ryan observed her face as he forced himself deeper into her each time, letting her get used to his size as he felt her body shake around him as she neared her orgasm.

    Her breathing became heavier and more ragged as her tight little pussy began to ripple along with every one of his plunging movements inside of her.

    She closed her eyes tightly with every passing moment, focusing on blocking out anything other than the pleasure before her as her stomach tightened until finally...

    "Ahhhh!" the woman gasped, her whole body shaking and trembling as she reached her climax, Ryan''s member sliding in and out of her depths.

    He stayed still once he felt her start toe down off her high, just holding himself still deep within her wet passage.

    The girl stared at him wide-eyed, still unable to speak because all of his movementpletely silenced him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Ryan wanted to end this fast; however, as soon as she had stopped moaning, he started moving again, and with a forceful thrust, he managed to knock the wind out of the poor girl.

    Ryan''s cardinal desires weren''t meant to be quenched as he thrust mercilessly into her very core and started pounding away.

    "Ahhhh! Ahhhhh! Ohhhhhhh..." She couldn''t even think anymore, let alone scream, as Ryan fucked her so hard that it looked like he was going to break her in half from the amount of force he was using.

    "Oh heavens!" She whimpered, feeling herself getting close again, "Don''t stop... don''t you dare stop."

    But, of course, he did. He held still, letting her convulse and try desperately to press against his shaft.

    From how far back Ryan had moved, only the tip would enter inside, causing her endless torment.

    "Fuck, I''m sorry... please forgive me," she begged as she writhed her sweat-soaked back.

    Ryan grinned devilishly and rammed back into her, this time not holding back.

    He used her as a fucktoy that he didn''t care about breaking.

    Soon his balls were tightening, and his guttural growls were bing louder as he got closer to finishing.

    With one final roar, Ryan thrust forward and shot ropes of hot, thick cum deep inside of the woman.

    As soon as the first burst of seed entered, she cried out in pain, but Ryan ignored her as he sprayed himself all over her body.

    He didn''t want her to enjoy all of his semen inside of her. It might make her go insane.

    The woman shivered and fell limp against the restraints, her bodypletely spent.

    Ryan held his grin as he clothed himself and walked away, leaving the woman there like a cum-soaked ragdoll.

    ===

    [Master, why can''t I watch?] Yoko asked, sounding disheartened as Ryan activated his connection with the dragon again.

    Ryan chuckled. [You''re too young. That''s not something a child''s mind can handle.]

    Yoko narrowed her eyes. [Although I''m a properdy and won''t reveal her age, it''s not something like a mere mortal like you could understand.]

    [All I see is an unborn dragon who talks too much,] Ryan drawled, still sitting near hisst camping ce, controlling the illusion of reaching its final point.

    As the ''illusion him'' climaxed inside the girl, a golden light descended on his actual body, and a prompt appeared in his vision.

 Chapter 196 Ryans Back

    ?

    A golden light descended onto his body, and a prompt appeared in Ryan''s vision.

    [Congrattions: You''ve gained 30 Enhancer Points]

    After receiving his points, Ryan navigated his way deeper into the forest.

    His job was to do his best not to stand out but still win thepetition.

    After a few minutes, Ryan approached a clearing and spotted six contestants. Their tell-tale tails and horns giving them away as contestants from the dragon race.

    Approaching from within the forest, Ryan was about to leave them be, but he overheard something interesting from one of the contestants.

    "Has anyone seen those phoenix brats?" One of the brawny youths from the dragon race asked.

    "Yeah, I saw them south of here," a dragon youth beside him with distinctive pointy ears and a yellow-tipped tail answered.

    "How many?" The brawny youth asked, directing his gaze south.

    "Four, they seem to have gathered a few items from the center like us."

    "We should trail them and take them out after they''ve gathered enough points to satisfy our appetite," a dragon youth with a cloak covering his face suggested.

    Ryan''s ears perked up. Before thepetition, he had little time to learn the rules, so he didn''t realize he could get points from other contestants.

    ''Why would I waste my time getting points by myself when I can just steal other people''s points?''

    After realizing this fact, Ryan entered the clearing, his emerald eyes locking on to the brawny youth''s.

    "Hello, gentlemen. I''d like to inform you that you''ve received the distinct privilege of being relieved of your items by yours truly," Ryan said theatrically as he made sure to make eye contact with each of the dragon youths in turn.

    "What did this human just say?" The pointy-eared dragon sputtered.

    "I think he''s lost it," another dragon added. "Doesn''t he know that dragons are a lot stronger innately than humans? It doesn''t even look like he has any items!"

    The brawny youth started chuckling. "My, my. It appears we have a jokester in our midst!"

    His chuckle abruptly stopped, and his once yful eyes turned cold with a tint of malice. "However, unluckily for you, I hate love grounding jokesters into ground beef!"

    Finishing his speech, the brawny youth charged toward Ryan with a small dagger firmly grasped in his right hand.

    The other youths smiled, expecting a triumphant victory for their self-appointed leader, but what followed made their expressions freeze and their veins run cold.

    Ryan expertly diverted the youth''s momentum and knocked the charging dragon to the ground.

    Before the youth couldnd, Ryan was already moving toward his next target and had the next youth on the ground before the horrified dragon could blink.

    After quickly cleaning up the fight, Ryan gathered the few possessions of the dragons and left them sprawled unconscious.

    Ryan knew that by removing their wristbands or making a close-to-fatal blow, they would be teleported out of the arena, but he had no intention of doing so.

    For one, none of the youths had any points, making eliminating them pointless since he wouldn''t receive any points.

    It would also garner the attention of the people watching if one person eliminated six contestants alone for seemingly no reason.

    Ryan had set up an illusion barrier before entering the clearing so what the spectators saw waspletely different and wouldn''t arouse any suspicion.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Looking over the few items the dragon youths had on them, Ryan threw out the useless weapons and set his sights on thest two items.

    One was apass that had could be used three times to locate the nearest point carrying participant.

    Thepass could also be used once to locate the highest point carrying participant other than the user.

    "It''s not bad, but I think it''s best saved forter," Ryan muttered, tucking it into his pocket.

    The final item was a small pair of sses and when Ryan ced them over his eyesˇ­ nothing happened.

    Seemingly perplexed, Ryan was about to throw the sses away when he nced at the youths on the ground and slightly raised his eyebrows.

    Small yellow 0''s floated above each of the unconscious dragons disying their current enhancer points.

    A small smile epassed Ryan''s face as he licked his lips in anticipation of his new found rewards.

    "Mˇ­ I''ll see you soon," Ryan whispered, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

    ===

    Somewhere on the Human Empire''s Military Training Campusˇ­

    M was currently watching the enhancer tournament with boredom evident on her face.

    After missing the opening few minutes, she had been hoping the human school would produce at least a few worthwhile enhancers. Still, so far only a single participant from the human empire had gotten any points.

    "Abby, why are our enhancers so useless?" M groaned, turning to her elder sister in hopes that she would alleviate her boredom.

    Abby chuckled. "I seem to remember one enhancer that was very useful, although you seemed to have chased him out."

    M''s face turned scarlet as she stammered, "I did not chase him out! H-He left on his own ord!"

    "You''re certainly right about that," Abby replied, grinning as she teased her sister.

    "Anthony Dire wasn''t that man anyways," M muttered, her face bing solum as she remembered the day in the auditorium.

    Abby''s grin didn''t dissipate as she asked, "Sister, you''re just in denial. You remember the auction. You saw it as well as I did. You know the truth."

    M couldn''t help herself as she fell into a daze, remembering the auction like yesterday. The handsome man''s face as he stood almost mocking her on the stage and Abby as they embraced with a kiss.

    M hadn''t seen Ryan since that day, but she longed for their reunion and for him to call her once again ''Little Angel''.

    As her memories started to fade, M returned her focus to the screen just to glimpse the man who had the only points for the human camp.

    Her eyes narrowed slightly as she leaned forward, her body suddenly stiffening.

    Abby, catching her sister''s odd behavior out of the corner of her eye, asked, "What''s wrong?"

    "I-Is that?" M''s voice came out shaky as her eyes were glued to the screen, her breathing catching in her throat.

    Abby raised her eyebrow and turned toward the screen before she gasped, "Ryan!"

 Chapter 197 A Fight With A Pair Of Cocks

    ?

    For the next few hours, Ryan found himself stalking prey after prey, iming a few points here or there but finding no substantial opponents.

    ncing at his wristband, Ryan pulled up the tournament''s current leaderboard.

    <Enhancer Tournament Standings>

    <1. (312 Points) Paracox Jara>

    <2. (211 Points) Ovarir Kan>

    <3. (205 Points) Tara Phan>

    <4. (201 Points) Anthony Dire>

    Even though Ryan had been diligently collecting points, he still was only in fourth ce.

    Deciding now was the right time, Ryan pulled out a small device from his pocket.

    The device looked like apass, but unlike a regrpass, no matter which direction Ryan turned, the needle didn''t move.

    After holding thepass for five seconds, a prompt appeared in Ryan''s vision.

    <Would you like to activate thepass of location?>

    Saying "yes" another prompt appeared in Ryan''s vision, and he selected the option for finding the participant with the most points.

    The needle started to shake and, after spinning in circles a few times, pointed south of Ryan and stayed still.

    "513ˇ­ sounds like a good number to me," Ryan said with a slight smile before he disappeared in a burst of speed.

    ===

    In a thick bundle of trees, nine figures were kneeling around a skinny man with metal-framed sses.

    Even if these figures hadn''t been on their knees, it would have been obvious to anyone that looked at the skinny man that he was a leader.

    His cold, calcting eyes looked at his subordinates like he was looking at pieces on a chess board.

    "Garth," the leader said, ncing at one of the kneeling men. "Why did I only receive 312 points?"

    Hearing his leader''s words, Garth trembled slightly before gulping and replying, "L-Leader, 312 is all the points we''ve received so far."

    The leader narrowed his eyes in anger and kicked the kneeling man in the shin, causing Garth to copse on the ground in pain.

    Even though the leader might look weak, the kick felt like he had been shot in the leg to Garth.

    Unbeknownst to the group, Ryan was watching them silently from the trees. He crouched low to the ground, staying still as possible to avoid detection. His eyes were fixed on the group of men, focusing primarily on the leader.

    The leader was a man of a lithe build, his wiry frame belying an explosive strength evident in how he moved. He had sharp, angr features, with a thin, chiseled face and piercing dark eyes.

    The leader''s hair was cropped short and neat, and his skin was deeply tanned from years in the sun. Despite his lean build, his muscles were toned and well-defined, a testament to the rigorous lifestyle he led.

    As he moved, the leader exuded a sense of cruelty and ruthlessness that was both intimidating and awe-inspiring. His movements were precise and calcted, each strike and block executed with a deadly efficiency.

    Despite his obvious skill and power, something was unsettling about the leader - a sense of darkness and malice that seemed to lurk just beneath the surface. His eyes gleamed with a cold, calcting intelligence, and his lips were twisted into a cruel smirk that sent a shiver down Ryan''s spine.

    Ryan''s breathing became slow and measured, allowing him to maintain focus and concentration. A n began to form in his mind, and he decided to make this round of fights a little more interesting.

    He remained still and silent. Keeping his bnce and waiting patiently for the right moment to strike.

    "Why do you only have 312 points?" the leader growled, his face twisted in anger and frustration.

    "We attacked a lot more people but a lot of them didn''t have points," whined Garth, sniveling on the ground.

    "What do you mean they didn''t have points?" demanded the leader, mming another kick into Garth''s side.

    "Someone else has been attacking them, gleaning their points, but leaving the participants in the game," Garth yelped, holding his side and using his other hand to try to fend off the leader''s kicks.

    The leader''s face contorted into an expression of disbelief. "You''re just making them up! You''re just making it up. You''re hiding the points!" he roared, his fists clenched.

    Garth swallowed hard, realizing that he might be in serious trouble. The leader was about tosh out at him when Ryan stepped forward.

    "He''s telling the truth," Ryan said calmly, his emerald eyes shining in the dim light.

    The leader spun around, surprised by Ryan''s sudden appearance. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voiceced with suspicion.

    Ryan stepped forward, his emerald eyes locked onto the leader''s dark gaze. "You think you''re so tough, don''t you?" he said, his voiceced with a hint of sarcasm.

    The leader snorted in response. "I don''t have to think it. I know it. And you should know better than to question my skills, boy."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Ryan grinned, his muscles tensing as he prepared for a fight. "Oh, I''m not questioning your skills," he said, his voice dripping with confidence. "I just don''t think they''re good enough to beat me."

    The leader''s eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer to Ryan, his body coiled like a snake ready to strike. "Is that so?" he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Well, let''s find out, shall we? I don''t know who you are, but if you''re the one who''s been stealing my points, it''s time to die!"

    With that, the leaderunched himself at Ryan, his movements lightning-fast and deadly urate.

    Ryan barely had time to react, but he managed to dodge the initial attack and counter with a swift kick to the leader''s midsection.

    Ryan''s eyebrow twitched. ''This guy is shameless!''

    Still going with the n, Ryan let the leader''s fist fly toward him unimpeded.

    In reality, the man moved as slow as a snail in Ryan''s vision and could have easily dodged, but since he was putting on a performance, Ryan let the man''s fist connect.

    Ryan stepped back just at thest second, so to the onlookers, it seemed Ryan only had an average reaction time.

    The leader tried to swipe Ryan''s feet out from beneath him with a low kick, but Ryan, now ying the part of a focused and alert fighter, blocked it quickly.

    The leader, off bnce after missing the low kick, was an easy target as Ryanunched a high roundhouse kick, then used the opening to step in close and deliver a quick punch to the leader''s chest.

    The leader twisted out of the way, able to save himself from getting knocked to the ground, andnded a solid punch on Ryan''s side.

    Ryan pretended to be in pain and gritted his teeth, pouncing andunching a series of fast strikes aimed at the leader''s head and torso.

    Using his arms and legs to parry and deflect, the leader was able to avoid some of Ryan''s pounding blows.

    Ryan felt a whoosh of air out of nowhere as he flipped backward, barely dodging the leaders spinning back kick.

    The leadernded a hard punch to Ryan''s jaw, sending him staggering backwards. "You talk a big game, but you''re nothing but a pretender," he spat, circling around Ryan like a predator.

    Ryan wiped the blood from his lip and grinned wickedly. "Is that the best you''ve got, old man? I thought you were supposed to be a fighter."

    The leader''s eyes shed with anger. "You''re ying with fire, boy. I''ll make you regret those words."

    Ryan chuckled. "I''m not scared of you and never will be."

    The leader''s fists clenched at his sides, his muscles bulging with rage. "You''re dead meat, kid. I''m going to break every bone in your body."

    Ryan didn''t flinch, meeting the leader''s gaze with a cool, steady stare. "Try me," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "I''m not afraid of pain, and I''m definitely not afraid of you."

    Though the leader''s strikes were fast and powerful, Ryan''s strikes were precise and efficient, causing the most damage for each strike.

    The men red at each other, their footwork and bodies constantly shifting as they tried to gain the upper hand.

    At one point, the leader seemed to catch Ryan off bnce andnded a solid kick to his ribs.

    Ryan grunted in pretend pain but quickly regained hisposure andunched a flurry of punches aimed at the leader''s head.

    The leader tried to duck and weave, bobbing and swaying to avoid the blow, but Ryan, not taking a break from his onught of fiery punches, delivered a swift and final bone-breaking kick, aimed right at the leader''s knee, and with a satisfying crunch, he knew he had his points.

    He looked up, wiped the sweat from his face, and over the leader''s screams, said to the onlookers, "Who''s next?"

    ===

    M and Abby watched with wrapped attention as Ryan fought the leader of the dragon-race enhancers.

    Knowing the man she had been with intimately was fierce, Abby wasn''t surprised that he had defeated the leader, but she still felt a burst of excitement at his victory and breathed a sigh of relief.

    As the sister''s looked at each other, sharing their excitement, a knock was heard at the door.

    "Come in," M called, knowing who was at the door.

    When the door was open, standing in the doorway was none other than First Lieutenant Valery, the person who had gotten Ryan into the tournament.

    "I assume you know why you''re here?" M asked.

    An uninformed person might think that this lower-rank girl, who was talking to a First Lieutenant with such ack of respect, would be punished, but they would be sorely mistaken.

    M was a faction leader and on campus, was akin to an Empress in her pce.

    M only nodded and sat opposite M.

    Although M was powerful, Valery still had self-respect and wouldn''t let the student walk all over her.

    Turning to the screen, Valery watched as Ryan finished thest of the dragon enhancers and said, "Ryan."

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