《White Lich》 Spin on the wheel. In a bright flash of white light I got launched high up into the sky. As I ascended I saw an ancient greece city resting on top of fluffy clouds. The sound of the wind was whistling in my ears, and the smell of moisture filled my nostrils. A feeling of comfortable warmth filled my body. Before I had felt cold and sad, but now I got a feeling of joy. What is this otherrworldy feeling? Around me I saw a lot of lights rising up next along me. And as I looked down I did not see my body or arms. A few minutes earlier... I stepped out of the subway train with my boyfriend. The moment we stepped out we felt a warm wind going through the tunnel, and the smell of dust was thick. We had just been having a good time at a restaurant with our common friend. He is a coworker of my boyfriend and recently got promoted, so he was in a very good mood. ¡±Heyyy, shall we go to the cinema? Or hit a bar? Drinks are on me!¡± Our friend was in a good mood. ¡±Take it easy, Tom. We just pigged out at that Chinese restaurant. I need fresh air.¡± My boyfriend looked visibly strained. He had ate a lot at the restaurant before and was a bit sleepy. I was hugging his arm and we started walking out toward the exit. ¡±Nick got a point, let¡¯s enjoy a walk. We got all day long~¡± I was in good spirits too. I did not eat as much as the guys but I felt adequately full. ¡±There is a lot of people, going to take forever to get outside.¡± Tom was visibly frustrated, and looked as if he would die of asphyxiation down here. ¡±Man, what I wouldn¡¯t do for a ice cold beer right now.¡± He stretched his arms out as he continued with his chatter in front of us. At this point we had spent two minutes waiting for the crowd at the exit to disperse. Looked like it span all the way up the stairs with no end in sight. We are gonna be stuck here forever at this rate. I started walking in front of Tom and Nick. ¡±By the way Tom, when are you going to get a girlfriend?¡± Nick suddenly asked Tom whom looked as if he was a fish gasping for air. This sudden question made him look shocked. ¡±Eventually. Not like I am in hurry. I still got plenty of time to charm cute girls.¡± We stopped now next to the crowd and I had my back toward it. A subway train was now heard in the distance. ¡±You said that the last time I asked.¡± Nick chuckled as he talked to Tom. ¡±Life is long, so take it easy, bro.¡± ¡±Just because it is long, you should not take everything for granted.¡± The guys then got in an argument. I was not interested in it so I shut my ears off. At this point, the sound of the subway train was loud.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Suddenly there was movement in the crowd. It separated towards us and a man in a hurry was seen in it. Without looking the man accidentally pushed me down the subway tracks, as he got out of the crowd. The feeling felt unreal, as if it was in slow motion I saw everything play out in front of me as I fell down toward the tracks. My boyfriend had a look of pure terror in his face and Tom futilely tried to grab me as I stumbled down. As I touched the tracks I felt an enormous pain in my entire body, which then dissipated... Everything turned to black and all I felt was coldness. Back to present. After a while I stopped ascending, and I felt heavily drawn toward a wheel like structure which was in the opposite direction of the greek themed city in the clouds. At the bottom of it was a huge palace looking building made out marble and gold. The lights and me was drawn like moths toward a lamp to it. Once we landed outside it, all the lights and me suddenly started materializing bodies. I let out a heavy cough and gasped for air as I did. ¡±What is this place?¡± I asked myself as my coughing stopped. Looked like other people asked themselves it too. The palace looking building then opened its enormous gates, and a voice boomed from inside it. ¡±Come inside.¡± The voice commanded and I felt an instinctual urge to go inside. It did not take long for everyone to walk into the opened gates. For what felt like an hour we walked past what felt like an museum. On the sides of the hallway was great windows in which mysterious worlds was observable. Some worlds looked truly alien, meanwhile others looked just like Earth but with a few minor differences. Finally we saw the end of the hallway and we got to see the wheel up close. The wheel looked like it had not been used in a long time. When everyone arrived at the base of the wheel the voice boomed again. ¡±You all here has been chosen to be granted a new life instead of passing into the after life.¡± There was mixed reactions in the crowd. Some looked happy and others had started crying. ¡±Fret not, because I will assist you in your new life. Because of the toll it takes on your soul, I will harden it by granting you powers.¡± The teens in the crowd who previously had been quiet now looked up in anticipation. I felt neither joy or sadness. My life had been ended so abruptly after all. The wheel now suddenly sprung to life and great arcs of yellow and blue energy was seen jumping inside it. ¡±I will now call you towards the Wheel of Reincarnation. You will know when it¡¯s your turn.¡± And just like that the people in the crowd went toward the wheel, one by one. As I observed they started to shine, and had a little chat with the voice before vanishing in a light. After what felt like hours it was my turn. ¡±Freya Lawson, step forward.¡± The voice yet again boomed. It is not like I had any choice so I obeyed and walked toward the wheel. ¡±You died in an unfortunate accident. But do not be sad, your beloved ones are safe.¡± So I am dead, huh? This confirms it then. This is not a dream after all. ¡±I see that you are still in disbelief. No matter. You may either choose a power to harden your soul for your new life, or I can choose. Makes no difference in the end.¡± Power? Like superheroes? For what purpose though? I know nothing of the world where I will live next in. ¡±I sense that you are indecisive. The world where your new life will begin in, is much like the ones in Fantasy works that you are familiar with.¡± Fantasy, huh? So I guess swords and magic is the norm. I guess I would not want to fear death again. This death experience has been traumatic for me. My boyfriend is now heartbroken, and I would not want to break any more hearts again. ¡±I see. Your powers will be adjusted to make you become a Lich then.¡± Wait a second, a Lich!? Aren¡¯t they evil? No way, I do not want to be hated. ¡±Final adjustment will be that you become a good natured Lich. Now step forward into the wheel.¡± As if my body was controlled I stepped into the wheel. And when I passed through it I saw a bright white light again and my ears heard a high pitched noise before fading. A series of unfortunate events. After what felt like several hours had passed, I finally started to wake up. I opened my eyes and saw a bright light around my new body which was naked. I raised my body up and leaned on my arms and inspected my new appearance. As I did my long white hair dropped down all over my face. I put it away and looked at my chest. ¡±Well, looks like I did not get blessed with any boobs. I am flat as a board! And I did not get any clothes either. Argh!¡± My skin was now white, and my body was also hairless, and then as I fondled my body I felt that my ears now are pointy. What have I become? To reassure I touched my teeth, but I felt nothing unusual. Thank god I did not become a vampire. But then I looked for a pulse by touching my neck and left chest. There was none yet my body felt warm. As I explored myself I heard a rattling noise and several footsteps nearby. I took cover behind a nearby coffin. It looked like the spot I had awoken in was full of mysterious red colored runes. The sound of rattling got closer until it stopped next to me. Then I heard a creaking sound and looked up towards it. ¡±S- Ske- SKELETON?¡± I cried out quietly. The skeleton looked at me with disinterest before it resumed its stride. And now the footsteps got closer and I heard voices. ¡±It went this way!¡± ¡±Do not let it get away!¡± ¡±Another one going down!¡± The voices were of men which sounded like they was quite angry. It made me scared so I tried to hide the best I can. I closed my eyes and made myself as small I could. The footsteps went past me and a short distance away I heard the sound of bones breaking and things falling onto the stone floor. ¡±Haha, I love smashing bones.¡± A man with a gravely voice cried out in joy. He must be quite the battle junkie. The steps then dispersed in different directions. ¡±Well, well, well, what do we have here?¡± I smelled old beer and felt moisture upon my right ear along with the loud voice next to me. ¡±A girl? Here?¡± One of the other voices asked curiously. ¡±She looks like death.¡± Another voice said. It was now I felt my left arm being forcefully grabbed. I did not enjoy it at all and tried to resist, but it was futile in the end. ¡±Ey¡¯ where are you going girl?¡± The man who had grabbed me strengthened his grip. I tried not to look at him. ¡±She sure looks good, right guys?¡± Then I felt his other hand touching my naked body. How disgusting and humilating. I slapped him in the face and he cried out in pain. ¡±Do not touch me, you beast!¡± I cried out at him in anger. The others got startle but then raised their weapons. ¡±She is a feisty one. She will fetch a good price with those looks and that voice!¡± Then I felt a pain in my head and I lost consciousness. I vaguely remember hearing noises of the ruffians talking and the creaking of wood. I woke up again with a lingering pain on my head. And when I opened up my eyes again I was in a room full of young girls and women. They all looked sad and some were even quietly sobbing. What is this place? ¡±Hehehe, it looks like the newly acquired goods woke up.¡± A manly disgusting voice was heard behind me. In just what situation am I in? Is this what you wanted for me, god? The girls in the room looked on in fear and disgust. ¡±Do not even think of escaping, girl. Nobody will save you.¡± The voice sounded confident. What a horrible man! I then turned around while covering my modesty. What I saw was a fat ugly man with a face which looked like it was beaten in with a brick repeatedly. I got sick just looking at it. ¡±Where am I...?¡± I quietly talked to myself. ¡±Where? You are in the capital city. I am sure I will find a suitable... Buyer for you. Hehehe...¡± The man sounded perverted when he answered my question. After a while of ogling at us naked girls he left. Never before have I felt so violated. The girls who still had hope now cried. So I am a slave, huh? What a savage world I has been reborn into. I spent most of my now free time exploring what I had become. It looks like I am pretty short for being an adult, and with my flat chest I might as well look like a 15 year old girl. As I touched my body I felt something hard embedded at the bottom of my ribcage. It was marble shaped and felt like glass. But it pulsated and was warm to the touch. Yet it felt part of me and not just attached as an ornament. Also I noticed that instead of nails, I now got retractable claws on both my hands and feet. When retracted they look like normal nails but when I extend them they easily become one decimeter long talons. One thing is for sure, I am not human any more. But I do not seem to have any super human attributes despite being a monster. Being bored i extended the claws on one my hands and hit the bars with them. It made a ringing metal sound and scratched the metal superficially. Oh well, was worth a try I thought. If by some miracle they were sharp enough to cut through metal like paper.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Three days after I had been enslaved I was brought up to a prospective buyer. During that time I had been living on what barely could be called food. It was nutritious enough to not die but not enough to gather strength. Before I got let out, a collar was attached to my neck. It did not seem to be anything special right now but it could attach a rope or chain to it. The man who I assumed wanted to buy me looked like the archetypical hero. He had black hair, black eyes, a fit body and Japanese looking features. He wore a half plate armor and wore a sheathed long sword on his back. On his hips he had a hunting knife and a set of five bottles filled with liquid. Now I stood in front of him naked and was being forced to not cover my modesty. I felt humilated and blushed out of shame. Am I just a piece of meat? The man thoroughly inspected me before saying anything, but luckily was touching not allowed. ¡±Well, I¡¯ll be damned.¡± The hero said with a surprised look on his face. He sure seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe looking at my naked body made him happy. Pervert. ¡±A genuine holy aligned lich. I¡¯ll take her!¡± Even the slaver looked surprised by this information. In the end the hero bought me for about 300 gold coins. I must be very rare merchandise... What did the guy know that I didn¡¯t? As the transaction was concluded the magic got activated on my collar and I got a basic set of clothing to cover my modesty. Gotta be happy of the little things I guess... ¡±Welcome to my harem and also party. My name is Izumi. Oh, you do not even have a name. Wait, I will give you one...¡± This just keeps getting worse for me. First I die, then I am reborn, then I get kidnapped and enslaved, then I find out I am a lich and now I¡¯m owned by a pervert hero. Since I have a slave collar it is not like I get a say in any matter. He spent a good minute coming up with my new name. What a shitty baptism into this shitty world. ¡±Lotus sounds good... Yes. Lotus will do. From now on your name is Lotus. Be sure to get along with my other girls, because you will be seeing them soon!¡± With that the name Lotus became engraved into my mind. I am forced to identify as Lotus now. I hate this world, I want to get back. I miss my boyfriend and I miss modern life. I got visibly sad now and the hero noticed it. ¡±Why do you look so sad? I will take good care of you, I promise.¡± He looked awfully cheery for just recently robbing someone of their freedom. I glared at him after he said that. ¡±Hey, do not give me that look. How about I cheer you up with some new clothes?¡± I guess he is not the bastard I imagined in my mind. For someone buying a slave he seems awfully concerned about their well being. After that I followed him into a womens clothing store. In there I finally got to take a real good look in a mirror. I saw my body which had white skin. Hair long enough to go all the way down to my feet. And my eyes... They had a golden color and my irises were shaped like crescents of a moon. The irises were still oval shaped but the crescent shape stood out the most. ¡±Are you here again Izumi? You sure dote on your girls~¡± I heard a female voice going into our direction. The owner of the voice had a voluptous body and was quite the beauty herself. ¡±Heyyyy, you know how much I love my girls. If they aren¡¯t looking good my heroic performances will be bad. Cute is justice is after all!¡± Who the heck is this guy who is my master? Sounds like a total nerd. I looked unimpressed at him. ¡±Ain¡¯t you hard to please, Lotus?¡± He pouted for a few seconds then faced the woman whom I assume is the shop owner. ¡±You got anything cute for Lotus? She is a holy aligned lich so can you come up with a good theme?¡± Idiot hero sure shines when it come to play dress up. If it wasn¡¯t for the slave collar I would had slapped him right here and now. ¡±Since she is fairly flat and barely got any curves I think a lolita look will be best for her. By the way, how sexy will she need to look?¡± The lady asked my master. After a while they settled on a sexy cleric look for me. I essentially wore a white Qi Pao with black trims. For underwear I got black panties and a black bra. Over my panties I wore very tight fitting black short shorts. Also he had enough foresight to buy a extra set, because he takes his harem party out when adventuring. I will give that idiot some credit for that. Afterwards we went to a magic store where he bought a staff and a few books on holy magic. Apparently these are for me. Wait, can I even use magic? Once this day of shopping was done for my master, he took me took his house which was in a well off neighbourhood of the capital city. The first thing I met was a wall of boobs. ¡±Welcome back home master~!¡± Said a girl who had brown cat ears, an blonde elf with an enormous rack and a tall and muscular girl with horns on her head who had red hair. My master sure has peculiar tastes. I am so out of place with my childish physique... ¡±I have missed you so much girls!¡± He then immediatly got smothered in boobs and I looked on there with mixed feelings. What have he done to these girls? They all got slave collars yet they do not hate their master? ¡±Oh, you got a new sister for us?¡± The cat eared girl asked as she saw me. ¡±Yes, her name is Lotus. You remember how I always complained about missing a healer in our party? It is fixed now! By the way, girls. Introduce yourselves.¡± The girls let out a big cheer and then grabbed me. I nearly suffocated to death as they all tried to simultaneously hug me. At least I can confirm my master is a huge pervert now. His harem is almost exclusively made out of monster girls. I wonder how he got such kinks... ¡±I am Seris!¡± Told the elf girl with a soft voice. ¡±You can call me Ninos.¡± Did the tall muscled girl with horns. ¡±My name is Nyaya¡§~¡± Said the girl with the cat ears. She then continued; ¡±Mjaaa~ So what¡¯s your story?¡± Nyaya asked as we had dinner which the elf had made. ¡±I woke up in ruins somewhere, then I got captured and enslaved, and then the next thing I know I am sold to this pervert of a master.¡± The girls looked in shock and awe at what I said. ¡±What?¡± I asked the shocked girls. ¡±You certainly don¡¯t hold back what is on your mind.¡± Izumi said as he gorged himself on food and ocassionally ogled at my chest. Each time he did, I gave him a evil glare. ¡±Nothing but a series of misfortunes...¡± I let out a deep sigh as I said that. The girls looked a bit worried. ¡±Do not worry Lotus, master is not a bad person. He even taught us how to cook foods we never seen before!¡± Seris smiled as she tried to comfort me. Izumi then stopped eating like a pig and looked at me. ¡±It is not every day you just wake up somewhere. I feel you are hiding something.¡± Izumi now looked more serious and held his spoon up. I got a feeling as if he looked at my soul directly. It sent shivers down my spine. ¡±Would you even believe me if I told you?¡± I looked down at my legs which I now worriedly kicking around forward. ¡±Hah, you make it sound like you came from a different world. It is not the first time I heard that line.¡± He now pointed his spoon at me and smiled. How did he know!? ¡±I come from a world called Earth. I died, then woke up here as... This...?¡± I moved my hands around my body and eyes. ¡±What an interesting story, no matter though. You are with me so I will take well care of you. I also is not of this world. Before I got here I was just a loser, but now I am a powerful hero of this kingdom and I got girls whom I love dearly. Count yourself lucky for me finding you.¡± After he said that he winked at me. The girls sighed as if they were fully in love with him. I have no idea what they see in him. I won¡¯t take what he say at face value. He will have to prove he is what he say. Once dinner was over, I chatted with the girls for hours. They all had similar stories of how they had been slaves from wars. How their families was killed and how their futures got shattered. But the main thing they all got in common is their unwavering love for our master. What did he do to them!? Also they keep talking about how good master is in bed? No way I am doing it with him! ¡±*Yawn* Bedtime girls.¡± All the girls instantly turned their heads toward him. Their faces reeked of lust and affection. I instead got ready to sleep. I changed into my night gown which was black with red trims, and it was pretty frilly and transparent. Felt almost like wearing nothing. After master had what i assumed; sex with the other girls, there was a lot of moaning noises when I browsed the books he bought. He had me sleep on his chest like a oversized teddy bear. It took a while for me to fall asleep. The pervert also groped me in his sleep. The other girls laid close to him in just their night gowns and underwear sleeping very soundly. Guess this is how my life with the idiot hero begins. An adventure with the Hero and complicated feelings. When I woke up the next morning my night gown was not on me. And my master was nowhere to be seen. The only one next to me was the Nyaya who was still was sleeping. From downstairs a smell of fried eggs and ham lingered in my nose. Maybe there is coffee in this world? If so I would like a cup if possible. After stretching my sore body, I went to take a well needed bath. Ever since I came to this world I had never taken a shower or bath at all. I feel so filthy! Finding a bath tub which I fit in was easy. With my approximate height of one and a half meters I could easily fit in most things. I boiled a bucket of water and poured it into the tub, then I balanced the scorching heat with two buckets of lukewarm water. The end result was a shallow but adequate bath. I spent the better part of the half hour bathing, and I cleaned myself thoroughly. Especially my super long hair which is amazingly not damaged from my rough treatment. I guess since Izumi is Japanese originally is because we even got this bathing stuff. They are renown for their cleanliness after all. No matter though, it is breakfast time now! Would be counter productive to be sad all the time now. Despite my series of misfortunate events I should keep myself strong, and if I can influence my master I will essentially be free anyway. ¡±Goodmorning Lotus! Oh, I see you have bathed. You truly are a pale beauty.¡± The cow of an elf Seris, greeted me as she made breakfast for me. I wonder if sleeping with master and cooking food is the only thing he got her for. Guess I should not assume so much, this is a world full of magic after all. Heck, I am apparently a holy aligned lich with sharp claws. ¡±Mmgh, you are awake!¡± Izumi greeted me while stuffing his mouth full of ham. Guess what he did before sleeping worked up an healthy appetite... ¡±Did you wake up Nyaya?¡± He then asked me. Nyaya? Is that the name of the cat girl? ¡±Nya-ya?¡± I asked him while looking like a questionmark. I just had got to the table to eat breakfast. ¡±She is the girl with cat ears, did you forget? She was still sleeping when we got out of bed.¡± He answered me and ogled at the golden pearl below my ribcage. Sure seems interested in whatever that thing is. ¡±No, I didn¡¯t.¡± I quickly answered him and took a bite out a toasted bread. ¡±Oh well, I will send Ninos up there to shake her up. Besides, you know what that pearly thing is for under your ribcage? Could not help to notice it when I look at your body.¡± He is straight up admitting that he is ogling at me! ¡±N- No idea. It feels part of me though. Not anything like a piercing.¡± I stammered and my face got red from embarassment, my boyfriend would never do anything like this. Poking into peoples private things is quite rude. ¡±Mhmm, must be because of you being a Lich. That thing is probably your Phylactery. Despite your heart not beating, it beats instead of it. Your crescent eyes signifies that you are aligned with the Holy element.¡± He sure seems knowledgable about liches. It annoyed me very hard. What else does he know? ¡±How do you know so much about liches? How did you even find me!?¡± I ate a big slice of ham after I frustratingly asked him about his very specific information. ¡±Hey, cool down!¡± He got a more serious expression now. I felt oddly calmed down now. Must be that damn slave collar doing it. ¡±I will explain it to you, I owe you that much since you are an otherworlder like me.¡± He took a deep sigh and continued. ¡±When I arrived to this world, the god which sent me allowed me to have an ability in order to thrive. I chose [Appraisal] which let me both appraise physical things and even the future. Appraising the future is not 100% perfect though, so when I appraised for my next party member it pointed me to you. So I bought you, and now you are part of my happy family. You should be thankful of me.¡± Izumi sure looked darn pleased with himself after this explanation. He seems to think he is gods gift to this world. If not the protagonist of his own story. Speaking of which, god said we would be granted powers in order to survive the transfer to this world. So I wonder what mine is... ¡±Speaking of powers, according to appraisal you got a very useful one.¡± Now I got curious after he told me that. ¡±I never got to know my power. I was sent in a hurry along with many others.¡± He now sat with both his hands clasped together and pit his head atop them. ¡±I will show you. [Appraisal: Project]¡± Suddenly two bright screens appeared. One in front of me and one in front of Izumi. [Appraisal: Lotus] Name: Lotus Description: Lotus is a slave which is owned by Izumi. She comes from another world and was blessed by god. In her previous life she died of an accident in a subway station. Appearance: Her skin is white as snow. Her hair is white, shiny and reach down to her feet. Her eyes are golden with crescent shaped irises. Her breasts are as big as A cups. Her body is lean but got pronounced hips. Her phylactery located under her ribcage got a golden color. Her height is about one and a half meters. Her overall beauty is super natural. Race: Lesser Lich (Holy) LV.1 Class: Slave LV.1 Titles: Slave of Izumi Blessings and skills: Photographic Memory (Reading): Allows the user to perfectly remember written words and pictures from books, scrolls and papers. Blessed Undead: The user is not affected by anti-undead spells and project a aura of courage instead of fear. Possible Evolutions: Lich (Holy): The normal form of Lesser Lich. Normally a evil deed is required in order to become a proper lich, but holy liches can evolve as soon as they have gathered enough magical energy. Notable features of liches is that by using magical power they can instantly kill a target by just touching them. Holy liches reverse the process and instead heal or revive their target. This shit reads like straight out of a fucking video game. Are you shitting me, god? Also it is pretty damn verbose of me being enslaved to Izumi, fucking piece of shit screen. I lost it at this point and became angry. ¡±Hey, calm down now.¡± And with that said by Izumi I yet again felt calmed. ¡±I know you are upset, but trust me. I will treat you like a princess, my other girls are proof of that.¡± He looked pretty pleased with himself. How much ego does this jerk have? And by princess he means putting me in sexy clothes and then have his way with me? Izumi truly have skewed his way of looking at people. ¡±But first things first, I will require you to change your class to Cleric. Slave class is no good because we are going on adventure today.¡± Say what, Izumi? ¡±Come again?¡± ¡±An adventure! Exploration, fighting monsters and gathering fat loot! That is life!¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He eccentrically performed a fist pump as he explained his love for adventuring. Me on the other hand who got a small stature was no happy in the slightest. But oh well, this damn slave collar prevents me from disobeying my master. Not like I got any choice. After breakfast I was ordered to memorize every book he bought. It was everything from magical spells, maps to random trivia in the area we were gonna explore in. I wonder what the hell we need to know the trivia for!? Amazingly I remember everything I read and saw in the books, his appraisal power did not lie after all. When I think of it I mentally have a library in my hand from which I practically can browse the books in. Very convenient power after all. Also one of the books was how to do a class change to Cleric. It was trivial to do because the requirements were easy. He took me to the local shrine where I picked a patron god. In this kingdom which Izumi lives in there are a dozen gods, of where there are a few over gods which command over the lesser gods. The god I chose as my patron is Mistral, the Keeper of Knowledge. Why? Because she is relevant to my powers and I always has been one for reading books. There I recited a prayer and with a holy light shining on me I became a level 1 Cleric. Only other requirement would be to silently pray to my patron god once a day, unless extreme circumstances happened which made it impossible to even silently pray. As a level 1 Cleric I got a dozen useful cantrips for every day use and the ability to cure light wounds. Also I got proficent in using the holy weapon of my patron; The quarterstaff. Many perks of serving a god I guess. ¡±Alright, now that you are a cleric. Let¡¯s go get the girls and prepare for adventure!¡± From the sound of Izumi it looks like he enjoying adventuring a lot. My master is a quite the dork when it comes to adventuring. Seems like it was fate for me to become a servant of the gods, how ironic. Because I hate the god which put me in this situation. When we got back from our business, everyone started gearing up. And because I am an utter newbie at adventuring the girls helped me getting ready. But because of my small frame and low strength I only had to carry my own gear. In the end I put on my clothes he bought from the shop yesterday. Then I equipped a belt containing differently colored potions and it also had a pouch for herbs. Also for my magic quarterstaff I put it in a holster on the back. And like everyone else I equipped a dagger on my hip. A backup weapon is always useful I guess. Do not know the full power of my claws yet. For practical reasons I braided my hair so it would not get in the way. Good thing that my hair do not seem to take damage from anything. The other girls looked completely different now than from when I met them before. Nyaya the catgirl looked like complete Rogue now. The breast beast of an elf looked like a Sorcerer and the muscular tall girl with horns looked like a Barbarian. And to top it off me, who look like death itself is a scantily clad girl. Finally, Izumi the hero himself. Looked like a proper Fighter now. ¡±Alright, let¡¯s be off then! Towards the ancient ruins of the Karantian civilization!¡± Izumi cried out in happiness, his girls beside me cheered. Guess I¡¯m quite the party pooper. And before we left the house he slapped my butt and laughed. I made a shocked expression and gave him a evil glare. [Class: Cleric (Mistral) LV.1] Description: By upholding faith to their patron god they will get relevant powers from them. As long as they do not breach the rules of their god they can do whatever they please. Most gods are indifferent to the affairs of mortals. Even extremely evil people can benefit from good aligned gods. Skills: Cantrips: Every day life spells mostly. Contain a few low damaging spells as well. Light Cure: One use seals up wounds like gashes and sprained limbs easily. Require multiplie uses in order to heal more serious wounds. Lesser Antidote: Potent enough to remove poison from common snakes and insects. Lesser Smite: A ranged spell which is akin to hitting someone hard with a club. Does bonus damage to undead. Instill Courage: Removes fear and bolster their mental defenses against fear. Appraise (Mistral): This allows the caster to appraise themselves. According to the godess Mistral it is important to self reflect. After spending most of the day traveling by carriage, we arrived to a village which is about three days by foot away from the ancient Karantian ruins. The tallest ruin could even be seen from the village which made the location ominous. During the trip we passed the time by telling stories and doing more intimate things like cuddling. I was the body pillow whether I wanted it or not. First it was Izumi who hugged me, but then I got passed around the other girls. I was and looked annoyed the entire time but they all thought it was cute. Idiots! Once we arrived Izumi immediatly rented a room at the local inn, obviously he picked a room with a double bed. Womanizers like him would never pass the chance to make love to their women. If he tries anything funny with me I will refuse as hard as I can! After we got a room booked we finally got to have something to eat other than stale bread and meat jerky. ¡±Oi, Lotus. You look a bit down.¡± Izumi asked and looked genuinely worried of me. ¡±...It¡¯s nothing.¡± I ate my soup and avoided eye contact with him. Was not in mood for whatever was going to happen tonight. ¡±Do not lie to me, something heavy is on your mind. I can tell it.¡± He then grabbed my shoulder and asked gently. I wonder if it is his old world morals kicking in just for me. I got a bit startled and put my spoon down and looked at him with a long sigh. ¡±Being a slave is not okay for me... I never asked for this...¡± My eyes started to water. It is a feeling I have repressed for several days ever since I became a slave. Just like that my own future was snatched away and I am forced to follow somebody elses future. ¡±...ever since the day I died and got reborn my life has been nothing but misery!¡± I started to sniffle then, the other girls looked very worried about me. They are probably sympathising with what I am going through. ¡±...And worst of all, I got no free will or say over my own body...¡± At that point I started full out crying without any end in sight. All bottled up emotions was released in one go. Izumi looked genuinely saddened about my state. And here I thought he was just a man playing hero and living his life the way he want it. ¡±There... There...¡± He put his cloak on me and comforted me. The girls also got close to comfort me, and we ended up doing a big group hug. The other guests in the inn looked at us as if we as a traveling circus troupe. ¡±Lotus is sad, bwaaa...¡± Seris also started crying with me. She must be a delicate person. ¡±Master is a good person, Lotus.¡± - Nyaya ¡±Do not think of master badly, Lotus.¡± - Nino After a few minutes of me crying and finally stopping, I felt a lot better. The girls patted my head as I got back to my senses, I think they helped me get over my fate faster. Meanwhile had Izumi went to the bar counter to order an ale, and he sat slumped over it. I wonder if I made him sad too... As soon as I felt good enough to talk, I went over to him. I sat beside him. ¡±I am sorry if I made you feel bad, master.¡± I felt a little bad over making him get such a reaction. ¡±N- No, it¡¯s okay. During all these years I have lived in this world, I sometimes forget about my old life. You are a big reminder of it. Have my morals been so skewed over these years..? Maybe. I came here when I was a 15 year old teen, and now I am closing in on 30 years. In my old life I was a loser whom achieved nothing. But here I became a hero forging my own destiny. Achieving a harem of beautiful women which I dearly love. And lastly to never have any wants anymore, only bliss.¡± He then looked at me who still had wet tears on my cheeks, he then dried them with his hand and stroked my cheek. I felt strangely better from that simple gesture. ¡±I won¡¯t force you to do anything you don¡¯t want to do. It is okay. It is the same for all my girls, and they love me for it. Unlike other slave owners I treat my girls with utmost respect.¡± Is he talking truth? Or is he just doing this to comfort me? Up to proof tonight then. He then drank the rest of his ale in one swoop and carried me over to the girls. Why is he pampering me so much now? Is it guilt? It is all weird... ¡±Yay, Lotus is feeling a lot better now!¡± Nyaya and the Seris cried out in joy towards me. Then we went to our room and started to ready us for bedtime. I washed my face and changed into my night gown before I went into the big bed. Izumi and the girls already laid in their preferred positions. Only space left was his chest... I got no choice, so I laid down on his chest like a kitten and soon fell asleep. That night I slept soundly, it was as if a great weight had been lifted from my heart. And true to his word, he did not make any unwanted moves toward me. Quite the change since he first got me. Maybe living with this idiot hero won¡¯t be so bad... The morning after it was only me and Nyaya in the bed as usual. It seems like everyone else got up early. I noticed one different thing though... Izumi had put his shirt over me as a blanket so I would not get cold. With a great yawn I also woke up Nyaya who is a heavy sleeper. It took a while but eventually I got that sleepy head up. I washed my body to the best of my ability using lifestyle magic from my vast Cantrip selection. Was quite fun to cast spells for the first time. Then I dragged out Nyaya with me to get breakfast with the others. ¡±Good morning!¡± We greeted eachother as we descended the stairs. On the table there already had been served breakfast foods like egg, bread and soup. No coffee in sight though. ¡±Izumi... Do you know if coffee is a thing?¡± I greedily asked him, because I had a craving for it now. ¡±I heard it exists down south in the warmer climates like on Earth. But getting it up here is very expensive.¡± Damn it. If I will have to become a goddess, I will do it for the sake of coffee. That black liquid was my favorite thing in my previous life. After my boyfriend of course. ¡±How about I buy some for you, after we are done exploring the ruins? Think of it as a reward!¡± My ears twitched and I looked at him with a happy look on my face. ¡±Keep that face, it suits you~¡± And he instantly flirted with me. I blushed a little though. Why do I get feelings for this idiot? I should hate him for enslaving me, yet I can¡¯t fully come to hate him now. Is it because he is nice? These feelings are so stupid and complicated. It seems everyone is more at ease now since yesterday. Conversing with them is now a lot less stiff and it feels more natural to be in their company. These have been three very eventful days for me. Yesterday I did not know them at all, and now it feels as if I had been with them for years. Is it the power of Izumi being a hero, or am I too trusting? After breakfast we geared up again and went to the general store in the village to stock up on things like rope and lamp oil. Typical adventurer gear. For me, he bought a lot more books which I could memorize during the travel to the ruins. Not like I will have much to do anyway. It did not take many minutes, and soon we was off into the direction of the ruins. My first battle and the road to ruins. We spent half a day trekking toward the ruins. Nothing noteworthy had happened but I found out I got no stamina at all. In the end did Nino end up carrying me. Luckily I am so light that she did not seem to notice my weight. I guess Izumi did not mind because he could freely look at my tight short shorts. For all honeyed words yesterday, he sure violate my dignity with his eyes. At around dusk we setup camp next to the trail. I helped to acquire water for Seris by using some lifestyle magic. I felt it was easier to do now than earlier this morning. Seems like I am improving! Since we haven¡¯t hunted anything we had a stew made out of bread, vegetables and meat jerky. It was not the most tasty thing, but all that walking built up a hearty appetite. At bedtime we slept in our bedtime inside a big sleeping bag. It had enough room to fit us all comfortably. Since we could be attacked we did not undress and had our weapons close at hand. It seems like my designated sleeping position is at Izumis chest... What a cruel master he is. Before I fell asleep I heard smooching noises, seems like they wanted a goodnight kiss. Wonder what they see in him, that make them so in love with him despite being slaves. The next day was just like the one before, but on the third day we got ambushed by green ugly humanoids who are called Goblins. It seems like the gods ran out of originality when they made this world. Recycling monsters from fantasy works on Earth. ¡±Gugagah!¡± The ugly goblin cried out at me. On both sides of the trail stood about ten goblins in total. They wore loincloths made out old animal hides and scavenged fabric from dead adventurers. All their weapons are rusty and dented from neglect of maintence. ¡±Cover Lotus and Seris!¡± Izumi cried out in a commanding voice to our party. And as if in synchronisation he and Ninos moved in front of us. Ninos with her enormous axesledge stood in front of me, and Izumi with his magical sword guarded Seris. The goblins now started to look a little worried, so they backed off a bit to regroup. ¡±Lotus, use Lesser Smite. Seris, use Fireball!¡± As if woken out of a daydream I instinctively started casting my Lesser Smite spell at the closest goblin to me. By the time my smite went off, Seris had already turned two goblins into ash. My smite hit the goblin with such a force its jaw got blown clean off. This sudden violence struck fear into the attacking goblins which caused them to hesitate. Ninos charged in and with one swing she outright murdered three goblins with one swing. Her brute force caused blood, limbs and gore to spread everywhere around here. Izumi at the same time used precise strikes to impale the heads of the remaining goblins in front of him. By the time this slaughter happened, the surviving goblin was charging at me. So I readied my staff into a defensive position to be ready to strike. Just as it got in range I poked it hard in the throat with the staff, which caused the throat to be crushed. Huge amounts of blood clogging the airpipe which caused the goblin to suffocate. Without any prior training I managed to use the staff proficently, thanks to my patron god. The battle itself had not taken any more than a minute, but the results were apparent. On the ground laid mutilated goblin corpses. And I had a strange but good feeling. It was as if my soul had absorbed something. ¡±Seems like her cherry popped, haha.¡± Izumi chuckled as I took in this feeling. Lame joke there, dude. ¡±I do not feel anything.¡± Ninos with her usual self said it without any hint of strong emotion. ¡±That is because goblins are too easy for us. Only Lotus, the newbie will get anything out of such weak foes.¡± He responded to Ninos confidently as he sheathed his sword onto the back. ¡±Should we get their stones?¡± Nyaya asked with her hunting knife ready. She looked eager to do it. ¡±Yes, they are not worth much but they are easy to carry.¡± Izumi then ordered everyone to attempt gathering stones. Apparently the stones are much like gall stones for monsters. Over time magical energy accumulates in their bodies which causes it to crystallize into usable stones. They are usually found in the center of the body. Which means you are required to dig through guts to find it. Pretty disgusting. There have been rare cases of humans and elves having stones in them, but often it is not of any more harmful effect than their weight is higher than normal. Books are wonderful, I thought as I brought up this piece of information from my mental library. I can see now why Izumi thought I would be useful, for more than an extra bedwarmer in his party. This made me wonder if my Phylactery is a kind of magical stone. It looks a lot prettier than the stones we dug up from the goblins, but it would not be an crazy theory. After we finished getting the stones I felt as if my connection to my patron god had grown stronger. So I self reflected on my classes shallowly.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. [Cleric (Mistral) LV.2] [Lesser Lich (Holy) LV.2] Seems like this was enough for my bond to get stronger. And also my race class leveled up... I wonder what this means. I feel more stronger and less frail than before. To think just one level is such a difference in percieved power. Also it feels as if my Phylactery got bigger now... Hope it do not get too big in the end, because right now it is about the size of a tennis ball. A far cry from the marble size it was before, luckily most of it is buried inside me. We moved on quickly once our business was concluded. Nino maintained her weapon on the way meanwhile Nyaya and Seris had girl talk. After a long walk, did we arrive a kilometer outside the ruins at dusk. So we decided to setup camp for the night. By now I have gotten mostly used to outdoors life so most of the preparations went automatically for me. Also during our sleep, Izumi could not stop touching my Phylactery. I did not feel anything special but it seemed to calm him down greatly. He who usually would be doing lovey dovey stuff with his other girls now slept like a log. What does it remind him of so much that it calms him down? I may never know. And somehow I have become his favorite. The deathly looking girl with nearly no tits, and who constantly refuse sex. Do not make sense at all to me. Maybe I tick off a lot of his fetish boxes which makes it worth it? Or is it something else...? We all woke up when the sun hit our faces the next day. Even Izumi who tend to be up first of all, lazed around while hugging me tightly. He seems to be in a particularly good mood today. After a hearthy breakfast he started drafting a plan. ¡±Alright girls, now that we finally are here at the outskirts of the Karantian ruins we need to be thorough in our planning. My client want a special artifact from the massive tower over there. And if what previous scouts has said is true; We will expect resistance from undead and beasts who have made lairs there.¡± Izumi looked gravely serious as he briefed us. Seris looked a bit scared, so Nino comforted her by patting he back. ¡±So that is why I brought Lotus with us. Because of her special innate talents as one of the rarest good aligned liches, she will be able to easily counter the undead. While her talents are not awakened fully yet, I expect with our support that she will. Do you understand girls?¡± The girls nodded in aknowledgment and then looked at me. I guess they got great expectations of me now. I feel pressured a bit. ¡±To fully take advantage of Lotus we will first train her in the dungeon below. If all goes well she should be ready to face the tower within a day. A little real combat experience goes a long way, as you saw when she defeated two goblins by herself.¡± I now saw that the girls looked in awe and adoration of him. Are they airheads? All he just did was to make a careful plan. I am not saying that I am a genius, but all it looked to me was reasonable. If only it did not require taking advantage of me, then I would not feel so cynical Oh well, not like I got any choice. I am bound to my masters will. ¡±I will give you credit Izuma where its due, at first I thought of you as an sex crazed impulsive idiot. But spending time with you has changed that. This planning session was very good.¡± Izuma looked at me with his jaw open. It was like this was going through his head; ¡±Did Lotus just give me a compliment? The sky must be falling down.¡± Ever since he bought and enslaved me I have been pretty cold to him, so it must be a shock for him. ¡±I see your opinion of me has changed. I got what it takes when I need to.¡± He then winked at me, and in the same second the girls swooned. You will have to work way harder than that to win my heart over! My boyfriend at Earth put in significant effort in to win me over. And it was not with gifts or dates, but with lots of interactions with me. The moment we bonded, I felt the happiest I had ever been in my life. ¡±You got a long road ahead of you, master.¡± I replied to his flirting, and then grabbed a book which I haven¡¯t yet fully memorized. He made an expression which screamed; ¡±Challenge accepted¡± and then individually briefed the girls. Me was not needed because they were going to essentially power level me. ¡±Karantian civilization...¡± According to one of the books I had read and memorized, the reason why the civilization ceased to exist was because of them tampering with life itself. Lords and nobles wanting to live forever contracted the leading necromancers, scientists and alchemists in their fields in order to defeat death. Their more successful experiments was liches, but they was only seen as failures because the decaying bodies made it impossible to enjoy earthly delights like food, alcohol and sex. The other experiment performed by religious sects. In order to cheat death they created the first vampires whom preyed upon the life force of all living things. That too was considered a failure, because it made them need to live as hunters for the rest of their existence. As for the undead stalking the ruins? They are soul less husks from which the experiment which finally destroyed their civilization went cataclysmically wrong. In a final desperate attempt they tried to create their own reincarnation system, but the gods meddled with it. The result was that all people connected to the civilization perished in an instant. No matter if they were guilty or innocent, divine punishment was dealt. Their souls was forcefully taken, and the void left inside them got filled with negative energy leaking from the realm of a evil god. With no souls their brains and bodies detoriated, and they eventually got driven into madness. ¡±...What a shitty way to go.¡± I talked to myself as I thought of what happened in ancient times. I guess Izumis client is after immortality then, huh. ¡±You seem to be deep in thought, Lotus. That is great, because your knowledge will come in handy as we ascend the tower.¡± Izumi looked very happy to see me think this much. He then whistled to get everyones attention. ¡±Alright girls, let¡¯s now carefully find our way to the dungeon!¡± With a command from Izumi, we now sneaked our way toward the dungeon entrance with the help of Nyaya. Her keen senses helped us to spot and deal with small fry like goblins and wolves before they could alert every monster in the area. We finally arrived at the dungeon entrance. From the looks of it, you could easily fit two large horse carriages side by side in it. It was made out of damp stone bricks which had plenty of moss growing on top of it. As we descended into the dungeon, I heard a familiar voice that I never want to hear again in the distance... Dungeon crawl and justice. When we finally got down to the main cross junction, the voices we heard earlier became more clearer. ¡±...so that is when I bound that guys daughter and dragged her away. You should had seen the look on her fathers face as he laid down crying on the ground with broken kneecaps! I couldn¡¯t stop laughing during the entire raid.¡± ¡±That is brutal! It is like the time I was having my way with the wife and daughter of a merchant. I had bound them all, and all he could do was helplessly watch. It is quite the rush to be in control, ya know.¡± It is the same voices of the guys who captured an enslaved me... I hid myself behind Izuma and started shaking out of fear. ¡±What¡¯s wrong, Lotus?¡± Izuma looked worried as he asked me. I then point toward the voices. ¡±T- Those guys was it that sold me into slavery... They are bad people!¡± My eyes started to water now and the shaking intensified. Despite having killed monsters, those guys are more terrifying than them. ¡±I- I¡¯m sorry... I can¡¯t go any further...¡± I am still traumatized since the day I got made into a slave. Because I am used to Earth standards, the concept of slavery is utter barbarism for me. It fills me with deep disgust and disdain to even think about it. Now I gripped harder at Izumis clothes and armor. Then he first looked at me, then toward the voices. ¡±I got something I need to do. Stay here girls.¡± Izumi then gave me to the girls who looked heartbroken at the sight of me. I did not feel well at all, and just wished to get away from everything. ¡±Oi! Who the hell are you?¡± ¡±Are you a newbie?¡± The guys suddenly got startled as Izumi approached them. ¡±Are you the people who captured and sold a pale girl with golden eyes a while ago?¡± Izumi straight out asked them. They looked puzzled and then gave a confident answer. ¡±That is an awfully specific question. Was she kin of yours?¡± ¡±What if she was? Are you here to get her back? Tough luck then, kid.¡± The men looked at Izumi as if he was an idiot. Then they continued. ¡±Since you found our base, then you can¡¯t return alive.¡± ¡±That¡¯s right. If you was a girl we would had sold you into slavery instead!¡± Both of the mean unsheathed their weapons. Izumi followed shortly after. ¡±This makes it easier for me to deal with lawless scum like you. I shall tell you that the girl is in good care of me, right now.¡± With great speed and precision Izumi first chopped off the arm of one guy, then he followed up with a stab in the eye. In the span of 2 seconds the guy died. ¡±What the fuck!? What are you!?¡± The surviving guy cried out as he attacked Izumi with his mace. Izumi effortlessly blocked such a simple attack and kicked the guy in the crotch with his steel boots. This express neutering made him kneel in overwhelming pain below him. ¡±Lotus, come over here.¡± Izumi commanded me, so my body started moving on its own toward the screaming kneeling man. ¡±You want revenge? You can get it now if you overcome your fear. I won¡¯t force you though.¡± He comforted me and gave me a chance for revenge. I was still scared shitless, but seeing the man crying out in pain alleviated it a bit. I looked down at my hands and saw that my nails had instinctively turned into talons. It was as if my body was telling to ¡±Do it.¡±. And with a sudden glowing pulse from my Phylactery did my sense of fear get dulled. Izumi reacted to it and smiled. ¡±Y- You are bad!¡± My talking had devolved into that of a child at this stage. All the emotions mixed with the fear dulling power of my Phylactery turned it into a mess. The man whom had been screaming, now kneeled down panting below me. As he looked up and saw me, a look of fear was written all over it. He tried to protect himself from me with one arm by raising it. With a brutal slash I felt how my talons tore through flesh and bone as if it was jelly. My hand got completely covered in blood and the arm now leaned limply down. The man now cried out in pain but before he could react I used both my hands to jam my talons through his eyes.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. A blood churdling scream was heard as I tore the mans eyeballs into pieces, and I felt how my talons firmly stuck to the skull inside the sockets. During the entire execution I felt nothing strangely. I whom had been crying a moment earlier now performed a brutal execution. This is so alien. I decided to finish him off by destroying his brain through the now empty blood soaked sockets. With all my might I jammed my talons into the bone from where the visual nerve connect. A sickening crunch was heard and the man became limp. In a second my talons completely turned his brain into a slurry. With the the deed done, I pulled out my now utterly blood soaked and brain covered talons out of the sockets. Then I gave the body a light kick in order to not get blood over my clothes. ¡±I did it...¡± I said somberly and looked at Izumi who had spectated the whole spectacle. He looked oddly pleased instead of disgusted. ¡±Yes you did, you may rest easy now knowing these bad men will never come after you again.¡± He gave me headpats and sheathed his sword. Then he called over the other girls. Seris felt sick over seeing a slurry of brain leaking out of a mans eye sockets. ¡±Eww!¡± - Nyaya ¡±That is nasty work.¡± - Nino ¡±Umm, why are Lotus¡¯s eyes glowing?¡± Nyaya then curiously asked. ¡±Good question Nyaya, [Appraisal: Project]¡± [Appraisal: Lotus] Name: Lotus Description: Lotus is a slave which is owned by Izumi. She comes from another world and was blessed by god. In her previous life she died of an accident in a subway station. Appearance: Her skin is white as snow. Her hair is white, shiny and reach down to her feet. Her eyes are golden with crescent shaped irises. Her breasts are as big as A cups. Her body is lean but got pronounced hips. Her phylactery located under her ribcage got a golden color. Her height is about one and a half meters. Her overall beauty is super natural. Race: Lesser Lich (Holy) LV.3 Class: Cleric (Mistral) LV.3 Titles: Executioner, Slave of Izumi Blessings and skills: Photographic Memory (Reading): Allows the user to perfectly remember written words and pictures from books, scrolls and papers. Blessed Undead: The user is not affected by anti-undead spells and project a aura of courage instead of fear. Overpower Fear (Race): Allows the user to ignore any Fear effects for a while. Whether mental or magical it do not matter. The eyes glow brightly during its active period. Possible Evolutions: Lich (Holy): The normal form of Lesser Lich. Normally a evil deed is required in order to become a proper lich, but holy liches can evolve as soon as they have gathered enough magical energy. Notable features of liches is that by using magical power they can instantly kill a target by just touching them. Holy liches reverse the process and instead heal or revive their target. ¡±Well, I¡¯ll be damned. Lotus leveled up during this encounter. She gained her Overpower Fear race ability which let her ignore Fear. That explains why she suddenly acted so out of character. The meek crying girl turned into a cold blooded killer.¡± Izumis assessment was correct. I who now had gotten back to my previous state, now felt disgusted after looking at my blood soaked hands. Going to a long time to get the blood and bits of brain out of my nails. ¡±I¡¯ll be okay now. It felt good to slay this wicked man.¡± A lot of my fear was gone now despite my Overpower Fear skill getting turned off. If I ever get free of my enslavement, I will dedicate my existence to rid this world of scum like this. I can understand now why Izumi like being a Hero. ¡±Let¡¯s go, girls. Our main objective here is to make Lotus more powerful. So do not slack off, now!¡± Now that I got this out of my system we cautiously explored the dungeon. With Nyaya looking for traps and Nino guarding our backs, there were no true dangers. The main purposes was for me to get battle experience, so loot was a secondary issue. ¡±Gu-AAAH!!¡± A hobgoblin cried out in pain as I smashed it straight in the head with my staff. A loud crunching noise was heard as I caved in the skull. Meanwhile I casted Lesser Smite which I aimed at another hobgoblin. My party just stood a bit away to intervene in the case I would be in actual danger. The charging and screaming hobgoblin lost balance as my smite vaporized its left leg kneecap. It comically rolled forward to my feet before stopping right in front of me. I quickly ended its life with a powerful poke in the throat. Throughout the entire day scenes like these played out. I massacred hobgoblins and other weak monsters and soon became proficent in the use of my staff, claws and magic. Not on the level as the rest of my party, but I can manage fairly well on my own now. At dusk time Izumi decided for us to camp in the dungeon. Because it is a comfortable temperature and we are not exposed to the elements it was ideal for us. Our camp was placed near the entrance, outside of where I brutally executed the horrible man. No way we could get rid of the bits of brain that easily. For dinner we got it something that was a little more delicious. Because of the wolves we had slaughtered on the way here we got fresh meat. It was stringy and tough but after three days it was a nice change. Seris truly is an excelent cook. Not only does she do magic on the battlefield, but in the kitchen too! At bedtime I now felt more at ease around Izumi than usual. The usual reluctance and hesitation is gone. Why am I not on my guard around him any more? My feelings are conflicting now inside me. I still want to hate him for enslaving me, but also thank him for letting me have revenge on the ones who put me in this situation in the first place. This night everyone slept soundly, especially me who fell asleep first on his chest in the sleeping bag. I think I felt someone playing with my hair before I lost all consciousness... Tower of power, or how I learned I hate stairs. After our brief dungeon crawl, we set off to the tower the following morning. I has now become experienced enough to not need to rely on my party completely for self defense. Also my Phylactery has grown a bit more in size and an intricate pattern emerged on it. I think it is growing as I do, because I am essentially a monster. Monsters grow differently from humanoids. Any experience a monster gain is split equally among its monster and job class. I would be a level 10 Cleric now if it wasn¡¯t due to me being a lich... [Cleric (Mistral) LV.5] [Lesser Lich (Holy) LV.5] ¡±Here it is, the almighty tower said to be the cause of death for the Karantian civilization. Ominous, aye?¡± Izumi suddenly blurted out as we arrived at the entrance of the tower. The girls looked up in awe at how tall the tower was. The tower was as tall as a 100 floor skyscraper back at Earth. It made me wonder how the hell they managed to build this without any modern engineering. ¡±According to the lore I read, this massive tower is where the three main experiments were performed. Lichdom, vampirism and finally true cheating death. Well, the last one is stretching it because all the undead here lost their souls.¡± I felt pretty smart as i regurgitated information from the books he had me to read. But I compiled it so it was easy to understand. Still doubting the intelligence of the other girls. ¡±Woah, sister Lotus is smart.¡± Nyaya and Seris said in amazement while looking at me. Yeah, they are idiots. But I like them anyway. It is not like I can choose my company, so I will have do my best to like my situation. ¡±On the entrance floor we can at best only face the remains of servants and maybe the stray beast or two. But floors beyond that we should expect heavy resistance. There may be undead still in their armor.¡± I continued with my information dump. Izumi seemed to be the only one fully taking it all in. The girls looked as if they were in a daze. He snapped his fingers to get them to wake up from their daydreaming. ¡±Focus girls. Ready yourself for combat as we enter the tower.¡± We snuck into the entrance level of the tower without any issue. Even though we heard the sound of rattling bones and shuffling we did not encounter any undead. It is as if the undead have managed to shut themselves in behind doors. As we entered the main stairway of the tower, we heard of human voices again. Wasn¡¯t this place and the dungeon supposed to be abandoned? The main stairway of the tower had a diameter of 50 meters. The stairs themselves had a width of 15 meters and had gentle enough slopes for horse carriages to be able to traverse them. From the bottom you couldn¡¯t see the ceiling of the tower. And in the middle of the stairway was a elevator looking mechanism. But due to not having been in use for centuries it was not in any condition to work. It was a sad state of affairs for someone who actually have used elevators. ¡±Why haven¡¯t the guys in the dungeon reported back yet? The boss is gonna be pissed if they slack off again.¡± ¡±Hey, why do you care?¡± ¡±Yeah, those guys are fucking pricks. The girls they took last time? They refused to share them.¡± ¡±Oi, shut your traps, idiots!¡± The sound of four guys bickering was heard in a lit up room, past the stairway from us. It seems the two bastards we executed was with them. ¡±It has been a long time since I had some action with a girl. My hand is having to work overtime now.¡± ¡±Is fucking all that is on your mind these days?¡± ¡±Shut your fucking gob! All you do is get drunk!¡± It seems like two of them are now bickering. And with that the other who had been quiet, now went outside. They prolly was sick of their companions shit. After a minute they started smoking from pipes. ¡±Hey, master. What should we do?¡± Nyaya asked Izumi in a hushed tone. ¡±It would be troublesome for them to live. Let¡¯s ambush those two outside first.¡± And with that command Nyaya equipped her bow and nocked an arrow. Seris and I prepared offensive spells and waited for Izumis command to do a synchronised attack. ¡±How long are they gonna bicker inside there?¡± ¡±Hell if I know!? Once they are done le- GAAAAARGHHHH!¡± The bandit looking fellow cried out as a arrow hit him in the back. His companion did not get much chance to reach either once his body slumped down. In an instant he got simultaneously hit with a smite in the shoulder and a magic missile in the stomach. The commotion outside alerted the two bandits inside. ¡±What the fuck is going on out there?¡± ¡±Shit! Our buddies are dead!¡± With a panicked look the bandits warily investigated the area around their dead fellows. They had nocked arrows on their bows in order to be ready to fire at any moment. They split their attention on opposite sides in order to find the culprits. ¡±Come out! We know you are here!¡± ¡±That¡¯s right, come out and we will make your deaths quick!¡± Still noisy and confident, despite having two our their friends killed right in front of them. ¡±[Divine Shield]¡± I chanted and a golden transparent heater shield which was about the size my torso hovered in front of me. The bandit which looked in our direction then fired an arrow at me. With a noise which reminded of metal scratching metal the arrow harmlessly fell onto the floor. ¡±Fuck you! Hey, bro. The bastards are over here!¡± His bandit friend then looked at me and fired his arrow as well. But it had the same result as the previous arrow. Now that they are forced to reload their arrows, both Izumi and Nino sprung into action. With a frightening speed they shortened the 30 meter distance in a few seconds. With a slash going from head to crotch, Nino bisected a bandit cleanly vertically in the middle. Tons of blood and gore spewed from the gruesome attack. Meanwhile did Izumi first stab the other bandit in the chest, only to follow up with a horizontal attack aimed at the neck. He cleanly beheaded the other bandit. ¡±I think I will never get used to this.¡± I said as I overlooked the carnage the warriors in our party caused. In the aftermath of this battle we looted the hideout for anything useful. It looked like there was only food and booze, with a few coins interspersed. Nothing of any real value. The reason to why we haven¡¯t found any wandering undead is because of the bandits who had taken residence here. One mystery solved, I guess. ¡±I wonder where the rest of the bandits are. They mentioned a certain boss.¡± This was a question I thought needed answers. Izumi looked like he thought about it, but then stopped. ¡±What we need to concern us about is the artifact. Any bandit that comes between it will simply be killed.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. It seems like he answered my question. Oh well, we still got a quest. Bandit hunting can wait. We then started ascending the long winding stairs. From the looks of it, it would take several days to ascend to the top. If we do not find a faster way to ascend that is. Maybe if we find books or scrolls, a faster way can be found. ¡±How about we go up one floor and look for books and documents? May find a faster way up then, master.¡± I asked Izumi who looked worried at the enormous staircase going up. He then looked at me and nodded. ¡±I got no better idea myself, let¡¯s go up one floor then.¡± We then spent about 30 minutes going up the very gently sloped staircase. Once we finally got up we all were exhausted. Even the well trained Nino showed signs of exhaustion. ¡±I.. Hate... Stairs...¡± With a final step I collapsed and panted heavily on the entrance to this floor. Despite leveling up I am NOT suited for physical exertion. The entrance to this floor had a twenty meter wide platform going from the stairs down to the stairs up. And in the wall stood a entrance similar to the one in the dungeon. Main difference was that it was properly lit by magical yellow lights. It looks like the lights was made with alchemy and absorbs magic from the surroundings in order to keep them lit. A hunch I got after wolfing down a beginners book for alchemists during the trip to here. For the better part of ten minutes we spent time recuperating, until Izumi signalled that we should proceed into the floor entrance. Our party cautiously opened the door and checked for any enemy activity. Since we found nothing we went in but kept the door open. Inside there was a ten meter wide hallway which semed to loop around the tower. A dank smell of stale water and dust was prominent. In regular intervals stood closed wooden doors embedded into the walls, in various states of decay. Also the hallway was lit with the same magical lights from outside. ¡±This hallway sure looks creepy.¡± Izumi commented as he scanned for where to even begin our search for information. ¡±Just take one direction, the hallway will loop around even if we find nothing.¡± I took the initiative and decided to go left. Everyone else just shrugged and just went with me. After ten minutes I heard the sound of rattling bones on the opposite side of a door. If anything it should not be looted because of the living bones. ¡±Do you hear that?¡± Asked Seris whose keen elf senses picked up the bone rattling. I nodded in her direction. ¡±Yes, I heard it loud and clear. Seems like my listening got better since becoming a lich.¡± Those pointy ears are not just for show. I sneaked toward the door from which the noise origined from. I had Nyaya as backup in case something bad happened. I opened the door slowly and peeked into the room. The room was dark except for the small slit in the wall where the red morning sun shone in. In the strand of light on the floor I saw a silhouette of a ribcage and skull. Then suddenly I heard a metallic object fall onto the stone brick floor in the dark. The silhouette of a skeleton then slowly turned around, and I saw two glowing red orbs of light staring right at me. The skeleton started cackling madly and slowly with long steps stepped toward me with its arms hanging limp. It was like out of a horror movie from Earth, but now I am in one. I quickly slammed the door shut and wedged my foot under it in the gap. ¡±Shit, shit, shit! They are nothing like the skeleton I first met in this world!¡± I cried out, then the door started making loud banging noises. And then even more sounds of rattling bones was heard inside. What the holy hell is this room? The rest of the party then ran and assisted me. Izumi and Nino pushed me away and blocked the door. I then ran and stood beside Seria and Nyaya and readied my smite spell. ¡±This better be worth it!¡± Izumi cried out and slammed the door open. In the same move Nino used her blunt side of her axesledge to send the surprised skeleton backwards. It hit three skeletons prone along its brief flight, before it shattered its skull against the wall. What we saw now inside the room was now at least twenty skeletons in different conditions. From pristine to missing half its body. All the skeletons started cackling like mad and put their arms forward in order to more easily be able to grab us. Before they could start moving Seris threw in a empowered fireball into the crowd of skeletons. The sound of a cacophony of bones shattering and hitting the floor echoed inside the room. Afterwards I unleashed a barrage of smites into the room. At least six smites got sent into the room and hit five skeletons which immediatly perished. Their red eyes simply got snuffed out and their bones fell harmlessly onto the floor in pieces. Now with ten skeletons perished the rest of the skeletons jogged towards us. Three was about to grab onto Nino but she used her weapon to smash in the skull of one, and Izumi used the blunt end of his sword to crack another skull. The surviving skeleton managed to grab Nino but she overpowered it with brute strength, and threw it back into the room while knocking out several surviving skeletons. Seris took this opportunity to cast another fireball into the room. It is easy to say that no skeletons stood standing after that. I really hope we did not destroy any books though... At the end of the battle the entire room and even the hallway outside the room was littered with broken bones and skulls. We made quite the mess, hehe. ¡±Phew, that was exciting.¡± Izumi sounded quite happy after this fight. Guess he did not mind fighting off a small horde of skeletons. I then conjured a light to follow me while I explored the room. After checking out the room properly it looks like the purpose of it was to house test subjects for the immortality experiments. I guess even prisoners wasn¡¯t spared from the wrath of gods. I figured it out from all the documents lying about with names of people, and what crimes they have committed. One book stood out from the rest though. ¡±...by order of the high lord Yglar the Third of the Frostdottir family, the project; ¡¯Wheel of Life¡¯ is now accepted, and is granted funding.¡± Wheel of life... Then I saw in the book a sketch of the end product. It looks pretty darn similar to the enormous wheel I saw in the afterlife. Is this what Izumis client is after? Or clues in order how to make it again, yet on a smaller scale? So many damn questions! ¡±I found a lead. At least...¡± Izumi was deep in thought as I told my party of the findings. The girls looked around the room for anything important meanwhile. I returned to reading every document and book I could get my hand on. After spending the better part of an hour in the room we headed out into the hallway again. We spent all the time until lunch looking through each room tha was along the hallway. Most of them were empty, or had old decaying furniture inside. Some had a skeleton or two but they were quickly dispatched. After we had lunch, we continued exploring this floor until a door different from the others appeared within our sight. It was made out of metal and had a metallic frame around it. When we got close enough to read it said this on the front; ¡±Equipment Storeroom¡±. That piqued the interest of Izumi who love shinies. It took a minute or so to get in because the door was rusted shut. But the brute strength of Nino made it easy. As we got in we saw mummified remains with the clothes still on them. Somehow they had not been turned into undead with the rest of their doomed civilization. The room was properly lit with several magical lights. And it was outfitted with several shelves made out of bronze. On the shelves there was everything from crates, ropes, stone bricks, various metal ingots, magical stones to weapons. There was two things catching Izumis eyes though, whom is a seasoned treasure hunter. One was a staff with a golden gemstone on it and the second thing was a crate labeled ¡±Elevator Spare Parts¡±. How convenient. He handed the staff to me and immediatly the gemstone started to glow. My Phylactery started to glow as well. What the hell is this staff? After a few minutes of swinging the staff around, and interacting with the gemstone I somewhat got the hang of what he had given me. ¡±You look confused, Lotus. [Appraisal: Projection]¡± [Appraisal: Holy Staff] Description: This golden blessed metal staff is encrusted with a gemstone which come from the realm of gods itself. Which make this staff exceedingly rare. It is said that the gods themselves made these staves, in order to help clerics and priests in the party of heroes to defeat the Demon King. It is said that the staff will only work when it finds a worthy owner. The main sign is that its gemstone starts to glow, and over time its powers will be unlocked. Effects: Soul Link: Lotus Amplify Holy Damage LV.1 Amplify Healing LV.1 ¡±Well, if this isn¡¯t a flag then!?¡± I cried out in disbelief while looking at my new staff. This is too damn convenient. Is Mistral, my patron god testing me!? Or is it that shitty god who put me in this world!? Izumi had a very amused look as he saw my outburst. ¡±You know, you are cute when you are mad.¡± I looked at him and pouted. Shut up you little shit! ¡±This is going too well, we are gonna be jinxed so damn hard!¡± Then I continued my ranting until Seris picked me up and smothered me with her grand mountain valley. ¡±Now take it easy, Lotus~¡± Seris said softly with a smile. Sounds of muffled grumbling was heard meanwhile she patted my head. Nyaya and Izumi burst out into laughter. This scene was too absurd for them to be serious. After a while it got so hot inside her bust, that I got dizzy and then fell asleep. Took a while for her to notice it. Then she just handed my snoring body over to Nino so she could carry me. Let鈥檚 hope this works. An hour later I woke up beside the elevator down at the tower entrance level. I noticed that Seris and Nyaya drank tea from their metal cups. What are we doing so that they has the leisure to drink tea? Then I heard Izumi and Nino chatting, and various sounds of metal being hit and bolts being adjusted. Then Seris noticed I had woken up, and sitting up dazed. She smiled and waved at me. ¡±Finally awake? Hehehe. Since we are not going anywhere, want tea?¡± She asked me. I wonder why she is so cheerful all the time? No matter. ¡±Yeah, sure...¡± I let out a long yawn after I asked for tea. After rubbing my eyes, I noticed that my hands had golden colored pearlescent stones embedded on top of them. Their size was about the size of a marble and reacted whenever I channeled magic in my hands. Also looks a lot like my Phylactery under my ribcage... Then I checked my level status shallowly. [Cleric (Mistral) LV.5] [Lesser Lich (Holy) LV.8] !!! 2 levels until evolution !!! Somehow my monster levels got ahead of my cleric levels. What is the meaning of this? Also evolution, huh? I will become a proper lich then within two levels. I wonder what that will mean for me. After a short while of thinking for myself, Seris handed me mug of piping hot herb tea. ¡±Thanks Seris.¡± I smiled as I thanked her. Then after the tea had cooled down enough to drink, I heard a familiar sound of a generator powering up. Izumi cheered and looked at us with his face full of grease and dirt. No idea how he got it to work, but did he have a hobby of being a mechanic in his old life? I took a sip of tea and questioned him. ¡±How did you get it to work? Thought it was broken beyond repair.¡± I curiously asked Izumi. ¡±We replaced all completely rusted and worn down components, and then applied oil where neccesary using the crate we brought down.¡± He then pointed at the crate that was as big as him. He must had the help of Nino to pull this stunt off. ¡±Huh, that is cool. Now we won¡¯t need to use the stairs.¡± I drank up half of the tea in one swoop. He then gave me a half-hearted smile. ¡±We won¡¯t know how far it will go without trying it. Also we found the key required to operate it in the same room as the crate. Also, did you hear something?¡± Izumi sure love to explain himself. It was at this point my, Nyayas and Seris ears twitched. In the distance we heard a dozen footsteps and angry voices. ¡±Uhh, master. We should get the hell out of here!¡± ¡±No good! Angry men walking towards us!¡± ¡±Bad men!¡± Me, Nyaya and Seris panicked as we cried out to Izumi. The source of our fear was still about two hundred meters away, so we had time still. ¡±Nino! Move the crate behind the girls!¡± With a fast order Nino effortlessly picked up the crate and threw it behind me, Nyaya and Seris with a loud crashing sound. ¡±What the fuck was that sound?¡± We heard a manly gravely voice which was now approximately one hundred meters away. It was now when we had to decide whether to fight or escape. Izumi then climbed on top of the crate after he gave the elevator key to Nino. ¡±Nino, this is really bad. Get the elevator in working order.¡± Izumi gently told Nino his orders. Now we heard the footsteps stop, and the sound of a dozen bows being drawn to be ready to fire at a moments notice. ¡±So you are the cocksucker that killed my men?¡± The gravely voice was now very close, I then took a peek out from the crate. And in the background I heard the key being inserted into the elevator access panel. ¡±What if I did? Your men got no honor. All they live for is raping defenseless women, gorging themselves like pigs and drinking enough alcohol kill a dragon. They are the scum of the world.¡± Izumi sounded quite confident as he faced the battle hardened man, whom I assume is the bandit leader.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The bandit leader looked like he was in his early fourties. His hair had started graying at a few places and he got a permanent shadow from being shaven. The face was covered with scars and his left ear was missing its lower part. His equipment was a lot better than his bandit men as well. He do not look like the type of man you want to cross. As I peeked out the bandit leader noticed me, and he gave a perverse smile toward Izumi. ¡±Hahahaha! Who cares about my men? There are always more I can recruit. I see you on the other hand have brought with you a fine lass. I will let you live a little longer if you hand over that girl. You will have the prime seat as I impregnate her over and over until I get tired of her. Then I will kill her slowly, and after that you.¡± My Phylactery felt frozen for a moment and I started cold sweating. This man just screams of danger and death to me! My breathing became irregular and I hid myself behind the crate. Izumi had a look of pure disgust at this proposed ¡±deal¡±. ¡±I will never let you sully my woman with your tainted touch. If you lay as much as a finger on her, I will hunt you to the ends of the world. Even the thought of it breaks my heart.¡± Now I heard the sound of the elevator door opening, and the key being taken out. It was the signal for Izumi to retreat. Izumi performed a low backflip and landed in front of us, at the same time a hail of arrows just grazed him. ¡±Run into the elevator, NOW!¡± As if my legs moved by themselves, I ran together with Izumi and the girls into the elevator. Nino slammed the button that goes to the top hard with her closed hand. And with a grinding noise the elevator slowly started to pick up speed and ascend. The elevator itself was of a open cage design. So if you were skilled you could hit your target between the bars. ¡±Fucking hell! Do not let them escape, men!¡± The bandit leader screamed in anger. And with that another hail of arrows was fired toward us. At this point the elevator was halfway up to the first floor. This damn thing accelerates slowly. The bandit leader and his men now swarmed up the staircase, only about ten at a time had the chance to fire their arrows at us. Fuck it I thought, and started casting Divine Shield at all of us. With a bright flash our cage was now covered with shields, and I felt pretty tired after that. Because the shields are one-way this gave us the chance to fight back. Now another wave of arrows came toward us, but all of them got stopped by the divine shields. Seris countered by firing a empowered fireball into the crowd. As the bandit men saw the fireball flying towards them, they rolled out of the way even if they hit their fellow bandits. Because of this she only managed to kill three instead of twenty in one go. Meanwhile did Nyaya snipe archers with her bow, but after a while she was completely out of arrows. At the second floor the elevator finally outpaced the bandits, so we could now rest easily. Below us they futilely fired arrows at us and cursed. This sure is one hell of an adventure. I hope whatever we find up there is worth this. As the elevator ascended we all fell asleep in one big pile with Izumi in the middle. The stress for all of us, really worn us all down both physically and mentally. I then thought of what he said before we made our grand escape. I am his woman, not his slave? It makes me happy though, that he thinks so highly of me. And that he would go to such extreme lengths in order to protect me. I slept soundly with a happy grin as I gripped his shirt. Am I really falling for this idiot? I woke up with drool coming down from my mouth and onto Izumis shirt. The elevator had now stopped at the 90th floor, and it made weird grinding noises. When I looked up I noticed that the rails going up are completely broken, and the floor we are on was unusally breezy. The source of the breeze are the broken sections of wall around us. From here we could see the capital city from where we came from, and also all the way to the border of the kingdom. Also now had the sunset started. The sun was still above the horizon. We must had been traveling up this elevator for several hours then... I rose up and yawned. Izumi and the other girls had already been awake for a while, but it seems they did not want to disturb my peaceful sleep. How nice of them. ¡±You are finally awake, you was so cute when you slept, we did not have the heart to wake you up.¡± Izumi patted my head as I yawned yet again. Am I a cat or something? ¡±We are on the 90th floor now, but that is okay. My client said it was around these floors where our target item could be found.¡± He still had his hand on my head as he looked out toward the capital. ¡±Prepare yourself now girls. We may have to fight incredibly dangerous monsters now. I will be heartbroken if I lose you all.¡± Seris started sniffling as soon as he said it, she is such a sensitive girl. Make me wonder how she dealt with being a slave before Izumi became her master. She must had a really hard life... He then rubbed her cheek and smiled at her. It seems to have made her feel better. Nino who otherwise is quiet showed signs of distress, but did her best to hide it. Nyaya sighed deeply and hugged Nino. They are good girls who love and support eachother. Being with them all this time shattered all my preconceived notions of slavery and love. Good masters like Izumi who love their slaves, are as rare as hens teeth. The love from the girls towards him is proof of that. A symbiotic relationship. Us girls get protection from his personal power and status. In return he gets our love and support. I should stop getting sentimental, we got a quest to do after all. Once everyone had got up and got rid of the stiffness in their bodies we walked off the elevator which still in vain tried to go up. Looks like we need to find another way down. Or preferably another way out. Those bastard bandits will probably be waiting for us when we get back. It was nice for once that fresh air came in here. I had gotten tired of the dank smell of moss and dust. Having smells of grass, flowers and tree sap from trees from below raised my mood quite a bit. We traversed the platform away from the elevator and got onto the floor entrance section. The stairs still winded up in the ever so gentle slope. Whoever designed this place was a proper madman. Why would they need to make this tower so needlessly big and complicated? As we entered the 90th floor a strong gust of wind appeared from within the door. What we saw on the other side was truly unexplainable. We are going to die, right? At that moment I felt my Phylactery become cold as ice. Trial of Mistral. The hallway was well maintained with red carpets going along the entire length. Lively magical lights gently lit up the whole hallway evenly, and banners of different colors and symbols decorated the walls. And in even intervals stood fully armored and equipped suits of armor in sets of two watching the eachother. And the thing which made me fear for my life was the book hovering above the obsidian pedestal, in the middle of the hallway next to the door.. The book looked like it was made out skin from countless victims, and it was studded with cursed red metal. The pages which ocassionally flipped smelled of death and the written text I glimpsed, was written with a mixture of blood and adhesives. And worst of all the book itself radiated an opressive aura of fear and death. ¡±Get me away from that book!¡± I cried out as I wanted to flee away. It was not just me who had the urge to flee. Seris looked like she would book at any moment, and Nyaya was visibly nervous. ¡±Hold it together, Lotus! Where was the immunity to fear you had when you got your revenge!?¡± As he scolded me I felt the same feeling I had as when I brutally executed that bandit in the dungeon. All my feelings of fear disappeared and I felt how my emotions got dulled. ¡±Yes, master.¡± I replied to Izumi in a monotone and scary tone. It looks like my skill to overpower fear got a serious drawback... At the same time scenes of our deaths was projected into our minds. Must be that books doing. ¡±Try to find out a way to get rid of that cursed book!¡± He shouted at me, and it looks like he is doing his best in order to stay sane. I then started to pray for Mistral for wisdom in how to overcome this great evil. <> I heard an androgynous voice in my head. <> Mistral then visualized my Phylactery inside my head. It showed me how it acts as a conduit of pure positive energy from the realm of Harjan, the Holy Crescent god. That certainly explains my aptitude for clerical work. <> Then a scene of my party being gruesomely tortured got projected in my head. And an incredibly sadistic laugh boomed from all directions. As I got out of my trance I saw how my party laid lifeless on the floor, Nino struggled hard to just kneel. Seris had tears coming out of her dead fishlike eyes and Izumi struggled with breathing. I just blinked as I was still in this state of emotionlessness. I then unsheathed my Holy Staff and rushed toward the book. As I got closer I felt how a wave of negative energy showered over me, and like that my skin started withering. An opposing pulse of positive energy was emitted from my Phylactery and the damage got undone. The more progress I made the more frequent the pulses were sent out. In the end I was in constant state of decay and regeneration. Behind me was a trail of dead skin and droplets of blood. It was a truly macabre scene, and if it hasn¡¯t been for my Overpower Fear skill I would had ran away in the opposite direction. When I arrived right in front of the cursed book, it pulsed negative energy every second. In order to purifiy it I will recite a silent prayer to Mistral, and then I will hit it as hard as I can with the Holy Staff. I channeled every positive thought and memory I had gained during my journey to over here. I may have come to realize it way too late, but my party means the world to me. Despite only being with them in such a short time, I have bonded with them. Nyaya, you and your crazy antics always entertained me. Life is boring without you and your laugh. Seris, you are like a mother to me. Your delicious cooking remind me of home, and your smile warms my heart. Nino, even though you don¡¯t talk much, you are like a big sister to me. You always help to carry my burdens and carry me when I can¡¯t go on anymore myself. Izumi, at first I thought of you as just a selfish brat who loved to play the hero. I looked at your girls as if you had brainwashed them. But as we got to know eachother more, that was not the case. You saved them with your love. From where they had no love before, you reached out your hand to them, and they now recieved love for the first time since becoming slaves. And in return they show you love back. I am very sorry for misjudging you. I felt how tears streamed out of my eyes as I channeled every ounce of positive energy from my Phylactery into the attack. If I die now, I will at least die without regrets. I had not noticed it but during my deep thoughts and praying my body now was completely lacking in skin. Only my hair had remained unscathed. A loud cracking sound was heard along with a great feeling of my true potentional being unlocked. The cursed book now laid harmlessly on the floor with enormous scorch marks across all its pages. Nobody can be harmed by it or read it anymore. I looked down at my skinless hands and felt how my tears dropped down on them and mixed with my blood. Did me thinking about my friends help me push me through this deadly ordeal. I stumbled and caught myself on the obsidian pillar and felt the energy in my legs draining away. I then started breathing irregularily. I felt how my cracked Phylactery was leaking energy rapidly. Then I coughed out blood. I was happy though. I saved my friends. I could not stop smiling even though I was dying. It was then that I heard the coughing of my party. They had sprung back to life. ¡±Lotus! Lotus!¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I heard them cry out as they desperately looked for me. It was then that Seris screamed out in terror as she saw the sorry state I was in. They all then ran as fast as they could to me. ¡±No, no, no! This was not how it was supposed to happen! Damn it! Fuck!¡± Izumi hugged me tightly and sobbed uncontrollably. His face became bloodied as his face touched mine. ¡±...do not cry...¡± I meekly answered as I coughed out a lot more blood. Seris was utterly devastated, she tried to shake life in me as I felt how my consciousness faded away. I then fell into a dreamlike state... <> ¡±Mistral?¡± <> ¡±I¡¯m sorry. I drained all my life to defeat that cursed book. I do not see ho-¡± <> The androgynous voice boomed. <> [Lesser Lich (Holy) LV.10] !! Ready to evolve !! <> And with that I focused my last ounce of will and strength onto evolving myself into a Lich. I felt how my body started floating up into the air, and dissolved into a white light. I rapidly regained consciousness as my body reformed, and my cracked Phylactery repaired itself and yet again became a conduit of positive energy. First my feet materialized and I noticed how the top side of them had pearlescent golden stones embedded. It was just like my hands previously. After that did my lower body materialize, it felt as if I had gained more curves and longer legs. Then my torso and arms materialized. My Phylactery had now up the ribcage and now settled nicely between my breasts, which had gained a few sizes cup increase. My arms now looked stronger and at my elbows and hands I also gained golden colored stones. Finally my head materialized, and I felt a magical symbol in the form of a crescent on my forehead. I still have as long hair as before and also my ears now look more like the elves. Also I got... Horns? ¡±Lotus is... Alive!¡± Seris who previously had cried her eyes out now looked at me happily. Izuma looked relieved as he laid on his back. Their faces are stained with dried tears and dirt. I noticed I had not yet fallen back onto the ground, so is this the ability of a proper Lich? No matter, I want to hug my friends... No... Family! We all then joined in a group hug, and my new family then started scolding me for my recklessness. They was worried sick about me during the time they thought I was dead. I think for the mental health of everyone involved, I will try to avoid doing things like this... ¡±I could not help to notice, but you sure has... Grown.¡± Izumi probably commented about my slightly more mature body now. ¡±[Appraisal: Projection]¡± [Appraisal: Lotus] Name: Lotus Description: Lotus is a slave which is owned by Izumi. She comes from another world and was blessed by god. In her previous life she died of an accident in a subway station. After a life threatening situation she evolved into a Lich. Appearance: Her skin is white as snow. Her hair is white, shiny and reach down to her feet. Her eyes are golden with crescent shaped irises. Her forehead got a golden crescent moon symbol. Her head got a small crown made out of golden stone horns. Her breasts are as big as C cups. Her body is mature but still lack fat in many areas. Her body is covered with golden stones at the elbows, feet and hands. Her phylactery located above her ribcage and under her breasts, it got a golden color. Her height is about one meter and a sixty centimeters. Her overall beauty is super natural. Race: Lich (Holy) LV.1 Class: Cleric (Mistral) LV.6 Titles: Mistral¡¯s Disciple, Child of Harjan, Executioner, Slave of Izumi Blessings and skills: Photographic Memory (Reading): Allows the user to perfectly remember written words and pictures from books, scrolls and papers. Blessed Undead: The user is not affected by anti-undead spells and project a aura of courage instead of fear. Overpower Fear (Race): Allows the user to ignore any Fear effects for a while. Whether mental or magical it do not matter. The eyes glow brightly during its active period. Self Levitation (Race): While not true flight, it allows the Lich to hover about one meter above any ground and liquid. Should be careful to not use excessviely unless you want brittle bones. Mana Network (Race): All the golden stones in the liches body helps managing magic and to more easily cast spells. A huge efficency bonus is granted from this. Touch of Life (Race) LV.1: By using a moderate amount of magic, life threatening wounds can be healed as if nothing happened. Resurrection requires spending an hour continously pouring in magic and positive energy into the corpse. Possible Evolutions: None discovered, unlock requirements not met. ¡±You are a true lich now!? What the heck!?¡± Izumi looked very surprised as he then inspected my transformed body again. I felt very exposed now that I think of it... It seems like the only thing remaining from this fight is the Holy Staff. The rest withered away. No matter though, I am just happy to see my new family again. ¡±I think you will feel cold if you are naked. Here, put on my cloak.¡± He then took off and threw his cloak at me. I put it on and wrapped it around me to cover most of my torso and pelvis. I used a piece of rope to tie it securely around my waist. This won¡¯t win any fashion contests but it is better than nothing. Damn, these have been some emotional days. Secret of the 90th floor. After the traumatic event which only through a great gambit we managed to pull through, we started exploring this floor. What drove them put such a cursed book in the first place as a guard? Whatever it is, this floor must be holding something very worthwhile. ¡±Mjaa, that cloak do not look on you.¡± Nyaya commented as she with a fascinated look watched me hover over the floor. ¡±Got any better ideas, Nyaya?¡± I put my arms together and looked at her as I hovered in the direction of the party. ¡±Umm, can¡¯t you use magic to tailor it?¡± Curious to see her to jump to such a conclusion. I raised my eyebrows and started thinking. ¡±I will think about it...¡± I quietly replied and faced toward where we was going. We headed right instead of left this time. Before we left Seris made sure that the cursed book was thoroughly destroyed. She had an anger that I never seen before in that timid girl. Do not get between her and the people she love... After half an hour I ended up hovering on my back as we explored the hallway. This levitation skill is pretty darn convenient. Oddly enough we haven¡¯t seen a single door yet. ¡±I wonder what is taking so long...¡± I impatiently asked. Seems like evolving made me more impatient. A slight personality change. I then looked up at Izumi. He was upside down from my view. ¡±You are going to become lazy if you keep levitating all the time, Lotus.¡± I then gave him an annoyed look. You too would do this if you could levitate! ¡±Hmmph!¡± With a soft landing I started walking instead then. I used my Holy Staff as a walking stick. I think I would look pretty lich like now if it weren¡¯t my flesh. I yawned and we walked for another half hour. Finally we saw a door. It was lavishly decorated with exotic metals, and the door itself was made out perfectly preserved rare wood. Beside it stood two suits of armor which looked like they had come from a land far away. Whatever is in that room must be important, I thought. And before we entered into the room, Izumi looked at me affectionally. ¡±Do not leave us alone, Lotus.¡± With the previous incident fresh on our minds he hesitated opening the door. But finally opened it with a sigh. Unlike the exquisite door the interior of the room was mundane. The room itself was big enough to fit a small house inside and it was completely exposed to the outside. It looked like a aircraft hangar if I would describe it in modern terms. The side exposed to the sky had one meter high railings, and on the sides going out into the distance differently colored magical lights turned on and off in sequence. The most notable feature of the room was a smaller room inside it. It looked like a office. We explored it and looked for anything of use. Suddenly the stone on my Holy Staff and my Phylactery started reacting as I got closer to the room. A faint pulsating light and a light vibration occured. ¡±Master, there is something in this room that makes me feel weird.¡± I asked Izumi to check it out. How much of this did his Appraisal skill predict when it made him buy me? First the Holy Staff, then me defeating that cursed book and now this? It is like whenever something dire is about to happen to him, destiny is there to save him. As he stepped into the room, he gasped. ¡±...I found it.¡± WIth great joy in his voice he said. ¡±Found what?¡± I somewhat cautiously asked him. ¡±The item my client asked for.¡± I started to feel worried, what exactly did his client request? He then came out with a intricate item which resembled a circuit board from Earth. Except now it was made out of metals I have never seen before. And at its core was a golden stone which resembled my Phylactery.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡±...what the hell is this thing?¡± I reflexively asked Izumi. This made me feel uneasy to the core of my soul.¡¯ ¡±According to my client it is a piece of a machinery.¡± He is not telling the whole truth, I can tell. But if I push too much about it, I think he won¡¯t hesitate to have my slave collar stop me from asking more. What quest did he exactly take us out on? I just let out a long sigh, and then looted the room for books. Now with our main quest objective done, we need to find a way down. The bandits are probably still down there, furious about our escape. Even with our strength we can¡¯t fight them all. Strength runs out eventually after all. And I bet the bandits after seeing us girls are pretty thirsty, so if we get captured we will have a very dark future. ¡±Alright girls, we got what we came here for. Now we need to get the hell out of here.¡± We all looked at Izumi. Do he have a grand plan to get us out here safely? ¡±We got two options; Either fight our way down the stairs, or somehow sprout wings and fly!¡± Is there no third option I wondered? I remember from one document I briefly read while looting, that this hangar contain experimental vehicles. I looked up in the ceiling of the hangar. I saw there was a bird looking vehicle along with other ruined vehicles. But the propulsion devices attached to it are broken beyond repair. Oh right, now I remember. Gliders was a thing back on Earth. From where a high elevation you could safely glide down. ¡±I do not think we need to fly...¡± I said, and with a strong kick off the ground, I glided up to the vehicle and with my hand I barely grabbed onto it. Levitation sure is handy, it weakens the pull of gravity. After a minute I got up into its crew space. Izumi and the girls wondered what suddeny got into me, but they let me get it out of my system. As expected all controls except for the steering are broken. But it does not matter as long as it can glide properly. Whoever designed this must have been from Earth. This world do not make sense. Why are there traces of so many people from Earth? Are they all summoned here by people desiring power? I then pushed a button which let out the landing gear. And after that I used smite to get the vehicle onto the floor from its hook. It was not discrete but it managed to stay in one piece despite the two meter long fall. ¡±Master, have you ever done hang gliding?¡± I smugly asked Izumi. It seems like he catched on with what I was about to do. The girls still looked like big question marks. ¡±Girls, you wanna fly?¡± He then asked the girls, who tilted their heads as they looked back at him. I then severed the broken propulsion off it in order to save on weight. Also ripped out excessive seats, but took care to keep the vehicle balanced. I guess if I use cleverly use my magic we somehow can make it. After an hour we made the vehicle glideworthy. Also we planned to give its initial propulsion boost out of here by having Seris fire off a strong fireball behind it. I would beforehand apply a Elemental Shield to it so only the kinetic force is applied to the vehicle. Talk about a proper McGyver solution. I really hope it will hold long enough for us to crashland somewhere. For being such a rustbucket it is surprisingly sturdy. Oh well, Earth style thinking combined with new world magic should give us the edge we need. Now the sun had fully set. Darkness quickly began to set in. ¡±We will have to postpone our escape until tomorrow. Gliding in darkness is suicide.¡± Izumi spoke true of that. No matter where we land, we must be ready to defend ourselves. Also if we crashland and hurt ourselves bad then there is no way to know who to priorotize first. With that said we barricaded the door from our side, and setup camp next to the improvised glider vehicle. We all now sat beside the campfire which we made from scraps of wood lying around here. Nyaya and Nino was already napping beside Izumi, and me and Seris was drinking tea before we went to sleep. ¡±Lotus.¡± ¡±Seris?¡± Seris asked me as she sipped tea from her cup. ¡±You think there is a plan for all of us?¡± ¡±Plan?¡± ¡±As if the gods themselves planned our lives out before we even was born.¡± This sounds like a lot of the junk some religions back on Earth pulled in order to recruit followers. ¡±No, I do not believe so. Even though gods are real I doubt they are that intricate in their plans.¡± ¡±Oh? I think so though. Because before I became Izumi¡¯s slave, I somehow always survived even though I should not had to.¡± ¡±Like for example?¡± ¡±The day before I got sold to master, I was about to die from my wounds, My previous master severely abused me so much I bled inside and I had a broken leg. Yet a miracle happened... A passing by Cleric saw my lifeless eyes as I limped outside in great pain with my old master. And he noticed that I was severely hurt, and healed me without asking him. My old master then became very angry and was about to punch the Cleric. But then Izumi arrived there and stopped the fight. He then offered to buy me, and he was very insistant on doing it. It was like he was commanded by a higher power.¡± Seris looked religious as she told me her story of she met Izumi. What a sad story though for such a sweet girl. ¡±I see, I got my doubts though.¡± Religious theory was never my strongest point in school. I guess I will have more homework here though. Considering how talkative and intervention happy the gods are here, unlike on Earth. I then took a long look at the capital city in the distance. Despite being so low tech, the lights could be seen all the way over here. Me and Seris then finished off with a little girl talk before settling ourselves in the pile over at Izumi. Because I got a little bigger since last, it took a little adjusting to get into a comfortable position again. The flight of the broken bird. For the first time since I was reborn here I now had a dream of Earth. Otherwise I would have dreamless nights or nightmares of past events but now was a rare occasion. I sit next to my boyfriend, clinging to his arm in the subway train. I can smell the perfume mixed with his sweat, as my head leans against his shoulder. I am half asleep and he caresses my cheek before playing with his smartphone. So sweet. As the train moves, I feel how my eyes get hit alternately with bright lights and darkness. It only amplifies my feeling of tiredness. We will be together forever, right? I squeeze his hand and let out a cute noise, as I fall asleep in the moving subway train. Let¡¯s never let go... But then I wake up when the light outside the window become blindingly white. Outside the window I then see the capital city as the train move out of the tower hangar. No! Come back! I wake up finding myself squeezing the hand of Izumi which was next to my face. My body is full of sweat and I felt a drained. The longing was present. ¡±I still miss him...¡± Without thinking I softly say that. Izumi looked at me with mixed feelings. ¡±Miss who?¡± He then asked me and looked worried. ¡±My boyfriend...¡± Izumi still looked a bit confused but then he connected the pieces together. He got a similar background like me. ¡±Oh, you had a boyfriend before you got here...¡± The girls then looked worried about me. ¡±Did you have a bad dream, Lotus?¡± ¡±You look sad...¡± ¡±...¡± They tried to comfort me the best they could. I then released Izumis hand and sat up. Then I yawned and stretched my body at the same time. ¡±I guess... I am just reminiscing of simpler times...¡± I answered the girls, and had a short pause. Then I continued. ¡±When I only had to worry about getting good grades at school... Find a job. Then find a guy, and make a family with.¡± They saw how I got dazed as I talked about family. Then they picked me up and hugged me. ¡±B- But we are your family!¡± Nyaya was quite cheery as she told me that. Then she patted my head. She is correct, they are my family now. I got nobody else in this chaotic world. ¡±How about we get going? We have plenty of time to be sentimental later.¡± Izumi looked like he wanted to join our moment, but he had his quest in mind. We really should get going though. So much time has been spent in this cursed tower already. I am very keen to have time to wind down.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡±Okay...¡± We answered him and quickly packed up. Once everyone was ready, I made sure to strap everyone in and then I cast Elemental Shield which faced the back and bottom of our improvised glider vehicle. Meanwhile prepared Seris delayed fireballs which would explode after a certain time passed. Our plan was now in motion and we finally could escape. ¡±H- Here goes nothing!¡± I shouted seconds before the fireballs detonated. I was already strapped in at the second pilot seat beside Izumi. ¡±3... 2... 1...¡± I heard Seris count down. With a loud sound the fireballs detonate. While the glider did not take any damage, we got flung out with great speed out from the tower hangar. Nyaya and Seris made very girlishy startled noises because of the sudden acceleration. As we soared out Izumi tried to get hang of the controls. Thankfully it looks like the ailerons and tail fin still works. He aimed for us to get close to the capital city as possible. During our glide we noticed a massive encampment not too far away from the tower. Was that the bandits base, I wondered? After half an hour in the air, we are about halfway to the capital city. Right now our altitude had lowered to half of what it was before. Compared to the tower we would now be at the 45th floor. Still pretty high up, but it looks like we would have to evade the hill in front of us if we want to make the most out of the glider. ¡±Watch out for that hill!¡± I cried out in panic at Izumi. ¡±What does it look like I¡¯m doing!?¡± He gabbed back at me. The glider grazed the side of the hill which made unsettling scraping noises on the glider. It lost a little momentum but we was still airborne. Once we were past the hill we finally saw the highway going toward the capital city. If we crashlanded there, it would just take us eight hours of trekking to get back. It would take another five minutes of gliding to get there though. Suddenly a creaking sound was heard from the side which had grazed the hill. I quickly looked over there and saw how cracks started to form. Damn pile of junk! Hold it together for just five minutes! I tried to delay the inevitable by casting cantrip spells like Mending. But it looks like it is just a stopgap measure. At best it just keeps cracks from reforming for 30 seconds. ¡±Hey Seris, mind giving me a hand over here? Cast Mending at the cracks!¡± Seris got startled by yelling, but she quickly helped me with the task. As we got closer to the landing zone at the highway, both Seris and me started to get dizzy from all spellcasting. It was then that Nyaya and Nino took over. Nino used her brute strength to keep the vessel together, meanwhile Nyaya cleverly used ropes to bind it together. She quickly tied the ropes together between the two windows which the crack had formed. The moment our glider impacted onto the highway, the front of the cockpit became rubble. Shortly afterwards the wings collapsed due to sheer stress from the impact. The now exposed body then continued to glide across the highway for at least one hundred meters before coming to an halt. At our crashlanding site the air was full of dust. We all coughed as we tried to regain composure again. ¡±Are *cough* everyone okay?¡± Izumi asked everyone. Status report, please. ¡±I- I¡¯m here¡± ¡±Uhhh....¡± ¡±I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡±Could be better...¡± Everyone who responded seemed to be in a fine condition. Exception for Nyaya who seemed to feel sick. Our bodies are not built for crashing after all. As we got out of our now ex-glider it seems like it caused quite the commotion. Travellers who had been walking along the highway looked in marvel at who had come out of it. One heroic looking guy, with four exceptionally beautiful women is not something you see every day. ¡±What is that thing?¡± ¡±Look at those babes he got!¡± ¡±Man, look at how they ruined the highway...¡± ¡±Did they really come from the sky in that thing?¡± The small crowd of people tried to make sense out of what had played out in front of them. It is also not every day you see people fall from the sky and survive. We ignored the curious onlookers though and instead started to walk home. I obviously got tired of walking and starting levitating. Evolving into a proper Lich must had been the best life choice so far. Sucks that I had to break the heart of my family though... The moment I levitated above ground the people started to think I was a ghost, what nonsense. About eight hours later we finally arrived back home in the capital city. Oh how I miss a proper bed! Slice of life. I laid down in the fluffy bed with all my limbs stretched out meanwhile I buried my face in the pillow. ¡±I am in heaven~¡± I cried out in joy as I laid down perfectly still. We are now back at Izumis home. Meanwhile he went out to turn in his quest, us girls took the chance to settle down again. I took it literally though, I settled down in the bed! Nyaya seem to have taken up her chores as a house maid again. Her Rogue skills are not that useful for daily life after all. Seris started cooking delicious foods again, meanwhile Nino performed chores like chopping firewood. The only one who did not have any assigned chores was me, so I lazed around scot free. ¡±Mjaa, you seem to enjoy yourself!¡± Nyaya said as she saw me enjoying the bed. She was currently busy cleaning the bedroom. Because during all our days out adventuring dust had started to settle. She hummed on a song while she cleaned. As I lazed around I wonder what I could do in order to make daily life easier. Maybe I could memorise recipes for Seris? Use magic to help everyone with chores? Use my Holy Lich and Cleric powers to help out the church? Maybe tomorrow... I slowly crept into dreamland as I was thinking... ¡±Hey! Wake up sis¡¯!¡± ¡±Nnnh...¡± My sister shaked me as she tried to wake me up. ¡±Aww, come on! We will miss school!¡± She then began sitting on top me, and shaked me even harder. ¡±Ow! I will wake up!¡± I cried out at her with my eyes closed. I let out a long yawn as I stretched my arms out. My sister sat on top of me with her hands at my elbows with an annoyed look ¡±Hurry!¡± My sister yelled at me as she got off, and then stormed out of my room. What a nostalgic dream... ¡±Hey, wake up! It is already evening!¡± I heard Izumi say as he desperately tried to wake me up.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡±...give me five more... minutes...¡± A very tired me tried to shoo him away. He would not have any of it, and simply picked me up and put me on his shoulder. He then carried me to the dining room and planted me on a chair. ¡±Alright, now that everyone is here I will report good news!¡± Nyaya then shook me to fully wake me up. I got startled and felt a lot more conscious. Proper beds are dangerous after only sleeping on bedrolls. ¡±Because of us finishing the quest we are now 5000 gold richer! And on top of it I got ranked up!¡± I yawned as he got to the part of ranking up. ¡±Rank up?¡± What does he mean with that I wondered? The girls gave me puzzled looks. ¡±Rank up, as in I become one rank higher in the Adventurers Guild. My rank was previously B rank, now I am A rank. This means I can pick higher ranked Quests now.¡± Izumi sure is knowledgable about this adventurer business. I hope he won¡¯t drag us all along another Quest involving towers from ancient dead civilizations again. I would like to erase that adventure from my memories if I could. ¡±How fascinating.¡± I told him sarcastically. In truth I am not interested in this adventuring business. The one he dragged me on as he bought me is enough adventure for several lifetimes. ¡±Do not worry, with the money we earned from the quest we will have enough to live comfortably for five years. I do not plan to spend it lavishly either.¡± It looks like Izumi read my mood well. I am quite fed up with adventuring now. I then looked him directly in the eyes. ¡±Sooo... What am I supposed to do now?¡± I asked him with a serious look on my face. The only one with no jobs in the household is me. He then took up a thinking posture and was like that for thirty seconds. ¡±How about you doing errands for the church? You are a Cleric after all, and on top of that you are the very conduit of positivity.¡± Izumi felt quite smart. Oh well, I thought this was one possibility. But how is he going to convince the church to have a undead work for them? ¡±But I am basically undead... If it weren¡¯t for my Phylactery constantly emitting positive energy my body would not look like this.¡± I tried to reaon with him. ¡±Do not worry, I got enough of status in the city to let minor details like that slide!¡± Minor detail? Are you shitting me? Oh well, the church it is then. Let¡¯s hope it is not one of the churches where the head honcho is a dick. ¡±Okay. So what¡¯s for supper?¡± Ending with that eternal question we had a nice supper that day. And when it came to getting ready for bed, it looks like Izumi and the girls had built up quite the dam of lust waiting to be released. We did not do anything lewd while adventuring after all. Meanwhile I read books and drank tea, they had at it for about an hour. That was about the time it took for their moaning noises to stop. Make me wonder how he doesn¡¯t make them pregnant. If he did it with me he would probably not need to worry about such a thing. Or, could you make a Holy Lich pregnant? Not keen to find out yet. I wonder if me and Nick would had children on Earth? I looked out at the night sky when that thought was brought up to the surface. The full moon is quite lovely now... I let out a deep sigh and then continued reading my book. I wish moments like this would last forever. Just me, a book, a cup of tea and my thoughts alone on a quiet night. Clerical work and common sense. ¡±Of course your miss can work here. Because she is blessed by Harjan himself, there is now way we can deny her.¡± The head priestess of the church looked quite ecstatic after Izumi asked her. Izumi and me was inside the church which was about an kilometer away from his house. The church itself was big enough to fit 200 people simultaneously and was fitted with several shrines dedicated to different gods. The biggest shrine was at the altar which was dedicated to the Vi the Godess of Fertility. ¡±Harjan?¡± Izumi looked puzzled. I guess he never bothered with religion since he came here. ¡±Harjan, the Holy Crescent god! Lotus got his sacred golden symbol on her forehead, and her very being is a conduit of his holyness!¡± Be careful priestess, any more and I may die of embarassment. My face screamed: ¡±Please, get me out of here...¡± I still do not know how I should feel that gods personally have taken notice of me yet. ¡±So tomorrow?¡± He then asked her. ¡±Yes, she can begin tomorrow.¡± The priestess eagerly answered. ¡±Also she will get her own set of robes for work.¡± Then she dug up a fairly unused set of robes which was my sight. It looked a lot like what nuns wear on earth but they was a lot less modest. The robes exposed the upper part of the bust and showed off the hips on the sides. Also hair was allowed to be shown, but according to tradition it would be braided well. I guess this is because the Vi was the main god of this church, who is all about fertility. ¡±Before I work... What are my responsibilities?¡± I quickled asked the priest who got into lecture mode in an instant. ¡±You come in here at the first bell to meet with us. Then we will have tea together and discuss the daily agenda. After our meeting is done, your job as a novice will be to see if any people need help in the church. You are not allowed to accept any other request, except for accepting tithes and going to houses to perform prayers. Once the second bell rings it is time for lunch. You can either eat our communal lunch or take with your own. Then you will spend the rest of your time until the third bell rings, ensuring the garden and cemetery are maintained.¡± The head priestess was quite thorough in her explanation. ¡±How long does it usually take get promoted?¡± I curiously asked her. ¡±Depending on your talent, anything from one month to ten years.¡± Sheesh! She is not sugarcoating any of this! ¡±Alright, I got it. See you tomorrow!¡± With a wave to her I turned around and began to hover out. The priestess then gave me a serious look. ¡±Oh, and avoid doing that during work. It will scare the faithful!¡± Oops! Looks like I can¡¯t be lazy then. I then spent rest of the day lazing around. Gotta use the last of my free time efficently. Nothing of note happened, except for Nyaya botching her cleaning by tipping over the container holding all dust. Truly an uneventful day. The next day after being literally dragged out of the bed by Nino, I arrived at the church. Because I am new I had not yet recieved my own key to enter the side entrance. As I waited I felt how cold the breeze was this morning. Is it autumn already? I had not paid attention to the seasons ever since I arrived to this world after all. ¡±...KNOCK KNOCK...¡± I cried out as I knocked the door for what felt like the thousandth time. Then I heard rushed steps from the other side, and then door opened.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡±I am deeply sorry! Forgive me!¡± The young robed man begged me. I sighed. ¡±No matter, I am new here so let¡¯s go.¡± The man nodded and led me to the meeting room which now had at least eight people in it. Only three chairs was free. As I entered the room I noticed how the atmosphere changed. From being cold and quiet to warm. Everyone except the head priest looked at me with great curiousity. Am I a Zoo animal or something? ¡±Ah, welcome Lotus. She will be working her. Her master Izumi gave her permission to do so.¡± Damn it, she is as honest as ever. Not even hiding the fact that I am a slave to Izumi. All the men started talking between themselves now. In total there was four men which made the gender balance a little skewed now. After a moment they stopped talking. ¡±Welcome Lotus, our new novice. We are looking forward to work with you.¡± One male priest which looked a little out of place with the rest said to me. I do not know why, but I got a feeling something is off with him. Am I unfair to him now, by judging on his looks? Then I greeted all other priests and clerics before finally settling myself on a chair. I decided to sit next to the man who let me in. ¡±The morning meeting has now started.¡± The head priestess loud and clear exclaimed. Then she rang a bell in her hand. ¡±First thing on todays agenda is; Lotus.¡± All the other priests and clerics looked at me then with anticipation. ¡±From today she will start as a novice here. But because she is blessed by Harjan and already picked a patron god, we will skip the introductory lesson about tthem. But her worldly knowledge and religious theory is lacking. I know that because Mistral, her patron god herself gave me a revelation this morning. Lotus must had done something special in order to get the personal attention of an god.¡± Tell me all about it... I got scolded hard by her! She must be laughing her ass off in her plane now. ¡±So her schedule will be to help out in the church in the morning, and then after lunch she will spend the remaining time until the third bell rings studying.¡± And here I thought I would escape school. I finished college on Earth after all, so the will to study is not fully there. I feel like the days are going to be long here... Once she finished ranting off the days agenda, I introduced myself to my coworkers. I avoided talking with the creepy guy last. Most of the priests and priestesses looked well adjusted. Some lived in celibate meanwhile others had big families of up to ten children. They must really take Vis teachings seriously! ¡±Oh hi, my name is Lotus. My favorite things are reading books, drinking tea and coffee,¡± I finally approached the guy whom gave me bad vibes. ¡±My pleasure. My name is Guy Kiles, on my free time I make sculptures and tend to the church cemetary.¡± He do work even on his free time!? ¡±Also you are quite the stunning beauty, your master really lucked out~¡± Then he gave me a smile, but also in it was a subtle hint of scheming. ¡±T- Th- Thanks!¡± I stormed off then under the pretense of me needing to start early, so I can get better faster. Anything to get away from him. Until lunch I spent most of the time collecting tithes from visitors. All the money went toward keeping the church operational. Then after lunch I spent time learning this worlds common sense. A operational church is valuable after all in this world. Because churches was often the most convenient places if you wanted to get [Life Guidance]. In short life guidance means you can regret past life choices, and set yourselves on a new path. So if you have been a Fighter all your life you could pick the path of a Wizard. But the process is lossy, in the end you lose one third of your life experiences which is taken as a tithe by the gods. Also you still need to relearn your fighting and living style completely, not to mention completely regear yourself. The crash course in common sense made me realize one thing: It is like the world is based off a tabletop game! Reminded me of it because all the nerds in school used to play them, in the school hallways during breaks. What next? Magical cards is a valid form of defense as well!? Whatever, It is not like I can do anything about it. I am bound by the laws of this world. Further thing I learned on common sense is that titles actually affect things. Like for example; If a man is recognized by enough people, or a god as the [Enemy of Mankind]. Then they would emit an aura of fear and hostility around them. It would essentially make life impossible for him in civilized society. So in short, titles are a big deal. And lastly. Monsters and half monsters are able to evolve by absorbing the magical power left by their prey, as the souls pass onto the afterlife. It is the same concept used for Classes. But unlike Classes, when monsters evolve their bodies completely restructure and because of that they are fully healed. There have been cases of difficult but beatable monsters who has been on the verge of death, managing to kill off a hunter. Only to start evolving into a more powerful variant. Easy to say is that the monster became unbeatable for the current hunters, and it ended up in a party wipe. This worlds common sense sure is scary! After my first day of work I felt utterly tired. And it would take a week until I got my first payment. But the pay is pretty much just symbolical for me, Izumi take care of all my needs after all. I guess it is one perk of being a slave. As for the creepy guy in the church? I thought nothing of it anymore. Maybe he just is that way. Heroes night out. Izumi suddenly burst into the house one evening before supper. Strangely enough Seris had not started cooking anything yet. ¡±I managed to reserve a table for all of us at the Dragon¡¯s Roost Restaurant!¡± He cried out to us and grinned as he barged in. The eyes of all the girls lit up, and Nyaya started grinning like an idiot. What exactly is this place that make this reaction? ¡±Tassssty fooodsssss.¡± Nyaya said as she started drooling. Seris and Nino had already started changing into sexy dresses right in front of us. ¡±Here, wear this.¡± Izumi said as he passed me by. What was in my arms was a dark blue glittering dress which showed off a lot of my skin on my arms, legs and hips. And the main attraction on it was that the boob window looked prismatic. As if he wanted my Phylactery to make the dress glow there in pretty colors. I wonder how much he spent on this tailor made dress? Whatever, I went into the bedroom and changed into it. Then I got the help to make my hair from Seris. In the end my hair looked like one from a Victorian era princess. Also she applied makeup on me. I got the full kit done, red lipstick, mascara, eyeliner and lastly a fruity smelling perfume with hints of cinnamon. I must be the queen of the prom now. ¡±You look absolutely stunning!¡± He was nearly at a loss of words, when I came out of the bedroom. I tried out giving him a seductive look in order to mess with him. It looks like it worked, because his legs turned to jelly instantly. He is kinda cute when he is romantic. But its not like I like him in that way. All of us girls wore dresses except for Nino. She opted for a more androgynous look, it is pretty hard to make her tall height and well toned muscles look feminime. In the end she looked more like a butler in her fancy suit. Izumi also wore a fancy suit, and he even styled his hair with the help of Seris before we headed out. Watch out city! Its the heroes night out! When we walked over to the Dragon¡¯s Roost Restaurant, a lot of guys catcalled us girls. But a quick murderous glance from Izumi and Nino was enough to make them back off. It seems like even in this world some guys can¡¯t stop themselves. But I will take this over facing deadly monsters every day. Halfway to the restaurant we encountered a group of seven thugs which was up to no good. Where is the city guard!? They whistled at us girls from the street side and wore shit eating grins. ¡±Oi, you mind showing off your goods, elf? Hehehe.¡± A thug which was the biggest of all them tried to get Seris attention. He better not piss her off, or his junk will turn to ash. She may look meek and defenseless but she is a Sorcerer after all. If looks could kill, hers would do it several times over when she looked at her harasser. She then ignored him and we continued walking. ¡±What a whore. Ignoring me like that.¡± He then quietly said that to himself, and the thugs then backed off and walked off into a alley. Seriously!? What is wrong with this city!? We later arrived at the restaurant without any more issues. Thank the gods for that. But outside there was a fairly long queue which was about twenty peoples long. I see now why he was so happy that he managed to book a table. No way I got the patience to wait outside here. At the VIP entrance flashed Izumi his booking card and his [Adventurer¡¯s Guild Card]. The bouncer immediatly groveled for him and let us in. So he was not talking shit when he told me way back that he was the kingdoms most powerful adventurer. I guess power and influence is beneficial. Shortly after we got in an elven waitress with a petite build and blonde hair led us to our table. ¡±This way please, to your table.¡± The waitress said. Along the way we got pleased looks from men sitting at the table. Looks like they see us as objects of desire. But I can¡¯t really scold them for that, Izumi is the worst offender of all. Parading us around as trophies.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Once we sat down at our table we already had a pitcher full of ice cold water, and a basket of freshly baked garlic bread. Why does this remind me of a sports bar so much? Is this restaurant the idea of an otherworlder? Nyaya was the first one to start eating the garlic bread. It looks like it was this that made her so happy to come here. Her affection for garlic bread knows no bounds. After a minute the waitress which led us came back to us with the menu. As I browsed it, I found the more notable items were: Beef and cheese sandwich with fried potato stripes Ingredients: Ground beef, oven baked bread, sharp hard cheese, onion, salad, special sauce and potatoes Cost: 35 silver Doesn¡¯t that just sound like a Cheeseburger with fries? Noodles in broth with chicken and vegetables Ingredients: Wheat noodles, chicken bone broth, chicken, spring onions, hardboiled egg, shredded carrot, bamboo shoots and soy sauce. Cost: 40 silver Yeah, definitely not something I would expect in this world. Meatballs with mashed potatoes and bittersweet jam Ingredients: Ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, potatoes and riya berrry jam. Cost: 15 silver for adults, 5 silver for children Definitely the national dish of Sweden on Earth. Who brought over these dishes? And also they are overpriced to hell! One gold coin is worth 100 silver, in which one silver is worth 100 copper. One gold coin is enough to last a poor family a month on a diet of grain porridge and soup. And 5 copper coins will be enough to buy you a handful of grain flour. ¡±Some items on the menu sound too familiar, don¡¯t you say master?¡± I gave Izumi a serious look as I made my observation. He did not seem bothered by it at all. ¡±Of course they do. The woman who opened this restaurant came from Earth just like us. She is quite the culinary nut, and made most of her talents to bring us this.¡± Well, there is that mystery solved. In one fell swoop by Izumi. ¡±In that case, I want to order the cheeseburger and also that mineral water.¡± Will be nice to taste something familiar again after eating dishes native to this world. Also it was so long since I last had a fizzy drink. The sensation on the tongue and in the throat is to die for. Nyaya ordered pork ribs covered with barbeque sauce and spices. Seris ordered a Caeasar salad, strangely she did not question why it was named that. Doubt a Caesar person ever existed in this world. Nino ordered a steak with curly fries. And finally did Izumi order something very Japanese like fish sashimi with rice. During the entire wait for our food did we manage to empty the garlic bread, in which Nyaya was the leader in devouring it. This reminds me of the times I spent with Nick, Tom and friends having a good time in sports bars. Such nostalgic memories of a much more carefree life. Only thing missing now would be a good craft beer. The hoppy flavor is truly something amazing. When our food arrived the smell made us all smile with joy. The smell was exactly like it was on Earth. And my mineral water truly sparkled. I am in food heaven now~ As I took my first bite out of the cheeseburger I felt how the meat juices just escaped out of the patty. It mixed well with the cheese, onion and sauce which made me almost make sounds of pure bliss in the restaurant. I then finished my bite off with a mouthful of mineral water. The sparkling sensation along with the taste of different minerals completely cleansed the aftertaste in my mouth. I wish I could be here forever, just eating like this. In the meanwhile as we enjoyed our meals I saw how Nyaya ate her pork ribs as if she was in a frenzy. It was as if she was obsessed when she ate them. She never looked at the accesories like pickles, coleslaw and fries. It took her until she had completely eaten the ribs to notice them. Also her mouth and fingers are now full of sauce. I guess Seris will have to help her reapply the makeup before we go... Also while we ate did Nino order more beer. It looks like she really love to drink when our master allows it. She take full advantage of it. After two hours we were completely stuffed. We had eaten dessert and I got a taste of my beloved coffee finally. In total we had spent 10 gold coins on this feast. I guess this was to celebrate our successful adventure we did last time. It is a night to remember for sure. The way back home was uneventful. Luckily that because if someone was going to mess with us I would not had held back, too tired for such shit. And once we came back home everyone quickly undressed and knocked themselves out in the bed. I did not even bother changing into nightwear either. We all slept on the bed completely naked. Nobody was in the mood at all to do anything naughty either, especially after all delicious food we ate. Loud snores were heard as I fell into dreamland. The heroes night out was a success! Adventurers guild, there is a guild for everything. The aftermath of our night out was felt in the morning. I woke up with Izumi and Nyaya having a hand each on my boobs. And Nyaya looked like a crashed insect as she slept. Izumi laid on his back drooling with both Seris and Nino laying beside him. The battle report said: Devastating damage. The morning sun stung my eyes sharply and forced me to wake up. With a long yawn I stretched my whole aching body, and let out a high pitched noise of comfort at the end. I cleaned my eyes out of dust before trying to figure out what to do next. Strange to be the first one up and awake for once, otherwise it is usually me and Nyaya who laze around until someone forcefully wake us up. I then made my way out of the bed, and took a long bath in the bathroom. Just me, the bath, the sound of birds chirping outside and early cityfolk getting ready for work, such nice tranquility. Moments like these makes life worth living. By the time I made myself out of the bath I saw Seris walking to the bathroom naked. She was going to take a bath as well, I figured. She looked a bit tired still. I put on some clothes and made my way to the kitchen. ¡±Would you like some coffee?¡± A still not completely awake Izuma asked me. Coffee? Since when did he buy that? ¡±Sure¡± I quickly replied. At this point I was completely comfortable living with him. What was once rocky and hard to trust, is now a relationship of mutual understanding and love. Love as in, I love the kind of person he is but there is nothing romantic about it. I swear. Once he had cooked coffee the whole kitchen table was now occupied by us. Everyone had now finally become enough awake to be sentient. The coffee will be the final push. Nyaya still looked like a zombie, but the coffee should perk her up. I yawned a bit as Izumi handed my cup of coffee. This slow morning is unusually quiet. I took a sip of the coffee, and immediatly felt how just the taste kicked my eyelids up. Some strong coffee this is. Maybe it was grown in a place where the soil was magical on top of perfect conditions. ¡±This is some strong coffee.¡± I commented to Izumi who was in full swing of eating breakfast. Nyaya very slowly drank hers as her head lied down drooling on the table. She is definitely not a morning person. ¡±Yeah, I bought it off a luxury trader for 20 gold coins. One bag is very expensive. Dandelion coffee exists too, but it is not the real deal...¡± He then responded to me. Damn, coffee truly is a luxury good up here in the north. I will make a mental note to hoard coffee if we go far to the south one day. ¡±Oh.¡± I casually said. Oh well, I should be happy that Izumi, my master is even treating us to luxuries. Be glad about the little things in life. Nino finished her breakfast early and took a morning jog. She is quite the active person. If she slacked off, her muscles would probably cease to exist after a year or two. Afterwards took Seris care of the dirty dishes, and the now finally awake Nyaya started her daily cleaning routine. For me? I got today off after Izumi had told the church. Apparently we are going to do something special today. Why though? We had quite the special night yesterday. After we had lunch we were all told to bring our adventuring gear with us. I thought we wouldn¡¯t go on more adventures for at least a year? Maybe it is something else. Twenty minutes later after derparture we all arrived at the local branch of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. It was one of six in the capital city, because of the sheer size of it. I was outfitted in my brand new cleric adventuring robe and got my Holy Staff in hand. To newbies I must look like an experienced adventurer, even though my Clerical skills is just at beginner level. As we entered everyone first gawked at Izumi, and then when us girls arrived in after us we saw thirst in their gaze. Especially me who was the most exotic looking of the group got plenty of gazes. Not every day you see a pretty chalk white girl with a golden symbol on her forehead enter the guild. ¡±...so he got another one?¡± ¡±...who is that girl? Is she a vampire?¡± ¡±...she is so pretty, I am jealous.¡± ¡±...man, he is a lucky guy...¡± I heard many comments like that before we arrived at the receptionist counter. I tried to ignore them to the best of my ability. As Izumi greeted the worker there, she looked behind his shoulder and saw me. She then leaned towards him. She looked about thirty years old and was a human with a normal body build. Her red hair was neatly tied into a bun and she got blue eyes. ¡±Are you here to register a new party member?¡± She went straight to the point with a cold voice. Also she looked kinda scary. ¡±N- No. You do not require to register slaves still, right?¡± He nervously answered her. She then made a grimace as she looked up, only to give a ¡±Whatever¡± look. ¡±Izumi, oh great adventurer, so what is your business then?¡± She continued being cold with him. What have he ever done to her!? ¡±Oh right- I heard from a messenger there was a special request for me. So I headed here to hear it out.¡± The worker sighed and then quietly left for upstairs. It looks like Izumi was not her favorite person to deal with.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡±Psst, what is her problem?¡± I quietly asked Izumi. He then crouched them with me a bit. ¡±We used to be in a party together, but after I ranked up she never progressed along with me. She blames me for abandoning her.¡± Izumi quietly answered my question. If his side of the story is completely true, then she is just selfish. But he probably could had helped her out somehow without leaving her in the dust. After a short while she returned and told us to come upstairs. Once we walked up the stairs I could hear how she grumbled to herself. Damn, get over it woman! We arrived at the branch guildmasters office. The room was spacious and was furnished with tough looking oak furniture. Thanks to the windows and skylights it was lit up very well. The most notable feature was the mahogany desk in the middle of the room by the windows. There sat the branch guildmaster. ¡±Welcome in Izumi! I heard about your last Quest from the client, he was quite happy about what you found!¡± A girl with a pretty face and small pointy ears. Who was not taller than a meter sat in the elevated chair at the desk greeted us in a southern accent. She had pink dyed hair which she set up in two buns. Her body build for her size was slim, and there was no signs of boobs on her. And she wore a outfit which made her look like a ships captain. She is flatter than I was before I evolved! ¡±Ah, right. Hehehe.¡± He blushed as he responded her. Is he into little girls too? Then she took a long look at me. ¡±I see you got a new girl in your party, ain¡¯t she too cute?¡± Her eyes widened up, and I waved at her with a smile. ¡±You see, I picked her up for the quest. She saved our lives in fact.¡± Izumi quickly followed up an answer. ¡±Ahhh, I seeee. She is a good girl. It would be a shame to lose the kingdom¡¯s best adventurer after all.¡± She then jumped up on the desk edge and looked at me intently. Then she took out her hand with a desire to shake hands with me. ¡±My name is Lisa Hawthorne, and I am the branch guildmaster here. What is your name pretty lady of Harjan?¡± In no time she followed up with another question filled with energy. I walked to her and shaked hands. ¡±My name is Lotus. Master gave me this name.¡± I gotta be courteus to friends of Izumi. She then pulled me towards her and gave me a hug, she smelled strongly of perfume as I was close to her. For being so short she is strong! ¡±Thank you, Lotus!¡± It was almost as if she shed a tear when we hugged. Then like nothing happend she jumped back into her seat. ¡±Okay, with formalities out of the way it is time to tell you about the request in detail.¡± Lisa schemingly put her hands together and looked at all of us. ¡±The client is none other than the family of the king themselves which put out this request. They want somebody competent to protect them while doing business in another country. Because of the risk of civil war there they wanted someone they knew they can trust. Your contact will be the second prince. Laurel Parish¨¦.¡± A sudden gulp formed in Izumi¡¯s throat as she said that. The girls looked worried at him. ¡±It is up to you whether you accept it or not. But remember that it won¡¯t look good for you, if you do not take it.¡± At this point Lisa had put her boots up on the desk and relaxed. It looks like it made no dfference to her whether he accepted or not. Izumi thought long about it for a minute. He looked nervously around as if he wanted us to do something. We are slaves you dork! ¡±...I¡¯ll accept it...¡± He looked as if he just had lost his life. A tint of white was in his face. Strange, because he usually never is afraid. Lisa then stopped relaxing and cheered. ¡±Great! You will start in one week!¡± Her fists was up in the sky and when Izumi tried to interject she hushed him down quickly and continued. ¡±There will be a carriage ready for your party. That go to Port Krakata, and all food and living expenses will be paid by the client!¡± At this point he looked totally defeated. This confident man who bedded many maidens was defeated by this little girl. With all hope lost the girls patted him on his back, and walked out with him. I just stood there dumbfounded and looked at Lisa. ¡±Is master always like this?¡± I asked the half of a man girl. ¡±Not always. You should had seen his face when had to accept his first special request. He spent the whole week drinking after he came back from it. Ah, the memories!¡± She looked like she fully enjoyed tormenting Izumi. ¡±Umm, excuse me but what kind are you?¡± My curiousness got the better of me. After all it is rude to ask what race people are. ¡±Oh, me? I am what most people call half men. In truth we are not related to humankind at all. If anything our kind is closer related to the demonic races.¡± She then touched both her eartips. ¡±These ears are kinda impish, aye?¡± Lisa then laughed and shooed me away. She probably did not want to make the defeated Izumi wait too long for me. Outside I could see Izumi lying on a bench using Seris legs as a pillow. It is almost pathetic to watch this scene. I impatiently tapped my left foot as I saw him with an annoyed face. ¡±Master...¡± I tried calling out for him. Nyaya looked puzzled over what I was trying to achieve. ¡±Master you sorry bastard, get up!¡± Fed up with him acting like this I yelled at him. He got a panicked look as he saw me being angry at him. ¡±Is this what you call the kingdoms strongest Hero!? A Hero who is not even capable of handling a little Escort Quest!? What if our client is the fucking king himself!? We just have to protect him like we protect ourselves!¡± I lost my temper at him. For all his self assertion of being the best, the most confident, the best lover, the best swordsman, the best hero, he ends up becoming a whimpering pile at the signs of outside pressure. The girls looked on in awe as I thoroughly scolded him. I won¡¯t accept my master being so pathetic. His look in the end was of one whom had seen death himself. I may have overdone it... After a while he finally came back to his senses. For the rest of the day he avoided me, I may have hurt his pride too much. The girls also was afraid of me, they did not want to be on the recieving end of my wrath either. But after a day or two they dared to approach me again, I made quite the impression. I鈥檓 on a boat, and the princes new obsession. Because we are going on a long trip and at times undercover, along with the prince we took a bit of luggage with us. In the trunk we had spare civilian clothes along with our fancy dresses. Also we carefully packed down extra health potions in case we get attacked. As for money we only took with us 500 gold coins. It would be too weighty to carry all our of money along. The trip by carriage to the boat we are supposed to board was fairly uneventful. The massive amount escort which the prince took along him quickly dispatched any animals or bandits too dumb to live. Since we have not yet met the prince in person it will be interesting to see how he look. Also Izumi looked unusually collected today. No signs of nervousness at all. Make me wonder if he changed a bit or he is afraid of me losing it again? As for the girls they killed time by playing games or engaging in hobbies such as sewing. Once we arrived we finally got to meet the prince face to face. With great care secured the escort the area before letting him out. Only until he had exited was we allowed to come outside. Prince Laurel Parish¨¦ looked exactly like how a fairytale prince was imagined as. Tall and fit with masculine features. Blonde short hair slicked back. Enchanting light blue eyes. And a pretty face which had hints of feminimity in it. As I exited the carriage after Izumi, his previously uninterested eyes lit up as he gazed at me. He blinked a few times in order to ensure what he saw was real. Because we had been ordered to be undercover during the boat trip, I wore the dress I had on our night out. My golden stone lich crown probably made me look like a ghostly princess in the dress. I think I gained a fan today. One in high places too! Izumi then approached Laurel to greet him. The prince then snapped out of his daydream. ¡±Excuse us your majesty, it is my party who will escort you.¡± With a sign of submission Izumi greeted the prince. The prince then threw me a quick glance. Stop it, it¡¯s creepy! ¡±I- I see. I will be in your care, Izumi.¡± Laurel then moved out with his personal bodyguards to the boat. It was two very masculine knights in what I assume is formal wear. They had handsome looking facial hair and their hair was tied in ponytails. We shortly followed after. Our luggage was taken care of the port crew which is very convenient. The boat itself looked like a steam passenger cruiser. It was about 300 meters long and 30 meters tall from water level. Truly a marvel of engineering. I guess they use magic instead of steam power to propulse the ship forward. Considering I have only ever seen coal being used in furnaces and fireplaces. It is not thought of more than just fuel I guess. Besides magic can replicate most needs for Earthly sciences. During our boarding it took quite a while to find our cabin. But eventually we found it. It seems like we got one with a huge king sized bed. I wonder who pulled the strings to get us that? Whatever, it is going to be many days out on sea before we arrive. So it might as well be comforting. It was nothing like cruise ships on earth though. There is no toilet or shower here. We have to use a communal one during the trip. Well, maybe the prince won¡¯t have to with his luxury suite. The boat would not leave until eight hours had passed, so we took the chance to making us home in the cabin. Our luggage containing our adventuring gear and clothes had arrived to our room finally. So before we headed out to further brief with the prince we ensured everything was order. Nothing was unusual, so we then went outside and locked the door before heading to the prince. Smooth sailing so far. Before we made ourselves comfortable, the prince had noticed that he would be at the cruising ships upper class cocktail bar. So finding him was not hard. On the other hand to even get in there the guards outside required Izumi to show his [Adventurer Card]. It was a valid way of identifying so we all got let in. Inside the upper class cocktail bar sat at least thirty people with very expensive clothes and chatted. I guess they also had very expensive drinks from the looks of it. Many had cups of coffee with a sweet by it. And others had drinks in all manner of fantastic colors. The decoration and furnishing also screamed upper class. They did not spare any expenses in order to please their passengers here. When our party walked toward the prince, the men as usual in the lounge gawked at us girls. Mine and Seris eyecatching dresses probably was a lot of eyecandy for them. Seris where her boobs nearly fell out of her dress competed with my young maiden beauty. The women in their company was not as pleased though, so they slapped their men to get them to stop. Took a few smacks before they averted their eyes. Looks like I will have to get used to this. Why did not god make me average looking?The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡±Welcome, Izumi.¡± Laurel the prince greeted our master. He could not stop peeking at us girls though. ¡±My pleasure.¡± Izumi replied to him and bowed down. Important with manners when dealing with kings and nobles. ¡±As for your job here on the boat; You will shadow me while one of you accompany me.¡± He then gave a content smile to him. Then looked at me. ¡±...for company I want to have your pale beauty.¡± At that moment my Phylactery emitted out a sudden beat of light. What is the prince asking me of!? Izumi did not seem bothered at all though. How strange. ¡±Be my guest, I am sure she will take good care of you.¡± Izumi said as he looked at me. Then he took my hand toward the prince¡¯s hand. Is this only because I do not have romantic feelings for you, that you are not hesitating!? I looked speechless during this whole exchange. ¡±What is your name, miss?¡± He said as he wrapped his left arm around my waist. At this point one of the women in the lounge paid attention to me. ¡±L- Lotus... Master gave me it...¡± Laurel then stroked my cheek after I answered him. Now he is hitting on me... ¡±That is a beautiful name.¡± He then stopped stroking my cheek and looked at his bodyguards. ¡±Looks like this diplomatic mission to the southern empire won¡¯t be such a drag after all.¡± With his arm still wrapped around my waist he accompanied me to a seat. And there we sat down together. Izumi and the other girls sat somewhere else inconspiciously and kept watch. I do not know how I should feel now. Gah! ¡±Miss Lotus. Tell me your story, you have got my interest.¡± The prince then quickly changed tone from a serious to casual. He sat beside me and looked as if he was madly in love. At that point I told him how I reincarnated from earth, how I got captured and enslaved, how I adventured with Izumi and evolved into a Lich. During the entire session he interjected with more detailed questions like my relationship with the party. And before we knew it one hour had flied by. ¡±So how is life in the castle?¡± I asked Laurel, whom I now felt more comfortable in dealing with. ¡±Boring. Because I am the second son they mostly let me deal with all paperwork. My brother, who is in line of succession for the throne is very rarely at the castle. He is always obsessed with the military, so when he is not out dealing with troops, he is with his concubines at the castle.¡± The prince spoke in a very bored way when he answered my question. Also during this entire time, he never let off his arm around my waist. He is very attached to me it seems... ¡±I see... Have you tried letting someone else to share your paperwork load?¡± I innocently followed up with a question. ¡±Trust me. I tried... The only talented people who can perform it are mainly nobles. And they are of great shortage. Those who can do not want to do it either. They would rather spend their time socializing with other nobles at the castle.¡± He spaced out as he talked about such a dull subject. Then he squeezed his other fist as it laid on the table. ¡±M- Maybe if schools were opened for just that? Fund it with the kingdoms treasury?¡± My idea made great sense I thought as I talked with him. Then he slammed his fist with all might he could muster on the table, and made a pained grunt. ¡±Do you really think the nobles would want commoners to replace them? I even tried suggesting that idea several years ago! Yet those intervening nobles ruin all my plans that would benefit me and the kingdom.¡± He looked visibly upset. He stopped holding my waist and clutched his fist which got hurt during his outburst. It looked quite painful. ¡±Let me have a look at that...¡± I said, and I used my [Touch of Life] skill on his fist. I felt how some of my positive energy left me and flow into Laurel¡¯s hand. And within seconds the hand was as good as new and the pain is gone. ¡±W- What did you do?¡± He looked at me in amazement. I just smiled. ¡±That is a Holy Lich for you.¡± I quietly told him. After that we conversed about random things to pass time. While he was still interested in me, our relationship became more a casual one, than one of potentional lovers. Because I never responded to his moves It looks like he gave up for now. I wonder how far this ¡±accompany¡± thing go. Hope it stops at the bedroom, I am not one for casual sex with strangers. Especially with a prince. Bon voyage! It was night time on the boat. And according to the captain we had a seven days trip even at full speed to the southern continent. So I took some time to collect my thoughts meanwhile Izumi and the girls had fun in the cabin. With a cup of coffee in my hand I leaned toward the railing on the boat. It was not too cloudy and the full moon lit up the sky. The sea smelled of brine which mixed with the fresh and sweet winds. After a while I noticed how clear I could see the stars. Lack of light pollution is truly marvelous. ¡±This would be romantic if I had a lover.¡± I muttered to myself and took a sip of coffee. The sweet bitterness of it may be representative of my current situation, I guess. It is not like I hate where I am in life right now. Definitely would prefer living back on Earth, but I died there. I also have come to fully accept Izumi and the girls as family, despite not being blood related. Without them I got no attachments to this world. I wonder if I would still follow him if I got freed? I probably would, life without the girls is pretty boring after all. I gave out a deep sigh and listened to the waves for a bit. Then I gazed out in the horizon where the sea is lit up by the moon. Calm seas are lovely. After a while of contemplating I heard footsteps calmly heading towards me. Then they stopped a short bit behind me. ¡±The moon is truly beautiful tonight.¡± The voice of a female said. She sounded very seductive. ¡±Yeah. Harjan was very generous to make it for us...¡± I said to the unknown voice. According to legend it was Harjan himself which made the moon. Would not be too far fetched with this world and common sense. She then walked to the right side of my and leaned onto the railing as well. After a few seconds she faced me. This heavily tanned woman looked like she is in her early thirties and had a small but voluptous body. Her long hair was dark brown and stylized so part of it covered one eye. Her eyes are black. The clothes she wear is a red dress and a small red hat. On her neck she got a gold amulet, and she wore a silver ring with a crescent symbol on her left ring finger. ¡±Indeed, child of Harjan.¡± She gave me a look of wonder as she talked to me. ¡±Do you not wonder about how we fit into the universe? Alone we are just an infinitely small part of it, yet one man alone can do many wondrous things. How paradoxical.¡± Her look was the intently on the moon as she continued. Also she is getting philosophical. Is it normal for married women to become that on a full moon night? ¡±When you think of it. One hero in his life time perform many feats. Some even otherwise impossible. As if the heavens themselves opened up to make it possible.¡± Interesting, but what is she getting at? She then looked back at me. ¡±You, child of Harjan, the Crescent God of Holy light. Will you make the impossible, possible?¡± She then caressed the symbol on my forehead. ¡±Make the impossible, possible? What are you getting at?¡± I asked this mysterious woman. ¡±Will you save our kingdom from certain destruction when the time comes?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. That was quite the bombshell she dropped onto me. Me save? How? I am just a low level cleric. ¡±I- I don¡¯t know...¡± At that moment I did not talk with confidence. I stared down at the ocean. She the chuckled. ¡±You are already doing well just being here.¡± Then as soon as she said that, she disappeared without trace. Not even a sound. What the hell is this woman!? I am too young for this prophecy shit. Once the initial shock passed, I then stared down into my coffee cup which just had a tiny bit of cold coffee in it. ¡±What the hell did they put into the coffee?¡± I let out a frustrated sigh. Izumi and the girls should probably be sleeping by now. ¡±Whatever...¡± Then I headed back to our cabin. And as predicted they are sleeping. I changed into my night gown and slept at my usual place in the pile. It did not take long to fall asleep, because I erased my thoughts earlier. In the following day I spent my time with the prince at the upper class restaurant on the cruiser. I guess that is a perk of being his personal company. If anything I think my role is to be the first line of defense against possible assassins. But I think the prince picked me for other reasons than that... ¡±On the menu today there is roast duck with vegetables and sauce and chocolate cake with strawberries.¡± A chubby and cheery older man with white hair in chef outfit told me and the prince. That sounds so delicious... Was what feels like an eternity since I had chocolate last. Without thinking of it I spaced out. Laurel the prince, then waved and snapped his fingers to get me back to the ground. ¡±Oh! Oh sorry. The thought of chocolate cake made me feel dreamy.¡± The man who I assume is a chef then thought for a second and then looked at me. ¡±For this fine lady, we will have one slice on the house.¡± Am I dreaming? I am so giddy now! Laurel chuckled happily and then looked up at the chef. ¡±I will order the roast duck, and a glass of the finest red wine then. Also one cup of coffee for Lotus here.¡± As he made his order, he put his hand on my shoulder. He is hitting on me again, right? I have no idea how marriage and such work in this world. But would it not look bad for a prince to marry a commoner like me? During our wait for the food we chatted about stuff like love, adventuring, magic, anything to pass time really. We did not pry too much into our private lives either. Also the bodyguards he have seem strangely absent. As if they do not exist. ¡±By the way, where are those guards you always have with you? I have not noticed them at all ever since we got here.¡± I curiously asked Laurel. ¡±Do not worry, they are in the restaurant disguised as guests. Thanks for worrying about me though.¡± He gave me a wink as answered my question. I guess it was a dumb question after all. Shortly after our food arrived. In front me was a slice of cake about the size of my hand. They said one slice, but not how big. The cake was made in four layers which had three fillings between. Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry are the fillings. The cake itself was of the chocolate sponge cake type. The dark chocolate glazed top was filled with broken chocolate pieces and whole strawberries. And finally drizzled with strawberry syrup. This truly is porn for a chocolate lover like me. As the first bite of the cake dissolved in my mouth I almost let out an orgasmic sound. It even startled Laurel who was elegantly eating his food. But he only gave me a smile while chuckling. It seems he gets in a better mood when I am happy. It was easy to say I thoroughly enjoyed the cake and coffee. I did not hurry eating it, because this could be last time in a long time, before I could eat anything like this again. Being a chocolate addict truly is an horrifying existence in this world. I guess I would not mind becoming royalty if I could eat like this every day... During the rest of the trip I never saw that mysterious woman again. But I got a hunch she is somehow connected to Harjan, because of that ring she got. Also Laurel the prince and I soon became friends toward the end of the trip. Because I accompanied him all the time we did a lot to alleviate boredom of travel. As for Izumi and the girls? They mostly kept themselves in the background. I could often see them playing card games in which Nyaya would win most of the time. I would never imagine in my wildest dreams that she would be the smartest of them all. Also I feel kinda bad for them, they had to eat the food served for the middle class on the boat. Despite being a Hero, Izumi did not have enough prestige to be allowed in the upper class restaurant. I lucked out with Laurel, the prince I guess. Now onto warm sands! The southern continent. Goes south. The scorching hot sun stood high up in the sky. Not a single cloud in the sky was present and the air felt extremely dry. Not even the moisture from the sea could penetrate this dry barrier. We had finally arrived at the southern continent. Before arriving we got briefed on the situation by the Laurel. Laurel who is the prince that had come here on a diplomatic mission in order to ease tensions between two major factions. He got a very difficult mission to pull off, reconcile two opposing factions in order to secure the trading route going through them to the port. One group is a devout follower of the warlike sun god Horekesa, and the others are followers of Harjan, which is the crescent moon god. What initially started out as an heated argument between faction leaders, eventually soured the faction relations to the brink of civil war. The source of this heated argument? The official story says that both the faction leaders supposedly got divine messages from their gods to retake the holy land where they reside. So now it falls onto Laurels shoulders to somehow resolve this situation before it gets even worse. Because if a civil war breaks out then trade is effectively stopped between the kingdoms. And that is the last thing the king and nobles want over at home. My opinion on this situation? It is stupid. Why not just share the place and be done with it? But then humans are pretty greedy. Also I wonder if this much sun is bad for my white skin. By the way, can I get skin cancer as a holy lich? ¡±Uhh, I am dying here. Mjaaa...¡± ¡±Hot...¡± I hear Nyaya and Nino say from behind of me after a while. They are melting! We had now escorted Laurel for an hour in the portside city of Jaranoa. Thematically the city looked like a mix of colonial era buildings from the Spaniards of Earth, and with indigenous buildings which was built to cool themselves down from the sun. Was quite the mish-mash of styles. It looks like the kingdom had a lot of influence here over the years. After a short while we finally find the governmental building in which Laurel and us will reside in. The moment we entered it we felt cooled. God bless air conditioning! Nyaya which had got it the worst laid down on the cool floor in bliss. Looks like cat beastmen do not handle heat so well. Inside did we see a group of nervous looking officials. ¡±You are finally here, your majesty.¡± Greeted the most nervous official Lauren with. He gulped afterwards. ¡±Greetings fellow countrymen.¡± Laurel greeted while giving them suspicious looks. ¡±How is the situation?¡± He then went straight to the point. Obviously something must had went very wrong if they are this nervous. ¡±I- It is best if we take it elsewhere.¡± The extremely nervous offiical said as the other officials nodded. ¡±I see...¡± The prince now understood just from this nothing have gone according to plans.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. They then took us down underground for what felt like 3 floors down. In this bunkerlike environment are the walls lit with magical lights and the floor is made out of polished marble. At the end of the corridor at this flor is a spacious room. In the room is there a ebony wood table on top of toe hugging blue carpet. In this room did we all settle ourselves on the sturdy oak chairs. Before telling us the gravity of the situation did the head official clear his throat and wiped his sweat off. Then he looked at us with a stressed face. ¡±I am afraid the situation has escalated.¡± Lauren then looked at him in confusion as the official said it. ¡±What do you mean with that?¡± The now upset Lauren asked. Obviously they are trying to sugarcoat the situation. ¡±The feuding Horekesa and Harjan factions are now escalating again!¡± With a gulp the official answered. ¡±Has anyone died yet?¡± A frustrated Laurel asked to further get a grip on how bad the situation is. ¡±No! So far they have only resorted to destroying private property and engaging in harassment.¡± It looks like the official was at his limits soon. ¡±If this goes on any further then a proper war is on our hands. No mere vandalism. Resentment breeds hate. And hate turns into violence. Then this self sustaining cycle will repeat forever. Unless we can find a way to reconcile them.¡± Laurel then gives me a satisfied look. I gave him a ¡±Are you dragging me into this?¡± look. ¡±I think I have found a way.¡± That just confirmed it. He is dragging me, Izumi and the girls into this. This was no mere escort mission! We got decieved by that cheeky guildmaster! ¡±Lotus, your eyes and forehead mark are not just for show. Right?¡± He then stared at me intently as he asked me. ¡±Umm... They are symbols of my relationship with Harjan...¡± No point in lying I thought as he asked me. I am after all the [Child of Harjan] in this world. Thanks to the intervention of Earth¡¯s god. But what does this have to do with me? ¡±Then there is a way.¡± Laurel said with confidence. It looks like it made the officials less nervous. ¡±B- But how is this supposed to help!?¡± I quickly butted in. ¡±If we can get one side to calm down, the other one will be easier to negotiate with. So Lotus, how do you feel about playing the role of [The Chosen One]?¡± He winked at me as he essentially ordered me. I got a bad feeling about this. ¡±Eh!?¡± ¡±...what?¡± ¡±...¡± ¡±...eh?¡± ¡±Oh.¡± Me, Izumi and the girls exclaimed our surprise at this weird plan. Shortly afterward started Izumi grumbling to himself about that bastard branch guildmaster, while hiding his face with his hands. He probably knew it was going to come to this again. Probably explains why he was so feeling down way back in the capital... She is quite the devil. ¡±Do not worry folk, we will do our best to de-escalate the situation and ensure our trading is not affected. By the decree of the king this diplomatic mission will be an success.¡± Laurel then finished the meeting off with this promise. Side story: That time I got reincarnated into a girl? I hear the sound of exotic birds singing while a light breeze blows into my ears. I feel the heat on my back as the smell of grass and water strongly embrace my nose. Then I open my eyes and they slowly adjust. I am lying down on the forest floor, everywhere I look there are exotic looking trees with vines and fruits. Next to me is a pond with lilypads and a strange looking cat animal calmly drinking next to it. Without trying to pull its attention, I sit up and I feel how long hair falls on my back. The strange cat seems to ignore my existence as it laps water with its tongue. As I grab my hair I notice it got a pink color. Is this my natural color? Then when I look down I see no clothes. I am completely naked! My body looks like a girls, complete with curves. But there is a crucial difference. I see no boobs. Then when I look at my crotch there is a shocking discovery. I am a boy? That is when I remembered how I got here. I had died and got a second chance from god. And when I got asked what wishes I had. I said I wanted to have the ability to easily befriend animals. And maybe become a girl in my next life. Looks like god took maybe literally. ¡±Be careful what you wish for...¡± I quietly grumbled to myself in a girly voice. It was then that the strange cat looked at me, and tilted its head. Then it gave me what looks like a smile and sat down. Looks like it urges me to go to the pond. It was at the pond I made the second shocking discovery of my identity. It is not just that my body looks like a girl, but my face is completely devoid of any masculine features. I wonder how well this will spell for my future love prospects... Then the cat probably tried to comfort me as I sat naked beside the pool in crying in despair. It licked my arm. A futile effort on its part, this is nothing I will get over that fast. After what felt like ten minutes I stopped. Looks like I act like a girl too. Easily getting enveloped in emotions. When I looked up, I now saw a monkey like creature holding up a fruit in front of me. Is it for me I wondered? ¡±...for me?¡± I asked the monkey. It then put the fruit in front of my feet and backed away a step. Looks like it trying to befriend me. Heh. ¡±...thanks...¡± I said as I picked up the fruit and took a bite out of it. As I looked around I saw animals of varying species had gathered around me. From the smallest rat looking animal to the biggest sabertooh cat looking animal. I got quite the animal magnetism. God did actually give me the power to befriend animals... My name is Kim, I love animals. And I wished to befriend all animals in my old life. My wish finally got granted in this strange new world. But at the expense of my masculinity. I was never truly interested in relationships with either girls or men in the past, but I felt comfortable being a man.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. After this initial discovery phase of my new life I eventually adjusted to my new body, and newfound power over animals. With the help of monkeys, I got food in the form of fruits. From animals like boars they dug up edible roots and mushrooms. And from big cats I got meat. Until I learned how to make a fire, I slept with a sabertooth cat I named Fang for heating my small body. It felt like we made a mutual understanding immediatly. He made purring sounds as I slept beside him. Is Fang my first friend in this world? From the meat I made a simple clothes set from the furs. It was just enough to cover my modesty and my chest. Was disgusting at first because I did not manage to scrape off all meat and fat underneath, but with time and effort it was removed. Since I was never a craftsman in my previous life all my attempts at civilization was awful or shoddy at best. In the end, I relied on my animal friends for the majority of my needs. If I can¡¯t make tools, I will use the animals as tools! After what must had been a month of living out here in the jungle. I counted how many moons that passed since I arrived after all. That morning I heard what sounded like clanking metal and footsteps during my nap. Also sound of a language I strangely understand. Fang immediatly started growling in the direction as I was napping on his warm belly. His warning made me wake up. ¡±Fang... What is it?¡± I asked him as I was waking up. I got off him and he then started shielding me from the source of sound. His tail waved side from side as it was down. I took it as a sign these people are not good and hid myself in the pond. The steps got closer and then suddenly stopped. ¡±Ohhhh, look at this angry kitty. Hahaha!¡± A demeaning manly voice was heard. ¡±We are going to get a good price for its fur.¡± Sounds of unsheathing metal was heard along with the drawing of a dozen bows. I realized what was going to happen. I could not permit harm being done to Fang. ¡±Fang! RUN! YOU WILL DIE IF YOU STAY!¡± Fang then looked at me and saw the distress in my face. It was not until I shed a tear he realized this is a fight he cannot win. Suddenly a arrow hit him on his side, and he quickly escaped from the scene. The animals which I have lived with could only observe the scene from the distance. Because of their innate fear of these well armed humans they could not intervene. ¡±Oi, look what we got here? A pretty girl out all by herself here?¡± The ugly man with the bow said. I was filled with rage and sadness as I looked at this man. Mistaken for a girl by this jerk. ¡±Forget about the cat, we got something even better. I heard there are men who are into savages. Hahaha!¡± He continued with his harsh words. Then he pulled me out of the pond and put me over the shoulder. ¡±You evil man!¡± I cried out at him and punched his back. My punches seemingly doing nothing to him at all. ¡±Hahaha, are you giving me a massage you brat?¡± He then spanked my butt hard and the pain was immense. A tear got forced out of my left eye. I am so helpless and humilated... As they abducted me, I could see animals which I had got to known over the month have looks of sadness in the jungle. Even the birds had stopped their singing as if in mourning of me. Humans are evil. That was the only thought that coursed through my mind as I stopped resisting the abduction. I fell into deep depression during the way back to the place i probably would be sold at. They was forced to feed me manually because of the state I was in. Fang, we will meet again one day. I believe it. Jaranoa slave market. It is said that the portside Jaranoa market sells anything. From legal goods to the very most rare and illegal. You can get it there if you know the right people. Also the market is renown worldwide for its variety of slaves you can get there. Fair and blonde men and women from the northern tundras fetch a good price here. Meanwhile natives are abundant and relatively cheap. If you get lucky you can buy a demonkin for enough money to feed a low income family for twenty years. Because of this slave industry several supporting industries sprung up around it. Everything from blacksmiths, enchanters, food catering to bloodsport arenas. If you want it, you can get it. Is a motto said in Jaranoa market. ¡±Why are we heading into the slave market, Laurel?¡± I asked the prince. Why would he be interested in such things? ¡±You are going to need a guide in the jungle.¡± He then answered me. ¡±A slave guide?¡± Me and Izumi inquiried him further. ¡±Without one you will get lost. Also as you know slaves are bound by a magical contract to obey their masters. So it will be impossible to willingly mislead you.¡± The way he puts it make me think he is having trust issues. ¡±Master, what do you think of adding another member to our family?¡± I asked Izumi. ¡±It will have to be a girl as you know.¡± Typical Izumi. Not even for a second considering another guy in the party. Laurel looked at him in a way that just said. ¡±I won¡¯t even bother.¡± After browsing the slaves on the market for about an hour, Izumi finally used his appraisal skill to look into the future for our next addition. Took him long enough. ¡±Alright, follow me.¡± Izumi said and he walked a very specific way past high class women slaves and muscled brutes of men slaves. We walked into a dark den which smelled of tobacco and incense. For what was about ten minutes we finally arrived at the location. In front of us was one cage with two slaves in it. There was two girls, one which had pink hair and looked like she was in her late teens. She wore old animal skins, how curious. And one which was mature with blonde hair and wore a blue dress. ¡±Is this the right place, master?¡± I asked Izumi. ¡±Yes, this is it. The girl with the pink hair is it according to my skill.¡± As he answered, I crouched down in front of the pink girl. She saw my collar first and then looked at my clothes. ¡±Hey, what is your name?¡± I asked the frightened girl. ¡±K- Kim...¡± The poor girl said as she looked frightened. Reminds me of the time before I got sold to Izumi. All the sad girls with no hope for the future. At least this girl will come to a good master, in a good home. I smiled as I thought of it. The girl then gave me an odd expression. ¡±You are not sad. Why?¡± She asked me. ¡±Why would I be sad?¡± I answered her. ¡±Isn¡¯t your master making you do things against your will?¡± The girl looked away as she said that. I sighed. ¡±Not my master.¡± She looked then at me with one eye. ¡±This is not a trick, is it?¡± ¡±No. If you meet him yourself, you will understand. To me, master and the girls are family.¡± ¡±H- How can you be family!?¡± She then shouted and pounced at the cage. Her hands gripped the bars so hard her nails made marks on the wood. I looked away for a few seconds. ¡±Family to me is the people I love.¡± She then had a look of shock upon her face as I said that. Then after a short while she sat down. ¡±...people I love... Huh...¡± She looked out into the window overseeing the jungle. ¡±...family... Fang...¡± I then heard her sob with her face between her legs. I wonder what made her this emotional. I stood up after that. By now the transaction must be done. It is not easy being a first time slave. I know it myself by heart. At least I got to a good master on my first time. Kim will be counting herself lucky in the future to have Izumi as her master too. That should comfort her at least.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Also after being a slave for this long, my mindset has changed a lot. I do not crave freedom as much as before. Probably the influence of Izumi as my master, because he treats me well and listens to me. Being with him I do not lose anything and he is the one ultimately responsible for my wellbeing. We become like a family by being tied with him. Instead of having ties with blood, we have ties together with our bond to our master. Whether through love or loyalty we become one as a family. Oh well, I guess if it was on Earth I would had gotten a submission kink by now. That thought made me chuckle. ¡±...and finally put on the collar.¡± Izumi says as he applies the collar on an angry looking Kim. She looks incredibly mad and humilated. With a click and the application of a magical key she is then bound to him as his slave. ¡±Welcome to the family, Kim.¡± I smile at her. ¡±Now I should give her a new name...¡± Izumi looks deep in thought but before he manages to think up one, Kim butts in. ¡±FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NOT A GIRL! I AM A BOY!¡± Kim yelled at Izumi with unrelenting anger. Izumi look at Kim in confusion at first. ¡±How can you be a boy!?¡± Izumi said as he looked suspiciously at Kim. ¡±You do not believe me!? LOOK!¡± Kim says as they take off their clothes. And well, look at it. Their feminime body indeed got the equipment to become a family man. Not big by any means, but definitely smaller than the one my boyfriend had. At this moment Izumi had a look of despair as he fell onto his knees. Looks like the 1% of the time his appraisal skill failed him, actually did. The 1% it got wrong was the gender of his next party member! Kim, he had a pretty smug look. The amount of damage happiness he felt must been enormous. Then from out of nowhere Seris came and picked Kim up. ¡±Aww, he is sooo cuuuuute!¡± Seris cried out in joy as she smothered him with her mountains. Nyaya joined shortly after in the hugging session. Meanwhile sat Nino beside a crying Izumi trying to comfort him. It must be hard for him to no longer be the only man in the party. At least I guess I get a conversation partner now... ¡±Kim will need clothes.¡± I said. Then Seris who held a Kim gasping for air, looked at me. ¡±Of course he will! Let us get him something cute!¡± Seris is way too enthusiastic about this. Is this a hidden part of her past life before becoming a slave? Nino had now helped Izumi getting over it. By slapping him in the face. She is not very subtle. He simply thanked her and went over to Seris which was hugging Kim like a bodypillow. I bet if Izumi tries to sell Kim back now she will be heartbroken. Laurel which had simply spectated this was trying his best to not laugh. To think his idea of getting a guide could be so entertaining. Mission accomplished he thought. After now acquiring Kim into our party we went off to get him some clothes and basic equipment. Because of his weak body strength we thought of giving him a crossbow or sling for a weapon. We got two sets of clothes for Kim. One was a dress which was much like the ones we got. He protested at first but then we reminded him of how much of a girl he looked like. (Or it was a excuse for Seris to dress him up.) Would be better for people to simply think he is a girl when we are out. Obviously his face was red during the time we tried out different dresses on him. In the end we also got a pair of heels for him to wear along it. Second set was practical clothes to use on this continent. A white loose shirt with a leather vest and white baggy pants along with heavy duty trekking boots. He was more receptable to trying out this. Probably because he felt his dignity was intact. The only interaction Izumi did during the clothing sessions was paying. He still had not come to terms that his appraisal skill had failed so spectacularly. About the time when it came to buying adventuring gear for Kim he started to snap out of it. ¡±I have never used a weapon before...¡± Kim protested when Izumi shown him a sword. ¡±Really? How did you survive until now then?¡± Izumi asked. ¡±Umm... I always had animals do things for me...¡± Izumi then looked suspicious at him. ¡±Really? [Appraisal: Projection]¡± Race: Human Class: Feral Druid LV.0 Titles: Tamer of Fang (Sabretooth cat), Beloved by Animals Appearance: His skin is tanned light brown. His natural colored wild pink hair go to his hips. His body build is extremely feminime and lean. His eyes are emerald colored. His voice is extremely feminime. His height is one meter and forty centimeters. His physical age is about sixteen years old. His facial hair and bodily hair is non existent. Blessings and skills: Animal Magnetism: Animals not affected by madness or curses see the user as their kin. They will try to assist the user as long as their lives won¡¯t be affected drastically by it. For example they won¡¯t try to kill themselves for your sake. Animal Self Taming: With enough physical and/or verbal contact with an animal a bond is formed. The bond is deep in both the physical and spiritual level. Even without the ability to understand languages the meaning can be transmitted between them. ¡±Woah! Just like in videogames!¡± Kim said in excitement. ¡±Video- What!?¡± Izumi and me looked at Kim with a look of surprise. The girls just looked confused. What are we so shocked about they thought. ¡±Do not tell me that you are an otherworlder too?¡± After the initial shock Izumi asked Kim. ¡±Umm, I guess I am so. I have died once, sooo...¡± Kim nonchalantly answered our question. ¡±Welcome to the club.¡± I sarcastically told Kim. Then Izumi looked at me. ¡±Lotus, how do you feel about teaching Kim?¡± He had a whole pile of books in his arms as he asked me. The books was all about druid related things. Also books about animals. What the heck are you intending me to do? ¡±...I got no choice. Do I?¡± I made an uncomfortable smile as he handed me the pile of books. Then he continued looking for equipment for Kim. We gave up on weapons because he had innate potentional to become a Feral Druid. Looks like we gotta acquire glasses and a teaching stick for me. It is time for me to get my Teacher¡¯s license. All my spare time will now go into cramming those books into Kims skull. Luckily because of my blessing we won¡¯t need to carry all that junk once I read the books. And that is how I became a teacher in another world. Jungling towards the factions. Using Kim as our guide and thanks to the help from animals assisting him, the trek through the jungle was a breeze. We traveled with our group and the prince, and his bodyguards. We did not even have to use our own food rations because monkeys would bring us fruit down from the trees all the time. When he told me he survived in a jungle like this for a month I can understand him. During the breaks I tried teaching Kim about druid stuff. Because he is level 0 in it he still needs guidance in order to unlock his own potentional. I hope that I will be that guidance. In a short time I noticed improvements. Because after being told how magic works in this world he made a blade of grass frow several decimeters tall. Impressive, but not impressive enough in actual battle. As for adjusting to our new life with Kim? Well, since he is a boy he was not too keen to sleep together with Izumi. So he ended up sleeping together with me side by side in a sleeping bag. Somehow he did not mind sharing it with me. Probably because we are not that sexually interested either in the opposite sex. After trekking through the jungle for a week we come upon a pond with an long extinguished campfire by it. The animals seemed to be very eager to lead Kim towards it. ¡±I think I remember this place...¡± Kim then ran ahead of us, and sat by the pond on his knees. ¡±What is the matter, Kim?¡± Izumi shouted towards him. And we hurried to him. We then saw Kim holding a broken arrow with bitemarks on it, in his hands. There was traces of dried blood on it. He studied it very intently. ¡±What do you mean, you remember this place?¡± Izumi asked more properly this time. ¡±...I think he still lives...¡± Kim answered Izumi with. And he look at us with hope in his eyes. ¡±...who, excuse me. Who lives?¡± The ever dense Izumi followed up with another question. He must had missed Kim¡¯s latest title. ¡±Fang.¡± Kim grinned as he answered. ¡±Is that your familiar?¡± ¡±No. My first friend.¡± Kim then threw the arrow aside. It is not a memory he wanted to hold onto I thought. The sun had now started to set. And because we are a lot more south now, it would get darker even faster. So we decided to camp here for the night. I sat together with Kim, Seris and Laurel the prince by the campfire. We all got cups of tea in our hands as the darkness creeps ever closer. Kim seemed to be the one which enjoyed the tea, the most. Probably because he lived out her all alone by himself for a long time. ¡±Mmm~¡± Kim made noises of pleasure as he sipped his tea. The prince looked content and smiled. Me on ther hand looked up into the sky. They sky still had no clouds and I could see the crescent shaped moon clearly. I sighed as I contemplated the various mysteries of life. ¡±No matter how tiring it becomes, I gotta still say that the moon is beautiful.¡± I said and took a sip of the refreshing tea. Kim and Seris then looked at the moon with me. ¡±You always talk about the moon.¡± Seris said. I chuckled. ¡±I may have got a fascination with it ever since I arrived to this world.¡± ¡±Have you heard the myth of how Harjan created the moon in order to let the night have its own sun too?¡± ¡±No... I wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡±It is a myth that is has circulated a long time among us elves. It is said that our ancestors helped Harjan in creating the moon.¡± ¡±That sounds... Fantastical?¡± ¡±Indeed. And that is why the moon is a popular symbol in our culture. There is a popular tradition in where lovers get two amulets which are halves of the moon. And whenever they are they together, they snap the amulets together as a vow of getting married in the future.¡± ¡±And this is related to the myth?¡± ¡±Yes, a representation of Harjans love for all of the gods creations down here.¡± Seris then looks down at her amulet which got a half of a moon for a moment. It got burn marks and is heavily tattered. For a moment heartbreak is visible on her face.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡±I- I¡¯m sorry.¡± All I could say to her. I guess she lost someone important in the past, and this the only memory she had remaining of them. Kim who had listened to the story, then looked at the arrow he previously threw away. He put down his tea on the ground and picked it up. He then tore it in half, and put the half with the arrowhead in his pocket. ¡±I.. I¡¯m going to bed.¡± Seris said and hurridly drank up the last of her tea. Then went to sleep with Izumi and the girls. It looks like being reminded of the long gone past made her incredibly sad. After Seris was gone sleeping it was just me and Kim by the campfire. I brewed more tea because I did not plan on going to bed anytime soon. By this time, Kim had made a amulet out of the bloodied arrow tip. ¡±Why did Seris get so sad?¡± Kim asked. I have no idea what his mental age is, but it seems to still be in the teens. ¡±She remembered something bad that happened to her a long time ago.¡± I calmly answered his question. ¡±Oh. What do you think happened?¡± He then followed up with another question with his curiousness not sated. ¡±From the story and the amulet. She promised to engage and marry someone. War happened and shortly after she got enslaved. It is heartbreaking just to think about it.¡± Yet again I answered and then I looked at the newly made amulet Kim wore. ¡±That is horrible...¡± Kim said as he looked visibly saddened by my conclusion. ¡±Did you make that amulet in memory of your friend, Fang?¡± I asked Kim. ¡±Yes... I know he is still alive, but I can¡¯t find him. Until then I want something to remind him of with me. His blood is stained on this after all.¡± Kim looked sad, but not beyond the point of crying. There was still hope gleaming in his eyes. ¡±What happened to Fang?¡± ¡±It was a hopeless situation right here. A dozen men with bows all aimed at Fang, who was protecting me. He wanted to fight to the death for my sake... Yet I forced him to flee. Instead I got captured and enslaved.¡± As he said that I felt an animalistic fury in eyes. And an immense killing intent being directed at a certain direction. ¡±I traded my freedom for his life...¡± Kim then calmed down a bit. I then went and sat behind him and hugged. ¡±You care a lot about those you love.¡± I comforted him with. ¡±...you can¡¯t bring back the dead after all...¡± Kim then said. But that fact is wrong, with me around at least. ¡±Hard to bring back the dead, so do not make life choices you will regret. Do you regret becoming a slave in order to ensure Fang lives on?¡± I start asking the hard hitting questions now. ¡±...no. At least I do not think so. I would be even more happier free though.¡± I then patted his head and afterwards put my cheeks to his. ¡±Under master Izumi you are practically free. He has never treated me badly or forced himself upon me. Like you and me, he is from another world and still retain morals from that.¡± I softly said to him. He then looks up at my face while I make him sit in my lap. ¡±...if you say so... I am happy Fang is alive, and one day we will meet again.¡± He then starts touching the dried blood of the amulet. ¡±Then I will work hard to not make you regret becoming a slave.¡± I hugged him and smiled. Living a life full of regrets is your personal hell. If you can¡¯t stop thinking ¡±What if I did this instead?¡±, ¡±Why didn¡¯t I do that?¡± and ¡±My life could be so much different.¡± then you will never ascend from it unscathed. Hard to think of the future, when you are stuck in the past which can¡¯t be changed. Instead of regretting becoming a slave when I was still weak and unable to defend myself, I accepted what I have become now. And as a result I have become a much happier and calm person. Though Izumi which is my master, sometimes make me mad when he acts like a child. I guess if anything, my role in this family have become that of an mother. The kind that does her best to try supporting her family the best she can. ¡±I am tired.¡± Kim said as he yawned. ¡±Yes, let¡¯s sleep. We got yet another long day ahead of us.¡± I said as I yawned after him. This conversation gave Kim a lot to think about. I noticed it even as we cozied ourselves together in our sleeping bag. It took not long for me to finally fall asleep. The day after I noticed that Seris and Kim was in a much better mood as we continued our trip to the factions. When I woke up this morning I felt how Kim had hugged me from behind, and he had buried his face in my hair. It did not feel like it was out of lust, but a longing for a mothers love. Seris when she woke up was much needier than usual of Izumi. It looks like bringing up bad memories made her crave his love even more. Laurel which had quietly watched us could not help but look happy. Maybe he is longing for a family like this too? Is there something wrong with his family? After we left this den of memories for Kim, the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. At least for adventurer standards. We only got into two fights with squads of jungle tribe goblins. But they was easily dispatched by a single spell from Seris. It looks like she needed an outlet to calm down. During the trip Kim tried to call out for Fang, but it was hopeless. Each time he called, he earnestly believed Fang would come to him. But the only thing that came to him was sadness. I tried my best to support him. After a total of twenty days we finally got out of the jungle. What we saw was a beautiful landscape. It was scattered with waterfalls and roiling hot springs everywhere as far as the eye could see. The smell of sulphur was always faint in the background. Far in the horizon snow covered mountains could be seen from where a glacier had a stream coming out of it. So this is the holy land? Contested paradise. As we stepped out of the jungle, we saw the monkeys that helped us sit behind us. It looks like they waved goodbye to Kim. Except for one which hesitated following us as it looked frantically at its kin and Kim. After we had walked around a hundred meters away it rocketed towards Kim across the open field. In one smooth motion the monkey which was the size of Kim¡¯s head got up and sat on his right shoulder. Kim got startled but then calmed down when he saw it was just a monkey. ¡±You want to join us?¡± Kim asked the monkey. The monkey did its best to smile and patted his head. I think it means yes. I can¡¯t speak monkey after all. ¡±Okay! Do not get hurt though!¡± He then scruffed the monkeys fur and smiled. Our party grows again. I hope Kim will be able to take care of that monkey when we get home. Only pet I ever had was a cat on Earth, and even then it was mom which mostly took care of it. ¡±You will take care of that monkey when we get home.¡± Izumi said without any nonsense. It looks like he did not plan our family to grow either, but oh well. The monkeys survive fine just in the wild. ¡±No worries! I will be the best caretaker in the world!¡± Kim cheerily replied. The yet-to-be-named monkey looked smugly back at Izumi. Izumi looked annoyed by that. After walking across the plains for eight hour, we finally arrived to a hotspring near a waterfall elevated up from us, and a temperate forest grove. It was a quite serene ambiance which was enough to make me feel sleepy. It was still in the middle of the day but in four hours the sun will probably set. So why not use this as an excuse to take a dip in the hot spring? Always wanted to go to one in Japan on Earth. But because my family had a shitty economy it was a dream I could realize. As we setup camp the monkey which Kim had now named Tail, helped us to stretch our rations even further by botanizing for edible food in the area. Looks like today we will have spices in our food today. Tail had scrounged up herbs which looked and smelled like parsley and dill. After we had a delicious dinner made out of cooked meat jerky with cous cous, we exploited the hot spring which we camped nearby. ¡±Ahhh~¡± I moaned with pleasure as my naked body submerged into the warm hot spring. After being with Izumi for so long, I have stopped being embarrased about being naked. Izumi and the girls made similar noises as they submerged naked as well. Obviously he sat between all them three while using Nino as his seat. They certainly prefer this amount of skin contact. Kim on the other hand was reluctant at first. He is still very uncomfortable about his body. From what has been told he never wanted to be like this. He had cursed gods named a lot while talking about it. But he jumped in after Tail, the monkey joined us. Laurel the prince looked he wanted to join, but in the end he declined. I guess he do not want to show off his noble body to us. At least yet. He just sat beside the campfire with his bodyguards trying to pass time. ¡±After twenty days in the mosquito hell of a jungle this is lovely...¡± Izumi calmly said as he let the hot spring heal his soul and body. ¡±For some reason the mosquitos do not go near me.¡± I said to add to the conversation. Guess since I am technically dead my blood would not be good for them. ¡±Me neither~¡± Butted Kim in with his girly voice. You would instantly take him for a girl as long as you can just see his bust. I guess his animal magnetism works to a certain degree on insects too. ¡±I hate em! They get into my ears!¡± Cried Nyaya out as she itched her ears. Poor thing. Being a beastman is hard.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡±They don¡¯t seem to come near me...¡± Added Seris into the conversation. With all perfume she wears it is no wonder. Make me wonder why she use it while adventuring. Is it not a waste because she gets dirty? ¡±Hmmph. I just swat em.¡± Said Nino coldly as she embraced Izumi from behind. I guess she got crazy reactions for it be possible after all. ¡±I wonder...¡± I then said. ¡±What is so special about this land, for the gods anyway?¡± I followed up with, and looked at Laurel which was behind me. He then looked at me, and saw my fully exposed breasts as I looked upside down at him. ¡±...uhm... *cough* R- Right. ¡± His face got red for a second as he tried to explain for me. ¡±It is said that somewhere under a waterfall here, is a divine artifact in the form of a machine. According to legends can this machine when powered by a god, create anything from mundane objects to even avatars of the god.¡± He then droned on. ¡±Deus ex machina.¡± I blurted out. ¡±Eh, what?¡± He looked confused at me. ¡±Latin for: god out of the machine. How fitting...¡± I replied to his question. I kicked my feet around in the hot spring a bit and closed my eyes. ¡±Latin? Never heard of that language before.¡± Laurel questioned me further. ¡±Latin is an ancient language from my world. Was used by the nobles and clergy before the common man rose up against the tyranny.¡± Calmly I answered him. I heard a cough from him. ¡±Tyranny? What do you mean by that?¡± Yet another follow up question by him. I then opened up my eyes. ¡±To put it short; Nobles and the church was in it together to oppress the commoners. Revolutions happened and the entire governmental and beliefs systems got replaced over time. Was it justified? Who knows? In the end I got to live in a world mostly free of suffering.¡± Talking about this made me feel dreamy and nostalgic. He looked deep in thought. ¡±I see...¡± He quietly said and then admired my body for a bit. You are such a pervert, prince. I then stopped looking at him, and only the back of my head was visible to him again. ¡±I now understand why these factions want to take over this holy land for their god. Getting to see their god in person is truly a privilege.¡± I observed the hot spring while I told everyone about my little insight. Everyone just went ¡±Ok¡± and continued their relaxation. Kim was from the looks of it playing with Tail. Looked very cute. After about an hour so I walked out of the hot spring and exposed my completely naked body. No reaction from Izumi and the girls obviously, they are used to it. But Kim and Laurel looked on in awe as I started to put on my clothes again. Tsk, enjoy the view while you can. I then sat for the remainder of the day together with Laurel drinking tea, chatting and reading books. Everyone fell asleep at roughly the same time today. The next day we set off to the town where the Horekesa faction lived. It was next to the road which took the long way around the jungle toward Port Jaranoa. It would take us fifteen more days to travel if we used the road, so a guide through the jungle was essential! Along the way conversation struck up between prince Laurel and me. ¡±So who is this Horekesa, War god of the Sun?¡± I was deep in thought as I asked Laurel. ¡±According to the clerics in the capital; Competitive, passionate and result driven. While Harjan is not a nemesis of him, they are not on good terms. Ever since the myth of the moon bringing sunlight at night. Relations has been shaky.¡± Laurel answered to me with. ¡±Huh, gods sure know how to hold a grudge.¡± I said and shrugged. After a six hours trek we finally arrived at the outskirts of the town. From the distance we could see a structure which looked like a temple. On top of it shined a metal object brightly in the sun. When we got closer to the town could we see a wall made out of stone bricks and evenly supported with wood pillars. It looked like something made in Tibet, with the architectural style in this village. Outside the town are rice paddies with the ocassional house as far as the eyes could see. The stream which came from the mountains calmly flown beside the western town wall. The people which worked the fields was mostly humans, with a few beastmen with horns strewn among them. The horned beastmen looked like Nino in race. Nice to see more of her kin. We approached the disciplined guards at the gates. Diplomatic mission. ¡±My name is Laurel Parish¨¦, second prince of the Iteral Kingdom. I am on a diplomatic mission and wish to enter, to meet with your leaders.¡± Laurel introduced himself to the guards which did not show any noticeable emotions. One of the guards gave me a glance of suspicion though. Guess my crescent moon on my forehead made him suspicious. ¡±I see.¡± The guard he talked to said, then the guard knocked on the smaller door in the gate. In the door a smaller window opened and they talked for a while. During the conversation they threw glances at me and the prince. Then when they was done the window got shut and he waved at us to come. ¡±The elders has agreed to talk to you, prince. Also keep an eye on that enslaved child of Harjan of yours.¡± We finally got to get in by that guard. His tone was hostile toward me the whole time. Such hostility against me just because of my race. ¡±Thank you mister.¡± Laurel courtiously answered the guard as the door in the gate opened for us. The guard handed him a rope and pointed at me before he got let in. I guess he thought Laurel was my master. He tied the rope into my collar and then led me behind him as we entered the town. They clearly do not trust anyone with the mark of Harjan here. I guess because of how much interest he has shown to me so far, he did not feel embarassed to lead me around like a dog. I do not know what to think of the prince anymore. When I looked at Izumi he just shrugged as if he would just have to deal with it for now. Inside we got guided by another guard toward the temple looking building. Up close could we see that the shiny bronze object on top of it had the shape of a sun. How fitting. After what felt like ten minutes we finally arrived at the temple. Along the way people had either ignored us or given us suspicious looks. ¡±Step inside.¡± Said our escort and pointed his tilted spear into the open temple gate which was at least five meters high. We obliged and walked into the temple which looked a lot inside a Hindu temple. Candles, incense, plates of offerings and talismans on the walls was everywhere. As a Cleric I felt the presence of the divine in here. Unlike on Earth the rituals actually worked. Churches there had no presence felt at all. I felt faint whispers of ancestors and the recently dead which soon would pass on into their next life or into paradise. The whole atmosphere felt warm and I closed my eyes in joy. I felt a tap on my shoulder. And I opened my eyes and saw the prince in front of me. ¡±You will have time for that later.¡± Laurel calmed told me. Beside him I saw a elderly man with a funny looking hat. ¡±It has been a long time since a child of Harjan visited us. I personally got no ill will towards you unlike my elders.¡± The elderly man said as he put his hands together. ¡±I will leave her in your care, meanwhile Izumi and me start our talks with the elders.¡± The prince then smiled and handed my rope into the hands of the elderly man. Then left with Izumi and the girls toward a bigger room. As they got inside the doors closed shut. Right now there was no guards inside the main temple area which me and the elderly man was in. Just me, the elderly man and various worshipers performing their duties. I then looked at the elderly man. ¡±I will be in your care.¡± I bowed my head as I said to him. Then I sat down in order to make myself comfortable. I feel like we are going to have a long conversation now. ¡±Raise your head. We are all equal under god in here. Even child of Harjan. Please, do not think ill of my misled kin. Ever since our leader got that divine message from Horekesa our relations with our neighbours has suffered...¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Suddenly the elderly man got more loose lipped than before. Did he not trust the prince? ¡±Neighbours? Not just the Harjan faction town?¡± I curiously asked him. Neighbours, must mean more than just one. He then faced the wall which was in front of us. The wall was full of talismans and candles attached to it. His back was shown to me. ¡±...I fear our dear leader. Ulfun, has grown ambitious. What started with just a Quest to take this holy land for Horekesa. Over time grew into ambitions to take over the neighbouring land as well. As the head priest I have every day petitioned Horekesa, each time he confirmed me it was not his will. But Ulfun with his ambition threw me out of the meetings after he thought I became obstructive.¡± The elderly man which is the head priest sounded saddened as he talked to me. He then relit candles which had fizzed out. ¡±Ambition is intoxicating. Ulfun became blinded by his ambition. The divine message only reinforced his ambition as the will of god. Anyone opposing his ambition is against the will of god. Even the head priest close to god, like me is an enemy if I oppose it.¡± He finished his monologue as he relit all candles. ¡±Why has not Horekesa messaged him again?¡± I quickly asked. ¡±Horekesa did. Ulfun ignored it.¡± The head priest then looked back at me. He dropped the candle lighting tool onto the stone floor. The metal impact noise reverbed throughout the temple. I think I get it now. What initially started as the start of a project to take over this holy land its machine, now is blowing out of proportion into a holy war. All thanks to the ambition of Ulfun which is the leader of this village. Big ambitions for a town. Only looks like the town have 1000 soldiers at most. He would need to take over the neighbours if he want his ambition to succeed at all... Make them his vassals. Conclusion; religion mixed with politics fueled by ambition sucks. ¡±Somehow I feel making peace will be impossible with Ulfun in charge.¡± I thought out loud. The head priest then looked back at me. ¡±Is there no way we can make him step down or be replaced?¡± As he looked at me I asked him. He looked up and made a grimace. ¡±Get rid of the reason this all started; The divine machine in this holy land.¡± I then scratched my head as he said that. ¡±Now we just have to find this divine machine. If only we knew where it was...¡± He sure makes it sound easy. Just find the divine machine and be done with it. The head priest then turned around and faced me. And he looked content. Then he leaned forward to me and touched my forehead. ¡±I believe Harjan knows.¡± Then he took off his hand from my forehead. ¡±Horekesa only told Ulfun, and has not told me about it. I think this is a test of faith by him. Let us mortals deal with the problem.¡± He now stood upright again. Good job breaking it Horekesa, at least take responsibility for your actions! At least Mistral do not start problems! This diplomatic mission is now not as easy anymore. Ulfun won¡¯t listen to reason, and I believe we must head to the Harjan town in order to find out where that damn machine lies. Nothing in life is easy, right? After this little serious info dump of a chat, we then spent the rest of the time chit chatting about everyday stuff and drinking tea. After two hours or so later the prince got out of the meeting room with Izumi and the girls. All of them looked tired and Nyaya and Kim had a look of relief upon them. Must had been boring them to tears to be cooped up in there. ¡±How did the negotiations go?¡± I asked Izumi and Laurel. They had a look of irritation upon them. ¡±Bad. Ulfun did not budge on any point.¡± Laurel replied immediatly to me. ¡±As expected...¡± With a sigh I replied to him. Then I touched my forehead. ¡±Let¡¯s hope the Harjan faction is more helpful...¡± I continued with and smiled. Everyone then looked at me. Before we left the temple I helped to perform clerical duties as a sign of goodwill. I conversed with the spirits in here, healed people which yet had their time to come and replaced candles which had burnt out. I became friends with the head priest during this brief time. It seems like he is the only rational person in this town, how ironic. We restocked up our rations in town before we headed out. Because the merchants saw me I suspect they tried ripping us off. The prejudice against Harjan worshipers and children of him here is really bad. This mission seems more troublesome by the day. Child of Harjan Divine machine which two gods want, a power hungry warmonger, a lich conveniently related to one of the gods, a mysterious woman with a crescent moon ring on a boat. This is all too suspicious of a ¡±The Chosen One¡± plot. Well, at least this world ain¡¯t post apocalyptic. Thank goodness there is no radioactive fallout! While traveling toward the Harjan aligned town I read up more on Horekesa and the mythos surrounding him. Way back in the time when gods still walked the planet. Horekesa and Harjan were still pretty chummy with each other. Horekesa created the sun in the sky, and with the help of Harjan they ensured his sun would still shine during the night. A mutually beneficial relationship. Harjan would get power in exchange for having Horekesa¡¯s sun be able to be shine through the night. In a way would the crescent moon signify their relationship. The darker part being Harjan and the lit up part being Horekesa. What caused the fracture between them? A third god came into the mix! They created a machine which let the gods create avatars on the planet. By the time it was made, gods presence on the planet was greatly weakened. To make it worse the machine only had enough charges left to make two avatars. An unknown god managed to create a avatar and in the process break the machine. Now both Horekesa and Harjan want to get ahold of the machine so they can walk the planet again with their believers. A petty reason? Don¡¯t know, being in their realms must be pretty damn boring if they are willing to go this far. ¡±How long until we are there?¡± I asked Laurel after I shut the book we got from the last town. We were now on a road surrounded by jungle on one side and rice fields on the other side. ¡±We should be there in two days.¡± He looked back at me as we walked along the road. ¡±I wonder how Fang is doing.¡± Asked Kim which now was carried by Nyaya on her shoulders. ¡±Us cats are survivors! Have faith in Fang!¡± Answered Nyaya with a proud smile. ¡±You two sure get along well.¡± Commented Izumi which walked with Seris and Nino on each side of him. Kim and Nyaya just looked back at them and smiled. ¡±I wonder what Harjan would say to me?¡± I looked up in the sky absentmindedly for a while until I bumped into Laurel. The bump made me get out of my daydreaming daze. ¡±Sorry! I was just deep in thought.¡± I apologized to Laurel. He just chuckled and continued walking. ¡±Are you religious, Laurel?¡± Then I curiously asked him. ¡±Me? Well, you can say so. But only because it is practical. I pay my respects to the god of lineage. Wilthos, the god of lineage and rulership¡± Laurel waved both his arms up as he answered me. ¡±It is a tradition in my royal family to worship him after all. In return we get blessed by Wilthos. Though I seem to had picked the short stick this time...¡± He put his finger under his chin as he continued talking. ¡±Certainly interesting way to put it...¡± I looked at him as if he was funny while I made a comment toward him. We then spent the rest of the day walking toward the town. As night time was approaching, we setup camp by the road. Strangely enough it was just me and Nyaya awake late for once. Usually she is asleep by Izumi by now. By the campfire sat me and Nyaya enjoying tea. Everyone else are soundly asleep. ¡±Having a hard time sleeping?¡± I asked Nyaya which looked as if she was deep in thought. ¡±Mjaa... Was just thinking...¡± She looked as in trance up at the clear night sky. It was a sea of stars up there. In the background noises of cicada-like insects was heard. And the relatively cool night breeze was blowing. ¡±Thinking?¡± I asked her. ¡±Kim make me think of home...¡± Nyaya was still looking up at the sky, then she took a sip of the tea. ¡±Home? How was it like?¡± I took a sip of tea before questioning her further. ¡±I would have my smaller siblings on my shoulders as I played with them. In my home town we would play all day long before mama called us back. We did many fun things like playing hide and seek, and soldiers and bandits. And my mama would cook delicious things like beef gravy with potatoes. Ah, mamas cooking was the best...¡± Nyaya started to look sad now as her nose started contorting. ¡±The weather was nice too... Like here... A lush forest by the sea.¡± She then sighed and brought up what looks like a ceramic shard with engravings on it. ¡±Hehehe, I remember how we used to make bits like these... We would pretend it was money and play as merchants... Th- Then...¡± Nyaya now started tearing up. It looks like it brought up traumatic memories for her. ¡±Then bad men came and ruined everything!¡± Then in a mix of anger and sadness she suddenly started crying. I quickly went over to comfort her. I patted her head as I hugged her. After a while she stopped and she clinged to me, not wanting to let me go. This is the first time she truly opened up to me, ever since I got into Izumis household. Behind her facade of being a happy-go-lucky-girl she bears a horrible trauma from the past. I guess it is a given though. Slaves rarely become ones by choice. ¡±Let¡¯s go to bed...¡± I simply said and brought her over to my sleeping bag. We managed to squeeze into it so that me, Nyaya and Kim fit in it. Kim did not seem to notice and simply spooned Nyaya from behind. Me and Nyaya hugged as we sleeped. It did not take very long at all for her to fall into sleep. The day after we arrived at the town where the Harjan faction make their home. Like the Horekesa faction they also cultivated rice in huge fields around the town. But unlike the other town, their temple was not as noticeable. But the top of the temple reminded me of how a observatory was back on Earth. Complete with a rotateable dome and a metal object pointing out of a opening. On the walls which surrounded the town, hung banners depicting the phases of the moon. They really love their symbolism. We repeated the entrance procedure from the previous town, only this time they were a lot nicer when they saw me. They kept talking about me being Child of Harjan, and how my presence would bring great fortune here. Laurel, the prince did not seem to mind it. After all it would make negotiations smoother for him. If I get a chat with Harjan, I will scold him for igniting this feud. This is so pointless. ¡±So we are here...¡± I say as we enter the town. Unlike the Horekesa aligned town, the people here seem to be happy to see us. The houses in are in a much better condition as well. I guess they have skilled builders here. Kim seemed to be excited when he saw a market stall selling meat in bread along the main street. He kept pestering Izumi until he bought one for him. Nyaya kept asking for bites from him, so in the end he just split the meat sandwich in two. Instant karma. Watching them eat made me realize that I¡¯m hungry. I guess we will have plenty of time before the chief will have time for us. ¡±Master, aren¡¯t you hungry?¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I tug Izumi by his arm as I ask him. The girls look at us in anticipation. Has been a few days since we last ate something decent. Campside food aren¡¯t exactly the most tasty... ¡±...I suppose I am.¡± He stretch his arms and looks back at me. Izumi looks exhausted, as if he is running on fumes. This day we skipped lunch, because we could see the town in the distance as we traveled. So it is entirely our fault. We split our groups and entered a tavern connected to the main street. ¡±Djinn¡¯s Dance¡± was the tavern called. From the outside it looked well established. Many chairs connected to round tables could be seen on an elevated platform by the entrance. Guard rails made out of wood surrounded it and connected the walls. Laurel and his two bodyguards left for the town hall meanwhile we stuffed our faces with food. After filling ourselves at the tavern we caught up with Laurel again. An hour must had passed at least. The town hall was the next biggest building after the temple. Its shape was that of a hexagon, and made out of large white stone bricks. Like the town walls it was adorned with moon phase symbol banners. Each side of it are adorned with windows on the top floor. And the main entrance door is made out of bronze which is enough to go up to the second floor. We then started the long wait in the town hall lobby. ¡±Uhh... This is sooo boring...¡± Kim said as he sat on the bench between Nyaya and me. He kept impatiently kicking his feet back and forth. Tail the monkey who previously had been quiet now sat on his lap. Looks like he is trying to cheer him up. ¡±Brother, wanna play?¡± Nyaya asked Kim as she held up a deck of cards in her hand. I guess she turned him into her substitute brother now. Kim then sighed and looked at her. ¡±Sure! Got nothing better to do!¡± He then answered her and jumped off the bench. They then scampered off to a table with chairs in the lobby. Nino then leaned closer to me. ¡±Nyaya got good family now.¡± Nino then grinned and playfully touched my shoulder with hers. ¡±Y- Yeah. They get along very well.¡± I answered her while I was bored out of my mind. Not even the books I stored in my head are entertaining me. ¡±Though I regret not getting another girl. Seeing Nyaya like this make me happy.¡± Izumi then butts in with this comment. Nino then gives him the stink eye. ¡±Master always wants more. Are we not enough?¡± Nino which is unusally talkative today reprimands him. Izumi looks shocked. ¡±N- No. I do not mean it like that. Kim is a happy accident for our family.¡± He then awkardly smiles as he tries calming down Nino. Then suddenly do Seris cover his arm completely between her huge breasts. Even through the robe they are ever present. ¡±Come on~ Kim is a cutie! He practically is a girl.¡± She then licks his ear by the lobe. He then looks awfully suspicious. Then Nino tales his other arm between her breasts. Though they are not huge, they are not by any means small. ¡±Seris is right. Kim is cute and good for our sister Nyaya.¡± Nino grins like a hungry animal at Izumi which is now beyond confused. What are the girls planning, really? ¡±Uh, girls?¡± Izumi then desperately asks them. Then they both grin like predators about to kill their prey. Then suddenly they start attacking his mouth with kisses. Wowie, a three-way kiss! The sloppy sounds and muffled protests of Izumi are heard all the way over here. Is this how they usually try convincing him? Suddenly I get a tap on my shoulder. I look toward from where I felt the tap and I see a elderly woman in a clerical garb. ¡±Child of Harjan. The town chief require you to attend the meeting.¡± The elderly woman tells me. I look confused and start following her. ¡±...okay...¡± I answered her meekly. ¡±Follow me. This way, please.¡± She says and make a waving motion to where we go. I could still her the noises from Izumi and the girls as we turned around the corner. As we walk in the corridor toward the meeting room. We pass by a familiar looking woman with red clothes and hat. But the most defining thing was her ring with the crescent moon motif. Who is this woman? I feel like I have met her on the boat to here before. I entered the meeting room and there I saw Laurel discussing with the town chief, which to my surprise is a relatively young girl. Around the table sat many different men and women in official looking attire. They all became quiet and then looked at me. ¡±Ah, Lotus. Good that you came here. Please sit beside me.¡± Said Laurel which looked troubled. I just did as he asked and obediently sat next to him. The town chief looked a bit confused. She must had seen my slave collar I guess. ¡±This is Lotus, whom you all call the Child of Harjan. She is the property of Izumi, which I hired to escort me during my diplomatic mission.¡± He then continues and look relieved. ¡±...umm, hi?¡± I say quietly to all the people in the room. And then I give Laurel a glance. ¡±I think she can help us come to an agreement in how to prevent a full blown civil war to break out. Her being deeply connected with the gods we may get answers out of them.¡± Laurel then confidently continued with his talk. All these people looking at me is creepy. ¡±Excuse me for interrupting. But how did Lotus come to be enslaved?¡± Asked the town chief. ¡±Well... I came to this world naked, then I got captured and sold into slavery by bandit scum. Then luckily I got bought by Izumi.¡± I told them the too long, did¡¯nt read version of my story. ¡±Luckily?¡± She continued her questioning with. ¡±It is lucky. Because my master take well care of me. He never forces himself upon me, and I now got a family thanks to him.¡± ¡±Family?¡± ¡±Yes, family. I consider master and the other slaves to be family to me.¡± It then became silent after I told how it was from my heart. I could not help smiling. ¡±I... I see.¡± Then the town chief stops the silence. ¡±Was that all about Lotus?¡± Laurel then asks. ¡±Yes. Even though she is enslaved she is not suffering. Otherwise we would have to intervene. Those marked by Harjan are important to us.¡± The town chief hen looks me in the eyes with passion. Then she puts an artifact looking thing onto the table, and pushes it towards me. ¡±Lotus, try using this artifact.¡± She then says and urge me to use it. It grab the artifact with my right hand, and I can feel a tingling sensation in my phylactery. Almost as if the artifact want to be filled by it. A faint glow is then seen around both the phylactery and artifact. I look at Laurel first and then the town chief. They both do not make any reactions. With that silent approval I then start channeling positive energy into it by using [Touch of Life]. And then suddenly everything fades into a dreamlike state... ¡±What is it now? Is it you Mistral?¡± <> Harjan then chuckles. ¡±Oh, took you long enough to chat with me.¡± <> ¡±Argument?¡± <> ¡±So this thing about you guys being on bad terms is bullshit then? The books never really tell the full story I guess.¡± <> ¡±Maybe tell me where this damned machine lies then? We got a civil war brewing here!¡± <> ¡±Great! Backtracking! I love it!¡± I said with great sarcasm. <> ¡±So not even gods are omnipotent.¡± <> Then my eyes filled with a bright light before fading again. I then saw how people looked as if they listened intently at me. ¡±What?¡± I ask them all and blinked. ¡±You made the artifact work!¡± The town chief happily cried out! ¡±So apparently that damn so called Avatar Creation machine is behind a waterfall.¡± I told them without any fuss or drama. ¡±Is that so Lotus?¡± Laurel then questions me. ¡±Yes.¡± ¡±I see. I will then send Izumi and you all to find it meanwhile I stay behind and negotiate.¡± He then shoos me out of the room. ¡±Wait Lotus! Take the artifact with you!¡± The town chief then interrupts me mid way out. I hurridly take it and then walk out. I wonder why she want me to take it with me? All it did was to let talk with Harjan. Must be some hidden functionality to it. Without a word I took it and went back to rejoin my party. During this brief meeting Seris and Nino had managed to completely cover Izumis face in saliva. They surely did not go easy on him. Nyaya looked quite frustrated while playing cards. She must had lost quite a few times to Kim which had mastered the game very fast. After everyone joined, we then continued the quest at Laurels command. Time to do some backtracking I guess!