《Engraver》


 Prologue - Pain

    ¡°Such perfect movement!¡±


    ¡°How is she doing this?¡±


    ¡°Beautiful¡­¡±


    Various murmurs and exclamations came from the audience. They were all entranced by the beautiful figure and her movements projected on the screen in front of them.


    Lunete Argall sat at a desk on stage. In her hand was an acupuncture needle. Without any visual aids, she was carving the Taoist deities on it.


    Lunete was at her own art exhibition where she showcased her completed micro artworks. She was doing a live creation of micro art with the assistance of a member of the audience who was chosen at random. The lucky man who was chosen happened to be a Taoist acupuncture practitioner. Therefore, he had requested for his needle to be engraved and had provided a picture of a banquet of the jade emperor and his subjects as reference material for Lunete.


    At this moment, Lunete has long since created the outlines of each deity on the needle. She was already halfway through adding the fine details to each of the deities. Slowly but surely, she made various minute movements that brought each deity to life on the needle and gave them extremely realistic features. Eventually, Lunete completed this latest masterpiece and presented it to the excited Chinese man.


    As the man walked off the stage with a joyful skip in his step, Lunete waved at the audience, ¡°Thank you all for coming here tonight, and I hope that all of you would enjoy the artworks after this.¡±


    Lunete then walked backstage as she let an emcee take over for her. She went into her breakroom and took a towel to clean up the sweat on her forehead. It had taken a lot of her concentration to create that piece of artwork on a needle without any visual aids. The details were surprisingly difficult to create. In the end, it was only due to her constant practice that she was able to feel the tiny movements on her arms and know the result of her every action.


    Sitting on a couch in her breakroom to rest, Lunete tilted her head back as she recovered from her mental fatigue. She had various influential people to meet after this, and she had to be mentally alert.


    ***


    Lunete sat on her chair at her desk at home. Tonight¡¯s art exhibition was a success. The art work tonight was sold to the highest bidders and she had once again earned a considerable sum of money.


    By the time the forty-year old woman had reached home, it was early in the morning. She had considered asking her early-rising live-in female fitness trainer to join her in some early morning ¡°exercise¡± before she went off to sleep. Imagining the tantalizing, sexy curves of the Chinese woman was extremely tempting, but she decided that she wanted something more intellectually stimulating instead.


    Lunete put on the SRI (Supplemented Reality Interface) glasses on her face as she thumbed the switch. A sentimental expression filled her countenance as she looked at the welcome screen that floated in front of her.


    The SRI glasses was a memento of her deceased parents. Born into a family with a Welsh father and a Chinese mother, Lunete was blessed with beautiful features and a well-endowed body. She had truly grown into her name, taken from the Arthurian Romantic Eluned, and meant image or idol from the Welsh word ¡°eilun¡±.


    At the age of fourteen, Lunete¡¯s father passed away. Being an orphan himself, her father had drilled independence into Lunete. Therefore, she had tried to support her mother through their grief.


    However, Lunete¡¯s mother went half-mad from the loss of her beloved. In between bouts of insanity, Lunete arranged with her mother to move back to China to receive the support of her Chinese parents. Lunete¡¯s maternal grandparents were welcoming, but had a greedy look in their eyes. They saw Lunete¡¯s family as merely an additional source of money as Lunete¡¯s parents were quite rich from being accomplished artists.


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


    A year after the Argall family head¡¯s passing, Lunete¡¯s mother finally went fully mad. She had committed suicide in her insanity. Thankfully, Lunete had arranged for her parents to transfer over to her after their passing and she immediately left her maternal grandparents to live on her own.


    Living a male-centric part of China was tough on Lunete. As with all extremely chauvinist areas, she was often approached and nearly forced into undesirable situations had she not had a strong front and various items to protect herself. She had developed a strong dislike for men.


    When her dislike for men grew strong enough, Lunete bought her own house and quit school. She decided to throw herself into art to follow in her parents¡¯ footsteps.


    Remembering that her father said that he started off as an artist by selling pieces of art as useful items in a game, Lunete dug through her father¡¯s belongings. She took out his SRI glasses and put it on. It was then, that her career as an artist started out.


    In the present, with just a thought, Lunete selected the floating icon of the game in front of her. Another welcome message popped up from the game. Lunete looked at the game UI and smiled. She had long since hit the level cap of the game and unlocked all the crafting content that the game provided. She had leveled slowly from crafting unlike many of the other users who chose to fight virtual monsters that popped up from the projected scenery that the game provided.


    Lunete forged a needle from the material creator interface and she began reproducing the needle that she had engraved the previous night. It took her a while, but she had finally completed the piece. She had also added various fantasy engravings that provided powerful status boosts to whoever wielded the needle, including one that allowed the needle to be shot out and returned to the hand of the user.


    Satisfied with her handiwork, Lunete stored the needle into her inventory and relaxed into her chair. She was about to log out of the game when a brilliant light shone from beneath her. A glowing circle with various complicated runic characters pulsed from beneath her. With each pulse, a wave of pain surged through Lunete.


    The pain that Lunete felt was so intense that it made her whole body lock up. Her body straightened as she was forced to look up at the ceiling. A greater amount of pain suddenly flashed around her eyes. It felt like the SRI glasses was melting into her skin. Lunete managed to wrench her mouth open in a soundless scream. Soon, oxygen deprivation from the lack of ability to breathe during the pain forced her into unconsciousness.


    As Lunete slid into the embrace of unconsciousness, the light from the circle intensified and enveloped her entire being.


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    Author of Heaven¡¯s Awakening here. This is the second fiction that I had cooked up. I¡¯m not abandoning my first fiction, but I just had a sudden ¡°brilliant¡± idea and wanted to type it down and submit to rrl. I hope that those who felt that my prologue in Heaven¡¯s Awakening was too lacking can find some solace here.


    To those that don¡¯t know, the SRI glasses is a parody of the ARI glasses from the game Heavy Rain without the negative consequences. There''s also no need for gloves as the glasses has neurological sensors that registers the user''s movements and selections.

 Chapter 1 - Another World

    In a dark room, a faintly glowing formation circle pulsed. Two figures stared at a young, unconscious woman in the formation. A lustful look from one of the men had was obvious even in the dimly lit room.


    ¡°Tsk. This bitch is asleep. If she were awake, I could have relished in ravaging her right here and now,¡± coarse language was spouted out from a contrastingly elegant-faced man.


    ¡°Relax, your majesty. We have the slave collar here. Once she wears it, she would do your every bidding when she awakes. In the meantime, I will lock her up somewhere secret and guard the room personally. I will bring her to you after her awakening,¡± the other man replied loyally.


    The other man was a stoic individual. Deep down, he absolutely disdained his superior¡¯s lust and brutish words. To think that such an individual was able to climb up to the position of king and be deemed as the epitome of elegance within the Snake Clan.


    Staring at his subordinate with some suspicion, the Snake King finally decided to let the loyal man do as he had suggested. After all, the man had worked under him long before he had climbed to power as a constant guardian.


    ***


    The loyal man gently placed the young woman onto a soft bed in room somewhere in a remote part of the palace. He took a step back and sighed in admiration of the woman¡¯s beauty. Such elegance, allure and her face still had a hint of cuteness. The woman¡¯s silky blonde hair, perfect and fair skin, and curvy figure accentuated her facial features, making her even more enchanting.


    The man himself was not bad looking. The man looked to be in his early thirties. He had a well-sculpted face despite his rugged look. His thick black hair would be unruly if it were long, but the man had it cut short to prevent it from getting in the way during fights. The man cut a dashing figure with his muscular body. It was not overly muscular, but had decent proportions. All of this together with his stoic attitude and accomplished feats made him the target of many women¡¯s affections, though he had only one woman in his heart waiting for him back home.


    After a period of admiration, the man grew serious again. He took out a talisman and wrote several warnings on the back of it. Then, he tore the talisman. The formation on the talisman glowed for a brief moment and the two halves of the talisman burst into flames. The flames harmed not a whit of the man¡¯s hands.


    The man had sent a message to his true master. He had worked under this disgusting man for too long. He has finally broken the rules to the protector summoning and therefore he would earn the ire of the other clans, finally getting his just deserts.


    Watching over the beautiful figure lying on the bed in front of him, the man prayed that his master would come quickly.


    ***


    A few hours later, secret agents poured into the Snake Clan¡¯s castle. These secret agents wore the uniforms of the eleven other clans. The force broke easily broke through the defenses of the castle together and made their way up to the king¡¯s resting chambers.


    The commotion they had made was heard by the king. However, confidence in his guards and formation traps kept him from bothering as he enjoyed the slave women in front of him. He did not treat the women gently. Blood could be seen coming from the genitalia of these women even though they were not virgins. Their bodies also had various bruises on them.


    Soon, the commotion happening in the castle finally subsided. There was just silence.


    ¡®Fools. When I find whoever is responsible for attacking my domain, I will crush them thoroughly and enslave all their women¡­ even the young ones,¡¯ the Snake King smiled viciously and thought as he thrusted into the woman in front of him with greater vigor.


    As he did so, the doors to his chambers burst open all of a sudden. The attackers quickly filled the room and pointed their weapons at the Snake King. Several among them, who were quick enough, sent out whips and dragged the slaves away from the Snake King. They pinned the women down to prevent the king from using them as shields or ordering them to fight for him.


    ¡°Y-you! All of you!¡±


    The Snake King trembled and paled when he saw the eleven different uniforms of the intruders. He instantly knew that his seemingly most loyal man had betrayed him. When had he turned? It seems that he would never know.


    Swords fell and the king¡¯s body was minced. His strength was not enough to protect him from the menacing blades that cut into his body and rent his body into pieces.


    ***


    In the remote part of the Snake King¡¯s palace, Lunete awoke. She was startled by her surroundings, but immediately focused on the man sitting in a corner and staring at her. To her surprise, that stare did not have a hint of lust that other man would have whenever they see her.


    Gradually, she noticed that she had a collar around her neck and began to panic. She did not voice out in fear of offending the man who was watching her. However, the man did not behave silently as she had expected.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. You are safe. My name is Adio. My master is coming to free you,¡± the man said with as much of a reassuring tone as he could muster.


    After that, he lapsed into silence. Lunete introduced herself and asked several more questions, but Adio just left her unanswered. Lunete was wondering what she could do in the meantime when she noticed something bugging her mind. She decided to think about what was bugging her when a window popped up in front of her face.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Welcome, Lunete Argall.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The familiar blue screen of the game she played popped up in front of her.


    ¡®H-how?¡¯ Lunete began to wonder.


    She was clearly not wearing the SRI. This unfamiliar, traditional Chinese room was also not a projection from it as the feeling of the soft bed was too real. Lunete began to explore the interface. It should have said ¡°welcome back¡± but said welcome as if she was a newcomer.


    Lunete checked her level and saw that it was just one, instead of eighty. She frowned. Then she checked her inventory. She was surprised as she saw many of the art pieces she made previously still inside of it. Lunete examined her latest masterpiece, the acupuncture needle.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Acupuncture Needle of Deities</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Attack Power: 1</td></tr><tr><td>All stats +1000%</td><td>Increased piercing damage +500%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Unique Property: Needle returns to owner after hitting a target when thrown.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    A secondary window popped up along with the information of the needle.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Available Actions</td></tr><tr><td>Retrieve</td><td>Sell</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Mentally selecting sell, another screen popped up. This time, the options displayed system and auction. However, the auction button was grayed out. Undoing the sell option and returning to the available actions for the needle, Lunete selected retrieve this time.


    The needle did not appear floating in front of her as usual. Instead, it appeared in her hand. Fortunately, she had her hands placed on the bed and the needle appeared underneath, avoiding her guard¡¯s ever watchful gaze.


    She was also surprised that the moment the needle came into contact with her skin, she felt lighter, stronger, and all of her senses grew sharper. It was obviously an effect from the needle that multiplied her attributes by ten times. Lunete also wanted to know how she could store the needle again. However, just as she was about to worry about it, the needle disappeared from her hand and appeared in her inventory again.


    Lunete¡¯s curiosity was now peaked over the game system that she seemed to possess. She was about to look at her stats when the pouch at her guard¡¯s waist began to shake and shine. Adio took out a shining talisman out from his pouch and tore it. Lunete wanted to ask what that was when Adio took out a dagger and approached her.


    She was starting to grow anxious when Adio said in a reassuring voice, ¡°pardon me¡­ the collar.¡±


    Lunete relaxed and allowed Adio to slip the small blade in between collar and her neck. The collar resisted with a crackling sound for a moment before the dagger cut through the collar like a hot knife through butter. With the collar off, Lunete felt a strange pressure lift from her body and her expression immediately became one of puzzlement. A window popped up in Lunete¡¯s vision.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Slavery curse has been lifted.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Adio tactfully informed the puzzled Lunete, ¡°you probably felt a pressure that lifted off from you. That was a slavery contract that the collar possessed. You are unusually perceptive¡­¡±


    With that, Adio extended a hand to help Lunete off the bed and onto her feet.


    ¡°My liege calls for us. Your answers will come when we meet with the others like you,¡± Adio said as he took out a stone tablet from the pouch and held out one end for Lunete to grab onto.


    As she did so, he broke the tablet and the surrounding scenery changed. Lunete and Adio was struck by a sense of vertigo temporarily. The two of them suddenly found themselves in an empty field. Eleven other people of varying ages, wearing clothes that were from Earth, stood surrounded by eleven groups of soldiers. They were not fully at ease, but it also seemed that they were not afraid of the armed people that surrounded them.


    When Lunete was led to join them, a booming voice sounded out and parted the soldiers, ¡°Welcome, Humans of another world. We have summoned you here to be protectors of the Human race.¡±


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    New fiction, new style. It¡¯s a lot more mainstream. Hopefully this fiction would do better than my first one.

 Chapter 2 - Friends... with Benefits

    The soldiers parted to reveal twelve regal looking people. Eleven of them stood behind the one who had spoken out in welcome. That middle-aged man radiated power and majesty that overwhelmed even the collective auras of those behind him. Phoenixes decorated his robe, and his long beard billowed slightly in the wind.


    ¡°I know all of you have questions and are most likely not willing to protect a strange land filled with strange people, but introductions are in order,¡± the middle-aged man announced.


    ¡°I am the emperor of the Human race, Emperor Cyneric Huang. I am in charge of keeping the twelve Zodiac Clans in check. The kings of the Zodiac Clans are behind me with the exception of the Snake Clan. The Clans they belong to from left to right are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar.


    The leader of the first generations of heroes was said to be of the Human race denomination called Chinese. He was the one who came up with the Clan names. Unfortunately, instead of retiring from his hero position here, he had left to go back to your world.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s ears perked up at that final sentence. What the emperor had hinted at was that there was a possibility of going back home.


    The emperor sighed and began speaking again, ¡°all of you have the choice of going back to your old world after attaining several meritorious deeds in the war against the other three races. Those three races are the Oni race, the Youkai race and the Akuma race.


    Meritorious deeds that you collect is recognized by the summoning formation that brought you here. Every meritorious deed will grant you more power, and a mark of your choosing will appear like a tattoo on a place on your body of your choosing.


    If you choose to retire as a hero here instead of going back to your old world, you will retain your power but lose the marks on your body. Of course, that also means that you do not have any more chances of going back. Now, I think that¡¯s enough information from me. Ask what questions you wish.¡±


    A few questions were asked by the twelve people. They found out that the summoning formation binds them and prevents them from committing crimes against the Human race. However, if they were doing something good for the Human race, they could kill any harmful people.


    Training would be provided by the twelve clans. The twelve Earthlings were given an opportunity to obtain the best martial scrolls that you could ever find through the Emperor¡¯s martial repository. There was no fear of being unable to read the language of this world. The summoning formation directly imprinted the language into everyone¡¯s minds.


    Other unimportant questions like lodging and monetary issues were also brought up, but was clarified as the twelve Earthlings were to be given free lodging as long as they showed the emperor¡¯s seal which they would be given when they were mobilized.


    Soon, the question and answer session ended. The group split up and went to the kings that summoned them.


    Lunete was at a loss of where to go when Adio stopped in front of her, making eye contact, and walking to the king with a dragon on his robe. Adio stood behind the Dragon King and stared hard at Lunete. Lunete could not help but sigh mentally as she made her way to the Dragon King.


    Next to the Dragon King, there was a red-haired, sexy woman. Her facial features were almost as beautiful as Lunete¡¯s own and her assets were equally endowed. The black, tight-fitting clothing that she wore did nothing to hide her body¡¯s curves. Lunete checked out the woman slightly inappropriately before she realized that the woman was doing the same to her. They both realized at the same time and the red-head smirked and gave Lunete a wink.


    Lunete grinned back and winked at the red-head. The Dragon King was slightly confused by the strange greeting by the two, but brushed it off quickly.


    He spoke as soon as Lunete got close enough, ¡°I am the Dragon King, you can just address me as King Long. I will be in charge of training the two of you. The Dragon Clan specializes in both overall martial might and strategy, so we will be training you both in these two aspects. Soon we will leave for the Emperor¡¯s martial repository. I will let you two acquaint yourselves until then.¡±


    With that, King Long walked aside. He was followed by Adio and they began discussing some things.


    Lunete turned to the red-head and introduced herself, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Lunete Argall.¡±


    The red-haired woman¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, ¡°you are THE Lunete Argall? You only look twenty at most!¡±


    Lunete was startled, and mentally brought up and scanned the status screen. It said that her age was twenty.


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m not sure, but I think the summoning formation turned me back into a twenty-year old,¡± Lunete said as she was struck into a daze.


    The red-head grinned, ¡°I¡¯m jealous of you now but at least our ages are closer even if you are mentally older. It would be fun tasting this famous young piece of ass. In any case, my name¡¯s Kiara. Kiara Callaghan.¡±


    Kiara extended her hand and the two women shook.


    Suddenly, two women approached hand-in-hand. Both looked to be of Asian descent. They had beautiful features and lithe bodies.


    ¡°Salutations, fellow girls,¡± the mocha-skinned woman greeted, ¡°lez-be-honest with each other here. We saw you two checking each other out and spotted each other checking you two out. To think that four people who pitched for the same team ended up among the twelve here. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll all get along, friends¡­ with benefits.¡±


    The Eastern-Asian girl giggled at the mocha-skinned woman¡¯s choice of words.


    ¡°Hey girls, name¡¯s Akiyama Yuri. Yuri¡¯s my first name. This naughty girl next to me is Aanjay Aamin Joshi. Her first name¡¯s Aanjay,¡± Yuri said with flirtatious undertones.


    ¡°I heard from Hou-boy ¨C that¡¯s the Monkey King, that we were to split up into groups of four to take on one of the invading races. And coincidentally¡­ our kings, the Rabbit, Monkey and Dragon Kings are on good terms. I say that we arrange our team early. All the more with four sexy ladies in our team,¡± Aanjay shamelessly and unilaterally decided that the four were together.


    However, the three other ladies had tacitly consented to this arrangement. It was much easier if people of the same values stuck together. These two ladies did not seem to be the type to tie people down and were more open-minded in terms of relationships.


    ***


    The four girls talked and laughed together. Time passed quickly and it was soon time to head to the Emperor¡¯s martial repository. The twelve kings led the twelve protectors to the repository.


    Guarding the repository was an old man. He exuded a strength that absolutely suppressed the twelve kings. Seemingly informed of the arrangement beforehand, he only guided the twelve protectors into the repository. The kings had to wait outside for the protectors to choose what they wanted.


    The twelve Earthlings were immediately overwhelmed by rows after rows of jade tablets upon entering the repository.


    ¡°Touch the tablets and they will tell you what martial skill or art they will grant. Bring the tablet that you want back to me. Left side is for men and the right is for women. Do not worry, there are duplicate tablets for martial arts skills shared by men and women on each side,¡± an ancient but hale and hearty voice came from the elderly man.


    With that, the elder did not bother explaining anymore and left the twelve to do what they had to do. He obviously did not want to say anything more than what he was tasked to do.


    Lunete looked at the sections in the female section. There was the martial skill section, the martial art section and the general skills section. She wondered what the difference was between martial art and martial skill, so she picked up a martial skill tablet. A window popped up in front of her.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>


    Martial Skill Tablet</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>This skill tablet provides the martial skill


    .


    Attack Power: 250</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Will you learn this skill?</td></tr><tr><td>Yes</td><td>No</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Selecting no, Lunete then moved on to the martial arts section and picked up a tablet. Another window popped up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''><<Swallow''s Flight>> Martial Arts Tablet</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>This skill tablet provides the martial art <<Swallow''s Flight>>.


    <<Swallow''s Flight>> comes with a strengthening skill, a movement skill, a defensive skill and an offensive skill.


    Attack Power: 100</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Will you learn this set of skills?</td></tr><tr><td>Yes</td><td>No</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Lunete realized that martial skills are like trump cards that you can use to cause devastating damage once in battle while martial arts were like a set which you can use to battle throughout. With this, it is easy to see that she should learn the martial arts instead.


    Lunete did not dismiss the window this time and sought information from the jade tablet. <<Swallow¡¯s Flight>> was a martial art that grants the practitioner superior agility. Once a certain level is reached, the practitioner can flit through the air like a swallow. Attacks made by the martial subskill <Swallow¡¯s swoop> were not too strong, but can serve to slowly whittle down the opponents in drawn out fights. Lunete chose to learn this skill as it would be useful for getting away when things get rough.


    Selecting yes in the prompting window, Lunete felt images of the skill being implanted in her brain. Seeing as she could learn more than one martial art due to being able to absorb the skill right away, Lunete put the jade tablet back and went about looking for more martial arts tablets. Perhaps she could use a couple more for varying situations.


    Sifting through the tablets, Lunete learned two more martial arts. The first was <<Frost Sealing>> martial art which can be used in situations where tying up enemies would be most helpful as all the martial subskills could freeze enemies or trip them up. The second martial art was the <<Compound Waves>> martial art. This martial art teaches the body how to withstand internal strikes and at the same time teaches the practitioner to deliver devastating internal strikes. This would be the martial art the Lunete would be using when she needed to swiftly dispatch enemies.


    Lunete moved on to the general skills section. She noticed that none of the other twelve bothered to touch the general skills section. However, Lunete was curious and maybe she could learn one or two useful things here. Lunete touched the first jade tablet in the general skills section.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Metallurgy</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Contains the knowledge of various metals, and the methods of smithing various weapons and armors.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Will you record this knowledge?</td></tr><tr><td>Yes</td><td>No</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Seeing the screen in front of her, Lunete¡¯s eyes brightened. She immediately assented to the record of the jade tablet¡¯s knowledge. Then, she made her way through the entire general skills section and touched every jade tablet. She learned pharmacology, woodwork, stonemasonry, and a variety of other useful skills related to crafting. With the recipes in hand and the ability to create material from the game system, she would definitely benefit from all of these.


    Eventually, Lunete came into contact with the jade tablet containing information on formations. Strangely, the question that was posed to her by the system asked if she wanted to learn the skill. Lunete decided that she would probably take this tablet along with her since she was interested in formations but the skill did not provide the necessary knowledge.


    Lunete made her way to the elder, noticing that she was the last to have chosen her tablet. Seeing her emerge from the general skills section with a tablet in hand made eight Earthlings make a strange face. Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay just looked at Lunete curiously.


    The elder took the tablet from Lunete¡¯s hands and smiled for the first time since the twelve met him. He performed some seals with his hands and unlocked the tablet before passing it on to Lunete.


    ¡°I look forward to your growth,¡± the elder told Lunete as he passed the tablet on.


    Lunete just smiled sweetly and nodded. The elder¡¯s words had piqued the interest of the other eleven Earthlings, but Lunete did not bother entertaining them. She would tell her three friends when they were alone outside with their kings, but the rest did not need to know.


    The group moved outside the repository to meet their respective kings. The kings then discussed with the group what skills they had picked and started planning a general outline of a training regimen.


    It seemed that Aanjay and Yuri had told their kings that they wanted to work with the two women under the Dragon King. They had both assented and were waiting beside the Dragon King with smiles on all three faces.


    Each of the women revealed their chosen martial arts. All of them had the same idea that martial arts were much more useful than being a one-trick pony from choosing a martial skill.


    Kiara had chosen a lightning-element martial art called <<Static Shift>>. It was based on controlling the battlefield with electricity. When mastered to a certain level, it could boost allies¡¯ movements while hindering enemies.


    Yuri chose a light-element martial art called <<Light Hands>>. <<Light Hands>> was a speed-focused martial art, capable of extending one¡¯s inner energy like a light ray and piercing opponents from afar. It also came with a supplementary martial subskill called <Healing Hands> that allowed an accomplished practitioner to heal even serious injuries.


    Aanjay picked an earth-element martial art. It was the <<Earthen Fort>> martial art. The <<Earthen Fort>> martial art focused on defense as its name implies. However, the martial art also infuses some metal-element characteristics in it. A practitioner that has mastered the martial art to a certain extent can infuse metals into the earthen defenses that the art provides to make defenses nigh impenetrable.


    Lastly, Lunete revealed the tablet that she picked. The kings were pleasantly surprised. They gave the same smile as the elder and mentioned that picking up formations was a very good choice amongst the general skills. Even cursory knowledge of formations can allow battles to turn tides. It was much needed knowledge in the war against the other races.


    With that, the kings said it was time to call it a day. It was agreed that the four were to stay in the Dragon King¡¯s palace. On the other hand, the four women were thinking that it was high time that they got some ¡°R&R¡± with the each other to burn off the stress they had gained from the events that had happened that day.


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    You guys need to read the prologue. It¡¯s important for context. Seriously. This fiction will not be updating so fast soon enough. I will be focusing on my first fiction and writing this when I run out of motivation for the first, like now.


    If this does better than my first fiction, I might just make this my main fiction and let my first one be on the sidelines. Hope you guys enjoy the read.

 Chapter 3 - Small Discoveries

    Lunete woke up to find herself tangled with three other naked bodies. The ¡°R&R¡± that the girls had overnight had been a really good stress reliever. Kiara had much more affinity with Lunete while Yuri and Aanjay were more compatible. Kiara was just as much a giving lover as a receiving one. Aanjay was more aggressive while Yuri was more receptive. The four enjoyed each other¡¯s company and intimacies as they learnt more about each other and deepened their friendships.


    Laying in the pile of warm flesh and tangle of limbs, Lunete brought up the game system and observed her status.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Lunete Argall</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The values of her status were vastly different from the values that was shown in her previous world. At level 1, her status was supposed to be a flat 10 across the board. Additionally, there was an extra stat, ¡°Energy¡±, which Lunete had no clue as to what it was. Lunete tried mentally selecting the stat for more details. She was greeted by a tooltip window popping up.


    <table><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td>Energy</td></tr><tr><td>This status value represents the cultivation level of the individual.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®So that¡¯s what it was,¡¯ Lunete thought as she mentally selected the values to see if the system would show what they represented.


    <table><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td>Strength Value</td></tr><tr><td>The value of strength based on the number of adult males.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®My strength is equivalent to an adult male¡¯s, huh?¡¯ Lunete murmured inwardly.


    Lunete continued looking at her other status values and continued thinking, ¡®this doesn¡¯t explain why I could not keep up with the three girls last night.¡¯


    Lunete stared at Kiara and was surprised when another window popped up in front of her requesting to see Kiara¡¯s status. Lunete consented and was greeted by a shocking status screen.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Kiara Callaghan</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Kiara¡¯s overall status value were way higher than Lunete¡¯s abysmal status. Lunete quickly checked the other girls¡¯ status.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Akiyama Yuri</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Aanjay Aamin Joshi</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The other girl¡¯s status totals were similar whereas Lunete¡¯s was much further behind. Perhaps the benefits gained from the summoning was not equal?


    Lunete shelved that question at the back of her mind and decided to bring it up only later when they met the kings and instructors. Lunete decided to further explore the game system. She brought up her skill window.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Skills</td></tr><tr><td>Skill Name</td><td>Mastery</td></tr><tr><td><<Compound Waves>></td><td>0%</td></tr><tr><td><<Frost Sealing>></td><td>0%</td></tr><tr><td><<Swallow''s Flight>></td><td>0%</td></tr><tr><td>Formations</td><td>0%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Lunete mentally selected <<Compound Waves>> and was greeted by a dropdown list of the subskills.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''><<Compound Waves>></td></tr><tr><td><Wave Dispersion></td><td>Mastery: 0%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>This martial subskill strengthens the practitioner, allowing the practitioner to temper his or her inner energy and organs.</td></tr><tr><td><Flowing Waves></td><td>Mastery: 0%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>This martial subskill consists of both footwork and defensive movements. The practitioner would be able to redirect forces and multiply them at higher masteries.</td></tr><tr><td><Compound></td><td>Mastery: 0%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>This martial subskill allows the practitioner of <Wave Dispersion> to force waves to constantly reverberate through enemies for a period of time. When waves clash, the enemy will receive internal injuries.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Just as Lunete had finished reading up on <<Compound Waves>> and was about to move on to <<Frost Sealing>>, Kiara stirred beside her. Kiara stretched her body out, causing a chain reaction and waking up the two other women.


    ¡°Morning, sleepyheads,¡± Lunete greeted the three awakening beauties as she pawed two chests and began suckling on another.


    The three of them moaned before becoming fully awake. Kiara giggled and pushed Lunete¡¯s head away and Yuri enjoyed the caress and Aanjay got up and kissed Lunete¡¯s cheek. Kiara managed to mumble a morning as she untangled herself from the others and got off the bed to stretch.


    ¡°Morning, ladies. Yesterday was such a crazy day. Transporting to a different world was crazy. Being forced into participating in another world¡¯s war just to return home was crazy. Choosing exercise workouts through mind injecting jade rocks was crazy. Having a bedroom for four and a bathroom made in one hour was crazy. Bedtime and pillow talk was even crazier¡­ and hotter,¡± Aanjay started droning on about the events that occurred yesterday and clutched her head slightly as she got off the bed.


    Lunete quickly followed when the two got off. Yuri reluctantly got off the bed as well as she rubbed her eyes and said a Japanese ¡°Ohayou¡± before shaking her head a little to perk herself up.


    The four girls made their way to the adjoining bathroom, which was pretty wide and could hold all four of them. The Dragon King had quickly ordered elite workers belonging to the Dragon Clan to immediately build a shared room for the four women upon their request when they got to the Dragon Palace. The Dragon King was also astute enough to know that the women probably wanted a bathroom nearby and extended their living space to accommodate a bathroom that could hold all of them.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The rooms of the four women was built as an extension of the palace, and in an empty space. Therefore, there were no complications to its construction. The speed that the place was built shocked the women, but they got tired of being shocked so many times in one day and just accepted the extremely fast building speed.


    Getting ready for a long day ahead, the four friends quickly washed up, got dressed and headed for the outside. Apparently, they had gotten up early despite their long night. The sun had risen up only slightly in the distance. They were told to gather in the palace courtyard when the sun peeked over the palace outer walls, which had not happened yet.


    As a result, Lunete and the others decided to take their time and study the palace as they made their way to the courtyard slowly. The splendor of the palace was obvious. It was clean, the surroundings had decent amount of greenery, and the geomancy of the place was in balance. There was a certain elegance to the architecture of the palace that made it look luxurious but not overdone. Instead of a luxurious splendor, the palace radiated elegant power and balance.


    By the time Lunete and company reached the courtyard, the sun still had not peeked over the palace walls. However, there were several people waiting in the courtyard already.


    ¡°Greetings, future protectors of the Human race. It¡¯s nice to see that all of you seem not the type to be late,¡± a middle-aged battle-hardened woman smiled at the four approaching ladies.


    Three out of four of the other people nodded. Only the scholarly looking individual among the lot did not show any reaction, but studied the four attentively.


    The middle-aged woman headed the four other instructors and introduced herself, ¡°his Highness has already acquainted me with your names and characteristics, so there¡¯s no need for the four of you to introduce yourselves. I am Alleyah Long, combat instructor of the officers of the Dragon Clan. I will be your combat instructor as well.¡±


    After Alleyah¡¯s introduction, a man who looked to be in his sixties spoke out with a kindly smile, ¡°I am Palal Long, one of his Highness¡¯ strategists. I was assigned to be your instructor in strategy and tactics. Well met, ladies.¡±


    Following Palal¡¯s introduction was a young woman who spoke stoically, ¡°My name¡¯s Naja Tu. I am charged with guiding your cultivation of Energy.¡±


    That brief introduction was then proceeded by a middle-aged man.


    ¡°Ladies, I am Tabansi Hou. You will be put through various harsh survival exercises so expect no less than hard work from me,¡± he said in a gruff voice.


    Finally, the scholarly man came forth.


    ¡°I will only be teaching formations. This is compulsory for Lunete, but the rest of you are free to sit in. Just call me the Keeper,¡± the Keeper introduced himself with a nonchalant tone.


    ¡°Now that introductions are done, Lunete, this is for you,¡± Alleyah came towards Lunete and placed a jade tablet into her hands.


    The jade tablet contained the martial art of the Dragon Clan soldiers. It was widespread amongst the citizens under the charge of the Dragon King, so there was no consequence of handing it over to the supposedly martial art-less Lunete so she could defend herself. Lunete nodded gratefully at the gesture. It seems that the kings had actually seriously considered the otherworlders as assets, unlike the missing Snake King who had tried to collar Lunete.


    From there, the four women were put through various tests to know their strong suits and limitations. Alleyah tested for physical ability and combat sense. Palal put the women into various theoretical war scenarios with varying conditions. Naja had the four practice their chosen martial arts and saw to their comprehension. Tabansi put them through various muck-filled exercises to test their resolution to survive. Finally, the Keeper gave a small introduction to formations. Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay sat in the lecture and the four women were given materials to construct and break a formation.


    In Alleyah¡¯s tests, it was easy to see that Kiara and Aanjay had the best physical abilities, with the former having higher speed while the latter had higher stamina. Lunete¡¯s physical capabilities were terrible, to put it lightly. However, it was noted that her perception was exceptionally good. Yuri was very balanced in all her physical aspects.


    Yuri shone in Palal¡¯s test. She was quick-thinking and flexible in her strategies and tactics. She did mention to the other three that she was an avid strategy gamer at one point in her youth. Lunete did fairly decently while Aanjay and Kiara struggled.


    The martial art exercise was interesting. The four each practiced the strengthening subskill of the martial art they had gotten. Then, they would make adjustments to the choreographed movements to make them as perfect as possible to the images that flowed into their heads from the jade tablets. Lunete excelled in this area due to her high dexterity and minute bodily control as a micro artist. She was quickly able to master the body movements. However, she still had yet to grasp the essence of the strengthening subskill.


    Tabansi¡¯s small exercise was just down and dirty. The various disgusting things that the four rolled in was terrible, but the four were resolved to survive in this world and took the exercise in stride. Tabansi was very impressed by the end of it and gave the four a gentle smile and some words of encouragement.


    All four women failed miserably in the Keeper¡¯s assignment. They could understand the lecture, but could not create a formation. The Keeper merely shrugged as said that the start is hard for everyone. Talent was only factored in when they get over the starting hurdle.


    The women worked hard throughout the morning with only short breaks in between. Then, they were finally allowed to wash themselves off and to wait for lunch in their rooms.


    ***


    The girls had a little fun in the bathroom before coming out feeling refreshed. They knew that the activities for today was considered light in the eyes of their instructors and they mentally prepared themselves for hard work-filled days ahead.


    Lunete started mentally studying the movements of the strengthening subskill of the Dragon Clan¡¯s <<Dragon Dance>>. She started understanding the gentle movements of the skill. It was slow, gentle, but firm. Just like a dragon soaring through the skies in a dance.


    Feeling at the cusp of something, Lunete scanned the other three martial arts in her head. The movements of the strengthening skills seemed to resonate with one another. Little corrections were made in her head and the four skills seemed to slowly merge into one.


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    It felt like forever trying to get this chapter done. I think I could have split it up into two chapters with one for testing the game system and the other for the training, but it just flowed along so well.


    I hope I find motivation to start working on my first fiction again soon. I am procrastinating so hard right now.


    Thank you for reading, and supporting this fiction.


    Edit: I apologize for some alignment difficulties during my post. I edited one of the tables and caused the code to screw up so badly. It''s fixed now.

 Chapter 4 - First Growth

    ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± Kiara interrupted Lunete¡¯s thoughts as she saw Lunete in a daze.


    ¡°Huh? What? Did you say something?¡± Lunete questioned back as she was brought back to reality.


    The merging images in Lunete¡¯s mind faded away into nothing as she was brought out of her reverie. Try as she might, the images refused to return. Lunete could only helplessly forget about what she was initially imagining and turned her attention to the three women.


    It turned out that lunch had arrived and three of the foursome had already sat at the room¡¯s table to eat, leaving Lunete staring at a wall in a daze. Lunete quickly joined the three and brushed off their concerns saying that she was just thinking about the martial arts that they had practiced that morning.


    However, just before Lunete began to eat, she finally noticed the intricate design on the handle of her eating utensils. She was reminded of her career as a micro artist now that the previous¡¯ days tension and stress had dissipated quite a bit. She considered requesting for some tools from the king through Alleyah.


    Lunete thumbed the design wistfully and decided to start eating. She also began to make plans to start leveling up in her game system to craft superior equipment in the event that the four women needed them.


    Lunch was proceeded by Alleyah coming up to the four to inform them of their training regimen. The instructor had also informed the four about the time differences compared to that of their world. According to what has been passed down by previous protectors, time passes twice as slowly as in their previous world. There was also 7 days in a week, 28 days in a month and 12 months in a year.


    Seasons differed in each region. The Dragon Palace has all four seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. For their first year of training, they will get used to surviving in all four seasons. In the second, they will spend half a year each in the Monkey and Rabbit Palace to get used to the tropical environments¡¯ rainy and dry seasons. Training in a rainforest was exceptionally vital as well.


    In any case, the training regimen that the four held was one day dedicated to each instructor, followed by two days of independent training that doubled as rest days in each week. With Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay¡¯s participation in the formations lecture, it was deemed that it was mandatory for all four of them to join in on the Keeper¡¯s lessons as well. The three did not mind because they wanted all the knowledge that they could get in this world as much as possible to keep themselves alive.


    Coincidentally, it was Sunday that day, and therefore the girls were given the rest of the day off to prepare for Alleyah¡¯s training the next day. Lunete had sent a request to the king through Alleyah for various sculpting tools and materials. She had briefly explained to Alleyah that it was due to her profession in her previous world. She did not want to be out of touch, and at the same time, wanted to use it as an emotional and mental outlet.


    Alleyah understood her plight and quickly sent the request to the king. The Dragon King, in turn, had the items made and sent over to Lunete as quickly as he could, allowing the equipment to make it into Lunete¡¯s hands just before dinner.


    Lunete also remembered to ask about the physical benefits of the summoning formation. It seemed like physical growth was determined by the ability of the formation master who summoned the protectors.


    Lunete could only sigh wistfully at the shoddiness of the disgusting man who summoned her and continue about her day, the only thing she should be happy of was that the man was lustful and had reverted her age back to 20 to satisfy his inner desires. This piece of information, however, gave her some ideas that she could use for her teammates regarding health in the future with the use of formations.


    ***


    After dinner, Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay did some stretches and wanted to familiarize themselves with their martial arts more. However, seeing Lunete holding the tools in her hands and a thin piece of wood in the other with glittering eyes, the three decided to hold off on it.


    Kiara gave Yuri and Aanjay a brief overview of who Lunete was. They were not art buffs, and therefore did not know that Lunete was extremely famous in the art world. Their eyes widened in surprised before they quickly stared at Lunete in anticipation of seeing a professional artist at work.


    Lunete gracefully carved the edge of the thin piece of wood in her hands. Lines joined seamlessly and each curve was smooth and beautifully done. Slowly but surely, the end of the piece of wood began to take the shape of the Dragon Palace. The four were given a full tour around the Dragon Palace guided by Palal after being briefed by Alleyah. Therefore, Lunete¡¯s brilliant memory had registered every nook and cranny of the magnificent palace.


    The trio stared in wonder at the accuracy of the art piece in Lunete¡¯s hands. To think that such a tiny object could still hold such detailed works by human hands. When Lunete finished the palace, she whittled the edges of the wood piece down until it was cylindrical, looking like one side of a chopstick.


    Then, she mentally sold some useless works in her inventory to earn some in-game currency. The in-game currency was used to by several engraving skills to grant minor individual status bonuses that a level 1 could attain. Soon enough, she started sculpting an elegant design over the chopstick, engraving the status bonuses into the design. For some reason, she felt that it was somewhat similar to formations.


    When she had finished, she examined her work. The lines connected smoothly and it was tastefully done. The hidden engravings were done just right and small amounts of power flowed into Lunete. Suddenly, Lunete was washed over by a strange feeling. She felt a sudden understanding for formations crop up in her head.


    Lunete immediately put the chopstick aside and took out the materials used in the formation class today. It could be reused countless times since they could not be used up by the basic formation that they were tasked to set up. Lunete quickly set up the formation and a sudden burst of energy radiated from the formation. Even Kiara and company could feel the power that the formation emanated, their eyes widening in surprise.


    After the sense of accomplishment of completing her first formation washed away, Lunete placed her hands on the central piece of material that kept the formation together and removed it. The energy that the formation radiated dissipated like a dream. Lunete was reveling in her joy when she felt piercing stares at coming from beside her.


    ¡°Huh? What are you guys staring at me for?¡± Lunete asked.


    Her mind was still enraptured in the accomplishments of her first formation and the completion of her newest art piece. It had not fully returned to reality and therefore, she did not comprehend that what she did would have bewildered anyone.


    ¡°You just completed the basic energy-providing formation, didn¡¯t you¡­¡± Yuri said softly, ¡°and it was right after you completed your art piece. How did you do that?¡±


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    After coming to this world and being constantly buffeted by strong energy aura after strong energy aura, it was no wonder that the protectors had developed the ability to sense energy and could discern what it was from their instructor¡¯s teachings.


    Yuri was not the only one who was confused. Aanjay walked up to Lunete and took the well-designed chopstick and looked at it in detail. For some reason, the design on the chopstick, excluding the Dragon Palace figurine at the top, gave her a sense of power and familiarity. It felt like she was at the cusp on something regarding formations.


    However, Aanjay could not grasp that something and passed the chopstick on to Kiara, ¡°take a look at the design on the chopstick. Maybe you¡¯ll be able to see something.¡±


    Kiara took the chopstick off Aanjay¡¯s hands and had the same feeling as Aanjay. She voiced out what she felt and passed the chopstick over to Yuri.


    After studying the chopstick for a short time, Yuri exclaimed with a loud, ¡°Oh!¡±


    She quickly moved to the desk with the formation materials that Lunete used. Then, she rearranged the materials and created a formation. The arrangement was different, but the effect was the same. This was Yuri¡¯s understanding of formations.


    No wonder the starting hurdle for everyone was different regarding formations and talent only mattered after. Everyone had to develop their own understanding of formations and that leads to how they could familiarize themselves with learning formations. Barriers were only in place due to thought process in the creation and dismantling of formations.


    Soon, however, Yuri was at a loss of how to dismantle the formation that she created. She frowned and pouted cutely. Lunete just laughed as she took the central piece of the formation that Yuri created and dismantled the formation. Yuri just looked flabbergasted at Lunete¡¯s actions. Soon, she tackled Lunete off the chair she was sitting on and buried her face in Lunete¡¯s crotch in a comical Dogeza position.


    Even if the context for a Dogeza was all wrong, she did it to distract her mental state and cried out loudly into Lunete¡¯s crotch, ¡°teach me, master-!¡±


    This ended up with Lunete bursting into laughter as she was more familiar than the other two with Eastern Earth¡¯s customs. Aanjay and Kiara missed the joke and Lunete explained after her fits of laughter died off. This sent the two into small giggle fits while Yuri began rubbing her face slightly harder into Lunete¡¯s nether regions.


    Lunete felt slightly turned on from the image of Yuri in her crotch, remembering some steamy actions from the previous night, but she gently separated herself from Yuri. Nightly activities should be kept nightly. There was still time to get things done for the day, and should practice and have a bath before resuming the intimacies where the four left off the previous night.


    Yuri and Lunete set up two energy-providing formations before the four began to practice their martial arts. Lunete¡¯s movements for the <<Dragon Dance>> was slightly different from the jade tablet. It seemed that the small period of enlightenment did not go to waste and her movements contained a few powerful movements from all the other three martial arts.


    It was not long before all four women felt energy welling up from their bodies. They had all taken their first steps into cultivation almost all together. This interrupted their training as they squealed in excitement at their first steps, knowing all of this because of Naja¡¯s earnest instructions that morning.


    Deciding that they should get some early rest for tomorrow, Lunete dismantled her formation. Yuri seemed to have some understanding of her own formation while pondering over it when she was practicing her martial art. Therefore, she quickly dismantled her own formation with a proud expression which sent the other three girls into a fit of giggles at the comical but adorable face that Yuri had at the time.


    The foursome then headed over to the bathroom. Lunete took the chopstick that was on the table on the way and casually but secretly sent it into her game inventory. A familiar tinkle of a level up was heard as the system registered the new artwork and she smiled inwardly.


    ¡°This is a good day,¡± she mused to herself.


    Following that, Lunete headed over to the bathroom to enjoy some sexy bath time with the trio that was starting to grope each other with increasing intensity. Sexy bath time was followed by some intense intimacies. The satisfied foursome cuddled up to each other on the wide bed. Lunete and Kiara felt a growing connection between them and could see it in each other¡¯s eyes as they kissed lovingly while snuggling together. Yuri and Aanjay felt closer to each other as they casually rubbed their bodies together in each other¡¯s arms.


    The last thing that Lunete did as before she fell asleep in a tangle of limbs again was to check her status and skills. A satisfied smile grew on her face as she looked through the numbers and allowed herself to drift into dreamland.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Lunete Argall</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Additonal Information</td></tr><tr><td>Level 2</td><td>Age: 20</td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>Status Points Remaining: 5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Skills</td></tr><tr><td>Skill Name</td><td>Mastery</td></tr><tr><td><<Compound Waves>></td><td>1%</td></tr><tr><td><<Dragon Dance>></td><td>2%</td></tr><tr><td><<Frost Sealing>></td><td>2%</td></tr><tr><td><<Swallow''s Flight>></td><td>1%</td></tr><tr><td>Formations</td><td>1%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    I will be settling my first fiction¡¯s updates after this chapter. I¡¯m wondering if I should add a romance tag to this. I don¡¯t think I want romance in this, but the emotional attachment between characters seems to be increasing more and more. Hmm. Perhaps some of the readers¡¯ thoughts would provide some idea as to where I should go with the character relations.


    I made some mistakes with the previous skill table and forgot about adding the formations skill. Going back to add it. -skill added to the list-


    Btw guys, if I make some spelling mistakes it will mostly be due to me being more familiar with British English instead of American English. So please kindly point out any spelling mistakes that I make regarding the two. For example, leveling vs levelling.

 Chapter 5 - Training Week (Part 1)

    Feeling pleasant strokes across her thigh and rear end, Lunete awoke feeling slightly grabby. She let her eyes remain closed as she rocked against the soft sensation between her legs inadvertently feeling a slightly wet warmth at the front of her thigh. A soft purr of a moan was heard in front of Lunete and her eyes flickered open.


    Lunete was greeted by the alluring sight of her new friends. Kiara had spooned Lunete from behind and Lunete had somehow ended up locking legs with Aanjay through the night. Yuri was still asleep with her head snuggled into the back of Yuri¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Welcome to the world of the living, sleeping beauty¡­¡± the seductive voice of Kiara whispered into Lunete¡¯s ears.


    Kiara¡¯s voice sent shivers down Lunete¡¯s spine and Lunete started pawing at the beautiful woman behind her in want. Kiara laughed slightly and separated from Lunete. She just wanted to enjoy the sensation of companionship with Lunete until she woke up. There was no time for play today as training would begin early. No use tiring each other out before the long day ahead.


    Lunete subconsciously knew what Kiara was thinking and began to switch gears to one of seriousness. She stopped moving her hips and let the pleasant sensation below slowly cool off. Then, Lunete gave the pouting Aanjay a wink and a peck on the lips before rising from the bed. Lunete stretched out lithely before following Kiara to the bathroom to freshen up.


    Aanjay did not want to be left behind, so she quickly got Yuri to wake up and the four of them were soon together in the bathroom. The four enjoyed whatever free time left that they had soaking in the bath, before quickly getting ready for the day.


    As the four were about to leave, however, they noticed that a package had been delivered to the four of them. It contained various equipment that the four could use for training. There was also a small note informing the four women to think about what weapon that they eventually wanted to use once they had the basics of barehanded fighting down. The note also said that suitable weapons will resonate strongly with them when they thought about it. They were to tell Alleyah which of the resonating weapons they wanted by the end of the day.


    ***


    After a short walk, the group went up to the courtyard. They had arrived punctually, slightly ahead of the time that was arranged. Alleyah was already waiting with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Good morning, girls. Today we will be starting off with some warm ups. Just practice your martial art to get ready. We will go through with some simple footwork drills and you will take turns sparring with me to train your footwork.¡±


    Alleyah went straight into the training plan for that morning without wasting time on further pleasantries than a good morning. She knew that the four women had to participate in the war as soon as possible and two years of training was the longest that they could delay their participation.


    ¡°After lunch, we will be learning some simple direct defense basics as well as how to break defenses. We will then end off with physical conditioning before dinner. Now, let us begin,¡± Alleyah continued saying the day¡¯s objectives and started teaching the four women.


    Breaking through the previous night had made noticeable improvements to the Lunete and company¡¯s bodies. There was a nourishing feeling as they practiced their martial art to warm up. This did not escape Alleyah¡¯s eyes, who felt astonished at the speed of breakthrough that the foursome achieved. Usually, even among heroes, it would take at least a week for them to have reached the first Energy realm.


    Alleyah was particularly astonished by Lunete¡¯s <<Dragon Dance>> subskill movements. It was similar yet different. There was a sense of power that seemed to radiate through certain movements. Sometimes, as her foot slid across the ground, it looked as if she was skating on ice. The move was smooth as silk and absolutely unhindered. Some of the more dexterous motions of the <<Dragon Dance>> subskill when performed by Lunete seemed to flit through the air with grace and surprising speed. Lastly, some of the movements where she centered and extended herself resulted in reverberations throughout her body and the surrounding air.


    The completely familiar <<Dragon Dance>> in Lunete¡¯s hands had turned into something unfamiliar yet magical. Alleyah quickly shoved these thoughts to the back of her mind. She would discuss this with Naja later.


    It took an hour for the four to complete several cycles of their martial art and they began learning the basics of dodging. They were to learn how to dodge without the footwork of their martial art. This is so that they could do so without having to always expend Energy.


    The spar with Alleyah was a complete beatdown. Most of the time, the four could not even keep up with the movements and were smacked hard. Even Lunete¡¯s superior perception could not keep up with Alleyah¡¯s speed. Although the force was not enough to cause bruises, the surprise and sharp pain was enough to give the girls a wake-up call that this was not going to be a bed of roses. The smacks were also joined with multiple throws and pinning which made it even more tiring for Lunete and company.


    The girls struggled until noon, where they were left panting and gasping for breath, sprawled across the courtyard. They trembled as they got up and thanked Alleyah for the morning session before sluggishly moving back to their room for lunch. The training clothes that were provided were completely soaked with sweat and the girls desperately wanted to just soak in the bath right now.


    ***


    Minutes after the four reached and collapsed onto the couch in their room, they heard a soft knock on their door.


    ¡°M¡¯lady protectors. Lunch is prepared. Instructor Alleyah has sent us to give all of you a herbal massage while we feed you,¡± a bright, sunny voice sounded out from behind the door to their room.


    ¡°Come in¡­¡± Aanjay spoke up tiredly before any of the rest could muster up the strength to do so.


    Having heard Aanjay¡¯s call, eight female attendants came through the door and helped the four bedraggled girls to the bathroom. The four were forced to take off their sweaty clothes as new ones were prepared. Then, they soaked in the bath while the attendance prepared some herbal essences and four mats with upturned edges which they poured the herbal essences onto. The upturned edges prevented the essences from spilling out.


    Lunete, Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay were soon notified to lay on the mats when they had relaxed enough. The four climbed onto the mats and were given an extremely relaxing and reinvigorating massage. The herbal essences seeped into their bodies and nourished their Energy, which in turn, helped them recover their vitality. The foursome was fed throughout the entire ordeal, enjoying the tranquility of the situation.


    The tranquility allowed the four to jump start their thinking caps as well. They reflected on the morning¡¯s training and thought that being able to avoid attacks as the most important aspect of fighting. Be it barehanded or no, avoiding attacks enabled one to conserve a lot of strength. Taking on a blow whether successfully or no would result in extremely high amounts of stamina consumption.


    After their reflection, the four began thinking of the weapons that they would use. As they thought deeply about their native country¡¯s weapons, some of the older weapons began to resonate strongly in their minds.


    ***


    Lunch was soon followed by more training. This time, it was less brutal. They were to partner with each other and practice firm blocks and parrying. Redirection of attacks were still too high leveled for the four.


    Defense breaking techniques such as feints were also mixed in with the practice, making it quite an interesting exercise. They were, of course, ordered to go all out against each other and take turns with each other, but being around the same level of each other, with the exception of the weaker Lunete, made the exercise much less tiring and more mentally stimulating.


    Sneaky angles, dirty tricks. All of it was fair game. The girls had a lot of fun throughout despite the physical demands.


    Half of the afternoon had soon passed quickly. Alleyah stopped the exercise and began the physical conditioning regimen. This physical conditioning regimen was many, many times worse than morning practice.


    The amount of pain the girls were put through to learn to absorb blows, take blows, fall correctly, push properly or pull properly was hellish. Again, the exercise did not cause any bruises, but it was extremely harsh, nonetheless.


    By the end of the physical conditioning, the girls felt like they had one foot in the grave. They were soon lifted up onto their feet and forced to pair up and spar with each other all out again, but this time, they were to use all that they had learnt that day.


    The girls put all their remaining strength into the spar, eventually becoming nearly fully exhausted by the end. Alleyah grunted in satisfaction at the results of the training, and sent them walking one lap around the courtyard to get used to moving their bodies in a severely weakened state.


    After that, the girls tiredly told Alleyah the weapons that had resonated most strongly with them. Lunete chose a two-handed Arthurian sword. Kiara¡¯s choices were an ancient Irish sword, and a one-handed spear that doubled as a short javelin. Yuri decided upon a yawara that had a knuckle guard, and also said that a yumi (Japanese bow) also resonated strongly with her. Alleyah picked a katar that had a knuckle guard and a maduvu for defense.


    Alleyah nodded after hearing their selection. She quickly measured the women¡¯s arms and legs before recording them down on a scroll to be sent to the smith for the creation of the weapons. Then, she sent the four on their way to their room. She called a nearby attendant to arrange for the same herbal massage and feeding for the exhausted four.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ***


    A while later, the foursome was revitalized but somewhat tired. They walked sluggishly back to their room from the bathroom without bothering to put on any clothes when the attendants left.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I¡¯m bushed. Let¡¯s have our fun tomorrow instead¡­¡± Yuri mumbled as she plonked herself face-down on the bed.


    ¡°Me too¡­¡± Kiara chimed in and plonked herself next to Yuri while cuddling up next to her.


    ¡°Me, three¡­¡± Aanjay went over to the bed and lay her body across Kiara¡¯s and Yuri¡¯s in a naked heap.


    The two did not even have the energy to complain about being squished underneath and just quietly enjoyed the warmth and softness instead.


    Contrary to the three tired ladies¡¯ expectations, Lunete¡¯s words astounded them, ¡°I think I¡¯m going to de-stress a bit with some art.¡±


    The three mustered enough strength to stare at Lunete with disgust before succumbing to the mental fatigue and drifted slowly to sleep.


    Lunete waited patiently for all three of them to go into slumber land before bringing out her game system. She wanted to create her own weapon and engrave it with the game system. Furthermore, she was thinking about giving herself some engraved inconspicuous jewelry when she had access to gems and precious metals as crafting materials. That should give her an added advantage when she was thrown into battle.


    However, Lunete did not bother creating the sword yet. Tonight, she was going to work on the jewelry made from non-precious metals first. She did not know what dimensions of swords suited her and could only wait for when her sword was ready before she crafted her own.


    Working away silently, Lunete crafted a small, thin chain anklet. Each segment had artistic design that hid the engravings that gave status increments to each status. There were many small segments, leading to the overall increments to be equivalent to a high level overall stat increment.


    This was one of the secrets to Lunete¡¯s insane legendary equipment that she sold in her previous world before becoming a micro artist in reality when she was in her middle levels. The system also awarded Lunete a huge amount of experience, bringing her to level 5 straight away due to the effort needed to create such a work as recognized by the game system.


    Before sleeping, Lunete practiced <<Dragon Dance>> once, then moved on to <<Frost Sealing>>, <<Swallow¡¯s Flight>> and <<Compound Waves>> once each. She finished off with another round of <<Dragon Dance>>. Unlike the night before, she discovered that she felt incredibly awake and refreshed. She did not even sweat one drop.


    ¡®Perhaps this would help all of us through this tiring week¡­¡± Lunete thought as she decided to inform the other three ladies when they woke up.


    After getting off once, Lunete used Yuri as a hug pillow and followed her three friends into dreamland.


    ***


    Lunete awoke when it was not even the next day. The revitalizing effect of the martial arts was perhaps too effective. Checking the in-game clock, she realized that only two hours had passed since she fell asleep.


    Lunete then decided to craft another anklet and keep practicing her martial arts afterward. She needed to catch up to her friends¡¯ statuses quickly.


    The night flew by with Lunete completing a second anklet, and growing to level 7 from the experience. She was currently going through <<Dragon Dance>> and making herself familiar with the movements.


    In her subconscious mind, small corrections for <<Dragon Dance>> was occurring as it assimilated the aspects from the three other martial skills. However, at the same time, Lunete was only gaining very small increases in her mastery levels due to how spread it was practicing one art that represented four.


    The three sleeping women quickly awoke when it turned to dawn. They were astounded when they saw Lunete practicing her martial art and waking up earlier even though she had slept later. Furthermore, it seemed as if Lunete was glowing with energy.


    Lunete quickly noticed that the three had woken up and explained with an impish grin, ¡°practicing martial arts has a re-energizing effect. I even had the mood to get one off before I slept last night.¡±


    The three pouted almost simultaneously and got off the bed to run through their martial arts once over. With that, the four refreshed nymphs washed up in the bathroom before mentally preparing themselves for a tiresome day ahead.


    ***


    When the girls thought that Monday would be the worst day of the week, they were absolutely wrong.


    Tuesday¡¯s training under Instructor Palal was absolutely mind-blowing¡­ in the wrong way. The foursome had to wrack their brains extremely hard to keep up with the many dizzying scenarios and difficult war theories.


    By the end of it all, Palal was left satisfied by the exhaustion he had given the girls and left them to their own devices just before dinner.


    The four ladies trudged back to their room where they ate dinner and gave themselves an energy-boost with their martial art. This put them in the mood to have some fun before they slept.


    It was only Lunete who chose not to sleep and get some artwork done before she slept. Lunete made sure to run through each martial art once over and setting an alarm for only an hour¡¯s worth of sleep before turning in.


    ***


    Once again, Lunette awoke before the others. This time, she was awoken by the in-game alarm. Lunete did not have a hard time getting out of bed, however.


    She decided to get one more piece of equipment ready. Having done two anklets and a chain bracelet, she was now level 8, on the verge of 9. Lunete decided to complete another chain bracelet. Working meticulously, she completed it just after midnight, earning that level up.


    Following that, Lunete started repeating and trying to understand <<Dragon Dance>>. She realized that for some reason, just practicing <<Dragon Dance>> raised the masteries of every martial art skill. Lunete could only shrug it off and began trying to understand the basis of the skill instead while just imagining and trying to understand the others.


    Ultimately, Lunete¡¯s efforts for that time was rather fruitless. Instead, she tried channeling her efforts into something that would produce results. She took another wooden piece and began to craft another art piece. This time, she imagined a dragon dancing through the skies. Her fingers working carefully as she used specific tools to create beautiful line after beautiful line.


    Lunete also incorporated engravings into each scale on the dragon. She added more designs onto the scales to hide the engravings. With the knowledge of geomancy that she gained from the Emperor¡¯s martial repository, Lunete balanced out the engravings with elegant designs. Eventually, the wooden piece shaped up into a beautiful dragon with extremely intricate scales, it seemed to radiate an aura of a true Chinese dragon.


    It was at this moment when she completed the dragon when dawn broke and her friends awoke. They squinted their eyes in accusation of her waking up before them until they saw the exceedingly exquisite dragon in Lunete¡¯s hands.


    The three women mentally face-palmed themselves in horror at the thought of how early Lunete had awoken to make such a masterpiece. The trio silently exchanged words through their eyes in an agreement to never question how early Lunete wakes up. They felt like something might break if they were to know.


    Soon, the four practiced their martial arts together to wash away any sleepiness and got ready for a brand new day.


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    This is a super, super, super long chapter. Almost twice as long as ones that I usually make. I was perhaps, too carried away with making the first day and I did not want to drag out the next few days and therefore shortened the next day.


    I wanted to add in the full week of training, but decided to split it up. Details of the strategy training and survival training are not as important as the combat, cultivation and formations training. Therefore, I will only be elaborating those in two more (or hopefully one more) chapter.


    Thanks for reading and supporting this fiction! Again, this is not my main work. Somehow, chapters are easier to create for this fiction. Maybe it''s because my motivation is  a bit high today.


    ===


    Lunete''s stats and skills at the end of this chapter:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Lunete Argall</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Additonal Information</td></tr><tr><td>Level 10</td><td>Age: 20</td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>Status Points Remaining: 45</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Skills</td></tr><tr><td>Skill Name</td><td>Mastery</td></tr><tr><td><<Compound Waves>></td><td>3%</td></tr><tr><td><<Dragon Dance>></td><td>4%</td></tr><tr><td><<Frost Sealing>></td><td>4%</td></tr><tr><td><<Swallow''s Flight>></td><td>4%</td></tr><tr><td>Formations</td><td>1%</td></tr></tbody></table>

 Chapter 6 - Training Week (Part 2)

    ¡°Good morning, Protectors,¡± Naja softly said to the four approaching ladies.


    To the four women¡¯s surprise, Alleyah was also present that day despite it being Naja¡¯s day to instruct. The middle-aged woman gave a short greeting to the four and gestured to pay attention to Naja.


    ¡°I would like all of you to show me your martial arts one by one. We¡¯ll begin win Kiara, followed by


    Aanjay, then Yuri and lastly, Lunete,¡± Naka instructed with a clap.


    Kiara began performing <<Static Shift>>. Sounds of static crackled through the air as she went through the strengthening subskill of the martial art. The movements came smoothly to Kiara since she had been practicing diligently for the past few days.


    Naja¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly and her brows furrowed a tiny bit. She wanted to say something immediately, but held back.


    Next came Aanjay¡¯s turn. Aanjay performed the strengthening subskill of <<Earthen Fort>> with some resolution, but there was a slight uncertainty due to Aanjay¡¯s nerves at being scrutinized so heavily despite having practiced the martial art a number of times.


    Naja¡¯s brows furrowed even more. However, she still chose not to say anything.


    Yuri followed after Aanjay completed one cycle of her martial art. Yuri went along with her martial art, <<Light Hands>>. As Yuri was quite perceptive, she noticed that Naja was slightly unhappy. Therefore, Yuri wavered slightly at the prospect of getting even more intense training than the previous day. This caused her performance to be slightly shaky.


    Naja¡¯s brows furrowed even more. She waited until Yuri had completed a cycle before taking in a deep breath, seemingly to try and calm herself down. However, instead of keeping calm, Naja could not hold it in anymore and started berating the three.


    ¡°The three of you¡­ is that how you¡¯ve been practicing the past few days? I know that you four have been slightly faster than normal at achieving the first Energy realm, but this is simply ridiculous! Kiara, your martial art does not embody smoothness. It¡¯s lightning. It¡¯s untamable. It¡¯s spontaneous! I have not seen any spontaneity in your actions! Aanjay, you started out fine. As a fort, you¡¯re supposed to move with surety and resolution. However, your resolution wavered slightly just from a little pressure! How can a fort still stand with just a little pressure? Yuri! Your martial art embodied light. Light is fast, and direct. You were shaking all over the place!¡± Naja seemed to get angrier and angrier the more she pointed out the mistakes.


    The four women shrunk in slight fear and felt like fleeing from the raging Naja. Thankfully, Alleyah was present at the courtyard. She placed a hand on Naja¡¯s shoulder and told her to calm down a bit. Slowly but surely, Naja began to regain her usual expressionless face.


    She sighed slightly, apologized and explained, ¡°sorry, I¡¯m a little too particular about adhering to the natures of martial arts and lost control of my anger. Look, the basis of martial arts is a small aspect of the element itself.


    For example, there exists two martial arts, <<Raging Waves>> and <<Flowing Streams>>, belonging to the water element. They embody different aspects of water and the actions that one must take when practicing must embody those aspects.


    With <<Raging Waves>>, your movements must be bold. It must be fierce. It must be as unforgiving as the waves at sea. As for <<Flowing Streams>>, it embodies the gentle flow of water, yielding yet unyielding. Movements must flow along and be gentle but firm.


    Therefore, your actions must mimic that aspect of the element your martial art exists in. If there is no element, like Lunete¡¯s martial art, then it must embody the image of the name.¡±


    As the three who had already performed pondered over Naja¡¯s words, Naja stared intensely at Lunete. Lunete suddenly felt like crawling into a hole, but quickly calmed herself down. She just needed to perform <<Dragon Dance>> as usual. She had roughly grasped the nature of the martial art already, so she just needed to do as practiced.


    However, the moment when Lunete started, she felt as if she had lost control of her body. In her mind, a dragon soared through the skies. Her body followed along the soaring dragon.


    The dragon danced and suddenly reached a stormy sea. Waves crashed and thunder roared. Reverberations came in waves at the dragon, but the dragon was proud. It faced the reverberations of power and emitted its own. Lightning struck but the dragon danced freely through the web of lightning.


    Eventually, the dragon passed the stormy sea. However, the dragon faced another obstacle. This time, it was frozen tundra. Winds buffeted the dragon downwards, forcing it to on the frozen lands. Undaunted and wanting to move forth, the dragon danced across the ice. It slid across the ice smoothly and continued its proud dance into the distance.


    When the scenes finished, Lunete returned to herself only to find five pairs of wide eyes staring at her in astonishment. Alleyah¡¯s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Naja seemed to be in a daze. Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay could not believe that Lunete had reached that level of skill with her martial art already.


    The protectors gained their wits first because they did not know what was happening, and waited in silence for the instructors to return to their usual composure. Gradually, Naja and Alleyah began to calm down.


    Naja spoke first with a hesitant tone, ¡°w-well done, Lunete. You truly embodied a dancing dragon right there. However, that did not look like <<Dragon Dance>>. It¡¯s similar but there are some notable differences. It seemed like a dragon dancing through several ordeals.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ just then, when I steeled myself to perform the martial art as per usual, there was a scene that played in my mind. There was a dragon that soared and danced throughout the sky. Then it faced a stormy sea, followed by a blizzard in a frozen land. I totally lost control over my body as I was immersed in the scenes,¡± Lunete replied honestly.


    What Lunete had said made both Naja and Alleyah gasp audibly.


    This time, it was Alleyah who spoke, ¡°congratulations, Lunete. You went through your first enlightenment. However, usually enlightenments for <<Dragon Dance>> give the images of a dragon dancing freely in the sky without any obstacles.


    There were some actions that you did that was slightly different from the original <<Dragon Dance>>. However, those slight differences made a huge impact in the whole sequence. Tell me, what did you feel when you were doing those actions? Why did you change your actions so minutely?¡±


    Lunete was stumped for words at that moment. Her mind raced to think of a reply quickly.


    ¡°I¡­ felt that my actions were natural. Perhaps the minute differences were due to some influence of practicing a mock martial art taught by my fitness trainer back in my old world. It was merely meant to keep my body fit, but maybe some of the actions transferred over to my <<Dragon Dance>>?¡± Lunete answered in an uncertain manner as she made up the whole thing on the spot.


    Lunete did not want to reveal that she had three supposedly superior martial skills, and somehow they had assimilated into the weaker one. However, thinking about it all a little, maybe it was the pride of a dragon that prevented the three from consuming it instead. In the end, the pride of a dragon made the superior skills succumb to it. That was the most probable explanation that Lunete could think of regarding why the other skills assimilated into <<Dragon Dance>>.


    Alleyah thought for a bit and mumbled a small perhaps. Naja, on the other hand, had finally come to grips that a three-day old cultivator had her first enlightenment. She asked Lunete to try projecting her inner energy outwards to see whether there were more benefits to the enlightenment besides a greater understanding of the martial art.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Lunete did as she was asked and tried projecting her Energy outwards. Gradually, a brilliant royal purple outline began to cover Lunete¡¯s skin. Alleyah¡¯s eyes bulged while Naja was half expected this.


    ¡°Congratulations on reaching the second Energy realm,¡± Naja said softly.


    This time, it was the other three women¡¯s turn to be surprised. They did not understand the enlightenment business, but they did certainly know what it meant to breakthrough to the next realm. Reaching the second Energy realm meant that Lunete could start practicing the other martial skills that consume inner energy. It also meant that Lunete was now ahead of the pack in terms of martial progression.


    The girls thought about Lunete¡¯s behavior the past two nights and wished they had been more on the ball. Perhaps they would be able to reach the second realm along with Lunete if they had worked as hard. All three of them inwardly resolved to ask Lunete to wake them up for practice next time.


    The rest of the day proceeded as per scheduled by Naja. There were more lectures about the Energy realms, with each increasing level lengthening the distance that one can project their inner energy. Furthermore, a high level cultivator could change the shape of their Energy into armor for protection. She had also explained what an enlightenment was and the possible benefits.


    Naja guided the four with their martial arts, correcting little actions that did not seem to suit the martial art and let the four keep practicing to try to perfect their movements.


    By the end of the training, Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay had discovered their own interpretations of their martial art. They just need to understand more and refine their actions. Lunete was the one who gained the most that day, but she also felt that the others would catch up quickly when they had their own enlightenment.


    ***


    Wednesday turned out to be the least tiring of the days. The foursome enjoyed the training immensely, excluding Naja¡¯s sudden outburst at the start.


    The four women made their way back to their room for dinner. They enjoyed their meals, let the attendants clear it up and then took a quick bath. Following that was more cultivation practice.


    Somehow, against all odds, or perhaps due to their intense motivation to catch up to Lunete by analyzing their martial art in greater detail, Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay all had an enlightenment nearly at the same time halfway during practice.


    Starting with Aanjay, her eyes glazed over. Her movements became rock-solid. There was a certain sense of security that radiated from her movements. As if anyone would be protected from harm within her arms.


    This was quickly followed by Kiara finding enlightenment. Her already sharp movements became even sharper. There were also erratic changes to the speed of her movements occasionally. The slight traces of electricity over her body when she practiced strangely disappeared. In its place, there was a just the popping of static.


    Yuri entered an enlightened state right after Kiara did. Yuri¡¯s actions became extremely fast. They were more direct and her hands flashed with light whenever she striked.


    When the three ladies finished their enlightenment, they tried and found out that they too had risen to the second Energy realm. The four women excitedly hugged and congratulated each other.


    However, in their minds, they were all thinking about something else which they burned with anticipation, ¡®tonight is going to be intense.¡¯


    ***


    Lunete woke up in the middle of the night again. This time, however, she had promised to wake the others up when she woke up. So she set about nudging the naked bodies around her.


    The three sleepy women groaned as they lifted themselves off the bed, not used to waking up at such a timing. Lunete dragged each woman off the bed and they began cultivating to blow away their sleepiness. After going through one cycle, Lunete told the others that she was going to do some ¡°image training¡± regarding her art.


    Aanjay gave a skeptical eye to Lunete as she said offhandedly, ¡°is there even such a thing as image training?¡±


    Lunete just shrugged and replied, ¡°well, it does work. It¡¯s what made me gain the necessary skills to become famous after all.¡±


    This raised a few eyebrows from Kiara and Yuri. The three intrigued women began to observe Lunete as she began her ¡°image training¡±.


    Lunete mentally brought up the materials window of the game system. She chose several metals and other materials to mix into a corrosion-resistant, fairly sturdy alloy with the game¡¯s metallurgy system. Then, she started mentally molding the alloy into a necklace that only consisted of its chain and began to work on engraving each chain segment.


    When Lunete completed her work, the three ladies who were watching her work suddenly saw in their mind¡¯s eye, a beautifully created chain-necklace. The design on each individual segment was meticulous. Kiara and Aanjay blinked several times while Yuri lightly shook her head.


    They all looked towards each other, then at Lunete¡¯s hands. Clearly there was nothing in Lunete¡¯s hands, yet they all saw something together. All three of them started to believe that Lunete¡¯s ¡°image training¡± was legit.


    Lunete¡¯s equipment creation and engraving was followed by reading the information given on the formations jade tablet. Her understanding of formations was still shallow, but she still tried her best to understand what was projected in her mind from the jade tablet.


    Trying to understand took a while, and Lunete had to eventually give up. She could only try to progress slowly step by step under the guidance of the Keeper. Therefore, she ended up joining the other three ladies with their martial arts practice.


    ***


    Night flew by in a blink of an eye and the next day came quickly.


    The day passed as quickly as the night with the foursome having to deal with many uncomfortable dirty survival scenarios. Tabansi was an extremely strict teacher. Nature was unforgiving, and therefore he also took that unforgiving attitude. He did not let the girls dare to make a single mistake.


    By dinner, the four were fatigued, dirty, sweaty and extremely uncomfortable. They were thankful that Tabansi was gentlemanly enough to request the palace attendants to give the girls a herbal bath and massage to ease their day.


    The four women cultivated their time away after dinner and their day ended on yet another steamy note.


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    One more chapter left for the training week before a time skip! I am still writing this in procrastination of my main fic (>.>).


    Thanks for reading and supporting this fiction!


    ===


    Lunete¡¯s stats and skills:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Lunete Argall</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Additonal Information</td></tr><tr><td>Level 10</td><td>Age: 20</td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>Status Points Remaining: 45</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Skills</td></tr><tr><td>Skill Name</td><td>Mastery</td></tr><tr><td><<Compound Waves>></td><td>6%</td></tr><tr><td><<Dragon Dance>></td><td>8%</td></tr><tr><td><<Frost Sealing>></td><td>7%</td></tr><tr><td><<Swallow''s Flight>></td><td>7%</td></tr><tr><td>Formations</td><td>1%</td></tr></tbody></table>

 Chapter 7 - Training Week (Part 3)

    Friday was finally the Keeper¡¯s turn to instruct the four protectors. They met him in the courtyard where he just gave them a curt nod.


    ¡°Take out the materials for the basic Energy-providing formation. Try to set it up,¡± saying so, the Keeper left the courtyard entirely.


    The four women were stunned. Clearly, the Keeper did not have the desire to instruct them through anything today. He did not even think that any of the four could set up a formation by today.


    However, the Keeper did not know that not just one, but two of them could set up a basic Energy-providing formation already. The four women were quite pissed with his attitude and decided to plot against their ignorant instructor a little.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get my art pieces. Maybe the two of you could learn how to make formations that way. After all, Yuri and I managed to do so,¡± Lunete said as she began leaving the courtyard.


    Lunete made a show of going back to the room to take out the chopstick and the dragon art pieces that she had made. She passed them on to Kiara and Aanjay upon her return to study. Hopefully, they would be able to start creating their first formation. Kiara and Aanjay studied the intricate details of the chopstick and dragon carefully. Slowly, as the minutes ticked by, they began to somehow make a connect the dots for the basic theory of formation creation.


    Aanjay was the first among the two to create her formation. She had been studying the dragon¡¯s scales when she had an idea and tried making the basic formation. Rewarded with success, Aanjay did a little happy dance with the other girls giggling at her antics.


    There were 500 scales on the dragon that Lunete created. Each set of hundred scales increased each status excluding Energy. Each scale could only increase a stat by 1%. The cumulative overall status bonus was an increase of 100%. This doubled Aanjay¡¯s perception and allowed her to study the designs on the scales in greater detail.


    However, that was not the only thing that allowed Aanjay to quickly discover how to create her first formation. Engravings were similar to formations. Alone, it will give absolutely no clue to the study of formations. However, each scale had additional designs to them. The designs brought about a sense of balance to each scale. There were 500 different designs on each scale. However, while they were different, they all radiated that sense of balance.


    It was this balance that Aanjay and Kiara were missing from their understanding of formations. Kiara studied the dragon after Aanjay did, and managed to create her first formation. There were hooray¡¯s and yay¡¯s all around.


    After that, came a small backbiting session at the Keeper¡¯s attitude towards teaching them but that quickly died down because the four women did not know the Keeper all too well. It was Kiara who brought up the next topic.


    ¡°You know; I¡¯ve been thinking¡­¡± Kiara began.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt yourself,¡± Yuri interjected and earned a playful smack on her arm from Kiara as she giggled slightly.


    ¡°Geez, I¡¯m being serious here,¡± Kiara said with a small grin on her face, ¡°I was thinking that with Lunete¡¯s artistry being so useful, maybe we should pick up a useful hobby too.¡±


    Both Aanjay and Yuri broke into knowing smiles. Apparently they had been thinking about the matter too.


    ¡°The only hobby the three of us have here is having fun at night. I guess it¡¯s high time we move on to something more intellectually stimulating, huh?¡± Aanjay mused.


    ¡°Yeah, I felt like my brain started rotting after coming to this world. I was about to finish my last year and get my doctorate degree too, if it wasn¡¯t for the transfer!¡± Yuri added.


    This earned gobsmacked from the other three girls. Certainly, Yuri was the oldest one of the four. However, she had only said that she was twenty-four years old, with Kiara at twenty-one and Aanjay at twenty-three. To have been so close to getting a doctorate at that age, while there have been instances of younger prodigies, was an impressive feat.


    Despite knowing that shocking fact, the other three ladies quickly calmed down and merely praised Yuri for nearly getting there. Yuri was still Yuri to them and they had only found out that Yuri was a more studious Yuri than expected.


    On the other hand, Yuri was inwardly relieved by her friends¡¯ reactions. She did not know when to break this piece of information to them. Usually, people kept their distance her because of her accelerated learning speed back on Earth. There were many others who wanted to curry favor with her and leech from her under the guise of friends, particularly men. Therefore, Yuri kept her distance and sought comfort from other women who were strangers. She also never gave away the information that she was studying for a doctorate unless necessary.


    The girls chatted their time away as Kiara and Aanjay slowly figured out how to dismantle their formations. After an hour, the four were happily discussing a variety of subjects while trying to make variations to their formations just to keep their hands busy.


    Another hour passed and the Keeper still had not returned yet. The women then decided to revise some of the things that they had learnt this week. They sparred using purely basic techniques just to increase their familiarity with the actions. They had even tried doing a four-way spar for variety.


    Time passed and when it was nearing lunch, the Keeper returned. The moment he came out from the palace, he stood stock still at the archway between the courtyard and palace. His eyes widened in shock at the four different basic energy-providing formations in the middle.


    The women were still sparring and did not notice that he had returned. The Keeper shook off the brief surprise and moved towards the four. According to the true annals of history that he safeguarded for the Emperor, there were a few outliers among the summoned protectors every now and then. These people could lead their group to stand at the forefront of the protectors while being extremely strong themselves. It was very possible that there could be one among this group of young women. Considering the girls¡¯ progress in cultivation, as he had heard from Naja, there may not just be one.


    It was unheard of to be both talented in cultivation and formations. The gods are not kind, as the saying went. Two gifts were never bestowed upon one person. Furthermore, focus on the improvement in one specialty usually meant less time improving the other. Therefore, one can only hope to be good at either cultivation or formations since they were both long-term studies.


    The Keeper cleared his throat as he neared the foursome, who stopped sparring when he interrupted them. Lunete and company looked at the Keeper, expecting some expression of surprise or shock. However, his face remained as bored and uninterested as ever.


    ¡°Good work, protectors. We will move on to more advanced formations after lunch. I have done preparations for the materials this morning. I hope you have enjoyed your break,¡± the Keeper made up the excuse on the spot and informed the quartet.


    The ladies were irked by the Keeper¡¯s nonchalance, but finding out that the Keeper had been ¡°preparing¡± for future formations, their anger abated a bit. The four were dismissed for lunch as the Keeper set off to have his own and bring the reusable materials for the slightly more difficult formations.


    ***


    Lunch was a delicious affair as usual. The girls had time to lounge about and they discussed what kinds of hobbies that doubled as a study that they could attempt in this world. Lunete stated what she found in the general skills section of the Emperor¡¯s martial repository.


    The other three listened attentively, before pondering over what would help them when they had to go for war. Lunete suggested that they consult Alleyah for her input as there may be some differences between Earth¡¯s interpretation and this world¡¯s. The trio agreed to that and they set off for the afternoon formation training session.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ***


    ¡°Protectors, these are the materials for a basic formation to gather heat. It¡¯s a pre-fire formation, so to speak. While it does not seem helpful, out on the battlefield when you need to have meals while staying hidden, it would allow you to at least warm up your food a little without giving away your location with fire or smoke. Food is important for morale and the other soldiers will greatly appreciate a warm meal in the midst of the war,¡± the Keeper explained carefully.


    Although not the best teacher, the Keeper wanted the girls not to underestimate the impacts that the most basic of formations can make in a war. Simple actions like this can affect the outcomes of battle greatly. The Keeper wanted to impart more than just knowledge of formations. He wanted to give them small tidbits to carry allies through the strife of war as well. After all, even though the 12 would be powerful enough to change the tides of battle, they were still only 12 people. This was a war that involved several nations.


    The Keeper set up a heat formation of his own to let the girls study. The quartet began to earnestly try to analyze and form their own. With the motivation the four displayed, the Keeper felt a sense of security settle in his heart. Having four protectors that were willing to work as hard as they did, perhaps the Human race would get more than a few decades to recover from their losses with this batch of protectors. It was not always easy getting the protectors competent enough for the battlefield.


    ***


    It was halfway through the afternoon when Lunete successfully created the heat formation. She was the first of the lot to do so. Aanjay, Kiara and Yuri did not look surprised and gave Lunete a look like they had expected it all along.


    The Keeper did not miss this moment. He came to the conclusion that it was Lunete who had created the first formation among the four. Inwardly, he noted to pay special attention to Lunete regarding formations. It was a sheer coincidence that it was her who had picked the formation skill while having exceptional luck and talent with formations. After all, understanding in which part of formation making you are lacking to make your very first formation is an important part of the fortunes of formation study.


    An hour after Lunete created her formation, Yuri quickly followed suit. It was only until dinner time neared when Kiara and Aanjay managed to form theirs.


    ¡°Good work today, protectors. All of you seem talented in formations. I look forward to your growths,¡± the Keeper closed off the training session and said in a begrudging tone as he scarcely praised anyone.


    Right after those words left the Keeper¡¯s mouth, he turned around and left, leaving the foursome to return to their room for dinner.


    ***


    The quartet were beside themselves with joy when they had returned to their room. The frustrations of failing to create formations were rewarded by an extremely refreshing feeling from finally being able to successfully create them. This made the women quite emotionally exhausted that day. However, the cherry on top for the day was hearing the begrudging praise that the Keeper gave.


    He clearly hardly praised others. That also meant that he was being very truthful when he mentioned that the four had talent. The four were looking forward excitedly for the future. While it was war that they had to participate in, their growth was much more important right now. Even the smallest of factors that they could bring to battle could tip the scales in their favor for survival.


    As usual, Lunete went to de-stress with her art through ¡°image training¡±. While she was doing that, the three others discussed what they wanted to pick up as a hobby to develop like Lunete.


    When Lunete was done, the four had an early bath and started to celebrate their happy day with an early round of sexy time.


    As the girls panted heavily from being to vigorous, they slowly began to drift towards dreamland. Lunete and Kiara rubbed their wonderful bodies against each other as they came down from their high to extend the pleasant feelings as they fell asleep.


    Before falling asleep, Lunete looked at her status, skills and compared them with the sleepy trio before her. The last feeling that she had before sleeping was one of fulfilment.


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    Last part of the training week. Time for a time skip next chapter and more interesting situations! I will try to develop Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay to be more than just nymphy characters. I will slowly reveal parts of their pasts and develop their characters more. I also have plans to make the characters grow much closer and attached to one another.


    Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed the chapter!


    Edit: Oh my cats. I can''t believe I had forgotten to add Chapter 7 as the title to this post. The horror I felt when I just saw "Training Week (Part 3)" as the chapter title.


    ===


    Statuses and Skills:


    Lunete Argall


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Lunete Argall</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Additonal Information</td></tr><tr><td>Level 11</td><td>Age: 20</td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>Status Points Remaining: 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Skills</td></tr><tr><td>Skill Name</td><td>Mastery</td></tr><tr><td><<Compound Waves>></td><td>6%</td></tr><tr><td><<Dragon Dance>></td><td>8%</td></tr><tr><td><<Frost Sealing>></td><td>7%</td></tr><tr><td><<Swallow''s Flight>></td><td>7%</td></tr><tr><td>Formations</td><td>2%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Kiara Callaghan


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Kiara Callaghan</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>23</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Akiyama Yuri (Yuri Akiyama)


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Akiyama Yuri</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>16</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Aanjay Aamin Joshi


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Aanjay Aamin Joshi</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>23</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>2</td></tr></tbody></table>

 Chapter 8 - Hunt

    I forgot to mention that I will be on a week''s hiatus for this and my main fiction here. Therefore, I''m releasing a chapter as an apology for not announcing earlier. Without further ado, here''s the chapter...


    <hr />


    Four female figures sped through a mountainous area. They moved with purpose and did their utmost to remain unnoticed. Each of their bodies had clad their bodies in a layer of Energy and glowed softly with four different colors. The foremost figure was wrapped in a mysterious black layer of Energy. The second figure was cloaked in a gentle white layer of Energy. The third was enveloped in a beautiful royal purple layer of Energy. Lastly, the fourth was encased in a pleasant yellow layer of Energy.


    These figures were Kiara, Yuri, Lunete and Aanjay in the order of first to fourth. It has been six months since the four had arrived in this new world. At the one-month mark of their transfer, they had their first kill. Under the tutelage of Tabansi Hou, the four were made to kill birds with their own hands to cook and eat.


    The experience made the girls squeamish and their skin crawled when they saw Tabansi firmly ending the poor bird¡¯s life. However, this was a crucial period in the foursome¡¯s training. They understood the importance of survival in this world. Therefore, they could only rein their feelings in and do the deed.


    The four were then made to kill and cook the animals on a weekly basis for that month. In the second month of their stay in this world, they were made to kill and cook animals every alternate day. Finally, in their third month, the girls were made to repeat the task daily. They had become numb to the act by then.


    When the fourth month hit, the quartet was finally deemed to have sufficient fighting capability in their martial arts. However, they were sent hunting during their combat classes and survival classes. They were to learn to apply their combat to beasts as well because not all Oni, Youkai or Akuma were humanoid shaped. This continued until their sixth month.


    Presently, the four women were hunting a devil beast for the first time. According to what they had learned from Tabansi, devil beasts were animals that were captured by the Akuma race, which the Dragon Clan, Snake Clan and Monkey Clan fought against. The Akuma race was the craftiest among the three enemy races. They often resorted to various ploys to break the Human race from the inside.


    Devil beasts were one such method of attack. The captured animals were injected with an Akuma¡¯s heart which had been scavenged from their losses in the war. The heart served as a core to corrupt the animal and supply inner energy to it. The more the animal ate, the more the corruption spread. After having been snuck into Human territory, the mutated beast would then rampage throughout the area it was placed and forces the three opposing Clans to divert some of their forces into subjugating the beasts.


    Devil beasts became craftier as they consumed more living beings. They possessed a small amount of intelligence regarding that aspect only. While the initial rampage is uncontrollable, consuming sufficient amount of flesh and blood gives birth to that intelligence. The three Clans never let that intelligence blossom and strived to stamp out the lives of these monstrosities as soon as they could. They had learnt an extremely painful lesson in the past to never let any devil beast grow in power in their own lands.


    The devil beast that the four protectors was chasing had rampaged for two days before disappearing. War efforts had been directed into giving as much time for the girls to gain enough power, so there was little manpower to send for this subjugation. Therefore, as the time was ripe, the four women were tasked to take care of this matter.


    Kiara led the group quickly as she tracked the devil beast. Kiara¡¯s cultivation of <<Static Shift>> took a strange turn. Instead of the high power and speed that the martial art boasted, Kiara developed it in such a way that her perception rose a phenomenal level, almost equal to Lunete¡¯s, at the cost of the extreme offensive might. She became exceedingly sensitive to the small electrical pulses of movement around her, allowing her to be an excellent scout on top of her new found love and talent for tracking when the four learnt it from Tabansi. Therefore, she was serving as vanguard for this part of the mission.


    Yuri followed behind closely and kept a wide view of the surrounding area in front of Kiara. She had the furthest sight of the four due to her unique way of cultivating <<Light Hands>>, Yuri sacrificed distance maneuverability to focus on improving her sight and dexterity. In this manner, Yuri became quite deadly with a bow, and can even extend spears of light from the yawara to attack from a distance as an extension of <<Light Hands>>. Yuri served as a secondary scout and a spotter in the tracking part of the mission.


    Aanjay¡¯s cultivation of <<Earthen Fort>> was more orthodox. However, due to her perfectionist tendencies for detail, Aanjay made overall improvements to all aspects of fighting. Base strength, stamina, distance coverage, arm and foot movement, sight. All of these were from her understanding of a fort. That it was both strategic and strong. Therefore, her cultivation leaned in making her status more balanced when Lunete had checked. In the tracking portion of the mission, she was serving as the rearguard.


    Lunete¡¯s cultivation of <<Dragon Dance>> was slower than the other three. However, the cumulative masteries of the other three martial arts together with it allowed her to stand on equal footing with the others in a fight. Despite having low strength, Lunete had high power from her use of <<Compound Waves>>. Being able to bypass external defenses and wreck an enemy¡¯s internal organs had an extremely devastating effect. Lunete¡¯s movements were also very unique. Development of <<Swallow¡¯s Flight>> and <<Frost Sealing>> had enabled her regular movements to gain a certain grace and ease. This allowed Lunete to speed up, slow down, stop and change directions on the fly, dazzling even Alleyah and Naja.


    The four girls advanced at a steady pace. The tracks became fresher and fresher, indicating that the group was getting close. Eventually, Yuri spotted the devil beast from afar. She paled slightly at the monstrosity but sped up until she got to the front of the group. She quickly signaled for the group to stop.


    The foursome cautiously approached the devil beast and began to observe it and try to spot any weak points. The devil beast was absolutely hideous. It was totally naked of any scales, fur or skin. It looked like a mass of flesh and blood on four limbs. The face of the beast had a rough resemblance to some sort of feline creature. The devil beast was currently ravaging the broken body of a bear that was twice its size. Judging from the smears and splatters of blood in the surroundings, along with the half-eaten twitching bear, the devil beast must have tortured the poor animal before eating it alive.


    The four girls grimaced inwardly. However, they quashed their feelings and got into position to ambush the bear. Yuri retreated slightly to an area where she was slightly against the wind and in one of the devil beast¡¯s blind spots.


    As Yuri drew the bow to its full-length, Aanjay prepared to burst out from the undergrowth in the direction of Yuri¡¯s attack. Lunete and Kiara circled around to flank the devil beast.


    With a soft hiss, an arrow surrounded in white line that cut through the wind and speared the feasting devil beast. The monstrosity roared loudly. It turned to face the direction of the arrow, only to see Aanjay burst out of the bushes, maduvu at the ready to absorb the initial charge. In its blind rage, the devil beast assumed that Aanjay was the one who attacked and charged menacingly at her.


    Aanjay parried the charge by crouching and bashing the beast from below while borrowing strength from the earth. This shocked the beast¡¯s brain and caused it to be stunned for several moments. Aanjay drew back to let Yuri fire at the devil beast. As she did so, Lunete and Kiara started to draw close to finish off the abomination before it could even strike.


    With a front paw pinned by Yuri¡¯s surprisingly sturdy arrow, the devil beast quickly regained its movements. Noticing Lunete and Kiara drawing closer, the sense of danger caused the beast¡¯s senses to heighten. In a fit of desperation, the beast used its pinned paw as a pivot. It lashed out at Kiara¡¯s shorter weapons with teeth bared while it whipped Lunete¡¯s longer weapon with its tail.


    Kiara and Lunete were forced to retreat. However, Lunete had caught the tail with her sword. As she did so, she sent reverberations through the tail, down the devil beast¡¯s spine. This caused the beast to tremble violently as it lost power in its limbs and collapsed on the spot. Yuri took this chance to shoot an arrow at the beast¡¯s shoulder, effectively sealing the movements of its unpinned forefoot.


    As the beast¡¯s front was no longer such a threat, Aanjay stepped forward and blinded the devil beast with a swipe of her katar. Lunete and Kiara approached the beast to finish it off again.


    However, the vitality of a devil beast is not to be underestimated. It rose up from its prone position and tried to lash at the two incoming presences as best it could.


    Unfortunately, this endeavor proved to be utterly useless. Without any precise aim, Kiara, who had arrived first, slashed into the devil beast¡¯s body with her sword. She quickly followed through with a stab of her short spear. Lightning passed into the devil beast and the electricity once again caused the beast to lose control over its limbs.


    Lunete arrived at this point and quickly crushed the head with a single strike, aided with reverberations from the <<Compounding Waves>> martial art¡¯s attacking skill to cause devastating external damage.


    With the beast dead, the flesh that was held intact by the Akuma¡¯s heart and the beast¡¯s will gave way. This revealed the still beating Akuma heart to the four girls who looked at it in disgust. Aanjay approached the heart and smashed it into a pulp. This was the most certain way to destroy the heart completely. If it was sliced or pierced, the heart may still retain its vitality and regenerate. However, crushing it into paste definitely deprived it of the opportunity.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The subjugation was completed, and the quartet headed back to the nearest Dragon Clan village to report to Alleyah who was staying there. As they did so, the four reflected on how many times the fight could have gone wrong. They had to get stronger.


    ***


    ¡°Good work, ladies,¡± Alleyah said as soon as the four protectors approached within earshot.


    Seeing the unsatisfied expressions on all four faces, Alleyah smiled inwardly. The four had been slightly complacent of late. It was good that the mission served as a wake-up call.


    ¡°I see that all of you have reflected on deficiencies during this mission. Remember that feeling and never cease to move forward. It is rare that the Akuma are able to slip a devil beast into our territories, but with the Snake Clan recently reformed under the Emperor¡¯s banner, we lack quite a bit of manpower on the front lines,¡± Alleyah continued.


    ¡®These girls did well coming this far. It¡¯s not easy getting accustomed to killing and the likes after coming from a peaceful world after all,¡± Alleyah thought as she ordered the girls to pack up and get ready to head for the Dragon Palace.


    The Keeper shared certain hidden parts of history concerning possible setbacks that the protectors might have. As it was a matter of survival of the Human race, he was given authorization from the Emperor to share these issues. One of it was the difficulty in adapting to this world¡¯s killing.


    There have been cases where protectors hesitated with killing, and lost their lives instead in the past. Summoning another protector was no issue, but this placed a larger burden on the current batch of protectors while the new one gets trained to replace the one who died. Furthermore, the team in which the death belonged to could have a chain reaction in mindsets. Fear may set in, forcing the team apart and causing even more deaths.


    It was fortunate that these four women were mentally strong and flexible. They quickly adapted to this world, set goals to get stronger and improved as a whole unit. Alleyah had caught bits of their conversation during short breaks in the middle of training sessions before. The four women had bad experiences with men. Therefore, they turned to women for comfort. However, that was not the only result. The foursome took it in stride and had grown independent, self-assured and strong.


    ***


    It took four days to reach the Dragon Palace. The girls were given the next five days off for relaxation and self-practice.


    Relaxing in the bath together, the four let go of the tension that had built up throughout the entire trip. Yuri and Aanjay cuddled together in the corner, leisurely pleasing each other. Lunete and Kiara just sat together and observed the two while they relaxed despite the growing heat within them. They had a knowing look on their faces. They could tell that the two were slowly growing attached to each other beyond a platonic friendship.


    This did not keep the two from sharing themselves with Lunete and Kiara, however. In fact, they relished the sight of seeing each other writhe under another woman.


    Lunete and Kiara also felt some feelings blossom between them. However, Kiara had approached Lunete, describing a selfish lover that she used to have. That lover slept around, but never liked Kiara doing the same despite having an agreement to let each other keep that freedom. Kept from her desires, Kiara decided to end the relationship off, and it ended quite badly. Despite knowing that Lunete was different, Kiara could not help but have slight reservations of getting back into another steady relationship.


    At that point of time, Lunete merely smiled gently at Kiara and said she understood. She hugged Kiara in a light embrace and the two shared in the feeling of companionship. The two of them had unanimously and tacitly decided to take it slow deep in their hearts.


    At present, Kiara and Lunete had a reminiscent expression on their faces and realized the same expression on each other¡¯s faces. They laughed, knowing that they were remembering the events that occurred where Kiara voiced out her concerns.


    With the two Asian ladies getting raunchier by the second, the two could not suppress their desires and took each other into a loving but aggressive embrace. The echoes of seductive moans and slick sounds of flesh colliding soon filled the whole bathroom.


    ***


    The next five days were a blur for the four. They had dedicated a lot of time into studying their general skills.


    Yuri, being the almost dedicated support, chose to study acupuncture and pharmacology. With her book-smarts, she quickly consumed material after material and had become rather accomplished in her six months of study. She was currently considered a second rank acupuncture practitioner and could also finally make basic pills.


    Aanjay surprisingly took to apothecary studies. Unlike a pharmacologist, an apothecary focused on making potions. These potions could be a boon or a bane. Aanjay focused on making utility-based potions to aid her in combat due to the desire to add more utility to her team participation. She also studied how to make destructive potions in case of emergencies. Aanjay¡¯s perfectionist streak allowed her to quickly ascend to a first rank apothecary during her six months of study.


    Kiara picked up trapping. However, she went beyond being a mere trapper that targeted animals. Kiara studied the characteristics of the three enemy races in great detail. She found out poisons that worked and did not work. As she did so, she learned how to concoct deadly poisons and hidden mechanisms. Kiara had inadvertently become a user of hidden weapons on top of her sword and spear. It was something that Kiara had resonated with, but she did not mention it because she had no clue of how to operate such intricate devices. Now, however, Kiara secretly trained in integrating the use of various hidden devices into her regular fighting style. The three other girls new about her training. It was just a secret from the instructors.


    Lunete had told and proved to Kiara of the existence of her game system. She did not share all the details, and only mentioned that she could engrave special benefits into the hidden weapons that Kiara created along with providing additional materials to her. Kiara was shocked, but being the loyal friend cum lover that she was, kept Lunete¡¯s secret close to heart. Lunete secretly provided Kiara with various unique materials and helped Kiara advance by leaps and bounds.


    With regards to formations, the quartet seemed to improve at the same pace. However, Kiara, Yuri and Aanjay knew that if it were not for Lunete creating art work for them to gain insights, they would not have improved as fast as they did. The Keeper was pleasantly surprised by their similar progression speeds. However, he just mentioned that they should keep up the good work. Inwardly, he was crying over how hard and long he had to study formations to get to their level of the basics.


    Lunete¡¯s study of the jade tablet she received at the repository proved to be fruitless even now. The formations that were present in the jade tablet were useless without any information given to her. As she progressed in basic formations, she started to roughly understand the formations but whenever she felt like she was about to know something, it slipped away. This frustrated her greatly, but she could not help but have the vague feeling that understanding will come when she learned more of the basic formations.


    On top of trying to progress through general skills, the four diligently cultivated. They focused on quality improvement of cultivation instead of quantity this time. They learned that focusing on the quality rather than quantity of cultivating would help them immensely throughout the six months of guidance from Naja. Therefore, they had only practiced their strengthening when they were focused on cultivating or when they needed to refresh themselves.


    The four also sparred intensely, making full use of their time to get some fighting experience. They made it a point to use every single dirty trick in the book when they sparred, knowing that their first opponents would very well be the Akuma.


    These activities of the four were peppered with intense lovemaking for relaxation due having repressed themselves for more than a week to hunt down the devil beast. The four wanted to improve quickly and sexy times just made their day all the brighter.


    ***


    As the five relaxing but productive days went pass, the four met up with Alleyah who had another mission for them.


    ¡°We¡¯re going on another hunt, this time,¡± Alleyah began with a serious tone.


    However, what was said next shocked the four girls to their core.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to hunt bandits.¡±


    ===


    Author¡¯s notes:


    Surprisingly it¡¯s easier to churn out chapters without a plan in mind. However, I need to be very careful in case I make the story too out of whack. Next chapter, the girls will be killing their first actual intelligent being. How will their mental states cope?


    Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this chapter!


    ===


    Lunete¡¯s Status and Skills:


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Lunete Argall</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Status</td></tr><tr><td>Strength</td><td>35</td></tr><tr><td>Endurance</td><td>74</td></tr><tr><td>Agility</td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>Dexterity</td><td>82</td></tr><tr><td>Perception</td><td>90</td></tr><tr><td>Energy</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Additonal Information</td></tr><tr><td>Level 11>34</td><td>Age: 20</td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>Status Points Remaining: 165</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>Skills</td></tr><tr><td>Skill Name</td><td>Mastery</td></tr><tr><td><<Compound Waves>></td><td>34%</td></tr><tr><td><<Dragon Dance>></td><td>37%</td></tr><tr><td><<Frost Sealing>></td><td>35%</td></tr><tr><td><<Swallow''s Flight>></td><td>36%</td></tr><tr><td>Formations</td><td>23%</td></tr></tbody></table>