《Say Cheese!》 00 Prologue Prologue is really short... but it''s a prologue after all xD Feel free to leave any feedback or criticism :) Prologue ============================================================================ ??? POV There I was, laying on the ground staring at the figure of my only friend. She was just as glamorous as I had imagined her to be, her silky black hair was floating in the wind as if it had a mind of its own, her big emerald eyes was so mesmerizing that with just one look it was pulling me in. She was as perfect as I had envisioned her to be. Well she was literally an existence that should have never existed in the first place. I stood up from my desk that had an abundance of vandalism and graffiti. The classroom was desolated with not a single soul in sight. Emptying my thoughts, I walked up to the young girl who was staring at me with a half puzzled yet half excited expression. The smile of her face was brimming joy that could light the starry night sky. When I stood in front of her, I was admiring her slim yet petite figure before I decide to test the reality of the situation. I laid my hands on bliss, it was soft yet firm at the same time. Fondling it left and right and squeezing them made my hands melt as it was pure contentment to be touching something that I¡¯ve only heard stories about. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°¡­mmm¡± A moan came out of her mouth with her face dyed bright red. Her face then took a 180 degree turn to anger. I stopped fondling those attractive looking mountains before taking a few steps back in fear. ¡°¡­RIKU ¡­YOU PERVERT!¡± She was shaking¡­ not because of the excitement nor the embarrassment. It was because of pure rage. The scream was loud¡­ very loud. There was a rumbling sound coming from the rattling tables and chairs. The window''s glass planes shattered as if it was an indication that something god-awful was about to happen. In a split second I flew out of the window. I was flying so fast that one could see me as a baseball being pitched by a professional player. Flying out of the fifth floor classroom of my school after being punched by my only friend did not excite me at all. Ahh¡­ she was real. Was the only thought I had before hitting the hard cement floor. *Boom* Next Chapter Say Cheese! Fiction Page 01 Rikus Past Riku¡¯s POV =============================================================================== I was staring up into the sky, the weather was beautiful as the clouds started to move slowly yet surely through the passage of time. I was trying to comprehend what happened over the past three minutes as I felt the cool afternoon breeze pass me by. My name is Riku, just Riku, I have no last name. As to why I am in a crater with my arms twisted the wrong way, spinal cord jutting out of my body and probably every single bone broken, you have to read the prologue. I was punched by what used to be the figment of my imagination. The perfect girl that I created, a beauty that no girl could ever get matched up to and ¡­my only friend. My childhood was filled with misery. I was special, at least I think that I was. Ever since I was born from my mother¡¯s womb until now, I have never forgotten a single incident. Yes, I have a super memory syndrome, well if it was the only power I have, I would have been grateful. I was God, God of my own body. I had absolute control of everything. From the movement of my bones to every cell in my body. I could decide my own fate, choosing if I wanted to live or die. My mother died after she gave birth to me. It was the first thing I ever saw after being born into the world. After I came out of the darkness from the abyss of nothingness, I opened my eyes to see a woman with beautiful orange hair and ocean blue eyes that was laying lifelessly on the bed. That woman was my mother. All I did at that moment was cry as my instincts told me to. My hair was not orange like my mother. But rather white, pure white. My eyes was were blood red, if anyone ever saw me they will cower in fear due to my looks. Well, my looks did not bother me much as I could not care less of what other people thought of me. But growing up was not very fun. My father abandoned my mother the moment he found out my mother got pregnant. I was then given to an orphanage as I had no relatives. Growing up in the orphanage, I was proclaimed a genius. I learned everything faster than everyone else. At the age of 1, I could talk in proper sentences. At the age of 3 I mastered calculus. At the age of 4, I attended preschool. At preschool while every child was playing, I was studying. I had no friends nor family to rely on, the only thing I had in my life was books. I found out that the Kingdom of Grandeur that I live in was a mage paradise. Being a mages was the norm and everyone that was born in the kingdom took up jobs related to magic. Being able water affiliated could get you a job on a farm, being earth affiliated could get you a job as a carpenter. But only the best of the best could become magicians that worked for the imperial army. That was my goal. To become a magician. There are 2 main types of magic, Elemental and Miscellaneous. Elemental magic requires you to be affiliated to an element. At birth, a person usually is affiliated to an element, be it Fire, Water, Earth, Air or Lightning. Most people usually have only 1 element, but over the span of history there have been exceptions. Miscellaneous magic is magic that do not require elemental affiliation to be used. The main categories lie under Dark, Light, Tracking, Summoning, Buffs, Creation and Others. Miscellaneous magic are usually spells that can be learnt but require a lot of mana in order to be used. At the age of 6 I took my Magic Connection test. The test was usually taken when a person was born. But since I was put to an orphanage I took the test at a later age. To my horror I had 0 Mana Capacity and no affiliation to any element. I was no longer labeled to be a child prodigy anymore, instead I was shunned by the executives of the orphanage. They called me a ¡°Demon Child¡±. I was then made to stay at the orphanage as they did not want to waste funds to put me in to the mage academy. When I was 13, I ran away. The children at the orphanage used to disturb me by insulting me and destroying my property. But after finding out that I would not retaliate to their childish acts, they started to beat me up. Day after day the bruises and cuts started to pile up. But they pulled the last straw when they broke the only photo I had of my mother. What happened next soon came to be known as the Grandeur Orphanage Massacre. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Apparently the orphanage did not want anything to do with me. As a result they did not report me to the town guards. I started to work at part time jobs, the shady kinds. I started out as a body guard at an illegal brothel. I was stronger than your usual adult as I had super strength due to the fact I could use the full potential of my muscles and bones. Usually after hitting a punch to offenders that could break a huge bolder, my bones would tend to break. But I also have super regenerative powers as I could increase the amount of cells in my body to repair my injuries quickly. While working I started to imagine my ideal friend. From working at the brothel I found out that man could not be trusted. They were unsightly, untrustworthy and the biggest scumbags you ever meet in life. So I started to think of a girl that I could be friends with¡­ that was how Senna came to existence. Whenever I felt down, Senna would talk to me and comfort me. She was the only one who understood me. We would joke about every event on a daily basis like the time the man fell in love with a girl from a brothel only to be cheated of all him money, or the time the ugly and fat brothel manager breaking the stairs due to being too heavy. When I was 16, I attended the mage academy after saving enough money. And now, it has been half a year since then. I used my regenerative power to restore my body its original state before looking climbing out of the pit that the collision of my body to the ground had created. I stared at the classroom before thinking what I should do next. =============================================================================== Senna¡¯s POV It was the first time in a while since Riku has called for me. He has been really sad since he attended the academy due the students bullying him for being worthless. Argh¡­ How dare they touch my Riku like that. Was what I thought when I saw Riku. He had been staring at me for a while now¡­ it was really embarrassing. I stared back at him hoping that he would start talking to me like he usually does but it was different, he started to walk up to me. He had a reaction that showed that he was really confused. When he walked up to me he started fondling my chest. His hands were firmly gripping them and it felt great. I accidently let out a moan when he started squeezing them. I felt really really really really embarrassed when I finally found out what he was doing. Riku¡­ I¡¯m not ready yet..Idiot. I started to get really angry at his immoral action. I mean he did not even kiss me yet. How dare he skip a step¡­ hmph. The rage started to cloud my mind. I ran up to him before punched him in the face as hard as I could. The next thing I realized was that Riku was flying out of the window. My heart skipped a beat when I realized what I had done. Riku are you ok? Riku I¡¯m sorry Riku don¡¯t leave me Riku where are you Those were the only thoughts I had. Nah that was a lie my head was filled with more thoughts about Riku. I jumped out of the window trying to find Riku, before a tear came down from one of my eye. There was a huge crater in the middle of the school¡¯s courtyard. Next Chapter Say Cheese! Fiction Page 02 Ignorance Riku saw Senna jump out of the fifth story building with elegance. But to his surprise, Senna landed face first towards the ground. The ground shook as a small crater was made due to the impact. Riku chuckled to himself at the sight of Senna¡¯s bear printed pantsu. Senna got up and as tears started to drip down from her beautiful face. As soon as she saw Riku, she ran towards him and hugged him. ¡°..mmph¡­s..top¡± Riku could not escape from Senna¡¯s inhumane strength. Her grip had pulled Riku towards Senna¡¯s chest. Even though Riku was slightly taller, he could not breathe as Senna¡¯s mountains were squashing him like a bug. ¡°Riku.. I¡¯m sorry¡± Senna said with a worried face as she slowly let loose of the confused Riku. Riku was speechless at the materialization of his friend. Just an hour ago Senna was a figment of his imagination, but now a beauty was standing in front of him. Senna¡¯s thumbs were twiddling each other as she was looking up into Riku¡¯s red eyes. She was expecting Riku to break the ice. ¡°So¡­ erm..¡± ¡°So when are we getting married?!¡± ¡°Huh..wha¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe I can finally touch Riku! We can now get married, have 40 children and ¡­do ecchi¡­¡± Before Riku could even finish his first sentence, Senna interrupted him and said a lot of bizarre things. She was really excited until she said ecchi, her face turned bright red. Riku however was calm, he had already been thinking of the incidents that happened thus far and was thinking of how to get rid of Senna. Up till now, Senna was Riku¡¯s limiter. She was what kept him sane and prevented Riku from killing himself as she shared the load of Riku¡¯s misery. But with Senna acting like she was clinically insane in front of him. He was puzzled as on what to do next. He then let out a sigh as Senna kept rambling about her future with Riku. ¡°Look, I¡¯m only going to say this once. The sun is setting and I have to get back to the dormitory ¡­don¡¯t follow me¡± Riku then started to run but Senna clung on to his leg and refused to let go no matter how hard he shook. In the end, Riku had to drag Senna all the way back to his room. When he walked in the dormitory, there were stares filled with envy and curiosity that came from other students. Senna face was brimming with happiness when she entered Riku¡¯s room. The room was a small 1 room apartment with just the basic necessities such a bed and desk. But Riku¡¯s room was filled with books, lots of books. Senna was running around his room and kicking all the books that got in her way. Riku climbed into bed ignoring Senna. He felt that if he intervened, Senna would cause a bigger problem. His bed was soft and it sunk in when Riku landed on it. All Riku wanted to do was forget about Senna¡¯s existence and go to sleep. But unexpectedly, Senna crawled into his bed and laid right next to him. She then gave Riku a soft hug. The soft sensation pressing on his back made a shiver run down his spine. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Get off.¡± ¡°No!¡± Senna objected and refused to get off his bed. Riku turned around as he wanted to reprimand Senna for being annoying. But when he turned around their face were right next to each other. Senna blushed and went silent. She closed her eyes and sticked out her lips as if expecting something. Riku¡¯s hand covered Sena¡¯s face as he pushed her head first off his bed. *Crash* Senna fell into a pile of books as she looked up and pout. ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°Your annoying¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we friends?!¡± That last sentence shut Riku up immediately. From the moment Senna was real until now, the only thought he had about her was that she was annoying. But after that reply from Senna, he was now looking at her as a friend. The same girl that stuck with him throughout the years. No matter what Riku did, Senna was always by his side. Only that she did not exist for real of course. Riku then got off the bed and sighed. ¡°Fine¡­ you can sleep on the bed¡± Senna pouted again when Riku gave her the luxury of sleeping on the bed. She pushed him on the bed again and kissed him. Their lips locked for a good 5 seconds before Senna lifted her face to match Riku¡¯s. He could feel her breath breezing past him. ¡°I want to sleep with you!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°¡­I love you¡± Riku then pushed her off him as that last reply from Senna had caught him off-guard yet again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I can never love you¡± ¡°¡­I know¡± Senna looked down as her face showed a painful expression. Senna knew everything about Riku, after all she was created from Riku¡¯s imagination. Her existence was only to be one to comfort him, not as a love interest but as a friend. No more, no less. Senna then proceeded to sleep next to his books. Riku then took his only blanket and covered it on Senna. Riku the walked up and lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling, thinking if what he had said to Senna was too harsh. Closing his heavy eyes and giving into his tiredness, he fell asleep. Next Chapter Say Cheese! Fiction Page 03 Red is beautiful Riku woke up in the middle of the night. He looked left and right to see that Senna was gone. For a second Riku thought that everything that happened thus far was just a bad dream. Riku got out of bed and looked at the blanket on the floor and he said softly with a grin on his face ¡°¡­ mmm guess not¡±. At this moment of time, Riku was still half asleep but he decided to look for Senna. The door to his room was wide open, he quickly changed into his school uniform which was in the form of raggy T-Shirt and jeans with a robe covering them. Riku was poor after all. He walked then walked out of his room. Riku looked to the left of the hallway to see blood stains everywhere. It was as if it were a trail that was asking him to follow it. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be good.¡± He was talking to himself as usual, it was a normal thing for him to do. Only now Senna was not around. He walked at a fast pace, following the bloody trail. At the end of the trail was a huge door to the dormitory manager¡¯s room. It was made with high quality wood with definite carvings of animals, the dormitory manager was a C rank Earth Ranker after all. Riku pushed the door open to see corpses everywhere. They were neatly arrange with each body stacking on each other as if someone were performing a ritual. Some bodies had their intestines cut out which were laid out neatly on the floor with blood spluttered everywhere. The grotesque sight that would usually make one vomit or scream instantly did not faze Riku at all. After all he had blocked out all of his emotions, making him unable to feel pain, happiness, sadness and lastly love. Senna was sitting on the dormitory manager¡¯s table holding his head in one hand. Her dress was painted blood red and she gave off the smell of fresh blood. She was throwing the head up and down as if it were a toy. When Senna noticed Riku, she wore a smile so bright it reflected off the crimson moon to display to Riku that she had accomplish something amazing. ¡°I¡¯m fulfilling our promise¡­¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°The promise that I would kill everyone who harmed you.¡± Ahhh¡­ that promise. Riku still remembered that exact moment. Well, he remembers everything that happened to him after all. He made that promise on a whim after getting beaten up by a gang of thugs on the second day of his job as a bodyguard. It was during those days that he found out the dangers of reality the hard way. The dormitory manager was well known to be strong. The 3rd strongest magician in the academy. There are different ranks in being a mage for the imperial army. The order of power weakest being Newcomer then Apprentice then Magician then Master and finally the strongest being a Ranker. Ranker ranks from D ,C, B, A, S, SS and Legend. Being a ranker means that you belong in the strongest 10% of mages in the imperial army. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The fact that Senna could play with the dormitory manager¡¯s head like a toy was a sight no one could ever think about. Senna started to take small steps towards Riku after she threw the head away. ¡°¡­Riku I love you¡± Riku was staring at the head that was rolling on the floor. He felt neither anger nor sadness at the sight of his fellow schoolmates being decapitated. The smell of fresh blood clouded his head to make this situation seem surreal, like it was a dream, a euphoric dream. The sight of the lifeless bodies of the people that bullied him made him think that the situation was too good to be true. For the first time in his life, he did not feel empty. He felt something different, an emotion he could not describe. The beating of his heart increased even though he did not speed it up. The emotion was happiness. When Senna stood in front of him, he locked his lips with hers. He gave her a really intimate kiss that felt as if it lasted hours. Senna was shocked at Riku¡¯s aggressiveness but she accepted the kiss. He was finally doing things step by step which made her delighted as for what is to come. After they pulled away to take their breaths, Senna pulled Riku¡¯s head down to match her petite figure before kissing him again. This time, the kiss lasted longer and was deeper than the first. Kissing a girl around corpses was slightly arousing for Riku even though it was his first time. After 10 minutes of absolute bliss that was filled with hugs and kisses, Riku gently pushed Senna aside and told her his plans for the future. First of all, they needed to escape Grandeur as the town guards would be chase after them with tracking magic. Secondly, they needed armor and disguises to move around quickly as being the only student who survives a massacre is not going to be a good enough alibi to allow the imperial army let him off. Lastly, they should head south as soon as possible. Traveling now should be a priority as they would not be able to survive winter that would come in a few weeks. Senna listened attentively to Riku¡¯s speech before starting to ask Riku nonstop about his feelings for her. Ignoring her, he took off a school uniform of a deceased girl and passed it to Senna. Her clothes would immediately raise suspicion if they left the academy now. Senna started to undress in front of Riku. Riku quickly turned his head the other way and moved a hand to cover his eyes, he then muttered softly. ¡°¡­At least wear a bra at least you idiot.¡± Next Chapter Say Cheese! Fiction Page 04 A wild Gothic Lolita appeared! In the world of << Caseus >>, there are 3 major continents. In the north there lies Ascen, it is a frozen continent filled with mountains. Strong creatures such as dragons and yetis reside there due to the harsh climate and limited food. It is located the furthest away from the other 2 continents that are close to each other. The second continent is Cassian where most of the humanoid species such as humans, elves and dwarves live in. It is also the biggest continent where Riku and Senna current reside in. The third and arguably most dangerous continent is Xennocra located right next to Cassian. It is literally made out of many volcanic islands with a small land mass about 1/6 the size of Cassian in the middle. It is where the demon race lives. It has been a week since the murder incident. Riku was now has a nickname called ¡°Red Liger¡± and was held responsible for the death of 34 students that lived in the same dormitory as him. A Liger is the offspring of a lion and a tiger, two of the strongest creatures with no mana capacity known to mankind. Riku and Senna travelled south after escaping from Grandeur. It was during their journey that Riku learned to never piss Senna off. Senna had the looks of a goddess. When traveling along the roads, she would capture the attention of passing adventurers. People would approach Senna and most of the time they would push Riku away. Those adventures got beaten up so badly that they would probably be handicapped if they were still alive. They now arrived at the Village of Thal¡¯ Kina. Thal¡¯ Kina had a nicknamed called ¡°Adventurer¡¯s Death Zone¡± as it was located right next to forests and dungeons that were filled with monster and treasures. Many adventurers travel here with the hopes of getting stronger as there were dungeons that accommodated both the novice and experienced adventurers. Sneaking past the guard and entering the village, Riku and Senna both arrived at the town square where creatures of all races were crowding around. There were lizardmans selling foods, more specifically slime sundae¡­ looks disgusting and everything under the sun could be sold here such as weapons, armor and even slaves. The adventurer¡¯s cloak Riku was wearing was helpful in covering his identity and now, they were looking for an inn to stay in. Riku was no longer as weak as he used to be. He had survived the harsh forests of Cassian on his journey to the village. His inhuman strength and regenerative powers made him a force to reckon with. As a result he had earned a fair bit of change for killing monsters. They entered ¡°Blue Side Inn¡± which was an inn made for novice adventurers. The inn was worn down with only a handful of adventurers residing there. Riku and Senna paid a sum of 4 copper to stay in a single bed for the night to the counter clerk who had a mean looking gaze. They had to pay double the amount due to the fact that they were not adventurers themselves. They then left the inn to search for the adventurer¡¯s guild. Riku was an outlaw and could not apply for an adventurer¡¯s license. He would fail the identification test which was a requirement for all adventurers to pass. Both Riku and Senna are heading there now to find work as mercenaries instead of adventurers. Mercenaries are usually people who do illegal work from the adventurer¡¯s guild. No license are needed for the quests that mercenaries take up. It did not take long for Riku and Senna to spot the adventurer¡¯s guild. It was the biggest building right next to the town square. The building had majestic feel to it as with one look, you would mistake it for a monument or mansion. It was really impressive as a public building to say the least. Pushing the door open, they caught the stares of the adventurers lazing around the pub which was right next to the counter of the guild. But they turned their heads away after noticing Riku and Senna''s weak presence as there was a bigger commotion occurring at that moment of time. There was a crowd in the center of the guild hall. It looked as if a massive fight was occurring. Riku being Riku, he could not care less about the uproar and pushed his way through the crowd, trying to move to the guild board where all the quests were located. His hands accidentally landed onto something that felt really soft yet hard at the same time. Riku pushed the person thinking it was a bulgy man blocking his way. To his surprise, Riku fell down onto a girl with stunning red ponytails. She was wearing a gothic outfit that was dyed pure black as if she were a maid and her figure was so small one could mistake her for a middle school kid. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. His hands still felt that soft sensation and when he looked down, he saw the angry expression of the gothic lolita girl. Now that Riku had thought about it, the chest he felt was really small as compared to Sennas. It was as if the chest was nonexistent and comparing the two mountains was like comparing a melon to an orange. Not even close. ¡°Small¡­¡± He accidentally said what was in his mind out loud. Boy¡­ was that a mistake. The gothic lolita¡¯s face turned bright red and she punched Riku into the air. Riku knocked into the two brawny looking man that were causing the commotion. The crowd started to make a lot of noise as if something big was about to happen. The two brawny man were knocked out. Riku stood up and made a sharp glance at the angry girl preparing for a fight. ============================================================================ Not a Gothic Lolita POV I was staring at the man who just called my chest small. That man¡­ no. That boy would not exist anymore. I started to conjour my fire magic. I gathered mana in my right hand as I aimed it at the boy¡¯s head. He would regret calling my chest small. Not even papa called it small. ¡°I call upon Ohq the God of Fire, Drynir the God of Earth. Listen to my call, the sky may fall, the earth may shatter but my faith in you is like fire. A flame that will never extinguish. I summon thee ¡­[[Magma]]¡± I finished casting my chant causing the mana in my hand to take the shape of magma before it encircled my hands causing the temperature of the guild increased at a massive rate. I had casted my strongest spell [[Magma]] which created magma from my mana at 1000¡ãC. The heat caused the surrounding crowd to dissipate fast and only few were brave enough to stay to observe. [[Magma]] was a S ranker Fire and Earth spell. I was affiliated with both since birth and was known as a genius that would come once every 100years. I then ran towards the boy who was not moving¡­ it felt as if he was a lifeless corpse, he was just staring at me. Even though the surrounding crowd cheered for demise of the boy whose whole body was covered by the cloak, I felt a chill. The chill came from my instincts, it felt like the cloaked boy was observing my every move as if he was waiting for a chance to pounce at me. When I blinked for a second, the boy was suddenly in front of me. I did not even see him move. Was it teleportation?! No¡­ it can¡¯t be he did not even cast a spell. That was the last thought I had before my surroundings went blank. Everything became dark. ============================================================================ Riku had used his leg muscles to their full potential and within a second he was in front of the girls face. He ended everything mercilessly within a second. He moved his hand to the girls face before he smashed her onto the ground as hard as he could. *Boom* A large sound could be heard from the impact of the girl to the guild floor. A small crater was formed on the wooden floor with cracks like spider web surrounding the crater. The girl was lying unconsciously on the ground and she had lost her consciousness. The leftover crowd were all left with their mouths wide open. With everyone shaking in fear, only the lady at the counter managed to give a response. ¡°No way¡­ The Scarlet Magician a B rank adventurer was defeated¡­¡± Next Chapter Say Cheese! Fiction Page 05 Goals A tied up gothic lolita, cloaked up mercenary and a screaming goddess were the talk of the town when they walked through the town square. It was the worst outcome that Riku could have expected. He only wanted to find a quest at the Adventure¡¯s Guild while keeping a low profile. Riku could only sigh at the predicament he was in now. Senna complained to Riku about how she wanted to butcher The Scarlet Magician into pieces before placing her in a blender to destroy her corpse. To Senna, the lolita had committed the greatest sin, hitting Riku¡¯s perfect face. Riku had to spend a good hour kissing Senna in order to coax her to let the lolita off. Riku did not tell Senna that the lolita was going to be useful as he was planning to sell the lolita as a slave. She could fetch a hefty price for being a high rank adventurer and having innocent looks was a plus as well. ================================================================================ Senna¡¯s purpose in life Senna¡¯s thoughts How dare she harm Riku! She needs to die. I hate her. Riku I love you. She is not fit to be by Riku¡¯s side. I¡¯ll kill her Riku. Leave it to me. ================================================================================ In Riku¡¯s eyes the lolita was deadweight to him. There was no doubt that she was a strong magician. Undoubtedly strong. Riku knew that the lolita went easy on him. If she fought at full power or used AoE spells, the entire guild would have probably been incinerated. Riku had felt that he had no use of a person who would show mercy to an enemy. After 2 Hours of walking through the town square, Riku and Senna were dragging the lolita on the ground while eating fried centaur meat. By now, the lolita was awake was shouting and making a huge fuss. She tried shouting and asking passing travelers for help. But after seeing that people were diverting their attention from the mysterious trio, she started a chant. ¡°Let me go! By the power of the almighty God of fire Ohq, I ¡­¡± Riku squatted to the lolita¡¯s eye level and was staring at her. Riku was trying to wear a threatening expression on his face while he looked into the lolita¡¯s hazel eyes. Her face turned bright red. It was the opposite reaction that Riku was expecting. The pure maiden¡¯s face was filled with embarrassment and expectation. She was shaking her head while squinting her eyes. Seeing that the lolita stopped causing a commotion, Senna kicked her head to remind the lolita that she was around. Riku just sighed as they begin to journey back to the inn. Riku headed back to the town square to buy another packet of fried centaur meat for their tied up prisoner who would not shut up. While ordering the snack, Riku noticed a silhouette near a dark alleyway. The silhouette was jumping up and down while waving her hands in the air as if it was trying to catch Riku¡¯s attention. Riku being Riku paid no attention to the silhouette. After buying the centaur meat he left for the inn. Leaving Senna with the lolita for long was not a good idea after all. The silhouette did not take Riku¡¯s negligence for an answer. He ran up to Riku, held his hand before dragging him into the the dark alley. Riku did not resist as he was curious as to why the person wanted his attention so badly. The silhouette turned out to be a person that was slightly shorter than Riku and was wearing the same adventurer robe as him. The figure forced Riku to sit down next to what looked to be a fortune teller stand. There was a crystal ball on the center of the table. The dark alley way and fortune teller stand made the atmosphere cryptic and somewhat eerie as if it were a horror movie. Riku could not care less about the location though. What caught his attention was the dark blue haired maiden with obsidian black eyes and elfish like ears that was sitting in front of him after she took off her adventurers robe. What shocked him even more was that she was only wear undergarments. Riku was baffled of at the sight of the lady who just undressed in front of him. The bold colors of bright red matching undergarments was even strong enough to make Riku blush. After taking a few seconds to collect his emotions, he started the conversation. The perverted lady who was most likely in her twenties was wearing a very serious expression ever since she stripped in front of Riku. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°A pervert in broad daylight¡­ how unexpected.¡± ¡°There are 6 gods in the world of <>. The God of Fire, Ohq. The God of Water, Lwilight. The God of Earth, Drynir. The God of Air, Arieus. The God of Lightning, Ishin. And lastly, the God of Creation, Kami. The 5 Gods of the elements were the servants to the greater God of creation Kami. Each God had 1 archangel who had the exact same power as God himself. Around 16 and a half years ago, the Archangel of the God Kami, Lucifer committed the greatest sin known in the upper realm, falling in love with a mortal. Did you get that so far? Do I need to give a second explanation?¡± Riku was getting bored from listening to what was known to be common sense, the history of the 6 Gods that gave their power (mana) to all living creatures. Archangels were the embodiment of the Gods. They were the head of all the angels in the upper realm, in essence they were second to God. Falling in love with a mortal was unheard of and was what kept Riku¡¯s attention. ¡°Yes I heard everything, please continue.¡± ¡°Are you sure?! I have waited 16 years for this and spent the whole time preparing this speech for this exact moment!¡± ¡°Yes, please continue.¡± The lady was pouting at Riku. She really wanted to repeat herself. After letting out a sigh, the woman continued. ¡°You are the son of the Archangel Lucifer and the Legendary Magician Liza Roquefort. You kiddo are a demi god. Your mother died in order to grant a blessing of protection onto you for 18 years to ward off all harm and the Gods. In 18 years¡¯ time, the Gods and Humanoids will be coming for your head. After all, you are a person who should have never existed in the first place.¡± She glanced at Riku expecting some sort of reaction. Well, anyone other than Riku would have gave a reaction. Riku being Riku gave an expression that showed that he wanted her to continue the story. She sighed yet again and continued. ¡°You have 1 and a half years to get stronger. Strong enough to face the gods. You are a Liger. The offspring of the strongest Angel and strongest Magician. Be strong enough to survive when the time comes Riku Roquefort. ¡­.Well, that¡¯s about it. Any questions?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Oh, I still haven¡¯t introduced myself. My name is Chunni Torq, I am a Water Sprite from the plains of Ascen. You can just call me Chunni though.¡± Riku just sighed at the situation. He was not planning on dying any time soon. He still needed to finish what he started after all. He glanced back at Chunni who gave a perplex look back at him. ¡°Any other questions?¡± ¡°No¡­ thank you¡± Chunni then started to vaporize in front of him, turning into a form of what looked like to be a spirit made up of water. When the body of water finally took shape she disappeared. ¡°kekeke you¡¯re just like Lucifer.¡± The words she said got covered by the wind, they were soft so that Riku could not hear her. With a goal ahead of him, Riku decided to head back to the inn. After a buying a slime sundae and a handful of boiled potatoes, he headed back to the inn. When finally reached the inn, he could hear the screams of Senna and the lolita arguing with each other. Riku let out a sigh and muttered to himself. ¡°Boy¡­ has it been a long day.¡± Next Chapter Say Cheese! Fiction Page ================================================================================ Note: AoE means Area of Effect, in other word a spell that hits a wide area Feel free to leave any criticisms, feedback or discuss the chapter Say Cheese! Wiki/Discussion Author''s note: Questions and Answers can also be asked here. You can also help improve the story by posting feedback and telling me what you like and what you hate about the story. Lastly you can also rate, follow and favorite the story at the fiction page Say Cheese! Fiction Page. Thank you for reading and I hope that you have enjoyed it thus far ©d(??¦Ø??) ======================================================================= You can find all the character bios here and some cool trivia about the continents. The wiki will get updated as more chapters get released. Use ctrl + f to search for names. *WARNING* Spoiler alert ======================================================================= Characters Riku Age: 16 Height: 172cm Hair Color: White Eye Color: Red Nickname: Demon Child, Red Liger Species : Demigod Status: Alive Senna Age: ??? Height: 163cm Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Emerald Species: Human? Trivia: Used to be a figment of Riku''s imagination. Obsessed about Riku 24/7. Yandere. Status: Alive ??? Gothic Lolita Age: 17 Height: 158cm Hair Color: Red Eye Color: Hazel Nickname: The Scarlet Magician Species: Human Magic: Magma Affiliation: Fire, Earth Status: Alive Chunni Torq Age: ??? Hair Color: Dark Blue This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Eye Color: Black/Obsidian Species: Water Sprite Magic: Teleportation Affiliation: Water Status: Alive Liza Roquefort Age: ??? Hair Color: Orange Eye Color: ??? Species: Human Magic: Divine Protection Affiliation: ??? Trivia: Riku''s mother. Legendary Ranker in the Imperial Army of Grandeur Status: Deceased Continents World: << Caseus >> Ascen Trivia: Located furthest away from the two continents that are close together. The average temperature is -35¡ãC. Covered with mountains. No one has explored the whole of Ascen yet. Species/Monsters: Dragons, Yeti, Water Sprite Cassian Trivia: Home to most of the humanoid species. Located next to the continent of Xennocra. Six times bigger than the biggest land mass of Xennocra. Species: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Lizardman Monsters: Slime, Centaur Xennocra Trivia: Home to most of the demonic creatures. Located next to Cassian. Made up of many volcanic islands with a landmass in the center. The landmass is six times smaller than Cassian Species/Monsters: ??? Gods/Angels God of Fire: Ohq God of Water: Lwilight God of Earth: Drynir God of Air: Arieus God of Lightning: Ishin God of Creation: Kami Archangel of Creation: Lucifer Trivia: Riku''s father 06 2 girls 1 demigod Riku¡¯s POV + 3rd Person POV ============================================================ Entering a room with two girls having a cat fight is never a good idea. The room that we booked in the inn was meant for novice adventurers. It had a small hard bed that felt like a rock if you lay on it, but thankfully it should be big enough for Senna and I. The worn out wooden chair and desk affirmed the room be ancient. Scratches were universal around the base of the seat and the uneven edges of the legs of the wooden desk made a rocky sound whenever one made contact with it. That darned inn keeper had ripped me off. Even the corner of the room had spider webs that guaranteed my thoughts that the room was not cleaned very often. This was by no means a room for a novice adventurer. Without a doubt, this room was meant for a slave. Looking back to the situation at hand, there are two girls in front of me arguing. I took a glance at the burnt rope on the dusty floor then looked back to the goddesses in front of me. If I ever had the desires of a man, I would have loved the scenario of two ruffed up girls with tattered clothing fighting each other. Senna¡¯s torn up loose fit school uniform showed the charm of her lean yet petite figure and her exposed nape of her neck awakened my cravings for pleasure as a demigod. Her sweat tricked down her face making it glitter off the reflection of the candles on the desk. The lolita¡¯s usual prim and modest look had a 180 degree turn as her black frilly dress were cut up showing the adorableness of a middle school girl¡¯s legs. Her long tender like red ponytails were cluttered making it look like she just got out of bed. The scene was so erotic that it even appealed to an emotionless demigod like me. They were panting, trying to catch their breath. Senna was standing on the bed while the lolita was lying on the floor, next to the desk. From the looks of it, Senna was overpowering the lolita at a close range combat. Did I mention that Senna used a cleaver to viciously chop up monsters on the journey to the village? What made Senna scary was that she would eat the flesh of the monsters raw before mutilating their corpses to humiliate them for being weak while smiling. If the monsters were strong, she would pluck out their front tooth. It seems that she was making a bracelet out of teethes that she collects, like it were some kind of trophy. But Senna¡¯s sadistic nature did not make me hate her at all, it was a part of her. Senna is my only friend. It seemed that Senna had noticed me standing by the doorway as she shifted her attention away from the lolita immediately, before running up and hugging me. The softness of Senna¡¯s mountains were pressing onto my chest. So this was what bliss felt like. ¡°Riku I missed you! Hurry up and give me permission to cut up this lower lifeform into a thousand pieces!¡± Senna face was directly in front of me. I could feel her breathing when she opened her delicate mouth to say that. ¡°No, she is still useful. Don¡¯t lay a hand on her.¡± Senna pouted before cursing softly under her breath and staring at the lolita. Making Senna let go of me, I approached the lolita who was blushing at the sight of Senna hugging me. ¡°Sorry that our first meeting had to be done in such an indelicate manner. My name is Riku.¡± ¡° ¡­ Angela Fortwing.¡± She said her name out in a soft high pitched voice. Now that I think about it, she was pretty cute. She then started to tremble in fear. Her face turned pure white as if she saw a ghost. When I turned around, I saw Senna carrying her cleaver showing a threatening expression to Angela. ¡°Senna you dare disobey me?¡± It was the first time I ever talked with such a harsh tone to Senna, but after my eyes met with hers, she sighed before keeping her cleaver in her scabbard. In my opinion, it looked more like a leather casing meant to keep kitchen tools rather than a scabbard though. After 10 minutes of awkward silence, we were cramped up sitting on the hard bed. The soft sensation of bliss was Senna pushing her chest onto my arm while hugging it while we faced Angela. Senna was not pleased at me for letting Angela off, she would give a furious glare at Angela ever so often. Wanting to ease up the atmosphere, I started to talk about fortune teller and my existence as a demigod. One screaming girl later¡­ Angela had finally calmed down after a good 20 minutes of shouting and asking questions. She could not believe her ears. She could not believe the words that came out of my mouth. Never in the history of creation has such the occurrence of an existence called a demigod appear. The greater Gods could not enter <>, so they left the supervision and distribution of power to the lesser Gods also known as the Archangels. Senna on the other hand, was pretty calm. She finally came to the conclusion that she came to existence due to my creation magic, which I inherited from my father. The Miscellaneous Magic of creation was more of alchemy. It was trading something with equivalent value to create something else. But to create something out of nothing was unheard of. Not to mention that Senna was a living, breathing creature with a mind of her own. Even after hearing such an implausible story, she said that she would believe in me. And nothing I did could ever change that fact. When Senna told us her thoughts, Angela finally believed my story. She smirked. She thought that if she could get Riku into her faction, that it would have a higher chance in succeeding the Fortwing family. Angela was an illegitimate child, born from the mistress of the Fortwing family. She was the third daughter and was the fourth oldest child. The chances of her succeeding the family was close to zero with either the eldest daughter or the only son wielding the most power in the family. So she left her home in hopes of becoming a famous adventurer so that one day, if someone with influence or wealth could back her up, her dream of succeeding the family would no longer be impossible. The Fortwing family were made up of rich elite nobles. They owned a large chain of merchant stores that spread out around the north continent of Cassian and they are 8th richest family in the Zarith Empire. They sold weaponry and are the biggest supplier to the human forces. Without of doubt they are one of the most influential people in this continent. Opposing them would be asking for a death sentence. ¡°Yosh! I¡¯ve decided, I Angela Fortwing will follow you on your journey.¡± ¡°No I¡¯m selling you off as a slave.¡± I immediately rebutted giving no room for her to explain herself. The harsh words I said hit her hard as though an arrow pierced through her chest. ¡°Even if I ¡­¡± ¡°Sorry seduction won¡¯t work on me.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. She looked at me with puppy eyes as she tried to slip the top of her frilly black dress off. But sadly as a demigod, I had no feelings of pity for her. ¡°Then marry me.¡± She was pouting at me. Wait what? Did she just proposed to me? I looked at her only to see sincerity in her eyes. On the other hand, I could feel my muscles on my left arm getting shriveled up due to the force of Senna¡¯s mountains. I could swear that I almost saw steam as well. But ignoring Senna, I looked to the window. When I looked out of the window, I saw a majestic crescent moon in the middle sky. The way it glowed was angelic and with pale light brightening up the empty sky, it was a beautiful sight to see. I felt that it was an indication for us to go to bed. ¡°Let¡¯s just discuss things tomorrow¡­ it¡¯s getting late.¡± The two girls nodded their heads in agreement. But now, another issue arose. With only one bed, we had to share it together as no one wanted to sleep on the dusty floor that could potentially be home to creepy crawlies. With Senna on my left and Angela on my right, I was finding it hard to sleep as my ¡­ got hard. If heaven existed, the gentleness and softness of a women¡¯s chest would be a close second to nirvana. Closing my eyes and giving in to the tiredness, I fell asleep. I woke up early the next morning, I did not get much sleep due to what had happened last night. Sitting up, I saw the cute drooling face of Angela while she was hugging my arm. While on my left, Senna¡¯s eyes were wide open. Did I mention that she loves to watch me sleep? She opened her lips to show mouth movement saying good morning. I put my index finger over my mouth and pointed to Angela. I did not want her to wake up and cause a fuss the first thing in the morning. I gently pushed Angela away before getting up and sitting on the wooden chair. I¡¯ve tried to use creation magic throughout the journey back to the inn. But my efforts led to no avail as I could not find a clue how or what to do to activate the magic. I even shouted a magic chant in the middle of the street, but that was embarrassing so let¡¯s not pry on any further. [The exact chant he said was ¡°I am Riku, Son of Lucifer and Liza. By the power of the God of Creation, Kami. Creation!¡±] When Angela woke up, she tried to force me to answer her proposal. I gave her a flat out rejection that would probably scar the innocent lolita for life. But when she asked me if she could follow me as a companion, I said that she could do whatever she wanted. Senna was obviously not pleased at this but she accepted it anyways. After bathing, eating breakfast and leaving the inn, we caught the attention of the townsfolk. The men were giving off envious auras while staring at us. Walking out of an inn as a cloaked mercenary with two girls hugging each hand wearing tattered clothing was making us quite famous. But with The Scarlet Magician next to me, no one dared to approach us. We then went to the town square to buy some clothing to replace our worn out ones. With Angela being an adventurer, we got discounts for buying new sets of outfits. I was now wearing a long white robe that had a hood that camouflaged with my hair. The smooth leather material it was made of, made it an easy choice for me to buy it. Senna got rid of the school uniform she wore for the past week and was now wearing a charming red mini dress with a thin fur coat made up of rabbit fur. Angela was wearing nothing but a stripped bikini outfit as she said it would be easy to move around with it. Nah just joking. She chose something similar to the black frilly maid dress that she used to wear. We then went around shops to stock up supplies for our journey. I had accepted a mercenary quest after all. It was a B class mission of finding a lost slave in the Ministro Forest. We had to catch a Cat species of the beastman tribe. The job was laid out by a slave merchant who had a runaway slave. The collar was still on the slave so with tracking magic, it showed that the slave was in Ministro Forest. Even though the continent of Cassian was the home to most of the humanoid species, it was by no means safe. The natural grown forests that covered majority of the continent were filled with life forms and beings. As the Gods gave their greatest gift to living creatures, Mana, the forests fell into the influence of the power and started to modify itself as if it were a sentient being. It created a lot of dungeons and mutated creatures, forcing them to feed off mana. The difference between monsters and humanoids is that monsters do not have a mind of their own, monsters are not sentient. They live off their instincts and only bounded by one rule, only the strongest will survive. The Village of Thal¡¯ Kina is located near the center of the continent, which resulted in the mana concentration to be higher. Creatures that lived off mana grew stronger due to the higher supply of mana. The forests were filled with dungeons that welcome unprepared adventurers to their doom. Thal¡¯ Kina was also located in the neutral zone of the continent where all humanoid species can roam freely. Other than the guards that were employed by the adventurer¡¯s guild to stop conflict, there are no rules. The northern part of Cassian was a human zone and they are arguably the most advance race in the region. The south was where the tribes of beastman reside. There are many different types of beastman but what separated them from humans were their animal features. There are hundreds of tribes in the South, with different species of beastman residing in each area. They usually align themselves as one huge faction to ward off invaders. Ministro Forest was around 4 days south by horse travel from Thal¡¯ Kina. It is also the border that separates the beastman to the neutral zone. It used to be one of the safer forests where novice adventurers that take on F ¨C C ranked missions at. But there have been strange occurrences over the past year where adventurers and beastman who go in, strangely never go out. Even after a search party of C ¨C A ranked adventurers that went in disappeared as well. It is now illegal for anyone to enter the forests without permission as the beastman tribes and the guild set tight security at the entrances which is why this mission was meant for mercenaries. After we checked our supply and hired a carriage, we head south to Ministro Forest. Next Chapter Say Cheese! Fiction Page ===================================================== Authors Notes: As an adventurer, you can only take up quests that are one higher or one lower than your current rank. As a mercenary you can take up any quests at your own risk. 07 Side Story - Childhood Playground Cat Slave POV ================================================= Why were there guards in front of the forest? Is there a war going on with the beast tribes? I had an ominous feeling, something was not right. I thought something was wrong when I saw guards at the entrance of the forest. But without thinking too much, I snuck in. After entering Ministro Forest, I had expected to be greeted by the lush, emerald greens. The forest connecting to my hometown was no stranger to me. I¡¯ve been here many times when I was young. I knew everything about the forest. From the delicate flowers that came in different sizes, whose sweet scent could entrance travelers to the dirt which would breathe in the natural air of the forest. But things were different now. The air was stagnant, the flowers withered and the soil had no nutrients making it a miracle that the plants were still alive. When my hand touched the trees whose bark had become soft, I felt a dagger run through my heart when I thought of was left of my childhood playground. Walking in deeper, I started to see more and more silk threads spiraling around the trees of the forests. It was odd, I had not encountered a single beast nor monster in the forest. This place used to be bustling with animals and insects that thrived off the forest. Even though mana was not highly concentrated, nocturnal monsters like vampire bats and silver panthers usually make it dangerous to travel on a night like this. With only the light of the full moon and my instincts as a beast humanoid to rely on, reaching the end would have been nearly impossible. But at this rate, I should exit in no time. It has been around an hour since I entered the forest, I should have exited the forest by now. But I kept coming back to the same spot. The trees that surrounded me were filled with what looked like to be spider webs. They encircled the trees forming huge webs, as if they were made to catch huge prey. What could possibly be in here¡­ the mere thought of it was scary. Cold sweat started to drip down my forehead. I was not alone. Something was following me, staring at me as if I were their meal. Glancing around, looking left and right, the only thing looking at me were dead pure black trees. With a gust of wind passing me by, the sound of the withered leaves moving made me shiver. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Fuck. I have to get out of here.¡± With only such a thought in my mind, I started to cut through the forest using the only weapon I had, a penknife. The pathway that I was following was a trap, it had no end. The sticky big webs did not help in assisting my escape. The more I cut through, the more webs were in my way. Seriously, is this a spider nest or something? There was a sound coming from behind, footsteps to be exact. With the large sticky webs in front of me, I had nowhere to run. With the penknife in my hand, I turned around. But to my surprise, there was nothing there. The sight of dead leaves floating in the air, carried by the gentle breeze did not help in reducing my anxiety. I still had work to do, I had to escape. ¡°¡­Peek a boo¡± A monotone voice that sounded as if a robot was speaking came in the direction of the webs. I slowly turned my head to face the direction of the sound. I saw¡­ that¡­ ¡°KYAAA..aa¡± That thing would appear in nightmares, it was a monster. No. Stronger than a monster. Chills kept running down my spine as I started to shake out of fear. It was emitting a presence of pure power. I fell on the floor, looking up at what seemed to be my inevitable doom. Am I going to be eaten? I¡¯m dead aren¡¯t I? The lower half of my body started to give way to the relentless shaking. My bottom started to feel warm and wet at the same time. My pants started to feel heavy due to the weight of the water coming out of me. Ahh¡­ I peed myself. Next Chapter Say Cheese! Fiction Page 08 Thick, Sticky Web Riku¡¯s POV =============================================================================== It had been 3 days since we left on horse ridden carriages to Minestro forest. We were on a hill that overlooked the forest. Travelling with Senna and Angela had been a pain. I was the only one with horse riding experience, so they made me ride the horses while they laid back in the carriage, making me do all the hard work. Senna had tried to kick Angela out of the carriage a few times to make room for me. But Angela is a true bloom airhead. She couldn¡¯t learn how to ride horses even if you gave her a week to practice. Did I mention that Angela is an airhead? On the first day of our journey, she tried to feed horse¡¯s monster meat when we were resting for the night. I mean¡­ are you serious? Who the hell in the right mind would do such a thing, it is no different from feeding the horse¡¯s horse meat. How did she even become a B rank adventurer? I should have sold her as a slave when I had the chance. Sigh¡­. Senna is scary. I think that she sees Angela as a rival, she tried to kill Angela a few times during our journey. She tried to poison Angela¡¯s meals and butcher her when she sleeps. But thankfully, airheads are somewhat immune to unpredictable killings. She kept escaping the clutches of death by accidentally dropping her meals on the floor or sleeping in the wrong bed. Soon enough, Senna gave up on killing Angela. We were on the hill anticipating the sunrise. During our journey, I felt that we somewhat became closer to each other. Actually, scrap that. I still think that they¡¯re both annoying. ¡°Hey Riku, whose going to watch the carriage when we go slave hunting?¡± Angela had a wide smile on her face while anticipating me to pick her to go to the forest. ¡°Riku is going to pick me, after all I know Riku the best.¡± Senna grabbed my arm while glaring furiously at Angela. Angela then grabbed my other hand, I could feel the softness of their chests pushing onto my hands. It felt as if there were two pillows pushing against me. It was a moment of bliss. I could feel their Angela¡¯s soft ponytail tickling my forearm. Man¡­ they are such a pain to deal with. They are really bothersome. I decided to let Angela follow me instead of Senna. Something bad would happen if I left Angela alone. After all, she was nothing more than a burden to me and this could be her time to prove her worth. Senna pouted and complained to me that she would be more useful. Though she was irritating me by protesting nonstop, when I said that this was a job only she could do, she smiled and accepted wholeheartedly. We got ready our supplies to head in the forest. Senna gave me a hug and a deep kiss before leaving before giving a resentful look to Angela. Senna went back into the carriage. ¡°Let¡¯s go Riku!¡± Angela looked really cheerful as we headed off into the forest. *** Sneaking in the forest was really easy, the guards were really careless by leaving a lot of openings and blind spots. Sneaking in was easy as stealing candy from a baby, not that I would do such a thing of course. The forest was dark and gave off an eerie vibe even though it was still early in the morning. The sun¡¯s rays could not penetrate the thickness of the tall tree leaves. It was weird though, the forest was devoid of life, the flowers had withered and there was not a monster nor beast in sight. This was really irregular for being the forests that adventurers used to frequent daily. Angela who was next to me had a happy go lucky expression, she was humming a sweet tune while we were walking side by side, deeper into the forest. But the deeper we went, the more silk threads could be seen tangled around the dead bushes and trees. What could have make such threads? I walked up to it and touched it. It felt gooey and sticky, as if it were made from the same material as a spider web. Angela walked up behind me to see that I was interested in the webs. She used her right hand and grabbed a lot of them to form a shape of a ball. She tried to throw it at me but it was too sticky and was stuck to her hand. She had a perplex expression and tried to use her head to hit the ball from her hand. I face palmed when she got the sticky goo all over her face. That was a sight that would normally make ones nose bleed or stimulate excitement. But too bad I was immune to that. ¡°Riku! Help¡­¡± I sighed as I went to help get the web off her face. *** It had been half an hour since we entered the forest. I felt that we had been walking in circles. The forest was not that big, it was just a border between the beast tribe and the neutral zone. If one were to draw it on the map, it would be no bigger than a dot. It could be comparable to the size of a large village. We should have seen the exit by now. I felt as though something was following us, could it be Senna? No¡­ the piercing gaze that came from afar felt as though something was analyzing us, inspecting our every movements. Angela however, still had the same unconcerned look. Looks like she still hasn¡¯t notice anything so far. There should be a limit to how negligent she could be. I should have sold her as a slave¡­*grumble grumble* If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I put my arms onto Angela and moved my head closer to her face. She squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head slightly down. Her face turned somewhat red as though anticipating something. But I moved my head to her ear and whispered. ¡°We are being followed.¡± That caught Angela¡¯s attention and she opened her eyes immediately. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t toy with a maiden¡¯s heart¡­¡± She whispered softly and pouted her lips. After calming herself down, she closed her eyes and started to concentrate. She was about to cast a chant. ¡°I call upon Drynir the God of Earth. Let your eyes be my eyes and let your ears be my ears. [[Spirit Whisper]]¡± She opened her eyes and pointed in the direction of a large oak tree that looked dry, the wood should be very soft due to the soil having no nutrients. Immediately after she pointed to the tree, I used my Strength Enhancement to use my muscles to the fullest. In the matter of mere seconds, I appeared in front of the tree before I threw my fists at it. The tree that was weak blew up as if a bomb had exploded. The sound that came from the blow echoed throughout the empty forest as the leaves on the nearby trees started to flicker from the breeze that was caused by the impact. The shockwave that came from contact blew past the trees causing smoke to be produced. And there it was, a silhouette stood behind the fog made out of the punch. ¡°¡­ That was unexpected.¡± The monotone sound that came from the silhouette sounded inhuman, there was no tone in the voice and I doubt that even recorded voices sounded anything close to that. When the smoke dissipated, there was a naked humanoid standing in front of me. No¡­ it wasn¡¯t a humanoid. It was standing on two feet and had two arms but what shocked me was the eight eyes she had. The eyes she had were parallel to each other. Four on one side, four on the other. Her eyes were pure black, there was only the pupil. There weren¡¯t any eye whites at all, there were no sclera. As to why I know that she was a female, that thing was naked. I could see the hole in between her legs and although she did not have any hair on her body at all, there was hair on her head. Her hair was short for a girl, it was only up to her chin length and it was shaped in a cute bob style. Her hair was silver colored and had beautiful shades of crimson red highlights blending in her hair. Her body was really well built. Her body was slim yet showed a toned figure. Her figure was so well built that there did not seem to be any excess fat on her at all. On the left side of her waist was a slanted bright red tattoo which looked like the shape of an hour glass. Her chest area was somewhat lacking, it was really flat. But what made up for her attractiveness was that her nipples were bright pink, as if left untouched when she was a child. She was taller than me, though only slightly taller. With the naked monster in front of us, Angela could not help but get flustered with a bright red face. While I was staring at her with a straight face. She was undoubtable strong. My godly instincts tells me that I would lose no matter what. I would be screaming in fear if I were a normal human. The fear would be too much. As a demigod, my godly side prevents me from feeling any emotions such as happiness, sadness or even fear which I should feel right now. Gods are meant to be fair, impartial. If they ever had emotions, it would get rid of their legitimacy thus my godly side prevents such thoughts. While when I looked back and glance at Senna, I noticed she could not feel the monster¡¯s aura. Are airheads immune to presence as well? ¡°Well¡­ shall we get to it?¡± The monster had been staring at Angela and I for a while now. ¡°We are looking for a female cat beastman. Do you know where she is?¡± Even though I had kept a straight face up till this point, I could not help but stutter and speak in a somewhat respectful tone to not offend the monster. The monster paused for a second before nodding in acknowledgement that she knows where the slave was. ¡°Could you take to where she is?¡± Angela¡¯s face glimmered with happiness from her reply and she wanted to know the location of the slave immediately. Unfortunately she could not read the tense mood between the monster and I. She was still chirpy and thought that the monster was friendly. ¡°Sure.¡± The monotone voice ran a chill down Angela¡¯s back. No matter how dense she was, she could feel the hostility from the instant response. Angela got in her battle mode as she took out her staff. I was observing the monster this whole time and could tell that she was about to make her move, she was about to attack us. In an instant, the monster use her sharp hands and swung them at me like a whip, knocking me back. Angela started to cast a chant while I stood up in anticipation of the monster''s next move. The fight has just begun. Say Cheese! Fiction Page