Zarian had a hell of a feast in front of him as he sat at the largest table in the middle of a pagoda-style restaurant.
The columns were made of white bamboo wood, sturdy and thickly bound. ga-powered aura winds gusted through with a power that would’ve obliterated smaller and simpler hos in a lesser realm.
The people Zarian had known on Corma would’ve gotten swept off their feet and taken into the air. Here in the village of Master Ranker Hashmalities, however, the hurricane winds were nothing more than just breezes to them.
Little Hashmalite children who could kick castle mountains into smithereens ran through the strong winds. They collected at the edge of the pagoda restaurant to gawk at their main attraction.
Taking a mont to acknowledge the kids, Zarian waved at them. Para did the sa with all four hands.
The children gawked even harder before a concerned mother ca running out and swatting at them lightly. Well, it was light to them.
Back in Corma, those swats would’ve killed hundreds to thousands of people with ease. There was still a large population below Level 10 back there.
Zarian couldn’t help but make the comparisons. It helped ground him, knowing he was about to go through another extre change.
But first, good food and good company!
Zarian scanned the bowls of twinkling soup that looked like they were dusted with diamonds. There were sushi boats combining mythical rice with Master Ranked fish that were far more alien than Zarian had ever imagined. There were platters of thinly seared at, each covered in a dark and sticky sweet sauce that slled divine.
There were piles of fruits that looked like giant plums, grapes, mandarins, and more, but with odd colorations and a few unique changes. There was also local wine – mythical, of course – and so steamy tea to wash it all down and pace himself from drinking too hard.
Truth be told, Zarian was probably going to get sloshed. He hadn’t been drunk in a while.
“Eat first! Then you can drink.” Para’s brow furrowed as she shot him a glare from across the table. “I’m going to be even tougher on you if you get drunk in front of our new friends. That’ll set a bad precedent and embarrass us. Most people care about that, so I’ll care about it, too.”
Zarian smacked the newly freed godling on the elbow, pulling her curious, wide-eyed gaze in his direction. She shifted from her prim and proper position to face him attentively, which made him pause, because it reminded him of Ruvaria again.
He quickly moved on.
“If you haven’t realized it yet, Para’s a skill of mine. I think she’ll grow strong enough that she’ll beco separate from sohow. Maybe beco like a godling. Ever heard of a case like that?”
Racella’s glowing green eyes flicked from Para’s smiling face to Zarian and back. Even with her brought into the fold, the divine elf woman was careful and considerate.
She put on a solid front, but it was obvious she was still scared and adjusting to her changes.
Those who were long used to the traditional alignnts would sotis find the freedom alignnt barren or silent almost like being caught in the void. Zarian could see it in Racella’s micro-expressions as the woman kept doubting her next words.
Without traditional good, she would have to rely on pulling free good from inside of her, and nobody could perfect that as easily as Bianca could.
“Excuse for testing your patience, milord, milady, but I cannot recall such a thing ever existing. Skills are tools from the System. They are attachnts to our inner beings. There shouldn’t be a case where a skill can beco its or her own person and separate from the profile,” Racella said carefully.
The oracle shivered under Para’s intense focus as the living skill steepled all four hands, her elbows on the table. “Hm,” Para humd. “I’m certain we’ll find a way for to be truly born into the world.”
“And you said the thing I feared,” Zarian said. “I’ll add that to the list of incredibly screwed up circumstances only I can do. Give birth while still one hundred percent a man.”
“At least I’m not calling you mother.”
“Para, I love you, but I’ll have to put you in ti out if you do.”
Para giggled a little. “Enough business about . Eat, Father, eat! Or should I call you dad? Foodie calls you father plenty already, doesn’t she? And I want to differentiate myself a little from my older sister.”
“I’ll let you figure that out.” Zarian dug in.
Everything was tasty and filling and magical. The diamond-dusted rice had the right amount of saltiness with a surprising crunch. Each piece of sushi gave him visions of the vast and deep waters the fish had co from at the bottom of so of the golden ravines.
When he ate the thinly seared at and the alien fruits, the combination of flavors made him lt in his seat. He hadn’t had amazing food like this since the last ti Foodie cooked for him.
Hell, he could only imagine how Foodie’s cooking would improve once she was higher in the levels. Master Rank? Champion Rank? Paragon Rank? Hero/Villain Rank?
Stolen novel; please report.
God Rank.
There was still a lot above their heads.
“I can get there quickly,” Zarian murmured after all of his plates were cleared along with the second and third servings.
Racella turned away from the few plates stacked in front of her. Para watched him sharply as she swayed from side-to-side on her end of the table. She hadn’t partaken. She preferred fresher and squirmier als.
“If I could keep fighting a rank above, I can get up to God Rank in a few years.” Zarian humd. “Maybe faster than that if I optimize for it.”
Racella looked at him with growing fascination. “That’s … very much possible with you. I can sense it.”
“You can see the future?” Zarian asked.
“Not exactly. I can feel the likelihood of certain events. I can tell you what’s more likely and what’s more unlikely. For example, I knew I would be eaten by Para if I were to resist you.”
Racella hesitated. “I also knew Agni would lose. He ca for my advice, and I saw it best to let him face defeat. In many ways, I’ve betrayed him for my own sake.”
“Want to switch to free evil?” Zarian asked.
Racella’s face turned deep red. “I could never!”
“You’re intelligent. You probably should be free evil, even if you want to think yourself nice. But you’re definitely made for free evil.”
Racella nodded slowly. “I will consider it. Still, I knew I would likely gain much more by serving you. If it weren’t for that, I would’ve had a hard ti ignoring my traditional good.”
Racella let out a shaky breath. “But, milord, milady, it is difficult to deal with the lack of certainty with freedom. I feel … adrift.”
“Don’t worry. Being adrift is part of the process, especially if you want to be stubborn and stay in free good. You have to dig deeper into yourself to draw out your true power. Then free good becos extrely powerful,” Para explained.
She reached over with her reptile tail to pat the extrely tall elf woman on the head. It was an amusing sight as Racella gingerly bowed her head and accepted the head pats with an uncertain look.
“Say, did you get your start in a lesser realm before making it up here?” Zarian asked.
Racella shook her head. “There are limited zones in worlds such as these. We start from there and quickly grow our power while reaching harder and harder zones until we break out into the wider ga World.”
She took a sip of her tea. “This is the way for all godlings. As for the natural people here … they are born with higher levels and stats and quickly grow from being in the environnt. They beco Master Rankers by the ti they can walk.”
Zarian looked out of the airy pagoda restaurant as more children scurried close to look at the strangers. Another strong gust blew by, but the hurricane winds seed to do nothing but tickle the Master Ranker children.
“I see why there are realm separations between smaller worlds and bigger worlds,” Zarian said. “Can you imagine dropping an unstoppable three year old from here down into a human kingdom back in the old world?”
“I can barely imagine what it’s like to be in such weak worlds,” Racella said. “I’ve only heard of such things, but I’ve never gotten the chance to regress and see for myself. Is it true I can kill an entire population with a flick of my fingers?”
“Wait, what level are you?” Zarian asked.
Racella blinked in surprise. “Oh, you didn’t identify . That’s a kind gesture from you. Well, milord, I’m Level 299. I’ve been this way for quite so ti.”
Zarian and Para slowly shared a look. They both turned to Racella and gawked at her.
The Level 299 Champion Ranker lowered her head, which was pointless. Even while sitting, she lood over them.
“Forgive for not being a Paragon Ranker. If I had known I would devote my existence to you, I would’ve done more to prepare.”
“Racella, I’m a Master Ranker,” Zarian said carefully.
“Yes, well, I know this. I also know that if we were to fight … I would likely win. But at what cost?” Racella said. “To be an oracle worthy of her visions, one must not just see the imdiate results, but consider the ripple effects afterward and the potential for what happens in the aftermath. Even if I were to beco a Paragon Ranker before we t, submitting would’ve still been the best option.”
Zarian rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, okay, that’s pretty quick-witted of you. Well, I hope you understand I will not take advantage of you or hurt you or anything evil like that. I know I’m the biggest evil there is, but that doesn’t an I just do evil just because.”
“I believe you.” Racella lowered her head further until it was on level with Para’s. “I’m willing to serve you in any way that pleases you. Through my visions. My intelligence. My body. It is all yours. But knowing that you won’t take advantage of in untoward ways makes my submission feel … righteous and much needed.”
“I like her!” Para burst out. “She’s a smart god. Or baby god. We need more of those.”
“Any chance you can convince Pureho?” Zarian asked.
Racella’s pale cheeks reddened again. “Unfortunately, she is one of the most stubborn elves across the entire Infinita Star System, and I lack the power to do such. In fact, I’m sure she’ll make alliances and have multiple godlings on their way to deal with and you.”
“We won’t let our new Level 299 oracle get hurt, would we, Para?” Zarian asked.
“I’ll eat them all,” Para said with a big, toothy smile. “Except for you, Racella. I like you now.”
“When will the other godlings arrive?” Zarian asked, reaching over for the wine.
Racella grabbed the wine first and poured the contents for Zarian into his cup. “In a few days. So of them will pick off your fellow contestants. Others will gather into short-term alliances. They won’t co together as one group, though. You must understand that I’m an exception to most godlings. They will wish to use you as a test of might. Or to prove their worth to their divine parents up in God Land.”
“Hm, so I can probably work on so things before their arrival,” Zarian said. “Depending on what we get for defeating a divine Champion Ranker, that might change plans.”
“What plans?” Para asked, even though she could read Zarian’s mind easily. She asked for Racella’s sake.
“I want to rge our spells even further. We haven’t even used Atmospheric Torture Cannon yet. I think we can combine that with ga Desolation Blood Inferno for a bigger bang.” Zarian leaned in his seat and took in the wine. Oh yeah, that hit the spot.
His face beca flushed with heat right away. “Void Sword, Void Paradise, and Void Storm can all be the sa.”
He took another tasty sip, his stomach warming up. “I’m sure we can combine Super Dreadnought Hell Gator and Violent Hell Gator Evolution.”
He drained the cup, and Racella was already refilling it for him. “We can upgrade Grand Sli Transmutation. Then we can combine Summon Lesser Nephalem and Eldritch Mutilation Hive Infection to see what freaky ss cos out of it.”
“Milord, I’ve t few wizards, but the ones I know do not have spells like the ones you na,” Racella said. “And they are still reliant on the System for the changes you suggest. To have the power to combine your own spells when you want. It’s impressive.”
“Your older sister is a great teacher,” Zarian said with a big grin as he looked up at Racella. “And it sucks a lot that you remind of her right now.”
Before the oracle could say a word, Zarian floated out of his seat, his tail wrapped around the wine jug. “And now it’s ti for to go to bed alone and enjoy this wine. Para, Racella, have a blast being new friends.”
Before they could protest, Zarian followed a villager to his personal temple-style lodging. He crashed onto a comfortable mattress placed on the floor and drank himself silly. He fell into a murky slumber, but instead of dreaming of Naomi or Ruvaria, he ran into his wife.
Reviews
All reviews (0)