“Fucking aye, that was way too close,” Zarian muttered, slumping into his throne at the center of a fae court. He was naked, and so was Ruvaria, who sat rrily in his lap, as woodland critters and fae-folks frolicked around and placed offerings of alcohol and food and trinkets at their feet.
Zarian wasn’t sure if Ruvaria had purposefully allowed him to catch her here or if he’d caught her in a festive and fun world by pure chance. However way it happened, the world leader had submitted to them without a word needing to be exchanged and granted them the throne.
It was a solid magic seat. Fit for a king or whatnot. It connected directly to the world’s core and its star. Zarian used so of its power to enhance his abilities while under low aura density. Thus, he had an easier ti controlling his expanded awareness to track the fight between Bianca and Para.
If it hadn’t been for Lion Prince, Zarian would’ve jumped in. But the troubleso skill of challenge and change had warned against that. Now Zarian could see why. Bianca had grown imnsely from this fight, doing so while Ariana had been cheating.
“Bianca won,” Zarian said, flummoxed. “She sent Ariana’s avatar packing. Again. And she beat Para. She freaking beat Para! That’s two Darkruns at the sa ti! Holy shit!”
Ruvaria nodded like that was a forgone conclusion. “It is Bianca, my love. She is extrely talented. Your sharpest and brightest sword.”
Zarian noted how Ruvaria described Bianca while leaving room for others to show their own strength. Still, he couldn’t believe the outco. With a tilt of his head, he offered his mories to Ruvaria, and she cast so magic to see everything that he’d witnessed more clearly.
It was a little frustrating how Ruvaria kept nodding along to his mories like it was all normal, as if two premier Ultra Goddesses were re goons to be beaten by a single mortal. Yeah, Zarian was happy Bianca had won, but there was a sense of pride with his family. Now Ariana was going to be even more pissed off. As for Para, she was floating in space like a half-burned corpse, suffering the mother of all existential crises.
Ruvaria laughed, her voice chiming with beauty, tickling Zarian’s brain nicely. “Yes, yes, I see even more clearly. She truly is blessed! And you should be proud of her! Your actions have cultivated such a woman. Her victory is your victory!”
Zarian nodded. That made sense. Familial pride shouldn’t impede his joy for soone he’d trained with and helped for years. If only there weren’t other emotional snags. Such as the case with his berserk daughter, Para.
He couldn’t decide whether to intervene yet. Para was still in her rebel phase. And he was getting mixed signals from his lion skill.
“I’ve been thinking about why I let Para off the leash like I did. It’s dawning on that I created another villain. Without knowing it.”
“You are the god of gods, Zarian. You work in mysterious ways. It may seem all nefarious and costly, but I think there’s purpose to your actions.”
“Ruvaria, babe, how can I hold up being a god of gods if I don’t even know the purpose of my own actions? Do you know I can hear them sotis? The prayers of my cultists. What if I answer one? Will I have to answer them all?”
“That’s for you to decide. My reasoning is that the greater and godlier version of you is acting through your more grounded and humanoid vessel. Of course, the you who holds and loves and makes smile isn’t clear of your higher machinations. You are acting as a mortal currently. This would probably resolve itself once you reach Level 500. If you want to wait till then.”
Zarian sat with that explanation for a minute. The fae-folk kept dancing and enjoying themselves around the court.
As he brooded, Ruvaria gave in to her inclinations and planted fluttery kisses around his jaw. She stroked her fingers along his chest and arms, her eyes filled with warmth and love and an unquenchable desire for him that was pure. It was intoxicating to have a powerful and knowledgeable woman act like a girl obsessed with her first love. It would’ve seed like love bombing – or more like love nuking – if Zarian wasn’t one hundred percent sure that Ruvaria truly loved him.
And damn, it felt good to be loved so intensely by her! It was by far the most direct amount of love Zarian had ever received in his life, almost to a dizzying degree. Once one could get past the 10,000 years of jadedness.
He almost wanted to say it was way more than he deserved, but Zarian kept that to himself. He was a big deal. And he could only get bigger once his more mortal shell caught up to his more godly potential.
Finally, Zarian found his voice again, keeping the more important topic alive despite the elven distractions.
“A bigger, unseen version of acting through my smaller current self … would explain a lot.”
Closing his eyes, Zarian’s expanded awareness found Bianca at the core of a star she’d ford after creating her own miniature big bang event. It was a stupidly risky and overpowered skill. It hinged heavily on how high Bianca’s free good was while needing her to suffer the worst degree of darkness soone could face, literally and taphorically.
The whole ti Para and Ariana had been playing with Bianca and subrging her in a hopeless hell had been making Bianca’s new skill stronger until the eventual release. It wouldn’t have worked if Para had taken Bianca seriously from the start. In fact, there had been no other way for Bianca to win outside of being underestimated. Hence, Bianca’s victory after dunking on both Darkruns.
Zarian felt that pride Ruvaria had talked about. Bianca really had co a long way, huh?
“Do you need any help getting back to Corma?” Zarian asked, transmitting his voice across the realm to Bianca.
“Hm, I got a better idea, papi. Can you send , Naomi, Gilbert, and Hannah to the hardest world around?” Bianca asked. “No rest for the witches!”
“I think you ant no rest for the wicked. And Gilbert would take offense at that.”
“Ha! I know!”
“Well, I’m going to need more aura or so help to get you guys where you need to be.” Zarian looked down into Ruvaria’s rry erald eyes. She nodded, offering aid. He also sensed a nudge from the System. “Good news. I won’t be bearing the transport cost all alone. Zarian’s Isekai Express in three … two … one.”
With a snap of cosmic power from Zarian, Ruvaria, and the System, the more mortal Floridians landed in a Super World in an instant. It wasn’t as big and imposing as a ga World, but it was the hardest world the lesser realm could offer outside the tournant. It was also uniquely suited to the situation – it was under heavy ti dilation. Developing their power would happen far faster in that world.
That would’ve made a great spot for to conduct system experints. But it’s their hunting grounds now, so I’ll have to look elsewhere, Zarian thought.
“Okay, that’s done with.” He planted a deep kiss on Ruvaria’s soft lips before tickling her sides, getting a giggle out of her. He smiled crookedly before getting a little serious. “There’s one last thing I need to check before the tournant.”
Para was going to be licking her wounded pride for a while and make herself scarce. Ariana was probably doing the sa until the tournant started. God Land was silent still, and there were no signs of widespread corruption from Shadowfell Tears. Lucy was probably biding her ti before unleashing her vengeance on the gods. Until the tournant, Zarian had free ti, and as much as he wanted to just fool around with Ruvaria, he needed to stay on top of his part of the great Infinita ga.
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“Let us go then. I’m curious to see what has beco of her.” Ruvaria rested princess style in his grasp, her arms around his neck, her body as light and soft as a feather. With her whim, she cleaned their bodies and clothed them both.
The fae folk said their goodbyes, and the couple smiled upon them before working together to make a cheap way back to Corma.
***
“You look beat up, kid. Is Jack’s dungeon that hard?” Zarian asked with Ruvaria hugging his arm. The two had punched through the dungeon’s defenses using a wormhole and landed right behind Foodie.
The goblin girl stiffened while crouched over a cooking fire before slowly standing to her full height and turning around. It took so effort for Zarian to keep his own shock off his face.
Foodie was huge!
She was a full head taller than Zarian now. And she was older than before. She looked much more mature, almost like her mother, but without the aging lines. Instead, she was covered in scars, large and small. She was also mostly lean muscle and the slim curves of a woman who committed years to nothing but dungeon crawling and fighting.
Zarian felt concerned that Foodie had grown cold until she lunged at him with arms spread wide for a crushing hug. At the last split second, he rembered he was a squishy wizard and smoothly dodged backward away from the dangerous death hug. Ruvaria went along for the ride, but unfortunately, that triggered Foodie’s miscreant side.
She must’ve thought it was a ga, because she quickly readjusted and lunged at Zarian and Ruvaria even faster. Aura raced through her veins and energized her entire body until the excess crackled slightly over her flesh. Multiple traits and skills activated, and Zarian’s nervousness led to him activating One Percent Darkness.
He ford a wall with it.
Foodie crashed through it.
She refused to be denied her hug!
Finally, Ruvaria intervened by activating Absolute Darkness. It was weaker than Zarian’s version of the skill, lacking the extra pop of a bloodline coming from an Ultra God. Which was fine. Ruvaria could put more power into the skill, pouring forth a torrent to knock Foodie back. But even that wasn’t enough to stop the lean and powerful goblin juggernaut as she braced herself and marched through.
“Ah, screw it.” Zarian used sorcery to wrap himself in defensive wards. Lots and lots of them.
Then he motioned for Ruvaria to step back. She cut off her darkness skill and left Zarian to his fate. Foodie smashed into him not too long after, and what ca next was a test of how good Zarian had gotten at sorcery. Thankfully, Foodie was Level 167 while Zarian was at 200. Foodie was dumb strong.
She broke through dozens and dozens of wards before she was finally satisfied.
“Apologies, Father. It’s been so long. It’s been years.” Foodie shuffled back, her body trembling, tears welling in her cat-like yellow eyes. Her board, leaf-shaped ears dropped behind her shoulders. “I didn’t think I’d see you or anyone ever again. It’s been so long.” She looked down at her scarred hands. Other than the celestial torso plates and armored skirt, her limbs and face were uncovered. She was really a canvas of scars. “I must look hideous.”
“Hideous?” Zarian blinked up at her in confusion. “Are you crazy? You look like a badass! And Gilbert can clear all of those scars with a snap of his fingers!”
“Oh. Yes. You’re right.” The confident and stoic girl Zarian had t a long ti ago reached out for him again, her breath shaky, her eyes spilling tears.
This ti, Zarian dropped the wards and let himself get scooped up. Foodie only broke one rib, so there was an improvent in her self-restraint.
“Let’s sit by the fire, kid,” Zarian said, ignoring his hurt side. “And give you a mont. Also, I hope you don’t mind Ruvaria. She’s officially my girlfriend now.”
“That’s fine. This is fine.”
They sat around the fire, with Foodie holding onto him from one side while Ruvaria sat close on the other. With the flas filling the silence with their crackle, Zarian took more ti to scan the space.
They were in an imnse chamber filled with white wood forests and strange, angelic architecture that was nearly eldritch, but of the biblical kind. Fingers of fog curled around the trees and the old ruins. Miasmas of angry magic flashed thunderously while drifting in search of sothing worth smiting.
Foodie’s camp was in a small glade, made up of her summonable kitchen, which had grown larger and more complex with extra storages. She had multiple kitchen islands, multiple stoves, multiple fridges, and a galore of utensils. There was a big bedroll that had seen better days behind them, and the campfire in the middle had a self-cooking pot propped above the fire.
“Self-cooking?” Zarian raised an eyebrow at that.
“I was tired after the last attempt to break into the boss arena,” Foodie sighed wearily, sliding down onto her side, her head resting in his lap. When his hand found her favorite spots behind her ear and over her scalp, she let out soft goblin purrs, like an overly big and green cat.
Zarian and Ruvaria shared a look. They didn’t even have to read each other’s minds. Whatever decision he’d make, she would follow him to the end.
“So, kid, I got bad news to dish out first. Lovewar’s dead. And your mom and I are on break. Also, Para’s free from . Congrats, you have a sister, but she’s far more evil and powerful. So, that’s another problem among many.”
Foodie twisted her head and looked at him through the corner of her eye. She waited, and he continued.
“Okay, well, the tournant’s about to conclude soon. Once that’s done, I’m planning to tidy so things up and head upward. I have to move fast-ish to take on your big bad aunt and stop her foolishness.” Zarian sighed. This next part was hard. “But that ans I might need to leave people behind if they can’t keep up. I’m Level 200 now, and I can’t afford to wait.”
She turned fully, laying on her back, her head still in his lap. The weariness and sorrow were gone now. All of her attention was fixed on him with that old cat-like stoicism of hers.
Zarian smiled a little. “But from what I can see, you’ve been roughing it out for years. Level 167, huh? Damn, Foodie, I bet you’d have an easier ti leveling up once you get out of here, I bet.”
She also had a celestial class.
“I wonder what you’ll get after Abomination Cook,” he said. “Bianca, Gilbert, Hannah, and Naomi are hitting it hard in a Super World to catch up as fast as they can. So, what do you say?”
“I will destroy Jack Masters and follow you to the ends of the universe, Father.” The Abomination Cook shot to her feet with gusto and pulse of powerful aura. She was shaking now. But it wasn’t out of sadness or weariness. “You’ve co for again. And you aren’t going away until I’m finished, are you?”
Zarian stood with Ruvaria on his arm and bead a smile. “I’m not going away for a while. The ti dilation here is exquisite. I need to work on so system stuff. And maybe I can help rge your gains.”
“My love, may I?” Ruvaria requested. She could be formal sotis, having a tendency to defer to him or request his permission. This was another way of Ruvaria showing her love for him, letting him lead in most things even when she was the expert.
Granted, it does suck when she lets bumble around like an idiot until she’s ready to swoop in and save .
“What you got for us, babe?” Zarian asked, watching Foodie’s reaction. He caught her looking at his ring finger, but no more after that.
“We can double up on the ti dilation,” Ruvaria said. “It’s a dangerous maneuver, manipulating ti like an egg within an egg. But the dungeon’s aura is dense enough. And if we work on it together, we can slow ti further within a dinsion of our making.”
“I’ve already cleared most of the dungeon. There’s just that one part that’s so hard I’ve been stuck for a year on it,” Foodie explained. “No matter how many enemies I clear there, they always co back. There’s also a puzzle elent that’s outside of my capabilities. So…”
Foodie looked down at her feet, toes clenching the loam. “I need your help with the puzzles. They’re beyond my scope.”
“Can you brute force your way through?” Zarian asked.
“Yes, but–”
“Then you don’t need our help against that. Instead, we’ll help you rge all that you’ve gained and correct whatever bad habits you’ve built up over the years. Then you’re going to solo the last part of the dungeon, beat Dungeon Boss Jack, and do what you gotta do.”
Foodie looked wide-eyed down at Zarian before bursting out into goblin laughter. “Yes, of course, this is why I’ve accepted you as my father! Only you would push to beco my strongest.” She crashed down onto her knees. Hard. Shaking the area. “I pledge myself as your daughter to follow through with your demands, Father. And any effort granted to aid , I shall honor in return, Empress Ruvaria.”
Ruvaria shifted slightly. “This is more personal than necessary, but may I ask if you approve of our union, child? I will not treat you differently if you don’t.”
Zarian held his breath.
Foodie looked up while still on her knees. “I don’t approve. I’d prefer it if it were Mother Shadowfell instead. But … it’s not my place to decide how Father selects who shall make him happiest. And perhaps I need more ti to see the both of you together.”
Letting out a breath, Zarian nodded. That was fair. Ruvaria didn’t look bothered either. She seed eager, in fact. Foodie had granted Ruvaria a chance to show her how good of a partner she could be for Zarian. And that made the next part far more exciting.
They were going to make a hyperbolic ti chamber inside another hyperbolic ti chamber to help smooth out Foodie’s growth and sharpen her even further. Of course, it was an opportunity for Zarian to rge his own gains further and to conduct so magical experints with his lovely ntor/girlfriend.
Thanks for making a great vacation spot, Jack-o-boy!
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