Mapping hourly report [Session No.62]

Scanned lifeforms: 7500

Actively moving entities: 6221

Terrain: Flat, Mostly covered in vegetation

Man Made structures: 5

Estimated map area: 16.7 km

Altitude: 789 meters above sea level

Underground caverns: 3

Bodies of water: 25

Notable Changes: Sector from A-1 to J-10 showed substantial withering of vegetation.

With the weather balloon being made of latex, the contained helium inside gradually escaped through microscopic pores and eventually couldn’t lift the fairly heavy device any longer. After staying afloat above the skies for a couple of days, the camera issued its last report while slowly descending onto the forest ground.

As designed by its manufacturer, the balloon now acted as a parachute. Usually carrying expensive weather instruments that were not easy to replace if they were left broken by the landing, Seth expected that the camera would also be kept safe by this seemingly primitive but useful technology.

But then, the location where it was falling into wasn’t exactly where Seth intended it to land.

The troposphere wasn’t kind enough to just let the balloon stay at the same place as winds of considerable speed clashed against its surface, moving it at the direction where the weather desired it to go.

Currently, it plummeted at an area further north the moment the sun had risen. A part of the forest that was once filled with lush vegetation and now was a place devoid of any form of flora.

Unnaturally, all the trees were rotten and withered after just a few days. As if something was forcibly killing the ecosystem, not a single form of an animal could be identified. Nonetheless, there were thousands of life forms that freely moved within the vicinity.

Bomp..!!

After a few minutes, the camera dived into a sea of gigantic leafless branches. Followed by the balloon and rope it was attached to, it barely managed to cut through the wooden obstacles. Considering that the branches had large gaps between one another, it was easy to get through. But then, the sound it made when it landed wasn’t exactly how anyone would expect it to be.

“Uuhh…..hurt….uhh...head.”

After feeling that something had hit its head out of nowhere, the creature attempted to bellow but instead reacted rather uninterestedly while using an exceedingly deep voice.

Towering by at least fours meters, it made the gigantic trees look normal. Dark grey skin filled with a thin layer of hair, the entirety of its exaggeratedly muscular body was blended into its surrounding. A disproportionately big head with an even more disproportionately big nose. A pair of pointed ears that quivered from even the slightest sound of its surroundings. Clearly carnivorous as the majority of its teeth were pointed and were protruding from its mouth. Like a newborn baby, its whole body was naked except for its groin which was covered by a dirty piece of loin cloth. Lastly, it owned a pair of dark ferocious eyes that was undoubtedly hungry for blood.

“Oooh...shiny.”

Not minding the fact that something just hit its head, the creature squatted and curiously looked at the thing that was sparkling brightly beneath the morning sun.

The refraction of the sunlight through its multiple lenses made it look like a disco ball. For someone that didn't seem to possess high intelligence, seeing something so unusual could surely pique its interest.

Without waiting any longer it stretched one of its burly arms over the thingamajig that was lying on the ground.

It didn’t matter to it if it was dangerous or not, anything that was unknown to it should always be felt first by touch. Contrary to its savage appearance, it grabbed the shiny ball with utmost care. Smaller than the width of its pinky finger, the camera was pinched with the minimum amount of strength it could possibly muster.

“Pretty…”

As it was raised up high in the air, the entirety of its lenses glowed much brighter. Serrated teeth that yellowed, due to the nonexistence of hygiene, were fully uncovered from its wide mouth. Clearly elated by this discovery, its dark pupils dilated to its maximum which further worsened its already horrific appearance.

But then, it wasn’t the only one who was interested in it.

Like a gust of wind, a figure sped through the lifeless forest soil. With every step it took, small clouds of dust surfaces from the ground. Nimble and agile, its appearance was hard to determine as it moved towards the creature that was almost a hundred times bigger. When their distance between each other was shortened to a meter, it jumped high and managed to land on its slightly hunched back. Still it didn’t stop, using its shoulder and arm as a bridge, it neared the prize which was right before its eyes.

“Give me that!”

As easy as taking candy from a baby, it snatched the sparkling ball from the clutches of the insensitive brute. It shouted mockingly, through a tiny voice that was befitting of its small body. Not minding the height where it was previously held, it jumped off unhesitatingly. Using a large piece of cloth that was as dirty as the loincloth it wore, it glided through the air like a paratrooper and landed just in front of the still unaware goliath.

“Her majesty will surely praise me for this!”

It repeatedly jumped in joy as it adoringly held the camera.

A mini version of the gigantic brute it was. Dark skinned, muscular body and a head full of black hair. With its height similar to a child’s, it didn’t look as intimidating as the brute. Even so, it overcame this deficit with its clearly higher level of intelligence which allowed it to use tools and formulate tactics in battle.

“Hey!…..shiny thing…. mine!”

The brute bellowed, its gigantic nose flared. Large drops of saliva escaped from its mouth as it angrily shouted at the tiny thief.

“I’ll give it back if you can catch me!”

Openly, it mocked the brute while laughing at its sloth-like reaction. It wasn’t afraid that the brute could just easily squish it flat and continued a belittling act before scurrying away. It wanted to continue ridiculing the brute but the desire for the reward completely overshadowed its mischievous tendencies. As fast as it came to rob the brute, the thief dashed towards the direction where the Queen was currently at.

“Uhhh…..”

The brute was undoubtedly disappointed but it didn’t show any sign of malice. Except for its useless attempt to verbally apprehend the thief, the brute was more or less passive when it came to disputes. After a few scratches on the head it ceased to dwell on the fact that it was robbed off of its chance to make the queen happy.

Elegant and seductive, the lady in the black dress possessed an appearance that could make anyone breathless from just a single glance. Even so, her mannerism wasn’t exactly as graceful as her beauty. With her alluring body being sprawled inside a throne made of polished obsidian, she didn’t care how others think of her except for her beloved who she cherished the most. Boredom was clear from her crimson eyes as she stared at the faraway throne room door.

“Your majesty, one of the minions seemed to have found something interesting.”

A monotonous voice, that was devoid of any sort of emotion, resounded from someone standing beside the throne.

Someone who wore something quite similar to a maid outfit from the Victorian era. A long white apron that covered a similarly long black dress with floral laced cuffs and collars. On top of her head full of silver colored hair, which was tied into a ponytail, a white mob cap rested. Even though the clothes were made to cover skin as much as possible, her healthy curves were still visible. Contrary to her healthy figure, the meager skin that was visible from the outfit possessed a ghostly paleness.

The maid's beauty was somewhat comparable to the one she called her majesty except for the fact that a part of her face was brutally mutilated. Her pearly white teeth and dark colored gums were completely visible after the skin that covered them was somehow forcibly ripped.

“Let it in.”

Without even questioning the maid on how she managed to obtain such information despite the fact the she was always beside her, the queen readily gave her permission.

The maid nodded at her master's decision and proceeded to mumble something. With her sets of teeth that were always showing, it was easy to discern that she was trying to speak of something. Her brown pupils dilated as she stared at the shiny black door that almost reached the ceiling.

“Digas ast norn.”

Despite the fact that it was several tons heavy, the obsidian door slowly opened from the outside. With only a few words under her breath, it vertically separated into two equal parts without even emitting any sort of sound. Undoubtedly, it was being handled by something supernatural.

“..........”

An ear shattering silence filled the whole room as the figure that was outside the door became visible.

Holding something up in the air with its tiny arms, the minion who had been confident with its find became stiff amidst the intimidating atmosphere inside the throne room. Overwhelming power that could overwhelm an army of elites, the minion certainly felt that it was the case for the individuals currently residing within this room. And seeing that all of them were focusing their attention towards it, the minion became exceedingly nervous.

“Come here at once.”

The queen beckoned the minion with a voice that possessed enough sweetness to put one into a trance.

Unconsciously, it could feel its legs stepping inside the crimson carpet that was laid down on the polished obsidian floor, towards the throne where the queen was seated comfortably. Even though the minion was scared of all the people besides the queen, its greedy nature that was worsened by the queen’s presence momentarily overshadowed its fears.

!!?

Ten sets of ivory colored armor, which didn’t suit the motif of the throne room, were evenly placed on both sides of the carpet. Just below the steps that elevated the throne, they imposingly stood still with their swords constantly saluting. It certainly looked as if they were statues that were only used for decorations, but the minion could easily tell that within those metal plates, fearsome warriors resided.

The minion couldn’t help but wince as soon as he passed by the first set of armor. It was nerve wracking and heart pounding, nevertheless the minion proceeded to make its way towards the queen who interestingly stared at its direction.

“Urk….”

It believed that it had already endured the worst but as soon as the minion arrived beneath the steps, it became frozen due to shock.

At the queen’s left, a maid that reeked of death stood lifelessly and at the other side, a knight in pitch black armor. With auras that could whittle down life force, the minion felt that it would easily die if it was to approach them carelessly.

“Give me that.”

Impatiently, the queen gestured for the thing that looked like a ball which was evenly studded with gems she hadn’t seen before.

For someone who had lived for countless years and had witnessed the course of history with her very own eyes, the queen was fascinated towards the unusualness of the article. It looked like a magical tool but it wasn't. Not a single bit of mana could be felt from the thing that looked so intricately made.

Slowly, the minion nervously climbed the steps beneath the throne. If it wasn’t for the favorable reaction of the queen, it would’ve immediately ran away for its life. A generous reward should entail this rare discovery, the minion thought.

As soon as the thing was within arms reach, the queen snatched it from the minion and proceeded to examine it much more closely.

Almost the same size as her head, a ball that sparkled whenever light was showered onto it. Embedded into circle shaped holes, the materials that looked like gems looked as if they were alive. Whenever the queen held it close, the interior of the gems would retract and if she held it far from her face, it would then extend its sparkling core. She had never seen something so lifelike while being devoid of any residue of mana, making the queen somewhat convinced that this thing was some sort of a relic.

“Err….your majesty, shouldn’t this be deserving of a reward?”

While wearing an anxious smile, it rubbed both its dirty hands together. The minion mustered every bit of courage it had and shamelessly asked the queen for a suitable reward.

“A reward you say?”

The lady in black couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow towards the minion’s attitude even though she knew that its kind was intrinsically greedy.

The queen deemed the minion to be disrespectful despite the fact that it really did a great job of finding such a rare item. She would never tolerate such arrogance from someone who reeked of ugliness and inferiority.

“My knight will bestow you a suitable reward.”

She smiled warmly towards the expectant minion while gesturing the knight in full black armor to grant the ‘suitable’ reward she talked about just now.

“I am forever grateful to you my queen!”

It bowed exaggeratedly toward its queen, hiding its hideous face that was full of ecstacy. The minion licked its dark colored lips, its long serpentine-like tongue briefly peeking from its mouth.

Surprisingly, everything had been going according to the minion’s plan. It could never imagine that the queen it had served was in fact a kind and generous ruler that would treat a lowly subordinate righteously.

The minion had heard from its fellow comrades that the queen would usually give blessings which would enhance the body. Not only physically but also mentally, minions would evolve up until a point where it could possess a body and mind that was similar to human-like humanoid species.

At last, my dreams of copulating with beautiful ladies will come true!

Its strong desire for reproduction overshadowed everything else inside its head.

Besides the fact that female minions were scarce, alpha males monopolized them, leaving other males to fend for themselves. Further worsening the situation, males had high urges to mate all year around. The majority of them could only endure and hope that they could capture human-like humanoid species so that they could somehow relieve their pent up lust. To acquire a new body meant that his future would be changed greatly, especially since he could interact with other races with an equal standing. The minion was aware that he was ugly and weak. Making it impossible for his dream of bedding human, elven or even dwarven females to be fulfilled.

“Eh?”

Finally snapping out from its delusions, the minion let out a dumbfounded sound as it realized the meaning behind the queen’s words.

Instead of the queen, the knight would present the reward. For the knight who was shrouded with an aura of death, a curse would probably be bestowed instead of a blessing. The minion wanted to run away at this instance but couldn’t do so. As if his feet were rooted firmly onto the pitch black floor, all he could do was wait for the outcome of this ordeal.

Soon enough, a large shadow was casted upon his tiny body. The air that was originally refreshing became heavy and suffocating. Cold sweat dripped from every nook and cranny, every part of him frozen solid.

“Khuaaahk!!”

The last shriek he managed to spat was full of frustration and annoyance before something sharp had robbed him of the ability of producing any sort of sound.

From the minion’s skull until its pelvis, dark blood splattered like a fountain as his body was cleanly bisected into two. Through a crimson greatsword, that was as tall as the knight who wielded it, it's pitiable life was ended horrendously.

“Splendid! For such a foul looking being to be transformed into something beautiful.”

The queen laughed maniacally amidst the fountain of blood that was high enough to splash onto her elegant dress and some of her exposed pale white skin. Even so, she didn’t mind at all and just basked in the iron rich shower. For her, blood was something beautiful and elegant that she wouldn’t mind bathing in a pool full of it.

“Your majesty, the location of the king had already been reached by your influence.”

The queen’s blissful moment was suddenly interrupted by the emotionless maid who didn’t even bat an eyelid in front of such horrific events.

Still sounding monotonous and unconcerned, she delivered the news her majesty had been wanting to hear the most. Despite seeing the wrath of the queen towards someone disrespectful, she still carried an indifferent attitude.

“AT LAST!!!”

Without any warnings, the queen shouted at the top of her lungs while embracing affectionately the ball that was studded with gems.

Her crimson pupils dilating and her breath becoming rugged, the queen couldn't hide the excitement that suddenly struck her heart. She couldn't wait anymore. To be with her beloved, she would even cross the rocky forest floor on her bare feet. The wait that took a few millennia challenged her patience but it seemed that they were still destined to be with each other no matter what happened.

Immediately, she stood up from her seat and proceeded to carefully place the ball on the well cushioned throne. Not minding the pieces of meat that stood her way, the queen swiftly walked down the carpet covered steps. The train of her long dress soon followed and eventually passed over the blood soaked remains of the minion.

“I'm sure that he's also anxious to meet me.”

She licked her luscious lips as she imagined the face of the youthful king. The puddle of blood and meat mysteriously disappearing as the dark colored cloth passed its way upon it.