(Ashen POV)

Minutes count slower, almost as if they were cemented by tar. Hours turn into their own timelines, days to infinities. A drag on my mental resources. But that moment of unclarity, unreasonability, that moment washed over me. But the wave is retreating, if only to grow stronger by the next tide. It'll smother me again with those memories I knew not of. What did they mean? Why were they distorted by grieving eyes? Tears that reflected light and blurred everything. Was it too hard to make out the details, or were they just never present? The toll these visions take on my mind is not heavy. Though distraction prevents their ferocity in most, it's that slight taint left after that ruins tranquility. Emotions erupt in violent, yet silent, episodes. A siege of anger would assault my mind every now and again. A stream of grief next, neither lasting long nor intensely.

It’s like a pendulum, every swing back and forth gives an emotion unprompted. Not on schedule, but rather like seeds sprouting from a plot of land after an extensive drought. Sometimes a lone emotion would break to the surface, but never bloom. Sometimes batches rise together, giving rather strong emotions. The worst was yesterday. Something came over me. I don’t quite know what, but it was a swarm of emotions that compounded over and over, like a black hole, always condensing into something more powerful, more volatile. Then, like an astronomical nightmare, that black hole of emotion would implode, no longer storing those pent-up feelings, and instead, forcing them through me. I still have yet to understand it, but I’m trying to. If random feelings can overwhelm me so much, it leaves a massive gap in security and general safety.

The peck of a kiss landed on my cheek, and I knew Xylith had woken up. “Morning, love!” She spoke in a more energetic tone than normal.

“Good morning, Xylith.” If I had to guess, I’d say it was due to my mana regeneration leaking into her, giving her more energy than normal, it had happened before, but never this much.

“What’s the plan for today?” An adequate question, one I should have pondered more on.

“I have to meet with the other plane lords, and discuss the fine details of our deal. Then I have to start working on Battle Towers for the towns I sanctioned. And to top it all off, I still have to meet with King Arthur, and King Erik, for diplomatic matters. Something regarding a free trade pact, and migration treaty. It’s more formal than diplomatic. And even then I have a bit of magic studies to catch up on.” Her mind seemed to compute my words with minor delay, but her eyes lit up on the last part.

“Magic studies? Could I join? If only just to watch?” I had little reason to deny her, it’s not like my magical expertise is a secret.

“As long as it stays magic studies and nothing else.” She rolled her eyes at my words, likely removing a portion of her thoughts from becoming reality.

“Yeah, yeah, I just want to see what you’d need to study. You already have Physical Magic covered in excess, and even then, you have teleportation, flight, communication, and runic magic all mastered too! If you could still need to study on something, I’m afraid to death that my own magic is nothing more than worthless.” I never thought how others could feel as a result of my prowess…

“I… Xylith, you’re magic is leagues above many in the world. Don’t take my magic, or anyone else’s to mean that your own is not up to par. It’s not just the quantity or quality of magic that places one’s magic over another, it has many factors. Besides, if you spend time belittling yourself, you’ll never see the good amongst the bad. Your magic is quite strong, I just have a leg up.” I stood up and quickly put on my usual armor. “If you can leave bed, I’ll show you what I mean.” She struggled for a moment, the silky sheets draining her will to leave at first, but she overcame them. It hasn’t been too long since, uh, that night, but her stomach had a slight bulge already, I guess she was right about pregnancy being shorter for her.

“Yeah, yeah, I just need to stretch before we go.” She spoke as she started to do some rather harsh exercises, like twisting her spine like one would a wet cloth.

When she finished I teleported us to the training arena, where I started to explain what I meant. “Every piece of equipment you see on my body has its own unique properties that make me as strong as I am. Though that isn’t to say I'm powerless without them, it just increases my strength further.” She seemed to be keeping mental notes again, something she did often.

“So, I assume your armor gives some sort of fire-related effect?” Indeed it did, and the best in the game.

“Correct, this Magmanium armor I wear provides a high affinity to fire magic and even some lightning magic.”

“And the many rings you wear each give their own unique power?”

“Also correct, each has their own reason for being on my fingers. From storage to protection, to offense, and even simple utility.” Though I never really used it, my ring of camouflage was quite useful to have available at all times.

“Is that all of your rings? Or do you not wear them all for the sake of simplicity? Never mind, I guess wearing more than one ring per finger is too much regardless.”

“No, no, it’s alright. And yes, I have plenty more, I can’t wear them all at once though.” If I was able to, that’d be broken beyond belief.

“Oh, alright. Then what about your two necklaces?” Ah, right, one of these was in my cosmetic slot, wasn’t it?

“Well, they both provide protection, but I doubt this one will work in tandem,” I said, lightly holding forward my necklace of the Fallbreach, an item that provided immunities towards some negative status effects, it was in the cosmetic slot, so Its effects shouldn’t work.

“Well, I don’t sense any magic from that one, but all the others seem loaded with mana. How come it doesn’t work? Is it defective?” Wait, was it just turned off somehow?

I felt a small tether, almost asking for mana. “Well, not quite, but let’s find out together.” I started pouring mana in by the millions, and the necklace made room for more.

50 million mana, that’s how much it took to fulfill its needs. “Wow, I’ve never seen so much mana being transferred into a magical item like that, at least not to this extreme.” Had she seen something like this before?

“I believe it should work now, but how to test… Ah, Xylith, do you know any curse spells?” She looked confused for a moment.

“Curse magic? Yes, why?”

“I’d like you to cast a curse onto me.”

“As long as you’re confident, I’ll do what you want.” She stretched her hand towards me, and a black spell circle flashed in and out of existence, the spell ‘Lesser Curse’ had been cast upon me.

[Lesser Curse has been Purged]

What?

[Greater Curse has been Purged]

Wait, why a second message?

[Great Leer of the Gods has been Purged]

Hold on a second, this is a little too much to handle at the moment…

[Manipulation of the Cosmos has been Purged] [Obedience of My Will has been Purged] [Mark of Death has been Purged] [Fear has been Purged] [Terror has been Purged] [Madden has been Purged] [Silent Raid has been Purged] [Immortal Omen has been Purged]

A sense of clarity followed the stream of messages, and my mind felt like it was taken to a spa vacation. “Uh, Ashen, you okay there?” Ah, a brief moment of clarity, followed shortly by a brief visit to the ground, the expedition led by my face.

After firmly planting my squishy face into the hardened dirt and stone of the training arena, Xylith started to worry. My muffled words from the dirt only lead to that worry increasing. “Are you okay? That was the weakest curse spell I knew, I’m sorry.” Just when her voice sounded on the edge of tears did my face decide to end its embrace with the ground, thus we separated.

Regaining the ability to breathe, I attempted to comfort her. “I’m fine, truly. I was just a little overwhelmed by something that happened at the same time.” The discovery that I could stack effects of items in this world should have been an ancient finding, but yet it has taken over half of a year.

As the tiny beads of tears formed in the corners of her eyes, she spoke. “Truly? You’re fine?” I caressed her head and held her tight.

“Yes Xylith, I’m perfectly fine. Better even. In fact, you’ve just cured me of many woes. Thank you.” She looked up at me, her face expressing slight confusion.

“How so?” Her tears stayed as beads, never forming streams.

“This necklace’s ability only activates once it detects I’ve been the target of a curse or something similar. Since you had cast a curse on me, some other bad effects on me had vanished alongside it.” She smiled and hugged tighter.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. You scared me half to death!” I hugged her back, and we stayed for a moment.

A moment only, as Premium walked in. “My apologies lord, I didn’t know you were here.”

My embrace with Xylith ended, and I motioned for him to wait. “It’s fine Premium, were you here for your daily training?”

Nodding, he responded. “Yes, my Lord.” I had an idea, with the guild’s extensive haul of magic items, and the lack of NPCs using them, perhaps arming them with a king’s trove of treasures could prove worthwhile.

Since Premium was already as blinged-out as any person could get, adding more jewelry would only add to his extreme appearance. “Would you care to help me with something real quick, then perhaps a spar?”

He bowed deeply, nearly touching the ground with his head. “Of course, my Lord, anything you wish.” Sometimes I think he is a little too overboard with the whole ‘honor and glory, fight for justice’ and ‘my lord’s will is my own’ shtick.

“It’s just a simple thought I had and wanted to test out, it shouldn’t take long.” Perhaps I could see how many items I could wear at once without looking stupid or restrict basic functions.

“I’ll go back to our room, for now, I’ve some plans with my maids for the day. Love you, I’ll see you tonight, love!” Xylith said as she started to make her way back to our bedroom.

“Love you too, Xylith. I’ll see you tonight.” I motioned for Premium to come over to me, and we walked together to the treasury.

The halls led to a large doorway, sealed tight with two black slabs of stone like the entrance of the castle. “Halt, who goes there?” A voice I haven’t heard in some time spoke out to us as we were about to open the doors.

“Ashen Fur, and Premium. Have you forgotten?” The doors started opening on their own, and the sight of gold piled higher than houses became apparent to me again.

“My apologies, Lord Ashen. It’s been too long.” The voice was given a name as the visage of a long-haired woman was met.

Black hair that touched the ground, covering her face almost completely, nearly obscuring her black eyes and grey skin. She wore black robes, ones that draped to the ground, like her hair. Sleeves extended off of her hands with nails barely protruded past. Slightly unnerving, even to me, almost creepy even. Her voice was imitating Sir Azzair, one of the four Guard Captains of the castle. Why she chose him, I did not know, perhaps it was his loud authoritative voice, or maybe it was just the last she heard. Pareidolia was her name, the twin sister of Misfortune, or so we made her out to be. She was petite, almost concerningly so, and her slender body could be a trap for men, should she will it. But with her abilities, that’s no challenge, what is, however, is finding someone that wants to befriend her, even amongst the castle, only Misfortune, Lavender, and Sir Azzair were friends with her, the others tried to avoid her when possible. Truly sad it was.

“Has Misfortune filled you in on the latest news?” I haven’t even seen her since coming to this world, so I’m in the dark on her knowledge of the situation.

“Bits and pieces.” That means I have to fill her in, doesn’t it?

“I take it you’re guarding the treasury in her stead?” She nodded once, “Have you also been managing the golems without issue? If not, I could give that responsibility to someone else.” She looked stunned for just a moment.

“There have been no issues with the management of the golems or the treasury.” Was she scared of losing her job? Or just scared of being useless?

“That’s good to hear. Say, is there anything you wish for?” She looked confused, Premium as well.

“No, my Lord.” If I wasn’t their lord, I’d think all the NPCs hated my generosity, with how often they refuse simple rewards and whatnot.

“Then mind helping me with something as well?” She nodded her head again, “See, with all the magic items we have at our disposal, I’ve decided to spread a few of them amongst everyone in the castle, but I wanted to run a few tests with them first to see if they’ll work as intended. Would you care to join Premium in helping me?”

“I understand, I’ll do what I can to help.” I understand the positional power that comes with being a lord and all, but still, why did every NPC treat me like a master they can’t defy the orders of?

Walking over to the front of the gold coin pile, I scoured for some of the magic items that could synergize well with both of them. “Ah, the Prestige of War, I believe this would be a great addition to your arsenal, Premium.” It was also pre-charged with mana, which was a plus.

He took the Necklace, and slowly put it around his neck, having to move his cape slightly, which revealed three more golden necklaces underneath. “Thank you, my lord.” I nearly forgot that we already threw all of our fancy jewelry at him when we made him, putting more on just feels like poor taste.

I ruffled through some more items and found something that should be great for Pareidolia. “The Guise of Form, I don’t believe anyone of the guild ever wore this, but it is a Divine-Class item.” I handed the bracelet to Pareidolia.

She slowly slipped it over her right hand and onto her wrist. “Thank you, my lord. I shall keep good care of this item while it’s within my possession.” I wasn’t going to take it back, did it come off that way?

Maybe it did, I never really specified the extent of their help, so it could have seemed that way. “Feel free to search for any items that would be beneficial for you to use, it’s of no issue if you take them.” They both nodded, Premium bowed lightly, then they both wandered the thin walkways between mounds of items and gold.

Premium kept taking off parts of his armor to slip on any rings, bracelets, and necklaces that he found. From what I saw, he had at least thirty rings on, and twenty bracelets, at least. He had six arms, which helped him not crowd his fingers in rings, but still. After a few minutes, he started putting bracelets on his ankles, truly stretching the limit of how many items one man could use at a time. As he was putting all his armor back on, Pareidolia had found only a ring and a tiara. The ring of Mirage, and the False Princess’s Tiara. She wore them awkwardly like she never wore anything but her robes. I felt similarly when I first woke up in this world and had more jewelry on me than the average king back on earth. Since she barely grabbed anything, I started to look for things to help her. A few rings, a necklace, and a brooch, and she took them without hesitation, putting them on like a child who got clothes for their birthday.

Admittedly the rings and necklace didn’t match her otherwise pitch-black appearance, but the tiara fit quite well, especially since it was also black with a very dark red set of gemstones. “If it’s too much for you, you needn’t wear it all. Just keep what you like, it’s no issue.” After a moment hse started taking off some of the items, leaving only the False Princess’s Tiara, the ring of Mirage, and the Guise of Form.

“My lord, excuse my rudeness, but did you intend to spar while I have these equipped?” I mean, it was useful to see the improvement, and I needed to see if the items worked with the NPCs, so it was inevitable that this would happen, either in the spar or not.

“Yes, consider it part of my experiment, but feel free to take off what you don’t want.” He bowed deeply, the clanking of all the new jewelry was much louder than before. “And take this.” I withdrew and tossed him a ring of Lesser Stealth from my pocket dimension, it would at least make the loud noises he made much quieter.

“Thank you, my Lord. I look forward to it.” I swiped a few dozen more items from the piles and threw them into my pocket dimension, I’d have to bring more NPCs here, so they can find what’s best for them, along with the items I’ve accumulated over the years in my pocket dimension.

“Pareidolia, I’ve to uphold my promise to Premium, I presume you’ll stay here?” She nodded silently again, “Very well, I’ll stop by another time and have a chat with you if you’d like of course.” She nodded again, so I made a note to come back in a little bit after I finished my other chores. “Alright Premium, It’s time to see if this was a success.” We made our way out of the treasury and down to the training arena again.

We stood ten meters apart, and he withdrew his sword and shield and readied a stance. “Don’t go easy on me, my Lord.” Oh, so he got serious in combat, good.

“I wouldn’t dream of holding back from someone like you, I might lose my head if I do.” I withdrew my volcano staff and prepared myself for his assault. “Are you coming or waiting for me to die of old age?” He rushed immediately.

A slash came down at the speed of sound, clashing harshly against my staff which intercepted the blow. “Waiting for an advantageous opportunity.” He bashed my side with his shield and withdrew his sword.

Again he rushed directly to me, slashing twice, once downwards and the other upwards. My staff redirected the strikes barely far enough away from my body to avoid damage. Just when his sword was highest, I struck his chest with my left hand, casting [Air Hammer] point-blank. His shield went to block the attack, but my hand and casting were too fast. The force shoved him to the wall, nearly forty meters away in but a moment. He rebounded himself off the wall, launching at me even faster. My staff intercepted the tip of his sword, then two more swords and spears came thrusting at me from all directions, he had gone into his true racial form. It was either be run through in four places or blast them all away. In the split second of time I had, I cast [Updraft] and [Downdraft] several times, creating extreme pressure which forcefully made him withdraw his attacks, along with making the dummies in the room violently explode into hay and repair themselves several times over.

“I know you’re toying with me.” He rushed another flurry of strikes, then his items activated.

One hole after the other appeared in the small gaps between my armor. Shallow holes, but still wounds. A black viscous liquid started to spill, and with it, I had cast another spell, [Lightfall]. A beam of pure light came crashing down onto Premium, his body glowed and was overwhelmed in the blinding light. When the spell ended, his charred and smoking body still stood. He had survived a tier 22, maxed-out Life spell of mine. An impressive feat. More impressive, however, was his immediate rush that followed the attack. His swords slashed out like a chainsaw, his spears stabbed like a scorpion. I had few choices remaining that weren’t lethal. I solidified my mind for the plan. Then he struck forward, his two spears penetrated my flesh, his swords following soon after. My tail wrapped around his waist, ensuring he couldn’t leave with his weapons. My hands stretched out to his exposed body.

“[Pernicious Downfall].” With my words came a black light that exploded from his body.

His body started to mangle itself in his writhing of pain, his bones started to snap and crack, a burst of blood shot out from the seeps in his armor, but by the end of the spell, he stood once more, body nearly broken, still willing to continue. “Nasty magic… But I learned some too… [Toxic Downfall]!” Streaks of green and purple liquid shot through my body, some shooting from my eyes and stab wounds.

My vision blurred for a moment. Earth magic, the one magic I had the least protection from. A tier 25 spell? Since when did he even know magic? From the items? My mind flashed between frozen and molten rapidly. Pain. It’s been some time since I felt it to this extent. But this isn’t nearly enough to stop me.

“[Universal Antidote].” Fight a tier 25, with a tier 25.

The green and purple liquid expelled from my body with great haste. “Very well… I’ll concede this spar.” He spoke like his lungs were as mangled as his outward appearance suggested.

“[Divine Regeneration].” I cast the second-best healing magic on both of us. If my health didn’t increase since coming to this world, he’d have killed me with that spell. “[Absolute Mending].” I repaired his armor and weapons as well, my own equipment went undamaged.

“Even after all the strength I have now, I can’t beat you. It was worth a try, I’ve learned many things. Thank you, my Lord, for your time and the battle.” If that went any longer, we both would have tried lethal means.

Even being fifty levels below me, when using that many items in tandem, it can prove overpowered. “Thank you Premium, you’ve helped me learn many things today. Take the day to rest please, Titan should be coming home sometime in the afternoon, I’d like you two to get some rest. You’ve both been working non-stop.”

“Yes, my Lord. Should I also help him gather equipment from the treasury?” That would be helpful if he did it in my stead.

“Yes, see to it that all the guards get something too, I’d hate to leave them out of this.” I estimate Premium’s level equivalent with all his new equipment to be around 1030, truly a powerhouse, but nothing unkillable.

“I’ll see it done, my Lord.” I took my leave as he was catching his breath.

My chest still hurt, but it was already healed, truly misfortunate. “Father, we could use your help in Apoctaclass if you have the time,” Vron spoke telepathically, did something happen?

Right before he was out of eyesight, I spoke quickly. “Premium, if you get the chance, tell Katrina to head to Apoctaclass.” He nodded and left.

I teleported to Jolven’s shop, and each shelf was empty. “Jolven, what’s happened?” He stood behind the counter fiddling with something.

“While we were treating the injured, Innus detected hostile forces. With the information we’ve collected, we believe it to be a monster raid.” Oh? I’ve not seen many monsters in the demon lands, so this comes as a shock, what could raid the town?

My question was answered as the screech of a large bird came from overhead. “Do you know what monsters are attacking?” He waved his hand in the air, and a strange image appeared from it.

“Galvahanna, the Consumer of the Wretched. Along with some basilisks, monilithies, and even three phoenixes.” A World Boss!? I guess since Oronix is in this world, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there were others, but still…

“I’ll see what I can do.” As I opened the door, a large explosion of stone burst from the ground, and a basilisk took its place under the cover of the dust.

A large behemoth of a creature, with brownish-grey skin and massive juts of spikes all across its body. “Aeyrs, you feel like killing a World Boss?” In true Aerys fashion, he didn’t respond, only appeared next to me.

“I heard something about a World Boss?” He looked eager, he hadn’t fought anything powerful in a long time.

“Galvahanna, and some other baddies.” I gestured to the emerging basilisk, and he smiled.

“Drumsticks it is!” One of the few best cooking materials, wonder how it tastes…

Aeyrs blasted forward, the basilisk’s body was skewered, slashed, and minced in mere seconds, the armor and spikes on its back giving way to his claws. “Only one issue, there’s a large number of injured still in the city, so that’s your second objective.”

“Damn, what else are you gonna tell me? It’s a timed mission too?”

“Technically, yes.” Sighing, his claws started glowing with a red aura.

“Fine, more fun that way.” He jumped and stabbed the underbelly of Galvahanna.” Hmm, if Oronix is a sentient and reasonable creature, what’s to say Galvahanna isn’t?

“Don’t kill it if possible, I want to try something. If it fails, all yours buddy.”

“Fine, but don’t blame me if I get carried away.” I could tell he was annoyed, but it was still worth it to try regardless of the outcome.

He continued to slash up the underbelly of Galvahanna, and I went searching for the injured. “Father, over here.” Vron spoke as I was rushing down the streets, and waved me over to a rather large and fancy building, with a sign that said ‘Hospital’ in the demonic language.

“Vron, there you are, what can I help with?” He showed me inside, where I saw Melida and Sherillie treating the injured demons.

“Father, the amount of injured people is rising at an alarming rate, nearly every day is triple what we had before.” The place had nearly two dozen demons, all receiving, waiting, or just received healing.

The two exhausted healers looked at me in a strange way. “Ashen…” Melida said under her breath, her face turning back to the patient she was healing.

“I’m here to assist in any way I can.” As I spoke, I cast the tier 20 [Mass Heal] spell upon everyone in the room.

Their bodies mended, their flesh unsevered, their bones unsnapped, their bodies refilled with fresh blood. “Father, I’ll go direct some people here for treatment.” He left in a hurry, I could feel him using our shared mana, but it refilled so quickly it was hardly noticeable.

“Lord Ashen, it’s been a while, how you enjoying that little old house ya got? I heard sales have been through the roof lately. Ya know, with the whole giant bird monster that’s been doing stuff, and well, just everything really.” Sherillie said, trying to calm herself from her overworked state.

The recently treated demons in the room gave small nods and thanks as they left. “Ah, It’s been a pleasant little thing, though I barely spend time there, little peaks and bits.”

“A shame, it’s got a good history to it.” Weren’t those houses made a few months ago at most?

“I’m sure.” A few demons walked in and out after being quickly treated to one of my max-level healing spells.

“Melida? Why so quiet? I know you two have quite the history, but come on.” Was she just shy?

“Hi Ashen, how’s it going? You kill any Eldritch Abominations as of late?” Wait, wouldn’t she know of Galvahanna since she played Sugarea?

“It’s been interesting, to say the least. And in fact, I haven’t as of late, perhaps next week? Ah, another thing, does the name Galvahanna ring a bell?” Her face froze a moment, then she looked away from me again.

“Ooh, you two got some secret stuff between ya’s?” Sherillie said, her voice was filled with interest.

“It’s nothing like that, Sherillie,” Melida spoke in a low tone, which didn’t help with Sherillie’s intrigue.

“Sure doesn’t sound like It’s nothing.” A loud screech from the bird filled the air, then the cries of the phoenixes.

“I assure you, it’s nothing between us specifically. In fact, if you want to learn what I mean, then feel free to step outside.” Her intrigue was piqued, and she walked with me outside.

Galvahanna started twirling in the air, attempting to dislodge Aeyrs from its back. “All I see is a flailing bird and some basilisks.” I pointed at the bird who was doing tricks in the sky.

“That’s Galvahanna, a level 1050 monstrosity. And riding it like an idiotic child is my brother, Aeyrs.” Her jaw dropped at that level.

“You gotta be shitting me, level 1050!? That’s quite the number, wait, that’s like, Old God territory, ain’t it?” On the nose presumption.

“Yes, and there’s bound to be a few more of similar level scattered all around the globe.” She looked like she was having a mental argument with herself, and only shook her head in decline.

“Yeah, I’m done with this, I’m going back to assuming you two got hitched or something.” She walked inside, nearly carefree.

I followed her and looked at Melida. “I tried, but now she thinks we’re married and or divorced. And I don’t know if that’s better or worse than the truth, take it how you wish.” She gave a dumbfounded look for a moment.

“Sherillie you… AHHH!” She just tackled Sherillie, the reason or context for her sudden outburst was completely unknown to me.

“Get off of me! You know it was a joke right!? Right!?” Did this happen often? Or just often enough?

“I’d hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if people came in and saw you two like that, it’d give the wrong impression.” They blushed, and Sherillie managed to kick Melida off.

“Well someone’s got an imagination,” Sherillie said, her blush deepened.

“Shame on you for thinking that way!” She shot a [Lesser Smite] my way to cover her blushing face, which failed.

The spell lit my body in a glowing yellow aura, which was soon dissipated and long gone before her blush. “That stings, try not to kill me now.” My mind wandered for a moment, and my hand moved on its own, pulling a ring from my pocket dimension. “Come now, Melida. Can’t you just forgive me for my impure thoughts, just this once?” I swear Cloud’s existence is rubbing off on me in the worst way imaginable.

Her blush only thickened, allowing Sherillie to take the ring in her stead. “Well if she ain’t gonna, then I might as well not let the offer pass by.” It was a simple silver ring with a small white gem in the middle, she slipped it on her finger without much effort.

“It’s not much, but it gives a small bonus to Life magic.” Sherillie looked at the ring in awe, which faded quickly.

“Wait, did we just get hitched?” I hope not, I’ve already got someone…

“Think of it not as a proposal, and more like a gift amongst friends.” If I had knelt, then it would have been a proposal, no argument.

Galvahanna cried out in a foul pain again, and the sound of thunder cried overhead. “Yeah, yeah. A gift. Nothing else. Like friends.” If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she went mad.

“Sherillie quit your fever dream, he’s got someone…” Melida spoke with a judgemental tone, but I felt like she was trying to obscure something.

“Oh quit your yapping, It’s not like I didn’t know! Besides, It’s not like I have any interest in him like that. My dad always told me never to sleep with the customer, not after what happened to him.” What kind of advice was that? No, moreover, what the hell happened to insight that advice in the first place?

“That’s not what I-” Galvahanna’s loud wails of pain drowned out all sound, cutting Melida’s words off suddenly.

“Are you going to do that thing you wanted soon or what? I’m resisting the urge to play maniacal surgeon with this thing, so hurry the hell up!” Ah, well my time’s run out, guess I should test my hypothesis.

“I’ll be back in a few moments.” I teleported to Aeyrs, then flew onto Galvahanna’s head. “Galvahanna, can you hear me?” I felt some kind of connection, but it was hard to maintain with the rustling of the bird in its struggle. “Can you understand me?” The connection waxed and waned, and after some aggressive movements it calmed down.

“REVELNAIRE!” Its voice boomed out, the very air school with violent intent.

Small lines of red appeared like still raindrops, and the sky darkened overhead, a few storm clouds emerged from nothingness. “I’m sure you remember us, so do yourself a favor and give up the hostilities. We won’t kill you if you don’t give a reason, I’m sure there is something we can work out.” Though I did want diplomatic relations with the World Bosses, it might prove more rewarding to just dispose of them altogether…

“RECHVALOTAR!” The lines of red grew in size, and the ground looked like it was being coated in a bloody smog.

“Oronix, come forth.” My tether to Oronix grew massive, and his body appeared in a flash of mana.

His wings kept him afloat next to Galvahanna, and the two looked at one another with great tension filling the air. “Galvahanna, what do you want?” Oronix’s voice knocked some power out of Galvahanna’s spells.

“Oronix, you’ve been reduced to a mere slave?” Galvahanna spoke in a spotty old voice, just as loud as Oronix.

Oronix’s heads all looked enraged, his eyes all glowed in hate. “You dare call me a slave? Shall I perish you again?” Again? Well, that’s some lore I didn’t know…

“Like you would have the chance. I’m here for the mana.” Though I barely noticed until now, Aeyrs had climbed up the side using his claws and stood next to me just watching the confrontation.

“Galvahanna, If mana is what you want, then may I propose an offer?” It snarled without hesitation, giving little time to think.

“And what? Be another slave of yours? For what reason should I even consider it? If I decline you’ll all kill me? Is that how this is going to play out? Fine then…” He didn’t even let me clarify what the deal even was.

“Galvahanna, you harbor no victory to come from this, death is only temporary.” Could I revive a World Boss? It’s an interesting question for sure, one that most certainly everyone would say and hope not, but still, it’s technically possible…

“I’ve already been dead, what’s the difference? If I die now without enough mana to preserve my soul, I’ll die indefinitely? Is that the danger? Be it from sheep to man to king to god, death isn’t something I fear anymore. My life is as fickle as could be, so why bother protecting such a thing?” Before long, Galvahanna’s storm grew considerably stronger, the small red lines developed into bolts that hummed at low tones, ready to engulf the ground in a barrage of magic.

“Life is a precious thing, if you intend to waste yours, I’ll take it for myself,” Oronix said, his eight maws opening and preparing a breath attack in each.

“REICKVHALD!”Galvahanna’s spell finished, and red and black lines descended upon the ground, but most were directed at Oronix and itself.

The red and black lines pierced everything, buildings, people, Oronix, and Galvahanna, almost completely unimpeded, and Oronix’s breath weapons blasted like cannons upon Galvahanna. The beams ripped through Galvahanna’s flesh like mere paper, the torrents nearly removing my and Aeyrs from Galvahanna’s back. The lines continued pouring like a thunderstorm, with each raindrop causing destruction. The town was being ruined by the second. I would have to step in to counter the utter damage that’s to come should these two fight all out.

I had barely any time to practice this, as that’s what I planned for tonight, but It’s my only real chance at large-scale protection. “[Null Zone].” My mana drained, either from improficiency, or simply high costs.

The storm seized up, and Oronix’s breath died down, but it was non-magical, so it shouldn’t have had an effect. “Impossible. You know Null magic?” Oronix’s voice, though epic, sounded hesitant almost.

The yellow moon glowed brighter, though it was daytime, it glowed as bright as a second sun. “Does this make me a World Boss?” Only World Bosses know Null magic, so I guess I’ve become one, if only by a technicality.

Galvahanna’s body started to shutter, and its wings slowed, and it started falling. “Hate to ruin your fun, but can you prevent this bird from falling? I don’t want its meat to be too tender.” Aerys said, and I used the [Updraft] spell to prevent its fall onto the city below.

“Oronix, spare Galvahanna. I merely wish to talk, just for a little bit.” Oronix flew off, slightly shaken, but still incredibly fast. “Aeyrs, give me a minute more.” As he nodded I drifted Galvahanna’s body away from the city and slowly let it touch the ground. “Galvahanna, I won’t force you into subordination, I just want you to stop attacking my city. If we can work something out that’s beneficial for the both of us, why not try?” As its body touched the ground, Galvahanna let out a whimper of pain, it wasn’t for long, but sustaining the damage output of Oronix’s breath attacks in addition to the low mana count it had, it’s lucky to have survived.

“Fine, what is your offer?” Galvahanna’s wounds leaked a very thick black blood, thicker than tar, almost gluing itself to its scales.

“You said you wanted mana, and my city has plenty, so you could stay and fill your mana pool. In return, I just want your word that you’ll not go around destroying stuff. I’ll do my best to supply you with all you need. Does that sound fair?” In addition, I used my magic to heal Galvahanna’s wounds as best I could.

“If you can guarantee my safety long enough for me to get my mana back, I’ll accept.” I don’t know how long it will take to completely recharge Galvahanna’s mana pool, but I can’t just decline after all this.

“I promise, on my head.” Galvahanna’s wounds mended over a few minutes, the physical damage sustained was too great to heal instantly.

“So no drumsticks? No thighs, wings, or breasts? I’ve been cheated!” Aeyrs said, only to teleport away, likely to have Kraken mend his broken heart.

“I’ll keep to the skies, the mana up there is denser than below.” Likely because the people below are using more, thus the skies will have more not being used.

“I’ll have Innus keep an eye out for your safety as well.” Thinking back, maybe I should have known World Bosses are common, as the Plane Lords were all World Bosses in themselves, so it should be evident that more exist.

Galvahanna took to the skies and started to circle around Apoctaclass, and my mind started to wonder. This world is unique, and something completely separate from earth and Sugarea, that much is clear. But what’s not is the obvious parts. Why am I here? Why is the Sugarea magic system here? Why are the World Bosses here? Why is only my guild building here, and no others? Why all the NPCs as well? What about the New Gods? The dungeons? So much doesn’t make sense. Not to mention the nations of the world, and their whole politics, though politics is always complex. Why are others from the guild also here? And more importantly, why did we all arrive at different times in this world when we all ‘left’ at the same time on earth? My mind can’t answer these difficult questions, but that’s not to say they’ll never be answered. Some of them won’t be, but I won’t let the important ones slip by me.

I suppose I’ve got a list of chores still, many of the tasks I’ve set to do are things I can’t prolong anymore. The meetings with the Plane Lords, the kings, and whoever else can’t keep being delayed. So I’ve to do them now. Otherwise, I’ll just push them back with whatever happens at the time. I’m sure I’ve pushed many away due to my in-the-moment thinking. I wonder how Hairz is doing? It’s been some time, and he was staying in Wheatberg, so perhaps I’ll get a chance to run into him soon. But for now, I’ve to focus. Plane Lords, I’ve a meeting with you.

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(Aeyrs POV)

After returning to the castle to get some food, I’ve finally realized something. “Kraken, can you cook divine-tier items?” Between bites, I spoke.

“I believe, but I’ve never tried.” Without hesitation, I pulled out and placed on the table a small mountain of stored cooking materials, most of which were divine tier.

Kraken had a field day cooking it all, likely thrilled to work with such good ingredients, but I was more thrilled to eat his efforts. “Keep it coming, I’ve got to work off the disappointment that I incurred today. My hopes were high, but my anticipation was higher.” This food was as the tier implied, simply divine.

I nearly cried while chowing down the feast, and soon enough food stockpiled that some maids and butlers had made their way over to compete with my appetite. “I doubt there’s enough to fill you, but that doesn’t mean I’m stopping anytime soon!” His arms moved at crazy speeds, slicing the ingredients, mixing them, and preparing each dish.

Half an hour passed by in a mere moment, the mountain of dishes replaced the ingredients, and they slowly went down. The maids and butlers had their fill, none capable of surpassing my appetite. Premium and Titan walked into the dining hall as I was halfway through the pile, their arms were around each other’s necks all buddy-buddy-like. They sat down across from me and seemed to challenge me to an eating contest, one I’m glad to accept, especially since I’ve already started. Though they looked small, their appetites were massive. The pile shrunk faster and faster. I thought I was the heavy eater, but now my perspective has changed. My hunger was sated though, and so was theirs, they looked stuffed and delighted.

“Lord Aeyrs, thank you for eating with us, how was your trip to Apoctaclass?” Premium said we were talking right before I left.

“Disappointing, Galvahanna was there but Ashen befriended it instead of letting me kill and eat it.” Maybe it wasn’t so bad, but still, I was promised meat, and then denied, I feel robbed.

“I’m sorry to hear, my Lord. I suppose Galvahanna is now in the same boat as Oronix?” I guess I didn’t pay too much attention to the situation, my appetite got the best of me, that and my thirst for a good battle.

“I just wanted to fight it, It’s been too long since I’ve had a good brawl. Say…” Surely together they could stand a good chance, no?

“Apologies Lord, Lord Ashen already told us to take the day off, and we plan to do just that.” Titan nodded to Premium’s words, then downed a large mug of alcohol.

“A shame, then tomorrow?” I just want to sate my desires, for now, so I can handle them before I act up and do something regrettable.

“Sure, we’d love to have a go with you.” The one time I’ll remember something, and it’s not going to be forgotten.

“First thing tomorrow. Don’t forget now.” They waved me goodbye as I went to sleep off my meal.

Just as I was getting snug in bed, I received a few messages from the World System.

[Water Plane Lord has anchored to the Physical Plane] [Earth Plane Lord has anchored to the Physical Plane] [Air Plane Lord has anchored to the Physical Plane] [Lightning Plane Lord has anchored to the Physical Plane] [Frost Plane Lord has anchored to the Physical Plane] [Life Plane Lord has anchored to the Physical Plane] [Death Plane Lord has anchored to the Physical Plane]

Oh great, Ashen did what he’s supposed to for once, maybe I can sleep for a few days…