Fucking shit!

Zack ran like hell. When the other sagamores ordered the retreat, Zack started running. He was lucky. The creature seemed to stop its rampage when it saw the girl. It was a shame but it was better to survive than lose a girl.

He was alone. He got separated from the other soldiers when some of them tripped or fell over due to fear. He couldn't wait for them. He couldn't risk dying. For now, he needed them to be sacrificed for him. He already had a comfortable life.

Damn it! I'm not gonna die here! I'm going to go back home, get a new platoon, get more money and find more women! I'm definitely not going to die here!

Zack reaches a clearing with a small stream. When he does, he finally gets some breathing space. He stops for a bit and drinks some water. He sighs in relief. He's been running for a while now. His lungs have been burning for the past hour.

When he stands up, he hears a giggle. Zack quickly pulls out his sword. He looks around. The first time he spins around he sees no one but by the second time, he sees a person on the other side of the stream. Zack lost his breath.

Beautiful

Zack saw Sanria on the other side. Her long red hair flowed like the wind and her golden eyes pierced him like a flying arrow. Sanria was wearing a smile. It was a confident and smug smile that seemed to sting Zack's ego. Zack's awe was quickly overshadowed. Doubt entered his mind as he realized something important, Sanria was locked in a metal cage.

"Ho-how did you escape?!"

Sanria smiled. She crossed the stream with light and deft steps. She seemed excited as she got closer to Zack, the same way a loving wife would greet her husband after he came back from work. In a normal home environment, Zack would have been happy but this was too scary. Sanria was no longer using her charms so Zack did not become addled in his judgment.

"Get away!"

Zack screamed but Sanria kept coming closer. Zack releases a horizontal slash made out of internal energy. This wave of internal energy could kill a person with ease. Zack was a sagamore and most sagamores didn't have this level of ability. He was a bit above other normal sagamores when it came to skill.

Sanria didn't change trajectory. She was still smiling when the slash was upon her. At the last moment, Sanria jumps upward in a forward somersault. With ease, she lands in front of Zack. Zack backs away and makes another panicked slash towards Sanria. Sanria moves with perfect grace, dodging Zack's attack while getting closer to him.

Sanria speaks with a teasing voice.

"Hey, didn't you want me to come with you?"

Zack's face turned to fear as his second slash was easily dodged.

"You told me you'd bring me home and make a good woman out of me right?"

Sanria's voice had some edge to it. It was like a woman getting angry because she was being rejected.

"Hey... you said you'd bring me with you..."

Zack started to feel dread in him the moment he heard the sharper edge in Sanria's voice. Despite Sanria's beauty, Zack couldn't feel any excitement from this beautiful woman's attention. Zack felt like he was staring at a monster wearing a beautiful woman's skin.

Did the dragon do this?

"Hey... hey... hey..."

Sanria started muttering. Zack's spine was starting to rattle. He truly considered running but he felt that he would die if he turned her back on her even once.

Zack slowly backs away. He wanted to make sure he gained some distance from Sanria while also keeping an eye on her. Sanria seemed to stop moving. Her face was obscured by her long red hair which seemed reminiscent of blood. Zack was slowly gaining distance but his heart suddenly stopped. He hit something behind him. His instincts forced him to turn around and he sees a tree.

Shit

Zack immediately turns his head to Sanria. He made a mistake. He shouldn't have reacted to the tree. When Zack returns his look to the front, Sanria was gone.

FUCK!

Zack didn't leave the safety of the tree. If his back was at the tree his back would at least be safe. Zack looks around, just to see where Sanria is.

Where is she?!

Zack's heart started beating loudly. He was afraid. And the fear felt similar. He felt it earlier when the dragon attacked. He was with something unknown to him.

While looking around, Zack didn't notice the tree was slowly creaking. There was something on top of it. Zack heard the giggle again. It was behind him.

He turned his head upward and towards the tree.

Sanria smiled.

Gregory was awakened.

Magnus first awakened Sanria. The change was immediately evident. Her body seemed to exude an amazing aura of strength. Her potentials were suddenly increased and if she could've reached great heights before, she could reach even higher heights now. Not only did her potentials increase but she also seemed to have matured as her beauty became more accentuated. Her golden eyes seemed to slightly glow in the dark and her red hair became more prominent.

After her awakening, she smiled at Magnus with a very excited smile. Gregory has never seen her give that smile to any person. With Sanria being awakened, Magnus gestured for her to move.

Sanria moved away. Magnus then approached Gregory. After seeing her daughter's change, Gregory was scared but also excited as to what change would occur with him. Magnus gently touched his forehead with an outstretched claw.

The world seemed to have escaped Gregory's mind. His mind entered a blank state as if he was being reborn. Instead of fear, Gregory felt an old emotion.

Comfort.

For some reason, he knew that this was the same as when he was with his mother all those years ago. She was dead now but Gregory had happy memories with her. Gregory cried as the world returned to him. When his vision returned to him, Gregory saw a smile on Sanria's face. Gregory touched his face and noted that his beard was still there. He looked at his hands and saw the years of hard work has disappeared. His hands looked smoother and his body felt fitter. Sanria, who was looting the area while her father was out of it, produced a mirror.

Gregory didn't become younger in the sense that his body returned to a younger look but instead, his body became stronger. His body transformed to a fitter and more muscular form. His looks were old before but due to the awakening, he looked like a handsome old man. His body no longer had any obvious signs of aging. If Gregory showed up at a brothel, many women would gladly take him.

While his physical looks changed, Gregory felt stronger as well.

Normal humans, without the help of magic or internal energy, had a low ceiling for physical stats. Even if a talented human trained every day and pushed his body to the absolute limits every day, he would reach a hard limit eventually. Gregory, after the awakening, now has a higher ceiling. If he trained, he could even overpower individuals that had internal energy without using any internal energy himself.

But that wasn't all the awakening changed. Gregory felt something inside him move. It was like a living thing but it had no consciousness. He flexed his arm and he felt internal energy leave it. He flexed his arm again but he did his best to make sure the internal energy stayed in his arm. Gregory felt an immense amount of power.

Wanting to test his newfound strength, Gregory turned to the iron cages. He touched a bar and, with his empowered arm, bent it forward.

Gregory was surprised. He knew that he didn't have control of this energy yet, he needed practice but he knew that with this, he is no longer the humble village head. He could be more.

Magnus watched as Sanria and Gregory took in their newfound abilities. Gregory's abilities were improved to the point that he is no longer the same man. He was more. Sanria's abilities improved so much that if she were awakened earlier, she could have taken this camp alone.

Is this the effect of my influence on them?

Magnus knew that awakened worshippers and dragonborns showcased great power but this growth was too much. Gregory's increase in ability is too great and he suddenly gained the ability to use internal energy. Sanria's presence feels more like a dragon rather than a dragonborn. Magnus ignored it for now. He did not have memories of worshippers or dragonborns.

For now, he needed to order them to wipe out the remaining enemies.

Magnus connected his mind to his two awakened allies.

Gregory and Sanria stopped whatever they were doing and turned their attention to Magnus. Gregory looked respectful while Sanria looked at Magnus with intensity. Magnus ignored it.

With him being so young, Magnus had to be careful releasing his psychic energy. He feared hurting his two new allies.

Slay the remaining enemies.

It was a single phrase but the two knew what Magnus meant. If Magnus said this earlier, the two would have been hesitant to do so but now, they were confident. Gregory was prepared to kill the moment his daughter was taken. Sanria would kill a lot of people for Magnus.

Gregory took some armor and weapons with him. He took a shortsword, a better bow, two daggers, and a helmet. He was about to help Sanria wear her gear but she declined. She said it was more exciting this way.

Gregory was about to tell her how worried he would be if she fought without gear but Sanria was too busy looking at the forest. Sanria's senses were sharper than before, almost as sharp as Magnus's current senses. She already saw how many soldiers were remaining but she didn't care about them yet. She wanted to find a specific soldier.

"There you are."

Gregory was about to push gear on Sanria but she disappeared. With the combination of her increased physical skills and explosive internal energy, Sanria ran to the forest. Gregory followed after he managed to track the trails of the other escaped prisoners.

Zack ran. He ran like a child who saw a ghost.

"Zaaack~ Come back! You promised to take care of me right?!"

"Shit shit shit shit shit!"

Zack kept cursing. He was slowly running out of internal energy. Once that was gone, he had to rely on his stamina. Once that was gone, he would be captured by Sanria. Zack had to reach the outpost or else he's dead.

Sanria could have easily caught Zack but she wanted to play.

"Zack! Come on! Don't you want me? You wanted me so bad right?"

Zack started sweating as he continued to run. He started praying in every god the empire worshipped but no one answered his desperation.

Then he tripped.

Zack fell face first on the hard ground. He felt his nose break.

"Ahhh fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Zack felt immense hate for the gorgeous woman following him. Zack slammed his fists on the ground causing some small cracks on it due to his internal energy. Zack curses again. He's wasting energy on breaking the floor instead of running.

"Aww, did you fall Zack?"

Sanria feigned concern which pissed off Zack even more.

"Shut the fuck up you bitch!"

Sanria giggles.

"Why? I thought you were a strong man. You were going to bring me home and make me a proper woman?"

Sanria's voice is laced with sarcasm and anger but Zack didn't need to hear that to know she was angry.

"Shut the fuck up, shut up, shut up!"

Sanria giggles again.

"You... you were playing with me..."

"Maybe I did... so what?"

"Fuck! You bitch! I knew it! You and that fucking liza-"

Zack suddenly blacked out. He quickly recovered but he felt an immense amount of pain on his face. He touches it and feels a bruise. He turns to Sanria. Her smile was gone. She had a look of condescension on him.

"Do not da-."

"You bitch! You fucking hit me!"

Sanria's face then returned to her smiling one.

"Oh, I apologize. You just said something that pissed me off. It was my bad."

"Fuck, why do I have to be so unlucky... My army got decimated by an overgrown rep-"

Sanria kicked Zack's face and he hits the ground hard.

Zack coughs up blood but he doesn't get any reprieve as Sanria straddles him. He feels powerful hands grab his throat. Zack was slowly losing air. His vision was darkening. Despite his body being infused with internal energy, he couldn't pry off Sanria's hands.

"Listen here you worthless sack of meat! You, for the remaining minutes of your pathetic life, cannot speak, think, or even wonder about his greatness and majesty. He has shown me something far greater than what your puny speck of a mind could ever possibly comprehend. I am his and the moment any trash like you speak ill of him! I'll kill them!"

With a snap of her powerful hands, Zack stops struggling. Sanria sighs.

It's done.

She stands up and looks far away.

"I have other pests to clean up. I can't keep my lord hanging."

She smiles to herself as she sees a rather interesting future. A future she's looking forward to.