After successfully breaking Arcelia’s curse and checking in on the girls to make sure everything was fine, Alex found himself standing in the heart of the [Fox Tribe Village] with a strange sense of finality.
There was no longer any pressing matter holding him there.
His four wives, Alice, Aurelia, Alera, and Lilith, were doing well, each one stronger than before and on friendlier terms with one another than he could’ve hoped for when they first met.
There was no tension in the air between them, only playful banter and a growing sense of unity.
Arcelia and Eleonora, despite being new additions to the group, were settling in with surprising ease.
Their personalities weren’t exactly subtle, but they didn’t seem to clash with the others, and that was all Alex could really ask for.
He knew this peace wouldn’t last forever, not in a world like this.
But for now, he could allow himself to hope, to breathe.
Maybe, just maybe, this peace could last at least until the [Chosen Games] were over.
And if he won, if everything went the way he planned, then maybe it could last even longer.
“I wish we could take you guys to the real world,” Alice sighed, her voice full of wistfulness as she leaned into his side, “I promise it’d be amazing, giant mansions, massive beds…”
“We could show them all the technology too,” Aurelia added with a soft laugh, “Phones, computers, the internet, you guys would lose your minds.”
Alex simply grunted at that, not matching their excitement.
He remembered too well what it was like when the veil between their world and his had thinned in his previous life.
What came through from Universal Descent back then wasn’t hopeful, or kind.
It wasn’t curious adventurers or wandering mystics, it was death.
Beasts, monsters, eldritch things that didn’t understand what mercy even was.
The kind of entities that looked at Earth and saw only a battlefield, or worse, a banquet.
Sure, there was the possibility of people like Alera or even Lilith descending as well.
But that wasn’t something Alex wanted to gamble on, not yet.
“Maybe later,” he said with a small smile, “I think it’s definitely gonna be possible.”
It wasn’t a lie, and it wasn’t quite the truth either.
He just didn’t want to kill their enthusiasm.
Maybe, one day, when things were safe, when he had more control.
But not now. His instincts told him clearly, this wasn’t something to rush.
There were still too many variables. Too many things waiting in the dark.
That was a hope for later, something to reach for after everything else was done.
“Anyway,” Alex exhaled slowly, shoulders straightening as his tone shifted, “I did what I came here to do. I need to leave.”
The words were quiet but firm.
He knew what was coming, protests and pouts.
It wouldn’t be the first time.
But surprisingly, none of that happened.
“Alright,” Alice nodded with a soft smile, not even trying to hold him back.
“We know you’ve got things to do,” Aurelia added, her golden eyes narrowing in playful warning, “But that doesn’t mean you can vanish for months again. Check in more often.”
Alera and Lilith simply smiled and nodded, their fluffy fox tails swaying gently in rhythm.
They weren’t upset. If anything, they looked proud.
As for Arcelia and Eleonora, they seemed to understand his intent without needing an explanation.
“We’ll behave,” Arcelia said, arms crossed but with no malice in her tone, “Don’t worry.”
“Nothing to stress over,” Eleonora chimed in, “We’ll stay quiet.”
Alex nodded in approval.
“Good. Before I leave, take some more gear. Use it, sell it, I don’t care. Just don’t waste it.”
Opening his [Digital Inventory Watch], Alex began selecting items at random.
Weapons, materials, rare loot, even some miscellaneous trinkets, anything that might be useful.
This wasn’t the first time he had done this for them.
Ding!
[You have pulled out 2,889 items from the “Digital Inventory Watch”]
That single pile now sparkled with the results of countless battles, dungeons, and extractions.
Some of the items were incredibly valuable.
Some were borderline useless.
But there was no doubt the haul as a whole was worth more than most players could ever dream of seeing.
“Wow!” Arcelia’s eyes sparkled like she’d just walked into a treasure vault.
She didn’t even hesitate before jumping into the pile and rummaging through it with childlike excitement.
Her fingers landed on a faintly glowing, obsidian-colored core.
It was an [Ancient Sentinel Stone Heart], a powerful crafting core that was extremely hard to find.
“It looks cool. Can I take it?” she asked.
“Do whatever you want,” Alex replied with a shrug.
“Just don’t fight over anything.”
The others were already poking through the pile, their eyes gleaming with curiosity and greed, but also laughter.
They wouldn’t bicker. Not really.
They understood the value of peace far too well now.
With that final gesture done, Alex gave them a nod, and turned away.
He opened his [World Map], mentally scanning the locations he had visited and the ones still left to conquer.
Then it hit him.
He only had two objectives left.
He had already obtained the [Token of Wrath].
He had spoken with [Kaelios] and learned everything he needed to about the gods.
He had confronted the angels and and solidified his alliances.
That left only two things.
The first was to evolve his [Undead Lord] talent to A-Rank.
Once it hit that point, he could use the [Talent Upgrade Scroll] to evolve it even further, to S-Rank.
But to hit A-Rank first, his undead army needed to kill around 6,800 more monsters.
A tall order, sure, but not impossible.
Especially if he went to a zone dense with lower-level creatures and wiped it clean.
The second was the [Tower of Nightmare].
That would be the final challenge. The hardest.
A tower shrouded in mystery and fear, and most likely the longest one too.
So he had decided, he would save that for last.
For now, he needed monsters. Lots of them.
“Any zones with a dense monster population?” he asked, but not aloud.
Astolf, the Undead King, responded.
“Hmm… not off the top of my head,” the king said lazily, “Ask Kaelios, maybe. He might know.”
Alex frowned as he didn’t want to ask the [God of Destiny] because of this matter.
He had a few places in mind. But then, another idea struck him. A much better one.
“The demons,” Alex muttered, eyes lighting up, “I gave the angels the location of one of their cities. Do you think they’ve moved in yet?”
“Doubt it,” Astolf replied, “The angels still have other fronts to handle. They’re probably too busy to act on it yet.”
“Perfect,” Alex grinned, “That means the city’s still full.”
A Level 3 Demon City would easily have more than 7,000 demons.
Not only would it let him evolve his undead talent in one sweep, but it would also soften the resistance for the angelic army when they eventually arrived.
A two-birds-one-stone situation.
The final target of the angels was the Demon Empire itself: the Demon King.
But they didn’t even know where the capital was.
That was why they needed to conquer other cities, to gather intel.
Taking this one would help push everything forward.
He opened his map again, scanning for the closest registered location.
[Star City] appeared on the list, not too far from the demon city in question.
Perfect.
Beep!
[You have selected “Star City.” Do you wish to teleport?]
“Yes.”
Fwish!
Blue light shimmered around his body.
He gave one final wave to the girls, all of whom smiled at him, before his body vanished completely.
The teleportation ended just as fast as it began.
Alex reappeared in the plaza at the edge of [Star City], his boots touching down softly on the stone pavement.
He didn’t hesitate.
He unfurled his six wings in a burst of ethereal power, wind kicking up around him as his body launched into the sky.
Opening his [World Map] once more, he marked the location of the demon city, now far to the west, and angled himself in that direction.
A faint grin tugged at his lips as he accelerated forward.
“Time to go hunting.”