Zaine and Roma were led by Sublime Notion into the Aether Hall with all eyes following the trio. After all, it wasn't every day that three absolute beauties with such a fine skin tone came to visit.
However, the moment they entered the Aether Hall, all eyes froze and the owners shivered. It was already a fact that no one apart from the most important people were allowed to enter the Aether Hall.
Judging by their late arrival, and the fact that they had been accompanied by the second Vice-Guildmaster of Umbra, likely meant that they were the women of His Majesty Draco. To gaze at them with such l.u.s.tful eyes, wasn't that the same as courting death?
A few hours ago, they had all beheld the marvel that had been the territory expanding.
At the time, the Aether Hall had been quiet and normal as usual, then suddenly it had begun to glow as a greenish-blue pulse had been fired out. This wave hadn't harmed anyone, but their bodies couldn't help but tremble when they had felt the power of the energy.
This pulse spread out in a 360° angle, reaching the very outskirts of the City-State in mere seconds. Instead of going beyond the walls of the City State, this pulse of greenish-blue energy collided with the stone walls directly.
Those who had been working near that area had been incomparably frightened when they had seen the pulse push back the wall from where they stood.
The walls got shifted forward, as if they were gliding over the earth. Where the walls once stood, new lots emerged that circled around the territory.
However, this hadn't been all.
Not even 3 seconds later, another pulse had been fired off and had repeated the process of pushing the walls forward while the new empty space became unclaimed properties that were demarcated.
This had happened many times within the span of ten minutes. By the time the final pulse had come, almost everyone had gathered outside to watch the marvelous sight.
The various NPCs, whether they were craftsmen, princes or descendants of hidden powers, all had stood rooted to the spot. Then almost as one, their heads had turned to face the Aether Hall.
Even though the distance was terribly long, they had still felt like they could see that majestic building which sat smack dab in the center of the territory.
At the time, one thing had been simultaneously going through the minds of the princes/princesses and the descendants.
'We weren't cheated. We actually got this land for cheap if it can be expanded.'
Their eyes had sharpened as they all had made the same vow.
'We must never annoy or irritate His Majesty Draco while we reside here!'
Of course, they couldn't speak for their progenitors/rulers, but they themselves would never step out of line. They couldn't bear the sin of losing such a property at all.
Fast forward back to now, and these same people shivered.
'F.u.c.k, we just swore not to cause trouble and yet we had coveted his women!!'
However, they calmed themselves down quickly. After all, they knew that they hadn't truly stepped out of line. They hadn't catcalled or touched the women, just ogled. That couldn't be considered a crime... right?
Zaine marveled as she walked through the passageways of the Aether Hall. Apart from how magical and amazing the building was, she began to pant as she felt drunk on all the potent Aetheric Energy inside.
Why do Succubi rely on the s.e.m.e.n of men to gather energy and sustenance? What exactly does s.e.m.e.n contain that resonates with their physiology?
The answer was energy and lifeforce. A mixture of the two was present in the s.e.m.e.n of all males, which was the source of their virility and vitality.
Every living thing absorbed Worldly Energy to survive, but through different means. Dragons directly pulled torrents of it from the world to the point where the by-product became something of a higher grade.
Humans ate food which was nourished with Worldly Energy only that the quantity was so small that it didn't create anything special. All the other races were in a similar position. Even the air they breathed contained Worldly Energy, which was taken into their bodies.
Incubi and Succubi were sensitive to energy and they liked the processed energy that the opposite s.e.x produced. It was just like how humans loved chicken for the taste, although there were many different types of meat out there.
But raw Aetheric Energy in such a quantity was like pouring three bottles of tequila down Zaine's throat at once. She hiccuped and began to feel woozy.
Sublime and Roma noticed this, so they quickly opted to settle Zaine in before they reported to Draco. As such, they just narrowly missed the fellow.
Had they stuck around, they would have met the fellow as he exited out of the anomaly realm with a childishly happy Hikari who was still in her half-dragon state.
Draco placed a hand on her shoulder and blinked away with her.
Actually, Roma and Draco both had felt each other's presence thanks to their Soul Bond, but they weren't in a rush to meet up. After all, it was less than 48 hours ago that they had separated.
It was Zaine who lost out greatly since she had gotten intoxicated on Aetheric Energy.
.....
Draco and Hikari appeared in a Field Zone belonging to the Paradise Lands. It had taken him over 10 consecutive blinks to get here.
After all, the Blink skill was only 500,000 feet with a cooldown of 30 seconds, while the width of the Vita Capital City was more than 5,000,000 feet.
After a few more blinks of such a nature, Draco arrived in the area where he once slaughtered many indigenes on behalf of that outpost.
Draco couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.
He wondered how that Anguis fellow and his sister Sasha were doing. After all, she'd once had an obvious crush on his Drake persona, to the point that she had sided with him rather than her own brother.
By now it should've died down.
Draco smiled as he grabbed Hikari's waist. The White Dragoness didn't resist, but seemed to lean into his embrace, her face slightly red.
"Come with me, I want to observe some old acquaintances."
"Okay," Hikari assented without hesitation.
Draco nodded and blinked them both to an area near the outpost. It was a small plateau that gave the Dragobonded couple the chance to view anything for miles.
A normal human would struggle to see anything, but their eyes were naturally different. Draco had the benefit of the Eyes of Caelo and Hikari's Dragon Eyes could see farther than any hawk could ever hope for.
Draco could've easily seen into the settlement from where he had stood just now, but he figured he would come closer, since his destination was near the place anyway.
Draco peeked into the outpost and couldn't help but smirk.
Anguis was leading his fellows in packing their stuff and relocating. After all, the Paradise Lands had been ceded to Draco with the approval of Reman.
It seemed to be that, after his departure, they had become happy and more confident.
Draco had left a shop full of battle supplies for them, so that was natural. Anguis must've brought out their potential and won many skirmishes with other indigene outposts in the meantime.
Tony was holding Sasha's waist, and the dainty redhead seemed to be happy with him. A crush was a crush after all, she had never gotten to know Drake and he clearly hadn't been interested in her.
However, Tony was a fellow who had cared for her since forever and after being cautioned as well as tutored by Draco, his behavior had changed. He had stopped being overly competitive and jealous, rather focusing his time on making Sasha happy.
Anguis also seemed pleased with Tony and the two became close due to his relationship with his sister.
Draco saw all this by flitting through their memories and seeing their interaction while they moved out. Now that they were going back, they were so happy to be able to see civilization and their families again.
The amount of wealth they had gained from the battle, as well as from working with Draco, also meant that they could retire and live well in their places of origin.
This was truly a happy ending for the outpost, which was a stark contrast to the horrible ending the indigenes had suffered.
But that was life. There was always a winner and a loser.
The winner got to host a marvelous banquet to make merry with friends while the loser would be lucky to be left alive to endure whatever consequences the winner imposed on them.
This was one of the lessons Draco hoped to teach Hikari today, and seeing those people had given him some inspiration on how to best accomplish this task.
His lips curled up slightly as he grabbed Hikari's waist yet again and blinked away with her. This time, he appeared in a Field Zone called the Land of Riches.
Just like the name stated, this was one of the most resource-heavy Field Zones there was in the Paradise Lands. Draco had even placed a quest for guild members to come and clear this zone.
However, none of them dared to so far, simply because this zone was designed for level 40-50 players. The average player was still below level 20 and the elite players were in their mid-twenties, so no one could try out this zone yet.
Even Draco hadn't come here yet, not because he was fearful, but because it was a headache.
Why?
The system announcement made it clear.
｢System to Player Announcement
Welcome to the Land of Riches! In this Field Zone, all stats are reduced by 30% and the stats of native monsters are boosted by 30%. You do not regenerate health out of battle and consumables cannot be used.｣
The resources and rewards in the Land of Riches were truly great.
Countless Uncommon, Dozens of Rare and even a few hidden Epic Treasure Chests awaited. Thanks to his knowledge from the past timeline, he knew that it also hid a lot of Rare and above materials with a very small chance of encountering non-respawning Legendary ones.
The currency drops were mostly silver with a few chances for gold and even an extremely small chance for platinum, depending on the monster killed.
Items and equipment drops were also either Uncommon, Rare or - rarely - Epic.
Such a bountiful land. What a sweet haven. Imagine how great it would be to conquer such a place and loot it dry. Which guild wouldn't have become a Divine Guild in their past life?
Haha, what a joke! Do you think those items were laid down for your benefit?
In the game called Boundless, the rules were simple.
Great reward = Great effort.
These nerfs to all players and NPCs was just the beginning.
Draco entered the Field Zone with Hikari, which consisted of large plains with many pocket forests here and there. There were a few water bodies as well, and the air was extremely clean.
Anything that resided here would definitely be fresh and high quality. This held true for the items or materials, as well as the organisms here.
As such, Draco swiftly kicked away a Giant Spider that leaped out at them from a bush nearby. The monster tumbled away painfully, but managed to regain its feet(s) and hissed.
Hikari was naturally terrified by this. She had never been attacked or assaulted by anything in her life, so to see a monster try to harm her shocked her greatly.
Draco saw this and nodded. What he would do today would definitely rub any good-natured onlooker wrong, but he had never been interested in gathering good-natured people around him anyway.
Draco didn't bother to dual wield. He just took out the Dragorugio blade and rushed at the Giant Spider with a sudden burst of speed.
"Sword Skill 12: Piercing Gale!"
Draco used one of his first-ever created Sword Skills, which was a mixture of using unique footwork and the Body of Godliness to maximize his speed. This allowed him to shoot forth in a straight line like an arrow.
The Dragorugio blade was held in front of him, the tip aimed right for the eyes of the Giant Spider.
However, despite Draco's power, it was not so easy to gain an advantage when he was nerfed so strongly whereas it was buffed so greatly.
｢Name: Giant Spider – Private Rank monster
Level: 38
HP: 1100/1100｣
For a Private Rank Monster, it was quite powerful. Its health was high and it was quick, as well as potent.
Draco was facing intense level suppression since he was only level 25 and now 30% of his stats were gone. Even though he was utilizing Control, he was facing a clear and annoying disadvantage.
This didn't mean that this trash Private Rank monster could contend with him. It only meant that it took slightly longer than it should to destroy it.
Draco's Sword Skill missed as the Giant Spider jumped to the side with the typical quick reflexes of its race, but Draco sneered.
He just shifted his muscles, as well as the applicable force, and carried his thrusting momentum into a sudden sweep.
-1500!
The Giant Spider was bisected easily and it fell to the side limply. Draco received around 21% experience while Hikari got 145%. For the first time in her life, she leveled up.
Draco was happy to discover that she had received the experience from him killing enemies. He had been worried that she would have to acc.u.mulate it like all healers by healing others over and over again.
He assumed that this must be a hidden bonus of their Dragobond passive.
Yet, there was no joy on her face. Instead, she gripped the sides of her goddess dress with a tense expression. She looked like she really disliked seeing something die and this was what Draco had been waiting for.
He swung his sword lightly and let the mucus of the Giant Spider slash off the blade.
He then sheathed the weapon and walked up to Hikari, right up to her front. Despite her earlier thinking that she wanted to stare at his amazing form all her life, she found herself avoiding meeting his gaze.
"Look at me."
Hikari bit her lips and her hands trembled. Nevertheless, she didn't follow his instructions.
"Look at me, Hikari."
Hikari's whole body shook and her eyes began to moisten, but still no sign of her listening to him.
"Hikari."
Draco's voice became authoritative and his usual human kindness was gone. It was replaced by the potent and commanding tone of a Black Dragon who was speaking to his White Dragon mate.
"Look. At. Me."
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't resist. She raised her head and gazed right back into the pulsing red eyes of Draco, as if behind them lay a realm of infinite pleasure and bliss.
Draco's eyes became slits as and his black aura emerged and pressed onto Hikari. Hikari's white aura also emerged and mingled with the black aura in a submissive way.
"In this world, there are three types of people. The first are your allies and loved ones. Me, Eva, Roma and all the members of Umbra fall into this category. No matter what you do or what happens to you, we will be by your side and have your back."
"Remember that always."
Hikari's moist eyes began to leak tears as her lips trembled. With a shaky voice, she replied. "Yes, I will."
Draco nodded and continued. "The next group are neutral parties. They won't have any special feelings towards you; therefore, you should treat them in the same manner in which they treat you."
"If they talk to you with respect, you respect them back. However, if it's with disdain or chagrin, you should never hesitate to treat them the same way."
Draco's black aura roiled as he said: "No one is allowed to suppress my White Dragon in any way. Whether it be verbal or mental, you must always be on top. Do not treat everyone the way you treat me currently."
Hikari nodded lightly and spoke with a slightly firmer tone. "Yes, I understand."
Draco calmed his aura and paused for a second to gaze at Hikari seriously. Then his eyes sharpened as he spoke the most important of her first lessons for the day.
"The final group are your enemies. For whatever reason, they have threatened harm to you or your loved ones. Are you going to stand there and watch the people you care about die? Again?"
Hikari's face lost color and her lips became slightly blue. Her breathing became raspy as Draco brought up her greatest trauma and the scar in her heart in order to drill home what her parents failed to instill into her.
"I…I…"
Hikari had never once hated Sigurd even though she had witnessed him slaughter her family. She never sought revenge and only lamented the loss of her family.
Yet now, when Draco came under attack by the Giant Spider, she had looked away with disgust and a bit of anger.
However, Hikari's mind was cast back to the horrifying scene of her brothers, sisters and mother pierced and cut down by that horrible Dragonlance while her father brought her away.
The face of Sigurd had never been her focus in her memories, instead, she had concentrated on the pain-filled expression of her dying family.
However, the image in her mind shifted and became brighter. Her family's visages were no longer full of pain and fear, but defiance and pride. They held back Sigurd in order for their precious little sister to escape.
There was no regret or pain in their eyes, only fighting intent. Hikari's mother smiled at her daughter gently as the spear ran through her, her blood coating the lance.
There was only gentleness and love in her dimming eyes.
Hikari saw all this. Her memories, which had become clouded over the centuries due to sleep and fear, cleared up.
She was able to see the expressions and emotions of her loved ones that she thought she had forgotten became crystal clear.
Hikari also saw Sigurd, a handsome young man with white hair and green eyes. He laughed playfully as he killed her family and even sneered at her father who took her away.
Hikari had always believed that Sigurd must have some reason to kill the Dragons. Perhaps his family had been wiped out by a Dragon?
But that was impossible.
First off, Dragons had very little contact with other races. They were too arrogant to bully the weak and only fought the strong.
Who had the time to genocide some random bloke's clan?
No.
Sigurd killed Dragons for one reason.
"Hahaha! Your blood and bodies will serve as the perfect nourishment for my new spear! With every Dragon I kill, I become stronger! I shall soon become a True God!"
His sonorous yet power-mad voice reverberated in her mind.
Memories she had repressed and misremembered due to intense trauma corrected themselves inside her mind.
Sigurd had never killed the Dragons because he was a hero, like in the tales. He had only killed Dragons because his new weapon was able to absorb their Source Origin and upgrade himself as a True God.
Whether he succeeded or not, Hikari had no idea.
At that moment where her memories had freed themselves and shown her the truth, a feeling welled up in Hikari.
It was indignation.
'Why? Why did my family have to die? What did we ever do?'
Then it evolved into anger.
'We lived our lives in peace! Our creations and Aether Crystals benefited the many races! The Ancient Dragon City even admitted outsiders to be groomed into Half-Gods or higher. '
And then finally, Hikari felt it. A horrendous emotion every sapient being with enough maturity dealt with at one point in their lives.
Hatred.
Hikari felt pure hatred for the first time in her life.
'He should die! He has to die!'
'I…I…'
'I will kill him!!!'