"This is humiliating…" said Nemu almost if he was whispering.
"Don't feel too bad Nemu…it feels amazing" I said answering the pouting dragon.
We were flying above the dark forest at an amazing rate, while I say we, me and the four girls all rode on the back of the dragon.
Though I took the front seat which is right above its head, the girls were satisfied with resting on its back and holding on to their dear life.
Amateurs…
The wind blew as the dragon soared high above, the scenery changing rapidly, as he reached the end of the forest in less than a day.
"Are you sure about our direction, Elia?" I shouted asking the elf.
"Y-Yes my lord…" she said while her hands were clenching tight on one of the sprouting bones. "At this speed we might reach there by tomorrow morning…"
"Huh, an eleven day ride became a one day flight…You are fast Nemu."
"You have seen nothing." He roared and bursted forward with even higher speed.
The girls screamed from the sudden acceleration but I could only grin as I saw the world move faster and faster.
It's these little things that could make one feel the joy of life…riding a dragon eh.
I checked a notification that showed up earlier just to read its content
You have managed to do what few had ever attempted
New title gained
Dragon Rider!
By having forced a dragon to give up its pride to let you ride on its back, your name shall be forever known as the one that rode on the back of the Black Souled Dragon.
A title that yields no bonuses, but it is quite fun to have.
Dragon slayer, tamer and rider. I think I got them all…
The sun began to set down, and the two moons rose. Nox and Lumia were their names huh…I read about them in the library.
Two old deities that loved each other were forced apart by the will of the sun lord, they changed form from old gods to two moons, forever chasing after each other, and forever together…
What a load of bullshit.
If you love each other than fight for it, don't submit to the will of others… stupid myths…
The night finally settled in, and only the light from the moons and the stars was shining upon the wide grass fields that spread as far as the eye could see.
"Banished One." Said Nemu "I grew famished…I cannot keep going at this speed, I need to feast…"
"So do I, let's rest for a bit and continue on tomorrow morning, you are fast enough to get us there before tomorrow's sunset right?"
"Indeed. This is a good place to rest, it has plenty of prey too"
I looked down and failed to see anything of what he spoke about.
"Soul Seeker!" I said as I activated the helmet's ability.
My vision turned black and white as I looked around.
I saw the soul of the black dragon, it was a swirling green energy almost like a giant torrent that never stops and never falters, always on the move. Turning around I saw that the girls had the same energy, but in a way that was less powerful.
Yet the elf…the elf's soul energy was really dim, almost as if her soul was slowly decomposing.
I looked at the grass lands below and saw many fading souls, some however were strong enough to look like torches in a dark night…these creatures were capable of blending in with their surroundings…I wonder how did this elf manage to get through these creatures and reach the kingdom of man safely…
I got off the dragon's head and used a shadow step to appear in front of the girls. They got startled a bit but didn't say anything.
I got on my knees and looked straight into the elf's eyes.
"You are dying, right?"
The elf looked reluctant at first, she clenched on her fists even tighter before saying
"Yes my lord…not only me, but every one of my tribe is suffering this illness…the mana deprivation is killing us, we do not absorb Mana from our surroundings, but it is granted to us by the Tree of Life…this tree is within our forest, but it is dying, and with it, we will slowly perish…we need to get Famine out of there…no matter the cost."
A tree of life huh…
"Alright Nemu you can go down"
The dragon then began its descent.
"Elia, Tell me, how did you manage to pass the monsters in this place?"
"Monsters?" said the other girls
"Yes, lots of them…I was thinking about getting you girls to fight against demons but seeing that you still lack weapons and proper fighting mindset we will have to settle with fighting these guys. Demon killing can wait for later."
The other girls gulped hard when they heard me say this. I never forgot about the demon training, but due to the armors being more powerful than intended, it would have been useless to train their fighting sense that way, now they can fight against hordes of enemies without pause. Though they are weaker than demons, the number alone will make up for the difference…after all numbers beat courage.
The dragon then landed on the ground with an enormous thud, following that a roar that signaled its presence to the world. Dragons are proud hunters, they despise the idea of ambushing their prey, they want it to feel fear and fright, then run away while the dragon mercilessly chases and kills it.
We got down from the back of the dragon and it went forward taking flight once again. He must need food and will probably go on the prowl for a suitable prey.
"Haruna, Haruka, Misaka" I said "The three of you will go and hunt your own prey, You are not allowed to help each other, and you must bring at least a prey that is higher leveled than you, if you don't find, then bring three level 300 monsters at least." I said in a commanding tone.
They all obeyed and left, after all there is no reason in arguing with me, they should know by now that getting stronger is the only way to survive, even if they didn't like it, the command was clear, and they cannot refuse.
"What about me, my lord"
"Stop calling me that…I have a name, use it" I said
"Yes D-Daiki…" said the elf while blushing
Is my name that embarrassing to say or what?
"Yes, that is the spirit, anyway you don't need to fight…I failed to see your state, you are suffering from mana depravity right…"
"yes my l- I mean Daiki, I cannot regenerate enough mana on my own, what would take normal people hours to regain it takes us elves days, the mana I used fighting against that monster you called from hell was all I had..."
"What about the mana that you gained from the slave contract?" I asked
"I don't know, but it seems that is it not considered as my own mana thus my body is still unable to process it, we are creatures made of magic and we need our own mana to replenish our energy."
Hmm…
"Alright, stay here and give me a moment"
I then shadow stepped forward to one of the closest soul energies.
Once I reached my destination, I found that what I was hunting was a big blob on the ground…
Superior Slime of the Green Lands
Level 120
Slimes are said to be the weakest of monsters, unable to maintain a shape they suffice themselves with mimicking blobs.
Slimes have a high physical damage resistance, but are weak to fire and magic.
A slime? It was about time to find one of these in this world…But this is not what I need.
I left the thing and went forward looking for another prey.
It was strange that even a slime had a soul, but I didn't have time to think about that now.
Getting closer to another source I found out that it was another slime…having memorized the slime soul signature I decided to ignore all of those that had the same soul shape.
Another soul, which was a bit different than the slime's was a bit closer.
It was the soul of a snake…a big ass snake
Coiling Green Land Snake
Level 220
One of the creatures that lives in the green lands, a snake of great strength that can choke its victims to death
I got closer to the beast, and readied my weapon, yet instead of it fighting back or running away, it didn't even move.
I thought it was dead but it was not the case. The snake was…afraid.
I then chopped off its head…
I had no need to decipher its worries, fright and reason for immobility, I needed its flesh, after all snake meat is filled with energy…and I grew hungrier from the last time I ate.
I took the body of the snake and got back to the elf…she was fighting against something once I reached…
Wolves? A lot of them, she already killed a few, but she looked to be quite exhausted. Her left leg was bleeding and it was enticing the wolves to attack
Dire Wolf of the Green Lands
Level 80
A wolf of the green lands, extremely proud and smart, these beings would always hunt their prey in groups.
But the moment I stepped in.
The whole pack, looked at me, they lowered their ears and had their tails between their legs…mass panic and fear took hold of them before I could even activate a single spell.
I walked forward ignoring the wolves and sat near the elf.
"I am sorry to have left you defenseless…"
"No my lord! Don't apologize, I should have been able to defend myself…"
Sigh… this is my fault…
I looked at the still stunned wolves and with a word
"Piss off!" they all squirmed away and ran for their lives.
I now understand why this is happening, the Ascendant title…it enables the beasts and creatures to see me as something above their nature, they cannot defy or stand against me, nor can they leave my presence…
Sigh
I took a red potion that I had from the winnings of that day's tournament and gave it to the elf.
"Drink this…it should help against the bleeding"
"I-I"
"Just take it" I insisted
She then grabbed the vial and drank it in one go.
Her wounds mended almost instantly, all the scratches and bruises on her thin legs were also gone, her shriveled hair became smoother, and her skin glistened under the moon light.
"Pardon me…Daiki, how come you seem different?"
"Different?" I said
"Yes…honestly, I thought you were a bit cruel at first, the way you treated the girls, even after hearing some of what they had to say about you…I could only imagine you as some sort of monster…pardon the expression…But you look like a caring person…you didn't let the girls die that day when the monster attacked, you even stepped in, you gave them legendary armor to protect themselves…if I didn't know better I would say that you don't want them dead…"
"…" I fell silent after her words
I couldn't answer, because truthfully she struck a nerve…I found my action to be quite contradictive as of late, I really wanted to take my revenge on them, well just two of them, but somehow and someway it seemed quite…pointless, they just wanted to survive…they did whatever they could to achieve that goal…I wonder if I would hesitate when the time comes...No! Get your shit together!
"It was needed…they did something they needed to be punished for…you need to rest now, I will make some food."
I then looked at the snake body I brought with me…
It was about eight meters in length, and had quite the thickness. I never cooked snake meat before but it shouldn't be that hard…
I got some pots out, and some other cooking utensils I brought with me. Having placed everything, I brought out my chains and ignited them under the pots. There were neither wood nor logs in here, so the only way to set a fire was to use the ignition of the chains.
Water was easy to get as I only needed to will the mana to change to it, so I added it, and some ingredients I had with me. Then finely skinned the snake. What was left was tender and soft meat.
I washed it then dropped pieces of it in the pot, after adding some herbs of course.
It took some time before it was done, I had to make sure of that by tasting the content every now and then.
"To think you can cook…" said the elf
To which I said
"One of many skills I learned…But I still have a long way before I could reach the top…"
I inspected it to see the result
Coiling Snake of the Green Land's soup
A delecious soup made by a skilled cook.
+25% Hp regen
+25% Mana regen
+25% Stamina regen
Well this should do the trick; I then served the elf the soup. She took it without question and began to eat… she must have been hungry.
"Eat to your heart's content, there is plenty more." I said with a smile
She looked a bit adorable, she even spilled some on her…she was rushed, and I was somehow pleased knowing that she liked it.
"More!" she said while handing me her plate.
And I gave her a second.
"You seem to be enjoying the food."
"It is amazing…one of the best things I ever ate to be honest…what is your cooking proficiency?"
"About Level 7" it increased quite a lot from the last time especially when I was leveling up the raise undead skill, I needed to eat so I made some food, it seems that making food thought the skill was sealed leveled it up.
"Wow! That is high; Level 7, that probably took you years of practice!"
Years? I shouldn't tell her that I got this level in less than a few days…
"I am still far from the level of my former mentor…"
"You had someone that taught you how to cook?"
"Well I use to cook for myself when I was younger, but he just showed me the correct way to cook."
"He must be an amazing chef then…" said the elf
"Yes he is, he even mentioned that he knew someone that was able to raise the dead from the deliciousness of his cooking…a food necromancer heh"
The girl then snorted laughing out loud.
"A food necromancer! How the hell could that even exist."
She kept on laughing as if I had said the funniest joke.
"Well, beats me, I even got a quest to find this food necromancer…"
"Really? Then it should be the real deal…you would need to talk to a necromancer to get more information about the subject, they know each other well, and one of them would probably lead you to the right way…though I think that this food necromancy is just a prank…"
"True…if only I knew a necromancer…hang on." I said as I stood forward.
"What is it D-Daiki…"
She is still not able to say my name with ease…
"Soul projection! Necromancer Therai!"
I then projected the soul of Therai, he should know about this…I think
"My lord!" said the projected soul as it dropped to its knees.
I only have 60 seconds before he disappears but I will be sure to use him before that.
"Do you know anything about a food necromancer?"
"Food necromancer? My lord, are you making fun of me?" he said
I looked at him with eyes filled with seriousness and literally scaring the soul out of him.
"P-pardon me my lord…I don't know about this food necromancy, but you should visit the southern kingdom of the desert, they are masters at the arts of necromancy and would know more about it"
Quest update.
The food necromancer
Find the southern kingdom of the desert.
The priest working under the lord of the sun is said to have been the sagest one of all, find them and ask them about the food necromancy.
The lord of the sun again…so the lore about the moons might have some truth to it…I wonder who it may be…
The soul then disappeared while I was still thinking about the current situation at hand…
It seems that I will be needing to make a detour after I finish some 'business'…The kingdom of the desert huh…I always wanted to visit a desert…it should be fun.