Previously
To Elm, the word 'strong' started only when she cracked the Top 10.
The realization brought awe to Eliza's mind. After all, the strategist side of hers wondered and tried to formulate how powerful a Celestial Hero who could break the universal limits would become. After all, even the weakest of the Top 10 was at least a solar-system powerhouse, which is why they were called the 10 Sovereigns. There was only one who had broken the universal limits, but the identity hadn't been found even after using all of Eliza's resources and connections. She did have a guess to who, and if she was correct, another being - the Celestial Hero being on the same level would be catastrophic beyond imagination.
Her promise to the World's Spirit told her to kill Elm now, before she weakened the world more than it already was but the mischievous side in her wanted to see how far this Celestial Hero would go. Besides, she loved Elm much too far to simply kill her, just for a debt she owed years ago.
Since the romantic atmosphere had been interrupted, Eliza could only go into strategist princess mode and say, "Alright then."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I, as the Crown Princess, Eliza V.Vetruvian Valterra, ask of you to save us, and our kingdom of wisdom from this terrible plight," Eliza did a royal curtsey.
"10 seconds," Eliza teased, after she had done her royal custom. "Let's see it. I think you'll go past 20."
Elm didn't care much for the jab, as Eliza could see it. But the way Elm disappeared in a flash of light, a little faster than usual, told her all she needed to know about the woman's true temper.
She walked over to the window, watching over her soon-to-be grand Silver Kingdom, nodding to herself as a silvery runic barrier started forming around the kingdom. The elves were doing their jobs right, before she heard a sonic boom in the distance and a number of demonic, ugly shrills.
She leaned on her arms, and sighed melancholically. "Please be safe."
***
Willow's POV
The Mystic Woods, Southern Region
I stepped out of the portal, on a whinnying pegasi and first came to a breath of fresh air. Taking a look around, there was nothing but an expanse of trees, magical fauna and anything green basically. Just from the smell of the air, and the cool touch of the wind, I could feel that I was in the real world now, a realness that not even a god's domain could imitate.
I should be happy, elated even that I'm finally out in the open world, after a long month of gruesome training to become stronger. And that, I could finally take my first steps in the world to become one of the strongest beings in the myriad realms, all due to my knowledge amassed behind a screen.
But, I wasn't. Happiness was the last thing in my heart. A cool breeze blew then, causing my little bracelet to swing about in the free wind. The fact that I could still feel Ivanka due to my constitution didn't help as I knew I could go back to her whenever I wanted.
But, my ambition said no. My duties said no. My promise to Ivanka said no.
So, all I could do was close my eyes, and pat the beautiful white mane of my pegasi, before sensing the world's energies. In my mind's eyes, a plethora of colors, far more than in Ivanka's domain, appeared but they weren't the color I had grown so familiar with over the long month.
'Come.'
I sent out a burst of chi into my surroundings, and suddenly the plethora of colors disappeared. But, one still remained. An aurora of white, pure white that would never have it's colors blemished as long as the universe breathed life.
I smiled. The energy of life felt even purer in the real world, more concentrated due to the many populations situated in this world.
'Where's the nearest town?'
The aurora of white shifted, wobbling before disappearing and reappearing as a straight line to which I could follow. Tapping into the chi before me, I could tell that there was a town with a significant amount of life-forms situated west, where a great river ran through but it would be a day's walk, for normal people.
I channeled the chi inside my body, sacrificing 10% of it to the sleeping Anger inside me, before focusing the remaining chi on my legs, especially on the soles of my feet.
"Whoo," My breath shuddered. I don't think I'd ever get used to the sense of adrenaline coursing through my veins. It felt like my legs were balloons.
A day's walk? I could get there in less than half of that time.
***
". . ."
". . ."
". . .Is that a fucking pegasus?"
"An Elf?"
I blinked, once, twice perhaps more. With my eyes enhanced by chi, I could tell that the person standing in front of me was not just any elf, but a whole High Elf, a species that were considered direct descendents of the goddess of the moon, aka, my mate.
It felt awkward to make sense of the situation. I didn't know how I should address the girl in front of me, besides what on earth was a High Elf doing so far from home? This particular high elf didn't appear in the game either, I think.
Now, although elves and high elves share the same name, it would be extremely rude and racist to classify them as the same species. You could attempt to do so, of course at the risk of being sacrificed to the new moon goddess, my lover. The elves usually had different colored hair, and were around the same height as humans, not to mention they ate meat too, the only difference between humans and the elves were the pointy ears, and the system of magic they operated under. Oh right, they worshiped the previous goddess of the moon too, so that's the main reason for strife between the two.
The high elves, on the other, were something akin to purists. They were extremely tall and graceful, lived deep in the woods in a secret realm, ate only what the trees provided them, and had silver hair along with silver eyes akin to Ivanka. Oh right, they were extremely lustful too, even more than the dragons, and were well-known to even fuck their own siblings and parents. How ironic that their goddess was none other than my stoic Ivanka.
The High Elf lady standing in front of me looked similar to the rest of her race, with her only striking feature being that she was as short as a dwarf.
"Answer my question first," The High Elf lady demanded. I almost forgot about how haughty high elves were. But I couldn't blame them. The only thing that drove them other than sex and debauchery was their pursuit of knowledge. Again, how ironic.
I would have answered the tall lady's question like a pushover, but I was different now.
I wasn't stronger than the high elf lady, oh dearie no. Just from my eyes, I could sense how dense and tall her mana pool was, unlike her height.
But, how could I be scared of a race belonging to a being who I'm dearly in love with. But seriously, this high elf lady is really short.
"You just made fun of my height, didn't you?"