"Anyway, we refuse," Myria said firmly. Ardena scowled.
"Why are you refusing? I'm asking Song Jun Wen, not you."
"She's my wife, so she has a say," I pointed out. "And I agree with her, in any case. I'm not teaching your little sister."
"Do you think I don't know how this will end?" Myria fumed. "You want to use your little sister to seduce my fiancé and have her sleep with him after they get closer when he teaches her swordsmanship, but somehow after a bunch of drama, he still ends up with you in the end because you're the female main character."
Myria really had quite the imagination.
"I don't think that's going to happen," I muttered.
"What are you even talking about?!" Ardena snapped. "What sort of absurd accusation is that? Why would I do something as ridiculous as that? And if my little sister ends up sleeping with him, why would I steal her man away from her?"
"Because you wanted him for yourself in the first place!"
"No, I don't!"
"Um, big sis Myria, let's not get carried away with what you've read in the Slave Knight of the Elf manhwa." Silvia stepped forward and placed a placating hand on Myria's arm, gently pulling her away. "And let's not confuse fiction with reality. There's no way something that occurred in a manhwa or a web novel will happen in reality."
"You can't be sure! Reality is often stranger than fiction!"
"To begin with, I don't think Ardena was serious about that offer," I spoke up with a sigh and glared at the elvish Sword Saint. "Your swordsmanship is much better than mine, so why the hell would you ask me to teach your sister? You should teach her yourself."
"Well, actually, rather than swordsmanship, I wanted you to teach her how to cast spells and use mana. She's closer to humans in that she has a deficiency that prevents her from tapping into mana and casting spells efficiently, and I thought having a human master would benefit her greatly…"
"See! This is the exact same scenario as in Slave Knight of the Elf!"
"Please stop with the jokes…also, why were you reading a manhwa drawn for a human audience? I'm surprised you even have access to it."
"Don't underestimate the power of the Internet," Ardena replied seriously. She held up a smartphone. "Even elves are linked to the World Wide Web these days. We just need to create an account, pay for coins, and then purchase locked chapters from the Lezhin or Webnovel website."
What in the bloody…?
"Anyway, no. Please ask somebody else. I'm returning to my family, and then going back to Hua Xia in another month or so, and I won't be able to teach your little sister anyway. You should find someone local."
"I will do that then." Ardena bowed her head. "But let me express my gratitude once again for everything you've done. Not only did you save the elvish enclaves and Yggdrasil itself, you even broke the curse and freed me from the enslavement of the dark elves. I can never thank you enough."
"So that's the real reason why you came to see us."
"Honestly, I do have a sister named Arrone, and a brother called Aron. Truth be told, if I were to approach you with an offer to teach anyone in my family, I will be asking you to tutor Aron, not Arrone. She's better off with a female instructor." She winked at an infuriated Myria. "I would approach you, Ms. Myria, to teach Arrone instead."
"So what was the whole point of all that nonsense earlier?!"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help teasing you. Your reactions were just so amusing."
"This girl…"
"Anyway, we should go." Sylvie quickly intervened before Myria could attack Ardena. "It's be an honor to fight by your side, Ms. Ardena."
"The honor is all mine. Hopefully, we will meet again. And I will bring my siblings along next time." She paused and smiled. "Hua Xia seems like a nice place. I want to visit it someday."
"Well, if you do drop by for a vacation, we'll welcome you," Myria said, less hostile now that Ardena had stopped her teasing.
"Yeah! We love it there!" Silvia said. Sylvie bowed her head politely.
"We'll show you around, though to be honest, we still aren't that familiar with the place. My sister and I have only been recently adopted by Jun Wen, and we're still finding our footing around Xia Hai. Still, we can probably introduce you to good cuisine."
"I look forward to it then." Ardena smiled brightly. "And I'm sure my siblings will love it there too. Till then." She bowed deeply. "I would love to find another way to thank you, and perhaps I will invite you to my home in the future, but right now we are too busy with reconstruction and restoration of Yggdrasil. I fear I must return to help out. It'll take a while for us to recover from such devastation and corruption, but I'm confident that Yggdrasil will be fully recuperated after a few weeks at the most."
"You guys are amazing."
I couldn't help but marvel at the miraculous magic elves were capable of. Was it because they were so close to nature? In any event, I bade Ardena farewell and let her leave before I led my friends and fiancée back to the condominium complex.
"You're back, big bro!"
Jun Hai was the first to greet us when we returned to the temporary residence that the marine biological research department had found for us. He was almost bubbling excitedly when we stepped through the door.
"I saw what happened on the news! You guys saved Yggdrasil!"
"Well, yeah…not just us. A lot of friends too. And a lot of comrades perished in the process."
"I wish I could fight like you." Jun Hai sighed and dropped down on the couch. "I mean, I'm not discounting the dangers you faced, but even so…"
"Oh, we can teach you magic," Sylvie suggested with a nod. "I think you might do well with it."
"Since you're Jun Wen's younger brother, you might have a talent for spirit beast taming or summoning," Myria added thoughtfully. "We can explore those avenues."
"Really?" Jun Hai brightened. The girls nodded and began to help out. I smiled as I watched them, but I had my own stuff to worry about.
While we rested, I went to my room and prepared. It had been a crazy few days and I was exhausted, but there were still a few things I had to do. First of all, I needed to return to my dungeon. Once I ensured that I wouldn't be disturbed, I teleported into the Deep Sea Palace.
"How are things?" I asked Long Wang the moment I appeared. The dragon butler was waiting for me in the main palace, as always. "How is everyone?"
"Everyone's fine," Long Wang assured me. "Even Hei Ba has fully regenerated all his heads and his full body after suffering such a grievous wound. He probably isn't back to full strength, though, but it's only a matter of time."
"I hope he learns to be humble after this ordeal," I muttered, though it was partially my fault for sending him to fight Ardena. "Everyone else has fully healed?"
"Yup. You can check on them if you wish, my lord."
"I will do that. But first…"
I went to the dungeon cores. First, I fed the Flood Dragon dungeon core to the Ancient Aquatic Artifact core, allowing it to devour it and synchronize. Unlike in, say, Dungeon Odyssey, it wasn't as if the two cores started orbiting each other and synchronizing while sacrificing some power from the Flood Dragon dungeon core. The aquatic core just consumed it, absorbing it as it would down gems…ahem, I mean spirit stones.
"The upgrade will take a week, huh? Excellent."
Then I went to the World Tree bud that was still sprouting and slowly growing under the artificial sunlight in the Celestial Labyrinth, and offered it the Nine Leaf Clover. Like the aquatic core, the forest core absorbed the Nine Leaf Clover and began the upgrade. A holographic timer appeared above it, indicating a countdown that would last a week.
Once those were done, I began checking on my spirit beasts. They had fully recovered for the most part, as Long Wang told me, but I still wanted to see them for myself. The Little Anglers and Lantern Fishes were fine, with more Little Anglers having evolved into Lantern Fishes. The Lantern Sharks didn't take too much of a beating. The Guardian Golems were guarding the dungeon entrance silently, their hulking forms no longer blemished with dents and damage, and the Titan Golem who led them was as imposing as ever. He didn't sustain much damage either, so yay.
The Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins had multiplied over the course of the battle, despite the losses they had taken, and I was pleasantly astonished to see more Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths. Like the Little Anglers who had evolved into Lantern Fishes, they had gained a lot of combat experience during the war, which allowed them to grow more rapidly and make a breakthrough with their cultivation. If spirit beasts could be said to cultivate, anyway. Da Shu, my elder Tree Revenant, was basking in the sun and watching over the ghost spirit beasts, teaching them techniques or encouraging their growth. Sometimes, he would return to supervising the Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins cultivating the pumpkin patches.
Xiao Huo and Xiao Huo Long looked good, brimming with more firepower than ever, and I could sense that they would make a breakthrough soon. Da Hai was the same as them, though Xiao Ke didn't seem like he would be evolving anytime soon. I didn't even know what Shell Lochs evolved to, to be honest. Maybe they only had a single form?
There were more Colossal Crabs than ever, and I was surprised to see three new King Crabs, which brought to a total of four. The Sea Scorpion had fought alongside them, though I didn't see him much during the war because he was so small when compared to them. Nonetheless, I could sense that he was close to a breakthrough.
"Do your best," I encouraged him.
My Raptor Rex, who had fought next to the ghost spirit beasts, Twig Turtles and Mud Fishes, had evolved to a Tyrant Rex. Yellow ranked as of now, though he was nowhere as large as the Giga Rex that he would eventually evolve into. He still had quite the intimidating appearance, though, with the large jaws and huge talons. I patted his head and praised him for doing well in the war.
Speaking of Twig Turtles and Mud Fishes, I saw that they had grown the most in the war. A good number of ordinary ranked Mud Fishes had evolved into larger Yellow ranked Marsh Striders. That was awesome. I was pleased to see their progress. Like the Mud Fishes, they were blue with several dark fins and an orange belly and orange gills on their cheeks. They also stood on two legs and had flipper like hands that somehow seemed pretty strong, though I was sure they specialized in water attacks and other elemental techniques than physical strength.
No, I was mistaken. It appeared that Marsh Striders were more attack-orientated and physically stronger than their elemental powers. Interesting. Well, they were still a good addition to my army.
The Twig Turtles had developed too, with many of them also evolving into Grove Turtles. They were almost massive now, each as tall as a human despite being quadrupedal. Their skin was light green, and their bodies were covered in large, brownish shells that resembled hardened soil. From the top of the shells, bush-like trees bloomed on either side, making them seem like walking gardens. Berries actually grew on the trees, interspersed between the thick green leaves. They looked a cross between giant tortoises and Ankylosauruses, their armored shells and heads allowing them to resemble living tanks.
But I was more surprised by the Round Owlets. There were ten of them, but two of them had evolved into Arrow Owls. A male and a female couple, and it appeared that there would be more Round Owlets on the way. Since the Arrow Owls were ghost type spirit beasts, they were actually closer to the Phantom Stumps, Ghost Pumpkins, Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths than the other spirit beasts. Already, I saw the Round Owlets roosting on the branches of a Tree Revenant, communicating cheerfully with him about something.
Nice. The progress was great.
I could also feel the breeze as Sylphs danced in the forest, singing happily. They brought a new atmosphere to the forest portion of my dungeon, helping to spread seeds and encourage growth of new plants and trees. I nodded to them in thanks, and they giggled before soaring off on thermals, spiraling and causing new drafts.
Satisfied that everything was well up here, I descended to the Abyssal Cavern where Hei Ba waited, with a silent Wang Long following closely behind.
"Are you sure about this, my lord?" He finally asked. "Hei Ba is probably in a foul mood."
"Yeah, he is," I agreed. "But that's why I'm seeing him."
"Wouldn't he lash out at you?"
"Maybe," I conceded with a smile. "But if he does, I'll make sure he regrets it. It's high time he remembers that he's not the boss here."