*Clap
*clap
*clap
*clap
(The setting rarely disappoints, eh?)
A silver-haired young man advanced through the dungeon with a steady, sure stride, dodging the cobwebs that hung from the ceiling and walls. His jet black sword gleamed with a metallic glint under the dim light that filtered through the cracks.
*tik-tik *tik-tik *tik-tik *tik-tik *tik-tik *tik-tik
All around him, the sound of spiders' legs echoed like an ominous drum.
Schink!
It didn't cost him much to finish off those creatures, which were the size of a pig and had poisonous fangs. With a single slash of his sword, he cut them in two, leaving behind a trail of blood and gore. His expression was calm and serene, as if he were strolling through a garden.
(Almost there...)
His goal was to reach the end of the dungeon, where the boss, an arachne, was supposed to be located. It was a half-woman, half-spider beast, with superior intelligence and enormous strength. The young man wanted to face it, to test his skills and his spirit.
Finally, he reached the last room, where the arachne was waiting for him. She was a woman with pale skin and black hair, with red eyes that exuded malice. Her torso was human, but her underside was that of a huge black spider, with eight hairy legs and a bulging abdomen.
The arachne spat venom and its voice echoed through the dungeon, full of malice and arrogance. "You insolent intruder, you dare to defy the Queen of Spiders, I will devour you and feed on your fear!"
(Impressive, even the arachne has personalized voice lines...).
The silver-haired youth replied calmly as his sword emitted an electric buzzing sound. "I'm testing all my powers, I hope you won't disappoint me."
(Let's test how tough her armor is first).
The arachne pounced with ferocity, her spidery legs hitting the ground with a rumble. The young man nimbly dodged her lunges and counterattacked with his sword.
*Swish!
*Clank!
The sword blade sliced through the air and slammed into the arachne's exoskeleton, but failed to penetrate its tough defense.
The arachne laughed derisively. "Is that the best you can do, little mortal?"
The young man smiled serenely, deflecting an attack with a quick sideways movement. "I have yet to show my true power." He activated his Phoenix Fire and his sword became engulfed in flames. "Let's warm up a little bit."
The arachne responded by throwing a web of silk that wrapped around the young man, trying to trap him. "Ha ha ha! You think you can beat me with those puny flames?"
But the young man concentrated his Phoenix Fire around his body and the silk net quickly melted. "Strong, but no match for Phoenix Fire."
(Let's try these bloodlines...)
The combat intensified, and the young man's sword cut through the air with astonishing speed, at some point, his speed doubled making defense complicated.
*Swish!
*Clank!
*Swish!
The blows echoed through the dungeon as the arachne struggled desperately to defend itself.
The arachne threw its poisonous webs, trying to immobilize the young man, but he cut them with precision.
*Slash!
*Clank!
His movements were fluid and graceful, as if he were dancing with the sword in his hand.
(As I expected, I don't feel tired at all).
Unfortunately, the arachne began to show signs of fatigue, and its attacks became less accurate. The young man remained calm and composed, waiting for the right moment for his final attack.
(This is my favorite part, heh, heh.)
"UNLIMITED POWER!" the young man shouted as he channeled all his power into a single electric attack. From his fingertips a powerful discharge was released that impacted the arachne, making it groan in pain.
"Aaaaaaaah!" the arachne groaned as it fell to the ground, defeated.
The young man approached the fallen arachne, still maintaining his composure. "Your performance is perfect, the setting of your dungeon also has its charm, though it lacks a few details."
The arachne grunted weakly, acknowledging defeat. "Mercy..."
The young man smiled, and lowering his sword said, "Nope."
Splitting it in two.
--
Pov Illios:
Two years have passed.
In that time, the evolution of Crystal Moon County has been fascinating.
(From a disgustingly poor town to a thriving tourist spot).
The county is at its best, although there are still some improvements pending, such as the creation of a cultivation school and a higher education academy. But it's not something I can do arbitrarily.
(Anyway, we live in an imperial society, making these changes might upset the emperor.)
My private life has been quite fun; Yukari is still pretending to be a young maiden, and Kira has become a very passionate woman.
(They both have their charms, hehehehee).
Remembering the nights of passion I've experienced with both of them, my lust is activated.
(I have become very lustful...)
Ever since Meilin did whatever she did, my instincts have become frantic, especially the instinct to reproduce.
I feel a strong urge to want to leave offspring in the women around me.
So much so, that my sister Elena suggested that I should learn some contraceptive technique, because if I were to get either of them (Yukari or Kira) pregnant, Lila's position would be complicated, something I don't want.
(It seems that women have established a hierarchy similar to that of the Chinese empires in ancient times).
So what's wrong with Lila?
Well, she is fully assimilating the Dark Phoenix bloodline, and at this point, having a child with her would be very dangerous.
So I have no choice but to regretfully postpone the fulfillment of the system's mission.
[ Completed dungeon: Home of Queen Arachne (Very Difficult)!]
[ You have unlocked: Home of Queen Arachne (Added), Loyalty of Queen Arachne!]
(This time is different; in addition to the dungeon, I have obtained the Arachne's loyalty...).
I have already completed 2 dungeons on very hard mode, as part of my personal training to control and master my bloodlines.
While I don't know what the fact that I have unlocked the dungeon refers to, the second reward is a big deal.
(Does that mean I can take the arachne to the immortal world?)
I have already received a similar reward when I got an Infernal Wolf in the "Authentic Pack" dungeon.
Basically, I got a pet version of the final boss, although my Infernal Wolf looks more like a husky.
(I wanted to put Fenrir's bloodline on it, but the conscience of the world prevented me from doing so).
Apparently, the immortal world's conscience didn't find it funny that a wolf the size of an average dog, with no cultivation, can defeat an immortal with a single bite to the neck.
(Too bad...)
Lately, I've been increasing my sessions in hero's forge because I'm trying to master the skills granted by my bloodlines.
I was really surprised by the White Tiger skills, which grant me a speed boost and the ability to use the light elements. Lately, I've become quite obsessed with the thunder abilities granted by the Qilin.
(Electrocuting a bug to death is pretty fun after all...).
Imagining myself as an iconic villain in a series where laser swords are employed, I've become quite obsessed with launching destructive lightning bolts from my hands.
But training is not the main reason why I enter the forge every day....
[The first event of the system starts in: 6 hours, 26 minutes, 12 seconds].
Yes, the first event is finally here, and since I don't know what kind of event it will be, it's better to have a lot of trump cards in case something unusual happens.
I received a notification 6 months ago, where, in short, it told me that I should settle my affairs by the time the countdown is over.
This is also another reason why it's not a good idea to try to have more children.
(I want to be a good father...although, perhaps, I spoil them too much).
Elizabeth, my daughter, has been asking me for a lot of unusual things at the system store and since I'm practically rich, I don't refuse to give them to her.
Maybe I want to give her the wealth I didn't have when I lived on Earth.
(But if she keeps this up, she will become a young master of those cultivation novels).
A rather proud and obnoxious person, this is reinforced considering that she is a royal class dragon.
Sadly, I can't say no to her, not to those beautiful golden eyes she makes when she asks for something, not when she gives me little nibbles of affection before bed, not before telling me how much she loves me and that she will make sure I never have to humiliate myself again.
Although I don't know what he means in the last sentence, I simply can't resist my daughter.
(This is the so-called weakness of fathers, isn't it?)
--
"Eli, I'm going to go with the teacher together with Elena, so be good, listen to your mother and don't leave the mansion, understood?" I said to my 7 year old daughter before leaving.
All those who lived in the mansion were gathered to see Elena and me off.
Since it is not wise to tell them about the system yet, I made up that our "master", the one who gave us our artifacts, summoned us to train for a while, so we must go to his call.
Kira and Lila understood this as a matter of course, but Yukari seemed to hesitate. Unfortunately, there was no other explanation why we were leaving so suddenly, so she had to accept it.
"It's okay, Dad, I'll be good, but..." she said as she discreetly passed me a list.
[ Elysium project, key items required:
Dragon bloodline (any type - commoner).
Fertile Origin Egg (2).
Dark Star Fragments (minimum required).
Moldable Pure Soul
Threshold Fire
Blood of Tiamat (full or diluted)
...]
(System, buy everything and send it to a storage ring).
[Objects have been purchased from the store as directed.
Total Spent: 40,000,000 universal points.]
(Good)
I'm not stupid, I know exactly what she's doing with these ingredients, and as her backer, I've even been asking for reports of her results.
What she's doing is basically creating a living thing, although according to my calculations, whatever living thing she's planning to create won't be very strong to say the least.
(Around the Spirit King realm at best).
Considering I'm currently at the Dao Lord realm, one realm below, it doesn't cause me urgency.
Also, with the barrier I set up previously, there will be no consequences if he ever has an accident or something.
(I even bought an android to be her assistant...).
I find it quite fascinating that Elizabeth is obsessed with genetics and is doing these kinds of experiments. I can even say that I benefit from them, as it's an alternative to the current plan of me having lots of children.
Of course, should she be able to create something with greater potential.
As a curious fact, the consciousness of this immortal world does let her do these kinds of experiments, unlike me or Elena, arguing that Elizabeth is indeed a native of her world and we are not.
(Technically, so are we, since we were born from a mother's womb...).
"If you get bored, you can enter the hero's forge, but only in easy mode, got it?", I said seriously.
Dragons love to fight, it's a common thing, and Elizabeth is no exception, so I allowed her to enter there only in easy mode, where she won't feel pain.
"Yes, daddy, I love you very much," she replied brightly when I passed her the ring and told her she could enter the hero's forge.
*ñom (bite)
"Hehehe, easy, little one," I said to Elizabeth, as she was starting to bite my shoulder.
"I'll see you guys later," this time I referred to Yukari and Kira.
Yukari is still acting like a young maiden, even after she quietly cured her illness.
(I won't deny that I have a lot of fun with her hehe).
"Yes, husband," Yukari replied giving me a kiss goodbye.
And Kira, although not very talented, is simply awesome as a person. We've even fought together in the hero's forge, where she taught me some sword tricks.
(I love how aggressive she is).
"Come back soon, darling," Kira also replied, with a long, passionate kiss.
And finally...
"I'll be waiting for you, my prince," my first wife, Lila, coming closer, told me.
When you come back, I want us to have a beautiful baby," she whispered as she hugged me.
She's been learning a lot of things from Elena lately, and even her nervousness about interacting with the other women is gone.
(She is... a little obsessed).
Lila, after our first night, has completely changed the way she loves me. Previously she was more shy and nervous, but after that she became more active and... hot.
"Don't worry, I'll give you the ones you want," I replied with a slightly... lascivious smile.
"Ok, let's go Elena", I referred to Elena, who also said goodbye to everyone.
"Oki," she replied curtly.
And so, we both set out to go to the outskirts of the city, to avoid being noticed when the system teleported us.
"Bye!" Everyone's voices were heard in the back as we were leaving.
(It feels good to be loved...).
As I walked beside Elena, I thought....
--
"Do you have everything?", I asked Elena. Since in this event, we could probably die permanently (although I don't think so), it's best to take every precaution.
Although Elena has a somewhat twisted personality, I have learned to love her just the way she is. Besides, she swore to me that she would never betray me and would always be with me for eternity.
(She even used a soul scroll).
Needless to say what happens when you swear using one of these.
Even though it's extreme, my trust in Elena is at an all time high.
"Yes, don't worry, Oni-sama" - Elena said, imitating a Japanese anime character.
When I told her that I liked some series like that, she started making that kind of jokes.
"Heh, then good luck, Elena" - I said while hugging her warmly.
[The first event of the system starts in: 30 seconds]
"I'll see you around, Illios." - she hugged me too, before the teleportation started.
And so the first system event began.