The journey back to the Academy was an experience that Han didn't want to experience again. With the inability of the party to transport themselves to the Academy, Han needed to go with them. Though the experience did allow him to spend time with Selestra and his creations, it was a slow method of traveling.
A part of him wondered if he should introduce a series of transportation arches all throughout the various nations. This would not only benefit him in not having to deal with long journeys, but it would help the overall economy. The reason why the nations on Earth were able to grow so quickly was that of the improvement of the flow of information. The creation of the Internet may have been the greatest of humanity's contribution. It also was nice being able to view quality adult material whenever you wanted to.
After resting for several days upon arriving in Academic City, Han was informed by the Academic Company that the Student Council had summoned him. It was a little odd that they would need to see him, unless it had something to do with what occurred inside of the ruins. Han imagined that the Princess hadn't informed the Council, but there were possible elements inside of the Academy whose job was gaining information.
Exiting the elevator and arriving on the floor of the Student Council, there was a cute looking secretary that was waiting to greet him.
"Welcome. The Studen Council would like to extend their appreciation for agreeing to meet with them. All members are waiting inside of the conference room." the secretary informed him, and guided him to his destination.
As Han was following the secretary, he admired the amount of work that went into this floor. With the polished granite columns and all the marble, it did appear that the Council had a decent amount of wealth. Han thought it was quaint, considering the resources that he had at his disposal.
After walking down the long hallway, the doors automatically opened to present a grand room. There was a long crescent table with all the members of the Student Council waiting to meet him. He noticed that Val, the Lady Knight, was sitting at the table. Seeing that Han saw her, she gave a quick grin before masking it.
In front of the table, there was a large seal that was positioned likely indicating where those summoned were meant to stand. As he stood in front of the table, there was a long silence from the Council. Han was wondering if this was designed to intimidate him, like if an individual was summoned to the Oval Office inside of the White House.
Sitting at the center, there was a person with black hair and an angular face who looked like they were used to being respected. With how these organizations were like, this man was likely to be the Student Council President. Han just looked directly at him, and patiently stood there waiting until this man decided to address him.
It may have been petty to have a staring match, but if there was anything Han learned in his life was that small power battles helped to set the pace of future ones. If this man felt that he could use his power as the President to influence Han, then Han would have to deal with such an annoying event each time they interacted with one another.
"Yi, I have heard some great things about you, from Council members and students. Valessandria, who is in charge of the Disciplinary Committee, has mentioned you in a previous report. We are grateful that you decided to attend the Academy." the man said.
"Yes. As President Nathanial has mentioned, we are very impressed with what you have done in this institution." a woman sitting next to the President added in.
"I am curious about what these things are that I have contributed?" Han innocently asked.
"There is no need to be humble, Yi. We have heard from your teacher, Ha-Yoon, that you were the one responsible for saving all those students during your exploration into a monster's nest." The President replied, hinting that he would prefer Han to mention what happened at the ruins.
"It was only natural for me to defend my classmates in that situation. I never intended to do such a thing to receive recognition from the Student Council." Han said. "If such recognition is all that I was summoned for...," he began to trail off.
Han glanced over to see how Val was interpreting his actions, to try and figure out if the Council had another agenda aside from what happened inside of the ruins. It was always a good policy to never volunteer information, and in his, position Han felt that it was a good idea to follow it. Val seemed to be a little on edge with this whole event and didn't appear like she wanted to be here. Her eyes kept darting over to Nathanial as if he may be the source of her frustrations.
Without being given a dismissal, Han began to turn around as if he was going to leave.
"We requested your presence to discuss the events that took place inside of the ruins in the Sinking Swamp." the President suddenly said.
Han made himself look confused, and asked, "what exactly did you wish to talk about?"
Han could see that the President was getting annoyed with Han's evasive methods.
Nathanial sighed and said, "we heard that you were had an encounter with a dragon, which may have had a connection to the Overflow."
"We did not get any additional information related to the Overflow, but we did meet with a dragon who was weakened after appearing out of an orb." He tried to downplay the events in the ruins. "Aside from the dragon, there was not anything on the inside the explained what happened there. It was fortunate that the dragon was as weak as it was or we would not have made it back." He grinned, trying to pass it off as luck. The academy knew that he was powerful, but it was unlikely they knew how powerful they were.
"Hmmm..." Nathanial seemed to be deep in thought about how to proceed with this information. Looking over at the woman next to him, they began to discuss something. Once they finished with their side discussion, the President turned to look back at Han.
"Though it appears that you were very fortunate about what had occurred, the Council and I believe that you will be able to provide assistance with a particular task." The President looked at Han.
This whole thing felt a little fishy to Han, how they have an assignment for him just as he defeated a dragon and returned from a ruin linked to the Overflow.
"Very recently, the monsters in the area have been behaving strangely. There was the incident when your class visited the local monster's nest, and nearly being overrun by them. We have had reports of other student being attacked, with several major injuries and deaths. We have tried to assign adventurers to investigate this matter, but we have yet to hear back from them. Considering how you have performed in previous expeditions and the recent incident with a dragon, the Council requests that you and the Lady Knight go and investigate this issue. I hope you will assist us in this manner, to help prevent any more of your classmates encounter similar fates as others." Nathanial requested, looking very conflicted in sending a student to go on such a mission.
A loud slam echoed in the conference room. Han looked over and saw Val standing up and looking angry.
"President! To not include any of the Academy's troops or request for adventurers is foolish and dangerous! Regardless of Yi's magical abilities, there is no reason to expose him to this level of danger!!" She yelled.
"Lady Knight," Nathanial said, using her official title in the Council. "We have gone over this, and the Council has determined that both Yi and yourself, along with your troops, would be sufficient for protection against any dangers. I will request that the Lady Knight composes herself, especially during an official summons." Nathanial's voice was cool, but with an edge to it.
Val glared at the President, but eventually returned to her seat.
"Yi. What will your answer be to our request? We understand that we are requesting a lot from you, but we are at a loss on what to do. We hope you understand the position we are in." Nathanial asked, again.
"President, though such a mission is likely beyond my ability, I do not like to see my classmates suffer from attacks. I will go with the Lady Knight to investigate what is going on." He bowed his head, taking the task with sincerity.
----------
Nathanial watched as Yi accepted the mission from the Council, though he was annoyed at how Yi kept on evading. Along with Vice President Claire, Nathanial had learned about the Fourth Princess's expedition to look into the ruins inside of the Sinking Swamp.
When he learned about how Yi had defeated a dragon, he was surprised but then became suspicious about it. A dragon was a creature with considerable power, especially one that was found inside of an ancient ruined city. Though Nathanial was hesitant about believing Yi's account of the battle, common sense dictated that his testimony was close to the truth.
"President, do you think it was wise to sent Yi along with the Lady Knight? He does provide us with a material revenue stream." Claire cautioned him.
Watching as Valenssandria was talking with Yi, and how close they seemed to be, Nathanial replied, "in the long run, I believe it may be better for us if he goes with her."
---
"Hey, Sally!! You awake yet??!!" a loud voice and banging noise woke her up.
Groggily, she looked around the room, trying to remember where she was. Instead of huddling next to a building, Sally saw that she was laying on top of a comfortable mattress with an incredibly fluffy blanket wrapped around her. She was inside of a room that was decorated in things that she was interested in. There were posters of her idols hanging on the walls. Her favorite was of the Lady Brittany leaning against one of her massive swords while wearing a cute outfit.
Sally remembered the first time she was able to see Lady Brittany. She was walking around the city with those who work inside of the Stronghold. Later that day, Lady Brittany announced that the Master of the City was going to build a museum to display artwork that was created by those living in the city. Sally thought it was so amazing how the Lady was able to create beautiful works of art, while also being so strong. A couple of months back, Sally got to watch Lady Brittany and Lady Queen spar each other inside of the Education District, where there were buildings which allowed students to fight one another in front of an audience.
The way the two of them fought was like watching a dance, where they anticipated the other and countered. Lady Brittany wore a heavy full bodied armor and used a large sword as her weapon. Lady Queen had light armor and used a bladed whip. Sally wished that she could have something that allowed her to watch that scene over and over again. Someday, Sally knew that she would be someone that Lady Brittany could rely on and help defend this city.
"Sally!! We're going to get into trouble if we don't get to morning practice on time!" the voice brought her back from her thoughts.
Trying to get the sleep out of her eyes, Sally walked over to the door and opened it to see her friend standing there looking agitated. "Kim, we have plenty of time before morning practices begin. You worry too much." Sally sighed and let Kim into her apartment.
"You're not even ready!?" Kim said a little hysterically. "This happens every time! You're never ready, so we end up having to run all the way to the Training Center!" She tried to reason with Sally, who was heading back to her room to get ready.
Opening her closet, Sally looked at the various outfits she now owned. Many of the outfits were for her school related activities, though there was a growing number that she had just because they looked cute on her. Choosing a training outfit, she laid it on the bed before going back and grabbing her school uniform. Her training gear was composed of light leather armor, a white shirt, and pants. The shirt had a five-pointed star in front of a crescent moon, with the words "Fidelitas Venus Diamond Auxilium" beneath it. Both their training gear and uniforms had this over her left breast, giving her the sense that she belonged to something.
Taking off both towels, Sally started to put on her training uniform. The uniform was very empowering, different from when she was living on the street. From her desk, she grabbed a storage ring that's given to all citizens and placed her school uniform inside of it.
Leaving her room, Sally saw Kim sitting on the couch and looking through her magazines she had placed on the coffee table. She discovered these magazines while roaming the Shopping District, and finding a store that had posters and other fan related items. The magazines went over the latest fashion trends and had little pictures of famous people living in the city. There was also news of various events that were going on, which meant that there was always stuff going on for people to enjoy.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Looking through the magazines, she saw that they had each of the Floor Protector, what was considered to be the highest position next to the Master in the city, posing for photos. There was one magazine that was for fans of Lady Brittany, so Sally made sure to purchase several posters and the magazine.
When Kim looked up and saw her all ready, she said, "this time we may arrive a little early."
"Why don't we stop by and grab some food before heading towards the Eduction District," Sally commented to Kim, as she locked her door.
They walked down the street and headed towards one of the stores that served quick foods, often eaten by students on their way to school. During breakfast, they got something called a breakfast burrito, which was an unleavened flat bread made out of flour. The inside was filled with scrambled eggs, sausage, peppers, and spicy tomatoes all rolled up with the bread. It was very convenient to carry around and eat on the go.
"You know if you keep eating that in the morning you're going to end up gaining weight." Kim teased her.
Rolling her eyes, Sally said, "with the amount those teachers train us, I don't think I have to worry about gaining weight! Also, the teachers stated that we need to eat more protein to gain muscle." She stuck her tongue out at Kim.
As they walked, they saw some of their classmates who were also in their club. They waved at them and headed over to them.
"What's going on? Is the world ending, seeing Sally arriving at training on time?" Kate, a cat-girl around Sally's age with blonde hair exclaimed with mock surprise. Due to arriving at the city at around the same time, Kate was in almost all of Sally's classes. The city didn't only divide people based on age, but also when they arrived into the city. This meant that not all the schools started at the same time. There were plans to eventually coordinate the different buildings so that they all began the year at the same time, but currently those were in discussions.
"I think it's good that Sally is going to be on time so that we don't have to do extra laps around the training grounds." Ashley, a tall brunette who was a year ahead of Kate, Kim, and Sally said. Despite looking tomboyish, she had a very feminine figure which she often tried to play down. Many girls in the class had a crush on Ashley and would follow her around.
As they talked about various topics, related to club activities, school, and plans after school, they arrived at the entrance to the Education District. At the entrance, Ashley was dragged away by under classmates who were also a part of the club. She looked back at them with pleading eyes, but they mercilessly ignored her and wished Ashley luck.
The training grounds were near the city walls, which was convenient to aim at when practicing magic. Near the training grounds, there was a relatively large building where various sports clubs could weight lift and get ready for class or when they headed home. Having this type of environment was new for Sally, being able to train and rest in a high-grade environment.
Each of the genders had different training grounds, and at the end of the year, there was a competition among them. Though she always thought that boys were stronger than girls, Sally learned that it wasn't always strength that led to victory. Using the abilities, she developed while living off the streets; Sally was successful at tricking opponents. She wished that she was more like her idol, but she learned that she just didn't have the massive power that Lady Brittany had. Though she wasn't powerful, Sally did learn that she had an affinity for shadow magic as Lady Brittany. Using her abilities, she was able to control a person's shadow and also pull them inside of the shadows. Inside the shadow, Sally could travel between locations making her very powerful at night.
Sally's favorite weapon was the chain and sickle, where she would sneak behind an opponent and wrap them up before going in for the finishing move. She also became good at using projectiles, such as daggers, chakrams, and bow and arrows. Using her skills, she would often sneak up on classmates and scare them. Even the upper classmates couldn't detect her though their magical skills were stronger than hers.
The training grounds had sections based on the activity. There were areas for sports and military based activities. Sally's club was located inside of a portion of the training ground was inside of a giant cube structure. Inside of the structure housed different dimensions depending on their training. Sometimes there was a giant city, ruins, jungle, or desert. Sally enjoyed when they trained inside of the city because it reminded her of when she was sneaking around looking for things to steal. The cool thing was that their instructor could change the weather and time of day.
Entering the structure, Sally, Kim, and Kate saw that it was set to the city mode. Their instructor was sitting on top of one of the buildings, waiting for all the club members to arrive. Her instructor's eyebrows went up when she saw that Sally had arrived early to morning training.
"What do we owe this pleasure for the Princess to come so early," She asked shocked. Sally was somewhat famous for sleeping in and being difficult to wake up on time. This is why everyone gave her the nickname Princess, cause Sally seemed to show up when she felt like it.
"Sometimes even I can show up early, Instructor May," Sally innocently answered."
Instructor May snorted at her response and jumped down from the top of the building. "I guess I can't complain if you're going to do what is asked of you, though I hope that this is a sign of you coming on time more often." She sighed in frustration.
"Will we be doing urban training, today, Instructor?" Kate asked.
"Can't you see that for yourself? This morning we'll be doing night infiltration. When your all your club members arrive, I'll divide you up into two teams. One team will be the home team and try to protect the sensitive documents, while the away team will try and gain the information on those documents." Instructor May said while Kate groaned. Kate was weak in urban infiltration and preferred training in the jungle, due to her affinity for nature magic.
"Stop your groaning, Kate. You need to get used to all environments, not just the ones that you're strong in." their instructor said.
Kate's tail drooped down as Kim patted her on the back, to cheer her up.
When everyone was inside of the structure, Instructor May said, "As you can see, we'll be performing a night infiltration exercise. I'll form two teams of ten, with one group tasked with protecting the information and the other group tasked with gaining the information. To keep things fair, if three members of the infiltration team are discovered, then the other team wins. The time limit is one hour, so if the defending team can last that long or spot three members of the opposing team then they win. For those of you not on a team, you'll be watching on the screens so pay attention. If I see any of you making similar mistakes, then you will end up running around the training grounds until I say so."
Sally watched a few of the under classmates wince from bad memories of running until it was night.
-------
Sally waited until the opposing position was in position, deep inside of the city. The location was never the same, so Sally's team would need to sweep the city and find where they were located quickly.
"Okay. Sally, Mindy, Tiffany, and Sarah, the four of you are going to be in charge of finding where the other team is hiding the documents. Kate and I will wait here, while the rest of you go with each of them and make sure that they aren't spotted. Once one of you discovers the location, you'll let the rest of us know so we can head over to your position." Ashley instructed, being the more experienced member, Ashely was often the one to lead the team she's assigned to.
There was a large fireball that flew through the air, signaling that the timer was starting. Sally and Kim rushed down the main path where they entered, along with the three other pairs. Signaling to the others, Sally took the first street that diverged from the main street. One of the first things you learned during classes was the use of hand signals to prevent enemies from learning your position.
Even though the city was bathed in darkness, there was a light that simulated the moon. Sometimes they would have to go through the city in near total darkness, to simulate conditions where the sky was overcast. This time, they were lucky to get some light.
Speeding down the street, Sally could see doors and windows blur as she passed by them. There were occasional wagons and other obstructions laid out, so the two of them had to be mindful of such things.
As she was dodging obstacles, Sally was using her magic to sense for any shadows that belonged to a person. Her ability allowed her to sense the shape of shadows, and she learned very early that shadows belonging to people felt different. Even a beast person's shadow seemed different compared to animals. This allowed her to locate opponents better whenever she traveled in between shadows. Using such methods took up a lot of mana, so she had to be careful of how often she used her ability.
Going down different streets, Sally started to feel someone nearby. Raising her hand to signal Kim to hide, she tried to get a better sense of where this person was located. Kneeling up against a wall, Sally closed her eyes and concentrated on the nearby shadows. In her mind, she could see an image of her surroundings and saw that a person was hiding in a building a hundred feet away. Sally tapped on Kim's shoulders and formed a circle with her index finger and thumb, placing it so that she could look through it, to indicate that she can see her opponent and raised one finger to indicate how many there were. Kim nodded her head in acknowledgment then made a verticle chopping motion followed by two diagonal chopping motion, to let Sally know to proceed and eliminate the target.
Feeling the shadow wrap around her body, she merged with the darkness and made herself move towards where she sensed the person. Slowly, Sally stuck her head out of the ceiling directly above the person's shadow. She remembered being yelled at by the instructor for appearing out of the person's shadow, cause this usually alerted the person who was watching out for such a tactic. Looking down, Sally saw that it was one of the inexperienced under classmates. The individual was looking out of the window while trying to keep themselves hidden but failed to remember about people like Sally who could use shadow magic.
Dipping back into the shadow, she emerged from her target's shadow and slipped out a dagger and placed the blade on the person's throat. After the person had felt the blade on her neck, she hung her head down to indicate that she knew she was killed. Those who were "killed" were forbidden from talking, so that if there were more than one the person that died couldn't alert the others. Making a sound after you died led to an automatic forfeit, and was strictly enforced.
Sally tapped on the person's back to cheer her up, before jumping out of the window and landing on the street. Kim, who was monitoring the situation, saw that Sally was finished and rushed over to where she was standing. Spreading her hand out and then quickly clenching her hand into a fist, while moving her elbow towards her body, Sally let Kim know that it was a success.
Moving further, Sally continued to sense more people from the opposing team. Each time, depending on how many there were, Sally and Kim would dispose of the guards. So far they had eliminated five members, so they were confident that they were getting closer to where the information was located.
Knowing that they were probably getting close, they started to slow their pace to avoid being detected. In front of them, there was an innocent looking building that wouldn't look like it would be advantageous for the other team to place the information. What made her suspicious was that there were three people located inside.
Hiding behind a cart, Sally indicated that there were three people, but the placement was odd.
Trusting in Sally's instinct, Kim moved away to request for aid and that they may be near where the information was located. With the timer, they couldn't be too cautious, or they'd run out of time.
Sally was worried that the three opponents had placed themselves to spot anyone using shadows. Though her ability was convenient, there was a small opening where she was vulnerable. This was when she was sticking her head out before her eyes could assess the situation. If an opponent was watching out for someone with her ability, they could throw a dagger and kill her.
After several minutes had passed, she could feel three people heading towards her. This was likely to be Ashley, Kate, and another member. Moments passed before Sally could see Ashley, Kate, and Mia, who went with Tiffany. It was likely that Tiffany and Mia hadn't run into anyone, but just to be safe Tiffany stayed behind to continue mapping the city.
Ashley made several signals to ask what the situation was. Sally repeated what she informed Kim and about how they were likely positioned to spot her if she were to use her shadow magic.
Getting a grasp of the situation, Ashley indicated that they would approach the building from all four sides and to watch out for other opponents.
Sally moved towards the building, keeping an eye out to prevent being seen. One of the nearby buildings cast a shadow onto her target, so she moved towards the shadow. Instead of diving into the darkness, she partially submerged her hands and feet. This provided her with the ability to climb the side of the building and also stay aware of her surroundings.
Heading towards the window that was close to where the three were at, she pulled out a small mirror, so she didn't expose herself. Though she couldn't clearly see what was inside, she saw enough to spot where they were looking. On the desk, papers were laying on top. With the three too focused on watching out for her team, they didn't seem to watch out for the primary objective. All that needed to be accomplished was to get ahold of the documents.
Moving to a shadow that was closer to where the documents were placed, she reached into the darkness and could feel her hand sticking out. In her hand were pieces of papers to take the place of the documents she was aiming for. Switching out the information for the paper she was holding; she pulled out the documents.
Looking at the documents, Sally reviewed the necessary information. On the page was a string of numbers, which she carefully jotted down on a blank page of paper. Once she was finished, Salley switched the documents for the blank pages.
Completing the mission, all she needed to do was get back to the instructor to win the match. Rushing away from the building, she said into a mana crystal that linked to her team and said, "Abort! I have retrieved the documents! Am now heading to the rendezvous location!"
As she was rushing towards her destination, she could sense her teammates meeting up with her, in addition to the remainder of her team slowly catching up. Flying down the long street, they all converged with one another and headed towards the entrance together.
The moment they crossed the threshold, Instructor May fired off another fireball to indicate that the match was over. Everyone cheered and clapped at their win.
Sally was congratulated by everyone, as they waited for the other team to arrive. When they arrived, the instructor indicated for everyone to quiet down. As the club members began to stop talking, the instructor looked at those who weren't in the match and asked, "what went wrong for the defending team?"
There was a long pause as everyone tried to think about the match and what happened. A short girl with green hair raised her hand and said, "the defending team lost sight of the main objective, and got distracted."
Instructor May nodded her head to let the girl know that she answered correctly. Looking back at them, she asked, "what did the infiltrating team do correctly?"
The same girl raised her hand and said, "once upper classmate Sally realized that she was able to copy the documents, even though her team was getting ready to move, she took the initiative to go for completing the main objective."
"Yes!" Instructor May said, agreeing. "Remember, you will often be placed into a situation where you have to make a decision, whether you stick to a plan or adjust when the situation calls for it! In this match, the objective was the document not to take out the opposing members. Even though eliminating enemies sounds more impressive and displays your skills, you need to keep your objective in mind."
------
After being dismissed, everyone headed towards the building next to the training grounds. All that waited for them was a nice hot shower before they headed to class. Sally chatted with her fellow club members, some who offered advice based on what they saw and others who wanted to hear how she was able to think about grabbing the documents and winning the match.
Inside of the building was split into three hallways. One of the hallways led to the weight room, another to the relaxation area, and the final to the showers. Sally walked with Kate, Kim, and Ashley, as they discussed where they did well and areas they could improve.
"If it wasn't for you, Sally, I don't know if we could have completed the objective. Looking at the screen from the opposing teams perspective, they did a good job of having all the angles covered. If there were an additional member, they would have probably spotted you taking the documents." Ashley said, pondering about how they could have proceeded in those hypotheticals.
"I know that I wouldn't have been able to complete the mission," Kate said sounding depressed. "I don't have a surefire way to finish them off if that kind of environment."
"Don't worry, Kate. We'll work with you to get you ready." Sally assured her. Even though Sally and Kate were sometimes competitive, they both respected one another and seeing the other succeed was always a win-win scenario.
Entering into the locker area, hung up her school uniform and undressed out of her training clothes. With her sweating, the clothes had a noticeable odor to them. Quickly storing her dirty clothes into the storage ring. Walking towards the shower area, she grabbed some towels off a cart. There was already steam drifting out of the area, as her classmates washed off the grime with hot water.
Going into one of the stalls, Sally hung up the towels and turned on the water. Holding onto the top of the walls of the stall, she just let the hot water flow off of her body. She felt the water form a stream as it ran down between her breasts and continued down her front. Just standing in hot water made her remember all those times she had to wash in cold and dirty gutter water. Afraid of people seeing her wash, she could have to leave her shirt on and rub herself with some stolen soap. She would spend the day soaked and shivering. If there was one thing she started to understand was that being clean helped her to attract assistance from guys, cause many of the girls just stayed dirty. Her physical appearance was what caused them to want to help her, though they were also hoping for something extra. She would often be scared about one of the guys forcing themselves on her, and not being able to fight back.
Her hands gripped the walls of the stalls until her hand began to tremble with the strain. Sally hated how afraid she was on the streets, and never wanted to put herself in that situation again. After calming down, she grabbed some soap and began washing herself. Draping her hair to one side, she began to apply shampoo to it and then flipped her hair to get the rest. Standing up, she turned her back to the faucet and enjoyed the feeling of the water as it flowed through her hair and down her back. She closed her eyes in bliss.
Turning off the water, Sally went to the towels and wrapped one of them around her while the other was used to wrap her hair. Getting out of the stall, she went over to the giant mirror where different makeups and creams were placed for the girls to use. Grabbing a bottle of cream to moisturize her face, she leaned towards the mirror to make sure that it was rubbed into her face.
Removing the towel from her hair and letting it fall, slightly damp. Sally looked at herself in the mirror. Compared to when she first arrived, Sally had eaten better, and her body was starting to fill out. The towel stuck to her body, showing that she had more curves than when she was living on the streets. Seeing how her physical appearance was vastly better than before, she smiled while thinking how all this was thanks to the Master of the city. He had created this paradise, where she didn't have to worry about eating and having a place to belong.
From her storage ring, she took out the letter she received on her first day in the city. Her fingers ran across the words on the page, and she remembered finding out that this letter wasn't something everyone received. Sally remembered going back to her apartment after learning that no one else had been given a letter when they moved in, and how happy it made her. Looking into the mirror, seeing her figure that was holding the letter she understood only one thing. For the hundredth time, Sally swore that she would do whatever it took to repay everything the Master had done for her, regardless of the consequences.
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Han watched as the surroundings around them began to change, from being a lush forest to nearly devoid of any life. There was a definitive smell of sulfur in the air, indicating that they were getting close to their destination. They had spent weeks going around and investigating monster attacks, especially ones that were strange compared to the norm.
Their investigations led them towards a volcanic area called the Devil's Cradle. For a long time, this area has been a place that locals had avoided due to the harsh environments and tales of people going missing. Due to how often such reports were given, no one had thought to investigate this area. Though the incidents they looked into didn't have a direct relation to this location, there were definitely hints that something was up.
"This smell is pretty strong! Like someone had left out a million eggs and let them rot." Han commented holding his nose.
"Stop your complaining," Val said to him sounding frustrated. This journey was taking its toll on her, especially with how Han was acting.
"Master, would you like me to prepare something to hold over your nose?" Brittany asked, her voice sounding concerned.
"I have a handkerchief that you can use, if you want, Yi," Selestra offered.
"How could I possibly need something, when I have two wonderful ladies sitting on either side of me." Han laughed as he placed both of his arms on each girl. They were currently riding a plush cart that seated two comfortably, but Han had all three of them sit, so it was very cozy.
"Yi's smelling my body," Han heard Selestra murmur as she giggled.
The more time Selestra had with him, Han had noticed her personality changing. When he first met her, she was very arrogant and controlling, but as she spent time with him and after that passionate exchange she has been becoming a little obsessed with him. At night, she would hold him tightly so her face was buried in his chest and he would hear her smelling him. He only thought that this kind of scene appeared in hentai, so he was pleasantly surprised by how she was acting. With her submissive personality, which wasn't caused by his ability, it was definitely a turn on. They had already spent a couple of night with all his other creations, enjoying long passionate sex and sleep until it was early afternoon.
Han enjoyed watching how Queen would take control of Selestra and command her into doing various sexual acts to him. He personally didn't enjoy having someone act dominating, but seeing those two definitely was enjoyable.
"I will always be near Master," Brittany cooed. While Helania was away, Brittany was making sure to take care of everything. Having Helania gone was something he thought about, but her task was necessary so he could only be patient until she returned.
"You really do enjoy letting the world know how close you are to all the women in your life." Val snorted in laughter. Val had told him on their journey how she heard students talk about his constant displays of affection, making him laugh. Compared to other nobles, who were sleazy with their mannerisms, Val informed him that she thought it was adorable how close he was to those he cares about.
During this trip, Han and Val learn about one another and form a strong friendship. Han learned about Val's childhood and what happened to her parents. Though Han was vague about his background, Val understood that he was a private person and didn't try to pry. Seeing how good Val was to Han, those in Han's group became close to Val. Han would also enjoy joking with the men that Val brought along. Her people had developed a strong sense of camaraderie with Han and also Brittany. With Brittany, many of them tried to duel her and lost horribly. Instead of getting angry, they enjoyed the challenge and improved their own capabilities. Now, whenever they stopped for a period of time, Brittany would have several men ask if they could duel her and get some tips.
"I think the only type of environment I have yet to see are polar regions and jungles. Do you know if they exist on this continent?" Han asked Val.
Looking back at him, she said, "Yes. Further up north, there are areas that are covered in snow, while past the desert there are thick jungles."
"Maybe I should go visit both locations, so I can say that I have experienced everything this continent has to offer." Han mused to himself.
Up ahead, there were several of Val's men who were heading towards them. As they got closer, they slowed and saluted to her. "Lady Knight, we have discovered a large opening, leading to a deep tunnel. Based on the tracks surrounding the entrance, we believe that this is where the disturbances could be originating."
"Thank you, captain," Val said. "What do you think, Yi?" She asked.
"This seems like a good lead for us to see if there is any connection with what the locals are saying, and also to the increase in unusual monster behavior." Han agreed.
Val signaled for her men to follow her, and they began their march towards the entrance.