The meeting room was located one floor above Jerry’s office, and it was on the last floor of that building. As if those four representatives could only use that place, I only saw a huge table and four chairs. That being said, I saw Naomi standing behind Jerry, that black-haired woman standing behind the General and another unknown woman standing behind the last representative of the survivors, who also was a woman who I had never seen before.
Those two looked similar; they had blond hair and blue eyes. But the woman standing seemed like a female warrior, she was huge, and her muscles were flashy. She had very short hair, and even though it was already night, she was still wearing armor and still had an ax on her back. On the other hand, the woman sitting seemed more frail and refined. She was the complete opposite of her sister/assistant/bodyguard. She had long hair and was wearing regular clothes and didn’t have any weapons with her. But, I could see several rings on her — rings which could amplify magic powers and hide their information.
‘I guess this is the smart thing to do, but that is already too late for me.’
In any case, I decided to get rid of that thought and end that meeting as soon as possible. The General didn’t look at me like I was a mere object, but he was still an unnerving old man. And the big blonde female warrior stare was annoying as well. So, before anyone could ask, I told them my discoveries in detail.
The General and the blond woman who was sitting looked at me suspiciously when I talked about Tinemouth. They couldn’t believe that I obtained so many orbs, coins, and the core of the frozen world so easily. I noticed that thanks to their eyes, but I would like to make them experiment on how is it feel to keep yourself awake for a week and be burned by your own attack.
“You did a good job,” Rose said. “Although it is a very interesting way of attacking, it depends on too many factors to be able to do it. Besides, I don’t think we will be able to replicate a magic arrow like the one you used against Tinemouth.”
“Why not?”
“You didn’t kill him thanks to your mana alone,” Rose explained. “Your skill concentration amplified the power of that magic arrow by manifold.”
I didn’t realize that, but she was right. Come to think of it, even by preparing a single attack for an entire week; I didn’t have the chance of killing such a creature that could delay the end of a whole planet. The skill concentration made that arrow become thirteen times stronger… In any case, it was a pretty simple combination of skills, so the blond woman and the General assistant wrote down than information. I thought it was worth a try, for now on, we would have to rely more on such things. Passive skills were expensive, but those were very useful.
After that, I told them the experiences I had with the harpies. For some reason, everyone was looking at me suspiciously now.
“Is something wrong with what I said?”
“Ethan… did those harpies really made such an offer and said that they would let Martin go?” Rose frowned.
“Yes.”
“Do you know why?” Rose asked again.
“Because they want males to procreate… and if I remember well, they looked interested in me thanks to my skills.”
Everyone looked at each other; it seemed that reached the same conclusion, and I had no idea what that conclusion was. It was a pain to be in a room where everyone is smarter than me. But thanks to that, I began to think more seriously why they wanted me and decided to let Martin go. If they really needed males, every single one would be precious for them. Why would then let Martin go if I had decided to join them?
“… Perhaps, our skills can be passed down to our children?”
“That would explain a lot of things.” Rose nodded.
“That wouldn’t be surprising,” Naomi added. “Our skills are changing our bodied to molecular levels, so it is only obvious that new infants will receive some of those changes.”
That was one more reason to keep an eye on Claire’s pregnancy. She didn’t tell me that anything was wrong, but considering this information, we had to be extra careful. It was hard to believe my kids would be born and have the power to kill dragons, but it wouldn’t be weird if they inherit some of mine’s and Claire’s skills.
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Finally, my report was about to end, I wondered what those people had been doing inside the walls. After all, the dragons surprised them even more. The three suns, the fact that the dragons were getting stronger just by receiving the suns’ energy… it was really impressive, but soon the surprise ended.
“Thousands of dragons…” Jerry showed a serious expression. “Our walls will be useless against them.”
“According to what Ethan said, a few of them can also summon meteors.” Harry’s face was dark. “They will destroy us… if we let them attack.”
“You are right; we have to strike first.” Jerry nodded. “They can’t leave all at once, so if we reunite the strongest survivors and keep them there, we will eliminate this threat.”
I guess that is the other option; we didn’t have to wait for them. Dragon’s hearts were also valuable, but I had promised that I wouldn’t leave Claire and I really didn’t want to take her to such a battlefield. She was powerful, but I didn’t want to put her or our kids’ lives at risk.
“Each representative shall form a team of six members,” The General declared. “And those twenty-four will kill the dragons as soon as they leave the dungeon. We shall send them tomorrow. So, be quick and choose your strongest warriors.”
It seemed the General still was using his authority to force his decisions on others. In any case, he had a point. So, no one complained. After that, the meeting ended, and everyone left, and since they lived in the same building, I ended up walking alongside Harry, Rose, and Sarah.
“Who are the members of the team you will send?”
“Well, I don’t know yet…” Harry frowned. “What I do know is that I’m not sending you or Claire.”
“That’s fine by me.”
“What? I thought that you would complain and would insist on joining the team.” Harry frowned.
“I want more Dragon’s heart, but I have a promise to fulfill, and I don’t want to take Claire to that place.”
“Well, well.” Rose smiled. “It seems you are finally using your brain; love really does change people, huh. In that case, you should do our job while we go and exterminate those dragons. We are the strongest of our area, after all.”
“No, thanks. I’m not going to face those dragons, but Claire and I will to the nearby dungeon. We can’t slack off.”
“You should reconsider,” Sarah showed a serious expression. “She is pregnant, in two months she will give birth. She isn’t in the condition to fight, and you should stay with her, inside the walls.”
“It is precisely why she is pregnant that we have to fight and get stronger while we can. I don’t want, and I’m sure Claire also doesn’t want to raise our kids inside some walls. Do you think we can sleep soundly when there’s a portal nearby connecting earth to another world?”
“… You know, it’s kind of scary when you are right like that.” Sarah frowned.
“Will you two go alone to that dungeon to fool around?” Harry asked. “Or will you bring someone to help?”
‘It depends, what kind of monsters we will face on that dungeon?”
“Have you ever heard of sahuagins?” Harry asked. “You will find those if you walk south for fifty kilometers. The entrance of their dungeon is on a small island that appeared in the middle of a great lake. No one entered that dungeon, but I bet that in their world, you will find much more water than soil.”
“We received a report about their fight style,” Rose said. “According to the team who fought against them, the sahuagins broke their limits fifty to sixty times. However, they become much more deadly when there’s water nearby. They move faster inside the water, and their attacks become more deadly.”
“So, if I follow the city’s river downstream, I will found them… why didn’t they attack this place?”
“It seems they can’t fight in this world for long periods,” Rose explained. “Even inside water, they ended up losing HP after ten minutes in our world. Based on your reports, many alien monsters can come to this world, but only under some serious restrictions. Or perhaps the water from the earth is different from their planet.”
“I see… I think I will bring Martin’s group with us. I promised that I would help them, but I didn’t have time to do it thanks to the harpies. I already know them, and since they are the weakest ones here, they will probably accept.”
“I think that is a good idea.” Harry nodded. “Those women are being ostracized thanks to their past actions, they don’t complain, but it’s about time to someone offer them some help. Just be careful, those sahuagins are small, but they are agile and strong. Their tridents are sturdy and deadly.”
I made a mental note of that information, but I couldn’t rely too much on their opinions if they didn’t face them. Besides, just by fighting, I would be able to tell how much dangerous those monsters were. In any case, despite trying to summarize my report, when I returned to Claire’s room, everyone was already sleeping, even Claire. She seemed tired even while she was sleeping, but I was also tired. She took a massive weight off my shoulders, but too many things had happened in a single day, so it couldn’t be helped that we were exhausted.
I laid down in front of her and admired her beautiful sleeping face. Maybe it was because I really loved her, but I had never seen such a beautiful woman before. It was almost unbelievable that she also loved me. In any case, I swear it on my heart that I would deserve her love and that I would never lose her or our kids. Frank and the others wouldn’t probably see me as their father, but that was alright. I would also protect them, as well. They were my family, my first and real family, and I would do anything to keep them on my side.
I lived a life full of lies, and when I discovered what I was, I decided to ignore almost everything and seek power for the sake of seeking power. But now I had genuine reasons to seek power, to protect Claire, the kids, and our children in her belly. No one will ever take that happiness from me. I will protect them... no matter what. Even if I have to destroy other planets, I won’t lose them.