“You guys nailed it!” I couldn’t help but beam at everyone after the two so called diplomats left.

“It seems your assessment of Miss Sapphire’s ability was correct.” Tabula mused. “Critical Fortune really is as potent as you thought. Quite ingenious Mr. Gray.”

Sapphire, who had been hidden by Jade’s illusion skills until now was smiling widely. Her skill Critical Fortune could double the rank of another skill for a short time. Thanks to that, I had access to an effective Appraisal skill level of eighteen. With it I overpowered the woman named Arowyn’s maxed out Appraisal and probably blew her mind in the process.

“Everything played out just like you expected, my master. Pretending to unintentionally injure them clearly made them feel even more insignificant.” Kitha purred. Her voice still gave me chills.

“Was it really necessary to use Mend Ultima?” Jade questioned. “That’s one of my ‘Oh Shit’ skills you know. It won’t be back for a while.”

“It’s worth it.” I assured her. “They had scars and old injuries despite being so highly ranked. That means we just showed them a literal miracle. A big flex today might save us alot of pain in the future.”

“It might also provoke an even bigger retaliation.” This was from one of the Hellcat women. The fiery lioness had become the unofficial leader of their group in the wake of their transformation. Unlike the Cambions who were still reeling from the dramatic change, the Hellcats had wholly embraced their new identities. They revered Niiya as a practical goddess and were overprotective of me.

“That’s true Leza.” I said, taking a moment to recall her name. “That’s also beneficial. The point is to unsettle them enough so that they either embrace actual diplomacy, or overextend themselves in an attempt to crush us. The worst thing they could do to us at this point would be a subtle and long term war of shady schemes that don’t target us directly but weaken our image to our neighbors and other nations.”

“If we don’t fear their military strength, why not simply crush them and be done with it?” Jade predictably wanted to know.

“It may come to that, and we’ll dedicate some planning to that possibility.” I said. “But we want that to be a last resort, and with as few casualties as possible for both sides. I’m not interested in becoming a new warlord. My overall goal is to establish peace so I can strike out and explore as much as I want without the fear of something happening here at home.”

“There is an issue.” Tabula spoke up as though she just discovered something. ” I have finished analysis on their responses and there is an indication of deception in this line.” A pitch perfect recording of Arowyn began to play then from Tabula’s mouth. It was creepy.

“We will do our best to dissuade the kingdom from its chosen course.” The recording repeated. To me it sounded perfectly sincere.

“It is very subtle and could be a simple result of their overall distress, but her vitals and intonation became erratic during this statement.” Tabula informed me.

“In either case their actions are out of my hands now. If their underlings strike in town then we’ll know who to punish but I don’t think they’ll be that stupid after what they saw here.” I decided out loud.

“Now that’s done, what should we do?” Jade asked, now in her human form.

“We need to find some trade partners that aren’t associated with the kingdom.” I answered her. “EDEN can cover everything up to a point, but soon we’ll be responsible for more than we can handle with all the new arrivals we’re getting.”

“My uncle’s clan in the Sea of Stone would welcome powerful allies.” Yugal spoke up. “Their territory lies to the southwest. They raise the best meat on the continent, and their war machines can topple the walls of any feeble human city. We were preparing to join their fight against the invaders when The Warlord fell upon us.” Yugal sat down on the ten foot tall platform with his feet on the floor below as he spoke.

“I like the idea of mountain giant allies.” I nodded. “Is there a letter or pass phrase I can use to gain their trust?”

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“Your strength will be the key.” He said, shaking his great head. “You may either challenge one of their warriors to a duel, or bring them the head of one of the clan’s enemies as an offering.”

“Who are their enemies?” I wondered.

“The men from the kingdom are weak individually but they swarm like locusts. The rock worms are mighty, but killing one would take months of planning and the strength of the whole clan. The great cyclops warriors of the deeper ranges are a hated foe. They are few, and rarely come north except to plunder livestock. A dead cyclops would earn you tremendous respect and no doubt fuel your own power, though even you may find them too great of an enemy.”

“Do you mean to travel alone?” Tabula asked.

“It’s not really even ‘traveling’ at this point since I can fly and return instantly with Bloodwalk.” I answered her concerned look casually. “I need everyone I can trust here to protect this area.”

“I can’t go?” Niiya’s telepathic voice almost broke my resolve with the amount of sadness she packed into that question.

“You’re the most important person I need here. You can talk to me all the time so you can warn me if something happens. I promise to come back every day and tell you all about it.” I really hated letting her down, and her ears drooped as my thoughts reached her.

“Promise I can go with you next time.” She wasn’t asking.

“I promise to take you somewhere exciting soon, just the two of us.” That brought her ears back up and she nodded with a little smile.

“Who else lives in the southwest?” I asked.

“The dwarven kingdom lies beneath the mountains.” Leza said as the other Hellcats nodded. “They produce weapons and armor coveted by warriors and soldiers the world over.

“M-My former husband once visited Grandring, their capital as an adventurer. The wonders he described were hard to believe.” This unexpected voice came from one of the Cambion women. The former human instantly looked at her feet the second my eyes found her. Like all of the other Cambions, her transformation had perfected her human form and such shyness seemed at odds with her supernaturally good looks.

“I’m sorry for the loss of your husband Ms. Leifa.” I began, thinking of a way to get through to her. She interrupted me though, surprisingly and with a voice full of spite.

“Don’t be sorry for him.” She said, still looking down. “He was a vile man that preyed on children. If the Warlord hadn’t come first, I meant to kill him myself.”

“I see...” I fumbled for a moment. Guess real worlds have real shit in them after all. “Then let me just say this. None of you need to be reserved. There is no punishment or ridicule awaiting you for speaking your mind. Now what can you remember about the dwarves?”

She slowly looked up at me, clearly eye contact had been battered out of her.

“He said their city underground has a sun and moon somehow. They even grow crops. Their king is ancient, and still the strongest warrior of all the dwarves. They have a huge marketplace, much bigger than the one in Crown City. They’ll trade with anyone, even their enemies as long as they are getting a profitable deal. I can’t recall much else, lord Gray.” She averted her eyes as she finished talking.

“Thanks Leifa, that helps alot.” I said sincerely, noticing her sigh and smile as the other women shot her envious looks. “Yugal, can you draw me a rough map with some landmarks?”

“I can, my lord.” Yugal affirmed.

“Great. You’re all good to go.” I said to the gathered women. “Thanks for all your help today, sorry to eat up your whole morning!”

They bowed a little too reverently and all made their way to the elevator door suspended in space. This area Tabula made was so far beyond my expectations by the way. I told her I wanted an impressive area to greet newcomers and this is what she did.

I was getting excited as I planned my trip with Yugal’s help. I would scout the cyclops territory first, hopefully I could defeat one with low risk and gain their favor easily. I had been cooped up for way too long since The Warlord fight, and I could feel Soulthirst starting to rear its ugly head again.

I left the meeting with Yugal and had a bounce to my step, having finally gained control of my instant movement enough to actually walk like a normal person again. I then went to my private room on the top floor where I cleared out much of the consumables from my Astral Vault in order to make room for anything useful I might find while away.

It was nearly noon when I finally stepped out of EDEN into the chill air. I was aware of the sensation but it wasn’t at all unpleasant thanks to the Prismatic Veil cloak I was able to wear since defeating the monster horde. With it equipped, I was functionally immune to any types of cold damage or negative effects. It also added to my absurd heat resistance and provided active camouflage (think Predator) and energy nullification against electricity and radiation based attacks. It was yet another world first reward for defeating the five headed dragon guarding layer 900 of a fantasy themed Abyss.

A slight sound above me drew my attention, and I smiled. Niiya was laughing as she flew through the air on top of Rain’s drone form. She didn’t share my discomfort with flying at all. Rain zoomed through the sky, doing loops and rolls as Niiya howled in delight. She spotted me and Rain descended rapidly. When they were still at least a hundred feet in the air she leaped off, and my throat tightened in panic. I phased into the air with my wings instantly materializing on my back. I caught her and sighed. The scolding died on my lips as I looked into her glittering golden eyes.

“Are you leaving now?” She asked, and couldn’t hide a tiny cloud of sadness that crossed her face.

“Yep. I’ll be back to check in by morning like I promised though.” I answered.

“You’re going to fight today?” She asked, finally climbing down to the ground.

“I don’t think so.” I replied. “Today should just be having a look at what I’m up against.”

“Are they big monsters?” She asked, excitement lighting up her eyes.

“If they’re the same as I remember, cyclops are much bigger than Yugal.” I said.

“I want one!” She squeaked with delight.

“That would be an awesome addition to your Domain, wouldn’t it?” I agreed. “When you’ve leveled up some more we can go hunting for one.”

“I’m gonna level up alot!” She promised, and I gave her red mane a tussle.

“I better go before I get caught up in anything.” I said and summoned my black wings. “See you soon, Niiya. Keep an eye on our house for me!”

Her smile and wave shrank rapidly below me as I soared away from the ground.

I was so grateful for all the company I had now. After my previous life as a shut-in gamer, it was like an amazing dream to have so many interesting people around all the time. That said, I breathed a sigh of relief as I struck out on my own. As much as I loved the company of my odd new family, this is what I really lived for. The thrill of a solo adventure, the excitement of seeing new things, and the promise of battle drowned out my fear of flying as I sped over Gnollwood toward the distant mountains beyond.