Lotus Year 90
Inside my cave, my plans for expansion and revitalization of the land began to bear fruit.
The ceiling is completely covered with thick roots that serve as structural supports for the cave, while smaller roots fall from these like chandeliers. At their tips are large formations filled with water emanating gentle blue light, illuminating the entire cave. The floor is primarily large plains of soft earth topped with grass I cultivated over the years, with a large crater full of crystal clear water serving as a shelter for various small organisms I brought, such as planaria, snails, frogs and axolotls.
The artificial plain is a special project I am very proud of. There is still not much biodiversity, but I plan to introduce different types of animals and plants to this place over time until I create a completely functional artificial ecosystem.
Why go through all this effort? Because it's the safest thing to do. By introducing wildlife to this place, I can get food for myself and my servants, as well as precious XP to power myself up, all easily monitored and controlled from the comfort of my pond.
Nothing here will ever break free from the grip of my roots.
My new final skill, [Sanctified Roots], adds even more benefit to this plan, letting me assimilate whatever land my roots touch. And assimilation, as it turns out, means that little by little, I am creating an entire region that matches my affinity for [Water]. The air is always humid, the soil always damp, the plants take on a cyan tint, and everything is filled with energy similar to mine.
This makes my cave feel like a real home to me, and makes the plants inside it feel familiar in body and affinity. Normally, I don't like the company of other plants since they try to steal my resources and space, but these new plants make me feel more comfortable, and even make me want to take care of them and help them grow. For now, these plants are just algae and lily-like flowers in crater lake, and moss growing on surrounding rocks, but I will have more as I develop the cave.
We exchange nutrients and warning signs, such as lack of light, the presence of predators, or hunger. Of course, they don't have a consciousness as developed as mine, but I can still send basic signals and translate what signals they send me. This way I was able to adapt the cave to improve their living conditions, and I also gained some “friends” who are closer to my species. It's not a big deal, but I still feel more comfortable with them than with the Tieflings. Plants don't lie, they don't cause unnecessary problems, and they don't complain about life all the time. They just live their lives, with the simple desire to survive and grow - nothing more and nothing less.
My roots also continue to dig deeper and deeper, finding a smattering of assorted objects along the way. After a lot of digging, I came to a large formation of rocks with blue, gold, and white veins that I can't turn into clay with magic to dig through for some reason. The whole thing seems to be some type of ore, but I can't break it with my roots or spells; I had to call my Earthwards, who easily managed to break off chunks of the thing, giving me access to pretty, but ultimately useless, rocks. Since the lode was in my way, I got them to break it down into several small pieces which I temporarily moved to the part of the cave where I kept the other trash I found while digging like rusty pieces of metal, bones and strange rocks.
I have also been improving my magic, training every day to discover magic circles for new spells. Whenever I discover a new one that works, I carve it into a stone with the name of the spell I came up with, always leaving the circle around the inscriptions incomplete so as to not run the risk of activating it. After doing this for years now, I have a good collection of these stone tablets. I have discovered a wide range of circles, from creating light to small flames to water tornadoes. While they are highly unstable if created imprecisely, they are fun to use and fascinate me with their endless possibilities.
The last few years have also been quite profitable. Since my appearance to the Tieflings, the flow of mana sent to the lake has started to grow exponentially, enough for me to collect several star points. The Tieflings also began construction of a temple by the lake, built around the statue. The project is still just beginning, but in a few years it is possible that I will have people praying to me from inside.
It's not really pleasant to have people coming to my door to beg for blessings, treasures, or power, but after I blessed that Kiiro boy, people’s faith in me soared. Selene gained a lot of political power as a result, and now she is playing priestess at my temple. More people have been fervently praying to me since Selene claimed the reason I ignored all the other prayers was because they weren’t “meaningful enough”. She was the one who came up with the temple proposal, pitched as a place to help people’s prayers. She didn't mention the part where she planned to use the place as headquarters for her group of religious fanatic wizards
I must admit that I have been tempted from time to time to throw some small blessings at them, but I don’t think it would really satisfy them. I could do the bigger blessings, but those are very expensive and feel “intimate”. I could gain some resources by providing some blessings to the public, like more believers and shared XP, but blessing a few people would make more entreat me for further gifts, and soon I would need to deal with a vast majority even more dissatisfied than if I had done nothing at all. The alternative of blessing everyone would cause me to waste a lot of time, energy, and resources, and even if I did bless everyone, some might be dissatisfied with the small blessing’s minor effect. People will always be greedy for more, so unless I set a cutoff I will wind up blessing any dumbass who appears crying at the edge of the lake.
Kiiro and Selene are good standards for my blessings; one is a child from a noble lineage with a sad backstory, and the other a fanatical and very powerful woman. Both are potentially very valuable as servants.
Kiiro is not mature enough for me to ascertain his real usefulness. In recent years the boy has been irritating me with stupid questions and stupider jokes, but his special ability to see energy, the 2 extra skills he gained with the blessings - a spiritual healing skill and another still unknown - and the bonus of the payment made by his mom, make the boy a great bet for my future.
Selene is almost perfect for my needs. She's smart and highly competent with magic, but not wise enough to perceive my true intentions, and not powerful enough to stay in control without my support. Behind the kind smile and mature attitude, there is a cold viper without empathy, good at manipulating people into believing what she wants them to while appearing angelic in the eyes of the public.
She is Kiiro's teacher, and if she does a good job, he will be just as good at manipulation and magic as she is. I would say that the only problem with Selene is her narcissism, which makes her very irritable when things don't go exactly as she planned. Other than that, she is great at everything she does, so I'm more than happy to help her with whatever little requests she has, be it a spell, ritual, or energy supply.
I'm honestly tempted to give Selene a [Unique] blessing, which would catapult her to the top of the village's social ladder, but that narcissism worries me. If I put too much power in her hands it would be easy for her to blind herself and move away from the path I want her to follow. That's why I believe I need more blessed people, but it can't be just anyone. It has to be someone who is fanatical about me, or who is otherwise willing to submit themselves body and soul to me. Kiiro doesn't fall into either of these categories, but if my plan succeeds, soon he will be as blind with fanaticism as he is blind in his eyes.
I have plans, but for them to come to fruition I need to make some immediate moves. My secret cave project can protect me against a disaster in the future, but I need something for the present. The Tieflings worry me a little. Every day I see them growing, improving, and prospering. It never bothered me, but seeing them growing, strengthening, and becoming so self-sufficient… something about it makes me angry.
I don't like the idea that they can surpass me. This is my home, I just let them live here out of pity. I have no intention of playing second fiddle. So my options are: ally with them, dominate them, or eliminate them.
I don't trust them or any promises they make enough to ally with them unless they all sign a system-supervised contract like Suzuki - something that I doubt will happen.
Dominating them is a delicate matter. I can do it in two ways: crushing them and making them submit to me out of fear - which is unrealistic - or by playing along with their ideas, creating roots in their hearts and minds. Little by little, I can make them believe their own fantasies, and in only a decade or two I could be sitting in the center of the village, adored and held sacred like a deity.
Eliminating them is difficult. Unless I create a wave of lake creatures or kill them all while they sleep, I think it would be difficult to win in a fight against them, especially the mages and the nobles. I don't like to admit it, but they are dangerous. It's not just gold and prestige that runs through their veins, some of them have real power and pose a genuine threat to me.
Whenever I look at Hiraki, I get the sense he could cut through my shields like butter with a hot knife if he uses his rapier. I feel that the strange golems produced by that gentleman using his magic book could pluck me from the ground like picking a carrot. And I feel like I wouldn't be able to resist a shower of magical spells produced by several nobles at once.
I have a good defense and vitality, but surprisingly I don't have a good resistance against magical attacks. Physical blows are almost insignificant since I can rebuild myself indefinitely at the cost of energy, but magical damage - like mana poisoning or the projectiles launched by the flesh amalgams - are very difficult to deal with.
Maybe it's a racial issue or lack of ability? Maybe there's something I don't know about the art of defending against spells? I know that energy shields are very effective when it comes to intercepting a magical attack, but there should be a way to make your body resistant against magical attacks, shouldn’t there?
----------------------------------------
------={The Lady and the High Priestess}=------
Night came, and as everyone retreated to their homes, a group of wizards dressed in white robes approached the lake. Their robes covered their whole bodies with hoods concealing their faces. They gathered in a circle, whispering strange words, before their apparent leader slowly walked towards the middle.
The leader took off her hood, revealing a face wrinkled with age, sharp black horns pointing straight up, silvery-white hair in a large braid falling to her ankles, ash-gray skin, and deep teal eyes.
As was routine for her now, Selene had come to say her daily prayers.
As she reached the center of the circle, she gently knelt down and began to pray silently to the lake. As she and her followers prayed, flowers in the lake bloomed and began to emit soft blue light, and frogs began to resound a subtle melody accompanied by lights from nearby fireflies. After about 10 minutes of prayers, Selene looked up contentedly, but just as she was about to rise, she heard the echo of a dainty laugh coming from the middle of the lake.
"What is this?" Selene asked her disciples.
With no response, Selene calmly got up, and as soon as she did, a small part of the lake right in front of her began to glow a bright, sparkling blue. The shiny mark looked like a drop of ink on the surface of the lake until it suddenly burst into a furious whirlpool of water that quickly rose into the sky.
"That's…!" Selene said excitedly.
Soon the whirlpool dissipated into several small waves, revealing a water mannequin standing awkwardly on the lake. The mannequin began to tremble, and in a quick movement, assumed a demure and elegant position. Dark shapes that look like seeds began appearing inside the mannequin, followed by several roots wrapping around each other to form a pseudo-skeleton. Streams of water coalesced around the mannequin's body, creating a large dress and long, straight hair streaming to the ground like a waterfall. On its head, a large lily pad grew quickly topped by a large bright blue lotus flower, creating something resembling a witch’s hat. Once formed, the mannequin slowly slid towards Selene, coming face to face with her.
"THE FOUNTAIN LADY!" Selene cried, before quickly kneeling on the ground, a gesture soon followed by her disciples. The mysterious being glided silently towards her, placing both hands gently on her chin and lifting it, seemingly staring through her eyes into her soul.
"M-My lady?" Selene wondered.
In response, mischievous laughter came from all around. Before anyone could wonder what the fountain lady's intentions were, the being made a gesture with its hands causing a ball of water to emerge from the lake and rise to the sky. Inside the bubble was an odd medallion, glowing an ethereal blue, made of a metal not known to the priestess or her followers. Without saying a word, the being gently moved the bubble in front of Selene, before dispelling it to reveal the item contained within.
Selene looked at the item in amazement, as if it were a priceless treasure. As she looked to the incarnation of the fountain lady for answers, it just gave her a light kiss on the palm of her hand and sent the medallion to Selene, which caused the lotus mark on her forehead to begin to glow.
Selene instinctively placed her hands on her forehead when she felt a slight tingling sensation, but quickly removed her hands and hurried towards the still waters of the lake to see her reflection. The old three-leaf lotus flower mark had morphed into one with five leaves and was now surrounded by thorny vines and unrecognizable symbols. The whites of Selene's eyes had turned an oceanic blue and her pupils were replaced by small, pure white, 4-pointed stars. Amazed by the blessing she had received, Selene looked at the lady of the fountain to thank and seek more guidance from her, but the being was already sinking into the lake and disappearing in the same way it appeared.
"Wait! Please! Don't go!" Selene shouted hopefully at the figure that disappeared into the lake, but all she got was laughter that trailed off until it too disappeared, as if nothing abnormal had ever been there. The only proof of the event were the disciples and Selene, who now carried a much greater blessing.
As the night wound down, Selene went back to her house. While Selene avoided drawing attention to the mark that night to let her collect herself, she knew that it would be obvious to everyone she had won the favor of the lady of the fountain through her faith and work.
Prior to yesterday, Selene always said that if someone prayed and believed with body and soul, they could receive the blessings of the lake like Kiiro. Many had doubted this claim as the years wore on, and Selene even began to second guess herself.
Day after day, night after night, she waited for something that never came. After years of fervently believing in something seemingly entirely unresponsive to her prayers, she finally received a sign. First, it was the statue that began to magically produce water, then the flowers bloomed with magical lights, and finally the ritual enhancer which helped in the creation of various talisman designs.
But never a blessing, never an appearance, and never a purpose. Selene was guided by her own ideals and convictions, but she didn't know if she served the fountain lady’s will or not.
Then came the fateful day when the boy, Kiiro, a child who came from a family that didn't even believe in the rites of the fountain lady, had been blessed directly by the Lady. Selene itched with envy. She wished she was the chosen one and not him. She was the first, but obviously not the favorite; Kiiro's blessing was miles ahead of hers, and that sent a clear message to her:
You're not good enough.
It was all Selene could conclude. Her fervent faith seemed to have been futile, for as soon as Kiiro gained the lady's favor, he became the center of the village. People no longer paid attention to her. They didn't try to gain her favor, or act friendly - they wanted him and she was forgotten and cast aside.
In response, Selene smashed objects in a fit of rage, cursed the people who once cared for and respected her, and made desperate attempts to gain gifts like he had. Even so, she didn't give up. She stuck to Kiiro and made him become her direct disciple, because if she can't be the best, then she will control the best. This continued for years. Her envy had cooled some, but not her disgust. She couldn't accept how someone so unworthy could be found better than her by the object of her faith.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
So she prayed, day after day, night after night, just as she had in the very beginning.
And finally, it worked.
Selene entered her room, hanging her coat up and carefully resting her huge staff against the wall. After a relaxing bath, she lay down on her bed and tried to doze off.
"I finally did it. All these years, I wasn't wrong." She said as she yawned.
After falling into a deep sleep, Selene opened her eyes and found herself in a totally unfamiliar place. Her surroundings seemed to be made of nothing at all, just an endless black void extending in all directions. Looking at herself, she saw she was completely naked as she floated in the eternal emptiness of the void. She tried to struggle only to realize she couldn't move, instead she was forced to remain motionless in this incomprehensible nothingness.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the void around her began to crack like glass, giving way to a vision of a vast cave. Selene could see hundreds of stone tablets containing strange magical formulas fixed to the walls with roots, as well as magical stones sprouting from the walls.
Distracted by the beauty and mystery of the cave, Selene at first didn’t notice the huge waterfall falling upwards in front of her, glowing bright enough to illuminate the whole cave. Directing her vision downwards, she came across a lake encrusted with jewels and magical shells surrounding a huge sphere of stones and tangled roots. The sphere’s roots snaked out towards the walls, floor, and even went up the waterfall.
The image of the magical cave shook and blurred, then in its place a starry sky appeared.
Soon a blue ghost began to appear in front of Selene. The creature looked a lot like the lady from the fountain, but its face was not featureless and it had legs; it seemed to be a completely normal humanoid body, though not a Tiefling like her. Her body was covered with a white blanket, while her long blue hair floated through the starry void.
The lady then floated gently towards Selene, who remained unable to move herself. The entity then opened its mouth and emitted strange and completely meaningless hisses and pops.
"I-I don't understand." Selene stammered in the middle of the void.
After hearing Selene's response, the entity appears to be disappointed but not angry. It gently grabbed her head and closed her eyes.
Selene's head was bombarded with images. A large bell ringing, a room full of wooden benches in front of a pedestal, the moon, newborn babies crying, people praying, shiny jewelry, the moon, running water, plants growing at absurd speed, people killing each other with strange weapons, children playing, the moon once more, and finally, Selene sitting in front of a stone statue.
"I-I...I-I" stammered Selene between tears.
In response, the entity just smiled, letting go of Selene as she floated away. As soon as the entity moved away a little, all reality broke like glass and Selene woke up.
"Ah!" shouted Selene as she leapt up from her sweaty bed.
"What was that?! A vision? Why?" Selene wondered.
Selene left the house, dressed only in her night clothes and ran to the lake. She looked at the waters of the lake and soon fell to her knees.
"O gracious Lady of the Fountain, keeper of the sacred waters..." Selene began to pray.
After a few moments, Selene finished her ritual prayer and looked hopefully at the lake, but nothing had happened, all remained still.
"What do you want me to do?" Selene wondered.
Selene waited, kneeling amongst the stones and moss while the croaking of frogs and chirping of crickets resounded in the middle of the night. She continued to pray for answers, but nothing came in response to her pleas.
Upset at once more being ignored, Selene stood up and started walking back home, but after a few steps, she heard noises and laughter accompanied by a dense fog coming from the lake. She calmly waited for the fog to reach her and once inside, she began to recite her prayers again.
"O gracious Lady of the Fountain, keeper of the sacred waters..."
Soon the laughter and whispers from the fog suddenly fell silent, surprising Selene who awkwardly looked around, then coming from nowhere Selene began to hear melodious whispers repeated words over and over again.
"Grow, Conquer, Expand, Grow Conquer Expand GrowConquerExpandGrowConquerExpand" spoke the voice that resounded through the fog.
Soon, more and more voices began to repeat the same words, louder and faster, until Selene had to cover her ears from the overlapping cacophony.
"Please stop! I-I understand!" yelled Selene.
But the voices didn't stop, repeating the same words faster and louder - Grow, Conquer, Expand. Selene began to feel dizzy, and soon fell to the ground unconscious. The voices began to quiet then, and the fog began to fade away, leaving behind Selene lying in her night clothes on the edge of the lake.
----------------------------------------
Lotus Year 91
On a sunny day, a boy around 13 years old rested calmly on a dock built on a lake. On the horizon, a group of people led by a woman in a white cloak with embroidered flowers constructed a stone edifice. The boy sat peacefully on the edge of the lake, with his feet submerged in its waters, humming brightly while playing with the fish poking at his feet.
"Lily, why is the sky red?" Asked the boy, who had yellow hair with bluish fringes and a white stripe in front of his eyes.
"Demonic interference. Their energy contaminates the world and alters the environment around it." A voice coming from nowhere responded.
"How do they do it? Why do they do it?" The boy asked curiously.
"I don't know exactly how or why they do it. I would say to grow and expand their influence?" The voice responded in a soft echo.
"But why do they want to grow and expand? And why do they send the monsters here?" The boy asked innocuously while playing with the fish in the lake.
"I don't know. It's the primary desire of all forms of life, I suppose. To grow, expand, evolve and in the end repeat it all over again. I don't know their real goals, but this seems a good guess." the voice answered clearly.
"I still don’t get it. Mom says that monsters are evil, and that all the evil in the world will be purified by the gods." said the boy with a sullen face.
"Well, I don't know about the gods, but I can say that it's not the first time that those 'monsters' appear. The heroes and their group will soon eliminate them and things are going to get better." said the voice.
"Really?! Mom never said anything about that! What is a hero?" the boy asked excitedly.
"I suppose a hero is a person who kills monsters? I don't know them well enough to say for sure." the voice replied.
"So uncle Yuta is a hero?" asked the boy, excited by the prospect that someone he knows might be able to solve their problems.
"No, he is just a hunter. A hero is more special. How can I explain... They need to be chosen, and have the mission to kill the monsters." the voice said somewhat doubtfully.
"But what makes heroes so special? Can you choose a hero for our village?" asked the boy.
"It's not that simple. I don't know what makes heroes special, or how they are chosen, and no, and I can't create heroes. Not 'original' ones at least." said the voice, a little irritated.
"Humf. Can I become a hero? What do I need to be chosen?" asked the boy.
"Well, I believe it requires courage, dedication and a lot of power, in addition to a lot of responsibility, judgment and self-awareness. Their work seems to be too important to be done by just any idiot out there'" said the voice.
"That sounds like I could do it! That way I could defeat the monsters and protect everyone in the village!" The boy said pompously as he threw his arms up happily.
"The way you are now? I doubt it. You have a weak body, horrible reflexes, and you're as dumb as a doorknob." The voice said dryly.
"HEY! It's not true! Selene said I'm really talented!" Said the boy, emotions turning on a dime as he began almost tearing up.
"That's true. Maybe you won't serve as a warrior or hunter, but I believe you can become a skilled mage one day." said the voice.
"Do you really think so?!" The boy said happily as he wiped his nose.
"Yes. You are very in tune with the natural energy of the world, and you have good skills. With your special skill [Naiad's Embrace], you will be able to serve well as a healer and mage." pronounced the voice from the lake.
The boy seemed happy with the suggestion for a time, but soon the smile on his face once again disappeared as he looked down at the fish circling his feet.
"Mom says I should focus on training my body and do more 'boy' things like swords and hand-to-hand fighting. She says no one will respect me if I keep looking so 'weak'." admitted the boy glumly.
"Nonsense. Each individual has a unique and latent talent. If you ignore this natural call to instead follow something imposed on you by your culture's beliefs, you will miss the chance to learn something unique." said the voice from the lake, as a circle of light faded into existence in the middle of the lake.
"But... It's my mother who said that. She never lies to me. If she said it, it must be true. She said that it's okay to train magic, but that I should focus first on training my body and learn swordsmanship and more important things like etiquette and history." said the boy.
As soon as the boy finished speaking, the circle of light in the lake began to rise into the air as the figure of the “fountain lady” appeared within. Her face, which was once nondescript and free of any features, now had eyes, a mouth, and a nose. These were accompanied by 2 small and delicate horns protruding from her forehead, a necklace of precious stones, and a large bright blue stone directly above her breasts. The woman slowly slid over to the boy who appeared nonplussed by her sudden appearance, and placed one of her hands gently on the boy's head.
"Are you so worried about pleasing others, that you can't see what's best for yourself? If you just stop for a second, and pay attention to the voices around you, you could hear the whispers of the world's natural mana. It's not your mother, or Selene, or anyone else in this village who will know what's best for you. Trust me, I can show you the right way. Don't you want to be powerful? Don't you want to protect your family and friends? Kiiro, no one in this village can give you that because they are pathetic idiots - they can't see what's best even for themselves. But I can, and I can see what’s best for you too. If you believe in me, you can change your own destiny. You can become these people's hero. Isn't that what you want?" the water woman questioned while soft echoes whispered in the boy’s ears.
"But... "
"There are no buts. You don't need to doubt yourself any more. You already have the answers." the woman stated before walking away, sinking into the lake, leaving the conflicted boy behind.
"You know that only I can give you what you need, right?" echoing whispers intimated from the lake.
"Do you think your mother, Selene, or anyone else would be here today if it weren't for me? I've kept them alive all this time, and together, we can do so much more." the voices encouraged.
The boy looked uncomfortable, glancing around nervously at his feet sunk in the water, before ice-cold hands made of water grabbed his shoulders from behind.
Turning his head nervously, the boy finds the smiling face of the fountain lady who looks at him affectionately as she hugs him.
"Just. Trust. In. Me." the thing demanded slowly.
----------------------------------------
--={Mc Point of view}=--
It's so easy to manipulate Kiiro. His simple desires and innocent spirit make him such an easy target that I almost feel bad for making a fool of him. I just need to touch on the right topics and make some empty observations and criticisms to make him tremble like a leaf. His childish and selfless mentality also makes everything easier, since I just need to inflate his ego a little to make him excited and happy about the future that is best for him. Or rather, best for me. Kiiro is not fit to be a fighter. If I'm going to use him, I need him to be his best, which clearly involves magic of some kind. With him under Selene's watchful eye, I'm sure that in a few years his mentality will be completely up to my standards.
Kiiro has a special skill called [Naiad's Embrace], something he gained after receiving my blessing. It’s very similar to my old skill [Undie Embrace], but his allows him to summon a water spirit with healing powers.
How do I know it's a spirit and not an elemental? Kiiro's summon has a consciousness of its own, something my elementals don't have. It is a small fish made of greenish water that can heal others. The little thing can't fight and is nowhere near as threatening as a low-level elemental, but I believe that its healing powers are far superior to the healing saliva of my axolotls. Kiiro also has a 2nd skill he gained but has not yet been "activated", as if he had not met the requirements to use the skill, though I believe it is only a matter of time before he can use it.
Speaking of Selene, after giving her my superior blessing, I decided to test something I had never used before: the ability to grant prophecies to people who carry my blessings. It's very difficult to use since it's not a listed skill, which made me make a few mistakes on the first attempt, but nothing catastrophic. The ability is currently very limited; I can only send images and memories to the person receiving the prophecy, at a steep MP cost needed to maintain a stable connection.
Trying to speak during a prophecy seemed pointless, as it seems that the words become completely distorted and meaningless. In addition, the scene itself changes according to my feelings and desires. Ultimately, the ability to grant visions doesn't seem very useful to me when I can just say everything face to face, but it might be helpful in adding a touch of "divinity" to my dealings.
When Selene came to the lake almost half naked, I was already tired from the unnecessary energy expenditure of the “prophecy”, so I just gave her a clear and simple objective and sent her away.
Grow, Conquer, Expand. A simple command, open to interpretation in changing circumstances. I want Selene to expand her influence, conquer the entire village in my name, and expand her influence throughout any land that touches my roots.
This is the only way to ensure that things work the way I want them to. It will not be Hiraki or Suzuki who decides how the game should be played, it will solely and forever be me. Selene also continued the temple project, which I would say is about 80% complete. It is clearly the most magnificent structure in this backwater they call a village. The building, despite being simple, carries elegance, with an open structure with several corridors that connect to small rooms until reaching the main room in the center.
In that room there is a large circle of stones within which the floor opens onto a well of water with a mirror-like surface connected to the lake through a channel embedded in the floor. The newly restored statue of the lady of the fountain rests in the center of the stone circle and several small fountains on the walls and ceiling. The whole place still felt lifeless, but when the work was finished, I will fill the fountains on the ceiling with bright lotus roots and flowers, similar to what I did with the original statue’s jug.
Once Selene's temple accumulates a bunch of religious freaks, I would select the most fanatical and greedy for power to put under my control, then expand my influence until this whole place is under my roots.
From there, I just need a school to indoctrinate the young and naive, kill absolutely everyone who gets in my way, for Selene to continue thirsting for control and attention, and for Kiiro to become a loyal follower.
And maybe, if Suzuki's soul is as valuable as she claims it is, I'll start exchanging blessings and favors for souls. After all, there are always idiots desperate enough to give something like their souls in exchange for simple material things.
Suzuki is the greatest example. She was so desperate that she traded her own soul for something as mundane as protection for her offspring. Even still, I don't know who got the better end of that deal. One person’s soul could very well be useless to someone else, or maybe I will need a skill to use the soul correctly? Whatever the answer, Suzuke's soul better be worth the price.
Because if not, someone will have to pay what I am owed.
----------------------------------------
Notice The hero [Kevin Loopen] has died.
'Oh, he died? Does that mean he was weak? Or maybe this plague demon lord is a tough nut to crack.'
I was in my underground lake, carving some nonsense on the wall as a way to pass the time, when the notification reached me. The death of a hero. I didn't think they could die so easily.
'How long was it, 10 years or so since they appeared? It's been such a short time and one of them has already died? Damn, I hope they manage to kill the demon lord. If I have to put up with who knows how many more decades of demonic corruption, I'm going to go crazy with rage.'
This new generation of heroes seems weak. The last hero managed to kill the demon lord alone, then died of mysterious causes afterwards. But now that there are 4, one of the idiots already managed to die somehow.
Leaving that aside, I returned to my sculpting hobby. Looking at my work, I have a large wall carved with various flowers, branches, leaves, animals, and human faces. Some images are poorly made and defined, while others are so realistic they seem to almost jump off the walls.
Sculpting is something I have been practicing for many years. I use roots to join pieces of stone and clay, water to wear down specific regions and create unique textures, and spells and physical strength to add details and polish. From all this practice, I have gotten quite good. Each work takes weeks or months to create, but it is a rewarding pastime.
Looking to the side, I can see small bluish lights flying around the place emitting quiet whispers. The little things are elementals created by the magical water contained within the lake on the artificial plain.
Using the skill [Azure Torrent], I created a different magical water that looked like some kind of elixir. It has a vibrant neon blue tone, much greater magical density than ordinary water, and the impressive ability to occasionally create small water elementals. The elementals formed this way are simple balls of water-aspected energy only able to form fog and dew - far inferior to my own elementals. The little things can fuse like mine, but their fusion is much more permanent; whenever a group of lesser elementals meet, they form a larger “common” elemental, which are small bubbles of water floating clumsily through the air or swimming within the lake, similar to a [Water Nymph]. Some of these lesser elementals live in bubbles buried in the ground, while others choose to remain in their form made entirely of energy, wandering around without physical bodies while susurating and manipulating the water around them.
I also recently gave Selene my [Scrap Heirloom] talisman. Some weak random skills based on the [Water] element are useless for me - all I could really do with them is study them to replicate with magic circles. This way, though, I can induce loyalty in Selene and get the added benefit of observing how a "professional" uses the item efficiently.
Maybe I'll create something for Kiiro too, but only if it's worth the investment. Currently Kiiro's only real value is in the deal for his mother's soul, whereas Selene is the core of my plan to become a full-time deity. Put that way, perhaps I need to invest more in Selene? Some axolotls in the lake are over 30 years old and could serve as good guard dogs for her, or I could give some of my excess elementals. Giving too many gifts might be dangerous, however. If she senses her importance to me, she may soon try to extort me, and I would have no other option than to kill her and wait until a new, more suitable candidate appears.
'Huff. Why is it so hard to be me...'