[HP: 278/330]
[HP: 234/330]
[HP: 197/330]
————————!!!
The Blizzard Orca wails painfully once more as the astronomical weight of the earth crushes it brutally, red blood dripping out of its tied mouth.
''Listen, Orcinus Nova.'' I speak up and point my flaming sword at it. ''Your only chance of survival is to become my subordinate.''
[Follower request sent]
————————!!!
[Follower request denied]
It glares at me, still trying to wiggle its way out. Then suddenly, its crystal-like eyes flash a red light.
''...!!''
A heavy pressure is put on my body as the Blizzard Orca's presumably [Domination] is activated. My breath is stagnant, my legs are weak, and I feel like choking.
This is the first time I feel like this... Focus.
''You have fifteen seconds! If you don't agree, I will kill you and teleport out.'' I infuse even more mana into my sword and activate my own [Domination].
[Follower request sent]
[Follower request denied]
[HP: 156/330]
[HP: 120/330]
Approximately ten seconds have passed. I need to prepare to take over Mister Slen soon.
''Tch!''
————————!!!
Using my flame sword, I stab the orca right in the face. The blade smoothly goes into its flesh, burning it from the inside out.
CRACK—!!
''!!''
With a terrifying speed, dense ice bursts out from the orca's wound, enveloping the blade of my sword before—
KENG—!
An ice spike shoots out from the icy mass, aiming straight at my head. Fortunately, Mister Slen's tentacle took care of that, or else my head would've been pierced together with my hastily constructed shield.
''Fifteen.'' I begin to count down.
Right when the purple aura surrounding Mister Slen disappears, I activate my copied [Invincible]. An unknown energy rapidly spread across my body, seeping into my veins. My body feels significantly lighter, and I feel like I can take on everything in this world.
Mister Slen retracts his tentacles. From above, giant pieces of rock begin to fall on us. I briskly pull out the Blackstar from the orca and stab it into the ground.
An immense amount of ice bursts out of my sword, freezing the entire chamber. At the same time, Skely also deploys, no, integrates a light structure into my ice to further solidify it.
''It's quite heavy...!'' Skely exclaims.
Because I don't have any body parts that can extend like Mister Slen, and the skill unfortunately does not directly increase skill levels, we need to resort to magic barriers like this.
[Invincible] still helps, especially—
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————————!!!
KENG—!
KENG—!
To prevent the orca from killing us with its quick magic.
''Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve.''
[Follower request sent]
[Follower request denied]
Just like that, I begin to shut down any attempt at shooting lightning or ice magic at us with my sword while counting down and repeatedly sending it follower requests.
''Eleven. Ten. Nine.''
[Follower request sent]
[Follower request denied]
''Eight. Seven. Six.''
It's still refusing.
''Five. Four. Three.''
Unfortunate. It seems I have to clean up North Zircon after this.
''Two.''
What a waste. Having a ruler as my subordinate would be so good...
''One.''
At the final moment, when my skill duration is about to run out, Skely, Mister Slen, and I are already holding hands, preparing to teleport out—
[Orcinus Nova has become your follower]
''!!''
Instantly after I see the message pop up, I reach out my hand to touch the orca's head. Its body is much more relaxed, and it seems unwilling to attack us anymore.
''Skely! Teleport!''
''Roger!''
As my vision abruptly changes, I can feel strength rapidly disappear from my body, together with the perception of my 'skills'. I tried this before, but it feels weird every time.
''Aurora!''
Nevertheless, we made it back to the cave. Immediately, Ariel and Chloe, together with Smiley, run to us.
''Are you alright?'' Chloe looks at me worryingly.
''I am.'' I reply with a faint smile. ''And, I got them.''
Everyone's gaze turns to the dying orca lying beside us. Except for the relatively fine half of the head, the rest of its body is in the most miserable state I've ever seen. Surviving that long under such pressure is a miracle, I'd say.
''It is one of us now.'' I continue. ''Ariel, can you heal it for me?''
''Sure!''
''Phew...''
I sheathe my sword and flop down on the chair Chloe brings me. This was certainly stressful.
''Good job, Aurora.'' Chloe brings another chair and sits beside me.
''Thanks.'' I reply. ''Skely and Mister Slen, too. Thanks.''
''It's my honor, Lady Aurora.'' Skely bows his head lightly, while Mister Slen nods lightly and turns back to the orca.
With this... We got half of the forest. Now I just need to wait for the penalty of [Invincible] to end, then we can settle the territory issue.
----------------------------------------
Approximately twenty minutes later, Ariel flies back to us with a tired expression.
''I'm spent~'' She whines. ''For now, it won't die anymore.''
Looking at the orca, it is now looking significantly better. Well, at least I don't see its organs bursting out anymore. But it's not moving. Fainted?
[HP:189/330]
In any case, I'm glad we have Ariel here.
''Thanks, Ariel.''
''No problem~!'' She smiles at me.
I give her a simple nod, and we're back to waiting again.
''Now that I think about it, Chloe.'' I speak up.
''Hm?''
''What club did Claire join in the game?''
''You could choose which one. There's no fixed club.''
''I wonder why she joined the Media club.''
''No idea.''
''Well, at least—wait.''
''What?''
''The other fish are crossing the border.''
I see they finally figured out I teleported the orca here.
''Please don't worry, Lady Aurora.'' Skely on the side speaks up. ''I have placed a temporary barrier at the entrance of this cave, they won't find anything.''
''Hm... It'll be a problem if they find my mom and her children, though.''
''...You're right. Let me go secure them.''
So Skely teleports away and comes back a few moments later with the whole owl family.
After spending some more minutes with the fluffy bunch, the penalty for [Invincible] is about to be lifted.
''Hgn...!'' I stand up and stretch out a bit.
Three, two, one...
[A territorial skill has been detected from the entity: Orcinus Nova]
[Automatically merge Orcinus Nova's territory(s) with the user's territory]
[Automatically transfer Orcinus Nova's follower ownerships to the user]
[Sapphire has become your follower]
[Emerald has become your follower]
[-- has become your follower]
[-- has become your follower]
[-- has become—
Okay, that's quite a lot of messages. But... I can indeed feel the connections between me and these fishes being established.
[Title: 'Queen of North Zircon' acquired]
The title... Is the same thing as the other one. Next on the agenda.
----------------------------------------------------------
Territories: West Zircon, North Zircon.
Followers: 81.
Allies: 14.
Progression: 10%.
----------------------------------------------------------
Alright, it seems I got it properly. This is pretty good so far, but the real thing I'm concerned about is...
[Horror Lord: Summon horror the way you want. CD: 240 hours. (2/4)] [Unique]
''Yes...!''
''Aurora?''
''Shut up for a bit.''
''O-Oh, okay...''
So it was the progression that determined my horror summoning after all!
[Cooldown: 239:59:11]
Oh, I still have to wait ten days. Well, that's fine, I suppose.
''Phew...''
Now, I'm sure the fish are all confused right now, feeling their change of owner. I don't want to manage all of those guys, so I'll need to make the Blizzard Orca do it.
It's time to confront Orcinus Nova.