After finishing up a few more deals with the merchants in the guild, I went to offer sacrifices to the lord.

This time, scrolling through the shop, I discovered a unique fruit from the Americas.

Cranberries, they are called. THey were a bit sour, but not altogether unpleasant.

As the sacrifice was offered, the presence descended once more as Anubis spoke, the world changing as I was pulled back into that ver same office of Anubis.

Yes my child?

"I wish to offer these cranberries milord. They are a bit tart, but they do have a tinge of sweetness. "

Thank you my child. They are... delicious. I thought I could hear a hint of puckering in his voice, and a faint laughter in the background.

Probably just my imagination.

"I wanted to thank you for sending someone to protect this lowly servant. To send someone as great as one of your chosen to protect me, I am truly grateful."

It's nothing. The lord of judgement said as he waved his hand. Most of the anubians spend their days either fulfilling paperwork or enforcing judgements, since more gods have shown up.

They should do more around here anyway.

You know, now that you know about him, I may as well introduce him to you.

"There's no need milord. I don't want to inconvenience him anymore..."

Nonsense. You should get to know each other better as he'll be guarding you for the foreseeable future. Dismissing my concerns, lord Anubis gestured upwards with his hand, causing the guarding Anubian to emerge from my shadow.

The anubian bowed, showing no expression, only for his face to twitch as Anubis continued.

His name is Flowerpaw. When he was still a kobold, he had been a companion to a young lady, who called him flowerpaw for the toe beans he had on his hand. He would go on to evolve and serve as the families guardian beast for generations until they managed to rear a second one.

For his devotion and fairness when it came to familial disputes, I chose to ascend him into an Anubian.

He's a dog licker for sure though, turns to putty in front of his wife. The last part made the ANubian blush with embarrassment.

"M-milord perhaps we can stop dwelling on this." Flowerpaw begged only for Anubis to interrupt him.

Not now Flowerpaw, I'm speaking for you.

Anyway, where was I?

"We were talking about my new form milord." I interrupted, hoping to save the Anubian some face.

Were we? The lord asked suspiciously, but accepted the explanation.

By the way. You look wonderful now. Look! You have horns! Maybe some dragon blood? The lrd suggested, though I could only shake my head.

"According to the system it isn't dragon, but some sort of ancient turtle bloodline." I corrected him and Anubis raised an eyebrow.

Really? Must be one of those ancient ones before my time. Most modern powerful bloodlines for turtles lay in the dragons, xuanwu, and island turtles. He noted, before continuing.

So, what abilities have you unlocked my child? The voice boomed.

Excited to talk, I explained all my abilities, including the ability to freeze time for a moment.

Hearing that, lord Anubis looked extremely curious as he commanded me to use the ability.

Is that the law of time? Anubis asked with clear surprise after the moment had passed.

""I think so milord. My current evolution has to do with the seasons, and I seem to have gained the ability to freeze time as a result. "

Interesting. Now that I look at it, those trees on your back also contain tiny fragments of the law of time. I don't know what bloodline you've picked up, but it's a special one for sure.

I agreed, knowing that time was a rare attribute for most lifeforms to pick up, with space being substantially less difficult to master.

The ability to freeze time was a great blessing.

So I was right. There is something time related inside me.

The lord snapped his fingers in realization as he yelped. You know, old man Kronos does owe me a favor. I'll go over and ask the old man and see if he has anything useful for you.

"Are you sure lord Anubis? I hear that old man Kronos is a touchy God?" I asked uncertainly, only for Anubis to snort.

Of course. Like any recently spayed dog, he's quite the grouch. And given that he exists across time, he can still feel that moment in time when he was neutered.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Regardless, he owes me a great favor for returning his little "bell" in the present. He hardly does anything for the pantheon anyway. The least he can do is spit out an ancient sundial or two.

"Just be careful milord."

Don't worry about me, I'm more worried about you punk! Look at you you've nearly been killed by an S rank twice in the last few days! What kind of death seeking magnet are you! The jackal-headed God complained, and I could only sheepishly smile.

"I mean, I've always felt a close connection with you lord..." I say appeasingly only to be shut down by a glare.

It's not funny child. I gave you a second chance so that you could avoid all this trouble in your second life. I look away for 5 seconds and now you're challenging an underground cult who plans to usurp the Goddess of elves?! I'm not even sure I can protect you now.

"Is this cult beyond your power?" I ask worried, for if the cult is even beyond his power, than it has grown to a formiddable level beyond my expectations.

It is not them I fear child. It is the goddess they provoke.

"Yggdrasill?" I ask, reciting the name of the Goddess of elves, to which he showed a wary look.

Yes. Yggdrasill may be Goddess of elves now, but she is far older than her title. She merely accepted it because of the elves who were in need of protection.

Before she was the Goddess of elves, Yggdrasill was the world tree upon which 9 realms rested. And before that, she was one of the strongest in the prehistoric era. And before that...

There are only rumors.

That she is one of the first beings to ever be born on this world.

That when man was young, she was old, and when beasts ruled, she was old.

When the dragons triumphed over their great enemy in the war of scales and erased them from history, she was there.

Even the likes of Gaia seem young in comparison.

What I do know, is that Yggdrasill is strong. Perhaps stronger than the entire pantheon.

She rarely interacts with the rest of the world, but when she is angered, her wrath is swift and decisive, violent and merciless.

I do not fear whatever false God these heretics bear with them. But I do fear that they'll take it a step too far and offend her, and that you'll be caught in the crossfire.

Hearing this, I was left speechless. I understood why he was worried now. He wasn't scared of the cult.

It was the Goddess they dared to offend.

I didn't understand the scale of it, but I knew he wouldn't be making such a fuss if the tree wasn't that overwhelming.

Even so...

"You've already heard my response. I do not fear death. I fear my own weakness and inability to support those around me."

I know. Still thought I'd try anyway. Are you still planning to go back to your estate?

"Yes. I need to make sure it's in good hands and see for myself. Otherwise I would've just gone to the Pheme Nyx guild. Not only that, but I think it's worth going back to investigate the origin of the spear."

It was obvious from the dwarf-turned-kobold that the spear had a unique origin tied to the hammer in some form.

Even if I had deemed it no longer a priority to check on my territory anymore, there was certainly reason to go investigate nonetheless.

Indeed. It's a special spear. The lord noted, quietly observing it with scrutinizing gaze. At the very least, its origin is older than I.

"Wow! To think it somehow ended up in the hands of our family though." I mused to myself, observing the weapon more carefully.

After all, if even a God of the higher echelon cannot see through its origin, at the very least it was very special. could believe that the spear was somehow involved in my time related abilities

There was even a small part of me wondering how such a great thing could even end up in our hands.

Well, seeing as I cannot convince you, the best I can do is watch over you and your choices. Remember, Flowerpaw is here if you ever need his help. Call his name out, and he will respond. The god spoke, pointing towards his lookalike by my side.

"Understood sir."

Mm. And with that, Anubis was gone once more.

The anubian had disappeared as well, not a trace in sight. I chose to remember him as such, rather than Flowerpaw, for his sake.

Anyway, I think it's time to return to the group.

After all, it was about time we started preparing to leave.

----------------------------------------

We began packing over the next few days, preparing to head to our next location, the Gamoceras marquisate.

The next time I saw Philly, he had changed a bit from the kobold last time.

Besides growing bigger and spouting an extra pair of horns, there was a remarkably similar trait on him as well:

"so you found a metal slime too." I noted, observing the changed appendage.

Unlike me, where a new head had sprouted, Philly's arm had changed becoming partially encased in a metal layer, which shimmered and rippled, and gave me a similar feeling to my own extra appendage.

Ore had actually come out, appearing as a disembodied metal head, moving to meet a familiar face as a similar phenomenon appeared from the arm.

Two curious metal spirits, babbling away at one another as the hosts talked.

"So you managed to find a metal slime?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Checked the system shop. They were selling metal slimes for a few hundred points. pretty cheap for the major benefit it gives me." he commented, as he manipulated the metallic substance with ease. "I think it'll allow me to make a qualitative jump in my crafting ability. Just you wait, I'll upgrade those weapons in no time!" he said confidently, revealing a toothy grin as I chuckled.

"I believe you." Even as a kobold, he showed that dwarven stubbornness and determination. Which was good for me. If he could really upgrade my weapons later, I would gladly take it.

"So you're leaving soon huh?" the kobold asked, as I nodded.

"Well I have a lot to deal with you know? Crazy elf cults, discover the origin to a magic old spear, and hope I don't get squashed like a bug." I said, and Philly snorted.

"Sounds like a of of work for no good reason. I ain't coming anywhere near a populated area for a long while" the kobold emphasized, seeming exasperated.

Made sense. From what I understand, he'd been kidnapped once he'd gotten too close to society, and dragged into this fiasco. It made sense he wanted nothing to do with people for a while.

"Sounds like we won't meet each other for a while." I comment, and Philly chuckles.

"No problem. We're both monsters now. Our lifespans are probably going to be a lot longer than the last. Yours especially. I could probably see you a century from now and you'll look exactly the same." he said.

Maybe. Depends on whether that prehistoric God tree thing pans out and flattens me.

So I went to see them off as they ran frantically out the gates. I say ran, since Cheese steak stole a box of cheese wheels shamelessly, causing them to run for their lives as the guards chased them.

"Cheese steak saw seen cheese thing! Man thing try to stop halt Cheese steak from take steal the wheel thing! But cheese steak won win!"

"Damn it cheese steak!"

"Wait for us boss!"

"It's hard to run with two more on my back boss!"

"Someone tossed me a tomato boss!"

"Get back here and pay for it!"

"I'm going to have so much to talk about at the bar tonight!"

They could probably just pay for that box of cheese wheels though, right?

I worry Philly has become more influenced by those kobolds than he thinks...

As I watched them run for their lives, I feel a tug on my sleeve.

Looking down, to my surprise, it is not Leon who approaches me as usual, but Willow.

Willow had begun to approach me less when I took on elven form. Perhaps it made me more human/elf in her eyes, and given how distant she seems from adults, maybe she felt less comfortable with me.

This was a surprise.

"Yes Willow?" I ask patiently, only to be surprised by her sudden statement.

"I want to get stronger." she says quietly,hesitantly, yet there was determination in her eyes.

Hm?