"Yup, you are alive," I answered her question.
"Big sis, you slept for long time. Are you okay," Felicia asked in her childish tone.
"Yeah, I am okay. You don’t need to worry about it," Seraphine replied with a smile.
"Okay, you talk with the nice mister. I am going to bring food for you," Felicia stated as she left.
Silently, I waited for Seraphine to spoke. After few minutes, she opened her mouth, "Thank you master for saving me again."
"But, now that I am useless, please at least allow me to shadow you even from a distance." She spoke.
"Is that it?" I spoke in a slight firm tone.
She looked a bit flabbergasted and confused. "Is there anything I unknowingly did wrong, Master Aiden?" " she asked.
"Well, firstly, you tried to kill yourself in bid to save me. I am grateful that you did so but it’s still unacceptable that you took drastic action without even telling me," I answered.
Her head lowered a bit while she contemplated. It looked like she couldn’t find the right words to answer.
"Look, Seraphine," I softly addressed, "I am grateful that put your life on the line. However, never pull that stunt again. You are the first citizen of the city I am going to establish."
"So, remember that next time. Now eat something and rest a bit more. I have one more task to do, you can catch up to current situation from Thane or Britany."
"Yes master Aiden. I will cherish your words and thank you for caring for me," Seraphine spoke as I left the room.
I had thought of scolding her but I decided against it, she had saved my life so I didn’t deem it necessary anymore. As I walked towards my room, the system panel chimed in.
[Would you like to see the result of today’s free pull?]
’Yes,’ I answered. After I assigned the free pull under Miscellaneous, the result were okay but most importantly, I didn’t have to pull daily. The rewards were all S-rank and still useful, here or there.
– – –
[You have obtained an S-rank reward.]
[Name: Skybound Ascension]
[Rank: S]
[Type: Mobility/Active]
[Description: This skill is used to control the upward burst, achieving a vertical leap that defies gravity itself.]
[Effects: Vertical leap, Mid-Air combat, Impact Negation, Shockwave launch.]
– – –
’This is really helpful currently.’ I immediately learned the skill, adding something new to my arsenal.
Now I had to do something about the summons; the only place I could think of currently was Primeval Dominion. I had partial authority over Plains of Endless Horizon, but I wanted to have a talk with the monarch, so that it doesn’t cause any friction.
As soon as I entered my room, I opened the portal to the Dominion. I had told Thane about my disappearance, so I didn’t need to worry about being absent from room.
Stepping through the portal, I found myself in the field of grass filled with fresh air, a complete change of environment from moist and damp to dry and fresh.
"System, how do I contact the Monarch, do I just shout? " I asked, not knowing the way.
[...Yes, Host.]
"Why the hesitation? " I questioned but didn’t get any reply. So I followed the suggested way.
Taking a deep breath, I shouted with all my strength, "Monarch of the Endless Plains, Aerewyn. I am here to meet you."
The echo of my voice reached my ears, it felt a little weird to hear my own voice multiple times as it traveled the Plains. This felt a little stupid to me, however, I didn’t have to wait for long as I felt a presence approaching me.
The reddish-gold colored wings of Mythical beast come into view as she decended from the sky, causing a strong winds just from slight flap of her wings.
"Welcome, Young Primarch. I didn’t think I would see you again so soon." She greeted, but her next words made me want to hide my face in shame, "But why did you shout? You could contact any Monarch in their zone just by whispering."
’What? System...care to explain? A vein popped on my forehead.
Again, I didn’t get any reply. Reluctantly, I moved forward.
"I am here to talk to you about something. I wanted to know would it be okay if some of my people stay here for sometime. As I have yet to secure a suitable place in my world, I wanted them to stay here for now," I conveyed my reason for the visit.
"Ohh...i thought you are here to take my challenge and get complete authority over this zone."
"As for your staying here, I don’t have any qualms but they should not harm the environment here or try to harm any mythical beast. Then I would have to punish them as their monarch; this is my responsibility," Aerewyn answered.
There were many questions swarming in my head, but this was a relief to hear.
"Thank you for your understanding," I said as I took my leave.
"You are welcome anytime, Young Primarch," she responded.
Opening the portal, I entered my room again. This went much faster and smoother than I expected.
"So, system, what was this all about? And kindly do tell me what you gained by making a fool out of me? " I questioned.
[I don’t what you are talking about, Host]
[As for challenges of Monarch, you would get missions from the system when you are ready for them. Until then, you can rest easy.]
System, answered, totally ignoring my question about need for shouting. I sighed but shifted my focus on next thing.
That was opening my 3rd node to rank up. I was feeling quite close and this recent battle only eased the way forward.
Closing my eyes, I sat in the Primordial Anchor Seat again, but with clear mind and surprise focus. As I stared practicing the First breath of Primordial.
As time passed while I was immersed in cultivation, I felt something in me break as huge amount mana rushed in my body.
[You have opened your 3rd node; you have ranked up.]