"What the hell are you guys doing?" I questioned angrily.
""What is she/he doing here"" both spoke simultaneously.
"Okay, both of you take a step back and put down your weapons, then speak. Seraphine, you first," I mediated.
Both followed my command, but their wariness didn’t go unnoticed by my eyes.
"Forgive me, master, I suddenly sensed such a powerful vampire behind you. For a second, I thought he came here to harm you, but my actions were not up to my standards. For that I am truly sorry," Seraphine apologized.
"When you were specifically told to not use your mana core but still you were about to do just that," I scolded her, then turned my eyes to Damien. "And you? Just a second ago you were spouting about never doing this and that, and you forgot all that in a jiffy?" I admonished him.
He bent his knee and spoke, "Forgive me, master. I couldn’t let a being of light near you, so I acted on impulses. Please punish me for my hastiness and acting without your permission."
"Boss, you sure have your hands full, don’t you?" Thane added his comment.
"Oh yeah...then this will be perfect. Thane, I order you to mediate between them and also let Damien know about me and my goals and anything else you think necessary," I ordered Thane to clear up this mess.
"I am going to cultivate in a nearby place; don’t disturb me unless it’s absolutely necessary. Only Felicia can come near my cultivation space."
"I hope you all get along well. I don’t want to see any of this hostility when I return." I dumped everything to Thane and walked off toward a different direction.
"Boss! But I don’t know anything myself," Thane shouted.
"You will figure it out," I remarked without stopping.
"But boss..." I didn’t hear him as I sprinted forward without looking back.
After running for about a minute, I stopped and found myself in a lush green environment.
"So, system, there was something like a time dilation feature mentioned. Do I have to get some special location or what?" I asked.
[You can designate an area of about 1 acre for time dilation. However, remember once you decide, you can’t change your location, so think carefully.]
"Okay, but I haven’t explored this area enough..." A thought occurred, and I closed my eyes and called Aerewyn, just like she had said.
After about a minute, I slightly opened my one eye first because I didn’t feel any movement. But the next second I was completely stunned as a figure of a godly woman stood in front of me, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Who?" I said abruptly.
"It’s me, Aerewyn, Young Primarch. Is my appearance to your liking?" She innocently asked.
For a moment, my mind went blank. From her golden red hair to her hourglass figure, from her red dress embroidered with golden roses to her silky skin, everything was in perfect sync with her charming face and mesmerizing red eyes.
"Young Primarch, so what’s the verdict?" She asked again, bringing me out of my stupor.
"Pe-perfect," I answered without a thought.
"And?" she said, like she was waiting for more.
"I mean, you are beautiful beyond words. Anything I say won’t do your beauty justice," I praised her. I was trying very hard not to fumble myself.
"Ohh...thank you, Young Primarch," she said cheerfully.
"So what brought you to remember about little old me?" She asked, but her eyes squinted the next second.
"Why do you have the breath of someone else? Are you already looking for mates, Young Primarch?" She spoke, but her tone wasn’t cheerful anymore.
’Okay, this conversation is going south very fast,’ I thought as I prepared to bring the talk back to its track.
"This is the reminder of my summon; she is in the ocean currently, fulfilling my mission. So she left this to find me easily; don’t worry about it." I addressed her, completely ignoring the ’mates’ remark.
"Moreover, I called you to ask, is there any place you know that is suitable for cultivation nearby?" I asked.
"Ahh...okay. If you need a place for cultivation, there is a beautiful patch of land nearby, and the Eternal Tree there helps in soothing the mind. Additionally, there is also an abundance of mana near the tree, making it an ideal cultivation place," she answered.
"So, could I use this land for cultivation? I am asking because I may do something permanently to the surrounding area," I explained.
"Yeah, no worries. I don’t need to cultivate anyway," she nonchalantly said.
"Okay, thank you. Could you guide me to the place?" I asked.
"Worry not," she spoke as she put her soft hand on my shoulder, and suddenly everything around me changed; I was in a completely different place.
"This is the Eternal Tree," she said as she pointed behind me.
Still amazed, I turned around to see a huge tree with long, uncountable, and complex branches. Its leaves hummed with mana, and the trunk itself feels almost alive.
Darting my eyes around, I also noticed the calm environment and abundance of mana, like I was standing on some mana vein.
"This is splendid. Wait, did we teleport?" I asked, remembering an earlier sensation.
"No, I just used my speed, and this is my domain, so I can almost do anything I like," she answered.
"So you can cultivate freely here. No one will disturb you here. Call me again if you need anything," she added.
Before I could say anything, she disappeared, only leaving behind a gust of wind in her place.
"System, why do I feel like my body is on fire? The same thing happened when the image of Thalassa flashed in mind, and now her?" I asked immediately.
[Although still suppressed, your body has a charm that is highly attractive to others. You should give Seraphine more respect; she is much less affected due to her maid duties.]
[So when your body is near someone with the potential to mate, it reacts this way. You can control this, but I will advise you not to suppress it for a long time.]
The explanation given by the system was making sense, and the relief was that I could control such a reaction, but the warning at the end was a bit problematic.
"Any particular reason behind that?" I questioned.
[Well, if you keep it repressed too much, it may have unwarranted effects. Again, as you have evolved from a human, I can’t give you exact answers about this.]
[However, you shouldn’t worry; that time frame is at least a few years, at least according to my calculations.]
"Okay, I will figure this out later. First I want to designate this area for a time dilation field," I stated.
[Okay, use your connection to this realm and think of using this area for time dilation. Everything else will become easier.]
Following the instructions, I closed my eyes and focused on the connection I feel when I open the portal for this realm.
As I continued, I felt something touch my consciousness, like just brushing past me.
Holding on to that feeling, I could see myself standing near the tree even with my eyes closed. I could feel every inch of soil and every blade of grass around me; the abundance of mana was filling me with energy.
With that thought, I surfaced my intent to make this place a time dilation field. Just as I thought, a system panel appeared for confirmation.
[You have selected the Eternal Tree area as your personal time dilation field.]
[Would like to adjust the ratio of time dilation?]
Finally, now I could cultivate and work forward to make my first Affinity Ring.