Chương 105: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 105 - Celestine

"Then System — question. If destroying Starter Villages increases my Exposure Level, how exactly am I supposed to collect Novice Village Core Fragments?" Getting stronger requires taking risks. Su Nian's response to that: absolute garbage. He was going to get stronger without taking risks. Stay alive, keep your head down. That was the play. [Please remain calm, Host. The players' invasion will plunge the world into widespread war. Countless capable individuals and extraordinary talents will emerge from that chaos.] [Starter Villages are only the beginning. Far more will be destroyed before long. Until you have fully grown, you can remain hidden in the shadow of those more powerful figures.] Look at that. That is what a high-quality System looks like. Even "hide like a coward" sounds respectable coming from it. Su Nian understood the message perfectly: don't be the nail that sticks up. Sure, he'd already stuck up a little, but it wasn't critical yet. There was still room to course-correct.

"Not bad, System-chan. You really get me."

"One problem though. How do I know when something major happens in the world?"

"This backwater corner I'm living in doesn't exactly get great news coverage..." He said all of this with the expression of a man who felt absolutely no shame about it, wings beating steadily as he flew toward Sakura Island No. 1 Starter Village. What he really wanted was simple. The moment something significant happened anywhere in the world, the System would pop up like a secretary and say: Boss, X happened at Y. Golden opportunity. We can move. The System, unfortunately, was not that broken.

[Host possesses the Decree: Sacrificial Rite. You could actually send out more believers to develop your network, that would give you a much clearer picture of continental movements.]"System. That's not cautious enough." Su Nian's face was dead serious. System: "..." [Ding! A Special Female NPC has sent you a summoning invitation. Respond?]"No." He flapped his wings without breaking stride. Pathetic. Laughable. Too bad for her, he wasn't playing that game....

"Failed again..." In a spare, plainly furnished room. A beautiful elven maiden lowered her hands and ended her prayer. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. She shook her head slowly, disappointment heavy in her expression, her red lips pressed together. Her face carried a look caught somewhere between sorrow and barely-contained panic.

She had golden hair that fell all the way to her ankles, skin pale and smooth as cream, and a pair of soft green eyes gentler than a still lake in autumn. What drew the eye first, though, was her figure. Long, slender legs. A full, proud chest. Hips that curved in a way no ceremonial robe, however loose and flowing, could manage to conceal. Her name was Celestine. Ruler of the Holy Aulist Kingdom.

She was believed to be the reincarnation of a goddess, revered and worshipped by every soul within her nation's borders. In truth, she was not a pureblooded elf. She had simply been born this way, as the goddess's vessel. Which meant she had no real connection to the reclusive races dwelling deep in the Emerald Forest. But even her extraordinary status couldn't ease the weight pressing down on her. Her army had been defeated. Defeated by the Black Beast Mercenary Corps. The next target was obvious.

It didn't need saying. The capital of the Holy Aulist Kingdom was next. The Black Beast Mercenary Corps was notorious on every continent that had heard of them. They were brutal, they were powerful, and they had publicly declared their intention to establish a "Servitude Nation" somewhere in this world, a nation where every woman would become state property, required to obey any male on that land without condition or question. Their leader was Gus Jett, a fourth-tier warrior of considerable strength.

Holy Aulist was no great power. But Gus alone wasn't strong enough to hammer down an entire kingdom by himself. What he had was his legion, a force assembled from multiple humanoid races, each one a weapon pointed at her gates. Celestine had run out of moves. She could not let her country become a Servitude Nation. The very thought made her stomach turn. But she had no way to stop them. The reason she was in this prayer room today traced back to a single moment in the palace treasury.

She had gone in and found an ancient artifact resting in its place of honor, a shawl, said to have been worn by the Conquering Emperor himself, hand-stitched by the Goddess of Time before she ascended to divinity. It sat in the most prominent spot in the treasury, enshrined like a relic. She had seen it hundreds of times. But today, something was different. Her eyes had caught on it and simply wouldn't let go.

A feeling settled over her, formless but certain, that if she took this shawl and prayed over it and offered her soul in earnest, something would answer. If it meant protecting her people and her country, what was a soul? She would give it. Celestine hadn't hesitated for a single breath. The thought that her soul's allegiance might go to the great Conquering Emperor himself had only made her more certain. Reality, however, had other ideas. She had prayed over a hundred times across an entire morning.

Not once had anything responded. She could feel it — she was sure of it, she had touched something out there, made contact with some unknown presence. But whatever was on the other end had no interest in her.

"Alas..."

"Perhaps... becoming a Servitude Nation is just the fate of Holy Aulist?" The moment she let herself picture it, her people, what would happen to them, how her kingdom would descend into chaos and cruelty, a shudder moved through her whole body. It would be hell. Literal hell on earth. She could not allow it. Not while she was breathing. Even if it killed her. Celestine sank to her knees on the stone floor. She pressed her hands together, tears gathering at the corners of her pale green eyes, and began again.

In the dim prayer room, the sound of her pleading grew softer and more desperate with every repetition....

"Absolutely insufferable! Yap yap yap!"

"Does it ever stop?!" Su Nian had a genuine headache now. From the moment the System flagged that a Special Female NPC was praying to summon him, there had been a voice in the back of his mind, constant, insistent, impossible to tune out. In his star chart, a golden star blazed with urgent light.

"Last time one of these lit up, it sputtered out in a few minutes. Why is this one still going?" He was nearly at the First Beginner Village now. [Host, perhaps you should go take a look?] [Special Female NPCs can grant you new abilities, as you know.] [And once you establish a connection, you gain complete control over her. She becomes your piece on the board.] [You would be the chess master. The power behind the curtain. This is highly favorable to your long-term interests.]"Look at that — you're actually out here flattering a dragon just to get me to take a detour?" Su Nian shook his head, half-amused. But his mind didn't waver.

"Whatever's happening over there can wait. You don't drop your food to go deal with something else mid-meal. That's not how it works."

"She can wait." ➤ Next: Fifty — What Was Lost