After dinner, Gulang and his daughter Liana left; they weren’t going to spend the night in Arad’s house. They already had a house rented in the city, and would rather stay there. The reason was simple, and it was that they were already expected there. As it seemed, Gulang was a well-known legend and a great Elder called the Blade God who travels the world; his daughter was also an Elder, and a vicious one at that, known as the bloody rose.

"So, they were famous... tomorrow is going to be exhausting." Tina sighed as she sat beside Arad in the living room. "We’ve told them to keep quiet, but you can’t know."

"I doubt they would cause trouble. They know I can cause a lot of destruction if they do that, so they won’t take the risk. You can relax a bit." He smiled, "Besides, the pest issue they talked about is real, I confirmed it. So they won’t do anything until after we’re done with it."

"You’re right." She stood, stretched her arms, and then sat right back on his lap. "Speaking of trouble, the dungeon was quite the mess. We got ambushed by monsters and barely got any resources. We’ve spent the entire day running around and pretty much fighting."

"That is fine, isn’t it? It was your first day there. Slowly, you’ll find out which monsters live where, how to deal with them, and the best time to harvest the ley lines. Just wait and see, you’ll do better tomorrow, and it will be better the day after."

"That is what the masters said... but they just won’t teach us how those monster work or fight." She sighed, and Arad patted her on the head. "That is the point."

"What point?"

"Right now, you’re exploring dungeons in a group and with masters watching over you, but in the future, you’ll be going alone, or with a small party. At that time, there are no masters to give you tips about the dungeons, so learning how to explore a dungeon and map it on your own is a skill that has to be honed."

"You’re right, I didn’t think about it that way." She then looked up at him, "I’ve heard from Eris, that elf Li is in the private quarter."

Arad smiled, "She is, alongside her maid Noel. I was going to give them a private night, but it seems they asked to not do that. So, Cerilla, Dalla, Jasmine, and D are there as well." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Six on one?" Tina giggled, and he shook his head, "Eight on one, Mathilde and Dendron are there as well. It is going to be a long night there."

Tina wrapped her arms around his neck, "What about the night here? I just feel spoiled to have you all for myself."

"Said the one who can’t do it. You’ll die if you get pregnant, or if your soul is triggered even once." He wrapped his arms around her, "But fine, let’s make the night a bit long. Tomorrow, I’ve got a real fight."

She blinked, "The fighting tournament? That’s a few months ahead."

Arad chuckled, "Of course not, that’s for cultivators. I’m talking about the underground gladiators’ arena. Where the wealthy nobles watch slaves and their servants fighting each other and wild monsters for money."

She smiled, "So you’re going for the cash prize?" And he kissed her, "Of course, that’s one fat bag of coins. We need that money here, and winning isn’t a problem for me. I almost feel like I’m scamming them."

As their lips parted, she smiled. "If I remember, the rules say they especially welcome freaks. With your size, I can imagine them inviting you to hype up the crowd." She stood, then slowly took off her clothes. Arad did the same, but he was faster, being in the bed long before her.

She looked at him with a grin, then approached, "I’ve got you all for myself, but sadly, I can’t go that far." She approached his head and sat on his face. "Would you mind licking me a bit?"

"Of course I don’t," he had already started, and she couldn’t help but gasp and shiver. What turned her on more wasn’t him licking her, but remembering just how many noble and powerful rich ladies in this world were begging to get with Arad even once. After what Arad did before with the fire clan, the nobles rarely approached directly, and now she only gets a lot of letters.

Masters, rich merchants, powerful secret clans, and even random cultivators, all asking the same thing. They want her and Arad to join their families, and for her to accept one of their own as a second wife. They already understood that trying to kick Tina out would only lead to conflict; they were the ones wanting to lower themselves a bit.

Yet, with them all begging for it, she, the only one who can get it, can’t because of her shattered soul. All that Arad can do is help her relieve some stress without going all the way in. As she reached her limit, she quickly pulled herself away from his face and fell on his chest, gasping for air.

"I swear... once I’m healed, I’m putting it in and never taking it out until I’m either pregnant or dead." She clenched her thighs around his flesh, and started rubbing it on herself. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry..."

"Sorry about what? You’re doing fine." Arad wrapped his arms around her, and she froze. "Because I’m such a burden."

"Don’t cry, just relax. You aren’t a burden at all." He was the one to start moving now, slowly tightening his grasp around her. "You’ll eventually heal up, and everything will be fine."

Back at the private quarter, Arad was about to tend to the elves as well. All eight of them, Cerilla, Dalla, Jasmine, D, Li, Noel, Mathilde, and even Dendron were in the room, but he alone had the right to pick and choose who to start with. To no one’s surprise, Arad picked Dalla to start with.

Down in the capital city of Orion, exactly inside the inner sanctum of Eris’s church, the head of the church, a Saintess who was just assigned last month, was already looking for a promotion. Tomorrow is Eris’s crowning, and this Saintess could already tell that there is another ceremony that would take place.

Although she knew Eris as Sol, the divine purple sun, she didn’t know about her other side, about Los, the divine goddess of murder, since that was a well-kept secret. She, who was just a nun a month ago, had no idea, and now that she had ranked up, she was looking for answers.

Sitting alone in the sanctum beneath Eris’s statue, she was quietly praying. Then, a voice rang in her head. [No, you won’t join. You aren’t ready for it.]

"Is there nothing I can do to gain your trust? I can’t sit as a Saintess and not fully understand the divine I worship. Is there a higher seat than mine?" She asked, and Eris sighed.

[Indeed, and you’re too kind and gentle for those ranks. Ignorance is bliss, and you’re living perfectly fine.]

"I fully understand that we can’t have light and warmth without fire, and soot, anything good has a dark side to it, and I want to see that dark side of yours."

[That is your flaw, you see the darkness because you fear not knowing and understanding it. But, your life should be much easier, happier, and simple if you only see the light.]

"That isn’t fair..."

[But it is for your own good.]