' = Internal dialogue

ยจ= Normal speech

* = Sounds / Etc

-Chapter 39 Start-

After floating around the pool for half an hour while trying to rejuvenate myself from the sore feeling I had over my entire body, I realized it would take some time; when I checked my HP, it was full, but I was surprised when I saw my MP, when before it said [MP: 6,600] It had now turned into[MP: 46,480].

This effectively increased my mana pool sevenfold and could explain why I still felt terrible, as the forceful increase of my mana made my body try to adjust the best it could. Though I could already feel my control slowly get back to normal.

I sighed and stared at the ceiling before I heard a splash beside me. While I was deep in thought, apparently, Valeera had been looking at me with concern while assumingly getting a recap of what had happened the last hour. Then she jumped into the pool and swam over to examine me as I floated around.

Her eyes were worried when she looked toward my right arm and shoulder and put her hand on it. I barely felt her hand touch my arm.

"So... When did you get a tattoo? Can I get one as well?" She asked after a moment as she lost her worried look and gained a mischievous one, undoubtingly trying to change the mood. She knew something had happened and that it wasn't really a tattoo.

I could hear both Jaina and Aegwynn laugh from the edge of the pool; meanwhile, I just groaned as I kept watching up at the ceiling and replied, "When you get older, perhaps..."

She snorted at that before coming in for a hug and whispered, "Glad you are alright... I was worried after that earthquake from earlier while playing with Bluey..."

Then she let go of the hug and crossed her arms, "Why did you go without me? I thought we were a team?" She said, looking slightly annoyed.

"We are... I wanted to do this alone this time, but I promise I'll tell you beforehand next time." I said soothingly as she unraveled her arms and smiled.

'Teenagers are scary...' I thought.

Then I briefly glimpsed where my grandmother and Jaina were seated while observing our interaction with a smile.

Well, I guess it's time to get something done since I can now move without feeling uncomfortable, so I slowly paddle myself to the edge of the pool and climb out while drying my armor by sensing the water around me and mentally dragging it away and dropped it back onto the pool.

This turned out to be surprisingly challenging. I guessed it was due to the massive increase in mana still being adjusted to my body.

I managed to dry myself with some effort while the women watched with narrowed eyes, "Medan, are you sure you're fine? Because your lack of control is visible from here, your mana is spiking everywhere." Aegwynn voiced out with slight concern.

"It's... Fine, it's just that my mana increased approximately sevenfold, and it was quite large in the first place... So I think I'll spend my time a bit more casual these next few days." I said calmly.

Indeed, it seemed that none of the women had any idea what I had undergone due to their previous worries about my health, as I heard Jaina gasp as I felt her eyes on me, no doubt looking at my mana signature and trying to perceive the change, "I... Can't feel or see your magic!" Jaina shouted upon the realization, but Aegwynn put a hand on her shoulder, looked toward me, and said, "No, young one, that is not the case. His magic is currently covering the entire building, and as a result, he has become a blindspot. The fact you haven't noticed yet is worrisome. I can't have my new apprentice lack the theoretical knowledge regarding magic barriers, now can I."

This made Jaina blush in shame when she finally sensed it after her brief panic had passed while Aegwynn looked my way and smirked, but not before blinking one eye at me as she brought Jaina with her out of the room.

That left me and Valeera just looking at the scene dumbfounded, and after a brief pause, I asked, "Want to help me sort out some of the loot I stole from a black dragon?"

This apparently was the right question to ask as she nodded with glee, and we made our way down toward the basement.

[4 Hours Later]

Valeera and I had gone through all the loot, and she showed high proficiency with her knives, and I must admit that Valeera was becoming very good. After going through a lot of dragon-spawn corpses, she had learned to flay the thick dragonhide without damaging it in the slightest.

I came to learn that she had been trying to make her own armor look like mine whenever I was too busy to be around her, which was honestly a bit cute.

All this came unnaturally easy for the both of us as we sat there and hummed while enjoying the time we spent together, sometimes joking about how angry the so-called Lady Prestor would be when she found out what we had done to her underlings and base of operations.

So after we had stashed all the hides, tendons, scales, meat, and bones while I burnt all the unnecessary materials, we returned upstairs. We sat in a comfortable chair each while munching on some fruits Lanira had left behind earlier today.

An hour later, I heard a knock on the door as Belmont walked in with a smile on his face.

"Got the news you were back. How'd it go? Found the place?" Belmont asked curiously while his smile turned mischievous.

"Oh yes, Lady Prestor is now officially one of the most lacking of material worth among entire dragon-kind," I said with a grin of my own.

We both laughed in pure mockery of the situation. Onyxia had decided to play with fire and lost literally everything. But no, its far from enough, she will suffer personally soon.

Valeera just sat there looking at us like we had lost our sanity before returning to munch on her fruit while gazing out the window while two grown men laughed menacingly.

After a little while, we stopped, and Belmont took a seat with us, and he kept asking me about my one-day journey, or that was until he noticed my arm.

"So, when did you get a tattoo? Never thought you a fan of the stars to the point you'd ink it on your skin like that." Belmont asked questioningly while looking at my arm.

"Remember that coral you wanted me to remove a while back, considering you almost puked your guts out whenever you came close to the thing? Yea, turned out it wasn't a coral but a sentient core of something ... Quite potent, which merged with my entire arm." I said casually.

I felt that this was an understatement. Why do I assume that? Because I can feel it constantly feed on my mana in a minimal sense, trying to accumulate its energy as a trade-off from its somewhat symbiotic existence, it boosted my Arcane Attunement up to the maximum of tier IV, while also reducing the difficulty of further progress, this was only what I could decipher from the text available to me.

Sometimes it reached out to me, or more like every time, I consider it as *It*.

So yes, I now have a sapient core attached to my body. Which insisted on trying to show me this very hazy image of a female figure with long white hair going all the way down her back, light purple skin, dressed in gold garments, and thin layers of white cloth which were floating around her as if was alive, the fabric had a layer of stars that shifted around animatedly.

But when I tried to focus on the face, I only saw two blue orbs of light before the image disappeared entirely from my mind.

When I realized I had been silent for the last minute, Belmont still looked at me expectantly, slightly fearful, and gazing back and forth between me and my arm.

"Ehm, sorry about that. I got lost in my own thoughts for a moment, but can we please put the talk about the... constallation... on hold for now. It's been quite a long day. Instead, did anything happen today while I was gone?"

Belmont just stared at me for a moment until he sighed.

"Well, I dealt with the situation regarding our orc trader friends earlier today, and I must say those are an oddity among their own race. Never before have I seen an orc shy away from violence or seeking revenge, though he and his friend were persistent on not getting the men who hurt him in any more trouble.
So I am putting a Peacekeeping program in the works as we are currently understaffed in terms of guards per citizen."

"I started recruiting some mages, priests, fighters, and some of the new recruits of mine into squads of five. This way, I realized we can promote teamwork among our forces." Belmont explained, then paused and stole a fruit from the table, which made Valeera growl at the grinning man, Belmont growled back before turning to me and then continued.

"The newly started squads persist of two veteran fighters, either previous soldiers or veteran guards, one mage around apprentice level who needs the money because we are, after all paying them handsomely, a priest of Calia's choosing, and one of mine. They report to me every six hours about how the squad performs, deals with problems, and works together.

Over the next few months, I will make this program work, but I might require some help with the finance bit. With the new citizens, the economy is taking a pounding and a half before we can get everyone established." He said as he finished explaining the events put in motion while I was robbing a dragoness.

Belmont sat there waiting for my reply until I realized, 'Oh, financing, I actually have gold now, don't I?' I thought with some mirth. While I had been buying stuff around the city, it was with pocket change, as I had yet to put any real thought into my own economy.

So I rose up and walked toward the basement before motioning for Belmont to follow. Valeera just sat there with a victorious smile as she took the fruits away from his grasp and continued eating while following him with eyes like a cat eyeing their opponents who wanted to steal their food.

As I led him down to the first basement floor, where I dropped off the loot, Belmont gaped when he saw the small mountain of gold in the corner.

"Well... That'll do. That Onyxia sure had lots of gold lying around, huh? This is ironic when I think about it, you went from probably the poorest city lord of all times, and after a black dragon put a stick in our wheel, she goes bankrupt within twenty-four hours...
This... Is the most enjoyable revenge I have had in fuckin' years!" Belmont said with glee as his grin appeared in full swing.

"Don't forget, we still have a part three, but that might have to be delayed for a few days due to... This." I say and point toward my right side before continuing, "This whole ordeal getting a tattoo made my magic slightly unstable, and I'll be honest, I will need some time to deal with a few minor issues that has showed themselves..." What I did not mention was the fact that every spell I tried to cast required much more effort and concentration compared to before.

After giving Belmont around half of the gold I stole from Onyxia within a small backpack of enchanted bags, we returned to the first floor.

But we were met by the sight of Valeera running around the room, trying to catch a delicious-looking fruit as it was telekinetically tossed around. With surprising agility and parkour skills, she only broke two chairs and the couch, then damaged Lanira's pillow while trying to catch it.

Aegwynn looked like she was having fun with the high elf rogue as she kept moving her hand around while controlling the fruit.

Meanwhile, Belmont and I just stood there, watching the event unfold. Both had different thoughts about the situation.

I, for instance, became thoughtful when I realized that she would need a perfect apology and excuse regarding Lanira's pillow.

Belmont looked more or less impressed with her movement skills and looked like he wanted to ask her to train a few recruits.

We were shaken out of our thoughts when the fruit ended up in Belmont's hands, and his eyes lit up in horror as the petite elf leaped toward him and headbutted him in the chest with surprising strength, resulting in her catching the fruit as Belmont wheezed as he was sent backward down the stairs behind him.

I just laughed as I witnessed the situation unfold, and so did Jaina, but Aegwynn looked worried about Belmont's tumbling form descending the stairs.

Valeera looked like she had won the world cup and was rewarded with a heavenly dish as she walked toward her room with a satisfied grin.

When Belmont could get up the stairs again, he did not look injured in the slightest. The assassin probably let Valeera hit him and fell like a professional without anything but a small bruise on his forehead.

He waved at me goodbye and gave the women a small polite bow, then exited the building to go prepare his Peacekeeping program.

Jaina, who had gotten her laughter under control, looked sheepish until she spoiled what Aegwynn and she did in town while Belmont had visited.

Which was as follows: They both went over to Calia's house, shocking the living daylights out of the gentlewoman because, as royalty, she knew who the newly introduced lady was, especially the only female ever to hold the title: Guardian for five hundred years while it was a male-dominated title and position, as female mages were frowned upon way more back then, especially those in power.

The three women had soon started their walk through the streets, which led through the gate and down to the beach, all the way there Jaina kept explaining my exploits in regards to the hydras, the fight with the demons. She also told Aegwynn about her mentors and friends from Dalaran before its fall and also informed her that they would be arriving in the city soon.

When Aegwynn heard the name Rhonin get mentioned as Jaina summarized their activities, her gaze became complicated until she controlled her gestures.

'Oh, so there's something about the man making even her react?' I thought as I listened to Jaina's tale. Jaina apparently wanted to introduce Nessie, but the hydra was busy playing with her siblings.

After she finished talking, I invited them along to take a short walk around the city as the sun started disappearing on the horizon.

We visited the small stalls prepared by all the different races around the city, as it was flowing with life as the people had finally started to slowly settle in. Tauren, gnomes, and dwarves were talking while playing something that looked like... hearthstone? Not the one that you clink together with your heels three times while saying home kind of hearthstone, but the card game.

I had seen my hooded portrait as one of the heroes but couldn't see more than that as we walked by, people waved and smiled while offering us whatever they could provide from their stalls, but we denied taking any free items, even so, I bought Jaina a small wine bottle from one of the night elves who looked crestfallen until we passed by, I swear I could remember that man from somewhere, If it was anyone important I would remember, so I shrugged and let the matter go.

Aegwynn did not want anything, and I accepted that as we went through the streets. However, she accepted a small doll from an excited little gnome girl who wanted to be like her parents, who were selling wares and the like, albeit without any other choice considering the eyes of said child Aegwynn accepted.

Though she did return the doll behind the child's back into the parents' hands as they saw the gesture, sighed in relief as Aegwynn gave back the doll, and waved us off with grateful smiles before we walked out of sight.

When we finally reached the last street before the exit toward the small coastal town, I heard several muffled explosions coming from the direction of the hydra enclosure.

So I gestured to the three women at my side as we sped up. As we got close, we could hear the roar of several hydra while seeing white beams of intense frost being fired into the air.

With my magic a bit unstable, I launched myself into the air, which ended up with much more force than usual, making two of the three women behind me get knocked back slightly bit by the blast. Still, with no other consideration than to find out what was going on, I flew toward the source of the commotion.

When I hovered above the giant wall of the enclosure, I saw a large hole had been breached from the direction of the sea, several massive behemoths with blue sickly skin and jagged teeth with three eyes on each side of the skull and two large orange fins on their back were currently in a skirmish with several hydras.

The hydras were losing ground while frantically trying to fend them off. The behemoths were at least ten times larger than a horse, which made them ten times the size of the growing hydras.

I intervened instantly, launching myself like a rocket toward the nearest abomination of a naga, my arms lighting up with purple lightning as I tore its head off with an audible wet squelch as the rest of its corpse fell to the ground while shaking as lightning coursed through the entire creature.

I did not look back as I launched myself again towards another of these creatures, systematically slaughtering them without any hesitation.

When I saw no more of these giant behemoths, I looked toward the remaining enemies.

Nessie was tearing a muscular male naga apart limb by limb with her three heads as the fish-like creature screamed for mercy while shouting in common but was promptly silenced as Nessie ripped the naga's head right off as blood sprayed everywhere.

There were many corpses in her wake, torn apart or lying on the ground with their throats ripped open by razor-sharp teeth.

Some even were frozen from their feet up to their waist, which had been smashed apart as they tried to crawl away while missing the bottom half of their bodies.

A few remaining naga standing behind those dying witnessed these gruesome executions.

They undoubtingly never suspected to face off with a highly magical hydra such as Nessie when assaulting this place.

Nessie's eyes were wild and furious, unlike I had ever seen her before, and I saw the reason for this when I looked at who was under her, a barely breathing hydra with white scales, trembling in fear and pain.

A large wound across her entire stomach as blood was pooling underneath, Bluey had been critically injured by the attacks, and Nessie was out for blood.

I rushed toward their location and then crashed into the ground; with a tremendous amount of effort, I froze Bluey with a thin layer of ice to stop the bleeding as three sets of sharp teeth sped in my direction and almost attached themselves to me before stopping dead in their tracks, right before impact, Nessie realized that her parental figure was here.

Nessie's eyes regained some of her normal intelligence before she whipped her head back toward the naga, who were standing in fear some meters away while grasping their weapons. The hydra roared as she stepped in front of both Bluey and me in a defensive position.

After making sure Bluey was alright and had fallen asleep, I rose to my feet, walked to Nessie's side, put a hand on the head in the middle, and whispered, "It's alright now, calm down, they will not hurt anyone... anymore."

Nessie slumped down into the water in exhaustion and relief.

I appeared beside one of the female naga and lifted her by the throat without them managing to react, then turned to the three remaining naga and asked in a frosty tone, "Who. Sent. You." The naga I held by the throat turned purple as she frantically struggled within my grasp until a distorted and gruff tone in the distance spoke.

"INVADER, YOU AND YOUR KIND ARE NOT WELCOME WITHIN MY DOMAIN!"

A head from outside the enclosure spoke as it slowly ascended above the water. At first, it looked like a green dwarven head with finned ears and a long green beard with sea shells as pauldrons.

As the full size of the creature became clear, I realized what kind of creature this was.

A sea giant had made himself known to us. This one was larger than any depictions I have ever seen about the creatures. The giant was fifteen meters tall, wearing a large in one hand. (50 ft)

A swarm of different kinds of naga, a small army of murlocs, and many red crayfish were swimming beside the enormous sea giant as he approached me.

With a *CRACK*, I snapped the naga's neck in my hand as it went limp, and the other nagas scurried off toward the sea giant's direction.

'If it isn't dragons or cults, then it's something else...' I thought while letting out a low groan of frustration.

-Chapter 39 End-