Provocation

After the commotion, Tetros' Grocer was closed for the day. Following Aiolos back to his sanctuary, they had a quiet and light dinner, before Tetros followed him to his workshop.

"Do you think Aiolos is going to consummate their relationship right now? I think Tetros is ready," Hansen said. The girls stare at him intensely, and because they failed to control their anger, they gave him a lesson he would not forget.

"Let's take a bath. I think even killing a War Mammoth now will not be a piece of happy news for them." Rochelle grabbed their shoulders, telling them it would be fine. As an elder sister four years older than them, the mentality can be said to be much mature compared to the three 17 years old lasses.

"Ah... I wonder what will Aiolos do... It's an Essence Rock Nut, for heaven's sake! There are around 20 nuts over there, which is enough to be made into over 40 bottles of Dispeller Mist!" Hansen messed his hair out of frustration.

Hansen returned to his room without even waiting for his turn to take a bath. The frustration hit him hard, especially when he started to think about Tetros and Rochelle's pair of mountainous peaks. Hell, even Zenia, the little seductress he met with hardly comparable.

...

"Aiolos, I don't know what to do now..." Tetros' tears continue to fall. Although the six of them weren't her first few crest holders, their position within her heart is irreplaceable. In particular, Shelly, who's been the cashier with good mathematical skills.

But mathematical skill is useless when it comes to the competition of brute strength. The emotion conveyed when dying moment tells Tetros how painful it is to be crushed. Perhaps through the comparison, getting killed by a slime with a thousand pounce attack may look gentler.

"Tetros, listen to me." Aiolos placed both of his hands on her shoulder. Without any perverted mindset, Aiolos kissed her lips once more before placing his forehead on hers. His calm appearance made Tetros sobbed but no longer allowing tears to fall.

"Life is being cruel to us, but there's nowhere for us to complain. At the very least, they died for what they believe in. They died for the sake of achieving more, and that's not something we should misunderstand." Aiolos knows how cruel is this world they lived in.

Even Lucros, the god who boasts his skill in filleting all kinds of monsters, could fall in the Heavenly Dungeon. Although they had no idea about who killed him, from Rochelle's guess, it should be the same culprit as the who killed Tetros' crest holders.

With the appearance of the Orc Half-Lord, exploration has undoubtedly become much more dangerous compared to before. In the classification of strength alone, a boss-grade monster like Slime Lord could lead close to fifty subordinates at most.

A War Mammoth could control less subordinate, but stronger monsters.

And throughout history, only two kinds of monsters are capable of leading, not a crowd but a horde of monsters.

Orc Lord and Goblin King.

They're classified as the first level in the Ancient God's destruction class measurement, or also known as the Abysmal Class. Above this are Disaster Class, level 2, Calamity Class, level 3, and Realm Elimination Class, a level 4.

Witnessing the arrival of an Orc Lord means not far in the future, a call of arms will be issued to eliminate this threat. The moment a monster of this class came into being, they'll start to rallying nearby monsters into their submission and start growing in numbers.

Of course, the Heavenly Dungeon treats all being as equal. Resources will still drop, no matter if it's a recently born orc, a male, or a female. Life inside the dungeon is equivalent to points and drop rates.

"I want to go inside the dungeon." Tetros blurted out something ridiculous and catching Aiolos by surprise.

"Sure - Wait, what?" Aiolos thought there is something wrong with his ears. Although he was caught unaware by her, he's not that easy to be coaxed by Tetros. Unknown if the situation might become worst, Aiolos mustn't allow her to act impulsively right now.

"I want to go inside the dungeon and kill the Orc Lord. That's even better, while it is still a Half-Lord." Tetros heard what Rochelle said. If the culprit is most likely the Orc Half-Lord, then getting rid of it will remove her from the feeling of guilt.

"No. With your current ability, facing the Orc Half-Lord is similar to sending yourself to death. We could only use a-tenth of our strength inside the Heavenly Dungeon!" Aiolos rejected her intention. But his rejection came out a little harsh.

"I'm going. I will ask Helene, Titania, Gormand, and Curie to follow me. With four of them accompanying me, I am as strong as you are, Aiolos." Tetros is hell-bent about entering the Heavenly Dungeon to slay the Orc Half-Lord before it could continue to grow.

And her four top crest holders, Helene, Titania, Gormand, and Curie, are as strong as Rochelle. Especially Titania, who's ranked as the eighth in the top ten highest level crest holders. Helene, Gormand, and Curie each have their own specialties, and they're not any weaker if pitted into a fight against Aiolos inside the Heavenly Dungeon.

"Tetros! Calm down! I am nowhere happier than you do! Do you think I'll let my soon bride-to-be do something so dangerous?" Aiolos punched the wall to vent out his anger. He knows Shelly, and he's saddened by her death too. As for the others, he recognizes them, just not as much as the calculative Shelly.

"Aiolos!" Tetros raised her voice for his attention. Her sudden expression made Aiolos looked at her intensely, with a worrying gaze.

"I am a god too. Trust me..." Tetros steps closer to Aiolos as her hand gently touched both of Aiolos' cheeks. She moves her head closer until her lips are at his. Both of them kissed for a while until Tetros placed both of her hands at his chest.

"Then, I'm coming with you," Aiolos said. His hand is on her waist, slowly tightens until Tetros' body and his is together. At this moment, that is all Aiolos wishes for.

"Silly. I haven't used any yet, but you only have one entry left. I won't let you use that entry for nothing." Tetros looks calmer after she said what is in her mind. Or perhaps, listening to Aiolos' last sentence changed her mind.

"What do you mean for nothing? I am going down there to protect my bride!" Aiolos shouted. If there's anyone dares to comment about how foolish is his decision, then Aiolos is going to ask if they know love.

"Let's get down after our ceremony." Tetros changed her mind. If Aiolos is following her, then there's more preparation needed. Even if she's being reckless, it will be impossible for her to neglect Aiolos' safety. To them, their partner's survival is the most valuable thing down there.

"Sure!" Aiolos smiled. With this sentence from Tetros, he could use these few days he has to prepare himself. Also, he might have to bring the four of them along, no matter how it goes.

Not too long after that, Tetros falls asleep on Aiolos' lap. With his gentle but comfortable touch, she falls asleep soundly for the first time. Although this is not the first time for her to stay in Aiolos' place, it was their first to be so intimate.

Aiolos extends his hand. With a small amount of Godhood Power, he pulled the Item-Box his crest holders wear. When the stack of 20 Essence Rock Nuts falls on the table with a thud, Aiolos smirked.

He exhales and inhales gently.

If Tetros noticed the Essence Rock Nut, even washing his hair with godhood power will not turn it from blonde to white.

(Note: It's an idiom where one will not be able to wash his hand clean if he did something wrong behind someone)

But the moment the Low-Heaven Ores, Elemental Stone's Vein Fragment, and the Ore Devourer's corpse fallen on the table, Aiolos almost screamed from happiness.

With what he has left, won't they be enough for him to craft Rochelle's armor? Aiolos stares at the mannequin with Rochelle's preferred design, and a few ideas started to emerge in his head.

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"You useless thing!" the mysterious individual used its beloved mace to break the bones of an orc and a goblin. Both monsters received close to a-tenth of Godhood Power this individual has, but they still fail to evolve.

"Bu-hi!" the Orc Half-Lord returned with another specimen. This time, it is a Lightning Tiger. The word (King) on the beast's forehead is much noticeable than what the individual has seen before.

"It's you!" without any permission or prior notice, a sudden gush of Godhood Power entered the Lightning Tiger via its sensory organs. The beast shivered in the air as the process continued, until the individual exhaustedly fallen onto the ground.

"Hahaha! - Hahaha!" the individual laughed like a madman.

Looking at the Lightning Tiger that outgrown its similar species by three times, the beast howled loudly to show its power. Lighting spikes grow on its spine, with a tail full of Lightning element sweeping the floor. Whatever weed or stones were cut into pieces or burnt without the beast noticing any problem.

"Good!"

"An Orc Half-Lord, a Thunder Beast, and a Grass Golem. I'll wait for you guys to come to me!" the mysterious individual continues to laugh like a madman. Standing like a guard behind him are the three proud monsters the individual forcefully evolve them using Godhood Power.

With more and more monsters coming together under the ruling of the three boss-grade monsters, the mysterious individual is confident about his plan to control the first two floors of the Heavenly Dungeon.

But then...

"Young brat! Looks like you're having fun here." a black fog appeared by the side of the mysterious individual, and chat with him leisurely.

"It's you!" the mysterious individual slammed his fist on his rusted throne chair.

"What do you want?" the mysterious individual asked. He knows that although he has three boss-grade monsters following him, he's still not a worthy opponent to the black fog.

"Why are you being cautious with me? I'm the one that helped you after that day, correct? Instead of being wary of me, you should take some time later to visit the surface. Might as well do it two days later." the black fog's word is like a whisper to the ears of the mysterious individual.

"I have nothing to reminiscence on the surface!" the mysterious individual yelled. The action surprised the boss-grade monsters, as they quickly went outside to continue hunting for new specimens.

"Nothing, you said?"

"That Tetros girl you're so attracted to is going to get married to that boy called Aiolos in two more days. Right now, she's inside his sanctuary. Might as well consummating their marriage first and oath later, correct?" each word whispered by the black fog is poisonous to the ears of the listener.

"..." The mysterious individual grits his teeth so hard to the point it started to bleed. But the stimulus from the black fog is yet to finish.

"Ah, so sad I no longer have a body... If I'm here, how I wish to be embraced by her soft breasts, which I will then slowly..."

"SHUT UP!!!" the mysterious individual released his wrath. In a flash, he left the fortress looking for something to vent his anger.

"Now... I wonder what will happen?" the black fog chuckled. Like a cloud of smoke, it vanished into thin air, only to appeared above the Southern Tianyuan Sanctuary.

"Humor me, please."

"Satisfy me, please."

"Fulfill me, please!"

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(Author's spoiler question: Up to this point, I think everyone knows who's the mysterious individual is? What about the black fog?)