Chapter 1 Ludanes

Ouch, my neck still hurts from 999's bite. But in return, she gave Kuti and me regeneration abilities. I yawned once more and glanced at Kuti, who was still asleep.

"Kuti, c'mon, wake up. We said we'd hunt a dragon today," I said, shaking her gently.

"Just a little longer, love," she replied, hiding under the blanket again.

Alright, I'll get up first and prepare our gear. I walked to the window to enjoy the view from our room. The beautiful harbor city, with three ships docking, and the characteristic blue rooftops added to the scenery I enjoyed. Birds flew around the fishing boats, and their calls could be heard from here.

Outside the cathedral, people were cleaning the courtyard. I decided to greet them before preparing our equipment. I put on my robe and walked down to the first floor. I saw 999 playing the organ, playing a soothing tune.

"Don't fall asleep," 999 said. "This is the song of death; if you fall asleep, you could faint and lose half your life. But for those who are not divine envoys, they will die instantly."

"So, the people cleaning outside are sacrifices?" I asked 999.

"Yes. Once they hear this tune, they will die immediately," 999 replied.

I went outside and found ten villagers dead. Their bodies disappeared upon touching the ground, seemingly absorbed by the tree's roots without a trace. 999 appeared and followed me.

"Do you want to walk around Ludanes alone?" 999 asked.

"Where do they go?" I asked, looking at the red-haired woman.

"According to their deeds. Those sent here are criminals," 999 answered, touching my cheek. 999 had an enchanting appearance, but her hands were just skeletal bones.

"I need my breakfast," 999 said, approaching and sniffing my neck. "Ah, the best blood, my envoy's blood."

"Please, drink," I said, loosening my collar to expose my right shoulder.

When she bit me, it felt like a dragon's bite. After drinking my blood, she slowly became human again. 999 released her bite and stretched. "To change my form, I need human blood."

"Did the people who came to this world die because you drained their blood?" I asked, adjusting my clothes.

"No. They were killed by the villagers," 999 replied. "Want to know the story? I'll tell you as we walk around Ludanes."

999 changed into the form of an adult woman. Since I was curious, I agreed to her invitation. Besides, I needed to shop for breakfast ingredients for Kuti and me. Kuti is hard to wake up once she goes back to sleep.

From the Sacred Tree Island, we headed west to the western part of Ludanes. 999 began her story, "I used to summon many envoys to this world. But most of them forgot because they became too powerful. They abused their power and refused to listen to me."

We stopped at a fruit shop. I bought two apples and two bunches of mustard greens. After paying, we continued walking. "Then? Did you kill them?"

"No. The villagers in their city were fed up," 999 answered, walking beside me.

"Fed up because they abused their power?" I asked.

"Yes, and they also exaggerated my rules. They used my rules to gain power," 999 said. "I think that's also why the Flokian Knights League wanted to change gods."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Hmm, how should I explain?" 999 pondered. "I ordered them to follow King Majagada. But they deceived King Majagada and conspired to overthrow him using my orders."

"Why did you let them?" I asked again.

"I could have stopped them. But I was also annoyed because they didn't listen to me at all," 999 replied. "So, when he took power, I appeared and incited the villagers to rebel."

"When the former envoy tried to fight the villagers, I revoked his powers and enjoyed watching him beheaded and tortured until he almost died by the villagers," 999 added. "You won't be like that, will you?"

"If I revoke your special status, you won't be able to return to this world. You will die here, and this world will disappear, but in the real world, your parents won't remember you. This also applies to Kuti, Dahlan, and Rosa," 999 said, looking at me menacingly.

"No. I won't return to the real world. This world is comfortable for me," I said, stopping at a grocery store to buy ingredients for cooking. "What about Dahlan? I heard he's looking for a way to return to the real world."

"He won't be able to. The only way to return besides fulfilling my orders is to kill me," 999 replied. "How can he kill me if I can revoke his special status anytime?"

"Yeah, I understand. If he comes to fight you, I'll help you," I said. "I don't want my dream world to be destroyed because he wants to go back."

"Smart kid," 999 said, patting my head. After touring the western part of Ludanes, we returned to the cathedral where twenty more people were cleaning. 999 seemed pleased with the offering.

"Still fifty, still far from the quota I set. It'll be interesting to see Ludanes besieged by Majagada, especially since he just gave me another offering," 999 murmured.

999 went inside the cathedral and began playing the organ again. I saw Kuti awake and preparing breakfast. Seeing me with a shopping bag, she looked a bit annoyed. "Shopping alone?"

"You were asleep, darling," I said nervously. "What are you making for breakfast? If that's the case, this will be for dinner."

"Grandmaster Indarto's envoy brought us food. Let's eat first," Kuti replied, inviting me to sit beside her. I put the shopping bag on the table and sat next to her.

"F-feed me," Kuti asked sweetly.

"Alright." I took the spoon from Kuti and began feeding her. She looked happy and content. Kuti then took her turn to feed me.

After finishing our meal, we bathed and headed to the adventurers' guild in Ludanes. Leaving the cathedral, we went eastward. The building was located within the Ludanes fortress walls, where the Ludanes Knights Order gathered and organized.

The villagers we met greeted us, and many knelt before us. Finally, after passing through the crowd, we arrived at the Adventurers' Guild.

"Let's just do daily quests while gathering materials. Oops, I forgot to wake up early," Kuti said, opening the door and entering with me.

Once inside the guild, many adventuring teams approached us, asking us to join their parties to complete their quests. Reluctantly, Kuti and I politely declined as we didn't want to get involved in tasks unrelated to our primary goal.

After twenty minutes, we finally reached the task board. Kuti's eyes immediately focused on the task to defeat a dragon on Faore Island. She looked at me, "Can we do it alone, or do we need extra people?"

I examined the task Kuti pointed out. The dragon's level wasn't much higher than ours. Currently, Kuti and I were at level 89, while the dragon was at level 85. But it would be tough for just the two of us. We needed a mage with crowd control and healing abilities and a second DPS besides Kuti for close-range attacks.

From the dragon's type, it would have two phases. The first phase when it was airborne and the second when it fell. While airborne, I could only rely on Kuti's agility to dodge its attacks. Once it fell, I could divert the dragon's attacks so others could strike.

"I think it'll be difficult; its level isn't much different from ours," I said. "How about we recruit some adventurers?"

"Alright. I'll handle the selection," Kuti said, taking the task. "You go shout for anyone willing to join us in fighting the dragon."

I sat at a table and began shouting. "A-anyone willing to join us to fight a dragon? High pay and a chance to get high-level materials!"

The adventurers looked at us with fear. They seemed unable to imagine fighting a dragon. Until a mage girl approached me. "I can help."

"Here's my adventurer card," said the well-groomed black-haired girl.

I took it and checked. Her name was Romanova, level 70, slightly below the dragon's level. Her magic was support-type, with spells to bind and slow enemies. "Do you have healing abilities?"

"S-still low level," she replied. "Level 1."

"Okay, that's fine, wait here. Kuti, come over!" I called Kuti.

She quickly sat beside me and talked with Romanova. Kuti seemed to like Romanova and looked at me, "Is it okay? For healing, we can rely on potions?"

"Y-yes," I replied. I prepared to shout again. "I need one more person, preferably skilled with a spear, level 50-70!"

A knight stepped forward, and it was Atmaja, the one who fought me when I was helping Majagada. Atmaja sat across from me and handed his card. I smiled and shook his hand. "I-I'm confident he's capable and strong."

"Thank you for the compliment. If we had fought while you were fit, I would surely lose," Atmaja said.

I checked his card, level 76, skilled in spears and swords, with good attack stats. Kuti immediately approved. "Okay, Atmaja, you're in. Please help us defeat the dragon."

"Of course, Envoy Thomas," Atmaja replied.

"Just call me Thomas," I said. "We'll meet at the harbor tomorrow morning. Bring preparations, especially anti-poison. The dragon's attacks mostly involve poison."

"Understood," Romanova replied.

"Of course. This will be my first time defeating a dragon. Grandmaster Indarto always forbade me from taking high-level quests, but I'm confident with our combined efforts we can do it!" Atmaja said enthusiastically.