Akhenamen was walking through a small coastal town at the edge of the Pyrax Empire and the Brightheart Covenant. The place was so calm. Just a variety of races and species working together, haggling over the price of recently pulled fish or resting at the tavern’s terrace.
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The sun shone down on him, making his skin feel a small tingle; he had missed these sensations so much; the wind coming from the sea billowing into his cloak, making it float gently.
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His hood was up, and while Akhenamen wasn’t really hiding his appearance as much as he could, this was enough to show people this very powerful looking Cygilite just didn’t wanna be bothered.
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He now had a leather strap, bought from a merchant stall using some of the money Sofya had once given him, to keep his new glaive safely upon his back. His step brought him to the tavern where he saw a familiar face.
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Valencia was sitting on a chair, enjoying the breeze and listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the beach not too far from them. She wore her hair in a lazy bun on top of her head, red lipstick and the smallest hint of make-up.
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Her dress was similar to the one she had worn during the Council meeting, but even less professional and clear, with the main goal being relaxation. She was drinking a cold pint of beer with some simple chipped ice with syrup on top. Yes, it was ice cream. At least a more basic form of it.
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“AH! Akhenamen! Come sit down! Why are you wearing that hood?”
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“To be more discreet?”
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“You’re towering above almost everyone here, and you’re the only one wearing a hood.”
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“Fair… so you seem to be going on a vacation from work rather than an adventure.”
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“Isn’t it the same thing? To us… Adventuring leisurely around the continent is the best off-time. Of course, we’ll have our fair share of fights, dungeons to explore and beasts to slay. And lots of stuff to eat and drink too! I missed the delicacies of Zenthia. Pyrax’s food is too bland for my taste.”
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With a casual wave of her hand, Valencia removed Akhenamen’s hood using the sheer strength in her body, literally creating a wind strong enough to remove his hood. If it had been anyone other than a Transcendent, that would have most likely snapped their head back painfully.
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“Interesting use of your strength.”
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“Thanks. So let’s discuss the plan once we’re ready-”
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“HELLO, DEAR CUSTOMER!!!”
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Akhenamen almost jumped at the sudden appearance of… a fairy? Yes, that was definitely a fairy. Small girl with wings. She wore a barmaid dress and seemed to make Valencia absolutely terrified.
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“He-”
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Before Akhenamen could even talk, a glass of a strange cocktail suddenly appeared in front of him. Making him completely confused as the fairy simply disappeared a second later with a fast…
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“GOODBYE DEAR CUSTOMER!!!”
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“... what the hell?”
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“Yeah… Fairies. They live at a different speed compared to us, literally. They freak me out…”
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Akhenamen looked through his memories and finally discovered what Valencia meant… fairies didn’t use magic to appear in and out of thin air. They were just THAT fast. Fast enough that even someone with Akhenamen’s stats couldn’t see them move around.
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As for the cocktail? That was fairy magic. They could instantly know someone’s greatest desire and how to trick them with it. Something the System had quickly put a stop to seeing their race as too powerful. It had successfully tricked them into being unable to harm any living being in any way, shape or form.
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So now most worked as waitresses and actually had a real cartel of information selling businesses all over Zenthia and its surrounding realms and planets. And if his memories weren’t wrong, then…
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The fairy suddenly appeared right back in front of Akhenamen, staring at him and actually stopping for a few seconds, squinting her eyes really, really hard…
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“Uncle?”
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“You’ll say hello to Star for me.”
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“Oooh! Hey uncle! I’ll tell Mama you were here!”
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Right after, she once more disappeared. Fairies were Star’s children. They borrowed their speed from the Aspect, Star. Akhenamen knew the existence of but had no memories of her actual name.
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Star was the fastest being in this universe, and none could catch as much as a glimpse of her unless she wished to. From his memories, Akhenamen could say Star or Time would be the most scary Aspects to fight, and he was glad they were on his side.
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“Uncle? You got a sister or brother who fucks fairy?”
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“No. Cygilites' family is complex, and let’s leave it at that. So what’s the plan for us?”
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Akhenamen suddenly pulled out a small golden mushroom from his inventory, and out of nowhere, the mushroom suddenly grew into a foot-tall mushroom golem. His first bio-golem was ever created in his lab with Sofya.
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Pino. He wore a small backpack and carried a small shield in one hand and a staff in the other. His comically huge mushroom hat and adorable little beady black eyes gave him a genuinely adorable appearance as he looked around, his golden cap glowing softly. He had the thought of Saitama as another name, but it could have gotten him in trouble for some reason! Maybe the second bio-golem?
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“Aw, look at this cutie!”
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Valencia was swiftly won over by this little mushroom golem. Akhenamen was happy with his first golem, but when he looked at Pino’s eyes, he could swear he saw some of the greatest horror imaginable.
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So either Pino was really… uh… slow-minded. Or he was secretly an eldritch god in disguise. There was no in between. When Pino was finally let go after a big hug from Valencia, he went back to his creator, much to Valencia’s despair, and sat down silently, his mushroom cap aligned with the shining sun.
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“He’s gathering some energy from the sun, that’s how they grow and get stronger alongside the regular exp gathering methods. So once again, what’s the plan?”
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“Well, first we’re gonna need to register ourselves as a proper team of adventurers, but we need a third member. We’ll post an ad on the guild’s request board. If needed, we can even just pick any random person off the street and make them our partner, then abandon them here so they don’t get slaughtered by the first Leviathan we’re gonna fight.”
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“Isn’t that kidnapping?”
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“It is, but laws don’t apply to the strong.”
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Akhenamen took a sip of his drink, the refreshing and cooling liquid being instantly dissolved and absorbed as pure matter to be used later, but at least he could now taste stuff. Felt good. Very good.
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“Still, I’d like not to resort to scaring a simple farmer to death. As for a potential third member, I might have a solution.”
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“You do? Who is that?”
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“A woman named Sapphyr.”
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“Never heard of her. But it sounds like a Felinid’s name. They like naming their kids after metals and jewels.”
“She’s a Felinid, yes. Let’s just say she had been asleep for a while and woke up recently. She’s… quite groggy and definitely wouldn’t mind getting reacquainted with Zenthia after being asleep for so long.”
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“This seems fine with me!”
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Soon after, a Felinid stepped on the terrace and walked toward the duo. A lot of people stared with curiosity. Felinids were very rare and had been almost extinct. Seeing one was rare. And the fact that the woman walking forward was also deeply beautiful didn’t help.
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“As discreet as ever, Sapphyr.”
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“Glad to see you too, Akhenamen! How’s my favourite grumpy Cygilite?”
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“I won’t even answer your childish provocation. This is Valencia. Valencia, this is Sapphyr.”
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“Ah, the Golden Hydra of Pyrax! I heard of you.”
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“Why did not… it is rare to see one of your kind outside Felinad.”
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“Well, let’s just say my return and a certain event have made my race’s future far more secure. So I hope you wouldn’t mind “little old me” joining your adventures?”
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Valencia smiled as she started to talk with “Sapphyr”. Which was, of course, an alter-ego of Sapphyra. As for why the Dominion was now masquerading as a simple mortal? Out of necessity and curiosity.
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Akhenamen’s thoughts went back to the event that happened during Sapphyra’s rebirth. She had apparently only partially succeeded at being brought back to life. While she was alive once more, she had been greedy and tried to transfer her soul once more from the Cygilite’s body back into one of flesh built by her sister.
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But it had happened too soon. And between the complicated rebirth, where she had lost some of her Divine Body as a “price” from the System. She had lost even more when moving to another body. Which was why she currently found herself to be a simple Throne. She would no doubt reach the Dominion rank once more quite quickly, but until then, she was stuck as a Throne.
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“So, where’s our first destination now that there are three of us? Oh! Why don’t we stay around Zenthia’s coast? I heard a few little kittens that told me a few interesting events would happen there. And of course, we take our time, not using the Warp Gates.”
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“That sounds lovely! We’ll be able to enjoy ourselves at every tavern on the way! There are one or two dungeons I have never been able to finish with my adventuring team. I wonder what was at the end!”
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Akhenamen was sitting still, looking at the sea and drinking his refreshing cocktail. He had to admit, it was very well made, and it changed from his bad memories of having become addicted to strong alcohol back on Earth after the incident.
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It seemed like they would soon finally start their adventures. Still, Akhenamen felt like the group was incomplete. Counting the number of chairs, he realised why.
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“I don’t remember much, if at all, of the Drunken Tankards, but I know there were two more people with us. I wonder who they will be.”
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