Chapter 314 – Re: Cruiting

Day 54 (Cont)

After a somewhat precarious interaction with about fifty elves all pointing bows at him, Mail had stumbled from his arm and diffused the situation. After giving the guard leader a short recap of her trial, Mail told them more people would arrive shortly via a teleport spell and to escort them to her father without delay. 

John and Mail then entered the village, escorted by a trio of elves. Apparently these were the same three elves that had originally tried to recruit his people while he was away.

They were all beautiful blondes, and John could say that the one man was handsome enough that he probably could have been a model back on Earth, masculine with just a touch of femininity that seemed to dominate that field. He couldn't quite put a finger on it yet, but they were different than Mail, missing something that pushed Mail's beauty a step beyond. 

For her part, Mail clung to his arm as they walked through one of the craziest sights he had ever seen. The elves lived in gigantic trees, more massive than any he had ever seen on Earth. Their homes, their shops, everything looked like it was grown into the trunks of these trees. They were connected by rope bridges at different heights, with catwalks wrapping around them in different sections, and a few with stairs hugging the trunks to allow access to and from the forest floor. It made Tarzan's treehouse look like a garden shed compared to a castle.  

They were stopped several times on their way by bands of armed elves and demihuman dogs called kobolds, who wondered if the bloodthirsty ogres had come to join their cause. When he asked what they meant, he was surprised to learn that almost all the demihumans were avoiding them because the village had been hunting the larger, more powerful beasts in the forest so much, and they feared they were next. Apparently, most of them had actually come to the elves' aid willingly to ask for protection from this ogre threat. All John could do was shake his head and laugh at that. Accidents might happen, but he had no intention of ordering his people to mow down other people for no reason.

Eventually they made their way up into the trees, giving him a bird's-eye view of the village. There were a lot of people here, probably close to a thousand if he included all the demihumans. That didn't tell him what their fighting strength actually was, since that number included all the non-combatants and families he could see mingling on the forest floor. While there were female warriors among the elves, like most worlds, their army was predominantly men. He laughed a bit about that, since his village was filled with women warriors, almost like some tribe of Amazons. 

I think I can probably count on my fingers how many women I associate with that are not warriors of some sort, and I'd have a few left over. 

Finally, they arrived at Mail's home, and she brought him directly to a small audience chamber, where her father sat on a chair on a raised platform to the side of the room. He was an elderly man draped in green and white robes decorated with different symbols. Although quite hale, he looked to be somewhere around seventy if he were a human, with pale blonde hair and a very majestic moustache. Tears flowed from his eyes as he leapt up to embrace his daughter, telling John all he needed to know about this man. He loved his daughter very much, and she loved him back. 

He is a good man. I can work with someone like this.

John started to turn to the side to give them some privacy, but stopped when both of them sprouted wings on their backs. They were thin, glowing membranes full of blue, green, and pink mana in the shape of butterfly wings. They flapped slightly as they embraced each other, and he could see tiny motes of mana being released as they moved.

Elves have wings in this world? Are they fairies? Wait a sec... do Elves have skills like humans, or level up like demihumans and monsters?

He activated Card on Mail, then on another elf woman who was standing to the side of the room beside a table with a teapot and some snacks. That is when he noticed that Mail wasn't actually an Elf like that maid, but a High Elf. Assuming that was the answer, he closed the window and waited patiently to the side, trying not to chuckle at the thought of Mail dressed as a full-sized Tinkerbell fluttering around with Peter Pan. 

 It didn't take too long before John found himself seated on the floor in front of the chief, sharing a cup of tea while discussing their war preparations. They had brought a chair out for him to sit on, but the moment John put his weight on it, it collapsed and left him sprawling across the floor. He got up and dusted himself off, apologized for busting his furniture, and made a joke that he must have been eating too well recently. The chief laughed once he realized John wasn't angry, and offered him a cushion instead. Mail had stayed with them, and after a moment of indecision, she sat beside him instead of her father. He wondered if that signified anything, or if he was just overthinking it.

"So they have that many people... that will be a problem. Did your people get a count of their mages and other special units?"

"No. However, one of my people is interrogating the survivors of the attack on Mail as we speak. She should be joining us here later with that report. Hopefully they will have more information."

Earlier

"Mmm... This is incredible. Thank you for the gift, Rou." Sato said, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"Easy with that horn, darlin'. I don't need a new hole put in me." He replied, hugging her back. Even through her armoured dress, he could tell her breasts had grown dramatically, and her body was almost a solid wall of muscle like Rumi's.

She had evolved while he was away, becoming a Half-Blood Lord. She was well over six feet tall now, and her body had filled out, giving her a much more adult appearance, like she was around twenty-five. Her eyes were now red and her hair almost maroon in colour, with a strong jawline, nose, and cheek structure that still retained some femininity. Her most distinguishing new feature was the nearly foot-long red horn coming out of the centre of her forehead. 

"No... but I could really use your horn in me later. And don't try and tell me you want to wait until we get to know each other better. I felt your soul fill me, and it told me you do have feelings for me too."

"Don't abuse the boon I just gave you, and... I will accept you as a concubine. If you want to be one of my actual wives, that will come with more time."

"I don't mind. We can just be friends... that help each other now and then. Haha, now let me at them. I'll get the information you need out of those prisoners." She said, punching her fist into her open palm and grinning at him.

"Don't kill them or maim them too badly; they can't work in the mine that way. Unless they intended to rape Mail and the other female elves... then do as you wish. Just clean it up when you're done." He said, wondering if it was going to bite him in the ass for giving her Scouter. She couldn't read his mind with it, but regular people were wide open to her. He didn't think she would do anything against him, at least not intentionally. A quick glance at her party menu told him as much.

[Relationship Stats]

[Love - 75/100 (Cherished]

[Lust - 100/100 (Unbridled)]

[Loyalty - 100/100 (Undying)]

"Will do, Rou." She said, standing up on her toes and licking his lips once before pecking him on the lips. She then let go of him and walked off towards the cave they were now using as a jail.

She got way more confident after she evolved. This will be an interesting night with her, whenever it happens.

Present

"What do you want for this information?"

"Nothing."

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I don't understand. We are not allies, yet you are willing to just give us information? What are you up to?"

"As I told your daughter, our circumstances have changed, and we will no longer be able to offer you refuge in our village. I do have another offer for you, but if you and your people don't accept it, I would at least see you as prepared as possible before we leave."

"Refuge? You mean you're not here to join in our fight? I thought you may have had a change of mind, mainly since my daughter has glued herself to your side." The chief said, casting a side-eye at Mail. She squirmed nervously beside him, but didn't shift away.

"Afraid not. In eight days, my village and its people will be... leaving this plane of existence and travelling to another world."

"Surely you're joking?"

"No, I'm dead serious. I would like to offer your people a chance to join us, to get far away from humans who consider you an enemy. There are dangers abound in that world, but at least there isn't an army marching down on top of them."

"He is telling the truth, father. Lord Rou is much more than he appears, and has been blessed by multiple greater gods. I'm sure Malfrenden told you of what he encountered at their village, and I assure you it is even more impressive. He is not from this world.

Earlier

"All these texts are full of information from another world?" Mail asked, wandering around the library with Mi.

"Yes. Though many are just stories and folktales that have been written down for entertainment, much of the information in here is actually useful knowledge." Mi said, pulling a book off of the shelf with her metal hand.

She was entertaining Mail while Rou was busy giving Sato a boon. She received hers earlier, and was quite pleased with it. Rou had remembered her interest, and offered it to her if she wished, though he had more powerful boons if she would have rather one of those. She kissed him, and told him that it was perfect. 

<Firearms - Adept>

They didn't have any, but that would change soon, and she couldn't wait to try using one. It seemed to be of interest to him as well, so she was hoping they could bond further over them. 

"You really changed when you evolved. I can't believe you are the same mage who was tossing magic around like it was nothing. It was incredible. I know I already said it, but thank you again for saving us." Mail said, looking up at her with a grateful expression. 

"You're welcome. As for the evolution, I can hardly believe it myself. I even got a blessing from the lesser god of magic when I evolved into a Half Spell Lord." She said happily. Sui had told them to be nice to this elf and would explain why later, but she didn't even have to force it. She had been very respectful to everyone in the mansion as far as she could tell, and was especially grateful to her, Ee, Sato, and Ruby.

I know Sato warned us that elves were very rude to everyone they considered lesser beings, but apparently that doesn't go for all elves.  

As for her looks, it was almost like some god heard her prayer and made her look almost like a tall human woman. Her once nearly flat body was now curvy, even more than Sui's. Her skin turned from that off-grey to an even lighter blue than Sui's, almost white. Her hair grew down to the middle of her back and changed to grey exactly like Rou's, and her eyes, which she thought were turning wine red, shifted into silver with gold flecks. The cross tattoo had moved from her lower back to having one on each shoulder. She still hadn't figured that one out; other than being somehow connected to Rou, they were an enigma.

"So, what can you show me about the world that Lord Wayne comes from? I would like to understand more about it."

"Hmm... How about this concept of electricity. It is like harnessing the power in a lightning spell and forcing that energy to do a bunch of other work a lightning spell can't accomplish. The lights in this mansion are a good example, but most things in his world worked because of this power." She said, pulling out yet another book.

"I could show you pictures of his world as well, though frankly most of them make no sense to me. This castle we live in is just a very large house in his world. There are structures thousands of times taller and wider in his world, buildings literally reaching the sky, filled with more people than live in most of the nearby human towns put together, going there every day just to work."

"That sounds incredible. The trees we live in are massive as well, but we've grown them with our magic over generations to suit our needs. I can't imagine a building that would even compare."

"I would like to see these trees sometime before we leave with Rou. Would you mind showing me around your village later?" She asked. She didn't mind if Rou ended up marrying this Elf, but she intended to take her turn with him next. Wife or concubine, she didn't really care as long as she could remain close to him and sleep in his bed.

Sleeping in the bed without him just caused her to toss and turn all night, and cuddling beside Ee and Riana was not quite the same. Not to mention, Sui tossed around so much without him that she and Ruby ended up having to pin her between their bodies, or risk getting kicked in the head. She loved Sui like a sister, but would much rather be held by Rou. 

I wonder if that was what Sui was planning on explaining later? I guess she didn't realize the rumours had already passed through the whole village. As long as she is competent, I have no issues with her being with Rou as well. I think I need to get Felcia to make her more food, though; she looks half-starved.

Present

"Not of this world?"

"No. While this body was born here, I was not." John said, standing up. He activated his divine shield and pulsed his mana so his eyes would burn with power. "I'm not even an actual ogre, though that is now an aspect of mine. I am now much more than that. Revert" 

His body shifted to his human form, and he drew a sword from the storage space in the bracelet he took from Velvet's treasury. It was an odd blade; its two separate blades were joined at the hilt. One blade was white and imbued with bonuses to holy element magic, while the other was its mirror in shape and was black and imbued with bonuses to shadow magic. With a twist, he could make it a pair of blades he could dual-wield; otherwise, it was a twin-bladed broadsword. It had nothing on his Sword of Truth, but it was nice to have a weapon that complemented his skills again. 

With a short flourish, he placed the point of the blade at his feet, funnelling his new divine power into it. It burst from the blade in a silver and gold shower of sparks. "My real name is John, John Wayne. A Paladin known as the Twilight Knight. A healer, a warrior. A pupil, a teacher; one who is blessed by gods but does not worship them. Protector of the innocent, bane of those with evil in their hearts. A simple human who has travelled the omniverse on a journey to change the fate of the worlds I visit at the behest of gods with powers beyond understanding."

John raised his head and looked directly at the chief. "I offer your people a chance to change their destiny, to join with me and leave this world, leaving the oppression, the prejudice, the hatred behind. Or stay and meet your fate at the hands of these humans or the next threat over the horizon."

He tapped the tip of his sword to the floor once, ending all his magical theatrics, then returned the blade to his storage place. "Rage!" He said, returning to ogre form.

"What in the world... Lord Wayne... what did I just witness?"

"Just a bit of the divine."

"You... you're not just an ogre... but you're not just a simple human either, are you?"

"Heh, No. Not anymore." He said, glancing at the top of his stats screen. 

Name - Rou (True Name - John Suzy Wayne)

Race - Ogre (High Human/Demigod)

Age - 54 Days (84 Years)

Level - 71/100