Chapter 101: The Advancing Wives (Patreon)

Perhaps, all along the way…

Dragon God Orsted had seen Rudeus's effort.

That absolute, overbearing invincibility, conquering the world with nothing but one's own fists!! Just watching it… stirred his heart beyond measure!!

He had once been the same…

But after far too many twists and setbacks, after being ruined too many times by Hitogami's terrifying methods, and with failures piling up, his upper limit had gradually leveled off. It wasn't that effort bore no fruit. It was only that the results had become barely noticeable.

In that situation… Dragon God Orsted had finally changed his thinking. He hoped to find some helper within the larger scheme of things.

But only now!!!

He looked at Rudeus, who was already this strong and still striving to grow stronger. And he himself had kept pinning his hopes on outside forces.

Wasn't that exactly the situation where Hitogami's grip only tightened until it killed you? How could his abilities compare to a being who sees through past, present and future, who holds every vantage point of the present world, and who can effortlessly sow discord between people!? To set his own weakness against such an astonishing strength.

He really had been foolish!!!!

No wonder that after so many loops and so many years of effort, he was still flatly defeated by Rudeus, who had only strived for thirty years!!!

So…

Gather great power into oneself!!! As long as one has enough strength, one can crush every trick with sheer force!!! Whatever arrangements they made, he would need only one punch!!! And everything would vanish like smoke and cloud!!!

The more he dealt with Rudeus, the better he understood Rudeus's path. And the better he understood it… the more Dragon God Orsted put his full effort back into raising his own strength.

Thanks to Rudeus's recharging, he could use his mana without any restraint. Though the road ahead was slow, as long as he kept advancing, he would reach the end one day!!!

Such a simple principle!! Why, why had he only understood it now??

Standing in the wide courtyard…

Dragon God Orsted kept his eyes closed, and no one dared approach. Alone there, he went back over everything he had ever learned. Better improvement came from better summing up of experience.

Until it all came together…

Until it formed the most stable mental imprint and bodily memory!!!

Breathe in, breathe out.

Faint tremors ran through him, and his body steamed with white vapor. He simply flung his clothes aside, and, bare-chested, began to forge himself!!!

Seeing this, the others dared even less to come near. Faced with the terrifying Dragon God Orsted, no one dared even step into the courtyard.

And so…

In the silent courtyard, only Dragon God Orsted remained, quietly comprehending.

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

After the wives had finished attending to Rudeus, Eris and the others, they gathered again in front of the West Port administrator. They reported to him, down to the last detail, what Rudeus had just said and how everyone had behaved.

Listening to the report from his wives…

The West Port administrator said slowly, "Earlier, on the road, everything was too rushed. I didn't have time to think things through properly.

"But just now, while you were attending to Rudeus and the others, I sat alone and thought about it for a long while.

"Since the esteemed Lord Rudeus will be staying here for a day…

"Then I ask you to serve him with everything you have!!!

"Before this, I didn't care how much you schemed against each other for power and favor. But at this moment!!! You must realize what kind of existence Lord Rudeus is!!!

"Don't be too afraid. Try to open your hearts, and try to settle your minds. Try to find a chance to draw closer to Lord Rudeus.

"I also know there must be spies from other families among you. But that doesn't matter… Every family leaves itself several fallback plans, no matter what.

"Do your best. And when you report, report honestly. If you can truly draw closer to Lord Rudeus, I believe even your own families will be very happy!!"

When the West Port administrator finished giving his instructions…

The wives dipped slightly and bowed in acknowledgment…

Waving a hand, the West Port administrator smiled. "I'll leave the rest to you.

"Whether you can seize this chance depends on whether you have the skill.

"Oh, right…

"Dragon God Orsted doesn't seem to have a companion yet, does he??"

Hearing this…

One petite wife said, a little fearfully, "Isn't His Excellency Dragon God Orsted too powerful??"

At her words, the other wives chimed in…

"That's right, Lord Dragon God is far too powerful!!!"

"Lord Dragon God is a body-tempering cultivator. We're just ordinary bodies!!"

"What if, at the time, he accidentally tore us apart…"

"How terrifying…"

Listening to the wives twittering, each adding her own two cents, the West Port administrator waved a hand. "How you do it is your business.

"I only look at results. You… understand?"

At those words…

The chattering wives meekly gave in. "Understood."

…

…

Time flowed slowly by…

After a full afternoon of effort, Eris, Ghislaine and Nanahoshi Shizuka, their physical constitutions now enhanced, walked out of the room looking thoroughly refreshed.

Rudeus, naturally, came out last. He closed the door behind him.

Rudeus smiled. "I've adjusted Eris's and Ghislaine's bodies so that breaking through to God rank shouldn't be a problem. As long as you keep training hard, you'll get there naturally.

"As for you, Shizuka, your body comes from another world. So even though it won't age, it differs fundamentally from the essence of this world's mana.

"That means that over time, you'd suffer terribly from mana sickness, since your body can't accept mana.

"But after the treatment just now, part of your body's genetic fragments has already been modified by me. After a few more treatments, you should basically be fine."

Eris and Ghislaine nodded happily as they listened to Rudeus's earnest explanation.

Nanahoshi Shizuka, on the other hand, lowered her head, her face flushed with embarrassment.