Fantasy World - Chapter 13 (Older Edition)

The journey back to the Academy was an experience Han didn't want to experience again. With the inability of the party to transport themselves to the Academy, Han needed to go with them. Though it did allow him to spend time with Selestra and his creations, it was a slow method of travel.

A part of him wondered if he should introduce a series of transportation arches throughout the various nations. This would not only benefit him in not having to deal with long journeys, but it would help the overall economy.

The reason why the nations on Earth were able to grow so quickly was that of the improvement of the flow of information. The creation of the Internet may have been the greatest of humanity's contribution. It also was nice being able to view quality adult material whenever you wanted to.

After resting for several days upon arriving in Academic City, Han was informed by the Academic Company that the Student Council had summoned him. It was a little odd that they would need to see him unless it had something to do with what occurred inside of the ruins. Han imagined that the Princess hadn't informed the Council, but there were possible elements inside of the Academy whose job was gaining information.

Exiting the elevator and arriving on the floor of the Student Council, there was a cute looking secretary that was waiting to greet him.

"Welcome. The Studen Council would like to extend their appreciation for agreeing to meet with them. All members are waiting inside the conference room." The secretary informed him and guided him to his destination.

As Han was following the secretary, he admired the amount of work that went into this floor. With the polished granite columns and all the marble, it did appear that the Council had a decent amount of wealth. Han thought it was quaint, considering the resources that he had at his disposal.

After walking down the long hallway, there was a large doorway which automatically opened to present a grand room.

There was a long crescent table with all the members of the Student Council waiting to meet him. He noticed Val, the Lady Knight, was sitting at the table. Seeing Han saw her, she gave a quick grin before masking it.

In front of the table, there was a large seal positioned to likely indicate where those summoned were meant to stand. As he stood in front of the table, there was a long silence from the Council. Han was curious if such treatment was designed to intimidate him.

Sitting at the center, there was a person with black hair and an angular face who looked like they were used to being respected. With how these organizations were like, this man was likely to be the Student Council President.

Han merely looked directly at him, and patiently stood there waiting until the man decided to address him.

It may have been petty to have a staring match, but if there was anything Han learned in his life was how small power battles helped to set the pace of future ones. If this man felt he could use his power as the President to influence Han, then Han would have to deal with such an annoying event each time they interacted with one another.

"Yi, I have heard some great things about you, from Council members and students. Valessandria, who is in charge of the Disciplinary Committee, has mentioned you in a previous report. We are grateful that you decided to attend the Academy." the man finally said.

"Yes. As President Nathanial has mentioned, we are very impressed with what you have done in this institution." A woman sitting next to the President added in.

"I am curious about what these things are that I have contributed?" Han innocently asked.

"There is no need to be humble, Yi. We have heard from your teacher, Ha-Yoon, how you were the one responsible for saving all those students during your exploration into a monster's nest." The President replied, hinting he would prefer Han to mention what happened at the ruins.

"It was only natural for me to defend my classmates in that situation. I never intended to do such a thing to receive recognition from the Student Council." Han nonchalantly said. "If such recognition is all that I was summoned for...," he began to trail off.

Han glanced over to see how Val was interpreting his actions, to try and figure out if the Council had another agenda aside from what happened inside of the ruins. It was always a good policy to never volunteer information, and in his, position Han felt it was a good idea to follow such wisdom.

Judging by how Val seemed to be a little on edge with this whole event and didn't appear like she wanted to be here. Han thought, "I am going to guess the way your eyes keep darting over to Nathanial, he is the source of your annoyance."

Without being given a dismissal, Han began to turn around as if he was going to leave.

"We requested your presence to discuss the events taking place inside of the ruins in the Sinking Swamp." The President spoke out.

Han made himself look confused, and asked, "What exactly did you wish to talk about?"

Han could see that the President was getting annoyed with Han's evasive methods.

Nathanial sighed and said, "We heard you had an encounter with a dragon, which may have had a connection to the Overflow."

"We did not get any additional information related to the Overflow, but we did meet with a dragon who was weakened after appearing out of an orb." He tried to downplay the events in the ruins. "Aside from the dragon, there was not anything on the inside the explained what happened there. It was fortunate the dragon was as weak as it was or we would not have made it back." He grinned, trying to pass it off as luck. The academy knew he was powerful, but it was unlikely they knew how powerful Han was.

"Hmmm..." Nathanial looked to be deep in thought about how to proceed with this information.

Looking over at the woman next to him, he leaned over to her and began to discuss something. The woman kept glancing over at Han, then to Val.

This went for some time, but once they finished with their side discussion, the President turned back to Han.

"Though it appears you were very fortunate about what had occurred, the Council and I believe you will be able to assist with a particular task." The President looked at Han.

The whole thing felt a little fishy to Han, how they have an assignment for him just as he defeated a dragon and returned from a ruin linked to the Overflow.

"Very recently, the monsters in the area have been behaving strangely. There was the incident when your class visited the local monster's nest, and nearly being overrun by them. Besides, we have had reports of other student being attacked, with several major injuries and deaths."

The President looked grieved by the news, saying, "We have tried to assign adventurers to investigate this matter, but we have yet to hear back from them." His eyes looking down at the table as if hoping for a solution.

It didn't take long before he looked happy to have found a solution to his issues. "Considering how you performed in previous expeditions and the recent incident with a dragon, the Council requests for you and the Lady Knight to go and investigate this matter."

"I hope you will assist us in this manner, to help prevent any more of your classmates encounter similar fates as others." The President requested, looking very conflicted in sending a student to go on such a mission but confident in his decision.

A loud slam echoed in the conference room. Han saw Val standing up and looking angry.

"President! To not include any of the Academy's troops or request for adventurers is foolish and dangerous! Regardless of Yi's magical abilities, there is no reason to expose him to this level of danger!" She yelled.

"Lady Knight," Nathanial said, using her official title in the Council. "We have gone over this, and the Council has determined both you and Yi, along with your troops, would be sufficient protection against any dangers. I will request that the Lady Knight composes herself, especially during an official meeting." Nathanial's voice was cool, but with an edge to it.

Val glared at the President but seeing there was no point in fighting it eventually returned to her seat.

"Yi. What will your answer be to our request? We understand we are requesting a lot from you, but we are lost on what to do. We hope you understand the position we are in." Nathanial asked, again.

Grinning on the inside, Han said, "President, though such a mission is likely beyond my ability, I do not like to see my classmates suffer from attacks. I will go with Lady Knight to investigate what is going on."

----------

Nathanial watched as Yi accepted the mission from the Council, though he was annoyed at how Yi kept on evading. Along with Vice President Claire, Nathanial had learned about the Fourth Princess's expedition to look into the ruins inside of the Sinking Swamp.

When he learned about how Yi had defeated a dragon, Nathanial was surprised but later became suspicious about it. A dragon was a creature with considerable power, especially one that was found inside of an ancient ruined city.

Though Nathanial was hesitant about believing Yi's account of the battle, common sense dictated Yi's testimony was close to the truth. "To believe otherwise would mean...," He shook his head, not wanting to consider such things.

"President, do you think it was wise to sent Yi along with the Lady Knight? He does provide us with a material revenue stream." Claire cautioned him.

Watching as Valenssandria was talking with Yi, and how close they seemed to be, Nathanial replied, "in the long run, I believe it may be better for us if he goes with her."

---------

"Hey, Sally!! You awake yet?!" A loud voice and banging noise woke her up.

Groggily, she looked around the room, trying to remember where she was. Instead of huddling next to a building, Sally saw pillows and stuff animals surrounding her head, laying on top of a comfortable mattress with an incredibly fluffy blanket wrapped around her.

She was inside a room that was decorated in things she was interested in. Posters of her idols hanging on the walls, her favorite being of the Lady Brittany leaning against one of her massive swords while wearing a cute outfit.

Sally remembered the first time she was able to see Lady Brittany. Lady Brittany was walking around the city with those who work inside of the Stronghold. Later that day, Lady Brittany announced the Master of the City was going to build a museum to display artwork created by those living in the city.

Sally thought it was amazing how the Lady was able to create beautiful works of art, while also being so strong. A couple of months back, Sally got to watch her idol and Lady Queen spar each other inside of the Education District, where there were buildings allowing students to fight one another in front of an audience.

The way the two of them fought was like watching a dance, where they anticipated the other and countered. Lady Brittany wore heavy full-bodied armor, using a large sword as her weapon. Lady Queen had light armor and used a bladed whip.

Sally wished she could have something allowing her to watch that scene over and over again. Someday, Sally knew she would be someone that Lady Brittany could rely on and help defend this city.

"Sally! We're going to get into trouble if we don't get to morning practice on time!" The voice brought her back from her thoughts.

Trying to get the sleep out of her eyes, Sally walked over to the door and opened it to see one of her friends standing there looking agitated.

"Kim, we have plenty of time before morning practices begin. You worry too much." Sally sighed and invited Kim into her apartment.

Seeing Sally still in her pajamas, Kim's eyes bulged. "You're not even ready!?" Kim said a little hysterically. "This happens every time! You're never ready, so we end up having to run to the Training Center!" She lectured Sally, who was heading back to her room to get ready.

Opening her closet, Sally looked at the various outfits she now owned. Many of them were for her school-related activities, though there was a growing number she had just because they looked cute on her.

Choosing a training outfit, she laid it on the bed before going back and grabbing her school uniform. Her training gear was composed of light leather armor, a white shirt, and pants. The shirt had a five-pointed star in front of a crescent moon. The training gear and uniform had this over the left breast, giving her the sense she belonged to something.

Peeling out of her pajamas, Sally started to put on her training uniform. After putting on her shirt and pants, the process of adjusting the leather armor felt empowering, like she would be going into battle at any moment. It was a feeling she never had on the streets, having a sense of duty.

Walking over to her desk, she grabbed a storage ring given to all citizens and placed her various books into it. Inside of the ring had a variety of snacks she enjoyed after the morning training was over. Looking around her room, she checked to make sure nothing was left behind.

Leaving her room, Sally saw Kim sitting on the couch and looking through the magazines she had placed on the coffee table. She discovered these magazines while roaming the Shopping District, and finding a store that had posters and other fan-related items.

The magazines went over the latest fashion trends and had little pictures of famous people living in the city. There was also news of various events going on, which meant there was always stuff going on for people to enjoy.

Looking through the magazines in the store, she saw they had each of the Floor Protector, the highest position next to the Master in the city, posing for photos. There was one magazine for fans of Lady Brittany, so Sally made sure to purchase several posters and the magazine.

When Kim looked up and saw her all ready, she said, "This time we may arrive a little early." Kim sighed in relief from dodging the lecturing they'd had received for being tardy.

"Why don't we stop by and grab some food before heading towards the Eduction District," Sally commented to Kim, as she locked her door.

They walked down the street and headed towards one of the stores serving quick foods, often eaten by students on their way to school. During breakfast, they offered a food item called a breakfast burrito, which was an unleavened flatbread made out of flour. The inside was filled with scrambled eggs, sausage, peppers, and spicy tomatoes all rolled up with the bread. It was very convenient to carry around and eat on the go.

As they picked out the food for breakfast and waved to the shop keeper, Kim looked at Sally. "You know if you keep eating that in the morning you're going to end up gaining weight." Kim teased her.

Rolling her eyes and taking another bite out of the burrito, Sally said with her mouth full, "With the amount those teachers train us, I don't think I have to worry about gaining weight! Also, the teachers stated we need to eat more protein to gain muscle." Swallowing the food, she stuck her tongue out at Kim.

As they walked, they saw some of their classmates who were also in their club. They waved headed over to them.

"What's going on?! Is the world ending, Sally arriving at training on time?" Kate, a cat-girl around Sally's age with blonde hair and brown fur exclaimed with mock surprise.

Due to arriving at the city at around the same time, Kate was in almost all of Sally's classes. The city didn't only divide people based on age, but also when they arrived in the city. This meant not all the schools started at the same time. There were plans to eventually coordinate the different buildings so they all began the year at the same time, but currently, those were in discussions.

"I think it's good that Sally is going to be on time so that we don't have to do extra laps around the training grounds." Ashley, a tall brunette with a heart-shaped face who was a year ahead of Kate, Kim, and Sally said. Despite looking tomboyish, she had a very feminine figure which she often tried to play down. Many girls in the class had a crush on Ashley and would follow her around.

As they talked about various topics, related to club activities, school, and plans after school, they arrived at the entrance to the Education District. At the entrance, Ashley was dragged away by her fans who were also a part of the club. She looked back at them with pleading eyes, but they mercilessly ignored her and wished Ashley luck.

The training grounds were near the city walls, which was convenient to aim at when practicing magic. Near the training grounds, there was a relatively large building where various sports clubs could weight lift and get ready for class or when they finished and were headed home. Having this type of environment was new for Sally, being able to train and rest in a high-grade environment.

Each of the genders had different training grounds, and at the end of the year, there was a competition among them. Though she always thought boys were stronger than girls, Sally learned it wasn't always strength that led to victory. Using the abilities she developed while living off the streets; Sally was often good at tricking opponents.

Even with her skills being above average, Sally wished she was more like her idol, though she learned she just didn't have the massive power Lady Brittany had. She may not be as powerful, Sally did learn she had an affinity for shadow magic as Lady Brittany did.

Using her abilities, she was able to control a person's shadow and slip inside of them. Inside of a shadow, Sally could travel between locations making her deadly at night.

Sally's favorite weapon was the chain and sickle, allowing her to sneak behind an opponent and wrap them up before going in for the finishing move. In addition to her main weapon, her skils at using projectiles, such as daggers, chakrams, and bow and arrows were significant.

Using her skills, she would often play pranks on classmates and scare them. Even the upper classmates couldn't detect her using their magical skills, which were stronger than hers.

The training grounds had sections based on the activity. There were areas for sports and military based activities. Sally's club was located inside of a portion of the training ground inside of a giant black cube structure, which seemed to absorb all the sunlight.

Inside the cube housed different dimensions depending on their training. Sometimes there was a giant city, ruins, jungle, or desert. Sally enjoyed when they trained inside of the city because it reminded her of when she was sneaking around looking for things to steal. The cool thing was how their instructor could change the weather and time of day.

Entering the structure, Sally, Kim, and Kate saw it was set to the city mode. Their instructor was sitting on top of one of the buildings, waiting for all the club members to arrive. Her instructor's eyebrows went up when she saw Sally arriving early to morning training.

"What do we owe this pleasure for the Princess to come so early," She asked shocked. Sally was somewhat famous for sleeping in and being difficult to wake up on time. This was why everyone gave her the nickname Princess, cause Sally seemed to show up when she felt like it.

"Sometimes even I can show up early, Instructor May," Sally innocently answered.

Instructor May snorted at her response and jumped down from the top of the building, the ground kicking up dust from the impact. "I guess I can't complain if you're going to do what is asked of you, though I hope this is a sign of you coming on-time more often." She sighed in frustration.

"Will we be doing urban training, today, Instructor?" Kate asked.

"Can't you see that for yourself? This morning we'll be doing night infiltration. When all your club members arrive, I'll divide you up into two teams. One team will be the home team and try to protect the sensitive documents, while the away team will try and gain the information on those documents." Instructor May said while Kate groaned.

Kate was weak in urban infiltration and preferred training in the jungle, due to her affinity for nature magic.

"Stop your groaning, Kate. You need to get used to all environments, not just the ones that you're strong in." their instructor said.

Kate's tail drooped down as Kim patted her on the back, to cheer her up.

When everyone was inside of the structure, Instructor May said, "As I said, we'll be performing a night infiltration exercise. I'll form two teams of ten, with one group tasked with protecting the information and the other group tasked with gaining the information. To keep things fair, if three members of the infiltration team are discovered, then the other team wins."

"The time limit is one hour, so if the defending team can last that long or discover three members of the opposing team then they win. For those of you not on a team, you'll be watching on the screens so pay attention. If I see any of you making similar mistakes, then you will end up running around the training grounds until I say so." She looked at each of them to drill in how serious the training was.

Sally watched a few of the under classmates wince from bad memories of running until it was night.

-------

Sally limbered up as she waited for the opposing team to get into position, deep inside of the city. The location was never the same, so Sally's team would need to efficiently sweep the city and find where they were located quickly.

Clapping her hands, Ashley said, "Okay. Sally, Mindy, Tiffany, and Sarah, the four of you are going to be in charge of finding where the other team is hiding the documents. Kate and I will wait here, while the rest of you go with each of them and make sure they aren't spotted."

"Once one of you discovers the location, you'll let the rest of us know so we can head over," Ashley instructed, being the more experienced member, she was often the one to lead the team.

There was a large fireball that flew through the air, signaling the timer had started. Sally and Kim rushed down the main path where they entered, along with the three other pairs. Signaling to the others, Sally took the first street that diverged from the main street. One of the first things you learned during classes was the use of hand signals to prevent enemies from learning your position.

Even though the city was bathed in darkness, there was a light simulating the moon. Sometimes they would have to go through the city in near-total darkness, to simulate conditions where the sky was overcast. This time, they were lucky to get some light.

Speeding down the street, Sally could see doors and windows blur as she passed by them. There were occasional wagons and other obstructions laid out, so the two of them had to be mindful of such things.

As she was dodging obstacles, Sally was using her magic to sense for any shadows belonging to a person. Her ability allowed her to sense the shape of shadows, and she learned very early on about how shadows belonging to people felt different. Even a beast person's shadow seemed different compared to animals.

This allowed her to locate opponents better whenever she traveled in between shadows. Using such methods took up a lot of mana, so she had to be careful not to waste it.

Going down different streets, Sally started to feel someone nearby. Raising her hand to signal Kim to hide, she tried to get a better sense of where this person was located.

Squatting against a wall, Sally closed her eyes and concentrated on the nearby shadows. In her mind, there was an image of her surroundings. A hundred feet away was the feeling of a person hiding inside of a building.

Sally tapped on Kim's shoulders and formed a circle with her index finger and thumb, placing it so that she could look through it, to indicate her spotting an opponent. Raising one finger, Sally let Kim know how many there were.

Kim nodded her head in acknowledgment then made a verticle chopping motion followed by two diagonal chopping motion, to let Sally know to proceed and eliminate the target.

Feeling the shadow wrap around her body, Sally sank into the ground and merged with the darkness. Inside of the void, she will herself to move towards where she sensed the person. It was like flowing through a viscous liquid, the darkness flowing around her body. Closing in on her target, she could feel a presence.

Reorienting herself in the darkness, Sally stuck her head out of the ceiling directly above the person's shadow. Remembering about being yelled at by the instructor for appearing out of the person's shadow, she utilized the strategy of showing up somewhere they least expected.

The first few times she poked her head out of a person's shadow, they'd be looking directly at her with a surprised look. This was due to the person feeling something was off and being alerted. To a person who was watching out for such a tactic, Sally would always face failure.

Looking down, she saw it was one of the inexperienced under classmates. The individual was looking out of the window while trying to keep themselves hidden but failed to remember about people like Sally who could use shadow magic.

Dipping back into the shadow, she smoothly emerged from her target's shadow. Slipping out a dagger and placing the blade against the person's throat.

Once the person felt the blade on their neck, they hung their head down to indicate they knew they were killed. Those who were "killed" were forbidden from talking, so if there were more than one, in the immediate area, the person that died couldn't alert the others. Making a sound after you died led to an automatic forfeit for the entire team, and was strictly enforced.

Sally tapped on the person's back to cheer them up, before jumping out of the window and landing on the street. Kim, who was monitoring the situation, saw Sally and rushed over to where she was standing.

Spreading her hand out and then quickly clenching her hand into a fist, while moving her elbow towards her body, Sally let Kim know that it was a success.

Moving further, Sally continued to sense more people from the opposing team. Each time, depending on how many there were, Sally and Kim would dispose of the guards. So far they had eliminated five members, so they were confident of getting closer to where the information was located.

Knowing they were probably getting close, the two started to slow their pace to avoid being detected. In front of them, there was an innocent-looking building that wouldn't look like it would be advantageous for the other team to place the information. What made Sally suspicious was the three people located inside.

Hiding behind a cart, Sally indicated there were three people, but the placement was odd.

Trusting in Sally's instinct, Kim moved away to request for aid and how they may be near where the information was located. With the timer, they couldn't be too cautious, or they'd run out of time.

Sally was worried the three opponents had placed themselves specifically to spot anyone using shadow magic. Though her ability was convenient, there was a small opening where she was vulnerable. This was when she was sticking her head out before her eyes could assess the situation. If an opponent was watching out for someone with her ability, they could throw a dagger and kill her.

After several minutes had passed, she could feel three people heading towards her. This was likely to be Ashley, Kate, and another member.

Moments passed before Sally could see Ashley, Kate, and Mia, who went with Tiffany. It was likely that Tiffany and Mia hadn't run into anyone, but just to be safe Tiffany stayed behind to continue mapping the city.

Ashley made several signals to ask what the situation was.

Sally repeated what she informed Kim and about how they were likely positioned to spot her if she were to use her shadow magic.

Getting a grasp of the situation, Ashley indicated for them to approach the building from all four sides and watch out for other opponents.

Moving towards the building, Sally kept an eye out to prevent being seen. One of the nearby buildings cast a shadow onto her target, so she moved towards the shadow.

Instead of diving into the darkness, she partially submerged her hands and feet. This provided her with the ability to climb the side of the building and also stay aware of her surroundings.

Heading towards the window that was close to where the three were at, she pulled out a small mirror from her leather armor. Carefully moving the mirror the image of the room was seen. Even if she couldn't see what was inside, she saw enough to spot where they were looking.

On the desk, papers were laying on top. With the three too focused on watching out for her team, they didn't watch out for the primary objective. All that needed to be accomplished was to get ahold of the documents.

Moving to a shadow that was closer to where the documents were placed, she reached into the darkness and could feel her hand sticking out. In her hand were pieces of papers to take the place of the documents she was aiming for.

Switching out the information for the paper she was holding; she pulled out the documents. Looking at the contents, Sally reviewed the necessary information. On the page was a string of numbers, which she carefully jotted down on a blank page she pulled out in addition to a small pencil. Once she was finished, Salley switched the documents for the blank pages.

Completing the mission, all she needed to do was get back to the instructor to win the match. Rushing away from the building, she used a mana crystal linking her to the team and said, "Abort! I have retrieved the documents! Am now heading to the rendezvous location!"

As she was rushed towards her destination, she could sense her teammates meeting up with her, in addition to the remainder of her team slowly catching up. Flying down the long street, they all converged with one another and headed towards the entrance together.

The moment they crossed the threshold, Instructor May fired off another fireball to indicate that the match was over. Everyone cheered and clapped at their win.

Sally was congratulated by everyone, as they waited for the other team to arrive. Upon their arrival, the instructor indicated for everyone to quiet down.

As the club members began to stop talking, the instructor looked at those who weren't in the match and asked, "What went wrong for the defending team?"

There was a long pause as everyone tried to think about the match and what happened. A short girl with green hair raised her hand and said, "The defending team lost sight of the main objective, and got distracted."

Instructor May nodded her head, an impressed look on her face. Looking back at non-players, she asked, "What did the infiltrating team do correctly?"

The same girl raised her hand and said, "Once upper classmate Sally realized she was able to copy the documents, even though her team was getting ready to move, she took the initiative to go for completing the main objective."

"Yes!" Instructor May clapped her hands, agreeing. "Remember, you will often be placed in a situation where you have to make a decision, whether you stick to a plan or adjust when the situation calls for it! In this match, the objective was the document not to take out the opposing members. Even though eliminating enemies sounds more impressive and displays your skills, you need to keep the objective in mind."

------

After being dismissed, everyone headed towards the building next to the training grounds. All that waited for them was a nice hot shower before they headed to class.

Sally chatted with her fellow club members, some who offered advice based on what they saw and others who wanted to hear how she was able to think about grabbing the documents and winning the match.

Inside of the building was split into three hallways. One of the hallways led to the weight room, another to the relaxation area, and the final to the showers. Sally walked with Kate, Kim, and Ashley, as they discussed where they did well and areas they could improve.

"If it wasn't for you, Sally, I don't know if we could have completed the objective. Looking at the screen from the opposing teams perspective, they did a good job of having all the angles covered. If there were an additional member, they would have probably spotted you taking the documents." Ashley said, pondering about how they could have proceeded.

"I know that I wouldn't have been able to complete the mission," Kate said sounding depressed. "I don't have a surefire way to finish them off in such an environment."

"Don't worry, Kate. We'll work with you to get you ready." Sally assured her. Even though Sally and Kate were sometimes competitive, they both respected one another and seeing the other succeed was always a win-win scenario.

Entering into the locker area, Sally went to her locker and opened it up. Hanging up her school uniform and undressed out of her training clothes. With her sweating, the clothes had a noticeable odor to them. Quickly storing her dirty clothes into the storage ring, she headed to the shower area, grabbing some towels off a nearby cart. There was already steam drifting out of the area, as her classmates washed off the grime with hot water.

Going into one of the stalls, Sally hung up the towels and turned on the water. Holding onto the top of the walls of the stall, she just let the hot water flow off of her body. It felt soothing, the water forming a stream as it ran down between her breasts and continued down her front.

Just standing in hot water made her remember all those times she had to wash in cold and dirty gutter water. Afraid of people seeing her wash, she would have to leave her shirt on as she rubbed herself with stolen soap. It would always end up with her spending the day soaked and shivering.

If there was one thing she started to understand, early on as she developed into a woman, was being clean helped her to attract assistance from guys, cause many of the girls just stayed dirty.

Her physical appearance was what caused them to want to help her, though they were also hoping for something extra. She would often be scared about one of the guys forcing themselves on her, and not being able to fight back.

Remembering such events made her grip the walls of the stalls until her hand began to tremble with the strain. Sally hated how afraid she was on the streets, and never wanted to put herself in such a situation again where she felt helpless.

After calming down, she grabbed some soap and began washing. The soap foaming as she rubbed her arms and the rest of her body. Draping her hair to one side, she began to apply shampoo to it.

Rinsing her hair, she grabbed some conditioner, slowly worked it into her hair. Letting the substance do its thing, she stared up at the ceiling. She couldn't help but chuckle at how she now had access to things like shampoo and conditioner, allowing her hair to be as smooth as silk.

Turning her back to the faucet, she enjoyed the feeling of the water as it flowed through her hair and down her back. She closed her eyes in bliss from the sensation. Her hands ran from her forehead to the nape of her neck, guiding the water to rinse off everything, even her memories of the past.

Turning off the water, Sally grabbed the towels and wrapped one of them around her torso while the other was used to wrap her hair.

Getting out of the stall, she went over to the giant mirror where different makeups and creams were placed for the girls to use. Grabbing a bottle of cream to moisturize her face, she leaned towards the mirror to make sure that it was rubbed into her face.

Removing the towel from her hair and letting it fall, slightly damp. Sally looked at herself in the mirror. Compared to when she first arrived, Sally had eaten better, and her body was starting to fill out.

The towel clung to her wet body, showing she had more curves than when she was living on the streets. Seeing how her physical appearance was vastly better than before, she smiled thinking how all this was thanks to the Master of the city. He had created this paradise, where she didn't have to worry about eating and having a place to belong.

From her storage ring, she took out the letter she received on her first day in the city. Her fingers ran across the words on the page, and she remembered finding out this letter wasn't something everyone received.

Sally remembered going back to her apartment after learning no one else had been given a letter when they moved in, and how happy it made her.

Looking into the mirror, seeing her figure holding the letter she understood only one thing. For the hundredth time, Sally swore she would do whatever it took to repay everything the Master had done for her, regardless of the consequences.

--------

Han watched as the surroundings around them began to change, from being a lush forest to nearly devoid of any life. There was a definitive smell of sulfur in the air, indicating they were getting close to their destination. They had spent weeks going around and investigating monster attacks, especially ones that were strange compared to the norm.

Their investigations led them towards a volcanic area called the Devil's Cradle. For a long time, this area had been a place locals had avoided due to the harsh environments and tales of people disappearing.

Due to how often such reports were given and finding out nothing, no one had thought to investigate this area. Though the incidents they looked into didn't have a direct relation to this location, there were hints about something suspicious going on.

"This smell is pretty strong! Like someone had left out a million eggs and let them rot." Han commented holding his nose.

"Stop your complaining," Val said to him sounding frustrated. This journey was taking its toll on her, especially with how Han was acting.

"Master, would you like me to prepare something to hold over your nose?" Brittany asked, her voice sounding concerned.

"I have a handkerchief that you can use, if you want, Yi," Selestra offered.

"How could I possibly need something, when I have two wonderful ladies sitting on either side of me." Han laughed as he placed both of his arms on each girl. They were currently riding a plush cart which seated two comfortably, but Han had all three of them sit, so it was very cozy.

"Yi's smelling my body," Han heard Selestra murmur as she giggled.

The more time Selestra had with him, Han had noticed her personality changing. When he first met her, she was very arrogant and controlling, but as she spent time with him and after that passionate exchange she has been becoming a little obsessed with him.

At night, she would hold him tightly so her face was buried in his chest and he would hear her smelling him. He only thought that this kind of scene appeared in hentai, so he was pleasantly surprised by how she was acting. With her submissive personality, which wasn't caused by his ability, it was a turn on. They had already spent a couple of night with all his other creations, enjoying long passionate nights and sleep until it was early afternoon.

Han enjoyed watching how Queen would take control of Selestra and command her into doing various sexual acts to him. He didn't enjoy having someone act dominating, but seeing those two was enjoyable.

"I will always be near Master," Brittany cooed. While Helania was away, Brittany was making sure to take care of everything. Having Helania gone was something he thought about, but her task was necessary so he could only be patient until she returned.

"You really do enjoy letting the world know how close you are to all the women in your life." Val snorted in laughter. Val had told him on their journey how she heard students talk about his constant displays of affection, making him laugh. Compared to other nobles, who were sleazy with their mannerisms, Val informed him how she thought it was adorable the way he showed such affection to those he cared about.

During this trip, Han and Val learn about one another and formed a strong friendship. Han learned about Val's childhood and what happened to her parents. Though Han was vague about his background, Val understood he was a private person and didn't try to pry.

Seeing how good Val was to Han, those in Han's group became close to Val. Han would also enjoy joking with the men Val brought along. Her people had developed a strong sense of Han and also Brittany.

With Brittany, many of them tried to duel her and lost horribly. Instead of getting angry, they enjoyed the challenge and improved their capabilities. Now, whenever they stopped for some time, Brittany would have several men ask if they could duel her and get some tips.

"I think the only type of environment I have yet to see are polar regions and jungles. Do you know if they exist on this continent?" Han asked Val.

Looking back at him, she said, "Yes. Further up north, past the Empire, there are areas covered in snow, while past the desert there are dense jungles."

"Maybe I should go visit both locations, so I can say I have experienced everything this continent has to offer." Han mused to himself.

Up ahead, there were several of Val's men who were heading towards them. As they got closer, they slowed and saluted to her. "Lady Knight, we have discovered a large opening, leading to a deep tunnel. Based on the tracks surrounding the entrance, we believe this is where the disturbances could be originating."

"Thank you, Captain," Val said. "What do you think, Yi?" She asked.

"This seems like a good lead for us to see if there is any connection with what the locals are saying, and also to the increase in unusual monster behavior." Han agreed.

Val signaled for her men to follow her, and they began their march towards the entrance.