“You really brought it home, huh. Dragon Emperor Pearl, is it? Dragon Emperor Pearl, let’s see just what you dare to play with.”
Geli tapped Genasa’s head a few times with her knuckles, her tone full of exasperation.
“Like you didn’t take it, too…”
“Hm?”
“I’ll shut up…”
From Geli’s displeased expression, it was clear she really didn’t like this kind of thing.
She reached out and took the halo from atop Karu’s head, which flashed with a blinding light, purifying it instantly.
The Dragon Emperor Pearl, which had been emanating an ominous black aura, cleared up immediately, turning into a normal purple bead.
“That’s better. Well, setting aside the undead, it really is a nifty little thing. It’d be a waste to just throw it out. But don’t keep absorbing undead in the future, it’s filthy. Let me modify it a bit before you play with it again.”
She hadn’t even finished speaking when she suddenly leaned in mysteriously.
“If you really want to collect something, pick the ones you can’t stand. The method is, beat them up until they can’t resist, then suck them in—you can use them as slaves. If their level is low, you can just absorb them directly.”
“Oh ho~ Master, you’re so wicked, I like it, hehe~”
“Hehehe~”
([Picture: Monkey and Old Lord playing around])
The function of automatically marking anyone absorbed by the pearl with a slave seal remained, as did the ability to drain their energy.
Only the target range had been expanded. It was still the Dragon Emperor Pearl, only now upgraded.
Geli was about to start upgrading the pearl when she suddenly sensed something.
“Hm? There’s still something inside? Come out.”
A streak of purple light landed on the floor. It was that half-dead Lich.
Genasa’s eyes widened in shock.
“Wait, why won’t you just die already?”
Why was this lich so hard to kill? Even Geli couldn’t finish it off?
She wasn’t Light attribute, but her level was high enough—this was just strange.
“I… I…”
The lich looked completely defeated and tried to say something, but Geli suddenly shrieked.
“My floor!”
She grabbed two sticks, made a cross, and propped the lich up on it.
“Really, what a mess, bringing all sorts of weird things home.”
Muttering, she stuck her rear out and carefully wiped the spot where the lich had just been lying.
Genasa looked at the lich cosplaying Jesus and asked, confused:
“Master, what is he exactly? Why won’t he die?”
“Him? A high-tier undead. You can’t kill him with ordinary methods—only the followers of the Church of Light can deal with him.”
At the mention of that, the previously listless lich suddenly became agitated.
“I’d rather die than fall into their hands!”
“Huh? That sounds kind of strange. Never mind. There are high-tier undead? And the high-tier ones are this weak? Tsk…”
“Nonsense. But this guy really is odd—by rights, you guys shouldn’t have been able to beat him.”
Zombies, skeletons, wraiths—these types of undead all belonged to the broader category known as the Undead. But the common ones were just low-tier.
High-tier undead were incredibly, incredibly, incredibly rare—almost never seen.
That was because every time they appeared, the Church of Light exterminated them.
The Church wasn’t just specialized, they also utterly hated these dark creatures—zero tolerance.
And not only that, the bounty was high, so people would hand over anything remotely undead for a reward, regardless of who or what it was.
Which led to tragic cases like this lich.
“You said you’d let me die! Let me die right now! Just let me die!!”
The lich, still posed like Jesus, suddenly started raving, prompting Genasa to hurl a small fireball at its head in annoyance.
“Shut up! Seriously, you’re so annoying!”
Turning to Geli, she asked:
“So, Master, what do you plan to do with him?”
“No idea. Keep him if you want, just don’t let him loose in the house.”
She waved her hand indifferently, giving Genasa permission to keep the lich.
“Oh, speaking of playing, Master, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Outside, I’m thinking of making a vegetable garden, and those lizardmen…”
Just like that, Genasa explained the lizardmen situation, and Geli agreed without hesitation.
“Whatever, the outside’s empty anyway. Do what you like.”
“Great! I’ll go bring them over to start planting—woohoo~”
Genasa let out a dragon’s roar in excitement and ran off toward the teleportation array.
Aixi called out a greeting and went back to her room.
Once they’d gone, Geli stared in the direction of the teleportation array, one hand on her hip, sharp light flashing in her eyes as she thought to herself:
Why does that red dragon have Golden Dragon Breath? Could it be connected to that strange surge of energy? Just what is going on here?
How could Geli possibly not have protected them?
Just before they returned to the Crystal Palace, Geli had rushed ahead, sprawled on the sofa bed, and gulped down a swig of wine, pretending she’d never left. She even took the time to turn her upside-down book right way up.
If she admitted to following them, it would mean she knew Genasa’s secret, which might cause a rift. Better not make things complicated.
“If he doesn’t tell me as his master, then I won’t tell him I’ve been following them, hmph.” ╯^╰
At that moment, the quietly observant Karu spoke up softly:
“Master, so you were following us all along?”
“Uh? You’re still here? Ahem… Of course, how could your master be so unreliable? But don’t tell Genasa, he’s too impulsive. This is to teach him to be cautious, you get it? If he knows I’m always there to catch him, he’ll turn into a real troublemaker.”
“Oh~ I see. It’s for his own good. Then I won’t say anything.”
“Mm, it’s our little secret~”
“Yay, it’s a secret!”
Karu nodded vigorously, promising to keep it.
Geli, however, felt troubled for the first time ever, pressing her hand to her forehead as she grumbled inwardly:
Sigh… this kid really puts a mountain of pressure on a dragon. So unique—I have to make sure he doesn’t go astray. If he does, it won’t just be me, the whole world will suffer. Just to be safe, I need some sort of backup, a failsafe. Maybe develop a tool to restrain him, or better yet, raise someone who can counter him.
She glanced quietly at Karu beside her and smiled wryly.
Mm, I’ll have to revise her training plan from now on.
“Little Karu, aren’t you going to play with Genasa?”
Karu pouted, her face scrunched up like a sulky kitten.
“He wants to go play with those lizards. I don’t want to play with those lizards. Hmph, that dumb Genasa.”
“Oh~ Well, since Master’s free, I’ll teach you something special. Come on.”
“Eh? Yay!”
Bouncing happily, she followed Geli out.
Left alone, the lich still hanging like Jesus was full of question marks:
“Why did everyone leave???”
When he was discovered, Geli had erased his memory of these conversations. Even if she hadn’t, he wouldn’t have dared talk, but this way it was absolutely foolproof.
In a secret training room, Geli was giving Karu some private tutoring.
She hadn’t planned to interfere much with Karu’s training. After all, the Golden Dragons’ cultivation system was already perfected; all she needed to do was raise her well.
But now that this mess had cropped up, Geli had to give her some extra guidance.
At the same time, she kept fretting over the mysteries surrounding Genasa.
“This kid really is a puzzle. Even astrology can only glimpse parts of his future.” She didn’t know the specifics, only that Genasa would become tremendously strong and she couldn’t just divinate at will.
Unable to figure it out, she gave up and took out the purple bead, her face softening into a smile:
“Dragon Emperor Pearl… That silly brat really knows how to worry a dragon. Sigh… What else can I do? Since I’ve taken him as a disciple, I have to raise him well, no matter what.”