Chương 245: Closing In

I opened the system panel listing the offered upgrades and found a rather big list. I remember that the number of upgrades that could show up was a bit random…

More Options - Music Box Upgrade - The music box gains more songs Wire Ropes - Your body forms sets of wire ropes from every wire type owned Self-Use Limelight - Your body forms small lights that can be turned on at will, allowing you to stand out in the dark Even More, Even Better Eyes - More Eyes Upgrade - You now grow even more eyes of different varieties, and they are capable of channelling eye-related upgrades, albeit to a lesser degree than the main two Steel Bender - Your joints can now twist and spin without interruption, allowing you to, for example, turn around by simply rotating your joints and body Smoke Machine - Your body forms a machine capable of manifesting smoke, allowing you to make a quick escape Exhaust Vent – You can store and release pressurised steam Industrial Shears - (L) - Replaces your left arm with large shears capable of slicing through steel Eight whole upgrades to choose from, but…

None of them truly seemed like something Mari couldn't figure out on her own. As shown with 'Alternate Shine', the additions she made didn't even need to correspond to what the final result would be. She had opened up my skull and created a whole new device, only for everything to vanish at the end, once things worked out. As such, none of the upgrades offered to me here seemed like they were worth spending my upgrade choice on.

With how rare such an event had become, I would rather hold onto it than spend it immediately. Back in the day, when I thought that this was the only way to get them, I probably would have picked either 'Steel Bender', 'Even More, Even Better Eyes', or 'Exhaust Vent'. Times have changed, however. I have a personal mechanist now. … Whilst Xlown and I were waiting for our ride to show up, nothing happened whatsoever.

With what my precious daughter had informed me of concerning Golden-Mask, I had expected that he or the mysterious individuals he encountered would give chase, but it did not seem to be the case in the least. We made our escape without a hitch. Xlown told me what the two unknown characters looked like, and they definitely sounded odd, but their looks didn't ring a bell in the least. I had definitely never seen anyone who looked like those two. I would have remembered it if I did.

It must have been a random encounter without correlation to me. In any case, after a few days of travel, we were back at the familiar tower, and thankfully, it seemed like the detective and her troop weren't around. It had been several days since we had left, after all. They surely wouldn't show up multiple times, or at least, I doubt Leou would give them the time of day more than twice at the maximum. She is a busy, fluffy gal. She couldn't have unnecessary visitors too often.

"Miss Leou! Here is the eye" Xlown handed the spherical item over to the snow leopard. Now that it was separated from its owner, this thing didn't look like an eye at all. It just looked like a grey orb of smooth stone.

"Incredible! I knew I could count on you, Maya! But, huh… Judging by your… Current state, I presume that you ran into some danger?"

"I encount–ered another man wor–working for Beliol Azt Mastras. A blo–blood mage of sorts wearing–ing a golden mask–k""Blood magic and wearing a mask made from gold? Was he dressed in all red, too?"

"Yes–es""... How in damnation are you in one piece, Maya? This must have been Holgod. He used to be an enforcer of Beelmart in the past, but he ended up being dismissed because of his actions–He tended to be grossly overkill and had no care for causing diplomatic incidents in his pursuit of so-called 'Fiendish Blood'... He is supposed to be quite powerful""... I didn't know you were this strong, Maya!"

"I have–ve a few tricks up my slee–sleeves, is all""They must be impressive tricks, then" I only managed to survive because my 'Molten Steel Form' is built to resist damage to a ridiculous degree, and he had to greatly exert himself to get me out of it. Even then, if I hadn't repositioned to the spot where the dungeon was, he probably would have shredded me even then. I should thank the soul of that self-proclaimed deity that graciously tried to cook me alive.

Any form other than the 'Molten Steel Form', and I would have been done for without the shadow of a doubt. In any case, since I didn't want to reveal my secrets, I didn't mention any of this and instead just smudged up the snow leopard's cheeks, and this time around, Leou wasn't able to stop herself from purring. She pushed my hands away and retreated a few steps. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I… I'll have the rewards for this mission delivered to your room in the briefest delays" She's obviously in looooove… Come on, Big Sis! Can you imagine how much she would let you touch her fluff if she were your girlfriend? I see that you've decided to use another angle to try to convince me, heh?

It is a good one, as her fur is very much an enjoyable experience, but who's to say that she reacts like this because she has strong affection for me, and not because she is deeply embarrassed about enjoying being touched? I would have you know that a lot of beastfolks do not like being touched by others, they think that it makes them look too much like the animals they represent, and makes them run the risks of just looking like two-legged pets. … You are just saying stuff to annoy me, aren't you?

I know for certain that you know what is really going on here! At this rate, anyway, Leou will eventually make the first step. Will you reject her then? I doubt it! How could my big sister reject such a fluffy girl? We shall see, but unfortunately, even if I were willing to engage in a relationship, I am afraid that I am not really built for anything but being light scratches and petting fur. Mmh…

Whilst Nara was trying to convince me by talking about how Leou would let me touch her tail if we were in a relationship, I informed the snow leopard that I would be possibly unavailable for a little while, as I would be retreating into the deepest place I know: The sewers beneath this city.

"Alright, there is no problem with that, but… May I ask why you need to retreat for a while?"

"It is no–nothing much–ch. I must digest things that I have–have devoured, such as the fiendish blood" I decided to go ahead and use the special blood magic used by this Holgod fellow as a cover for my evolution. Leou already knew that I feasted on all sorts of weird things, so telling her that I needed time and focus to digest something special like fiendish blood was a pretty good way to not arouse any suspicions.

"Alright, good luck then! I'll be bringing Star Gazer's eye to Ergonip. I'll make sure to make him cough up something of value for you!" … It was indeed quite obvious… On this note, I told Xlown to be careful in case her trackers were still around, and put Mari on clownsitting duties just in case. I also left Coco in my daughter's shadow for safety before I headed down into the sewers.

I had explored this place a fair bit and thus knew where to go to find a ladder that would take me to a place even lower than the normal sewers. The ladder I was using was actually one I had created myself using 'Steel Shaping' of my knightly form. This pit was a remnant of something that had apparently been there from before the sewers were constructed. It was just a deep hole that led to a small pocket of empty air.

It had just been there for many years, but now, it would prove useful as a perfect spot for me to evolve. For further safety, I dug myself into a wall, the same thing I had done during my first evolution… Once all was set, I began my second evolution. It had been a long while since I had last evolved. I wasn't certain what to expect with this one… It would certainly come with new innate abilities… The moment the evolution began, I entered a state of dormancy, totally unaware of what was going on around me.

The moment Holgod had run into other people in his attempt to retreat, he had been certain that things would devolve into another fight, but surprisingly, the two individuals had come in peace. Claiming to have come here because of something they had sensed.

"Friend in red. You appear to be a destroyer, but this shall be ignored for today–We are on a mission to find the creature that slew our fellows and burned down the forest we were meant to guard… I am Eldewun, and she is Relewen""As Eldewun just stated, we mean you no harm. We sensed the presence of the creature who committed evil and did us wrong. Would you mind sharing what you know about it?" Holgod remained on his guard.

Those two concealed their strength very well, but he could sense clearly that they each had a frightening presence surrounding them. He had no clue who they were, but he definitely couldn't mess around with these two elves… They appeared to be druids or nature mages of sorts. The male's head was wrapped in flowered vines, while the female's was covered in moss and flowers…

Though it might seem like the best option was to just tell them what they were asking for, Holgod was thinking about the possibilities available if he were to somehow find a way to convince Maeve to join his side. Someone with her abilities was rare, and she obviously was a unique being to boot, but it also seemed like she had a certain knack for getting herself into problems.

Becoming a public enemy for working with Beelmart was one thing, but how did she manage to get the attention of two unknown elven powerhouses? People of such strength were usually fairly well-known to a certain extent, especially if they had such unusual looks to them, but the long-eared duo were total unknown quantities. Holdgod needed to give them some satisfying answers, however. They were peaceful now, but they had already made it clear that they considered him a 'destroyer', which he absolutely was.

"Well… Do you know anything about this monster already, or should I just list everything?"

"We are only aware of what its presence is like, and its affinity for causing forest fires" Holgod truly wondered how they had ended up here with so little information, but he merely coughed into his elbow and began citing basic things about the monster, not mentioning that he knew her name or that the monster was a very clearly sapient woman. Since they seemed to only know of her through a fire she caused, he also only described that giant, molten form she had transformed into.

Only mentioning that she had been smaller at first, but acted like he didn't get a good look at what she looked like previously. His omissions seemingly went unnoticed, or perhaps they judged that the information provided was good enough in spite of them. The only other thing he mentioned was how she had a certain appetite for ghosts, as she had clearly rampaged throughout that dungeon with off-putting ease. Even he would have to be a bit careful with such entities, even if his magic could dispel them easily.

Dungeons weren't exactly known to be easy to explore. The two elves stared at him for several seconds once he was done explaining things.

"Very well. The information you have seems satisfactory enough, your opinion, Relewen?"

"I concur with your conclusion. You may go on your way, you who seek to abandon his humanity" The elf slightly raised her hand, and a most wondrous healing spell fell upon Holgod. The man nodded and quickly left for good. Not interested in remaining near these elves for much longer.

"What odd people… I'll have to ask the old man if he knows who they are" Since they were elves, he presumed that they were much older than they appeared, so perhaps Beliol Azt Mastras would be familiar with them.