"When do you think Ru is going to return?" Daemon asked the girl sitting next to him. Jia had been quiet ever since she heard his bold, almost obscene words.
"He already had a Qi-Recovery Pill when he left, so if he used it when his Qi depleted halfway, he should reach Blue-Luan Town in five or six hours with the speed of a Fifth-Stage Qi-Gathering Cultivator. It should take big brother Ru six more hours to sell everything we don’t need and buy what we require—hopefully he’ll find everything at the branch of the Assassins Guild. The journey back should be easier since he has a Gentle-Feather Talisman that’ll let him travel at more than double his top speed." Jia spoke while avoiding eye contact, but she blushed again when Ippo caught her eye, flashing a mischievous smile and biting his lower lip.
Daemon just nodded and finished his meal. "Then it’s up to you to escort Mei and Xia today—and keep your future man safe while I hunt." He caught the flicker of sadness in her eyes but knew she understood: keeping Mei, Xia, and Ippo safe came first.
The girl lowered her head. "As you command, young master Daemon."
Daemon smirked, pulled her into a hug, and kissed her cheek, whispering, "You’re welcome to hug me in my sleep anytime."
Jia’s cheeks flushed. She hugged him back—until she felt another pair of arms snake around her waist!
Ippo’s hands were bold, pressing close, rubbing himself against her backside just enough to make her head steam.
Daemon left his clone to toy with her innocent reactions and retreated to his tent. Instead of wasting time waiting for dawn, he entered Asura’s world to do something useful: help Grunt build more structures at the pitiful campsite, which looked pathetic with only one house.
"Is it time for another Roll already?" he asked himself when he found the six black-and-white tiles floating before him. The Dice in his palm vanished when he whispered the magic word. A glance left showed a desert whipped by sandstorms, a glance right showed a dark void with a massive green planet spinning in its center.
Ding.
The familiar sound snapped him back. Instantly, the Dice clicked. In a heartbeat, the desert and void disappeared. The green planet flattened into a spinning disc that sliced open the void like a blade, then winked out.
Daemon, as always, had no clue what it meant.
He found himself back on his Iron Throne, surrounded by animals of every shape and size—wolves, bears, eagles, hawks, birds, snakes, apes, gorillas, tigers, leopards, cats, boars, aurochs—even tiny squirrels and gigantic Woolly Mammoths and Woolly Rhinoceroses. The mix made him rub his eyes twice.
[Title]
[Lifeguard: Nature Affinity +10]
"
So that’s what happens when my daily Dice-Roll hits 1? Not bad at all!
" He scratched his chin, glancing at Grunt and Runa, who were gathering Armor scraps at the battlefield with a train of animals helping haul bones and metal.
[Restriction]
[Horde Capacity: Food Consumption x14 due to exceeding limit]
'Shit. Not good. Most of these are carnivores! How am I supposed to feed them all now?'
He peeked at his Capacity bar.
[Capacity: 267/20]
"Grunt, Runa!" he called, stomping toward the trees. "Come help me build houses. Big ones!"
"Yes, Lord Asura." The Orc couple exchanged wild grins—Grunt’s savage, Runa’s untamed and striking.
The animals followed them like loyal sheep. The massive ones helped fell trees, the small ones cleared brush. Those who couldn’t work just watched, calm and fed for now.
With Grunt’s strength and Runa’s Crafter talent, one Big House after another rose from the forest floor, decorated with Skeleton bones and scraps from the Spiders and Gargoyles.
Daemon nodded each time the system chimed.
[Big House]
[Capacity +30]
[Capacity: 267/50]
The first Big House taught him the process—by the second, he worked twice as fast. They built nine before the trees thinned into a bald patch of dirt. The animals didn’t care; the herbivores ate the stripped leaves, the predators prowled contently.
Each house shaved the penalty down, from x14 to x12, x10, and lower, until finally the restriction lifted. The animals settled—no longer tense, no longer on edge, no longer one hungry bite from tearing each other apart.
[Mystery Box]
[Open: Yes/No]
The notification hovered just as he turned back to his Iron Throne. A mirage of a box flickered before him—within reach, but it dissolved like mist when his fingers brushed it. Three red question marks pulsed on its lid.
'So the Lifeguard Title wasn’t from my Dice-Roll but these animals choosing me... Should I open it? It’s got bad vibes.'
Daemon eyed Grunt and Runa rushing off with the animals to clean the battlefield. He grunted, double-checked his Inventory slots, and collected his two Spears, three Swords, one Great-Axe, and one Katana.
"I’m an idiot for not using my Inventory slots sooner," he muttered, storing the Second-Best-Quality Weapons and dumping the Inferior ones in Grunt’s pile. "So much Steel and Metal shouldn’t just rust away."
"Grunt! Once you’re done, build the Chief Tent. Runa—use all that material, craft whatever you want."
"Yes, Lord Asura!"
"For the Horde!"
Awoo!
Howl!
Roar!
Screech!
Trumpet!
Daemon rolled his eyes at the Orcs and their riled-up army of beasts. He slipped into the woods, found a quiet spot, and murmured, "Yes."
He braced himself for whatever was inside the box—and whatever mess came next.
Here's a link to my discord server if you want to talk - .gg/HwHHR6Hds
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