Chapter 176: Luxuria (2) (1/2)
”Then, It's time for you to know about your second trial.”
Hearing those words, Sol found that he wasn't as stressed as he thought he would have been.
This was the price he had to pay to keep Camelia alive while enjoying as many benefits as possible.
”Do you remember, back then in order to save Camelia, you should have lost everything? But, in exchange for completing three tasks we would accord the three wishes at the same time, your and Camelia's life became linked. One life for another life. If you die, she also dies.”
”I remember.”
Sol nodded. How could he forget something so important? If that day he had lacked resolve, even the slightest bit, the result would have been very much different.
”Her first wish was for you to form a contract with an S ranked beast, more precisely a Phoenix. Her second wish was for your bloodline to be refined. Finally, the third wish was for you to have permanent access to the Astral realm.”
Luxuria chuckled,
”Your first trial was nothing particularly grand. We just increased the amount of pain you should have felt during the growth of your core. What's more, we made sure that you inherited the chaos attribute of Tiamat. Thanks to it, your body basically possesses a high resistance toward all kinds of magic.”
”What would have happened if I failed?”
”You would have died and Camelia would have followed you.”
”...”
”What? Are you dissatisfied?”
”Would it change anything if I was?”
”No, pretty much nothing. As you are now, you do not have the strength to flip the chessboard.”
”So I am perfectly happy. Your grace illuminates the sun and makes me feel ashamed at my pettiness.”
”...You have become quite sassy recently, haven't you?”
”Learning that you unconsciously flirted with death will do that.”
”Heh, I am liking you more and more. You have grown beautifully in the short time we haven't met. That is why mortals are so fascinating. A few months or a few years are enough for them to become completely different people.”
”Technically, I am not mortal. I am pretty sure I can live a few thousand years.”
”Come tell me that when you can live until the end of time and more than anything, when you stop laying down with witches.”
Sol gave an awkward laugh. Indeed, compared to a goddess, his life span was just a joke. It didn't help that he kept lowering it.
”Before you ask – no, I will not help in stopping the curse. I have promised Asmodeus to not interfere in how he handled them. If you wish to change the destiny of the witches, then try convincing him.”
”I see.”
”Now then, for your second trial, you will have to win the approval of the dragons and officially become recognized as their prince.”
Sol pinched his eyebrows in annoyance. The words of the goddess were simply too much to take.
Raising his hand, he asked just to be sure,
”So, my trial is to make an entire race of beings known for their pride to bow for me in respect and accept me as the second-highest authority?!”
”Perfectly summarized.”
He could only shake his head speechlessly at the shamelessness of the goddesses.
Sol frowned, ”But technically, am I not already the prince?”
Luxuria laughed, the sound of her laugh was so beautiful that Sol felt as if his mind was cloudy. He could feel as if nothing in the world mattered anymore.
'Snap out of it!'
Biting his lips, he managed to wake up from the trance he had been pulled in.
He couldn't understand why he suddenly lost control like this. Last time, he had clearly been able to have an entire conversation with her with no problem.
Of course, it was possible that it had been because she had gone easy on him.
”Heh, your mind became stronger.”
Those words proved his suspicion. Clearly it wasn't just about looking at the face.
The simple fact of facing a god as a mortal should be something impossible for a mortal. So, the goddess most likely controlled her own presence to avoid destroying his mind and had released a part of the control to test him.
Seemingly satisfied with the result, Luxuria waved her hand,
”Coming back to the main topic, all dragons are descendants of Tiamat. Be it second or third generations. Even the four Dragon kings are not really considered as superior to the other dragons in terms of status.”
She let out a small chuckle, ”Superbia did a really good job with the dragons. Their pride does not allow them to accept being ruled by someone simply because of their identities.
The reason why your mother was considered as the princess was simply that she earned it. As such, your identity as Blaze's son will not help you. In fact...I am pretty sure it will make things more difficult.”
A mischievous smile formed on her face as she said this. Of course, Sol could not see it, but he could feel the teasing undertone in her voice.
”Is it because I will be the one to beat?”
He was the son of the previous princess. He was a chaos dragon. He was also blessed.
For anyone wishing to receive the title of prince, Sol was without a doubt an obstacle.
”Oh, there's that. There is also the fact that your mother traumatized pretty much all the dragons and many of the other divine beasts. Hahaha! It was really a sight to behold.”
Sol gave a bitter smile,
'The difficulty went from hell mode to Insane.'
Now though wasn't the time. He could feel the surroundings were getting blurry. It seemed that the goddess was done with him.
That's why he needed to ask.
”What is your goal?”
”You will naturally get the answer when you reach the necessary level.”
”And what is that level?”
”Become a demi-god.”
After those words, Sol could only close his eyes as a blinding white light filled his surroundings.
When he opened his eyes, Sol found himself back in his bedroom.