Chapter 36 – Drilling part 2

Icicle: Come on, Ganis. Can’t you try a little harder?

Ganis: W-Why? Why can’t I even hit you?

‘He’s finally learning…’

Icicle: Because you fight fair. To survive in this wretched world, you need to act as dirty as you can. Do you know who gets remembered? The victors. They are the ones that write the history for the next generations, after all. Don’t tell me, you thought every battle was fought with bravery and honor? You’re such an amusing paladin…

Ganis: Ridiculing my beliefs, how dare you?

Icicle: How dare I? Your beliefs turned you into an undead. Yet you still have such absurd amount of faith. Ganis, you’re so stupid. The one you had placed your faith in is either dead or imprisoned. Can’t you see that the one in charge doesn’t deserve it? *sigh* Why am I even teaching such a dumb brick…

Ganis: The one in charge may have changed, but my belief will always stay firm!

‘This guy is so devoted… and dumb.’

Icicle: I’m not telling you to forsake your belief… just change the person you’re devoted to.

Ganis: And who should that “magnificent” person be?

With a wicked grin on my face, my [Bloodlust] activated.

Icicle: Fufufu, don’t worry. First, you need to survive my training, then you’ll focus on choosing the appropriate person.

Seeing him shudder a little, I instantly dashed off.
Thrashing Ganis around, I felt quite satisfied. He needs to understand the difference of power to stay loyal.
After a while, I told him to stand up.

Icicle: Now that we had our fun during the warm-up, we’ll start the actual training.

[Block]
{Miss]
[Miss]
[Block]

Icicle: Is that all? You’re forgetting the most important part – counterattacking! Your shield isn’t just a tool used for defense. You can use it offensively, bash someone, stunning him in the process, then continue pulling his aggro. That’s how you become a true paladin, one that is dependable. One, that is worshipped by his teammates…

Seeing a glint in Ganis’s seemingly empty eye sockets, I thought he was ready.

Icicle: Show me what you’ve got.

[Miss]
[700]
[Block]
[Miss]

Hahaha, this bastard is not only dodging, he even landed a hit on me.
That’s good, he’s finally getting the gist of it.

Continuing this training for 3 days, I sent Ganis to duel Tyxx, while making my way to Rapid Fire.

Icicle: How’s it going, Rapid Fire?

Rapid Fire: Pretty well. My squad of 100 will be ready in a month. Do you need anything in particular?

‘So he knew, huh? Seems like the AI isn’t always as dumb and naive as Ganis…’

Icicle: Actually, yes, I do. Your ranged team is supposed to be mobile and have AoE distance attack. Work on it. You can make it a barrage or something. You know, arrows dropping from the sky on unaware travellers and stuff. Can you do it?

Rapid Fire: It shouldn’t be hard. We were once mercenaries too, so we know of some ambush tactics.

Icicle: Fufufu, excellent. You had better train too. Don’t want your underlings to surpass you, do you?

Rapid Fire: Hmph, don’t worry. I’ll be sure to become stronger as well.

‘Playing on his pride, fufu. It’s so easy to manipulate these guys.’

Icicle: Excellent. I’ll be on my way then.

After giving me the “sending off” look, that overgrown archer returned to his duties.
Hearing him shout at his underlings, I wondered who’s the real sergeant here…

Heading in Lord Nimbe’s direction, I saw him being all smiles.

Icicle: I assume you’ve succeeded?

Lord Nimbe: Yes I did. It wasn’t easy, but after a week, it’s done. One more thing, I’ve thought of a new name.

‘I hope it’s not something ridiculous again…’

Icicle: Oh really? Come on, tell me.

Acting surprised, I urged this damn necromancer to spill it out.

Lord Nimbe: What I thought of is… Zexna. How does it sound?

‘Hmm, it sounds a little girly, but that may actually be a good thing. There are many horny men in the world, after all. Maybe we’ll be able to bring some of them here this way… fufufu.’

Icicle: It sounds awesome, Zexna. Finally done with that Lord Nimbe stuff…

Seeing that necromancer jumping a little, I thought of him being a kid… did I just become a babysitter?
I don’t even want to think about it…

Zexna: I’m glad you like it, lord.

Icicle: So, where are they?

*neigh* *neigh*

Showing me his wide grin, Zexna seemed proud of his accomplishment.
Well, he certainly did his work. Let’s praise that necromancer a little.

Icicle: Good job, Zexna. Gather everyone here.

Within the next 3 minutes, every single undead was present.

“What’s going on?”

“Is lord having something to say?”

“Couldn’t he just convey the message through someone?”

Hearing all kinds of whispers, I decided to speak up. No use in keeping them in the dark,

Icicle: [Undead Elite Guardians], step forward.

Ganis and his 300 men stepped forward.

‘Fufufu, such a loyal unit.’

Icicle: Tyxx, how did your duel go?

Tyxx: W-Well, boss, we are both tough. Basically, we couldn’t damage each other enough to cause serious injuries no matter how much we tried.

‘Hahaha, tanks can’t kill themselves, that’s right. Oh well, it didn’t matter who won anyways…’

Icicle: Ganis, take 100 of your men. You’re becoming undead knights.

Ganis: Huh? But we’re paladins!

Icicle: I’ve told you already. If you want to become strong, listen to me. These fine stallions are yours. Get 100 of your men, if there are not enough willing, I’ll draft them myself. You will become our cavalry. It is a noble and honorable position, so take it with pride. Otherwise, I might get a little… upset.

The killing aura that was oozing out of me quickly convinced Ganis.
Gathering his men, they stood proudly before me.

Ganis: We’re ready, lord.

Icicle: Excellent, Ganis, hereby I promote you to the Dark Raider position. Think of it as a Cavalry Leader. You will practice on horseback from now on. First is the charg-

Ganis: I’m sorry to interrupt you, lord, but we don’t have the necessary equipment. We’re lacking weapons.

Icicle: You have swords, don’t you? And you, Ganis, own a spear, so what’s wrong? You’ll be using both of these weapons anyways. In about 10 days, I’ll be gone for few days. That’s when I’ll procure you the necessary equipment. For now, you need to get used to the undead stallions. Practice charging and getting the overall feeling of your new companions. When you get down the basics, we will try all sorts of formations.
Trust me, with this, you’ll be easily recognized. If any of you, [Undead Elite Guardians] wants to become a knight, tell Zexna, he will enlist you. When we gather the necessary horses and equipment, you’ll be able to join that respectable unit. As of now, the rest of you are assigned as a heavy armored infantry under Tyxx’s command. That’s all. Dismissed.

With the undead gone in a hurried steps, visibly happy that they have gotten stronger once again, I logged off.

…

Fan girls: YEEEEEEAH! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

‘Huh, what the fuck is going on?’

Realizing that I’m on some kind of a wooden stage, I looked around.
There was a huge crowd gathered, screaming and jumping as if they were on some popular band’s concert.
It was so loud, that I could barely focus on my closest vicinity.
Turning my head left and right, I was astounded…

To my right, I saw Sixxy. This naga of mine was a drummer, hitting the drums like a professional.
I was really… disturbed.
What I want to say, is that she has 6 hands after all, but no one from the crowd seemed even a little bit fazed…
Despite the awkward situation, I’ve got to hand it to her, she seemed to be doing surprisingly well with these drums.

To my left, Zetra was playing the harp.

‘What the hell? Is this bird for real?’

Doubting my sanity, I continued staring… How is it possible for a large scale permormance like that to have a harp player, much less a Gryphon harp player?!

‘Am I inside Loiterous or something? This has to be it, but this environment is alien to me. I don’t remember coming here, much less involving myself with the entertainment business.’

Seriously, what the hell is happening?!

With disbelief, I looked farther to my right.
Tyxx was playing on the electric guitar, giving an amazing guitar solo.
I have to say, althought this was strange, it was 10 times better than seeing Zetra play the harp…
Finally realizing that there is something wrong with my position on this whole stage, I saw a mic placed before me…

Huh? I’m the one singing? WHAT?!

Fan girls: Doing great, #@#!#!!##@.

‘How do they know my real name?! 

The words that were sung, I have no idea what they were. They sounded indistinct, not making any sense.
Sixxy and Zetra stopped playing their instruments, leaving Tyxx to end it with another guitar solo.
Seeing that the song is about to end, I was about to leave this nightmarish environment.
That’s when I saw Sixxy storming off to the mic located next to me.

Sixxy: I would like to thank all of our fans, especially mine, for coming! It was a blast playing for you today! I hope you can support me like this forever! I love you all!

Fans: Woooo! Sixxy! Sixxy! Sixxy!…

With her name being chanted all over the place, I got myself grabbed by this naga of mine and led behind the scenes.

Sixxy: What are you looking so surprised for, boy? It’s time for my reward for performing so well, is it not?

‘Huh? What the hell is she talking about? Is she drunk?’

I was hurled over to the king size bed.

Icicle: What the hell are you doing, you stupid Naga?

Sixxy was in some kind of a trance, her eyes were blazing red.
Getting my clothes torn off, I got pinned down to the bed.

Sixxy: Enjoying the moment of course *hiss*.

I have to say, I have never imagined that a man can be raped by a girl, unless she uses some toys or torture, but Sixxy was fully capable of doing that without either.
With that snake body of hers, I felt like my lower part was about to explode.
These goddamn convulsions her body made squeezed me dry.
I don’t even remember how many times have I came…
These scenes are all blurred, appearing as mere flashes.

She may have been doing all the work, riding me like a cowgirl, but damn, it was a torture.
If this is how sex with a woman feels, then I guess I’ll pass.
I didn’t even dare to look at my “reshaped” penis…
Feeling that it is a third of what it normally was, I became depressed.
As I was about to look at it…

*huff* *huff*

Waking up in a cold sweat, I immediately headed to the bathroom.
Taking a hot shower, I managed to calm down a little.

‘This goddamn dream will haunt me for the rest of my life.’

Well, there is one way to get rid of the trauma…
Having an actual affair with Sixxy!
Let’s hope she doesn’t squeeze like this, or my body really might not last…

…

Logging into the game, I was still pretty ticked off.
The week I’ve spent with Ganis wasn’t fruitless.
I managed to learn [Water step].

‘Show [Water step]’

[Water step] [Original] [Toggle]
Toggle: 80 mana/sec
Description: Icicle Whitesnow’s original skill. Allows the user to move as chaotically as water. Being an original skill, it has no levels, just the owner’s proficiency in it.

Fufufu, with this and [Gliding step], that is a faster straight line dash, I am able to move like those pros from various martial arts schools.
Getting a little cheered up from my rapid progress, I realized that I have to vent my anger, otherwise I won’t fully calm down.
Imagining a spider web made of water right below me, I focused on casting such spell.

Feeling and seeing the normally invisible to the eye mana lines, I was able to use [Water step] to quickly move through them.

With blue window popping out in front of me, I was pleasantly surprised.

[System message]
You’ve created a new skill, [Water domain].
+15 wisdom.

‘New skill and a stat boost, huh? Let’s check it. Show [Water domain].’

[Water domain] [Original]
Mana cost: 1500
Description: Allows the caster to set up a field, where the specific element is controlled solely by the user.
Current area covered: 3m x 3m. Requires more mana and wisdom to widen the area of effect.

‘Hmm, I don’t know how can that be of any use right now. I mean, are there any Water Mages that can threaten me? Well, maybe it can be useful against water related magical beasts.’

Acquare: *Oi kid, that 3x3m skill of yours, could it be… [Water domain]?*

Icicle: *Yeah, why are you asking?*

Acquare: *How do I tell you this… Having a domain is possible only for godly beings. Us deities and our higher ups all have one. Yours may be just 3x3m one, but if it is real, then you may be in danger.*

Icicle: *The gods surely don’t like having their exclusive skills stolen, huh? Well, it’s not my fault that it actually appeared as such. All I wanted is a field in which I can move freely with my [Water step]. Don’t blame me for this skill coming out of this experiment. Not to mention, only after one cast… I had to train like 2 weeks to even turn [Water step] into a skill!*

Acquare: *It may be related to your peculiar class and subclass. Oh well, it’s not like we can do anything about it. Keep your head down, kid. Using such a skill may be seen as opposing the gods. You don’t want to incur their wrath now, do you?*

Icicle: *I don’t, having one of the light element to deal with is enough. Thanks for the heads up, Acquare.*

‘God’s domain, huh. Pfffft. She’s definitely fucking with me. How could that even be useful? It’s just an element contro-‘

Dear god… If it really is a total control over the element, doesn’t it mean that I’m invincible near the water resource?

‘Well, until it’s dried up…’

Hmph, no wonder it is called godly. You can create water from the mana in the air too.
Can this Mana manipulator class be related to this? I mean, it’s called Mana “manipulator”, so maybe it’s a part of the class’s skills?
I got some for becoming a Water Mage, like [Water whip], [Rain of healing], [Cure poison] and so on.

This is definitely weird. If someone is framing me to battle the gods, he’s doing a good job.
I may have to confront them whether I like it or not…

Sighing inwardly, I could only think the following.

‘Why is it always me…’