"I will give you your first command."
"What is your command?"
"I will give you a map and money. Come to the port city of Tebura within a week. That city will soon be under my control."
"So you're telling us to abandon this place..."
Pethas's expression became complicated.
For Pethas, this place is his hometown. Having never ventured outside, the outside world is both unfamiliar and frightening to him.
"You must have felt stifled here as well."
"That's true, but there's no place as safe as here."
"Safe?"
I sneered at his words.
"If this place were truly safe, I wouldn't have had to come looking for you, and you wouldn't have become slaves. As Malef said earlier, this place is not your paradise but merely a refuge."
"...."
"Don't worry about the journey to Tebura. With my name and money, you can hire mercenaries to ensure a safe passage."
The mercenaries aren't fools; they won't dare to mess with a Pruckus. And just in case, I gave them a magic communication device.
"Prepare to leave. I know there's a secret magical passage leading out of Hughes Snow Mountain underground."
"Y-You even know about that...!"
Pethas seemed utterly shocked. The secret passage is one-way, and only a few dwarves know about it.
"And that golem..."
"Do you mean the Great Golem King?"
"Yes. That golem with the ridiculous name. Make sure to bring it. I've taken a liking to it."
It was too large and heavy to fit into my inventory. It was also too big to fit into Yuria's shadow subspace.
But it would be a waste to leave it behind. If hacked, the golem can exhibit its original specs, making it a potential trump card.
"But the Great Golem King isn't in great condition. It might be better to dismantle it and make another golem..."
"Tsk. Pethas. Are you questioning my orders?"
"My apologies! I will ensure the Great Golem King is safely transported to Tebura, even if it costs me my life!"
"Good. Prepare quickly. As for the rebellious dwarves... educate them as you see fit. If their attitude doesn't improve, I'll have no choice but to hand them over to a torture specialist."
Some of the rebellious dwarves lowered their eyes at the mention of torture.
Dwarves aren't immune to pain. As sentient beings, they naturally fear torture.
"Hurry up. You have one week to reach Tebura and build my mansion!"
***
While the Frost Hammer Tribe dwarves were busy preparing to leave, Yuria and I headed outside the village.
'My first goal in coming to Hughes Snow Mountain—enslaving the Frost Hammer dwarves—has been achieved.'
Now it's time to achieve the second goal. In a way, this is even more important than enslaving the dwarves.
I looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling was made of stone, with holes scattered here and there. Some of those holes lead outside. Of course, there are barriers in place, making it nearly impossible to enter the cave from the outside.
'Let's see... It was described as a hole surrounded by three others in the north... There it is.'
The hole I was looking for wasn't hard to find.
'The dwarves never bothered to investigate the ceiling.'
Dwarves have no interest in ceilings. Their focus is on the underground where they can mine ore.
Since they can obtain ore by digging underground, there's no reason for them to risk digging through the dangerous and difficult ceiling.
'In the original story, Kyle tried to escape through there and stumbled upon it by chance.'
I took out climbing gear from my inventory. The ceiling was quite high, so climbing without equipment would be difficult even for Yuria and me.
"What's up there?"
"Hehe. Something amazing."
With no monsters to interfere, we climbed into the cave in the ceiling relatively easily.
The first thing that greeted us upon entering the cave was the humidity. The deeper we went, the more humid it became, and the temperature dropped. This was because the cave was connected to the outside.
We found the cave's exit. And there, we discovered a pool of water emitting steam. Around it, snow that had drifted into the cave lay piled up.
"Is that...?"
"A hot spring. A natural hot spring."
I grinned as I looked at the natural hot spring.
"Was Hughes Snow Mountain a volcano...?"
"No. This hot spring isn't due to geothermal heat. This hot spring is where the spiritual energy of the Dragon's Vein in Hughes Snow Mountain flows out."
Spiritual energy. In other words, it's where the natural mana flowing through the earth emerges. The hot spring was naturally formed because of this mana.
"At least 1,000 years. The mana flowing from the Dragon's Vein has been concentrated in this hot spring water."
Listening to my explanation, you might think this hot spring water is some kind of miraculous elixir, but in reality, it's not that extraordinary. The water pooled there is simply melted snow, which turns into steam and evaporates. Then, more water flows in from outside to form the hot spring. Because of this, its actual effects are less impressive than you might think.
'Still, it's true that the essence of this mountain's spiritual energy is contained in that water.'
In the original story, Kyle called this hot spring "Dragon's Vein Water."
"Yuria, take off your clothes and get into the hot spring. Then, practice the Yeongcheon Breathing Technique inside."
"Yes, Master."
With my limited talent, I wouldn't be able to properly absorb the spiritual energy of the Dragon's Vein Water.
'Even if I did absorb it, it would have no effect on me in reality.'
It's natural that bringing the Dragon's Vein Water back to reality in a container would drastically reduce its effectiveness.
'I decided to raise Yuria, so I don't need to feel regret. Yuria is my strength.'
With Yuria's talent, she could achieve even greater effects than Kyle in the original story.
Yuria began to remove her maid outfit. I watched her undress with heated eyes.
I've seen her undress countless times, but it never gets old, and it always makes my heart race.
Swish~
Yuria removed her white lace panties, becoming completely naked. Her pink, tightly closed labia and the adorable clitoris wrapped in her skin came into view.
Her pussy is always kept clean due to my orders for hair removal. I nodded approvingly as I looked at Yuria's snow-white skin and firm buttocks.
'I'm always indebted to her.'
Yuria folded her clothes and placed them on the ground. She stood composedly despite the cold wind blowing from outside.
"Master, would you like to join me in the hot spring?"
"I'll join you after you've absorbed all the spiritual energy."
Even if the spiritual energy of the Dragon's Vein Water is absorbed, the mana flowing from the Dragon's Vein won't disappear, so the hot spring itself will remain. It just won't have any spiritual energy.
"Yes. Then I'll get in."
Yuria entered the hot spring. The hot spring wasn't very deep, only reaching up to her pelvis. Yuria sat down in the hot spring and crossed her legs. The water was transparent, so her posture was clearly visible.
Yuria closed her eyes and began practicing the Yeongcheon Breathing Technique.
'In the original story, Kyle gained about 40 years of internal energy here.'
In reality, hunters value the quality and usage of mana more than its quantity.
'Additionally, any injuries to the body would also heal.'
An hour passed since Yuria entered the Dragon's Vein Water.
There were no visible major changes. She was still focused on her breathing technique with her eyes closed. I glanced outside. It was dark. The sun would rise in about two hours.
'Huh? The mana...'
I could feel the mana around Yuria's body, flowing in and out repeatedly. It didn't feel dangerous. There was a sense of rhythm to it.
'Wait, what's that?'
Crackle! Crackle!
Electricity began to emanate from Yuria's body. It was the power of the Yeongcheon Style that I was familiar with—Lightning. The problem was that this lightning was black, unlike the lightning I knew.
'Could it be that Lightning and Shadow have merged?'
The black lightning flowed through Yuria's body and then disappeared into her shadow.
After that, time passed without any further changes, and Yuria opened her eyes, revealing her blue pupils.
"Yuria! Did you succeed?"
In response to my question, Yuria smiled softly.
"Yes. I succeeded."
I looked at her. Her appearance hadn't changed. At my level, I couldn't tell how much stronger she had become. Additionally, Yuria was skilled at hiding her true strength.
"My magic has fully reached the advanced level."
"What about aura?"
"Similarly, it's at the advanced level. However, with a bit of a breakthrough, I might be able to reach the peak level."
"On the verge of reaching the peak level? Impressive."
I was genuinely surprised. She had gone from being an intermediate-level aura expert to being on the verge of reaching the peak level in an instant.
This exceeded my expectations. Perhaps it's possible because she's a genius.
'Maybe it's because of the Yeongcheon Breathing Technique.'
I stopped overthinking. What mattered was that she had become incomparably stronger than before.
Above all, Yuria's naked body was right in front of me.
I quickly stripped off my clothes and walked toward her in the warm hot spring, my member swaying.
Whoosh!
A cold wind carrying snow blew in. My body shivered involuntarily. I quickened my pace and entered the hot spring.
"Ahh. It's warm."
It was slightly hot, but the cold air outside made it feel even better.
"Master, shall I prepare some wine?"
"Yes. I feel like having some chest wine."
"Understood."
Yuria took out a bottle of wine from her shadow.
It was a high-quality wine aged for about 10 years, produced by the famous winery Flavit Vineyard in the Rapherry Kingdom.
Yuria covered her ample chest with one arm and poured the wine into the valley formed by her breasts. The wine pooled on her chest without spilling.
"The wine is ready."
Her chest approached me. I buried my face in the valley of her breasts and drank the wine in gulps.
"Ahh! I can't resist."
After downing the wine in one go, I pulled her into my embrace.
"Ahh!"
Yuria cooed in my arms. She sat on my thighs. Despite being taller than me, she deliberately leaned back to maintain a lower eye level.
I didn't mind her coquettishness.
I brought my right hand to Yuria's cheek. I gently caressed her cheek while locking eyes with her. Her blue eyes, which seemed to draw me in every time I looked at them, were filled with anticipation.
"Master, hold me."
Yuria's pink lips parted, and a sweet voice emerged. She occasionally makes such requests—asking me to hold her, kiss her, or hold her hand.
"If you want me to hold you, I will."
I didn't refuse her request. It wasn't a difficult request, after all.
I wrapped both arms around her. Her head buried into my face, so I couldn't see her expression. I could only guess from her steady breathing.
'Erogenous zones check.'
[Yuria's Erogenous Zones: Pussy, Cervix, Mouth, Breasts, Armpits.]
There are five erogenous zones in total. All of them are zones I've developed. I feel satisfied every time I see them.
'I recently developed her armpits. While working on her chest, I accidentally brushed there—who knew it'd become an erogenous zone?'
The armpits weren't intentionally developed. One day, I became fixated on her clean underarms and played with them until they became sensitive.
'Maybe they were naturally sensitive. Even if I hadn't trained them, Yuria's armpits might have become erogenous on their own.'
I slid my left hand into Yuria's armpit. Smooth and hairless, perhaps from the hot springs, her skin glided under my touch. With practiced fingers, I began stimulating her.
"Mmmph…"
Yuria let out a low, nasal moan.
"Master's hot cock is pressing against my stomach."
My dick, already erect, pushed firmly against her lower abdomen.
"Oh?"
My right hand moved next. Gliding over the curve of her waist, it slipped into the cleft of her pale, rounded buttocks. My middle finger teased the rim of her anus before thrusting into her pussy.
"My fingers can feel your burning cunt."
***
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