BXBX NOVEL Chapter 457
On the skipped page was valuable information regarding the dwarven kingdom. It had minor details about slimes that can only be found in an active volcano.
The ones with rigid body composition, like silver, copper, and gold slimes, to name a few, can only stop hibernating permanently when their bodies stay at a very hot temperature and their texture becomes almost as soft as an ordinary slime.
On the other hand, a few variants like flame and lava slimes could only survive in the volcano.
Dwarves mostly compromise on about seventy-five percent of craftsman-type classes while the rest are warriors. However, they are also able to tame these slimes and live with them.
How it is done wasn’t in the book. It was a trade secret, after all.
The book, however, mentioned how the slimes used by the dwarven blacksmiths would produce work with impeccable quality. Yet it wasn’t very easy to purchase a work with a slime as a material.
Orders of such rare material had to be approved by the dwarven king. It would be devastating to have one of the valuable variant slimes only living in the only active volcano in the world face extinction.
Kazumi remembered how Paradise Island also has a volcano, but it is dormant.
.....
After some pondering for a while, Kazumi guessed it would be better to remain dormant. If it ever happened, many eyes of greed would be pointed at the Lusterfall Kingdom.
Continuing where Vincent left off, the couple last few pages of the book were about the mermen, mermaids, and lamias.
The book mentioned how the coast village owned by the sea-dwellers was planning to allow land-dwellers to visit the old section of their kingdom deep underwater.
The underwater kingdom was the same one the third otherworldly hero summoned by the book of heroes had created.
Gusto stated that the book was ten years old, so Vincent asked Lilith if she knew anything about this.
Lilith mentioned how she read from news articles about a very expensive port where sea-dwellers can be employed to protect ships. They also offer an expensive tour of the old castle where the tourists can’t utter a bad word about their first king, or they will be imprisoned.
Based on what Lilith knew, a large area surrounding the old castle was sectioned like a fish tank for the land-dwellers to breathe artificial air and walk on the sand. How it was done, she didn’t know.
The lamia race is the next noticeable non-human faction with a small territory. Their bodies are half-humans and half-snakes. There wasn’t much information other than hating to receive visitors, and it is a place no one should approach.
Vincent noticed how the last page had a different color. He found out how the page was unattached as it was now in his hand without hearing the sound of a page getting ripped out of a book.
Vincent noticed how the page was recently added, and the handwriting was also different upon a closer look.
After reading both sides of the added page, Vincent and Kazumi thought the contents were a bad joke or a horror story. The page contents were unbelievable, and it was quite similar to a collective of reports.
The pacifist lamia race suddenly became violent, and they began killing trespassers fifty years ago. After a coup d’etat took place by a lamia backed by unknown beings, the once large village grew into a massive city at a rapid rate.
The next parts are what disturbed Vincent and Kazumi.
After the lamia leader of the coup d’etat killed the leaders of the lamias, which to them is similar to a royal family, he enslaved their daughter and made her his queen.
If it was true or not, the enslaved queen had to bear numerous children. Furthermore, no one could touch the queen or the king’s children as if they were his trophies.
However, this wasn’t the end of the horrific story or reality.
The female lamias live in horrible living conditions. They don’t have jobs, and they can’t leave either, or they will be sold as enslaved people or sent off somewhere, never to return.
All the female lamias can do is sell their bodies to the male lamia soldiers and receive a considerable additional reward when they manage to conceive a child.
On the other hand, the male babies would be taken and sent to what the king called the soldier training place. They would later return bearing the slave mark on their necks, and their behavior became aggressive. As if the adult male returning soldiers become brainwashed.
It was a dictatorship that revolved around breeding as many soldiers as possible. This was why the lamia race might have the same strength of a kingdom if this had been going on for fifty years.
At the bottom of the page were a name and a job title. It appeared the writer was a Lusterfall’s diplomatic messenger, but if this was true or not, Vincent and Kazumi didn’t know.
Vincent decided to show Lilith the page, and as he expected, her expression changed.
“This can’t be real, right? How can a hell like that exist if this is true? I had never heard of a lamia kingdom in my life. And this has been going on for fifty years too?” Lilith questioned. She looked both horrified and worried about the lamias after reading how one gender suffered immensely while the other became a living puppet of the king.
“A place built by making the women prostitutes and the men enslaved soldiers. Even the queen is suffering as if the lamia king is taking revenge on her for some reason. It is hell indeed...”
Vincent shook his head. “Let’s go to the library tomorrow and hear what Gusto has to say. How can no one destroy such a place if it really exists.”
Later, Vincent read the page to Ester, Lupa, and Iris. The three of them became horrified to imagine living in a horrible place like that if it was true.
Everyone had a nightmare when they went to sleep. This fueled their determination to grow stronger, as horrible things can happen to the ones defeated.
*Day 120 – 6 October – Tuesday*
The next day arrived after a long night. Vincent, Ester, Lupa, Iris, and Lilith didn’t sleep much. Their eyes were red from feeling restless, and even though they looked tired, their determination fueled their body with stamina.
After running the morning run, Vincent went to the physical class. Biro and Ton asked Vincent about his mastery of Force Shock when he entered their view. It appeared Ollie reported Vincent’s handiwork to Biro and Ton.
The class ended hours later. Vincent was on his knees and in front of him was the self-repairing testing rock repairing an inch-long crack made by Vincent.
Biro looked satisfied with Vincent’s absurdly rapid improvement. Biro knew quite well how Vincent started from nothing. But now, he can show the progress of one or more years in a few weeks.
“Haha. I knew Oliveros didn’t lie about you being a worthy rival. You have improved considerably, much faster than anyone I know of. But I wonder how long it will take you to master controlling the output of the mana the rejection phase forces into one point. Overstraining your body will make you lose your life in a fight.” Biro spoke loudly while feeling proud to have a student that takes training seriously.
“I know... I overstrained my body to save Melissa. I had to use other forms of attacks to compensate.” Vincent said while standing up. He stretched his body and looked at the last few millimeters of the crack disappear as if the rock was never damaged.
“I heard how you resorted to trickery to win in the report or something along those lines.” Biro approached Vincent and placed his hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “But in the end, you still won. Remember Vincent. Trickery is only bad in a fair and harmless fight. However, trickery is needed when a life is on the line.”
“I am proud you will use anything to save a life. That means you already know the path you need to take when a choice is needed.” Biro passed Vincent and continued, “Remember Vincent. Mercy only works a few times. The other times it will bite you back hard.”
[I feel Biro is speaking from experience. I hope he didn’t suffer after giving mercy to some vicious and later suffered from it.]
-I feel the same.-
Vincent and Kazumi stared at Biro, leaving to go near Ton and Ollie. Shorty, an exhausted Nick approached Vincent, and both of them went to wait for the girls.
Later, after the five of them went to Maria’s class and the lesson ended, Vincent headed to the library alone. He had a lot of things to ask Gusto today.
The library door opened, and Gusto looked happy to see Vincent return today. He feared Vincent and Lilith were going to spend a few days reading the book they borrowed.
Vincent didn’t cut any corners. He showed the page to Gusto and asked, “I found this page in this book. Are the contents real?”
Gusto looked at the page and clapped once. “Ohh! So that’s where I put it!” He exclaimed with a surprised voice.
“Please follow me.” Gusto said before going to the librarian’s desk. He later took a seat and continued, “My friend gave me that piece of paper, and I forgot it inside that book.”
Vincent and Kazumi became curious to learn about this friend. Was he someone important or simply a fiction author? Both thought.