Chapter 430 - A Paradise Within Atlantis
William had busied himself with using several Job Classes like Blacksmith, Alchemist, and Wind Mage. When he wasn't crafting or concocting something, he would join the members of his Herd and Legion in clearing up the Dungeon Monsters in Atlantis.
Whenever he participated in the battles, William would always use his Wind Mage Job Class because this was one of the key classes needed to unlock the Elemental Lord Prestige Job Class. In order to unlock this class, William needed to have the four mage classes--Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water--at their max levels.
The Wind Mage was among the first classes that he had acquired many years ago, but had never found an opportunity to use.
After several days of farming experience points inside the dungeon, William and his army arrived at the Boss Room in the Tenth Floor of the Atlantis Dungeon.
The Half-Elf looked at the silver gates that marked the entrance to the Boss Room with a frown.
"Those who want to venture past these gates, know that only six may enter at a time."
The message didn't say anything more than that. William knew that he couldn't take the warning lightly, so he decided to personally choose the members who would accompany him inside the room.
"Only six are allowed to challenge the boss of this floor," William said to his comrades. "I will be one of the six to enter. The rest…"
"I'm going with you," Wendy stated.
"Me, too," Ashe commented.
"I will also go," Est declared fearlessly.
"Wherever the Young Master and my twin go, I go," Isaac said in a firm manner.
Ella took a step forward and nodded her head. She was coming along as well because she wouldn't allow William to fall into any kind of danger.
William scratched his head because his plan to choose who would accompany him was thrown out the window. He could see how determined his lovers were to accompany him into battle, which made him feel like his heart was being scratched by a kitten.
The Half-Elf pondered for a bit before nodding his head. He assumed that since they were just on the tenth floor, the threat of the Dungeon Boss wouldn't be that high. Besides, he could call upon the power of his Heroic Avatar if everything suddenly went South.
"Very well," William agreed. "The rest of you can either explore the previous floors or return to the Thousand Beast Domain. I will notify all of you if something goes wrong."
The members of William's Herd and Legion nodded their heads in acknowledgement. They had complete faith in William so they weren't too worried about the Dungeon Boss Battle. All of them scattered and went to do the things they wanted. Some returned to the Thousand Beast Domain, while others returned to the other floors to raise their ranks.
William watched them go before placing both of his hands firmly on the silver gates that would bring them to the Dungeon Boss of the Tenth Floor of Atlantis.
"... Are you for real?" William's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the scene in front of him.
White sand and a sparkling blue sea appeared before his eyes. Several palm trees stood not far from the shore, creating a tropical paradise that William had only seen in magazines and television.
'System, are you sure that there are no monsters here?' William inquired. 'No Boss Monsters?'
< I've already finished doing a detailed sweep of the surrounding area and detected no strong life force that would belong to a Boss Monster. Only small aquatic animals like fish, crabs, clams, starfish, and a few more harmless creatures are found inside this area.
< I also consulted the records of other dungeons and came to a conclusion. This is perhaps what is called a Safe Zone where adventurers can rest during their dungeon expedition. >
'A safe zone?' William scratched his head.
Naturally, he knew what a safe zone was. He just didn't expect to find it inside a suspected Boss Room inside a Dungeon with a high rating.
"Will? Where is the Boss?" Wendy asked as she scanned her surroundings. She was still holding her weapon firmly in her hands and her guard was still raised.
Est, Ashe, and Isaac were the same. All of them were looking around with their weapons ready to strike anything that would come their way.
It was only Ella who seemed to be at ease in the current situation. She even had that rare satisfied look on her face as she eyed the beautiful beach in the distance.
"Be at ease," William said as he patted Wendy's shoulder. "There is no Boss Monster in this place. It is a Safe Zone."
"Eh?" Wendy tilted her head in confusion. "This is a Safe Zone?"
William nodded. "Since we are already here, why don't we stay for a bit."
The Half-Elf immediately notified the members of his Herd and Legion that they had come across a Safe Zone and would be staying there for the time being. He did this to ensure that none of them would get worried if he didn't appear for a few hours.
William took Wendy's hand and guided her to the beach. Ella, Est, Ashe, and Isaac followed behind him.
The sand under their feet was very soft, and walking over it was very comfortable. William half-dragged Wendy towards the water's edge and allowed the wave to wash over their feet.
The water's temperature was warm yet felt very refreshing. It was at that moment when William suddenly had a great idea as he eyed Wendy and Ashe with a devilish smile on his face.
'System, we can buy regular clothes, right? Those won't cost too many God Points, right?'
< It depends on what you are planning to buy, host. Clothes without enchantments or those that are made from normal materials are not expensive. >
'Okay. Can you compute how much we are going to spend on these items?'
William made a list of items to buy and the system used the God Shop to check their prices.
< Host, it will only cost 2 God Points at most. All of them are made from normal materials, but their quality is quite high. >
'Good. Make the transaction.'
< Understood. >
A minute later, William took out several beach chairs from his storage ring and lined them up on the white sand, under the shade of the palm trees. Next, he took out two bikinis, one blue, the other red.
"Wendy, Ashe, please, wear these clothes." William said as he handed Wendy the red bikini, and the blue one to Ashe.
In the world of Hestia, they also had the so-called swimwear, but they still covered the majority of a person's body. The clothes that William gave to them on the other hand were…
"Aren't these just underwear?" Wendy blushed.
Ashe was also blushing as she held the pieces of clothing that William handed to her. She shared Wendy's opinion and gave William the "pervert" glare.
"Wendy, although they looked like underwear they are not," William corrected. "These are called Bikinis and people wear them to swim."
"I haven't seen anyone wear this while swimming," Ashe immediately countered William's words. "Also, it shows too much skin."
William wanted to remind his mermaid lover that she was practically naked when she was in her mermaid form. Only faint blue scales covered Ashe's chest when she transformed into her true form.
It took him a while to coax Wendy and Ashe to wear them. As for Est and Isaac, William gave them swimming shorts to wear.
After putting on his own swim shorts, William glanced at his four companions who looked uncomfortable in their new swimwear.
The Half-Elf unexpectedly drew a deep breath when he saw Wendy wearing the red bikini, with a bashful expression on her face. The sheer impact of her beauty and the striking red color of the bikini made William feel that he needed a cold bucket filled with ice to cool himself down.
After breaking out of his daze, he immediately composed a five-star review in his mind and told the System to post it on the store where it bought the bikinis. William was very satisfied with it, and was quite thankful that the two bikinis came in different colors.
"H-How do I look?" Wendy asked while covering her chest with her hands.
"Beautiful. Truly beautiful.," William said as he pulled the shy, blonde, beauty into his embrace, "You're not allowed to wear this anywhere else. You can only wear this when it's only us. Do you understand?"
"Un," Wendy replied.
Deep inside she felt happy because he could feel William's desire to monopolize her.
William's gaze then landed on Ashe who was walking confidently in his direction. The beautiful mermaid's charm was just as destructive as Wendy's. Both girls had curvaceous and lean bodies due to the fact that they were always training.
The red-headed boy had a wolfish grin on his face as he pulled Ashe close to him as well. He sighed in happiness as he hugged the two beauties in his arms. It didn't take long before he dragged both girls towards the sea where they frolicked in the blue waters.
Est sat on the beach chair and decided to take a short nap. She wasn't jealous of William spending time with Wendy and Ashe, because she knew that the Half-Elf would make it up to her later.
Isaac, on the other hand, scoured the beach to catch crabs, clams, and fish to cook for lunch.
"I'll prepare a seafood feast for everyone," Isaac muttered as she placed the crab she had just caught inside a bucket. "It has been a while since I ate crab."
She had always liked foraging for food and the bountiful beach was the perfect place for her to put her skills to use.
After half an hour of playing in the water, Wendy returned to shore and laid down on one of the beach chairs. The warm and soft breeze felt so comfortable that it lulled her to sleep.
Ashe, on the other hand, transformed into her mermaid form and pulled William into the depths of the sea, where both of them shared passionate kisses. Ashe made sure to constantly transfer air to her beloved as they danced in the underwater world, surrounded by colorful fishes that served as a beautiful backdrop for the two of them.
The past few days had been hard on all of them. William had busied himself in making acid bombs for the Angray Birds, while Wendy, Est, Ashe, and Isaac, joined William's Legion in exploring the dungeon floors of Atlantis.
They only met up with each other when it was time to sleep. By that time, all of them would be too exhausted to do anything aside from gathering in William's Sea of Consciousness to help him recover at a faster rate.
This was also why William decided to take a short break with his lovers and enjoy this new paradise that seemed to have been made just for them.
Ella had already exited the Boss Room after ascertaining that there were no threats that would endanger William's and his lovers' safety. She returned to the Thousand Beast Domain in order to watch over the three kids who were still fast asleep.
For her, as long as William was happy, she would support him all the way.
When she arrived at the make-shift nest of the three kids, she noticed that Thor's and Ragnar's bodies were glowing slightly.
Ella's expression became serious as she monitored the fluctuations of the magical energies surrounding Thor and Ragnar.
Suddenly, a strong burst of magical energy erupted from their bodies and they floated in the air. The magic crystals inside the cavern emitted an intense light which flew in the direction of the two beasts floating in the air.
Half a minute later, the glowing lights receded and the two beasts landed on the ground. Ella didn't do anything and just observed from where she stood.
Thor and Ragnar opened their eyes and looked at Ella sleepily. Thor shook his head in order to drive the drowsiness away.
Ragnar, on the other hand, blinked twice before emitting a wide yawn. They then walked towards Ella and looked at her with expectant gazes.
Woof!
Ruff!
Ella lowered her head and nuzzled her two grandkids. They were now bigger than before and she could sense that both of them had grown stronger after completing their First Growth Phase.
Thor and Ragnar were quite satisfied with their grandma's affection as their two tails wagged from side to side.
Ella then looked at the coiled up snake inside the nest, who was still sleeping peacefully. Ella wasn't too worried about her, because she already understood that Dia's Growth Phase was still in its middle stages. It would take a strong stimulus for her to wake up from her slumber.
The only thing that Ella was sure of was that, when Dia finally opened her eyes, she would be stronger than her siblings.
'I hope you wake up soon, Dia,' Ella thought. 'War is upon us and William will need your strength.'
Ella gave Dia one last glance before taking Thor and Ragnar outside of the cavern.. The two kids would definitely boost William's strength, and she looked forward to how both of them would perform during their training inside the Dungeon of Atlantis.