Chapter 83: Becoming A Servant with Benefits for The Goddess With Zero Chill?!

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Becoming A Servant with Benefits for The Goddess With Zero Chill?!

Lucien felt nothing.

No pain. No sound. No ground beneath his feet that he could actually see, yet somehow he was standing.

Lucien’s eyes opened onto pure white in every direction, no walls, no ceiling and no horizon.

"...Where am I?"

He took a step but nothing changed. He looked down but there wasn’t a floor, well, technically, and yet gravity seemed to have opinions anyway.

’This is doesn’t look like the dungeon.’

He activated Mana Vision but nothing new became visible, it appeared like there was not an ounce of mana in this place, he tried Sanguine Perception, but again nothing, not even a whisper.

’This is very bad, how the fuck did I end up here?’

"WHAT?!"

A voice tore through the white space, immediately making Lucien freeze.

It was, without exaggeration, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, divine, warm, clear and impossibly rich yet are the same time carrying a weight that nearly made his blood go still. For half a second his mind went hazy and blank with his thoughts sliding sideways.

’What a beautiful,’

’Nope.’ He shook his head hard and dragged himself back, immediately raising his guard against the unknown being. "Who are you?"

Silence filled the white void.

Then, the next second a quiete sound broke the silence "...Oh." A pause. "Right." The voice sounded genuinely embarrassed now. "Mortals."

"What about mortals?"

"I forgot you are all so weak."

"Sorry about that," the voice continued, and the invisible pressure Lucien hadn’t even noticed pressing on him abruptly lifted.

Crimson light gathered several meters ahead, coalescing into a figure, as something resembling a physical body, but not quite right from what his various senses picked up, almost like something vastly larger wearing a shape small enough to be looked at.

And the shape of that body was, frankly, unfair.

She was a tall beauty, with proportions that looked to perfect to be real and were instead sculpted to perfection.

She possessed a voluptuous, hourglass figure that practically radiated warmth and vitality. Her hips flared out in a lush, mesmerizing arc, swaying with a heavy, deliberate rhythm that commanded the eye, as the swell of her chest drew eyes at their fullness.

She wore a loose, sleeveless crimson dress that draped over her voluptuous silhouette like spilled wine, the low cut neckline plunging dangerously to frame the lush, heavy swell of her cleavage. The vibrant silk offered no constraint, rippling over a body rounded to absolute perfection, flaring from an impossibly narrow waist into the rich, sweeping arc of her hips.

Spilling down her back like a cascade of liquid moonlight was her long, silver-white hair, contrasting starkly against skin so flawlessly pale it seemed to glow from within.

Yet, it was her eyes that stopped him cold, they were pools of absolute crimson, bleeding from pupil to iris without distinction, and framed by lashes so thick and dark they cast long, delicate shadows against her porcelain cheeks.

She smiled seeing her body form, and turned to him.

’Flip! She’s beautiful,’ Lucien thought, without helping it.

’This is extremely dangerous,’ he thought immediately after.

"Much better," she said quite pleased with herself.

"You brought me here?" he asked, staying wary of her.

She blinked, then laughed. "No."

"...No?"

"You came here yourself, which is quite the achievement, but let me make sure."

Her eyes suddenly widened, and she circled him slowly, examining him from every angle like he was a particularly interesting insect.

"Wait." She stopped in front of him again. "You actually passed those stupid requirements?"

"Passed what?"

She started giggling. Then laughing, then laughing hard enough to double over slightly, silver hair spilling forward, as he nearly lost himself in her voice, but managed to catch himself.

’What is wrong with this woman, don’t tell her I dealing with another freak or weirdo’ Lucien thought, watching with mounting alarm.

She straightened instantly, eyes narrowing playfully as she looked at hi.. "That was quite rude, little mortal."

Lucien froze confused by what she said. "...What was?"

"You calling me a freak."

"I didn’t say that."

"I know."

"Then?"

"I heard you thinking it."

’So she can read my mind?’

"Yes, yes I can, so mind your thoughts." she said, delighted.

Lucien immediately and forcibly, stopped thinking anything at all, which completely failed as more thoughts glowed through his head than before.

She burst out laughing again. "You can’t just stop thinking!"

"Only the dead have no thoughts, though even that not followed." She said as she laughed some more.

’This woman is terrifying,’ he thought, unable to help it.

"That’s better."

He took a cautious step back. "If you can read my mind, you already know I’d like to leave whatever place this is."

"Mhm, I can tell."

"So can I?"

"No."

"..."

"How do I leave?" He asked eyes narrowed, wondering if he would have to fight her to get out.

"You don’t." She said laughing at his ridiculous thoughts.

"That wasn’t my question." He said, wondering if this was some unique way of getting info out of him and he was actually kidnapped.

She grinned, wide and unbothered. "Lets just say, you leave when I let you leave."

He stared at her and she stared back, entirely comfortable with the silence, and his threatening stare which frankly, to her looked quite funny.

"Are you always this difficult to deal with and I’ve barely known you three minutes."

"And you’ve already decided?"

"You’re reading my mind for me, I don’t have to guess."

"...Fair," she conceded, nodding like he’d scored a point.

She circled him again, slower this time, studying him like a jeweler assessing a stone.

"I didn’t expect there to be a third?."

"Third what?"

"A third to actually pass the requirements." She pointed at him with a flourish. "To become a Champion."

Lucien blinked. "...Champion."

"Mhm."

"I think you’ve got the wrong person here, woman, I’m no Champion just a loving husband that is worried about his wives."

"Nope." She poked his shoulder. "You can be a loving husband and my champion, and it’s definitely you."

"How do you know?"

"You actuvated my token right?"

"What token?" He asked, his thoughts going back to the token he got from the treasure chest.

"Yep, that’s the one." She said and raised one finger as a tiny black-red crystal materialized above it, looking exactly like the one he had, with the blood drop carving and everything

"That’s—"

"Exactly."

She explained it plainly, as she carried on observing him like a mad scientist looking at something they wanted to experiment on.

"This was a something I left inside the Bloodmoon Ruins on a whim, I was sure no mortal would be able to recieve one, so colour me surprised that three mortals actually passed my requirements and got them."

"What conditions exactly, I don’t remember doing anything extraordinary, besides killing the boss?" Luicne asked skeptical.

"Anyone who defeated a boss monster and met a set of much stricter amd complicated and ridiculous conditions."

"Like having the talent, and potential to impress me, and having all this without any kind divine help, and or most importantly meeting whatever arbitrary standard I’d decided counted as interesting at that time, and let’s just say I put some insane things for that, only then would one receive the token as a legitimate dungeon treasure chest reward." She said, curios about how he passed and what requirements he met.

"So not just anyone who kills the boss gets one?" Asked confused about what she was yapping about.

"No."

"Then why did I get one?"

"Because you passed."

"How many people ever have?"

She held up five fingers.

"Ever?"

"Ever."

That landed heavier than he expected.

"Since you have the others, why not let me leave?" he asked making her shake her head.

"What happened to them, did they reject you too?"

"No, they became my Champions, it would be quite stupid to reject." She said smiling.

He relaxed seeing as this would give him a better chance to leave.

Then he caught her expression. "...Where are they now?"

"Oh, most of them are dead."

"..."

She said it lightly, no more weight than mentioning the weather. "Killed in some game or battle, though one did go missing."

Lucien’s jaw tightened, hearing her casually announce that.

She tilted her head, apparently noticing his reaction and his thoughts. "Don’t worry, I didn’t kill them."

"That does not make me feel better."

She giggled. "They volunteered for everything they died doing, I wouldn’t force you into anything."

’This woman is either unhinged or crazy,’ he thought, before he could stop himself.

Her smile vanished instantly.

"Stop."

He froze, already regretting that thought. "...Stop what?"

"Thinking rude things."She said as a thread of pressure leaked from her, barely a flicker.

BOOM.

Lucien’s knees buckled and every instinct and sense in his body screamed one word, over and over.

’RUN!’

But there was nowhere to run.

For one full second, Lucien understood something with total, bone-deep clarity, this wasn’t just a stronger opponent. This wasn’t A-Rank versus C-Rank. This was a difference in level so vast that measuring it made no sense at all.

Then it vanished, just as quickly as it came.

"Better now?" she asked, entirely pleasant again as a smile formed on her divine face.

He swallowed hard. "Yes."

"Good, I didn’t want to slap you out of existence like the other fools."

"So," he said, once his mind cleared and pulse settled, "what exactly is a Champion?"

Her whole demeanor brightened. "Finally, a real question." She clasped her hands.

"A mortal chosen by a God to represent them in the mortal world, they offer their blessings, resources, and various rewards, in exchange for various tasks, though it varies from God to God."

"That sounds more like a servant, than a champion?"

She pointed at him, delighted at his quick thinking, unlike her second candidate who was as stupid a a rock. "Exactly!"

"You’re supposed to disagree with that."

"Why? The other gods may dress it up to sound better than it is." She started counting on her fingers. "Like a representative, Chosen Hero, Divine Apostle, Sacred Warrior, etc."

"But it’s basically a servant with benefits, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise." She said plainly, shrugging her shoulders.

’At least she’s honest,’ Lucien thought, mouth twitching despite himself, making her smile as she heard his thoughts.