Ugly Bastard

Noah’s consciousness returned to his body a few hours later, plunging into a world full of sensory noise attacking all his feelings at once. But unlike before, his mind was absolutely calm and unperturbed. He felt the discomfort but nothing overly disturbing to feel nauseous or light-headed like in the past.

He opened his eyes, taking in the blurry world before him and looked around. For the first time in a month, instead of a kaleidoscope of colors and pictures obstructing his view, he saw the real sight before him and a slight smile spread on his lips.

He looked through the blurry screen that filled his view and saw a figure standing near him. Noah rose to his feet and walked toward the figure, feeling the air resist him as if he walked underwater. After just a few steps a sense of weightlessness hit him. It was just for a split second until his body fully crossed through the blurry wall of the barrier, but he felt such a relief as if a mountain left his shoulder. However, that feeling ceased in a split second as if all the pressure he felt was just an illusion.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath for a few seconds to completely return his senses to normal and opened them a few seconds later just to be met with an almost shining delight smile of Zinnia who stood in front of him. Just as Dahlia before her, Zinnia always kept waiting for him outside the barrier, as if being the first to meet him when he returned, was her most important task.

Noah’s eyes momentarily slid down from her face over her entire body in an unconscious move, and he gulped slightly as he took in the sight of her gorgeous figure covered in a very erotic looking maid uniform. 

Unlike Dahlia, who tended to look prim and serious with notes of sexuality in her dress, that made your desire slowly burn from seeing her, Zinnia’s dress seemed to be made to attract the gaze to specific parts she wished to show off, as if screaming “look at me”. 

The dress had interesting cutouts that made the uniform look that it was made more out of strips than out of solid material. Beside deep cleavage cut out similar to Dahlia’s dress, Zinnia also had cutouts on the sides of her chest and hips, showing off her naked skin in such ways that left no doubt that she wasn’t wearing any lingerie underneath it and the thin material of her uniform was the only thing that hid her wonderful body. 

In fact all she had to do was move her leg wrongly and anyone looking would be presented with a good view of the corners of her mounds, both upper ones and lower one. However, Noah knew by now that there were no mistakes Dryad would make in her moves. If they were too sexy to be missed, they were indeed made intentionally for you to look at. 

Could this even be considered a maid uniform still with such sanctity of material? Was Noah’s main question since the day she changed into this get up when she came to the core forest to serve him instead of Dahlia a bit more than two weeks ago. But this style served its own purpose as Noah got to know in this period of time. 

And no it was not upgraded to such sexy or even slutty look when they came with him to the Core forest because “Unlike chill mansion of Threadweaver where they felt cold, it was too hot to wear the usual uniform in the regulated environment of the core forest”, as Dahlia once explained to him with a demure smile, but because she was an unimaginably naughty tease and delighted in Noah’s every dirty gaze thrown at her.

Dahlia loved to have long sessions of love making with an appetite igniting foreplay. She would be taking postures and actions that would ignite passion but at the same time not show a hint that she did it on purpose. She could tease Noah for hours before he would not be able to hold on and drag her to the bed, which she would accept with delight. Teasing was her favorite game.

Similar to her, Zinnia had her own favorite intimate game as well. Unlike her sister who loved a long foreplay, Zinnia was more of a woman of passion and sudden all consuming desire.

She liked to get to the ‘main dish’ in the quickest way and could not bear through the teasing of foreplay, considering it a torture.

Zinnia liked to be taken the moment she felt the passion, which in case of Dryad was almost the entire time, so she had the dress that allowed Noah the quickest access to her intimate part in the quickest way. Which meant immediately. At the peak of her desire she did not have patience to wait for him to undress and wanted him inside as soon as possible. The longest foreplay Zinnia could bear through was for them to walk home, because Noah did not wish to have a public intercourse. 

So the moment they would cross the border of the house she would be bending forward, leaning on any closest wall, while pushing the thin strip of material covering her ass to the side, presenting her holes to Noah, and begging to be filled with his cock in all kinds of naughty words. An offer Noah found himself unable to decline. 

And for that reason the most often pose they used was with Zinnia standing leaning onto anything that was capable of holding them, and Noah pumping into her with his pants barely lowered to his hips, or simply entwining her vine-like lower body around Noah, positioning herself so that Noah could fuck her to his hear content as if she was a thing he could easily lift and used as he willed, after which they would always find themselves on the floor, panting for breath.

With Noah’s current once a day limit, their sexual activity so far had not reached the bedroom even once in the span of two weeks. At most, they could get to the front guest room before Noah would be sheathing his meat pole inside her to the root, proceeding directly to the step of hard fucking the hell out of Zinnia, while she screamed in delight very approvingly of this action, standing on her four in the middle of the room, while Noah pounded her roughly.

Well, that time he pounded her pussy so hard, she was literally thrown forward with his every move and was forced to make a step on her knees to not lose balance. This way they kept slowly crawling toward the bedroom with Noah’s every move and ended up having a mind-blowing orgasm on the floor of the bedroom, so theoretically they did make it to the bedroom once.

Overall, Noah understood that the two sisters were complete opposites in their lovemaking style preferences, which made him often wonder what was the third sister like. He knew he’d most likely find it out soon, as the girls made it quite clear that they desired him very strongly, and his mates not only consented but pushed him to it. But that was a topic of the future. Before any intimacy with one of the sisters Noah made sure to have an in depth conversation just like he had with Dahlia before, to make everything clear about their relationship. So before he’d make any move to Aster, they’d first have a talk.

Returning to the present moment, Noah gulped unconsciously, quickly returning his eyes to Zinnia’s face and saw that her smile spread wider. Her expression showed that she was definitely pleased with the way he looked at her. He knew that if he stayed his gaze for too long, he was risking igniting her passion too much, which he found quite dangerous as he once got to know the brunt of making such a mistake two weeks ago.

That day Zinnia could not hold it and dragged him aside right here near the training barrier, forcing him down and herself on him in the middle of the forest, which turned out to be quite a public place, and left the whole forest giggling behind his back for a long time, making him flush red with embarrassment. And as the gossip of it spread around, he’d had a hard time fending off the interested Dryads, just as Dahlia predicted it would happen. So, although it sounded pathetic, Noah was quite lucky to have once a day limit, which Zinnia made sure to reserve solely for herself and kept him drained at all times. 

More than that Noah even got the idea that she must have time the periods between his recharged states and used up her one shot the minute he was up to business.

Not that Noah had anything against it. The mind training put a high pressure on his mind and after a prolonged meditation he needed to relax the brain and nervous system to clear his thoughts. And what better way to pour it all out than a great orgasm followed by a ‘post nut clarity’? Dahlia’s and Zinnia’s inexhaustible sexual drives were quite helpful to his training regime.

“Welcome back.” Said Zinnia with a delighted voice. “I see you leaving all well and clear minded, so was it a success? Did you finally finish your training?”

“Yeah. I think we can consider my training concluded. I’ve reached my main goal and then some. So, yeah, it was a success.” Answered Noah before turning to walk back to his tree-house.

“So we’ll be going back?” Asked Zinnia.

“Yes. I should get back as soon as possible. We have an appointment with the Archduke of the North, that we’ve delayed for quite some time already. The training took longer than we planned. Making someone of his status wait this much may seem very offensive. I don’t know what kind of man he is and how petty he can be, but better think of him as any other haughty noble and try not to test his patience overly much.” Said Noah with a sigh.

“I see. However, before we leave, you should visit my mother. She wishes to introduce you to someone.” Said Zinnia biting her lips lightly in an uncomfortable expression, making Noah squint his eyes.

“Introduce me to whom?” Asked Noah with a suspicious voice.

“Candidates.” Said Zinnia looking into his eyes.

Noah raised an eyebrow in a wondering expression before his eyes widened in understanding.

“Oh. You mean the…”

“Khemm.” Coughed Zinnia demonstratively, as she looked around.

Noah understood her gesture, looking around as well, noticing some of the Dryads watching them from a distance.

Ever since their “public” lovemaking Noah found himself constantly followed by several Dryads at all times, that would no doubt tell the entire forest of his actions at the end of the day. Noah had a feeling they had some kind of secret general meeting every time he left for home, where they would gossip about him with the entire Dryad society.

At first, he thought it only jokingly, but a few days ago Zinnia relayed him a message from her mother, the Queen of Dryads, forbidding them from discussing the matters of the “world tree” and his agreement with the Dryad Queen, anywhere outside the house, so that the information would not spread too quickly. So he might have been right about secret assembly.

Sometimes the gossipy nature of the Dryads played a bad favor to them, as some of the High-dryads on the patrol in the labyrinth’s forest had found out that even the Keepers family in the Labyrinth had already heard some very undesirable details of the latest events. The youngsters were heavily berated and those that served in Palace Tree were even punished to some degree after that but just to be safe, Noah still was asked to keep from discussing any sensitive information where he could be overheard.

“But, all High-Dryads are already acquainted with me? What’s the point?” Asked Noah.

“From this forest, yes. But well…these two are not from here.” Said Zinnia.

Noah raised his eyebrow, stopping his walk and looking at Zinnia questioningly.

“I had a feeling that your mother wished to keep it to herself.” Said Noah, his word more of a question than a statement.

“The effect of…the asset is very beneficial to her as a Dryad, that she wishes not to share with anyone. But the main purpose for which the asset was rented to us is above her desires and wishes. We are speaking of the survival of the race as a whole, so in the name of the ultimate goal the main purpose of it must be shared.” Answered Zinnia, careful not to mention any vital information about the thing they were talking about while outside, where they could be overheard.

“I see. Her Majesty placed the benefit of the race above her own.” Muttered Noah starting to walk again.

“Yes.” Said Zinnia, nodding.

“And these two guests are the visitors from the other Dryad forests.” Said Noah nodding in understanding.

“Indeed.”

“I am not sure if I know much about the other two Dryad Labyrinths. How are they different? Do Dryads there differ somehow?”

“Basically no. The habitat is different, but they are the same as us. The Great Unending Vines Labyrinth is situated in the rainforest of the South country and the Great Swallowing GrassLand Labyrinth is situated in the taiga wetlands of the North country. But mother would explain it all and introduce the guests to you herself, so there’s no need to discuss it here.” Said Zinnia, pointing her gaze to the side once more.

“Say…there were three sisters, right? So there are only three Dryad Labyrinths as I understand. West, North and South. Eastern beast country has no Dryad Labyrinth? How do they fare against monsters there without it?”

“They have an above ground Labyrinth. Even several, actually.” Said Zinnia, surprising Noah.

“Their situation is a bit different from other countries. After some normal lands, hard land is exchanged with a huge bog. The entire eastern border is one big marshland to the east. So far, even after decades of advance no one saw an end to that huge swamp. It is hard to travel that land, but any normal monster horde seems to have a hard time crossing it too, the swamp is like a barrier for strong monsters from outside."

"That leaves only the threat of monsters born in swamps. That is a lot easier manageable as the hordes are never overly big there."

"In their country they have a Bog Fire Lantern Spirit beast family, which is unique in their fog and mist magic. This power lets them build walls of above ground Labyrinth as well. However, their powers are quite weak, so they can create only weak Labyrinths, several grades lower than Great Labyrinth, that have far less territory under its influence. But because they are numerous they can create many labyrinths. So Eastern country use quantity instead of quality. So to say.”

“Wait, but Labyrinths capture and contain monsters. If a monster is too strong, Labyrinth would not hold it in.” Said Noah.

“Indeed. But they have a sort of solution for it. Only it requires a lot of Guardians. They have no Dryads, but instead they were given a lot more Guardian families than the rest of the countries.”

“What for?” Asked Noah, raising an eyebrow in a questioning expression.

“They conquer dungeons one after another, destroying them and forcing several dungeon pseudo-cores in close proximity of each other to burst at the same time. The overall quality of the dungeons would be lowered when they break. From these weak dungeons they can create above ground labyrinths just like us Dryads, but a lot weaker.  

This way beastmen created a front of weak labyrinths that would contain weaker monsters and only focus on protecting against stronger ones. As they never have to face monsters from far lands, the numbers of strong monsters are low, and they can take them down in big hunting groups. But this method as you understand has many downsides. 

“One is that they need lots of beastmen capable of fighting well in marshes, so they are limited by the strength of their aquatic tribes. Of course there are always lots of casualties."

“The other issue is that Bog Fire Lantern Spirit beasts need lots of water to use that magic of theirs, so the swamp or sea shore are about the only place they are useful at.” Explained Zinnia.

“Wetlands of taiga should be quite wet, no?” Said Noah.

“Yes, but it freezes in winter and their power becomes useless. The Snow Witch spirit beast family of North, on the other hand, that can also build above ground labyrinths is useless because half the time there is no snow in taiga as you understand. We can’t have a seasonal Labyrinth, so Dryads are the only choice.”

“Well, South country has a Spirits family to build an above-ground Labyrinth in sands of desert further south, but….it's a desert. What’s the point of advancing there? Even if there is inhabitable land further still, we can’t protect it because there would be desert between it and us. If that territory is in danger, humans would not be able to help them. It's only a matter of time before we lose that territory once again. So South countries advance in the east parallel to East countries and for that they need Dryads. That's, by the way, the reason they are in a bad relationship with the beastmen. 

You could say they rival the same lands. Just like our country and the North country. StarRain Kingdom faces the same problem with permafrost lands that Southerners with desert and because of that advance in West, rivaling our Moonstar Kingdom for Western lands.

Noah nodded once more, staying silent as he kept swirling thoughts in his head.

There was one main question he still had no answer to. The Dryad family seemed very important to humans at the moment, and even if humanity finds another spirit family capable of controlling above-ground labyrinths, it’s not like Dryads would be instantly thrown aside. So why were Dryad Queens so worried about being destroyed? Their worry seemed to be on the level of obsession even, but Noah could not see any direct cause to that. 

There was something he did not know but last time he asked everyone seemed to evade the topic and did not answer. Dahlia said that it was a matter of the High-Dryads and Queens, so she was not aware of it as well, but she trusted her mother on this topic. All she knew was that her mother became quite paranoid on that idea after the death of the Fairy Queen.

Well, Noah was not going to take his promise back even if they did not answer. Dryad Queen lent her helping hand when he needed and moreover kept his secret, so she more than earned his help.

Yes, she may have had ulterior motives from the get go, but it did not change the fact that he owed her that much.

By now Noah understood that Dryad Queen most likely understood the depth of his system from the moment they met. And logically concluded that he had a Sage type Heroic system just as Ugy explained it recently. After all, she was among the few who knew the previous Sage personally in the past. There must have been some clues that led her to recognize the Sage-type system in him.

However, although she was bound to inform the Central Cathedral about the Sage System possessor immediately, according to the human realm laws, she has not leaked a word about it, allowing Noah to do as he wished. 

She did not mention it to anyone too as that would make her deniability plausible. If anyone suspected anything in the future, she’d just say she had no idea. This still was risky for her and could potentially have repercussions from the Saintess in the future. Of course this action was not selfless; she did it to earn his trust, but it was what Noah desired, and she complied, so he was thankful.

Noah knew that the Sage system was of great concern to Central Cathedral Church after the appearance of the main Hero system, but he did not feel like joining them. At least not now. In the past he may have done it immediately, no questions asked. But he was different now. There were several concerns preventing him from coming out of hiding.

One was that his system had a strong demonic feel to it, that even the Saintess sensed in the past and mistakenly came to destroy him. He could never be sure how church would react to it when they found out the truth about his crazy system. There was a high chance he’d be hunted down if this came to light, so he did not wish to risk it just yet. He was too weak to face them.

Another reason was his dispute with the Shadow squad of the Saintess.

 

Of course if the church was willing to overlook his miasm-like energy using system, that dispute with Shadow squad, where one of their members died from his hands, would be easily forgotten as soon as Saintess says a word. They were her loyal dogs and would do as she ordered. But that dispute raise another concerns that Noah wished to solve before he came out in the open.

Had it been in the very beginning he may have joined the Central Cathedral and Hero immediately and do so with delight, but after the events he’s been through, Noah’s view on the world around him greatly changed.

Noah had a strong feeling of danger, and an intuitive sense of something very wrong about the society, Kingdoms and The Church. It was on the border of foreboding. He sensed a deep dark secret that bothered him in the back of his mind yet he could not put it to words. 

The words of the fake priest who stole divine power from kids, that Noah’s companion met when he saved Samantha, brought a sense of discomfort in Noah when Lilly retold him at some point what she heard. Was he telling the truth about the church stealing Clergy systems? At the very least he wished to understand the depth of this story before opened up to the Church. Because he sensed it would be impossible to find an answer when he would be under constant scrutiny of the Saintess' shadows squad.

Also the death of Fairy Queen and worry of Dryad Queen raised a lot of questions as well. Too much forbodings with too few information.

The other problem was nobility.

Noah never felt it while being raised as a High noble and making almost no contact with commoners, however after went out into the world, there was that sinking feeling that the high class of humanity felt more monstrous than the actual monsters endangering the human kind. 

How come the honor and dignity, his father taught to him his entire life, was actually in far less regard in the noble world than he was told? Was his father the strange one or the society at the moment? So far, from what he saw, the chivalry his father taught to him, was all but dead in High-noble society. 

When Noah was still a naive young man bullied by other Noble kids behind the adults back, for not having awakened his system, he thought it was only bad company he was acquainted with. But could the whole High-noble society be seriously rotten to quite a great degree? 

And if he mentioned his father, then was his death really that simple? Did he really die on the claws of monsters on the battlefield at the frontier or was there more to the story?

That last question most likely would be answered when he returned to his family mansion. He had a creeping feeling his step-mother would know something. Looking as she had a hand in the assassinatinon attempt on Noah’s life, there was a high chance she could have had an input to his father’s and even his true mothers deaths all those years ago as well.

In concern of all that, Noah decided that it was safer to keep quiet about his system and stay hidden for the time being. So he was thankful to Dryad Queen’s silent approval of it, even if she had some ulterior motives for that.

Noah promised Queen Marva to be their friend in any situation and protect the Dryad race, so he felt strongly inclined to help her realize the plan she most likely was scheming, that required her sharing the secret about the Doompine’s branch and its World-Tree-like effect with her other two Dryad Queen sisters. 

“Alright. Let me get cleaned before we visit the Palace tree.” Said Noah walking toward his house-tree.

“And yes, we would have some time for privacy.” Said Noah glancing at Zinnia walking by his side while biting her lips. It was clear what she wanted but she seemed to be holding back from proposing it. She was still his Maid and her master's plans and wishes went before her own. The moment she heard Noah’s words however, her smile almost reached her ears, as her eyes shone with desire.

“Oh boy.” Thought Noah. “I hope she can bear it till we reach the house.” Thought Noah with a light smile on his lips.