NOVEL WEB Chapter E010 – Fealty and Vassal
[Ebremus Tower]
The digital clock in the game interface showed 18:04 PM.
Hecate stood within the confines of the Ebremus Tower, the atmosphere heavy with the lingering presence of dark magic. She took a deep breath and began the meticulous process she had just completed moments ago.
Switching to her +10 Superior Lunar Wand, she began the process of creating another clone. The repetition of these steps was necessary, as casting spells using the Eldritch Bone Wand itself would cost her -5 Karma, regardless of the spell. This forced her to use the Lunar Wand for the initial creation before raising them with dark magic.
With the first clone, Yuna, already made, Hecate proceeded to create nine more. She took a deep breath as she raised her wand and spoke, her voice laced with a dark but refined tone,
"From the shadows of mana, I summon thee, Duo, the second of my children. Rise and serve."
As Duo materialized, she kneeled and spoke with the same eerie calmness as Yuna,
"I have risen, Mother. Your will is mine."
Hecate nodded, satisfied with Duo’s response. She then repeated this process eight more times, each time switching wands and creating a new Mana Revenant. With each creation, she named them in sequence:
| • Tria (three) • Quarta (four) • Penta (five) • Sesta (six) | • Setta (seven) • Octa (eight) • Nova (nine) • Deca (ten) |
After the final clone, Deca, was created, Hecate didn't waste any time.
She immediately activated her Territory Skill, Royal Command, her voice resonating with authority,
"Swear your fealty to me, and your names shall be etched in my Royal Prerogative as my vassals. Refuse, and I shall redefine our bond—your existence within my territory will remain, but your purpose will change."
The idea of killing them never crossed her mind. After all, they were her daughters, crafted with care and a cost of 15 Karma each. It would be wasteful to destroy what she had invested in.
One by one, the Mana Revenants, beginning with Yuna, responded in unison,
"We swear our fealty to you, Mother. Our names, our wills, and our lives belong to you."
Their unwavering loyalty was clear, and Hecate felt a sense of satisfaction as their names appeared within the Royal Prerogative skill.
Hecate quickly operated the interface to grant them access to the facilities within Ebremus Tower. This permission allowed them to impart their skills into the Territory Skills, integrating their abilities into the tower's defenses and resources.
Hecate’s first command was directed at Yuna.
"Upgrade the skill Extremity of Primary Elements in your Skill Tree to Lv10 and then impart it to the crystal in the center of the room," (Hecate)
"Understood, Mother. I shall complete the task immediately." (Yuna)
Yuna nodded, her expression calm and focused.
The skill upgrade was quick, but when Yuna approached the crystal, Hecate noticed something. Yuna and the other Mana Revenants had inherited Hecate's Spell Remote Activation skill, allowing them to impart their skills without direct contact with the crystal. The range, even at Lv1, was 10 meters—more than sufficient for the task.
However, as the impartation process began, Hecate frowned at the time displayed: 62 days.
"This is too long..."
As expected for a suspected tier 4 skill, it took a very long time to impart. However, she couldn't wait that long, her mind racing to find a solution.
Determined to find a way, she turned to Duo.
"Duo, repeat the process just as Yuna did. Let’s see if it changes anything."
"As you wish, Mother."
Duo nodded, her gaze steady.
But when Duo completed the task, nothing changed. The time remained at 62 days. Hecate frowned deeper, realizing that since Duo started from the same point as Yuna, it was a wasted effort.
A thought crossed her mind.
'What if Duo starts from a different point in the skill? If they work from different angles and combine their results, could that shorten the time?'
Hecate instructed Duo to impart the skill from a different starting point. As Duo carried out the command, the results were immediate—the time was reduced by half.
A satisfied smile played on Hecate’s lips.
"It seems cooperation has its benefits. If each of you starts from different points and combines your efforts, we might reduce the time even further."
She then ordered the remaining Mana Revenants to do the same, joining Yuna and Duo in their efforts. Following her orders, the Revenants began to impart their skills from various points.
The result was remarkable—the time required for the process dropped from 31 days to just 6.
Hecate concluded, pleased with the outcome.
"This is acceptable... Since you are undead, you don't need to eat or drink, so this time frame should be manageable."
The Mana Revenants followed her orders without hesitation, dedicating themselves to the task.
With the process underway, and nothing else pressing to occupy her time, Hecate searched a good place to sit. She then opened the forum interface and began browsing. Her attention caught by a rapidly trending topic.
Forum| <img src="https://emojiguide.com/wp-content/uploads/platform/google/43455.png" alt="" width="16" height="16" /> | ||
| Topic: Food Processing Department Building Destroyed—Three Colossal Spiders Emerge! | ||
| < Genesis Guild Lounge | ||
| ▷ Anonymous-××××× | Undisclosed | Undisclosed (Lv??): This catastrophic event has resulted in the deaths of 24 Players and 7 Native workers inside the building. Additionally, 33 Players and 26 Natives outside were injured by the explosion's impact, causing chaos in the surrounding neighborhood. Fortunately, the city's Safe Area mechanism protected those outside from fatal injuries, though it was not enough to save everyone inside the building. Luckily, the colossal spiders were merely carcasses. Primary suspect, Bubbles, along with several FDP members, were arrested and sentenced to pay compensation and repair costs for everything destroyed, including the resurrection fees for the 7 Natives who lost their lives. ▷ SHOW MORE | ||
| ▷ Anonymous-××××× | Human | Knight (Lv16): Man, those spiders were huge! I saw them close, and they're at least ten times bigger than any spider I've seen in-game! | ||
| ▷ Anonymous-××××× | Werecat | Beastmaster (Lv21): Did you guys notice? Hecate-chan’s name is mentioned in the report. She’s the one who hunted those spiders. | ||
| ▷ Anonymous-××××× | Human | Paladin (Lv65): How on earth did she take down something that big? What level are those spiders when alive? | ||
| ▷ Anonymous-××××× | Human | Knight (Lv16): She marked in the item description that the carcasses were enormous. FDP screwed up trying to process them. She’s off the hook. | ||
| ▷ Anonymous-××××× | Werecat | Beastmaster (Lv21): Gotta say, I’m impressed. Hecate-chan must be crazy strong to handle something like that. | ||
| ▷ Anonymous-××××× | Human | Paladin (Lv65): Poor Bubbles and the rest of FDP team. Next time, maybe they'll think twice before messing with colossal spiders. | ||
Hecate's eyes widened in surprise as she read the report.
A strange expression crossed her face when she saw the accompanying photo. Those colossal spider carcasses... weren't they the ones she had hunted just a few days ago?
Curious, she scrolled down further and, as expected, her name was mentioned in the discussion. Fortunately, the blame did not fall on her, as she had clearly stated in the item description that the carcasses were enormous and could feed hundreds of people. The fault was declared to be entirely with Bubbles.
As she read through the comments, she noticed various reactions: some were awed by the sheer size of the spiders, others speculated on what level the spiders must have been when alive, and a few wondered how Hecate had managed to take them down.
She closed the forum window with a complicated expression.
"Well, since I'm not at fault, there's nothing to worry about,"
Hecate then opened the Group Chat interface.
The Guild Group chats, "Genesis Guild Members" and "Seven Stars," she only glanced at briefly before losing interest. There was no important information for the time being.
However, Leon had sent her a Private Message, telling her his plan to claim the Rosenweil Kingdom’s throne.
Private Message| From: Ascension: Leon |
| To: Ascension: Hecate |
| Subject: - |
| Hecate, I’ve decided to make my move on Rosenweil Kingdom’s throne. The timing is right, and our forces are ready. But since you’re in the middle of your exam period, I don’t want you to get distracted. Focus on your studies for now. We can handle things on our end. If all goes well, we’ll have a new kingdom to our name by the time you’re done with your exams. |
The message had been sent without using the mention (@) feature, so Hecate hadn't received a notification. After reading it, she sat back deep in thought.
"Why did Leon tell me this through a private message instead of posting it in the Seven Stars chat?"
Her guess was perhaps there were some people in the group that Leon did not want to know.
"Is there a traitor in the Seven Stars?"
Unable to arrive at any conclusions, Hecate decided to move on.
Her gaze shifted to the "Flower Decoration Club" chat, a group she had created with the Beastkin perverted siblings, Floire and Kaire, some time ago. After a rather... offscreen intense discussion, it was agreed that she would pay them for each video they sent her.
However, they hadn't sent any videos in the past few days, leaving her feeling a bit bored.
She quickly typed a message in the group chat, asking why they hadn't sent any videos recently and expressing concern that something might have happened to them.
Unexpectedly, Kaire replied almost immediately, explaining that they were currently on an important quest and didn't have time to make any videos. Floire chimed in, complaining that she was being tortured on the road since they had to travel without using Town Scrolls or Teleportation Gates.
Spoiler| <img src="https://em-content.zobj.net/thumbs/120/google/350/speech-balloon_1f4ac.png" alt="" width="18" height="18" /><small>> Flower Decoration Club</small> | <small>Members: 3</small> ▽ | |
| ... | ||
| Hecate | Anybody here? Why haven’t you sent any videos lately? Something happened? | |
| Kaire | We’re in the middle of an important quest, boss. No time to record anything. | |
| Floire | You have no idea how much I’m suffering. We’ve been on the road for days without Town Scrolls or Teleportation Gates! And since there are other people here, we really can't do anything. Torture, I tell you! (つ≧﹏≦) | |
Hecate could only sigh and offer her condolences, understanding that sometimes, even the most entertaining distractions had to take a backseat to more pressing matters.
Spoiler| <img src="https://em-content.zobj.net/thumbs/120/google/350/speech-balloon_1f4ac.png" alt="" width="18" height="18" /><small>> Flower Decoration Club</small> | <small>Members: 3</small> ▽ | |
| ... | ||
| Hecate | Sounds rough. Stay safe out there. Don’t push yourselves too hard. I’ll be waiting for the videos when you’re free. | |
| Kaire | Don’t worry, boss. We’ll be back with something good when we’re done here. | |
| Floire | Yeah, and I’ll make sure Kaire edits it to perfection! | |
Hecate chuckled softly at their banter.
For now, she would have to find another way to pass the time.