Gacha Kingdom Building

As soon as I stepped out of the bedroom, a tile on the floor teleported me to an immense hall where Catherine waited with the other Champions.

Since the other Gods and their Champions were also there, Catherine only had to follow them for most of the way, and we ended up arriving at another teleportation pad.

Stepping on it, everything around me suddenly shifted.

The rooms and glass ceilings disappeared, and instead, we found ourselves standing before a dense forest, the sun above us scorching hot.

There were no signs of civilization as far as I could see, but something inside the forest was howling loudly.

Catherine paid it no mind and distributed badges amongst the Champions.

All of them seemed to have the same design, and while [Appraisal] didn’t tell me anything about them, it didn’t seem like there was much to them other than being made from yet another absurd material.

Catherine: "...These badges represent your life. Lose them, and you’re out. Have someone take them from you and... You’ll belong to them."

She stopped before me, offering my badge as she emphasized the rules of ownership for the second phase.

Catherine: "Obtain seven other badges, and you’ll make it to the next phase. Good luck."

Once we had all received our badges, Catherine disappeared from our sight.

Or, more likely, we disappeared from hers.

Even though I was holding Maya’s hand, I found myself alone, surrounded by a sea of trees.

The treetops were so dense that barely any sunlight reached the ground, making the forest unexpectedly dark despite it being day.

Yet, the air was hot enough that it only took a few minutes of walking for sweat to drip down my face.

Miwen: "Oh... This is bad."

Being thrust from a cozy bedroom straight into the humid, hot forest made me dizzy, and I couldn’t concentrate on finding markings on the ground, trees, or plants.

Before I could find someone, they found me.

A bear-like beast stood before me, howling. Two horns the size of my legs curved from its head, while vines and thorns wrapped around its massive arms.

Cassandra: "That’s such a big boy~"

Miwen: "Yeah... You figure he has any badges on him?"

Cassandra: "There’s only one way to find out~"

I jumped onto the branch of a tree, but the monster was much faster than I expected.

The trees were barely an obstacle to it. The monster just ran forward, plowing through them as if the thick branches were sticks.

It even tore trees from the ground, launching them like bullets.

Miwen: "Cass... I need chains."

Cassandra: "I was hoping for that~"

She transformed into two short blades connected by a long black chain.

The ground rumbled, and giant sinkholes opened before me, swallowing the nearby trees.

With few paths remaining, I threw one of Cass’ blades into a nearby branch and jumped down.

The monster howled loudly enough to pierce my ears.

It rushed forward with blood in its eyes.

I waited as long as I could before throwing another blade forward.

The monster was just a couple of steps away from the chains.

I readied another sword while Cassandra unhooked herself from the nearby tree.

We waited for the perfect opportunity to bind the monster, but unfortunately, that never came.

It suddenly stopped, as if it could feel the danger.

A second passed in silence, the two of us staring at each other.

Even though it was already double my size, the monster raised its arms, making itself bigger.

A dark, bluish blur suddenly rushed past my eyes.

The next thing I saw was the bear-like monster caught in the jaws of a gigantic, wolf-like beast with dark blue skin and golden fur.

In a matter of seconds, the bear-monster bled to death, and the wolf ripped into it.

Unlike with the bear, Cassandra didn’t even entertain the idea of fighting the wolf.

She wrapped her chain around my wrists, and I quickly pulled her back before running as far as I could while the wolf enjoyed its lunch.

After a couple of hours of walking aimlessly, trying my best not to attract the attention of any monsters, I found a river.

Using [Water Magic], I created a sphere within the river, capturing a few fish.

To my surprise, some of them were also monsters, though they were only level 7 and couldn’t break free from the bubble I’d created.

Thinking that maybe I had drawn the short stick with my starting position, I spread my mana through the surrounding forest, trying to feel any other dangerous monsters lurking around.

I could feel some powerful mana signatures, but nothing that came close to the wolf’s. Most weren’t even as strong as the bear.

Maybe Catherine was still mad about that whole Nameless thing.

But more likely, I was just that unlucky.

After what happened in the Divine Banquet, I was pretty sure the Gods weren’t going to break the rules to favor or hinder a Champion.

Miwen: "The mana signatures are getting weaker upstream. I should be fine from here, Cass."

Since we weren’t on the Celestial Palace anymore, there was no Divinity stopping me from sending the girls to the Kingdom or bringing them to me.

While Cassandra was a great help, she had made quite an impression during the Divine Event, and I felt no one would come say "Hi" with her around.

In order to make a few friends and hopefully get myself a few badges, I sent her back with a few items I found here and there.

Cassandra: "Oh?~ I thought you were going to use these-"

Miwen: "Shh. Don’t draw attention; we never know who might be listening. Just bring them to Reina. I already told her what to do."

She rolled her eyes at the mention of Reina.

But she was still discreet enough to take them without making a fuss.

Once she was gone, I used a few tickets to get myself a nice tent.

Then, I chopped down a few trees with magic to get logs for a campfire.

Miwen: "Still no luck... Guess I should make it more interesting, then."

It was impossible to tell how large the forest really was, but given the creatures I’d seen, I figured it’d be bigger than an average one on Earth.

While I could spend my time hunting other Champions, that could lead to me crossing paths with the wolf again.

Or something worse...

To attract someone other than monsters, I had to offer something they’d recognize as valuable.

An opportunity.

Easy prey.

Thankfully, I knew exactly how.

Lily: "Hello!"

A cute dog-girl stood before me, enthusiastically waving one hand while carrying a basket full of fruit.

Her ears were slightly drooped, and her tail wagged from side to side, almost uncontrollably.

Lily: "Oh! Did you make this campfire? It’s so big! Are you planning a festival?"

Her ears stood up, twitching as her eyes sparkled.

Miwen: "Something like that."

After a few pats on the head, I got us a couple of logs to sit on while I cooked the fish.

There was only so much I could do with fish and fruits, and it certainly didn’t compare to what the Celestial Palace could offer, but... It turned out better than I expected.

Unfortunately, Lily already had lunch a few hours before I summoned her and only agreed to eat a single apple.

Miwen: "I heard Agatha got something for Lana?"

She started nodding her head enthusiastically.

Lily: "Mhm! Because Lana can’t leave the clinic, Miss Agatha asked Miss Reina if she could prepare a wheelchair for her!"

Miwen: "Oh... She’s so nice..."

The bushes behind Lily rustled.

It could have been the wind, but just in case, I extended a thin line of mana on the ground, moving it in circles like a radar.

Lily: "She is! We finally got to harvest fruit together again! Lana was so happy!"

She wore a beaming smile, completely oblivious to her surroundings.

Miwen: "You seem like you had fun, too."

I pointed at the dirt stains on her shirt and overalls.

Lily tilted her head for a second.

Tugging her own shirt, she saw the marks and scratched her head, her smile growing wider.

She even closed her eyes...

Lily: "Ah! This is because Lana wanted to go down a hill! I told her it was dangerous, but she said it was going to be fine!"

Miwen: "Hm... Did you guys hurt yourselves?"

She shook her head.

Lily: "Nhn! We just fell on the ground! Ah, but you have to keep it a secret, because Lana told me not to tell... Miss Agatha and you..."

Her eyes fell to the ground, and she started fidgeting with her fingers.

Even though it was something so silly, she looked guilty of a heinous crime.

It almost made me laugh.

Especially knowing that Agatha definitely knew immediately.

Miwen: "Lily... When I count to three, you have to return to the Kingdom, okay?"

I whispered under my breath, quietly enough that only Lily could hear.

Lily: "Eh!? A-Are you angry with me? S-Sorry... But I swear! We didn’t even get a bruise! And Lana just didn’t want to worry-"

Miwen: "I’m not mad. But I need you to do this for me, alright? I’ll explain later."

I started counting, but...

Our guests didn’t even let me get to "two".

Miwen: "2 and 3! Lily! Go back!"

Lily: "Eh? I-"

I grabbed Lily and dove into the ground.

A second later, the log I was sitting on was shattered into pieces, and two jaguar beastwomen stood before us.

Miwen: "Oh... Maybe I’m not so unlucky after all."

While Lily panicked, I stood up and faced the two women.

As I waved my hand, the two tensed their arms, readying their claws.

I couldn’t help but smile.

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