538I bring the glass of alcohol to my mouth, taking a sip of my beer as the neon lights of my private club glow and flash. The music accompanied by the cheers and laughter down at the dance floor makes the atmosphere– A never-ending party where alcohol doesn't stop pouring, and in this case, it's quite literal.
Some might call me an indulgent man, and they'd be entirely correct. I never shared the work ethics of my family, not anymore anyhow. I've even tried to escape my work and assignments multiple times and sometimes got punished for it. But shouldn't that be expected? I was born into greatness, after all. Why work when I have other people to do that for me?
Not like my expertise is needed anymore. I've only bothered learning a bit of magic and how to fight in general, leaving all the other boring stuff to my twin sister. She's far more hardworking than I am anyway, and always so much better with the boring stuff. Plus, she enjoys it, unlike me.
But it's not like I throw everything on her– I wouldn't dare. Because I'd either get my ass kicked by my mother for trying to or I'd feel like a dick for a couple of days for enabling my sister's workaholic nature. She is too nice for her own good sometimes.
That is not to say my life was always perfect, of course. I've gone through a lot. I had to suffer and fight tooth and nail for mere scraps as a child, but perhaps that's what makes it so satisfying to sit here and have my every wish granted with no problems. I like to think I deserve this after everything.
No work, no pain, no unreasonably tough requests from the scary woman upstairs.
Just me and the good life.
The people down there on the dance floor all have flushed faces and big smiles, some dancing, some catching their breaths after intense partying, and a few dipping their heads in the fountain of alcohol, drinking until their eyes bulge out.
Having the whole place enchanted with divine-tier runes was the hardest I've worked in centuries, and it only took me like three minutes to set up. Everyone who sets foot here will feel a mild sense of intoxication. You'll just be slowly pumped with energy and dopamine until you pass out on the floor from exhaustion, and as soon as you hit the floor, you'll be teleported to your home, because I'm nice like that. Also the infinite alcohol waterfall down there was fun to make. You just gotta think about what kind of drink you'd like to get it.
Perks of being a god, I suppose. Endless power and all that cool stuff.
I frown as I glance at the girls around my table, seeing how some are barely keeping conscious while the ones directly sitting next to me simply fell asleep on my lap. I don't blame them of course, this 'party' has been going on nonstop for almost a month now.
I've been doing this for so long. Too long that it's getting boring.
I finish my drink and put the pint-sized glass down, taking one look at the club before sighing. I'm still not a fan of working, but as fun as partying every day is, even this is beginning to lose its luster. I want to do something new and exciting.
But I don't know how to go about it. Everything I try to do feels very artificial and short-term. I need a change of pace. I've been sitting here doing the same thing for centuries now, even if it felt like a few hours at best. Immortality messes with your perception of time a lot more than you'd think. Plus, I generally have a short attention span
"Sir?" A bartender speaks up, approaching my table.
"Hm?" I glance at him and he bows.
"Lady Carmine is calling for you. She awaits you outside." He says, surprising me. "Shall I invite her in?"
That's… odd. She never really visits anymore, and I don't remember giving her a reason to. Last time she visited was when I 'accidentally' damaged one of her projects out of the pure need to be a nuisance. I didn't bother checking what it can do, thinking it was likely something harmless.
It turned out to be a weapon of mass destruction, which went off before I broke it and annihilated some random faraway universe, thankfully outside my mother's rule. That was pretty funny admittedly.
The subsequent ass-kicking I suffered wasn't as funny, though.
"Don't bother. She hates these kinds of places." I say, standing up and stretching my arms. "I'll go see what she wants. Take care of the place, will you?"
"As you wish."
As the bartender goes back to his work, I snap my finger and teleport outside the club, spotting my twin sister leaning against a lamp post. She sees me and blinks, and I don't sense a hint of annoyance from her. So she's not here to beat me up again, that's nice.
Carmine wears a very classy suit. White vest, black undershirt, white pants, black shoes, and black gloves. She has short black hair that reaches her neck, red eyes, and unblemished pale skin. Had I been anyone else, I'd be on my knees in her presence. She is, in every sense of the word, flawless.
Then again, anyone with mom's genes would embody perfection itself.
"Carmine, the love of my life," I say with a smile, slowly approaching her. "Have I ever told you that you're my favorite sibling?"
"That would've been very flattering if you didn't reek of beer." She responds, wrinkling her nose and ignoring my comment. "Don't get close to me when you're like that."
"Rude." I scoff playfully. "You might hurt my feelings if you keep saying stuff like that, y'know."
"I wouldn't be 'rude' if you weren't doing this on purpose." She calls me out. "You know I hate alcohol, and it wouldn't even take you a second to get rid of the smell."
"You got me there." I shrug and use a spell to erase all traces of alcohol on me. "So, what brings you here? Not going to lie, you came at the perfect time. I was just getting fed up with the noise inside."
"Mother wants to see us."
My smile drops as I get a foreboding feeling. I never thought I'd hear those words again, and I wish I hadn't.
"It wasn't me."
"Pardon?" Carmine blinks in confusion.
"If anything, it's Icarus. That little shit." I say with disdain. "He probably had something to do with it."
"That's not it." She says, slightly amused. "Nobody is in trouble."
"Oh." I relax slightly. "Right, of course. I don't even remember doing anything that could irk her recently. It was a natural reflex."
"She isn't that scary. You're exaggerating."
"That's because she pampers you the most. Anyone can tell that you're the favorite child,"
"She doesn't pamper me." Carmine lies as easily as she breathes. "I simply do whatever she orders me to without complaining, unlike some people."
"We call that being a mommy's girl, sis," I smirk. "It's not exactly a good look."
That one definitely gets under her skin as her eyes twitch, but it isn't enough as she quickly calms herself down. It isn't easy to actually get her to react to anything negatively, but I take pride in being the only person in my big, big family that's able to consistently annoy her.
"How ironic." She scoffs. "You're the one who used to fight for her attention when we were little. You'd always whine and say something along the lines of 'Stop stealing my thunder' or 'I can do better than that' whenever we gave our reports."
"Not denying it," I shrug. "But I actually grew past it. You on the other hand still visit her to get spoiled."
"You're just jealous that she likes me more." She says defensively. "Maybe if you stop acting like a baby every time she tells you to do something, she'd 'pamper' you too."
Heh, proving my point.
"What are you saying? She likes us all equally." I shrug, knowing full well that it's not true, then pause for a moment. "Except Icarus probably."
She snorts before quickly clearing her throat, the joke at our little brother's expense having caught her off guard.
"Anyway, any idea why she wants to see us all of a sudden?" I get back to the matter at hand. "I don't imagine she needs us for a job."
"I haven't been told anything about the occasion yet, no." Carmine shakes her head. "She only told me to pick you up before seeing her."
"Why didn't she just tell me directly?"
"Because you'd probably forget about it and pass out drunk." She answers coolly. "Or send one of your 'representatives'. Sending your pet cat in your place isn't exactly polite."
"To be fair, Sir Bubbles is–"
"–a smart cat." She cuts me off and finishes the sentence for me. "We know this, and for the record, that's not an excuse."
"But mom likes him."
"And you wonder why mother scares you so much," Carmine mutters with a sigh. "Regardless, whatever she wants from us now, it's likely important. Are you ready, or do you have to do something before we go?"
"Ehh…" I think for a moment. "Sure."
Well, I need to close the club before I leave, but I honestly don't feel like it.
Carmine nods and teleports both of us right outside our mother's private mansion, knowing that teleporting directly inside is considered 'bad manners'.
Mother's personal realm isn't what you'd expect it to be. Considering who she is – being the ruler of everything – you'd think it was some extravagant palace within a beautiful city, or some vessel in floating space, surrounded by stars. But no, it's just a simple eastern-style mansion in the middle of endless plains.
Why? Because, in her own words, it's 'nostalgic'.
She's old and it shows.
My sister gently opens the door, and I still don't pick up on any disturbance. Alright, she doesn't feel displeased. That's good.
I follow my sister's lead as she enters the mansion through the backdoor, spotting my mother sitting on the edge of the open sidewalk, a tea set next to her. She shares Carmine's and my red eyes and black hair, only long enough to reach her back and with one streak of white hair on the right side.
Like my twin sister, she wears a suit, but with darker colors. A red undershirt with gold accents, a black striped vest, pants, gloves, and shoes. Mother doesn't even turn around to look at us as she pulls the lit cigar away from her mouth, feeling our presence.
Both my sister and I bow out of respect, making her sigh.
"Stop it." She says. "I'm not your boss, I'm your mother. I'd prefer it if you came over here for a hug."
"Well, you raised us to respect our elders," I say. "And you're one of the few who are actually older than us."
"Is this your way of saying I'm an old hag?" She chuckles in amusement. "You wound me, Crimson."
"You know that's not what I meant." I shrug. "But I'm really curious to know why you called us here. You haven't bothered doing that in a long time."
My sister quickly crouches beside her, pouring tea into her empty cup. My mother remains silent for a moment, patting Carmine's head before explaining in a somewhat cryptic manner.
"You two know what I've been 'working on' recently, yes?" She asks.
"Can't say I do." I think for a moment before glancing at my twin sister. "Ah wait, is it about the system that kid is using right now? You met him once, didn't you?"
"I have," Carmine nods, perking up slightly. "I'm still in contact with him, too."
Her tone softened up when he was brought up. Interesting.
"Yes, the one he's using." Mother confirms. "As you might know, the other users before him were given more powerful versions, yet they all died due to their hubris and arrogance. I almost gave up on making new ones after the ten-thousand mark. However, Reid's broken system turned out to be a successful project in the end, and it led me to believe that giving some mortal a godly powerful tool without any limits was maybe the wrong way to go about it."
"What was your first clue?" I say sarcastically before a powerful and invisible force hits my chest, nearly bringing me to my knees as I groan and chuckle. "Worth it…"
"So I've decided to limit my systems from now on, but I didn't want to leave them broken per se." She continues once I recover, slightly amused from her tone. "That's where you come in. I've only just finished creating a new one, and I want you two to test it out for me."
I couldn't help but freeze on the spot. None of my family members, even those closest to my mother, had been given a system before. She remained adamant about keeping them away from all of us, and every time one of my siblings tried to 'steal' one, they'd get punished horribly.
It was one of the few things that genuinely pissed her off, even at this point in her life. The smarter ones got the message and stayed away from those things, but there's always the dumb young kid that got it into their heads that they were better than everyone and promptly got locked away for centuries with their powers stripped away. Anyone who isn't her child gets killed and their souls are trapped in a personal hell for eternity.
Mother has always been a strict, but very fair person. She loved us, and that can never be denied. So seeing her do something harsh to her own kids meant that it wasn't something you can just mess with. Now I like being annoying to everyone. To Carmine, my other siblings, my father, and even her sometimes, but even I know that some lines should never be crossed.
It always did seem weird to me how she was willing to give systems to random mortals, though. There's probably a reason why, but I never bothered to ask her about it.
"Us?"
"Yes, you," Mom responds to my sister. "I'd do it myself, but I think the perspective from someone who's never had one might be more valuable."
"No, I mean- that wasn't what I had in mind when you called us." Carmine stammers, understandably shocked. "I thought we weren't allowed to even get a glimpse of how they're made."
"Yeah, I'm not even sure what to say." I continue off for her. "You made it crystal clear that they should be left alone. What gives?"
"Because giving vast power to children is very irresponsible." She answers as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "You two, however, have proven yourselves to be trustworthy. Unlike the rest of your siblings, you've gone through enough hardships to know how dangerous power can be if it's in the wrong hands."
Neither Carmine nor I know how to respond to that.
That was a lot to take in. When I woke up this morning, I didn't think I'd get my own system. It was something most of my siblings wished for at some point, even with the vast power they were born with already. And I wasn't different in that regard.
I don't really feel that way anymore, but when she told us about this system thing, my sister and I were pretty obsessed with it. Carmine wanted to study it and explore its functions, while I personally just wanted more power. It was obvious that our draconic greed affected us heavily at the time, but it was something I wanted.
So even if I've already gotten over it, hearing that I can have it right now was like being told Christmas came early.
…I hate Christmas, though. I always get coal.
"We're not worthy–"
"For the last time, I'm your mother, not your superior." She cut Carmine off, making her blush in embarrassment. "Anyway, your objective is simple. I've already decided where you'll go, and you two will 'complete' the worlds you're sent to. Become a hero or villain– Destroy the world, make it yours, or isolate yourself and become a sage. It doesn't make a difference."
"Worlds?" I raise a brow, glancing at my sister. "You mean we're not going to the same place?"
"No. It'd be too easy and quick if you two worked together." My mother confirms. "One last warning before I send you off. Once you're there, all of your current powers will be inaccessible, so you'll have to work your way up again. I won't be there to support or assist you in any way, however, you'll be able to see each other every once in a while through a certain artifact I'll send you some time soon."
"Alright, that sounds reasonable," Carmine responds. "Anything else we have to do?"
"Take your time, explore and understand how your system works–" Mother finally turns to look at us, her right eye glowing red as she smirks. "And have fun."
As soon as she utters that last line, a blinding light fills my vision, prompting me to instinctively close my eyes. In that same instant, I can feel all the power I've accumulated over the eons wash away as if I never reached that level of power. It was admittedly disturbing.
A few seconds later, the light dies down. I blink a few times, looking at bright blue skies as I feel myself falling. I glance down and see a large body of water under me– an ocean fairly close to shore.
First, I try but fail to summon my magic to float, then try to use my dragon wings, but there is no response from my body either, making me grimace in slight annoyance. My physiology isn't and shouldn't be counted in the 'powers' category, but that's not true and I'm an idiot apparently.
"Real mature, mom," I mutter right before I make contact with the ocean with a jarring impact, my momentum carrying me deep below the waves. it takes me a moment to orient myself in the murky waters, stunned, but not injured by the fall, but I manage it without difficulty, and rapidly swim up to the surface. It seems that while she took away even my dragon wings, she still left me much stronger and tougher than normal people.
I reach the surface and tread water, scanning my surroundings before heading toward the shore. I am not even winded by the time I reach it but sigh deeply as I get out of the water, eyeing the place and looking for any other intelligent being I can ask for some answers.
A plume of smoke leads me toward some sort of camp in the distance with weird-looking humanoids around it. They look like a tribe of some sort, all having black skin and thick hair, masks covering their faces. Most are pretty short, holding clubs and crossbows, but one, in particular, is pretty big, with a giant axe sitting next to it.
What are those things? Should I make contact? I don't know if they're friendly or not, but I need to get new clothes and some info on where I am. I don't recognize those creatures over there, meaning my mother sent me to a world I'm unfamiliar with. Not sure if that's on purpose.
I can tell that they're very primitive, though, and primitives aren't always known for their hospitality and niceness. Ah well, what's the worst that could happen? Powerless or not, I can still defend myself from random barbarians.
As soon as I take one step forward, though, two blue boxes suddenly appear in front of me, making me blink in surprise. What is this? There's something written in them. Let's see…
Choose a perk tree
[Draconic Body]
Regain some of your earth-shattering power, significantly increasing your physical strength, speed, endurance, and natural regenerative abilities.
[Draconic Spirit]
Regain some of your world-bending energy, giving you the ability to use your draconic magic to some extent.
Ahh this is what the system is about, isn't it? It's making me choose between physical strength and magic, hm? Now that's a tough decision to make. If I choose one, can I take the other later on, or am I stuck with it for the rest of my stay here?
Hm, well, mom did say 'have fun' here, and I personally like close-quarters combat more than magic. Is it the worse choice? Perhaps, but then again, I do like a good challenge sometimes. I haven't had one in a very long time.
The risks here are real. I can't simply summon my full power whenever I get bored– I'll have to make do with what I have, and honestly, that's cool with me. This challenge doesn't feel as artificial as the ones I force myself to go through.
Body it is~
Perk tree chosen
Name: Crimson Amamiya
HP: 100%
SP: 100%
MP: 100%
Level: 1
Perk Trees: 1
Perks: 0
Hoh, this is what it looks like? Well, I assume mother's system isn't the same as mine obviously. She did say this one is limited. Must say though, I do feel much better than before after choosing that perk tree. I'm nowhere near my full power, but it's something at least.
Now let's see if those fine and hopefully civilized people can help me get back to civilization.
To avoid startling them, I approach slowly, waving and shouting to get their attention.
"Hey, you there!" I say. "Yes, nice-looking people around the campfire! Can you lend a hand maybe?"
They immediately all grab their weapons and glare at me, or at least, I think they're doing that. I can't tell, as the masks they're wearing cover their whole face. Regardless, they all try to scare me off with shouts and cries in a language I don't recognize. Some even point their crossbows at me.
"Come now. I just want to know where I am." I insist, not worried at all. As if these primitives can even hurt me. "None of us needs to get hurt."
I pause as I spot a chest they seem to be guarding, then smirk. I assume that's theirs, and with how protective they seem to be around it, then it must have something precious inside. I mean, I'm pretty broke. Money or artifacts I can sell for money is definitely going to come in handy. Plus, what kind of dragon would I be if I ignored wealth?
Once I take another step forward, their crossbowmen shoot at me. Such primitive weapons are nothing noteworthy, so I easily dodge the incoming bolts and rush towards the closest one, smashing its head against the ground and killing it instantly.
They attacked first, so I'm taking their treasures, and it's all their fault. Diplomacy can come a long way in saving your hide.
I steal its club as these barbarians all attack me at once, with the big one swinging its giant axe at me wildly. I flip over its sweep, breaking the club on its head to disorientate it before grabbing a bolt soaring my way mid-air, and using it to stab the big one in the shoulder.
It knocks me away with its free arm, and I land on my feet. Three of the smaller ones rush at me after setting their clubs on fire, but they're so slow they might as well be moving in slow motion. I simply kick the first one away while taking its club, using that to crush the skull of the second with a single swing.
The third one flinches in fear, but I show it no mercy and simply break its neck before it can act. The first one, barely alive from my kick, tries to escape, but I stomp on its head and kill it in an instant. The two crossbowmen hesitate as I grin at them viciously.
The one with the axe, still alive, tries its luck once again. I see it moving a mile away of course, so I wait for the perfect moment to avoid and counter, but a sudden gust of wind catches me off guard. I manage to stay on my feet, but the big one is sent flying far into the ocean. It tries but fails to swim, sinking deep in the water with its axe still in its hands.
I blink in surprise and look at the culprit– A short girl with blond hair and amber eyes, wearing a very unusual white dress and a white flower on her head. Alongside her was the fattest-looking fairy I'd ever seen. Seriously, it's as big as a small child. Last I checked, fairies are barely as big as my fingers.
What the hell are they feeding it?
Seeing the weaker-looking target, the crossbowmen aim at the girl and prepare to shoot, prompting me to charge at them. They panic as they see me running towards them, changing targets at the last second and shooting at me instead.
I easily avoid the bolts, grabbing a nearby club on the ground before throwing it at one of them, killing it instantly as my free hand goes through the other one's chest. It falls down as I let go, coughing and hacking for a few seconds until it finally lets out its final breath.
That was a lot messier than I expected it to be. Now my pants are all red with blood.
+1 Level
I almost flinch as that message pops up. So I gain levels by killing stuff? Sounds simple enough.
…That explains why my mother has so much ungodly strength.
"Are you okay, mister?" The fat fairy asks, floating towards me. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"Hm? Ah, don't worry about it. I had it under control." I respond, my eyes lingering on Blondie for a moment. "But I appreciate the help."
"Oh, that's good. We were on the way to do some commissions, but it seemed like you beat us to it." She smiles. "Are you part of the adventurer's guild, mister?"
I don't know what exactly 'commissions' and 'adventurer's guild' are in this world. As I am about to respond, the fat fairy continues speaking.
"Wait! If he's an adventurer, does that mean we won't get money for this?!" The fat fairy's smile drops, replaced by one of fear. "But we were walking for so loooong!"
"I was walking. You were floating." Blondie deadpans, crossing her arms. "Besides, the guild will split the money seeing that we caught up before he cleared the camp. We're still getting paid."
"You do know I'm still here, yes?" I raise a brow. "You haven't given me a chance to explain myself."
Blondie winces and clears her throat, giving me an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, we haven't properly introduced ourselves, have we?"
"Your fat fairy companion was more concerned with money than her manners, so no, you have not." I tease in good spirit.
"Hey, I'm not fat!" The fat fairy huffs with a pout as Blondie giggles. "And I'm not a fairy either! I'm Paimon!"
Paimon? As in one of the demon kings of hell? One way to raise a lot of flags. Though in all fairness, I don't feel any demonic or divine energy from her, so it's probably a coincidence.
"I'm Lumine." The blonde introduces herself. "It's nice to meet you, mister…?"
This girl, on the other hand…
"Crimson," I say, offering my hand. "Pleasure's all mine."
She shakes my hand as my eyes meet hers for a moment. She's awfully cute, isn't she?
"Crimson?" The fairy looks at me with a tilt of her head. "That's an odd name."
"Paimon, don't be rude."
"My mother wasn't very creative when it came to naming." I respond truthfully, walking towards the treasure chest. "So care to tell me where I am?"
"Huh?" Paimon blinks as I kick the chest open. "We're in Mondstadt."
"Is this what the world is called?" I ask, frowning in confusion as I pull out a few purple gems, golden coins, and a colossal sword as tall as me out of the chest. "How did they fit that in?"
"No, that's the Kingdom. The world is called Teyvat." Blondie answers, looking at me oddly. "Are you not a native of it?"
"I'm not," I answer truthfully, not seeing any reason to lie. What are they gonna do with that information? Next to nothing. "I'm on a vacation, you could say."
That wasn't a lie either. I'm supposed to also have fun here after all.
"You're like me," Blondie says, which does get my interest. Oh? "I mean, I'm not a native of Teyvat either."
So I'm not alone in that regard, then? And here I thought I was special. Then again, that's likely where our similarities end. I doubt that Blondie here is a dragon god of unfathomable power and might.
There's a hint of divine power within her, though, so who knows? Wouldn't be the first time I was wrong about something like this.
"Really now?" I look at her with newfound intrigue. "How did you get here, then?"
"It's a bit of a long story."
"Don't worry, I got all the time in the world." I wave it off. "Though, I might need some new clothes."
I pull at my wet shirt and she quickly understands my predicament. Paimon then floats up to my level, giving me a smile.
"Then come with us!" She offers. "We can take you to the main city. Lumine can tell you all about herself on the way."
"That sounds good to me." I smile, grabbing the giant sword and resting it on my shoulder. "Lead the way."
Ah, civilization, a place where I can get a drink.
And new clothes, but mostly drinks.
I wonder what Carmine's doing right now.
Been writing this for a few months now. I have six more chapters ready and I'll post em gradually.
This fic is more smut/romance focused than my other ones, so it'll be more slice of life than anything exciting. Hope you enjoy it though. also, yes, the beginning does imply that his sister will have a fic of her own.
Konosuba won the poll.
so you can be involved in future polls, here's the discord server link: (Discord . gg / Rjjzt8erYK) no spaces.If you want to support me, here's my pat reon link: (Pat reon dot com / Mirlnir)