9 Chapter 8: A Condescending Knight

Breakfast was difficult this time around, much more so than yesterday. Everyone was in shock at me bringing in a Goblin, even though Omar told them ahead of time, which made me wonder what it was that he said to get everyone a little on edge. Rachel and Max were the most surprised since they first saw Lily last night, and then saw her again after she grew so big the next morning, but they reacted differently compared to the rest of the class. They even saved us seats to sit with them, which we took, and they tried to talk to Lily a little more like they did last night, but she was still too nervous to say anything other than her practiced greeting. She might have forgotten her few other phrases due to the pressure, too, making her totally silent.

I noticed the others at the table looked really awkward as we made our way over, and honestly, I wasn't in the mood to talk much, either. The food's taste didn't even register to me thanks to how frustrated I was, and having my other classmates talk among themselves while keeping their eyes on me was pissing me off further. We ended up eating our food quickly before leaving just as fast, and I decided then that Lily and I would just eat at an entirely different location from then on.

I never saw Tamy in the banquet hall, either, but considering her slutish reputation in school, she was probably trying to avoid people while adapting to this new world. She was likely learning to defend herself from any danger, too, especially from people in our class like Victor. With all that power we have gained now, I knew many were getting a swollen ego. All it would take is a boy from our class thinking that their new powers meant that they deserved a little action from a girl for a situation to erupt. {Right, Tamy would be a likely target for something like that. I'll have to check in on her and see how she's doing.}

There was still time before training started, so Lily and I went to a garden near the courtyard and took a seat on the bench, with my Companion helping herself to my lap. I just wrapped my arms around her waist and enjoyed the comfortable alone time.

"How are you feeling, Lily? Feeling better?" I asked.

"A little," she answered in Goblin.

"That's good. I know it may be difficult to say at times, but let me know anytime if you feel nervous or uneasy. I'll take us out for some air like this. Do you know what these plants around here are called? Do you have a word for it in your language?" I asked as I gestured to the flower beds.

"... Gobas."

"I see. We call these 'flowers' in our language. Flowers," I enunciated slowly.

"… Bow … bas … bowbas," Lily tried to say.

Perhaps they don't have the 'F' sound in the Goblin language, but I continued, "There are many different flowers with their own names, and they come in all sorts of colors and shapes. Like that one, over there. Do you recognize that one?"

She turned to where I was pointing, towards a familiar red-orange flower, "Chris … put flower on Lily."

"That's right. We call that kind of flower a lily."

"What?! Goblin is Lily!" she exclaimed while turning her head to me and patting her chest.

I nodded, "Right, that's your name. I gave you that name from that flower. I named you after it."

"… Flower lily … pretty. Why give Goblin Lily that name?" she asked while looking back over her shoulder.

"Because a pretty girl like you deserves a pretty name, and Lily was just the right name for you the moment I saw that flower," I answered.

She blinked in surprise, "Chris sees … Lily pretty?"

"Yes. I think you are very pretty, Lily. Beautiful, even."

Lily faced forward and didn't utter a sound. I couldn't see her face while she sat on my lap, but I could see her ears turning dark green. From that reaction, I couldn't help but chuckle. {I could get used to spoiling her like this,} I thought.

I then felt Lily take one of my hands wrapped around her and place it against her own by the palm. Though I couldn't see it from behind, I could feel her hand had grown bigger overnight. The tips of her fingers could now reach around the middle of my own digits, compared to last night when she could only take up my whole palm.

"Chris, wait for Lily. Lily grow more strong, more pretty, for Chris," she muttered so low under her breath that I hardly heard her, but she held my hand to her chest earnestly.

I figured Lily had recovered from the heavy air in the banquet hall by then, and I was calmer than earlier, too. {I still want to punch that royal bitch in the face, though, or at least scare her in some prank. Maybe one of the monsters Bargamus listed could help me accomplish that?} I thought as I pulled out that list again and quickly went over the ones I circled once more. There was one species that caught my eye. It had a different name from what I was familiar with, but if it matched close enough to the animal from Earth that I was thinking of, then I saw enough possibilities in what I could do with it to make me smile mischievously.

~~

I was still sore from yesterday, so I was worried how intense today's training session would be when it arrived. Morgan had us run five laps along the entire castle's borders before switching to bodyweight exercises, which was different from yesterday's training, but just as bad, if not worse. He wouldn't let Lily sit idly by, either, but she somehow managed to pull through with only a slight shortness of breath, while I was barely able to move by the end of it. For some reason, I felt Morgan had something against me, and my suspicion was proven further when we moved onto our weapons practice.

"Why … am I … sparring against you, Captain Morgan?" I asked between breaths while holding a practice sword, the same kind I used yesterday, but it felt much heavier than it did before, along with my arms and legs. I couldn't even hold my weapon correctly.

"You neglected your training while you were with your mentor yesterday. 'Augustus reported he took down the Bloodhounds himself, which means Christopher didn't perform a lot of physical training while he was out taming his Companion. Give him some special attention to make up for the time he lost.' Those were the orders given to me straight from His Highness, himself," Morgan answered.

{What the hell?} I thought, {What kind of logic is that? I know I'm getting some specialized training due to my Unique Job, but is this some sort of penalty against me? Did Omar suspect something when Bargamus made his report? Did Morgan put everyone else through that hell because of me, too?}

"With all due respect, Captain Morgan, I'm still sore from yesterday's morning training, I don't have a 'Sword Mastery' skill, and I'm very weak compared to Max, who was barely able to hold his own against you in a spar. Is there any way you could give me a handicap, at least?" I asked.

Morgan looked up in thought, then a malicious glint appeared in his eyes before looking back to me, "Tell you what, I'll let your Companion join in, and the two of you will have to land a total of three hits on me. If you can do that within 10 minutes, you can finish early and may do whatever you want the rest of today and tomorrow without coming to training. If you fail to do that, then you and your Companion will have to run fifteen laps around the castle's border through all of tomorrow."

{That's three times more than today's laps! Is he trying to kill us?! Wonder if I can turn it down and settle for getting the shit beat out of me instead?} I turned to Lily who had been standing to the side to get her opinion, but just as I was about to ask, I was met with a surprising sight.

Lily was just running back from the direction of where the practice weapons were supplied, carrying a practice dagger, before she came to a stop and stood in front of me, facing Morgan in a fighting stance. I had noticed that she had [Dagger Mastery] at LV 2 in her skill list when I skimmed her status yesterday, so it made sense she'd pick the weapon she was most proficient with, but what surprised me most of all was her resolve to take on Morgan.

Last night over dinner, Bargamus taught us how to speak through telepathy with the [Companion Bond] skill—something that Tamers are capable of doing with their Companions through the link that connects them. Its effectiveness was based on the strength in our bond. I didn't think to practice it before this, but this was as good a time as any to put it to the test.

I concentrated on connecting with my Companion. Time in our surroundings seemed to have slowed down, with only the two of us acting at normal speed, making a second or two feel like minutes.

<Lily? Can you hear me?> I asked.

<Yes. Lily hears Chris.>

I sighed internally, <Oh, good. Lily, you do know who we're dealing with, right? This is the strongest knight in the courtyard, someone who's way above us in levels and stats than ours put together. If we fail, we'd have to do fifteen of those laps we ran tomorrow. Are you still eager to try this despite that?>

<… Strong. Lily must get strong. Lily … must not run away. Not again,> she answered.

My eyes widened.

I then noticed Lily's shoulders were trembling, <Win or lose, Lily must get strong. Get strong, live for family, live for Chris. Must not lose again … never again.>

<Lily …>

Morgan chuckled with condescension, cutting Lily off, "Well, your Goblin looks eager to fight. What about …?"

The training instructor trailed off as he looked in my direction.

As if fueled by Lily's resolve, I somehow regained the strength in my arms and legs. It felt like yesterday with the Bloodhounds all over again. While it looked bleak, we wouldn't back down without a fight. I didn't know what Lily went through before I found her, but she was able to fight back yesterday with me at her side. If I couldn't do the same here, what would that make me as her Tamer? As a rising harem king of Monster girls that I myself would raise and grow in number? The exhaustion in my eyes was gone, replaced with a cold, hard, calculated focus that stared Morgan down in its place.

I let my sword lean against me before I fixed my glasses, "So, the time limit is 10 minutes to score three hits on you, and if we win, we can roam freely without coming to training for the rest of today and tomorrow, right? And if we fail, then it's fifteen laps around the castle's borders. Any other rules or conditions we should know of? Might as well make this an official duel with these odds on the line."

Morgan laughed again, "Sure, why not? We'll go three rounds, one for every hit you successfully land on me, and they must be done by your weapons against my armor."

"Will you be going on the offensive at any point?" I asked.

He waved his hand dismissively, "No. I will be entirely on defense throughout the 10 minutes. Anything else?"

"… No. That will do nicely, aside from raising the stakes."

"Oh?" Morgan asked, intrigued.

"What happens after getting this done in 10 minutes still stands, but …" I then thrust my open palm towards Morgan, all five of my fingers spread out, "If we win this in a total of 5 minutes, then the time we can roam freely will be for the rest of today and 3 days starting tomorrow. Win this in 2.5 minutes, and we'll get the rest of today and 5 days starting tomorrow. Just to be sure we're clear, the time between rounds will not count, and if you do somehow go on the offensive, then that's an automatic win for us. Do you accept these stakes and conditions?"

"Quite ballsy for you to ask for so much when you're so sore. Eh, I'll humor you this once," Morgan answered while shrugging his shoulders.

"So, you do accept these conditions?" I asked once more.

"Yes. I, Morgan Trissand, accept these conditions to our duel, and I swear to follow them on my honor as a noble and captain of the royal guard. Does that satisfy you?" he asked me.

"Plenty, thanks."

"You, play the judge for us! And you get a Magic Hourglass! On the double!" Morgan commanded while pointing fingers.

"Yes sir!" the two guards Morgan pointed out replied before one of them ran off. The other guards as well as my classmates and Ms. Heatherway stared at me in shock, especially Max, Rachel, and Tamy who happened to be off to the side. I then relayed my plan to Lily through [Companion Bond]'s telepathy while we waited.

"The Magic Hourglass can keep track of how much time has passed and can be stopped or resumed with a tap," Morgan explained, part of my attention was directed to him while I continued telling Lily my strategy, "This is used for some training sessions and tracking records. We can use this to set 10 minutes on the time limit and see exactly how much time has passed, including when we hit the 5-minute mark."

{So, like a magical, medieval stopwatch, then?}

"Sounds good to me," I said.

The second knight came back with the Magic Hourglass moments later, which stood tall enough to reach his hip when placed on the ground. The first knight then set the time on the hourglass before turning it over. Its sand amazingly didn't flow down to the bottom half even though it was flipped over, as expected of magic, I guess. My classmates, teacher, and the rest of the knights were watching on with varying expressions.

"So … Christopher and his Companion versus Captain Morgan," the first knight announced with slight uncertainty, playing this duel's judge as Morgan ordered, "The time limit is 10 minutes for three rounds, with Captain Morgan on the defensive while Christopher and his Companion must land hits by weapons against armor. Each successful hit will mark the end of one round, of which the hourglass will pause until the participants go to their starting positions again and begin the next round. This duel will end when the time runs out, Christopher and his Companion win all three rounds, or if Captain Morgain goes on the offensive. Do both participants agree to these conditions?"

"Yes," Morgan and I answered at the same time.

"Then, take your starting positions."

We readied our weapons and got into fighting positions. I fixed my glasses as my eyes locked onto Morgan's.

<Do you understand our plan, Lily?> I asked her through telepathy.

<Yes.>

<Do you trust me?>

<Chris save Lily and give Lily pretty name. No matter what happen, Lily trust and follow Chris to end. Lily swear,> my Goblin Companion answered.

<You and I will go far, Lily! On my signal, let's show this self-deserving prick what it means to underestimate us and kick his ass!> I scream in my heart.

<Yes, Chris!>

"If all participants are ready, I will begin the countdown!" the knight judge declared while raising a hand, "Three! Two! One! Start!"

He slams on the hourglass, and its sand starts to fall.

At that same time, I stabbed my sword in the ground and moved aside, "Lily!"

Lily turned and dashed forward, keeping her dagger low while sticking her other hand out, approaching my side in a fast sprint. I took her by the arm and spun, using her momentum to my advantage.

"Grrrraaaaaaaaaah!" We yelled at once as I threw Lily as hard as I could, my sore arms and legs screaming just as loudly in pain. She spins once in the air with a somersault, before preparing to attack Morgan with a flying overhead strike.

While Morgan's and everyone's eyes were on Lily in shock, I chanted [Heal] as soft as I could, praying it heals my sore muscles as good as it replenishes LP and fatigue, and it worked. I pulled my sword from the ground and sprinted forward with renewed energy in my legs, keeping myself low.

"What the?!"

In a fluster, Morgan raised his weapon and guarded against Lily's overhead attack, both eyes on her, just as I planned. I unleashed an upward sword strike, low from the ground and towards the torso of his armor, which hit with a loud clang.

Despite the stunned shock on everyone's faces, including Morgan, the knight judge tapped the hourglass, stopping the sands of time, "F-First round to Christopher and his Companion! 10 seconds have passed! Participants, return to your—"

"Ready!" I exclaimed.

Before anyone had a chance to register what was going on, Lily and I went right back to our starting positions with weapons at the ready once our hit was confirmed.

"H-Hold on! What the hell was that?! You can't just—"

"Throw my Companion at my opponent?" I interrupted Morgan, "We didn't establish that specific rule when we discussed our conditions, so that means it's okay, right? Lily and I work together as Tamer and Companion, together as one unit, so she's just as much a part of me as I am of her. You can't fault a Tamer using their Companion however they need to to achieve victory in a duel after giving me such a handicap, can you?"

Morgan clicked his tongue, "Fine, I'll give you that one, but don't think you can luck your way into winning this duel."

"Are both participants ready?" the knight judge asked before we both gave our confirmation.

<Alright, Lily, when the next round starts, we use the second plan of attack,> I informed her through telepathy.

<Yes, Chris.>

"Round two between Christopher and Captain Morgan! Start!" the knight judge declared, hitting the hourglass to continue the time.

At that, Lily and I dashed in opposite directions, drawing our paths that would look like a diamond from how we closed in on him in a sprint. Morgan's eyes shifted left and right, unsure of which of us would strike first, then locked his focus onto me when he noticed I picked up the pace. He tightened his sword grip, ready to parry whatever I threw at him.

Just as I was in closing distance to land a hit with my sword, I faked out, making a sharp cut with my feet when I was right in front of Morgan. Without slowing down or shortening my pace, I stepped past him on his other side, surprising and throwing him off.

This was an American Football technique I memorized in theory from all the times my dad had me watch those games with him while I grew up. He was talented in the sport back in his high school days and he even coached for recreational teams—of which he had me help him with drills to get me outside for some physical activity back in the day. Not only did he get really heated up watching professional football, but he really liked to point out the specifics of plays to me and his friends who'd come to spectate with us. I was never a fan of sports, but I couldn't be more thankful for my dad's obsession with them. I had learned a few things from them that could be applied to other scenarios, like running away from a few of my old school bullies.

From those annoyingly ingrained memories, I used a sharp cut running technique to fake Morgan out, passing him with Lily rushing up after, but she didn't attack him like before. Instead, she took a handful of the castle courtyard's dirt she scooped up on her way over, just as I instructed her, and chucked it at Morgan's face.

"Gah!" Morgan yelped as he instinctively reached up and tried to rub the dirt out of his eyes, leaving him wide open for me to give a come-from-behind ambush with a sword against his torso again, its armor sounded with a loud clang.

"Stop the time!" Morgan yelled angrily before the knight judge complied. By the time he got most of the dirt out of his face, not so much from the eyes, Lily and I were already back at our starting positions before he glared at us with partial blindness. "Do you seriously expect me to give you a point for that in a sword duel?!"

I looked up and tapped my chin in faux thought, "Hmm … I don't know what you mean with this being a 'sword' duel. This is a regular duel where our main objective is to hit your armor with our weapons three times while you defend. There wasn't any mention in our prior discussion about what isn't allowed, so anything goes so long as we successfully hit you on your armor with our weapons."

"That is preposterous!"

"We have all these witnesses here that heard our rule discussion to take into account, but just in case, I took the liberty of getting some insurance," I said before I reached into my pocket, pulled out my smartphone, and played a track.

"So, the time limit is 10 minutes to only get three hits out of you, and we can roam freely without coming to training for the rest of today and tomorrow, right?" the track asked with a familiar voice.

"What is that magic?!" Morgan exclaimed.

I fast-forwarded the track until coming to the part I was looking for, starting with Morgan's line, "We'll go three rounds, one for every hit you successfully land on me, and they must be done by your weapons against my armor."

"Will you be going on the offensive at any point?"

"No. I will be entirely on defense throughout the 10 minutes. Anything else?"

"… No. That will do nicely …"

"We all know the raised stakes I proposed, right? Then, I'll fast forward this a little more, and …" I trailed off while adjusting the recording's playback position on my smartphone.

"So, you do accept these conditions?"

"Yes. I, Morgan Trissand, accept these conditions to your duel, and I swear to follow them on my honor as a noble and captain of the royal guard. Does that satisfy you?"

"You heard it here, ladies and gentlemen of the courtyard," I announced after stopping the track, "Straight from the captain of the royal guard himself, Morgan Trissand. From this raw, unaltered recording I started after he made the offer, there were no mentions of what isn't allowed in the duel, so my Companion, Lily, throwing dirt on his face can be considered fair play. I shared a copy with Rachel and Max on their smartphones so you all can listen for yourselves the whole discussion on our rules and conditions."

"Ah! He's right! I just got it! Wow, I can't believe this thing actually still works," Rachel commented as she and Max looked at their phones in surprise. Just in case, I also secretly sent a copy to Tamy, too.

"And with that, we can end this round with a point for us, right, judge? How much time has passed now?" I asked him while putting my phone away.

"U-Um … yes, that is technically correct. The second round goes to Christopher and his Companion. A total of 23 seconds has passed," the knight judge declared.

"You heard the judge, Captain Morgan, so let's get to our starting positions and move onto the last round," I suggested before I realized the captain's head was low enough that I couldn't see his expression.

Morgan's shoulders started to shake before he started chuckling, then escalating into full-blown laughter while clapping his hands.

"Bravo, Christopher!" he praised before turning to the others, "Take this lesson to heart, heroes, for he has proven knowledge that is very valuable. While established rules are what differentiates duels from other battles, war is also the difference in that there are none. To win, to survive, you must use any means necessary to your advantage, whether it's your skills, your weapons, or your surroundings. To keep on fighting until one remains standing, that is one of the keys to win this war against the Demons. You'd do well to learn this early on while you can, like Christopher has."

{Well, shit,} I thought, {Should have expected as much from an esteemed noble, to even take a negative situation and spin it to his advantage, and I was hoping to get him a bit angry over this too … no, he's still angry, very much so. His eyes looking my way certainly say so, despite the confident, artificial smile he has. He's really gonna let me have it, now. Better be ready for anything.} I then got myself in a fighting stance. Lily, despite sensing my wariness, moved behind me for the last phase of our plan.

"Prepare yourself, Christopher Monty," Mogan warned, not going into his own fighting position, his malicious eyes staring down my soul with that empty smile, "For this last round, I, too, will take advantage of the 'rules' we put forth for this duel and show you just how different we are. Judge, give the signal."

"Y-Yes, sir! The final round between Captain Morgan versus Christopher and his Companion! Ready … begin!" the judge knight declared.

At that, I charged head-on towards Morgan. He didn't have his guard up and was completely vulnerable.

Just as I was within range with my sword up, Morgan chanted, "[Shield]!"

A translucent barrier suddenly appeared before I ran right into it face-first, bouncing me back and leaving me slightly sore in front. Despite the pain, I tried whacking the practice sword against the barrier in the shape of a tall pillar. It was like I was smacking metal against stronger metal as I kept delivering blows. Not a scratch or hint of damage could be seen.

Morgan, only a few yards away at the center of the pillar, gave a boisterous, condescending laugh, "Go ahead and keep trying, you'll never break it! This [Shield] spell allows me to erect a boundary that lets nothing pass over, person, weapon, magic, or otherwise! Each blow inflicted on it will only lower my MP, and not only do I have a lot of it, but your attacks are weak! But don't worry! If you keep at it at your pace, I'm sure you'll break it eventually! Maybe 6 hours from now! Because as long as I have this spell activated, no harm will be brought to those within this circle! Nothing can get in, or out! This duel will be done long before you're able to break this down! It's over! You—"

I stopped trying to break the barrier moments ago, as I foresaw signs of the end of this duel drawing near. The noise that rang throughout the entire courtyard and shut Morgan's big mouth was the repeated clangs of his armor.

"… Lose?" Morgan asked.

"No … Human lose with talk. Chris and Lily win," Lily said in Landrew's language as she continued stabbing Morgan's armor, whether it was to make certain of our victory or out of annoyance was anyone's guess.

"Th-That is the third round! Christopher and his Companion win the duel with the final time of 2 minutes!" the knight judge declared.

"H-How did …" Morgan trailed off with a blanched face while releasing his barrier. It was when he looked down that his eyes widened. At his feet, next to Lily who was covered from head to toe in dirt, was a large hole about her size in the ground. There was a second hole around the same size some yards behind me.

My original plan was to distract Morgan with my barrage of blows, with his eyes still stinging from the dirt and knowledge of how I had dealt the previous two blows. With his focus entirely on me, Lily would use her [Digging] skill to go underground out of his sight, pop out from behind him, and deal the finishing blow, herself. I was aware of his defensive Grace-type spell after using [Appraisal] on him, but neither of us expected he'd pull out such a near impenetrable magic shield, and I was almost certain that my plan wouldn't work. Then I noticed how its border was drawn, and from that, I felt we should still give our plan a shot. So, I adjusted the plan a bit and we went about it the same as we would have from the beginning. Fortunately, though things can't pass over Morgan's [Shield] spell, passing under it was another story. With him blabbing up a storm while his ass was totally unprotected, it was almost anticlimactic for the duel to end by Lily's literally dirty, but silent ambush. Still, a win's a win, and from it, Lily and I would get the rest of today and the next 5 days off from his hellish training.

"We did it, Lily!" I exclaimed while tossing my sword aside, squatted down, and opened my arms wide for a hug.

I was sure my smile was pretty big and goofy, too.

"Chris!" Lily said in kind, her beady black eyes gleaming with joy while an open-mouthed grin revealed her pointy chompers.

She tossed the dagger aside and ran towards me with her arms spread just as wide as mine, ready to leap from the ground and into my embrace. But then horror struck me when I saw Morgan approaching my Companion from behind, his face twisted with rage and bloodlust. He had his weapon above him and was about to drop it down onto her head.

{It may be a blunt practice sword, he may not be the strongest knight, but still, with his Strength over 300 against a low-leveled Goblin …!}

"LILY WATCH OUT!" I screamed as I rushed to her side while everything was in slow motion.

Lily stopped and looked over her shoulder in confusion. I just tackled her to the ground, wrapped my arms around her, and braced myself for dear life while Morgan delivered his worst.

"You fucking, filthy Goblin!"

"GRAAAAAAAUUUUUGH!"

"AAAAUUGH!"

I felt a crash that rumbled the ground after that scream, followed by a clang of metal, but nothing hit me.

"Chris! Ye alright, boy?!"

"… A-Augustus?" I asked as I tentatively lifted my head up.

Squatting down to my level was my Tamer mentor, Bargamus, or 'Augustus' in public with Humans. His Companion, Siggins, was pinning Morgan to the ground with only a paw on his sternum, baring his large, beastly, slobbery teeth as he angrily growled at his prey. The captain of the royal guard was white as a sheet from getting overwhelmed by a monster much larger than him. His practice sword was sitting in the dirt.

"Did he hurt ye anywhere?! Bruises?! Broken bones?!" Bargamus exclaimed.

"N-No … other than the skid marks on my arms from the fall, I'm fine," I answered, albeit clumsily with my lack of composure at the moment.

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness I intervened when I did. With his Strength, who knows how ye'd end up?"

I got up to a knee and pulled Lily to standing before I rested my hands on her shoulders, "Lily, are you okay? I didn't hurt you anywhere, did I?"

Lily blinked in confusion, then shook her head, "No … Chris no hurt Lily. Lily ogay."

I sighed a shaky breath and pulled Lily into a tight embrace, holding her by the head and lower back while I rested my head on her shoulder.

"Thank god, I'm so glad. I'm so sorry, Lily, I'm so sorry …" I trailed off with shoulders trembling.

Lily, still confused on what was going on, still returned the hug anyway, and just as tight.

I didn't care if I was crying right there, or how everyone was staring in. Never had I felt so afraid of seeing Lily getting killed right before my eyes, and this was almost accomplished by a fucking knight. Not only this duel, but this aftermath was all the more reason for me to try and get us out of here as soon as possible.

Within, my fear at almost losing Lily, transformed into a mix of anger and animosity towards Morgan, Omar, and everyone under him inside of me. {No Human working for Omar in this damn castle can be trusted from this point on. I will get us out of here … even if it means staining my hands red with blood.}

**

Post-Chapter Author Note:

With this, I'll be stopping updates for 'The Xeno King' for now. This was originally an exclusive story that I wanted to spotlight by putting up a couple chapters on the public platforms. If you want to read more and see what happens next then, at the time of this announcement, you can see up to chapter 20 on my subscribestar for only $1, with new chapters weekly.

Will I post more chapters for free in the future? I may, if I make enough on subscribestar. I'm hoping we can reach $250 a month for a start. If so, I'll post another 10 chapters on my public sites. If we get to $500 a month (an amount that I'd really like to make right now with my current finances), then I will put 'The Xeno King' on public updates along with 'OP Brawler' and 'Great Sage' indefinitely. Who knows, maybe I'll start adding new exclusive stories on subscribestar more often. I really want to be in a good situation financially so I can afford to be able to post a lot of content online, maybe even update my current main stories twice a week. It will take a lot of work, so we'll have to see how things go in the future.

In the meantime, I'll leave the status on this story as 'incomplete' since there's still plenty more in store for Chris and his Monster Girls, and I hope I'll be able to post more of this story on the public platforms soon. I honestly feel this has become one of my better stories out of those I've published so far.

Until we meet again on here, this is Orange Rain signing off for now.