Deadmeat Saga

The next day-

A beautiful, pointy-eared female elf with chestnut hair and a robust green orc with prismatic tattoos woke up in a large bedroom.

"Mmm... Hah?" Hazel looked around, confused.

"Seems like we were not hallucinating." Mylo looked at his big, green hands, built for crushing skulls.

"Yeah... EEK!" Hazel suddenly shrieked and covered herself, realizing her vulnerable nudeness.

"Ah... Yeah, being revived with clothes on would be weird." Mylo was not embarrassed as he looked down and found a convenient set of clothes. "Seems like Gerhart already thought this through."

"Ah! Then don't look for a bit!" Hazel said.

"Why are you embarrassed so much? We already did it a few times." Mylo amusedly said.

"But we only did it in the dark! So don't look!" Hazel violently blushed.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh." Mylo rolled his eyes, picked up the clothes, and started getting dressed.

Hazel also quickly got dressed and found that the clothes magically adjusted themselves.

"Oh! Magically adjusting clothes! It is expensive stuff!" Hazel exclaimed.

"Compared to being revived with mighty powers, this is mere secular goods," Mylo said, having already sensed his incredible power.

He felt hundreds of times more powerful. No, perhaps thousands. He also felt his senses and intelligence so high it was terrifying. He tried running some calculations in his head, things that were impossible before, and found them so easy it was laughable. Pricking his ears, if he focused, he could hear the conversations from half a city away, the playing of children, merchants doing business, men laughing over cheap ale, and the fake moans of prostitutes in a brothel. And yet, his mind could process it all.

Despite being so powerful, he completely mastered it. He also intuitively felt his Vitality, Aura, and Magic in himself, clad in an impenetrable armor of skin, flesh, blood, and bone. He received a flawless, superhuman body, and so did Hazel.

"Gerhart is generous. I don't know how much it cost him, but it must be a lot." Mylo thought, clenching and unclenching his hands deep in thought.

"Mylo?" Hazel spoke, waking him from his thought.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry." Mylo apologized and turned around and saw Hazel.

She was a 1.85m tall elf, taller than most human women but of regular height for elves. She had a lithe build, long and graceful limbs covered in a long-sleeved shirt, curvaceous legs in tight leather pants, and modest assets. Her pair of elf ears and enchanting ethereal eyes told him she wasn't human. And she was very, very beautiful.

"Mylo, you're drooling." Hazel giggled.

"Hah?" Mylo blinked and instinctively rubbed his lips but discovered he didn't drool. "Hey!"

"Hehehe!" Hazel mischievously laughed as she looked at Mylo.

He was a small giant, a 2.2m tall musclebound hulk. While she imagined orcs were ugly, she admitted he had a killer body. And his face, although having some inhuman features, was very handsome.

"I can live with that." She thought.

But then, she noticed Mylo giving her a smug grin and realized she was staring, causing her to blush.

Having a thin skin, she couldn't take it and immediately changed the subject, "Mylo, where is Gerhart?"

"He should be outside." Mylo guessed.

Soon, they opened the fancy bedroom door, only to meet an elderly Mouse Kin Butler.

"Ah! Sir, Madam, you are awake at last. The master told me you will wake up around this time, so I waited these two hours." The butler respectfully bowed.

"Aw, you shouldn't have." Hazel awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

"Thank you for waiting. Can you please tell us who you are and where is this place?" Mylo asked.

"Ah, where are my manners? I am Fabrice, the head butler of the Farrington Household under Mistress Hope. You are in the Farrington Mansion in the Port City of Crester in the Osora Kingdom." Fabrice greeted.

The duo were startled.

"Why were we revived in the Osora Kingdom?" Mylo curiously asked.

"The master is a busy man. As soon as the initial revival began, he gave instructions before riding away with the Mistress and the others." Fabrice explained.

"He left us alone? Weren't we supposed to travel to the other continent?" Hazel frowned.

"Not exactly. The master created a new clone and left three companions here to accompany you." Fabrice respectfully said.

"Clone? What's a clone?" Hazel widened her eyes.

"And three companions?" Mylo raised a brow in interest.

"Please, follow me." Fabrice didn't explain, instead leading the two to the study room. They saw a sizable collection of books and three individuals silently reading the books.

One was a man in his mid-twenties with lizard-like features, having onyx scales and reptilian limbs. However, the horns on his head, the furled wings on his back, the golden tattoos on his body, and the restrained pressure he emitted told them he was not a Lizard Kin.

Next was a child-sized Tinkerer with messy black bed hair. She was pretty cute, but she had prismatic tattoos similar to theirs covering her. She was reading the books with a deep hunger for knowledge in her curious eyes, flipping a page every few seconds.

The last of the three was an enchanting yellow Fox Kin with Prismatic Tattoos, ten fluffy tails gently waving behind. She gracefully sat there, also reading some books.

When they entered, the three turned their heads to look at them with a friendly smile.

"Ah! Sir Mylo and Miss Hazel, I assume? Welcome back to the living! I am Bertrand, the master's butler." Bertrand said with an approachable smile.

"Hello! I am Ariyana. I am the future head of technology under Master Gerhart!" Ariyana cheerily said.

"I am Tsusaki, my husband's humble Concubine. I am glad to meet my husband's two dearest childhood friends." Tsusaki gently smiled.

"Oh! Hello! I'm Hazel." Hazel enthusiastically waved at them.

"I am Mylo. Nice to meet you." Mylo smiled back.

"So, you are all Gerhart's servants and even Concubine? Gerhart sure moved up in the world these two months." Hazel curiously said.

"Did he buy you, or?" Mylo cautiously asked.

"Master bought me, but I serve my master willingly. He gave me a new lease on life." Bertrand said.

"I was more abandoned and got rescued." Ariyana smiled.

"I merely had the luck to butter up to the right person at the right time." Tsusaki humbly said.

"Well, we only got revived because of our friendship with Gerhart, so we are in the same boat," Hazel said, not looking down on anyone.

"I look forward to working with you." Mylo warmly said.

"Sir and Miss, please, have a seat. We are waiting until the master's new clone fully manifests." Bertrand said and pointed at two prepared fancy chairs.

"Would you like some tea and snacks?" Fabrice suggested.

"Oh! Thank you." Hazel smiled and sat on a chair.

"That would be great." Mylo nodded and sat beside her, randomly picking a book, wanting to read it, but found that the language was foreign.

"I can't read this." Mylo bitterly said.

"Well, it is in a foreign language." Hazel shrugged.

"Now that I think about it, how did I understand Fabrice?" Mylo suddenly thought of a point.

"That is your Translation Talent. Didn't you see your status?" Ariyana curiously asked.

"See our status? We don't have Analyze Status..." The moment Hazel said that, suddenly, she saw her status window and widened her eyes in shock. "Oh, shit! We do have it!"

"What?!" Mylo widened his eyes and tried, finding that he could read his status. It was much more detailed than what he remembered as a child. And more importantly-

"Primordial Elf?! Golden Marrow?! Level 60?! What is this!? So powerful!" Hazel's mouth gapped in amazement.

"Hazel, check the status! All Stats are SS-grade! And we have dozens of powerful-sounding talents." Mylo was in disbelief.

"Oh, yeah! I see it! Wow! Gerhart went all out!" Hazel was slack-jawed.

"Wait, so if we have all this, then-" Mylo suddenly raised his head and looked at the trio.

"Yes. We also received the master's gifts." Bertrand nodded. 

"Yeah! Master is so generous!" Ariyana added.

"We don't deserve it, but I am grateful," Tsusaki gently said.

"Gerhart is powerful, hah?" Hazel scratched her cheek.

"We lucked out." Mylo shook his head.

Who could imagine their childhood friend, that gentle and slow fellow, would become this godlike? When that thought emerged, he recalled some details they ignored until now.

"Wait... We are Thralls now, right?" Mylo suddenly said.

"Hah... Now that you mention it, yes. I am a Personal Assistant." Hazel noted.

"Me too. Actually, from the information, Gerhart does have divine powers." Mylo nodded.

"And we are kinda eternal servants now, in a sense, but I don't feel bad about it," Hazel said.

"Well, Gerhart won't mistreat us or treat us like servants, so it's fine," Mylo reassured.

"I know." Hazel nodded.

Mylo turned to Bertrand, "Mister Bertrand, can you please teach us how to read this language?"

"Yeah! I feel so smart now! I also want to read." Hazel added.

"Certainly!" Bertrand smiled and started teaching the curious duo.

Several hours later, the door opened, and a charcoal-skinned muscular man with short silver hair, onyx horns, and chromatic tattoos entered. He was very handsome, and his colorful eyes immediately locked on the Elf and Orc pair.

"Mylo, Hazel!" The Black Oni smiled.

"Hah? Gerhart? Is that you?" Hazel blinked as she looked at the Oni. She saw traces of one of her best friends in him.

"Gerhart! Good to see you are well!" Mylo's eyes turned to crescents.

"You too. Have you grown accustomed to your new bodies?" The Oni asked.

"Yes! This body is great!" Hazel happily said.

"I also like this new body." Mylo nodded.

"That's great. Although I am still Gerhart, call this body Neo in public. The Gerhart persona is traveling on this continent." Neo explained.

"Oh. Okay, Gerhart." Hazel nodded.

"We have a lot to catch up on, don't we?" Mylo said.

"We do." Neo nodded.

Gerhart then sat together with his newly-revived friends and chatted, explaining everything.

He didn't hold anything back, telling them about his reincarnation, the powers he got after dying, and the situation so far while omitting some private details. He also told them about the danger this world is facing and how to stop it.

"So, we must conquer the dungeons and stop the Echos to save the world? Are we going to be heroes?!" Hazel's eyes shined. 

"In a nutshell, yes. But I won't call myself a hero. I am not selfless. I would say I am a villain who cares about this world out of self-interest." Neo shook his head.

"Well, if you have to gain from it, I guess calling us selfless heroes is far-fetched." Mylo agreed.

"There goes my fantasy." Hazel rolled her eyes.

"By the way, when can we go see Mother Roysa?" Mylo asked.

"We can go tomorrow. I have fast horses prepared." Neo said. "However, I am uncertain it would be best to tell her who you are. She already came to terms with your death and might be scared."

Mylo and Hazel were slightly saddened but nodded.

"We know." Hazel sighed.

"We just want to see her one last time," Mylo's shoulders slumped.

Neo sympathetically patted their shoulders.

"Sorry about this. I know it is hard, but please bear with it." Neo said.

"No, thank you for giving us this opportunity. It is all we could ask for." Hazel smiled.

"Yes, thank you." Mylo also smiled.

"Hm. We will be in Vlita for three days and then return. In five days, we will set sail." Neo said.

"Okay... Ah! Right. What happened to those bastards?" Hazel suddenly remembered to ask.

"Right. What happened to them?" Mylo asked.

"To Emerald Flame? Three are criminal slaves, and Flyx, their leader, is in exile in the Osora Kingdom. I already know where he is and can capture him if you want. I can turn him into your training dummy or slave if you want." Neo said.

"Well... If they got punished that badly, I guess it is fine." Hazel shook her head. She was too kind to be vengeful.

"If Hazel says so, then I will leave him be. But if he starts doing bad things again..." Mylo narrowed his eyes.

Neo could guess what he was thinking. While he wasn't vengeful, Mylo was worried about letting Flyx roam since he was dangerous to others.

"I can always convert him and put him in a Slave Position. He won't bother anyone again." Neo said.

"Then please do that. No need for further punishment." Mylo said.

"Okay," Neo nodded and sent a message to one of his converted Agents.

The next day, Flyx, who just barely settled down in one of the Dungeon Cities as a Dungeon Explorer, was ruthlessly attacked and beaten to an inch of his life within the Dungeon before being converted into a Slave Position. From that day on, he never dared to do bad things again.

.

.

.

Time flew by.

Gerhart and his reduced group traveled from nation to nation, quickly conquering dungeons in a blur before leaving Agents and Bannerholders to continue the conquest while advancing to the major nations. He held off going to Elkington Village to gather more energy and strength. After knowing there were sealed Demigods, he suspected one was in Elkington Forest, so he planned to reach the Divine Rank before investigating it.

Gerhart let Tsusaki, Ariyana, and Bertrand travel together to the other continent. Being Demihumans, they would feel at home. He also offered the option to Hope and To-Meri, but they didn't want to. Although Hope was now technically a Demihuman Royalty, she had no feelings toward the other continent, and although To-Meri was a Goddess's Chosen, her goddess practically abandoned her.

On the other hand, Ariyana wanted to see the Tinkerer civilization, and Bertrand was interested in seeing his roots.

Neo traveled with Mylo and Hazel to Vlita's orphanage. They restrained themselves, changing to a random appearance before speaking with everyone and praying before leaving. They were pretty sad when they saw their graves, knowing that they had to move on. But they were relieved when they saw everyone so happy. Despite being melancholic, a stone lifted from their hearts.

On Primo's side, he continued his facade, still acting innocently. However, his relationship with Himeko, Princess Libania, and Prisca's Daughter, Domentzia, improved. While he could have aimed to bed them and convert them, he was afraid that converting any of them would lead to a backlash. At best, a replacement would take their place. At worst, Himeko discovers it, becomes disgusted, and kicks him out. From what he understood, in Himeko's world, polygamy was illegal in most countries, including her own. While she might not kick him out for having a romantic relationship with one or two of her companions, bedding her later as Primo would be difficult. And without that, it would be dozens of times tougher to influence her.

And so, two weeks passed, and Scarlet and Princess Lydia arrived in Tabarga.