Blinking back to the Volcano, Eli was not happy with his level gains, but he had run out of time. It was time to go home and he was able to reach level 81, gaining experience was getting much harder even with the increase in the power of the monsters. He fought almost continuously for 48 hours against level 75-85 monsters, and was only able to get 6 levels, but he didn't need the levels, his people needed access to them since the system wouldn't allow them to out-level him. The good news was now his stats looked like this:
"Magic Level 81"
"Stats: Strength 55, Reaction 60, Vitality 60, Intellect 55, Wisdom 60, Resistance 60, Will 721"
Sighing, he moved his way over to where the ash cloud was rising and pressed out with his magic sense again, trying to find the exact point he needed to press with his will to stop the eruption and the ash cloud. It took him longer than expected to find it again since a lot changed when he had crushed the ground with his takeoff earlier, there wasn't one spot like before there were three smaller spots. This actually helped him since they were easier to force closed. The first one went easy enough, it took a few tries but he got the hang of it and forced it off. The other two kept going but with a bit more pressure behind them, making it take longer than the first one since he had to put more will into it. The third one took over an hour and he was covered in dried sweat from it evaporating the instant it left his body, but he was done.
The ash cloud had stopped and the area underground was calm, it still radiated tremendous heat and there was lava around but the eruption part was stopped. He wanted to get cleaned up before he got home so he decided to run to the stream not too far from the crater. When he got there he stripped down and washed himself as best he could in the shallow water, the whole time he had a smile on his face remembering his and Tara first time making love right here in this creek. He was excited to see her, so he sent her a message that he would be returning soon right through the front gate, in case she wanted to meet him there and catch him up on everything.
Putting his ape underwear and cloak on, he started a light jog toward the town and when he cleared the bigger trees he slowed it to a walk. He wasn't really sure how much his upgrades had changed his appearance, but he wanted to give her time to see him as he approached so it wasn't all sprung on her at once. Walking up he noticed the walls around the crater first, he didn't remember any walls, this was not the small cozy place he had left. He quickly fired off a message to Bethany and Audrey saying he was back and coming in the gate soon. They would be able to answer what was going on better if they were together.
His mind just kept spinning on ideas of why it was so different, did they get attacked so they built the walls for defense? Did someone take it over and they did not tell him and the new person built walls? Every scenario he could come up with was more ridiculous than the last so he decided that it had to be something crazy and his best bet was to roll with it. As long as everyone is ok, that's all that matters. He did his best to keep a calm mind as he continued to walk toward the town and as he got closer he could see five people waiting at the entrance. For a second he was confused, but then he remembered that there were some new recruits so he decided to make his entrance a bit more dramatic.
Tara, Bethany, Audrey, Lucy, and Beau were standing at the entryway to Crater Town and idly waiting for Eli to arrive. Tara and Bethany were nervously fidgeting, Audrey and Lucy were excited and having trouble standing still. Beau was the only one of them that was calm, at least until he saw who was approaching. In the distance, he saw a tall figure in a dark cloak and a white mask walking towards them, he was so far away he was barely visible, but then suddenly he was closer and a little to his left. As he got closer, Beau could see the air around him was distorted and wavy, like a heat haze in the desert but much stronger and localized around the figure.
Beau looked to the others, who had noticed the figure and all four of them were extremely excited with large smiles on their faces. Beau surmised that this figure would have to be Lord Ash in order to elicit such a reaction from these women. When he looked back, the figure skipped towards them again and slightly to the side, it looked like time had stopped and he had just kept walking and then time started again. There was no delay when it moved like that, completely instantaneous, and the haze around him was more ominous and visible as it approached. Beau audibly gulped at the casual show of power, he was stunned in place, unable to move or even blink.
Eli blinked again, getting close enough with this one that his people were just outside of his presence's range, he wasn't using his will skill, just his presence, which as far as he could tell was just a magical representation of his stats, magic nodes, and soul level. Without using the skill the range was much smaller, only thirty feet or so and it was very uneven. It wouldn't kill anyone unless they were really against him, or more specifically against his will. He didn't really know how it all worked but he had a feeling it was something similar to that since his will skill was all about forcing those who would not obey his will into the ground. It might have something to do with whether or not someone or something's will would bow to his will, but that had connotations he didn't like so he didn't think about it much.
Without even waiting for him to get closer, Tara ran out to him, through all the haze and jumped into his arms hugging him and wrapping her legs around him. She tried to pick up his mask to kiss him but it wouldn't move unless Eli did it himself, which he didn't, so she got down and stood beside him. Bethany mirrored Tara's actions but kissed his mask and his neck before getting down and standing on the other side of him, they had realized his plan to be dramatic for the new recruits and were playing along. Audrey had not realized what was going on and looked confused so she just walked up to him and gave him a light hug and stood next to Bethany.
Lucy was in awe, sheer unreserved awe. Seeing her prince, even in a mask and cloak, displaying his power took her breath away. She had heard stories from her grandfather and teacher of the power of the royal Konzak family, but this was beyond her expectations or anything she believed was even possible. And on top of what she was seeing, he was so new to magic that she was certain that he didn't even know what he was doing right now or what he is capable of. This was a man worthy of her family's service, but the warning from the others about him popped into her head and she suddenly was unable to move. If she caused him emotional distress when that is a problem, it would be the opposite of the sole purpose of her and her family's existence.
Not knowing what to do and with everyone staring at her, she took a step inside his presence and when his power touched her like a physical force her knees wobbled and then her legs just gave out and she fell down. Her training kicked in as she fell and she ended up on her knees bent over with her forehead touching the ground and her hands out in front of her. This was the posture she was taught to show deference or beg forgiveness. The experience was so intense that her mind was having trouble grasping it. Feeling someone's presence when you have magic sense can be a very intimate sensation, like giving someone a naked soul hug.
Lucy's body stopped responding and she was pretty sure she had wet herself a little, but after a few seconds she regained control of her mind and was mortified at her display of weakness. There wasn't any way in the world that this prince, on his way to becoming a magic god, would want a weak servant like her. She had failed him before even being given a chance to serve, if she didn't find a way to make this right all of her family's work the past 25 years would be in vain. She had been born and trained to help the Konzak family with a chance at regaining power and taking back the Chaos throne. There had to be something she could do for him, but she didn't have enough information. He had the beginnings of his own clan, even though it was small, he had his own town and his own women, those are the only things she had seen the men in her family covet.
Before her mind could stop spinning she felt his presence vanish, as if it had never been there in the first place, another astounding feat having such control of will. Not able to even look up, she knew he had moved on and would leave her behind, she was a failure, but she would find a way to win back his trust. However, someone picked her up and held her in a princess carry. It was the prince, he had removed his cloak and mask and was holding her like she was something precious to him. He didn't even care that she had wet herself and her pants were wet, he held her softly to his chest and she could hear his heart beating. It was slow and strong, the size difference between them made it look like he was holding a child, but in that moment, Lucy felt like the most important thing on the whole planet.
She had completely lost track of time, getting herself lost in his heartbeat and this new feeling of connection that she had with her prince. Then she was placed on a soft moss covered bed, coming back to herself she saw that this wasn't her bed, it was far too big. Immediately knowing whose bed she now lay in with wet pants on, she sat upright and ran out of the room, at least that's what she tried to do. There was a large hand holding her down, it was so strong that there might as well have been a building holding her still, she struggled to get free of this situation so she could jump off a mountain out of embarrassment. But while struggling to get away her breast had brushed up against his hand and he had adjusted so he wasn't touching it.
This last act of compassion and decency took all the fight out of her and she gave in and laid down on the bed. Relaxing her body was when a wave of exhaustion had hit her and she no longer had the strength to hold it back any longer. Tears fell down her cheeks, she wasn't crying or sobbing, but tears fell off her face for the first time since her father died. She just lay there, staring at the deep purple of his eyes, eyes that she felt she could stare at for the rest of her life and still never see the bottom. Her chest tensed, more tears fell, and out of some kind of primal response from deep within her, she reached out her arms for a hug. She could tell from his eyes that he was smiling and he leaned down and hugged her.
Audrey was crying as well, both Tara and Bethany didn't like how close Lucy seemed to be getting to Eli, but when they saw Audrey crying, they knew there was more to this than some 19 year old losing her brains from a hot guy. There was something deep going on here, Tara knew more than the others and looked concerned but not surprised. She was more worried about the things she was going to tell Eli about his family, than she was about some girl who wet herself stealing Eli away. Now that he was back, she could feel how much he had missed her, but she could also feel how much he missed Bethany which made her nervous and relieved, which caused a lot of confusion in her heart.
Tara decided to think about Bethany another time, she had two options when it came to dealing with Lucy, she could tell her to distance herself from Eli, or she could act supportive to her like a sister. The sister's plan was how she was dealing with Audrey so it would probably work on Lucy too. Then Tara glanced at Bethany and despite her best efforts she very dramatically rolled her eyes. Bethany was looking at Eli as if she hadn't eaten in years and he was a perfectly cooked steak. Her eyes were wide, scanning every inch of his body and she had a predatory smile on her face like a snake finding an unattended nest filled with eggs. While it was concerning, it was normal Bethany behavior, what worried Tara was that through their link she could tell that Eli knew what she was feeling and he didn't shy away from it. Also, she was drooling, making her look a lot like a cartoon character.