Rhode quietly watched the Xenos arguing, and his impression of them was actually quite good.
Even Gu Luosi, who was most resistant to him, only put on a threatening facade to drive him away, without a trace of killing intent.
Lei Yi and Reed even spoke up directly for him.
Hmm… should it be said that even with deep-seated hatred, the nature of animals is always purer than that of humans?
Seeing that the argument would go on endlessly, Rhode lightly snapped his fingers.
"I say…"
Skill: Dragon's Fear, activated!
An invisible yet seemingly substantial and heavy aura of terror instantly swept through the entire cavern.
It was not merely pressure, but an absolute dominance, as if from the pinnacle of life over lesser beings!
The Xenos' bodies trembled uncontrollably, their muscles stiff as stone, unable to move even a single finger.
Their minds seemed frozen, their hearts gripped tightly by an invisible hand.
An irresistible fear, originating from the depths of their souls, instantly overwhelmed their reason!
Immediately after, an even more terrifying sight occurred.
Beside each of them, in the previously empty shadows, Shadow Soldiers, each wielding a sharp blade and glowing red eyes, silently emerged one by one!
The slight numerical advantage the Xenos felt was crushed in an instant.
They realized with terror that if the man opposite them wished it, with just a thought, all of them would be torn to shreds instantly.
Lei Yi pressed her lips together, her beautiful eyes filled with intense turmoil and unspeakable sadness.
Did I misjudge him…?
"Now, you should understand."
Rhode's calm, unruffled tone slowly echoed in the silent cavern.
"If I truly harbored hostility towards you, then by now, you would all have been killed by me."
A chill rose in the hearts of all the Xenos.
Even Gu Luosi, who had been the most unyielding before, could only chatter his teeth, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.
Rhode gently waved his hand, and the suffocating Dragon's Fear and all the Shadow Soldiers vanished as if they were illusions.
However, not a single Xenos dared to move.
They now felt that in every shadow around them, countless cold eyes were hidden, staring intently at them.
If they dared to show even a hint of hostility, those terrifying shadows would surge out again and tear them to pieces.
Rhode watched them quietly.
"I am here to give you an opportunity."
"An opportunity for you to live openly on the surface."
"!!!"
All the Xenos' eyes widened suddenly, their faces displaying complex expressions mixed with shock, doubt, and disbelief.
"Of course, all of this is not without a price."
"You pledge your loyalty to me, and I guarantee your safety."
An extremely harsh contract simultaneously appeared in the minds of all the Xenos.
They had never encountered written words, but they instantly understood the content and meaning of the contract.
They would truly be guaranteed freedom, truly able to live under the blue sky, but the price was to sign this contract, surrendering everything!
"Freedom is always relative. But I can promise to give you a larger and safer cage."
Rhode's face showed a kind and sunny smile.
"Now choose: to become my subordinate warriors, or to become my subordinate Revenant ."
The Xenos exchanged glances, a bitter smile on their faces.
There was no choice at all…
After this, more than forty Xenos, without exception, all signed contracts with Rhode.
To prevent any accidents, Rhode even sent Kamish to go down with them to find some companions living on other floors—such as mermaids living near the water—and bring them back to be contracted as well.
What began as an accidental encounter unexpectedly evolved into all the Xenos becoming Rhode's subordinates.
But even Gu Luosi, the most stubborn Gargoyle initially, surprisingly felt a sense of relief and peace of mind, his lips even curling into a smile he hadn't noticed himself.
The Xenos lit a bonfire, the flames crackling, casting flickering light and shadow on their excited yet somewhat uneasy faces.
They generously offered their treasured fruits and delicacies, which emitted a strange luster and aroma, to their new master. Everyone sat around the bonfire, as if holding a feast.
Gu Luosi added a thick log to the roaring flames, watching the dancing fire, his mood complex.
"I never thought I would feel genuinely relaxed by becoming a human's subordinate…"
At this time, the existence of Xenos was still relatively secret; they hadn't had much contact with adventurers, so some of them were far less radical than in the main story.
"Gahahaha!"
The Lizardman, Reed, scratched his hard scalp, letting out a hearty and rough laugh.
"Lord Rhode is the most terrifying enemy, but if he is the master who shelters us, then nothing could be more reassuring."
The Orc, Ful, who was not very articulate, just grunted and nodded his furry head vigorously, while gesticulating to show his agreement.
Compared to humans, these special beings could more keenly sense Rhode's unfathomably terrifying aura once he stopped concealing it.
That absolute disparity at the soul level allowed them to quickly recognize reality from the outset.
Rhode was currently holding Fei Er, the soft and cuddly bird-person young girl , in his arms. The little one curled up in his embrace like a docile kitten, happily playing with the exquisite doll Rhode had given her.
Meanwhile, Rhode was lost in thought, looking at the system prompts in his mind.
"S-Rank Wish completed."
"Reward level judgment: normal."
"Task completion: normal, Requester satisfaction: exceeding expectations."
"Congratulations! You have received an S-Rank reward!"
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Dungeon's special building: Labyrinth Sacred Spring!"
"Congratulations! You have received 10,000 Wish Points. Current balance: 17,080 points."
Indeed, the moment he signed the contract with the Xenos, based on his intentions and his ability to achieve the goal, the Wish was deemed fulfilled.
This was the first time there had been two requesters for the same Wish, with different requirements.
Frankly, Rhode was naturally more interested in Uranus's ability.
However, Uranus's Wish content was to make humans on the surface and Xenos coexist peacefully.
This was simply a joke.
Even setting aside thousands of years of grievances and the dark chain of interests, even if many more people like Bell from the original story appeared, such a goal would be impossible to achieve.
Because humans themselves cannot coexist peacefully with each other…
Of course, if it meant killing everyone in the world until only those who 'sincerely' wished to coexist peacefully with Xenos remained, that wouldn't be impossible.
But setting aside whether it was worth doing, even thinking about it, Uranus's Wish was not for him to do that.
Rhode was tempted for only a moment before regretfully giving up and choosing another path.
He had indeed suspected that the Dungeon was alive, but he never expected that she could also generate Wishes.
Her Wish, in the Danmachi World, was theoretically an almost impossible task to complete.
But… he could travel to other worlds!
As long as the Xenos are sent to other different worlds, wouldn't that be equivalent to fulfilling their desire to live freely under the blue sky in a roundabout way?
There's no need to stubbornly stick to this small place, Danmachi World. Moreover, demi-human races like them are not uncommon in the myriad worlds.
As a reward, Rhode also obtained a building from the Dungeon that could generate monsters.
However, originally, this ability could only produce ordinary, low-intelligence monsters, but Perfect Synchronization once again displayed its power, directly modifying the ability to produce Xenos!
[Special Building · Labyrinth Holy Spring]
[Effects:
1. Every once in a while, it will randomly conceive a Xenos who is absolutely loyal to you.
2. Depending on the materials you invest, you can produce Xenos with specific characteristics.
3. The souls of dead Xenos will automatically return to the Holy Spring, waiting for rebirth.]
Looking at the somewhat outrageous effects of this building, Rhode was quite happy in his heart.
The Dungeon really gave him a great gift. This is directly giving him a troop pool!
However, this can also be considered Rhode exploiting a bug. For any local in the Danmachi World, this request is almost impossible to fulfill.
Rhode didn't hesitate at all and immediately arranged for the Labyrinth Holy Spring to be placed in a corner of Kamui Space, and set the gender of the Xenos generated to all be girls.
He can't control whether the Xenos born naturally in the Dungeon are male or female, but who would put male characters in their own pool?
Anyway, Rhode declined.
Aren't all kinds of cute demi-human girls more appealing?
"M-Master... for..."
A slightly stiff and apprehensive girlish voice sounded beside him, pulling Rhode back from his thoughts.
Lani is an Arachne, a demi-human with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a spider.
Her upper body is wearing light adventurer's leather armor.
Including her hair, her human skin is as white and flawless as a snowfield.
If an ordinary adventurer were to see her, their gaze would first be startled and disgusted by her hideous and terrifying spider lower body, and then they would involuntarily be attracted by her beautiful face, which was enough to make even the gods jealous.
She originally held a considerable degree of wariness and disgust towards humans, but since she had become Rhode's Familia.
A small, even she herself dared not admit, expectation and longing sprouted in her closed heart.
She tried her best to curl her huge spider body next to Rhode, bent down, and offered a red fruit to Rhode with her slightly trembling hands.
Her eyes flickered and dodged, seemingly extremely afraid of being rejected by Rhode.
Rhode came back to his senses, and a gentle smile immediately bloomed on his face, naturally taking the fruit.
"Thanks, Lani."
He took a bite without any disgust, and an indescribable, wonderful taste exploded on his taste buds.
The tender flesh and abundant juice, clearly a fruit, tasted like a thick-cut steak, with a unique and rich savory aroma!
Long-term vegetarians were ecstatic.
"Delicious, love it, is there more?!" Rhode's eyes lit up.
A simple thank you made Lani feel flattered, she suddenly got up, her movements were a little flustered.
"W-Wait, Lord Rhode, I'll get it right away!"
The sharp joints of the spider made a rapid "pa ta pa ta" sound on the ground, and soon, she brought a large bag of glittering, meaty fruits with a flushed face and piled them in front of Rhode.
"Master, y-you please....."
However, this time, Rhode didn't take the fruit immediately, but instead reached out and gently touched her spider leg covered in black carapace.
"` ¨ M-Master?"
Lani's body stiffened suddenly, instinctively wanting to dodge, but she stubbornly suppressed her movements.
The color instantly drained from her face, and a strong sense of gloom and inferiority emerged, her hands tightly intertwined.
"It's very ugly, isn't it... It's better not to let my body defile Master's eyes..." Her voice was as low as a mosquito's hum, full of self-loathing.
However, what she heard was Rhode's voice with a smile and praise.
"No, it should be said that spider girls are very unique. I don't know what others think, but at least I think Lani is very cute."
How can XP be such an inconvenient thing!
"C-Cute?!"
Lani exclaimed in disbelief, she suddenly raised her head and saw Rhode's eyes with a sincere smile.
She could be sure that this sentence was by no means a hypocritical platitude, her master... really thought she was "cute"!
A stream of hot steam suddenly rose from the top of Lani's head.
She was shy and at a loss, her eight spider legs pawing restlessly on the ground, stirring up dust, but the overflowing joy on her face could not be concealed no matter what.
"Also, I also know a spider girl who is as cute as you, named Shiraori."
"If there is a chance in the future, you may be able to meet each other."
Saying that, Rhode's fingertips magic flowed in the air, outlining the cute appearance of the young Shiraori.
All the Xenos who saw it couldn't help but show a doting smile on their faces.
"Ahhh, as expected, so cute!"
"Is her name Shiraori, uh-huh, I want to be friends with her!"
"There are actually Xenos in other worlds too..."
The Xenos who were connected to the system naturally knew about the existence of other worlds.
Their biggest wish now, besides living under the blue sky, is to save enough contribution points to go to other worlds and communicate with other Xenos.
Lani looked at the incomparably cute Shiraori, and couldn't help but narrow her eyes and show a gentle smile.
The tension and unease in her heart gradually dissipated.
Lani's eyes quietly sized up Rhode's profile, and a warm current surged in her heart.
Humans are selfish, stubborn, and terrible creatures... but, but! Lord Rhode is really different from them!
Seeing that their attention had been drawn over, Rhode began to PUA them with practiced ease.
"If you want (better things), there are also many abilities to change forms, but the prerequisite is having enough Contribution Points."
This sentence was like igniting a powder keg, and all the Xenos instantly boiled over!
"There's actually this kind of ability!"
Although they might not all dislike their current appearances, they also wanted to try the more convenient limbs of humans.
The snake woman Laura beside him reacted the fastest and was also the boldest.
Her beautiful snake tail, covered with light blue, cool scales, gently but teasingly wrapped around Rhode's body.
Laura had long, emerald green hair and a pair of bewitching yellow vertical pupils, and the armor on her upper body concealed marshmallows comparable to Maliu's.
She flicked her forked tongue, her big eyes staring at Rhode with endless charm.
"Then, dear master, how should we earn the Contribution Points you mentioned?"
Rhode glanced at her, giving her an approving look.
What a great straight man.
He snapped his fingers, fishing out a sleepy Loli Apophis from Kamui Space.
"9527, introduce them to the tasks designed specifically for them."
Loli Apophis rubbed her eyes, crossing her waist and pouting in dissatisfaction.
"Master, I'm 6324!"
"Uh, that's not important!"
After staying with Alise for a long time, Rhode had also learned this skill of pretending to be stupid and never listening to others, a supreme skill of thick-skinnedness.
Loli Apophis shook her head helplessly, sighing like a little adult.
She looked around, nimbly climbed onto a large rock, cleared her throat, and, seeing the curious, expectant, and awe-filled gazes cast by the Xenos below, a hint of pride appeared on her small face.
"Let me state one thing in advance: theoretically, you can now have Lord Rhode transfer you to a new world to live freely."
Just as a light of desire erupted in the eyes of the Xenos, and their hearts beat faster, Loli Apophis changed her tone, a devilish smile appearing on the corner of her mouth as she raised a slender finger.
"But… being in the Dungeon is your unique advantage! It is your golden period for earning Contribution Points! Are you sure you want to give it up?"