Ximena had come to give her daily report on what she had seen at the entrance of the dungeon.

After the terse recount, Ximena turned around and returned to her post, and the two resumed indulging their desires… not that they had ever stopped.

***

With that finished… Vale had now acquired over 40 Satisfaction.

It was finally time to summon a new Champion.

Vale, after taking a couple of minutes to catch his breath, left Salome and the workers behind and retreated into the core, which was now looking much less expansive than it had been before…

Not that it shrank at all, nor did Vale even know if there was an end, but the various items lying around the place made it feel smaller, like his footballs, weapons, and different materials, mainly the gigantic mound of stone.

Oh, there was also the other new item Vale had gotten. The R-Rank [Cold Pillow]... It sounded useless, but right now, it was Vale's greatest treasure.

Vale found a path of open area, then opened the store until his eyes settled on the Champion…

[Would you like to purchase a Champion for 40 Satisfaction?]

Vale took a deep breath in as he stared up.

"Yes."

'I wonder what type of person is going to show up…'

Would it be a beastperson like Ximena and Awilix? Another being of lust like Salome?

Far above in the white expanse, Vale shivered as his eyes lay on a billow of blackish gray smoke. The smoke continued to fall toward him at a steady pace, shooting off fumes that faded into nothingness. When the stream got closer, it started to spiral, then finally crashed against the nonexistent ground right in front of Vale.

As the smoke spread and the residuals faded, what was left behind made Vale freeze…

'A… man?'

In front of him was a person who was only a little taller than Toy, with black, soulless eyes and alabaster skin. Their hair was long and fell to their waist, and their cheeks had a marble-like shine.

They wore a black robe, tight black gloves, and combat boots; quite an odd combination.

They held one hand on their hips and the other behind their back as if hiding something.

There was also something weird about them… Vale couldn't sense their Aether at all. Or more so, he could barely sense it. Either they were extremely weak or hiding it.

Vale looked the person up and down, but he couldn't tell if they were a woman or an effeminate man. Either way, they looked like the gods themselves sculpted them… well, probably a god of the underworld. Their beauty was magnificent, uncanny, and horrifying!

Though… unlike everyone else, this person looked the closest to a normal human being. No glowing eyes, no wings, no horns… just onyx eyes and pale, flawless skin.

Soon, the person with soulless eyes spoke up:

"Hello…"

…Their voice did nothing to sway Vale's opinion in either direction. It was delicate like a woman's, but had an undertone of rasp that gave off wisps of a man's.

'Which is it?!'

Lust, as stated before, had no preference; however, Valentin Laurent, back on Terra, did…

But Vale had also gone through a mental overhaul and decided his past self wasn't the precious construct that should be preserved he'd once thought it was. At the same time… It's not like he was throwing out his past when he'd defined himself, but that he threw out his less desirable aspects.

Self-loathing, depression, dependence…

However, he was still defined and sculpted by his past experiences on Terra. They were still an essential part of him; he wasn't going to leave them behind.

So, he still didn't know where the line in the sand was drawn for him on account of the preference of Valentin Laurent. How would he act if this person were a man?

At least such interaction wasn't forced, as in the case of Ximena.

Vale internally sighed, then responded:

"Hello, Champion. I am Valentin, Master of Lust. What is your name?"

The doll-like person peered around the place, all while not blinking a single time, then eventually said:

"Mias…"

Vale's gaze narrowed and focused on the still strands of their long hair that hid a delicate but stern face.

"What was your calling… what made you accept the voice's offer?"

'Speaking of that voice… what even is it?'

Vale wasn't sure of anything to do with that mystical entity, but it was probably the same one speaking into his ear through the system.

'Whatever the system even is...'

"Survival… and there is someone here I must find. Thank you for calling me to this world, Master Valentin. I am indebted to you and eternally grateful."

Mias got down on one knee and finally closed their onyx eyes.

[Demon Class Champion Mias has submitted to you!]

Vale's expression wavered, and a minor shock rippled across his face.

'Just like that?!'

'And Demon?! The hell?!'

After taking a moment to regain composure, Vale found the will to prod:

"Someone... you're looking for? How do you know they're here?"

Mias raised their head slightly and looked into Vale's eyes.

"I tracked them here… though my ability seems to be faulty now. My power has wavered with my soul having transcended worlds and defied the pivotal law."

'What did any of that mean?!'

Vale began to open his mouth, but quickly closed it, then, after three seconds of thought, repeated to the androgynous person.

"You… tracked them here?"

Mias said evenly:

"Yes, I tracked their location to the portal. I didn't know where beyond, obviously, but the voice's proposition said it would send me to where he was. At least, that was what was promised. Though I won't know the validity of that promise until my power returns."

'Portal…? Huh? I know exactly what that is… not!'

'And who is he?!'

A flabbergasted Vale wished Salome were with him to help with this wild understanding.

"Portal? Can you… explain? Did you know about Pandora before you were summoned?"

Mias had a slightly confused expression slathered across their face.

"The portal is the mechanism linking all worlds to the parent one and each other. As for Pandora… I knew there was a world beyond, but I knew nothing of it until the voice whispered the fruits of knowledge into my ear. In fact, I didn't even know its name until you told me right now."

'Parent world? What the hell is this guy… gal'?' guy'?' on about?!'

'And the hell did they mean fruits of knowledge?!'

"I see…"

'No, the hell I don't! This person is mad!'

Either that or they were the only sane one.

In any case, Vale was lost and would at least need to be enlightened with this person's perspective. That seemed to be a long one, though, as Mias, despite looking youthful, had cold depths to their aura that gave off the impression of eternity.

Vale internally sighed, then said:

"I'd love to hear about your past, Mias. But first… who are you looking for? I haven't been in this world long either — I'll explain in a moment — but I can definitely help in this search."

Mias replied with a measured tone:

"Who am I looking for? Well, the bastard son of King Ixion, Carver Artoris."

'Carver? That's a weird name… Who names their son Carver? That Ixion guy must have been an idiot! Salome would be amused to find someone with such a wild name!'

Vale shoved that silly name in the back of his mind, then replied:

"Sadly, I don't know of such a man, but I will help you in your search. Provided you help in the defense of the dungeon."

Mias smiled as they stood up slowly.

"Of course, my liege. Thank you for this grace."

The main introduction was done. Having taken a slightly weird direction. One Vale hadn't even considered a possibility. But since the topic had drifted this way… There was now much more Vale wanted to talk with Mias about.

Thankfully, time, the hottest commodity in the world, was something he could actually spare a bit of. The next Council of Vice was still a few days away, and the coming-of-age ceremony of the village was slated to happen after. All he had to worry about was a sudden attack from rogue beasts…

Or at least that's all he hoped he had to worry about.

In any case, this person seemed quite knowledgeable — even more than Salome. And Vale had a mountain of questions to sort through.

Vale began shooting off his questions at a rapid speed, and with each new answer, his jaw dropped further.

'Mias…'

The beautiful androgynous onyx-eyed person had dutifully explained everything they could to the curious Vale.

'I love you!'

Firstly… the portal.

Mias claimed not to be all that knowledgeable about the portal, as they only started researching it after some guy with the unfortunate name of Despair went through it, and then the person named Carver somehow followed.

What Mias did know was that these portals all connected to two places — two tethers.

From what Mias discovered, one was a grand world, filled to the brim and the apparent home of Aether… or a being named LUCA. However, Mias didn't go into details about the entity other than its existence and name.

Then it also connected to another mediate place, a much more inconsequential world — one Mias now knew to be called Pandora…

In any case, it is through these portals that Aether was being fed into the world via the link with the parent world.

Vale had just learned where Aether came from… a truth that apparently only a handful of people knew throughout all of history. And if Aether were in Pandora…

That meant a portal existed somewhere linking to this 'parent' world.

And that was just the surface of what Mias had to share…

'I summoned a damned scholar!'

'To think I'd get my answer on what an Origin was so soon…'

Oh… Vale also learned Mias' sex.

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