Starting With an SSS-Rank Goddess Summon!

”Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!”

She aggressively kissed his bare muscle, ignoring his personal space.

She had spent the last week pacing the Keep, her anxiety slowly driving her to the brink of insanity as the territory’s tether violently fluctuated with the Secret Realm’s collapse. T

he thought of losing her anchor to the world had nearly broken her newly restored sanity.

Silas let out a deep rumbling chuckle that vibrated pleasantly through his chest.

He was not around strangers so any sort of paranoia he had here completely died down... These were his women.

He raised his calloused hand, gently but firmly patting Eluned’s vibrant silver-green hair.

”I told you I wasn’t going to die in the dirt,” Silas murmured, leaning his head back.

Before Eluned could fully monopolize his arrival, the doorway darkened.

Morwenna stepped into the room.

The terrifying Pirate Queen was wearing her usual tattered captain’s coat and heavy leather boots.

She leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest and aggressively attempting to maintain her tough bloodthirsty persona.

”Hmph! Don’t think I care that you came back...”

She glared at him with her feral gray eyes narrowing as her jaw set tight however she lasted exactly three seconds.

The tough exterior completely shattered as Morwenna let out a very uncharacteristic sound and aggressively pushed off the doorframe.

She marched completely past Eluned and joined the embrace, throwing her incredibly strong arms around Silas’s waist and violently squeezing the breath right out of his lungs.

”Welcome back, Captain.” Morwenna muttered fiercely into his ribs, refusing to let go.

”Argh!” Silas groaned loudly, his ribs genuinely protesting the crushing pressure of two incredibly powerful SSS-Rank women clinging to him simultaneously. ”Alright. Timeout. Timeout! You’re going to snap my spine in half!”

They begrudgingly let him go, taking a half-step back but refusing to leave his immediate proximity.

”Thank you for waiting for me,” Silas told them sincerely, his golden-ringed eyes softening as he looked at his two most powerful Divine beings he had.

Eluned immediately grabbed his right hand with her bright green eyes flashing in intense excitement.

”We have been preparing for your return all evening, my Lord!” Eluned announced proudly, aggressively pulling him toward the open doorway. ”Kaelia and I as well as Morwenna have been painstakingly making dinner, and you must come down to the Mess Hall and try today’s feast!”

’She called Morwenna by her name...?’ Silas thought, perhaps Eluned had done it befoer but it was still surprising. ’How close did they get?’

As Eluned dragged the shirtless Warlord out into the stone hallway, Morwenna completely abandoned all decorum.

The Pirate Queen sprinted over to the massive open-air stone window of the Keep. She leaned her entire upper body out over the courtyard, cupping her hands around her mouth.

”LISTEN UP, YOU MISERABLE BILGE-RATS!” Morwenna screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice carrying the concussive force of a cannon blast across the entire Blessed Land territory. ”LORD SILAS HAS RETURNED TO THE BLESSED LAND! HE IS ALIVE!”

The second the words left her mouth, the entire territory violently erupted.

Massive cheers sounded from the barracks, the training grounds, and the perimeter walls.

The noise of dozens of fiercely loyal Warlord combatants celebrating their Master’s survival echoed into the sky, startling the ambient mana beasts hiding in the distant treelines.

Eluned dragged Silas down the spiraling stone staircase and directly into the main sprawling living area of the Keep.

Silas paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking over at the massive, comfortable leather couch in the center of the room.

Sitting there, looking completely relaxed, was Talira.

The ancient and devastatingly powerful Crimson Dragon was currently trapped in her humanoid form.

She was wearing one of Silas’s oversized white button-down shirts with the fabric hanging loosely off her shoulders as her vibrant crimson hair tumbled down her back.

’Oh... she looks cute to be honest.’

She was currently playing a complex carved chess-like tactical board game with Aeliana.

’I think Elu made that when I showed them that chess board... but do they know the rules?’

Aeliana looked up from the board.

The moment the Starlight Arcanist’s green eyes landed on Silas, her entire face brilliantly lit up with pure joy.

She dropped her game piece, ready to sprint across the room.

However, the exact same thing could not be said about Talira.

The Crimson Dragon’s vertical reptilian pupils zeroed in on him.

Her flawless face visibly darkened and she crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a highly annoyed arrogant huff as the entire Keep descended into joyous chaos around her.

”Hmph! There’s nothing special about a human...”

Silas completely ignored the dragon’s tantrum as he offered Aeliana a warm smile and continued walking toward the heavy oak doors leading outside.

Silas stepped out into the cool night air of the sprawling courtyard.

The other girls, including the muscled Thora, were already actively gathering in a massive, chaotic semi-circle directly in front of the Keep.

They were cheering wildly, banging their weapons against their shields, chanting his name repeatedly.

”LORD SILAS! LORD SILAS! LORD SILAS!”

Silas blinked, completely overwhelmed by the volume of the reception as he raised his hand.

”I’m back!” Silas announced loudly.

The moment the words left his mouth, the cheers grew exponentially louder. It was deafening.

Kaelia, the sweet talented chef of the territory, desperately pushed her way to the very front of the crowd.

She was wearing a flour-stained apron as her eyes shone with excitement.

”Lord Silas!” Kaelia asked eagerly, bouncing on her heels. ”Would you love to try some of the new dishes I made from the cookbook?! I added my own magical twists to the marinades!”

Silas was absolutely starving as he opened his mouth to tell her yes but he was instantly swarmed.

Several of the other girls violently pushed forward, completely surrounding him.

”Lord Silas, can you check out my new sword skills?!” one of the girls shouted, holding up a heavy broadsword.

”Lord Silas, please come to the range! I want you to check out my new elemental magic!” another mage begged, grabbing his arm.

”No, me first!” Rowenna shouted, pushing through the crowd. ”My Lord, you have to check out the new spell I developed! It’ll be worth your time I swear!”

Silas raised a calloused hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off the impending migraine.

The volume of seventy dangerous and devoted women screaming for his attention all at once was infinitely more terrifying than fighting a god.

He opened his mouth, preparing to release a pulse of Gold Core mana to force them to calm down.

Suddenly, a weight slammed onto his back.

Thora had completely bypassed the crowd by physically leaping through the air and aggressively climbing directly onto his broad shirtless back.

She wrapped her thick arms around his head and locked her muscular legs around his neck, treating him like a jungle gym.

”ALRIGHT, EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!” Thora roared over the chaos with her booming voice completely silencing the bickering girls.

She pointed a heavy finger at the crowd.

”Come to him one after the other tomorrow!” Thora commanded, taking charge of the logistics. ”Besides, our Lord hasn’t eaten any actual good food in a while! According to Aeliana’s debrief, he barely ate anything but dry rations in that disgusting desert! He needs a feast!”

The girls instantly gasped, realizing their Lord was starving.

”A feast!” Rowenna agreed loudly.

The girls cheered in unified agreement.

Before Silas could even protest the indignity of being carried, he was physically corralled and forced by the mob of highly enthusiastic women directly into the massive sprawling Warlord Barracks.

’I can get used to this...’ Silas thought.

...

The Mess Hall of the Barracks was absolutely chaotic.

The long heavy oak tables were overflowing with massive platters of roasted meats, highly seasoned vegetables, and overflowing tankards of alcohol.

Everyone was seated in their own designated spots, laughing, drinking, and loudly recounting the day’s training.

Silas was seated directly at the absolute head of the primary table.

It was a coveted and dangerous seating arrangement.

Eluned was seated directly on his right side with her posture perfect and incredibly smug.

Morwenna was seated directly on his left, casually resting her elbows on the wood while Aeliana was seated exactly opposite him, smiling sweetly as she ate.

And Talira, the Crimson Dragon, was seated opposite as well while watching the spectacle with narrowing eyes.

It was four incredibly powerful entities sitting at a single table at the same time and the girls were actively competing for his attention.

”Here have mine, my Lord!”

”No, mine!”

”If you wouldn’t mind Lord Sy... you could have mine.”

Eluned was pushing a forkful of roasted boar toward his mouth, while Morwenna was trying to force him to chew on a seasoned piece of wolf meat, and Aeliana was gently offering him a sweet pastry.

”I have a solution.”

Silas completely abandoned all table manners.

He simply opened his mouth, actively eating from all three of the women’s forks at the exact same time as he chewed the chaotic mixture of flavors, swallowing heavily before reaching for his tankard of alcohol.

’I sure hope Thora didn’t spike this shit again.’

Talira sat there, quietly watching the entire interaction unfold.

She slowly chewed on a piece of meat with her vertical crimson pupils tracking the genuine affectionate smiles on Eluned and Morwenna’s faces.

’Why...?’ Talira thought, her draconic mind completely confused by the emotional dynamic. ’I am a true, Primordial Crimson Dragon. I am the apex of the food chain and I thrive on being the absolute center of attention. But... I haven’t seen Morwenna or Eluned smile like this for me in the days I’ve known them. Why is their smile so wide just for him?’

She was a dragon.

Her existence demanding worship got old quickly, and that was a normal expected reality.

However Silas simply returning from a dungeon was actively sending massive joyous ripples across the entire territory.

They genuinely loved him. It was a concept her ancient brain struggled to fully compute.

”This is incredible,” Silas commended loudly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. ”Kaelia’s cooking has improved massively and so did you, Thora.”

Eluned and Morwenna instantly nudged his ribs from both sides simultaneously.

”We cooked too, Captain!” Morwenna protested loudly, glaring at him.

”I personally seasoned the boar, my Lord.” Eluned added, lifting her chin proudly.

Silas chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

”Alright, fine. You both did an amazing job. The food is perfect. You are both culinary masters.”

From the far end of the long oak table, one of the younger girls stood up, holding her tankard.

”Lord Silas!” she called out, silencing the immediate area. ”How long exactly will you be staying with us this time without going back to the Human world?!”

The entire Mess Hall instantly went completely quiet.

Every single girl turned to look at him as their eyes went wide with anticipation.

The girls wanted their Lord entirely to themselves!

It had almost been a full week of him jumping from the human world back to the territory, constantly dividing his time.

Silas looked around the room, taking in their hopeful faces.

He let out a long sigh, setting his tankard down onto the wood.

”I will be here for the foreseeable future,” Silas announced loudly, projecting his voice so the entire hall could hear.

Silas smiled, leaning his elbows on the table.

’I’ll be here for a very long time,’ Silas thought with ambition burning hot in his chest. ’I am not leaving this territory until I reach the second stage of my Gold Core and the only way to do that is by locking myself in the training grounds and manually mastering eight entirely different elemental affinities.’

The fact that he would be staying here for an extended period brought up another massive unified cheer from the girls as tankards slammed against the tables in celebration.

Silas turned his head, looking directly at Eluned on his right, and then at Morwenna on his left. He formally, respectfully bowed his head just a fraction of an inch toward his top combatants.

”Actually,” Silas requested, his voice shifting to serious business. ”I need to ask a massive favor from both of you. I need you to formally teach me... I want to fully master Ice and Nature magic.”

Eluned’s flawless face instantly glittered with joy as she leaned forward, completely ignoring the massive crowd, and kissed him directly on the cheek.

”My Love,” Eluned declared loudly. ”I will teach you anything you want to know. My Nature magic is yours.”

Morwenna, however, didn’t celebrate immediately. The Pirate Queen blinked her feral gray eyes looking at him with deep confusion.

”Wait,” Morwenna interrupted, her brow furrowing. ”Captain, what about Water magic? That’s the foundation for Ice. You need to learn the fluid dynamics first.”

Silas didn’t think.

”Water? ”Oh, I was already learning about Water magic while I was out in the Secret Realm,” Silas answered casually, waving his hand dismissively.

To demonstrate, Silas brought out his right hand, hovering it directly over the center of the oak table.

He effortlessly manipulated his Gold Core as he drew ambient moisture from the air, rapidly condensing it until he summoned a massive and perfectly spherical swirling ball of highly pressurized water.