Tsunami was on one of the underground levels of the mansion, which was set aside as the stables.
Since he wasn't going to use teleportation, a fast horse it was going to be.
Katarina had introduced some basic information about them earlier, each of them coming at a staggering price of 2000 points.
He couldn't help but swallow hard when he heard the insane figure, but this was the lesser evil. He couldn't travel the journey on foot, and these horses had a special attribute called [space condensation].
This attribute enabled them to condense 1 mile of space within their field of vision to form a door that they could cross instantly. They would need some time before activating again, but this depended on their mastery of space laws and gender.
Stallions had a robust physique, and at their peak, they could travel 10,000 miles nonstop before needing rest.
But if he could get a female (Mare), then the distance traveled would be almost three times, traversing 30,300 miles nonstop. Mares were much stronger and had more mastery of the laws of space, utilizing less energy for the same distance they travel compared to the stallions.
The only problem was that they hardly accepted anyone as their master, and there were only two Mares in the stable.
Out of the hundreds of horses.
Tsunami approached, the first Mare stall, the horse was dark in color, circling her stall around as if in distress. He waved his hand trying to get its attention, but when the horse saw Tsunami, it immediately got irritated and rushed in his direction, slamming hard on the gate.
If Tsunami had been a moment late in withdrawing his hand, he would have lost it.
" What's wrong with you?"
" If you don't like me, just refuse me politely, no need for all the violence," he couldn't help but shout out loud.
The horse gave Tsunami a deadly stare, giving him the feeling that if he continued... it could kill him.
Despite the apparent refusal on its face, he wasn't going to give up easily.
There were only two such horses, and he was going to get one of them. He calmed himself and tried coaxing it.
" If you accept me as your master, I'll free you from this bondage."
" We will travel and conquer the world- "
Before he could finish speaking, a rectangular door suspended a few inches in space, having twelve white circular rings on its edges, abruptly appeared a few inches in front of him.
The next moment, a powerful back kick connected to his chest, sending him flying and slamming several stalls in the process.
COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!
Seriously battered, Tsunami's soul body leaked essence, and for a moment, laid on the floor, finding it hard to get back up.
When the horse charged for the next assault, all the stallions whose stalls were damaged, summoned their own doors and got out of the way immediately, but before it could reach Tsunamis' body, Katarina revealed herself.
< Lily! Stop this nonsense immediately> she shouted, in her hand, a lightning whip zapped with dangerous energy.
When the mare heard her voice and saw what she was holding, her charge came to an abrupt halt, just a few inches in front of them.
< Get back to your stall... now!>
< You will also be starved and won't be given a mate for the next 3 months as your punishment >
Katarina's authority in the mansion at the moment was only second to the mansion's spirit itself. Lilly knew if she continued her antics and made her use the whip, a far worse fate awaited her.
She gave Tsunami a look of derision and contempt before summoning another door and walked back to her stall.
Katarina dismissed her weapon, looked at the damage done and Tsunami's poor state, and slowly shook her head.
< I warned you, but you didn't listen >
< Now these damages will also be added to your debt >
< Just use the teleportation array >
Tsunami, battered, slowly got up, still reeling from the pain in his chest. He looked at Katarina contemplatively.
' There's definitely a conspiracy going on here. She keeps wanting me to use the array, but even if I ignore the debt, how will I get back? '
' Only Aiko and I can use them, but they are also one-way arrays. '
' If I get stranded in unknown territory, ill surely die.' His eyes narrowed.
' They want me dead, but why? Why save me just now?
' Are they going to renege on the promise they made to the goddess? '
' Strength, I need strength ...'
This unfortunate event, however, gave him some ideas on how to convince the last mare to become his partner.
He looked at Katarina, his expression well masked, and politely bowed.
" Thanks for saving me, but no need to interfere in my affairs anymore."
He slowly walked away, heading toward Pearl's stall—the last female horse.
' I will become strong enough... enough to make you all submit... '
...
When he reached Pearl's stall, Tsunami found her lying on the floor, uninterested in the outside affairs.
She had a lustrous, dark red coat, but her tail was fluffy white.
From what he recalls being informed, Lily was the aggressive, rebellious type, while Pearl was the shy, uninterested type.
She just did things she was told to do, then went back to rest in her stall, not mixing with other horses once outside.
Looking at her, Tsunami still had his guard up but was more optimistic this time. He opened her gate and slowly approached her.
Sensing movement in her stall, Pearl lifted her head, wondering what the crazy human was up to.
When he was up close, he lay down next to her and began stroking her coat gently.
" Has anyone ever told you... You are beautiful? "
"..."
Hearing his words, Pearl rolled her purple eyes before closing them and returning her head to the floor. She was absolutely uninterested in listening to his nonsense.
Tsunami wasn't surprised, he continued stroking her coat, then lay his head near her neck.
" You know, when I look at you, I'm reminded of myself. "
"We share similar fates, even though we look different." He looked at her caringly, like how a mother looks lovingly at her children.
" Both of us yearn for freedom... We want to be the ones in control."
" Actually, my life was quite mediocre before I met the goddess of life and Creation."
When Pearl heard the word goddess and her title, she opened her eyes for the second time, curiosity getting the best of her.
Other than having the ability to condense space, they were also known as truth consuls.
They could detect when they were being lied to, and not sensing lies coming from him, she couldn't help but wonder how such a weak human could meet the goddess.
" I'm not good with words, but today I will promise you three things if you are willing to become my partner." He slowly turned his gaze to meet hers and spoke each word, filled with conviction.
" My first promise to you, if you become my partner, then one day we will both conquer and look down on the world together. We will stand side by side within the ranks of the goddess, and if fate wills it, even surpass her."
Tsunami didn't know how, but at this moment, he had ambitions that he himself never thought he could have.
Pearl's disbelief was apparent; this human was spewing so much nonsense, but the way he said it, that look in his eyes, she felt that if given the chance, perhaps he could really accomplish those bold claims.
But it wasn't enough for her.
" My second promise to you, if you become my partner, I won't be your master. What is mine is yours, your life is my own; your death also mine. I will never abandon you, hurt you, forget you, or take for granted such grace of accepting a weakling as your partner. I will become stronger, stronger than anyone you will ever meet, and until the end, my strength is your strength, your weakness my weakness."
Tsunami paused, got up, and walked to the gate of her stall.
" I know you don't like this place... its rules. Although I don't understand why there are only two of you, unlike Lily, who enjoys the company of stallions... You don't. If you become my partner, you will never be forced to mate with any stallion you don't like. If I have to clash against Katarina and the mansion to grant your freedom, I won't back down. If my life is on the line, so be it. This is my third promise to you."
Pearl looked at him strangely; was it curiosity, expectation, perhaps confusion? So much truthful nonsense was being spewed that she was hesitant to believe and follow him.
Humans were cunning, treacherous bastards, and their ancestors learnt that the hard way.
Being an intelligent 2nd step Favourite beast herself, she had her own considerations. This human was very weak, but she liked his promises.
The only question was whether a human who met the goddess could also be treacherous... after all, to Favourite beasts, once they bonded with humans, there was no going back.
They were giving up control of their soul cores... most humans, due to their selfish nature, would force their self-explosion when their lives were at risk.
Some wretched fellows would forcefully extract them, not caring about their lives and deaths. All for the sake of grasping elemental laws from the beast's comprehension, since humans had low comprehension of elemental laws by nature.
Seeing her unmoving, Tsunami was disappointed, but he didn't forget to respectfully apologize for disturbing her, closed her gate, and went to seek the stallions.
...
Several stalls further away, Tsunami had found his third-best option, got accepted, and was about to bond with it, but then he heard galloping noises approaching his position at an alarming speed.
When his hand was about to land on Blue Mountain— the third Favourite horse.
He was shocked to find himself falling midair, but then another door appeared a few feet beneath him, and Pearl's majestic form whizzed past, accurately timing his fall on her back before disappearing far in the distance.
Accompanied by a series of doors and shockwaves in her wake.
...
Two realms apart, a faint voice that had once gone silent was heard again.
DING!
[Congratulations, Hosts, your Orientation has ended.]
[Bless the Goddess.]
***
END OF VOLUME I