Chapter 109: Magic And The Snake King’s Power!
"Killing is not allowed," Neve said, shaking his head as he lifted his hand to stop the conversation.
"Trust me. In as much as I want him gone, I don’t want him dead," Neve said firmly. "Soren is still Cael’s brother. Killing him would destroy Cael from the inside."
Popi shrugged casually like she had just made a simple suggestion about what to eat for dinner.
"It’s just a good suggestion," she said.
Neve shut his eyes and tried to think. He tried to come up with a better plan. But nothing was coming to his head. He did not want to push himself and think of something he was going to regret later.
He was sure that Soren had to be conscious for a reason. After all, if the system, who knows about this world, would give him a mission and even reward him enough to treat Soren, it had to be for a reason. But he did not know what that reason was yet.
"I’ll see him tomorrow and discuss my plans to help the village," Neve said finally, his mind settling on a course of action. "I’ll note his reaction and response carefully. If it’s something good, if he’s willing to help, we’ll work with him for some time. If he’s against it, if he tries to stop me, we’ll just have to use the people to drive him away."
"People?" Sorin asked, not understanding what Neve meant.
Neve smirked.
"This is when a revolt comes up," Neve explained. "Everyone will be against Soren’s authority and will want a change of chief. Soren might be able to say no to me or even to Cael personally. But he won’t be able to say no to hundreds of leopards all demanding change at once."
He paused, letting the idea sink in.
"If the people want him gone, he’ll have to step down," Neve said. "Even a chief cannot ignore the will of his entire tribe."
They all agreed to the plan. They loved it. They nodded enthusiastically and started discussing how it would work. After Neve laid out that strategy, he suddenly felt a bit smart even though he had just thought of it on the spot. They all praised how sensible he was and how clever his thinking had been.
Then Cael forced them all back to the main cave to sleep. He was not going to have people eavesdropping on his mate’s private conversations anymore.
Neve waved at them as they went back.
"Good night, and thanks for your help," Neve said, his voice warm and appreciative.
He then went to sleep with Cael, the leopard prince wrapping his large body around Neve protectively, holding him close through the night.
.
.
By the time Neve woke up around midday the next morning, the pain in his stomach had reduced significantly.
He sat up slowly and noticed that the space close to him was empty. Cael had already gotten up and left, probably to go about his duties or prepare for whatever was coming next.
Neve threw his legs off the bed and stretched his hands and legs, feeling the muscles loosen. He yawned deeply, his mouth opening wide as he stretched his jaw.
He then touched his stomach gently, feeling the slight bump there.
"Good morning," he said softly to the cubs growing inside him. It felt silly talking to his belly, but it also felt right. It felt like he was acknowledging that there was life inside him. That there were beings depending on him now.
He suddenly stood up and walked toward the cave entrance.
It was not snowing at the moment, but the cold was still intense. Winter had not eased up. The temperature outside was still freezing enough to make breath visible and clouds.
Neve wished it was summer or spring. He wished he could go wash up properly in the river. He had not bathed in days and he felt a bit filthy. The pregnancy was making him sweat more despite the cold.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I need to keep my hygiene especially as I’m pregnant," he muttered to himself. "And I also need to do something about our cave too. We need to create a proper bathroom. We can’t keep going outside in the snow to wash up."
He turned and stepped back inside the cave.
He could perceive the scent of roasted meat. It smelled really good to everyone else, but to Neve, it made his stomach turn. It made him want to vomit. The pregnancy hormones were making his sense of smell hypersensitive and his taste preferences completely different.
He turned away from the food and his eyes drifted to the dragon talon that had helped save Cael’s life from the poison.
He remembered what the system had shown him about the talon’s properties.
{Item properties: Healing accelerant when ground to powder. Weapon edge, self-sharpening. Fire channelling capacity — requires practice. Enchantment potential: High. Rarity: Extreme.}
He read the last line again.
Enchantment potential? High?
He turned to the others that were eating around the fire.
"What is enchantments?" Neve asked, his curiosity piqued by the system notification.
They all looked at him with confusion.
"Huh? You mean, magic?" Kelly asked.
Neve’s eyes widened as he walked closer to them, despite the smell of the meat making him slightly nauseous.
"Magic?" Neve asked, his voice filled with wonder. "Magic exists in this world?"
"Well, yes," Kelly waved a hand casually. "It used to exist anyway."
Neve’s heart sank.
"So what happened?" Neve asked urgently. "Why isn’t it used anymore? Why did it just disappear?"
Popi looked up from munching on her meat.
"Magic was lost, Neve," Popi said between bites. "A long time ago. So everyone just forgot about it and moved on. They accepted that magic was gone and they built their lives without it. Only the dragon king is able to use some type of magic."
Neve leaned forward with interest.
"You mean fire?" Neve asked. "The fire he uses when he’s angry?"
"No," Cael said, shaking his head. "He’s able to shape shift. He can change to anything or anyone. He can transform his entire body into different forms. It’s not fire magic. It’s transformation magic."
Neve’s eyes widened. This was the first time he was hearing about this capability. He had always assumed that Vaelthorn’s magic was fire, but the fire breath was something a dragon has. But to think he has some other type of magic. Transformation magic.
He felt sad that magic was lost. Why did it have to be when he was here? He wished he had magic. Even if it was just flying. He could imagine himself already soaring through the sky above the village, observing everything from above.
His mind was spinning with possibilities until Ryker spoke up.
"Come to think of it, there was someone else who could use magic," Ryker said, his voice thoughtful.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Oh, him?" Kelly asked like he knew who Ryker was talking about.
"Ah... What was his magic again?" Sorin asked, trying to remember.
"Wait, wait!" Neve said urgently, stepping closer to them. "Who is him? Who else can use magic?"
The cave fell silent for a moment.
Then Ryker spoke.
"The snake king, Zyreth," Ryker said slowly. "He’s able to teleport. Which means he can appear whenever he wants to. Wherever he wants to. Including here."
Hearing that information, a chill went down Neve’s spine.
His entire body went cold despite being inside the warm cave.
Snake king? Teleport? That meant Zyreth could appear out of nowhere. He could bypass all their defenses. He could appear directly in the cave. He could appear right in front of Neve.
Neve could suddenly see why magic was lost. The kind of magic that existed in this world was too dangerous. Magic like transformation and teleportation could give too much power to individuals. Magic could destroy the balance between tribes. Magic could turn a single person into a threat to entire nations.
That was probably why the magic had been lost. Someone had probably decided that the world would be safer without it.
But now, with Zyreth still having his teleportation magic, the balance was broken again.
And Neve was directly in that dangerous person’s target board.