When The Cute Godkiller Opens A Tavern [Stubbed]

Chapter 95 - A Lesson About the World

”Not creation. I don’t have any authoritative knowledge on that subject. I’m a Godkiller, not a researcher.” ~Shallies Mythernal

Shallies was making meals for Yoshelle, Laika, and Krevan when she felt the pull on her Divine Authority. So she made additional meals for her students and the seraphim, who were all on their way to the Adventurer’s Beginning.

Yoshelle’s party was having a particular discussion. Mainly, they were asking about her experience with learning The Perpetual Method. As usual, Shallies listened in while she worked in the kitchen, curious of what the Guild Princess had to say.

“It’s difficult,” she started. “There’s no room for compromise when you’re trying to meditate with it. The very notion of trying to do it without keeping your body still is pretty much the exact opposite of what I’m used to. Shallies said that’s exactly why I’m having a more challenging time than her students.”

“Then it’s probably not worth learning then, right?” Krevan asked, exercising his dwarven skepticism. “If you’re going to break down the very thing you’ve built up growing up just for the novelty of matching the Godkiller, I don’t think it’s worth it.”

“How powerful is that Perpetual Method, though?” Laika asked next, tilting her head, and letting her dog-ears bend in the same direction.

“It’s…” Yoshelle hesitated.

Shallies had half the mind to take a peek, but she was sure enough that the Guild Princess was simply doubting herself, rather than creating a soundproofing veil. Even if she was, the Godkiller was confident enough that she could pierce through it.

In any case, she continued cooking. Apple also arrived to help out.

“I think it’s worth it,” Yoshelle whispered. “Don’t tell anyone but…”

She hesitated again.

This time, Shallies smiled as she heard footsteps behind her.

“Shallies?” the Guild Princess called, knocking on the wall, since the sliding door was currently opened.

“Yep?”

“I promised not to tell anyone, but would it be alright to tell Laika and Krevan, at least?”

“Tell them what exactly?” Shallies asked, pretending that she hadn’t heard anything.

“I want to convince them that The Perpetual Method is worth learning, even if we have to break our habits and restart.”

“Well, you only promised to keep my mentorship with the Godkiller a secret, Yoshelle,” Shallies whispered. “Everything else, I’ll leave to your discretion. So, just be sure to lead your discussion away from that particular secret.”

“I will, thank you!”

Yoshelle went back with a pip on her steps. And the rest of the conversation became a retelling of the shock therapy she had gone through yesterday.

Of course, the details were watered down significantly. She didn’t mention anything about needing Runic Barriers, or her passing out. Instead, she said it became difficult to move and breathe with just Shallies’ sheer mana-pressure.

It still had the same expected effect, however. Krevan and Laika were immediately impressed and convinced. From what they knew, that level of mana-pressure was in the realm of Favored Class holders. So a Hero Class halfsie capable of that same mana-pressure could only be explained by The Perpetual Method.

“Do… Do you think she’ll teach us?” Laika asked in a soft, shy voice. “Just the meditation, I mean. She doesn’t have to take us as students.”

“I’m not sure,” Yoshelle replied.

“Isn’t she teaching you?” Krevan intervened, laying on the pressure. “Why not us?”

“Your Guildmaster has asked me to provide pointers for interested and talented people in your guild,” Shallies started, appearing with some drinks and a few appetizers. She chose to take the opportunity and save the Guild Princess some trouble. “That’s after the Thrush’ven Alir Raid, though. So for now, I’m only teaching Yoshelle.”

“Oh, that sounds exciting!” Laika said, cheering. “How do we get included?”

Shallies shrugged at that. “You’ll have to ask Maxims for that. He’ll probably do his own selection. Or maybe Coraline might. But I’ll do the second selection afterwards. Maybe. We haven’t discussed anything beyond the proposal. I haven’t even agreed yet.”

“You should!” Krevan urged. “Please? I might ask to be stationed in Stoneglow City after the raid. If that happens, I’ll have more time to train!”

“You’re asking for a transfer?” Yoshelle intervened, genuine shock on her face.

“I might take it seriously after all,” said the dwarf. “Rio’s on my exact wavelength. We’re a perfect match!”

Shallies took that opportunity to slip away and return to the kitchen, but Krevan had incredible awareness.

“You’ll agree, right?” he asked.

“Will me saying yes or no impact your relationship with Rio?” Shallies asked in return, but she didn’t wait for a reply. “If it does, then I’ll let her know.”

“No! Definitely not! Promise!”

---

Shallies was done cooking by the time the Shalliesters and the seraphim arrived. Yoshelle also took that opportunity to excuse her party and herself out, making her payment to Apple.

Everyone greeted each other on the way in and out, which made the Godkiller a little giddy. Just now, her tavern looked entirely normal, with a bunch of adventurers dining and leaving. She continued that fantasy by playing the waitress’s role.

Nobody bothered to order, though. After many days of eating in the Adventurer’s Beginning, everyone had assumed that she had already prepared their meals. Which was true, but it broke Shallies’ immersion completely.

Not letting herself be bothered by it, she went and served everyone’s plates.

“How did the training go?” she asked as she sat on the table with them, placing down her own dinner. She didn’t ask anyone specifically, letting the small crowd decide who wanted to answer first.

Phey’lan, however, being the overly enthusiastic seraphim that she was, quickly grabbed the opportunity to share.

“They have so many Doors!” she started. “I’m so jealous!”

Shallies turned to Valor’el for an explanation.

“We were transported into a specialized Dungeon,” he started, turning to the three students. “I was told you were asked to do the same.”

Grace and the others nodded, too busy eating their food.

“We went to a total of nine specialized Dungeons, all through different Doors. Basically, we went on a tour. We were asked to observe some things, or provide suggestions, or test a bunch of stuff.” He lifted a finger. “Not doing actual training, though.”

“And they’re Doors to Somewhere! It’s so useful! Why didn’t we get one?” Phey’lan asked, continuing her rant.

“Expensive,” Shallies replied.

“Expensive,” Valor’el followed right after.

While the cost of a Door to Somewhere was indeed on the higher end of things, it wasn’t exactly the reason why Shallies didn’t buy one. In actuality, she simply had no need for it when she could simply Sight Step anywhere she wanted in Ysvil. Though she had been planning on getting one for her tavern. A Door to Anywhere, which could randomly show up to people who might need to take a break.

For the future, probably…

“What about you guys?” Shallies asked her students.

“We also went into a specialized Dungeon,” Ren replied.

“Just one, though,” Tayin added.

“Basically, we had to clear it with everyone, or we fail,” Grace said last. “We managed to do it in a day, which caught Damascus by surprise.”

“I assume he’s your supervisor?” Shallies verified, which all three nodded to in response. “How are your teammates?”

“Surprisingly chill,” the half-orc admitted. “I thought we were going to have a hard time, if I’m being honest.”

The conversation turned into an exact retelling of what the Shalliesters Party had gone through. Shallies appreciated that Grace even specifically indicated how she subconsciously went into meditating using The Perpetual Method.

“That’s fine,” she said. “It’s exactly why I prioritized training you three to break out of it, so you could whenever you need to. It’s a good sign that it’s working. It’s also a good sign that you’re able to enter that state now while fighting. We’re going to practice how you can consciously do that next. Once you’re able to do that, then we can officially say that you know how to use The Perpetual Method. The same goes for you two.”

Ren and Tayin gave a firm nod.

Overall, Shallies was satisfied with how her students’ first venture with a guild had went down, both for them and the new recruits of that guild. It did seem like the Gaiamaxims’ desire to completely overshadow its arrogant past was on its way, if they were hiring such humble people.

After dinner, rather than letting her students go, she asked if they were willing to have one more lesson before letting them rest for the night. The evening was still early, and she wasn’t planning on exhausting them anyway.

Of course, the three didn’t even hesitate. So back to the training fields they went.

“I’m going to start teaching you how to nurture your Stellar Mana,” Shallies started.

As expected, it made all her students wide-eyed and brimming with anticipation.

“At dawn, you’ll train meditating using The Perpetual Method for a couple of hours until breakfast. After that, you’ll train for the rest of the day with the Gaiamaxims Guild. Then, if you happen to finish early like today, you will train nurturing your Stellar Mana. This will be your routine for the rest of the week, or before the raid arrives, whichever happens first.”

“There’s a chance Thrush’ven Alir might show up earlier than expected?” Tayin asked.

“We have to prepare for that possibility,” Shallies explained. “Otherwise, we could be caught off guard. Coraline has already established a complete enclosure, right after the initial wave hit. It’s basically our sign that it can show up at any time.”

Her three students simply nodded, having nothing to add to that little tidbit.

“Anyway, tonight, all you’re going to do is sense Stellar Mana. You need to familiarize yourself with it, and be able to tell the difference. So, basically, the first question you should have is…?”

“What exactly is Stellar Mana?” Ren quickly replied. He had his notes with him.

“It’s basically mana for the divine, right?” Grace ventured a guess.

“That’s how it usually turns out,” Shallies replied, giving the half-orc an appreciative nod. “But technically, it isn’t divine mana. Otherwise, we’d just call it divine mana, right?”

That brought the conversation back to Ren’s question. Shallies lifted a finger.

“No Spell!” Tayin quickly replied, remembering the constant test that the Godkiller had given them since they became her mentees.

“Correct,” Shallies said. “Good job, Tayin.”

Stachie then gave the halfling’s Good Job Experience Points without any fanfare in order not to disrupt the point Shallies was about to make.

“The next chunk of information I’m going to tell you is for your ears only. Technically, only Favored Class holders with a direct connection to a god will know this information. That includes Avanities, or those who are on their way there. But as my students, you’re always given the information earlier. Am I clear on that?”

Grace, Ren, and Tayin all nodded with sincerity. They had instantly realized the gravity of the situation, and decided to silently give their agreement. The anticipation in their eyes was crystal clear to Shallies, and so was their determination to keep their promise to her.

She appreciated that. With a deep breath, she began.

“Ysvil is a special planet. Astral Lords and Zodiacs who had nurtured their stars to guide them throughout not just the cosmos, but also other places, had determined that our world is at the center of all Realities. I say Realities, because Ysvil rotates around Arctur Solar, which invalidates her being at the center in a physical sense. Remember the initial wave of Thrush’ven Alir?”

“You said they came from The Great Conflagration Reality,” Ren replied.

“Correct. The Great Storm was able to do that by taking advantage of Ysvil’s connection to that Reality. So what does this have anything to do with Stellar Mana?”

Shallies answered her own question. “Stellar Mana is the foundation of everything. It’s the origin of all derivatives. The First Creation. The First Concept. Needless to say, it’s also the foundation of every Reality in existence. Basically, we’re all made up of Stellar Mana. Even time is made up of Stellar Mana.

“Now, eternities have passed, infinities have found their ends, and things have gone to nothing and became something in a cycle many times over. People nowadays don’t really know the true origin of Stellar Mana anymore. Even if they can use it, not every god knows about it either. I didn’t know about it until I became a Godkiller. And what was overly abundant before has spliced itself infinitesimally into what we now refer to as mana.”

Shallies opened her hand and used mana-control. Only this time, she coalesced a small amount of her Stellar Mana, creating a small orb of calm, blue light. She exercised her authority around this Stellar Mana, making sure that her students didn’t feel burdened just by looking at it. This meant that the floating orb was smaller than a needle’s point.

And yet, the light it gave was illogically bright. It wasn’t blinding, but what its illumination had made the entire training fields seem like the sun had suddenly dawned. At the same time, Shallies controlled what that light could reach, making it impossible to spread farther, so that no one else could see it.

Grace, Ren, and Tayin were mesmerized by that orb. They were like moths, leaning ever closer.

Shallies stopped them before they could burn themselves. Or in this case, accidentally burden their mana-channels to the point of collapse. She closed her hand.

“Nurturing your own Stellar Mana is different from meditating,” she started, grabbing their attention. “First, you have to have the Skill, which you all do now. Next, you’ll have to connect yourselves with Ysvil and a god, or in this case, Ysvil and a Godkiller. Just like how you tap into your Attributes, you’ll have to tap into our planet by tapping into my Divine Authority. Once you can do that, I will tell you the next step.”

“How do we tap into your Divine Authority?” Grace asked.

“That’s the hard part,” Shallies said with a sigh. “You’ll have to figure that out for yourselves.”