Chapter 101 Upgrades

After leaving Zoey drooling and unconscious on the bed, Ryan decided he needed to talk to his new followers.

But first, he pulled up his heavenly screen to review his haul from the portal realm trip one final time.

[Overlord's Harem Conversion (Active/Passive)]

[Harem Empress (0/1)]

[Harem Queen (0/3)]

[Harem Noble (0/5)]

[Harem Member (4/6)]

[Harem Knight (16/100)]

[Harem Servant (49/100)]

[Gifts Taken: 4]

The cat servants weren't exactly a large bunch, making perfect for Ryan. Since he only had a maximum of 100 spots, he was more than happy to accept them. However, only a tiny portion of the servants could leave his palace realm and enter Ravier due to the heaven's limit on strength. Or so they claimed.

In reality, Ryan had doubts about this situation, 'but either way,' he thought, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'

Chuckling, Ryan reflected on his life on Ravier. 'I guess I've been doing that all along. The human empire and I aren't exactly on good terms, and I've been living inside their territory and am technically a part of their military still.'

Ryan pulled up the new ability that had been gifted from Zoey.

[Energy Storage (Passive/Active)]

[Energy Accumulated: 2257]

[Description: Automatically stores all energy accumulated from any source for later use.]

The description was vague, but after Ryan tried it for the first time, he knew it would be a game-changer.

He could accumulate any and all energy from lust, his enhancer feedback, and regular cultivation into one place and use it for whatever purpose he wanted.

The best application would have been upgrading harem members' cultivation at a pivotal moment if not for something that stole the limelight.

[Congratulations: Due to your skill 'Overlord's Harem Palace' and 'Energy Storage' similarities, they have combined to form the following skill: 'Overlord's Palace of Energy']

[Overlord's Palace of Energy (Active/Passive)]

[A luxurious palace pocket dimension placed inside the host's body to hold anyone the host allows inside]

[Space: 100,000 sq. Ft (~9290 sq. meters)]

[Energy Accumulated: 2257]

[Energy generated: 10/hour]

[Buffs: Satisfaction]

[Note: The amount and ranks of cultivators inside determine energy generation]

'I still can't believe I can rank up to D-Rank whenever I want.'

Clenching his fists in excitement, Ryan entered his palace.

***

A little earlier inside Ryan's Palace...

Shade, Hannah, and Veronica stood around a campfire, the three drinking tea and talking about their past lives and how everything started out with the Old Man and Shade taking on the role of the protector.

"I still can't believe The Old Man never found out my true identity," Shade said, "but I guess It doesn't matter anymore." He paused for a moment and kicked the ground. "He is dead. Let him rot in hell!"

Hannah raised her eyebrows as she looked at Shade. "You mean our true identities. It's not like you're the only one she hired."

Grunting in agreement, Shade glanced at his sister who nodded in agreement.

"I still can't believe we were fortunate to meet someone like her," Veronica said, her eyes glowing with hope while gazing into the flames. She added, "The Dragon Monarch is truly a beauty."

"We still haven't decided what we're going to do about the other person we're lucky we met. You know, the boy who saved us. If we break the oath, we'll need an oath-breaking pill, but those are practically extinct since only the First Ones can make them," Shade said.

"The Dragon Monarch didn't give us a time frame to return her daughter. What if I explain our situation to Ryan? He did save me after all," Hannah said, looking at the siblings with hope.

Shade shook his head. "As much as I like our new Lord, we don't know him well enough. If I found out he was a First One, I'd abandon the Dragon Monarch in a heartbeat, but we just don't have enough information."

Suddenly, a vortex in space appeared near them, and a figure appeared like a God descending upon his world.

Ryan materialized in front of Shade and the two women, with light fluttering from the hole that served as a doorway between his palace and the outside world.

"I have some questions to ask you," Ryan said, the atmosphere suddenly tense.

Gulping at the imposing aura Ryan was giving off inside his own realm, Shade said, "Ask away my Lord."

Ryan nodded. "Yoko. What do you know about her?"

Shade paused before answering, thinking about it carefully. 'The Old Man didn't know much about the egg, but Ryan doesn't know that. If I don't tell him enough details he might become suspicious.'

Influenced by Ryan's aura, Shade said, "I know she is of the Evil Dragon race, and she has a powerful hunger for power and riches... she is greedy, my Lord."

Ryan smiled slightly as he considered this answer. "Thank you for your honesty." Finished with talking to the only man he had conversed with in quite a while, Ryan turned toward the two members of the more appealing gender.

"Hannah, is your curse gone completely? Is everything fine now?" asked Ryan, taking note of both girls' gloomy looks. He added, "And Veronica, how are you after spending some time with your brother?"

Hannah and Veronica glanced at each other and began blushing at his questions.

Shade looked at Hannah and his sister, shaking his head as he thought, 'What happened to the girls who wanted nothing to do with our new Lord?'

"Everything is fine now, thankfully," Hannah replied.

"Thank you for reuniting me with my brother," Veronica said simultaneously, bowing toward Ryan.

Waving his hand dismissively, Ryan looked at the surroundings. The campfire blazed bright, orange flames illuminating their shapes and casting an eerie light. In front of the fire sat Shade, Hannah, and Veronica in a circle, looking into the glowing embers.

A small waterfall in front of them formed a pool of drinkable water. He could see small wildlife in the surroundings but could tell there was something different about them.

Walking over to what appeared to be a butterfly, Ryan held out his palm, and the butterfly happily flew over, nuzzling against Ryan's finger like a cat seeing its mother.

The creature felt almost ethereal, and as he was amazed at the intricate beauty of the insect's wings, it flapped its body rapidly and took off into the air before landing again in his palm. Doing so repeatedly, it finally became exhausted and fell asleep mid-air with one of its tiny legs wrapped around his pinky.

"I've never seen an energy creature so intimate with anyone," Veronica said, turning to Hannah, "have you?"

Hannah shook her head and looked at Ryan. "I don't even know how our Lord obtained such rare creatures."

Raising his eyebrows, Ryan glanced at the sleeping insect in interest. 'Perhaps this has something to do with the new energy features of the palace. I'll have to ask the girls if they were here before the integration.'

As Ryan turned to go, a voice sounded from behind him. "Before you go, my Lord, do you mind answering a few questions?"

Turning around, Ryan narrowed his eyes, seeing Shade standing awkwardly while the two girls whispered. 'Something's wrong here.'