Liam did his best to remain calm under the basilisk king's gaze.
Suddenly he heard a few steps, indicating that there wasn't only one beast living on top of the mountain, a fact which didn't surprise the veteran.
A surprisingly sweet, womanly voice echoed through the air:
"Someone actually dared to climb our mountain?"
"A nephilim? How curious.", answered another voice.
The king standing before Liam, obstructing his view, opened his beak. A majestic, male voice full of heroism came out even though his beak didn't move further:
"It has been a long time since someone dared to intrude in our place. Nephilim, if you manage to amuse us, we might spare your life."
Liam coughed as he organized his words. He bowed slightly before speaking:
"Forgive me Lennreo, seventh of your name, king of basilisks, guardian of the empire, for my brashness. But I couldn't hold back anymore. I needed to see your majesty.
I have always marvelled those heroic tales mentioning you, worshipping you from afar. But this just wasn't enough! I had to see you from up close!
And I am not disappointed. Laying eye on your majestic feathers and mythical body I am content even if I have to die at your beak now."
Liam spoke earnestly, his acting top notch. His flattery clearly worked, causing the basilisk king to visibly lower his defence.
Immediately the two female voices come from behind Lennreo's backs, asking with anticipation:
"Nephilim. Did you only hear tales of his majesty?"
"I'm not surprised... it has been such a long time since someone challenged us. How can common mortals remember us?"
But Liam denied the speaker hastily:
"Of course not! Tales about Thallboa and Vequena are famous as ever. How could the world forget the mothers of all basilisks. Your gift in magic is unparalleled, aspired by all creatures."
"Oh, really?"
"Of course."
"Hah..."
Liam could only hear the two female basilisks sigh blissfully, imagining them indulging in reminiscence.
But Lennreo still blocked him, his eyes showing that he was pondering. For a second the mountaintop fell silent. The air became oppressive, but Liam knew he had already made it past the biggest hurdle.
Finally, the basilisk king's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction. He raised his head up high, letting the sun illuminate his red beak, making it resemble a sacred flame.
Even Liam had to admit that his earlier words weren't entirely false. The king was indeed quite impressive, each of his movements stirring the mana in the air.
He was just a tad too self-centred. After a little bit of flattery from Liam the king's hostility diminished. Of course, this was also because he didn't feel any threat from the small nephilim.
"Congratulations, your words have convinced me. I won't kill you, gracing you with the memory of basking in my majestic presence. I hope you will cherish this memory. But now you need to return. This place is not for you to stay!"
"Yes, your majesty. It is just..."
"Hm?"
Being interrupted by Lennreo a shiver ran through Liam's body. He gritted his teeth, continuing to say:
"Your majesty, I came baring a gift for you. I hope you will accept it."
"Fine..."
Lennreo didn't sound enthusiastic. What could a small nephilim offer him? He was the king of basilisks, on one level with the emperor. What could he not get with a single world?
But when Liam waved his hand, the basilisk suddenly froze. He turned his head down, his eyes opening wide, an indescribable brilliance flickering in them.
Liam showed a faint smile as he watched the basilisk sinking into his own world. Lowering his head slightly he glanced at a massive mirror.
This was the item he had bought in the black market. Mirrors and in general reflective surfaces of a certain size were prohibited in the empire because they were dangerous for the basilisks.
Thus, if one walked through Svebrial or other cities with a keen eye, one would notice how all windows were either adorned with certain patterns obscuring the reflected image or didn't exceed a certain size.
The reason for this was impressively demonstrated to Liam right now by Lennreo.
His majesty was staring at the mirror, lost in his own image. He turned his head left and right, admiring the jewellery adorning his feathers. He made postures like a model trying to catch the perfect angle.
It didn't take long for the two mother basilisks to realize what was going on. Their voices sounded urgent as they spoke from behind Lennreo:
"Nephilim, is that all?"
"Don't we deserve gifts as well?"
"Of course."
Liam answered as he confidently walked past Lennreo who didn't pay any more attention. Two similarly big creatures entered his view. They exuded a mythical aura slightly lacking behind the king. Their bodies looked more or less the same, but they didn't have Lennreo's red crown, and their feathers shimmered more in a white colour.
Their vanity, however, was not one bit less than Lennreo's. As soon as Liam brought out two more mirrors Thallboa and Vequena were completely lost in their reflections, ignoring everything else.
Finally, Liam could relax, free of pressure. He walked past the three basilisks, studying the surroundings.
This was a flattened mountaintop prepared for the king to live on. It had three large temple-like buildings where the basilisks usually rested. The scenery had been altered with magic, replacing rough rocks with natural, vital grass and trees.
Yet the picturesque scene was disturbed by multiple tall, golden statues, depicting basilisk proudly presenting their bodies.
Liam couldn't help but chuckle, amused by the vanity of these beasts as he entered Lennreo's abode. He found himself in a large hall dominated by a massive bed made of the finest silk.
The rest of the room was mostly filled with all kinds of fruits to eat and luxurious decoration to admire. Obviously, the king was attracted by gold although he didn't excessively horde treasures like some dragons.
However, what Liam was really here for was a pile of feathers lying in a corner as if someone carelessly threw them aside. They sparkled in various colours, surrounded by a mystical air, looking incredibly beautiful.
Liam grinned. He wasn't shy, directly storing all these feathers in his inventory. He knew that the king wouldn't care for his discarded feathers.
With these feathers in hand Liam was finally done with his preparations. However, he was met with a problem. Refresnim's Orb of Flight was out of charges. Without it he couldn't descend the mountain unseen.
Naturally Liam had already considered this issue beforehand and developed a simple solution. Logging off and waiting for the next day.
Evening was already drawing near. Although Liam would lose some time, he considered it worth it after getting his hands on the feathers of the basilisk king.
These gorgeous feathers had multiple uses. They could be used in crafting, improved one's mana when carried, and had a third, hidden function which was to boost the abilities of basilisks and similar beasts.
Obviously only one of these functions would be useful in the next dungeon.
Thoroughly prepared Liam was confident. But it didn't hurt to scout the competition.
Sprawled on the couch the veteran began to browse online. He found a lot of information about guilds originating from Falva Star.
Their numbers had soared over the last few days. Suddenly guilds were everywhere. There were not only longstanding ones like Force of Nature and Nest of Flames, but many new guilds had also appeared.
Most of them belonged to some companies trying to profit from the game's fame.
However, Liam didn't consider them serious competition. He was more curious about guilds outside of Falva Star. Unfortunately, it was exceedingly difficult to find information about those.
The articles he found were all reporting about past success. Familiar names like Five Heavens or Prime were mentioned multiple times, their achievements glorified as if they were unattainable for others.
Yet there was no report about the present, demonstrating how difficult it was to communicate with distant planets from Falva Star.
Only wealthy families like the Colvilles had a constant way to communicate with their family head, and yet even they wouldn't use it at will.
Others might only be able to talk to their relatives once a month or even less often, especially if their relatives lived in the central star system.
Only if something significant enough happened would other planets not spare any effort to contact Falva Star. This could be seen at how the news about the first dungeon clear spread through the federation like wildfire.
Liam could only sigh as he put his phone away. He hoped that the guilds in the central star system wouldn't be too weak.
Wistful, he came up with a question in his mind.
Hey, C. Is there a way for us to compete with those guilds on other servers other than the federation tournament?
[Player Liam, please complete more challenges if you want this information.]
Immediately a grin formed on Liam's face.
So there is a way?