SSS Awakening: I Can Devour Gods to Evolve My Goddesses

Seraphine studied the reconnaissance record Maelin had just brought back.

A group was returning to Forgotten Shrine from the eastern mountains.

Five Stormlance Valkyries.

Several Gloomhoof.

And in the middle of the formation were more than twenty Dwarves she had never seen before.

The one at the front stood nearly three meters tall with a warhammer over one shoulder. Two more followed in heavy armor covered in storm patterns. Behind them came twenty Dwarves carrying long, tube-shaped launchers on their backs.

Seraphine watched for several seconds.

”Those aren’t Ridgewardens.”

”No.”

”And they’re not the outer troop line Elara ran into before either.”

Maelin nodded.

”They returned with Cassian’s people.”

Seraphine did not bother guessing any further.

She opened a private message.

[Seraphine Valcrest: Where did the Dwarves you brought back from the eastern ridge come from?]

The reply came quickly.

[Cassian Vale: Royal Hall.]

[Seraphine Valcrest: What Quality is that Royal Hall?]

[Cassian Vale: Epic.]

The room went quiet for a moment.

Seraphine leaned back in her chair.

”He got there first again.”

Maelin only said, ”At least this time, you weren’t the one who went in first.”

”That is not remotely comforting.”

Seraphine closed the conversation.

She had originally wanted to ask what the Royal Hall could produce.

Now there was almost no point.

Cassian had already taken first in the Troop Power Ranking, created an unregistered Rare troop line that triggered a Realmwide Announcement, and personally captured an Epic Troop Building.

At this point, continuing to evaluate him as merely ”an F-grade Lord who started a little faster than everyone else” was no longer underestimating him.

It was simply being wrong.

---

The next morning.

Forgotten Shrine.

The black-stone gate of the Gloomhoof Warcamp opened for the fifth time.

The last Level 10 Rare Gloomhoof still at the Shrine walked out.

The Stormrunner War Set was covered in more scratches now.

All four pieces were still intact.

And beneath the armor, dark blood-patterns had appeared through the Gloomhoof’s mane just like the others.

All four hooves touched the ground.

The stone beneath them trembled faintly.

[Higher-Bloodline Trial: Passed]

[Gloomhoof Centaur → Gloomhoof Highblood Centaur]

[Quality: Rare → Epic]

[Level: 10]

Veyra closed the training record in her hand.

”Five.”

She glanced down at the Stormrunner pieces that had already been removed.

”That million-Aether Set of yours is starting to look thoroughly used.”

Cassian walked over from the direction of the Oath Hall.

”Is it broken?”

”No.”

”Then it still counts as new enough.”

Veyra gave a quiet snort.

After the second Gloomhoof had emerged from the Trial the night before, she had kept the sequence moving.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth.

Three new Trials had been opened one after another.

[Battle Essence -36,000]

Now all five Gloomhoof that had returned from the mountains had entered the Epic Highblood sequence.

The other twelve remained at the mines, along the routes, and around the Domain. Cassian had not emptied every assignment just to accelerate one growth path.

He looked over the five Highbloods.

The first batch was done.

There was no need to rush the next one back.

At that moment, another settlement notification appeared.

[Dwarven Royal Hall Recruit Rights Contract]

[Remaining Balance Received: Aether Crystal +1,000,000]

[Aether Crystal: 280,466 → 1,280,466]

After Aveline returned, the remaining one million had arrived as promised.

The two-million-Aether Royal Hall deal was now fully settled.

Veyra glanced at the balance.

”You have money again.”

”Yeah.”

”How long are you planning to let it survive this time?”

Cassian had not answered yet when a private message lit up first.

Seraphine.

[Seraphine Valcrest: There’s something I want to discuss with you.]

Cassian accepted the connection.

”Go ahead.”

”Regional Warden.”

Cassian paused.

The system had only formally opened the preview to the region that morning.

[Regional development speed has reached a special threshold.]

[Regional Warden Contest expected to open in three days.]

[Regional Warden: Formal regional seat of the current Newcomer Region.]

[The winning Lord will gain regional management authority and may register formal Vassal Lord relationships.]

The exact evaluation rules had not been announced yet.

Seraphine clearly had not called just to read the preview back to him.

”When I take Regional Warden, come under me.”

”Formal Vassal Lord.”

”System-registered. Authority, responsibilities, and boundaries all clearly defined.”

Cassian asked, ”Price?”

There was a brief pause on the other end.

”Five million Aether.”

”As independent development capital for you.”

Cassian answered immediately.

”Not interested.”

Seraphine did not waste time either.

”Ten million.”

”Still not interested.”

This time the connection genuinely went quiet.

Veyra, standing nearby, had already raised one eyebrow.

Several seconds passed before Seraphine spoke again.

”Getting rejected by you keeps getting more expensive.”

”Because your offers keep getting higher.”

”Then what do you want?”

Cassian looked back at the line that said Regional Warden.

He did want something.

Not a Vassal position.

The seat itself.

”I want to know one thing.”

”What?”

”What happens if you don’t become Regional Warden?”

The other end went completely silent.

Seraphine understood almost immediately.

”You’re competing for it too?”

”Why wouldn’t I?”

”Cassian.”

For the first time, her tone turned genuinely serious.

”Regional Warden isn’t the Hero Power Ranking or the Troop Power Ranking.”

”Battle strength is only one part of it.”

”Domain construction, resources, production, stable development—any of those could matter.”

”The next Troop Sigils and Hero Contract that House Valcrest prepared for me really can’t enter the Realm yet.”

”But even without those, if we’re judging only what exists in my Domain right now, I’m still going for first.”

Cassian smiled slightly.

”Perfect.”

”Let’s bet on it.”

Seraphine asked, ”Bet what?”

”If you win,”

Cassian said,

”and Regional Warden goes to you, I’ll register as your Vassal Lord.”

”If I win...”

He paused for a beat.

”You pay me ten million Aether.”

Seraphine sounded as if something had caught in her throat.

”I thought you were going to make me your Vassal.”

”No.”

”Why not?”

”You’re too expensive.”

”...”

Cassian added, ”Ten million is more useful.”

Seraphine was silent for two breaths, then laughed instead.

”Fine.”

”Ten million.”

”Don’t regret it later.”

”Same to you.”

The connection ended.

Veyra had not interrupted once.

Only now did she look at Cassian.

”So.”

”The one million you just received isn’t even warm yet, and you’ve already started spending someone else’s ten million?”

”I haven’t won it yet.”

Cassian scrolled farther down the Regional Warden preview.

”But she was right about one thing.”

”Which part?”

”This seat isn’t decided by who can fight best.”

A development line had appeared on Forgotten Shrine’s Domain panel—one that had remained a lower priority for Cassian until now.

[Environment Foundation]

[Unlock Requirement: Domain Rank III]

[Current Foundation: F]

It did not increase Troop count.

It did not add Building slots.

And it did not give Cassian a new combat ability.

So whenever there had been a more immediate gap to close, he had never stopped for this one.

Now things were different.

If Regional Warden truly evaluated stable development, Environment Foundation could not remain at F forever.

More importantly—

even if the final Contest rules did not count it at all, the money would not be wasted.

More than two hundred Eclipse Troops trained every day.

The Stormlance Valkyries repeatedly burned power through Storm Body and Thunder Javelin.

Aurelia’s Folded Sky Ward and Life-Echo Brand drew on her own reserves.

Veyra was no different.

The gap Cassian wanted to close now was not another handful of stars on one unit’s panel.

It was whether the high-tier forces he had already built across the Domain could recover from training and battle faster, day after day.

He opened the Regional Exchange.

He did not search for ”Regional Warden.”

He used only three filters.

[Environment Foundation]

[Starting from F]

[Continuous advancement]

Before long, he had found three old listings from three different sellers.

[Domain Environment Advancement Seal | E: 100,000 Aether Crystal]

[Domain Environment Advancement Seal | D: 300,000 Aether Crystal]

[Domain Environment Advancement Seal | C: 700,000 Aether Crystal]

No one had conveniently packaged the whole progression path for him.

They were simply the same type of item at increasingly scarce grades.

High-rank Domains had usually passed F-grade Foundation long ago and had no reason to go back for low-grade Seals. Newcomer Lords who were still at F, meanwhile, rarely wanted to spend more than a million Aether on something called ”environment” this early.

It could not recruit another Troop.

It could not put up another combat Building immediately.

The first two grades did not even offer an obvious panel-power increase.

So none of the three listings attracted much attention.

Cassian placed E, D, and C next to each other.

The Contest had not magically turned three ordinary items into treasures.

His Domain had changed what they were worth to him.

More than two hundred Eclipse Troops, the Stormlance Valkyries, Aurelia, and Veyra could all benefit from the same recovery environment at once, again and again.

Total cost: 1.1 million.

”Buy.”

Three transactions confirmed in succession.

[Aether Crystal: 1,280,466 → 180,466]

The three Seals entered his storage.

Veyra looked down at them.

”One point one million.”

”For three things that just make the Domain more comfortable?”

Cassian took out the first Seal.

”Let’s see how comfortable it can get.”

[Use Domain Environment Advancement Seal | E?]

”Use it.”