“Master... that name sounds like a conspiracy to conquer the world using sweeteners and lemonade,” Morona pointedly remarked.
“Cough, don't talk nonsense. This is the name of a massive, sprawling giant of an empire. It represents making tons of money.”
“But everyone will still call you Xiaomi. Do you like it?”
“Honey Snow... Ice Orange?”
Although she didn't understand the joke, the words “conquer the world” and “massive giant” sounded incredibly domineering. The silly bee girl's eyes lit up with sparkling stars.
“I love it! I super love it! Hmph, did you hear that, manipulative mushroom? My true name belongs to a massive giant!”
Xiaomi puffed up once again, placing a hand on her hip and tilting her chin high.
“Master... even for you, playing with the IQ of a single-celled organism like this feels a bit too cruel,” Morona mouthed to Qimeng.
Looking at Xiaomi's foolishly adorable face, which looked as though she might burst into tears of gratitude at any moment, Qimeng coughed guiltily. Her conscience actually pricked her a little.
Well, there's a limit to playing jokes. If this idiot figures it out on her own later, she'll probably cry herself unconscious in the Tree Court.
“Alright, I was just teasing you.”
Qimeng smiled and flicked Xiaomi's forehead. Under Xiaomi's dazed gaze, the pressure of the Demon Tree faintly rippled outward, bringing the atmosphere of the Tree Court to a peak of solemnity.
“Listen closely. This is the true name of a vassal that is connected to your soul, which I formally bestow upon you.”
Qimeng stared directly into Xiaomi's suddenly widened eyes and proclaimed, word by word:
“Your name shall be—【Milnia, Thorn of Shura】.”
Buzz!
The moment the words fell, the 【one-leaf spirit rune】 on the back of Xiaomi's hand erupted with a dazzling torrent of emerald light, as if responding to this noble name that symbolized a queen ruling over both sweetness and slaughter.
The transparent wings behind her were dyed with a golden shimmer, and even the Bee Needle at her tail exuded a sharp, skin-prickling killing intent!
“Mil... nia...”
Feeling the newborn mana suddenly surging through her body due to the release of her true name, Xiaomi stood frozen in place.
Not only was this name incredibly cool, but it also triggered a resonance within her mana veins!
Wait a minute... my species rank has increased?!
Not only was Xiaomi shocked, but even Qimeng, as her master, was caught completely off guard.
She had never expected that a simple bestowal of a name would actually cause Xiaomi's species rank—which was originally only at the Intermediate Rank—to skyrocket, breaking through directly to match her own level as a Mid-tier Advanced magical beast!
I see... The 【one-leaf spirit rune】 I branded them with was originally derived from the Wood Elves' covenant.
And she herself was now the supreme Spirit Lord who held the Wood Elves' 【nine-layer covenant】!
In other words, any contracted vassal branded with her spirit rune could, to some extent, freely enjoy the same systemic treatment as the Wood Elves!
This meant that as long as a vassal's initial species rank was lower than hers, they would undergo a species rank adjustment based on her own species rank limit!
Of course, an anomaly like Morona, whose species rank was absurdly high from birth, was naturally unaffected. But for a low-level magical beast like Xiaomi, who only had an Intermediate Rank, this was like winning the lottery.
Tsk, what a delightful little accidental discovery.
“Hmph. This deity will begrudgingly admit that this name is somewhat fitting for that microorganism.”
Morona glanced at the golden shimmer, the lace trim along the edge of her top hat contracting warily.
Breaking ranks with a name, bestowing blessings with a rune.
Without a doubt, Mother was a walking supreme Demon King. Under Her Majesty's great power, even this microorganism could obtain a boost that made even Morona feel pressured.
“Waaah! Master! This name is so cool! I am Milnia from now on!”
Going from extreme despair to pure ecstasy, Xiaomi was incredibly excited. She did over a dozen backflips in the air before throwing herself into Qimeng's arms to nuzzle her, the Bee Needle behind her spinning so fast it looked like a propeller.
“But... I'm still happiest when Master calls me Xiaomi!”
“Yes, yes, I know.”
Qimeng caught the silly bee girl in her arms with a wry smile, while Morona immediately shouted from the side.
“Master is biased! This deity wants a hug too!”
Qimeng had no choice but to reach out and pat Morona's large top hat as well.
The two troublemakers finally settled down again.
However, due to Qimeng not having any non-attributed magic stones on hand, she simply took some red magic stones she had excavated from the Red Stone Vein and tossed them over, sending them off to absorb the stones and level up.
Slumping back onto her throne, Qimeng picked up her iced cola and took a big gulp.
“Although it gets a bit noisy at times, this kind of daily life in the territory, surrounded by cute girls, is actually quite enjoyable.”
However, as the saying goes, one should never raise death flags.
Not long after she left, Morona proved to her at lightning speed exactly what it meant to dream too big.
For the ones returning this time were not just the few Wood Elf trainees responsible for combat, but the migration of almost the entire Wood Elf tribe!
With a large number of lolis moving into the territory, the ensuing issues of settlement, resource allocation, and territorial planning were as numerous as the stars.
To make matters worse, at this critical juncture, the former Chief had gone to become the guardian of the sacred ground, leaving the entire burden of the tribe squarely on the shoulders of the Elders.
The territory was in utter chaos. Even the Spirit Maiden, Yinzhi, had been conscripted by the Elders to help, leaving her so busy she barely had time to breathe.
On the other hand, Morona, who had absorbed the red magic stones, was completely relaxed.
Relying on the advantage of her Legendary Rank species, her leveling speed was like riding a rocket.
Seeing that this Demon Mushroom's level was about to catch up to hers, Xiaomi, overwhelmed by a sense of crisis, began to put in some real effort!
She plunged straight into her small treehouse made of beeswax. Aside from occasionally brewing some honey, she remained behind closed doors at all times, swearing to defend her dignity as the First Lieutenant through secluded cultivation.
But with Xiaomi in seclusion, Morona suddenly found life incredibly dull.
With no one to bicker with, her fully loaded sharp-tongue talent and excess energy had absolutely nowhere to go.
Until today, when a bored-to-death Morona was “patrolling” the territory—which actually meant wandering around aimlessly—she happened to run straight into Yinzhi, who was carrying a massive stack of scrolls and looking so exhausted her soul was about to escape from her mouth.
Initially, she only gave a cold glance, but when she clearly saw the 【one-leaf spirit rune】 on the back of Yinzhi's hand, the Demon Mushroom loli's dead-fish eyes lit up.
“Oh?”
Morona, with a blade of grass hanging from her mouth, blocked the path.
Although her level had rushed up to High-tier Novice in a short time, she was still a whole major rank lower than the Wood Elf loli before her, who was a High-tier Intermediate Wood Elf. However, this did not affect her bone-deep arrogance in the slightest.
“This deity wondered who was acting so sneakily in the territory, but it turns out to be a vassal bearing Master's spirit rune! Hmph, just a mere errand-running servant, yet you too can receive Master's grace?”
Yinzhi was forced to stop.
Looking at the other party's pink hair and exaggerated mushroom hat, her near-collapsing exhaustion instantly switched over to her black-bellied mode. Perfect timing. I was just wondering where to vent my stress.
Rate on N.U.
