She had not seen this disciple for several days. Ever since she discovered that her student was somehow with Tiamat, she had refrained from seeking out Lan Ze in order to give the two of them some space.
As a result, after waiting all these days, he was still shacking up with the Creation Mother Goddess...
"Master," Lan Ze said.
Having not seen the master in days, he missed her quite a bit.
Of course, what he missed wasn't her demon-like training, but the master herself.
Scathach gave a slight nod. "Have you been practicing your Rune Magic these days?"
Lan Ze cast a guilty glance at Scathach and nodded gently. "Um... a little bit."
He had been infatuated with Mother of All these days, running back and forth outside the Dreamscape, leaving him zero time to practice Rune Magic.
Scathach's brows twitched upward as she saw right through Lan Ze's lie.
Her mouth parted slightly, and she was just about to issue a scolding.
At that moment, Scathach suddenly felt as though someone in the distance was secretly observing her.
She turned her head in the direction of the gaze and discovered a Tiamat squatting beside a tree.
Stare—
Tiamat secretly observing.jpg.
Scathach noticed the woman's faint, secretive gaze, and the scolding words she originally intended to deliver were abruptly swallowed back down.
"Master?" Lan Ze hesitated for a moment. He had initially lowered his head like an obedient student, bracing himself for a reprimand, but when he sensed that the woman before him had remained silent for so long, he couldn't help but look up at Scathach.
--Stare.
Tiamat rested her small hands against the edge of the tree, most of her body hidden behind the trunk, lifting a tiny hand concealed within her sleeve. Though she made not a single sound, those faint eyes persistently peered at everything in the distance.
Scathach hesitated for a moment, then silently pressed a hand to her forehead with a light sigh. "Never mind... Practice diligently, and don't slack off."
The Tiamat god did not belong to Scathach's pantheon, but she knew a thing or two about this Creation Mother Goddess.
Though Scathach could already be considered a being who had lived for a very, very long time, her age was still a bit too young compared to Tiamat.
After all, this was a deity born before the creation of the world; it wouldn't even be out of line for Scathach to call her "Mother."
How on earth had this child managed to wander into "Mother's" Dreamscape?
And... right now, the scent radiating from his entire body belonged exclusively to Tiamat.
Scathach had originally planned to use that crippled-and-brutal training method to temper Lan Ze further, but after taking a glance at the secretly observing Tiamat... she seemed to lack any opportunity for private instruction.
Scathach cast an inadvertent look at the woman still half-squatting by the large tree. Despite her best efforts to conceal herself, the pair of horns on her head were simply too conspicuous and impossible to hide.
"Finish up your business here first. I will come looking for you later."
With that, she turned and walked away without looking back.
Leaving behind a bewildered Lan Ze.
He had no idea why his normally devilish master had suddenly done a complete one-eighty.
Yet for Lan Ze, this was a godsend.
If Scathach were to put him through that training method akin to "slaughter" like last time, he would probably have nightmares in his sleep.
He turned and returned to Tiamat's side, seeing the Creation Mother Goddess sitting on the sand with her knees hugged to her chest, watching anime. Seeming to find wearing that outfit too troublesome, she had discarded her school uniform to the side at some point.
That posture looked obedient and cute, completely masking the fact that she had just been sneaking around behind her cub out of worry.
"Why have you only watched this much?"
Yet, after glancing at the progress bar, Lan Ze noticed something amiss.
At least ten minutes had passed since he left, and logically, an entire episode should have nearly finished playing, but the progress bar of the anime Tiamat was watching had only advanced a tiny fraction.
"Aaa?" Tiamat tilted her head, wearing an expression of "Ah, what happened, I know nothing."
Lan Ze paused, connecting it to his master's subtle reaction just moments ago, and understood the situation instantly.
Yet he didn't expose her, merely shaking his head with a smile. "It's fine, go ahead and watch."
Meanwhile, Lan Ze sat beside Tiamat, who was engrossed in the anime, raised a finger, and traced a complex symbol.
A beam of flame instantly ignited upon his fingertip, and with a flick of his finger, the flame transformed into an ice crystal.
This was Rune Magic. The runes were extremely intricate, involving various elements and abilities. Although Lan Ze could use them, mastering them effortlessly still required a period of tempering.
"Mother, what do you think?" Lan Ze tugged at Tiamat, who was deeply absorbed in the anime, and asked.
Tiamat glanced back at the ice crystal on Lan Ze's fingertip, then looked at his "praise me" expression, and nodded gently.
"Very impressive," she praised.
Why did that feel so perfunctory...
Then again, it was Tiamat after all; this level of magic was probably quite ordinary to her.
At that moment, lively, bustling noises drifted from the nearby laptop, and Tiamat's gaze returned to the screen.
On the screen was a bustling crowd. The male and female leads were holding hands on a date down a street, and tall glass curtain walls stood everywhere in the city, glistening somewhat blindingly under the sunlight.
Tiamat's attention was quickly captivated. Her eyes held a trace of confusion, as if pondering the meaning of the plot within.
Lan Ze thought for a moment, produced a bag of potato chips, and handed them to Mother of All.
"What is this?" Tiamat asked.
"Something to eat. Cola and potato chips make the best match when watching anime," Lan Ze explained before helping her tear open the packaging.
Tiamat took the chips, her gaze still fixed firmly on the screen. At the same time, she reached her hand into the bag, munching on the chips while watching the show intently.
Cub, dinner is served!.jpg
Whether from excessive focus or something else, chip crumbs fell onto her chest and lap without her noticing, her eyes reflecting the images on the screen.
Even after finishing that episode, Tiamat still felt a lingering sense of wanting more.
"You're getting food everywhere. You should pay attention to your image, Mother."
Helplessly, Lan Ze reached out and gently brushed the chip crumbs from the corners of her mouth. Simultaneously, Tiamat lowered her head to pick up the crumbs scattered across her body, eating them in tiny, delicate bites.
Lan Ze's gaze froze for a moment, then he silently averted his eyes.
At that moment, Tiamat, having finished cleaning up the chip crumbs, reached out her palm toward Lan Ze. "Aaaa."
"Thanks, but I'm fine even if I don't eat," Lan Ze shook his head and said.
Yet Tiamat was stubborn; her palm remained held out in front of Lan Ze, as though she wouldn't retract her hand unless he ate.
Ultimately, Lan Ze had no choice but to lower his head and eat all the chip crumbs from the center of her palm, incidentally licking away the remaining fragments on her fingertips as well.
"How is it?" Tiamat asked.
"Mm... delicious," Lan Ze nodded earnestly and said.
These were bonus-enhanced chips, completely different from the ones he usually ate.
Tiamat smiled silently. Looking at Lan Ze's face, she suddenly asked in a soft voice, "What did that just mean?"
"Huh?" Lan Ze didn't understand.
Tiamat pointed at the computer beside them.
Lan Ze paused for a moment before realization dawned on him. "You mean the plot just now?"
"Simply put, the male and female leads went out on a date, but later the second female lead stole the spotlight and won in the end," Lan Ze casually spoiled.
Yet Tiamat remained unfazed, simply continuing to ask, "What is a date?"
"It means going out to eat, going out to play, and if things go well, you can even kiss... And if things go even better, you might hit a home run right away," Lan Ze explained.
"A home run?" Tiamat tilted her head, a strand of cyan hair falling across her forehead.
"Simply put... engaging in intimacy that goes beyond a kiss."
"Intimacy that goes beyond a kiss?"
Tiamat blinked, her clear, beautiful eyes reflecting Lan Ze's face.
"Mm..." Lan Ze nodded gently. "To put it simply, it's that extremely intimate video you just watched."
Tiamat fell into brief contemplation, recalling the imagery from the video she had seen earlier.
Slowly, an adorable rosy blush surfaced on her cheeks.
"Bad boy," she said in a very, very soft voice.
"I was just answering your question... I didn't think much of it," Lan Ze immediately explained.
This was the "Creation Mother Goddess" we were talking about; no matter how unhinged he might be, there was no way he would lay a hand on Mother of All.
Thinking of this, Lan Ze subconsciously stole a couple of extra glances at Tiamat.
Well, alright... perhaps he was a little unhinged.
Still, when all was said and done, how could anyone not feel their heart stir for a woman this adorable?
Could there really be anyone whose heart didn't melt for Mother of All? Surely not?
Tiamat reached out and gently touched the laptop, resuming playback of that same episode of anime.
She seemed to fancy this part of the plot quite a bit. After watching it repeatedly several times, she suddenly said in a soft voice, "Want to go on a date."
Lan Ze startled, clearly not expecting Tiamat to make such a request.
Seeming to notice Lan Ze's gaze, Tiamat lowered her head, an adorable blush coloring her cheeks. "...Bad things, not allowed."
"Then why are kisses allowed?"
"That wasn't a kiss." Tiamat said.
That was simply licking away the scents of other gods from Lan Ze's body, and even licking off the magic on him—it wasn't a mere kiss.
"Then what about the mouth-to-mouth one later...?"
"That... is liking," Tiamat said softly.
Lan Ze finally understood. Previously, due to a system-issued quest, he had been forced to kiss Mother of All, and she seemed to think that was an expression of affection toward someone, which was why she kissed him back afterwards.
If the quest issued by the system back then hadn't been a kiss, but rather... Lan Ze shuddered to think what it would have turned into.
Did she plan to do it every few days just to express affection?
Wondering if consuming stamina in this world would affect reality... His mind inexplicably began conjuring up some rather unrealistic imagery.
"Want to go on a date, but outside... there are many humans," Tiamat suddenly whispered.
Lan Ze snapped out of his boundless daydreaming and followed Tiamat's gaze toward the computer screen. On it, the male and female leads were going out on a date in the streets, surrounded by numerous passing pedestrians. She looked at those pedestrians with a gaze bearing the wary luster of a stray cat.
"Humans aren't scary. Even though you always say I'm not human, aren't I in human form right now? And you yourself are too," Lan Ze tried to change Tiamat's perspective.
"Humans all want to kill me," Tiamat whispered softly, as if terrified that others might hear her.
Hearing this, a quiet sigh involuntarily escaped Lan Ze's heart.
Just who was afraid of whom, after all?
If Tiamat were to descend in her colossal true form upon manifesting in the world, the vast majority of humanity would likely be terrified.
Yet they wouldn't realize that while they feared Tiamat, Tiamat was equally afraid of them.
Lan Ze reached out and gently pulled Tiamat into an embrace, distinctly feeling the woman's delicate, soft body trembling slightly.
She wasn't lying; she genuinely feared humans.
"Humans don't want to kill you," Lan Ze soothed softly.
As long as the threads between Tiamat and Gorgon could be successfully severed out there, she wouldn't awaken, nor would she uncontrollably seek vengeance against this land, let alone destroy Humanity's Order.
"The outside world... I want to see it," Tiamat said suddenly and softly.
"I want to go on a date."
Before you continue