Odyssey of the Blind God

"We are very lucky to have the Royal Princess on our side. She helps us a lot with everything that revolves around the Cultivation Drug…and we really need her help…" Miles said with a bright smile on his face.

Visualizing his father allowed Nial to understand many things, including that he was very relieved and happy about the Elven\'s support.

"Did you know that there had already been dozens of deaths in the shelter because of the brawls between humans? I give you one try to guess the reason that started the brawls," Miles said all of a sudden while continuing to clean the table, put aside the used mugs and wash them afterward.

Nial, meanwhile, was focused on caressing the lion-sized Gryphon, who had entered the wooden hut after the guests had left.

Ryu had grown up a lot and he was much stronger than before. The Gryphon was able to fly using his own wings now that he finally grew wings after his bloodline evolution. That was more than enough reason for Ryu to spend most of the day flying around and having the time of his life.

As for the Oracle, Nial was actually not sure where she was right now. She didn\'t leave behind a note or something like that to let him know about her whereabouts, and Ryu told him that she had been in the wooden hut just a day before. At least that was what Nial understood by communicating with Ryu through their somewhat crude, yet thick Soul link.

Thus, there was no need for Nial to be worried, or wonder if the Oracle had already left them.

"If you ask me like that, the brawls probably started because of the Cultivation Drug. I don\'t think there are many other reasons for a bunch of brawls to start all of a sudden," Nial replied quite nonchalantly, while his mind was cursing the idiotic drug addicts who were simply throwing away their lives for nothing.

"You are not wrong because a few brawls started thanks to the not-so-pleasant existence of the Cultivation Drugs, but there is something else. Unfortunately, you\'ve just used up your chances at guessing, so…you will never be able to find out the complete truth!" Miles was trying to joke with his son, something he had started to do after Nial found out that he was not related to any of them by blood.

Nial smiled wryly while he continued to caress Ryu, who was chirping wildly, enjoying the affection he received from his master.

"Don\'t look at me like that, okay? I will tell you. Calm down!" Miles said, without turning his attention away from the sink.

\'You cannot even see me… and how the hell am I supposed to look at you, to begin with?!\'

Nial would sometimes question whether his father was actually just playful or if Miles was just trying to make sure that his blood pressure would always be high as long as he was at home.

"Foreign races have created a bunch of factions in Halheim, where most members are humans, which use their techniques. They try, very very hard, to expand their influence. Unfortunately, not everyone accepts that, especially the government and other organizations. Thus, humans end up fighting each other whenever the conflicts escalate!"

Miles provided a detailed explanation, and Nial\'s interest was piqued.

"Do you know if there had been trouble in the Orion Artisan Guild, or the Onyx Association?" He asked hurriedly, just for his father to shake his head.

"Melheim messaged me a few days ago that there had been two conflicts but they were stopped early enough when one of the foreign members of our organizations intervened. Your friends, who used the \'comfortable\' scheme in the application forms when they joined your organizations, are pretty nice.

Don\'t you dare to treat them badly!"

Nial was not sure how to react to the order he had just received from his father. He could only tilt his head and frown.

"When did I start treating my people badly?!?"

His father didn\'t comment on Nial\'s question but that made him feel even worse.

\'Am I treating them badly? Not really, right?\'

Nial was getting confused and it was at this moment when the Oracle appeared in the wooden door frame of the hut.

"Oh? You finally chose to change back to your real form?" He asked when he started to visualize the Oracle, in her mature form.

Long and wavy silver hair fell from her slender back, reaching down to her waist. The Oracle smiled gently at Nial as she stepped into the wooden hut.

Her long, slender legs highlighted the sheer perfect figure of the Oracle, who sat down on the couch next to him before she crossed her legs.

A floral scent swirled around Nial the moment the Oracle stepped closer to him, naturally pulling his attention over to her.

She smiled mischievously at him, knowing deep down that Nial was able to visualize her beautiful figure, her voluptuous curves, and the face that screamed \'Goddess\'.

Saying that the Oracle was beautiful would be an insult to her otherworldly gorgeous appearance. Even Nial could tell that very clearly. The Oracle\'s presence had changed tremendously compared to four months ago and it was quite obvious that she had finally given up on hiding her true self in front of Nial, at least.

Nial could tell that Miles didn\'t even realize who…or what the Oracle truly was. He put a glass of water on the table in front of her and started chit-chatting with her as if her appearance didn\'t affect him at all.

"He cannot see what I can sense and visualize, right?" Nial muttered slowly to make sure that he wouldn\'t start stuttering all of a sudden.

\'What the hell is wrong with me? Am I a 14-year-old guy in the middle of puberty or what?\'

He was trying hard to organize his thoughts and he attempted to dispel the effect the Oracle had on him. Doing both at the same time was not easy but with some effort, everything worked out.

"Your father can only see my appearance, though a little bit blurred to make sure that he won\'t linger around me all the time. It\'s hard for weak mortals to resist me, after all!" The Oracle flung some strands of her hair backward while smiling proudly.

This was enough for Nial to feel like ruffling through the Oracle\'s hair to dishevel it beyond recognition. However, just when he moved his hands, Nial stopped midways.

\'She doesn\'t have the appearance of a little kid anymore…I shouldn\'t treat her like that anymore either…I guess?\'

Nial sighed and he retracted his hand after a moment. The Oracle seemed disappointed when she saw what Nial did, but there was a glint in her eyes that indicated the exact opposite.

"You don\'t feel anything upon visualizing me, sensing my presence, or smelling the scents that naturally surround me? Nothing, at all?" The Oracle asked, leaning forward to get a bit closer to Nial.

Nial felt like shouting out loud and saying \'I don\'t sense anything!\', but he felt like the Oracle would be able to sense that he was not being entirely truthful. It was a little bit weird. He was not sure how strong the Oracle was, let alone what she was…but even then he could predict a few things about her persona.

"It would be a lie to say that I don\'t feel anything if someone as beautiful as you approaches me like you\'re doing but I don\'t really feel the urge to pounce on you and rip your clothes apart…if you mean that?" Nial answered truthfully.

Being a man, he felt something around a beautiful female but that was already it. It would be rather weird if he didn\'t feel something in the presence of someone who not only had flawless beauty, but also the charming and elegant presence of a Goddess.

Nial was still not sure if the Oracle was an \'ordinary\' Goddess, and then wondered if something like that existed in the first place, however, what he could tell was that the Oracle was different from ordinary existences…and he knew the reason for that.

The Oracle was given permission to do things many others weren\'t allowed to do, and the reason for this was that she worked together, or even in the name, of the Origin.

The Origin of the Universe, Jundra, was a weird place where fate turned everyone into fools, and the Oracle was the Trickster chosen by the Origin…or so Nial felt at least.

"Hmm, so you don\'t want to pounce on me…okay, noted," The Oracle said quietly, and in a tone that suggested that she was…disappointed?!

\'What the hell is wrong with the people around me? Why would she want me to pounce on her?!\'