NOVEL NEXT Chapter 503: "Princess?"
"What is it this time?" — Geminia asked, teleporting Idan in front of her.
Just recently, he came to her with a request to allow the little avatar of the Water Valkyrie to form a contract with a Perfect Doppelganger. Although Geminia had previously stated that all candidates except those three people should be evaluated by her, she agreed to Esme's request without verification.
But it didn't take long before Idan asked to see her again.
Idan scratched his head awkwardly. He had a great time with Alois and Liam, learning swordsmanship and sparring with Liam on swords under the watchful eye of the experienced Alois. However, this was the second time a message from Arabel had distracted him from this task.
"I've already learned something about the Doppelgangers and your territory thanks to the permission you gave those few doppelgangers," Geminia decided to share her recent discoveries without waiting for Idan's answer.
"And what did you find out? Time of stay?" Idan asked, attracted by these words.
"Yeah. Now I roughly understand how much time Doppelgangers can spend on your territory and what it depends on," Geminia nodded.
"First, the most obvious thing. The length of stay does not depend on whether the doppelganger is Mute or Perfect. Your territory sees them all the same," Geminia said, pleasantly surprising Idan.
"And finally, the most important thing is that the time the Doppelgangers stay in your territory depends on the rank of the creature they copy," Geminia continued.
"If a Doppelganger copies a Golden-ranked creature, its stay will be 12 hours, and if a Diamond-ranked creature like Lucinda, it will be 8 hours, regardless of the suppression of your territory's rank."
"Hmm..." thought Idan. "Have you checked the time for all ranks?"
"Yes," Geminia confirmed. "I sent several Doppelgangers at once, ordering them to copy creatures of different ranks."
Thus, thanks to this, Idan and Arabel now knew exactly how long creatures of various ranks could stay in their territory.
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The Lower Realm
Rank 0 — Iron — 24 hours
Rank 1 — Bronze — 20 hours
Rank 2 — Silver — 16 hours
Rank 3 — Golden — 12 hours
Rank 4 — Platinum — 10 hours
Rank 5 — Diamond — 8 hours
The Higher Realm
Rank 6 — Rare — 6-7 hours
Rank 7 — Epic — 5 hours
Rank 8 — Legendary — 4 hours
Rank 9 — Mythical — 2 hours
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"Oh! can mortals stay in our territory permanently without being exiled?" Idan exclaimed, surprised by this news.
"Yes, according to preliminary observations, it is," Geminia confirmed.
"Wonderful!" said Idan happily. "Now Arabel and I need to find the right person so that the doppelgangers can copy him and help us with more than just construction."
"Don't forget our deal, Idan," Geminia reminded him, noticing how Idan was lost in thought, muttering something under his breath.
"Of course I remember, don't worry Geminia," Idan assured. "You have full access to our territory, and you can come there every day according to the time of our world to monitor what is happening and even ask your descendants how they are doing."
"All right," Geminia agreed. Then, noticing that Idan was lost in thought again, having forgotten the reason for his current visit, she decided to remind him of it.
"So what brings you here this time?"
"Huh?" — At first, Idan was surprised, but then he quickly realized that he had been distracted from the reason for his visit.
"Haha, I'm sorry Geminia, I got too excited and distracted," he apologized.
"And also let me express my gratitude to you for the work you have done. This makes it much easier for Belle and me to check everything ourselves," Idan added.
"Well, it's not that big of a deal. But since you want to thank me, you can consider it in my contribution," Geminia did not miss the opportunity to increase her contribution.
Idan didn't mind and nodded in agreement, making notes so as not to forget about Geminia's current contribution.
"Geminia, the purpose of my current visit is to ask you if the Queen is alive?" Idan finally decided to ask this question, because since she took the queen to an unknown destination, he did not know what had happened to her.
"The Queen?" Geminia, who rarely shows her emotions other than a slight smile, was surprised by Idan's question.
"Why do you need to know if the Queen is alive?" she asked.
Idan, feeling awkward, told her about the plan Arabel had given him, without missing a single detail.
"So that's why you're looking for her," Geminia said, realizing the reason for his search.
Then she looked at Idan with a cheerful smile.
"Idan, you've turned to the wrong person this time," she said.
"Huh?" It took Idan a moment to understand what she meant.
"Yes, the Queen is alive," Geminia confirmed. Still smiling, she added: "But she's not with me anymore."
"Eh? If you don't have the Queen, then who does? Where is she?" — Idan asked in surprise when Geminia admitted that the Queen was not with her.
"Heh heh." Idan had rarely seen Geminia laugh like that.
"Don't worry so much, Idan," she said. "The Queen is still here in the Forbidden Zone, but she is already under the care of another being."
"Under the care of another?" repeated Idan, then his eyes widened in surprise. "You don't mean her, do you? When did she do it?"
"Heh heh." Geminia laughed again when she saw Idan's reaction.
"She just left before your visit, taking the Queen, so go ask her," Geminia said, waving Idan to another place.
Idan appeared inside the Temple right in front of the very woman he needed.
"Oh, Idan," Sierra was surprised when she saw Idan's sudden appearance.
"Sierra," — Idan called, still unable to believe that Sierra had signed her second contract before he came to Geminia. He couldn't even imagine that Sierra would decide to sign her second contract with none other than the Queen.
Remembering that, unlike them, others could not store contracted creatures in their "Beast Souls," Idan began to look around in search of a familiar figure. However, no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find the Queen.
"What's going on?" Sierra asked, noticing his unusual reaction.
"The Queen, where is she?" Idan asked, not finding her.
Upon hearing Idan's question, a charming and wide smile appeared on Sierra's face.
If Idan hadn't had Arabel, he could have sworn he would have fallen in love with Sierra if he'd seen that smile before. She was so beautiful.
Sierra pointed her finger in a certain direction, and following her hand, Idan noticed a black figure nearby, hiding behind a small pillar. She peeked out from behind a pillar and quickly hid back.
"Come out," — Sierra said, and upon hearing her words, a black figure shuddered and appeared from behind a pillar.
Idan, seeing this, started rubbing his eyes in disbelief. But no matter how hard he tried, he saw the same picture in front of him.
In front of him stood a girl about six or seven years old with very long black hair that streamed across the floor behind her. She had four small hands and a cute black dress.
She herself was looking down, as if embarrassed and afraid of him, clutching the hem of her dress with her four small fists.
Idan turned to Sierra.
"Is that what I think it is?" he asked.
"Yes, that's her, the Queen," Sierra replied with a wide smile, amused by Idan's reaction. "Although she is no longer a Queen, but rather a princess."
"Princess?" repeated Idan, returning his gaze to the little girl. He could have sworn that he didn't see this little girl as the formidable leader of the Womskinner race.