143. The Ice Walker
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A month and a half after Will turned into a daemon and he's more or less got the hang of being non-human.

When he steeled his resolve to awaken the Wechuge, Will thought that would be his end. That he would forever surrender his body and soul to the being beyond his own reality. That would never return from the darkness.

But he did.

He was saved by the Priestess of the daemons. Given salvation and was reunited with his family.---even if their contact was limited.

Will was alive.

Currently, he worked as the fire extinguisher of the only acknowledged Daemon Society in the entire world.

It was so much better than he had thought it'd be.

What's more, though he had no wage, the need wasn't present. The food was provided, and as a Worker, he lived in a shared house. Where he shared spacious rooms with beddings made from high-quality daemon furs.

'Free meal and everyone can spend their time however they want if they finish their given tasks. They give you time to do your own things, you can shift jobs if you pass the test, and could even get your own house if you climb the ranks.'

It was quite a paradise.

But that wasn't all.

Ding!

[Shadow Photographer has sent a group message]

'…It's here.' The Notification alerted Will and quickly opened the chat box where it came from, 'I'm one of the first ones?'

There were three online. A bizarre sight for such an important hour in the Village.

But, he ignored it and started browsing through the "document" they were sent. Opening a folder, photos of a very familiar figure greeted him.

A smiling little horned daemon. There were dozens of these pictures. Taken from every angel, unbeknownst to the target.

'This is the fourth time… and that's just tonight.' he thought to himself.

The picture was clearly taken by a professional…. stalker. Captured from impossible angles.

Sometimes the angles were so bizarrely taken that it seemed as though the one who took it melded with a wall. Nevertheless, even if the photos were all different from the last, there was one thing that had them in common, they captured the little daemon's charms.

He checked the time, and it was still 23:42 in the evening, and as he waited in the chat box for a good three seconds, dozens and soon hundreds of other daemons clicked to see the 'update.'

As Will expected, the sound of HNPs opening echoed. One after the other, the members of the ten-people shared home opened their eyes to look at pictures. Many of them giggled; others began talking to each other, laughing and sharing their impressions.

These beings whose height were no less than two-meters in size and had incredible muscle mass giggled like little girls all the while talking with a serious tone.

"The Priestess smile is truly healing. I think I can risk my life and harvest the Serpentine Grass for the Second Meal's soup. Older Brother Killa said he would deliver food to the Priestess." An Ogre Worker, a part of the foraging branch whispered in the dark.

"That's tomorrow? Then we will be cutting open the Gargankong's brain and heart." A werewolf tasked with cooking was announced.

"Aiya, do you not know that the Priestess does not enjoy brains and heart?" A praerie interjected, "She likes soft foods, but she doesn't like innards."

The idea of daemons using HNPs was already bizarre, but in the face of them fangirling a daemon was something that blew all common sense. Or at least Will's common sense.

Two weeks ago, the daemons were given HNPs, a generous donation from the Hunter Association, and in less than a day, the daemons were already adept in using them.

But because of their lack of literacy, only a select few were able to use the World Network.

However, that did not matter to the majority of the Villagers. Only the Leaders tasked with complicated matters cared about such intricate matters, the majority of the daemons only cared about their Priestess.

Once they got their hands on the HNPs they started learning how to take pictures.  Immortalizing Lilith's distribution of the HNPs.

Then those who knew how to use the World Network even learned how to download images through sheer trial and error.

For an entire day, one of the Village's Representatives, someone known as the Golden Warrior Sylva helmed their great expedition of the World Networker, scouring every corner for their beloved Priestess' photos.

"I have been taught the greatness of the World Network by the Big Sis! And I saw  images of the Priestess by the hundreds, in her moments of divine kindness as she healed the weak! We shall comb through these uncharted planes to recover these treasures!" Sylva announced, they enacted a crusade to retrieve holy images of their Goddess' avatar.

Sacrificing dozens of HNPs —they downloaded many obscure viruses— until there was nothing left.

They then streamlined distribution, and that was how they learned how to create a chat box. Many members of which had names that had gibberish letters for a name. But it mattered little for one did not have to know how to read in order to appreciate culture.

One of these chat boxes just happened to be the one that shared secret photographs of the Priestess.

The time between 22:00 and 24:00 was dedicated to new pictures for delivery. At least that's when the Shadow Photographer sends the captured shots. At this time, it was of utmost importance to the daemons to respond to the tiniest bit of buzzing to see the photos at the earliest as they would be deleted ten minutes after being sent.

The Ogre near Will even tapped his shoulders to tell him of the glorious news, "Brother Will, wake up, the Shadow Photographer sent another batch of pictures. It will be deleted soon."

"I am awake, thank you, Brother Big Fang."

"I see; well, this is probably going to be the last treasure the Shadow Photographer will bless us with for the night. What are you going to save, Brother Will?"

"…number 4 and 17."

"Ah, nice choice, so you like low angles; I did not know you would prefer such daring shots. Well, as for me, I'd be getting numbers 3, 14, and 16; I like seeing the Priestess's smile filled with brightness. These precious treasures especially accentuate the purity that she blessed us with. A good reminder of the Priestess' nature outside of the battlefield. We rarely see her because of her pilgrimage to share the blessings of the Goddess to those savage humans. I wonder, just when will the Priestess return?"

Big Fang rambled about the gloriousness of Lilith's pure existence. His rambling even attracted the others saving the pictures; one of the Praeries even shouted across the room, "Brother Big Fang! What's the number you're talking about!"

"3, 14, and 16! They are the brightest of them all!"

"Ah, 3, 14, 16… 3, 14—found it! Oh, you are right, Brother Big Tusk, these really are great~."

Drowning their celebration with his own thoughts, Will kept to himself. He scrolled through the new batch of photos and found nothing more that had his daughter in it. Will chose the images in a way, unlike the others. Though he considered the Priestess pleasing to the eyes, he only saved photos if his daughter was on the screen.

'This Shadow Photographer is really kind of creepy taking photos of someone so young as the Priestess, but….' He didn't really have a way to stop him from doing something that the daemons enjoy, 'If I try to say something otherwise, the daemons might do something I do not want to imagine.'

He had already escaped death once, Will had no intention of sticking his neck out to something that didn't hurt anyone.

If this was the past, Will would be sick to his stomach. But, the Village worshipped their Priestess with so much reverence that there existed no dark, improper, or malicious thoughts. To even have such thoughts was blasphemous.

Her very existence was healing to them. She was pure.

And Will was slowly understanding them for he had experienced the Priestess' miracles once.

Even his wife also saw the Priestess with reverence.

Will chose to shut his mouth.

Well, he found new pictures of his daughter; Will was just glad he could see her more often while he was still prohibited from meeting her.

When 00:01 arrived, and the photos were erased from the chat box, the daemons finally started feeling sleepy.

Their days had been full of hard work. The Village needed many things to function.

From clothes, to weapons, to maintenance, harvesting, foraging, and so many others, there was never a lack for jobs. Even if there was, the daemons would spend their times caring for the wounded or helping the Elders teach the children.

But despite their hectic days, Will never heard a complaint. In fact, during break time, he would often hear them laughing and conversing about the latest news on the girl in the picture known as Priestess Lilith.

Priestess Lilith, from what Will learned, was the very definition of the word Leader. Her kindness was without bottom, and her bravery exceeded any warrior. Her path was peace and saving anyone who decided to offer themselves to the one and only Goddess Letza.

Her heart was pure without malice. She only raises her hand when a fight could not be avoided.

Bringing pain to others hurt her to tears. However, when it counted, she was a decisive leader who would set examples to set everyone straight, reminding them who stands above them.

Even when she's not the strongest, she would fight to protect her people. Will heard how many times she had risked her life for them.

Her every action reminded them of what a true warrior should be.

Some even recount the glorious tale of Lilith holding up the skies when they were still in their old home.

She's their benevolent Priestess, otherwise known as the Divine Daemon by some.

She was noble and righteous. Someone delivered by the Goddess to give them salvation.

'She's also the one who saved me from my fate.' Will noted as he fell asleep. His day starts at an ungodly hour. He needed all the sleep he could get.

'Goddess Letza, please protect my family.'

He prayed for his daughter's safety before going to sleep — he offered his faith to the one Deity he knew would answer.

===

As early as three in the morning, an hour before the morning practices of the Warrior Classes begin, Will was already awake. Sleep was his best friend when he was still human, but now that he's a daemon, he didn't really need that much to function.

Since his race was updated to that of a [Ice Walker] a week ago and resettled his level to 1 —though he worked hard to raise it to level 19 now — his behavior also changed.

As his name suggested, Ice Walkers liked to walk and could not keep still; he begrudgingly inherited the trait.

Getting up, Will stretched his body outside, and after letting a breath out, he began running.

He did not even try to conserve his energy and initiated the Ice Steps leaving a trail of frost with every step. His movement was fast but nothing noteworthy.

His run took him to the edge of the village and then out.

"Good morning, Brother Big Hammer, Sister Claws." Will greeted the Guardians of the Eastern Walls, the Ogre Champion Big Hammer, and the Female Werewolf Claws, "What can I get the two today?"

They carried with them stern expressions but seeing Will, they lightened and waved at him.

"River Roach!!" Big Hammer shouted at the passing Will.

"Blood Fruits!" Claws added.

"Okay, that's River Roach for Big Hammer and Blood Fruits for Claws. I will see you later… if the General doesn't kill me."

Big Hammer and Claws laughed at his words.

"Bah, the General is strict, but he doesn't kill our people. Wait… but you are a special case, so he really might take your neck. Well, try not to die. I still need my breakfast, gahahaha! May the Goddess look after you." Big Hammer laughed.

"That's right! May the Goddess and your Ancestors look after you, Brother Will! Good luck with your special test!" Claws encouraged.

Will could only let out a weak laugh at their response.

Across the Eastern Entrace, was the Forest.

Will took a deep breath and prepared his heart, "...okay, I can do this."

He steeled his heart before exploding with speed.

Whoosh!

With swiftness, Will entered the Forest, and as soon as he did, rocks came aimed at his eyes from the shadows.

He shifted his head to the left and right, dodged the rocks—

Prsssh!

Rustling from his right reached his ears, and as a response, Will froze the ground, the trees, and everything in that general direction. He allowed the ice to rage and soon passed frozen Ogres holding sharpened sticks.

He laughed as the Ogre trembled from the cold.

Traps, ambushes, and even more traps were put in his path. They would appear without intervals and different from the day before to test his reaction and improvement.

'Okay, this is good, I am about to break the fifty-meter, mar—'

But just as Will was about to celebrate, a shadow appeared from the thick foliage ahead.

Before he could understand what was happening, a hand was already in front of his face.

It happened all too fast, and the only thing Will could do was looked to the side and witness Chief, grinning ear to ear, "Fuck off."

[Chief LVL 250]

'Ah—shit!'

BOOM!

To anyone confused, Will was the one Lilith asked Dhampy to train....

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