Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 217. Despite Before The Storm

Sebastian’s voice broke through the warm moment from somewhere behind them, as it always does with him. "How sweet~!"

"The gooner and his six wives are having a bonding moment! This is the best character development ever!"

Rick turned around and glared at his system administrator, who was floating nearby with his usual shit-eating grin. "Please don’t ruin this for me."

Sebastian said with a smile, "It’s literally my job to roast you."

"Besides, someone needs to keep your ego in check now that you’re being hailed as the hero who killed Cthulhu."

"You can’t get too full of yourself."

"I think the fact that I can barely stand is helping to keep my ego in check," Rick said quietly.

Sebastian agreed, "That’s a fair point."

"You look like total trash! When was the last time you slept, ate, or stopped almost dying for five minutes?"

"I don’t know... maybe every conflict I faced always makes me want to rest every single goddamn time," Rick said, doing the math in his head. "So... maybe... three days?"

"Three days?!" Carmilla sat up straight, and her motherly instincts kicked in right away to protect him. "Rick, you need to sleep!"

"Like real sleep. In a bed. For at least twelve hours."

Rick said, "We just saved the world."

"I can’t just leave and waste my time like that! I have to celebrate more and thank people."

"Yes, you can," Natasha said with conviction. "The party will go on without you."

"And if anyone says the hero should sleep after saving the world from an apocalyptic threat, I will personally freeze them solid."

A familiar person came through the crowd before Rick could say anything else. It was Zephyra, and she walked toward them with baby Sophia sleeping peacefully in a sling against her chest.

She looked much more calm than she had during the fight.

Fredrich went with her, and his face showed a mix of relief and tiredness. They both looked like they had aged ten years in the last few hours.

"Rick," Zephyra said, her voice not sounding as playful as it usually does. "Can we talk to you for a minute? It’s important."

Rick pulled away from his partners and stood up, wincing as his injuries started to hurt. "Of course! What’s going on?"

"I need to talk to you about something important, and just the three of us," Fredrich said.

"Alright, where?"

Fredrich pointed to a quieter area away from the main party. Once they were far enough away from each other, he spoke with the weight of someone giving news that was both good and bad.

"First, the good news," Fredrich said. "After Cthulhu’s destruction, corruption levels in all of Zorathia dropped by about seventy percent."

The Archon’s plan to corrupt the entire world has suffered a significant setback. We think it will take at least six months, maybe a year, for corruption to reach the same critical levels it was at before."

Rick felt a wave of relief. "Holy shit! That’s amazing! Last time it was six months, and then four and a half, and now a whole year!"

"So we really do have time to breathe and rebuild?"

"Yes," Zephyra said. "Now we get to the important part."

"Rick, you’ve made Spirit Bonds with six women and brought together five of the Seven Major Powers."

"The Dragon Kingdom, the Ocean Empire, the Demon Realm, and the Divine Temple are all on the same page now."

Rick said, "That leaves two," and he could feel his exhaustion getting worse. "The Elven Sanctuary and the Witch Covens..."

"I bet you want me to go deal with them right away?"

"No," Fredrich said, and Rick’s eyes got bigger in surprise.

"W-What? That’s rare." Rick looked confused.

"That’s what I’m trying to tell you... You don’t need to do anything right now."

"The two remaining Major Powers are having problems of their own that have nothing to do with the corruption crisis."

Zephyra went into more detail. "The Elf Matriarch of the Elven Sanctuary, Aelindra Starbranch, has closed her borders completely."

"There has been no communication in or out for the past two months. We don’t know what’s going on there, but it’s clear that it’s happening inside."

"And Velmira Nightbloom of the Witch Covens is in a power struggle with other covens," Fredrich said. "Again, it’s about internal politics, not an outside threat."

"You don’t need to get involved right away in either case."

Rick felt like a mountain had been taken off his shoulders. "So I can finally relax for a while?"

"Take some time to heal? Maybe not have to worry about the end of the world for a while?"

"Yes, you absolute disaster," Zephyra said with a smile for the first time that it made Rick blush. "You’ve earned it."

"Take your time to heal and spend time with your bonded partners. We’ll take care of the battle cleanup for you." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

After that, Zephyra’s face turned playful. "Besides, you still owe me a favor before I’ll even think about forming a Spirit Bond with you."

Rick blinked, then smiled even though he was tired. "Wait... you’re really thinking about it?!"

"I thought you’d never say yes."

"I said I’d think about it," Zephyra said. "After you do something really great to earn it."

"And no... defeating Cthulhu doesn’t count. That was for the world, not just for me."

"(FUCCKKKKKKKK!!!)." Rick asked, "What kind of favor are we talking about?"

Zephyra’s smile turned mysterious. "Don’t worry about that right now... just focus on getting better."

"And congratulations on your sixth Spirit Bond! Nerissa is lucky to have found you."

Before Rick could say anything, Zephyra turned and walked away with Fredrich, blending back into the crowd of people celebrating. As they left, baby Sophia waved a little hand at Rick, and he couldn’t help but wave back.

Rick said to himself, "What the fuck was that about...?"

He was about to return to his partners when he noticed something moving in the sky above where Zephyra and Fredrich had gone. For a moment, he thought he saw shadows shifting against the stars, shapeless and unsettling.

Rick blinked, and they were gone. It’s probably just his tired mind playing tricks on him.

But in fact... there is someone.

Three people dressed in dark clothes watched the party from far above with interest. People who were part of the Shadow Covenant, a secret group that worked in the dark areas between the Major Powers.

One shadow said, "The Hero of Mature Hearts."

"He’s tougher than we thought he was."

Another shadow remarked, "He has six Spirit Bonds and has defeated a Forbidden Guardian without even using Spirit Unity."

"The Archon will want to know about this."

"Should we kill him now that he’s weak?" the third person asked.

The first person said, "No."

"We’ll have to watch and wait. Let him get stronger..."

"The Archon has plans that need to happen at the right time. For now, we just watch."

The shadows faded away, leaving no sign of their presence in the night.

...

Somewhere far away...

Aelindra Starbranch sat in her private chambers in the heart of the Elven Sanctuary, thousands of miles away. She held a crystal orb that showed the whole battle from different angles.

The Elf Matriarch had been following Rick’s journey from the start, using methods that only the oldest elves knew about. She had witnessed Rick’s initial mistakes, his growth through adversity, and his eventual triumph against all challenges.

As she watched the crystal playback of Rick delivering the final blow to Cthulhu, her face showed a mix of motherly warmth and ancient sadness. This recording showed the girl with white hair who had come to help him, but Aelindra thought that Rick was the only living person who had seen her.

"Perhaps," Aelindra contemplated, her voice resonating with thousands of years, "this is the timeline that draws nearer to the truth."

"This is the timeline where he truly succeeds while everyone else fails."

She put the crystal down and looked out the window at the Elven Sanctuary in the distance. Her people were in their own crisis, and Rick would have to step in soon, whether he was ready or not.

But for now, she would let him sleep. Let him enjoy his win.

For a little while, let him think that the worst was over.

Aelindra knew what was going to happen. She had seen it happen many times in many different timelines.

Perhaps this time, with the right hero arriving at the right moment, events will finally unfold differently.

"Rest while you can, Hero of Mature Hearts," Aelindra said softly.

"You still have to face your biggest challenges in the future..."