John had many plans for these two women. Particularly the one giving off so much pressure. He looked over at Tiza, the former holy maiden and second wife to the former emperor.
[Tiza, would you like to become the second champion of Holstein?] He asked.
Tiza for her part looked confused.
Usually a word like champion would easily be translated as their people had them too, the problem is that the word didn't translate because it had a very different meaning.
For them it didn't mean a hero of the people, it translated as a job title that she had never heard of before.
She was about to ask but John nodded like he understood the problem.
[You see, I named this world Holstein because it represents a type of animal known for its kindness, friendliness and overall motherly nature. Since I've been with him I have noticed the similarities despite him having a more masculine soul.] Another lie for the ages.
What else should he say? That Holstein was an overly ambitious planet that has the desire to conquer the universe and become as big as an entire galaxy capable of even devouring stars?
No.
Yet despite explaining this to them Tiza still looked confused as she explained.
[I'm still confused about this Champion thing you speak of. Also, what do you mean the planet is a he? Are you saying this… Holstein is alive?] She barely uttered those words out as she stared at the gas giant above her.
The thought was far too terrifying if it was true.
Thankfully John had an answer for this as well.
[You speak as if you have never seen a sentient planet before! Hahaha- ah wait, then again I suppose my case is a bit special. I have been all over the universe after all… but yes… It's fairly common. In fact there is an entire dwarf galaxy filled with sentient planets. You have never heard of them before? Curious.
Anyway, as for 'Champions', they are simple. If you swear your allegiance to Holstein then you can borrow all of the available spiritual energy as possible. You'll have all the qi that can be found on a 1 star planet. Of course, that's not exactly useful to me because the distance is just too vast to give or take any amount of wi.
And even if I could… What is a 1 star planet to a paragon? Even a 3 star planet wont provide anything. Only an 8 star planet would barely be worthy of my attention.] John just shrugged.
Meanwhile both women stood in shock and awe!
The oracle however looked on in horror.
'A paragon?! This man is a paragon?! I have only heard of these creatures in myths and legends. Not even I or the most powerful oracles that have ever lived have been able to peer into the secrets of a Heaven-Immortal, much less a paragon.'
Tiza on the other hand looked fascinated however. If she could have all the qi in the world (literally) then she could easily become an Earth-Immotal!
Obviously a 1 star world wasn't enough but she knew enough about the universe to know how she could take advantage of this.
For example, what if she captured all of her opponents and threw them all at the planet known as Holstein? The planet would be elevated to 3 stars in a matter of years, and the best part about it is that nobody can cultivate because of the sheer pressure of gravity from the planet.
Not only would nobody be able to cultivate but they wouldn't even be able to match an actual immortal! In time she could easily have her enemies gather as much qi from the environment and just throw them all on the planet in an instant.
She was filled with anticipation and exhilaration!
As soon as she heard this news and came up with her plans she couldn't help but agree immediately to any demands of a pacifist planet! She didn't even consider the consequences or the fact that the planet she was about to sign her life away to was already bonded by soul to an alien, much less that he could be lying about everything!
[DEAL!]
John and the oracle looked shocked by her enthusiasm. He shouldn't be though. From what he understood from their race they were extremely impulsive. He knew that because it was well documented among their own people.
They were great treasure hunters yes but most treasures were always protected and these people almost always ignored those warnings.
Tunnel vision is a scary thing.
The oracle seemed wise enough to understand this however. She knew that if a deal was too good to be true then it usually always was.
The problem is that as soon as she was about to say something it was already too late.
John, noticing that the oracle was about to stop her from making any shady deals so he decided to form the contract in his mind and accepted her confirmation as an official sign of confirmation.
Since this wasn't a deal that was arbitrated by the system he had no real way of forcing her to do anything she didn't want to or stay obscenely loyal unlike the 'idiot 31' he had taken to calling them.
There was absolutely nothing stopping her from betraying him.
Not that she ever would.
Despite the famous catchphrase 'too good to be true', this deal was exactly that. If anything, the one who truly loses out is John. In theory Tiza could easily take all of his qi and release it into her planet's atmosphere.
He was just confident that she wouldn't simply because he knew of their greedy nature and most importantly, even if she could take all that spiritual energy then so what?
Her planet won't just miraculously turn into a 4 star planet! She would have to kill dozens of Earth-Immortals to make that happen. And even then, a 4 star planet isn't even enough to elevate anyone to a Heaven-Immortal!
Only a 6 star planet can do that!
Which is why he was so confident she wouldn't betray Holstein. She could try betraying John but in her eyes they were accomplices, and if she did betray him she knew that it would take millions of years just for him to reach this star system.
And even that wasn't certain.
Either of the two could easily die one way or another, and by the time he reaches this planet she should hopefully either continue getting along with him or have no other choice but to fight him.
The issue is that even she wasn't confident that she could defeat him alone. She would need the backing of her entire galaxy for that, and even that may not be enough.
Either way, as soon as she made the deal she could feel the connection between her and the planet. Sadly it wasn't that helpful.
She could at most use this new found influx of qi to use 3-4 spells free of charge.
She wasn't upset though. She was too busy thinking of the future. Elevating Holstein to the highest ranking in the galaxy and beyond! Uniting her entire civilization and conquering the entire galaxy and yes, beyond this galaxy as well!
Holstein could very well rival the planets within the 'Well of the galaxy'.
The so-called home of the top beings and the near center of their galaxy. A place owned by beings that stood at the highest level in their tiny galaxy.
Where was this confidence coming from you may wonder?
It's simple.
Tiza could feel it. She could feel that on an instinctive level she didn't even have to kidnap her victims. She just had to kill them and she would gain a small amount of their power.
She had a feeling that most of that energy would transfer back to the planet they were killed but at the very least she could take a small amount of it for herself and the rest would go back to Holstein.
It helped her plans greatly.
She would still have to take prisoners for efficiency's sake but at the very least killing an Earth-Immortal will bring in a LOT of energy.
Just then she noticed her friend. The oracle was looking at her like she was an idiot. Sadly she didn't have telepathy so they couldn't converse in secret but she understood the issue.
Instead of taking it seriously she instead chose to ignore the problem of signing random contracts and instead chose to walk back to her ship after talking to John about the most efficient ways to gain qi.
And it just so happens that her own plans of killing over a dozen Dragon-rank individuals fit into this plan! Everything was going perfectly for her!
John, for his part, didn't stand on ceremony. He still had something he needed from the oracle so before she could leave he gave Maria permission to show her presence.
Of course she was here all along. He just didn't want her to become the center of attention. He knew full well that if she were there these two feminist would try to pry for information, and Maria, the kind hearted idiot she was would give it to them.
Yet as soon as she showed up the oracle was once again shocked! She didn't expect another Paragon to just show up out of nowhere or at least she assumed that's what she was. She sighed in relief after finding out the truth a second later.
[I forgot to introduce you. THIS is Maria, she is the 'Wife of Holstein'. As a moon of Holstein, it's only expected that she would become sentient as well. Though it is her duty to serve as his vassal rather than function independently.] He replied.
He introduced the two and thankfully they got along well enough. Maria couldn't help but talk endlessly about how great Holstein was and how beautiful 'he' was. Thankfully Maria understood that she couldn't get into too many details about John and the oracle seemed to respect that decision.
She didn't pry but she did eventually ask why Maria wanted to meet with her.
Maria looked excited as her angelic wings began to flap more and more.
The oracle thought that it was odd that she took a slightly human form but only thought it was normal since this paragon who she knew almost nothing about took human form as well.
Eventually Maria spoke, [I want to become an oracle!]