Lira had really recovered from the fatal injury of the spear after Nerissa's mysterious treatment, but who minded questioning her? Lira would have died of the poison, and she had just made the best of first impressions on her first move after being summoned.
Lira sat up, her pain gone, and the wound healed as if it were never there. She gave a sharp glance at Nerissa, a soft look on her face.
"Thank you," Lira said gratefully in a soft tone, one that held a true sense of sincerity.
"Thank you, Nerissa. You saved my friend's life," Callum said with a smile.
"It's my duty to protect you, my Lord. And also to protect those you care about," Nerissa replied before bowing again.
Callum nodded, his face brightened.
Alexa approached him the next moment. "Did you kill the Ghoul Lord?" she asked.
Callum nodded. "Yes. The Ghoul Lord is dead... All the Ghouls. I guess we're pretty much done here."
"That's... quite remarkable, Callum. Did she help you?" Alexa threw a short glance at Nerissa and asked.
"My master did it alone. Before he summoned me, he already slew the Ghoul Lord and his entire Ghoul Knights," Nerissa replied.
"Cool," Alexa rolled her eyes and nodded. "You're already a strong fighter, Callum. Just a few days ago you were a crying baby."
They all chuckled at that joke, except Nerissa, who stood still alongside Callum.
Callum went forward and helped Lira up, seeing the almost confused look on her face.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes... Thanks," Lira replied.
"Alright now... What's next?" Jon then asked.
"It's afternoon. We should move forward," Alexa said.
"Right. How about a goal of reaching Level 20 before nightfall?" Callum suggested.
"No way, I'm at level 7. Lira too," Jon's face darkened.
"Level 9. You?" Alexa asked.
"Level 12. I guess killing the Ghoul Lord brought great benefits. That's why I earned enough Gacha Scrolls to summon her," Callum revealed.
Truly, killing the Ghoul Lord and Knights didn't just land him at Level 10. He had managed to surpass the requirements for even higher levels and had dramatically gotten up to two levels past Level 10.
"Nice. You've always been the lucky man since we arrived here," Alexa smiled.
"Hardworking too," Jon added with a cheeky smile.
"You're welcome."
That was Callum's response before the group continued further into the First Ground after recovering their mana.
Nerissa was clearly noticed to always be around Callum as they progressed. Though she wouldn't say a word unless necessary, it was already making Alexa a little bit jealous.
That bitter fact that she was just a summon couldn't suppress her jealous feelings, as she strongly believed that being a summon didn't mean anything.
Nerissa might be a summon, but she was human after all.
And yes... She didn't want this lady to take his attention away from her, because she would be ready to fight.
Not because she hated Nerissa, but because she liked Callum.
And while they progressed, she couldn't help the thought that kept flashing into her mind.
Why a female summon???
******
Soon, the group got past the hills and stone forests, reaching a large expanse of marshlands.
Inside these marshlands were many giant trees, some with great, large branches that were enough to make another giant tree of their own.
There were harsh sounds of buzzing and chirping, and noticeable shimmering lights in almost every tree they saw.
"The Swarm Lands, my Lord," Nerissa turned to Callum and said.
---------
[You have left the Land of Dread.]
[You have entered the Swarm Lands.]
---------
Before Callum could even respond to her information, the interface already appeared, revealing their location.
Nerissa was right.
"Tch. I never knew we were in the Land of Dread before. What a scary name," Jon laughed.
"Yeah, that's why the monsters there are insane. Everything about the Goblin Castle and the Ghoul Cavern is about death... Miserable death," Callum nodded.
"True. The God of Fun did a great job in categorizing monsters based on their attitude and quirks," Alexa said.
"The God of Fun didn't create the Grounds..."
While they conversed, Nerissa cut in.
"Huh?" Jon's brows furrowed.
Callum and Alexa turned to the goddess in unison.
"The Ground was a joint project carried out by all the gods in the Realm of Gods. It was built by several second-tiered gods like me. Though I wasn't a part of it," Nerissa explained.
"What? You mean the God of Fun isn't the only god?" Alexa questioned, stunned. She clearly hadn't heard something like that before.
"Yes. The God of Fun, Elha, is just the one looking over the Grounds. He is one of the premier gods and brought the idea of building Glory Expanse," Nerissa said.
Callum's eyes widened.
"What do you know about the Grounds?" Callum couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing really that I can reveal. They'd strike me," Nerissa hesitated.
The group exchanged curious glances.
"How did you get to know that? Were you in the Realm of Gods?" Alexa asked.
"I was. About thousands of years ago..." Nerissa replied.
"So? Why did you leave?" Jon asked.
"I betrayed them. I wasn't worthy to be there anymore..." Nerissa raised her head to Callum. "They banished me."
"Whoa. That sounds interesting," Jon rolled his eyes.
Callum and Alexa didn't say another word, just walked, their eyes filled with unease.
It was clear...
Since Nerissa had claimed to be a goddess, a second-tiered goddess to be exact, then it was definitely believable that she knew all these things.
However, the bad part was that she didn't reveal much, claiming that she'd be struck. And honestly, Callum just didn't know how he had gained the power to summon a banished goddess from the Realm of Gods.
When the silence was about to get abnormal, Nerissa looked at Callum again and spoke.
"I was about to reach the limit of my Essence before you summoned me. I never thought I could get a second chance..."
Callum halted and froze.
"Thank you, my Lord."
There, Nerissa bent to her knees and bowed to Callum with absolute sincerity, as his friends stood there, astonished by the scene.