Chapter 3: Chapter Three

Two days had passed, and I was still pregnant.

After the first day, with no signs of labor, I double-checked my status. I realized that I had assumed my perks would speed up labor and delivery. They only specified that they sped up pregnancy, however.

It seemed that the pregnancy was considered complete once the fetus had grown to term, and everything after that would happen at its natural pace.

I was not happy about this. It was very possible that I'd spend more time waiting for labor than it took to grow the baby.

It wasn't uncommon for humans to be several days to weeks overdue before even having the faintest signs of labor.

Due to the ongoing storm and my advanced pregnancy, I couldn't do much to pass the time.

I'd spent a few hours playing with Synthesize and had made myself an entire wardrobe.

I wasn't entirely sure what I'd wear while away from my cave, but I wanted to be comfortable while I was here. Even more so while in this heavily gravid state.

This led to my current attire: a simple white tank top and black shorts.

Besides making the wardrobe, I'd mostly just lounged around, hoping that the semi-constant twinges, cramps, aches, and squeezes signified the start of labor I craved.

However, now I was focused and on high alert, staring at a system prompt.

This was unexpected.

I had a feeling that being a Prime would end up being important, but I never expected people to seek me out because of it.

How did they even know about me?

... That's something I'd have to figure out later. Right now, I needed to find a way to find and save these people.

I glanced down at my form with a grimace and sighed. "I'd only be a liability in a fight right now. I guess it's a good thing my magic is versatile."

I quickly built a circle that projected a 3D representation of the area around my cave.

"I first need to find them. I don't know their names... Maybe search the forest for humanoids?" I thought out loud and sent forward another circle, causing several hundred glowing white points to appear on the map.

"Damnit. Goblins are definitely humanoid... Okay, let's add dire wolves to the map." With another circle, more points appeared on the map, this time in red.

Starting from my cave at the center, I quickly combed the map, looking for two humanoids surrounded by dire wolves.

Thankfully, they were only a few miles away, and I found them quickly.

I cast another circle, this time to show me their location, and sighed in relief. The pair, an orc male and an elven female, had climbed a tree and were currently seated on a large tree branch, safe for the time being.

My first attempt to rescue them was a circle intended to teleport them to my cave.

I tried several different words and methods to make it function, but it didn't work.

I probably could have teleported to them, then brought them back with me, but I didn't want to risk not having enough mana and getting stranded with them.

I kept an eye on the scrying circle and began to pace while trying to come up with a way to bring them to safety. The situation kept me focused, and I completely ignored a brief flash of pain across my lower back.

An hour passed, and an idea hit me.

"A portal should work... I tossed the idea aside earlier since I can't write a circle out there with them, but if I start it here and use it to send out a tether of mana, making a path... That might work!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"I have a feeling it'll cost a metric fuck ton of mana, though," I mumbled, biting my lower lip in thought.

I waddled to the cave's reactor and began drawing mana from it. "Hopefully, this will be enough. It's only a few miles, after all."

Preparations complete, I cast the circle and began to funnel in mana.

The mana tether moved incredibly quickly. According to my coprocessor, it had covered half the distance in barely more than a nanosecond. It stopped there, however, as my mana pool ran dry.

From that point on, it was a struggle to complete the spell. Channeling mna to activate the reactor had been simple, like pouring water into a bucket.

This... This was incredibly difficult. It was like pouring water into a bucket that, if not filled immediately, would start moving all over the place and trying to spill the water already poured in.

After a few seconds, I was on my knees as I gasped for breath. Funneling my full regeneration and all the mana that I could pull from the reactor simultaneously began to take a physical toll on my body. All my muscles had locked up completely, and it felt as if they were screaming at me for relief.

Luckily, after another second, the tether reached its destination, and the portal snapped open, revealing a bewildered orc and elf.

"Hurry... Can't... Hold..." I wheezed out through gritted teeth.

The pair blinked and quickly tumbled through the portal, landing on either side of me.

I let out a deep sigh of relief as I fell forward onto my hands and stopped channeling the mana, allowing the portal to close.

The pair rose to their feet and gathered before me as I panted and tried to catch my breath.

After a moment, a soft female voice asked, "Um... Are you okay, ma'am?"

I looked up with a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was much more effort than I expected to open that portal."

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I leaned back and made to get back to my feet when the orc took a step forward and held out a hand.

"Thank you," I said with a smile as he pulled me to my feet.

I dusted myself off and took a moment to take in the pair.

The orc was large and burly, as I expected from his race. He had green skin, similar to the goblin I'd previously seen. His hair was dark with a side cut pulled into a braid and fell to his right shoulder. Two large tusks protruded from his lower jaw and reached a point just below his eyes.

The orcs I was familiar with from various fantasy stories all subscribed to a warrior mentality. They were brutal-looking, often wore either heavy or little to no armor, and carried massive weapons.

The orc in front of me was completely different. He was dressed in simple robes and didn't appear to have any weapons. In fact, he had what I thought was a leatherbound book in his hand.

The elf, however, was more along with what I expected.

She was slim, fair-skinned, had long, flowing, blonde hair, and wore what looked like leather armor. She had a bow and what appeared to be an empty quiver on her back.

"Alright!" I said with a clap after a moment of inspecting them. "I got a quest to save you two. It said you were looking for me before you got caught by the dire wolves. What can I help you with?"

The duo looked at each other in confusion before realization crossed the orc's face. He quickly kneeled and pulled the elf down with him.

"Lady Prime! Please forgive us for our poor manners!" He spoke nervously with his head down. The elf's eyes widened, and she quickly paled and lowered her head as well.

I stood gobsmacked for a moment before I stepped forward and placed a hand on their shoulders.

"I don't know why you're kneeling, but please rise! There's no need for any of that!"

The pair glanced at each other and stood after a moment of hesitation.

"You... You truly don't know why we kneeled?" The orc asked.

I shook my head.

"Nope... I..." I started, trying to come up with a way to explain why I didn't know something that looked like common knowledge.

"Ugh, fuck it!" I gave up and decided to be honest... What's the worst that could happen?

"I'm actually new to this world... I've only been here for a few days, and I have absolutely no idea what's happening."

The orc questioned further with a raised eyebrow. "New to this world? There's no way you were just born a few days ago."

I sighed. "No, I don't mean newly born. I meant that I was brought here from somewhere else." After a moment's pause, I idly add, "By whoever or whatever is behind the windows that show the stats and quests."

The pair's eyes widened again, and the orc asked, "The System Administrators brought you here?"

"Like I said, I have no idea what's going on. There was no system or anything like that where I'm from. According to whoever those people are, my planet exploded when mana came in, and they brought me here... " I said and shrugged my shoulders.

"By the gods!"/"Holy shit!" The duo exclaimed. The elf quickly covered her mouth and looked away sheepishly.

"I'm... I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I am Ragnan, and this is my wife, Elisia." The orc stepped forward and indicated to the elf. "The reason we kneeled, and in fact, the reason we accepted a quest to journey out here, is because you are a Prime."

I tilted my head in confusion. "What does my class have to do with it?"

The orc's eyes again widened. "Amazing... You truly do not know..."

He coughed into his hand and answered. "A Prime is a ruler... There can only be one Prime for each race, and every Prime quickly becomes incredibly powerful."

"Several days ago, the system announced to the world that a new Prime had risen." He paused for a moment. "As far as recorded history states, the last time a new Prime appeared was over 5,000 years ago..."

He sighed. "My wife and I are social outcasts, and we figured that joining a new kingdom was worth a shot. It couldn't get any worse. Apparently, the system agreed and issued us a quest to find and join you."

The orc and his wife kneeled again. "With that said, we'd like to ask to join your kingdom, my lady. We don't have much to offer, but we swear to give our all to furthering the kingdom."

I shook my head and squatted before them, placing my hands on their shoulders again. "Like I said, there's no need for any of that here. If you want to join me, someone who's displaced and has no idea what's happening now or in the future, you're more than welcome to."

The pair nodded at each other and spoke in unison. "Of course, my lady!"

I smiled wryly and stood. "My name is Terra. It's a pleasur-"

My words cut off, and my hands gripped my stomach. I sucked in air, hissing, as pain, much stronger than before, lanced through my stomach and back.

Several seconds passed, and the orc nervously asked, "My lady, ar-"

He stopped when my hiss turned into a low moan.

A few more seconds passed before the pain ended. I smiled at the pair. "I'm fine... It seems lik-"

I was once again cut off. This time I heard a light dripping sound. I looked down just in time to see a large puddle form beneath me as my waters turned into a waterfall with a loud splash.

I looked back to the now incredibly pale duo and chuckled. "Well, as I was trying to say, it seems like I'll be giving birth soon."

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