After the fight with Daniel, Chris took some time to consider his ability. At least, the one he'd gained from this World. It was an interesting ability at the very least. The basic function was obviously to take the ability energy of the creatures you killed and use it to empower yourself both physically and ability wise, but the specifics of it were actually even more interesting. Basically, as the ability grew stronger, it turned more and more of the body into ability cores, allowing you to store more and more abilities in the process, which… Chris thought was extremely unnecessary. He could have stuck with four ability cores, one for attack, one for defense, one for stealth, and one for perception, and been perfectly happy, but even at mid tier it gave him access to ten. Based on the progression, high-tier would give him a hundred, superior a thousand, and omega-tier would give him ten thousand. Minimum! Who knew what the upper range was? He honestly would have just left it at mid-tier if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't put more energy into the extra cores than he had in the main core, so he had to raise it before he could raise any of the others.

The strengthening part was pretty straightforward as well. Basically, any time he killed a creature, he had a few moments to absorb the ability energy into one of his cores. The main core, which was his heart, would take the energy at a one to one ratio, perfectly converting it, but the rest needed some aspect of the absorbed energy to match, and even then it wouldn't take all of it. That wasn't to say the energy would be lost, and he could always split the energy between multiple cores, which meant the dregs would always end up in his main core, but it also meant that if he wanted to strengthen any ability, he needed to find creatures with similar abilities to kill. He could also take the energy from any of his current cores, except the main one, to feed any of the other cores if he wanted to get rid of an ability, or just hold some ability energy in reserve until he figured out what to do with it.

As for the physical strengthening aspect, it was tied to his multiple cores as well. Each time he absorbed ability energy, it brought Essence with it, refining whatever form was tied to the core that absorbed it. Which, again, seemed unnecessary, but he could mix and match forms at will, so whatever. Well, not mix, but using the bones from one form in the shape of another with the muscles of yet another and the organs of whatever else he had available pretty much resulted in the same effect. Similarly, he could use multiple abilities at once, but he needed the mental capacity to control all those abilities while he did, which meant that practically he could only use two or three at a time.

The only issue with the ability was that he couldn't develop abilities on his own, he could only strengthen the abilities he gained. Which meant he couldn't do what Jello had done and take a basic hardening ability and turn it into a powerful shapeshifting ability. He could only make the hardening stronger. Not that he was complaining, since it still meant he ended up with a ridiculously powerful ability. As did Alexander, who was still running around somewhere…

Chris frowned slightly as he considered what to do about Alexander. Ultimately, they both wanted to save the City, so he wasn't exactly a huge problem, but he also wasn't exactly the most sane individual he'd ever met, so leaving him to do whatever he wanted felt… unwise. Unfortunately, the dude was practically a ghost, what with his ability to transform and all the espionage and escape abilities he probably had, not to mention the fact that he may not even be in the City anymore. Maybe Andrew or Victoria could find him, eventually, but it was a big city and their sensory abilities only covered so much area. Chris sighed. Alexander was an issue that would have to wait for now, at least until the man actually did something.

Chris refocused on how he was developing the ability himself. It'd taken some time to figure out how to actually use it, mainly the part where he actually needed to pull his world out so the World would actually recognize he had the ability. That had been an annoying realization and the waste of a week. Since then he'd mainly been focused on strengthening his main ability to raise his cap and develop a stronger form, but after that fight… Well, it was clear he needed more than mid-tier abilities. Focusing on his main ability while ignoring the rest wasn't sustainable. Well, it was, since he had other ways to be powerful, but still. So he had to spend some more time hunting in the Maze.

Honestly, it was probably time to really get to work on the Maze… really throw his subordinates into it, hunt for ability energy, get experience, and make his way higher and higher, until he reached the surface. He hadn't exactly been ignoring it, but he definitely hadn't been putting his all into it, mostly letting his subordinates take care of it on their own. It'd made sense before, when he was personally the weakest of them all, but now with this ability? He'd be growing faster than all of them, so he should really be spearheading the effort. Plus, the more dangerous situations he could drag his subordinates into, the more experience they could gain, and the faster they would mutate.

Chris nodded firmly. Yes. It was time to conquer the Maze. But first he had to deal with the Monteros, and he wasn't meeting them at anything less than full power.

*

"I don't think we all needed to come." Beth grumbled as She, Chris, Andrew, Greg, Victoria, T'ka, and freaking Jello made their way to the Monteros compound.

"If you think I'm missing something with this much potential to turn into an absolute clusterfuck, you must be crazy." Greg chuckled.

"I don't trust these two to not make a mess if someone doesn't keep an eye on them." Andrew sighed, waving vaguely at Chris and Greg.

"Same." Victoria agreed.

"I'm not letting these people steal my big brother!" Jello humphed, crossing her arms.

Chris patted her on the head. "Them being my family doesn't mean you aren't my sister any more. Particularly since they blatantly abandoned me and are now only interested in me because I happened to become strong."

"So why are you meeting with them in the first place!" Jello exclaimed. "These people are awful! They've proven they're awful! Why even entertain them?!?"

"Politics." Chris shrugged. "Even if they suck, they have power, so we need to at least be polite to them, which means when they want to talk, we hear them out."

Beth sighed, turning to T'ka. "And why are you here?"

"Why would I not be where Master is?" T'ka cocked her head.

"Perfect." She shook her head. "One source of chaos, two babysitters, a jealous little sister, and an overly attached servant."

"See? Total clusterfuck." Greg snickered.

Beth glared at him. "You will behave, or I'm going to- to- fuck, why are you people so hard to threaten?!?"

"Something, something gods." Greg waved dismissively. "But seriously, I'm just here to watch. I don't think I'm going to need to do anything. I mean, have you seen Chris deal with people? He freaks out people he likes."

Beth paused. "Shit."

"Hey, I can be diplomatic." Chris protested. "I just usually don't bother, since it seems like a waste of time. I mean, if someone is going to be freaked out by the truth of who I am, it's going to happen no matter when they learn it, so isn't it better to just get it out of the way than to let it slowly fester?"

"So you're actually going to try here?" Beth asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chris considered it for a moment, before shrugging. "I suppose."

Beth frowned at him for a moment, before shaking her head. "Let's just get this over with."

The group was stopped by a few guards at the gate, before a servant arrived to lead them to the main house, taking them to a comfortable sitting room to wait for the Patriarch to arrive. "Okay, so, the sitting room means this isn't meant to be an overly official meeting, so you guys can be a bit more relaxed." Beth let out a breath of relief.

"You say, as if we wouldn't act the same way no matter what the situation." Greg rolled his eyes.

Beth glared at him for a moment, before deciding to just ignore him, focusing on Chris. "When he arrives, stand to shake his hand, and only sit again if he does. Be sure to introduce yourself as Major Vincent. It makes it clear your loyalties are still with the Scouts."

"Got it." Chris nodded.

"The fact that you brought the rest of us might be a bit awkward…" Beth frowned. "That- might be good? It could throw him off. Keep him from taking control of the conversation. But then, he'll probably bring a few of his own people as well… probably Belinda at least, since he's going to want you to join the Vanguard."

"Beth, chill, it'll be fine." Chris grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. "The worst we can do is piss them off, that will just make things more annoying, not exactly ruin anything."

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Beth let out a groan. "We're already butting against the Fieros! We can't piss off another Family!"

"Sure we can." Greg chuckled.

"We shouldn't." Andrew rolled his eyes. "We need allies, not enemies."

"Though that's pretty much always true… best to be at peace with everyone." Victoria commented.

"And if you do make an enemy, crush them as quickly and thoroughly as possible." Chris nodded.

Beth glared at him. "No talking like that during the meeting!"

"I know." Chris sighed. "Though I will say, making friends is easier when everyone is too scared to be your enemy."

"Chris." Beth growled.

"I'll be good, don't worry." Chris assured her. They didn't have to wait much longer before the Patriarch finally arrived, along with Belinda as predicted, plus three others. Chris stood the moment they entered, before pausing as he noticed who had arrived, particularly one of the other three who was clearly his grandfather.

"Ah, Mr. Vincent." The Patriarch began.

"Major Vincent." Chris corrected, a bit more forcefully than he'd intended. There weren't many things that truly pissed Chris off, but people who abandoned their responsibilities were one of them, especially when it came to children.

"Major Vincent, yes, my apologies." The Patriarch corrected with a tight smile. "You may call me Patriarch Andre, and I know you're familiar with General Belinda. Additionally, this is Dr. Jorge, Coremaster Maria, and Colonel Marco. First names, of course, or you'd simply call us all Montero." Andre chuckled.

Chris glanced at Marco, his grandfather. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." He nodded, forcefully pushing the man out of his mind. "I'm Major Vincent, as I said. This is Private Klein, then Jello, Greg, Andrew, Victoria, and T'ka. They don't have titles."

"Don't we?" Greg asked, smirking slightly, before letting out an oof as Victoria elbowed him.

Andre briefly raised an eyebrow at them, before refocusing on Chris. "Well, shall we sit then?" Chris nodded and they all took a seat. "Now, I believe you're wondering why we invited you here, yes? Well, let me be blunt. We want you, and we're willing to pay handsomely to get you. We are, of course, aware of your rather-" He glanced at Beth. "-staunch loyalty to the Scouts, but given your abilities, there's no reason you couldn't work for both organizations, is there not? In fact, for the benefit of the City, would it not be best if you provided your services to all three military branches?"

Chris considered that for a moment. It would be good for all the branches to have access to his World for training… "True, that would be beneficial. However, I don't see why that has to involve the Monteros, with the exception of General Belinda." Chris replied. "I can simply offer my services on my own, can't I?"

"Of course, of course." Andre nodded. "But why should you? What harm is there in working with us as well, for a handsome reward, I might add. There's no reason to limit yourself, and the benefits we can provide far outstrip what the military branches can. Money, weapons, services, whatever you might need, we have and are more than willing to lavish upon you in exchange for working with us."

Chris frowned slightly. "Money doesn't concern me, weapons are eh, and I can't even think of any services I'd need. That isn't to say I'm not willing to work with you, but if you know anything about my ability, you'll know you'll need to offer more than the basics to keep my interest. Additionally, I don't think there's anything you can offer that would convince me to work for you. I don't see any need to tie myself down in that way. Providing specific services for specific prices, absolutely, but entering into some form of employment where I'm simply at your service in exchange for some salary… I don't think even you have the resources to afford that."

Andre raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? How about you ballpark what you think you might be worth for us?"

Chris cocked his head. "I'd say the equivalent of a hundred high-tier ability cores-" Andre smirked slightly. "-per day. Minimum." Chris's calculation was simple. If someone was going to get unlimited access to his abilities, then they should at least give him the ability energy necessary to make a cultivator a day, right? Of course, he'd still need the experience for the mutation… "Maybe double. Plus entertainment, because if you want me to be available, you better make sure I stay entertained."

Andre's expression twisted. "And how would you justify such a price?"

"Well, the training area where your people can train without worrying about injury or death, the ability to turn rocks, dirt, and trash into any resource you want, portals to anywhere you want, immortality for anyone who wishes to connect to my world, which includes mutation and ability enhancement, up to high-tier physique and omega-tier ability, though that would take some time, and I'm a pretty decent Coreforger." Chris listed off. "There's probably more, but I haven't discovered it yet. I discover more facets to my ability fairly regularly."

Marco snorted. "Ridiculous! Do you honestly expect us to believe you can create omega-tiers?!?"

Chris leveled a glare at him. "I don't need you to believe anything. I believe I've made it clear I don't need anything from you. You asked what I'm worth and why. I answered."

Marco glared back at him. "Do you have a problem with me, boy?"

"I have many problems with you, and you're lucky I'm here despite that." Chris growled as Greg began to giggle, materializing a bowl of popcorn, while both Jello and T'ka fixed Marco with dangerous looks.

"Chris, this is getting off topic!" Beth hissed.

Andre raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you and Marco had any history…" He muttered, giving Marco a half questioning, half suspicious look. He should have been informed of something like this.

"We don't, as far as I know." Marco replied, frowning slightly. He could tell Chris had had a problem with him from the moment he walked in, but he had no idea why.

Chris snorted. "I shouldn't be surprised you don't remember, grandpa."

"And now you resort to petty insults!?!" Marco exclaimed. "What is your problem with me?!?"

Chris sighed, shaking his head. "My problem is that you think that was an insult, instead of the statement of fact it was, and the fact that this meeting would never have needed to happen if you'd simply taken responsibility after your daughter died."

Marco blinked at him in confusion for a moment, before his eyes widened in realization. "You!"

Belinda frowned, looking between Marco and Chris. "Dad? What's he talking about?"

"He's- no, it can't be! That child didn't even have an ability!" Marco protested.

Chris shrugged. "Turns out I'm weird. No ability energy, so Readers can't see it, and my ability only became apparent after I died in the Trial. And all you had to do to figure that out was take care of your grandson for a decade or so." Chris grimaced, rubbing the back of head. "Gah, fuck it, this is pissing me off too much." He growled, opening a portal. "We're leaving. If you want to talk again, make sure it happens without him." He jabbed a finger at Marco, before walking out.

"Chris!" Beth yelled after him in concern, quickly rushing through the portal as well.

Greg clicked his tongue. "Damn it, it was just getting good." He complained, tossing his popcorn as he got up too, before letting out a laugh as he burst into a cloud of smoke and flowed into the portal, leaving a single fairy to give Marco an evil look. "You done fucked up, grandpa." He teased, before the fairy shot through the portal as well.

Victoria and Andrew got up too, both glaring at Marco as well. "You managed to get Chris emotional." Victoria commented. "I'd be impressed if I wasn't so disgusted."

"And I thought I was a monster." Andrew muttered, shaking his head as the two left.

T'ka just hissed as she went through the portal, while Jello marched right up to Marco. "You hurt big brother." She stated, glaring up at him. "He's too nice to do anything about it, but if you give me a single excuse-" She leaned in close. "-I will eat you." She hissed, before turning and marching out the portal, which snapped shut behind her.

All the Monteros turned to Marco. "Marco. Explain. Now." Andre growled.

"I'm sorry, what- Isabel had a son?!?" Belinda asked incredulously. "Why didn't I know this!?!"

"It wasn't important!" Marco growled. "The boy was nothing! Less than nothing! An abilityless freak! If we'd taken him in, he would have been a stain on the Montero name! I just- I don't understand how he could become… that!"

"You utter imbecile!" Andre roared. "Taking in the child would have cost us nothing! Hiding him would be simplicity itself! And you not doing this simplest due diligence cost us one of the most powerful individuals in history!"

Belinda looked between the two in horror. "What- you're talking about a child! My sister's child! How could you just abandon him?!?" Belinda clutched her chest emotionally. If there was one thing she regretted in this life, it was allowing the gulf that grew between her and her sister before she died, not making any effort to reconnect. And now to learn she had a son… how? How could her father do this?!? How could he abandon the last remnant of Isabel in this world!?!

Andre pinched the bridge of his nose. "We will discuss the consequences of this later. For now, we need to focus on recovery. We need to do whatever we can to fix this. We cannot afford to have Major Vincent as an enemy!"