I spend a while talking with them about how a normal group tends to fight. Then I give them some suggestions about how to use their abilities to fight with a group. Albion is the easiest, he has mostly support like abilities, the others are all combat based.

Nala, Mulan, and Mushu just have to learn to be more aware of what the rest of their groups are doing. They also need to be sure to always keep their powers under control to avoid hurting their groups. As long as they can do that, they should be fine with just a little practice.

I talk with them for quite a while and manage to give them quite a bit of advice. The fact that they came to me for advice makes me feel pretty good and I am glad I could help. It looks like the shadow plane is going to end up being a good thing for the kids.

Now that the kids have gotten their answers, they go back to watching cartoons. I go back to looking for Lin, although I already know where she is and what she is doing. As expected, I find her sitting in her favorite chair, reading a book.

However, when I go over and start whispering in her ear, she quickly puts the book down. She really likes what I have to say, in fact she likes it so much that we end up having some fun right there. The strength of her reaction tells me that I have been failing to communicate properly.

From now on, I need to make sure to vocalize my affection instead of just showing it physically. After having our fun in her favorite chair, we get dressed and head downstairs. We drag the kids away from their cartoons and have dinner together.

As soon as they are done eating the kids go straight back to their cartoons. Lin and I join them once we are done eating and spend some time with them. However, between a busy day and a full stomach it doesn't take long before they are all asleep.

Lin and I move them to their nest and make sure they are comfortable. Then I take the equivalent of strawberries and cream out of my pouch and invite Lin upstairs for dessert. She agrees with a smile and follows me upstairs to continue our fun from earlier.

Jarvis wakes me up in the middle of my sleep to give me a reminder to open a soulscape. Outside it is late evening, it is disorienting that while it has been several days to us, not even a day has passed outside. Luckily, people can enter the soulscape even if they are asleep so it won't be a problem.

I have Jarvis turn the time dilation off and then I open a soulscape before inviting everyone. The kids start playing, but I notice that Ekard is not in a good mood once he sees Mushu. He is probably jealous that Mushu has grown more than he has despite being younger.

I take Ekard aside and explain to him why he isn't growing as fast as Mushu. Then I reassure him that I will be able to help him grow as soon as we get home. His mood improves instantly and I am once again glad I had the idea of making the gate.

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Once he returns to playing I explain to Brightfire and Myria about the time dilation. I mainly want Brightfire to know about it, but I don't want Myria to feel left out. Once the kids have worn themselves out, I end the soulscape, reactivate the time dilation, and go back to sleep.

In the morning, after breakfast, I accompany Lin into the library to spend more time with her. We curl up together in her chair and she reads her magic books while I read manga. We spend hours like that, only moving when we need to switch books.

I was expecting Lin to question me about the reason behind the sudden change in attitude. However, she doesn't say a word about it, she just snuggles against me and keeps reading. We keep reading until her stomach growls loud enough to distract me from my manga.

With a laugh I suggest that we take a break and go have some lunch, to which she agrees. We could just eat right there, but we decide to go eat with the kids instead. However, when we get downstairs there is no sign of the kids anywhere.

"Jarvis, where are the kids?"

Jarvis says "Maker, they went through the gate a little while ago."

"What?! Alone?!"

Jarvis says "No, they took your new golem with them."

Lin says "Why would they do that? Is the golem even finished?"

"It is, but I haven't tested it yet. Please tell me that they took a remote with them?"

Jarvis says "Yes, they did."

"Great, let's go!"

Lin says "We are going after them?"

"Of course! I made the remotes, so I can track them easily."

Lin says "If we go after them won't it mean that we don't trust them?"

"They didn't ask if they could go and they certainly didn't have permission to take an untested golem. Why should I trust them to be safe?"

Lin says "Fair enough, but why do you think they did it?"

"We can ask once we make sure they are safe."

Lin says "Alright. Let's go."

I don't bother using the gate in the workshop, I simply rip open a rift to the shadow plane. Lin follows me through and as soon as I am on the other side I drop shapeshift. I wait for Lin to climb into the saddle, then I take off and start scanning.

The remote is well outside of my normal scanning range, but is different when I am looking for it specifically. Since each remote has a specific frequency, I can scan for it from much farther away. If need be, I can scan the entire shadow plane, it just costs more mana.

I can't get a specific location because of the range, but I can get a general direction. As soon as I get that, I start flying towards it at full speed, surprising Lin. She has to use magic to protect herself from the wind generated by my speed.

Luckily, none of the shadow beasts that we come across are dumb enough to get in my way. In fact, quite a few beasts take off running as soon as they spot me. They can probably sense that I am a predator and that I am stronger than them.

A few of them look interesting and I would hunt them if I wasn't in a rush. Although, it would just be exp since I don't want to gain shadow abilities if I absorb them. Fire and lightning is enough for me, if I get too many abilities it will be hard to reach my goal.

In fact, to become a proper dragon I am probably going to have to choose just one to focus on. That is going to be a hard choice to make, I really like both fire and lightning. Although, it is easier to find beasts that are fire based than lightning based.