Myria ends up eating so much that Yui has to bring out seconds, even the kids don't eat this much. As if thinking of them summoned them, the kids come running in following their noses. Before diving into the food everyone stops to welcome back Myria, even the kids.

It isn't until Haku growls at him that the others notice Nived and I realize he hasn't met everyone. So I introduce him to Ekard, Haku, and Windy, then I tell him how I met each of them. This of course leads into other stories and by the time I am finished everyone is done eating.

Even Myria has finally eaten her fill, when I check on her I find her asleep at the table. A quick check on the image shows that everything is fine, she is just sleeping normally. It isn't too surprising, her body is going through a lot of changes right now.

Now that Ekard and Haku are okay with Nived they start climbing all over me. It looks like they only just realized that I am back and now they are making up for missed time. After giving them attention for a few minutes they finally settle down and go back to eating.

Once they are distracted I pick up Myria and carry her to the suite to put her to bed. As I carry her I can tell that she has gained quite a bit of weight, all muscle. Of course, even with her asleep I don't dare to say that out loud, she would kill me.

When I put her to bed I scan her again just to make sure nothing is wrong. The scan Yui uses is good, but not as good as seeing everything for myself. Not only is Myria gaining muscle mass, her bones are denser and her adrenal system has upgraded.

All in all, it would seem that the strange core and the beast heart have resulted in a major upgrade. I have no idea whether it is one or both or the combination, but basically she is a super soldier. From what I can see she should be about equivalent to Captain America.

She is obviously going to be happy with these results, but they make me a little nervous. Myria already has a somewhat pushy attitude, this is probably going to make it worse. At least it will take her some time to get used to her new body and abilities.

Once she does get used to her new body, she is going to be a lot more difficult to deal with. For one thing, I can forget about trying to leave her behind when I go somewhere dangerous. Then again, now that she has mana she should be able to control the carriage.

That will allow us to take more people along without any problems, which was the plan anyway. Looks like it was a good thing I thought ahead, now I don't have to worry about anything. So I should start thinking about what to do next, once Myria is able to move.

"Yui, how are Kitara and the guards doing?"

Yui says "No problems have been detected. All of them have started Mage Knight training."

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"How has the procedure affected them?"

Yui says "All of them have experienced increased strength and speed. The increase ranges from forty to sixty percent."

"Have you determined the factors that affect the increase?"

Yui says "Negative. There are not enough test subjects to get a proper gauge."

"On that note, how is the portable ritual coming?"

Core says "It is complete, tested, and ready for use."

"Excellent!"

Yui says "How are you planning to use it?"

"First, while Myria goes through training, I plan to perform the procedure on the beastmen in Illium."

Core says "How are you going to spark the ritual without Myria?"

"I will borrow a mage from the mage guild."

Yui says "Will you be sending those who have gone through the procedure to the tower to train?"

"No, most of them will just get the increased strength and speed. Only the elite from the army will be sent to training. Those that I believe can be trusted with the secret of the tower."

Yui says "Why so worried about the tower? It is not like the average beastman can climb the mountain."

"Because, once the secret gets out it won't stop at just the beastmen. The humans will learn it and then the demons will."

Yui says "You think the demons have spies in the human kingdoms?"

"I am pretty sure that they do. Besides, we don't need thousands of mage knights. I mainly plan to use the mage knights as commanders and maybe a few elite squads."

Core says "Then why go to all the trouble to convert all the beastmen?"

"For their future."

Core says "What do you mean?"

"Chances are, most if not all the mage knights will die in the war. By converting all beastmen I can guarantee they have those with mana in the next generation. Even if they cannot come to the tower to train, they will figure out how to use mana eventually."

Core says "That is a lot of forethought, Ash. I'm impressed!"

"It's not that big a deal. I am just doing the best I can."

Yui says "Anything else you need?"

"Just to keep the kids here a bit longer until I make sure Illium is safe again."

Yui says "Sure, no problem."

"Then I will head back to Illium in the morning. Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

Yui says "Oh, there is one thing. The separate area you requested is done."

"Um, refresh my memory?"

Yui says "You asked for an area not attached to the tower for the followers of the goddesses to use as a library."

"Oh, right! Now I remember!"

Yui says "It is complete. It has a library and reading rooms, it also has a decent number of sleeping rooms. It is not connected to the tower, the only way in or out is by teleporter."

"Sounds perfect! I will take the teleporter with me and give it to the church."

Yui says "I have already copied all books not related to magic and placed them in the library."

"Thank you, Yui. I have no idea where I would be without you!"

Yui says "You are welcome, Ash. I will have a sprite bring the teleporter to you."

"Thanks. Don't worry, Core, I still plan to visit the city. I will just wait until Myria is ready for some combat practice."

Core says "I'm not worried, Ash. I know that once you say you will do something, you do it."

"Thanks, Core. For now I am going to get some sleep. Good night!"

Both of them tell me good night as I get up and head to the bedroom, where I find the kids fast asleep. Ekard and Haku are in the middle of the bed with Asuna while Kechara is curled around the three of them. With a little effort I manage to get past Kechara without waking her up and curl up with the others and go to sleep.

In the morning, after breakfast, I go check on Myria, who is still asleep. When I scan her I don't find anything wrong, but her body is still changing. It looks like she might just continue to sleep until the changes are finished, unless she wakes up to eat again.