Lone and Hazel's groups were now inside the outsider manor of the world tree's crown on standby. If all went according to plan, then they'd be able to hide in here for a few days and relax.

Worst-case scenario, the Taslo Empire weren't the ones in charge of the petrified triple-X-rankers and their army was still on its way. In that event, Lone would be informed via a communication orb that he'd made and given to Lipsilk, and they would move out to intercept any forces the Taslo Empire threw at them.

A better - but still non-optimal - case would be a mass of elves and fairies demanding an explanation from Lone for his manipulation of them and his 'lying' about Ele'hunda's death which Lipsilk and Her Highness were now busy revealing and dealing with.

Lone wasn't overly worried about this. He had earned a lot of respect from the people here, and Lipsilk was intent on making a point on explaining their reasoning for skirting around the truth, as well as the fact that Lone was going to heal the king's body. There was also the matter of him being in possession of Ele'hunda's soul, so at least until he had relinquished that during the funeral, there was nothing the people could openly complain about.

With all of that in mind, Lone was lounging on his bed with Soph lying on top of him and their two daughters snoozing next to them. Lone was absentmindedly playing with Soph's golden-blonde hair as he inspected the system notifications he'd gotten since just before the start of the fight with Ythmagobla until now.

Congratulations! The host's nature magic skill [Minor Healing] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 1.

Congratulations! The host's nature magic skill [Minor Healing] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 2.

"Oh? Passed beginner rank huh. Sweet," Lone mumbled. Soph peered up at him. Seeing the unfocused look in his eyes, she could tell that he was looking at system messages, so she returned to burying herself in his chest and tails.

Lone ignored the other notifications for right now as he called upon the system to show him his Minor Healing. Since it had gone up a rank, he was hopeful that it would have an additional ability and not just a reduced MP cost. He knew it was unlikely, but he could be hopeful, no?

Nature Magic Skill: Minor Healing

Allows the user to cast a minor healing spell that can heal minor cuts and bruises.

[New!] Will also heal headaches and very basic illnesses like the common cold.

Cost: 450 MP [-50] Mastery: Intermediate Level 2

"Awesome," Lone said aloud. He was pleasantly surprised that a new effect had been added. The more useful his Minor Healing got, the less he'd have to rely on the MP-intensive Creation Magic to heal other people.

In particular, this new effect was great since it dealt with illnesses and headaches, both things Lone had little-to-no understanding of, making them costly to repair. It was also nice that the cost had decreased by ten-percent.

He moved his attention back to the waiting notifications now that he'd confirmed what he wanted to check.

Congratulations! The host's soul skill [Soul Reinforcement] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5.

Congratulations! The host's soul skill [Soul Reinforcement] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6.

Congratulations! The host's soul skill [Soul Reinforcement] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7.

"Huh... Rachel was more hurt than I thought. Does this skill level up the closer a soul is to dying, I wonder?" Lone asked rhetorically. Soph's ears perked up at him mentioning another girl, but she soon dismissed any worries after considering the topic for a second or two.

Congratulations! The host's lightning magic skill [Lightning Wave] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 10.

Lone had no comments for this. He knew he was painfully underskilled when it came to magic, which was why he was looking forward to his trip to The Academy so much. He couldn't help but wonder how different his fight with the Ancient Darkness Dragon would have gone if he was as good at attack magic as he was at imagining things for his Creation Magic.

Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 1.

Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 2.

Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 3.

Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 4.

"Oh, another new rank," Lone said as he pulled up the subskill's information.

Unique Subskill: Bone Armour

A subskill unique to the host, Lone Immortus.

Allows the host to use the unique skill [Basic Regeneration] to push the host's bones outside of their own body and use them as a weightless shield.

The strength of the bones will increase with mastery. The strength of the bones will also increase the more that they're broken and damaged.

[New!] The armour will now passively heal itself and can only be removed by being destroyed completely in one attack or by the host's will.

The host can create a full set of boneplate armour.

The host can create a boneplate shield of varying sizes. 

Cost: None to invoke (30-minute cooldown). 10,000 MP to recreate if successfully destroyed or if removed by the host and recreated rapidly. Mastery: Master Level 4

"Okay, that's OP," Lone muttered in shock.

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This time, Soph's curiosity had gotten the better of her. "What is?"

Looking down at her, Lone grinned before he kissed her head. "My Bone Armour. It doesn't cost mana to fix now so long as it isn't destroyed completely. So, in theory, I can keep remaking my shield and armour for eternity so long as a single piece of it remains."

Soph smiled and crawling up his torso before she held his head in her tiny palms. Planting her lips on his softly, she said, "That's great! I'm really happy for you, Lone. Even Sophie is. She's saying how it's good that we don't need to worry about you so much now, though I still will."

"She won't come out to say that herself?" Lone questioned as he wrapped his arms around Soph's waist and hugged her.

Soph shook her head. "She's still tired after her fight with Scratchy." It was a sad thing that Sophie hadn't used Clicker's power on Itchy. She and Sophie may never learn the Unhcegila's true name since Lone saw no reason to correct the two of them.

"Okay. That makes sense. Well, thank you to both of you. I still have some more notifs to look through, so even though I'm getting in the mood, can you wait a little bit longer?" he asked.

Soph smiled and rubbed her nose against his. "Sure." She then clambered off of him and went to play with Garadia who was being cuddled by her sister, Kyuubi.

Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 5.

Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 6.

Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 7.

Considering how his Bone Armour had levelled up, Lone was expecting his BR to do the same. It wouldn't be long before BR evolved, which Lone looking forward to an incredible amount.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Physical Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 6.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Physical Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 7.

As expected. This skill didn't level up that much since his Bone Armour along with Saturn had taken the brunt of Ythmagobla's attacks.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Swordspear mastery] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 6.

Again, nothing unexpected. It was a shame that he hadn't gained any new skills from Ythmagobla. 'Maybe because the only skill he actually used was a racial specific one? I can't use skill's that aren't usable by foxkin, can I? Otherwise, I'd have The Demon Princess' dark-flame magic and Fep's shapeshifting...'

There was one skill that he did gain, however. He had obtained it from the petrified triple-X-rankers, so to speak.

The host has developed the passive skill: Corrupt Power Resistance.

Passive Skill: Corrupt Power Resistance

A skill that allows the host to resist 5% of the lingering effects of corrupt power that is far beyond their rank, and thus, normally unendurable.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1

"I wonder if that's from the people themselves, or from the petrification? Probably the people, I'd bet," Lone guessed.

Soph was now cuddling Garadia while Kyuubi was curled up in a ball and sleeping on her lap. She turned the baby dragon around to face herself while holding her up by her fluffy armpits. "Papa likes talking to himself a lot, doesn't he?"

"Gao," Garadia responded with a nod of her chubby green head.

Lone grinned wryly at their antics and checked his status to see if anything had changed since the last time he'd looked at it.

Status Name: Lone Immortus Sex: Male Age: 26 Level: 988 Species: Foxkin Rank: S Race: Ascending Foxkin HP: 16,670/16,670 SP: 92,000/92,000 MP: 534,140/534,140 WF: 1,500/1,500 Basic Stats Strength: 2,245 Vigour: 1,667 Dexterity: 5,451 Agility: 6,503 Vitality: 9,200 Luck: 501 Secret Stats Charm: 281 Charisma: 497 Magic Power: 53,414 Control: 940 Rage: 5  

"Nothing... Man, what a waste. I guess it makes sense since Ythmagobla blew himself up. The bastard didn't want me to get his exp... Literally, the only people that gained levels from this war were Breena, Swind and Rachel." Lone sighed. "Oh well. I guess there'll be more opportunities in the future. I still need to find the five other Primal Essences, and I doubt that'll be a deathless adventure. Maybe I should offer a quick prayer for our future enemies?"

"Hazel too," Soph added. "She killed the succubus."

"Yeah," Lone replied, "but she isn't a part of our group."

"She's your sister though?" Soph tilted her head to the side adorably.

Lone shrugged. "Like I've already told you before, I love her, but I barely know her. Most of my life was lived in fear of my dad until his suicide. Then I was living by myself and focusing on my studies in college and uni. We rarely even spoke after I started teaching her history class. Breena is more of a sister to me than she is, to be honest."

His shadow shifted unnaturally at his words. Glancing at it, Lone said, "Right. I forget that you're there half the time, Breena."

Slinking out of the darkness and materialising out of seemingly thin air, Breena's face was bright red as she bowed. "Sorry. It's a habit to hide my presence... It feels more natural for me to be in your or the mis- Soph's shadow." She cut herself off before accidentally calling Soph 'the mistress'. She knew Soph didn't like it when she called her that. It made her sound old, apparently.

Lone petted Breena's head. "It's fine." He smiled a bit shyly as he scratched his cheek before he said, "Now, me and Soph are gonna, um, strengthen our relationship? I don't particularly mind if you want to stay in the shadows, but I know you're not a fan of peeping on us."

"I understand." Bowing once again, Breena stepped out of the room.

Lone grinned a bit mischievously before he rubbed Garadia's chin, making her purr enough to visibly shake. "I'm gonna put you and your sister back in The Summoning Room. Same rules as before, okay? One 'gao' for food, two for the toilet."

"Gao," was his daughter's response.

Lone smiled and unsummoned the two babies. He then grabbed Soph by the waist and pulled her closer to himself.

Resting her forehead against his, she giggled softly. "'Strengthen our relationship', hmm?"

Lone looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, we all know what's going to happen here, but saying it is a bit-"

Soph stopped his words with a kiss. "Less talking. We never had any fun yesterday, so you're all mine until morning at the very least."

Practically ripping his shirt off, Lone responded teasingly with, "You sound a lot like Sophie right now. Where'd my cute little Soph go?"

Pouting as she undid her button-up shirt, Soph grumbled, "I can be aggressive too when I want to be..."

----------------------------------------

Ah. I'm back in this weird room again. Big Sis is sleeping, as usual.

Papa said something about making his relationship with Mama stronger, but I don't believe that. How can a relationship that strong get any stronger? It makes no sense! And I'm a dragon, so I'm super smart. It shouldn't make no sense to me, even if I am a baby.

These legs are so stumpy... I wish I'd grow soon. I like being cute and small since my family like it, but I wanna be useful to Papa and Mama...

Huh? Why are they taking their clothes off? This big 'screen', as Mama called it, can let me and Big Sis see her and Papa at all times, which is really useful if I get bored of the toys here or if Kyuubi feels like cuddling her Papa doll instead of her Mama one or instead of me.

Wait... why is a part of Papa going inside of Mama? Wh-Why are they making weird faces? T-This is strange...