Eventually Alaster grew tired of the duel. Neither side was able to gain the upper hand, nor did they grow tired. When Alaster finally ordered them to stop, he was able to see just how extensive the damage was.

Cracks lined the entirety of their bodies. Deep and sharp.

Alaster’s second and third mind set to work repairing the damage while he sat back and pondered.

Alice had left shortly after Arthur did. She had lessons, even in the midst of a siege.

‘I’m thinking I need to create a Minion specializing in defense. I might need to be defended, or, more likely, need to defend someone else.’ Alaster explained his reasoning, leaning back in his bone chair and closing his eyes.

‘Not a bad idea. Though that will be vastly more complex than even the War Born. What Minion are you planning on basing it off?’ Belgroth asked.

‘I was thinking the Undead Lieutenant.’

‘Hmmm. No, I don’t think you have the capability yet. The Lieutenant is a complex Minion. You are only able to summon it because of the System supporting you.’

‘But can’t you teach and guide me through it?’

‘Easily. For me. As you are now, it would take several weeks to create even one Minion from the Undead Lieutenant.’

‘What should I do then?’

‘Create more Adept Minions. Gradually you will be able to create them quicker and without much hassle. At the moment, for your purposes, I believe you should create your next Minion from the Undead Shield Bearer. Ordinarily I would have you sit down and slowly learn how to advance to creating Expert Minions. But at the moment, you don’t have the time to do so.’

‘Makes sense to me.’ Sedall spoke up.

Similar to Alaster, Sedall was also learning about this. The Demigod had never cared much for Minions. They were powerful, but limited. And at the Demigod stage of power, nigh useless. At least, that is what they had thought.

Belgroth’s knowledge made Minions a viable strategy. Not one that Sedall was planning on relying on, but one that he would be interested in using.

Alaster agreed and sighed before sitting back down in the center of the Training Hall. Despite creating the War Born just two hours prior, he prepared to create another Adept Minion.

The recently repaired War Born and Dread Knight stood behind and to either side of their Master, prepared to protect him from any threat that arose.

The two Minions were quite strong, but they were still quite limited in ability. They didn’t have access to any. The Dread Knight might be able to grow more powerful the more blood is spilled, but that was fairly simple.

During the duel Alaster had noticed that the War Born was capable of learning and adapting the Dread Knight’s fighting style and suspected that it was capable of doing the same to others.

Meaning, that while the Dread Knight was stronger in single, large scale, battles. The War Born would grow stronger the more fights it fought. Fights where it could gradually learn from its opponents.

The Dread Knight would be best used against those weaker than it. A way to deal with the fodder. But the War Born would be better suited to fighting against foes of similar strength.

In Alaster’s mind, they were both very good Minions, but they were still very limited. Humans and even some monsters had access to Abilities; Abilities that were very diverse. Anything from spells hurling giant blocks of stone to Abilities that temporarily removed the user’s ability to bleed.

The Adept Tier Minions might be stronger than the average Adept, but they would still lose to those even slightly prepared due to versatility. Which the Minions lacked.

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Alaster breathed deeply, feeling his Mana circulate through and around him. As the air filled his lungs, so too did his Mana fill his body. As it did, Alaster questioned Belgroth.

‘Is it possible to create an Adept Tier Minion using the Skeletal Mage as a template?’

‘Yes, though it is more complicated. You created the War Born in a few hours. With your current skill, I believe it would take you a few days to make an Adept Minion Mage. Stick to the simpler Minions for now. Your Minions lack versatility on an individual basis, so focus on creating versatility through numbers.

Right now, you have a shock troop, the Dread Knight. Then you have a vanguard, the War Born. Create the Adept version of Shield Bearer to create stability to your troops. Something you could rely on to remain standing. After that, I would suggest using one of the Archer Minions.

Once that is done, you might be capable of creating an Adept Mage in a timely manner.’

‘Fair enough, I guess.’

‘Good, now shut up and focus before your Mana recoils and whips you.’

Shaking his head of that image, Alaster closed his eyes and got to work.

First, he analyzed the Mana Streams of the Shield Bearer. Alaster had not used the Shield Bearer very often in battle. Not because they were not useful, but because he had something similar, but better, in the form of the Minotaurs.

And the Minotaurs had saved his life countless times. Their fortitude and strength were something Alaster had come to rely on.

Following Belgroths guidance, which gradually became less frequent, Alaster manipulated the Mana Streams. Bending them into the forms he wanted. Similar, but distinctly different from the Streams of the Undead Shield Bearers. Stronger, more vibrant, and robust.

As Alaster worked, he slowly began seeing glimpses of the finalized Minion, even as he still worked on it. They were short glimpses, and anytime Alaster attempted to focus on it, they slipped away.

‘Ignore them.’ Belgroth instructed, ‘They are just proof that you are growing more proficient. You are still incredibly far from being able to ignore the process, however.’

Alaster mentally nodded and refocused on the Streams. As always, the pressure the Streams exerted grew, the closer to the end Alaster reached.

It still stunned him how beautiful the patterns could be. Weaving in and out of each other. Mana flowed through in vibrant colors, predominantly the neon green on his own Mana. But he also spotted the earthy greenish brown of Earth. The burning orange of Fire.

But Alaster also spotted hints of the entire rainbow of color that was Magic. Mana Colors from Magics that Alaster couldn’t identify. In a way, it reminded him of Mana Crystals.

As he worked, Alaster sometimes felt like he was flying as he weaved the Streams of Mana with his eyes closed. Without the distraction of sight, he was able to better feel the sensations of the experience. It was amazing.

A sense of power and creation that he was not able to put into words.

‘That’s it. Feel it, don’t see it. Let instinct take over.’ Belgroth breathed, careful to avoid distracting Alaster.

Slowly, Alaster weaved, finalizing the newest member of his Adept Minion army. An Army that Belgroth believed would quickly grow in numbers.

Creating the Dread Knight had taken nearly the entire night. The War Born’s creation had lasted over four hours. But now, this newest minion had been created in just two hours.

Belgroth knew that Alaster would eventually reach this proficiency, but he had not believed he would for a few months of dedicated meditation and practice. But Alaster had, in only a few short days, and during an ongoing siege.

The boy was remarkably mediocre in most things. Even in melee combat he had spent countless hours coupled with numerous near-death battles to become as skilled as he currently was.

In using his own Mana, he was even a slightly below average. But it seemed the boy had a natural talent for Weaving. Coupled with an affinity towards Soul Manipulation?

Belgroth was worried.

Not for the boy, but because of the boy.

Weaving was not just used to create Minions by hand. It could be used to create spells, enchantments, weapons, etc. Mana was the very building block of the world, and Weaving was the manipulation of Mana. Not just in the way of Magic, but in molding it to your own purpose.

The chieftain of Belgroth’s Clan had been able to create livable Dimensional Rings, where his People had hidden their valuables, including the elderly and children. Belgroth remembered a discussion with his chieftain where the old Argalon had talked about some day becoming proficient enough in Weaving to weave an entire world into existence.

Unfortunately, he had never had the opportunity to do so as the war was reaching its climax. But the ability to create a world was theoretically possible with Weaving.

Then when an affinity for Soul Manipulation was added into the mix?

Belgroth suddered at the thought.

Ebris, God of the Dead, had already hinted at Alaster becoming the closest there was to an actual God. He had only seen Alaster’s potential to create souls. But Belgroth could see more.

Alaster did not have the potential to become another one of Humanity’s pretend Gods. He had the potential to Weave Reality itself.

Belgroth did not know for certain. It was impossible to know. But he believed in his nonexistent gut, that Alaster, if fostered properly, would do things only ever imagined.

As Alaster stood, facing his newest Minion, Belgroth mentally shuddered at the possibilities.