The day after Gi's claiming of the Ground Clans, he and Tiria spent some time going over their inventory. She'd laid it all out the night before, but they'd spent more time discussing the bordello, their soon to be bigger clan, and the Assembly.

Gi took a page in his notebook to jot down every item they had. He even included their debt to Elizabeth there, but he planned on forcing her to include that as part of their new deal as he was getting screwed by the tithe. Well, he couldn't force her, but he'd be persuasive.

Without using [Persuasion] though, of course. Damn. Working with Elizabeth was a pain. He finished taking his notes and reviewed their items.

Money

6 Gold + 24 gold from tithes in silver

53 silver

101 copper

Elizabeth Debt: 50 silver

Orbs

Soul Orbs: 26

Body Orbs: 2

Heart Orb: 1

Items

Robe of Water and Ice (Damaged)

Dagger of Minor Telekinesis (Innate/Catalyst Stable)

Twinned Daggers of Slaying - Increased damage against monsters. (Enchanted)

Iron Bars of Defense, 5 (Innate/Catalyst Stable)

Tiria

Buckler

Short Sword

Backpack

Wind Ferns

Rations

He didn't count his simple dagger, river stone, or the plain robes they both currently wore, but it was a good list. Two of the items seemed magical, but they had were listed as "Innate/Catalyst Stable" by the system. He didn't quite understand that, but he'd ask Rocky before he left. He'd probably need some items to prep for his journey anyways.

When Gi, Poe, and Tiria returned to the surface, Krayli was waiting for him with a sour look on her face. Gi had honestly forgotten about her after it didn't seem like she planned to kill him. There were a lot of other things on his mind.

"Ho, Gi," Krayli called out. "I'd like to speak with you."

Since this was the politest she'd ever been to him, Gi gave Tiria and Poe a nod and they left, leaving him alone with the tall orc. "What's going on?"

"I've been thinking on our conversation and... I believe you," she said hesitantly. "I don't think Hillin would have told you about his goal unless he thought you were his successor. Even then if he had time to tell you all that, he had time to ascend. For some reason, he wanted to die."

The more he thought about the old golem's actions, the less he understood them. They barely knew each other. Why him? Krayli didn't seem to understand any better than he did. For her, her father died, leaving her alone... on purpose. "So does that mean you don't want to kill me anymore?"

Krayli's face screwed up like she was either about to yell or cry, but her voice came out like a whisper. "I still want to kill you. You ended the life of the most important person in this fucked up world to me. I know it's not what he wanted, but it's what I want."

Gi sighed, starting to get frustrated. Elizabeth wanted to kill him, Kukdi of the Faithful wanted to kill or use him, and now Krayli, despite knowing the truth, wanted to kill him. What was the point of trying to explain if they were just going to fight anyway? "Then why the hell did you come talk to me just to tell me that?"

Krayli took a deep breath, steadying her emotions. "Because I'm not a child anymore driven by the First One's instincts. If I can accomplish Hillin's goal, I will. If I can't, I can get some solace by killing you."

Now that he'd trained with Doyle, he wasn't entirely sure that Krayli would win against him anymore. Sure, she was a long range specialist and she was fast, but if Gi could hit her, she'd probably be dead. His [Divine Bolt] was like a cannon against a jobbie without a Unique Constitution. "Did you come up with some plan to actually accomplish that? We could both agree now to drain the sky, but that doesn't mean we could do it."

Krayli nodded. "I did. I spent the gold that Hillin had secured for the Child Stage getting information. It's not a sure thing, but gods draw power from their followers. If we can kill or turn them, it will weaken Noctua Dominus."

Gi sat down, right on the rocky shore beneath the Underbridge. That information completely shifted his perspective. He'd always felt that he wasn't doing enough for Danna. Sure, he was getting stronger, and yes, he wanted more people to worship her, but he'd thought her power was fixed. Through his actions, could he make her even greater? Could he finally pay back all the guidance that she'd given him? Could he pay back his very life that she'd saved in the Eldritch Forest?

"If we can weaken Noctua Dominus by converting or killing his followers, then we could make Danna stronger by doing the reverse, right?"

"I suppose," Krayli grunted.

Gi's eyes were bright as things clicked into place. "So... Even though mortals could never kill a god themselves-"

Krayli's eyes widened as she caught on to what he was suggesting. "You think your god could...?"

"Of course, she could. She's Danna! Hell, why stop with just Noctua? We could make her greater than all the other gods!"

Krayli seemed torn as helping him expand Danna's influence wasn't her true goal, but she steeled her resolve anyways. "If this aligns with both our goals, I'll agree to ally with you, but if we aren't making progress, then I go back to my original plan."

Gi popped up and extended his paw. "You've got a deal."

Krayli shook his paw and a system notification suddenly appeared.

Foundational Strength Task complete!

100 Soul Orbs rewarded. Current Soul Orbs: 116.

A quick poll to the system told him that he'd just completed the task for "defeating his hated rival." He hadn't realized that was Krayli as the hate mostly went one way. Amazingly enough though, that should give him his level ten before heading out on Elizabeth's mission. Everything was starting to come together.

Gi noticed that Krayli was looking at him expectantly.

"Let's meet back up tonight and talk strategy with Tiria. She generally has some solid insights. Until then, see if you can figure out who worships Noctua in Igna."

Krayli agreed and the two parted. Gi had been planning to head back to Doyle's puddle and see if he was available to spar, but now...

He dove back into the water, making his way down without any troubles from the Dragon Pikes. They seemed hesitant to go after him now which felt good. He popped out of the lake and into his underwater Encampment before rushing over to the crystal.

Current Soul Orbs: 116

Choose a stat to increase.

Stats

Strength - D (0/1000)

Agility - D (0/1000)

Vitality - D (0/1000)

Wisdom - D9 (900/1000)

Gi paused as he looked at his stats. Was his Wisdom about to break into rank C? His [Divine Bolt] already did an incredible amount of damage even allowing him to take down both the Knives Clan Progenitor and Yom. How much more deadly would it be when it broke through to C?

He quickly put the Soul Orbs into Wisdom.

You have leveled up! Level 10 milestone reached. Reward: Minor Racial Evolution

Please select a reward. The Trait selected will be added to every member of your Race.

Trait: [Prehensile Tail] - Provides a prehensile tail that allows for moderate manipulation of items as well as a rough set of Aether Pathways.

Trait: [Expanded Pocket] - Provides a small dimensional space to members of your race accessible through their existing underarm pockets.

Trait: [Pack Tactics] - Provides an innate sense of other members of your race within the Squad, allowing for better coordination while fighting.

"Damn, that's a difficult choice." At first glance, [Pack Tactics] looked the best. Assuming he understood it, the trait would allow his monsters to be much for effective in the Dungeon. More effective monsters meant more otters coming home. If he had his clan, he could pay his tithe, expand Danna's influence, and keep any other monster clans from taking over their territory.

In the past, he'd seen just how effective a pack could be with the Dragon Pikes and the chokehold that the Fighting Drakes had on Igna, but as much as it sounded like the perfect answer... It also felt like something that could be taught. He'd hate to waste a skill on something that shouldn't be an issue if his monsters were trained up some. Did he risk failing the Dungeon for more power later?

He wasn't sure.

He tapped his paw against the Encampment Crystal as he considered the other two. The dimensionsal storage space sounded great and would help him on his next mission since he'd be moving alone. It was hard to use a pack effectively with just one working arm.

On the other paw, there was the [Prehensile Tail]. It wasn't something that otters normally had, but it would effectively give him two arms again. He'd also be able to use skills out of it which could provide some sneaky [Divine Bolt]s.

Frankly when he walked through it, the [Prehensile Tail] was the best, but he hesitated for one main reason. He hadn't trained his [Fighting Style] while having the tail and it might take longer than a week to incorporate it. The worst thing he needed was to have it get in his way.

Death by monkey tail was not the way to go.

With [Pack Tactics] being the best short term and [Prehensile Tail] being the best long term, he could just split the difference and select [Expanded Pocket] instead.

But... That didn't have any direct benefit to combat unlike the other two which landed him right back at [Pack Tactics] starting the loop all over again.

Feeling stuck, he pulled the system on each of the selections and while Pack Tactics and the Prehensile Tail were as he'd already expected. [Expanded Pocket] had one use he hadn't considered.

His summons from [Bishop] could use his skills. That meant they could equip themselves with items from his [Expanded Pocket]. Suddenly, it brought a lot more flexibility to his options in combat. A summon with a mace or even a shield would be a huge benefit.

Feeling better about his choice, he selected [Expanded Pocket].

Rewarded Trait [Expanded Pocket] incorporated.

Gi dashed over to the perimeter of the Encampment and sloughed out of one half of his robe, leaving it hang over his belt. With his good arm, he lifted up the other and examined his pocket. The skin folds still seemed the same as usual. He let the arm fall and then reached inside.

He immediately got a sense of a larger space. It wasn't huge, but could easily carry a weapon or two and maybe a small packs worth of items. The only thing inside it now was the rock he'd had since the Child Stage. Strangely, he just realized that he'd gotten bigger and yet somehow, it had matched his growth.

Pleased, he left it in his [Expanded Pocket] and then headed back for the surface. He'd make a trip to Rocky for some gear and then stop by Doyle's.

When he made it back to the surface, Elizabeth was waiting for him. "I found something for you."

"Already?"

She nodded. "All I know is that there is a large amount of light aspected Aether, just shy of a week's journey to the east. Some monsters say there's an oasis from the volcanic landscape with water and trees. Others say that's merely a mirage. It makes quite the argument when the right hunters are in the pub."

Gi felt like he was getting slapped with all this new information, but he'd actually already taken care of most of it by delegating to Tiria. She was reliable and should be fine while he was gone. There was no reason he couldn't leave today.

He already started making a list of things to take care of before he left. "How do I find it?"