Tiria was pleased. Gi's recovery had gone as well as could be hoped for. After that first day, his senses had returned and a final [Bubble Cure] had left him weakened, but mostly healed. His entire left side was thick with scar tissue and a lot of his mobility in that side had been hindered, but he refused to take it easy.

That part bothered her.

Even now, she sat outside their makeshift training yard with her back to the Control building. Gi sparred against both Doyle and Kumo, using his new (Five Hands Firefly) [Fighting Style] to its full extent. Gi's summons flickered to life to block a blow or make an attack before disappearing. Each time, they'd provide a screen and allow Gi an opening to make an attack of his own.

Even with Gi's Aether dialed all the way down, he was beating them both handily. His (Five Hands Firefly) was a fairly Aether intensive combat style, but he'd already gotten it down to a much more efficient version that would be manageable as long as he didn't go all out.

Kumo, for her part, seemed gloriously happy as she always did when she was fighting, but she practically idolized the Progenitor so these fights were like praying to Danna was for her.

If that was all she had to worry about, it wouldn't be a big deal. The biggest problem is that Gi was still wanting to commit to the fight in a few days. He'd already informed the various leaders of the clan as well as Elizabeth of where they'd need to meet and what their tasks were.

Their plan was good, but with Gi not at a hundred percent, would that make their chances not worth taking? It was still fifty to one per monster. As Tiria went through all of these things in her mind, Chum showed up and Tiria sighed. He blinked.

"Why do you sigh when I walk up?"

She patted him on the shoulder. "Because it means my break is over."

Chum frowned. "I really don't like the association between me and bad things."

Tiria chuckled. "So you don't have anything for me?"

Chum's consternation only deepened. "Well, I do, but I'd prefer if you were happy to see me. Like a big smile and a, 'It's my chum Chum!'"

Tiria placed an arm around Chum's shoulders. The priest had recently taken a catalyst and become a Classer. His Domain was actually one of the few based on Gi's original [Cure] that had been upgraded to [Mass Cure] and finally [Globe of Preservation]. It still had its [Mass Cure] functionality, but it also natively blocked damage in its area. Being a Classer also meant they were shoulder to shoulder now.

"I'm always happy to see you, Chum, my chum. Now what is it?"

"The inquisitors have been working on a group of goblins that have agreed to sign up. They're called Whisper Goblins and seem to have some low rank Air Skills, nothing like the tales of Iron Ferrets."

Tiria bobbled her head. "More mouths to feed, but they'll help our Spawn Rate. I assume since you mention the Iron Ferrets' prowess that these Whisper Goblins aren't strong at all. Any Classers?"

Chum shook his head. A flurry of [Divine Ire] attacks from Gi's sparring interrupted his response briefly, but as he blinked back spots from his vision, he responded. "None. Their Progenitor died shortly after the Dungeon that their Clan spawned from and he didn't pick a Subgenitor."

"So why come to me then? They seem barely worth bringing in at all."

"There are over two hundred of them."

That got Tiria's attention. "Two hundred? The big two zero zero? As in, they could get us to level five and our first Encampment Perk right before the battle?"

"Yup!"

Tiria pulled him into an even tighter hug that was almost a headlock. "Chum, my chum, have I ever told you how happy I am to see you?"

A wide grin split his face and the two of them left the Progenitor to his sparring and went to find the twins. With their help, it was simple to get the mass of Whisper Goblins relocated to the Lake Encampment. It made their Wind Fern supply go completely dry, but they'd taken to farming some of it themselves at Rocky's suggestion so they'd have some eventually.

The second housing spine wasn't fully complete, but there was enough of it done that they had space for a sudden influx of grey goblins. They were even weaker than she'd expected from Chum's description, but she couldn't help but smile. With any luck, she'd get something that could help even the odds for the Spiked Eagle battle.

Once they were all in, she interrupted Gi who'd run his Aether dry and was still practicing his fighting style with just his body. As their Vitality got higher, it made their stamina get into ridiculous levels. A real fight wasn't the same thing as sparring, but it was still crazy that he'd sparred the entire time she'd been managing the Whisper Goblins.

"What's this about?" Gi asked, clearly annoyed at being stopped from sparring despite his injury. She gave him a quick explanation and a smile spread across his face. "Well then, that is good news. Lead the way."

The two of them arrived at Danna's statue with the Encampment Crystal cupped in her palms. A glance back at Gi showed he had an irritated look on his face and she had to bite back a sigh. His crisis of faith hadn't seemed to resolve itself. She should talk to him after the battle.

Both of them laid their palm on the crystal and the Encampment Screen appeared before both of them.

Residence Menu:

No Body Orbs.

Insufficient Soul Orbs.

Use Heart Orbs to improve Squads?

...Encampment Level increased! (Level 5)

...Encampment Rank increased! (Village)

Choose Encampment Perk?

Gi nudged her with his good shoulder. "Good work, Tiria. You've done a great job managing the clan."

Tiria smiled. "It's lucky we have at least one Elite with the skill set required."

"That is true," Gi said with a laugh. The short exchange reminded her of how Gi used to be before the Illusor Clan had trapped him. He'd been more reckless but still smart and open - more willing to lean on the clan. Maybe she should talk to him before the battle...

"Well, let's see it!," Gi said, interrupting her thoughts. She thought, "yes," and the list of Perks they could choose appeared.

Foundational Encampment Perk

A Higher Class of Monster - One in one hundred monsters will Spawn in as a Classer.

A Building Swarm - Increase Spawn Rate by 5.

Instant Army - Spawn 500 monsters immediately.

It was a short list of Perks, but as it described, it would be foundational. Functionally, it had two scaling options or one immediate option. Obviously, the immediate one was the worst of the three except...

"We need the last one," Gi said confidently.

"It will be better against the Spiked Eagles," Tiria agreed, "but they won't be our only enemies. Maybe we should assume success and hedge for the long haul?"

Gi shook his head. "I don't think we'll have a long haul. Galvina has been eluding to... something happening. For her, we need to try and conquer Igna before then. That's a great goal, but I'm concerned about why that deadline exists and if it's even feasible."

"What do you mean?"

Gi sighed. "When I ascended to the Clan Stage, my only task was to conquer or create a city. All of the Sky Clans should be in the same stage, but none of them have tried to take over Igna themselves. Why?"

Tiria nodded slowly as she digested his concerns. "You think that the Queen Siht and her Fighting Drakes might be even further ahead of the rest of the Sky Clans? That makes sense considering she rules here I suppose."

"It's not just that," Gi said, "During the Assembly, the Faithful and the Fire Elemental Progenitors want to go on the offensive in the war against Myshk, but they never do. Why does Myshk attack and not commit? Why do the Sky Clans listen to the Queen and not go conquer Myshk themselves?"

The list of Perks still hovered in the air in front of them, but it remained ignored as they continued their conversation. "I think the obvious answer would be that the Myshk Progenitor is of a level with Siht."

"And I'm sure that's true, but something still feels off. The worst case scenario is we will need to flee and then any perks related to this Encampment won't matter anymore.

Tiria had learned to trust her own gut and Gi's instincts were generally good. He sometimes missed key pieces of a plan, but not everything could be known and that's why the Underbridge Clan had his back. Ultimately, it came down to whether she trusted Gi and, of course, she did.

"Then let's go with the Instant Army."

He paused before selecting it. "It's not as bad as it seems either. These five hundred will be able to breed as normal so it's not quite as bad of a Perk as it seems."

"That makes sense. I trust you."

Her words seemed to let him relax and that made her wonder if he thought that she didn't trust him. Could that insecurity be related to his crisis of faith? Maybe just relying on him more would be the correct move to support him.

Gi selected the Perk and then an instant later. They were surrounded by five hundred Otters in grey robes. All of them jostled each other and called out in surprise at the sudden transfer, assuming they'd all come from the Child Stage. Though, Tiria wondered if that was true. That was far more than she'd had with her when it started.

She'd have to interview them all.

Gi smiled at her mischievously. "This seems like a mess."

"It really-" He turned invisible just as she was going to respond and she sighed as she saw a little glimmer of light pass in front of her eyes as he floated away. She appreciated his playfulness as it was better than his brooding, but damn, her day had finally been manageable for once.

"Gang Otters! I'm Tiria, the Subgenitor for the Underbridge Clan. Everyone stay steady and we will settle you into your appropriate Halls and provide you a place to stay."

The group mostly listened, but their Race wasn't well known for their ability to stay still. As she tried futilely to organize them, eventually Chum and the Elites all came over to help. Kumo, in particular, was always excited about fresh Hunters so she looked like Christmas had come early.

Tiria and the other Elites shared her enthusiasm though. The Clan was growing and that made all of them happy.

****

Gi found himself in the Control alone for the time being as the swarm of Otters descended on the camp. They wouldn't have enough places for everyone even spread through their three Encampments and that would cause morale to drop which wound hinder their Spawn Rate, but it was past the point where a handful of more monsters would matter.

He opened the small curtain that they'd made for his makeshift hospital bed and lowered himself down with a groan. His body had loosened up a lot as he fought, but after a full day of sparring, pain was flaring up again.

There was no doubt in Gi's mind that he'd still be injured by the time they needed to attack the Spiked Eagles, but today's sparring told him that he'd be able to endure. He needed to lock in his new (Five Hands Firefly) style in case things went wrong on the day of the attack.

He needed it to be successful. If he could, it would settle the turbulence in his Heart and he could finally be rid of his feeling for Danna. They could be just a footnote from a past life and he could move forward with the clan. If he was successful, he could prove that Gi was different than Richard. That he was capable where Richard was not.

No one, be they gods or otherwise, would call him useless again.