After the long prayer time session that Dyne had, he finally opened his eyes. They were closing in on the village. The few hours that Vahn and Tetsu had in the village bore amazing results. The walls around the area were now stronger, and the gate was also fortified.

“Woah. How did you guys do it in such a short time?”

“It’s thanks to Calamity! He could stick to the walls and carry stuff like wood and stone. That’s how we were able to find and carry the wood we found. He’s much stronger than the Slimes in our village.”

“Oh. So that’s why the Hunters has this Slime Romance.” Dyne murmured.

The group placed Dyne back in their huge room. It was nearly twilight by then, so the group began to discuss what to do next.

“You mean…? You could make Zenoir that can resist the Mist?!” Tetsu was shocked.

Meta was silent and waited for Dyne to continue explaining.

Dyne began to explain the many mysteries of what happened. But instead of talking about his sheer awesomeness, Dyne made it look like Tieg selected him for this very purpose. Of course, Dyne happily reported that he was able to exceed Tieg’s expectations and discussed something about the Elemental Spirit Seed.

“I have sensed that power in you. It is Earth, Fire, and Holy. This is amazing, Lord Dyne!” Meta finally interrupted.

“Does that mean that Master Dyne has the power of the Ra-Seru?”

“Not exactly. I’m not as strong as them. Because I’m like you, Vahn."

"M-me?" Vahn wondered.

"How many times can you summon and create the form of that Gimard?”

“Three times.” Vahn replied.

“And that three times requires Meta to do her part. In my case, I have to do both what you did and what Meta is doing as well. So I only have enough energy to make about a single magic attack. I could increase my soul's energy if I tried absorbing the Mist to make the Elemental Seed grow and have energy... But I’d turn into something similar to a mad Seru.” Dyne sighed.

The group couldn’t help but shiver as they imagined a mad Dyne.

“But the Zenoir! You can tame it?!”

“Of course... Why else did Lord Dyne carry this Zenoir?”

Dyne frowned and wondered why Strafe urged him to bring him.

“Hey, Strafe… Can I convert as many Serus as I can?”

“Not realistic Grim has already bonded with you, which is why he isn’t affected by the Mist. Even if you manage to make another Seru neutral, unless you bond with them or constantly use your powers to make them remember their previous life, they will only remain neutral for a few seconds until falling back into madness. Of course, getting them out of the madness of the Mist is easy… But taxing on your part. But taking on another Seru to bond with will make it very difficult as you will be forced to use Rune Power to synch with them or equip an additional Seru.”

“If I increase my Rune Power, will it help?”

“Yes. Leveling up can do that as the life energy contained in your body increases. And since you will be controlling them while they are attached to you, the high Power requirement will be lessened.”

“Oh! I get a discount? So how much would be controlling a Zenoir be?”

“ Zenoir would be equal to controlling a Jinn in the game, Brigandine.”

“So thirty-five Rune power, huh? That doesn’t sound bad. How much Rune Power do I have anyway?”

“Twenty-two.”

“What?! Twenty-two?! The weakest Rune Knight would have at least over a hundred rune power!”

“You aren’t a Rune warrior. At least not yet. And by the way, monsters here have low levels and are more inferior than the monsters in that game. You can use this Zenoir to absorb the petrification that is being drawn out. Because of the Mist, even if you manage to remove the Earth energy, it will slowly grow back.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Ugh. Then I guess I can’t bond with a Zenoir right away. Too bad. It would have been awesome if I can command a team of Zenoirs! But oh well, Elemental practice takes priority!” Dyne made his resolve.

Dyne turned to the group.

“I can tame a Zenoir and link with him. But I have to improve on Soul Cultivation. If I try to tame it, just like Ginger, it may take me days to weeks to create it! And they have to bond with me so that they can resist the Mist! I know what you planned, Tetsu. You want me to create an army of good Serus. Sadly, as of now, it's not possible.

"You plan to bond with more than one Seru? That’s rather difficult, Lord Dyne." Meta added.

"But not impossible. If it's a normal Seru, it can't. But if the Seru has consciousness and is like you, who can control the limitation of their bonding with me..."

"I see. Grim has already stepped on a path like a Ra-Seru. Then if you can make more, it is indeed possible!" Meta was amazed.

"Although it would have been possible without the Mist, if you detach your connection with Grim, Grim will become our enemy?” Tetsu asked.

“That is the case.” Meta answered instead.

"It won't be that way forever. Cheer up, gang! I just have to get stronger! Although the current stage that I am at feels like it’s endless. Vahn, Tetstu… You two should be at the Soul Awakening stage. I’m guessing Meta and me is at the Soul Gathering Stage. But this stage feels so vast. Meta’s somewhere far off at the distance while I’m just at the starting point.” Dyne explained.

“Can I reach the next stage?” Meta asked.

“I think you should. Ra-Serus and humans' bonding is greatly beneficial to humans since they could understand what Soul Cultivation is. I mean, imagine if you’re like this amateur in a certain skill and you somehow get to share a body with someone who is extremely good at it. It’s possible to learn their skills. Meta, as Vahn grows, you should also focus on growing. Do not think that Stra- I mean- Tieg designed you to only grow stronger with the Genesis Tree. Without their powers, you can still grow. And you need to! Especially when we’ve got monsters like the Basilisk nearby. That beast was one dangerous enemy.” Dyne explained.

“Was it the Basilisk that made this creature turn to stone?” Meta asked.

“Yes. It was strange. Even my soul got affected. It was that power that allowed me to create this Elemental Spirit Seed.” Dyne then began to tell them about what went on. He told them how he led a team of Serus and was able to master the Chicken King further. Vahn was so amazed that he immediately borrowed the Golden Compass and tried to see if he can do the same thing.

Meta and Tetsu continued to listen to the tale.

“So the Seru was able to kill over fifty monsters?” Tetsu was shocked at the power of the group.

“Yup. The Zenoirs were tough. The hardest part was breaking their rocky exteriors. Many Frogs sacrificed themselves with their body slams. The Ostriches beak wasn’t hard enough to break through their shell. But when that Basilisk appeared, the Zenoirs was trembling in fear.”

Tetsu was stunned. Even Vahn, who was busy tinkering with the Golden Compass, turned his attention to Dyne.

“I didn’t see the Basilisk. But that thing had the power to petrify everything around it. It was a Soul attack! And I almost died! I don’t think it’s wise to fight it without a Ra-Seru. I mean, all of us have to be Ra-Seru wearers to challenge it.” Dyne glanced around.

“But at least your purpose has been fulfilled. With the deaths of those monsters, it may take a while for them to rebuild their army. At most, they would need over a year to recover that amount.”

“Just a year?” Dyne was surprised but then realized how it would be possible to have that amount.

“Oh, right. The Mist must have the ability to make monsters grow faster.”

“What are your plans? With a monster that strong, Biron is sure to fall soon.” Meta asked.

“We need to get stronger first. The reason why I’m headed there is to acquire a Ra-Seru.”

“Is that the Genesis Tree that you claimed to be dying?” Meta asked.

“Right on. But we have another problem. When we reach Biron Monastery, we may not be able to explain Calamity. I brought paint so I can color Grim white. We can lie and make the monks believe that Grim is a petrified Seru who fought the monster. That way, we can alert them of a Basilisk. But we need to get permission from them to move to the north to go to the Genesis Tree. Meta paints Vahn’s arm white to make it look like Meta was petrified and allowed Vahn to recover his consciousness. Any ideas?”

“Why can’t we just tell them about the Ra-Seru?” Vahn asked.

“Not good. Rem told me that among them is a traitor. Remember, it's no longer Monk’s who live there. If the people of River Reach and the nearby towns escaped there, Biron Monastery is no longer the same monastery that you remember it to be Tetsu.” Dyne glanced at Tetsu, anticipating what he would say in this manner.

Hearing Dyne’s explanation Tetsu decided not to voice out his confidence with the monks. Dyne’s words did have a point.

“We can’t let them know of the future hope that we carry. We can tell the head monk, I guess. But as for everyone else, we should make them think that we are on a desperate search for a cure for Vahn’s petrification. Any suggestions?”

“The Monks have a secret mixture to make medicine. We can make it look like we wish to search for medicine on the forest.”

“Oh? They have medicine?”

“Yes. The droppings of Frogs and Lippians combined allow plants to have the possibility of maturing and developing medicines. But the Monks might already have some in stock.”

“Hrmm… That is a problem.” Dyne frowned.

“Lord Dyne, what if we tell them that we need the sap of a Genesis Tree? It is a powerful tree emanating with this soul energy you speak of. Since we are going to make it look like that I am something that was caused by the Basilisk, you could claim to be looking for a Tree sap from the Genesis Tree.” Meta gave her suggestion.

Dyne clapped his hands.

“That’s perfect! Let’s use that as an excuse!” Dyne smiled and approved.

"Then shall we go tomorrow?" Tetsu asked.

"Not yet. I need to recover. We can still afford a few days. Tetsu, Vahn, continues to fortify this area. Besides... I have this strange feeling that the Basilisk is moving. We might need to hide here for a bit..." Dyne voiced out his fears.