After going through his notifications, Tesilim looked around and saw that everyone had a firmer grasp of reality. The one who still seemed to be a bit out of it was Alyx. He was reading and re-reading the many notes he had taken, and his eyes unfocused every now and then. On the other hand, the three ladies were still standing still, but their eyes now roamed about, as they avoided breaking the silence. Seeing this, Tesilim rolled his eyes and spoke.
“Guys, I think maybe we should make camp for a bit. I know it's a lot to take in, but we still have a mission to finish, and the guild doesn’t strike me as too forgiving if we don’t get the mission done in a timely manner. So, how about we rest for an hour and then continue our march?”
Tesilim got nods from everyone, and Alyx finally got up, reached into his bag, and pulled out his cube. A few seconds later, everyone was inside, where they got some good food and only made minor comments about the situation they found themselves in. Eventually, though, they slowly managed to relax.
Rose, Jasmine, and Lili chose to take quick showers to help calm themselves further. At the same time, Tesilim enjoyed making all sorts of foods from Earth on Alyx’s microwave-looking box that could make almost any food-related item. However, eventually, Alyx snapped from his research mode and threw everyone out of the item, talking about the need to move on.
Outside and with everyone back to their old selves for the most part, Alyx finally brought up something that even Tesilim had forgotten as he messed with the infinite food box: The Drake.
“So, do you know what it is capable of doing yet? How has the power manifested?” Alyx questioned, staring Tesilim down.
“Uh, I'm not sure yet. I forgot to check. Hold on,” Tesilim answered, getting a disapproving look from Alyx.
Tesilim then pulled up his abilities screen and quickly found his new ability, Alyx and Lili shifting closer to read it as well.
Chaos Drake: You have gained the ability to summon a Chaos Drake. Due to the drake's connection to your soul, he is effectively immortal unless you are killed, at which point the drake will permanently die as well.
The drake is intelligent, has sapience, and shares some of your abilities, and its connection to you allows it to increase in power alongside you. Additionally, the drake has its own capabilities, with many unlocking as it grows in power.
Every time the drake is summoned, its new body will be remade in order to match your new level of power. To this extent, the body of the drake can be destroyed, and resummoning it will spend all your current available Arcane and Pure Arcane Mana. Re-summoning the drake takes 1 minute, during which time you must concentrate on this task.
“You guys look so silly staring at the air like that,” Jasmine commented.
“I must admit, I am curious about these screens,” Rose added.
“Yeah, well, sharing is permanent, so I don’t know if you guys want to be part of it.”
“Does that mean Lili and Alyx are permanently linked to you via this system?” Jasmine asked.
“I guess, in a way, yeah, but I don’t think it has the severity you are thinking of. It's more like they can see the screens that I can see whether I like it or not. Plus, they are my teachers, so I figured bringing them into the fold was best since I am stuck with them for a while.” Tesilim answered, attempting to clarify things.
“Though you make a good point, Rose,” Alyx noted,” It makes me wonder if our souls are somehow linked now. Or, more interestingly, are we now sharing a connection directly to the World Crystal via Tesilim’s own connection?”
The question sent a ripple through the team, as they hadn’t considered that aspect of things.
Jasmine had answered many of her previous questions during Tesilim’s explanation. Meanwhile, she dismissed others as simply unrealistic. More than likely, their meeting had truly just been a thing of coincidence. However, hearing Alyx’s theory made Jasmine question what would happen if they became part of Tesilim’s connection.
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Would their connection to the World Crystal strengthen, causing some sort of change for them? Or would nothing change? Would the World Crystal simply continue as is, ignoring them? Could they have proper direct access to it via Tesilim? There were many things to consider, and she would have to wait until Arelion could give his input properly.
For Rose, the revelation of what it could mean for such a connection to occur was mind-boggling. She daydreamed of what possible new powers she might unlock and how they would affect her future. Rose wanted power to protect the world. She wanted power to protect Jasmine. The redhead had failed to do anything before, and her friend had been put in grave danger right under her nose. She needed power, and Tesilim could be a way to gain it. On the other hand, Rose was aware that connections could work both ways.
Lili hadn’t considered the possibility that she and Tesilim could now hold a connection. However, it seemed like a realistic possibility now that it was brought up. Just like Rose, she knew that a connection worked both ways. She was worried about the implications, both good and bad. If this theoretical connection did exist and she could nurture it, would she be able to access his Chaos Mana? More importantly, and something she would regret, could her soul somehow consume his because that couldn’t be allowed to happen.
“Alyx, you need to find answers to those questions. Those are serious implications.” Lili snapped seriously, staring hard at the gnome.
The words surprised everyone, and they looked at her a bit confused and with questions in their eyes.
“Look. Since it seems like a day for revelations, my soul isn’t normal either. This whole soul connection thing could have serious repercussions. Not just from me but also from Tesilim. What happens if his Chaos Mana somehow travels through the connection and into our souls? Nothing good, that's for sure.” The white-haired elf stated as she took in everyone's surprised looks at the latest revelation. Well, everyone except for Alyx, who had more of a “Ha! I knew it,” look on him.
“Wait, What!? What's wrong with your soul!?” Tesilim spouted.
“Wow, we actually are just a bunch of odd souls, huh?” Jasmine said jokingly, a smile replacing the shock on her face.
“Speak for yourself,” Rose grumbled.
“Tesilim, I am not saying anything else. I just felt like it was necessary to make sure Alyx put a rush on that particular research topic. This is not a joke either, Alyx.”
“Yes, mam!” Alyx answered, giving a quick salute.
The gnome had been wary about the elf, but once he thought about the fact he would have another unique soul to study his distrust had reduced greatly. Sure, he was far from studying it properly, but the cat was out of the bag, and it was only a matter of time before the entire thing unraveled. Of course, it did help that he didn’t want his soul possibly altered by Chaos Mana. His goddess could protect him from something like the wave of power since it had come from the outside, but he had agreed to make this connection, which greatly lowered his defenses.
“Are you dying? Is your soul dying? Is that it? Are you worried about your soul killing my soul when yours dies? Or does your soul have some sort of soul sickness that you are going to transfer to me?” Tesilim obnoxiously and sarcastically questioned Lili, trying to pry anything. He wasn’t really worried about the soul connection issue himself; he was worried about Lili and Alyx, but since the gnome was on the case, it was best to put it out of his head for now and make the best out of the situation.
“No. Look, stop being annoying. How about you summon the drake?” Lili said, rolling her eyes at Tesilim’s questions.
“Yeah, might as well see the result of all this fuzz.” Jasmine chipped in and got a nod from Rose.
“Are you sure? It will drain all of my mana, and we will have to wait a few more hours before we can head to the cave.”
“It's fine. I will just stick you inside my magical spatial room again; that place will increase your mana regeneration.”
“Of course, it will. What doesn’t it do?” Tesilim asked sarcastically.
“A lot, actually.” The gnome replied, and Tesilim just rolled his eyes at him.
A few seconds later, everyone stared as Tesilim focused on a spot before him, willing for his Chaos Drake ability to activate. It started slowly as mana poured out of Tesilim’s outstretched hands, and small currents of mana traveled forward and condensed in the spot he had chosen.
The form of the drake began to take shape, starting with its feet and the tip of its nose and tail. As the mana continued to pour out, the drake's body slowly continued to build itself, and it was very noticeable that the beast's shape hadn’t changed much. In fact, now that Tesilim thought about it, the drake had the build of a sabretooth tiger—a bulky front with a lither back area. Of course, it had a thicker tail, rough scales, and two horns, though no big fangs sticking from its maw.
The drake was colored light blue at first, mimicking the mana, but that color scheme didn’t last long. When the body finished taking shape and mana stopped pouring from Tesilim, a ripple went through the monster.
A wave of rainbow light shimmered across its body, leaving something resembling a shimmering crystal behind. The opaque substance prevented Tesilim from seeing through it, and ripples of color went throughout the body in unison as the new scales glittered upon manifesting.
The drake stood there for a second, unmoving, and everyone stared in awe. Then its eye shot open, revealing orbs of purple and yellow swirling energy.