Alistair discovered a suitable plane shard for Dexter, resembling a cold tundra environment with a lake housing a large glacier. He knew he could transfer the contract, though it would be his first time, but fortunately, Nessyra was quite experienced with contract magic and would be able to transfer Dexter with little to no issues. Surprisingly, she instructed Alistair to keep Dexter's ability to talk a secret from everyone, even Riseth. This gave him some pause, but she explained how she planned to deploy Dexter as a spy and manipulator and wanted him to practice within the clan. Alistair initially opposed the idea but eventually relented as they came to a compromise.

"Alright, I'll instruct Dexter to keep his ability to talk hidden initially from everyone except me, Riseth, and you," Nessyra requested over the link. "It's supposed to be my summon, so I hope you can agree to this."

Alistair wasn't entirely convinced it was a good idea and was still not happy about her initial request to keep it hidden from Riseth. "Nessy, I think you are overly secretive again. You need to start putting some trust in Riseth and me if we are to become proper patriarchs."

Nessyra paused, then sighed. "I know you're right. It's hard to let go of control sometimes."

"It's alright for now. I won't inform the rest of the clan and see how it goes. I'm curious to see how well you can deploy that little bugger for your own purposes," Alistair replied with a soft chuckle.

"Thank you, Alistair; bring Dexter over after you recover the treasures. I'd like to start his training as soon as possible, but I have other matters to attend to right now."

"Alright, I'll see you later, Nessy," Alistair said as they ended the call.

As he approached Dexter and King, Alistair addressed the small creature. "Let's fetch those treasures while you fill me in on those sealed beasts."

Dexter glanced back and shared a warning. "Sure thing, but just so you know, King wanted me to let you know that if you even think about putting a saddle on him, he'll buck you and Riseth off, contract or not," he said with a hint of amusement before hopping onto King's back.

Joining Dexter, Alistair mounted King as they soared into the air. However, Dexter let out a loud yelp, struggling to maintain his balance. Alistair swiftly used his telekinetic abilities to catch Dexter and settled him onto his lap.

Alistair had recently discovered that the telekinetic concept was an extremely close branch to the kinetic concept, which made his affinity for it nearly as strong as his pure kinetic abilities. He couldn't understand why he had initially tried to use levitation instead of telekinesis, like Es'ell had done back then. He had avoided copying her to not upset her, but he should have tried it after leaving the dungeon. Alistair chided himself for not realizing it sooner, especially since telekinetic had "kinetic" in its name.

Despite knowing there were many affinities he had yet to explore, overlooking telekinetics was a particularly glaring mistake. The key difference was that telekinetics also relied on the mind stat, while regular kinetics depended on his body and control stats.

As Alistair cradled Dexter, he marveled at the creature's incredibly soft and smooth fur, unable to resist the urge to pet him.

"Thank you," Dexter said at first as he nestled into Alistair's lap, but then he paused, emitting a strange rumbling purring sound. "Oh, I like that! Please, continue," Dexter requested, his voice filled with contentment as Alistair continued to stroke him. Alistair couldn't help but feel surprised by the purring and vibrations reminiscent of those he would expect from a cat rather than a dog-like creature.

"Alright, you might have realized that those elementals guarding those treasures will soon absorb them and begin to wander. Those are the first kind of monsters to look out for in this trial," Dexter explained, his body still vibrating. Alistair was a bit conflicted. Dexter was intelligent and able to talk, and petting him like a dog, even if Dexter enjoyed it, felt a bit weird.

Alistair had, in fact, not realized that the elementals would soon absorb the treasures they were guarding, but he wouldn't tell Dexter this outright. Knowing he needed to act swiftly, he directed King toward the nearby giant forest with a dead world tree at its center. There, a wood elemental guarded the heart of the deceased tree. If consumed by monsters, most of these treasures would be rendered worthless to him. Retrieving the core of the offending monster would yield little more than if he had slain it before it absorbed the treasure.

"Besides those elementals, there are hidden locations, many connected through the waterways, which is how I found them. There's also that pseudo ice dragon busy digging itself out of its prison, and I may have indulged in some of its precious ice crystals from its hoard," Dexter explained.

"Let me guess, that's the beast out to kill you," Alistair remarked.

"Yes, but with your help, we should be able to kill it," Dexter replied.

Alistair chuckled. "We've only just met, and you're already asking me to slay a dragon for you?" he queried incredulously.

"It's a pseudo-dragon. Its scales are not nearly as tough, its horns are all wrong, it lacks a dragon heart, and it has no breath attack. Also, it has a pretty nasty temper since it's not as smart as me," Dexter clarified.

Dexter's explanation got King intrigued, and Alistair recalled his sister telling him and King about some of the evolution methods to become a true dragon. A dragon's heart and blood were two of the most crucial material components needed to create a ritual to evolve a wyvern or pseudo-dragon into a true dragon. Alternatively, a wyvern needs to earn that heart in single combat and consume it, a feat rarely accomplished in the wild, as true dragons are smarter and more powerful than the vast majority of wyverns. A wyvern advancing through single combat would come with a significant title that would mark the former wyvern as having earned his place. There was a strong cultural aspect to it, where if a wyvern advances through a ritual rather than earning its advancement and title, it would garner the hostility of every other dragon if found out, whereas slaying a dragon would usually come with begrudging respect or acceptance.

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Alistair had plans to imitate a dragon's heart with body cultivation. Apparently, consuming or transplanting the heart was not unique to dragon-like creatures; some underwent a similar body modification by slaying a dragon and transplanting their hearts with those of a true dragon. This would change and empower the user's body and visibly change them. However, this practice was frowned upon by true dragons and would usually mark you as an enemy of them. Fortunately, the attempt to replicate their hearts through body cultivation wasn't typically met with hostility; instead, dragons tended to regard the practice with a blend of disdain and flattery.

They had found out that King was a new species of wyvern, as they could not find any records of his species in the Study Dungeon or the Nurturing Ward. They did not know if King would naturally evolve into a Dragon with sufficient records or need to go through one of the other means. Alistair suspected King's pride would not allow him to undergo a ritual or be adopted by a true dragon and evolve through its assistance. So, both King and Alistair were disappointed to learn that it wasn't a true dragon.

Alistair paused and stopped petting Dexter, and regarded him suspiciously. "How do you know all that?" he inquired.

Dexter let out another offended sneeze and tilted his head to look at Alistair with his large, round eyes. "Because I am smart. Among the first skills offered, there was one that would let me know what the other monsters were capable of,"

"So, beasts also get to pick an additional skill upon their initiation?" Alistair asked, genuinely curious.

"Obviously! The great system is kind to its creations, giving all of us a chance to prove worthy of our creation," Dexter replied confidently.

Alistair had previously idly wondered how freshly created Grade 9 beasts obtained their skills; apparently, they got to choose them upon their creation. He pondered Dexter's proclamation for a moment. Alistair wasn't sure if he would classify the system as kind or even considerate, given its strong encouragement of violence. However, he had to concede that it had provided protection to children and vulnerable individuals. It made sense that the system would offer beasts similar opportunities, although most lacked the intelligence to make effective use of them. Notably, intelligence was one of the aspects the system most often refused to influence. While Alistair could memorize things better and complete complex calculations, his decision-making and personality had barely changed. He attributed any changes he did undergo to circumstances rather than the system's intervention, even if the system had introduced those circumstances.

"Can you continue touching me now?" Dexter inquired hopefully.

Alistair frowned at the way Dexter had phrased this request. "Sorry, Dexter. We are about to land, and it's called petting so you request pets," Alistair corrected as he put him under his arm, getting ready to jump off King as they approached the dead and hollow stump of the world tree.

"Wait, are you going to jump?" Dexter asked in a panic just before Alistair leaped down into the stump.

"Don't drop me!" Dexter shrieked telepathically as he squirmed under Alistair's arm, his panic evident.

Alistair's armor responded to Dexter's fear, warping slightly as he halted mid-air. With a frown, he held up the Yagan by its front legs in front of him.

Dexter stopped squirming and deflated, his body elongating as he relaxed, resembling the stretch of a cat when held in a similar manner. Alistair looked at Dexter with a slightly annoyed expression. Alistair also knew that if he were to drop Dexter, the little shit would be quite fine and barely harmed. He wasn't sure if the bugger was messing with him or genuinely afraid of falling.

"Dexter, chill out. I won't drop you," Alistair reassured him.

"You promise you won't drop me? You are holding me somewhat suspiciously," Dexter commented, his tongue lulling out as he tilted his head to look down.

Alistair narrowed his eyes. "Yes, Dexter, I promise I won't drop you. Can you promise you won't freak out like that?"

King circled around them, emitting a huff that conveyed his amusement.

"Yes, I won't freak out when you jump with me next time," Dexter confirmed.

"I don't want you to freak out in general," Alistair added.

Dexter tilted his head to the other side, his ears slightly flopping. "Okay!" he responded, giving him a goofy smile with his corgi-like face.

While Alistair thought it was a little endearing, he did not trust this little shit one bit, and he was quite sure he was overplaying his naivety, testing the limits of their summoning contract. Alistair considered scolding the Yagan but thought better of it. Dexter was still very young and quite smart. Stifling his emotional growth by setting one boundary after another before he could learn for himself felt wrong. Alistair looked at Dexter with a serious expression. Alistair lifted his aura veil, which usually hid his emotions, letting him know that he knew what he was doing. Dexter whined a little, a bit conflicted, but Alistair sensed the recognition within the Yagan. Alistair put Dexter back under his arm as he continued to descend. Below him, a small pile of bodies surrounded the Heart of the World Tree, guarded by a wood elemental that looked like a large pile of jagged and thorny branches surrounding it.

The Heart looked like a wooden curled-up knot with a green luminescent glow emanating from it. It was as big as his whole torso as it hovered over the elemental, slightly spinning on its own axis. Alistair could not store this heart until he killed the wood elemental linked to it. It was one of the treasures he and Riseth had left to collect monster bodies. Alistair put down Dexter as he inspected the connection more thoroughly. King landed above them on the edge of the stump as wood chips and splinters fell down where his claws dug in for stability. The chamber had a woody and earthy smell, and despite the world tree being dead, the heart still radiated incredible amounts of life and nature concepts, making the atmospheric mana insides of the stump incredibly rich and dense. Each breath he took passively added essence. Alistair had recently improved his breathing technique to the point where he did it subconsciously, even during combat, which was a big step up from some months ago.

"You gotta teach me how you hide your emotions," Dexter requested as he swallowed a core he had just extracted from one of the beasts while Alistair was still busy feeling out the connection.

Alistair tsked, annoyed at his oversight, as the bugger gave him a cheeky smile. Alistair waved his hand to store the rest of the bodies before answering. "I'm sure Nessyra will teach you that once we are back. Also, don't just eat the cores and other treasures."

He could sense the reluctance within Dexter, so he let out a sigh and gave him an understanding smile. "Don't worry. We will treat you right by sharing what we got and reward you for helping us, so you don't have to sneak away treasures."

It would take some time for Dexter to understand how to work with others, but Alistair was confident that, with some patience, he would figure it out. Alistair then turned his attention back to the connection he had been inspecting. After some probing, Alistair confirmed that Dexter was right. The Elemental was empowering itself, draining the treasure ever so slightly, attuning itself to it, getting ready to integrate it into its mass. He would need to move fast and collect the Treasures before they got wasted.