Alistair had been proven right. The monster stood absolutely no chance. He would have been able to kill it on his own, even without it being boxed in. They managed to kill the pseudo-dragon without damaging its hide and organs too much, which would result in a lot of materials for their crafters. They scoured the cave but found nothing of interest since Dexter had apparently already stolen the only valuable materials. Alistair did, however, level up again, putting him at level 80 and giving him a new skill selection.

Skill Choices: Tier: Skill Name: Description: [Supreme] Battle Spheres

A [Compound] skill used by conjuring spheres of force inscribed with arcane directives. These directives enable the spheres to orbit the user and be remotely powered by the user's [MP] and [Qi] through arcane means. They also allow for automatic friend-foe targeting. The user can charge these spheres with different concepts and direct the targets of the spheres with a small amount of focus. The user can maintain four battle spheres at a time and designate up to two targets at once. Attacked spheres will retaliate against the attacker unless considered a friendly target. May convert a [Kinetic Skinguard] sphere into a kinetic battle sphere at a minuscule cost of [MP]. There is a tiny [MP] and [Qi] cost for maintaining and creating battle spheres scaling with the [Control] stat. [Power] increase and maintenance costs are determined by the user's affinity for the concept utilized in Battle Spheres.

Compounded skills:

[Kinetic Blasts] [Explosion Blast] [Rapid Stake Blast] [Rupture Stake Blast] [Fire Blast] [Fire Stream] [Lightinig Strike] [Dispelling Blast] [Repulsive Blast] [Flash Bang]

[Epic]

Telekinesis

Improves the user's ability to telekinetically [Control] objects and empowers attacks made based on the user's relevant stats. The amount of objects or individuals the user may manipulate is based on the target's mass and resistance against manipulation. The user's incredibly high affinity further enhances the skill's ability to bypass the target's resistances and increases the amount of damage inflicted, be that directly or indirectly. The user may also use this skill in a non-offensive manner, like daily tasks or shielding himself with a controlled target. The precision of such tasks is based on the user's [Control] stat. Requires a minuscule amount of focus and [Qi] and [MP] to maintain based on the number of targets and their resistances. Damage scales with the [Mind] and [Power] stats.

[Rare]

Polymorph

This spell visually transforms the user based on his intention. Any changes are permanent but can be reverted through the skill. The user's proficiency in the skill for his grade is moderate, and the polymorphing is currently limited to humanoid forms.

[Subpar]

Telepathy

The user can communicate with others locally by connecting to each other's minds. The range is determined by the user's [Mind] and [Control] stat. It requires a tiny amount of focus to maintain and is not affected by magic interference.

The Battle Spheres skill overlapped significantly with the Blast Master skill, but it was more autonomous and included a variety of non-blast attacks, though it was less powerful and precise than his individual blasts. Alistair had attempted to integrate a chain lightning option into the Battle Spheres but found it too difficult given his current affinity and expertise with lightning. Deceleration and splash effects required too many arcane directives, losing efficiency when made overly complicated. He needed to streamline the process, but he chose the skill anyway for its automation capabilities, which allowed him to make proper use of the ability since the focus required was quite high. Even when turning it into a skill, his current mental capacity couldn't maintain all his abilities at once without remaining stationary. This realization prompted him to boost his Mind stat, as it had been lagging compared to his stronger stats. His Body stat had now reached exactly 1000 points due to its modifiers, but unfortunately, it had not granted him a title for reaching that milestone.

The Polymorph skill wasted a skill option slot since he could use it without picking the skill and had no need for any automation or buffs. He could see how somebody refined this skill to quickly turn themselves into a monster or dragon and increase the speed and variety of the transformations. Still, Alistair would not be using that himself and was content just to change his height and appearance slightly. However, he did wonder if the skill handed out to Beast by the system at Grade 8 would be [Unique] and what that meant for upgrading and changing the skill.

The Telepathy skill was something he picked up while traveling with Dexter, though it had little use for him at the time. He had spent more time trying to teach King and Fluffy with the help of Dexter whenever he got the chance, but it proved to be quite difficult for the beasts to learn the skill as neither of them had specialized in mind abilities.

Alistair, who still had two skill points to spend, decided to pick up the Akashic Soundboard skills, planning to have it integrate his Vicious mockery skill, and wasn't disappointed as a notification informed him he could upgrade the skill, which he promptly did. He now had one skill point left and considered whether he should spend it to try to get the Telekinesis skill, develop his summoning skill, or save the skill point for emergency skill acquisition. He decided he would save the skill for now, even though pulling a Darth Vader to choke his opponents with telekinesis was tempting. Alistair could not help but feel fortunate for his affinity being kinetics. He held off from spending the skill point mainly because he did not require the skills automation as the skill took little focus unless he tried to control too many small objects at once.

Skills: Tier: Name: Description: [Epic] Akashic Sound Board

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The user taps into their [Akashic Link], harnessing known melodies and songs to empower themselves and allies through uplifting music or utilizing sound clips to assault opponents' minds or mock them viciously by increasing the user's volume and empowering the mental effects of the user's mockery. By mocking his opponents, the user may instill hesitancy, bafflement, frustration, and anger within them. The effectiveness of both buffs and attacks is directly influenced by the user's [Mind] stat. However, while playing music to provide buffs, there is a slight reduction in hearing-related [Senses] for everyone affected by the skill, including the user. Maintaining buffs through music also requires a minuscule amount of focus and [MP] or [Qi] to maintain.

Alistair still felt he was too low on skill points, so he would aim to earn some skill points by teaching in the Nurturing Ward and finding dungeons. He had already initiated an advertisement for his next class limited to those he trusted and regularly attended his class as he would teach them how to become a summoner, a very coveted technique bound to give him a ton of contribution points. Alistair would not want his students to end up slaves, so he would teach them how to become summoners. He knew this would most likely further spread the skill into less savory hands, but that was inevitable, and he was satisfied in knowing he would spread it to his students whose moral fiber he somewhat knew. He had already caught a few weaker beasts with a mild temperament from his first trial world and stored them within his storage for them to practice the skill on.

Alistair felt a bit stressed. Time seemed to fly by during the last stretch of the trial as he tried to finish one important matter after the other. He spent the next week leveling up twice while seeking out beasts, treasures, and elementals within the slayer world, occasionally accompanied by Riseth. They had exactly 100 days left, and whenever he checked the time, he felt like he was on a countdown. Once they had scoured all the locations Dexter had been aware of, he transferred him to Nessyra. The process had been much easier than he had expected, and he wasn't sure if it was good that people could hand over their summons this easily, regardless of the bond they shared. Though it might have been because Dexter wanted to be transferred, and he seemed quite stoked to finally meet Nessyra, and they got along quite swimmingly, an expression Dexter in particular liked.

Some time later, Alistair watched as his classroom was filled with his students. His lessons had been quite infrequent but were quite popular despite Alistair making a point of not accepting what he considered overly violent and dangerous students. This was the first time many of them had seen him since he had transformed into a Nephilim, which garnered him many awe-inspired reactions as they stared at his now even taller stature. Alistair had not seen any other Nephilim but had heard of some that had evolved into them with the assistance of an evolution stone. A handful of his students had reached Grade 9 as well, but none of them had undergone a dramatic transformation, though it gave Alistair some pause as he did not recognize them immediately.

His classroom was similar to his sister's; he used a wide-open field with rolling hills and an open sky. He waited for everyone to settle in their seats and could sense the anticipation in all of them. He had written that this would be the last class he would teach, but not what he would be teaching, just that it would be something special. However, he had reached out to some particular students he looked to recruit or knew would benefit from the lesson as their planet would likely be black market hotspots.

"Welcome, everyone. It's good to see you all again," Alistair greeted warmly. "As you know, today will likely be my last day as your teacher, and I thought I would leave you with a technique that would protect you from some of the more heinous things out there."

The anticipation was palpable, and some of the alien younglings chittered or displayed other nervous and intrigued tics. Alistair could hear them whisper and speculate among each other what it could be, and he waited a moment for the discussions to die down.

"Today, I will teach you how to establish a summoning contract and gain a summon of your own," Alistair announced as he had King appear behind him, looming over him and looking down at the crowd. King had been eager for this moment ever since Alistair asked if he would like to show off and let out a roar.

Some students fell out of their chairs or specialized seatings while the quadrupeds rapidly got on their feet in surprise. Others sat there, mouths agape, before they broke into cheers and more lively discussions. There were roughly 100 students present, and he would have to repeat this class a few more times for others before he was done, as the vast majority of his students had signed up for this class. Riseth would be doing the same with her students. This class contained a small group of youngsters from Neshan and a teenager from Italy, whom he had actually met before the initiation. He would try and convince both to join his clan during the lesson. He had approached Filippo regarding this before, and he had told Alistair he would talk to his family first and give him an answer the next time they met. He knew the family from his vacations in Italy, as they owned one of Alistair's favorite restaurants in Sicily. He did not know the Fichera family well, but they had always been incredibly friendly and welcoming whenever he visited, as they remembered him. Alistair had written his planet of origin in all of his class listings, but due to the number of teachers and students, his listings were often drowned out or already filled. Alistair had only a few students from Earth, most of whom had already declined his offer, stating either family obligations or had already joined one faction or the other.

Alistair's call for order swiftly quieted the bustling classroom, every student eagerly awaiting his next instructions.

"I've brought along a timid, low-level beast for each of you to practice on. Once you've mastered the skill, you're free to either keep the beast or release it," Alistair declared.

"As some of you may already know, mastering the art of summoning provides protection against the enforcement of slave contracts. Additionally, as a summoner, you cannot become someone else's summon," Alistair explained.

One of his students raised a hand. "How does being a summoner protect us from being enslaved?"

Alistair nodded, acknowledging the question. "A summoner can't become a slave because they already have a magical contract in place. Contract magic ensures that an existing contract, like a summoning contract, cannot be invalidated or overwritten by an external magical interaction or other contracts, such as a slave contract, without the affected parties' consent."

He continued, "The older contract always takes precedence, preventing you from entering conflicting agreements. For example, if you sign a work contract, you can't enter another conflicting work contract with better conditions unless certain conditions are met, such as both parties consent to terminate the original, the original contract includes a clause allowing for its invalidation, or the original contract's duration expires."

This enlisted a much more intimate reaction as some broke out in tears of relief. Alistair knew some had been worried they would face factions and the black market looking to enslave them and their people. This was one of the driving forces behind his desire to teach this particular technique. Alistair smiled at them reassuringly before expanding on the theory of summoning as he had the whole room's full attention.