After a very cute celebration of platonic hugs and ecstatic squeals from four priestesses as they cheered and raved about their rewards, they had only spent thirty minutes recovering before they desired to enter the portal. Recovering at home would be much more comfortable than at a campsite with a corpse in it, so they only spent enough time ensuring they were ready for their Enlightenment.

The Loot Chest contained some interesting items, which were largely for Clergy of Seraphara. Marissa obtained a staff much like what Rebecca had, and Chastity and Veronica both received trinkets that aided them in protecting their minds or souls against foreign influence, and dark energies such as death.

Nick received a glaive that would be perfect for Andross, and there were several suits of chainmail perfect for budding paladins of Seraphara.

He was shocked at just how many odds and ends they received, but Rebecca claimed that the Ordeal had simply awarded them appropriately. The difficulty was immense, and Orion was generous when people were truly Tested like they were.

Each of the girls had also been rewarded for helping Nick with his Heroic Test, receiving both Minor Enlightenment and a small tempering when including Seraphara’s Ordeal Reward.

As for Seraphara’s Mirror reward for Nick, it appeared to be almost at the level of a Minor Enlightenment as well. It would improve whatever enlightenment he was receiving, enabling him to see and understand the essence better.

It turned out, when you weren’t forming a Core, it was normal to cultivate the essence on or after Exit. So, after they Looted the Boss and the Boss Essence congealed around the parties’ cores to be cultivated, they chose Ordeal Exit.

Being teleported, Nick suddenly found himself in a room that wouldn’t look out of place within Seraphara’s Cathedral, standing in front of an ornate mirror. Seraphara’s stained-glass window brought holy light into the white room with a gold trim, and he felt that his mind was full of clarity, clear and without distractions despite his previous exhaustion.

As he looked at himself in the mirror, he could see essence and mana as it moved throughout his body.

He marveled at how it looked as he created his Aura, and wrapped his body with his essence chains to enhance his body. Since he was used to it, he even began cultivating the essence, and watching how it shifted within him.

Understanding this was supposed to provide him Enlightenment to master his Concepts, he didn’t dally. He decided that among his two Concepts, he understood the least, and had the most to gain, from his Heroic Salvation and Redemption Concept.

Pushing his Concept with his will, the light and dark was drawn out–from a tiny kernel within his Soul Core.

He moved it around, willing it to empower himself. Protect. Strengthen. Forming a blade, he even made the energy cut. Trying to create his mana aura and merging it, he struggled, finding it difficult.

The light moved to his will with ease, while the darkness was like a wind or smoke that could not be tamed, roiling around his body as if it had its own will. It was as if the light within him was order, and the darkness was chaos.

Holding on to his will to be a hero, thinking of his lovers and more, he continued cultivating the Boss Essence, watching as it joined his three cores and how his desires and will influenced it.

He had a lot of essence to work with, and he watched how this cultivation saturated himself. The living essence of Orion was truly different, in how by altering his desire, different colors of light would break off and join his Core, or stick to the light or dark essence within his Concept.

As he played with the energy some more, and gained some insights on how just how he might be able to fight or use the special energy, the image suddenly shifted. Now he was shown several images of people and creatures fighting, all while showing this special view of the essence within them.

While he was happy with his Advanced Soul Sense, seeing this, he was interested in a similar ocular power for essence. Within the image he could also see the souls of those present, and it was like he understood the context of their fighting.

Conflict was a common thread between the many creatures and peoples, but their balance of light and darkness within them showed no commonality that Nick could see, especially among the creatures. Even demons fighting angels was shown, but what drew Nick’s focus the most was a hawk of light and a raven of darkness clashing.

The two sent out powerful attacks of colored light, and where the two lights touched, bolts of golden lightning flashed in small explosions, destroying much of the mountainous landscape around them.

It was an energy far above what Nick had ever seen. The power from the two energies combining or clashing was immense, and he knew he needed it to ascend far above his enemies, granting him the power to protect the weak and destroy evil alike.

While the Bishop’s orb of light and darkness, and Nick’s Soul Blade filled with black and white light, seemed to contain far more power than one might expect–this clearly went even above that.

Seeing all the conflicts, he knew that it wasn’t as simple that the light was good, and darkness was evil. They were two sides of the same coin, somewhat like what Nick heard about Yin and Yang. Both existed in both harmony and conflict, parts of the greater whole that encompassed everything.

When Nick provided Redemption to the evil he had Judged, he gathered this pure essence of darkness from the weight of their sins, a tainted dark essence, but also the very essence of Orion that clung to it. Something about the sins and taint contained a certain drive to it, attracting the darkness of Orion to it as well.

Nick knew that all the essence of Orion was alive, and so something was drawn to both good and evil, the light and the darkness. The same would happen with the pure light essence, the virtuous good. As Nick granted people salvation through his heroism, his good deeds would attract this living light essence, building up within his cores, and his body.

He still didn’t fully understand this, as while it felt a lot like good and evil karma, it felt a little different from that, since essence had a will of its own. Still, as he came to a sort of comprehension of this virtue and taint, the good light and evil darkness, he felt a resonance with his Heroic Concept.

The essence within him grew from his cultivation of drawing in the Boss Essence reward, the light and the dark essence was being drawn into his core, swirling around the kernel–the fragment within him. This caused the kernel to give off both light and darkness, bathing him in it.

As he watched the essence in his body shift within the odd mirror, he could see that his monstrous body was mostly soaked with the darkness, while his Archaen soul was bathed in the light. Both saturated his body and soul from his Concept, these higher energies becoming one with him over time.

His Soul Core thrummed in his chest, vibrating as his will was made real, Nick and the essence of his Concept becoming one. The kernel was crystallized in his chest, a small sphere that lazily orbited within his Soul Core. In one fell-swoop, he felt like the total duration or strength he could use his Concept had more than doubled.

[Congratulations. You have reached Early Mastery of your Path Concept: Heroic Salvation and Redemption. At this time, it has become a deep part of you down to your very soul. Effect: +2.5 Body, +5 Soul]

It was a tremendous effect, his body and soul having a larger weight on reality than ever before. Just the impact from reaching this level of Concept was the same as several levels of his Epic Class, making him simply better than before, or those without Concepts.

After discussing with Rebecca and the girls, Nick knew that with Early Mastery, combining his Concept with spells or abilities aside from his Convergence Skill would be challenging. By the time he reached Middle Mastery, he would likely find it easier to weave into more of his abilities, though some would likely be more compatible than others.

The more he built up his Concept, the stronger the influence of his will on the world would be. His beliefs in what a hero was would be empowered by both the light and the dark, gathered through his salvation and redemption.

Finally reaching the requirement, his Class’s Level 15 Skill unlocked, the information downloading into his mind.

[Convergence Skill Unlocked: Heroic Cloak of Twilight]

[Gather essence from the surrounding area, and enshroud yourself or an ally with a two-sided cloak of light and darkness. The active side will determine the additional effects beyond the influence of your Concept, and can be changed at will for a small cost.

Light: Protection, Healing

Darkness: Stealth, Lightness]

Nick nearly groaned as he read it, just imagining how useful it would have been in his last fight. If he had it for facing that stupid Centaur…well, he supposed it didn’t matter. He and his party were Tested far beyond what any normal people of Orion would ever experience, and he and the lovely priestesses of Seraphara had become more, their potentials increased forever, to match.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Exiting the Ordeal the entire party appeared in the Cathedral instead, and his party arrived at the same time this time. The Ordeal Tower let out a luminous light, brightening the stained-glass mural of Seraphara. A holy light was released, the many adherents and clergy bowing down in prayer, their hands clasped together as they murmured.

The fifteenth level was conquered, and they had received their rewards. Nick was a bit surprised they were brought inside the Cathedral. He had read that when a new floor was conquered, special events could happen depending on the Path, but it was still surprising to be dropped in a room completely packed with people.

He asked Rebecca, who was dropped near him. “What’s going on? I thought the fifteenth floor was already beaten before.”

Rebecca beamed. “This was the first time under your ownership! How wonderful. Seraphara’s Light, her favor, falls upon us.”

Nick could feel the essence of the Cathedral itself stirring, his small affinity with it feeling great. His necklace quickly filled as he looked over the happy faces in the Cathedral, both old and new.

Irene had been waiting, and hugged her daughter nearly immediately with a bright smile. “Congratulations, daughter! I’m so proud of your success.”

Rebecca hugged her mother with a warm smile, beaming at her praise. “Thanks, Mom. I did well, but Nick and the girls all performed excellently too.”

Marissa nodded, and Veronica and Chastity beamed with excitement. All of them had reached the fifteenth level, and now they were among some of the top of their age group, for sure. They needed only complete the 20th floor, and they’d be among the level of elites on the entire shard.

He was exhausted. The final battle took hours, and he was pushed to the brink protecting the girls and random allies against the various challenges, and the horrible Boss enemy.

But it was worth it.

The many clergy and adherents present all clapped and praised them and Seraphara for their efforts, thanking them for Testing themselves. No doubt, thanks to their efforts, Orion would be appeased for some time, and all the faithful of Seraphara would enjoy the many benefits of the Ordeal being increased.

With nearly the entire clergy here already from the bright light, and many new and old adherents, Nick knew it was a good time to hand in the Quest.

[Divine Concord: Reward: Rings of Sacred Bonding]

[Powered by Seraphara’s Faith Energy, this allows the user to channel faith energy to heal the owner of the opposite paired ring at great distances.]

Seeing this, Nick couldn’t help but smile. He loved the idea of having a ring he could protect his future wife with. It was almost as if Seraphara was granting the perfect item for their matrimony ceremony.

He placed the rings in his breast pocket, having even more proof that Seraphara approved of their joining.

“You just about ready for the big day, Becca? It’s nearly time now, isn’t it? The full-clear.”

Rebecca blushed, her wings fluttering. “I’m ready. We’ve been through so much together, and I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Irene eyed Rebecca’s wings with a smile, her own fluttering a little. “Daughter, you might be all grown up and soon to be wed, but you are still so cute!”

Nick hugged Rebecca to his side. “Let’s go check on the other girls.” He looked at Irene, “They’re back already, right?”

Irene nodded. “The last of them arrived just last night. They all seem to be doing well, but they’re preparing. They knew you two lovebirds would want to be wed soon, so they’ve been working on it a bit. I helped out!”

Nick chuckled. “Thanks, Irene. I need to go check on my girls, and let them know I’m back. Do you need some rest, Becca, or did you want to come see them?”

“I…will join you later. There is some planning on this side to finish, no doubt. You…want to be wed soon like me, yes?”

Smiling, Nick grabbed her hips, and pulled her into a hug which caused her to gasp in surprise. “Oh!”

Looking her in the eyes, he said, “Of course. I’ve wanted you to be mine since we came back from the Trial and claimed Havendale. I was content to wait for this courtship, and I’m glad your mother will be here to see you wed. But I’m ready when you are and your Goddess is, or I’d have spoken my Oath and Pact long ago.”

Irene’s eyes sparkled, and she floated with her hands clasped in front of her. “Oh my, our hero is so dreamy, isn’t he? We’ll take care of the preparations, and we shall see you soon!”

Rebecca blushed, as Nick let go of her. “M-Mother…”

Waving goodbye for now to Rebecca and the many faithfuls, he exited the Cathedral. Standing outside and overlooking his city, Nick was once again surprised at the changes. It had only been a week, but his numerous laborers had already made a significant dent in clearing out much of the rubble, and were constructing numerous new buildings.

The streets were packed and busy, with dozens of people riding bikes or pulling carts filled with building resources. The population had nearly quintupled in the last month, and the impact was easy to see. Walking through the streets, he saw tons of activity, and the essence was thick even still.

Arriving at his home, his wives were busy in the living room. Eirwen was first to greet him, having been in the kitchen with Luna.

Eirwen kissed Nick on the lips, and then hugged him. A surprising amount of warmth filled him, her soft curls from her hair and her body pressed up against him. “Welcome home, hubby!”

“Glad to be back, Winny. What…happened to you, Jasmine?”

Jasmine was fitting a dress on Kaya, and she had changed. She stood a bit shorter than her nearly ten foot height, at around eight feet tall, still wearing her maid outfit but without the odd shape behind her.

She now had human legs, and four arms. Four spider legs had grown out of her back, two curving upwards, and two curving downwards. Her furry spider legs no longer matched her stone-gray skin-color, but instead had a yellowish tint to them, and claws at the end of them.

On Nick’s question, Jasmine paused for a moment, before making some finishing touches on Kaya’s dress, four normal hands tightening a bow in the back, and smoothing the dress in several places at once.

Kaya preened as she looked in the stand-up mirror, looking over her blue dress. It did remind Nick a little bit of a summer dress, that looked fantastic on her fit yet sensuous form.

Jasmine walked over to him, and gestured to her body with her four hands. “I’ve mastered my Monstrous Transformation! Now I can truly serve you perfectly, Master. It takes a bit more effort and essence than Kaya’s, so I’m not quite where I can change forms entirely at will, but I can switch between this form, my old form, and a full spider form. I just…get ravenous whenever I do it.”

Nick arched his brow. “Serve me perfectly?”

“Oh yes.” Arriving near him, she then showed off her legs by lifting her maid dress a bit. They reminded him of an amazoness, with long legs with thick thighs. “Now I have my old body shape, just with…extra features. You like, Master?”

As usual, Nick had to crane his head up to meet her eyes. While having extra arms was a little weird, he reasoned it was less weird than having a whole spider body beneath her, even if she hid it with her strange dress.

“You’re always stunning, Jas. So this is what you wanted when you first arrived?”

“Yup! But I couldn’t do it. When I hit level 15, I finally managed it!”

Nick arched his brow. “You hit level 15 from the Boss?”

“Nope! From my Nexus Core chamber, and lots and lots of food! Thanks to all the essence you’ve drawn into the Ordeals, it gathered plenty these past few weeks. Anyway, back to work! We have a lot of prep to do!”

Eirwen nodded. “Of course, we’re all preparing for Rebecca’s big day. We want to make sure her day is special, the best it can be!”

Nick noted, “Kaya’s dress definitely doesn’t look like a bride’s dress. You don’t want to have your ceremony with Rebecca? You girls didn’t have one.”

Eirwen shook her head. “While Rebecca and Seraphara’s Faithful, their community, were willing to share this wedding for us since you’re a Lord of Orion, we declined for now. We beastfolk and monsterfolk girls don’t really see it as a big thing for us–we’re not much interested in a wedding, we instead decide on our mates.”

Jasmine walked back over to Kaya, who was brushing her hair, and added, “And I knew you weren’t all that interested if we weren’t. You don’t need a ceremony to feel like we’re yours.”

Nick knew and agreed with that, his Soul Pact brought them closer and was already quite intimate, beyond what a ceremony provided. But he was still a little surprised they weren’t interested.

Eirwen continued, “Instead, we’re excited about you becoming a true King of Orion once you complete the 20th floor of one of the Ordeals. We’ll enjoy being crowned Queens then, at your side. For now, we just want Rebecca to enjoy her special day, that she grew up dreaming of!”

A blue missile slammed into him from his side, Fang, also wearing a blue dress. She immediately began sniffing him heavily, enjoying his scent.

“Mmm, Boss, you’re back! I did it!”

“What did you do? Beat the lava elemental?”

“Oh, yeah, we did that. But I made my Concept Fragment!”

Sable chuckled as she entered the room at a much more sedate pace. “Me too, and even Luna. Welcome back, Boss.”

Nick looked over the girls with his senses, and he could feel it. Even Eirwen had hers. “Damn, good work, girls. You’re all looking good.”

Fang pumped her fist. “We’re just about ready!”

Nick snorted, chuckling at her enthusiasm. “Thought we were just talking about a wedding.”

Luna came in from the kitchen, dropping off some food onto the table. Kaya drooled a little at the large platter, and Jasmine sniffed and pushed her away, muttering about her ruining her dress. Luna hugged Nick, and he was quick to give her a kiss, before she said, “Welcome home, Boss! We’re ready for that, too. But we’re ready for a bunch of things now.”

Eirwen chuckled. “There’s the Path of Kings we need to climb, the Frostspire Mines second branch, and then your Heritage had those special Trials. Each had something for us at level 15 or higher. The stronger each of us is, the better.”

Nick agreed, “True. I suppose we still have a lot to do on the horizon. I was hoping for a bit of a break after that Ordeal run…”

Jasmine smiled. “Ah, worry not, Master. We’ll make sure you have the proper honeymoon. Allow us to take care of things for a bit. While we have all moved forward on our last runs, we still have some consolidation to do. Besides, you definitely will want to spend time in your Concept Chamber before we do anything, to clear out the essence in it.”

Nick nodded, then started looking through their status sheets and their notifications in the Orion Menu. “Damn, looks like all you girls have done well.”

“Yes! Praise us! We did good!” Fang’s tail took off wagging, her smile beaming.

Sable chuckled. “This one couldn’t wait. But let’s get you fitted for your tux, Boss. We don’t want to keep Becca waiting, do we?”

Nick was a bit shocked at the pace of things, but he was excited. Soon, Rebecca and him would stand before Seraphara’s Gaze.