After defeating the knight order and the tribal kingdom, they actually had to rush in order to chase the ratfolk all the way to their border and exit. It seemed they somehow knew the change to the situation, and they had attempted to flee.

If it weren’t for Jasmine and Sable working together, rushing through the forest and tracking them, they would have gotten away with the goods–nearly thirty percent of everything. But the two were successful in taking down the rat people’s leader, recovering the large amount of wealth contained within his spatial pouch.

With the three kingdom’s leaders defeated, they received a prompt. [Noblefrost Kingdom is Victorious–the Test of Supremacy is now completed. Treasure contained in the central glade to mature in 72 hours. Arrive at the entry within this time.]

Irene exclaimed, “Oh! It’s one of those. What a blessing.”

Nick frowned, reading the prompt. “What is it?”

“There is a class of treasures that are not meant for transport. The kind that must be consumed immediately upon maturation. Orion often creates a Trial over these types of treasures, unless specifically nourished by the kingdom. For example, if you finished the Quests for your mines, if a special treasure such as this matured there, it should be yours without any kind of contest.”

She added, “Orion doesn’t much like waste, so it would help you become aware of something so significant in your territory, but make you earn it–Testing you and your right for the reward.”

Nick was getting a bit excited. “Nice, I wonder who it’ll be best for. There’s still some time left for us to earn some unique treasures. It might be slim pickings now, but every little bit we bring back will be put to use.”

Birdy suddenly squawked at him, and Nick noticed that its face had finally formed into a beak. It continued to squawk for a while, gesturing at the forest and to itself.

Nick arched his brow, as he thought he understood its desires–somewhat through their connection. “If you find a treasure on your own, you may consume or keep it for yourself. Just meet us at the glade in three days, or you might miss out.”

Birdy laughed, several short caws like a laughing crow. It then put its staff near its beak, and began to take bites of it. The odd demonic wood crunched ominously as, over just a few bites, it shoved the rest of it into its throat. Nick watched with horrid fascination, as splinters of wood were scattered everywhere.

The demonic goat, which was now mostly covered in feathers, then glowed for a moment, then began to flap its wings, laughing all the while. Birdy took off, and flew off to the West. Jasper and the Wolfen girls all tilted their heads in confusion, watching as it flew away.

Nick couldn’t help but feel weird about his odd bird Soul Servant, after that display. “So… that happened. Should I be worried?”

Fang laughed. “No, Birdy is a good bird, mostly. I know it! It’ll find something special for sure.”

They spent two days circling the area near the glade, making sure they missed no treasure, left no beast alive or any rock unturned. Jasmine and Sable met up with them on the first day, and they continued and rested until eventually, it was time and they found themselves in front of the glade.

Birdy eventually showed up, looking even more like a bird than before. The goat legs were now shaped like a bird’s entirely, its talons looking particularly vicious, and the creature giving off a Concept of some kind. While it was definitely related to ice, Nick couldn’t actually get a good feel for what it was.

Most likely, much like Jasmine, a lot of Birdy’s capabilities were linked to their previous body. Without its true demonic bird body, it likely couldn’t bring about its full power.

Nick couldn’t help but voice his thoughts, “Man, demons sure are weird, huh.”

Kaya chuckled. “Well, I think you just attract weird stuff, Nick. It’s strong, thankfully.”

“Wow, Birdy’s much stronger now! Good job, Birdy.” Fang smiled at Birdy, her tail wagging.

It lifted its beak up with what felt like pride as it gave a cawing laugh. Then, it turned to Jasper, who was sitting there waiting patiently, guarding the party like always.

Birdy narrowed its eyes on Jasper, and began cawing once again, before creating its feathers of ice. These had an immense amount of cold, and felt sharper somehow, on top of that. It was powered by some form of Concept, and then Birdy started to squawk and chirp.

This time, it felt like Birdy was taunting Jasper. Jasper’s ears went flat on his head, and its tail went between its legs as Birdy began to strut side to side, with its wings held out wide, showing them off.

Jasper whimpered as he put his head on the ground, and Birdy looked down at him imperiously. It then cawed several times, then Jasper’s ears perked up, and he barked and stood up, and then nodded. Giving off his cawing laugh, Birdy leaped onto Jasper’s back, once again making itself comfortable.

“What…just happened?” Kaya asked, and then looked to Nick.

“Whatchu’ looking at me for? You think I got any of that?”

He kind of did, but to him, it felt a little too silly to be right. Even if he had a good idea, he would keep it to himself.

“I think I get it!” Jasmine smiled, placing a closed fist in her open palm.

Everyone turned to her. Nick said, “Really? You got that?”

“Maybe! I think Birdy’s trying to motivate Jasper. It showed off its Concept, and said like,” She cleared her throat, and took on a more forceful, and perhaps… birdlike voice. “You are pathetic, not even having a Concept yet. But for giving me a ride for all that time, I’ll throw you a bone and help you out–but only if you let me ride you again when I want. Because I’m lazy.”

Nick was a little skeptical, looking over at the bird who was preening and chirping to Jasper. That…did mostly match with what he felt. “Huh, that kind of fits, doesn’t it. Maybe? It’s good that Birdy can fly if it needs to, and that it has gotten stronger. If something good comes to Jasper too, that’s a big bonus.”

Eirwen noted, “If he’s anything like Monsterfolk, I think Jasper has suffered a little by us needing so many frost-related treasures. He needs them to grow, but it’s been difficult to spare enough for his growth. We’ve used many for your Soulforging and the other Monsterfolk, besides.”

Rebecca nodded. “It’s true, but we should have plenty of ore and gems from the second mine when we return. The income from the mines should be quite substantial now.”

It was something Nick needed to keep in mind. Their growth as his Soul Servants was important to his personal power, and he needed to put a little more effort into them. Perhaps it would be better if he went for a Soul Servant that had different powers. He would think more on this in the future.

The timer eventually ran out, and the dome began to recede from the glade.

As it was revealed from the dome protecting it, they understood just why it was protected with a dome from the beginning–there were no enemies there, and the location alone was special.

A lone tree sat in the water, looking a lot like a giant weeping willow made up of a kaleidoscope of colors. The water it sat in was so clear, its roots were large and visible. They attached to the stone beneath it, drawing up the dense essence of the water.

Fruits hung from numerous dangling leaves, their skins giving off bright lights, like rainbow lamps. The fruits looked somewhat like a cluster of grapes, a series of spheres combined, almost as if mushed together to make up a singular rainbow fruit.

It was certainly enough for everyone in the kingdom to receive one, a special opportunity.

Irene gasped. “Wow, numerous leylines, perhaps all of them in this valley, intersect here. So many energies, and yet this tree can somehow live and contain them all.”

[For the maximum benefit, enter the cleansing waters of the Spring of Revitalization and Purity, then consume a single Omnibloom Fruit from the Tree of Resplendence. You have been granted 8 hours within.]

A new dome appeared after they had entered, establishing a Safe Zone. The moment that happened, everyone’s shoulders sagged in relief, their guards no longer required to remain up.

Nick looked around as he wondered, “If this was contested, how would it have worked?”

Irene answered, “Sometimes, it would create a secondary dome where only those that entered would be able to compete, usually to the death. The people of Orion call them Domes of Conflict, or sometimes Trial Barriers. Many parties or individuals would enter, but only one would be allowed to win and leave. It’d have incentivized the kingdoms to come out of hiding for a final battle over it, or flee and give it up.”

As the party neared the waters, Birdy started squawking angrily, flapping its wings and digging into Jasper’s flesh with its talons. Still, its eyes were honed in on the fruit, like it wanted to eat them all.

Rebecca said, “I think the waters might actually be harmful to it. But it looks like the fruit might be okay. Have you heard of them, Mother?”

Irene was looking at everything in interest. “I have. They are a fruit that somehow contains everything. They say that consuming one will align with your fate, and improve the aspect of you that most needs improvement, or might aid you the most. It can grant tempering or enlightenment, or even just improve your Core. The Myriad people of Orion can benefit from it in differing ways.”

She continued, looking at the water. “But using the Spring of Revitalization and Purity is a tremendous benefit as well. It will cleanse our bodies and spirits, and even our Cores, improving the density and purity of the essence within them, and heal us. Even by itself, this would be a major benefit.”

Rebecca added, “It sounds like it’ll help us get the most out of the fruit as well. After tempering or enlightenment, our bodies and cores are often full of foreign energies, in addition to us being exhausted. The spring will aid us in getting us back to normal quicker.”

They waded into the shallow pool, until they reached the center, where most of the fruits were hanging.

Nick found that the water caused him to become extremely buoyant, despite his body seemingly drinking the water straight through his pores. He was floating on the water with no effort, and found himself laying down, facing up at the beautiful colors twinkling above him.

It was the same for everyone else. There was complete silence in the glade, other than his party’s breathing and moving around in the water, finding their positions.

“This is kinda nice. Relaxing.” Nick noted.

“Yeah,” Eirwen replied, “it feels like a soothing bath. I can feel the warmth spreading.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Oh!” Rebecca gasped. “My lotus…”

Nick looked over, to see that Rebecca’s frozen lotus from his gift–the necklace–was vibrating in the water. It was drawing in the energy from the spring, and growing ever so slightly from the process.

Seeing her just smile at the result, he just went back to relaxing.

He felt the fatigue wash away, feeling better than he had just before he entered the Ordeal. Observing the essence as it was drawn into his cores, he noticed the essence condensing in the spheres.

Kaya said, “You weren’t kidding, Irene. This is amazing. Despite gaining levels near the peak of the stratum so rapidly, I’ll be ready to absorb everything in my Concept Chamber right away.”

It wasn’t as simple as absorbing essence until you leveled up, even the pure essence from the Ordeals. A battle maniac that fought constantly and defeated every Test would have to stop eventually, to recuperate and consolidate their gains.

This would be even more true in the third stratum.

Birdy was the first to eat her fruit, gulping it down in a single bite. The bird’s whole body then vibrated, the essence within it echoing in waves. She then nearly fell into the water, but Jasper grew some ice on his back and froze the bird to its fur, keeping her from moving.

It’d be fine, probably.

Fang was next, and then everyone joined in with eating their fruit. Nick took a single bite, and it tasted so amazing that he couldn’t even remember taking the other bites and finishing it. Liquid euphoria traveled through his body, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head, and even his eyeballs. Everything within him vibrated and buzzed, including his Soul and Body Cores.

He wasn’t sure how long he spent in this state, but eventually, he noticed the vibration was building. This continued for a time, until he felt something pop–like a joint cracking, relieving a bunch of pressure.

His entire view went white for a minute, and when he could see again, he saw a tremendous amount of light surrounding him–beyond just what the tree already gave off. Then, golden glyphs on his body lit up, and it took him a moment to understand just what he was seeing–it was his disguise array. It was shifting to accommodate the change, whatever it was.

But there was more than that. His girls, the essence in the spring beneath him and the tree above, everything had lights traveling through them. The girl’s Soul Cores were especially bright, and the colors definitely seemed to be related to them. The impressions that he got from their Souls had improved, and he thought he had a better perception of their location without even turning to look at them.

The vibration, light show, and surprises calmed down, he now had the wherewithal to check on his prompt.

[Bloodline Upgraded. Your racial Traits have been improved to the second stratum. The Advanced Soul Sense, Advanced Body, and Mana Resistant traits have been enhanced.]

The entries for each showed the improvements. The short of it was, the things that made him special were enhanced, the most significant being his Advanced Soul Sense. He could now better sense, and see, blends of Soul Essence outside of his body.

This meant that discovering the Panther man would have been trivial, as even the tiniest bit of soul essence leakage would have been detected. People were walking beacons of essence, and even if they sealed off their bodies with their mana auras, small traces would ultimately end up in the surrounding area. It was difficult to not leak anything at all, requiring a level of perfection few could achieve.

Rebecca was far ahead of the rest of his party in this, and Sable was catching up–at least in regards to shielding herself from detection. It was an ongoing issue, as the more essence–the higher the level, the more difficult hiding the essence became.

Nick was happy about the result. Finding a bloodline improvement treasure for his extinct race was likely highly difficult, but this had granted him one piece of the puzzle he needed. Perhaps one of the rewards in his Heritage would be for a similar treasure, and that would push him even further–he had several other traits that were untouched by the treasure.

Looking at each of his girls, they all had pleasant smiles on their faces. Nick waited for a time, the water from the magical spring renewing him.

He felt several of them moved forward in their Concepts, even those that had reached Early Mastery. However, watching with his new eyes, he could see their Devotion Cores each had been the ones to gain, the fragments swirling within them. The ones he felt the most clearly were his Wolfen girls, as he felt the same exact thing from all three of them.

It was related to the pack, which made him wonder a bit about what this would mean for Luna, who already had something like that.

The others were hard to make out, but Nick did confirm that Rebecca reached Early Mastery with her Sacrificial Concept. This made him feel much better, as now the situation with the lava elemental would never be repeated.

Irene was…getting something, but Nick couldn’t tell what. With the amount of light, he wagered it was related to her angel race. Jeffrey had grown, to the point where Nick wondered if he would even still be able to fly.

Jasmine got some form of trait, that increased the light within her spider limbs even further. She was also the first to wake up, her eyes blinking before she turned to him.

“You’re awake already, Master?” She jolted, and then moved to cradle him in her four arms, immediately fussing over his wet clothing.

Nick chuckled. “Not for long. Let’s move to the shore? So we don’t disturb everyone.”

The two moved to the shore, and Jasmine helped dry him off quickly with some flares of her aura. There was a small campsite of stones for him to sit on, and so she sat him down, and knelt beside him.

It was then he realized she might be just a bit taller–even kneeling, she was as tall as him sitting.

“Did you get bigger again? What did you get, Jasmine?”

“I think so. It seems that it helped prepare my body, making it more compatible with my Nexus Core. I’m pretty much ready to enter the third stratum. It’s surprising.”

Nick was shocked. “Already?”

Jasmine hesitated. “I just need the levels in my Nexus Core, then I can merge it with my body and ascend to the third stratum.” She looked a little reluctant.

“You don’t seem happy about that?”

“It’s because… I worked hard on this body, and then I’ll be throwing it away before long. I’ll be happy to have my old body back, but… I liked making the webbing, the clothes and armor for you and your wives. My last body could not make anything useful. I could serve, but aside from that, I could only consume and destroy.”

Nick scratched his chin as he hummed. “Hm. I’m sure we can find a way to use them both. That way, you can have the best of both worlds.”

Jasmine gasped, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Oh! You’re right. I can keep this one in storage, and change bodies, just like changing a wig or a dress!”

Nick chuckled, and got a far away look at the thought. “Yeah… just like it…”

She didn’t seem to notice, and continued, “You know, there were a lot of other cool bodies that I had passed on, but maybe there are some other neat races I can be!” Jasmine hugged him tightly, then sighed dreamily. “And so many ways I can serve you, Master.” She purred.

The others started waking up, the silence of the spring eventually ruined by Birdy’s angry squawking. Jasper sighed as he carried Birdy out of the spring, walking to the shore.

Eirwen, Irene and Rebecca each helped everyone dry off, using a simple trick with aura and mana to remove the moisture from their clothing and hair as they joined Nick and Jasmine at the campsight.

Fang bounced from one foot to the other, and so did Sable and Luna. They moved in a strange, perfect sync, that felt a little odd to him. Like it was calling him.

“What’s with you girls?”

Fang stopped, the other two girls continuing. “We can move as one now! It makes us stronger. C’mon!” She tugged his hand, pulling him forward.

“Huh?”

Luna and Sable said at the same time, “Join us! Try it.”

He felt silly, but he joined them in their odd movements. Within moments, he found he moved with them in perfect sync, just like they were doing.

But there was more to it. There was a strange weight to the movement, like the essence of Orion was aiding him, like it had the weight of the world behind it.

When they took out their spears, he drew his blade instinctively, and began swinging it to flow with their stabbing and dashing motions. Each began to move to a different timing, a coordinated attack that would be difficult for any foe to counter.

Sable and Luna also mixed blasts of iceshadow and frost, and they had the special weight of their will added. They could even mix their own Concepts with it, which surprised him. He couldn’t even use both at once, let alone mix his Concepts together yet, and they hadn’t even reached Early Mastery yet. To his shock, even his Heroic Concept was enhanced.

It was as if every movement or action done as a pack was enhanced in some way.

Rebecca noticed what was happening. “Truly amazing. It must be a combination of their Trait. Trait-enhanced Concepts are often powerful, but to have one behave this way is so interesting. I haven’t heard of anything like it.”

Eirwen smiled. “I think this is the power of the Devotion Core. Through Nick, they linked to each other and him. It must be their Mated Trait.”

While the effect wasn’t that big now, he knew it likely would be once each of his girls reached Early Mastery. It was an interesting effect. While it was way less than the amount of strength he might gain with a strength Concept of his own, it was in the ballpark of ten to twenty percent, based on the orc he had faced.

That it worked on anything, and his girls seemed to get a slightly bigger effect, was something substantial. With it increasing later as they reached Early Mastery, he was sure that the bonus would be significant.

Fang’s tail was wagging furiously. “Yesss! We did it! We made a power that’s useful for Boss too!”

Nick chuckled. “You girls are always awesome.”

“I know, but if we do even better, it means even more belly rubs, right?”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t argue with that. At this rate, I’m not gonna have much time left for things other than belly rubs.” Nick frowned, as he realized something. “You three had some kind of Enlightenment, right? What was your vision?”

Sable chuckled. “There was no vision. I think this just…awakened something in our hearts, our cores. The fruit must have done something special. I just…felt closer to these two and Boss when I woke up.”

“Was it the same for the rest of you?” Nick asked, turning to the other girls.

Kaya and Eirwen nodded, but Rebecca shook her head. “Maybe because I already had a fragment, mine was different? But it was interesting.” She smiled at Nick. “It showed me all those times I sacrificed in the arch scenarios, but also all the times I saw you and our family was in danger. That helped me make it a part of me, and now I’m certain I can remove nasty things from you, Nicholas. Even powerful things.”

Luna smiled proudly at her. “That’s wonderful. What about your new fragment, Winny?”

Eirwen’s tail flicked. “It’s a strange thing. First I got that weird power of shooting stars, and now… I’m not so sure. It’s hard for me to explain, my feeling. Let me try it.”

She closed her eyes, and then began casting a spell Nick was familiar with–a spear of ice. During her casting, Nick felt her flare her will, her Concept manifesting–whatever it was. The ice then shifted, much of it bursting into flame, and the rest melting. It was odd though, as he knew she had a terrible affinity for casting a fire spell, outside of buffs like Elemental Weapons.

Jasmine narrowed her eyes on the result, the water droplets on the ground. “That was… neat, but… I still don’t get what happened.”

“That was just a test, I think I get it now. The best way for me to explain it might be the power of wishes.”

Nick arched his brow. “Wishes? That sounds crazy. Like snap your fingers and bam, bad guy’s dead?”

Jasmine pouted. “This is no fair. I’m supposed to be Master’s genie!”

Eirwen chuckled. “No, probably not how you’re thinking. With my will, I can boost or twist my spell or action in a way that might make what I desire to have happen, happen. Changing reality, but only by a little–less than most spells or Concepts already do. But if it’s for hubby, I can do a little better than that. At least, that’s my feelin’”

Irene said, “I’ve heard of powers like this. They are, on their own, weaker than specialized powers. There is a price to pay for such versatility. However, for a Class like hers that does it all, perhaps this can be quite powerful. Opportunity and timing can be everything.”

Eirwen nodded. “It’s a strange power, but I don’t think there are many limitations outside of… how much I gain or how useful the twist or boost might be. For now, it’s easy for me to just picture boosting spells, wishing for them to be better, stronger.”

Nick was a little impressed, but her starlight power and dream magic was already kind of mysterious. Adding this onto that had him a little concerned, considering her combat worries. She had become stronger and well-rounded, but still wasn’t at the level of Kaya that could turn the tide of battle for him.

Fang looked over at Kaya, smiling. “That just leaves you, Kaya! I bet your move is amazing!”

Kaya blushed. “It’s… I’m not sure yet, other than I’m probably stronger and faster when fighting with my mate, while transformed. That’s…the feeling that I get.”

Nick put his hand on her hip, and he held back a chuckle as her tail wrapped around his arm. “Well, that’s no different from usual, is it? But it sounds like this was a power-up for us all. It took a while, but the Devotion Cores have finally matured.”

Jasmine pouted. “I want mine! This kinda sucks, waiting.”

Irene added, “You girls are really something, devoting yourselves to your husband in this way! All of your paths are truly focused on our Hero. It’s wonderful.”

Eirwen giggled. “I’m glad you see it that way. I’m happy with our choices so far.”

Kaya stretched. “The fruit and spring was really something else. I feel great, but isn’t it time to get going?”

Irene’s eyes lit up, and she began to float. “Oh, can we? It’s time, isn’t it? The Ancestral Archives!”

Nick chuckled. “Guess so. Let’s get moving.”

“It’s almost time for belly rubs!” Fang bolted off, heading toward the edge of the dome, as everyone started their march.

The arches rose from the ground as they exited the dome, and everyone was filled with excitement–even Jeffrey was buzzing.

It had been a month, and it was finally time to go home.