As the outside spiralled into chaos, Iris spent her time inside her bedroom. The serene air seeping from the gap under the door permeated the surrounding, telling her sisters they shouldn’t disturb her. When they passed by, they would glance at the door and wonder what was happening, though they never bothered her.

While Iris was busy training herself, her sisters were also doing their best. Lenmia practically locked up everyone and only let them go out by necessity. If not for the limited amounts of crystals, the currency of the Labyrinth, Lenmia wouldn't have let anyone out.

Though she was cold and unyielding, her sisters complained little, knowing that she did it for everyone’s sake. To soothe her distress, they collectively agreed to stay and did whatever they could to increase their power.

For the most part, Reta and Varda stayed together inside the study room, reading the magic scrolls and practising. As Varda revealed her immense arcane knowledge, she found out the hidden talent within her sister.

As a Spider Girl, she got to enjoy the innate talent of web weaving. Her pale, slender fingers effortlessly spun the spider silks into an intricate design, whose shape completely obeyed her heart. She could easily manipulate her Corruption Power and paint a complex structure in the air.

"It's only been half a month since I first taught you," Varda said. "Even I have to acknowledge your talent, Reta. Now I understand how it feels to see a genius in action."

"You praise me too much, Sister." Reta placed her hands on her spider lower body, looking down. "Compared to you, I'm still too weak. I'm merely lucky because of my race. I've spent all my life weaving my silk."

"Not everyone can manipulate the magical energy like you." Varda chuckled. "No seamstress would be able to replicate your talent."

"I'll keep working hard not to disappoint you." Reta's cheeks flushed. her small human body shrank farther as she eyed Varda, her eyes glittering, hoping for some rewards. "I've done well, right?"

"Indeed, you have, but don't get too complacent. Your talent is a sign to work harder, not to work less." Varda patted Reta. "You have high potential, high ceiling. Your floor might be someone else's peak, but your peak is much higher. Never forget that."

"I'll do everything to help all my sisters, including you, Sister Varda."

"Surpass me first before talking big." Varda coiled around her tail. "I'm giving you a head start until I get comfortable in my new body. Corruption Power is somewhat different from Pure Power, so I'll need even more time to adjust."

"What about Sister Iris? Will you catch up to her?"

Varda blushed as she grabbed her sensitive tail and fiddled it. Her green scales quivered as her thought wandered into the deep, sensual first night, where she fell into the grasp of her sisters, crying in pleasure, calling for Iris and Iris alone. Her heart beat in her chest, reaffirming her belief that Iris was her significance. Iris reminded her of a warmth she never had, almost like a parental warmth.

"Sister Iris?" Varda coughed to conceal her expression, but the redness betrayed it all. "She's something out of this world. It hasn't even been six months, but she was already approaching the Transformation Phase. Her progression is comparable to those in the myths."

"She is indeed out of this world. Our sister is amazing, a real genius."

"She has her way of doing things, but I don't think it's her talent." Varda sighed. "Though I haven’t told her, I tried testing her magic affinity. It was bad, below average. Yet she somehow rose above her mediocrity and ascended past us."

"Then, how can we explain her growth?"

"Not everything is about magic, Reta. There are many fortunes and calamities hidden in this world. I reckon that she has weathered through many of them."

"Is the Legacy Ground one of them?"

"It is a big one. I'm not sure if Iris will want to risk herself again, as she did inside that cave."

"If she wants to, no one can stop her." Reta giggled. "She is everyone's favourite. Even Sister Lenmia treasures her opinion. I'm jealous, but I also love her."

"Don't we all?"

Varda looked at the ceiling of the study room, staring in the direction of Iris's bedroom. It had been a few days, but Iris had never once stepped outside. If she wasn't a Slime Girl, and if her Corruption Power wasn't leaking out, everyone would have thought her dead.

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Knowing that Iris was working her hardest, Varda shook her head and began another intensive lesson, which Reta greedily absorbed. Though no one ever remarked about anyone else's power, an underlying pressure had been building up since the group left the cave. It was a race to become stronger, and no one was willing to lose. Getting left behind was bad; getting protected all the time was worse.

If possible, they all wanted the suffering for themselves, just so their sisters remained in joy.

Just like Varda and Reta, Dulcie and Tardi were also trying their best. They were training in the backyard, where they had planted multiple exotic plants, decorating the dull place with colours. The backyard's size was only slightly smaller than the house, giving the two a bigger room to move about.

Because of their lack of affinity and commitment to magic, Tardi and Dulcie turned to the natural way of increasing their power, refining their innate talent. Though their power alone was weak, their innate talent was compatible. If their synergy reached its peak, they could potentially fight above their class.

Despite their weak direct combat power, they had one advantage that their sisters lacked: the ability to manipulate their immediate environment. If they could refine their innate talent to the extreme, they could control their surrounding like their body.

Though they couldn't overwrite the landscape like Vilia, they would still be a formidable force.

"How is this?" Tardi said. She was kneeling on the ground with Dulcie, staring at the small plot of land they planted a seed. "Are you ready?"

Dulcie nodded and placed her hands on the ground, channelling her Corruption Power. The ground quivered as multiple blades of grasses grew, piercing through the dirt, spreading out from the hands. At the centre of the plot, a strange flower emerged.

It had no petals. Its head was a slim extension from its stem, covered in slimy tendrils that exuded soothing fragrance, attracting the Wild Breasts and confusing the mind. It curled into itself and turned to Dulcie, bowing to its creator.

"This should suffice," Dulcie said. "Tardi, you can do it."

Tardi nodded and stabbed her hands into the ground. Her mud body splattered and permeated the dirt around her. She trembled as a part of the soil condensed into a thick mass that sank then rose. With the flower as the head, the simple dirt golem emerged from the ground, towering over both Monster Girls at the height of two metres.

While Tardi gradually relinquished her control over the golem, Dulcie commanded the flower to extend its root to cover the surface and take over. Grasses and leaves sprang from the thick golem, covering its dark brown surface with lush green. Along its joints, multiple pink flowers blossomed.

The soft fragrance the flowers radiated attracted the nearby insects. They slowly fluttered through the air and landed on the golem, giving it a peculiar ancient aura. The cracks and the vines around them highlighted the firmness of the material, packing within it the formidable power.

The dirt golem knelt in front of Dulcie and Tardi. The impact sent a faint tremor across the garden, slightly depressing the ground beneath it. The flower bent down and imitated a curtseyed.

Tardi walked to the golem and glided her palm against the hardened soil, feeling the coarse texture. Her mouth curved into a smile as she turned to Dulcie, who was shivering from delight.

"It's a masterpiece," Tardi said. "You're too good, Dulcie."

"We did it together, so don't push the achievement onto me." Dulcie walked to Tardi. "With this, we'll definitely be able to help out."

"If we practise more, we should be able to summon and maintain more golems. Maybe even stone golems and other more durable material." Tardi held a pile of dirt in her hand and squeezed it. The Corruption Power moulded it into a perfect sphere, showing her fine control. "I'm catching up to you, Sister."

"Don't get too confident, or you’ll embarrass yourself when you fail to back it up."

"Even though I'm the weakest, I'm no pushover!"

Dulcie and Tardi bickered and laughed for a while before they continued their little alchemy. Though they wanted to, their Corruption Power and their innate talent weren't sophisticated enough to build an army of giant golems. Instead, they turned to the smaller, more versatile creations: puppets, drones, gears.

As they were having fun with their training, Lenmia and Pallorn were watching through the window. Because Pallorn wished for Lenmia to get better as soon as possible, she stayed with Lenmia and continually healed her. Though Lenmia told her to rest, she countered with an excuse that she could strengthen her innate ability by using it.

"Those two," Lenmia said, "they're having quite a bit of fun, aren't they?"

"You lock up everyone; they don’t have anything else to do."

"Don't you want to help them? You deserve a good rest."

"Staying with you and watching them is enough." Pallorn giggled. "I'm also training right now."

"You're too much, Pallorn. Not just you. Everyone." Lenmia sighed. "I was supposed to protect you, not you all protect me."

"You're their role model. They take after you."

"I really don't want them to be miserable. I was raised to become a tool, but I didn't raise them that way."

"You were once a tool, but not anymore. Now, you're the Eldest Sister, our Eldest Sister." Pallorn grasped Lenmia's hand. "Isn't this the best? Everyone is getting stronger. No one has to carry the worry alone. Not you, not me, not any of us."

"But this requires our best girl to stay with us," Lenmia said and turned to the wall connected to Iris's bedroom. "She's getting too strong too fast."

"That one is Lilith Incarnate. I can feel an unknown power inside of her, but I can't pinpoint what it is."

"I can only hope that it will benefit her. If she gets too strong, we just need to get stronger even faster."

"You'll have to teach them your way. You're a former Holy Maiden, after all."

Lenmia shook her head and turned her sight to the outside world, looking at her sisters below. Though she said that, she wasn't confident that she could make her sisters progress fast enough to catch up to Iris.

Their initial explosive growth was the result of the Soul Fruits she had fed them. Because they never got to face real-world combat or experience the battle, their potential was never realised. Now that they had finally trained, their suppressed potential surge. Though it would slow down, any explosive growth was welcome.