SK4 - Chapter 29 - The Rewards

Nick reviewed his rewards and evaluation from the Trial.

[Trial of the Hero King and Floor 20 completed. Rating: B Difficulty: A.] 

[As per your Ordeal Settings, rewards have accumulated during your climb.

Party Reward: Boss essence deposited at your Ascension Chambers, and Premium Ascension Materials granted. 

Kingdom Reward: For your Proxy War victory, the Diregator Spawning Pools has been granted and is awaiting placement. For your Trial victory success, you are awarded a single Ordeal Cornerstone. Total DP Rewards: 42,305 Path of Kings DP, 21,253 Hero’s Path DP.

Personal Reward: Trance-inducing Minor Enlightenment Serum.]

[You built evidence against Lord Tagron and faced him in a lord-versus-lord battle, surpassing yourself and defeating the villain. Thanks to your formidable subordinates and clever negotiation, you saved the hostages and inspired Lord Brightclaw and Quilbane to join your kingdom and face off against his armies. However, you brought unnecessary risk to yourself when your army held the advantage by facing Lord Tagron alone. All you needed to do was defeat Lord Tagron’s army in order to achieve your current objective–protecting the ratfolk and Lord Brightclaw, even if Lord Tagron successfully fled in the end. 

While defeating evil reflected your Chosen Path well, it should be remembered that the balance of two paths is like walking a tightrope. By risking yourself, you teetered dangerously close to falling off the heroic side in your desires for justice and to test yourself and become more. You were successful this time, but you owe it to your people, your kingdom, to only take the risk when it is truly necessary or to temper that risk with contingencies.] 

The criticism the prompt gave was fair, but Nick almost wanted to argue with it. People were meant to enter the Ordeals with hopes and desires to become more, and to not challenge oneself would be the same as going against Orion’s Will. Of course he had risked himself–that was what entering the Tower was all about in the first place.

However, there were several ways that Nick could have managed the risk better, even if they might have increased the chance that Tagron might have escaped or run amok against his people. 

By helping against the beast king for longer, he could have ensured his wives’ victory sooner and protected against the elites with his Frost Aura. This would have allowed him to have Sable protect him from his shadow or Jasmine ready to blast him at a moment’s notice if it looked like he would lose as he Tested himself against the enemy lord. 

He could have just saved the Case for War: Heroic Judgement in case Lord Tagron did try to run away or when Nick was close enough for victory that it would have achieved the same goal. And of course, hindsight was always twenty-twenty. 

Nick wasn’t certain that Brightclaw and the rest were going to show up, so the safer thing to do was definitely to wait before engaging Lord Tagron. However, he was also worried that if they did show up, that Lord Tagron would just run immediately, losing his chance to fight him if he wasn’t there to keep him from running. Losing that opportunity, Nick wasn’t sure what he would have had to do to challenge himself to improve his swordsmanship. Perhaps find and go fight that Devilsaur or something.   

He had reasons for doing what he did, but the Keeper, or Orion, determined that on a scale measuredt between being a hero and being a king, he had leaned a bit more toward the hero side. As he walked two paths in the future, he needed to find a perfect balance. Otherwise, his cultivation would suffer. 

Nick’s Trial Barrier finally receded, and he noticed that the area had changed. For one thing, his army had shrunk significantly. The mercenaries, dead bodies and surrendered soldiers and bandits were all gone, and instead, it was just the four coalition lords and their armies.

And of course, his wives and Jeffrey.  

[Trial Closure in 24 hours. You may seek Pacts with the denizens of the tower. Lords capable of Oaths who you have met their requirements may join your kingdom with or without a Soul Pact, just as Lord Brightclaw and Lord Quilbane already have. This area is now considered a Safe Zone–do not attack a denizen of the tower unless offered a proper Lordly duel.]

Nick’s eyes widened in realization. How did he not notice this before? After a moment of thought, he realized what it was. When the strange memories were implanted, they likely included some kind of mental block, a light compulsion, or aversion. And that pulse had finally unblocked that within him. 

Orion must have created a mental block due to the scenario. The prompt had even explicitly stated that Lord Brightclaw was a denizen, a citizen of the tower, and it had not clicked to Nick that the ratfolk man was actually real. He hadn’t realized that essentially, these people were just like Lothar and Rebecca were when he met them.

If Nick knew that, he could have formed a Soul Pact with nearly every important person present and made aspects of the challenge trivial, such as the hostage situation. This forced him to be careful about those he trusted with important tasks as well as how he dealt with certain issues. He understood why the Ordeal hadn’t wanted him to ‘cheat’ for this particular challenge, but it was still a shock that he had been influenced in some way. 

His wives all received similar prompts including evaluations of their performance. Orion was much more satisfied with their actions, and they received treasures for their ascensions. A few even received Minor Enlightenments to be supplied on Exit, which would help them catch up to Nick. 

The serum Nick received was actually to help him find enlightenment from his own memories and experiences, which he found interesting. It was considered a lesser treasure, but it was perfect for the Spark of Insight he had received and used, allowing him to gain more from the special thing he had already experienced. One had to truly experience something special for the serum to have value at all. 

His wives came over now, and Fang was the first to cheer. “You did it, Boss! You kicked ass!”

As was custom, some head pats were given out to his wolfen girls, their tails wagging and smiles washing just a bit of his tiredness out of him.

However, he gave them all another look. Several of them slumped in their postures, bruises, dirt, and blood covering them. The girls all looked rather exhausted. In truth, the beast king was actually stronger than Lord Tagron. 

It soaked up so much damage and was dangerous to boot. They had more of them, but it was really touch and go. A single error could have left them as paste on the ground.

Nick grinned at them all. “And you girls were awesome, I saw. Where’s Jeffrey?”

Kaya thumbed back toward the crater with the beast king and replied, “He’s absorbing the Boss Essence. He doesn’t have a personalized Concept or Ascension Chamber, so he’s ascending now.”

Nick frowned. “That’s surprising. It means he’ll be the first among us. We all wanted to heal and everything first. Did he really have a Concept though?”

Fang nodded. “He has one! I think it’s like yours, some kind of guardian or hero one!”

Rebecca said, “We’re lucky that we’re so privileged to have the chamber. On some level, monsterfolk are a bit different–their essence is wilder than other cultivators. For most, it’s risky to absorb so much essence without one to ascend, as it increases the likelihood of imperfections. Those without chambers of their own, this is the best possible place for them–within the Ordeal.”

Nick did notice that after the pulse ran out, the essence in the air became much more substantial. The time dilation had come at a cost: it was thinner, but for ascension, perhaps, it had increased.

Eirwen used Loot on Lord Tagron with a smile on her face. He had a spatial ring, and Nick was interested in this as it arrived in her hands. “Oh! He had some expensive stuff on him, and I got his uh…Pathstone, his core. Looks like you really got a special benefit for defeating him. Ah, but no gold. Crummy.”

The armor and sword he had were definitely top tier, though Nick had shredded them apart. He was sure that Lumos could make something a little better out of the materials, though he wasn’t sure how much he wanted them.

Lord Brightclaw and Lord Quilbane walked over, arriving near the family.     

The ratfolk lord smiled at him. “So you know now, don’t you, Lord Noblefrost? I greet you once again, this time with you as my lord. I thank you for standing up for me and my people and rescuing us all from living on this floor and my wife and child from that horrible danger. Even if it wasn’t exactly real, you did what no one did. What no one could.”

His wives all beamed at that, Eirwen and Rebecca especially enjoying his heroism. 

Nick nodded, smiling back at him. “You can call me Nick if you like, my friend. So you have lived in this tower for some time now… just how did this happen?”

Lord Brightclaw hesitated, thinking. “That situation with Lord Tagron kidnapping my wife and child was very close to what happened to me in my first life–just a different lord and a slightly different situation. When my allies sat idle and just handed me over to save their own hides, I swore to Orion that I would serve it instead of the tyrant, and it accepted. It uprooted me and every one of my people.”

Eirwen was eager to know more. “And put you here? What was it like?”

“My people and I were placed in a strange stasis, including my wife and child, and we were forced to live out the scenarios when lords walked the Path of Kings. We had to endlessly live out the scenarios within the Ordeal again and again until a lord met the requirements it set out for me, and that I agreed I would be willing to serve. When we died, we just revived again the next time. Some other lords came and went, each having their own requirements of sorts for a lord’s success. Most of the time, I hardly recognized that the scenarios weren’t truly real. But I had flashes, brief moments of remembrance, and I’m sure it’s only because I’m a lord that I noticed it at all. Now that I’ve joined your kingdom, I can recollect a lot more, but it’s like a strange dream rather than a memory.”

Lord Quilbane snorted. “It was the same for me. My people have no clue, as far as I can tell. I’m excited that my people can finally live and grow again. That we have a new lord to protect us and won’t back down is reassuring.”  

Nick was still shocked about this. When he accepted their oaths, he had worded it in a way that fit the scenario–that he would be their lord as long as he was able. He assumed when he left the floor, he could no longer be. Now, it was like the deed was already done. These people were his responsibility now.

He asked, “What were your requirements, can you say?”

Lord Quilbane replied, “I can, and so can the others–it is possible during this time to win them over in certain circumstances, from what I have seen. For me, I haven’t been here long, just three scenarios where I acted beyond the Marshall’s Grand Ball. I only required a lord to protect my people beyond a certain threshold. You crushed all those bandits and mercenaries and were just so capable at it.” 

Nick chuckled. “You can thank Sable and the mantisfolk for a lot of that. Though Kaya, Fang, and the Moon Gnolls had hunted a bunch of them down too.”

“Oh yes. Those girls can definitely hunt.” 

“I’m thankful for these gals. In the other scenarios, my kingdom was nearly left to burn as they foolishly attacked. I won’t say my real situation was that close to this, but it was still similar.” The quilboarfolk sighed in remembrance. “I was a part of a coalition that wrung their hands instead of standing up against a bunch of bullying kingdoms. Eventually, I was pushed into a corner by bandits and mercenaries too. Rather than let my people get killed by them or captured for slavery, I asked for Orion to intervene.”

This was interesting to Nick, that the Grand Ball he attended had such far-reaching consequences. He could have chosen different allies and made different plans. He could have even sucked up to Prince Tagron and gave up the Diregator Spawning Pools, making the scenario completely different, somehow. Some lords, denizens of the tower, would simply have to wait for a chance next time. He wondered, why use real people at all? The facsimiles were plenty convincing.

Brightclaw got a faraway look, and he had a wry smile on his muzzled face. “It took over twenty times I lived through that scenario after the Marshall’s Ball. To be free of the tower, I could only swear allegiance to a heroic king that saved my wife and child and didn’t give in, willing to face the insurmountable threat for me and my people. It was…a challenge. Lord Tagron was simply too capable and that much stronger than the participants. And he had so many strong soldiers that none were willing to stand up to him.” 

Nick just smiled. “So it was that jerk every time?”

Lord Quilbane snorted. “Yes. Enough resources and just barely enough capability to be a real challenge to deal with. I didn’t think anyone would actually be able to beat him in single combat. You’re something else, Lord Noblefrost.”

Thinking on it, it truly felt this series of floors was like the ultimate lordship tutorial. Facing Lord Tagron and his coalition meant that kings of all sorts of strengths and focuses would be put to the test. One had to truly excel with the limited resources to succeed. 

Despite Nick managing most challenges effectively, he had learned a lot. His wives managed a wide variety of challenges, growing just as he did in managing his fledgling kingdom. 

He would respect his subordinates all the more. Not only that, he gained some excellent ones. Brightclaw and Quilbane each had skilled subordinates, and while they didn’t exactly compare to people like Councilor Robins or Turon, let alone someone like Lothar or Renzou, they had their own strengths and weaknesses that put them at nearly Silverbrook’s subordinate levels. 

They talked for a bit, and it seemed that there were many ways for a lord to find victory in these scenarios. However, none were nearly as complete or as challenging as Nick’s, judging by the difficulty of that final battle. Success always looked different, most only barely keeping themselves and most of the coalition safe against Lord Tagron and escaping. None were really in a position to take him on at all by the end of the scenario, which was at least part of the reason why none could meet Brightclaw’s conditions.

Nick was shocked at how many scenarios Brightclaw had lived out. He felt awkward about him now because on some level, he treated them like NPCs in terms of thinking that he would not ever see them again after today. He still treated them well, as they had acted real enough that it was impossible to tell. If he was rude or dismissive of them, it would have hindered his performance in the scenario anyway, and that was totally not Nick’s style anyway. He tried to match or exceed the person’s respect given with his own, a lesson his father had long-since taught him. It didn’t cost him anything to be polite.

He asked, “What…are you able to come with? Don’t tell me you still each have your Ordeal? Is it the people I see here?”

Lord Quilbane snorted, and Lord Brightclaw shook his head. “Unfortunately…no Ordeal, and it’s the same for all of us. Just me and my people, and you don’t have to worry about housing. It should be a part of Trial Closure. All told, there are about six hundred of us ratfolk and others when you include the children and other noncombatants, but all my soldiers minus some town guard were all here, under a hundred combatants in total, and nearly nothing of value in my kingdom is left.”

He sighed. “It was part of my bargain with Orion, my Ordeal given up, my treasures given to the lord who was about to enslave me and my people. I wish I had more to give you. I’m sorry if we might be a bit of a burden. We don’t expect slots in your Ordeals.”

Nick grinned. “Nonsense. People like you are the most valuable to me, and that’s the truth. Six hundred though…that’s a lot.”

Lord Quilbane chuckled. “The ratfolk are definitely populous; my people aren’t as numerous. My soldiers were largely my climbers, and some have wives and kids. Less than three hundred souls in total, with the combatants you see here–a bit over a hundred.”

For whatever reason, the amount of people in the scenario didn’t quite reflect how many they had now; he guessed a tweaking due to the difficulty of the challenge and to reward Nick’s efforts for finding success within the scenario. By nurturing his coalition kingdoms, they had more troops to show up at the Proxy War with, and so on.

They bade goodbye to the two lords for now; they would meet them in Frosthaven at Trial Closure. It seemed there wasn’t really anything for them to prepare. Orion was going to just deliver them with a small amount of goods and possessions at that time. 

It was still a significant growth for Nick’s city to gain around two hundred combatants. And it appeared his kingdom’s growth was not done.

As Nick looked at his army, he realized that the odd facsimiles were gone, and so was a large percentage of all the people present. The drakans, moon gnolls, and random humans and beastfolk were all gone, and it was mostly the monsterfolk who remained. 

All told, there were around two hundred frogloks and numerous young and a hundred and fifty mantisfolk with their young. It was a quite substantial number, competing with his current number of monsterfolk in Frosthaven in total. 

And Nick knew that soon, if not already, the monsterfolk tribes he ordered would be arriving from the slaver. It had taken a long time for the ship to leave and come back, and they had to wait on getting the special stock besides.

Nick was a bit relieved that the angels had also disappeared. The angels were totally not worth the headache, and he really did not want a second cathedral in Frosthaven and constant nosy, meddlesome visitors ringing the doorbell to his impenetrable house.

On some level, he was interested in having moon gnolls because they were strong, but at the same time, he really did not want to have to deal with their weirdness either. 

Nick turned to his experts. “Any idea why the drakans and non-monsterfolk are not here to be recruited, Becca, Winny?”

Rebecca hummed. “We’d have to ask Mother if she has an idea, but if I had to guess it’s because while people like you or I can be denizens of the tower, it does not like cultivators inside to be unassociated with a kingdom. Monsterfolk are like a miniature society that lives in the wild, a small kingdom unto themselves.”

Eirwen added, “And…their minds are a bit simpler. They might be able to withstand the weirdness of the Ordeal a bit better. Come to think of it, weren’t the frogloks complaining about going back to some lake for a while? That may have been where Orion snatched them up from with its deal, rather than some kingdom in the area within the floor.”

Luna tilted her head. “That…sounds right. Our time as a wolfling our minds were different, but when it brought us to that floor we met in, along with our forest, I think it spoke to us. Well, mainly that…lame alpha.”

Nick offered the frogloks and mantisfolk Soul Pacts, and it seemed he had really kept them happy, because they quickly accepted–he hadn’t even needed to bring up that he had already earned the Diregator Spawning Pools. The mantisfolk may have had something else that clinched the deal, however.       

Jeffrey had a bunch of mantisfolk women surrounding him, watching him as he ascended. When they learned there were many more like him back at Frosthaven, they eagerly agreed. Their habits worried Nick, but odds were that problem would be solved by the Soul Pact and how they would eventually be changed by his will. Probably. 

Fang’s tail was wagging. “Yay! I love the frogloks! And we got gators now. Those guys are great!”

Sable chuckled. “The mantis girls are not bad–they’re completely vicious.”

Luna smiled at them. “Yes, I do believe they are all great additions to our kingdom. In all, we’ve really gained much within.”

Nick went over to speak with Lord Regios and Lord Bronzebeard, who were standing with their forces. They had dazed looks on their faces until Nick came near, which was odd. Jasmine came with. The rest chose to meet with the frogloks and mantisfolk more, now that they knew they were real.

“I take it that you two aren’t able to join my kingdom this time?”

The jackalfolk king responded first. “You almost met my requirements, Lord Noblefrost. If you had just been a bit more wrathful, more seeking of vengeance and on the attack, I could have joined you. But you hadn’t slain enough of Lord Tagron’s forces or imprisoned them in retribution.”

It was true that while Nick wasn’t exactly passive, he mostly found easy wins and counters to Lord Tagron’s incursions rather than going on a major offensive himself. He had trusted Sable and the mantisfolk for their clandestine operations. However, he hadn’t pushed into the enemy’s lands for larger assaults, as that would have been foolish in his mind. 

It could have given the enemy Case for Wars, and allowed them to counter some of their sanctions with sanctions of their own. He focused all his efforts to weaken the kingdoms he was facing and break them up with sanctions and just sheer superiority. It was a shame, though. If he had Lumos, he could have really crushed them easily.

Nick wasn’t so sure he and Lord Regios were a good fit, anyhow. The man did only seek slaves in retribution or when the Case for War was appropriate, but Nick didn’t truly see him as righteous in his actions. 

Soldiers were people who just followed orders. Was there any reason to make them pay for this? He knew that if they captured a non-Ordeal city or even took over an Ordeal, Lord Regios and his people would be all too happy and feel justified to have every man, woman, and child in chains. This was not something he would ever support, even if it was the same thing their enemies intended to do.

Bronzebeard suddenly added, “And you hadn’t quite made me enough money. A shame, a true shame, at that. You are a talented lord and well-rounded, and to tell you the truth, I was quite impressed–you even saved me from my son’s betrayal. Of all the lords I’ve seen, you may be the one that I’m willing to serve. But your expertise, or focus in commerce, was just a little lacking.”

Something tickled at Nick’s Soul Sense, at that, and he narrowed his eyes at Lord Bronzebeard. He realized that if he had allied with a battle junky of a lord, perhaps he could duel him for his fealty, hence the line in Orion’s prompt. But could he somehow win him over now? 

“Jasmine.”

“Yes, Master? Oh! One moment.”

Sensing his thoughts, she reached into her chest pouch as she removed several smaller pouches, and Nick did the same, piling them on the ground in front of them in front of Lord Bronzebeard. They were sacks of gold. 

It wasn’t like Nick had brought a ton into the Ordeal, there was no purpose. But Nick always carried with him a ‘rainy day fund’ and similar in case the Hero’s Path Ordeal suddenly portaled him somewhere ridiculous and needed money just to help himself get home. And what he carried was relatively significant–a king’s ransom. 

But he was much more shocked by how many small sacks of one-hundred gold Jasmine had on her. She must have had nearly five thousand gold on her.

He quirked his brow at her. “Why did you have so much money on you, Jasmine?”

Jasmine hesitated. “Hm? Oh, well, you know. Never know when money might be useful!” She coughed.  

That was weird. She wasn’t telling the truth–she had a reason for having so much gold on her person. They’d talk about it later.

Nick pointed at the man’s crowned helmet. “I’d like to buy that armor off of you. What do you think? Is it possible that I can afford it?” He said meaningfully.

Lord Bronzebeard got serious as he stroked his beard, and his eyes darted between the sacks of gold. A smile touched his lips as his hand dragged a large portion of the sacks to one side. “This ought to be about right. I think you’ll find that piece of armor is quite worthwhile, especially for a lord like yourself.”

Nick arched his brow–it was forty-two pouches. That would be one expensive helmet if he was reading this interaction wrong. “I’ll take it.” Nick reached out and shook the dwarf’s hand, and the man laughed.

“Lord Noblefrost– I’ve found the lord I’m willing to serve. I offer you my fealty and my kingdom. Will you accept my oath?”

“I accept. I’ll return your loyalty with duty and responsibility of my own.”

Nick would likely later get Soul Pacts from these lords, but since it wasn’t required, he was going to hold off. He was already pushing certain limits, and it’d be better if he held off until he reached the third Stratum first. He would get them, though. It was important for him to keep certain secrets, even if he trusted them.

They talked for a little, and it turned out that there were only two hundred dwarves in total, and the man had walked a lordly merchant path–which included establishing an honorable mercenary dwarven company. These men and women were strong and tough but ultimately expensive due to their need for sturdy, dwarven-made equipment.

And his son had unfortunately betrayed him in a similar situation–and that was when Lord Bronzebeard swore to Orion. The son was, thankfully, already dealt with or hadn’t come along when this happened.

Jasmine started picking up the bags of gold coins, and she moved to pick up one of the ones set aside. 

“What are you doing? Those are mine–a deal is a deal. Here.” Lord Bronzebeard took off his crowned helmet and handed it to Nick.

Nick just wryly smiled, chuckling and shaking his head as he took it. “Damn. And here I thought I was just being clever.”

“You were! I was truly amazed you picked up on that. Though, a piece of advice. Any time gold ever leaves your hands, you should get the most out of it as you possibly can. You could have gotten something much more valuable from me!”

“Oh really? Like what?” 

Lord Bronzebeard chuckled. “It’s too late now that I’ve sworn, but you could’ve asked for my belongings or other things. I suppose in truth you couldn’t have gotten that much at this point, but I was more preparing you for dealing with merchants more in the future. They won’t respect you if you don’t at least haggle a little and get everything you can.”  

Jasmine’s hands clenched and opened several times, and she had a bitter smile as she stood over him. Bronzebeard was a dwarf at barely over four feet tall and stout, but Jasmine in her spider form was more than double that. “You better serve master well, or I will make you regret your very existence. Understand?”

Bronzebeard chuckled heartily. “I don’t doubt it, after seeing you fight! Don’t worry, Lass. I will use this to grow our lord’s finances, I promise. We’ll consider this seed money. After all, Orion had taken everything we earned, and I barely had anything when I made a deal with it. I’m nearly broke other than my personal belongings, which I’d rather not sell! They have sentimental value, having been in the family for generations.”

Nick groaned internally at that, but ultimately, it was a price well paid. Overall, he had been missing a sort of master of commerce, even if Lumos was handling the job well enough. But she was more like an inventor and tradeskill master, someone who was able to make tons of money thanks to excelling at her trades. Teamed up with a merchant of skill, they would make even more money.

The party only had a few other loose ends to wrap up. Their meetings done, they gathered around to wait and changed clothes, choosing a spot a short-distance away from Jeffrey and near where Ishkara and Jasper were eating and consuming their cores. It seemed the soul servants would normally want to ascend now, but it was not a good time for Nick. He may be able to support them after they ascended, but it felt a little risky with how powerful Ishkara was.

Jeffrey had formed what looked like a pupa, a shell with a metallic gleam around him during this process–using countless essence pearls, and according to the girls, he even ate his shield. Nick wondered if he would somehow become more monster once again. Monsterfolk tended to change more than normal cultivators when they entered a new stratum.

Nick’s ice from his aura had melted, leaving it a normal meadow of flowers. Jasmine placed out a quilt for them to sit down on, and she brought out snacks and hot, high-essence tea from a thermal container to help them all recover, making a small picnic. But she was clearly in a bad mood by how she placed everything rapidly, rather than with her usual practiced, graceful movements.

Fang, Sable, and Luna quickly took their spots in Nick’s lap on the ground, and he chuckled at that. 

Eirwen drank some tea and asked, “What has you so upset, Jasmine?”

Jasmine looked like she wanted to cry, the girl pouting as she looked at the dwarven crown helmet placed beside her where she sat. “I worked really hard and saved all that money! I wanted to buy Master a present, and now, all we got was this lame bucket!”

Fang tilted her head as Nick scratched between her ears, her tail wagging in a blur. “Saved it? How?”

“My silk! I have been making it and selling it in Silverbrook for months now. It’s a hot item!”

Nick chuckled. “That was sweet of you, Jasmine, but I’m happy to have a merchant dwarf as part of the team–it’s not a bad gift you were able to give me. I wouldn’t have been able to afford that otherwise. What the heck were you going to get me, anyway?”

That brightened her expression a little. “I didn’t know yet. I was going to wait until I got my true form and could travel more and find you something really great. Now… I’m gonna have to save all over again!”

Luna said, “Oh! That’s right. We can probably start on your body as soon as we leave here, can’t we?”

Jasmine’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah! I know it’s going to be a few months still, but I’m still excited.” She shivered and placed her four palms together. “I cannot wait to become one with Master.”

Sable chuckled sultrily. “Mmm, yes, I too would like to become one with master. We do need to celebrate, after all. It’s been work, work, work these last few months, and a girl could really enjoy unwinding. Or being unwound?”

Shara rolled her eyes. “You act like you’re starving for affection. Nick made sure he gave you plenty of attention.”

Nick snorted. “If I’m going to do paperwork all day, you better believe I need some fun at night. Not like we had that much else to work on.”

It was true. Nick could feel that he barely got anything out of working on his Ideal while inside, halting all progress other than his practice with weapons and magic with the girls. It was like he had just worked some kind of temp job and cram school for several months, even if it was important. 

Rebecca cleared her throat and asked Jasmine, “What about your Nexus Core? Are you going to try to ascend with this body?”

Jasmine played with her necklace, the orb of light that was her Nexus Core. “Hmm…I’m not sure yet. I think it’s better for me to just separate this body from this thing now. Then I can eat it in my new body.”

Kaya was eating some jerky and drinking some tea. The girl was starving after her difficult battle. “Eat it?”

“Yeah. If I ascend, it will become a part of my spirit a bit more than I’d like, I think. Forming the Pathstone will influence my soul more than I’d like, even if I resist it.”  

Shara frowned. “Pathstone? You mean you don’t form a golden core like cultivators do here on Orion?”

Rebecca replied, “It’s not fundamentally very different. When we create our Pathstone, it is like establishing a pillar of self. Our special cores and our Concepts, as well as our three dantians–the Body, Mind, and Soul Core, all transform to create what is essentially a cornerstone. This will ultimately become the foundation, or like a seed, for our inner world’s creation–our Nascent Soul nurtured within. In all, it is still a spherical core physically, but metaphysically…it is different.”

Shara was thoughtful as she hummed. “Hmm… It is a little different, but it sounds similar enough. Where I’m from, the golden core is all three dantians merged into one, just the same, and a dense spiritual energy is created, mixed with Qi. It is usually important for someone to have found their path by this time, because it’s easy to lose their sense of self when establishing this core. The entire golden core realm is all about establishing and strengthening your personal identity as you become one with the dao. Some special techniques involve creating special avatars that represent the self to reinforce this, forming a small spiritual temple or inner world, or other things depending on what you practice.”

Fang frowned, and she shoved her head into Nick’s hand–begging for more headpats. This was way too much talking. “Huh, but don’t we already kinda have them? The Soulscape thingies? That’s like a tiny world!”

Nick chuckled. “That’s right. Our Soulscapes are meant to help with setting the foundations for this. For me, it’s a little different too, though.”

Rebecca nodded. “That’s right, you’ll be creating a throne.”

Each of the girls took spots on Nick’s lap, or Nick on their lap, in the case of Shara and Jasmine. Jasmine had brought out the portable cottage, and everyone got themselves clean, and the brush was brought out. Because once they exited, it would be a bit of a celebration.

Jeffrey’s pupa eventually cracked, the beetle man eventually shattering and emerging from within. He stood proudly, perhaps a little bigger than he was before.

At first, it hadn’t looked like he had changed a lot, having a mostly human face with gem-like eyes and a chitin or carapace torso beneath him, like that of a beetle. 

However, one arm was clearly larger, much bulkier than the other. With a metallic schnick sound, scales unfurled, revealing a fairly large shield made from his own chitin, and his other arm unfurled and brought out some kind of blade–almost like a mantis. He still had a normal five-fingered hand, and it was like the guide for it to attach to the strange grip was embedded within–like a strange action figure.

His wing guards also opened up, like shields on his back brought to face and twist in nearly any direction, which was odd. It was like he had become a living shield, able to protect several people at once. 

As he was inspecting himself, the mantisfolk swooned, shifting their colors and blinking their eyes at him.

Jeffrey froze. “Er, what is with them? They’re still here?” He asked, worriedly.

Eirwen giggled, her ears wiggling. “They’re even more interested in you now, Jeffrey. Turns out they’ll be coming with us to Frosthaven, along with the frogloks. Same with the ratfolk, dwarves, and quilboarfolk!”

He seemed to sweat a bit at that for a moment, but eventually, he cleared his throat. “That’s good news. The Noblefrost Kingdom grows! Truly, I have joined the most powerful hive of all. I shall go on ahead and herald your arrival!” His wings buzzed as he took off and flew through the portal archway, not really waiting for everyone else to respond.

The mantisfolk girls clicked and whined about that, but they began talking amongst themselves, it seemed. 

Kaya laughed. “His legs quivered a bit there, but he put on a strong front. I think he might have been blushing too.”

Nick got up and dusted himself off. “Guess we might as well go. Time to see our real friends.”

Fang said, “Oh yeah! I wonder if Thelisse finished her lodge!”

Saying goodbye to the lords and monsterfolk, they assured them they’d see them at Trial Closure and left through the portal.