Mirai quickly brought them to a certain building in the estate and as she led them inside, they were surprised by the designs they found. The buildings were made from bricks and woods in such a seamlessly blended way that one couldn’t tell which part was wood and which was brick.
There were various frames lined up on the inner walls of the building they’d been led into and each frame held the portrait of a certain figure.
Great Elder White Fang spotted Lord Terrace staring at one of the portraits and smiled. “That’s the third Clan Leader of the clan. He’s known as the coldest Clan Leader to have ever ruled the clan and is also regarded as the one with the most achievements.” Elder White Fang chuckled mischievously as he added. “He’s kind of like you.”
Lord Terrace didn’t take the old man’s words to heart and simply nodded, continuing his journey with the others.
They soon arrived at the front of a wooden sliding door that went both ways.
“Clan Leader, Mirai is here with important guests here to see Clan…”
Mirai didn’t get to finish her statement before the door slid open with a terrifying speed and a figure shot out.
Swooosh!
The figure appeared in front of Elder White Fang and with open arms, Elder White Fang was embraced by the figure.
“Mother!” Mirai yelled lightly, surprised by her mother’s actions. “That’s Clan Leader to you.” The lady pointed at Mirai as she peeled herself from Elder White Fang’s embrace.
Mirai frowned and turned away from her mother with pouted cheeks and folded arms. Hey, hey, Mirai don’t be like that. She just missed this older of hers too much.”
Mirai didn’t listen regardless and her mother simply ignored her. “I never expected you’d be one of those who’d visit.” She said, her eyes scanning his entire being. She was the exact copy of Mirai, albeit more mature and with shorter hair.
“Well, I thought I’d surprise you. And so I did.” Elder White Fang shrugged and winked at his sister.
Elder White Fang turned toward the three figures standing behind him. He gestured to the first of three. “That’s Lord Acheon, one of the greatest to have ever been produced by the Eastern Continent.”
Next, he gestured to the female in the trio, his voice filled with pride and excitement as he spoke. “That is Lord Leah of the Bethral Family, a force many avoid messing with.” He smiled before adding. “I’m afraid one of you men learned that the hard way.”
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Finally, Elder White Fang turned toward Lord Ashbourne, introducing him to his sister. “Currently the best candidate to fill in my position after my demise, Lord Terrace.”
“You don’t say. He’s the ‘Bloody Sword’?” The Taka Clan Leader beamed a smile at Ashbourne who raised a brow.
‘How the hell does she know that name?’ Lord Ashbourne asked himself mentally. However, he chose not to ask how she knew the name.
“Three of you, meet my youngest sister, Hina, Clan Leader of the Taka Clan.” As he spoke, identifying her as the leader of the clan, Elder White Fang bowed lightly and so did the others behind him.
“Ughh… Again with the unnecessary formalities. Just addressed me as you’ve always done.” Clan Leader Hina said with a subtle frown. Then she added, “We both know you’d be the head if it wasn’t due to the fact that you ran away.”
Elder White Fang sighed and covered her mouth. “That’s enough information. Shall we get to the reason why we came all the way here?”
“Ah, sure.” Clan Leader Hina nodded, understanding that her brother didn’t want to discuss his past. “Follow me. We’ll be heading to the abode of the Twelve Great Elders immediately to discuss the matters that have brought you all here.”
~~~~~
Back at the forest of Twin Disasters, Damien was roaring like a mad man. “Yes! Finally!”
As he read the panel in front of his eyes one more time. Damien couldn’t help but be excited at the prospect this notification provided.
«Congratulations! You have unlocked the Subskill (Essence Saving Mode) after meeting the hidden requirement: Own three or more Grade Five mana beasts!»
«Essence Saving Mode: Allows the user to use the same skills for half their original essence cost»
Reading the description was even more exciting for Damien. It was short and direct but it also portrayed its meaning directly. Whatever skill in his arsenal that he chose to use would only cost half the initial Essence units it was supposed to cost.
Eager to put it to the test, Damien requested for a summon. “Summon Luton.”
«Summoning Luton, the Stellar Slime…»
«-50 unit of Magic Essence!»
Exactly what Damien had been expecting. “Yes!” Damien with all of his excitement betrayed in his voice.
As the blue portal opened atop Damien’s head and the slime jumped out, Damien felt partially fulfilled.
«Luton summoned!»
As Luton landed on Damien’s head, he noticed two changes in the slime.
The first was its weight. Although it remained the same in size, Luton had become heavier. As though it had swallowed something that refused to digest.
The second was its aura. It was heavier as well. The pressure it exuded was a dozen times thicker and as it rested on top of Damien’s head, all of the pressure came down on Damien’s being.
He nodded with a satisfied expression. “You’ve improved, I see. Learned to control your aura even better. With time, you’ll adjust to your new rank as a Grade Five summon.”
Yes, Luton had finally climbed up another rank and was now sitting in the same rank as the other two. When Luton had first advanced a few days back, the untamed pressure from the slime had been so heavy that t had knocked Damien unconscious.
As if that wasn’t enough, when he woke up, the requirement he saw was needed to advance the slime once again was almost double what Fenrir and Cerbe had needed altogether which made him panic a little.
Speaking of Fenrir and Cerbe, they’d also reached the peak of Grade Five and both only needed two more essence cores each to advance.
“Summon Fenrir and Cerbe.” Damien ordered the summoning of both beast simultaneously.