...…
After making arrangements for the others, Shin, along with Leonard, headed to where Arthur was. This was the final part of the quest, so they had to end it as soon as possible to wrap everything up.
While running, Shin cast his gaze toward the sky where Dracula was currently standing. The violent current of mana surrounding him was already visible to the eyes from such a distance. He could tell from a single glance that this Vampire Primogenitor was currently using everything he got for it.
Shin could also sense the change in the surrounding air and the mana mixed in it. It was as if something was currently purifying it constantly. The corrupted mana was slowly being erased while steadily being replaced by pure and uncontaminated mana.
"The curse was slowly being lifted," muttered Shin as he understood what was happening.
The Frozen Kingdom was cursed by the Wicked One, making its mana become contaminated. It was also making it hard for most beings to live there. With such an environment, getting stronger was close to being impossible.
The Wicked One, no matter how strong she was, still feared the people of the Frozen Kingdom and their possible revenge. Especially with Dracula being at the peak of the lower plane.
Even if it was impossible for him to ascend to the higher plane due to his contract with the Great Demon King, he was still not restricted to nurturing someone that would have the ability to do so.
To avoid any potential threats in the future, the Wicked One decided to play it safe by casting that curse. She made the kingdom incapable of nurturing people that could ascend to the higher plane.
Having that in mind, Shin fully understood the significance of the Frozen Kingdom to the current progress of the game. And because of this, he had to put more importance on it in the future.
…
Not long after, Shin and Leonard saw Arthur in the distance talking with the white dragon. They knew at that time that Arthur would gain another Elemental Dragon as his Dragon Partner.
Arthur and Eira naturally noticed the two when they were heading toward them. They turned their heads toward the pair and waited for them to arrive.
"How was it?" asked Shin right after arriving.
Since this was a quest scenario and Eira was a part of it, Shin knew that she would be lending them a hand at clearing this quest.
For every Elemental Spirit Companion, Shin learned that each of them had certain backgrounds and special situations. At the first encounter, there was a simple quest or test that needed to be cleared before an individual could form a contract. And this encounter would be the clue for the upcoming quest that the Elemental Spirit would give in the future.
Shin did not know what exactly the clue did Arthur get, but if it was still related to the Empire Quest that they were currently clearing, then the opponent that this dragon fanatic would get was related to the higher plane and Divine Beings – that so-called Wicked One, in particular.
Thinking about that, Shin became more and more curious about his own Elemental Companions.
Arthur shrugged his shoulders when he heard Shin's question. "Nothing special. We all have to beat the final boss and everything will finally be over."
"Do you think it is that simple?" said Leonard sneeringly as he chimed in.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
At this moment, Lycan and Duke Bellion finally arrived. The wolf quickly walked over to Shin and spoke. "We have already done the preparations. We can somehow suppress his strength with the protective formation of the city."
Then Duke Bellion quickly cut in. "But its effects will be fairly limited. The formation was not been activated for a very long time, so there may be some complications when we are activating it."
Shin slightly nodded. "That is more than enough. It is better than facing him at his full strength."
At this moment, the three great beings suddenly turned to Shin, Arthur, and Leonard with meaningful eyes.
Then Lycan suddenly walked toward Leonard. "Young man, I trust that you still remember the favor that I've asked."
Shin was slightly taken aback when he saw that and somewhat confused. Then an idea suddenly flashed through his mind before looking at Leonard with complicated feelings. 'Don't tell, me this guy is also receiving another Elemental Spirit Companion.'
And sure enough, his thoughts were clearly on point.
"I've been trapped in here for a very long time and already approaching the end of my life. The curse of this place is the only one that keeps me in a healthy shape since it is preventing us from dying to continue to sorrow and pain of losing our comrades," said Lycan meaningfully.
He paused for a moment before continuing. "But once the curse is successfully lifted, my vitality will immediately burn out as it will match the age that I am supposed to have."
"Even if I used to have the power of the Fountain of Life, it will no longer be able to help me since it is already been exhausted by fighting the curse cast upon me for such a very long time."
"I may have enough strength to hold out for a couple of years, but that is the longest that I can do. And I will not be satisfied with it since I still have important things that I have to do," he added as he looked at Leonard full of determination.
"There is only one way for me to extend my life right now – and that is to become a Spiritual Beast and form a contract with a Transcendent Being." freew ebnov el
"Little Cub of the Primordial Beasts, are you willing to be my master? I will lend you my strength and aid you in every battle."
Right after he said those words, a system notification suddenly popped out in front of Leonard's eyes.
He was not that surprised about it since he was already expecting it somehow. Lycan also talked to him inside his mind earlier, so he was already prepared for it since earlier.
Naturally, he would not refuse to have such a powerful Spiritual Beast. And having an additional Elemental Beast Companion was always welcome.
Leonard nodded his head without any hint of hesitation. "You don't have to be polite with your words. I should be thanking you instead for lending me your strength."
Pfft!
There was a subdued sound coming from the side. Both Shin and Arthur suppressed the urge to laugh for cringing at the words that Leonard had said. If they were not in an important part of the quest, then they would be laughing out loud and making fun of him already.
Leonard ignored his two brothers and accepted Lycan as his new Spiritual Beast. And with that, a contract was formed between the two.
Lycan Steel nodded his head and quickly added. "I just have two things that I hope you do for me."
"First, I hope you can help me tell our family about what happened here. You can head to the Steel Family and present this medal to them once you arrive at the Divine Empire," Lycan handed Leonard a silver medal with a wolf emblem engraved at its center.
Then he paused for a moment before continuing. "The second request can wait until you are strong enough to handle it."
'It must be the special quest as an Elemental Spirit Companion,' thought Shin as he watched from the side.
At the same time, Duke Bellion suddenly walked toward Shin and handed a pair of tokens to him while saying. "These tokens were proof of our alliance with you."
"As long as you have this token, everyone in our Kingdom will always treat you as one of us," he added as he pointed at the token that was similar to the one that Shin and the others had gotten during the quest. The only difference was this token had more distinct engravings that symbolized the kingdom.
Duke Bellion paused for a moment and pointed to the other token. "As for this one, our lord tells me to hand it over to you. He said that you will be needing it when facing him later after losing his sanity."
"Once you crushed it, you will receive the blessings of our ancestors and gain a power comparable to mine. Even if it is only temporary, it will be more than enough to help you during the battle."
He then paused for a moment before continuing. "I will be assisting you during the battle, but I hope that you will understand that I will not be able to end the life of our lord with my own hands."
"Even if it is his final order, I will choose to disobey him rather than stab him with the sword that swears to fight for him. Thus, I will be entrusting you to end our lord's sufferings in our stead."
Right after he said those words, a system notification suddenly appeared in front of the eyes of the three.
*Ding!*
System: Conditional Quest Difficulty Adjustment has been triggered!
System: As a special Quest Scenario, you have the choice to adjust the difficulty of the quest. Will you like to proceed with clearing the quest with your strengths or will you choose to ask for the assistance of the three extreme beings?
System: Please consider your choice properly as it will affect your final score for the quest.
Shin, Arthur, and Leonard were slightly taken aback by the sudden notification before exchanging glances with each other.
They were not sure what the system meant about 'their' strength, but they were confident that it was not talking about their current powers. This could only mean that they would still receive certain assistance from the system during the final boss battle. After all, it would be impossible for their current abilities to clear the quest by normal means.
Then they turned to Eira, to Lycan, then to Duke Bellion before finally resting their gaze on the token in Shin's hands. It was at that time that they came to a realization. In this quest scenario, they would still be the sole actors for the final act that they needed to finish.
Without any hesitation, the three came to a tacit agreement and hit the highest difficulty, completely unafraid.
At the same time, it had been a while since the three of them fought side by side. This would be a great experience, especially when they could do it in the state of Reality Manifestation.
This made them curious about how their teamwork would be after undergoing special training in their respective tutelage.
...…
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