''First captain, with the 7 new individuals awakened today, the total count of Shadows in our ranks has reached 168." During the time Dan was waiting for the head count to be finished, a young man from the front row approached him, bowed slightly, and reported.
"Only 7 awakened? Our progress is significantly slower without Master's guidance," Karan commented.
When Raydon personally guided them through their training, he was able to understand at a glance which technique might even be suitable for whom. As a result, he was able to teach the most appropriate technique to the most suitable person in an extremely time-efficient manner and quickly reveal that person's potential.
But unfortunately, the newcomers needed more time to train because the people who were training them now did not have as strong of a grasp on the techniques and did not have the same level of insight as Raydon.
However, a hasty awakening was not necessarily a good thing in every situation. For instance, it took longer for Dan and the others to awaken than it did for this new group, which was even more difficult to maximize due to the fact that their potential was greater than theirs. Aside from that, the first time they met Raydon, he only taught them the shadow assassin technique, and not everyone was cut out for this particular technique.
Because of this, Dan did not allow this to bring a damper to his mood because he believed that there may be higher potential among those who had not yet awakened.
Meanwhile, Belicia couldn't help but question the truth of what she had heard. '7 people awakened in just 1 day?'
Even in the Demugen family, with their specially designed item formations, it would take months to achieve the numbers she was hearing now.
Naturally, if a person lacked potential or couldn't grasp the taught techniques, they couldn't become an item holder. Because of this, Belicia had a hard time believing that this group was capable of producing at least one item holder every single day.
"What do you think? Is this number sufficient to impress them?" Dan turned his gaze to Belicia, seeking her opinion.
"I believe it's more than enough," Belicia quickly composed herself and replied.
"Wait a minute. Are you suggesting we attend the celebration with an army?" Karan hesitated, sensing a potential problem.
''Of course. It is obvious that they are basing their estimation of the value of our Master on the power that they believe is behind him. So, we can also assist him by showcasing the potential of that power. '' Dan said with a chuckle.
As a result of their consensus that Raydon had struck a bargain with his family, Dan was unable to decline the invitation they had extended to them. Instead, he made the decision to embark on a course of action that would raise Raydon's standing in the eyes of the Demugen family even further.
Turning to Belicia, Dan asked, "This shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Not at all. In fact, it's customary for families to showcase their power in such situations. Typically, they choose item holders from the new generation, but since everyone in this group has recently awakened and can be considered part of the latest generation, it aligns perfectly with social rules," Belicia said as she examined each of the young faces.
"It's like farmers showing off their crops from the last season," Sami mused, stroking his chin.
"Well, kind of," Belicia replied awkwardly. Although the example wasn't entirely accurate, the underlying reasoning was not far off.
"Where is Pana? Still not back?" Dan turned to the short-haired girl who had been with them and asked.
"M-me?" The short-haired girl had been waiting there silently all this time, having witnessed all the conversations between Dan and the others. She was still trying to process the shock of everything that she had just heard when she was confronted with the unexpected question that was directed at her.
''Not you. Pana. '' Dan did not find anything strange about her behavior and he inquired once more.
The others, including Dan, had no problem with her being there and hearing everything. After all, everyone was on the same path, united by the goal of serving Raydon. Each member of the shadow group had undergone Fatty Sami's brainwashing process, and their commitment to Raydon was a prerequisite for joining.
Because of this, keeping information about Raydon hidden from the group would serve no useful purpose. If anything, having more information about Raydon, including his mysterious and extraordinary past, even the minute details of his life, would only serve to strengthen their resolve.
"M-miss Pana went to the item market to purchase training materials and hasn't returned yet," the short-haired girl quickly replied, regaining her composure.
"Hmm, I hope she hasn't spent all the gold coins yet," Dan thought out loud, turning to Karan with concern.
Now that everyone was an item holder, they needed more durable weapons for training, so they had planned to use the limited gold coins they earned from matches to buy gray-grade items. But because of the unexpected turn of events, Dan decided to change his plans and use the gold coins for something else instead.
"Reach out to Pana and tell her to wait for us before she buys anything," Dan instructed Karan.
Karan nodded and attempted to contact Pana using an ordinary phone he retrieved from his dimensional storage. However, his face soon dropped as he informed Dan, "Unreachable. I think the signal is not working in the item market."
Realizing that Pana kept her phone in her pocket to remain reachable, Karan deduced that the unique nature of the item market was likely causing the communication issue.
"Ah, we should have bought communication items first," Dan sighed, massaging his temples in frustration.
The idea that item holders would communicate with one another using regular phones was laughable, but at the moment, they lacked the financial means to purchase expensive communication items. They had made it a priority to purchase the equipment necessary for the training instead. However, at this point in time, he was beginning to regret having made this choice.
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