Chapter 296 Stabilization and a Call
Due to their simultaneous evolution, the feedback was a bit bigger than before. However, it wasn't enough to bring me into an Energy Overload state, fortunately. After everyone finished their evolution, I stared at them one by one, generalizing their levels.
Igni was still the highest. She was now at the 8th stage, but probably from the boost of the Flames of Evolution, her upper limit even exceeded what a lower 9th stage could reach.
Her energy was not stabilizing at all, however, making me think that she wouldn't make it in time for the 1-week time limit.
The next ones were Ember, Fang, Minerva, and Hekate. All four of them were now at the 6th stage. Ember and Fang were similar to Igni, possessing upper limits that were higher than a lower 7th-stage's limit.
Minerva and Hekate weren't affected by the Flames of Evolution yet, so their limits seem to be the normal ones.
Next would be Judy and Yorm, who changed the greatest within the group and now possessed humanlike features—their upper bodies. The two were now bona fide 5th-stage beasts, with limits that were similar to the lowest-level 6th-stage.
Fina was next, reaching the fourth stage and earning her title, the Baroness of Love and Temptation. Followed by Fatima, in the last place, who just evolved to the second stage.
Seeing everyone paying half their attention to me with the other half stabilizing their energy, I cleared my throat and began speaking.
"Ahem! For now, I want everyone to stabilize their energies as quickly as possible. Within one week, or sooner, those who could perfectly stabilize their energy can then challenge another evolution immediately!"
Although, from Fatima's words, I know that I only need three 7th-stage monsters, based on the fact that we'd need to face a beyond-god-level monster to escape, boosting everyone's power would be for the best.
'The more power we have, the more chances we have in succeeding.'
*Clap!*
"Alright! Starting now, I'll be staying in this spot for a week. Anyone who wants help with stabilizing their energy or those who wish to have more essence crystals, just ask me!"
Right now, we are short on time. Within one week, we need to raise our levels as much as possible!
After that, the girls did as I told them and started stabilizing their energy. The first one to completely stabilize her energy was, as expected, Ember. She even asked me to give her an essence crystal in advance, so she already started absorbing and refining it slowly.
The next one to stabilize was Fatima, who was at the current lowest level and was also the most experienced in energy control. She was only next to Ember, but in terms of total time spent to stabilize, she was several times faster. Similar to Ember, she too requested an essence crystal to absorb, so I passed her a 6th-stage essence crystal to use.
'The two of them really excel in energy control. To think they can stabilize in under six hours!'
They were really worthy of praise.
Before the next one among the girls could stabilize their energy, Fatima had already absorbed the entire 6th-stage essence crystal. She quickly underwent evolution, reaching the 3rd stage without any problems. Her title changed a little, becoming the God-like Android Sharpshooter. She gained a modifier with a "God" on it! Well, she was a god-tamer originally, so maybe it's natural?
After her evolution, Fatima tried to stabilize her energy further, but as expected, it wouldn't follow her control as easily as before. Evolving twice successively made it hard to stabilize her foundation, meaning she is stuck at the 3rd stage until her energy calms down.
A day later, Minerva and Hekate managed to stabilize their energy. However, they refrained from quickly evolving and started familiarizing their bodies with their new power. Fang, seeing that the two newcomers were able to overtake her, tried to rush her stabilization, but was met with difficulty.
She did artificially boost her energy limit, after all, so she was now suffering from the difficulty of controlling energy that was beyond her reach. It was the third day when she finally managed to stabilize her energy, along with Fina and the others.
At that point, all of them but Igni asked for an essence crystal, including Minerva and Hekate, who were done familiarizing themselves with their newfound powers. Ember, on the other hand, was already on her fourth 9th-stage essence crystal, slowly reaching the maximum capacity for her level.
Everyone was eager to overtake each other, a healthy competition in its own right.
"...!"
At around midnight on the fourth day, Ember's body released a bright light. She was evolving! It didn't last long, however, and the flash faded as soon as it appeared. However, when I checked Ember's race title, she was now a Marquess of Infinite Changes, proving that she had successfully evolved.
As usual, I received the feedback from her evolution a few seconds later, but there wasn't much excess energy or new skills or information passed to me. Still, with her evolution succeeding, I finally managed to reach the energy level for a 7th-stage tamer too.
It was a happy occurrence, but I guess rushing levels really had their own demerits too. I can't gain much from excess energy!
During the fifth day, Yorm and Judy managed to evolve to the 6th stage. The two of them didn't change much in appearance, but their beauty definitely increased by several levels. Right now, if I ignore their lower halves, their faces are definitely on par with Ember and the others!
Their appearances were almost tailor-made to fit my preferences, so I guess the rumor that the tamed monsters evolved according to their tamer's wishes was true. The only thing I found a little disheartening was that the two of them were closer to Fina than me. Rather, it even feels like they are trying to protect Fina from my clutches.
Also, although they now have vocal cords and are able to speak, the only thing that they would say to me would be "Don't come near!" or "You're too close!"
Fina scolded the two for their behavior, but they didn't show any signs of stopping. Well, I guess only time can fix that.
Fang, Minerva, and Hekate were having a hard time reaching their maximum capacity. It wasn't that their control was lacking, but more like fatigue was piling up. We were basically training for almost a week without much rest, after all.
In the end, the three of them completed their evolution at dawn on the sixth day. I was worried since three of them were evolving to the 7th stage simultaneously, so there was a possibility of me earning an Energy Overload. However, more than my fears, I was excited to see them getting more powerful!
Similar to Ember, the three of them didn't change much appearance-wise, but their powers jumped several levels higher. One by one, I checked their titles, and they really did successfully reach the Marquess rank.
While I was about to rejoice and congratulate them, a bright flash of light covered my body. It was the feedback from their evolutions that gave me energy, skills, and information from each of them.
"Ugh!"
But as expected, three of them evolving to the 7th stage at the same time was a little too much. I felt like my brain would split, letting me feel pain enough to make my vision blurry.
Fortunately, it didn't last long, and even the energy feedback wasn't enough to bring me into an Energy Overload state... It did bring me to the 8th-stage energy level, though.
Before I could check my body for changes, the system's voice echoed inside my head, announcing new functions that were unlocked. Long story short, the functions were as follows:
[Recall]
It allows the user to call a specific tamed monster, or even contracted servants, to their side, regardless of distance or constraints. The drawback is the high energy cost, about the same quantity as the entire energy of the one being called.
[Status Augmentation]
Something like a trump card which can power up a tamed monster to about a level above its power; however, the backlash after use is pretty hard and could even lead to death when overused.
[System's Guardian Halo]
It's a halo the same as the System's Heavenly Halo, but this one works on the tamed monsters instead of the tamer. The skill has individual cooldowns for each tamed monster for 24 hours. But the drawback is that it uses the tamer's energy, so caution is still needed.
After I cleared the requirements that Namia set, which were reaching the next stage of functions, we were ready to go!
"..."
But looking at the girls, who were weary both mentally and physically, I decided to use the last day as a rest day, letting them sleep and eat to their heart's content.
"Master!"
Just as we were resting, Ember rushed to my side with a rectangular object in her hand, vibrating wildly. It was the phone she created, whose other pair was left in the kingdom.
I quickly took the phone and picked up the call. As soon as I did, a faint sound of heavy breathing could be heard from the other side. This tone of voice—is it King Leonard himself?
"(Will...)"
His voice echoed weakly, showing that he was currently either injured or in pain.
"(Return as fast as you can... Noir attacked... The Kingdom is in danger...)"
I held my breath, hearing his words. I guess now we have more reason to return faster!
Using the short time that the phone's battery lasted, I extracted as much information from him. When the call ended, I could only heave a deep sigh. This... Is much more severe than I thought.
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