[The average stats of the Supported Individuals has increased]
When we arrived at the Nysia Tower, I received that notification. Noticing the over 40 Strength and Endurance and at least 2 Intelligence stats were suddenly added to my bonuses received from the Supported Individuals, my previous guess of the Heroes about to reach Transcendence days ago was proven.
After this perhaps only two or three of the 14 registered Heroes hadn't reached Transcendence yet. And I expect that it will surely happen soon enough.
By then, their average stats will sit at more than 150 Strength and Endurance as well as around 7 Intelligence or more. Considering I'm now getting 70% of their base stats, just the bonus from them will allow me to reach the threshold for Transcendence. Furthermore, I still have slots I can fill in…
I still haven't seen the limits of the System but if it continued to hand out stats and give back some in return… I'm like a lighthouse for everyone connected to me…
Even Yuko's system isn't this overpowered…
We'll see when I successfully completed the Mortal Pathway if something will change. If no change happened then this System that was granted to me broke all the fairness of the different Pathways.
If I can suspect something or someone about it then it's either the World's Will of Earth or the me in my previous life… I wonder just how high he reached in his Pathway.
After handing the compressed sphere containing the Black Mist to Leianne and she also handed it to one of the League's Core Pilots to send to the researchers for repair, she led us to the room where the Alliance and the League regularly held their meetings. Inside the room, Matthew and Dannae were already seated.
Upon seeing me, Matthew nodded and smiled. He's still the same guy who seldom talks.
Contrary to him when Dannae saw me, the girl stood up and undid her disguise to welcome me in her real form.
Although her skin was still greenish, it started to take on a lighter hue and her human features became even more apparent. I don't know if it is because her mother's genes became more prevalent or if it's the Source Energy of this world that led to the superiority of her human blood. Nonetheless, her feelers were still there.
At the moment, her appearance more or less resembled that lizard princess in a certain webtoon which involves climbing up a tower, except Dannae's attitude was softer and more welcoming than her.
I remembered the first time I encountered her where I mistook her for a Hermit but in truth, she's just a runaway girl trying to protect her home.
"It looks like letting you train in that place using a Metagen paid off. You're already a Diamond-rank. Except for me, no one can progress that fast."
Even the Heroes needed three years to reach the 3rd Realm. Nonetheless, her speed this time was most likely also influenced by the thickening of the Source Energy of the world.
"Hehe. Praise me more Daisuke." Dannae grinned and grabbed my hand to put it on top of her head, asking me to pet her.
Naturally, I gave what she wanted which made the girl too happy that she just jumped in to embrace me.
"You're not like this when I first saw you. You were afraid of me, thinking that I would take advantage of you."
"You did take advantage of me. You had me stay up all night in your room."
This girl, the way she worded it… I only had you amplify your gun for the whole night. Well, technically, it's really inside my room, the ethnic tribe elder even misunderstood it when he saw her full of sweat that morning…
"You know that if that was taken out of context, the others will misunderstand me, right?"
"But they already know about it. Moreover, I don't mind staying all night in your room again. This time, in your bed as well.
Hearing that from her, I pinched her cheeks which made the girl cover them with her hands.
"Naughty girl, did Nysia teach you how to seduce me?"
"… H-how did you know?"
As I thought, that Nysia… She herself was bad at it, now she had the gall to teach Dannae how to do it…
Thinking about how she reacted earlier, I could only shake my head at how she's turning like a child, wanting to be spoiled by me.
"That's my wife. I know what's going on in her mind. Anyway, I remembered my promise and you already have your answer, am I correct?"
With my question, the energetic Dannae turned quiet. Her head then lowered as she gave a small nod as an answer.
She's shy about it, huh?
Leaving it at that, I patted Dannae's head once more, bringing back her previous brilliance. Afterward, she went to the other girls with me, greeting them all one by one.
Avelin and Noelle, in particular, hit it off with her. Avelin being the embodiment of innocence and Noelle, a furball of shyness, with Dannae's addition, they somehow looked like a trio of pure-hearted girls.
It's wonderful seeing them getting along like that.
After I became free, the next girl stepped forward or rather, turned around to face me. The ambitious girl who's great at scheming.
Apparently, my plan was also thought up by her. If she didn't hear it from Erin, she would also contact me to suggest it. Since she couldn't do that anymore, she instead thought of something that could aid Erin and Old Man Reol, giving them both a Specialized Metagen that could be piloted using any Source Energy type.
Using that, because of their inexperience, it would look like they're not that strong. They could go all out at fighting and the enemies will just think they're ordinary. And that would lead for the enemy Transcendents to retreat without being terrified of their strength.
"Daisuke…"
"Leianne. Thank you for accommodating Erin and the Old Man." I smiled at her which she immediately returned with a bashful one. The grievances she had with me were already gone. It might sound cold for her but this girl was too smart for her own good. She used logic to move on.
That's the only choice back then unless she wanted to fight her father who would probably become the brains of the enemy camp if we let him escape.
"Don't mind it. It's my job… Can I also ask for… a hug?" As a hint of red became visible on her face, Leianne lowered her gaze as if she's afraid to maintain eye contact with me.
"I see. I hadn't noticed it with my Incarnation but it seems that you also changed, for the better."
"I just want to be more honest. Besides, there are now a lot of us. I want to stay relevant for you. Even if I'm not a Transcendent yet, I will catch up soon." Leianne seemingly sparkled with determination and perhaps competitiveness with the other girls.
Even if I'm not looking behind me, I could guess that the conscious ones would take her words as a declaration of her intention. She wanted to be relevant, huh? Like with Yuko and Yumiko, I also want to consult her whenever I make a plan.
She's a great schemer like her father but at the moment, she couldn't make use of that talent due to her limited strength. She could direct a battle and win it but only if it didn't involve a lot of Transcendents.
"Does that mean you will come with me? What about your ambition?"
"At the state of the world, it will take a long time for it to be realized. It's not like we'll not come back here."
Her ambition to lead this world to rise and reach the same height as the Dark World or even higher than Earth... And to realize that ambition, she chose our side instead of her father who wanted to raze the whole world to the ground before rebuilding it anew.
In any case, as long as Transcendents continue to be born in this world, sooner or later, it will level up to a Transcendent World. But surely, with her ambition, she wanted to be the one turning the helm of this ship known as the World of Meta.
She's an ambitious and smart girl and she gambled her life for it by opposing her father.
"You're right. We'll never forget your homeworlds. Come here then." I nodded and beckoned towards her.
With her arms circling to my back, I returned it along with a whisper in her ears. "Together, we'll realize your ambition."
Upon hearing it, Leianne's smile widened.
Swayed by the situation, Elise also stepped forward to ask for a hug. Naturally, I didn't reject it. She also deserved to be rewarded for her hard work at Eldur and being the ambassador to the Anzeans.
From behind me, I heard Reinys grumbled. Although she kept the volume low, it's easy to catch.
"… That guy. Whichever world he goes to, he's getting women left and right."
"As if you're not aware of that, didn't we talk about it when they left? You're already interested in him even back then. You're just… trying to convince yourself that you hate him. Now that you're his Companion, isn't it time to be completely honest about it?"
Caila remarked and that immediately made Reinys flustered.
"Huh? That's not…"
Adding onto that, Noelle, who's back to their side, also put in a word. "Un. Caila's right. That's why Yuko isn't really angry at you."
Reinys then tried to seek refuge from Yuko, hoping that she would deny it. However, in the end, Yuko smiled at her and gave a nod, indicating that she's agreeing with Caila and Noelle.
Dumbfounded by their observation that until now she couldn't admit, Reinys puffed her cheeks and shouted. "… I don't know anymore!"
And that shout gained the attention of everyone making the princess even more embarrassed.
In the end, I had to step forward and calm her down, and by then she finally admitted to it. She's already interested in me even way before… as for her reason, apparently, I'm the only one impudent enough to continue subverting her beliefs.
Soon afterward, once we were seated around the table to wait for the news on the other mines, a holographic screen floated in the middle of the long table. Once it stabilized, Nysia's face appeared in it. With a wide smile on her face, a clip was shown as she relayed the success of what I told them to do.
With our appearance, successful defense of the Mine was a forgone conclusion anyway. It'll now be their dream to get more regenium from the surface and that dream will also shatter soon when we get rid of them in one swift battle right on their headquarters.
"And that leaves the Confederacy being the only one left that isn't resolved yet."
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