With the two objectives of Operation Moonfall completed, the moon soon quieted down. Apart from the minor explosions happening at the far end wherein Krond and his Anzean subordinates were dismantling the stronghold, the larger was already under our control.
Although late, Krond and the Anzeans' under him still showed up to sweep the moon's surface, locating many hidden tunnels and a stash of otherworldly treasures.
Well, not really late, we just finished it before they could make a move
It was undeniably swift like we intended it to be.
From Nysia's opening speech up to our actual arrival at the vicinity of the moon, it was only about ten minutes.
From when the long-range Metagens started firing at their defenses to my taking of Nysia and Erin with me to reach the middle of the stronghold, it was only less than five minutes.
From when the 10 Ultimate Darkgens appeared and lousily trapped us with them, they got toyed with for at least five minutes before the 15 Transcendents who came reinforcing them arrived.
Following that, from 24, since one was killed by Erin before their arrival, they were instantly reduced to seven when they ate the overly amplified Energy Blast from Dannae's gun. And that's not even a minute after they appeared.
The Energy Barrier preventing our entry to the Portal Location lasted longer than them.
And by the time we closed the Portal, the total operation time didn't exceed an hour, much less half an hour.
Although there were some casualties among the Core Pilots, that was the inevitableness of this war.
Once my Companions gathered at the former Portal Location, bringing the news about the fates of those seven Transcendents who survived Dannae's gun, Nysia declared Operation Moonfall as completed.
For the clean-up job, the Heroes and the other Transcendents along with the Core Pilots and Elite Anzeans took up that job.
Some of my Companions also helped, like Leianne, Elise and Lunaria, as they represented or led the Core Pilots from the Empire, Eldur and the Confederacy.
Because of the apparatus left behind by the Dark World, Nysia and I decided to make use of it and turn the Moon into a base for the United Alliance. By utilizing what they left behind here, the denizens and the Anzeans will rebuild the Moon Stronghold and treat it as a Space Station wherein the Researchers will be focusing on deciphering the data left behind by the Dark World denizen as well as furthering the World of Meta's interstellar technology.
We waited for at least a day at the moon before going back to the surface to settle the denizens and give them the good news.
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After the success of Operation Moonfall, three days soon passed.
During those three days, the cleanup of the Moon was completed and followed by the start of the rebuilding process for what they intended to do in it.
To make sure that nothing would happen there, Old Man Reol and Old Man Liam remained to stand guard, just in case there were still hidden dangers that only a Transcendent could solve.
Well, the two also started sparring against each other to train themselves, with and without their Metagen or Darkgen. Old Man Liam was quite frustrated at his lack of progress upon seeing the Transcendents I brought from another world.
Although he managed to reach 200 UPL and experienced the glimpse on his Transcendent Pathway, he still felt lacking due to how fast we progressed.
And the same could be said with Lyra. Before leaving the Moon, I managed to talk to her about Lunaria. She was upset, of course. Knowing her daughter still went through and chose to become my Companion even after she advised her not to, Lyra found it hard to accept it.
Nonetheless, I still expressed my sincere respect to her. And following that, I bribed her with the Energy Stones to help her progress.
Right. Bribed. Although it would sound good to call it a gift, its purpose was to truly bribe her to let go of her indignation about Lunaria's choice. She's already my Companion and nothing could change that anymore.
Well, I received a gentle smack to my head when I told Lunaria that I bribed her mother. Not from her but from Erin. And the others who watched on the side laughed heartily upon seeing that.
At the moment, we're inside the Scorched Forest, looking up at the seven Doors of Transcendence hanging above the sky.
Taking up my four sides were Yuko at my left, Nysia at my right, Erin at my back and Avelin at my front. Zerina and Irja were also nearby with the latter pouting her lips, frustrated that Avelin beat her to her preferred position.
"Zerina, are you fine not getting close to him?" On the side, Irja suddenly asked Zerina who's carefully brewing tea for all of us.
There were still a few hours before the estimated time for their Transcendent Trials will be over. Although waiting here seemed pointless, it was a precaution. If on the off chance that someone from the seven failed their Trials, we would be able to salvage the situation.
Nonetheless, I'm a bit confident for all of them, except Reinys.
That girl underwent a drastic change in attitude. Not just because of me but because of her experiences in their world. She blamed herself for the Corruption and the death of her brother. If she hadn't pushed the idea for him to be the better fit for Yuko, that wouldn't happen.
Her Transcendent Mind Trial will probably be harder than anyone else.
"Not fine, more like I don't see any reason to be upset at not being close to him at this moment. There will be more chances in the future. And you know him, Sister Irja, he's not favoring one over the other. For sure he'll go and find us later."
I couldn't deny her answer. When I sat down, the four naturally picked their own positions and there's just no way I would push them away.
"Zerina, I can hear you."
"I know, I let you hear it." She smiled and stood up, bringing me a cup filled with the tea she brewed.
"Sister Irja, do you want to be here? You should've said so earlier."
Naturally, if I could hear their conversation, the four with me also heard all of it. Among the four, Yuko and Nysia had their heads on my shoulders, peacefully savoring the chance.
Ah, one of them didn't hear it. Erin was quietly napping while leaning onto my back. She got tired last night when I quietly slipped into her blanket.
Since the Door of Transcendence appeared last night, we spent the night in this part of the forest, using those compressed portable shelters as our resting place. With the help of Energy Screen, I blocked the noise from waking up the others…
"… It's fine, Avelin, you can continue being there. I'll just take my chances with that shameless guy later." Irja smirked at me before turning around to gulp down the tea she was drinking.
A few hours later, two of the Door of Transcendence broke and the familiar notification rang in my head.
[Companion Noelle Clarke has reached Transcendence]
[Received a Passive Skill from Rank 1 Transcendent Noelle: Enhanced Regeneration]
[Enhanced Regeneration: A simple enhancement derived from Transcendent's ability which was shared to those connected to her. 10% enhanced recovery rate from any type of injuries and passive Energy Absorption]
[Companion Caila Armstead has reached Transcendence]
[Received a Passive Skill from Rank 1 Transcendent Caila: Enhance Physical Attack]
[Enhanced Physical Attack: A simple enhancement derived from Transcendent's ability which was shared to those connected to her. 10% additional Damage Amplification on Physical Attacks.]
As the two Doors of Transcendence broke into pieces, Noelle and Caila who had their Transcendent Aura opened, silently but gloriously flew down from it.
Out of the two, I noticed how Noelle was flying down towards my position with her eyes staring intently at me. Because of that, I stood up and opened my arms to catch her.
As soon as she landed, Noelle's arms wrapped around to my back and buried her face on my shoulder. A few seconds later, I felt my shoulders gradually being stained by the tears flowing out of her eyes.
Whatever she felt inside the Transcendent Mind Trial, it was still affecting her. Hence she's like this. To calm her down, I started stroking her head down to her back.
Caila, on the other hand, had a smile on her lips as she flew down in front of Yuko. She knelt down in front of her and sincerely expressed her gratitude about being taken in as her Party Member. Once she's done, she also turned to me and expressed the same gratitude for taking her in as a Companion.
When Noelle calmed down, she gave me a beautiful smile and thanked me before going over to Yuko, hugging her as well.
At this point, I looked up and saw that the Door of Transcendence of Reinys was still quiet. The three called for their Doors at the same time but until now, Reinys was still inside.
Perhaps, as I had guessed, her Transcendent Mind Trial was a lot harder to pass.
Once Noelle and Caila settled down, Nysia and the other girls talked to them about their experiences and following that, Caila asked for a spar to test her newfound strength.
While they're doing that, I checked the Passive Skill generated from the two of them. That Enhanced Regeneration was too good. I could actually feel the effect of the enhancement in passive Energy Absorption while Caila's Enhanced Physical Attack was almost the same as Avelin's Enhanced Strength. Both of them were all for brute force. Even without using Energy, I would probably be able to knock down an early Rank 2 Transcendent with just my fist.
Well, that's as long as I got to sneak an attack to the back of his head and use that chance to pummel him down to the ground.
As if I would be able to find a Rank 2 Transcendent to try that on…
After this, we're going to the World of Elements to pick up Yumiko, Jayna, Sofiel and Fleur, gathering all my Companions in one place…
Ah, well… there's Ophelia who remained behind in the World of Barbarians and if Lexie also accepts my invitation it will be two Companions away from me…
Although that thought somehow put a bitter taste in my mouth, it can't be helped and the decision to stay behind will be their own choice.
The day of our return back to Earth is fast approaching and honestly, despite my Adaptability, I'm starting to get nervous about the changes that the upcoming revelation will bring me, us.
For sure, my identity will not be a Young Master who offended a Main Character of a much higher world, right? Right?
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢