29 Edward Williams 4 (1/2)
A breeze raced through the encampment as five figures approached it. The sentries on duty immediately raised the alarm. The figures stopped and declared they were the spirit beast tribe leaders here to seek an audience with Edward, Prince Aureus's retainer.
Soon, the signal to allow the spirit beasts to pass were given, and the five proceeded to the center of the camp with a guide.
”We are willing to pledge allegiance to prince Aureus but we need proof that spirit beast cores can be upgraded.” Reine said without a preamble as soon as Edward stepped into earshot.
Edward nodded and said the upgrading could be performed now and requested for a candidate.
The spirit beasts were surprised at the revelation and went into a council amongst each other.
Their main concerns were about how safe this potential upgrading technology would be and how it would affect their spirit cores over the long term hence the spirit beasts were rather hesitant.
The second lady in the group, Ara stepped up and announced that she was willing to be the test subject for the core upgrading. She reasoned that her core was currently the weakest amongst the five and that if she could upgrade her core, the strength of the group as a whole would grow.
In addition she was considered a support type spirit beast, her ability of procuring the necessary demon beast cores required for the normal upgrading process were low in the place. Not to mention the normal route is a coin toss when it comes to upgrading hence she would be the best candidate.
Reine looked worried at Ara's choice but she did not stop her. The three men mulled over what
Ara said and agreed unanimously that if Ara was willing, there would be no objections from their side.
—
As Ara entered a tent with Edward, Edward posted guards outside the tent ordering that no one approach it. He mentioned in an off-hand manner that success of the process required no interruptions while in the earshot of the spirit beasts.
It appeared that posting guards outside the tent would turn out to be a futile gesture on
Edward's part as the spirit beasts themselves gave off an intimidating aura to anyone even approaching near the tent.
The officers laid out strict orders that anyone not on duty were to be clear of the vicinity of the tent and stragglers will be punished by military law. This led to a quick evacuation of the premises by the troops leaving only the spirit beasts and the two mages.
Tiffany shrugged and pulled Caine away citing that there was no need to probe as this was a matter that could only be beneficial to them in the long run. Caine took a moment to think through what Tiffany meant before nodding his head and following her out.
A green glow emanated from the tent for several moments before dimming out.
—
Ara was in smiles as she exited the tent. The spirit beasts immediately surrounded her and barraged her with a series of questions. Ara pulsed her spirit beast core in response.
”Grade 5 spirit beast core!” The three men were awestruck. ”It worked…”
”Sister, it appears that King class is within grasp soon. Who knows, being an overlord class spirit beast is no longer just a pipe dream.” Reine said from the side.
Ara beamed, ”King class is fine, my ambitions do not stretch into the realms of being an overlord.”
Edward stepped out and met the spirit beasts, ”I assume there are no issues with pledging allegiances with prince Aureus now?”
The spirit beasts shook their heads indicating they were fine with pledging allegiance.