Bonded Summoner

In the morning, the Hart family headed to the training grounds and joined Nessa, where numerous earth-related challenges were spread out across a large area. Despite knowing they were truly indoors within Nessa’s castle, it still felt like the open sky was above them.

Old Man Xuan and a few elders from last night were excited to see them, and a large crowd of aids and spectators watched the many entrants. The expensive, limited resource of Aether had been supplied to run these special environments, allowing those that just finished their dungeon raids and more to participate in shoring up their foundations by facing new challenges.

Sects would not often share these special environments, but these were made open for this special event across the spirals for those within their alliance. Foreign cultivators from the Mystic Expanse, and those from other spirals now experienced them in order to gain enlightenment, both from challenging themselves, but also watching others do so.

Ophelia looked over them all with wide eyes. “So many options. Which are you going to do, Faye?”

Fhesiah pointed at the sandpit with her fan, before spreading it out and fanning herself, her kitsune tails dancing behind her. “I find the sandpits to be of interest.”

To Jake, it resembled a wave pool almost, with how the dense, aether-infused sand rolled through the giant sandbox in waves. The waves moved slowly, and cultivators used various means to circumvent the threat. Some by attacking the incoming sand, merging with it, defending with shields and other abilities, or by using their own control of the sand to protect themselves.

Many were dragged under the waves, and it was only through his Umbral Gaze that he could tell they were being crushed and dragged even deeper under the sand as a result. Eventually, an elder would use a token of some kind and disrupt the flow and rescue them, but it looked like it wasn’t impossible to actually die within if one wasn’t careful.

Jake noted, “It looks a little dangerous.”

Fhesiah nodded. “It is, but this is how one can gain the most insight. I think the heavy sand is something I’m not well-equipped to handle, unless I overwhelm the challenge. I suppose breaking stone walls could be a challenge too, but I’m drawn to this one the most.”

Jake wasn’t the only one that consumed Source treasures in the past several years. After Jake had established his void of family, each of the girls, except Avalara, had managed to find a Source Treasure that fit their path and consumed it, advancing their spirits and becoming one with their path.

Having some of Fhesiah’s Qi filtered and then flowing out of their hearth and into their bodies had effects that were difficult to understand. But it was clear that Fhesiah was proud that all of them on some level could embark on their journeys with the dao.

Fhesiah said to Ophelia, “Your path is that of a guardian, and while your spirit manifests as a shield, that is not the only way to protect. The essence of a guardian has countless facets, from being able to detect threats, protect others by taking hits, but also in the need to be fast enough to intercept them, or the strength to eliminate a threat. An unbreakable wall can be defeated by a mere ladder, and a guardian’s charge can be slain the moment they look away if they lack vigilance. These are all things that you already know, but finding what resonates with you and making it a part of you is a choice that you can make.”

Ophelia nodded. “I think I’ll probably try both, taking hits and dishing them out.”

Tanda looked over everything. “I don’t see anything here that fits me much. But, I’ll give them a try. What are you going to do, Nessa?”

“I’ve tried all of them before, so…I was going to watch the rest of you. I think I gained the most from dodging the stones, and cutting the walls myself. Not all gains must be an epiphany or enlightenment. Facing unique challenges makes you understand your limits, and helps you be ready for facing equally unique enemies.”

Berri scoffed as she looked at the stairs going up the pillar. “Stairs are lame. Let’s bust up some walls!”

Avalara’s ears fluttered. “I guess I have no choice but to watch, my nature is just too different. What about you, Bree?”

Bree hummed. “I’m not sure about this insight thing, but I see the wisdom in what Nessa said. I would like to test my new body’s limits.”

Ruby and Sati, much like Nessa, had already done most of the challenges, so they settled in to watch as most of them left to take them on, except Fhesiah, Jake, Avalara, and Nessa.

Fhesiah asked Jake, “Which one are you interested in?”

Jake scanned the field, and felt that he was much more interested in the stairs, and watched as several people attempted the odd stairway that climbed up the massive pillar. With normal sight, the challengers looked kind of ridiculous.

They were hunched over and straining with difficulty as they took each step, as if they had an invisible boulder on their backs. With each step, it was like the boulder got bigger, forcing them to strain harder.

Thanks to his Umbral Gaze, he knew the truth was actually similar. An energy was weighing down on them, and they had to struggle more and more as the energy increased to get up each step. When the weight became too much, their legs buckled, and they were brought to their knees or nearly smashed their face into the stairs–but the weight lifted from them immediately as they failed.

Each loop around the pillar appeared to be several stories worth of stairs. The incline was slight, as the pillar was quite wide. The floor they were in was tall and so it would take many spirals to get to the top.

Old Man Xuan all but teleported next to him, appearing in a blur and somewhat startling him and Fhesiah. “You’re interested in the stairs? That’s surprising.”

Jake asked, “Can you tell me more about them?”

“The challengers are feeling Aether mixed with the weight of stone– you may compare it to gravity. The higher you climb, the more Aether and Stone Qi is infused. Reach high enough, and you just might be awarded with this small trial investing some Source Energy into it, giving you insights into the dao.”

“Interesting. I can see they are using their Qi to try to counter the effects and strengthen themselves, but it’s not that effective.”

“Your eyes are something else, aren’t they? Those with more Aether, or strong daos, can counter the effect more. Gravity is a profound force, and many of these practice the dao of stone or earth. If the strength of their dao is weak, utilizing these actually makes the challenge more difficult–the essence of stone is that it is heavy, after all.”

Fhesiah smiled. “You know, you’re nothing like the other earth and stone cultivators I’ve met. Even those fellows there.” She nodded over to the tower.

Old Man Xuan chuckled, and began stroking his beard with knowing eyes. “How so?”

“As one cultivates, their paths are often reflected in their personality. Fire cultivators become passionate and easy to anger, and stone cultivators… often become hard and rigid. But your mind is open to new ideas, and don’t seem to be stuck in your ways.”

Old Man Xuan chuckled. “It’s as you say, but that wasn’t always the case. What do you know about building with stone, or concrete?”

Jake frowned in thought. “I know that they mix metal rods into most concrete constructions, even pavement. It’s to help the stone to bend and flex because stone on its own will slowly crack even from mild environmental factors, let alone pressures like weight.”

“So you know a bit, huh? But stone is strong, isn’t it? And Qi-infused stone, even more so.”

Jake replied, “It is. So I take it you had some epiphany regarding the flexibility of stone to make it stronger overall?”

Old Man Xuan shook his head. “It’s not as simple as that. As Lady Fhesiah said, we stone cultivators become hard-headed. But the seed of doubt had been planted early in my life. In a trial for resources, I did battle against another, a wood cultivator. His dense and hard trees against my unbreakable stone–and my stone was the one that cracked and shattered. The wood flexed thanks to the malleable core, doing little more than splintering against my heavy block of stone. Of course, a single loss wasn’t enough for me to change my ways, but I respected that man’s battle prowess, the strength of his dao and his path for some time.”

He continued, “Over hundreds of years, I had built hundreds of stone structures. I got both stronger as time passed, and better at constructing them. But in time, I always saw that eventually, they would fail. Cracks would form, and then the tension in the structure would increase the size of that crack until the whole building crumbled. No matter how much Qi I infused into them, or how well I built them with mysterious techniques, the result would always be the same. Cracks.”

Fhesiah nodded. “So the insight about wood bending–”

Old Man Xuan laughed, and shook his head. “It still wasn’t enough! I felt any deviation from my path of a hard, unbreakable stone would be impure, and it was only that my conviction was not strong enough. It wasn’t until I met Tyr. As a Divine, his strength was unrefutable. We became friends, and I eventually explained my problem to him, my doubts in my path.”

He sighed. “He told me that by ignoring the weakness of stone, I was denying the very essence, the truth of it. The rigidity of stone is both a strength and a weakness, and that accepting that is not an impure path–it is reality. An unbreakable stone that overcomes this weakness existed, but not on Aetheris, so I was, in part, limited by my resources on this world. However, by understanding its flaws, I could make one, unbreakable, even here on Aetheris.”

He smiled at Fhesiah, “And I could feel that his words were true–unrefutable. That’s where I added the Aether-infused stone lining, which resembles a wood or metal core running through the stone I create. By making stone that can flex and bend, and self-heal, it will not crack and break–an unbreakable stone.”

The old man told them a few more stories. It seemed that Tyr had met him over a thousand years prior, and had carried out a few tasks for him before the Framework had even reached Aetheris. With the kind of tasks he had accomplished, it sounded a lot like what the Dusky Sky Sect had done for Fhesiah, granting her items that helped her get started with alchemy and more.

From the sound of it, cultivators were often used as gophers by the Divine to get around a lot of their restrictions in the great game, though how or why, he didn’t know. Judging by how unorthodox cultivators showed up on Aetheris and the Mystic Expanse, Tartarus was taking advantage similarly.

Jake went toward the pillar, and got in line for his turn to take on the challenge. Eventually, he was given the green light to proceed and talked toward the base of the stairs. Looking up, it was really like an endless, spiraling staircase.

He took his first step, and he saw, but did not feel, the energy weighing down on him. Just like with the flying platform, Jake found himself needing to will his Void Cells to stop resisting the effect. If Jake wanted to gain anything, he would need to climb on his own strength and efforts, rather than rely on his bloodline cheat.

The weight still wasn’t much, at first. He started walking at a brisk pace, not taking much time to acclimate to each step. The stronger disciples made it to around the third spiral around the pillar, so he continued confidently until he reached that point and kept on going.

Cultivators were strong, but Jake’s attributes were comparable to his wife–a dragon cultivator’s. It wasn’t until he made it through his fourth loop and was many stories up that he had to fill his muscles with mana, and then six loops that he switched to hearth mana.

When he got to the tenth, he added auril, Fhesiah’s Qi and his other flames, purely working on strength still. By the time he got to the twelfth round, the amount of Aether was becoming truly significant.

Old Man Xuan had called Aether the breath of the world, and Jake couldn’t help but feel the truth in these words. The weight as Jake pushed forward and upward was an all encompassing weight, where every fiber in his being was restricted–he could even feel it down to his bones.

It was as if the weight of the world itself was bearing down on him, and there was more to it than some mere heavy boulder on his back. The spiraling stairs seemed endless, but Jake continued, undeterred, even as the very cells in his body screamed in protest.

Eventually, it felt like he could not take a single step more. He was already mixing in the energies of his hearth, creating the special mixture of hearth mana and everything else. So now, he focused on his will, his nurturing stillness–his dao of Family.

His hearth burned brighter, and his steps resumed. His love and willingness to sacrifice for his family was brought to the fore, and his will pushed against the weight of the world.

Over the years, Jake hadn’t many opportunities to advance his dao. Fhesiah had gathered numerous treasures and Source Energy pills and items, but they had all lacked the fundamental inspiration required for him to advance. Such a strange dao, a void of family, was something that was difficult to pair up with a cultivator treasure. Instead, many of them became fodder for his void cells, the Source energy that she often paired up with them ending up within him somewhere.

But that didn’t mean that Jake’s understanding of family or the void hadn’t increased. Jake’s vindication and resolve for his family had only grown in the past years, and his love was both given and returned by his loving wives and children.

Jake’s steps brought him ever higher. He saw himself nearing the ceiling of the floor, but the weight began to increase even more with every single stair. The effects were now bone-crushing, and it felt like if he stopped for but a moment he would be flattened like a pancake.

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It was actually difficult for him to see now without his Umbral Gaze, as the area surrounding him was dense with Stone Qi and the purple haze of Aether. His void lungs drew in some of it with every breath, and his Hearth drew some in from the void as well, but it was nothing compared to the actual total. His body started to be suffused with the magical energy, and Jake allowed this to occur.

As Jake pushed against the weight of the world and held on to his nurturing stillness, he began to feel weakness. Love and sacrifice was necessary for a loving, successful family, but sacrifice by one person in a family alone would lead to true nothingness, a breaking of the family.

His sacrifice was the glue that held his family together, and moments in Jake’s life since he met his wives flashed before him in his mind.

Originally, giving up everything had made him weaker as an individual. He sacrificed a part of his soul to create his hearth bonds, and focused his specialization on buffing. But he was not the only one to sacrifice, with Fhesiah and Ophelia each returning the favor, helping him train and never giving up on him, investing their time and love to help him excel.

And it wasn’t only that. As his women and their bonds grew–their love for each other increased–they had begun to give him something back through the bond, increasing Jake’s strength and power.

Now, Jake had a dozen bonds, and countless friends and extended family and subordinates. Throughout his kingdom, he now had a gravity that drew countless more into his orbit, the weight of every single one of his actions carrying a will of a dozen worlds, and soon through Nessa Tyrsdottir, over twenty.

His bonds were originally weightless, a nothingness created through sacrifice. But as his lovers sacrificed and loved him in return, the weight of his nothingness became greater than even the weight of a single world. This understanding of the weight of his void became one with his path forever, his path continuing to match his family’s reality and his spirit growing in response.

The weight of his bonds were now immense, and the gravity of his void of family could no longer be ignored. The weight of the world was pressing down on him, but the weight of his void was greater, his will extended through the actions of his wives and kingdom shoving back against it. He pushed through the last few steps, arriving in a special chamber.

The Aether in this room was even denser, and Jake received a prompt that the contents of the room were a part of his reward. Jake couldn’t in truth absorb this much Aether into his body and hearth, so he stirred his void bloodline as he started to take deep breaths, as well as shoving some into his wives through his Energy Nexus ability.

His void cells drew in the energy with a hunger, and from the strange feeling of spirituality he received as it was drawn in, it seemed that there was Source Energy mixed within. And Ira feasted as well, to his surprise. There was plenty there, so Jake wasn’t about to complain. But he did give it a warning, to be careful about the amount.

Jake didn’t think it was great to do what was the equivalent of eating or breathing it, but Fhesiah had noted that for Jake, it was rather peculiar as he consumed Source Energy treasures in an attempt to find insight. His body and hearth were truly taking it in, but most cultivators wouldn’t be able to take much in before their foundations were ruined, or worse, they would explode from too much spirituality entering them that wasn’t their own.

He didn’t seem to have a limit. So where was it going?

That didn’t mean they just kept feeding him treasures, but she didn’t think that these Source Energy treasures he consumed were useless and going nowhere–a complete waste. With enough Source Energy and enough time, even a simple rock on the ground could become spiritual and carry the truths of the dao. So perhaps it was gathering within his void lungs or cells until they reached a special threshold.

Not only that, but some of it might have been getting sent to his wives, much like how Fhesiah’s hearth and core had been impacted heavily by the extra energies.

Jake’s mind almost felt like goo at this point from exerting his will for so long, but he still tried out his void of family. Infusing it into his hearth flames, it now felt like they had a special weight or gravitas to them.

He was sure if he infused this into his scorching ray, it would be even stronger. And now, his wives’ manifestations or daos didn’t feel like a shadow of their originals, and were much closer to half their original capability. And half of a dragon’s flames was still pretty damn good.

His dao hadn’t advanced for years, but it appeared that what Jake had needed was a catalyst. Being on vacation, even if one increased their understanding of themselves or their path, that didn’t help them become one with it easily. Fhesiah had advanced her understanding, but that was because she was actually doing tons of alchemy, and had been provided excellent treasures.

Conflict and struggle drove personal progress with cultivation and the dao, and this had been no different. Jake’s dao would likely advance much further as he experienced more conflicts throughout the upcoming conquests and subsequent War Trial.

Once enough Aether in the room was removed, he could now see a little better. There was a mysterious stone on a pedestal, emitting a special aura not that unlike the weight within the challenge.

It seemed this was a reward for completing it, and he chuckled that his previous thoughts matched his reward somehow–it was a stone that had gained some level of spirituality, somehow.

Most likely, it was a special stone that had been steeped with Aether and Source Energy since the last time someone had completed the challenge, or it was brought from somewhere else, anyway.

He wasn’t sure what it could be used for, other than someone being able to gain understanding of the weight of stone, or perhaps gravity. He would have Blood spend some time with it, as he thought it compatible with her on some level.

As Jake left the small room and looked down at the tower, he couldn’t help but feel alarmed. All the energy was gone now, and nearly everyone who wasn’t busy with their own trial was watching him from the grounds. He covered himself in Hearth flames, and brought himself down to the ground rapidly, where Fhesiah and most of his girls were watching–others were busy with their own challenges.

Old Man Xuan laughed as he patted his shoulder. “Don’t mind it! It was worth it, to see you find enlightenment. Normally, we might need months or years to recharge this trial, but I think with the world’s new density it will probably only need a week. I’ll direct some more Aether with the formation, worry not.”

All of his wives were ecstatic at his success, but Fhesiah’s joy was unmatched. Every step he took on the path of the dao was like true vindication to her, and she beamed with triumph as she wrapped him in a crushing hug, joining him from the sands.

“You did it again! I can feel it, your spirituality has increased.”

Nessa also looked at him with satisfaction, pride emanating from her. “You’re amazing, Jake. I heard nobody had made it all the way up in the last several decades. The last to do it was Old Man Xuan himself, and it was after he had hit Nascent Soul.”

Tanda barreled into him, congratulating him with tons of kisses and helpfully supplying her ears for some scratches–a reward for him. “You were amazing, my mate. I tried a bunch of them, but the sand one sucks. Thank the goddess for Clean, or I’d be running back to the Refuge for a hundred baths.”

None of the girls got what could be called a true epiphany, but many of them were challenged in their special environments. Overall, Jake was happy to watch them all attempt them, and he learned a lot about his girl’s limits.

Bree was a force to be reckoned with, showing a strength in her humanoid form that was surprising. She both took blows from giant, aether-infused rocks and destroyed them, her monstrous flames and auril-infused strength and defense were shocking.

As the afternoon continued, eventually, they headed to the Arena to both participate and watch in the numerous bouts and the tournaments.

***

The party all met at what was like a VIP box, which granted a special sight of the battles. It was an odd view, where it almost felt as if the edge of the box was situated right in front of the arena they were watching. Nessa or Fhesiah could easily manipulate the glyphs, changing which arena they were watching.

Ophelia, Ruby, Sati, and Bree were away from the box for now, as they each had matches to participate in beginning shortly.

And a few of the Hart children joined them. Over the next week, they planned on taking all of their kids out, allowing Nessa to meet all of them one group at a time, but also allow them to have fun and see the world of Aetheris.

The main tournaments were double elimination, allowing participants to lose once per round until the quarterfinals but continue to participate. The number of attendees was huge, and the large arena allowed numerous battles to occur at the same time.

Nessa curled up alongside Jake’s right, and he put his arm around her hip. He could feel her satisfaction at this rise, and he couldn’t help but smile in memory of his previous watching dates. Tanda had warmed up to him quickly with their first movie together, and Nessa wagged her tail just the same.

Fhesiah was on his left at the moment, with their kitsune children on their laps. Tanda was on the other side of her, standing in a combat stance and with her tail wagging. She moved along with the warrior’s attacks, as if dancing to the beats of the fight. No doubt, she would be able to relive and retell this fight to the other kids later.

“Yay! Go Ruby!” Berri cheered, clapping, and Aiko and her fox brother chirped from Fhesiah and Jake’s laps. Nyxa and two of her younger echidna sisters were also here, cheering and swaying next to their mother to the side.

Ruby had her blade drawn–a dueling rapier. She was facing off against an Aetherian swordsman with yellow martial robes, matching him blow for blow. This was a tournament that involved martial arts only, and so it only allowed for attacks that were built around weapons, fists, shields, or armor, it seemed.

Jake noted, “I’m surprised she can use a sword so well. She looks well-trained at it.”

Nessa said, “I taught her a little, and she really took to it when I beat her in battle. Actually, teaching her the sword is what calmed her down the most in battle.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. She was strong, fast, and her defenses and vitality were difficult to beat. But against an opponent with superior skill where she couldn’t draw any blood and was slowly being frozen, she learned that she needed some level of it in order to win. Ferocity and feral instincts can be powerful, but true skill and discipline will win out in the end.”

Blood turned to them and smiled. “Yes, that is something that I too have learned, from our mentor, Zhang Fei. Having both is definitely better than only having one, however.”

Nessa nodded. “And she definitely has both now.”

A layer worth of blood washed out of Ruby, as if her entire body were made of blood. The blood covered her like a red cloak, before it started to take shape around her. It formed a blood-red mail armor that looked like scales around her body. The bloodflame burned brightly in her chest, and her blade was surrounded by a deadly dark-red flame.

While her attack had been methodical and precise before, now, her attacks had become wilder. The enemy tried to strike blows and counters as she seemingly overextended, but her armor deflected the attacks and enabled her to land several cuts on the opponent.

While the attacks looked wild and almost feral, Jake could tell they were calculated, meant to break apart the defender’s stance. The man’s defense was destroyed as wounds piled up, until the rapier was brought to his throat.

The man surrendered, and Ruby headed back to the waiting area.

Tanda asked, “Does she always fight with the sword?”

Nessa shook her head. “She uses claws and blades of blood, but the tournament limits her ability to use these. She can also drink or use the blood of her enemies, granting her various powers. I suppose now that she has the blood flame, it’s more that she absorbs the blood to fuel her power.”

Nyxa took that moment to speak up, “Ruby fights and moves so differently now, and was so calm and collected. She’s really changed a lot since she was gone.”

Nessa looked over at her. “I’m sure she’d say the same about you, Nyxa. She talked about you, but she described what was a little girl! You’re all grown already.”

Nyxa smiled with pride. “She did? About me? What else did she say?”

“She said you’re a great big sister, always having some smaller snake girl hanging off of you–like now. Though, they’re not so small anymore either, are they?”

Moxy and her other sister bounced up and down, each happy to be around their sister and mother while seeing the special event. With their tails so long, they were able to partially wrap around Nyxa’s snake body as well as each other, and part of Bloodberri’s normalized human legs. And Nessa was right–they were already in their teens as far as their appearance, with Nyxa in her late teens.

Nyxa was thoughtful, looking at her smiling sisters. “No, I guess they’re not. They’re already training with weapons and learning magic.”

Nessa added, “I see your core has ignited and it is so much like your mother’s darkness. Are you planning on testing to see if you can become a Divine’s Clergy, or are you seeking another path?”

Nyxa looked proud of her core, smiling and straightening her posture as it was mentioned. “I’m not sure yet. I haven’t thought about it much, but I have checked my class options at the Node–there’s none that feel right to me just yet. Mother Blood says she’s certain I can be a priestess of Echidna, but also a few others, like Bastet–we just haven’t checked at a shrine yet. I suppose…that might be fitting, for me. But we have a long way to go on improving our skills, and I’d like to wait for my little sisters for when they’ve made their selections.”

“You’d like to see what might fit in with them best to help them out, huh?”

“Yes,” Nyxa’s smile turned wicked, “And it’s important to pick what crushes our enemies the best.”

Nessa chuckled. “Ah. How…practical.”

Jake noted, “That’s not too different from the Nords, is it? Many train as young warriors, both boys and girls.”

“No, I suppose not. It is true that I started my warrior training nearly as soon as I could lift a training axe or mace. Four years old is still a bit shocking for magic training, however. I’d like to see what you know already.”

Nyxa looked excited. “I’d like that! Are you going to come to our Refuge? I suppose when you become our new mommy, you’ll be there all the time, right?”

Nessa was shocked, her jaw dropping. “M-Mommy?”

Nyxa frowned. “Yeah? That’s why you’re hanging off of daddy, right? Because you’re going to marry him. If not, you should back off and let us have his arm back. Mother Berri said that Daddy is not interested in side pieces.”

Jake and his wives laughed, while Nessa choked, blushing. “No, you’re right, and that is my intention. I was just surprised that you would… call me your mommy or mother like the others.”

All three snake girls tilted their heads at her, but Nyxa replied, “Of course we would. Daddy and all our moms approve of you, so you must really be great!”

Ophelia’s battle was next, and the echidna girls clapped and cheered, and the kitsune children yipped in excitement for their clan mother. Nessa now had his son in her lap, and was making sure to give the child plenty of scratches.

Lia faced off against a man with a polearm, and his stature actually reminded Jake of Zhang Fei. His armor was made of stone, which he created before he stepped onto the arena stage.

The fight wasn’t much of a challenge for Ophelia, but his blows held the special weight of stone, and his defense was strong. She used this opportunity to work on her auril manifestation to deflect his skilled, weighty blows, and she chipped away at his stone armor until he was forced to admit defeat.

Sati’s battle eventually commenced at another Arena, and they watched and cheered once again. Her caster opponent used the power of Aether-infused blades of wind, which she shredded with blades of flames until she pierced her opponent’s defenses.

Bree faced off against a martial artist, and that fight was fun to watch. The man fought with his fists, and they echoed the truths of the dao with their hardness and their speed. But she met his fists with her own, her immense strength countering his fierce blows.

Eventually, he ran out of gas, unable to continuously add Qi and spirituality into his fists, and was forced to surrender.

Nessa smiled at Bree’s battle, “That fight didn’t challenge Bree, but she put on a good show of taking on his attacks. Did you want to face anyone, Jake? They reserved a seed spot for you in the tournament if you like, just like Fhesiah, Bree, Tanda, and Ophelia.”

Jake frowned. “I’m not so sure I want to participate with lukewarm efforts. I’m not that interested in competing for the final prize, and it’s not as fair to the participants, empowered by a goddess as I am–earned or not. The girls all plan on limiting themselves to at most three matches, mostly to show our family’s strength and have fun.”

Avalara pouted from the side. “But I wanted to see my stag crush these other males.”

Berri frowned. “Me too, I wanna see you whup em! I just stayed out of it because having to hold back is annoying. I can revive them, so I should be able to smash them as hard as I want!”

Jake could feel that even Nessa was a bit disappointed as well, and his snake children even looked at him with cute, pleading expressions. Even Aiko pawed him, and gave him the big puppy-fox eyes as she chirped sadly, begging. Her brother did his best to copy her.

He chuckled. “Alright, I’ll participate. I can’t let any of my girls or my boys down. Just two fights, though.”

Seeing all his girls’ faces light up, including his bride to be, and the happy squeaks from his foxes as their tails danced, he couldn’t feel sorry about the people he was about to crush. But also, he realized he would need to have a conversation with someone, to plan a special event. These bouts would not be enough to satisfy any of them.