Bonded Summoner

Valtor and Amara stood in front of the Sector Conquest map, waiting for Jake as he entered with Ophelia, Tanda, Ava, and of course, the rest of his girls in spirit. The party went to sit down at what was a rather modern looking conference table, while the two Eternum floated in front of the large hologram in the center, as if standing on the circular table. Ophelia and Tanda framed Jake’s sides, with Ava sitting on the other side of Ophelia.

The sentient armor wearing scholarly robes had changed. His helmet was now open-faced, allowing Jake and others to see his spiritual visage. He was now a bald middle-aged man, with what Jake would call an epic handlebar mustache. Upon accepting the Framework’s aid in his evolution, a spiritual body was forged within his arcane-infused frame.

Amara and any Tier 2 Eternum were the same. She had long and wavy hair, middle-aged looks, reading glasses, and flowing robes. Her spirit visage was like a motherly scholar, that now stood next to her floating book.

Their spirit visages could interact with the world somewhat, but the Eternum became what was very much like a turquoise colored, flaming, floating ghost. From what Jake understood, there were very few advantages to this.

It appeared it would even allow them to be much like a hermit crab–and move their flame to other objects if they so desired. It also meant that their spirit would not necessarily die if their arcane frame was destroyed, their visage able to house their spirit flame.

The flames of their hearths had only increased, but they had received even more control over their unliving flames. And now, it seemed like they would be nurtured with either auril or nethril, making it truly like the Framework had helped them become more a part of Highlands.

Jake smiled at them. “How’s Rhia and Junior doing, Valtor, Amara?”

Valtor grinned, taking a deep breath that Jake knew he didn’t need. “Fantastic. Just wonderful! After helping claim Ariminum and Argos, Rhia moved on to a few more PvP matches for the fun of it, before moving on to the second Tier. As for Valtor Junior, he’s still learning and training, and spending time with our brethren helping around the HQ’s, like many of our new young.”

Amara said, “As you know, many of the beastkin warrior families after aiding in claiming a world came back home, to do their duty, as it were. We had clashed on thirteen Tier 1 worlds, and after a year, we have since managed to tip the scales heavily in six of them, making excellent progress to save those worlds and push them toward the Raid–and claimed two of them already–Ariminum and Argos. We were driven from two entirely, the enemy already too entrenched.”

“What about the other five?” Tanda asked, her eyes flashing and her tail wagging as she looked over the map showing Hearthtribe’s progress with a bit of pride.

Valtor waved his hand, drawing attention to the five worlds as they grew in the view. “The other five are larger worlds, and our impact just hasn’t been all that significant. They were making excellent progress thanks in part to the PvP–stealing our enemy’s contribution. But then our enemy up and left, as you’re aware. With us no longer able to gain from them, and their guilds no longer contributing, the movement of the world’s Conquest is simply less. We’ve since been able to stay ahead of natives or other guilds and alliances, but it’s a slow and steady crawl toward the victory and the Raid since our enemies left.”

After the first six to eight months of PvP, the beastkin had proven that they were stomping all the crap Tier 1 guilds that were nothing more than mercenaries and thugs. Sure, their opponents had many warriors and some were talented, but many lacked the discipline to truly excel, spending more time at brothels and bars than they did in training.

Their coordination was poor, and many of them were a lot like how Antonius was–lacking talents in magical energies. Very few had ever completed their Trials, so few had unique skills beyond what their guild might have given them. Jake wasn’t sure what would happen with many of them in the second Tier, but he was sure that it would somehow be different then.

It was around when Timone and Dahlia defeated Cassius, that it seemed like, despite all their talk and their threats, that they pulled out of most of the Tier 1 worlds. They focused on ones where Hearthtribe weren’t involved, moving to the outskirts of the sector or to worlds that Hearthtribe were avoiding–worlds that didn’t much need their help to win.

But the War Games were still active. If Hearthtribe showed up on any of the Tier 2 Contested worlds they were on, or one of their owned worlds in Tier 1, the fight would immediately be continued. Jake figured this was somehow their goal, that they had removed themselves from feeding Hearthtribe.

Ophelia tilted her head. “Our people are pretty dominant, though? I doubt many die even to Tartarus’ machinations. Then, thanks to their wing suits or just the avian beastkin, they can fly to close Rifts both quickly and reliably. We have a few hundred on most of those worlds, don’t we? Shouldn’t it be like a landslide victory nearly everywhere we go?”

Valtor chuckled, and shook his head as he stroked his mustache. “The beastkin and our allies are truly wonderful, and your equipment, training, and enabling of them to reach their maximum strength and potential is special. However, it’s only been a bit over a year. While our people are doing well on these other worlds, they’re still focused on carrying on the Hearthtribe torch, its special charter–its culture.”

Amara smiled. “They aid in rebuilding, continue their training and crafting, and spend some time recruiting as well. We are playing the short game, by taking on Rifts rapidly and coming to the native’s rescue if things are particularly bad, like you did when you first arrived on Highlands. But we are also playing the long game, by focusing on rebuilding, protecting and enabling the natives. They build walls, rebuild homes, and get people back on their feet with food and healing.”

Valtor grinned. “And we’ve sent smaller groups of them to a few of the worlds you were worried about–the ones offered by Baron Cassius. After winning some fights in PvP, we helped a number of people migrate here, and they’ve been quite happy. Some were truly living like slaves, often just being kept from reaching a Nexus Node or HQ to escape. With our presence, we helped them make their way here, or go to another destination.”

Tanda and Ophelia were all smiles and full of pride, and most of all, Avalara. Her people, the beastkin were fighting evil all over the Sector, and winning. Everything had worked out well. It’s what Jake had planned, and that it was working out as his family envisioned was a great thing.

“So, what’s our options for what’s next for Hearthtribe then?” Ophelia asked.

Valtor noted, “We have a few Conquests in those four remaining worlds we heavily impacted–Raids soon to be wrapping up over the next year, and so the goal will be to hit those larger five worlds next with superior numbers. After that, there are only a few Contested Worlds where we can make a major impact left in the First Tier–for now. Our grace period will be up soon, but with your permission, we intend to shift focus for a time, for our newly minted veterans and those entering the second Tier to take on.”

Jake thought about what he might be wanting to do. Those who finished two or more Dungeon Raids would often be near their contribution cap, and would be a detriment to the raid’s difficulty. It was better for them to move onto the next Tier.

“The dungeon, is it? They’ll still be early in their Tier, and with Obsidian Blades and the many other enemies, it might be best if they get some levels first.”

Valtor smiled. “You got it, Lord Jake–I do believe this is the best plan. While many world conflicts have level ranges for the Conquests in the Second Tier, Hearthtribe are early in the level ranges, no matter how you slice it. It’s advantageous to them if they cut their teeth where PvP won’t or shouldn’t be a factor, before moving on. In addition, it will give us just a little more time to grow, train and prepare. To get more people at the second Tier well-trained and ready to join our Conquests before we face them.”

While Tier 1 the level range was essentially from levels 11 through 25, the entire Tier, Tier 2 split it up and limited warriors. Typically, it was 26 through 40, and 41 through 50, for Tier 2 zones within that world, based on its total energy rating. If the world was near the peak of the Tier, they’d have the two ranges available, and if it was a world at the lower end, like Highlands was currently anyway, it’d only have zones at the lower range.

Often, there were Tier 1 zones present on Tier 2 Contested Worlds, too. They would matter for the overall conquest, and it wasn’t that they completely mattered less. It was nearly impossible for them to outright win the Conquest with the lower level zone’s success, but losing their zones would be absolutely catastrophic to the war effort.

Higher level alliance could still enter those lower zones, they would simply be limited to that level upon entry.

Tanda’s paws were flexing, and she was giving off a feral grin. “So we’ll sharpen our claws in the dungeon, and then they won’t see us coming? I like it.”

Amara smiled. “That’s right. If there is a world that is in desperate need that we can make a big impact, we’ll move out, of course, but that is the tentative plan.”

Jake said, “I see a number of advantages to this. But can a single dungeon entrance accommodate our thousands of warriors? How long will it usually take to explore a floor?”

Amara nodded. “It can. People enter a portal, and each floor of the dungeon is like its own world inside. Whether one party or a thousand, or ten thousand, it will just place them within random points throughout this pocket world, or drop them near a large exit. It could be a little crowded at first, but they should discover new floors rapidly in that case. Exploration will be necessary, and both the exits to our world and the entries into the next floor will often need to be discovered. Over time, we’ll map out the floor and how it connects to other sections of the dungeon.”

Jake realized there was yet another option if things were too crowded–Ariminum had also reached Tier 2, and so its dungeon entrances could be explored in time as well.

Valtor added, “How long it will take will depend on numerous factors, from our efforts, to how large and complicated a floor might be. It could be an endless underground labyrinth, or even an open world like Highlands itself. It’s rare for it to be a shifting one, or for it to be a special event altogether, or for it to have an intelligent race on the first floor, but even these kinds of things are possibilities as we go deeper.”

Jake knew this, but the dungeons were somewhat underutilized as methods in the Alliance. The machinations of Tartarus were deemed to be even more dangerous there, and many worlds chose to avoid them outright.

That was, aside from the basic need to explore and fight within them and prevent monsters from spawning from the dungeon–preventing what was called a Monster Tide.

On a Contested World, there was some level of safety. With Rifts and the Conquest Map, it was often simple enough to just run away, perhaps head back to a village or city to rest safely, and wait for reinforcements to take one on for individuals joined to the Framework. People could seek out Monster Dens, or the small creations and spawns of the different types of associated Rifts.

On Ariminum, it really had felt like Jake was playing an MMO, where he could leisurely get near the Rift, and then wait for others to join before challenging it, for example. It was even possible to travel safely through most allied territory, and the most one would have to worry about was the indigenous species of the world.

In all, Jake thought it wasn’t all that dangerous for a member of the Framework. The danger was all focused on hunting down and taking on the Rifts and their spawns. And of course, for the natives of the world–the Rift spawns would hunt them down in their cities and villages.

But within the dungeon, not only were there many camps of enemies or monsters, it could spawn enemies nearby, usually a distance away and out of view. It could whittle a party away to the point of breaking, targeting its weaknesses and attempting to surprise and surround a party.

In some areas it could even make physical traps that could be disarmed. Parties would need to struggle to escape if they were found wanting. It was similar to the Trials, in that a dungeon-master-like enemy was often calling the shots, trying to find ways to attack a weakness of a party or Battlegroup. This was much more challenging to do on a Contested world with mere machinations, but in the dungeon it could be like child’s play.

There were still rules, much like with the Incursions and Trials–the ability to merely crush them under a mountain or fill a room with lava without having a way to circumvent it wouldn’t happen. But the leeway with the malicious entity appeared to be all that much greater, and thus the danger was higher and the rewards were also more significant.

Within the loot or from found hidden treasures or challenges, there were objects that could permanently improve people’s potential within, that Brother Zhuge had hinted at. Items such as potions that raised your attributes permanently or increased your affinity to a magic type, and there were even items that might help you form a special core or accept a new magic type, like Valor for example.

Some were even tradable, but only within that item type and rarity. Or, among the party or Battlegroup who earned it–they could not be bought or sold. Jake was happy about that, as he would hate for people to get countless special items which didn’t fit their party at all, and just sat collecting dust since nobody could use them.

Jake had no doubts that Tartarus, within the dungeon, could find even more ways to cheat. However, he was reassured by Brother Zhuge that the Framework would ultimately make sure that it paid dearly for its transgressions outside of the rules, even if they died as a result.

It just…couldn’t much help while they were in the middle of things, or until they revived, more than likely. And he had seen it, even as the dungeon descended on Highlands. The branching tentacle or tree root construct had a mixture of Tartarus’s black, and the Framework’s gold throughout. It was just as much a part of the dungeon as Tartarus was, somehow.

Ophelia pouted. “I kinda wanna explore it right now. The dungeon sounds like fun!”

Valtor chuckled. “The initial exploration is going to be somewhat monotonous, and our brethren will definitely benefit more from it than your elite party. If a special enough event occurs, we can call you, but as you know, within the paths on other floors are actually paths to other worlds. If you defeat a Raid-level challenge, or an event much like what Fhesiah experienced with a Battleground, you can actually free a world from Tartarus’ clutches. Of course, losing these events can have major repercussions too. So we will only take these on with our best party–calling you.”

Tanda frowned. “But won’t calling us actually make it more dangerous? Tartarus wants to kill us and take our Divine Sparks, right? That means Champions could show up because we’re there, or the boss will power up like at Life’s Haven… or worse, like the Dungeon Raid?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Valtor nodded. “It could, normally. But not if you seal yourselves before entry.”

Jake realized what he was talking about now. “I suppose sealing ourselves would work.”

“Now that you’re in the second Tier, you may seal your Champion powers before entry. This will limit you to your base class’s spells and abilities, but it will also prevent something like enemy Champions showing up, or your bosses powering up beyond normal. It will even reduce the party slots you take up. On the other hand, you won’t be able to win Divine Sparks, or higher quality items from winning.”

Jake said, “Since we’re on vacation, it makes sense to seal ourselves to participate–and we may want to think about sealing a certain number of us for normal exploration and things like this even once our vacation is over.”

He added, “As for Hearthtribe exploring the dungeon, overall, I think that sounds like a great plan. So what about our Conquest Points? Anything useful we can do for now?”

Amara replied, “As you know, we’ve invested much in our facilities to improve the training of ourselves and our allies–the Arenas, our Headquarters, and more. But we have been saving up, as it were, for establishing the special network and merger. And, we’re finally ready.”

Tanda tilted her head. “Merger?”

Valtor spread his arms out wide, as the sector map shifted to show Highlands and Ankhmar, the desert world where they defeated the necromancer and rescued the sandreavers from its control. “That’s right! We’ve finally saved enough for merging Ankhmar and Highlands into one world!”

Jake arched his brow. The idea that a world would even possibly be willing to merge their world felt dubious to him. On Earth, even if there were advantages to smaller, third-world countries becoming a territory of a more powerful nation, they almost always turned this down. And why wouldn’t they? It was often like giving up their culture, their heritage–as well as their autonomy. He supposed that in truth it was a lot like Jake was already their governor, but it was still a surprise.

“Ankhmar is willing? What about any downsides?”

Amara smiled. “We still haven’t done the official poll yet, but it seems that they are! The people of their world had lost much of their population, both to the war, but also what followed after in the conflicts of succession. A true tragedy, but they also feel gratitude in their hearts for you, their savior.”

Valtor said, “In a way, merging their world with ours is a way of helping us. In others, it will improve their quality of life too. We’ll help each other because it’s also quite possible to at least partially solve the imbalance issue we have creeping up on us.”

Amara brought up the world of Ankhmar. While there were mountains and lakes, and a few rivers, it was very much a desert world. It had numerous pyramids nearly all over the world that their people had painstakingly built as mass graves and monuments to their kingdoms.

“Their world is far more arid, and is both compatible with death mana and even nethril. Their many pyramids can create a semi-natural formation that, with Fhesiah and Avalara’s help, can probably accomplish a decent counter to the world tree’s immense life energy it’s now adding to the world. The sandreavers will very much enjoy this new situation, and the people of the Kaemun Kingdom and others can live on the outskirts of the desert or near any oasis. It should be perfect, a win-win for everyone.”

[Yay! Bulldozer’s friends are now coming here!]

Berri was excited her death scarab friend would be much closer to his brethren. The giant sandreaver had joined Hearthtribe, but the number of his people that came to Highlands and joined Jake’s guild were few in number. Bulldozer did miss his many brethren, even if Hearthtribe kept him busy.

Ava had been quiet for much of the meeting, just watching everyone in their enjoyment, her tail fluttering in pride. But now she spoke. “It would be good for people to live in the Southern Hemisphere and other main continent. I had prepared the continents and land as I grew, but it is nearly empty of beastkin–only beasts and monsters, as you will. There are some natural resources that will form over the years, so that the people of Ankhmar can take advantage should work out well.”

It felt awfully strange to merge worlds, but it did sound like a decent win all around to Jake. “You said something about a network?”

Valtor nodded, and then the map shifted. Some lines formed between the worlds, between Highlands and a few others. “That’s right. We’ve already created the network links for a few of the Tier 1 worlds, like Ganestra, and the world Dahlia and Timone helped win: Argos. But the new Tier 2 worlds we won, Ariminum which upgraded, and we had wanted to wait. By linking them, they will grow more rapidly by the group of them.”

Jake frowned. “Why would they grow faster?”

Amara replied, “In part because of the Framework’s aid, but also just by design of the network. The energies of the cosmos that planets absorb are complex and numerous–it is not just mana. Many energies that are incompatible are outright discarded by the world, and those get sent down the network. With a network of many worlds, the overall growth of all is significantly increased.”

The door to the room opened, and Fhesiah in her dragon form and cultivator robes walked through and looked around. “I’m not late, am I?”

Ophelia frowned. “Late for what? Meeting with Nessa? It’s just going to be a video call, and it’s in a moment.”

“Good. Good. Wanted to be here to meet this lady. I heard she’s a Baroness, after all. It’s important we meet and thank our stalwart allies whenever possible.”

Ophelia rolled her eyes. “I don’t recall you joining the Warrior Brotherhood call just last week.”

“Well, you know how it goes. We’re all so busy, busy. I just so happened to finish up my task and was free this time.”

Fhesiah sat on the other side of Tanda. They then had a small chat and accepted the plans to merge the worlds and grow the network over the next year. The poll would likely be accepted by both worlds, thanks to Avalara prompting the many beastkin, and Hearthtribe spreading the word.

Eventually, the call Fhesiah arrived for came in.

Valtor and Amara had moved off the table, to float on the outside of the room instead, but Jake and his party remained sitting. The multiversal map hologram shifted into that of a woman.

The image was an Asian woman with short and straight blue hair, wearing white robes with blue accents. There were blue scales spattered on her cheeks lining her eyes, and some trailing down on her neck. Her cultivator robes, which were more like a kimono than full robes, had slits for her legs on the sides, likely making it easier for her to run. There was what appeared to be several katana tied to her waist.

She had some scales going down the outside of her thighs, and there was actually a snake tail which coiled around a single time completely around her near her feet, which was shown on the table. It was not nearly as wide or long as Bloodberri’s, but he imagined it was only five or so meters long in total based on what he could see.

[Is that…is she a snake girl? Jake! Hurry up!]

“Hurry up and what, Berri?”

[Of course, we need more snake girls. You need to get her into our family! Before she finds another mate!]

Jake did his best not to roll his eyes, and smiled at Nessa instead. “It’s good to finally meet you, Nessa Tyrsdottir. Valtor has told me you and your guild have been instrumental in some of our successes. We’re happy to have such a valuable ally.”

Nessa smiled. “Yes, and it’s great to finally meet you as well–though not in the flesh. I can say the same about you and your guild. We have very much appreciated your assistance.”

Jake introduced his wives one at a time, and they each chatted for a brief moment. Of course, Fhesiah’s introduction stood out.

Her smile was wide. “It’s so nice to meet you, Baroness. You are so different from what I pictured. I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but I was under the impression you were a human? We had been given the option to summon a Human Cleric of Tyr, but you seem to be…not a cleric or human at all?

Nessa suddenly blanched, and seemed to look embarrassed with a little bit of a pink hue in her cheeks as she covered her face with the tip of her tail, as if hiding behind it.

Tanda tilted her head. “What’s the matter?”

Nessa’s tail pulled away from her face, and she cleared her throat. “I… just couldn’t help but remember what happened, after that.”

She took a deep breath, and then gave him a small smile. “My father… put me in this vessel that matched my mother a bit more as a result of that. It was a rough time at first because I had no contact with him or why he did this, but now I am happy about the result. I’m sure I would have been happy if you selected me too, but things worked out well enough for me in the end. I’ve now grown quite the following on my own as a result, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.”

Fhesiah nodded. “Yes, I can see that. I heard you now own two worlds, and are working on several more, even while you aid us on others.”

The blue-haired woman gave her a shy smile. “Yes. Teaming up with Hearthtribe and Warrior Brotherhood has been refreshing, and meeting the Blizzardblade Sect and the Radiant Flame Sect along with the Celestial Nekomatas has been a big boon.”

Jake asked, “So they made it there alright? Fhesiah has told us a bit about them and their situation.”

“Yes, they are happy here in the Mystic Expanse. However, and this is why I’m contacting you, there is a bit of a problem.”

“What’s going on?”

Nessa sighed. “I almost didn’t want to ask for help, but it seems my new friends in the Mystic Expanse are being targeted. Some…unorthodox cultivators have shown up on the world, and they are causing a lot of trouble for me and my new allies. Entire villages have been wiped off the map, and it is said that they are forcing some to join their crazy cult besides.”

Tanda frowned. “Wiped off the map? How did…they get there? A large army, or something above your Tier shouldn’t be able to arrive on the world normally, right?”

Nessa nodded. “That’s right. Thankfully, it seems that some early second Tier cultivators infiltrated, rather than massive sects, or an army as you said. However, it seems…it is a strange cult, and the influence comes from the beyond. With enough time, they might summon something more powerful, encroaching on the Framework’s barrier. My ability to detect their taint when I am near is good, but… it requires me to be near, and in danger to the cultists, besides. I could really use some help, I cannot scour the entire world for these cultists by myself, and my guild is largely busy with its efforts in Conquests. I was told by Xara that Senior Hart was instrumental in defeating some very different unorthodox cultivators, and I had hoped…” She looked at Fhesiah pleadingly.

Tanda was a bit alarmed. “Did you say taint?”

Nessa nodded, and her tail tip seemed to shift as her coil beneath her moved. “That’s right. It seems these cultivators are somehow slowly tainting cultivator’s spirits and causing people to join them together in this cult. Some…forcefully, it seems, as there are sometimes signs of struggle. They are gaining ground, and this is particularly worrying for more reasons than just one. They are also trying to cancel initiating the Mystic Expanse fully.”

Tanda asked, “Initiating it?”

Valtor answered the question instead, “As you might be aware, most cultivator worlds can be seen as half joined to the Framework. They do not go through a true Trial like other worlds, and the Framework’s presence on their worlds is minimal. This is because cultivators usually refuse to join the Framework, and actually actively fight against it–making it a detriment for us to have a normal Trial instead. In rare cases, if enough are accepting of its existence, they can decide to go through this Trial and join the Framework in truth. Because of the state the world must be in for this to actually occur, it’s more like a world like Ariminum becoming Contested. It’s an opportunity to earn more potential for the cultivators. And, to give Love and Justice an opportunity to claim the world’s governance.”

Nessa seemed to blush at the mention of her guild’s name. “So removing these cults should hopefully have a two-fold effect. And, with Senior Hart and her…special heritage, we can hopefully convince even more to accept Initiation.”

Fhesiah was about to just agree for them, but Jake interrupted. “That sounds like a unique challenge, and I do think we want to help. Would you mind waiting a moment? To let us talk and discuss for a bit before we give our answer.”

“Of course. Please, take all the time that you need. Here, I will transfer a bunch of information about the Mystic Expanse and what we’ve found, for Valtor’s perusal.”

The call was put on a brief hold, allowing them to discuss amongst themselves, and Valtor had frozen in place as he seemed to be accessing his Menu, with Amara joining him.

Jake mostly knew her answer already, but hoped she had some more substantial reasons. “What do you think, Faye?”

“That sounds like something to break the monotony, and like these people could really use our help. It’s about time I visited a cultivator world for real besides an auction, husband. I’ll bring Ruby and Sati with me, make it a real adventure.”

Jake’s face couldn’t help but scrunch up in remembrance. Her last adventure hadn’t really gone as planned. At the same time, he understood the truth. Fhesiah was currently the highest level in Jake’s party.

She had reached level 29 as a result of the Celestial Nexus Battleground, and she never truly slowed down in her cultivation. Her bloodline was being refined by the tempering with Jake, but she was also leveling up at the same time, as she so loved to do in the process, every opportunity she got.

Crafting pills, utilizing her cultivation chamber when its energies were full and dense, and utilizing her hearth core, Fhesiah was already level 33. Other than true elite enemies, she would already give most cultivators near the peak of their Tier a real run for their money.

He knew this Mystic Expanse world could have peak cultivators, but its energy rating was near the middle of the Tier rather than the top of it. People could still reach the peak without the Framework’s aid, but it should be excessively rare, and at a high cost. It would take unorthodox rituals where people were sacrificed or similar, or some sort of lord or king that brought in resources from around the world for their personal consumption. Things that effectively concentrated the world’s energy into a singular person or entity.

Jake and the rest were not quite level thirty after the first year of their vacation. But he imagined that at the end of the five years they would just barely reach where Fhesiah was now with the ways that they were passively leveling up, maybe thirty-five out of fifty within the Tier at the most.

Which was fine, since she would at least keep herself from entering the next bracket without them, her goal to reach 39 and just reject all Qi rewards until they caught up. Within the dungeon and the War Trial, their levels would come quickly. They were primarily focused on their skills, and that they had gained any levels at all was largely thanks to their…soul harmonization.

Fhesiah snorted and shook her head. “This isn’t going to be like that adventure. I’m not going to another sector, nor a battleground where you can’t come or summon me or reverse summon yourself at a moment’s notice. Besides, we’ll at least need you to drop us off, and you could visit too. Meet this Nessa in person, and some of my friends from the Battleground. I know I want to.”

Tanda pleaded, “We should help them out, Jake! They have tainted too. It might be related to Balor, the death god. The same that hurt my people so.”

[Yes, and you should convince this snake girl to join us! Fhesiah said there was a whole clan of them, the blizzard whatsits, and–]

Blood interrupted Berri, [And they’ve already gotten with the Radiant Sun Sect, didn’t they? Half the reason they all showed up here as well is because they were happy to join with the snake girls. But anyway, that this Nessa is a Baroness means I approve of her. It seems she already has a few worlds, so even a political marriage is possible. For whatever reason, most of the Sector Nobility are male, or taken, or pledged to their Divine in some way–almost like nuns with a vow of celibacy. It’s been frustrating.]

Jake was a little surprised. “You mean…you’ve already researched and tried to find me a political marriage, Blood?”

He could feel Blood’s eyes narrow through his bond. [Of course I have. The more resources we have for the upcoming conflict: the War Trial, the more we can have control over our own destiny. To not consider such a simple option would be a disservice to us all. That said, there might be some options when we have a Tier 3 world under our belts…before then you are like a pauper prince to many of the…better options.]

Valtor spoke up from the side. “It seems Nessa Tyrsdottir has outlined a few targets, and with your help, she wants to hit them all at once so the cultists have a more difficult time coordinating their escape and more. This does seem like a job for most of you, though she does have a few resources of her own. The Blizzardblade Clan and Radiant Sun Sect are still getting acclimated, so they haven’t left the world yet on tasks and should be joining us.”

Jake asked, “What do you think, Lia?”

The Athenian valkyrie shrugged, but her golden wings seemed to flutter in what he knew was excitement. “Seems like a good thing to take care of these cultists. This way we can stretch our legs a little bit. As for the political marriage thing, I’m unsure for now. Bree is also sort-of waiting in the wings too. Might as well let Nessa know that we can help, I bet it won’t take long thanks to our new methods of travel.”

When it came to methods of travel when on a world, Jake now had several to choose from–whether it was limited by a Framework Challenge or Conquest, or if it wasn’t. The Mystic Expanse wasn’t contested, so that meant he could fly a fighter jet if he wanted. He didn’t have one, but he did have several airship-like flying machines that would work. The second Tier gave him many more options than he had in the first Tier.

It took them a minute to resume the call, but they hadn’t made Nessa wait long.

Jake said right away, “I think we should be able to help. Valtor said we’ll be attacking a few places at once?”

Nessa beamed. “Wonderful, I knew I could count on you. That’s right. Just let me know how many are coming, and we’ll coordinate our assault.”

It looked like Jake and much of his family were going to be heading to the Mystic Expanse. Fighting a bunch of cultists wasn’t what he had planned on when she had contacted him, but it would likely be an interesting challenge.