As Phoenix led her friends to the ritual room on the lower floor, her mind raced with concerns. Despite what she had told Uriel, she was slightly panicking that she may have made a huge mistake by using that gem. Especially after Paul had expressly warned her before she unlocked her Familiar ability about cataclysm specifically being dangerous to use.

  Even though she hadn’t confirmed the details about them in her book –which she purposefully kept from Uriel since it would have completely derailed the conversation and the point she had been trying to make– she could inherently sense it within her. It was a freshly caught wild animal pleading to be released, begging to destroy everything around her.

  She briefly thought about keeping the ability a secret but there was no way she could keep it from her party and still be able to level it up. Once the party knew, they would eventually say something to her mentor, and then he would be even more upset that she had tried to hide it. No, she would need to tell them all… eventually.

  Once they reached their destination, Phoenix quickly went to work on the ritual to unlock a Spirit Gem. She had never actually needed to perform one of these, but the knowledge had been seared into her mind by the tome of rituals Schor had given her.

  “Why did you bring us here, Phoenix?” Dazien asked curiously, looking over her shoulder to see which ritual she was beginning, “Is that an Absorption Ritual?”

  “I thought you said you didn’t need to use those?” Rayna asked as she and her sister wandered over to look as well.

  “It’s not for me,” Phoenix expined and conjured one of the Spirit Gems from her collection into her palm and handed it to Dazien.

  “What do you mean?” he questioned as he studied the gem, “Which one is this?”

  “It’s an Avatar Spirit Gem,” she answered, making the clone appear in her now empty palm, then quickly returning it to her collection, “I got duplicates and only have one more ability to unlock. You’re the only other one in the party who also still needs to unlock some css abilities so that one is for you.”

  Amethyst eyes stared at her, then at the stone in his hand, before he breathlessly said, “These are incredibly expensive, Phoenix. I can’t just accept something like this.”

  “Don’t be silly,” she chided, “If my Defender can offer greater protection, that’s all the better for me. If you don’t like the Avatar type, we can exchange it for something different, but I don’t think there’s many Epic Crystal Caste Spirit Gems for sale at the market here in the middle of this frozen tundra.”

  Rayna gently punched Dazien’s bicep and said, “Shut up and take the loot. We never get to use your [Tribute] ability, so think of this as a consotion prize.”

  Phoenix nodded in agreement, not looking up from her work but gnced at the brand still on the back of her hand. It looked like a tattoo of a shimmering golden crown around a sword’s bde, the same symbol that adorned the Warrior King’s banner. She recalled the wording of the passive and wondered if there were any hidden differences between the two methods.

  Passive Ability: Tribute

  Type: Utility (magical, covenant)

  Current Caste: Crystal 8

  Crystal Effect: Allies with [Subject] gain a brand that allows them to loot sin enemies with a touch. You gain additional loot from enemies looted by allies with [Subject]. Loot goes directly into your dimensional storage.

  The metallic symbol briefly reminded her that she still hadn’t tried out the new magical tattoo kit she bought a while ago from Madam Malik to try out her embedded knowledge. She made a mental note to ask the others if they were interested once the ritual was done.

  When the circle was ready, Dazien was practically bouncing in his excitement as he waited for Phoenix to activate it but Rayna halted her with a question, “Why don’t you both unlock them at the same time?”

  “Why should we do that?” Phoenix asked with a raised eyebrow.

  The bard gave a fang-filled grin, “For luck? Come on, you both have the same gem; it’ll be fun to compare.”

  Phoenix rolled her eyes but decided to indulge her friend and pulled out her own Avatar Spirit Gem. As she triggered Dazien’s ritual, she also triggered her own ability to unlock a new power.

  Her process of unlocking was apparently much more painful than the normal method. She dropped to a knee as the gem seemed to warp and wrap around her like a snake coiling up her arm before melding into her flesh, while Dazien seemed to experience that same thing but without the nausea-inducing pain.

  Her new Moon power appeared in the [Guide Book] first since she didn’t need to touch it.

  Css Ability: Avatar of Bakunawa

  Type: Transfiguration (recoil, magical, dark, dimension, light)

  Cost: High mana.

  Cooldown: 30 minutes.

  Current Caste: Crystal 1 (0%)

  Crystal Effect: Take on the characteristics and abilities of the moon-eating dragon Bakunawa, increasing all attributes by a significant amount and unlocking the abilities [Eclipse Breath], [Cosmic Talons], and [Soul of the Celestial]. When this effect ends, you are temporarily debilitated, suffering a reduction in all attributes.

  Eclipse Breath (channel, magical, dark, light): Breath a stream of Magical fmes inflicting Dark and Light damage.Cosmic Talons (magical, dimension): Grow metallic cws that inflict Dimension damage.Soul of the Celestial (passive, aura): Increases Strength, Mind, and Magic attributes of allies within your aura.

  “Wait, does that grant a fifth aura?” Rayna asked incredulously as she read, “I didn’t think an ability that grants a temporary aura was even possible.”

  Saiya shrugged at her sister and said simply, “It’s magic. Anything is possible.”

  Dazien hesitantly walked over and touched the book with a slight frown.

  Css Ability: Avatar of Sovereignty

  Type: Familiar (ritual, summon, magical, covenant)

  Cost: Severe mana and stamina.

  Cooldown: None.

  Current Caste: Crystal 1 (0%)

  Crystal Effect: Summon a [Royal Raksha] to serve as a Familiar.

  “Why do you look disappointed?” Phoenix asked as she read over the ability, “A Familiar is awesome.”

  “Cheep, cheep!” Ta excimed from atop the usual perch in her hair.

  Dazien flushed as he grimaced and quietly admitted, “I don’t have the materials to summon it. It will be… expensive. Even with an Adventurer’s income.”

  Phoenix frowned and offered, “I don’t mind helping out. I did just get all those Ruby Mana Bits, after all, and a Familiar will be extremely useful. What do you need?”

  “A lot of Covenant Shards with a little bit of Blood, Song, Wind, and Radiant on top of that. The minor amount of Wind and Song ones won’t be too hard but Blood ones are usually in high demand for healing. As for the Covenant ones… they’re such a niche item that I believe are usually only needed for contractual rituals outside of some Familiar summonings. Not to mention, Radiant Shards are a whole other category too since they’re Divine. I’m not sure I can get it all,” he regretfully said.

  “I bet if we leave now we can do this summoning today,” Phoenix said with a grin. Then added with a hint of a plea, “Please, Dazien? We need some more happy moments after yesterday.”

  He seemed to debate with himself for a moment before giving in and tilted his head in agreement but stiputed, “Fine, but first we get some sleep. Let’s try to get at least the five hours most Crystal Casters need, then we can grab a meal and stop by Mother’s Cupboard afterward. I asked her st time I visited if it would be okay for you to portal directly there in the future while trying to be discreet, and she happily agreed.”

  Phoenix chuckled, “Another way to pamper me into accepting that job offer?”

  “Probably,” he admitted with a soft smile, “But I also get the feeling that she has a soft spot for our party. I should see about getting to know her son, Rayk, more. I think you left an impression when you chatted together during the trials.”

  “Maybe we can meet up with him while we’re there,” she suggested as they left the ritual room to carry out Dazien’s pn.

  Dazien hadn’t been wrong about the Shards being expensive, but Phoenix didn’t hesitate to help him. She simply reiterated the same argument she had used to convince him to accept the Spirit Gem by pointing out that a stronger party meant better monster killing, which meant more loot, so really it was just an investment.

  The orphaned gemite was still having a difficult time wrapping his mind around the strange economics of being an Adventurer with a looting power. He had struggled for so long to gather funds, and even when he had initially unlocked the passive [Tribute] ability, there were only so many people willing to hire him and not try to take advantage of him.

  In the Processing District to the northwest, he had tried to get a job as a Looter, but many of the employers there either paid a pittance for his time or cimed that he was holding out on them. Since his version of looting would automatically put the items in his [Armory], they couldn’t know that he hadn’t gotten more than he told them.

  Meeting Phoenix, who had the backing of one of the most influential noble Houses in the city, along with her own looting power, and realizing that the woman had absolutely no qualms about buying whatever she wanted was a test of his own patience not to balk every time she gave things away and never asked them for anything in return.

  He loved that she seemed to be a generous soul, but sometimes, it was hard to put his feelings into words when he compared her experience to his and Uriel’s. When they sometimes couldn’t turn on the hearth because they hadn’t made enough Bits that month to pay for the mana supply from the city.

  Finally, getting income from AOA missions and looting the monsters they killed without an employer trying to take more than their cut made it easier for them to live. However, his frugality had already taken a firm hold on his habits.

  His party was all getting excited again as they returned, and he began drawing out the ritual circle instead of Phoenix, pcing the insane amount of costly items carefully around the diagram. Then, when everything seemed perfect after triple-checking it, he began to chant, “From the realm above all realms, where your dominion reigns supreme. Let your sovereignty be the pilr of my kingdom. Let your majesty make all kneel before us. King of Kings, I invoke thee!”

  An oppressive aura filled the room as a golden rift appeared in the air above the center of the ritual circle, and out stepped one of the oddest creatures any of them had ever seen. It was like some kind of chimera that amalgamated the beasts known as the king of the jungle, sky, forest, and myths.

  It had the solid golden-furred body, head, and mane of a majestic lion, though its tail seemed more like a golden dragon’s from the storybooks he had read as a child when visiting the temple of Schor. From the top of its head sprouted a magnificent set of stag antlers that seemed wrought of metallic gold. The sharp tines looked like they could impale any monster that dared to anger it. The st defining feature was the giant eagle wings that sprouted from its back, and they also had a shiny gold color that glimmered in the light of the glowstones set into the ceiling.

  The creature was as tall as Dazien, and they all stood staring at the regal beast in awe. It stepped forward purposefully until it was face to face with its summoner, and he reached a hand out carefully and pced it between his new Familiar’s eyes, patting it gently and eliciting a low rumbling purr from its chest.

  “Does it have a name?” Uriel asked.

  The [Royal Raksha] turned a golden eye towards Uriel and shook its head, causing the rge mane to shimmer as gold dust fell from it.

  “I would suggest calling it ‘King,’ but that might get confusing,” Rayna said, “What are you gonna call him, King?”

  The warrior raised an eyebrow at her use of his nickname but didn’t correct her as his eyes went back to the grand Familiar, “I’m not sure. Any suggestions?” Then he gnced towards Phoenix, “Any myths from your world about kings?”

  “Tons,” the Wayfarer replied automatically, listing, “Mufasa, Arthur Pendragon, Agamemnon, Beowulf, Kaleva. There are a couple kings of gods: Zeus, Jupiter, Odin, The Jade Emperor, Ra and Amun, Yahweh, Alh, Batha, Amenominakanushi.” She paused for a moment, then added, “There were also other words that mean ‘King’ in nguages other than my own: Caesar, Czar, or Sultan. There was an ancient nguage that was considered dead called Latin, and we used it to describe what the king of the dinosaurs was back when they existed. Aside from humans, it was the ‘Rex’ that was the apex predator of the world until a cataclysm destroyed them.”

  Dazien grinned and noted, “I’ve actually read a story about a king named Kaleva here, too. Maybe I’ll tell you about it ter,” then he looked back to his Familiar, contempting which to pick, “Those all sounded interesting, but some of those I can’t even pronounce.”

  He thought about what Phoenix had said about it requiring a cataclysm for the downfall of this king of beasts and gnced at Uriel. If any man would be his downfall, it would be the Cataclysm Mage that had cimed a piece of his heart. He refocused on the magnificence before him and asked, “What do you say, sir? Do you like ‘Rex’?”

  The lion-stag-eagle-dragon beast tilted its head slightly and pushed forward again until it seemed to dissolve into golden glitter and pour itself directly into Dazien’s throat. He coughed slightly at the sensation, also feeling an odd shiver run down his spine, then said with a slightly altered voice that seemed to have been infused with power and spoke straight into them, “Well, I guess he liked it. Are you all ready to get some training done before Lord Waynd returns from the AOA raid? I know it started st night while we were at Suoja, but I haven’t heard any news yet.”

  Everyone automatically nodded in agreement. Then Phoenix shook her head after a moment, as if suddenly remembering something, and said, “Actually, I have some new tools to try out if you all don’t mind helping.”