Chapter 209 - Future Plans and Surprises

Looking at their new appearances, a thought came into Charisa's mind, prompting her to focus her sense of vision towards Aurus before asking him, "Master, now that I think about it, you haven't told us their names yet."

Realizing his mistake, Aurus let out a light chuckle before replying to Charisa's statement, saying, "My bad, my bad. That thought went over my head, to be honest."

He then went focused his sense of vision towards the new Allies he had summoned before saying, "Go ahead and introduce yourselves to your new comrades." He then added not long after, "But before that, let me introduce your new comrades before you go ahead and introduce yourselves."

Whoosh!

Manifesting a tendril out of SP, Aurus went ahead and pointed the tendril towards Charisa before saying, "This curvy looking piece of wood covered in flames is Charisa. Just like her appearance, she specializes in the Fire element."

"Not just any Fire element, Master, but the Yin-Yang Flame element~!" Charisa said in response to Aurus's words before looking at the three new Allies and saying, "Anyways, my full name is Charisa Flamerei. If you need any help with anything related to flames, I'm the one you should ask!"

Just as the three new Allies were about to respond to her words, Aurus went ahead and interrupted them from doing so, pointing his tendril towards Fenrir this time. He then said, "As for this royal looking wolf here, that's Fenrir, the first Ally to be summoned by me. He specializes in the Wind element, just like me, your master."

In response to Aurus's words, Fenrir went ahead and radiated an aura of slight elation as he looked at the three new Allies summoned by Aurus and said, "My full name is Fenrir Zephyron. I'm quite glad to be one of your comrades from now on."

After Fenrir was finished talking, Aurus then let out a chuckle as he pointed his tendril towards the pair of flowers with grass on their roots. Not long after, he said, "With their introductions now over, it's time for you three to introduce yourselves to them. For now, it's fine if you just tell them your names. Let's start with you first, er…"

Noticing that Aurus intentionally hemmed and hawed at the last bit of his statement, the pair of flowers took this chance to continue where he left off, with one of the two flowers, whose petals were of a pastel yellow color, said, "My name is Eu. So far, I don't have a last name yet."

Not long after Eu was finished speaking, the other flower beside it, whose petals were of a pastel red color, continued where it left off, uttering in a slightly timid voice, "As for me…my name is Phoria…I'm quite shy, but I'll do my best in protecting Master…"

Listening as to how Eu & Phoria were now talking when compared to their previous evolution, Aurus could not help but ponder as to why they were quite fluent in speaking at the B-grade Inanimate level. He then remembered that Charisa had to evolve to A-grade to at least be able to speak fluently, eventually forming a plausible conclusion in his mind that the reason why they can speak fluently has something to do with the fact that they're two Allies in one.

After Eu & Phoria were finished talking, Aurus then pointed his tendril towards the slightly larger pebble in the middle, saying, "Please introduce yourself to the others."

"Alright," the decently sized pebble said in response to Aurus's words, slightly shocking him since he didn't expect the pebble to have a slightly deep voice. It then continued talking, introducing itself to the others by saying, "Nice to meet you all. My name is Terrence. Just like Eu & Phoria beside me, I don't have a last name yet."

It then let out a light chuckle before continuing, "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't do my best in serving and protecting the master."

"Nice to meet you as well, Terrence," Fenrir could not help but say in response to Terrence's statement. He then added, "I have a feeling we're going to get along."

"I have the same feeling as well," Terrence replied before letting out another light chuckle. It then asked Fenrir, "Is it fine if I call you Fenrir?"

"You can call me however you like," Fenrir said in response to Terrence's question, letting out a chuckle of his own not long after.

"Ehem. Aren't you guys forgetting someone?" Just as the two were about to continue talking with one another, a slightly haughty voice resounded throughout the room, prompting everyone to focus their sense of vision towards the one who just talked. In response to this, Aurus let out a sigh inwardly, wondering why this puddle of water had such a unique personality. He then pointed his tendril towards it before saying, "Go ahead and introduce yourself."

"My name is Marielle Glaciesta," the puddle of water said in response to Aurus's words. It then continued, "Unlike these two inferior beings beside me, I can offer greater protection to the master. Of course, once I reach my maximum evolution, I'm pretty sure I can even offer greater protection than wolf and flames over there."

"Are you looking for a fight or something?" Charisa could not help but ask Marielle, conjuring a ball of flames that flickered between black and white as she added, "If you want a fight, I'll give you a fight, you f.u.c.k.i.n.g bi—"

"Stop that, Charisa," Aurus interrupted Charisa as he radiated the full extent of his aura, using the tendril he had conjured to dispel the ball of flames Charisa had manipulated. While his aura was at full power, he then focused it towards Marielle, saying, "I don't see anything wrong with having a little bit of competition since that would allow everyone to become stronger. But never ever underestimate your comrades, okay?"

With Aurus's aura making Marielle feel uncomfortable, it instilled a sense of fear in Marielle, prompting it to reply with a stutter, "I…understand. I won't do it…ever again."

"As long as you understand," Aurus replied to Marielle's words as he let out a short sigh, retracting his aura before looking at the three with an aura of elation, a stark contrast to the aura he was radiating a while ago. He then said, "Let's get you three evolved to X-grade as soon as possible."

Not long after, he turned his focus towards Theresa, commanding it, "Theresa, use all of the experience points I have to max out their levels. Also, evolve them to X-grade as fast as possible. No need to ask me whether to evolve them or not."

"As you wish, Master," Theresa responded to Aurus's command, gesturing with its hands as strands of yellow energy manifested around Aurus's body before making their way towards the bodies of the three new Allies he had summoned. Of course, these strands of yellow energy were the unused experience points Aurus had, but in a condensed form, allowing them to max out their levels in an instant.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A few seconds later, their bodies had turned into balls of light, gradually changing in their structure as they made their way to the level of A-grade Inanimate. Surprisingly, while Aurus was watching their evolution process, a familiar voice resounded in his mind.

"Hey, Aurus!" the voice said in a cheerful tone, prompting Aurus to reply to the voice with a light chuckle, saying, "What's up, Herellia. Why'd you contact me?"

"Well, I heard from Horell as to what you were going to do," Herellia replied to Aurus's question. She then added, "I heard from him that you're going to evolve soon."

"Yeah," Aurus responded to her statement with affirmation. He then told her, "While I was making my way towards the Tower of Seclusion, I also heard from Horell that you were going to evolve soon as well."

In response to Aurus's words, Herellia let out a sigh before saying, "As expected from him. Either way, it saves me time from explaining what I'm going to do."

"What existence level are you going to evolve into?" Aurus could not help but ask after listening to Herellia's words. Not long after, Herellia replied, "The Animate level, of course."

"Are you prepared for the Existence Tribulation that is to come while you evolve?" Aurus asked after hearing her response, to which Herellia replied, "Of course I am. Though we'd have to do it far away from the alliance base since I don't want the base to be destroyed just like how Zelefaire ascended to the Animate level."

"That's understandable," Aurus replied to her words before asking her, "But who's Zelefaire?"

"He was the first member in the alliance to ascend to the Animate existence level, having the rare species of Magnus Fortressi at X-grade Inanimate. Due to him being a rare species, his Existence Tribulation was far more destructive than what we thought, destroying 90% of the alliance base at the time," Herellia said in a slightly melancholic tone as if she was reminiscing.

Noticing the slightly melancholic tone in her words, Aurus could not help but ask her, "Was he unsuccessful?"

"No, he was successful," Herellia replied to Aurus's question before adding, "He became a decently strong Rank 0 Animate after that. But due to what had happened to the base, I had to kick him out."

"I see…" Aurus responded to her words not long after. After that, a moment of silence ensued between the two of them, with Herellia eventually breaking the silence as she let out a sigh, asking him, "The past is the past, let's move on. How did it go in the Comprehension Leaf inheritance? Did you max out your comprehension speed?"

Not expecting to get this sort of question, it took a while for Aurus to come up with an answer. At the moment he came up with one, he let out a slight chuckle before replying with a slightly confident tone, "It went very well. Not only was I able to reach the maximum limit of 30 times, but I've gone and exceeded it as well."

"Eh?" Listening to Aurus's response, Herellia could not believe what she was hearing. In response to his words, she asked him, "You exceeded the limit? By how much?"

"I'm at 40 times the normal comprehension speed right now," Aurus replied to her question, his tone gradually becoming more confident…and somewhat complacent. "You wanna know how I did it?"

Before Herellia could even say yes to the question, Aurus went ahead and answered it, letting out a proud laugh in his mind as he said, "I've absorbed the Comprehension Leaf that comes after Transcending."

"What?!" Herellia was in utter disbelief over what Aurus said. Although she knew that there were higher grades of Comprehension Leaves after Transcending, she did not know that these higher grades existed in the Comprehension Leaf inheritance as well. Taking in a deep breath, Herellia went ahead and asked him with a tone of curiosity, "Can you perhaps…tell me…what its name is?"

"All-seeing," Aurus briefly replied. He then added, "I also know the name of the grade that comes after All-seeing, but the inheritance doesn't have it. It's called All-knowing."

"All-seeing…All-knowing," Herellia muttered a few times, trying to commit these names into her mind. As she committed these memories into her mind, a spark of inspiration flashed in her mind, prompting her to ask Aurus with slight eagerness, "Hey, Aurus…could you uh…accompany me to that inheritance and uh…get me some of those All-seeing Comprehension Leaves?"

"Well…" Listening to Herellia's request, Aurus could not help but be in favor of declining it since he was going to evolve soon. With that in mind, he asked her, "Are we going to go right now?"

"It doesn't have to be right now," Herellia responded to his question before adding, "It could be after your evolution."

Seeing that Herellia did not care about whether it was before or after his evolution, Aurus let out a sigh of relief before pondering as to whether he would accompany her or not. It did not take long for Aurus to come to a conclusion as he remembered that he had partial ownership over the inheritance.

Letting out a small chuckle, he soon said, "Alright, I'll accompany you to the inheritance after I evolve. It's up to your abilities to get an All-seeing Comprehension Leaf, though."

"No worries," Herellia replied to his words before adding, "I believe I can get them after what I've gone through."

Just as Aurus was about to continue his conversation with Herellia, Theresa looked at Aurus and said, "Master, all three Allies have now reached the X-grade Inanimate level. Not only that, but I've maxed out their levels as well."

Hearing those words, Aurus could not help but say to Herellia in an apologetic tone, "Ah, I apologize Herellia but it seems I have to cut our conversation short. I still have some important stuff to do."

"Ah! Was I disturbing you?" Herellia soon replied to Aurus's words with a question before continuing, "No need to reply, I understand you're preparing for your evolution. I hope you evolve to an incredibly great species."

After that, the connection between the two had been cut, ending their conversation. In response to that, Aurus could not help but let out a short sigh before muttering, "After I evolve, I should probably try my best to get her at least one All-seeing Comprehension Leaf. I guess that's a decent apology for what I just did."

"Anyways, it's time to look at these—woah." At the very instant Aurus focused his sense of vision towards the newly evolved Allies of his, he was left at a loss for words, greatly surprised by how different they looked from their B-grade Inanimate appearances.

Eu & Phoria, who used to look like two flowers with grass on their roots, now looked like two exquisite sculptures made out of vines, appearing as two beautiful women in cheerful poses with a red and yellow flower on top of their heads respectively. Noticing that Aurus was looking at them, Eu & Phoria went ahead and introduced themselves to him, with Eu saying, "Let me introduce myself properly this time, Master! My name is Eu Lucerna!"

Not long after Eu was finished introducing, Phoria went ahead and introduced herself as well, talking in a less timid tone, "I share the same last name as Eu, Master. Phoria Lucerna…at your service!"

"Glad to have you two protecting me," Aurus said in response to their words. Just as he was about to move on to Terrence, a thought popped up in his mind, prompting him to ask the two, "Eu. Phoria. I have a question."

"What is it, Master?" the two of them asked simultaneously, to which Aurus responded, "Can you two split up and move in different directions?"

Pop!

Accompanied by a popping sound, the two of them separated from each other, moving in opposite directions before saying, "Indeed, we can, Master!"

"That's good to know," Aurus soon said in response to their words. With his curiosity now satiated, he then focused his sense of vision towards Terrence. At the very instant he laid his sense of vision towards Terrence, Aurus could not help but say, "You're very handsome."

"You must be jesting, Master," Terrence said in response to Aurus's compliment. Terrence's current appearance was a stark contrast to his B-grade Inanimate appearance, being an exquisite sculpture made out of a fine piece of stone. All of the areas on his body were chiseled to perfection, with the special area covered by a large piece of rock. Nonetheless, that did not hide the aura of exquisiteness that he was radiating.

"Let me introduce myself properly, Master. My name is Terrence Castras," Terrence said not long after, to which Aurus replied, "Castras, quite a good last name."

"Thank you for the compliment, Master," Terrence said in response to Aurus's words. After that, Aurus then moved ahead and focused his sense of vision towards the Ally that had undergone the same level of drastic change as Terrence, saying, "You're quite beautiful, Marielle."

"That is something to be expected, Master," Marielle said in response to Aurus's words before letting out a light chuckle. She then went ahead and bowed, shocking Aurus as she introduced herself to him, saying, "As you know, my name is Marielle Glaciesta. But at this current evolution of mine, I have obtained the title of Marchioness, awakening the great Glaciesta bloodline. Please greet me according to my title, Master."

Although he was quite surprised that Marielle had obtained a title, it was something to be expected from how high her potential grade was. What surprised Aurus the most was the fact that she could move like a living being. Considering her current appearance, which was basically a humanoid form but made out of water with great facial features, the only thing she needed was the right skin color and she would probably fit in with the Animates.

"She looks more like a Pseudo-Animate than an Inanimate to me," Aurus muttered to Theresa before asking it, "Does it have something with the bloodline she was talking about, Theresa?"

"That is indeed the case, Master," Theresa responded to his words before explaining, "All Allies that are of SSS-grade potential and higher have bloodlines. If you have two or more Allies that have the same bloodline, a resonance shall form between the two of them, creating a fusion attack that has power surpassing normal fusion attacks."

"I see," Aurus said after going over Theresa's explanation in his head a few times. He then went ahead and looked at the three of them as a whole before asking them, "Eu. Phoria. Terrence. Marielle. Do you have any problem with me checking your Ally skills?"

In response to his question, the four of them responded simultaneously, "No problem at all, Master!"

"Glad to know," Aurus chuckled as he replied to their words. He then looked at Theresa and commanded, "Theresa, open up their Ally skills. Oh, and also, open up Fenrir and Charisa's Ally skills as well."

"As you wish, Master," Theresa soon acted upon Aurus's request as five decently sized screens filled to the brim with information appeared in front of his field of vision not long after.

Whoosh!

After reading through all of their Ally skills, only one thought entered Aurus's mind as he took in a deep breath from awe.

'Holy f.u.c.k.i.n.g shit.'