“The Grand Camp is really about to end.” Scott exhaled deeply, putting his plate aside. “I didn’t find what I came here for. Instead, I found friendship. As weird as that was, making friends was the last thing on my mind when I joined the Grand Camp.”

  And now he had made several friendships that would last a lifetime.

  “Don’t fret. I won’t cut ties with you, no matter how much stronger I will be.” Daniel snickered, finishing his last piece of chocolate cake as well.

  “I found a divination beast and located its lair.” Scott huffed, then grimaced. “I mean, I know in which Zones it could be located. It might take a while to narrow its whereabouts further. But if my sources can be trusted, I will have a second Soulkin soon…ish.”

  He smiled genuinely for the first time in what had to be months and gave Daniel the finger. If they weren’t friends, their antics would start a fight–maybe that would happen anyway–but they had become good friends in the last few months.

  “The only problem is its strength. It’s a Guardian beast with enough potential to grow even more powerful in an area filled with equally powerful beasts and worse.” Scott tried to sound nonchalant, but the struggle of finding suitable Soulkins to bind had been nagging at him.

  “You’re planning to enter a Forbidden Zone to fight a Guardian beast head-on?” Sophie asked warily.

  Scott shrugged and added bitterly, “I will do what it takes. With a little bit of luck and good timing, the divination beast may join me of its own volition. My traits hint at the possibility, although they’re low. Regardless, I have to grow stronger. To do so, I may as well fight a Guardian beast.”

  “That’s dangerous.” Joy faded from Daniel’s face. “I’ll help you when the time has come. Just call me, and I’ll be ready. As long as you give me a little time with Teach Heros. He would bite my head off if I disappeared right after the Grand Camp. And, well, I’d much rather be a Master before we barge into a Forbidden Zone.”

  “Advancing to a Grandmaster would be even better, but that’s easier said than done,” I added before stuffing my mouth with more chocolate cake.

  Sophie fidgeted around a little, shifting her weight on the edge of the bed beside me. “I would love to help too, but I don’t think I can leave the army that easily after joining. Maybe once the war ends, or in a year or two when the fights calm down, that’d be possible. If you haven’t left for the Forbidden Zone by then, I’ll be happy to join you.”

  She smiled, but talking about war drained the luster in her eyes. “I will depart with the ninth Bastion’s flying ship after the graduation ceremony alongside the other volunteers.”

  I was still not sure what to think about the wars on multiple fronts or that Sophie volunteered to join them. It was brave, but I didn’t like it. What if… What if something were to happen to her? My mind tried its utmost to shove the thoughts about all the horrible things that could happen to the Bastions as well as Sophie, but they persisted and returned.

  Yet, I smiled through the murky thoughts lingering in my mind, my hand finding Sophie’s. She flinched, but didn’t move away, seeking strength in my hands.

  “I… I will join Sophie.” Fabienne announced and squirmed when our heads flicked to her in unison.

  “What?!” Daniel leaped to his feet. “You don’t want to join Grandmaster Heros’ research team? Why??”

  Fabienne pulled her head down further, unable to meet Daniel’s anger. He stepped closer, repeating his question, but our shy friend didn’t respond.

  “Calm down.” Scott grasped his shoulder. “Fabienne is old enough to make that decision for herself. I know you mean well for her, but not everyone has the same future in mind.”

  He smiled at Fabienne. “I am sure she thought about it long and hard. The decision must have been difficult to make. I’m happy for you.”

  Daniel didn’t look happy, neither did Sophie. Her fingernails dug into my skin and would have torn through it if I’d still been an Adept. But as displeased as both were, they respected Fabienne’s decision, though a little unwilling.

  “That leaves us with you, Adam. What’s your plan for the future?” Scott shifted the topic smoothly to me.

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  “My plan for the future? I… honestly, I’m not too sure about that. I was too busy getting stronger to really think about the future.” That was not exactly true, but it rang honest enough in the others’ ears. “I can help you with the divination beast if you need a helping hand.”

  Scott furrowed his brows at me. “I do want your help, but you’ve been working too hard this whole time. You deserve a break.”

  “Knowing you, you probably haven’t even spent your coins yet.” Daniel sighed, shifting from Fabienne to me.

  And he was right. I still had a lot of coins left. In fact, I had more than enough ever since I sold a few high-grade pieces from Kazriel’s armory. Some of the things the Ruler had collected were worthless to me. I’d never use them, which was all the more reason to sell them to make sure I had enough coins for Daniel.

  “I still have five Tokens, roughly 1.2 million coins, and a World Aspect, and they’re all waiting for you, Daniel. It’s about time you make a decision.” I flashed a smile at my friend.

  Daniel cursed softly, which Scott took as a sign to quip, “I have no need for my coins and Tokens either. That’s another approximately 835,000 coins and eight Tokens.”

  Scott clearly hadn’t bothered spending his coins or Tokens on anything. I knew he’d tried locating useful resources for Destiny, but the few things he found for the squirrel had clearly not been that expensive. In the first place, not spending the Tokens was understandable. But how did Scott gather so many Camp Coins?

  The others seemed surprised too. Not about my fortune; mine made sense with Kazriel’s inheritance and all. But Scott, really?

  Daniel’s lips parted, but I glared at him, knowing what he was going to say.

  “I hate you guys,” he growled, staring at Scott and me reluctantly.

  “Adam can keep his Tokens and the World Aspect. With my Tokens and our coins pooled together, you should have more than enough to afford the Species Expansion Aspect,” Scott said, staring at Daniel. “Or did you mess up, and Adam has to pay the price for your failure?”

  “No. No, I didn’t mess up… I prepared the coins just like you said.” Daniel grunted, staring daggers.

  “Good job. Aren’t you happy Adam can keep his World Aspect?” Scott was smiling, while Daniel muttered something incomprehensible.

  The turn of events was unexpected, but it was rather pleasant. I felt bad for pumping Daniel with coins and Tokens whereas Sophie and Fabienne received nothing. They were about to join the war and needed better equipment and resources to grow.

  “Do you need Tokens for anything?” I asked the girls. They stared at me but didn’t reject the offer, so I transferred two Tokens to each before they could say anything.

  Scott turned around, eyes milky white, blood pooling beneath them.

  “Don’t worry about it. One Token should be more than enough to acquire a decently powerful Soulkin,” I reassured him, but he only nodded curtly.

  “A fourth Soulkin?” Daniel cocked an eyebrow at me.

  I just smiled, my attention drifting to Sophie and Fabienne going through the newly unlocked items in the Camp Shop. Unlocking the Token section revealed thousands of items that had been hidden before.

  We spent the rest of my birthday going through the Camp Shop with them, searching for the best items to purchase. Daniel disappeared at some point, rushing to the Camp Shop to collect his Aspect before someone else could take it away from him.

  It was long after midnight when Sophie and Fabienne left the room. Daniel didn’t return, and neither did Spencer.

  “I can leave the room if you want to bind the World Growth Aspect now,” Scott offered, but I shook my head.

  “That can wait until tomorrow. I’m more concerned with the Soulkin I’m going to pick. A fourth Soulkin to train and nurture might be a little bit too much for me.”

  “Is that so? Aureus’ potential might increase once he’s a true Earthheart, but Nox has reached the limit of his potential. Your sacred flame doesn’t grow if you don’t allow it to, right? So you can invest in the flame when you have a lot of soul energy to spare.” Scott highlighted the sacred flame part a little too obviously for my liking. I flinched, which made him smile as he added,

  “Anyway, you won’t have a problem with a fourth Soulkin. Although it may be best to find a beast that’s not as suicidal to grow and evolve as Aureus. Your Ferronox Mantis will want to grow stronger and evolve as well. A change of tune may not be bad. A lazy beast maybe. Or one with less ambition.”

  Scott didn’t seem to take the situation all that seriously. “I don’t want to hate you for your World, but I am definitely jealous of you, Adam. You won’t have any problems finding suitable beasts for your purposes. It doesn’t even matter what you’re looking for–you will be fine. That you managed to acquire a unique sacred flame shows just how fortunate you are. You are the definition of a Blessed, Adam, and I hope you will make use of every little advantage. You have to.”

  That’s ominous, I thought, but I nodded.

  As much as I hated my World and physique in the past, it had become a blessing. Using both World and physique to their utmost would not only help me advance to the next Rank fast, but it would help me grow powerful enough to defeat the strongest Blessed at my Rank. All I needed was wits and the drive for greatness.

  “I will find a suitable Soulkin. You don’t have to worry about me,” I promised.

  Scott hummed, “I never worried about you. You will be fine as long as you stay true to yourself.”