Luckily, it is only half the group, so it isn’t too bad, but he still acts a little nervous. However, that doesn’t last long once the kids start playing, he quickly joins in. The other kids understand that he is new and they keep it to simple games for the time being.

  Even with that, it is obvious that Kirito is having a ton of fun playing with them. My wives and I just sit back and enjoy watching them all play together, it is extremely cute. We cuddle and chat as we watch the kids play and it is a pleasant way to spend some time.

  Kirito wears out first, but that is no surprise since it is his first time in the soulscape. Once he leaves, I join the kids for some more complicated games and then give them some attention. After the kids are gone, I spend some time having fun with my wives and then end the soulscape.

  I then open a second soulscape and spend some time having fun with the goddesses. After that, I enter my meditation and start working on making more connections. As I am building more connections, I notice that some of the energy is working to strengthen the existing connections.

  That tells me that building connections is only going to be part of the process. That makes sense since there is only a certain amount of room for connections to be added to the core. However, when I experiment with strengthening the connections as I am building them, it fails.

  That sets my progress back a bit, but it is good to know I have to follow the right steps. As I continue working, I devote a bit more of the energy I am supplying to the strengthening. It slows me down a bit, but I want to make sure that the connections are strong enough.

  I am guessing that the strength of the connections is going to determine how well the integration works. Since I want to use dragon essence, I need my integration to be as strong as a dragon’s. Or at the least, I need to get it as close as I possibly can to that level of strength.

  I am going to complete my integration, but I will talk to Everburn before I add the essence. He was able to tell me that my core was too weak, meaning he should be able to tell me if it is strong enough. Considering he told me it could destroy my core, I don’t plan to take any chances.

  I really don’t want to have to rebuild my core and then start over from scratch. Out of curiosity, I try twisting one of the connections, which works, so I pull it apart. It separates into multiple strands, so I try braiding them together, which also works.

  I finish it off and then connect it to my core, the braided connection ends up much stronger. So, I stop making new connections and go back to disconnect and braid all the completed ones. It drastically slows down my progress, but I think the stronger connections will be worth it.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  There is a chance that I am limiting the amount that the energy can strengthen them, but I think it’s worth the risk. I really wish I had someone to discuss this with, but there isn’t anyone to ask. Everburn said all dragons go through this in the shell, but I don’t know any young dragons.

  Anything but a young dragon would be the same as Everburn, unable to remember that far back. I am working on the last connection when I sense Myria starting to move around. However, it isn’t really something I can stop once started, so I keep working on it.

  Core Integration Progress: 55%

  As soon as I finish braiding the last connection, I end my meditation and join Myria in bed. We have a couple of rounds of fun and then we join Asuna and Kirito for breakfast. Asuna is rather frantic when we let her into the suite, apparently Kirito has been hyper.

  I am guessing that it is because he was over excited by joining his first soulscape. Luckily, the food distracts him, but he doesn’t go to sleep after he is done eating. If anything, he seems to be more hyper after he is done eating than he was before.

  I join Asuna in playing with him in hopes that we can burn off some energy before the caravan is ready. Just before we move outside, I remember to leave a nice big tip for the cleaning staff. When we get outside, Asuna and I run Kirito all over the yard while the caravan is getting ready.

  Just before the caravan is ready to depart, I open a gate back to the peninsula for Myria. She gives me one last passionate kiss and then heads through the gate without a fight. I close the gate and then board the carriage, but it feels rather empty with only the three of us.

  Luckily, Kirito still isn’t tired enough to take a nap and playing with him is a good distraction. Despite all of the playing, he is still awake when the caravan stops for lunch. We are less than an hour from the Magic Kingdom, so we will be leaving the troops here.

  I admit that now that we are this close, I am feeling a little bit nervous about what will happen. I think that I have made plans for every eventuality, but there is no way to know for sure. However, I don’t plan to let a little fear stop me from moving forward and finally getting this trip over with.

  After lunch, just the carriages and a handful of guards move towards the Magic Kingdom. I can tell something is wrong even before we reach the gate, there is no other traffic. Even if the south gate is the least used, no traffic is still extremely suspicious.

  When the gate comes within sight, I can see a lot of activity on the wall above the gate. I can’t tell yet if there is something going on behind the gate, it is still too far away. It looks like a lot more activity than I would expect, especially since there is no traffic.

  The closer we get to the gate, the more activity that I can spot, including behind the gate. My carriage is in the lead and before we even reach the gate soldiers are pouring out of it. However, they move to the sides of the gate and spread out from the gate.

  It is to the point that when Lizzy stops in front of the gate we are already pretty much surrounded. As Lizzy stops, ten more soldiers come out of the gate, at least that is what I think at first. A closer look reveals that they aren’t soldiers at all, they are moving suits of armor.

  Of course, I am curious, so I scan them as I am climbing out of the carriage to face the soldiers. I tell Asuna and Kirito to stay inside and I am trusting Lizzy and the enchantments to keep them safe. My scan tells me that the suits of armor are not animate, they are golems, but incomplete ones.