“So this is your pce, huh?” Cory nodded, looking around the pce. He whistled, walking around the mansion-like building.

  Martyn, Jade, and Amber had invited Cory and Liz to check out their completed plot of nd. Everything had been finished—their home, Jade’s smithy, Martyn’s pnt room, and alchemy area. The paths to and from each were paved in grey stone.

  Apart from the buildings, the ground was still barren, filled with dead trees and no grass or foliage across the massive area, but that would change soon.

  Martyn and Jade arrived at the heart of their nd, where not far away was an intricate magic circle. In front of them, a deep hole had been dug, with metal-enchanted pipes connecting to the boundary of their home, while Amber gave Liz and Cory a tour.

  “Right here,” Jade nodded.

  Martyn released the gravity heart from his inventory, pcing it in the hole. Jade used her mana to shift and activate the device.

  “How did you improve the mana capacity? I thought five thousand was the limit,” Martyn asked, feeling the wealth of mana inside the device.

  Jade had made a st-minute change that increased the mana capacity of the gravity heart by five times. He appraised the item, his mind spinning.

  [Item: The Gravity Heart, Rank: Artefact, Mana: 25,000/25,000]

  [Effect: Spread Mana, Lighten, Float]

  [Description: A gravity heart inspired by mana banks and other devices, this containing spatial mana will spread its energy throughout whatever medium, applying gravitational magic within limits set by the brain. The core of this device uses a special and rare item capable of storing vast amounts of spatial mana. Created by one goblin elite smith.]

  “What’s the unique item?” Martyn asked.

  “I’ll tell you ter; it’s a secret between me and Amber,” Jade smiled.

  It was a boon, as with more mana, he’d have to refill it less. He would’ve liked to have more gravity hearts, but that would cause issues. If they had multiple around the isnd and they exploded, that much mana would kill them all.

  Once the gravity heart spun, connecting with the metal pipes, it activated, covering itself in five yers of magic barriers. They filled the hole with dirt and smiled as mana spread through the area.

  “Alright, the heart is set. This is connected to the beams that stretch out to the sides. All that’s next is the brain of the isnd,” Jade said, summoning a small stone podium from the inventory.

  It was made of stone with metal edges and coated in various sigils. “Technically, we can just use a stone tablet; the core in here is the same as the one in the gravity heart, and we can control it that way. Although I want to make some changes to the isnd in the future.”

  “What kind of changes?”

  “Thrusters, more mechanical ways to move,” she said, checking the podium.

  Martyn raised a brow, curious. Catching that, Jade smiled and went on to expin.

  “I learned a bit about programming when making this podium, and doing that, I learned about the half of the dwarf kingdom that rejected the use of magic and advanced in technology. They were not the only ones, though—vampires had done something simir but more combining the two. If we ever get into a situation where we can’t use magic or the isnd’s mana gets disrupted, then it’ll plummet. But if I had thrusters on the bottom and a decent fuel source, then we’d be better prepared.”

  Martyn nodded, looking at Jade. He felt pride, and he hugged the girl from behind.

  “Did I ever tell you how smart you are?”

  “Every time,” Jade leaned back with a smile. “I’m going to activate the podium; brace yourself.”

  Martyn snaked his arms around her tighter. She hummed before activating the podium. Mana flooded the space, and Martyn felt it with his awareness. It expanded underground, reaching the limit of their nd, and the ground began to shake.

  “What’s going on!” Cory ran up to them with his sword drawn.

  Martyn chuckled, “Oh, it’s nothing much,” he said as the earth rose. The isnd shook, reaching a good distance above the height of the barren trees, and then it stopped rising.

  “Is this a floating isnd?” Liz asked, looking at Amber.

  “Yep! All done by yours truly!” Jade patted her chest and yelped as Martyn squeezed her.

  “Yours truly?”

  “I-I mean us,” she squirmed, trying to get out of his hold, but he held her tightly.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Cory looked around. “So this is how you’re going to travel? I’m kind of jealous. You’re all B-ranked adventurers and have a floating isnd,” he scratched his hair.

  “And it wasn’t easy,” Martyn said, patting Jade’s head. The girl smiled proudly.

  “Yeah, I know. So what’s next? Are you leaving straight away after fighting the thunderbird?” Cory asked.

  “That’s the pn. We’ll celebrate before leaving, though,” Martyn said.

  Cory and Liz nodded. They chatted for a bit longer and used Martyn’s spell circle to head home. Now alone, the three of them went to work.

  Before they went to the isnd, they had a few things to do. First, their floating isnd was barren, and to improve the quality of the soil, they needed fertilizer. Martyn released a multitude of monster corpses from the inventory.

  With his magic, he made various holes around the isnd, and together they tossed the corpses inside. While doing so, Martyn shared his senses with the girls.

  The next task was to help Jade advance her mana pathways. While she had the same amount of arcana, she didn’t have a magic heart. But what she could do, through their senses as they did when he first tamed her, was improve her pathways by sharing how mana intertwined in their bodies.

  Amber and Martyn watched Jade sitting, focusing, feeling her mana pool increase rapidly with time.

  In a few minutes, she completed her mana veins, and her skill evolved into the mana array.

  [Your skill Mana Veins (10) has advanced into Mana Array (1).]

  She ignored the prompt and kept her focus. In half an hour, she completed that stage as well. An hour ter, she formed her mana system, and after that, she formed her mana organ.

  “This is taking the longest,” Amber said.

  Martyn nodded, watching her work. With every passing moment, her mana organ levelled up, increasing her capacity. In two hours, she did it.

  [Your skill Mana Organ (10) has advanced into Mana Heart (1).]

  [Focused Mind has leveled up 3 > 4!]

  “Finally!” Jade huffed, falling back on the cool stone pavement.

  Martyn chuckled, walking up to his exhausted partner and lifting her.

  “And my skill levelled up too,” she breathed, snuggling into Martyn. She went to open her status to them when a prompt appeared.

  Martyn, feeling her tense in his grip, opened her status for all to see.

  [Your Mana Heart has awakened a suppressed bloodline, as a deviant creation of the Titans.]

  [The conditions have been met! An alternate evolution line is now avaible! Requirement: Formed Mana Heart before goblin champion evolution. The Oni evolution line is now avaible for you.]

  “Wait, what does it mean to be a creation of the Titans?” Amber read the prompt.

  “I don’t know,” Martyn answered.

  Jade froze. “I-is this bad?” she asked, looking up at him.

  Martyn hummed in thought for a moment. He’d have to research, but the book he got from Joseph mentioned nothing about this. Hell, Oni’s are extremely rare. Creation of the Titans? He didn’t know about that or the fact that goblins evolved into Oni.

  “Oni’s aren’t evil. They are rare to come across, but this doesn’t mean anything bad. If anything,” Martyn squeezed Jade, kissing her forehead, “it means we’ll get much stronger than before.”

  He was genuine, and Jade probed around his mind for any sort of fear or uncertainty, but there was none, and that helped the goblin girl calm down.

  “Also, it means you’ll grow horns, so I’ve got something to grip whenever we get intimate,” he pulled her in sensually. Jade flushed, pushing back. “Stop, I’m covered in sweat right now~”

  “And?” he smirked.

  Amber giggled before ughing in pce. She walked up to Martyn and kissed him on the cheek. “You have no idea how much we love you.”

  “What? Did I do something?” Martyn asked, confused.

  Both girls giggled. Jade hopped out of Martyn’s hold. “Come on, let’s take a shower and get ready to hunt that thunderbird!”

  “Now a shower sounds great,” Martyn smiled.

  “Separately, dear~” Amber and Jade walked ahead, gently swaying their hips.

  “Oh, that’s not fair,” Martyn said, following behind them with a pout. The girls giggled at each other.

  As they entered their mansion home, they took in the sight—the rge dining room, living area, and the staircase that curved into the second floor. They slipped into their shared bath, rge enough for all of them to rex as the water magically cleaned their bodies.

  The building had five rooms: one with a king-sized bed, rge drawers, and a full-length mirror, and four for visitors. They had a fully stocked pantry and kitchen downstairs, and a wine celr. The building had more things, such as a study room in a small library for Amber and Jade, and a spatially expanded training room.

  After their separate shower—much to Martyn’s protest—they ate a hearty meal and got ready to change.

  “Wait, don’t put your armour on yet,” Jade said with a grin.

  “We have a surprise,” Amber said.

  Martyn raised a brow. Curious, he sat in the living room.

  “Alright then, show me,” he said.

  Jade, with a cheery grin, summoned their armour from the inventory. “Tada!” she presented them.

  “I don’t get it?” He looked at their armour set on mannequins. It looked the same; nothing had changed. But Jade and Amber’s expecting gazes didn’t change.

  So he appraised the armour out of curiosity.

  [Gear: Reinforced Leviathan Scale Armor, Rank: Artefact]

  [Effect: Self-repair, Perfect Efficiency]

  [Description: This set of armour, though resembling industry-standard metal armour, is a reinforced set of leviathan scale armour granted a metal coating to deceive others. It’s capable of withstanding attacks below B-Rank with great resistance and above with moderate resistance. As the set is made from leviathan scales, they provide great resistance against water magic.

  Bonus: This creation provides greater benefits as the scales used from your tame are compatible with your mana, and the efficiency in transferring mana is at a perfect 100%. If worn by anyone else, this effect will vanish.]

  As he read the details, Jade and Amber felt uneasy. They felt it from the bond—a wave of discontent.

  “What is wrong with you!” Martyn rose, pulling Amber in. “You can’t use your body like that!” He removed her clothes magically, frantically checking her body for any scars or marks.

  “I said the same thing, but she insisted on it, and it... makes very great armour,” Jade mumbled, lowering her voice when Martyn gred at her.

  “Why would you do this?” Martyn said, panting. He wasn’t sure what face he made, but seeing their reactions, he took a deep breath, calming himself. “Please, never surprise me like this. I can’t… why?”

  “I realized when you mentioned it in the dungeon and realized that dragon scales are one of the most effective pieces of armour and efficient in channelling mana, so I experimented with Jade. We only made the armour and my shield out of them. I regenerated it almost instantly when I’m transformed,” she stopped, feeling the mix of worry, regret, and discontent filter through the bond.

  It took a while, but Martyn calmed down. “I’m mad… why would you… right, I can understand. Please don’t let this become a regur thing; I’m begging you. I could tell you every story I’ve learned about in the academy for various races and people using their bodies for this sort of thing. It scares and disgusts me.”

  Martyn sighed. He felt this would occur again when they became A-ranked, and he hated it. It made his stomach churn, but he could see where they were coming from. Their armour put little resistance against the thunderbird.

  He understood, but he didn’t like it. Part of him was touched Amber was willing to go this far, but he never wanted her to.

  As for the Leviathan girl in question, she fidgeted in pce with her eyes glued to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

  “Will you do it again? If we become stronger, will you do that again?”

  Amber’s brows tightened. With a deep breath and resolute gaze, she met his eyes. “Yes, when I become stronger, I will. I’m sorry I didn’t think you would react like this.”

  Martyn walked up to her, cupping her face. He pnted a deep kiss. “Fine, but please let me know when and for what reason. I don’t want to make this a common thing. I love you, but I am mad.”

  Amber nodded, leaning into his hand. “That’s fair. You just mean so much to me. I just want us to be better prepared.”

  Separating, Martyn turned to Jade, hugging the goblin girl. She whispered an apology in their hold, and he gently rubbed her back. After a moment, they equipped their new armour.

  ‘!’ Immediately, Martyn felt a difference in the armour. It felt comfortable, more flexible, alive—as if Amber was hugging him.

  “This feels comfortable,” Martyn said.

  “We put a lot of effort into this,” Jade said with a small smile.

  Floating Isnd

  The ptform brought them to the edge of the isnd. The trio stood, weapons ready, staring into the jungle, fully aware of their actions.

  They were stronger than before—much stronger. Recalling the status of the thunderbird, they knew it, but at the same time, they remained cautious.

  They marched through the jungle, eventually reaching the same clearing they had been in before. The air crackled, and their hearts thumped. Thunder boomed.

  “Brace yourselves.”

  Lightning danced across the sky, and descending like a bolt was the thunderbird. It screeched, gring at them. Quickly, Martyn appraised it and called out its details.

  [Thunderbird, Level 5, Css: Monster Tamer, Points: 0, Titles: Titan Touched, Skills: 6]? [Mana: 8,000/2,750] [Strength: 60] [Agility: 62] [Vitality: 42] [Arcana: 50] [Psyche: 48]

  “It got stronger, but so did we. It’s overcharged with mana, but aside from that, we’re stronger,” Martyn said.

  The thunderbird screeched and fshed right next to them. Amber followed its movements as it cwed at them, lightning coating its razor-sharp talons. She blocked with her shield, pushing the bird away with a strong bash.

  Martyn flickered right next to the thunderbird, sshing at it. His bde met the lightning coat. A gleam formed in the thunderbird’s eyes as it exploded with electricity, expecting Martyn to be in pain. Instead, it screeched as his bde cut through its lightning coat, cleaving its body.

  It flew back, a visible gash across its chest. Martyn’s bde was bloody, with feathers stuck to it.

  The monster blinked and flew into the skies. Opening its beak, it charged a powerful bolt of lightning. Jade stepped up, pulled back her bow, and chanted. She released a fming eagle as the thunderbird shot its thunderbolt.

  The fming construct and lightning bolt collided. The fming eagle cut through the lightning bolt, hitting the thunderbird in a fiery explosion.

  Amber kept her eyes up as the smoke cleared. The thunderbird stood there, fpping its wings. They could tell it was confused and furious.

  “It’s a monster tamer,” Amber said.

  Nothing else needed to be said. They knew what she meant—it wasn’t alone. The thunderbird screeched. Mana exploded from their sides as two monsters emerged. One tackled Jade, who blocked it with a fire barrier. The other struck Amber with an ice bolt, which she reflected with her shield.

  The elemental birds flew next to the thunderbird, gring at them.

  “So, this is it, then, huh?” Martyn said, locking eyes with the thunderbird. Quickly, he appraised the two birds and revealed their status.

  [Pyro Falcon, Level 4, Css: Mage, Points: 0, Titles: Titan Touched, Skills: 5]? [Mana: 6,600/3,300] [Strength: 52] [Agility: 55] [Vitality: 40] [Arcana: 60] [Psyche: 50]

  [Ice Eagle, Level 5, Css: Warrior, Points: 0, Titles: Titan Touched, Skills: 8]? [Mana: 5,000/2,250] [Strength: 56] [Agility: 53] [Vitality: 44] [Arcana: 45] [Psyche: 56]

  Mana left Martyn’s body. “Jade, you focus on the Ice Eagle. Amber, the Pyro Falcon.”

  Nodding, they grabbed onto Martyn as his mana exploded. The monster birds shrieked in surprise as his domain expanded, pushing mana away. They blinked, appearing right in front of the monster birds in mid-air.

  Amber summoned her fire elemental, casting fming chains to bind the Ice Eagle. With the fire elemental behind it, she threw them down into another clearing.

  Amber bsted the Pyro Falcon, sending it flying, and dove after it into another clearing.

  That left Martyn with the thunderbird, which fired a point-bnk lightning bolt at him. The bolt bent around his body. “Down,” he cast his gravity magic, forcing the thunderbird to crash into the clearing.

  Martyn nded a good distance away, his mana filling the area. In this domain, the thunderbird would struggle with magic, but it hadn’t even used its mana yet.

  It stood up, its body crackling with electricity, and flew at him. Martyn dodged, his mind focused. It was fpping its wings, generating more electricity and moving even faster—beyond its attributes.

  He swung his bde, cshing with its talons. Sparks filled the air. “You think you’re fast?” An aura of mana coated his body. “Fine, then.”

  Gravity around his body shifted as he dashed. Lightning and shadows cshed in the clearing, both moving as fast as their bodies allowed. Explosions of lightning and air filled the area.

  Martyn curved his scimitar, his bde swerving past its razor talons and stabbing into the monster’s chest before bsting it with a magic bolt.

  It recovered immediately, unleashing a chain of lightning bsts. Martyn flickered back and forth, dodging the bolts. Avoiding another one, he froze as lightning shocked him from below.

  He grunted as a spiked chain of electricity held him down. His body numbed as he saw the mana drain from the thunderbird. Its beak opened, and it released a beam of pure energy.

  The beam bsted Martyn, decimating all the trees and wildlife behind him, leaving nothing but a molten, charred mess. The thunderbird spread its wings, chirping in victory, only to be hit from the side with a heavy kick.

  Jade nded quickly, binding the Ice Eagle in fming chains. She wasn’t going to waste time. As the bird struggled to break free, she released her test spell: Red Geyser. The ground lit up and erupted in a pilr of fire. The Ice Eagle screeched in pain.

  Jade jumped back, pulling her bow as the fmes froze into a pilr of ice. The Ice Eagle broke free, fpping its wings. The temperature around them dropped rapidly.

  The fire elemental behind Jade snapped its fingers, and the temperatures fluctuated back and forth. The Ice Eagle screeched, releasing ice spikes beneath Jade, who jumped from side to side, avoiding them. She fired various shots as the Ice Eagle flew around rapidly, dodging them.

  It stopped, forming a spell circle. Jade’s eyes widened as she fed her mana to the fire elemental. It also formed a spell circle, releasing a massive fire bolt as the Ice Eagle shot its ice bolt.

  The bsts exploded in the air. The Ice Eagle fpped its wings, trying to clear the smoke, when a massive fming mace construct smmed into its body, sending it crashing into the ground.

  The fire elemental pulled the spiked mace back, swinging it at the Ice Eagle, now bound in pce by Jade’s fire chains.

  Amber was a different force on the battlefield. She had had enough—no more drawn-out fights. She had the power and would finish this.

  The Pyro Falcon screeched, releasing a dome of fire. Amber didn’t bat an eye. Her mana exploded, and she transformed right then and there.

  [Amber, Level 3 (82/3,600), Css: Knight, Points: 3, Titles: 6, Skills: 7]? [Mana: 7,300/8,784] [Strength: 71] [Agility: 70] [Vitality: 72] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 72]

  [You have shifted into your Leviathan form. All physical attributes have increased by 10%.]

  ? [Mana: 7,120/8,784] [Strength: 78] [Agility: 77] [Vitality: 79] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 72]

  Immediately, she speed-blitzed the falcon, grabbing it by the wings as mana coaguted by her mouth. She released a breath attack from point-bnk range.

  The monster fell to the ground hard as she nded, delivering a heavy axe kick that cratered the ground in a massive explosion, sending trees flying. She felt its bones break and fracture.

  They were dominating this fight. All three of them were in a league above these birds. A shrill cry from the thunderbird filled the air. Amber stabbed her spear at the Pyro Falcon, only for its body to turn into pure fmes, the energy flying toward Martyn.

  The same occurred on Jade’s side.

  Martyn jumped back as the thunderbird exploded in electricity. The two other elemental birds smmed into it, and an explosion of mana followed.

  Jade returned to Martyn’s side with the fire elemental behind her. Amber nded softly as they gazed at the merged monster.

  Massive wings fpped, the wind from them pushing the trees. They had become a three-headed monster bird, the size of a wyvern. Each head let out a screech, and a blizzard picked up around them. Then, a dome of lightning encased the area.

  “It’s futile,” Martyn said. He willed his mana—they were still within the range of his spatial domain. Their magic weakened considerably; the blizzard lessened, and its power shrank.

  Quickly, Martyn appraised the fusion, revealing its stats.

  [Fused Pyro, Ice & Thunderbird, Level 5, Css: Monster Tamer, Points: 0, Titles: Titan Touched, Skills: 14]? [Mana: 15,000/8,300] [Strength: 70] [Agility: 71] [Vitality: 52] [Arcana: 65] [Psyche: 64]

  The fusion screeched, filling the air with hundreds of magic circles. It unleashed multitudes of elemental bolts. Hundreds of magical attacks destroyed part of the jungle. A cloud of smoke filled the area.

  The fusion roared, fpping its wings, and the smoke dispersed, revealing all three fighters inside a rotating and rippling magic barrier.

  “Everyone fine?” Martyn asked.

  “Yeah,” they answered together.

  Nodding, he ignited his mana. His body shifted, his strength grew, and the system prompted him, telling him his attributes had increased by ten per cent.

  [Martyn, Level 3 (102/3,600), Css: Monster Tamer, Points: 0, Titles: 6, Skills: 17]? [Mana: 5,102/8,784] [Strength: 77] [Agility: 73] [Vitality: 79] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 72]

  “Good because. We’re ending this now,” Martyn said, cracking his knuckles and dispersing the barrier.

  The trio gred at the monster, their eyes illuminated like predators staring at prey. The monster bird fusion cawed back, firing magic beams from their beaks.

  Amber leapt high into the sky. Mana left her body as she conjured a water serpent, descending at the fusion. Amber chanted, with the fire elemental and the fire elemental blocking and reflecting the beams.

  The goblin girl’s eyes glowed with orange fire as she roared. Giant fming chains soared at the fusion bird. It tried to fly back while firing its continuous beam to avoid both Amber and Jade’s spells, only to freeze as gravity inverted around it, holding it in pce.

  “You’re still in my domain,” Martyn gred. The spells collided. The water serpent bit down on the Pyro Falcon’s head, tearing it off. Jade’s chains soared around the fusion, forcing it down as the spikes burned its flesh.

  Amber descended, coating her spear with mana. With a roar, she swung down, slicing the Ice Eagle’s head clean off.

  Blood spewed. The final head, the Thunderbird, howled in pain before letting out a cry that shook the air. Martyn felt the isnd's mana pushing against his barrier, but he held strong.

  Then he saw all the mana within its body vanish, its beak opened as it unleashed a ser beam of pure electricity.

  “Martyn!” Jade poured her mana into Martyn as he charged at the beam. Combining their mana he coated his bde dropping liquids of molten metal and mana.

  “Rend!” He swung against the attack, splitting it right down the middle. The beam tore apart the forest behind him. Jade gasped at the amount of power behind it sticking close to Martyn.

  Amber descended nding on its back hard and swung at its wings breaking them.

  It screeched unable to continue its attack and fell to the ground hard.

  Amber nded next to them as they walked up to the bound monster, stepping on its face and staring down into its yellow eyes. Fear and regret—they saw it all and didn’t care.

  “You’ll make good fertilizer,” he said before stabbing its eye with his scimitar, sending a bst of mana through it and exploding its brain from within.

  They panted lightly Martyn was the most exhausted having used too much mana to split its attack. Followed by Jade and Amber.

  The body split into three different monster birds. And Martyn stored their bodies. Now standing alone the trio went in for a group hug.

  They had become stronger and had nothing to fear this time. They clung to each other tightly as the system prompted in their minds.

  [You have sin the following: Thunderbird, Pyro Falcon, and Ice Eagle! You have sin Titan-Touched enemies. As they are a higher form of life, your experience will be greater.]

  [You have gained 640 Experience!]

  LesserCodex

  [Martyn, Level 3 (742/3,600), Css: Monster Tamer, Points: 0, Titles: 6, Skills: 17]? [Mana: 104/8,784] [Strength: 70] [Agility: 66] [Vitality: 72] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 72]

  ? [Skills: Dragon heart (1), Agility (6), Muscurity (5), Swordsmanship (5), Basic Magic (5), Strong Mind (7), Soulbond (4), Monstrous Talent (4), Biology (5), Cooking (4), Fast Healing (3), Spatial Appraisal (5), Inventory (5), Extrasensory (4), Space Magic (4), Iron Gut (1), Tinkering (3)]

  Titles: (C) Adventurer, Bookworm, Space Mage, Sage, Breacher, Arcane Resistant.

  [Amber, Level 3 (722/3,600), Css: Knight, Points: 3, Titles: 6, Skills: 7]? [Mana: 2,204/8,784] [Strength: 71] [Agility: 70] [Vitality: 72] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 72]

  ? [Skills: Leviathan heart (1) Leviathan body (1) Spear and Shield Mastery (4) Focused Mind (5) Water Magic (4) Linguistic (4) Extrasensory (5)]

  Titles: Leviathan-Kin, Bonded, (C)Rank Adventurer, Water Mage, Monster Girl, Arcane Resistant.

  [Jade, Level 3 (724/3,600), Css: Bcksmith, Points: 0, Title: 5, Skills: 9]? [Mana: 124/8,784] [Strength: 72] [Agility: 71] [Vitality: 73] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 70]

  ? [Skills: Mana heart (1), Tough Body (5), Iron Gut (5), Tinkering (5), Archery (4), Enchantment (4), Fire Magic (5), Extrasensory (4), Focused Mind (3)]

  Titles: Artisan, Bonded, (C) Rank Adventurer, Fire Mage, Arcane Resistant.

  [colpse]