"Our target is here." Nathan pointed at the map. "It is an outpost that was once used as an information hub. We might be able to find something here. More importantly, I will be activating the Memory of the Dead one more time. I donât know what we will find here, but please make sure to keep focus.
"Meanwhile, Evelynâs team should be heading to this place, the second largest city of the Asura Palace. Unfortunately, we couldnât reach the Asura Palace yet because it was much deeper in alien territory.
"Just going this far alone was hard, especially with a lot of elite class aliens popping out of nowhere. More and more alpha class aliens would most likely appear.
"Lunaâs team should arrive at their destination soon. Their target is the commercial hub of the Asura Palace. Since itâs a place filled with merchants, they should have stored a lot of information. After all, information is a merchantâs weapon.
"If we manage to secure the area and deal with the rest of the aliens, we will use the remaining time to kill as many aliens as possible and get their cores. For the time being..." Nathan looked at the team.
"For the time being, you should absorb the alpha class core. Donât give it to us." Selena raised one finger.
"I will, but we donât have enough time. According to Xolotl and the others, absorbing a core with a divine rule needs a safe area. Even the slightest distraction can cause massive damage to my body. Thatâs why itâs better to wait until weâre back."
Selena couldnât really refute his words. It was indeed safer this way. "In that case, we should focus on Noelle and Iris. Irisâ strength might be crucial later, so having her halfway to becoming a world class summoner might be good."
"However, Iâm a bit concerned that growing too fast will make her foundation unstable." Noelle voiced her concerns. After all, Iris hadnât learned anything that could use that amount of ena. Her strength would end up becoming weaker compared to her peers if they truly pushed it.
"You donât have to worry about it. Iris should be fine, but yes, it wonât be halfway. Letting her reach 3 million or 4 million ena should be fine. That includes her familiars. Well, there is also the matter of summoning a god, so I will see what I can do depending on the result of this expedition."
They nodded in agreement.
Nathan looked at Noelle. "You are next. Currently, you are the closest one to summoning your next familiar."
"I am aware of my situation. Maybe after we clear up our destination and the situation has stabilized, I should summon my new familiar. With my new strength, I think it will be a pretty good addition since I can commit to being a true vanguard."
Nathan turned to Xolotl. Because of the power of the Asura, he wondered if she still needed Bishamonten.
Xolotl actually nodded. "She still needs him. The power she absorbed has enhanced her power, but it doesnât diminish the side effect. So, itâs best to create a layer of protection for her first."
"I will follow whatever arrangement both of you have." Noelle fully agreed to cooperate.
She knew that she got stronger and stronger. A few months ago, she thought it would be impossible to match her grandfatherâs power.
But just from this expedition, she felt very close to her grandfatherâs level. If she summoned another familiar, she might be able to surpass her grandfather.
In addition, she liked the path. It wasnât the same as her original path, but it didnât stray too far to the point where she would dislike it.
Nathan raised two fingers. "In that case, we will focus on you first. Then, we will store all the cores we get from this expedition to see who we will have to focus on. If there arenât enough cores to focus on a person, we will divide them according to the original arrangement. Understood?"
They nodded in agreement.
"All right. Letâs head to our next destination." Nathan stood up. "Also, I want the three of you to be the main combatants this time. If there are alpha class aliens, the three of you can try to fight them. I will ask Xolotl and Nidhogg to cover all of you during the fight. I will personally interfere if my presence is required."
Since Selena and Noelle had leveled up and Selena had even summoned Nyx, with the assistance of his current strongest familiar, Xolotl, they should be fine facing an alpha class alien.
Even if they couldnât win, they shouldnât be losing.
"Master. I have a question." Iris looked up. "We have a contingency plan in case something big happens. However, the situation doesnât look so bad right now. Even if we canât win, we shouldnât lose, right?"
"!!!" Nathan, Selena, and Noelle widened their eyes.
"Nathan?! You havenât taught her about it?" Selena asked while narrowing her eyes.
Noelle clutched her head. "I think we should go back. Tell the others to retreat right now."
"Eh?" Iris looked at them innocently. "Did I do something wrong?"
Nathan facepalmed. "I thought you had taught her, Selena. I didnât have much time to teach her before because I had to go to another continent."
"Yeah, thatâs... You were not there, so there was no need for me to teach her the most important rule on a trip with you." Selena shook her head helplessly.
"What is going on?" Iris panicked. From the way they worded it, it seemed she had done something wrong. But she didnât understand what she did wrong. The question itself was pretty simple.
Selena sighed and patted Irisâs shoulder. "You did nothing wrong. Your master was to blame for not teaching you. You see... Whenever you go on a trip with your master, there is one thing you are forbidden to say.
"That is to say the trip is going well. Whenever we said something along those lines, something bad was bound to happen."
"You are exaggerating, right?" Iris smiled wryly. That was what she wanted to believe, but she couldnât because of Noelleâs reaction.
"Attention to all groups." Noelle was actually warning the other groups through the communication ring. "The difficulty of this trip has gone from bad to worse. I repeat, the difficulty of this trip has gone from bad to worse. Proceed with extreme caution!"
"..."