Bonded Summoner

Jake and his wives spent a moment enveloped in each other’s armored embrace, only Bloodberri’s armor becoming soft. Simply breathing as their emotions welled up, their hearts still racing and fears still present among them.

Before anyone could say anything, Bloodberri’s axe roared and flew at the downed demon’s corpse. It began eating the boss’s special flesh, its life and death scripts having a potent energy and essence.

Berri scowled and waved her fist at the axe, “You scared me, you jerk! No roaring, it’s hugging time now! Do that again, and I’m naming you jerky.”

It stopped for a moment and gave out a sad whimper that almost sounded like an apology, before continuing its meal, and Jake couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

Tanda smiled, as her tail wagged tiredly. “We did it, didn’t we? We worked so hard, and saved our people.”

Ophelia embraced Tanda with her wing. “Finally! We really did it. Everyone was amazing! You were awesome too, Bree.”

Bree snorted, her expression almost returning to its haughty nature–but shifted to a genuine smile. Jake couldn’t fully understand the emotions she sent, but a desire for patience for herself appeared to be present, among a feeling of fellowship.

She wrapped the girls and Jake each in a vine-filled hug, before disappearing into motes of light.

Blood smiled at Tanda. “You were right. Our people are saved. Jake will become a true Lord, and each of us was instrumental in his success. If any of us were lesser, I don’t think we could have won without loss. This victory was hard-earned.”

Relief and contentment washed over Jake from each of his girls, as it sunk in that the battle was finally over. Seeing Timone rejoin his mates, Bedwyr rejoin with Morwen, Yiming and Longwei returning to their wives, and Nadessa and her mothers rejoining Drysander, Jake smiled.

Jake looked over to Seamus and the Auril Heroes without mates present. They were congratulating and thanking one another on their victory, the clan heads were now battle brothers baptized in the fires of war. Seamus had been looking around, and noticed Jake’s look.

Seamus patted Vesuvius on the shoulder, before chuckling. “Don’t worry, Chief Jake. We survived, and we’ll be meeting with our mates soon enough. That fifteen minutes couldn’t come sooner.”

Jake couldn’t agree more. They cleaned up the demons around the room, using Loot on the monsters. He figured the life and death demon’s corpses would be quite valuable.

Once the axe was done with its meal, they triggered Loot on the boss. Using the Storage Ring temporarily, it made it easy to collect the large quantity of materials. There was no treasure chest this time around, as rewards would be individualized or chosen from a list.

Healing themselves up and doing what they could to recover, cleaning the viscera off their bodies, they waited.

“Oh! Just use that storage ring thingy, Jakey. We can change anywhere if we take turns with that!”

Jake chuckled, realizing Berri was right. He loaded his clothes from his storage bracelets into the ring, and then, with a thought, swapped his outfit for his tribal chieftain clothing. Each of the girls did the same, the family finally being able to relax and enjoy their unarmored embrace while they waited.

Tanda cheered as she snuggled into Jake and Ophelia. “That was fast! We need to get us each one of those. How much do they cost, I wonder?”

Jake hadn’t allowed themselves to splurge at all on frivolous items, resolving to spend every possible Credit and CP on saving the beastkin. Valtor had put much of his funds and CP to work, rebuilding villages and importing materials for their many endeavors.

Now that they had been saved, they would buy various quality of life items.

Their waiting time over, the world seemed to twist into a single point of light, as the Instance was destroyed. With a lurch, they were transferred to the Life’s Haven Headquarters plaza.

As they arrived in the large plaza, they had to wait for a time for others to arrive to receive a full accounting. Their Battlegroup was the first to enter the final battle, their instance far ahead of others. Some beastkin arrived near the plaza, cheering at the arrivals.

The auril heroes’ mates were waiting, Jake smiling at those rejoining their lovers. Despite the fight only lasting a short period and resting just before the battle, he was exhausted. While people were relieved, it appeared they understood now was not the time for an impromptu party.

Aisling came over and began talking up a storm with Fhesiah, and Timone came over to congratulate Jake on his leadership.

“You are truly a protector of the balance, clan son. Leading your fierce mates and allies in battle, you sang a glorious song, your choir punishing that wicked enemy. Our people will be forever in your debt.”

Jake clasped wrists with Timone almost like a handshake–a clasp of fellowship. “We sought a place to call home. Our clan made an oath, to protect Highlands forevermore if we were welcomed. The beastkin are truly a strong yet harmonious people, welcoming us with open arms. We are proud to take on this duty, for those we can now call friends.”

Timone smiled, and gave a pat on Jake’s back as he pulled him close. “Well said, clan son! Now, Aisling has told me your mates have quite an event to plan out. You’ll have to come celebrate with me and the other clan heads, while they work through that. A man prying into the women’s nest only leaves ruffled feathers and a tangled mess.”

Jake raised his brow at this, and he looked over at Fhesiah, who just had an enigmatic smile. Ophelia kept her expression blank, and Berri just bobbed her head, as she listened to music and danced while Blood spoke with Aisling. Tanda danced around and talked to her mother Dahlia, and Jake realized that they were working on a surprise.

For some reason, it felt like it was crucial to all the girls, though perhaps, Ophelia and Blood were the most excited. Shrugging, he nodded and accepted to join along with the clan heads to celebrate while they worked on it, to keep himself busy.

Jake joined Seamus, Vesuvius, Rookard, Timone, Longwei and Yiming, Roxo, and Darris. They each held beers, and they spent a time talking about the fight, and what their plans were.

He smiled as Timone tried to hook up Yiming with his and Aisling’s daughter. Knowing Aisling, it was easy for him to imagine she would be a…special challenge.

Longwei interjected, “N-Now hang on a minute! Why him but not me? Was I not valiant and heroic? Am I not good enough for your daughter?”

Timone frowned and looked troubled for a moment, searching for what to say. However, he straightened up and spoke confidently. “No, I just thought my daughter and Yiming were truthfully a good match. You are more than heroic and valiant enough, but it’s important to find harmony with your mate, and that your clan’s hearts can beat as one. Right, clan son?” He looked at Jake with a smile.

Jake chuckled. “That’s right. You and Yiming are very different, and those you would find harmony with will be too. You also have two mates already, it’s important to keep this in mind–the beastkin are perceptive of this.”

Longwei frowned, but Seamus put a large paw on his shoulder. “Not to worry, Brother Longwei! I do have a daughter I’d like you to meet. There are plenty of beasts in the forest, do not fret over missing one hunt.”

Darris added that he had one as well, and Longwei looked troubled. “Er, but…okay. I’ll meet them…” He then gave an envious look at Yiming, who was talking things over with Timone once more.

Jake had to stifle a laugh. Both Seamus and Darris were heavy in beast blood, so their faces were that of a lion and a turtle. Perhaps, Longwei imagined that their daughters were the same–which was entirely possible.

However, politely asking, or turning their father down without insulting them seemed like a real challenge.

Many allies slowly rejoined them in the plaza, the complete Battlegroups appearing in motes of light. While many might have died in the final encounter, the war was effectively over on the world, and they would be respawned.

They would have resurrection illness, but they were made whole. Jake drank beer with the clan heads, as he watched the people rejoining. Valtor and Amara’s Battlegroup arrived, and they spotted Jake right away.

Valtor and Amara’s flames looked extra bright, and his posture looked proud as he floated over. “Lord Jake, it was an excellent victory! There is so much to do, so much to accomplish. This world will surely advance significantly. The figures from the other Instances are coming in, and the success rate is astounding!”

Amara bobbed in the air, her scripts lighting up. “That’s right! You have truly set Hearthtribe up for success, Lord Jake. In all our time of service, we have never seen such a great outcome, despite such a difficult challenge. It has been a pleasure serving you.”

Jake smiled. “We

have set Hearthtribe up for success. I couldn’t have done it without you. It really takes a village to learn, grow, and succeed. We all worked hard, so we should all share in the glory of victory.”

Bloodberri came over, Blood having a satisfied smile on her face. “This is true, milord, but you are still the cornerstone. We all followed your vision, as you guided and enabled us to achieve our goals. You brought out the best in all of us, and we are all thankful for it.”

She left it unsaid aloud, but he could feel her immense level of respect and adoration for his strength. The way he empowered his wives both on the battlefield and with focusing on their progression and making them effective as a team, while also able to stand up to powerful enemies, was highly valued by her.

Valtor chuckled. “That is right! I am thankful to all of the Hart Clan, and so are all those that live on Highlands. Now, it looks like we are over 90% of the instances reported. It shouldn’t be much longer now, but the figures are quite good! To have thousands complete what’s better than a personal Trial is excellent for their prospects going forward. We should have countless rare classes among our warriors and those that participated. Among those that completed the third stage, maybe even obtaining Epic with the World’s overall conquest score.”

Amara added, “But that’s just among those that are ready to enter the next Tier. Many can instead be involved with other world’s conquest, and do what they can to spread Hearthtribe across the multiverse. We have plans to send trained Battlegroups all over various worlds for your perusal.”

Jake hammered out the details with Valtor, Blood, and Amara, planning out the expansion. They would continue their charity efforts, focusing on assisting natives and building community wherever they go, in addition to fighting the enemy.

Building a reputation of heroism and respect, Hearthtribe would work towards rescuing worlds and recruiting more to their cause. Building a culture of well-rounded warrior families, they would have a profound impact on the overall war, the people of Highlands being the blueprint for success.

The focus on crafting would continue, the Eternum leading magical research thanks to Clan Hart’s important contributions. As far as Jake understood it, a new Menu should appear once their Guild ranked up and became a true T2 Guild.

Well-equipped and well-trained, Hearthtribe would be the elites among the first Tier, growing until they reached level 25 and entered the next.

A wave of golden light encompassed the entire world, the hexagons of the Framework showing up in the sky once more. The eldritch horror appeared as well as the sky darkened, surrounded by the same light. Energies were then dragged away from it into the world in a golden haze as the world shook, as if the eldritch horror was roaring in anger.

The hexagons covered even the ground of the world itself, and the earth beneath their feet lurched as something shifted and changed. Jake thought he saw a mountain in the distance move further away, but there was too much light and sound bombarding his senses as the surrounding beastkin gasped and cried out in alarm.

[It definitely did, husband, perhaps even several miles! I guess the Framework helped the world grow a bit.]

Fhesiah was much more confident in it than Jake was. He was then startled by the notification.

[Conquest Complete! Victory: Alliance.]

[Overall Conquest Rating for Highlands: A]

[Personal Conquest Rating: S]

[Dungeon Raid Rating Prime Instance: S]

[Top Contribution: Hearthtribe]

[Previous World Energy Rating: Tier 1.91(2.35)]

[Ending World Energy Rating: Tier 2.15(2.75)]

Jake wasn’t entirely sure what the strange world energy rating meant, but he thought it was based on the world’s peak capacity. As far as Jake understood it, the total amount of energy followed a logarithmic formula. The difference between 2.35 and 2.75 may not seem like a lot, but it could be the difference between heaven and earth.

The world of Highlands was unable to reach its peak capacity before as it had only recently removed the curse, but it was not yet done healing. The world had to grow further as it healed, and this was not an instantaneous thing–at least not unless the Framework rewarded the world itself, like it had just done.

The Heart of the World was managing this, trying to ease the world into its changes. The storms and earthquakes before were her preparing and doing the best she could, but ultimately, if she shifted an entire world too much, the equilibrium would be thrown off and terrible weather patterns would result.

[The beastkin of Highlands have now been integrated into the Framework. Class Selections are now available on Tier up! Highlands Natives will be given a special individual Conquest Rating, influencing their potential selections.]

Jake noticed that Tanda received her individual ranking.

[Highlands Native Individual Conquest Score: S]

[Class Potential: Legendary]

Next, it appeared Jake was marked as the designated planetary ruler.

[Congratulations, Jake Hart! As the Designated Contribution Earner of your Guild with the highest Conquest Earnings, you are now the Planetary Ruler of Highlands. Current Tax percentage on all Nodes worldwide: 20%]

While the Framework now recognized Jake as the ruler of the world, it was more like he was merely an arbitrator between the world’s natives and the multiverse. Jake held power over the Nodes and Alliance Headquarters, and any other Alliance infrastructure that was added.

This had absolutely nothing to do with its normal governance, the natives of the world still retaining their own control, whatever it might be. In Highland’s case, it was chieftains of various tribes, and smaller tribal councils for villages.

Then, there were future decisions that could be partially decided by him, and by a magical poll. There were very few decisions in which he had unilateral control on things influencing the entire world, making him feel more like a mayor or governor from Earth than a real ruler, with exception to being able to control or guide their armies.

As a Knight, he already could make a call to arms and as the planetary ruler, this would be enhanced even further. He could direct natives toward different worlds, and impact the war in various ways.

Still, the responsibility was important. Jake had made an oath to protect Highlands forever more, and he would use his capabilities as Planetary Ruler to do just this.

[Dungeon Raid Personal Reward: Divine Hearth Upgrade Token. You have 127 Raid Points remaining to spend. You must spend your points within 24 hours, or they will be converted to CP. Some items are limited, and are available on a first come, first serve basis.]

It was a good reward. Bringing a Divine item to the next Tier was going to be exceptionally expensive, so to have it early would be helpful. It was Jake’s understanding that now that Highlands had improved, the quantity and quality of the energies drawn in would be higher already.

But with this improvement, not only should it be higher within his Refuge, but even rarer energies would be drawn in–perhaps, even more of his void energy. With Fhesiah’s help, they would be able to separate these energies if they chose to, using formations, allowing for storage or experimentation.

Jake realized that there may be some contention for some items, and his girls were quick to get in the line together, the many beastkin quickly lining up to receive the rewards they had earned.

“Oh, I do hope I can get that snowmaker! Do you think I’ll have enough points this time?”

Blood groaned. “For the love of Echidna, if you waste our points on something frivolous, I will find or make a way to disown you. Remember, these points may also be what help Faye obtain what she needs. Do not be greedy here, sister.”

Checking the girl’s notifications, he saw that he was the only one with a personal reward, the rest given a much larger pool to spend points. Thankfully, they could peruse the store in the line–they would not have to wait while thousands of people painstakingly chose their rewards.

Most of those that were in line quickly picked up their chosen reward, rather than perusing the shop.

Fhesiah hummed. “Thanks for your concern, Blood. It looks like I may need your girl’s help with one of the items. My points and what Jake have remaining are not quite enough on their own.”

She shared the description with Jake and the girls.

[Vial of Celestial Flames. Harvested from a dying star, these flames contain purified heavenly energy of primordial origin. Cost: 2,385 RP]

He noticed Fhesiah and Jake alone were almost enough to grab the item, each of his girls receiving a little over two thousand points.

Jake raised his brow, just how could one fit something so crazy in a vial? “You’re sure this thing is good for core formation? How?”

Fhesiah chuckled. “Because they’re in the core formation section for cultivators. It’s a common goal for a cultivator that just completed a Dungeon Raid, don’t you think? Many wouldn’t enjoy having their reward chosen for them by the Framework–though I consider it the New Heavens and would be okay with it, seeing it as fate deciding my path. There are some interesting cultivator arts that I may find useful for the next tier, but this alone is enough for me.”

Jake frowned. “What about for your…other half? I’m sure between the others giving up some more points…”

She sighed. “There does not appear to be an excellent choice for my Yin flames. There are several substandard items, but nothing that matches the celestial flames in quality. I would be better off selecting two items of lower quality than the celestial flames if they do not match. However, there is a general Dao Treasure available.”

Fhesiah shared the description.

[Tier 1 Dao Treasure: General. Harmonize your spirit with the heavens, using Source energy. Cost: 985 RP.]

Ophelia hugged into Fhesiah. “That’s great! You just needed two of those, right? Let’s get it.”

Tanda was all smiles as well, as she hugged from the other side. “Yay! That means you’ll only be short one thing, right? You can use my points to buy two!”

Fhesiah hugged them back. “You girls are too nice. However, it appears there is only one available. These specifically are an extremely rare treasure. Source energy can sort-of be seen as like Dao stem cells. They are not exactly usable on their own, requiring you to find your inspiration or insight yourself. It does make it easier to absorb and enhance an epiphany, or help create a period of enlightenment.”

Jake asked, “Is there a more specific one available? Maybe one that contains the truth of claws?” He tried to look through the list, and did see some dark or what seemed to be yin aspected flames, but nothing precisely like those of the kitsune.

Fhesiah shook her head. “This isn’t just me being picky, but none sound like what resonates with me or could work. My best bet is to join the Battlegrounds, and hope that I get one that fits. Then use the source energy for the other.”

Blood sighed. “That means you need at least two very specific items from this Battleground. What are the odds of that? Then, can you really consume these two treasures at the same time, too? You have made it clear that you need time to solidify your foundations after any of these major changes.” Jake could feel Blood’s worry, which was mirrored in himself and his wives.

Fhesiah smirked. “Aww, worried about little ole’ me, Blood? I must be really breaking through that cold exterior of yours. Tell me, was it my charming looks, or maybe my talents with my fingers and ton–”

Blood humphed with a blush, folding her arms and looking away. “Why must you be so crude? Of course, I am just worried about my dear sister-wife. I care about you, and while I enjoy our fun together with Jake, I can take it or leave it. It’s important to me that you join us on our journey, my important comrade and friend.”

Berri added, “Yeah! Plus, we were gonna be mommies together. You have to make your farming core or whatever first, you said. Can we get her more of these thingies with one of these other point stuffs? There’s too many to keep track of.”

Jake chuckled as he looked at Fhesiah. “We do have some time before you leave, right? Perhaps our mountain of Credits or CP will enable us to find you at least one more thing. Did you pick what you wanted, girls?”

Ophelia hummed. “It’s a little boring, but the Mythic Upgrade tokens are only 1000. Having all our Divine-gifted equipment scale with us for the next Tier will serve us well. There are some actual Mythic Tier 2 equipment, and they are 2,000–upgrading is definitely a value.”

Tanda smiled at Fhesiah. “So, between us girls, we can get Faye what she needs, and have enough for the four tokens we require to upgrade our items, since we already have two. It’s just enough! Like it was meant to be.”

Jake nodded, but then he frowned. “My Champion’s spear staff is only legendary, though. I received it at the end of our Tier 0 Trial, so it makes sense it’s not at the same quality. We would need to find a way to upgrade it to Mythic first.”

Ophelia noted, “It should certainly be easier to upgrade a Tier 1 item to Mythic than it is a Tier 2 item, though. Maybe grab it for now, and we’ll work something out? If we give up, it will still be able to upgrade the item–we will have only wasted a few hundred points, as the legendary token is only seven fifty.”

He made the purchases. “There is a little left. What else? Well, we have a little under 24 hours now.” He sighed. “I suppose, it’s important to talk about this now. We could try to fill in for our new classes with something important. Do we Tier up now, or–”

A wave of golden light washed out in the plaza, gasps from the surroundings as a pleasant heaviness weighed down on all people.

Exclamations of surprise echoed out around them, as various bystanders caught site of what the commotion was.

The four Celtic Divine of Arawn, Brigid, Cernunnos, and Lugh stood in front of the Alliance Headquarters. Then, the Divine of Jake’s family: Hestia, Guan Yu, Echidna, and Bastet stood smiling next to them, with Hestia in front. Echidna chose a much more reasonable size, only large enough to tower over Bloodberri by a fair margin.

The Divine involved in Highland’s creation and salvation were here.