Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.

[Two targets have been acquired.]

[Character upgrade can now proceed.]

[Cost: 4000 E-points.]

[Current points: 17,000 points.]

Kneeling in front of Dorian were Ishtar and Seraphina. For starters, he never assumed Ishtar would actually kneel, but for some reason, she did, her head slightly bowed the same as Seraphina's.

At the side, the rest of the workers watched with intrigue. No one wanted to pass up the opportunity to watch their lord work his magic.

Especially considering no one else in the entire world had been said to have such power.

'4000 E-points seems reasonable enough,' Dorian pondered. 'Last time I was only able to get Seraphina to Master Rank, and she was able to create new spells from that. A second awakening will take her higher, so I'm curious to see how far she will go.'

Dorian sighed, knowing the moment he carried on with the action, a huge amount of his mana would be extracted, and he couldn't risk falling unconscious right now.

'Proceed.'

[Request has been confirmed.]

[4000 E-points has been deducted.]

Almost immediately, Dorian felt a huge flow of mana exit his body in a single rush. His vision grew blurry as he staggered backward.

Maria was about to move forward to help him when Lili suddenly materialized behind Dorian, catching him before he could fall any further.

"Take it easy, Master. You need to be careful," whispered Lili, a look of pity on her face.

However, soon enough, everyone's gaze shifted from Dorian to the two glowing women who were kneeling in front of him.

A golden light erupted from their bodies, slowly pouring to the ground as though it were liquid. Beautiful and mesmerizing, no one could ignore it.

Merely looking at it was like having the deeper part of your soul healed.

Then came the notifications from the system…

[The character Seraphina has been upgraded to a Lord Rank.]

[The character Ishtar has been upgraded to a Lord Rank.]

Dorian's eyes widened. Despite the exhaustion on his face, the shock was still easily discernible.

'They both got Lord Rank? Talk about a jackpot.'

"Incredible." Ishtar slowly stood to her feet, her eyes fixed on her outstretched hand. "I don't need to go for an evaluation to tell you did something to my body. I can feel it, this rush of power. This is far greater than the rank of a Grandmaster, isn't it?" Her eyes soon shifted up to Dorian.

Before Dorian could speak, Seraphina sprinted to his side.

"Geez, if you knew you would use this much mana, then you should have just used the upgrade on Lady Ishtar alone." She grabbed his hand. "Hold on, I'll heal you."

Though it was minor, after what happened back at Embre's mansion, Seraphina had coded a spell specifically for transferring mana to another person.

More accurately, she had stored mana into some magic circles and was simply injecting it into Dorian's body.

A single glowing magic circle appeared under Dorian's feet, and he found that the mana he had lost was slowly returning to him.

While this was happening, Seraphina realized there was a slight difference; not only did she not expend a single bit of her own mana, but her spells were far more effective and easier to cast, needing zero concentration.

So this is how it feels to get a higher rank?

A smile grazed her lips.

It didn't take long for the rest of the workers to mumble amongst themselves, grateful to see that Lord Dorian was capable of doing something like this and even making the daughter of the Viscount bow before him.

After getting his mana back, Dorian was now able to stand on his own two feet. Only a few inches away from Ishtar, he had his hand in his pocket as he uttered with a calm voice,

"As of this moment, you both are Lord Ranks. That makes you the strongest Mage and Alchemist in the world right now, well, depending on how well you use your powers."

A gasp erupted through the crowd once again, more so from Seraphina and Ishtar, who were quite shocked to hear it. Dorian wouldn't lie to them, so they knew for a fact it had to be true. They were now Lord Ranks.

Once the news settled, a smile showed on Ishtar's face as she clenched her fist.

"You never fail to amaze me, Lord Aurelian, truly…"

Dorian raised a brow, before wearing a devious look on his face. "Don't think for one minute I am doing this for free. Hell no. You're paying with your body and soul, and your money too if I feel like it."

"Body and soul…"

They weren't too far apart, so it didn't take long for Ishtar to grab his cheeks, pull him close, and kiss him on the lips.

Shock was etched on the faces of everyone who watched.

"I knew this bitch was a home wrecker!" Seraphina conjured a giant magic circle, about to cast a spell when Lili quickly held her back.

"Hold on, human girl! You just got an upgrade from my master! You'll kill everyone here!!!"

At the same time…

"Control yourself, Commander, it's not worth it!!!"

Gatty held on to Maria's hand, stopping her from reaching for her sword.

Kissing Dorian to her heart's content, she pulled away, her saliva dripping from the trail and landing on her cleavage. She then grabbed Dorian's hand, calm, guiding it towards her breast while the others watched with blushed cheeks.

Dorian, with the most serious face in the world, could not believe she kissed him in public and now she wants him to touch her breast.

'Am I in my popular era or something?'

Mid-thought, he suddenly felt Seraphina grab his other hand and push him to the side, away from Ishtar.

"People are watching! Have some decency!!!" Seraphina yelled, while burying Dorian's face in her own cleavage.

"Hahah!" Ishtar laughed. "You guys are so adorable." Then a mysterious glint showed on her face. "I can see why you'd be gatekeeping him this way. I'd do the same anyway. Not that you're going to stop me now, by the way."

"Just open your domain," Seraphina clapped back.

Ishtar's gaze lingered on Dorian for a while before she moved forward, a few inches towards the egg.

"I should be able to do this much," she stretched her hand forward, about to cast her magic. "Question, love, how long is the domain supposed to remain up?"

"I can't say," Dorian stood right beside her. "But you don't have to worry about running out of mana. Seraphina will be here to give you all the boost you need."

There was silence for a while.

"I can tell you're the type of man who believes no one needs to ride the bandwagon of a risk you take. No one gets hurt for your trouble," Ishtar glanced at him. "But are you certain about fighting a dragon yourself? You have three Lord Ranks at your side right now…"

"We are not certain if there will be a need to fight in the first place. And on the off chance that there is, do what we discussed. Kick everyone out of the realm, leaving only me and my summon, got it?" Dorian glanced back at her.

The look on his face was far different from normal.

"As you wish."

Ishtar cast her spell, a dark mist forming from her feet, taking the form of a dark domain around the dragon egg and the platform.

...

[A/N]

Thank you for the support; do enjoy this chapter.