The First Legendary Beast Master

Some of the souls that Karl could sense were familiar. Immortal Azov was one, and he didn't look like he was about to attack anyone, so there was some hope that the others weren't hostile.

Or perhaps things only got truly dangerous after the tribulation was finished?

As a preventative measure, Karl sealed the Tiny World.

There were strange Immortals here, and Dakkarian had said that they could see inside if the entry had been left open even a little bit. That would never do, and if he was in the middle of a Tribulation lightning storm, he would be far too busy to save the people inside from outsiders tampering with their living conditions.

Other presences were not familiar, though a few of them felt friendly, for a lack of a better description. As if they were making a point to let everyone know that they had come to observe and not to start a fight.

However, there were a few tense watchers, and Karl could sense that they were doing their best to analyze everything about Dana.

That would inevitably lead them to him, through the Soul Bond.

For someone of their level, it wasn't hard to find, as their power levels were nearly perfectly matched, and after a few minutes of imbalance, they would naturally try to compensate.

Which meant that Karl's own tribulation was not far behind.

It simply wasn't possible for them to remain in different Realms for too long.

The storm continued to gather, and the mana around Dana began to churn, crackling with the Immortal Energy of the Tribulation Lightning.

For one brief moment, everything was still, as if the process had stalled.

And then, the first bolt struck.

The tribulation crashed into Dana's shield, lighting it up with power, and leaving a lingering aura of power that soaked into every cell of her body.

A split second later, a second strike landed, then a third. Again they failed to break her barrier, and the leftover power soaked into her body, increasing Dana's physique with every strike.

Three strikes made the next volley, and this time her shield broke, letting a bit of the final tribulation lightning strike her directly.

But Dana had her barrier back up in seconds, while the storm brewed, and more powerful lightning gathered high in the atmosphere. The strikes weren't just increasing in number, every lightning bolt was stronger than the one that came before it.

Belatedly, Karl realized that he really should have done some more research on the phenomenon so that he would know what to expect, what was normal, and what was considered to be an impressive showing.

It was too late to do the studying now, and he couldn't even ask Remi, as the Naga Queen was busy watching Dana's advancement and wouldn't break away to do last-minute research.

It was more important to give the Dana Mage her moral support.

The volley of four lightning strikes broke her barrier, then the volley of five actually got a full strike in on her after her shields fell. Her armour spell scorched with the tribulation lightning, and the power lingered in her body.

Seconds later, a volley of six lighting strikes, so close together that they were almost one single lightning strike.

Then, the lightning just stopped.

The clouds began to fade away, and for a brief, horrifying second, Karl thought that it had failed.

Only, the tribulations storm began to form over his own head, and the lightning began to charge again, preparing to put him through the rite of passage. However, Dana's progression wasn't quite finished, and her power level was still growing as she absorbed the power of the tribulation storm.

[Do you think that we're going to get to share in the power buff? If we can piggyback on the lighting, I think that we can get enough strikes that Karl's fur will smoke.] Cara suggested.

[Are you trying to get me fried to death by tribulation lightning?]

[No... Maybe. Not all the way to death, just a little toasty.]

Rae laughed at the thought of Karl with singed fur. His body was so incredibly durable that he was rarely in real danger, and they had never seen him looking that sort of bedraggled, even on bad days.

[At least my brothers are looking out for me.]

Tian thumped his tiny chest. [If you do get singed fur, I will heal it right up.]

[The boy might be a bit off track, but he's got the spirit.]

Dana's power began to stabilize, and she sat down to meditate, while the storm built to a furious crescendo above Karl's head.

[Is it just me, or is this one stronger than before? This storm is definitely stronger than the last one, isn't it?] Thor asked.

[I think you're right. Does that mean we're not getting bonus lightning?]

[We'd better get bonus lightning. I read a book that said three and nine are the luckiest numbers for tribulation.] Remi countered.

[Ew, so we might get a short one? Even Dana could hold her shield up for three strikes. Karl, don't use any barriers. I think that it works better if it hits you directly.] Cara insisted.

[Ooh, if three and nine are best, wouldn't 999 lightning strikes actually be best? That's three nines.] Opal offered.

[That sounds like it would take too long.]

[Are we in a rush? If the Karl is immortal that mean's we've got literally forever, right? Even if we sit here under the lightning for a year, it's fine.] Remi noted.

Cara considered it. A year of burnt fur might be too much. The smell would be overwhelming, no matter how much fun it was to watch the first time.

Or maybe the deal breaker was that it had to get through your defences.

If that was the case, then letting it hit them would be a bad idea, they could mess up their whole chance on a weak single lightning strike.

[Keep it up for the first two. The stronger it gets the better.]