"Screeee!!"
The excited cry of the Lightning Hawk resounded across the sky, and those who could hear that far away also heard the heartfelt laughter of the lady to whom the beautiful Magical Beast belonged.
"We should get going," Kiara suggested after everything had been packed up and the Formation Plates collected.
This place was no longer isolated, and they had stayed here long enough.
"Yes." Keith nodded to her and then smiled at Minami, who was sitting on the stairs of the last cabin that remained standing. "Go ahead. I have to help your sister with something. We will catch up with you on the way to the Nest."
Kiara curiously looked at him and then glanced at her sister, who was immersed in her book, before simply nodding with a smile.
"Don't be late!"
"We won't." He smiled at her and watched her summon her horse.
It only took her a few seconds to saddle it up.
All she had to do was inject her Aura into the metallic cube, which then ejected strands of light that reached out to the Black Zaverian Stallion, covering its chest in armour and placing reins and a saddle on it.
The Magical Technology of this world was indeed very handy, and now covered in pitch-black armour, the Beast looked even more majestic, its sleek form gleaming under the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees.
Kiara gently patted its head when it leaned in for affection, and then it neighed happily and pranced away when its Master urged it forward.
On the other side of the clearing, Venessa, Kashish, Sibyl, Qingyue, and Alana were waiting. And with them were Harud, Sebastian, and Victor.
Everyone except Venessa and Kashish looked his way when Kiara informed them that he would catch up later, but no one asked any questions and simply followed their Mother's instructions when she urged them to get moving.
As for the rest of the Family, the Blood Guards, and the Zurks, they were already inside Aerzar.
The World inside the Steele of Time & Space was ready again, having gone through a great Cataclysm where it had expanded, grown larger, and become richer in both Aura and Mana.
Now, Aerzar was the same as Amaya in terms of Aura and Mana, and though the girls had expected it to possess an even richer environment, it had not happened.
It seemed that the two worlds had reached an equilibrium. The real difference now was the Time Dilation, where a day on Amaya equalled three days inside Aerzar, and then there was also the difference in size. The World inside the Steele of Time & Space had grown considerably, but it was still no larger than one-third the size of this Arcane World.
Then again, the world they were currently in was an exception because it was an Arcane World. Most other Worlds in the Lower Heaven would be smaller than Aerzar in its current state.
The most important thing was that the concentration of Aura and Mana remained the same, making it very beneficial to cultivate inside the Steele of Time & Space, within the embrace of safety.
And that was exactly what everyone inside was doing.
A lot had happened over the last few days, and during their search for a suitable place inside the Grimgrove Forest, Kiara, Ingrid, Ingvild, and Alana had discovered that there were simply too many people here.
The four quickly realised that the Guild would not be safe in the forest. Though the Magical Beasts would not harm them unless their minds were corrupted, people would certainly attack them.
Several powerful groups were venturing through these woods in search of treasures, Magical Beasts, experience, or to complete their assignments, and some even maintained hideouts in the forest. Certain groups were getting closer and closer to their resting place with every passing day, and this was already near the centre of the Forest.
For their Guild, where everyone was only a Martial Warrior, and considering that they were going to be fairly rich in terms of equipment, it was simply unwise to remain here with their current strength.
The most irritating fact was that the Elysian Forces were searching for them since they had been sighted with Keith in the Crystal City.
To add to their frustration, there were Corrupted Beasts in the Forest as well, some as strong as 9-Star Martial Beasts, making any venture deeper into the woods suicidal.
In the end, the sisters decided that their Guild would train inside Aerzar for the next two months. The goal was to train and cultivate hard enough for everyone to reach the Martial Knight Realm, and for themselves, they had set the ambitious target of becoming Martial Generals.
Two months meant that they would have 168 days inside Aerzar, a total of six months of Amaya's time.
Becoming a Martial Knight was going to be very easy, but the goal of becoming a Martial General was considerably more ambitious.
However, they had already made up their minds to achieve it.
Keith had no objection to their decision since he was in no rush to leave Westesia for Orenesia. He could stay here for another two months, and he had decided to help them by creating Pills and Potions for the Blood Guards.
Most importantly, yesterday, the four girls had spent the entire day collecting Magical Beasts from the forest for their forces to contract with. Counting the Magical Beasts he had acquired from the Elysian Golden Army when he first arrived in this world, they now possessed a substantial number of battle-ready and experienced Magical Beasts for their Guild, and those who had been awarded these companions needed time to familiarise themselves with their partners.
The four sisters had planned everything extensively, and they had very carefully selected the Seekers and the Scouts, both of whom fell under Romeo's command. These Seekers and Scouts were given the most suitable Magical Beasts, and given that such creatures generally possessed extremely high loyalty towards their Masters, it was going to take time for genuine bonds to form.
Keith watched everyone disappear into the woods and then turned around to find Minami on her feet, using her Magic.
She utilised her Elemental powers to make the cabin sink into the ground, leaving no trace that it had ever existed, and then turned to smile at him before happily walking over.
"What excites you more? The Water Spirit or the Water Dragons?" he curiously asked.
"Both!" she happily replied before grabbing his hand and leading him towards the lake.
Without stopping, the two jumped straight into it, covering their bodies and clothes with Aura to keep themselves dry, and then swam towards the bottom, where the Beasts they were looking for rested.
The glacial water concealed the true depth of the lake remarkably well, and only after entering it did one realise how incredibly deep it truly was. Even through their protective Aura, the cold seeped through in faint, invigorating waves.
There were two known sources of water here. One was the natural spring at the bottom, and the other was the stream carrying glacial water down from the mountains. However, only they knew that there was a third source as well, whose presence became apparent when they crossed an invisible barrier.
Their intrusion alarmed the sleeping Dragons, but once the creatures sensed who had arrived, they quickly calmed down.
Minami smiled when she saw a bluish figure rush towards them, and the next second, a beautiful blue Serpentine Dragon was circling them excitedly, thrilled to finally meet the person it had been communicating with for days.
She gently touched its head and curiously tested the sharpness of its beautiful horns, which looked every bit as dangerous as they were elegant because of their graceful curves.
A few moments later, an entire family of Serpentine Water Dragons surrounded them, and the largest among them was nearly a hundred and fifty metres long.
It was a she-dragon, the mother of all these children, one of whom was now her new mate. Unlike her offspring, she remained somewhat wary of them.
This was likely due to her past experiences, but despite her caution, there was no hostility in her eyes.
"Are you going to take the Spirit away?"
Keith curiously looked at the She-Dragon whose voice echoed inside his mind. He already knew that these creatures possessed telepathic abilities, but he had never expected to hear one speak in the language of Ashaya.
Minami nodded to her and then engaged in a telepathic conversation that gradually eased the worries of the She-Dragon.
When his daughter finally turned to look at him after chatting with her new friends, he smiled and nodded.
He watched with intrigue as she pulled the Grimoire from around her neck and then watched it magically expand into a giant tome larger than either of them.
Its pages shone brilliantly as they flipped on their own despite being underwater before finally stopping on a blank page from which white strands of light rushed out.
Minami did not need to contract with all of them, and she did not.
She only contracted the new younglings, a brother and sister pair who had been the most affectionate towards her, and once the Contract was established, she sent them and their family into her Grimoire.
A few moments later, she summoned the She-Dragon again, who immediately nodded her head. Even though Keith could not understand her language and she had not spoken in Ashaya, he could sense that the Beast was pleased with its new home.
He smiled at his daughter as she happily returned the Beast to the Grimoire, which then shrank back down to a size small enough to fit in her palm.
She fondly read through their details, taking her time, and then blushed slightly when she caught him staring at her.
Keith grinned to tease her, and she hurriedly wore her Grimoire again before turning her attention towards the location on the lake bed that served as the source of the spring and blinked intermittently.
The opening was not large enough to dive into, meaning she would need another method to call out the Water Spirit.
Luckily, she had come prepared, as her mother had already taught her everything about attracting Elemental Spirits.