Divine Beast Ascension

Oli nodded.

Barba then asked, “And by signing this contract in regards to becoming a subordinate clan, we not only become lifelong subordinates to the Iron-body Clan but the Iron-body Clan becomes the lifelong backer and resource provider of our family?”

Oli nodded again.

Both parents looked at their sons once more, easily recognizing how Trantor and Trenk longed for them to sign the documents... With that in mind, and given their nearly desperate situation and rocky footing as territory leader, Tranton signed the vassal contract and they both signed the subordinate contract.

Clap, clap, clap!

To their surprise, their sons began to clap as they approached the table and handed the contracts to Oli. The sons shouted together, “THANK YOU!”

.....

Thump...

A scroll appeared on the table where the contracts once were. Bowing his head, Oli remarked, “We’re elated to have you join our cause. Please, accept this.”

Before either parent could pick it up, Trantor snatched the scroll and unfurled it. “You did own it! Cinder Volley!”

Tranton then took the scroll and verified what his eldest son was raving about. “It’s really Cinder Volley... You have-”

“That’s the first scroll we can offer you, and definitely not the last,” Oli laughed. “You’ll have to thank Vloz for that one since he’s the one who brought it all the way from Iron Academy.”

“... Iron Academy freely gives such arts away?!”

Shaking his head, Vloz explained, “We have a return policy. Any battle art or cultivation technique must be returned within a moon, and each scroll we lend out is documented. A single infraction of this condition will result in removal from Iron Academy and further potential consequences regarding that person’s stay in our territory. But to those that prove they have potential and dedication, we do willingly lend them perennial grade scrolls.”

Tranton was taken aback. Speechless. “... Than you have more of these? Do you have-”

“Of course, we have dark-based scrolls,” answered Oli. “And I’ve recently collected some more for Iron Academy’s library. But as a subordinate clan, we can lend you permanent copies of scrolls so long as they never leave the custody of your family. If we find you selling or exchanging them without explicit permission, your whole family will face the consequences.”

“Yes, Young Master Oliver.” Tranton bowed along with his wife. “We’ll never forget that.”

“What grade is your technique?” Vloz asked.

“Low-perennial grade,” Trenk answered for his stunned parents.

The leopard nodded. “Hmm, we only have a mid-perennial grade for the time being, so it’s negligible for you to upgrade it as you are now... But you’re welcome to use it for yourselves or for your family’s future prosperity.”

Vloz reached out and placed the new scroll down from his void choker. Barba was the first to grab it, clinging to it like a priceless treasure.

“As for dark techniques and arts, we’ve recently come into an abundance of them,” added Vloz, dropping yet another scroll on the table. “This one is high-perennial grade, so feel free to upgrade your techniques as you see fit.”

The Forell Patriarch dropped to his knees and fully prostrated himself to both the leopard and the young man. “Thank you! Thank you, Dean Vloz and Master Oliver! We’ll return your kindness with great works and service!”

“Perfect. That’s exactly what we need,” chuckled Vloz.

Oli chimed in, looking to Vloz, “By the way, here are the other scrolls for the library. I have some more but they might want to use them. Since we’ve got a sun and a half till the qualifier, I’m sure they can get something out of more scrolls.”

A ring was tossed to Vloz, letting him migrate the contents to his choker before handing it back to Oli. “A great haul indeed...”

“Does that mean-”

“Yes, Freele. That means you can start studying this today.” A scroll was taken out and lobbed over to her. “I gave the battle art to Vloz, but you can get a copy of it after the qualifier. For now, just focus on upgrading your technique. The sooner you get started, the better.”

Tranton peeked over her daughter-in-law’s shoulder and almost dropped his jaw on the floor. “Peak-perennial grade!!? And you-”

“It’s not our fault that her father didn’t even dare stand up and try to join in,” Vloz stated. “If he had at least acted with a sense of interest, perhaps we’d seek him out in the future. But he instead walked out without fully considering why his daughter acted so humbly toward Oliver, or why she was so insistent.”

Swallowing his saliva along with any response he’d prepared out of reflex, Tranton felt his whole body get lighter while his pride for his sons increased tenfold. “... Master Oliver, Dean Vloz, whatever you need of us, we’ll do it.”

“For now, we’ll need to discuss your proposed invasion of Prodson,” remarked Vloz. “I would love to hear your thoughts and potential plans for the matter before I report it back to our territory leader. After that, you’ll be able to meet those in charge of everything we do.”

In the meantime, Oli handed Fulkar the Raging Blizzard technique. Trenk and Trantor asked if they could use the Shadow Puppet art, but Oli turned them down. They would be allowed to use it after the qualifier but had to first adjust to the more powerful dark essence technique, followed by the mid-perennial fire technique. Only then would they be allowed to see any of the battle arts they wanted from Iron Academy.

The only thing left was to pass Freele her armlet to prove that equipment would be included among Iron’s offered resources. That was joined by a promise from Vloz to Tranton, one to receive a custom peak-perennial weapon of Tranton’s choice.

While Vloz stayed behind to talk with the overly enthused Tranton and his wife, Zelsh led the team away and back to Bore Palace.

‘Zelsh, take us to the Chasm.’

The king hesitated to reactivate the teleportation circle and stepped off. “All of you, feel free to wait in the palace wherever you like. I have to bring Oliver somewhere for the time being.”

“Yes, Master Zelsh,” they bowed in unison, knowing full well that their time would be spent with their new techniques.

In the meantime, Zelsh led Oli down the hall and into his private study. They quickly activated the secret door to descend into darkness. It had been a few moons since Oli had been there but he felt welcomed all the same.

The duo soon reached the lowest steps. Zelsh leaped into the pit below while Oli nimbly climbed down the wall. Once they were in the center of the pitch-black pit, Eeole appeared with a bright crystal in his hand to light up the entire space. “Alright. Oli, it’s time to bring it out.”

Oli greedily complied, eager to get a good explanation about the most expensive item he had ever purchased.

An enormous block of roxite appeared in front of them, amazing Zelsh. “So... This is what I heard about...”

“Mhmm...” Eeole nodded and hummed while getting a closer look. He ran his hand along the behemoth block and scanned his memory for any sign of familiarity that the minimally exposed fossil might’ve had. “... We’ll need to remove more roxite first. Zelsh, I trust you.”

“Consider it done. Just give me some time.”

Zelsh morphed into his full wyrm form, now matching the huge block in size. He wrapped his draconic body over the roxite while emitting the faintest layer of essence. It was earth essence with a hint of death essence to accentuate its corrosive trait and most carefully separate the roxite from the fossil.

Five minutes passed. Then ten... An hour went by as Zelsh was startlingly cautious. But that was exactly what Eeole wanted. Finally, Eeole stopped Zelsh in order to get another look at the remains.

“Hmm... A little more would be best. But...” A glimmer of a grin appeared on Eeole’s cheeks. “Zelsh, focus on the head and torso.”

Nodding, Zelsh went back to work. It took half an hour for him to be stopped by Eeole, whose eyes were bulging with exhilaration.

“It can’t be... It’s actually one of those!”

Zelsh reverted to his human form as he and Oli were stunned by what they saw. Neither of them could believe that this man, who was jumping and bouncing with jubilee, was the same shadowy figure that had terrified them and intimidated them in the past.

“Oli, it’s a shame you don’t have affinity for water or ice! This would’ve greatly boosted such a bloodline!” remarked Eeole, taking moment to look back at the duo behind him. “Can you tell what this is?”