Chapter 351

When everyone is people gathered, Cain begins his explanation to the group. 

“Once I gained an ability that let me call for Summons above Ancient, at the quality called Mythic, I gained a new status line called Awakening. A Summon at Mythic Quality takes a tenth of one percent of the damage done to them by Ancient and lower quality skills, and now I’ve got a quest to get another Mythic Ability. 

It says that it could take an extended time frame and that the instance is unique, which I assume means generated by the System and only available to the one on the quest.”

Cain waits to see if anyone has questions at that point because he can see the excitement in everyone’s eyes. 

The first one to speak was Kone. “How much damage you you think a Mythic Quality Lightning Bolt would do? What? You know you were all thinking it too.”

“We’ve all seen what S Ranked lightning can do, so I guess it would be more like Holy Light hitting those First Advancement warriors at the battle for Blood Sands Castle at the end of the war in Landis,” Larkin suggests. 

Holy light, more than a hundred levels higher than you? As close as Cain can gather from the descriptions given by those that were there, that should all but vaporize whatever it hits. But that’s likely also the case with Mythic rank lightning; it would leave nothing but ash and a scorch mark. 

“Do we know how long this extended mission might take?” Misha asks, concerned. 

“I can’t see it is taking an insane amount of time, but since there was a warning, I guess it will likely be between a week and a month. Any less wouldn’t need a warning, and any more seems unlikely.” Cain shrugs, then realize that a calm attitude was not the correct answer. 

“I’ll be back before you know it, and until then, we’ve got a whole city full of people happy to help you with anything you need. Would you like me to make you a stuffed animal for the time that I’m gone?” 

The question makes Misha giggle since Cyrene already has one, but she shakes her head. “Go on then; we will be fine for a little while, especially with all these puppets here to help us out.”

“Alright, I’ve transferred what I might need to my inventory in case I can’t access the Guild Bank wherever It sends me. Is there anything else I’m forgetting?”

“You’re not wearing your Lamia.” Paige points out. 

“Cyrene is staying here to keep Misha company. Plus, she has got a plan to start an outreach program to help the Guild’s reputation. Oh, and ask Evangeline to help with that. I’m sure that there is a reason everyone likes Seraphim, so that she might have some good ideas.”

“Wait, you were going to update the Guild Skill.” Cyrene cuts in just as Cain finishes. 

That’s a good point. He should update the Guild Skill to one of the new abilities before going. The difference will be huge, letting every one of their members safely lead groups through dungeons near or just above their level. 

No matter what reputation they’re going for, that will be helpful to their cause. Even if not everyone appreciates their goodwill, the extra firepower might be enough to intimidate them into respecting the Darklight Host name. 

Cain opens the Guild menu and selects [Benevolent Leader], changing the skill to [Summon Pet]. That causes a wave of confusion and dismay in the Guild Chat, but it’s easily solved.

[My skills upgraded. Take a good look for yourselves if you want. This is better.]

Cain looked around to see what everyone thought of the skill, only to see Misha and Cyrene trying to hold in laughter—reading their thoughts showed why. A Lamia warrior that looks almost precisely like Cyrene, but with different patterns in the red scales on their back is one of the Demons that qualified as a Pet Summon. 

His pet Lamia can have a matching pet Lamia. 

With no more commentary incoming, except the Guild chatter about how incredible the new skill is, Cain decides to activate the Quest. A shimmering portal opens in the room, and Nemu instinctively reaches out to touch it. 

“It is solid. I can’t go through it; it’s just a solid object.” The Felian complains in confusion. She’s a Companion; she should be able to go through anything Cain can. 

Vala tried next, finding that she also could not pass through the portal. It seems very strange, but perhaps it is only because the portal is part of the system, so Cain himself will need to activate it. 

After a double round of hugs, Cain steps forward into the portal, and the world goes black around him. 

[Class Quest Activated] 180 days remaining to find the relic of the Ancients hidden in this realm. 

[All External Mana Usage Restricted]

That could explain why the Companions couldn’t enter; they are summons. But if he can’t use mana here, he might be in trouble. Then Cain realizes that he’s still got Seraphim merged with him. So he can use mana not to affect anything outside himself. 

Thinking fast, Cain tries to decide what might be the best Summon to Merge with if he’s going solo. 

[Try the Forest Dragon. It constantly regenerates at a high rate and heals on hit.] The Seraphim suggests. 

That’s a pretty good idea, so Cain uses his [Blessed Summoner] ability to call a pair of Legendary Forest Dragons, now Mythic Quality, into Merger with him. 

With that sorted, he changed his gear to something more optimized for combat, including his new [Carnivorous Armor]. A quick tweak to his appearance gives him short and subtle claws, and Cain sighs relief. 

[Malleable Form] doesn’t require mana to use, but he wasn’t sure he could activate it. Since he can, that gives him a lot more options if he does need to fight something unexpected.