Rise of the Weakest Summoner

As the water’s surface returned to its relatively still state, the ladies swam closer to the entangled duo. Miria was the first one to spot the change in her beastfolk sister-mate’s body, letting out a shocked gasp. Nothing could stop her from rushing to them and throwing her open arms around the pair.

“You got another tail! That’s almost twelve now! How did that happen? Was it you who made those big waves?” The cheerful panthergirl barraged her with questions.

“I think I have an idea about how this came to be.” Grea smirked knowingly.

“It was the water, wasn’t it? Or the energy that it’s infused with,” Silvia said thoughtfully. “We’ve been talking with Tia about this before the lake nearly exploded upwards.”

Asterios succeeded in pacifying Miria to some extent and the fox lady in his embrace chuckled delicately at the others. “I have to apologize for scaring you. I didn’t intend to release so much mana into the surrounding area. But, its sheer volume and intensity took me by surprise. And Master’s assistance only brought it a step further.”

“It all happened so fast.” He shook his head. “In the past, it took you a moment to consolidate the new stage, and then your new might became more discernible, but I don’t think we’ve followed the usual path today?”

“You are correct, my Lord.” She nodded tenderly, rubbing her head into his cheek. “With both yours and the rock’s energies flowing into me, I’ve condensed the next stage from start to finish. I thought I would have a bit more control over my spiritual circuits with that, but I could not prevent the massive explosion that followed. However, I mitigated it quite a lot.”

“If that was a mitigated blast, just how much bigger would an unrestrained one be?” Tina asked no one in particular, trying to imagine the radius.

“All the water in this pond would have been pushed out past the edge, leaving this lake slightly empty of its most crucial resource.” The fox lady showed a small smirk as their eyes widened at her words.

“Then it’s great that didn’t happen because we would have all been thrown into the air too!” Miria giggled adorably, suspiciously too thrilled about that possibility. “But, now I wonder what you can do with your external circuits looking like this.”

At the panthergirl’s humming question, Asterios and Selene took a closer look at her body. Releasing his vulpine mate from his arms, he and everyone else examined the slightly glowing blue patterns that now ran over most of her smooth skin. 

The spiritual lines coming from her calves climbed past her underbelly, and the ones adorning her forearms headed further up her neck and face, snaking over her cheeks, while at the same time descending to her chest and almost meeting the bottom ones over her athletic stomach. A free space was still present around her belly button as the azure paths cupped her firm breasts and swirled by her nether regions. The spiritual routes didn’t have such qualms with passing over her entire back.

“Just a tiny bit more and you will be completely covered in them,” Bryn pointed out with slight awe in her tone. “I wonder if the empty segment on your stomach is meant for something important. Or the leftover section on your forehead.”

“I’m not the only one whose mysterious external spiritual circuits are shifting.” Selene smiled at the Valkyrie warmly. “And just like you, I honestly have no idea. This has all been moving really quickly. I would not be surprised if we soon encountered a solid wall blocking our progress further, requiring us to find or figure out something extremely specific, like with your Spire and elite valkyrjas.”

~It might feel extremely fast to you, but it isn’t unimaginable,~ Tia chimed in. ~It’s true that part of that speed is the benefit of your bond with Asterios, but you yourself already had the capability of reaching the heights of your race before meeting him. The only problem was your lack of knowledge about how to cultivate that capability, resulting in your physically painful stagnation. If your power hadn’t been constantly suppressed for decades or longer, you would still be the most powerful Spiritual Fox of your clan by this day.~

“In my honest opinion, you should make sure that further generations are aware of this condition you have been blessed with,” Althea shared her thoughts. “It will not only save them the unnecessary torment but also give your people a chance to raise their gifts properly.”

“I know. I’m planning to document my experiences in great detail. We might not see another Spiritual Fox with my condition anytime soon, but if what I’ve gone through can help at least one person in the next thousand years, it’s worth it.” The vulpine lady grazed her fingers dearly over the patterns.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. With only a small change to our current lifestyle, we might get to meet them fairly soon.” Their draconic friend glanced down into the water before bringing her emerald eyes back up to meet hers.

A tinge of rosiness colored Selene’s fair cheeks as she caught on the insinuation. Truly, if they decided to stop holding back, who knew how high the possibility of succession for such traits with a True Dragon involved was? It took whole generations the natural way, yet it didn’t exactly have to follow the same path with Ast’s mighty ancestries involved in the game.

“How do you feel now? Has the additional tail and these expanded circuits given you a more noticeable increase in spiritual strength or is it something like better control and so on at this stage?” Silvia asked curiously. “You have already been incredibly powerful and it’s hard to imagine you getting even stronger.”

“Are you now closer to being a goddess?” Miria added, almost vibrating from excitement.

All the duo got in response was a mysterious grin before Selene’s face assumed an expression of serious focus. Closing her eyes, she put her palms together, connecting the lines running over them. The circuits flashed brighter and they watched as their white-haired companion started floating up into the air.

Stopping a few meters above their heads, Selene moved her tails to create a vertical fan that covered almost full one-eighty degrees with each fluffy appendage standing tall and proud. If she had twelve, there would be no gaps between them, making the half-circle they created even more mystical and magical. But, whatever she was doing, she was clearly able to handle the technique with just eleven of them.

Then, after a few long seconds of nothing, Selene’s eyes flicked open and they flashed with profound light alongside her entire external circuits. She thrust her arms outwards and a spherical barrier of some kind expanded from her body, quickly passing through everything and everyone in the pond and its close vicinity. The thin cyan dome spanned over a hundred meters in diameter for sure.

“Welcome to my Domain.” Selene’s voice echoed around them with a deep, slightly ominous reverb, faintly tinged with a note of mischief.

“Woah! That’s so cool!” Miria clapped joyfully. “What can it do?”

“Would be much cooler without the white stuff dripping into the water from up high,” Grea whispered, leaning more towards them and covering part of her mouth in an attempt to act sneaky.

The girls chuckled quietly while Asterios pinched his naughty mate’s ass, which made her squeal, turning their chuckles into bigger laughs. Those were broken by a surprised yelp coming from the same person as she lunged at Asterios in panic. 

Out of nowhere, the water their beloved and the crimson-skinned woman were in began rising with them alongside it. Everyone stared with wide eyes as a half-sphere of steaming liquid lazily floated up and up, allowing them to peer at Ast’s and Grea’s bodies from below similar to how he had done it a while earlier. Save for the whole flying part, of course.

The duo stopped in front of Selene, who grinned at Grea slyly. “Maybe I should have you clean it up for me, hmmm?”

Hearing her voice from all around while gazing upon her almost godly visage caused the demon lady to shiver involuntarily. Asterios had to admit, he was impressed too. If she appeared like that in a few places around the world or other realms, she could certainly find a following.

Though, maybe with a few more clothes on. That would be for the best.

“Answering Miria’s question, it can’t really do anything,” she continued. “I’m now able to establish a sphere of influence in a place of my choosing, which greatly boosts my abilities in its confines. Think of it as what Umbra has shown us in the Spire but at a slightly lower level. I could demolish this entire place with a single thought and could sense every single insect in a radius of about two hundred meters. Using my mana, which is now spread all over this place, I can achieve plenty of incredible feats and fuel my usual abilities to a new high.”

“That’s amazing.” Asterios glanced around in admiration, careful not to lean over the edge of their small, invisible tub. “It will help with dangerous fights so much. If we stumble on a Dragon or something equally tough, we could lock it inside this Domain with Bryn’s barriers while the rest of us assist you in taking it down.”

“That would certainly be necessary.” The shining vixen gave him a nod. “One of the major drawbacks of this technique is its lack of repositioning. I can’t move the sphere anywhere after placing it down. Dismissing it and casting it again draws way too much mana to be a viable resolution. This might become my new ace in the sleeve for some time, possible to cast only once or twice a day at most.”

“More! Show us more!” Miria shouted from below them, still not satisfied with her friend’s display.

Rolling shining eyes playfully, Selene snapped her fingers and a number of squeals traveled through the air alongside loud sloshing noise.

“Holy shit!” Grea gasped and hugged Asterios even tighter. “She’s moving the whole fucking lake!”

Peering down just like her, he confirmed that she was right. All the crystal-clear liquid began floating up with the ladies still present in it. From his elevated position, he could now see the empty, uneven crater perfectly well as its floor emitted thick steam while getting in contact with the cold air.

Swirling the massive load of water around for a moment, Selene put it back in its place, taking great care not to hurt her sister-mates. Judging by the joyful laughs and squeals, they were having the time of their life instead.

Soon after the wild waves settled down, the floating half-sphere with Asterios and Grea descended to rejoin the rest of it too, bringing them to the girls. Selene arrived there a few seconds later, the glow of her eyes and the ominous lines fading a bit but not completely. 

She stepped onto the surface of the water as if it were solid to her and put her hands on her hips with a lofty smirk on her lips. “This is going to be so much fun. Lerisse won’t even realize I’m around when she starts getting teased with ghost brushes and breezes.”

Asterios snorted and rubbed his eyes. “Can you think of any other uses of your newly gained powers than messing with your friends at least once in our lifetime?”

“I can’t make any promises, my Lord.” She snickered softly, sinking up to her chin to match them. “But I’ll try the next time you boost me to the final stage.”

“If only it was all my work that lets you progress this fast.” He smiled. “And are you actually sure twelve is the limit? I know we are basing it on that full moon shape cut into a dozen sections, but maybe you gained some new understanding of it?”

“I don’t know.” Selene swam up to him and the other ladies did so too, which resulted in a tender group hug with her and Asterios in the center. “I just can’t think of anything more insane than these recent upgrades. I can’t keep growing stronger infinitely.”

~Or can you?~ Tia mused with a cute giggle. ~We’ll just have to wait and see.~

They agreed with the wise Dryad while their foxy friend tried to argue that it was just not possible. After forcing her to give up, the group decided to hang out together in the hot spring for about a quarter of an hour more now that Asterios had joined them. They swam around, chatted together, and lazed by the shore, resting their elbows over the edge with their chests poking out of the steaming water. A row of magnificent breasts to Ast’s left and right was a sight impossible to describe. Along with the pleasant mix of cold and hot temperatures, it felt like he was in paradise.

“Alright. I think it’s time for us to get back on track,” he finally said when their self-appointed time ran out. “We need to let the sealies know what we have learned and return to Kraedorion. I think it’s best to try another realm jump from out there instead of here.”

“I can go and tell them for you, Master,” Bryn volunteered, stretching her arms over her head, which put her impressive breasts even more on display as droplets of hot water trailed down those magnificent peaks.

“As your mentor, I would advise you to hold off any further attempts of crossing realms until tomorrow,” Althea suggested calmly. “You should let your mind reset and your circuits recover. This isn’t an easy technique to master. We are not in a rush. You still have six days.”

“If you say so.” He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. “I trust your judgment. Any suggestions on what else to do?”

“You can accompany us with the matters related to Glimmervale and your draconic nation, fulfilling your lordly duties and responsibilities,” Silvia offered.

“And I will begin the introduction to mentorship with Rusilthea in the meanwhile,” the emerald-haired lady informed them. “Our approach might be new, but there will be plenty of elements it’s going to borrow from the traditional route.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Asterios agreed. “Let’s get ready to move.”

“What about the sword?” Miria tilted her head at him.

He frowned lightly. “Sword?”

“The one at the bottom of the pond?” She tilted her head the other way.

Glancing down towards the lakebed, he focused his eyes enough to see the place with the protrusion in great detail. And truly, what had been a weirdly shaped bump sticking out of the ground at an awkward angle was now a half-buried double-edged sword. It had a thin silvery blade and short, cylindrical hilt, wearing almost no evidence of passage of time even after being submerged in water for a long time.

Asterios was sure that it was the same thing they had interacted with moments before. It must have been returned to its original form or uncovered from all that rock and stone either during Selene’s violent advancement or her display of power. The short blade was still firmly stabbed into the base of the so-called lake.

“Well, if we try to take it out, I’m fairly sure this place won’t be special anymore. And not only that, we would get rid of the hot spring. Do we leave it undisturbed for now, coming back sometime to study it more, and maybe take a pleasant dip in the hot water, or do we pull it out and take it with us?” He turned to his charming lovers.

“Hot spring,” they answered in unison.

Chuckling amusedly, he internally agreed with them. “There you have it. Now, come on, before Selene decides to trap us in a bubble full of water again and shakes us like a snow globe.”

Getting out of the warm water, they all hastily jumped back into their comfy clothes. Umbra lent Bryn a hand so she didn’t have to fly back to the village through this cold while the others stepped back into their castle through one of the red gates. They split into groups and went to handle their own tasks.

Time flew fast with everyone focusing on work and night came surprisingly early. From what Althea told them during late dinner, Rusi had been thrilled to hear about their recent adventure and the draconic lady made a promise to bring her with them the next time. Tina saw nothing wrong with that and welcomed the idea of showing their new friend how they operated while also allowing Rusilthea to experience more realms.

The next morning, they hastily transferred themselves to the testing island once more and got ready for another attempt. The stormy woman stood on the sidelines with an eager expression, ready to consume anything she would have a chance to witness. Reminding everyone about the rules they had set up the day before, Asterios went through all the steps at a similar time as the last time.

Waving his mates and Rusi goodbye for good luck, he stepped into the swirling mist. The discomfort and rough pulling made itself apparent soon after, but he withstood the challenge by focusing on their goal and the benefits it could bring to not just them but many other people all around the different realms. Nevertheless, the weird phenomenon was weaker this time, either because he was getting used to it, or because he succeeded.

Then, everything spun as darkness enveloped his vision, and Asterios landed face-first in something damp and mushy with an impressive, wet smack. Groaning lightly, which forced a few bubbles into the muddy substance, he lifted himself with a push-up, taking a look around.

A thick forest or a jungle surrounded him. It was hard to tell much more about it due to the fact that it was the middle of the night and he had not activated his enhanced sight yet. That difference hinted at him that he might not be in Eabiarhia, where the times of the day weren’t that far off compared to his own realm. Otherwise, it would have been highly possible that he had missed the mark but managed to at least slip into the correct world. Unless he had somehow overshot the region.

Swiping down his face with one hand, he stood up, shook his head to fling any gluey dirt off his hair, and met the gaze of a very curious frog. He stared at the green amphibian and it stared back, unblinking. Its attention was fully on Asterios and nothing could divert it in any other direction.

“What? Haven’t ever seen a person fall flat right on top of a swamp?” he asked with a wry smirk.

“Nay, lad, can’t say I have,” the frog replied with a deep, low voice, and hopped away into the ferns.

“Right. The frogs talk here. No big deal.” Asterios blinked a few times and shook his head. “Wonder what other surprises await me in this realm.”