First came all of the weapon mastery gains.

  As planned, Lone had kept his focus exclusively on Warhammer Mastery until it had hit intermediate rank where it would now lay unused for the foreseeable future since he had so many more skills to also get to this point.

  The active element of the skill was disappointing since it only affected hammers and wasn't as vaguely applicable as most of his other weapon mastery active effects but not every skill could be a winner. It still felt good to progress with it nonetheless.

  Levels in a parent skill were always appreciated given how rare they were and these weren't the only such levels Lone had earned in the past week.

  Honestly, Lone had to reprimand himself for not working on his spear and polearm-based weapon masteries first with this new 'get every skill to intermediate rank' initiative. Still, better late than never so he had started working on Shortspear Mastery.

  Luckily, while training Shortspear Mastery as he sparred against Sophie's deadly teleporting dual-shortsword barrages alongside her incessant internal barriers that ripped him apart from the inside out, he had gained a brief moment of partial skill enlightenment.

  It wasn't enough to earn a new skill or a new skill effect but it did level the parent skill Spear Mastery, so Lone took it as a win and was hopeful for more such moments of clarity in the future. He had no research on the topic besides what Hamish knew about it which was limited at best.

  Lone was hoping partial skill enlightenment worked much like a dislocation, meaning it would be more likely to happen every consecutive time it occurred. He could only pray for it to be that way, at least. Maybe it would be worth asking about it at the next Conclave of Seekers.

  Of course, his notification log also contained the less combat-oriented skills that had improved since the meeting with the blue-haired foxkin.

  A new effect not being granted was expected behaviour for a non-combat-focused skill entering intermediate rank. He was done with this skill now that it had hit this rank and Lone didn't really want to bother with it until he could try to pick apart magical locks for a useful additional effect.

  He had swapped into training Acid and Corrosion Resistance in place of Lockpicking Mastery and, while painful, it was easily done thanks to his Creation Magic.

  Lone had used his Puzzle Locked Mind to scour his memories of high school chemistry lessons and anything else in his past on Earth that could help him make dangerous substances that would trigger the tricky resistances.

  Some of the toxic goops had almost resulted in his MP sealing up for a bit again since his knowledge, while having a decent foundation, wasn't nearly vast enough to supplement Creation Magic's costs. Thankfully, as his MP grew and grew, the risk of over-drafting shrunk ever smaller and smaller.

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  He almost had enough MP now to be able to create Soph's 'Jade Stars of the North' again and it would only result in his mana organs being sealed for 1,000 hours instead of 10,000.

  His training of the two resistances had been extremely effective. Much more so than the source of the skill: the slimes from Ranton's sewer system.

  '59 more skills to push out of beginner rank. It's gonna be a long stay in the clan, assuming they'll have us,' Lone thought with a nod.

  He spent the rest of the waiting time just resting with Soph at his side. About 15 minutes later a small group of Crimson Foxkin appeared, none with more than a handful of tails and not a single one that had awakened. As far as Lone could tell, their average rank was C with only two B-rankers among them.

  Rodorick approached them quickly and began conversing, presumably discussing business deals and the like. The sneaky glances that were being tossed Lone and Soph's way from the group of clan members didn't escape his notice. Thankfully, Breena was within one of the carriages otherwise she'd have been getting just as much attention as the two of them he suspected.

  'They don't seem malicious which is good. Curious and full of pity is what I get from those gazes. Suspicion for Soph too which is more than reasonable. The dancers are getting their fair share of looks too,' Lone thought. 'Maybe I really am too paranoid. Well, that and those Azure Foxkin fuckers were really something. Fuckin' 'Abomination'...'

  Things seemed to be going well between Rodorick and the person he was speaking to and before long, the convoy was being ushered into the Crimson Foxkin Clan's settlement.

  They were given a five-story pagoda to use during their stay which honestly, Lone thought was beyond awesome. He wouldn't have any trouble levelling Architecture Mastery in this place with such unique buildings littering the landscape.

  Rodorick had gathered everyone together on the first floor of their assigned pagoda and announced, "Good job everyone. The journey was a little bit rough this time but we managed to arrive with no deaths, injuries, or lost cargo so it'll be bonuses abound once the sale goes through. Take some time to wind down. We'll be here for about a week. Lone, Sofia, Breena, you're welcome to stay in this building until we leave but your employment ends here. I'll be sure to file the successful completion of your mission with the local guild branch. Of course, if you've changed your mind and would like to continue escorting us to our next destination, I wouldn't be saying no."

  A chuckle spread among the merchants and even the routinely beaten and bruised Downtrodden Dancers smiled bitterly. Sure, the training was harsh, almost brutal, but it was incredibly effective. More so than anything they had ever experienced, and it was free to boot. Losing access to a person with such a high level of Teaching Mastery would leave anyone feeling bitter, no matter the pain such training resulted in.

  "'Ppreciate the offer, but we've business here," Lone replied politely to which he received a nod.

  A few hours later, in a private room of the pagoda Lone, Soph, and Breena, had been assigned, Soph pursed her lips and said, "Um, Lone."

  "Yeah?" he asked from his lounging position on a sofa, pulling his eyes away from the book that previously had his full attention.

  "Well, um, I can sense Grimsley and Shana. I can also feel a person who kinda appears like Gilbert but... different. More grey. It's hard to describe," she confessed.

  Lone sat up. "His awakening to Death would have changed his mana so that makes sense. They're here? You're sure? Since when?" he rapidly asked.

  Soph smiled wryly. "Since we, uh, since we got here? I wasn't sure it was them because of the difference in feeling. I forgot about Death. I didn't want to let you know until we were away from the merchants. Wanna go see them?"

  "You fuckin' bet I do," he replied as he sprung up and excitedly placed his hand in Soph's.

  She nodded. "Okay. Um, if it is Gilbert, which I can't guarantee, he's doing paperwork right now so, uh, I don't think he'll be too chuffed to be interrupted... Teleportation."

  Gilbert leaned back in his office chair and sighed in contentment. 'The problems here are so much simpler than they were in Ranton's guild.'

  All he had to do here was manage the occasional squabble between the well-meaning but sometimes overboard skirmishing between the different clans that involved the adventurers under his watch, alongside the occasional report of suspicious human activity.

  Granted, neither task was exactly easy. The skirmishing required a certain tactful approach since while it was arranged and approved of by all of the clans to keep them aware and in top form in case of a real invasion, accidents happened. Feuds were settled inappropriately. Unjust deaths did occur. His racial skill was requested often enough that he needed to be very careful of how he resolved certain situations to prevent further escalation.

  Humans coming to survey and assumedly plot attacks to capture potential slaves was a headache in its own right but Gilbert was an SS-ranker with enough expertise and skill to be as strong as most lower SSS-rankers so while he was far from the strongest person in the clan, he was a good enough deterrent to prevent any guild members from being affected.

  This wasn't a problem for dragonkin so it was a new issue he had to learn how to combat as a political force of the guild and a permanent presence here in the Crimson Foxkin Clan.

  'Is it because we're not fluffy, perhaps? I'd like to say our strength is a deterrent enough for such practices like slavery but let's be real, people love cute things,' Gilbert thought with a frown before the absurdity of Lone's nine massive tails entered his mind, forcing a smile to surface on his lips.

  Anyway, when compared to how many hundreds of tiny little infractions and disagreements he had to deal with every day back in Ranton... well, he was basically retired here.

  'It won't be too long now before Shana is skilled enough to be labelled an apprentice magi. I need to make arrangements to get her tested and officially certified, but which organisation should we go to for the test? Hmm...' His pondering was interrupted when he felt a shift in the ambient magic around him.

  Before he could even properly process what he was seeing, his missing right eye stung fiercely enough to force him to clutch at it when a massive wave of grey smoke emerged from his body and took on a humanoid shape. It then attempted to rush into one of the two people that had appeared in Gilbert's office. He was powerless to attempt to resist this, let alone stop it.

  "As fuckin' if. How stupid can you be to think I didn't make plans for you, you fuckin' idiotic Primal?" the boy he thought of as his own flesh and blood sneered as a mass of equally powerful deep purple smoke billowed forth from his shadow to combat the grey mass.

  "Sorry, Deathy-poo, I made a deal with Loney-boy here so you'll have to back off for a bit, okay?" a towering figure of pure fear and manipulation uttered as it matched Death's advance with just enough force to push it back with nothing but amusement in its tone.

  "Hey, Gilbert, I missed you. Lemme deal with this rude fucker first then we can hug an' cry an' all of that shit, yeah? I'll fix up your eye and reverse any ageing too once I'm done," Lone said casually with a big grin on his lips.

  Gilbert was left dumbstruck for a moment before he laughed. "Not here for more than a moment and already causing trouble. Well, you're definitely Lone, that's for sure."

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