The nobles still sitting within the open tent stared at Krillis in shock, seeing how he had frozen mid-step. No, rather than saying he was frozen, it was more apt to say that he had been petrified the moment that the shadow fell over him. His skin turned dusky, his hair losing all of its color in a single instant as his entire body was transformed into a statue.

However, the blonde kitsune’s senses were a bit sharper than those of her ‘friends’. She could still hear the frantic beating of his heart from within the stone prison. Though he had been turned to stone, it had only been the outer layer. Perhaps, if he was strong enough, he would be able to break free.

Of course, if he did so, the more sensitive outer layers would be lost. For instance, the surface of his eyes. Unless the researcher himself were to undo the petrification, he was doomed to either perish or be eternally blinded.

Yet, as the research stared down at him from high above, a smirk crossed over his lips. “Trying to quickly level up to cure yourself?” He asked, seeming to sense the thoughts of the statue.

“Are you aware that there is a wonderful plant within Earth known as the Reset Fruit? They’ve been studying it for hundreds of years as one of the few cultivable items that can directly interfere with the system’s energy. By consuming this fruit, the user loses the last level they acquired, and all the memories that came with training it.” As the giant spoke, a flash of blue light seemed to emerge within his eyes.

“Due to my identity as an energy researcher, I was naturally sent many samples of these fruits to study. I must say, it is quite remarkable how these simple plants work. Normally, I would be incapable of replicating its effects on my own. However, there is this peculiar energy that was found in PX-942 of the Metong realm. Energy number seven hundred and sixty-eight.”

“This energy, prized for its alchemic influence, is able to take on the characteristics of special plants and plant-based items such as potions. So, you could store the properties of a powerful healing elixir within the energy. Or, the power of a Reset Fruit.”

As he spoke, the light of the system surrounded Krillis, gradually undoing the petrification that he was afflicted with. Unfortunately for him, it was not an instant process. Meanwhile, the titanic James held one hand out, palm facing Krillis. A strange stream of light mixed with green and orange colors rushed down, enveloping the man.

“But why stop at removing just one level? Did you know that the average individual earns their first level when they are only four months old?” Krillis was no longer able to run, or rather no longer knew why he needed to be running. He simply felt something wrong with the light streaming around him, and let out a terrified scream.

Soon, under the horrified eyes of those watching from the tent, even Krillis’s own guard, those screams turned into higher-pitched cries. Krillis fell on the floor, unable to hold his balance anymore. Anyone watching could tell from the sight of his fall that he had lost all of his strength. Even if he knew how to walk, he would likely be unable to support the weight of the armor he was wearing.

After he was done with that, James turned his eyes towards the guard bearing Krillis’s seal. “Take him back to his home. I seem to recall he has a wife. Maybe this time, she’ll be able to raise him properly.”

The guard didn’t dare talk back, moving over to the crying manchild and picking him up. Though Krillis’s arms flailed about, he was unable to cause any harm to the guard that hastily carried him away. “And as for you all.” James said, before turning back towards the rest of the nobles.

As the tent was in the way, they were unable to properly see his face. Yet all the same, they could feel a chill run down their spines as they felt his gaze piercing them. “I know who gave the idea for what he just did. I won’t punish someone for simply having an idea. But if anyone is to try to act on such a thing in the future, I have countless ways to make you regret it.”

“You can try to take the castle however you desire. But don’t touch what you shouldn’t touch.” After saying that, James turned around, taking a single step that seemed to cause him to vanish into the void.

The silver-haired kitsune within the tent gulped, looking around at her peers. “I… think this meeting is over for today. All in favor?”

Finally, something that they could all agree on.

“Are you sure it’s around here?” Chel called out impatiently, standing atop the large craft that the golem had summoned as it flew over a vast mountain range. There was an open hatch behind her, through which could be seen a worried Thea.

“Yes, it should be somewhere around here, Chel. Now come back inside. Three-Fifty is already scanning, so there’s no reason for you to be up here!” Thea was clearly nervous that something might happen to Chel, but the little girl stuck her tongue out playfully.

“I’ll be fine. If anything, you should be worrying about anything that comes to start problems with us!”

Krillis hadn’t been entirely wrong with his train of thought. Thesa really did have a way to talk to Chel, and had used that method to inform her about the crisis at hand. However, rather than rushing back to help solve the problem, Chel decided to take the time as an extra vacation, telling her mother not to get involved with whatever happened.

As Chel’s parents, they knew better than anyone else that their daughter was incredibly special. They even suspected that she was some legendary figure reborn, but never asked her for the specifics. No matter who she may have been in her last life, that didn’t change that she was currently their daughter.

What it did change was making them acutely aware of just how powerful she was, and how powerful James was as well. So, when their daughter emphasized that they shouldn’t get involved, they stayed back. Her mom came up with the excuse that she felt it was wiser to allow Udona to choose who would take the throne, and they pretended to ignore what was happening at the castle while managing their own territories.

Meanwhile, the research team spent a week soaring over the skies of the twenty-third layer, only occasionally stopping to rest. As someone from a highly advanced technological civilization, the golem Three-Fifty’s transport was incredibly powerful. It appeared to be a giant arrowhead with numerous vents along the top, bottom and back that controlled its flight.

Due to his specialty as a researcher, the transport was equipped primarily for speed and detection. Its scanners were top of the line, and they had been using those scanners for the last several days in order to search for the Crystal Salamander.

Yet, this creature was incredibly elusive. It was hard to tell if it had some innate ability that allowed it to hide from their detection, or if it was simply so rare that they had yet to stumble across one. Either way, they were still diligently looking after a full week on the hunt.

“If you come inside… I’ll give you some more can--huh?” Thea blinked, looking out at the top of the ship. However, Chel could no longer be seen, as if she had simply vanished. Her face went pale, worrying that she had been knocked off of the ship before she heard someone clear her throat from behind her.

Turning around, she saw Chel standing there with her hands out. “Deal!”

“I didn’t even get to finish saying it…” She muttered to herself, reaching into her storage bag and pulling out a small packet of sour candy. As soon as it appeared, it was snatched out of her hands by a giggling Chel. “You were just waiting for me to offer it, weren’t you?”

Thea had learned over the time spent together that this girl had quite the sweet tooth. Especially when it came to sour candy. “Maybe I was~.” Chel said in a mysterious tone. “So, how are things with the ninjas?”

The kitsune woman froze up when she heard that, sweat beginning to form on her back. Although she knew that James, and likely Chel as well, were aware of her and her sister’s connections with the ninja clans, this was the first time it had been brought up so blatantly. “W-why do you ask?”

Chel, however, simply shrugged as she popped a piece of candy into her mouth. “Making conversation. And they seem really interesting to me. You’re not doing your little self-hypnosis thing anymore, right?”

“Haah…” Thea let out a long sigh. “You were even able to see through that? Or did James tell you?”

“Nah, it was pretty easy to tell, if you know what to look for. Don’t get me wrong, you two are really good at it. But some reactions seem a bit off whenever you hypnotize yourself to think certain things. Mental locks aren’t really developed that well in this world, yet.”

Hearing Chel’s words, Thea lifted a brow curiously. “Aren’t you an energy expert like James? Or are you meaning a lock made of some special energy?”

Chel blinked, but then let out a faint giggle. “Oh, I know a lot of things. I’m what you could call an all-rounder, I guess? I just haven’t really had the chance to put most of it to use since being born here. How many people would actually care about the answers to theories for problems they haven’t thought up yet?”

Thea paused, considering that. “Then… couldn’t you have helped him with his genetic engineering project without the need for this hunt?”

“Well, duh!” Chel grinned broadly, nodding her head. “But I’d have to make a ton of adjustments, and we’d need official funding. The queen didn’t really like the idea of funneling lots of money into giving beastkin extra tails, even if they are external power cores.”

“Imagine that…” Thea drawled, shaking her head. Now that Chel was back inside, she closed the open hatch above her. “Anyways, how long do you think it’ll take for the situation back home to resolve?”

Chel tilted her head, thinking it over seriously. “Eh, it’ll get done when it’s done. They’re not going to get past James either way. And if they do, they deserve to be king. Just as long as nobody does something really stupid, it’ll be fine.”

“...Really stupid, as in?” Thea had a rather bad feeling when she heard that, and Chel’s grin turned more mischievous than before.

“Like someone wanting to target people close to James to get him to back off. You and your team, or me for instance. You’ve seen his energy database, right?”

“He let me look at it a few days before we left, yes. I was… amazed at how much was listed.” Just thinking back to the long list of energies that the metong had compiled caused her head to spin. She couldn’t imagine any one civilization being able to properly utilize all of those.

“Well, when you get to a certain familiarity with energy combinations, you start to figure out how to put things together on a more instinctive level. As long as you have the formula to determine the ratios you need, you’ll have a pretty good idea on how to combine them. Like how Treisha made her enchantment energy. Once she figured out the numbers, everything flowed naturally.”

“Now… imagine someone with mine and James’s familiarity with energy combinations… and give him that database. If anyone really steps too far out of line, he has more than enough ways to make them regret every life decision they’ve ever made.”

Thea hesitated when she heard that, not entirely sure what to say. Eventually, she just went with what made the most sense to her at the time. “Our boss can be pretty scary, huh?”

Chel gave another playful giggle, nodding her head. “Never put an overpowered nerd on a warpath.”