-Wolf territory. Midday. 3RD POV-

In one of the isolated ponds near the marshlands in wolf territory, lied down a purple-blue Dragon in the middle with one of his tattered wings broken and hanging on his left, right forepaw gauged open while bleedings from all over his body and the girl's dyed the shallow waters red. After the injured human girl calmed down, she sat on the Dragon's left forepaw suspended above the water, and the two exhausted magicians began concentrating on replenishing Magic resources to recover their injuries. With resources scarce and plenty to heal, the scaly beast had to prioritize the worse injuries on her and block their pain while she helped with the minor wounds that Light regeneration could recover.

Minutes later, the sunlight reflected off the water and shine on their still bodies between the shadows brought by the darkened clouds up above making their way to the Northwest. *Shrig~ Shrig~* The swamp critters around the 20-meter wide pool resumed their chirping after the ambient sounds returned to normal. *Hwoooooh~* The wind gusts blow periodically from the Southeast, rustling the short grass and making waves that splashed onto the metallic scales while the girl's long white hair, stained red, fluttered freely on her left.

Shaila held onto a large purple-blue claw with her left hand as the left leg rocked back and forth, splashing the water to distract herself from her condition. *Fuash! Fuash!* She rested her right leg over Nefiru's and her right arm on top, looking down at the hole near the wrist trickling blood from both sides. "Haaaimm~" The girl did a long sigh and lowered her head with an increasing headache, then muttered in realization. "Being with Nefi is harder than I thought..."

The Dragon, who finished inspecting the girl, gave her another appraising look. She had five large gashes in her upper body, she was covered in bruises, scratches and her front side was completely reddened with dark spots caused by the pebbles in the mud. Within, she had suffered extensive internal injuries, but luckily, no bones were fractured. He couldn't help but twitch his snout with remorse. "Guh..." He lowered his elongated ears ashamed, and eyelids in sadness before speaking in a regretful tone. "I understand if you regret being with me. I-I've failed you... I mean...look at you... I got you even more hurt this time. I almost lost you! I-If it weren't for Magic--"

"I would probably reincarnate as a She-wolf again." Shaila revealed with a half-serious smile. Nefiru opened his eyes wide and stayed silent as she continued with a stern face. "I'm not fond of being a Human again, so I don't think I will..."

"I see..." The scaly Beast lowered his head and apologized as sincerely as he could. "I am really, truly sorry, Shaila. I didn't prepare enough. I...didn't do enough. I...wasn't careful enough. I wasn't a good partner..."

""..."" The two stared at each other's eyes in a heavy silence for a short moment. ""I--!!"" The two started speaking at the same time and stopped.

After an awkward moment, the Dragon spoke in his deep voice. "Alright, enough drama. What will you do? You'll probably suffer even more in the future if you stay with me."

"Shushh, you dum-dum." Shaila reproved stroking the Beast's muzzle briefly. "What is there to regret? If I don't suffer with you, I will suffer away from you...in different ways..."

"Aww~ That's so morbidly sweet..."

"Hehe... But I was too naive... Our lives aren't going to be all fun and games. How could I forget we will be fighting, struggling, surviving... then finding more danger to repeat that all over again. And through aaaall of that...I'm going to be your weakness...until Divine Ranks..." She announced, self-deprecating.

"Hmmmm... Shaila, you need to accept that you are just a spoiled and frail little girl, even weaker than boys your age! You aren't a Beast anymore."

"Uuuughhh..." The girl groaned while shaking her head. "I hate being a simple human girl... Surviving would be much easier if I were a Beast." Wouldn't be able to ride him though...

"Learn, Shaila... Adapt. Focus on your strengths. Be precise, smart and prepared. Keep your body in shape and learn fighting styles."

"Uuuugh... Fiiiine... I'll do as you say..."

"Good girl~"

"Shadap and heal me already."

"Haha... Alright." Nefiru finished molding Lifeforce, then used Water magic to control the tissue, Light to give Cell division a nudge and Lightforce to accelerate the process. *Ssssk!* The inflated muscle and tissue within the girl's arm decreased in a few seconds, then the veins, arteries, and broken capillaries reconnected a few more seconds after. Lifeforce truly made a difference. It looks eerie seeing flesh grow so fast... Nefiru affirmed, looking into the wound.

"Ahh~ It's nice moving my arm again..." The girl rejoiced, opening and closing her hand before gripping the claws on her right. Finally, the tissue inside her arm recovered back to normal until just two cavities remained on each sides. The Dragon stopped healing and brought another batch of Elementals collected in the pond before preparing to heal a nearly inch-deep gash on her waist.

"Hm... I must thank Lightwater somehow... I can't imagine being wounded like this out here. How do normal people go on about without Healing Magic?"

"Kuuff! You would get so many stitches at a hospital that you would look like Frankenstein's monster hahaha! And then the hospital bills...uff!"

The girl, vaguely understanding the reference, raised an eyebrow and snapped. "...VeeEEeery funny... You better not leave any scar! And fix that lump you left inside my arm..."

"Oh, come on... I'm new at this! I only heal myself fast because I don't have to worry about scars, and Beast cells divide faster with better natural corrections. The wolves can finish--"

The girl gave a glare of disapproval and declared in a stern tone. "No. Defects, or else..."

"Y-yes, ma'am! I-I'll try my best..." Nefiru affirmed under the pressuring gaze, then glanced around slowly while calculating resources. "Hmm... These calm waters...have so few Elementals, and they are reappearing rather slowly too." He announced and looked up at the sky behind him. "No sign of rain either..." He muttered worriedly, then turned back to the girl.

"Well, at least Light Elementals are abundant now, right?"

"Yeah, but I can't reassemble the flesh with Light."

"At least you found this pond. It looks like spending Elementals without an available source nearby can be disastrous, eh?"

"Yup! But the Water Elementals here might not be enough to heal us completely."

"What?!?!"

"I told you, I'm new at this. I'm just wasting Elementals with multiple commands--er, I'm inefficient. And I practically have to reconstruct your body!" Nefiru declared as he scanned her body again, then looked at the frozen paw while the girl followed his gaze. "And my toes are missing three chunks of meat bigger than your fists!" He compared, then glanced back at his left flank. "And my left wing is a mangled mess. Nope, nope, I'm not looking... I'm not even sure I can heal that in a whole day."

"Ugh... Can't we stay and wait...?"

"We'll be here for hours! Er...Day Quarters. And we can't afford to--"

"Find another lagoon!"

"...So bossy. But there's nothing but tiny puddles and patches of soaked earth for hundreds of meters around us. I could go around collecting resources from anything soaked to finish the treatment, but to replenish, we should go to the Marshland."

"Ugh. How far is it?"

"Uff. It's around 1.5 Kilometer away. And I'll have to walk there on three legs. That's gonna be torture, and our wounds might reopen..."

"Uwaa... I don't even want to move a thumb Mark--an inch... My whole body is weak and sore and I still have a terrible headache." Some ice would be nice...

"Well, you banged your pretty little head quite badly, and you were bleeding to death until now. We are stressed. We need to rest..." The Dragon reported and looked down. He noticed the reddish water clearing up and muttered. "Hmm... The Bacteria in this pond seem a little too aggressive on our flesh and blood. There's nothing else alive here either..."

"Eek!" The girl shrieked and pulled her leg up.

"Help me fight them off in our wounds. It's slowing me down."

"Uhn? Yeeeess~" Shaila replied energetically and got to work. "Ahh... Spirit exercises harassing tiny Bugs... How nostalgic." She mused, reminiscing for a moment before her face contorted. "Agh! I--It's so hard to concentrate... W-what if I'm more damaged than you think?"

"Nah... Just give it some time, okay? I left the Magic at some spots to finish later if you don't get better."

"Ehhh... No way. Treat me now! Owow... I might be getting worse..." She whined, exaggerating the pain.

"Bear it. You endured far more... I only mended the worst damage in your noggin that was easy, but messing in there feels like swimming in syrup with all the, uh, Spirit threads coming from the brain. Far more than hairs! I can heal a few serious wounds in that time..."

"Uh-huh... That's why Magicians can endure more than normal creatures, especially if one brace for it." Shaila reminded before lifting her head a little and squinted her eyes to look up. "I can't believe I fell from the Clouds and survived. The clouds, Nefi!"

"Normal people have done that though. And from even higher too."

"Really?!!"

"Yeah, back on Earth. Not sure here though. This World seems bigger and with more gravity. However, the amazing feat is that you don't look like someone who fell from a great height at terminal velocity. For your, uh, frail body and fair skin..."

Shaila pointed at the water and declared "Umm... The pond helped, and I used Magic... Not sure I would have survived landing on solid ground though."

"Maybe... But only half-a-meter of water and mud wouldn't slow you down that much, and...you were low on Magic, so Crystallized Light couldn't slow you down much either... I know falling can feel longer than it actually is, but your timing had to be...perfect. The precision...even a second off and you would have broken something... Was it luck?"

"Umm, good analysis, but I don't know how it happened."

"Huh? Memory loss?"

"Nu-uh... It doesn't feel like amnesia. I remember falling clearly...the creeping fear, the desperation as time was running out, but then...it's all blank...until a voice called out to me within the darkness..."

That's odd... "Oh, that was me using intent transmission." Did a Divine help her?

"Ah, that's when you mind-raped me..."

"Da fuck? You were slipping into a Coma!"

"And 'that' is what it's called when you invade the most sacred Spiritual place without permission. Not even Beasts do that."

"Because others have to deal with rejection..."

"Ehh... But I'm not an object. I want to have the choice..."

"Yeah, I guess it's bad that I also touched your chest while trying to save you! And I'm touching your butt right now..."

"...You mean...you imagine touching me...with fingers!? Fufufu!"

"Ouch! But...but there's nothing to feel there, anyway. It's all Flatland!"

"AH--! I'm not that flat!"

"Yeah, for a kid. Bwuahaha!"

"MU!" She pouted, turning away bashful before grumbling. "Just you wait until I grow up. You will grovel to have me!"

"Haha. We'll see."

"Humphh! And you still won't pull out of my head... It's crowded in here and you won't heal me..." She disgruntled, pretending to be mad.

"Wait... Are you trying to extort me?"

"!!... Umm, n-no! I-I-I was...thinking that you could teach me the 'intent' thing while your magic is in my head." She faltered under his piercing gaze.

"Haha... Cheeky girl. Practice lying, okay?"

"Uuugghhh... Can't you do something about my headache with Lightning?"

"Haaahhh..." The Dragon did a long sigh with his eyes closed and replied reluctantly. "I'm trying to heal your body as fast as possible before Lightning Elementals run out..."

"Wha--!! All that pain...will return??!" Shaila blurted with a distressed expression.

"Not if we hurry. And it would be mostly for me anyway. I won't let you suffer anymore..."

"Pheww..." Shaila sighed relieved and questioned. "But don't you usually recover enough passively to maintain the sparks on your body?"

"Yeah, but I was nearly empty when I landed and I'm burning through Elementals now, not Mana like the sparks. Aside from my brain process which keeps me sharp-minded, and my eyes, all the other programmed processes are consuming Magic automatically quite inefficiently... I'm multitasking too much to tweak them. The usage is spiking and catching up with recovery and there's hardly any Elemental in this swamp, this...stillness. Our bodies and wind are the biggest sources."

"Ehh... B-but the water--"

"Moving water produces charges which apparently attracts both Water and Lighting Elementals in abundance. There's not even mineral deposits for miles. Even moving around would take me several hours to replenish. Haahh..."

"A natural source... Ah! Why not just stick magnets into your body?"

"Ooh! That's a great idea, Shaila! Come to think of it...my scales rubbing do help a little... But I need them to be tough, not magnetic. Still...another way to produce charges--Solar Panels!"

"Umm, what were those again?"

"Silicon crystals with certain impurities. You shine a light on them and knock electrons free from atoms which produce a flow of electricity. I could put something similar on my wings since they have a large area and just recover with the Sun! But...who can make them?"

"Wew~ That sounds fantastic! But what about protection...?"

"Meh, it didn't matter much that those tiny scales were metallic when it was my Hide that gave out in the end."

"Oh... Then great! See? I can help if you talk to me."

"Uhh, I'm still running out of Elementals though."

"Aaagh... You had to go and gamble away your remaining resources rampaging! Didn't you have the Mokua pinned? Did you go dumb?"

"Hey! I was pretty mad, okay?" He barked, staring into her silvery eyes, then blinked and looked away. "Besides...that thing was too damn insulated. I needed a high voltage, and I had a feeling that I wouldn't get hurt...this time..."

"Ah, the Herald perk..."

"Yeah. Turns out, the Lightning Elementals avoided my Domain quite a bit... But the little fuckers yanked as they pleased the Magic threads carrying them and even jumped to others seeking more Mana!"

"Waa... That...wasn't a normal rampage, was it?"

"No. It was more chaotic than expected. Not even the Mana I was saving for Water Magic was safe. Almost all gone. I could only control my Spirit after it was stripped naked."

"Wow..." Shaila uttered in amazement with her eyes opened wide, and a second later, she frowned. "Hold on... How did you get rid of the other Queen then?"

"I didn't. She and the orphan Drones just...fled Northwest."

"...Huh?! ...Left just like that? After risking her life to kill us?"

"Well, they must have been pretty spooked haha. A low Rank throwing a lightning discharge that was almost like a real thunder with millions of volts? Even I would've been scared shitless in her place!" He bragged with a side smile showing his fangs. "Good thing you weren't riding me though. I doubt you would have survived..."

"Huaa--!" The girl gasped and opened her eyes wide in realization. "S-scary... Being with Nefi is really dangerous..." She cringed saying and turned her head left to look at the sky Northwest. "But the Queen had to be running out of Mana. Maybe she didn't want to fight you on the ground."

"Oh, yeah... Damn Wind users have a huge advantage in the air. We struggled so much against mere bugs at the start of our journey, though our compatibility wasn't good. But, you are right, a mosquito would be too clumsy on the ground. I would win for sure down here."

"...And you still calling them that..."

"Hey, it looks like a mosquito, okay? Some...tough super mosquito. Wonder if it can heal fast too..."

"And they are more intelligent than I thought. What if they discovered the Mana Crystals...?"

"Hmm..." The Dragon recalled the fight looking for abnormalities and announced. "There's a high probability they were aware, yeah."

"Nuu! What if there's more? What if she went to seek help? Like the survivors in plots..."

"Hmm... Yeah, I don't think it's a coincidence they all fled in the same direction. There might even be High-Ranks there. We definitely should avoid flying in that direction, but--"

"W-w-what do we do then? Is there a place to hide or take cover?" She stuttered asking and looked around desperately.

"Don't bother. There's not even a tree for miles. Just bushes, grass, and Marshlands. But the dead wolves I saw to the North might have a Den. I could follow their scent..."

"A Den? Can we make it in time?"

"Relax. That Mokua was wounded severely and almost drained. I estimate we won't have to worry about them for at least a day..."

"Ah... Huuunnn~ But we do need refuge from other Beasts, especially at night. But even so, we can't hide forever..."

"I know." The Dragon approved and looking behind. "When I was gliding to land, I think I saw Wolves getting closer from the East and South. They should be here in an hour or so if they do come." He revealed pointing with his snout, then turned to the girl. "We'll be safer with them, and...there's a chance--it's low, but one of them might be an Earth user that could help with my Wings and things for you..."

"Uhn? B-but what if they don't know about us? They might not even listen a-and attack us..."

"Hmmmm... It should be fine... But having a friendly Wolf with us will make things easier. There's a mutt to the West that might still be alive. Let's go save him, and then go to the Marshland to wait for the others." I'll have to postpone its punishment...

"Ah... Okay..." Shaila acknowledged, and the two stayed in silence. A few minutes later, she twisted her face in displeasure and called out. "Nefi."

"Hm?"

"I don't want to depend on others. I don't want m-my Male to look weak. I-I get this feeling--" Shaila announced, then paused and brought the left hand up to her chest. She flinched at the touch and a corner of her lips trembled, then continued. "--Deep down that you need to be strong--strong enough to take on higher ranks!"

The Dragon, observing her movements, retorted. "O--Kay... But I don't have a Cheat for that. This is the safest option. Live to fight another day."

"Um?" She tilted her head and interrogated. "But not the 'best' option?"

"...Drop it. We have taken enough risks, and I don't want to be in a position where I can't protect you again."

"So..." Shaila narrowed her eyes pondering and asked. "You don't want to take a risk that might help us later because you are worried about me?"

"Guhh..." The purple-blue beast groaned, defeated, and lowered his long ears in shame.

"Nefi..." The girl whispered in a soft voice and reached out to caress his muzzle. "We could be safer with the wolves, but--" She said and lifted her gaze to the clouds before continuing. "--Up there, we are on our own. And you'll do anything reckless to save me. And, well, I don't want to lose you either."

"Ugh! Alright, alright, you win. Again."

"Yay~"

"Look...if I just focus on recovering my broken Wing, and quickly fly towards the Southwest, carefully this time, we should be able to avoid the Insects or any danger until we reach the Coast. We'd be a mess though."

"Hmmmm... No...no, that can't be what you meant. Spill it!"

"...Clever girl. Hooohh..." He replied with a sigh, feeling both annoyed and proud. "Truth is...the Fragment gave me the option to evolve to the next Soul Stage already. So, ta-da?"

"What?? REALLY!!?" Shaila blurted, questioning aghast and stayed with her mouth agape.

"Yeah. I accidentally accepted the process and my Magic started disappearing! I had to postpone it before it dried me..."

"Weeww!!" The girl exclaimed excitedly as her eyes open wide and glazed with elation, but also a hint of envy. "Congratulations! This is more important than a birthday! You deserve a big celebration..."

"Thanks. I'll look forward to my promised reward~"

"...Reward--? Ohh..." Shaila questioned his remark when she recalled the naughty promise and her face heated up. "Agh! I should have known better than to bet anything on a cheating Dragon! That was too fast!"

"Hahaha! Like you can talk..."

She slanted her eyes unamusedly and retorted. "I'm a Higher Rank than you and I still haven't felt the advancement."

The Beast imitated her and countered. "Do you know any other kid close to Rank 7?"

"...No." But the difficulty to rise is exponential...I could stay at Rank 6 for years... "And don't call me 'kid.'"

"Yes, ma'am. Now, be a mature woman and show me that contusion on your chest."

"Geh! Y-you waste no opportunity for pervy things..."

"Nah, not in the mood. I'm Doctor Nefiru now."

"...Oh...oki. T-then..." She accepted, slightly bashful, and timidly moved her left hand. *Sssst!* The girl lifted a side of the folded cloth covering her left breast with a dark redened spot in the upper part.

"Woah... That rosy perkiness...and that soft tasty flesh..." The Beast commented as his scaly maw began drooling.

"Nefi!"

"Ah? S-sorry... I'm hungry..."

"...Me too. I lost the fruits during the fight."

"Mhm, we'll find food later." He said while inspecting the girl's chest. "The damage is deep...even the ribs... That rock must've messed up even your Heart."

"Mm... My heart is fine, but it feels a little hard to inhale."

"I'm on it." The scaly Beast began healing from the inside out until he reached the skin on her chest. *Ssssk!* The inflated tissue lost volume and the skin color reverted back to its natural color moments later. "There. All lovely pale smooth skin."

The girl slid her fingers over her breast, examining the recovery. "Good work. C-consider that your reward." She declared and covered herself up again.

"Stingy!"

"Meaah~" She pulled out her tongue and teased. "You haven't reached the next Soul stage yet."

"Oh, fair enough."

...

A few more minutes pass as the Dragon continued healing the girl. The holes in her arms closed, but...

"You left a scar!" She complained and showed him the right arm.

"...Dang it!" How do I fix a scar? Hmm... Trial and error, it is.

...

The minutes pass as the Magicians concentrated in the middle of the pond until they finally finished recovering.

"There! Arm's good as new."

"Uhn. Looks good. This one too... Skin feels sensitive though." She evaluated the work and lowered her body to the water. *Pwuash!!* "Ow! My head still pounding..."

"I'm getting the hang of Healing, aren't I?"

"Yes...by practicing on me!"

"Haha!"

...

The girl helped to fold the Dragon's broken wing and the metal cables on his neck, then cleaned herself in the pond before heading out. *Fruwash! Fruwash! Gwuoh! Gwuosh!* The two walked side by side, leaving the pond behind, as they trek to the west. The Dragon limped while holding the right forearm close to his chest and the girl trudged through the swampy area barefoot, adding another set of footprints.

He looked to his right and asked. "Want to get on me?"

"Umm... I'm...I'm fine..." She denied meekly, looking at his wounds and feeling guilty. "Just...Heal yourself..."

"I am. It just would be faster if I had more water Elementals!"

"Ugh! I wish I could gather them for you."

"Well, at least Lightning Elementals aren't a problem anymore. Let's pick up the pace."

"Oki."

...

*Fuash! Fuash! Swuash! Swuash!* The two walked on dampened soil patches and solid ground with half a meter tall grass while replenishing resources, and 20 minutes later, they reach the unmoving canine covered in mud and weeds.

"We-we're here... Huunn~" Shaila said and sat on the grass out of breath. "Huff! Huff!" Her legs were smeared with mud and splashes dirtied the rest of her body.

"About fucking time! Hu-haff! Hu-haff!" Nefiru agreed, panting loudly as he limped closer the to Wolf. "So! This is the Bastard responsible for our condition, huh?" *Tmp!!* He stopped by the furry Beast's green head and lowered his to inspect. "Ehck! Reeks! A wind user? Damn coward probably abandoned his pack and hid in a swamp..." He cringed away badmouthing.

The girl sent her magic to inspect and announced. "She's only Rank 2, Nefi. She's very lucky to be alive."

"She?" He questioned and looked between the Wolf's legs. But there were no male parts occupying the spot. However, he noticed something peculiar on the creature's legs. "Hm?! Yellow fur?" He muttered and looked at the head. "Green head...Shailaaaaa! Get over here and clean this wolf."

"Ehhh... Don't wanna~"

"Uurgh... Oki..." She groaned and begrudgingly got up, walked up to the sleeping Wolf and started peeling off the mud from the fur. *Sluash! Sluarbsh!* The girl uncovered colored spots where the fur was Light Green, Yellow, Pink, Brown, Black, Grey, and Blue, but they weren't fixed. Each of the color spots was changing location, size, shape, and direction on the creature's fur. By the time she finished, the Wolf's head was no longer green.

""..."" The two magicians stare at the abnormal creatures with the jaws hanging and stopped doing anything else.

The Dragon was the first to break the silence and spoke with excitement. "...OH. MY. GOD. It's a Disco Wolf!"

The girl held both hands by her chest and praised with admiration. "Wooow... She's absolutely gorgeous!"

"I know! She has all Affinities!!! How rare is that??"

"Insanely rare! Even if she qualified, to survive Spirit adaptation with seven portions--it-it's a miracle!"

"I know! I'm still adjusting mines! And I didn't qualify for all..."

"But Nefi...I-I've never heard of Markings changing like this. Not even on rainbow Beasts..."

"Hmm... Mines changed after re-awakening. Lightning pushed the rest, remember?"

"Ah! But they stayed fixed."

"True... But her Markings are rather discolored. She must be Low-Talent in all and--"

"It's no wonder that she's a Low-Rank. It must be very hard practicing Magic like that."

"Yeah... And if the Elementals don't clash either, then...all the Affinities must be perfectly balanced--In Harmony!"

"Uhn... It makes sense. It also makes her special. And very valuable at the Capital as a Luxury item. It could--"

"No! I have big plans for this Wolf."

"...You do?!"

"Think of the possibilities, Shaila. This creature has complete control of ALL Elements! Who else better to strengthen my body? And who knows what else it can do..."

"Ohhh..."

"Let's get to work."

"Yeees~"

...

The two Magicians invaded the Wolf's body, and eliminated the parasites within a few minutes, then drained portions of the contaminated blood.

"Huuff! Finally done..." Nefiru reported and retracted his magic. "It seems she killed most of the parasites and fell asleep.."

"Nefi!" Shaila beckoned from the Wolf's rear.

He walked over and asked. "Sup?"

The girl pointed under the soaked tail and revealed. "This Wolf is not a female either."

"Wut???" The Dragon tilted his head puzzled and looked down. But he only saw a tiny pee hole where a vulva should be. "...What the fuck??!!!" He blurted, confounded, and sent his probe to confirm. "There's no genitals???????????"

"It should be a girl, but there's no, um, lady parts? Should we still consider it a female?

"I guess so... DNA-wise, it should be more female than male. But it's neither...we'll have to ask it."

"Nefi always find broken individuals hehe..."

"Yes, but hooooly fuck... This is a new record!"

"We should...stop probing her. She might be sensitive about it."

"Ah, you are right. Let's head for the Marshland to finish healing. She shouldn't wake up any time soon." He spoke, then started walking West again.

"Will you start the advancement after replenishing Mana?" The girl inquired, following on his right.

"Hmm... We do have a window of opportunity of a few hours before it gets too unpredictable, but I don't know how that process lasts."

"Uhh... The advancement is different for every creature. It can last from seconds...to days."

"Yikes!"

"It may depend on the Soul age as you said and other things... But your system is different, isn't it?"

"Yeah, maybe I'll get to Rank 7 in one go!"

"...Nefi, don't make me cry..."

"Hahaha!"

"Normally, the Rank might increase a little while the Spiritual progress gets boosted greatly, so...you'll reach Rank 7 soon."

"Good thing we packed plenty Mana crystals... But I won't be able to use Magic arts or strengthen my body. Ugh!"

"Well...your domain still protects you."

"I will be a regular Beast!"

"Do it! Do it! I'll protect you."

"...You sure are excited about this..."

"Of course! One of us is finally going to reach Rank 7 soon." And I'm looking forward to protect him fufu~

"Yes, yes... I hope it goes well..."

...