Within minutes, they were at the next city already. And the all-too-familiar routine repeated itself once again.

“I know he did this plenty of times before, but seeing him be just as quick with a city this size as he was with one of the small ones just days ago is honestly ... I can’t find any words to describe what I’m feeling.” Denmac sighed. He wasn’t one to envy other peoples’ power. Hell, he became a diviner precisely because he didn’t care much for combat. But seeing James’s powers explode exponentially over the course of just a few days was making even him crave to have that kind of power.

“At this point I feel like some pet of a legendary warrior.” Emilia sighed. “Let’s just enjoy the sights, it’s not like we’ll ever get to see something like this ever again.”

Bacchus the dwarf shook his head. “Children, this shouldn’t intimidate you, it should inspire you!”

“That’s right!” Ruppus the shier dwarf added. “Seeing him do all these things is making even me feel more confident!”

“But there’s no way we can ever rival that kind of growth.” Emilia sighed. “Not that I’m complaining, I love the fact that there’s someone this strong on our side. But it does make my own progress seem minuscule in comparison.”

“You should see his progress as your own.” Eruditus stroked his beard. “Instead of feeling discouraged, it should motivate you to develop your own usefulness. Focus on developing a skill that can complement his powers, and then you’ll be an integral part of his future accomplishments. Instead of seeing his growth as someone else’s, it’ll be your growth as well. No man is an island, nobody can survive in this world on their won. So if we develop our own usefulness, we can be part of James’s powers forever. Each of his victories will be one of yours as well.”

The group fell silent. Even Helios and Lunaris were taken by surprise.

The dwarves had a point. They were all feeling more and more useless with each city they passed. Even back when James fought Garantep they had been mostly useless, nevermind now. They were basically furniture at this point. Except for Lunaris, of course, who had the quintessential job of regrowing the madman’s limbs.

But Eruditus’s words hit a chord with all of their hearts. Even the dwarves themselves didn’t fully realize it until they said it out loud.

Weirdly, the moment felt holy. A quiet, solemn aura wrapped around them. They could feel a gentle breeze as their own energy churned pleasantly inside their bodies.

It’s as if each one of the seven had finally found their life’s meaning.

It was so simple that they couldn’t believe they hadn’t realized it sooner.

This was indeed the best thing they could do with their lives. If they followed James for the rest of their lives, who knows where they’ll end up?

Much farther than they would have on their own, that’s for sure. Despite only growing at a snail’s pace compared to James, their progress had still been immense by a normal person’s standards.

And their progress didn’t even matter compared to the good they were doing for the world. Even though in the grand scheme of things even James was still an ant, the impact they had in this war was a thousand times bigger than they had ever imagined.

Even people like them could become legendary figures that saved this world, and maybe even many others. All they had to do was follow James.

The feeling of peace and tranquility of suddenly finding one’s life goals were intoxicating.

But unfortunately, the seven couldn’t bask in that feeling anymore. All of a sudden, James had returned, cheerful as if he hadn’t just destroyed and pillaged an entire city full of monsters.

“Thanks for waiting, guys!” He cheered. But before he could get on the carpet, he noticed the weird shift in their mood. “Wow, you guys look like you’re in church or something. You aren’t hurt, are you?!”

“No, we’re fine, brother.” Helios replied with a raspy voice. “Let’s go to the next city.” He smiled.

As James was climbing onto the carpet, the groups’ mood shifted yet again.

His presence – it was overpowering! The energy reserves he was absorbing with each city he pillaged was now noticeably transforming his aura.

He already had a mighty and imposing aura, but now it was almost suffocating. Even just being near him made it feel like electricity was constantly zapping their own auras.

But despite the relatively uncomfortable feeling, they were all smiling gleefully. Not only did they find their lives’ meanings, but their friend who was already a godly monster was growing even stronger with each passing minute.

Moreso, they could even feel their own powers growing just by being near him. It was a subtle feeling, but they were all experienced enough to know when their mana pool was being strengthened. Despite the discomfort, all this zapping from James’s imposing aura and overwhelming amount of mana, was slowly morphing their own mana pools.

Now all that was left for them to do was to find a way to actually contribute to James’s efforts. Which was far easier said than done, most of them were basically mollusks compared to him right now.

But when a goal really resonates with you, getting there isn’t a struggle. It’s a delight, one of the world’s most satisfying feelings.

So instead of feeling useless, they now felt excited about what they could potentially bring to the table.

Hedonia was still in danger, and their situation hadn’t actually changed yet. But their attitudes had become completely different in a matter of minutes. All because of the insane pace at which the madman was growing.