Since I don't have any mana left I have no choice but to set the trunk down to the ground next to the cradle. It is already getting dark and I am hungry, so I decide to leave it there until the morning. After dinner I create a soulscape and invite Nala and Albion, then let them get used to it.

Once they are comfortable I invite the rest of the kids so that they can all meet each other. Ekard immediately begins crying because he thinks I am replacing him. It takes a while to get him to settle down and get comfortable with his new brother and sister.

Part of the problem is probably the fact that he hasn't grown much and is still the smallest. His new little brother and sister are both bigger than him which is making him moody. However, once he settles down and starts playing with them he calms down.

Kechara and Asuna are a big help, but this isn't the first time they have gotten new siblings. All in all, the meeting of the kids goes better than I expected, which is nice. We may not all be a family yet, but given time I think it will work out.

Thanks to the soulscape I am able to play with the kids for a few hours without losing much time. When Ekard is thoroughly worn out I declare an end to things for the night. However, as the others are leaving I motion for Kechara and Asuna to wait a bit.

Kechara says "Yes, father?"

"I want to teach the two of you something."

Asuna says "Oh? What is it, dad?!"

"I am going to teach you how to sense the status of a core and trigger the evolution to a sacred beast."

Asuna says "How come?"

"Because, I can't do it anymore."

Kechara says "You will be able to once you become a sacred beast again, right?"

"Yes, if I become a sacred beast again. I don't know if that is going to happen though."

Asuna says "Why not, daddy?"

"Because, I am not a normal mana beast. So I don't know if I will have the same evolutionary path."

Kechara says "You mean like Ekard?"

"Kind of, yeah."

Luckily, teaching them in the soulscape is easy since I can create beasts for them to practice with. Both of them learn quickly enough, especially once they can practice. Once they have both learned it I spend some extra time cuddling and petting them.

Then after they leave, I end the soulscape and go to sleep until morning. After breakfast I lift the trunk again using the barges and then boost them higher with mana. When the barges are high enough I am able to roll the trunk onto the cradle.

Now I can finally start the shaping, so I climb onto the trunk and start using my mana. I can only shape a small area at a time, which means this is going to take ages. Unfortunately, I don't have a choice, there is no one else who can help with this part.

It is a good thing I have a decent mana pool now or this would take months. By the time I stop for dinner I have only managed to shape a couple of feet. That is not much considering I started at the bow which is the easiest part.

I am not going to worry about it right now, I will see how the next couple of days goes. After dinner I create a soulscape and play with the kids for a few hours. While I am there I go ahead and invite Myria to give her a quick update.

Of course, she doesn't leave after the update, not with this level of cuteness. After I introduce her to Nala and Albion, she joins in the play, surprisingly she keeps up. It would seem that her training has improved her physical abilities by a lot.

She is keeping up with the kids and I can tell that the kids are not having to hold back. Her stats may not be as crazy as mine, but they are getting pretty outrageous. So far I haven't seen her use any magic to boost her abilities, so this is her baseline.

"Myria, it looks like your training has been going well!"

Myria says "Yes, it has. Oh, that reminds me, I am entering the captain's test tomorrow so I won't be reachable for a while."

"Alright. Good luck on your test!"

Myria says "Thank you."

After playing with the kids for another hour or so, I send everyone off to bed and end the soulscape. As I stand in the hallway I am debating whether or not to take another crack at the other plane. My soul hit points are still at eleven, they are not recovering on their own.

So either I go into another plane, or I need to go back to the island for more Origin Energy. Out of the two choices I think the other plane is probably the safer of the two. Mainly because I now know that I can use my magic in the other plane.

On the other hand, I have no idea what abilities the maker may have to use against me. While I may be curious about her and her abilities, I don't plan to find out the hard way. So, if I go into the other plane, I am actually being safer, or at least that will be my justification.

I am well aware that I am just making an excuse to do what I want to do. However, I will never admit that to the goddesses, not that I really think I can deceive them. I head back to the door I went through last time, it is now green instead of plain white.

It would seem that once I have been through a door, it will be marked so I don't have to remember every detail. It is just a guess, but green probably represents that the plane is a forest environment. When I pass through the door, gathering energy to build a body is much easier.

Once my body is done I prepare a few spells for quick use, particularly defensive spells. I don't plan to take a single hit this time, since just one hit will probably kill me. Once my spells are ready I send my mana out into the surroundings to look for prey.

The mana detects a single goblin and it is heading towards me so I get ready. When the goblin enters the clearing I already have a firebolt ready and aimed. As soon as I have a clear view of the goblin I aim at its head and fire, it hits.

1 Goblin defeated! 20 Soul Exp gained!

That went much smoother, but there is a long way to go for me to even reach Soul level one. If I just stick to goblins I will need to kill another forty-eight in order to level up. However, as long as my mana holds up that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

After checking and finding no more goblins close by, I leave the clearing and start exploring. As I move through the trees I keep my mana spread in a circle around me. The range isn't great but it is enough to keep anything from sneaking up on me.