The steward opened a thick door that swung silently on well oiled hinges. It opened to reveal a large banquet room with a single large table with several people seated around it. "Duke Armstrong, I present Lord Sanguine," he announced.

I recognized nearly everyone in the room. It was Eliara, Asha, Maya, James, his sister Elizabeth, Carl, Maya, and Rue. Sitting at the head of the table was Duke Armstrong who had been happily chatting while wetting her appetite with a salad. To her right was a pretty young lady that bore a striking resemblance to the Duke. To her immediate left was a middle aged human.

Eliara stood first, her beaming smile showing her excitement. Asha waved coquettishly as if saying it was about time I showed up. The rest exclaimed in joy upon seeing me, excluding the stoic Carl, of course. He simply gave a smile and a nod. Eliara ran over to me, apparently to the shock of the Duke who raised her brows and shot a glance to what I assume to be her daughter. The young lady returned her mother's gaze with an oddly smug smile.

The Half-Elf grabbed my hands and cheerfully asked, "So, how did it go? What seed did you get? You're bursting with strength, I can tell! We should spar, I can finally go all out now that you're silver as well." Okay, now I was shocked. Eliara had always been kind and gentle once she warmed up to us, but I've never seen her so... bubbly. She blushed slightly and took a step back saying, "Sorry, I mean, congratulations Lord Sanguine, on your advancement."

Clearing away my surprise I smiled gently and grasped her hand gently, "Thank you Eli. It went well. How about we sit and I'll tell everyone about it." She nodded a bit shyly and didn't remove her hand as I led her back to the table. I pulled out the chair for her and sat between her and Asha who nudged my ribs with her elbow. I rolled my eyes at her taunting grin and nearly laugh when I saw the same expression on the young Half-Dwarf who grinned at Eliara. This only caused her blush to deepen as she glared at the young lady.

Duke Armstrong cleared her throat and said, "Yes, congratulations Lord Sanguine. I am glad my old friend was able to assist you in your breakthrough."

"Thank you Duke, I just wish someone," I said pointedly at Asha, "had warned me how overwhelming it could be."

Asha merely shrugged, unabashed. The Duke chuckled, "Don't be too harsh on her, Lord. It is a delicate line mentors must tread between instruction and intrusion. We may walk the land together, but we face the heavens alone. This saying means that if you are given too much information early on, there's an increased risk of it negatively impacting your cultivation. Had she warned you of the dangers, a seed of fear could have rooted in your heart and distract you from the Dao."

I gave a lopsided smile, "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter in the end, since I was successful."

Carl spoke up, "Well, don't keep us in suspense, Vic. What's this seed thing ya' got?"

The Duke's daughter nodded and agreed, "Yes Lord Sanguine, someone who garnered El's attention must have acquired quite the Dao seed. I am only copper rank, so I can't sense your Dao."

"Fifi!" Eliara scolded.

"Where are my manners," said the Duke. "Lord Sanguine, allow me to introduce my husband Levi and my daughter Fionnaghal."

Levi nodded smoothly. He was not the regal man one would expect from the spouse of a noble. Instead he looked like a muscular and roguish mercenary leader. With a deep and surprisingly silky voice he said, "Glad to finally meet the man that impressed my wife. Our Eliara here has had nothing but good things to say about you." He had an odd accent, almost Middle-Eastern.

Fionnaghal grinned happily. Where her mother had raven black hair, she had roasted chestnut brunette tresses, clearly inherited from her father. She bore the height of her mother, but had the proportions of a human as opposed to the stocky build of Dwarves. She almost looked like a preteen if not for her mature features and womanly curves. "Just call me Fionna, Momma named me after her granny. Though, if you become my brother-in-law, you can call me Fifi!"

Eliara looked ready to murder Fionna, but the grinning woman was saved by her mother who asked me, "Well then, are you willing to regale us with your seclusion?"

I tore my cheerful gaze from Eli, I was enjoying seeing this side of her. Though always kind, she tended to keep a wall up; always willing to extend a helping hand, but never really letting anyone in. "Ah, yeah. Not much to tell, to be honest. It felt like I'd spent a few hours in the trance, not nearly a month." I then shared my experience, albeit leaving out my experience with the void mana. By the time I had finished, the food had been brought out.

Asha and I had been given what I had thought was wine, though upon closer inspection, it was blood. My eyes widened at the Duke when she smiled, knowing what I was going to ask. "That is silver rank beast blood harvested from a crystal stag. I'm not sure about the preferences in terms of taste when it comes to vampires, but Asha assures me that it is the power of the creature it comes from. The cups and pitcher has been enchanted to hold its smell. While I am happy to provide for our guests, I'm sure you understand it could be unappetizing to the others."

"Oh, no problem about that. Thank you so much, ignoring the fact I haven't eaten in weeks, the ascension itself drained me." The spread before us was delicious. There were plenty of spiced smoked meat, sweet and juicy fruit, and succulent vegetables. There was a pink tuber that looked like a sweet potato, but once I bit into it, it melted into a delicious starchy cream. I couldn't stop the groan of pleasure at the cakey texture and sweetness.

After the best meal I've had in my life, everyone filled me in on what they've been up to since we departed nearly a year ago. To no one's surprise, Rue and Maya were now a couple. Calling Maya a sponge for knowledge was like calling the Tsar Bomba a firecracker. She gained so much in the short several months she's been here. She took up the majority of the conversation rambling about all the things she could make and how she could improve our settlement. I was most impressed with her idea for a dome of protection that not only would act as a shield from attacks, but would also use a minor illusion to nudge the attention of monsters and beasts away from our base.

I praised her profusely, which she took in stride, though her new girlfriend, Rue swelled with enough pride for the both of them. At first, I thought it was pride in her teaching skills, but I rapidly understood it was simply pride in Maya herself. James lived the life of a tourist in the beginning, but after his sister got wounded in a fight against a monster and nearly died, he was inspired by the healers that saved her life. He put his nose to the grindstone to become a skilled healer. He made good progress and broke through to copper. That was put to shame by his sister. Elizabeth, with a puffed chest, announced her rise to bronze rank. She was a little disappointed that she couldn't brag that she caught up to me, but she was still plenty happy. She even joined up with a mercenary group that had been helping defend the city.

Carl, a man of few words, told me that he joined the city guard in order to train as a body cultivator. He claimed he didn't have much talent in magic, but instead found a passion in cultivating Ki. Ki was mana that was converted to a special energy in which its sole purpose was enhancing the body. It couldn't really manifest outside the body like mana could, but could bring a person's physical self to incredible heights much quicker than mana cultivators could. There was also less diversity in body cultivators.

"I'm proud of all of you. You've all made incredible progress and have represented Earth well by helping out. Once we take out the Gnolls, everyone will be ecstatic to see how much you've grown," I praised.

"Speaking of which, when do you plan to depart, Lord Sanguine?" asked the Duke, "I have a squad of our Elite soldiers ready to depart at a moment's notice."

I nodded in acknowledgement, "Tomorrow morning should be good. We'll go slowly, keeping an eye out for scouts. If my understanding of the local geography is correct, we should arrive in the camp by nightfall. It will increase our odds of success if they're in their tents. I have all the supplies needed for the attack, the limiting factor was simply my breakthrough."

Elizabeth groaned, "You just got here. Can't you wait a couple days? Don't you need to recover or something? In the stories, the hero always have to stabilize themselves after a breakthrough."

I smiled and shook my head, "Sorry, but they're a threat that will only grow more dangerous as time goes on, especially since they fell in with this cult. A night's rest will be enough, Dreya's skills in medicine is really good."

The Duke concurred, "Indeed, if Sanguine had not taken Dreya's pills, he would need a few weeks to recover from the strain of breaking through before stressing his meridians."

"I could go right now if I really wanted to. We have the rest of the day to catch up and rest then Eliara, Asha, and I shall depart at sunrise."

Eliza rebutted, "Wait, just you three? We're strong now, we can help." Carl nodded, agreeing with the young mage.

"Maybe so, and had it been the same Gnolls from a year ago, I might have agreed to take you. However, now that they're supposedly being transformed by the void brood, who knows what they're capable of, especially their matriarch, which was already extremely dangerous. You'll stay here and support the city in case there is any attack while we're sieging the camp."

There was a grumble of discontent for the girl, but they agreed to stay. James seemed relieved and Maya was happy to go if needed, but didn't care either way. We then chatted the day away until it the sunset and we decided to hit the hay. Eliara seemed a bit subdued throughout the day, once her excitement of my advancement faded. She kept glancing at me only to dart her gaze away once our eyes met. I'd like to say this was the typical shyness of a interested woman, but no, there was something akin to worry or fear in her eyes.

Everyone bid their goodnights and I began to disrobe. The room was quite homey. There was a small fireplace keeping the cold cave air at bay, lush carpet on the floor, and the most amazingly soft bed I've ever had the pleasure of sleeping on. There was also a full body mirror next to a small writing desk. I only managed to bare my muscular chest when I heard a hesitant knock at the door. I jumped because I was surprised someone would be there this late, not because I was nearly caught admiring my muscles. Definitely not. Okay fine, but can you blame me? You spend most of your adult life with a beer belly then suddenly get shredded and tell me you wouldn't be flexing in the mirror whenever you had a chance.

Shaking my head to clear the slight embarrassment, I opened the door. Eliara was about to knock again but froze, her eyes lingering on my abs for a moment longer than appropriate. I repressed a smirk and said, "Hey Eli, how can I help you?"

With a slight jolt and a cute shake of her head that mirrored my own from a moment ago, she responded, "Ah, I was hoping I could speak with you for a moment."

"Of course." I beckoned her inside and closed the door. She sat on my bed with a slight blush on her face.

My heart began to race as I wondered what she could want. Could this be— "I'm worried about tomorrow," she said abruptly. Of course, get your mind out of the gutter Victor. Pulling up a chair from the nearby desk, I sat in front of her.

"What's up? We've been in dangerous fights before, we'll be fine and worse case scenario, we'll cut our losses and run. I'm not exactly the 'death before dishonor' type of guy," I assured her.

She sighed and shook her head, "I know, its just there's something that's giving me a bad feeling. Like something terrible is going to happen. I know your people do not believe in this type of thing, but when the winds of fate focus, it can be sensed. Some even specialize as seers to read fate to an extent."

"Whatever happens, I promise that I won't let anything happen to you."

"Idiot, I'm not worried about me." She stood angrily, shocking me with the hint of wetness in her eyes.

I stood as well and wrapped her in a gentle hug, "Then watch my back, keep me safe and I'll do the same for you. With the famous Helfist at my side, not even Vacuolentia herself could stand a chance."

She leaned in to my hug, relaxing slightly and chuckled softly, "Dummy, who said anything about you? I meant Asha."

This time I let out a laugh, "I'm pretty sure that woman could wipe out the Gnoll camp herself if they pissed her off enough. We're just there as her backup." She looked in to my eyes, a Half-Elf with a monstrous arm and a Vampire Lord with a monstrous eye. She closed her eyes and her lips met mine. It was only brief, and despite how chaste the kiss was, I was melting.

She broke the kiss and, embarrassed, said, "Have a good sleep, Victor." She then quickly departed, her freckles highlighted by her blush and a quivering smile threatening to split her face. She gently closed the door and left my stunned dumbass to stare into the distance.

"Sleep, yeah right," I muttured.