“Are you sure you have the–”

“Yes.”

“How about the–”

“Right here!”

“Do you have enough–”

“Yes, husband, I have a mountain of Qi crystals and scrolls, shields, and even a few cultivator talismans. Even if I became a laughingstock for defeating my enemies with the power of money instead of my own strength, I will crush them under the heel of wealth with a smile should the event allow it. Happy?”

Jake nodded with a satisfied smile. ”Very. Alright, then one more gift.”

Jake held out another storage bracelet, and Fhesiah looked at it in question. The other girls all stood behind Jake, the group arrayed outside in front of their manor, their Refuge.

She perused the items within with her mind, and a wide smile grew on her face. “Spicy wings! Thank you, husband. And so many of my other favorite spicy foods you make.”

“We–I’m going to miss you.” Jake couldn’t help but feel a little lost. He had never been without any one of his girls for more than a single day. The idea that she was leaving to an entirely different Sector for up to a few months, was daunting.

“Aw, you really mean that. You’ll have plenty to keep busy with while I’m off being a hero and spreading the name of our family even to another sector, and helping our allies. I’ll make plenty of friends, and–”

Jake narrowed his eyes on Fhesiah. “Try not to collect too many wives for… me.” He would let her interpret his double meaning.

Fhesiah pretended to tap her lips in thought. “Hmm… but just how many waifus is too many? You certainly wouldn’t have said you had too many, before we met Tanda, right? Or how about Ava? Can you ever have too much? Besides, they can really only be wife candidates when I bring them back, right? The more, the merrier!”

Blood narrowed her eyes. “Remember, quality over quantity. Our family may do charity, but it is not one. Besides, you never know. Lord Husband could find one while you’re gone.”

Fhesiah snorted at that, but Avalara looked thoughtful, a teasing smile on her lips as she glanced at Jake. “Did Jake want more? I could ask if any beastkin are interested in the song of the world. I’m sure we could have dozens knocking on our door, ready to move in.”

The kitsune woman dashed next to Avalara, grasping her hands in hers, her smile beaming. “That sounds like fun! It’ll be like super-tinder. Wait until I get back for that, I don’t want to miss it!”

Avalara smiled and nodded, and Jake groaned at having yet another trickster and tease around the house. 

Ophelia and Tanda both covered Fhesiah in a hug, their wings wrapping around her. The Athenian Valkyrie had a smile on her expression, but she spoke much more seriously. 

“Do take care, Faye. These Battlegrounds for the initiated don’t end in permanent death, but there can be many cultivator traps that… many ultimately trigger Avatar Dissolution.”

Jake and Tanda both grimaced. It was a blessing that this ability was available to them, but it didn’t make it any less worrying. Avatar Dissolution was the Framework-assisted suicide that any initiated could use. If the situation called for it and the person in question couldn’t respond and trigger it on their own, the Framework could initiate it on their behalf. 

It was a stark reminder that in the end, they truly were like video-game characters when protected by the Framework, but also, that there were in fact things worse than death under it. 

Zeke from the Dusky Sky Sect that Jake and Fhesiah had met all that time ago on Ariminum had hinted at situations like this, where initiated cultivators would be tortured rather than killed, knowing that they could merely respawn. 

Like anything else within the Framework, it had a cost. And for a cultivator that was barely scraping by because they weren’t all that great at fighting and trying to get to greener pastures, the cost would be significant. 

Higher than just being killed and revived, as often, they would be transported away from the risky location to where they could repay the Framework for their revival. It wasn’t a problem for Jake and his wives, but for the aforementioned poor cultivator, they may wish for escape or rescue, or to endure until death instead.

It was because of this that the absolute worst thing that could happen to Fhesiah was that she might lose some of her progress. Either dying and needing to restore her foundations which were harmed by the death, or if some evil champion appeared, she might lose a single Divine Spark they had earned.

A significant loss, but a risk that was worth the potential reward: helping Bastet’s followers, and obtaining what she needed for ascension. If the risk was higher, he wouldn’t have agreed unless they could risk themselves together. 

They could have eventually obtained what she needed with money and enough time. The whole family was progressing rapidly in their many crafts, and the money they were bringing in was not insignificant. Core formation materials were expensive, but it wasn’t as if they were beyond them given enough time.

Fhesiah replied to Ophelia’s warning, returning the hug. “Of course, sister. While I will do my best to enjoy my time away, I am entering a battlefield. I will not let my guard down.”

Satisfied, Tanda and Ophelia returned to Jake’s side, allowing Blood and Berri to give their hug and well-wishes.

Berri hugged Fhesiah tightly. “Hurry back! That way, you can join us!”

Fhesiah chuckled. “Of course. I feel left out being the only one, but now I have extra incentive to hurry back. This moment of peace is perfect for starting our family, and I refuse to waste it stuck in some cave healing or trying to form my core instead.”

Avalara’s smaller avatar gave a short hug of her own. “I haven’t known you directly long, but our long talks have been fun. Do take care, I wish for your success.”

“You will be missed. I do hope you and husband get along well, while I’m gone. I’d like you to join our girly talks sooner rather than later, among… other fun things.”

Fhesiah withdrew her express ticket, a special right to participate in the battleground. It really looked like little more than a golden paper ticket. But a special weight had appeared the moment she removed it, the group able to feel that it was special.

“Farewell, family of mine. I’ll be as back as quick as I can, and hopefully, with many gifts! Love ya!”

She activated the ticket and golden hexagons of the Framework surrounded her. Space shifted, and folded around her as the sphere eventually disappeared, leaving nothing behind. Jake could tell she entered the void, the Framework protecting her as she traveled through what was the fastest, but perhaps most dangerous, route.

He tried to feel her over their bond, and at the moment, the feeling was very faint. This, of course, made him worried about the prospect of staying in touch.

Ophelia wrapped her large golden wing around him. “Don’t worry, Jake! I have a hundred percent confidence that she will win and come back, more powerful and cockier than ever.”

Berri frowned. “But not too cocky. She knows only one of those is allowed.”

Tanda laughed. “But what do we do now?”

Avalara tapped her lips. “How about we fight? Now that you are done focusing on earning money for the time being, we can train. I think I’m ready to try my battle body!”

Ophelia asked, “Battle body?”

Ava nodded. “Right! My vessel I made, remember? Jake has been giving me time to practice in the Refuge, and now I’m ready to try fighting!”

Berri was excited, clapping with a smile. “Yay! I wanted to see that. You were so big!”

Tanda beamed. “This should be fun! I can’t wait to try out my new abilities, and see all of yours!”

Jake was interested in seeing this, but he suddenly became more than a little worried. Fighting while pregnant just didn’t feel right to him, and Avalara was huge on top of that.

Ophelia responded to his worries. “Don’t worry, Jake–it’ll be fine. We have protection, and we are just sparring. Tanda and I have already been practicing.”

The protection was special equipment that wasn’t all that dissimilar to the necklace he had crafted, but sold in the Alliance Shop. It was a belt, that perpetually protected the woman’s womb with a magical barrier. 

It was meant to protect a woman during training, but Jake still couldn’t help but feel weird about this. Bloodberri’s mythic armor actually included this protection from the beginning, they had learned. Likely, it was some hope or wish from Echidna for them to have children sooner rather than later, but it didn’t end up happening until now.

Tanda hugged Jake’s arm from the side, doing her best to send reassurance to him with a smile. “We’ll be careful, right, Ava? And Daddy Jake can watch over us, making sure nothing bad happens, right?”

Ava beamed. “That’s right! We are just going to play around.” 

Jake sighed. He knew women athletes and so on would often continue training while pregnant, but fighting just felt different. “Alright, as long as you don’t go too hard at it.”

The five of them used the Refuge’s teleporter to appear in their large training area. Deep within their home, was this special room lined with their old impervious walls. It was a room with black tiles, with orbs that provided light spaced throughout floating near the ceiling. 

They had a fixture similar to the Arena now in another area, but materials in the second Tier just wouldn’t hold up against much of their practice.

Jake’s family all had Storage Rings now, so their battle gear appeared immediately around them. Their Mythic equipment had all been upgraded by the earned Dungeon Raid tokens, now matching their second Tier selves.

In all, not all that much had changed visibly beyond his girl’s personal appearance. Each equipment looked even more impressive than before in terms of capability, but were only slight upgrades of their red and gold armors and weapons. 

The odd crystal in Jake’s chest was repeated in Bloodberri’s armor, and Ophelia was working on reproducing something nearly equal for her own and Tanda’s next. The materials within the many Mythic items improved, and much of the utility the items provided were enhanced.

On the edge of the training ground were several benches and a table. Avalara’s minor avatar brought out a tray of refreshments and set them up off to the side with a smile. She then sat down on the bench with popcorn and straightened and smoothed out her leaf dress, as if preparing herself for viewing. 

“Okay, Jake, I’m ready now. Call me out!”

Tanda, Ophelia and Bloodberri all stood a distance away from Jake, the latter with her spiked tail coiled beneath her.

Gathering a large portion of his current hearth mana, he did just that. He actually needed to pull some mana from the surrounding environment, taking several seconds of drawing it in, in order to have enough to form her immense body. 

Her large body appeared in motes of light next to Jake, the humanoid tree deer over ten meters tall with her antlers. Avalara’s odd humanoid reindeer body was covered in black and green leaves and vines, and her fists were oversized for her frame, nearly as large as Jake was. 

An auril and nethril heart beat within her chest, drawing in the energy from the surrounding environment. Something Jake really did enjoy about his auril summons was their longevity. His mana constructs did not draw in mana from the surrounding area, making them a constant expenditure to fuel their abilities or spells. 

But his auril creatures, while they had a larger up-front cost, would maintain themselves quite well from the auril in the area.

That was part of the reason why summoning Avalara’s battle avatar was so expensive for him.

Ava’s deer face had a smile full of square teeth as she formed fists, reminiscent of Cernunnos. Her voice came out a little deeper, her large body’s voice rumbling. “Alright! It feels good. Who wants to face me first?”

Of course, Ophelia was quite eager. “I’ll go first!” With a powerful flap of her larger wings, she blurred forth filled with flaming lightning, before landing a distance off in front of Avalara’s battle body.

In all, Ophelia was the one that her fighting and spells likely changed the least upon reaching Tier 2. However, her deadliness and protection had just upgraded significantly, as vajrafire replaced holy energy. If she was forced to face her previous self, she would absolutely crush her.

Auril surged toward Avalara, the Auril Sovereign of the second Tier having full control over this aspect. This was also how mana control progressed, casting larger spells and using less of their own mana to accomplish.

Her vines all over her body grew further, and the fight began. Avalara punched out at Ophelia with speed belying her size, but the Athenian Valkyrie was still too fast. She blurred to the side and slammed her halberd against Ava’s fist, redirecting it away. 

Some black vines lashed out like a tail whip from behind Ava, the girl having hid this growth from her foe.

Ophelia blocked with her nearly-sentient floating shield, and Ava appeared to be gathering more vines into a shield of her own, as she swung her next punch in a wide hook. Ophelia blocked with a powerful swing of her halberd, meshing her vajrafire flames throughout her body. 

Despite the immense power and weight behind Ava’s blow, the much smaller valkyrie managed to match it with her skilled attack.

As Jake saw with his Umbral Gaze, watching like a hawk, the two were not fully exerting themselves. In addition, Ophelia’s defensive runes were powered with mana, going above and beyond defensively to keep herself safe. 

Power was met with power and skill, but Ava was not discouraged that the tiny valkyrie could match her blow. The formed shield shoved into Ophelia next, pushing her away. Ava smiled as an aura had seemingly formed around her, activating the power of an Auril Sovereign: Sublimation.

Like a portal to the Highlands jungle was opened, auril surged into the surrounding ground, grass and trees seemingly forming out of nothing. The nearly all black, plain room with sturdy tiles for their fighting needs was quickly replaced and became that of a verdant jungle in a wide area.

If it were only that, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But her sublimation had a special weight on reality that Fhesiah felt competed with a cultivator’s dao domain. It was weaker, but it was something an Auril Sovereign could keep up for much longer, especially while present on Highlands.

Ava gave out a low roar, and bulked up even further as she grew from her beast-plant body being filled with more auril. Her vines all over her body grew, then some spiraled, hardened, and formed into a giant tree-club, which she now held in her massive hand. 

Berri clapped at this choice in the background, and nearly buzzed in excitement–she couldn’t wait to play mega-baseball with Ava later.

Ava’s next attack was nearly a blur, as she surged forward at Ophelia with her new weapon.

Ophelia met her attack with her upgraded Vajra Strike: [Vajrafire Blast]. Righteous lightning of Guan Yu mixed with the flames of Hestia exploded forth from her halberd’s blade with her empowered swing, engulfing Ava’s large body with golden fire and lightning.

But Ava was quite sturdy. The auril from her domain wrapped around Ava’s body, meeting the flames and lightning with the powerful vigor of life. As the vines that covered Ava were engulfed with flames and shredded with lightning, new ones grew from the surrounding area and merged with her beast-plant body.

From there, Ophelia got to showcase her new Technique, Vajrafire Blitz. An upgrade to Ride of the Valkyries, she could move rapidly, the divine flames and lightning empowering her instead of holy energy. 

Each swing of her halberd was like a special attack, nearly performing at the level of her old Vajra Strike as it sent flames and lightning into her enemy. Jake looked over her new class and status sheet, to see what else was left.

[Legendary Class: Champion Sentinel of Guan Yu]
[Effects: +4 All Attributes]
[30% Increased Durability and Hardiness]
[Effectiveness of Str,Con,Wis increased by 30%]

[An evolution of the Vanguard class, the Champion Sentinel guards and protects allies across the battlefield with her summons and various magics, while controlling the battlefield with their unmatched mobility and martial prowess. With this Champion's connection to Hestia as her valkyrie and her Eternal Oath to her Chosen, the two provide additional damage, healing and summon capabilities to this Sentinel.]

[Ophelia Status Level 26]
[Strength: 211]
[Dexterity: 171]
[Constitution: 206]
[Intelligence: 169]
[Wisdom: 205]
[Charisma: 206]

Thanks to their Hearthian Cores, nearly all of the Hart family’s attributes were quite even. There were a few standouts among Jake’s girls, but Jake’s party developed their martial and spell capabilities nearly evenly, and their new Legendary or above classes all gave all attributes per level. 

[Ophelia’s Level 26 Combat Skill Sheet]
[Expert Mana Control: 1]
[Expert Champion Magic: 1]
[Expert Runic Magic: 1]
[Hearth Control: 1]
[Technique: Vajrafire Blitz: 1]
[Auril Enhancement, Healing, Manifestation: 5]

[Valkyrie Spells Known: Renewal, Consecration, Spear of Hestia, Barrier]
[Champion Spells Known: Summon Mystical Steed, Vajrafire Blast, Vajrafire Guardian Hearth, Sentinel, Valkyrie Champion]

It looked like the only ability she hadn’t yet showcased was Sentinel and Vajrafire Guardian Hearth. He knew Sentinel was an upgrade to Intervene, and was the class’s namesake, but wasn’t all that useful in a one-on-one. It would allow her a lesser version of her Guan Yu summoning ability, in addition to being able to Intervene occasionally.

Then, the Vajrafire Guardian Hearth was not much different from before. The main differences were that it too could use Sentinel, and its spells and capabilities were more heavily influenced by Jake’s Runebound State.   

[Ophelia’s Level 26 Non-Combat Skill Sheet]
[Runic Smithing: 1]
[Smithing Subskills: Essence Transfer, Magical Metallurgy, Mana Forging, Mana Structure Enhancement, Runic Crucible]
[VajraFire Hearthian Core: Level 1]
[Misc Skills: Energy Vacuum, Eternal Oath, Chosen Technique, Hearthian Bond, Expert Purifying Flames, Hearthian Presence, Auto-Loot]

Ophelia was more than a little excited about her new Runic Smithing skill, the Runic Crucible. It was a skill that would actually support her in using the different energies by enabling her to filter and purify them out, or add them in as she melted the mysterious metals. 

The bonus to nearly all smithing outcomes like his Hearth Enchanting was also significant.

Having play-fought enough, Ophelia backed off, and moved to join Avalara’s lesser avatar on the bench. Ava’s battle body had kept up well with the veteran, the beast treant having little difficulty with both the flames and the lightning. 

However, her avatar needed a few minutes to recover after their bout, her auril heavily expended.

Ophelia sat next to the smaller Ava, flipping to her more casual gym clothes instantly before hugging Ava from the side.“You’re really sturdy! We’re really going to enjoy having such a big ally on our team.”

Ava beamed. “I’ll be happy to help when you need me! You didn’t call Valora out?”

Ophelia chuckled. “She’s wanting to get stronger now! She’s resting next to one of our hearths in the Refuge, she got especially motivated when she learned I was with child.”

Jake chuckled. “That’s cute of her. I did want to see her fight, though.”

“She’s tough! I’m really glad she can fight properly now, and so is she.”  

Jake knew that the draconic pony was actually running incursions now to gain levels. Just like how Jake could use his permanent summons by giving them their own core and allowing the Framework to maintain their vessel, Ophelia could do the same for Valora. 

This Tier was going to be quite a grind, they learned. In the weeks since Valora started running them, she had not yet gained a level.

Ophelia grabbed some kettle chips from the table, and started munching on them happily. “It looks like Bloodberri is next. This should be fun to watch!”

Jake was excited to see Bloodberri fight. From his perspective, it was nearly a tie between Tanda and Bloodberri for how much their class or combat had shifted. He would continue to watch like a hawk, but he was enjoying seeing his girls try out their new abilities.