Chapter 21: Brewing Storm
Gael and Fortis didn't make a move for a week inside the core area of the forest, they stayed in their camp and took their time to recover from their injuries and fatigue, Gael quickly recovered since he is not greatly injured he just suffered light wounds, it is Fortis who is extremely battered and injured he looks like an Egyptian mummy because of all the bandages wrapped around his body.
" Fortis come here lunch is ready " Gael called out.
Fortis recently recovered and can now move his body freely, he can now do light exercises, right now he is swinging his sword, there are still some bandages on his body but it is now fine for him to wield his sword.
"kiiiik" Fortis answered and he sheathed his sword and ran toward Gael, he snatched the roasted meat Gael is holding skillfully and started eating it.
" slow down we still have a lot of meat here, " Gael said as he took a bite off a piece of meat he was holding.
The two of them had a peaceful lunch.
Nighttime came and Gael and Fortis is doing a soul feeding session, since they cannot do heavy training because of their recently healed wounds and injuries, Gael decided to focus on increasing their soul energy, not only will it help them use skills more but it will also boost Fortis' growth and evolve earlier but despite their nonstop soul feeding and meditation Fortis is still quite a distance away from evolving, Gael can now feel the limitations of a D rank monster, sure Fortis has great talent and potential when it comes to Fighting and training skills but his growth is slower than other monsters, since D rank monsters have lower potential, a monsters rank is important in determining a monsters growth rate, growth rate refers to the speed of a monster to attain evolution it is also the Tamers' way to determine the number of evolution that a monster can undergo, like for example, F and E rank monsters have the lowest potential and growth rate, they have 0-10% chance of evolving and that is only for their first evolution that percentage lowers as they continue to evolve, though there are various items and medicine a Tamer can use to assist and increase the chances of evolution, using those items on F or E rank monster is still a waste. D rank monsters have forty per cent of a chance to evolve which is larger than E and F rank that is why D rank monsters are still one of the mainstream monsters along with C rank monsters that have fifty percent of a chance to evolve, B rank monsters have sixty to seventy percent of chance to evolve, A rank has eighty to ninety percent of chance to evolve, and the legendary S rank monsters have one hundred percent of chance to evolve.
S rank monster is regarded as legendary because it is said that the ancestors of all monsters are S rank monster, and the purer their blood the higher their rank, though there is no evidence of S rank monsters they believe that they are still alive and keeping the world in place while hidden in the shadows.
Fortis being a D rank monster only have a Forty percent of probability evolving, though it is not that low it is still low but Gael believes that with hard work and dedication he and Fortis can achieve the impossible, and they can one day stand amongst the strongest.
Gael finished the soul feeding and is now meditating, while his eyes are closed he is thinking about a lot of things, though his attention is not on meditation it is fine, he can use his enhanced sense to allow himself to split his attention that is why his meditation is not being interrupted by his thinking, he is thinking about the others, he is wondering about their progress, he's even ranking the strength of the other seven based on their familiars and abilities, the top three of course are those with the B rank familiar, with Vice General Balmor as the first with his B rank Orc, Orcs are monster born for war, they have innate viciousness and violence in them making them perfect for war, they also possess great strength, the Orc is actually one of the physically strongest B rank monsters of all, paired with Vice General Balmor's rich experience they are undoubtedly the strongest pair, the second strongest is Amon his Hellhound possess the ability to fight in long and short range it is the perfect balance, and also Amon, during his days as a war dog he has fought alongside Amon, he is a fierce and ruthless young man he also quite ambitious and hate to lose, he has great talent in fighting and he works hard as well, he should be the strongest in Gael's list, with his characteristics it is just that he lacks experience and has a short temper, he often heads into a battle without thinking, third is Lily with her Wind Sprite, Gael doesn't know much about her but he is sure that this bubbly and energetic young girl is extremely dangerous she just lack the dedication and hard work that Vice General Balmor and Amon has, if she is has the same ethic as those two she will be the strongest based on Gael's standard.
The fourth is Gael himself he puts himself in the fourth spot because he is confident that he can win against the others but he is still lacking to contend with the top three on his list, the fifth is Melchor, he is a crafty and smart, the sixth and seventh place goes to the twins, individually they do not shine but together they are strong they perform combination attacks, and with their great teamwork they can win against stronger opponents, their teamwork is their strength and also their weakness, together they are strong but individually they are just average, and the last place goes to Wency, he is a great swordmsman, his swordsmanship even rival Gael's it is just that he specializes in one on one fights and duels but when it comes to team fight he cannot cooperate with the others because of his habit of fighting alone and fighting alone is a taboo in the world of Tamers since a Tamer fights with their familiar they must learn how to work as a team and move as one, and if Wency managed to get rid of his habit he will definitely place higher in Gael's list.
Hours have passed and it is now midnight Gael slowly opened his eyes and saw Fortis sleeping.
" to become the strongest of your kind, that is your goal, right? " Gael mumbled to himself while looking at the sleeping Goblin.
" I will make you the strongest that is the promise we made that time when you became my familiar, but don't forget about my goal, you must help me achieve it" Gael added as he lay down on a blanket he prepared earlier.
" wait for me guys, it might take a long time but promise it will be worth the wait, " Gael said as he stare at the stars of the night sky, his eyes slowly closed as he fell asleep.
…
" We are running out of time Marcus, the noble faction is getting stronger and stronger as days go by, " the Crown Prince said in a panic, he received a report from one of his spies in the noble faction that they are nurturing their Tamer squad.
He and Marcus are having a conversation in the garden of the Palace.
" you don't have to worry my prince, though they are nurturing their own Tamers squad they cannot do anything against us, their expert tamers are fewer than ours, the Silver Dragon Corps is already enough to deal with them it is just a shame that we cannot use it to attack them since we will lose the support of the people but it will keep them in check, they will not move rashly since they only have one shot" Marcus explained, calming down the Crown Prince.
Marcus is a smart young man, he is also extremely strong which is why the Crown Prince believes every word that came from his mouth.
" the three-month period that we gave them is about to end, when all of them returned they will be stronger than before, and when that time comes we can start to slowly weaken your enemies, we have been formulating this plan for a long time now, we will not fail, we will clean the noble faction and show them who's boss and you will successfully ascend the throne " Marcus added.
" I know, I was just surprised that they are also nurturing their Tamer Squad " the Crown Prince explained his earlier reaction.
" We thought about creating our own Tamer Squad, the nobles are not stupid, so they also came up with the same idea, " Marcus said.
" they will not be able to threaten my royal family if they are stupid, but still the idea of making their Tamer squad? Tamers have not interfered in the between the nobles and the royals before, I wonder whose behind the idea of it, there must be a capable person on the side of the nobles that we do not know of " the Crown Prince said.
" if that is the case, then it will be interesting " Marcus grinned.