Next day

Adam was currently outside the log cabin with Elena. He was in a standing chair pose with his back against a nearby tree. Elena was using a flat piece of wood to hit various parts of Adam's body.

They were prepping him for his breakthrough. It was preferable for Adam to have his muscles as sore as possible. The reason is that it will take less time for his body's survival instincts to kick in, thereby kickstarting his breakthrough to tier 4.

A few hours ago, with the help of Elena, he was able to push his heart to finish merging with the nanocore. According to Elena, there was no point in doing it as he goes through his breakthrough. If anything, it would needlessly add more risk to an already risky procedure.

He performed the merging while unconscious. It was only with the help of Zero and Elena that he was able to accomplish the merging with no problems. While he was unconscious, Zero would twitch his finger at different times, signaling Elena to inject his heart with a concentrated mixture of blood fruit to heal his heart when needed.

Now, a regular person would be shocked and mildly disgusted were they to look at Adam's heart. It was no different in shape to a regular one, but the color was off. Slightly grey, like a smoker's lung just less unhealthy looking. The color comes from the nanocore merged perfectly with the heart. The only thing missing would be the life-metal from the emperor slime.

While his heart can still grow stronger the nanobots themselves will not change. They will continue being as they are. Performing their tasks of keeping his body in top shape as well as assisting when needed while still being overall a foreign entity. No matter how beneficial.

If you add in the life-metal on the other hand, the nanobots will become a mixture of organic and mechanical, enabling them to strengthen themselves along with Adam's body. In their current state, while they are organically compatible with his body; They are still machines in the end. Machines that will not trigger his body's immune system. He intends to use the life-metal with the bloodline holder to fully integrate them with his body, making them a part of himself rather than an addon.

While Elena kept hitting different parts of his body, he spoke to her "Later, when I start my breakthrough. I'll need you around just in case."

Elena answered back. "That was the plan boss. Never sure what could happen. I'll also help you with the liquid mana. I think it'll be hard for you to do anything but concentrate on your breakthrough at the time. You can leave it to me."

He nods. "Good. I know you don't understand much of what was done earlier to my heart. But just know that during my breakthrough, some unexpected things may happen, so be extra vigilant."

The reason he said this is due to what he and Zero have theorized earlier. For his body's survival instincts to kick in, they will need to deactivate the nanobots and put Zero into 'sleep mode' so to speak. He can't shut down Zero, since it is a part of himself. All he can do is revert Zero to what it was before the nanocircuits got installed. His subconscious. And even doing that is only temporarily possible as those circuits have permanently changed the way his brain interacts with his subconscious mind, which in his case was the creation of Zero as an assistant. Different people view their subconscious differently. It's a very personal thing, given it's one of the most private parts of your mind.

About an hour later, Adam started feeling his body and muscles unable to maintain his current pose. Elena stops when she sees Adam righting himself up. He grunts as he slowly stands, feeling sore all over.

He tells Elena as he starts heading towards the log cabin. "Let's go to the training room inside my tent. That's where I'll breakthrough."

Elena wordlessly follows him. Once inside, they both step into his tent and head to the training room. The room itself was about the size of an official soccer field. Pretty large. The room is this big due to the physical capabilities of a knight and their ability to cross large distances with fewer steps if they use their body's full capabilities.

Adam heads to the center of the room, walking on the dark matted floor covering the tempered steel underneath. There was a sitting cushion in the center and a black bodysuit on the floor nearby; There was also a small glass vial of a translucent but glowing liquid.

He proceeds to get naked, uncaring of his nearby attendant, and puts the bodysuit on. The bodysuit covered his whole body. Neck, fingers, and feet included. The only uncovered part was his face starting from his chin and up.

There were inscriptions running all over the inside of the suit making direct contact with his skin. Those inscriptions serve to increase the attraction gravity has over his body. So rather than increase mass, like Adam carelessly thought, it increased his weight.

They were written using a magus's understanding of the earth element, the link between gravity and mass, as well as the world beneath. Due to this, Adam mistakenly thought that the suit increased his mass, therefore weighing him down. It instead made it so the world's gravity affected him more. In his defense, he has not bothered to look into it more than necessary since he would only use the suit once.

Once suited, he turns to Elena. " I will start. Is there anything I should keep in mind before I begin?"

Elena looked at him shiftily "You just have to stay focused on refining your body with mana while under pressure. It will take time to get the hang of it, but it's vital. Also boss...?"

Adam gestures her to go on. Elena looks at him for a moment then continues. "I want to apologize in advance. Saying this may be detrimental to your breakthrough, but I want you to know that I am sorry for what is about to happen."

He raises an eyebrow at that statement. "What do you mean? What are you going to do? And whatever it is, will it be detrimental to my overall well-being?"

Elena shakes her head "I can't tell you what I will do, it will make it useless if you are aware beforehand. But I can confidently say that were you to know, you would agree without a doubt. And no, it will not be detrimental in any way. Although you may dislike me for a few days, I believe you would wholeheartedly agree."

Adam thinks over her answer for a moment, then just shrugs. "Whatever, we'll see later. I'm about to start." He points at the vial. "Inside the vial is diluted liquid mana. I will drink half now, and you will help me drink the rest whenever you deem it necessary." Seeing her nod, he picks the vial up and downs half in one go.

Feeling the mana overwhelm his body, he quickly gets in a squatting position with his arms parallel to the floor. He injects some mana into the suit, which makes him grunt from the increased pressure on his body. Feeling okay still, he increases the suit's pressure until he can feel his already sore muscles barely hold on.

Focusing on refining his body under such pressure took him almost an hour. But once he got it, the cycle kept going almost automatically. 'Zero, shut down the nanobots and go into sleep mode.' 'Yes sir. Sleep mode will automatically turn off in two hours and fifty-nine minutes.'

Three hours is the limit his brain can handle before Zero comes back on. Any more and there is a risk of turning vegetative, not that he would be able to force more time even if he wanted to. While his brain belongs to him, he can't actively control or affect it. Not without Zero controlling his nanobots.

He could barely feel the nanobots go dormant, but Zero, on the other hand, felt like a part himself disconnected itself from the world. Using him and his weaker conscious mind instead as its window to the world. It felt unusual.

The majority of the population from his world had the mental constructs since birth, assisting them. Nobody really minded since not everyone is born equal hence not all constructs were equal. A dumb person with his subconscious under control will still be considered dumb when compared with a smart or even a regular person with their subconscious under control.

The subconscious is not a magical part of your mind that can turn you into an overnight genius. It is a mixture of physical and mental things that your mind can't or won't actively process. Whether it is things like how to breathe or how to walk. Or the dulling of your senses to prevent discomfort. Maybe it is past traumas that your mind does not wish to remember. Regardless. Everything you can't or won't think of your subconscious will and does.

The greatest advantage of having such a mental construct is the ability of memory partitioning/storing and information processing. The conscious mind is not even remotely close to reaching the level of information processing the subconscious mind can. It becomes even more of an advantage if you include nanites. Of course, not everyone could afford them, but the benefits they provide are immense. With them, you touch upon the realm of superhumans, not in strength but with your body's metabolism and how they regulate it, among other things.

So with Zero, who is the one that helps him process his surrounding at all times providing him with a clear picture of everything, now dormant. Adam felt as if he was wearing sunglasses indoors with cotton swabs in his ears. The surroundings felt a little dimmer than usual. And his mind felt slower as well.

As he started focusing on the changes caused by not having Zero active, he almost stopped his physical refining. It was only after he felt Elena pushing the vial against his lips, that he remembered what he was doing. Focusing back on the matter at hand, he swallows the rest of the liquid mana.

Once again feeling the mana surging throughout his body, he pushes his refinement to his limits. He started feeling as if his muscles were slowly giving up. His heart was beating as if it wanted to jump out of his chest. His arms and legs were shaky. As he started feeling faint, despite the surging mana, a sixth sense warned him of approaching danger.

A moment later, he felt a literal stab in the back. A knife stabbed him right below his right clavicle. Shocked and confused, he was unable to form any thoughts. Something that Zero would have taken care of had it been active. On top of warning him. That sixth sense was basically Zero/his subconscious warning him. In this case of it being dormant, his body took the job of warning him. Albeit a bit too late, given how much it relied on Zero before.

Feeling the blood pooling beneath helped wake him up. A mix of anger, as well as fear, flood his mind. Feeling the knife pulling out, he wanted to fight back but could not. It was due to the suit's pressure and his own body being extremely tired. So lost in anger and fear, he forgot he could even turn the inscriptions off. Grunting in pain from the stab and the muscle soreness, he slowly tried to turn around and face his attacker.

Elena, who stabbed him, realized Adam has still not broken through. Slowly frowning, she sees him trying to turn around. Realizing that his mind is distracted from the pain and soreness, she kicks his knees from behind, forcing him from squatting to kneeling on all fours.

She then plunges the knife into one of his buttcheeks. Her goal is not to kill him but to make his survival instinct kick in. Adam on the other hand was on his hands and knees with a knife sticking out of his left buttcheek.

Despite all this happening, he has still not stopped his physical refining. At this point, it could be considered an instinct, afraid that stopping will sap whatever energy he has left.

Adrenaline kept pumping uselessly. The loss of blood and severe muscle soreness was causing Adam's vision to slowly go dark; Almost fainting from all the exertion. As he began feeling himself fall unconscious, his body started spasming, similar to someone getting electrocuted. At the same time, the mana inside his body started acting erratically while the ambient mana converged towards him.

All of a sudden, his body stopped spasming, and his mind felt a bit clearer. Not in regards to his mental capacity. But as if he could, despite his physical condition, exert all his power, and his mind would be able to keep up with him.

Previously, Zero would take care of such things. While it could not keep such a state indefinitely, due to the mental fatigue it would cause him, it would still help his mind keep up with his body for a limit of about half an hour before mentally tiring him out. Now, it felt like he could stay in such a state at all times.

His body was currently enveloped in a slight haze. Occasionally, you could see electric sparks jump out of his skin, all over his body, and through his bodysuit. The sparks were blue, making Adam look like he was getting electrocuted.

He could barely understand what has happened, what with all the madness going on. Him getting stabbed while trying to breakthrough for example. Twice. And one of them on his ass. Before he could even gather his thoughts regarding his breakthrough and stabbing, Elena, the culprit of said madness, approached from behind and knocked him out with a solid hit to the head.

Looking down at the unconscious Adam, Elena sighed. "I hope you don't blame me, boss." She looks at his bloodied buttcheek and her mouth twitches. "At least not too much."

She picks Adam over her shoulder, like a sack of potatoes, and heads over to his bedroom. She passes by the maid, who paled at the sight of Adam bloody.

Elena waves the maid over "Go get some towels or whatever you maids use to clean up blood and wash your master over here." She continues walking towards his bedroom.

Once inside the room, the cubs, Ghost, and Jag spot Adam bloodied in the hands of the brutish-looking Elena. Yowling with all the might of a baby predator, they jump at her shins. Amused and slightly irritated all at the same time. Elena grabs the cubs by their scruff one at a time and throws them out of the room, almost hitting the maid with the last one. Tank, while laying on his rock, opened a single eye to see what was going on, then returned to sleep. Onyx was outside the tent and cabin, enjoying the skies and the sun.

The maid shoots a pitying glance at the cubs then glares at Elena, all in silence. Elena chuckles at the sight of the glaring cat lady. "Calm down pussycat. Come clean your master and put him to bed. When he wakes up tell him I'll be somewhere in the forest hunting, unavailable for the next few days. You got it? un-a-vail-a-ble. And also tell him to remember our conversation." Seeing the maid nod begrudgingly, Elena nods satisfied and tosses Adam on the bed, earning a yelp from the maid.

She chuckles while leaving the room under the glare of the cat beastwoman. The maid then looks at Adam and proceeds to undress him then slowly wipes him down. She sees the still leaking wounds and bandages them up tightly. Once clean and bandaged, she tucks Adam in, still naked.

Satisfied, she picks up the bloodied clothes along with the towels she's used and leaves the room. Giving Adam one last look, making sure everything is okay, she then closes the door behind her. She found the cubs waiting for her and yowling anxiously. She smiled gently and started petting them while soothing their worries.

The next day, Adam's room.

The next morning. Adam slowly opens his eyes with a grunt. Still in a slight daze, something that occurs after a night of natural sleep, he tries to recall what happened yesterday. His eyes clear up the more he remembers, slightly igniting his anger. Checking his body, he notices the bandage around his right shoulder and left thigh. 'Zero, check the status of my body.'

'Yes sir...Your body is currently in perfect condition. I exited sleep mode around eighteen hours ago and proceeded to direct the nanobots to your injured areas, accelerating your body's healing.' Adam is startled upon hearing it say eighteen hours. 'Zero. How long have I been asleep?'

'It is estimated to be around twenty hours, sir.' Zero replies.

While slightly stunned at sleeping for so long it does not bother him too much. He yells for the maid who comes in a few moments later. "Go fetch Elena for me." Thinking about yesterday gave him mixed feelings.

Although he's a bit angry, he understands the reason for Elena's actions. It was to facilitate his breakthrough. Had she told him before it happened, he would not have believed himself to be in genuine danger. And she did warn him to the best of her capabilities. Any more and it would have taken away the element of surprise, which was crucial in this case.

The maid, in response to his order, relays what Elena said. Internally rolling his eyes at the warrior's actions, he waves the maid away. She bows slightly and walks out of the room. He gets up and undoes the bandages on his body. Once fully naked, he heads over to the bathroom in his room and proceeds to take a quick shower. Now fully clean, he wears some underwear along with his silk robe and slippers.

Stepping out of his room, he spots Ghost and Jag sleeping by the door. Smiling slightly, he nudges them awake with the tip of his foot. The cubs wake up slightly groggy, looking around in confusion. Spotting him, they yowl in happiness, and both jump in his arms. Adam chuckles slightly, picking one in each arm. It was slightly awkward due to their size, but they weren't heavy.

Adam walks out of his tent with the cubs still in his arms. Once out, he sees David meditating in the cabin. Hearing someone walking out, David opens his eyes. Spotting his employer, he gets up and bows slightly "Congratulations on your breakthrough, sir."

Adam drops the cubs on the floor. Ignoring their whines, he answers, along with an eye-roll. "It's all thanks to your dear lover." David chuckling slightly at his answer responds to Adam.

"I can imagine. She told me what she did. It's still better than fighting a beast, sore while refining your body. Despite the many advancements made in regards to empowering one's self. This breakthrough is still something hard to simplify. Triggering the body's survival instinct is risking your life; by definition of the term. If your body does not believe it is at risk of dying, the chances of breaking through will be low, almost impossible. You could probably achieve it through sheer willpower, but the circumstances needed for such a breakthrough are not something one can casually encounter or should wish to."

Adam nods at David. "I understand. It is unfortunate that this breakthrough does not mean much to me. Other than allowing me to further refine my body."

David shrugs at Adam "Knights don't really get qualitative changes after major breakthroughs, unlike the magi. Everything is step by step. I believe it is preferable that way. Easier to control and familiarize yourself with what you gain."

Adam nods at his words "I agree. Now tell me where your lover is, so I can thank her properly. I'm sure she's waiting with bated breath at the reward she will get for helping me." He said all this with a stoic face. If one did not know the inside story they would truly believe him wanting to reward his loyal subordinate.

David smiles wryly at Adam. "Sir, please go easy on me. If I don't tell you, I'm in your bad books. If I tell you, I'm in hers. Please, give me a break."

Adam looks at him for a moment then looks away slightly "If you tell me, I'll send you away to go look for that subordinate I wanted you to find me. I'm almost done in the forest. There's no need for both you and Elena to be here. And with my breakthrough, while I did not get physically stronger instantly, my mental stamina shot through the roof. If I restart my refining in the next few days, I'll get even stronger then. I don't need you here right now. Tell me, and I'll even give you a headstart before I go look for her, to give you time to get away and whatnot. You can even take your time for the subordinate. No need to rush back when you find them."

David thinks his words over for a few moments. A while later, his gaze hardens, turning him from a quiet man to a steel-hardened warrior. "Yes sir. She's slightly deeper in the monkey's region, looking for some wine. You can ask the council representative to have a monkey accompany you. It should not take you too long to find her. And Sir, can I...?" He looks away in shame unable to continue but Adam gestures him to continue. "Sir, since I'm angering her anyways. Can I take our tent with me?"

Adam looked puzzled. "Why? It shouldn't take you that long to leave the forest." David, with shame still evident on his face, answers back "I'm scared she will send some of my brothers (fellow lovers) to capture me and send me back. I will use the tent to camp outside while looking for the subordinate you want."

Hearing his answer, Adam was at a loss for words for a moment. "Yeah, sure. Take the tent. Just leave some of her belongings behind. Whatever she may need for the next month or so. And a sleeping bag too. If she has none then don't worry about it, I should have some in my tent."

David gratefully nods and heads inside his and Elena's tent. Adam looking at his back slightly shakes his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. He leaves the cabin, stepping outside to look for the raven principal Blue assigned to look after him.

He spots it perched near the cabin, facing the door. Before waving it over, he decides to think about how to approach the following conversation. To get the most benefits possible.

'Hmmm, maybe I should wait? I haven't even tried to clone bodies using the fruits yet. Mentioning it now will simply make me look rash, which in hindsight, is probably accurate. I should at least confirm it's feasible before trying to sell the idea. Instead of selling the idea, I should have them hire me to bring it to fruition. This way I won't have to pay from my pocket or deal with the hassle of looking for suitable test subjects. Yeah, that'd be better. I'll just sell the idea of the hybrid fruit. Either way, I'm not accomplished enough in botany and it is just an idea. While it won't get me the elemental plane, bringing it up now will allow me to more easily negotiate for it in the future, without making look crazy.' Satisfied with his new plan, he waves over the raven.

The raven, seeing his gesture, flaps its wings and heads over to Adam. Approaching him, it lands on a branch growing out of one of the logs used in building the cabin.

Adam starts the conversation "Principal, I may have an idea the council would appreciate. While it is currently only on paper, I believe that with your brilliance, along with your incredible knack for picking talents. It is only a matter of time before the idea flourishes in your very, very capable hands." Of course, he starts with a generous helping of grease. To make the following negotiations a lot smoother.

The raven stares at him for a moment, before the raven straightens up and an aged voice leaves its beak. "Oh! Adam! I forgot about you. How's life? I see you're in one of the Council's resource points. Good, good. It is the privilege of youth to explore and experience life in all its natural beauty. And please, with the compliments. You're going to make an old man like me blush. While it is true I am brilliant, it is quite inappropriate to say it out loud. Watch out in case anybody hears you and believes me to be someone so pretentious." The raven says, with its head tilted upwards and wings bent behind its back as if it was walking while holding its hands behind it.

Adam internally rolls his eyes at the old man's shamelessness, conveniently ignoring his own shamelessness in bootlicking. Even if it was to fleece said old man. " You are right principal. Such things can only be observed but not spoken of. Forgive me. It is hard for me to hold back my appreciation upon witnessing your grand and elegant bearing." The raven nodded its head continuously, agreeing to everything Adam was saying. "Now about the idea I was speaking of..."

The raven exclaims. "Of course young Adam! Do speak of your marvelous idea, and do not worry one bit. You will get your just rewards. I will even throw in a bit from my own pocket, for being such a diligent member of the council."

Internally congratulating himself for successfully fleecing the narcissistic but petty old man; Adam explains his idea. "You see principal. As I was experimenting with the blood fruits, a sudden thought crossed my mind. How can I use the fruits healing properties to help the council? No! To help principal Blue against the darned company and the accursed devil."

Seeing the raven fervently nod in agreement, Adam continues. "Then, the idea struck me. I remember reading in the council's database that certain plants in cultivation worlds can boost one's physical capabilities. I was thinking. What if we crossbred such plants with the blood tree and see if we can breed a plant that can absorb one's physical attributes and grow fruits that can give one said attributes. How it does so will depend on the finished product of course. It could be by planting a seed in the targeted organism or simply burying a living organism under the created tree/plant. It will depend on what sort of plant we end up with. If we use the blood fruit's healing potential, we may even be able to mass-produce physical powerhouses with minimal risk, as long as proper testing is conducted of course."

The raven listened silently as Adam explained his thoughts. When he was finished it remained silent, only pacing along the branch in thought. It was only a while later that the principal gave Adam his opinion. "Great idea Adam. It just so happens that one of your peers is proficient in botany. As for your reward. The way I see it. Because you are so diligent." The raven nodded as if that was the reason, and not the previous asslicking. "I will give you two options. I can assign you generous rewards right away or, you can get even better rewards if you're idea succeeds later down the line. What do you think?"

"Actually principal, I would like to put the rewards on hold for now. I have an inquiry along with a request for help." Adam phrased it as such because he hopes it will appeal to the old man's teaching heart instead of the regular council head.

"Oh? Do you need help? Out with it young Adam. It is the job of the old to guide the young. Worry not. You youngsters, are our hope of defeating the vile company and the accursed devil. Whatever guidance you may need, ask, and we shall provide *reasonably*" The raven whispers the last word under its breath.

Adam ignores the last part. "Yes, principal. My inquiry is for the ownership of an earth, wood, or plant elemental plane. Whatever fits that criteria. One that is in good condition. The plane does not need to be young; only unaffected by outside sources. What I mean is I do not want it to be dying, like those worlds Aurora targets. My request for help is also related to this inquiry."

The raven tilts its head curiously. "Hmmm, quite the expensive demand there young Adam. The kind of planes you're asking for are the more valuable ones. Their living conditions are perfect for humanoids to live on, unlike other types of elemental planes. I'll tell you what, if you come up with another great idea that we can use, I will consider it. What do you think?"

Internally smiling, Adam solemnly nods. "Of course. It is only fair that I work hard for the betterment of my peers and the goal of the council. Do not worry principal, I will come up with something great. Let's make the council great again!"

The raven nods, satisfied at Adam's attitude. "Now, you said that your request for help concerns your need for an earth-attuned elemental plane? Would you mind explaining?"

Adam nods. "Of course, Principal. You see, before coming to the great and fantastic world of Aurora and joining the winning side. That is the council of course. I was able to get help from a God native to my homeworld. I had a soul oath bounding me, but thanks to the help of Lady Fay, her mother took care of it. The God left with me a seed of a world tree. This world tree is part of the God's pantheon. I wish for you to examine the seed, just in case the God left anything dangerous on it."

Principal Blue tilted his raven head curiously "Oh? Do you have the God's name? While you may not know. A lot of the Gods out in the cosmos are basically copies, clones, doppelgangers, or whatever you want to call it, of each other. They are generally widespread and repetitive. Some are popular while others are not. I will know what to expect depending on his name."

"Yes, principal. His name was Odin. He was the Godking of his pantheon. The realm he ruled over was called Asgard. And the tree from which the seed originated is called Yggdrasil. The domains which Odin was known for in his pantheon were wisdom, poetry, death, divination, and magic. He was also known for his mastery over runic magic. That is how I was able to travel between dimensions and arrive in Aurora. He gave me the seed to plant as part of the soul-bound oath. I wish to use the seed for my own goals, but not without making sure it is safe." Adam explained truthfully.

He knew that lying is useless. Even all the previous asslicking was taken superficially at best. Although he knew that, he also knew the old man to be petty enough to appreciate such bootlicking, no matter how fake.

The raven let out a slight whistle-like sound. Probably meant as the old man himself whistling. "Oooooh, Odin. That's a popular fellow. According to information from the Company, some versions of him reach tier 8. None have been recorded reaching tier 9 though. Still, he's on the stronger side of the scale. Of course, it also depends on the world. In some worlds, Gods are as weak as the average superhuman, while in others they are the equivalent of tier 8 cosmic beings. The tiers are numbered differently in the company's information, but they can eat as* for all I care. Knowing them, they'd probably enjoy it. Those depraved perverts. In Aurora, what the council says goes. Anyways, since we do not know what tier Odin is in your world, I'd prefer my main body checks the seed. Unfortunately, my main body is currently looking for worlds where the company has stationed some of its agents. I will not be back for a while. From what I can tell from the council's information you have a mission scheduled. And from the looks of your body, you're currently focusing on the knight path. By the time you're done with both, I should probably be back. I will check the seed then. I can also ask Fay's mother if you're in a rush?"

Adam shook his head "No rush principal. The seed is of no use to me currently. I am only afraid of Odin using it for nefarious purposes."

The raven waves his concerns away "Do not worry. He doesn't have the capability of affecting Aurora no matter how strong he is. Just make sure not to take the seed with you on your mission. As long as it stays on Aurora, not much can happen."

Adam nods. "Yes sir. That will be all then. Sorry for bothering you, and thank you for your time." He bowed his head slightly. No matter the bootlicking attitude or his inner thoughts, he still has to show some respect. Despite his facade, the old man was still someone of great power and a lot older than Adam.

"No worries young Adam. Keep doing what you are. I expect great things from you. Contact me if you come up with anything else and we will see about the elemental plane. Bye now." The raven nods at Adam and goes slightly slack for a second before it starts cleaning its feathers, like a regular bird.

Adam knows that the bird itself is an avatar of the principal. The reason it acts as a bird is because of the avian mental persona instilled into it by the principal. He does not wish to remain cognizant while in a bird's body after all.

In relief at how well the conversation went, Adam heads to a nearby tree and takes out a lounge chair along with a book from his holding bag. 'Now, I'll just wait for the council representative and then I can find Elena. I need to think of a punishment. Maybe I'll have the maid follow her around and spray her with water whenever she's about to drink alcohol or take a nap? Yeah, that sounds good.'

Somewhere in the forest, Elena shivered for a quick moment. She looked around in panic. Finding nothing, she shrugs and goes back to sipping some of the monkey wine she got a hold of. 'Ha! I'll be back in a few days and the boss won't be angry anymore. I'll just stay here and drink until then. Great plan if I do say so myself' She nods to herself sagely.

Both her and Adam look up at the sky at the same time and simultaneously think 'What a nice day!'

Author's note: Here ya go peeps. Adam finally breaks into the middle tiers of his knight path. A few chapters after the monkey king meeting, I will probably do a time skip, showing him at the peak of the middle tiers. In other words, tier 6. The goal will be for him to quickly reach tier 9 and assimilate with the life-metal so he can finally go on his first out-world trip. I am still unsure on how to make him act on his mission. He's not going there as isekai'd teenager weeb after all. He's going there as the forward scout for an inter-dimensional group who seek to either plunder and/or annex the world. He will have guidelines from the council to help make everything easier. He's not going there lost and confused, so I'll have to think of his approach. Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter.

Leave likes, comments, reviews, thoughts, and wtv else tickles your fancy.

Lazy, out!

P.s. Currently editing my earlier chapters. Still not done. Will mention in the author's note whenever editing is completed. Rather than edit the story, I am editing sentence structure along with any grammatical errors. I am quite satisfied with the story itself. If you're not well...tough luck bud. Many stories out there that could interest you, hope you find one you like. *Double thumbs up*