After the duel, things progressed smoothly for Isaac.
The negotiations for the movement of the ogre clan to his city were scheduled for the next day.
The Sword Empress would oversee them personally, along with several members of Isaac’s administration.
It was a big step, and one that would change the balance of power in Fortified City 50.
Isaac planned to leave for Eltari City immediately after everything was finalized, but there was one thing he needed to ask before that.
He was seated at the long stone table again, this time with Emily and Celia on either side of him.
Across from them sat Grathok, Urgaz, Hragul, and Morga, along with a few other dignitaries of the Ashfang Tribe.
"Can you show me an image of those Tyrannical Golden Hen?" Isaac asked, leaning back slightly in his chair.
"Yes," Grathok replied without hesitation.
He gestured behind him, and a massive ogre stepped forward. The assistant had a spatial ring on his thick finger, and with a motion, he pulled out several flat, crystal-like plates. He handed them over to Isaac one by one.
"These images were taken with our war-scope. The Tyrannical Golden Hen monsters are strong. Even for our tribe, it would take a lot of resources to deal with them," Grathok said, referring to the magical camera device.
Isaac nodded as he accepted the images. The moment his eyes fell on the first one, he felt a small spark of excitement.
’Jackpot.’
He kept his face neutral, but inside, he was already smiling.
The creatures in the images were massive, towering over ogres and trees alike. Their bodies were covered in golden, plated feathers that looked more like overlapping armor than anything soft. Their beaks were jagged, and their eyes glowed with a dull, predatory light. They were clearly monsters. There was no doubt about that.
But they also looked like ’hens’.
’I had a hunch when I heard the name. But they really do look like some twisted, evolved version of a hen,’ Isaac thought, flipping to the next image.
The reason he had been searching for hens in the first place was simple.
His first class skill.
Gene Reaping.
Gene Reaping allowed him to store blueprints of genes when he harvested crops or ’livestock’.
Crops had been easy enough to find.
But livestock had been a different story.
’In my previous life, livestock meant animals kept on a farm. Cows, pigs, sheep, hens,’ Isaac thought.
This world didn’t had livestock.
Three thousand years of apocalypse had erased that concept. People hunted monsters. They cultivated mana plants. They fortified cities and survived. The idea of raising livestock simply didn’t exist here.
Because of that, his Gene Reaping skill had hit a wall. It worked perfectly on crops, but when he tried it on normal monsters, nothing happened. He got no gene blueprints from them.
’I almost gave up on finding actual livestock.’
’But these Tyrannical Golden Hen....’
’They look like they’re derived from hens. Or maybe they’re some kind of evolution. Either way, I have a feeling my Gene Reaping skill will work on them.’
He lowered the image slightly, staring at the golden feathers and thick legs of the creature.
If that was true, then this wasn’t just about getting a new gene blueprint. This could change everything about how his class worked.
’What happens if I merge a livestock gene with a crop sapling?’
’If my hunch is right, the true combat ability of my class might finally show itself.’
It was only a hunch. There was no guarantee. But Isaac felt compelled to trust these instincts. It was as if something inside him was telling him to check what would happen.
He placed the images back on the table and looked up at Grathok.
"Tomorrow, Ashfang Tribe will wipe out the Tyrannical Golden Hen," Isaac ordered.
"Understood," Grathok replied immediately.
Isaac raised an eyebrow. "That was a quick reply. Are you not worried that I’m asking you to go to war with a system monster race that is on par with the Ashfang Tribe?"
Grathok’s lips pulled into a wide, savage grin. Urgaz and Hragul chuckled beside him.
"Worried? Not at all," Grathok said. "Our Ashfang Tribe never turns down an offer for a mighty battle."
Even Isaac couldn’t help but smile at that.
’Alice is really going to like this tribe,’ he thought.
"Alright. Then it’s decided. Tomorrow, Ashfang Tribe will go to war with the Tyrannical Golden Hens. I will bring one of my clones, the Saintess, and two Abyss Monsters from Emily."
"Saintess?" Grathok asked, tilting his head.
"Yes. Her help would be quite valuable in the battle. I will introduce her to you tomorrow."
Grathok nodded slowly.
After a bit more discussion about timing and locations, Isaac, Emily, and Celia left the meeting room.
They were moving towards Eltari race.
On the way, Emily spoke up.
"Isaac, about the battle with the Tyrannical Golden Hens. I—"
"Don’t worry," Isaac said, cutting in gently. "You don’t need to participate in the battle."
Emily blinked. "You knew what I was going to say?"
"I could guess. You want to train to use your summon space inside your soul, right?"
She nodded. "Yes."
If the battle was critical, Emily would have gone without hesitation. But the truth was, the Ashfang Tribe, along with Alice and a few Abyss Monsters, could handle the Tyrannical Golden Hens without her direct involvement.
Right now, unlocking her Soul Space mattered more.
They would be heading to the Florathi Kingdom soon, and that changed everything.
The Soulbind Pendant couldn’t be brought there. The pendant had the ability to absorb Isaac’s city. That meant it needed to stay behind in Fortified City 50 in case something catastrophic happened and the city needed to be evacuated or preserved.
In other words, if things stayed as they were, Emily wouldn’t be able to bring her summons to the Florathi Kingdom. She would be forced to stay behind with her summons.
That idea had been bothering her.
Maybe that was why her bloodline had started reacting. Maybe that was why an ability like Soul Space was trying to awaken now.
"I will still send Aeralis and Lume. So you don’t need to worry," Emily said.
"No," Isaac said, shaking his head as they stepped into a spatial cloud. "There’s no need. Send the copy summons of Aeralis and Lume instead."
Emily tilted her head slightly. "Why?"
Isaac looked at her, then at Celia.
"Emily, what I’m going to say now is important."
Both of them straightened, their casual expressions fading.
"You already know about my ability to copy summons. So I will summon all my summons inside the Cradle."
Isaac waved his hand, the Soulbind Pendant glinting faintly as the familiar pull of the system passed through him.
The space inside the Cradle responded at once. He could feel every presence settle into place, like pieces fitting into a larger whole.
N’theris Serpent.
Aeralis.
Lume.
The Crimson Sky Wyrm.
Genos and the other champion-rank monsters.
All of the copies of the summons were brought out there.
"From now on, I’ll tell all my summons to listen to you as well. You’ll keep the Soulbind Pendant on you like you have been. Use both the originals and the doubles. Train them. Raise them. The only thing you need to be careful about is to never bring out an original and its copy in our world at the same time."
Emily blinked. "So you want me to train them as my summons?"
"Yes. You’re the only one I trust with this," Isaac said, nodding.
Her expression softened, and a smile spread across her face. "Okay!"
They continued their talk while moving towards Eltatri race’s city.
Isaac’s thoughts drifted back to the day before, when his ability to copy summons had finally come out in the open.
All of his wives, the Sword Empress, and the dragon maids had found out at the same time.
Their reactions had been ’shocking.’
’Oh.’
’Wow, so you can copy my summons.’
’That’s a useful ability.’
’You should hide this ability as much as you can. You can use it to shock your enemies.’
That was the reaction of Alice, Emily, Professor Catherine, and Sword Empress in order.
Celia had just begun playing with the copy summons.
And the dragon maids?
They also barely reacted at all.
When he asked his wives why they were so nonchalant, the answers he received were simple.
He could already copy their classes, skills, ranks, titles, techniques, and they had expected something like this.
As for dragon maids’ reason?
When Isaac pressed them about it, they had told him that, even if they couldn’t remember their past clearly, they "felt" like some dragons long ago had possessed similar abilities.
He still didn’t know how to feel about that.
’I’m the only one who was worried this might be unethical. Maybe the problem is just my old common sense from Earth.’
Even the summons themselves hadn’t panicked.
Some were curious. Some treated their originals with respect. Others treated their copies like siblings. A few boasted that they were "better" even if they looked exactly the same.
Looking back, even Tirra, the ghost bird, he copied hadn’t been surprised when she saw her own original long ago.
It felt like the system itself was smoothing over the mental shock, keeping things from spiraling.
While Isaac was busy with such idle thoughts, a familiar screen flashed into existence in front of him.
[New Time-limited items have arrived in the Shop!]
He raised an eyebrow.
’So it’s time already.’
Lately, the time-limited shop hadn’t offered anything worth spending on. He had been letting his AP pile up, waiting for something that actually mattered.
Out of habit, he checked his balance.
AP Balance: 800,000 AP
It was a ridiculous number. A few weeks ago, he would have thought it was impossible to gather this much in just few days.
But there was a clear reason he could gather such ridiculous AP.
He looked at the Affection of his wives, the cause of the insane AP.
Emily Warren, the Ghost Bride: 140 Affection
Alice Calloway, the ???: 150 Affection
Celia von Rae, the Hellfire Maiden: 138 Affection
Catherine Lorraine, the Devoted Celestial Shadow: 144 Affection
Their affection levels were all hovering near 150. He had already received a special reward when Alice’s affection hit 150, and he was curious about what would happen when the others reached the same point.
He opened the shop.
[Time Limited Shop]
Lord Talent Upgrade Ticket – 100,000 AP
City AI Advisor Upgrade Ticket – 50,000 AP
Large Distance Teleporters (Pair) x3 – 600,000 AP
Isaac stared at the list.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
The list didn’t change.
’What the fuck?’