Isaac was grinning. The rewards from the competition were beyond anything he had expected, and he could share them. There were so many items, materials, and treasures that simply checking their details would take hours.
Several pieces of Legendary-grade equipment were among the rewards. Isaac badly wanted to sit down and inspect each one. More importantly, he wanted to see what kind of bonuses their set effects provided when worn together. Legendary equipment was already valuable on its own, but complete sets often came with absurdly powerful effects.
Still, he forced himself to put that temptation aside. There would be time later.
Right now, Celia’s concert was about to begin. He wanted to be there for his wife’s concert. It was the biggest concert of her career, and Isaac knew how much effort she had invested into preparing for it. If he locked himself away to examine loot while she stood on stage in front of thousands, she would never let him hear the end of it.
Besides, attending through a clone was not an option. If Celia discovered that he had sent a duplicate while his real body stayed behind to play with rewards, she would eat him alive.
He chuckled to himself before speaking. ’System, share Selene’s Class skills!’
Merchant Network (S Rank) gained.
Production Planning (S Rank) gained.
Isaac’s eyes brightened as he read the names. Both were extremely useful.
He wanted to try using the skills immediately, but once again he resisted the temptation. There were more important things to do first.
With a thought, wings emerged from his back. Isaac flapped them once and shot into the sky. Another flap sent him flying toward Emily’s location as forests blurred beneath him.
The journey didn’t take long. Isaac expected to find Emily resting with her summons after the competition. Instead, what he found surprised him.
A massive empty clearing had appeared in the middle of the forest. The trees had been pushed back so thoroughly that it looked as though an entire section of woodland had simply vanished. At the center sat Emily, calmly talking with her ’family.’
Surrounding her were spirits so large that some rivaled mansions in size. Several flew through the sky while others rested on the ground. The Crimson Sky Wyrm circled lazily overhead, while the Abyssal Mammoth stood nearby like a mountain.
Numerous other spirits filled the clearing. The gathering looked less like a family meeting and more like a convention of natural disasters. Most people would have run for their lives at the sight.
Hovering directly in front of Emily was a tiny ghost bird. Tirra looked as energetic as ever despite being the smallest summon present. In fact, she appeared to be scolding everyone.
[What sort of powerful spirits are you people? Even little girls can protect Master better than you can! You should all be ashamed of yourselves after that performance!]
Several summons looked amused by her lecture. Others appeared genuinely guilty. A few rolled their eyes and ignored her completely.
Tirra was technically the weakest spirit among them, yet nobody openly challenged her. Part of that was because Emily favored her. The larger reason was that both the Abyssal Mammoth and the Crimson Sky Wyrm openly supported her.
Isaac descended from the sky and landed at the edge of the clearing. The moment he touched the ground, dozens of eyes turned toward him.
"Hey, how are you guys?" he asked with a casual wave.
[Greetings, Lord.]
Several summons bowed respectfully. Others offered nods of acknowledgment. Isaac had enough strength that most of Emily’s family respected him.
Not everyone seemed happy to see him, however. The N’theris Serpent flicked its tongue. When Isaac’s gaze met its own, the giant snake quickly avoided eye contact.
The serpent still held a grudge. Being killed tended to leave lasting impressions. Unfortunately for it, Emily loved Isaac, so there was little it could do except quietly show its displeasure.
Another spirit reacted far less subtly. Thorn Tyrant snorted loudly as he stared at Isaac. The massive plant-like monster towered over everyone nearby.
[Who is this chump? Bow your head before Mast—]
"Thorn, watch how you speak."
Emily’s voice interrupted him before he could finish. Spirit Element erupted from her body and crashed onto Thorn Tyrant like a mountain. The giant summon nearly collapsed under the pressure.
Thorn Tyrant was shocked. Even though he had spent only a little time with Emily, he could tell she disliked overpowering her summons with force, and would rather talk it out.
Her current reaction left him completely confused.
Who exactly was this man? Why was Emily becoming so protective over him? Thorn Tyrant couldn’t understand it.
Several older summons exchanged amused looks. A few even chuckled quietly. They had seen this exact situation many times before.
Whenever a new summon arrived, there was always a chance they would underestimate Isaac. Whenever that happened, things usually became entertaining.
"It’s fine, Emily. I’ll handle it," Isaac said as he walked forward.
"But, Isaac—"
"It’s fine. Really."
Emily hesitated for a moment before relaxing. If Isaac wanted to deal with it himself, she trusted him to do so.
Isaac stopped in front of Thorn Tyrant. The difference in size was ridiculous. Thorn Tyrant was as large as a mansion, while Isaac looked like an ant standing before him.
Despite that, Isaac appeared completely relaxed.
"Hey, are you considered a plant-type monster?"
[...Why are you asking?] Thorn Tyrant’s face changed in a way that humans did when they were frowning. Something about the question felt dangerous to Thorn Tyrant.
"I have a Class skill that allows me to harvest genes from livestock and plants. Livestock genes can be harvested even if they’re monsters, so now I’m wondering whether monster plants work too." Isaac rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The surrounding summons immediately became interested. Even Emily looked curious about where the conversation was heading.
"If it works, your genes would be extremely valuable. You’re a Mini Boss after all. I might be able to build the plant army I’ve always wanted much faster than expected."
[W-what exactly are you talking about?] Alarm bells started ringing inside Thorn Tyrant’s head. Nothing about this conversation sounded healthy.
"Can I kill you? Don’t worry. I’ll revive you afterward," Isaac said with a friendly smile.
The clearing fell silent. Even the spirits flying overhead paused to watch.
Thorn Tyrant stared at Isaac in disbelief. For several seconds, he genuinely wondered whether he had misheard the question. Unfortunately, Isaac looked completely serious.
"You’ve already died once anyway. Would dying one more time really matter that much?" Isaac said.
No response came. Around them, the other summons watched eagerly. Many of them were trying very hard not to laugh.
They were waiting for Thorn Tyrant to explode from anger. They all knew what usually happened whenever a newcomer fought Isaac. The newcomer got beaten. Every single time.
Most of them had experienced that lesson personally. Because of that, they felt absolutely no sympathy for Thorn Tyrant. In fact, many were looking forward to it.
To his credit, Thorn Tyrant adapted quickly. The summon wasn’t stupid. Emily’s reaction had already warned him that something was unusual, and Isaac’s confidence only reinforced that feeling.
After a brief pause, Thorn Tyrant suddenly burst into laughter.
[Hahaha, you must be joking, sir. I quite enjoy being alive. Even if revival is possible, I would rather avoid experiencing death again. As for my earlier words, I apologize. I was merely trying to ensure that everyone showed proper respect toward Master. I meant no offense.]
The older summons immediately looked disappointed. Their entertainment had vanished before it could begin. Thorn Tyrant had learned the lesson far too quickly.
No beating would happen today. And in the opinion of several summons, that was honestly a shame.
The Crimson Sky Wyrm rolled its eyes at Thorn Tyrant’s quick change in attitude. If the giant plant ever got tired of being a monster, it could probably find a successful career as a politician. The speed at which it had gone from arrogant to respectful was genuinely impressive.
"Oh, well. Think about my proposition. If you help me, I’ll help you get stronger," Isaac said.
He wasn’t particularly disappointed by the refusal. During the six months he had spent inside Selene’s Trial, he had already learned that creating useful plants was a slow process. Rushing things rarely produced good results.
Besides, if Thorn Tyrant continued refusing in the future, Isaac had alternatives. A new Thorn Tyrant would eventually appear inside the Great Dungeon. If necessary, he could simply harvest that one instead.
The thought barely crossed his mind before he pushed it aside and turned toward Emily.
"Let’s go. Celia’s concert should be starting soon."
Emily nodded and stood up from where she had been sitting. She straightened her clothes while several summons immediately looked interested.
Before they could leave, Tirra suddenly flew forward. The tiny ghost bird hovered in front of them, flapping her wings and spoke as the representative of the summons.
[Can we come too, master?]
Isaac blinked and looked around. To his surprise, quite a few summons seemed eager. Even some of the larger ones were watching him expectantly.
"You guys like Celia’s music?" Isaac asked.
[Of course we do. Her voice is good. No, it’s more than that. It’s lovely.]
Several other summons nodded in agreement. Some of them even looked slightly offended that Isaac had asked the question in the first place.
Isaac exchanged a glance with Emily. The latter seemed unsurprised by their reaction.
"Since some of you are a little too big, I’ll keep you inside my Soul Space. You can still watch from there. As for the rest of you, we have some extra seats available," Emily said.
The summons immediately cheered. A few flying spirits even performed loops through the air.
The reaction made Isaac realize once again how much natural charisma Celia possessed. Even Emily’s summons, many of whom barely cared about human affairs, were excited about attending her concert.