Chapter 671: Newbie Maugnetics
Eventually, he relented and presented the box to Fudge. And unfortunately, as soon as the GodForge pieces got close to the little slime, it shot out towards his body and integrated into his amorphous gel structure.
He was half-wishing that monsters couldn’t become Maugnetics, but it seemed that the only criteria that it needed was a talent. As long as someone had it, then they’d be able to become one.
"Hehehehe," Fudge chuckled.
Despite having Fudge’s body being made out of a semi-translucent gel, Michael couldn’t see at all where the GodForge pieces disappeared to. He thought he’d be able to see the metal neatly placed inside Fudge’ body, but it seemed to have disappeared.
He then used his Aubility Vision and peeked through Fudge’s internal structure and finally saw the glowing orange light in his nucleus.
"How do you feel?" he asked Fudge.
"Better than ever, Master! My Diva shall become the very embodiment of the shadow!" Fudge declared.
All in all, he was quite excited to see their Divas. This would be the first time in history that demi-humans and monsters became Maugnetics.
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Meanwhile in Metropolis...
The streets were busy with activity, with royal guards hanging colorful strings on rooftops, and laymen and companies alike repainting their buildings to look as presentable as possible.
The day of the Parade was coming incredibly close. Many have received word that the convoy of tourists coming from another continent was only days away before they reached Metropolis.
And to celebrate their arrival, many took it upon themselves to decorate the streets and make the tourists feel as welcomed as possible.
The strings littering the skyline of Metropolis had flags hanging on them, creating an alternating pattern.
There were five different kinds of flags.
One was colored with a deep red with golden etching of a fearsome Dragon opening its mouth and breathing fire. This was a flag to welcome the Draconians.
The other flag was colored blue and aquamarine. The design stitched onto the middle was something that all companies were familiar with—the Sand Dollar, which was enclosed in a clam shell and replaced where a pearl should be.
Another was a flag with a primarily white color with a gold outline. The symbol in the middle had a green stitching of a giant and lushful tree, which represented the immortal connection that the Elves had with nature.
Next was a flag with a violet and dark burgundy color. Stitched into the middle was a depiction of a fearsome bat with its wings spread wide and its fangs dripping red blood. This represented none other than the Vampire race.
The other flag was quite different from the rest, as the material it was made from wasn’t the usual silk or linen. Instead, it was real, genuine fur from a wild canine animal. This flag was for the everchanging Werewolf race.
All five flags represented the major races in the whole world, each under a specific Supreme Being.
The dragons had the Draconian Queen.
The mermen had the Ocean King.
The elves had the Celestial Elf.
As for the Vampire and Werewolf race, they were both under the same Supreme Being: the Monster Queen.
Before the end of the week, the whole of Metropolis would be welcoming five new types of visitors entering the lands. It would be a joyous occasion for all, and especially for the companies. The potential treasures they could obtain from this parade could change their very lives.
If one was lucky enough to be in the parade route, then they’d be front and center when the tourists arrive, leading to more exposure and therefore more treasures.
Due to this, a lot of companies were trying their hardest to squeeze inside the parade route, creating small stalls by the side of the streets and blocking the building behind it. Of course, this caused a lot of commotion, with many demanding their destruction and some saying that it wasn’t illegal to do so.
This was a big headache for Alaric. Since he was the one who put all of this together, he was in charge of its maintenance as well. Since he had the most visibility in the parade route, he stood to gain a lot of money from the visitors. But if a lot of problems arose during the parade, then he’d be the one to blame, causing him to lose a lot of money.
Alaric paced back and forth, his chains clinking at his side.
"Is there still no news from the palace?" he asked his employee.
"No, sir. They all answer the same thing. The Duchess and her royal family are away from their palace."
During the most stressful days in Metropolis, the Duchess conveniently disappeared and left all the responsibility of the parade to Alaric.
"They’re gone without a trace! Where could she have gone?!"
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Back in the Nation of Reborn, the five newbie Maugnetics were all busy doing their own thing to try and awaken their Divas.
Sheina took to the practice range, shooting arrow after arrow without stopping. And with each shot, she challenged herself by moving the target ten meters backwards.
Beside her was Umisu, who was also using a practice as a means to awaken her Diva. She swung her spear, creating a large gust of wind through her attack.
Compared to them, the other would-be Maugnetics were trying a completely different approach.
Jaku, as per usual, sat in the shade of a tree and slept the whole way through their practice sessions.
He hoped that his Diva would awaken automatically. He didn’t care if it took a month or a year. As long as he could do it sleeping, then he would choose that option every time.
"You’re really just going to sleep?" Sheina said, shooting a disapproving look at her older brother.
And without opening his eyes, Jaku responded, "Working out doesn’t guarantee a Diva awakening anyway."
Knowing that he couldn’t be changed, Sheina changed her focus to her troublesome little brother, Zion.
At least Jaku got to the training area. Zion didn’t even appear at all!
She was sure to find him somewhere around their nation, playing with the other troublemakers.
But as much as she wanted to force them to train with her, Jaku was right. Training didn’t guarantee an awakening. In fact, even with hours of shooting arrows nonstop, she still couldn’t feel that Aubility sensation that Michael told them about. She felt nothing from her heart, where the supposed GodForge pieces were supposed to be.
She then sought out Michael for some advice.
"I apologize, Young Master! I couldn’t awaken my Diva!"
Michael waved off her worries. "It’s not a race, Sheina. You can’t force these things. It just happens. You may not feel it now, but your Diva will appear the moment you truly need it."
He spoke straight from experience.
"Alright, Young Master. I shall keep on trying," she said.
Michael expected this outcome. It was very hard to awaken a Diva without proper stimulation. He was only able to awaken him during an intense fight.
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While the Dragonborns were having trouble with their Diva awakening, Fudge was focusing on something entirely different.
The little slime was on a roof in Batchrock Town, overlooking a group of people kneeling at a statue of the Iron Maiden.
"Hehehehe..." Fudge chuckled. He was happy seeing the Iron Maiden religion grow to such numbers.
Surprisingly enough, if Michael saw him right now, then he’d be able to see the GodForge pieces in Fudge’s body grow a little bit brighter.