"...not bad. We can probably make this work." Ashton muttered as he observed the captures mingling with their new habitat.
"Probably?" Alice raised a brow.
"Well, the DBD Project is a theory so far." Ashton got up from crouching and faced them. "These things are the first sample for the experiment, you can't really expect us to succeed on our first try, right?"
"So, there's a possibility that this mission will be posted again?" Mary asked.
"Yes." Ashton didn't deny that notion. "But...these samples should last for a while. After all, they'd start reproducing once they get comfortable. The habitat I built was precisely for that goal. Who knows? Maybe by the time we need more, there will be other teams who already upgraded their badges to S-rank. By then you three wouldn't necessarily need to step forward."
"That's true. With how much the Guild Members eat up missions like madmen, it might be sooner rather than later." Blake added.
"Alright, you all did well. You can relax for a bit, I already made deposits to your accounts. You can enter seclusion next week Monday."
"Sounds good. See 'ya, Boss." Blake saluted and started walking away.
Ashton nodded and the Big 3 left him to do what he needs to do.
The commotion raised by the Big 3 clearing an S-Rank mission was still a hot topic for the Guild's Chatroom.
Words of envy and wonder could be seen now and then popping out of the chat.
Ashton pointedly ignored these and observed the habitat he built for raising the Beast Demons.
He tried his best to mimic the environment of Demons to placate the beasts. Ashton could tell that these creatures will only breed once they found a suitable place to do so, that's why he did his best in an environment they were comfortable with.
He did it with the use of Controlled Corruption — which is basically done by using the purified remains of demons he had slain before. Controlled Corruption that came from purified demonic remains is safer for Humans to interact with.
Moreover, since it's already considered as a form of Corruption, it cannot be influenced by any other forms of corruption there was, i.e. the Corruption that Demon Beasts oozes out naturally by existing.
'It's going to take some time but it should be fine. After all, the reproduction rate of Beast Demons is exponentially higher compared to other types of Demons.'
Aside from the idea that Beasts Demons closely resemble the demons Humanity was familiar with, another reason why Ashton picked them as a potential source of food was because of the reproduction rate.
The Big 3 had this in mind too, which is why they mostly went for Beast Demons that resemble Poultry, Cattle, Hare, and Crustaceans. Yes, they also considered a potential source of Seafood. And they didn't just capture 10 of them like the mission stated. They captured at least 16 Beast Demons while they were out there, how considerate.
The Habitat he built for them, which he calls the 'Demon Zoo', was large enough for them to use. There shouldn't be any conflicts of territories that might make them kill each other.
It would, most likely, take a whole month before these Beast Demons get used to their new home and start reproducing. There wouldn't be any experiments until then since he wouldn't want to stress them out and make them feel unsafe when they're about to reproduce, that'll just delay it.
The biggest problem here would be the fact that all Demons are connected to a single source.
They're not a hive mind per se. But the souls of the Demons will eventually return home thanks to their false immortality. And that might compromise this project.
He couldn't expect that all demons here would live forever after all.
But, considering how tenacious these creatures were, they should last for a while, which means that this isn't a problem for now.
'Marking this for close monitoring...' He mused to himself before disappearing from the place.
One of the most important buildings within the Mystic Guild will undoubtedly be the 'Enlightenment Hall.'
The Enlightenment Hall is a place where space was stretched out, making it expansive. The interior of the hall might as well be as big as the whole guild itself.
Its importance lies in the 'Enlightenment' part of its name. The interior of the hall might look rather bland and desolate to an individual's naked eye, but the sheer amount of Law Insights freely roaming around here was incredibly dense.
This is the place where Ashton conducts his lessons often. This is also the place where he preaches the Law to his Guild Members and where the Hymn of Enlightenment always plays.
Yes, that little record player on the pedestal at the very forefront of the hall is the very reason behind the sheer density of Law Insights around here. Every time that little thing plays, it's as if the world was singing with it. A miraculous little thing this was...
Plus, Ashton made a formation that trapped all the unconsumed insights around here, making sure that they were not wasted. As result, this hall was slowly changing as time goes on.
In fact, it wasn't Ashton who stretched out the Space here. That happened naturally when he gained enlightenment on the Virtues of Space.
Additionally, the hall didn't look like this from the very beginning. It was a regular room with walls, polished flooring, and lights. The Hymn of Enlightenment sat on top of a small podium originally.
But as the Law Insights roamed this place, it gradually changed. Now it looked like a vast and desolate plane. But even with this place looking like that, Ashton made no effort of changing it.
Ashton's lectures occurred at irregular intervals. He has no fixed schedule and just does it whenever he can. As a result, the Guild Members can't enter the Enlightenment Hall as often as they wanted to.
With the caliber of Guild Members increasing day by day, there was no way that they wouldn't want to enter the Enlightenment Hall. It's the most ideal place to gain enlightenment about Virtues, why wouldn't they want to go there?
This is why a lot of people were jealous of the Big 3 gaining a chance to enter seclusion within the Enlightenment Hall for a whole month. That's something that they could only dream about.
Right now, Ashton and his friends were inside the Enlightenment Hall. It's been a few days since the S-rank mission was passed and now, the trio was ready to begin their seclusion.
"This place is becoming more and more unrecognizable as time goes on." Mary stated as they were walking around.
"That's because of the Law Insights here. They are the ones changing the terrain. I wouldn't be surprised if one day this becomes another Grotto Heaven." Blake stated.
"Oh, that would be the dream..." Ashton mused while walking ahead of them.
"It might even surpass that, given time." Alice softly said.
Eventually, they paused and Ashton faced them.
"Alright, you all know the drill. Pick a spot where you can vibe and chill. I'll play the Hymn and you digest as much as you could, copy?"
"Copy. We'll let you know when we're ready." Mary said.
The trio then split paths and searched for a spot that calls out to them.
This wasn't their first time here but it doesn't mean that they have a 'regular spot' they can claim for themselves. It changes per session actually.
For this, they followed Ashton's advice — and that is to leave it to their instincts. No need to search using their eyes, they can follow their heart for this one.
While the others went ahead searching for their chosen spot, Ashton sat beside the pedestal cross-legged and waited.
After what seemed to be an hour or two, the trio told them that they were ready to start.
Ashton then activated the Hymn of Enlightenment and the small record player began emitting profound sounds that filled the entire hall.
A powerful yet soft and melodious rhythm thrummed in everyone's ears, lulling them in a velvety sensation of lucid dreaming.
Ashton was the least affected out of all of them since he made it so. He didn't want to compete with his friends for the Law Insights that the record player was releasing, this was their prize so they were entitled to it.
On top of that, Ashton also made sure to activate the 'Mentor's Halo' — boosting his Beneficiary's comprehension rate by 50%.
This effect doesn't just apply when he's personally guiding them, it can work in subtle ways like this as well.
With the Hymn of Enlightenment rousing the Law Insights to dance around them and increasing their sensitivity to law, plus the effect of the Mentor's Halo, the trio will certainly make great strides in their cultivation during this seclusion.
The downside of this is that Ashton will have to spend this entire month with them like this. He can't leave since they'll be out of range for the Mentor's Halo effect.
Thankfully, he had West Two. He will be taking charge of all matters in his stead for the entirety of this seclusion at least.
