"There really aren't that many things that the Sect needs, though. We're set up pretty well. We have comfortable dorms, warm, clear ocean waters, and plenty of monsters to hunt if the disciples travel only a few days away." Mariel replied.
Cain thought for a while about things that could attract Lycans here and realized that he didn't actually know a whole lot about the species other than they preferred to live in groups, respected power as a sign of authority, and were rather fluffy when transformed.
In short, he should likely talk to Penny.
Unfortunately, Penny was nearly asleep against his left side, so all discussions would have to wait for morning. Instead, Cain created a Pocket Dimension, added a small Pagoda filled with pillows and blankets, and moved all his Disciples inside.
Mariel pouted for a few seconds before Cain winked at her. "I can put you in there as well if you aren't averse to being cuddled half to death."
"No, I suppose I could help you with the parting gift for the Sect instead. At our level, a few nights a month is plenty of sleep, so spending a whole eight hours in bed is just a weird thought." She replied.
Cain thought about what the Sect might need, and then he recalled the Divine Lycan who came to visit him once in the past with the Celestial. He was wearing an amulet that gave off the aura of authority, giving the impression that he was a leader and projecting the feeling of his innate power.
Sect Master Mooney was a Minor God, but he only felt powerful and holy. He didn't have that aura of authority to him. His aura was more benevolent, and Cain wondered if that change in feeling was what differentiated the strong from the leaders among Lycans.
Cain thought about that for a while and then decided to make the Sect Master a trinket while he made a separate parting gift for the Sect itself.
The first thing Cain did was compare Mooney to Penny to see what they had in common that separated them from the Humans. There had to be something other than an ability to change shapes that made the difference.
It took a while, but there was a slight difference in the energy created by their bodies that made all the difference. It was weak in both of them, as Penny was mortal, and the Sect Master was a mystic cultivator, but it was uniquely Lycan.
If he enhanced that, it should increase the physical quality of their bodies, allowing them to shrug off lower-level attacks without even reinforcing themselves with their cultivation. Cultivation energy would run out in a long battle, but a higher-quality body would remain impervious to weaker attacks for life.
That should attract more Lycans to the Sect Master, for sure.
Since it was Lycan-specific, it would be best as a trinket for the Sect Master and not an item for the whole Sect, who were mostly humans.
"Did you think of something?" Mariel asked.
"I think a trinket for the Sect Master, which increases the density and quality of the Lycan energy in his body, would be a good start. It might be a bit personal, but I can make something for the Sect in a hurry. They'll be easier to impress.
"Do you really think you can do that?" Mariel asked.
"Sure, I've seen something similar before, so I can try to duplicate it now. It might not be the same, but I think it will be good enough to at least attract more Lycans here, which is what the Sect Master said he wanted.
I think he's a bit lonely with so few Lycans here in his Sect. So if I can help him out with that, I think it would be the best sort of gift that I could give him."
Mariel looked pensive for a while and then nodded. "I think you are right. Lycans need family, and his own is long gone. Penny has the other girls, so you wouldn't notice it, but given time, it would likely become noticeable with her as well, especially if everyone went their own way."
"Then I will find a way to attract more Lycans for him. But what should we leave for the Sect?" Cain asked.
"Seaside Sect does a lot of Alchemy, Inscription, and protective wards thanks to their role as guardians of the Portals. Something that helps them with that, or some new recipes might be a good gift." Mariel suggested.
"Sorting through everything that they already know would take forever, though. Actually, I have something that they could really appreciate. They are mostly Mystic Cultivators, right? Are there any Mage-type Cultivators here?" Cain asked.
Mariel nodded. "At least a few dozen. They tend to end up with the Inscriptionists since they are so good at turning Inscriptions into spells that they can use."
Cain took out his Inscription Desk, then began to write. He wasn't going to make them a spell book, at least not right now. He was going to copy out the first chapter of Spell Crafting, which would let them alter and completely create the simplest of Pre-Awakened Realm spells.
Healing spells were much later in the book, but barriers were among the easiest things to create, so they were at the start of the book, along with modifying attack spells for versatility.
He also decided to add the most basic resurrections spell to the end of the book as a bonus chapter. They could use it as it was, or they could use what they had learned in the first chapter and try to dissect it into various healing skills for the Sect.
It would take them years, or even decades, to work through it all, even though he had written it in the common language and not Ancient, as the proper book was. He knew he had likely missed a lot of the nuance from the original that made it easier to grasp, but Cain was quite certain that this would at least get someone started on the path of Spellcrafting.
"A book is your gift to the Sect?" Mariel asked in confusion.
"The first chapter to the lost art of Spellcrafting. If they learn everything that is in this book, they will be able to create brand new skills for the Mortal Realm cultivators and even raise the recently dead." Cain explained.
"You're giving them the gift of skill creation? That will have them all so overjoyed that the Inscriptionists of this world might never forget your name. Where did you even learn that?" Mariel asked.
Cain gave her a meaningful look but didn't say anything.
"Seriously, him again? I really need to meet this guy." She muttered.
"The Sect Master's gift is actually going to be the harder one to create since I've never done it before. Compared to that, translating a lost tome is child's play." Cain sighed.
Cain and Mariel worked together until breakfast time before they completed the Amulet for the Sect Master and woke everyone up to head to the kitchens.
"Food" seemed to be the magic word of the day, and the simple mention of heading to the Elder's compound for breakfast was enough to get the weary Disciples up and moving.
Swimming worked entirely different muscles than they were used to, and none of them had thought to heal themselves before sleeping, so they were all stiff and sore when they first woke up and Jen activated a healing aura.
The Sect Master was overseeing the morning preparations when they arrived. He had decided that his mastery of the Arena spell was complete enough that he would create one for the Sect, so they had spent the night clearing an area for the new facility to be placed, including making new walkways and relocating trees from the surrounding forest to create a proper, if extremely sparse, forest around it, giving visitors somewhere to put their camps where the Elders could have shade.
"You could have asked, and I would have had it done in seconds." Cain greeted the Sect Master.
"How so?"
Mariel giggled, sounding much younger than she really was. "He's a World Dragon. Creating a new forest and some walkways would take him all of five seconds even if he were in the middle of the desert."
"I should have thought of that. It might have turned out better that way, but this should be sufficient for our purposes. I will put up the new arena after we eat, and it will fill in a lot of the empty space and add a bit of ambiance." Mooney replied.
"On that note, I made you a small parting gift that will help you with your future endeavors, such as impressing other Cultivators with your new arena," Cain informed him, holding out the Amulet for the Lycan to examine.
"I can't read these inscriptions. What does it do?" He asked, taking the gift from Cain and holding it up in front of his face as if proximity would let him learn the Ancient Runes.
"Put it on, and you will understand. It's a gift specifically for a Lycan worthy of leading his kin." Cain told him with a wink.
Mooney looked curious but placed the amulet around his neck and waited patiently as it began to take effect.
The amulet took a few seconds to acknowledge him as its bearer, but when he added a bit of Divine Energy to the small metal object, the rate of change began to increase to the point that everyone in the area could tell it was active.
