"The other creatures you summoned, I didn't see them when I looked at your memories," Baronar said as he sat cross-legged opposite Lux.
"Well, a lot of things happened," Lux replied as he drank a glass of fruit juice.
Currently, he was in a weakened state after using the skill, Death Sentence [EX]. However, since the battle was over, he could relax a bit while waiting for his stats to return to normal.
'Fortunately, Death's Sentence's side-effect only lasts for an hour,' Lux thought as he emptied his glass. 'I'll be back to normal in time for dinner.'
The Half-Elf and his companions were back in their residence, celebrating Lux's victory over Flamma.
Randolph and Grandma Annie were both surprised because this was the first time that they had seen Lux fight since he saved their Leaf Village from the last Monster Outbreak.
Back then, a Mere Rank 5 World-Boss Monster threatened to wipe out their entire village from the face of the Kingdom of Gweliven.
This catastrophe was only resolved when Lux appeared to save them.
'I can't believe how strong he has become in the short time that I haven't seen him fight,' Grandma Annie mused as she looked at the Half-Elf who had looked so lost and lonely when he first arrived in Leaf Village.
She wasn't the only one that was feeling nostalgic. Even Randolph looked at the red-headed teenager with pride in his eyes.
'You've grown so much, my boy,' Randolph thought. 'I look forward to seeing how strong you will be in the future.'
As Lux's Master, Randolph felt truly happy for him. He knew that Lux had set a goal for himself, and although he didn't ask his disciple what it was, he believed that as long as the Half-Elf was given the chance to grow, he would be able to accomplish many things in life.
Laura and Livia were also very impressed with Lux's performance. They now understood why their Big Brother, Sid, chose to serve under him.
"Livia, let's get stronger too," Laura whispered to her sister.
"Un!" Livia replied as she nodded her head.
Their two Baby Slimes, Nora and Cora, were also talking to Eiko, and both of them said that they wanted to become as strong as her as well.
"Eyah!" Eiko nodded her head in approval to Nora's and Cora's wishes because she was also constantly striving to get stronger.
She still hadn't won a duel against the Unicorn, Astra, whom the Baby Slime had labeled her archenemy.
Gerhart already had an idea of how strong Lux was, but seeing the Deimos-Ranked Wind Elemental that the Half-Elf had summoned in the Arena made him realize that the Half-Elf still had one more powerful fighter at his beck and call.
'He already summoned a powerful lineup, and yet, that was still not the extent of his full power,' Gerhart gave the Half-Elf a side-long glance before emptying his glass of fruit juice. 'Although I'm a bit older than him, I can say with confidence that I don't have any chances of defeating him at this point in time.'
Originally, Gerhart believed that there were not many teenagers, who were about the same age as him, who could beat him in battle.
But, after seeing what the Half-Elf was capable of doing, he realized that there was always someone stronger than you, somewhere out there.
"If your purpose for doing what you did in the arena was to get our Orc Chieftain's attention then you succeeded," Baronar stated as he eyed the Half-Elf, whose hands were shaking a bit as he held a glass of fruit juice. "You've made a name for yourself, Lux.
"Our Flamma hadn't lost a single battle amongst his peers, and you are the first to make him taste the bitterness of defeat. Tell me, did you do that in order to avenge your friend whom he had bullied earlier?"
Lux didn't answer right away as he carefully placed his cup in front of him.
"Yes, and no," Lux replied as he raised his head to look at the Great Orc Shaman in front of him. "Just like you mentioned earlier, your Excellency, my goal is to gain recognition from the Blackrock Clan. I want them to know my name, and what I am capable of. However, it is also true that I was angry about what he did to Cethus. Because of that I went overboard a bit."
"Well, all is good. I'm sure that no one will find fault in what you did."
"Thank you, Your Excellency. I'm sure that Cethus will also be happy in the afterlife since I avenged him."
"I'm still alive, you bastard!" Cethus shouted. "Don't kill me off just yet. Damn you!"
The Dragon Born was lying on a make-shift stretcher not far from everyone.
Although Baronar had used his Shamanic Powers to repair Cethus' broken ribs, it would still take him a few days to have a complete recovery.
Baronar chuckled after seeing the exchange between the Half-Elf and the Dragon Born. Clearly, the two really didn't get along with each other much, but he could also tell that Cethus was feeling grateful that Lux taught Flamma a lesson.
"This might be a bit late, but... you have the Power of the Abyss in you, right?" Baronar asked as he rubbed his chin. "I clearly felt its power when I blocked your attack. If I wasn't a Great Shaman, who has strengthened my spiritual power to a higher realm, your last attack might have caused injury to my soul."
Lux nodded his head. "Yes. I do have the power of the Abyss in me."
"I knew it!" Baronar clapped his hands together. "Is there a chance that you carry with you an Abyssal Core? Truth be told, I've always wanted to acquire the power of the Abyss myself. However, I haven't had the opportunity to face any Abyssal Monsters in my lifetime. No matter the price, I am willing to give it to you in exchange for an Abyssal Core."
Lux closed his eyes for a bit as he pondered on how to answer Baronar's request.
Truth be told, he still had the body of the Grim Butcher Nightwalker, which was a Rank 5 World Boss Monster.
This Abyssal Monster appeared during Bedivere's reunion with his family. It was a very powerful monster, and if not for the help of the Tyrannosaurus Monster, they wouldn't have been able to defeat it at all.
Originally, Lux and Asmodeus wanted to reanimate the Abyssal Monster to make it one of their companions. But, they had yet to find the right opportunity to do so.
Its Beast Core was also still intact because Lux didn't plan on absorbing it. Having more than one Abyssal Power was dangerous because it led to the fast corruption of one's soul.
The Abyss Touch that Lux possessed was already strong enough to make him lose his senses when his anger reached a certain threshold. Adding one more ability on top of that was complete suicide.
Also, after experiencing the power of the Abyss, Lux didn't want any of his family members, and close friends to take the unnecessary risk of possibly being corrupted by the Abyss.
A few minutes later, Lux opened his eyes to look at the Great Orc Shaman who was looking at him with anticipation.
"Very well, Your Excellency," Lux said with a smile of a businessman. "What are you willing to trade for the Beast Core of an Abyssal Monster?"
The Half-Elf took out the Abyssal Core from his Storage Ring and held it firmly in his hands.
Baronar gulped subconsciously as he looked at the item that he had always wanted before forcefully shifting his gaze back to the Half-Elf's face, who were asking him what price he was willing to give.
"What do you want?" Baronar asked. "I know that you came here for the Transcendent Flames, but I cannot give them to you. The most I can do is support you when you ask for it, but aside from that, there is nothing I can do to help you."
Lux shook his head because the Transcendent Flames weren't the things that he wanted to trade for the Beast Core. he understood that Baronar would never betray the Blackrock Clan, so asking for him to give him the Twin Flames was impossible.
However, the Half-Elf had something else in mind, and for that to happen, he would need the expertise of the Great Orc Shaman who were very proficient in using Shamanic Arts, as well as several resources that were only exclusive in the territory of the Blackrock Clan.
"I will exchange the Beast Core with you if you give me two things," Lux said. "The first one is rather simple. All you need to do is give me as many Monster bones as you can. The Blackrock Clan regularly hunts strong Monsters, right? I want as many of those bones as possible."
Baronar didn't even bat an eye as he nodded his head to accept Lux's first request.
"Our Blacksmiths use the Monster bones in order to forge weapons and armor for the clan," Baronar stated. "Especially now, during this time when war is approaching, the warriors will hunt as many Monsters as they can so that their parts can be used as resources to arm our warriors to the teeth.
"However, I have two Deimos, and two Argonaut-Ranked Monster bones in my possession. I can give those to you. I also have several Rank 5 Monster bones and below with me. I will give those to you as well."
Lux was quite satisfied because Baronar had met his first condition easily.
"Okay, now, the next condition is..." Lux explained to the Great Orc Shaman what he wanted to happen, and the latter listened to his explanation patiently.
"That's it?" Baronar asked. "You came to ask the right person. I am an expert in summoning Elite Spirit Monsters."
After completing the Dungeon of Dominion, Lux had managed to acquire Baronar's ability to summon Elite Spirit Warriors. Because of that, Pazuzu was born.
Since then, his skill of summoning Elite Spirit Warriors had not been used again, and he was hoping that Baronar could help him find a way to upgrade this skill, by giving him the skill books of Elite Spirit Summons that the Great Orc Shaman had mastered in the past.
Lux had long wanted to have several Elite Spirit Shield Warriors to act as Tanks for his Undead army.
As long as Baronar was able to help him with this task, trading the Abyssal Core was a small price to pay for the addition of powerful elite units that would make his Undead Legion a force to be reckoned with.
