Finding octopi in choppy water was a bit of a chore for Alex as the things were constantly hiding and he needed to ferret them out one by one. It was worth it though as when he maxed out the [enhanced heart] trait he not only was able to contain the energy in his body safely but even went a step further to be only slightly uncomfortable with it. The storm finally ended and peace finally returned to Alex's life but he knew that he couldn't stop improving his body as if he gained even a single new elemental trait he would be right back to where he just was.-
That was unacceptable to Alex so he forged on without returning to astera for another three weeks. During this time he pushed himself to the limit by sleeping with his tail in lava to raise his [tempered bones] trait picking fights with the rezzars in the underground forest to raise his [hardened bones] and [shock absorption] traits. He also religiously hunted the terrantoads until [lunging muscles] maxed out as well. He then finally initiated his next growth causing him to now be bigger than nergigante by a noticeable amount.-
This meant that Alex now had his new power well contained but also that he had a small amount of free space for more , mostly thanks to his growth. Finally the system deemed him to be a master rank monster as his body finally caught up to his elemental power. His aura was also under control from him slowly reeling it in and containing it. 'It's time for me to return to astera finally , wonder if they have found xeno jiiva yet?' he thought eagerly as he swam down the everstream to leave the underground forest again.
He made sure to check the branches of the everstream as he swam but didn't see any signs of people coming through so he assumed that xeno jiiva hadn't been found yet. This was further proven when he passed by a specific branch in the everstream that he could feel pulling in more energy than normal. 'Looks like I may get those traits from the blue baby after all.' he thought before speeding up down the stream until he hit the open ocean and up into the sky. "ROOOAAR!" he roared out loud letting the new world know he was back in business.-
Astera was working as normal on this day after Alex had been gone for an entire month and his presence was sorely felt as everyone was in less than optimal moods. The admiral and commander had explained what Alex had said and many people were worried for him , especially when the hurricane following him vanished but he didn't return. The head chef and most of the other lynians paused in place however as a curious but familiar sound tickled their ears. It grew louder and louder until eventually they realized that it was the sound of a very large monster flying towards astera.-
The alarms were rang and hunters geared up to wait but everyone realized this was unnecessary as those with telescopes zoomed in on the dark colored dot flying towards astera and saw what it was. "OBSIDIAN IS BACK!" no one knew who yelled it but it struck everyone's ears like thunder and the whole of astera waited with bated breath for the confirmation. Alex finally reached the town and almost cried when everyone shouted at once "WELCOME HOME!". He landed outside the town but had the awkward position of being slightly too big for the front gate to handle.-
"You've grown quite a bit I see." Alex heard a familiar voice say and he turned to face the one who said it. The commander was walking towards Alex with a smile alongside the admiral and Alex backed up a little to give them some room. "In more than one way , what have you been eating sid?" The admiral said as he rapped his fist against the rock hard bands of muscle that now adorned Alex's body. 'Oh , you know a bit of this and a bit of that , nothing crazy' Alex joked making the man laugh. "Welcome back , kid."
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