"Anyone home?!"
Vasari shouted from outside his new home.
Hearing his voice, the 4 cubs scampered awake and rushed towards him with tongues flopping out their mouths. Not long after 7 women came outside to see why Vasari was shouting outside instead of coming inside.
They were just having tea and conversing about things young women would usually chat about when they heard Vasari call them.
The first thing they saw when they walked through the front door was 5 large, unique and extremely beautiful aerial-based beasts.
One beast had a mixture of dark blue and purple feathers, standing at 5 metres in height, its small bead-like eyes flickered with white sparks and its beak was as sharp as a spearhead. This beast was known as the Flash Thunderbird due to its innate ability to control lightning and every flap of its wings sounded like thunderclaps echoing across the night sky.
Another beast had bright orange feathers similar in colour to a setting sun near the end of a day. Its eyes were yellow, its beak black, and its body size similar to the Flash Thunderbird. However, the Golden Alicanto was arguably the better-looking of the two.
The Royal Roc was the largest of the 5 birds, reaching a staggering height of 20 metres. It towered over the other birds, its talons were razor-sharp and crazily powerful. Its feathers were a rich brown with a hint of red colour and its eyes were bright red, gazing at the humans below him as if they were just that...below him.
The Frosty Simurgh was around 10 metres tall with pale blue feathers and it had 2 long tails that were half its body length. The grass below it was starting to frost over and its icicle-like claws dug into the earth.
The Crimson Shadow Crow was the smallest of the lot, but it had the most intimidating presence. Its feathers were two-tone, pitch black and bright crimson which is what earned the species its name, Crimson Shadow Crow.
"These are your new mounts, I just bought them."
Vasari presented the mounts like a father would a new car to his daughter. The only thing missing was a red bow stuck on the birds' heads.
The girls could feel the aura of a Beta stage beast surrounding each of the birds. The Nakata girls weren't well versed on the native beasts of the Westernord Continent, but the same couldn't be said about the four rookie beauties.
They've been to the Cloud Bestiary before just to look around at the mounts they could potentially purchase in the future and they've seen these exact birds there. They were actually unpopular mounts due to the fact that they were once wild beasts and could potentially turn against their owner, although unlikely there was still a possibility, and wild beasts usually had diluted bloodlines and required tons of Cloud Points to strengthen them.
"Vasari, how much did you pay for these mounts?" Gia asked with concern, she feared that Vasari might've been scammed.
"3600 for all 5, but I talked the employee into giving me a 20% discount."
And her fears came true. These mounts were all listed for 500 Cloud Points when they visited the Cloud Bestiary a few months back.
"Vasari, I think you got scammed. These mounts are only worth 500 Cloud Points so you should've paid no more than 2500 Cloud Points for all 5." Witney broke the news to Vasari who sported a frown after hearing that.
"I don't think so. These 5 were the bravest and had the most potential out of all the other beasts under the Adult stage. I actually believe I got a bargain."
The reason for him releasing a single percent of his bloodline was to test every beast's reaction. He chose the 5 beasts who were the least terrified and offered the most resistance towards his bloodline.
They might not have the purest bloodlines, but their determination to live and get stronger, in Vasari's mind, was a lot more valuable.
Bloodline purity can be improved, but a mindset was hard to change.
The girls still thought he was scammed but since he personally bought them mounts, they happily accepted them.
"She's mine!" Witney pointed to the majestic Golden Alicanto.
"What are you going to name her," Vasari asked, since they weren't his priority he wouldn't name them in case he became overly attached.
"Hmm….I'll name her Scarlet." The Alicanto raised its head and unfurled its wings before hooting towards the starry night sky in approval. Clearly, she liked the name.
"Then I'll take the big boy. I'll name him Ember." Gia pointed at the Royal Roc, and true to its Royal title, he merely nodded his head in acknowledgement, a befitting gesture for a royal.
"Oh, can I have the Crimson Shadow Crow?" Jiang Xia asked in excitement, her eyes shining in want.
"Of course, you can," Vasari answered with a smile.
"Hehe, I'll name her Noir. Let's work hard together, Noir."
The Crimson Shadow Crow cawed loudly in response.
"Hiromi, which one do you want? I don't mind taking either one." Talia said. She didn't have a preference for any of the birds since they were all the same to her.
"I like the Flash Thunderbird, I think she looks badass. I'll name her Zephyr."
Talia nodded and turned to the last mount not picked. She remained silent and just stared at it.
"What are you going to name her?" Vasari asked when he noticed how quiet it became.
Talia didn't answer straight away and continued staring at the Frosty Simurgh.
"Winter. I'll name her Winter because she reminds me of Winter."
Everyone looked at Talia with weird expressions on their faces at the simple naming sense of the Third Princess.
"Hozumi, Kurumi, I promise to get you your own mounts as soon as possible"
The mother and daughter duo nodded in understanding. They were just happy to be in the Cloud Haven Sect and they could always ride with Hiromi if they wanted to go somewhere.
"Well, since these mounts are yours now, you have to take care of them." Vasari slyly smiled while taking out 5 packets from his spatial ring and handing it over to the new mount owners.
"You have to put a collar around their necks and tie them to the house so that they don't fly away." The girls looked at Vasari with wide eyes but before they could complain, Vasari sprinted inside. A second later he came sprinting back out and stopped in front of Witney.
"Which room is our room?"
"The biggest one."
"Thanks, love you!" Vasari gave her a big sloppy kiss on the lips before sprinting back inside.
Witney had a big silly smile as she softly touched her lips with her fingers. However, her smile froze when she turned her head and noticed 6 gazes of envy directed towards her.
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Vasari woke up the next day with Witney snuggled on top of him. After she took care of her mount she came to the room and the couple had a hot steamy cultivation session together.
Witney missed the feeling of Vasari filling her up and Vasari missed the feeling of Witney's body under his.
It was another busy day for Vasari, after breakfast, he went for a walk on his new property. He was not alone, Otis and the 4 wolf cubs were accompanying him.
'This spot looks good.' Vasari thought while bending down and placing a disk-shaped object on the earthy ground below him.
This item was called a formation disk and it was one of the few things given to him by T-Rex that he absolutely insisted Vasari on taking. Apparently, it was able to create an invisible barrier that obstructs Soul Sense. It was absolutely crucial for Vasari to have this formation disk because it would add a layer of protection for his secrets.
T-Rex was 100% sure that Vasari would be under surveillance, especially after he uses the Savage Spartan Sabre Art, and so, being the amazing General that he was, he thought ahead and gave Vasari the formation disk. It not only obstructs Soul sense but also creates an illusion, fooling the soul sense into thinking that it wasn't being obstructed in any way.
Vasari had no clue right now, but the formation disk he had placed on the floor was incredibly sought after. Only a few Formation Masters in the Westernord Continent were able to create a formation like this.
'I probably shouldn't leave it in plain sight. Although it blocks Soul sense it doesn't stop people from entering my property and potentially stealing it.'
"Boys! Come dig!"
The wolf cubs trotted over to Vasari and quickly dug a hole 10 metres deep and just as wide.
"You guys went overboard…"
Vasari followed T-Rex's instructions for activating the formation disk before throwing it down the hole. A muffled thumping sound spread across the immediate area. Vasari sighed in relief that it worked just as T-Rex described and asked the cubs to refill the hole. Mo showed off his control over the Earth element by easily moving the dirt to refill the hole.
Vasari praised them for their good work before heading back to the mansion.
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Back at the mansion, the girls spent most of their day training and spending time with their new mounts.
Although their families owned mounts, this would be the first time they looked after their own mount. It was a lot harder than they initially thought especially since the birds were originally wild to begin with and only recently domesticated, but also because they were stronger than the girls.
Currently, they were all taking a break and relaxing in the sun.
"Hey Talia, what's with the long face?" Witney asked after noticing a change in Talia's usual indifferent expression.
"My father just messaged me asking why Alex suddenly backed out of the engagement and I don't know what to say."
Laughing light-heartedly, Gia lifted her sunglasses and looked at her friend. "Just say that Alex got his ass beat, cried for mercy and pissed his pants, and is now too embarrassed to pursue you any longer."
"Oooh, and then say you want to marry the man who beat him up." Jiang Xia suggested causing the girls to laugh and Talia's ears to redden slightly.
"I can't say that. Alex is still the heir to one of the Dukedoms of my Kingdom, it would be disrespectful to caricature him."
"Girl you're not exaggerating anything, he literally cried and pissed his pants before passing out cold. I'll be surprised if that man-child ever shows his face in public again." Gia held nothing back and had no misgivings about mocking Alex.
Talia sighed before typing a few sentences on her ManaPhone.
"Let's not talk about him anymore. Hiromi, have you ever been to a cultivation ground before?" Witney grabbed the cute Hiromi, who she treated like a little sister she never had, and pulled her closer. It was easy to forget that Hiromi was nearly 10 years older than her.
"What's a cultivation ground?"
"Let's go, I'll take you there. Would Aunty Hozumi and Kurumi also like to come with?"
"Sure."
"Ok."
"We might as well all go." Jiang Xia suggests and the others agree.
"Woohoo our first time flying our mounts together!" Witney cheered before calling her mount over.
Soon 5 large birds took to the air and headed towards the city.
When Vasari came back he was confused to find no one in the area. He guessed they must've gone to the city so he took this quiet time to cultivate.
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The next day Vasari left the house and told the cubs to guard the property since the girls still weren't back yet.
Today was the day his short sword should be ready and he was pretty excited. However, he decided to get it later in the day and first head to the library to study his techniques. Although promising to return yesterday, he rather wanted to recover the lost Mana he used in the spar against Alex.
He spent 12 hours at the library, paying 10 Cloud Points for a private room. He managed to completely memorise two of the techniques in that time, and he would need to return to memorise the third.
Before leaving, the librarian asked for his number and being the gentleman that he is, Vasari told her he didn't have a phone which was partly true considering Hiromi hijacked his and is currently using it.
The librarian was initially disappointed but after receiving a promise to get her number when he eventually buys another ManaPhone, she cheered up.
Currently, Vasari was in workshop 312, swinging around a pristine short sword. The blade was clean, the edges sharp, and the handle comfortable. The weight was well balanced and Vasari felt as if it were truly an extension of his arm. The blade of the short sword was exactly 80cm long and was slightly darker compared to the usual metallic silver colour of a steel blade. The width of the blade started narrow and gradually widened before narrowing again at the tip.
Vasari's large right hand perfectly fit the handle, leaving only a little bit of space for wiggle room.
"How did you get everything so perfect without taking my measurements?" Vasari was genuinely impressed and was curious about how she managed to do it.
Blacksmith Davenport chuckled in amusement at his disbelieving expression. "Boy, I've been doing this for hundreds of years already. If I couldn't do something so simple then I wouldn't have the face to call myself an Expert Blacksmith."
"Amazing. How much would you normally charge to make a sword like this?"
"A Heaven Grade sword inside the Sect would go for around 10 000 Cloud Points. Outside the sect…probably around 100 mid-grade Mana Stones."
"10 000 Cloud Points…" Vasari was feeling a lot better about his mission rewards after hearing that. He actually wanted to request more Cloud Points after realising they used him as cannon fodder, but now he was glad he didn't.
"Out of curiosity, how much would a Heaven Grade Technique cost in the Cloud Library?"
"Oof I haven't been there in many years so I wouldn't know now, but when I was last there, a Low Heaven Grade Technique cost around 5 000 Cloud Points to learn. A Peak Heaven Grade Technique went from anywhere from 10 000 to 15 000 depending on the technique."
'Damn, that means my reward for the mission was more or less worth 40 000 Cloud Points.' Internally Vasari was smiling ear to ear like a madman, the Sect Master definitely thought he wouldn't succeed in the mission and the rewards proved his point.
"Thank you for taking the time to make my weapon, Blacksmith Davenport."
"Why are you acting like I did this out of my own goodwill? I was forced!"
"Hehe."
"Ugh, anyway, don't forget to get someone to infuse your weapon with Elemental Energies. Now get out of my workshop."
Blacksmith Davenport waved her hands and Vasari was sent flying out of the workshop, sword in hand, and crashed into the wall in the hallway.
"Ow…" Vasari rubbed his back with his left hand before putting the sword into his spatial ring.
He left the building and made his way back home with Otis.
What he didn't know was that the girls prepared a surprise for him that they had been planning for the past year.