When we got back to the hotel, the first thing we did was distribute our Awakening Stones. Since Mei Gui and I didn't need them, we ended up with three that could be given to others - two from finishing first in the preliminaries, and one from the IMF branch.

"So? Who's going to take the three extra?

" Xiang Peng asked, leaning on the wall.

"Well… to start off, out of the eleven of us, only Flaria doesn't have any. So we should give one to her…?

" Feng Mian suggested.

"I don't even know how that would work,

" I said, then turned to Obsidia.

"Obsidia, what happens if an intelligent Magic Beast like you or Flaria used an Awakening Stone?

"

She sighed.

"We Magic Beasts are not the same as any other race. Depending on the species, we are either born with one element or multiple, but we cannot gain any other elemental affinities beyond that.

"

"For example, I can only use Fire and Sky Magic,

" Flaria added.

"Although I cannot use any other elements, my power in these two are insurmountable.

"

"Hmph. How coincidental yet unfortunate… I share the same elements as this bird,

" Obsidia muttered.

The two of them glared daggers at each other as usual. Before things turned hot and violent, I interjected.

"So, you two both can only use Fire and Sky Magic?

" I asked just to confirm.

"Yeah, but we have special, extra-powerful spells only phoenixes and dragons can use,

" Flaria said.

"Indeed. Normal spells do not even compare,

" Obsidia agreed with Flaria, for once.

"But… that makes me curious. Both of you have been somewhat affected by my Chaos energy by being beside me for so long. Is it possible for you to use other elements as well, like me?

"

"This…

" Obsidia looked down at the floor in thought.

"… I have never actually attempted to.

"

"… Yeah, me neither,

" Flaria admitted.

"But maybe…? I think it's unlikely though.

"

"Well, it doesn't hurt to give it a try, does it?

" Feng Mian smiled, then raised out her hand, pointing it at me. My eyes widened slightly as I realized what she was going to do.

"Here, follow along, Flaria,

" she winked, then began channeling her mana.

"Level One Ice Magic - Skewer of Ice.

"

A thin and sharp projectile of ice shot out of her palm towards me. I casually raised a finger, absorbing the spell into my body.

Flaria, seeing this interaction, bit her lip and mimicked Feng Mian's actions.

"Level One Ice Magic… Skewer of Ice!

"

…

Nothing happened.

Flaria sighed dejectedly.

"As I thought…

"

"Aw, it's okay, Flaria…

" Lan Xiao Su comforted, hugging her gently.

"It's no big deal…

"

"… Try using an Awakening Stone,

" Mei Gui suddenly interjected, which was unusual.

"Huh?

" we turned to look at her in surprise.

"Like Master said, both the dragon and the phoenix have been affected by his Chaos energy. All they require is one last catalyst to share the benefits… the Awakening Stone may serve.

"

"Did you… remember something?

" I asked.

Slowly, she shook her head.

"It is… extremely hazy. I do, however, believe using an Awakening Stone on them is worth a try.

"

"… Are we sure about this?

" Yu An Yan raised an eyebrow.

"If the experiment goes wrong, the Awakening Stone will be wasted. Those things don't grow on trees, y'know.

"

"Hm…

" we all fell silent. Yu An Yan had a point - Awakening Stones were extremely precious materials that could only be used once. If the experiment failed, we would have lost a powerful item while gaining nothing.

But…

I turned to look at Flaria, who had a nervous expression on her face. Obsidia was as nonchalant as ever, but I think she wanted to try using an Awakening Stone as well.

"I believe in them,

" I said, my decision made.

"Even if it fails, we would have gained information. That way, the next time we receive Awakening Stones, we'll know.

"

"Master…

" Flaria looked up at me with tears in her eyes. She reminded me of Qing Yue, which made me want to protect her as well.

"… Alright. Let's do it,

" Yu An Yan said with a sigh.

"Using Awakening Stones is most effective when alone, in a quiet environment,

" Xiang peng said.

"Let's take turns using the room, while the rest of us wait in the hallway.

"

We nodded in agreement. I took out an Awakening Stone from my Space Locket and handed it to Flaria.

"Flaria first, then Obsidia, then the rest in alphabetical order, starting with Amane,

" I said, walking out of the room. The others followed as Flaria remained in the room.

In the hallway, we waited silently. There was no telling who could be listening, so we all quietly agreed to not talk about anything here.

That is, out loud, anyway.

Mei Gui.

Yes, Master?

About Ling Xin… is there any way we can contact her?

Yes, Master. I can directly communicate with her soul, via the Soul Shackles. If there is anything you wish to tell her, just let me know.

Ah, I see. Got it.

Anything else, Master?

Hm… yeah, one more thing. Can we sense when she's in danger? For example, if she is physically harmed or whatnot.

Yes. I can detect if she is gravely injured, no matter how far away.

Great… this way, we can fully control her.

Master, I can also inflict pain on her soul from time to time to force her to speed up, if needed.

Nah, I'm not in a hurry. My goal right now is to just into Fragment… I don't care when Ling Xin finds the information I want. If she stalls for too long though… you know what to do.

Understood, Master.

Ten minutes later, Flaria came out. There was sweat on her forehead, and she was visibly tired. The process to use an Awakening Stone was simple - hold the rock inside your hand, and begin channeling your mana into it.

However, this would eventually drain the user dry, thus making them extremely tired by the end of it. If someone doesn't know their own limits, they might even fall under MES - Mana Exhaustion Syndrome. It was rare, but people have died from using Awakening Stones.

"How was it? Did you succeed?

" I asked, walking into the room with everyone else following behind. As stated before, the hallway was not suitable for conversation.

Flaria, instead of replying, held up her hand and pointed it at me.

"Level One Ice Magic - Skewer of Ice.

"

My eyes widened. Slowly, a sharp projectile of ice shot out of her hand, followed by a burst of blue flames. I immediately reacted, attempting to absorb the mana.

W-What…?! It's not working…?!

Gritting my teeth, I used both hands and increased the Chaos power I was putting into this. Mei Gui joined in as well to help, and after a few seconds of tension, the flame-trailing ice skewer was finally subdued, converted into mana and flowing into Mei Gui's and my body.

"What the hell was that…?

" I muttered in shock.

"Hehe,

" Flaria smirked triumphantly.

"I can use Water and Ice Magic now, in addition to Sky and Fire. But, as you can see, my phoenix flames still end up affecting my spells, so they end up being empowered.

"

My eyes widened.

"So… not only did you gain two new elements, the power is also amplified like my own magic?

"

Mei Gui was the one to respond this time.

"No, Master… the amplification abilities of her phoenix flames are even greater than the level of Chaos understanding you currently possess.

"

"Woah… for real…?

" Qing Yue's mused in surprise.

"Does that mean… Flaria is stronger than Big Brother Xuan Kai now?

"

"Not necessarily,

" Feng Mian said.

"While in terms of raw strength, Flaria may be stronger now, but Xuan Kai still has access to all 21 elements, and of course, the ability to nullify other people's magic and convert it into mana for himself. That is an ability unable to be mimicked by anyone else - apart from Mei Gui, of course.

"

"Still… I can't believe it actually worked…

" Yu An Yan murmured.

"Sis… sometimes… you need to be… more confident… in your… allies…

" Yu An Xue whispered, patting her sister's shoulder gently.

"Y-Yeah…

" she replied softly.

"Well, if it worked for Flaria, then…

"

We all focused our gazes on Obsidia. She sighed as she took out her own Awakening Stone. Once again, the rest of us exited the room to leave her in peace, and waited patiently.

Several minutes later, she came back out and attempted to demonstrate her newfound powers the same way Flaria had, but I quickly stopped her. I may have been able to block Flaria's attack, but I didn't know about Obsidia. The term 'holding back' did not exist in her vocabulary.

The other girls went in after that, one at a time. Feng Mian, Qing Yue, and the Yu sisters all had two Awakening Stones each, so they took longer than the other girls. That said, I still had two Awakening Stones leftover - I decided to give them to Obsidia and Flaria respectively, since it worked out so well the first time.

By the time they were all done, our group's overall power level had increased by quite a bit. The girls all unlocked new elements, some one, others multiple. Currently, our party's elemental affinities looked like this:

Feng Mian: Ice, Shadow, Poison, Curse, Necromancy

Qing Yue: Light, Blessing, Psychic, Enchantment, Summoning

Yu An Yan: Fire, Sky, Time, Void, Metal

Yu An Xue: Ice, Water, Space, Earth, Void

Lan Xiao Su: Water, Blessing, Enchantment, Light

Xiang Peng: Sky, Gravity, Light, Water, Metal, Sound, Psychic

Obsidia: Fire, Sky, Earth, Water

Flaria: Fire, Sky, Ice, Water

Amane: Space, Time, Fire, Shadow, Demon

Tomorrow would be the fight to enter Fragment.

Were we ready?