Chapter 233: Thousand Blessed Races
When Priam returned to his faction’s headquarters, Dandara, Flaris, Shione, and Lumiere were properly introduced to Mirra’s new form.
The group exchanged bewildered looks when they saw Priam carrying the little girl on his shoulders. After all, she was a Primordial Chaos Beast—and since their first impression of her had been as a little kitten, everyone had simply seen her as the group’s mascot.
But now...
The affection with which he treated her and the obvious closeness between them conveyed something unmistakably familiar. None of them had ever seen this caring, almost fatherly side of Priam.
"Now that you can talk, it’ll be much easier to study how to become a Holy Mage," Priam said softly, taking Mirra off his shoulder and gently placing her into Dandara’s arms.
"In a year, we’ll be leaving for another mission. If you don’t want to stay stuck inside my internal space all the time, you’d better work hard and level up as soon as possible."
"Yiip!"
...
Priam immediately returned to his quarters to absorb the knowledge he had just acquired. He needed to fully understand the mechanics of Mage Masters in order to map out the fastest path toward his next breakthrough.
Since he didn’t have enough points to activate the EX Training Booster, he only had one viable option left: devote entire days to intense, straightforward study.
...
A week later, Priam went out to inspect the army.
His forces occupied the valleys and hills surrounding the base.
"Chief!" the Holy Mages shouted as soon as they spotted him, waving enthusiastically.
Priam returned the gesture with a slight nod while inspecting the group’s status.
As expected, the contingent’s loyalty had reached High—a remarkable jump from the Medium level it had been at when he first met them on that other planet.
In fact, almost his entire army now displayed that same high level of loyalty.
At that moment, everything finally clicked into place in his mind, revealing the System’s true logic.
He only received the full loyalty point rewards when he built genuine loyalty through individual interactions. Whenever he relied on grand displays to impress a crowd all at once, the System only counted it as a Morale increase—something rewarded with a trivial amount of GP.
The System clearly distinguished genuine devotion from simple Herd Mentality.
Captivating the masses with displays of overwhelming power created a collective wave of admiration, but it required very little actual effort from him. For someone with Priam’s abnormal arsenal, making an entire crowd see him as a legendary figure was the easiest part. That was why the GP return was so small.
Even so, the loyalty of the people closest to him still increased from those occasional displays.
But if he wanted to earn the maximum number of System points, he’d have to earn each person’s loyalty individually, one by one.
The one major problem was that he simply didn’t have time for that.
***
Another week passed. Priam was immersed in his studies in his room when his emblem suddenly trembled and pulsed.
An urgent summons ordered him to report to the Elders’ building. However, the message contained one explicit condition: he was to bring his "contracted beast."
Priam immediately got up and woke Mirra, who had been beside him, deeply focused on absorbing Ether.
Hours later, after arriving at the Elders’ building, Priam was promptly led to a Teleportation Inscription.
Within seconds, the teleportation light faded, revealing a colossal hall of austere luxury. Despite its grandeur, the place was almost completely empty.
Standing before him were only two figures: Mishnar and a middle-aged man whose posture was as straight and immovable as a mountain.
But what truly drew attention were his eyes—orbs of deep crimson that burned silently like glowing embers at the bottom of a furnace.
The moment Priam stepped into the hall, the atmosphere itself seemed too dense to breathe. The mere presence of that man exerted an invisible gravity, an oppressive and suffocating aura that made anyone’s bones creak in protest.
"Priam, this is one of the sect’s Central Elders."
Mishnar spoke hurriedly, her tone noticeably more tense and respectful than usual.
"The High Elder personally assigned him to evaluate your partner’s situation."
Priam remained calm, taking a steady breath of the heavy air and nodding respectfully. Then he had Mirra emerge from his internal space.
The little girl materialized on his shoulder. But the moment she felt those two pairs of eyes fixed on her—especially the overwhelming gaze of the Central Elder—she shrank into herself. Trembling slightly, she clung to Priam’s head and buried her face in his hair in pure terror.
Priam gently raised a hand, softly stroking her back and head with a protective, comforting touch.
"It’s okay," he murmured, his voice sounding like a safe harbor amidst that crushing pressure. "They’re just here to make sure you’re healthy. I’m here."
Mirra swallowed hard, trying to stop trembling, but she continued clinging tightly to him.
Priam had already prepared her for this meeting, explaining the reality of this world in a simple and straightforward way. Primordial Chaos Beasts were seen as the natural enemies of humanoids, but all races were still servants of the Sovereigns, making them equals.
In this world, power and usefulness mattered far more than any ancient prejudice. If she proved herself valuable and loyal to a humanoid, no one would dare attack her.
Priam had told her not to worry about anything. She only had to be a good girl and trust him.
And she did.
The man with the burning eyes silently observed the scene for a few moments. Suddenly, his pupils flared with a divine white light so intense that it seemed capable of piercing Priam’s very soul.
A chill ran down Priam’s spine.
It was the manifestation of a Sage’s power—something incomprehensible, vast, and terrifying for someone at his current level.
The inspection lasted only a fraction of a second before the light disappeared completely.
Then, the oppressive pressure filling the hall simply vanished. The Elder’s stern expression softened into a restrained smile overflowing with satisfaction.
"I can confirm it... This is a genuine contract of the Vanculari race. As a Primordial Chaos Beast with a spiritual bloodline, she possessed everything necessary to form a perfect symbiotic bond..."
The man paused briefly, clenching his fist with barely concealed excitement.
"The Vanculari have truly been reborn... Our sect has been blessed! A second race blessed by the Goddess has finally returned to its ancestral home."
Priam’s eyes widened.
"Returned to its home? What do you mean by that?"
The Elder let out a long sigh, his eyes shining with nostalgic reverence.
"Very few people still retain this knowledge today, but the Ironweald Sect once bore another name in an unimaginably distant past: the legendary Fiendlight Sect."
He took a step forward, his voice echoing with authority.
"In that era, the sect was founded by the Goddess Fiendlight herself, when She gathered and blessed Her Thousand Races."
"Sadly, nearly all of those bloodlines have vanished with time. Within the Inner Sect, we preserve records of their names and the secrets of their Ancestral Arts. As a scholar of those scriptures, I can state without the slightest doubt that the Spiritual Tamer contract you formed is genuine. Nothing remotely similar exists among any of the other races in our modern world. That alone confirms your bloodline."
He smiled openly.
"Incalculable ages have passed since the disappearance of the Thousand Races, yet the destiny of our sect seems to be drawing their descendants back. This is an occasion of immense joy..."
Priam kept his breathing steady as he silently processed the information.
The man believed Priam only represented the Vanculari, unaware that he was also the son of a Cursed Forest Elf—another race connected to the Goddess.
However, because he had inherited that bloodline through his mother’s cursed form, he couldn’t manifest its Ancestral Art to prove it.
The only unquestionable way to prove a bloodline was by using that race’s Ancestral Art. Without it, bloodlines usually shared similar auras with many others, making it impossible for Mages or even Sages to be certain.
However, Dandara also possessed the same bloodline as his mother. If she managed to awaken and manifest her Ancestral Art in the future...
...his faction’s status within the sect would skyrocket.
But... even though Priam had given her the Ancestral Art some time ago... Dandara’s talent was terrible. She would probably spend years trying before she could finally use it.
Remembering one crucial detail, Priam asked, carefully hiding the excitement in his voice,
"You mentioned that another Blessed race returned before ours?"
He remembered what the Pristine Wild-Spirits had said: the Goddess’s races carried Her sacred marks. If he could find the descendants of that other race, he might have the chance to obtain new supreme abilities, just like Rumbling Heavens.
"Yes, but I cannot reveal its name or any details," the Elder replied firmly. "It is a state secret classified at the highest level of the sect. From this point onward, you and your bloodline will also be under our direct protection. By the way... I heard you brought three other members of your clan with you. Are they also...?"
"Yes. They’re all Vanculari, just like me, and they all possess the ability to form spiritual contracts."
The Elder’s eyes lit up with renewed enthusiasm.
"Excellent! I’ll return immediately and deliver this great news to the Central Sect."
"And what about Mirra...?" Priam asked.
"She may stay," the Elder replied, waving a hand dismissively. "If she were an adult Primordial Chaos Beast, I would have to place a Sage-Level Slave Seal on her to ensure she wasn’t a spy. But I can confirm she’s a pure newborn, shaped by your own contract. Of course... if she causes even the slightest problem in the future, you’ll answer for it with your life."
Priam nodded without hesitation, tightening his embrace around Mirra ever so slightly.
"Nothing will happen. She’s a good girl."
Feeling the Elder’s approval, the little girl snuggled against Priam’s neck and awkwardly spoke to him.
"Mimi... Briam!"
The Elder simply nodded without saying a word.
Beside Priam, Mishnar let out a long sigh of relief.
The Central Elder gave a slight nod of farewell and instantly vanished into thin air, eager to deliver his report to the sect’s highest authorities.