KiAera had returned to the main chamber of the training facility, already diving back into a mock battle with an astral projection of a monster, which shared the same appearance as her current form.

  She was up against herself. Which was a holographic Merecritt.

  Her ears perked up as she heard the sounds of the others sparring, and she glanced over to see Scarbol and Big Osseod engaged in a heated battle. Or at least one of them took the session seriously.

  Big Osseod bounced around Scarbol, laughing and nudging him. Scarbol tried to keep up with the creature's erratic movements.

  KiAera smiled, glad to see her companions enjoying themselves. She turned back to her opponent, focusing on the battle. Her opponent had the appearance of a Merecritt, though KiAera knew it was only an illusion.

  The doppelg?nger pounced, KiAera felt her body instinctively reacting to the attack, dodging and blocking blows before responding with her own. It mimicked her capabilities, jabbing and thrusting its extendable ears, matching her blow for blow.

  She leapt to the side, avoiding a sweeping claw strike, before charging at her opponent. They collided in a flurry of blows, their movements blurring in the air as they danced around each other.

  KiAera landed and decided to take things to the next level.

  She dashed backwards, creating distance from her pursuing foe. In the process, the sigil on her forehead began to glow while her fur coat shimmered. The evolution occurred with a rapid burst as she emerged from the luminance in her {Emergent}-stage. Her astral opponent did the same, mocking her as the phantom creature copied her new form.

  "Come!" she beckoned.

  Her opponent charged and leapt, extending its ears like a spear.

  She ducked under the blow and retaliated with a swift kick to its head. It flew, but she followed up by having her ear extended, grasping her opponent's leg. She finalized her combo by flinging it into the air with thunderous force.

  KiAera then launched herself upward, twisting her body and delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to the phantom monster's chest. The force of the blow sent her opponent crashing to the floor, where it skidded across the surface before coming to a dead stop.

  Another doppleganger materialized to take its place.

  KiAera maintained the momentum as she concentrated, allowing two fiery, ghastly clones split from her form. The technique was called [Spectral Split]. Her copies were not illusions, but were capable of assisting her in combat.

  The copies of her appeared in a flurry of spectral fire, leaping to her side, mirroring her movements. "Come!" she beckoned once more.

  The new astral doppleganger charged at her, ears outstretched like spears. They punched out as a flurry of fists, taking out the clones, but KiAera parried and evaded the blows.

  She ducked under a sweeping claw strike, before responding with her own. She landed a flurry of kicks, before finishing her doppleganger off with powerful, fire-coated claws that swiped the phantom creature's head, sending it flying into the wall.

  The force of the impact caused cracks to form on the surface as it shattered in a burst of fire.

  KiAera's ear flicked in satisfaction as she watched the astral clone vanishing into particles. Just then, she noticed GamaGen watching from the side of the chamber.

  He had remained quiet since their talk after meeting Lairica, and she could tell something was bothering him.

  "GamaGen, any evaluation for me?" she inquired to strike small talk.

  The old book let out a sigh, his pages fluttering.

  ?'While your combat skills have greatly improved since you first arrived here, I would not say you are quite ready to venture to the upper level yet. But... that being said, you should be more than capable of dealing with the monsters you may encounter on your way up the mountain. You're an admirable young Merecritt, and I am honored to call you my pupil. You should be proud of yourself.'?

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  KiAera let a proud smile cross her face, and she turned to look at her companions, who had paused in their sparring to watch the display. They applauded, cheering and calling out to her. Her gaze then fell on Scarbol.

  "Hey, Scarbol. Any change with your power?"

  "Not much," he shook his head, "but it feels like something's building up."

  She gave his power an inspection, feeling pleased to sense he had grown from [200] units to about [350] units in apex. He also seemed to have a stronger understanding of his abilities, which consisted of his techniques.

  She moved her inspection over to his comrades. The other kobold monsters. For instance, Zolrak had raised his APeX power from [140] to [240] units, and Tailza developed hers from [110] to [180].

  KiAera's gaze proceeded to fall on Amber, amazed to sense that the LeapLeap managed to jump from [190] to [380] units.

  She was relieved the training seemed to pay off for them, but her heart clenched at another realization. One that began to bother her.

  The more she trained with her monsters, the more particles they gained from their efforts, but that meant more energy spent. Today's session only allowed a total growth of [900] units before it no longer yielded further growth. And, in a more disturbing thought, the more crystals she used to sustain the Monster Domain, the less likely crystals spawned near it.

  Amber took note of the change in KiAera's demeanor, her wings fluttering with concern. "LeeLee, KiAera. Amber sees something bothering KiAera. What's wrong?"

  "Well... it seems like we have hit our growth limit." She felt a lump in her throat as the words came out. She wasn't sure what the repercussions of this discovery would be, but she had a feeling that things were going to change soon. "Though, we are making strides."

  "Limit?" The LeapLeap tilted her head, her voice tinged with confusion. "Limit how?"

  KiAera placed her paws on Amber's shoulders and looked up at the creature. "Nothing to be concerned about for now. That's my responsibility, Amber."

  Her gaze shifted to GamaGen. "Hey, GGen. I've been stuck with this thought for a while. It's about distributing the apex within oneself, to other parameters. I've been wondering if it is possible for me to distribute another's 'points' to the attributes within them. Or even increase attributes through distributing them."

  The old book gave it thought. ?'Hmm... That's a rather complex question. But, yes, I believe it would be possible. Take a seat, Miss KiAera, and Amber. I can guide you in enacting the "Soul Link" ability, an ancient, potent form of energy transferring ritual that was lost long ago.'?

  KiAera sat down cross-legged while GamaGen floated over to them, his pages fluttering as he began to explain the process.

  KiAera grasped that she and Amber had to concentrate and connect their auras and energies through the spiritual connection of the Soul Link. The book warned the process was intense. But she understood why. It seemed eerily similar to her {Zeomerge}.

  She took Amber's wing as GamaGen's aura extended toward hers, then to Amber's. He became the intermediary, explaining beforehand that he would ensure safety throughout the process.

  She focused, letting herself flow through the old book's energy, and she could feel Amber's presence in the energy as well. She allowed her energy to intertwine with that of Amber's, their auras melding together in a kaleidoscope of colors. Her sigil shimmered and a gasp escaped her lips as she saw it: Amber's inner being.

  It was a breathtaking sight to behold—Amber's core, her true essence.

  The LeapLeap's aura emanated a pure, radiant white light that reminded her of the first rays of sunlight piercing through the dawn.

  She saw the various particles that represented Amber's power flowing around the core, and she could feel the connection between them. She reached out with her own aura, intertwining it with the energy that made up the creature's form. This allowed her adjust Amber's parameters, relocating a particle of apex to say...speed. A stat the ratite-like monster desired and excelled.

  KiAera marveled at the power that coursed through her as she worked to refine Amber's form, increasing her apex in her speed stat by about 10 points, and then rearranged a couple of points in her other stats.

  Another 10 points in strength. She left at that, figuring she would allow Amber to distribute it how she saw fit. She would advise Amber and all the other Zeldrimons to not distribute their apex in raising their techniques, not for now, as it seemed costly at the moment.

  She figured she should save those apex to learn how to refine them later, at the rate they were going, that would not be so easy.

  The apex settled within Amber's body, the ratite monster emitting a satisfied sigh as she felt her strength increasing. However, Amber's apex, the power level itself, decreased from 380 to 360 units with redistribution. They were done, and KiAera released an exasperated sigh after disconnecting.

  Her paws clutched her head. Her vision was blurry, her body aching as though it had been pummeled from head to toe.

  Amber's beak propped her from toppling to the side as GamaGen floated close with a concerned tone. ?'That was reckless, Miss KiAera. Are you alright?'?

  She coughed. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

  Amber crooned with concern, and KiAera gently patted the LeapLeap's wing in reassurance.

  "We'll call this a day, let's head back to the surface and have a rest. It's been a while since we had the chance to just relax, and we should enjoy it while we can. But first, we should harvest some more crystals. I have a feeling we will need them soon."