Jon walked through the streets of Springtown, ignoring the expressions of muted awe and growing fear of those he passed. With Glaucus manifested on his head and shoulders and his Hades-Draconian Shadow stretching further than what an ordinary shadow should be capable of, his mere presence alone caused the minds those without imaginary mental constructs to tremble.

Wilheim and Shamael both matching his stride, the former having also manifested Chandala cross his head and torso.

Lutins, drus, undynes, nadians, vermitons and even other humans all gave way to Jon wherever he went. Entire groups moving aside as the three Knights strolled through narrowed streets of Springtown, noticing the presence of the Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation.

Their conversations pausing, eyes gazing upon his white-armoured figure before flickering downwards towards his Fragment Of Draconian Shadow.

"Dude! It's the" Princeps!" Look!"

"No way! He even has the Heretical Chalk Protection manifested!"

"And look at the shadow behind him! I could not even imagine a method of defeating him in single combat…"

Each of them were ignored as the group of three continued to walk in the direction of the Dimensional Dungeon Shadow. The Memento Source Item was a relatively recent addition to Springtown and as such was placed on the outskirts, far away from Takamagahara and Flavian Imperialis, but closer towards both Delila's Boundless Heaven Gate and Maliq's Piercing-Void Ship.

The presence of these four Memento Source Items had changed the entire landscape of Springtown. Although the Dimensional Dungeon Shadow was amongst the most used of the four, the effects of the Immortal Training Arena were perhaps the greatest amongst the four, being able to increase the speed at which an individual can obtain mastery over specific abilities.

The Boundless Heaven Gate and Piercing-Void Ship on the other hand both possessed effects relating to spatial displacement, mass teleportation and the transit of groups over vast distances.

If it was not for the effects of both Porta and Xue Ying then there was no way that Springtown could have grown so much over the course of but a single year.

The Safe Zone which once housed a mere thousand sapient lifeforms had swelled and encompassed more than ten times that original number.

Ten thousand different people had grown to call this place their home. Ten thousand humans, lutins, vermitons and more than half-a-dozen other different races had expanded upon this once small community, allowing it to flourish into a bustling town filled with trade and innovation.

Roads had been paved through the usage of Stone Mana Cores and Earth Mana Cores.

Sewage systems created through the effects of Water Mana Cores and Purity Mana Cores.

Houses built using Wood Mana Cores, Construction Mana Cores and Creation Mana Cores, which were then turned into Mortal Ranked spiritual items through Fragments Of Creation and Fragments Of Enhancement.

Trade Street had expanded, becoming a sort of central business district within Springtown. The purchasing and selling of fragments and Mana Cores was all done within Trade Street, within walking distance of both Takamagahara and the lone Knight Ranked building-type spiritual construct within the Safe Zone.

Yuma, now known as the Flarestorm Express was no longer the single train-type summoned spiritual construct within Springtown either. Yuma still transported dungeon delvers and members of the Explorers Guild to nearby Wonders and Dungeons but also carried spiritual items that the Merchant Guild would use to trade with the denizens of Lakeriver Valley, Mountain Craig Pass and Saltstream Town.

With Mortals becoming more and more willing to ascend to Knighthood without obtaining a Memento Source Item it was becoming more and more common to see Veinless Knights walking through the streets, chatting away about idle gossip or what fragments they intended on integrated next.

Although with the all the denizens of Springtown possessing superhuman physical capabilities and magical powers, the destructive capabilities of each Mortal or Knight far exceeded that of their uninitiated counterparts. Buildings were required to be more durable and roads both tougher and more resistant to damaging effects more so than just the occasional wind or rain.

And perhaps even more so… the "disagreements" between citizens of Springtown had with each other, more often than not, tended to be more destructive as a result.

Jon felt his [Bestial Intuition] twitch, extending his palm forward and catching a stray piece of shrapnel within. His hand registering the familiar presence of wind natured spiritual energy, before hearing an unfamiliar voice echo from across the street.

"C'mon! There is no need to play hard to get! All I said was that I wanted to get to know you and your friends a little better!" A masculine sounding voice deafened the sounds of fireworks above them.

A particularly large appaloscian spat onto the ground beside her, earning several cheers from the group of humans, drus and undynes behind him. Each of them sharing the same tattoo, displayed somewhere along one of their arms.

Several of them whistled, their eyes lingering on the forms of Aerilayna, Avahni and their three other companions. Mortal Ranked spiritual items adorned their forms, imbued with Fragments Of Beauty and Fragments Of Charm.

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Their style of clothing somewhat similar to sundresses from Earth, albeit with a significant more amount of detail and important placed on the various frills and ribbons that adorned the spiritual items.

The Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation locked eyes with a certain green-haired lutin before watching her avert her gaze moments after doing so. The wisp of wind natured spiritual energy that she was about to push into her Fragment Of Sword unravelling, seeing a certain Hades-Draconian Shadow.

Jon noticed Avahni mouth something towards Wilheim and Shamael behind him, before moving his attention back towards Aerilayna.

"You tried touching somewhere you shouldn't have asshole! I don't care whether you are a part of the Nightfangs, if I tell you to leave me and my friend alone, then you should damn well do it!" She shouted, scrunching up her face in annoyance, tilting her head backwards to glare at the man standing opposite her.

Said appaloscian just shrugging his shoulders, brushing off Aerilayna's words and instead lifting his hand towards her own. The blonde-haired lutin smacking it away, causing the man to let out a pretend whimper.

"If you keep hitting me you're going to hurt my feelings you know? All I wanted to do was buy you a drink. I cannot help it if you used your abilities on me to place my hand around your waist… You have a man here within the System Introduction?" He asked, half-glancing towards the group of three women behind him.

"Any of you been with an appaloscian before?" He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows to the group behind him. One of them booed, although the others seemed content with just staring at Aerilayna's group of friends, grinning as their expressions betrayed their truest thoughts.

Aerilayna gritted her teeth, ignoring the man's words.

Turning around she hoped to just walk back over to her table but-.

"Oh, we're do you think you're going? I thought that we were just getting to know each other?" The man in question gripping onto Aerilayna's wrist, preventing her from stepping forward. Avahni and her three other companions standing up from their seated positions, narrowing their eyes at the second bout of physical contact.

Each member of the Nightfangs mimicking their actions, ignoring the drinks and food placed at their table and focusing on the three Knights and their lone Mortal companion. Their expressions all wide grins, unable to conceal their true thoughts and desires.

Aerilayna, narrowed her eyes at the appaloscian, circulating spiritual energy throughout her wind spiritual vein. Just as she was about to activate the Fragment Of Zephyr that it was tied to, she noticed the presence of three familiar looking figures standing directly behind the group of Nightfangs.

Wilheim.

Shamael.

And-.

"Besmir."

The group of humans, drus, undynes and appaloscians all froze, hearing a familiar voice deafen all the conversations around them. Some felt their fingers twitch, while others glanced to the floor beneath them, eyes widening in shock as their shadows engulfed beneath a certain Fragment Of Draconian Shadow.

The Hades-Draconian Shadow swirled and churned as if an ocean during a violent storm. Scales rippled as though waves or tides. Eyes peering back at them as if the depthless abyss were no light dared to reach.

"Francois. Druke. Ziedlich. Ottoman. Bell. Gynt. Fabio."

"I'm surprised to see the eight of you here, considering how injured each of you were during the tournament earlier. Apologies for that by the way, my Hades-Draconian Shadow has the tendency to… go overboard when I feel threatened." Jon spoke, stepping forward but detaching the Heretical Chalk Helm from the rest of his Fragment Of Armour. Besmir and the others furrowed their brows, looking away from Jon after he took off his armour-type spiritual construct, seeing the appearance that he had donned.

The face of their leader, Regulus Loxley Areum, the Son Of Wolves And Hunger looked back at them. Although, was extremely bruised, missing several teeth with two enormous black eyes. Using Lethe to transform his appearance, Jon grinned, patting Francois and Gynt on the shoulders, before pausing softly slapping his forehead.

"Oh. How silly of me. I've been out celebrating you see. Been wearing this face all afternoon." Jon said, before brushing his hair to the side, Lethe adjusting his appearance to mimic that of both Besmir and Druke at the same time.

Although assuming two appearances at the same time was difficult in the beginning, Jon had had more than a year to practice using the various effects of his Memento Source Item. The Mask Of Jade Lies was nowhere near as grand as the Boundless Heaven Gate or useful as the Dimensional Dungeon Shadow, but there was no doubt in his mind.

That in terms of social manipulation, supportive effects and combat value, it exceeded even the Immortal Training Arena.

And perhaps even more impressively, it was still a Mortal Ranked Memento Source Item.

His face split down the middle, half mimicking Besmir's reddish-brown skin colour, while the other a pale, almost cream colour, common in humans, lutins and undynes. Both Besmir and Druke furrowing their brows in response to Jon's actions before the former let out a small tsk, shaking his head and gesturing towards the door with his chin.

"Apologies Princeps. I'm suddenly not feeling well this moment. We'll be taking our leave now." Besmir spoke, half-glancing towards the Hades-Draconian Shadow swirling around his feet.

Shamael behind him grinning as he placed an arm around Jon's shoulder. Wilheim doing the same albeit with two hands placed on his hips and his nose pointed up towards the ceiling.

"Perhaps you are still injured from the tournament this afternoon Besmir! Mael did put a couple of you into the ground before he was also eliminated. Might want to think about visiting Maliq or Raflea if you get the chance!" Shamael said, watching as Besmir and the others glared at him for a few seconds before remembering who was still standing beside him.

Besmir and his seven companions moved as swiftly as their Knight Ranked bodies allowed them to. Each one of them glancing between Jon's half-transformed face and the churning Hades-Draconian Shadow beneath their feet.

It was hard to put into words, the feeling of a shadow brushing up against another shadow was. It was somewhere between the sensation of a hand brushing down the length of one's spine and the feeling of spiritual energy gently prodding one's Fragment Of Mind.

Wilheim and Shamael watching as Besmir and the others left the set of tables were Aerilayna, Avahni and their three companions sat, walking down the length of Trade Street, not daring to voice a single word while within the vicinity of a certain Princeps.

Jon on the other hand, could not help but focus his gaze on a certain green-haired lutin, seeing her brush said Asherah-Shamrock Hair over her shoulder.

The Imaginary Princess Of The Round Table ignoring the expressions of interest and curiosity on the three other women beside her. One nadian. One human. And one appaloscian.

"You didn't have to do that." Avahni said.

Jon just shrugged his shoulders in response, allowing Glaucus to dissipate into motes of silverish-red spiritual energy. Lethe slipping of his face and returning to its place within his Source. Short, rust-brown hair marred with a single patch of white gave Jon a somewhat older feeling to him.

"I know…"

A small sigh escaped his lips.

"But I promised to protect you until the end of the System Introduction."

Jon smiled, watching Avahni roll her eyes as an instance of [Falsehood] appeared in the corner of her vision. The effects of Lethe not extended towards Aerilayna or the other three behind her, causing Avahni to sigh, hearing her three other companions practically squeal at his words.

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