Darian looked closely at everyone, then introduced Howlyn. A strange feeling crossed their minds when they saw her — everyone who had once been a Risen gave off something similar. Darian couldn't hide it, so he explained it directly:

"This is the vice-leader of the academy. She used to be a Risen Lord, but she's cured now and has become a great ally. I know you've got a lot of questions, but everything will be cleared up in time. For now, come with me."

Without wasting time, he led them all to the main building. Then he laid out his plans:

"The main goal is to take back one of the three member-planets of the formation within my thirty-day window. But the enemy has definitely reinforced those places as much as possible to stop us. If we want to pull this off perfectly, we'll need more resources," Darian said, turning to Howlyn.

She nodded in agreement and added, "I helped design part of the seal on all the main planets. If I get a few extra runes from the central inscription of Celestia Academy, I can help with the reconquest pretty easily. We've already negotiated with them — but they can't just give us runes for free, or it would weaken their defenses..."

All inscriptions of the academies were created by the Primordial Beasts, and each rune had a powerful, unreplicable ability. They couldn't just use one from their own academy — every rune was already being used to maintain the barrier.

So they needed to grab a few small runes from another academy — ones that wouldn't be too badly missed. If they paid a good price — and considering Darian had already handed over B- and A-level martial arts — they wouldn't mind.

Basically, Howlyn could use those runes, infuse her powers into them, and sneak them into those locations without being detected.

After the explanation, Darian said, "All the planets in this galaxy are full of Risen. They're our resources. Like I said before, I plan to help everyone evolve — at the same time, we'll collect resources. The schedule is tight, but in seven days, I want to strike one of the main planets."

All the Spiritual Guardians listened in silence, tense.

But the Summoners had glowing eyes — he had already taken back an academy, and now he said he could recover one of the formation planets... so he was really moving toward reclaiming the entire galaxy. That was every Mannaz's dream — if they had to die to make it happen, they'd die satisfied.

Darian stayed quiet, waiting for their answer. At that gathering, he had invited Irana, Udynes, Barod, Haruto, and Amara — people he trusted. They all came, and as he'd asked, each brought two trusted people with them.

They were joined by Matteo, Veyle, Silas, Eleanor, and Nayara — from his empire and clan.

Altogether, there were 10 Spiritual Guardians and 10 Summoners. All the Spiritual Guardians had small bodies, no taller than one meter. As for their Summoners, none had the Divine Dragon bloodline.

Without delay, a small figure that looked like a really cute white cat waved. Her violet eyes looked like pearls: "If cousin says he can do it, we'll listen and do our best."

That was Amara, speaking firmly. Behind her, Aveline and Emeric nodded, clearly excited. The two looked like small wolves — one white, one black.

With a light sigh, a tiny figure like a pixie with green wings said, "My planet Arjun and I would be honored to join your academy. We swear our loyalty."

That was Udynes, who always spoke in an overly polite and formal tone. She had brought a couple of elves from her planet — all three looked like little nature fairies.

"We'll fight by your side to the end." Dry words echoed from something that looked like a one-meter-tall blue humanoid golem.

That was Barod. Beside him were two women from his planet. They looked like more refined and beautiful golems compared to Barod, but kept the same style.

A small golden fox looked at Darian seriously, then glanced at Niara. After three seconds, she nodded:

"I have no doubt in your ability. If we can be of use, we'll do what we can."

That was Irana. Behind her was a couple from her planet, both resembling small foxes — one red, the other grayish.

Darian noticed something odd in Irana's words and behavior. He felt she had completely changed how she acted toward him, like she was trying to keep some distance.

Lastly, a small humanoid figure resembling a gnome raised his hand:

"I came because of what you said at the end of that fight. If what you've got to show me really is what you hinted at, I'll do whatever I can to repay you."

That was Haruto. He came because Darian had hinted that those daggers he used had a secret, and he might finally learn what it was. He brought two men, his trusted aides. All three had chosen forms as close to human as possible, and were eager to find out what Darian had in store.

Darian looked into Nayara's eyes. She was in the form of a small white owl.

"Thanks for trusting me. I won't let you down," she said with confidence. Her eyes said it all — she was ready to do anything to get stronger.

As for the four members of her clan, they didn't need to say a word. In fact, they were amazed to learn that the clan wasn't just a clan... but also a secret academy. No other clan in their entire universe had anything like that.

"Good," Darian nodded. "If everyone's in, let's get to business."

Howlyn, who already knew what to do, took part of the group to check out the academy's facilities. Meanwhile, Darian led Haruto and his assistants to a building that would serve as the academy's forge.

Inside, with Endi's help, Howlyn had managed to adapt the Risen's method to create cores in weapons. It was something simple, but specific — it used the power of the Spiritual Guardians' ring combined with the Risen's corruption.

Darian was the only one who could finish the process by adding something similar to corruption; then anyone else could add the power of the ring, and in no time, the weapons would automatically form a core.

Once they entered the forge, Darian briefly explained how it all worked.

Then he pulled out the weapons he had bought on Earth and placed them into a pit that looked like a pool. After that, he used his black power and personally infused the ring's power.

Haruto and the other two watched, wide-eyed.

The core creation wasn't instant — it would take a day or two, even at the fastest pace. But in less than an hour, those experienced blacksmiths could already feel the changes in the weapons and knew the process was underway.

When Darian saw the stunned look in their eyes, he nodded. Several Jade Slips he had stolen from that assassin clan floated toward Haruto.

"This is the method to create rune seals, along with a bunch of tips and forging techniques left behind by the God of Forging." As soon as Darian said that, the three of them froze.

The God of Forging... Everyone in their empire, which specialized in this field, had heard that name during missions in other universes. They had finally found something from him... It was real? They could barely believe it.

"If you train, I'm sure you'll get results quickly. I brought weapons made with the best material I could find on Earth, but obviously, you won't be using those for training. We're going to invade Risen planets to train and, at the same time, collect a ton of weapons and materials. With everything we get, you'll be able to practice the rune seals and forging methods. I'm counting on you to make quick progress, so we can trade with Celestia Academy."

Darian spoke calmly. Right after that, Haruto focused on reading the Jade Slips in his hand.

It didn't even take a minute before his eyes turned to Darian, trembling...

Darian nodded. "Don't worry. Back on Earth, your Emperor showed he was an honest guy, and I owe him a favor for the help. You can take this knowledge back to everyone when you return. I just..."

He stopped when he saw Haruto quickly bowing, fists clenched.

"Thank you... this... my life wouldn't be enough to repay this. I swear... not just me, but everyone in the Celestial Order Empire will never forget this."

"Good. Get to work," Darian replied emotionlessly, while Niara showed a wide smile.

They turned and left the forge, leaving the three of them and their Summoners behind.

"All set, my Lord," Howlyn's voice rang out.

Darian took a deep breath. His whole group was now organized — it was time to attack, grow stronger, and make as much profit as possible.

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