"This unique shape and this overflowin' Soulforce," Jambavan murmured, rising from his chair. "Kid, where did ya find this crystal?"

"I can't tell you that," I scoffed, shrugging my shoulders.

"Ya-ya brat—"

Before Jambavan could snap at me, Ume spoke up, moving toward the crystal. "You must have found an artifact with this crystal. May you show that to me?"

"H-how do you know that?" I gasped, flabbergasted.

"Soul Stones aren't like mundane minerals such as gold or silver, which exist in a fixed amount," Ume explained. "Soul Stones form around an essence and will continue to grow as long as that essence remains undisturbed. The closer you get to the essence, the higher the grade of Soul Stones you'll find. And at the very core, you may even discover uniquely shaped crystals—like this lotus—where the essence itself resides."

"S-so you're telling me I cut off an unlimited supply of Soul Stones by removing the essence," I stammered, my hand flying to my mouth. "I'm a total idiot."

"You are definitely an idiot," Vyaghra stated, also rising from his chair after completing the dinner. "Soul Stone mines are very rare, and most of them are only low grade. An essence that could form Mid-Tier Soul Stones is even rarer—I've only seen two of them despite my age and authority as a God.

"It's considered taboo to remove the Soul Stone essence, as you would be cutting off an entire supply of resources. And judging by the high quality of this crystal, the number of essences of this caliber could be counted on two hands."

I dropped on my butt to the floor as Vyaghra's words hit me like a dagger.

"Wh-what have I done?" I murmured, drawing the Broken Shard from the inventory. "This must be the essence you guys are talking about."

Ume grabbed the essence, raised it upward, and murmured while staring at it, "What kind of artifact is this? I have never seen a shard like this."

"Even you haven't seen an essence before?" I asked, confused.

Being a queen and goddess of the ancient era, it was quite unbelievable that Ume hadn't seen an essence before.

"Dummy, of course I have seen many, but this one is quite strange. Essences are not naturally forming artifacts. When an item of very high grade remains untouched for a long time, it begins absorbing the Soulforce of its surroundings and condenses them in the form of Soul Stones. These items could be a high-grade weapon, a Divine Beast's core, or the carcass of an Awakener of the divine realm."

Ume returned the essence to me, murmuring, "However, this shard is nothing of the sort. So mysterious."

I was disappointed and annoyed as I had just killed the goose laying golden eggs, but nothing was going to change by crying over spilled milk. In the end, I could only shrug my shoulders and move on.

"So Vyaghra, about that deal—are you still refusing?" I asked, pushing myself to a standing position.

"Your offer is tempting, but I must still refuse," Vyaghra said. "The scent of mortals makes me sick."

"I'm also a mortal," I stated. "But you didn't show any disgust towards me. Even if I consider that you're grateful to me for curing you, you didn't appear repulsed by Nymeria either."

"Both you and that snow lady don't appear to be mortal to me," Vyaghra replied. "I can't explain it, but you two give a familiar scent, as if we are related somehow."

My eyes flinched at Vyaghra's sudden statement.

"Is this the same for you two as well?" I asked, turning to Jambavan and Ume.

Surprisingly, both nodded, agreeing with Vyaghra's claim.

"Is this because I and Nymeria have cores like the beasts?" I thought inwardly, but decided to put my focus on the matter at hand.

I was already aware that Vyaghra wouldn't agree to train the army that easily, so I had a backup plan as well.

"Since Vyaghra refused, can I trust you with the training?" I asked, turning to Jambavan. "In return, I will let you consume as many Mid-tier Soul Stones as you want for two hours every day."

My overwhelming offer left the three gods gasping in shock.

"Ay will definitely do it," Jambavan exclaimed, shaking my hand aggressively. "Moreover, Ay will leave that bastard in the dust after consuming the Soul Stones."

Jambavan pointed at Vyaghra with a smug grin, forcing a suppressed growl from him.

"Oh right, the gap between you and Vyaghra will widen once you reach the Mid-tier realm," I added, elongating my words dramatically. "And also, since Vyaghra cannot ascend in rank here, he will become useless to Ume as well."

I gave a long sigh as I declared, "Ume won't be able to cast aside useless Vyaghra, so he will become a dead weight on her. Tsk-tsk-tsk, it's truly a pity."

"I-I will do it," Vyaghra murmured under his breath.

"Huh? Did you hear something, Jambavan?" I asked, my voice laced with confusion.

"Must be a hungry cat," Jambavan chuckled before asking, "So should Ay start the trainin' right away—"

"I will train those mortals!" Vyaghra said, his voice loud this time. "I cannot become a liability to Her Majesty by remaining stagnant in my current realm."

"I will not think of you as dead weight, Vyaghra," Ume clarified. "You don't have to do something you are uncomfortable with for my sake."

Ume's words hit the final nail in the coffin. His queen was being understanding of his personal space, yet he was frowning over training some mortals.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to train those mortals wholeheartedly," he declared. "Actually, I must move on to this task right away."

He bowed to Ume and instantly descended into the shadows, vanishing completely.

"Hehe, the trick worked," I laughed, giving a high-five to Jambavan.

"Hahaha, Vyaghra considers me his rival, so he'll never let me have such a huge advantage over him," Jambavan added. "However, his patience runs low against mortals, so Ay'll give him a hand in the trainin'. Keep our Soul Stones ready when we return."

Jambavan moved out of the hall as well, leaving me and Ume alone again.

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