A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

For a few more hours afterwards, he enjoyed his new ability. Both Elora and Erik continued to be amazed by the speed at which he was cultivating both his body and the aetherium storage he shared with his beloved fairy.

Eventually, however, he decided it was time to stop. Despite the extreme speed, the use of Elorium was putting a strain on his already wounded body from the previous experiments.

"Still, even if I have to take regular breaks, I think by using Elorium I only need a few more weeks of improving my body and our aetherium storage. By then, I should have reached the point where I only need to break through with my runes and glyphs," Erik grinned enthusiastically, but with tired eyes.

"I think I may break through to the third rank in a month, maybe two," he finished with shining eyes. Truly, he'd been looking forward to that day for a long time.

Back during his year of training in Norway, he'd already been very close to the third rank, but then he decided to put off his breakthrough in favour of making thundersnow his primary affinity. He didn't regret that decision at all, but he was looking forward to making up the difference.

"Hehe, I also can't wait to start making progress again," Elora grinned slightly.

The reason their aetherium storage still wasn't at the third rank, despite Elora herself being at that level, was because the fairy's storage is forced down to the level of the person they bond with.

In other words, when they bonded, Elora had already been at the third rank, but with her aetherium storage being bumped back down to the first rank, she couldn't make any progress on her Seidr magic anymore. Especially because, after bonding, only the guardian can cultivate the aetherium storage.

Honestly, fairies gave up quite a bit by bonding. The reason there were so many dark fairies, was because many of them believed they were owed more compensation than a mere guardian—they wanted a slave.

Fortunately, Elora saw more benefits in Erik's freedom. Especially now.

"I've appreciated your patience," Erik smiled gently. He started to chuckle, "Seriously, I'm not sure if I could have waited this long without progress."

Elora grinned and shrugged. Still sitting on his shoulder, she swung her legs a little. "Different priorities, my love. I regret nothing, even if I look forward to making progress again."

"Hehe, well I still appreciate it," he chuckled in response.

Elora shook her head in mock exasperation, before reluctantly accepting his gratitude. "Well, I suppose I am amazing, so I guess you really have no choice but to appreciate me. You're welcome!"

Flying up from his shoulder, she dispelled the dark dome that was previously separating them from the outside world. "Now, how about we get you some rest? I'm sure the girls are looking forward to the dates you promised them…" she started grinning mischievously, "as well as relieving all our frustration properly~~"

Yet, Erik remained seated, his brows furrowed in a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm?" the fairy hummed curiously. "What's wrong? I can feel the gears in your head turning!"

Erik looked up at the fairy, still frowning. "I was thinking of the future… and the girls."

Sensing this was a serious conversation, Elora enlarged herself, and sat down in front of him with a raised eyebrow. "Yes? I hope you're not planning to leave them behind somewhere to 'protect them'? I'm sure they'd kill you if you tried."

Erik chuckled and shook his head, some of his previous frown disappearing. "Hehehe, no, nothing like that. Although we might have to split up to cover more ground soon. So far, we've had a single goal we could remain together for, but our interests will start to expand soon, and we might need people we trust to handle certain things."

Elora nodded smugly, "Of course, I've already made plans about that, and our future with Naeku's family. But we can talk about that later." She cocked her head curiously, "So, what are you thinking about then?"

The thoughtful frown returned on Erik's brow. "Well, with Elorium, my progress will speed up considerably. The cultivation of body and storage has always been the most time intensive, but I've cut that time considerably now. Meanwhile, my bloodlines and our bond allow me to explore my glyphs and runes at relatively faster speed compared to others."

He swayed a little from side to side, as if estimating something, "All in all, I'd say my progression speed has now surpassed that of most others, despite advancing both Arcanist and Runebound paths, don't you think?"

Naturally, Elora had more knowledge about this. Erik himself couldn't really be sure without actively comparing the time it would take him to reach fourth rank, with that of someone else.

Elora narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, staying silent for a moment. Finally, she started to nod, "You may be right. In fact, you definitely are. Which is good news, obviously, but you're concerned about leaving the others behind, huh?"

With a wry smile, Erik scratched the stubble on his chin. "Right… I'm already stronger than them at the same level. If I'm going to be pulling ahead of them significantly, there will come a day where we can't even fight on the same battlefield anymore… and they'll hate that."

"Of course they will," Elora giggled with a small smile. "They're good girls. They'll pretend not to mind, but it will eat them up inside."
Read latest chapters at empire

Erik smiled and nodded, "Exactly. So, I'm hoping there's a way I can share Elorium with them so that they can keep up with me. There's an obvious way I can do this for my wives, but it wouldn't work for Alice, so do you have any idea on how to solve that?"

Elora blinked a few times, shock slowly spreading across her face as she realized what Erik was planning. "You— I can't believe I didn't think of that! That might actually work! No, no, it definitely will! I'll have to make adjustments, but I can absolutely do that!"

Suddenly, she deflated a little and frowned, "But are you sure that's what you want? It wouldn't change anything for you, but anyone who can recognize it would immediately think less of you. It also reinforces the idea that you're my slave, not my partner."

Erik smiled gently and shrugged, clearly unconcerned without shame. "Since when have we ever cared about that? We know what we are, and so do the girls. Anyone who disagrees will change their mind after they meet the business end of my hammer. But, as I said, it wouldn't work with Alice."

"R— Right, of course not," Elora immediately agreed and nodded thoughtfully. "But… I think I can create something that would work for her. It will just take me a while."

The corners of her full, red lips, started to curl upwards into a somewhat scary grin, "This is good, my love… This is very good. The powerful harem I've been wanting for you just got even better!"