"What? Did you think things would stay the same because your group was away? I mean, I have to give it to you. It actually took so long for them to appear after you left which shows that your group is special but still, you aren't the only people on that planet. So you should have expected this right?" Althea replied to Muku seriously.

She even paused what she was doing to speak to him properly.

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't think it would happen so soon you know" Muku replied in a slightly defeated tone.

He thought they'd have at least reached R8 by the time anyone reaches R7 back home. But things didn't go according to plan, which was quite apparent.

"Well, such is life. So what's your next move?" Althea asked curiously.

"Well, we can only go back as we are now I guess. After all, we're closing in on the peak, so we should be able to make a diff..." Muku was telling Althea his plan when she interrupted him.

"Pfft hahaha. You think you can make a difference against R8s and R9s? Hahaha. That's the funniest thing I've heard all day. And mind you, I was watching comedic reels. Anyway, did you forget that not only will the truly strong beasts from here go there but your slumbering experts will also wake up? The planet is not as defenceless as you think. If anything, they have a better chance now than they did before. After all, the people who actually know what they are doing are finally getting involved. And honestly, your presence, all of you together won't make a difference with your current strength" Althea spoke the hard truth Muku needed to hear.

"What do you propose we do then?" Muku asked, feeling slightly lost.

"Stay and continue your cultivation. Maybe double down and stop taking breaks. You need to completely lock in. Push harder if possible. That's if you want to gain the strength to make a difference of course. If not, then you're free to continue your current pace. I don't mind having you here. And we can go together when the Monarchs are finally free to go there. I can protect you all even if you're still weak when the time comes. And with that variable there, I'm sure they will be fine. Speaking of which, I'm starting to think that the failed experiment that broke free is the variable. The thing could escape a Monarch's control, so who knows what else it can do... That would suck though, I heard it's a complete mess made up of who knows how many lifeforms. I don't want to be associated with such a thing" Althea gave Muku his options then strayed until she was speaking about herself.

"I don't think it's that thing. There's no way it would fight for the world like that. And thank you for the second offer, but we'll take the first one. Even if you can protect us, we still want our own strength" Muku replied.

"Ah. That makes sense. Such a thing can't be heroic. It's probably pure evil at best. As for the option you chose, I'm not surprised. It's what I expected you to choose. To that, I want to offer you an option to get stronger quickly. I can help you infuse mana into your body. However, it's so painful you'll likely wish you were dead. Are you up for it?" Althea replied and then presented a previously unstated method to him.

"Huh? Why didn't you say so sooner?" Muku asked.

"Well, it's no secret that you didn't trust me and I didn't trust you back then. So suggesting such a thing would have sounded sus at best, don't you think?" Althea replied plainly.

"Yeah, you're right there's no way I would have accepted such a thing" Muku replied plainly as well.

The two of them had gotten very familiar with each other over the months and realised that as long as you don't cross the other, then they weren't bad at all.

"See? Anyway, are you up for it?" Althea replied.

"Of course I am. How long will it take?"

Muku accepted and began asking for details.

"Hmm. To get to the peak of R7, I'd say a month from where you are right now" Althea replied.

"A month of nonstop pain, sounds fun... Okay, let's do it" Muku agreed.

He calculated that if he did it on his own, it would take three to four months more, so this was a good deal. He was long used to pain, so that wasn't an issue either.

"Great! We can start whenever you want" Althea replied excitedly.

It's a method her master had used on her in the past and she had always wanted to use it on someone else and make them embarrass themselves as she did from the pain.

"Let's start now" Muku replied while walking closer to Althea.

"Stop right there!" A voice was heard from the distance.

Althea and Muku looked over and saw Jade and the other girls approaching.

"What? Why have you all stopped cultivating?" Muku asked confusedly.

"Shut up. Who said you could not only make such a serious decision on your own, but also go first as well? I'm the one going first, move out of the way!... I'll do it first" Jade replied as she pushed Muku out of the way and walked up to Althea with a brave face on.

Muku looked at her and the others and immediately understood what was going on. They were afraid that the method might be unsafe or have some hidden mechanics, so they were going to use their bodies to test first.

Jade had probably just stepped up before the others could.

It made Muku feel loved, yet he wanted to beat them all up for being reckless at the same time. Since when was it the women who took risks for the men? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

In fact, he had the same worries, which is why he wanted to go ahead without working them up to avoid this kind of situation.

Unfortunately, it wasn't his lucky day and Jade managed to hear him.

In fact, she knew about everything he and Althea spoke about over the months as she would always eavesdrop when they spoke.

And since it was just her senses being great, even Althea didn't notice anything as there wasn't any form of energy getting used. And it was different from being looked at where one can actually feel it.

"No I came her..." Muku wanted to refuse but...

"Shut up! She's already said she'll go first. Just quietly wait for your turn... Behind all of us" Surprisingly it was the ever respectful Audrey who spoke like that.

It seemed she and the others really didn't play around in protecting their man. Even the confused Elsa supported Muku going last.

"But wait, doesn't this mean the first five who go first will advance first then be the ones to get those favours from me? How is that fair?" Muku asked trying to sow discord among them.

"We'll use rock-paper-scissors of course. Jade discovered your treachery so she can go first, the rest of us will work it out that way..." Audrey replied calmly.

Easily putting an end to Muku's plot.

"Sigh. Fine" Muku finally relented. There was no beating them after all.

"Ms Althea, I'm ready whenever you are" Jade spoke to Althea.

"Sure, sure. Let's go to the cultivation spot" Althea replied in an unbothered tone. She didn't care who started. She just wanted to be done with it so she could continue playing with her phone.

There were way too many things to do she hadn't done yet. She was even learning various human languages personally even though the phone could just implant them into her mind just for the fun of it. Hell, she didn't even need to learn them as she could understand everything and anyone could understand what she was saying due to the special nature of her native language.

"Why don't we do this in the embryo?" Muku suddenly spoke up.

"Are you sure?" Audrey asked in a hesitant voice. They hadn't exposed it to Althea yet after all. It was their backup plan to get away if things went south.

So exposing it was a bit risky.

"Yes, I'm sure. She's trustworthy. And with all these benefits, this is the least we can do. Besides, do you think we could have used it successfully in the first place?" Muku replied seriously.

"I guess you're right. Go ahead then" Audrey relented as Muku was making a lot of sense.

"Embryo? Tell me more..." Althea asked with a curious look on her face.

"Oh, that, it's..." Muku explained to her what the embryo was.

"What?! You have a mini world?! That's something only Monarchs should have! And yours even grows? And you absorbed an ancient Monarch's soul? Are you crazy? What if it had consumed you instead?!" Althea exclaimed in shock not sure what to be most shocked about.

As for Muku's group having more secrets, especially one that could help them escape her, she completely understood. She would have done the same in their situation.

She was surprised they were bringing it up honestly. And it made her feel warm inside. So much so a smile appeared on her face.

Tears almost came out of her eyes before she purged them on the spot with her beast aura before anyone noticed them.

She couldn't seem weak after all...