Hearing what the four requirements which Max believed would be needed to effectively upgrade Drex, Alyx was not surprised. If anything, it all made sense to him as they would essentially be reforging the drake’s soul. And any other soul researcher worth anything could easily make the connection between the items and the requirements often needed to create a soul. Except now they wouldn't be building a soul from scratch, as Drex had a soul. Instead, they would be improving his already existing soul.

  Even then, it went without saying that just because they knew what was needed, it didn't mean obtaining those items would be easy. As a soul expert, Alyx knew a fair amount about souls, like how not all souls could grow in power, or if they could, they all couldn’t reach the same level of strength. Although granted, this rule often applied more to non-humanoids than to anything else, which was why it was important to remember that Drex was considered a monster.

  With this in mind, if they went and grabbed some mediocre items and then proceeded to do the ritual to reforge his soul, there was a chance that the items in question would limit Drex’s advancement. Obviously, the reason for this was that at some point, the power of Drex’s soul would reach a level where it could no longer grow as the soul itself had reached its limit. Granted, such an outcome was slim considering that Tesilim was linked to the drake, and the drake's advancement was based on the elf.

  As he thought about this further, Alyx had a terrible realization. Actually, he had two terrible realizations. The first one was that if they did reforge the drakes soul, his concern about progressing would be genuine, as it would likely no longer be linked to Tesilim. However, the worst of the two things was that the Tesilim and Drex would still be connected, and if Drex’s advancement was limited, would that also affect Tesilim? After all, Max had said that, because the link between the two was much stronger, it would allow changes to occur based on actions taken with either one or the other.

  “Looks like you have made some conclusions,” Alyx heard Maxkhalin say, the dragon's voice slightly amused.

  “Yeah, it seems like we need to find the best items available,” Alyx said, his voice sounding empty as his brain was processing his realization.

  “Ah, yes, though I must remind you, the item for the body must be related to a drake lineage. And as I have said, a dragon’s or wyvern’s body part would be best. A hydra could work or some sort of lizard, but anything besides the first two would have side effects on both of them.”

  “What kind of side effects?” Alyx asked, sounding more lively as his mind focused on the dragon's words.

  “Hmm, well, a hydra might give them both regeneration due to their link, but it might also have them grow multiple heads,” Maxkhalin answered with a chuckle, and Alyx couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

  “I will say that regeneration doesn’t sound bad, and I don’t think Tesilim would mind having extra heads.”

  “Sure, sure, as for anything else, well, a snake might give them scales, though a hydra could as well. Honestly, it could alter their bodies and souls in many ways, possibly even change them to half-beast folk or full-on beast. Mind you, even the dragon or wyvern items will have side effects, but since most of the energy will be attuned to Drex, anything that happens to Tesilim won't be as horrifying.”

  “I see, well, at least we know beforehand, even if they will be on the search for the items for a while. Also, thanks for the help,” Alyx told his friend, the gnome being incredibly glad Max had chosen to help.

  “No problem, plus this whole thing has given me some ideas on how to advance in my own research. However, before I leave you to think about all of this, I do have a proposition.”

  Hearing the dragon, Alyx’s brain, which had already been wandering, refocused, “Hmm? What is it?”

  “I would be happy to trade Tesilim one of my scales if he lets me take a look at his soul, witness a couple of Chaos Events, and if he infuses a bit of his Chaos Mana into something of my choosing.”

  Alyx heard what Maxkhalin said. The dragon's tone was serious, indicating that he was genuinely proposing this. However, Alyx couldn’t respond as a million thoughts raced through his mind.

  Maxkhalin was one of the strongest entities on the planet, and as a result, even one of his scales was essentially priceless. The items and magic that could be created with one of his scales would effectively be in the divine realms of power. People would kill and go to war for such an item without a second thought. And now here he was offering to trade one of his scales for access to Tesilim’s mana because Alyx did not doubt that it was his friend's mana that the dragon wanted.

  See, the dragon could easily peer into Tesilim's soul. Sure, it would be rude, but it was something that he could do without too much issue. As for witnessing Chaos Events, well, that wasn't too much of a problem either, as the dragon could easily watch Tesilim and his Chaos Events without the elf even noticing. All it would take was for him to fly across half a continent in under an hour, and then he could watch without problems. Of course, Max could want the events to happen in controlled environments, but even then, that wasn't a good enough trade, which left the Chaos Mana.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Alyx had witnessed the power of Chaos Mana through the Chaos Events and then felt what happened when it was infused into an item, in this case, Tesilim’s contract. Of course, if that wasn’t enough, his goddesses had pretty much confirmed that the energy was essentially unknown to them and had incredible potential and power. So it wasn't an exaggeration to say that his friend’s Chaos Mana was possibly even more valuable than Maxkhalin’s scale. However, if that was the truth—which it likely was—there was a significant difference between the two individuals in question. Maxkalin didn’t necessarily need the Chaos Mana, as it could very well be for some random experiment. On the other hand, Tesilim would be hard-pressed to find a better item for Drex, at least considering if time was of the essence when it came to upgrading Drex. Not only was Maxkhalin’s scale almost invaluable, but the amount of time saved searching for an item of equal value and power, if one could be found, was possibly worth it all on its own. Nevertheless, Alyx, who was finally starting to come back to reality, knew there was still one thing he had to ask and another to clarify.

  “And you're sure that you wouldn't get in trouble for making this trade? After all, your scale is quite valuable, and it might be seen as you helping Tesilim a little too much.”

  “Nah, as you already figured it out, in your little thinking session, his mana is possibly worth as much if not more. So, it would be an even trade, and no one would get mad,” Maxkhalin answered him, having deduced why Alyx had gone silent.

  “Alright, well, that just leaves asking him, since I can’t accept on his behalf.”

  “Sounds good, just let me know what he says.”

  “Will do, as a matter of fact, I will head over to his place right now. Granted, there is a good chance he will say yes, but I will be taking a break tomorrow, so I will get back to you the day after.”

  “Alright, I will see you then, little buddy,” Max told him jokingly, then disappeared before Alyx could retort—not that it stopped him either way.

  “Stupid lizard,” Alyx murmured as he made ready to send a message to a certain someone.

  Speaking of messages, he couldn't really send one to Tesilim, as Jolly’s tree blocked them, and he didn’t want to send an actual messenger, as it was rather late. Instead, Alyx would head there himself to give him an update, as the gnome was planning to shut his brain off the following day. The last two days had been incredibly tiring, and he needed to let off some steam.

  Leaving his room and collecting his box, it wasn't long before Alyx made it to Jolly’s inn. From there, he quickly made his way to Tesilim's room using his teleportation token. However, considering how late it was and how silent the living space was, the gnome decided to wait by the teleportation area and chose to shout instead.

  “Hello! Tesilim! Anyone home!?”

  There was a brief moment before he heard muffled voices, and about a minute later, Tesilim appeared around the corner wearing half-thrown clothes, with messy hair, and a scrunched face, letting Alyx know how mad and annoyed he was.

  “What the fuck, Alyx! Why are you here so late!?”

  “I have some important news, and-” Alyx began calmly, only to be promptly cut off.

  “And what!? You couldn’t wait till tomorrow!?”

  “Exactly, I will not be available tomorrow, so I came by now,” Alyx responded, still calm as a feather.

  “What? Why won’t you be available tomorrow?” Tesilim asked, the confusion of Alyx’s words, overriding his anger.

  Instead of answering properly, Alyx just nodded to Lili with a knowing smirk. For her part, the white haired elf had shown up just in time and looked just as disheveled as her boyfriend. Thankfully, Tesilim made the connection and sighed.

  “Alright, what such important news do you have?” Tesilim said as Lili came behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, causing the elf to stiffen his back slightly, as Lili’s girls made contact.

  “Well, let me begin by saying that there isn’t any connection between us due to the system. Now, as for the actual important part, well, I spoke with Maxkhalin and…”

  Alyx told the couple about what he and the dragon had spoken about, but only the things relevant to the Tesilim’s and Drex’s link. However, he did give an overview of the entire conversation, just not anything too detailed. Basically, it came down to the items needed and what possible side effects there might be if the correct item to embody drake wasn’t used. All in all, everything went relatively quickly, leaving Tesilim pondering a few things.

  “Is it really worth trading my mana for that? We have already seen what it is capable of, and I am worried about what others might do with it. Not to mention the possibility of others finding out.”

  “I think it's worth it, but that’s just me. Also, I know you are worried, but when it happens, it will likely be in a secure place. More importantly, you will be helping the good guys here, which is always good,” Alyx told Tesilim, trying to convince his friend because he thought it was worth it and not because he was totally going to make Maxkhalin let him watch when Tesilim infused his mana.

  “Still, I am not sure. What do you think, cutie?” Tesilim said while turning his head slightly to look at Lili, who was still hugging him but had shifted slightly from directly behind to his side.

  “Let me put this in a way you will understand, because I am assuming, though you hear Alyx say Maxkhalin is this all-powerful dragon, that’s just words to you, right?” Lili asked, and continued when Tesilim nodded. Sure, he was told the dragon was great and the scale was incredibly valuable, but that was like back on Earth and hearing that NASA had found a new black hole or something. It sounded amazing, but there was no real reference for the average person to truly be impressed by the news.

  “Alright, so you know how you've been telling me about games and the general mythology back on Earth?” Lili asked, and with another nod from Tesilim, she continued, “Alright, well, now imagine Drex gaining the slightest power of a dragon like Fatalis or Bahamut.”

  Hearing Lili’s words, Tesilim’s eyes widen slightly, and he made it seem like he was still going over his options. Like, sure, that was impressive, but it was still an important decision, and he was truly considering everything. Except that in reality, he had already made his decision, and he totally needed a mini Fatalis or Bahamut.