"Because, with the way you are now, you're too weak."

As Alicia heard these words, she frowned a little.

It wasn't because she felt somehow offended by the statement, but because she knew it was true.

'I know I'm not living up to my full potential.'

But was it really her fault? She was just around Level 9, so there really wasn't much she could really do at the moment.

The more she grew, and the more Mana she amassed, the stronger she would become.

Then, after getting strong enough, she would try the Summon again and obtain a Beast that she could tame and call her own.

'Yeah… I don't have to listen to him.' Alicia frowned even deeper as she glared at Ralyks.

She already didn't like the man.

'Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but I can't help but think he's a huge asshole.'

Looking at the way he treated everyone—especially the way he beat up Rey in the most brutal fashion—made her dislike towards him grow.

Alicia knew that she couldn't objectively dislike him, since none of what he did was personal.

Still, she couldn't help but feel that way.

'I might be overreacting. I also can't let my emotions ruin the progress of everyone.'

Alicia stole a glance at Rey and noticed he was pretty fine, so she sighed in relief.

She caressed the ring in her finger and smiled slightly, slowly feeling her disgust towards Ralyks fade away.

'Maybe I'll cooperate just this once.'

With that, she calmed herself and responded in the nicest way that she could.

"What do you suggest, then?"

*******

'I knew it! She's definitely mad at me!' Rey thought to himself as he felt himself under her scrutinizing gaze.

As someone who had seen Alicia's nice side, it felt a bit awkward to be on this side of the equation.

'She also looked at the 'Rey' projection I made, so maybe she's angry about how I… nah, let's not even go there.'

Right now, the important thing was that she had asked him for his way out.

'That's good. We can get somewhere then.'

The best way to go about it was simple, and it was a shame that the Royal Estate hadn't done this with Alicia yet.

"Enchanted Items. I'll lend you three of my Items that should help boost your Mana Level and elevate your control over your Skills.'

Currently, Rey's 'Equip Limit' remained at about thirty Items, and he had tons of Items he wasn't utilizing.

Every time he had a discussion with the KariBlanc Group, he ended up shopping for energy stuff that he fancied.

In essence, he had a lot more Enchanted Items than he could properly use.

There was also the pile of Enchanted Items that were supposed to be sold to the Elves. Rey had a ton of options to choose from.

'Now that I think of it, I might as well give everyone at least one Enchanted Item in addition to the gear that the Royal Council plan on providing.'

Enchanted Items made Leveling Up easier without increasing the EXP threshold necessary for Leveling Up.

In essence, it served as a crutch to get stronger pretty quickly.

"Let's see what you can do with sufficient Mana and a proper understanding and control over your Taner Class."

Rey was also curious; as well as curious.

'I want to see what she'll manage to summon.'

"So, what do you say? Want to give it a try?" Rey stretched a hand out to Alicia.

She still seemed to dislike him, but he already knew Alicia's personality well.

'She won't hold the entire class back just because of her personal inclinations.'

Alicia wanted to help save this world and find a way to return home.

'I know she'll make the best choice.'

*********

Alicia's eyes were closed as she currently donned three extra Enchanted Items given by Ralyks.

A glowing blue orb that pretty much served as a Mana Battery which she was connected to.

A necklace that improved her individual Mana amount by a certain percentage, and also a bracelet that improved Mana usage efficiency—reducing cost and improving the effects of Skills.

With these three Items sending waves of energy coursing through her body, she inhaled and exhaled deeply.

Alicia could feel power—more power than she had ever perceived before.

It was nearly overwhelming.

"Huu… I'm ready." Once she acclimated to the Mana that resonated with her, she spoke.

All eyes were on her as she concentrated her attention on what she was about to do.

The entire crowd held their breaths and waited.

"[Divine Beast Summon]." She whispered.

As she uttered those words, a System Window appeared in front of her.

[Select Category Of Summon]

~Divine Tier (SS)~

~Absolute Tier (S)~

~Grand Tier (A)~

~Lesser Tiers (B - C)~

[Warning: Your Grand Tamer Class can only control up to the Grand Tier. Anything beyond will be beyond your control]

[End Of Information]

Alicia had seen all of this before.

She had chosen the least of the allowed Tiers back then, and she managed to Summon something for a few seconds before running out of Mana.

But now, things were different.

She had advanced some Levels, and she had three Mana-

enhancing Items to aid her in her endeavor.

Frankly speaking, she was also very excited to see the outcome of the Summon.

'I'll go with the highest one possible—the Grand Tier.'

She slowly opened her eyes and saw the Magic Circle forming in front of her.

It flowed bright and white, waiting for her to pour her Mana inside.

And so she did.

~FSHUUU~

Energy flowed from Alicia, dancing like a whirlwind as it swirled around her and the Magic Circle like a whirlwind.

And then… something began to emerge.

The world held its breath as it welcomed the entity that was rising from the depths of the circle.

Unlike ordinary Summoning Magic, which brought forth Monsters that already existed in H'Trae through the Summoning Circle, Alicia's Skill was different.

For one; Beasts weren't the same as Monsters.

They had no kind of Core, but were instead made out of Mana itself.

Secondly, they didn't naturally exist within H'Trae.

They were usually summoned from another plane of reality—

somewhere different from this world.

Finally, compared to Monsters… Beasts were phenomenally stronger.

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Thanks for reading!

I guess it's time for Alicia to grow stronger.

She's had this development coming from the first Arc.