Yin & Yang Pleasures of Cultivation

Promptly Darcel and Masami snapped their attentions onto Aniela. 

Intrigue raised in Masami's gaze. Off from just the top of her hand, she could think of several engaging things they all could engage in.

And these things unknowingly caused her body to slightly heat up. Though, of course, she kept her expression cool and calm. 

Darcel was similarly curious. After moving around his Siren Chains a few more times to get a better feel, he retracted them back into his body.

At that moment, his previous overwhelming Magical Aura cleared up, allowing Aniela and Masami to subconsciously breathe better. 

Curling his eyebrows at her, Darcel then asked, "Just what kind of engaging things? I'm a bit surprised you girls immediately want to do it after cultivating." 

"Ah~? No, not anything like that, for now." 

Aniela sounded calm though there was a hint of a blush creeping on her and Masami's cheek.

Suppressing the tingles coursing through her body, she told them, "I was moreso thinking of going out to stretch our bones. We've been cooped up in here for hours, and I think we've got enough control over Magical Energy. A mission is exactly what we need to see our limits. Plus, I have a feeling Sami, and I won't be as quick as you with these Magical Arts."

As she spoke, Aniela stood up to stretch. Her bewitchingly curvaceous body cracked with audible pops of Magical Power. Just from this short session, she, too felt stronger than before.

"Oh I've been waiting for this." 

Masami instantly sprang to her feet, her foxtails swishing in growing excitement. "I never was the one for boring extended close door session. Fights are far better if we want to truly learn. And though I don't want to admit it so easily but you'll be a step ahead of us, Darcel. Only for a little bit, though!"

Darcel silently nodded, rising to his feet as well. His mind quickly went over the potential mission they could do. 

For a variety of missions, the difficulty varies because of what they specifically have to do.

Not all missions involve fighting and or killing. Some include helping out other organizations with Magical Formations, exploring areas ward off by a Magical Barrier, or even aiding random rouge Mages groups.

These missions also provide fantastic rewards that are legitimately temping for Darcel to consider. 

However, Darcel soon put those missions out of his mind. 

For sure, later on in their journey, he and the girls will need to gain practice on a specific control of Magical energy. But as of now, they need to thoroughly test the limits of their combat strength.

With the recent upgrade provided to them, Darcel could even sense their combat prowess is no longer the same. 

Magical energy and the Magical Marks awaken something that was most likely slumbering deep within them all.

Previously, Darcel wasn't confident to say he and the girls could face even Mid-ranks Heavenly transformation cultivators. They did have a slight struggle killing that skeleton ice creature back in the Frozen Prison domain.

But now, Darcel's confidence soared to a high degree. 

He firmly believes that not only can they crush any Low-ranks Heavenly Kings but also Mid ranks Heavenly Kings!

His confidence mainly came from Siren Blade's expression after their ritual was done. 

Siren Blade is an existence that is most likely around Mid or High-rank Heavenly Kings. With his age and experience, Darcel didn't doubt he could contend with powerhouses such as the Snow Angel group's captains or four leaders. 

And this kind of powerhouse was genuinely afraid of his Magical Power.

If that didn't speak volumes, Darcel didn't know what else could. 

The only thing was that neither Aniela nor Masami paid much attention to this. Currently, the girls believed their combat prowess didn't grow that much.

At least not to the point where they could significantly skip over levels. 

And this thought, Darcel believed he could rectify with a high-tier mission. 

Right then, Darcel was just about to open his mouth to speak. However, his words caught in his throat when he suddenly sensed a presence near their door. 

A split second later, a loud knock was heard from the door. 

"Hmph! Just what the hell do they want with us already?"

Masami spoke with slight annoyance lacing her tone, obviously not fond at the thought of conversing with any of these Siren Mages. 

"To be fair to them, Sami. We did shatter records within one night…." Aniela seemed more reasonable. But both Darcel and Masami could tell her tone contained some slight dissatisfaction. 

In the first place, she never was fond of Mages and found these Siren Mages as too brazen.

On the other hand, Darcel gave a slight, wry smile while shaking his head. He could understand the girl's plight, but it honestly didn't bother him much. 

Walking over to the door, Darcel first put his mask on before opening it up. His eyebrows furrowed a bit, seeing it was Siren Blade. 

In a calm tone, he asked, "Is there something you need from us?" 

Before responding, Siren Blade took a moment to gaze over Darcel. Outwardly, besides him now donning the Siren Magical robes, there wasn't anything distinctly different about him. 

However, Siren Blade couldn't suppress this odd feeling of slight trepidation.

For some reason, he felt as if Darcel already grew even stronger. His restrained Magical Aura felt far more controlled as if he already became incredibly proficient in using it.

A strange light swirled within Siren Blade's eyes. The possibility was certainly there, but Siren Blade quickly refocused his mind. 

Wanting to get this meeting over with, he promptly said, "I've come to inform that Siren Star is requesting a Mage Match from either one of you. It doesn't matter who or if you three even come at him together. In fact, he's hoping for that case."

"This….news sure do travel fast around here, huh?" 

Aniela immediately furrows her brows at this news. Suspicions wrapped around her mind knowing that their mere presence is already heavily disliked here.

A Mage match seemingly out of the blue just reeked with some sort of hidden ploy to her. 

"Tch, already trouble? Since he's a Siren rank, isn't he already pretty powerful? Just what's his goal?"

Masami as well promptly grew suspicious. No matter how up she is for action, she's also plainly aware of their negative status here. Above wanting action, safety for their lives comes first.

"A Mage match hm?" In direct contrast to the girls, Darcel began to ponder about the rules of this situation. 

A Mage Match is another way to gain a lot of valuables all at once.

The loser of a Mage Match must give half of what they own in their room to the victor, no question ask. This rule is enforced by the Elders of the organization, so it was impossible to scam anyone.

Mage Matches don't often happen for this reason. 

Although sometimes, between the regular Siren Mages, bubbling internal conflicts that can't be smoothed over do get settled by a Mage Match.

As for Senior ranked Mages, Darcel was well aware of the fact that Mage Matches very rarely, if ever, occurs for them. 

From this, he could tell their Mage Match will gain a lot of traction.

With this thought in mind, Darcel let loose a calm smile, asking Siren Blade, "So how long until the match is set up?" 

"Darcy!/Hey!" 

Aniela and Masami simultaneously reacted, their eyes boring a hole into Darcel's backside.

Both of their expressions morphed into worry, believing they can't so recklessly jump into this. After all, there were too many unknowns in this situation, and their combat prowess couldn't possibly match an experience Spirit Ranked Mage!

But right as Aniela and Masami were about to express their worries, Darcel raised a hand at them, causing the girls to momentarily stop. 

Within their minds, Aniela and Masami heard Darcel's calm voice say, 'Just wait until he leaves.' 

Unaware of what was happening, Siren Blade simply answered Darcel with, "The match will begin in two hours. The books we have here will guide you over to the arena."

"I see. Thanks for the news; we'll be over there then." Darcel nodded in response. 

With his piece said, Siren Blade promptly strolled off down the halls. 

Closing the door behind him, Darcel whipped around to Aniela and Masami's inquisitive expression. 

Aniela had her hands clasped together, her face a mix of ponderance and questioning as she gazed at Darcel.

While Masami had her arms crossed under her massive bust, her expressions surprisingly stern. Starting off first, Masami pointed her foxtails straight at Darcel, immediately asking him,

"Why do we need to play into their hands? Screw what everyone else thinks of us! I can hold off any dissatisfaction until we get strong enough to sweep them away. Until then, we shouldn't do any unnecessary risks!"

Despite how aggressive her tone was, the concern in Masami's eyes was clear as days.

"I'm never the one to back down from a challenge. But Sami's right Darcy. These Mages can be craftier than cultivators. I can't forget those Raven Mages trying to pluck us off once we were utterly exhausted. Best to wait until we have sufficient strength to make a ruckus." Aniela's expression was the utmost of serious and worried. 

And seeing their reaction, Darcel could only internally shake his head.