By the time that the sun set, the entire mountainside was looking more like an outdoor concert venue than a desolate, frozen pile of stones in the middle of no man's land. Hundreds of Fae and Demons had gathered for the celebration, bringing food, drinks, entertainment, and even gifts.
It was accepted that if you were not at least Rank Six, you should bring a present to suck up to the new power. But if you were Rank Six, it was considered good luck to attend, as the superstition was that someone who attended would be blessed with a breakthrough and be the next Saint or Overlord.
It seemed a bit silly to Wolfe, they were at the peak of Rank Six already, obviously they were the ones who would break through next, but both groups maintained that the ones who remained as shut ins and didn't attend the breakthrough parties would remain stuck at rank six longer than they should have.
Wolfe didn't attend any breakthrough parties on this level, but he had attended plenty for the witches, so maybe those counted as well. Blessings by quantity and not quality.
In this case, it was more likely to be breakthrough by opportunity, as there was a most excellent fire elemental resource right below them, and a large selection of fire adept demons in attendance.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIf one of them managed to get insight from this place, where even at the surface, it was possible to feel the extra elemental power, there was a chance that they really would break through in the short term.
That would be a huge deal for the Demons, who were so routinely stuck at Rank Six for centuries for lack of opportunity to advance. The Demons bloodlines would naturally take many of them to Rank Six, but Rank Seven was an entirely different matter, and making that final step through took a bit of unusual learning or a rare resource that could tip their body over the breaking point and cause the balance to shift into the next level.
But it was when the music started that it became undeniable that this was not a serious gathering.
Really, it would be difficult to consider any event with Faerie Folk Singing a serious event, given the content of the bawdy tunes, but when you combined that with all the dancing and the copious amount of alcohol that had found its way to the mountain, even the densest of harem protagonists could see the light.
With so many highly developed senses around, it was no secret that a lot of the guests were drunkenly sneaking out to the other side of the mountain for some intimate shenanigans, but strangely, according to Wolfe's mana sense, that was actually helping their growth.
There were plenty of things that he didn't know about Demon and Fae physiology, but he was reasonably certain that if more than just the Succubi and Incubi could grow through lewdity, they would be doing it all the time.
Then an intriguing thought came to him. The massive amount of lingering mana in the air here was due to his breakthrough, and what he had gathered for it. Could it be that because it was tinted by the interaction of a Magi, that in this one instance, everyone was radiating mana that could be siphoned with direct contact to another?
Wolfe sat down in a chair on the porch of the small building he had created, while he pretended not to notice the half elemental sneaking down the hidden passage with a dainty fire demon to go 'cultivate' in the dense fire laws at the core of the volcano. There was a Fairy on one shoulder and a Nymph in his lap, both absorbing the energy that he was radiating for them while he observed the massive crowd of party goers.
Yes, they were generating a cloud of mana, and everyone was absorbing it. It was fascinating, as if his presence here had altered the mana in a fundamental way. If that was something that he could replicate in the future, Wolfe could almost guarantee that there would be very few reproductive issues in Forest Grove.
But it would also guarantee that everyone got along a bit better than usual. When physical contact was more pleasant and calmed both tensions and anxiety, a simple hug would prevent all sorts of issues before they became big issues.
Slowly, Wolfe found himself covered in more and more Fae, until there was no more space left on him for anyone to sit, and one of the Faeries was even considering attaching a hoop swing to his ear to add another seat.
"Am I really that comfortable?" He asked, trying not to shake anyone off, since they were clearly enjoying themselves.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Not only comfortable, but good luck. Someone take a picture, I don't think that we've managed to get this many on a person before." One of the Fae agreed.
There was a deep chuckle in the darkness, and a Treant shuffled forward. "I thought it was just me at first, since Treants are so easy to sit on, but they do it to everyone. It's considered lucky to touch the Saint, and most normal people go for a handshake or a hug, but this is how the Faeries do it."
Wolfe extended his legs forward from the chair, and the Nymph created a branch to use as an ottoman.
"There we go, more standing space." He announced, while the Faeries cheered and quickly filled up the new potential standing spots.
Someone brought out a camera that would actually work in this high mana environment, most likely made by the Fae, and a few flashes later, the moment was captured in all its Fairy dust glittering glory.
It was going to take Wolfe days to get all of that dust to stop sticking to him, but the Fae were so happy that he just couldn't tell them no.
"Alright, you all party, but I am exhausted, and I am going to sleep." He announced, with a gesture toward the small stone building.
"Sleep well, Overlord Noxus."
"Sleep well, Saint Noxus. When you wake up, we should have come up with a proper title for you."