Chapter 110 - Nature's Blessing 

Looking at her untouched plate, Aile questioned her, "What is wrong, Diana?"

Diana replied shyly, "Nothing."

Zero also saw her not eating and asked, "Are you ok?"

Diana nodded and was searching for an excuse.

Aile smirked and said, "Oh, is it that your hands are cramping again?"

Diana and Zero looked at Aile in surprise.

Aile looked at Zero and said, "You see, she injured her hand in training some time back with me, and sometimes it cramps."

What Aile said was true during one training session Aile hit her hand with too much force, and it was not in perfect condition for a day. But it was healed, now he just wanted to take this opportunity to get closer to her.

He then cut a few pieces of meat and started to feed her.

He also put one hand around her waist, making the process of feeding her intimate. Diana blushed and as much as she wanted to stop herself from liking this, she could not. She muttered to herself, "Damn it, why are you making it hard for me to stop thinking about you." He did not take any more advantage apart from serving her.

Soon the food was finished, and very reluctantly Diana left. Before Zero could go, Aile told her to call, One, Two, Three and Four.

It did not take long for them to assemble in front of Aile. They had worked very hard, and they were all in the 2nd stage of cultivation. One had reached the third stage not too long ago. Aile then informed them that he plans to go with them somewhere and that they should get ready tomorrow. He also told that it was not their monthly trip, but a mission.

He did not want them to think it will be a simple hunt, playing cards and training against the beasts. They all nodded and went to get ready. Once they were gone, Zero came an stood in front of him again. This was a common sight every month.

"I want to go too."

"No, it is dangerous, you can train here with Diana, once you reach the 4th stage you can go." Aile did not mind her going too, but Diana loved her too much. He had asked Diana about her, and she had told him to wait until she reaches the 4th stage before taking her outside. Thus, he respected her opinion, on top of that, she was talented, and she had already reached the 3rd stage, so it was not too long away for her.

"I want to go and fight."

"You can fight Diana, and both of you will become stronger."

"She does not take me seriously, I have not been injured once."

She looked at Aile and then said passionately, "I train just as much as them, I want to get my name before them. At this rate, you will not even let me go to the final test in two months."

Sigh, Aile had told them that if any one of them wanted to get tested and get a name beforehand, they could ask for a mission from him. The four guys did not take the deal and told Aile that they will pass it together. However, Zero was more competitive, she has been asking Aile for a mission for a long while now. He never put the condition to get a name for her in the first place, but she did not want to be treated differently.

Aile started to think about something, and her persistence helped him make a decision. He told her to pass her cultivation method to him and call Diana. She was reluctant at first, but, she agreed, remembering it was because of him, that Diana passed her cultivation to her in the first place. Aile then connected to to the Myriad Book of Stars.

'Upgrade Cultivation for 2 units of energy.'

Aile agreed and his energy reduced from 35 to 33. He then told Zero to invite Diana quickly. She enthusiastically went to call her, expecting Aile to take permission for her to go with him and the others.

It took for Spirit Surmounting Cultivation 30 minutes to upgrade. Thus he expected around the same time for this upgrade.

However, only 5 minutes had passed, when their cultivation got upgraded, and he got from the system "Life's Blessing" a nature type cultivation.

Diana and Zero had nature's element, if they fought in a forest, they would be able to manipulate the plants.

If they have a branch in their hand, they can manipulate it from being soft as silk to making them hard as a steel. The cotton in their clothing can become an armour if they infuse their element into it. If they cultivate it to a high level, they could grow plants underneath their enemies' feet to trap them or grow bamboo spears impaling them.

However, at low levels, it was not ideal for fighting, thus Diana's reluctance to let Zero go and fight. If the growth of plants were slow, just walking around would be enough to dodge most of the nature-based abilities.

The early advantage of nature's element comes from the auxiliary fields, as they can be used for botany and growing complex herbs. The issue is that there is limited availability of information and teachable knowledge, and that is extremely expensive and hard to find. Not to mention the types and seeds and herbs required for them to practice on require a large sum of money too. Hence both of them had not learned the auxiliary skills.

Soon Diana entered the room alone and shyly walked towards Aile. She was under the impression that Aile called him for another reason. With a cute voice, she said, "You were looking for me?"

Aile looked at her lovingly, but he did not want to pressure her into doing anything. He asked where Zero was, and he shouted her name she came inside. Diana blushed, realizing that she had misunderstood his intention and was glad that he did not pressure her, but also disappointed a little.

Soon both of them were sitting down in front of Aile, he passed the upgraded version of their cultivation to them. Diana seemed very reluctant as you have to restart the cultivation if you get a better one. It will be faster the second time. Nonetheless, it will slow the progress down for a while, and she did not want that to happen. She was so close to achieving her dream of getting Ellie back with her own power. Aile told her that she will not have to do that, but it was not something that people could believe. As such a thing had not happened before.

Aile then passed Life's Blessing to both of them. Zero was confused initially, but then she got excited. Aile smiled at her and told her, "Now if you work hard, you can get to the fourth level in two months and get your name."

Zero got up cheerfully took a step towards Aile and then changed her mind and hugged Diana. She shouted, "Thank you," to Aile and began to walk towards the door, in a hurry, to start cultivating.

Diana instantly opened her eye, then quickly called back Zero. She told her to never ever mention what happened today to anyone, then allowed her to go back and train. She zoomed out.

Diana then looked at Aile complicatedly and said, "I do not know how to repay you." She then moved her face closer for a kiss.

Aile kissed her on the cheek and said, "I did not give this to you for this," he affectionately touched her lips, "It is because I care about you, and I will not pressure you. You know that, right?"

"But I am useless to you," said Diana as she hugged him and continued, "I want to do more... I have a plan to become more useful."

Aile held her closer and said, "I like you, as you are, and you are important to me. Plus I will miss not seeing you every day if you do something else."

Diana said with determination, "I want to do more for you... like Fiona and Emily... I, of course, will still be your maid."

Aile sighed, he knew that learning something had more significance for her than she let Aile believe, "Well, you can learn botany, you have an advantage there. I will ask for some books for you."

"Can you get that for Zero, I have a plan of my own."

"What is it?"

"It is a secret," she said in a cute childish way.

"Is it dangerous?"

"...No."

Aile realized her hesitation, he knew that he can not stop her. Aile did not want to be a barrier to her, but he also knew her disposition. She, on many occasions, risk her safety on things that could be prevented if money was spent. Thus this worried Aile, and he said, "Then take 50 gold coins for expenses and make sure you are protected. Also, I will not allow you unless you promise to prioritize your safety."