Sowhere on Ninth Peak, Hester walked around aimlessly without a destination in mind and observed the dragon interactions around her.
Whether they were on land or in the sky, each red dragon she spotted had the power to devastate cities and slaughter humans like cutting weeds—if they were let loose and rampaged throughout the kingdom.
"A single mountain of dragons is enough to reduce a witch kingdom to ruin. And yet, nine such mountains exist within the depths of the Thousand Fog Mountains… The collective strength of the Black Rose Kingdom is far too lacking in comparison," Hester silently thought.
Even if she advanced to the High Witch rank, she would still be weaker than a single Rank 4 dragon.
"Fortunately, Lord Narvim is reasonable, and we share a common threat," Hester added.
If the red dragons weren't trying to hide from the eyes of the Gehenna Realm's Great Devils, they could have chosen to dominate the world and enslave the humans.
After all, they wield that much power.
However, they didn't, and it was best that humans beco their friend, not foe – That much was clear to Hester.
Her existence felt more insignificant than ever after she learned about the Netherworld Realm and had her eyes opened to realms beyond Gehenna.
The threat posed by Gehenna's Great Devils was nothing compared to the greater beings dwelling in the depths of the Netherworld Realm.
Hester hadn't fully grasped why denizens of the Netherworld Realm desired their world so much.
However, she clearly understood that while Gehenna's Great Devils were the first to be attracted to their world, they wouldn't be the last.
As news spreads of the crack connecting their worlds, more powerful beings would be attracted.
"Out of everyone in the group, my power is the weakest. Furthermore, my talent and background are also lacking compared to the others. Therefore, I can only compensate for my shortcomings by working harder," Hester thought.
After looking around Ninth Peak for a bit longer, Hester found a suitable spot in the open to form her next magic circle and beco a High Witch.
The environnt was rich in mana, and the dragons minded their own business. So Hester didn't have to worry about the dragons interrupting her advancent.
"If I keep following Sir Vahn, I will get plenty of opportunities to grow. However, If I fall too far behind in strength, I'll beco a burden like I am now and be left behind. That's why I have to advance!" Hester believed.
She also had her own pride.
Becoming a beggar that completely relied on Vaan's benefits to progress her cultivation was unacceptable to her.
After all, their relationship was originally that of mutual benefits.
If her strength was no longer of use to Vaan, he did not need to keep dual-practicing with her, especially when he had better choices.
'I must succeed!' Hester firmly willed.
After she adjusted her breathing, the scattered mana particles around her started to gather and enter her body, making their way toward her heart.
The two mana rings revolving around her heart had already been strengthened to the limit and achieved saturation.
Although there was plenty of room to form serval more mana rings around her heart, it wasn't an easy feat anyone could accomplish.
After all, each additional mana ring had to be bigger than the last to prevent the mana rings from clashing. Furthermore, the force of attraction in the center would pull in any nearby mana particles that weren't already a part of the mana rings.
That's why it was so difficult to advance, and a lot of ntal strength was required.
Nevertheless, Hester believed she had t all the prerequisites for a successful breakthrough to the High Witch rank.
As mana particles gathered inside her body, Hester manipulated them to form the fra of her third mana ring.
At the sa ti, the force of attraction in the center imdiately acted upon them. It attempted to pull the mana particles out of their form and suck them into Hester's Magic Domain, the location of her mana reserve.
However, Hester expended her ntal strength to strengthen her control over the mana particles and kept them in place.
After the third mana ring's fra was ford, Hester continued to pour additional mana particles inside to condense into a solid and stable form.
The mana on Ninth Peak was abundant, but Hester would undoubtedly fail if she purely relied on them to form her third mana ring.
After all, the process of gathering the required amount of mana would take too long, and she didn't have anywhere near enough ntal strength to last until the third mana ring was completed.
No one did.
Thus, Hester started to supply her third mana ring's formation with the reserve of mana stored inside her Magic Domain.
…
As the process went on, Hester's breakthrough attempt attracted the attention of nearby dragons, including the senior dragon, Jergag.
Although so dragons among the crowd disliked humans, they were too prideful and disdainful to interrupt Hester's breakthrough.
Their peers would look down on them if they did.
As such, the dragons only observed from a distance out of curiosity since they had nothing better to do anyway.
At the sa ti, it was an opportunity for dragons to study how humans cultivate closely. They wouldn't pass the chance to acquire new knowledge.
…
A short while later, Vaan also dropped.
He quickly spotted Jergag among the crowd of dragons before he made his way over to greet the senior dragon and watch Hester's breakthrough together.
After all, he was the most familiar with Senior Jergag compared to the rest of the dragons gathered.
"Senior Jergag," Vaan politely greeted.
"Oh, Vaan." Jergag imdiately revealed a pleasant and welcoming look before he said, "You also ca to watch."
"That's right, Senior." Vaan admitted with a nod before casually asking, "How's the situation so far?"
"Unfortunately, you're going to be disappointed, Vaan. Your friend will fail at this rate if no one provides her with aid," Jergag said with a shake of his head.
"What? Fail?"
Vaan was taken aback by surprise before he quickly frowned and focused his attention on Hester in the distance to see for himself.
Although advancent to the High Witch rank wasn't easy, he thought Hester had a good shot. Yet, she was still going to fail, according to Jergag, who didn't have a reason to lie.
It wasn't long before Vaan also noticed the problem in Hester's attempted breakthrough.
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