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"Of course he made it, goodbye to my beautiful bed," Kriz snorted with feigned indignation. "Though I have to admit for a moment there I thought you\'d end up becoming a giant ice cube."

Ren shook his head and smiled. "Never doubt the power of Elio\'s iron balls. He was destined to triumph."

"Speaking of power balls..." Kriz looked Elio up and down with an appraising expression. "Looks like you\'ve gained some more muscles. How about flexing those biceps so we can get a better look?"

Elio laughed and obliged, bending his arms and letting his renewed muscles bulge. Brok\'s jaw comically dropped.

"By the Sacred Flames! How is it possible for the system to gift you muscle mass? What has my sacrifice been for?"

"Perks of the system, my friend. I told you it was pointless accumulating those hideous big balls you have, though my slight increase is no match for your fixation..." Elio winked. "Maybe one day you too can take advantage of the upgrade… Though I don\'t know why you\'d want more."

Brok frowned and crossed his massive arms over his chest. "Ha ha, very funny. We\'ll see who\'s laughing when I finally pass my trial."

"As long as you don\'t freeze from fear at the sight of the ice monster, or maybe just borrow Elio\'s balls," Kriz joined in the jeering with a wide grin.

The four friends erupted into laughter, savoring the moment of mirth and camaraderie.

"Hey Elio, you\'re going to challenge the fourth level, right?" Kriz elbowed him and spoke into his ear once the laughter died down. "If you don\'t come back from the next trial, can I have your comfy bed?"

♢♢♢♢

Elio separated from his comrades and quickly headed to the office where he usually found Von Lucien. His heart was pounding with excitement and nerves at the prospect of inquiring about the fourth level.

He needed answers, wanted to know how best to prepare for the next trial. However, upon arriving at the usual spot, he noticed it was deserted.

"Of course he had to be gone just now..." he muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the empty hallway.

Determined to get his answers, Elio began searching other places where Von Lucien might be. He went through the training halls, the parapet, even the library, but there was no trace of the summoner.

Frustration began growing within him, Lucien was in none of his usual haunts. Each passing minute without finding him felt like an eternity. The urgency to learn more about the fourth level consumed him.

Finally, he came to a small study room where Lucien sometimes retreated to analyze something quietly. Entering, he found Ren sitting at a table, perusing some scrolls.

"Ren, have you seen Von Lucien?" Elio asked, his voice clearly showing his desperation.

Ren looked up and saw his friend\'s anxious expression. "No, I haven\'t seen him all day. Why, what\'s going on?"

"I need to talk to him about something. I can\'t wait any longer, Ren, this is important," Elio said, almost breathless.

Ren stood up and approached Elio, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Elio, I understand your urgency to lick... see Von Lucien, but turret feeding time is approaching. You know we can\'t skip that task. It\'s vital for our defenses."

"First I thought you weren\'t like those two, but you are… You\'re an idiot, still going on about that... Ren, every minute I don\'t talk to Lucien is a minute lost in..." Elio protested, trying to shrug off Ren\'s grip.

"Listen, I know it\'s frustrating not being able to do it right now, even I could hel... The turret won\'t wait, Von Lucien will show up eventually. Plus, you also need to eat something and rest a bit. You can\'t lick properly if you\'re exhausted," Ren said in a conciliatory yet firm tone.

Elio paused for a moment, taking a deep breath.

Setting aside the stupid joke, he knew Ren was right. Feeding the turrets was crucial for everyone\'s safety, and neglecting his health wouldn\'t help at all. Grudgingly, he nodded.

"You\'re right, let\'s go feed the turrets and grab a bite. But after that, I\'m going to keep looking for him," Elio said flatly.

Ren smiled and nodded. "That sounds good, you\'ll leave them shining... Let\'s go, I\'ll come with you."

♢♢♢♢

Von Lucien strode rapidly down the marble hallways of the Main Families\' complex. His furrowed brow and tense jaw showed his growing frustration.

Another breach had occurred the previous night, the fourth that month, and he was determined to get answers.

He reached the large double doors leading to the council chamber and pushed through them unceremoniously, bursting in on the meeting in progress.

The two elders, Mordred and Estin, leaders of the ruling families, looked up with expressions of surprise that quickly turned to frowns.

"What is the meaning of this new intrusion, Lucien?" Mordred snapped, his voice rough with age. "I hope you have a good reason this time."

Lucien stepped forward without hesitation. "Explanations about possible minor glitches are no longer enough. We need to take immediate action before the situation spirals completely out of control."

Estin snorted, his bald head glistening in the candlelight. "Speak plainly, boy. We have no time for your riddles."

"The breaches," Lucien spat the word. "Four this month and counting. The level two defender squads are dangerously depleted, I have no more wrongdoers, my soldiers are dying by the dozens!"

Mordred made a dismissive gesture with his gnarled hand. "We are aware of the breaches. Our best level 3 men are working on reinforcing squads and repairing the damage. Only common level 2 soldiers have perished so far anyway, they are..."

"And what of preventing further deaths and breaches?" Lucien slammed his fist on the table. "Something is wrong, very wrong. Either a calculation error, internal sabotage, or both, the defenses are not receiving the level of mana required to remain stable."

The elders exchanged annoyed looks, but Lucien cut them off before they could respond.

"Do not try to deny it. I have been tracking the mana levels fed into the turrets for months. Systematically, week after week, there is a daily mana deficit of roughly 10,000 points to reach the required million."

"Nonsense!" Estin slammed his hand on the table. "Our calculations are precise. There have been no such deficits."

Lucien slowly shook his head. "Then someone is manipulating the numbers, hiding the real deficit. The breaches are killing soldiers, over 1,000 this year already. If this is allowed to continue, it could be catastrophic."

A tense silence fell over the chamber as the elders considered his words. Finally, Mordred spoke in a weary voice.

"Very well, Lucien. Let us say you are correct and there is a miscalculation somewhere in the system. What do you suggest we do about it?"

A spark lit in Von Lucien\'s eyes. "First, we need a thorough audit of all mana logs and counts. We cannot allow this invisible deficit to keep slipping under the radar. Second, we must increase the mana allocation to defenses, at least temporarily. The two families have more than enough surplus mana to compensate and close the gap before it\'s too late."

Estin pursed his lips skeptically. "And you suggest we take this additional mana allocation out of our own pockets? It\'s not as if we don\'t have other expenses and projections to meet."

Lucien couldn\'t believe the hypocrisy of these old men, they reaped millions of surplus mana points weekly yet begrudged a single point to the thousands of families losing their men.

But Lucien kept his calm, it was necessary to get the elders to listen.

"Actually, we can," Lucien folded his arms. "I\'ve long been saving part of my allocations, at least this year..."

♢♢♢♢

Lucien emerged from the council chamber, his stride furious, fists clenched at his sides. The meeting had been a complete waste of time, as usual.

Those arrogant elders refused to listen to reason, too mired in their antiquated ways.

He had barely begun to lay out his concerns when Mordred cut him off with a dismissive wave of his gnarled hand.

"Very well, very well, boy. If you are so convinced, bring us the numbers for us to review ourselves."

Lucien clenched his jaw, tamping down his frustration. "As you wish. But I warn you, time is quickly running out. We cannot allow this situation to persist any longer. The families of those..."

Estin snorted derisively. "Enough of your dire warnings. Bring the logs and we shall deal with the situation as we see fit."

♢♢♢♢

The door slammed shut behind Lucien as he stormed out of the council chamber…

The two elders, Mordred and Estin, sat in tense silence for a moment, letting Lucien\'s parting angry words hang in the air.

They exchanged knowing looks before bursting into laughter.

Finally, Mordred snorted disdainfully and shook his head. "That boy is more trouble than he\'s worth, not even the youngest is like that... Luckily, the rest of the summoners know to keep their place… Well, except that crazy… But at least she doesn\'t burst as often."

Estin made a noise of agreement, rubbing his bald pate with a pensive expression. "It\'s a pity really. They had so much potential. But you see what happens when you give those restless minds too much freedom… they start questioning the natural order of things."

"Precisely," Mordred leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowed. "Lucien still fails to grasp the true implications of maintaining our power. A handful of breaches are necessary… We even need a lot more."

The two men looked at each other with greedy, conspiratorial smiles. Estin leaned forward, elbows on the table.

"Speaking of inconveniences… Do you truly think we should keep forcing mana deficits? Won\'t we lose the extra mana if we have fewer soldiers? Eventually we could face more serious issues… Old women may be a better…"

Mordred waved off the concern with a dismissive gesture. "Nonsense. We need to know the limits of the soldier defense, we won\'t lose the surplus 30k soon. Even if that were the case, which I doubt, we have mana reserves accumulated over nearly 100 years that could sustain the defenses for decades."

"True," Estin\'s eyes glinted with greed. "They should resist, that way we won\'t be wasting those invaluable resources on something as trivial as keeping the army content. We need those reserves for our… potion."

Mordred nodded eagerly, his smile widening. "Of course, of course. Also, how else could we obtain the third and fourth level summonings? Once we master the fifth level of the Book System, our power will truly be limitless, not even Father has ever… No, no first we need the potion."

"We need it soon indeed… But imagine what we could achieve with the ability to summon monsters of that caliber," Estin nearly licked his lips. "Lucien\'s father failed to beat level five with the ultimate weapon and armor because he only had a level two summon. I\'m certain with that level four birdie we\'d be unstoppable."

"Are you still hanging onto that? Just call Leothen by his name… He was your brother still… Well, nevermind he was indeed insufferable.

The two men chuckled darkly, their greedy gazes meeting once more. For a moment, a flicker of doubt crossed Estin\'s face.

"And if the boy learns the truth? That we are deliberately manipulating the mana counts? That could prove… problematic for our plans."

Mordred waved off the concern with a dismissive gesture. "Nothing to worry about there. Our own accountants monitor the inputs closely, they won\'t be giving him that information."

"Very well then," Estin rubbed his hands together. "Let us focus on accumulating more monster cores as swiftly as possible. The more we have, the further we can progress in unraveling the secrets of the fifth level."

Mordred nodded. "Father won\'t be the only one…"

"Wait, but how long will the army last if we push them so hard?" Estin pressed. "If the ranks start dwindling too much our potion..."

"Weren\'t you listening? Then we simply increase the required mana contributions," Mordred replied with an unconcerned shrug. "We still have over 130,000 level two men right? Follow me this time…

If we were to drop to… say under 100,000, we simply have each contribute one or two more points from their personal reserves. More than enough to compensate for any supposed \'deficit\'. Also the hundreds of kids our families are pumping will be adults in some years, we need the space."

"I get it now," said Estin. (He didn\'t get it)

The two elders nodded in satisfaction, their minds already spinning with plans on how best to exploit the resources at their disposal.

The lives of their soldiers were mere pawns in the great game of power they played.

"Well then," Estin rubbed his palms together with a greedy smile. "Perhaps we should authorize some… level three incursions? Let a few hundred level up and have more squadrons of men able to serve us. A quick way to harvest more cores."

"An excellent idea, you sometimes are not so du… Well, let\'s do that," Mordred\'s eyes glinted with malice. "We\'ll kill two birds with one stone. Bolster our mana reserves and show Lucien how mistaken he is about the severity of the breaches. With the tenth summoner on the way, there\'s no longer any danger of a level three soldier insurrection. Right?"

The two men\'s sinister laughter echoed through the chamber as they began plotting their schemes.

The fate of the city and its defenders would be sacrificed on the altar of their leaders\' unchecked greed and ambition.