The others all looked at Tsukuru's assembled "Summons" in shock, the two Summons behind Tsukuru, Starrk and Galina walked past him, and joined the group.
They both stopped in the middle, right in front of Sylvia and Gobkiko, before kneeling on their right legs, with their left legs on the ground. They both had their left arms by their sides, while their right forearms were resting on their right kneecaps.
With the sole exception of Sergeant Faye, it was their first time the others in the room had seen all of Tsukuru's Summons in one place.
Vorden let out a nervous laugh.
"Anybody else feeling outnumbered, or is it just me?" he asked.
Layla looked at the Summons with a look of astonishment.
"Does he even need a team?" she asked. "He could probably participate in the Portal Outing single-handedly!"
Sergeant Faye narrowed her eyes.
"Tamed Beasts are treated as extensions of their users," she replied, causing the others to turn to her. "It's the same rule we use for members of the Bree Family who can control multiple Beasts."
Her face tightened.
"That being said, an individual taming this many Beasts is unprecedented," she replied.
Tsukuru looked back at her with a stern expression.
"Yeah, well, try to keep that to yourself," he replied. "There's a reason why I only summon a maximum of three Summons at a time on the Base."
Erin's face scrunched up in confusion.
"Why would one want to keep their full strength hidden?" she asked.
Quinn, Vorden, and Tsukuru all turned to her.
Tsukuru's face hardened.
'And that is the reason why you won't have your Ice Ability for very much longer,' he thought darkly.
Apparently, no one ever taught Erin how to play things close to her chest.
The way she just used her Ice Ability willy-nilly, essentially announcing her strength to the whole world, was akin to a Poker player playing with their hand revealed to the whole table.
Tsukuru turned his attention to his eight Summons.
"Alright, listen up!" he replied, addressing the Summons. "Three days from now, we're all going to be heading out to a Beast Planet for our first Portal Outing! I'll be counting on you all to do your best!"
Starrk's face tightened, a steely look in his eyes.
"Yes, Lord Tsukuru!" he replied.
Galina brought her clenched fists up to her neck and put on the best "serious face" that the nine-year-old face of her Humanoid Form could muster.
"Yes, Master!" she replied.
"Yes, My Liege!" The remaining six Summons chorused.
Tsukuru nodded.
He then turned back to the others.
"As much of an unfortunate accident as it was," Tsukuru replied, shooting a glance back at Peter. "That little mishap with the Red Portal last week was somewhat of a blessing in disguise. Due to it, me, Quinn, and Vorden actually got a taste of what fighting Beasts was actually like."
Vorden let out a scoff.
"Some blessing," he muttered, rolling his shoulder. "I almost died in there."
Quinn couldn't help but agree.
He still remembered that intense fight with the Scordana that had practically left him on death's door.
"So, tell me, have any of the rest of you ever fought a Beast?" he asked.
Peter immediately shook his head frantically.
Layla was the next person who shook her head.
Finally, Erin shook her head as well.
Tsukuru nodded, as if expecting this answer.
He then turned back to his Summons.
"In the same vein, my Summons also lack experience fighting Beasts," he replied.
Hearing Tsukuru's words, Artoria, Kujaku, Sylvia, Gobkiko, and Rakshara all narrowed their eyes.
They still remembered that seemingly endless gauntlet of Palewalkers who had tried to attack Tsukuru while he had slept.
Additionally, Kujaku's heart boiled with righteous indignation, as she remembered that bat who had bitch-slapped her out of the sky.
Tsukuru smiled.
"So, here's my suggestion," he replied. "Let's do mock fights like we do in the Beast Weapons Class. Each of my Summons here are the equivalent of Intermediate-Tier Beasts. If you can beat them, then you should have no problem defeating the Basic-Tier Beasts we're bound to find on the Green Portal Planet."
Peter gulped.
"Uh…" he replied, causing everyone to turn to him. "Do…Do I have to fight them, as well?"
He then looked down.
"I…I don't think that I could beat an Intermediate-Tier Beast."
Erin's face hardened.
"No one's expecting you to, either," she replied coldly.
Erin's words pierced through Peter's chest like a solid knife.
His shoulders slumped, and he let out a moan of pure misery.
Tsukuru looked at Peter with a sympathetic look.
Part of him honestly felt bad for the boy.
Yet, another part of him was still mad at him for pushing Quinn through that Portal.
Tsukuru knew that it was neither Peter's choice or decision to do so, but emotions rarely cared about facts.
"Peter…" Tsukuru replied, causing the boy to look up at him. "Peter…just go practice your Earth Ability off to the side somewhere."
Peter looked back to the ground, and sulked off.
Tsukuru then turned to the others.
"Alright," he replied. "You all can decide amongst yourselves who's fighting whom."
Layla's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait," she replied. "Aren't you going to be participating as well?"
Tsukuru let out a nervous laugh and scratched his right cheek.
"Actually, I've been putting off replenishing my stockpiles for a while," he replied. "And it's probably something I should do before we leave."
Erin's face scrunched up in slight confusion.
"'Stockpiles'?" she asked. "You mean like your Potions?"
Tsukuru let out a sigh.
"Among other things," he replied,
The group watched as Tsukuru walked over to a separate corner of the room, with Galina in tow like a lost puppy.
Once there, he activated his Ability.
The others could hear the sound of electronic interference, but the sound was quite low, due to the distance between them and Tsukuru's current location.
They saw pixels begin to appear in the empty space in front of Tsukuru, clustering into the form of a square folding table.
There was a flash of light, and the table manifested.
Next, Tsukuru used his Ability to create a folding chair.
The chair manifested with another flash of light.
Once it had appeared, Tsukuru sat down at the table.
He soon went to work.
***
Far away from Military Base 2, in the Teleporter Hanger on Military Base 1, a group of military officials stood at attention in front of the first Teleporter pushed against the wall on the left side.
A second later, the Portal whirled to life, its interior becoming filled with a vortex of white energy.
Soon, the form of Head-General Paul emerged from the vortex.
In his right hand, he clutched the handle of the metal box.
The Sergeant in charge of the small group of officials saluted to Paul.
"Head-General Paul Snelleart of Military Base 2!" he announced. "Welcome back to Military Base 1! The Supreme Commander is awaiting your arrival in the Base's main Meeting Room!"
Paul nodded to the man, and let the group escort him across the Base to the Meeting Room.
The small group led Paul down numerous winding hallways, until they eventually stopped in front of a single door.
Paul took in a deep breath, and he pushed the door open.
Inside, there was a long chair whose perimeter was lined with chairs.
At the far end, Supreme Commander Oscar sat, his hands clasped together.
Standing behind him was his trusty secretary, Jane.
Additionally, lining the walls of the meeting room on either side was a group of high-ranking military officials, all standing at attention.
Paul walked up to the table, and pulled out the table on the far end, so he could sit eye-to-eye with Oscar.
Once Paul had sat down, Oscar leaned forward in his seat.
He cracked an amused smile.
"I believe this is our third meeting in only two weeks, is it not?" he asked. "You know, if every Base kept me as busy as your Base seems to be doing lately, I'd never get anything done."
Paul let out a nervous chuckle.
He glanced away, sweat running down his forehead.
Oscar narrowed his eyes.
"Now," he replied. "That emergency report you sent me last night said that you had something to show me? Something that I would find especially intriguing?"
Paul's eyes narrowed as well.
"Yes, sir," he replied, as he placed the metal box on the table.
One of the military officials standing at attention along the left wall walked forward.
He opened the box to examine its contents.
After all, if the box contained some kind of explosive or biological agent, it was far better to lose the life of a mere Sergeant than the life of the Supreme Commander.
As the man undid the latch and looked inside, his eyes widened in shock.
Immediately, he snapped the box shut.
He ran over to the Supreme Commander in a pace of extreme urgency.
He placed the box in front of the Supreme Commander.