Before reaching the peak, Alex finds a Mountain Wyvern nest. There are 13 Mountain Wyverns here and Alex assumes the previous Wyvern also lived here before.
"That guy looks different. Is it the leader? An Alpha?"
Alex looks at a Mountain Wyvern that is bigger than other Mountain Wyverns. It also has a lot of scars and it exudes a stronger aura compared to the rest.
This guy is sleeping on a higher ground than the other Wyverns. Alex notices the Wyverns don't get too close to it and act very carefully near it even though it looks like it sleeps very soundly.
It confirms his suspicion about this Wyvern being the flock leader after seeing how respectful and fearful the other Wyverns are.
Though it doesn't matter for Alex because all of them will be his prey. With 13 Wyverns, he's sure the 3rd seal will weaken so much and he can try his Take Over magic on one of them, preferably the Alpha.
While hiding in the distance, Alex transforms into Shukaku's humanoid form. Catching 13 Mountain Wyverns by just partially transforming his arms will be difficult.
He needs more power, so he transforms into Shukaku's humanoid form which allows him to use more of Shukaku's abilities at higher levels than just when he is partially transformed.
Alex sneakily transforms the rocks beneath the Wyverns into sand. He doesn't do it on the surface, but a few centimeters below the surface to avoid the Wyvern noticing his moves.
The normal Mountain Wyverns don't realize anything and just go on with whatever they do. But the leader seems to notice something as it suddenly wakes up and looks around only to sleep again because it doesn't see anything wrong.
Alex is surprised by this because he has made sure to do it slowly and with a small amount of magic power, yet the Alpha still can feel something even if it's just for a while.
After turning a lot of the rocks under the surface into sand, Alex finally makes his move. While sanding the rocks, he also makes cracks and holes for the sand to come out.
He moves his sand through those cracks and holes to grab the Wyverns. Then he breaks the rocks on top of the sand, making the Wyverns fall into the sand pit, so it becomes easier for him to hold them with the sand.
The Alpha retaliates stronger than other Wyverns, but it can't break free from the sand burial. Alex is glad he uses a sneak attack because the power this Alpha uses to try breaking free is great.
"See? I always told you that using real sand makes your magic stronger than creating sand out of nowhere with magic because you can focus on using your magic power to control the sand."
As Shukaku says, controlling what's already available is much easier. Just like how Mages create their elements out of nowhere with magic, like Water Mages create water even in the desert, Alex can also create sands using magic power.
But it needs a lot of magic power to create sand from Ethernano. Grinding rocks into sand takes a lot less magic power and just like how Water Mages will have an easier time using their magic on rivers or sea, using Sand Magic will also be much easier in sandy areas.
It will be much easier to control real Water or Sand instead of the ones magically created and the power created with the real physical stuff is much stronger.
So now his Sand Burial technique is very strong and even the Alpha can't move in it at all. Though Alex needs to focus because he is holding 13 Wyverns including the Alpha at once and they are strong Magical Creatures, so he can't underestimate them.
He quickly chokes the 12 normal Wyverns until they pass out before letting Shukaku and Matatabi to pull them into his Mind Realm for the 3rd to absorb.
Then he goes toward the Alpha who looks at him fearfully now after seeing Alex defeat all of its kin so easily and even absorbed them.
Alex chokes the Alpha until it passes out too, but Shukaku and Matatabi don't pull it into Alex's body. They want to let Alex try Take Over magic on this Alpha Mountain Wyvern.
After releasing his Humanoid Shukaku transformation, Alex touches the unconscious Alpha's head. Then he uses his Take Over magic to take over this beast's power.
The Alpha Wyvern's body glows and the light enters Alex's body. It takes a while for the process to complete until the whole Wyvern's body disappears.
".... It fails."
Alex has made sure he fulfills all the requirements to Take Over a Wyvern based on the Take Over Grimoire that Ur bought for him, but it still fails.
"Do you really can't Take Over that beast's power?"
"Well, not completely. Surely I don't get its appearance and abilities, so the Take Over has failed. However, my physical and magical power increases quite a lot. It's like instead of Taking Over the beast, I am absorbing it to strengthen myself just like getting XP to level up in a game."
"I see. Then maybe my theory is correct." Matatabi seems to have expected this.
"What is it?"
"Alex-san, I think the reason you can't Take Over that Wyvern is because you have us."
Matatabi explains that she thinks the reason Alex fails his Take Over magic on the Wyvern is because the Wyvern's soul and power can't be kept in his body because of the pressure from the Tailed Beasts.
Even if it's just Shukaku and Matatabi that have been unsealed, they still have great power and the Wyvern's soul and power must have been crushed under that pressure.
Take Over magic is like sealing creatures in the Mages' bodies. So their souls are kept alive. If a Take Over Mage doesn't have enough magic power and mental power, the creatures they Take Over can Take Over the Mage's body instead.
So when Alex uses Take Over on the Alpha, its soul enters Alex's Mind Realm where the Tailed Beasts are because it's a place for the Take Over Beasts' Souls.
But compared to the Tailed Beasts, the Wyvern is much weaker even if it's the strongest in its group. Not to mention the unsealed Shukaku and Matatabi, even the 7 Tailed Beasts that are still sealed still give the Wyvern's soul overwhelming pressures.
"It must be unable to hold the pressure of our presence here, especially since it's just a soul, so it can't defend itself properly."
"I see, that makes sense. Then this means I can't Take Over any other Beast Souls, right?"
"If my theory is correct, then you still can Take Over other Beasts. However, they need to be at least almost as strong as us."
"... That's the same as saying I can't. Maybe the only Beasts that are as strong as you guys are Dragons. But it's not like I can find them like candies. And I don't know if it's possible because Dragons use a different type of Magic than humans. I don't even know if they are considered Beasts."
Well, Alex doesn't think it's a problem at all even if he can't Take Over any other Beasts. Having the 9 Tailed Beasts is more than enough to make him one of the strongest Mages in the world as long as he works hard to get much stronger.
"Still, being able to get stronger by absorbing magical creatures' power using Take Over magic is nice. I can increase my power easier this way."
"Yeah, it's good, but don't use it too much, kid. If you use it too much, then there will be side effects. At the very least, your power won't be stable if you grow it too fast without building a strong foundation." Shukaku gives Alex a serious warning.
"Shukaku is correct. If you increase the amount of your magic power too fast, then your magic container might not be able to hold it. Even if your magic container expands, it will be too weak to hold the increasing magic power just like how balloons get weaker as it expands."
"Right. I'm not a game character that is made of data, after all."
Alex swears to use this technique to increase his power in moderation. It will still help him grow stronger faster even if he doesn't do it all the time, so it's not that bad.
He continues to climb the mountain and soon reaches the peak. Alex stands on the mountain peak and looks around with amazed eyes because the view is very breathtaking.
"I know that traveling on foot is the best." Alex smiles happily while admiring the view. Now he is very glad that he held on and survived those years of pain. He won't be able to see this if he dies.
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Ch. 68: Last Candidate