A red-haired man with amber eyes frowned as he walked through the hallways of the Aurelian Commission, gazing at the ground in thought. Many of the staff gave him looks because he was a man wearing armour walking through the building, but he ignored them. Hargrave looked up when he heard voices and paused when he saw two people standing outside one of the doors.

“Is this the finalised list?”

“No,” a dark-haired woman replied. She shook her head at the man with red-tipped silver hair. “We’ll be adding to it as we go. However, these are all the members of the distant family lines of the nobles under the Commission who Vincent and I believe would suit the position for now.”

The man dipped his head and pocketed the piece of paper in his hand. “I’ll send out the offers. You’ll need to be careful about spies though, Lucille.”

She waved him off dismissively. “There won’t be any problems with that. I have Ravimoux and… let’s just say that I garnered the help of a group who excel at sifting out unwanted individuals.”

The silver and red-haired man looked curious but nodded. “I’ll scout for any more suitable talents too.” He walked off, leaving the woman alone.

Then the dark-haired woman turned to face Hargrave. “Good Morning, Hargrave. Were you satisfied with your trip?”

Hargrave sighed and rubbed his neck. “Two Guilds were bickering over the Northward Direwolf Dungeon. It would’ve drawn too much attention if I slipped in.” He shook his head. “I achieved my levelling goals on the way so all it meant was that it was a pain to get onto a teleportation array when it was being used by all the Guilders. A Guild war was probably about to happen.”

The Commission Head nodded, walking up to him. She walked past and gestured for him to follow, which after hesitating slightly, he did.

“You’ve reached Level 150, haven’t you?” she asked casually.

He stared at her. “…how did you know that?”

She quirked an eyebrow at him. “I can tell from your aura. You’re approaching the density that most people who wield battle aura have. I assume that as someone with strong connections to Glory Pantheon that battle aura is an ability you use as well.”

Hargrave frowned. “Have you seen many with battle aura?”

The young woman smirked. “Yes. Very many. It’s a shame I won’t be able to wield it. A defence and attack multiplier would be very valuable. I’ll just have to find alternatives.”

He paused as he remembered her force ball a few weeks ago. “Aren’t you a mage?”

A long-suffering look passed across her face before she sighed and pulled back her suit jacket. He blinked when he saw the two sheaths, one black-handled and the other white-handled.

“I’m a spellblade,” she stated blandly. “Well, that’s the best description for me at least. Magic is my main strength but I carry these two daggers around.”

Something about the weapons caught Hargrave’s eye and he narrowed his eyes at the weapons, studying them closely. After a moment, he raised an eyebrow. “Is that… a demonic weapon?”

“Ah, this?” The Commission Head unsheathed the black, serrated-edged dagger and smiled. “Yes, it is. This is Apophis.” Hargrave stared as the black serpent ornament began to slither. “My sapient demonic weapon.”

Lucille Goldcroft gestured to the other one still in its sheath, where Hargrave could see another serpent ornament had unwound itself to inspect him. “And this one is Ouroboros, my sapient spirit weapon.”

“Those are… rare weapons,” he slowly replied, feeling stunned. It also made him recall her proposition to find evolution items for his own demonic weapon. Maybe she knew what she was talking about.

The Commission Head sheathed her black dagger and nodded, walking onwards once more. “I’m sure you’d be more familiar with demonic weapons yourself, however. After all, you own a demonic Origin spear. Maybe I should ask for some tips,” she remarked casually.

Me? Give her tips? I… what could I teach a young User who only just became Rank-1 two months ago? Wouldn’t I accidentally kill her?

“That’s probably not the best idea…” he muttered. “My demonic spear is specialised in utter devastation, and it might just finally shatter the floor of the training room.”

She huffed a laugh in response, but as Hargrave thought about their conversation, he realised she had said something he hadn’t picked up on at first.

Lucille Goldcroft blinked and glanced behind her when she noticed he had stopped. “Hargrave? Is something the matter?”

He gazed at her with mild confusion. “What did you say about my weapon earlier?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “That I should ask you for some tips because you wield one?”

He shook his head. “No, you said something else. Instead of a demonic weapon, you called it…”

“A demonic Origin spear?” she asked, looking just as confused as he felt. “But that’s what it is, isn’t it?”

“I- no, it’s not!” Hargrave crossed his arms, feeling like something was amiss. “It’s not an Origin weapon at all. Nobody would’ve let me wield it for the past seven years if they knew it was an Origin weapon. It’s just a normal demonic weapon.”

Lucille Goldcroft tilted her head, scrutinizing him with that piercingly vibrant violet eye of hers. Feeling like she was seeing some aspect of him he didn’t know about, he watched as she held her hands behind her back and tapped a foot against the ground, looking deep in thought.

Hargrave didn’t know what she was thinking so deeply about but he sighed and scratched his head. “I- look, I hope you believing my spear was an Origin weapon isn’t one of the main reasons you offered the contract. Because I’m telling you now, it’s not that powerful.”

The Commission Head looked up, staring at him as if he had said something strange. She glanced down the hallway, and then raised a finger. “I think, Hargrave, that it would be best if we return to your favourite location.”

“…my favourite location?”

“Yes, your favourite location.” She crossed her arms and nodded. “The place where we will find the answer to all, the Headquarters’ Library.”

…

“It should be right… yes, here it is.” The dark-haired young woman reached her hand up on the ladder and gripped a large heavy tome, a second, even larger tome tucked under her left arm. She glanced down at the floor and hummed, likely thinking of how to get down.

“…do you want a hand?”

“No, not to worry.”

Hargrave watched as the books in her arms slowly floated up without the presence of mana. She climbed down the ladder and walked off, the books floating behind her.

“Commission Head…”

She glanced back, and he paused for a moment, wondering if he should ask this question, but he pushed onward. “Why do you act like that?”

Lucille Goldcroft blinked. “Like what?”

He frowned and crossed his arms. “Like… you’re always exaggerating your actions.” He gestured to the bookshelf. “You have spiritual perception. You knew for certain that the book you needed was there, yet you pretended to not know that.”

The dark-haired girl tilted her head at him, a strange smile on her lips. Then she smirked and turned away, walking towards a table in the Library. “You’re very observant. Hargrave, did you know that ever since I came to the Aurelian Commission, you’re the first person to point that out?”

She placed the tomes on the dark wood, swept the dust off the covers and began to flick through them, searching for specific pages. “You’re right. I knew exactly where that book was, and didn’t need to comment on it. In fact, you saw me use telekinesis. I didn’t even need to climb that ladder to obtain the volume.”

She leaned forward to read the small font of a page when she had finished turning them up. “But I’ve noticed that people – humans, especially – react badly when someone shows behaviour or a lack of behaviour that doesn’t fit their expectations. I could remove all redundant actions and motions. But if I want others to feel as if they can understand me…” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Then it’s best I play into their expectations.”

She straightened up and placed a finger on the book. “There. I’ve found it. Written in ‘The Complete Compendium of All Origin Items, Weapons and Oddities: The Realms’ Most Potent Treasures’ is a description of a demonic Origin spear of the name Ruinous Eolith of Infliction.” Lucille Goldcroft crossed her arms, looking almost smug. “I knew my information wasn’t wrong.”

He warily walked up to the table and narrowed his eyes as he inspected the passage and image. It looked very similar, uncannily similar, but… “My weapon doesn’t have the ‘Origin’ prefix and is called Scarlet-Stained Eolith,” he stated.

“But is your weapon evolvable?” The Commission Head asked, smirking.

He hesitated. “…yes.”

“And it’s not sentient?’

He glanced between her and the book and then frowned.

Lucille Goldcroft grinned and pointed to the other book. “This volume contains a list of all known demonic weapons. It’s a few centuries out of date, but here it describes Eolith. A demonic Origin weapon that caused havoc in the Demon Realm when it was formed, with multiple demon clans fighting over its ownership. Eventually, a Demon Duchy obtained its partially weakened form and gave the weapon as a tribute to the Demon Emperor, where it…” She paused and focused on a line. “Where it… remained in the Daemonium Palace ever since?”

“…Commission Head, is something wrong?”

She blinked and shook her head. “Oh, no. I was just thinking about the implications of a treasure in the Daemonium Palace being offered as a System reward. But regardless.” Lucille Goldcroft pointed at him. “You received it as a Quest reward, didn’t you? It’s not truly evolvable. Instead, it’s returning to its truth strength.”

Hargrave rubbed his neck, feeling a headache beginning to form. “Why do I feel like my life has become even more dangerous only after I met you?”

The dark-haired girl smirked and gave him a wide shrug. “I can assure you, Sir Mythos Slayer, that your life would’ve been plenty dangerous without me.”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Don’t-” He ran a hand down his face. “Don’t call me that.”

“As you wish…” Lucille Goldcroft grinned. “…Sir Mythos Slayer.”

He sighed as she walked away while humming, clearly enjoying picking on him or mocking him, or… he wasn’t quite sure.

She glanced back. “There is still something I’d like to discuss with you, Hargrave, so if you’re willing to walk around without removing your armour for just a while longer, would you please come with me?”

He nodded and followed because he didn’t have anything to do either way. He glanced back at the Library behind them, thinking about the books on Eolith. “Am I allowed to borrow some books from here?”

“Books like the Origin item compendium and Myths and Lore?” she asked as if she could read his mind. “Do as you wish. Just ensure the books are placed on the tables in the Library once you’re done with them so Ashale’viaf doesn’t chase you for them.”

They stepped into the lift and Hargrave took one last look at the Library before the doors closed. He turned to Lucille. “I noticed the guardian spirit’s presence wasn’t here.”

She nodded. “Ashale’viaf is doing his monthly renewal of the Commission’s gardens with his spirit magic, so he had to reabsorb his incarnation for a few days to ensure he has enough mana to cast the magic. So no need to fear him overhearing us today,” she said cheerily, clearly referring to what he had asked last time they went to the Library.

He rubbed his neck, feeling awkward, as she smirked at him. The lift opened and Lucille Goldcroft stepped out, with Hargrave close behind.

“Now, what I wished to discuss with you…” she began, leading him to her living room and sitting down after taking off her jacket.

He paid close attention as she crossed one leg over the other and relaxed on the couch.

“You said you were facing difficulties with the Dungeon you went to this weekend,” the Commission Head stated, gesturing to him. “I aided you in finding Dungeons where Glory Pantheon and Ducal forces were sparse, but the stats from levelling aren’t the only thing you need to gain to increase your strength.” She propped her chin up against the armrest and gave him a lazy smile. “Hargrave, how would you like to explore a newly discovered Ancient Dungeon?”

Hargrave stared at her. “…sorry? An Ancient Dungeon?”

In response, Lucille pointed to something above her head. Hargrave looked and his eyes widened when he saw what was floating there.

[Title: Ancient Dungeon Discoverer]

“Scytale and I had a little bit of an adventure when we went to increase our levels,” she said with a smile. “The land is owned by the Commission and plans are already being made to organise an expansion of the city to become a Dungeon city. However, it will be a few months before it’s publicly announced and so…” She leaned forward and smirked. “I think it would be the perfect place for you to level up. An unexplored powerful Dungeon owned by me, the Commission Head.”

Then Lucille Goldcroft leaned back and shrugged. “Of course, my whole spiel around alternative resources to stats was because I intend on sharing My Tier II Dungeon Exploration Quest with you. Scytale and I can’t complete that with our current strength, but I want access to the rich gemstone resources sooner rather than later.”

“I…” He covered his mouth with a hand, thinking. “You mean you’re willing to let me have the Quest rewards?”

The dark-haired woman shrugged. “The next stage of the Quest rewards Origin Skill primers. Scytale is a magical beast, so primers aren’t necessary for him, and I…” She smirked and crossed her arms. “Anyway, we’re both willing to let you gain the Titles and our share of the Origin Skill primers in exchange for taking us along when you go there the first time.”

Hargrave opened his mouth, then closed it as he stared at her. “Take… you along?”

“Yes, take Scytale and me along.” She grinned at him. “Is the former successor of the General of Blazing Iron not up to the task?”

“…it’s not about whether I’m up to the task.” He ran a hand through his hair, frowning at the table between them. “But… just us three? Alone? I’m not…” He looked up. “How can you be willing to trust that I won’t do something to you?”

The Commission Head cocked an eyebrow. “I didn’t realise our roles had reversed so quickly, Hargrave. I thought you were the one who shouldn’t be comfortable with being alone in my presence.”

Hargrave nearly glared at her, feeling frustrated at the lack of answer, but sighed and rubbed his face. “I’ll need some time to think about this.”

She nodded. “Even if you accepted right now, we wouldn’t be able to leave until I found some time to escape my work. Take all the time you need. You can be certain that it will still be another two to three weeks before we can go at minimum.” Then she frowned and crossed her arms. “Definitely not this upcoming week, that’s certain.”

“Is something going to happen next week?” he asked, finding her reaction unusual.

Lucille Goldcroft glanced at him, tapping her fingers against her couch’s armrest. “Some… troublesome visitors will be coming after this week, to put it simply,” she told him. “Interact, avoid or ignore them if you want, but that might be a task, knowing their… personalities.”

Before he could ask further, she gave him a dismissive wave. “Nothing bad will happen though. And none of them know who you are. Put up with them for only five days and then they’ll be gone.”

Hargrave hesitated. “But… who-”

“Just wait a few more days and you’ll find out.” Lucille Goldcroft stood up, stretching. “I hope you’ll excuse me, but I need to find Vincent and return to my work. If you want to ask more questions about the Dungeon, then my bond could tell you. He discovered it with me.” She gave him one last glance. “Have you accustomed yourself to the Commission these past few months?”

“…I haven’t had any problems, no,” he replied.

It’s been… very relaxing staying at the Commission’s Headquarters. Too relaxing. The peace is making me restless. It feels …wrong, to stay somewhere for so long without fighting anyone.

The Commission Head nodded. “Good. I had heard that for the most part, you have been avoiding the others, so I wanted to make sure everything was fine.”

“Oh… that’s because-”

“You don’t have much reason to interact with them,” Lucille Goldcroft stated as if she could see right through him. “I understand interacting with Scytale would make for… a considerably fruitless endeavour, as he doesn’t have much to share with you that would give you anything besides a headache, but Sedric may be willing to craft accessories for you.” She shrugged. “We have a non-exclusive contract between us so if you pay him or collect the right materials he’ll probably be enthusiastic. He enjoys crafting more than anything.”

He had heard that Sedric was a Legendary crafter, although an inexperienced one. If the woman in front of him was suggesting it then it might be a good idea.

Hargrave stood up from the couch as Lucille Goldcroft walked towards the door.

“Then I’ll be off,” she said. He nodded as she shut the door behind her, but then she opened it and stuck her head back in. “Also, Hargrave… how long are you going to keep calling me Commission Head for?”

She shut the door again as he was left considering that question himself, because with how he had been avoiding her and the others… he still didn’t know enough about this strange girl, especially if he was going to be in a party with her in a few weeks.

…

After removing his armour in his room, Hargrave went and retrieved the books on Eolith and about the ‘Blood Patriarch’. With the books in hand, he wondered whether he should just read them in his room, but decided a different location might be nice for a change.

Stepping into a living room where no staff were around and looked empty, he placed the books down on a table and sat down on a couch. Just when he reached for the top book, a loud crunch stopped him in his tracks. He hesitated when he heard the noise and focused on his senses to find out where it was coming from.

When he detected the presence making the noise, he gained a strange expression, got down on his hands and knees, and peered under the couch. He stared when he saw the culprit.

“…Scytale?”

The silvery snake flinched when he heard the sound and started moving to face him, his tail curled around what looked like several pieces of fruit. One of them was missing a chunk. “I-I swear, I wasn’t eating them! I was just… saving them for later! Yeah, that’s it- oh.” Scytale paused when he saw who had spoken. “It’s you, Hargrave. And here I was thinking it was Lucy.”

“I’m pretty sure my voice sounds nothing like your bond’s,” Hargrave replied, feeling bemused.

“Yeah, well… Vincent, Sedric, or Lucy, any of them would be bad news.” Keeping his tail wrapped around the food, he slithered out from under the couch and stuck his snout near Hargrave. “But you wouldn’t rat me out like them, would you Hargrave? Because you’re nice like that.”

“I don’t think ‘nice’ is the right term-”

“So you agree? Cool, cool, cool.”

Hargrave got onto his knees as the amphiptere wriggled his way out and then expanded to his normal advanced-rank size. With golden light, a silver-haired boy appeared in the snake’s place. Scytale reached under the couch to grab his bounty and sat there on the ground, cross-legged, with the food on his lap.

“Anyway, what brings you to the distant lands of ‘outside Lucy’s perception’?” Scytale said, gesturing grandly to the room they were in.

Hargrave sighed and got up, sitting back on the couch. “The Commission Head showed me some books that proved my demonic spear isn’t as normal as I thought it was.” He grimaced. “Apparently, it’s an Origin weapon.”

“Huh, so it’s not just your Origin Skill that’s unfairly overpowered?” the snake asked, picking up his half-eaten apple and biting into it. “Your weapon too? I definitely need to get around to suing the System one of these days.”

Giving the amphiptere a strange look when he said, ‘suing the System’, Hargrave then shook his head and reached into the white circle he had summoned that represented his dimensional skill. Out came his black and red spear Eolith, which he had cleaned earlier when removing his armour.

Hargrave held the spearhead close and inspected it, mentally comparing it with the image of the spear he remembered in the book. He leaned forward to flip the book open to the page on Eolith. “This book is pretty useful though,” he muttered. “Information on the different abilities Eolith held depending on its strength…”

“Nasty looking spikes you’ve got there on the end of it,” Scytale commented, leaning on one arm as he licked his fingers.

“Ha…” Hargrave let out a short, bitter laugh for a second before putting down the spear. “Well, my weapon’s appearance played a large part in my infamy. A blood manipulator wielding a demonic spear that looks like this…”

Hargrave’s words trailed off when Scytale burst into laughter. He gazed at the snake with confusion as the humanoid serpent clutched his belly and leaned forward, still laughing. The silver-haired boy hit his fist against the ground as he breathed in and out, wheezing.

“Man, if you think your weapon is bad, then just wait until you see Lucy’s!” he said, snickering. “On the scale of ‘Cringy Edgelord’ to ‘Underworld Mastermind’, her one is like, full-on enemy of the whole Tower!”

“…weren’t her weapons just daggers?”

The snake shook a finger at him. “Nah, you haven’t seen their real form. Both are endlessly-expanding snake-sword that can make mincemeat out of people, especially Apophis.”

Hargrave struggled to picture that as Scytale shrugged. “She’ll be annoyed if you try to ask her to show you, but if you come along to the Dungeon, you’ll see.”

Hargrave crossed his arms and frowned. “I’m… still undecided about that.”

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be fun if you do come along.” Scytale bit into another fruit. “But I have natural treasures to finish before Lucy becomes suspicious of the fact I’m outside her perception, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to eat the rest of these.”

Hargrave nodded and got up. “Then I’ll-”

“Hm?” Scytale tilted his head. “Are you leaving? I didn’t say I wanted you gone though. I don’t care if you stay in here to read.”

The red-haired man hesitated. “But…”

“I’ll be done with these fairly quick. There’s no point in leaving.” Scytale stuffed one in his mouth. “I had shomethin’ I wan’ed to ashk you abou’d too.”

…the thought of staying in the same room as the Commission Head’s bond, who he didn’t know too well, made him feel awkward, but the thought of leaving and making it obvious he wanted to avoid the snake also felt awkward. Hargrave sighed and sat back down, then opened his books to read.

Sometime close to half an hour later, Scytale stretched and stood up to sit on the couch next to Hargrave. Hargrave… hadn’t exactly been able to read all he wanted as the sound of the serpent’s eating had been too distracting, but he wasn’t going to mention it.

“Right… so.” Scytale pointed at him. “You still want to read or can I ask my question?”

Hargrave put down the book. “You… can ask your question, I guess.”

The snake placed his hands behind his back and leaned back on the couch. “Alright then. I guess I’ll go ahead.” He gestured vaguely in Hargrave’s direction. “As someone who was… I don’t know, Glory Pantheon-aligned, you got taught about Heroic arts, right?”

Hargrave frowned as he studied the snake. “I never received the General’s mana art, let alone a Heroic art. If I had, then I would still be the General of Blazing Iron’s heir,” he stated, feeling irritated for some reason.

“Oh, no, I knew that.” The snake waved him off. “Nah, I just meant if you got told some information that the common plebs outside of the Pantheon don’t know.” He gestured to himself. “I mean, you have to know more than me.”

Hargrave leaned back and crossed his arms. He scratched his head with one hand. “…I might know something, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to answer your questions,” he slowly replied.

“If you don’t know, you don’t know. I just thought I might check.” Scytale crossed his legs on the couch and turned to face Hargrave. “If… hypothetically, someone… not human, managed to gain Heroic power and formed a defensive armament that wasn’t technically a Heroic Armament… how would they increase its power?”

Hargrave stared at the snake. “… if someone not human gained Heroic power and formed a defensive armament that wasn’t a Heroic armament.”

Scytale nodded. “Hypothetically.”

“I…” Hargrave sighed and rubbed his face. “Scytale, how do you honestly expect me to answer a question about such an improbable situation?”

The humanoid amphiptere clicked his tongue. “Okay, fine, forget about the whole ‘non-human’ thing. Let’s say someone got a point of Heroic power without having a Heroic art. How would they turn it into an armament, gain more Heroic power, or increase their armament’s strength?”

Hargrave gazed dubiously at him. “You need a Heroic art to form Heroic power. It’s impossible without one.”

“Urgh… what I’m trying to say is…” Scytale scratched his head and then sighed. “Okay, let’s start from the basics. What makes a mana art different from a Heroic art? Is a Heroic art just a better version of a mana art?”

Hargrave held his chin, thinking. “These questions… are easier to answer. And no, a Heroic art is not a better version of a mana art. The two serve different purposes.”

“Huh.” Scytale blinked. “But all the people who practice Heroic arts are always treated as just super special mana art users.”

“That is because a Heroic art can’t function without the mana art component,” Hargrave said with a nod. “The difference between a Heroic art and a mana art is that one is for increasing the basic physical abilities of a warrior. Their internal mana enhances their speed, strength, and other factors while increasing the elemental mana available for use. But if someone has enough elemental mana within their body, then theoretically, they may be able to create a Heroic Weapon or Armament.”

“Oh, so a mana art is like, the minimum requirement for a Heroic Weapon or Armament,” the snake said, thinking. “I guess that makes sense. They’re supposed to be made out of elemental mana. But then what’s a Heroic art?”

“A Heroic art is a set of techniques, information and mana manipulation skills that teach a warrior how to complete the necessary requirements to form Heroic power and a weapon or armament from it,” Hargrave explained. “As each clan that has a Heroic art has different traditions and methods of going about it, the abilities the weapons and armaments gain differ greatly from clan to clan. And due to Heroic Weapon and Armament obtainment being… unpredictable, even Champions and Mythos within the same clan have different abilities.”

Scytale raised an eyebrow. “Unpredictable… how?”

Hargrave considered how to phrase it. “In a mana art’s case, the warrior is taking mana from outside and storing it in his body, before slowly converting it all into his own,” he said, raising one finger. Then he raised a second. “In a Heroic art’s case, the warrior is taking their carefully prepared internal power, their Heroic power, and using external forces to set the Heroic power into a fixed form.”

Hargrave leaned back on the couch. “The way they do this is through achieving ‘feats’.”

“Feats? That’s a strange name for an ability,” Scytale replied, looking sceptical.

“That’s because it’s not an ability. They must prove their abilities on the battlefield and achieve ‘feats’ before their weapon or armament consolidates.”

Scytale stared at him. “…hm?” He leaned forward, focusing intently on Hargrave. “You mean… it has nothing to do with mana? They… what, act flashily, kill someone important while everyone is watching and then bam! They get a fancy weapon or breastplate or something?”

Hargrave regarded the snake with mild bemusement. “I haven’t heard anyone put it in such vague terms before, but that is roughly how it works. The exact feat required is different for each Heroic art, and the feats for weapons compared to armaments are also different. There is an element of mana manipulation involved, however.” He spread his hands. “A warrior must create their ‘Mythos’. That’s where the name comes from, for those who have managed to create all the basic weapons and armaments of their Heroic art.”

“So…” The serpent thought for a moment. “Would someone with high CHAR, charm skills or attention-drawing skills be better at getting these ‘feats’?”

“Potentially, but I wouldn’t know,” Hargrave said.

“Okay then…” Scytale held his chin, nodding to himself, and then pointed at Hargrave. “Imagine, for a second, that… due to being a Primal Descendant or something that I- that a magical beast could ‘inherit’ feats because their bloodline is super epic or whatever. How would they make an armament out of that?” As an afterthought, Scytale added, “All hypothetically, of course.”

It finally clicked for Hargrave. He studied the snake solemnly. “…Scytale, you’re not hiding what you mean as well as you think.”

The snake in human form stared at him for a second, and then groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. “I was never the one who was good at these kinds of things. I should’ve gotten Lucy’s help…” He muttered. He sighed and spread his hands. “Look, my second bloodline ended up giving me a point in Heroic power and I have a skill that can create something similar to a Heroic Armament. I want to know how I could get more Heroic power to strengthen it.”

Hargrave frowned, rubbing his chin. He hesitated slightly, and then asked, “Could I see it?”

Scytale shrugged. “I suppose.” Then he transformed into his winged snake form with a golden glow.

The winged snake spread his pale gold wings, allowing Hargrave to see the dark gold metallic plates forming over his wing tips. Scytale flared his wings and flapped them a few times to show off. “Tada! Well, it’s nothing much to look at right now. Ideally, I want an armament that covers my body instead of my wings. It enhances my DEF and health regen so it’s great for my role as a self-buffing tank.” Then Scytale sheepishly lowered his head. “Uh… well, not a self-buffing tank right now. I need to talk to Lucy about what light element spells to learn. But anyway, I’m hard to damage!”

“…it’s a peculiar armament,” Hargrave murmured, inspecting the plates. “It seems to have some way of conforming to your form. The usual Heroic Armaments are very restricted in their shapes.”

“Yeah, my skill description said something about the armament becoming closer to a part of my body than anything.” Scytale flapped his wings again and glanced at them himself. “Actually, it’s not even a Heroic Armament. My skill called it a ‘Colossus Armament’ because it’s normally a titan skill.”

“Hmm…” Hargrave considered the serpent’s words. He was actually very curious about the amphiptere’s abilities and Heroic power, as well as whatever this ‘Colossus Armament’ was…

…maybe a discussion with the snake would be worth having if they were going to end up exploring the Ancient Dungeon together.