"I am… very sorry I can't stay and talk any longer, but I really have to go-"

"Verdilast." Lucille held out a hand to pause the dark-haired man in front of her. "It's fine. We didn't expect to meet any members of the enclave anyway."

Skulker's father, Verdilast, was standing in front of Lucy, Scytale and Sedric. His long straight hair was tied behind his head like most members of the serpent clans favoured, and slung over his shoulder was the moping Skulker. It seemed he had rushed to the city after discovering Skulker had gone missing, and as the leader of the Truth-Seizing Serpents Warborne, he couldn't be away from his station for long.

Verdilast sighed and then looked at Scytale. "I thought you said you wouldn't return until you were Rank-3."

"I only returned to the city, not the enclave, so it doesn't count," Scytale stated smugly.

Verdilast shook his head. "I see. I'll have to tell the Matriarch about your City Lord title now." He glanced behind him and looked back. "I'm glad to see you're both faring well. Until we meet again."

They waved as he left, dragging his son with him. Sedric, with his arms crossed behind Lucy and Scytale, gave them bemused looks. "So… is that a relative of yours, Scytale?"

"I think?" Scytale hesitated and then turned around to face Sedric. He raised three fingers. "I'm pretty sure he's my cousin, three times removed."

Sedric screwed up his nose and tried to work out what that meant. "So… he's part of the same generation as your great-grandparents?"

Scytale shook his head. "Same generation as my great-grandnieces and nephews."

Sedric stared at him. Then he turned to stare at Lucy and pointed wordlessly at her bond. "Isn't he sixteen?"

"Scytale is the grandson of the Truth-Seizing Matriarch," she explained. "Verdilast is the grandson of one of Scytale's first cousins."

"Of course, I don't go around calling my relatives 'grandnieces' and 'grandnephews' or anything along those lines," Scytale said, walking off with his hands behind his head. "It'd be weird. Half of them are off fighting in the Central Battlefield Region anyway, and I haven't even met some."

"…right." Sedric hoisted his rucksack up higher and followed him, with Lucille coming along too.

Lucy glanced at the crafter. "Sedric, do you think you've found everything needed to craft the artifact's new body?"

He considered it and slowly nodded. "There are just a few components I need back at home but I should be able to begin."

Lucy observed him for a moment. "Home? Hm…"

Sedric narrowed his eyes at her. "What, is there something wrong with what I said?"

"Not at all." She smiled brightly. "I'm just wondering what will happen once you finally craft the item I need from you and we go our separate ways. Would Annaliese cause a riot when our contract ends?"

He hesitated and then his eyes went wide. "Don't tell me you're kicking me out soon?! Never mind, I'm not interested in your fancy item anymore! Not at all!"

Lucy smirked as Sedric tried futilely to get her to respond to his questions. She idly touched the letters in her pocket – all of them replies from the four other City Lords who accepted the sponsorship of the Aurelian Commission without her even needing to visit.

I'll have to organise another trip to the Beast Realm. Sometime early next year?

…hm. I wonder how Rosaline is doing with the Kitsune.

…

"…what?"

Hargrave stared at the blue dew-drop-shaped crystal she had put in his hand.

"It's a souvenir," she replied nonchalantly. She took out an ornate silver pen and walked over towards Vincent on her couch, who was watching curiously.

"Thank you, but…" Hargrave raised the crystal and squinted at it. "What do I do with it?"

Lucy pointed at the half-asleep winged snake on the floor. "I don't know. Ask him." She put the pen on the table in front of Vincent. "And this is yours."

"And this is?" He picked it up and eyed it curiously.

"A pen that doesn't need to be refilled," she replied with a smile. "Considering you noticed my trophy…" Lucy took out the red pen she 'borrowed' from the Archduke and spun it, "I figured you might like a new fancy pen for yourself."

Vincent shook his head, amused. "Well, thank you very much." He looked at Sedric on her other couch, busy observing the scroll artifact. "I hear you had a profitable trip?"

"I have obtained the rulership authority of every city in Scytale's home region," Lucille announced. Then she paused and shot Scytale a dull look. "Except for the one closest to my bond's enclave. But we both know that he's going to push off any decision-making onto me."

Vincent nodded and then held up an envelope. "Ah, by the way, I've received word that Miss Verdon and her brother won't be returning this month. The reason the Sages provided was the events regarding the intruder after the debut."

"That's a shame. For Annaliese I mean," Lucy commented offhandedly.

I need the time to consider what to do about the Wordless Observers' request for the Demon Realm. I'll have enough on my plate with the Demon Emperor.

That last thought made her hesitate and sneakily glance back at Vincent.

He's not going to become suspicious when I leave again this time is he? It will be only one or two weeks earlier than last year… maybe I should use Roa to organise an alibi. She won't ask too many questions.

And she had another task to do relating to that party. She waved to her aide. "I'll be in my room if you need me. I'm going to take a break after returning from the Beast Realm."

"As you wish." Vincent nodded and stood up. "I'll return to my work."

She left Hargrave, who was hesitating over whether to wake the not-really-asleep Scytale, and Sedric, who was still absorbed in his study of the dimension artifact. When she had returned to her room, she took out her two daggers to let them roam around and then lay down on the bed, one arm behind her head.

Lucille opened up a few key sections of her Status page.

[Lucille Goldcroft's Aspects {6/6}:

Celestial Dragon's Palace of the Soul

Adamantine Body and Bones

Beloved Child of Mana

Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8

Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence

Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution

Casket of Boon's Bestowments: 1]

She thought about which one to choose first and then selected one that was bound to surprise Scytale when he discussed the changes with her.

[Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]

Prerequisites:

* No elemental affinity.

Desc: [Collapsed]

Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.

Bonuses:

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

* Permanently fixes the User's elemental affinity ratio for all elements as 0%.

* Enhances the User's control over non-elemental and arcane mana. +100% to control.

* Grants the User immunity to all elemental suppression effects.

[]

Then, wondering how it could be used, she tapped on the Bestowment option at the bottom of her Aspect list.

[Aspect Bestowment]

Info: A unique Status modifier that grants one stack of 'Bestowment' to an Aspect, multiplying its effects by x1.25. Each additional stack of Bestowment adds +1.25 to the enhancement. A maximum of ten stacks can be granted per Aspect. Multiple Aspect Bestowments are needed to upgrade to a 2nd grade Bestowment Enhancement]

The System recognises the Bestowment as a legitimate Status modifier because the Casket of Boons altered itself to exchange pure, condensed System influence for other System functions. So, if it acts like all normal System functions…

"Apply 'Aspect Bestowment' to Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8," she announced to the air.

[Warning: Unsanctioned alteration of Status utilising foreign quasi-C̷̥̠̙̝̖̔̚͝@̶̼̠͕̯̰́ű̵̫̟̗̙̥̘͑͛̌͜ͅ5̴͍̙͉͔̻̇̑̓̇́̿̋̄ą̵͍̘̰̬̩͔̽́̓͜͝Ḻ̸̨̼̘͈̤͖̰̺̞͍̋͑̀͑̌͗̍̌͜1̸̨̢̭̝̲̞͍̭͚̽͊͋̓̓̿̔͋́̈́͝t̵̡̖̼̜͚̉̓͌̀̄̈́̏͒͒ỳ̷̩͎͉͙͚͈̣̝̳͙̎̀̓͑̋͛̈́͜ ̷̮̦̰͍͈͚̇͆̓̌͊̆̃́̍̆͝͝ detected. This may have permanent and irrevocable consequences for the User (This includes the enhancement of dangerous Aspect side-effects). Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]

What's the use in asking me this? With my 'no-interaction' glitch, I'm already outside the System's jurisdiction.

She selected [Yes].

[Confirmation: Yes/No]

She selected [Yes] a second time.

[Final Confirmation: Yes/No]

Lucille frowned, not enjoying how many times it had asked her. She pressed down hard on [Yes].

[Confirmation accepted. Applying Status modifier…]

[ERROR. ERROR. Impossible use of quasi-C̷̥̠̙̝̖̔̚͝@̶̼̠͕̯̰́ű̵̫̟̗̙̥̘͑͛̌͜ͅ5̴͍̙͉͔̻̇̑̓̇́̿̋̄ą̵͍̘̰̬̩͔̽́̓͜͝Ḻ̸̨̼̘͈̤͖̰̺̞͍̋͑̀͑̌͗̍̌͜1̸̨̢̭̝̲̞͍̭͚̽͊͋̓̓̿̔͋́̈́͝t̵̡̖̼̜͚̉̓͌̀̄̈́̏͒͒ỳ̷̩͎͉͙͚͈̣̝̳͙̎̀̓͑̋͛̈́͜ ̷̮̦̰͍͈͚̇͆̓̌͊̆̃́̍̆͝͝ detected. Source: N0#-(Exception637:?) Mortal: Lower Race. Contacting Sub-System Authority….]

[Data submitted by Authority P---- S----- C------------. Calculating relevance…]

Lucy sat up.

[Data transferred. Source Redefined: Forbidden Legendary Artifact – Casket of Boons. Estimating potential casual interruption…. Estimated. Artifact use sanctioned.]

[One (1) Aspect Bestowment has been applied to Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8]

Lucille, after staring at the fading notifications for a long time, clicked on the altered Aspect.

[1st Grade Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]

1st Grade (0/2): 1.25 Bestowment Enhancement

Desc: [Collapsed]

Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.

Bonuses:

* Permanently fixes the User's elemental affinity ratio for all elements as 0%.

* Enhances the User's control over non-elemental and arcane mana. +125% to control.

* Grants the User immunity to all elemental suppression effects.

[]

The System has deleted the 'prerequisites' information and replaced it with this 'Multiplier' category. That's an understandable choice. None of the prerequisites ever applied to me in the first place, so it was useless information.

But those notifications…

Lucy hesitated and then sighed as she lay back down.

I can understand the messages, but didn't that… entity… say they were keeping an eye on me? Why are they helping me? Unless…

Her gaze went flat.

Is this an apology for everything their damned Authorizer has done? They probably know what I need to ask the Demon Emperor about.

…no, maybe it's just apologising for its own actions. If I think about it, the Demon Emperor never wanted anything to do with me in the first place, so…

…it was this entity that wanted me to sign that System Contract. Have I been too judgemental of the Demon Emperor/Archduke?

Lucille considered it and then scoffed.

Nope, he's still a jerk.

She rubbed her temples and decided to move on to looking at her Aspect.

The reason why she selected the Aspect that maintained her lack of elemental affinity was because it was the safest one for her to modify. Multiplying zero by anything always equalled zero, so it wouldn't harm her null elemental affinity.

And the end result was that even if something did happen to her null elemental affinity… her plans involved forcefully removing the Aspect anyway. If it broke now, then she'd just have to be slightly more careful.

The enhanced arcane mana control has been very helpful, though, so it'd be a shame if it left.

Lucille was left pondering how the enhancement worked, however.

What happens when it's applied to the Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence? Are the quantity of bonuses obtained from putting my information into the Aspect amplified by the multiplier? Is it just the value of the bonuses which is multiplied?

And what about the Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution? The warning mentioned that the side-effects get enhanced too… will the elemental conflicts become great enough to injure me, even when I have no affinity?

Celestial Dragon's Palace of the Soul is one I have to be careful of too. In the Heavenly Realm, there are risks that occur when the soul is out of balance with the body, with the spirit, soul and body needing to be in equilibrium for the individual to safely progress. That's not just for a cultivation context but can be seen when I try to stack the Acts of my Ancient skill. My body can't withstand the pressure without increased stats.

It seemed she had to be careful about which Aspect she enhanced more than the others. It was possible that due to the power of the Aspects she had selected…

…that this 'Casket of Boons' was a double-edged sword. She couldn't select all her future Aspects based on the enhancement ability of the artifact. The Casket was a tool, but not her sole path.

That was fine. Lucille had made all her plans without knowledge of the artifact. The artifact was just a bonus.

But now she had a task to do. She sat up on the bed and stretched her arms above her, then smirked as she received the gold jewellery box from her dimensional bag. It was time for her to upgrade each of her Aspects and see how much of a difference the 'Bestowments' made.

----------------------------------------

Two rows of young adults dressed in black and navy blue uniforms stood up straight, hands behind their backs. A burly blond-haired man marched in front of them.

"Today's a special day!" Commander Merrow Arkenast stated with a grin. He stopped in the middle and crossed his scarred arms. He glanced to the side. "Why don't you guess why today is such a great day, Stanhope?"

"Because they'll depart and get away from you?" Ross deadpanned.

Everyone stared at him. The lacking Head Officer saluted the Commander. "It's time for them to enter the Central Zone for the first time," he announced loudly as if to brush over what he had just said.

"Yes, that's right, young Officers!" The Commander said to the crew, ignoring Ross. "I have decided to let you go through your first major rite of passage before being considered a real crew – completing a mission in the Central Zone of the Distorted Depths."

A sea-green-haired young man raised a hand. "Sir?"

Commander Arkenast pointed at him. "Yes, Wharifin!"

"If that's our first rite of passage to be a real crew…" Caspian gazed warily at the man. "Then what are the others?"

"Well, the second rite of passage is slaying your first Monster King, your third is slaying your first Aberrant, and…" The Commander gained a vicious grin. "The fourth and final rite is attending the yearly military ceremony in the Eternal Empire's Capital. The most dangerous and treacherous task of them all. But that's neither here nor there."

Commander Arkenast pointed at the tall, curly-haired woman standing at the very front. "Captain Riftmire, tell me, what task has your crew been given?"

"We must retrieve the flag flying above the crow's nest on the Iron Wolf, a warship shipwrecked on the eastern side of Nereid's Wail Isle," Adrianna announced indifferently.

"That's correct." The Commander nodded and began to pace back and forth again. "Every fifty years, when the Dawnlight must set sail again, the crew is given the order to bring back something from the Iron Wolf. Once it was a spyglass. Another time it was an entire cannon." He whirled around and pointed at them. "But the flag flying high with our Navy's coat of arms has yet to be taken!"

They stood silently, listening for every detail the Commander could give. And Commander Arkenast did not let them down.

The blond-haired man's scarred face grew solemn as he watched them. "I'll tell you now. If you go with your current strength, you will die. Every last one of you. That is why you're going to be given two whole months to retrieve the flag – so that all of you can increase your strength and develop for the final battle." He smirked and stepped back. "And there will be a battle. Because that island is where the strongest Aberrant in the Distorted Depths sleeps."

Their faces drained of colour when they heard that. The Commander gave them one last cheery wave and turned to leave. "That's all from me! And yes. You'll depart today."

With Ross behind him, he left, leaving Adrianna alone with her crew. Adrianna turned to face them, but after a quick look, she only walked off, leaving them with questions. Caspian raised an eyebrow and followed her.

"Adrianna, aren't you going to begin discussing our plans with the crew?" he asked, walking quickly to match her pace.

"I didn't hear about the Nereid's Wail Isle," she muttered, her brow slightly furrowed.

"Huh? But didn't you meet with the Commander last week to discuss this?" he asked her, confused. "And while the others will be scared, we both know that the island isn't as dangerous as the Commander made it out to be. When he said that the Aberrant was asleep, he meant that nearly nothing could wake it up. It's been asleep for centuries." He blinked. "Unless you haven't heard that yet? That makes sense. I heard it because of my Senior Officers…"

"No, I know that the Aberrant is asleep," she said with a sigh. "It's… I'm fine, Wharifin. You can begin discussing this with the crew."

He squinted at her. "Uh… no. No, you're not fine. I can tell you're on edge about something."

"How? Barely anyone can read my emotions," she stated dully.

Caspian rolled his eyes. "Let's just say I'm perceptive." He glanced behind himself and narrowed his eyes when he saw Griffin laughing and having a loud discussion. "What's got him in such a good mood?" He turned back to her. "Look, if you really think you're fine, then I know I'm not going to be able to get anything out of you. I'll go check on what Conlan's doing with the crew. Just… be back in an hour or so to talk to them, okay?"

Adrianna gave him a slow nod, and Caspian left. In the distance, she saw Griffin watch them and look away before either Adrianna or Caspian could make eye contact. She scowled and marched off, out of sight of them all.

The Central Zone isn't the issue. It occurred in the same month as last timeline, so things are progressing well. The problem is the task he has given us.

Adrianna had heard from the Commander that he planned to send them to the Central Zone, and while it was slightly earlier than before, the crew were slightly more advanced in their progress than before. She had no issues with that.

Maybe it was her own… arrogance, or stupidity, or something – but she had expected Commander Arkenast to assign them the same task or a similar difficulty task as he had in the past.

Not the task he had assigned them as a final test before promoting her to Commander.

She held her chin, thinking deeply.

No, he can't be planning on promoting me to Commander yet. That's absurd. It hasn't even been a full year since I became Captain. I need to have at least three ships under my command to be a Commander, but I haven't even obtained one new crewmate yet. He needs to step down too and he hasn't begun any of those arrangements.

So then… what is he doing?

The most logical answer was that he wanted to see if their success in obtaining the natural treasure and killing the Scion hadn't been a fluke and was real, but if that was the goal, then he wouldn't have given them what was essentially a stealth mission. It was possible that he wanted to recreate the test with the Scion because Griffin's actions meant that it didn't proceed as Adrianna had wanted, but using a trip to the Central Zone to recreate that?

As for Griffin, he was probably overjoyed because he considered it a sign of her becoming Commander soon. He wouldn't have any issues facing the stronger monsters, being the Hero of Light and all, but he didn't spare a thought for his crewmates. Griffin was always…

Her thoughts froze as the newest most likely answer occurred to her. She looked around the corner and glanced at the brown-haired man next to Liliana and Catherine.

Come to think of it, Palin has still been asking me to give the Squad Leader title to Griffin instead. He tries to hide it, but I can see he's already been won over by him.

Should I give him the 'opportunity' to prove himself to the Commander? At the very least, his class will ensure the crew survives in the long run.

She huffed and walked back out, ready to begin the discussion. It would be a long two months.

If he's going to reap the benefits of my position, then he should be prepared to take the blame for my failures, shouldn't he?

----------------------------------------

"You must be so sad, not being able to go with them and escape from me," the burly man said with a wry grin.

Ross Stanhope stood still, dutifully gazing past the Commander and concentrating on the view of the ocean behind his desk. "You called for me, Sir?"

"Tsk." Commander Arkenast placed his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes at his subordinate, but Ross didn't react. The Commander shrugged and leaned back. A week ago, when you asked me why I gave them this particular task, I said I'd answer you after I spoke to them. I called you here to answer your question."

Commander Arkenast stood up and faced the window with his hands behind his back. "Adrianna Riftmire is a great Captain. She'd likely be a great Admiral… and she'll be a great Commander."

"But sir… you're the Commander," Ross pointed out with confusion.

Merrow Arkenast looked back with a stern expression. "Stanhope. She will be a great Commander."

Ross stared and then gave him a salute. "I see you've chosen. I should learn to treat her as my new superior then."

"Don't be so hasty to get rid of me, Stanhope," The Commander chuckled. He turned back around and sat down. "Riftmire is responsible. That's good, but you can't go overboard. She believes that since I've placed these people under her, it's her responsibility to make them thrive. In some cases, it's true." He intertwined his fingers. "But when it comes to some people, it's not. I want Riftmire to kick those 'types of people' out of her own will. And the only way to do that is show her what the future will look like with those types of people under her command."

"I have a suspicion that it's not people plural that you're referring to," Ross stated dryly.

Commander Arkenast smirked and shrugged. "If, after all this, she still sees some use in hi- in them, I'll accept it. They're not my direct subordinate, after all. Surely she knows them better than me. But… I'll make this little opportunity for the rest of her crewmates to see. Maybe peer pressure will do it."

Ross saluted the Commander. "My thanks for clearing that up for me, sir."

The Commander gave him a dismissive wave and crossed his arms. "And I also want to see my successor struggle a bit more before I leave. I feel a little jealous of my old colleagues who trained their successors up for centuries and saw all sides of them, so I want to see a little bit more about Riftmire."

Ross gazed wearily at the man. "Sir… why do you always ruin peoples' impression of you just when it improves?"

The blond-haired man laughed.