Several hundred years after the implementation of the Great Art, scholars began to realize that any entity with a soul can gain access to the Akashic Record. At first, they feared the worst; would predatory beasts rapidly gain strength with skills? Would every plant and blade of grass threaten to kill with unusual rare skills? As it turned out, such fears were unfounded. Simple minded lifeforms simply did not have the intelligence or will to make use of such a complex tool as the Record. Rather than being a disaster to humanity, this aspect quickly turned out to be a boon. By binding a soul to an inanimate object, it became possible for that thing to gain skills. As the object was mindless and had no will, the skills could not be used. While this at first was useless, scholars of the time saw the great potential. Shortly thereafter, techniques were devised by which such objects could be forced to activate their contained skills. Other scholars, tackling the issue from a different direction, used existing automation magic to program simple personalities in such objects. And thus, two new kinds of crafting were born; Skill Imbuing, and Ego Smithing.

-Excerpt from History of the Akashic Record

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Over the course of the night, the demon had repeatedly justified her actions as necessary to manipulate the humans, and thus protect the household. While Mud did not fully accept this excuse, it understood now how useful even something as mundane as tea could be. Previously, the golem hadn't even considered the small leaves to be part of its useful inventory. With that in mind, it seemed prudent to acquire a supply of simple items which were more readily disposable.

Mud formed a bridge of Mind mana towards Jabrax, who was sprawled motionless on the floor. This was the first time the golem had seen the demon willingly resting on the ground instead of some invisible platform. Perhaps a sign of her extreme exhaustion from the night's ordeals. "We should purchase supplies from the human nest."

The demon hopped to her feet in a single motion, as if her previous exhaustion had merely been a ruse. "So we're finally going to infiltrate that city? I've been looking forwards to it. There are so many... unique opportunities in places where Sapients gather." Jabrax rubbed her clawed hands together and revealed rows of sharply pointed teeth, in a gesture which Mud now suspected to mean she was pleased. "Well, let's go then. No time like the present!" Grabbing Mud's arm in passing, she began dragging him towards the door.

"Stop. We cannot leave the mansion unattended in case more humans come. One of us should remain."

Jabrax stopped, but her sharp fanged smile didn't fade. "I thought you might say that, but I've prepared for this situation." Turning towards the direction of the basement, the demon placed a petite, clawed hand next to her mouth and yelled. "Oh Jericho dear, come on out." Then, she crossed her arms and waited.

A shuffling noise and heavy, dragging steps became audible slowly climbing the stone steps, and then trudging down the halls. Moments later, the figure of the thick human became visible in the doorway. While it was certainly the human that Mud remembered, he looked subtly different. His eyes looked vacant and unfocused, and his movements were unusually slow and flowing. Each slow step, he looked like he was nearly tripping over himself. A small amount of drool was flowing from the corner of his mouth.

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"Jericho dear, watch the house for us while we're gone. If anybody shows up, tell them through the door to wait outside for us to come back."

The thick human's head slowly inclined up and down twice. A smile appeared on his previously blank face and he replied with enthusiasm. "Yes, honey! I'll watch the house while you're out!" His face immediately collapsed back to unfocused blankness once he finished the sentence.

"Can we trust this human to perform the task and not flee?"

The demon giggled and headed towards the front door. "It'll be fine, I have him under my control. Jericho, punch yourself in the stomach."

The rather muscular youth punch himself as hard as he could in the stomach, and momentarily doubled over in pain. Soon after, he stood upright again with the same blank expression. The only difference was his wheezing.

"I see. Why not use the other human too?" Mud grabbed its cloak from the nearby shelf and fastened it around itself firmly.

Jabrax rapidly absorbed her wings and tail to take on the form of a human teenage girl as she grabbed the doorknob. At the golem's question, she scowled. "That one is too well known by the locals. It might lead to problems if he's seen here." After taking one more look at Mud to make sure it was suitably disguised, the pair left the mansion and began walking down the trail towards town.

The pair traveled side by side down the winding mountain trail. Although the sun had only recently risen, the dew on the nearby plant life was already starting to evaporate. Without a cloud in the sky, it would likely be a very warm day.

"What would be the most useful things for me to acquire in the human nest?"

The demon squinted and her mouth scrunched up slightly. Mud suspected that meant she was thinking. Likely, trying to scheme a way to answer truthfully which would lead to Mud dying and her safe.

Eventually, she relaxed and turned her vision back towards the path. "The things that would help you most right now... buying simple supplies, finding ways to earn money, buying useful enchanted items once we have more funds, fostering goodwill and useful connections from humans, and..." Jabrax hesitated and her face tightened. She appeared to not want to say the next part of her sentence, but was being compelled to by her contract. "Getting a Class."

The fact that the contracted demon didn't want to suggest a Class made it immediately attractive to Mud. Since Jabrax did not want Mud to know about getting a Class, it was likely that it would vastly increase the golem's survivability. Of course, it was also possible that the cunning demon was merely pretending to not want to say it as a double bluff, but Mud discarded that line of thinking as useless. As always, the golem would simply follow the demon's advice while being vigilant for how it might be a trap.

"What dangers should I be wary of in the human nest?"

The thing that looked like a teenage girl laughed. "Dangers to us? The ones that should be worried are the humans." Suppressing her mirth, she continued. "Ah, well, there are a couple things to look out for."

During the remainder of the trip to Geltheas, Jabrax explained the various threats to be expected for a monster infiltrating an urban environment. She was, as it turned out, an expert on the subject.