Chapter 52 (1 of 2) Hexadic Essence Absorption (Patreon)

“Luuuuucy!”

Lucille sighed and put down her cup of coffee on the table in her living room. The door of the room which had been left slightly ajar was suddenly pushed forward. She shot the silver amphiptere a flat look as he hurriedly came around the edge of the couch to climb onto the table and flare his wings before her.

“My ascension is ending!” he proclaimed, his nose held high in the air.

Lucy could sense that his mana was uncontrollably roiling around within him, ready to burst out at any point. She rolled her eyes. “And you chose to suppress your advancement just so you could come in here and do a dramatic reveal?”

“Of course!”

She sighed. “Let’s see it, then.”

He snickered, climbed off the table, and then the mana within him suddenly burst out, making Lucy shut off her perception field so she wouldn’t be forced to process all the information. His coils thickened and lengthened, growing longer and longer, and his broad white-gold wings grew even larger, nearly reaching the height of Lucy’s shoulders when she was standing.

His silver scales grew thicker and sturdy, giving him more protection, and the horns on his head gained sharper tips as they too lengthened. He groaned and twisted up as the skin just below his pair of wings began to bunch and bulge. A crunch sounded and a second pair of sharp-edged white-gold wings burst out from his flesh, two-thirds the span and height of his first pair.

“Ow… that was not pleasant.”

He shuddered and tried to ignore his slight bleeding as he turned to her and flared his wings again. “Voilà! I now have two marvellous pairs of flying equipment!”

She glanced at his body which was as thick as her two fists pressed together. “And you’ve reached ten metres like Skulker was.”

“I am no longer the midget of my enclave!” Then Scytale flapped his large wings, making Lucy squint as the wind brushed her face. “But wait! The best bit is yet to come!”

A golden glow shone from him and his body shrunk. “I now have a human-”

The force of a heavy blanket slamming into him stopped his words and bowled him over. He coughed and tried to pull off the blanket smothering his face. “Lucy, what did you just-”

Lucy crossed her arms and looked at him with utter disdain. “Scytale, you’re naked.”

Scytale managed to stick his head out from under the blanket, revealing the face of a young boy. Once he realised what was covering him, he stuck his tongue out. “But I don’t wear anything in my beast form and I never hear you complaining.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, but magical beasts have an anatomy that allows them to hide what they wish to not be seen.” She sighed and inspected his appearance more closely. “The Caladrius bloodline has definitely drastically affected your appearance.”

Sitting on the floor with a blanket on his lap was a boy with messy, metallic-looking silver hair. While quite long near his neck, the rest of his hair was shorter. Lucy assumed that was because he intended to wear his hair in a ponytail like he had in the past.

Scytale’s human form in the past was very different. With hair that was a metallic black sheen tinged with dark green, and indigo eyes, he had features that were the same as the members of his enclave when they were in their human forms. The Scytale before her now had two golden eyes with black slits for pupils.

And there was another change. She tilted her head as she studied him, falling silent.

“What is it? Are you admiring my spectacular appearance?” he said smugly. He tied the blanket around himself and moved to stand up. “Now that I have a human form I need to go show Vincent and-”

He stopped moving to stare at his hands. He looked down at himself and spun around. “What…”

Lucy smirked as he put his hands up to his face and widened his eyes. “No, hang on, wait a second…” A look of panic appeared on his face. “Lucy, Lucy, can you show me what I look like through the bond?”

She sent her vision through and he froze up with shock.

“Aww, you’re so little,” she said with a grin.

Standing before her was someone who appeared to be… a thirteen-year-old boy.

“No!!!” He put his hands on his head. “Why do I look like a kid?!? At the very least I should look like a fifteen-year-old, not… this!”

“It seems the fate of being the midget of your clan has not removed itself from you yet,” Lucille said with amusement.

He scowled, but it didn’t look very threatening on his young face. “The System has something against me, I swear. I didn’t look this young when I reached advanced rank in the last timeline!”

She shrugged. “I recall you telling me that you were twenty when you originally reached advanced rank, so I assume you’ll just grow out of your current appearance in a few years.”

He crossed his arms with a frown. “I hope so. I don’t want to appear like a little kid for everyone.”

She held her chin as she observed him again. “What about your partial form?”

“My partial form?” He hesitated. “I didn’t think much about it until you mentioned it, but if this is what I look like now, I don’t hold high hopes for the partial form…” He sighed in defeat. “Oh well.”

The glow of light mana reappeared and coalesced to form two pairs of wide white-gold wings on his back. His arms from the elbows to his hands became covered in silver scales like plate metal and he gained sharp claws on the end of his fingers. Scales formed to cover his legs from the knees down as well, and long feathers extended from his ears. Seven silver horns sprang from his forehead, almost as if he was wearing a crown.

Lucille tilted her head from side to side with a smirk on her face as he glared at her. “Look, you’re so adorably fluffy.”

He looked down at himself and sighed. “It’s a good thing I never plan to use my partial form for combat.”

Lucy took out her pocket watch and checked the time. “Well, return to your beast form so we can go out.”

Scytale shook his head firmly. “I promised myself I wouldn’t leave my human form for two weeks when I finally got it!”

She shot him a flat look as she stood up. “Scytale, you are not going out with your human form until you get some decent clothes on. Just have fun using your wings to fly while we head to a store in Gilded Seat.”

“Oh yeah.” He thought about it and then nodded. “Okay, we’ll do that and then I get to show off to Vincent and the rest!”

…

Lucy walked through one of the corridors of the Commission Headquarters, planning on taking a carriage that she had organised to a store to find clothes for her bond. She entered the main lobby of the Headquarters and in the distance, Vincent barely managed to notice her leaving.

“Lucille? Lucille, wait a second.” He sped up his pace to reach her and narrowed his eyes at her. “Where are you going?”

In silent response to his question, with a flat look on her face, she raised her cane and pointed up. Vincent looked up… to see a silver snake hurtling through the air and using his wings to do tricks while flying.

“Wheeeeeeee…” He bumped into a chandelier and veered off course to crash into a wall. “Ouch!”

“Scytale has finished his advancement and became an advanced rank beast a few minutes ago,” Lucy stated flatly. “We’re going out to buy him some clothes for his human form.”

Vincent and Lucy watched the snake shake his head and flap his wings again to launch himself from the floor once more. He spun through the air and the blast from his wings sent several pages of the documents belonging to the staff member below him flying.

“…I see,” Vincent replied, not knowing what to say.

A loud clang sounded as the amphiptere managed to ram into a chandelier again and became tangled within its chains. The chandelier slowly rocked back and forth.

“Maybe it would be best if you left quickly…” Vincent remarked dryly.

Lucille just sighed.

…

Scytale sat across from her in the carriage with his arms crossed smugly. He had chosen to wear something fancy because he was ‘the grand Count of Commissioning’s Bond’ and so was wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt, black pants and a… blue tie of all things. Except he refused to wear it properly so it hung loosely around his neck.

“You know, I always found these kind of outfits super snobbish and uppity, but now that I’m wearing one myself…” He placed a hand on his chin and nodded. “I’m quite the looker, aren’t I?”

Lucille raised her eyes from the document in front of her to gaze dully at her bond. “Scytale, you cannot honestly expect me to treat anything you say seriously when you look like that.”

He glared at her. “It’s not my fault I look thirteen! Do you have anything other than barbs and backhanded compliments to make? I don’t know, maybe praising me for changing my outfit for once?”

Scytale’s attire in the past had consisted of… tracksuit pants, t-shirts, and hoodies. He never even bothered to change when it came to formal events.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, congratulations on now looking like a semi-functioning member of society. If you fixed your tie I could even award you the title of a fully functioning member of society.”

Scytale nodded proudly. “Thank you,” he said, completely disregarding her second sentence.

The carriage pulled to a stop and the coachman opened the carriage door. Lucy and Scytale walked down the steps and then entered the Headquarters.

Vincent was behind the desks, talking to one of the clerks. He looked up and noticed Lucy, so he nodded to the clerk and walked out from behind the desks to come over to them.

He stopped to stare when he saw Scytale. After a second, he adjusted his glasses. “I thought you said you were fifteen.”

“And I am!” Scytale complained loudly. “I thought now that I’m an advanced beast that I’d be free of my small body, but look!” He gestured at himself. “I don’t want to be a thirteen-year-old kid!”

Vincent shook his head wryly. “The voice is the same as I know, so I assume you are Lucy’s bond and not some child posing as Scytale. I had almost wondered if Lucille had adopted someone today.”

Lucy’s deadpan stare presented Vincent the opportunity to know a lot about what she thought of that idea, but Scytale placed his hands on his hips. “There is no way I’d ever let her by my mother.”

“And I wouldn’t want a child as poorly behaved as you,” she replied back, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Where are you off to next?” Vincent asked curiously.

Lucy thought for a moment. “Well, we had planned to select our Aspects and main skills once Scytale had a human form, but before that…”

Scytale gave them both a broad grin. “It’s time to reveal my glorious form to that commoner crafter!”

…

“Seeeedric!”

The brown-haired young man pushed up his goggles and turned around to study them with his arms crossed. He gazed sceptically at Scytale. “Who’s the midget?”

Lucy smirked at the look of outrage that appeared on Scytale’s face. She could sense he felt the urge to flap his wings… not that he had any right now.

“Excuse me?!” he exclaimed, indignant. “I am not that small! I’m pretty sure I’m taller than average for what a thirteen-year-old kid would look like… actually, I’m certain I’m taller than average for a thirteen-year-old kid! You take that back!”

“Oh, it’s Scytale.” Sedric turned back to his workbench. “No wonder your voice sounded so irritating.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Interesting to know you lied about your age, though.”

“I didn’t lie about my age,” Scytale replied grumpily, crossing his arms. “I just look like this because I’m small for my clan.”

“Whatever you say…” Sedric said, clearly not believing him. Then he turned back to them and raised an eyebrow. “But if you’re an advanced beast now, then shouldn’t you have gotten two more wings or something?” He smirked. “Go on, prove that you’re not afraid of heights.”

“You’ll eat your words soon.” A glow of light appeared and Scytale returned to his true form. Lucy was feeling very glad that she had bought the item that allowed him to change out of his clothes quickly.

Scytale slithered up to Sedric, who backed away slightly when he saw Scytale’s size.

“See! Another pair of marvellous wings!” Scytale flapped them to show off, rustling some of the pages of paper in Sedric’s workshop.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can fly with them,” Sedric pointed out.

Scytale stuck out his tongue and then his body began to shrink as he purposely returned himself to his original metre-long length. “I’ll show you.”

He spread his two pairs of white-gold wings out and then launched himself off the table, doing a loop as he snickered while in the air. “I told you you’ll eat your words! See, I can fly easily, there’s no problem.”

Sedric clicked his tongue with annoyance while Lucille rolled her eyes. “Scytale, we need to get going and head to the Obelisk now.”

“Huh?” Scytale flew down to the table and slid to a halt. “But I was going to show Hargrave my new appearance.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the odd answer but shook her head. “Hargrave has left the Headquarters to purchase some equipment. He won’t be back for a while.”

“Awww, and I wanted to brag a bit more.” He jumped onto the floor and quickly returned to his human form. “I guess we better get started then.”

Lucy nodded and they both left Sedric’s workshop, prepared to finally select their main skills and Aspects so they could begin to grow stronger in the Tower.

…

Lucille glanced at the snake in human form beside her. “Ready to select your main skills?”

Scytale grinned. “You bet.” He looked at the Obelisk in front of them. “Should I go first? Working out what we should do for you is going to take some time.”

Lucy nodded. Scytale was perfectly capable of choosing his Aspects and skills. There were over 80 years between their first and second bonds, and he had managed to become the ‘World-Ender’, so he knew what he was doing.

“I hope you get good classes,” Lucy said as he walked towards the Obelisk.

He nodded and stepped through. Lucy didn’t even wait a second as Scytale returned, time having been frozen inside the Obelisk.

“Did you get lucky?” she asked before she saw the frown on his face. “Scytale, is something wrong?”

He hesitated as he came closer. Then he sighed and grabbed her wrist to pull her into the Obelisk. “Not wrong exactly, but… come with me, I need your brains for this.”

They went back through the Obelisk and appeared in the transparent box, miles above Gilded Seat. Lucy formed two chairs with her will as Scytale began to open up screens.

“So, what seems to be the issue?” she asked him.

“Well, I think I know what Aspects and main skills I want, but…” He tapped on two screen. “Actually, let me just show you my default Aspect first.”

[Scytale’s Aspects {1/6}:

Bloodline Sync]

[Aspect: Bloodline Sync | Type: Bloodline/Individual]

Prerequisites:

- Have a hybrid magical beast bloodline.

Desc: Very rarely is a beast from two subraces born with such equal lineage. You have gained the ability to use both parts of your bloodlines, neither overpowering the other. Your potential is limitless.

Bonuses:

• Unless the User wishes to gain full bloodline purity in one bloodline, neither bloodline will reach more than or less than 50% bloodline purity.

• Enhances the User’s ability to detect snake-type and bird-type beasts. Resistance to bloodline suppression from either species is increased due to the two bloodlines.

• Allows the User to switch which race other magical beasts sense them to be when they are in human form, and allows them to somewhat mask their bloodline presence from either beast subrace.

[]

Lucy hummed. “So, the Aspect from your third Title is the default Aspect. While I doubt you’ll be able to mask yourself from beasts with Superior advancement or greater, this may be useful when it comes to the Caladrius.”

He nodded and collapsed the screen. “Yeah. I don’t want to get caught up in Caladrius-snake politics.” He shuddered.

Lucille glanced at him. “What about your main skills?”

Scytale avoided eye contact. “Uh… so, because of my new affinity… I decided I might try to follow a standard class path for magical beasts.”

She raised an eyebrow. Typically, when a magical beast had bloodline spells they weren’t entirely happy with, what they would do was gain a mage class to enhance their skill set. Their innate elemental affinity made it very beneficial for them to do so, even if a Light Mage class was only Uncommon rarity, but this was Scytale they were talking about. That was way too much of a normal choice for him.

“Who are you and what did you do with Scytale?”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “Anyway, I want the Light Mage main skill to be my first main skill,” he said, turning back to the screen.

Lucy nodded. “Even if it won’t give you powerful skills yet, it will be a good foundational skill to later rework into a light element focused attack skill. The rarity can be sorted out through merging with your second class.”

Scytale nodded. “So that’s what I planned with this one. But when it came to the other class options…” He opened another screen and Lucy leaned to the side to look.

[User Scytale’s Class Selection Options]

Main Skill Slots: 2

Classes:

[Class: Light Mage | Type: Runic/Elemental]

Rarity: Uncommon

Prerequisites: Lesser light affinity or higher.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[Class: Illusion Mage | Type: Runic/Elemental]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: Lesser illusion affinity or higher.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[Class: Sky Battler | Type: Melee/Flight]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: Flying magical beast subrace.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[Class: Bloodlust Berserker | Type: Spiritual/Killing Intent]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: Strong killing intent.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[Class: Scaled Defender | Type: Melee/Defensive]

Rarity: Common

Prerequisites: Scaled beast subrace.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[Class: Assassination Serpent | Melee/Elemental]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: Serpent beast subrace. Lesser Illusion affinity or higher.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[Class: Guardian of the Elemental Bastion | Type: Defensive/Force]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: Size enhancement ability. Natural Heroic Power. Nonmortal race.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[]

Lucille carefully read all the names of the seven classes offered by the System. She paused slightly when she saw the Bloodlust Berserker class, but it was when she read the prerequisites of the last one that she raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah. That.” Scytale crossed his arms and nodded. “Have you got any idea what that’s supposed to be about?”

Lucy shot him a flat look. “Scytale, you haven’t even let me read the description yet.”

He gasped with mock shock. “Lucille Goldcroft has something she doesn’t know?!”

She whacked the back of his head. “Stop messing around and show me if you want your questions answered.”

He snickered and tapped on the [Collapsed] button. The description unfurled.

[Class: Guardian of the Elemental Bastion | Type: Defensive/Buffer]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: Size enhancement ability. Natural Heroic Power. Nonmortal race.

[Desc: This class makes use of the Heroic Power manipulation techniques of the ancient Titans to create an Armament that passively defends against attacks when activated. The Armament fuses with the User’s body to provide complete protection and grants DEF values.]

Lucille crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against an arm, thinking. “Can I have a look at the Bloodlust Berserker class?” she asked.

“Sure thing.” Scytale nodded and opened it up for her.

[Class: Bloodlust Berserker | Type: Spiritual/Killing Intent]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: Strong killing intent.

[Desc: This class uses the strong killing intent of the User to enhance their attacks. It grants them additional SATK each Class Tier and enhances the effect of their skills. The stronger the killing intent of the User, the greater the enhancement. Be warned, however, as an unstable mind may lead to the User descending into a frenzy with this skill.]

“Hmm…” Lucy held her chin in contemplation as she considered the two classes. “I assume these two would be the two you’d prefer to choose between?”

Her bond nodded. “And the Bastion skill is the one I like better because of the DEF it would give me, but I wouldn’t have a clue how it could impact me.”

Lucy gestured to the screen. “Well, I will point out that while the Bloodlust Berserker says that you’ll be stronger when your killing intent is stronger, the class itself is only Rare. That means it’s not an infinite advancement and there would still be limiters placed by the System on how much you could enhance your abilities.”

Scytale groaned. “But then the Bastion skill makes it sound like the Heroic Armament used there is different, yet it doesn’t explain how it’s different. Is it just an older version of Heroic Armaments?” He looked at Lucy. “Have you heard anything about this?”

She shook her head. “My knowledge of the Titans is more historical. Not being able to use killing intent myself, I never cared much about their mana-arts.” Then Lucille paused for a moment. “Wait… mana-arts.” She pointed to the screen. “Because your bloodline gave you Heroic Power, you never used a Heroic mana-art to gain it. That must be the benefit of the skill.”

“So I can use the Heroic Armament straight away?” he asked.

“I believe so,” she replied, reading the description again. “The prerequisites described suggest this is a ‘traditional’ or ‘authentic’ method of using Heroic Power.” Lucille tilted her head at the screen. “It may be possible that others will find it hard to identify it as a Heroic Armament.”

“Then that’s good!” Scytale said. “No Caladrius or Glory Pantheon Champions stalking me! I can show off my Heroic Power whenever I want!”

She sighed. “No, you can’t. But Scytale, your class options will change once you select your first main skill,” she reminded him. “It’s possible you won’t want this skill after you select the Light Mage class.” Then Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Unless you want this Bastion class instead of the mage class?”

The snake in human form glanced between the classes. Then he shook his head. “Nope. As much as it’s rarer than the Light Mage class, getting working abilities is more important.”

He pressed on the [Light Mage] class. “Light Mage it is.”

[You have selected the Class: Light Mage for your first main skill slot. Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]

Scytale pressed [Yes] and then the Obelisk cube brightened for a second.

[Gained Primary Skill: Apprentice Light Mage’s Compendium (Tier I)]

[Gained Apprentice Light Mage’s Aspect (Tier I)]

[Class detected for User Scytale. Use Class Tier +1? Yes/No]

Scytale paused when he saw the notification. Then he grinned and pressed [No]. “No way in hell am I doing that until I’ve merged my classes.”

Lucy smirked. “Good call.” She gestured to the screens. “Let’s see the skill and Aspect, then.”

Her bond pulled them both up.

[Primary Skill: Apprentice Mage of Light’s Compendium | Type: Runic/Elemental                     ]

Rarity: Uncommon

Tier: I

Desc: The essential element of light is considered the element of protection and healing. It can save the dying, strengthen the warrior, and kill the evil. It erases the dark places and allows all to see again. This User has begun to explore the possibilities of light and all it brings, choosing to turn runes of light into a feature of their very own mana pool.

Subskills:

Runic Model: Light – The crystallisation of modern rune theory come to fruition.

- Grants the User the Apprentice Light Mage Aspect (Tier I).

- Grants the User a light element runic model that increases in complexity as User adds more runes to it. Current progress: 1% towards intermediate level.

Luminescent Spell Tome – The most important part of being a mage.

- Grants the User access to the following spells based on current runes in runic model: Minor Heal, Minor Light Beam, Lesser Strength Blessing, Lesser Dark Dispersion.

- Grants the User access to the basic runic theorem knowledge of an apprentice mage.

Subskill slots:

- [Empty]

- [Empty]

- [Empty]

[                                                                                                                                                                   ]

[Aspect: Apprentice Light Mage Aspect | Type: Class/Elemental]

Tier: I

Prerequisites:

- Mage of Light’s Compendium Main Skill

Desc: Light and dark are the two rarest essential elements. Their unique abilities make them stand out among the six, granting powerful buffs, or powerful debuffs. You have chosen to use light and will learn to shine among the crowd.

Bonuses:

• Grants the User +1% INT and WIS at Tier I. Increases by +1% per Class Tier.

• Grants the User a multiplier to light element spell effectiveness dependent on the User’s elemental affinity. Current multiplier: 75%.

• Grants the User +5 INT and WIS at Tier I. Increases by +5 per Class Tier.

[]

Lucille counted on her fingers. “That’s two out of six Aspects selected. With your current light affinity, the mage class was worth it.”

Scytale pulled up the Class Selection page again. “Time for number two.”

[User Scytale’s Class Selection Options]

Main Skill Slots: 1

Classes:

Main Skill 1 Classes:

[Class: Light Mage]

[Unavailable]

[Class: Illusion Mage]

[Collapsed]

[Class: Sky Battler]

[Collapsed]

[Class: Bloodlust Berserker]

[Collapsed]

[Class: Scaled Defender]

[Collapsed]

[Class: Assassination Serpent]

[Collapsed]

[Class: Guardian of the Elemental Bastion]

[Unavailable]

[New!] Main Skill 2 Classes:

[Class: Bestial Brightmage | Type: Mana/Elemental]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: Magical beast race, Lesser light affinity or higher, Light Mage Class.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[Class: Beguiling Mirage Weaver | Type: Charm/Elemental]

Rarity: Rare

Prerequisites: CHAR stat of 10 or higher, Lesser illusion affinity or higher.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[Class: Guardian of the Luminescent Bastion | Type: Defensive/Buffer]

Rarity: Epic

Prerequisites: Elemental type class, Greater level affinity for light or higher. Guardian of the Elemental Bastion unlocked.

[Desc: [Collapsed]]

[]

Scytale’s eyes flew wide open. “What?! What does it mean, unavailable?! How can me selecting a Light Mage class make it unavailable?!? System! I demand an answer! Let me speak to your manag-”

“Scytale.” Lucille firmly fixed a hand on the top of his head and tilted his head down. “Read.”

“What? Why should I read anything right now! All I see is a bunch of crappy Rare classes and one… Epic……” The words died in his mouth.

Lucy removed her hand from his head with a roll of her eyes. “Scytale, you now have an even better class available.”

“Er…” He awkwardly pressed on the description. “Let me just check to make sure it’s alright...”

[Class: Guardian of the Luminescent Bastion | Type: Defensive/Buffer]

Rarity: Epic

Prerequisites: Elemental type class, Lesser level affinity for light or higher. Guardian of the Elemental Bastion unlocked.

[Desc: This class makes use of the Heroic Power manipulation techniques of the ancient Titans to create an Armament that passively defends against attacks when activated. The Armament fuses with the User’s body to provide complete protection and grants DEF values. Due to the affinity of the User being light, the Armament passively heals its wearer while used.]

“Yeah, okay, fine, I shouldn’t have complained,” Scytale grumbled. Then he jabbed a finger at the description. “But why did it only provide me the light element version instead of the illusion version too? I’d much prefer to have a Heroic Armament made out of the element I’m more familiar with.”

Lucille raised an eyebrow. “That’s because illusion element Heroic Weapons and Armaments don’t exist.”

Scytale turned to stare at her. “Wait, really?”

“The illusion element is naturally a highly unstable element,” she explained, gesturing to the screen. “It’s composed of all the unstable transitional mana types, such as water to fire or fire to the earth, and so can’t remain in the stable state that Heroic Power demands of it. The characteristics of illusion mana are the only reason I am even able to mimic monster mana, after all.”

“Huh.” Scytale thought about it. “So the illusion element has identity crisis issues. Guess the Guardian of the Luminescent Bastion it is.”

He tapped on the skill.

[You have selected the Class: Guardian of the Luminescent Bastion for your second main skill slot. Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]

Scytale pressed [Yes] and then the Obelisk cube brightened a second time.

[Gained Primary Skill: Bulwark of the Luminescent Bastion (Tier I)

[Gained Luminescent Bastion Aspect (Tier I)]

[Class detected for User Scytale. Use Class Tier +1? Yes/No]

He rolled his eyes and swiftly pressed [No] again. Then he opened up the skill and Aspect to check them out.

[Primary Skill: Bulwark of the Luminescent Bastion| Type: Defensive/Buffer                              ]

Rarity: Epic

Tier: I

Desc: Heroic Power is known as the power of the mortal races. But the ruling race of the giants, the Titans, wield massive armaments and weapons made of this miraculous strength. As a titanic being yourself, you may follow the path of the Titans of old, possibly learning to wield Heroic Power… as if it were part of your own skin and bones.

Subskills:

Bastion of Protection – A shield wielded only for yourself.

- Grants the User the Luminescent Bastion Aspect (Tier I).

- Grants the User the ability to strengthen their body with Heroic Power. Heroic Power becomes fused with the User’s body to become a light element Colossus Armament. HP regen x3 for the duration of the Colossus Armament.

Bodily Aegis  – Skin, flesh, and bones of steel.

- Grants the User DEF values based on strength of Colossus Armament. Strength of Armament can be increased by spending mana on it. Strength of Armament decreases as mana used to active Armament is consumed. Every 10 MP spent on Armament grants +20 DEF. 5 MP is consumed every minute of Colossus Armament activation. Maximum DEF: 5000.

Subskill slots:

- [empty]

- [empty]

- [empty]

[                                                                                                                                                                   ]

[Aspect: Luminescent Bastion | Type: Class/Defensive]

Tier: I

Prerequisites:

- Bulwark of the Luminescent Bastion Main Skill

Desc: Titans, a race nearing the dragons in size. Every Discipline of Glory Pantheon has an honorary Titan Mythos, and defeating them rewards a warrior with their mana-art. You chose to follow the ancient ways when Heroic Power was just as much a power of the body as any limb.

Bonuses:

• Grants the User +5% to DEF and CON at Class Tier I. Increases by +5% per Class Tier.

• Grants the User the ability to form a light element Colossus Armament. DEF and CON multipliers are boosted by x2 when Armament is activated.

• Grants the User +6 to DEF and CON at Tier I. Increases by +6 per Class Tier.

[]

Scytale let out a low whistle. “…wow. And cool, a Colossus Armament. That sounds awesome.”

Lucille studied the descriptions. “…I think the only way to see how well the skill performs is to test it.” She looked at her bond. “And do you have the rest of the Aspects planned out?”

He smirked. “Yep.” He opened up the Aspect selection list and quickly scrolled to the section that had Primal Descendency as a requirement. “I found this Coiled Power Aspect when I was advanced level last time, but didn’t get it until much later. And I also found this cool Lightspeed Sky Predator Aspect.”

[Aspect: Coiled Power | Type: Bloodline/Defensive]

Prerequisites:

- Primal descendency from a serpent Primal Beast.

Desc: Those lucky enough to have primal descendancy stand out from among the many subraces. Their physical size and advanced strength make it hard for them to find competition among the other races. As a serpent beast, take this strength and prepare to slay your prey.

Bonuses:

• Enhances the User’s STR when in combat. STR multiplier +3% for every attack made during battle. Max multiplier: 150%. This effect also applies to CON when the User is in their Primal Descendant form.

• Grants the User DEF values based on 5% of their CON. DEF values x2 when in their Primal Descendant form.

[]

[Aspect: Lightspeed Sky Predator | Type: Bloodline/Elemental]

Prerequisites:

- Primal descendency from a bird Primal Beast.

- Light element affinity.

Desc: Those lucky enough to have primal descendancy stand out from among the many subraces. Their physical size and advanced strength make it hard for them to find competition among the other races. As a beast of flight, take this power and rule the skies.

Bonuses:

• Enhances the User’s AGI when using light element spells and skills in combat. AGI multiplier +5% for every light element spell or skill cast during battle. Max multiplier: 200%. This effect also applies to DEX when the User is in their Primal Descendant form to enhance flight.

• Enhances the User’s thinking speed in combat. Amplifies thinking speed by 150%.

• Increases the User’s resistance to slowing debuffs.

[]

Scytale shrugged. “The rest were just miscellaneous Aspects like ‘Enhanced scale strength’ or ‘Sharper fangs’. Only these stood out to me.” He selected them both.

[Gained Aspect: Coiled Power]

[Gained Aspect: Lightspeed Sky Predator]

Lucille raised an eyebrow. “But what about your sixth Aspect?”

“For that one…” Her bond gained an evil grin and opened up the Class Selection screen again.