Chapter 96

Role switch. It was a simple command that meant so many things to my party. While yes, we might have taken a little too long training and gathering loot from the local monsters of L'arc's kingdom, the time was also spent working together.

I had been defender, now I moved to face the half-tiger chimera Tsugumi and her replica of Motoyasu's spear. Raphtalia had been attacker, and now moved to support and defence. Tetsu, also moved to defence, but she moved to protect Therese.

"I'll call backup!" Raphtalia said as she held the Vassal Katana in one hand, her bracelet shimmering with rapidly cast lights and illusions.

"I won't let you!" One of the tortoise hybrid yelled, a magic circle growing beside her and spitting out a half dozen jagged shards of stone...

"Where are you aim-ahh!" Directly into one of the Phoenix hybrids, Raphtalia not needing to announce her magic since it had been 'pre-cast'.

L'arc, not really suited to any role but attacker got in the way of any help my target might get, a tornado heralding his attack. Therese, with my little black auto-casting fox on her shoulder, switched from support to ranged attack.

"You think you have a chance against me?" Tsugumi taunted, pointing the spear at me, "Kill her!"

The tortoise hybrid who wasn't chasing the now grounded phoenix hybrids turned to face me, but suddenly had a very angry Kotetsu run up her pant leg, under her armour, appear behind her head and envelope it in a blast of fiery breath while Kotetsu's body wrapped around her throat.

A red flare zipped upwards from Raphtalia, and I changed the Shield to the Shield of Marius, "Having a fancy stick won't help you win this time either. I beat all of you at the same time, remember? And considering what you look like now? I wonder if your 'master' will be what Kyo brings back to life."

"It was all to defeat you!" She lunged forward, the spear in both hands and aimed directly at my heart.

FAST! She was as fast, faster than Raphtalia before we'd jumped worlds, but this was exactly why I'd chosen the biggest Shield I had. Her thrust slid across the face of the Shield and I moved aside to made sure it passed to my left. She spun, but I took a half step back to avoid the counterweight of the Spear from hitting me, instead letting it bounce off the edge of the Shield.

A kick, a short thrust to try and get over the top of the Shield, a tiger-clawed hand grabbing the corner of the Shield to try and pry it sideways, then a snarling face over the top of it as I activated the gravity enchantment to slam the Shield into the ground, the two studs at the bottom making it nearly immovable.

"You can't win if you don't attack!" She laughed, "Where is all that talk now?"

The bottom of the Shield was scraping across the floor little by little as I held my ground, moving my body just enough to avoid a couple of spear jabs coming around the sides. "Just getting an idea of how hard I should try." I replied... Before smashing my masked face into her pretty tiger nose.

"Arg! You'll pay for-"

And a second time, since she was still holding the Shield.

"Insole-" And one more time for good measure, and this time she recoiled away from me, letting go and backing up a long step. "Ha! This amount of pain is nothing to the shame you inflicted upon us!"

This time, she swung the spear down, the actual weapon too far to hit me. So I stepped forward and to the right, a wave of energy slashing through the space I'd just been and leaving a thin groove cut into the stone floor. Her spear came up and across as she stepped backwards and this time I leaned aside, another line of energy marking the stone courtyard.

Then I saw her smile and bring the blade across, backing up another step as she did.

And this time, I stood in the way, grunting as the energy wave slammed into me like a two handed swing from Raphtalia. The force was great enough to make me, and the Shield slide and spark backwards along the stone cobbles.

"Protecting your friends will be your death!" She laughed.

"Not a bad way to die." I admitted, "But attacking a civilian? That would make you a monster." I took a step forward, "I kill monsters."

Behind me, Ost said, "Thank you, sorry I'm in the way..."

"You think you can win?"

"Be ready Ost." And I moved from gauging Tsugumi's skill, to planning a half dozen ways to kill her.

(Combat!)

(Yomogi)

For a brief moment, Yomogi marvelled at how quickly the Hunting Hero and her party just... changed tactics. No hesitation, no arguing. But this left her at a bit of a loss. She didn't want to get in the way, and without the Replica Sword, she had only her martial skill to rely on.

"Thank you, sorry I'm in the way..." She heard Ost say as she stood a short way, but directly behind, the Shield Hero.

"I'll protect her!" Yomogi called out, dashing over and putting herself between Ost and the fight between Tsugumi and Kodori. "Her weapon is powerful! Be careful!"

"I think part of my Familiars went into making that." Ost said sadly.

(Raphtalia and Kizuna)

"One after the other!" Kizuna called out, "One!"

Over Raphtalia's shoulder, a heavy rectangle fishing lure snaked out and bonked off the other tiger-hybrid's chest. It didn't hit hard, the hybrid not even swatting it away, but when Raphtalia rushed in and her Katana met Tsugumi's borrowed naginata, the hybrid reacted to the strike as if someone twice Raphtalia's size and strength had hit her.

Still, the shaft of the hybrid's weapon stopped the strike, the Katana only managing to cut the top of her shoulder. A moment later, she was pushing the Katana upwards, her shoulder already mending.

"Two!" Raphtalia grunted, backing up, letting her weapon get pushed away, then jumping backwards to avoid a wide sweep of the naginata.

"Three!" Kizuna lashed out with her fishing rod again, the weighted line wrapping around the hybrid's leg.

Raphtalia charged again, while Kizuna pulled back hard, trying to ruin their opponent's balance. "Four!"

Sword and spear met again, but even with Kizuna trying to pull the hybrid off her feet, all it seemed to accomplish was made the bestial clawed foot leave furrows in the cobblestone. That was, until Kizuna saw a few drops of blood by the hybrid's foot.

"Switch!" Kizuna called out, surprising Raphtalia, but not enough to slow her down.

(Therese, Tetsu and L'arc)

Tetsu wasn't really suited to fighting 'people'. Without any reach, she had a harder time against weapons. That wasn't to say she couldn't fight against them. But she had to get creative.

"You better put those back later!" L'arc called out as he parried the sword of a dragon hybrid, the second one being taken out of the air by a thrown cobblestone.

With a throwing arm to rival a catapult, Tetsu's throw still only knocked the second dragon from the air for only a moment. A second later, she had to cover her eyes as the hybrid spit a blast of fire at her. "Don't worry!" Therese called out, the ruby Kodori had faceted in her hand, the blast of flame dispersing.

"Thank you sparkly lady!" Tetsu said, throwing another stone, then another, then a third before finally getting into range of the fire breathing woman.

This time, when she tried to get into the air again, Tetsu spread her wings and jumped after her. The woman made ready to thrust her sword into Tetsu's maw, but the clever dragon knew better than to open her mouth when fighting someone with a weapon. Instead, she did a forward roll, the bony armour on her back deflecting the blade, while her tail swung down with an alarming whoosh! Of air.

Even as the hybrid dragon was slammed into the ground, Tetsu cried out in pain as the sword still found its way through her tough hide.

"Now I'm gonna-" Tetsu paused and jumped sideways as her opponent got up from the little crater she'd made, and tried to stab her again.

(Kodori)

I could just feel that the others were having a hard time. Already, the phoenix hybrid who had been downed by the confused tortoise hybrid, were both recovering. I wasn't sure if Kotetsu could actually put down the other tortoise, and Chris was probably going to lose the attention of the other phoenix hybrid before long.

I honestly wasn't doing much better. With each attack I had to block, it felt like trying to block a falling tree. But, with each attack that missed, I could taste Tsugumi's frustration rise. Glass and Kuro would be another minute...

"I can feel it!" Tsugumi snarled, the spear glancing off the Shield, "How long do you think you will last? Each moment we fight, the Spear's power grows!"

I slipped another thrust, but had to block a spinning kick, my feet and the bottom of the Shield sparking along the cobblestone as I was pushed back.

"Nothing to-" She started, "What?!" Before suddenly being surrounded by the Shield Prison. "This won't hold me!"

I ran forward even as the sphere of Shields buckled, warped and then shattered. I didn't need to hold her, just blind her for a moment. "Tell me!" I shouted, the Shield moving to my back, one hand gripping the Replica Spear just behind the blade, the other around her throat. "Where do you think its power is coming from?"

She tried to pull the spear out of my hand, but couldn't. She tried to claw me with her other hand, but with a shift of my legs I unbalanced her and sapped a lot of its power. "Does it matter?!" She laughed, "You can't hold me for long!"

She almost managed to get the spear back far enough to thrust at me, despite my grip on the weapon, but I let her try, then tucked the shaft of the weapon under my arm and grabbed the shaft again just behind her hand. "Try harder!" I laughed.

I could feel the madness in her weapon screaming. Like the sword, it made my horns itch. But even with my grip on her, if it didn't start going crazy soon, I was going to be overpowered...

(Kizuna and Raphtalia)

Raphtalia parried one more slash from the tiger hybrid, then backed off as Kizuna's blade changed to the long tuna knife. "Go!"

"Break down! Scale Removal!" With a flash of her blade and a long lunging step forward, the tiger hybrid went rigid, and then blood started to hiss out of her around every bit of clothing and seam of armour. With an otherworldly howl, the woman seemed to shed the 'tiger' like a pelt, leaving her a lacerated mess underneath.

But then the 'pelt' seemed to take on a life of its own, floating in the air like a monstrous ghost. "Ost!" Raphtalia called.

Behind Yomogi, Ost held out the Emerald Compass, and before the still animated tiger pelt could lunge at Kizuna's back, it was sucked backwards, shrinking and fading until it vanished into the sparkling green cube.

"Phew!" Kizuna said, "It's on cool down, but I can strip the monster from them! I saw my fishing line draw blood!"

The woman on the ground moaned, but was otherwise dead to the world. "Good, let's rescue Chris!"

"Peeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" Chris ran by in a panic, a tiny flame on top of his Santa hat.

(Glass and Kuro)

Drawn by the flare, the two of them made best speed towards the castle. Like all towns with an Hourglass, who didn't just build they're administration building over it, the run wasn't far. But, seeing that even that would be slow compared to the alternatives available...

"I'll get us over the wall!" Kuro said, her humanoid form jumping up, then changing into a huge bird. Her mostly black plumage was bordered by dark nearly luminescent blue and red feathers, making her just as unique looking in this world as in the other one. "Jump up!"

Glass nodded, took another few long strides, then jumped up to grab Kuro's legs as the Humming Falcon started to arc upwards towards the top of the castle wall. Moments later, they crested the wall just in time to see Ost absorb the ghostly tiger pelt into the Emerald Compass.

"Support from here." Glass said, "I believe I know where my assistance is most needed."

(Kodori)

I felt, more than heard, Ost use the Emerald to reclaim the tiger pelt. But I had no more breath to waste trying to taunt my opponent. I just took heart that now we were slowly tipping the scales in our favour.

"She was weak!" Tsugumi growled as she kept trying to pull the Spear out of my grip. "And you are getting weaker!" She laughed as she tilted backwards, lifting me off my feet, "Now LET GO!"

With a violent twist, she levered me down and into the ground. Cobblestone cracked under me, I saw spots, my shoulder felt dislocated...

But I didn't let go. My new position on the ground gave me a different angle on the field, so I changed tactics. With a flash, the Shield of Marius changed to the Black Dog shield, the first 'boss' monster Shield I'd gotten. Suddenly, Tsugumi's body was being held by the teeth of the two animated dog heads. "Burn." I gasped out. "Glass!"

"Phoenix descending!"

Glass had been dropping from the castle wall, but instead of a nice three point landing, she instead slowed her fall by pointing Sun, the fan of flame, down at the ground, and covering the two of us in a blast of super hot fire.

Thanks to my mask, I didn't even need to hold my breath as Tsugumi screamed in agony. Instead, I just wrapped my body around the Spear, knowing that she would either let it go, or couldn't let it go. Either option was a 'win' condition for this fight.

Eventually, the flames cut off, and Glass touched down beside me as I held Tsugumi in an 'arm bar leg choke'. "I... will not..." She choked on the words as my ankles locked under her other arm, my legs on either side of her torso.

And I felt it happen again, glad no one could see my smile under the mask as I pulled the hope from this woman, and forced her to submit. "OST!" The screaming in my mind, turning to laughter. I had to bite my tongue to stop joining in!

"A moment." From the corner of my eye, I saw a one winged dragon spirit get sucked into the Emerald, then, like a dusty breeze through a burned forest, the suddenly awakened Spear in my hand writhed like a serpent, the gem just behind the blade, turning into an eye, looking directly at me...

"Well well... unexpected. I sent all of them to kill you too. A shame."

"I am coming for you, Kyo." I said at the gem, "And when I pull your heart out, I'm going to look you in the eyes, just like this, and laugh."

"Tick tick then, hero." And the power in the spear vanished, the entire thing turning to powdered metal and ash in my grip.

The fighting had all but stopped after the spear was destroyed. Kizuna had... well, 'pelted' two of them before then, and the arrival of Kuro as literal air support had grounded any advantage they had.

So now we had eight women, three unconscious, five crying their eyes out and those same five partially covered in animal skin.

Most of their complaints, almost all of them, were about the Fool. How they would never see him again. How they had failed him. How they should have stuck with the original plan. Oh, and how it was my fault they didn't.

I was standing beside Ost as she used the Emerald to pull the hybrid monster pelts off the women one by one. Now that they had given up, Kizuna didn't need to cut the things off them, so in an effort to be merciful, she didn't. And now that the women had given up, Ost could exert enough power to remove the used soul energy without having to fight the will of the people it was clinging to.

Yomogi was with us as well, horrified at the damage Kyo had done. "What did you even do to them? I mean... aside from kill Kazuki."

"Was that his name?" I shrugged, rotating my shoulder a little, "I beat the crap out of all of them, and hit them with a stink bomb."

The five who were conscience all glared at me.

"Oh... But all of them?"

"Close combat is my specialty." I shrugged, "Ost?"

"Almost done." She said, "Don't worry, you can have this back soon."

Kotetsu was curled around her wrist, keeping clear of the little device, but only just, and giving it huge sad eyes.

"We-" One of them started, the remnants of a phoenix being sucked away from her, "We were supposed to attack the Hourglass, as well as here. Four and four. While she-" Yomogi got a glare next, "Took care of you. But we knew she wouldn't be enough on her own."

"You knew I'd attack them?"

"Kyo said you wouldn't be able to resist the sword. And knew you'd run off with it when he wasn't looking. He told us to let you fail, maybe you would get lucky, and to come here instead. We decided to attack the Vassal Scythe first. But you were here faster than we expected."

"Why the hourglass?" Kizuna asked.

"If we had just followed orders..." The woman sighed, "We could have connected the Spear to it, and he could have sent all the help we needed... But..."

Raphtalia joined as well, with L'arc and Therese close behind. "You let anger win, instead of sense." She said, looking to me, "Right?"

"Seems so." I nodded, "Well Yomogi?"

It was too soon it seemed, and all I got in reply was a glare, and a turned back. "We'll keep an eye on her." L'arc said, exhausted, but smiling all the same. "Let's get these ladies to the infirmary."

A bit later, I found myself sitting next to Tsugumi while she laid on a bed in the castle's infirmary. Of all of them, she was in the worst shape. Not only had her hybridization been the most 'advanced', after Ost had pulled the 'soul pelt' off her, what was left...

The power the spear had taken from her, had left her looking like a shrivelled up old lady. Super pale skin, wrinkles, missing hair (though, that might have been from Glass)... I thought at first they were all Spirits, like Glass, but no. All eight of them were humans. That in of itself was disturbing enough, but it also told me why only eight of them showed up.

The other seven were all like this to some degree or another. One of the dragons-hybrid, and the other tiger, were the worst after Tsugumi, but they'd had the spirit pelts cut from them. The other five had calmed down, lost their will to fight, and had (I think... couldn't be sure) some of that stolen life energy returned as the spirit pelts receded.

To my surprise however, while I sat there trying to figure out what had happened, why, and how it might be fixed, the woman behind me spoke. "why?"

I turned on the stool and replied, "The most important word to a seeker of knowledge." It was the other (former) tiger-hybrid, her eyes open just enough to see.

"why do you care?" She asked.

I looked to the little stand between the two beds and picked up the water jug and cup that was sitting there, "You've lost. So I move on. Water?"

Her face hardened a little, but she watched me pour, then nodded once. So, I helped her sit up a little, and carefully helped her drink. "we don't need your pity." She said after moving her head away.

"No, you need recovery. It's work, not pity."

She looked away from me, took a slow breath, then looked back, "So killing our beloved Kazuki? Just work?"

"He was chasing my little sister, intent on killing her because the Katana had chosen her, instead of him." I replied, "And to my understanding of Raphtalia's attack? He killed himself."

"He treated us well, but his thirst for glory and authority was always on his mind." She said, "He was a genius. Alchemy. Magic. Swordsmanship... But the Katana didn't choose him. If it did, we might... he might..."

"He thought by killing Raphtalia, he might become worthy of the Katana?"

Again, she glared at me, but shook her head.

"How did you start working for Kyo?" I asked.

She gave a meaningful look to the water jug, so I helped her drink some more, and once back on the pillow she started speaking, "After... After Kazuki died, and you left, we gathered his soul. It was hardly a day later when the neighbouring country attacked ours. Since we no longer had the Vassal Katana, our country didn't stand a chance against their champion. So instead of fighting, we fled."

I nodded. Maybe the Spirits of his little harem could actually gather souls too?

"Kyo found us then. Said he was looking for Kazuki. We told him about what had happened, and he listened to us! He seemed to know about you, and her, and said you had wronged him as well." She shook her head, "That's when he promised he would bring Kazuki back to life, if we helped him. He couldn't beat you, he said, but could give us the power to do so."

"What about Yomogi?"

"She was already there, by his side. It wasn't long after that, that he did..." She motioned to the still withered half of her body, "This to us. By the time the process was done, Yomogi had left already, but taken the sword with her. We were given the Spear, and told to join her."

I frowned. We had gotten lucky. Super lucky. If Kazuki's women were thinking clearly, they would have all hit the hourglass, opened a way to bring in as many reinforcements as they needed, and that would have been that. Kyo was smart, but his methods, his tools were flawed.

If he had actually told them, worked with them, and maybe spent an extra hour planning? Hell, a half-hour! Yomogi would have been with the other eight, all hit the hourglass, killed L'arc and Therese, then us when we came to see why the castle was burning...

"Get some rest." I said, standing up.

She didn't reply as I left, and I found Yomogi leaning against the wall by the open door of the infirmary. "I don't get it." She said quietly, following me as I nodded to the guards there. "He... Kyo wasn't like this before! This isn't the Kyo I remember!"

I felt the sudden urge to just... twist the knife of betrayal I knew she had in her back. But instead I stopped, closed my eyes, took a breath, opened my eyes, then asked, "What was he like before, then?"

"He was kind. He saved me when I was younger. And I travelled with him. We would find people with problems, and he'd just... figure out a way to fix it! Magic, alchemy, machines, he'd figure something out, and then we'd move on."

I looked at where we were in the hallway and spotted where we needed to go. "What about the sword?" I resumed walking, heading towards the 'war room'.

"He'd been working on it for a while. But a few weeks ago, he finally finished it." She shook her head, "He told me to leave it be, that it was still experimental, but I watched him when he unlocked its case..." She frowned.

So did I... Yomogi had a lot of trust in Kyo, but he'd tricked her in the most basic way. Saying 'Don't do this' while showing them how... "So now what?" I asked, turning a corner and hearing a quiet discussion down the hall.

"I'm going to ask him why." She said fiercely.

"You know where he is then?" I opened the door to the war room.

"Yes. I'll show you." She looked into the room, then at me, surprised we were exactly where we needed to be for her to betray Kyo.

"You heard her, L'arc."

The war room was really just a big room with a table in the middle and shelves along the walls. If it weren't for those shelves being filled with map scrolls and little models to represent things on those maps? It'd be a good dining room.

"Right-o! Therese? Where did I put it?"

All of us, save Tetsu, Kuro and Kotetsu (reunited with the Emerald Compass) stood around the big table while L'arc and Therese found the map. I was waiting too, but was looking at the sleeping 'animals' in the corner, wishing I could join them while they napped.

It took a few minutes for then to find the right map, lay it out, flatten it all nice, then have Yomogi figure it out. Sounds silly, but cartography before computers and flying machines wasn't easy.

But, she nodded, found the landmarks she needed, then pointed, "Here." She tapped a spot that was a bit far from what looked like a big city, in a little forest? Maybe? "He built his laboratory in an old mansion in an abandoned village. The forest around it always has a thick fog around it, and unless he wants you to enter, you'll never find your way through it."

"Sounds like your illusion magic." Kizuna said to Raphtalia.

"Huh, not a bad idea. But..." Raphtalia nodded, "We can fly there, right?"

"Ethnobalt would have little trouble getting us there." Glass nodded, "Though... Why do you have that look?"

Everyone looked at me. "What?"

"She just likes rabbits." Kizuna teased. "She is a fox, after all."

As with any good user of a shield, I deflected, "Raphtalia doesn't let me pet her ears enough."

"Hey! It's just that you're..." Raphtalia paused, her verbal sparring far less agile than her sword work. "Humph!"

"If I ever get time, and there's a chance, I'll make a memory stone of some people from my home. Anyhow... Tomorrow morning?"

They all looked at me like I was crazy, but we all knew that our delay in dealing with him had nearly gotten us all killed once. "Yeah, you guys should all just hang out here for the night." L'arc said.

"You guys can, but I need to get back to Romina." I shook my head, "There's a couple things I need to finish there, and Alto said he'd be around soon."

"You're going to eat one of those things again, aren't you?" Raphtalia squinted at me.

"Let her, I'm glad it isn't me this time." Kizuna said with a shiver.

"Aw... I'm going to miss you working on stuff." Therese pouted, then yawned, almost unable to cover her mouth in time.

"We can for a plan while we fly." I said, "Make sure someone puts a blanket over them."

I arrived at Romina's workshop just as the light inside went out. Switching back to my two legged self, I knocked on the door. "Romina! I'm back!"

Alto was the one who replied, "Ah, you owe me." And the door opened, revealing his smug smiling face.

Then from behind him, "I do not, you twisted money hungry git. It's past closing time."

"Ah, a shame." He said as he made room for me to pass, "You could have shown up just a tiny bit faster?"

"Not really. Lemme explain while I get my alchemy set turned on again..."

By the time I'd gotten the little heating crystals on and everything back on track for refining, I'd given them the broad strokes of what had happened, and what was going to happen. "So, since tomorrow is going to be 'the day', Alto? Tell me you've come through?" I finished.

"Well! Since you were so kind to give-"

"Lend." Romina and I said at the same time.

Poor Alto blushed, "ahem lend me the new inventory crystal, I was able to get to a couple of warehouses, and just clean them out of things you wanted."

I watched him as he started depositing bags of stuff onto the largest workbench. "Enough earth crystals to crash the market for at least a year, just not in this country, since I had borrowed Good Ethnobalt's services for this."

Next on the table were some interesting monster bits. "Since no one was ever going to buy them, considering the prices set for them..." He smiled, "The dragon core of the dragon Kizuna helped kill. Shell from our former turtle guardian. Some feathers from our deceased Phoenix. And some parts from the original White Tiger. Though, not surprising, and a little disheartening, there were a lot of parts missing from the ledgers. It's no surprise now you've met white tiger clones."

"Erg.. That thing is cursed for sure." Romina looked at the dragon core.

Unlike the one from the Tyrant Dragon Rex, this one looked like a heart trapped in a block of crystal or something. "The things I could do with that..." I said quietly, "If I could pull the curse from it..." Before I knew it, I had my chisel and hammer out of the Shield's inventory and in my hands.

"Oh no!" Romina pushed me away from it, gently, but immovably, "Not so late at night, and not near all this other stuff!"

I wanted to complain, but this wasn't my shop. "You can have it, if..." Alto gave me a greedy look.

"I can make another one of those while I distill the powders." I said, "Romina?"

"Fine fine. No hammering though. And you better not die tomorrow! I'm going to use some of this stuff to make the most amazing things!" She glared at me, "Oh, actually... speaking of amazing things."

She unfurled a bundle she had on a table, revealing a near remake... no... 'overhaul' would be a better word for it, of Raphtalia's combat Miko outfit. The colours were all the same, a nice red-under-white, but some of that white was replaced with tiger fur. It kind of reminded me of my Fenrir coat, with the much tougher, almost indestructible (aside from the tools I used to make it, nothing had gone through my Fenrir coat) hide and fur protecting my ribs and abdomen.

"She will look quite fetching in that." Alto nodded.

"And it will keep her just a little safer." I nodded, "Thank you." I accepted the outfit, carefully bundled it back up, and stored it in the Shield. "Now for these..." I motioned to the bags of earth crystals. "If I touch them, I'll just absorb them. So if you could do me a little favour and...

Alto had left, Romina had gone to bed, and I remained in the workshop working on 'non-hammering' things. This was good, since what I was about to try might be considered heresy by some.

But with no gods, could there by heresy? Hmm...

Making another 'inventory crystal (in/out)' would be easy. I had already made a second one in the glass furnace. Next however, would be the other parts. The brittle little gems that were used for 'return transcript', to warp to an Hourglass. That was one, and it even bypassed portal blocks. Transforming weapons? That was a little harder, but I did have that crystal that made stuff from magic and a little enchantment. Clive's bow and Usa's new whip did that. Weapon copy? Well that was just one step over the 'enchantment copy' I'd learned from Hickwaal. More shape changing stuff from the 'personal magic thread'.

What else? Hmm... item drop conversion? Tying into the weird status magic?

I couldn't help but think I was missing something. I'd encountered all kinds of things that the stupid sheet of metal on my back could do, but only parts of.

I grumbled a little, using my bare hands to shape what the System was seeing as an 'Infinite Transcript Gem', while the alchemy set I had working on refining emptied the last few drops into the bottle at the end. I was so close to figuring it out, but I knew I was missing something.

What I did know, however, was that if what Alto and Ethnobalt had said was true, I was about to break the meta with my first dose of 'Strength Powder'. Of course, anyone could refine the stuff. But I wasn't just anyone...

And if it didn't kill me, and this stupid Shield didn't just override it...

Bottle of Strengthening Powder Potion (Flawless)

NOTES!

Numbers gonna brrrrrrr.

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