In Alex's past life as a real old freak of the Dragon Family, he had risked his life on several occasions for the sake of becoming more powerful than his bully of an older brother. He even challenged the now self-proclaimed 'Demon Lord' of the Radiant Sword Mirror Cult, who at the time was merely a prodigy martial artist at the time, 97 times in succession. Only giving up when he was old and didn't have any motivation to do battle anymore...
It was when 'getting back up after falling' became meaningless. When all motivators was gone.
After regaining his past life's memories, you could say that he remembered those times when he truly didn't have any fear of death. After all, he had nothing to lose. His parents would be more proud of him if he got stronger rather than valuing his life!
When his father became distant, he lost any reason to take care of himself... and Alan's constant emotional abuse didn't help. It was like realising you had nothing in your life from the beginning...
Alex wasn't a true member of the Dragon Family through bloodline, and he had a complex about it.
However, after meeting the young girl who would become his future disciple, Rosetta Stuman, and finding a 'home' just for him: The old freak became much more attached to living a long life for himself.
He didn't have any PTSD from the battle with the Weapon Mistress, but Samuel's persuasion made him realise that he was weak... and his tactics had been too reckless considering the world's danger.
He built this mansion he lived in for the sake of reliving his past where he had a 'home' with the Dragon Family, and this desire to live someplace safe only became stronger after regaining all of his memories. He wanted a rich and stable livelihood.
At first, he thought he'd be able to achieve this easily with his own strength, and the memories of his past life only served to enforce his beliefs, but his loss to Jasmine humbled the scholarly freak.
He believed Samuel was right about him 'not being a main character', and so it's only natural he accepted help from others to keep his livelihood safe from harm. That... and he also used those around him to protect Arthur from his fate as well.
Ya know... Let me come right out and say that he became pretty BORING due to his realism... Instead of having audacity and ambition, he merely wanted to save his friend using any method that worked before staying at home all day like a shut-in.
Compared to someone proactive like Samuel, Alex was slowly but surely making me lose interest in narrating about him. Couldn't he at least be more of a whacky Mad Scientist about this? If not, I'd like it if he had the gall to be more rational about this.
He seemed like a Lexical Thinker just like myself, without subversions... Someone 'normal'.
A comrade of logic and reason.
I expected him to be a bit different from me on the spectrum of Neurotyping, but this is just disappointing. He's way too 'inside the box' to figure out there's more to this sudden incident.
Whelp, at least his technology and the fact he had yet to make proper use of his God Centre still intrigues me. I'm wondering what form he'd take after learning to be more of a rational planner.
After mood-killer called Spencer left to check his room in the large mansion Alex bought (which was unusual considering it was bigger than what personality would normally allow, as he wasn't the type to waste money casually), Vhalen and the potential harem the little prince collected came to see him. They looked quite different compared to before... Having different hairstyles and colours.
"Ahem, what do you think~?" There was a proud look on the shorty's face he as presented them in an exaggerated manner. Even the new maids were shy due his excessively enthusiastic introduction.
Alex took one good look at the clothes before nodding his head, agreeing with his tastes.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to be a prince? When were Healers so good being fashionable?"
"Because I'm always FABULOUS~!" This answer made him stop asking, since he wasn't honest...
Rather than wasting his breath, Alex moved onto looking at the five Classless Beasts with his Runic Insight before remembering what his Mentor told him when he got kicked out of a Sanctuary:
{"Don't worry. They are classified as Beasts."}
{"Beasts are inherently disruptive to society. They have no place among 'Classed' individuals who are working to better the world. If the Luminous Church was to accept them, then that would be equivalent to rejecting all that we stand for. We can't have people thinking they can irresponsibly choose to become Classless outcasts."}
{"I'm just warning you two. Don't get involved if you sympathise with Classless Beasts. Me and the Church don't recognise potential 'Classless'."} The animosity Brandon held was way too deep...
Perhaps he might have been naive enough to think his Mentor will let him off if he protects people like these quintuplets before, but his unlocking of his memories made him realise this wasn't the case.
The Grand Hero could be stubbornly unreasonable so long as he is doing what he thinks is right. The sympathisers any kind of Beast in general would lead to conflicts with the Church without question.
This was especially true since the incident that cut down a large chunk of human populations many years ago. He understood why his Mentor was a truly extreme 'Beast-Hater', but what could he do?
He couldn't stop himself from seeing these sisters as Humans, and his more parental side was appealed to by the fact that they were young. This put in in-between a rock and a hard place...
Therefore, he could only be sneaky about this.
"You're planning on taking them to an event?"
"My sister is hosting a night party."
"The Royal Princess is, huh?" His eyes then took a glance at the new faces that had followed them.
"My bodyguards." Vhalen clarified their identities.
"They are quite interesting." He smirked, which made the Archer and Warrior shiver. Their instincts were telling them that had Alex already figured out their identities. It was a surprising feeling that they felt must've been a figment of their imagination.
Something born from deep paranoia
Of course, the scholarly freak was fully aware of their 'stats' and wondered how to handle them...
The bodyguards were definitely part of the 'Prison Laboratory' that ended up killing the mother had in his current life. He didn't hate them for what happened back then, but he DID feel animosity towards them. The Arcanist figured out that there was a connection between the quintuplets they offhandedly saved, Royalty, and the people who had been making a mess of the Dark Forest...
"If you're going to take them out, make sure to not reveal them as Classless Beasts." He didn't want to have to deal with justice-mongering Holy Knights nor the backlash from Brandon finding out.
"Don't worry, we're not going there to fight." The handsome shorty patted his chest in confidence.
"I'm going to need to borrow two 'hands'." Alex looked at the second and third sister of the maids.
"That's..." The eldest sister of the quintuplets was hesitant despite accepting him as their 'Master'.
"Can't you fight without them? Also, on the assumption that you won't fight, it won't matter if they're not there, right?" He wasn't planning on splitting them up, the freak just wanted them for something. He couldn't exactly force them to stay.
"...We sisters do everything together. They feel insecure and grow quite when I'm not around."
"Hmmm, that IS a problem..."
"So can we really-"
"The problem is your method of teaching." He spoke while relating them to Arthur and him. Alex then continued his lecture without giving them time to retort and ignore his opinion on the matter:
"Even siblings should have independence from each other, right? You shouldn't be so reliant on each other... As that will turn into over-reliance down the line and become a seed to tragedy."
"We understand..." The rest of them looked like they disagreed, but only the eldest sister seemed to find no fault in his words as she nodded. She didn't want to spoil them into rotten grownups...
However, she still gave him the retort her four younger sisters came up with on the spot:
"We're like a fully functional body. Without my third and second sisters, it's like not having two arms..."
"Then go learn Savate." He said without thinking.
"We have..." This thoughtless reply he got in return made his eyes widen as he turned his head
"You have...?!!" Alex was immediately shocked and blanked out with a familiar face like this: ( º _ º)
He was unsure of what to think of their reply.
"How do know Savate?"
"Wait, how do YOU know Savate!?" This was a martial arts from Earth; nonexistent in this realm...!
"...We watched a training video of someone using it." She glanced at the two bodyguards of the Second Prince as she said so, but they didn't seem to notice. These two blockheads would only notice the five were Classless Beasts only when someone outright stated it. This made the scholarly freak happy their dumbass-ery was convenient to him.
The youth was worried a bit... He wasn't sure about sports, but he remembered the practical users in the society of Internal Martial Artists were very secretive individuals. Having a video of them meant whoever was recorded gave explicit permission...
The Prison Laboratory and Ascenders...? Exactly what is happening? And what are they planning?
Though he pushed these questions to the back of his head, then looked at Vhalen and the three girls who would go with the second prince. Before they went off to change again, he decided to give them something so they wouldn't get hurt like he did.
"Forget it... I'll give you something for protection."
"No need. My bodyguards seem strong and dwarf-made swords or knives can't be brought in."
"Don't worry. I'm not giving you those." He then walked to the side and opened up a drawer.
He took out a prototype Soft Armour that had yet to be tested out in the field and two guns. These were 'Mech Armaments' created through a fusion of technology and the Runes he specialised in.
Before handing them out, he put the three articles of equipment on the table before him and took a good look at them. The first was the 'Doom Revolver', while the second the 'Brilliant Pistol', two guns that were made to replace the ones he used to use in the past way back when he was a mere child. They were sophisticated tools of battle.
One had a faint glow of light, and the other seemed jet-black. A pair as harmonious as Yin and Yang.
Ordinarily, he would use Runes to refill the 'Artificial Centre' he used as a power-source to reload the magical bullets. However, the fact that they couldn't do the same made it impractical for people other than him to use. The same could be said for the 'Soft Armour' he created for himself.
Some who read too much Wuxia think Soft Armour to be mythical, even though modern soldiers in the military all wear it in the field. Though this didn't mean that Bulletproof Vests were better than the Full-Plated Armour that Purple Knights wore.
The strengths of Soft Armour lay in the Kevlar or maybe even plastic fibres that are sewn together to make the force of impacts spread through the entire body. They were cut resistant, but sharper objects tend to make these kind of armour useless.
A knife can easily push past the intertwined strings of plastic that makes bulletproof vests even though bullets can't. Their weakness lay more in the 'sharpness' of a weapon rather than its power.
It was understandable since the strings of such vests were woven for the sake of bullet protection.
Their best point of Soft Armour was being more flexible and easier to move around in compared to armour that weighed down a soldier with its heaviness. It all depended on the makes being compared though. Not everything was equal.
The reason Alex went as far as to creating such an armours in this world was because Gaia Humans tended to almost NEVER use precision stabs using their swords, only swinging them to cut people.
This had to do with the nature of the Light Attribute to speak the truth, as it was much more practical concentrate energy into the edge before slashing that focusing on the sword point. Rarely did anyone seem to make use of 'piercing' than Beasts.
The difference between Beasts, who used 'Blasts' in a straight line, compared to Gaia Humans, who curved their energy into 'Waves', reflected that overwhelming difference in use and practicality.
It was the reason why the bullets of the Brilliant Pistol actually 'spun' despite not relying on normal artillery physics on Earth. The gun had what was essentially a portable Magic Skill to spin bullets...
Putting all that to the side, he traced his hand over his chin before being his by inspiration, and this strike of genius made him calmer, as he realised what 'Role' he'd take in a five-man band.
Rather than being 'The Leader', he chose lean more towards being 'The Smart Guy' and the team's engineer. He wanted to become someone who helped out using gadgets than martial arts...!
Rather than a front-liner, this new 'role' fit him a lot better! He was sure of it. Life was much safer here.
With this resolution and passion burning in his heart, he decided to show he too could 'sacrifice' something like his Mentor preached daily in his last adventure. He looked at the 'Artificial Centres' of the two guns and soft armour before reaching at them. His four Qi Armaments manifested: Which were his Rapier, Sword, Katana, and Shield.
He couldn't refill them? Then he'll just make it so they didn't need 'refilling'. He grabbed his black rapier and stabbed it into the Doom Revolver before doing the same to the Brilliant Pistol. Both his Mana Armaments disappeared into them.
It was at that moment that he created true 'Mech Armaments' that could be used by anyone...! Alex handed the two guns and briefly taught them how to shoot properly before moving onto to Vhalen's armour. They didn't need didn't need a lot of training. After all, their familiarity in seeing how projectile weapons worked as well as the fact their senses were sharp... helped them aim a lot better.
After deliberating a bit, he chose to give up his Vector Sword and keep his Force Shield (since who knew when he'd need it again). The Artificial Centre was created to strengthen and fix the positions of each soft metallic fibre he used in place. He didn't use Damascus Metal in the composition of the plastic-like fibres but used a ton of other materials since 'metal' was too rigid.
The moment the sword disappeared into the newly refined 'Vector Armour' that could be worn underneath one's shirt, the mark of the Space Attribute, a serpentine symbol, manifested onto it.
Vhalen was ecstatic when this acquaintance of his actually gifted him something so valuable. He didn't know why Alex was so worried about them but was thankful for his assistance. He inwardly believed it was because the scholarly freak didn't want his house doctor and maids to be unsafe with those now fully suspicious Cultists running around.
After the quintuplets said their goodbyes, the ones who were leaving went to change out of their maid uniforms. They didn't want to stand out in a strange way for going there in working clothes.
And so, the bodyguards waited outside until the group of four were done preparing themselves.
Alex took this chance to talk to the maids left...