Sitting cross-legged on my bed with myself, I was having a hard time making a very important decision.
'I need to choose something...'
I was currently looking through the catalog listing the items that I could withdraw from the royal armory. There were just so many good things that I wanted to get my hands on, but the fact that I could only pick one made me quite sad.
The list contained numerous articles, everything from mana essences to weapons, and even unique artifacts with special abilities.
So far, I knew that I was probably in need of a better weapon that could channel mana more easily, as it would reduce the amount of mana I had to spend to coat it. However, there was not a single scythe in the armory, which, although wasn't that unexpected, was incredibly sad.
"Why don't we pick the Legs of the Dragonfly then? That would help our mobility a lot."
The pair of pants I was telling myself about had a pretty unique active ability that lets the user take a step in the air, making it possible for dynamic aerial movement. However, it felt like it might be a waste as I already had my wings.
In the end, I ended up with three alternatives to choose from, three items that all had some pretty good effects that could help me not only now, but could also be useful in the future.
[Legs of the Dragonfly] - [C]
Description: Leather pants crafted from the skin of a giant dragonfly. More durable than normal leather while still being light. This legwear allows the user to take a physical step in the air every 30 minutes.
Active ability - [Step]: 30 minutes cooldown.
[Gloves of the Knight] - [C]
Description: Leather gloves tailored for the guards of the royal family. Can be used to increase physical strength by 1.1x the user's original value for a [Moderate] mana consumption.
Active ability - [Strength Boost]
[Royal Cross] - [?]
Description: Earrings in the form of a black cross. Origin unknown. Allows the user to convert their vitality for mana.
Active ability - [Life Tap]
Three items with very different uses. The pants would just give me a very general boost in both safety as well as combat proficiency. All in all, they would be an obvious choice if not for the fact that I was already able to fly.
Then the gloves. In my mind, they had by far the highest potential out of all the items here. From doing some quick searches on the internet, it was rare for even an [A]-rank item would give more than a 1.15x boost in any stat, meaning they were incredibly good for their rank.
The main reason why the potential was endless was that the effect was multiplicative, meaning that their effect would only get stronger the stronger my body became. Sadly, I was quite sure that no matter how high my strength stat became, my physical power would always be well below average, therefore it felt like a mistake to invest too much in it.
Even with my training, I had started to disregard strengthening my muscles in exchange for spending more time on mana manipulation and elemental manipulation. It would be better to become a frail specialist than a little-bit-less frail jack of all trades.
"Haaa... but the last option is so boring..."
"Yeah, it truly is..."
The earring in itself was pretty cool, and the effect could be incredibly efficient if I allowed sub-me to use it. However, I wasn't even sure if it was possible to use the effect using only one earring, and even if it was...
It was such a boring ability. How could it possibly compare to me gaining superhuman strength or jumping forward by using air itself as my foothold? Still, both of me know very well that this was the natural choice to make. Anything that could allow me to use my Skills more freely would be amazingly useful.
"So, we're going with this?"
"Yep... we are..."
And like that, I had to crush my gamer heart completely by going with the optimal choice instead of the fun one. Or maybe it was because of my gamer heart that I felt compelled to do so.
****
[Sophie's Pov
'I'm still so hungry...'
Since I woke up yesterday, I had spent my time doing nothing but stuffing my mouth with food. Even after eating more than a family of four would eat during a whole week, I was still incredibly hungry.
The small table in my apartment was littered with plates, food packages, and all kinds of empty bottles. But it was still not enough.
"That new Skill of mine... Dangerous..."
Not only were the physical aftereffects pretty harsh, having suffered from extreme muscle pain and creaking limbs, but the hunger was on a whole different level.
'Status'
===Status===
Name: Sophie Red
Rank: E+
Strength: D+
Agility: E+
Stamina: E+
Intelligence: E
Mana Capacity: E+
--> Main Manual:
[Dragoon - ★★★★★★★ ] - Medium Understanding
Follow the steps of the legendary dragonkin and unleash the power of the dragons onto your enemies. Nothing can stand in the way of unlimited strength!
-Core Skill: [Dragonize]
-1st Skill: [Draconic Strength]
-2nd Skill: [Wings]
--> Side Manual:
[Empty]
--> Elemental Affinity: Fire
->Elemental Skills : [Explosive Fist], [Flaming Draconic Strength]
==========
During my stay at the academy, my stats had progressed quite nicely, with my strength stat still firmly in the lead.
I also had a feeling, even though it sounded crazy when thinking about the other students, that I was about to break through to [D-] rank shortly.
It wasn't a secret that Mike was acting incredibly cocky because he was supposedly a 'genius' for already being [E]-rank. So, what did that make me who was [E+]-rank, about to break through again?
Ranks and stats weren't something that one should be able to increase so quickly, as most people needed several months to raise a minor step in the earlier ranks, to then spending multiple years during the higher.
Sadly, I had a feeling that my rapid progress had nothing to do with my own abilities. No, it was more likely that it was thanks to the thing inside of me, guiding me on how to become stronger through my subconscious.
*GURGLE!*
My hungry stomach interrupted my thoughts, and, right now, my gut was the master of me. So I followed its words and used my smartwatch to order even more food.
At the same time, I sent a couple of messages to see how everyone was doing, knowing that Arthur was currently the only one left in the infirmary.
Although I hadn't seen the fight, I had heard the story from Anna, who told me that Arthur had been strangely awesome but also a bit scary. Arthur had asked her profusely for forgiveness, after what had happened, when she had come to check in on him.
In Arthur's head, he was the one responsible for Anna's injuries, even though she was also a student of Ainu who must make her own decisions.
Anna herself didn't seem to hold it against him much at all, knowing that it was better for someone to make the wrong call than for them both not to move at all.
*GURG...*
"I get it, alright! Food is on its way, just calm down! Shit!"
Knowing I had to do something to keep my mind from thinking about how empty my stomach felt, I made my way to take a shower.
Taking off my clothes, I had already gotten over just how big my body was. Not being able to see my stomach without moving my chest to the sides, having to crouch under the shower head, and how my bottom always seemed to accidentally touch the cold shower walls, sending shivers downs my spine.
In many ways, it was annoying and tiring, but I didn't hate it anymore. In fact, I had begun to truly appreciate my body, and the potential it held. Far from my sickly old self on Earth, I now had the chance to use my body to live my life however I wanted, to do whatever I wanted, and to obtain whoever I wanted...
*Splash!*
'No! Bad Sophie!'
Throwing some water in my face to get rid of the dangerous thoughts, I instead let it wander to something I thought was suspicious about all that had gone down on the excursion.
The reason why the teachers had found us was that Bellatrix had called for help, something she had done, supposedly, because James had told her to. Though I could see him challenging some ridiculously strong monster by himself, I couldn't imagine him calling anyone for help.
It wasn't because of pride, like for myself. It was because James could do anything he set his mind to, as his mind would never allow him to try something he couldn't do.
Also, couldn't he just teleport away if needed?
I did have some suspicions that maybe his teleportation Skill had strict requirements to use, as otherwise, he would have used it a lot more in combat, but still. Shouldn't he have been able to use his mist to gain enough time to use it?
I wasn't the best at using my head, although Brad and Bradley proved that I was not the worst, but I had a feeling that James had somehow planned it out already. As if it was all part of his design.
'Was he testing us? Did he want to see the potential of the hero?'
Without enough information, I had no way of knowing the truth of the matter, but as I let the water fall down on my body, I knew one thing.
'That goblin knew that we would fight the demons...'