"There's still a chance, though," I repeated. The twins nodded, then turned to each other. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, though I speculated they were mentally conversing using their shared skill『 Twin Telepathy 』. After the short moment of silence passed, they turned back to me and nodded.
"We'll risk it," Jonathan nodded, "Our guts tell us this is the right decision."
"Even if you're stuck in a dragon form for a while?" I asked as I smiled, "You'll be more powerful, but you won't be able to interact with your family or any of your other friends."
"Ha, friends?" Jonathan chuckled. His eyes turned sorrowful for a moment before his expression turned back to the cheerful one he always wore. I noticed the change, but said nothing about it, "We used to live in Pyre, but my dad's job isn't the only reason we moved. Pyre is corrupt, far more than any other city in the empire. It's like a dumpster fire of crime, poverty, and failures. I have no friends, both in Hewe and Pyre."
"So you've made your decision then?" I asked. Jonathan and Evelyn nodded. I smiled, then turned back to Aros.
"Wonderful," Aros said. He looked at me, then said, "Now, why don't I explain how this works? We'll need two carcasses, preferably healthy and without any damage, as well as two『 Soul Transference 』scrolls. I'm not sure how rare they are, but they will still be hard to find regardless."
"Scrolls?" I echoed. Scrolls allowed one to store a spell inside of them, that way anybody could use it at a later time. However, they were also incredibly unstable and prone to failure. In the worst-case scenario, everybody involved would end up suffering from something called 'Mana Burn', the opposite of 'Mana Shock', which was what Hazel experienced after fighting me. Mana burn was the result of putting too much magical energy into a living body. If the spell didn't require that much mana, it would only cause physical burns. However, if the spell required a lot of mana, an explosion powerful enough to destroy an entire city could erupt from the scroll itself.
"Scrolls are illegal," Jonathan said, surprising both Aros and me. Hazel didn't look too shocked by that revelation, but it was easy to understand why, "The empire considers scrolls as weapons of mass destruction after one was used to blow up and elven reservation."
"That complicates things, unfortunately," Aros mumbled. He brought his fingers to his chin as he began to brainstorm for another alternative. However, as a few seconds of silence passed, I began to realize he hadn't managed to make any progress. I looked to Hazel, then suddenly had an idea.
"What if we do the same thing we did with Hazel?" I suggested. Then, I quickly closed my mouth and shook my head. Jonathan and Evelyn were both human, so that idea was quickly set aside.
"We can do that?" Jonathan asked, excited. He looked to Hazel, who didn't appear to have any problems, but stopped when he noticed my conflicted expression.
"No, it's impossible," I sighed, "Only spirits can be tethered to the dungeon. It won't work on humans."
"We could at least try, right?" Jonathan said. I looked at him, then turned to Aros.
"It may damage the core," Aros said as he turned to me. I sighed, then looked back to Jonathan. I planned to tell him off, hoping to find another answer. However, when I turned back to Jonathan, I was met with a determined glint in his eye and anticipation in his breaths. As I looked at his expression, my gut began to tell me to attempt it. It was urging me to take the risk as if nothing could go wrong.
"Why not?" I muttered, surprising Aros as I turned toward the stairs behind the throne, "I can stop it if it becomes too much to deal with. Why don't we head downstairs?"
"My Lord, the chance of this working doesn't even exist," Aros told me as Jonathan and Evelyn followed me across the throne room. Hazel smiled, then followed me alongside Icarus. Aros continued to warn us of the dangers, but I ignored him, "It's a futile attempt!"
"We will see," I muttered in excitement.
Just a few minutes later, everybody stood in the attic of the house, surrounding the core as we looked at each other with newfound nervousness and excitement. Even Aros, who was still against attempting this, stood in the circle as well.
"Okay, go ahead and place your hand on the core," I instructed Jonathan and Evelyn. They both nodded, then took a step forward and stretched one of their hands to the core. They stood opposite of each other, so it wasn't cramped as they walked forward a few steps.
I nodded as their palms touched the orb, then smiled when a notification appeared in front of me.
﹃
Warning!
Humans have gained contact with the core!
Danger!
﹄
At first, I grew worried. I looked to Jonathan and Evelyn, then turned to the core. If they decided to turn on me, now would be the most opportunistic moment. I found myself leaning forward, just slightly, as I prepared myself for the worst.
However, another notification appeared just a moment later, calming me down.
﹃
Overridden!
No foul play detected
Warning recalled
﹄
﹃
Notice!
Detecting nearby intention to join the『 Labyrinth of Aros 』as dungeon monsters
Searching for intention
Two intelligent beings detected
Permission to promote both intelligent beings to advanced dungeon monsters, requested
Permission to promote both intelligent beings to advanced dungeon monsters, granted
Seeking appropriate form
Connecting form to the Dungeon Master's capabilities
Succeeded
Form found: Fire Elemental
Promote both intelligent beings?
『 Yes 』『 No 』
﹄
'Requested? To whom?' I wondered as I looked at the last notification. However, I didn't have the time to try to find the answer to that question, as both of the twins had already turned to me as they waited. I grew excited as I looked at them, then turned to Aros
"I think it might work," I said with a giant smile on my face. Both of the twins turned to each other and celebrated for a moment, but Aros already knew something was a bit off. He looked at me, cocking his head in confusion, as he awaited my explanation. I nodded, then said, "Aros, can you explain to us what Fire Elementals are? They aren't familiar to me."
"Fire Elementals? Now that's a surprise," Aros said as the tone of his voice lifted for a moment. The twins turned to him, as did Hazel and Icarus. We all awaited his explanation as we stood in anticipation. The excitement in the room had already built up to the point where the twins were beginning to have shaky knees, so all of us were rather impatient. Aros noticed this, then smiled as he began to speak, "Fire Elementals aren't draconic, which is why I'm surprised. As far as we've seen, you shouldn't have any way to create them."
"I shouldn't?" I muttered, confused. I looked back to the notifications, then said, "It looks like that form was chosen based on my capabilities. Does it mean my magic?"
"Most definitely," Aros nodded, "You have been using nothing but fire magic, so it's easy to understand. However, don't be too excited yet. I haven't even started my explanation yet. Fire Elementals are among the various monsters that belong in the 'Constructs' group, mainly because they're usually created as a result of high-difficulty magic rituals or through a thousand years of fire mana gathering into one specific spot. Because of this, they're able to morph their body into a form they want."
"They could be large or tiny, could choose to fit into large spaces or small, and some can even fly by using their magic through some sort of explosion to gain momentum," Aros explained, "However, they are literally made up of pure fire. As such, water is a major weakness of theirs, as is wind. They're strong against Ice and Darkness and work well with earth and metal. Because of what their bodies are made out of, Fire Elementals don't have a physical form."
"Shit, really?" I muttered, disappointed. I looked back at the twins and began to believe this was a failure, but Aros wasn't done yet.
"Did you forget? They're constructs," Aros chuckled, "With enough power and enough time, the twins should be able to condense their bodies into a pseudo-physical form, to the point where they should be able to do it passively if they wish. Once they can morph into their human bodies, we simply need to give them illusion rings to make it appear that they are human, which will hide their fiery form."
"So it's possible?" Jonathan gasped. He looked to Aros, stopped, then smiled, "How strong are Fire Elementals?"
"C-rank, originally," Aros said. I looked at Jonathan and Evelyn and noticed they were slightly disappointed, "However, you may get lucky. Some of the monsters in the dungeon grow stronger as the core levels up. With any luck, you'll be the same."
"Oh, they'll be the same. If I have to, I'll give them a floor to be bosses on. That'll make it so they can rank up," I nodded. I turned to the twins, then said, "So? Does being a fire elemental satisfy you two?"
Jonathan and Evelyn answered instantly, their voices acting in unison, "Yes!"
I smiled, then pushed against the『 Yes 』button.