Chapter 176
Draco stared at the newly updated status sheet, his mind racing.
‘What the hell is this?’ he thought, his heart sinking as he inspected the results of the grimoire usage.
He had been waiting for Clair, Eleni, and Dimitra to use their grimoires before assessing everyone’s newly acquired magic skills.
What he found was both surprising and concerning.
Nikolaos had obtained a potent fire damage and impact skill, while Vasileios had gained a damage mitigation and reflection skill that Draco considered quite overpowered.
It seemed that Nikolaos’s skill wasn’t limited to enchanting just one type of weapon; he could enhance any weapon he chose.
Draco imagined the chaos he could unleash by enchanting Dimitra’s arrows or any other projectile weapon.
Then, there was Vasileios.
Draco couldn’t even fathom the implications of his new skill.
Quickly, he flipped through the status sheets to see the effects of the grimoires on Clair, Eleni, and Dimitra.
Eleni had acquired a wind-type damage ability, which thrilled Draco. It was a sign that his experiment might have succeeded.
However, when he saw Dimitra’s skill, he felt a wave of disappointment wash over him.
She had acquired a lightning-based damage skill that could also stun enemies.
Although it was elemental, it was outside the scope of the grimoires he had crafted.
They only contained information on the four basic elements, and lightning technically wasn’t one of them.
Shaking off his thoughts, Draco turned to Clair’s acquired magic.
His breath caught in his throat when he saw it.
“What element even is this? It can’t be gravity, right? Maybe wind?” he muttered under his breath.
Clair had received a skill called Vortex Pull, which drew all enemies within an area toward the center.
The skill had elements of both gravity and wind, but Draco couldn’t tell until he saw it in action.
‘Sigh, did I succeed or fail?’ Draco pondered.
Technically, the magic they acquired were all elemental in nature, but his original intention had been for them to gain basic elemental magic.
Perhaps his ‘mystery’ development skill had mixed his desires with theirs, resulting in their unique abilities.
“Eleni, Clair, Dimitra, I have some questions. Please answer as best as you can,” Draco called to his step-sisters.
The three girls exchanged curious glances before approaching him.
“Let’s start with Eleni, then Dimitra, and finally Clair. Can you describe what you felt and what desires you had when using the grimoires? It’s crucial for an experiment I’m conducting,” Draco asked.
Eleni furrowed her brow, contemplating how to respond.
“Hmm, when I opened the grimoire, I felt like I was in a trance, as if a voice resembling my own was asking about my desires and what I hoped to achieve. Ahem, I’ll skip the embarrassing parts, but basically, I wanted a skill that could sweep away my fears, and it manifested as this,” she explained.
Draco nodded thoughtfully, intrigued by her answer.
‘Wind does sweep things away, but what worries her so much that she wants them gone?’ he wondered.
He hesitated to ask, realizing it might be insensitive; they were all growing and entitled to their secrets.
“Dimitra, it’s your turn,” Draco prompted.
“My experience was similar to Eleni’s, and I’ll skip the embarrassing bits as well. My desire was simple: I wanted an attack that could pierce anything to compensate for my weakness. I felt stuck in my bow skills and worried I was becoming redundant. It’s frustrating when my arrows just bounce off or get lodged in enemies without doing much damage,” Dimitra revealed.
The room fell silent, and even the boys who had been chatting turned their attention to her.
‘Ugh, I wasn’t expecting something so heavy. What do I say in these situations?’ Draco thought.
Before he could respond, Bahamut leaped toward Dimitra, hugging her tightly, and Eleni soon joined in.
“Oh, my cute little girl, is that how you’ve felt all this time? Why didn’t you say anything?” the goddess asked.
“I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want to lower everyone’s expectations of me,” Dimitra replied.
“Sigh, I wish you’d talk to me more. That’s why I’m here,” Bahamut whispered.
“I know you’re all strong children, but please let me know if any of you ever hit a wall. I know that Draco can be a bit unreasonable with his expectations, but we’re a family. I will never be disappointed if any of you fail, and if Draco say’s otherwise, just tell me.” she said, with her hand balled into a threatening fist at Draco.
‘Why am I suddenly the bad guy here?’ Draco wondered.
Dimitra nodded, and the others followed suit in understanding.
‘Why are you all agreeing’ Draco wanted to say, but kept quite instead.
“Ahem, enough with the heavy stuff. Dimitra, come with me; we’re going to make a quick lunch!” Bahamut declared, pulling Dimitra away.
‘Sigh, do all familia captains experience this?’ Draco wondered, shaking his head.
“Anyway, Clair, your turn,” he said.
“My experience was the same as Eleni and Dimitra. As for my desire, it was to be around family—meaning all of you—for as long as possible. I don’t know why it manifested like this,” Clair said, briefly glancing up to meet Draco’s gaze.
Draco noticed her glance but chose not to dwell on it.
‘So, the ability gain doesn’t necessarily represent their direct desire but uses it as a reference to generate a magic skill. That means desire first, personality second, general abilities third. Where does my desire for the grimoire fit in? Maybe it augments their wishes before manifestation,’ he thought.
’I will need to create more grimoires to test with more people; I need more data.’
With his thoughts organized, Draco looked outside and noted that it was nearing noon.
“Alright, everyone, after lunch, we’re going on patrol. No testing of any magic skills until tomorrow, alright? We’re still renting this place, so any damage will come out of your pocket money,” Draco announced.
Just as he was about to sit down, he caught a whiff of something burning.
His gaze shifted to Michalis, Nikolaos, and Vasileios, who appeared quite nervous.
“What have you three done?” Draco asked, his tone icy.
Nikolaos gulped, then stammered, “Nothing.” he said, his perky ears drooping slightly.
“Then why don’t you three move aside? I want to see what you’re hiding,” Draco said, narrowing his eyes.
He could tell the smell was coming from where they sat.
At his words, the three boys began to panic.
“I didn’t do it; it’s all him!” Michalis blurted, pointing at Nikolaos before dashing away.
“Michalis, you—” Vasileios began, annoyance creeping into his voice.
Turning to Nikolaos, Vasileios shook his head, signalling him to confess.
“I’ll pay for it,” Nikolaos said, gritting his teeth.
While Draco had been conversing with Eleni, Dimitra, and Clair, Michalis and Vasileios had pestered Nikolaos about his new magic skill.
Vasileios couldn’t demonstrate his skill effectively, as it required taking damage —something he wasn’t willing to do currently.
Nikolaos, too, was curious about his skill, so he had attempted to enchant a spoon from the kitchen.
He had been careful, but he got distracted when Dimitra began discussing her insecurities.
The enchanted spoon had dropped on the rug, triggering the skill’s effects.
They managed to put out the small fire, but the smell lingered in the air. Fortunately, the spoon was made of regular iron, so the effects of his skill were mild.
Draco sighed, feeling a mix of exasperation and amusement at the chaos unfolding around him.