Thinking that it would be a good idea, I looked Maybelle in the eye and said:
"If you don't mind, I think it would be better for you to join our party."
"S-seriously? I-Is that really okay?"
"Of course," I assured. "Snapper's our leader, but if I asked him, I don't think he'd be able to refuse."
"Ah, if that's the case then... Y-yes, of course I'll join you! I promise I'll try my best not to be a burden!"
"Alright then," I stood up. "I'm ready to keep going if you are."
I realized we'd wasted a lot of time talking here. We still had to rendezvous with the others soon.
"Same here," she agreed. "But… before that… I-I'd like to show you something."
Suddenly, with the help of her CCU, Maybelle was able to project a card from her hand using Vision.
"You can use 'Clairvoyance' on it."
She wanted me to read her card's ability and statistics using a Vision technique that can be activated by those possessing a CCU.
"Are you sure?" I asked to see if she was certain of this.
"I trust you, Wolf." She spoke confidently while maintaining her projection.
I nodded before activating the ability that Larg taught me how to use.
By concentrating spiritual Vision energy into your eyes, you could see into one's soul, meaning you could ascertain certain stats within a person's card.
There were even advanced versions of Clairvoyance that allowed you to see more card statistics, exposed the cards hidden within a person's CCU, revealed trap cards, and detected lies or truths within a person's words.
Larg heard a rumor that the latter was something to do with an advancement in the Visionary Arts, but he believed that it was just "another stupid myth", created by people who liked to overexaggerate things.
I used Clairvoyance on Maybelle's card. Larg stated that with the standard CCU, you would typically see only the card type and class of an opponent's card.
But since I was secretly a Visionary, I was able to see much more.
I could completely understand how her card functioned, and it made me very curious.
"I've seen what type of card you own, but I'm still not sure why exactly you wanted me to see it," I said, deactivating Clairvoyance.
"W-well, I thought it would be alright if it's you," she said quietly while unsummoning her card. "You saw that it's a summon type, defense class, right?"
"Yes, that's all I was able to see."
Obviously, I lied. I trusted Maybelle, but not enough to share 'that' secret just yet.
"Because it's a card that I own, I'm naturally able to understand how it works, even though I've never had to use it myself."
Maybelle's card is an object summon named 'Rota', which is a small cube that's able to fly around within her Vision field, absorbing any projectile based attack coming her way before returning it back to the sender.
Of course, I was already aware of the details hidden within her card ability, but she obviously didn't know this.
I heard that summon type cards were quite rare, and hers seemed to be a very useful one too.
If she were to increase the rank of her birth card, she could also protect others against projectile based attacks as well as herself.
Card ranks were another one of the many concepts I learned recently.
Every card has a base rank, which is in the form of a single visible star on the card. You could see the rank of your own card, but appraising the cards of others required a higher form of Clairvoyance.
The more you use the card, the more experience it gains. Eventually it begins to rank up, gaining another star.
Once a card reaches the maximum rank (six-star) it causes your card to have a strange vision mist that clouds around it, which is referred to as 'Vision Aura' or 'Vision Mist'.
That was what I saw around Gouldsworth's card, however–after inheriting that same card–the mist completely faded, meaning the rank had been reset.
Vision Mist doesn't require Clairvoyance to see, making it seem like a warning to the opponents of those who possess these types of cards.
With each rank comes a potential for upgrading your card through the creation of a 'Manifesto', which is a rule you can set for your card, slightly modifying its abilities every time it gains a certain amount of stars (typically 2-3).
However, these rules are conditional and have to be balanced for them to work. Manifestos are only limited to birth cards, so when newly acclaimed cards are ranked, they upgrade themselves in whatever way possible (e.g. destructiveness, range, speed, etc).
"If that becomes your Manifesto then it'll be very useful to all members within your party," I said, having assessed the potential of Maybelle's card.
"Mhm," she nodded in agreement. "I don't really have any combat skills, but I can make up for that by aiding my teammates this way."
"You'll definitely be a great addition to the team."
"Y-yeah, I hope so…" She began to blush once more. "A-anyway, I really think we should be heading to the armory now," she said in a quiet voice.
I nodded my head, and we resumed our journey toward the armory owned by Maybelle's father, Quinn Ferrum.
"Oh, Wolf?" She paused before turning to me with a bright smile.
"Hmm?"
"You can call me May."
In front of me, her purple hair danced to the melody of a sudden gust that majestically blew through the air. She stretched her metallic hand toward me as the sun glimmered brightly behind her.
Not too long ago, the image of a cloudless sky, a bright sun, and a warm presence all seemed like forbidden luxuries.
But here they all were, laid out in front of me in a picturesque manner.
Is this… freedom?
It was at this moment–for the first time in my life–that I had recognised something truly beautiful in this ugly world, and that was the girl who stood before me–the girl I referred to as May from this moment onward.