"He's a 'Sky Lion.' The ring of flames around his neck isn't decoration—it's a special fire. It fuels his movement and, more importantly, serves as one of his rare but primary means of attack."
Tsunayoshi didn't hide the cub's abilities and gave a careful explanation.
"This attack taps into the fire's most straightforward trait: 'harmonization.' Besides strong propulsion, its greatest use is to harmonize any energy that enters it—neutralizing threats. It can also extend that harmless 'harmonization' to other people and materials."
"Harmless 'harmonization'… what does that mean?"
"Put simply, it harmonizes hard substances and changes their fundamental nature into something cement-like. You could also call the process 'petrification.'"
"Petrification… petrification!?"
Tiona stared wide-eyed at the adorable cub. She couldn't believe something so cute could be that dangerous.
Petrification wasn't common; it was extremely rare, a special power held only by top-tier monsters. And it was deadly—once you were hit, there was almost no cure. Death was the usual outcome.
Tiona remembered that the unknown floor boss "Balor" was rumored to have such a power. Legend said that a glance from its eye-beams put a powerful curse on you—something like petrification—called the "Death Ray."
Too dangerous indeed. Bete's gaze grew solemn.
This had nothing to do with raw strength; it was an ability mismatch. He doubted his body could withstand a petrifying curse. Unless he could one-shot it, if that curse caught him, severing a limb might be his only way out.
But the truly dangerous one here was the newcomer. Only now did Bete start taking the specially handled rookie seriously. As the creator of such a beast, it was easy to see why Finn had said that, given enough intel, the newcomer could craft a counter to Ais.
This ability really was over the top. Bete couldn't help thinking it was wildly over-tuned. He wouldn't even doubt that once the owner of such a power grew, he might be able to take on the whole familia alone.
One thought crossed Bete's mind:
Where did Loki find such a ridiculous kid to recruit?
"Your ability is insane—you can even make a little lion with a bizarre power like that."
After her initial fright and daze, Tiona came back to herself. Looking again at the adorable cub, she felt, for the first time, that "Sky Lion" fit perfectly.
"But an ability like petrification must burn a lot of mana, right?"
"It doesn't."
"…Huh? It doesn't use mana!?"
Tiona's eyes bulged again.
"Yeah. My ability creates multi-ability monsters through imagination. It never said anything about me paying an energy cost. All I spend is the imagination to design a monster's structure—not any kind of energy."
"???"
That outrageous? Tiona could hardly believe her ears. It felt like a brief auditory hallucination. How could using that cub's ability not cost mana?
"It's just that the monsters I make scale with my knowledge, perspective, and imagination. That's the only real limit."
Some limit. Tiona felt like that was almost a joke—power tied only to imagination. Then she looked at Tsunayoshi and a thought struck her.
"In that case, you yourself are the weak point, aren't you?"
"Pretty much."
"Eh?"
His blunt admission left her frozen for a moment—he just… owned it like that?
"For this power, my personal ability being relatively poor is the biggest weak point. I can create all sorts of monsters, sure—but that doesn't change the fact that my current personal strength is low."
Tsunayoshi didn't dodge his greatest flaw. That was true in this swords-and-magic world—and in the world he came from.
Until he found a way back, he needed to train his body. He'd put physical training at the top of his agenda. Having finally grasped a power that could change his fate, he had no intention of wasting the chance.
"I've thought of ways to cover for being the weakest—for example, creating full-body armor to enhance me. But that only patches the gap short-term. Improving myself is still the key."
If only I could awaken the Dying Will Flame right now, it'd take a load off… He felt a twinge of disappointment, then let it go.
Even without that, "Monster Creation" had already filled part of the gap. He was satisfied with the present and knew complaining solved nothing.
"For now, more than boosting my raw strength, I want to understand how things work here."
"In that case, how about I show you around?"
Tiona suddenly perked up. She wasn't big on mentoring newbies—but this particular rookie intrigued her.
"I don't mind. But don't you all have your own duties?"
"Ah, that's fine. The busy ones are Finn and Riveria. Even now, with the dungeon push coming up, logistics and supplies aren't my job."
"Idiot Tiona!"
Tione sprang to her feet.
"Did you forget we're supposed to keep an eye on Ais?"
"…Ah!"
Tiona had completely forgotten they were meant to shadow Ais and stop her from heading to the dungeon. She looked at the drooping Ais, then at the fascinating newcomer before her, and a thought popped out.
"Since we're going to stick to Ais anyway and keep her out of the dungeon… why don't we just bring the newcomer along too? He's not heading down there for now either. After Riveria's lessons, we can tell him about Orario together."
(End of Chapter)
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