Chapter 54
Upon reaching the front of Bahamut's room, Draco came upon a familiar scene. Michalis was engaged in a scuffle with Nikolaos and Vasileios.
Draco let out a sigh, ignoring them for now as this was a regular occurrence.
Walking up to Eleni, Dimitra, and Vasiliki, who patiently lined up in front of Bahamut’s door.
“Sigh, what happened this time?” he asked.
“Michalis got his blessing first, you can already imagine the rest.” Vasiliki, bluntly replied.
Draco nodded, unsurprised by the turn of events.
‘Ugh, he probably came out looking all smug and bragged to oblivion about it. His status must be really good,’ Draco surmised.
Glancing around, Draco noticed Clair’s absence.
“I am guessing Clair is getting her blessing,” he asked, his curiosity piqued.
Eleni responded with a simple “Hmm,” her attention focused on the ongoing scuffle.
‘Sigh, I should break them up first and see his stats,’ Draco thought, resigned to his role as their guardian.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Draco said, stepping in and separating the boys.
Michalis, his expression brimming with pride, turned to Draco.
“Draco nii, look at this. I have become even more awesome, praise me,” he demanded, his tail swishing excitedly.
‘Sigh, I see why they fought now. His expression makes me want to smack him in the face,’ Draco thought, resisting the urge to smack the smug look off Michalis’ face.
Grudgingly, Draco took the sheet of paper Michalis had handed him and was genuinely surprised by what he saw.
Michalis had acquired a magic skill, something that was exceptionally rare for new adventurers.
Even more remarkable was that the skill was an extremely useful one, perfectly suited to Michalis' stealthy combat style.
Michalis had also gained another skill called 'light steps,' which reduced the sound he made while moving.
'Ugh, I can now see why Nikolaos and Vasileios feel pressured. If they don't get any special skills after receiving Falna from Bahamut, they would feel inferior to Michalis. Also why does his spell chant sound so sinister?' Draco thought.
Looking up from Michalis status sheet, Draco could see Michalis staring at him with expectation, his ears twitching, his eyes sparkling, and his tail swaying restlessly.
'Sigh, what do I do?' Draco wondered.
He could see that Michalis' head was slightly tilted, in the perfect position for a head pat.
But to the side, Nikolaos and Vasileios were menacingly glaring in his direction.
If he praised Michalis now, to Nikolaos and Vasileios, it would seem as though he had acknowledged that Michalis was better than them.
Squeak!!
Suddenly, a squeaking sound drew everyone's attention.
It was Clair, emerging from Bahamut's room, having just received her Falna blessing.
"Clair, how was it? Did you get any good skills?" Draco asked, seizing the opportunity to divert Michalis' attention.
"Hmm, I got an interesting skill," Clair replied, waving her status sheet.
Eleni walked into Bahamut's room, while the others quickly gathered around to see Clair's skill.
"Whoa, is this skill even fair? Congratulations, Clair," Michalis praised, his eyes widening with admiration.
"Thanks," Clair replied with a warm smile.
"She will basically be a few steps ahead during combat with this skill," Dimitra muttered.
"Yeah, since she uses a spear. She also gains a bit of range, not bad," Draco commented, impressed by Clair's new ability.
Michalis attention had been successfully diverted and he remained with Clair, making some small talk.
Not long after Clair, Eleni emerged from Bahamut's room, a radiant smile adorning her face.
Draco's gaze shifted from Eleni to the others, noting the subtle shift in their expressions.
Nikolaos and Vasileios had momentarily forgotten their earlier scuffle, their attention now captivated by Eleni's return.
"Eleni, what kind of skill did you receive?" Draco asked, his curiosity piqued.
Eleni's smile widened as she unfolded her status sheet, revealing her newfound ability.
"I've been blessed with a skill that boosts my speed and agility," she announced, eagerly sharing the details.
"As a long sword user, this is a perfect fit for my fighting style. By alternating speeds, I can throw my opponents off, and it will also help me when I need to retreat." she said.
Draco nodded, impressed by Eleni's new skill.
"That's a remarkable boon," he commented.
"With your ability to land counter-attacks, the increased speed and agility will undoubtedly give you a significant advantage in battle." he said.
Dimitra was the next to emerge from Bahamut's quarters, her expression equally enthusiastic.
"I've received a bow-specific skill. It increases the damage I deal with each consecutive hit with a bow and triggers a hidden effect after 10 consecutive hits," she revealed.
Draco considered Dimitra's new ability, his mind already contemplating potential uses.
"That's a very versatile and quite nasty skill against large targets," he remarked.
"I believe there are multiple ways you could utilize it to your benefit. Perhaps incorporating a dagger or something extra onto your bow could allow you to exploit the skill even further, should melee combat become necessary." he analyzed.
Dimitra's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "That's an excellent idea, Draco nii!" she exclaimed.
"I'll have to experiment with that, to see how I can best integrate it into my fighting style." she said.
While the others were admiring Dimitra's skill, Vasiliki had slipped into Bahamut's room.
When she emerged, her expression was even more smug than Michalis's had been.
"Hey, 'ninja wannabe,' take a look at this," Vasiliki said, thrusting her status sheet towards Michalis.
Michalis's eyes widened as he scanned the information.
"Geh, magic and two crazy skills too," he muttered, a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Well, you were always a magic user, so this shouldn't have come as a surprise," Michalis tried to counter, though his words lacked conviction.
"Huh, can our skill descriptions even be compared?" Vasiliki retorted, a vein appearing on her forehead.
"What nonsense are you saying? I can end you before you even have a chance to use your fancy magic," Michalis shot back, his bravado barely masking his unease.
"Do you want to test that?" Vasiliki replied, icicles beginning to form beneath her feet.
Draco, sensing the brewing tension, quickly intervened.
"That's enough. Your skills are not meant to be used against each other," he scolded.
Michalis and Vasiliki both huffed and turned away from each other, their competitive spirits temporarily dampened by Draco's stern words.
"Sigh, stop comparing your skills with each other," Draco continued.
"The status sheet is a representation of your natural gifts and your efforts. There's no way they would look the same. If you don't have a natural gift, then your effort will at least be reflected, so stop fussing and believe in yourselves." he stated, his gaze landing on Nikolaos and Vasileios.
Taking a look at Vasiliki’s status sheet, Draco couldn't help but be impressed by her abilities.
'Her affinity for ice magic is truly remarkable,' he thought, inspecting her status sheet.
'A passive skill that ensures she isn't helpless in melee combat, a magic skill that can be enhanced with a spell chant, and a support skill too. Her magic should have been an innate skill, but the Falna changed and enhanced it, turning it into a better magic skill. There is even a chant to boost it.' he surmised.
Before Draco could further analyze the potential of Vasiliki's skills, Nikolaos came bursting out of Bahamut's room, his voice booming with excitement.
"Hahahaha, I got an awesome skill too!" he proclaimed, his enthusiasm palpable.
Draco turned his attention to the newcomer, curious to learn what Nikolaos had received.
The group's attention was now focused on him, eager to see what new capabilities he had gained.
As Nikolaos unfolded his status sheet, the others gathered around, their expressions a mix of anticipation and wonder.
"Isn't this similar to your ability, Draco?" Clair asked upon seeing Nikolaos' status sheet.
"Yeah, it's a bit similar," Draco replied, intrigued by the comparison.
"Hehehe," Nikolaos laughed, turning towards Michalis.
His skill was a transformation-type skill that gave him a beastly appearance and boosted some of his stats.
Draco was expecting them to get into another scuffle, but the two boys just stared at each other and then smiled.
"A manly skill, indeed," Michalis complimented.
"Yours is kind of cool too," Nikolaos replied, acknowledging his brothers abilities.
Draco observed the exchange, puzzled by their amicable interaction.
'What's going on? Am I missing something?' he wondered.
Vasileios had entered Bahamut's room after Nikolaos exited.
Soon, he emerged with a smile on his face.
'He definitely got a skill too,' Nikolaos thought.
"Vasileios, you got three skills!" Michalis gasped.
Vasileios was the only one so far, to receive three skills. Vasileios beat his chest with pride as if he had won at something.
His skills were nothing short of exceptional. His skills made him a sturdy and reliable tank, and one of them even came with stamina regeneration and healing.
Draco took a deep breath, his mind reeling with the implications.
'Does this even make sense? Everyone got skills, and two of them got magic. If any of the other familia's knew this, they might want to kidnap my family,' he thought.
Steeling himself, Draco walked towards Bahamut's room, ready to be blessed with Falna and discover what abilities awaited him.