Elemental Cats

With the Lightning Rascals, Toz, and the cats working together to keep watch over their surroundings and the two prisoners, it was highly unlikely anyone would be able to sneak up on them or that the two robed figures would be able to escape.

Since they didn't have to worry about things like that, Toz started thinking about how to fulfill his promise to Hassandra regarding how he saw her invisible string. He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to tell her everything regarding the miniature clone in his mind and the ability to see mana it gave him.

Eventually, Toz settled for telling her that he had recently acquired the ability to see mana. He didn't say anything about how he got it, how it worked, or if there was anything more to it. But he did tell her that it had nothing to do with his inclination, which meant that it should be possible for others to get it as well.

Hullie's eyes widened at Toz's words, but he hurried to suppress his reaction as he sank into thought. Since he was normally quiet, no one noticed.

Hassandra frowned as she pondered what Toz had said. She didn't forget to thank him, but she couldn't but be a little concerned.

Toz had said that it should be possible for others to have the same ability. But she hadn't encountered anyone that could see her invisible string, with the exception of people who could use their advantage in levels to sense her magic forcibly. And, when she caught up or surpassed, those who had seen her magic wouldn't be able to do that anymore.

High level mages could see her string when she was medium level, but as soon as she broke through to the fifth level, they were as clueless as other mages.

However, Toz, despite being at a lower level than her, if his claims to be at the sixth level were to be believed, could still see her string as clear as day. He was the first of an uncountable number of people Hassandra had met who could do that without relying on a unique or mystic inclination.

Toz had explained his inclination in order to convince her of that point, that his inclination was something else entirely. But it didn't make Hassandra any happier since it meant she had to be aware of one more thing that her opponents could use against her in combat in the future. It was a good thing that she discovered something like it before it was too late, but she couldn't figure out an effective countermeasure.

After mustering up her courage, Hassandra asked Toz for help.

Since it had taken the information regarding the general's plan for Toz to reveal that ability of his, Hassandra didn't think it was likely that he would help her devise a countermeasure or improve her magic.

"You want to make a trade?"

"Yeah. We've already traded once, right? Then we can do it again."

But, to Hassandra's surprise, Toz was willing to help her as long as he got something out of it. That made her realize that it wasn't her sincerity that moved Toz. It was the value of the information she gave him and Toz's character that made him repay her. When she realized that, Hassandra was a little conflicted at first, but then she realized that it was a good thing since it would make it easy for her to get what she wanted.

"I'm all out of secrets that I can divulge, but you can ask for whatever you want, and I'll see what I can do."

It didn't take long for Toz to reach a decision on what he wanted, so he quickly answered Hassandra's request.

"Grimoires of the lightning or the space attribute would be greatly appreciated."

Toz already had a spell for the darkness, fire, and void elements. While he didn't have a spell matching the metal attribute, he did have Armor Slice, which he was in the process of gradually transforming into a spell. That left the lightning and space elements.

And it was the same for the cats. Nil already had a spell, even if it didn't quite suit him. Mindle had her Tongues of Flame. Although Lucy hadn't said anything about it, Toz was pretty certain that he had already developed at least one spell on his own. Even if he hadn't, Lucy's magic, especially his mind magic, could easily rival the power of a basic spell.

Scrael and Asilean were the only cats without a spell of their attribute. And since Asilean had started using void magic in a way similar to Dissolution, Toz had handed him what was left of the grimoire. Toz had used it quite a bit before he picked up Dissolution enough to learn it further without the grimoire's assistance, but there should be more than enough for Asilean to learn the spell as well. However, he didn't have a spell that belonged to the space attribute.

Scrael mainly used her lightning to reinforce her body and used the physical speed it gave her when she fought. But her battle against the Stone Demon proved that she had room for improvement when it came to absolute destructive power, which was something that could be solved with a spell.

Grimoires of the lightning and space elements would help both Toz and the cats to improve their strength.

Even if they only got a single grimoire per element or in total, it wouldn't be too much of a setback since Toz was confident in learning any spell a lot faster than before, thanks to his mana vision.

Spells relied on awakening the true nature of mana and bringing out its true power. Thanks to his mana vision, Toz had almost done that without the help of a spell when he broke out of prison.

With that experience, Toz's confidence in learning a spell had soared. Since he could directly see and study the mana he used, it would be a lot easier for him to awaken it when he began practicing the spell. So, hopefully, the cats wouldn't have to wait too long to get the grimoire in case they only got a single one.