Elemental Cats

With the cats watching their already peaceful surroundings, Toz didn't have to worry about being disturbed while he brought his fire attribute to the sixth level.

Toz was at the edge of reaching the sixth level with his fire mana before they even set foot on the battlefield, so it didn't take long before he could begin condensing and refining it.

The temperature surged in Toz's immediate surroundings during the refinement, but Mindle kept that in check so that it wouldn't cause a stir. And just like that, Toz only had four elements left at the fifth level. Toz wondered if he should continue with the next element and which one it would be in that case.

Since he had asked for a lightning attribute grimoire from Hassandra, perhaps he should refine his lightning mana.

However, that was as far as Toz could get before his bracelet blinked, letting him know that Hassandra was on her way to him. Apparently, one could use one bracelet to find the other of the same pair in case it got lost. While waiting for Hassandra, Toz thought that the bracelets really should have come with a manual of sorts.

Although the base was the headquarters of the Alliance of Kingdoms on the high level battlefield, it wasn't so large that it would take Hassandra a long time to find Toz. After a few minutes, she entered the tent Toz had chosen. She took a quick glance around the tent, seemingly unbothered by the traumatized veterans on their beds.

Toz stood out thanks to his striking appearance and the atmosphere around him, so Hassandra found him at once. She headed over with a nervous smile while rubbing the spatial ring around her finger. However, Toz doubted she would have that look on her face if she failed to get her hands on a lightning grimoire, so he wondered what she had to be anxious about. But, like most questions, time held the answer.

Before Toz could even ask her anything, Hassandra started speaking while taking out a blue-tinted leather-bound book. She didn't reach out with it for Toz to grab. Instead, she held it close to her with a nervous grip.

"There were two suitable grimoires at the Resource Center, but since I helped Vatel buy a new spear, I could only afford one of them. I hope I chose the right one, but I can go back and change it if you want. The other one was the spell version of Vatel's Piercing Bolt. Did you see him use that, by the way? It was the first thing he did when we interrupted your battle with-"

"Hey. Calm down!"

Toz didn't know why Hassandra was so nervous that she began rambling, but he stopped her before she could continue any further.

"Just let me take a look at it. And while I'm doing that, you can tell me why I wouldn't like it and why you're so nervous."

"O-okay."

Hassandra handed over the grimoire to Toz. Though, it seemed like she was a little hesitant since Toz had to pry it out of her stiff fingers.

Scrael hopped up on Toz's lap, and the two began inspecting the grimoire while Hassanra explained the source of her nervousness.

"Right. So I didn't have any problems getting the grimoire. I asked for the available lightning attribute ones, and the receptionist showed me this one and the Piercing Bolt grimoire. I asked why the one in your hands was so pricey because it was more than twice the price of the other. The receptionist told me that it was because of its quality and how good it was. I naturally believed him and bought it without even haggling. With how much you helped me, I wanted to get you the best I could in return.

"But after that, I was stopped by a lightning mage, who overheard my conversation with the receptionist. Apparently, she wanted to prevent someone from suffering the same fate as her. I asked her what she meant, and she pointed to the grimoire.

"The receptionist tried to stop her, so she pulled me out of the Center before explaining that the grimoire was technically worth its price because it was incredibly good. In theory. It was just that it was practically impossible to actually learn and use it to its full potential."

Toz understood Hassandra's half-frantic explanation. She was worried that she had gotten him a useless grimoire that would only cause him trouble. It was naturally incredibly shameful to repay his help by doing that. Unfortunately, by the time Hassandra returned to the Resource Center, the receptionist had already put up a 'no refund'-sign. The only thing Hassandra could do was give the grimoire to Toz and hope for his understanding.

But Toz wasn't only understanding. He was happy with the outcome.

While Hassandra had explained her situation, Toz had read through the note attached to the grimoire that explained the spell's supposed functionality. He even read through it several times so that he could make sure he had understood what he read the first time.

He could somewhat acknowledge the reason for Hassandra's worries since the spell would indeed be tricky for most other people to bring to its full potential. But the things that would prevent others from mastering the spell were what Toz excelled at, at least in comparison to most other mages and fighters. There should be others with similar capabilities as him, purely speaking of possibilities and the vastness of the universe.

However, Toz was confident that he was one of the few who could bring out the grimoire's full potential. Scrael might have a little trouble reaching the same heights as him, but for some reason, Toz didn't think that she would fall far behind.

"Hassandra."

Hassandra stopped looking down at her fiddling fingers, and she nervously met Toz's gaze.

"Thank you."

Hassandra was taken aback by the heavy sincerity she felt behind Toz's words. He wasn't saying it just because. He truly appreciated the grimoire.