[One Death has been caused by {Death Scythe: Harbinger of Death}...]
[Refining...]
Aiden took the scene in front of him directly, not shying away from the gore of it all. His chest heaving up and down from the adrenaline wearing off, and exhaustion from the battle reeling in.
Moreover, the charred remains of the beast were because of him.
He didn't fight the Glacial Bear head-on. He played dirty and outsmarted him without even giving him a chance to hit him even once.
It was an overwhelming victory with an important discovery for him.
Stats, on the status page, can be deceiving.
The Bear's Vitality was higher than the Serpent's, cause of the quills on its body that would pierce any opponent's skin when attacked and repel any sharp edges of a weapon.
However, those quills were also the reason it died.
Aiden figured that Stats only represented the effect, not its downside.
Just like the skills.
It was a crucial understanding of the System that he didn't have before.
Nothing exists without a Caveat. A defect.
"Hooh..."
Aiden took a deep breath and, stabilizing with one of his legs, pulled out the Scythe from the smoked bear.
He could feel the eyes of other monsters sizing him up, trying to determine if it was worth going against him for the meal.
And Aiden had the perfect response for them.
SLAM—!
Slamming the Scythe's handle down to the ground as hard as he can, and amplifying the sound it produces several times with the wind, Aiden shouted with authority and the gleam of a predator in his eyes.
"SCRAM!"
He made his voice echo throughout the vicinity and made the winds go berserk, shedding trees of their leaves with sheer pressure.
His hair, which had outgrown a bit, danced with the wind. His already torn shirt got ripped even further, which only intensified the sensation he wanted to stir up in those other beasts.
He showcased as much of his power as he had to drive away the lurking monsters in the dark, whom he assessed to be weaker than the bear.
The Berserk Wind currents, the barrage of Water needles behind him, and the shine of the Dark Blade of Scythe had the absolute effect he desired.
With his enhanced senses, Aiden heard several footsteps retreating away, indicating his victory.
He noticed that whatever beasts that were in hiding tended not to attack a powerful opponent; the way they lurked patiently in the shadows when Bear was eating.
Waiting for it to go away to have their chance at the meat.
"Got a good brain, don't ya?" Zephy chirped, his tone oddly proud and a grin on his beak.
"I know. Have it from my previous life."
Aiden gathered his breath and wiped a string of saliva on his lips with his forearm before making his way toward the Serpent's Carcass to prepare the first meal for the day.
**********
Sizzle~
Sizzle~
The Sound came from the Serpent's meat over the fire, which Aiden used his Scythe to spark up this time around, not his finger.
Though the burnt grass near his toes and the burn in his trousers indicated that the power of the spark was way more than what he desired.
...He used too much Mana for a small spark, which Zephy pointed out, but didn't yet tell him what he needed to do to reduce it.
I bet I'd have inefficiently overused Mana in the Battle, too.
Even I can feel that by how exhausted I was after all that act of Intimidation.
Aiden clicked his tongue in slight frustration and flipped the blade of the Death Scythe, which he was, at the moment, using as a skewer to cook the Serpent's meat.
It sure is handy. It also cleans itself by unsummoning and summoning. Truly Handy.
"You really use it however you like it, huh..."
The Absurdity of the situation and the sheer lack of any attachment towards the Legacy of Everharts by Aiden had even Zephy twitching one of his brows.
"Told you, if anyone wanted me to use this thing in a certain way..."
Aiden paused the statement as he removed the Zephy's share of Meat from the Scythe and passed it to him.
It was decently cooked. He was getting the hang of cooking on an open fire.
"Then they should have given me an Art."
He took a bite out of the meat, tearing it apart and chewing violently, distracted by his mind.
Aiden was mad. On whom? He didn't know.
...Or maybe he did.
He was mad at the {Possession: The Legacy of Everharts}.
If it were really such an absurdly powerful weapon as Zephy made it out to be, then why did it let his Father die?!
It should have protected him, shouldn't it?
...Though despite all these questions, he knew deep inside his heart that all of his hatred towards it was just a result of his immaturity.
Yet he couldn't accept it.
Even after having [True Royalty], he never felt any guilt using it as he deemed fit, nor when he mocked it.
Heh, even [True Royalty] seems not to bother with any of the history attached to it. It's only a tool in the end.
Aiden chuckled at the irony of the trait's effect contradicting its definition.
Even traits have underlying effects. Who would've guessed that, huh?
"So, what are we gonna do today, Zephy?" Aiden asked, wiping his lips with his thumb, having finished his meal.
"Hmm, your mana is already depleted after that fight. It'll take a Night's Sleep for you to move ahead in Magic training." Zephy said as he nibbled on his share.
"For now, work on your body and train with that Scythe of yours," Zephy added to his statement, looking up and pointing towards the Death Scythe, lying beside him.
Aiden looked at the Scythe beside him, his brows furrowing in annoyance.
"Anything you want me to do in particular?" Aiden tried to probe, standing up and dusting off his trousers, full of cuts and tears.
He needed to do something about his clothes soon.
"You'd be better asking that Charred Bear about any of that stuff than me." Zephy transformed into his Ethereal form as he said, giving a side eye to the Charred Glacial Bear.
"I can only teach you magic and to throw feathers, anything other than that... Figure it out yourself. I have no damn idea about them."
Zephyrix let out a yawn, his wings folding into a comfortable position and sprawling out on an even more intricate Glacial Aurora than he showcased for Aiden.
"Practice in Peace, now. No measly-brained beast is gonna approach the vicinity as long as I'm in this form."
With a slight shrug of his wing, Zephyrix fell into a slumber, leaving Aiden on his own.
At that moment, Aiden was glad to have gone through his father's training, and having the memories of living in a world where information was cheaper than air.
Because if not for those things, he wouldn't have had any idea what to do.
**********