Nico sat on the chair, staring at his cuffed hands placed on the crystal orb, unable to meet their gaze.
After the moment that seemed like an hour, the officer sitting before him spoke with a deep sigh, "I am sorry you had to go through something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy… I just have three more questions."
"Please... ask away," Nico replied with a tired whisper.
"Was you master related to Pantheon? This sounds like something those bastards would do."
"I don't know anything about this… Pantheon. Can you tell me more about them?" Nico continued to lie.
"Don't worry about it, son," The officer replied after glancing at the orb still glowing green as he continued, "I have my answer. Now, tell me about these Soul Armaments of yours, and that cloak."
The officer's gaze flicked to the Boomstick and the bracelet on the table.
With the System's help, Nico had spoofed them to appear as though there were his Soul Armaments instead of Divine Armaments.
Unlike Divine Armaments that were the weapons of the Gods.
Soul Armaments were manifestations of one's soul. They do not always manifest as weapons, but in the event that they do, they are the epitome of weaponry.
No crafted weapon comes even close to matching them in any sense of the way.
The most intriguing aspect of any Soul Armament is that each has abilities that do not necessarily follow the Laws of Magecraft, and they only respond to their master.
No one truly knows why and how they manifest. Or why they take on the forms they do.
Even a commoner with no magic in his veins may awaken a Soul Armament.
To say that a manifestation of a Soul Armament was rare would be a massive understatement.
Throughout the nation of Fūgen, there were fewer than a hundred individuals who had manifested a Soul Armament.
And here sat Nico, with not one, but two Soul Armaments.
So, of course, the two men at least needed to know what it could do.
With a small smile, Nico replied, "The cloak belongs to my master; it allows its user to fly using mana. And that big crossbow-looking one is called The Boomstick; it fires metal pellets at high speeds, basically. And allows me to add weight to those pellets by feeding mana. Imagine a bunch of small pellets, each weighing 500 grams, coming at you faster than the speed of sound."
The officer took in a deep breath before letting out a chuckle, "Yeah, that's a Soul Armament, alright. And that cloak… But what about the other one?"
"It's part of the set, the bracelet lets me create the projectiles that the other one shoots… But I currently lack the mana needed to produce one since I was forced to spend all my time on mana recovery… so currently, it's just a fancy paperweight."
"I see…" the officer nodded, noting that the orb stayed green, "Though I would've liked to see it in use… Listen, son, we will be confiscating your Soul Armaments… don't worry, it's only temporary. Once everything is cleared up by the higher-ups. I'm sure you'll get them back."
Nico silently nodded at the two men. After all, what else could he do?
"Now, for my last question…" the officer continued, "Why you? Why did your master pick you for his… twisted experiment?"
Nico grinned at the question. [Now comes the best part.]
"Because I have 6 circuits, and three affinities… Ice, Nature, and Metal."
"You have WHAT!?!" The officer stood up from his chair, almost knocking it over as he leaned in, "You have both Metal and Nature?"
Nico shrugged, "The orb glows green, doesn't it…?"
Noting the green glow, the officer slowly slumped back down before closing his eyes.
"To think…" he breathed, craning his neck up, "There's someone like you… with both Nature and Metal affinities, and just enough circuits to support them."
Circuits determine a person's talent. Dictated if the person will rise like a god among men or fade into the background.
The higher the number, the more mana one can manipulate at once, and the higher one can reach in their tiers.
A person with six circuits is guaranteed to reach Tier-6, Perfected Stage, provided they put in the effort. An extraordinary person may even reach Tier-7, Early Stage.
And the highest number of circuits one can have is eight. And that person, with hard work, will reach Tier-8, Perfected Stage, becoming an entity with the power to change geographies on a whim.
And even without effort, they are guaranteed to naturally attain Tier-5 at the very least through sheer natural progression.
There are two more circuits beyond the eight.
Ninth belongs solely to the Destined Hero and the Demon God.
While the Tenth belongs to the Divine.
Nico knew that if others found out he had the nine or even eight circuits, his entire plan would go poof.
So he settled for 'just enough to be valuable'.
The wolf-eared man standing beside the officer spoke, "Do you even know what that truly means?"
"All I know is that, even though I'm currently just a Tier-1… I'll rise up quickly since now I don't have to focus all my efforts into recovery. And that even as I am right now… I'm strong." Nico replied, as he stared into the man's gaze with absolute certainty.
"In the entirety of our great Nation… we probably have less than one thousand people with either Nature or Metal..." The officer said lightly, though there was now an unmistakable earnestness in his eyes, "And thanks to the orb, you've proven you bear no ill intentions. So let me extend an offer…"
Nico cut him off without hesitation, "I am not trading one collar for another."
"Not collar no… employment," the officer quickly said, leaning forward, "You will have all the resources you'd need… a citizenship, a house, money… stability."
"No." Nico said, looking straight at him, "Look, if you give us asylum… Me, my sister, and Nom-Nom… we'll all use our strengths to help you guys fight against the Night of the Red Moon. All we ask is for your citizenship, nothing else… We'll even support ourselves."
The two men stared at Nico for a long moment before the officer sighed and spoke, "I understand… and I will not push you. Very well, Nico, I will make a report on our conversation here, and your wish for asylum, and send it to the capital… They'll decide our course of action."
Nico nodded, and just as he was about to speak, the man with wolf ear spoke in a tone much friendlier than before, "Can you also give brief accounts for both your sister and the Greater Dragon for our report?"
"Didn't you guys speak to my sister before coming to me?" Nico tilted his head. After having been made to sit here for two hours, Nico assumed they interrogated Peko first.
Seeing the officer shake his head, Nico sighed.
[So, I lost all feeling in my rear because of random bureaucratic bullshit… wonderful.]
Taking a deep breath, Nico began, "As you know, Familiars cannot advance in their Tier without their Master's explicit permission. So our Master in his infinite wisdom, refused to give her his permission to Tier up… And made her fight against the Night of the Red Moon beside him ever since she was a wyvern… Almost died more times than she could count. And during two such times, she evolved. Hence, she is still at Tier-5, Perfected Stage, despite being a Greater Dragon. And even as a Greater Dragon, she lost a wing during last year's Night of the Red Moon. So, try not to mention the wing in front of her; she'll get upset. Oh yeah, and our Master himself was a Tier-7, Perfected Stage Mage."
What Nico said made sense to neither of the men.
A wyvern peaked at Tier-5. And extraordinary ones may reach Tier-6, evolving into Dragons.
And ones truly special will reach Tier-7, evolving even further and finally becoming a four-winged Greater Dragon.
So, for a Tier-5 Greater Dragon to even exist went against the very pace of evolution that had been set in stone since the time dragons began to roam the world.
All because she apparently pushed herself beyond her limits.
None of it made sense.
Not to mention their dead master himself was a Tier-7 Archmage.
Yet, the orb glowed green.
"And… what about your sister?" The officer asked, almost afraid of the answer now. Who knows what kind of conception-shattering entity she will turn out to be?
It quickly became apparent how right he was as Nico began speaking in a tone that was far too casual for what he said, "Just like me, she also has six circuits… She's a Tier-5 right now. And she's got all classical affinities except Light and Darkness."
"Motherfu – WHAT!?" The officer stood up so fast that this time he did knock that chair over as he stared at Nico with eyes this close to popping out of their sockets.
While the man standing beside the officer damn near fainted as he grabbed the table for support.
Never in their dreams did they imagine there'd come a night this insane as they both stared at the orb that still glowed green beneath Nico's palms.