"What about her third ability?" Ashton asked Astaroth once they were back in Livan.
Ashton had no idea why but Astaroth was dead set on not telling him anything about Anna's third ability. While he believed the Xyran had his reasons for doing something like that, not telling him about it only made him want to know more.
Especially since Astaroth went as far as blocking [Detection] from viewing that particular skill.
However, Astaroth stood firm. He did not give a crap about what Ashton had to think. He might not inform the lady about her third ability, but for now, Astaroth thought it was for the best that no one knew about the skill.
After all, it was a skill any Xyran would want to have. That being said, if any of them got to know about it, there would be a blood bath. Which wasn't something Astaroth was very excited about.
On top of that, considering even a low civilization like the Giholos was posing such a threat to them, fighting against the Xyrans would be... a fool's decision... well, even a fool wouldn't do such a thing.
[I'll tell you when the time is right. For now, focus on training the soldiers. If you die, there won't be much to talk about, would there?]
'Yeah yeah, what I would ever do without you?'
[You could die, I suppose.]
'Thank you for having such high confidence in my abilities.'
Ashton shook his head. He knew whenever Astaroth was behaving like this it was better to drop the topic and leave him alone for a while. Since he was on his way to Baiter, it was the perfect moment to do so.
"How's it looking, Baiter?" Ashton asked with a smile.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Ah, you're here early." Baiter replied without turning to face Ashton, "Just a couple of finishing touches left and your armour will be ready for use."
"Good, can't wait."
Ashton replied and took a seat by the door, scanning the workshop. It wasn't anything extravagant since their budget was limited, still, it was one of the best workshops available in Lycania. Especially after most of them got destroyed along with Deja and Contingent.
However, the workshop was a mess. Even though Baiter absolutely hated working in a messy environment. But since Baiter wasn't acting out, Ashton could guess who had made the mess there.
"It would appear Airen had graced this place with his presence," Ashton said with a broad smile on his face.
At Airen's mention, Baiter couldn't help but chuckle as well, "That little devil always finds ways to play with my tools. No matter how well I hide them. I should probably have a chat with Duncan about it."
"I doubt he would listen to him. After all, he's as stubborn as his father. Maybe Daniella could find a way to-"
"No, it's fine. The kid light up the gloomy environment." Baiter scoffed and waved his hand, "But I'll have to say, he's growing quite fast for a human child. He's barely three months old and yet he crawls faster than a year old kids run."
"You noticed it too huh..." Ashton's face got serious all of a sudden.
Duncan and Daniella's son, Airen was born just a little over three months ago. On the outside, everything looked fine, but when Ashton used the [Detection] skill on him... he was informed something was off about Duncan's son.
Genetically speaking, a human couldn't inherit a 'blessing'. Yet Airen had one. Since Ashton didn't want to trouble anyone with the abnormality of the situation, he decided to keep the information to himself.
That being said, even Astaroth was a bit intrigued when he saw Airen. Sadly, for once, even he was clueless as to why Airen was born different from the rest of the humans. If Ashton had to guess, it could be possible due to two reasons.
One, Airen was a hybrid but the [Detection] skill wasn't able to detect it. Or when Ashton imposed a slave contract on an unborn baby, it altered something in the baby.
'It's no use thinking about it now. What's done is done, I can only keep an eye on the boy and protect him from evil eyes befalling him. That's the least I can do since I might be responsible for his abnormality in the first place.'
Astaroth remained silent. Usually, he would be mocking him for becoming a softie. But this time, he didn't. Ashton found it a bit weird but chalked it up to the little argument they had earlier.
"And it's ready." Baiter proudly proclaimed while showing off his latest creation, "I call her... The Orge's Ugliness!"
"Yeah, I think you should stop naming them, Baiter. No offence." Ashton chuckled before admiring the armour in front of him.
"You brat, I will take offence! My naming skills are exceptional!"
"Oh, they are exceptional. I don't doubt that." Ashton shook his head, "Mind if I?"
"Go ahead, it's yours either way. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to meet my wife or she'll kill me."
With that Baiter left Ashton alone in the workshop, with the armour created from the corpse of the Ogre he had killed in Contingent. It was miraculous how a dead monster could be converted into such a beautiful thing.
"Maybe, I should treat Baiter a bit better."
[You definitely should. That man has quite a talent in creation.]
'You're back, that's good.'
[Hm... let's check the armour though, shall we?]
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Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmItem: --
Type: Armour
Defence: Absorbs 540-675 HP per strike
Stats bonus:
>> Armour: +15% while equipped for use.
>> Agility: +5% while equipped for use.
>> Abilities related to a [Warrior] type class are increased by 20% while equipped for use.
Rarity: Epic (Upgradable)
Description:
Made from corpses of an undead from another dimension. A rare find on the planet earth. An armour created by the hands of an expert craftsman. A creationist that would go on to make quite a huge name for themselves in the near future.
Effect(s):
• One of a Kind: Since this armour is the first epic grade armour created in the last decade, all effects associated with the armour itself have been upgraded to <Epic> Grade.
• Ogre's Blessing: When fighting against humanoid creatures, the offensive abilities of the user would be upgraded by one grade. The same buff would be applied to allied units within a 10-meter radius of the user.
• Forger's Will: Boosts the effect of fire affinity by 25%.
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"It's a good addition to my arsenal. Without a doubt." Ashton smirked, "That Baiter knows more about me than he shows."