Assimilate All Talents

In the open grounds behind the mansion, Thorwyn stood on one end of the field, his eyes filled with confidence as he stared down his opponent. On the other side, waiting silently for its owner's command, was none other than Bob, a magical carriage of similar size to him.

"Grr! (You're going down!)" Thorwyn growled at the carriage, but Bob remained unfazed by his provocation.

Not far from the battlefield, in a shaded area near the mansion, Sol, Madeline, and Chloe sat around a table under the cool shade of an umbrella. Servants had set out tea and an assortment of snacks, which Chloe was happily devouring.

"Slow down, Chloe, you'll get a stomachache." Madeline gently warned.

"Okayyy." Chloe mumbled through a mouthful of food.

Meanwhile, Sol kept his gaze fixed on the confrontation between the Raijin and the magical carriage, deep in thought. Eventually, he spoke up, directing his question toward Madeline.

"So, what's the trick?"

Madeline formed a small smile. "Not sure what you mean."

"Don't be coy. How do you expect a unique-rank item to match Thorwyn? I'm sure you're aware that he's A-Rank, given his 'value.' But you wouldn't have proposed this bet unless you believed you had a high chance of winning."

Madeline was silent for a moment before she vaguely responded, "Who knows what could happen? Bob is very capable."

"Bob can do anything!" Chloe interjected between bites.

"Of course, sweetheart. Bob is amazing, after all. Ah, hold still, honey."

Madeline leaned over to wipe some leftover crumbs from Chloe's lips before sitting back in her chair.

Seeing that Madeline wouldn't give him a straight answer, Sol decided to be blunt.

"You know, it would technically be cheating if you used your law technique. This is supposed to be a fight between Thorwyn and Bob, after all."

Madeline froze for just a fraction of a second as she wiped her daughter's mouth, clearly caught off guard by his subtle accusation. She quickly recovered before Chloe could notice anything amiss, finishing up and leaning back casually.

"I don't believe I ever told you I had a second technique. How long have you known?"

Sol let out a small chuckle, satisfied that he had managed to break her composure, even if only briefly.

"I was curious just now, so I took a peek."

He had already suspected that if Bob and Thorwyn fought as they were, Thorwyn would triumph every time. That meant Madeline had a trump card up her sleeve. It wasn't hard to deduce that it was either a legendary item she had kept hidden from them or a second law technique.

Before, Sol hadn't bothered peering into her tethers out of respect for her privacy. But now that the bet had turned into a duel between Thorwyn and Bob, he had decided to take a look—and what he saw was very interesting.

Madeline seemed on edge now, but not wanting to make things unnecessarily tense, Sol simply smiled and said, "Don't worry, you can still use it."

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"I can? Why?"

Sol didn't respond immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze to Thorwyn, who stood tall and confident, staring Bob down.

"He needs to learn not to underestimate others… and also not to immediately accept shady bets."

"Pff! Hahaha!" Madeline burst into loud laughter. Even Chloe, who had been focused on her snacks, tuned in, curious about what was so funny.

"Are you really going to let Thorwyn lose all his fur just to teach him a lesson?"

She had never met someone so willing to lose a bet.

"Who said he would lose his fur? The result isn't set in stone."

Though Sol was allowing her to use her law technique, he had faith that Thorwyn would still prevail.

"You're a really interesting person. Let's see if that's the case."

Madeline stood from her seat and called out to Thorwyn and Bob. "Are you both ready?"

Thorwyn nodded, while Bob's frame shook slightly in confirmation.

Sol stood as well and called out, "Don't hold back!"

"Awoo! (Don't worry! This will be easy!)"

Madeline raised her hand, then swiftly brought it down. "Begin!"

Without hesitation, Thorwyn lunged forward, white lightning crackling to life around his body as his law technique, [Lightning Incarnate], activated. His form blurred, a streak of electricity dashing across the ground with incredible speed.

Bob, however, remained still.

Thorwyn grinned, already declaring his victory as he reared back a claw.

"Awooo! (It's over!)" he howled, bringing his lightning-cloaked claws down onto the carriage.

CLANG!

The sound of metal meeting metal echoed across the battlefield.

Thorwyn's attack had been stopped.

Before him, a yellow shield floated midair, pulsing with protective energy. It had appeared out of nowhere, blocking his full-powered strike.

Thorwyn's eyes widened in disbelief. 'It didn't even crack?'

As he tried to process what had just happened, the yellow shield pulsed ominously. A powerful repulsion force blasted outward, sending Thorwyn skidding several meters backward. He landed on his feet, unharmed but clearly surprised.

A low growl rumbled in his throat as he glared at the floating shield.

"Grrr! (A shield?! I'll just go around it!)"

Not wanting to give Bob time to act, he dashed again, this time adjusting his angle to strike from the side. Find adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

Yet the moment his claws neared the carriage—

Clang!

Another shield materialized. This time, a shining silver barrier enveloped Bob in a shimmering dome.

Thorwyn's strike met the surface, but the energy dispersed harmlessly, as if he had struck an immovable mountain.

From their safe distance, Sol finally spoke.

"I suspected it was something like this, but this is incredible." He folded his arms, eyes narrowing in intrigue. "I've never seen an item use other items before."

Madeline chuckled, clearly pleased with the spectacle.

"Of course not. Bob isn't just a carriage—it's a special commission from the best Runesmith in Delvania. It's unique-ranked, yes, but what makes it special is its ability to store, manipulate, and even activate other items."

Sol's expression remained neutral, but his interest deepened.

"…And combined with your technique?"

Madeline didn't answer immediately, simply giving a knowing smile before shifting her gaze back to the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Thorwyn was growing frustrated.

Every time he attacked, another defensive item activated, effortlessly negating his strikes. Shields, barriers, defensive wards—each one seemingly legendary in quality.

That was impossible. No one had that many legendary items, no matter how rich they were. Such things were nearly impossible to obtain, even with massive wealth.

Sol's eyes flicked to Madeline, and he asked, "What's it called?"

Madeline didn't turn to look at him as she kept her law technique active, but she answered nonetheless.

"[Untapped Potential]."

Sol nodded, finding the name very fitting. "I knew you could temporarily enhance items beyond their limits… but for them all to function as pseudo-legendary?"

While the items appeared to be at the legendary level, Sol keenly noticed they all fell a little short. Unlike the likes of the Tynamo Cannon and other legendary items he had seen, they lacked the power to truly be one.

"That's right." Madeline admitted. "While [Golden Eyes] lets me assess the value of things, [Untapped Potential] allows me to draw out the highest potential of an item, beyond its natural limits."

Sol watched as Thorwyn lunged again, only to be rebuffed by yet another powerful barrier.

"Do you regret letting me use my technique now?" Madeline asked teasingly.

Sol didn't answer immediately and instead of waiting for a reply she stood up and called out, "Bob! Change battle stance—offense!"