Ye, fool! A tool only be useless if’n it ain’t got a purpose. All me tools have a purpose. It just be I’mma hoping they’re’nt ever needed!

~Goibniu, The God of the Forge and Brew

At first light, they were standing under the Colossus once more, but they were prepared to leave this time. Hooligan was wearing leather armor, and Crow couldn’t resist looking at her chest once more. Not thinking about the implications, he tossed her a figurine. “That’s for you.”

Hooligan caught it and nearly dropped it. Seeing the carved figure, she felt like she was holding the blistering sun in her hand. Hooligan never felt so shaken as she did staring at that faceless figure. She knew he knew what he’d done, and still, he gave her the little wooden figurine.

“How?”

“Scholarly Talent, but that’s all I can say. It’s a talent I discovered, and honestly, I do not know how it works. When I let my mind drift, the things I carve surprise me. Don’t worry. It only carries a slight empathetic connection, so I don’t know your secrets, and I never see faces. Either way, it belongs to you, so take it.”

Hooligan stared at him for several long awkward seconds before Crow turned to face Munro. It was time they divulged their ability.

“Before we begin, both of you tell me what ability you gained. Also, Munro, what is your weapon of choice?”

“Why aren’t you asking flat-chest what her weapon is?”

“She’s a hooligan. Isn’t it obvious it’s her fists?”

“Hmph,” Hooligan seriously questioned her choice of companions.

“Whatever. Mace and shield. The artifact ability I have is Nature’s Growth,” Munro grinned and looked over at Hooligan. “It allows me to cast a spell on someone doubling their strength and size. Also has a regenerative effect, but it’s minor. Only lasts ten seconds, and casting it consecutively on someone can cause internal damage.”

Crow felt his eyebrow arch upward and wondered if those ancients considered these abilities to be trash. It made no sense if they were given a legacy technique right upfront. If he was right, it made him wonder what the fuck kind of legacy was in the temple.

Hooligan felt Crow’s eyes on her eyes roaming everywhere but at him.

“M-my ability is Nature’s Beauty.” Hooligan’s refusal to look at either of them piqued Crow’s attention.

“You will have to give me more than that,” Crow said with a grin, finding her docile attitude amusing.

“It’s er… a sight ability. Depending on the amount of mana I use, it will turn plant fibers transparent or invisible.”

“So leaves, brush, and plants? What about trees?”

“I can’t see through wood yet, but not just those… all plant fibers,” Hooligan said and quickly glanced at Crow, then down his body before panicking and turning away.

Crow looked down at his body, and his mind blanked for a moment before he burst out laughing. The irony of the woman that didn’t want anyone to see her being able to see through everyone’s clothes was priceless.

“I don’t get it,” Munro said, making Crow laugh even harder.

“If I were you, I’d start wearing leather pants.” Crow fingered Munro’s clothes. “What do you think they made this from?”

“That is—oh, damn. That’s not right. Why did the girl get that ability?”

“Don’t be a pervert!” Hooligan snapped.

“Alright, enough playing. I have Vine. It’s pretty much what it sounds like. I can summon vines, which can do some damage, but their primary role is mostly control. While we explore, Munro will walk in front of us. Hooligan, you take the center, and I’ll take the rear. Hooligan, you are our eyes. We’ll head to the temple straight in front of us first. Objections?”

Munro and Hooligan shook their heads, and they all passed under the massive statue. Losing touch with his other abilities was more impactful than he thought. It felt like he lost something, and if it wasn’t for his willpower, he would have suffered for it mentally. Munro wasn’t as lucky and actually vomited. Hooligan didn’t look like she was doing so well, either.

“Check your abilities, body, and other abilities. Make sure you understand your current combat ability,” Crow ordered and did the same. The first thing he wanted to check was Night Fire, and he found that he could summon it. All his techniques except for Vine were sealed—not that he doubted it. None of his vision abilities worked, but strangely, he felt he could transform into the Silver-Eyed Crow. He decided it had to do with the beast core since it was an external component. It probably meant his transformation was a physiological change and not necessarily related to the technique that formed it.

The transformation wasn’t all that helpful. As that talking sphere stated, there were beasts patrolling the sky looking for easy prey. Flying was definitely out unless he had no choice. Overall, most of his physical attributes were still there. Since his beast transformation wasn’t blocked, he kept the physical benefits from it.

While they were stretching and doing their various checks, Crow heard a rustling coming from the forest in front of them. His bow appeared with an arrow drawn as he eyed the source of the sound. Finally, a bloodied man stumbled out, and when he saw Crow with his bow drawn and the glittering tip of an arrow aimed toward him, his face turned ghostly white.

“Woah, friend! Not the enemy.”

Crow didn’t want to kill anyone right in front of the Colossus. So he relaxed the string of his bow and used it to direct the man to walk a wide berth around them. Thankfully, he wasn’t stupid, so he ran in a wide arc around them before rushing into Sanctuary. After the man was gone, Crow looked at Hooligan. “See anything?”

“Bodies. But no idea what happened. We should probably ignore it and continue with your plan.”

“Either of you recognize that person?” They both shook their heads. “Alright, we leave now.”

They directly entered the forest because they had an unprecedented advantage with Hooligan’s sight ability. In her eyes, the vibrant forest might as well have been stuck in perpetual winter and remain without any foliage. It was an easy ability to dismiss in normal circumstances. Anyone with half a brain would recognize its true importance.

As long as Hooligan didn’t panic, being able to see through others’ clothes was an even bigger advantage than seeing through the foliage. Just thinking about all the things created from plant fibers gave him pause.

As they navigated through the forest, the other surprise was how Munro worked with him readily. Crow knew that he and Munro would never be friends because, in his heart, he couldn’t shake the vision of him dumping mud on Song Xue. She was beautiful, and that day was one of his best memories. The selfish actions of a few marred it. That was the day he knew Song Xue would be his wife. Still, he wouldn’t act out and kill him for being an ignorant child, and Crow hoped the guy really turned over a new leaf.

“You always use a mace and shield?” Crow asked, breaking the hour-long silence.

Munro looked back and shrugged. “No. I used to wield a spear.”

Crow only asked because it wasn’t a weapon combo that Druids typically used. The only thing he could think of was that he made the choice because of Esme. Munro seemed to be really protective of that girl. While Crow had mostly forgiven her, he only did so for Mara’s sake.

“It is none of my business, but you need to travel with more people. These types of trials are common throughout the tower. I’ve been separated from my group several times already. I have Otto, who looks after my people.” Crow wasn’t about to give away all his secrets, but he didn’t want anything to happen to Esme. It was the only reason he even gave any advice.

“Yeah,” Munro replied but didn’t want to continue that conversation. He could tolerate Crow, but listening to his advice pushed his limit.

“There!” Hooligan said and pointed off to their right. They followed her pointing finger and soon found themselves standing in front of a wooden Shrine. Crow felt it looked eerily reminiscent of the library in which he was tortured previously.

The space inside the Shrine was many times larger than its outward shape, and the moment they stepped inside, Crow felt the shifting spatial displacement. The building itself was a marvel. He wanted to exit and enter the building several more times to sense that spatial disturbance again.

Instead, he focused on the large table littered with objects and the door on the far side of the room with strangely-shaped indentions. Crow knew precisely what this puzzle wanted and realized if most challenges were like this, his Sage’s Mind gave him a considerable advantage.

It almost felt like cheating. In hindsight, this challenge was supposedly put down by Crow’s ancestors. Using a Druid’s bloodline ability to filter out the unwanted elements gave it some legitimacy.