Chapter 26

As soon as I looked at my new status, a screen popped up in front of me as time seemed to freeze. 

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[Choose your second Psychic Discipline:

- Divination

- Pyromancy

- Telekinesis

- Telepathy]

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I didn't even hesitate before choosing Divination as my next path since It was undoubtedly, if not the strongest discipline, then the second-best. The only major downsides are that it gives the user access to any offensive psychic attacks, and it gets exponentially more unreliable the further you look unless you are very powerful. Fortunately, I already had an offensive psychic discipline under my belt, and I had no plans to peer far into the future. I would mostly be using it to gaze into the extremely near future. 

As I made my choice, the frozen world around me suddenly snapped back into motion. I found myself looking down at my paper once more. I scanned it one more time and focused on my new magic, Soul-Bound Arsenal. As I focused on the magic, I found that knowledge of its use was already ingrained in my brain. I gave an appreciative whistle when I went through the details in my mind. It was nothing game-changing, but it was convenient. 

"What's the new magic do?" Tsubaki asked, evidently able to read what I was thinking quite well.

"It gives me three 'slots' to fill with any armor, weapon, or tool that I want. Once an item is bound to the slot, it can't be removed. I can dematerialize and materialize bound items at will, even at a distance or when they aren't in sight. Even if the item gets broken, it will repair itself when dematerialized." I said, pulling out Fateweaver and directly binding it to my first slot.

Hephaestus and Tsubaki watched as the weapon faded into blue particles just like Gigamesh's weapons shot from his Gate of Babylon do when they are returning to his treasury. It was honestly quite a cool effect to see in person. The transition period was also instant, so there was no delay between willing my weapon to appear and it being in my hand. Honestly, with my Inventory, the magic was pretty much just an anti-theft measure when it came to Fateweaver.

However, when I craft a set of armor or get one crafted for me, it will be extremely convenient since I can materialize it directly on my body all at once. I will be able also to take it off instantly which is nice as well. That would only leave me with the third item slot available to use as I wish, which prompted me to think about what I wanted to fill it with. 'Probably a support item or another weapon, something magical definitely,' I thought to myself.

"What do you guys think would be a good item for the third slot after using armor for the second?" I asked the two master craftswomen.

"Hmm," Tsubaki hummed, rocking back in her chair as she scratched the side of her face, "With a weapon and armor in the first two slots, you would either want a tool or support item. With your Inventory and enchanted pickaxe to collect ore, you could be an insanely effective money maker."

"You definitely want a magical item in that third slot," Hephaestus commented idly as she thought.

"You could always go with another weapon, maybe something ranged. A magical bow or throwing knife since you can always summon it back." Tsubaki continued.

"Or, a magical sword..." As she spoke, Hepaestus's good eye widened more than I had ever seen it before.

Tsubaki's eye widened as well as she turned to look at me, even as I was confused as to what exactly they were thinking, "Do you think it would work? Repair itself after every use, I mean?" she asked the goddess. 

With that comment, the topic of their discussion was made clear to me, causing my eyes to widen as well. I could feel my heart pounding in anticipation as I caught on to their line of discussion. They were wondering if a Crozzo Magic Sword, which usually breaks after either one massive use of its power or a dozen or so smaller uses of its power, would be able to reform after it breaks due to my magic continuously. Each Crozzo magic sword holds incredible power and is known for its ability to level fortresses with relative ease.

Having one of those swords that never breaks would be a cheat code. Of course, in the future Welf, the last remaining Crozzo, will forge a version that don't break and rely on the user's magic rather than a limited internal supply. That would end up eliminating the problem of them braking, but they would no longer contain the instantenous massive explosive power after that. With Fateweaver, I have no need for an unbreakable magic sword that feeds off my mana to work, but a single use trump card that can reforge itself due to my magic would certainly be handy. 

"I see no reason why it wouldn't reforge over time, though the downside is that it may take a while to reform." Hephaestus said with a contemplative look.

"I am willing to bind a magic sword to thre thrid spot, since I can always just carry tools or extra weapons in my inventory. It honestly makes more sense to use it on a limited use item now that I think about it." I commented, getting nods from both women.

"Do we have any original Crozzo magic swords. That or Welf-" Tsubaki cut off, clearly remembering that Welf didn't want to forge magic swords anymore. 

Hephaestus paused as well, then shook her head, "I have an original, but only one." she said looking over to me.

I immediately saw the source of the hesitation in her eyem, "You've already invested in me so much, an original magic sword is a nearly priceless artifact. I can always bind a different magic item. Hell, maybe even a elixer will work and refill over time." I said hubly.

"No, I'll give it to you. Better than it collecting dust in a vault, but we have to at least sign a ten year contract or something," she said, looking to me seriously, "Not that I don't trust you, but after ev-"

I cut her off before she could finish, "I'll vow to never leave the familia unless you return to Heaven," I said completely seriously.

The reason I was willing to go to such an extreme was for three reasons. The first is that I genuinely like Hepheastus and Tsubaki, along with the few other people I have meet so far. The second is that the benefits they can provide me are better than what pretty much any other familia can offer me, so there is no reason to leave. If my situation ain't broke then I am not going to fix it. The third reason was more selfish, but with this show of loyalty and the fact they have already sunk a lot of resources into me, they will most likely be more willing give me more high-teir items in the future. 

She must have seen the look of dedication in my eyes because Hepheastus seemed to hesitate for the words to say, "Um... Ok, but it doesn't have to be for that long." she said, somewhat awkwardly. 

With that she left, bringing out a key and unlocking a walk in vault at the back of her office. That left only me and Tsubaki in the office. I turned and found the half-dwarf woman studying me intensely. She had a look that I hadn't seen on her face ever before, it was seriousness and dedication, not to me, but to the goddess and the familia. I understood why she had that expression when she spoke next.

"Let me preface this by saying that I like you and want you to stay in the familia," she said with a hint of a warning look in her eyes, "I doubt the goddess will force you so actually sign a magic contract binding you to the familia. She may have a tough exterior sometimes, but she's too kind when it comes to us children. I am telling you now that I am not above making you sign your life to the familia, and you will if you take this magic sword." she promised.

I wasn't offended by her words. In fact, I understood them completely since I would react the same way in her place. They had only know me for a few weeks at this point, and I was some arrogant young master MC that takes offense at not being trusted. Trusting someone completely after a few weeks would actually be more of a red flag in my opinion. Plus, I wasn't planning to leave the familia since there is no reason to.

I leaned forward, meeting Tsubaki's eye with a smile, "I am willing to bind myself to the familia for the rest of my life, as long as Hephaestus remains here in the mortal world." I repeated, getting a large smile and nod from the woman.

That was when Hepeastus walked back into the room, holding a large sword wrapped up in a large cloth, causing ,my heart to beat faster with excitement.