The next day came, and little had changed.

The only routine they had to change was the cycling of the guards at the entrance throughout the night.

Thankfully, no new invaders came, nor did it seem like Opehlia would be coming back soon. According to Mias, she'd ascended out of the canyon and was… in the middle of the village being worshipped.

An odd happening, Vale didn't entirely understand, but perhaps this girl had always been in such a position.

It's not like they had a way to confirm Laertes had told Salome everything. Maybe the boy had tricked them into thinking he'd revealed everything, defiant until his last moment…

Mias would have tried to assassinate the girl by now, but for some reason, whenever he got close, she would stare right at him, as if she could sense him. Not to mention…

Mias was an assassin, and an assassin only struck once they knew the ins and outs of their enemy. As of right now, Mias had little to no information on Ophelia's true power and capabilities. It was best to stay cautious rather than risk sacrificing half of himself.

In any case, still hoping that Salome would randomly come around and offer assistance, Vale had kept his quiet on the topic of Ximena. But he would break that soon once he was settled down and got back on track.

The first task Vale did at the dawn of the new day was distributing their loot.

Sadly, some of the clothes and armor were destroyed and torn during the fight, but others were in good condition. And even the destroyed ones could be broken down and repurposed.

For example, the suit of armor the knight wore wasn't usable due to the destruction of the pauldron, but they could take it apart and make a weapon from the gauntlets or boots.

As for the intact clothes, Toy was finally given a proper outfit after having stripped the archer.

She wore a brown tunic and leather pants, over which she had light leather armor. They didn't fit her the best, but they would make do. She was still shoeless, though, as her feet were too small to wear any of their boots.

The outfit allowed for tons of movement while finally giving the goblin some protection.

Toy would have taken the scouts' clothing, but Awilix had done a number on it, leaving it half-useless.

As for the mage… his cloak, once cleaned of blood, would become a blanket.

Jaune's clothes and armor were a bit ragged, but they could be used as an alternate outfit for Awilix or Salome if they wanted to free themselves from the confines of their restrictive clothing…

In fact, Salome would probably love to have some loose-fitting clothing she could walk around in. Well, Salome also didn't care for clothing, preferring to live naked half of the time. But if she were forced to wear clothes, she would probably enjoy a little more comfort. Though some modifications would be needed to fit her form.

Next were the Items…

Something odd happened to the mage's staff when he died — It disappeared.

While that was typical for the beasts summoned by Levels, it made very little sense for the phenomenon to happen to items of Pandora.

As was also typical now, the Reaper of Knowledge had a potential explanation.

Mias had said it had something to do with things called Relics and told Vale not to worry about it, saying it was a rare occurrence for one even to show up, and an even rarer one for it to stay behind beyond a user's death.

In any case, Vale obtained the knight's sword and shield, bow, dirk, and twin daggers — all of which were Items recognized by the system, having announced their rank and name upon being picked up by Vale.

The most notable Item ended up being the shield, which was an SSR-ranked called [Absolution, Shard of Ancile].

Its ability was powerful, to say the least — at least from the information relayed to him.

Mias said that special people, or those using a special tool, could actually read the enchantments on an Item and provide a more thorough description. In fact, it appeared that Vale's vague understanding when he picked something up was actually an odd phenomenon.

'I wonder if I can find someone to explain the footballs…'

Regardless, Vale knew the raw ability of the shield, and Salome had described it in action.

Once planted, the shield could control the flow of Aether in the area in front of it to disrupt it. Beings of Aether like Salome and Vale were no exception.

While the shield wouldn't outright incapacitate them, it slowed them down and made movement quite difficult. And against airborne Aether attacks, the shield helped misdirect them.

This shield might also be an essential tool in freeing Ximena because it can help clear the crystal shell, though it would also help finish killing her…

So maybe not.

In any case, Vale kept the shield for himself, storing it in the Nexus of Beginnings, which was beginning to reach its maximum capacity…

Not to mention every time he's been reaching in there recently, he's had to empty a load of water that had gotten sucked in when he jumped in the lake.

But hey, they'd now found a perfect way to transport a mass of water with ease!

Although after recent events, Vale was a bit paranoid to ever go on an excursion like that any time soon, and for some reason, nobody else could use the necklace's property except him. It was bound to him in some way.

The following best item was the bow, a typical wooden longbow with dexterous limbs. It was R-ranked and named [Draw Back].

Apparently, it allowed the user to amplify their shot to a certain threshold based on how long they drew back the string. But it had the drawback of putting immense strain on the user.

"What an apt name…"

Sadly, most of the arrows the archer fired had snapped, leaving two left. At the very least, they could be used for reference once the workers produced a blacksmith…

'Assuming that it was even possible.'

After all, Larry and Marvel were working on an invention that Vale didn't even know if he'd be able to use. It was only his conjecture that the workers could acquire a blacksmithing Trait.

Sure, he could have asked Wrath if such a thing were possible, but whenever around that guy, his mind went dull with fear and apprehension. Furthermore, there were more pressing things Vale was worried about when he talked to that man.

Vale still had many unanswered questions, whether he could produce a blacksmith wasn't even near the top of that list.

And now, he'd properly pissed Wrath off beyond a repairable point for the foreseeable future. Vale could kiss any answers goodbye because Wrath wasn't going to tell him shit, Envy didn't know much, and he was scared of what Greed would demand as a price.

Knowledge was the second-hottest commodity, behind time, after all…

Back to the bow, it was decided that it would be given to Diana, formally known as Two, as she was the best of the few archers in the Legion.

Finally, the four remaining weapons, the sword, dirk, and twin daggers, were all of the Common rank and seemed to possess no remarkable ability other than being able to be empowered by Aether, which all Items of Common rank or above could do to an extent.

With Toy having her halbard, Salome and Awilix both preferring their natural body and Traits over an actual weapon, and Vale having his whip and shapeshifting… he decided to split the four and give the blades to the best warriors: Five, Seven, Thirteen, and Nine.

Vale sighed when he finished handing out the last of his small arsenal.

The workers were hard at work, most mining, and everyone else went back to training, and Vale was left staring at Ximena's Crystal Prison.

"I guess I shouldn't wait any longer…"

With Awilix, the current front guard and expeditions being halted for the day, Vale trudged back to the core room to find Salome stretched out on the Wingback Chair, wearing Jaune's clothes, but not the armor, her original outfit on the floor next to the throne.

Salome grinned upon spotting him.

"I was wondering when you'd approach me with that look in your eyes…"

Vale internally sighed, then somberly said:

"So, you did know… What I was going to ask, I mean."

Salome's lips turned down as she looked past Vale, down the long corridor.

"Of course… You want me to help free Ximena and heal her. It would be risky, but I am indeed capable of pulling off such a feat."

Vale's eyes narrowed as he stood tall and looked down at the succubus:

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to, though. Would you?"

Salome grew a coy smile as she crossed and uncrossed her legs, then simply said:

"No."

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