'Ah… I hate thinking…'

Vale lay down on his stone bed, tucked himself under [Stay Safe], rested his head on [Cold Pillow], and closed his eyes.

***

The next day came, and the moment Salome laid eyes on him, it was clear she noticed something about him had changed.

She stared at Vale before muttering with a smile on her face:

"Congratulations."

Vale smiled warmly.

"Thanks."

Vale and Salome talked for a little while, yet Vale held back from telling her any of his mental breakthroughs. It would be up to the succubus and succubus alone to find her path.

Salome walked off to change guards with Awilix, and Vale found his way to the completed training room with Toy as he waited for the black door to the Council of Vice to open.

Once there, he came upon Diana's and Alpha's team locked in a battle. Yet, when they noticed Vale watching, they froze and greeted him.

"Hello, master."

Vale was there to test his newfound ability. And he had the perfect array of sparing partners. Starting with Toy.

The warriors cleared out upon learning what Vale had shown up for and stood around the edges of the room, spectating.

Toy walked and stood near the center of the room with [Iron Plea] in hand. Vale followed suit and stood a couple of paces away with his bracer's effect engaged, the thin gold-plated armor covering his torso and shoulders.

Toy spoke up:

"Are you ready, sir?"

Vale smiled back while raising his fists:

"Are you?"

Toy grinned before answering with her actions, kicking off her back foot and charging at Vale at a terrifying speed.

Vale already knew this speed was a result of her Aspect, and therefore, he knew such a speed was only obtainable by sacrificing a great deal of her power.

Instead of trying to dodge, Vale shaped his left hand into the likeness of a buckler and reinforced it with his Aether while making his skin as dense as possible to resemble the properties of a rock.

Admittedly, to an outsider, watching the flesh of a hand form into a shield was quite grotesque; however, the result wasn't something that could be diminished.

Vale swiped his buckler hand left as the tip of the halberd entered his range, knocking it to the side. Then he brought his clenched right hand down, aiming for Toy's chin.

Toy looked a little surprised as her attack began to swivel to the side.

But, Vale was not the only one who'd improved.

Toy let go of her halberd and threw it behind Vale, then increased [Featherweight] to the maximum, making her as light as possible. The goblin managed to speed up so fast that Vale whiffed his strike, and she was able to slide through his open legs and catch her halberd before it even hit the ground.

Vale craned his head back and looked at the goblin.

"Impressive."

Toy adopted her master's wicked grin for a moment, and said:

"I see your trick has improved."

Vale smiled as his form shrank.

"That it has."

When his body finished morphing, he was back to the same height and nearly the same mass he was on Terra.

The change felt a little awkward, having gotten used to his new body. But at the same time, since his body was changed, this was his body…

While it all sounded redundant and nonsensical, there was a method to the madness.

Vale could tell he'd adjusted to the form within moments as if he'd been like that since birth. Even the buckler hand felt normal.

With this body, just like Toy, he lost a bit of physical strength but traded it in for speed.

Vale reached into the Nexus of Beginnings and pulled out one of the chameleon's bone knives as Toy charged again, albeit slower this time.

'What is she planning?'

That was revealed a moment later as Toy threw her halberd in a slow arc aimed way over Vale's head.

Toy, after releasing the halberd, employed [Fetherweight] to its maximum again and charged forward before kicking off the ground, sending herself past the halberd and toward the ceiling while executing an acrobatic spin.

Toy's feet collided with the ceiling right above Vale. He barely had time to process anything before Toy caught her halberd and regained all the weight she had lost, kicking off the ceiling and rocketing herself toward Vale.

'Shit.'

While Vale's transformed buckler was fairly durable, it was still his body. Taking on such a blow like this one would hurt like hell.

Reflexively, Vale fell back to give himself one more moment before the tip of the halberd reached him. In that split second, Vale barely managed to use the bone knife to swipe at the halberd and misdirect it again.

As the tip barely missed his armor and smashed into the stone, Vale finished falling and started to roll away, but Toy had already regained her footing and lifted the halberd up and was swinging the axe head down upon him.

'Screw it.'

Vale swung his buckler fist to counter the axe's path. The moment his hand collided, a stiff pain radiated through his body.

'Ow!'

At least he avoided the worst of it.

Vale, after he knocked the halberd off course, transformed his left hand into a weird tendril and managed to wrap it around the shaft of the weapon and yanked it out of Toy's grip.

Vale launched himself up with a kick toward Toy's chest, who vaulted away and landed on her knees.

Without her weapon, she was nothing in the face of Vale's power. Yet, the goblin wasn't going to give up.

Vale, not wanting to accidentally hurt the tiny girl, stored [Iron Plea] in the [Nexus of Beginnings] as Toy charged at him once again.

As Vale stored the halberd, all he could think of was:

'She should probably be using something lighter… like a dagger.'

Toy crouched down, making it look like she was about to jump to the ceiling again, but Vale saw through the deception.

Vale feigned bringing his gaze up, and as he did, Toy slid towards him and spun into a sliding kick at his shin.

Having already seen something like this coming, Vale was already empowering and transforming his shin to receive the blow.

Toy noticed too late, and just as her foot wacked into his shin, which felt no different than a stone wall, she crumpled in pain.

Vale stood over her and held out his hand.

The goblin looked up at him, happy with how she'd done, but also displeased that she'd lost.

Vale smiled at the tiny green girl.

"Good fight."

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