#ADRIAN REYNOLDS POV#
"So, this is where we are staying," I comment, looking around the rather humble estate that the Vatican gave us
"It's pretty big."
"Come on, let's go inside," I hear Irina say next to me before she grabs my arm and drags me inside the estate, and the first thing I see is...
Dust
A lot of it
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH, SPPPIDDERSS," Irina screams in my ear as she hightails it out of the place and rushes outside
"This might take a while," I say, looking at the dusty place...
#TIMESKIP 1 WEEK LATER#
"Finally," I say, dropping down on a couch that I purchased to fill the estate
"I am going to hire some people," I say with a sigh, as I am not going to be maintaining the estate along with the others
Fuck that
I have money and I am going to put it to use
When I have time...
Damn it
"Alright, that is everything. Tomorrow is going to be our first day of training. Also, Adrian, the visit from the angel will be next month," She tells me as I nod
"In the meantime, we should probably try to find out where you stand between the 3 of us?" She tells me, and I nod as I don't have a problem with it
#THE NEXT DAY#
"Alright, here I am," I say, arriving at the training yard and trying to ignore the clothes that Xenovia and Irina are wearing
They are some of the most attractive girls I have ever seen
"Do you wield any weapon?" Xenovia asks me
"I would say the sword, I don't really have much experience with other kinds of weapons aside from the guns that I took from some rogue Exorcists," I answer her as I take out the hilt of a lightsword before putting it away and grabbing a practice sword from the side
"This will do," I say, looking over the sword briefly and taking a deep breath
"Alright in 3...2...1," As soon as Griselda finishes speaking, Xenovia and I rush toward the other
Our weapons clash in the middle but through it, I can tell that Xenovia is physically stronger than I am, and draw my blade back and parry one of her attacks
Barely
She sends a jab at me, and I try to parry the blade to disorient her, but she pulls her sword back before hitting me in the head and disorienting me.
I don't even last a minute as Xenovia easily parries all of my attacks and disarms me
"So, how did I do?" I ask
"Not that bad. I have been training since I was 8, and Xenovia has been training all her life. So you lasting around a minute, given that you are a magician, is still a bit impressive," Irina says with a serious tone
"Your fighting stance is completely atrocious, as if you were insulting the very fact that I was born. But considering your origins, some allowance can be given," Griselda critiques me, and I just nod at that
"Still...you claim that you do not prefer combat, yet I could tell that your instincts are rather good," Griselda comments while I blink
"That's true...I was never that good. Could it be that my Sacred Gear is having more of an effect on my body?" I ask out loud
"It...could be possible. Some Sacred Gears are known to have an effect on their users the longer they have them. But, I am unsure as to how yours could affect you as such,"
"What do you mean?" I ask Griselda
"You are aware of the Longinus Sacred Gear, are you not?"
"Yes...I am," I answer, already dreading where she is going with this
"Well...some of them can empower the wielder without them being active for example, the current User of Zenith Tempest possesses affinities for several elements seemingly independent of the Sacred Gear itself. Many theorized that it is the influence of the Sacred Gear on its host. It allowed the User to develop these affinities over time," She says, and I take that in
"Seriously, that seems...really strong," I comment at that
"It is," Griselda agrees
"So you think that my Sacred Gear is having an effect on my body?" I ask her
"Yes, you can even see the proof yourself," She says while motioning for me to come closer
"Look, you muscles are very slightly more defined than when we first met you," She says while grabbing at my arm and poking my muscles and I blink as I see the proof
I was never really muscular, but neither was I fat, since using magic requires a lot of energy
But now, I can see that the muscles are starting to take shape on my body
"This doesn't make any sense, I mean..."
"Have you transformed ever since awakening your Sacred Gear?" she asks me
"No,"
"Try to see if you can transform," She tells me while I nod and go back to the training field
Closing my eyes, I focus on reaching out to my Sacred Gear
It doesn't take long for me to find it, and when I do, I can't help but feel like I am touching a switch
Flipping it, my eyes open as I feel power coursing through every fiber of my being as the transformation takes place
I look down at my hands with wonder as I clench them
"I am slightly stronger than before," I start, "Not enough to be easily noticeable, but I am stronger by a very small margin."
"You...this is...incredible," Xenovia says, looking at me, or more specifically, my wings
I can tell that she wants to touch them
I bring them in front of me, and despite having wings now, they don't feel awkward at all
I feel like I have had them all my life
I am pretty sure I can even fly if I want to
"I wonder what you can do?" Irina asks as she walks around me
Hmm
I raise my hand and...
"Woah..." Xenovia and Irina both stare at the small ball of light floating above my hand
"This is pretty awesome," I say with a small smile as I don't even feel a dip with my bigger magical reserves
"Try to form it into a light weapon," Griselda suggests, "It will help determine your level of control."
I nod at her and focus a bit
Soon, I am holding a golden spear made of solidified light
However the fuck that works
"Hmm...can you change its shape even more?" Griselda asks, and I concentrate a bit more, and the spear changes shape until I am holding a sword, then a dagger
I hold it for a moment before I will the energy back inside of me, and I take note of something
I can reabsorb the energy I expend
Sure, I lose some of the energy the longer I hold the construct, but the fact that I can regain some energy is a boon in itself
"That is impressive, this definitely means that your Sacred Gear is more than just a transformation type. Given your incredible control over your Light Manipulation means that you qualify as a mid-class angel," She says and I turn to look at her
Wow...