Observing La Folia at the centre of the magic circle, her ethereal presence blending seamlessly with the surroundings, Luo Shu remained vigilant, ready to expend points for a rescue if needed. He inquired:
"How do you feel?"
"I feel wonderful..."
La Folia's voice now carried a slightly thick undertone, as if she had a cold:
"My body feels incredibly light, and..."
She suddenly performed a high kick, bending her body at an impossible angle:
"It's become very flexible. Many movements I couldn't do before are now possible."
"Perfectly normal. That's how Class transformations affect the body." Luo Shu nodded before continuing, "What about abilities?"
"You should be able to sense the Class information manifesting in your mind now, right?"
"I've gained many peculiar abilities... but the core is a power called Mimicry."
As she spoke, La Folia spun in place. Her silver-white hair instantly turned ashen grey, and though her eyes remained sky-blue, they were now distinctly different. Her facial features had completely transformed into those of Nia Honjo.
"Wow!! She actually became me!!"
Nia's eyes widened in delight as she stared at her doppelgänger:
"Does this mean I can team up with another me to hehehe with Luo Shu..."
By the end, Nia was even wiping drool from her mouth, making Luo Shu's eyes twitch uncontrollably.
Ignoring the perverted Nia, Luo Shu turned back to La Folia:
"Facial mimicry can't be the only aspect, can it?"
After all, Eriri's Transformation could achieve similar feats, even hinting at more exaggerated capabilities like ability replication.
As expected, La Folia calmly spoke in Nia Honjo's form:
"Additionally, I've gained the ability to mimic others' powers. As long as I've seen someone use their ability, there's a certain probability I can imitate it. Once successfully mimicked, it's permanently retained, though limited to 9 abilities at most."
As La Folia spoke, she suddenly raised her hand and summoned Raziel.
Instantly, both Luo Shu and Nia Honjo's gazes froze momentarily.
Nia Honjo curled her lips into a grin, playfully shaking the original Raziel in her hand:
"You can even mimic my Angel? The power of Classes is truly fascinating."
As she spoke, Nia couldn't help feeling regretful. If she were to form a contract with Luo Shu now and become part of his Familia, she could obtain her own unique Class - a derivative of the Almighty God Class at that.
Only then would she truly begin mastering the power of the Second Sephirah.
Unfortunately, due to concerns about that terrifying mother figure reviving, she couldn't take this step. So she could only watch enviously as La Folia gained Class abilities.
The thought alone was unbearably frustrating.
While Nia was feeling vexed, Luo Shu asked La Folia:
"How effective are these mimicked abilities?"
La Folia hesitated before making an estimate:
"The more powerful the ability, the weaker the imitation. For instance, this Raziel in my hand probably only has about 20% of its original capability."
"In my hands, Raziel can only retrieve common information, interfere with divinations targeting me, and at most write the futures of ordinary people..."
"This is only possible because Honjo-san kept flipping through Raziel in front of me while we were waiting. Otherwise, I might not have even reached this level."
As she spoke, La Folia's form shifted again, this time taking on Natsuki Minamiya's appearance. With a flicker, she appeared before Luo Shu and embraced his waist in Natsuki's form:
"But Natsuki-chan's spatial abilities can be mimicked at about 60% effectiveness. Wow, I've always wanted to try this since I first saw it. Spatial control abilities are really convenient to use."
Luo Shu's expression turned peculiar as he watched La Folia vigorously nuzzle his chest with Natsuki's face.
When he raised his hand to stop her, she licked his fingers, stirring inappropriate thoughts in his mind.
'No, this won't do. Although she resembles Natsuki, she remains La Folia at her core. I can't be so crude...'
Luo Shu struggled to suppress his rising heat before calmly asking:
"So the imitation effectiveness ranges from 20-60%?"
"The weaker the original user, the higher the imitation rate. I've seen Natsuki Minamiya before, and I'm mimicking her from that time, hence the 60%. Back then, Natsuki would have been a Hero Rank without a Class, right?"
As she spoke, La Folia transformed into Kanon Kanase's form and sweetly called out to Luo Shu:
"Brother Luo Shu, won't you pamper Kanon properly?"
"Shut up."
Seeing Kanon's innocent face uttering such dangerously seductive words, Luo Shu couldn't help giving the mischievous La Folia a firm smack before coolly stating:
"It seems the core ability of the Spirit Sorcerer Class in its early stages is this mimicry."
Replicating appearances and duplicating abilities - although currently limited to nine types, it's already remarkably formidable.
With the proper application of these nine abilities in combination, one could likely achieve unexpectedly potent effects.
Moreover, this appearance-mimicking ability could enable covert infiltration, paired with the nine abilities for assassinations... Hiss... It almost feels like a top-tier assassin's skillset.
"Indeed."
La Folia explained with a cheerful laugh:
"It feels like the entire early progression of the Spirit Sorcerer Class exists to facilitate this mimicry ability."
"The Balancer's core ability to balance internal forces exists to control and stabilise future mimicked powers. The Faceless Spirit transforms one's attributes into a void to accommodate external forces, with appearance changes being merely incidental."
"Through these supporting abilities, upon advancing to Mimic and combining with Mimicry, one gains access to complex, versatile capabilities..."
"Thinking further, the next stage - the Hero Rank Harmoniser - should represent a qualitative leap forward."
"From existing intelligence, it likely involves gaining the ability to restructure nine or more mimicked abilities, surpassing their original forms... Essentially transcending copied powers beyond their source..."
"Yet strangely, Aldegia's Spirit Summoning Art - the foundation of this Class - currently shows no manifestation..."
As La Folia voiced her confusion, Luo Shu remarked thoughtfully:
"The Spirit Summoning Art involves summoning ancestral spirits to possess one's body, correct?"
La Folia nodded, then looked questioningly at Luo Shu.
At this, Luo Shu pointed out:
"The stage after Harmoniser - the Demigod Rank - is literally called Spirit Sorcerer."
"Despite being named Spirit Sorcerer, the preceding Classes bear little relation to Spirits."
"So isn't it possible that 'Spirit Sorcerer' refers to summoning and controlling actual Spirits?"
"Alternatively, perhaps it denotes sorcerers who can summon mimicked individuals or abilities in Spirit form?"
"Could the Spirit Summoning Art only become relevant at this stage?"
La Folia froze momentarily before suddenly envisioning her future Demigod self summoning hordes of ancestral spirits and ability spirits for mass combat.
Conjuring legions of Spirit Bodies - each at minimum Hero Rank - launching coordinated assaults... Obliterating enemies like bomber squadrons...
Hiss... A Demigod specialised in large-scale warfare?
La Folia found herself growing excited about her potential Demigod ascension.
While La Folia indulged in imagination, Luo Shu fell into contemplation.
'La Folia's progression seemed stable, but further observation might be prudent...'
'Best to confirm no risks before letting Eriri advance.'
'And since observation was needed, testing the Class's capabilities would be necessary...'
'Finding suitable test subjects might prove challenging though...'
'Perhaps Phenex Society's cult members could serve this purpose...'
With this thought, Luo Shu glanced at La Folia and said:
"La Folia, revert to your original form."
"Eh? Understood!" La Folia resumed her true appearance and looked curiously at Luo Shu: "Is something the matter?"
At that moment, Luo Shu scooped La Folia into his arms. As she gasped in surprise, he looked solemnly at her while she clung to his neck:
"Nothing much, I just intend to let you experience firsthand how the Calamity Bringer's misfortune should be imitated!"
"—Prepare yourself!"
With those words, Luo Shu and La Folia vanished from Nia Honjo's sight, clearly having used the Hidden Management Zone's teleportation function to leave.
Staring at the now-empty Hidden Management Zone, Nia blinked dazedly before muttering:
"So... I've been abandoned?"
"This fickleness is happening way too fast..."