Bartholomew stroked his beard and said, "The reason is simple. Abyssal Armaments are developed to adapt to human physiques.
We humans are Sequence No. 999. We are born without magic circuits, but precisely because of this, our adaptability and plasticity are the strongest."
"Contracted creatures are different. Their magic circuits are as fixed as their bloodlines.
If they use Abyssal Armaments, it's like forcing a change to the essence of their bloodlines; they will endure far more severe side effects than we humans."
"The set of Abyssal Armaments the little slime used back then was a rare, side-effect-free treasure from the principal's collection… There's only one such set in the entire academy."
Kylen suddenly understood.
Thinking back carefully, he really had never seen a contracted creature of any Contractor wear armaments.
So that's why.
Humans also had their own advantages. Having no fixed magic circuits meant unlimited potential for growth.
Bartholomew personally took charge of forging. As a top-tier blacksmith, he processed the Crimson-Horned Pterosaur's wings into an Abyssal Armament.
It was a pair of pitch-black, delta-shaped dragon wings about three meters wide when fully spread. A strange wind attribute energy flowed over their surface, and faint dragon roars echoed faintly around them.
The moment Kylen picked them up, relevant information flooded into his mind.
[Abyssal Armament: Crimson-Horned Dragon Wings]
[Grade: Silver Class]
[Note: Forged from the remains of a Crimson-Horned Pterosaur's wings. A flight-type armament infused with wind aura, allowing the user to soar briefly at high altitudes.]
[Ability · Dragon Roar Tempest: Flapping the wings can unleash tornadoes mixed with the pterosaur's sonic shockwave enough to pierce the hearing and nerves of targets within a certain range.]
[Side Effect: The longer the flight duration, the clearer the pterosaur's wails will sound in the user's ears. These are the resentful murmurs of slaughtered souls.]
Once the armament connected, the pitch-black dragon wings flapped open. With the Night Devourer Longbow in hand, Kylen finally felt like a true Contractor.
No longer just a man who had to hide behind Avelia for support, he could now fight on the battlefield, just like her.
After testing the armament, Kylen put it away and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Mentor Bartholomew."
Bartholomew stroked his beard. "Hmm, go back and practice well. The power of Abyssal Armaments is, after contracted creatures, the most important means we humans have to fight against abyssal rifts."
"You could hold your own against Raviel as a Contractor, but if he had used his Abyssal Armaments, you would probably still be no match for him."
Kylen nodded in agreement.
After saying goodbye to Bartholomew, Kylen and Elara returned to their residences.
Elara smiled and said, "Kylen, thank you again. Compared to you, I still have a lot to learn…"
Kylen had fought with all his might against Raviel, but he had clearly held back against her.
Kylen shrugged. Elara had given him a Silver Class armament, and in the end, he had only spent 10 credits on processing fees to get a full set of equipment, so he was naturally polite.
"I just took advantage of a loophole. Elara, your ability is more suitable for large-scale battles than mine."
Elara smiled. "Then from now on, please teach me a lot, Captain."
"Wait… Captain, this is the girls' dormitory area~"
Kylen took Avelia's hand. "Sorry, but I actually live here."
Elara's cheeks turned pink. How had the academy arranged this?
Even though it was a standalone villa, Kylen's residence was right next to hers.
And Avelia was so beautiful, she didn't even need to guess what they would do at night!
Oh, she was a little curious…
Elara covered her face and ran into her own dormitory.
Kylen looked at her in confusion, but in the end, he couldn't figure out what Elara had been thinking.
After returning to their residence, Kylen and Avelia finished dinner and sat by the fireplace.
Avelia was still leaning on the recliner, reading a book.
She noticed Kylen seemed to be lost in thought, so she asked, "Little one, what are you thinking about?"
Kylen sat down next to her. "Today… to defeat that man, you had to use 'Eternal Symbiosis' to take the hit head-on. I've been thinking, am I relying on you too much?"
"Thinking about it carefully, without you, with my talent alone, I don't seem qualified to be…"
Before he could finish, Avelia pressed her finger to his lips.
Her gem-like, radiant eyes sparkled. "I won't let you doubt yourself."
Kylen shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean."
"I want to ask, was your arm… really hurt back then? If I can't get stronger, won't you have to keep trading injuries for injuries in the future?"
"I'm your Contractor. From now on, you're not allowed to use that move casually."
Avelia's heart beat a little faster.
What was this? Was the little one worrying about her?
She curled her lips into a smile. "It wasn't that painful. Slimes feel pain much less than humans do."
"And that's not all you're worried about, is it?"
Seeing that he couldn't hide it, Kylen said, "Well… I know it's silly to think this way, and you're obviously cold to everyone else but kind only to me."
"But when I think there are even stronger geniuses than Raviel pursuing you, I can't help feeling annoyed."
Avelia smiled and said, "They're all just mediocre talents. Little one, you're my knight, you have to drive all those mediocre talents away for me."
"Also, instead of worrying about me getting hurt, why not give me some blood… to help me recover~"
Kylen suddenly noticed something was wrong. "Wait, what book are you reading?"
Kylen grabbed the book in one hand, and his face turned ashen. You little… "Avelia!
Everything in this book is wrong! I! DON'T! LIKE! THIS!"
Avelia leaned against Kylen. "Then what kind of partner do you like? You can just tell me directly."
"Anything?"
"Mmm, of course. Whatever kind of partner you want me to be, I'll listen to you."
"Because… men need to be doted on too, right?"
Kylen's Adam's apple bobbed. It turned out that everything he had been longing for had always been within reach.
In the Practical Combat Department's meeting room, Baron said, "The qualifying round starts in three days. You don't need to worry about the others; they're no match for our Practical Combat Department."
"The only one you need to watch out for is a single person."
On the meeting room screen, an analysis report on Kylen and Avelia was displayed.
Baron's Practical Combat Department was extremely powerful. This year, they had even recruited three S-rank students, making it the most combat-capable department at Saint Laurent Contract Academy.
In previous years, it had also been mostly his students' teams that represented the academy in competitions.
Except for last year, when they had been completely suppressed by the Crimson Legion disciples personally trained by the principal.
This cooperation with the Trenia Empire was crucial. The family patriarch had ordered him to suppress Kylen's growth by any means necessary.
Accidents like the failed attempt to capture Avelia in the abyssal rift last time must never happen again.
On top of that, William had been seriously injured by Kylen.
Even though he had used special admission quotas to enroll William and Jessica, William had been in a slump ever since. How could Baron let Kylen off the hook?
S-rank student Lysander said, "Mentor, the team battle is manageable, but in the individual battles, even if the three of us face Kylen, I'm afraid none of us can be sure of winning."
Baron shook his head. "No. When Contractors compete, combat power isn't the only thing that matters; intelligence and attribute countering are even more important."
"Kylen's talent is indeed strange, but once we figure out exactly what his talent is, we can find a way to counter it!"
"Based on the intelligence we've gathered, the little slime has made multiple moves over the past year. Her abilities fall into two categories: the ability to freely manipulate blood, and 'Primordial Assimilation'—which invades the mind using special energy."
"What about Kylen's ability?"
"Look—this is the video from the entrance test, and this is the video from the training ground just now."
"What do you think after watching them?"
Baron couldn't take action against Kylen personally if he wanted to suppress him. So the individual and team battles of the qualifying round would be his breakthrough.