Records of Rebirth

|[We can't do that.]| I shook my head. 

[Why?] Typhon asked, clearly incensed. [They are strangers intruding into our home, and they have been doing so for a long time. Why can't we protect ourselves?]

I sighed. These nestlings were driving me nuts.

This wasn't protecting ourselves, this was starting a war - one that I didn't want to be pulled into.

|[Involving ourselves in their affairs will only make it worse.]| I sighed. |[We should look out for ourselves first and reduce any unnecessary conflict.]|

Typhon was deep in thought, and Ophelia calmly looked on by his side. 

I could tell they weren't happy, but this way they would be safe from harm.

However, while this was true, I was interested in knowing where the entry point of the Labyrinth was. 

Sensei always refused to tell me when I asked. So, I peered over the scattered scrolls, perhaps something here could give me a clue. 

[Then how can we help you?] Typhon asked after a while. 

|[Hm...you can help me by staying alive and getting stronger.]| I replied. |[And I think I may have a way to help you both with that.]|

[Really?] Ophelia asked, optimistic.

|[Of course! But you have to trust me.]| I replied.

They both nodded enthusiastically, which made me smile.

How could they be so stubborn and yet so obedient? 

I was convinced now, more than ever that they were worth my trust, and my [Legacy] skills.

However, I wasn't quite sure how the skill transfer would work. 

If [Devour] was any indication of what to expect, their bodies could end up changing rather quickly, so I had to warn them.

|[I will grant you some skills.]| I said. |[But you have to let me know if anything feels strange.]|

[Strange?] Typhon immediately looked cautious.

[Will it be painful?] Ophelia asked.

|[It shouldn't be…I think.]| 

I then opened the system and checked the available skills. 

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Skills:

[Infernal Miasma: 1500XP] [Bloodlust: 1000XP] [Paralysis Venom: 400XP] 

[Legacy: 5000XP] [Mystify: 1200XP] [Magic Eater: 3000XP]

Experience Points: [14606]

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Woah! My XP points had never been so high! And I became greedy.

I was better off getting all the available skills now!

And so, I did. With relish.

〚Confirmed:『Bloodlust: LV1』has been acquired〛

〚Confirmed:『Magic Eater: LV1』has been acquired〛

〚Confirmed:『Infernal Miasma: LV1』has been acquired〛

〚Confirmed:『Mystify: LV1』has been acquired〛

What a rush it was! 

However, I instantly regretted my decision, after the flurry of dings reduced my XP to a paltry [2506].

Why the heck did I purchase so many at once? I wasn't even sure what some of them did.

My newfound freedom was definitely making me act wildly! 

But I loved it!

However, something odd seemed to be happening with the system. After purchasing the skills, it didn't reset like before and the same skills remained there. The menu even expanded to include other skills and items I had purchased a long time ago. 

It was strange seeing skills like [Appraisal] and [Poison Resistance] back on the menu.

Hmm… It had to be because of [Legacy]. 

I then glanced at Ophelia when multiple options appeared in the system.

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Available skills for『Pit Member 2』『Ophelia』:

[Appraisal: 150XP] [Poison Resistance: 100XP] [Paralysis Venom: 350XP]

[Bloodlust: 800XP] [Mana Control: 250XP] [Dimensional Box: 320XP] 

[HP Recovery: 100XP] [MP Recovery: 100XP] [SP Recovery: 100XP]

[Glossary of Aeon: 2000XP] [Labyrinth Atlas: 300XP] [Mark: 100XP] 

[Infernal Miasma: 1000XP] [Mind's Eye: 2000XP] 

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There were plenty of skills available for her, although most were what I considered basic, but skills like [Glossary of Aeon: 3000XP] and [Mind's Eye: 2000XP] which I considered quite advanced, were in the list too. 

However, while this was good, they were not all compatible with Ophelia's own set of skills, and I wondered if her options would grow as [Legacy] increased in level. But fortunately, the prices were fairly reasonable, unlike how it was for me.

For Typhon, it was mostly the same, except there were fewer advanced skills. 

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Available skills for『Pit Member 1』『Typhon』:

[Appraisal: 100XP] [Poison Resistance: 70XP] [Paralysis Venom: 270XP]

[Bloodlust: 600XP] [Mana Control: 200XP] [Dimensional Box: 300XP] 

[HP Recovery: 80XP] [MP Recovery: 80XP] [SP Recovery: 80XP]

[Labyrinth Atlas: 230XP] [Mark: 80XP] [Mana Sense: 100XP]

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This difference was likely because Ophelia's stats were higher, but for some reason the prices for Typhon were lower than hers and I kept trying to figure out why, until it dawned on me.

My options for [Legacy] included every named Pit member so far, so if they were lower for Typhon, they would be even lower for other nestlings. Only some nestlings wouldn't be able to use these skills that well due to a lack of MP or expertise in general, rendering them slightly useless. 

However, the opposite would also be the same for higher levelled members like Sylrin or Shiranui. I hated to think how much skills would cost for them.

Just picturing it made me curse Sensei ten times in my head.

His scheming was very much alive even in his absence.

Regardless, with my [2506XP] I purchased the necessary skills. 

〚Confirmed:『Legacy』is active. Skills『Appraisal: LV1』,『Labyrinth Atlas』and『Dimensional Box』have been acquired.〛

〚Imprinting Legacy skills on Pit Member 1『Typhon』and Pit Member 2『Ophelia』〛

〚Success!〛

Almost immediately, Ophelia got up, her voice ringing with excitement. [Waa! What's this?]

Typhon was also staring at his stats menu, with a perplexed look on his features.

I chuckled smugly. |[I told you I was going to help you. This is a small gift from me, make sure you use them well.]| 

[This…] Typhon was speechless. [How?]

|[I transferred some of my skills to you! Keep using them and their level will increase in time, but make sure you don't neglect your other skills.]|

[That's so good!] Ophelia exclaimed. [What do they do?]

Typhon still seemed hesitant so I encouraged him. |[Try using one. Start with [Appraisal], it's the easiest.]|

[Appraisal] would make it easier for them to determine which skills the nestlings needed to work on, which would improve their training efficiency in turn.

Besides, they were already strong enough to be sent out on missions alone. So, I would be more at ease  if they could gauge their opponents before getting into a fight with creatures above their level. 

|[Oh, and it works best on objects or monsters that are the same level as you or lower.]| I reminded them to be safe.

However, they had already started appraising each other, and I even felt a sting when one of them tried it on me!

Typhon was clearly the culprit as he quickly averted his gaze, but Ophelia was just as mischievous as she had even begun to appraise every object from the Elf ring and the maps to the brightly coloured potions laying around. 

And just as I noticed, one of the mysterious elf beverages disappeared from the pile, leaving behind a circular dent in the ground. 

It seemed Typhon was already practicing the [Dimensional Box] and I was surprised just how quickly they were learning to use them.

But wait...those beverages were mine!

Unfortunately, he was too focused on concentrating to see my glare. 

[This will be very useful.] Typhon declared. I could see he was testing its size by trying progressively larger items, but eventually all the beverages he 'stole' were returned, much to my relief.

[Is there a limit?] He asked, clearly impressed.

I chuckled. |[Let's just say it will take a while to fill.]|

On the other hand, Ophelia was staring off into space. It was likely she had discovered the atlas and was trying to test it out. However, as I observed her, she suddenly yelped in fright, leaping several paces back, only to stumble into some of the items.

[Owww!] She hissed. [What was that?!]

|[Are you alright?]|

When she looked up, the Atlas she was trying to flee from, was right in front of her. 

|[Calm down.]| I laughed. |[It's just a map. It won't hurt you.]| 

Ophelia squinted at her display. [But…why is it so dark?]

Ah.

I was sure she had received the useless default version.

Compared to mine that had several areas of the Upper, Middle and Undersea Stratum revealed, hers would look quite dark.

|[The places will be revealed as you explore.]| I explained. |[What do you see now?]|

When I opened my Atlas, I was represented as a larger serpent squiggle, while Typhon and Ophelia represented as slightly smaller squiggles. Every other Pit Member in our vicinity was represented as white dots. 

The only other figure was a lizard shaped outline outside the cave, which had to be Sylrin. 

Sensei really needed to upgrade his terrible design!

[I see us.] Ophelia replied. [You're the larger snake. Typhon and I are smaller.]

|[You don't see anyone else?]| I asked.

[No. There's nothing.] 

That was odd. I could clearly see several more dots filling my map and they were so much more concentrated in the Nymph's forest.

Could it be they could only see those I had given a [Captain's Mark]?

So far, it was only Typhon, Ophelia and Sylrin, and I explained this to them.

Typhon chuckled. [You'll need to give out more marks than that or we'll never know where everyone is.] 

I sighed, to give more marks would mean naming every single of my Pit Members, whose numbers had jumped since the last time I checked. 

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Pit Members: [8740]

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Seriously...what was the Nymph doing?

I was better off just marking my nestlings to start with. 

[We can help you if you like.] Ophelia offered. 

|[No, it's alright.]| I replied. 

Right now I just wanted to rest, and I was too poor to purchase any more skills.

Unfortunately, the system dinged once more and I groaned, expecting another quest.

However...

〚Pit Members have reached the limited threshold. Would you like to upgrade『Captain』titles for『Typhon』and『Ophelia』?〛

What?

For once it was actually some great news!