Demon's Virtue

Eiro flipped through the pages carefully, making sure to attain as much knowledge from the book as he could. He was so deeply concentrating that his perception of the surroundings was even slipping from him. Of course he created a duplicate in his mind to take over this task, since he didn't want to take the risk of not knowing what was happening around him, but it was the first time in a while that he hadn't made sure to do it himself.

And while Eiro was reading, literally pulling in the information on these pages through his fingertips, Partax and Armodeus stood at the edge of the workshop. The Elder Dwarf tapped his foot on the ground three times, and looked at his old friend and companion with a frown, "Why did you give them to him? Those books are your life, you would rather die than let someone you don't approve of even glance at them."

The halfling thought for a few moments, before shrugging, "I guess I simply approved of him, then. His reasons are noble, to say the least. I thought it was a nice sentiment... Even I am growing old and nostalgic for my younger days when I had big dreams like that."

"Don't you still dream just as big these days?"

"One grand dream even I was no longer sure was achievable is nothing compared to something that he is so clearly working toward. Don't you think that his goal seems oddly achievable, despite how grand it is?"

Armodeus was dumbstruck as he heard Partax's words, "So you really did want to help out back then, didn't you?"

"...Of course I did. But we just can't. It's not our place anymore," Partax sighed bitterly, and the elder dwarf's expression sunk similarly, "I... tried to, not long ago. After Shimour left again. I don't know what it was, what came over me, but I wanted to overcome that hurdle."

As if he had just listened to something ridiculous, the halfling looked at his friend and glared deep into his eyes, "You fool, what were you thinking?! Are you well? Were there-"

"I didn't go through with it. I picked up my hammer and started forging, and the moment I felt the restrictions in my bones, I simply let go," Armodeus replied, "You know, I made some daggers for Eiro a short while ago, using a duplicated artifact as a base. They're wonderful, truly; even Shimour struggled against them in Eiro's hands. But I just can't help but think about what they could have become if I didn't have to fear for my life to bring out my full power."

"I understand your worries, brother... It's truly ridiculous, having to follow rules nobody told us about. We achieved the greatest honor possible, but if we try to enjoy the fruits drenched in our blood and sweat, we're punished..." Partax sighed, "I wish there were a way to change it, but that is just how it is. Knowing that we could do it if we wanted to is more than enough. And most importantly... passing on our knowledge doesn't seem so bad either. I'm starting to understand why Jura was looking for a successor," Partax started to smile as he watched Eiro so eagerly read the books, when he seemed to realize something was wrong with what he said.

"I-"

"Don't even think of it," Armodeus sighed, "It was of my own will that I signed that contract. And even if I hadn't, I still wouldn't take a successor."

"What happened is not your fault, brother. You did everything right, simply honing your craft. You truly risked your life despite the restrictions, you went through hell and back; your overgrown body is proof of what you did and how much you suffered, even if others don't realize."

"I created an abomination, a weapon that should never exist, and I will forever suffer the consequences from that action until the day I die."

Partax wanted to protest Armodeus' words, but he knew that he couldn't. He closed his eyes and spoke, "You did something I couldn't. The things I make may be considered artifacts in name amongst the people, but the system does not treat them as such. They're just more useful magic items. The most I've managed to do is modify already existing artifacts. But you, you did something that I never even thought you could. You created a true artifact, something exactly like those cards the brat seems to want to collect at every chance."

"...And I wish I hadn't. The days following still haunt me. Now, please, let's stop talking about that. And don't tell Eiro either, I'm trying to keep it a secret."

Partax seemed confused, "What? He's sitting just over there; he can hear the king sneeze in his castle, so how could he not have just heard our conversation?"

Armodeus pointed at his foot, "It's an agreement I made with him. If I tap my right foot on the ground three times, he purges everything I do from his memory until I tap my left foot on the ground three times. Of course, that extends to whoever I'm talking to, and whatever I'm doing. If he's not in the same room as me, he will simply force himself to forget everything he subconsciously learned about what I did, and even forces himself not to let his mind wander to a point where he tries to figure out what it was after the fact."

"...And you trust him to do that? To simply eradicate memories from his head?" Partax asked perplexed, and Armodeus nodded, "Of course. How can't I? When he promises something, he sounds exactly like Jura did. He doesn't even question me when I very clearly lie to him about certain things. He's rude and straightforward... but he has tact and a heart, at least. Well, the last part is just figurative at this point... Obviously."

"Don't remind me... the mere idea that something like that is possible is ridiculous."

Armodeus nodded, "It's only possible because of the sheer amount of mana he has."

Eiro was reading, and heard Armodeus' right foot hit the ground three times. The duplicate in charge of sensing the surroundings quickly restricted what it could sense there in the first place, and then worked hard to purge that memory from the Demon's mind completely. Usually, the library was ever-expanding, more books appearing here and there, and of course, there were books that described exactly the happenings around the Demon at all times. But in the book that was currently being written with current memories, some of the pages were simply burning up as they were being written. If he wanted to, Eiro could probably repair the damage to that book and thus regain his memories, but that wasn't something he was interested in doing. He promised Armodeus not to listen, and he would keep that promise.

Rather, he was much more interested in the contents of the book in his hands anyway. This was a book specifically about that runic spell-writing system Partax used for his creations. There were some things that Eiro already knew, but it was entry level. It was like he was trying to read the words of a language whose letters he had only barely glanced at, even though it was written in 'common'. The depth of the information was imcomparable to anything that Eiro had expected; Until now Partax's teachings were rough and hard to even understand, but this? It gave Eiro everything he needed to know, and more. While reading this book, it was like he could feel what it was like to do the things described. As though he was actively learning what it was he had to do. He could feel the twitching and pressure on his fingers, as if he was truly pressing down on and carving into the base material.

And more importantly...

[Your 'Apprentice Artificing' Skill has leveled up]

Eiro's artificing skill level was rising just by reading this book. He was soon going to reach intermediate grade in this skill already. The speed at which it rose was ridiculous, truly. And this was just one of 36 books that Eiro could read. He would stay up as long as he needed to, so that he could finish this matter before long. He wanted to see truly how far he could push his abilities with the help of Partax's experiences.