The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

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Although Evelyn had already made up her mind in that regard, she still took some time to try her probe skill on random objects that looked interesting, just in case she got lucky.

Unfortunately, however, Aurora turned out to be right when she said that all the most precious objects would be around the 'Great Mother', and Evelyn soon found herself debating between a few grade eight artifacts to take back.

One of them was an offensive-type artifact in the form of an urn, called the 'Dawn'. It could take in all the spirit and soul power that was poured into it, keep it stored inside for at least a day, and then be ready to explode at a set time.

The thing that attracted Evelyn the most was that while the energy couldn't be stored in 'batches' and had to be poured in all at once, there was no restriction on how many people could do it.

Meaning hundreds or even thousands of people could pour their energy into this 'Dawn', and the resulting explosion could take out someone that they had no hopes of matching at all!

Unfortunately, this artifact had a set 'durability', which would be reduced whenever the explosion was more powerful than what it could physically handle. If it was strong enough, even a single explosion could destroy the artifact.

If used moderately, however, it could continue to be used long term, since the durability would slowly be restored over time, as long as the artifact didn't run out of energy.

When compared to some of the other outstanding alternatives, the 'Dawn' wasn't anything special at first glance, and could even be considered mediocre. But what attracted Evelyn was the fact that it had the possibility to be used against a throne.

Discussing it with Aurora, however, quickly made Evelyn change her mind.

"Even if you can't tell there is a limit to how much energy it can store and how powerful the explosion can be, would it really be so? You must know that not all techniques scale linearly with how much energy is poured into them, as I've told you before—"

Evelyn recalled when Aurora taught her how the most basic techniques usually had the greatest potential when being used with a tremendous amount of spirit power, while the ones that were more complex generally didn't scale so well.

Of course, a complex technique that required a hundred spirit power would be much more effective than a basic one using the same amount, but if that spirit power was increased to ten, or even a hundred times the limit, the complex technique would only be marginally better than its 'optimal' energy consumption.

Since they didn't know what kind of underlying principle was used in the artifact for the explosion, there was no way to tell how strong it would be at its limit.

Would that be enough to take out a throne? Neither of them knew.

Her teacher didn't comment on the fact that she could so accurately determine what the artifact could be used for and its properties when she had clearly seen it for the first time, and Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief.

Considering she already had a strong offensive artifact thanks to Mantis, Evelyn decided that it really might not be worth it to waste such an opportunity on what would be a single-use consumable that wasn't guaranteed to work.

The pink-haired girl hesitated for a while before nodding. "In that case, I'll let this be for now, but… if you get the chance, please take this out of the vault at a later time, okay?"

Aurora didn't deny her request. "If our luck is good, there is always a chance that it can come out with the next batch. If not, I will make another trip to take it out."

Her mind moved to the other item she had been tempted by, which was in the form of a small toy chariot that fit perfectly in her palm.

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[ Champion's Chariot, Grade 8 ]

—Champion's Charge: Once the Champion's Chariot 

—Can be supplied with either spirit or soul power to move at great speed across any medium.

—The form of the chariot can be modified according to the owner's wishes, changing from ornate to ordinary in an instant. 

—The beasts that pull the chariot forward can appear in the form of either [Horses], [Pegasi], [Sea Drakes], and [Void Crawlers].

—Whenever the chariot is assaulted by external energy, it can negate the attack using the energy that is being supplied to it, provided it does not exceed the limit. If so, the chariot will revert back to its original form due to running out of energy, and eject all occupants.

—The internal structure of the chariot can be modified at will using energy, and will not revert back to its original form each time, unless modified once more.

—The consumption of energy varies depending on the speed at which the chariot is run and its form.

—If the Champion's Chariot is damaged in any way, it can be repaired using energy as long as its internal core is not destroyed. The amount of energy consumed depends on the damage sustained. This function cannot be used while the chariot is running.

—If run while still damaged, the Champion's Chariot will continue to sustain further damage, so it is always recommended to repair it fully before running.

—Once the Champion's Chariot runs out of energy, it will revert back to its original form.

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Evelyn could only sigh after looking through the description.

Although in terms of grade and capability, it could never match up with the Helion Chain that had been lost by the academy, it wasn't necessarily any worse in terms of usage.

In fact, for her purpose, it was much better.

The Helion Chain's defensive capability was much better, but it was also large, cumbersome, and required a separate strong enough beast to pull. It also had a lot more space inside, but was that really something she needed?

As for its offensive capabilities… Evelyn didn't even know if it had any. And most importantly… the Helion Chain was nowhere to be found, while the Champion's Chariot was still in her hand, ready to be taken away.

Although she could always travel using various other means, a carriage that was able to disguise itself and carry them forward would greatly facilitate their journey.

With this thing at hand, she knew she would have no trouble moving through cities and wilderness alike, and even the matter of disguising their identity would become much easier.

Moreover, it would also be a source of shelter when facing adverse situations, and Evelyn knew she would feel much more confident in ensuring her companions' safety if she had something like this at hand.

Its ability to traverse any surface could also come in handy, because although there were certain techniques that allowed flight, they were generally quite slow and inflexible, not to mention much more taxing.

And lastly, it could also serve as a means of escape. Even though she already had the last resort of being able to teleport to a random location, it always had a certain risk involved, since the location was 'random'. 

Given the choice, Evelyn would always prefer a safer route.

Evelyn didn't hesitate anymore as she picked the Champion's Chariot for herself, and Aurora didn't question her much on her choice as she led the girl out of the grand vault.

As she was leaving, Evelyn took one last look at the 'Great Mother', and in her heart, she couldn't help but have a strange feeling. 'Why is it… that it seems like I overlooked something?'

Even though she had clearly used her probe ability to check, and also had everything confirmed by her teacher, Evelyn couldn't help but frown at the uncomfortable feeling.

In the end, however, she could only shrug it off, since there was no way to look into it further than she already had.

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After returning from the grand vault, her next few days were spent in front of the 'Siren's Call' as usual.

Due to the importance of Nadia's identity, Aurora already had the area around the lake and her tower sealed, as none of them wanted the matter to be leaked to people who must never know.

After all, if even Gwendolyn was somewhat wary of Nadia, it went without saying that the Lord of Bones wouldn't sit so still if he knew about her existence. Moreover, the existence of a primordial creature was sure to cause a big fuss if leaked out.

The matter of the area around Aurora's tower being sealed did not arouse too much suspicion.

Most considered it the result of Aurora going into a retreat after facing the attack from Lord of Bones, perhaps having some form of enlightenment, while others just thought her ideas must be beyond their understanding.

Of course, those who were a little more familiar found it a little strange, but the only ones in that category were the two other pillars and the previous headmaster.

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