The torch-shaped Relic spanned 10 centimetres in length and 2 centimetres in diameter. It was tiny, coloured blue, emitting a mild lustre that glinted as his shadow was cast on it. Its aura wasn't apparent, seemingly blocked by the glass walls, same as the rest, but Jyorta felt a chill the moment he looked at it.

The chill didn't originate from his bodily senses but his senses as an Esper. It originated from his Wisdom Parasite, sending warning signals to him. "W-What is this?"

Jyorta stood agape for a couple of seconds, only breaking out of his stupefied state when the gruff voice of the staff resounded, "That is the reaction of everyone when they see it at first."

Jyorta gazed at the name of the Tier 3 Skill that formed the base of the fused Skill in the Relic, his eyes widening in realisation, "Forged Line."

"I see," He calmed himself, taking in a couple of deep breaths as he read its description, "The second most common Tier 3 Skill Nurtured by human Developers. It allows the Developer to shoot a laser beam from any part of his/her body. The beam can neither be shaped nor manoeuvred once emitted. But, the laser beam has a single property."

It felt like he encountered a cliff hanger in a suspense novel, feeling frustrated but excited at the same time. Thankfully, the description continued, though it was a one-liner, "The laser varies its property according to the material it impacts, taking on a property most optimal to damage it."

Jyorta fell into thought, the experience, knowledge, and insight of his previous life coming into play, the fields of material science and chemistry surfacing in their grandeur. 'Any material displays different properties that vary with time, temperature, stress, strain, environment, sound, and light. This is not exclusive to elements, even compounds and alloys vary similarly.'

'Steel is tremendously tough and rigid at room temperature. But, as the temperature increases, it becomes softer and softer until it reaches its melting point where its state of matter changes from solid to liquid. So, an attack at that temperature can melt steel. But, this is only when considering temperature variation.'

'Steel has a yield point with respect to stress, beyond which it begins to deform and even fracture. In response to the environment, it can be corroded by various substances, forming rust. When subjected to sounds, one that achieves its natural frequency, causing resonance, even the strongest bar of steel will vibrate at its maximum, eventually forming fractures before breaking.'

He tapped his shoulder, realising the complexity of what had been conveyed in that one-liner, 'There are numerous ways to destroy a solid. Phase change, chemical reactions, radiation, there are various consequences. Now, the laser beam emitted by this Skill automatically morphs into an attribute perfect to damage the target.'

"It seems you have guessed everything perfectly," The gruff voice of the staff said, his tone containing praise, having determined everything through Jyorta's body language. "Forged Line is the perfect Skill to penetrate any matter of defence, irrespective of what it may be composed of. Infinite variability and automatic selection, that is what makes the Skill one of the most terrifying Tier 3 Skill. And, it is a laser, so even the speed at which it varies the property of its laser beam is at the speed of light, leaving the defenders no time to prepare any countermeasures."

He then sighed, his tone full of sorrow, tinged with despair, "But, it is also what threatens us the most today."

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Jyorta felt a bad feeling, goosebumps appeared on his skin, the hair on his skin standing up in a state of alarm, displaying the extent of chill he felt at that one moment from the staff.

"Do you know about the Unranked Skill of the Floating Spiders, Greater Warlord?" The staff calmed himself, suppressing the killing intent he had involuntarily seeped out.

"Yes," Jyorta nodded, hearing the staff sigh right after.

"Only Transformer Floating Spiders possess this Unranked Skill. It only needs three anchors, so they only sacrifice their Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 Skills to obtain it. But, its catch is that the moment it is activated, it prevents the Floating Spiders from activating their Tier 4 and Tier 5 Skills. But, the trade-off is more than worthy enough."

The air in the corridor turned a notch colder as his voice began to echo, "In return, they can transform into Warlords, the product of humanity's Tier 5 Skill. Moreover, they also obtain another bonus in this state."

Jyorta's body shivered, seeing mist form when he exhaled, showcasing the rapid temperature drop. As if he hadn't sensed it, the staff continued to speak, "They would be able to use the Tier 3 Skill of the human Transformer that had formed the base in their respective Unranked Skill, at Tier 5 level."

"Y-You mean…?" Even though he shivered, Jyorta was drawn into the words, fear gripping his heart.

"Yes," Followed by a sigh suffused with killing intent, the staff spoke, pronouncing each word with greater difficulty, "They can use our Developer Skills at the level of a Transformer. Through this Unranked Skill, they obtained one of humanity's greatest strengths. Thankfully, the base material for the Unranked Skill is a human Transformer, so the number of Floating Spiders that possess Greater Warlord number less than twenty."

"But," As a layer of ice crept on Jyorta's skin, the voice said, his speed of speaking similarly dropping to a snail's pace, "The despair-inducing fact is that Rhachis Ancestor Warlord possess this Unranked Skill at Tier 6 level, and…the Developer Skill it could use at Tier 6 level is…"

"Forged Line!"

"Forged Line…" Jyorta's mood sunk, almost turning still under the low temperature. He then broke out of the conversation, emitting psychic energy from his skin, followed by a gust of aura that pushed out the chill, raising the temperature around him. Seemingly having noticed the situation, the staff immediately controlled himself, quickly bringing the temperature back to normal.

Jyorta rubbed his hands, warming himself as he felt the heat return, asking in deep thought, "Then, is Rhachis Ancestor Warlord capable of breaching Marble City's defence?"

"Theoretically, yes." The staff nodded, "But, such an action is impossible in the presence of Psychic Ancestor Marble. Marble Sonata is not a simple Unranked Skill either. Whether in Tier 5 or Tier 6 level, in all the times they had confronted, Marble Sonata had always triumphed."

"But, if Forged Line is capable of morphing into the most optimal form to give maximum damage to the target, then how is a material-based Unranked Skill the one that triumphs?" Jyorta felt confused, unable to think of an answer immediately.

The staff chuckled once, having recovered his mood, "To melt a block of iron and copper, which consumes the most energy?"

"Iron," Jyorta replied.

"And why is that?" The staff chuckled again.

"Because iron has a higher melting point than copper. So, it requires more heat to melt." Jyorta said without a pause.

"Yes, and to create that level of heat, the energy required is proportional. Users of Marble Sonata precisely use that point to their advantage."

"You mean," Jyorta's eyes widened in realisation.

"Heh," The staff snorted, his expression smug, "Forged Line is a Skill of humanity. So, we have plenty of experimental data. We have experimented with it against Marble Sonata numerous times and have documented physical states Marble Sonata users can create that would consume the greatest of energy to be damaged by Forged Line users."

"Forged Line can damage any material using the most optimal attribute but, the energy consumption for every change differs. Against users of Forged Line, Espers with Marble Sonata adjust their material forms accordingly, leading to heavy energy consumption of their foes while their energy expenditure is the least."

"We have the advantage of experimental data," The gruff voice sounded a bit happy, "Remember that…I think I have quoted it a couple of times already. But I feel I should emphasise it again. Wisdom is the strongest weapon of humanity."

"Rhachis Ancestor Warlord is the highest form of threat among the Frenzy Beasts, other than Rhachis Ancestor Parasite, but the source of that threat is our Skills. Bear that in mind."

Jyorta nodded, imprinting it in his mind, thinking, 'Forged Line has significant range. It is a laser, so the attack is concentrated and can damage swiftly. Unlike the other Skills, it doesn't require any control from the user. This would complement me the most. Range and precision are what I lack at most right now.'

He then looked at the description of the Skill, frowning, feeling a bit confused as he inquired, "Sir, does this Skill not stack?"

"It does not," The gruff voice resounded, "Even with the slightest variation in the target material, the substance in the laser beam changes accordingly. So, even if you keep two beams close by, or even overlap them, the slightest changes in the environment cause different changes in them, making them impede each other. Also, when the beams intersect each other, they treat the other as targets, morphing accordingly, causing nothing but energy wastage as they constantly morph, counter, and destroy each other."

"Unlike the other Skills, Forged Line cannot be controlled by the user in any way other than changing the intensity of the laser beam or emitting it from different spots on the body. It morphs accordingly to the first object it comes in contact with, including air. Since the particles in the air are far apart from each other, most of the laser passes through them."

"I see," Jyorta nodded, 'It has its disadvantages. But, its advantages are superior.'

Jyorta looked at the next shelves, noticing two more shelves with different Relics, 'So, there are only two more Tier 3 Skills left for me to see. If I fail to find anything better, I'll pick Forged Line.'

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