Chapter 68: Adapt and Overcome

Chapter 68: Adapt and Overcome

Climbing mountains isn't easy. At the very least, that was the thought going through Thomas's mind as every muscle in his body screamed in protest after two solid hours of climbing.

Exhibiting none of the fatigue Thomas was showing, Caenis had enough leeway to turn around, clinging to the mountain face with just the tips of her fingers as she asked, "Are you good? Pushing yourself to overcome your limits is commendable, but doing so at the risk of life and limb is just retarded."

With Caenis positioned above him, Thomas should have been enjoying the view. He did, at first, but now he was thoroughly focused on not falling, a possibility that seemed increasingly likely due to his bloodied, numb, and virtually frozen fingertips.

Fortunately, while the condition of his hands and fingers wasn't pretty, Thomas didn't have trouble clinging to the mountain. His muscles were continuously cramping, but his desire not to fall had caused the Magical Energy veiling his body to develop an 'adhesive' quality.

Within the power structure of the Nasuverse, there was a concept known as Thaumaturgical Attributes or, more commonly, Sorcery Traits. Virtually every Magus possessed one, generally tied to their lineage, and it was one of the components that determined their affinity with various types of Magecraft.

As vessels containing Holy Grails, Illya and Miyu possessed the 'Wish-Granting' Sorcery Trait. Due to her nature as an impossible existence and her association with the Einzbern Family, Chloe actually had two. The first was the Einzbern Family's hereditary 'Flow and Transfer of Power,' while the second was a completely unique Trait that allowed her to 'Actualize a Desired Outcome.' This was what allowed her to teleport and, to a lesser extent, the reason she was able to get away with teasing people without serious repercussions.

Before teaching Thomas anything, Chloe had Ruby help her conduct a ritual to determine his Sorcery Trait. While it was possible to learn and practice any form of Magecraft, focusing on the Thaumaturgical System most suited to your Trait saved significant time and effort. Fortunately, while the notion of Sorcery Traits was too 'modern' to be encompassed by Chiron's Wisdom of Divine Gift, the course he set Thomas on was the one most suited to his Trait: Adaptation.

As the name suggested, the Adaptation Sorcery Trait gave Thomas the rather 'enviable' ability to apply various properties to his Magical Energy. So long as he had a clear image or desired it strongly enough, he could make his Magical Energy burn like flames, use it to freeze objects, and, now that his life was on the line, it was what allowed him to cling to the Mountain like Spiderman.

After taking a moment to collect himself, Thomas looked up to meet Caenis's gaze, a stubborn look on his face as he said, "I can keep going. I'm just not used to having my arms and legs positioned like this. I keep getting a cramp in my thighs..."

Though he was able to adhere to the mountain, Thomas was forced to stay in a 'frog-like' posture while climbing. As his size implied, he wasn't the most flexible person in the world. Thus, his inner thighs felt like they had become solid as he did his best to remain relatively flat against the mountain's face.

Nodding her head, Caenis said, "Once we've settled down somewhere, we'll focus on increasing your flexibility. Despite his size, Heracles could do the splits and cross his feet behind his head. Instead of focusing on the size of your dick and pure aesthetics, you should prioritize balance and ensuring you have a full range of motion."

Before Thomas could adopt a wry smile or exhale an awkward laugh, Caenis donned one of her characteristically wolfish grins as she teased, "Not that I mind you having a big dick. I'm a woman who can appreciate a good challenge."

Punctuating her words, Caenis snapped her teeth before turning around to continue her ascent. Thomas eventually followed suit, but not before Atalanta, still nestled in his jacket, whispered, "Now isn't the best time to be aroused..."

Exhaling an awkward chuckle, Thomas resisted the urge to look down as he replied, "You're not wrong..." before ignoring his body's objections and continuing his ascent... Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

...

...

..

.

While Thomas was slowly making his way over to the Throne Room, its former owner, an obese man with dark violet hair and a cylinder-shaped jaw formed from tin, was groveling on his hands and knees, tears and snot streaming down his face as he begged, "Please! If you spare my life, I...I'll make each of you my Queens! We can rule the Drum Kingdom together...!"

Though she usually politely refused such requests, Illya had a rare look of disgust when she heard Wapol's plea. This was still fairly polite compared to Chloe's reaction, however, as she promptly fired a condensed blast of Magical Energy into Wapol's face, a contemptuous look on her face as she said, "Not even in your dreams, you disgusting hippo."

Despite being severely beaten and bloodied, Wapol managed to preserve his consciousness, stating, "I...I am the King of Drum Kingdom. If you kill me, the World Government won't remain silent. The only way you can get out of this without being hunted for the rest of your lives is if you beg for forgiveness and work with me. With your power-"

Unable to stomach Wapol's continuous, completely asinine attempts to try and leverage the situation in his favor, Astolfo abruptly exclaimed, "I can't take this anymore! This guy is driving me crazy...!"

Though it was completely overkill, Astolfo surprised everyone present by activating one of her Noble Phantasms, a giant black hunting horn called La Black Luna. It was an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm that, when blown, produced a sound comparable to a dragon's roar, a giant bird's cry, and the neighing of a divine horse all at once. It wasn't useful against other Heroic Spirits due to its C-Ranking, but it caused chaos and disorder in the minds of ordinary people while also depriving them of their ability to hear.

Before anyone could stop her, Astolfo took a deep breath before blowing into her horn with enough force to puff out her cheeks. As she did so, a visible 'column' of sound emerged from the end of the horn, crashing into Wapol with the force of a railway car. He opened his mouth in an attempt to eat the pressurized wave of sound, but the only thing he accomplished was giving it easier access to the interior of his body, pulverizing it from the inside.

Having exhausted more than half of her Magical Energy, Astolfo allowed her horn to disappear, exhaling a tired sigh before crossing her arms and saying, "That ought to teach him a lesson..."

With Wapol collapsed on the ground, bleeding from his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and several other parts of his body, Lucy, Illya, and Chloe stared at Astolfo with mouths agape. The former had no idea what a Noble Phantasm was, but she could tell Astolfo had just done something utterly ridiculous. However, instead of mulling over it or asking for an explanation, she shattered the growing tensions by bursting out laughing...

...

..

.

(A/N: Evaporation of Reason strikes again xD...)