Dropping the snake scale, Theo sat down in front of it and asked with a serious expression. "What should I do now?"
[Just touch the scale. I'll do the rest.]
Theo nodded and reached for the scale, observing what happened to the Magic Power in the scale.
To his surprise, the Magic Power gradually leaked out of the scale into the air at a rapid rate.
He was curious about their existence. They could connect to this world through them, making Theo think the Gods and Goddess remained inside him.
It turned out he was wrong.
They were not inside his body but somewhere else. He was convinced there was a realm that actually contained their souls like they said.
The pain gradually entered his mind, indicating the call from the serpent.
This might be the first time he received something from the serpent, even though this was the fourth time he encountered the snake.
Theo gritted his teeth and asked, "Are you sure this will be alright? From what I know, you can store the energy, right? I can go to a safer place for this."
[Don't worry. It won't take long. Even if there's something happening outside, I'll take care of it.]
"Hmm? Can you take over my body?"
[No.]
"Then…"
[But with this energy, I can release a bit of my power to envelop you. With the aura of Authority Level figure, no beasts would come to you. If humans come, I can use the aura to order the monsters around to repel them.]
"I see. Does that mean I can also use my Order to order the monsters around too?"
[Not yet. I'll tell you a bit after you come here.]
"Okay." Theo took a deep breath and closed his eyes, entering his consciousness.
The place gradually turned into the familiar lake that was shrouded by fog and filled with lily pads.
*Fwoosh!*
The serpent's head gradually emerged from the water, staring at Theo. "Welcome."
"Un." Theo nodded politely. His face was filled with curiosity as it was clear there were many questions he had in mind.
"We don't have much time, so I'll settle everything within twenty minutes. If you want to ask questions, make sure it's important enough for you."
"Understood."
"Continuing with the previous explanation… If you have an Order, you're equivalent to… Let me see what kind of words from your world fit the explanation." The serpent paused for a few seconds before continuing, "It's nobility. You are a nobility when you have an Order. When you have an Authority, you're basically a ruler.
"If you use your Order in another noble's territory, do you think they will respect you? Sure, if you are higher rank than him. But there's no rank among Orders. So, if you use your Order, they might become hostile."
"I see." Theo looked down, pondering what he said. "It's different for Authority. You are basically a kind of a King. No matter whose land it is, you're more important. That is unless you meet another Authority directly."
"Yes. That's the simple explanation."
"I understand now." Theo nodded. He was still unaware that Fenrir's aura once came out of his body and scared Ava. That happened in Thersland, where he was still clueless.
"Anyway, let's make this short. I'm going to teach you this skill."
Skill: Supernatural Snake Body (S)
Effect: The user will receive extreme regeneration and hardness.
"For real?" Theo widened his eyes and dropped his jaw to the ground. The skill rank was too shocking.
There was even a doubt rising in his heart.
Theo raised his head and said, "Back in Thersland, I couldn't even use the Death Avatar properly. The one I used was the sealed form, not the real one, which was supposed to be an S Rank Skill… Also, the pain I experienced back then even made me fall unconscious.
"And this one is an S Rank Skill too… It's not like I'm not happy with an S Rank Skill, but won't it be useless if I can't even use it properly? I might even die from using it." Theo presented his doubt to the serpent. Even in front of an overwhelming skill, his mind remained rational.
He would rather get an A Rank Skill that he could use than an S Rank Skill that he couldn't use in the next few years.
"My body skill is different," said the serpent with a calm tone.
"Different?"
"Yes. The others put a toll on your body while mine trains your body."
"Eh?" Theo tilted his confusion.
"When you use the Death Avatar, your body excretes some Magic Power to the outside. Meanwhile, this skill forces you to take in some pressure and Magic Power to your body."
"I still don't understand."
"How do I say it… Let's use your level as an example. Other skills start from level 500, for example. Meanwhile, mine starts from level 0."
Theo furrowed his eyebrows and fell into deep thought. After three minutes, he got his answer and asked for confirmation. "So, I need to absorb Magic Power and Pressure to get stronger?"
"Yes. This is a kind of growth skill. Why could I become so big in the past?"
"!!!" Theo was dumbfounded. "So, when you were thrown into the sea, you used this skill to train yourself by absorbing the Magic Power and taking the Pressure?"
"Something along those lines." The serpent acknowledged it without hesitation. "That's why even if you use this S Rank Skill, you won't be able to manifest the snake skin. You need to keep training it by taking the pressure and Magic Power. The power of this skill will gradually increase."
"I see." Theo nodded in understanding. "But won't my body expand because of this? I don't think I want to be a human whose head reaches the atmosphere."
"This is the reason why I was supposed to teach you the last. It's to let your body get stronger first so that it has a larger capacity to take in all the Magic Power and pressure. This way, you won't expand."
"But no matter what, I still have my limit. What if… maybe twenty years from now, I finally reach that limit, will I expand?"
"Have you forgotten about your Order?"
Theo opened his eyes in realization. "Covenant Seal!"
"That's right. By pouring the excess energy into your territory, you can prevent your body from expanding like mine…" The snake nodded with a smile, happy with Theo's intelligence.