Anyway, while Maxwell found out my secret, I suppose we can say that I barely but surely avoided the bad development. That said, Maxwell was a tough b?a?s?t?a?r?d? that was involved in national politics. I couldnât imagine him just letting me off.
âBy the way, earlier you said you would do anything, did you not?â
âHuh? â¦Did I say something like that?â
I got unpleasant vibes from the way he said it, so I tried feigning ignorance for now. But Maxwell being Maxwell, made a show of his repulsive personality.
âOh really? I seem to be going senile too. I might have already forgotten that earlier promise.â
âWaitwaitwait, I was just kidding! I said it, I said it!â
âYou should have said so from the start. So then, Reid, what do you plan to do from now on?â
âMeaning?â
Iâve sweated a lot, so my throat was all parched. Thus, I poured myself a glass of water from the provided jug and took a sip.
âI am talking about Cortina. You should be well aware of how good her brain works. Her head is filled with love now, but it would not be long before she realizes the truth.â
âWell⦠Yeah. Even you caught on to it, old man. Thereâs no way she wouldnât.â
âYou are quite blessed as you are now. It would do you well to think of some measure.â
âRightâ¦â
Then I suddenly remembered about the wand that the God of Destruction gave me. Incidentally, the Carbuncle that delivered said wand was abducted by Michelle and was taken home before me. It was probably having its fur played with at Michelleâs house right about now.
âBy the way, the God I mentioned also gave me this item.â
âAnd that isâ¦?â
âAccording to her letter, it is bestowed with Form Shift magic. She told me to use it in place of this daggerâs haft.â
âNow that is quite something.â
Form Shift was outrageous magic that rivaled even Polymorph. Its effect was changing the form of something while keeping its abilities intact. However, it was only limited to items. It was something like a preliminary step of Polymorph, transforming not you but what you had in your hands.
Most of the other Interference magics were being looked down as generic support spells, but the top five high ranked spells that these two were part of were another story.
Based on the target item the magic consumption was intense, but that was quite literally a godsend for me given I had more magic power than I could handle. I could only see that as a benefit.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âA sacred treasure that rivals that silver bow, huh? Try it out for a bit.â
âHey nowâ¦â
âYou have to test it anyway. I see no harm in doing that now.â
His words made me hesitate a little. He was right that I needed to test this item. And it would be a blessing for a magic expert like him to be present when I do it.
âI guess you have a point⦠Well, let me get right to it then.â
Since we were of the same mind, I proceeded to make preparations for testing. First, I started by attaching it as the daggerâs haft as the Whitey instructed. This didnât differ all that much from when I maintained my tools, so I was done with it quite quickly.
Next, I went out to the courtyard and confirmed that no one was present.
I put some magic power into it as a tryout, and what I understood from it was the embedded spell could only affect its length and width. But even still, trying it inside the house could potentially lead to the ceiling getting pierced.
Thus, I decided to do it outside, but also made sure that no one was around to see it. Well, not like there were that many eccentric fellows around that would peek on Maxwellâs mansionâ¦
Maxwell also used Search magic to ascertain that there was indeed no one around.
âOkay, letâs go.â
âIndeed. It is also my first time seeing such an item. I have trouble containing my excitement.â
âIâm not having an exhibition here, you know?â
While throwing such complaints, I poured my magic power into the daggerâs haft. The magic tool had no set keyword so it was instantaneous. The entire process didnât differ all that much from pouring magic power into the Magic Crystals.
It absorbed far more of it than the crystal, but that didnât prove to be much trouble for me with so much magic power accumulated in me.
And then, only a few minutes later, the haft underwent a big change.
My vision momentarily darkened and I almost fell down. It was perhaps due to being robbed of so much magic so quickly. Still, it wasnât enough to make me faint. Moreover, I was supplying it with magic power by my own will, so I could somewhat control its flow.
When my vision came back, I was greeted by a pike almost three meters in length.
First thing I felt was the weight of it in my hand. The hilt had grown to around three meters, while the actual blade remained attached on its end.
The thickness had also grown into something that better suited a spear. After a simple swing, I learned that it was appropriately bendy and firm to be used as a spear.
âThis is⦠Quite easy to use.â
âHow is the magic power consumption? Can you keep it up?â
âI can. But it feels like I can put even more into it.â
âTry doing that then.â
I followed his instructions and put even more magic power into it. Following that, the haft started extending once again. In the end, it reached the length of ten meters, but at that length, it was hardly usable.
Next, I tried to lower the power instead and ended up with a short spear of around one meter in length. Its thickness also changed to a size that best fit its current length. And I was able to confirm that contrary to how bendy it was, it was extremely sturdy.
âThat was surprising. With this, you need not worry about your location and simply adjust the length accordingly.â
âLooks like it. It is quite limited as far as the transformation magic goes, but that makes it easier to use.â
When I tried oscillating it, the produced vibration got absorbed by the spearâs shaft so my hand was saved from its rampage from the last time. With that, I could use it as much as I wanted to.
The simple ability to lengthen the haft allowed me to use the dagger as a spear. I gotta say, this was more user-friendly than I expected from that Goddess.
âThis cleared all my doubts. The impression of a dagger differs a lot from a spear, so it could be used as a camouflage too.â
âThe problem is your current appearance. What do you plan to do about it?â
âOh I donât know⦠Are there any good options?â
I had the illusion ring, so I could change my appearance as long as I had the idea. However, my previous appearance that I knew the best was already unusable, so I had to think of a substitution.
âLet me see⦠Can you change it based on a vague image?â
âI feel like a vague image would end up with shortcomings, but I suppose itâs possible.â
âThen, how about you try changing your current appearance into an adult version?â
âOh?â
So instead of forcing a transformation, I should just alter it slightly to make up for the lack of a clear image?
Indeed, a personâs adult form usually differs quite a bit from their child one. Add that dagger and spear combo on top and I should end up with a good enough disguise⦠Right?
Heeding Maxwellâs words, I tried using the transformation ringâs power. After some trial and error, I managed to settle on an appearance that people wouldnât link to me.