Chapter 5: Hero’s Restraint
"The strategist insignia, and of such clarity."
"What do you mean?" Kaia cried out, perturbed by the god sphere's remark.
"Look at the design, young hero."
The grimoire's glow had ceased at this point, its shape a more cohesive rectangular prism.
The grimoire's spine stuck out to contrast the hard covers, the protrusion revealing an accumulation of vines or ivy that extended from one end to the other.
Almost as if the ivy were clinging onto the cover's claws with all its strength—the powerless struggle evidenced through a conglomerate of ivy where the spine and cover met—they came together to form a green, humanoid yet whimsical figure.
It stood on its own two legs, hands stretched out to hold what looked like black ink splattered onto the page.
Beyond the weird design, what most stuck out was how much aura was oozing from the grimoire, its presence so dense that it was almost an ooze like trekking through muddy waters.
"That insignia, young heroes, represents a strategist," the god sphere continued, its deep growl tinged with amusement. "It's been generations since such an insignia has graced this chamber."
"Strategist? What exactly does that mean for Lucien?" Elias asked, stepping forward cautiously as he glanced down at the unconscious Lucien, who was just now beginning to awaken.
"It means," the sphere's pulsing voice reverberated throughout the throne room, "that your friend is viewed by the gods as exemplifying the strategist archetype, whether that be planning, adapting, and exerting influence over battlefields and situations alike. It is an incredibly rare insignia indicative of his innate talents."