Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Atlas stared at Veloran as Seraphiel spoke.

He had only one question in his mind.

This was the greatest craftsman among Angels?

The man in front of the hut did not look like a master craftsman at all. He wore completely normal clothes, his wings were folded lazily behind him, and he was standing beside a stone table while counting small marbles in his palm. There was no grand forge behind him, no disciples waiting nearby, no guards protecting the place, and no sign that someone important lived here.

If Atlas had seen him on the road, he might have thought the man was an ordinary villager.

Seraphiel noticed the look in Atlas’s eyes.

She spoke before he said anything.

”It’s really him. If I were in your place, I wouldn’t look at him like that for too long. Believe me, he is the real deal, even though he looks like a commoner in those clothes.”

Atlas narrowed his eyes slightly.

’Hmm, she is right.’

He had been mistaken for weak before because he wore a hood, mask, and simple explorer clothes. People judged him based on what they could see, and most of them were wrong.

If he could look ordinary while being far from ordinary now, then why couldn’t powerhouses do the same?

That thought made his perspective shift a little.

Not everyone strong had to show it.

Not every important person had to wear expensive clothes or release pressure everywhere they went. Some people might hide because they wanted to, and some might not even care about looking impressive.

Atlas looked at Veloran again.

This time, his eyes were calmer.

”Then why wait here? Let’s go to him.”

Seraphiel nodded.

Both of them started walking toward Veloran.

Atlas kept his eyes on the man and the marbles in his palm. From a distance they looked like normal small stones, but as he got closer, he could sense something inside them.

Spirit.

The marbles were not ordinary.

They were made with Spirit imbued inside them, but the flow was strange. It was not leaking. It was folded inward, compressed into a small round form. If Atlas had not grown his Spirit and control recently, he might not have noticed anything at all.

Veloran continued counting them with a lazy look.

One... Two... Three.

He moved the marbles between his fingers as if doing something meaningless, but Atlas did not think it was meaningless anymore.

Then Veloran suddenly lifted his head.

He stopped counting.

His gaze landed directly on Atlas.

Atlas’s steps also stopped.

The change was small, but his instincts reacted first.

Veloran lifted his right hand slowly. The hand holding the marbles closed into a fist, but one marble remained visible between his thumb and folded finger. His thumb rested behind the small marble, as if he was about to flick it forward.

Atlas’s eyes widened slightly.

His instincts kicked in before his thoughts finished.

He activated Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere.

But not in front of his palm.

Not as an attack.

After clearing so many ruins and training his Traits repeatedly, Atlas had learned that some Traits did not need to be used in their original form every time. Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere was usually released from the palm, but the Trait itself was still Spirit compression. As long as he could guide Spirit properly, he could form a smaller version at another point in his body.

So he made the condensed small sphere under his feet.

At the same moment, Veloran flicked his thumb.

There was only a small burst of force.

But the marble shot toward Atlas with blinding speed.

Atlas could see it.

Its speed was high, but not impossible for his current eyes. If he wanted, he could stop it directly or dodge more openly. He could use Qield’s Horn, Spirit Claw, or even release a stronger burst of Spirit.

But he did not.

Because he did not want to reveal his actual strength.

Using a full defense against something as small as a marble would be foolish. Of course, he had already used Spirit Sphere under his foot, so some might say he had already revealed something. But that was not the same.

The amount of Spirit he used was small. so small that Atlas did not even care about it.

And it was also hidden under his boot.

As the marble closed in, Atlas slightly shifted his body with the small burst he gained from the Spirit Sphere.

He lifted his left leg a little.

Under his boot, the tiny Spirit Sphere rotated fiercely for a single moment.

Then he struck the ground with that sphere.

The compressed Spirit burst downward.

Atlas’s body bounced upward into the air.

The marble passed through the place where he had been standing.

Everything happened too quickly.

Seraphiel, who had been just beside him, could not clearly see the attack or Atlas’s movement. One moment, Atlas was standing beside her. The next moment, the air shifted, the marble crossed through his previous position, and Atlas had already moved.

A second later, dust rose from the ground beside Seraphiel where Atlas had been standing.

The wind pressure made her dress and silver-white hair flutter.

Seraphiel jumped back a few feet to protect herself from the dust.

Her eyes widened slightly.

’What just happened?’

She had not sensed Veloran’s move properly, and she had not seen Atlas’s exact response either. The entire exchange had taken place faster than her eyes could track.

Atlas landed several meters away from where he had been before.

His boots touched the ground smoothly, and he adjusted his posture without making it look like he had used much effort. He did not look shaken. He did not look angry either. He only looked toward Veloran with calm eyes beneath his hood.

Veloran narrowed his eyes.

For a long moment, he gauged Atlas from head to toe.

Even though they were several meters apart, his perception seemed to reach Atlas clearly. His gaze moved over Atlas’s posture, his balance, his Spirit control, his body response, and the way he had avoided the marble without showing too much.

Atlas could feel that gaze.

It was not like normal people looking at him.

Veloran’s expression slowly changed.

’Hoho, an interesting boy has appeared at my door.’

His gaze lowered toward Atlas’s clothes for a moment.

’Let’s see what material you have.’

Then his perception caught something.

Veloran’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Oh? A Whirlstone? After such a long time...’

A smile appeared on his face.

Atlas noticed that smile.

His eyes narrowed faintly beneath his hood.

’He noticed something.’

The Whirlstone was inside his clothes and stored carefully. It did not leak Spirit like an active relic, and it was not exposed in the open. Even Nors Solace had needed to evaluate it through an inspection tray to speak about it properly.

But Veloran had only looked at him.

And somehow, his gaze had gone directly toward the Whirlstone.

That alone told Atlas that this man was not simple.

Finally, Veloran spoke.

”Come inside.”

His voice sounded casual, as if he had not just attacked a visitor with a marble.

Then he looked toward Seraphiel.

”You, Rosaria’s little girl, tell your father the favor I owed him is settled.”

Seraphiel looked toward Veloran for a few moments.

Then she turned toward Atlas with clear excitement in her eyes.

”WoooHoo! Atlas! He agreed to make you a weapon!”

Atlas looked at Seraphiel for a moment.

Her excitement looked different from her usual calm noble expression. It made her look younger and less controlled for a second, but Atlas did not focus on that for long.

His attention returned to Veloran.

He had already caught the direction of Veloran’s gaze earlier.

’He saw through my clothes and directly sensed the Whirlstone?’

Atlas’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’How is that even possible? It doesn’t have Spirit leaking from it.’

Veloran turned around and started walking toward the hut.

His steps were slow and relaxed, as if there was nothing strange about what had just happened.

Atlas stood there for a second longer.

Then he walked forward.

Seraphiel followed beside him, still looking pleased because the most difficult part had already been cleared. Veloran had allowed them inside. For someone like him, that meant he had already accepted the commission at least halfway.

But Atlas did not relax.

The marble had been a test.

And if that was only a casual flick, then Atlas understood one thing clearly.

This craftsman was not only someone who made weapons.

He was also strong enough to test the person who would use them.

Atlas followed Veloran into the hut, while the Whirlstone remained hidden inside his clothes.

For the first time since accepting Seraphiel’s proposal, Atlas felt that the weapon he came to make might truly become something that could touch Legendary grade.

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[A/N: You guys really don’t care about this poor Author?...I have no words for you, but i have a small sentence - ”Just give me some golden tickets...(╥﹏╥)(╥﹏╥)”]