After beiranced with examining his new magical skill for a while, Draco soon turned his attention back to sidering his development ability options.

  Although his heart yearo immediately select the 'Mystery' development ability, his rational mind dictated that he carefully weigh his choices.

  'First of all, the 'Mystery' ability is not something that yields instas. It requires knowledge, effort, and luck to truly harness its potential,' Draused, p his oabilities.

  'Do I possess all these necessary qualities?' he questioned.

  He wao explore the potential upsides of choosing the 'Mystery' skill at this level-up opportunity.

  The ability was not limited to just creating grimoires, but also ehe crafting of magical tools.

  However, Drachat fog on both paths would be a daunting challenge.

  Magic tool creation was a broad and plex subject, and Draco doubted his willio ihe exteime and effort required to make anything truly meaningful in that domain.

  While he had some fragmented knowledge from his past life, it was inplete and would ate painstaking research, recolle of lost information, and a process of trial and error t it to fruition.

  ‘Although not impossible, this is not something that I feel particurly drawn to,' Draco aowledged.

  'The prospect of slogging through such arduous work does not appeal to me. To make things more plicated, I might even need some other craft type development abilities' he thought.

  Yet, all was not lost. The 'Mystery' skill also enpassed the creation of grimoires, an area Draco felt had great potential for him, a spark of optimism beginning to flicker within him.

  ‘This, I believe, is an area where I truly excel,’ he thought, staring at the small ball of fire magic he had jured on his palm.

  His high affinity for elemental magic meant he could simply draw upon his own experiences and intuitions, expressing them through the written word.

  With the 'Mystery' ability as the catalyst, he envisioned crafting a ype of grimoire that would be uniquely his own, drawing from his innate uanding of the elements.

  'This is starting to feel like a much more achievable and rewarding path for me,' Draco thought.

  'I need not rely on recalling fragmented knowledge from my previous life, but instead pour my current experiences, insights and the very essence of the elements into the pages, ahe 'Mystery' ability work its magic.’ he mused.

  pared to the daunting task of attempting to replicate teological marvels from his former world, this path seemed far more attainable and aligned with his natural strengths.

  ‘Besides,’ he mused, 'I leave the magic tool iions to the native inhabitants of this world. That way, It won't feel as though I'm robbing them of the ce to discover ools themselves.'

  Draco couldn't help but chuckle at the subtle irony of his own thoughts.

  ‘How quickly that I have fotten that, I am an integral part of this world too, rather than an outsider,’ he mused, shaking his head.

  This was a on pitfall that reinated souls often fell into – a subscious sense of being an outsider, even as they fully immerse themselves in the new world they now call home.

  Taking a deep breath, Draco turned his attention to the other development abilities, but found that none of them quite captured his i.

  Even finding that the ditions for replig the other skills beside ‘Mystery’ ability were within his reach.

  'It seems like my mind has bee fixated on this ability, to the exclusion of all others,' Draused, wrag his brain for any overlooked factors.

  "Feels like the universe is guidiowards this choice," he murmured, a wry smile pying on his lips.

  Grimoires, he knew, would not only serve as a means of honing his magical prowess but also as a source of ine – a valuable resour a world where wealth granted access to tless opportunities.

  ‘Money may not be the primary motivator, but it shall certainly open doors that would otherwise remain closed,’ he aowledged.

  Draco stared pensively at the ground, his mind rag with thoughts.

  ‘Additionally, if I make grimoires, doesn't that mean I have a means to actively strengthen my allies in Orario? With all the things happening around me, what guarantees do I have that the future isn't already severely messed up?’ he reasoned, recalling once again about how his very existence was an anomaly.

  Draco sighed, running a hand through his hair.

  ‘I already have a lot of offensive, defensive and utility skills, a bit too much for a level 3 even. So why am I struggling with this decision? I still have many more ces to gain more abilities as I level up further.’ he thought.

  Weighing his options carefully, Draco soon came to a clusion about the option he o take.

  "Do you need any help?" Bahamut asked, notig the turbulent expressions crossing Draco's fabsp;

  Sometimes he smiled, chuckled or seemed distracted and fused.

  He even suddenly jured a ball of fire on his palm while muttering inprehensible things, which looked quite ical to Bahamut.

  "No, I have already made my decision," Draco replied calmly.

  "I see, so what is your choice?" Bahamut inquired, curious to hear Draco's decision.

  "The Mystery ability," Draco stated with vi.

  "Oh," Bahamut excimed, surprised.

  She had expected him to choose either the Mage or Melee fighter development abilities, but he opted for the more obscure Mystery skill.

  ‘The skill is kind of odd, but I trust he knows what he is doing,’ she thought.

  With that settled, Bahamut updated Draco's status board, officially making him the first level 3 adventurer in the Bahamut familia.

  After the level-up process was pleted, Bahamut dismounted from Draco's back, and he rose from the makeshift bed of pillows he had spread on the floor earlier.

  Now on his feet, Draco began carefully examining his body for any ges, but he didn't feel any pain or sense any difference from before, which struck him as odd.

  "I guess your intuition might have been wrong this time, nothing seems to be happening," Draco said, puzzled.

  "That 't be. My intuition is rarely ever wrong," the goddess replied, furrowing her brow.

  "Well, I don't..." Draco paused, suddenly notig that his head felt abnormally light.

  THUMP!!

  Before he had finished his sentence, a loud thump resohrough the room.

  Armed, he stared down at the floor as something thid bck fell, immediately drawing both their attention.

  It was an object all too familiar to Draco.

  "Isn't that my horn?" Draco questioned, his pupils diting in reition and voice tinged with apprehension.

  "Draco, your..." Bahamut's words were cut short as she covered her mouth, gasping in shock.

  “What’s wrong” Draco asked in fusion, seeing Bahamut’s expression.

  Just then Draco suddenly felt a warm, liquid substance running down his fabsp;

  Using his hand to scoop a sample, he quickly realized with growing horror that it was his own blood.

  "Oh," he muttered in realization, just before his body was assaulted by the most excruciating pain he had ever experienced.

  The agony was overwhelming, causing Draco to double over a out a agonizing scream that echoed through the room.

  Bahamut watched in horror, unsure of how to help him.

  She had never witnessed anything like this before, and the sight of Draco's suffering filled her with a profound sense of helplessness.