The Slave Grimoire

Spark backed away from the wardrobe. He walked back into the adjacent room. And then quickly moved out to the corridor.

He was still topless and bare-footed. But he didn't bother wearing shirt or shoes. He strode with swift gaits. To his study room.

Soon, Spark was back in his study. He went and pressed a specific sequence of stones in the fireplace hearth. 

A section of the wall slid open. Revealing a hidden compartment where he kept his grimoires.

His eyes scanned the seven grimoires. Quickly landing on a particular volume. It was the grimoire with a dark grey leather cover. Smooth and unmarked save for a faint, almost invisible vintage logo. The silhouette of a wingless fairy.

This wasn't his primary Fairy Grimoire. It was not the one containing contracts for Honey and the other two fairies. 

This was the Slave Grimoire. A forbidden tome. Born from his desire for absolute devotion and loyalty. Fueled by countless hours of study and modification of the principles behind the Fairy Grimoire. 

Its core function was similar to his Fairy Grimoire. To house and subtly control. But its targets were not amiable magical creatures like fairies. Instead, it targeted the treacherous humans and other humanoid races. 

Its principles were ethically dubious. Bordering on abhorrent by most standards. But Spark didn't care. Power was everything. Control was paramount. Trust was non-existent. And this grimoire offered the chance of absolute control.

He took the grimoire. Its dark cover felt cool against his palm. He carried it and returned to the main bedroom. 

The Sleeping Powder was still hung heavy in the air. Glittering dully. The Silencing Array held the room in an artificial quiet ambience. The Paralysis Aftereffect still numbed the unconscious body of the assassin.

However, the Spectral Chains no longer held and restrained her.

Spark pulled the Slave Grimoire open. Holding it up with full determination. The pages seemed to absorb the dim light. The air around it seemed to grow heavy with a strange, oppressive energy. 

He focused his will. Channeling his soul power. One honed by years of constant cultivation. Concentrating it through the grimoire. And towards the paralyzed form of the assassin.

He was ready to launch a full powered strike and kill her, the instant the process showed even the smallest signs of failure. But there was none. 

The assassin's body glowed for a split second. And then she dissolved into a stream of silvery mist, containing vibrant energy. The mist flowed directly from her form. Into the open pages of the Slave Grimoire. 

The grimoire trembled. And then, it clicked shut. With a soft, final sound.

She was inside.

Spark lowered the grimoire. The weight in his hand felt quite different now. It seemed heavier. As if, it now contained a compressed storm. 

Taking a deep breath, he opened it again. The pages were glowing faintly. A new entry had appeared in its index. He mentally selected it.

A two dimensional charcoal sketch of the assassin was there. On the left-hand page of the book. On the other side, status panel appeared in specific format.

The inquiries for the specific data was pulled from the grimoire's complex rune-based program. It was interfacing with the Universal Spirit Realm, a spiritual world where all knowledge and secrets were stored. 

It was much like his Appraisal Goggles. But more detailed and specific.

=====STATUS PANEL=====

[Name: Jasmine River]

[Gender: Female]

[Age: 27]

[Class: Technomancer]

[Level: Fortified (3rd Tier)]

[Loyalty: 0%]

[Modifier Currency: Mystic Silver]

[Soul Power: Fortified Level (3rd Tier)]

[Mind Power: Fortified Level (3rd Tier)]

[Body Power: Awakened Level (1st Tier)]

[Talent: Shadow Soul]

[Talent: Versatile Mind]

[Personalities: Sadistic, Cruel, Playful]

[Technomind Gear: Gun Type, Light Armor Type, Blade Type]

==[Growth Item: Bloody Lead, Chameleon Skin, Trent Root]

==[Shared Talent: Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Charisma, Disease Immunity]

==[Artifact Form: Arcane Handgun, Shadow Armor, Cursed Dagger]

[Soulcraft Fairy: Mist Fairy, Spatial Fairy, Lightning Fairy]

==[Growth Item: Arcane Crystal, Mystic Rose, White Pearl] 

==[Shared Talent: Mana Efficiency, Spatial Sense, Rapid Recovery] 

==[Ability: Soulcraft Crest - Mist Form, Spatial Blink, Lightning Speed]

Spark read through the information. Processing each line with cold calculation. 

She was a Third-tier Technomancer. He had known that from his previous appraisal.

The [Loyalty: 0%] wasn't surprising. The Slave Grimoire didn't instill loyalty upon capture. But it was not much of a problem. The grimoire allowed him to modify the stored individual. Including loyalty.

That was related to the next entry... [Modifier Currency: Mystic Silver]. This was the requirement for any modification toward this captured 'slave'. He needed to sacrifice certain amount of mystic silver to make any modification.

Everyone had different modifier currency. Hers was not easy. But it was not that difficult either. Mystic silver was expensive, but it was not that rare.

For the next data, it was just like what he had expected.

She reached Fortified Stage, 3rd Tier, in two key power systems. Soulcraft and Technomind. Logical as her primary class, Technomancer, utilized the two systems.

Her Body Power was only Awakened. It was fitting for an infiltrator who relied on technique and magic rather than brute force. 

And then...

Her Talents were Shadow Soul and Versatile Mind. As he focused on those two talents, the page on the book flipped by itself. Information appeared on the new page. Explaining the description of the talents.

[Shadow Soul: an enhanced soul that attracts and has a very high affinity toward shadow types of fairy, or fairies with stealth magic.]

[Versatile Mind: an enhanced mind that grants high comprehension towards many types of knowledge and allows for rapid adaptation of strategies.]

Spark nodded. Two talents that were very suitable for infiltrator, thief, or assassin.

And with personalities listed as Sadistic, Cruel, and Playful... building trust or genuine loyalty was probably a fool's errand. Forceful control was the more viable path. 

Or, he could modify the personalities. Either by adding new ones, or overriding the existing entries.

Next comes her Technomind details.

She had three gearcores. Gun Type, Light Armor Type, and Blade Type. The dagger used to stab his mannequin was probably the form of the blade type. He had not really seen the other two types in action.

The growth items were alright. Once he had subdued her and made her a loyal slave, he could help acquiring those items. To get her to the next stage.

The shared talents of the gearcores were... decent. Not too bad. But not extremely good either.

As for the Soulcraft, as expected, she had three integrated fairies. Mist Fairy, Spatial Fairy, Lightning Fairy. The first two quite matched her talents. The last one... not so much.

And, two of the Soulcraft Magic Crests were quite overlapping. The Mist Form was fine and useful. The Spatial Blink and Lightning Speed were both magic related to movements. 

They did have differences. And one might be more suitable that the other in certain situations. However, in most cases, they would produce similar results. 

She should either evolve the Spatial and Lightning Fairies toward more distinctive functions. Or replace one of them.

Spark suddenly realized that he had made a plan for her. As if the captured assassin had already been his loyal slave already.

A slow, predatory smile stretched across Spark's face behind the gas mask. He did intend to enslave her. He needed assistant after all. And she was pretty competent. And beautiful.

Killing her would have been safe. But this... this was opportunity. Blood Circles or not. The 3rd Tier or not. She was his now. A resource to be exploited.

Loyalty at 0%? Bad personalities? From the perspective of a normal person, these were warnings. 

For Spark, they were just parameters. Parameters that could be changed.

"Just consider the old Jasmine River, the Lady Mist from the Blood Circles, dead. For choosing wrong target." Spark muttered. "And new individual, my loyal assistant, would be built from her template."

He resisted the urge to get to his underground safe. To take a great amount of mystic silver stored there. And start modifying the captured assassin

First, he needed to do the cleanup. The rune traps needed to be deactivated and reset. Or salvaged. The Sleeping Powder needed to be dispersed. 

And he needed to make more preparation. This was very likely not a one-off event. The one who sent her would know she failed. Or at least disappeared. More would come.

He decisively closed the Slave Grimoire. Securing the valuable 'asset' within. 

The air in the room was still thick with powder. He looked around at the remains of the Spectral Chains. As well as the faint residual energies of the Dispel Light and Spatial Lock. 

This was the messy part. Ones he needed to reset. It meant more expense. Expensive ones. But they were necessary. 

He had bought himself time. And acquired a valuable asset. Now, he had to consolidate. The real challenge wasn't capturing the assassin. It was surviving the inevitable follow-up. 

And he wasn't about to rely on anyone but himself. Not ever.