"Ring" — and with that word, everything clicked into place.
The witch had told me something before.
A Relic you're born with reflects who you are.
Danger Discernment shows me things through colored points, but those were 'rings.'
The Circle of Fortune was originally the Wheel of Fortune.
But even when it became a Circle, it was still a ring.
So my very existence was a 'ring.'
Huh. That made sense.
"So this spherical Banish of mine is just a collection of rings?"
I pulled out my Banish and stared at it, but couldn't tell.
"That's right. Also, my Banish isn't square. It's 'straight lines.'"
"Wait, wait — you were making a square Banish out of straight lines?"
"That's right. I have absolutely no idea how I do it!"
She doesn't know? Why did she say it so matter-of-factly?
Well, I do things unconsciously too, so I'm no different.
"Also, Wof. You kept saying 'weak' over and over, didn't you?"
"I did, yes. Because that's the fact."
"Wrong. The correct word is 'fragile.'"
"How is that different?"
"Wof. Think about why you're fragile."
Why am I fragile?
Even if she tells me that...
"Uh, woof! Because Banish has no insides!"
"Correct. Also, why did you just bark?"
"Woof?"
Huh? No insides — wait, really!?
The Banish in my hand was hollow. Like a soap bubble.
"............"
It was fragile because it had no insides — nothing but rings.
How had I never noticed that before?
Well... I knew the reason. I'd gotten too used to it.
I'd used Banish so naturally, so intuitively, that it had become second nature.
I'd been using it every single day for years, and it was so close to me that I couldn't see it clearly.
It took someone else's perspective — Juicy's — for me to finally notice.
"I noticed too, after Megadia pointed it out to me. When I turned it into a weapon, it filled up inside and became hard. That's the effect of the Weaponization Relic."
"............"
I fell silent, at a loss for words.
I hadn't understood a thing about Banish.
That was far more shocking than finding out it was weak or fragile.
And then it hit me again.
Banish — my Relic — was precious to me.
An irreplaceable Relic. And it took until now to realize it.
"Um, uh, Wof... are you okay...?"
"...Thank you for worrying about me, Juicy."
I answered Juicy's worried expression with a smile.
Narcissus laughed.
"That's a good look on you, Wof."
"Narcissus. Thank you for everything you've taught me."
I bowed my head in gratitude.
"You're welcome. But we're not done yet. If anything, this is where it really starts."
"Yes. Please."
That's right. This was just the beginning.
I would absolutely make Banish stronger.
I swore it again, deep in my heart.
"That's a good look."
Narcissus smiled gently and continued.
"There's one way to make it stronger. First, understand the essence of your Banish. And you've done that."
"Yes. My Banish is rings."
"Then you should be able to see a new Banish that aligns with that essence."
"A new Banish..."
"You could also call it the 'true form'!"
Whether it's 'new' or 'true form,' whatever you want to call it.
My Banish is rings. So if I... ah, there it is.
The sphere vanished, and in my hand was a large, translucent ring.
That was Banish.
"W-wait — Banish turned into a ring?! That's amazing!"
"That's right. Also, why didn't you bark just now?"
"Woof?"
It was my Banish.
This was the new, true form of... Banish.
It was pretty big — about the size of a hula hoop. And my range had clearly expanded.
You could definitely call this a weapon.
I was pretty sure weapons like this existed in this world too.
My memories from my past life had them too. Things like the Qiankun Ring and chakrams.
"It doesn't seem like I can throw it."
I gave it a try, but sure enough, no luck.
Just like the sphere, it wouldn't leave my palm. So I'd just have to swing it to attack?
A question suddenly came to mind.
Why could the sight-line Banish be launched in an arc?
Hmm. Well, that could wait.
The new form was great, but there was one problem.
Strength. If it was still fragile, well, I'd just have to think of something else.
I wouldn't give up.
"Here I go, Wof."
"Please!"
Narcissus raised her Banish staff and brought it crashing down toward my Banish ring.
A strange metallic clang rang through Training Ground No. 16.
It didn't break!? But this was just the start.
"I'm going to keep hitting it!"
"Yes!"
Cling! Cling! Crrang!
CRANG! CLANG! CRASH!
Clang! Crash! Bam! CLAAAANG!
"Phew... phew... phew... hah... hard ring."
"Hah... hah... the strength... was good..."
Even after that barrage, there wasn't a single crack.
However, the impact traveled from my palm through my arm and into my whole body, so it wasn't all benefits.
It honestly felt like I was just holding a regular metal ring weapon.
"............"
Meanwhile, Juicy had been watching our exchange in silence.
His tail was wagging like crazy, his expression one of pure awe.
His eyes sparkled, locked onto us without looking away.
He wanted to fight, didn't he? Juicy was pretty combative too.
I was tired, so we took a short break.
After the break, Narcissus put her hands on her hips and declared:
"Now then, let me explain the other method of strengthening!"
"Please."
"The other is combining it with other Relics."
"Other Relics?"
"I'm a perfect example!"
"Ah — the combination of Banish and Weaponization!"
Narcissus grinned.
"I learned this from that old black-panther-headed guy I met before — Banish, by its very nature, is easy to combine with other Relics."
"You mean the Grand Guild Master...?"
"You could say that!"
Huh. Other Relics, huh? Combine them... Hmm. The only thing I could do was this.
Vibration.
Its effect: it can create vibrations. It can shake things.
This must be it. Or rather, this was the only option.
"...Then let me try it."
So I first tried combining Vibration with my Banish ring.
But the vibrations traveled directly from my hand through my arm into my body — no good. I gave up, figuring it was too difficult.
It made sense, given how the impact had transferred straight to me during the sparring too.
So instead... I created a spherical Banish.
I noticed right away. The semi-transparency had dropped to near-transparent — almost invisible.
Was it because I understood its essence? My precision had improved.
I tried channeling Vibration into the Banish.
It trembled. It trembled. I increased the vibration a bit. It shook violently.
I cranked it up a little more. The shaking intensified, and — snap — it broke.
"The strength has improved since before, but it's still not enough."
"...No."
I grimaced, but that one test told me everything I needed.
Combining Vibration with a spherical Banish was the right approach.
The reason was how the vibrations transferred — and that came down to how I held it.
Gripping a sphere was far more stable than gripping a ring.
The proof was that the vibrations' impact was minimal.
But was it really combining?
It seemed like Banish was just vibrating by itself.
Something felt wrong about the method.
Come to think of it, when I'd looked at Banish Roar, there was something inside it.
Since the inside of Banish was hollow, I should put Vibration in there.
But how to... oh, right. That thing.
"That's it."
For moments like this, there was that Relic.
Lev Move.
It lets you perform up to three actions possible within your current physical abilities, with zero recoil. Cooldown: six minutes. Maybe I could use this?
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Uh, woof. Wof?"
"Why did you bark just now?"
"Woof?"
"...All right. Let me try it."
I created a spherical Banish.
Then I used Lev Move to channel Vibration into the interior of the Banish.
The vibrations should be perfectly optimized by Lev Move.
And then — Banish began to glow a blue-purple light.
Th-this... Banish was glowing blue-purple, and I was shaken.
"U-uh, um, uh, woof! W-woof, woof, woof-woof, WOOF!!"
Seeing the blue-purple glowing Banish, Juicy started barking frantically.
His expression was one of fear, barking in bewilderment.
"I know how you feel, but calm down. Woofy... this probably won't work."
Narcissus dismissed her weaponized Banish and looked around.
Cool as a cucumber, ignoring Juicy's commotion.
"Narcissus...?"
"This is perfect. Woofy, help me out."
"Uh, woof! Yes!"
What the two of them dragged out from the training ground's weapon selection area was a wooden dummy.
A wooden training mannequin for striking practice.
They brought out the biggest and heaviest one — the Minotaur dummy.
Though Narcissus nearly gave up halfway, and Juicy carried it the rest of the way pretty much alone.
"Phew, hah, this thing is so heavy!"
"Um, is here good?"
"Good work, Woofy. Now then, get away from there quickly."
"Uh, woof!"
"Why did you bark just now?"
"Woof?"
Narcissus and the others retreated back to the weapon selection area.
Which was basically outside Training Ground No. 16.
"Um..."
Why had they gone that far?
The Minotaur dummy and all. Talk about overkill.
"Just do it. Hit the dummy with that weapon."
"Weapon..."
She was really being dramatic.
Following her instructions, I struck the Minotaur dummy with my gleaming blue-purple Banish.
In an instant, the Minotaur dummy was engulfed in a flash of blue-purple light from the sphere and vanished without a trace.
"Huh?"
Not only that — the ground, the ceiling — the entire Training Ground No. 16 was engulfed, centered on where the dummy had stood.
The entirety of Training Ground No. 16 was covered in blue-purple light — and vanished.
When the blue-purple light faded, all that remained was the small patch of ground where I stood.
Everything else was gone, and in the earth remained a perfectly semicircular crater.
"Wha..."
What was that?
At that moment, my Lev Move count dropped by one, and Banish reverted to its original form.
Two uses remaining.
So what.