Mina woke up from her small nap, shivering. "Mama, Papa..."
"Nope, it's just me." Harold replied.
Mina let out a high-pitched scream, not expecting Harold to be there. Harold covered his ears and sighed. "Jeez, you just woke up; why are you screaming?"
She analyzed her surroundings. It was a scrapyard, cold and barren. You could see the outskirts of Argon City miles away from where they stood. "W-Where are we? Don't tell me you brought me here to ravish me!?"
"No! Why do you keep going on about me ravishing you?!" Harold screamed in embarrassment.
She balled up, staring down at the ground. "Because!" Then, her words slurred as if the memory couldn't click in her mind. "S-Someone told me?" she spoke with uncertainty and forgetfulness.
"Well, whoever told you that random men who kidnap pretty girls ravish them, they're somewhat correct. Yet, I am not one of those random men."
Before Mina could say anything else, Harold held out a pouch. "Now, let's get you started on this." He dumped the contents of the pouch onto the ground, revealing it all to be Artifact stones. "This is my collection of unique Artifact stones, so pick wisely. I have no clue what their Rysen levels are, so you're going to have to just pick at random."
Mina had heard from her parents that picking an Artifact is a big choice, one that sticks for the rest of your life. So, seeing this, she looked up at Harold. "B-But, aren't Artifacts permanent? Shouldn't I find a good one before picking?" Harold sighed, raising his voice as he spoke to her. "Listen, I'm too broke to give these all to an appraiser! This is all we can get; just pick one and get on with it!" An irritated demeanor he held, he shot a glare at Mina, as if he was telling her to hurry up. Frantically, she began searching the pile for an Artifact of her choosing. "O-Okay, I'll begin looking right now!"
As she picked, Harold told her, "We only have a like a day of training until you have to go through the admissions test. Either you drop out for your safety, or you get stronger and come along with me. I'd prefer if you dropped out, but my father wanted a better future for you, so I'll do my best to make you stronger." Finishing his speech, Mina had finally come up with a choice. In her hands were two Artifact stones, one that glowed in a dark purple hue and the other in a crimson red. "I can't decide which one I'll choose..."
"And why did you pick those two in particular?" They did not stand out from the rest; rather, Harold considered the most intriguing one to be the perfectly round Artifact stone. "That one looked really goofy..." he thought, looking back on the time when he bought it.
Mina looked down at the two stones in her hands. "I chose them because they are the prettiest. But I can't decide because they're both too pretty!" Tired of waiting, he lightly bonked her head with his fist. "Just pick, dummy."
Wincing her head as a reaction, she clutched onto her stones. "Uehhhh... that hurt, Harold." As she clutched the Artifacts, both of them began to glow, making her hands heavy. "W-What's going on?!" Mina asked, seeing the sudden reaction the Artifacts gave. "The Artifacts are merging with you?! But you can only merge with one!"
As the Artifacts dissipated in her hands, Harold was stunned in awe. "Oh, but you're wrong about that." Konge inputted. Konge had suddenly appeared on Harold's shoulder, scaring him. "Don't just appear like that!" Harold yelled.
"Then how am I supposed to come out?" Konge asked, crossing his wings.
"I dunno... just don't do something like that."
"Back to the topic, the only way people can use multiple is if they're part of a special race. That could be the reason why she's able to merge with both."
"And how would you know that?"
Konge scratched the top of his head. "Eh, I guess from memory. Though it feels like my memory has been chopped up."
"Well, are you able to explain why this brat can use two Artifacts?" Harold asked, pulling Mina's cheek. "Uwehh, that hurts, Harold..." Mina said, trying to stop his hand.
Konge fluttered to Mina's head, looking down upon her. "Young lady, can you explain what your parents were like?"
"My mama and papa were the nicest people around! They loved me as much as I loved them!" Mina responded, happy to talk about her parents.
"Did any of your parents have wings?"
"Nope, they didn't have any wings."
"Hmmm... that's strange. I thought one of your parents could've been an angel." Konge stated, observing Mina.
"Oh, but my mama and papa said that they adopted me as they found me stranded in a forest. I have no clue who my biological parents are."
"Then it could be the possibility that she's a divine human!" Konge's voice was thrilled upon announcing her race. Harold, on the other hand, did not have a clue what a divine-human was. "Konge, what the hell is a divine-human? What makes them any different from a normal human?"
"A divine-human is when a human and an angel create a child. These special humans are gifted with a blessing that allows them to use multiple Artifacts! Though they are super rare, I've only seen one my entire lifetime!"
"Cool, so that means I can shove as many Artifacts as I want into Mina?" Harold asked, picking up as many Artifact stones as possible. Mina quivered, seeing Harold's menacing grin as he got closer. Konge flew in front of Harold and began pecking him. "No, you buffoon! They still have a limit! The amount they can hold is random, and if you force more than their intended limit, it has fatal consequences! Let her intake the Artifacts slowly until she feels like she can no longer absorb any more."
"Geez, such a buzzkill..." Harold dropped the stones, coming up to Mina. "Mina, can you absorb this stone?" he asked, handing her another Artifact stone. Taking the stone, she focused hard, feeling the same sensation as she did earlier when absorbing the two Artifacts. As the sensation brushed over her, blood began to drip from her nose as she pushed hard. Her eyes swelled up, having to endure the intense pain. The pain intensified, but she insisted to herself that it was fine; she could continue further. The sense of urgency to get stronger and the sense of pride she feels as she takes in another Artifact drowns out the pain. Harold, seeing this, quickly slapped the stone out of her hand. "Ah-" Mina said as the stone went a great distance.
Angrily, Harold raised his voice. "What do you think you were doing?!"
"I-I was just absorbing the stone..." Blood dripped from her nose, and her eyes were bloodshot red.
"You were trying to force it, weren't you?!"
"Uhm—yes, I was..." Mina held a face of shame, not trying to look Harold in the eyes.
"Didn't you hear Konge earlier? If you go beyond your limit, you could die!"
"I know..."
Harold wiped Mina's blood and let out a deep sigh. "Listen, just stick with two Artifacts for now, okay?" Mina, feeling his touch, closed her eyes. "Okay... I'm sorry." Harold stood up and stretched. "Alrighty, let's test out your Artifacts!"