Deciphering the True Name wasn't actually complicated. In fact, it was extremely simple.
Arash Kamangir... In English, his name is often written as "Arash the Archer."
In the legends of West Asia, whenever the word "Archer" is mentioned, the first person that comes to people's minds is inevitably him.
So, when Shane saw that the card he summoned was an Archer, this savior hero who brought peace and tranquility to two nations naturally popped up as one of the likely candidates.
Combining that with the wasteland and snow mountain that appeared in the visions, the guess about "Arash" began to take shape.
But what finally convinced Shane beyond a doubt was the bow that manifested.
There were many legends about Arash's bow. Some records said it was forged with great effort by craftsmen, while others claimed it was granted by the Holy Spirit of Zoroastrianism.
But no matter which version, all descriptions shared one characteristic—
The bow was a burning, eye-catching crimson red, like blood.
It was this signature detail that allowed Shane to definitively rule out Hou Yi, Jebe, Atalanta, and other possibilities.
"Being able to manifest the opponent's Noble Phantasm and then deducing their identity from it... It's basically guessing the riddle while holding the answer sheet."
Shane sighed with emotion, then took a deep breath to suppress his excitement.
He looked around. Everyone else was still asleep. Judging by their sprawled sleeping positions, quite a bit of time had passed. Although it felt like an instant in the dream, reality might already be nearing dawn.
Without hesitating any longer, Shane summoned the Archer Card from his sleeve and softly whispered that name:
"Arash."
There was no earth-shattering light, no howling wind.
Just the sound of an invisible restraint shattering, as if a chain had quietly fallen to the ground.
He felt the connection with the card suddenly widen and stabilize, like a river flowing into the sea—smooth and deep.
The warm flow spilling from it also multiplied several times over, meaning the speed at which his body was transforming into a Heroic Spirit's physique had greatly increased.
What shocked him even more was that, with the restriction lifted, he finally understood how to truly release the Noble Phantasm.
Logically speaking, a Noble Phantasm is the crystallized sublimation of a Heroic Spirit's unique legend. Even if others borrowed it, it would be difficult to fully master.
But the answer given by the Book of Heroic Spirits was simple and direct: Since you can't use it because you're not him, then just become him.
The card, now that its True Name was revealed, allowed Shane not only to manifest the Noble Phantasm but also to truly and completely transform into the form of the Heroic Spirit.
All abilities, physical stats, Noble Phantasms... everything was at his disposal.
"A Heroic Spirit..."
Just thinking about Arash's formidable physique, climbing an 18,000-foot snow peak in nothing but thin clothes, and that god-realm archery that split the heavens and earth across 2,500 kilometers, Shane couldn't help but feel his heart race.
" Isn't this exactly the kind of 'stat monster' I imagined! Pure physical strength, impeccable technique..."
Almost without thinking, he activated the card, superimposing Arash's Heroic Spirit form onto himself.
The moment he closed his eyes, a solid power instantly coursed through his entire body.
Red ribbons fell silently, the familiar bow was gripped in his palm, and his rough prisoner garb was replaced by foreign spiritual garments woven from Magic Power.
His muscles became tight and full, his stamina surging endlessly like a spring.
His five senses became incredibly sharp. In the darkness, he could even see the patterns on the wings of insects in the cracks of the bricks far away.
Confirmed...
Shane casually waved the longbow in his hand. The movement was fluid and natural, as if the weapon were an extension of his arm.
In this form, I can do anything in this tower. He nodded with absolute certainty.
Boundless power surged through him, making his knuckles itch to draw the bow. Shane fought back the urge to fire a shot and continued to experience every minute change in his body.
But just as he wanted to summon the Book of Heroic Spirits to check his abilities, a heavy wave of weakness surged up from his limbs.
The feeling was extremely bizarre. His muscles still felt full of power, but "something" inside was being drained at a rapid rate.
It's not a physical issue... He immediately realized something was wrong.
This weakness felt more like the vessel named "Shane" couldn't contain the vast content of "Arash."
How could a narrow cup hold the water of a pond?
He estimated he could last another twenty seconds at most.
"Safe limit is forty seconds. Absolutely cannot exceed one minute." Shane frowned. The feeling of stopping right before the climax was unbearable, but he had no choice.
"For now, I can only use manifesting the Noble Phantasm as my standard combat mode." He whispered to himself as the power in his body receded like a tide.
To avoid showing any abnormalities during the day, he didn't push his body to the limit and calmly recalled the card.
He wasn't too disappointed. Releasing the Class Card was beneficial no matter how you looked at it.
As for the short duration...
There was still some time before the whistle. Shane closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, sorting through the information in his mind.
He analyzed calmly that there were only two ways to increase the duration of the Heroic Spirit form: one was to expand the size of the vessel, and the other was to achieve finer control.
For example, only enhancing the arms when wrist strength was needed, or only enhancing the legs when running. But the latter would require a long time of practice and couldn't be achieved overnight.
"Then the only feasible option right now is the former," he thought to himself. The so-called vessel was the body's basic capacity. As long as he continuously improved his constitution through that warm flow, bringing it closer to the essence of a Heroic Spirit, the transformation time would naturally extend.
His train of thought became clear.
"As expected, I still have to level up on the construction site. Let's go move some bricks!" He twitched the corner of his mouth helplessly and clenched his fist lightly. He hadn't expected to end up back at square one after all that.
"In the meantime, confirm the surrounding environment and other matters, then find a chance to recruit Jellal and the others... After that, let's make a huge scene." Shane's eyes burned bright as he set his future plans.
---
---
When he stood on the construction site again, he immediately noticed something strange in the atmosphere.
The number of guards had increased significantly compared to yesterday, standing in two full circles inside and out. What made his heart sink even more was that not just him, but everyone's workload had been forcibly increased by thirty percent.
This was practically driving people to their deaths.
The original work was already close to the human physiological limit. Adding another thirty percent meant they completely disregarded the wear and tear on the slaves.
"Looks like it's really close to completion." Shane looked up at the towering structure. The tip of the tower was hidden in the clouds, and a faint sense of urgency pressed on his shoulders.
But the more critical the moment, the more he needed to stay calm.
Haste makes waste. Shane took a deep breath, suppressing the anxiety rising in his heart, feeling somewhat glad he hadn't delayed the True Name matter any longer.
While moving stones, he focused more attention on his surroundings. As the channel connected to the card widened, the increased warm flow gave him the spare energy to do so.
Through verification and comparison, he discovered that the amount of warm flow hadn't increased by twenty or thirty percent, nor had it doubled—it had increased tenfold!
A trickling stream had become a mighty river!
This meant his stamina consumption was far lower than the recovery brought by the warm flow improving his physique. Right now, he was like a machine with infinite fuel, able to act in peak condition at all times!
The pile of stones that took him all afternoon yesterday to move was cleared in just one hour today.
If he were willing to exhaust his physical energy without scruples, the speed at which his body transformed into a "Heroic Spirit Physique" would probably be fast enough to shock even himself.
"...Too broken." Shane looked down at his dust-covered hands, finally truly appreciating the benefits brought by the True Name Release in all aspects.