It was noon when Bell finally woke up.
The basement was pitch black, but Bell's eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness. To him, it made no difference whether it was light or dark.
"The magic lamp isn't on."
He shook his head slightly, then casually slid his fingers through the air.
The entire basement instantly lit up.
'Runic Letters really are more versatile than I expected.'
When Bell had received this knowledge yesterday, he'd already realized just how powerful the Primordial Runes were—almost to the point of omnipotence.
If something couldn't be done, it wasn't because the Runic Letters weren't capable, but because the user lacked the skill.
Bell didn't get up right away. Instead, he checked his mental state.
'Much better than I expected.'
'Using Runic Letters to enter deep sleep really does help recover mental and physical energy faster.'
The basement clock showed it was exactly ten in the morning. He'd gone to sleep around eight, which meant it had only been two hours, yet he'd fully recovered from the fatigue of an all-nighter.
Of course, that likely had a lot to do with how he had used Runic Letters to heal his exhausted spirit. Otherwise, even deep sleep induced by Rune wouldn't have restored him this quickly.
'Focusing intensely for an entire night really did a number on my mind.'
The stress had pushed his spirit to the brink of collapse after he finished his studies that morning.
Thankfully, he had used Rune to restore his mental state. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have woken up for another two or three days.
He sat up in bed, sensing the flow of mana in his body.
'Runic Letters don't use that much mana—it's totally manageable.'
Then Bell froze.
'Right, I got so excited seeing that three-star Heroic Spirit yesterday, I completely forgot to test whether the Craft Essence I absorbed could still be enhanced afterward.'
'I didn't even look at the rest of the Craft Essences.'
'I got way too carried away.'
He rubbed his temples in frustration. Sometimes, he really was careless.
This was something he should have paid close attention to, yet on such a crucial point, he'd let it slip.
Fortunately, the Craft Essences were safely stored. Even if the ones he absorbed early couldn't be strengthened further, Bell wouldn't have chosen to absorb them so soon if he hadn't been confident.
Absorbing them after Max Limit Break was definitely better than before.
Even when his excitement clouded his judgment, Bell still made sure to stay cautious about things like this.
'But there's really no rush when it comes to three-star Craft Essences.'
Right now, Bell wasn't particularly concerned about those.
Just one Runic Letter was enough to steadily carry him from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2. Whether or not the other Craft Essences could self-enhance wasn't a major concern.
After all, whether they'd be useful at all depended on whether the absorbed Craft Essences could actually be strengthened.
'Let's start by testing whether a Craft Essence can be enhanced again after being absorbed.'
Bell projected his mind into the Type-Moon System and immediately focused on the two-star Craft Essence "Deception." This Craft Essence increased the success rate of inflicting debuffs. Even against max-level Development Abilities like "Abnormal Resistance," it could still raise the success chance—though the base probability was a bit low.
'Absorb two-star Craft Essence: Deception.'
A two-star Craft Essence appeared in front of Bell and slowly dissolved into points of light, merging into his body.
Unlike last time when he absorbed eighteen Craft Essences at once, absorbing just one two-star Craft Essence barely affected his body.
Still, after the absorption, Bell clearly felt a slight soreness in his eyes.
After a short while, as the soreness faded, he felt his eyes evolve once more—he could now see even tinier lifeforms.
'Looks like different types of Craft Essences strengthen different parts of my body in varying ways.'
'Alright, next is enhancement.'
'Enhance two-star Craft Essence: Deception.'
[Requires 400,000 Valis.]
The prompt made Bell pause briefly, then his expression changed.
'So even a pre-absorbed, non-limit-broken Craft Essence can still be enhanced—but it has to be done immediately.'
'The cost is three times higher than directly enhancing five of them at once.'
'So as long as you've got money, anything's possible, huh?'
Having once again experienced how stingy the Type-Moon System could be, Bell got the confirmation he needed.
But this also made one thing clear to him—unless it was a crucial Craft Essence, he'd always aim to pull five copies, enhance them to Max Limit Break, and only then absorb them.
He could stomach the triple cost for a two-star, but what about a three-star? Four-star? Five-star? That kind of price hike would bleed him dry.
No matter how rich he was, even Bell couldn't afford to waste money like that.
Besides, this was only the beginning. Bell couldn't repeat the same cash farming methods from before, and right now, every coin mattered—he had no choice but to avoid tripling his expenses just to enhance a Craft Essence.
'Still, at least I now know that even in an emergency, I can enhance and use a Craft Essence right away.'
That realization gave Bell both a headache and a sense of relief.
A headache because he still had to solve his money issues.
Relief because he wouldn't have to worry about wasting valuable Craft Essences.
"Enhance two-star Craft Essences."
[Requires 500,000 Valis.]
"Confirm."
Nine Craft Essences appeared simultaneously. Four turned into light and merged into Bell's body.
The remaining five first fused together through enhancement, then turned into light and entered his body as well.
With that, all his low-star Craft Essences had been both enhanced and absorbed.
He'd done everything he could for now. To keep improving, drawing more cards wouldn't be enough.
From here on, he'd need to level up and build up solid experience.
It was a time- and energy-consuming process—but at his current pace, it felt like riding a rocket.
And for now, no gods were paying attention to a small fry like him.
Well, except for that trickster Hermes.
That guy was the most unpredictable, so Bell couldn't afford to slow down. If he ever caught Hermes' attention, he'd be in for ten times the trouble.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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