Episode 130 Interlude (2)
"Oh... That was close."
I leaned back in my chair and looked at the window that appeared before my eyes.
『Karma Shop』
『Unique Skill Enhancement (1,100,000)』
『Status Enhancement – View Details』
『Karma Owned - 1,120,122』
It had only been a few days since Howard was born, but he had already met the enhancement requirements by acquiring over 500,000 Karma.
It was a speed that no awakened one on Earth would believe, but it was only natural.
'Even though vampires are a minority, he devoured a Sacred Blood, the pinnacle of their kind, and even usurped the throne.'
Thinking about that, it could even be considered stingy, but the Karma for this incident wasn't over yet.
The number he had currently earned was just a down payment for the events that had just happened.
He would receive separate Karma later after taking over the Ufersh Clan, expanding his power, and exerting his influence as a Sacred Blood.
'Anyway, it now costs 1.1 million to enhance it once. I hope it's worth it.'
The Karma points needed for a transferred awakened one to return to Earth was 1 million.
Considering that it took them an average of ten years to gather that much, it was an absurdly large amount to use for a single skill enhancement.
'But it's nothing to me now.'
Since his avatars had grown and were playing in the big leagues, he was receiving hundreds of thousands of Karma every time something happened.
It wouldn't decrease once the real 'Home Theater' began, if anything, it would only increase.
'It'll be replenished quickly even if I use it all now, so there's no need to save it.'
It was truly a bourgeois mindset.
Those who barely survived countless life-or-death crises to acquire Karma would probably grab their necks if they knew.
He checked the 'Mental Strength Enhancement' section just in case, but the required Karma points were a whopping 640,000.
'It's much more cost-effective to increase mental strength by enhancing the unique skill. I regretted it when I spent 320,000 on mental strength enhancement, and it wasn't as effective as I thought.'
I took a deep breath and immediately chose 'Unique Skill Enhancement', reaffirming my resolve.
Throb—
And after the familiar headache passed,
System notification windows appeared before his eyes.
《The avatar's potential increases. Growth is further accelerated.》
《The unique skill grows and unlocks its potential. When creating an avatar, you can choose one of three random skills.》
The result of investing 1.1 million points.
Fortunately, the 'avatar count increase' and 'significant increase in mental power' that he had hoped for came naturally.
Additionally, he was given the now-familiar 'increase in avatar potential' and a limited choice of skills, which had previously been randomly assigned.
And…
…That was all.
"Whew— I was hoping for at least one useful skill."
Unlike 'Status Enhancement', where the required points increased exponentially but also gave stronger buffs, 'Unique Skill Enhancement' didn't necessarily increase its effect proportionally to the increased cost.
Whether he spent 500,000 or 1 million, it was just one level enhancement.
But even though he already knew that, he couldn't help but feel a bit bitter.
'There are days like this. The skill selection isn't bad either. It's just that I was lucky before. …But it wouldn't be bad to aim for mental strength enhancement next time.'
He sighed at the next required points, which had now increased to 1.2 million, but this was just a complaint from someone who was full, as he was probably the only one who had enhanced his unique skill this much.
I immediately started creating an avatar, shaking off my regret.
At the same time, the "Customization" window appeared before his eyes for appearance modification and stat adjustment.
But there was a new sentence added to the section where the new avatar's skills should be displayed.
<Choose Individual Trait: "X-Ray Vision", "Frost Resistance", "Bond of Unity">
'I have to choose one of these.'
He needed to choose carefully because the initial skill had a significant impact on deciding on a path.
Of course, with the avatars' potential increased, they could grow quite quickly even without related skills, but there was no need to not use what was available.
It was better than before when he just received whatever was given to him.
But there was no consistency in the offered skills, as they were randomly selected.
'I know what "X-Ray Vision" and "Frost Resistance" are just by their names, but what's "Bond of Unity"?'
Fortunately, they were flexible enough to provide brief information about the skill at the selection stage.
The basic effect of "Bond of Unity" was to give 'additional bonuses when making contracts'.
And he could tell the identity of this skill just from that one-line description.
'It's a skill that would be good for Harris, the Spirit Summoner.'
It was an ability that strengthened affinity and bonds with the contracted target, something a 'summoning' type would use.
He already had Harris, so it could be considered a duplicate ability…
'Summoner… that sounds fun.'
There weren't only spirits in this world that could be summoned.
Harley had clashed with Oath of Heaven's Defiance's summoning mages in the Northern Mountains, hadn't he?
From mythical beasts like unicorns and phoenixes to demons and extraterrestrial life forms, the paths a summoner could take were endless.
'This seems much better than "X-Ray Vision" or "Frost Resistance". Actually, I was thinking about going with a traditional mage for the new avatar, but this direction isn't bad either.'
If necessary, he could have the summon act as a bodyguard and then switch to a mage later, so it seemed like a good choice in many ways.
"Then… this is it."
After finishing all the stat adjustments, the new avatar finally appeared.
He had a gentle appearance, slightly droopy eyes, and an intelligent gaze, the typical model student look.
'Good, this is a relief.'
I smiled contentedly, looking at the aspiring summoning mage, 'Hesperon'.
The first thing Hesperon would do was…
To input the knowledge to be transferred to Howard, following Hubert.
Until a suitable place was prepared for him to grow in Auterica.
____________________
A private training ground located deep inside the Roselia Cathedral.
Wooong—
The holy sword in Heinrich's hand vibrated gently.
At the same time, the sharp energy contained in the sword gradually amplified, overflowing and starting to penetrate the wielder's body.
'This is amazing every time I experience it.'
The holy sword's energy, or 'holy sword ki', which he was able to handle after obtaining "Blessing: Holy Sword", had a more aggressive nature than holy power, even though it was similar.
When applied to a weapon, it maximized its cutting power and destructive power, and when surrounding the body, it enhanced physical abilities and durability beyond their limits.
It was an ability worthy of the holy sword, forged to protect the world from evil with its power, but apart from its excellent performance, there was one tricky process that was essential to properly handle the energy—.
Communion with the holy sword.
Wooong—
The sword vibrated again, and its emotions were transmitted to Heinrich.
It was a will based on primal emotions rather than clear expression, but it definitely contained an ego.
'It's not as clear as when it was administering the holy sword's trial. I thought it was an ego sword that could even communicate back then.'
Perhaps there was a condition that limited it to the trial for selecting its owner.
Now that he had pulled out the holy sword and been recognized as its owner, he realized that its intelligence wasn't that high.
If he had to express it… it felt like a smart puppy?
Wooong—!
At that moment, the holy sword started to vibrate violently, resisting.
It seemed like some of his thoughts had leaked through the pathway he had opened for communion.
-'No, no. It means I'm that close to you and I trust you! I don't really think of you as a puppy, Logia.'
Heinrich hurriedly calmed his mind and soothed the holy sword.
'Logia' was the nickname the first user gave to the holy sword, and Heinrich was also using it to show respect for his senior.
And there was no better name, considering he even had a skill called "Logia Holy Combat".
-'Yes, good boy? As expected, our Logia is always reliable. You're so cute.'
Wooong—
The holy sword's vibrations gradually subsided.
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed like he should compare it to a five or six-year-old child, rather than a puppy.
'To think it has such a pure will even though it's existed for so long, this is only possible because it's a holy sword.'
But Heinrich was paying special attention to one thing even while communicating with it.
Naturally, it was to prevent his secrets from leaking to the holy sword.
'I've taken some measures, but it's better to be careful to avoid any dissonance.'
He used his perfected "Mind Hub" and "Persona" in conjunction to prevent his personal emotions and thoughts from flowing back to 'Heinrich'.
So that he could be more perfectly immersed in 'Heinrich' in any situation.
The consumption of mental power increased when he divided his thought processes like this, but he could apply it more comfortably now because he had gained a considerable amount of leeway after enhancing his unique skill.
'It doesn't matter if the holy sword knows, since the Main God is already aware of it. …No, it's better to keep it this way.'
He couldn't bring himself to betray the holy sword's purity after feeling it through communion.
Its purpose from birth was to fight against evil, and it must have fought against countless evils.
If it learned that the hero it had recognized as its owner this time was on the same side as the Demon King…
'A pure child must be protected. As the wise men said, ignorance is bliss.'
There was no need to introduce an uncertain element.
After a while, as Heinrich's thoughts, which were thoroughly controlled, finished communicating with the holy sword and he opened his eyes,
His holy power and the sharp holy sword ki harmonized, and a torrential aura started to emanate from his body.
Rumble—!
The violent presence, unbelievable for a Saint, shook even the private training ground, which was protected by a holy barrier, as his overwhelming energy spread in all directions…
"Whew—"
He slowly calmed his aura and gathered his energy with a deep breath.
'I'm getting better at this.'
He needed quite a bit of time to fully control his power because he had become so strong in a short period of time after passing the holy sword's trial.
And "Grand Blessing: Knight of Light", which was bestowed upon him right after that, had forcibly raised his level.
Fortunately, he was able to quickly get used to using his body thanks to his initial skill "Martial Bones", but he still needed continuous effort.
Heinrich lightly washed up after finishing his light morning training and headed towards the central temple.
He was going to attend the prayer led by the Saintess, but…
"Hmm, greetings, Saintess."
…The Saintess was here.
Squatting in front of the flower bed, as usual.
"Ah! Hello, Sir Heinrich? Good morning!"
It was almost noon.
That showed how long she had been out in the flower bed.
She must have come out in the morning and lost track of time.
"Saintess, just in case you didn't know, it's almost time for the noon prayer."
"…Really?"
"Yes, we're not late yet…"
But before he could even finish speaking, the Saintess jumped up and sprinted towards the chapel in the central temple.
'Is this a side effect of being overworked? She's been acting carelessly lately.'
The Saintess had been practically living in the garden, pouring her overflowing holy power into small bugs.
He didn't want to stop her because it seemed to be her way of relieving stress, but…
'I don't want to remember the sight of those small bugs going crazy from the overflowing power…'
Heinrich shook his head and slowly followed her to the chapel.
As he could see from the Saintess's current appearance, she had finally been freed from all her work and regained the freedom she had been longing for.
All that was left was for the working-level staff to diligently move according to the tight schedule.
And so, the 'Continental Summit' to confront the Immortal King was approaching.