With disbelief in her voice, Amelia opened her mouth and asked, "You already finished the book? How is that even possible? I'm not even halfway through it!"
Mikael lifted his shoulders in a lazy shrug before responding with mock arrogance, "What can I say? My intelligence is simply superior..."
The moment he caught Amelia's deadpan glare, it became clear she hadn't understood it was a joke. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I meant my intelligence stats, obviously."
"Ahh." A flicker of understanding passed through her emerald eyes. "Still, that was a pretty bad joke."
"I'll admit it wasn't one of my best," he conceded with a small chuckle.
Amelia, still intrigued by the mysterious book she was currently reading, tilted her head slightly and asked, "So, you just finished it—was it interesting? Did you learn anything important that we should know about?"
As her question echoed through the room, Lyra—who had, until now, remained entirely absorbed in her own copy and indifferent to everything around her—slowly raised her head. Her purple eyes settled on Mikael with quiet curiosity, clearly interested in hearing his response.
"I learned a lot of fascinating things from it," he said thoughtfully. "And above all, some very useful knowledge. The book was definitely worth the 100K LP it was priced at."
Amelia raised a brow, clearly expecting more. "Alright, but is there something specific you learned that would be good for us to know?"
A playful glimmer lit up Mikael's eyes at her persistence. "Something specific, huh? Let me think." He brought a hand under his chin and took on an exaggerated 'thinking' pose for a few seconds before continuing, "There are a few things that come to mind... but I'd rather not spoil you."
Amelia waved off his concern without hesitation. "No need to worry—I don't mind spoilers. What matters most is gaining knowledge."
"I do mind," Lyra suddenly cut in, now fully invested in the conversation. "If you're planning to spoil something, give me just two seconds so I can cast a sound bubble spell." Without waiting for any approval, she immediately began whispering the incantation under her breath.
As for Kiara, she looked completely unconcerned, her gaze locked on Mikael with a dreamy, almost dazed expression—her eyes overflowing with adoration.
"No need to cast the spell. I don't intend to spoil anything," Mikael said, his voice calm. His words brought Lyra's casting to an abrupt halt. He went on, "Even if I were to tell you what I learned, it would be better for you to read the book yourselves. No matter how much I try to summarize the important parts or explain things clearly, the book is bound to go into more detail and depth than anything I could say."
Understanding dawned in Amelia's expression, her eyes softening as a gentle smile curved her lips. "You're right," she replied, her voice losing its earlier edge and taking on a more tender tone. She looked at him with a mix of warmth, gratitude, and something a little deeper. "You're always thinking about me—even in ways I wouldn't have considered. Thank you," she said, her voice sincere as she offered him a warm and appreciative smile.
"No problem," he answered with a casual tone. But internally, only he knew how awkward he felt in that moment. After all, Amelia had taken his words seriously, when in reality, he hadn't meant them that way—he'd just been being playful.
Yet, when he saw Amelia quietly return to her reading, soon followed by Lyra, he couldn't help but think, somewhat awkwardly, 'It's too late to say that I wasn't being serious now, isn't it?'
Letting that go, he did his best to ignore the burning, obsessive gaze of the blue-haired beauty still glued to him. Instead, he shifted his focus, deciding it was a good opportunity to train his two cores. The girls were absorbed in the book, and he now had a bit of free time—so what better moment than this to get some training in?
At least, that was his reasoning.
He was about to retrieve the aura and mana generator from his inventory when a sudden realization struck him.
'I kinda forgot with everything that's happened recently... but the girls still don't have aura and mana generators like mine. Which means, now that we're outside of Dirarnia, it's completely impossible for them to grow their cores...'
'Amelia at least has a weakened version of mine, so she can still make some progress—but even she'll keep falling further and further behind. My training speed is simply on another level now. And that's not even mentioning Lyra and Kiara… they've essentially hit a wall. They can't progress at all anymore.'
A faint frown formed on his face. 'The problem is that most of the materials I used to craft my own aura and mana generator were consumed in the process, and whatever was left went into making Amelia's weaker version. So yeah… I have the knowledge, but I'm missing the materials.'
'Ideally, one of us—preferably me, since my experience with arrays would help me identify what's needed—should head into a world that has the necessary resources. That way, I could gather everything required to craft generators for the girls. It'd make for a meaningful gift too.'
His gaze drifted to the girls, both deeply immersed in their reading. 'While they're focused on the book, now's as good a time as any to start gathering the materials.'
Following that train of thought, he stood up and announced, "Girls, there's something I need to take care of. I'll be heading into a new world for a few hours. In the meantime, you can use this opportunity to finish the book."
Amelia and Lyra both nodded at his words, offering him simple farewells. As for Kiara, she gently stopped playing the harp and looked up at him, a hint of shyness in her expression.
"Darling… while they're reading the book, could I come with you?" she asked, her voice unusually timid, as if unsure how he'd respond.
Mikael was about to instinctively decline, but paused when he saw the bashful glimmer in her eyes. He realized then that what Kiara wanted wasn't just to tag along—it was her way of asking for a date. Just the two of them, sharing time together. Even if the outing wasn't particularly romantic, simply accompanying him while he carried out his task would be more than enough to make her happy.
That realization sparked another thought. 'Now that I think about it… I don't think Kiara's ever entered a world just for herself. Aside from military missions with me, she's always stayed in the Records. It might actually be nice to explore a world together—like a casual date while I collect the materials.'
A small smile formed on his lips. "Sure," he said warmly. "We can take some time to enjoy being together."
With that, the two of them left the apartment and reappeared in the Hub. Once there, Mikael reached out mentally to the Records.
"I want you to show me a world where materials suitable for crafting multiples aura and mana generator—equal or superior in quality to the one I possess—can be obtained with relative ease, considering my current strength. Important: do not show me extremely dangerous worlds, as we discussed a few days ago."
[Worlds matching the specified characteristics have been found. Displaying list.]
Mikael began scrolling through the newly generated list of suggested worlds, examining each entry with sharp, attentive eyes. His gaze moved swiftly at first, but then his fingers paused over a particular entry—one that, after a few moments of consideration, gave rise to a plan. If executed properly, that plan could reward him with an enormous quantity of high-quality materials.
However, such rewards came with a significant caveat: the world he was eyeing ranked among the more challenging options available to him. That inherent danger was only amplified by the bold strategy forming in his mind—a strategy that carried undeniable risk but also immense potential.
[Kazramar
World Type: Unique World
World Power Levels: Peak Tier 1 – High Tier 2
Description: A world inhabited by two races: humans and dwarves. In this world, dwarves are the dominant force, while humans are regarded as an inferior race. This imbalance stems from a shared biological limitation—both humans and dwarves can only reach approximately Peak Tier 1 in personal power via intensive physical training, allowing them to reinforce their body and gain a 'superhuman' physique but only up to Peak Tier 1 which is the limits of what their body can reach and further progress is pretty much impossible.
Logically this shared biological limitation should have put the two races on an equal footing if it wasn't for one thing. The dwarves possess formidable talents in all fields related to construction, engineering, and craftsmanship. Thanks to these natural abilities, they advanced far more rapidly than humans in technological development. Their innovations allowed them to surpass human society on all fronts, resulting in the establishment of dwarves as the ruling class. At best, humans are considered 'vassals'—at worst, they are treated as little more than slaves.
The dwarven technological prowess has reached such an advanced stage that it poses a credible threat even to beings at the High Tier 2 level. This technological factor is precisely why Kazramar is classified with a Power Level ranging from Peak Tier 1 to High Tier 2: the former reflects the native individuals' maximum cultivation, while the latter accounts for the dangerous capabilities of their machines and weaponry.
Special Information (provided in response to the request of Mikael Angelini, holding Military Rank 2 – Private First Class): The specific materials Mikael Angelini seeks can be found stored in the vaults of major dwarven cities—examples include Durkazan and Grunhelm. If Mikael is willing to take on even greater risks in exchange for higher-grade materials, infiltrating the main vault of the dwarven race, located in their capital city of Morndural, would be a strategic move. That vault is highly secured, but it undoubtedly holds everything he is searching for—and more.]
There was also a section detailing the Optional Quests available within Kazramar, but Mikael didn't bother to do more than skim through it. He clearly had no intention of pursuing them. After all, if his goal was to efficiently accumulate Life Points, completing military missions was far faster and more rewarding than undertaking optional tasks that only offered subpar rewards.
After a brief exchange, the decision was made. Mikael and Kiara selected the Kazramar World, and in the very next instant, the two of them vanished in a brilliant flash of light.
Author Note:
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