CHAPTER 266: POWERING UP [3]

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Host: Noah Carter

Age: 28

Shop Level: 2

Daily Revenue: $2,153,000 (or equivalent)

Current Assets: $6,810,840

Shop Points: 26,330

Attributes: Strength: 90, Vitality: 110, Intelligence: 60, Agility: 90

Skills:

[Level 12:] Swordsmanship

[Level 11:] Body Tempering, Wind Manipulation

[Level 10:] Mana Control, Aura

[Level 3:] Surviving on Ramen, Cooking, Finance, Gaming

[Level 2:] Programming

[Level 1:] Photographic Memory

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Noah reviewed his updated status with satisfaction. The attribute imbalances didn’t concern him—his intelligence lagged behind his physical capabilities, but that discrepancy would resolve itself through consumption of his shop items.

He still possessed two premium items that would address this exact issue. The instant coffee would provide thirty intelligence points along with mental attack immunity and doubled comprehension speed. The mystical herbal tea would add thirty vitality points while granting spiritual sight and toxin purification abilities.

His daily revenue had also increased substantially due to the new idle income streams established through the auction sales. Over two million dollars per day was something that Noah had never believed could ever happen before the system.

"I should consume these remaining enhancements while we have time. I will also practise after using them to get their full benefits," Noah said, retrieving the instant coffee and herbal tea from his dimensional storage. "The intelligence boost from the coffee will help balance my attributes, and the additional vitality can’t hurt, given the dangers outside."

The mystical herbal tea’s spiritual sight ability would prove particularly valuable for detecting threats that normal perception might miss, while the coffee’s mental attack immunity could protect against magical influence attempts.

Combined with his new photographic memory skill, these enhancements would create a comprehensive suite of cognitive and perceptual abilities that complemented his existing physical and magical capabilities.

"Smart thinking, you should take advantage of the items and get their full benefits. I will also join you on the training."

She withdrew instant coffee and mystical herbal tea from her storage ring, consuming both enhancements without hesitation. The different magical compounds didn’t contradict each other in taste or effect, instead creating a complementary effect that enhanced her cognitive and spiritual capabilities simultaneously.

After experiencing the same temporary attribute boosts and ability gains as Noah, both settled into focused training positions within the shop’s protective boundaries.

Noah concentrated on his mana control skill, using the enhanced intelligence from the instant coffee to process magical theory with unprecedented clarity. His photographic memory helped him remember and imprint the new knowledge somewhat faster, while his doubled comprehension speed accelerated his understanding exponentially.

Lola retrieved the fire orb he had gifted her, channelling her newly awakened Fire Wings skill to maximise the training benefits. The combination of enhanced intelligence and her natural fire affinity created optimal conditions for elemental mastery.

Ten minutes later, Lola carefully stored the orb and shifted to internal meditation, focusing on integrating the fire-based abilities she had just awakened. The brief but intensive orb training had provided sufficient foundation, and now she needed to comprehend the full scope of what she had gained.

As she settled into deeper contemplation, her ruby eyes drifted toward Noah with a soft gaze that carried emotions she rarely allowed herself to acknowledge fully. Watching him train with such dedication and focus stirred feelings inside her.

His generosity continued to amaze her—casually distributing items worth fortunes while treating her safety and growth as a higher priority. The way he had immediately shared the most valuable enhancements in his inventory demonstrated a level of care that she had never experienced from anyone.

The fact still stood, even if Noah had an abundance of such items, because nobody had the treatment she was getting, not even Leo.

The enhanced charm from the rose petal candy had only amplified what she already felt, making it harder to maintain the playful distance that had characterised their earlier interactions. But more than physical attraction, she found herself drawn to his character—the moral struggles he wrestled with, his genuine concern for unintended consequences.

Lola’s archmage perception allowed her to observe the subtle changes in his magical aura as he trained, noting how his various skills were always rapdily improving. When it came to Noah, she didn’t believe that bottlenecks existed. He was always breaking through strength ranks like they were nothing. His potential seemed limitless, yet he remained grounded in principles that prevented power from corrupting his judgment.

The contrast between Noah’s approach to enhancement and the devastating warfare outside highlighted everything she had grown to respect about him. Where others used power for domination, he used it to protect and nurture those under his care.

Her feelings had evolved far beyond the initial intrigue that had drawn her to his shop, developing into something deeper that she wasn’t quite ready to name or act upon directly.

...

For a full hour, Noah experienced the combined effects of doubled comprehension, spiritual sight, and enhanced focus. The synergy between the instant coffee and mystical herbal tea created an acceleration that transformed his training efficiency beyond anything he had previously experienced.

What would normally require four hours of dedicated practice to increase a skill at level 10 by a level has been compressed into a single hour. The combination hadn’t just doubled his advancement speed—it had quadrupled it through the interaction of multiple cognitive enhancements working in harmony.

The results were staggering. During that single hour of intensified training, Noah achieved advancement across multiple skills:

[Your skill Mana Control has reached Level 11]

[Your skill Aura has reached Level 11]

[Your skill Photographic Memory has reached Level 2]

Noah stared at the notifications with growing excitement and, admittedly, a surge of greed at the results. If using these two items could produce such dramatic results, imagine what continued use of these two items could do. At this rate, he could level up a skill from level 10 to level 15 in only 5 hours!

The temptation to immediately consume another set of premium items was overwhelming. His mind calculated the potential returns—more advanced skills, higher attribute levels, and the ability to reach adept rank in no time if he focused on his swordsmanship.