CHAPTER 22: CASHING IN REWARDS

Lucius then took a slow breath and forced himself to scan through them carefully, one by one.

[Quest Completed: Train Your Space Element]

[Reward: Spatial Ring Blueprints]

[Quest Completed: Train Your Wood Element]

[Reward: Branch of Yggdrasil]

[Quest Completed: Train one Space skill to above Level 5]

[Reward: Unique Skill: Aura Farming (LV.1)]

[Side-Quest Completed: Establish Supremacy and Escape the title of ’Trash Of Hohenberg’]

[Reward: Awakening Potion]

[Quest Completed: Survive The Awakening Ceremony]

[Reward: 30 Stat Points]

[Hidden Condition Completed: Make your Ex-fiancée uneasy]

[Reward: Spatial Awareness (LV.1)]

[Achievement Unlocked: Child Of Space]

[Hidden Condition Completed: Make one of the Protagonists afraid]

[Reward: Necklace Of Fate]

[Special Condition Completed: Wound Valerian von Hohenberg]

[Reward: Special Skill: Regeneration (LV.1)]

Lucius leaned back, exhaling a low whistle. "Yeah... that’s a lot."

He rubbed his chin.

Some of these were absurd.

The [Spatial Ring Blueprints] alone would make him a golden goose in the eyes of guilds.

Spatial items were the whole reason why Lucius was highly valuable, he was the only space mage and the only one capable of making it.

Any GUILD that got him would be able to get ownership over it.

If he hadn’t gotten Grimmaw in mind, he would have told them to auction over him.

"And the Branch of Yggdrasil? The system is just throwing divine artifacts at me." Lucius frowned. "If this was a normal story, I’d expect at least a dragon guardian or an ancient elf chasing me for this thing."

Still he couldn’t go around shining this, after all other races existed, yes they weren’t in Human territories, but they all attended the academy together, it was sort of like a truce.

After all what kind of romance fantasy would it be without elves?

"Why the hell is Aura farming a skill though?" He muttered under his breath,

It was absurd but he liked it too.

His eyes narrowed on the reward he was most curious about.

[Reward: Awakening Potion]

[Grade: Rare]

[Description: Consuming the entire bottle of this liquid will ensure the person that drinks it awakens]

Lucius rolled the vial between his fingers.

It glimmered faintly, green liquid sloshing like liquid emerald.

Guaranteed awakening...

His lips curled. "Perfect for Elara."

He thought of his maid.

She’d stayed with him through his years of disgrace, quietly tending to him when everyone else spat at his name.

Out of everyone in his life, she deserved this chance the most.

"About damn time she stops being just a maid and steps into the world of Awakened," Lucius muttered, tucking the vial aside.

If he had another he would give it to Luna, cause why not?

His gaze shifted again, and another reward appeared in his hand — a faintly glowing crystal the size of a marble.

[Item: Talent Enhancing Crystal]

[Grade: Peak]

[Description: Will increase the element of the person that crushed it to the Max. If fortune favors them, Divine; if not, Peak.]

Lucius turned the orb over in his palm, smirking.

’So this is a talent booster...’

In this world, talents weren’t equal.

They determined everything — potential, growth, the ceiling of one’s power.

Without talent, no amount of training would make someone a monster.

Even the hardest worker would stagnate against a prodigy.

Normally, talent was categorized as:

[Ashen (the lowest)]

[Bronze]

[Silver]

[Gold]

[Peak]

... and, above all, Divine

Divine was so rare that nations would wage wars for a single person who awakened it.

Which was why he expected nations to be able to bend to his will.

A Peak talent was already hailed as once-in-a-generation.

He pulled up his stat panel, and another grin tugged at his lips.

[Available Stat Points: 30]

Lucius’ current stats were well-rounded, except for three that lagged behind — Strength, Speed, and Willpower.

His first instinct was to dump everything into Strength and Speed, but then he paused.

"If I increase Willpower, won’t that make me... less lazy?" He grimaced, scratching his head.

The thought of becoming one of those driven, unrelenting protagonists made his stomach churn.

"Nah, forget that. I’m an old man in spirit — I’m not running marathons."

Still, he distributed the points sensibly: ten into Strength, ten into Speed, ten into Willpower.

The moment he confirmed, a heat surged through his veins, muscles tightening, senses sharpening.

He flexed his arms and grinned at the faint bulge of muscle forming.

"Phew. Looking fit already. Systems really are cheat codes." He chuckled, then shook his head. "Protagonists without one of these? Poor bastards."

His attention finally fell on the stranger rewards — the [Necklace of Fate], and the [Regeneration Skill].

But he decided not to test everything at once.

For now, Elara came first.

Lucius called softly, "Elara, come here."

The door creaked open, and his maid stepped in, still dressed in her casuals.

She paused, blinking at the strange items in his hand.

"Yes, Master? Is there another task you want me to do?" she asked, her tone gentle but steady.

Lucius held up the potion. "I want you to drink this."

Elara froze. "Master...?"

"It’s an Awakening Potion. Guaranteed to awaken you." He pushed it into her hands before she could argue. "You’ve wasted too much potential playing maid for me. It’s time you get stronger and become a real wife."

Her fingers trembled around the vial.

She looked down at the emerald liquid, then

back at him. "Why... why me?"

"Because you’ve earned it," Lucius said simply. His tone wasn’t dramatic, just matter-of-fact. "I wouldn’t give this to just anyone, besides you want to be with me always right? You can’t do that while you’re unawakened."

For a long moment, Elara stared at him, lips parting like she wanted to protest.

But in the end, her faith in him overrode everything.

She uncorked the vial and raised it to her lips.

The potion slid down her throat in one gulp.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then her body convulsed.

She dropped to her knees, gasping as black sludge poured from her mouth, reeking of rot.

Her skin flushed red as heat spread across her body, steam rising from her skin.

[Note: This process will be extremely painful]

’Fucking System!’ He yelled inwardly while looking at Elara in worry.