Chapter 147: The Rewards of a Legend

The notification from the system was still floating in front of Reinhard when the others gathered around him.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[SS-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Calculating Rewards...]

Reinhard looked at the final line for a moment before letting a small smile appear on his face. The mission had been far more dangerous than he’d expected, but everyone had made it out alive, the Heart of Origin had been destroyed, and Vlad’s reign had finally come to an end.

After everything they had just experienced, he was more than ready to see what the investment had returned.

Emily noticed his expression and tilted her head. "What is it?"

"Nothing important," Reinhard said, giving her a relaxed smile. "I was just thinking about some of the things I found in the castle on my way to the Heart."

That was the excuse he had prepared beforehand. It wasn’t even entirely a lie. He had explored several sections of the castle while making his way toward the Heart, and there had been plenty of strange rooms, sealed areas, and old storage chambers along the way.

If he brought out enough valuable items now, nobody would have much reason to question where they came from.

The first notification appeared.

[Legendary Reward Granted: $800,000,000.]

Reinhard’s eyes widened slightly. Eight hundred million? He had expected a large reward from an SS-Grade investment, but that amount was still ridiculous. He quickly concealed his reaction before anyone noticed.

Lily leaned closer when she saw his expression. "Did you find something good?"

"You could say that," Reinhard nodded.

He reached into his storage space and brought out a collection of documents and credit certificates he had prepared as part of his excuse. "Apparently the castle had quite a treasury."

Lily’s eyes widened as she looked at the amount. "That’s a lot of money."

Maki glanced at the figures and immediately began calculating what they could actually do with it. Yuna looked surprised too, while Emily simply smiled at Reinhard as though she had already accepted that he would somehow discover something ridiculous wherever he went.

He kept his amusement to himself. Eight hundred million credits. Not bad.

The next notification appeared.

[Legendary Reward Granted: Fifty-Year Mana Infusion.]

A dense stream of energy immediately poured into Reinhard’s body.

He kept his expression calm while the Mana spread through his Immortal Emperor Body, flowing into cells that had remained insufficiently nourished for so long. His body gradually grew denser and stronger as the Mana settled into every part of him, the improvement obvious even to Reinhard himself. This is much better than I expected.

The notifications continued.

[Legendary Reward Granted: Enhanced Endurance.]

[Legendary Reward Granted: Enhanced Reflexes.]

[Legendary Reward Granted: Enhanced Physical Body.]

The three rewards settled into his body one after another, reinforcing the foundation that had already been pushed to an absurd level during the battle with Vlad.

[Additional Reward Granted: Mana Infusion.]

[Effect: Three additional Heavenly Pillars will be filled.]

Reinhard felt the change immediately.

Three more Heavenly Pillars filled with concentrated Mana, and the amplification spreading through his body pushed his physical foundation even closer to the peak of S-Rank.

He slowly opened his eyes and flexed his hand, carefully adjusting to the tremendous strength now contained within it.

Emily noticed the subtle change. "You got stronger again."

"I found something useful in the castle," he said, looking at his hand with a casual smile.

"Of course you did," Maki stared at him.

If only you knew, Reinhard smiled.

[Additional Reward Granted: Mana Converter.]

His eyes immediately brightened. He remembered the last time he had used the ability, when converting his Mana into energy had pushed his body all the way to the peak of C-Rank before he restored it. This would have been useful before Vlad.

Reinhard activated the Mana Converter.

His Mana began flowing into his body, the sensation completely different from ordinary Mana training, converted into energy that nourished his physical existence rather than circulating as an Awakener’s power.

The pressure kept building as more of his Mana was absorbed, his muscles tightening as his body swallowed the energy, the sensation from his previous awakening returning, except this time his foundation was incomparably stronger.

His physical body climbed until it crossed another threshold. S-Rank.

He slowly opened his eyes and spent several seconds simply feeling the strength now contained within him. My physical body actually reached S-Rank.

Emily noticed the change in his expression. "What happened?"

"Nothing bad," he smiled. "Actually, quite the opposite."

Before anyone could ask further, another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Mana Lake.]

[Effect: A-Rank Mana will be rapidly supplied to the user.]

[Warning: If the user’s physical body is insufficiently developed, the Mana influx may cause catastrophic bodily failure.]

Reinhard looked at the warning with some amusement. Good thing my body isn’t weak anymore. He accepted the reward, and a massive amount of Mana immediately rushed into his body. The pressure was overwhelming, but his newly strengthened physical body endured it.

His depleted reserves rapidly began recovering, and the Mana within him climbed higher and higher until it stabilized at Early A-Rank.

He exhaled slowly before looking at his hands again and an S-Rank physical body. That alone would have been an incredible reward, but the system apparently wasn’t finished.

[Additional Reward Granted: SS-Grade Growth Resource Package ×9.]

The contents appeared one after another.

[Heavenly Crimson Fruit ×9.]

[Void Mana Crystal ×9.]

[Dragonblood Crystal ×9.]

[Astral Spirit Fruit ×9.]

[Titan Essence Stone ×9.]

[Celestial Body Jade ×9.]

[Manaheart Crystal ×9.]

[Worldroot Fruit ×9.]

[Immortal Blood Lotus ×9.]

Reinhard’s eyes narrowed slightly as he read through the list. This is enough to strengthen everyone and he immediately knew what he would do with them.

Lily noticed the expression on his face. "Is something matter?"

Reinhard reached into his storage space and brought out several of the resources, making sure to present them as things he had recovered from the castle. "There was a sealed storage room. Looks like whoever built the place had quite a collection."

Lily stared at the materials. "There are nine of each?"

He nodded.

"I like whoever built that castle," she smiled brightly.

"You like anything that comes in large quantities," Maki gave her a look.

"That isn’t true."

"You ate three desserts after dinner yesterday."

"That was different."

Yuna laughed quietly, and Reinhard couldn’t help smiling at the exchange.

The notifications continued.

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Ice Shard Bullet.]

[Effect: Increases projectile speed, density, piercing power, freezing strength, and reduces Mana consumption when firing multiple bullets.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Ice Pillar.]

[Effect: Increases formation size, durability, deployment speed, and battlefield control.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Ice Sword Array.]

[Effect: Increases the number, speed, piercing power, freezing strength, and control of summoned ice weapons.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Shock.]

[Effect: Increases lightning density, impact strength, and stunning capability.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Gale Wind.]

[Effect: Increases pressure, range, directional control, and movement manipulation.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Dark Pool.]

[Effect: Increases darkness concentration, suppression strength, and area of effect.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Light Beam.]

[Effect: Increases piercing power, range, and sustained output.]

Reinhard quietly looked through the upgrades. They really upgraded almost everything.

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Triune Sovereignty.]

[Effect: Simultaneously increasing defense, attack power, and speed by 3x.]

[Additional Effect: Can enhance everything by 3x.]

His smile widened. This one is especially useful.

The next rewards focused on control.

[Additional Reward Granted: Blood Suppression.]

[Effect: Interferes with Blood Mana manipulation and suppresses Blood-based abilities.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Mana Fracture.]

[Effect: Disrupts Mana circulation and makes techniques increasingly difficult to control.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Weakening Mark.]

[Effect: Reduces the target’s overall combat effectiveness.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Future Clarity.]

[Effect: Improves the clarity and stability of displayed possibilities and reduces distortion in distant or highly uncertain futures.]

His eyes brightened. Good.

[Additional Reward Granted: Decision Analysis.]

[Effect: Allows the user to better understand the key variables influencing a decision shown through the Mirror.]

He raised an eyebrow. So I get explanations now?

The system, predictably, offered no answer.

He almost laughed.

[Additional Reward Granted: Insightful Appraisal.]

[Effect: Improves the user’s ability to identify valuable information, hidden risks, and important details within a situation.]

That’ll save me a few questions.

[Additional Reward Granted: Negotiation Mastery.]

[Effect: Greatly improves the user’s ability to negotiate purchases, sales, contracts, and agreements.]

[Additional Effect: Improves the user’s ability to identify favorable terms and recognize when the opposing party is willing to compromise.]

He smiled.

He had already been winning negotiations through confidence, knowledge, and an unfortunate amount of good looks. Now the system had apparently decided to make it official.

[Additional Reward Granted: Merchant’s Fortune.]

[Effect: Slightly increases the probability of encountering valuable opportunities, rare materials, profitable transactions, and individuals seeking high-value services.]

I like this one.

Then the final major reward appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Baal Family Intelligence.]

The information entered his mind immediately.

The Collectors had been forced to leave Aurelieus after the Baal Family swept through their territory. A Baal Family Executive had opened the seal beneath the Old Garden of Selene while searching for a Singularity capable of spreading despair across an entire city.

The Baal Family was also researching another Singularity, one that consumed enormous amounts of Mana and could remain active against people for at least a week.

Then came the information Reinhard cared about most. The Baal Family intended to attack the Ashcrofts after they returned to Aurelieus. They planned to isolate the family, kidnap them, and force Emily to cooperate.

Reinhard’s smile disappeared. So that’s their plan.

He looked toward Emily and the others. They had no idea. The Baal Family believed they were targeting a powerful family that possessed no S-Rank. They’re going to be very disappointed.

His mind immediately began calculating. We need to reach S-Rank before we leave Elyndor.

The final rewards were two relics meant for Archon.

[Additional Reward Granted: Voidheart Earring.]

[Effect: Stores up to four times the user’s maximum Mana capacity and allows the stored Mana to be released instantly when needed.]

Reinhard reached into his storage space and brought out an earring. Then he called out Archon turned to him before giving to her. "I found this in the castle. You should take it."

She looked at the earring, then back at him. "For me?"

"It can store a large amount of Mana," he nodded. "I figured it would suit you."

Archon accepted it and examined the relic for several seconds before putting it on.

[Additional Reward Granted: Saint’s Renewal Ring.]

[Effect: Instantly restores approximately half of the user’s lost health when activated.]

He brought out the second relic. "And this one too."

She looked at the ring, then at him. "You found two?"

"There were quite a few things in that castle."

Archon stared at him for a moment before taking the ring and putting it on.

Perfect, Reinhard smiled.

He looked at everything he had received: money, resources, abilities, information, relics, physical enhancement, Mana restoration, business skills, and enough materials to strengthen everyone around him.

"All right," he smiled. "Let’s see how much stronger we can get."