Richard could only say that Gray was far too reckless, trying to seize Wrenâs position after already admitting defeat.
Still, that wasnât his business.
Night had fallen by the time he returned to Lilithâs empty home. There was no one there but himself.
He sat in his room, preparing a plate to place the Dark Black Rose upon.
This was something he intended to useâand of course, he would use it right away.
However, Richard did not use his own flames to burn the rose, afraid it might be reduced to ashes in an instant.
Instead, he lit a candle and burned only a small portion of the flower.
Buzz!
The rose immediately ignited, producing an extremely thick black smoke, and it burned quickly, making the smoke even denser.
Although Richard had no experience inhaling smoke directlyâaside from cigarettesâhe did not hesitate to draw it in, channeling Aether into his nose so his ability to inhale it was multiplied many times over.
The black smoke surged into his nostrils, making his eyes widen as the overwhelming sensation filled himâutterly unbearable.
But at the same time, he immediately felt something else, as if his mind was being sharpened several times over.
Even his consciousness was affected, as though dragged into an illusionary world where his vision shifted between endless light, boundless darkness, and terrifying storms.
Yet to him, those visions were meaningless. His mind was entirely focusedâfocused only on one thing: the Codex of Dragon Emperor.
This was not his choiceâthe roseâs smoke seemed to guide him, steering his focus toward the strongest of all his Codices and Arcane Arts.
Of course, he didnât care which one advanced. They were all parts of himself. Any progress was cause for joy.
With his sharpened mindâthanks to the Black Heart Soulâcombined with the effects of the Dark Black Rose, mysteries of the Codex of Dragon Emperor that had once baffled him became clear with ease.
As he unraveled those mysteries, his mastery of the Codex gradually increased.
He couldnât determine exactly how much he improved, but he knew this was no short training.
Nor could he predict the results until it was over.
Given the reputation of the Dark Black Rose, the outcome surely wouldnât be disappointing.
But Richard wasnât aware of when he stopped.
When everything was over, he simply fell into a deep sleep.
And in his sleep, he received a notification.
(Your mastery of Mind Attack has increased from 3% to 13%!)
Mind Attack (13%)
Richard snapped awake as soon as he received the notificationâstartled, because the System had only increased his mastery of Mind Attack.
At 13%, it meant he could now strike thirteen people simultaneously with Mind Attack.
Remembering his use of the Dark Black Rose the previous night, he immediately checked the Codex of Dragon Emperorâs data.
Naturally, there was no notificationâonly an update to the data itself, since this was pure progress without the Systemâs aid.
[Codex:
Codex of Dragon Emperor (40%)]
"What?"
Richard was stunned when he saw the number had reached 40%.
He clearly remembered it had been only 31% before. Now it was 40âan increase of 9%.
"Amazing!"
He couldnât be happier.
Looking toward the window, he realized the sky was already bright.
It was well past noon.
Richard quickly stood, but the house was still empty.
There was no one else but him.
Sister Lisa was nowhere to be found, and he couldnât guess when Lilith would return.
Since Richardâs requests had been rather excessive, it was likely Lilith wouldnât be back anytime soon.
Not wanting to dwell on bothersome thoughts, he went to bathe first.
Unexpectedly, someone knocked at the door just after he finished.
Peeking through the window, he saw that it was Grace, accompanied by her maid.
Richard hesitated but still opened the door.
The two girls were slightly surprised to see him appear.
"Where is Princess Lilith?" Grace asked.
"Sheâs not here. She went out," Richard replied.
"When will she return?" the girl pressed.
"How should I know?"
Richard felt a little irritated answering, since the girlâs tone sounded more like an interrogation.
He thought, âNo surpriseâshe was raised by that madwoman who abandoned her own child just to protect her reputation.â
Richard stared at Grace, wondering what else she would say.
But she only furrowed her brows.
"Miss, perhaps Princess Lilith is busy. Letâs come again tomorrow," her maid suggested.
Instead of agreeing, the girl, still staring at Richard, suddenly said, "How about you have lunch with me?"
"What?" The maid was stunned, and Richard himself hadnât expected such words from her.
He studied her and realized she was serious.
But was he interested?
Not at all. He had an adultâs mentalityâhow could he be interested in having lunch with a seven-year-old girl?
Only if she were grown would he be interested.
Now? Absolutely not.
Richard shook his head.
"No, thank you. Iâm busy," he said.
His refusal clearly caught Grace off guard.
She frowned, giving him a sharp glare.
Yet Richardâs face remained utterly expressionless.
Then, without another word, she suddenly turned and left.
She looked annoyed.
Richard shook his head, but then suddenly noticed a crow flying swiftly toward the door.
Whoosh!
The crow spun around at the doorway and dropped a ring.
"I havenât found anything to increase your thousand Aether yet, but the other two items are inside that ring."
Lilithâs voice echoed from the departing crow.
Richard scowled slightly, disappointed he hadnât received everything.
Checking inside the ring, he indeed found a torso bone and a golden sword adorned with engravings of an eagle and a wolf.
"Well, letâs fuse this bone first," he said, returning to his room.
This was the final piece of his Aether Skeleton.
After this, it would be complete.
Next, all he needed was to gather ten thousand Aether, and he could advance to the next Realm.
Drawing out the torso bone, Richard immediately absorbed it into his body. The process was effortless, completed in an instant, since his skeleton was already dominated by the Aether Skeleton.
DING!
(Your torso bone has merged with the Aether Skeleton. Aether Accumulation +1000!)
[Aether: 3260 / 10,000 <Tier 3>]
[Aether Accumulation: 8260 <Tier 3>]