Chapter 328

[Talent Acquired — Additional Enhancement (Exceptional) → God-Tier · Radiant Ascension][Talent Acquired — Additional Enchantment (Exceptional) → God-Tier · Supreme Inscription]

Two God-Tier talents, secured.

This level-up brought no surprises. The God-Tier talent arrived right on schedule—as if there truly were no upper limit. Level up, and you receive one. Change class, and you receive one.

Were these God-Tier talents really granted by the Highest Leaf?

According to Ansu, the spirituality of the Highest Leaf would grant extraordinarily powerful talents...

But what Kanzaki Rei was receiving now wasn’t just powerful anymore.

In this world, was there even anyone whose talents surpassed his?

After completing the class changes, knowledge of both Blacksmithing and Enchanting naturally surfaced within Kanzaki Rei’s mind.

[God-Tier · Radiant Ascension — All items forged by the user may undergo Radiant Enhancement. With each enhancement, the forging effects of the equipment are increased to at least ten times that of the previous enhancement.]

Equipment forged by blacksmiths could normally be enhanced, and each enhancement would slightly improve its forging attributes.

Generally, most blacksmith-crafted gear could only withstand two or three enhancements.

Beyond that, the equipment would fail under the strain and shatter.

He had heard that Akagi’s sword had been enhanced five times.

If each enhancement multiplied the previous effect by ten...

Five enhancements would mean a ten-thousand-fold increase.

"...What a pity. It’s not a talent that lets me directly craft divine artifacts."

Kanzaki Rei recalled a novel he had read before being transported.

In it, the protagonist possessed a Divine Artifact Codex, allowing him to synthesize artifacts directly from a catalog.

With just a few cheap materials, he could bang, bang, bang—forge divine-tier equipment effortlessly.

Kanzaki Rei had actually been looking forward to awakening something like that.

But... wishful thinking was all it would remain.

[God-Tier · Supreme Inscription — Able to directly apply enchantment effects to all things in the world.]

Compared to Blacksmithing, the Enchanter’s talent was far more straightforward.

The distinction between blacksmiths and enchanters existed for a reason—

There was a fundamental divide between the two.

Enchanters typically could not enchant items forged by blacksmiths. Instead, they had to inscribe enchantments onto specific, specialized materials.

The requirements for those materials were extremely strict.

And most of those materials lacked high durability.

In Material Science, there was even a well-known hypothesis:

Materials with high durability have poor enchantability.Materials with strong enchantability lack durability.

That was why enchanted mage equipment—robes, staffs—tended to have low defense and were relatively fragile.

But if an enchanter could apply enchantments to any material whatsoever...

Then enchanters would become the undisputed strongest crafting profession. No competition.

Aside from talents, the two professions also granted their respective class techniques upon awakening.

Blacksmith techniques: [Forging] [Enhancement] [Deconstruction]Enchanter techniques: [Enchantment] [Enchantment Material Disassembly]

Simple. Direct. Unadorned.

Once everything was complete, Luluwi slowly descended back to the ground.

"Finished your class changes?"

Kanzaki Rei nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for standing guard for me, Luluwi."

She let out a soft snort. "Hmph. Like you even needed me."

"I did."

In Luluwi’s eyes, Kanzaki Rei had changed slightly as he grew stronger.

But that underlying caution—

It had never changed.

After completing the class changes, the two didn’t linger.

The disturbance Kanzaki Rei had caused, the scale of destruction—it would have already drawn attention.

While he had Unsolvable Mystery to conceal himself, Luluwi did not.

Better to leave before anyone arrived.

Next, he needed to find a way to unseal his first wish as soon as possible.

The wish to learn a Forbidden Spell through a God-Tier Talent still remained unfulfilled.

However, Kanzaki Rei could see it—

In the distance, a single point of light shone persistently.

That was the presence of a Forbidden Spell.

He just hadn’t approached it yet, so he couldn’t determine which of the Ten Forbidden Spells it was.

According to Ansu, among the Ten Forbidden Spells, the most widely circulated was:

The Seventh Forbidden Magic — Element.

It was also the only known Forbidden Spell that a small number of mages in the world had actually mastered.

There was another legend—

Mastering three primal Forbidden Spells guaranteed ascension to a Level 9 Mage.

Mastering all ten Forbidden Spells meant becoming a complete origin—

A Level 10 Mage.

Ancient legends passed down by Ansu.

How much of it was true... and how much false?

...

[White Tower]

Kanzaki Rei returned to the White Tower once more.

There were fewer people now.

Several schools within the city had been dismantled in recent days.

Those institutions had been used to cultivate fresh recruits for the Church. But now that "Reincarnation" was no longer accepting newcomers, funding had dried up, and the schools could no longer operate.

Even the charitable efforts in the slums had lost one of their major supporters.

Within the Church of Reincarnation, quite a few White Tower scholars had once existed...

Seiichi revered knowledge, and the sect had its own internal incentive system that strongly encouraged members to join the White Tower as research scholars.

As Seiichi arrived at the Misirush Continent, many of the Church’s powerful figures followed him.

That had once made the White Tower flourish even further...

But now, it was as though people had surged in like a tide—and receded just as quickly.

The once-bustling tower now felt... quiet.

"Yuna."

Kanzaki Rei appeared beside her.

Yuna looked up.

"...Kanzaki Rei."

He could feel the turbulence in her emotions—waves rising and falling beneath the surface.

But she only paused briefly.

"It’s been a while since you came to the White Tower."

"I’ve been busy lately."

In truth, he had come—just within simulated projections.

In the real world, there hadn’t been much need.

"Actually... yesterday..."

"Someone came to see me. He said he was from the upper ranks of the White Tower. He wanted me to go with him to the Tower of the Sages—the headquarters of the White Tower."

"He also said... I might become a candidate for the next Sage."

Yuna’s voice was soft.

Her small shoes rubbed lightly against the floor in nervous habit.

"Did he say why?" Kanzaki Rei asked.

She shook her head. "No."

Kanzaki Rei had anticipated that Yuna might be taken away.

But the reasoning behind it troubled him.

Yuna was merely an early awakener.

While rare, she wasn’t unique.

There had to be something special about her to be chosen.

It couldn’t simply be because she was someone close to him—

Why would that justify it?

Kanzaki Rei had seen countless geniuses in this world.

To put it bluntly—

Yuna, while talented, was not among the truly dazzling elites.

She couldn’t compare to figures like Seiichi or Yelia.

And she had kept a low profile, quietly reading in the tower.

There was no reason for the White Tower to go out of its way to retrieve her.

In his projections, Kanzaki Rei had already confronted the one who invited Yuna—

A Level 7 Erudite, the master of this branch of the White Tower.

But the answer he received was vague:

"The will of those above."

The Tower of the Sages periodically selected promising youths from across the world to undergo trials to become Sages.

Yuna had been chosen.

That was all.

A long-standing tradition.

A reasonable explanation—

At least on the surface.

But thinking deeper...

Was it really plausible that the great beings of the Tower of the Sages—

Would direct a continental-level White Tower master to personally retrieve a quiet, unnoticed girl?

A Level 3 Erudite child who did nothing but read?

It was like a supreme command center issuing orders to shift a frontline machine gun emplacement by five centimeters.

It didn’t add up.

Unless...

Yuna was hiding something.

Something even he couldn’t perceive.

Kanzaki Rei reached out and touched her again.

Their eyes met.

Information about Yuna flowed into his mind.

But even after reanalyzing everything—

He sighed inwardly.

Nothing had changed.

Yuna was still just... Yuna.

No hidden data. No concealed anomaly.

"Yuna... do you want to go to the Tower of the Sages?"

She hesitated.

"I..."

"...Actually, I want to stay by your side."

"But I feel like... I’m getting farther and farther away from you."

"You always know things I don’t. You see a wider world. Even when we’re not studying together, you learn so much more than I do."

"I feel like... in your world, I’m becoming more and more unnecessary."

"If this keeps going... I’ll become someone completely useless to you..."

Something stirred in Kanzaki Rei’s chest.

That’s not true—

The words rose to his lips.

But he didn’t say them.

Was it really not true?

He was selfish.

He prioritized strength above all else.

He hadn’t gone out of his way to see her in a long time.

Part of it was avoidance—he had noticed her feelings and didn’t want to confront them.

Another part...

He simply didn’t know what to talk about anymore.

Yuna wasn’t skilled in alchemy.

And his own progress had already far surpassed her learning pace.

At the end of the day...

He was a man driven by utility.

He didn’t have the right to say "that’s not true."

So he swallowed the words.

Yuna cupped his face, her expression utterly serious.

"I’ve always cared about you, Kanzaki Rei."

"You’re not a cold person. When others are down, you care. When you can help, you do—even if you say you don’t want to get involved."

"You’re awkward... and not as honest as you seem. You always ask me about things you’re conflicted over."

"You’re strong—but you lack a sense of security. It’s like you’re always worried something will go wrong."

"At first, I thought I could resonate with you. Then I started to understand you more... and I became curious about you."

"Everything you do feels new to me."

"But little by little... I feel the distance between us growing."

"I don’t understand what you’re saying anymore. I don’t understand what you’re thinking... or what you’re worried about."

"Maybe... my perspective is too narrow."

"Maybe I just can’t see the same world you do."

She bit her lip.

"So I’m not satisfied."

"I want to see the world you see."

"I want to understand how vast this world really is..."

"I like you, Kanzaki Rei."

"I don’t want to always lag behind you. I want to stand at the same height as you—so I can truly understand you."

"I know I’m still young... so I’ve read a lot, trying to understand these feelings."

"I want to go to the Tower of the Sages."

"I want to become a Sage."

"I don’t need you to give me an answer. Eight years from now... when we’re both grown—"

"You’ll be famous across the world."

"And I’ll become a Sage—someone useful to you."

"By then, we’ll both be adults. You won’t call me childish anymore."

Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes.

Yet she kept them wide open—

Staring at him stubbornly.

Yuna...

sigh...

In truth, your maturity already surpasses most children.

In this world, sixteen marks adulthood.

And yet—

She said all of this.

In the projections, she hadn’t confessed.

"Yuna... if you go to the Tower of the Sages, you’ll likely face danger."

"This world is far more dangerous than you think."

She let out a tearful, crooked smile.

"Kanzaki Rei... whenever you don’t want to answer something, you change the subject."

...

There was no easy answer.

How was he supposed to respond to the feelings of an eight-year-old girl?

Treat it like childish play?

That would be disrespectful.

Answer seriously?

That would hurt her.

Yuna wiped her tears, still smiling.

"It’s okay. I already said—you don’t have to answer."

"I’m not afraid of danger."

"You’ve faced danger to become stronger too, haven’t you?"

"If I want to stand at the same height as you, I’ll have to go through hardships as well."

"So... I want to go."

Kanzaki Rei could feel her resolve.

The path one chooses belongs to oneself.

If a friend were walking into danger for no reason, he might intervene.

But this—

This was an opportunity.

And opportunities were always a matter of seizing or letting go.

Yuna wanted to fight for hers.

He had no reason to stop her.

"Then... Yuna. I wish you success."

Her face flushed slightly as she nodded.

"...Mm. After I become a Sage, I’ll come find you."

"If, at that time... there’s no one else by your side... I hope you’ll consider—"

Kanzaki Rei gave a helpless smile and interrupted gently.

"Let’s talk about it when we’re both older."

If I truly become someone who can stand above everything...

Then we’ll see.

Yuna fidgeted with her fingers, blushing deeply.

That straightforward confession earlier—

Now that she thought about it, it felt unbearably embarrassing.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something.

"Oh! Right! I heard that in the Land of the Moon’s Gaze, there’s a woman known as the most beautiful in the world... you—you mustn’t fall in love with her!"

Kanzaki Rei laughed softly, caught off guard.

"What are you even saying? Why would I fall in love with someone I’ve never met? Do I look like that kind of person?"

Yuna puffed her cheeks.

"...You don’t."

"But they say she’s unbelievably beautiful... anyone who sees her—even once—falls hopelessly in love."

That exaggerated?

It did make one curious...

Just how beautiful could she be?