Chapter 109: Super Growth

[Reward Calculation Complete.]

[Reward Granted.]

Five separate rewards appeared in front of Reinhard.

[Legendary Reward Granted: Mana Sovereign — Enlightenment Grapes.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Mana Fusion Fruit.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Body Tempering Treasure.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Mana Tempering Treasure.]

[Additional Reward Granted: High-Grade Physical Enhancement Treasure.]

Reinhard stared at the rewards for several seconds and the first immediately caught his attention.

The grapes could increase a person’s understanding and comprehension of Mana, improving their control and allowing them to understand Mana principles that would normally require years of study. They could also help the consumer recognize flaws in their own Mana circulation and learn techniques more efficiently.

The remaining rewards were extremely good in helping all of them fully grow. With these, the Ashcroft family could push their physical bodies toward the peak of D-Rank without relying on Mana.

For Reinhard, the rewards were even more valuable. His physical body had already surpassed what his official classification suggested, and these treasures could push it toward the B-Rank threshold without him needing to rely on Mana.

A faint smile appeared on his face. This is exactly what we needed. Also, free groceries.

He closed the notifications and looked across the room at Emily, Maki, Yuna, and Lily, who were still discussing their first mission.

Emily suddenly looked toward him. "Why are you smiling?"

Reinhard leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head like a man who already knew how the next morning was going to go. "I was just thinking that tomorrow is going to be interesting."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "That sounds suspicious."

"It isn’t."

"That’s exactly what someone suspicious would say."

Maki sighed. "Lily."

"What? I’m just saying."

Emily laughed quietly as she shook her head.

The next morning, Reinhard gathered everyone in the training area. He placed the five rewards in front of them with the quiet pride of a man revealing a buffet, and Lily stared at the treasures with obvious suspicion.

"Why do you have things like this?" she asked. "Those look more expensive than our hotel."

Reinhard smiled. "Let’s just say I had access to some useful resources."

Maki examined the treasures carefully before looking at him. "Are you sure these are safe?"

"Yes."

"How sure?"

"Confident enough to let you go first."

Maki stared at him.

Yuna looked at the others before nodding. "Then let’s use them."

They began with the physical treasures. The moment the effects took hold, all four women felt a heavy pressure spread through their bodies. Emily clenched her teeth as her muscles tightened and Mana began moving through pathways that suddenly felt much wider than before. Maki’s breathing became heavier as her body adapted, while Lily nearly stumbled before catching herself against the training platform.

Yuna remained the calmest, but even she closed her eyes as the changes continued.

After several minutes, the pressure finally disappeared.

Lily opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. "Ugh, I forgot how this makes me feel."

Maki flexed her fingers. "Different but amazing."

Emily slowly moved her shoulders before taking a breath. "My body feels much more stable."

[Target Value Increased.]

[Emily Ashcroft: E+ → D]

Yuna looked toward Reinhard. "It worked."

"Let’s test it."

They moved to the training equipment. Maki placed her hand against one of the strength-testing handles and pulled.

The handle cracked.

Maki froze.

Lily stared at it. "Did you just break that?"

Maki looked down at the damaged equipment. "Apparently."

"That’s new equipment."

"It’s slightly less new equipment now."

Lily immediately walked toward another test platform and jumped. She landed several meters farther than she expected, stumbled forward, and barely caught herself.

"Whoa."

Yuna stepped forward next. She moved without Mana and crossed the training area faster than before.

Emily watched her before trying the same thing, and the difference was immediately obvious. Her body no longer felt like something that had to struggle to keep up with her Gnosis. That realization alone made her expression soften.

Reinhard moved toward the final training construct, rolling his neck once like he was warming up for something far more dramatic than it needed to be. He didn’t use Mana and simply punched it. The construct shook violently before its internal reinforcement system activated.

[Physical Body Assessment.]

[Physical Foundation: B-Rank.]

Reinhard’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had expected improvement, but seeing the result confirmed just how valuable the rewards were.

"Not bad," he said, examining his own knuckles like they’d personally earned the compliment.

Lily looked at him. "That’s all you’re going to say?"

Reinhard smiled. "What do you want me to say?"

"Something impressive."

"I think you broke enough equipment for one morning."

Lily looked at Maki. Maki immediately looked away.

The next reward was the Enlightenment Grapes. Each of them consumed one. This time, there was no physical sensation. Instead, their perception of Mana changed.

Maki closed her eyes as she felt the Mana around her. For the first time, she stopped seeing combat as a collection of individual movements that needed to be predicted. She could see how Mana flowed through a battlefield, how one person’s position affected another, and how small changes could alter the entire formation.

Emily noticed the change in her expression. "What did you see?"

Maki opened her eyes slowly. "I think I understand what I was doing wrong."

Lily looked confused. "Already?"

"I was trying to predict everything." Maki looked at her hands. "I don’t need to know exactly what someone is going to do. I need to understand the battlefield well enough to react when they change."

Emily smiled. "Good."

Lily frowned. "So what did I get?"

"You probably learned that charging ahead isn’t always a good idea."

"That’s not from the grape."

Yuna laughed.

Even Reinhard felt the effect differently. Mana no longer felt like a collection of separate techniques and principles. The more he observed it, the more naturally the different concepts connected together.

He didn’t gain a new ability.

He gained something more useful.

Understanding, and an excuse to look even more unbothered than usual.

Emily eventually gathered everyone together. "Yesterday showed us what we’re bad at," she said. "Today we’re going to work on those problems." She looked at Reinhard first. "Your job is to watch."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "Watch?"

"Watch us fight, tell us when we’re making mistakes, and study how we use our abilities. You’re not allowed to solve every problem for us."

Lily smiled. "That sounds like a punishment."

"For once," Reinhard said, "I agree with her."

Emily ignored both of them. "I also want you to study how I fight. You’ve learned a lot about Mana, but you haven’t had the same combat experience I had before my Gnosis was shattered."

Reinhard nodded. It made sense. He would spend this month learning from the family as much as they learned from him.

Emily then turned toward Maki. "Your problem is that you rely too much on perfect information. So you’re going to fight opponents stronger than you. You aren’t allowed to stand in one position and calculate everything. Change your techniques, move constantly, and react when your opponent does something unexpected."

"I understand."

Emily turned toward Lily. "You aren’t using your Gnosis today."

Lily’s expression immediately dropped. "What?"

"You’re going to fight with your sword, your physical body, Mana pressure, and Mana barriers."

"But why?"

"Because you keep using your power to compensate for your technique."

Lily looked offended.

Emily smiled slightly. "You want to become stronger, don’t you?"

"...Yes."

"Then learn to fight properly."

Lily reluctantly nodded. Finally, Emily looked toward Yuna. "You’re leading."

Yuna’s expression became serious.

"You’ll decide our formations, when we attack, when we retreat, and when Reinhard needs to intervene. He won’t move unless you tell him to."

Yuna nodded. "I understand."

Emily looked at all of them. "And I’ll do the same thing as Lily." She rested a hand against Aeon. "No Gnosis."

Reinhard looked at her.

Emily smiled. "I want to remember how I fought before."

...

The family left for their second mission later that morning. This time, the mission took them to another section of the Badlands where an Awakener supply convoy had disappeared. Their objectives were simple: locate the convoy, recover the supplies, protect any survivors, and deal with the scavengers occupying the area.

When they arrived, they found the abandoned convoy surrounded by the same kind of scavenger bandits they had fought the day before.

One of the bandits recognized them. "It’s those idiots from yesterday!"

The others turned. Their expressions changed when they saw the Ashcroft Family.

The first group charged.

Yesterday, the D-Ranks had forced the family to coordinate carefully. Today, Emily moved forward without using her Gnosis and cut through the first attacker with a clean sword strike. Lily followed beside her, blocking an incoming weapon with her Mana barrier before using her sword to knock the attacker down.

Maki moved between them instead of staying in one position. When another bandit changed direction, she didn’t stop to calculate. She reacted. Her Mana construct shifted shape in the middle of the attack, catching the man’s weapon before another construct struck his barrier.

Maki blinked. It had worked. She didn’t need to predict everything. She only needed to react faster than her opponent could adapt.

A C-Rank Awakener suddenly entered the battlefield.

Lily stepped forward. The bandit swung his reinforced blade. Lily blocked with her sword and was pushed backward, and for a moment, the old instinct returned.

Charge. Overpower. Finish.

Then she remembered Emily’s instructions.

She waited.

When the C-Rank attacked again, Lily stepped inside his reach, redirected the blade with her own sword, and struck his chest with Mana pressure. His barrier cracked. She followed with a second strike and sent him to the ground.

Lily stared at the defeated opponent before looking toward Emily and saw her nodding. Lily’s face immediately brightened. "Did you see that?"

"I did."

"I did it properly."

"You did."

That was enough to make Lily grin. The battle continued, but it was no longer the same fight as yesterday. Maki moved through the battlefield instead of trying to control every variable. Lily listened to instructions instead of charging after every opening. Emily fought with the sword skills she had once relied on before losing her ability to fight, and every movement looked more natural as she continued.

Then another C-Rank appeared from behind the convoy.

Yuna saw him too late. "Emily, move!"

The attack struck Emily, but the barrier ring took effect. But she was still forced backwards.

Yuna’s expression shifted. She had failed to notice him soon enough. For the first time, she understood the weight of being responsible for everyone else. She couldn’t simply react after something went wrong but needed to see the danger before it reached them.

Yuna immediately changed formation. "Maki, left side. Lily, stay with her. Emily, hold the center."

Everyone moved. The C-Rank tried to break through again. Yuna watched the battlefield before giving her next order.

"Reinhard, now."

Reinhard stepped forward, cracking his neck like he’d been waiting all morning for someone to finally say his name. He crossed the distance without using Mana and struck the C-Rank with a single punch. The man’s barrier shattered. He was thrown across the ground and crashed into the side of the convoy.

The battlefield went quiet for a moment.

Lily stared. "That was just a punch."

"Yuna told me to help."

Yuna nodded. "Good."

"I live to serve," Reinhard said, already walking back to his spot like he hadn’t moved at all.

The rest of the battle ended quickly. The Ashcroft Family secured the convoy and recovered the supplies, but this time there had been no chaotic scramble at the end. Everyone knew where they needed to be, and the mission was completed in seventeen minutes.

Yesterday, their first mission had taken nearly an hour. Today, they had finished in less than twenty.

When they returned to the Association, the mission coordinator looked at the report twice. "Seventeen minutes?"

Maki nodded.

The coordinator looked at the family before smiling. "You improved quickly." Lily looked pleased. Then the coordinator brought up another screen. "You should see this."

A public ranking board appeared.

[Elyndor Mission Records]

[Team Rankings]

[Fastest Mission Completion]

[Highest Mission Contribution]

[High-Difficulty Mission Clears]

[Team Reputation]

[Rising Teams]

Maki immediately became interested. "So these are public?"

"Yes. Every registered team can climb them."

The coordinator updated their record.

[Ashcroft Family — Team Ranking Updated.]

[#187 → #104.]

Lily’s eyes widened. "One hundred four?"

Yuna looked at the screen. "After two missions."

The coordinator nodded. "Your first mission established your initial position. This one gave you a significant increase because of the difficulty and completion time."

Another notification appeared.

[Fastest Mission Completion — #23.]

Then another.

[Rising Teams — #31.]

[Fame Increased!]

[50,235 → 70,235]

[70,235 / 1,000,000]

[Description: People are already making community pages and fan clubs for Emily and the Ashcroft family.]

Lily’s smile grew. "We’re climbing."

Maki stared at the rankings with a thoughtful expression. "There are still more than a hundred teams ahead of us."

"Then we’ll pass them," Lily replied immediately.

Emily smiled as she looked at the board. Yesterday, they had simply wanted to complete their first mission. Today, they had something else.

A goal.

The rankings gave their progress a number everyone could see. They weren’t simply becoming stronger.

They were climbing.

As they prepared to leave, a few nearby Awakeners began looking toward them.

"Isn’t that Emily?"

"The Young Devil King?"

"That’s the Ashcroft Family."

"Who’s their leader?"

"Reinhard Ashcroft."

The name was beginning to spread. Emily noticed it but didn’t comment. She simply looked at the ranking one more time before turning toward her family.

"Yesterday we weren’t ready."

Maki nodded. "We’re still not."

Lily crossed her arms. "We’re getting there."

Yuna looked toward the board. "Then we keep going."

Reinhard smiled. "Then we’ll climb."

They returned to the hotel that evening, but they barely had time to rest before another notification appeared. The Association had sent them a mission recommendation.

Reinhard opened it.

[High-Difficulty Mission Available.]

[Recommended Team Rank: C.]

Lily leaned closer. "We only have two."

Maki looked at the mission details and frowned. "We’re not ready."

Yuna studied the information carefully. Emily looked toward Reinhard.

He smiled.

Then the final notification appeared.

[Mission Details Unlocked.]