Chapter 77: S-Grade Rewards

Reinhard stared at the notification in front of him.

[Calculating S-Grade Rewards...]

He remained completely still as the first reward appeared.

[Legendary Reward Granted: Physical Body and Five Senses Enhancement.]

A powerful sensation spread through his body. His muscles tightened before relaxing again, while every part of his physical body became stronger and more efficient. His senses expanded at the same time, letting him hear sounds from farther away, distinguish subtle differences in temperature, and notice changes in the density of the air around him.

Even without using Mana, Reinhard could feel that his body had reached another level. He looked toward the reinforced window of the vehicle. I could probably punch through a steel wall now. He flexed his fingers slightly. Maybe pull apart a car if I really tried, though I’d have to explain that to Lucien, and I don’t have a good excuse ready.

His enhanced vision caught several tiny imperfections in the glass that he would never have noticed before, and he quietly kept his attention on the System hidden before Lucien could notice anything unusual on his face.

The next notification appeared.

[Legendary Additional Reward Granted: Demon God Tyrant Body — Enhanced.]

[New Ability Unlocked: Right Hand of God.]

Reinhard’s eyes stayed on the city outside, but his attention shifted at once toward the new ability.

The Demon God Tyrant Body had already given him an enormous increase in physical strength and durability, and now one of its most terrifying aspects had evolved.

[Auto-Strike: Anything that enters its range is struck with five times Reinhard’s full physical strength.]

[Auto-Defense: Anything that attempts to harm Reinhard is blocked with ten times Reinhard’s full physical defense.]

[Instant Strike: The Right Hand of God can instantly strike a designated target regardless of distance.]

Reinhard slowly raised his hand and looked at it. That’s ridiculous. I could probably lose an argument with a doorknob and still win the fight. A faint smile appeared on his face before he turned his attention back to the window.

The next reward followed.

[Additional Reward Granted: Immortal Emperor Body — Ten Years Mana Infusion.]

A massive amount of Mana entered his body, and it didn’t simply pour into his Gnosis. It was absorbed throughout his body, sinking into his cells and becoming part of his physical foundation.

He carefully examined the change.

One quarter of his cells now contained Mana, and that alone was enough to refill roughly half of his enormous B-Rank Gnosis container.

Another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Link Chain — Enhanced.]

[New Function: Inanimate Link.]

Reinhard’s expression changed slightly. Link Chain could now connect to objects and structures instead of being limited to living targets.

Which meant he could connect people to equipment, connect medical devices to targets, or anchor the chain to walls and other structures.

More importantly, he immediately understood what this meant for Emily. This could be useful during the treatment.

The System continued.

[Additional Reward Granted: Mind Glance — Enhanced.]

[Additional Effect: Maximum uses increased to eight.]

[Additional Effect: Mind Glance can now penetrate deeper into the target’s thoughts, allowing the user to access memories and strongly suppressed information.]

[Additional Effect: The user can subtly introduce a thought into the target’s mind, causing the target to subconsciously consider the subject.]

The next reward appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Deep Enlightenment Crystal ×3.]

[Effect: Raises the target’s Gnosis by one grade and induces a state of Enlightenment that greatly accelerates the target’s understanding of Mana and Gnosis.]

Nexus Fruit to awaken. Dawnheart Crystal to build their foundation. Mana Sovereignty to give them control. Deep Enlightenment to accelerate their understanding. The progression was coming together perfectly.

Another reward appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: High-Grade Mana Fusion Grapes.]

[Effect: Each grape contains highly concentrated Mana that can be absorbed directly into the body’s cells.]

[Additional Effect: A user trained in the Immortal Emperor Technique can store the Mana within their blood cells instead of forcing it into their Gnosis.]

So it won’t just be me, Emily, and Yuna with a body like this anymore. The whole family will have it. The thought made him smile.

The next notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Vision.]

The world around Reinhard disappeared. The vehicle vanished, the streets of Aurileus vanished, and a completely different scene appeared before him.

Emily was lying inside a treatment chamber. The treatment had begun, and Mana surged through her body while Maki, Lily, and Yuna stood nearby, desperately trying to protect the chamber.

Then the doors exploded inward. Collectors and Baal Family Awakeners stormed into the room, and the family fought back, but the attackers were too strong.

Maki was pushed away from the chamber, Lily tried to defend her sister but was overwhelmed, and Yuna desperately manipulated the Mana around Emily until another attack broke through her defenses.

The treatment equipment shook, and Emily’s Gnosis began destabilizing. Reinhard watched as the entire situation collapsed around them.

The vision ended, and he returned to the vehicle without making a sound.

The System provided the information.

[Information: The displayed future occurs if insufficient combat support is available during the target’s treatment.]

Reinhard’s eyes stayed on the city outside. So everyone needs to be stronger.

Another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Vision.]

The scene changed again. This time, Emily was inside a normal hospital, and the treatment had begun when the attack came. Baal Family members and Collectors broke through the hospital’s defenses and forced their way toward Emily.

The treatment was interrupted, and Mana surged violently through her body, her Gnosis beginning to destabilize.

Reinhard watched the scene carefully until the vision ended.

[Information: The displayed future occurs if the target’s treatment is performed in an unsecured medical facility vulnerable to external interference.]

The next reward appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Soulbinding Crystal ×3.]

[Effect: Temporarily anchors the target’s Gnosis to the body’s Mana pathways, preventing the Gnosis from destabilizing when exposed to extreme Mana fluctuations.]

Then came another.

[Additional Reward Granted: Celestial Vitality Fruit ×4.]

[Effect: Greatly strengthens the body’s vitality and regenerative capacity when consumed over a period of preparation.]

The next reward appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: S-Grade Mana Energy Core.]

[Effect: Contains an enormous quantity of highly concentrated Mana suitable for powering advanced Gnosis treatment equipment.]

Reinhard smiled faintly. Cassian is going to have an interesting day, and I’m going to enjoy every second of watching it happen.

Finally, the last reward appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Mirror of Possibilities — Enhanced.] [New Function: The Mirror can now display two intermediate possibilities leading toward a selected future.]

Reinhard stared at the notification. I’ll save this for later.

He leaned back into his seat.

Lucien glanced at him. "You’ve been unusually quiet."

Reinhard looked over and gave him a relaxed smile. "Yeah." He thought for a moment before continuing. "I have a question."

Lucien raised an eyebrow. "Ask."

"Can I use Eclipse Headquarters to help treat my wife?"

Lucien went silent, and Reinhard continued before he could answer. "I’m sure you’ve already figured out that I’m trying to fix her Gnosis."

Lucien stared at him for several seconds before sighing. "I was wondering when you planned to mention it."

"Never."

Lucien laughed softly. "That sounds like you."

"But things have changed."

Lucien looked at him for another moment before nodding. "You can use the headquarters."

Reinhard smiled. "Let me guess. Those crazy researchers would love to witness the success."

"They would probably go crazy just to see something they thought was impossible actually happen."

Reinhard laughed. "Then I guess we’ll give them something to talk about."

He took out his phone and called Cassian, and the old man’s voice came through after a few rings. "Reinhard?"

"I got the Lightkeeper Dew."

There was silence on the other end. Then Cassian laughed. "Amazing. You actually did it."

Reinhard leaned back in his seat with a grin. "Of course. For my wife, there’s nothing I can’t do. Also I got a discount, which is completely unrelated but I wanted you to know."

"A discount on a legendary treatment material?"

"I know a guy."

"You are the guy."

"I know myself very well, is what I’m saying."

Cassian laughed again before Reinhard went through the treatment items with him one by one. Cassian’s excitement slowly turned into disbelief as he realized just how much Reinhard had already collected.

Eventually, Cassian sighed. "We have almost everything."

"Almost?"

"The preparation is the problem. If I had to gather everything myself, we’d be looking at a couple of months."

Reinhard frowned slightly. "What’s missing?"

Cassian began listing the problems. "The Gnosis Stabilization Chamber is something I can’t currently find, and the Mana Regulation Array could take months to acquire."

"I already have both."

Complete silence followed. "Are you serious?"

"Of course."

"How did you—"

"My favorite company has been spoiling me."

"You don’t have a favorite company, you have Eclipse and a grudge against everyone else."

"That’s what I said. My favorite company."

Cassian made a noise that was either a laugh or a small breakdown, and Reinhard couldn’t quite tell which. "In fact, they have both of those, and they said we can use their headquarters for the final treatment. It will be safer."

Cassian remained silent for several seconds. "I can’t believe it." Then he sighed. "But you’re right. That solves the biggest problem."

Reinhard leaned back. "So what’s left?"

Cassian thought for a moment. "I need Soulroot Fruit."

"I have that too."

Another silence, and Cassian’s voice came back strained. "Of course you do."

"Anything else?"

"I need Gnosis Stabilization Crystals."

"I have those as well."

Cassian groaned like a man watching his entire job description get deleted in real time. "How do you have everything?"

"I’m just built different when it comes to my wife. Who knew?"

"You keep saying that like it’s not insane."

"It stops being insane once you say it with enough confidence. Watch. I’m handsome and extremely capable."

"That’s not how confidence works."

"It’s exactly how confidence works, you’re just bad at it."

Cassian sighed so deeply that Reinhard heard the chair creak on the other end. "Fine. Give me two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"That’s how long I need to prepare everything properly."

Reinhard nodded. "Alright. What should Emily do during those two weeks?"

"Nothing complicated," Cassian replied. "She should relax and enjoy herself. Her mind needs to be calm when the treatment begins."

"Sounds easy enough." Reinhard smiled before adding, "Although I have to say, Cassian, you’re looking slightly unprepared. I had to gather half the resources before you."

"You’re impossible."

"I’m efficient. There’s a difference, and the difference is that I look better doing it."

"Goodbye, Reinhard."

"Two weeks. I’ll circle it on a calendar and everything."

Reinhard laughed and ended the call.

Lucien looked at him. "I don’t recall Eclipse giving you all of those things."

Reinhard reached into his storage bag and pulled out four Eclipse Relic Acquisition Vouchers, holding them toward Lucien. "As the company, you should take one for the team."

Lucien blinked. "You got those from us."

"Exactly. Which is why it’s only fair you take one back. Very generous of me, honestly."

Lucien stared at the voucher in his hand. "This is circular. You’re giving me back something you took from us and calling it generosity."

"It’s called recycling. You should be thanking me for my environmental awareness."

"That is not what recycling means."

"It’s what it means today."

Reinhard handed one over and tucked the rest back into his bag. "I’m using the rest to make sure we have healing items ready."

Lucien stared at the remaining vouchers before looking back at him. "And I don’t recall giving you those either."

"Like I said before, heaven loves me." Reinhard leaned back comfortably. "And anything under the heavens as well, which includes the company, the vouchers, and possibly this vehicle, though I haven’t checked yet."

"Please don’t check."

"No promises."

Lucien opened his mouth, closed it again, and finally just stared out the window in the specific silence of a man who had accepted defeat and was choosing not to discuss it further.

...

By the time Reinhard returned home, the sun was already beginning to set. Emily was waiting in the living room, and the moment she saw his expression, she knew something had happened.

"You got the Lightkeeper Dew?"

Reinhard smiled as he walked over and placed the reinforced case on the table. "Yeah."

He opened the case, and a cold breeze escaped from inside as the protective layers separated, revealing the pale golden Lightkeeper Dew resting within its container.

Emily stared at it, and her hands began to tremble. She slowly reached toward the case but stopped before touching it. "Then..."

Reinhard looked at her with a warm smile. "We’re ready."

Emily’s eyes remained fixed on the Lightkeeper Dew, and Reinhard gently took her hand. "Cassian says we’ll do it in two weeks."

Emily looked up at him, and for a moment neither of them said anything. Then a small smile appeared on her face. "Two weeks."

Reinhard nodded. "Two weeks."