Birth Of The Crafts-God

[[Congratulations on completing the mission.

Rewarding host with ten system coins and one Bronze Grade card.]]

The next day, as soon as he returned to the Heavenly Demonic shop and walked right in, Lucas was greeted by a notification. He was quite relieved to see that the system had finally confirmed his mission as successful, despite already having the Heart of Silver in his possession for over three hours.

"Why the delay?" Lucas asked the system.

"Due to the rarity and value of the Heart of Silver, the criteria for completion had been amended." The system replied.

Lucas figured out what it meant almost immediately. Mistakes could happen along the way and cost Lucas the Heart of Silver. If the system had rewarded him before such a mistake, it would have to take back those rewards. However, such an act seemed unprofessional of the system. Also, what if Lucas happened to have them? There would be no way to retrieve it back.

Hence, this system had amended the definition of a successful mission. Only until Lucas got to the store with the Heart of Silver, which was a foolproof safe environment, was he then judged to have completed the mission.

[[Bronze Grade Card: Use to obtain fifth level Apertures Opening stage strength for two hours.]]

"This will be handy." Lucas thought before glancing around.

'Melissa's not back yet?' Lucas wondered, slightly surprised that his little adoptive sister was nowhere to be found.

However, he wasn't worried. She was most likely with Vienna and the fact that Melissa was still out even until now showed that she was getting better in relating with others. This was something that made Lucas glad and comforted.

"I've completed one mission and two achievements. If I'm correct, one more mission should be enough for you to finally level up, am I right?" Lucas asked the system.

"Correct."

Lucas sighed with relief.

It has been nine months; over nine months of struggle in a new world where others had unique powers while he was literally just a regular human being, Lucas had done his best to survive. He had faced assaults from other stellar practitioners and had been hunted by a few, but survived them all and even retaliated. But even so, it was a dangerous experience that would have seen him die at the slightest misstep. However, now, Lucas could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

After stepping into the work-station, Lucas proceeded to take out the Heart of Silver from his inventory. A piece of rock about the size of an adult's forearm or 23 cm (9 inches) in length suddenly appeared on the work bench located at the centre of the room.

The ore was purple in colour but it produced a colourful aurora in the room as soon as it appeared. The stellar energy concentration in the area visibly increased, so much so that Lucas could sense it even without trying. The aurora was actually a visible representation of this dramatic increment. If it weren't for the fact that the building was made special after the system's renovation, and the workstation was even more so special, this phenomenon would have covered the entire street or even this region of the city.

The system suddenly gave a short breakdown of the material before Lucas.

"Analysis: The Heart of Silver is a type of unique material known as an Aión source, formed from the influence of a planet's fate, alongside its world source, on a Mystic Silver ore. It contains an immense amount of energy, courtesy of the presence of the world source.

"Due to the influence of planetary fate, the Heart of Silver can also be used as a lucky totem in the planet of its formation. Although this hasn't been scientifically proven, there are numerous pieces of evidence of a wielder of an Aión source being lucky."

Lucas was surprised by this info as it was something he couldn't find no matter how hard he searched for it. Even the tomes given by the system only briefly touched on the term "Aión source".

While Lucas was in awe, the system continued,

"Depending on the concentration of world source, planetary fate and the foundational element used, there could be deviations in an Aión source. The Heart of Silver, for instance, has a bizarre deviation which makes the name more suited for it.

"Within the centre of the Heart of Silver, there is an exceptional liquid formed in limited amounts. This liquid is aptly called the Blood of Silver, and it has various magical effects ranging from enhanced durability and strength to increased vitality and stellar energy. Although it doesn't have the same effects as a true Aión source, it barely qualifies as one.

"The combination of two varieties of Aión source raises the value of the Heart of Silver compared to other varieties of Aión source. Use it well."

Lucas was surprised by the last sentence from the system but he didn't think much of it. From the start, he had no intentions of using the Heart of Silver just yet. Without stellar energy, the best Lucas could make using the four forbidden techniques was a Grade 4 vestige. However, knowing how big this world was, it would be wasteful to use the Heart of Silver to make such. Even a Grade 6 vestige was an insult to this otherworldly material.

Lucas intended to keep it with him and utilise the stellar energy it gave off for stellar refinement, after the system reached level 5 and he gained the ability to do so.

When his vestige-smithing skills now exceed the Apertures Opening stage, Lucas would then finally use the Heart of Silver.

Although it could be used to improve one's potential, the Blood of Silver could do the same, so Lucas didn't intend on 'wasting' the Heart of Silver like that.

Having reached a conclusion, Lucas stored the Aión source inside one of the storage lockers in the workstation and left.

Outside, he checked through a few work requests from the last two days he was gone. While doing so, Lucas happened to spot a mail in his inbox. It was a weekly report from the Verso Team Co.

Fifteen days ago, the team's driver abruptly quit, signalling the downfall of the team's performance and the company's value. Even though Vienna tried her best and even paid an exaggerated amount to get a new driver in, their performance in the Nadire Underground League took a nosedive. From the eleventh position to thirteenth place on the main rankings. The NUL has twenty spots, so it could be seen how bad this was.

"The next race is supposed to be tomorrow." Lucas muttered.

As the majority shareholder of the Versoa Team Co, the value of his shares and therefore his wealth, was affected by the team's performance. Even if Lucas wanted to live an easy life, he couldn't sit and watch as the team performed terribly. Most of all, the survival of the Heavenly Demonic shop also depended on the Versoa team's results. Not just that, but even how long it would take Lucas to get to level 5.

This was because the system gained experience points for each task Lucas fulfilled.

Rather than waiting for the final mission that might not come any time soon, it was better to increase the store's sales and gain experience points from there.

Looking at his account balance, a smile appeared on Lucas' face as he thought up an idea.

At the same time, the door of the store was open as a few silhouettes walked in.