ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝟙𝟚𝟞: 𝔗𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔞-𝔈𝔩𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 ⓇⒺⓋⒶⓂⓅⒺⒹ

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Despite the hearty meal, MJ remained unsatisfied, even after devouring a cake nearly his own size.

Amused by the baby’s boundless appetite, Jay made a generous decision. He ordered 20 chocolate cakes and several packs of ice cream to be delivered to his home, ensuring MJ could indulge himself to his heart’s content later.

The restaurant manager was left utterly bewildered. The cost of the cakes and ice cream alone amounted to nearly ten times their actual lunch bill, equating to half his yearly salary.

Double-checking the order with Jay, he thought incredulously, ‘The things rich people do are truly unfathomable.’

After settling the bill, the group exited the restaurant. Nearby, the paparazzo lay in wait, camera in hand, hidden behind a corner. His excitement grew as he spotted Kay among the group. He raised his camera to snap a photo but froze when Qew suddenly turned and locked eyes with him.

With deliberate steps, she moved into his line of sight, blocking Kay from view and fixing him with a piercing, dead-eyed stare. The sheer intensity of her gaze sent shivers down his spine.

‘Is this the scary woman my girlfriend warned me about?’ he thought with a nervous gulp. ‘How did she spot me so quickly, and why is she looking at me like I’m her mortal enemy?’

Terrified, he shrank back, no longer daring to approach or take more photos.

Meanwhile, the group got into their cars. Qew managed to separate Olivia and Sergei from Kay, guiding them into her vehicle while ensuring Kay rode in a different car. Just before climbing into her own, Qew shot Jay a smug smile and sent a mental message: ‘Hehe! How’s that? Look at how easily I ruined your plan.’

Jay’s reply came with a confident smirk. "We’ll see about that."

Qew hesitated, unsettled by his unshaken demeanor. Was her victory not as complete as she thought?

The convoy departed, leaving the hidden paparazzo alone. As he stepped out from his hiding spot, he muttered, “Uff, that was oddly exhausting. Let’s just see how these pictures turned out.”

Despite Qew’s interference, he had managed to take three pictures, focusing on Kay. However, as he reviewed the shots, confusion washed over him. Though others were in the frame when he took them—most notably Qew, who had stepped in to block his view—only two figures appeared in the photos: Kay and Olivia.

He blinked, rubbing his eyes and zooming in to confirm what he saw. Somehow, the pictures had completely erased everyone else, leaving behind a clear, perfectly framed shot of Kay and Olivia together.

"What the…? Am I losing my mind?" he whispered, beads of sweat forming on his brow. The paparazzo stared at the photos, unnerved but also realizing he might have just struck gold.

For a few moments, the journalist doubted his own eyes. The photographs seemed surreal—better than anything he could have imagined. Once he realized how perfectly the pictures had turned out, a wide grin spread across his face. Joyously, he laughed to himself.

‘What could be spicier news than capturing the trending ‘Prince Charming,’ adored by women everywhere, dining at a restaurant with a mysterious woman?’

Unbeknownst to Qew, Jay had anticipated her meddling from the start. He’d had MJ discreetly alter the photos, removing everyone except for Kay and Olivia. If Qew had known about this, she might have chased after the paparazzo herself to ensure those pictures were deleted. But for now, blissfully unaware, she chatted away with Olivia in her car.

Meanwhile, Jay made a significant detour from his father’s request. Instead of taking Olivia and Sergei on a sightseeing tour of India, he brought them to the Deep Underground Base.

Once there, he instructed Kay and Qew to give them a proper tour of the facility. Afterward, Jay personally led Olivia and Sergei to the training facilities, emphasizing the importance of preparation for the upcoming tournament.

Once everyone was settled, Jay excused himself and headed to his personal training room. He had been waiting for the cooldown of Qew’s third Innate Exclusive skill,║Innate Talent Convergence║, to end. The moment had finally arrived.

Activating the skill, Jay felt a surge of energy as the convergence process began. Within a minute, a cascade of notifications filled his vision:

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

﴾ You have successfully converged Grade-3║Wind Innate Talent║with Grade-5║Tri-Elemental Innate Talent║, forming a Grade-5║Tetra-Elemental Innate Talent║﴿

﴾ Congratulations! You are the 1st Tier-2 Existence in the entire Universe to merge four elements into one, creating the Tetra-Element, Thunder Flame in the first 10 days of the Trial Program. ﴿

* Due to causing a Universe Level Achievement, You will receive a random grade reward that will be most useful to you at the present moment. The Grade of the reward depends on your Luck Attribute.

* Due to a pending request, the Universe Level Achievement you earned will be converted into 100 Universe Points and pooled until it meets the exchange value for the weapon you requested.

﴾ Current Universe Points: 9600 ﴿

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

║Tetra-Elemental Innate Talent║

⧼Grade-5⧽ ⧼Fire, Water, Wind & Lightning⧽ ⧼Elemental Category⧽﴿

* Gives Host the ability to comprehend the 'Thunder Flame' Element without losing the ability to individually manipulate Fire, Water, Wind and Lightning elements and their respective skills.

* Increases its comprehension speed by five-fold.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

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The inclusion of the Wind element had transformed his previous ‘Lightning Flame’ into ‘Thunder Flame.’ But Jay knew this wasn’t a minor upgrade. Thunder was a higher element than Lightning, and ‘Thunder Flame’ represented the fusion of two higher elements into one.

Curious to test his new power, Jay conjured the Thunder Flame in the palm of his hand.

The Thunder Flame was unlike its predecessor, Lightning Flame. Where the latter was a vibrant purple streaked with red flashes, the former shone a deep violet, with dark-violet sparks crackling over its surface, emitting sharp, electrifying noises. Its aura alone radiated a sense of overwhelming power.

Eager to test its destructive potential, Jay targeted one of the high-durability training dummies MJ had prepared for him.

These dummies were specifically designed to withstand the equivalent of short-range ballistic missile impacts. Yet, when hit by a basic Thunder Flame attack, the dummy disintegrated into a scatter of unrecognizable fragments.

The sheer force and speed of the Thunder Flame surpassed Lightning Flame by a noticeable margin, confirming that this new element was a significant upgrade.

As the glow of destruction faded, a fresh set of notifications filled Jay’s vision:

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

﴾ Congratulations! You have acquired Lv.1║Minor Thunder Flame Mastery║⧼Stage-1⧽ ﴿

* Lv.1 Thunder Flame-element training methods are being transmitted into your mind. These advanced techniques will refine your control, amplify your power, and deepen your mastery, unlocking the potential for more devastating elemental combat maneuvers.

﴾ Your Lv.30║Minor Wind Mastery║and Lv.15║Minor Lightning Flame Mastery║are compatible with Lv.1║Minor Thunder Flame Mastery║. Do you want to merge them? ﴿

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

Without hesitation, Jay approved the merge.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Lv.30║Minor Wind Mastery║

+

Lv.15║Minor Lightning Flame Mastery║

⤋

Lv.15║Minor Thunder Flame Mastery║

﴾ Congratulations! You have acquired Lv.15║Minor Thunder Flame Mastery║⧼Stage-2⧽ ﴿

* Lv.15 Thunder Flame-element training methods are being transmitted into your mind. These advanced techniques will refine your control, amplify your power, and deepen your mastery, unlocking the potential for more devastating elemental combat maneuvers.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

As the notifications settled, waves of new knowledge flooded Jay’s consciousness. Techniques, insights, and efficient ways to wield Thunder Flame unfolded in his mind, deepening his comprehension and mastery of the element.

The leap from Lv.1 to Lv.15 Minor Thunder Flame Mastery brought a noticeable improvement in his control and understanding.

Over the next thirty minutes, Jay tested its capabilities until his Spirit Energy reserves were entirely depleted. Exhausted but satisfied, he leaned against the wall, catching his breath.

As he rested, his thoughts turned to his Universe Points, which now stood at 9600. He pondered the mechanics of Universe Level Achievements, which awarded points based on rank:

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Ranks 101-1000: 10 Universe Points.

Ranks 11-100: 100 Universe Points.

Ranks 1-10: 1000 Universe Points.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

Since the convergence of Thunder Flame marked a Universe Level Achievement, and Jay had achieved it as the first life form, he had earned 1000 Universe Points for his feat, just as he had for his previous elemental convergences.

Jay’s gaze darkened slightly as he considered his goal—the Origin Glaive, once wielded by the original owner of his innate talent. He had no confirmation of the exact cost, but he hoped that 10,000 Universe Points would suffice.

If that were true, he would only need 400 more Universe Points to finally acquire the weapon he had been longing for. The thought sent a spark of anticipation coursing through him, reigniting his determination.

Jay knew that converging another element with Thunder Flame to form a Penta Element would create another Universe Level Achievement, likely awarding him the additional Universe Points he needed.

However, this was all contingent on his assumption that the Origin Glaive could be exchanged for exactly 10,000 Universe Points.

Rather than dwelling on uncertainties, Jay decided to focus on what he could control. He retrieved all his Spirit Equipment and handed them over to MJ for maintenance and restoration of their durability.

Spirit Equipment, regardless of grade, had a standard durability cap of 100 points. The rate of durability loss varied with the equipment's grade and intensity of usage, but eventually, all Spirit Equipment would deteriorate and break if not properly maintained.

Jay’s growth-type armor, Centauri Kavach, was an exception to this rule, as it could gradually restore its durability over time, similar to most growth-type equipment.

For most trial zones, maintaining Spirit Equipment was a significant challenge. Without someone skilled in Spirit Energy Engineering, users could only watch helplessly as their prized gear degraded over time.

Fortunately, Earth’s Alpha Chosen had MJ, whose expertise in Spirit Energy Engineering made such concerns almost trivial.

With the Trial Region Tournament looming, Jay offered a discounted restoration service to the other Alpha Chosen. Normally, it would cost 10 RPs per piece of equipment to restore durability, but Jay allowed them to do so for just 1 RP per piece to ensure everyone was battle-ready.

After replenishing his Spirit Energy reserve using Spirit Crystals, Jay returned to his training room. There, he continued experimenting with Thunder Flame, pushing its limits to uncover diverse applications for combat.

With each session, his understanding of the element grew deeper, enabling him to discover innovative ways to incorporate it into his fighting style. In this way, Jay readied himself for the Day-10 tournament.

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