Chapter 316: Intelligence Link Multiplied By x10,000! Awakening A Magic Circle?!

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After a long day where he conquered two dungeons, discovered the truth about the Precursors and even met his own mother, Riven ended it with his wife, spending some nice quality time together.

They stayed close for the rest of the evening, talking about small things and simply enjoying the fact that both of them were safe at home again.

At some point they had gone into his Spirit Dungeon Realm to hunt down, but Elisa ended not having the drive to hunt these innocent animals and spirit beasts that weren’t threatening nor looking to kill humans like monsters did.

She watched a few of the smaller creatures move through the grass and shook her head, saying she could not bring herself to attack anything that looked so peaceful.

Riven understood her feelings well, and agreed the same way, deciding not to hunt creatures either, which also felt... somewhat wrong to him. Maybe it would be fine if others hunted them, but whenever he did it, it felt like he was harming himself.

The moment he raised a weapon toward one of them, a strange resistance settled in his chest and made him lower it again.

And seeing how his Spiritual Realm was a part of his very soul, then every spirit beast here, former monsters that became "more evolved" here, ended up being, perhaps, extensions of his own self.

He walked among them for a while and noticed that none of them showed any fear toward him, almost as if they recognized him on some deeper level.

Or maybe, as a "Precursor" they were the very life he’d created and seeded into this new world, and this "feeling" came deep from within his very cells.

The thought stayed with him as he watched a group of small spirit birds take flight without any urgency.

He’d already tried eating some hunts regardless, but just as he feared, he gained no EXP nor gained any Skills or Talents when eating the monsters of his own Spirit Dungeon Realm.

He had cooked a simple meal from one just to test the system response, yet the usual notifications never appeared.

This truly meant that... they were really extensions of him. Eating his own creations will never yield him anything, other than satiety if he was hungry.

The lack of any reward confirmed what he had already started to suspect about the nature of the realm.

Coming to this realization completely shifted how Riven saw the Spirit Dungeon Realm, and with the knowledge he’d gained from his own mother, he had come to the conclusion that he was indeed creating something like a sanctuary of life.

He looked out across the open fields and forests of the realm one more time and decided that, from now on, he would continue to protect this sanctuary.

They finished the day with a nice dinner though, eating what Noir had hunted again, and once he went to sleep that night, preparing himself to have a nice rest after such a long day, the Love Investment Authority connected to Lust, to Asmodeus, finally activated.

He had already closed his eyes and was starting to drift off when the familiar system windows appeared in front of him.

From what Riven could tell about this power, it seemed that it required some accumulation before triggering a new progression and reward. It wasn’t a system that rewarded him from every tiny little action, but with the accumulation of many, giving him a big reward instead of many tiny, meaningless rewards.

He had noticed the same pattern the last time it triggered, so the delay no longer surprised him.

And quite honestly? He preferred it this way.

Small constant rewards would have felt less meaningful than these larger jumps.

Ding!

[Love Investment Authority – Asmodeus]

[Target: Elisa Frostbane]

[Affection Level: 60 → 100]

[Investment Progress: 15% → 30%]

[Note: Target’s latent recovery rate has increased by 30% due to emotional stability and increased affection over a prolonged period of time, alongside the stronger, forged bonds and mutual trust.]

[You received the Passive Effect: {Intelligence Link}: You share 30% of Elisa’s Intelligence Stat before becoming crippled.]

[Note: Sustained positive interaction increases recovery rate and unlocks latent potential.]

"!!!" He opened his eyes in disbelief as he read the system messages, the new Passive Effect was "Intelligence Link" and it came with surprises.

He sat up slightly in bed and read the windows a second time to make sure he had not misread any of the numbers.

FLUOSH!

The moment he gained the Intelligence Link Passive Effect, he immediately felt a surge of blue mana rapidly gathering around his chest and then entering his Titan Mana Heart. At first he was somewhat confused about this, was this new Intelligence Link going to boost his Titan Mana Heart?

The mana moved faster than usual and settled deep inside the organ before he could fully track it.

However, that wasn’t at all what was really happening. As the Mana began to condense, it didn’t just strengthen his Titan Mana Heart, but added something to it, something new that supplemented his ability to grow his magic powers massively. He focused on the sensation and realized the mana was arranging itself into a clear structure rather than simply increasing the overall capacity he already possessed.

FLAAASH!

"W-What is this...?!" he thought, completely taken aback by what was rapidly forming inside of his Titan Mana Heart.

The sudden change forced him to focus inward and track every movement of the energy.

Countless Runes suddenly manifested within his Titan Mana Heart, beautifully condensing and aligning into an Inner Magic Circle! The Runes that manifested were around one thousand of them, all spinning around together as a golden thread encircled them and then tightly sealed them in place.

He counted them roughly as they settled and realized the number was far higher than anything he had expected.

Ding!

[x10,000 Reward Multiplier Activated!]

[Passive Effect: {Intelligence Link} has been multiplied by x10,000!]

[You have received the Skill: [Skadi’s Blessing – Titan’s Magic Circle: Level 1]: You share 30% of Elisa’s Intelligence Stat multiplied x10,000. Your Titan Mana Heart has developed a Titan Magic Circle by condensing Mana into Runes, which will empower your ability to conjure Spells, your Mana Aura, and your Mana Nature. Alongside the power to create Unique Spells by combining Created Runes.]

"Titan Magic Circle...?"

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