380 - The Obelisk and the Cardmaster

Jack had observed the flow of energy through his [Eyes of Judgement]. He saw the way the energy interacted with the environment. It sought out organic life to 'correct' it.

However, the appraisal showed that the energy could be refined through any crystalline object. Simply speaking, absorbing the energy through crystal-like objects would 'evolve' their power, without mutating any part of their body.

"The energy is raw." Jack explained. "It needs a filter. If you touch it with your bare skin, you'll turn into a monster quickly. But if you use a medium, specifically a gemstone... any type of gemstone, you'll be fine."

He took a deep breath and continued. "The gemstones will act as a conceptual buffer. The stone will absorb the mutagenic chaos and transform it into a structured power upgrade based on your existing essence-signature."

While waiting for the crew to process the information, Jack reached into his [Spatial Belt] and took out a hand mirror.

"Wait here a moment." He said as he placed the mirror to the ground and activated his [Mythical Mirror Realm] power.

The surface of the mirror rippled as Jack disappeared. Entering the sub-space of his Mirror Mansion. He emerged a few seconds afterward.

After returning the hand mirror back to his [Spatial Belt], Jack pulled out a handful of high-quality gemstones... rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and topazes. He began handing them out to the crew.

"One each..." Jack ordered. "Do not let go of the stone. Touch the stone to the obelisk, not your fingers. Not any part of your skins. If you feel your bones starting to melt, pull back. Don't be greedy."

"To be safe..." He continued as he turned back to the obelisk. "Let's do it one by one. I'll go first."

Jack held a [Spatial Amber], a rare gem he had acquired in Purplesky Realm. It was a clear orange stone, with intricate red line patterns insides. Ones that glowed with a soft, internal luminescence.

He walked forward. He could feel that the air grew thick. It was like walking through invisible syrup. He could feel the obelisk trying to pry into his skin. Trying to 'evolve' his human lungs into something that could breathe the static.

But he kept his focus. He reached the base and pressed the [Spatial Amber] against the cold, vibrating surface of the black stone. Then...

The world exploded in soundless golden light...

A series of system notifications scrolled across Jack’s internal vision, faster than he had ever seen before.

[ANCIENT WONDER DISCOVERED!]

[EXPERIENCING BENEFICIAL POWER EVOLUTION...]

[FUSING POWER CLASSES: STEAMRUNE ENGINEER AND TREASURE HUNTER...]

[SUCCESSFUL FUSION...]

[ACQUIRING A UNIQUE POWER CLASS: STEAMRUNE CARDMASTER]

The sensation was terrible. Jack felt like he was being disassembled and reassembled by a million tiny clockwork hands.

The logic of the steamrune power... the mechanical precision, the runic knowledge, the steam-based mysticism... They were slotted perfectly into the intuition of the treasure hunter... the eye for value, the seeker's spirit, the mystical inspiration.

[RETAINING CORE ABILITY: STEAMRUNE ENGINEERING]

[RETAINING CORE ABILITY: TREASURE HUNTING]

[ACQUIRING ABILITY: STEAMRUNE SPELLCARD CREATION]

[ACQUIRING ABILITY: SPELLCARD MODIFICATION]

Jack's eyes widened when he saw the new abilities. [Steamrune Spellcard Creation]? Did it mean he could create a spellcard manually? Without being inspired by a treasure?

And [Spellcard Modification]? Did it mean he could modify a spellcard? That would be amazing. Many of his collected spellcards didn't have much use. If he could modify them...

But before he continued pondering, the system notification continued showing messages.

[ALL ATTRIBUTES REACHED THE MAXIMUM THRESHOLD]

[REACHING THE BOTTLENECK OF POWER...]

[REQUIRING BREAKTHROUGH TO 'ILLUMINATED' LEVEL...]

Jack stepped back. Letting out of a deep breath. Sweat covered his whole body. The amber in his hand had turned a deep, matte black.

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He felt... full. Like a vessel filled to the absolute brim. One where a single extra drop of water would cause it to overflood everything.

He ignored the gasps of the crew. He needed to see what he had become. He mentally summoned his status panel. Focusing only to the entries that had been altered.

[CHARACTER STATUS]

[Name: Jack Night]

...

[Power Class: Steamrune Cardmaster]

...

[Attributes: Physique (99) Mysticism (99) Passion (99) Essence (99)]

...

[Class Abilities: Steamrune Engineering; Treasure Hunting; Steamrune Spellcard Creation; Spellcard Modification]

...

Jack first checked his power class. Surprisingly, his Steamrune Engineer and Treasure Hunter were now fused into one unique class. A class he had never heard before. The Steamrune Cardmaster. What kind of class was this? He immediately checked it...

[Power Class: Steamrune Cardmaster. A unique transcendent class that grants the ability to utilize steamrune power and spellcards in much greater flexibility. Other than retaining the ability to create steamrune objects and generate spellcards from acquired treasures, the Steamrune Cardmaster also possesses the abilities to condense the created steamrune objects into spellcards and modify spellcards following specific rules.]

Jack nodded. It was exactly as what he had expected. He retained the abilities from his previous classes and acquired more practical abilities related to spellcards.

He then stared at the numbers in his attributes... 99. The absolute limit of his current level of transcendence. He knew instinctively that those numbers would not change anymore. Not until he underwent the breakthrough to the 'Illuminated' level.

He flexed his hand. He felt incredibly strong as a human. His senses were sharper than a razor's edge. But he noticed something curious.

The number of his [Physique] attribute was now 99. It was the same number as the [Physique] of his rakshasa's incarnation. However, even with the same number 99, he could feel it. His human body's power was still nowhere close to the power of his rakshasa's form.

He realized then that the number of the attributes were relative. Probably, it was related to the percentage of the potential he could unleash in that form.

A 99 in [Physique] for a human meant he was the pinnacle of human capability. He could unleash 99% of a human's potential in physique without losing his 'humanity'. Simply speaking, he was now a 99% optimized human in term of body quality.

That also meant that a 99 in [Physique] for his Judge Jack incarnation showed that he was at the pinnacle of the body quality for that particular archfiend entity.

Jack had realized it now. The number represented the percentage of the form's potential that he had unlocked.

He calmed his mind and turned his attention to the new abilities. He needed to understand the tools of the Steamrune Cardmaster.

[Steamrune Engineering. The ability to use various types of steamrunes to design mechanical blueprints, process required materials, and imbue created objects with runic inscriptions.]

Simple description, but this was the foundation of a steamrune engineer. It was what allowed him to build his shotguns and various gadgets. Its functions remained unchanged, which meant he could acquire more types of steamrunes as his mastery in the skill improves.

As for the next ability...

[Treasure Hunting. The ability to identify and gain an inspiration from valuable, unclaimed treasures, manifesting their power in the form of spellcards. Each spellcard possesses its own distinct magical effect, activation requirements, and cooldown period. These cards can be used by the ability owner or others who fulfil its usage requirements.]

This was the bread and butter of his old Treasure Hunter class. He was glad that he could still use the ability.

Then, he looked at the new ones. The ones that defined his new class....

[Steamrune Spellcard Creation. The unique ability to seal (and unseal) any steamrune creation the user has personally crafted into spellcard form. This allows the user to carry heavy and large-sized steamrune objects within a small, portable, and light-weight medium. This also bypasses the need for using complex procedures to recover steamrune objects during combat.]

Jack grinned widely. This was a game-changer. He had spellcards, but they were all from the ownerless treasures he had encountered. But now, he could turn his steamrune creations into spellcards.

He understood that the spellcards for his steamrune things would mostly be conjuration type only. But, that was still a great upgrade. Besides, he still had his last skill...

[Spellcard Modification. The unique ability to 'tinker' with the runic code of any existing spellcard. It can be used to fuse different cards into one, or modify any aspect of the cards. However, any modification attempt will require materials, most likely in the form of gemstones, sacrificed spellcards, mystic herbs, mystic minerals, monster cores, or other harvestable parts of mystic creatures' bodies.]

"What an incredible ability!" Jack muttered. His grin went even wider. He realized that this would definitely change many things.

"Dear? How is it?" Reina asked him.

"It's amazing." Jack immediately answered as he walked back to the group. "My two classes are fused into one. I'm now a Steamrune Cardmaster with additional abilities. This relic is definitely an incredible wonder that can boost our power. Go on! Try it!"

Reina nodded and walked forward. Holding the [Arcane Diamond] in her hand tightly. Ready to be the next to access the power of the Obelisk of Evolution.

Jack looked around. Deciding that he would use his [Nine-Anchor Portal Ring] to place a spatial anchor here.

His human form had already gained benefits from the Obelisk of Evolution. But, his other incarnations hadn't received their chances.

He would need to find the time to ditch the crew for a while later. To return back here and acquire the power of evolution for his other incarnations.

His kamaitachi incarnation might not get much from the obelisk. That particular incarnation had just evolved recently after all. However, his other incarnations might be as lucky or even luckier than his human form.

But for now... He needed to focus and observed what his crew would acquire from this ancient wonder.