Chapter 151: Desire, the Kamasutra, and a mythical power

Another thought came to him then.

He had completely forgotten something.

"Ah."

Elaria looked up.

"What now?"

"This morning, I got something."

Several eyes turned towards him.

Adam hesitated briefly.

Then decided to get straight to the point.

"A new skill."

Selene sat up straight.

"Which one?"

"Desire."

Silence.

A very peculiar silence.

" Adam immediately noticed the changes.

Vespera stopped moving.

Elaria slowly raised her head.

Isadora looked at Shiora.

Shiora looked at Astraea.

Astraea looked at Lyriana.

Lyriana looked at Elena.

Even Selene wasn’t joking anymore.

Adam waited.

One second.

Then two.

"Okay..."

He looked around.

"Why did you all just exchange the same look?"

No one answered immediately.

Adam frowned.

"I know this group well enough now to know that this silence means something."

Vespera was finally the first to speak.

"Have you already learned it?"

"Yes."

"What rank?"

"Unique Orange."

Another silence.

Elaria leaned forward slightly.

"And did you feel anything when you acquired it?"

Adam looked at her.

"Exactly."

He explained:

"As soon as I learned it, it reacted with Kamasutra."

This time...

He clearly saw several women understand.

Adam continued:

"My interface even mentioned resonance between skills."

"It indicated that they belonged to the same set."

"But that the synergy was incomplete."

He looked at Elaria.

"I was just about to ask you if you knew anything."

The women exchanged another glance.

Adam sighed.

"Good. Say it."

Vespera asked:

"Do you remember what we explained to you when you obtained Kamasutra?"

Adam thought for a moment.

Then he nodded.

"You said it probably wasn’t an isolated skill."

He searched his memory.

"That it might belong to a larger skill."

"Exactly," Isadora replied.

Vespera continued:

"Kamasutra is only one part."

Elaria added:

"Desire, too."

Then her gaze drifted down to Adam’s invisible panel.

"And Fertility Control as well."

Adam paused.

"Fertility Control?"

"Yes."

Vespera folded her arms.

"These skills have very different functions when viewed separately."

"But they all share the same conceptual origin."

Adam could already sense what was coming next.

"What origin?"

Astraea replied:

"Lust."

Silence.

Adam repeated:

"Lust?"

"A Mythic Red-grade skill," Vespera clarified.

Adam straightened slightly.

Mythic Red.

The same level as some of the extraordinarily rare blessings held by the women before him.

But Vespera wasn’t finished.

"And Lust itself isn’t considered an ordinary skill."

Adam waited.

Isadora continued:

"Ancient texts classify it among the Seven Deadly Sins."

Adam was obviously familiar with the term from his former world.

But he had long ago learned that a familiar name didn’t necessarily mean the same thing here.

"And what exactly are the Seven Deadly Sins?"

Vespera replied:

"One of the very few Divine-level skills mentioned in historical records."

Adam remained completely silent.

Selene added:

"We’re not talking about a skill that a person can normally learn from a book."

"It’s considered a whole."

Elaria nodded.

"Several skills can constitute fragments or aspects of the same higher concept."

Adam understood.

"So..."

He raised a hand.

"Kamasutra."

One finger.

"Desire."

Second.

"Fertility Control."

Third.

"And other skills I don’t yet have."

"Exactly," Vespera replied.

Adam looked at his hand.

"And if I gain enough of these skills..."

Astraea finished:

"It’s possible they could eventually combine or evolve into Lust."

Adam remained silent.

Then he looked at the women.

"Are you telling me I’m already halfway to obtaining a Mythic Red skill?"

Elaria replied:

"Potentially."

Shiora added:

"That’s precisely why we’re surprised."

Lyriana folded her arms.

"This kind of evolution is normally extremely rare."

"And you, you just obtained a new element almost by accident."

Adam slumped back against his chair.

"Okay..."

He thought for a moment.

That explained a lot.

The strange feeling when he learned Desire.

That impression that two pieces were spontaneously trying to fit together.

The system notification.

The high compatibility.

The missing component.

Adam nodded slowly.

"No wonder I feel a connection between Desire and the Kama Sutra."

Vespera nodded.

"They probably come from the same higher structure."

Adam asked,

"And no one knows what other skills are needed?"

"Not specifically," Astraea replied.

"The records we have are fragmentary."

Vespera added,

"And the historical accounts don’t all agree."

Adam sighed.

"Obviously."

He checked his inventory mentally.

He now had a new puzzle.

But at least...

He knew which way to look.

"Very well. Something else to look into later."

Elaria replied immediately:

"Yes."

Adam looked at her.

"I don’t even need to ask if you want to look into it."

"No."

"I figured."

Then something else came to him.

"Ah, Elaria."

She looked up.

"Yes?"

Adam opened his inventory.

A dark object appeared in his hand.

Then he threw it at her.

"Catch."

Elaria reacted immediately.

She caught the object mid-air.

Then she looked at what she was holding.

A piece of ore, almost entirely black.

Her expression changed.

"Black Iron?"

Adam nodded.

"This morning’s common chest."

Elaria immediately smiled.

"You get this from a common chest?"

"Apparently."

She began examining the ore.

She turned it over.

She examined its surface.

She used a small spell.

Then another.

Her smile gradually faded.

Adam noticed.

"What?"

Elaria didn’t answer.

She resumed her analysis.

Vespera moved closer.

"Is there a problem?"

"No."

Elaria finally looked up.

"That’s precisely the problem."

Adam blinked.

"That sentence makes no sense."

Elaria looked at the ore again.

Then she declared:

"Purity: one hundred percent."

Silence.

Vespera stopped.

Isadora raised an eyebrow.

Adam looked at the ore.

"So?"

Elaria stared at him.

"And it practically shouldn’t exist."

"Ah."

She carefully placed the piece on the table.

"Natural Black Iron is almost never pure."

Adam leaned forward.

"Why?"

Elaria immediately resumed her teacherly tone.

"Because Black Iron comes from ordinary iron."

She pointed to the ore.

"Under certain very specific conditions of pressure, mana, and environment, iron begins to transform."

"But this transformation is rarely complete."

Vespera nodded.

Elaria continued:

"The ore commonly called ’Black Iron’ generally still contains a proportion of ordinary iron."

Adam understood.

"So when you say Black Iron..."

"We’re actually talking about a mixture where a large portion of the iron has been transformed."

She nodded.

"The best natural sample I’ve personally seen was about 96 percent."

She looked at the piece Adam had obtained.

"And it was less than half the mass of this one."

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"So 100 percent is truly exceptional."

"Extremely."

She seemed genuinely pleased now.

But Adam still didn’t understand why a few percent made such a difference.

"What does it actually change?"

Elaria smiled.

"Almost everything about its main property."

She took a deep breath.

"Black Iron is known as an excellent magical insulator."

Adam nodded.

He was already familiar with this property.

"But what most artisans call Black Iron still contains ordinary iron."

She lightly tapped the ore.

"This contamination is precisely what prevents the material from fully expressing its natural properties."

Adam frowned.

"So ordinary iron weakens the insulation."

"Exactly."

Elaria seemed pleased that he understood immediately.

"Perfectly pure Black Iron possesses a much more extreme property."

She looked at Vespera.

The mage understood before she could even finish.

"Absolute insulation?"

Elaria smiled.

"Yes."

Adam looked at the piece again.

"No magic passes through?"

"Virtually none."

"Mana?"

"Blocked." "

"Spells?"

"Blocked if they have to pass directly through the material."

"Magical fluxes?"

"Same principle."

Adam picked up the ore slightly to examine it.

A simple piece of black metal.

Yet...

"So we could make a box that completely prevents a magical object inside from interacting with the outside."

Lyriana immediately chimed in:

"Or a coin."

Elaria nodded.

"If we had enough material."

Adam looked at the small piece.

"Which is probably not realistic."

"No."

Elaria continued:

"But for certain components, it’s exceptional."

She thought of the research they had just begun.

"Completely separating two circuits."

"Preventing external interference."

"Protecting an extremely sensitive element."

"Building internal barriers within an artifact."

Vespera added:

"Or isolating a crystal during an experiment."

Adam smiled.

"You’re already going to try to steal his ore from me."

"I’m proposing a scientific use."

Elaria immediately brought the piece closer to her.

"It’s my ore now."

Adam burst out laughing.

"You can keep it."

Elaria stopped.

"Really?"

"Yes."

He shrugged.

"I don’t need it right now."

"And between my hands and yours..."

He gestured toward Elaria.

"I think the choice is obvious."

She looked at the Black Iron again.

Her smile returned.

"Thank you."

Adam asked,

"You mentioned absolute insulation, but why isn’t this material considered the best known metal in this field?"

Elaria nodded.

"Because of its purity."

"Again?"

"Yes."

She explained,

"In standard classifications, adamantite is generally ranked above Black Iron for certain extreme applications."

Adam was already familiar with adamantite.

A rare metal.

Very strong.

Highly sought after.

"But this comparison is flawed."

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because it’s possible to obtain adamantite that’s almost perfectly pure."

She held up the piece of Black Iron.

"Whereas obtaining this at one hundred percent is considered nearly impossible."

"So artisans compare pure adamantite to impure Black Iron."

"Exactly."

Elaria smiled.

"If we compare the two materials at their purest..."

She hesitated slightly.

"I’d place them practically on the same level."

Adam examined the ore with renewed interest.

"And in certain areas?"

"Black Iron would even be preferable."

Vespera added:

"Especially when you want to completely prevent magical interaction."

Elaria nodded.

"Adamantite has other advantages."

"Physical strength."

"Stability."

"Relatively easy to obtain in a very pure form."

"But for absolute magical insulation..."

She lifted the piece.

"This is exceptional."

Adam smiled.

"Then enjoy your new toy."

Elaria looked at him.

"Research material."

"Scientific toy."

"Adam."

"Okay, okay. Research material."

Selene laughed.

The conversation continued for a while longer.

They briefly revisited the journey to the Black Abyss.

Aurelia.

The boat.

The supplies.

The likely duration of the expedition.

Selene suggested checking Adam’s equipment before they left.

Elena wanted to retrieve more detailed maps of the coastline.

Lyriana planned to search for old reports concerning groups that had already explored the Black Abyss.

Astraea, for her part, mainly wanted to check the current state of the dungeon and the information available to Sylvaris.

Meanwhile...

Vespera had already reopened her runebook.

Elaria still held the Black Iron in one hand.

Shiora was still writing.

And Isadora was clearly thinking about several administrative issues simultaneously.

Adam looked at the group.

Then at the table.

Then at the clock.

He blinked.

"Wait."

Elena looked up.

"What?"

Adam pointed to the time.

"Have you noticed how long we’ve been talking?"

Several eyes turned to the clock.

Selene was the first to react.

"Oh."

Shiora looked too.

"Already?"

Adam stood up.

"Yes."

He stretched his shoulders slightly.

"And most importantly..."

Selene was already looking at him.

Adam immediately pointed a finger at her.

"Don’t say anything."

She smiled.

"I didn’t say anything."

"Your look did."

He headed towards the kitchen.

"I’ll make dinner."

Selene stood up almost immediately.

Adam turned around.

"No."

"I wanted to help."

"A lie."

"I wanted to observe."

"Even worse."

Selene sat back down.

Astraea laughed softly.

Adam continued towards the kitchen.

Behind him...

He could already hear the conversations starting up again.

Vespera was talking about the first runes she wanted to test.

Elaria replied while continuing to examine her piece of pure Black Iron.

Isadora was discussing the materials needed for the first prototypes with Shiora.

Elena and Selene had started talking about the journey again.

Lyriana seemed to be mentally preparing a list of information to gather.

And Astraea listened to everyone with an almost amused calm.

Adam entered the kitchen.

He opened the pantry.

Then he smiled slightly.

Among a magical internet...

A dungeon called the Black Abyss...

A future Mythic skill linked to Lust...

And a piece of metal that was theoretically almost impossible to obtain...

His day had been far from normal.

Again.

"Okay."

He rolled up his sleeves slightly.

"Let’s see what we’re having for dinner."