Chapter 161: An Unexpected Discovery 1

Adam stared at Selene for a few seconds.

He didn’t like her smile.

Not at all.

He sighed.

"Very well. Let’s start with the one you’ve already spotted."

He opened his inventory.

The black bodysuit appeared in his hands.

Selene immediately sat up.

Adam held the garment in front of him.

"It’s called an Adjustable Physical Restraint Suit."

Selene raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Physical restraint?"

"Yes."

Adam explained:

"Once worn, it creates resistance against virtually all body movements."

He raised an arm to illustrate.

"Raising your arm becomes more difficult."

He lowered it.

"Lowering it too."

Then he indicated his head.

"Turning your head. Walking. Running." "Squat. Dodge. Everything."

Selene stood up.

Adam looked at her immediately.

"No."

"Give it to me."

"I’m not finished."

"You can continue while I examine it."

Before he could even protest...

Selene practically snatched the suit from his hands.

Adam stood there for a moment, his arm outstretched.

"...Very well."

Selene unfolded the garment completely.

It was a black bodysuit covering the entire body down to the neck, leaving only the face uncovered.

She ran her fingers over the fabric.

She pulled it slightly.

She folded it.

Then her smile gradually became more unsettling.

"Adjustable resistance, you said?"

Adam felt something cold run down his back.

"Yes." "

Selene murmured to herself:

"So we start with low resistance during daily movements..."

Adam blinked.

She continued.

"Then increase it during running."

"Even more for weapons training."

"We could also adjust it differently depending on the session..."

Adam got goosebumps.

"Selene."

She couldn’t hear him anymore.

"If the resistance also comes into play when he slows down, that means even precision exercises become more difficult..."

Adam turned to Elena.

"Help me."

Elena immediately looked away.

But her smile betrayed her.

Lyriana had put a hand to her mouth.

Shiora wasn’t even pretending to hide her amusement.

Astraea looked at Adam with an almost compassionate expression.

Almost.

Vespera murmured,

"That should definitely speed up her adaptation."

Adam turned his head sharply.

"You too?"

Elaria thought seriously.

"If the effect remains uniform in all directions, it would probably be better than regular weights."

Adam remained silent.

Then he looked around.

"You’re all delighted by my misfortune."

Isadora smiled.

"Not all of you."

Adam looked at her hopefully.

She added,

"Only the majority."

A few laughs broke out.

Selene finally folded the garment.

"I’ll keep it to prepare your next program."

Adam pointed a finger at her.

"Definitely not."

Selene smiled.

"Too late."

Adam closed his eyes.

He already regretted showing her the object.

"Let’s move on before I decide to put it in inventory forever."

He then took out two cards.

The conversations stopped almost immediately.

Vespera recognized them.

Shiora did too.

Elaria leaned forward slightly.

"Permanent Door Cards?"

Adam nodded.

"Two new ones."

This time, all the women truly focused.

Astraea smiled.

"You got very lucky."

"That’s what I thought too."

Adam twirled the two cards between his fingers.

"That gives us two new possible connections to the Chamber."

Silence.

Then three glances met.

Vespera.

Shiora.

Selene.

Adam immediately noticed the change in atmosphere.

"No."

The three spoke almost simultaneously.

"The Land of Dragons."

"The Oni Territory."

"The Land of Beastmen."

They fell silent.

Then they looked at each other.

Adam watched them.

"Ah."

Selene crossed her arms.

"The Beastmen Territory would be the most practical."

Vespera replied immediately:

"The Land of Dragons is much farther away. A Permanent Gate there would save more time."

Shiora shook her head.

"The Oni Territory has a much more immediate commercial importance."

"Commercial," Selene repeated.

"Of course your argument is commercial."

Shiora looked at her.

"And what’s yours?"

"Family-based."

"Mine too."

Vespera interjected:

"All three are."

Adam looked at each of the three cards in turn.

Then he held up two cards.

"Do you see anything wrong with this equation?"

They turned toward him.

"Two cards."

He held up two fingers.

"Three destinations."

Selene’s mouth opened.

Adam immediately stopped her.

"Relax."

He put the cards away.

"I’ll probably get more in a future reading."

Vespera asked:

"And if you don’t get any?"

"Then we wait."

Shiora was about to chime in.

Adam added:

"And anyway, we’re leaving for the Black Abyss soon."

He looked at the three.

"We absolutely don’t have time to cross three different territories to install gates right now."

Silence.

Then the three women gradually sat back down.

Selene muttered,

"The next one’s for me."

Shiora replied,

"We’ll see."

Vespera smiled.

Adam sighed.

"I feel like I’ve created a new problem."

Astraea replied calmly,

"You’ve simply given three people a reason to negotiate."

"That’s exactly what worries me."

Adam opened his inventory again.

This time...

Ten black ingots appeared before him.

He didn’t even have time to put them down.

Elaria jumped up.

"Black Iron."

"Yes, and—"

The ten ingots vanished almost immediately from before Adam.

Elaria had already retrieved them.

"Elaria?"

She didn’t answer.

She held an ingot in each hand.

She examined them.

She brought them closer to her face.

Then she began to mutter.

"Ten units..."

"Probably the same purity as the previous ore..."

"Enough for several insulation structures..."

"Perhaps an internal chamber for a prototype..."

"Or several circuit separators..."

Vespera stood up.

"We could also reserve two for runic experiments."

Elaria stepped back slightly.

"Two?"

"Two."

"One."

"Two."

Adam looked at Isadora.

"Do I still own anything in this room?"

Isadora thought for a moment.

"Theoretically."

Adam sighed.

Elaria finally made the ten ingots disappear into her Ring of Promise.

Without asking permission.

Without even looking at Adam.

Then she suddenly seemed to remember he existed.

She approached him.

Gave him a brief pat on the cheek.

Then she smiled.

"Thank you for the gift."

Adam remained silent.

Then replied:

"Nothing wrong. »

Elaria returned quietly to her place.

The other women were already laughing.

Adam looked at them.

"You are all unbearable today. »

Lyriana replied:

"Only today?" »

Adam preferred not to answer.

"And since you’re already up..."

He took out a box.

Then handed it to Elaria.

"That’s for you too. »

Elaria stopped.

" Again ? »

"Portable Alchemist Kit. »

She retrieved the box.

Then opened it.

His expression, at first simply curious, immediately changed.

She took out a small container.

Then a measuring tool.

Then a miniature heating device.

A foldable filtration system.

Several vials.

Storage compartments.

Adam looked at her.

" What ? »

Elaria didn’t respond immediately.

She unfolded part of the box.

Something that seemed tiny grew to a perfectly usable size.

Then collapsed almost completely when she put it back in place.

"Elaria?" »

She finally looked up.

"This is the first time I have seen such a complete kit in such a small volume. »

Adam looked at the box.

" At this point ? "

" Yes. »

She took out several instruments.

"Normally, to have all these functions, you would have to transport several boxes. »

She pointed to the heating system.

"This maintains a very precise temperature. »

Then a small container.

"And the inner walls seem to prevent reactions with the preserved substances. »

She opened a new part of the box.

"Even the grinding tools are integrated. »

Shiora immediately approached.

Adam saw her coming.

" No. »

She ignored the comment.

"Can we reproduce it? »

Elaria continued to examine the kit.

"The majority of the pieces, probably. »

Shiora smiled.

" Excellent. »

Elaria added:

"But some storage and reduction mechanisms require more analysis. »

"So not immediately. "

" No. »

"But possible? "

" Probably. »

Shiora already seemed to be calculating something.

Adam sighed.

"You will discuss its marketing later. »

Shiora protested:

"I didn’t say commercialization. »

Adam looked at her.

"You were going to say it. »

She didn’t answer.

"Now we continue. »

Adam then turned to Vespera.

"This one..."

He took out a huge book.

Vespera immediately stopped moving.

Adam handed him the work.

"Dictionary of Ancient Runes. »

She took it.

Then looked at the title.

His expression changed.

"Ancient how? »

Adam smiled.

"Same civilization as the one that created the Network Archive. »

Vespera immediately opened the book.

First page.

Second.

Then about ten pages almost without breathing.

Adam continued:

"It is much more complete than the information contained in the Archive. »

Vespera slowly looked up.

"More complete? »

"It’s not just about network-related runes. »

He began to list.

"Stabilization. »

"Conversion. "

" Storage. »

"Isolation. »

"Protection. »

"Identification. »

"Energy control."

"And several categories I don’t even understand."

Vespera looked at the book again.

This time...

A genuine smile appeared on her face.

Not her usual smile when she was preparing some dubious experiment.

Something much rarer.

An almost pure, researcher’s joy.

She approached Adam briefly.

Given him a quick sign of affection.

"Thank you."

Adam blinked.

"Well..."

Vespera had already moved away.

The book was open again.

Elaria approached immediately.

Then Astraea.

Shiora too.

Even Isadora leaned over to look.

Vespera pointed to several pages.

"Look at this."

Elaria frowned.

"This structure doesn’t exist in the Archive."

"Exactly."

Vespera turned several pages.

"And here..."

Astraea studied the symbols.

"It looks like a vital mana conversion structure."

Vespera nodded.

"Probably."

Adam raised his hands.

"Stop."

They all turned to look at him.

"You’ll have all day to intellectually dismantle this book."

He showed his inventory.

"I still have some things left."

Vespera closed the dictionary.

With difficulty.

Adam clearly noticed that she had no desire to do so.