Chapter 223: The Golden Connoisseurs

Reinhard watched the notifications hovering before his eyes.

The Akasha Investment System had finally finished calculating his returns.

[Legendary Reward Granted: Mana Infusion of Immortal Emperor Body — 5 Years]

[Effect: Five years of mana will be poured into the blood cells, transforming the current D-Rank mana cells into C-Rank mana cells.]

Reinhard smiled.

Another improvement to his Immortal Emperor Body. His foundation was becoming stronger with every infusion, and advancing his Mana cells to C-Rank would further enhance his physical capabilities.

The next notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: High-Grade Royal Mana Fruit ×5]

[Effect: Each fruit contains Mana comparable to that of a B-Rank Awakener.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Peak-Grade Royal Mana Fruit ×5]

[Effect: Each fruit contains Mana comparable to that of an A-Rank Awakener.]

[Additional Reward Granted: Divine-Grade Royal Mana Fruit ×5]

[Effect: Each fruit contains Mana comparable to that of an S-Rank Awakener.]

Reinhard’s eyes widened.

Fifteen Royal Mana Fruits!

Five contained B-Rank-equivalent Mana, another five contained A-Rank-equivalent Mana, and the remaining five contained S-Rank-equivalent Mana.

That was an enormous reserve of supernatural energy.

He immediately thought about Lily and Maki, who had recently advanced to A-Rank. These fruits could support their future development, although absorbing the Mana still required proper preparation and control.

After all, possessing an S-Rank Awakener’s worth of Mana didn’t automatically grant someone S-Rank abilities or experience.

Reinhard smiled. "Looks like I won’t have to worry about cultivation resources for a while."

Another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: High-Grade Enlightenment Grapes ×3]

[Effect: A stronger version of Enlightenment Grapes. Greatly enhances supernatural comprehension, improving the user’s ability to understand Gnosis, supernatural principles, and complex abilities.]

Reinhard’s interest sharpened.

The ordinary Enlightenment Grapes had already helped Lily and Maki during their breakthroughs. A stronger version could prove even more valuable, especially when studying complicated supernatural principles.

Then came another reward.

[Additional Reward Granted: Body Enhancement]

[Effect: Permanently strengthens the recipient’s physical constitution, improving durability, recovery, and the body’s ability to withstand supernatural strain.]

Reinhard nodded approvingly.

His physical constitution was already extraordinary, but another permanent improvement was always welcome.

Then the final notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Brain Enhancement]

[Effect: Permanently enhances the brain’s capacity to receive, process, calculate, and retain information. When information intake exceeds safe processing limits, an automatic protective mechanism seals off excessive information until the brain can safely process it.]

Reinhard stopped.

Now that was interesting.

Improved processing speed, memory retention, and calculation capabilities were valuable enough. However, the protective mechanism caught his attention.

If he encountered information too complicated for his mind to process safely, the enhancement would temporarily seal off the excess rather than allow it to overwhelm him.

It wasn’t immunity to mental attacks, nor would it automatically grant him knowledge he didn’t possess.

But it would give his mind additional protection.

Reinhard grinned. "Not bad. My brain is finally receiving the treatment it deserves."

Emily, standing beside him, glanced over. "What are you smiling about?"

Reinhard turned toward her. "I was appreciating my extraordinary intelligence."

Emily smiled sweetly. "Then you should appreciate it quietly."

Yuna laughed, while Lily looked up from her Grand Passport.

Before Reinhard could defend himself, warm golden light spread across the table.

Everyone turned.

Their Silver Explorer Passports had begun glowing.

...

Golden lines spread across the passport covers, replacing their silver markings.

The lines branched outward, connecting the Celestial Shore insignia to several intricate symbols. Gradually, they formed a radiant sun surrounded by interlocking rings.

Beneath the emblem, new words appeared.

Golden Connoisseur.

Inside the passports, their previous experience records remained intact. However, golden pathways now connected the recorded activities, creating an elaborate structure resembling a carefully maintained portfolio.

Finally, the light settled.

[Grand Passport Evolution Complete.]

[Tier III: Golden Connoisseur.]

[Previous Tier: Silver Explorer.]

[New Privileges Unlocked: Premium Experiences and Advanced Memory Recording.]

Lily immediately raised her passport. "We’re Golden Connoisseurs now!"

Maki examined the glowing pages. "The internal structure has changed. This isn’t simply a cosmetic promotion."

Reinhard studied the golden emblem. "Now we’re getting somewhere."

Emily glanced at him. "You sound more excited about the privileges than the promotion."

"Privileges are the practical part of a promotion."

"Of course they are."

Lily eagerly flipped through the pages. "Does this mean we can enter even more expensive shopping districts?"

Maki sighed. "Why is that your first question?"

"Because expensive places usually have interesting things!"

Before Maki could respond, Yuna’s passport opened by itself.

A small, empty slot appeared on one of its inner pages.

Yuna blinked. "What’s this?"

She touched the page, wondering what belonged there.

Then she remembered the silver wave ornament she’d purchased earlier.

Golden light gathered inside the slot.

A tiny image appeared, reproducing the ornament’s curling silver shape and pale-blue stone.

Everyone leaned closer.

Lily stared. "Did your passport just take a picture?"

Yuna tilted the page. "But I didn’t use a camera."

Reinhard immediately opened his own passport.

He concentrated on the merchant portrait he’d encountered at the Gallery.

Another empty slot appeared.

Moments later, the portrait materialized inside it.

Reinhard grinned. "Excellent! Now I can preserve this masterpiece of artistic slander forever."

Emily leaned over to inspect it. "A wonderful reminder of your shortcomings."

"Those are exaggerated features, my love."

"Of course, darling."

Lily laughed while Maki examined the new recording function.

Soon, all five had successfully reproduced images from their memories.

They hadn’t needed a camera, recording relic, or physical photograph.

The passports had captured their recollections directly.

A familiar voice suddenly interrupted their experiment.

"Well, well! Golden Connoisseurs already? You certainly haven’t wasted your vacation!"

Lumain approached with his usual cheerful expression, holding a large stick of cotton candy.

Lily immediately pointed at it. "Where did you get that?"

Lumain smiled mysteriously. "A highly exclusive establishment."

Lily’s eyes widened. "Where?"

"The stall around the corner."

She stared at him. "You made it sound like some legendary secret!"

Lumain laughed. "Everything becomes more exciting when you add a little mystery."

Reinhard shook his head. "You really enjoy making ordinary things unnecessarily dramatic."

"It’s one of my finest qualities!"

Lumain approached the table and examined their golden passports.

"Ah, you’ve unlocked advanced memory recording. Quite a useful feature, wouldn’t you agree?"

Reinhard raised his passport. "How exactly does it work?"

Lumain took another bite of cotton candy before answering.

"Your Grand Passport contains Mana and a portion of Solmara’s Singularity. As the passport evolves, additional Mana becomes available, allowing more applications of the Singularity to manifest."

Maki’s expression grew serious. "So each evolution unlocks more of the power already contained within the passport?"

"Precisely!"

Lumain gestured toward the memory slots.

"At Golden Connoisseur, you can record still images directly from your memories. The clearer your recollection, the more accurately the passport reproduces it."

Yuna examined her ornament’s image. "Can it show something we don’t remember?"

Lumain shook his head. "No. It cannot recreate information you never perceived or retained. Your memory provides the foundation."

Emily looked interested. "And what comes after Golden Connoisseur?"

Lumain smiled. "Platinum Luminary!"

Lily immediately leaned forward.

"At that tier, your passports may gain the ability to record video memories," Lumain continued. "Rather than preserving a single image, they can reproduce movement and sequences of events."

Lily’s eyes widened. "Wait. We could record an entire adventure?"

"If your passports evolve sufficiently, yes."

Lily clutched hers against her chest. "Damn it. Solmara just got even more amazing!"

Reinhard chuckled, although his attention had shifted toward something else.

He thought about the attractions they’d experienced since arriving in Solmara.

The Memory Mirror reconstructed clothing from remembered experiences. The Gallery transformed recollections into living scenes. Now their passports could preserve images directly from memory.

There was an obvious connection.

Reinhard looked at Lumain. "The Memory Mirror, the Gallery, and these passports all use memory-related abilities. Are they connected?"

Lumain’s smile widened.

"An excellent observation!"

He raised his cotton candy as though presenting an important discovery.

"They are different expressions of the same source."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "Solmara’s Singularity?"

"Exactly!"

Maki immediately understood the implication.

These attractions weren’t unrelated magical inventions. Each used a different application of a single supernatural phenomenon.

"That explains the similarities," Maki murmured. "Different mechanisms, but the same underlying source."

Emily crossed her arms thoughtfully. "And Solmara’s Overseers allow visitors to use these applications so freely?"

Lumain nodded enthusiastically. "Our dear Saint S and Solaris Company are perfectly happy with it!"

Reinhard looked surprised. "Really?"

"Of course! They want visitors to preserve their precious memories. After all, people often realize how valuable a moment was only after it’s passed."

Lumain smiled warmly.

"Solmara would rather help people cherish those moments while they still have them."

For once, Reinhard didn’t immediately respond with a joke.

He looked down at the golden passport in his hands.

Perhaps there was more to these attractions than expensive entertainment.

...

After Lumain departed, the family resumed experimenting with their new recording abilities.

Reinhard preserved his merchant portrait, declaring it an important historical document.

Emily disagreed.

"It’s evidence of your questionable business practices," she informed him.

Reinhard placed a hand over his chest. "My own wife has turned against me."

"I’ve always been against your questionable business practices."

"Then our marriage has survived extraordinary adversity."

Emily laughed and kissed his cheek.

She then recorded an image of the family walking along Celestial Shore.

The five of them appeared together beside the ocean, surrounded by golden sand and gentle waves.

Emily examined the image with a warm smile.

"I like this one," she murmured.

Reinhard looked over her shoulder. "We should take an actual family portrait before leaving Solmara."

Yuna nodded. "That would be nice."

Lily immediately raised her hand. "I get to choose the poses!"

Maki shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"Because we’ll end up looking like a group of wanted criminals."

Reinhard grinned. "That sounds memorable."

Emily gave him a warning look.

He immediately raised his hands. "A respectable family portrait. Understood."

Next, Lily recorded her heroic portrait from the Gallery.

She proudly displayed the image to everyone.

"Future generations will recognize my greatness!"

Maki glanced at it. "Future generations might question your judgment."

"That’s because they won’t understand my artistic vision."

Maki ignored her and recorded one of the Tideglass formations instead.

She enlarged the image and carefully examined its details.

"Interesting. The recording preserves even the smaller structural patterns."

Reinhard smiled. "Already thinking about research applications?"

"Of course. This could be extremely useful for studying complex formations."

Lily sighed. "You really know how to turn a vacation souvenir into homework."

Maki smiled faintly. "And you know how to turn every souvenir into a declaration of greatness."

"It’s called having confidence!"

Their argument earned another round of laughter.

Then Yuna opened her passport.

She hesitated for a moment before concentrating on a memory.

Golden light gathered across an empty slot.

Slowly, an image appeared.

It showed a snowy landscape from many years ago.

Emily, Lily, and Maki stood together as children, their faces bright with laughter. Snow covered their clothes, and a half-built snowman stood behind them.

Emily leaned closer.

"Wait. I remember that day!"

Lily immediately brightened. "The snow was so deep! Emily insisted we build the biggest snowman in the neighborhood!"

Emily laughed. "You were the one who wanted to make it taller than the fence!"

"Because bigger is better!"

Maki examined the image, smiling at the familiar scene.

"You also destroyed our first snowman while trying to make it taller," she reminded Lily.

Lily crossed her arms. "That was an engineering experiment!"

"An unsuccessful one."

"Progress requires sacrifice!"

Emily laughed harder.

"I remember Lily falling into the snow afterward," she added. "She couldn’t get up because her coat was too thick."

Lily looked offended. "I was conserving energy!"

"You were stuck," Maki corrected.

Yuna smiled as her sisters began recalling the afternoon.

She remembered the snow, their laughter, and how excited everyone had been when they finally completed the snowman.

For several minutes, the three talked over one another, recalling details they’d nearly forgotten.

Reinhard watched them with a faint smile.

Then his gaze returned to Yuna’s passport.

Something caught his attention.

The image contained Emily, Lily, and Maki.

But Yuna wasn’t in it.

He wondered about that for a moment.

Perhaps she’d been the one taking the picture.

That seemed reasonable enough.

Reinhard didn’t ask.

Instead, he listened as Emily and Lily continued arguing over who had destroyed the first snowman.

Yuna occasionally added a detail of her own, smiling whenever her sisters remembered something she’d mentioned.

The five of them remained together, sharing a memory that had begun with one image and grown into an entire conversation.

And Yuna continued holding the passport, looking fondly at the three smiling faces in the snow.

It was a simple memory.

But to her, it was worth preserving.