Chapter 233: A-level Material

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: A-level Material

Seraphina Sinclair stared intently. The waiter smacked its lips a couple of times, and something built into its mouth seemed to have analyzed the small bread’s components. It shook its head, a troubled look on its face.

"It’s not that I can’t make it—it’s that you can’t provide the ingredients it requires."

The waiter’s voice held a hint of regret. It clearly appreciated the small bread’s flavor as well.

Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t resist asking, "What kind of ingredients?"

From the look on her face, it was clear she wasn’t ready to give up.

The waiter looked reluctant but threw cold water on her hopes anyway. "It contains an A-level ingredient, and its rarity is comparable to an S-Class material. Leaving aside the fact that you likely have no way to purchase it, even if you insisted, you’d probably go bankrupt before you could afford a single piece."

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’Well, she wasn’t *that* desperate for a taste.’

’All that mattered was knowing it couldn’t be mass-produced or made by her.’

’Going bankrupt just to buy some food...’

That was something Seraphina Sinclair just couldn’t bring herself to do.

She nodded, then took out the Hand of Spirits she’d gotten from the chest.

The waiter’s gaze immediately locked onto the gloves. Watching it, Seraphina Sinclair suddenly realized its perceptiveness for valuable items might be far greater than she had imagined.

’Was this also why the waiter had spotted the Lucky Wood Carving right away?’

"This..." The waiter’s eyes visibly brightened. It then carefully took the gloves with both hands and gently caressed the thin leather with its fingertips, its tone filled with obvious admiration.

"This is another fine item! With it, you can directly touch the very essence of the energy within blueprints or scrolls, giving you the ability to improve them!"

It looked at Seraphina Sinclair, its gaze turning serious. "However, you must be careful. The higher the grade of a blueprint, the more difficult it is to grasp its logic. If you use these and mess up a blueprint’s fundamental logic, the blueprint will be ruined. Scrolls, however, don’t have this potential drawback."

Seemingly worried Seraphina Sinclair still didn’t understand, it patiently offered an example. "I hear you humans often discussed a subject called ’mathematics’ in your previous lives, yes? If an F-level blueprint is like a one-plus-one arithmetic problem, then a B-level blueprint is like indefinite integrals and linear algebra."

The waiter gestured with its hands, trying to make Seraphina Sinclair fully grasp its meaning. "You can only optimize a blueprint after you’ve completely understood its internal logic. If you rashly alter a single variable, you could cause the entire energy matrix to collapse and render the blueprint completely useless."

It pointed to the gloves in Seraphina Sinclair’s hands. "And this pair of gloves merely gives you the right to touch these ’formulas.’ It doesn’t guarantee you can understand them, much less that you can solve them correctly."

Seraphina Sinclair took a deep breath, her expression growing much more solemn.

’She understood what the waiter meant.’

’The gloves couldn’t just enhance blueprints on their own. If improving blueprints was like performing delicate surgery, these gloves were just the scalpel and medical instruments.’

’With these, she just had her foot in the door.’

Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t help but frown. "Then... is there a place here to learn about this stuff?"

The waiter let out a sound like a soft chuckle and shook its head. "Our establishment only provides dining services. However..."

It paused, seemingly weighing its words. "You are now a Rune Master. If you happen to meet an Engraving Master, he might be able to solve your problem."

’Hearing this, Seraphina Sinclair finally understood.’

’So improving blueprints was a profession, just like rune painting?’

At this, Seraphina Sinclair completely lost any desire to even try.

According to the waiter, she was a Rune Painter, after all. She didn’t know the ins and outs of other professions, but she knew the path of the rune like the back of her hand. The moment she learned the Skill, it felt like a martial artist suddenly unblocking their governor and conception vessels.

That was why she was able to paint runes in the first place.

’Seraphina Sinclair could tell that if she hadn’t learned this Skill and had only found a rune pen and Yellow Paper, she wouldn’t have been able to paint anything at all.’

’Her current situation was exactly the same.’

’She had thought the Hand of Spirits was some kind of automatic enhancement glove, but it turned out to be just a tool that required professional expertise.’

Seraphina Sinclair put the gloves away with a sense of resignation. "Looks like these won’t be useful for a while."

The waiter nodded. "A wise choice. Trying to force their use without the proper knowledge would likely destroy precious blueprints. However..."

Its tone shifted. "If you’re just looking to increase your power, you might consider using them to improve some low-level scrolls. While the effect may not be as permanent as improving a blueprint, at least there’s no risk of destroying them."

Just as Seraphina Sinclair was starting to get excited, the waiter’s next words doused her with another bucket of cold water.

"But as I said from the start, this is a fine item. It’s incredibly precious, even to a top-tier Engraving Master. You’d best not waste its potential frivolously."

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’Fine.’

’Might as well put them away for now.’

Seraphina Sinclair nodded, tucked the item into her Silver Moon Earrings, and waved goodbye to the waiter.

Silence returned to the mobile cabin. Seraphina Sinclair stood up. After a moment of hesitation, she went through her usual routine, first shining the Black Fog Lamp on the Sunflower before starting to tidy up the cabin.

Aside from the Lucky Wood Carving, Zeke the Passerby hadn’t had anything else of value.

However, for most ordinary survivors, obtaining a single piece of Legendary Equipment would be the stuff of legends, so Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t disappointed.

What concerned her more was why the ranking rewards hadn’t been distributed yet.

After the server merge, the channel feed was refreshing so quickly that she couldn’t make out what anyone was saying without pausing it.

Seraphina Sinclair grabbed the scrollbar, only to find they were discussing the very topic of the ranking rewards.

"Are you kidding me? It’s been forever, why haven’t the ranking rewards been sent out?"

"I was counting on those resources to survive! Is the system trying to welsh on its promise?"

"Can any of the top players weigh in? Is this kind of delay normal?"

"What’s the rush? The system’s not going anywhere. We’ll get them when we get them."

"Easy for you to say! You’ve got plenty of resources, so of course you’re not in a hurry. Us bottom-feeders are waiting on pins and needles!"

"Since when do bottom-feeders make the rankings? Don’t make me laugh."

"So are there no rewards? Or did they already get sent out and we just don’t know about it?"

"@Rex Shaw, hey Rex, did you get the first-place reward yet?"

"Huh? What’s with the special @? Think your server is the only one here? @Seaview, Seawatch, get a load of this guy!!"

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’What on earth are these people even arguing about?’