Even though leveling up has always been Arthur's fastest way to raise his mana, unrestricted by the tier or species of the monster he killed, it still couldn't compare to his Absorb rune in terms of efficacy. However, with Legacy Points added to the equation, leveling up became more important.
He spent the night going through his Legacy Inheritance. Studying each category and learning what he can buy from them. There were six things he currently had access to.
[Artifacts.]
[Potions.]
[Knowledge.]
[Arts.]
[Skills.]
[Runes.]
Artifacts were as their names implied, physical items that were engraved with runes. Arthur didn't need to understand the runes to use them and can simply purchase them to help him like the Dome's Key.
Potions were cheaper than Artifact and had mainly a one-time use buff on his body or others. For example, he found that he could use a regeneration potion even though he didn't have enough points to get the same artifacts.
Runes that worked on the body to increase its effect were unheard of in the world with Arthur being the sole person to use it. That's why potions existed, providing altered chemicals and mana to the body by digestion to achieve similar results.
This also posed the question of runic cards and how uncommon they were in the past. It was true that these cards were manufactured using modern technology and it would be very time-inefficient to create them by hand instead of creating potions.
Arthur remembered how Vihan, the drunk healer from Mistletoe, had used chemicals alongside his ability to heal Arthur's ribs at that time. So even though some runes didn't require a chemical catalyst, others did like the regeneration potion.
After opening Knowledge, Arthur was amazed at the wide array it contained. Potion brewing, blacksmithing, magic circles, soul structure, mana properties, essences, painting, calligraphy, etc. They were so diverse yet Arthur's eyes were grabbed by things like Runes Decoding and Runes Arrays that he almost bought them.
However, he stopped himself. His points were precious and the cheapest of these fields of knowledge were 3 Legacy Points. Furthermore, the legacy explained that this knowledge didn't appear instantaneously in his mind, but inscribed on magic tomes that he could read. Of course, reading from magic tomes was similar to imprinting it directly into your mind.
When he opened Arts, Arthur was greeted with a few items. He already knew what these were. They were techniques of mana manipulation that would generate greater effect than the crude use of mana. For example, if you use your mana through your blood vessels, they would get delivered fast enough without needing to guide them. However, it would give a simple amplification and mana attribute to your attacks at best.
There were certain pathways and quantities of mana that can be used to achieve certain effects. For example, there was an art that Arthur could learn right now that would allow him to achieve instant acceleration.
It was best to start learning these after one becomes a rei-ranker with more abundant reserves of mana. Thus, Arthur didn't feel the urgency of getting them.
Skills and runes were obvious, but Arthur failed to understand why Skills were there. However, after a quick through them, he understood Jizo's intentions. They were there as precautions. If Arthur ever faced an emergency, he could buy a skill instead of a rune for a cheaper price. Even though it would need more mana while providing less effect, some of them were useful in certain situations. Most of them were priced at 1 point for D-rank skills.
Even the simplest runes were priced at 5 points, so Arthur needed to level up faster. Many would allow him to generate unimaginable wealth, like Cure.
After checking the inheritance, Arthur turned to the ring he got from the prince. He smiled with anticipation as he started to decode the storage artifact.
***
In a mansion overseeing the ocean from a cliff far away from Kera, all the way across the Great Blood Ocean, Yuran knocked on a room's door. There was no answer, but he waited a bit before opening the door.
The room was dark and the curtains were shut, not allowing light to seep through. With Yuran's perception, he easily walked through the room and sat by the bed. Shallow, quick, and laborious breathes echoed in the silent room, the only sign of life coming from the person on the bed.
It was hard to call them a person, though. Their skin has already rotted and corroded. Their limbs were bent and bleeding as the gauzes were dying visibly. IVs and cannulas worked their best to supply as a healing array was placed on the bed. The person's hair had already fallen and what was left was pus-filled contusions.
"Mother…" Yuran touched the wrist in front of him but even a simple touch made the skin rupture and bleed. He sighed and took out a potion and applied it. Even the simplest form of intimacy brought his mother pain. She let out a weak and hollow scream as the potion touched her, but her wounds were healed.
Meeting his mother's lifeless gaze, Yuran knew she was asking him for a merciful death. He was tempted to oblige, but he didn't do so. Because…
"I found a way to cure you, mother." Yuran smiled as he stared at the bed and his mother's bony wrist. He almost touched her again but retracted his hand. "I've found someone who got the Saint insignia. I had already made a deal with him regarding curing you, but it will take some time.
Yuran met his mother's lifeless gaze and hollow eye sockets, that looked like someone had spooned the flesh out of them, and choose that his mother's eyes were a bit joyous, despite being urgent.
'Hurry.' She would tell him if she can.
Yuran nodded with determination as he vowed to bring his mother back to the way she used to be. He apologized that he needed to leave and stepped outside.
He walked toward the study as his face morphed into a cold one. He opened the door to find an old man in a formal butler attire standing by the study desk. Yuran slipped into the chair as he sighed.
"Anything?" He glanced at the old man. The old man shook his head in a regretful frown.
"Nothing, young master." The old man took out a few files and spread them in front of Yuran as he continued. "Seref Silvera seemed to have disappeared without a trail leading to his current whereabouts. These are reports from our investigators, but they provide very little other than the unusualness of his son, Arthur Silvera."
"What's about his son?" Yuran asked with a bit of guilt looming over his heart. He remembered that young scavenger who had risked his life to save and thanked him so warmly later in the trial.
"He's showing a shocking growth. Not in strength, but in runes. He's even a likely candidate to be the champion of this year's Runes Apprentices Cup. Due to the Calamity Spider, they had to delay the competition until ten days from now."
"Mm." Yuran nodded, proud of Arthur. It was a conflicting feeling as he both cared for Arthur and tried to kill his father at the same time. However, he wished that Arthur would never know that he did it. Even more, he hoped that Arthur would have long since considered his father dead.
"Furthermore…" The butler added uncertainly. Yuran turned to see him frowning until his brows were almost touching each other. He continued. "It seems that Arthur had an encounter with 'them.'"
Yuran's eyes shook as he crumpled the papers in his hands. He knew who the butler was referring to. The reason his mother was in such a state was none other than them. The hideous creatures that inhabited the shadows and worked to destroy everything. They took pride in their name, the Enders.
They were by no means fiction, but a parasite inhabiting their world. In every family, in every organization, you'd find people who sold themselves to the Enders in return for strength. Most people failed that this strength was illusionary and came at the cost of their souls. One of them was his mother.
Memories flashed in his head despite his greatest efforts to seal them away. However, he also didn't want to forget. The lab, that family, and what his mother had sacrificed to save him. Now, he needed to live each day knowing that he was defective and he was the reason his mother was suffering every moment that passed by.
"What happened?" His voice was full of rage as his face turned demonic. "Where are they?" He would gain nothing even if he hunted them down, but the sweet taste of revenge was alluring.
"Even though it's being hushed over, it seems the prince has turned to their side and took hold of the Calamity Spider." The butler looked in his master's eyes and continued to deliver the shocking news. "Yet it seems, that the Ender was defeated." The words sent chills in Yuran's spine.
"Who defeated it?"
"Nothing certain but most evidence leads to… Mistletoe."