Mina was still nestled against his chest, her small body warm and soft. Her breath brushed lightly against his shirt, as if she feared he would vanish the mont she loosened her grip.
The room had grown quieter now; the sun outside dipped lower, casting a softer, deeper light that stretched long shadows across the floor and walls.
Sage lay there motionless, one arm wrapped around her, staring at the glowing panels hovering in front of him. For a long mont, he remained silent. Then slowly, a grin began to spread across his face.
"Damn..." he whispered under his breath.
He was trying to stay calm, he really was but the more he reread the abilities displayed before him, the harder it beca to maintain that lazy expression he usually wore. His heart raced now, not from fear but from excitent. This wasn’t just growth; this was transformation.
A new panel expanded before him.
The system’s voice echoed clearly in his mind.
[Eternal Guild Bond: An ability that allows the Host to form unbreakable soul contracts with selected guild mbers. These contracts enable shared growth, mana reinforcent, affinity developnt, and mutual strengthening. The bond can only be ford with individuals whom the Host truly acknowledges as core mbers of the Guild.]
Sage’s eyes widened slightly.
"So if I grow... they grow?" he murmured.
[Yes. When Host’s mana veins improve, bonded mbers receive resonance boosts. When Host unlocks new affinities, bonded mbers may awaken compatible elents faster. The growth is not equal but accelerates them far beyond normal limits.]
A surge of excitent welled up within him as he thought of Valeria, Gregor, Lyana, and Mina.
He realized he didn’t have to shoulder everything alone anymore. If he beca formidable, his core mbers would rise alongside him. This wasn’t about creating dependence; it was about building pillars of strength.
He chuckled softly so as not to wake Mina. "So this is how legends are built..."
He could already envision it: Valeria’s strength enhanced by his mana infrastructure; Gregor achieving breakthroughs more rapidly; Mina awakening hidden affinities sooner than expected. The Guild wouldn’t rely expand in numbers, it would deepen in quality.
His excitent flickered in his eyes as he bit his lip slightly. "That’s insane..."
Another panel appeared before him.A projection materialized, showing a circular radius spreading outward from him.
[Arcane Overlord: An aura-based ability that allows the Host to temporarily dominate magical beasts and spirits while suppressing enemy mages one rank below within a base radius of 1 kiloter. Dominated entities can be commanded to fight or guard for the Guild temporarily. The ability consus mana but scales with Host’s mana capacity; as Host grows stronger, the radius expands up to ten tis its base size.]
Sage blinked in disbelief. "One kiloter?" he whispered, staring at the projection that displayed dozens of magical beasts bowing under an invisible force. He swallowed hard. This wasn’t just powerful; it was battlefield control.
He envisioned himself at the center of a chaotic battlefield, magical beasts charging toward the Guild, only to halt mid-stride and kneel. Enemy mages attempting to cast spells would find their mana disrupted and suppressed.
"And it won’t work on those two ranks above ..." he muttered thoughtfully. But that was fine. He didn’t need to dominate everyone; he just needed control over the majority.
"With the new mana veins..." he murmured slowly, his eyes gleaming with excitent, "this could run almost nonstop..."
His grin widened as realization dawned upon him. This wasn’t rely a weapon; it was authority.
Another panel unfolded before him. The air shimred as threads of light ford a delicate web.
[ Fate Weaver Interface: An advanced system tab that allows the Host to "weave fates" by assigning prophetic quests or visions to selected mbers. This ability can influence global events, such as predicting noble uprisings, dungeon eruptions, or political shifts and preempting them through custom missions. It consus energy from the Primordial Affinity Soul and carries a risk-reward chanic. Misuse or failed predictions may incur penalties akin to Doom effects. Usable once per month at current level.]
Sage froze in place. This wasn’t about combat; this was about controlling destiny itself. He imagined Boren confronting nobles, ard with foreknowledge of impending betrayals, assigning missions to counteract threats before they even materialized.
He let out a low whistle. "So I can nudge the future..." he murmured.
[ You may influence probabilities but not exert absolute control.]
"Still," he whispered, his eyes shining with wonder, "that’s incredible." Once per month ant he couldn’t use it recklessly, he’d have to choose wisely for significant monts and decisions but one well-tid use could shift entire regions in his favor.
A thrill coursed through him: politics, strategy, kingdom-level maneuvering, it excited him deeply.
[Aetheric Insight Eyes: A pair of ethereal eyes that grant the Host the ability to see mana flows in all living beings, objects, and environnts. Provides x10 passive mana regeneration at base level and allows predictive reading of magical attacks while detecting hidden affinities in recruits or dungeon formations prior to manifestation. Perception range expands infinitely as Host grows stronger.]
He swallowed hard. "Detect dungeons before they appear..." he whispered to himself.
Leaning back slightly, he felt a wave of astonishnt wash over him. "This is broken..."
[ Mana Overlord Gaze: An advanced control ability that grants perfect mana precision. Zero mana waste. Flawless spell trajectory. Absolute elental control. Allows Host to optimize every spell instinctively, eliminating inefficiencies.]
A grin spread across his face. "So no more sloppy casting..." he murmured to himself.
This was refinent at its peak.
He envisioned combining this ability with multi-elent casting in the future: fire and lightning blending seamlessly, wind curving exactly where he wanted it to go.
Exhaling slowly, he thought, "This is unfair..."
Another panel appeared before him.A massive blueprint overlay filled his vision, detailing the entire Guild Hall, every beam, every foundation stone, every hidden mana vein beneath the district.
[ Perfect Guild Blueprint: A master structural blueprint that allows the Host to optimize all Guild buildings and branches. Reveals structural weaknesses, hidden mana channels, and expansion nodes. Host can improve defense efficiency, mana circulation, and formation performance across all territories.]
Sage’s jaw tightened as he scanned for weak beams that could be reinforced or hidden mana lines beneath the district that could be tapped into, formation nodes ripe for upgrades.
This wasn’t flashy; it was about long-term dominance.
And then ca the final panel:A golden shield materialized over a projection of the entire Adventurer District.
[ Golden Do: A Grade 6 protective mana formation that covers the entire Guild District. Capable of withstanding the full-force attack of a 6-Star Grandmaster Knight.]
Sage froze for a mont as disbelief washed over him, a 6-Star Grandmaster Knight? That was Valeria’s level! This ant even soone like her couldn’t breach this do if she attacked with full force.
Carefully sitting up so as not to wake Mina, he whispered in awe, "I own a fortress..."
Not just any building, a fortress!
He ntally stacked all these abilities together: shared growth with core mbers; battlefield domination; fate manipulation; infinite mana perception; perfect control; structural optimization; city-level defense...
His heart raced now not calm but exhilarated.
This wasn’t just about survival; it was about taking control.
He smiled to himself, whispering, "Easy. This is going to be fun."
The panels in the dimming room glowed faintly, casting a soft light around him.
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