With her "capitalist" background, Mira Tsubakihara understood the meaning of investment very well, but to her, Luo Shu's so-called "investment" seemed more like an "excuse."
There might have been an element of hoping to profit from her abilities, but Mira Tsubakihara felt that abilities might not be the only thing Luo Shu was after.
After looking up at Luo Shu, Mira Tsubakihara picked up the observer dust that had appeared on the table. She thought for a moment, and a glass of water appeared in her other hand.
When it came to supplying ordinary items, the system within the base was practically an all-purpose little sprite. It could provide almost any convenience available in society, provided its value did not exceed 1 point.
Knowing this, Luo Shu was not at all surprised when Mira Tsubakihara conjured up a glass of water.
By then, Mira Tsubakihara had poured the dust into the glass. Under Luo Shu's gaze, she swirled it around, then closed her eyes and drank it straight down as though swallowing bitter herbal medicine.
Sitting opposite her, Luo Shu could clearly see Miss Mira's throat move as she swallowed. He watched her consume the observer dust, waited five or six seconds, then asked:
"How is it?"
Mira Tsubakihara frowned and said with some discomfort, "I don't feel much of a change... mm, perhaps I need something suitable to trigger it."
At that, Luo Shu immediately spent 300 points in the system to redeem a counterfeit Demon Heart, then placed it in front of Miss Mira:
"Take a look at this."
"The Demon Heart?"
Mira Tsubakihara gave Luo Shu a puzzled look, then picked up the ring he had placed before her. She narrowed her eyes as she examined it, then said in surprise:
"Huh? Why do I feel like I could make a Demon Heart if I had enough time and materials...?"
The discovery astonished Mira Tsubakihara, yet that intuition was unusually strong. She could now even clearly "see" what properties the materials needed to make the Demon Heart had to possess.
10 ml of diluted Succubus blood, a 3-carat ruby, 30 grams of mercury... Having identified the materials and even deduced their exact quantities, Mira Tsubakihara raised her head and stared blankly at Luo Shu:
"I have a feeling I might not have a home anymore."
At that moment, Mira Tsubakihara realized just how much her ability could benefit the "family" business, as well as the risks that came with it.
Even though Mira Tsubakihara trusted her family, she trusted their "nose for profit" even more. She also understood that family affection was the one thing in this world she could least afford to gamble on.
If her family learned that she could now replicate Abyssal Artifacts like the Demon Heart, even her doting grandfather would probably be unable to rein in the other family members' pursuit of "profit."
Hearing Mira Tsubakihara say she "might not have a home anymore," Luo Shu froze for a moment, then guessed what was worrying her.
Facing this situation for the first time, Luo Shu did not know how to comfort her. He could only offer a tired platitude:
"As long as you keep it secret, you probably don't need to worry too much."
Even Luo Shu felt that sounded unconvincing, so he added:
"This ring isn't actually the Demon Heart. It's a counterfeit I obtained. It costs roughly one two-hundredth as much as the original, and its abilities are severely degraded too, so what you're worried about probably won't happen at this stage."
Luo Shu was not lying about its value; that was the system's own pricing.
An Alchemist who made Elite items and an Alchemist who made shoddy imitations clearly differed enormously in ability.
So although Mira Tsubakihara's concerns still remained, the risks were at least not as great as she had imagined.
"A counterfeit?"
Mira Tsubakihara was startled. Then she carefully examined the ring in her hand, deduced its effects from its materials, and said in surprise:
"It can only charm certain creatures, only one at a time, and only one command can take effect. It lasts five minutes and has no effect on individuals with strong mental power or extreme resistance to the command... it really is an inferior version."
Recalling the Demon Heart she had encountered yesterday, Mira Tsubakihara keenly recognized the differences.
Even with her newly awakened abilities, she had no idea how to resist the genuine article. With the counterfeit, however, she felt she could use her mental power to break its command at any time. Moreover, her mental power seemed to still be growing rapidly, nowhere near even the minimum threshold of its "normal state."
Realizing this, Mira Tsubakihara immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"It looks like I was worrying too much."
While Mira Tsubakihara had been examining the ring, Luo Shu, sitting opposite her, could clearly see faint, deep-blue patterns appearing in her pupils as she concentrated.
Was that what happened when a lesser version of Analysis activated? Luo Shu wondered. At the same time, he looked at the system, his gaze sweeping over its notifications.
[Familia member "Mira Tsubakihara" has acquired the ordinary ability "Observation."] [Familia member "Mira Tsubakihara" has had her innate talents supplemented. The ordinary skills "Observation," "Enhanced Comprehension," and "Deft Hands" have formed a stable framework. The excellent skill "Item Creation" has been acquired.]
Seeing this, Luo Shu immediately understood Mira Tsubakihara's current condition and inferred that her rank had probably increased as well.
Judging by how acquiring three excellent-rank skills yesterday had raised his own individual standing to "excellent," Mira Tsubakihara's current standing should have been at the "ordinary" level.
Of course, this so-called ordinary did not mean ordinary in the sense of a normal person. It meant having entered the realm of ability users, with a life rank of
"ordinary."
Compared with the unranked general population, this kind of "ordinary" was already overwhelmingly superior.
Still, a skill formed from three ordinary skills can rise one rating and become an excellent skill, yet Alchemy, which is formed from three Elite skills, remains at the Elite rank. Is that because the Hero stage is special? A further evolution of life?
And my three excellent abilities remain separate instead of forming a stronger skill because they don't complement one another?
While Luo Shu was thinking this, Mira Tsubakihara had already taken off the ring and placed it back on the table. She asked:
"Luo Shu, are you planning to hand this counterfeit over to SDS?"
Luo Shu shook his head in denial. "No, Chief Tachibana didn't ask me to hand it over. She told me to keep it and use it. This counterfeit is just to get through inspections."
"Keep it and use it?" Mira Tsubakihara paused, then seemed to remember something. With a look of understanding, she said, "So the Abyssal Artifact stays within SDS? It looks like Chief Tachibana is planning to help her friend advance further within the Zeus Industries Group."
Luo Shu merely listened to and made a mental note of the scheming between major arms dealers. If they actually dragged him into serious trouble, he would probably fake his death and flee immediately, or switch over to Miss Mira's side.
At the end of the day, he had joined SDS only to get through the initial period when he knew nothing about this world, not to risk his life for certain people's interests.
Of course, taking the benefits and then running was pretty disloyal, but putting in work was not the same as putting his life on the line. Luo Shu's life was not that cheap.
So "slacking off at work" and "an ordinary person among the Elite" would be his "labels" within SDS from now on.
And for someone with those labels, a powerful Abyssal Artifact was naturally unnecessary. The counterfeit Demon Heart's effects were therefore just right:
"What do you think? This should fool the Zeus Industries Group's research team, right?"
Although Mira Tsubakihara had only just acquired her abilities, Luo Shu would never underestimate the power of skills. Naturally, he sought the opinion of Miss Mira Tsubakihara, who had just become an "item expert."
Hearing his question, Mira Tsubakihara thought for a moment.
Although she did not handle work related to Abyssal Artifacts at home, her aunt, who was responsible for that area, had taught her some basic information so she could guard against those dangerous items.
That also meant Mira Tsubakihara knew more about Abyssal Artifacts than anyone in the Astronomy Club.
"As far as I know, existing technology can't fully analyze the composition of Abyssal Artifacts, especially powerful ones. Even if they uncover a lot of information, they won't believe that information tells them everything."
"So unless something unexpected happens, Zeus Industries' experts probably won't notice anything wrong. Even if they do, they'll simply assume that's how the Demon Heart has always worked."
"So there's no problem with safety, right?"
As Luo Shu said this, he picked up the "counterfeit" from the table, tossed it lightly into the air, caught it, and smiled:
"In that case, things are simple."
Before you continue