Last time, [Distortion] had cost Vanessa a finger but granted her [Secret Art · Trigger].
It was an option that carried both risk and reward-randomly granting a Formless Art.
At this point, simply stacking stats no longer did much for Vanessa, and the limited supernatural materials on hand were not enough to advance her to the Second Rank.
After weighing the options, a Formless Art offered the greatest improvement instead.
Come to think of it, the first use of [Distortion] seemed to cost nothing. Just right for giving the other two a Formless Art each-
Elliot controlled Allen, making him step onto the Altar, and tried to select [Distortion], only to pause.
"Why can't I select it?"
"No, it's not that I can't, it's just-"
Just that, as with Vanessa, it required Sacrifice Offerings.
"The cost progression didn't reset?!" Elliot frowned deeply. "The [Distortion] option isn't calculated separately for each Believer? Everyone shares one progress bar?"
"Wait-"
He suddenly remembered Flora mentioning that Formless Arts could be learned. Could it be-that arts obtained through [Distortion] could be taught to others?
That would make sense-
Without hesitation, Elliot immediately sent Vanessa back to the center of the Ritual.
For the operation on premiere day, Vanessa was the only piece he could control precisely, and the most important one. Enhancements had to be concentrated on her first.
Supernatural materials were fed into the center of the Altar one after another. Only when the third piece was sacrificed did [Distortion] finally become usable, and the cover blocking the card slot popped open.
Elliot pushed Vanessa's Card into it.
The metal plate flipped over, revealing etched words:
[Secret Art · Overdraft]
"Burn the body into flame, forge this single gleam."
You can forcibly overdraw your life, explosively amplifying all abilities and gaining