Leaving the bathroom, Jack moved to his study. It used to be his father's study. Now, it was his. And he had remodeled the place. Significantly.
The room was dominated by bookshelves and a large, sturdy desk. He went to one wall. Pressing a specific sequence of stones in the fireplace hearth.
A section of the wall slid open. Revealing a hidden compartment. Inside lay seven thick, leather-bound tomes.
They were Grimoires. The culmination of his intense study and mastery of rune-craft. Two were still works in progress. Their pages were partially blank. Awaiting for the final intricate rune circuits.
He took the thinnest one. Its dark brown leather cover was embossed with a vintage logo of a golden candle. A complex faint rune array was inscribed upon the pages and cover. It was designed to analyze and display the attributes of any living being.
This was his Ego Appraisal Grimoire. It functioned like a primitive 'Status Panel' from role playing games. Or from stories of other worlds he had read in his past life.
Dripping blood or injecting either mental power or soul power on the golden candle logo was the key to unlock the Grimoire's function.
Spark pressed his thumb onto the golden candle logo. And injected a pulse of soul power. The runes on the cover glowed faintly.
He opened the book. The pages were normally blank. But now, they shimmered with inscribed light. Forming text.
He knew it would only last for ten minutes before fading. Well, it was the consequence of the complexity of the design.
He scanned the first page, his summary data.
=====STATUS PANEL=====
[Name: Spark Nighthawk]
[Class: Jackmaster]
[Level: Awakened (1st Tier)]
[Soul Power: Awakened Level (1st Tier)]
[Mind Power: Awakened Level (1st Tier)]
[Body Power: Enhanced Level (2nd Tier)]
[Talent: Fortified Soul]
[Talent: Erudite Mind]
[Talent: Primal Physique]
[Talent: ???]
[Talent: King Disposition]
[Soulcraft Fairy: -]
[Technomind Gear: -]
[Framepath Monster: Grim Lion (King)]
==[Desire Boost: Lust]
==[Required Growth Item: Wild Red Meat]
==[Ability: Framepath Fusion - Mighty Werelion]
Spark felt a surge of grim satisfaction. It was all progressing as planned. His soul and mind, were already at a level comparable to the awakened. A standard first-tier individual.
The soul and mind should be the primary focuses of Soulcraft and Technomind mastery respectively. Yet, even although he still hadn't fully internalized those paths, he had already reached the first-tier level.
But the most pleasant surprise for Spark was his body. His body had surpassed the first tier entirely. Pushing into the enhanced level, the second tier quality. And it was purely through Framepath fusion.
Spark also noticed that his talents had evolved.
His [Tough Physique], an already powerful resilience trait, had become [Primal Physique]. It reflected the fundamental upgrade to his physical form.
And he managed to get [King Disposition]. It was a valuable talent that could be gained from the Grim Lion monster. But the chance to acquire this talent was just 30%. This talent provided him passive intimidation aura and immunity against mental debuffs.
The talent was much better than the more common [Grim Aura] which only provided resistance against mental debuffs. It was extremely valuable for both social and combat benefits.
Spark saw that his mysterious talent remained dormant. It was an unknown factor in his life that was quite baffling. It showed no sign of activation for these six years.
As for the 'Desire Boost'... Well, it was the drawback of any fusion in Framepath. For his first fusion, it was an increase in certain primal urges. Lust. It should still be manageable. And it was definitely better than getting Pride or both Pride and Lust at the same time.
The 'Required Growth Item' for the fusion were wild red meat. Very simple. He could source tons of that from the monster hunting guilds or his own hunts.
Framepath advancement would be relatively straightforward. He should be able to quickly fulfill the level requirement to advance to Enhanced, the second tier.
Unfortunately, the drawback of being a Jackmaster was also clear on the page. Although it was not explicitly written. He was an Awakened (Tier 1). Despite his body being Enhanced (Tier 2) level, his overall 'Level' was still listed as Awakened.
It was very likely that to break into Tier 2 fully, he needed to equally fulfill the requirement for all three. Not just Framepath, but also Soulcraft and Technomind. Currently, Framepath was ahead, and the others lagged behind.
He closed the grimoire, the glowing text fading instantly. He put it back to the hidden compartment. But he didn't close the wall panel.
He needed a fairy for Soulcraft advancement, and a core gear for Technomind advancement.
And he had already prepared those two requirements. Well, only the first one was ready to use, though. For the core gear, he still needed to wait until the one he ordered was delivered to his mansion.
Spark walked towards a far wall in the room. Hanging there was a big oil painting of a family of birds. Nighthawks. He reached the frame and pushed it sideway. A soft click echoed in the quiet room.
The painting swung outward like a door. Behind it was a cavity in the stone wall. Sealed with a small yet thick metal door. Another mechanism. Requiring a specific sequence of hand presses on the cold metal door.
Spark pressed the sequence. A combination only he knew. The metal door hissed and retracted into the wall.
Inside, there was an exquisite case made of polished dark wood inlaid with faint silver runes. It was nestled on a velvet cushion.
Spark lifted it out. Carried it back to his desk. And placed it down.
He opened the case. Inside, there were three small, hard-shelled objects. They were resting in individual depressions within the case.
They resembled quail eggs. But they were unlike any bird egg. Across its surface, each had delicate crack lines that glowed in different colors. One glowed a soft, vibrant purple. Another a deep, warm blue. And the third a shimmering, ethereal silver.
These were fairy eggs. They were extremely rare. Getting one was difficult enough for most people. Getting three was a matter of immense luck. Or of vast resources, and knowing exactly who to buy them from.
Spark hadn't relied on luck. He'd used the last two. Resources and accesses to the most hidden part of the black market.
Most Soulcraft users acquired fairies the hard way. They would trek into wildlands. Often dangerous territories teeming with monsters. Trying to track a wild fairy in its baby or juvenile stage.
Then came the painstaking process. Of luring it with various types of 'food'. Rare plants. Crystallized liquid. Elemental minerals. Or Precious gemstones. And slowly, cautiously, building a rudimentary connection.
The problem with these wild-caught fairies? Loyalty was usually low. Maybe just 20% or 30%.
To increase it, the Soulcraft practitioner had to spend significant time and resources. Nurturing the fairy. Interacting constantly. Providing its specific 'food'. It was a long, draining process.
Loyalty was everything in Soulcraft. Specifically for Soulcraft Fusion. Fusion was the only way a practitioner could temporarily gain access to the fairy's inherent magic spells.
As an example, there was a fairy with, say, an innate 'Fireball' spell and only 70% loyalty. It meant that there was only a 70% chance of successful fusion.
Success meant the practitioner gained a temporary magic crest. Allowing them to cast 'Fireball' until the fusion ended.
But a 30% failure rate was a serious risk. Failure often resulted in a spell-backfire. A chaotic burst of energy that could injure both the practitioner. And the incredibly fragile fairy.
Few dared to do a Soulcraft Fusion below 90% loyalty. Most aimed for 100% before attempting to do that.
Hatching a fairy from its egg bypassed most of that struggle. A fairy hatched with the practitioner's energy usually started with much higher degree of loyalty. Often 90% or even 100%.
It was the most efficient. The safest path to reliable Soulcraft. That's why the eggs were so coveted and expensive.
For the still first-tiered awakened being like Spark, possessing three fairy eggs seemed excessive. At this stage, he was only capable of a single Soulcraft Fusion at any given time. Having more was a waste of unimaginable wealth.
But Spark wasn't like other first-tiered awakened. And he had the means to make use of them all.
He reached back into the hidden compartment behind the wall panel where he kept his grimoires. He took the second thickest tome.
It was bound in black leather. Smooth and cool to the touch. Embossed on its cover, was a vintage logo of a silver fairy. Wings spread in flight.
This was a Fairy Grimoire. But not a regular one. It was not the kind used by standard Soulcraft practitioners. To perhaps store a single spare fairy and provide basic data.
Spark's Grimoire was something else entirely. Its existence was a testament to his hard work and mastery of runes.
He had poured countless hours and immense resources for it. He suffered hundreds of small-scale magical failures to create this artifact.
It was inscribed with a dizzying network of intricate, shimmering runes. Woven together in complex patterns. Far beyond the understanding of most rune masters.