Grace slowly calmed herself and took a deep breath.“That really is good news.”Her smile softened.“Now…”“What’s the bad news?”Rhys scratched the back of his head and gave a helpless smile.“The farming plan is still only a plan.”“We haven’t built the device yet.”“And honestly…”“We have no way of knowing how long it’ll take.”His expression turned serious.“If it takes more than two months…”“I’m afraid millions of people around the world will already be dead before we’re ready.”Grace’s excitement disappeared almost instantly.“…You’re right.”She slowly sat back in her chair.“The timeline is incredibly tight.”She lowered her eyes to the documents spread across her desk.“According to my estimates…”“Once morning comes and everyone sees the ash covering the sky…”“And their farmland…”“Panic will spread almost immediately.”She sighed.“The nobles are the biggest unknown.”“They’ll all react differently.”She tapped one of the papers in front of her.“But within a week…”“The

Rhys’ next destination was a city not far from the Ironhand Guild.Unfortunately, it wasn’t large enough to have a teleportation circle.That left him with only one option.He had to fly there himself.Thinking back on it, Ryan had probably realized that as well. That was likely why the Guild Leader had insisted on giving him the goggles, scarf, mask, and gloves. Rhys would be spending hours flying through volcanic ash, and someone carrying the world’s future on his shoulders couldn’t afford to damage his lungs.As usual, Nidhogg carried him through the sky.The black dragon let out a long sigh.“Why am I the one doing all the flying?”His voice was filled with dissatisfaction.“You have Syrax too.”“Make him carry you for once.”Rhys laughed.“Hahaha.”“Don’t worry.”“I’ve actually been thinking about changing my fifth Familiar.”Nidhogg glanced back.“Hm?”“I thought you were choosing between the Celestial Fox, Tenko, and that eight-headed snake…”“Yamata no Orochi.”Rhys nodded.“I

Rhys frowned.“They aren’t?”Ivory nodded.“That’s right.”She picked up a pencil from the table and drew two small circles on a sheet of paper.“Let’s simplify it.”She pointed at the first circle.“This is Point A.”“It produces Mana.”Then she pointed at the second one.“And this…”“is Point B.”“It produces the elemental attribute.”She looked back at Rhys.“Now that the theory of Mana particles has already been proven, this becomes much easier to explain.”She leaned back.“When you absorb an Abyssal Core…”“The Mana particles remain inside your body.”Rhys nodded.“Yes.”“When you use your abilities…”“You’re simply consuming the energy stored inside those particles.”She continued patiently.“Afterward…”“Your body gradually restores that energy.”“That’s what we call Mana recovery.”She tapped Point A again.“So we’ll call this the Mana source.”“If you understand that much…”“Then you should also understand why Abyssals can’t use elemental powers.”Rhys remained silent.Ivory

“My innate ability is called Soul Contract.”Rhys looked at the two researchers before continuing.“I’m thinking about using it to create the cloud repelling device.”“What?”Charlotte’s eyes widened.“You can do…”Before she could finish, Wyndia quickly covered her mouth.“Mmff!”“You stay quiet for a minute.”Wyndia sighed before turning back to Rhys.“I can’t agree to that.”Her expression became serious.“The moment you reveal an innate ability…”“You’ll no longer be treated as an ordinary genius.”She folded her arms.“The attention you’re receiving now is already enormous.”“If people learn you possess an innate ability…”“It’ll become several times worse.”She looked directly into his eyes.“There will be people who try to force you into their service.”“Others will try to capture you.”“Some will simply want to control you.”She shook her head.“Even with the Dragon King protecting you…”“I’m not convinced that’s enough.”Rhys had already considered that possibility.He nodded

For the first time in a long while, Rhys felt a weight lift from his shoulders.He had kept the Soul Contract hidden for so long that revealing it felt strangely liberating.He had expected suspicion.Endless questions.Maybe even fear.Instead…The two researchers immediately started thinking about how to improve it.That alone made him feel he had made the right decision.Meanwhile, Wyndia took the magazine back from him.She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a simple bracelet.Then she removed the necklace she was wearing and fastened the bracelet to it before placing both items inside a small pouch.She tossed the pouch toward Rhys.“Try using your contract on this.”Rhys caught it without difficulty.“This bracelet is made from a material with good Mana conductivity.”“It should be suitable for our experiment.”Rhys looked at the pouch thoughtfully.“…What kind of contract should I create?”“I have several ideas.”“But this is the first thing that came to mind.”A bl