Lily nodded. "Yeah. Being Rank 1 after a month with a B-rank potential isn’t that strange, especially for someone who awakened as a Mage. They only asked a few questions and let me go."
Mike chuckled lightly. "Lucky. If they had dug any deeper into me, things would’ve gotten annoying fast."
She smiled and gestured toward the large doors of the restaurant. "Come on. Let’s eat inside. I already reserved a table."
They walked in together.
The interior of the Fairy and Devil Restaurant was even more impressive than it looked from outside. The first floor was spacious and lively, filled with adventurers talking, laughing, and enjoying their meals. Soft magical lights floated near the ceiling, casting a warm glow over the place. The scent of cooked monster meat and spices filled the air.
A staff member noticed them immediately and bowed politely.
"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?"
"Yes," Lily replied, showing the confirmation on her device.
"Please follow me."
They were guided to a quiet table near the window, where they could see the city lights and the constant movement of people outside.
As they sat down, Lily leaned back comfortably.
"So," she said with a small smile, "order whatever you want. It’s my treat."
Mike chuckled. "Don’t blame me later."
They placed their orders and began chatting while waiting.
After a moment, Lily spoke again. "It’s a shame, really. I was planning to get you rank up my Death Knight skill, but your mom told me you were in the Origin World, so I couldn’t reach you."
Mike nodded. "It’s fine. I can’t rank it up right now anyway."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"I tried," Mike explained. "But my current rank isn’t high enough. There’s a limit. I can’t evolve anything past Mythical yet."
She blinked in surprise. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Mike said with a shrug. "My talent has a restriction. It can only upgrade things up to Mythical rank. Anything higher is locked for now."
Lily leaned back, impressed. "That still makes you ridiculously strong."
Mike smiled faintly. "Maybe. But it also means I still have a long way to go."
"Anyway, here’s the skill I got from the Cyclops boss," Lily said, placing a skill book and an Epic-rank greatsword on the table.
"It also dropped this sword, so I thought you might want it since you’re a knight."
Mike picked up the weapon first. It was an Inferno Sword—long, heavy, and radiating intense heat. Runes glowed faintly along its blade.
"This is good," he said, examining it closely. "Really good."
He could feel the power contained within it.
Then he looked at the skill book.
"Epic Rank: Inferno Cleave."
[Skill Appraisal Complete]
Name: Inferno Cleave
Rank: Epic
Type: Active – Weapon Skill
Element: Fire
Description:
Unleashes a wide, destructive cleaving strike infused with infernal flames.
The attack releases a wave of compressed fire that scorches everything in its path.
Effects:
• Deals 600% Physical Damage + 400% Fire Damage
• Leaves behind Burning Scars that deal continuous fire damage for 10 seconds
• Has a chance to inflict Infernal Burn, reducing enemy defense by 20%
• Damage increases with Strength and Fire affinity
Mana Cost : 1000
Cooldown : 3 minutes ]
"It’s a great skill," Mike nodded.
Then he placed two more skill books on the table.
One was Frost Cannon, and the other was Leviathan’s Frost Nova.
"These are yours if you want them," he said calmly.
Lily looked surprised. "You’re giving them to me?"
Mike shrugged. "I don’t really need them."
He tapped the table lightly. "My ice affinity is low, and elemental skills scale heavily with affinity. For me, they’d be a waste."
’I already have Ice Spirit magic, which is far better than standard elemental spells anyway—except maybe dragon-type ice magic. he inwardly added.
He leaned back in his chair. "These will suit you much better."
Lily stared at the two skill books in silence, her eyes widening.
"Mike... leaving aside the Unique-rank Ice Cannon, the Leviathan’s Frost Nova is Mythical rank," she whispered, hurriedly slipping the book into her inventory.
"They weren’t before," Mike said casually. "After my touch, they ranked up."
Lily swallowed hard. "You’re serious..."
"And don’t worry about it," Mike added with a grin. "Aren’t I your sponsor?"
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Yeah... you are."
Then she hesitated. "Also, there’s something I want to give you."
She reached out. "Give me your hand."
Mike raised an eyebrow but extended his hand anyway. Lily gently held it, and two familiar markings—his snowflake and wolf sigils—were already visible on the back of his hand.
"You already have two pets or in your case mounts?" she said, surprised.
Mike nodded but didn’t explain that the snowflake wasn’t a mount mark, but an elemental spirit contract.
"What are you doing?" he asked as she rolled up his sleeve slightly.
"Just watch."
She placed her finger on the back of his hand below the other two marks. A soft glow appeared, forming slowly into a new symbol—clear, fluid, and shimmering like flowing water. In seconds, the mark fully formed.
Mike stared at it. "What is this?"
"Can’t you appraise it?" Lily said with a small smile. "Go on."
He activated his appraisal.
[ Drop from the Limitless Fountain of Mana ]
Effect: Permanently doubles the user’s total mana.
Mike’s eyes widened.
"Whoa... this is insane."
He looked up at her, stunned.
Lily smiled softly. "Aren’t you sponsoring me so you can gain power too? Then think of this as my first repayment."
Mike blinked, then let out a quiet laugh. "Seems like your talent upgrade was pretty good."
Lily nodded. "Yeah. It allows me to share three kinds of blessings with others. I can increase someone’s mana by 30%, 60%, or 100% permanently now," she explained.
"I gave you the 100% one. I can still give it to two more people," she added.
"So... It was five in the begining?" Mike asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. I already gave the first two to my mom and dad."
Mike exhaled slowly, shaking his head in disbelief. "That’s... insane. Do you have any idea how broken that is?"
"Even the 30% one is very precious to any one of higher rank" He said as Lily nodded.