"Physique has increased by 1.88 levels."

  Pierce revealed a satisfied smile.

  Even without any other effects, this Physique enhancement alone was extremely gratifying.

  After all, given his current level of physical strength, an increase of even 1 level was highly impressive.

  "My Lightning Elemental Power has also received a significant boost."

  Pierce extended his hand. Lightning flickered incessantly across his palm as he focused on feeling the changes in his elemental power.

  "Next is my capacity for Lightning-attribute energy particles."

  With a wave of his hand, one Lightning Rune after another emerged from the void, scrambling to sink into his body.

  It wasn't until he had buffed himself with nineteen Lightning Runes that his body finally transmitted an unbearable sense of saturation.

  "That's two more Lightning Runes than before."

  Pierce was delighted.

  This enhancement effect was almost comparable to when he advanced to Tier 3 Legendary.

  Back then, he had only gained the capacity for three additional Lightning Runes.

  However, Pierce also understood that with enhancement potions like this, the first dose always yielded the greatest results. Subsequent doses would see diminishing returns.

  But he figured gaining the capacity for another four or five Lightning Runes in the future shouldn't be a problem.

  "Even if it loses its effect entirely, it doesn't matter. Once I capture higher-tier Lightning-attribute magical creatures later, I can just optimize the technique and create a stronger enhancement potion."

  "For now, I'll name this one the Thunder Potion."

  Pierce smiled faintly and continued brewing the Thunder Potion.

  He wasn't the only one who could consume this potion; Payne could as well.

  Payne had also awakened the Lightning Elemental Power.

  As for Sophia, she had awakened the Fire and Wind Elemental Powers, making the Thunder Potion unsuitable for her.

  Whenever he had the time to optimize a potion that enhanced the Fire Elemental Power, he would strengthen her then.

  Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

  After continuously consuming the Thunder Potion for a period, Pierce's Physique broke through the 60-level mark.

  However, the effects of the Thunder Potion had also reached their limit.

  In the sky above the valley.

  Pierce hovered five hundred meters in the air, his body encased in an energy armor forged entirely from lightning.

  "Twenty-four Lightning Runes. It seems this is the limit."

  Enhanced by the Thunder Potion, Pierce's base Physique alone could now bear twenty-four Lightning Runes. This was undeniably a massive leap compared to three months ago, when his absolute limit, even when fused with Silver Star, was only twenty.

  And this was merely his normal state.

  If he fused with Silver Star now, his capacity would skyrocket to thirty-nine Lightning Runes.

  At his absolute limit, it would reach a staggering forty-two!

  If he were to further activate the Fortitude Magic Tattoo, his capacity in his normal and limit states would explode to fifty-one and fifty-four Lightning Runes, respectively.

  With his current strength, Pierce was confident that if he went all out, he could clash head-on with a Rank 2 Crystalline Phase Wizard.

  If he were to Overcharge his Magic Tattoos without regard for the cost, killing one wasn't an impossibility.

  "And now I have four High-Tier Magic Tattoos."

  Pierce glanced at his wrist, where a slightly somber tattoo pattern was visible.

  After his Physique reached 60, his body could now bear four High-Tier Magic Tattoos.

  Therefore, over the past few days, he had successively upgraded the Aegis and Blink Magic Tattoos.

  Currently, only the Thunderburst and Giant Magic Tattoos remained at the Intermediate Tier.

  Pierce estimated he would need his Physique to reach 70 and 80, respectively, before he could upgrade them.

  "It's a pity that Magic Tattoos max out at the High Tier."

  A thoughtful look crossed Pierce's face.

  He had used the Omniscient Eye to optimize Magic Tattoos before, but it had only enhanced their power and added the Overcharge characteristic.

  Although the optimization effects were potent, the Magic Tattoos hadn't undergone a fundamental sublimation—or, in layman's terms, a tier breakthrough.

  Their limit remained the High Tier.

  "I wonder if I can continue optimizing them with the Omniscient Eye?"

  But the moment this thought arose, Pierce immediately rejected it.

  Thus far, while the Omniscient Eye could optimize any knowledge or technique, it was still merely an optimization.

  The fundamental nature of the knowledge and techniques remained unchanged.

  Breathing techniques remained breathing techniques; Elemental Runes remained Elemental Runes.

  No matter how much he optimized a Magic Tattoo, it wouldn't transform into something else entirely. It inherently possessed a limit.

  It was like a handgun: without altering its fundamental nature, no matter how much you upgraded it, it could never possess the destructive power of a nuclear bomb.

  Or rather, once it possessed the power of a nuclear bomb, it could no longer be considered a handgun.

  "Since I can't continue optimizing them, I might as well create something entirely new."

  Pierce's eyes flickered, and he decisively issued a command.

  Omniscient Eye, using Magic Tattoos as a reference, create an enchantment pattern with significantly stronger effects.

  [Please set specific parameters.]

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Pierce wasn't surprised; his previous request had indeed been a bit too vague.

  "It must be something my body can currently bear, or something I can meet the requirements to bear within a year. Additionally, the material cost for a single enchantment pattern must not exceed 50,000 Magic Stones."

  Pierce broadened the parameters as much as possible.

  After all, the looser the requirements, the stronger the resulting enchantment pattern would be.

  [Task Created: Create New Enchantment Pattern. Estimated requirement: 7,845 Mental Energy Levels.]

  "That much?!"

  Pierce frowned slightly.

  Even if he accelerated the process with all his might, accumulating that much energy would take over a hundred days.

  And considering he still needed to continuously consume the Sprouts of the Holy Spirit and expend vast amounts of mental power purging the Power of Faith, the time required to complete the creation would likely stretch to over a year.

  "I need to find a way to reduce the required energy..."

  Pierce pondered for a moment before suddenly slapping his forehead and letting out a self-deprecating chuckle.

  "Wizard civilization has been passed down for tens of thousands of years. There's no way Magic Tattoos are the only type of enchantment pattern. There absolutely must be higher-tier ones. If I can get my hands on one, I can just use it directly. There's no need to invent a new one from scratch."

  "Even if I can't use it directly, I can use it as a reference to drastically reduce the energy required to create a new one."

  Pierce quickly formed a plan. He returned to the stone house, wrote a letter, and called for Payne, ordering him to make a trip back to Red Maple City to deliver it to Master Morven.

  Master Morven's reply arrived swiftly. Early the next morning, when Payne returned to the mining area, he handed Pierce a memory crystal orb.

  Back in the stone house, Pierce held the crystal orb and immersed his consciousness within it.

  As expected, the orb contained knowledge of a new type of enchantment pattern.

  A rune inscription technique known as Alchemical Etchings.

  This inscription technique was an advanced process invented by Wizards based on Magic Tattoos.

  The enchantment characteristics it could bestow far exceeded those of Magic Tattoos, both in variety and potency.

  Furthermore, Alchemical Etchings had another significant advantage: they remained invisible. There was no need to worry about enemies recognizing them beforehand during a battle.

  In addition, Alchemical Etchings weren't limited by the surface area of the human body's skin.

  Theoretically, as long as a Wizard's body could handle the strain, they could inscribe an infinite number of Alchemical Etchings.

  From every perspective, Alchemical Etchings completely overshadowed Magic Tattoos.

  But correspondingly, the requirements for a Wizard to utilize Alchemical Etchings were far more stringent.

  To inscribe Alchemical Etchings, a Wizard first had to transform their own body into an Alchemical Body.

  To use an analogy, it was like turning the human body into a spell scroll capable of recording spells.

  Only a Wizard possessing an Alchemical Body could withstand the violent energy fluctuations generated during the inscription process without suffering hidden injuries.

  "Transforming into an Alchemical Body requires massive amounts of Magic Stones, Mithril, and Arcane Dust."

  Pierce raised an eyebrow.

  He still had some Mithril on hand.

  The mining operations over the past two months had yielded nearly twelve kilograms of Mithril. After deducting the portion owed to Red Maple City, he could keep around six kilograms.

  Transforming into an Alchemical Body only required five kilograms of Mithril, so he had more than enough.

  The real issue was the Magic Stones and Arcane Dust.

  Neither of those materials was cheap.

  He remembered that a single Magic Stone at the Exchange cost 1,800 Merit Points. The transformation required three, which amounted to 5,400 Merit Points.

  Then there was the Arcane Dust. One gram cost 300 Merit Points, and the transformation required twenty grams, totaling 6,000 Merit Points.

  Just these three materials alone were valued at a staggering 22,900 Merit Points.

  If he were to purchase them with actual Magic Stones (currency), it would absolutely cost him no less than two to three hundred thousand.

  Such a colossal amount of resources was something even many Rank 2 Wizards couldn't afford.

  And this was just one of the prerequisites for inscribing Alchemical Etchings.

  "No wonder I've never heard of this inscription technique before. I imagine very few Rank 1 or Rank 2 Wizards can afford such exorbitant costs."

  Pierce clicked his tongue in amazement.

  If he hadn't recently struck it rich, he would likely be stuck just staring at the requirements.

  Continuing to read further, aside from the Alchemical Body, the inscriber also had to master an extremely high level of rune inscription techniques, rune construction techniques, energy reconstruction techniques, rare metal extraction processes, and a whole series of other Enchantment-related disciplines.

  The dense, overwhelming list of subjects was enough to make anyone's head spin.

  Unless one was a professional Enchanter, they would never delve into so many specialized fields.

  "Well, it seems I'll have to figure out a way to acquire this knowledge first. I wonder if there are any high-tier Enchanters in Red Maple City."

  One look at the required knowledge was enough to tell him that Tier 1 or Tier 2 Enchanters couldn't possibly master it.

  It would require a Tier 3 Enchanter at the absolute minimum.

  Under normal circumstances, Tier 3 Enchanters were at least Rank 2 Wizards.

  Trading for sufficient Enchantment knowledge from an Enchanter of that caliber would definitely come at a steep price.

  "I just hope the Merit Points I have left will be enough."

  Pierce made a quick estimate. He had recently exchanged for twelve Sprouts of the Holy Spirit, which, along with various other materials, had cost him nearly 5,000 Merit Points.

  After deducting the costs for the Energy-Absorbing Motherstone, the Magic Stones (material), and the Arcane Dust, he would have roughly 20,000 Merit Points left.

  That should be enough to trade for the required knowledge, but he wasn't sure if he'd have enough left over to actually afford the inscription of the Alchemical Etchings afterward.

  "No amount of Merit Points is ever enough to spend."

  Pierce couldn't help but sigh. He casually paused the task of creating a new enchantment pattern.

  Since Alchemical Etchings existed, there was no need to invent a new pattern.

  He just needed to acquire the corresponding knowledge and then optimize it.

  Pierce had formulated his plan.

  But this matter couldn't be rushed. At the very least, he had to wait until the affairs at the silver vein were settled and he returned to Red Maple City before he could put it into action.

  For now, he needed to focus on cultivation.

  Reigning in his stray thoughts, Pierce took out a Resonance Potion, drank it, and began his daily meditation.

  Astral Calendar, Year 14525, April 18th.

  After more than four months of relentless development, the silver vein finally ran dry.

  After digging for three days without finding a single speck of Mithril, the Hill Dwarves declared that the Mithril ore co-existing with the vein was completely exhausted.

  All that remained of the entire vein was a minuscule amount of ordinary silver ore. Pierce had no interest in such a meager resource, so he decided to abandon the resource point and return to Red Maple City.

  Early that morning, the entire mining area was buzzing with activity as the relocation began.

  The main priority was the underground mining system. It definitely had to be brought back; it might be useful in the future.

  Even if he couldn't use it, selling it to merchants in Red Maple City was a viable option to recoup some Magic Stones.

  The dismantled equipment was piled high at the valley's exit, alongside mountains of smelted silver ingots. Pierce swept it all into his spatial ring in one go.

  Unburdened, the Clay Golems formed ranks and marched toward Red Maple City.

  Pierce and his two companions sat on the shoulders of the three leading golems, followed by a dense crowd of Stone Puppets and Hill Dwarf slaves.

  As for the Oak Guards, Pierce had long since reverted them to seeds and stored them away.

  On the journey, Pierce found a moment to check his data.

  [Mental Energy: 83.65]

  [Physique: 74.59]

  He had completely consumed all the Sprouts of the Holy Spirit he had previously exchanged for.

  Just as he had anticipated, when he consumed the final sprout, the increase in mental energy was a pitiful 0.34 levels—roughly equivalent to two days of meditation.

  The only reason he hadn't stopped consuming them earlier was because, as his mental energy level surged, the time required to purge the Power of Faith steadily decreased. Currently, it only took three days to eliminate the side effects of a single sprout. Since this process didn't conflict with his daily meditation, he had simply kept taking them.

  But it ended here.

  The effects of the Sprouts of the Holy Spirit now fell drastically short of their price. Continuing to consume them would just be a waste of Merit Points.

  "The effects of Resonance Potions are also getting weaker and weaker. Even paired with the Visualization Technique, I can only increase my mental energy by 0.19 levels per day."

  "Constructing the second Spirit Crystal requires a mental energy level of 96. Factoring in the diminishing returns, it will take at least another two to three months to reach the Crystalline Phase limit."

  Pierce calculated silently in his heart.

  This timeframe wasn't considered long.

  After all, it had only been a little over two months since he broke through to the Crystalline Phase.

  "Once we get back to Red Maple City, the first thing I need to do is find an Enchanter to trade for the knowledge regarding the Alchemical Body."

  Pierce withdrew his gaze and looked far into the distance.

  With that look, he immediately noticed something.

  At the edge of the distant horizon, several black dots suddenly appeared, rapidly approaching their position.

  Pierce's eyes flickered, and he raised a hand, signaling the procession to halt.

  Sophia and Payne also quickly spotted the approaching figures and immediately drew their weapons, on high alert.

  As the distance closed, the figures of the newcomers gradually became clear.

  It was two groups of people, one chasing the other.

  Fleeing in front were three Wizards—two men and one woman.

  Pursuing them from behind were two Winter Frost Priests.

  However, unlike the Winter Frost Priests Pierce had encountered before, these two wore pitch-black robes and wolf-shaped masks over their faces.

  If it weren't for the distinct fluctuations of divine grace radiating from them, one wouldn't even be able to tell they were Winter Frost Priests.

  The three fleeing Wizards quickly spotted Pierce's group. Upon seeing Pierce and the twenty Clay Golems, a look of overwhelming joy washed over their faces, and they frantically began shouting for help.