The ride back was peaceful as the Alden family safely made it back to their home in Levir. Once again, the maids and butlers who greeted them were waiting for them as they arrived.
Wanting not to be disturbed, Raz pretended to fall asleep on the ride back, which effectively worked as Marisa carried him to his room and tucked him into his bed before closing the door.
Hearing her footsteps fade away as she left the hallway, Raz sat upright before stretching his limbs.
After all, it was not comfortable to pretend to sleep by sitting in one position for long periods.
He blinked a few times rapidly to adjust his pupils to the dark room as the only light was the cloud-covered moon in the sky that barely seeped any moonlight into the room.
Soon he found what he was looking for, the box that Viscount Malfe had given him.
Retrieving the box, he unclasped the latch and slowly opened the box with a slight creak before recovering both the medallion and the smooth crystal sphere.
On the way back, he had asked his father what he would do next once he learned how to manipulate mana and learned that all he had to do was work the mana throughout the various pathways of his mana circuit before transferring it into the medallion.
Apparently, each and every person's mana circuit was different due to the complexity of the circuit itself, which caused tiny and subtle changes to mana that most people wouldn't be able to detect.
But with some engineering and tinkering magic, the people of this world had been able to utilize this uniqueness alongside a person's natural compatibility with different mana particles to make an easy system to identify a person's identity quickly.
Of course, devices and magic responsible for such things could be bypassed with intense efforts, but with the Treye trading guilds' standards and capability. The medallion would be hard to tinker with, even for some of the most influential people in the Iron Wolf Kingdom.
Practicing a few times, Raz breathed in and out periodically before injecting mana that he had manipulated throughout his mana circuits into the medallion, which suddenly glowed a silver-white for a few seconds before dimming back to its regular appearance.
Although there were no visual changes, he felt like a connection had been established between the medallion and himself, which was apparent the closer he was to it.
With that done, Raz sighed a breath of relief and was content with himself, as he had no doubt not a single person in the kingdom could have learned everything as fast as he did.
Next, he glanced at the crystal sphere on the bed and wanted to see its effects for himself.
He placed his hand on the globe before injecting mana into it, but before he could see its effect, a voice spoke in his mind.
[Compatible material for a system upgrade detected!]
[Would the host like to consume material for a system upgrade?] [Y/N]
Startled, Raz fell backward, luckily, landing on his bed with a soft thump as he looked around the dark room. But he saw and detected no one that could have said such a thing.
After a few seconds, he calmed down and calmly rationalized everything before finding the voice familiar and saying, "System, give me a rundown about yourself!"
[System Model: Amalthea B3B7DP]
[Purpose: An ever-evolving implant developed by the Wolark Republic's top-secret research division intended to aid a person in whatever they need. Capable of doing almost anything with the proper resources and knowledge to evolve.]
Hearing the explanation being directly transmitted into his mind, Raz started to laugh uncontrollably as a nostalgic and crazed look flashed in his eyes.
"Hahaha! So this is what you meant by a gift?" Raz laughed out loud as he had no doubt that the goddess he had met once again five years ago was definitely watching him.
During his second reincarnation into a spacefaring society where technology reigned supreme, he had actually created and ordered the research division to create this implant.
But before he could ever test it out, the Horde invaded, and the implant remained lost forever.
However, the goddess had ironically gifted him the implant somehow, which was definitely one of the keepsakes she had mentioned when he first arrived in this world.
[Would the host like to consume material known as 'Vandry' for a system upgrade?] [Y/N]
"What would the system upgrade entail?" Raz asked the system.
[With knowledge from the host and databank, the system has concluded that its current state is unfit for this world.]
[Material that conducts 'mana' is needed for adaption to this world. Vandry qualifies as such a material.]
"Alright, I agree to this upgrade," he told the system.
[Host must place both hands on the material before the upgrade process can begin.]
Raz placed both hands on the crystal sphere until he heard the system again.
[Initializing upgrade process. Most capabilities will be offline while the upgrade is in process. Please be aware that systems will be offline.]
[Upgrade status: 0%]
A weird feeling and force came from his hands, which began to tingle as Raz watched the sphere slowly shrink before it abruptly disappeared from in front of him.
[Material transferred] [Upgrade status: 2%] [Estimated time until completion: 15 hours, 26 minutes]
Looking around and under his bed, he looked for the crystal before scratching his head.
Although he never got to use the implant in his previous life, he had gotten periodical updates from his research team, and he definitely knew that whatever just happened was not meant to happen.
But he had a feeling that the system wasn't going to answer any of his questions until the upgrade had concluded.
Overwhelmed by everything that had just occurred, he put away the medallion back into the box before putting it away and lying in bed.
He had so many questions about the system and why it had only appeared just now instead of any other time.
Still, he could only hold onto them and ask them later before he slowly fell asleep as the sound of the nocturnal wildlife came alive around the mansion.