To Noah, the sight of Velen pulling out over a hundred High-Explosion Scrolls was already beyond belief.
After all, what kind of sane awakener would buy and carry so many High-Explosion Scrolls?
Boom!
In Noah's moment of distraction, the thunder runes formed by the hundred High-Explosion Scrolls unleashed by Anastasia struck the Magma Giant like grinding millstones.
Even with its incredibly durable body, the Magma Giant was battered to the point of cracking under the dazzling lightning.
Its scorching, thick frame now bore several fissures.
Meanwhile, the rocky ground surrounding the Magma Giant was riddled with deep craters and grooves, a chaotic mess resembling a plowed field.
Seeing the Magma Giant injured, Noah and the others gasped sharply.
This was a mana beast formed by a tier-3 scroll, yet it was now riddled with cracks, as fragile as shattered porcelain.
It seemed as though a single more powerful blow would utterly destroy it!
"This monster's pretty tough. Let's keep going!"
A glimmer of surprise flashed in Velen's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by excitement.
After all, he had been racking his brain on how to burn through all the scrolls provided by the system in a show of wealth.
This monster was clearly the perfect target!
Seeing Velen enthusiastically unfurling more scrolls, Anastasia quickened her pace as well.
In no time, thousands of thunder runes gathered in front of them.
The sheer oppressive force radiating from the scrolls alone caused some of the House of Violet youths to faint out of sheer terror.
There's just too many!
They simply couldn't endure it!
"If all these scrolls go off, this entire valley will be leveled," Anastasia murmured to herself.
She turned her head slightly to glance at Velen.
This guy wasn't just an unfathomably wealthy tycoon—he was downright ruthless.
Throwing down so many scrolls would grind these people into dust!
She had to admit, though, that she kind of liked his personality.
Boom!
The entire valley began to quake violently, as if an earth dragon had stirred beneath it. Everything within the valley was obliterated by the terrifying thunderstorm, reduced to black ash that surged into the sky.
The overwhelming force could be felt clearly even dozens of miles away.
Anastasia's mentor, an elderly envoy wielding a dragon-headed staff, had just finished dealing with another matter when he turned his horrified gaze toward the valley.
Such power was enough to obliterate an Adept Rank mage.
What on earth was happening there?
More importantly, his protégé, Anastasia, and Velen were still there!
With worry etched on his face, the old man rushed toward the valley as quickly as possible.
The closer he got, the more grave his expression became. From the chaotic mana fluctuations, he could sense a faint trace of dread.
"High-Explosion Scroll waves… and very chaotic ones at that. Who unleashed so many scrolls here? Judging by the power, there must have been at least a thousand of them!"
His words trailed off as disbelief took over.
Even the House of Violet, with all its wealth as an alchemy family, wouldn't squander resources like this.
When he arrived at the edge of the valley, what he saw left him utterly dumbfounded.
In the valley, Velen was urging Anastasia to unfold scrolls faster.
At a glance, the two of them had simultaneously unleashed at least a hundred High-Explosion Scrolls!
"Miss Anastasia, how do you have so many High-Explosion Scrolls? And how can you waste them like this? A single High-Explosion Scroll is worth thousands of gold coins!"
Although he didn't know what had happened, the old man stepped forward with a pained expression, trying to stop them.
"Perfect timing, senior. My mentor and I are a bit tired. Come help me unfold these scrolls," Velen said, handing the old man a storage pouch.
The old man instinctively took the pouch and peeked inside. What he saw made his entire face flush with shock.
Five thousand High-Explosion Scrolls!
Was he dreaming?
"Velen, using all these scrolls is too wasteful. There are five thousand of them! Even just unfolding them would exhaust anyone…"
The old man tried to dissuade Velen from being so reckless.
After all, gold coins didn't just fall from the sky.
Velen nodded thoughtfully. "True, it's quite tiring to activate so many scrolls. Here's 100,000 gold coins as compensation for your trouble. Please accept it, senior!"
The old man's eyes widened in disbelief, wondering if he had misheard.
That wasn't what he meant at all!
"Is there a problem?" Velen asked, curious at the old man's dazed expression. "Or do you think the gold coins aren't enough?"
Hearing the jingle of gold coins colliding within the pouch, the old man hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, Velen, I have no problem at all. In fact, this task is quite challenging and suits me perfectly!"
Without another word, he eagerly opened the storage pouch and began deftly unfolding the scrolls, his movements fluid and efficient.
"How's my speed, Velen?" he asked with a hint of pride.
Before Velen could respond, the system's notification sounded in his mind.
"Congratulations, host, for successfully flaunting your wealth. You have earned 100 luxury points!"
Velen was momentarily stunned.
He had only wanted to burn through the scrolls quickly, but now there was an unexpected bonus!
Anastasia, on the other hand, was utterly speechless.
The old man was one of the protectors of the House of von Michelstein, yet his attitude shifted far too quickly.
Soon, under the combined efforts of the three, all the High-Explosion Scrolls provided by the system were finally used up.
The old man and Anastasia flexed their sore hands, their expressions complicated as they looked at Velen.
"To think that one day I'd exhaust myself unfolding scrolls…"
Velen chuckled, and the system's voice rang in his ears once more.
"Congratulations, host, for successfully flaunting all of today's resources. You have earned 1,000 luxury points!"
Hearing this, Velen's eyes lit up with excitement.
Glancing at his total luxury points—1,500 in all—he nodded in satisfaction.
According to the system:
Advancing one sub-rank in Novice Rank required 10 luxury points.Advancing one sub-rank in Apprentice Rank required 100 luxury points.Advancing one sub-rank in Adept Rank required 1,000 luxury points!
After some thought, Velen decided to first use the points to reach Apprentice Rank Level 9.
In this strength-driven world, wealth without power would make him nothing more than a treasure trove for others.
With 510 luxury points remaining, he planned to test his luck with the system's lottery feature.
Channeling 990 luxury points into the system, Velen suddenly felt a peculiar pull radiating from his body.
Like an invisible black hole, his body rapidly absorbed mana from the surroundings, creating ripples in the air.
Anastasia and the old man immediately noticed the sudden change.
"Is he… awakening his mana core?"
The two exchanged bewildered glances.
In this era, mana core awakening wasn't unusual.
But Velen's awakening was… different.
Typically, mana surged outward during awakening, emanating from within.
But for Velen, mana was converging inward, drawn from the world around him. It was like the stars themselves were aligning in his favor.
As time passed, the phenomenon grew increasingly astonishing.
Velen's body began levitating as countless specks of mana coalesced into dazzling light, resembling a swarm of fireflies pouring into him. The surge of mana formed a towering storm that pierced the heavens.
Even Anastasia and the old man felt their own mana being forcibly drawn toward him.
The old man squinted, his expression filled with nostalgia and astonishment.
"This grand and eerie phenomenon… it's a hundred times more magnificent than the young lady's awakening!"
Anastasia, meanwhile, stared fixedly at Velen's heart. Her stunning face was filled with disbelief.
She couldn't sense a mana core within him.
No mana core—how could he awaken?
And yet, Velen's body continued to draw in mana, undergoing an unimaginable transformation.
This was awakening, but on a scale far beyond anything she had ever encountered.
As she focused more intently, Anastasia was shocked to discover that while there was no mana core in Velen's heart, a mysterious mana pattern was beginning to take shape, unleashing a terrifying tidal wave of mana!