Chapter 23: Isn’t this the friendly gesture you mentioned?

Alkyl octanitride.

That was the only thought running through Julius’s mind at this moment.

He even felt as if he were seeing the highlights of his life flashing before his eyes—though he had only been in this world for twelve years.

The boy could feel the Mana Core in his hand trembling violently.

This explosion was absolutely not something the pot lid he held could withstand.

If only he had kept a safe distance before injecting mana.

Just as Julius’s mind went blank, a slender hand suddenly snatched the rampaging Mana Core from his grasp.

In an instant, the violently trembling core abruptly calmed down.

The overflowing mana seemed to be smoothed by an invisible hand, obediently flowing along the patterns on the core’s surface.

Even the restless mana fluctuations in the air subsided like a retreating tide, leaving only the Magic Crystal Shard in the center of the core emitting a soft blue light.

Helos let out a long breath.

Her silver bangs were soaked with cold sweat, sticking to her forehead.

When she saw the Mana Core start trembling irregularly, her body had already acted before her mind could catch up.

By the time she came to, she had already snatched that hot potato into her own hand.

She had originally prepared to throw this dangerous thing out the window but didn’t expect that her “Curse” would actually come in handy at such a critical moment.

The girl stared blankly at her palm.

The patterns on the surface of the Mana Core were flowing with a tranquil blue glow.

The once wild energy now seemed like a tamed beast, obediently circulating between her fingers.

Even more astonishing was that the core seemed to be fully activated?

The light from the Magic Crystal Shard no longer flickered erratically but pulsed steadily, as if responding to her touch.

Helos could feel a strange resonance—like this tool had been custom-made for her.

She raised her head, her violet eyes shining with disbelief. “What is this?”

Julius was still holding the object, the pot lid crookedly perched on his head.

He blinked and swallowed nervously.

“So, so this……….. actually worked?”

Helos cradled the warmly glowing Mana Core, her silver hair swaying slightly as she tilted her head.

“I-I’m not sure either.”

She scratched her head in confusion, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the intricate patterns on the core’s surface.

At that moment, a strange pulse came from deep within her mind.

The girl suddenly closed her eyes, her consciousness diving into the spiritual world.

The Ultimate Alchemy book was slowly flipping in her mind, the pages rustling softly.

Her pale purple pupils trembled beneath her closed eyelids.

Helos was shocked to “see” golden words appearing on the originally blank pages, each stroke seemingly written by an invisible pen.

Those words gradually formed a familiar pattern—it was the complete schematic of the Mana Core she had just crafted!

This design even meticulously corrected a few minor flaws she hadn’t noticed before.

The curves of the patterns were smoother, and the distribution of nodes was more reasonable.

Just as she marveled at this unexpected discovery, the pages suddenly turned on their own with a rustling sound.

They finally stopped on a page glowing with golden light.

At the very top was the title “Mana Core” in bold characters.

Beside those characters was a square button that read: [Quick Manufacture]

Helos tilted her head.

***

After hesitating for a moment, she tentatively “clicked” the button.

Suddenly, a line of flickering text popped up in her vision:

【Insufficient materials, missing material: Magic Crystal ×1】

Helos immediately snapped out of the spiritual world and opened her eyes wide.

In reality, she nearly dropped the Mana Core onto the floor.

“What’s wrong?”

Julius was startled by her sudden reaction, the pot lid slipping off his head and clattering to the ground.

Helos remained silent, the corner of her mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Are we playing an MMORPG here?

She looked down at the Mana Core emitting a faint blue light in her hand, then glanced up at Julius’s baffled face.

She pursed her lips, suddenly turned around, pushed open the workshop door, and strode boldly into the moonlight.

The night breeze blew through her silver hair, making it shimmer under the moonlight.

The girl lifted her head, her pale purple eyes staring directly at the high-hanging full moon.

Slowly, she raised her right hand and flipped the middle finger toward the night sky with perfect form.

This damn goddess really needs some love.

You also like making systems that require pushing the main story to unlock other features, huh?

Julius stood at the doorway, watching Helos’s slender figure outlined by the moonlight, unsure how to respond.

Helos’s fingers trembled slightly in the night wind, as if accusing some unseen presence from afar.

Julius walked over beside her, tilting his head as he studied the still-raised middle finger.

Under the moonlight, the boy’s dark eyes were filled with innocent confusion reminiscent of a certain pure-hearted character.

“Uh, what does that gesture mean?”

He asked cautiously, seeming to want to change the subject.

Helos slowly lowered her hand and turned to look at the boy beside her.

Julius’s face, full of innocence, looked especially pure under the moonlight.

Even the shadows cast by his eyelashes had a certain foolish charm.

“It’s an internationally recognized friendly gesture.”

She explained seriously, though the corner of her mouth couldn’t help but curl upward slightly.

Julius nodded as if suddenly understanding, then earnestly raised his middle finger at Helos. “Is that so?”

Helos’s eyes immediately widened, her violet pupils contracting sharply.

She grabbed the boy’s wrist with one hand and pressed his finger down with force.

“Don’t you dare point that at me!!!”

She shouted angrily, her voice echoing sharply in the silent courtyard.

Julius was shocked by her sudden reaction, his ears almost standing up.

“B-but you just said it’s friendly to others……….”

“That’s for others!”

Helos gritted her teeth as she explained, unintentionally squeezing his wrist tighter.

“Not for me!”

“Why not?”

“No reasons!”

Helos was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Anyway, you just can’t use it like that!”

“O-okay.”

Seeing the boy’s puzzled expression, Helos seemed to drop the matter.

Over the next few days, she continued to delve into alchemical studies.

Helos sat beneath the oak tree in the courtyard, looking up at the branches overhead, but her thoughts had long drifted away—where on earth could she get a complete Magic Crystal?

Just as she was lost in thought, the sound of light footsteps came from the nearby corridor.

Helos instinctively looked up and saw two young maids meeting at the corner.

“Good morning, Lina~”

“Morning, Martha~”

The two maids greeted each other with radiant smiles and then—very naturally—raised their middle fingers at each other.

Helos’s pupils constricted sharply, and her chin nearly hit her knees.

She watched in disbelief as the two maids maintained the gesture, chatting and laughing as they passed by as if it were the most normal greeting in the world.

“Julius!!!”

Her sharp scream startled the sparrows perched in the treetops.

She sprang up from the grass, scattering the books on her legs with a rustle.

Helos’s pale purple eyes blazed with furious anger as she stormed toward the training grounds, her silver hair wildly flying behind her.

“What exactly have you been doing—!!!”