Jester stared. The panel was there. The stats were there. The level was there. This was monumental.
His Soulheart Gear truly brought whatever he gained there to reality. That Toonworld was not just a dream. It was a training ground. A source of tangible power.
His eyes fell on his active trait: [Stretch!]. He remembered using it to reach high branches in Toonworld. His limbs elongating like rubber. Could it work here?
He cautiously extended his arm. Focusing on the feeling of elasticity he'd experienced as Nightclown. It felt... different. Not as cartoonish and effortless.
He strained. A slight pull in his muscles. His arm lengthened. Not by two meters easily like in Toonworld. But reaching a meter further was still possible. It was... ridiculously amazing.
His fingers reached much further than they should. He could touch the edge of the low retaining wall that bordered the garden. A stretch he usually couldn't make without taking a few steps.
He held it for a moment. Then relaxed. His arm snapped back to normal. Not with BOINK! sound effect and ridiculous special effect like in Toonworld. But it worked. It worked even without the exaggerated, reality-bending ease of Toonworld.
This one was great.
Next, the inventory. He focused on the icon for the [Growth Carrots]. He mentally willed one to appear. A faint shimmer. And then a perfectly ordinary, albeit bright orange, carrot materialized in his outstretched hand.
It looked like any carrot. The clean one though. Fresh from a garden patch. Washed by pure spring. Without any speck of dirt on it.
He brought it to his nose. It smelled, well, like a carrot. He took a bite. It crunched. A satisfying snap between his teeth. The taste was exactly like a fresh, sweet carrot.
No cartoon sparkles. No sudden surge of energy. Just good, wholesome vegetable. He chewed thoughtfully. Swallowing it afterward.
He waited. No instant level up. No system notification. He felt... nourished. Perhaps slightly more energetic than before. But nothing immediate or dramatic. He checked his Status Panel again. Still Level 3.
"Huh?" He muttered. "Not as potent here, then."
But the fact that he could bring items out was incredible. This was real. He tried to take out the [Ironwood Branch]. It worked too. Interesting. He put it back.
He still had one more [Growth Carrot]. Using it here seemed like a waste. But, Jester needed to make sure whether he could level up in the real world or not.
He took the second [Growth Carrot] from his inventory. With a little bit hesitation this time. But, if the first one was nourishing, the second might push him over the edge.
He crunched through it. Savoring the fresh, earthy sweetness.
This time, as he swallowed the last bite, a faint warmth spread through him. Not the explosive sensation of Toonworld. But more gentle one. A deepening of the feeling of well-being. He recalled his Status Panel.
[Level: 4]
He blinked. It had worked. The Growth Carrots still contributed to his leveling. He had consumed four carrots in total. Two in Toonworld. Two in Sherra. And each contributed to his overall progress.
Jester stood straight. Feeling the new, subtle power coursing through him. Level 4. The improvement felt more obvious here in real world. It felt good. Very good.
...
Meanwhile, Oakhaven was set ablaze with enthusiasm.
Oakhaven Gazette hit the streets that morning. Plastered with the news of his and Vale's research. It didn't take long before it resulted in initial frenzy.
The Oakhaven Gazette arrived with the usual clatter against front doors. And thud onto shop counters. But that morning, the front page wasn't about depressing news of destruction. It was about Jester, Vale, and their accomplishment.
"OAKHAVEN TEENAGERS UNLOCK SOULHEART GEAR SECRETS! RESEARCH PROMISES HIGH-GRADE AWAKENINGS FOR ALL!"
The headline screamed in bold, heavy print. Below it, a grainy photograph of Jester and Vale was set.
The article spanned three columns. It detailed the previous day's Awakening Ceremony and the unprecedented success rate. Then, it dove into the core of the matter. The research itself.
The paper laid out the method with stark clarity. It wasn't magic, the article claimed. Instead, it was a refined understanding of resonance.
To achieve a high-star Soulheart Gear, a person needed to prepare two things. A specific environment. And the exact sound of the Awakening Bell. Either recorded or perfectly replicated.
The environment was crucial. A place that could be turned completely dark. Devoid of all light. Within this darkness, there would be 'hundreds of different objects, placed randomly by others'.
The purpose of random placement was to eliminate conscious bias. When the precise sound of the Awakening Bell played, the individual needed to focus.
They were to feel for the objects that resonated most strongly with them. Under the influence of the bell sound.
If no object produced a clear resonance, the instructions were simple. Replace the objects and try again.
The entire process was designed to strip away conscious thought. And allow the subconscious to connect the unique inner potential within each individual with the most potent foci suitable for them.
The town initially reacted with a stunned silence. Then, a roar.
At the breakfast tables across Oakhaven, jaws dropped, coffee cups clattered.
Mr. Henderson, a gruff baker, nearly choked on his oatmeal. His son, Jimmy, was scheduled for his Awakening next year.
"Hundreds of objects? Dark room? What in the blazes...?" He muttered. But his eyes were wide with a desperate hope.
Jimmy, the lanky fourteen-year-old, snatched the paper. His own awakening had been a source of quiet dread for him. Knowing most people ended up with zero-star duds. Now, this. A tangible method.
Parents devoured the article. Especially those with children nearing fifteen. Mrs. Thimble, a meticulous seamstress, immediately began mentally cataloging every loose item in her house.
"A dark place, Arthur! The old cellar! And hundreds of objects. We need to start collecting!"
Her husband, a pragmatic carpenter, scratched his chin. "Resonance, eh? Makes a twisted kind of sense. The bell's power. Focused. This method is... efficient." The word 'efficient' was high praise. Coming from one like Arthur Thimble.
The town square was usually a sleepy hub of morning errands. But now, it became a hive of frantic discussion. People gathered in knots. The folded newspapers held like sacred texts.
"Did you see this, Martha? Jester and Vale! Those two scamps!"
"They say it works, George! Remember Rock Sevenson from the Palmcoast? He got a nine-star five years ago. That was just a dumb luck! Now anyone can have a chance!"
"Chance? It's practically a guarantee, if the paper's right. It says 'High-power grades for all!'"
The excitement was almost like a physical force. It wasn't just about personal gain. It was about Oakhaven.
Gloom previously covered the whole town. Dungeons kept appearing. Undead creatures sometimes drifted down from the Wailing Peaks. And the nine demon invasions within this five years...
Oakhaven needed competent defenders. Stronger Soulheart Gear meant stronger defenders in the future. It meant a safer town.
The most fervent reactions came from those who had attended the Awakening Ceremony the previous day. For them, it wasn't a possibility. It was a certainty. They had seen it happen. They had felt the surge of power from the high-star Soulheart Gear.
Vale was still buzzing from his own perfect-star awakening. He read the article at home. a wide, goofy grin plastered across his usually cold face.
His mother looked at him with a pride from her eyes. "My boy! You and Jester! To think, you cracked it!"
His father, a taciturn man, only nodded. But his chest puffed out slightly. "Good work, son. Good work. This changes things."
Across town, Maya stared at the article. Her own eight-star 'Iridescent Paintbrush' still felt like a dream. Now, it was confirmed reality.
She wasn't lucky. She was a part of the group who were willing to do the experiments. The one Jester and Vale conducted.
Her parents were initially skeptical of her joining the 'weird experiment'. But, they now apologized profusely for doubting her.
"We should have listened, Sweetie. You were right to trust those two!"
The mayor, in his office, had already received calls from other towns. And even from the president's secretary. The news traveled fast. Even without the internet.
Mayor Bardean felt a swell of pride. Not just for his nephew, Vale . But also Oakhaven. And the resourcefulness of its youth. He had seen the potential. And now it was concrete.
He drafted a formal proposal to the regional council. Detailing the research. And suggesting a standardized approach for future Awakenings. Oakhaven would be a beacon.
Not everyone was ecstatic though. Some who had awakened with zero-star or low-star gear in previous years felt a pang of bitterness. They had missed out. Their future was set. Their gear was already bound.
But even for many of them, their resentment was tempered by the hope. For their younger siblings. For their children. The tide was turning.
The practicalities of the research quickly became a planning challenge.
"Where do we get the bell sound?" A worried mother asked. The Awakening Bell was a sacred object. Only rang during the Awakening Ceremony.
But the article anticipated this. 'An object that can imitate the sound of the Awakening Bell accurately. The same sound, pitch, and tone.'
This sent people scrambling. Musicians started experimenting. Sound engineers, few and far between in Oakhaven, were suddenly in high demand.
One enterprising young man, Marcus, realized he could simply record the bell's sound at the next ceremony. Assuming the mayor allowed it. He hurried to the town hall to inquire.
Over the next few days, the town hummed with a different kind of energy. It was a focused, almost obsessive energy.
The threat of the supernatural was always present. But now, there was a clear, actionable path to fight back.
Hope had been delivered. Not by a legendary hero. But by two teenagers. And a stack of carefully documented experiments.
The air itself seemed to vibrate with anticipation. A collective resonance building towards the next, monumental Awakening Day. Just one more month.