After advancing 'Mana Burst - Ice', Levi pondered for a short while. His initial plan was actually to raise the star level of 'Mana Manipulation'.
This skill determined the level of the 'Mage' Development Ability. Once its star level was raised, not only could he achieve more refined control over the various types of magic he had mastered, but the power they could unleash in battle would also be further enhanced under the influence of 'Mage'.
However, all of this was under the premise that he hadn't been discovered and was being watched by Freya. It was the same sentiment as before: Levi disliked the Goddess of Beauty, no matter which one.
Because these individuals, to obtain what they desired, would not hesitate to use their innate 'Charm'. And Levi despised having his own will distorted more than anything!
Now that he had obtained the 'Mana Core', combined with the 'Orion Class Card', his combat power could steadily reach the upper echelons of Lv. 7. If one also considered the effects of the Felis and Triangulum constellations, it wouldn't be impossible to pull a fast one on Ottar and nullify his enhancement skills.
Besides, he still had over a hundred million in materials waiting to be converted into Valis. He could absolutely conduct another round of targeted strengthening. At that point, to say he could string Ottar up and beat him might be an exaggeration, but he could definitely gain the upper hand in a fight.
On the surface, Orario seemed glamorous, hailed as the cradle of heroes. But beneath the surface, it was rife with gambling, prostitution, and drugs, plagued by all sorts of problems.
Here, there were certainly adventurers who upheld justice and order, but their endings were rarely good.
In the original timeline, why could the Goddess of Beauty Freya so easily charm all of Orario? Ultimately, it was due to four words—the law of the jungle.
Bell was low-level and not strong, so he was easily defeated by Ottar and forcibly taken away. Freya is a goddess, of noble status, and she cannot truly die. While in the lower world, she can use her bug-like power of Charm.
With such a premeditated advantage against the unsuspecting, she could, of course, turn Orario into her personal garden.
But conversely, if Bell's Falna level had reached Lv. 7 at that time, never mind defeating Ottar, even just holding his own against the latter would have been enough.
In that case, Ouranos, who seemed useless and even somewhat weak in the anime, would have inevitably chosen to intervene.
Levi was now at that stage. Although he was relying on external forces, he had indeed, to a certain extent, reached the pinnacle of Orario.
Since his strength was now sufficient, the next natural step was to consider how to resist the Goddess of Beauty's Charm.
The first thing that caught his eye was 'Goddesses' Loving Protection', or more accurately, the 'Goddess of Beauty's Protection' within it.
However, this magic, which was tied to Levi's soul's impulse, didn't actually have a star level. Or rather, it was directly correlated with the number of goddesses logged into the magic's page.
After trying to use a Star-Up Card and receiving feedback that the operation failed, Levi shook his head helplessly.
Next, he opened the DanMachi Gacha Pool interface on the permanent page.
In the world of DanMachi, throughout history, it was of course impossible for only Bell to have awakened a Charm resistance skill. After all, the Dungeon also spawned monsters with Charm abilities.
For example, Sirens, Mermaids...
However, the star levels of these Charm resistance skills were very low, mostly 4-star, with a few being 5-star. Their effects weren't impressive either, only providing small to moderate Charm resistance.
It wasn't even as good as the buff from the 'Moon Jewel - Craft Essence' he was currently equipped with.
Levi figured that even if he synthesized two 5-star skills together, he would most likely only get a 6-star skill that 'greatly increases Charm resistance'.
Against the Goddess of Beauty's Charm, it would surely have some effect. But it wouldn't be a decisive factor.
So...
After some thought, Levi set his sights on the 'Edict' skill.
'Edict' was essentially an application technique for talismans from the Genshin world. Because it involved interfering with the world, just like the 'Bartending Art of the Pure Water Blessing', this skill had also activated the 'Mystery' Development Ability.
In Levi's original plan, he was going to wait until the 'Genshin' Development Ability was upgraded to Zhongli's 'Rex Lapis Constellation', and then extract 'Talismans', 'Alchemy', and 'Land Scrying'—all of it—in one go.
But now, to counter the Goddess of Beauty's Charm, some things just couldn't wait.
This time, after using a Star-Up Card on 'Edict', the situation was different from what happened with 'Goddesses' Loving Protection'. In its place, a semi-transparent list appeared before Levi.
[Catalog of Skills Available as Upgrade Materials for 'Edict']
The list recorded the names of numerous skills, also noting their world of origin. However, Levi had only unlocked three gacha pools so far, and the vast majority of them were not lit up.
Only two lines of information were highlighted at the very top.
[Liaoling · 5-Star → Talismans · 6-Star]
[Rune Script · 5-Star → Primordial Rune (Fragment) · 6-Star]
'Liaoling' and 'Rune Script'. The former was from the Genshin world and, similar to 'Edict', was a method of utilizing talismans, just with more of a focus on summoning.
The latter originated from the Type-Moon world and was the modern, or weakened, version of the 'Primordial Runes' that Odin obtained in mythology after hanging himself from a tree by the Well of Wisdom.
'They even have Primordial Runes?' Levi murmured internally.
He had originally been dead set on upgrading in the direction of 'Talismans'. But the 'Liaoling' skill, the synthesis material, was similar to 'Edict' in that it couldn't be pulled directly from the gacha pool.
'Rune Script', on the other hand, being a fundamental component of modern magecraft in the Type-Moon world, appeared plainly in the Lv. 3 Type-Moon gacha pool.
'Primordial Runes it is, then. Not a bad deal.'
'Besides, if I really master 'Primordial Rune (Fragment)', I can use this skill to take a gamble on a Caster or Lancer Class Card later. Maybe I'll pull the purple old hag or one of Odin's alts, and turn this 'Primordial Rune (Fragment)' into the complete 'Primordial Rune'.'
Having made up his mind, Levi didn't hesitate. He opened the Lv. 3 Type-Moon gacha pool and set the designated item to 'Rune Script - Skill Book'.
In an instant, 12 million Valis were consumed. The soft pity gave him an Intermediate Saint Graph Exchange Ticket, which wasn't a waste since he needed it anyway.
As for the 'Rune Script - Skill Book' from the hard pity, Levi used it as fuel and fused it into 'Edict'.
The next moment, 24 symbols surfaced in his mind. The writing method for two-thirds of them was relatively simple, while the remaining third was clearly much more complex.
[Edict · 5-Star (Mastery 11%) → Primordial Rune (Fragment) · 6-Star (Proficiency 3%): Acquired Development Ability 'Mystery (G)'. Integrates a portion of 'Talisman' knowledge from the Genshin world. Allows for a certain degree of manipulation over the surrounding environment and objects through hand-drawing, incantations, carving, and other methods.]
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