Within the depths of his consciousness, on the pages of the Book of Heroes—
the originally black pages were now brightly illuminated by several lines of shimmering golden text.
[Long Chain Trial II: Path of the Sacred Flame]
[With thy wisdom and strength, choose five companions and guide their magic to the forefront of the world.]
[Evaluation: Pending, to be settled after full completion of the trial]
[Reward: Dual Summoning Authority ×1, Colorless Brushstroke ×1, Limited "Wish" ×1]
There were only a few short lines, but to Shane's eyes at this moment, they were unbelievably adorable.
"Finally…"
Shane let out a long breath in his heart.
First came the usual rewards: Deep Summoning Authority +1 and Selection Authority +1.
There was no need to explain those. They were the foundation for summoning Heroic Spirits and building up combat power—absolute treasures, and the more the better.
But the other two rewards, which he had never seen before, left Shane somewhat baffled.
"Colorless Brushstroke? Limited 'Wish'?"
As his gaze lingered on them, the Book of Heroes produced concrete projections of the two rewards on the page.
On the left was a floating mark, as though someone had casually smeared transparent oil paint through the air. It carried an indescribable sense of law and structure.
On the right was a palm-sized golden cup. Its shape was simple. Though it lacked any elaborate decoration, it somehow seemed to gather all the luxury in the world into itself. Simply looking at it made one feel dizzy.
"Just from appearances… it's really hard to tell what they mean."
Thankfully, the Book of Heroes didn't play the riddle-master this time. As Shane let his thoughts brush against them, detailed explanatory text slowly appeared.
[Colorless Brushstroke: Allows the user to carry out one rule-level smearing and redrawing upon the Book of Heroes, thereby adding to or altering part of the holder's permissions.]
"Increase… permissions?"
Shane's heart skipped a beat.
Did that mean… this was basically a simplified "backend editor"?
He had originally felt a little disappointed that this reward batch didn't include another permanent Summoning Authority +1 like last time.
But after seeing this, the corners of his mouth immediately started to rise.
"This is way more useful than a simple permission boost!"
After all, he had long been fed up with the uncontrollable trigger mechanism of the Book of Heroes.
Every time the illusion progress reached completion, the Heroic Spirit illusion would forcibly descend. It couldn't be saved, and it couldn't be delayed.
Back when those illusions were just simple projections of consciousness, that had been one thing.
But now that the illusions were gradually beginning to interfere with reality—
this mechanism had gone from being an "information source" to a "time bomb" that might go off at any moment.
If he were suddenly dragged into an illusion at a critical moment—say, while handling an important life event, or during a decisive battle—that would be a disaster.
"Since it can be modified…"
Shane didn't hesitate. The moment he thought of it, he acted.
He immediately controlled his thoughts, wrapped them around the Colorless Brushstroke, and carefully smeared it across the title page of the Book of Heroes.
According to the description, it couldn't alter the deep foundational logic in any major way.
But merely adding a small patch was more than possible.
Bzzz—
The page trembled.
On the once-pristine title page, there now appeared a trace of oily paint, as though a strip of transparent tape had been pressed onto it.
Then, a new line of rule text appeared in the corner of the page:
[Illusion Storage: The holder may choose to place a bookmark marker on a Heroic Spirit Illusion that is about to trigger.]
[A marked illusion will enter a "frozen" state and will not descend immediately until the holder actively removes the bookmark. (Current bookmark limit: 1)]
"Perfect."
Looking at the modified Book of Heroes, Shane nodded in satisfaction.
If he hadn't been carrying two people in his arms right now, he almost would have applauded.
At first glance, this change seemed minor—just a simple convenience adjustment.
But in reality, it meant…
from now on, Heroic Spirit Illusions were no longer passive "events" that happened to him.
They had become a trump card he could hold in his own hands.
Whether it was preserving a powerful Heroic Spirit illusion to use like a Reality Marble against a strong enemy—
or finding a safe time, making full preparations, and then delving into the illusion carefully to explore it, perhaps even trying to contact people, objects, and phenomena within the illusion beyond the Heroic Spirit itself—
the room for maneuver had been expanded immeasurably.
"Whew… a reward this perfectly aligned with what I wanted… looks like my guess was right."
Shane stared at the thin book in his mind, growing more convinced:
"The Book of Heroes is something that responds to my strongest wishes."
With that thought, his curiosity toward the remaining golden cup instantly surged to the limit.
If the "Brushstroke" had answered his frustration with the system—
then what desire of his had this golden cup responded to?
"At my current stage, other than gaining control over the illusions, the thing I want most… is probably a way to deal with that Black Dragon."
Shane took a deep breath and, with equal parts expectation and tension, directed his thoughts toward the brilliantly shining cup.
What would it give him?
Directly grant him the power to slay dragons? Or some absurd anti-dragon Noble Phantasm?
That golden cup—
In the next instant, a short yet obscure flood of information poured into his mind.
[Limited Wish: The embryonic form of a wish-granting machine capable of realizing various wishes.]
[Its essence is a miracle that draws upon intangible concepts such as spirit and soul, then converts and solidifies them into "matter."]
[Note: This is not the omnipotence you imagine, but neither is it an ordinary tool. It is called a wish, but its true nature is miracle.]
[When you are filled with expectation, it will distort causality and, in this world… reproduce the reality that belongs to "Heroic Spirits."]
"The Holy Grail…"
Looking at the golden cup floating quietly in the space of his consciousness, bathed in rich, flowing magical radiance, Shane's breathing stopped for a moment.
Even though the Book of Heroes had named it "Wish,"
faced with a shape like this, any soul from Earth would immediately think of that miraculous relic.
That vessel which had appeared beneath the pens of countless artists,
the cup that had once stood witness as divine and mortal made their covenant at the long table,
the vessel that had received the blood of the holy one.
In legend, it was the end point of all seeking, the embodiment of miracle.
It was what elevated the very image of a cup into a sacred symbol beyond mortal things.
At that final supper where destiny was decided, He had once raised the cup in His hand and said—
"Drink from it, all of you; this is my blood…"
The disciples drank that blood which symbolized Him—the covenant blood shed for the sins of mankind—and through it founded the ritual of remembrance, forging a new covenant between God and man.
According to the rules of the Book of Heroes—the wider the legend spread, the stronger the faith, the greater the power—
if this golden cup truly carried even the slightest trace of the concept of that sacred relic from legend…
then the so-called "granting of wishes" was absolutely not some empty exaggeration.
Heat instantly flared in Shane's chest.
The upper limit of this object… might be far higher than he had imagined.
~~~
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