The Miraculous Scroll

[ You have opened the beginner Self Reliance Chest! ]

[ You have obtained a 'Self Assessment + Modification Scroll! ]

[ You have obtained an 'Energy Processing Candy Machine'! ]

[ You have obtained a 'Random Superpower Fruit' (Nature)! ]

"Is this supposed to be the explanation?" Chrome questioned the floating quill as he stared at the lines in confusion. Only the lacking fanfare stopped him from linking them to reward notifications in games.

[ Affirmative. This is the basic representation of the items that the Palace Master has received from the beginner Self Reliance Chest. You can inquire further about each of them, answering these inquiries is my duty as the Palace Master's assistant. ]

'Hmmm…'

Although it felt weird to have a conversation with a typing tool claiming to be his assistant, Chrome didn't ponder too much on that thought, trying to match the names provided by the quill with the respective item they presented.

'Let's leave that candy machine aside for now.'

While he wondered why the metallic cube was referred to as some sort of candy machine, the two other items were more straightforward about their nature. The 'Energy Processing' aspect tickled his interest, but he was already decided on the item that he was most curious about!

'Let's check out the fruit first!'

Just the mere presence of the 'Superpower' within its name made the fruit a prime target. After all, a special ability that would be viable for the Extra Academy's admission test was what he sought the most right now.

"How is this fruit supposed to work?" Picking up the pale white fruit shaped like a mango, Chrome questioned the fruit's edible identity. Taking the metallic box as an example, there was no telling if it had a strange usage condition.

[ This fruit can be consumed to obtain a random Superpower within its type's limitation. As a nature-type fruit, it would grant the Palace Master a natural special ability. ]

The explanation was redundant but it immediately cleared Chrome's doubts. More questions popped into his mind in regard to the potential of something like this if he could take it out. However, after being starved for this long, Chrome disregarded all thoughts as he bit into the pitless mango!

'It's sweet.'

The fruit strangely changed color to faint blue as soon as the first bite fell through his throat, giving him something to think about as he tried to distinguish the taste he just had. While there were tastes that he couldn't recognize within the fruity mix, he managed to pick up the taste of orange and strawberries after finishing the whole thing.

[ Congratulations! You have obtained a Rare-grade Natural Superpower! ]

"Huh? Why don't I feel any different? What kind of a Superpower did I obtain?"

[ You can check the 'Self Assessment + Modification Scroll' to understand more about the ability the Palace Master has gained. All I can affirm is only the grade of the Superpower. ]

"This…?"

Grabbing the scroll that looked identically old to the one floating in front of his face, Chrome removed the thin black ribbon that tied it before unfurling the scroll…

__________________________

Name: Chrome Blue

Age: 18

Energy Points (EP): 11/11

_________________

Palace Points:

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Self Reliance points (SRP): 0

_________________

Physical status:

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Strength: 9

Agility: 10

Vitality: 8

Intelligence: 12

Perception: 9

Charm: 10

_________________

Special Abilities:

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- [Basic Energy Emission] - (Point Consuming Growth Ability)

+Emission rate: 0.55EP per hour

+Energy Emission Capacity: 11

- [Basic Lightning] (Point Consuming Growth Ability) (Rare-Grade)

+Deals an attack value equivalent to 10 times the amount of EP consumed to activate it. (Up to an attack value of 100.)

=Deals an attack value equivalent to 5 times the amount of EP consumed to activate it. (Starting from higher than an attack value of 100 and up to an attack value of 200.) [<Currently Locked>]

________________________

"Ah…"

The scroll was so self-explanatory that Chrome directly understood its purpose just by referring to some gaming knowledge. Even then, this item was just as surprising as the fruit that he just consumed. It was no different than his very own portable assessment facility possessing the rarest of functions limited to only a few assessment centers!

"So this 'Energy' is basically Exos?"

The one thing that made Chrome doubt the authenticity of the scroll's information less was precisely all information relating to his 'Energy'. After all, this was the topic that his counterpart knew about the most, which was also the cause of his life-long misery…

[ Affirmative. The Energy recorded within the scroll is what the Palace Master recognizes as Exos within his memory. ]

Being born with the lowest Exos Capacity rating of 1 point, alter Chrome was already unfortunate from the very start. Quite a number of children faced the same problem only to grow out of it with time. However, his Exos Capacity Growth rating came out worse at half a point per year! The last time he took a break from the numerous part-time jobs he took and forked out the money to visit the assessment center, his result came out as a pitiful 10…

'The 'shocking' increase of a point is probably thanks to the Awakening Pill.'

An increase of one point could be considered mild at best, especially for someone whose Capacity was as low as 10 to begin with, but this was an amount worth 2 years for Chrome. The source was easy to guess as the pill worked by releasing an Exos energy wave to stimulate the dormant special ability that normally required a higher Exos rating to achieve a natural awakening, allowing one to wield his Superpower much, much earlier!

Although Chrome didn't know the theory behind storing Exos in the pill, this was all directly mentioned in the instruction paper. It wasn't far-fetched for that stimulus to have caused an increase of 1 point in capacity. Unfortunately, that discovery was worth nothing to the Exos-lacking Chrome…

Not only was it not cheap, but the limitation imposed on the drug's supply also made it useless as an Exos boosting tool. Otherwise, all of those rich families built around 'Extra' figures would have ensured that everyone in their lineage would possess high Exos ratings just by popping a few dozen Awakening Pills like candy.

'The effectiveness of a second dose is also questionable.'

Not to mention that he had struggled to buy one, let alone dozens of them, Chrome already saw hope in the route presented by this mysterious throne room!

"Haaaah." Taking a deep breath, Chrome organized his scattered thoughts, steeling his mind for any upcoming surprise before asking, "How am I supposed to use this [Basic Lightning]? And what does this (Point Consuming Growth Ability) mean exactly?"

Naturally, the part that excited Chrome the most was the sight of the [Basic Lightning] ability representing the fruit's successful consumption!

'Generate Electricity' or 'Lightning Call' were all Superpowers that Chrome's counterpart was familiar with. After all, all abilities relating to energy discharge were usually of high ranking on the offensive ability chart. It was only normal for him to be happy about receiving something similar.

The abilities shown by the throne room were already mind-boggling enough, but they all appeared more useful in the long run. Only a straightforward special ability could truly bring a change to his gray stagnant life…

[ Superpowers obtained through the Palaces' help like [Basic Lightning] are directly initiated through the Palace Master's thought, the amount of Energy Points invested being the core of such thoughts. As for the meaning of the Growth Characteristic, a more informative answer would be an advice to check the last item remaining within the beginner chest. ]