"...And that's how I assume the Empire would move."

Night.

After the defense against the zombies concluded, everyone gathered at the castle to discuss future matters, specifically how to handle the Empire.

Originally, the plan was to hold the Empire in check by keeping their first princess and first prince in captivity. However, due to unforeseen events, Prince Kyle ended up dead—a decision that, in hindsight, was a grave mistake. But one that could not be avoided.

Even given another chance, Axel would still allow Eve to take her revenge through him without hesitation.

After listening to Beatrix's lengthy speech, Axel felt convinced.

"So the Empire's quite a self-centered bunch..." he sighed. "To clarify, unless they send another wave our way, it will take them at least a month before they actually move, right?"

"Yes, Sir Axel," Beatrix replied, nodding. "To be specific, they might send someone to check on the two royalties soon, but even that should take a few weeks to reach us."

"I see..."

For Axel's team, the distance of 500 kilometers was something they could cover in under a minute with Fenrir's help. Even without that advantage, they could reach their destination using an aircraft in about 10 to 30 minutes.

However, for the people of this world, who had to travel on foot, it was a significant distance. They would need to spend days upon days to arrive.

"Should we strengthen our defenses, just in case?" Arianne suggested, raising her hand.

Her suggestion was logical and grounded in common sense; however, Axel shook his head.

"It's still too far off. By then, I think our overall strength will have improved by two or three levels from where we are now."

Even now, Axel was using potions to boost the stats of everyone in the Valkyrie Knight Order by a solid +200. Additionally, he was employing the tonics he crafted himself to enhance the stats of those at the top equally, beginning with Arianne, who was the most battle-ready among them.

As for Fenrir, Axel was focused on breaking the curse of Gleipnir.

Now that he had access to magic, he was becoming increasingly familiar with the mysterious golden chain. He believed that, given another week, he could unlock an additional layer of Fenrir's seal, allowing her to unleash 25% of her latent strength.

What concerned him the most, however, was the stat limit.

As "mortals," they could only raise their stats to a maximum of SS-rank—2,500 points. This was a hard limit that typically could not be exceeded. Fenrir, being part-god and a mythical being, was the only one among them who was not bound by this restriction.

Yet, of course, there were ways to "cheat" the limit.

Axel's accessories, particularly those that increased values by a percentage, were quite special. They did not have to adhere to the mortal limits on stats!

In fact, he consistently wore various accessories that boosted his strength, agility, vitality, and mana by 50% each. With these enhancements, he was essentially unmatched by others—unless they were gods!

"Anyway," Axel continued, "I suppose we can postpone discussions on our movements for ten days, until the Empire's soldiers arrive here."

They had ample time to consider their options, and there was no need to rush.

"I understand. Then, with no other topics to address, we'll conclude the meeting here for today," Beatrix smiled.

Everyone began to rise, exiting the room in pairs. Some were heading to the baths, to freshen up before sleep, while others went straight to their rooms.

Axel, however, was headed elsewhere.

In the castle, he technically had three rooms: his bedroom, the throne room—though still unofficial—and his office. He was making his way to his office.

Although it was late into the night, his daily tasks were far from over.

"Alright..."

Axel accessed several system panels, meticulously reviewing each detail. He focused particularly on his autocrafting speed.

[

Auto-Crafting Speed Bonus: +286%

Crafting Multiplier: +1.25 (one extra every four items)

Batch Crafting Limit: 9,999 units

Dismantling Bonus (+20%): 16% chance

Concoction Auto-craft Speed Bonus: +78%

Concoction Bonus Slot: 1 (can initiate an extra process of the same item)

]

Various daily bonuses, quest rewards, and similar factors had contributed to the accumulation of his bonuses up to this point.

Thanks to that, after three weeks, his total funds from selling auto-crafted items had finally reached 10 Quadrillion Colts!

He was just three digits short of reaching his target, but the closer he got, the more daunting the challenge felt.

He knew that selling the Ultimate Potions, or his version of the Tonics, would easily cover his debt of 20 Quintillion. However, the risks involved in doing so were beyond his current abilities.

Thus, even with roughly 260 days left to prepare, he felt troubled.

"Given my current capacity, the best I can achieve by the deadline is about 200 Quadrillion."

He was still far from his goal!

But that wasn't all he was concerned about.

He had already searched for and purchased various new crafting recipes to boost his sales, but the market appeared saturated. Even when he targeted niche markets, or specialize, it all ended the same.

His products, aside from the newly upgraded items, were barely selling, if at all!

He reached a point where he had to stop auto-crafting some items and wait for their stocks to sell out before resuming production. This was a significant loss!

At that moment, Axel realized the truth.

The upgraded recipes he possessed had reached the maximum quality level he could offer.

To sell something pricier, he would either need to take on bigger projects or upgrade the recipes he already had himself.

Of course, to minimize his cost-related risk, he chose the latter.

Unlike traditional crafting, which required a forge or workshop, he could rely solely on his system. Thus, experimenting with various elements wasn't difficult. Each cycle ended with just a few taps.

The only issue was the repetitiveness of the process.

Although his crafting tab had only nine slots, he wasn't restricted to just raw materials. Sometimes, components needed to be crafted first, which was essential for creating the final item.

In short, he had to experiment with various combinations, starting from the base recipe and working his way up to find a suitable "upgrade" for it.

This daunting process did not deter Axel.

Through this exhaustive effort, he managed to discover five upgraded recipes that were on a different level entirely... Or technically, mutations.

First is the Ultimate Voodoo Dolls.

This item is a direct upgrade from the Advanced Voodoo Dolls, enabling the caster to increase their curses' output by 1,500%. Additionally, Ultimate Voodoo Dolls are durable and do not break after a single use; they can withstand casting hundreds of curses.

The second is the Holy Sword, which was derived from his Low-Quality Sword and transformed into this superior version.

The third is Heaven's Armor, a direct upgrade of the Holy Light Armor.

The fourth is a 9mm pistol, the same one that Eve used against Kyle, which he developed while experimenting with Hecate's recipe.

And finally...

The World Tree's seed.

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