A ritual? Killing Stone?
Freya wasn't sure about the ritual itself, but she did know what a Killing Stone was.
A Killing Stone was a forbidden magical artifact capable of sealing the soul and magic of a fox person inside it.
Once sealed, the stone allowed others to use the fox person's magic.
If the Killing Stone were shattered, anyone holding a fragment could activate that magic.
Combining this with what Cao Ye had mentioned earlier about a "fox girl", the so-called ritual was probably a sacrificial ceremony.
After the ritual was completed, the fox girl's soul and magical power would be sealed within the Killing Stone.
Once the stone was broken, every fragment would effectively become a "level-up item."
"I see… so that's the plan."
Freya easily understood everything once the pieces were laid out.
However, even if Ishtar succeeded, Freya still didn't believe Ishtar posed any real threat.
Her familia contained:
Ottar – Level 7
Several Level 6 executives
Numerous Level 5 adventurers
Even if Ishtar's entire familia gained one extra level, Freya still didn't believe they could defeat her.
"So you want to use the Monster Offering incident as an excuse…"
"…to apply for a War Game with the Guild and force Ishtar to hand over that fox girl?"
Freya looked at Cao Ye.
"So that's your plan?"
"A person capable of raising someone's level…"
"Surely Lady Freya finds that tempting?"
Of course it was tempting.
Anyone would desire such a power.
Moreover, Cao Ye's plan had great potential.
And even if things went wrong—
It was only the Ishtar Familia.
Freya had never taken them seriously.
Even without this excuse, she could simply walk over and take the girl by force.
Would Ishtar dare oppose her directly?
Freya smiled.
She had never been a hesitant person.
If she wanted something, she would take it.
Especially when everything had already been prepared for her.
"To think Ishtar would sacrifice such talent…"
"What a waste of potential."
"Exactly."
"We're just rescuing a suffering fox girl."
"Very well."
"I'll handle this matter."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Lady Freya."
Cao Ye smiled.
At this rate, that fox beauty was practically guaranteed to fall into their hands.
If Freya personally stepped in, everything would be resolved easily.
Whether following the rules or ignoring them—
Freya held all the cards.
This was the advantage of having a powerful backer.
Even accidents could turn into opportunities.
After Freya left, Cao Ye poured himself a glass of water.
His drowsiness had mostly disappeared, so he had no intention of going back to sleep.
At that moment he suddenly remembered a reward he had ignored yesterday during the gacha.
Gemcraft.
In the world of Fate, this was the magic passed down through the Tohsaka family.
It was a type of magecraft that used gems as a medium.
Gems were good at storing the intent and magical power of their owner, which formed the basis of Gemcraft.
The Tohsaka magi usually stored their magical energy inside gems.
However, using the magic stored inside a gem would cause the gem to shatter.
Because minerals that sleep underground for long periods easily develop natural spirits, attribute-bearing gemstones naturally function as simple magical circuits.
For example:
A gem containing the spirit of fire could easily ignite when infused with mana.
A gem containing wind would behave similarly.
However, this was also an extremely expensive form of magic.
No matter which world you were in, gems were valuable.
Often extremely expensive.
"Wait a second…"
"I might finally have the ability to turn a fantasy into reality!"
Suddenly Cao Ye's expression changed.
Gemcraft.
Imaginary Magecraft.
Class Skill: Item Construction.
Development Ability: Mystery.
With all of these combined—
An idea he had once considered might now actually be possible.
"I wonder if magic stones count as gemstones…"
Cao Ye took out a magic stone.
He tried using Gemcraft to inject magical power into it.
But after several attempts, he gave up.
Although magic stones looked like gems, their essence was actually the core of monsters, already filled with magical energy.
Fortunately, he still had some gemstones he had taken earlier from the dwarf shopkeeper.
Originally he had planned to save them for impressing girls.
After all, women loved shiny things.
The one he held now was a ruby, though the quality wasn't particularly high.
Back then he had never imagined he would actually use it himself.
Under Cao Ye's control, magical energy slowly flowed into the ruby.
Next, he attempted to introduce the power of the Imaginary attribute into it.
With the support of Item Construction and Mystery, creating a magical item wasn't too difficult.
This had always been Cao Ye's idea:
To create a miniature Imaginary Space inside a medium.
Something similar to a spatial ring used for storage.
Ever since obtaining Imaginary Magecraft and Imaginary Space, he had dreamed of making such an item.
But every attempt had previously failed.
Creating an Imaginary Space was extremely difficult.
Eventually he had given up.
But now—
That idea resurfaced.
With Gemcraft storing magical power inside the gem…
Perhaps a gemstone infused with his Imaginary-attribute mana could support a small imaginary space.
Combined with the boosts from Item Construction and Mystery…
In this world—
He might actually be able to create a spatial storage item.
With that thought, Cao Ye entered a state of intense excitement and began experimenting repeatedly.
Meanwhile…
Freya had already arrived at the Guild headquarters with Ottar.
"Goddess Freya!"
Seeing her arrive, a pink-haired Guild employee hurried over in greeting.
Freya belonged to one of the two strongest familias in Orario.
A small Guild worker like her naturally had to treat Freya carefully.
If the goddess became dissatisfied, her job might be in danger.
"Where is Royman Mardeel?"
Freya immediately called out the name of the Guild chairman.
"Huh? You want to see the chairman?"
"Why? Is he not here?"
Freya glanced at the girl.
A sudden pressure filled the room, making the Guild employee barely able to breathe.
"H-He's not here…"
"Not here?"
Freya frowned slightly.
However, she didn't make things difficult for the employee.
"When will he return?"
"Very soon!"
"I'll have someone go find him immediately. He'll return right away."
"Good."
"Then I'll wait here."
Freya walked inside with Ottar.
Her meaning was obvious:
She intended to wait until the chairman returned.
At that moment, the employee finally realized something.
Something serious must have happened.
Otherwise Freya would never have shown up in person with such an attitude.
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