Removing [Meditation (Lv.7)] and [Hundred Arts (Lv.7)] from his idle slots, Byakuya equipped the two newly acquired traits.
A minute later.
[Magic Circuits (White) (0/?)] [Idling…
(Click to claim 100 Growth Points)]
[Magic Power (Lv.0) (0/100)] [Idling…
(Click to claim 100 Proficiency)]
Byakuya immediately claimed the 100 proficiency points for [Magic Power].
Instantly, a wealth of “experience” from repeated training to increase Magic Power flooded his mind.
Simultaneously, the Magic Power within his body grew in a way that matched those “memories.”
This was exactly why the gains from the system’s idle slots were not applied directly to the overall stats, but required manual claiming.
For talent traits, each claim resulted in an evolution corresponding to the Growth Points.
For ability traits, each claim delivered the relevant experience alongside the proficiency, ensuring that no matter how great the leap in power, the user could maintain precise control over every single drop of strength.
After absorbing the rewards from a minute of idling the [Magic Power] trait, Byakuya clicked the flashing notification.
[The proficiency for skill [Magic Power (Lv.0)] is full.
Would you like to increase it to a higher level?]
Yes!
[[Magic Power (Lv.0)] has been upgraded to [Magic Power (Lv.1)]]
[[Magic Power (Lv.1)] has gained 1 additional point of Intensity (Current Cumulative Intensity: 1)]
“Hmm?”
Although the three Command Spells were gone, the contract between Master and Servant still existed.
At this almost face-to-face distance, Morgan could clearly sense the general state of Byakuya on the other end of the contract, and she let out a soft sound of surprise.
When Magic Circuits first open, they are just crossing the starting line.
Because the starting point is so low, the growth in Magic Power production usually undergoes a small explosive burst.
But even if the compatibility between the circuits and the body is perfect, there are only three circuits.
Wasn’t this jump in power a bit too exaggerated?
“Is something wrong?” Byakuya asked with a beaming smile, his mood lifted by finally acquiring this power.
“No.
It’s actually better than I expected.”
Morgan gave him a deep look, suppressing the doubts in her heart.
Anyway, he had already shown his unique nature once when converting Command Spells into Magic Circuits; doing it again now was no big deal…
Yes, that was it!
With a wave of her hand, Morgan wiped away the ritual arrays surrounding the stone platform and left the basement.
Behind her, Byakuya smiled silently.
Though she hadn’t said it aloud, he could guess some of her confusion.
[Trait-related Strength +1.]
This was the bonus he received every time a trait leveled up.
The effect of “Strength +1” was simple: it provided an additional doubling of strength on top of the base increase.
Take the [Magic Power] trait as an example.
Assuming that at Lv.0, the quality of his Magic Power was Grade I and the quantity ranged from 1 to 10, then after reaching Lv.1, the quality would rise to Grade II and the quantity would shift to a range of 11 to 50…
That was the benefit provided by the trait’s level increase itself.
However, once the additional 1 point of strength was factored in, a practical Lv.1 [Magic Power] would have a quality level equal to twice that of Grade II, and a quantity of (11–50) × 2, meaning 22 to 100!
Both the quality and quantity of his magic power had more than doubled in an instant.
In terms of quantity, it might not have been overly obvious since he wasn’t extracting his magic power at full capacity, but the transformation in quality was absolute.
It would be abnormal if Morgan didn’t react after sensing such a change.
Stepping down from the stone platform after giving Morgan a little shock with his cheat-like growth, Byakuya also walked out of the basement.
He spun around in a circle in front of Sakura Matou to show that he was in perfect condition, earning a smile of relief from the young girl.
Ten minutes later, in the Matou family study.
[Extracting AFK proficiency for Magic Power (Lv.1)!]
[Would you like to level up the trait?
…
Yes!]
The trait level rose to Lv.2, and another 1 point of additional strength was added.
Following the same assumption—where Lv.0 quality and quantity were Grade I and 1–10, and Lv.1 was twice Grade II and 22–100—then with 2 points of additional strength, the quality of Lv.2 Magic Power reached four times Grade III, and the quantity became (51–100) × 4, or 204 to 400!
Morgan, who was currently teaching Sakura Matou how to open her Magic Circuits and what precautions to take: “…”
*Sigh…*
It was no big deal.
Didn’t every era have a few people who only became more despairing the more you understood them?
He just happened to be one of those people.
Steadying her mind, Morgan continued her lesson for the young girl.
While opening Magic Circuits was merely the beginning of the path for a magus, Sakura Matou was still very young and had received no such education during her time with the Tohsaka family.
To ensure this first step went smoothly, Morgan felt it was necessary for Sakura Matou to master basic magical common sense before formally opening her circuits.
Meanwhile, Byakuya opened a book he had found on the shelf.
He intended to start with a basic spell—one he had been craving for a long time—to see what it felt like to properly cast a spell on his own.
He read through it once, reviewing the key points in his mind to ensure nothing was missed.
He picked up a dinner knife prepared on the table and injected his Magic Power.
*Crack—*
Almost instantly, a crack erupted across the knife as it was flooded with Magic Power far beyond the material’s limit.
The crack spread rapidly, and the blade eventually shattered into over a hundred fragments.
Byakuya: “…”
He picked up another dinner knife.
Using the previous experience, he patiently injected the magic power thread by thread into the short blade until he found that “special feeling” mentioned in the book.
Only then did he touch the knife against a fork held in his other hand.
*Swoosh—*
Without the slightest resistance, the fork was sliced clean in two.
Clearly, the reinforcement had succeeded.
But…
why was the trait system not reacting?
He glanced at his panel, but he didn’t see the expected notification confirming that he had mastered reinforcement magic.
Byakuya frowned.
Was it still not enough?
This wasn’t the first time he had encountered this.
Over seven years ago, when he first crossed into this world, he had obtained the [Meditation] trait through self-visualization.
Once his mental growth could be handled by AFK farming, he naturally didn’t forget about his physical body.
As it happened, for various reasons, he had been exposed to a fair amount of knowledge that should have been able to generate traits before he transmigrated—
In high school PE class, the school had hired instructors to teach them the Xingyi Three-Body Form and Five Elements Fist for two semesters.
In college, to scrape together some credits, he had joined a martial arts club for two years.
Although he mostly slacked off, he had learned some basics of Tai Chi from the old club president during the first year.
In the second year, the old president stepped down to focus on his graduation project, and Byakuya learned some Bajiquan from the new president.
Xingyi, Taiji, Baji, plus various bits and pieces of Piguazhang and Baduanjin he’d seen in kung fu movies or online tutorials…
Never mind if they were just for show; the point was that he *had* studied these martial arts!
Of course, because he had only mastered routines that he could barely perform himself—let alone use in a real fight—it wasn’t until he merged all these fragmented pieces of knowledge together that he finally passed the system’s judgment and obtained [Hundred Arts].
Byakuya estimated that the reason his reinforcement magic hadn’t generated a skill was likely a similar situation.
In that case, he would just keep going!
Two hours later.
The reinforcement magic still hadn’t passed the judgment for skill generation.
However, the [Magic Circuits (White)] that had been sitting in the AFK slot for ten thousand seconds finally accumulated enough growth value to evolve.
[[Magic Circuits (White)] has evolved into [Magic Circuits (Green)]]
The evolution of a Talent Entry didn’t provide additional strength bonuses like Ability Entries did, but in a certain sense, the transformation of a Talent was actually far more exaggerated.
Once it evolved from White to Green quality, the Magic Circuits within Byakuya underwent a comprehensive overhaul.
Not only were there improvements in precision, rotation speed, structural durability, and the quality of the generated Magic Power, but even the quantity—something widely recognized in this world as being determined at birth and impossible to increase through external factors—jumped from the three circuits he had initially gained via Command Spells to nine!
“Master, in all seriousness…
may I study your body?”
After confirming that the changes in his Magic Circuits weren’t a hallucination, Morgan finally lost her composure and made a polite request.
“I promise I will sew you back together exactly as I cut you open.”