Two more months went by and before anyone could have realized it, almost two years passed since the rain disaster.
After such a long period, people had almost given up the hope of the world ever going back to the way it once used to be.
At this point, they would have felt contended even if the never-ending winter would have finally given them a break from the chill.
But while the end of volcanic winter seed like a blessing to the general public, Grace and Davian knew better. If it wouldn’t be snowing, then the world would be facing disasters like drought or wildfires. There was no ending of these disasters.
In the previous tiline, the volcanic winter didn’t go away even after five years into the apocalypse. It was still there when Grace took her last breath. It was because of the volcanic winter that Starship Country didn’t go through disasters like wildfires and drought in the first five years into apocalypse.
Since things had sowhat changed in this tiline, there was no telling if the volcanic winter would last for five years or longer. But while it was still here, Grace wanted to make the most out of it.
With these two additional months that she spent strengthening the barrier with her power alone, it beca sturdy enough to provide an initial line of protection.
Her hunts didn’t bring her Spirit Stones above Level six, but they weren’t entirely useless. During this period, she found two more Level Six Spirit Stones, one red and the other green.
She also found a blue Level Five Spirit Stone from a snow wolf, the only Level Five and blue stone she had in possession.
Compared to these rare ones - she had collected abundance of red and yellow Spirit Stones below Level Five. Experience tales at .Côm
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Red Spirit Stones:
Level One: 10
Level Two: 7
Level Three: 13
Level Four: 6
Yellow Spirit Stones:
Level One: 5
Level Two: 12
Level Three: 5
Level Four: 3
Green Spirit Stones:
Level Three: 1
Level Six: 2
Blue Spirit Stones:
Level Five: 1
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One more month went by and Grace finally collected another Level Six Spirit Stone, but this one was a yellow one instead of green like the previous two.
That very night, she sat down in the living room of her apartnt with her n and 2025 to discuss about the next step.
"We have three Level Six Spirit Stones for now. How many do you think will be needed to make the barrier stand against really powerful attacks?" She directed her question at 2025.
For the past year, 2025 had focused most of its attention on Spirit Stones and how they could be utilized in different ways. While it hadn’t been able to crack all the secerts of these elental stones, it still had derived a lot of important and useful information after studying the stones and running tests on them.
"To be honest, you don’t need more than one for the ti being. A Level Six Spirit Stone will be enough to enhance the barrier’s durability to the point to make it withstand the full effect of a point nine earthquake. But it could only withstand that much strength only for once."
2025 answered based on its knowledge and understanding.
Grace leaned back against the couch, tapping her fingers lightly against the armrest as she processed the little creature’s words.
So far, she had been under the assumption that she needed multiple high-level Spirit Stones to reinforce the barrier, but if one Level Six stone was already enough to handle a point-nine earthquake... even for only once... then she had more options than she initially thought.
But that wasn’t the only thing on her mind.
"You previously said that a green Spirit Stone would be more beneficial," she recalled the conversation she had with 2025 when it first suggested the idea of infusing a Spirit Stone in the barrier. "Why?"
2025 wasted no ti and displayed a holographic projection above the coffee table sitting between the couches.
The image was of the barrier - a faint outline representing its current form. It was followed by a second projection of the sa barrier infused with an elental core.
At first glance, not much might seem different to normal eyes. But considering the knowledge and experiences everyone present there possessed, they were able to see the slight but obvious difference.
"The Earth-elental properties of a green Spirit Stone will allow the barrier to attach to the natural energy of its surroundings," 2025 explained. "Unlike other elents, Earth magic derives its power from stability - soil, stone, trees, even the air particles containing traces of minerals. If a Level Six Green Spirit Stone is integrated into the barrier, it will no longer rely solely on external reinforcent. It will draw power directly from the land itself, making it stronger over ti instead of weakening."
Grace’s eyes flickered with understanding. "So, instead of a fixed energy source, it becos a self-sustaining shield?"
"Exactly," 2025 confird. "While the barrier is already durable, its energy is finite. Eventually, it will weaken unless it is consistently recharged. The Earth-elent infusion will make that unnecessary. As long as the ground beneath it exists, the barrier will continue to absorb and replenish its own energy."
Rune, who had been quietly observing the discussion, leaned forward. "That sounds like the best option. Why not do it now?"
Grace exhaled, rubbing her temple. "Because I still have questions."
She turned back to 2025. "This still doesn’t answer why we haven’t found any Spirit Stones above Level Six. I have been hunting non-stop for months. If Level Seven or higher stones exist, why haven’t we found a single one?"
That was the real mystery.
No matter how strong the Beasts she killed were, their Spirit Stones never surpassed Level Six.
2025 hesitated for a fraction of a second before responding.
"That is because… they may not exist. Yet."
The room went silent.
Davian was the first to break it. "Explain."
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