Reborn as a Leader: King's Debauchery, SSS-Yandere Harem and Evolution-Chapter 33- Saintess Grace (1)

Now it was clear that upgrading was the only option here because, due to their rank being upgraded with each tier, whenever the integrity depleted, they would fall to a lower tier. This gave assurance that being strong enough, the chances of them vanishing due to losing all integrity would be low, as with each loss they would just fall to a lower tier, not to the bottom.

’Which integrity can you increase?’ Akhil inquired with the system, which had the option of repair—returning the integrity of the artifacts, while there was also an option to upgrade the artifacts, but it needed fragments of low-tier artifacts to merge and increase the overall strength of the artifact. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

[Host, both integrity levels could be upgraded, but the issue persists in the fact that to achieve the higher tier of an artifact after reaching maximum integrity, fragments would be needed; without them, the integrity would stop at 99 percent.]

Akhil could understand what exactly the system meant by this information, considering that using the system, it was possible to upgrade the artifacts.

However, it was simply that if, for example, an artifact in shattered tier with 30% or 40% integrity were to be repaired by the system, it would go to its maximum output, which would be 399%—threshold of Dim tier.

But to achieve the last 1% needed to ascend that artifact to a different tier, he needed the fragments, and it was not possible to do so just by using the repair option of the system to increase overall integrity.

’How many fragments will I need?’ He directly inquired about the number of fragments he needed.

Given he had seen an option inside the system about sacrificing artifacts, which meant that he would be able to change an artifact into its fragment, and to upgrade the artifact he possessed presently, he needed more information about how many fragments he needed.

[To upgrade your artifact to Dim Tier, you will need 10 Shattered Tier Fragments.]

’....’ Akhil, hearing the system’s information, thought for a moment and then inquired, ’What if you repair the artifacts to max and then upgrade?’

[It will need only 5 fragments.]

From his observation and the calculations at which the threshold of a particular tier is decided, he thought that what if he were to have an artifact with its complete value, leaving only 1% needed to ascend the artifact to the next tier, and then use fragments, as it appeared these fragments were also used to repair the permanent integrity, which the system could itself achieve without needing more fragments.

Proving this theory was the fact that the system had directly halved the amount of fragments it initially told him.

’So, I need artifacts,’ Akhil finally accepted. He made his way towards the exit of the cell as he understood what he needed to do next, while also handling the nobleman of his kingdom. He further mentioned, ’What is Laila’s current integrity?’

[ I repaired it to 399% without need of host’s confirmation and set it to automatic repair whenever she lost temporary integrity but pain is inevitable at each loss.]

’This....’ Akhil, hearing the information from the system, understood how convenient it was for the system to possess its own consciousness and judgment as it was able to decide whom to give priority and had already repaired both of his artifacts to their maximum value.

Not only that, but the mention of 399% integrity only meant that his artifacts were 3 times stronger than normal shattered Tier, where most of shattered Tiers are at the integrity level below 100 due to the dilution of the bloodline and loss of permanent integrity.

However, it was still evident that his artifacts were still in the shattered Tier and weak compared to the artifacts in the same tier, considering how his shield had vanished two times until now.

The second instance was from the attack of Lilith, and initially, it was from that cloaked figure in Queen Astarra’s room, where both of them possessed artifacts in the same dim tier which was one abve tier than Akhil.

"Is everything done, King Lysanderic?" Grace, who stood at the entrance of the dungeon—a small cell reserved for the criminals of the royal family—was in the basement of the palace, turning her gaze as she noticed Akhil exiting the place.

"Yes," Akhil, brought out of his thoughts by her voice, turned and nodded, focusing on the present situation as he moved outside. For now, Lilith was left inside the dungeon until he had dealt with the matters outside.

"I see." Grace nodded. She had heard the sound of small chains clacking a few moments ago, but, unlike how she expected, there were no screams resonating from within the entrance. This prompted her to compose herself; it was good that there wasn’t anything inhuman happening here as she followed behind, not caring about the state of the dungeon, which suggested the condition of the prisoner kept inside.

Despite her identity as a Saintess, she was far from naïve about the world’s darkness. She was fully aware of the evil that existed and had no intention of turning a blind eye to it, which prompted her to act kindly only towards those deserving it. She also knew that there were still good people in this world, and the biggest evidence of that was the man walking beside her. For a fleeting moment, she glanced at him without noticing.

’It’s already been decades, Grace.’ She averted her gaze, focusing on the path while burying the deep memory she had of her childhood, which was most probably the turning point of her life. This realization of the world’s true nature gave her a life goal while she suppressed those memories deep within her.

"By the way, Saintess," Akhil said while walking. He had a doubt in his mind since the moment he woke up, but due to several things ahead, he had been busy. Finally, he decided to inquire, unable to help but find it suspicious. "I was under the effect of aphrodisiac poisoning, weak to be honest, yet isn’t it amusing how I... was able to tie down a Saintess possessing a dim tier—!?"

But before he could complete his thought, his feet halted as he felt a sudden chill emanating from beside him—sourced from grace.

He realized that his doubts may have led him to the edge of a cliff, while his senses—which were too sensitive in this matter—were ringing alarmingly.

He felt the same kind of chill he had experienced through Niharika or Laila, and his thoughts screamed, ’N-no, wh-why, Grace?!’