CHAPTER 265: POWERING UP [2]

After finishing the rose petal candy, Noah looked at the remaining enhancement item with anticipation.

"Time to try the best item in the store," he announced with growing excitement. "I hope I can awaken a new skill, though I wonder what ability it could possibly be."

Noah raised his smoothie container. "Cheers."

All three companions lifted their drinks and consumed the luxury enhancement simultaneously.

Leo was the first to finish the smoothie and experience its transformative effects. His body began shining with visible radiance.

"Papa!" Leo roared with excitement as power coursed through his young body. "I feel incredible! Like I could hunt anything!"

Lola closed her eyes in pure ecstasy as the smoothie’s flavors overwhelmed her enhanced senses. The taste was so extraordinary that it defied comparison—neither energy drinks nor iced tea had prepared her for such perfection.

"This is beyond anything I imagined possible," she breathed with genuine awe. "Every flavor note is perfectly balanced, just like the rose petal. The fruits are incredibly sweet and delicious too."

Noah experienced the same overwhelming sensory pleasure as the smoothie delivered taste that transcended normal culinary. But more importantly, he felt the massive attribute increases flooding through his physiology.

All three companions gained thirty points each to both agility and strength, creating a surge of physical capability that transformed their bodies in real time. Noah felt his reflexes sharpen dramatically while his muscular system adapted to handle significantly increased power output.

The improvement represented a massive enhancement to their combat effectiveness and general physical capabilities. Noah’s strength had reached levels that bordered on superhuman even by magical world standards.

But the attribute bonuses were only the beginning. As the smoothie’s skill-awakening properties began manifesting, Noah felt its effects.

Meanwhile, outside their sanctuary, two kingdoms had literally fought to the death over access to this exact enhancement. Master-level practitioners had been slaughtered by the dozens, ancient grudges had escalated into apocalyptic warfare, and entire landscapes had been permanently scarred by the conflict.

Yet Noah had distributed these priceless items to his companions as casually as sharing snacks, treating enhancement worth tens of thousands of golden coins as expressions of care and friendship.

The irony wasn’t lost on him, items that he treated like snacks because of their abundance in the system were items to wage war that would kill grandmasters.

[You have awakened the skill Photographic Memory (Level 1)]

Staring at the skill notification that had just appeared, Noah felt genuine satisfaction at the development. While the ability was only at the initial level, photographic memory represented exactly the kind of cognitive enhancement that could provide long-term benefits across multiple areas of his life.

The fact that the skill had awakened rather than being learned suggested it had been dormant within his neural pathways, waiting for the right stimulus to manifest. The luxury smoothie had successfully triggered capabilities that had existed as potential rather than active abilities.

"Photographic Memory," Noah said aloud, testing how the words felt. "That’s going to be useful for my next plans."

Even at Level 1, the skill would allow him to retain visual information with much better clarity, creating a faster record of important details that normal memory might distort or lose over time.

Because his skill was only level 1, Noah didn’t experience the full effect. He felt his memory grow much fasterand better than before, but it wasn’t to the point that it was like a picture. So, Noah understood that he needed to train the skill more to gain its full capability.

Lola and Leo were experiencing their own transformations from the smoothie’s effects, their enhanced attributes and whatever skills they might have awakened creating a collective improvement that made their small group significantly more capable than they had been minutes before.

"What did you two gain?" Noah asked with curiosity about their individual results from the skill awakening process.

Their enhancement had approximately cost cost nearly fourty thousand golden coins. It was by no means cheap, but the actual value of permanent attribute increases and skill awakening capabilities made even that astronomical price seem cheap when compared to the long-term benefits they provided.

Before Leo could share what enhancement he had gained from the luxury fruit smoothie, the young lion’s eyelids grew heavy as the familiar exhaustion from rapid growth overtook him. Just like during his previous enhancement experiences, Leo collapsed into deep sleep, his contented purring filling the shop with gentle rumbling.

Noah and Lola smiled at the predictable scene, recognizing that Leo’s body required rest to properly integrate whatever new capabilities he had developed.

"New skill?" Lola asked with curious interest, noting Noah’s satisfied expression.

Noah nodded. "Yeah, though not an offensive or defensive one. Just an auxiliary ability that should prove useful."

She acknowledged his response before sharing her own results with obvious excitement.

"I gained a new skill too, actually. It’s quite powerful and relates directly to my fire element affinity."

"Really? That’s impressive. Congratulations. What does it do?" Noah asked with genuine curiosity about her enhancement.

"Fire Wings," Lola explained with growing enthusiasm. "The skill increases my agility, strength, and fire magical power while granting me the ability to fly. It’s remarkably versatile."

Noah looked at her with undisguised envy at such a comprehensive combat enhancement. "That’s an incredible skill. I wish I had awakened something similar with my wind element manipulation."

The ability to fly combined with enhanced physical attributes and elemental power represented exactly the kind of ability that Noah seeked. Ever since he saw the king fly during their expedition to Charels’s place and Noah had wanted such a skill.

"You’ll develop something even stronger soon enough," Lola replied with confident reassurance. "Your rate of improvement is unreal. Most practitioners spend decades reaching capabilities you’ve achieved in days. Your power is also much higher than that of those stronger than you, which is even more impressive."

Her observation carried its weight in gold, she was a powerful archmage with extensive experience.

The contrast between their respective skill awakenings highlighted how the luxury smoothie’s effects varied based on individual potential and affinities, creating unique enhancements tailored to each person’s capabilities.