Chapter 76 – Shaping Power
They didn’t leave the edge of Silver Vale immediately after the fight, and that in itself marked the difference between this place and Sanguina, because instead of resetting and moving on, the moment the threat was removed, the focus shifted naturally toward what could be gained from it rather than what had been risked.
Lira didn’t waste time.
“Bring it,” she said, already turning back toward the crafting section without waiting to see if Jack would follow.
Jack did.
Not because he had to, but because there was no reason not to, and more importantly, because this was something he didn’t have access to yet.
Sophie followed a step behind him, her attention already shifting away from the fight and toward what was about to happen, while the rest of the group spread slightly, some returning to their positions, others staying close enough to observe without interfering.
The transition from combat to crafting felt almost immediate.
One moment they were at the edge of the forest, the next they were back within the structured space of Silver Vale’s core, where movement flowed around fixed points instead of reacting to external pressure.
Lira stepped up to a central workstation.
This one was different from the others.
Not larger.
More refined.
The surface was smoother, the materials embedded into it more consistent, and the faint system interface that hovered above it remained stable instead of flickering in and out as adjustments were made.
Jack stopped a short distance away, his attention narrowing as he watched.
“Put it here,” Lira said, gesturing to the center of the station.
Jack didn’t hesitate this time.
He placed the Beast Core down.
The moment it made contact, the system reacted.
[Crafting Interface — Core Integration Activated]
Core Detected: Elite+
Stability: High
Available Paths:
- Weapon Infusion
- Armor Infusion
- Core Shaping (Advanced)
Jack’s attention sharpened.
That last option hadn’t appeared before.
“You see it?” Lira asked.
“Yeah,” Jack replied.
She nodded.
“That’s the difference between using it and shaping it,” she said.
Jack glanced at her.
“Explain.”
Lira didn’t look at him as she began adjusting the interface, her hands moving with familiarity as she selected and dismissed options quickly, narrowing the process down without hesitation.
“If you infuse it directly,” she said, “you get immediate output, more damage, more durability, whatever you’re pushing it into, but the core itself is spent in the process.”
Jack nodded slightly.
“That’s the fast option.”
“Yes.”
Her fingers moved again, shifting the interface to the third option.
“If you shape it first,” she continued, “you stabilize and refine the energy inside it, which means it can be used multiple times, or integrated into something that grows instead of depletes.”
Jack’s attention locked onto that.
“Scaling,” he said.
Lira nodded once.
“Exactly.”
That mattered more than anything else she had said so far.
Sophie leaned slightly closer.
“So why wouldn’t everyone do that?” she asked.
Lira finally glanced at her.
“Because it’s harder,” she said. “And if you do it wrong, you lose everything.”
That tracked.
Jack stepped closer to the workstation, his attention moving across the interface as Lira continued to refine the process.
“What do you need?” he asked.
“Control,” she said. “And time.”
Jack almost smiled.
“Time we have,” he said.
Lira didn’t respond to that.
Instead, she selected the final option.
[Core Shaping — Initiated]
Stability Threshold: 82%
Failure Risk: Moderate
The core reacted immediately.
The surface darkened slightly, the faint energy within it shifting as if something inside was being compressed and reorganized at the same time.
Jack felt it.
Not physically.
But in the way the system responded.
Different from combat.
More precise.
More controlled.
Lira’s focus narrowed completely.
“Don’t touch it,” she said.
Jack hadn’t planned to.
The process continued.
The core pulsed faintly, the energy within it stabilizing in waves rather than all at once, each fluctuation settling before the next began, as if the system itself was guiding the process but not controlling it entirely.
Lira adjusted something again, her movements small but exact, her timing matching the shifts in the core rather than forcing them.
Jack watched closely.
This wasn’t power.
This was control.
A different kind of strength.
Sophie watched too, her usual restlessness gone for the moment as she focused on the process.
“…That’s slow,” she said.
“It’s supposed to be,” Lira replied without looking at her.
Jack understood that.
Rushing this would break it.
The interface shifted slightly.
[Core Stability — 91%]
Lira exhaled quietly.
“Almost,” she said.
Jack didn’t move.
Didn’t interrupt.
Didn’t speak.
The final adjustment came.
The core pulsed once more, then settled.
[Core Shaping — Successful]
Result: Refined Beast Core (Elite+)
Efficiency Increased
Energy Retention Improved
Lira stepped back slightly.
“Now we can use it properly,” she said.
Jack picked it up again.
The difference was immediate.
More stable.
More controlled.
Less volatile.
Sophie looked at it, then at him.
“…So that’s better,” she said.
Jack nodded.
“Yeah.”
He turned the core slightly in his hand before looking back at Lira.
“How long does the next step take?” he asked.
Lira met his gaze.
“That depends,” she said. “How good do you want it to be?”
Jack didn’t hesitate.
“As good as it can get.”
Lira nodded once.
“Then we don’t rush it,” she said.
That was fine.
Jack had already learned that part.
And this time—
He actually meant it.