Ch.252# 252. Lulu’s Growth Lulu was growing rapidly. She was already at level 5 when she first arrived at the Demon King’s castle. Her stats had increased by 10 points in just a few months. That was quite impressive. But what was even more remarkable was tha

“Lulu…”

“Master…!”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“…Well, Master….”

“No. If you had such an overpowered ability, you should have told me earlier!! Isn’t that your role as an NPC?”

“…I’m sorry…”

“I’m joking.”

I encouraged Lulu who was looking dejected.

I could definitely feel how I had changed even in this situation.

People need to develop some leeway.

And I realized this is what it means to become more relaxed through human relationships.

I could have easily berated her: “You incompetent fool who can’t even fulfill your role as an NPC properly!! You call yourself a helper NPC? You should have told me about such an efficient spec-up method right away!”

But I didn’t feel angry at all.

Of course, it would have been ambiguous.

Strength +1 rank.

This absolute stat buff is permanently effective without any conditions, so if I had known about it when I had 50,000 farm + 10 farming ability points available, I would have immediately fed them to Lulu.

But have I really lost anything by finding out late?

No.

Until now, I’ve always had more than enough specs to save farming points and farm for growth.

The gap in that surplus has been gradually decreasing as I progress, but I haven’t struggled or suffered any losses because I didn’t invest in Lulu’s growth.

It would have been nice.

I could have raised my specs faster and aimed higher a bit earlier.

But better late than never.

“Master. You seem different somehow.”

“Right? But I think of it this way. It’s not that I’ve changed, but rather my gentle nature, which was suppressed in this unreasonable world, is finally breaking out of its shell.”

“…”

“Let me help you grow quickly.”

Lulu’s growth was incredibly efficient.

Even though the cost of going from E to D was quite high, Lulu’s Rift Enhancement affected strength and agility.

When she went from D to C, vitality was added, and at B, all abilities increased by 1 rank, affecting not only magic power but also divine power—it was an investment worth any cost.

For someone like me with SS to SSS-rank abilities, the cost of raising an ability by 1 rank for free is honestly unbeatable in terms of investment efficiency.

Only after exhausting all spec-up methods and wondering “what now?” would I consider investing farming points or anything else in such inefficient spec improvements.

In that sense, I could invest without hesitation:

E->D: 200,000 farm, 30 farming ability points

D->C: 600,000 farm, 90 farming ability points

C->B: 1,500,000 farm, 200 farming ability points, 10 achievement points

“Did I just invest my entire fortune?”

“Master…!”

I kept my promise, albeit late.

I spent 2.3 million out of my total 2.58 million farm and 320 out of 370 farming ability points.

Moreover, from B-rank onwards, achievement points were required, so I fed 10 out of my hard-earned 35 points to Lulu.

Woooong-

A brilliant light burst from Lulu’s body as she became a B-rank fairy.

And when the light was absorbed back into her…

“Oh. Wow. You’ve grown.”

Lulu, who had been slightly larger than a fist, grew to about the size of a forearm.

She now had three pairs of wings, which had grown more beautiful.

Above all, Lulu’s cute appearance had matured.

“Hehe.”

Though her behavior remained the same.

“Huh? Lulu? What’s going on! What happened!”

Kim Sujeong, who had been working in the fields, came in and saw her transformation, jumping excitedly to share in Lulu’s joy.

“What? So Lulu gets prettier when she grows? Why didn’t we do this earlier?”

“Check her abilities.”

“Huh? What abilities? What!!! Why did all abilities increase by 1 rank? Magic power increased by 2 ranks!”

[Rift Enhancement]

– Rank: B

– Passive Skill

– Borrows power from the rift to increase the abilities of those belonging to the base proportional to rank. (Current: B, All abilities +1 rank, Magic Power +1 rank)

– Borrows power from the rift to enhance map effects within the base proportional to rank. (Current: B, Map Effect +30%)

– Borrows power from the rift to increase experience and farm acquisition for those belonging to the base proportional to rank. (Current: B, +50%)

The best skill that not only enhances growth but also increases abilities.

Lulu had become a helper who could faithfully fulfill her role.

“Amazing. Lulu. You were really something special!!”

“Hehe. I’m glad I could help.”

“So, oppa. Why did you only grow her now? Lulu is so incredible.”

“I wonder that myself.”

Of course, I had to consider the cost-effectiveness of the farm, farming points, and achievement points needed to reach A-rank.

But having confirmed the definite return on investment with new abilities, I felt it would be appropriate to prioritize investing in Lulu once resources accumulated.

Lulu could do much more than just provide the passive Rift Enhancement skill.

“Blessing of Growth.”

When she prayed a blessing over the fields, light poured down from the sky, permeating all the fields and orchards within the base, including the World Tree.

“It increases growth speed and the probability of higher ranks appearing.”

“Wow!! Amazing!!”

My farming ability points and farm had become poor, but everyone was happy, and I had achieved a significant spec-up, so it was a moment of happiness for all.

Most importantly, my magic power ability had reached SSS+ rank.

“There’s no rank above SSS+.”

Originally at SSS rank, it became SSS+ with the “all abilities +1 rank” effect, and I had hoped the additional “magic power +1 rank” might push it to an even higher rank, but apparently there’s nothing above SSS+.

Well, I didn’t have high expectations since abilities were also capped at SS+ in the Farming World.

The moment my magic power reached SSS+ rank, my basic mana jumped from 3,000 to 6,000, inflating my specs once again.

A simple and convenient spec-up.

A childishly simple spec-up that just required increasing mana.

Among the six methods I had for improving my specs this time, I achieved the biggest improvement from a completely unexpected source.

The ceiling.

I hit the SSS+ ceiling on the ability that seemed most difficult to raise.

“For now… okay.”

With this, any further items or elements that increase magic power ability would be wasteful.

Eventually, I’ll need to adjust my item setup accordingly, but I haven’t finalized it yet, and since items with magic power ability usually come with mana bonuses too, I’d need to consider that later.

“Now, next…”

There’s no point in hoarding farm and farming ability points.

I had planned to use them all for this spec-up anyway, and getting all abilities raised by 1 rank was a bargain.

There was still much to do.

As Lulu and Kim Sujeong excitedly ran to the fields, I took out two fragments of dense chaos energy.

The Corrupted Ring.

I was curious how strong it would become as its corruption level increased with each fragment of dense chaos energy.

Last time, I enhanced it by +1 level with one fragment, and now I needed two fragments of dense chaos energy for the next enhancement.

Woooong-

Fortunately, the enhancement succeeded with 100% probability in one attempt.

The two fragments of dense chaos energy dispersed dark energy in all directions, and the ring absorbed it.

“Ohhh.”

[The fragments of dense chaos energy are absorbed into the Corrupted Ring.]

[The effect of dense chaos energy is applied.]

[+2 Level Corrupted Ring]

– Rank: SS-

– Corruption Level: +2

– Purification Level: +2

– Number of Fragments: 3

– A ring made of ‘Chaos Stone’ itself, condensed from chaos energy. It becomes corrupted and stronger as it absorbs chaos energy. Purified energy is absorbed between the chaos energy.

– Rank and effects increase with each ‘Main Quest 2’ completion.

– Only those qualified to handle chaos energy can wear it.

– All abilities +1 rank

– All attribute damage +50%. All attribute damage reduction +25%

– All resources (Mana/Divine/Spirit) +50%

– (Fragment) Legendary grade or higher appearance probability +3%p / Mythic grade or higher appearance probability +1.5%p

– (Fragment) 50% reduced damage from chaos energy / +30% damage to chaos energy

– (Purification) 50% reduction in debuffs caused by chaos energy

– (Purification) Random ability +2 ranks in corrupted areas

Nothing dramatic changed.

A fragment was added, the (Fragment) option for legendary/mythic appearance probability increased significantly, and a new (Fragment) option was added.

But that final option was quite good.

“The more chaos energy I absorb, the more I become the boss of chaos energy.”

Considering the increasingly dense chaos energy, it would be hard to find a better option.