Villain's Evolution: Investing in My Minions Yields Crazy Returns!

A short while later, a circular magic formation approximately three meters in diameter slowly lit up.

A transparent crystal floated at the center of the formation, surrounded by twelve silver runes used to detect mana fluctuations.

This was an advanced device specifically designed by the academy to test the stability of special attribute mana.

Victor stood beside the control console and adjusted the testing parameters.

”Inject your astral mana into the crystal. Maintain the lowest intensity first.”

Leah nodded, walked to the center of the formation and slowly extended her right hand.

Buzz!

Pale silver astral mana flowed out from her palm and gradually merged into the transparent crystal.

In the next instant, brilliant starlight illuminated the crystal’s interior.

The twelve detection runes began flashing simultaneously.

(Detected Attribute: Astral)

(Mana Purity: Extremely High)

(Energy Stability: Excellent)

(Current Output Intensity: 17%)

Victor looked at the test results and nodded in satisfaction. Even though Leah was only Level 17, the purity of her astral mana already far exceeded that of ordinary professionals.

”Continue increasing your output,” he said after a while.

Leah then proceeded to increase her mana output as instructed.

(Current Output Intensity: 32%)

(Energy Stability: Excellent)

(Current Output Intensity: 48%)

(Energy Stability: Good)

As the output continued increasing, the starlight inside the crystal gradually became even more dazzling.

However, when the mana output approached sixty percent, Victor suddenly noticed that the originally stable flow of astral energy had developed an extremely subtle fluctuation.

(Current Output Intensity: 61%)

(Energy Stability: Declining)

(Abnormal Resonance Detected!)

Leah’s expression changed slightly. She could feel the astral core within her body suddenly trembling faintly.

Although it was nowhere near as serious as what she had experienced during the screening, that familiar feeling of discomfort still caused her to frown instinctively.

”Young Master...”

”Stop,” Victor quickly spoke.

Leah hurriedly withdrew her mana, and the starlight inside the crystal gradually dissipated as the magic formation returned to its previous calm state.

”How do you feel?” Victor walked to her side.

Leah gently shook her head. ”I’m fine. I just felt a little uncomfortable.”

Victor nodded, then examined the test records again.

Sure enough, the problem wasn’t Leah’s mana purity.

Instead, whenever she released too much astral mana at once, the astral core within her body would experience a brief resonance imbalance.

Under normal circumstances, such fluctuations wouldn’t cause any serious effects.

However, if she encountered an enemy capable of devouring or interfering with astral mana, the instability could be amplified further.

The previous Level 45 Magical Beast had clearly exploited this weakness.

”Looks like we’ve found the problem,” Victor spoke softly.

Leah hurriedly looked at him. ”Young Master, is there a way to solve it?”

”Yes,” Victor answered without hesitation.

”However, relying solely on training probably won’t be enough.”

He opened the academy’s resource exchange catalog and began searching for materials related to core stabilization, spiritual control, and special energy cores.

Astral attribute resources were extremely scarce in the current world. Almost no one even worked with astral energy, let alone possessed the knowledge or resources necessary to cultivate it.

Naturally, the academy’s resource warehouse did not stock such materials.

However, that didn’t mean there were no alternatives.

After all, Leah’s problem wasn’t a lack of astral energy, but the unstable resonance between her Astral Core and spiritual power.

If he could find a resource capable of improving that connection, it might prove effective even without possessing the astral attribute.

A short while later, several resources appeared before him.

(Mana Circulation Stabilization Crystal)

(Quality: Rare)

(Exchange Price: 18,000 Academy Contribution Points)

(Effect: Assists professionals with special energy cores in stabilizing their core energy, reducing resonance imbalances during high intensity output.)

(Spirit Focus Liquid)

(Quality: Rare)

(Exchange Price: 25,000 Academy Contribution Points)

(Effect: Improves spiritual control and steadies energy circulation for a short period.)

(Spirit-Core Resonance Stone)

(Quality: Epic)

(Exchange Price: 60,000 Academy Contribution Points)

(Effect: Assists professionals possessing special energy cores in strengthening the connection between their cores and spiritual power, improving their energy control capabilities.)

(Available Stock: 1)

Victor’s gaze lingered on the final material for a moment.

Unlike the previous two resources, the Spirit-Core Resonance Stone directly addressed the connection between a professional’s special energy core and spiritual power.

Although it wasn’t an astral attribute resource, its effects should still be applicable to Leah’s Astral Core.

The price certainly wasn’t cheap.

However, if it could truly solve Leah’s current problem, it would be worth considering.

Besides, he still had the Villain Investment System.

Who could say what kind of return he might ultimately receive from an investment worth sixty thousand contribution points?

Thinking of this, the corners of Victor’s mouth curved slightly upward.

”Leah.”

”Mm?”

”For the next few days, continue practicing according to today’s methods. Don’t force yourself to increase your astral mana output.”

Leah nodded seriously. ”Understood.”

”As for the stability of your core, I’ll find a way to help you.”

”Young Master...” Leah looked at him, a trace of emotion flashing through her eyes. ”I’m troubling you again.”

Victor smiled and waved his hand.

”How is that troublesome?”

”The stronger you become, the better it is for me as well.”

Just then, Evelyn suddenly walked over.

”Young Master.”

”What is it?”

”The academy’s resource warehouse has just updated its exchange inventory.”

She handed over a new resource list.

”Among the newly available items, there are several special materials that seem related to the Inferno Prison Secret Realm you mentioned previously.”

Victor’s eyes brightened.

”Oh?”

He took the list and quickly browsed through it.

Soon, one particular item caught his attention.

(Flame Pattern Amulet)

(Quality: Rare)

(Exchange Price: 35,000 Academy Contribution Points)

(Effect: Increases the wearer’s adaptability to high temperature environments and reduces damage caused by fire elemental erosion to a certain extent.)

Victor fell into thought. For ordinary fire attribute professionals, this might simply be a decent supplementary item.

But for someone like him, who was preparing to enter the Inferno Prison Secret Realm, it was quite practical, especially when it came to those high temperature regions deep within the Secret Realm.

If he could prepare sufficient protective measures beforehand, his exploration would naturally become much easier.

However, he did not exchange for it immediately because compared to a Rare grade amulet, he would much rather find resources capable of directly improving his fire elemental affinity or the efficiency of his swordsmanship training.

”Make a note of it for now.” Victor handed the list back to Evelyn. ”Once I’ve decided on the exact time to enter the Secret Realm, we’ll prepare everything together.”

Evelyn nodded. ”Understood.”

After the training ended, Leah voluntarily stayed behind to practice for a while longer.

It wasn’t until Victor reminded her not to overconsume her mana that she finally stopped, somewhat reluctantly.

Before leaving, she suddenly turned around.

”Young Master.” ℯ𝐥.

”What is it?”

”When I become stronger in the future...” Leah hesitated slightly before speaking seriously.

”I want to protect you too.”

The young girl’s cheeks were somewhat flushed, but she did not avert her gaze.

”Just like how you protected me before.”

Looking at her serious expression, Victor suddenly smiled.

”You’ve already said that so many times I’ve lost count.” He smiled wryly. ”At this point, I can’t wait to be protected.”

The smile on Leah’s face became radiant.

”Mm!”

After watching the young girl leave, Victor finally turned his attention back to the resource catalog.

His gaze settled on the exchange option for the Spirit-Core Resonance Stone.

He gently tapped his fingers against the table.

”Well, it’s certainly worth a try.”

However, just as he was about to open the exchange interface, a sudden System notification caused his movements to pause slightly.

[Ding!]

[Detected high potential investment target: Leah Vane. A special bottleneck has appeared in the target’s current professional growth!]

[Target Potential Evaluation: SSS!]

[Current Problem: Astral Core resonance imbalance, affecting power stability during high intensity combat.]

[Hint: Providing appropriate resources during the critical period of the target’s breakthrough may result in higher grade investment returns!]

Seeing this, Victor’s eyes gleamed.

The System had already detected an investment opportunity!

Moreover, it was a special bottleneck investment!

Compared to his previous investment of twelve thousand contribution points in Mia, the potential value of this investment was clearly even more astonishing.

However, Victor did not rush to confirm the exchange.

He looked back at the resource catalog, his gaze lingering on the description of the Spirit-Core Resonance Stone for a moment.

Then, the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.

”Looks like... I’m about to make another fortune.”

...

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