Chapter 235:Antony.
Silver flexed his fingers. He could feel the difference. He hadn’t suddenly become a master swordsman, but his movements felt more natural, especially his ability to transition between attacks. Everything was slightly cleaner.
That was exactly how he wanted his skills to develop; through repetition, experience, and survival.
His gaze moved lower.
[Soul Insight Lv1.]
Silver smiled.
That skill had already proven itself extremely useful. Being able to see another person’s Rank, Soul Capacity, attributes, integrated beast, and skills could become an enormous advantage.
Especially when dealing with strangers. It could prevent him from underestimating someone, or overestimating them.
Sometimes he wondered, if the System had allowed him to inspect anyone without restriction, he would be too powerful.
His eyes moved to the next skill.
[Shared Beast Absorption Lv1.]
That was another recent addition.
It had already helped both him and Ravenna absorb beast cores more efficiently. The skill was simple compared to Soul Insight, but Silver considered it extremely valuable.
He had spent a considerable amount of time thinking about increasing his beast core absorption rate, and now he had a direct means of doing it.
The System had essentially answered a problem he hadn’t known how to solve.
Silver looked at the final numbers again, all of them were gradually climbing. He couldn’t help thinking about how different he was from the person he had been when he first woke up in this world.
He had started with almost nothing, and now he had two beast tattoos, multiple skills, a growing understanding of his abilities, a partner he trusted, and, somehow, another person had just joined them.
Silver looked toward Ravenna. She was lying on the sofa, scrolling through something on her phone.
She glanced up.
"Done?"
"Yeah."
"How are you?"
"Better than before."
She smiled.
"Good."
Silver looked back at the System. There was one more thing he wanted to check. He had already used Soul Insight on several strangers, and had wondered what it would show him if he looked at Antony.
Silver hesitated at first, but eventually gave in.
Antony had voluntarily joined them. He had already checked it but hadn’t fully studied his stats. He wanted to understand the mans skills so that he could be able understand his pros and cons.
Especially someone who was supposed to become an important figure in the future, since knowing what Antony could do might save their lives someday.
Silver focused.
[Soul Insight Lv1.]
For an instant, information appeared.
[TARGET STATUS]
Name: Antony Braille
Loyalty: 5
Current Rank: Rank 2
Title: None
Soul Capacity: 13
Soul Stability: Excellent
Integrated Beast: Unknown
Synchronization: 53%
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 38
Agility: 34
Endurance: 26
Soul Synchronization: 35
Perception: 27
Mental Resistance: 12
[SKILLS]
Genderless Transformation Lv3
Masculine Strength Lv2
Feminine Agility Lv2
Beast Synchronization Lv2
Adaptive Combat Lv2
---
Silver’s eyebrows rose.
"That’s interesting."
Ravenna looked at him.
"What?"
"Antony."
"What about him?"
"His Soul Capacity is thirteen."
Ravenna nodded.
"That’s pretty good."
"Pretty good, no, he’s extremely talented. Not as good as you though."
Silver continued thinking. Thirteen, rank Two, and a synchronization rate of fifty-three percent. That was much higher than he expected, then there were his skills.
It explained exactly what they had witnessed, but the numbers revealed something more. His beast synchronization was exceptionally high. That probably explained why he could switch forms so naturally.
Silver looked at the integrated beast field.
[Unknown.]
He frowned.
That was interesting.
Soul Insight hadn’t been able to identify it. The skill had worked on everything else, but why not the beast?
Silver immediately became more cautious. Either the beast itself possessed some kind of concealment... Or Antony’s ability had something the System couldn’t completely interpret.
Silver dismissed Soul Insight.
Ravenna sat up.
"Anything surprising?"
Silver thought about it.
"You know about his soul Capacity..."
Ravenna nodded.
"You already said that. It’s thirteen right."
"Well his synchronization with his beast is even more interesting."
"How high?"
"Fifty-three percent."
Ravenna’s eyes widened.
"That’s really high."
"Exactly."
She thought for a moment.
"Does that explain why he can transform so easily?"
"Probably."
Silver looked toward the door.
"There’s something else."
"What?"
"His beast couldn’t be identified."
Ravenna frowned.
"Couldn’t?"
"That’s what it said."
She became more serious.
"Is that bad?"
"I don’t know." Silver shook his head. "But it’s something we should keep in mind."
Ravenna nodded.
Neither of them said anything for a few seconds, then Ravenna smiled.
"Still think letting him join was a good idea?"
Silver thought about it.
"Yes."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Even with the mystery?"
"Especially with the mystery, I happen to enjoy solving mysteries."
Ravenna laughed.
"You’re terrible."
"Maybe."
Silver leaned back, but beneath his relaxed expression, his mind was already working.
Antony was unusually talented, even some of his stats were much higher than his. That made him very useful.
But Silver also knew something else. If he remembered correctly, Antony’s existence would become far more important than his strange personality suggested.
Now he was traveling with Silver and Ravenna instead. Silver couldn’t help wondering what would happen when they eventually encountered Dillain.
Would Antony still join him?
Would Dillain’s team even form?
Or had Silver already changed that future beyond recognition?
He didn’t know, and for the first time, he realized he didn’t particularly care. The future he had known was already broken. All he could do now was protect the people beside him and make the best decisions he could.
Ravenna moved closer and rested her head against his shoulder.
"You’re thinking too much again."
Silver smiled.
"Probably."
"Stop."
"Okay."
He relaxed.
Somewhere in the city, Antony Braille was probably talking to someone who had no idea how strange he actually was.
Silver looked at Ravenna. For now, that was enough. Tomorrow they would decide where to go, begin looking for opportunities, and eventually, they would meet Dillain again.
When that happened, Silver would have to decide how much of the future he wanted to change.
But today?
He simply wanted to enjoy the quiet.