Chapter 163: Grace New Status.
Hearing her explanation, Jake fell silent for a moment.
Then, with that thought in mind, he decided to open her status again.
A translucent blue window appeared in front of his eyes.
[Ding!]
[Name: Grace Lightborn]
[Bond: 4 Stars]
[Class: Dawn Marksman (Elite)] NEW
[Strength: Above Average]
[Intelligence: Trained] NEW
[Vitality: Trained] NEW
[Agility: Trained] NEW
[Endurance: Above Average]
[Luck: Average]
[Skills:]
Aura (Passive – Lv.1) → Aura (Passive – Lv.2) NEW
Light Bullet (Lv.1) → Light Bullet (Lv.2) NEW
Far Sight (Passive – Lv.1) → Far Sight (Passive – Lv.2) NEW
Sex Fiend (Passive)
Basic Combat Mastery (Passive – Lv.1) → Advanced Combat Mastery (Passive – Lv.1) NEW
Steady Aim (Passive – Lv.1) → Steady Aim (Passive – Lv.2) NEW
Marksman’s Focus (Passive – Lv.1) → Marksman’s Focus (Passive – Lv.2) NEW
Flash Shot (Active – Lv.1) → Flash Shot (Active – Lv.2) NEW
General Maintenance (Passive – Lv.1)
Light Manifestation (Lv.1) → Light Manifestation (Lv.2) NEW
Charging Shot (Passive – Lv.1) NEW
Lightshaping (Lv.1) NEW
Flash Step (Lv.1) NEW
Fade Bomb (Lv.1) NEW
[Current Condition:] Deepening Affection, Satisfied, Energetic, Highly Aroused, Loving.
[Remark:] (Hmm... I wonder if Jake is satisfied~)
Jake stared at the floating blue window in silence for a few seconds.
No matter how many times he saw it, he always felt the changes were far more explosive than he had expected.
Almost every single one of her skills had been upgraded.
Aura, Light Bullet, Far Sight, Steady Aim, Marksman’s Focus, Flash Shot... even Light Manifestation had jumped from Lv.1 to Lv.2.
On top of that, three completely new skills had appeared.
Jake’s eyes slowly moved down the list again.
’...What an insane jump.’
When he upgraded his own class earlier, the improvements had been solid, but nothing like this.
Grace’s status had transformed so thoroughly it almost felt unfair.
He glanced sideways at the graceful young woman currently sitting next to him, calmly holding her lemon tea with both hands as if she hadn’t just undergone a complete power leap.
For a moment, Jake couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of satisfaction and mild disbelief.
She really had grown a lot more from the first time he met her... and even more explosively than him.
Jake’s eyes narrowed slightly as he continued reading through the list.
’But there was still something missing.’
Even after jumping all the way to Elite class, Grace still hadn’t obtained Aura Manipulation or Aura Perception.
Those two skills were the ones he had gained when his own class advanced: Aura Manipulation from the Rare rank, and Aura Perception from the Elite rank.
Yet on Grace’s status, neither of them appeared.
’So it isn’t automatic...’
Jake leaned back a little on the sofa, thoughtfully watching the floating window.
It seemed that even at the same class rank, the skills each person received weren’t completely the same.
His path as Aura Knight had given him those two aura-related abilities, while Grace’s path as Dawn Marksman had developed in a completely different direction.
Jake continued staring at the blue window for a while longer, lost in thought.
There was still one more thing he hadn’t used yet.
Through his Bonds Captain class, he still had one remaining slot that allowed him to permanently copy one of her skills... and let her permanently copy one of his.
The question was what he should give her.
Something practical? Something that would cover her weaknesses? Or something that would further strengthen her already ridiculous growth?
With that thought, Jake decided to open his own status window as well.
A second translucent blue panel appeared in front of him.
The moment he saw it, Jake’s expression froze.
His eyes slowly widened.
Then he just sat there, staring at his own status in complete, dumbfounded confusion.
[Name: Jake Bond]
[Class: Aura Knight (Elite)]
[Unique Class: Bonds Captain (???)]
[Strength: Superhuman]
[Intelligence: Trained]
[Vitality: Trained]
[Agility: Trained]
[Endurance: Trained]
[Luck: Legendary]
[Skills:]
Aura (Passive – Lv.2)
Aura Manipulation (Lv.2)
Aura Perception (Passive – Lv.1)
Advanced Combat Mastery (Passive – Lv.1)
Aura Slash (Lv.1)
Charisma (Passive – Lv.2)
Battle Adept (Passive – Lv.2)
Instinct (Passive – Lv.3)
Bonds (Passive – ???)
State Allocation (???)
Class Appraisal (Lv.2)
Light Manifestation (Lv.1) → Wielder of Light (Lv.1) NEW
Sex Fiend (Passive) The Final Stand (Passive – Lv.1) NEW
Ultimate Skill: Avatar of Light, "Nameless" NEW
[Upgrade Points: 4000]
[Crew (Pirate): Grace Lightborn]
’...Wielder of Light?’
He clearly remembered that his version of the skill had still been called Light Manifestation the last time he checked.
Now it had evolved into something completely different.
And that wasn’t even the most confusing part.
Below it were two more skills he had never seen before.
The Final Stand (Passive – Lv.1).
And an Ultimate Skill: Avatar of Light, "Nameless".
Jake’s expression slowly turned blank.
’...Since when?’
He tried to think back carefully.
No matter how hard he searched his memory, he couldn’t recall any system notification about these skills appearing.
Yet here they were, clearly listed on his status as if they had always belonged to him.
Then he realized something.
’That’s right... during the last battle.’
Jake’s eyes narrowed slightly as the memory slowly pieced itself together.
At that time, he had been pushed to the absolute limit.
His body had been broken, his vision fading, and then—
He lost consciousness.
The next thing he knew, he was already lying on a bed inside the ship.
He thought that maybe it was Garrick who saved him... but this...
Jake stared at the floating window in silence.
’So maybe I got it while I was unconscious...?’
Trying to make sure, Jake slowly closed the status window and turned toward Grace.
She was still sitting quietly beside him, holding her cup of lemon tea with both hands, her expression calm and content as if she was enjoying the peace with him.
"...Grace, about the battle against that Deep Aberration beast... what actually happened at the end?"
Grace blinked once, clearly surprised by the question.
Then she tilted her head slightly, looking at him with genuine confusion.
"Eh? You don’t know? Weren’t you the one who killed it?"
"Eh? I did?"
Jake also blinked and stared at her blankly.
Grace stared back at him, equally confused.
For a moment, both of them just sat there on the soft sofa, tilting their heads slightly to the side at the exact same time.