''This doesn''t make any sense!'' Aito thought, staring at the blue ethereal window.


    [Would you like to grant the ss Lv1 Surgeon Apprentice to Ogoro Ryu? Yes or No]


    ''Is that a battle surgeon ss? Not sure but... if it is... just how can this guy be a battle surgeon of allbatant sses?'' Aito wondered, thinking the candle might be broken or malfunctioning.


    However, even after using the legendary fix-all technique consisting of using brute force and hit the candle the notification still disyed the same bullshit. So, perhaps it wasn''t that absurd.


    One thing he came to understand after some thoughts and Gwen''s lessons, a ss was given ording to one''s personality and general talents in a certain domain. At least that''s how the gods granted them.


    But a challenger would be free to choose his/her own ss amongst all of thebatant sses, nheless. If one wanted to be an Elementalists instead of a Surgeon Apprentice, then it was fine. Still, it was amon understanding that the gods always offered the most suitable ss.


    Aito assumed it was also the case with his candle. Why would it pick a battle surgeon ss for Ogoro, though? The man was clearly made for a warrior ss.


    His ability to handle a sword to near human perfection, to shoot targets with good uracy, or to wield a great array of weapons made him the perfect candidate for a gods damn warrior ss.


    ''Is it because of his knowledge of the human anatomy?'' Aito wondered, then thought about something Ogoro had told him before, ''Or is it because he wants to "give instead of taking." In other words, save lives. *sigh* No matter. Not like there is another choice to select.''


    Aito pressed yes, and immediately after the lights in the room dimmed, losing half of their brilliance while blue bubbles of light—originating from every magical item in their surroundings—were drawn to Ogoro, orbiting around him before finally entering his bosom.


    Ogoro wanted to open his eyes due to the foreign feeling invading his body, but Aito reminded him to keep them shut, saying that the process would fail if he ever dared look.


    Of course, it was an utter lie.


    Finally, the blue storm calmed down. The room regained its previous silence as Aito gazed at Ogoro''s brand new status window.


    ______________________


    [Ogoro Ryu]


    [I. General Info]


    Death: March 15th, 2030


    Specie: Human


    Sex: Male


    Age: 30


    Height: 200cm


    Weight: 95kg


    Emotional state: Curious


    ss: Lv1 Apprentice Surgeon


    Titles: Red Challenger, Onii-Chan, Aspiring Hero


    [II. Attributes]


    1. Gifts:


    - [Sharpened!] Acute fifth sense (Enhanced touch. Sensitivity is now slightly increasedpared to before.)


    - Body blessed (Boost Body by 1 level)


    - Strength blessed (Boost Strength by 1 level)


    - Stamina blessed (Boost Stamina by 1 level)


    2. Skills:


    Passive:


    - [New!] Weapons Mastery Lv3


    - [New!] Strings Mastery Lv1


    Active:


    - [New!] Binding String Lv1 (Can manifest a string made of aura to physically bind a target)


    - [New!] Recovery String Lv1 (The host is capable of manipting aura in shape of a string to sew and heal someone else''s internal or external injuries)


    - [Upgraded] Durability Lv1 (Skill is now stable)


    [III. Basic stats]


    - Strength: Lv2


    - Body: Lv2


    - [Level up!] Stamina: Lv3


    - [Level up!] Agility: Lv2


    - [Level up!] Mana: Lv2


    - Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points)


    ______________________


    ''String, hun? Interesting.'' Aito thought, quickly perusing Ogoro''s new abilities that birthed a new idea to improve his own fighting prowess, but that was a matter forter. ''Not so bad after all. Even Ogoro''s basic stats improved quite a bit.''


    Although he wasn''t certain, Aito could guess why it was the case. Due to Aito''s training with him, Ogoro improved his stamina and agility. As for why these were capped to level 1—bonus stat from the gifts excluded—it was probably because it required to be a challenger to level them up, in other words, a soul core.


    Unless one had a gift, it was impossible to increase a basic stat at level 0—at least that was what Gwen told Aito.


    Also, there would be a few other such caps akin to bottlenecks Aito would have to pass in order to further increase his fighting prowess in the future. For now, he knew four of them.


    Basic stats caps:


    -Level 3


    -Level 6


    -Level 9


    -Level 12


    His basics stats were currently stuck to level 3. For that to change he would have to level up his ss or also called soul realm to level 3 which meant reaching what wasmonly called Ascendant realm, the one above the Challenger realm.


    From the weakest to the strongest realm, Aito had learned from Gwen during his feeless states when his soul power was exhausted that they were the following.


    - Normal: Level 0


    - Challenger realm: Level 1 to Level 2


    - Ascendant realm: Level 3 to Level 4


    - Awakening realm: Level 5 to Level 6


    - Transcendence realm: Level 7 to Level 8


    - Legendary realm: Level 9


    - Semi-divine realm: Level 10


    - Divine realm: Level 11


    Aito''s current goal was to reach the Legendary realm, which apparently was the peak of what humanity has achieved until now—well, apart from a single mortal, that became a god somehow.


    He did not wish to be a divine being. To be even half of a godly bastard was out of the question. Non-negotiable.


    Unthinkable!!!


    Reaching godhood was a big no-no followed by a never-ever. Even if he had to fight a god, he''d do it as a human, not an asshole. There must be a way to do so despite having no divinity—whatever that meant. At least he hoped there was.


    However, that was an issue for the future.


    Aito closed Ogoro''s status window and side-stepped behind She. Seeing her defenseless back, and her long raven dark hair, he had the sudden urge to y with them. They looked so smooth and pretty!


    He truly wondered how she kept them that way even with all her training. Probably an Asian trait. A good thing about Asian hair was how thick they were. No matter what happened to them these usually stayed as smooth as a puppy''s fur—well, not all the times of course.


    Aito stopped his trembling free hand midway from reaching She''s hair, fearing he would gain the new title of Hair Fetishist, and went back to the serious matter at hair… at hand.


    ''Just don''t think about it,'' he struggled while cing the candle on top of her head.


    As per usual, two options appeared in front of him. He, of course, selected the most interesting one.


    [Would you like to grant the ss Lv1 Apprentice Marksman to She Ryu? Yes or No]


    ''Alright, this one was predictable, but… doesn''t it seem different from other archer sses?'' Aito thought. As far as he knew, the others were either all bow wielders at level 1 or bowmen at level 2. Also, both siblings had "Apprentice" in their ss name.


    Did it mean anything in particr?


    Who cared, as long as they got more powerful.


    Aito shrugged and pressed yes.


    The same shy effect asst time took ce once again. Magical items such as the dryer stopped working. All the lights dwindled, dimmed, extinguished. Plunging the entire apartment into darkness, leaving Aito''s candle as the sole remaining light source.


    ''Ah… I suppose it was inevitable.'' He thought, memories of his training with Gwen shing by his mind in less than a second.


    Based on his personal experience and what Gwen had told him, when someone leveled up, it required two things.


    First, one''s soul had to have umted enough energy, in other words, other souls. During the leveling process, one''s own soul would use the souls of other beings it had absorbed to increase in size and power.


    Second, a source of mana. That''s why, usually, when one leveled up on one''s own—without a god''s help—one would gather and suck in as much mana bead as possible. To the point of overloading one''s mana storage capacity.


    Something peculiar about the candle was that it would take mana—or/and souls, but since the siblings had absorbed enough before it was unnecessary here—from anything in the surroundings to help in the level up.


    Why? Because the leveling process required shit tons of mana, which served as fuel for the body''s metamorphosis imposed by the new soul''s power. Although the difference didn''t necessarily manifest itself in the status window in the form of basic stats.


    The mana stat would naturally increase with each level thanks to the changes in the soul core. Allowing an increase in mana storage and quality.


    What wasmonly called quality was nothing fancy, really. In other words, the density or the capacity ofpressing mana into one''s body. The denser it was, the better the "quality" and the longer one could use mana.


    Of course, the same applied to aura.


    But the other basic stats weren''t so simple as to level up with the soul, particrly destiny. Aito still didn''t know what it did. When he had asked Gwen, she simply told him to forget about it. That there was no point to know it at his current level.


    A new notification appeared on top of She''s head.


    [Would you like to—]


    ''Yeah, yeah, just show me.''


    ______________________


    [She Ryu]


    [I. General Info]


    Death: March 15th, 2030


    Specie: Human


    Sex: Female


    Age: 26


    Height: 170cm


    Weight: 55kg


    Emotional state: Curious / Embarrassed / Anxious


    ss: Lv1 Apprentice Marksman


    Titles: Red Challenger, Ungrateful Woman


    [II. Attributes]


    1. Gifts:


    - [Sharpened!] Acute first sense (Enhanced sight. Range is now slightly increasedpared to before.)


    - Agility blessed (Boost agility by 1 level)


    - Thrill of the hunt (Slightly increases reaction time and the speed at which the host perceives the surroundings. Boost agility by 1 level. Activates upon extreme concentration)


    2. Skills:


    Passive:


    -[New] Marksmanship Lv3


    -[New] Parkour Lv3 (Improves the host''s ability to maneuver on difficult terrains)


    Active:


    -[New] Hawk-Eye Lv1 (Slightly increases uracy upon activation for a short duration)


    -[New] Piercing Shot Lv1 (The host''s aura is infused into the arrow and gives it piercing properties.)


    - [Upgraded] Durability Lv1 (Now stable)


    [III. Basic stats]


    - Strength: Lv1


    - Body: Lv1


    - [Level up!] Stamina: Lv2


    - [Level up!] Agility: Lv3


    - [Level up!] Mana: Lv2


    - Destiny: Lv3 (cannot level up with Glory Points)


    ______________________


    Aito closed She''s status window with a satisfied look, then returned to his couch and settled the candle on the small table in between them in order to keep a bit of light in the room. Nobody would suspect it to be a powerful item capable of granting sses when it was posing as… well, a normal candle.


    "You can open your eyes now," Aito said, watching them gazing around with confused looks.


    "Why is it so dark, inside?" Ogoro asked.


    "Doesn''t matter, the light will probably be back soon anyway," Aito said. "More importantly, how do you feel?"


    "Stronger," Ogoro replied, "much stronger. I also have new skills, although I know how to use them, I don''t entirely understand them yet."


    "True," She said, "I feel stronger, but I''d need time to adjust. It does increase our chances of survival. But I don''t think it''ll be enough to escape. We need equipment."


    Aito smirked while leaning on his sofa with a viinous, mafia leader''s look—well, it was actually the poor lighting''s visual effect.


    He threw an inventory bag on the table as well as his own crossbow.


    "That should take care of our issue."