As soon as the two of them reached Salvador's estate, night had already overtaken the sky. Fatigue spreaded throughout their entire body now that the adrenaline had dissipated. After taking a bath and changing into their nightgowns, they both crashed onto their beds, falling asleep instantly.
Next morning soon arrived, and Circe leisurely made her way down the hallways of the grand mansion. “His room is…ah, here.” Her thoughts rambled on as she made a stop in front of one of the many doors within the estate. Opening it, the contrast of light between outside and inside told her that the owner’s room still remained asleep.
Circe closed the door behind her. Walking towards the bed, the sliver of light peeking through the drawn curtains casted a glow on Zeke’s resting figure. A thick blanket covered his entire body, leaving for only his head. Now Circe noticed how chilly the room was.
“It’s already nine in the morning,” Circe’s voice came as barely a whisper while she climbed onto the bed, her knees sinking into the soft mattress, “You’re always like this…waking up late, but also sleeping so early.”
“I came here because I got bored waiting…”
The more Circe stared at Zeke’s face, the more she started to notice the little details she’d missed before initially; his relaxed expression that somehow looked as cold as the air in the room; his slightly parted lips that made her realized how thin they truly were; and his blonde locks now even messier than normal.
“...It looked like a bird’s nest.” She thought while suppressing a laugh, letting it show on her lips as a small smile. Her fingers subconsciously swiped a few strands off his forehead, “No…more like a stray cat? I remember seeing a kitten with fur just like his hair.”
“—The hell are you doing?”
Before Circe could react in time, Zeke had woken up. His eyes seemed to spark like electricity under the glimpse of the morning sun. Circe swiftly retracted her hand, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Zeke suddenly turned over and pulled the cover over his head. “...Don't bother me…it isn't time for me to wake up yet.” His hoarse voice snapped her out of a trance.
A bit of heat rushed to Circe’s face, “What do you mean? It's quite late now, how long do you plan on sleeping for?” She started rambling without realizing; an attempt to push down the embarrassment, “Are you a cat? Do you even know how much you sleep a day? Waking up so late just to go to bed so quickly…”
Under the blanket, Circe had no way of seeing how red Zeke’s face had become, nor could she hear the silent screams rushing through his mind. As he responded, somehow his voice remained steady, “Get to the point. What are you doing in my room?”
“...I was waiting for you to wake up,” Circe fiddled with her thumbs, “I wanted to open the dungeon rewards with you…and also I need your alchemy skills to claim Nasrin’s gift.”
After a moment of silence, Zeke eventually pushed the blanket away. Sitting up, he stared blankly at Circe. “You could’ve just woken me up normally…”
Yawning, he brought up the system panel, though this time, it displayed the mystical lines and circles needed for the process of alchemy, “This is what game systems are good for…I don't need to draw it multiple times since I already did it once,” he held out his hand towards her, “Give me the core.”
When Circe handed Nasrin’s core over to Zeke, he placed it in the middle of the three overlapping circles. The system absorbed the item into its interface before a bright light shined from the screen.
[Extraction Complete!]
[The Passive Skill:
< Skill Description >
Name: Eagle Eyes
Type: Passive Skill
Tier: A
Cost: None
Cooldown: None
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Effects
* Tremendously improve the user’s eyesight
Bonus Effects
* When granted a
<<>>
“EAGLE EYES?” Circe tackled Zeke so hard he barely couldn't catch himself in time. Her widened eyes continued to stare at the description panel in disbelief, “Nasrin gave me such a good skill…? Oh my god…” A hint of tears welled up in her eyes, “I…I wish I could've thanked her again…”
[Received Passive Skill:
“I don't know much about skills, is it that good?” Zeke tilted his head as he took out Tarren’s core from his inventory.
“Its description might not seem like much, but the ‘tremendous’ increase is just as it says,” Circe pointed at her eyes, though Zeke couldn't see any differences within them, he felt that her gaze had become more intense, as if she's looking at something he couldn't see, “Too bad though, it doesn't give me night vision.”
“It’d be weird if it did,” Zeke let out a short huff, placing the electrifying yellow core into the alchemy screen, “Since eagles can't see in the dark.”
[Extraction Complete!]
[The Passive Skill:
< Skill Description >
Name: Tyrant’s Majesty
Type: Passive Skill
Tier: S
Cost: None
Cooldown: None
Effects
* Both enemies and allies have a high chance of being inflicted with
* The user’s dominating presence causes all enemies to receive a 10% debuff to all stats when in visible range, while allies will receive a 10% buff instead. (Can be disabled)
* Enhances the effectiveness of all Crowd Control abilities by 20%
Bonus Effects
* Increases all stats by (+2)
* Interactions with NPCs have a higher or lower chance of success depending on the effectiveness of the
<<>>
“...” the two of them stared at the description panel in silence. Circe blinked, turning to face Zeke with a look of pure disbelief plastered across her features. With the extra light from the system itself, she could somewhat see his blank expression; he didn't seem to believe what he was seeing either.
“...Is that real?” Zeke broke the ice, squinting at the letters before him as if doing so would reveal its hidden messages, “There's no way the developers added this. Why is it so overpowered? There's literally almost no drawbacks to this skill.”
Circe shook her head, “I don't know, I’ve never seen it either,” while Zeke suspiciously reached his hand out to claim the skill, she continued, “Though I guess we should be grateful for getting it. It's a skill from the strongest boss we’ve fought so far, after all.”
[Received Passive Skill:
Zeke stared at the skill’s name written on his status panel, “...It's actually real,” even though he closed the alchemy screen, Circe can still make out the silhouette of his doubtful face, “You know what. You're right, Circe. I'm not gonna think about it and just be grateful that I got the skill.”
A book materialized into Circe’s hand. She waved it around as she looked at Zeke, “We still have the chest rewards and stat points to distribute. What do you want to do first?”
“Might as well do the stat points now.” Zeke responded as he brought up the system panel. “I’ll split ten into Magic and the rest into Constitution.”
“I thought you won't be leveling magic anymore?” Circe inquired, bringing up her own status screen.
While she pondered about her choices, Zeke responded, “I’ll level it up too, but I'll also start distributing more points into Constitution as opposed to dumping everything into magic.”
“Yeah, and speaking of which…”
Circe waved her hand half-heartedly, “I'm dumping everything into Agility.”
“You’re committed to going full Agility build now?” Zeke raised a questioning eyebrow.
“I’ll invest some points into Strength if I have to, but I don't really need it at the moment,” Circe scooted back until she could rest against the headboard, “It's good to be strong, but after thinking about it, being fast enough to deliver attacks or avoid them entirely is better than receiving a hit head on.”
Seeing Circe get comfortable in his own bedroom, Zeke moved back with her too. He shifted the pillow onto his lap and leaned back, “I have a similar thought. Since I'm going for a support mage, I'll be very frail. Too frail. So I intend to develop my stamina with the Constitution stat while also gaining the benefits of having more hit points.”
Circe let out a chuckle, “Before we knew it, we've both adjusted to the system here now,” her smile remained as she looked at Zeke, holding up the Random Skill Book, “Anyway. Let's continue our unboxing spree, shall we?”
Zeke returned her words with a snicker of his own. He noticed how she swiftly changed the subject, if he’d been absentmindedly listening to her, he might not have even noticed. “Alright,” a book appeared in Zeke’s hand, “There's nothing much to do but gather our strengths and grow.”