Receiving the alert from his status screen, Ace summoned his second animated toy with great enthusiasm, "Toy summon, 'Apex Earring.'"
Soon, a diamond stud earring with the letter 'A' engraved in it appeared in Ace's right hand. As he scrutinized it, the cursed toybox reported the Apex Earring abilities to him through his status screen skill,
[ — Status screen—
Name: Apex Earring
Race: Curse Tool
Class: Toy summon
Title: Apex Spy
Durability: (100/100)
Enchantment: 1-Star
Individuality: (100/100)
Curse energy consumption: 5 units per hour / 1 units per 5 hours (Depending on mode selected)
Skills: Toy actualization, Apex persona, Combat specialist, Apex charm, Fat inverter, Stealth mode
Note:
i) Class 'Toy summon' will gain new skills with quantitative change in the Toymancer's stats.
ii) Title 'Apex Spy' will give the Toy summons access to all original item abilities.]
[Skill name: Toy actualization
Skill class: Innate curse art
Skill effect: It turns the concept and idea behind the toy into reality.
Additional effect:
i) Toy physiology: The power to use the abilities of the toy.]
[Skill name: Apex persona
Skill class: Innate curse art
Skill effect: The user can transform into their apex spy form.
Additional effect:
i) Apex human: The user capabilities are pushed to the human limits, granting them,
>Extreme human physique displaying enhanced strength, speed, agility, durability, senses, and reflexes.
>Extreme human mental faculties displaying heightened intelligence, perception, advanced problem-solving skills, concentration, focus, and enhanced memory.
ii) Apex human anatomy: The user gains an extraordinary body with balanced and proportionally arranged flawless body parts regardless of age and ailments.
iii) Apex persona mode: The user can more efficiently use all the skills of the Apex earring in this mode except for the Energy-saver mode. Curse energy consumption: 5 units per hour.]
[Skill name: Combat specialist
Skill class: Innate curse art
Skill effect: The user gains extensive training and expertise in various forms of combat, including both armed and unarmed techniques.
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i) Weapon specialist: The user gains exceptional skill, proficiency, and knowledge in handling various types of weapons, such as firearms, melee weapons, explosives, etc, with heightened accuracy, agility, and strategic thinking.
ii) Martial arts specialist: The user gains mastery in various forms of martial arts to an extraordinary degree with heightened understanding, agility, strength, speed, and coordination using knowledge of pressure points, joint locks, and human anatomy with strong discipline and focus.
[Skill name: Apex charm
Skill class: Innate curse art
Skill effect: The skills of a master spy to manipulate and influence others through charm, persuasion, and charisma.
Additional effect:
i) Spy charm: The ability to effortlessly blend into any social situation, gaining the trust and cooperation of others with ease. A natural charisma that makes others instinctively trust and confide in the character helping them to extract information, manipulate adversaries, or sway the course of events in their favor.
ii) Reconnaissance specialist: The user gains exceptional skills in stealth techniques, camouflage, and evasion tactics for gathering intelligence, scouting enemy territory, and identifying threats covertly using their heightened senses, keen observation, excellent hearing, and sharp vision, making them adept at analyzing data, interpreting maps, and identifying strategic locations.]
[Skill name: Fat inverter
Skill class: Innate curse art
Skill effect: The user can interchange fat tissue and curse energy within their body to maintain an optimal body composition.
Additional effect:
i) Minor healing: The user can heal minor injuries by converting fat into biological materials needed for tissue repair.]
[Skill name: Stealth mode
Skill class: Innate curse art
Skill effect: The user can use stealth mode to make the apex earring virtually invisible to others.
Additional effect:
i) Energy saver mode: In this mode, the user can access all skills of the 'Apex Earring' except the Apex persona. Curse energy consumption: 1 unit per 5 hours.]
"This is remarkable. It's no wonder the innate curse tools are so in demand they make the best ingredients to forge great curse tools in capable hands," Ace lamented, looking at the status screen of 'Apex earring.' It had the skill 'Fat inverter,' which the Apex earring from the TV show did not have. It appears to have obtained that from 'Charm earrings' used to animate it.
"Congratulations, Master, on animating your second toy summons. With this, you should be able to learn the curse shroud art in a day just like Gloria managed to," Dame Wasp's voice suddenly sounded from the side. She sincerely congratulated her master, as the longer he was alive, the longer she got to live and have a purpose.
"Thank you, Rose. You done already?" Ace asked Dame Wasp, pointing at the juicer with his eyes.
"Yes. Its PCB had a loose IC. I soldered it with my laser. Then, I tweaked its software a little. Now, It should be more user-friendly and work smoother than before," Dame Wasp gave a brief report. Thanks to her 1/100th form, she reached the juicer's circuit through its vent without removing its outer shell. This approach allowed her to repair the juicer in under a few minutes.
"Excellent work, Rose. You are the best," Ace praised Dame Wasp for a job well done, pondering if he should open an electronics repair shop after high school instead of joining a college. With Dame Wasp's expertise, he would not only make a killing repairing electronic devices but save a ton on college tuition fees. However, it was just a fleeting thought.
"Happy to be of service, master," Dame Wasp beamed, listening to her master shower her with praises.
"Now, help me wear this stud earring on my left ear," Ace informed Dame Wasp, passing her the Apex earring.
Taking the earring, Dame Wasp locked on Ace's left earlobe. Knowing what she had to do, she morphed her cyber braid into a laser pointer, and said, "Master, this is going to sting a bit."
"Let us get over with this quick," Ace knew piercing a hole in his earlobe with a laser would be painful. But less painful than using a needle or piercing gun. As a bonus, the laser can cauterize the tissue as it makes the hole, reducing bleeding and discomfort.
"Or master can share my scenes while I pierce the earring. This way, you can avoid the whole ordeal," Dame Wasp pointed.
"Rose, you are a genius. Let us do that," Ace slept on the bed on his right side, giving Dame Wasp easy access to his left earlobe before sharing her senses.
'Rose, I am here. You can begin now,' Ace ordered Dame Wasp, looking at his senseless body. Following his orders, Dame Wasp grabbed Ace's left earlobe, and with a single laser beam, she burned a hole big enough to hold the Apex earring. Checking that there were no signs of bleeding, she carefully adorned her master's left earlobe with the diamond stud earring and declared, 'Master, all done. If there is still any pain left, you can use the earring's minor healing effect to heal it.'
'I think I can handle a little pain, Rose,' Ace remarked, feeling that Dame wasp was babying him. Yet he didn't immediately cancel the sense-sharing skill.