Lana smiled and nodded. “Correct, since that day, the people of this world are born with two ranks, a current rank that awakens at the age of seventeen, and a final rank, also known as your potential.”
“Typically, those with a higher current rank, S-Rank to C-Rank, cannot ascend more than two ranks. And those below C-Rank cannot ascend more than three ranks,” she added.
“Sorry for being ignorant, but where do classes fit into all of this?”
“You don’t have to apologise, Ari,” Lana said, squeezing his thigh.
“Ranks of Ascension are comprised of three Ascension phases, Third, Second, and First Class, with each phase granting a significant boost in power than the one before,” Marissa remarked.
“When you reach the peak of First Class, you will ascend to the next Rank, where you will begin the Ascension phases from Third Class once again.”
“Is it harder to ascend when your current rank is high?”
Marissa nodded. “We ascend by converting the essence of monsters found in the Divine Towers into our personal Mana, and continue accumulating until we break through the threshold for the current phase,” she replied.
“As you can imagine, the thresholds for higher ranks versus lower ranks are incomparable.”
“The essence of monsters… This is found inside their cores, right?”
“Correct. The stronger the monster, the greater the essence its core contains,” Lana replied.
‘I guess in my case, monster essence will be converted into AP.’
Satisfied that his knowledge matched that of the current world setting, Ari moved on.
He had to ease the Reese women into a revelation that was bound to shock them.
“Thank you, things are much clearer now, well, not entirely.”
“No, don’t get the wrong idea, your explanations were great and easy to understand,” Ari said when he noticed the frowns forming on the sisters’ faces.
“Then what do you mean?” Lana asked.
He sighed. “While I don’t have an issue telling you, since I trust everyone here, my concern is-”
“The academy?” Maya asked.
Ari nodded. “It's not like I can hide it.”
Maya shook her head. “Under special circumstances, a cadet’s information can be withheld and restricted to my eyes only,” she said. “You’re already on that list, so you don’t have to worry.”
“I see… Thank you, Maya.”
Lana nudged him with her elbow. “So, are you going to tell us?”
Ari smiled. “The truth is…I don’t actually know what my final rank is.”
“What?” Lana asked.
“What do you mean, Ari?” Marissa asked.
He shrugged. “My potential is reflected as unknown.”
Their eyes widened, and their jaws dropped.
Ari found it difficult to keep a straight face.
‘Now for the finisher.’
“That’s why I mentioned that things weren’t completely clear. After all, my current rank is F-Third Class.”
Both sisters turned to their mother with looks of disbelief, while Maya stared at Ari intently.
“This is unprecedented...Then again, this isn’t the first time you’ve achieved something others believed to be impossible,” Maya remarked with a refreshing smile.
“My only concern is that your potential is linked to the directives you’ll receive from this higher being,” she said.
‘Ah…I get what she’s trying to say.’
Ari nodded.
“Then, their level of difficulty should be relative to your potential, correct?” she asked.
“To your knowledge, will these directives be limited to the Divine Towers?”
As much as Ari wanted to believe that Reality Bender just wanted him to pursue his desires and have fun, he wasn’t naive.
This was Ambrose Academy, a world fraught with danger.
Just like the trials, Ari anticipated some of the requests becoming deadly for him, or for those around him.
He didn’t want to scare them, but he couldn’t deny the possibility.
‘It might be better for them to be prepared just in case. It would also save time on explanations later on if I need to do something strange.’
“No, I don’t believe so. But, since it’s a higher being were dealing with, some of their directives may be...strange.”
“How strange?” Marissa asked.
He shrugged. “Only time will tell.”
Maya swirled the wine in her glass before taking a sip. “It’s clear now that you will become someone of great importance to our world, Ari.”
He scratched his cheek. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“No, my mother is correct,” Lana said. “You have the ability to shake the very foundation of power in this world... I’m getting excited just thinking about your potential.”
“Yes, so am I,” Marissa agreed.
Maya grinned mischievously. “His potential? Oh my, girls, are you volunteering to help Ari with AP generation?”
Lana and Marissa’s faces flushed.
“Mom!”
“W-what? No! I’m referring to combat.”
Ari grinned. “Well, I’m always in need of AP.”
His gaze swept the room. “I would never refuse assistance from any of you, but I should warn you, once you get involved with me...there’s no going back.”
Marissa raised her brow. “What are you trying to say? Sex with you is addictive?” she asked. “There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, you know.”
Ari laughed. “Arrogant? Perhaps I am. But, like your mother witnessed earlier, you will have to experience first-hand whether my words are false or not.”
Lana and Marissa’s eyes widened.
“Mom, what is he talking about?”
Maya giggled covering her mouth with her fingertips. “Ari, after everything we did on your bed before dinner, how could you put me on the spot like this?”
Marissa and Lana rose from their seats simultaneously, their eyes trembling in disbelief.
“No...way.” Lana said.
“How did this happen?” Marissa asked.
“He told me he could do something amazing, so I told him to show me.” Maya replied nonchalantly.
Their gazes drifted to Ari as he continued eating like this had nothing to do with him.
Maya grinned. “And he showed me again, and again.”
Ari glanced at Maya. “I was rather impressive, wasn’t I?”
Maya nodded. “Yes, very.”
He stifled a laugh when he noticed the expressions on their faces, even more so when thinking about the logic, or lack thereof.
‘Seriously, where do they think we found the time to have sex before coming downstairs for dinner?’
Marissa shook her head. “Mom, this isn’t like you at all,” she said. “Ari is a cadet, how could-”
“Technically, I’m not a cadet until I begin my first day at the academy.”
“It’s because he’s a cadet living in my house that we did what we did,” Maya suggested.
Marissa sank back into her chair in disbelief.
Lana stared daggers at Ari before sitting down in a huff.
“Maya, why does it feel like I’ve done something wrong here?”
“Are you seriously asking that?” Lana asked.
The look in her eyes seem to hold a deeper meaning.
‘Is she jealous?’
“You did nothing wrong, Ari, neither of us did.”
The sisters shared a look of defeat.
“Great, I would like to practice my spells with you again if you have the time.”
“Of course, I’ll always make time for you.”
“What?!” the sisters screamed in unison.
“You were talking about magic this entire time?”
“Naturally. What did you think we were talking about?” Ari asked with a straight face.
Their faces flushed pink.
“Oh my. Surely you didn’t think that Ari and I?”
Maya’s question caused their faces to heat up even more, dyeing them beet red.
“N-no! It’s just, the conversation before…” Marissa replied.
“Yes, I was just confused momentarily,” Lana responded.
Maya hugged her chest. “My own daughters imagined me having passionate sex with our handsome guest, I don’t know how to feel about that.”
They hung their heads. “...We’re sorry, Mom.”
‘I can’t let this opportunity go.’
“Well, the thought of that is…thrilling, but being falsely accused really stings.”
“I’m sorry, Ari,” Lana said.
“Yes, I apologise too, Ari,” Marissa responded, their faces still flushed.
He flashed a disarming smile. “I’m a forgiving guy, so I’ll let it go this time...under one condition.”
“What sort of condition?” Marissa asked.
“Promise me, that when we’re at home, you’ll refer to me as Darling. Also, you’ll give me a kiss before bed, and a kiss in the morning, every day.”
“W-What, you expect me to just agree to that?” Marissa asked, the flush on her cheeks returning.
“If it’s too embarrassing for you, I’ll settle for a kiss on the cheek.”
Lana turned to him. “I promise, Ari.” She then looked into his eyes. “I’m not embarrassed to kiss you... Darling.”
‘She blushed at the end there, so adorable.’
Marissa’s eyes widened. “Lana! How could you agree so easily?”
Maya giggled. “Marissa, shouldn’t you be setting an example as the older sister by taking the lead?”
“You’re both asking for forgiveness, yet Lana is the only one who accepted without hesitation.”
Ari frowned. “I’m beginning to doubt your sincerity, Marissa.”
“I am sincere,” she responded.
“I-I promise, okay? But I'll only kiss you on the cheek.”
He nodded. “Great, all is forgiven.”
“Oh, and just for the record, AP is not solely generated through sex.”
He flashed a teasing grin. “But, we'll go into more detail once you give consent.”
Maya smiled and clapped her hands. “Now, how about dessert?”