Elena barely slept that night.
The hours had been spent in her room alone, with only ledgers as company.
Possible applications for the Golden Touch spell: *Direct application on a person (knight): SSS rank probability.
Exponential growth, dividends of loyalty.
*Indirect application on an object (enhancement) – jewelry: no dividends; it’s cosmetic and vulgar.
Elena thinks it’s one of the few skills humanity came up with.
*Indirect application on the environment (enhancement) – soil/plants: instant growth (unpredictable).
It could be weaponized, though.
*Self-application – ???
Applicable?
Not applicable, and lethal.
The game wouldn’t accept that kind of application, though Elena considered the problem of self-application for several minutes.
Self-application wasn’t technically in the game, but theoretically, would it accept it?
If Elena applied Golden Touch to herself to boost her own stats with her skill, it would have tried to somehow interpret it.
Elena wasn’t the kind to shine statistically anyway (physically she was low stat, magic and height were medium, INT and CHA were above average).
The highest she could expect was ‘a clever noble with a spreadsheet’, but she did consider a critical overshoot effect where, if her calculations were wrong, it might turn into an actually useful ability.
A rose bush wasn’t designed to grow into a tree reaching for the ceiling by itself, after all.
It was still far too unpredictable to risk; there were other things worth a riskier investment in.
Before the sun rose, Elena had looked up Kael’s stats and felt a sense of relief.
[ASSET #1 COMBAT RANK: E+] [GROWTH: 0.38%] [LOCATION: SERVANT CELLAR – NORTH TOWER] [STATUS: SLEEPING] It wasn’t great, but he was growing.
Slowly.
Waiting to meet Kael in the servant’s cellar was more terrifying than Elena had anticipated.
The walls around her almost seemed to embrace her; the floor was ten feet long, and the only exit was a thick iron door.
Kael sat in the corner, one knee drawn up, the hilt of his sword resting on it.
A monk who preached nothing but murder, Kael was filthy to the bone, dried blood clinging to every surface.
“Daily dividends,” Elena muttered as she closed the door.
There was little point in having complicated security measures—the cellar was sufficiently secluded and solid; moreover, Elena was already late.
She took a firm hold of the collar of Kael’s tunic and gently yanked him towards the middle of the room.
The resulting phenomenon was astounding and utterly unexpected.
The air around them practically pulsed; the ambient magical energy of the Academy served not just as a medium for the spell, but as a driving force, pushing the spell along.
The magic radiating from Elena’s palms had an intensity to match that of at least nine suns simultaneously, and was only contained by iron doors and stone walls.
Kael’s head snapped towards Elena, and a low, visceral grunt erupted from his chest.
He tightly gripped his sword hilt, the whites of his knuckles starkly contrasting against the dark steel, and Elena felt a web of invisible strands weaving between them, multiplying and entwining.
She wasn’t just pushing her energy into him; Elena was giving a part of herself away, and in turn, receiving a piece of him.
A system notification appeared directly in her line of sight.
[CRITICAL GROWTH SURGE DETECTED] [ENVIRONMENTAL GROWTH SYNERGY: MAX] [ASSET #1 COMBAT RANK: E+ -> D-] [D- -> D] [D -> D+] [D+ -> C-] Elena’s legs trembled, forcing her to lean against the cold, unforgiving wall for support.
It wasn’t enough.
Elena was pouring way too much of herself into this—too much essence and life energy.
It felt like a torrent being pulled out of her, and she couldn’t stop it; her pupils were black pinpricks, and as it continued, Elena felt herself dimming from the inside out.
“Stop!” Kael wheezed, his crimson eyes wide as they fixed on Elena.
“You’ll kill yourself!” “Be silent,” Elena hissed.
“I am not stopping at C.
We are going for B, and we’ll show them the numbers!” [WARNING: USER MANA DEPLETION CRITICAL] [WARNING: CONTINUE?] Elena nodded in affirmation, and the light began to pulse again.
[C- to C] [C to C+] [WARNING: USER MANA DEPLETION CRITICAL] [WARNING: CONTINUE?] “Yes again.” [C+ to B-] [B- to B] The light retracted, and Elena slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor.
Her chest ached, and her hands went numb, but as the light receded and Elena opened her eyes, she saw its worth.
Kael stood up from his crouch.
His sword had extended itself, seemingly growing from his body to complement his arm’s power.
The air around him vibrated with power, and the shadows around him recoiled.
His red eyes glowed with awareness.
“Lady Vance,” Kael said, his voice like a roaring storm.
“What have you done to me?” Elena tried to answer, but a ragged cough caught in her throat.
“I…
accelerated your depreciation curve.
Congratulations, you are now a B-class combat asset.
In three weeks.” Elena would not lie to herself; the overload would most likely kill her if it had not been for the mana’s calming warmth replenishing and strengthening her body’s vital systems.
Her channels grew, her muscles strengthened.
The last remnants of the mana’s strength seeped out, and the dividends were delicious.
Elena sat up, propped against the wall, and a smile broke across her face.
“Can you do it again?” Kael’s eyes darted to her still faintly glowing hand.
“Lady Vance, I lack the words to express the awe this inspires.
However, I suggest we save it for another time.
You are nearly drained, and I doubt I’d survive another session.” His grip on his sword tightened.
“Besides, I feel it.
The thing inside me.
It is growing, but…
it’s not clawing its way out.
It seems to want to know what you will ask of it.” “Tell it to prepare to burst out of your chest,” Elena said softly.
“When the time comes.” Elena’s vision fogged for a moment, but it cleared again.
The system announced itself triumphantly.
[MILESTONE ACHIEVED: FIRST ASSET BREAKTHROUGH] [ASSET #1 COMBAT RANK: B] [SEAL STATE: 0.38% to 0.41%] [LOYALTY: 18 to 25] [SKILL UNLOCKED: DEMONIC AURA (INHIBITED)] [USER REWARD: MANA CAPACITY +30%] [USER REWARD: PHYSICAL RESISTANCE +15%] The dividends, Elena thought.
She almost forgot about them.
A comforting warmth spread through her body, repairing, reinforcing, enhancing.
She was stronger, faster, tougher.
She pushed herself up, propping an elbow on the wall.
“We can’t do that again before the exam.
You’d risk exposure.” Kael sat across from Elena, close enough that she could feel the residual power radiating from him.
The red in his eyes faded, but did not completely disappear.
“I know, but I can feel the B-rank.
It feels like a spring wound tight, and you wouldn’t be able to guess how I’ll use it.
I’ll know when they’re looking right at me.
I’ll give them something to talk about.” “When you’re ready,” Elena said, reaching out and touching his hand.
“In five days they’ll lock me in that bloody room, show me a rock, and then laugh when they see me for the fool I am.” “And then?” Kael asked.
“And then you show them what a ten-thousand percent payout looks like,” Elena said.
They were sitting in the cellar as the sun was coming up over the manor, two monsters in human skin discussing life, death, and the prospect of a golden future.
Someone knocked on the door.
Elena’s heart hammered in her ears.
“My lady?” A servant’s voice.
“There is a message for you.
From the Headmaster.
Your trial has been moved up.
You will get it tomorrow.” Elena and Kael looked at each other.
“Tomorrow,” Elena said.
“Yes, my lady, and…
there is another message.
You will also have to participate in the exhibition of duels and skills.
The Headmaster felt it would be educational.” The servant’s steps faded away.
Elena pressed her head against the wall and laughed until her ribs ached.
“They moved the trial up.
They think I’m not ready.” Kael’s hand went to the hilt of his sword.
His eyes were still the warm shade of gold and still somewhat human, but the air in the cellar had changed—it had become noticeably heavier.
“I’m ready,” Kael said.
Elena looked at her status bar one last time.
[DEATH FLAG: 175 DAYS] [ASSET #1: B-RANK COMBAT POTENTIAL] [COVER: INTEGRITY] [NEXT EVENT: DUELING EXHIBITION – 24 HOURS] Nice and mean, Elena smiled.
“I was born ready.
Let’s go break some indicators.” [TICK: Overhaul completed during the night.
B-level achieved.
Trial moved up.
First slap loaded and prepared.]