Evelyn stared at the blue energy dancing around her fingers and smiled, but it was a tired smile. Slowly, she let the magic fade and reached for her clothes.
Donald quickly turned his head away again as she put on her tight black bra and her thick gray shirt. He only looked back when he heard the heavy straps of her ruined leather jacket clicking into place.
"You can look now, kid," Evelyn teased gently.
She held out her hand, and a standard Awakener system interface popped up in the air in front of her. It was a pale blue screen, completely different from Donald’s secret golden System. Everyone in the world who Awakened had one of these basic blue screens to track their health and mana and skills.
Evelyn read the floating blue text. Her smile slowly faded into a serious frown. She let out a long sigh and swiped the screen away.
"What is it?" Donald asked. "D-Did the crystal not work?"
"It worked," Evelyn said, rubbing her chest. "My core is fixed, but it’s like a muscle that hasn’t been used in months. My Awakener interface just updated my status. I am no longer an A-Rank Vanguard."
Donald frowned. "What m?"
"I dropped in Rank... I’m B-Rank now," Evelyn said, shaking her head. "And my levels dropped drastically. A massive chunk of my old experience drained away while my core was leaking. I am basically back to where I was five years ago. I’m healthy, but I am nowhere near my prime strength."
Donald felt a small wave of relief. He didn’t want her to be weak, but a part of him was glad she didn’t just instantly become an untouchable god again. It meant she might still need him in someway.
"B-Rank is still incredibly strong," Donald said, picking up his heavy Type-3 Pile Bunker from the wet floor. "And we can get those levels back."
Evelyn looked at him. Her eyes softened. "You’re right. It’s a fresh start. And honestly... it is better this way. If I suddenly flared with A-Rank magic, those assassins hunting me would feel it across the city. As a B-Rank, I can hide my aura much easier."
"Good," Donald nodded. He looked around the dark sewer chamber. The giant pile of broken metal from the Junk Golem was silent. "We made too much noise. Other monsters will come down here soon to check out the broken mana vent. We need to leave."
They walked back through the dark Scrap Tunnels. With Evelyn’s mana restored, she didn’t need to walk slowly anymore. She moved with the quiet, smooth steps of a veteran fighter.
As they walked, Donald finally had a moment to check his own secret golden System. He mentally called up his status screen.
[Name: Donald]
[Class: Investor (SSS+)]
[Level: 4]
[Base Stats:]
[Strength: 30]
[Speed: 32]
[Stamina: 31]
[Mana: 33]
[Unassigned Free Points: 9]
Donald almost tripped over a rusty pipe. His stats were huge. An average F-Rank had stats around 10. A normal E-Rank was around 25. His base numbers were already pushing into D-Rank territory, and he was only Level 4. The huge +10 bonus from his "Big Investment" had skyrocketed his power.
He looked at his unassigned free points. He got 3 points every time he leveled up. Since he jumped from Level 2 to Level 4, he had 6 new points, plus the 3 he saved from earlier. Nine points total.
He needed to be smart about this. In a video game, players usually dumped all their points into one stat. But this was real life. If he was super strong but too slow, he would get hit and die. If he was super fast but had no stamina, he would get tired and die.
However, his new weapon, the Pile Bunker, was incredibly heavy. He needed raw muscle to swing it around easily. And his skills used up a lot of magic energy.
I will put 5 points into Strength and 4 points into Mana, Donald decided in his head.
[Stat Allocation Confirmed.]
[Strength: 35]
[Mana: 37]
A fresh wave of heat washed over his muscles, making them feel tight and dense like coiled steel. His mind felt sharper, buzzing with deep, cool magic.
Next, he checked his skill list.
[Active/Passive Skills:]
[Valuation Eye (EX-Rank): See the hidden value, needs, and weak points of targets.]
[Aura of the Vanguard (F-Rank): Creates a thin, invisible shield over your skin that reduces physical damage.]
[Soothing Hands (E-Rank): Uses mana to heal minor injuries and ease pain.]
[Bull Rush (C-Rank): Rush forward with explosive speed. Your body becomes a weapon. The heavier your armor or weapon, the more damage you deal upon impact.]
Donald smiled in the dark. [Bull Rush] was his very first C-Rank skill. It was an attack skill. Combined with the heavy metal Pile Bunker on his right arm, if he used [Bull Rush] to crash into an enemy, he could probably shatter a brick building.
They finally reached the rusty ladder that led up to the streets of Sector 4.
"Wait," Evelyn whispered, putting her hand on Donald’s shoulder.
Donald stopped. "What is it?"
"My senses are sharper now," Evelyn said quietly, looking up at the metal manhole cover above them. "There are three people standing right next to the exit. They aren’t moving. They are definitely waiting for someone to come out."
Donald frowned. He closed his eyes and used his [Lesser Mana Perception].
Evelyn was right. He felt three distinct pools of mana standing in the alley above. But they weren’t strong. They felt weak, chaotic, and muddy.
"They aren’t assassins," Donald whispered back. "Assassins would hide their mana. These guys are just trying to be scary. It’s the local gang."
It was probably Garek’s friends, looking for payback after Donald embarrassed them on the bridge two days ago.
Evelyn cracked her knuckles as a dangerous smile spread across her face. "Those Local thugs? Good. I need to test my dropped B-Rank muscles. Let me go up first, kid. It’s time I pulled my weight around here."