Chapter 25: Testing New powers.
Chapter 25: Testing New Powers.
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After the morning training, Kent was out of breath and drenched in sweat, decided to take a bath. "After bathing, I'll wake up that lazy little sister of mine," he muttered, dragging himself toward the bathroom. "I'm too tired to do everything alone."
Once refreshed, Kent made his way to Nima's room to wake her up. She was sound asleep, lying like a baby, free from the burdens of the world. Her innocent, peaceful face filled Kent's heart with affection.
Looking at her, Kent mused to himself, "My little sister has the Soulbinder SSS-RANK skill, a power that sounds like something a villain would wield—dark and ominous. But, it's far too overpowered for my liking. I wish I had her skills. Unlike mine, which doesn't even allow me to cultivate properly."
An idea sparked in Kent's mind, and he decided to use his appraisal skill to check if there were any hidden side effects to Nima's skill. This way, "i could also evaluate my own appraisal abilities—after all, SP is valuable to my growth. I don't want to waste it on random things just for the sake of curiosity. I'm such a genius." Kent chuckled to himself, feeling proud of the plan.
"Ha ha ha!"
He activated the System, speaking aloud, "System, use the appraisal on Nima's Soulbinder skill. Show me what cool things this skill has."
The System notifications came through:
Calculating…
[Ding!
Cost: 1000 SP
(Price reduced by 90% due to blood relation.)
Do you want to use it?]
[Yes / No]
Kent eagerly selected "Yes."
Appraising…
Complete.
Ding!
Nima's Status:
Physique: Max (10)
Cultivation: Level E (lower)
Skill: Soulbinder (SSS-Rank)
1. The user can't feel any emotion if she kills a person (No PTSD).
2. She can read captured soul memories.
3. She can understand all souls' languages.
Description: Extracts dead souls and binds them as contracted servants. No level limit, but limited slots (1/2).
Kent read through the information, his eyes lingering on the description. He thought to himself, "SSS rank means there are likely three more sub-skills tied to this one."
But it's good that she won't feel any mental trauma or anxiety if she kills something. In a world like this, killing to survive is inevitable. The peaceful world we once knew is gone.
Kent stared at Nima, pondering her overwhelming abilities. With a physique maxed out at level 10, she progressed faster than anyone. She could capture souls and keep them as her servants, read their memories, and communicate with any soul. All of this without the fear or PTSD.
'This system is cruel to me'...Frustration boiled inside him. Here I am, stuck making jokes and causing trouble to level up. Wait a minute. My skill is also SSS rank. I should have three sub-skills too.
Without wasting another second, he activated the appraisal on himself. "System, use appraisal on my Copy Spiritual Energy SSS-RANK skill."
Calculating…
Ding!
Cost: 10,000 SP.
Kent's eyes widened. "System, wasn't it supposed to be 1,000 SP?" His voice was filled with irritation. "What the hell?"
Ding!
No discount on the host himself.
Do you want to use it?
[Yes / No]
"No… No, I don't want to," Kent grumbled. "I need to save my SP to level up first." Nima's level was still behind his, but who knew? In a few days, she might surpass him.
"I can always check my skills later when I have enough SP. I already know that one of my sub-skills lets me copy powers from others under certain conditions—like if I have an affinity for their superpower or skill."
Kent, still fuming with frustration, couldn't stop thinking about his other two sub-skills. "I can't waste any SP right now, he thought, but I can't stand not knowing!"
His anger bubbled up, and he shouted at the system. The sudden outburst was enough to wake Nima from her peaceful sleep.
She groggily blinked up at him and yawned. "What are you doing, Kent? Did I sleep too long?" she asked, stretching.
"I came to wake you up," Kent replied, "I need some help with breakfast. My arms are sore from training, and I need to finish everything quickly before school."
Nima lazily got out of bed and followed Kent to the kitchen. As they worked together, Kent told her what needed to be done, while he handled most of the cooking.
Nima huffed, clearly irritated. "How dare that old man put you through such tough training? He doesn't even know how to solve math problems, yet he acts like he's some big shot!"
She paused, clearly fuming. "And he even made your hand sore? I'm going to have a word with him. You need less training, not more."
Kent smiled at her protectiveness. "Ooww, my little sister really cares for me."
But Nima was still speaking. "He doesn't know you're the world's best cook! If your hand is sore, who's going to cook for me?"
Kent's face fell slightly. Just shattered... 💔 Damn it... She cares more about food than me.
Nima tries to hold back a laugh.
Kent asks, "Nima, you're pulling my leg, right?"
She grinned mischievously. "Nope! I have to tell him you're the best cook. Now, hurry up and make breakfast! I'm starving!"
Kent stops his cooking, He approached Nima with a playful grin. "You little... naughty little girl. I've to taught you a lesson." Before he could catch her, Nima darted away, laughing.
"You naughty little thing, always pulling my leg! Let's see if you can outrun me now!"
A few minutes later, they were seated at the table, enjoying breakfast together. Once they were done, Kent handed Nima over to Xian Yu for her lessons.
"Old man," Kent said with a smirk, "take care of her. She's got a sharp tongue today, but I'm sure you can handle it."
Xian Yu sighed dramatically, muttering to himself, "I wanted a disciple, not a babysitting job."
Kent entered the special class, a sly grin on his face. Today was the day he'd get to test out his new skill. The other students were already seated, chatting amongst themselves. "Today's the day," Kent thought to himself, "Let's see how good this Spiritual Cloak really is."
During a break between lessons, Kent slipped into a quiet corner of the hall, his excitement building. He closed his eyes and focused, tapping into the flow of spiritual energy within him. He says, "System, activate Spiritual Clock."
A faint shimmer surrounded him as a translucent, cloak-like barrier formed around his body. The air inside felt oddly calm, almost serene as if the world outside had been muted.
"Whoa," Kent whispered, clearly impressed. "This is pretty cool. Let's see what it can do."
He stepped out of the hall and spotted a group of classmates nearby. Sneaking up behind one, he deactivated the spiritual cloak.
"BOO!"
The student jumped, spinning around. "What the—where did you come from?!"
Kent grinned. "Just testing a little something."
Ding! +77 SP copied (Fear).
Encouraged by the success, Kent spent the rest of the break sneaking up on classmates, startling them, and earning SP.
One student turned bright red with embarrassment after Kent suddenly appeared behind her, a blush creeping up her neck. (She might have a crush on kent…)
Ding! +88 SP copied (Embarrassment).
Another tripled over himself as he tried to back away from Kent's sudden appearance.
Ding! +99 SP copied (Shock).
By the time the break ended, Kent had accumulated over 20,000 SP. "Not bad," he thought, heading back to class. "This skill is already paying off."
After school, Kent returned home and immediately called out. Nima, "Where are you?"
"I'm inside," she replied. "The old man had somewhere to go, so I came back home."
Kent entered the house and smiled at her. "Nima, I've got something to teach you. It really useful. You will like it."
She tilted her head, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "What is it?"
"It's a skill called Spiritual Cloak," Kent explained. "It'll help you defend yourself and block spiritual senses in case of an emergency. You can sneak around without getting noticed by anyone."
Nima's eyes widened with excitement. "Really? Teach me!"
Kent spent the next hour guiding her through the basics, showing her how to channel her spiritual energy and form the cloak-like barrier around her body.
By the end of the session, Nima had managed to create a small, flickering version of the cloak.
"Not bad for your first try," Kent said, ruffling her hair. "I'm impressed."
Nima beamed with pride. "Thanks, big brother!"
Ding! +99 SP from Nima (Joy).
Kent couldn't help but smile. With her growing so fast, I need to step up my game.
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