Chapter 24: Increasing Skill Rank, Apex-Rank Species
A soothing warmth bubbled in Isaac's abdomen. It traveled throughout his body and seeped into his cells.
Isaac's vision improved. He could see the tiniest of cracks on the walls that were otherwise invisible.
His mind became clearer and sharper, and he could think faster. He tried to recall small things like what he had eaten during lunch a week ago.
"I ate vegetable stir-fry with rice six days ago, pasta twenty days ago, and potato curry thirty three days ago."
A smile appeared on his face when he recalled everything with ease.
"System, show me what changed."
Spirit Power: 89 → 97
Mana: 96 → 99
Life Drain (A rank → S rank): Drains a large amount of vitality from the target, restoring your energy. Excess stolen vitality can be converted into a temporary healing aura.
Demonic Eyes (S rank → SS Rank): Allows you to see souls, illusions, and weak points in enemy defenses. You are able to see through obstructions and can gaze upon Mana.
[Genetic Catalyst absorbed. Class Advancement Quest requirement 'Absorb a Genetic Catalyst.' completed.]
Isaac was overjoyed. His Spirit Power increased to 97.
Spirit Power determined the recovery rate of Mana. Currently, Isaac could recover 9.7 Mana per minute.
Spirit Power also determined one's mental defense, willpower, and thinking capacity, which affected problem solving ability and memory. A higher stat would make Isaac resistant to attacks that could affect the mind.
His Mana had also increased to a whopping 99.
"The best gain is the skills. I never thought skills could be ranked up."
Isaac stepped into the balcony of his dorm room on the fourth floor and used Life Drain. The grass next to path leading to the dorm building began to shrivel up.
"The range increased by four times."
He then activated his Demonic Eyes. He could see faint threads floating in the air, which he thought to be Mana.
Turning his head, he noticed he could see through walls, and as he laid his eyes upon Emily in the next room, the skill made her clothes see-through.
Emily blushed heavily when she looked in Isaac's direction. She likely saw him naked thanks to the skill.
Isaac chuckled and canceled his skill.
He congratulated Emily when they met later and spent his time with her until Professor Catherine came to pick him up.
Professor Catherine told him they would be using a warp gate to travel to Akaza Ruin.
Emily came with them until the entry point of the building inside which warp gates were built.
"See you later!" Emily waved her hand with a smile. She did not look sad, but Isaac could tell it was a front she put up to make him not worry about her.
"Goodbye! Call me on the wristwatch when you are feeling bored!"
Isaac followed Emily's example and did not show any sadness.
He entered the restricted area along with Professor Catherine after saying his goodbye.
The large building had no windows. After taking a lift downward for thirty seconds, they stepped into a white-painted corridor.
Professor Catherine led the way.
"How did your breakthrough go?"
"It was nice. I completed one of my Class Advancement Quest requirements."
"Good. Now take this, and fill this form with your latest stats."
She passed him a paper on a clipboard.
Isaac wrote his stats, which earned a raised eyebrow from Professor Catherine.
"Those are quite high stats. The Body Tempering Potion and Genetic Catalyst gave you a good boost. I suppose you could aborb the full potions unlike others. It must be thanks to your Talent. But if you continue to grow like this, you might hit the stat limit."
"Stat limit?" Isaac had an ominous premonition.
"Initiate rank awakeners cannot have a stat higher than 100. This is the same for every race."
"That's bad news."
"Not really."
"...?"
"When you reach the stat limit, you get a nice Title."
She smiled mysteriously. Isaac wanted to ask what the Title for reaching 100 in Mana would be, but her expression said she would not tell him.
"Professor, is there any way to break past the stat limit?"
"Why are you asking a question like that?"
"It's due to my skills. Reaper's Bounty gives me the natural energy of the crops I harvest, which I suppose means the Mana stat. I would lose tons of Mana if the stat limit is at 100."
"The natural energy could mean something other than Mana, though I suppose you are right."
Her heels clinked against the white tile floor, and she seemed to be in deep thought.
"No, I can't think of anything that can break past the stat limits."
"Nothing? Not even a clue."
"Well, there is a clue, but I wonder what I will get in exchange for it."
"...what do you want?"
"How about this? If you soothe this lady's heart for a night, I will answer your question."
Isaac almost puked blood in anger. He was in a serious trouble, and she was joking with him.
"Okay, okay, don't look so angry. My cute Isaac doesn't look good with that expression."
"Can I charge you for sexual harassment?"
"You can, but the Disciplinary Committee Head Professor was just changed. You need to wait until the new Professor takes the office."
"How many days do I need to wait?"
"I was thinking of joining the office tomorrow. You can drop by my office then."
Isaac was left flabbergasted. Who the hell was Professor Catherine?
She left Radiant Crest Academy, joined the Master of Sanctum the next day, and became the Disciplinary Committee Head Professor. Her status had to be high if she could do things like that on a whim.
Professor Catherine's smile grew bright when she saw his deep in thought expression.
They entered a hall through the corridor.
Its size was larger than a football stadium, and it had four large platforms. A dark cloud floated above each platform, and quite a few people were present in the area, each busy with their own task.
Professor Catherine and Isaac approached the platform on the far right side. On the way, her expression became serious, and she spoke to him,
"Whether they are Low-ranked species, Mid-ranked species, or High-ranked species, all have the stat limit of 100 for Initiate rank. But in the past, there was a higher rank species above High-ranked species, the Apex rank species.
"It is said that Apex rank species could have up to 1000 stats in Initiate rank. However, they were wiped out during the early stages of the Apocalypse, and we can never know the truth," she explained.
"Is this the clue you were talking about? That's useless for me."
"Is it? Maybe you have the bloodline of an Apex species like Dragons. That would explain your high Talent," she said, her teasing smile back.