Selene hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"They are not attack skills. Actually..."
She began, then paused as if organizing her thoughts.
"My first skill is Majesty Incarnate. It’s SSS-rank. It... reinforces hierarchy. When I’m present, the ’lesser beings’ instinctively treat me as someone above them. They speak more carefully. It becomes difficult for them to mock, insult, or casually undermine me."
Isaac nodded slowly.
"It’s not mind control. It doesn’t force obedience. It’s more like... social gravity. The weaker the person, the stronger the effect."
Isaac mentally noted it.
A passive hierarchy reinforcement field.
She took a breath and continued.
"The second one is Noble Bearing. Also SSS-rank. It gives high resistance against intimidation, humiliation, and aura suppression. Emotional manipulation effects are heavily reduced. And... wherever I stand, my presence dominates the area."
She gave a faint, wry smile.
"That’s how it’s written. Do you see what’s weird with them?"
Isaac’s expression changed slightly.
Not having attack skills was fine.
But these skills...
’They are just passive skills.’
A realization clicked in his mind.
He finally understood something that had bothered him earlier. She had not used any mental ability on him. She had not pressured him, influenced him, or manipulated his emotions.
Her presence had simply changed that much.
He had naturally felt the urge to praise her.
It wasn’t compulsion.
It was instinctive respect triggered by aura hierarchy.
"Did you awaken a Physique too?" Isaac asked after a moment.
"Yes," she answered. "It’s called Imperial Silver Paragon. I don’t know what it does yet. The description is vague."
Isaac nodded slowly.
"It seems your race is tied to majesty and regality. These skills are actually very good. Especially for someone like you. They’ll help in negotiations, business parties, meetings with influential people. People will hesitate before trying to pressure you," he said.
She looked down for a second, then back at him.
"Yes," she admitted quietly. "But I would’ve liked attack skills. When I saw SSS-rank, I thought something incredible had changed. Something powerful. But nothing changed about my combat ability."
Her smile wavered.
"For a moment, I was happy. Then I realized these skills are completely useless in battle."
Isaac opened his mouth to say something reassuring.
He stopped.
He wanted to tell her that it was fine not to have combat skills. That not everyone needed to fight.
But coming from him, someone who could fight above his rank and challenge Transcendent-tier combat talent despite having farming talent, it would sound hollow.
Hypocritical, even.
It might make her feel worse.
Before he could decide what to say, Selene straightened her posture again. The faint melancholy vanished behind her usual composed expression.
"It seemed like you were about to do some experiment when you came earlier. What was it about?" she said smoothly.
Isaac studied her for a second, then let the topic shift.
"I’m going to try something new. My class skills aren’t combat-oriented, but they can help the city a lot. I’ve been thinking about how to use them better."
"Oh?" Her eyes brightened slightly. "Can I see?"
"Yes. Come with me."
They walked toward the farm plots behind the building. The fields were orderly and quiet, the soil dark and fertile.
Isaac crouched down near one of the empty patches.
First, he opened his internal gene bank and reviewed the new entries.
[Livestock Genes]
[Tyrannical Golden Hens]
Solar Tyrant Core Gene: Allows Tyrannical Golden Hens to absorb and refine sunlight at extremely high efficiency, storing it as condensed vitality within their bodies.
Evolutionary Molting Gene: Periodically sheds feathers infused with condensed vitality and trace genetic memory, allowing adaptive improvements across generations.
There were two genes he gained from Tyrannical Golden Hens.
His gene seed bank was now divided cleanly into two categories: [Crop Genes] and [Livestock Genes].
He exhaled slowly.
"Let’s see what happens when I combine livestock genes with a crop seed," he murmured.
Selene stepped closer but did not interrupt.
Isaac took out a Tier 2 Vitality Grain seed from his storage pouch. It was small and unremarkable in appearance, but internally it had three gene slots available.
"As a Tier 2 seed, it can hold three genes," he explained to Selene.
He placed the seed in his palm and activated his class ability.
[Seed Imprinting]
First, he inserted the Solar Tyrant Core Gene.
The seed trembled faintly as golden threads of light sank into its structure.
Then he added the Evolutionary Molting Gene.
This time, the reaction was stronger. His Biomass reserves dropped sharply.
Selene noticed his expression tighten slightly.
"Is it consuming more Biomass than usual?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied calmly. "It seems Livestock genes are more complex. They require more structural rewriting to integrate into plant tissue."
His Biomass consumption was significantly higher than when he inserted crop genes.
The seed stabilized in his palm, now faintly warm.
’There’s still one slot left.’
’Which gene should I put in the last slot? Or should I plant it with only two?’
The seed pulsed faintly as if waiting.
Selene tilted her head.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I’ve already inserted two livestock genes. One slot is still empty. I’m deciding whether to add another gene or leave it," Isaac said.
"What kind of livestock genes did you use?" she asked.
Isaac summarized their effects clearly.
When he finished, Selene did not hesitate.
"If the Solar Tyrant Core Gene lets it absorb sunlight and store vitality, then you should add a crop gene that enhances compatibility with solar energy. Something that improves solar harmony," she said thoughtfully.
Isaac looked at her.
She continued, more confidently now.
"You showed me the gene list before, remember? There was Gene of Solar Harmony from the Solar Tomatoes. That gene improves energy absorption efficiency and reduces internal risk of harm when exposed to intense sunlight."
A few days ago, Isaac had given her the complete list of crops he had harvested and the genes he had extracted from them.
She had spent an entire evening going through the list, marking combinations that would be suitable for market production and long-term trade.
That was why she knew exactly which crop genes he had.
Isaac gave a small nod.
"You have a good memory," he said.
"It’s my job. If I’m going to handle distribution and pricing, I need to understand what I’m selling," she replied with a slight smile.