Isaac moved immediately.
He reached out and caught her before Selene could hit the floor.
"H-Huh? Isaac?" Selene blinked, trying to clear her vision and look at the person holding her.
A Class was tied to one’s soul.
When someone ranked up, their soul strengthened and evolved. That evolution allowed them to obtain a higher Class, which was why ranking up and gaining a new Class were connected. One could not happen without the other.
But Selene’s situation was different. She had used a Class Evolution Ticket. The System had forcefully evolved her Class even though her soul had not undergone the corresponding growth.
The process was completely safe because it had been performed by the System itself. There would be no hidden damage, permanent weakness, or future complications. Even so, her body still needed time to adjust to the sudden change.
That was why she felt weak when she woke up. Her legs lost strength beneath her, causing her to stumble forward. Before she could fall, a pair of arms wrapped around her and steadied her body.
Isaac held her by the waist and pulled her upright. After making sure she was stable, he looked at her and nodded.
"Yes, it’s me. Are you okay?"
Selene blinked several times as the dizziness gradually faded. The blurry figure before her became clear, and she suddenly realized just how close Isaac was standing. Her eyes widened the moment she saw his face only inches away from hers.
Heat rushed into her cheeks. She wanted to answer him and tell him that she was fine, but the words refused to come out. How could they? Isaac’s arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her steady while their bodies were pressed together. She could feel the warmth of his stomach against hers, their chests nearly touching, and the distance between their faces was so small that her heart wouldn’t stop racing.
Her face became even redder as she became aware of every point of contact between them. Wouldn’t their navels have been touching if they were not wearing—
Her blush intensified.
"Do you have a fever? Why are you so red?" he asked before placing a hand against her forehead. The direct contact sent a wave of pleasant shiver through her body.
It was the first time she had ever been this close to a man. Her thoughts became a complete mess. She almost forgot about the news that the Elemental Spirit of Machine had told her. Recalling that news, she tried to regain her bearing and said,
"C-Can you let me go?"
"Wait, are you reacting like this because I’m holding you? Do you not like it? I’m sorry." He quickly loosened his grip and took a step back.
The disappointment on his face was obvious. For some reason, seeing that expression hurt more than she expected. She felt a pang in her heart. Before he could fully withdraw his hand, Selene reached out and grabbed the end of his sleeve.
"No. I don’t dislike it," she said softly.
"So you like it?" Isaac asked, hope returning to his expression.
"Th-That..." Selene froze as her face became even redder than before. She looked away, unable to answer.
"Stop teasing her," Alice said from the side, finally stepping in. She then turned toward Selene and shook her head helplessly. "Seriously, how can you be this innocent? If Marien wasn’t always around, I’d be worried some playboy would have tricked you already."
Marien was Selene’s childhood friend. Although she and Alice did not get along particularly well, she had always been close to Selene.
Selene blinked before slowly turning toward Isaac. He was trying very hard not to laugh, and it took her several seconds to understand why. The moment she realized he had been teasing her the entire time, she looked as if she had been wronged.
"I’m sorry. But you looked too cute," Isaac said immediately, raising both hands.
Selene’s mood instantly bounced back after hearing those words. Alice felt helpless, seeing her sister act like a love sick fool.
"Anyway, enough of that. How did the evolution go?" Alice asked.
"Let me check," Selene replied as she opened her status screen.
The excitement she had been feeling moments ago gradually faded as she read through the information in front of her.
Isaac immediately noticed the change in her expression. Alice did as well. The relaxed atmosphere from earlier disappeared as both of them focused on her face.
"Don’t worry if it’s only an S-rank Class. Sword Empress already said that anything higher depends more on luck than performance. Besides, an S-rank Class is already considered amazing," Isaac said after a moment.
"You can upgrade your Class’ rank later anyway. There is no reason to be disappointed over something like that," Alice added.
Both of them looked genuinely concerned. Selene felt warmth spread through her chest as she looked at them. Before they even knew the result, they were already trying to comfort her.
"It isn’t an S-rank Class," Selene said.
Isaac blinked while Alice tilted her head slightly. Neither of them understood why she looked so troubled.
"Then what is it?" Alice asked.
Selene forced a smile onto her face. "It’s an SSS-rank Class."
Both Isaac and Alice froze at the same time. For several seconds, neither of them spoke. Most people would have celebrated immediately after hearing those words.
An SSS-rank Class was something countless people could only dream of obtaining. It represented opportunities that most awakeners would never even see during their entire lives. Yet neither Isaac nor Alice looked happy.
"What is the Class called?" Isaac asked.
Selene lowered her gaze toward her status screen again. She hesitated briefly before answering.
"It’s called [Chief Operations Officer]."
Isaac and Alice immediately understood why she looked troubled. The problem was not the rank of the Class. The problem was the nature of the Class itself.
The skills a person obtained did not depend solely on their Class. Talent played an equally important role. The greatest strength usually came from having a Talent and Class that complemented one another.
Selene’s Talent was [Priestess]. It was a Talent centered around blessings, healing, support abilities, and faith-based powers. A Class related to those areas would have allowed her to maximize her potential.
But [Chief Operations Officer] sounded like a business-related Class. There was no obvious connection between administration and priesthood. The mismatch was obvious even without examining the skills.
"I won’t be able to become strong anymore. All future Classes will be evolutions of this Class. They’ll continue following the same path, which means they’ll never properly synergize with my Talent," Selene said quietly.
She tried to smile, but the expression looked strained. The more she thought about it, the harder it became to hide her disappointment.
"I’ll always be weak."
Isaac and Alice exchanged a glance before looking back at her.
"Weak? You?" Alice asked.
"Yes, I—"
"No, you don’t understand," Isaac interrupted. "You see, there is this thing called the [Purification Cult] in our Sector. It’s so strong that even Florathi and several kingdoms on the same level couldn’t erase it. Your summon destroyed them with a single glance."
"Huh?" Selene blinked. "What are you talking about?"
The Elemental Spirit of Machines had informed her that the threat around the City had already been dealt with. However, the Spirit had described it as a group of weak enemies. Nothing important. Nothing worth paying attention to.
"I’m saying that you might be the strongest person in our Sector right now," Isaac said.
Selene froze where she stood. Her mind went blank for a moment as she tried to process those words. Being called talented was one thing, but being called the strongest was something else entirely.
Her?
The strongest?
For a moment, she genuinely thought Isaac was exaggerating. Then she remembered the reaction of the Elemental Spirit of Machines and how casually the summon had dealt with the enemy. Back then, she had simply assumed the enemies were insignificant.
Apparently, they had not been insignificant at all. If Isaac was telling the truth, then her understanding of her own strength was completely wrong.
Of course, being the strongest did not mean she could march into a Kingdom and defeat everyone by herself. There were armies, formations, Cities, and countless other factors involved in war. Still, if Isaac was correct, she should be able to defeat almost anyone in a direct one-on-one battle.
The thought felt absurd. Selene needed several moments before she could fully accept that possibility.
"Also, I think I actually like that you don’t have a Class focused on fighting," Isaac suddenly said.
"...What do you mean?" Selene looked up at him.
Isaac stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. He looked directly into her eyes before speaking with a smile.
"With a Talent like this, you’ll be staying in the City with me. That makes me happy."
Heat immediately rushed to Selene’s face. Before she realized it, a smile had already appeared on her lips.
Normally, those words might have sounded possessive. Many people would have found them offensive or uncomfortable. Selene, however, was a dragon. More importantly, she was a royal dragon.
Dragons were possessive by nature. They treasured what they considered theirs and disliked sharing it with others. Because of that, hearing possessive words from someone they cared about was something all dragons loved.
That’s why Selene couldn’t stop herself from smiling. She felt like a fool, being happy at those simple words. But she couldn’t lie to herself. She felt happy hearing Isaac say such things. No, not just happy. She felt at the top of the world.
She loved it when he confirmed his love for her.
It gave her butterflies in the stomach.
"So, what skills do you have?" Isaac asked after a moment.
Selene blinked and returned to reality. "I have [Merchant Network], S-rank, and [Production Planning], S-rank."
"What do they do?" Alice asked.
"Let me check."
A screen appeared before Selene. This time, she did not move away from Isaac and simply opened the interface while remaining comfortably inside his embrace.
"[Merchant Network] allows me to form communication channels between registered branch managers, and..."
Her voice suddenly stopped. She stared at the screen for several seconds before reading the description again.
Isaac immediately noticed her expression.
"And?" he asked.
Selene slowly looked up from the screen.
"There’s no distance limitation, and the communication is instant. The only restriction is the number of connected people. Since the skill is S-rank, the current limit is ten people," Selene said.
Isaac and Alice both froze. Neither of them spoke for several moments.
They immediately understood why Selene looked so shocked. Long-distance communication was one of the biggest problems for everyone.
Mana storms could disrupt transmissions. Red Rain caused countless complications. Monsters frequently destroyed communication routes, and even maintaining contact between neighboring Cities could become difficult.
The only truly reliable method of communication across vast distances was Lord Chat. Unfortunately, Lord Chat was also incredibly expensive.
Isaac still remembered looking at the costs and wondering whether the system was trying to rob him personally. Every use felt painful to his wallet.
Yet Selene’s skill completely ignored those limitations. Instant communication with no distance restriction sounded absurdly powerful.
The more Isaac thought about it, the more ridiculous it became. If the skill worked exactly as described, then messages were probably being transmitted through some form of spatial dimension or a similar mechanism.
That would mean mana storms, Red Rain, and most environmental interference would be unable to affect it. In practical terms, it created possibilities that most organizations could only dream about.
Merchants could coordinate between distant Cities instantly. Managers could report emergencies without delays. Entire trade networks could function with a level of efficiency that seemed impossible in the current era.
Isaac slowly turned toward Selene. His expression became increasingly strange as he thought about the implications.
His expression was saying: What do you mean you are weak? Aren’t you the most overpowered one here?