Nova shone once — an appreciative gesture perfectly timed to be maddening — and then turned its lens towards me with the slow, clinical appraisal of an object deciding whether it wanted to be polished or smashed.
Before i could say anything.
"All right," it said. "Fine. You get one chance for my guidance. Do not disappoint."
That was Nova's way of accepting me.
I took it as the stubborn university professor approving by the thinnest of margins.
"Good," I said, because arguing with a sentient lens and a god-like jurk had now become my bread and butter. "So, can I equip you normally? Or do I have to wrestle you for it?" I joked.
"You don't wrestle with sacred treasures," Nova replied. "You wear them, listen, and stop pretending you're more intelligent."
My eyes twitched. Looks like it can't take a joke.
Took a deep breath.
Then, I exhaled slowly.
"…Alright," I said. "Let's get to the point directly, I need a reconfiguration."
Soul One raised a brow. "I already gave you whatever you will need; what's left now?"
"I meant my stats," I replied. "Stat balance. Growth trajectory. Long-term planning."
That got Nova's attention.
The spectacles rotated slightly, lenses focusing on me with that familiar, invasive pressure. Not hostile. Not curious.
Analytical.
Then with a smug tone.
"Explain it," Nova said approvingly.
It looks like he understood, but he still wanted me to say it myself.
I rubbed my neck. "Your Soul Assassin subclass. When I acquire it, if I am not wrong, it's going to boost my AGI, INT, and maybe Luck stats, as per usual magical assassin classes do."
Nova didn't deny it.
"And my Iron Warrior class already pushes STR naturally," I continued. "Which means—"
Soul One snapped his fingers, a projection blooming into existence between us. Numbers, curves, growth vectors.
"—imbalanced growth," Soul One finished. "Your Intelligence is already your highest stat."
I nodded. "Which means future level-ups will be biased toward mana pool expansion instead of aura conversion efficiency."
Silence.
Even the stars felt… attentive.
"That's bad," I said flatly. "For a physical combatant. who relies on aura density and reaction speed. I don't just need a bigger mana pool—I need better output as well."
Soul One tilted his head with a smirk. "Most people don't notice that until it cripples them."
"I read," I muttered. "And I get punched a lot."
Nova hummed.
Low. Thoughtful.
"Your concern," Nova said with a happy tone, "is that Enhanced Intelligence will distort your development curve."
"Yes," I replied immediately. "And I want it removed."
Soul One blinked.
Once.
"…You're voluntarily giving up a permanent intelligence enhancement?"
"Yes."
"People kill for that, you know," he added.
"I know," I said dryly.
Nova rotated again, silent. cheerfully.
"I don't want to specialise," I added. "If I'm going to survive, I shouldn't lean fully into one path. My Intelligence will push me towards the mage path."
Nova piped up instantly.
"Exactly."
That was unexpected.
I frowned. "You agree."
"Because it is correct, for you that it," Nova replied.
Soul One smirked. "Ohhh, finally something you liked about the kid."
Nova ignored him.
"Specialisation is excellent for dominance," Nova continued. "It produces cleaner power curves, faster breakthroughs, and impressive singular feats."
I crossed my arms. "Your point."
"But! It is terrible for survival," Nova said.
That made me smile.
"You are not a duelist," Nova went on. "You are not a champion meant to stand at the centre of a battlefield and overwhelm opposition through superiority."
The lenses tilted.
"You are an anomaly attempting to remain unimportant while interfering with destiny-scale entities."
…When put like that.
"Versatility," Nova said calmly, "maybe is the only key that will keep you alive."
Soul One nodded, surprisingly serious. "You're right. Specialisation might draw patterns, and Patterns get noticed."
I smiled. "No specialisation."
"Not yet," Nova corrected. "After a point, you have to specialise; progress without Specialisation is very, very hard."
That was annoying.
I looked at Soul One. "Then can you reconfigure your Edict?"
He raised a brow. "You're sure?"
"Yes. Remove Enhanced Intelligence."
"Once the energy for edict is lost, it cannot be recharged." Soul One warned.
"Then replace it! with…?"
I thought for half a second.
"…Strengthen Soul Obscurity and Amplified Soulforce. If I'm going to walk near destiny nuclearreactor, I need to be harder to notice—and harder to drain." I said
Soul One stared at me.
Then smiled.
"That," he said, "is a very greedy request."
"Thank you."
He stood.
The void tightened—not violently, but with procedural finality.
"Very well," Soul One said. "Edict reconfiguration authorised. Conditional update queued."
I felt it immediately.
Not pain.
Adjustment.
Something peeled away from within me—subtle, like a background hum vanishing. My thoughts didn't dull. They felt… quieter. Slower. Less artificially sharp.
Then something else reinforced.
Deep.
Dense.
My Soulforce core pulsed once, heavier than before. More resilient.
Soul One exhaled. "Enhanced Intelligence removed. Soul Obscurity strengthened. Amplified Soulforce intensified."
Nova nodded faintly. "Acceptable."
"Once you acquire the Soul Assassin subclass," Soul One added, "the Edict will finalise its adjustments."
I swallowed. "Then… let's do it."
The scroll still hovered where Soul One had left it.
Unassuming.
Deadly.
I reached for it.
The moment my fingers touched the parchment—
It tore.
Not ripped.
Tore itself apart, dissolving into threads of black-and-silver light that surged straight into my chest.
I gasped.
Not in pain.
In overload.
Something unfolded inside me—new pathways, new structure, new rules layered atop my soul without replacing what was already there.
The System reacted late.
As usual.
---
SUBCLASS ACQUIRED
Soul Assassin (S Rank)
---
The world sharpened.
Not visually.
Existentially.
I could feel it—something touching my Soulforce. Controlled. Measured. Safer.
A new resource bar flickered into existence.
---
SOUL POWER: 0 / 94
[INACTIVE]
---
My heart pounded.
Then the changes hit.
Not gradually.
Immediately.
My body reacted like it had been waiting for this change all along.
Reflexes tightened.
Balance improved.
Even my breathing pattern shifted, instinctively minimising waste.
Numbers updated across my vision.
---
STR increased by 25%
AGI increased by 75%
INT increased by 50%
Luck increased by 30%
---
"…That's," I breathed, "a lot."
"You are still fragile," Nova said calmly. "Just less stupidly so."
Before I could retort—
Something else snapped into place.
My Survival Instinct flared.
But wrong.
Not the panicked, screaming warning system I was used to.
This was… deeper.
Broader.
It didn't just sense danger.
It understood it.
Threads of awareness extended outward—not physical, not magical—spiritual. I could feel hostile intent before it completely formed. Pressure before action. Disturbance in patterns I hadn't consciously noticed before.
The System chimed again.
---
SKILL MUTATION DETECTED
Survival Instinct (A) → Spirit Intuition (S)
---
I froze.
"…Excuse me?"
Nova hummed, satisfied.
"That mutation was inevitable," it said. "Your Survival Instinct was already functioning abnormally."
"How?" I demanded.
Nova tilted slightly. "Because you were not reacting to danger. You were pre-empting it."
Soul One nodded. "Your Edict blurred you from fate, but your instinct adapted by reading pressure rather than events."
Nova continued, "You weren't sensing attacks. You were sensing spiritual intent. Soul-level disturbances. That is not survival."
I swallowed.
"That is spiritual awareness," Nova finished.
I stared at the floating interface as my full status settled into place.
---
NAME: Augustus Ironcreed (August)
LEVEL: 27
CLASS: Iron Warrior, A
SUBCLASS: Soul Assassin, S
SYSTEM STATUS(1):
1. Soul One's Edict:
• Soul Obscurity
• Amplified Soulforce
2. Forbidden Skill Penalty
• Internal Energy Locked (1.2 / 48 hours)
STATS:
Authority: 8
SOUL POWER: 0/94 [INACTIVE]
STR: 71
AGI: 72
INT: 81
Charm: 33
Luck: 17
World Credit: 282
CLASS SKILLS:
Iron Guard, A
Blade Mastery, D
—
Soul Vail, S
Lethal Strike, S
Echo of the Soul, A
SYSTEM SKILLS:
Soul's Fury, SSS {Forbidden}
Higher Appraisal, SS
Spirit Intuition, S
ACQUIRED SKILLS:
Martial Arts, C
Pain Tolerance, D
Cold Resistance, D
Shock Resistance, E
Poison Resistance, E
Fire Resistance, F
BLOODLINE:
Iron Stallion, A (UNAWAKENED)
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY: Metal
EQUIPMENT(5/5):
1. 'Nova' Lens of the Dragon Sage, ∞ {DISGUISED}
2. Ironhowl Blade (Sword), A
3. Ironcreed Family Heir Token, B
4. Storage Pouch, D
5. Lightsteel Armour, D {Broken}
---
I stared at it.
Alive.
Reconfigured.
Still very killable.
"…So," I said slowly, "my instincts evolved because I kept using them wrong."
Nova corrected me immediately.
"You used them correctly," it said. "You simply did not know that you were."
Soul One laughed softly. "Survival, huh?"
I exhaled, tension finally bleeding out of my shoulders.
"Yeah," I said. "Survival first."
Nova hovered closer, lenses faintly reflective.
"You are not optimised," it said. "You are not safe. And you are certainly not strong enough."
I met its gaze.
"But," Nova continued, "you are now ready to endure."
The void began to unravel again.
Reality tugged at me.
Soul One waved lazily. "Back you go. Try not to die. Or attract cosmic horror. Or both."
"No promises."
As the white surged back—
I felt it.
Not power.
Not confidence.
Clarity.
And for the first time since this mess began, I knew one thing for certain:
I wasn't built to win.
I was built to last.
And right now?
That was enough.