Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
By Fini's calculations, the time to unlock the third draw should have been around next week, but it had come early, and he understood some of the reasons why.
Back when he first discovered he could rely on skills to increase the experience bar, Fini noticed that using skills on people yielded more experience.
Specifically, causing damage to people—or rather, fighting using skills—made the experience bar increase much more rapidly.
However, because the power of 'Ars Magna' was too weak for adequate self-defense and 'Sumire Karaage Roll' couldn't normally be used for combat, coupled with the fear of being discovered, Fini had no way to gain experience through fighting.
Fortunately, the fact that skills worked on people was easy to address. Once he discovered this, Fini never let himself feel stupid or ugly ever again.
I am very smart, I am super handsome, I will be invincible!
Except for the last one, after eight years of 'Ars Magna' working on the first two, Fini had become a famous genius heartthrob at school who had skipped grades. He was first in his class and was about to graduate high school at the age of fifteen.
Thus, it was today's two "battles" that allowed the experience bar, which should have naturally filled in two weeks, to be completed ahead of schedule.
After eight years, he could finally draw again. Fini couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Fearing he might draw another skill with weak combat potential like 'Sumire Karaage Roll,' he didn't draw immediately. He planned to go home and bathe while offering a prayer first.
Seeing Skye's little face still scrunched up with worry, Fini immediately guessed what she was thinking and comforted her with a smile: "Alright, I've kept it from you for ten years without you noticing; it won't be exposed that easily."
Hearing this, Skye couldn't help but roll her eyes and say defiantly, "That's because I never tried to look into it closely."
Skye's words were actually true. Fini lived with her day and night, so he must have unconsciously exposed things, like the situation this afternoon. However, Skye had never thought in that direction, which was why she ultimately hadn't noticed.
Seeing that Fini looked genuinely relaxed, Skye temporarily set aside her worries. She looked at the pistol on the table and asked, "What about this thing? Are we taking it back?"
Fini followed her gaze to the pistol. The dirty gun body clearly didn't belong to a high-quality weapon, but he had fired a shot earlier; it was at least functional.
"There are still a few bullets left. Let's leave it in the shop just in case."
In this country and this city, such a thing wasn't particularly rare—as evidenced by the fact that even two small-time punks could get one.
Fini stood up, hid the gun in a relatively concealed yet accessible spot, then turned back and smiled at Skye:
"Alright, hurry up and tidy the shop, we're heading back. You haven't told me how much we made today. Considering the 'accident' today, I'll give you two-tenths!"
Skye rolled her eyes cutely. Although she knew Fini said this just to help her move past the earlier events, she still said fiercely, "No way! I want compensation for mental distress. I'm taking half of today's earnings as compensation."
Fini put on an "impossible" expression, which made Skye burst into a smile, and her spirit gradually recovered from the shock.
After a brief cleanup, Fini took a ride in Skye's car back home. As soon as they entered the door, they were scolded by their parents for being late, followed by an urgent prompt to wash their hands and eat.
Feeling the warmth of the family, Skye shook her head, trying to stop thinking about the previous events. Looking at Fini beside her, who remained unfazed as if everything were normal, she felt that everything that happened today was so surreal.
At the dinner table, the Halsey family ate together. His father, Eli, was one of New York's more famous lawyers, so he quickly noticed that Skye's state seemed slightly abnormal.
"Did something happen at the shop today?"
Eli asked with concern while eating. The reason Skye was able to get a storefront in the high-priced Upper East Side was partly due to his parents' connections.
"No, no, the shop is great! You wouldn't believe it, that group of people was begging to invest in Fini again so he can open a branch soon!" Skye said quickly, shaking her head. She had promised Fini to keep the secret, and she didn't want her parents to know what happened tonight.
Hearing Skye's words, Eli couldn't help but smile. He looked at Fini and said, "I really don't know who this kid learned that dish from. Your mother can't replicate his flavor no matter how she tries."
Of course she can't, that's a superpower!
Looking at Fini, who pursed his lips and didn't speak, Skye thought silently to herself. Truly, who could have imagined that this dish was actually a superpower?
Hearing her husband belittle her cooking skills, Fini's mother, Vera, became displeased. She criticized her husband while muttering that her cooking was actually about the same.
Feeling this warmth and happiness at home, Skye gradually cast aside the worry in her heart and joined in. For a while, the house was filled with laughter and joy.
After dinner, and after taking a shower—specifically washing his hands—Fini returned to his room. Since tomorrow was the weekend and he didn't have to go to school, he planned to draw the skill now.
"Please, please, please, don't give me another cooking skill."
After praying peacefully for five minutes and offering a silent blessing in his heart, Fini took a deep breath and began to draw the skill.
Before drawing, he had wanted to try using 'Ars Magna,' but whether it was because his mind couldn't settle down or the system didn't allow such cheating, he couldn't succeed.
Fortunately, however, the final result was not bad.
[Incursio]
Source: Akame ga Kill!
Description: An armor inhabited by an ancient lifeform, capable of continuous evolution.
Feeling the skill information in his mind, Fini was quite excited. Although his memories had faded over the years, he still had some impression of the final equipment used by the protagonist of Akame ga Kill!.
"But this thing is a Teigu, right? Can it actually count as a skill!?"
Fini was somewhat puzzled, but then he thought: if even a Sumire Karaage Roll could count as a skill, counting a Teigu as one didn't seem like such a big deal.
Worried that using the skill would cause a commotion, Fini didn't dare use it in his room. He planned to find a deserted place tomorrow to test it. Although he didn't know the exact effect yet, he was still very excited.
In one more year, it would be the day Iron Man made his high-profile debut. After that, various disasters would follow one after another. He had been deeply worried because the power of 'Ars Magna' wouldn't increase, leaving him only able to handle ordinary people for now.
As for 'Sumire Karaage Roll'...
He couldn't exactly expect to drive away aliens by feeding them fried chicken rolls.
"I hope it's a powerful ability!"
Before seeing the actual effects, Fini couldn't be sure that 'Incursio' would definitely be strong. After all, based on the description alone, 'Ars Magna' should crush everything, but he unfortunately couldn't produce that kind of result.
Fini didn't ask for 'Incursio' to be explosive from the start; as long as he could currently hold his own against "ordinary people" like Hawkeye or Black Widow, he would be satisfied.
(End of Chapter)