Seeing the shock in Aria's eyes made Kai feel great. It was worth every bit of the 50 SP (Skill Points) he had used to spin the Wheel of Fortune a few days ago. For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt like he was finally the one holding the cards.
Over the last week, Kai had been carefully studying the System to see how it worked. He discovered that the Wheel of Fortune was the fastest way to get powerful, but it wasn't cheap. He needed at least 50 SP to get even a single spin for a random prize.
Earning these points had become his full-time job. He found out he could get them in many different ways. Sometimes he got a few points for working out until his muscles screamed, like doing his first 100 push-ups in this weak body. Other times, the System rewarded him for "social impact," which mostly meant causing trouble.
The biggest reward he got was when he first started training with Aria. During a scramble, he had caught her off guard and caused her to trip. She had landed right on her butt with a look of pure confusion. The System had chimed in his head with a funny message:
[You caused Aria—a Primary Target—a lot of shock and embarrassment! +30 SP]
That one moment gave him more points than three days of heavy lifting. It taught him that the System loved it when he shook up the world around him.
He also found out that he could use his SP in a "safe" way. If he didn't want to gamble, he could spend 2 SP to raise any of his basic stats by 1 point. If he had been patient and played it safe, he could have used his 50 SP to raise his Magic stat to 25 by now.
But Kai wasn't a "safe" kind of man. Back in his old life, he had built an empire by taking risks that would make other people sick. He liked taking big gambles to get big rewards.
So, instead of a small stat boost, he had risked all 50 points on one spin of the Wheel. The glowing needle had landed on a Bronze-Rank Active Skill: Quick Step.
It was a simple movement skill, but exactly what he needed. It worked by sending a quick pulse of mana into his leg muscles. It didn't let him run like a racecar for miles; instead, it allowed him to move very fast for a split second—just enough to dodge an attack or close the distance before someone could blink.
He also learned a very important rule about his legendary Skill Synthesis. He couldn't just mix any skills together whenever he wanted.
The System was very strict: he could only combine skills of the same type. This meant he could mix an Active skill with another Active skill, or a Passive skill with another Passive skill.
That was the reason he had been able to create his new movement skill. He had taken his Lightning Control skill and his Quick Step skill—which were both Active skills—and fused them together into something much better.
Kai looked back at Aria, who was still standing in the middle of the room with a look of pure shock on her face. Seeing her—the girl who usually acted like a princess—so confused made Kai smile a mean, smug smile. He enjoyed every second of it.
"Alright, Aria," he said, his voice sounding steady and very proud of himself. "Like you said, I win today! That means you owe me a favor. Now I wonder... what kind of thing should I ask for?"
He decided to have a little fun at her expense. He wanted to see just how much he could rattle her composure. He leaned back and started to tease her, looking her up and down in a way that made him seem like a total pervert. He let his eyes linger on her body as if he were thinking of something very bad, making sure his expression looked as "creepy" as possible.
When Aria saw that look, she actually shivered. The air around her turned frigid instantly. Her face went from shocked to stone-cold in a heartbeat, and her blue eyes filled with a dangerous, icy light.
"Don't you dare push your luck, Kai!" she snapped. Her voice was so sharp it felt like it could cut through metal. "If you even think about trying anything gross or inappropriate, I won't care about 'training' anymore. I will freeze you solid and leave you as an ice statue in the hallway for the rest of the day!"
She was clearly embarrassed, but her pride was fighting back with a vengeance. To her, the idea of her "loser" brother looking at her that way was the ultimate insult.
When Kai saw that his sister was actually getting ready to turn him into a human ice cube, he quickly dropped the act. He threw his hands up in the air to show he wasn't a threat.
"Alright, alright! Calm down," he said quickly. "I was just kidding. I don't want anything like that. I want to ask for something completely different."
Aria let out a long sigh of relief, but she didn't let her guard down completely. The frost around her fingers stayed sharp as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Fine," she said, her voice still cautious. "What is it then? And remember—don't even think about asking for anything weird!"
Kai just gave her a simple, calm smile. It was the kind of smile that made him look much older and more confident than he used to be.
"Don't overthink it," he replied. "I just want you to come with me. I want to leave the estate for a while and see what the outside world looks like."
Aria stared at him, her eyes searching his face for a hidden trick. Usually, Kai was too scared to even look at the front gate, let alone walk through it. She crossed her arms, the ice on her fingertips finally melting away.
"The city?" she asked, her voice skeptical. "You want to go to the marketplace and the lower districts? Why do you even want to go there? If there's something you want, you can just order it online."