[Do Host Wish To Evolve The Unique Skill >
— IMITATE — to an SSS-Tier?]
[Amount Of Accumulated Evolution Fragments Has Surpassed The Evolution Requirement]
Like a salvation descending from the heavens, all my attention snapped to focus when I saw the notification window.
SSS-Tier...
What!
I looked grimly at the faces in the hall, a scornful expression etched boldly on them.
I swallowed a heavy lump and and agreed in my mind.
[Evolving E-Tier Unique Skill — IMITATE — to SSS-Tier]
[Evolving....9%.....10%....50%....85%....]
A nervous sensation spun inside of me, and my heart beat increased with each passing second.
[95%.....]
[Ding!]
The chime caused my body to shook with fear.
[Evolution Successful!]
[You Have acquired the SSS-Tier Unique Skill — DUPLICATE —]
The term "SSS-Tier Unique skill" weighed heavily on my mind.
Wasn't the highest-ranked skill supposed to be S-Tier?
My breath was becoming heavy.
Noticing Lousielle suspicion gaze, I quickly composed myself.
The notification faded at once.
All my worries eased as if I had been blessed.
Lousielle made a faint sound, barely a grunt but sharp enough to snap the silence. She gestured for the maid to retrieve the orb.
After returning the magic item, the status magic faded and the large window of glowing runes vanished.
The maids were stealing mocking glances at me, but the moment my eyes caught theirs, they flinched and quickly looked away.
'Shit heads'
Those stares quickly disrupted the fantasies I had had about maids when watching anime.
I had just arrived in this world mere minutes ago, and already—this was my welcome?
My teeth ground together, a surge of heat rising in my chest, but I forced myself to swallow it down.
Now wasn't the time to lose my composure over petty stares.
My thoughts were abruptly cut off when Lousielle walked closer to me.
'She smells nice'
My nose twitched slightly as the nice fragrance drifted in.
Even though I was taller than her, Lousielle's head was held up high as she started speaking.
"Now, Lord Rei, can you show us what the skill can do?"
'Figures'
Since Adrian had displayed his own, I knew they would ask me too.
Since our unique skill description wasn't displayed, we needed to activate them so that they could know what they were about.
Lousielle voice had a subtle hint of cautious curiosity, not quite doubt, but the cautious edge of someone who never took anything at face value.
She was never the type to underestimate anyone, no matter how insignificant they appeared at first glance.
After all, this very lowest tier skill was called Unique which seemed contradictory.
Everyone, she believed, deserved the same level of respect, determined solely by their strength and potential.
And so, beneath her calm words lingered the possibility that this skill might be far more formidable than she had first imagined.
Now, when she was this close, my eyes got all the details of her appearance.
Her red dress hugged her curves; her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings above ruby eyes that blazed with flame.
She seemed to be looking not at my face but straight into me.
Our gazes locked onto each other for a moment.
As someone who couldn't hold eye contact for long, I was surprised at this development.
[Target's Skills Can Be Duplicated]
The notification suddenly cut me off from my entranced state.
I blinked twice and reread it, did it mean I could duplicate all her skills for myself?
[Ability Count] <67>
'So many abilities!'
I gasped instinctively, noticing this, Lousielle's brow furrowed.
She had gotten the idea that something was happening which seemed to confirm the doubts she had about my ability.
That it may be called trash but there was something special about it.
And as for Adrian, he just stood there, his fingers fiddling with the strand of blond hair that fell over his face.
'Let me check.'
Immediately, windows of abilities flooded my vision.
Different spells, skills, and magics were displayed before me in a large interface, along with their descriptions.
My breath became heavy, and I swallowed a lump when I thought about what I could do with my unique skill.
Each line of text burned itself into my mind, like a secret only I was allowed to read!
[Fire Manipulation]
[Insufficient Evolution Fragments, Can not be evolved]
[Blade Mastery]
[Insufficient Evolution Fragments, Can not be evolved.]
The list went on and on, each name more impossible than the last.
A rush of heat spread up my neck as I realized the truth: every skill here could become mine.
Not tomorrow. Not someday. Now. I could wield them all if I wanted to — reshape the world if I dared.
One ability caught my eye, it was a spell for summoning an elemental spirit. There was a text below it.
'Can not be evolved? This must be related to my skill new ability, no?'
Since it was something that still felt out of reach, I didn't bother to check what the prompt meant here.
[Do Host Wish To Copy This Spell?]
'Should I?'
In front of everyone, my heart skipped a beat.
Lousielle was known as a genius in the Royal family, so it wasn't an exaggeration that her ability would have tremendous power.
There was even a saying that if there were three Lousielles in the Leon kingdom, then the kingdom had nothing to fear.
But since she knew her limit, that was why she had orchestrated the plan to summon a hero from another world.
If I could use Lousielle's ability to summon a powerful elemental spirit, I bet everyone here would change their opinion of me.
The ability interface light filled my vision, I re-accessed my thoughts, was that what I wanted?
To be acknowledged by the people around me, to hell with that!
I scoffed and looked around.
While many didn't seem like they were expecting much from my display of ability, others simply looked as if they were waiting for something they could mock.
After all, even if they weren't like the celebrated heroes, they still possessed powerful C and B-Tier skills.
'Black Flame Spirit. An A-Tier summoning magic spell.'
[Duplicate Spell — Summon Black Flame Spirit — Activated]
Suddenly, a large glowing magical circle appeared on the floor in front of me.
SWOOOOOOSH!!
Hot air blasted past my body, blowing my hair back like I had stepped into the mouth of an active volcano.
Heat wave permeated the space of the large hall within seconds.
A second later, exhaustion crashed over me like a wave.
My vision started to swim, and at the same time, my legs buckled as if they couldn't support the weight of my body anymore.
'W-what is happening?...'
Lousielle eyes were filled with surprise as she reached out her hands to help me up, at the same time, a notification shimmered into my vision.
[Warning: Mana Depleted, Consumption Exceeded Normal Amount!]
'Oops, I also got trash stats.
Figures'
My vision darkened as my body crumpled.
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Thanks for reading.