Jasper stepped outside and saw Garrick Forge sitting there.
"Jasper," Garrick said, patting his shoulder, "go explain it to them. Young people get heated too fast."
Jasper walked over to where Sable Kestrel sat spacing out, then lowered himself into the seat beside her.
Sable noticed him, but didn't speak—just kept staring ahead. Jasper didn't push. He simply opened his system screen, flipped to the Sub-System Class page, and checked the next slot.
The second class was called Elven Sharpshooter.
It had three skills:
1) Elven MarkTargets struck can be sensed within 2,000 meters. The target is poisoned; poison intensity depends on the user's battle qi. The lethal poison effect can stack—Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3, Layer 4. After class upgrades, both poison strength and sensing range increase.
2) Elven ArrowWhen activated, the elven arrow detonates on impact. The target gains Elven Mark, and the sensing range becomes 2,000 meters. The lethal poison effect jumps directly to Layer 2. Explosion strength depends on the user's battle qi. After class upgrades, the power increases.
3) Ancient SummonsSummons an Ancient Dragon, with strength based on the user's own strength. Currently available summon: Forest Dragon. After class upgrades, summon options and power increase.
Jasper tapped Grant.
A green light surged out of his body and shot straight into Sable's chest.
Sable's eyes widened—then she froze, expression turning blank and stunned… the exact same way Skyhawk had earlier.
Skyhawk came barreling outside at the same time, holding a knight's greatsword in one hand and a finely made shield in the other—clearly pulled from his new sub-system space.
"Boss!" Skyhawk shouted as he ran. "What was that thing?! When the light went into me, my head wouldn't stop ringing—kept saying stuff like 'host' and 'system'—and that sub-system inventory can actually store things! I tested it—threw a chair in there! And there were weapons, and skills, and—crazy—"
Then he noticed Sable. His voice snagged. "Uh… Sable. You…"
Skyhawk remembered the fight. He swallowed the rest of his excitement.
Sable, still stiff and mechanical, slowly turned her head.
And in front of Skyhawk's eyes, a full set of archer gear appeared out of nowhere in Sable's hands.
Skyhawk yelped. "What the—why are there white words floating on your gear?! 'Elven Sharpshooter Set'… don't tell me you got the system too? That's basically made for your class!"
Somehow, in the span of a breath, the tension from earlier cracked and fell away—replaced by pure curiosity. The two of them started poking at the sub-system functions like kids who'd found a locked chest and realized they had the key.
Hearing the noise, Garrick hurried out, thinking they'd started fighting again.
Instead, he found two lunatics flailing around and shouting about menus and equipment.
Garrick grabbed Jasper's arm, alarmed. "Jasper—what's wrong with your friends? Are they sick?!"
Jasper gave him an apologetic look and explained everything from the beginning.
"Uncle Garrick—sorry I never told you. I've had a… hidden space. There are a lot of strange things in it. They're just acting like this because they got benefits." He cleared his throat. "Right now, it's only two. Yours will have to wait until the next time."
Garrick waved it off, completely unbothered. "It's fine. I'm not a knight, and I'm definitely not some mystery archer. I'm a blacksmith—also a Mad War fighter. My rank's not high, either. Giving those tools to them is the right call."
He glanced at Skyhawk and Sable, still excitedly testing commands. "They're talented, and they're young. In the future, they'll be your right and left hands."
Jasper smiled, but when Garrick looked like he was about to say more, Jasper cut in first.
"Don't worry. Only you, me, and those two brain-glitched idiots know. I didn't even tell Elder Rowan."
Garrick's face hardened. "Good. Then it never happened. If this gets exposed, we're finished."
Jasper nodded—an expression that said I know. And I've got it.
Skyhawk and Sable rushed over and grabbed Jasper like he was a prize they weren't letting go.
"Boss!" Skyhawk shouted. "Come look at our skills—this is insane!"
Sable added, equally hyped, "Big brother—watch this. It's ridiculous."
Skyhawk drove his knight sword into the ground.
A wave of pale gold-white energy rolled outward from the impact point, spreading in a ten-meter circle. When he pushed more battle qi into it, the energy sharpened into sweeping cuts—forming a tight, violent little cyclone. Leaves and pebbles were dragged in, then shredded.
But the scary part was control—Skyhawk could steer the cuts, choosing what got hit and what didn't.
Jasper watched and nodded. "That's Windward Barrier."
Then Sable stepped forward in her set, drew a thicker arrow from her quiver, and fired at a stone.
Boom.
The rock blew apart into fragments. Green poison spattered across the grass—where it landed, the blades of grass browned and died almost instantly. Even the stone edges showed faint corrosion.
Her quiver held twenty arrows: ten small, six medium, four large. And after firing, she could feed battle qi into the quiver to replenish the arrows—forming new ones out of her own energy.
Jasper's eyes narrowed in approval. "That was Elven Arrow."
Garrick stared, mouth open, like his brain had hit a wall. "Those skills… if either of them fought me, I'd lose. No question."
Skyhawk looked ready to keep going. Sable was already reaching for another arrow.
Garrick snapped back to reality and waved both arms. "Hey—stop, stop! If Tomas Trell's people notice, we're dead! And if you do that in my yard again, you'll smash this place to pieces. Want to test? Go outside and blow up someone else's dirt!"
Jasper stepped in fast. "Enough. Playing is fine. Trying your biggest attacks will empty your battle qi in one shot." His voice cooled. "And it'll draw Tomas. I heard he has a Bronze Tier, Rank 6 under him. If you're drained when they show up, you'll die before you learn your second menu."
That sobered them immediately.
Skyhawk grinned, scratching his head. "Boss is right. We'll stop, we'll stop. We'll train properly, then when we're ready we'll go beat up that… Tomas guy."
Sable nodded. "Agreed. And it's still early. We'll go out for a bit. Big brother, you just woke up—rest."
She didn't say it out loud, but the truth was sitting right behind her eyes:
When Jasper gave her Elven Sharpshooter, she understood something clean and final.
He trusted her enough to share power.
That meant she could trust him back—without conditions.
And it also meant… the mistake she'd made earlier came from that trust. She'd believed Jasper would be fine, so she acted too fast.
Now she knew what that kind of faith could cost.
Sable watched Jasper head back inside, then drifted again for a moment—
until Skyhawk hooked an arm around her and started tugging.
"Come on, come on!" he complained loudly. "Let's go see if there are any cute girls to look at—hehe!"