Cyan equipped the [Wrath of the Thunder Emperor (Right)] and passed her old [Strength Bandage] down to Nishi. Sliding her fingers along the gauntlet, she noticed an empty, indented slot embedded in the plating and poked at it curiously.
A defective product?
Cyan simply assumed she had been bartered a piece of factory-seconds gear.
[Strength: 29 (20+2+2+2+1+1+1)]
[Agility: 25 (21+2+1+1)]
[Constitution: 19 (12+2+2+1+1+1)]
[Intelligence: 16 (9+2+1+1+2+1)]
[Spirit: 21 (13+2+1+2+1+1+1)]
[Perception: 16 (12+2+1+1)]
[Charisma: 15 (12+3)]
[Max HP: 190 | Spirit Power: 230 (210+20) | Defense: 48 (38+10)]
(Note: The numerical values within the brackets represent Cyan's unequipped baseline attributes combined with her cumulative gear modifications.)
"My master's bandage..." Nishi murmured with a hint of deep sentimentality, gently tracing the fabric of the Strength Bandage now wrapped securely around her own hand.
"Let's move. We need to see if there are any other useful pieces of equipment or skill books available," Cyan said, glancing back at her strangely emotional servant before quickening her pace.
She deduced that the next round of the Survival Game would likely strip away their baseline attribute scaling entirely. In the first round, their stats had been buffed by 100%. In the second round, that grace modifier dropped to 50%. Following this trajectory, the third round would either offer a measly 20% to 10% adjustment, or eliminate the safety net completely.
These massive stat injections were clearly a temporary privilege reserved exclusively for raw rookies adjusting to the Survival Space. This meant she and Nishi would almost certainly face the lethal challenges of the next world at their absolute baseline values, making the impending survival objectives exponentially harder.
"Ah! Wait up for me!"
Snapping out of her daze, Nishi realized Cyan had already walked a considerable distance away and hurriedly dashed to catch up.
[Swift]
[Type: Skill Book]
[Function: Teaches the Active Skill: Swift (LV1) upon consumption. Temporarily augments Movement Speed and Attack Speed.]
[Learning Requirement: Agility 15]
[Description: I can go even faster!]
"What do you think of this skill book?" Cyan picked up the volume from a merchant's display cloth. Examining its properties, she recognized that its utility aligned perfectly with Nishi's combat kit.
"It looks great on paper, but Master, you haven't forgotten that my total Spirit Power is sitting at a tiny 70 points, right? If this skill hogs a massive chunk of mana per cast, I won't be able to sustain it at all!" Nishi whispered frantically directly into Cyan's ear. Furthermore, the vendor was demanding a steep 6,000 Survival Points for a relatively basic utility spell, which felt like an absolute ripoff to her.
Seeing Cyan sink into silent contemplation, Nishi stepped forward, planted her hands on her hips, and barked at the merchant, "Hey! Can you drop the price a bit on this?"
"5,500 points. Take it or beat it," the vendor replied coldly, completely detached.
"We'll take it."
Cyan walked up, cleanly transferred the points to finalize the purchase, and handed the glowing book directly to Nishi.
[Swift (Active) | Skill Level: LV1]
[Consumes 5 Spirit Power to boost Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 5% for 10 seconds. No Cooldown.]
Once Nishi memorized the technique, she pinned the skill profile into their shared visual log for Cyan to inspect.
"Excellent. This will be exceptionally viable for your playstyle," Cyan noted, her eyes narrowing slightly as she spotted the lack of a cooldown indicator. This meant the speed buff could theoretically be chained indefinitely to maintain maximum velocity. As the skill level scaled higher, the percentage modifiers would inevitably multiply, drastically raising Nishi's lethal threshold. "Query the system to see what the upgrade parameters look like."
"Let's see... scaling it up once requires 1,000 Survival Points and 1 Skill Point," Nishi reported after pulling up the prompt. She then seamlessly checked the upgrade path for her signature ability, [Mud Throw].
Upgrading Mud Throw required a much steeper 2,000 Survival Points and 2 Skill Points. Nishi had originally looked down on the sludge-slinging ability when she first acquired it, but after experiencing its absolute tactical brilliance in live combat, she had become its fiercest advocate. It was simply too practical to ignore.
"Execute the upgrade for Swift. Let's observe the structural scaling."
"Okay!"
[Your servant Nishi has upgraded the skill: Swift to LV2.]
[Swift (Active) | Skill Level: LV2]
[Consumes 5 Spirit Power to boost Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 8% for 12 seconds. No Cooldown.]
"Very efficient." The stat scaling of the second tier exceeded Cyan's baseline expectations.
"Master, can I go ahead and upgrade Mud Throw too?" Nishi asked softly, wanting to invest her points immediately but worrying that taking too much independent initiative might displease Cyan.
"Your skills belong to you. I will only ever offer optimizations based on structural compatibility; the ultimate trajectory of your combat kit is entirely your choice." Cyan paused briefly before adding, "If your Survival Point reserves run dry, inform me immediately."
"Got it~!" Nishi beamed, a profound sense of warmth blooming inside her chest.
Having someone genuinely look out for her well-being and invest in her safety was an incredibly addictive sensation.
[Survivor No. 11766, your servant Nishi's loyalty has increased by 5. Current Loyalty: 95.]
Ah... it went up again...
Cyan noted the system flash with a completely detached acceptance. She had grown entirely desensitized to this particular metric constantly shifting up and down over the slightest interactions.
[Mud Throw (Active) | Skill Level: LV2] [Consumes 5 Spirit Power to hurl a concentrated glob of dense, adhesive mud at a target, reducing their overall Movement Speed by 20% for 10 seconds. Grants a 25% probability to inflict Blindness for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 9 minutes.]
With Nishi's point allocation finalized, Cyan focused on her own panel, allocating a flat 5,000 Survival Points and 2 Skill Points to advance her core combat style.
[Style Level Up: Infinite One-Sword Style (Special) has reached LV3. Unlocked Core Technique: Infinite Style – Single Slash.]
[Infinite One-Sword Style (Special) | Skill Level: LV3]
[Note: Infinite One-Sword Style exclusive skills require a Japanese Katana/Samurai Sword archetype to execute. Total destructive output scales strictly alongside the cumulative level of this style.]
[Infinite Style - Immovable (Active): Consumes 5 Spirit Power to parry any standard, non-skill physical strike, executing an instantaneous counter-offensive that deals 90% of the attacker's own raw damage back to them.]
[Infinite Style - Heaven-Collapse Slash (Active): Consumes 10 Spirit Power to deliver a devastating lead elbow strike to inflict a mandatory 0.5-second stagger on the target, seamlessly transitioning into a violent upward rising slash. The elbow strike deals blunt damage equal to raw Attack Power plus 90% of Strength; the rising slash deals cutting damage equal to 130% of Attack Power.]
[Infinite Style - Gale Slash (Active): Consumes 10 Spirit Power to channel weapon intent to project a high-velocity, long-range blade crescent forward. Deals cutting damage equal to 160% of Attack Power. Note: The maximum effective projectile distance scales dynamically alongside the style's level.]
[Infinite Style - Single Slash (Active): Consumes 15 Spirit Power to drive a brutal knee strike into the target to trigger a 0.5-second stagger, immediately followed by an explosive rising slash that launches the enemy into the air for 0.5 seconds, concluding with a crushing downward overhead cleave. The knee strike deals damage equal to Attack Power plus 80% of Strength; the rising slash deals 80% of Attack Power; the final descending execution deals 110% of Attack Power.]
The complex mechanical inputs and muscle memory required to fluidly execute the newly unlocked [Single Slash] matrix instantly stamped themselves deep into Cyan's consciousness.
With their upgrades fully processed, the duo's shared pool settled at a remaining balance of 5,218 Survival Points.
"We are moving to the Training Grounds to calibrate these parameters," Cyan said, steering their path toward the localized facility zone.
"Right behind you~!" Nishi chirped, matching her stride.
Upon arriving at the testing arena, Cyan booked a standard one-hour private training block.
[Swift!]
Nishi immediately triggered her new buff. A faint, translucent blue aura instantly wrapped around her frame; when she exploded into a sprint, she moved with enough raw velocity to leave a trail of flickering, pale-blue afterimages behind her.
She sliced through the air with Musk's short sword, raining a flurry of stabs against a localized training dummy. Every few strikes, a strange, faint pink mist would puff out from the blade's micro-grooves. After monitoring the target's status readouts for a moment, Nishi began executing high-speed laps around the perimeter of the chamber, working diligently to fully master her altered kinetic thresholds.
On the adjacent platform, Cyan quietly executed [Infinite Style: Single Slash] against a heavy iron column. The violent sequence of the knee fracture, the vertical launch, and the descending cleave flowed from her hands with flawless, terrifying precision. Satisfied with the technical integration, she reverted to practicing the absolute fundamentals of the Infinite One-Sword Style, repeating standard draw-and-strike katas with mechanical monotony.
One hour later, the training terminal chimed, and the two left the facility to return to their private quarters. Deducting the mandatory 2,000 Survival Points required to secure Nishi's real-world identity mask, their final operational capital sat at exactly 3,168 points.
After a brief period of mental decompression within the private chamber, Cyan stripped off her heavy combat gauntlets and armor pieces, laying them neatly across the edge of her cot. She changed back into her standard, un-enchanted civilian attire and turned toward Nishi, who had slipped into a simple short-sleeved top and denim jeans.
"Let's go."
"Mhm!"
Nishi stared at Cyan. Now that the [Super Crown] had been unequipped and returned to the inventory menu, Cyan's Charisma attribute had dropped back down to its baseline parameters. Watching that blinding, otherworldly allure recede allowed Nishi's wildly pounding heart to finally steady itself.
"Your heart rate has significantly decelerated," Cyan observed calmly, her silver eyes locking onto Nishi's chest as she explicitly tracked the biological shift.
"Well, whose fault is it for being so completely seductive earlier..." Nishi muttered under her breath, tossing her head to the side.
Seductive?
"I am entirely inedible. I am not a food source," Cyan corrected with absolute, deadpan seriousness.
"That is obviously not what that word means!" Nishi's cheeks puffed out in pure, burning embarrassment as she glared up at her master. Master is quite literally an un-carvable block of rotting wood!
"We are leaving now. Preparing transit to my native world." Cyan gently grasped Nishi's hand, closing her eyes to lock her focus entirely onto the glowing Survival Mark.
"Okay~!" The lingering annoyance evaporated instantly, and Nishi happily hooked her arm back through Cyan's.
[Survivor No. 11766, do you authorize the flat deduction of 2,000 Survival Points to apply a structural identity and appearance distortion matrix to your bound servant?]
[Yes / No]
Cyan selected [Yes].
A soft, blinding shimmer instantly enveloped Nishi's form. Her physical traits shifted smoothly under the system's influence; her honey-colored hair darkened into a rich, natural black, and her distinct facial contours softened slightly, leaving her appearance roughly seventy percent similar to her original baseline but entirely naturalized to standard human parameters.
A split-second later, the space distorted, and Cyan materialized directly inside the grand foyer of her oceanfront estate, Nishi standing right beside her.
"Wow~! Master, you actually live in a massive palace!"
Nishi immediately began exploring the sprawling modern mansion, her eyes darting across the high-end minimalist furniture and structural decorations. She wandered over to the massive floor-to-ceiling glass installations, staring out at the endless, shimmering blue horizon where wild seagulls circled over the crashing waves. She had never witnessed such a breathtaking, unrestricted landscape in her entire life.
Turning back toward Cyan with a bright smile, she exclaimed, "The place where Master lives is incredibly beautiful!"
"This structure was provided entirely by Sophie for operational utility. I am merely utilizing it as a temporary base of operations," Cyan explained plainly, refusing to take unearned credit for the luxury around her.
Without further ceremony, she peeled off her casual outer clothing until she was standing solely in her underwear, walking directly toward the master bathroom suite.
"Master! Let's wash up together!" Nishi called out excitedly, rushing right after her.
Clang!
The exact millisecond Nishi tried to skip past the threshold, Cyan's leg flashed out in a textbook front-kick, cleanly launching her back out into the hallway.
"I bathe alone."
BAM. The heavy bathroom door slammed shut, locking securely in her face.