Chapter 21: Innate Ability [bonus]

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Innate Ability [bonus]

Daniel stared at the notification hovering in front of his face.

[Innate Ability Detected]

[Would you like to awaken it?]

[Yes / No]

He looked at Lyra. She was still sitting on the bed, her eyes moving around the room. She couldn’t seem to stop looking at things. Her fingers traced the blanket beneath her, the wooden frame of the bed, the soft fabric of her own sleeve. Every texture was new. Every color was a discovery.

"Hey," Daniel said. "There’s something else."

Lyra’s eyes snapped to him. "What?"

"The system. It detected an innate ability. Something inside you. It’s asking if I want to awaken it."

Lyra’s face changed. Her lips parted, and a smile spread across her face. A real smile. Bright and hopeful.

"So I do get something," she said, her voice rising with excitement. "I’m not just a... a battery for your stats. I get something too."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah. You do."

"What is it? What’s the ability?"

"I don’t know yet. The system just says it’s there. I have to accept for it to process."

Lyra nodded eagerly. "Do it. Accept it."

Daniel looked at the screen. He pressed Yes.

The screen flickered. New text appeared.

[Innate Ability Processing...]

[Downloading...]

[Installing...]

Daniel watched the words scroll across the screen. Lyra was watching him, her eyes wide, her body tense with anticipation. She had stopped looking around the room. Her entire focus was on him.

[Upgrading to Class...]

[Class Formed: Gunslinger (Unique)]

Daniel blinked. "Gunslinger?"

"What?" Lyra asked. "What’s a gunslinger?"

Daniel held up a hand. "Hold on. It’s still processing."

[Creating Personal System for Harem Member...]

[Creating...]

[Downloading...]

[Installing...]

[System Detected: Inability to Understand System Text]

[Downloading Reading Comprehension...]

[Downloading Common Sense...]

[Installing...]

[Done]

Daniel frowned. Reading comprehension? Common sense? What did that mean?

[Creating Skills...]

[Skills Created]

[Sure Shot (Rare) - Active: When activated, any shot made is guaranteed to hit the target. Cost: None. Cooldown: 1 minute.]

[Mana Bullet (Rare) - Active: Shoot out bullets of mana. Each shot consumes 1 mana point. Damage is calculated with INT stat and weapon level.]

Daniel read the skills. Then he read them again. His mouth fell open.

"Lyra," he said slowly. "I think you’re going to like this."

"What? Tell me!"

"Hold on. There’s more."

[Equipment Generating...]

[Golden Jack Pistol (x2) - Level 1 - Damage +10 - Two-Handed Weapon]

[Notice: Harem Member Stats will increase x5 of their normal stats.]

The screen flickered one final time, then went still. Daniel stared at the words. Gunslinger. Pistols. Skills that involved shooting. He didn’t know what a gun was in this world, but he knew what a gun was in his world. And if Lyra had a class based on them, that meant one thing.

She was going to be dangerous.

"Well?" Lyra demanded. She had scooted to the edge of the bed, her hands gripping the blanket. "What is it? What did I get?"

Daniel took a breath. "Okay. So. Your innate ability got upgraded into a class. A unique class. It’s called Gunslinger."

Lyra frowned. "Gunslinger? What’s that?"

"It’s... hard to explain. But basically, you get two weapons. They’re called Golden Jack Pistols. They’re guns. Ranged weapons. And you have two skills."

Lyra’s eyes widened. "Skills? I have skills?"

"Yeah. The first one is called Sure Shot. When you activate it, any shot you make is guaranteed to hit your target. No cooldown cost, but it has a one-minute cooldown before you can use it again."

Lyra’s mouth dropped open. "Guaranteed to hit? Always?"

"Always."

"That’s... that’s incredible."

"The second one is called Mana Bullet. You shoot bullets made of mana. Each shot costs one mana point. The damage depends on your intelligence stat and your weapon level."

Lyra was silent for a moment. Then she laughed. A bright, disbelieving laugh.

"I have skills," she said. "Real skills. Combat skills."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah. You do."

"And weapons? You said I get weapons?"

"Yeah. Two pistols. They’re called Golden Jacks. Level one. They add ten damage."

Lyra shook her head. "I don’t understand half of what you’re saying. But it sounds amazing."

Daniel grinned. "There’s more. Your stats get multiplied by five. Whatever your normal stats are, they’re now five times higher."

Lyra’s eyes went wide. "Five times?"

"Five times."

She sat there, processing. Then she looked at him. "How do I see it? The system? You said you have a panel. Do I have one too?"

Daniel nodded. "The system created a personal one for you. Just say ’Status Screen’ out loud. It should appear."

Lyra took a breath. She straightened her back. She looked around the room one more time, at the walls, at the window, at the candle flickering on the table. Then she spoke.

"Status Screen."

Daniel watched her face. Her eyes moved, tracking something he couldn’t see. Her lips parted. Her breath caught.

[Name: Lyra of the Prick Family]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 1 (0%)]

[Class: Gunslinger (Unique)]

Strength: 15.0

Speed: 22.5

Intelligence: 35.0

Mana: 50.0

[Free Points: None]

[Skill: Sure Shot (Rare), Mana Bullet (Rare)]

[Equipment: Golden Jack Pistol (x2) - Level 1]

Lyra stared at the screen. Her eyes moved over the words, reading them slowly. She had never read anything before. She had never seen letters on a page, never traced words with her eyes. But now she could. The system had given her that.

Her lips moved silently as she read. Her name. Her race. Her class. Her stats. Her skills. Her equipment.

Tears filled her eyes.

Daniel saw them. He saw the way her expression shifted, from wonder to disbelief to something deeper. Something raw.

"Lyra?" he said softly.

She looked at him. The tears spilled over, running down her cheeks. She didn’t wipe them away. She just stared at him, her eyes bright and wet.

"I can read," she whispered. "I can see. I can read. I have a class. I have skills. I have..." She trailed off, her voice breaking.

Daniel didn’t know what to say. He just sat there, watching her.

Then Lyra moved. She lunged forward, crossing the space between them in an instant. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Her face pressed against his shoulder. Her body shook with silent sobs.

Daniel froze. His arms hung at his sides. His heart pounded in his chest.

She was hugging him. Lyra was hugging him.

He could feel her warmth. Her breath against his neck. The soft press of her body against his. His mind started to wander. His body started to react.

No, he thought. No, no, no. Not now. Not like this.

He tried to think of other things. Boring things. Unsexy things. Baseball. Homework. His grandmother’s cooking. The time he walked in on his parents—

The hug continued. Lyra didn’t let go. She just held him, her tears soaking into his shirt, her fingers gripping the fabric of his back.

Daniel took a slow breath. Then another. He raised his arms and awkwardly patted her on the back.

"It’s okay," he said. "It’s okay."

They stayed like that for a long moment. Then Lyra pulled back. Her face was red, her eyes puffy, but she was smiling. A real smile. The kind that reached her eyes.

"Thank you," she said. "I don’t know how to say it. But thank you."

Daniel nodded. "You’re welcome."

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Then she looked at him, her head tilted.

"Your face is red," she said.

Daniel’s eyes widened. "What? No, it’s not."

"It is. You’re blushing."

"I’m not blushing. It’s just... warm in here."

Lyra’s smile widened. "Is it?"

"Yes. Very warm. Hot, even."

She laughed. A soft, knowing laugh. Daniel looked away, his face burning.

Then a notification appeared in front of his face.

[Harem Class Detected: Gunslinger (Unique)]

[Would you like to copy?]

[Yes / No]