As I caught my breath, my body finally gave out, and I collapsed to the ground, weighed down by exhaustion—both in my male form and in my female one.
Running at full speed in my female body had pushed it to the brink, while the adrenaline rush in my male form had drained my energy completely in just a short burst.
On top of that, the situation was far from reassuring, even though my mana reserve was nowhere near the red zone yet. If another horde of monsters showed up and we ended up cornered, I’d hardly have enough mana to deal with them. In the end, having a bigger mana pool didn’t an it was infinite.
While I was still trying to steady my breathing, Oliver’s voice suddenly cut in beside , filled with genuine concern: “Justin! Are you okay?”
I slowly turned to face him. His watchful eyes were filled with honest worry—which, to be fair, made more uncomfortable than anything else. We’ve only known each other for a day, so why the hell is he being so friendly? I’ve never been good at dealing with people like that. And yet... surprisingly, I didn’t mind it as much as I thought I would.
Maybe it’s the situation we’re in? Either way, I just gave a small nod and managed a faint smile. Oliver smiled back, like he understood exactly what I ant. Then he turned to Noa—my female body—and repeated the sa questions without the slightest hesitation. I chose to ignore the interaction and focused instead on the notifications I had pushed aside while dealing with those giant rats.
But as I opened my interface, I was genuinely surprised—a flood of ssages had piled up in front of , forming a solid wall of unexpected information.
*You killed [Giant Rat – lvl 5] – Bonus EXP gained for killing a higher-level enemy. 10 SP earned*
*You killed [Giant Rat – lvl 2] – EXP gained. 4 SP earned*
*DING! Class: [Assassin] has reached level 5 – Stat points allocated*
I paused for a mont when I saw the notification about reaching level 5. I imdiately rembered what my clone had said back in that white world—sothing about earning a new skill every five levels.
Still, his words had been vague, and I wasn’t exactly sure what he ant. Either way, this seed like a good ti to check my status and see if anything had changed.
Status
Na: [Justin Davies & Noa Davies]
Race: [Dyadren]
Class: [Assassin – lvl 5]
Profession: N/A
Unique Skill: [Dual Existence]
[Stats:]
Health: 117/120
Mana: 115/230
Strength: 14
Agility: 15 Chapters first released on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟
Perception: 16
Endurance: 14
Willpower: 18
Titles: N/A
Class Skills: [Silent Steps (Common)] – [Precise Strike (Common)] – [Presence Detection (Common)] – [Identify (Common)] – [Multiracial Language (Unique)]
Profession Skills: N/A
Just like the ssage said, the first thing I noticed was that my class—Assassin—had hit level five. Overall, my stats were clearly better compared to when I started. Since each level grants a point, my health, which used to hover around 115, had gone up slightly. My mana, which had been around 225, had also increased.
It wasn’t a massive change, but it was progress nonetheless. A faint smile crept across my lips at the thought. At so point—without even realizing it—I’d started to accept all of this with a surprising level of calm.
Of course, it’s not like I preferred this over my old life—far from it. But even so, I couldn’t shake this strange feeling: every ti I leveled up, I felt this raw, indescribable high—a kind of euphoria I’d never experienced before.
Maybe it’s a side effect of this new body... or maybe just my mind trying to find sothing enjoyable in all this chaos. Either way, I pushed those admittedly unsettling thoughts aside when a new ssage caught my attention, standing out from the rest with an intensity that made straighten up.
*New skills available for the Assassin class*
I glanced at the screen and gave a ntal nod to confirm. In the next instant, a new interface popped up in front of .
At first glance, I recognized it as a list of skills—but honestly, they all looked painfully basic: [Basic Fist Technique (Common)], [Basic Shield Defense (Common)], [Basic Archery (Common)], [Basic Disarming (Common)], [Eagle Eye (Common)].
I frowned. None of this made sense. These were beginner-level skills, almost tutorial-grade, and what really puzzled was the complete lack of anything actually assassin-related. Why were these the options being shown to ? I an, why the hell would an assassin use a shield? That just doesn’t add up for soone whose entire focus is stealth and mobility.
A shield is heavy, obvious, and slows you down—everything an assassin is supposed to avoid. And to make things even weirder, the list of available skills even included archery. Archers usually aren’t exactly known for being stealthy lee assassins... so what exactly was this character trying to be?
As I scanned through the options in front of , sothing off to the side caught my eye—a small, almost invisible bar. The mont I imagined dragging it down, as if by instinct, the bar slid smoothly downward.
To my surprise, three new skills appeared right afterward, popping up one after the other with a faint glow. I blinked, stunned for a mont. I honestly had no idea there were other skills beyond the initial five that had been displayed. It was like discovering a hidden passage in a place I thought I’d already fully explored.
In the end, I scrolled through the list calmly, examining each skill one by one. There were around 25 options total to choose from. But to be honest, none of them really grabbed at first glance. Not that the skills were bad—far from it.
Considering they were all listed as Common, it would be unfair to expect anything too amazing. Still, out of all twenty-five, only three actually sparked so real interest. They were the only ones that stood out from the rest of the pretty average choices.
[Basic Poison (Common)] – Allows you to craft a weak poison using common ingredients, usable on weapons and projectiles. Slowly deteriorates the target’s health over ti; useful in longer fights or against vulnerable enemies. Grants a small bonus based on poison type.
[Enhanced Senses – Basic (Common)] – Slightly improves sensory perception beyond normal human limits. Vision becos sharper, hearing picks up subtle sounds, and sll becos more precise—offering better awareness and quicker reaction tis. Adds a small permanent bonus to Perception.
[Basic Tracking (Common)] – Beginner-level tracking skill, enabling you to follow traces like footprints, markings, or subtle environntal changes. Accuracy varies based on user experience and terrain conditions. Adds a small bonus to Perception and Agility while tracking.
In the end, I went with [Enhanced Senses Basic], since it seed to fit better with my combat style and how I typically approach situations. I’ll admit, the idea of using poison has its appeal—it’s intriguing and has potential—but realistically, it just wouldn’t be that useful for .
Considering my main skill, [Precise Strike], can take out nearly any enemy with a single blow as long as I haven’t been detected, poison would just end up being redundant most of the ti.
Also, while this new skill might sound similar to [Presence Detection], they’re actually very different in how they work.
[Presence Detection] allows to sense the position of nearby enemies—even if they’re hiding—while [Enhanced Senses Basic] works more like a sixth sense, heightening my awareness of everything around . It sharpens my instincts to pick up on sounds, sights, touch, even the subtlest changes in the environnt.
In other words, one skill alerts to hostile presences, while the other refines how I perceive the world in general—keeping on edge, like I’m always ready for danger. If I can manage to use both at the sa ti, I should be able to detect just about anything ahead of ti—or at least, that’s the hope.
After selecting the skill, I waited for sothing to happen—maybe a sudden flash, a unique sound, or so kind of signal that the skill had been activated. But seconds ticked by in silence. After about two minutes with no noticeable changes, I furrowed my brow slightly.
Instinctively, I raised an eyebrow—my female body mimicking the expression almost perfectly, like a reflection. Just to be sure, I opened my skill list again.
Class Skills: [Silent Steps (Common)] – [Precise Strike (Common)] – [Enhanced Senses – Basic (Common)] – [Presence Detection (Common)] – [Identify (Common)] – [Multiracial Language (Unique)]
(Ah, there it is!) I thought, a bit surprised to see the skill list had grown.
The new skill stood out, its na glowing faintly like it wanted my attention. A satisfied smile appeared on both Justin and Noa’s faces. To anyone watching from the outside, the scene must’ve looked odd—two identical smiles forming at the exact sa mont, like they were sharing a private thought.
I really need to get a handle on that... It’s way too weird. Anyway, after confirming the skill had been added successfully, I closed the panel and shifted my focus to sothing else.
The skill description read: “Adds a small permanent bonus to Perception” The phrase reminded of the info shown when I first picked my class—all those promises of bonuses and improvents that felt vague at the ti.
But this skill clearly stated it granted a direct boost to Perception. Just to be safe, I decided to check. I reopened my status screen, this ti focusing on the Perception stat: Perception: 21. I froze for a second. Blinked, surprised.
(It used to be 16, right? So choosing this skill actually gave 5 extra points? And it’s permanent too? I don’t know if I should be excited about how generous this system is... or suspicious) I thought, as an ironic smile crept across my lips—like even my own skepticism was getting a kick out of it.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but sothing told Oliver had probably hit level 5 too—or was at least really close. After , he’d taken down the most monsters during our little hunting trip.
Still, I didn’t fully understand how much stronger I’d gotten since reaching level 5. One thing was for sure, though: I was way more powerful than I’d been at the start, both in terms of raw strength and control over my skills. Pleased with my progress so far, I opened my status window again—this ti focusing on my mana: Mana: 145/230.
If mory serves, the last ti I checked it was around 115. Since I’ve been resting for about half an hour, the increase makes sense. Based on what I know about my regeneration rate, that value checks out.
(Alright, we’re probably safe for now... Should be fine to test the new skill) I thought, still wary, as I focused inward and ntally activated [Enhanced Senses Basic].
The mont I did, I felt a slight pull—as if sothing was being drained from my body. It was faint, almost unnoticeable, but this ti I picked up on it more clearly—maybe because my mana was already low, making my body more sensitive to even minor loss. Becoming aware of that drain instantly put on alert.
Then, a gentle wave of energy rippled through . It was subtle, delicate, but real enough to let know sothing had changed. My awareness began to stretch outward—distant sounds grew sharper.
Scents in the air gained definition—each one distinct, each carrying aning. Even the movent of the air around seed to take on shape, like I could see it flowing between the spaces.
It felt like a veil had been lifted. The world, once flat and quiet, now pulsed with invisible layers, revealing details my dulled senses had missed before.
I can't deny that, at so point, the feeling beca slightly uncomfortable. It was like my brain was being forced to process an insane amount of information every second—and the strangest part was that I was fully aware of it.
I could feel every synapse firing, every piece of data being sorted and slotted into place with almost superhuman precision. Theoretically, it should've given a splitting headache, a growing pressure strong enough to knock out any normal person.
But sohow, it was like I had a cheat code built into , sothing that let use this ability for extended periods without suffering any of the side effects.
With that thought still echoing in my mind, I turned my gaze toward my male body. At the sa ti, my female body—like we were connected by so shared instinct—looked right back at . A faint smile appeared on both faces—mirrors of the sa consciousness, split between two bodies but perfectly in sync.
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