Staring up at the ceiling as Lone lay in the bathtub, he sighed. "That was really close... What the fuck was up with my tails though? I was sure I'd have to use Mental Destruction at the end there..."

He ran his hand through his newly-regrown tail and smiled wryly. "Why didn't you guys let me know that you were sharp as fuck when I want you to be earlier, huh?"

It was certainly a welcome surprise. After all, it had allowed his defeat such a powerful monster without needing to rely on his strongest trump card.

Mental Destruction was not to be underestimated but the Manasilk Spider Queen was a highly magical being. Perhaps it could have resisted his unique skill. Now, he didn’t have to find out since his tails and fire magic had bested it.

Regardless, Lone started checking his pending notifications one by one with some excitement.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Poison Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Poison Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Poison Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Poison Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 8.

The notifications for Poison Resistance just wouldn’t stop. They kept increasing and increasing. As much as Lone loved skills and level ups, this was a bit more.

Still, he sat through it all until finally, the final level up was displayed to him.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Poison Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 1. Passive Skill: Poison Resistance

A skill that allows the host to resist most types of poison.

Most poison that the host is inflicted with shall be weakened by 60% [+30%].

The host has a 25% chance to ignore the effects of poison used on them.

[New!] The host has a 10% chance to gain permanent immunity to any poison used on them regardless of if it is a poison weak enough to be entirely resisted.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Expert Level 1 Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Poison Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 2.

The ignoring effect had been given once the skill had reached advanced rank. Poison Resistance having earned not one, but two additional effects, both of which sounded useful, made Lone more than pleased.

"That second effect is fuckin’ broken. With my Basic Regeneration, I just need to buy poisons en masse and have some every now and then before I’ll eventually become immune to most common poisons. 10% is massive percentage-wise,” Lone was ecstatic.

"Also, it was always a small concern of mine, but now I don't have to worry about being, like, chloroformed in an ambush or something. I can just resist it then purge it with Basic Regen. Well... assuming the system views harmful drugs as poison too... Wait... if it does, does this mean I'm resistant to alcohol too?" He wondered. “Like, I have Intoxication Resistance, but do these two skills stack?”

The only real way to verify that would be by consuming 100% proof and seeing if both of the skills levelled. As much as he loved his skills and his stats, he didn’t really want to torture himself like that.

While that thought was at the forefront of his mind, the door to the bathroom creaked open and a red-eyed Soph pitter-pattered her way over to the tub. "Um... can I join you?"

Lone eyed her adult form with a raised eyebrow. She was covering herself with a towel but that didn’t hide her suggestive curves.

He smiled. "Of course you can. I was getting sick of washing my own tails anyway."

"T-Thanks..." she shyly responded as she carefully eased herself into the bathtub and placed herself between his legs and tails.

Lone wrapped a hand around her stomach and frowned when he noticed the redness around her eyes.

'She was crying... I guess seeing me almost dead like that really affected her negatively... I wonder if Sophie was shaken up too? Oh well, it's not like I'll find out unless I ask. May as well just let her comfort herself with my fluff and keep checking my notifs. Asking now'll only make her feel sorry and awkward.' And that was exactly what he did.

Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 3. Congratulations! The host's unique subskill [Bone Armour] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 4.

Considering that Bone Armour only levelled up once when Lone was being crushed to death by the presumed C-rank Blue Orc, he was quite happy to see that he'd gained two levels after his fight with the Manasilk Spider Queen.

If anything, he’d have been pissed off had he not improved this skill considered he’d not only used the armour to protect himself, but also as a weapon to forcefully remove the queen’s legs.

Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 5. Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 6. Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 7. Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 8. Congratulations! The host's unique skill [Basic Regeneration] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 9.

Again, no rank up, but it was only two levels away from reaching expert level one, so Lone was quite excited and equally terrified to level it up again; excited to see it become more powerful, and terrified to go through the needed harm to level it up.

As much as he enjoyed getting stronger, he was no masochist and while he could resist pain, it still existed and clawed away at him when he was suffering through it.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Fear Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Fear Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Fear Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Fear Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Fear Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Fear Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 8.

Those two skills were certainly helpful with keeping his cool, but no matter how frightened or panicked he ever got, Lone knew he wouldn’t act cowardly.

His father was a coward who had resorted to child abuse and even taking his own life when things didn’t go his way. If Lone wanted to be anything in this world, it was to not be like that man.

Also, as he grew stronger and could rely on his strength more and more, he felt it was likely he’d be getting less frightened and panicked by dangerous situations. Still, the skills were useful, it was just a shame they weren’t exactly easily trained.

When he considered that, he could only see these two resistances as somewhat useless. 'Maybe they're good against like, I dunno, magic that causes fear or panic? Or maybe they get nice effects after ranking up? I’ll have to look into that if we ever go to that The Academy place. Anyway, next.'

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 8. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 9. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 10. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 1. Passive skill: Evasion Mastery

A skill that assists the host in their attempts to evade harm.

Improves the host's subconscious instinct to evade dangerous situations by 15% [+10%].

Cost: N/A Mastery: Intermediate Level 1 Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 2.

'Nice, but I expected that much. Man, it's so rare for a skill to get a new effect after only one rank up...' Lone thought as he moved onto the next set of skills – his Polearm and Swordspear Masteries.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Polearm Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Polearm Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Polearm Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Polearm Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Polearm Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Swordspear Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 9. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Swordspear Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 10. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Swordspear Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 1. Passive Skill: Swordspear Mastery

A sub-skill of the skills, [Sword Mastery] and [Spear Mastery] which is critical for swordspear-users and passively allows for better handling and control over swordspears.

All swordspears used by the host will cut and pierce their targets 30% [+15%] more easily.

Grants the talent [Pierce]. Say the word [Pierce] and the host shall perform a piercing strike with thrice [up from twice] the host's maximum force on the desired area.

Cost: 800 SP [-200 SP] to perform the talent [Pierce] Mastery: Advanced Level 1

Lone squeezed Soph in joy, surprising her a bit, resulting in a blush spreading across her face. Still, she kept diligently washing his fluffy limbs with religious zeal.

'Nice!' Lone yelled internally. 'Thrice is insane... With that much power, would I be able to pierce that spider's flesh now maybe? I mean, it's not like I can check on a living queen, and I'd rather not poke a dead one with a swordspear even if I did shove her corpse in my Dimensional Storage... Still, I'm very happy with Swordspear Mastery's progress.'

Polearm Mastery still had a long way to go until it would be useful in Lone's opinion, but that was fine. After all, he was focusing more on magic now, wasn't he? Speaking of which, both Lightning Bolt and Crude Fireball had levelled too.

Congratulations! The host's active lightning magic skill [Lightning Bolt] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 2. Congratulations! The host's active lightning magic skill [Lightning Bolt] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 3. Congratulations! The host's active fire magic skill [Crude Fireball] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 5. Congratulations! The host's active fire magic skill [Crude Fireball] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 6. Congratulations! The host's active fire magic skill [Crude Fireball] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 7. Congratulations! The host's active fire magic skill [Crude Fireball] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 8. Congratulations! The host's active fire magic skill [Crude Fireball] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 9. Congratulations! The host's active fire magic skill [Crude Fireball] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 10.

"I barely even used them," Lone mumbled as he rested his chin on Soph's head, making her yelp in surprise once again, on this time at the added weight.

She soon leaned her back into his chest and continued with her important work. His tails wouldn't clean themselves, after all. She did, however, ask, “Used what?”

“My magic,” Lone replied a bit absentmindedly.

His thoughts were still on the two magical skills and a grin was on his face. "It won't be long now before Crude Fireball ranks up... Soph, Since the queen's dead, you don't mind us going back in the forest tomorrow, do you? I want to rank up my magic. Ask Sophie for me too, would you?"

Soph kept scrubbing and petting the fluffy limbs in front of her as she closed her lifeless eyes. A second later, she nodded. "If it's only tomorrow, Sophie doesn't mind. I-I... I'm happy doing whatever you want..."

Lone squeezed her a bit tighter and kissed the top of her head. "You're too cute sometimes, you know that, right? Very different from the sexy and domineering Sophie. Not that you aren’t those things in your own way."

"S-Sor- Um, thanks," Soph corrected herself mid-apology.

Lone nodded proudly, pleased at her realisation that he was complimenting her. He then looked at the two final notifications of the long list – one of which came with the description of a new skill he had acquired.

The host has developed the racial skill: Tail Spear. Racial Skill: Tail Spear

A skill unique to the race of foxkin known as Golden Foxkin.

This skill allows the host to turn their tail(s) into an extremely sharp and hard weapon that can easily pierce most Normal-quality items or B-ranked beings.

The skill is only usable once a day, and it only lasts for 5-minutes.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1

Lone puckered his lips in thought. 'Huh... So my tails did that because I'm a Golden Foxkin? But that hardly explains how I developed the skill. Was my willingness to use my tails as weapons all that was needed, or was there more to it?’

He ruminated on that subject for quite a few minutes. In fact, by the time he moved on to thinking about another aspect of the new skill, Soph had finished souping up and washing seven of his nine tails.

‘I should ask this Matriarch Lossa person about this when I meet her. Well, so long as it doesn’t come off as too suspicious. Also, Normal-quality items? Items have qualities? But you can't see their info with the system, right? Maybe there's a skill for that,' he hoped.

Lone quickly moved on, however, to his final notification. There was only so much he could figure out on his own without help or extensive research, after all.

Congratulations! The host has successfully gained enlightenment and ranked up. The host is now an F-ranker.

He didn’t hesitate for even a moment to pull up his status to check the changes.

Status

Name: Lone Immortus Sex: Male Age: 24 Level: 99 [+25] Species: Foxkin Rank: F [Up from G] Race: Golden Foxkin HP: 11,910/11,910 [+2,330] SP: 4,113/19,900 [+2,640] MP: 4,322/38,460 [+14,020] Basic Stats Strength: 1,128 [+221] Vigour: 1,990 [+264] Dexterity: 1,232 [+407] Agility: 1,440 [+521] Vitality: 1,191 [+233] Luck: 98 [+19] Bonus Stats Charm: 77 Charisma: 46 Magic Power: 3,846 [+1,402]

'Insane... This is just from four normal Manasilk Spiders and their queen? What rank are these stats equivalent to? C-rank? B-rank? How strong am I now?' Lone had a million questions, however, only one of his concerns could be answered immediately.

"Soph, I ranked up again, so did you earn a new power this time, or is it a bust like when I became a G-ranker?" he asked with hope evident in his tone.

Soph lowered her head and held a tail timidly to her naked body as she replied, "Yeah. I got another one..."

"Really?" Lone was both surprised and happy. "What one?"

"Um, Minor Time Control, but, em, it's not any good..." Soph said in a mouse-like voice.

Lone raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Um... Well, I can only use it once a year, and if I use it, my mana will get sealed for a whole month, meaning I'll be blind... And, uh, I can only go back two hours. No more, no less, just two hours exactly... It's useless, right?" she asked rhetorically.

Lone felt his heart ache upon hearing how depressed her voice was. 'She's really upset by this, isn't she?'

He kissed her head again and said, "No, it isn't useless at all. What if I die? Can't you save me now? I'll immediately see that you're actually blind, ask what happened, and then you can tell me how I died, can't you? Think of it as a last resort. Sure, it's not trainable practically speaking, but it has so much potential... It's kinda nuts."

"Lone..." Through their skinship, Lone felt her heart beating faster. He could also hear it which was weird, but his fox ears were more sensitive than his former human ones.

"I... I don't want you to die... And, um, I... I uh... I love you..." Soph whispered in embarrassment.

Lone was a bit startled, but then he laughed softly. "I love you too."