Noah reluctantly released his grip on the sword before silently brushing Sophie's hand from his chest as he left to find somewhere private on the ferry to reach grade two.

[User will be incapacitated during enhancement.]

[Do you wish to commence grade two advancement?]

"Yes, I'm ready"

Noah was seated cross-legged at the top of the ferry beneath the dark, obscured sky. After the event earlier, Mister Kim attempted to pacify the survivors, and he didn't want to be around Sophie. All of the other survivors gave him a wide berth except for Su, who showed him how he could reach the place he was currently seated.

[Grade two advancement beginning.]

[User currently undergoing enhancement.]

As he sat alone in the darkness, Noah became frozen motionless as the world around him lit up. The sky changed for the first time since the alien spacecraft terraformed the planet. The clouds released a strong glow in shimmering colours from within, similar to the aurora borealis at the northern and southern hemispheres. Motes of iridescent light rained down slowly from the now bright sky and hovered in the air all around him. The lights were the same as the first night the spacecraft arrived in the sky but much more vibrant and alive. He felt as if he was standing in the middle of a floating galaxy.

When Noah looked at himself where the light motes landed, they would flash before disappearing into his skin if he focussed on them. Which caused purple light to become faintly visible beneath his skin in response, identical to when he would activate an ability.

The purple light beneath Noah's skin began to pulse through every corner of his body. As each wave passed through him, he felt himself changing. All excess fat still remaining on his body was converted into muscle while he also grew larger, he could also feel his features becoming more symmetrical and refined.

Noah shifted uncomfortably as his clothes felt almost too tight to move, and the now too small chest plate was restricting his breathing.

[Grade two advancement complete.]

[User can detect and absorb lifeforce through meditation.]

[User can restore stamina through converted lifeforce.]

[User physique increased.]

[User senses increased.]

[User intelligence increased.]

[User appearance enhanced.]

[User life expectancy extended.]

"Huh? Why was even my Appearance enhanced?" Noah wondered aloud.

[Appearance affects other creatures' interaction with the user, increases survival.]

The voice of the System unexpectedly answered Noah's rhetorical question.

[Do you wish to alter System items to proportion at the cost of 50 Merit per item?]

[Current Merit value: 1,050]

Yes, do it.

He felt lifeforce flow into the chest plate, and sword sheathed at his waist. They grew at a visible rate, relieving the tension across his now very defined chest. He drew the sword from its sheath to hold it up to inspect the changes. While he was observing the sword, he realized that the sky was still dark. The clouds remained colourfully lit, allowing Noah to see his reflection in the metal.

He had grown a size larger, it was difficult to determine by how much while remaining seated. His features became more defined and attractive, he was an average looking man of average height before reaching grade two, but now he was above average in both stature and appearance. His pupils now contained faint purple light within which allowed him to see even in the darkness. When he moved, barely perceivable purple light would flow through his skin as his muscles activated. He also released an aura of power warning any observing creatures that he was no longer an ordinary grade one and had advanced to grade two.

He pushed himself to his feet as he heard someone climbing the ladder to where he was seated at the top of the ferry. The clothes he was wearing strained at the seams as his pant legs rode up to his ankles. He could clearly see the person arriving at the top of the ladder was Sophie. He saw her eyes examine the darkness before they finally came to rest on his shadowy form as an expression of confusion passed over her face.

"Noah?" Sophie tentatively called out.

"Yeah, it's me," Noah replied.

Sophie's expression relaxed before resuming its usual flirtatious look as she climbed off the ladder to approach Noah in the darkness. Sophie pulled a lighter out from her back pocket before holding it up to look at Noah.

"What?!" Sophie exclaimed in surprise as she discovered the changes Noah underwent.

Looking at his now too small clothes. Sophie's eyes lit up as they admired Noah's muscular body before coming to a rest on his ruggedly handsome face. She closed her mouth that had been hanging open as she stared.

"What happened to you, handsome?" Sophie asked.

"I reached grade two," Noah replied.

"Grade two? I heard some rumours about that. I also heard that you need to use a huge amount of crystals for it. I didn't see you taking any from those monster corpses."

Sophie's gaze passed over his System items with avarice before she quickly hid the greed in her eyes.

"I had a few saved up," Noah replied vaguely.

Sophie moved in to press her chest up against Noah before looking up into his face. He was close enough that he could faintly smell the aroma of her skin with his newly heightened senses. As they had to swim through the cold water to reach the ferry, she smelled clean with a hint of sea salt mixed with arousal.

"Well, aren't you the resourceful one? How about getting undressed for me to have a proper view of what grade two looks like?"

Noah quickly stepped back before tripping with a thud due to his under-sized shoes. Sophie let out a giggle as she crouched down to untie his shoelaces.

"Let me help with that," said Sophie as she tugged his shoe off.

"No, it's okay," Noah replied hurriedly. He was feeling nervous as he hadn't been this close to a woman in months, let alone one as attractive as Sophie in her revealing clothing, which remained remarkably intact considering the state of the vast majority of survivors.

"Haha, you're just adorable. No, this is part of my ability. Let me show you."

Sophie let out an amused chuckle as she held the shoe in both hands as an orange glow moved underneath her hands' skin. The shoe began to transform, growing in size until they looked like they could fit Noah's new physique. She then handed the shoe back to him.

"That should fit you now, try it on, and I'll make some adjustments then do the rest of your clothes," Sophie said to Noah with an appraising glint in her eye.

Sophie watched Noah's hands closely as he removed the [Grade 1 Spirit Armour Chestplate] with her eyes staying briefly locked onto the armour as he placed it at his feet before removing his shirt. The shirt had been loose due to weight loss when he arrived on the ferry from the past few weeks since the arrival of the spacecraft triggering the downfall of humanity's reign at the top of the food chain, it was now tearing at the seams because of muscle as he grew larger.

"Do I really need to take everything off for you to resize it?" Noah asked.

"Of course you do. I can turn my back if you're shy, princess," Sophie teased.

"Ahem, yeah. That works," Noah shifted uncomfortably in the chill sea breeze now that he was shirtless.

Sophie let out a chuckle as she turned to face away from Noah as he pulled his straining pants off before passing them quickly over her shoulder in exchange for the shirt she had finished mending and resizing. Before he could cover himself, Sophie turned around while taking a step backward to have a good look at Noah as he let out a yelp, trying to hide his exposure with the shirt in his hands.

"Haha, relax, I was just playing. I can't even see anything in this darkness," Sophie laughed as she reminded him that it was only him who could see clearly at this moment.

Sophie quickly finished and handed Noah his pants back. He then hurriedly redressed himself. The clothes were slightly loose on him, but he was too embarrassed to endure Sophie's teasing for any longer.

“Argh!” someone shouted in pain nearby.