"What is it?" Aren asked, looking at the intricate gem she's holding, its color a pure white.
Raven smiled, her voice full of pride as she held it up like national treasure. "It's a reawakening stone, it's a one in a billion boss drop, only twenty of these are currently present."
"In short terms, it makes you significantly stronger." Raven smirks.
Aren clapped, surprised at the information. "That's impressive, but why give it to me? Won't it be more useful to you?"
Aren tilted his head, skeptical.
Raven laughed, twirling the gem in her hand. "Tried it, won't work, apparently it only works on E-C Ranks."
"It's mostly a collector's item, or for rich billionaires who want to get stronger."
She finished, tossing the gem to Aren as he caught it with his hands.
"Do I just use it?" Aren asked, looking at the pure white gem, his reflection clear as he observed it.
"Pretty much it, give it a try already, just apply a bit of pressure." Raven said, watching Aren with an eager expression.
"Well, here goes nothing." Aren said, clenching his hands slightly as the gem cracked.
A small explosion of white rubble appearing as a vague white energy travels across Aren's vein.
"Is this normal?" Aren asked, seeing the energy travel across from his palm to his wrist.
"Yeah, though I can't say for certain due to its rarity, only two videos of these things being used are posted online." Raven replied, stepping closer as she observed the movement.
The energy continued to travel, from his palm to his heart.
And once it reached its heart, a single heartbeat spread the energy from all across his body, his veins turning white from its distribution.
"And… it's about now!" Raven said with glee.
Aren's skin was practically glowing, like he was using the most expensive skincare product known to man as the energy continued to flow endlessly.
And then it popped up.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Reawakening Complete.
You are no longer classified as [E-Rank].
New Rank: E-Rank (Unique)
System recalibration in progress...
Processing genetic anomalies...
Processing soul signature...
Powerful Fragment Detected.
New Class Acquired: [The Jester] (SSS)
Abilities Rewritten.
[Aren R. Vale]
Rank: E (Unique)
Class: Jester
Level: 14
Stats:
STR – 7
AGI – 15
END – 5
MAG – 20
Active Skills:
[Fool's Gambit] – B-Rank - Passive
[Curtain Call] – ???-Rank - Insanity
[Laughing Edge] – C-Rank - Passive
[Deck of Cards] - D-Rank - 1 MP
Passive Skills:
Card Mastery – D-Rank
Battlefield Perception – D-Rank
Titles:
The Cosmic Fool – SSS-Rank
Process Complete.
The soft chime of the system echoed one final time before fading into silence. The translucent panel that had hovered before Aren dissolved like morning mist under sunlight, taking the last of the glowing energy with it.
He exhaled, blinking as the light receded from his skin, leaving only a faint residual warmth across his chest and fingertips.
Aren stood still, heart thudding. Jester? What the hell kind of class was that?
Raven stepped forward, her arms crossed, one foot tapping with growing impatience. "So?" she asked, eyes narrowed. "How was it? What did you get!?"
Aren rubbed the back of his neck, still processing everything. "Well… apparently I'm still an E-Rank," he said slowly, his brow furrowing, "but now there's a unique tag attached to it?"
Raven tilted her head at that, one brow raised in confusion.
"A unique tag?" She gave a small shrug, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"That's actually better than a normal rank up. Though… I've never heard of that phenomenon happening before."
She looked thoughtful, frowning slightly. "Might be some kind of hidden evolution path. Rare stuff like that usually gets patched out or covered up by the guilds."
She waved it off with a quick motion.
"Still, nothing to worry about. We can just boost your rank through dungeon raids—grind your way up the old-fashioned way."
Her eyes swept over him, sharp and meticulous now, scanning for any outward signs of change. Her fingers tapped lightly against his shoulders, then his arms, then poked his sides like she was testing for weak points.
"What else?" she asked, circling around him like a TSA agent with too much free time.
Aren chuckled awkwardly. "I also got a class… apparently it's called Jester."
Raven paused mid-step. "Jester?" she repeated, voice laced with intrigue. She resumed her inspection, lightly prodding his back. "That sounds... unique. I've heard of subclasses, sure—but never a Jester."
She glanced at him, her mind working.
"For reference, my class is Scythe Bearer—a subclass of fighter the class that only unlocks under really specific battle conditions. Most subclass types don't even show up until you're A or S-Rank, so the fact that you've got one this early? That's pretty lucky."
Her hands were on his shoulders again, feeling for muscle tension, aura shifts, or any odd magical reactions.
Aren hesitated for a beat.
Then, almost reluctantly, he added: "And well… it's an SSS-Rank."
He winced inwardly, bracing for her reaction.
He didn't have to wait long.
"WHAT?!" Raven choked on her own breath, coughing violently as if someone had just jammed a spicy pepper into her mouth.
Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "SSS-Rank?! Are you serious!?"
She stared at him like he'd just said he was the long-lost heir to a trillion-credit empire.
Aren shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Glad to see you in a better mood now."
Raven blinked—then cracked a wide grin, all previous stress forgotten. Her eyes sparkled with mischievous delight, and if Aren looked closely, he could almost see literal dollar signs swirling in her irises.
"Woah," she murmured, still riding the high. "Glad to see you embracing your role as my fake/real boyfriend."
Aren raised an eyebrow, lips twitching into a wry smile. "Just trying to play my part."