Dante chuckled as he opened his arms.
The girl smiled happily and ran into them, wrapping her arms around his waist before resting her head against his chest. She closed her eyes in satisfaction as she felt him gently caress her hair.
"I can't believe you're leaving so soon."
Dante smiled faintly as he hugged his youngest sibling.
"I don't want to get caught up in your schemes. You're as vicious as I am."
The little girl pouted before letting out a quiet giggle as she watched Vexion and Lexa continue their battle.
"Says the guy who's been tricking our parents and even using his own little sister for his evil schemes."
Dante simply chuckled at the rebuttal. After a few moments, he gently pulled away.
"Can you join them? My goal isn't to make sure they become so useless that they need teamwork to defeat one person. But against you... they'll have no choice."
Emerald brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear before resting a finger beneath her chin. "No problem." She smiled sweetly. "In return, besides all the other favours I'll ask of you in the future..."
"This one gets added to the list of the big ones."
Dante simply nodded with a laugh before opening a tear through space. "Deal." Emerald stepped through the spatial rift, disappearing into the training grounds. Dante watched her leave before shaking his head with a helpless smile.
Vexion was a cold woman. She genuinely enjoyed watching others suffer, especially when she was the one responsible. Yet even she wasn't the strangest person Dante knew. That title unquestionably belonged to his youngest sister.
If there was anyone capable of scheming even him into a difficult situation... It would be Emerald. Ever since childhood, she had been the only person who knew both the true extent of his strength and the darkness hidden beneath his harmless appearance.
The reason was simple. She was an anomaly. Around the palace she acted like an innocent, adorable princess. Behind closed doors...
She was one of the greatest tricksters Dante had ever met. Officially, Emerald possessed two Epic-tier skills and one Legendary-tier skill. That was what almost everyone believed.
Only Aurora, Justin, Dante and Emerald herself knew the truth.
Her parents had sensed long ago that something about her was abnormal. Dante, meanwhile, had personally discovered just how terrifying she was while sparring with her throughout their childhood.
In fact, most of what he understood about Optimized Skills and Stacked Skills had come from fighting her. She wasn't overwhelmingly powerful. She was simply... impossible to predict. Dante smiled faintly before opening the System's appraisal.
Siren's Dominion
Legendary Tier — 1 Skill Slot
Level 8
A Legendary skill that grants dominion over ambient mana through the user's voice.
Abilities
Ambient Distortion (Passive) — Ambient mana disrupts the senses of anyone who hears the user's voice, gradually causing disorientation, vertigo, slowed reactions, and loss of spatial awareness.
Mana Mirage (Active) — Commands ambient mana to fulfill her desires and to create convincing auditory illusions such as voices, footsteps, battle sounds, or whispers, deceiving enemies and disrupting their judgment.
Sovereign Voice (Active) — Able to directly command the mana to obey her will through her words. Through the user voice mana can cause imbalance in others skills , disrupt skill usage or outright deprive skills from ever initiating or being able to start up. Can command Manna to condense into powerful dense orbs capable of great power and destruction similar to high powered energy beams. Able to command Mana to influence how opponents skills works shutting down sub skills completely disrupting output of the opponent and skill functions if difference is great enough , Influences the instincts of those already affected by the skill, causing subtle actions such as hesitation, turning their head, lowering their guard, or stepping back. Strong wills can resist, and impossible commands will always fail. The skill also influences ambient mana itself, allowing it to obey vocal commands depending on their complexity.
Mana Restraint (Active) — Compresses ambient mana into invisible restraints and barriers that hinder movement and disrupt an opponent's combat rhythm. Powerful enemies can eventually break free through force.
Mana Resonance (Active) — Manipulates ambient mana through the user's voice, releasing invisible waves that disrupt spells, repel attacks, and interfere with nearby mana.
All-Seeing, All-Sensing, All-Might
Legendary Tier — 1 Skill Slot
Level 8
Abilities
Absolute Perception (Passive) — Allows the user to perceive through illusions, invisibility, and visual distortions, making deception almost impossible, provided the opponent is not more than three skill levels higher or of a superior tier.
Instinctive Awareness (Passive) — Alerts the user whenever their mind or senses are being manipulated, allowing resistance against most mental effects.
Self-Recovery (Passive) — Grants continuous regeneration, greatly increasing endurance and survivability.
Mana Rejuvenation (Passive) — Slowly restores mana over time, allowing prolonged battles without immediate exhaustion.
Sonic Burst (Active) — Propels the user at supersonic speeds for a brief duration, leaving afterimages while distorting sound waves. Repeated use greatly increases the cooldown.
Resonant Acceleration (Passive) — High-speed movement naturally distorts surrounding sound waves, reducing the accuracy of ranged attacks against the user.
The System deliberately displayed weaknesses alongside every appraisal.At first Dante had wondered why. Eventually he reached a conclusion. The world itself imposed balance. Every skill had flaws and every ability had limits.
Every living being could be killed. Even his own Mythical-tier skills possessed weaknesses. That realization gave him confidence since he could never be appraised, yet he could appraise everyone else.
The world itself seemed to insist that perfection could never exist. Even Sovereigns...
Even those beyond them... They weren't invincible they weren't allowed to be. They were simply much harder to kill. And that brought him back to Emerald. Skills were only as powerful as the person using them. Understanding how to maximize strengths while hiding weaknesses was more important than raw power.
Outside of himself... Dante honestly believed none of his siblings could do that better than Emerald. And she was only fifteen.
He chuckled quietly. No wonder Vexion hated sparring against her.Despite possessing an absurdly powerful Legendary Skill...Vexion still lost nearly half of their matches.
Lexa collapsed onto one knee, breathing heavily. Their sparring session had finally ended. She was covered in cuts, bruises, and dried blood. She honestly had no idea how she was still alive. Vexion's definition of "training" bordered on attempted murder.
Still...
The results spoke for themselves. Her Blood Manipulation Skill now held a significantly larger reserve after absorbing so much spilled blood throughout the day. It had only been one day... Yet she already understood her abilities far better than before.
Just as the two women finished recovering... Lexa suddenly noticed Vexion freeze. Not with caution or surprise , but apprehension and real, unmistakable fear. The kind prey felt after locking eyes with a starving predator. Confused, Lexa instinctively reached for her sword.
"What's wrong?" Vexion forced out an awkward smile.
"She's here."
Lexa frowned. That explained absolutely nothing. She was about to ask who...when a soft, youthful giggle echoed throughout the training hall. Immediately, Lexa's senses sharpened. Footsteps surrounded her. Front. Behind even above and beside her.
Every direction. Her breathing became uneven. Auditory hallucinations.
No...
Something was manipulating what she heard. Vexion experienced the exact same thing. The difference...was that she already knew it was merely a distraction.
She sighed inwardly
Master's little sister...
Another monster.
A sweet, gentle voice echoed throughout the room. "Nice to meet you, my older brother's new subordinate. it's unfortunate... that this is how we'll have to meet but if Vexion's training you...you should be fine."
Vexion's smile became even stiffer. Powerful mana erupted from her body as she immediately attempted to isolate and suppress the incoming voice.
Lexa had no such protection the world spun and her vision blurred. Her knees gave way as she hurridly shouted "Vexion! What's happening?!"
Vexion's normally composed voice erupted with rare panic.
"IT'S HER VOICE!"
"SHE MANIPULATES AMBIENT MANA THROUGH SOUND!"