"I'm back!"
A clear, ethereal voice rang out.
C.C. tilted her head slightly, glancing at the now-burned-out remains of Shiraori beside her.
"???"
A big question mark seemed to pop above the cute white spider's head.
She was clearly right there, and suddenly C.C. blurted out, "I'm back"? Of course it left her utterly confused.
But in the next moment, Shiraori remembered the whole "two souls in one body" setup.
A glimmer of realization flashed in her big pink eyes.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, then stopped halfway through.
What should she even say?
'Welcome back?'
But C.C. had been sitting right here the whole time!
"Haha~"
Watching Shiraori's constantly shifting expressions, C.C. couldn't help but laugh wickedly and pinched the soft, round cheeks of the little spider girl.
Getting stronger definitely gave C.C. a bit of a thrill, but it didn't change the fact that Nagami had died once.
On top of that, she'd pushed Geass way too hard during the fight.
Even with the benefit of their dual-soul synergy, C.C. felt mentally drained.
Thankfully, she wasn't alone.
Teasing Shiraori was a good way to lighten the mood.
Otherwise, this "level-up journey" would've been unbearable.
Shiraori could clearly tell she was being messed with again.
She was just about to swat away the mischievous hands, but stopped herself.
'Whatever... As long as he's okay.'
With a faint smile of relief, Shiraori flopped back down.
"Nagami, I'm gonna take a nap. Keep watch for me, okay?"
She lazily waved a front leg, her voice tinged with exhaustion.
Shiraori had rarely gotten proper rest when she was alone.
Her webs might provide some warning, but if she slept too deeply, she could miss even the faintest tremor.
It wasn't until Nagami arrived in this world that she could finally sleep soundly.
Today's battle against the vengeful ape horde had truly drained her.
Sure, leveling up healed the body, but it did nothing for mental fatigue.
"Mm, sleep easy," C.C. replied gently.
Even she felt worn out—and her soul was far more powerful than Shiraori's.
Sitting up from the soft webbed bed, her long green hair tumbled down her smooth, pale back like a willow branch.
Her bare, rounded shoulders glowed with a faint rosy hue—partly from the heat of the bath, partly from her fair skin itself.
After using water magic to clean up, C.C. had changed into a pure white pajama set spun from Shiraori's special silk.
Shiraori's silk was incredibly convenient.
Although, the type C.C. was wearing—soft yet insanely durable—was still beyond Shiraori's current capabilities to mass-produce.
Heading to the backpack in the corner, C.C. pulled out the last clean set of clothes.
She glanced at the now-sleeping spider girl and silently stepped out of the room.
Outside, the air remained dim and cool, laced with a damp chill.
Leaping gracefully through the air, the dark-haired boy landed silently on a web suspended midair, his feet barely making a sound as they touched down on the sticky threads clinging to the cavern wall.
He stripped off the battered armor he was wearing—equipment probably abandoned by those mystery soldiers who'd fled earlier.
When Nagami resurrected from the stone pile, he found that his original clothes had been completely destroyed.
He'd picked up this gear on the way back—it was at least better than those rags that would embarrass even a beggar.
The only thing that survived intact… was his underwear.
If only he had Goku's martial arts uniform from Dragon Ball!
That thing could tank an exploding star and still look brand new.
Nagami took off the underwear too and set it aside.
C.C. stretched out her delicate, fair hand, forming a water-element skill.
A shimmering blue magic circle bloomed in her palm, with hints of red flickering at the edges.
A stream of warm water trickled out like a mountain spring.
She'd infused it with some fire element to heat it up—warm water helped soothe fatigue.
For C.C., fully understanding and tweaking skills even down to modifying minor subroutines—was practically child's play.
Together, the two began washing Nagami's body.
Once the bath was over, the stream of water vanished, replaced by a gentle, warm breeze.
The soothing heat brushed across Nagami's face, rustling his damp bangs.
Water droplets clinging to his hair slowly evaporated, and Nagami closed his eyes in relaxed contentment.
Once dressed, he wandered sleepily back into the room, then collapsed face-first onto the soft webbed bed, burying his face in a pillow.
His eyes gradually closed, veiling those pitch-black irises, and his body slowly relaxed.
He had definitely overexerted himself today—he needed rest.
C.C. gently draped a silky spider-silk blanket over him, her expression unreadable.
It was a strange sensation—one body asleep while the other remained wide awake. Almost like lucid dreaming, yet not quite.
Still, there was no denying that in this dual-state, Nagami's mental stamina recovered much faster.
She could already feel it—a faint lightness rising from his slumbering form. C.C. slouched lazily onto the sofa, crossed her legs, and pulled up her status screen with a quick flick of her mind.
Her golden eyes gleamed as she scanned the semi-transparent interface that only she could see.
———————————————————————
Race: ???
Level: 20
Name: Nagami ?? C.C.
———————————————————————
HP: 200 / 215
MP: 140 / 788
SP: 100 / 225
———————————————————————
Aside from magical stats, her average abilities hovered around 200. But her magical power? That broke 500!
———————————————————————
[Swordsmanship Lv5]
[Physical Enhancement Lv6]
[Mana Manipulation Lv6]
[Status Resistance Lv7]
[Enhanced Senses Lv3]
[Accelerated Thought Lv3]
...
This was a skill worth noting.
As for the rest—an overwhelming flood of abilities that practically filled his entire vision—Nagami had long since stopped counting.
After all, as long as a monster used a skill in front of him, he could copy it—excluding the ones that required special conditions.
Skill level-ups translated directly into real-world improvements.
Offensive magic, for example, would become stronger as its level increased.
Mana consumption might go down in some cases, but more often than not, it actually went up.
The essence of leveling was the optimization of the skill's underlying structure.
By comparing the spell formations before and after an upgrade, Nagami had gained a much deeper understanding of the magic system in this world.
Staring at the floating screen in the void, C.C. gave an almost imperceptible nod.
It had been twenty days since she arrived in this world, and especially after that wave of Vengeful Apes, her power had grown immensely.
She was no longer the same person she was twenty days ago—she had undergone a complete transformation.
With the cheat-like ability of the Copy Eye and in a world governed by a system, C.C.'s growth was visibly explosive.
She was strong enough now.
Her gaze shifted to the sleeping white spider nearby, its breathing soft and rhythmic, long ears twitching slightly atop its head.
Casually, she tossed an Identify skill at her, and the resulting status panel floated into view.
"Shiro's strength has completely surpassed her original self at this point in the story. Hopefully, Miss D won't revoke the cheat skill she was planning to give her because of my interference."
Her voice was low, like a whisper to herself.
Resting her chin on a delicate white hand, C.C. tilted her head and looked up at the void with a smile.
"But Shiro is so cute, and her comedic timing is flawless. Not to mention how passionately she throws herself into everything… how could anyone not give it to her, right?"
C.C.'s lips curved into a soft, pleased smile.
She laced her fingers behind her head and stretched lazily, her silky white sleepwear outlining every elegant curve of her body.
Her long lashes fluttered briefly as she slowly closed her golden eyes, finally letting herself rest.
Dim, flickering lights swayed gently around the room as the quiet air flowed.
No one knew how much time had passed before a faint rustling began to stir in Shiraori's consciousness.
Not that she could hear it—she was fast asleep.
'Ding!'
———————————————————————
[Request received by Upper Administrator D]
———————————————————————
[Constructing skill…]
[Construction complete]
[Conditions not met]
[Applying experience compensation…]
[Skill level raised to LV10]
[Merging with "Wisdom" complete]
———————————————————————
In the depths of darkness, only a few softly glowing screens floated in the air.
A beautiful girl lounged lazily on a couch, watching the sleeping trio displayed across the screens.
"Is this… a plot event?" she mused, raising one finger to her lips.
Her crystal-clear voice betrayed a spark of unfiltered excitement.
Her gaze toward the three on-screen figures was practically gleaming.
"This is getting fun."
It had been a long time since anything had felt this interesting.