Inside his bathroom, Eric turned on the cold shower and quietly sat.
After a while, he finally calmed down and sighed ruefully, "Ah... All those materials went to waste. I lost a high-grade Tier 2 spear along with a Rank 2 corpse that would have definitely earned us good money." He didn't even have time to collect its core, which was most useful for him as an artisan.
"Don't worry about it. At least that spear saved all your lives—let's leave it at that. What ability do you think you have this time?" Riya asked with anticipation.
"Hm... Let's see... I feel like..." Eric went into deep contemplation.
Since it was three 'arms' altogether, it took quite a few moments to distinguish and organize these abilities, not to mention they were all weird and not as simple as his Blink.
Among them, one was too ridiculous. He felt like he was becoming a pervert, but he never aspired to be one. So, why did he awaken such a classic ability?
He quietly enjoyed the cold shower for a long time while trying to figure out the depth of these new abilities.
After dressing, Eric walked into the living room and noticed the TV was on, and both Lyria and Livy were watching it.
Lyria and Livy turned to Eric in amazement.
Livy pointed at the projection on the wall, which was displayed through the Memory Orb.
"Brother Eric, was that mana beast really this disgusting-looking?" she asked with disbelief, as the monster was truly hideous, especially its expression.
Eric glanced toward the picture of a similarly 'grinning' Abyssal Grinner and felt like laughing.
He had probably seen it in the past when copying them for Riya, but he never bothered remembering anything, changing those scenes in rapid motion. Now that he focused, he had to agree that this 'smile' was in a class of its own—probably only their mother would love such a wide, scary grin.
He wondered if this Abyssal Grinner had been extra happy while posing for its selfie, as the one in the picture had a much wider grin than the one they encountered.
Eric smiled and nodded, "Equally disgusting and scary. Don't trust these pictures. When you see one up close, the experience is... hm... exceptional."
Lyria and Livy giggled.
"Brother Eric, did you stab it in the abdomen? Did it escape? It says it has amazing swimming speed," Lyria asked curiously.
Eric waved his hand off, "Nah, I made sure it didn't show such an extraordinary grin to other cute fish. Sadly, the corpse, along with the Thunder rune inscribed on the high-grade Tier 2 spear, was left behind."
He was still regretful—the spear was also extremely beautiful. Anything Lyria made was gorgeous. Though he lacked experience comparing Lyria's weapons to others in the world, he felt everything she made was in a class of its own.
Perhaps everyone would point at them and exclaim they were legendary, given how ornate, pretty, and 'complete' they looked. Any successful rune over an object also enhanced its beauty, making it appear 'magical'.
Lyria and Livy gaped at Eric. They had assumed he only drove it away or stalled it until his breakthrough.
To kill a Rank 2 mana beast at mid-stage Rank 1... They doubted many in the world could accomplish that.
Watching the Abyssal Grinner's numerous sharp teeth on-screen, Eric lightly wondered if it could chew him properly with his current constitution stat.
"Without a doubt," Riya said. "Their bite force depends on their stage, but each tooth is as strong as an low-grade Tier 2 weapon. So, in that sense, you indeed lost a lot of money."
She also thought retrieving the corpse would've been profitable, but it was impossible—such a large corpse couldn't fit in their Space Ring, nor was it easy to bring it to the surface, as other mana beasts would be drawn to its blood and presence.
Eric sighed.
Either way, he had survived. For now, the death mistress would have to settle for an oversized fish.
Lyria waved her hand rapidly, "Don't mind the spear, but the body was a pity... though it couldn't be helped..."
She did feel pity—a Rank 2 aquatic beast like the Abyssal Grinner would've fetched good money, and they were rarely seen, according to the Memory Orb.
Livy rolled her eyes, "No need for pity. I can't even estimate how much we'll make with what we already have—it'll be more than a single Rank 2 corpse. For now, be grateful we're alive!"
Lyria chuckled awkwardly at being reprimanded by Livy and agreed.
She was deeply glad all three had survived unscathed. They'd grown too relaxed after living safely on these two islands for so long.
Eric didn't mind Lyria's words—he felt the same pity. Perhaps his dream of burning trillions of money while laughing maniacally could've been fulfilled with that fish.
"Let's head to our training location."
Eric turned toward his room, where the two-way teleportation array was.
They could only freely use their abilities on that beaten-up island—the Heart-Shaped Island was too soft and pretty for their barbaric actions.
Arriving, Eric realized he'd left his comfortable couch outside the cave. So he sat on a log rolling across the island while Lyria and Livy dragged another tree over and sat opposite him.
Eric coughed, "Liv, let's start with you." He figured he should go last—as the final boss.
Livy smirked, drew a Tier 2 knife, and proceeded to cut herself vertically from wrist to elbow.
Lyria and Eric watched weirdly, wondering if Livy had awakened some unique, perverse fetish as an ability—but soon their pupils narrowed.
The wound wasn't small—it nearly covered Livy's left forearm—yet it healed in a blink.
"T-this..." Lyria was speechless.
She was amazed but also amused. Livy, with her agility and recent 'Mudskipper' ability, now had healing? Would her opponents weep when their hard-earned injuries vanished instantly?
Eric's lips twitched at the same thought.
"Is there a limit to how much you can heal?" he asked.
Livy paused, then swiftly slashed her fair thigh with the knife, carving out a chunk of flesh. It hit the ground with a wet thud.
Livy hissed in pain.
Eric also hissed with a different kind of pain. Both girls wore shorts, their milky-white thighs mostly exposed—something he'd been appreciating—but now Livy had made it bloody.
Were it not for his 'calm and mature' demeanor, he'd have slapped her for ruining such a beautiful thigh.
Soon, their eyes narrowed again.
They watched as new skin and flesh began growing rapidly, and soon Livy's thigh returned to how it had been, the blood mostly cleaned away, almost as if there had never been wounds there.
Eric glanced down and noticed the skin and flesh on the ground were still there.
His eyelid trembled as he wondered: 'If some human-eaters like the Dark Elves tribe captured Livy, wouldn't they be able to generate unlimited food? Is this a new glitch in the matrix?'
Eric wiped his forehead and stared unhappily at the exhausted Livy, scolding, "You know, Liv, you don't need to go that far. Next time, don't do such reckless things without our approval, alright? Just tell us how you feel about your ability."
Livy laughed sheepishly, nodding as she wiped sweat away.
It hadn't been a pleasant experience at all
She pulled a water jar from her ring and drank.
"...I'm still a little confused. I think I can use Mana instead of Stamina, and it would heal just as fast. I also feel I can heal bone fractures—though not full regeneration like skin and muscle. Maybe in the future, if I improve my ability, I might be able to."
They had long realized that their abilities could grow further—and that they could manipulate them to some extent.
Eric nodded, thanking hell that Livy hadn't cut off a finger or something equally drastic to prove her point.
Lyria was far calmer than Eric about her sister's masochistic tendencies, as she herself would've done the same without hesitation. They weren't princesses; they needed to be decisive when testing things vital to their survival.
Lyria asked, "Can you heal internal organs? And what's the limit?"
Livy smiled. She believed she could heal most of her organs too—unless the injury surpassed a certain threshold—but she wasn't foolish enough to test it.
"I think, unless someone kills me or somehow blocks my healing, I can recover from almost any injury, internal ones included. My wounds even heal automatically unless I consciously stop it or run completely out of Mana and Stamina."
Both Lyria and Eric were stunned. This ability was invaluable—it could function even if Livy was unconscious.
"Do you have a name for it?" Eric asked.
Livy shook her head, gazing at Eric with bright eyes. "Brother Eric, from now on, you name our abilities."
She turned to Lyria. "What do you think?"
Lyria grinned. "Brother Eric, all of this is only possible because of you. So yes—you'll name everything from now on."
Eric smiled knowingly.
He recalled how Lyria and Livy named the cats and dogs near the orphanage and nearly laughed. Both were uniquely terrible at naming.
He considered passing the task to Riya, but—being shamelessly opportunistic—he claimed full credit instead. After a moment's thought, he declared, "Since this ability revolves around extraordinary vitality and seems tied to your Water Element, let's call it... Vitality of Water!"
Livy's eyes sparkled as she nodded, smiling.
Then she giggled. "You won't believe my final ability—I'm still speechless. I wonder if these powers connect to what we've been trying to do..."
Eric and Lyria's eyes flashed. They'd always suspected the same, though not completely certain of it yet. They stared at Livy, eager for the next magic she would show.