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"Oh! I'm so sorry for your loss. That was inconsiderate of me," Josh apologized sincerely after noticing the [Zero-Space Dimension Ring] on Noah's wedding finger.
"We've all suffered losses," Noah replied, successfully disguising the System-ring's true purpose. Alex had been watching Noah's mouth move intently before turning towards his partner Josh to say something in sign language. Josh nodded and then signed something in response.
"Alex says he thinks it is, he says that it's a very rare physical ability called [Titanic Growth] which allows him to convert lifeforce into mass," Josh interpreted for Alex.
If what Josh has just said is true, then the tentacle is still a massive harvest despite the fact we weren't able to get the Kraken's grade three crystal. I may easily kill soulless, but ability-users are far more dangerous even if they're animals. I still remember the destruction that the house cat was able to cause. Its [Wind Blade] appeared far more effortless than the sword. It'll be difficult now the [Grade 1 Wind Blade Sword] is gone for good.
Noah let out a quiet sigh of regret, staring dejectedly at his feet.
"Does that mean that he's stuck that size?" Su asked excitedly as she ran to Noah's side. Josh looked towards Alex, who just nodded with a slight expression of concern.
"Well, it is good that we have another ability-user to aid us," Mister Kim said.
"One less blank to feed. Chloe, if he can get an ability just from eating food, then you should be able to with the crystal from your trash ex-boyfriend," Ronan added, but everyone ignored him.
"That explains why the Kraken didn't use it again and fled after Sophie used the boat's propeller to cut it. The ability doesn't cause it to heal. Only grow bigger while octopus can regrow their limbs," Noah mused as he tentatively bit into the meat.
"Mhm, that's not as bad as I thought it would be!" Noah exclaimed. He began to eat fervently as he felt the large flow of lifeforce spreading out from the meat digesting in his stomach, which caused Su to laugh as purple light moved beneath the surface of his skin.
"I told you so! High-grade meat is the best!" Su said happily. Noah dismissed himself and found a place to sit alone while he finished his meal. Sophie approached him to attempt to speak with Noah privately.
"What do you want?" Noah asked rudely, warily watching her as he continued to eat.
"Because you no longer have your sword, I noticed that your sheath is useless to you. I wanted to trade you for it," Sophie replied.
"What's your offer? It's still better than ordinary metal. Even if I can't use it as a weapon, I could still find a use for it."
"I'll give you this, I feel that it's more than fair." Sophie held out a black origin crystal containing two flashing lights inside it.
"That's a grade two black origin crystal, isn't that a bit much?" Noah asked seriously.
"When I said that it was useless to you, that didn't mean that it was useless to me."
"I accept," Noah replied, which caused Sophie to smile in response. He removed the sheath from his waist to exchange with Sophie. She passed him the [Grade 2 black origin crystal]. He made a show of placing the crystal inside the swim bag slung over his shoulder as he actually stored it in his [Zero-Space Dimension Ring] along with his other crystals."What are you going to do with it?"
"This," Sophie said, holding the sheath up in both hands, projecting orange-lifeforce into the metal. It slowly began to change shape, becoming a cutlass covered in artistic floral patterns with a decorative gothic-style basket guard encasing the hilt.
"If I knew you could do that, I would have paid you instead of the System price to do the same thing," Noah said, staring in amazement.
"It's too late now, this is mine," Sophie replied with pride in her voice.
Sophie then pulled a strip of the Kraken's skin from her back pocket. She also infused orange-lifeforce, causing the strip to wrap the hilt autonomously. Decorative floral patterns engraved themselves into the leather as he watched. She carefully removed a yellow origin crystal that had once belonged to an ability user from inside her shirt. She lovingly embedded the yellow crystal onto the end of the hilt of her new cutlass in an attempt to augment it with an ability. The finished product was a beautiful gothic cutlass suffused with yellow light made from grade one and three materials. The cutlass was just as much a work of art as it was functional.
"Who did that crystal belong to?" Noah asked suspiciously.
"My brother. We both awakened our abilities at the same time. He died, I didn't," Sophie suppressed the emotion in her eyes as she looked away.
"I'm so sorry, what happened?" Noah replied with sympathy.
"It doesn't matter now. He awakened a trash ability that can't even be used on those soulless bastards," Sophie said bitterly.
"What was it?" Noah couldn't help but ask.
"Just some shitty tier one ability that lets you feel other people's emotions, my brother always was a softie," Sophie lamented. Noah suspected there must be more to the ability because it was completely ineffective to augment the cutlass if that was all it did. He felt that it was improper to pry more into the ability when the pain is clearly still fresh. It could only have happened within the last few weeks since the Arrival.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Noah offered.
"No, it's done already. No use crying over spilled milk. What do you think of my cutlass? I felt that it was fitting, considering we've got our very own pirate ship now," Sophie said, changing the subject. She gestured to the wreckage of the almost destroyed ferry around them. A piece of metal dropped into the water, making a dramatic splash.
"She needs a bit of work before I think we can do any pirating," Noah flatly observed, causing Sophie to let out a chuckle.
"You're right about that. I think a handsome, strapping young lad such as yourself would make a fine swashbuckling pirate," Sophie joked as she swished her new ornate cutlass around in the air a few times before looking at Noah with a naughty glint in her eye.
"Ahem. Well, enjoy your new sword. I'm going to finish my meal," Noah said, clearing his throat and standing up to excuse himself.
"I would enjoy it a lot more if you came with it," Sophie teased, continuing to hit on Noah. The comment caused him to blush and left him at a loss for words, he became increasingly uncomfortable under her hungry gaze.
"Let me know if you change your mind. I've finished eating, so I'm about to go restart the engines now that I have my new toy," Sophie said as she left towards the stairs upwards. A short time later, the faint orange glow of Sophie's lifeforce that only Noah could see with his grade two vision, once again infused the ferry. The propeller sprang into life to continue their voyage towards the cruise ship.
