We approached the glass case, and a strange sense of foreboding settled over me.
"Yep, there's no way this item is simple. With every step I take, I feel like I should just run away, while someone seems to be whispering to me to take it..."
Yuki's words rang true. I already knew the armor was controlled or enchanted by this ring, but being so close to it felt completely different.
"So... now what?"
That was a great question. We had put in all this work (though, to be honest, it wasn't that much), but the ring was cursed, and something would surely go wrong if we just picked it up.
"I might have a solution. Give me your hand."
"Here."
She didn't hesitate, trusting me completely, and I was determined to honor that trust. For the first time, I activated the original function of [King of Awakening], and I noticed three screens appearing in front of her.
"Oh, what is this..."
I let her explore her discoveries while I focused on my own task: awakening myself. It's ironic that I, the supposed "king" of awakeners, was not the first but actually the second one.
Just like that, blue screens appeared in my vision, providing me with answers to my problems.
//
[You have obtained the title: Awakened]
[You have obtained the skill: Creativity]
[You have obtained the skill: Observe]
//
Just as I thought, I finally obtained what I expected: the skill [Observe] is finally mine.
This is a skill I didn't want to have as much as I wanted to use it. It's a staple for every Gamer, or so I believe. The function of [Observe] is simple; it can gather information about anything, whether it's a person or an item.
In the original manhwa, this concept made sense, but in other fanfictions, it doesn't. The reason is straightforward: stats only make sense in games, not in real life.
For instance, if we strip away all my skills and titles, I'm left with only my stats, which are exactly as they are described. But this is only because I'm the Gamer.
My stats include STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, and LUK. Among these, only LUK correlates directly to reality. This makes sense; you are 'lucky' by that amount. However, it's not so simple with the others.
Let's consider a bodybuilder. Imagine he goes to the gym every day for twenty years, focusing solely on his upper body without ever working on his legs. What should his STR value be? Should it be high because of his upper body strength, low due to his neglected lower body, or somewhere in the middle for balance?
Each stat has a similar dilemma, which is often more plausible than my example.
Another reason I never obtained the skill while Jee-Han did so effortlessly lies in the nature of our powers. My skill comes from consuming an Essence, while his is a gift from Gaia, his world. Consequently, my skill has the potential to be more powerful, but it lacks certain... shortcuts, let's say.
Jee-Han's [Observe] skill works by gathering information from a target at a low MP cost. It's not just straightforward observation; it's simple because Gaia grants him that information.
On the other hand, I don't have a 'sponsor' providing me with such insights, so I have no means to acquire the ability—except through a skill book, which is a different matter altogether.
This resulted in a problem: I have no way to read the descriptions of the items I obtain. At first, it wasn't much of an issue… until it became one.
Now, let's see what information I can gather with the ability at such a low level: [Observe].
[Ring of Arc]
...
"Yeah, it's still a level-one skill."
"Okay, that didn't help. Yuki, did you receive something special?"
She looked at me a bit strangely before shaking her head. So, nothing, huh?
"Unfortunate, but we have a backup plan."
"We do?"
"Yes..." I moved toward the box and shattered it with a martial punch. "It's called 'Throw it in the inventory' and leave it there."
"Hey, wait!"
All in all, it was a good plan, although it had one flaw. I would still be in contact with the curse, even if just for a short time.
The moment the glass broke, the ring started to emit a strange purple glow. When I reached to touch it, my mind was overwhelmed by images. I saw a balding, fat man grinning. I saw a man with a mustache attacking someone. I saw myself crying in front of a headstone with the words 'Yuki Suou' engraved on it, along with her date of death and a French phrase.
But after putting in some effort, I felt myself returning to the normal world. While sweating, I quickly put the ring in my inventory.
[You obtained the skill: Curse Resistance]
[Curse Resistance Lv.1->9]
[Mental Resilience Lv.51->54]
[Ego Lv.1->2]
Then I felt strength leaving my legs as I slumped down.
"...Damn, that was trippy."
"Onii-chan, are you okay?!"
I just smiled. "Yeah, easy peasy."
---
After catching my breath and letting my mind settle, it was time to make some conjectures.
"So, we did all this, but what is the Ring of Arc?"
"From my memories of the show, the Ring of Arc is an amulet, just like Gar-Ghoul and Springer's. However, the Titan inside is not a simple one. Arc, the Legendary Titan of Fate, is as strong as the other Legendary Titans but is also the most troublesome among them. It can give visions of the future and the past, control and summon other Titans without the need of a Seeker, and it's probably deranged. At least, that's what I remember from the show."
"Deranged how?"
"That's the question. I didn't tell you before, but as your bond with your Titan increased, they also became closer to your personality. After all, Titans supposedly don't have personalities, or that's how it's portrayed in the anime..."
Yuki thought for a moment, finding the incongruence with our Titans puzzling. "It doesn't feel that way. You're right. My Gar-Ghoul was more aggressive than I expected, and Springer felt like a child playing and getting bored with his toys."
"Exactly. If you think about it, Arc was the Titan of Jeanne D'Arc, a literal saint, so—"
She interrupted me. "Either everything she did was a scam and she was evil, or it's not that simple."
"And while the Mandela Effect is a phenomenon that exists, I don't think it can have an impact as wide as that... Well, apart from deciding what to do with the ring, I also noticed some effects I've gained. Let's postpone our discussion about Arc and talk about this instead."
At the end of the day, while Arc was something I wanted to remember for our first adventure with Yuki, I had no issues selling the ring in the [Shop]. Its selling value was also higher than Chi You's martial arts book at 1,000,000 Shards. The price was making me realize that its foresight might hold some truth.
"So, while under the influence of the curse, I caught a glimpse of the future. I can say that I'm not completely blind to those powers, but it's also unlikely they will show the true future."
The first vision, of the old man, was surely the Professor, the main antagonist of the first series. The second, the man with the mustache, belonged to the antagonist of the second series—Russian, if I recall correctly. The third vision involved Yuki's death.
I shared all of this with her and challenged her to deduce its significance. She responded easily. "The third one. The first two are vague enough that we can't make sense of them, but the third has a detail that proves its fallacy. It's the French words. Why would I be buried here and not in Japan? It's because in this world, I'm more linked to France than Japan."
"Good."
I patted her head, satisfied with her answer and the outcome. This meant that there wouldn't be any indication of the entrance to another world, as those powers worked as intended. Moreover, while they would read me, they would read me incorrectly.
"Anyway, let's talk about something more interesting. What skill did you receive?"
Yuki beamed at me before rushing to hug me. "Right, those skills! Thank you, Onii-chan. They are exactly what I wanted. They are called [Actress on Stage] and [Respect]."