Extra's Survival: Raising SSS-Rank Characters Is My Only Option

« Titles »

[ ▸ ░░░ ░░░░░░░ ]

[ ▸ Fourth Son of the Gannon Family ]

[ ▸ Scoundrel of the North ]

Jin frowned, looking at the titles.

Unlike the other two, the first title was completely obscured.

”What’s this?”

Curiosity won immediately, and he focused on it.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the line expanded.

[ ▸ The — ]

Jin leaned forward.

The title flickered.

[ ▸ The — ]

The characters distorted violently, and the system started acting glitchy again.

The entire menu trembled.

[ ERROR ]

[ ERROR ]

[ ERROR ]

The title vanished, and a new message appeared in its place.

[ Host does not have permission to view this title. ]

Jin blinked.

”...Permission?”

The message remained for several seconds.

Then, as though realizing it had revealed too much, the system glitched again.

[ Host does not have permission to vi— ]

[ Host does not have permissi— ]

[ Ho░░░ does not have p░░░░░░░ ]

The text collapsed completely, and a moment later, the menu returned to normal.

« Titles »

[ ▸ ░░░ ░░░░░░░ ]

[ ▸ Fourth Son of the Gannon Family ]

[ ▸ Scoundrel of the North ]

Jin stared at it.

His first instinct was to keep poking at it.

His second instinct was to remember what had happened the last time the system started malfunctioning.

The memory of that black void surfaced immediately, sending a cold shiver down his spine.

”...Nope.”

Whatever the hidden title was, it wasn’t worth another catastrophic event.

At least not today.

He reluctantly shifted his attention to the next entry.

« Fourth Son of the Gannon Family »

[ Bearer holds recognized membership in one of the four ducal households of the Astralis Empire. The Gannon name carries significant social and political weight across imperial territories and their institutions. ]

[ Effects: ]

[ ▸ Increased credibility in formal interactions with imperial citizens and nobility ]

[ ▸ Access to Gannon family resources and networks (Conditional) ]

[ ▸ Recognition by imperial institutions, military, and trade organizations as a noble of standing ]

Jin read through the whole thing.

”This will be quite useful.”

The part that said Conditional was worrying, but the title still had clear benefits - especially the resources and networks. He had a good feeling it would serve him well.

After reading through it once more, he moved on to the second title with already diminishing optimism.

« Scoundrel of the North »

[ A title accumulated through conduct consistently unbecoming of noble status. Recognized across the northern territories of the Astralis Empire. Reflects a history of public disorder, disrespect toward authority, and general disregard for social expectations. ]

[ Effects: ]

[ ▸ Decreased credibility in formal and informal interactions with northern citizens and nobility. Most will begin interactions with a negative disposition. ]

[ ▸ Increased familiarity and baseline trust with mercenaries, criminals, frontier populations, and others who hold a general distrust of nobility ]

[ ▸ Discounted drinks at all taverns across the northern territories ]

Jin read the last line twice.

’Discounted drinks.’

The northern territories were vast. That discount covered an enormous number of taverns. He considered briefly the sheer volume of drinking required to earn recognition on a geographic scale that large.

He also noticed that, setting aside the indignity of it, the title wasn’t entirely useless. At the Wall, where the population consisted almost entirely of the exact categories listed under the second effect, a reputation for being the kind of nobleman people didn’t need to be wary of had practical value. Not great value, of course, but value.

He filed it and moved to the skills.

«« Skills »»

« Gannon Family Swordsmanship »

[ The foundational sword art of House Gannon, developed over nine generations. It specializes in close-quarters combat and Roamer hunting. The complete style comprises six progressive forms. At full mastery, it is a high-tier martial technique capable of channeling Star energy into both offensive and defensive applications. ]

[ Skill Grade: ★★★★★★]

[ Skill Proficiency: F ]

Jin went still.

He counted the stars one by one and then counted them again.

’A Six-star skill?’

Skill grades in The Last Age of Radiance were not handed out generously. The protagonist had spent an entire volume chasing a five-star technique before he could even begin learning it. The sixth star was the territory of old family legacies and imperial techniques - the kind of thing people would be ready to pay an enormous sum to learn, but still couldn’t.

And Encrid Gannon had inherited a six-star sword art by birthright.

And then given it an F proficiency.

Jin sat with his hands on his knees for a moment, looking at nothing.

”This man,” he said quietly, to the room.

He thought about the bottles by the window, the desk buried under unopened letters, the training that had clearly stopped years ago and never resumed. He felt something that wasn’t quite anger, more like the specific frustration of watching someone waste something irreplaceable.

Except that the person who had wasted it was gone, and Jin was the one sitting here in his body.

”I will not,” he said, and wasn’t entirely sure who he was making the promise to ”waste this chance.”

He felt way too frustrated to think about anything else, so he moved on to the next skill.

« Horsemanship »

[ Proficiency in riding, managing, and navigating varied terrain on horseback. ]

[ Skill Grade: ★★ ]

[ Skill Proficiency: E ]

’E is better than F,’ Jin consoled himself.

At least he could ride.

The Wall was at least twelve days on horseback. It was a journey he had to make, and while he was considering requesting a carriage, there would still be travel to deal with after he arrived.

’Useful, regardless.’

« Noble Etiquette »

[ Knowledge and application of formal conduct, social protocol, and behavioral expectations within imperial noble culture. Encompasses dining customs, forms of address, ceremonial participation, political discourse, and the management of status interactions at all levels of the imperial hierarchy. ]

[ Skill Grade: ★★ ]

[ Skill Proficiency: C ]

Jin read this one slowly.

’This doesn’t make any sense.’

A C proficiency meant he was genuinely competent and capable of applying the rules fluently and naturally, without visible effort. In a world where noble culture was its own elaborate language, C-grade fluency meant he could move through that language without an accent.

Which made absolutely no sense, sitting two entries below the title above it.

’Scoundrel of the North.’

There was only one conclusion he could draw.

Encrid had known exactly what he was doing.

There was a vast difference between a man who didn’t know how to behave and a man who knew perfectly well and had decided not to. One was ignorance. The other was something else entirely.

Jin thought about that.

He thought about the Azure Star, which was unsealed but never developed. The sixth-tier sword art with an F proficiency. The C-grade etiquette that was buried under a reputation that covered the entire northern territory.

’What did he experience?’ Jin thought slowly, his eyes drifting to the portrait on the far wall, the woman with dark hair and a warm smile, maintained carefully while everything else in the room gathered dust, ’to fall so deliberately?’

Jin didn’t have an answer. He moved the question to back of his head and moved on.

« Alcohol Tolerance »

[ Exceptional physiological capacity to process, endure, and recover from alcohol consumption. The bearer can consume quantities that would incapacitate most adults while maintaining basic function and coherent speech. Recovery time is significantly below average, and the user is immune to weak poisons. ]

[ Skill Grade: ★★★ ]

[ Skill Proficiency: A ]

’A?’

Jin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

This skill helped him with composure, quick recovery, and even resistance to weak poisons.

Although the circumstances of how Encrid gained the skill were not that great, he had to admit that this was perhaps the most useful skill he had right now.

He closed the skills menu, speechless, and moved to the next section.

✦ ✦ ✦