Gathering Wives with a System

Chapter 235: Sharing Stats And Potions’ Effects, Dragonic Form

Isaac carefully shifted Alice in his arms.

Her body radiated heat. The water pooling beneath them had already begun to evaporate.

He carried her to the bedroom without another word.

She was light in his hold, though her warmth seeped into him like a small fire pressed against his chest.

He laid her on the bed gently, making sure not to jostle her too much.

Alice lay on her stomach.

Her breathing was shallow but steady.

The wings on her back were small, and fragile-looking things.

They trembled faintly as though she had no control over them yet.

Her tail twitched against the sheets, stiff and awkward.

’Maybe the wings will grow with time, and her control over tail and wings should improve too.’

Isaac crouched down, studying her.

”Can you hear me? Where are you feeling pain?”

”Nowhere...”

Her throat sounded dry.

She could hardly speak.

Isaac raised a hand and cast Miracle of Grace skill.

Soft light gathered around his palm and sank into her body, washing over her in a slow wave.

She didn’t react.

Her face remained slack as if she didn’t notice the skill being used.

When the light faded, nothing had changed.

She showed no signs of recovering.

”Seems like she isn’t injured,” Isaac muttered under his breath.

He leaned closer. ”Alice, how are you feeling?”

She opened her eyes a little, the golden flames inside dimmed with exhaustion.

”...Tired. Just... tired.”

Isaac let out a quiet breath of relief.

From what he could tell, she had completed the evolution, and the process had drained her entirely.

There were wounds, or internal damage.

Just exhaustion.

’She doesn’t seem in danger. But still... better to have someone else confirm it.’

He touched her shoulder lightly. ”I’m going to bring Professor Catherine or maybe the Vice Principal to check on you, alright? Just in case.”

Her hand shot out suddenly to grab his. The grip was weak but firm.

”W-wait.”

”What’s wrong?”

Her cheeks flushed faintly. ”...Clothes.”

”Clothes?” He stared at her for a moment, caught off guard. ”You’re worried about that right now? This isn’t—”

”I’m not coming out there naked,” Alice said, shaking her head weakly.

Isaac stared at her a little longer, then sighed. ”Fine. Wait here. I’ll grab something for you to wear.”

He stood and went out of the Soulbind Pendant subdimension.

It took only a few minutes to gather her usual clothes: a pair of jeans and a simple tank top.

The jeans sat low enough on her waist that they wouldn’t interfere with her tail, which sprouted where her lower back met her hips.

The wings, though, would be a problem.

He ended up taking scissors to the tank top, cutting a slit across the back wide enough for her wings to slip through. It ruined the shirt, but it was the only way.

When he returned to the subdimension, Isaac froze in place.

Alice was sitting on the bed, waiting for him.

She wore only lingerie.

Her posture was unsteady as her wings and tail twitched behind her.

For a heartbeat, Isaac couldn’t move.

She looked... beautiful.

She was always beautiful, but this was on an entirely different level.

Her skin seemed to glow faintly with a milky smoothness that looked both delicate and strong.

Her hair had grown longer. The strands shone as they caught the faint light.

Her breasts seemed to have increased in size.

Even her muscles, subtle under her healthy build, carried a firmness that hadn’t been there before.

Isaac shook his head sharply, forcing the thoughts away. This wasn’t the time.

He stepped forward and held out the clothes.

”Here. Let’s get you dressed.”

Alice glanced at the tank top, noticing the slit in the back.

She let out a faint sigh.

”You really cut it.”

”We will buy another one later,” Isaac said, crouching beside her to help.

Her wings twitched as he slipped the top over her arms.

He moved his hands carefully not to pull against the new ’limbs’.

The jeans slid on without issue, the tail swishing awkwardly behind her as if trying to find balance.

Isaac noticed the way she struggled to control her movements.

Her wings drooped, then lifted in jerks.

Her tail twitched like it didn’t quite belong to her.

They were like new limbs her body hadn’t adjusted to yet.

”Feels weird?” he asked.

Alice nodded faintly. ”Like I can’t tell them what to do.”

”You’ll get the hang of it. Take your time.”

Once she was dressed, Isaac activated the pendant and pulled them both out of the subdimension.

They appeared in the room of their house.

Alice leaned against the bed, looking drained but steady enough to sit upright.

”I’ll get someone to check on you,” Isaac said softly, then stepped out.

He crossed the hall and knocked on the door next to theirs, where Vice Principal Eleanor —— or, his maid Leora — usually stayed.

Before anyone answered, a familiar voice called behind him. ”Master isn’t here.”

Isaac turned to see Professor Catherine standing in the corridor. She had a faint smile as always. ”She left to deal with the Governor’s forces that came back earlier.”

”Oh,” Isaac said, pausing. He wanted to ask about that, but Alice came first. ”Can you come look at Alice? Something happened.”

Catherine’s eyes narrowed slightly at his tone. ”Lead the way.”

Back inside the room, Professor Catherine immediately raised a brow at the sight of Alice’s wings and tail.

She didn’t speak at first, instead walking over and kneeling beside the bed.

Isaac explained quickly, ”I got some legendary stat points in the gacha. I gave them to her. This is what happened.”

Professor Catherine hummed quietly.

Her fingers checked Alice’s pulse, then lifted her eyelids one by one.

She pressed lightly against Alice’s tongue, then checked her breathing. After a minute, she leaned back.

”There’s no issue. Her body went through an evolution because she reached a thousand points in every stat. Her physique was forced upward, so now she has wings and a tail. She’s only exhausted, nothing more. Rest will take care of it.”

Alice let out a weak breath, and nodded, before closing her eyes again.

Professor Catherine rose smoothly, brushing her hands against her robe. ”She’ll need new clothes from now on. I’ll call in a tailor. Have them design around her wings and tail.”

”Thanks,” Isaac said, relief washing over him.

”Think of it as a favor, my lord,” Professor Catherine said with a faint smile. ”But do keep track of them. I’ll cash in the favors when I decide it’s time.”

With that, she left the room, her footsteps fading down the hall.

Isaac sat beside Alice, lowering himself onto the edge of the bed.

She was half-asleep. Her breathing was softer now. Her wings drooped lazily against the sheets, and her tail lay curled beside her.

He studied them for a moment.

The wings were small, and still underdeveloped, but he imagined they would grow. The tail twitched faintly, as if it reacted to his gaze alone. Without really thinking, Isaac reached out and brushed his hand along the length of it.

A soft sound escaped Alice’s lips. She turned her head, her eyes cracking open, and glared weakly. ”Don’t touch it.”

Isaac froze, then pulled his hand back. ”It’s sensitive, huh? Makes sense. It’s a new limb and you aren’t used to the sensory feedback from it.”

Even so, his hand drifted back.

He traced the base of her tail where it met her lower back. The skin there was warm, the muscles twitching beneath his touch.

Alice bit her lip, burying her face into the pillow as if to muffle herself.

”I-Isaac... stop...”

”Is it really uncomfortable?”

”It’s not... uncomfortable. It’s just—eeek!”

She yelped suddenly.

Her upper body rose as she twisted around. Isaac blinked, realizing he had leaned down and bitten lightly at the tip of her tail.

Alice stared at him, her face burning red.

”...What are you doing?”

”Ahem.”

He let go of her tail, though his hand still rested against it.

She glared at him, still flushed, then buried her head back into the pillow with a muffled groan.

Isaac stared at her wings and tail.

His fingers twitched with the urge to touch her wings too, but he knew Alice would absolutely snap if he tried.

Before he could decide whether to test his luck, her tail suddenly whipped forward.

Like an instinctual reaction on Alice’s part, it coiled around his arm with surprising strength and yanked.

Isaac lost his balance and was flung back onto the bed.

”What the—”

He didn’t even have time to finish before Alice was on top of him, straddling his waist. Her crimson eyes had changed, narrowing into slit pupils that glowed faintly.

Isaac froze. That look was unmistakable.

She had released her Emotion Calming Technique.

When she dropped its restraint, her emotions surged, and her physical stats spiked temporarily as if her strength had doubled.

Alice’s voice was low, but it carried a sharp edge. ”I told you not to touch me when I’m sensitive. Now look what you did. This is your fault.”

Her tail shifted again, curling around one of his legs and pinning him down.

Isaac opened his mouth to protest, but Alice leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

...

Isaac stretched.

Alice had slumped against him. She had fallen asleep.

Isaac tilted his head and looked at her sleeping face.

Her hair spilled over her shoulder. Her expression was relaxed in a way he rarely saw.

”She’s completely out,” he muttered to himself. ”Her stamina’s way too low right now.”

He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

”I survived this time, but if she releases that emotion calming technique when she’s in a normal state... I’d be wrung dry.”

The corner of his lips twitched.

”I need more stats. Otherwise, I won’t survive the next time we do it.”

Isaac opened his system window.

He was about to share her stats when he stopped.

He wasn’t worried about being exhausted like Alice. The System always took care of those issues.

What gave him pause was something else entirely.

A thought crept in, one he hadn’t considered before.

”...If I share her physique right now, will I end up with wings and a tail too?”

He reached up and touched the top of his head.

Alice had grown horns in the past, yet he hadn’t inherited them when he shared her physique.

”Maybe I won’t get a tail and wings, or maybe I will.

”There’s only one way to find out.”

He sat up carefully so as not to wake Alice.

A grin appeared on his face.

”Let’s check it.”

In his mind, he gave the command. ’System, share Alice’s stats!’

A chime rang in his ears, followed by lines of text that appeared across the system window.

Strength: 330 → 1000 [330]

Agility: 460 → 1000 [460]

Spirit Power: 523 → 1000 [523]

A surge of raw power filled his body, rushing through his limbs and chest like a tide breaking past a dam.

The exhaustion that had clung to him after dealing with Alice vanished instantly, swept away as if it had never existed.

Another set of notifications appeared.

Strength stat has reached the limit. Title: None → Extreme Colossus Will.

Agility stat has reached the limit. Title: Wind-Kissed → Extreme Wind-Kissed.

Spirit Power stat has reached the limit. Title: Mins Echo → Extreme Mind Echo.

Isaac laughed quietly under his breath, the grin still tugging at his lips.

The words on the screen weren’t the end. More notifications followed.

Isaac Hargraves has reached 1000 in all primary stats.

He has achieved a Perfect Foundation.

New Title unlocked: [Perfect Resonance].

As a result of reaching Perfect Foundation, Isaac Hargraves will undergo Body Evolution.

A dormant Physique is being created.

Isaac raised a brow when he reads the last line.

”A dormant physique?”

He scrolled the window with his finger, rereading the line. The system wasn’t saying he had already gained a new physique, only that one was forming.

”My body’s human bloodline is still the base, and it’s improving. This... isn’t the same as Alice’s,” he muttered.

He leaned back against the bed, thinking.

”A dormant physique means I probably have to do something else to complete it. I should ask Professor Catherine about it later. She might know more about it.”

His grin returned, wider this time.

”Still, this is huge.”

He called the system again. ’System, share the effects of the potions Alice drank!’

The numbers shifted once more.

Strength: 1000 [330] → 1000 [1330]

Agility: 1000 [460] → 1000 [1460]

Spirit Power: 1000 [523] → 1000 [1523]

Isaac whistled softly.

The backlog had increased by nearly a thousand extra stats across the board.

His grin sharpened.

’Alright. One more thing.’

’System, share Alice’s strengthened Physique and affinities!’

The moment he spoke, power burst inside him.

It was domineering and overwhelming.

His entire body tensed as if every nerve lit up.

He could feel it clearly, his stats had improved qualitatively.

If before, one point of Strength felt like the strength of five normal human men, now that same point had grown.

It became six instead of five.

It sounded small on paper, but his stats were in the thousands, and the increase in stats’ quality brought tremendous improvement.

Isaac clenched his fist, feeling the raw pressure in his grip.

”This is insane.”

Even his breathing felt different.

It was deeper, and stronger.

The faint hum of energy under his skin was steady, and controlled. His body was adapting without resistance.

Solar Fire Affinity: Level 4 → Level 5

Fire Affinity: Level 2 → Level 4

Light Affinity: Level 2 → Level 4

”I guess I wouldn’t gain wings and tail.”

He thought about standing and testing his improved stats, but before he could, another notification screen appeared in front of him.

Skill Gained: Dragonic Form.