My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

After thinking deeply for a few minutes, Nova eventually pushed those thoughts aside. Right now, there was no point overthinking things that he couldn’t change immediately. Whether it was his changing race, demonic traits, or the strange evolution of his body—

none of it would do him any good by constantly worrying about it. When the time came, he would deal with those problems properly. For now, there were more important matters.

”Hey... Liya,” Nova suddenly spoke while stretching his body slightly. ”Now that you’ve upgraded, what new functions did you gain? And how exactly am I supposed to use those Evolution Points you mentioned earlier?”

{I would love to explain everything, Host~ but don’t you think you should first leave this dungeon?}

{You’ve already been trapped here for nearly fifteen days. Even I don’t know exactly how much time has passed outside.}

”Ah... right.” Nova nodded after hearing that.

Honestly, after becoming stronger and surviving this nightmare, he had unconsciously relaxed a little too much. For the first time since arriving in this unknown world, he could finally feel a small sense of confidence.

”Then let’s get out of here...” Nova muttered before suddenly pausing. ”But... how exactly am I supposed to leave now?”

{Simple~ just think about leaving. Since you already defeated the dungeon boss, escaping shouldn’t be a problem anymore.}

{That way, you also won’t waste your precious Recall Crystals.}

Nova nodded after hearing Liya’s explanation. Closing his eyes slightly, he focused his thoughts on leaving the dungeon. The next moment his body suddenly vanished from the blood-soaked boss chamber completely.

And in an instant, Nova reappeared outside the dungeon entrance, standing at the exact same place where he had first arrived together with Rieka.

Cool night air brushed against his skin immediately. ”Haaa...” Nova took a deep breath while staring at the open sky above him.

”Finally...”

”I’m out of that damn dungeon.”

Only now did he properly notice that it was already dark outside. The moon hung high above the sky, though it didn’t seem to be fully midnight yet. Still, Nova couldn’t tell whether he had truly been gone for weeks or if barely any time had passed at all.

{Don’t worry, Host~ it’s still the same day you entered the dungeon.}

Nova’s eyes widened slightly.

{Although it’s already nighttime outside, the time dilation inside the dungeon was extremely large.}

{Approximately thirteen days inside the dungeon equaled only around seven to eight hours outside.}

But just as Nova was about to comment on Liya’s explanation, his Sharp Senses suddenly picked up the sound of something crushing through the bushes nearby within the dark woods.

Instantly, his entire body tensed.

Nova quickly took a fighting stance, his sharp eyes locking onto the direction of the noise while lightning flickered faintly around his body. After surviving nearly fifteen days inside that hellish dungeon, his instincts had become extremely sensitive toward danger.

He was fully prepared to face whatever was approaching. But the moment the figure stepped out from the bushes Nova froze completely.

”...Rieka?”

There she stood.

Her ever so beautiful face, which always carried calmness before, was now filled with exhaustion and sadness. Her eyes were swollen red as though she had been crying continuously for hours, while uneasiness and worry were clearly visible across her expression.

It looked as though she had been waiting there the entire time for him.

{Woah~ she actually stayed here waiting for you all this time? That’s a pretty loyal girl, Host~ why not make her your first harem member?}

Liya commented playfully inside his head.

But Nova didn’t react to the system’s teasing at all. At that moment, his attention remained completely focused on the girl standing before him.

”Nova... is that really you?”

A soft trembling voice escaped Rieka’s mouth as she slowly stepped toward him, still carrying an expression of disbelief on her beautiful face.

How could she not react like this? She truly believed he had died inside that dungeon.

After all, she herself had experienced that horrifying place. What was supposed to be a simple C-rank quest had turned into a living nightmare. They had been trapped inside a hellhole filled with endless slaughter where death lurked behind every second.

She had nearly died there herself. If it weren’t for Nova—she wouldn’t even be standing here right now.

Even now, Rieka still couldn’t fully understand how someone who had only been Level 1 at the start managed to display such impossible growth. She had personally witnessed him slaughter beast after beast nonstop while protecting her in the middle of that endless nightmare.

And what she couldn’t understand the most was—

why?

Why did he protect her so desperately?

They were complete strangers.

On top of that, he was a human—one of the races she originally disliked the most. Yet despite all of that...Nova never abandoned her.

Even when the odds were completely against him, he continued fighting endlessly to keep her alive. And when he finally obtained a chance to escape the dungeon—

he gave that chance to her instead of saving himself. Even though he tricked her by lying about the Recall Crystal, his intention had still been clear.

He chose her life over his own. Because of that, Rieka had spent the past several hours drowning in guilt, convinced that Nova had died because of her.

So she stayed here. Waiting, Hoping desperately that somehow he would walk out alive. Even after hours passed and there was no sign of him, she still refused to leave. She had already prepared herself to continue waiting even longer.

And now there he was. Standing right in front of her alive, Although his appearance had changed drastically, she could still recognize him instantly.

Warm tears slowly fell from her eyes as she stepped closer before finally stopping directly in front of him. Her trembling hand slowly reached out and touched his face gently as though she was afraid he would disappear if she blinked.

”You’re... really alive?”

Her voice shook emotionally while tears blurred the sight of his now even more handsome face.

Nova silently held her hand against his cheek before lifting his other hand and softly wiping away the tears falling from her beautiful face.

Then, with a small warm smile, he spoke softly.

”As you can see... I’m completely fine.”

”So stop crying.”

Beast-folk were races that possessed traits and characteristics of animals, which also made their emotions far stronger and more intense than ordinary humans. Whether it was love, hatred, loyalty, guilt or anger—everything they felt ran much deeper.

And right now Rieka’s emotions had completely overwhelmed her.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, she suddenly stepped forward and tightly wrapped her arms around Nova , pressing her soft body firmly against his chest as she hugged him with all her strength.

Nova was caught slightly off guard by her sudden reaction. But strangely it didn’t bother him at all, If anything, he liked her far more than he expected.

He didn’t know exactly when it started. Maybe it was because of her straightforward personality, her warrior-like nature, or the annoyed expressions she constantly made despite having such a cute and beautiful face.

But now after seeing tears on her face for his sake his heart genuinely ached.

Slowly, Nova extended his arms toward her back before warmly returning the hug.

Rieka didn’t seem to mind at all that he was still half-naked and covered only in torn shorts. Instead, she buried her face deeper against his chest as though it was the safest and most comforting place for her.

For the first time in what felt like forever both of them relaxed completely.

No fighting.

No bloodshed.

No desperate struggle for survival.

Just warmth.

They remained like that silently for several minutes beneath the moonlit night while the cold breeze passed gently through the surrounding forest.

Eventually, Nova slowly pulled back slightly before placing both of his hands softly against her beautiful face. Looking directly into her still tearful eyes, he spoke gently.

”It’s alright...”

”I’m out now.”

”We both survived, so forget everything, okay?”

Rieka stared at him quietly for a moment before softly nodding her head.

”Umm...”

A small warm smile finally appeared on her usually expressionless face, And the moment Nova saw that smile he genuinely felt happy.

Nova quietly activated All Appraisal Eyes while looking at Rieka.

=========

[Name: Rieka Vargrith]

Age: 20

Race: Wolfkin\ kitsune

Bloodline: Tamamo-no-Mae( Devine)

Rank: A

Level: 28

[Stats]

Strength: 34

Agility: 38

Stamina: 36

Intelligence: 33

------------

What...?

Nova’s eyes widened slightly after seeing her full profile. She wasn’t only a Wolfkin—she was also part Kitsune, and on top of that she possessed the Divine Bloodline?Tamamo-no-Mae?

{ It’s a mythical nine-tailed fox. }

No wonder her beauty felt almost unreal. Her appearance, aura, and even the strange enchanting feeling around her suddenly made much more sense now.

{She’s most likely a rare highbreed between a Wolfkin and a Kitsune while also inheriting a divine bloodline,} Liya explained calmly inside his head.

Nova quietly stared at Rieka for a moment while processing everything. And yet, despite possessing such an absurd bloodline and potential, she was already twenty years old while still remaining only Level 28 and Rank A.

Something about that clearly wasn’t normal.

There must be some reason behind it...But Nova decided not to ask about it right now.

He would ask her later when the timing felt right.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Nova finally spoke while looking toward the distant city lights far away from the forest. ”Now that everything here is finally over, we should head toward the city.”

A small helpless smile appeared on his face.

”I’m already extremely late. My parents must be really worried by now.” ”I even promised them I’d return before dinner...”

Rieka quietly nodded after hearing him.

”There are many inns inside the city,” she explained softly. ”And they also have long-distance communication devices there. You can contact your family first.”

Nova nodded.

Since he didn’t really have any other choice right now, going to the city was obviously the best option. ”Alright,” he said while stretching his stiff body slightly.

”Let’s go.”

But the moment he took a few steps forward, his expression suddenly stiffened.

”...Wait.”

Nova slowly looked down at himself. At the moment, he was still only wearing those torn shorts that barely covered anything after fifteen days of nonstop fighting inside the dungeon.

”How the hell am I supposed to walk around like this?” he asked blankly. ”People are seriously going to think I’m some kind of pervert.”

Rieka looked at him for a second before quietly replying.

”Don’t worry...”

”It’s almost midnight.”

”The city streets are mostly empty at this hour anyway.”

Thanks for reading....