CHAPTER 28: LORD RANK ATTAINED.

[Character upgrade has been activated.]

[Please select a target.]

Dorian paused, staring at the system for a while.

’If this goes as planned, then I may have stumbled on a loophole here.’

He turned his gaze to the girls, who were quite confused, as seen with the look on their faces.

’But there is no doubt they will question where such power comes from. The magic to directly influence the growth of others is something known to be for alchemists alone. My excuse that the power comes from a witch’s blessing might not cut it this time.’

There was visible doubt on his face.

Albeit, after contemplating it for a while, Dorian finally made up his mind.

"I am about to upgrade both of you," he announced.

"Wh—"

"Upgrade?"

"Act now, questions later, come on, get to it. Stand together."

Maria and Seraphina gave each other the side-eye before they stood close together.

This way, Dorian could keep his eye on both of them and upgrade them at once.

Obviously, this was the first time he was using this feature from the system; as such, he wasn’t too knowledgeable on the process.

[Two targets have been chosen.]

[Maria—Warrior class.

Current rank: Master rank.

Probable rank after upgrade: Grandmaster.]

[Seraphina—Alchemist class.

Current rank: Amateur rank.

Probable rank after upgrade: Master rank.]

’Interesting, so that’s how it gauges which rank said character will be upgraded to.’

Normally, the ranks of class go as follows: Novice, Amateur, Adept, Master, Grandmaster, and then finally Lord Rank.

For each class, each rank holds a different level of power, the warrior class being the most efficient.

A warrior whose rank is Amateur can be way stronger than a summoner who is an Adept. That said, a Master warrior will stand no chance against a master summoner; it’s just how things work.

As such, Dorian wasn’t satisfied with Maria being only a master rank; as strong as it is, she would stand no chance against other classes in the same rank.

To access her full ability, she needs to be a grandmaster or higher. Most grandmasters are known to be imperial knights due to their rare skills.

Seeing as she would most likely be a grandmaster, Dorian couldn’t help but smirk at that thought.

As for Seraphina, if she does become a master-rank Alchemist, it would definitely be a huge win for him as well.

She would single-handedly be the biggest support he could ever ask for.

’Yes, proceed.’ He gave the go-ahead to the system.

The very next minute, Maria and Seraphina found themselves standing right on top of a magic circle, pulsing with so much mana it made the entire room glow with ethereal purple light.

Shocked, they could only stare at the circle, the mana pushing against their bodies.

"What is happening?"

"Umm, honey, are you upset about something?!"

Their questions were, of course, buried under the force of the mana flow.

And then—

[2000 points has been deducted.]

[The targets Maria and Seraphina will now undergo upgrades.]

With that announcement came an even brighter light that completely coated the two women, hiding them from sight.

Seraphina screamed, confused as to what was happening. Maria, on the other hand, tried to maintain her composure, but the expression on her face betrayed her.

Soon, the light that had once enveloped the entire room disappeared. Replacing that was a different sight of Seraphina, scared and hugging Maria while her eyes spun in circles.

"Is it over?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"I think so..." Maria turned to Dorian for confirmation.

Though his attention was focused on something in front of him.

[The target Maria has been upgraded to a Lord Rank.]

[The target, Seraphina, has been upgraded to a Master rank.]

Dorian’s eyes widened in shock.

’Lord Rank? That’s one rank higher than I expected.’ He moved his face closer just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. ’Is there anyone in this world who has attained this rank other than the first hero? Lord Rank, that just makes her a walking cheat code.’

Dorian shook his head a bit.

’No, chill for a sec. This can actually be bad for me. Sure, if she were a grandmaster, the royal army would most likely try to recruit her; however, that can be fixed if she says she refuses and is a knight of my family. But a lord rank, a rank only one person has ever gotten.’

"Umm... Lord Dorian?"

Immediately, Dorian snapped out of his thoughts, quickly raising his head above the floating screens to see Maria.

She had both her hands stretched out in shock as her body was glowing with a golden aura, almost majestic to look at. The light flowed around her like an extension of her own being, leaking to the ground in a radiant fashion that seemed as though it was a waterfall.

And beside her was Seraphina; her red aura was not as bright, but it was just as impressive in size, almost completely covering her whole feature.

’Ack! This is not what I expected at all! These brats look crazy strong.’

"Lord Dorian..." Maria called again, clearly trying to find her words through all the shock. "Is this what I think it is?" she asked.

Dorian sighed in response.

Then with his hand on his waist, he responded, "Yes, it is. I blessed you with a Lord rank; you’re welcome." He then pointed at Seraphina. "As for you, you are now a master rank, meaning you should be able to cast more than your previous enchantments or whatever. You’re welcome."

Silence slipped into the room right after.

While Dorian had his eyes closed with a frown, the two ladies had their gaze solely fixed on him.

Then, without warning, they both fell to their knees, their heads bowed.

"Incredible, darling, I knew you were exceptional the very first day I chose to follow you, but this is beyond what I could have ever imagined. Upgrading a person’s rank has never been heard of before. And yet you—"

Seraphina paused; Dorian was now looking at her, eyes widened since he never expected them to actually bow to him.

Then she continued, hesitant to raise her head.

"I was ignorant of your power; I am ashamed. I, Seraphina Monteli, with the power you have bestowed upon me, offer my utmost loyalty; I will serve you till I draw my last breath."

Following right after was Maria,

"I will remain your shield and sword, fight whenever you need me, and protect whenever you call for me. This power you have given me, I will master, all in your name and nothing else."

Dorian stood still, his hand still resting on his waist.

’They suddenly got all serious,’ he scanned their aura for a while. ’I guess looking at it from their point of view, I did just do an inconceivable feat. If this was a king, they would be singing his praises across nations.’

He smiled.

’I like where this is going.’

...

[a/N]

Rank, classes, and so on will be explained