[Accumulated skinship time: 29 seconds.]

“Jump down.”

“What?”

“Use your skill, McQueen!”

I shouted.

At the word ‘skill’, Victor’s eyebrows shot up high.

Seeing his relaxed face stiffen a bit, it seemed he also knew his skill was in a locked state.

But now that didn’t matter at all.

Of course, because of what I just said, it might be revealed that I can open other people’s status windows. If McQueen is a loose-lipped guy, he might spread rumors.

But isn’t avoiding this current situation more important than that?

Victor McQueen’s ability was physical enhancement, and his skill name was ‘Stand Firm’.

‘That probably means he can withstand any external injury or shock.’

And I was in the process of unlocking that skill for him.

Victor put his foot on the railing while holding me. The swimsuit-clad people around us were shocked.

How absurd and extreme must this scene look to their eyes? It might look like two crazy people trying to say goodbye to the world.

But my eyes were filled with certainty.

Then,

[Accumulated skinship time: 30 seconds.]

The gauge bar… filled up completely.

Beep- Beep-.

A ringing only I could hear brushed past my ears.

[SYSTEM: Congratulations!] [~High Teen Drama Awakener Quest Complete~]

Along with the loud fanfare ringing in my ears, whoosh, a blue window poured out quest details with congratulatory images.

[S-class skill of Awakener ‘Victor McQueen’ is unlocked.] [‘Possessed’ receives ‘reward’ for proxy quest completion.]

Flash-!

I could see the skill window pop up in front of Victor’s eyes as well.

And at the same time, Victor threw himself over the railing without hesitation, still holding me.

“Kyaaak!”

With screams from the women behind us, I felt my body sink downwards. I hugged Victor’s neck even tighter.

Red hair fluttered wildly. Through narrowed vision, I could see the bright blue garden getting closer to us moment by moment.

Glancing up, I could see the guys from the pool rushing over and hanging on the railing far above.

At that moment, with everyone’s attention focused,

[SYSTEM: Active skill activated.] [‘Stand Firm (S)’ is executed. Shock nullification. You take no damage from any impact.]

Victor McQueen’s skill use window popped up amidst the swirling red hair.

The corners of Victor’s mouth seemed to curve into an even longer smile at a glance.

Thud-!

In less than a second, a heavy boom echoed along with a gust of wind.

A strong tremor transmitted from Victor’s body to me, but ultimately we were both fine. Nothing broke, nor did I end up crushed under him from a bad landing.

As I sorted out my wildly tangled hair, the dim garden came into clear view.

The lion fountain, the fountain where water trickled, and the dense trees.

And Victor was still holding me.

He had landed on both feet from five stories up.

Without any external injury or shock.

‘This is an S-class skill…’

As I caught my breath, I saw a smile spread across Victor’s face.

Victor was staring intently at me. With an attitude far too casual for someone who just unlocked their first skill.

‘…This guy is quite crazy too.’

I calmed my startled heart and thought coldly.

Not only did he jump down because a girl he just met told him to, but he didn’t even blink at unlocking his first active skill.

Of course, I was the one who urged him to jump, but this guy is no ordinary person either.

Either he has nerves of steel or he’s insane.

After landing safely, as I tried to get down from Victor’s arms, he held me tightly and said,

“Somehow, just now, my skill suddenly unlocked.”

“…”

“Is this thanks to you?”

He’s quick-witted too.

But I didn’t want things to get more troublesome here, so I decided to play dumb.

I twisted my body out of his thick arms.

“What skill?”

“Nerdy Glasses, are you playing dumb now?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about… And my name isn’t Glasses. Why am I nerdy? These are totally intellectual horn-rimmed glasses.”

“Then what made you tell me to jump from this high mansion?”

“Just my intuition. And I’m an awakener too, so I was going to use my skill to handle it, but you took care of it with quick timing.”

The lies flowed smoothly.

Although I only have passive skills and they’re useless right now, Victor doesn’t know that fact.

At my words, Victor made a smug expression and tilted his head, saying “Hmm.”

Of course, he didn’t seem to believe a word, but I pretended not to notice.

Just then, a new window flickered in front of me.

[Receive your quest reward.]

Ah, right. The reward.

I was supposed to get a reward for helping unlock Victor McQueen’s skill.

As soon as I checked the quest window, I felt warmth below my waist.

I put my hand in my back pocket and pulled out the toy revolver, when a strange purple light started enveloping the revolver.

“Ugh, what is this.”

What are all these weird effects?

As I narrowed my eyes, the contents of the blue window changed.

[~High Teen Drama Possessed~] [Reward is given for achieving proxy skill awakening quest.] [Reward content: ‘Mana Bullet Revolver’ and ‘Mana Bullets’.]

I was hoping they might at least raise my basic stats, but no. It seemed they were giving me a whole new weapon.

The toy revolver I just picked up earlier was “upgraded” with meaningful purple effects.

From a toy to a real gun.

One that loads mana bullets, at that.

Come to think of it, since my passive skill was suitable for assassination, a revolver could be quite a decent weapon.

“But if I carry something like this around in Connecticut, I’ll be arrested right away.”

Even if I’m not arrested, I might be branded as a crazy high school girl. A high school girl carrying a revolver.

Hearing my muttering, another window popped up.

[Open your inventory to store it.] [A-grade inventory is opened.]

Of course, there has to be an inventory.

I put my hand into the small black hole-like subspace that appeared in front of my eyes.

It seemed to be an empty space as I couldn’t feel anything.

“What are you flailing around in the air for?”

Victor asked with a displeased face.

I’m not flailing in the air, I’m putting the revolver in my inventory.

It seemed that to eyes other than mine, the inventory and the items being put in were not visible.

And just as I put the mana bullet revolver and bullet pouch into the inventory, people came rushing from far away.

“Catch those bastards!”

Good heavens, they must have come down the stairs by now. Thompson entered the garden with a red face.

Victor, standing behind me, whistled.

“Isn’t this level of stalking a crime? You’re more persistent than you look?”

“Hey, is this the time for lame jokes?”

But I’m just as annoyed.

If we jumped down from five stories high to escape, shouldn’t they let us go out of consideration for our efforts?

In that sense, Thompson lacked flexibility.

I let out a long sigh.

‘Now’s not the time to deal with these kids. I need to find Adrian quickly and awaken his skill.’

Since this reward was a weapon, the probability that the next reward would be my active skill was extremely high.

I’m still in a state where only passive skills are activated.

“McQueen, do you by any chance…”

“Want me to handle the aftermath?”

Ouch.

Noticing something odd about my behavior, Victor smiled at me. Despite his smiling face, there was something scheming about it.

“Don’t try to escape, let’s face them together. You’re an awakener too, Glasses!”

“I’m busy. Do it yourself.”

“You definitely had something to do with unlocking my skill just now. Do you think I’ll let you go? I absolutely won’t let you go.”

Victor persistently stuck to me.

As we bickered between ourselves, the faces of Thompson and his group watching from afar turned pale.

“These bastards… are they ignoring us right in front of them?”

Then his complexion turned red and blue, and the overly excited Thompson drew the pistol from the guard’s waist.

“Young master, this isn’t…”

Thud!

Thompson precisely planted his fist into the guard’s solar plexus. Then he aimed the pistol at us two.

“I’ll show you cocky bastards what happens when you ignore me.”

“What? Why is he acting like that?”

No… wasn’t this genre supposed to be high teen? Is it okay for a high school student to aim a pistol in a high teen story? Did it change to news?

Of course, I received a revolver as a reward too, but that’s because this is a mix with hunter stuff, right?

Victor also seemed surprised and was about to whistle, but I jabbed his side to stop him. There’s nothing to gain by provoking that guy now.

And unlike you, I don’t have a skill like ‘Stand Firm’!

Victor McQueen might be fine, but the moment I get hit by a bullet, my basic stats and everything else will be full of holes like a big cotton candy.

I did have thoughts like ‘Should I try my luck with my A-grade agility?’

But… still, we’re up against a gun.

Just then, I quickly turned my head back.

‘Huh?’

It was because I heard a very small noise near my ear.

“This feeling…”