"Please select a target to develop and grant an ability."
A line of text appeared on the new page.
Bruce's gaze sharpened slightly. Beneath the text, images of several items appeared.
There was a model of his own body, a tattered cloth coin pouch, a letter, an identification document, two Copper Rune Coins, and all the clothes and shoes he was wearing.
Even the colors of his underwear and the number of holes in it were laid bare in those images.
Bruce scratched his head, beginning to understand how this system worked.
The development targets specifically included him and the small objects he carried. They probably had to fall within the bounds of a single, clearly defined unit, which explained why the much larger carriage had not appeared. The text also mentioned granting an ability, and those words made Bruce immediately understand what development produced.
Spirituality development was not about leveling up or breaking through, but about using spirituality to grant something a special ability.
Everything listed in the interface was a valid target for granting an ability.
With his existing innate ability as a reference, Bruce had a rough idea of what he would receive. Grand Trend did not look particularly powerful, but it was very useful. Since he could choose to grant his own body a new ability, he would naturally choose himself first.
If he granted one to his clothes or trousers and then lost them, he would be heartbroken. Developing his own body was the safer choice.
As far as Bruce was concerned, the more innate abilities he had, the better.
Bruce tapped the model of his body. A white progress bar flashed past, and the current page disappeared, returning him to the original character status panel.
A few subtle changes had appeared on the character status panel.
Name: Bruce Wayne Identity: None Spirituality: 7/50 (development unavailable) Innate ability: Grand Trend Innate ability: Breakthrough
The spirituality requirement has increased.
And I've gained another innate ability.
The changes in the character status panel were clear at a glance. Another innate ability had been added to his main information, evidently the one produced by the spirituality development just now.
Breakthrough: find a slim chance of survival when faced with a dangerous situation.
Bruce rubbed his chin. This ability seemed rather useful, too.
Bruce now had a general understanding of the two innate abilities and spirituality. The specific ways to use those abilities had also been conveyed to his mind, so he did not need to guess.
Grand Trend automatically gathered useful information about events surrounding its host, consolidated that information, and displayed it in the frame below. It helped the host understand his broader circumstances and make reasonable decisions. It was a passive skill.
Breakthrough analyzed the known circumstances when its host faced a predicament and identified the best possible solution. Of course, the host could also choose not to use it and face the situation on his own. It was an active skill.
As for spirituality, it was essentially a supply of energy points. Once it reached a certain amount, it could be used to develop a brand-new ability.
Each development increased the spirituality required for the next, though the increase was fairly reasonable.
From what he had seen so far, this character status panel could help him quite a bit, and its rules were simple.
Gather spirituality, develop abilities. In this world where mysterious powers existed, he now had a little more confidence in his chances of staying alive.
Although he had only just arrived and had yet to encounter any mysterious powers firsthand, he would come into contact with them sooner or later. Bruce had a feeling that, having crossed into another world, he could hardly expect to spend his entire life in obscurity.
He still had to find a way home.
Then another question troubled Bruce.
How was he supposed to acquire the spirituality needed to develop innate abilities?
If spirituality was easy to acquire, that would mean he could obtain a great many innate abilities.
And he could develop innate abilities not only in himself, but in external objects as well. If he granted innate abilities to objects, they would become extraordinary items. In a world where mysterious powers existed, such items should fetch a good price, whether they were used for attacking, staying alive, or even just collecting.
Bruce had read plenty of Western fantasy novels. Perhaps these extraordinary items could be described as enchanted weapons, or were they more like the anomalies contained by the SCP Foundation?
Overall, Bruce felt happy. After all, he now had some supernatural help and could face whatever might happen with a little more composure. But it was still far from enough, and his heart remained full of tension.
The three pieces of information in Grand Trend made Bruce feel as though thorns were digging into his back. The mysterious incidents in Gothe District and the mysterious incident that had caused The Flekent Couple's sudden deaths filled him with deep unease. He felt as if he were caught in a sinister whirlpool, liable to plunge into the abyss at any moment.
There might still be danger in Wayne Manor. What kind of danger would it be?
Although Grand Trend had mentioned an opportunity, that was not Bruce's main concern. What mattered to him was how dangerous it was, and whether he might die after going there.
He certainly did not want to die right after crossing into this world.
Bruce rested a hand over his heart and let out a deep breath, calming himself.
Lane Village, Wayne Manor.
A young girl sat in a chair in the hall, leaning against its back, her face clouded with worry and grief. Though the hall was brilliantly lit, its lights could not dispel the darkness in her heart. She felt like a tiny boat on a storm-tossed sea, liable to capsize at any moment and sink into its endless depths.
Her name was Danforth Wayne. She was Flickent Wayne's daughter and Bruce's younger cousin.
"Jessica, what are we going to do?"
Beside her, on the red-bordered carpet by her feet, a little blond girl played with an ugly doll in her arms, seemingly without a care in the world. She was Danforth's younger sister, Jessica Wayne.
Looking at her sister, who stood a head shorter than her, Danvers spoke in a voice filled with despair.
After arranging her parents' funeral, Danvers was exhausted in both body and mind. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying. She could not understand why her parents had died like this. Just a few days earlier, both of them had been perfectly healthy.
Her father had even been a warrior once, a powerful swordsman.
But thinking about any of that was pointless now. Her parents were already dead.
What frightened her was their future, a future that might be terribly bleak.
Danvers knew the Rune Kingdom's land inheritance laws well. As daughters, they had no right to inherit their parents' estate. She had also learned that her father had a nephew living in Akin Village, in Rhode Town.
Once her father died, Rhode Town's local property office would surely notify Bruce to come and claim his inheritance. That Bruce would undoubtedly hurry to Lane Village to take possession of the estate. Wayne Manor and their parents' assets would all belong to him, and how much the sisters received would depend entirely on his wishes.
They might not even receive a single coin.
If Bruce threw them out when the time came, the sisters would surely end up on the streets, living a life worse than death. How could that pitiful maintenance allowance possibly be enough to support them?
Many female writers had written stories about such experiences to criticize the Rune Kingdom's restrictive inheritance laws. Yet the kingdom had shown no willingness to change those laws at all. It had always diminished women's worth and status.
This also had something to do with the Rune Kingdom's early history. It had once suffered greatly at the hands of women.
Danvers did not want Jessica to be frightened, either, but she truly could not force a smile now. Her once-radiant face looked utterly dim.
Before that Bruce arrived, she had to do something, for herself and for Jessica.
In fact, she had already made some preparations.