SSS-Class Profession: The Path to Mastery
Chapter 341: System Evolution

Chapter 341: System Evolution

The morning light filtering through the living room windows felt different somehow, less harsh than it should have given the amount of champagne we’d consumed the night before. I settled into the leather couch, careful not to disturb the four sleeping forms scattered around my bedroom upstairs, and opened my System interface.

The familiar glow materialized in my vision, but immediately I could tell something had changed. The interface looked more sophisticated, with additional tabs and options that hadn’t been there before. My fingers moved through the air as I navigated to the skills section, eager to see what the international endorsement had unlocked.

Enhanced Copy:

Cooldown: 24 hours

Previous: Copy skills at Level 1

Current: Copy skills at 50% of original level

Enhanced Absorb:

Previous: Copy skills at 50% of original level through teaching

Current: Copy skills at original level through teaching

Destroy:

Previous: Remove skills from others and transfer to self

Current: Remove skills from others, transfer to self with +2 level bonus

I leaned back against the couch cushions, processing the implications. These weren’t just incremental improvements. They were fundamental changes to how I could acquire and develop abilities. Enhanced Copy alone meant I could pick up skills at much higher levels simply by scanning others. Combined with the new Destroy capability, I could theoretically build a skill arsenal that far exceeded what anyone had achieved through traditional means.

But what really caught my attention was the new entry at the bottom of my job list:

Job Merger (A-Rank):

Combine compatible job classes to create hybrid specializations

Cooldown: 24 hours

Warning: Job combination is permanent and cannot be reversed

A-Rank, huh? Not quite the S-Rank that Alexis had achieved with her medical specialization, but still impressive. I suspected that with enough use, it might eventually upgrade itself. The System always seemed to reward active development and practical application.

I selected Job Merger and felt a strange tingling sensation as the interface expanded, showing me my current job classes with glowing connection lines between compatible options. Construction Worker (A-Rank) and Firefighter (A-Rank) pulsed with a soft golden light, clearly indicating they could be merged.

Compatible jobs detected: Construction Worker + Firefighter

Resulting job: Rescue Engineer (A-Rank)

This merger will combine related skills and may create new hybrid abilitiesProceed with merger?

The decision felt significant in a way that went beyond simple skill optimization. I was fundamentally changing who I was within the System’s framework. But after everything that had happened in Geneva, the endorsement, the speech. These tiny incremental improvements weren’t going to be enough. If I was going to challenge the World President, I needed to push every advantage I could get.

I selected "Proceed."

The world went white for a moment, and I felt a strange sensation like my body was being disassembled and rebuilt at the molecular level. It wasn’t painful, exactly, but it was intensely disorienting. When my vision cleared, I was still sitting on the couch, but everything felt different.

Job Merger Complete:

Construction Worker (A-Rank) + Firefighter (A-Rank) = Rescue Engineer (A-Rank). Skill combinations detected and processed.

The skill changes scrolled past faster than I could fully process them:

Endurance Boost (Lv. 10) + Endurance Mastery (Lv. 7)

= Superior Endurance (Lv. 9) – Allows for sustained peak performance over extended periods, resisting fatigue and recovering rapidly even under continuous physical and mental strain.

Heavy Lifting (Lv. 9) + Rope Handling Mastery (Lv. 5) + Advanced Rescue Mastery (Lv. 9)

= Advanced Extraction & Support (Lv. 7) – Enables rapid, safe removal of individuals or materials from hazardous environments, combining strength, rope handling, and rescue techniques to navigate obstacles and stabilize scenes under pressure.

Command Presence (Lv. 8) + Team Coordination (Lv. 6)

= Integrated Team Leadership (Lv. 7) – Unifies teams under decisive direction, maintaining high morale and seamless coordination during complex operations or high-pressure situations.

The physical changes hit me immediately. My body felt lighter, more energized, as if someone had fine-tuned every muscle and nerve ending. The lingering hangover from the previous night’s celebration began to fade, replaced by a clarity of thought and physical vitality that was almost intoxicating. I stood up and moved around the room, marveling at how natural every motion felt.

Superior Endurance was already proving its worth. I could feel reserves of energy that simply hadn’t been there before. Advanced Extraction & Support gave me an intuitive understanding of leverage, structural integrity, and emergency response that combined the best elements of both my previous job classes. And Integrated Team Leadership felt like Command Presence had been refined and enhanced, carrying with it an understanding of group dynamics that went beyond simple authority.

I sat back down and continued scrolling through the interface, noting that I now had another merger option available:

Compatible jobs detected: Detective + LawyerResulting job: Investigator (A-Rank)

That combination looked promising as well, but when I tried to select it, a red warning appeared:

Job Merger on cooldown: 23 hours, 47 minutes remaining

Right...I forgot about the twenty-four hour cooldown. That made sense from a balance perspective. The ability to rapidly combine job classes would be overwhelmingly powerful if it could be used continuously. Though I found it weird that the System had an understanding and felt that things like balance were necessary. Either way, I made a mental note to explore the Detective-Lawyer merger tomorrow morning.

Thinking about cooldowns reminded me of Enhanced Copy’s similar restriction. Twenty-four hours to copy one skill at half its original level. It seemed like a waste to let that opportunity pass unused, especially when I had access to some incredibly talented people.

I closed my eyes and thought about the skills I’d observed over the past few days. The girls had a variety of useful skills ranging from medicine, to evaluation, to deconstruction and even fashion. But I shouldn’t waste Enhanced Copy on them when I can have them teach me and use Enhanced Absorb instead.

Then I remembered Valeska’s presentation in Geneva. Her Strategic Planning skill had been evident in every aspect of how she’d structured the endorsement process. The way she’d anticipated objections, prepared contingencies, and guided the discussion toward the outcome she wanted had been masterful. If I could acquire even a portion of that capability, it would be invaluable for the challenges ahead.

I activated Enhanced Copy and focused on my memory of Valeska during the Geneva meeting. The System interface flickered as it processed the request, and then I felt a familiar sensation as new knowledge integrated itself into my mind.

Enhanced Copy successfulStrategic Planning acquired at Level 4 (50% of observed Level 8). Cooldown activated: 23 hours, 59 minutes remaining.

The knowledge hit me like a wave. Suddenly I could see patterns and possibilities that had been invisible before. The political landscape didn’t just look complex, it looked navigable. I could envision branching paths of cause and effect, see how different actions might ripple outward to create desired outcomes.

It was intoxicating and slightly overwhelming. I could understand now why Valeska had seemed so confident during the Geneva proceedings. With Strategic Planning at even this reduced level, the world looked less like chaos and more like a puzzle that could be solved with sufficient analysis and preparation.

I spent the next hour exploring my enhanced capabilities, running mental simulations of political scenarios and marveling at how much clearer everything seemed. The hangover was completely gone now, replaced by an almost manic energy that made me want to immediately start implementing improvement plans.

But eventually, the smell of our tea leaves and the sight of our kitchen took my attention away. The others would be waking up soon, probably dealing with their own hangovers, and someone should probably make breakfast.

I made my way to the kitchen, moving with the fluid efficiency that Superior Endurance provided. Every action felt precisely calibrated cracking eggs, slicing bread, adjusting the stove temperature. Advanced Extraction & Support gave me an intuitive understanding of leverage and efficiency that applied even to mundane tasks like cooking.

As I worked, I let my mind wander over the possibilities that lay ahead. The System upgrades were impressive, but they were just the beginning. Enhanced Copy would let me acquire new skills every day. Job Merger would allow me to create increasingly specialized hybrid classes. And EnhancedDestroy...well, that opened up possibilities that I wasn’t going to complain about.

The bacon was sizzling in the pan when I heard footsteps on the stairs. Alexis appeared first, looking remarkably composed for someone who had consumed as much champagne as the rest of us. Her Medical Expert (S-Rank) job probably included hangover remedies that the rest of us lacked access to.

"Morning," she said, accepting the cup of tea I handed her. "You’re looking remarkably... alert for someone who should be as miserable as the rest of us."

"System upgrade," I replied, not seeing any point in hiding it. She was going to notice the changes anyway. "I got your Job Merger title. I combined Construction Worker and Firefighter into something called Rescue Engineer."

Her eyebrows rose. "Job merger? How’d you get that?"

"There was an Event Quest during the Geneva meeting." I flipped the eggs, enjoying the precision that my enhanced coordination provided. "Enhanced Copy, Absorb and Destroy were given to me too. My whole system got a major boost."

Alexis nodded slowly, and I could see her analytical mind processing the implications. "That explains why you look like you just had eight hours of perfect sleep instead of four hours of alcohol-induced unconsciousness."

The others began filtering in over the next few minutes—Sienna moving with the careful precision of someone fighting a headache. Evelyn seeming slightly overwhelmed by what I assumed were hangover-amplified empathic impressions from the rest of us. And Camille...well she’s lazy even when not hungover so she’s probably still unconscious.

As I watched the others slowly wake up over their tea and breakfast, I made myself a promise. Every day, I would get stronger. Every opportunity to improve, I would take. The System had given me tools that could reshape human potential itself.

I was going to use them to their absolute maximum.