Early the next morning, Tsunayoshi met with Finn and Gareth and laid out the Dying Will framework in full.
The two watched the rings on Tiona and Tione's fingers—their bands alight with crimson Storm and golden Sun.
"Seven attributes," Tsunayoshi said, "each tied to a distinct capability. Once awakened, they've registered as a personal Skill."
"That's… absurd," Finn murmured after he'd summarized everything out loud. An experimental try—and the sisters had walked away with a new Skill apiece. The power boost was obvious, and because the attributes themselves were strong, the gains were anything but small. It was like handing each of them two potent magics.
"Planning a mass rollout in the familia?" Finn asked.
"I was," Tsunayoshi admitted. "That was my earlier idea."
"Earlier?"
"It comes down to people's capacity. Most of the familia are still focused on raising parameters; next comes combat experience and technique. Before Level 3, even Level 4 for some, they can't spare the bandwidth for a new system. Forcing it could derail the power they already have—even before we ask whether their talent can actually shoulder this."
His caution wasn't misplaced. The moment Finn heard that the system contained multiple specialized attributes, he understood: mastering it—much less drawing out significant power—would demand both talent and time. Many wouldn't have enough of either. They had all reached Level 2 together, but Level 2 was the starting line, not the end.
"You're right," Finn nodded. "I'd love for everyone to learn it; the gains are real. But whether they can bring it to bear still rides on talent. Magic is the clearest pass to higher ceilings, and even among the talented, only those with strong Magic can really let it bloom."
He glanced at the sisters. "After your updates, your Magic grew sharply, didn't it?"
"Six-twenty-three," Tiona said breezily.
"Seven-forty-one," Tione added.
A big jump—exactly as expected. With Tsunayoshi's own example in mind, Finn found even outsized growth easy to accept.
"So it's a high-talent path. Holding off on a full spread is correct; anyone below Level 3 shouldn't divert their focus. We can dig out the body's limits using your harsh environments, but a system that leans on aptitude will still bottleneck at aptitude."
Better to have most members mine their existing strengths first. When they'd drawn close to their bodily limits and had time to spare, they could explore the new path.
Gareth folded his arms. "Then how do we proceed?"
"Simply," Tsunayoshi said. "I'll use my flames to 'ping' your internal wavelength and see what you're suited for. Finn, I'm very curious which attributes you'll trigger."
"And you're not curious about me, old man?" Gareth grumbled, thumbing his chest.
Tsunayoshi laughed. "For you, I'd be unsurprised by Lightning. Where I'm from, we call it the 'lightning rod'—the one who draws danger to protect everyone else. You hit like a mountain, Gareth, but playing the shield that blocks the worst of it—that feels like you."
"Huh. A 'lightning rod,' is it?" Gareth mused. Dwarves with shield and hammer were fixtures on the front line; calling him the party's lightning rod… wasn't wrong.
"Gareth first," Tsunayoshi said.
"Right, I'll go."
He slid on an oversized test ring, opened his palm, and Tsunayoshi brushed his will across the dwarven warrior's core.
A veteran whose path had long since been carved into the stone—Gareth didn't resist. At the lightest prod, the band crackled with green arcs.
The other rings stayed inert.
"Just as I thought," Tsunayoshi said.
Gareth stared at the sparks, then chuckled deep in his chest. "Guess I really am the rod. Feels like there's a bit of racial bias baked in."
"Finn. Your turn."
"Mmm."
Under the weight of everyone's curiosity, Finn slid a ring on and lifted his hand. Tsunayoshi's flame touched his center—
—and not one, but three signatures flared.
Sun. Storm. Rain.
(End of Chapter)
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