Without a second thought, Lucas chose Sun Breathing + Transparent World.
Leaving Sun Breathing aside for a moment, Transparent World itself was an incredibly powerful support ability. It allowed one to see through a living being's body and find its weaknesses. At the same time, while in the Transparent World state, one's senses would be greatly enhanced—not just dynamic vision, but also physical reaction speed and the brain's processing power would see a significant boost.
Although it didn't come with the Mark, compared to Transparent World, the Mark seemed somewhat average.
As for Ukaku...
Overall, it was genuinely mediocre, nothing special.
And Ittō Shura was a double-edged sword, an ability that hurt the enemy by a thousand while hurting oneself by eight hundred. It condensed all of one's energy into a single point, amplifying the body's power dozens of times for one minute. When the state ended, the side effects would cause the user's body to rapidly deteriorate.
[Option one has been selected. Are you sure?]
[Note: Once confirmed, you will not be able to change or take back your decision.]
"Confirm..."
The moment he said it, a strange power was instantly carved into Lucas's soul-state body, as if by divine intervention.
Despite having never intentionally practiced it, and being completely clueless just a second ago, the next moment, the entire set of Sun Breathing sword techniques was completely imprinted in Lucas's mind. Every detail of every movement, every footstep, even the breathing patterns and standard muscle exertion—he knew it all as if he had created the breathing style himself.
Not bad...
Jessica saw Lucas spacing out.
She began to feel embarrassed, thinking that the wish she considered not too difficult had stumped him.
"Um... Mr. Reeve, if it's really not possible, I can..."
"No problem. I will help you pass the assessment tomorrow."
"Really?!"
Jessica's heart leaped with joy when Lucas agreed.
"So how will we do it? Will you just give me incredible strength? I've seen that in fairy tale books. A scrawny slave prays to a djinni to become the strongest man in the country, and then with a magical wave of the djinni's hand, the scrawny slave instantly becomes muscular."
"Could you please not make me too muscular... I'm a girl, so being too brawny is a bit... unappealing..."
Jessica was much more talkative today than she was at Blacksteel, probably because she had met the Djinni from her childhood stories. Although she was still nervous and blushing, her mouth kept running nonstop.
"...."
Jessica's antics left Lucas at a loss for words again.
"That won't happen, don't worry. Also, Miss Jessica, please remember that the djinni in fairy tales are artistically embellished. How could someone gain strength with just a wave of a hand? That's too absurd, it violates the rules of the world."
"Oh~~~"
Jessica nodded her head like she was pounding garlic, her cat tail swaying back and forth behind her. She was listening very intently.
"Since the contract is made, I will naturally do my best to help you. First, empty your mind. Don't resist. You can imagine you're taking a bath now, floating on the water's surface."
The somewhat naive Jessica closed her eyes at Lucas's coaxing and slowly relaxed her mind.
At the same time, Lucas saw his chance and slipped directly into Jessica's body.
Soul Transfer—
When Lucas opened his eyes, the world seemed to have changed. He could clearly feel that he now possessed a physical body. He could feel the solidness of his feet planted firmly on the ground, and he could even perceive the contraction of his muscles when he moved his arms.
*Hah...*
'Jessica's' previously nervous and fidgety expression instantly became somewhat 'arrogant.' The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. Looking in the mirror, it was the same face, but it displayed a completely different expression from moments before.
"Hey, hey, hey!!"
At this moment, the real Jessica's soul had switched with Lucas's, and it was her turn to reside in the necklace.
"Mr. Reeve!! What's going on!!"
She was panicking. If she weren't in a soul state, she might have started crying again.
"Don't panic, Miss Jessica. I'm just getting used to your body. Tomorrow, during the fight with your senior, I will be the one controlling your body."
Jessica wasn't stupid; she understood now.
So...
Granting wishes wasn't like in the fairy tales where she would be directly given power. Instead... Mr. Djinni himself would be fighting for her!
*Phew...*
Jessica's soul let out a sigh of relief.
It was like a shy person being asked to give a speech on stage, and then suddenly someone else volunteers to speak in their place. It was such a relief.
With her personality, even if Mr. Reeve gave her immense power, she would probably still be too timid to make a move. If Mr. Djinni was fighting for her, that would be great!!
Since their souls had been exchanged, they were connected and could read each other's thoughts.
When Lucas learned that Jessica was actually relieved that he was taking her place, instead of worrying that he might forcibly take her body and never return it, several dots appeared over his head.
*What a naive little girl...*
"So this is what a girl's body is like? It's quite light, and it smells good... a bit short, though... Won't these thin arms get snapped easily?"
Controlling Jessica's body, Lucas felt for the first time, from her perspective, that the sink was actually this high. And... what surprised Lucas was that this girl's physical fitness was excellent. It was hard to believe, for someone so small.
Curiously, he patted himself and squeezed his slender thighs. It was unbelievable that such thin legs could contain so much power... Was this the gift of the people of this other world? Even an Olympic sprinter from his past life would probably be put to shame.
Jessica: "Waaaahஇ௰இ!! Mr. Reeve, don't touch me like that!! I'm a girl!!"
"My apologies."
"I've been locked up as a soul for so, so long. It's rare to be able to control a physical body, so I got a bit curious..."
"Mmph~ You've had it so hard, Mr. Reeve... What's it like to be a soul...?"
Looking at his now-small hands, Lucas squeezed them and said, "It's despairing. You can imagine being locked in a coffin-sized box, unable to do anything, but still conscious. There's no one to talk to, nothing to see, no senses—only emptiness and despair."
"Urk!"
"That's horrible! I would have gone crazy!!"
"It's alright, actually. You get used to it."
Mr. Reeve gave a bitter smile.
Jessica, in the necklace, fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "How about... Mr. Reeve, if you get bored in the future, you can use my body to come out and play for a while..."
"Huh?"
Mr. Reeve didn't expect Jessica to say something like that. He was surprised, but he didn't show it, instead continuing to look at the mirror with a blank expression.
"We'll talk about that later. Let's deal with tomorrow's assessment first."
"Okay! Um, can we switch back for a bit, Mr. Reeve? I want to take a bath... the water is already overflowing."
"Don't worry, I won't peek."
"Waaaah! You swear!!"