"Status," he muttered, and the translucent interface materialized in front of him with a soft ding.
Ah yes, the magical RPG interface of destiny.
"Check the heart of your skill tree," Mira said beside him, her voice smooth and composed like she hadn't just tried to drown him earlier.
He glanced at her, then the tree. "Wait, how do you guys even know about all this? The status screen, the system, all that jazz?"
"The last hero was very cooperative," she said with a small smile.
Noah's face twisted. "Ah. A nerd."
He was tempted to call the guy a bootlicker.
A brown-nosing, magic-absorbing, sword-swinging bootlicker.
Probably one of those people who'd wake up in a new world and immediately say, "How can I be of service, my liege?"
Disgusting.
Noah rolled his eyes and tapped on the center of the skill tree — the 'heart' or whatever.
It glowed brightly for a moment, then a new box popped up.
There, in big shiny text, was something he definitely hadn't seen before:
