Appraising My Little Sister's Skill And Giving It An Enormous Boost

“I see. So your [Fire Arrow] is High Grade. You’ve got quite a few other skills too.”

“I’ve trained really hard with [Fire Arrow], so now I can summon about fifteen arrows at once!”

Flare puffed out her chest proudly.

If I remembered correctly, even highly experienced users of [Arrow]-type skills could normally only summon around ten arrows simultaneously.

That showed just how talented Flare was, and more importantly, how much effort she’d put into her training.

“Well done, Flare. You’ve worked really hard.”

I gently patted her head.

“Ehehehe.”

Flare narrowed her eyes happily.

“All right, how about we use my skill to make yours even more powerful?”

I had 10,000 skill points available.

If I invested all of them, I could raise her skill to the “Ultimate” rank—

“Oh, please don’t use all your points, Onii-sama. You might find something else you want to spend them on later.”

“You think I should save some?”

“Yep!”

“All right, then. Let’s try upgrading your skill from High Grade to Supreme Grade.”

I spent 3,000 skill points to raise the rank of Flare’s skill.

“Ah, amazing… I can actually feel power welling up inside me.”

“Why don’t you try firing it?”

“Good idea… [Fire Arrow]!”

Flare activated her skill.

And then—

Fwoooooooooooooosh!

Nearly a hundred flaming arrows appeared.

“A-AMAAAAAAAAAZING! This is incredible, Onii-sama! My magic has gotten so much stronger than I ever imagined!”

Flare seemed absolutely thrilled.

And then, something else happened—

‘The second effect of [Skill Appraisal: Ultimate] has been unlocked.’

‘You can now learn skills of up to High Grade that you have observed in others at least once.’

‘Learned skills permanently become part of the user’s own skill repertoire.’

‘Additionally, learned skills can be evolved by spending skill points.’

What the heck was this? Could it mean—

My [Skill Appraisal: Ultimate] had gotten even more powerful!?

“Learning skills…?”

Judging by that description, it probably meant I could acquire other people’s skills and make them my own.

The ability to learn and acquire skills—Skill Learning.

Whoa! I felt like the possibilities of my [Skill Appraisal: Ultimate] had suddenly expanded enormously.

“I knew you were amazing all along, Onii-sama! I always believed in you!”

Flare threw her arms around me.

“Hahaha.”

I gave a wry smile at my affectionate little sister.

Come to think of it—

Flare and I weren’t actually related by blood.

Was it really all right for us to embrace each other like this?

Even if we weren’t blood relatives, I still considered Flare my little sister, and Flare undoubtedly believed that I was her real older brother.

But what if she found out the truth—?

Would her feelings toward me change?

Would she distance herself from me, treating me like a complete stranger?

The only “family” I had left—

Would I end up losing her too?

The mere thought of that possibility suddenly filled me with fear.

“Hm? Is something wrong, Onii-sama?”

Flare looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

I managed to put on a smile, but I was sure my face must have looked stiff.