Ch.13: Flashback and Unreasonable Childhood Friend.
--<1st PoV>--
It's been 2 weeks since I awakened my martial spirit. And today, finally, I plan to test out its abilities.
You might ask—why wait 2 whole weeks? Why not test it immediately?
Truth be told, that choice wasn't entirely mine. Especially not under the constant surveillance I've been under the entire time.
I knew the moment Lilia saw me bloody and half-dead, she wouldn't let me out of her sight for a few days. Most of the time, it was her summons shadowing me—watching, waiting—only stepping in if I so much as breathed near my lab or looked at my tools like I was about to experiment again.
But I made one fatal miscalculation: I forgot about my childhood friend.
Seraphina.
She may act all sweet, laid-back, and lovey-dovey on the surface, but deep down... I knew she's still the same brute she's always been.
I can still vividly remember the chaos that erupted in my house the morning after she came back, her sword still dripping with monster blood.
Apparently, she'd gone on a cleansing spree that night, clearing out nearly every monster in the Commerce City of Lushthron. With her strength, she could rival a top B-rank—maybe even a lower-tier A-rank—adventurer. That kind of power is enough to mop the floor with anything this city could throw at her.
Not that it's saying much. Lushthron isn't a frontline or Zone for Gates to spawn. Even spotting a C-rank adventurer here is rare. Someone like her? A walking miracle.
Anyway, the scene she caused the next morning was nothing short of a full-blown drama.
The moment she found out I'd done self-experiments again, she nearly strangled me. She was so furious she almost forgot the real reason she'd barged in—to check whether I was injured.
That day was... a disaster.
I barely managed to stop her from stripping me naked in the fucking hall just so she could inspect every inch of my body for hidden injuries.
It really hurts being weak!
And Lilia—ugh, that closet pervert!
Peeking from behind the doorframe, her wide silver eyes sparkled like a curious rabbit's. Her face was bright red, hands technically covering her eyes—but with fingers clearly parted, just enough to see through.
Outwardly, she was murmuring things like "Miss Sera, you shouldn't do it. Let master go," but her lack of action and that disturbingly hopeful glint in her eyes betrayed her real thoughts.
That girl seriously needs a reality check.
I swore I'd teach her a lesson someday—but first, I had to survive this.
Things escalated even more when Seraphina sensed mana flowing through my body—freely, smoothly, and unnaturally so. Her aura shifted instantly.
"Who are you...?"
Her voice was barely a whisper, but the pressure that followed was suffocating.
Before, she had been angry because I was hurt. But now? Now she looked like she was facing an enemy she had to eliminate.
I didn't even notice when she drew her sword and pressed it against my neck.
'Is this… the strength of a peak Aura Expert?'
That thought froze me.
Even Lilia had sensed the danger but was unable to move fearing her actions might cause Seraphina to act on reflex and in turn may endanger my life.
Neither I nor Lilia could move. At her current state, even without the blade at my throat, I wasn't sure we could've done anything against her. She wasn't just furious—she was ready.
I could tell exactly what she was thinking.
In her mind, there were only two possibilities: Either I was a demon that had possessed Ray's body… or I'd used some demonic ritual to forcibly restore my mana circuits.
I had to act fast.
I started bringing up memories only we shared—personal things, embarrassing details she would never admit to anyone else. The kind of things only the real Ray could possibly know.
She turned red, clearly mortified, and finally shut me up by clamping a hand over my mouth. Which, unfortunately, was holding a vial of holy water.
I nearly choked on it.
Still, at least she ruled out demonic possession. But that wasn't the end of it. No, she had to verify everything.
She began testing me for sudden changes—my mana level, elemental attributes, the stability of my circuits, even my reaction to holy water. And finally, to be absolutely sure, she cut the tip of my finger to see the color of my blood.
Only when she saw the usual red—not white, not black, not corrupted—did she finally relax.
She discovered my mana circuits had somehow recovered. My mana quality was steadily improving for unknown reasons (for her), and my mana levels were slightly elevated.
Lilia was surprised—but also relieved. Although, there was a little glimmer of disappointment in her eyes. Yeah… I know what you were hoping for, you degenerate.
I, of course, didn't notice that. I was too busy counting my blessings that nothing went horribly wrong.
Though... I completely lost my privacy after that.
From that point on, I lost all privacy. I wasn't left alone, not even to brush my teeth or sleep in my own bed.
Heck, there were times when both of them barged in while I was bathing!
If it were just one of them, maybe it could've turned into heaven. I knew Lilia wouldn't mind if I asked. But Seraphina would really kill me—metaphorically, of course.
…Hopefully.
Still, their caution made sense.
In their eyes, I'd done something reckless. Something impossible. I recovered my destroyed mana circuits—and not just restored, they were even better than before.
They were over the moon, practically flying with joy when they realized I still had potential—more potential than before.
But even so, they feared side effects.
So, for the entire week, I was under strict surveillance. Using mana was strictly forbidden, and they stayed glued to my side 24/7.
Ironically, the situation brought them closer. They even began to form a strange friendship. A small silver lining, I suppose.
Maybe in the future, I wouldn't have to feel more comfortable when I am with only either of them... maybe I could be with both of them together?
You get what I mean, right?
In the meantime, everything else—cooking, cleaning, chores—was handled by Lilia's summons.
I didn't complain. They cooked well.
But... it did get boring eating the same two dishes on rotation every day.
Maybe I've just grown spoiled. I still remember in my past life, I lived off instant meals for months.
"Whatever… now the hard part is over," I muttered, finally letting out a long breath. For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe freely again.
The suffocating surveillance, the constant interruptions—even during my bath—had finally started to fade.
Bit by bit, my long-lost privacy had begun to return.
Today, Sera was out at the Adventurer's Guild, getting her rank updated. She had already been a B-rank when she arrived here, and after completing the necessary quests, she qualified to apply for an A-rank license.
Even I was surprised to know that she is already a B rank adventurer.
Still today was her promotional exam.
Which meant, thankfully, she wouldn't be back for a while.
"Though Lilia's summons are still here…" I muttered, glancing around. "These chubby little puffballs wouldn't notice even if the house was on fire unless someone taught them to react."
My eyes landed on one of the spirits—a fluffy little wind spirit named Fizzel. I reached out and scratched the side of its cloudy neck.
"Kyaa!!" it squealed with delight, eyes sparkling.
"Cute," I said with a smirk. It really was hard to hate them when they acted like this.
But enough of that. I clapped my hands together, centering my focus.
"Okay. Let's get to the first objective today."
Summoning my status interface, I mentally navigated through the options until I found what I needed most right now.
[Magic Formation: B] (100%)
A grin spread across my face. Finally.
"Evolve."
The moment the word left my lips, the change began.
[Rune Craft: S-] (30%)
"At 30% from the start? Well… I did craft an entirely new set of mana circuits by hand," I said, remembering the hard time I had gone through which was reflecting in it.
I didn't get this progress hand out for free for free—this number reflected the blood, sweat, and breakthroughs I'd poured into my evolution.
"Anyway, let's move on to the main objective."
I raised my hand slowly, and a cube shimmered into existence before me—a perfect black shape, etched with glowing silver lines, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. It hovered in the air, humming with silent promise.
Time to test one of its innate talents.
"Innate Domain: Noble Circle," I intoned.
The effect was immediate. A transparent golden field expanded outward from me, forming a shimmering circle about two meters wide. I focused my thoughts—and it grew.
Five meters.
Eight.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
Twenty-five.
That was the limit. Any further, and the field flickered at the edges, resisting.
But the moment it stabilized, I felt it. My mind cleared. Emotions stilled. My perception expanded, sharper and more stable than ever. I could feel the shift—like tapping into the sub-conscious, like being submerged in a state of pure awareness.
"This…" I breathed, stunned. "Isn't this… awesome?"
It reminded me of that trance-like state I once experienced from the Green Lightning Drake's poison—except calmer, more controlled though the effect was less than 20 present of that. Not a dangerous high, but a lucid clarity.
It was almost… addictive.
Still, I had more to test.
"Let's try the next one."
Polymorph.
With just a thought, the cube shifted.
Into a sword.Then a dagger.A spear.A staff.A boomerang.A ball.An arrow.A bow.An axe.
Even a Giant Cuble.
The transformations were smooth, seamless, instant—bound only by imagination.
I could feel it even things like electronic devices from my last world were possible, the limitation was my ability to imagine it all while processing all the data and getting the logic right.
While something like that was not possible yet, i could surely make a dummy.
"Alright," I grinned. "Let's go big."
I imagined something massive—like a truck.
The cube began to expand.
Bigger…
Bigger…
Then it stopped. Midway through transformation, the mana thread snapped.
The cube shuddered, collapsed back into its volleyball-sized default form, and even the Noble Circle deactivated with a soft blink.
I blinked in surprise—then laughed.
"Ah. Low mana," I said, glancing at my dwindling reserves. "Guess trying to maintain full-scale domain and a truck-sized transformation at the same time was a bit much."
Still, it was good progress. I'd gained a basic grasp of the martial spirit's functions, even if mana consumption remained an issue.
Fortunately, I could already feel it—my martial spirit absorbing ambient mana from the surroundings, converting it slowly into its own reserve.
"Considering that I started from zero… this is good progress I must say."
I opened the Dimensional Chat Group interface with a flick of my finger.
The chat had been quiet lately. Only Tang Ya and Nefertari Vivi seemed to talk regularly.
Even the Murim girl—whom I'd expected to be a firecracker—had been unusually silent. And Rosetta, the intergalactic noble, was so shy it was almost endearing. She barely said more than a sentence at a time.
Anyway, I was here today for another reason—another draw.
[Congratulations, Ray (Admin), you received 90 DP.]
Yeah, we'd all renamed ourselves since since then. More personality that way.
And as the group's Admin, I'd discovered a few hidden privileges. I could see who's online, check point totals, and occasionally receive special personal quests from the system.
After 22 days of consecutive draws, I had accumulated 1,893 Dimensional Points.
With an average of 90 per draw, I'd assumed I was the leader in that department.
Until I peeked at someone else's total.
Rosetta: 8,030 DP.
That made me do a double take.
Turns out her world runs at five times the speed of ours. Made sense, really. Considering the particularness of her world, where someone in their 40s or 50s is considered a child. A world where people age slowly and live up to 400-500 of age.
With that kind of time, it was no wonder she was racking up points like a machine.
Still, I wasn't here for her.
I was here… for someone else.
Someone this quest was meant for.
[Personal Quest: A friend in need]
[Description: One of your friends is in urgent need of something which will allow them to grow stronger faster. You got to help them!]
[Objective: Find someone in need of urgent help. Give them something from your own possession which will help them grow.]
[Reward: Technique optimization Card]
[Note: Applicable only to objects or techniques obtained through the Dimensional Chat Group.]
Yeah, the friend maker system. It says be selfless and help others. But what can I do the reward is to tempting to pass by.
So the remaining issue is to find the one who is in urgent need of her.
And I knew exactly who that someone was.
Tang Ya.
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To Be Continued:
[Word Count: 2269]
A/N: Sorry guys, I know we are getting more and more Away from how the Title and synopsis was, but trust me I need this for better world building. Just wait till chapter 25, and don't give a bad review just yet. It will hurt my heart.
And it will get better just wait for a bit.
Also don't forget to throw the stones at me!
Thank you.