Chapter 57: The Truth’s Out?

They checked the hallway before slipping out of her room, but nobody was there. It was still early in the morning, so cool air drifted in through the open windows while a thin layer of mist covered the grounds outside.

Nero walked beside Lily and felt painfully aware of every step he took. He had just walked out of her bedroom at dawn, and his body still remembered exactly what they had done in there.

’What if we run into Albert right now?’

If the butler suddenly appeared and asked where he had come from, Nero had no answer ready. He doubted he could think of a good excuse on the spot, and Albert would see through a bad one in a second.

Fortunately, they reached the training room without meeting a single person, and Nero finally let out the breath he had been holding.

Lily walked up to one of the training dummies and switched it on. She didn’t use any special technique, and she simply pulled back her fist and threw a punch.

BANG!

The dummy shook on its stand as a number lit up on the screen.

[Power Index: 4.5]

Nero knew her Talent added about 0.5 to her score, which meant her body alone had reached 4.0. She had broken through to D-Rank.

His face lit up. "You broke through! Congratulations, Lily. That makes you the first person in our class to reach D-Rank, so you’re even ahead of Richard now."

Hearing this, the corners of Lily’s lips curled up. She tried to hide it, but it was obvious that being ahead of Richard pleased her more than she wanted to admit.

"That’s not the only thing that changed." She said, raising her hand.

A small red glow formed around her fingers and stayed perfectly steady. Then it vanished the moment she wanted it gone.

"My control over Destruction got a lot better too, and it’s much easier to use now."

"That’s a good thing, right?" Nero asked.

"It’s more than good. Destruction is dangerous, Nero, and if I lose control, I could kill someone by accident. Awakeners are supposed to protect people, so what’s the point of having a strong Talent if I hurt everyone around me whenever I get upset?"

Nero understood what she meant. Destruction wasn’t a normal power, and if someone strong enough used it without holding back, millions of people could die.

Lily had inherited the Talent from her father, who had vanished into a Gate with Nero’s parents when they were children. Lilia had made sure Lily understood how dangerous it was, and from a young age, Lily had been taught that controlling it was her responsibility.

"Then I’m even happier for you." Nero said.

Lily turned her face away, but her ears had gone red. "Enough about me. You awakened Cellular Reservoir, didn’t you? Let me test it, and I’ll give you some pointers."

Nero was caught off guard. "You want to test my power?"

"That’s what a training room is for."

"I think I’ll pass."

"Why?" She asked.

His first instinct was to hide it, because a Power Index of 2.0 was far too strange for someone who had awakened only two days ago. But when he thought about it again, Lucas and Jasmine already knew about his strength, so letting Lily know wouldn’t change much.

Besides, Lily wasn’t the type to spread other people’s secrets. They had also just spent the night together, and refusing to show her a simple punch after she had already seen every inch of him felt a little silly.

Nero nodded. "I’ll do it, but don’t be too surprised."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Now I really want to see it."

Nero stepped up to the dummy without using Cellular Reservoir or anything else. He just threw a normal punch.

BANG!

[Power Index: 2.1]

Nero’s eyes widened. He had expected to see 2.0, yet his strength had gone up again without him doing anything special.

2.1? When did that happen?

Beside him, Lily’s mouth fell open. "Y-You... how?"

She rushed over to check the screen up close, and then she looked him up and down as if he were a stranger. "The machine must be broken. You awakened two days ago, so there’s no way your physical strength is already over 2.0."

"The machine is fine. Unfortunately, 2.1 really is my physical strength." Nero said with a sigh.

Lily’s eyes widened at his words. "Unfortunately? Do you even understand what that number means?"

"I know."

"Are you really sure your Talent is Cellular Reservoir?"

"I’m sure. Just don’t ask me how my strength went up, because I don’t fully understand it myself."

That part was true, but Nero still felt a little guilty. After last night, lying to her felt wrong, yet showing her his strength was one thing, and telling her he was a High Human was something else entirely.

He still didn’t know what would happen if people found out what he had become. Until he understood more, he had to keep it a secret, even from Lily.

Lily kept staring at him in disbelief. "You really are full of surprises."

"I’m surprised too." Nero said, and that was at least partly true, since he had no idea where the extra 0.1 had come from.

While Lily checked the dummy again, Nero opened his status and found a reward notice he had slept straight through.

[Reward Obtained: Second Wind (Epic).]

After reading the description, he finally understood the change. Second Wind had rewarded him for having intercourse, and that was what had raised him from 2.0 to 2.1.

His Mana capacity had also grown to 21 and his Cell Energy to 210, though his Mental Power was still stuck at 0.5. He closed the screen just as Lily turned back to him.

"Do you know how to guide your Mana? Have you learned the basic circulation bodywork?"

"No. I’ve seen people do those moves, but I never learned how to make my own Mana flow."

He had recognized what Drake was doing in the park, but that didn’t mean he could do it himself.

"Then follow me, and I’ll show you the basics before we leave."

Lily walked him through the moves and fixed his stance whenever he got it wrong. With her help, he soon felt the Mana inside his body stir and begin to flow.

She had him repeat the moves until he could get it going on his own. It still took effort, but at least he knew what it was supposed to feel like now.

His Telekinesis had been much easier to use than this. Yet he still had no idea how to build up the Mental Power it needed.