"One more thing before I remove the barrier," Neraxis said, grabbing her trembling shoulders to stabilize her. "Check your stats."
"Hm? Okay," Aurelia replied with a tilt of her head before tapping on the air a few times.
The moment she did, he noticed the faint glow of the golden interface reflecting in her eyes—and her sudden shock.
"I-Is this right?" Aurelia asked as she suddenly tapped his hand, and in the very next instant, her status screen appeared before him.
(NEW) Bloodline: The Firstborn Solarian Vampire (Saint)
Affinity: (New) Solar (SS)
[First Light] (Advanced)
[Refraction] (Intermediate)
[Light Speed] (Intermediate)
Intelligence: C+ → SS+
Mana Capacity: A+ → SSS-
[Child of Light {SS}]*
(NEW) [Ancient Solarian Vampirism {SSS+}]*
[Escape Artist's Footwork {B}]
[Enhanced Mana Restoration {B}]
[Light Mana Enhancement {B}]
"M-My stats... even a new affinity and skill?" Aurelia muttered, her eyes slowly rolling to the back of her skull.
However, before she could pass out from surprise, Neraxis gently pinched her cheek.
"I shared some of my power with you, so now, you're going to be pretty strong. Of course, you need to get used to it, but—wait, you're older than me?" Neraxis's eyes widened.
"Hm?" Aurelia tilted her head. "So are Aella and Celina. We spent a bit of time in the Chamber of Patience. It's not that hard to stay there when you have games to keep you company."
Games? There wasn't anything there, Neraxis thought with a sigh as he rubbed his forehead.
"I see... Well, you're strong now, at least for as long as I'm alive," Neraxis added, making Aurelia flinch.
But just as she was about to retort, a certain message appeared before their eyes.
"Huh? Neraxis?" Aurelia turned to him, shocked. "What's this?"
"Some bullshit revenge, don't mind it," Neraxis replied with a shrug. "I was a bit unlucky, so some beings decided to fuck me over even more."
He didn't bother filtering his words, after all, moving forward, she'd be close to him.
"Oh," Aurelia sighed. "That's a bit messed up... I'll explain it to the other girls, okay?"
"Sure," Neraxis nodded, and in the very next moment, tapped the air, removing the frost barrier surrounding them.
Immediately, the three girls appeared in his sight, all wearing the same expressions.
"What the fuck...?" Eris muttered, looking at Aurelia in particular. "Your skin is glowing... and your hair turned golden... Did you two fuck?"
"F-Fuck?" Aurelia's eyes widened. "No, we—"
"Your skin is glowing," Celina remarked, approaching Aurelia and giving her a big hug.
As for Aella, she was more focused on the other matter.
"Neraxis, what was that message?"
"H-He said it's some stupid revenge," Aurelia replied, pushing Celina away.
However, the push was a little too strong and Celina was knocked back, crashing through a tent and beyond.
"Whoops! Sorry!" Aurelia scrambled, dashing toward Celina, who was flying away, and catching her in mid-air.
With that, Aurelia brought her back and placed her beside the jacuzzi.
Silence ensued for a few moments, until it was finally broken.
"What just happened?" Eris commented. "Did the mage just fling a C+ ranked assassin like it was nothing?"
Celina still seemed a little dazed, but slowly, her consciousness returned as she met Aurelia's eyes.
"What happened in there?" she asked, and Aurelia immediately turned toward him.
However, Neraxis merely shook his head. "We can't tell you, not yet anyway."
Before any of them could protest, he continued. "Give me some time, a week or two. After that, I can tell you and even offer you the same choice I gave Aurelia. But for now, let's just enjoy ourselves, shall we?"
"If you say so..." Aella sighed before pointing toward the nearby table. "Your food is ready. Eat up, it's pretty good."
"Thank you," Neraxis expressed as he sat down.
It was dark out, which meant the two had been inside the barrier for at the very least an hour or two.
He only just noticed that her golden hair actually glowed in the dark, which made it like a natural light source.
Not the best for stealth, but it was pretty damn slick.
Anyways... Her charm stat is the same as mine, but is it because I've been around her that much that I barely notice a difference? Neraxis pondered, eating the smoked sausage with a side of vegetable salad.
It was tasty, just as he expected.
But of course, the atmosphere was off, as most of the attention was focused on Neraxis and Aurelia.
"Spill the beans. Did you two really not do anything?" Eris asked, swirling her cup of wine. "Unless he gave you some weird potion, I don't see how you'd become so much stronger, more beautiful, and well... even your breasts grew."
"We didn't do anything sexual," Neraxis stated plainly.
But just as he thought he had covered all bases, Aurelia suddenly spoke up.
Immediately, Eris whistled in amusement, Celina shattered her glass, and Aella dropped her fork.
Each one of the girls was looking at the two of them with a mix of emotions, especially Aella and Celina, who had a tinge of jealousy in their eyes.
"Are you sure it was only a kiss~?" Eris teased, and Aurelia aggressively nodded.
"Just a kiss, nothing more," Neraxis replied. "Anyways, drop it for now. I said I'd tell you in a bit, but not today."
"N-Neraxis..." Aella called out. "W-Was I your first kiss?"
He raised a brow before shaking his head, making her expression droop.
Nonetheless, he really wanted to put this awkward conversation behind him and instead...