It has been three days since… well since Sera exploded into a flash of blinding light.
During these past three days, Adel tried to get a hold of me, while Yelena continued to give me seething glares.
Naturally, I had been ignoring them both.
As for Reynold and Yennefer, I had been ignoring them as well. They’d called me down for dinner a few times, but I flatly refused. They tried to talk to me, but I did the same.
I knew that they wouldn’t tell me their reasons, though I had a strong suspicion I’d guessed almost all of them on my own already… almost.
Yes, they had given me the antidote for the arcane potion that Yennefer had brewed to influence my mind, but I won’t thank them for it.
After all, firstly, they were the very reason I needed that antidote in the first place. And secondly, I could’ve just used the Edit Pen and created an antidote myself.
In short, they didn’t do me any favor for which I should be showing my gratitude to them. I’d rather die anyway.
To be honest, I wanted nothing more to do with this family.
All I wanted was to leave this city as quickly as possible and hopefully never return here again.
After all, my original objective for coming here had already been achieved. Now there was no reason to endure this torture any longer.
At least, that was the case until three days ago, when something happened with Sera… and with me.
===Status===
Name→ Lucas Morningstar
Race→ Human [Phoenix Gene]
Strength→ 1050 [+500]
Endurance→ 1030 [+500]
Speed→ 1055 [+500]
Stamina→ 1020 [+500]
Accuracy→ 890 [+500]
Charm→ 720 [+230]
Intelligence→ 189 [+1]
Mana Capacity→ 3500/3500
Professions→ Spearman Lvl. 3 || Archer Lvl. 2
____
Techniques→
››Weapon Arts:
•Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1) {100%}
•6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering Blast (Lvl. 3) {100%}
•12 Movements Scarlet Demon Devouring Art (Lvl. 4) {86%}
››Combat Arts:
•Soul Smashing Killer Fist (Lvl. 2) {100%}
››Breathing Technique
•Breath Of Vitality
»Movement Art
•Mirage Walk {100%}
»Aura
•True Martial Aura
•Lightning Elemental Aura
•Fire Elemental Aura
____
Affinity→ Fire » Lightning || Light
Spells→ Fireball ⟨Low⟩ || Zap Touch ⟨Low⟩ || Radiant Flash ⟨Low⟩ || Bolt Strike ⟨Mid⟩ || Fire Lance ⟨High⟩ || Hellfire Doom ⟨High⟩
Blessing→ Mana Burst
Possessions→ Phoenix’s Embrace ⟨Semi-Divine⟩ || Editor’s Pen ⟨Divine⟩ || The Bringer Of Lost Flames ⟨Legendary⟩ || Enigma Sightstone ⟨Divine⟩
Edit Points: 8,690
===========
Yeah, I ascended to Gold-1 rank. I broke in the middle rankings without any effort at all!
In the novel, after Nero, William was the second character who reached his highest potential. Now I know how easy it was for him.
He didn’t have to lift a finger! He didn’t have to do anything! His mana beast, his soul-bound black cat named Rui, did all the work on his behalf. As Rui continued to grow stronger, so did he.
And Sera did precisely the same for me. She effortlessly catapulted me from the lower echelons (Iron – Bronze – Silver) into the middle-tier ranks (Gold – Platinum – Diamond).
People often say that breaking through to a new tier is a grueling and intensely painful process for one’s body.
But I didn’t feel anything. Well, I guess, except for the rush of mana and a surge of strength pleasantly invading my body.
It was a euphoric feeling without the price of extreme pain tagging along it.
Ahh, so easy. Life should be easy like this sometimes.
Anyhow, there was one more thing. Sera was born in the Silver rank since her birth since her soul was linked with me, and that was my rank back then.
It took her very little time to surpass me and start carrying me.
In the novel, William’s cat, Rui, wasn’t this fast, or else he would have been the first to reach the highest rank, rather than Nero, among all the main characters.
I assume it’s because Sera is a Phoenix, one of the wisest creatures known to us mortals, that her rate of growth is so rapid.
I couldn’t even begin to fathom how powerful she might become when she reaches her peak.
Lost in such thought, I exhaled a deep breath and closed my status window. I then focused on my soul link with Sera.
Suddenly, a new status window appeared in my vision… only this one didn’t belong to me.
It was Sera’s status window.
After reaching the Gold rank, our soul bond had grown significantly stronger, which in turn allowed me to access her status screen.
===Status===
Name→ Seraphina
Race→ Phoenix [+Human Form]
____
Strength→ 1050
Endurance→ 1030
Speed→ 1055
Stamina→ 1020
Accuracy→ 890
Mana Core Potential→ Mythical
____
Charm→ 720
Intelligence→ 189
Mana Capacity→ 3500/3500 𝔫𝑜𝒱𝔢𝑳𝞰𝑒xt.𝔠𝑜𝑚
____
Mana Core Rank→ Gold 1 [↑ Silver 3]
Mana Core Potential→ Mythical
____
Affinity→ Fire
Spells→ Flames Of Divinity ⟨High⟩
Blessing→ Immortality
===========
The novel didn’t offer many chapters from William’s POV – perhaps around five or six at most – but I could tell that this wasn’t normal.
I had a strong suspicion that William never had access to Rui’s status screen.
So, once again, I could confidently declare that this was something that had never happened in the novel.
Ha… I swear to the gods… At this point, I think I should write my own novel. Maybe show Joe how a novel is actually written.
Well, I suppose, once again, this happened because Sera is a Phoenix. If we look at the situation logically, it becomes clear.
Only intelligent beings with mana – those possessing at least human-level or higher intelligence – can access their status window.
Whatever the reason, it was undoubtedly a good thing.
As I gazed at Sera’s status screen, I nodded in confirmation. Maybe Sera accessed her status window, which then allowed me to see it too. I don’t know. This theory is still a work in progress.
Whatever the reason, it was undoubtedly a good thing.
As I gazed at Sera’s status screen, I nodded in confirmation. However, a slight frown soon creased my face.
Sera’s status mirrored mine, or perhaps it was the other way around. Maybe it was my status that was the same as hers. It was strange.
In the novel, there were significant differences between Rui’s and William’s stats. The most noticeable one was in their intelligence.
Rui was intelligent but only slightly above the average for mana beasts. But here, Sera had the same intelligence stat as me.
But I guess, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, right?
Ancient elves did say that creatures like Dragons and Phoenixes were nearly as intelligent as, if not more so than, themselves.
But even if we set her intelligence aside, the rest of her status was still very eerily similar to mine.
Hmm. Oh well, it’s also a good thing.
As I thought all of this while spinning in my desk chair, I suddenly heard the sound of bed sheets rustling.
It was only then that I realized I had been biting on my thumb. Startled, I pulled my head back and spun around to look at the bed.
And there, comically wrapped in silky white bed sheets that matched the color of her cute pajamas, I saw a charming little girl.
She appeared to be roughly around five or six years old, with a head full of silver hair that cascaded down to her shoulders, with some strands of red mixed in.
Her large red eyes were currently closed as she rubbed them with her petite hands and let out a sleepy yawn.
After a few moments, she adorably smacked her lips, causing her chubby cheeks to jiggle. Then, she opened her eyes and fixed her gaze upon me.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was… something about this girl – something very distinct.
It felt as though she didn’t belong to this world. Even though she wasn’t actually glowing, there was this radiance about her that almost felt heavenly, if not for the absence of an actual halo people might mistake her for an actual angel.
My daze was only broken when the girl blinked her big blood-red eyes a couple of times and excitedly spoke in an endearing tone, “Pa!”