My dreams, they have been changing recently. If before, I would always see the scene where the demons' claws pierced her chest.
Though there were occasional different dreams as well, most of the ti the context was like this.
Yet now, I had another dream.
In that dream, she was there again, smiling, her eyes filled with warmth and sadness. The kind of sadness that clings to your soul but never quite lets you feel at peace.
I could feel her presence, as if she was right there beside , the air around her heavy with unspoken words. She didn't say much, though—she never did. Just smiled, that sa bittersweet expression that always left feeling empty when I woke up.
And just like that, the dream faded, slipping away like water through my fingers.
I slowly beca aware of a weight on my body, sothing soft and warm pressing against . My senses stirred, the last remnants of sleep clinging to my mind, but I opened my eyes, blinking as my vision cleared.
Senior Maya.
She was lying against , her head resting gently on my chest, her eyes closed, and her face calm, almost peaceful. Her breathing was slow and steady, and for a mont, I just lay there, unsure of what to make of the situation. Her purple hair cascaded over like a delicate curtain, and there was a faint blush on her cheeks, though I couldn't tell if it was from sleep or sothing else.
I glanced around, my mind still hazy from whatever had just happened. The clearing, the orchid… the overwhelming light. It all ca rushing back in flashes, but here I was now, with Maya asleep on top of .
'What happened…?'
I tried to recall the last thing I rembered clearly—reaching for the orchid, feeling the mana surge through , but after that… nothing. My body felt heavier like I had been drained of energy, but there was no pain. Just a strange sense of… peace.
'Or is it peace?'
I raised my head slightly, just enough to get a better look at how we were positioned. Maya was lying on her side, her head nestled against my chest, her arm draped loosely across my waist. Her body pressed softly against mine, and I could feel the gentle rise and fall of her breathing, rhythmic and calm.
From the way her legs were curled slightly to the side, and her hand resting so lightly on , it seed like she had been sitting beside at first, then at so point, she must have laid down. Her posture wasn't forced, no signs of tension—just a natural stillness as if she'd settled there to watch over and had fallen asleep in the process.
'Did she... stay here with the whole ti?'
I let my gaze drift to her face. The blush on her cheeks was still there, giving her an innocent, almost serene look. The contrast between her usual composed deanor and this sleeping form made pause.
'She must've been guarding after I lost consciousness...' I thought, piecing it together. The way she was lying suggested she had tried to keep close, maybe worried I wouldn't wake up. Her body seed protective, even in sleep.
'But, still….How was she also forcefully put to sleep?'
The thought struck with a sudden clarity. Maya wasn't just any normal human; she was Awakened, just like . Her stamina and resilience far exceeded that of an ordinary person. She could go for days without rest if necessary. If she had been watching over , there's no way she would have just drifted off to sleep like this unless sothing forced her into it.
'It might have been the orchid,' I thought. 'If the orchid had the power to affect , it's possible that it did the sa to her. But then… why did it take longer? Was she resistant? Did her vampiric blood give her more strength to fight it off?'
There were too many variables. The orchid, the mana, Maya's bloodline, my own involvent. It was like trying to connect pieces of a puzzle when I didn't have all the edges. I could speculate, but that wouldn't get far. At the end of the day, there was only one way to know for sure, and that was to ask her directly when she woke up.
For now, I needed to focus on sothing I could control—myself.
Taking a slow breath, I spread my senses throughout my body, trying to get a better feel for what had changed. Sothing felt different, almost subtly so, but it was there. The mont I focused inward, I noticed it—an underlying energy that hadn't been there before. A steady hum, like a rhythm coursing through , as if the mana from the orchid had integrated itself into .
'Indeed. The flower was absorbed. I feel… stronger. Healthier' Whatever it is, sothing had changed, and whenever sothing like this happened the easiest way to check it was.
'Status.'
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▶Na: Astron Natusalune
▶Occupation: Weapon Master (level 4)
▶Talent Limit: 10.5 --> 12 ▶Passives:
Vengeful Bane
Bloodline Resonance
Psychic Cognizance
▶Attributes:
Variable Attributes:
Strength: 5.34 --> 5.50 ( 0.16)
Dexterity: 5.64 --> 5.81 ( 0.17)
Agility: 5.72 --> 5.89 ( 0.17)
Constitution: 5.37 --> 5.53 ( 0.16)
Intuition: 5.79 --> 5.96 ( 0.17)
Magical Power: 6.17 --> 6.36 ( 0.19)
Mana Capacity: 6.25 --> 6.44 ( 0.19)
-----------------------------------------
I blinked as the numbers and details unfolded before . My talent limit had increased, not by a small margin either—another boost pushing further beyond the original boundaries.
'From 10.5 to 12...' It was rare for sothing to affect my talent limit so significantly, especially considering how difficult it was to improve it under normal circumstances.
'This orchid…' I had never seen it before, not even in the ga, and yet it had clearly played an important role in my developnt. The subtle yet noticeable increase in my attributes confird that this wasn't just any ordinary plant.
The incrents weren't large, but they were consistent across all my variable attributes—strength, dexterity, agility, constitution, intuition, magical power, and mana capacity. The orchid had given a comprehensive boost.
'Not just physical attributes either,' I mused as I glanced over the changes. My magical power and mana capacity had also grown, almost as if the orchid had refined on a fundantal level, enhancing both my body and my magical capabilities. It wasn't just an energy boost; it was a deep-rooted improvent.
'Interesting.'
Whatever it is, it was a welco improvent.
"Hmm….."
And just at that mont, I felt Senior Maya wriggling. It seed she was about to wake up already.
Maya stirred against , her body shifting slightly as she began to wake. Her movents were slow, almost hesitant, as if her mind was still caught in the haze of sleep. I stayed still, watching her carefully. After a mont, her eyes blinked open, their pink hue slightly dazed as they tried to focus on her surroundings.
"Hm… What happened?" she murmured, her voice soft and drowsy as she glanced around, clearly disoriented. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, blinking a few more tis as if trying to shake off the remnants of sleep.
I remained silent, waiting patiently for her to compose herself. There was no need to rush her—she had been through sothing as well, and I wanted to give her a mont to fully wake up.
It didn't take long. Maya's eyes cleared quickly, the fog of sleep disappearing as her sharp senses returned. Her gaze flickered around the clearing before landing on . She blinked once more, her expression shifting as the realization of her position hit her.
"Junior…" she began, her voice steadying, though there was a faint blush creeping into her cheeks as she sat up, adjusting herself. "How did this happen?"
Maya furrowed her brow as she sat up straighter, her eyes narrowing slightly as she seed to search her mory. Her hand brushed absently against the grass as if grounding herself in the mont.
"I rember… placing your head on my lap," she said slowly, her voice laced with uncertainty. "But… everything after that is a blur."
She glanced at , her expression a mixture of confusion and frustration. "It's strange. I don't fall asleep that easily, especially not while guarding soone. It feels like… sothing just made sleep."
I nodded slightly, considering her words. I had been thinking the sa thing. Given her strength and willpower, it was unlikely that she would simply fall asleep like that on her own. Sothing else must've been at play.
"Seems like the orchid had more of an effect than we realized," I said calmly, observing her as she tried to piece everything together.
Maya's hand ca to her forehead, as if trying to massage the missing mories back. "It doesn't make sense… I felt fine until that point, then suddenly, nothing."
I stood up slowly, stretching out my limbs as the lingering effects of the orchid's energy seed to settle in my body. "Let's not dwell on it any longer," I said, offering Maya a hand. "We've already spent enough ti here, and the evening's approaching."
Maya looked up at , still sowhat perplexed, but after a mont, she nodded and accepted my hand.
As I pulled her up, the last traces of frustration faded from her expression, replaced by a sense of calm acceptance.
As we walked back toward the mansion, the silence between us was comfortable but carried a subtle tension. Maya's usual calmness had returned, but I could still sense that faint nervousness lingering in her expression, almost like she was anticipating sothing.
The mansion lood ahead, its elegant design standing in contrast to the fading light of the evening. The walk back felt shorter this ti, though maybe it was because both of us were lost in our own thoughts.
When we arrived at the entrance, Maya paused for a mont, her hand resting on the door handle as if she were about to say sothing. But instead, she turned toward with a gentle smile.
"I'll leave you to settle into your room," she said, her voice calm but holding a softness to it. "Take your ti to rest. I'll check in later."
I nodded, appreciating the space she was giving . "Thank you, Senior."
With that, Maya gave a small nod and disappeared down one of the mansion's hallways, leaving alone in the entranceway.
The silence settled in, and for the first ti since arriving at the mansion, I felt a sense of stillness. Now, with Maya gone and no imdiate tasks ahead of , I could finally take a mont to think.
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