Aries and Calix made sure Theo was well cared for. He ate proper als, got enough sleep, took his dicines and vitamins, and gradually regained his strength.
On day two, his body had fully healed, much faster than anyone expected.
A loud Ding! jolted Theo awake.
[Good morning, Mutant. It is currently 4:45 AM. Are you ready to begin your assigned Daily Tasks?]
His eyes widened. It looked like his body had finally stabilized, with the system waking him up like this for his daily task.
He ignored the daily task prompt for now and pulled up the system notifications he'd received just before midnight... the ones he was too sleepy to process at the ti.
[Core Recovery: Complete]
[Vital Signs: Stable. External Healing: 100%]
[Rank Upgrade Successful]
[Stability: 100% – Mutation Core Fully Integrated]
"Finally," Theo muttered, swinging his legs over the bed and sitting up. The glitches were gone. No more warning alerts, no more trembling. The energy inside him no longer felt wild and unstable. It was calm now, steady.
"I wonder if my stats improved," he said, a spark of curiosity lighting in his voice as he pulled up his system panel.
[Rank: Mutant]
[Mutation Level: 2]
[HP: 100/100]
[EXP: 1,590]
[MP/EP: 60/100]
[Strength: 30]
[Agility: 30]
[Intelligence: 60]
[Endurance: 50]
[Perception: 20] (New - affects awareness and danger reaction)
[Wealth: 589 Gold Coins]
"Wait... why is my EXP lower?" Theo muttered, frowning. "It was at 11,590 last ti I checked. Did I just lose 10,000?"
Theo frowned as he reread the system ssage he had overlooked.
[EXP Deduction Notice]
[EXP consud: 10,000]
[Reason: Ergency Mode triggered during near-death state. Stabilization of the Mutation Core required imdiate intervention to prevent fatal upgrade failure.]
Theo sighed, rubbing his temples. "So... when I was dying, the system activated Ergency Mode and used my EXP to force a rank upgrade?" he muttered, piecing it together. "It rushed the transformation to Mutant just to keep alive."
His brows drew together in thought. "That ans my body wasn't ready yet. The upgrade wasn't supposed to happen that fast. But the system used the EXP to stabilize the Mutation Core, bypassing the usual conditions."
He leaned back against the bedfra, eyes narrowed.
"It makes sense now. That's why my body was glitching... and why the core was unstable for days. The system saved ."
He smiled as a deep sense of gratitude washed over him. Despite everything, he was still alive, and it was all thanks to the system. Curious to see more updates, he checked the special abilities and mutation powers he now possessed.
[Special Abilities / Mutation Powers
Enhanced Physique (Advanced)
Adaptive Healing (Improved)
Kinetic Pulse (Upgraded)
Energy Shield (Reinforced)
Ability and Power Extraction (Pyrefla)]
Then he suddenly rembered sothing important.
"Right. I should send money to Aries first. Anything can happen to , it's better if she has enough on her own," Theo muttered.
He quickly converted 300 gold coins into Nexa credits and transferred them directly to Aries's bank account. After that, he converted another 200 gold coins into physical Nexa currency and carefully locked the cash inside the safe in his bedroom.
Then Theo quickly got ready to head out and do his daily tasks to stay fit. He was just about to open the door when it suddenly swung open. Aries burst in, panting.
"Are you alright?!" she asked, still catching her breath as she scanned him from head to toe.
"Yes, I'm fine," Theo replied, confused. "Why are you up so early? I was just about to go out and exercise."
Aries raised her phone, eyes wide. "What is this?! You transferred thirty million into my account?!"
Theo nodded calmly. "I also left twenty million cash in the vault. The password is Mom's birthday."
Aries grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse, her brows furrowed in worry. "Why?! Are you in pain? Are you dying? Why are you suddenly giving away money?" she demanded, her voice rising. "This isn't right, co on, we're going to the hospital for a full checkup. Now."
"I'm fine, Aries," Theo said gently. "I just realized anything can happen to at any ti. I earned those gold coins thanks to the system inside , and it's only practical not to let them sit there unused. If sothing were to happen... I'd rather convert them to cash so they don't go to waste." He winked and gave her a small smile.
Aries's face crumpled. "Stop saying that! You're not dying! You have powers and abilities now, you can't die and leave . Promise , Theo!" she demanded with a trembling pout.
Theo's chest tightened as he saw the tears spill down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away, still pouting like a stubborn child. He gave her a soft smile and reached out to ruffle her hair.
"Stop worrying," he said. "Who said I'm dying? I'll do everything I can to stay alive and protect you. But like I said, it's better to be prepared. At least now I can breathe a little easier knowing you'll have enough for your future needs."
Theo gave her a playful look and tilted his head. "By the way... why are you even up this early? It's not like you to be awake before sunrise," he said, quickly changing the subject.
Aries sniffled, wiping the last of her tears. "I've started doing regular workouts and training with Calix. Early mornings, cardio, strength, basic combat... I'm building stamina. Calix is helping ... He said I've improved a lot."
Theo raised a brow. "Calix is training you?"
"Yeah. Why?" Aries asked, then narrowed her eyes. "Why are you making that face?"
Theo groaned and rubbed his forehead in frustration. He had told Calix to let Uncle Andres handle Aries's training. The last thing he wanted was Calix, who obviously had a crush on his sister, spending that much ti alone with her. As an overprotective brother, he didn't trust it one bit.
He didn't bother answering Aries. Instead, he turned around and marched out the door to confront Calix, with Aries rushing after him in confusion.
But as soon as Theo stepped outside, he ca to a halt, his jaw dropped.
"What the heck?!"
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