Perfect Stillness. At first glance, it didn't seem particularly powerful, nor even that impressive.
But the na alone, carrying the word he had always pursued… Perfect… made its value obvious.
Then there was the description. He would need further testing to fully understand its effects, and just how much it strengthened him. But there was one part whose impact he could already feel.
Eliminates all unnecessary internal fluctuation…
Soone might scoff at that.
But to Christian, soone who hated others being able to gauge his true strength, this was the most valuable aspect.
To him, this wasn't just useful. It was a complete ga changer.
No matter what one did, no matter how proficient they were in concealnt, or what elent they specialized in… essence always carried fluctuations. Small, but noticeable.
It was never about eliminating them, only minimizing or masking them.
But this skill…
It erased them completely.
Christian's mood lifted even further at that realization.
Without thinking much of it, he turned back to Anastasia, still resting in his lap, leaned in, and lightly kissed her cheek.
"You really are my lucky star."
Anastasia didn't mind the gesture. If anything, her smile deepened slightly.
"Well… congratulations on your gains," she said, her tone light, yet sincere.
Was it about the state he had entered? The minor benefits that ca with it? No.
It was about the skill.
Anastasia naturally knew he had gained one. And Christian knew that she knew.
Yet neither of them brought it up.
Instead, they let the mont pass, pretending it was about the state he had entered.
A silent, tactical understanding… between two special friends.
"Anyway… how much ti has passed?"
Christian asked, his gaze drifting outward.
The sunlight in the garden had shifted, no longer high above, but slanting lower, casting longer shadows across the ground. The warmth remained, but it had softened, carrying the quiet passage of ti in its glow.
"One day," Anastasia replied. "Around thirty hours, to be exact."
Her answer caught him off guard. To him, it had felt like re minutes… yet more than a day had passed.
"Entering that tranquil state, one day is already short. Usually, it takes much longer."
She added it casually, as if it were nothing unusual.
"Oh…" Christian accepted it without much reaction.
What he didn't know was that Anastasia was comparing him to beings far beyond his level, at the very least, those at the Transformation rank.
Usually, things would be different for soone of his rank.
Regardless, curious about the state his Idle System had described as sothing few could reach, Christian asked her to explain it.
"When the mind, body, and desire exist without conflict or disturbance… you may enter a state like the one you experienced. A kind of stillness, where you synchronize with essence on a higher level."
Her explanation was brief, yet enough for him to grasp the general idea.
And with that understanding… a trace of disappointnt surfaced.
From the very first part, he had already realized sothing.
His assumption, that he could enter this state freely through his Idle System, was wrong.
To reach it, his mind, body, and desire had to align.
But his idle slots were nothing more than emotionless constructs, replicating his abilities with precision. They could imitate his actions… but not his mind.
That alone made it impossible.
Even so, sothing in her explanation caught his attention, two things to be exact.
The first was the word desire, and that alone was enough to bring back mories of the past week… of nothing but nonstop indulgence.
So, sexual satisfaction is really imortant… a faint, unusual glint passed through his eyes at the thought.
Then his attention moved to the second point, the phrase synchronize with essence on a higher level.
What exactly did that an? Were they even referring to the sa essence he knew?
Curious, Christian asked again, but this ti, the answer he received was far less satisfying.
"It's exactly what it sounds like," Anastasia said lightly. "To synchronize with essence on a higher level."
Then, with a faint shrug, she payfully added, "Unfortunately, you are still too weak, to truly understand it."
Christian didn't press further.
Instead, he rose from his spot. If more than a day had passed, then Eva and his sister should have woken up by now. Yet, not seeing them around made him feel like sothing was wrong.
Maybe he had been too rough with them…?
The thought crossed his mind briefly.
But the mont he stepped inside the house and saw them both standing there, waiting, worry clear on their faces, he imdiately realized he was wrong.
"Chris!"
They called out his na as they rushed toward him, throwing themselves into his arms.
Christian hugged them both, his gaze briefly shifting to the side, where Anastasia stood, watching quietly.
He had already suspected it, and after asking them, he confird everything.
From the barrier that had suddenly surrounded the house, to the one inside that had prevented them from approaching him.
Anastasia had told them not to worry, that nothing serious was happening… but that hadn't stopped them from being anxious.
So Christian explained everything to them.
As he spoke, their expressions gradually softened, worry fading, replaced by relief… and a quiet sense of pride.
"You really don't make things easy for us…" Eva muttered, though the tension in her voice had already disappeared.
His sister didn't say anything, but her grip around him tightened slightly, as if making sure he was really there.
Christian let out a small breath. "It wasn't intentional."
"Of course it wasn't," Eva replied, rolling her eyes lightly. "It never is."
There was no real complaint in her tone.
They stayed like that for a mont longer before finally heading to the dining room.
Hungry, they sat together and shared a calm, quiet al, simply enjoying each other's presence.
Christian had tried, at first, to ease the atmosphere and help the two grow a little closer to Anastasia. But that effort didn't lead anywhere, and in the end, he simply focused on the food in front of him.
Left alone in Minnesota, he had not only been deprived of his won, but also of als like this.
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