Alex was stumped.
'Just what the hell is going on here?' he muttered under his breath, his mind struggling to process the absurdity of the situation.
He had believed himself to be shocked before, but nothing compared to the sheer absurdity of the situation unfolding before his eyes.
He simply couldn't understand how Alia, who had been at level 4 not long ago, now had twice her previous stats while only being level 2!
It simply shouldn't be possible!
More than that, what was going on with her mana points? The system showed that she had 170 mana points, which, in reality, translated to 1700. That amount of mana was sothing only level 5 individuals should have!
To ascend from level 4 to level 5, one needed exactly 1001 mana points. And yet, Alia, despite sitting at an overwhelming 1700, was still level 2?!
Sothing was very wrong here.
It was as this thought crossed his mind that Alex suddenly recalled two crucial things.
The first was the price the system had required from him to copy Alia's Cell Master ability.
[Points needed to copy: 1,000,000,000 soul points]
The second thing was sothing that lunatic from Night—the one Alia and Anna had confronted—had uttered when he witnessed Alia use her Cell Master ability to kill one of her opponents during their infiltration of the Night base.
Those were his exact words at that ti:
"You have a formidable power, the most potent of them all, so why, why, why, WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK?"
He, along with Alia and Anna, hadn't given much thought to those words, taking them as the ramblings of a fool. But now that he thought about it, Rangyl had called her ability the Golden Ability and had even beco enraged when he saw that she was too "weak."
So, maybe that was it.
Maybe Alia had finally found a way to make the most out of her power, and thanks to that, her strength was blossoming, soaring up and far beyond.
[Hoh, that child managed to fool her integration factor] the voice of the goddess of lust suddenly resounded in Alex's head. [Quite impressive.]
'Integration factor? What is that?' Alex inquired with a solemn expression.
However, he waited and waited so more, but even after a few minutes, there was no answer, making him understand that the goddess of lust wasn't going to respond.
'Why ntion this integration factor if you didn't intend to explain what it is?!!' he thought to himself, his expression darkening in annoyance.
"Hi," Alia greeted, seeing that none of the people around her were going to speak first.
"Ah, hi, how are you feeling?" Maya inquired with a worried expression.
"You don't have to worry, I'm fine, more than fine even," Alia reassured the little heiress while stretching her arms.
"Wha—what happened there? What did you do to cause all that upheaval?" Maya imdiately followed up, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
Alia didn't respond imdiately, taking her ti to feel the new and addictive power coursing through her whole body. Eventually, she shrugged and got up. "It's too long and, quite frankly, too complicated to explain," she admitted with a hesitant expression. "Things ca instinctually to , so even I'm not certain if I've grasped everything that happened," she added.
"But surely you at least have so understanding of what you did, right?" Freya asked with a sowhat hopeful expression.
Alia nodded before raising an eyebrow at the expectant look the matriarch was giving her. "Yes, but it'll take a little ti to fully understand everything. Once I figure it out completely, sure, I'll explain," she said before turning to her brother, whose gaze was practically drilling through her. Adorably, she smiled. "I promise."
"You better," Alex replied before his expression softened and he smiled. "The important thing is that you're feeling alright," he added, pulling her into his chest and hugging her.
Alia snuggled even closer, resting her head against him, a content smile playing on her lips.
'Get a room, damn it!' Maya thought to herself, witnessing the affectionate display before her.
She seed to be the only one disturbed by their interaction, though. Freya, standing next to her, watched the siblings with a small but perceptible smile of her own. However, unlike her daughter, her reason for smiling was likely different—after all, she was unaware of the true nature of Alex and Alia's relationship, beyond the fact that they were siblings that is.
A mont later, Alex planted a soft kiss on Alia's head before finally letting her go.
"Now what?" he inquired, gazing into her beautiful gray eyes.
As he seed to be losing himself in them, he was suddenly pulled back to reality when Alia's eyes began to glow like two luminous pearls in the darkness. "Now, I will follow the plan we established," she said, the warmth in her gaze giving way to a cold and calculating sharpness.
At that mont, Alex ca to the realization that sohow, Alia now had complete control over the activation and deactivation of the Tear of Knowledge's effects. 'What else is she capable of right now?' he wondered in awe. Unfortunately, he was going to have to wait before getting his answer.
Taking a step away from her brother, Alia nodded at Freya, waved at Maya, then turned and walked toward the bookshelf housing the books on human anatomy.
"I will also be staying here for a bit," Maya said, glancing toward Alia before turning to the others. "What about you two?"
Alex and Freya exchanged a brief look before the matriarch spoke first. "I will be taking my leave for now."
"I'm leaving as well," Alex said, his lips curving into a smirk. "I suppose we'll be walking together then, Lady Freya." He stepped toward her, offering his arm in an unmistakably gallant gesture.
Freya hesitated for only a fraction of a second before gracefully linking her arm with his, a slight—but noticeable—blush appearing on her cheeks. "It would seem so."
Maya watched the two of them, arm in arm, exchanging subtle smiles, and suddenly, an uneasy feeling crept up her spine, a hint of suspicion flickering in her eyes.
Suppressing her growing unease, she forced herself to smile and nodded at them. "It's settled then. See you guys later."
"Don't forget that the auction starts soon, so you'd better head ho before it gets too late. You'll need plenty of rest for tomorrow," Freya warned.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Mom," Maya sighed.
"Well, in that case, enjoy yourself, sweetie," Freya said with a wave. She cast a discreet glance at Alia before turning away, gently pulling Alex along with her.
"See you later, kiddo," Alex teased, flashing Maya a playful smirk.
However, Maya's unease only intensified. 'Mother wouldn't actually do anything with that perverted old man… right?' she thought to herself.
After a mont, she shook her head, trying to dispel the ridiculous notion. 'There's no way anything could happen between them. Mother is too serious about her work to let any man into her life, much less him—even if he might be the most handso man I've ever seen…' Her thoughts trailed off as a furious blush crept into her cheeks.
Alas, if only she knew that, at that mont, it was already too late. Freya had already succumbed to Alex's charms.
***
"So, where to?" Alex asked as they made their way back to the surface.
He had waited for a while, but the two of them were finally alone, and he intended to make the most of the ti they were going to spend together.
"Your choice," Freya replied with a thoughtful expression. "We could explore the city, visit the auction market if you're interested in acquiring more treasures—though that seems unlikely that you will find anything interesting today since our own auction starts tomorrow. There are plenty of ways to pass the ti. There's even an amusent park that operates at night if that interests you."
"An amusent park? Gods, no," Alex scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Thanks to my daughters, I've lost so of the fondness I held for that kind of place. Besides, Arcanor can't just be seen hanging around an amusent park—I have a reputation as a terrifying man to uphold!"
"Thank the gods you're not interested," Freya replied, sighing in relief. "I also have a reputation as a strict and cold matriarch to maintain!"
The two exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.
"I didn't know the 'cold and strict' Matriarch Freya could joke around," Alex said, his gaze locking onto her srizing orange eyes. "I wonder what else I might discover about you."
A smile blood on Freya's lips, and she replied in a voice as sultry as silk, "Stick with , and you might just find out."
If Maya had been there, rely hearing those words from her mother would have been enough to make her faint. And if she had actually heard the sheer seductiveness in her tone, there was no telling what might have happened.
"You don't have to worry," Alex murmured, stepping a little closer. "I had no intention of leaving your side, even if you had asked to."
"Good," Freya said softly, her smile so radiant that it chased away the darkness that surrounded them.
'So beautiful.'
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