The silence between Hiro and Cassian stretched, heavy and uncomfortable.
Cassian barely moved, too aware of every point of contact between their bodies.
Hiro's grip tightened further, his arms squeezing slightly around her waist.
"Hiro?"
Lena's voice suddenly broke the silence.
Cassian froze completely.
"You're awake too?" Lena yawned slightly. "I had to go to the bathroom."
She stood in the doorway, her eyes still half-closed with sleep. She couldn't see Cassian—hidden by Hiro's body.
"I was just checking if Cassian wasn't injured," Hiro said calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He shifted slightly, allowing Lena to see.
Cassian turned immediately, displaying an expression of total confusion.
"Injured?" she repeated. "I'm not..."
Lena stared at them.
Cassian could almost see the gears turning in Lena's head.
I thought she wasn't interested in Hiro.
Lena had eventually stopped considering Cassian as a romantic rival. She had focused on her main threat: Lucia.
But now...
She was acting all along. To better seduce Hiro in secret.
Lena's gaze hardened imperceptibly.
She engineered a situation where they're alone. To better have him for herself.
And they were a little too close. Way too close.
Lena was already imagining the scene. Cassian softly asking Hiro to come closer. "To examine me better," she would say in an innocent voice.
Manipulator.
"Lucia can take care of healing Cassian," Lena said in a voice a bit too loud. "You don't have to worry about it."
"I DON'T NEED HEALING!" Cassian raised her voice slightly. "I'm PERFECTLY fine!"
Lena narrowed her eyes.
She's disgusted that her intimate moment with Hiro was ruined.
"Good," Lena said coldly. "Then everyone can go back to sleep."
Morning arrived with golden light filtering through the windows.
The family gathered at the entrance to say goodbye.
"Thank you again!" The mother bowed deeply. "You'll always be welcome here!"
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The children waved frantically.
"Goodbye!"
"Come back to see us!"
The group left the house, walking along the dirt path that crossed the village.
Lena walked very close to Hiro.
Very, very close.
She held his arm firmly, pressed against his side.
Lucia observed the scene for exactly three seconds.
Then decided to do the same.
Hiro's other arm was free. An opportunity.
She slipped to the other side, grabbing his arm with a sweet smile.
"Uh..." Hiro blinked, finding himself sandwiched. "Girls?"
"What?" Lena looked at him innocently.
"Nothing at all," Lucia added with the same innocent tone.
What's gotten into them this morning?
Cassian walked slightly behind, sighing loudly.
This is what I have to put up with every day.
Lena glanced over her shoulder at Lucia.
Opportunist.
At the slightest opening, she pounces on Hiro to claim attention.
Then her gaze drifted to Cassian.
But she's the most disruptive.
If I'm not careful, she could steal Hiro from us behind our backs.
As they walked through the village, Hiro discreetly consulted the system.
It was time.
Time to choose a unique ability.
The floating window opened before his eyes.
[30 CHOICES AVAILABLE]
He began scrolling through the list.
And stopped almost immediately, mouth agape.
This is... this is incredible.
Each choice was powerful. Truly powerful. He had expected a list of decent abilities with maybe one or two interesting options.
But this?
This exceeded all his expectations.
A few caught his attention particularly:
Time Stop: Duration depends on the player's level.
Mind Control: The stronger the target, the less effective the control. Duration depends on the player's level.
Return by Death: Return to the save point defined by the player after death. Number of deaths depends on the player's level.
Future Vision: See the immediate future. Depends on the player's level.
Assimilation: Absorb skills, traits, and masteries from killed enemies.
Necromancy: Raise killed enemies to serve you. Depends on the player's level.
Hiro stared at the list, his heart pounding.
It's a shame. A real shame that I have to choose only one.
He began the elimination process.
Time Stop. Strong. Very strong.
He set it aside mentally.
Mind Control. I like that too.
Aside.
Return by Death...
He hesitated.
It's powerful. Incredibly powerful.
But I don't want to die a second time.
Eliminated.
Future Vision seems good.
Aside.
Assimilation looks good.
Aside.
Necromancy is really cool.
Aside.
He looked at the five remaining choices.
I like all five. It's really hard to pick just one.
If it were up to me, I'd take all five.
He sighed mentally, resuming the analysis.
Time Stop or Mind Control?
He imagined all sorts of cool things he could do with Time Stop. Dodge impossible attacks. Position his allies. Prepare devastating strikes.
But Mind Control...
He thought it had more possibilities.
His gaze naturally fell on the girls.
On Cassian.
He quickly looked away, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly.
Okay. Now, Future Vision or Assimilation?
For him, there was no debate.
Future Vision is stronger in the short term. But in the long term, Assimilation will definitely be better.
Assimilation wins.
Necromancy vs. Mind Control.
Hiro felt his head explode from the dilemma.
They're both excellent. Both rely on controlling enemies.
But Mind Control doesn't necessarily have to be used on allies or enemies. It can be used on... anyone.
But Necromancy is so cool.
He hesitated for what seemed like an eternity.
Then, reluctantly, eliminated Necromancy.
Cassian observed Hiro from afar.
He seems disturbed in his thoughts.
His face was tense. His eyes slightly lost.
Is he thinking back to what happened during the night?
It was really weird.
Lena and Lucia felt Hiro tremble slightly.
"Hiro?" Lucia frowned. "Are you okay?"
"Are you cold?" Lena pressed herself closer to him.
Lucia did the same on the other side.
Hiro was now completely sandwiched, but he didn't even notice.
His mind was entirely focused on the final choice.
Mind Control or Assimilation.
He never thought Mind Control would go so far in his considerations.
I didn't think I was that kind of person.
His gaze accidentally met Cassian's.
She was staring at him with a slightly confused expression.
Cassian, on her side, found Hiro's gaze slightly different from usual.
Hiro took a deep mental breath.
And chose Assimilation.
To prove to myself that I'm a respectable person.
Immediately, he slightly regretted that choice. Part of him wanted to go back.
But no.
He forced himself to see the positives.
Assimilation will allow me to become stronger. It's a good evolving ability.
Unlike before where I could only copy the girls' abilities, Assimilation opens up many more possibilities.
The only downside is that the enemy has to be dead.
He closed the window with a mental sigh.
[UNIQUE ABILITY SELECTED: ASSIMILATION]
[You Can Now Continue Leveling Up]
The group was approaching the village exit when they saw something strange.
On the path, at the edge of the houses, an old man was frantically attacking a creature.
The creature was massive—three times bigger than him. Quadruped. Thick, brown fur. Short horns on its head.
The old man struck with a stick, over and over, without any success.
"Hey! Get away from my house!"
Wham.
His stick bounced pathetically off the creature's thick skin.
"You don't have to be surprised."
A muscular lumberjack—carrying a massive axe on his shoulder—approached from the forest. He stopped upon seeing the group observing the scene.
"It's normal," he explained with a shrug. "This creature usually feeds on trees. But this one decided to set its sights on that poor old man's house."
He laughed lightly. "It's been going on for two years already."
Cassian looked around.
There are so many trees. Everywhere. Hundreds.
Then she realized.
"Wait," she said slowly. "It eats trees? Not leaves?"
"The trees," the lumberjack confirmed. "Bark, wood, roots. Everything."
"But... why this house specifically?"
The lumberjack shrugged again. "No idea. Maybe the wood has a particular taste? Maybe it likes bothering the old man? Beasts are strange sometimes."
