‘Oh, right! Where did they store it, in my inventory?’
When Ari checked his inventory, he found it empty.
Reality Bender prepared everything for him, even repaired and dressed him in the same outfit he wore during the trials.
But conveniently forgot his luggage, despite his backstory explicitly stating that he was moving to the city.
Ari couldn’t think of an excuse, and given Maya's carefree personality, went with the most tried and tested response.
“Well...I lost it?”
“Oh no! We’ll have to get you new clothes on the way home, then.”
Maya’s adorable expression made it difficult to hide his grin.
“Wait, what do you mean on the way home? Are you not taking me to the dorms?”
‘No way...’
“I’ve changed my mind. I think it would be best if you lived with me instead,” she responded. “Unless...you hate the idea of living with an old woman and her daughters.”
‘Right, her daughters...’
She stared at Ari expectantly, like she wanted him to overreact or maybe even stutter in fluster.
Ari’s heart and manhood stirred at the idea of living in a house filled with exceptionally beautiful women, but he had his pride to uphold as a Transcender and now, Modifier.
Ari shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
Maya pouted and stepped closer to him.
She poked his chest. “You’re not allowed to have sex with strangers in my house, okay?”
‘Interesting choice of words...’
She narrowed her eyes, but her tone was rather light.
Ari raised his brow. “And what if they’re not strangers?”
Maya fshed an amused smile. “Just remember what I said.”
She turned around and headed for the exit.
Ari couldn’t help but grin.
‘I can work with that.’
Upon entering the parking lot, Ari felt a rush of excitement.
Parked near the entrance, Maya’s sky-blue supercar attracted the attention of both car enthusiasts and random passers-by.
‘This is basically a McLaren with a different logo...’
The setting of Ambrose Academy was a fantasy world simir to modern-day Earth, but more advanced through the use of Mana and Magic.
With Mana, even aging is halted at a certain point, allowing people to retain the physique and beauty of their prime selves for decades, and if they possessed enough Mana, for centuries.
With a mixture of both familiar and fantastical elements, Ari was itching to explore everything this world had to offer.
When Maya asked if he wanted the top down, as much as Ari didn’t want to be That guy, he couldn’t bring himself to say no.
It was his first time in a supercar, and he wanted the full experience of driving through the city in the open air with a gorgeous woman sitting next to him, even if he wasn’t the one driving.
Though in this instance, Ari didn’t mind Maya being in the driver’s seat.
He looked forward to the expressions on people’s faces when they saw the two of them driving around the city.
Maya didn’t disappoint. When there was enough room on the road, she put her foot on the accelerator and weaved through traffic seamlessly.
At certain times, she slowed down and pointed out ndmarks and pces of interest he should visit when he had the chance, which he naturally intended to do.
The one thing Maya did not point out was the elephant in the room, so to speak.
Visible from outside of the city, a colossal structure towered over Ambrose City as it reached towards the heavens.
The Divine Tower: Lumus.
The very one Ari was transferred to during the portal dispcement incident.
When Maya noticed his gaze, she spoke in a gentle tone, “It’s rather unavoidable, isn’t it?”
“…Yeah.”
“Is it still unpleasant to look at?” she asked.
‘What am I supposed to say to that?’
Ari shook his head. “No, I overcame that a long time ago... Besides, the tower made me stronger, so I have nothing to compin about.”
She fshed a refreshing smile. “I’m really gd to hear that.”
The pair arrived at a famous high-end clothing store called Jen-Cae.
“Uhm, Maya… I don’t have much money with me.”
‘I don’t have any money, actually.’
Maya giggled. “What are you talking about? I brought you here, so I’ll take care of everything.”
In Ari’s former life, entering a simir store would feel like a gut punch. He could only browse and pretend to think things over before eventually leaving with nothing.
But with Maya, he knew things would be very different.
Ari had to py it cool and pretend that he didn’t want her to spoil him like a great sugar mommy should.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Don’t be silly and come in already,” she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the store.
Maya didn’t waste any time.
She requested a VIP fitting room as soon as they entered the store.
When she asked Ari about the size of his shoes and clothing, things became complicated.
Maya’s expression shifted from amused to downright confusion when he confirmed, then reconfirmed his sizes.
Maya tilted her head. “Do you have some sort of fetish wearing uncomfortably small clothes?”
“What do you mean?”
“But these fit you perfectly... How strange,” she said as she tugged his T-shirt.
“What are you? Oh...”
There was something important Ari did not take into consideration, or rather, it completely slipped his mind.
His custom character was much taller and rger than his original body.
‘Right... I must have looked like such an idiot.’
Ari ughed. “These were baggy when I left home.”
“I must have had one of those spontaneous growth spurts.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “There is no such thing.”
She reached out with her palm facing upwards.
“Strip and give me your clothes.”
Under different circumstances, Ari would have considered Maya’s words a proposition.
He shrugged and proceeded to remove his clothes, leaving only his underwear.
Ari was surprised to find a slender obsidian screen in his pocket.
He recalled the device being used in the webcomic.
It was a highly advanced smartphone powered by Mana.
His curiosity to investigate the phone was halted when he noticed Maya observing his physique with curiosity.
Ari pretended to stretch and arched his back, pushing his hips forward.
She was very subtle, but Ari’s keen eyes noticed her stealing gnces at his pelvis more than once.
‘Couldn’t help yourself, could you?’
Ari held back his grin.
“Here you go,” he said, presenting neatly folded clothes.
Maya collected the items and proceeded to walk towards the door.
“I’ll be back, make yourself comfortable while you wait,” she said over her shoulder as she exited the fitting room.
‘Now that I have some privacy...’
The first order of business was to test his unique ability.
Since he retained his core abilities and Magic Proficiency, Ari used Actualisation to recreate a few skills and spells from Transcender Origins, focusing only on the ones that suited his current level
‘That drained more Mana than I expected.’
Ari felt dizzy and sat down for a few moments before proceeding with his final attempt.
His thoughts went to making things more convenient and giving him peace of mind.
[Absolute Protection: A: Provides the creator with absolute immunity to all status ailments. B: Unless altered by the will of the creator, the production of sperm is halted.]
Some may think that Ari created the skill as an excuse to prevent contracting STDs, STIs and unpnned pregnancies...they wouldn’t be entirely wrong.