As he went to school, Arthur insisted on pedaling as little as possible.
His nearly healed body was totally messed up by the pressure exerted earlier by the Prison of Fury. It was a truly devastating pressure.
Now his muscles were sore, as if they were tearing more with each movement. The hole in his chest, as well as the tears in his back, also opened a little more and bled, but thanks to Arthur's high Vitality, the blood has already clotted and stopped.
Speaking of which, Arthur noticed a drastic change in his stats. As already seen, Strength and Agility dropped one hundred points, unfortunately due to the misuse of the skills.
'But it's not like I haven't been warned!' A sneer appeared on Arthur's face. His face was sore too, so he stopped.
The Constitution and Vitality stats had also grown a little, helping with his current recovery. But, nothing has compared to the growth of his Intelligence and Resilience stats.
Arthur really felt this increase, and even with a perfect memory, he felt that those memories were now more vivid. He could also notice a drastic increase in all five senses, including the perception of things around him, even with his eyes closed.
He could also see an unprecedented calm in him... even though it could be broken without much effort. This, of course, in case it is possible to release his anger. Arthur wasn't dumb and knew when to stay rational and cool, especially after getting the 'Cold Blood' skill.
With this big increase, Arthur began to notice some points. His body was under great pressure, and with it he grew stronger in some ways, at the expense of others. But it wasn't like this points was unrecoverable.
Arthur could already understand more or less how this system worked, after that time using it. At least the surface, since the magic points he didn't even come close to understanding.
It would simply count his status!
The natural processes that take place in his body, and how it acts in different situations, are also received by the system and evaluated. Adrenaline and endorphin highs, strengthening of different types of muscle in the body, including brain. Of course his body was out of the ordinary, but it still followed the pattern like everyone else's.
The fact that he said his former strength was not irretrievable was simple. His skill needed energy to run. He couldn't use mana, so his body provided the energy it needed by consuming any carbohydrates, fat, and eventually his own muscles.
Thanks to this, his muscles were consumed in large quantities to provide the energy for the skill. That's why his stats dropped 100 points on both.
But another point that was boring into Arthur's mind was this too.
He HAS mana, but CAN'T use it. The system informed him that his mana channels were sealed.
Logically, if there is water, but there is no way to distribute it, it is the same as not having it. It was the same sense with his mana.
The questions were: Why were his mana channels sealed off? Who sealed them? How would he go about removing these seals?
There were many mysteries around this, and Arthur began to question his existence even more. Where did he come from, who he really was, and what situation he was in to become like this.
But, through his own stoicism, but this time with a little sadness, Arthur pushed those doubts to the back of his mind and concentrated on getting to school on time.
***
A few minutes before the school gates closed, Arthur arrived on his bicycle. He had already dropped Thomas off at his school with a letter, explaining why he was absent these few days.
He forged the orphanage director's signature for this. After all, it wasn't like she cared. And if the school called and asked, nothing a small bribe wouldn't solve again.
By the time he arrived, the students were already lining up for the Anthem and any other notice anyone from the school office had.
Averting the prying eyes, Arthur left his bike next to a tree before heading to his class line. He didn't have time to leave it at the usual spot.
As soon as he got in line, he noticed that the last person in line was Beatrice. Aline was right in front of her, and the trio of girls was way ahead on the third-year line and couldn't see his arrival. He didn't really care about it and approached Beatrice.
"Hi!" He spoke close to her ear. He wanted to be very silent.
"Aah!" Taken by surprise, Beatrice jumped to the side, and her beautiful green eyes met Arthur's. What should have been nothing but surprise, Arthur noted a little worrie as well. "Where have you been? Got sick?" She quickly asked.
"Nothing too serious. My brother got sick and I had to take care of him." Arthur replied indifferently. He didn't even show a slight reaction to the lie.
"Then you must be sick too, as your face is a little pale!" Beatrice replied softly again.
At that moment Aline noticed the conversation and turned to see Arthur. Seeing that his face was pale, her eyes got a little worried, but she just said nonchalantly, "Hi."
Arthur didn't respond and just nodded. He also gave her a smile.
After seeing Arthur's smile, she immediately turned around. Her face was a little flushed, but her eyes showed anger.
Beatrice watched this scene and resolved to remain silent. She already knew what was going on, as she'd gotten close to Aline for the past few days.
Aline liked Arthur. According to her, seeing Arthur act protective and even a little fierce to protect her caused something to light up inside her. Not to mention that he was also very handsome, so the feeling was easier to accept.
During the conversation, Beatrice just nodded, but said nothing. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but she also didn't want to destroy what was already there.
But for Aline, seeing Arthur act nonchalant with her after that made her a little angry at him, and he was always close to other girls as well. That was the beginning of jealousy, weak and meaningless.
Arthur, too, had noticed these burgeoning feelings, but did not want to receive them. Not only did he not want to, he knew it was best for Aline to keep in touch with him only as a friend.
He's already accepted that his life would be messed up, and if he was looking for some kind of relationship, it would only have to be when he was resolved. It was no use getting involved with someone to constantly have to worry about whether she would be alive the next day or not.
Even if his life wasn't like that now, everything can turn upside down overnight.
The fact that he asked the girls out was for fun. He wanted to have some fun, but he didn't want to go it alone.
The fact that he kept his distance from Beatrice and Aline was for different reasons. Aline, so that she didn't develop stronger feelings and it was a bad phase in her life. Beatrice… Arthur admitted that he had a crush on her.
Thanks to the heavy stabs he's received earlier, this crush hasn't turned into passion, but Arthur could see that from the kind of person Beatrice was, he was sure he would fall in love sooner or later.
It all seemed so fast, but that was youth. Leave one adult with another for two days and they'll still be a little suspicious of each other. Leave two young people together and, if they don't fall in love, they will be "best friends".
So he left things as they were, coming and going with the waves.
After everyone sang the hymn, the lines dispersed to go to their rooms.
The trio of girls noticed Arthur at that moment, and they came. They were also worried, and Arthur gave the same excuse he gave Beatrice. They said their goodbyes after they agreed to talk at lunch and left.
But, before Arthur left for his office after leaving the bike in its proper place, he saw Gabriel waiting for him at the end of the corridor.