"Are you okay?" Janice dispelled the barrier with a wave of her hand. It felt almost like magic and she had control over it.
"Yes, I'm fine...Cof!" Gabriel spoke softly, but soon after he was interrupted with a cough accompanied by blood.
"This sick man is walking around here again. I think his old prey has already been eaten and now he's looking for a new one..." Supporting Gabriel, Janice looked again at the shattered window.
"Let's go home. He won't touch Arthur for now. I'll find a way to let he know. He thinks that just because he's a Level S, he can do whatever he wants." Flames of anger flared in Gabriel's eyes before he caught himself. His internal injuries were serious and he needed time to recover.
"I'm afraid that will happen again... The Guild sided with him, even with so many deaths." Janice showed him a worried expression. This man-eating monster had caused a slaughter for taking an interest in a boy from a large Group. Now his new target was clear, and Arthur was part of their group.
Suddenly, Gabriel pulled Janice closer and kissed her on the lips, pushing all his worries into the background. They stayed that way for a little while before walking away.
"Kind of ferrous for a first kiss..." Gabriel spoke in her ear.
"Stupid!" Janice composed herself with a bright smile on her face.
***
Feeling pains all over his body, Arthur actually felt grateful to Gabriel. He had been training like crazy, putting his body through a shock and destruction test in order to get stronger. After all, the feeling of getting stronger was too incredible, almost numbing.
But as Gabriel sent a light wave of that energy through his body, Arthur realized the amount of muscle fractures and cracks hidden in his bones. They were in places he couldn't feel because his mana still didn't pass there. After all, what he could see was already fixed, even under stress.
"I think I'll sleep tonight..." With a slight yawn, Arthur decided to make use of his bed. He also remembered that until recently the images of that bloody drunk still popped into his mind, invoking his fury. But from the moment he leveled up, going through that whole hellish process, that image just disappeared from his mind. It was almost as if he had regained his sanity.
'Was it because of increased Resilience? Or maybe the Cold Blooded skill had an effect on that? In the first place I wanted to know why that thing appeared in front of me!' As he squeezed the steering wheel a little, Arthur was lost in his thoughts.
Arriving home, he took one look at Black and saw that it would be good to give it a clean and polish. He would obviously do the job himself, so he decided to spend the day tomorrow to clean it up.
So, as the days went by, Arthur got better organized in his routine. Early in the morning he would be responsible for making breakfast, always innovating on something so as not to get boring, and then he would do the usual exercises. He realized that it almost didn't make sense to train like this anymore, so he was practicing his fighting moves more than doing push-ups and etc.
School was already taking up a lot of his time, most of which he spent sleeping or rarely paying attention on classes. He'd taken some time in the last few days between shocks to read his school books, and he'd basically finished his theoretical coursework.
When he wasn't in class, he spent time with Emily on the lawn or with Beatrice in the class room. He was constantly talking to them and finding out about their tastes and so on. But it wasn't urgent either, but rather he expected them to call.
Emily turned out to be a great lover of games and cars, as well as basketball. It looked quite masculine, but when you looked at her incredible look and unprecedented cuteness, these traits alone would be enough to attract 100% of the boys in the world.
Beatrice, on the other hand, was more demure and gentle, like a girl from a wealthy family. She was somewhat shy when she talked to Arthur, and always held back when he made jokes. But she could never stand it and laugh the same way, which was almost a tune to Arthur's ears. She was very fond of music and had a special attachment to musical instruments such as the piano, violin, flute, and others that she excitedly cited when Arthur asked.
Returning to his organized routine, when Arthur came home he would spend time talking with Amanda and Thomas, about the day and what they did. He discovered over the course of the week that Amanda was great at what she did and already had the plan almost ready, including the lists of materials and so on. He also spoke with Thomas and said he wanted to learn about artificial intelligence. Thomas almost freaked out when he pulled Arthur in front of his computer and started teaching him during all first night.
From 10 pm to 4 am every night, Arthur underwent his shock treatment. This slowed down his energy intake, but thanks to him resting and taking some time for himself, his body seemed to be fitter the next day and was better coping with the electrical discharge.
Finally, he took the last hour he had for sleep. One might think it's very little, but thanks to the nourishing property of mana in Arthur's body, rest was much quicker. Mana circulation was basically automatic after 3 days of practice, so Arthur rarely felt tired. He only slept so he could relax and rest his brain.
***
"I'm already going to your house. I'll be there at 2pm, so don't keep me waiting like a beggar in front of your big house!" Arthur spoke jokingly to Beatrice. She had previously admitted that she was a rich girl, and since then Arthur has made jokes of his "inferiority as poor" to make her laugh.
"Haha, stop being silly! I will be waiting for you. Just press the intercom when you arrive, and I'll open the door. I'm waiting for you - waiting for you two!" Beatrice realized what she had said and corrected herself afterwards. She hung up the phone without even saying goodbye.
Arthur looked at his cell phone with a smile on his face. 'I hope I'm not going crazy. She doesn't have much control over her emotions, does she? We haven't even known each other for so long... but I can't say I don't like her either...'
Leaving his thoughts aside, Arthur left the house. He was walking this time, with nothing but a notebook and a pen. Gray shirt with black sweatshirt shorts with gray accents, and a nice pair of black flip-flops that he wore all the time at home. Simple, but well-groomed.
***
"Okay, he's coming! Don't be nervous, for God's sake!" In front of a mirror in her home, Beatrice paced. She was getting ready and checking to see if her outfit was acceptable. "It's going to be okay, Aline will be here too and nothing will happen!"
She was wearing a short white dress, which made her look like a little princess. But the dress was not only cute, it also accentuated her curves nicely. Her olive skin matched the dress, her long black hair flowing down left her flawless. She was an incomparable beauty.
"Why am I so nervous? I shouldn't be like this! We've only known each other for a short time... I just like him, that's all! Who would not like? He's funny, cute, handsome, kind, affectionate, has great taste in music, respectful and doesn't seem like he's faking it all... It's really hard not to like him... That girl seems to like him too... Humph! Moron! I don't like him!" As she hurried to look even prettier than she was, she started mumbling and talking to her reflection. She was soon angry and determined. She would give him a more nonchalant look, to let him know she doesn't like him.
***
"Wow, a mansion out of town, eh! Didn't expect this... Even though she gave the address and said she was rich!" He looked at the large, tree-lined mansion, almost comparing it to his own home. He lost, and pretty bad. The house's land was larger than his, as was the house's. "Her parents must be rich as hell!"
Arthur felt no sense of inferiority, but a little admiration. He wanted to have the audacity to spend so much just for a house, but his poverty still pushed him to be more humble and buy a small place. Well, smaller than this big mansion.
Arriving at the front gate, which was at least 30 meters from the house, he pressed the intercom.
"Who is it?" Beatrice's cute, melodic voice came over the intercom.
"Deliveryman! Is this where they asked for a handsome, well-groomed boy?" Arthur spoke in a serious voice.
"Silly!" The laugh Beatrice tried to hold back on the other end still came over the intercom as the doors opened.
As he approached the mansion's door, what awaited him was the definition of "supernatural". It was a mesmerizing, almost magical beauty that was trying to suck the soul out of him.
"Hi?" Seeing Arthur standing in her doorway looking like an idiot, Beatrice spoke to him tilting her head a little. Her cheeks were already flushed and she knew why he was staring at her like that. The anger she was feeling seemed to have disappeared.
"Eísai mia magikí omorfiá" Arthur mouthed a few words deftly. It seemed that he had unlearned to speak Portuguese.
"What?" Beatrice asked, confused and with a smile on her face. She knew Arthur was going to say something funny and was already getting ready.
"Sorry, I thought I was talking to a Greek Goddess!" Arthur gave an apologetic smile.
"Hahaha, hurry in!" Beatrice bit her lip and pulled Arthur inside.
Their voices continued from inside.
"ant sahir aljamal"
"What is this?"
"So you're not an Egyptian Goddess? If you give me two or three more tries I might get it right!"
"Hahahah, I don't know what I do with you!"
"Well, I know..."
"Get off! You don't even have a chance!"
"We'll see..."