Felix felt like Dyara was holding his heart and with a little pressure, she'd crush it, ending his pitiful existence.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination or if she could do it.
He wasn't planning on finding out though.
So he remained silent.
He already did what he could, now only luck could decide if Dyara would agree to his request.
Seeing as he wasn't daring enough to say more, Dyara relaxed her pressure as she spoke up. "Take a week to recover. Nathan will provide your meals so don't try to call out to me again, else…"
Felix felt his heart palpitate again, this time almost slamming against his rib cage.
With that, Dyara left him to his devices, the door locking behind her as she went on her way.
Felix collapsed on his back as his breathing turned ragged.
He tottered on the edge of death just a moment ago with his gamble.
Thankfully, he was still alive though it bothered him on what test Dyara would set for him.
"Tch, as long as it's not too difficult, I should be able to manage," Felix muttered even though the chances of it being difficult or messed up were pretty darn high.
Massaging his temples, he calmed his nerves by taking in deep breaths while waiting for Aya to say something.
[Notice. The recovery process would take longer as there is not enough energy in the System]
"Won't you say anything about my crazy plan?" Felix inquired.
He expected Aya to at least comment on the danger level but she remained indifferent.
[Notice. Your strategy has a certain level of success]
"But that doesn't change the fact that I could die," Felix remarked before asking. "Aren't you bothered about that?"
[Notice. I am not but it would be a shame to miss an opportunity to understand the flaws in my programming]
"… I see." Felix nodded indiscernibly as he ended the conversation to get some rest.
As he closed his eyes, he soon drifted off to sleep.
By the time Felix woke up, several hours had passed.
Due to the nature of his cell, he couldn't tell the time so he didn't bother too much about it.
Instead, he took his time familiarizing himself with the system.
Also, system energy which Aya termed Ordena was lower than he thought.
Based on her explanation, it was at the minimum limit and if he wanted to increase it, there were two ways.
Either by absorbing directly from the atmosphere or absorbing it from living beings.
The former was only possible if he found methods capable of absorption but Aya had no such skill in her programming thus it was a dead end for the time being.
The latter however could be gotten as long as he killed living beings.
Aya would directly absorb their essence and transform it into the corresponding Ordena.
Of course, Felix was not so keen on the second idea since he wasn't sure when he'd get the chance to visit a dungeon or anything of that sort.
In any case, he resorted to making do with what he had.
As long as he played his cards right, he believed opportunities to grow stronger would come his way.
After a few hours passed, Felix collapsed out of exhaustion and hunger.
Mostly hunger.
As he tried to regulate his breathing, the door to his cell slid open and the masked man from yesterday walked in with a tray in hand.
Felix was inwardly pleased but chose not to show it as he remained in his position, only giving the masked man a side glance.
As the masked man dropped the tray on the ground and prepared to leave, Felix spoke up.
"You are Nathan?"
The masked man paused and deliberated for a few seconds before replying. "Mn."
A few more seconds passed before he added. "I didn't know you were Awakened."
"I wasn't sure if I wanted to say anything," Felix replied.
"I understand, your Cultivation attribute is indeed controversial," Nathan admitted.
Felix was a bit surprised. "She told you?"
"…Something like that," Nathan said as he turned to face Felix. "Take some time to steel your mind. Madam is planning something for you and from what I can tell… it won't be an enjoyable experience."
Felix pursed his lips. "Why are you telling me this?... I called you out yesterday so you should…"
"Make you suffer?" Nathan interjected, he seemed amused by Felix's assumption.
Felix was unsure of how to respond.
"I can understand your feelings of hate toward the Demir but for someone like me, I can't afford to do that. My loved ones depend on me as I am the only Awakened in the family."
"…I see." Felix already had mixed feelings toward Nathan.
On one hand, he wanted to berate him for bowing to the Demirs. On the other hand, he understood that not everyone had suffered as much as he had.
Every other person couldn't hold the same feelings he had.
Why try to involve others when they also had their families to worry about?
"Madam Dyara has her… moments but she is indeed better than other Demirs," Nathan remarked. "Between you and me, I feel like she might not like her people very much."
Felix put up a brow at the unexpected information. "How do you know this?"
"Gut feeling."
"Is it okay to tell me?"
"Don't worry, it's nothing confidential so at most I'd get a warning."
"Hmm."
"Anyway, eat up, I'll try to get you some leftovers if there are any for this evening."
Without waiting for a response, Nathan left the cell and locked the door behind him leaving Felix to his thoughts.
With no other option, Felix busied himself with eating, sleeping, and getting accustomed to the system until a week passed.