/Sierra POV\
*High-rise office building, top floor*
I exited the shower in my little makeshift apartment, tied my towel around me, and stood in front of the full-body mirror. I looked at my wet black hair and began drying it. It was quite long when I didn't have it tied up, but I liked to style it that way. After finishing, I went to put on some clothes, getting ready for the day.
I prepared breakfast, though it was just some frozen waffles I had. I'd gotten so absorbed in work that I never learned how to cook. I can't remember the last time I had a good homemade meal—nothing but takeout and TV dinners.
Honestly, I've let this lifestyle consume me completely. I have no friends and minimal contact with my family—though that's their fault. The thought saddened me a little, but I didn't forget what I was fighting for. I don't mind the sacrifices I've made.
I thought about my grandfather. If he were well, I wouldn't be treated like this by them. I haven't even told him what's been happening or how downhill things have gone since he got sick. Whenever I visit him, I want him to be happy, thinking everything's okay.
*Ding*
I heard my phone chime but ignored it. It was probably someone wanting to do business or someone I was already doing business with—no difference. They weren't supposed to message me this early, so I was a little annoyed.
Thinking it might've been an emergency, I grabbed my phone and opened it, seeing the message come from someone unexpected.
{Akashic Torre: Good morning, Sierra. It's Akashic. I wanted to take you up on that offer.}
*Picture*
Akashic… I remember meeting him very vividly. His first impression was great, which is rare for me. Most people I meet are terrible, and considering I thought he was Daniel's friend, I already didn't like him when I first saw him.
But he completely changed my view after a lengthy conversation. He was smart, funny, and I could tell he didn't like Daniel either. It was the first time I could talk to someone freely without worry. I ended up telling him a little about my life, which I regretted later. I had just met him and already started telling him a sob story.
He listened without complaint, and when I was done, I wanted to leave from embarrassment. I tried to change the topic and ended up inviting him to my office to see where I worked. He gave me his number, and I left.
Thinking about it now, I'm glad I had that conversation. I felt better afterward, and I might have made my first friend. I've never had any social relationships, so maybe this is a good thing.
I agreed and sent him the address. Today wasn't very busy, so I could relax—maybe I needed a little break.
{Akashic Torre: Oh, you're not too far from me. I'll be there in an hour.}
I had an hour, so I went downstairs to my office using my private elevator and checked my emails, responding to any important ones.
*Knock Knock*
Eventually, I got absorbed in my work and lost track of time when I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and I saw my secretary, a nice woman who'd been with me since I started this company.
"Excuse me, a call from downstairs says there's a young man here by the name of Akashic Torre. He says he's here to see you."
I looked at the time and saw it had been an hour on the dot, and he was here.
"Ah, yes. Please let him up, thank you."
She nodded and left. I sat down, put my laptop away, and cleared my desk.
A few minutes passed, and I saw the doorknob turn as the door opened.
I saw a familiar face, but at the same time, he looked different. He looked much better than when I first saw him—I must've been really out of it that day.
"Sierra?"
Oh, I've been staring at him for a while now. That's awkward.
/Akashic POV\
I walked into the room, and Sierra was just staring at me, which I understood.
I called out to her again, and she had a slight blush on her face. I hoped I hadn't already ruined the friendly mood.
I shifted the focus by asking her how she was and a few other questions.
She said she was fine, which I expected but didn't fully believe. In our first conversation, she mentioned how her mother died when she was young and how her father neglected her in favor of her younger brother and his other wives.
She also briefly mentioned her grandfather, the only person in her life who cared about her. But she stopped before saying much more.
Not wanting to pry, I didn't continue the conversation in my past life, so I never learned much more about her situation.
Now, though, from my research, I learned about her grandfather, Silas Vero—the man who pretty much built the family into what it is today.
He stepped down a few years ago, allowing his son to take his place. It was never stated why he stepped down, but he hasn't been seen in public since.
From the way Sierra spoke about him, I can assume he isn't dead—possibly sick. Normally, I'd think it was due to his age, but with the new information about physiques, if he was powerful enough, age wouldn't stop him.
With his influence, helping him could be my ticket to preventing my death and breaking Alexia's marriage contract.
I just needed a way to help him—and to get Sierra to open up about him.
For the first part, I had an idea and waited for the notification.
As expected. I'll check it later—I can't zone out in the middle of our conversation.
After a little more small talk, she offered me some coffee. I didn't usually drink coffee, but I happily agreed—it gave me time to think.
'Shop'
————
**Shop**
Balance: 318 SP
[Saints Touch] 10,000 SP
————
Exactly what I need—but of course, I'm broke. The body enhancement was only 100! Though considering it's a skill, it would be much more valuable than a onetime deal.
What does it do?
[Saints Touch] - Instantly heal any injury or sickness.
10,000 is way more than I expected…guess I'll gamble.
I opted to use my 5 free spins and see what I could get. If it's based on satisfaction, I should at least get something decent.
<3x Spins Used>
I stared at the underwear reward for a moment before curiosity got the better of me, and I checked its description.
[Underwear] - Not indestructible, but very comfortable. Perfect resting zone for your jewels!
I would've been annoyed, but the other two rewards seemed pretty good. The cooking skill was self-explanatory, but the system feature intrigued me.
Nice. I'll have to try it out on Sierra when she returned.
Since I was getting lucky, I decided to keep going—hoping this doesn't turn into an addiction.
<2x Spins Used>
[Parallel Thought] - Able to carry out multiple thought processes at once.
[Heal] - Gradually heals injuries and sickness (Higher stats = Quicker healing).
These last two solved a lot of my future problems, especially the Parallel Thought. Now I wouldn't have to zone out whenever I wanted to check the system.
And as for Heal…
Since I'm currently about twice as strong as a normal human, I hope healing won't take too long. Though, it might depend on the severity of the illness and how long it's been affecting them.
I exited the system and rubbed my temples again. It's been a stressful few days.
"Are you ill?"
I saw Sierra return with two mugs of coffee and smiled at her.
"Nah, I'm fine. Just a little headache. Thanks."
I thanked her as she handed me a mug and took a sip. While I did, I glanced at her and used 'Observe'.
————
**Stats**
Name: Sierra Vero
Skills: —
Physique: Unawakened
Strength: 10
Agility: 13
Stamina: 14
————
Interesting. Her physique hasn't awakened yet, but her stats are decent. It seems normal people can have skills too if they manage to awaken.
Since she's the first person I've observed, I have no frame of reference outside myself, and it wouldn't be fair to compare.
I need to observe others of varying strengths to get a better understanding of the power dynamics in the awakened world.
As for healing her grandfather, if she knows about awakeneds, that would help a lot. I wouldn't need to hide my abilities, and I could go straight to helping him.
While I observed her, our conversation continued, eventually circling back to our first meeting.
"Yeah… sorry about all that. It was our first time meeting, and I dumped all that on you." She seemed embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it. I enjoyed our time together. It was nice talking to someone from Daniel's family who seemed like they actually had a brain, haha." She looked at me, a little curious, but smiled when I started laughing.
"I've never met anyone who's so openly disrespected my brother… what's your problem with him? You know mine." She leaned in over her desk, genuinely interested.
"What's there to like about him? His only personality traits are that he has money and power. That's not even inherently a bad thing, but he has nothing else going for him." She didn't interrupt, so I continued.
"In all the years I've known him, he's done nothing but throw his weight around and be a bully. The only reason I've ever tolerated him is because of Alexia. If not for that, I don't know what would've happened."
Though—insider's knowledge—I know I would've just died sooner.
"You'd be dead. My father and his wife dote on Daniel very much."
Well, we're in agreement then.
*Ring Ring*
In the brief silence, a ringtone started playing. I could tell it wasn't mine, so I looked at Sierra.
It must've been a special one because her eyes opened wide and her hands shot toward her phone.
She looked at me in apology as she stood up.
"Don't mind me, take your time."
She thanked me and grabbed her phone, rushing to a different area of the office.
Unfortunately for her, I could still hear with my enhanced stats.
I stood up and walked closer to the door of the room she went in so I could hear who she was on the phone with.
Creepy? I don't care—I'm trying to survive. I'll apologize by not getting caught and healing her grandfather.
"Good morning, little one. Sorry I couldn't call yesterday, this medicine makes me more and more tired." I could hear an older voice on the phone, immediately knowing who it was.
"No, no, don't worry about that! I'm just glad you're okay. How are you feeling today?"
"I'm feeling better than ever… all excited for your birthday!"
I'm confused. From everything I've read to what I'm hearing now, he didn't seem like a bad person. How did his family go so downhill?
"I—*Cough* *Cough*—how's everything on your end?"
"Everything's great. I'm coming to visit tomorrow." They didn't really say anything of substance, and a few minutes passed.
It seemed like he was going to go back to sleep, so they were about to hang up.
I quickly and quietly made my way back to my seat, noting the faint sounds of crying coming from the room she was in.
I sat down, waiting for her to come back out.
And when she did, her 'everything's fine' face was back on.
"Sorry for that, it was important."
I could see her eyes were red and her smile was forced, but as she sat down, she scraped her hand on a sharp object that was placed on her desk, and she bled.
"Ow! Why did I leave this out!?" This accident created the perfect opportunity to display my new skill and get one step closer to healing her grandfather.
I stood up and went to her side.
"Are you okay? Here, let me help you."
I grabbed her hand and began using [Heal] before she could pull it away, watching her reactions carefully.
I could see her eyes widen in shock as it happened, looking at her hand as the wound slowly vanished.
"Akashic—you—wha… when… when did you awaken?" She stared at me intently, shock written on her face.