Aur was silent as he stayed in a still position for a long time, ignoring his tearful eyes.
"I guess I do love this family already, huh…" he thought with a smile gracing his lips.
Previously, in his death, he might have had the conviction of living for himself, and he still does, but it's his selflessness to feel the love of his family that Aur couldn't get in his previous life.
So, no matter what, he had to protect his own family. Getting that family was for his own selfish reason.
Aur stood up from the floor and looked around the simple room.
"I need to prepare some things if I want to do so," he muttered to himself as he summoned his system again.
"Muscle system."
The familiar blue panel materialised in front of him.
–––––
[Muscle System]
[Name: Aur Cromwell/ Auriel
Talent: Future Seer (use: 0)
-Muscle: 0.90 (+)
-Blood and Qi: 0.77 (+)
-Intelligence: 1
Stat Points: 36
Quest: Daily (completed)]
–––––
Although intelligence was maxed out for him, as he couldn't increase it more than one, no visible change has happened to him till now, and his abilities haven't shown much change.
For the current Aur, intelligence was entirely useless, causing him to have entirely wasted his stat points he had gotten from his daily quest.
"Maybe adding everything I have into intelligence was not a good idea…" Aur thought.
However, he didn't regret his decision. After all, he was just playing around with the system previously and didn't need it for any reason.
Especially after he became a mage, he had no use for it anymore. But now that he had to face such a disaster, he needed some trump card if he needed to protect his family. If he didn't he might face the same consequences.
"Looks like I need to train even harder…" Aur thought as he cracked his muscles. "I didn't really want to do this." He sighed. After all, accomplishing something with his own power was the right thing to do, but he was in an urgent need for strength.
After all, although the beast attack might likely happen in the far future, seeing himself die, Aur knew that if he didn't act just like his previous self he would die with his family.
Without a second thought, he allocated all his stats to his muscle attribute.
–––––
[Muscle System]
[Name: Aur Cromwell/ Auriel
Talent: Future Seer (use: 0)
-Muscle: 1
-Blood and Qi: 0.77 (+)
-Intelligence: 1
Stat Points: 26
Quest: Daily (completed)]
–––––
Crack!
The sound echoed through the room as Aur's bones started to slowly crack, each fracture sending shivers down his spine.
His internal organs ruptured, and his once-plump skin began to dry out, the youthful vigour fading away with each passing moment, replaced by all wrinkled up skin as if he was being old.
"Eh," he gasped, a stunned expression crossing his face as he directly vomited blood onto the floor. However, this wasn't the ordinary crimson fluid; instead, a greenish blood emerged, sizzling upon contact with the ground.
Aur's eyes narrowed in disbelief as he observed his hands, which were rapidly losing moisture, turning pale white as if he were on his deathbed.
"What is happening?"
An unbearable pain surged, engulfing his entire consciousness. He rolled his pupils upward, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes transforming into a fiery red with blood vessels popping like fireworks.
Every fibre of his muscles seemed to cramp, yet Aur didn't succumb to unconsciousness; it was as if something prevented him from escaping the grasp of the excruciating agony.
The desire to scream welled up within Aur, but he gritted his teeth tightly, suppressing the urge as the soul-rendering pain continued its relentless assault on his nerves.
As time progressed, more and more of Aur's bones cracked, internal organs burst, and his muscles were torn every second throughout his body.
The floor was already stained by the greenish blood that sizzled intermittently. Upon closer inspection, countless worms could be seen crawling within the strange fluid emitting a bone chilling aura as the blood became even more greenish and more potent.
After a prolonged period of suffering, Aur began to shed his skin like a snake. His pupils gradually returned to their rightful place, and his muscles started becoming stronger and more compact, while his bone density grew denser and more robust.
Clarity returned to Aur's crimson eyes, but an unpleasant odour emanated from his own body, nearly prompting him to vomit on the spot. Despite the nauseating smell, he tried to move around, causing his skin to rustle.
Unable to endure the increasing stench, Aur hurriedly ran to the bathroom. As they moved, footprints left imprints on the ground due to the sheer strength of their physique. The discarded skin lay on the ground, revealing a new, beautiful, baby-like layer.
Aur was shedding his skin like a snake.
Upon entering the bathroom, he hurriedly closed the door and turned on the hot shower for a warm bath. Feeling the hot water stabbing his skin, Aur experienced a relaxing sensation that washed over him.
However, he quickly changed it to cold water, his face displaying a frown. As the water washed over him, the disgusting smell was eventually washed away in moments.
"Aur, what are you doing in the bathroom?"
His mother's voice came from outside.
"Mother, I am bathing," Aur replied as he closed his eyes, completely relaxing before submerging himself in the bathtub.
"Didn't he take a bath just this morning?" Evelyn muttered as she shook her head. "My son is a clean freak."
After a long time of being submerged in water, Aur finally emerged, revealing his toned physique, slowly opening his red eyes as he decided to check his body.
"Huh, I seem to have grown taller…" While previously he was about 5 feet or 152 cm, he had now increased by even a foot taller, and his body seemed to have become bulkier and more robust.
When Aur stepped on the ground, it crackled as a firm footprint of his was left.
His eyes widened as he hurriedly controlled his strength.