Chapter 4: Problem in Awakening
Aiden, whose eyes just met with the goddess, suddenly felt a heavy pressure on his body. He tried to withstand the pressure, only to fall again. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to move his head to look into her eyes, but he was disappointed once more as he could not lift his head. Suddenly, a divine voice sounded in front of him.
"You are lucky that I have not obliterated your soul for thinking such indecent thoughts about me, and be thankful to meet the great me!"
She puffed her cheeks cutely as she seemed mad at him, but Aiden had no idea he had missed such a rare sight, one that no one in the universe had ever seen.
While Aiden thought to himself, "Oh! Fuck, how could I have forgotten she can read my mind," but he still thought she looked like a goddess.
While reading his thoughts, a small smile appeared on her face, but it quickly disappeared. She hadn't even noticed herself smiling while thinking, 'At least he has good eyes.' Then, feeling a little better from the praise in his mind, she released the pressure on Aiden's body.
Aiden felt the pressure disappear, and he quickly stood up to face the goddess again. Pure admiration for beauty filled his eyes, and the goddess was quite satisfied with his reaction.
Yet, something felt weird to him. Thoughts began appearing in his mind, urging him to worship her and even die for her, but he resisted those thoughts.
Suddenly, her plump pink lips opened. "You can ask two questions, and I will answer your questions."
After listening to her voice, Aiden seemed deep in thought, a serious look on his face as he said in a serious voice, "Okay." He was unaware of being affected by her charm, which she tried to control as much as possible despite being in a weakened state. But the power difference between them was huge.
After thinking for a few seconds, Aiden looked right into her eyes and asked his first question, "How can I get strong enough to revive my mother?"
"Hmm, good question. As of right now, your world has no mana or Qi present, but it seems to be on the verge of evolving. Its first evolution will start almost five years from now. After that, with the help of the system, you will know how to get stronger," the goddess said while looking at his face, which seemed quite calm and satisfied with her answer.
He was thinking about the second question he wanted to ask her, and right then, he wanted to ask, 'Can I die for you, goddess?' But deep in his mind, he knew this wasn't his real thought. In the end, he asked her a stupid question, wasting his chance, struggling to think straight in front of her.
"Okay, and my second question is, how can I get you to become my girlfriend?" Aiden asked with a straight face, looking into her eyes, still affected by her charm.
The goddess, who couldn't believe her ears, yelled at the top of her lungs, her face beet-red, while waving her hands, "Get out of here, you shameless child!" Aiden, who saw her yelling with a blush on her face, suddenly disappeared from his place.
She knew that even if she tried to control her charm, it would still affect this weak mortal. But that was not the response she had expected. It took her by surprise, and she was a little impressed that he was somewhat aware of being affected. Usually, mortals wouldn't even realize it. Still, she said in her captivating voice, thinking about his earlier question.
"Hmph! In the future, I will be sure to teach this shameless child a lesson," she muttered while covering her face with her hands, giggling to herself as she remembered that his talent awakening was about to happen in a few minutes.
"Hehehehehehe."
Aiden found himself standing in the same place he was before, confirming his guess that the previous place was not real, though it felt real. He shrugged his shoulders, thinking to himself, 'When I am powerful enough, I will naturally know.'
As Aiden remembered the blushing face of the beautiful goddess, he said out loud, "She was very cute," knowing that even if he only thought it in his mind, the goddess would still hear it.
He also realized that he had wasted his second question due to being affected by something, but he didn't regret it as much because he had asked the most important question.
Thinking for a while about his earlier unanswered question, he would make sure he would get her reply in the future. The idea of having a 'Sugar Mommy' who was unimaginably strong and likely very rich excited him.
Coming out of his thoughts, he focused on the blue screen in front of him.
[Talent Awakening starts in 5 min, 35 sec]
Looking at the message, Aiden realized that only a few seconds had passed in the outside world while he was in the mysterious place.
The goddess, listening to him say she was cute, blushed while sitting on her throne, choosing to ignore him, knowing his shameless behavior.
But she failed to ignore his thoughts about her being his sugar mommy, responding with a 'hmph!' as she sat quietly on her throne, lost in thoughts no one knew.
A monotonous feminine voice sounded in Aiden's mind.
[Prepare yourself for the Talent Awakening. It's going to be quite painful for you, host. Do not lose consciousness during the awakening.]
Aiden, hearing the system's voice, thought, "The system is like an AI, a pretty powerful one at that."
The goddess, listening to his thoughts, said in his mind with a dissatisfied tone, "Don't compare your mortal toys to the creation of the great me. It can do far more than you can imagine! Hmph! Stupid! And it will unlock more of its functions when you're powerful enough. As your cultivation realm increases, and you can live thousands or even millions of years, be thankful to the great me."
Aiden, listening to her haughty voice, thought to himself with an annoyed expression on his face.
'If she doesn't open her mouth, anyone would fall in love with her at first sight. In the future, I'll make sure to spank her perky ass properly.'
He dared not say it out loud, unsure of what his haughty goddess might do to him. He had no ability to resist her; he was an ant before her power.
He remembered meeting her in the mysterious place, sensing her godlike presence. She had no intention of harming him, as she could easily have done so. That meant she needed him for some reason.
If a being of her caliber needed him, that meant he had to become powerful enough to help her.
While becoming powerful, he would also revive his mother, and when the time came, he would face whatever schemes she had in store for him. He knew nothing came without a price.
Having read many history books, Aiden knew human nature was not always white; there was more black than white, and history was proof of that.
His mom raised him well enough to see reality clearly, though he didn't know if the haughty goddess was human or not. Thinking about his mother, he knew this goddess was the reason for her death, and he was powerless before her.
The feeling of helplessness was something Aiden despised, and he vowed never to feel that way again.
That's why he didn't blame her for his mother's death, and the idea of living millions of years with his mother and sister felt heavenly to him.
He would make full use of the system in any way he could, and he swore to himself that he would become strong enough to protect both his mother and sister.
The idea of living a peaceful life with them for millions of years filled him with excitement.
Aiden's breath grew heavy as he thought, "This is my opportunity, and I must seize it."
The goddess, who had guessed what he was going through in his emotional turmoil, said to herself, "This child is pretty good, except for being shameless and naughty."
Remembering his thoughts of spanking her perky ass, her face suddenly turned deep red as she yelled in her empty throne room.
"How dare he make me think about such a vulgar thing?" She thought about seeing his face during his talent awakening and giggled to herself.
A few minutes passed, and Aiden, staring at the blue screen in front of him, had a deep look on his face.
[Talent Awakening starts in 10 seconds.]
[9 sec., 8 sec., 3 sec.]
Aiden stood with a calm and determined look on his face, and the goddess also observed him with a serious expression on her beautiful face.
[2 sec., 1 sec., 0 sec.]
[TALENT AWAKENING STARTED]
Inside the mysterious space, the goddess sat on her throne, her body emitting a radiant, rainbow-colored glow that slowly started to merge with Aiden's soul.
Aiden, who was ready for hellish pain, didn't feel anything, and more messages started appearing in front of his eyes.
[TALENT AWAKENING SUCCESSFUL]
[AWAKENED Talent: Water Affinity (A+)]
Aiden, seeing the message, said out loud, "Well, that was easy. I think I'm a genius, of course, as expected of myself."
The goddess, hearing his narcissistic comment, smiled evilly, though the smile only made her look cuter as the glow from her body intensified and merged with Aiden's soul even faster.
Outside, Aiden, who had just praised himself, saw new messages appear before his eyes, but this time the message was in red.
[ ERROR @#$%@# ]
[ ERROR AWAKENING FAILED ]
[ ERROR RESTARTING AWAKENING ]
[ AWAKENING RESTARTS in 3, 2, 1 ]
[ ERROR AWAKENING FAILED ]