Nothing happened. No flash or sparks manifested. The spell apparently failed or had no effect. Athena continued watching Ethan through her divine vision on full blast. The boy's heart sank, realizing his reincarnation gig would soon end. Couldn't the world give him a break for a moment?
Considering the divine vision skill's power, Athena would detect Ethan as an outsider, arriving at the misplaced conclusion that he was Asmodeus incarnate. A deadly attack would follow. Now that they were only a yard apart, the boy had no room to escape.
Ethan navigated to his system skills section and hovered over the ghost hands entry. He had no intention of going down without a fight. Bring it on, blonde wonder woman!
Almost a minute went by, and nothing of consequence happened. Not a soul moved. Quite literally, everything was at a standstill.
'Wait!' Ethan then realized the world around him had paused. The breeze stopped blowing, the birds were motionless on the trees or while airborne. The pond water looked like solid glass, and it was dead silent. What the hell happened? A time freeze? What caused it?
Ethan turned in confusion towards the murderous warrior and the suspicious witch. Did Beatrix charm the surroundings so the castle guards couldn't come to his rescue? Or was it an effect of Athena's divine vision? The two theories were pointless because both women were statue-still with the rest of the garden.
Ethan tried to move his body, but he was also stuck in limbo. What was going on? Did the Isekai world's Wi-Fi get disconnected? The boy took a deep breath. It was no time for internal dad jokes. The only one who could hear his thoughts was the system, a rather bland, humorless interface.
Ethan racked his brains for an explanation. Did the Grimorium Lustra's spell work? But how and why did it pause the world? Making something like that happen was nothing ordinary.
Hero Cycle Revision—what was it supposed to do?
The boy could not move right now, but navigating his system was seamless, as it had been before. What if the time freeze was a temporary recess for him to prepare for battle? In that case, he must get everything in his arsenal ready.
The other powerful spell Ethan was familiar with was Vanchsneff Nachtaal, the one that revealed your deepest secret. Perhaps he could learn something about Athena and use it to manipulate her?
The boy went for his ghost hands skill. It immediately drained half the MP bar on the top right corner of his vision. The phantom arms manifested like usual. It worked! Apparently, the time freeze did not apply to actions taken within an internal system.
Ethan's ghost hands extended towards Athena, halting before her lower body. 'I'm sorry, big girl, but the spell requires me to put my eggs in your basket,' he thought. 'Besides, you almost killed me a few minutes back. You owe me big time.'
Ethan let his fingers slither between the woman's legs. As expected, there was no resistance from the otherwise sturdy armor and clothes. It was as if the metal and cotton did not exist.
Ethan's heart did a double take as his fingers perceived the warmth of a herculean woman's groin. It was still wet from the pond bath. Sharp prickles on his ghost skin indicated that Athena had a thick bush.
It would be ideal for the boy to see the goods he was about to explore, but life was never perfect. When it gives you lemons, there's only one thing you can do.
Feeling optimistic, Ethan made his right phantom hand into a gun and pushed the two fingers inside. 'Let's make some lemonade!'
Crack! Zip! Ethan squealed on the inside in mortal agony. A jarring electric shock ran through his body. Luckily, the contact was not direct but through magic. The ghost hands disintegrated as if something much more powerful had bitch-slapped them.
'What the hell? Is there an electric taser between Athena's legs?'
[Spell execution successful!]
[Loading Hero Cycle Revision…]
[Revise Athena's 'nemesis' role?]
The system's abrupt interruption gave Ethan a start. He completely forgot about the punishment from Athena's supposed chastity belt.
Did the system place the world on a freeze while it processed the Hero Cycle Revision spell? Or perhaps it slowed down time for him internally?
'Change her nemesis role?' the boy wondered. 'That means the blonde wonder woman will no longer come after me? Sure! Revise the fuck out of it!'
[Select new role: Female lead/ Best friend/ Romantic lover/ bodyguard/ Enthusiastic teacher/ Sex slave]
Without a second thought, Ethan selected 'Sex slave'. However, it was an unrealistic choice. Things never fell into his lap that easily.
[Error! User's level is too low. Selected—Enthusiastic teacher]
Ethan sighed in defeat. 'Can't blame a guy for choosing smut when it is on the damn menu! Anyway, hopefully, Athena won't try to kill me anymore.'
[Processing…]
[Archnemesis—unchanged]
[Others (Nemesis)—unchanged]
[Athena (Nemesis)—changed to Athena (Supporting character)—Enthusiastic teacher]
Ethan inferred from the last prompts he had an Archenemy and more than one nemesis. Promiscua would never cut him any slack.
[System advice: Hero Cycle Revision cannot be used for another year]
Ethan had no intention to get into any similar tricky situations anytime soon. Suddenly, he realized his eyes were closed. How long had the boy been standing like that?
As Ethan opened his eyes, the confused faces of the witch and the warrior greeted him. "Are you okay, Young Count?" Beatrix asked with furrowed brows. "You spaced out for a second."
The Cromwell heir regained his composure quickly. "I'm fine."
Beatrix turned to Athena. "Well? Do you have something to say to the future Count of Fondel?"
The warrior woman nodded and stepped forward. Ethan noticed her divine vision had already waned, and so did her fierce expression. One of shame and submission replaced it. The boy could not believe that the same woman was trying to kill him minutes ago.
"Young Count," Athena said in a much more docile tone than earlier. "I rechecked through my divine vision and found nothing strange within you. It hurts me to admit my ability is losing its edge. Perhaps the angels don't think me worthy anymore. As penance, I will go without food for a week."
Ethan almost burst out laughing. "No, that would be unnecessary. It was an honest mistake, and nobody was hurt in the end. I forgive you."
"I am grateful!"
"Then shall we begin your first class?" Beatrix asked excitedly. The worry lines on her forehead finally relaxed. Ethan judged the little witch's looks and found her quite attractive. She looked enchanting, with both tense and cheerful expressions.
Beatrix turned towards Athena and offered her a reassuring smile. The promise of gold, food, and lodging in the castle was a dream come true for the bankrupt duo.
"No, we shan't!" Ethan replied sharply.
The witch and the warrior exchanged surprised glances. "What do you mean? Countess Velma Cromwell tasked us to tutor you."
Ethan dusted his tunic and fixed his belt as if the conversation was an imposition. "My mother did select you both to be my teachers. However, the decision to hire you still remains with me—"
"Young Count!" Beatrix interrupted him. "I am from the direct line of Cassandra, and Athena is a dragon slayer. You will not find a more competent pair of witch and warrior in these lands!"
Ethan cast her a disapproving look. "I'm sure both of you are quite gifted and have a lot of achievements in your professions. However, I am not interested in being taught by stragglers who are looking for a quick coin. You may leave."
"If this is about my behavior!" Athena chimed in. "Please, I will accept any punishment! We are homeless and starving, and our purses are empty. This is the only job we got in three months!"
Beatrix slapped her friend on the leg. "You're making it worse!"
Ethan frowned at the duo. "I am the Cromwell heir. I don't care about the financial situation of two strangers who aren't even citizens of my Fondel! Anyway, the reason for rejecting you is different—you aren't meant to be my teachers."
"What are you saying—" the witch began, but her weak retort betrayed the truth.
"My mother hired you two as bodyguards, not teachers," the boy replied sternly. "The ruse is so obvious I feel insulted."
Beatrix and Athena lowered their eyes. Velma had indeed hired them for the sole purpose of protecting Ethan. They were to keep it a secret and use the tutorship as an excuse to stay beside him.
"I guess there is nothing else left to say," the Cromwell heir concluded to their downcast faces. He spun sharply and walked away.
Beatrix raised her eyes, bit her lip, and stepped forward. "Count Cromwell… If I may… I have a question…"
"What is it?" Ethan responded, without breaking his steps.
"What do you want from your tutors? What are you seeking?"
The boy stopped in his tracks but did not turn around. "I want to get strong really quick to protect myself, my mother, sisters, and the citizens of Fondel. I want trustworthy and learned advisors who wouldn't keep secrets from me."
Beatrix took a couple of more steps forward. "The registered tutors of Fondel County are mostly bookworms with no practical experience. They will limit your ambition and throttle your dreams with a rigid academic curriculum."
"How are you two different?" Ethan asked, half-turned, looking at them from the corner of his eyes.
"Athena and I are wildcards. We have no respect for rules, regulations, curricula, or regimes. We will teach you anything and everything under God's green earth to help you survive. If you want to learn through the fastest and most extreme methods, choose us!"