Chapter 37
"Enough!"
Nyxās voice suddenly cut through the room stopping both of them in their tracks. The baby faced girl with an unreadable expression on her face stepped back, she had allowed her self get carried away in the fight. Nyx without sparing Alex so much as a glance, turned towards the window and spoke bluntly.
"Consider this a warning. You belong to me now, whether you accept it or not."
With a flick of her finger, she dismissed him.
[Wow, Alex, she really got you good. Four of your ribs are broken, you have some muscle damage and your stamina is totally drained. Honestly? This is worse than I expected]
The chibi rattled on while checking on his injured body with concern. Alex meanwhile didnāt respond, instead he focused on limping out of the massive building. While struggling to move, he pulled his shirt collar up, shielding his battered face from passerbys. He didnāt want anyone recognizing him.
[On the bright side, at least you got half a share of a multi million company. While on the downside, you also got beaten into modern art]
"I hate you," he hissed through gritted teeth. But the chibi didnāt take it seriously.
[Keep saying it till you believe it, kid. Without me you would have probably been in a makeshift grave... No, that would have even been a privilege. But seriously take the alley way home. Your face is doing things that faces arenāt designed to do in public]
*****
By the time Alex finally reached his apartment, his legs felt like they were made out of wet concrete. Every step up the stairs sent a fresh wave of pain through his already battered body, even his head was still ringing like someone had left a bell inside and kept tapping it for fun. The systemās advice about taking the alley way had been really solid, he was pretty sure that if anyone had taken a good look at his face right now, they would have either called an ambulance or the police, or maybe both.
Pushing his room door open, he stepped forward and closed it behind him. The moment the lock clicked, he could feel the last bit of strength holding his body upright, vanishing. Leaning against the door, Alex let out a long ragged breath and began to curse both Nyx and the baby faced girl until their tenth generation.
"Dammit! That annoying woman... and after everything I did for her!" He winced as he spoke. " And as for that baby-faced freak, always trying to act cool and composed like those low budget anime villian. Does she really think sheās actually that cool? Ouch! How dare she hit that much. Ouch! My rib! Itās not like I even did anything wrong to her."
[Why didnāt you say all that in front of them, coward]
"One more word from you and Iāll sell you to some perverted gooner. Iām sure thereās someone out there who would like a chibi sized girl."
[Well technically Iām bound to you. Think of it as an Eddie Brock and venom situation. So if youāre selling me then youāre pretty much just selling yourself also]
"..."
[Look, I get why youāre so mad... It was pretty bad being embarrassed out there like a ragdoll, but you should look on the bright side. You are still alive and nothingās missing from your body. So Iād pretty much call that a win]
"Sigh. I guess youāre probably right, at least I got the company." He muttered while pushing himself off the door.
Limping toward the bathroom, he flipped the light switch on and froze in shock the moment he saw his reflection in the mirror.
His face really looked swollen, one cheek was already turning an ugly shade of purple and there was even dried blood at the corner of his lips. His shirt was a lost cause, it was shredded at the shoulder and soaked in blood and grime.
With a sigh, he stripped out of his shirt and tossed it into the trash, as much as he hated it, that was honestly the best thing he could do. The cloth was already unredeemable. After hurriedly cleaning himself, he dropped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, replaying the fight from earlier, scene by scene.
He remembered every single detail of the fight, of the way she moved without any hesitation, combining both offense and defense to overpower him. It not like he was weak, after all, he did land some pretty solid hits. But there was something strange about her movement. It felt like whenever he threw an attack, she would dodge or block it with ease as if she already knew what was going to happen. Call him crazy but it felt like... She could see into the future.
Alex almost laughed at himself, see into the future? Even that thought seemed pretty stupid, but then again he had a system that literally helped him grow stronger so maybe, just maybe that hypothesis might be true.
"Hey system. About that baby faced girl. When I was fighting her, it felt kind of strange, like I was fighting a person who could accurately predict my movements. So is it possible that sheās some kind of super human or something?"
[Well... Itās highly possible]
"What?!"
[Do you think youāre the only person in this world with powers? Hell no. There are several people with wide range of abilities out there, though they are rare, they are very much real. But one thing I can say is that no one in this entire universe apart from you has a system. So thatās basically an OP cheat]
"Wait let me get this straight? So aside from having a system Iām not the only special person in the world?" Alex asked while trying to process the huge bombshell.
[For the love of God, yes! Do I literally have to yell it out for you?]
"Okay, but what about that baby faced girl? I mean what power do you think she probably has? Is it mind reading or time related shit?"
[Iām not too sure but I think she has a power that allows her to see into the future for a short burst of time, effectively boosting her combat skill. Though I donāt know the name of that ability. I do know itās a pretty rare and unique one, probably around SS rank. And the worst part is that I can tell sheās still in the early stage of that ability. If she grows stronger later on, she could potentially become invincible throughout this city, maybe the world, but I doubt that is possible. Because from what I observed it looks like she has to turn off the ability due to its massive drain on her stamina. So thatās probably why you were able to land a few decent hits]
"An SS rank monster!" Alex sighed while massaging his temple "Honestly, I donāt know how to feel about this news. I thought that after growing stronger I could vent my anger on her but now, even that is beginning to look like a pipe dream."
[You know... The best thing if I were you is to add her to your harem. That way sheāll basically become one of your women and strongest allies in the possible future. Think about it? The first rule of power is turn your enemies to allies]
"My heart tells me thatās a terrible idea... But my mind tells me, thatās a pretty good idea. With a woman like her, my plans of growing stronger and acquiring more power would slowly come to fruition. After all such an ally would be of great help. But thereās still one problem with that? "Nyx." With her domineering presence Iām sure she wonāt stand there and watch her close employee get taken by me.... Sigh. Guess Iāll just focus on the present task before thinking about any of that."
He let out a slow breath and tried to shift on the bed, but immediately regretted it as the pain in his ribs flared up again.
"Dammit. Can you show me my store? I think I need another dose of that body recovery water before I pass out from pain."
The chibi nodded.
Instantly, a soft familiar ding! echoed inside his head, as a translucent blue panel unfolded in the air.
[Desire Shop]
ā¢ Minor Luck Boost for twenty four hours ā 50 Desire Points
ā¢ Charm Amplifier Lvl.1 (Temporary increases attraction towards the opposite sex) ā 80 Desire Points
ā¢ Random Gacha spin ā 100 Desire Points
ā¢ Body Recovery Water (Heals injuries) ā 50 Desire Points
ā¢ Profit instinct (active skill) ā 200 Desire Points
ā¢ Aura Of Seduction Lv.2 ā 500 Desire Points
ā¢ X-ray Vision ā 500 Desire Points
ā¢ Time rewind (Only within one minute) ā 700 points
[Total Desire Points: 660 DP]
...After drinking the body recovery water and feeling its healing effect. Alex felt rejuvenated once more. His broken ribs had practically healed and his pig-like swollen face had miraculously turned back to its previous appearance. Feeling the incoming hunger, Alex summoned a piece of pie from the spatial storage space and stuffed his face full.
Finally satisfied, he thought of a more important issue. One that led to his defeatāwhich was lack of proper fighting experience and skills. He needed to learn how to fight properly, not like some street brawler. Even without the baby faced girl activating her power, she would still have beaten him effortlessly, even though the gap between them was not too wide. Hell, they even had the same level of strength. What helped her was her years of combat experience and profound fighting skills.
"Hey system."
[Hm?]
"How do I fix my fighting issue? Because what good is this strength, if more skilled opponents are able to beat me. I need a way to learn new skills and improve my fighting ability. So can you help me?"
The chibi went silent for a brief moment, and began to stroke her little chin.
[Technically, there is a way you could gain insane skills and improve your fighting abilities but I have to tell you, itās going to be brutal and extremely dangerous. Plus there is a risk that you might die. Are you sure you still want to learn it?]