Chapter 29: Chapter 29- Newfound powers
"Sir, we have reached." It didn't take another call from the driver before Ryouya woke up from his nap and after thanking the man, he climbed out of the car.
For some obvious reason, even in a state of semi-consciousness, Ryouya's senses remained astutely sharp. He felt he could discern the details of his shifting surroundings with minimal effort. He believed he could enumerate the number of coffee shops, bakeries, and similar establishments they passed on their way back to his residence.
It was around five in the morning when he returned so Ryouya didn't disturb his family and used his spare key to enter the house...only to get startled upon seeing someone standing there.
It was Kaede.
"Morning..." Wearing her usual jogging attire that hugged her beautiful legs and bubble butt marvelously, Kaede stood near the entrance while tying her shoelace. She was about to go on a run.
"You were out the whole night." Saying so she got back on her feet before looking at Ryouya in the eyes as she asked in a slightly heavy tone, "Girlfriend?"
Ryouya had already erased any marks and scent that could give away the clue of what he did all night so he had no issue shaking his head in denial.
Kaede's eyes held a steady look for a brief moment. Then, with a sigh, her expression mellowed, and she gently cupped his cheek with her hand.
"Listen Ryouya...whatever you do, please be safe. Nothing in this world could be more important than your well-being, you get that?"
Despite being surprised, Ryouya found himself nodding in understanding.
It was surprising how she had been cold and indifferent toward him for the past two years but now this side of her suddenly surfaced out of nowhere. There was a possibility that she might be influenced by what happened between them the night before yesterday...but still, it was far too out of character for her to behave like this.
Regardless, Ryouya liked this side of Kaede so he didn't needlessly point out or ask the reason for the change.
***
Once she departed, Ryouya returned to his room and collapsed onto the bed. He stared fixedly at the ceiling, his body remaining entirely still.
After a minute count, he muttered under his breath, "So I finally became a scum huh..." It was so surreal that just two days ago, he thought of sex as a sacred union of two love birds, adultery the worst kind of crime, and lying—the path to hell.
Yet, within two days he had crumbled all his morale and stomped on his principles like all these years he was just pretending to be a good guy.
[You need to sacrifice some of the things to survive. And in the first place, you didn't entirely force yourself on anyone until now. You just need to keep moving forward at this pace and you will create a life where you won't need to worry about getting cornered by anyone.]
Seeing the text, Ryouya sighed before he decided it was futile to wail on the past.
"How many DE points did I accumulate?" As he got up from bed, Ryouya asked, expecting at least a thousand points already in his inventory. But...
[A total of 5200.]
"...!" Ryouya couldn't believe his eyes when he saw such numbers and even so when the only person he got intimate with last night was Maria.
"...that much? How come?" While he had no issue having as much energy as he could, Ryouya wanted to know the ways he could farm the maximum unit while being involved in intercourse.
[Every time you release your seed inside your partner and absorb theirs, your points jump by three hundred. So you can do the maths.]
...Ryouya didn't continue to think about it since even though he had sex all night, his unbelievable libido would make him hard once again if he thought about last night.
"So how can I test my powers? Should I punch another hole or something?" Ryouya felt slight excitement rising in his veins as he rubbed his palms in anticipation.
While he wasn't much of a fan of fiction or novels, he still had thoughts more than once that what if he suddenly got the opportunity to save the school from terrorists or rescue a girl on the street from a stalker goon or something?
[No, not something like that. While it would be good if you start exercising to amplify your natural body strength, we are going to focus on your magical aspect currently.]
Ryouya clicked his tongue before plopping down the bed once again. This magic thing was something he still hadn't grasped even a bit.
"What do I need to do?" The other factor why he seemed so displeased, stems from the fact that doing supernatural things would exhaust his accumulated DE swiftly.
[...You know you can't protect yourself from that barrier with just punches and kicks, right?]
"..." True.
[Okay, then. First of all, we would focus on your control over Demonic Energy. The more command you would have the less consumption of your skills would require.]
That earned a raise of brows from Ryouya since he thought his skills had a fixed consumption rate.
"So what do I need to do?" Getting back on his feet, Ryouya raised his left palm before asking the system.
[You need to conjure your energy at your will first. And to do that, think about some traumatic or something which has left an adverse effect on your remembrance. It may take some tim-]
*SHFOOO*
Before the system screen could complete its message, flames engulfed Ryouya's palm. The deep, muted red hue with a dark outline imbued them with an intimidating aura. Rather than harming Ryouya, these flames seemed to invigorate and empower him.
"Is this it?" Ryouya inquired, his eyes mirroring the fiery blaze that engulfed his hands.
[Y-Yes, correct....Correct! That's it! You already jumped over the first and second stages in your first attempt! As expected of my Lo-*ahem*, never mind.]
Ryouya was so occupied by his newfound powers that he never noticed the messages getting erased immediately after being written.
"So what should I do now?"
[Try to reduce those flames at your will. You need to control your negativity. Please don't raise it anymore or the sensors around the place will alert the Defenders.]
Ryouya gulped at that. If he knew that, he would have chosen a barren land to test his powers.
[Just calm your nerves and think how you would silently react when someone is badmouthing you. A calm breathing pattern, no facial changes but your mind will still be engaged in it.]
Ryouya nodded before he closed his eyes and thought about one of those incidents when he was tripped by someone in school intentionally to make Ryouya look stupid in Chiaki's eyes.
That disgusting laugh, the way everyone was glancing at him and giggling secretly, how even the teachers ignored him...Ryouya recalled every moment vividly.
Unbeknownst to the person himself, the flames around his fist flickered and for a moment enlarged only to diminish the very next second.
It was magnificent to see how well Ryouya was handling his emotions and bending them like he had been practicing for a long time.
A minute later, Ryouya finally separated his lips and examined the flames, only to find that the once fierce red now sheathed his palm like a glove. It lacked its previous intensity, instead providing a protective layer over his skin.
[I think you are now ready to learn your first offensive skill.]
****
A/N:- I don't know why but whenever I finish writing, I only reach 1.2K words...like why?!!!
Anyway, the week is gonna reset, so please continue to support me with PS and comments~
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