Chapter 77: The Step After Awakening(1)

After stepping inside the basement, he was instantly rushed by Seraphina and Lia.

“Was there a monster above?” Lia asked instantly, not even letting him take a second to breathe.

“There weren’t,” Lucian answered, making her exhale in relief.

But then she noticed his changed clothes and his messy hair.

Her eyes narrowed a little.

Lucian’s hair was still slightly damp, strands sticking out from where he had hurriedly dried it. His shirt was different from the one he had worn earlier, and the faint scent of soap lingered around him.

“Did you take a bath?” Lia asked curiously, her tone carrying genuine confusion.

She wondered how he could bathe in such a situation when there were monsters lingering outside their house.

Lucian stiffened as he nodded slightly.

“Yes, I was a bit sweaty after the goblin’s memories.”

He said, making them nod slowly as they noticed the suitcase he had brought along with him.

Lucian sighed in relief as they didn’t question anything like why he was outside for such a long time.

Even if they asked, there was no way he could tell them the real reason.

He told them about the clothes he had packed inside the suitcase.

Lia rushed at him to take the bag.

The moment her hand brushed over his, his fingers trembled slightly, something none of them noticed.

He internally clicked his tongue as he cursed himself for getting so conscious suddenly.

Shaking those thoughts off,

“I want you… both of you to increase your rank.”

His words brought both of their attention as they turned to him, keeping the bag away.

The atmosphere in the basement shifted slightly. The casual tension that had been lingering in the air faded, replaced by something more serious.

Seraphina placed the suitcase gently near the wall while Lia turned back toward him.

“I know both of you have awakened, and there might be an increase in your strength, something that you might not have noticed.”

Lia didn’t understand, since she hadn’t felt any major change in her body.

She frowned slightly.

Seraphina, on the other hand, thought something as she once again turned to the suitcase Lucian had brought just now.

She reached down, picking it up, and…

“It’s lighter,” she muttered, making Lia turn toward her.

“The bag. I think it’s lighter than it should’ve been.”

Lia blinked.

“Huh?”

She stepped closer and grabbed the bag from her.𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Lia frowned as she tried it too, but didn’t really understand if it really was lighter or if it was just her mind playing tricks.

She lifted it, lowered it. Then lifted it again.

Her expression grew more confused.

Lucian, seeing that, decided to do something.

He went upstairs again and a minute later came back, bringing a few dumbbells along with him.

He asked them to try to pick it up and…

“There’s not much difference,” he concluded.

Seraphina and Lia nodded quietly.

Lia felt slightly upset about that.

Their strength had increased, and it was noticeable through the dumbbells, since she could carry more weight that she could before.

But it wasn’t a drastic change, and that made her mood go down.

Seraphina’s expression didn’t change, but even she felt slightly disappointed.

Lucian, seeing that, chuckled lightly.

“Don’t expect too much just now,” he said, before adding more to brighten their mood.

“Both of you have just awakened. The difference will increase as you increase your rank.”

His words helped ease the disappointment slightly.

Then he stepped aside and picked up his bag, which held monster cores inside them.

He sat down cross-legged and placed the monster cores on the floor.

One by one, they rolled out from the bag.

Nine marble-sized F rank cores and a slightly bigger E rank core.

He looked up at both of them, who were still standing.

Seraphina also lowered herself onto the floor, folding her legs behind her, before Lia, too, hesitantly sat down.

And of course, she sat right beside him.

Lucian looked at both of them for a second, letting them settle down.

Then, he started.

“These cores can be used to increase your rank. I’ve already told you that.”

Lia nodded her head quickly.

“Yes, but why is this one bigger?” she asked, pointing at the hobgoblin’s core.

Lucian had told them about many things while keeping a few things hidden.

Seraphina’s eyes stared at Lucian, already expecting some answer that would shake them up.

And of course, how could her son not meet her expectations?

“It’s an E rank monster’s core,” he answered calmly.

And as expected, Lia was shocked.

Her eyes widened slightly, and even Seraphina’s eyes flickered for a second.

They had seen what an F rank monster could do to normal people, so how powerful would an E rank monster be?

Lia instantly bombarded him with questions, and Lucian answered each of them honestly.

After a few minutes,

“So, let’s start,” he said again, his voice serious.

They waited for him to tell more, but…

“How?” Seraphina asked, seeing him go silent.

“…I don’t know,” Lucian said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

He scratched the back of his head slightly.

He had told them so confidently that they had to absorb the cores, but even he didn’t know how to do that.

For a moment, Lia just stared at him.

Then she sighed softly.

Lucian cleared his throat slightly.

“Pick up one of the monster’s cores, and try sensing the mana in it.”

He said, after remembering Lia’s words in his previous life.

In his past life, she seemed to have understood it by instinct, although it took her almost half a day to absorb it.

But that was then.

Now Lia had C rank talent, one rank higher than in the previous timeline. And although he didn’t know how it happened, it would definitely reduce the time it takes for her to absorb the core.

All three of them picked up one core.

Even though Lucian didn’t need to absorb cores, since it wouldn’t help him to increase his rank, he wanted to give it a try.

He picked up one of the smallest cores and studied it for a while.

He used his skill to read the mana in it, and he could instantly see it.

A small amount of mana.

Although it wasn’t much, he could feel that it was purer than the mana in the surroundings.

He began studying it for a while.

He could feel that he could easily absorb it, but he wanted to learn more about it.

Meanwhile, Seraphina and Lia, seeing him so focused, turned their attention to the dark marble-like cores in their hands.

Both of them could feel something from the core, something that was attracting them.

Seraphina looked at the core for a while before instinctively closing her eyes.

She could feel a pull coming from the core, as if something was trying to enter her.

Slowly, her body relaxed, and she felt something flowing from the core in her hand.

Then, slowly, it flowed through her entire body, nourishing and strengthening every vein in her body.

After a few minutes, the core in her hand began to lose its colour before turning colourless like a glass shard.

Seraphina instantly felt it, like there was a current flowing through her body—but it wasn’t current.

She tried to understand it, but the feeling vanished instantly.

Lucian was still focused on the monster core.

He looked at it intently, studying the mana inside it and outside it.

He felt like he could feel the flow passing inside it, as it tried to enter his body.

He frowned slightly, but still focused on it.

After a while, he could see it.

The flow.

The mana flow in the air, inside the core, moving in an irregular pattern.

Then, as if to confirm it—

[Ding!~]

A chime rang in his head.

[Your skill Minor Mana Awareness has turned to Mana Sensitivity.]

Now he couldn’t feel the mana; he could even see the flow of it.

He didn’t focus on the message for a while before turning to the core again.

He looked for a minute more, but feeling no change, he tried to absorb it.

The moment he willed it, the mana from the core instantly rushed into his body, into his already filled mana pool.

He looked at the colourless core for a while, before—

Feeling the change in the mana in the surroundings, looked up at Seraphina quickly.

Seeing the glass-like shard like the one in his hand, even he felt surprised.

He looked at Lia, but she seemed to be struggling with it.

He could clearly see the mana struggling to enter her body—or maybe it was her body having difficulty absorbing the mana.

But seeing her focusing so hard, he didn’t try to help her—at least not yet.

He waited for Seraphina to open her eyes.

The moment she did, he smiled brightly.

“Congratulations, Mom.” He said, startling Lia, who instantly looked at her, before noticing the core that had turned colourless.

“…Did she absorb it?” Lia asked hesitantly, as her eyes furrowed slightly.

Lucian nodded, happy that his mother could do it so easily.

“It must be your high talent.” He said to Seraphina, who herself seemed to be surprised by her feat.

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