Chapter 11: Getting Ready for the Party.

Neo was enjoying his peaceful nap, but he felt a sharp jolt on his arm that woke him up. Bolt, who used Neo's arm as his personal training dummy, hit it with a small lightning snake. "Ow, Bolt! What was that for?" Neo groggily said, rubbing his arm.

He looked at the clock and saw the time, he had been sleeping for about four hours, and it was already 5:00 pm. He sat up and stretched, feeling refreshed and energized. Neo got out of bed and took a refreshing shower, feeling the warm water wash away all his fatigue.

After coming out of the shower, Neo looked at himself in the mirror, towel around his hips.

Neo had a well-defined physique, with broad shoulders and a toned build that suggested he was in excellent physical condition. His height, being close to 6 feet (1.83 m), made him taller than average and gave him a commanding presence. His sandy brown hair was styled in a curly quiff, which added to his charm and gave him a playful, carefree look. His green eyes were sharp and penetrating, hinting at a keen intellect and a quick wit.

After gaining attributes, Neo's physique became even more defined, with his muscles becoming more prominent and his body becoming even more toned. However, he did not become muscular or bulky, his agility being high and not that much behind the strength stat gave him a sleek and athletic look that was both attractive and practical in combat situations.

He was appreciating his looks when he heard Blaze's voice.

{Mr. Narcissist, how about trying out the dress that Bella got me? I might look even more a prince charming in that.}

"I'm not a Narcissist."

{Says the guy who has been staring for over 5 minutes.}

Neo couldn't find a retort to that and dropped the matter as he grabbed the comb, styling the hairs and muttered.

'Who's being a narcissist now?'

{Oh, I'm just making myself ready for the date with Bella.}

Neo was stunned by that and corrected.

"It's not a date. We are just attending her parents' 60th anniversary."

{…. How much of a brain-dead a person would have to be to reach this level. Uh, I am going to have a migraine because of this.}

"Don't worry, they have a cure for that."

{…}

Neo went to his closet too and took out the dress Bella chose for him.

{Look, she even started grooming me.}

Neo ignored and changed into it. Bella had picked out a stylish and elegant outfit for Neo to wear. The outfit comprised a slim-fit dark blue suit that hugged Neo's toned physique, without being too tight or constricted. The suit jacket had a notched lapel and a single button closure, giving it a classic and timeless look. The trousers were tailored to fit Neo's long legs and had a slight taper at the ankle.

Underneath the suit jacket, Neo wore a crisp white dress shirt that was neatly tucked into his trousers. The shirt had a spread collar and French cuffs, adding an extra touch of sophistication to the outfit. Bella also picked a matching dark blue tie for him to wear, which complemented the color of the suit perfectly.

Bella also picked out a pair of black leather dress shoes for him to wear. The shoes were polished to a high shine and had a simple yet stylish design that matched the overall aesthetic of the outfit. Neo looked like the perfect gentleman in his outfit, exuding confidence and class. It was truly a gentleman's dress. Even he was stunned by how different he looked.

Once done with himself, he grabbed Bolt, who was running around in the apartment and combed its hair with the comb, but by the time he was done with it, the comb was incinerated.

Bolt liked the feeling of Neo combing its hair, which resulted in more electric arcs surrounding its body.

Neo looked at it and said, "Bolt, can you control the lightning and make them not lash out?"

{Yeah, and he is just gonna do that.}

Neo didn't know what to say and felt that being quiet was the best choice. He kept staring at Bolt, who tilted its head, looking cute. It suddenly jumped as though it understood what Neo said and the lightning around its body increased.

"Oh, no," Neo said, but he was too close to Bolt. Blaze hurriedly activated [Technomantic Shield] and a chromatic barrier surrounded him. The arcs of light struck the shield and bounced around as they charred everything in the apartment and some furniture caught fire. The fire alarm blared as the water gushed down, which made the electric charge grow more deadly.

Blaze ran toward the door and blasted it apart with his punch and jumped out, he activated the shield again as a lightning snake charged toward him.

Woof?*

Bolt stopped and the lightning dancing around in the apartment died down, and it became drenched in water, which vaporized as the lightning was still moving over its fur.

"Thanks."

{I saved my a**. Next time, think before speaking, idiot.}

He was looking at the apartment that was flooded and the young Thundercub coming out of the apartment, looking at him with confusion.

{Definitely be careful next time saying something to him.}

Neo deactivated the shield and moved back into the apartment, but stopped at the door as he saw water being drained through small holes in the floor and, in less than a minute, the floor was dry. He entered the apartment and saw every piece of electronics being fried while other pieces of furniture being charred and lightning marks were visible on it. Like the lightning snake gave them a gentle kiss, which wasn't gentle at all.

Neo looked at the mess that Bolt created and then at its adorable face, which still tilted to the side when it saw Neo looking at him. He shook his hand and decided to deal with it after he was done with the party. Seeing that it was almost 6:00 pm, Neo was about to enter the apartment again to see if there was anything salvageable, but Blaze had some other ideas and walked out of the building. Neo was confused but then knew where he was going.

"Why does it take a moment for me to know what I'm thinking."

{Beats me. It might be because Neo is an idiot.}

'…'

"It's not a date"

Neo muttered, but still went to a florist and brought a bouquet of 2 potions. Blaze did not give a damn about being conservative or things like that and threw the health potion toward the florist and told it to make the best flower bouquet he could, and if it was to his taste, he'd toss in a mana potion.

So the florist earned two potions for a flower bouquet.

"Too extravagant"

{Too stingy, I should---}

"I shouldn't"

Neo shook his head as he cut him mid-sentence. He knew that he'd be asking to buy something even more expensive and Neo believed it was not a date.

{Need to at least prepare a gift for her parent.}

Neo paused because what Blaze said was correct, but he didn't know what to get them, as he never met them in person.

"What should I give them?" He asked, as he couldn't come up with anything.

{…. I'll give them something good if the father- and mother-in-law are kind and heartwarming, like Bella.}

Neo was again speechless and also shrugged as he didn't have any idea or time to get anything for them.

Bolt rubbed its head against his head as it was sitting on his shoulder. Honestly, it was more of a cat than a pup, but Neo let it be as it wasn't heavy at all and Blaze had no problem with it as well.

They arrived back at the foot of their building and saw a breathtakingly beautiful beauty standing in front of a car, waiting for someone. The beauty turned when she felt a presence behind her and looked at Neo in surprise with a red hue covering her face.

Neo realized it was Bella. His heart skipped a beat as he took in her beauty, the soft glow of her background highlighting her features. When she turned to face him, her deep blue eyes met his green ones, and a warm smile spread across her face. Neo felt his heart race as he took in the sight of her, feeling lucky to be in her presence. He couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration and attraction towards her.

{…} Blaze didn't ruin the moment as he too was stunned by her beauty and was out of word to even describe her beauty.

Bella felt a sense of accomplishment when she saw Neo standing there stunned, but she, too, was surprised by how handsome he looked. He could easily substitute for prince charming in the hero and the princess' stories, if the prince was a fair-looking one.

Bella was surprised, but then that surprise turned to joy as she said, "Your core formed?"

"You are breathtaking." Blaze said as Neo was too stunned to comment.

Bella blushed when she heard him saying that, but her heart was fluttering with joy as she heard that.

"You look handsome as well." But then she regretted it as she felt like she said he wasn't handsome before, but before she could correct herself she saw his mouth corners arching up as he gave her a warm smile and said, "Thank you." He gave the bouquet to her and said, "For you."

Bella took the flower bouquet. Its fragrance surrounded her, and she found that the flowers were fresh, which was kind of expensive especially for Neo because she knew his living condition.

"Thank you."

She said as she held the bouquet dearly. Blaze moved up to open the passenger door for Bella and said, "I'll drive."

Bella nodded dumbly as she passed him the car key and got in the car. Blaze took the car keys from her and closed the door softly and went to the driver's side. The flower bouquet vanished from Bella's hand like she stored them in her dimensional space.

{Idiot, how long are you going to stay in shock? Drive!}

"Do I really like her?"

{…. Just kill me now.}

Neo started the car, but he turned his gaze toward Bella subconsciously, and it got stuck on her again.

Bella felt his gaze and the red hue that just vanished came back again, and she lowered her head. Blaze started the car as he said, "I think breathtaking is still not doing you justice. I will come with a new one."

Bella's cheeks flushed as her head lowered even further.

Blaze started the car and saw that the location of Bella's house was already put in, so he was pretty much free now.

Woof*

Bolt growled when the car started moving as it had never been in a car before, it just came out from an egg a few hours ago, which was strange in itself. It was about to shoot it down, but Blaze hurriedly grabbed it and put his hand over its head.

"Don't worry, it's not attacking or anything. I think"

Yip*

Bolt yipped, and there rubbed its head against his hand. Bella came out of her stupor and saw Bolt.

She looked at it in surprise before grabbing it from Neo's lap. He was stunned, as he didn't even see her hand moving, and Bolt was already in her lap.

"Seriously, how high is her level?" He commented but then remembered something and hurriedly said, "Be careful it will--" but the words got stuck in his throat as he saw Bolt lying on her lap with its belly up, getting belly rubs from Bella.

{Still lazing around?}

Blaze asked mentally as he found Neo was silent for a while now.

Neo steered the wheel and drove the car toward Bella's house. They talked a little now, but there was still awkwardness in the atmosphere which was a little lessened by Bolt.

"Where did you get Bolt from?"

"It was the dungeon clearance reward."

"Really?"

Bella said with a "not gonna believe" that face.

"My luck is quite high." Blaze added, as he didn't want to involve Bella in their mess.

"How high?" Bella asked, but then felt that it was an inappropriate question and expected no answer.

"51"