CH 42: An Unreplaceable Treasure, Family

"[Phew, that hit the spot!]" Lying in his futon in the living room, Alistair —back in his dragon form— groaned comfortably with a full stomach. He had to hand it to her, Serilda's cooking was delicious.

The house wasn't a luxurious one, so there was only a single room. Serilda had insisted that they should have taken the room for coming so far to help them, but they refused. Already grateful that she lent them a place to stay.

The three of them, —with Alistair in the center, Natasha to his left and Serenity to his right— were lying down comfortably. Enjoying the aftertaste of the fulfilling food.

"You've got that right." Serenity hummed, before sitting straight up :"Shit, I forgot!" Confusing them. Alistair's flames conveyed his confusion :"[Forgot what?]"

She sat cross-legged :"I didn't do my Mana Cultivation in the morning, and didn't get the chance to do it while on the road. Good thing I remembered it. I'll be Mana Cultivating for now then, so you guys can just sleep."

Closing her eyes, she entered the same state of trance while Mana Cultivating. Alistair and Natasha were reminded of their own case. Natasha sat up as well :"Alright, we shouldn't waste our Talent Stats either.

The amount of Mana Cultivation (not Mana Circulation) we don't do doesn't move on to be available the next day after all. So we should make the best use of them."

Alistair agreed, he wasn't one to waste things after all. But there was a problem.

"(Nat, can I tell you something?)"

"Hm? You look a bit stressed. What's the matter?"

(A/N: Don't get your panties twisted thinking he's being nerfed. No, he'll get an even better power up now.)

"(Well... haaah, you're probably going to think I'm stupid, but I'll tell you anyway. Long story short, I think I'm improving way too fast. I'm hardly a week old, but I'm already Lv 20! And with my current Talent Stats being 16,000, I might just jump to Lv 30 or something.

And that's while ignoring the Talent Stats that I'll gain with each Level Up. I understand that this may sound stupid, since who wouldn't want to advance as fast as possible?! But I... well-)"

However, Natasha interrupted him with a smile :"But you don't want to advance at such a rapid speed, since it would take away all the fun if you reach the top way too fast."

"(Yeah... how'd you know?)"

"Hahahaha, because I had the same issue. However, I realized it was too late. Wanna take a walk while we speed? The weather at night can be pretty good."

"(Oh, well, sure.)" Jumping onto her hand, he let her place him on his shoulder as they walked out of the house. Enjoying the night breeze against their skin, Natasha sighed in fulfillment.

"Al, despite your age, you're quite smart thanks to your Intelligence Stats. So I'm sure you've already noticed that I'm not just a simple Lv 57 Assassin, right?"

"(Hm, that's right. But I didn't point it out, since we agreed to respect each other's privacy.)"

"That's right. After all, respecting each other's privacy and boundaries is crucial to any sort of relationship. But... too much privacy will stop any relationship from advancing."

They had already walked somewhat out of the village. Sitting on a boulder, Natasha gently sat him beside her before lying down on the stone. With her hands behind her head, she gazed upon the starry sky, a mesmerizing piece of art, with a small smile. Alistair followed suit, lying down next to her.

"You know, ever since I was a kid, I've never been able to make any friends."

"(Really? That's surprising, considering how friendly you are.)"

"Hahahaha, right? Even I get confused as to why. I have friendly acquaintances, but that's not friendship. I've tried to turn it into one, but... I've just never been able to. It's like whenever I try to get close to someone, they pull away from me.

There have been people that have tried to get close to me, but all of them had ulterior motives. It was always because of my identity or my beauty. I began to get disgusted by people like them.

Haaah, my mom would comfort me. Saying that it's not my fault, but just that people around me can't understand me. That they contempt me because of what I have that they don't. Talent, beauty, money, and everything that mankind has always wanted.

So I gave up. What's the point of trying something over and over again when you know you'll fail. I couldn't find solace in others, but I found solace in strength. I only need my family and strength.

My mother is no ordinary woman. She is the very definition of the word "amazing". She raised me all by herself, and I grew up watching power that was unmatched by any other.

My mom became my idol. Whenever I saw her smile lovingly at me despite all the responsibilities on her shoulders, my heart was filled with pride.

I was proud of my mother, more than I was proud of myself. So I wanted to become a child she could become proud of as well. To be able to hold her head high and say that "she's my daughter", just like how I'm always proud of saying "she's my mother".

That fueled my desire for power. I found a friend in strength, I found solace in power for knowing I could protect myself and my mother, and I found comfort in might knowing I could make my mother, the only person who I've ever had, the proudest woman in the world.

So I gave it my all. Every day, every hour and every minute, I was in search of more and more power. Whether it was to literally become strong, to be knowledgeable, to create anything that gave me power, I worked day in and day out to master anything that could give me more "power".

Not to conquer lands, not to gain treasures, not to be famous in the world. But just to make my mother proud. And I succeeded. I remember how every time the little me would run at her, excited to tell her what I gained and learned that day, she would smile fondly at me. Hugging me and patiently listening to what I had to say no matter how long it took.

No matter what she had to do that day, what political bullshit she had to deal with, no congress she had to attend, she would always postpone them if it meant we could continue our mother daughter moments.

Those are my most treasured moments. Even more than when I gained strength and abilities that the world envied-"

Just as she was talking, she heard a quiet sniffle beside her. Making her quickly turn to see Alistair, with tears running down his cheeks, trying to silence his cries :"*Sniff*"

"W-whoa whoa, what happened, lil guy?!" She quickly sat up, taking him in her hands as he cried :"(N-no, —hic— it's nothing. *Sniffle* I-it's just that —hic—... your story was so beautiful that I teared up out of nowhere! Boohoo... —hic— y-your mother is *sniffle* is such an angel! Hic! Waaah!)"

All of his words were genuine. A loving family was always the thing needed to get him to tears. And now that he had lost his own, it all reminded him of his own parents. Loving parents that he wasn't prepared to lose.

Seeing his reaction, Natasha couldn't help but smile fondly :"You're a lot more emotional than I had expected." Before pressing her forehead against his and kissing it :"But you're right. That she is."

Hearing his whimpering and sobs, she couldn't help but chuckle gently :"Now now, no need to cry, you emotional dragon." Helping to wipe away his tears :"The subject wasn't supposed to be about my mom to begin with."

"(T-that's —hic— your fault, *sob* you jerk! H-how did it —hic— come from me telling you that I'm reluctant to Level Up to *sniffle* you telling me such a beautiful story?!)"

"Hahahaha, okay, that's on me. I kinda went overboard with showing off my awesome mom. I'm sorry."

"(*Sniffle* Y-yeah, it's alright. Okay, I'm good now.)"

"Really? You good?"

"(I'm good, yeah.)"

"Glad to hear that." Laying down again, she placed him beside her head.

"As much as I'm happy to sing praises about my mom, she's not the subject of this conversation. You see, I didn't grow stronger by myself. It was my mom that helped me get to where I am.

She provided means that nobody else in the world could, and I worked as hard as possible to make the best use of them. The number of times I pushed my body beyond its limit, to the point where I ripped my muscles and bones because of it are so many that I can't even remember them all.

But my mom always told me to take it easy. To take it easy and not rush so much. Do you know why?"

"(Wasn't it so you wouldn't hurt yourself?)"

"No. She would tell me :"The path of getting stronger is like climbing a very tall mountain. One that few succeed in getting to the top. But if you rush it, you'll miss the scenery surrounding the mountain. And when you conquer that mountain, the only view that will await you is clouds blocking the view that you ignored in your hurry."

At first, I didn't know what she meant. And frankly, I didn't care about what view she was talking about. What I cared for was power, nothing else. But when I found out what she meant, it was already too late.

For me, who enjoyed fighting, it all became blank when I became too strong. Opponents and challenges that I was excited to overcome didn't exist anymore.

That's when I realized that by the view, she meant the fun of getting stronger. She was telling me that not just set my eyes on the goal, but enjoy the process of reaching it as well.

THAT is the problem you're facing right now. I guess having 160 times more Intelligence Stats than me isn't wasted, because you managed to figure that out years before me."

Alistair's face twitched at her misunderstanding :"(Y-yeah, I guess. So? Since you know so much, do you maybe have a way to... I don't know, maybe store my Talent Stats so they wouldn't go to waste. You know, to use them later?)"

Natasha smiled :"Ironically enough, I do, actually."

Alistair sat up straight, smiling excitedly :"(You actually do?! Then can you please teach it to me?! Please? Pretty please?)"

"Hahahaha, calm down, bud. Of course I would." Natasha chuckled, petting him :"But you know, I actually have a better way." His (non-existent) ears perked up as she sat up, wearing a smirk that only a businesswoman would wear :"But I'll only teach you that method if you agree to make a deal with me."

Her appearance kind of worried him :"(Uhh... what kind of a deal, exactly?)" He gulped as her smirk grew more mischievous :"(Cause uh... y-you're kinda making me concerned as to what kind of a deal you're going to give me...)"

Seeing his appearance, Natasha couldn't help but laugh out loud, gently slapping his back :"Calm down, Al, I'm just joking with you! It's nothing to be worried about, so don't make that face!"

"(O-oh, that's good then.)" He smiled awkwardly :"(Cause you looked a hella lot like a shady merchant for a second there. Made it look like I was gonna make a deal with the devil there or something.)"

"Oh, please, you're overreacting. And believe me, almost any price is worth it for this technique."

"(Really? Now you've me curious since you're the one saying that.)"

"Of course. I'll go as far as to say this is the strongest and most amazing technique in the world. After all, it's what has made me and my mother into monsters in our own rights."

"(Alright, then do you mind telling me what kind of a technique it is? Or are you going to raise my anticipation even more, miss shady merchant?)"

"Hahahaha. It's a technique that lets someone absorb a certain amount of Stats based on what they have killed. The Seal of Lunacy."

Alistair's eyes widened in shock at the instinctive connection he felt towards the technique she simply described, but was shocked even more at her knowing smirk and words.

"However, only people with a certain amount of connection to the Abyss can learn and use this technique."