Annabelle had been pondering many things since she saw Eva on graduation day, and after meeting and talking more today, her thoughts only deepened.
She wasn't sure about many things related to Eva, but she was sure now that something is off about her. Yet, at the same time, she also felt that Eva shouldn't be a bad person.
But that was as far as her certainty went. So, leaning against her brother's chest, wrapped in his arm, enveloped in his quiet affection, everything else seemed to fade away. In that moment, she felt like she'd confirmed something far more important.
She felt as though she'd finally confirmed her place.
Which, naturally, should be right beside him! Closest to him!
He could navigate things with Eva slowly, and she would be there beside him, to take care of him, to make sure he wouldn't get hurt. Wasn't that enough?
Having finally resolved things within herself, Annabelle felt an unprecedented clarity, as if a weight had finally been lifted from her.
In this moment of tranquility, she thought that with her brother so close, nothing could faze her.
'What's happening with her?'
Seeing the peaceful expression on his sister's face, contrasting with the brief gleam in her eyes as she closed them and began to breathe rhythmically, Christian wondered silently what's the change he had seen just now.
But, when he noticed that she had fallen asleep, he shrugged and gently brushed the strands of hair from her eyes with his other hand, caressing her cheek as she nuzzled closer to him.
He remained in the same position silently for more than half an hour, but seeing that she was truly asleep and likely wouldn't wake up until the next day, he finally stood up, carefully lifting her in his arms. He then made his way toward her room, being mindful not to disturb her peaceful slumber.
As he gently tucked her into bed, Christian chose not to leave immediately. Instead, he sat beside her, watching her serene expression and feeling a sense of calm wash over him, make him ponder the untold things.
He had expected her to say something now that Eva had gone back after all, thinking that she would want to discuss something or offer him some advice. But seeing her quiet and still, he wasn't sure how he should feel about the silence.
In the end, looking at his sister's beautiful face and serene expression, he leaned in and placed a light kiss on her forehead.
"Good night, sis," then, he whispered softly before he finally stepped out of her room, closing the door behind him.
Returning to his room, Christian set aside the thoughts of today's events and opened his Idle Practicing slots.
[First Slot - AI Programming - 22:35:01/24:00:00]
[Second Slot - Program Hacking - 22:35:01/24:00:00]
[Third Slot - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - 22:35:01/24:00:00]
[Fourth Slot - Human Biology - 22:35:01/24:00:00]
Many things could be considered to have happened today, and nothing could also be deemed significant; however, maxing out his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skill would hopefully be one accomplishment to take away from it all.
Christian finally willed his system to receive the Idle accumulation from his four idle slots.
[You have received 635 Experience]
[You have received 1400 Experience]
[You have received 6000 Experience]
[You have received 565 Experience]
[The skill Intermediate AI Creation had become Lv.4(45%)]
[The skill Advanced Program Hacking had become Lv.3(55%)]
[The Third Idle practicing slot has became empty]
[The skill Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu had become Lv.10(Max)]
[The skill Intermediate Human Biology had become Lv.3(30%)]
Being already used to this process, he didn't take much time, to digest everything. Then, as he read the system messages in front of him, he couldn't help but smile, feeling that these skills without prefixes were really bad for his heart, given that the level increases were not a constant thing.
However, noticing the amount of experience he received for maxing out the skill was also pretty satisfying.
He didn't feel like he could take on the whole world now that the skill was maxed, but he did sense a slight boost in his confidence.
Having already made his decision, Christian finally decided to place "Perfect Hand-to-Hand Combat" in his third slot.
Why "perfect" and not "strongest"? Naturally, there is an answer to this question.
Christian had pondered the previous days about the word "strongest" and whether it was a constant thing. Could the strongest martial art today still be considered the strongest after a hundred years? A thousand years? A million years?
It could be, and it could also not be. But what about a perfect martial art? Could a more perfect one emerge later?
He believed the answer was NO because, if it were possible, then that martial art wouldn't truly be perfect.
Anyway, the pursuit of perfection seemed pretty cool to him.
[The Idle Practice at the third slot, Perfect Hand-to-Hand Combat has started]
[The skill Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat has been created.]
[Currently, the skill Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat is Lv.0(90%)]
Seeing how the word "Perfect" had been replaced by "Basic," Christian felt a little helpless, as he thought his skill names were quite simple, but in the end, he just shrugged it off.
As for the skill level? He didn't find it strange, and he knew that since his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was maxed out, the levels would increase faster anyway.
He was just curious about whether the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skill would be erased later or not.
Feeling that it had been a fruitful day, Christian finally opened his status window to check it.
Host: Christian White
Level: 21 (EXP: 18.900/50.000)
Unassigned Points: 10
Skills: Advanced Trading Lv.2 (56%), Passion Reader Lv.-, Advanced Program Hacking Lv.3 (55%), Intermediate Kinetix Body Building Lv.1 (7%), High School Knowledge Lv.10 (Max), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Lv.10 (Max), Intermediate AI Creation Lv.4 (45%) ,Intermediate Human Biology Lv.3 (30%), Basic Hand to hand combat Lv.0 (90%)
Idle Practicing Slots:(0/4)
'It's really becoming bigger.'
Feeling satisfaction as he looked at his status window, the day finally came to an end.