BXBX NOVEL Chapter 79: Chapter 79 A peaceful day.
"Well, it\'s because you always have that long-distance gaze, feeling lost in his absence".
"..Eh? Did I do that?".
"Yeah, you did".
"Lies..".
The two mother and daughter spend their waiting time exchanging family banter as usual. They are currently inside a bustling family restaurant near the hotel as the time comes for them to eat their lunch.
The inside of the restaurant was buzzing with activities. The mellow sunlight streamed through the window glass basked the interior with its warmth, illuminating the modern interior adorned with its modern artwork and sleek furnishing.
The interior of the restaurant was filled with the laughter of a family who is spending their time together or a friend who is conversing with each other, livening up the atmosphere.
After a minute or so, a female waiter brought a trolley filled with the dishes they ordered and approached their table.
"Apologize for the wait, and these are the meals that you ordered".
"Thank you".
Hiroshi said his thanks as the waiter kept bringing the dishes and drinks toward the table before saying her pieces.
"Enjoy the meal".
Leaving the table now, the Akabane family began to dismiss the small conversation they had and took each dish they had ordered. Hiroshi and Hisako ordered the same creamy pasta, and Hina had some omelette rice with demi-glace sauce on top.
"Itadakimasu".
The family began to enjoy the dish in silence.
"Thanks for the food".
After finishing with their dish, the family leisurely enjoy the drink they order respectively. Hina, who ordered an orange juice, slurped the citrus and a tangy flavor coming from the juice, but she couldn\'t properly taste it. Her mind was still wandering to another place, showing her blank face.
"Look, you\'re doing that again".
"Hmm, what?".
"Daydreaming".
"Ah..".
As Hisako pointed out, Hina raised her brows as she couldn\'t hide her distracted mind any longer. She turned her gaze down, looking at the orange water that was contained inside a transparent cup while twirling its straw, making a clunking sound.
The three of them invite Soma to join them to have lunch, but the boy says that he does not have any appetite. So the Akabane family couldn\'t force him and decided to go to a nearby family restaurant without him.
Hina, at that time, was greatly shaken as it was the first time Soma declined their invitation. She thought something was wrong and tried to stay with him, but her parents wouldn\'t let her do that. His absences greatly stir her mind, and not knowing when this is happen, but she already takes soma for granted in her family.
Hiroshi, who saw his distressed daughter, opened his mouth to start a new conversation topic.
"Oh right, Hina, why did you do that earlier?".
"...Do what?".
Hisako also understood her husband\'s intention, so she began to interject.
"Why did you decide to train in the hotel room?".
"Ah, that. Nothing, just feeling to do it, that\'s all".
"Really?".
"Yeah".
"I thought that you were bothered by the article this morning".
After Hisako said the words, Hina\'s body stiffened and invited the reaction from her parents. They notice their daughter\'s state just seeing her expression from reading the articles and the story she told them about her experience inside the trial gate, creating a conflict that shakes her mind.
Hina already told everything she experienced inside the trial gate while Soma was bedridden. The parents were worried at first, and as Hina continued the story, their expression turned grave, anxious, and fearful, and at the end, they closed it with a feeling proud of their daughter\'s growth and achievements.
"Yeah, I am".
"Thought so".
Hisako, who guessed it right, closed her distance with Hina while raising her right hand. She folds her index finger back, using her thumbs to hold it, and flicks her daughter\'s forehead.
"Ouch, what was that for?".
"Listen here, Hina. Regardless of what happens inside your head, you can\'t just train your magic inside a hotel; a small mistake will spell doom and trouble for you".
"Your mother was right, Hina".
Hina opened her eyes wide, and a dawn of realization struck her mind. Even though she was determined to train, but doing that inside a hotel was probably out of her mind.
"I am sorry".
"Good".
Hiroshi silently nodded his head to reply to his daughter\'s remorse. Then his body twitched as he felt a pair of eyes glare in their direction, and he jerked his head to the outside window, observing the surroundings.
"What is it, dear?".
"Dad?".
"..Nothing".
Hiroshi dismissed his awareness as he loosened his muscles. "Is it just my imagination?".
In the heart of the bustling city, two people found themselves in a narrow alley, sheltered from the midday sun by towering buildings.
"What is the matter?".
A chubby man knitted his brows while bringing many junk food in his hands. He opened his mouth as he saw the distressed expression of his partner, who happened to glare at a certain building filled with people enjoying their meal.
Devi shifted her glare and approached the chubby man.
"I apologize, Lord Gula, for the disruption. Let\'s continue our task".
"Seriously, don\'t waste any more time than this, okay?".
Devi choked upon her words and wanted to let out a protest to the man before her, who was the one who was wasting their precious time. But she couldn\'t do that because she was here as an assistant.
"...My apology".
The chubby man turns his back along with his wriggling stomach to leave the deserted alley, which the sun cannot filter through.
Devi once more turns her gaze to the family restaurant, where she sees a familiar face upon them. Then, after she mulled over her thoughts, she decided to follow the chubby man and leave the place.
As Soma was left behind alone in the hotel, his sight couldn\'t leave the translucent window that suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
[Extra Skill Adapt activated]
[Adapt(Passive): A skill that will let the user adapt to all of the disturbances/Abnormalities that happen to the user\'s body. Physically or mentally](Enhanced version)
[Skill Adapt had already adapted itself toward the curse inside the user body 100%]
[Obtain Curse Resistance Skill 1(Passive)]
"What? Skill?".
The notification that floated in front of him opened his eyes wide and made his mouth slacken. He remembered the Adapt skill very well, as it was his first skill that was given by that Author. He recalled that the skill could only give him temporary resistance toward the abnormalities in his body.
However, currently, the skill gives him a skill that proves helpful in resisting the curse that is still etched inside his body.
"But, why so sudden?".
[The Curse resistance skill couldn\'t retaliate against the curse inside the user\'s body]
[Curse Resistance skill proficiency up]
[Curse resistance level up 2]
"Wait, wait, hold on. There is too much information to swallow here".
The translucent window kept appearing in front of him, and the skill that he recently got was already advanced to its next stage by itself just by resisting the curse inside him. The notification kept ringing in his head before it dwindled down as Soma thought to himself that the system needed to shut up, and it happened.
The system turned into a silent mode while it kept generating dozens and more notifications that his skill was resisting the curse and growing.
Soma clutched his head as he recalled the new email he received from the author. The content of that email was nowhere to be seen now. But the living proof of that was the two skills he received and evolved into something else more terrifying.
Shaking his head to the side, the translucent window in front of him dismissed, and Soma could see the usual room in the hotel. With the overwhelming information he gets, he sighs as he leans his back toward the chair, looking up.
"Ahaha, man, that was awesome".
A dry laugh escaped his mouth as he couldn\'t expect the thing to happen in front of him. He set his sight straight to the white-beige ceiling while raising his right hand, clenching it with new determination filled his eyes.
"Soon, the curse will be gone, probably? I will no longer be restricted by the curse and can grow faster than anybody else".