Chapter 242: Getting Answers From The System

Chapter 242

Alex walked out of the club with both hands resting casually against the back of his head, with his gaze tilted upward toward the dark night sky, and a very satisfied smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he mulled over everything that had just happened earlier.

All in all, he’d managed to struck something decent from that Julian kid tonight, he thought to himself while rolling his shoulders lazily as he strolled down the quiet street.

After the brat had, albeit unwillingly, wired a rather generous sum of compensation money to both Ella and Sylph for the trouble he’d caused, Alex had made sure to squeeze a little something extra out of him as well, purely as compensation for the precious time he had personally wasted dealing with the man’s bodyguards.

It wasn’t like he particularly needed the money, not when he had access to far greater fortunes because of Marcus, but there was something deeply satisfying about watching Julian’s face twist with barely suppressed outrage as he’d been forced to transfer the funds anyway.

And the best part of it all, without a doubt, had been finally giving that spoiled little scumbag a lesson for the century, one that would hopefully stick with him for the rest of his miserable, crippled life. A couple of broken legs seemed like a fitting enough reminder to keep his hands, and his filthy mouth, to himself from now on.

Tonight had turned out to be a pretty good night overall, Alex mused further, a faint, pleased hum escaping his throat. Because of everything that had transpired, he’d managed to collect a decent amount of Desire Points and Desire Energy from Ella, more than he’d honestly expected given how reserved and shy she usually was. Even Sylph had yielded some, though admittedly nowhere near the same level as Ella’s contribution, still it was something, another small step forward.

He was getting closer now, close enough that he could practically taste it. Just a bit more Desire Energy, and he’d finally cross the threshold into Grade A. Strong enough, he hoped, to finally go and bring both Nyx and Jade back home where they belonged.

A quiet sigh slipped past his lips as his thoughts drifted toward the two of them, his pace slowing slightly as the city lights blurred past him. He wondered how they were both doing wherever they currently were. Were they eating properly? Was the Von Aurelian taking good care of them? And more importantly, had anyone else in Nyx’s family discovered the truth about her pregnancy yet? Damn it, he had so many unanswered questions swirling around in his head, each one gnawing persistently at the edges of his mind.

He exhaled slowly, pushing the heavy thoughts aside for now. It was only a matter of time. He just had to be patient a little while longer, and soon enough he’d finally be strong enough to go retrieve them both himself.

Just then, a loud embarrassing rumble erupted from his stomach, jolting him abruptly out of his deep brooding thoughts. Alex cursed softly under his breath, pressing a hand against his abdomen as he quickened his pace toward home.

Apparently, it looks like fighting off an entire cave full of regenerating sea monsters followed immediately by thoroughly beating down Julian and his hired muscle had left him absolutely famished.

It was honestly a small blessing that alcohol didn’t really affect him the way it did ordinary people, otherwise drinking on a completely empty stomach like this would have been a recipe for disaster.

He just silently prayed that Celine had either cooked something decent or at the very least ordered some takeout, because right now he felt hungry enough to eat an entire cow.

Before long, he reached the front door of his apartment and let himself inside. The moment he stepped through the doorway, his eyes immediately landed on Celine, who was curled up comfortably on the couch while watching something on the television.

She was wearing nothing but one of his old shirts, with the hem barely managing to cover her meaty, soft thighs, giving her an oddly homely appearance that, in a strange way, made her look almost like a girlfriend lounging around in her boyfriend’s clothes.

Alex found himself momentarily surprised by the sight, mostly by the fact that she was still up at this late hour at all. A stray thought crept unbidden into his mind, wondering whether she might have deliberately stayed awake just to wait for him to come home. He hurriedly shoved the thought aside before it could take root any further, clearing his throat as he stepped further into the living room.

Celine glanced up from the television screen the moment she noticed him, with her expression carrying a faint trace of amusement mixed with mock irritation.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to come back after running off with those friends of yours," she said coolly, crossing her arms over her chest. "And here I thought you weren’t even planning on coming home tonight, but I guess you just had to go and dash my hopes by showing up anyway."

Ignoring her words entirely, Alex’s eyes lit up with a hopeful anticipation as he asked almost pleadingly,

"Please tell me you cooked something, or at least ordered takeout. I’m starving."

Celine rolled her eyes, and then gestured lazily toward the kitchen.

"Relax, I ordered some Chinese food earlier. It’s in the fridge if you’re hungry, just warm it up in the microwave yourself."

"You’re a lifesaver, honey!" Alex practically shouted in relief, already rushing toward the kitchen without a second thought.

"Don’t call me that!" Celine’s indignant voice rang out behind him, though it did little to dampen his good mood.

Chuckling softly to himself, Alex yanked open the fridge and pulled out the containers of leftover Chinese food, shoving them unceremoniously into the microwave before impatiently tapping his foot as he waited for it to finish heating.

The moment it beeped, he grabbed a pair of chopsticks and dug in without any trace of elegance or restraint whatsoever, shoveling mouthful after mouthful of noodles and rice into his mouth with the kind of single-minded focus usually reserved for life-or-death situations.

Because this indeed was as important as a life and death situation. Right now, the only thing that mattered was filling the gaping hole in his stomach.

He finished off the entire food in record time, and yet, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied, he rummaged through the kitchen cabinets until he found the bread, peanut butter, and jelly. Then he quickly assembled a couple of PB and J sandwiches that he devoured just as enthusiastically, until he finally felt stuffed at last.

Letting out a long, satisfied burp, Alex patted his stomach contentedly before heading off to take a quick shower. In the shower he made damn sure to wash away the grime and faint lingering smell of blood and sweat from tonight’s events.

Once he was finished, he decided it was best to change into nothing but a pair of comfortable shorts before collapsing face-first onto his bed, sinking into the soft mattress with a contented sigh.

No sooner had he settled in than the familiar chibi form of his system materialized beside him, stretching her tiny limbs exaggeratedly as if she too had just woken up from a long nap. And then a playful glint immediately sparkled in those large watery eyes of hers.

[Well, well, well, look at you, collecting Desire Points and Desire Energy from not one, but two gorgeous Awakened beauties tonight,] she teased, floating lazily around his head.

[But I gotta ask, when exactly are you planning on, you know... adding them to the harem slot already? You’ve been dragging your feet on this one, big guy.]

Alex opened his mouth, fully prepared to respond to her teasing with some witty remark of his own, but then a sudden thought struck him entirely out of nowhere, derailing his train of thought completely.

"Wait, actually, hold on," he said instead, pushing himself up slightly on his elbows, brows furrowing as he turned his attention toward the floating chibi. "Now that I think about it, why did those creatures, you know, like the Bone Demon General, look almost completely identical to the ones I used to fight back in the System’s training realm?"

The chibi blinked, before shrugging nonchalantly, her tone far more matter-of-fact than usual.

[Oh, that? That’s simple. The creatures you usually face inside the training realm are just copies of the real deal, essentially simulations designed specifically to help improve the host’s combat experience.]

Alex opened his mouth again, ready to press further with another follow-up question, but then he paused, considering the explanation for a moment before simply nodding and letting it go. That actually made a decent amount of sense, now that he thought about it.

"Alright, fair enough," he said instead, exhaling slowly as he settled back down against his pillow. "Anyway, forget that for now. Show me my stat screen. I want to check exactly how much progress I’ve made so far with my Desire Energy."