Chapter 11: Encounter: Uncle, Please Keep Your Eyes on the Road!

Nero turned toward the girl and immediately recognized her.

She was Jasmine Ashford, Lucas’s twin sister and one of Lilly’s close friends.

She was the same girl who had been chatting with Lilly when they arrived at the training facility earlier.

Jasmine recognized Nero as well. After all, almost everyone in their social circle knew who he was, especially considering his reputation as an unawakened student.

Nero suddenly realized how awkward the situation was.

Lucas was still sitting on the floor after losing their spar, and his twin sister had walked in at the worst possible moment.

If he stayed any longer, she would probably start asking questions, and Nero wasn’t particularly interested in explaining how he had managed to defeat an Awakener.

’Yeah, I should probably leave.’

"Thanks for the guidance, Lucas. I appreciate it."

Nero gave him a awkward wave before heading toward the exit.

"Eh? Wait, Nero!"

Lucas tried calling after him, but Nero had already stepped through the door.

At the same time, a familiar notification appeared.

[Choice Completed]

[Reward Distributed: Thunder Resistance Fragment (Rare)]

[Note: One step closer to becoming thunder-proof. Keep collecting.]

Nero briefly checked the notification before dismissing it.

He would examine the reward later.

Meanwhile, Jasmine approached her brother, who was still sitting on the floor with a rather troubled expression.

"Lucas."

"Hm?"

"How did you lose to Nero?"

Lucas didn’t answer immediately.

He was still thinking about their spar, particularly how Nero had managed to counter almost everything he threw at him.

"He’s impossible to beat," Lucas finally muttered.

Jasmine frowned hearing him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. That guy’s combat skills are ridiculous."

Lucas slowly got up from the floor and dusted off his clothes.

"If I had used my Talent and full physical strength, I probably could’ve beaten him. But if we’re talking about pure combat techniques, I didn’t stand a chance."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow.

"You’re joking, right?"

"I really wish I was."

Lucas shook his head.

"He barely gave me any openings. Every time I attacked, he’d dodge or counter before I could follow up. It was like he already knew what I was going to do."

He scratched his head, still finding the whole experience difficult to believe.

Jasmine was genuinely surprised now.

She had already noticed that Nero looked different today. His appearance had improved considerably, and he seemed less timid than before.

But defeating Lucas in hand-to-hand combat?

That was something else entirely.

"Lucas, you’re one of the best students in our combat training classes. You’re usually ranked second, right behind Richard Hyperion." She crossed her arms with a disbelieving look. "And you’re telling me Nero beat you?"

"Yeah."

Lucas glanced toward the doorway.

"That guy.... he’s a monster."

Jasmine fell silent, wondering what could have happened to Nero overnight. He was so different now.

Meanwhile, Nero had already left the training facility.

It was getting late, and the sun had begun setting over New Arcadia City, leaving the sky covered in shades of orange and pink.

Despite spending hours inside the combat simulation, Nero felt surprisingly fine.

His body was a little tired from sparring with Lucas, but it wasn’t anything serious. He still had the Instant Fatigue Reliever in his inventory, although he didn’t see any reason to use it yet.

However, his throat was rather dry.

’I should get something to drink.’

Nero noticed a vending machine near the edge of the campus and headed toward it.

The machine was powered by Mana, with various drinks displayed behind its glass panel.

He selected a cold sports drink and paid for it using his wristband.

A moment later, the machine dispensed the bottle.

Nero picked it up and was about to leave when he noticed someone standing near another vending machine.

It was a slender girl with long black hair, dressed in athletic clothes.

She wore a loose white see through tank top over a sports bra, along with fitted leggings that hugged her figure.

Her hair was damp with sweat, and she was leaning against the wall with one hand pressed to her forehead.

Something about her didn’t seem right.

Nero recognized her after taking a closer look.

’Serina?’

He knew her. Like Yuna Monroe, she was popular and had a sharp tongue, and more importantly, Serina and Yuna were something like rivals.

Before he could decide whether to approach her, a golden window appeared.

[Ding! Choice System Activated]

[Choice 1: Take Serina to the hospital safely.]

[Reward: ???]

[Choice 2: Ignore her and continue on your way.]

[Reward: A Hat That Increases Your Charisma (Common)]

[Choice 3: Declare yourself a world-renowned doctor and perform an emergency treamtent on Serina to remove the source of her fever using a video tutorial from the internet.]

[Reward: Medical License that works anywhere (Legendary)]

Nero immediately selected the first option. The other choices were simply too ridiculous. What did the system even mean by declaring himself a world-renowned surgeon?

Besides, Serina looked like she was about to collapse, and leaving her alone in that condition would be ridiculous.

"Hey.... are you okay?"

Nero approached her.

Serina slowly raised her head, revealing a pair of unfocused eyes. Her cheeks were unusually red, and she seemed to be having trouble keeping herself upright.

"I’m... fine..." she mumbled. "Just a little tired..."

She tried pushing herself away from the wall, but her legs suddenly gave out.

"Whoa!"

Nero quickly stepped forward and caught her before she could fall.

The moment his hands touched her waist, he noticed how hot her body was, even through her clothes.

’Damn. She’s burning up!’

"You’re not fine at all. You’ve got a fever, miss."

Serina blinked slowly seemingly struggling to understand what he was saying.

"We need to get you to a hospital."

However, instead of answering, Serina suddenly wrapped her arms around him.

Nero froze.

Her body pressed against his chest, and he could feel the softness of her breasts through the thin fabric of her clothes.

"Warm..." Serina murmured, burying her face against his shoulder. "You’re warm..."

"H-Hey, wait a second!"

He immediately tried pulling her away, but she only tightened her arms around him.

Nero swallowed nervously.

He had never been in a situation like this before, especially not with a beautiful girl clinging to him so tightly.

However, he couldn’t exactly push her away when she could barely stand.

"Okay, okay. Just calm down..."

He took a deep breath and tried to get his thoughts in order.

’First, I need to get her to a hospital.’

Nero carefully adjusted their positions until Serina was leaning against his side rather than pressing directly against his chest.

He supported her with one arm while allowing her to keep the other wrapped around his waist.

"Come on, let’s get you to a taxi."

Unfortunately, walking turned out to be more difficult than he expected.

Serina could barely move her legs properly, and she kept stumbling after every few steps.

Most of her weight was resting against Nero, forcing him to slow down considerably.

At one point, she tripped over her own feet and fell against him.

’Seriously...’

He quickly steadied her and forced himself to look straight ahead.

Serina then mumbled something he couldn’t understand before resting her head against his shoulder.

Her long hair brushed against his face, carrying a faint scent of hers mixed with floral shampoo.

Nero tried his best to ignore the distraction.

After several minutes of struggling, they finally reached the taxi stand near the campus entrance.

Fortunately, there was still a cab waiting by the curb.

Nero approached the vehicle and opened the back door.

"Alright, Serina. Try to get inside."

Serina nodded weakly and attempted to step into the car.

However, just as she raised her foot, she suddenly lost her balance.

"Ah!"

Nero immediately tried catching her, but the sudden movement caused him to lose his balance as well.

The two ended up falling into the back seat together.

Nero landed first and Serina landed directly on his lap.

"..."

For a moment, Nero forgot how to breathe.

Serina’s back was pressed against his chest, while her hips rested firmly on his thighs.

Her head leaned against his shoulder, and she seemed perfectly comfortable with the position.

Nero, on the other hand, was having a difficult time remaining calm.

’What kind of situation is this?!’

He could feel the warmth of her body through their clothes, and every little movement she made only made things more awkward.

"Soft..." Serina murmured.

She shifted slightly trying to find a more comfortable position.

Nero immediately clenched his teeth.

’Please stop moving!’

He had already been struggling to keep his thoughts under control, and now she was sitting on his lap.

"Sir?"

The taxi driver’s voice suddenly interrupted him.

Nero looked up and found the middle-aged man watching them through the rearview mirror.

"Where to?"

The driver’s expression was rather strange.

’Young people these days sure are daring... So shameless...’

"T-The nearest hospital, please!" Nero quickly replied. "And hurry!"

"Alright."

The driver started the car and pulled away from the curb.

Meanwhile, Nero tried adjusting Serina’s position so she could sit properly beside him.

Unfortunately, every time he moved her, she would unconsciously cling to him again.

At one point, Serina grabbed his arm and pulled it around her stomach, holding it against herself like a pillow.

Nero’s forearm ended up resting just beneath her breasts.

’You’ve got to be kidding me...’

He stared out the window, desperately trying to think about something else.

’Combat Fundamentals. The simulation. That damn bear...’

Unfortunately, none of it helped.

Serina shifted again, turning slightly until her side was pressed against his chest.

Her face was now only inches away from his neck.

From the front seat, the taxi driver glanced at the rearview mirror again.

He shook his head and smiled.

"Young man, there’s no need to be nervous. I’ve been driving for twenty years. I’ve seen everything."

Nero didn’t know whether to laugh or cry hearing this.

"Uncle, please keep your eyes on the road!"

Just then, Serina spoke up again. "Hey, don’t... leave... stay with me."

...

[A/N: I got the contract for this book. As soon as I sign it, I’ll be doing a mass release, so look forward to that.

Also, thank you all for the power stones and comments yesterday. I really appreciate the support, and if you’re enjoying the book so far, do consider giving it a power stone or two.]