Chapter 23: Time Physique: The Sleeping Beauty
"Why are you two outside?!"
Juliana’s voice sounded from the door, completely shattering the fragile, quiet intimacy of the night, stunning Asher, who turned towards her with a small frown.
’Do you have to come at this exact moment?’ He thought, and exhaled softly, reigning in his frustration. He had finally breached the walls around Sara, offering her a genuine lifeline, and Juliana had barged in like a hurricane. Turning to Sara, who closed the book, perfectly hiding her emotions, he saw the defensive mask slide right back into place.
She stood up, pulling her robes tighter against the midnight chill, and walked back inside, passing by Juliana without making eye contact.
"Okay, how is my sword?" Juliana asked, snapping her attention towards Asher. She completely ignored Sara’s departure, her mind entirely fixated on the weapon she had grown obsessively attached to. He sighed, staring at Juliana with a small, patient smile.
"It’s still under upgrade. Oh, Juliana, have you ever absorbed an evolution stone before?" Asher asked, his expression turning serious as he shifted his focus.
Juliana was an F-Rank Awakener, a supposedly useless scion of a once powerful family. If she takes the S-Rank Evolution core he just acquired, it will boost her power all the way to D-Rank; although Juliana was ruthless, and always jumps ahead into danger without a second thought, he knew she would protect the other two wives with her life if she had the strength to back it up.
"Yeah, I have absorbed some." Juliana said, tapping her chin, trying to remember when she absorbed her very first evolution stones.
’Oh? She already used an evolution stone? But with her current level, it should be around F-Rank.’ His mind quickly ran the numbers. For a girl of her background to absorb stones and remain at the absolute bottom of the Awakener hierarchy made zero logical sense.
He opened his palm, and the evolution stone appeared before them, radiating a warm, crimson light, which he moved to Juliana:
’I should see why she is stuck at just a rank.’
Seeing the Evolution stone on Asher’s hand, Juliana snatched it with the speed of a predator; staring at the stone with wide shiny eyes like a child discovering a new toy.
"I don’t know the rank, but this is beautiful!" She yelled.
’Don’t know the rank?? Even an F-Rank Awakener can sense the energy from an evolution stone, and figure out the rank... Is Juliana’s cultivation alright?’ He thought, completely baffled by her profound ignorance of basic Awakener physics. And after some seconds of observing her sheer delight over the shiny rock, he opened his mouth:
"Try absorbing it... Just like you did with the previous evolution stones."
Juliana nodded her head eagerly, and closed her eyes; with a little force, channeling her meager internal energy, the stone shattered into red light and merged with her body. Asher stared at her, holding his breath, waiting for the inevitable surge of energy.
An F-Rank absorbing an S-Rank Evolution stone would advance his or her rank by two whole tiers, making them D-Rank in an instant... But right now, scanning her with his heightened senses, he felt not even a single trace of spiritual energy from her. The massive reservoir of S-Rank power had simply vanished into thin air.
"....?!"
"Nothing happened, just like last time!! Anyway, I am tired. Take care of my sword, if anything happens to it... You will pay." She threatened, her childish wonder instantly morphing back into gangster-like hostility, and walked inside the house; closing the door shut behind her, leaving Asher standing alone on the porch.
{DING!!}
{Wife Juliana’s profile has been updated.}
"Huh?"
{Name: Juliana Asher.}
{Race: Human.}
{Height: 163 Cm.}
{Rank: F-Rank.}
{Physique: Time Body - Divine-Tier: [LOCKED]: [To Unlock: 106/100,000 Evolution stones].}
{Note: All Evolution stones are calculated equally.}
{Talent: SSS-RANK.}
{Affection: 50%.}
{Position: Third Wife.}
{Health State: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).}
{Current emotion: Sleepy, Sad, exhausted.}
{Cure: Everlasting Mind Pill.}
{Note: Everlasting Mind Pill merges all Personalities into one, and also unlocks her cultivation speed to match her talent.}
’Time body?!!’
Asher jumped to his feet, absolutely shocked. He wasn’t bothered about his wasted Evolution stone anymore, but the body. Not only that, it was a Divine-Tier, the absolute peak of rank! Even higher than his Celestial-Tier Sword Physique!
’Details?!!’
{Time Physique: Once unlocked and mastered, User will have the powers to control, and manipulate time.}
’This is unbelievable?!! This explains why she is stuck at F-Rank... Cultivating will be useless because she won’t make any progress, she only needs Evolution stones, but isn’t a hundred thousand too many? And without this knowledge from the system, no one will know such a physique even existed.’
He crossed his arms on his chest, his face dark as he processed the monumental revelation. Juliana’s physique was a world-breaking treasure. If she could master it, she will be a top powerhouse capable of bending reality itself, but she is ridiculously expensive to awaken. Her body wasn’t weak; it was a dormant god waiting for sufficient fuel.
There were two things Asher could do to awaken his wife’s terrifying potential. One; head to the Awakener’s association and buy Evolution stones, but they are way too expensive, and buying in bulk would draw a massive target on his back. The second option; enter dungeons, and farm evolution stones directly, but not all monsters dropped evolution stones, especially the weak ones.
He held his jaw, running through the tactical logistics of dungeon raiding, and after some thoughts, he nodded his head: "Alright, dungeon then. But where can I see a dungeon?"
{DING!!!}
"...?!!"
{Congratulations Master for Investing in your wife Juliana.}
{Investment: One S-Rank Evolution Stone.}
{Congratulations!! Master Triggered the 100,000x Return.}
"One hundred thousand?!!!" Asher was shocked, his voice barely a breathless whisper.
{Gained 100 SSS-RANK Evolution stones!!}
{Item Has been stored in your storage.}
’My God!! One hundred SSS-RANK!! Even the top guild in the whole five countries don’t have more than ten!! And I have a whole hundred!!’ He yelled inwardly, completely stunned by the sheer, economy-crushing magnitude of his reward.
’Oh Juliana!! You’re my treasure, you always give me good things!!’
{Evolution Stone: Gotten from the System 100x.}
{Skill: Can help with cultivation.}
{Note: Master will need 100 SSS-Rank Evolution stones to advance to SS-Rank.}
’SS-Rank?!!! Some weeks ago, I won’t even dare think of touching such a rank!! But now, I can actually advance to SS-RANK!!’
He held himself back, forcing his racing heart to calm down. Raw strength was good, but without plans, that’s suicidal within their current corrupt society. The moment he flared an SS-Rank aura, every apex predator in Vaeloria would hunt him down to leash him or kill him. Asher will never advance his rank in a city, or even on this planet where prying eyes could measure the energy spike.
’I need a dungeon... Fast! I have money now, I can easily buy one.’ He quickly rushed inside, driven by a new, burning purpose, locking the door securely behind him.
Asher moved his gaze around the quiet sitting room, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light, and blinked, listening to the soft, rhythmic snoring coming from the dining room.
"...?"
He walked towards it, following the sound, and stopped in his tracks, staring at Kelly, who was still sleeping soundly on the table. Surrounded by the empty plates of the meal he had cooked, she looked entirely at peace, completely untouched by the violence and plotting that consumed his world.
Amongst his three wives, Kelly as the first was indeed the most beautiful in a purely classical sense. Sara was beautiful, but she has the air of maturity and deep sorrow in her, which is good but heavy. While Juliana with her two personalities joined together, is still a wild, unpredictable young lady, who isn’t even twenty yet. But Kelly, with her soft features, her curves, figure and chest, they are just too right, radiating a quiet, undeniable allure.
Asher stood beside the table, completely stunned by The Sleeping Beauty, feeling a sudden, fierce desire to protect this fragile domestic sanctuary at all costs.