Chapter 317: Dream 2
The girl looked at Asher for a little longer while still pinching him. And then she said, "I was just checking if it was a dream or reality."
Asher stared at the girl for a moment, and then asked, "Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Me pinching you, not you pinching me."
"No, it should be just like that. You are young, so you wouldn’t understand," the girl replied calmly in a confident tone with a straight expression, and then finally stopped pinching him, letting go of his arms, and then sat on the nearby bed.
"That sounds like bullshit to me," Asher replied, but the girl did not react, as if she had not listened to Asher at all. Asher was still trying to form his mana core, and he noticed that the girl could not notice him forming his mana core. Then he continued, "Aren’t you just one month older than me? You aren’t even that much older than me."
"One month is a long period of time. You wouldn’t understand its significance. It can change people."
Asher just stared at her for some moments, and then asked, "So what were you surprised about, that you had to verify whether this is a dream or not?"
"You woke up early today, which is unlike you, so I thought that maybe I am dreaming," she paused and then continued, "But maybe miracles do happen sometimes, and today happens to be that miraculous day, I guess."
"How can anyone even utter this much bullshit with a straight face?"
"You just need to be honest and say facts, nothing else. I am sure you would also learn it when you become old like me."
Asher stayed silent for a moment, then looked toward the fruit basket on the table, picked up the knife, gripped it tightly, and glanced at the girl.
The girl was also glancing at Asher with confusion on her face, as she could not understand Asher’s behavior, which was different from usual.
"Want to eat some fruit?" Asher asked.
The girl nodded.
Asher picked up an apple from the basket and started cutting it, and then he asked, "By the way, did you get an injury again?"
"Yeah, just got a scratch on my knee this time. Nothing serious this time, so I didn’t get scolded much, but still."
Asher then handed the girl a cut piece of apple and then said, "Your fault for always getting injured like an idiot."
The girl took the cut apple and, after taking a bite of it, replied with a slightly annoyed expression, "Just shut up, you crybaby. Who are you calling an idiot? I am smarter than everyone here."
Asher stared at her for a moment and then said, "Sure, but what about the time when you jumped down from the tree and then got badly injured while trying to fly?"
"Was that also a smart thing to do?"
The girl stayed still for a moment and then replied, "The wind was just a little off that day, nothing else. Otherwise, I could have succeeded that day in flying."
"And don’t even make me remember that day. I got into so much trouble that day—so much scolding—and the worst thing was those potions that I had to drink."
"Ewww, even remembering that brings that bad taste back to my tongue. Why can’t they improve the taste?" And then the girl took another bite of the apple and continued, "Now this feels better. Maybe I have to improve the taste of those potions after I awaken in the future."
"With how smart you are, I highly doubt that you will be able to do it," Asher replied instantly without any delay.
After Asher’s mocking statement, the girl got angry and then stood up and lunged at Asher while shouting, "You need to respect your elders, kid! Let me beat some respect into you."
Asher easily dodged the girl, and the girl ended up falling on the bed behind Asher. The girl then stood up again, looked at Asher, and said, "You are too weird today. Just what happened to you? Did you awaken or something?"
Asher just looked at her for a moment, raised his hand—which had the knife in it—and then mana appeared near the tip of the knife.
Asher had already formed his mana core amid the conversation.
When the girl saw this, her mouth opened in surprise and disbelief. "You also awakened, and you can even already control mana too? What is your ability? No, wait—before that, let me share this good news with everyone else."
After saying this, the girl turned towards the door and was just about to leave the room.
But before she could leave and tell everyone about this, "Stop for a moment," Asher asked her to wait a bit.
The girl turned back toward Asher. "What happened?"
Asher asked, "What time is it right now?" There was no clock in the room, so Asher did not know the time. The girl looked at Asher for a moment in confusion, wondering why he was asking for the time all of a sudden.
Then she thought for a moment and then said in an uncertain tone, "I am not sure, but it should be about 9:13. Just a guess, though, because it has been a moment since I checked the time on the clock, so I am not sure. But why are you asking for the time all of a sudden?"
Asher stayed silent for a while and then muttered in a low tone, "Hmm, so I don’t have much time left. I have to act fast."
The girl could not clearly hear what Asher was muttering to himself, but she just decided to ignore it and then turned around toward the door once again to leave. But just after turning around, Asher called her name again, and then she turned back toward Asher.
As soon as she turned toward Asher, Asher moved his arm that had the knife in it—the tip of the knife now covered in mana—and then Asher plunged the knife straight into the side of the girl’s brain.