Chapter 67 - day before the dungeon
Soon, Amy finished her training, and the three of us headed toward the kitchen together.
The moment we entered, Amy immediately walked to the refrigerator with a bright smile.
She opened it, took out the remaining birthday cake, cut herself a generous slice, and happily began eating.
Astrid simply smiled before taking a slice for herself as well.
Seeing the two of them enjoying the cake, I cut a piece for myself and joined them at the table.
After taking a few bites, Amy suddenly cleared her throat dramatically.
"Ahem."
"Gray..."
"As a good little brother, shouldn’t you pour your amazing big sister a drink?"
"I’m dying of thirst over here."
I glanced at her before calmly taking another bite of cake.
"Do it yourself."
"I’m busy."
The moment those words left my mouth, Amy’s lips slowly curled into her signature evil smile.
"Oh..."
"Is that so?"
She rested her chin on one hand and spoke casually.
"Then it seems..."
"I suddenly have something very important to do this Monday."
"I might have to skip the dungeon."
...
The moment those words reached my ears, my hand froze.
I slowly turned toward her.
She was still wearing that infuriatingly smug smile.
My eye twitched.
"You planned that from the beginning, didn’t you?"
Amy looked at me with a playful grin.
"Oh?"
"What if I did?"
"What are you going to do about it, little brother?"
Behind her, Astrid was already enjoying every second of my suffering.
She quietly ate her cake while trying not to laugh.
I silently took a deep breath.
Calm down.
This only lasts three days.
I repeated those words in my mind like a mantra.
This only lasts three days.
I could endure three days.
With great difficulty, I stood up, walked to the refrigerator, and took out the bottle of orange juice.
Then I placed it in front of Amy.
She looked at the bottle.
Then she looked back at me.
That same evil smile never left her face.
A bad feeling immediately crept into my heart.
"...Now what?"
Amy tilted her head innocently.
"Oh?"
"Little brother..."
"How can I possibly drink directly from the bottle?"
"Your amazing big sister has an image to maintain."
She gently pushed the bottle toward me.
"So be a good little brother and bring me a cup."
...
I slowly closed my eyes.
This only lasts three days.
This only lasts three days.
The entire time, Amy was barely holding back her laughter as she watched me suffer.
I gritted my teeth, walked over to the cabinet, took out a cup, and placed it in front of her.
A little harder than necessary.
Then I returned to my seat and continued eating my cake.
But Amy still wasn’t finished.
"Oh?"
She looked at me once again.
"Look at my delicate hands."
"How could I possibly pour the orange juice myself?"
"It would be such a shame if someone had to help me."
...
At that moment...
I was dangerously close to losing my patience.
With a dark expression, I slowly stood up again, poured the orange juice into the cup, and carefully placed it in front of her.
Then I turned toward Astrid.
"Do you need anything?"
Astrid, who had been giggling throughout the entire exchange, immediately waved both hands.
"No, no."
"I’m perfectly fine."
"I can do it myself."
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at her before putting the juice bottle back into the refrigerator and returning to my seat.
Throughout the entire process...
Amy never stopped smiling.
That infuriating smile remained on her face the whole time.
She looked completely satisfied, clearly enjoying every second of my suffering.
Meanwhile, I continued repeating the same words inside my head.
This only lasts three days.
Only three days.
After that, we continued arguing for a while before finally finishing our cake.
Later, I returned to my room to rest.
However, even during my break, my mind never stopped thinking about Gravity Control.
The idea itself was simple.
If reducing the gravity around my sword made it lighter...
Then reducing the gravity around my own body should increase my speed.
But after thinking about it more carefully, I quickly realized something important.
Making my body lighter wouldn’t simply make me faster.
It could also become a huge disadvantage.
If I reduced my gravity too much, I might lose control over my own movements.
Instead of running...
I might end up floating.
There was no point in creating a powerful ability if I couldn’t properly control it.
So, instead of rushing, I decided to experiment carefully.
First...
I imagined reducing the gravity around my arms.
Then my legs.
Finally...
My entire body.
I mentally simulated different situations.
Walking.
Running.
Changing directions.
Jumping.
Each possibility revealed a different problem.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that controlling gravity wasn’t nearly as simple as I had imagined.
It wasn’t enough to simply make myself lighter.
I would also need enough control to maintain my balance while moving.
As expected...
There was still a long way to go.
Still...
That only made me more excited.
Eventually, evening arrived.
As usual, Mom, Amy, and I had dinner together while chatting about ordinary things.
Amy continued teasing me from time to time, but compared to earlier, it wasn’t nearly as bad.
After dinner, we wished each other good night and returned to our rooms.
Soon...
The entire mansion became quiet.
The next morning...
I woke up feeling refreshed.
After taking a shower, changing into clean clothes, and making my bed, I left my room and headed toward the dining room.
As expected...
Mom and Amy were already waiting.
I smiled and greeted them.
"Good morning, Mom."
"Good morning, Amy."
Mom smiled gently.
"Good morning, Gray."
Amy looked at me with a grin.
"Morning, sleepyhead."
I sat down in my usual seat, and breakfast soon began.
For a brief moment...
Everything was peaceful.
Or at least...
It should have been.
Amy suddenly looked at me.
"Gray."
I looked back.
"What?"
She pushed her empty glass toward me.
"My juice."
"Pour it."
"..."
Without saying a word, I took the bottle and filled her glass.
Amy smiled in satisfaction.
"Thank you, little brother."
A few minutes later...
"Gray."
I looked at her again.
"What now?"
"The jam is too far away."
"..."
I silently handed it to her.
"Thank you."
Not long after...
"Gray."
"...What?"
"The salt."
"..."
I handed her the salt.
She smiled brightly.
"You’re such a good little brother."
My eye twitched.
Every single request...
Used the exact same excuse.
"If you don’t treat your amazing big sister properly..."
"I might reconsider going to the dungeon."
I endured it.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Eventually...
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I turned toward Mom with a pleading expression.
"Mom..."
"Can I just go to the dungeon without her?"
"She’s using your condition to bully me."
Mom quietly looked at me before glancing toward Amy.
Then...
She smiled helplessly.
"I’m sorry, son."
"But without Amy..."
"I can’t let you enter a dungeon alone."
"..."
I immediately stomped my foot against the floor.
Both Mom and Amy burst into laughter.
Even I knew my reaction was childish.
But Amy was impossible to deal with.
After breakfast ended, we said goodbye to Mom once again before heading toward the training grounds.
As we walked, Amy looked unusually cheerful.
Naturally...
That only made me even more suspicious.
When we arrived at the training grounds, I immediately focused on my new goal.
If reducing the gravity around my sword made it lighter...
Then perhaps I could do the same with my own body.
I closed my eyes and activated my Perception Skill.
The surrounding space became much clearer.
Just as I had done with Eclipse yesterday, I slowly reached out toward the gravity surrounding my body.
This time...
I didn’t try to remove it completely.
That would be reckless.
Instead, I reduced it just a little.
The effect appeared almost immediately.
I took a single step forward.
It felt...
Strange.
My body became noticeably lighter.
Almost as if I were walking on air.
I tried taking another step.
This time, I almost stumbled.
I quickly regained my balance before anything embarrassing happened.
"..."
As expected.
This wasn’t as simple as making myself lighter and becoming faster.
Without enough gravity, controlling my own movements became much more difficult.
Walking felt awkward.
Running would probably be even worse.
Changing directions in the middle of a battle?
That would be dangerous.
I continued experimenting for a while, adjusting the amount of gravity bit by bit.
Every small change produced a different result.
Eventually, I reached a conclusion.
"This can work..."
"But not now."
At my current level of control, using Gravity Control on my own body during combat would only create unnecessary weaknesses.
If I wanted to fight at my best, I needed complete control over every movement.
Right now...
I simply didn’t have that level of mastery.
Rather than forcing it, I decided to postpone the idea until I became stronger.
There was no reason to rush.
After all...
Gravity Control itself was already an incredible achievement.
Making my sword lighter had greatly increased my attack speed.
That alone was enough for now.
I smiled to myself.
"One step at a time."
One day...
I would master this ability.
And when that day came...
Gravity wouldn’t just make my sword lighter.
It would become the foundation of an entirely new movement technique.
A movement art worthy of Space Affinity itself.
For now, however...
That future was still far away.
So I abandoned today’s experiment and prepared myself for the rest of my training.