Vivian had her arms crossed in front of her chest and Elias withered under her narrow-eyed stare. His dad’s posture was far more relaxed, but he knew it would be a mistake to expect any support from the man. Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he walked over to the spot his parents indicated for him to sit down. The trio sat in silence for several seconds.
“Do you know how worried I was?” Vivian asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Yes,” Elias responded, doing his best to sound apologetic.
“Oh, you did? Then you just didn’t care that I stayed up the whole night waiting for you to come back. Is that it?” She pressed, making Elias grimace. It seemed like looking regretful wouldn’t cut it this time.
“That’s not it, mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you worry like that, I just–”
“Like hell you didn’t! I don’t see why else you would come back so late on your very first day, looking like you rolled down a cliff to boot,” Vivian cut in.
“Speaking of boots, where are yours? In fact, where’s the rest of your stuff?” Peter added, sounding mildly amused in direct contrast to his mother’s cold anger. Vivian turned to him then, somehow narrowing her eyes further, which sent him into a fit of fake-sounding coughs. Thankfully, however, the interruption seemed to take the bite out of his mother’s glare, and she simply looked at Elias for long moments.
“Just tell us what happened,” Vivian finally said with a sigh, sounding resigned and tired. Not one to waste an opportunity, Elias immediately launched into recounting how his first day dungeon delving went.
Elias spoke hesitantly at first, but the words seemed to flow out of his mouth as he lost his nervousness. He told his parents of the giddy excitement he had felt at finally beginning to fulfill his dream of becoming an adventurer, fighting monsters and exploring the dungeon. He explained that he had kept to the plan, staying in the outskirts of the jungle and only using his body to kill the monsters. He even had to hold back tears when he remembered how proud and hopeful he had felt at leveling his Vitality.
Peter and Vivian heard his story attentively, some of Elias’ own feelings reflected in their eyes as he spoke. At times, they interrupted him to ask a clarifying question, while at others, they simply offered him a comforting hug or a reassuring squeeze to the shoulder. To his relief, his mom even seemed to have calmed down significantly as he told his tale. However, he eventually paused his telling when he arrived at the part where he encountered his robber, taking a deep calming breath before continuing.
“Right when I was about to reach the clearing, I heard someone approach from behind, wearing all black. I didn't know how strong he was so I tried to run to the clearing instead of fighting, but he was much faster than me. He used the Bind (Common) Skill on me and beat me up until I passed out. When I woke up, all of my things were gone,” Elias said, his head hanging lower as he spoke. His mom grabbed his hands in hers then but otherwise simply let him continue talking—and he did, pushing through the lump that had formed in his throat.
“I guess I hadn’t realized just how much I’d built up my expectations for today, but this setback–it felt like an omen, a mockery of my efforts so far and a reminder that I was still weak. All I ever wanted was to become an adventurer, to delve deep into the dungeon and live out epic adventures. I trained my whole life for this and after what happened–I felt like a failure,” Elias said, grinding his teeth. “I couldn’t accept it.”
Eyes burning with conviction, Elias told his parents about the resolution he’d made in the rain, of the path he’d chosen. It sounded a bit silly to his ears now, but he saw only pride and respect in his parents' gazes. His father, in particular, gave him a wide grin that seemed to exude an unbreakable will, speaking of dedication and perseverance. His mother only smirked with a hint of bloodthirst, an unspoken promise of pain and strength glinting in her eyes.
Elias felt a shiver run through him at his parent’s reaction. It reminded him that they were both seasoned adventurers in their own right, regardless of how they were like at home. It took an ocean of blood and pain to become Expert adventurers, and unrelenting grit. He realized they respected his choice because, at some point, they too had stood at the same crossroads and chosen the same path.
Realizing that both his parents, his mentors, supported him and his choices, Elias continued telling his story with renewed confidence. Most likely, that was why he failed to notice their encouraging expressions slowly melt into ones of displeasure. By the time he finally regained enough self-awareness to realize something was wrong, Vivian looked like a stormy cloud. Even Peter stared at him in disbelief, hands clasped in front of his mouth.
“Let me see if I got this right, Eli,” Vivian said, her tone way too sweet for it to mean anything good. “Contrary to everything your father and I ever taught you, you somehow thought it was a good idea to re-enter the dungeon while tired, injured, and emotional. Then, you decided to push deeper than you should have, with a rock as a weapon, of all things. And, to top it all off, you did all of this without telling anyone. Is that about right?”
“Well, when you put it like that…” Elias said hesitantly, cursing himself for lowering his guard; he should have known better.
“There is no other way to put it!” Vivian snapped, waving her hands in front of her in exasperation. Elias winced at her outburst, pressing his lips together to keep himself from making things worse. They stared at each other in tense silence until, thankfully, his father interjected, breaking the standoff and sparing him from the awkward situation.
“What your mother and I are trying to say, Elias,” Peter began in a conciliatory tone. “Is that while we are proud of you for remaining resolute when faced with a setback, your execution was–well, it was stupid. There really is no other way to put it. The dungeon isn’t a playground. If you want to be a successful adventurer, you need to take this more seriously, and that means thinking analytically, not emotionally. You went back there while tired and angry, and that’s exactly how accidents happen.”
“Exactly! The unranked zone is where you should focus on building good habits and getting used to delving into the dungeon. Such mistakes could easily cost you your life in the deeper levels. We would be devastated if something happened to you. Please be more careful, Eli,” Vivian said, her voice softening to a pleading tone.
Elias’ shoulders slumped at his mother’s words, his eyes fixed to the ground. Guilt flooded him over his recklessness, and only now did he truly begin to regret his actions. His family didn’t deserve having to constantly worry about him doing something stupid every time he entered the dungeon. He needed to do better.
“I’ll be more careful,” Elias promised, infusing as much conviction as he could into his words.
“Thank you, Eli. That’s all we ask of you,” Peter said comfortingly, patting his back twice before standing up from the bed. “Well, you must be tired, so we’ll let you sleep. Good night. Or… good morning, I guess?”
Vivian gave Elias one last brief hug before she, too, stood up and left the room. As soon as the door closed, he collapsed onto his bed, exhausted both emotionally and physically. Despite the heartfelt conversation, he didn’t even remember falling asleep. In his dreams, rain fell gently on his face.
*******
“Wake up, Eli! Mom said that lunch is ready.” Elias startled awake, abruptly sitting up in bed to find his cute little sister shaking him with all her strength. Admittedly, it wasn’t much, but it wasn’t like he was particularly strong either.
“I’m awake, Bel! Now get out of my room! I can’t get dressed if you don’t stop shaking me,” Elias groaned, annoyance coloring his words. Heedless, Isabela continued to shake him through the covers, giggling all the while. Left with no other choice, he snapped his hands to her wrists in an attempt to grab her. She was faster though, quickly letting go of him and darting away.
In a burst of effort, Elias wriggled his upper body out of his sheets, grabbing his pillow and pulling it behind his back. He carefully aimed it at Isabela’s retreating back and threw it with all his strength. The pillow sailed through the air gracefully, catching up to his sister before she could escape. The projectile jerked her forward when it connected with her back, drawing a surprised yelp from her.
“Ha, ha. You’re so weak! That didn’t even hurt,” she taunted him, sticking her tongue out.
Isabela continued to run away despite her words, going as far as taking his pillow with her. She shut the door to his room with a bang, muffling the sound of her footsteps speeding towards the living room. Suddenly, he heard a soft thud, quickly followed by a high pitched “ouch!”. The sound improved his mood instantly, drawing a smile from his lips.
Elias arrived in the living room within minutes, still somewhat bleary-eyed. Vivian was already placing a platter of pasta on the table while his father set out the plates and silverware. His sister was pouting on her seat, holding a bag of ice to her forehead. She spotted him, and he smirked, causing her pout to deepen.
“Hey, Bel, why are you holding that bag of ice to your forehead?” Elias asked with a mocking smile as soon as he stepped into the room.
“Why are you holding that bag of ice to your forehead?” she repeated in a mocking tone, mimicking his way of speaking. The childish response only served to make him chuckle, which caused her to glare at him in turn. Then, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and mumbled out, “I hit my head on the stupid door frame”.
“Serves you right for running around the house like that,” Elias said unsympathetically.
Isabelas’ eyes widened at his words, disbelieving that her big brother would be so cruel and uncaring. Then, her face growing red, she raised her finger at him and took a deep breath before snapping back a response. Of course, this only served to spark a round of bickering between the siblings, which only ended why his mother finished serving the food. Even then, his sister huffed at him one last time before digging into her food.
The smell coming off the carbonara pasta his mom had made was delicious, making Elias salivate. She had added a generous amount of bacon bits, and the creamy sauce looked thick and glossy. He grabbed a handful of grated cheese, sprinkled it over his food, and watched it melt on the hot sauce. Twirling the pasta into his fork, he took his first bite, his eyes rolling in pleasure at the taste.
“Eli, why do you look like someone beat you up?” Isabela asked after crossing her silverware on top of her now-empty plate, the temporary peace enforced by the meal broken.
“You know, if you want to know how my first day went, you just have to ask,” Elias shot back, raising his eyebrows and pursing his lips in irritation. His sister could really learn how to dial back the annoying sometimes. He hadn’t even finished eating for heaven’s sake.
“How was your first day?” Isabela asked in a small voice after a while, looking up at him with puppy eyes. Elias’ gaze softened then, not wanting to take advantage of his sister’s rare moment of vulnerability. Plus, she was being polite for once, and he really didn’t want to discourage that behavior.
“How about we sit down on the sofa, after I’m done eating, and I’ll tell you all about it?” Elias said with a wink, his heart melting to her radiant smile.
“Yes! I’ll get the ice cream–hmm, can I have some ice cream mom? It’s just this once. Please, please, please?” Isabela pleaded, her puppy eyes coming back full force.
“Sure, honey,” Vivian answered with a sigh, also unwilling to deny his overexcited sister.
Shortly after, Elias was seated with Isabela on the couch, his sister visibly vibrating in anticipation. They had often fantasized about being adventurers together when they were younger, so her excitement came as no surprise. In fact, she had already begun her own training years ago, though it was far lighter than his had been, having been born with very high attribute levels. Instead, she spent most of her training with Peter to improve her fighting skills, since she lacked his exceptional talent in that area–not that she was untalented by any means.
Elias savored the rich caramel and vanilla flavor of his Ancient Amber Cream ice cream. A feeling of antiquity and mythos briefly banqueting him with every caramel crystal he crunched between his teeth. The maker claimed to use Amber Sunset Vanilla (Ancient), a valuable natural treasure, to flavor the desert. It was the perfect ice cream flavor for the occasion, as well as being his and Isabela’s favorite.
Licking his lips, Elias began telling his tale for the third time that day. With Melinda, he lied about his accomplishments, not wanting to show weakness. With his parents, he was analytical and introspective, keeping his story as factual as possible. Now, with his sister, he took the necessary artistic liberties to make it the most epic story he possibly could.
Elias described the Tamarrin Macaw he had fought as a powerful level 10 beast, capable of shooting deadly soundwaves from its beak. He told Isabela how the vines of the Hanging-Tree Sapling crackled with powerful currents of electricity. Through it all, his sister’s eyes gleamed with excitement and a hint of admiration. He’d never admit just how much her opinion meant to him, but his chest still swelled with pride.
“At which point in the story did you get robbed?” Isabela asked with a grin. Elias immediately deflated and glared at his parents accusingly, only to find them choking back laughter.
“What? We didn’t tell her,” Vivian responded to his silent accusation, glancing sideways as she spoke. He didn’t believe her for a second.
“Yeah… Maybe she overheard us talking about it during breakfast,” Peter continued, backing up his wife's claim. He looked just as guilty as she did.
Elias narrowed his eyes at his parents' obvious lies, but merely huffed to show his disbelief. There was no way in hell that two Expert-rank adventurers wouldn’t know if a twelve-year-old girl was listening in on them. Still, they’d never admit it, so pushing the issue was pointless. He’d just have to put up with his sister’s teasing for a while, or find some dirt on her.
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“I’ll go get dressed and head out to the dungeon,” Elias finally said, interrupting his sister’s giggles. Noticing his parents' expressions turn more serious, he added, “Don’t worry, I won’t push for another level today since it’s so late, but I can at least get some good exp.”
“About that… your mother and I talked while you were sleeping, and we think it’s best to alternate your dungeon delving with physical training to start building up your foundation. This will allow your body to adapt to your increasing attributes faster, allowing you to fight stronger monsters and gain experience more quickly,” Peter said.
“I have only raised my attributes by three levels so far though, my Vitality by two and my Strength by one. I have already trained my physique to the limit of what my attributes previously allowed. Wouldn’t it be better to wait until I have made a bit more progress to start building my foundation?” Elias asked.
A person’s foundation represents the true effectiveness of their attributes—how strong, agile, or capable they actually are, regardless of what their Status claims. This distinction exists because the attributes people are born with only indicate their natural potential; they still need to train to realize that potential. Similarly, leveling up attributes in the dungeon increases only one’s natural potential. Since the highest attribute level a person can be born with is level 10, fully developing each attribute to its maximum potential at this level is known as achieving a ‘perfect foundation’.
At higher levels, gaining attributes strengthens the body through mana reinforcement rather than biological means. This prevents physical deterioration at high enough levels, but it also makes improving one’s foundation much harder and more costly. Therefore, everyone aims to attain a perfect foundation before reaching the Beginner rank. Some even go so far as to stall at level 10 for years until they succeed.
“Well, there’s an important benefit to building your foundation gradually like this, rather than waiting for your actual attribute levels to outstrip your effective attributes first. This way, you’ll learn to test your limits by gradually delving deeper into the zone as you grow stronger. It will be a good experience for you and more in line with what dungeon delving is really like. Limit testing is a very valuable skill for an adventurer. Plus, we wanted to help you somehow after our talk this morning and this is the only way we can,” Peter explained.
Thinking it over, Elias supposed his parents' plan made sense. Even if it hadn’t, they were his trainers on top of being his parents, he trusted them to know best in these situations. If they thought doing it this way was best, why would he say no? The greatest downside to their plan was using more money on recovery potions, and they would be the ones paying for them anyways.
With a grateful nod, he agreed to their training plan and headed upstairs to get ready. He hadn’t had to train hard with his mom since he managed to raise his Vitality to level 4, but that didn’t mean he’d forgotten. Sometimes, he still had nightmares about those days. Still, no one could argue with her results; maybe he really would be delving into the core area of the newbie zone soon.
*******
Kitty licked her paws, patiently waiting for Elias to return home so she could finally set out. It had been a long night; watching him clumsily stumble through the jungle had been nearly as hard as seeing him take that beating. Her tail twitched, her annoyance resurfacing as she recalled what had happened.
That man should be grateful Kitty had been asked only to watch and not intervene in Elias’s dungeon delve. Unless he was in actual danger, of course. Still, it won’t make much of a difference, she thought, feeling the tracking mark she’d left on the man to ensure it was still there. He would come to regret his actions soon enough.
Before Elias even stepped through the front door, Kitty sensed Vivian’s intent flare as she finally noticed her son’s arrival and his current state. Thankfully, the woman had trusted Kitty enough not to check on her son throughout the night; that would have been awkward. Resigned, Kitty activated the telepathy enchantment on her collar.
“He’s okay. Took a beating. Got robbed. I’ll go find the robber now. Get his things back. Bye!” With that, Kitty immediately took off running.
“What?! Come back here, Kitty! Explain yourself better before you leave, at least!” came Vivian’s reply. Kitty pretended not to hear. Vivian could get the full story from Elias anyway, and Kitty didn’t really like talking–not even mentally. That was something humans liked to do. She was a cat.
While Elias' robber was beating him up, Kitty had made a point of leaving a slight scratch on the back of the man’s neck with her claws. With the speeds she could move at, he had no chance of even noticing her. It hadn’t been enough to draw blood, but it was enough for her to track him halfway across the world.
Soon, she stepped onto the roof of a somewhat rundown building, startling the birds nesting there. Fortunately, she’d just moved out of range of her collar’s telepathy function, silencing Vivian’s badgering. Otherwise, she would have had to turn it off, and she doubted the woman would have appreciated being hung up on.
Her domain easily blanketed the entire building, allowing her to observe everything within. She quickly found the man she had been tracking, sitting by the bed of a frail old woman and feeding her a potion. It wouldn’t help, she knew.
The woman wasn’t dying of any specific disease; she was simply old. Kitty guessed she was nearing a hundred and fifty. If she’d been high-level, she might have had the longevity to look young even at that age, but that wasn’t the case. She was only at peak Novice rank, with an average attribute level of 30. She probably wouldn’t survive the year, and that was being generous.
“Damn it, Nicholas, you’ve spilled some of it,” the old woman grumbled. A few drops of the potion trickled down her lips and onto her neck, and the man quickly caught them with a napkin before they could go further.
“I’m sorry, ma,” he answered.
“Humph, if only Roger was still here,” she continued. “He would’ve been more careful.”
“I’m sorry, ma,” he repeated.
“Go get me my breakfast already, and try not to burn the donuts this time.”
The woman continued to mumble as Nicholas darted into the kitchen to remove a tray of donuts from the oven. One of the pastries was indeed slightly burnt, though Kitty noticed it was due to a small defect in the oven. Nicholas popped the burnt donut into his mouth, then placed two others on a plate and brought them to the old lady.
“Here you go, ma. Be careful, it’s hot,” Nicholas said softly.
The woman scoffed at his warning and immediately took a large bite out of one of the donuts. Kitty doubted that a hot pastry would harm the mouth of a Novice rank, old or not, but the woman’s behavior still irked her, making her tail twitch. So ungrateful.
The young man remained quiet despite the clear disrespect that the woman showed him, even as he took care of her. He patiently waited for her to finish eating her donuts, even grabbing a few more when she was done. His actions seemed mechanical, like this was just a chore he had to do every day.
Kitty sat down on her haunches, deciding to observe the young man a while longer. It seemed like there was more to this Nicholas and she wanted to be better informed before deciding what to do about him. She had already found Elias’ stolen belongings in the other room anyway, and it had been a simple matter to grab them with her domain and store them in her collar’s spatial storage.
After eating and spewing out some more abuse, the old woman turned on their entertainment system. She started watching a reality show, something about dating retired adventurers, and Kitty stopped paying her any more attention.
Nicholas grabbed another donut off the tray and left his house while Kitty observed from a distance, always keeping him within her domain. Soon, they arrived in a high-end store selling potions and enchanted items. Surprising, considering his simple living conditions. A security guard at the entrance to the store seemed to recognize him, nodding in greeting and opening the door, telling him that someone named Sebastian was waiting for him in their office.
Kitty leaped up, landing on top of the building and straining her domain to continue observing past the store’s wards. She succeeded with some effort, but it took her a few minutes. By the time she found Nicholas again, he was discussing something with a well-dressed older man sporting a thick mustache.
“... really nothing more you can do? Please?” Nicholas begged, sounding desperate.
“I’m sorry, Nicholas. I’ve already given you every discount I could, and I’ve already stretched the deadline for payment twice. I can’t hold on to that Arcane rank longevity pill for you any longer,” said the mustached man, a consoling lilt to his voice. Nicholas broke down crying on the spot, bitter tears streaming down his face.
Sebastian, for his part, sighed heavily and produced a box of tissues from his own spatial storage, setting them down in front of the younger man. He extended his hands, intending to offer comfort, but thought better of it at the last moment. Instead, he left him alone, asking him to call when he was ready to leave.
Kitty felt she finally had a good grasp of the situation. It seemed Nicholas had turned to robbery to scrape together enough money for a longevity treasure to keep his mother alive. Such treasures were rare and, consequently, expensive, as they could only be obtained as loot from powerful dungeon monsters or synthesized from rare natural resources.
Eventually, Nicholas recomposed himself and left the building, even thanking Sebastian for his time and help. He began to head home the way he’d come, but Kitty decided she had waited long enough. She had already missed lunch over this! So, she seized him with her domain and zipped him up to the roof of his own building, flexing her domain to prevent his screams from carrying. They arrived in moments.
“Ah! Who is it? Please let me go,” Nicholas stammered, his eyes wide and his breathing shallow.
“Down here,” Kitty said telepathically. The man looked down and saw her, but only seemed to grow confused. Then, Kitty gently pressed her Master’s domain against his Beginner’s presence, and his fear turned to panic. He immediately dropped into a kowtow, begging for mercy and shaking in fear.
“Enough!” Kitty said, and Nicholas immediately froze without looking up. She sighed. This was why she hated doing this; it felt like bullying children. Having to talk kind of sucked too.
“The man you robbed. This morning,” she continued, and the man twitched but said nothing. “He’s a friend. You beat him up. Now, I’ll do the same. To you.”
“I’m sorry, honored Master. I was desperate! Please have mercy. My mom is old and I needed money to buy her a longevity treasure. I–”
“I know,” Kitty said, cutting him off before he could tell her his life story. “About your mom. Because of that. You get to live. Now. Man up.”
Having said her piece, Kitty pounced on the man and began to beat him up just as he had done to Elias earlier that morning. Of course, she held back significantly, or else the man would have vaporized with the first slap of her paws. When he finally passed out on the rooftop, she checked that he could leave through the fire escape when he woke up, before heading back home.
Her family was already having dinner when she arrived, and Elias already looked considerably better than he had that morning. She placed his previously stolen things on his bed and sneaked under the dinner table. There, she brushed her tail against his leg comfortingly, still feeling a bit guilty about letting him get beat up. Well, at least she had avenged him.
“How did it go?” Vivian asked through the telepathic link.
“Mission accomplished,” Kitty sent back, before eating a piece of chicken Elias gifted her under the table. It was cute how he thought no one had noticed.
*******
“Faster! Don’t let up or you won’t make it in time!” Vivian bellowed, not a hint of mercy in her voice.
Elias wished that he had the energy to complain, or the line of sight to glare at her, but he didn’t. Instead he could only swallow his complaints and run faster like she’d told him to. He doubted she’d really withhold a recovery potion if he failed to run the full twelve kilometers in an hour, but he couldn’t be sure either. It’s not like she hadn’t before, when he hadn’t “put in enough effort to need one”.
The potions accelerated natural recovery manyfold, allowing people to push themselves beyond safe limits during training and achieve miraculous gains. It was possible to perfect one’s foundations without such training aids, but it would take years or even decades of strict training and dieting. Most people simply trained their bodies up to a certain limit, before switching to using the expensive potions to buy time when their progress slowed. Elias’ lower lips had turned numb about five minutes ago, and he could feel his left arm growing cold; he really wanted that potion.
“Come on! You’re almost there and you only have three minutes left. You won’t make it in time if you stop to vomit again. Put your back into it!” Elias wanted to cry at the injustice of it all. Just the week before, he only needed to run 10 kilometers in an hour. His attributes hadn’t even improved that much yet!
“Eight! Seven! Six! You need to actually get inside! Four!” Vivian bellowed.
Elias collapsed into the soft tatami as soon as he stepped through the entrance to the dojo and simply wheezed into it for a few minutes. The only part of his body that moved other than his lungs and chest was the left side of his lower lip, which had started spasming at some point. He suspected he might have had a minor heart attack.
When Elias finally felt like he could drink something without throwing up, he stumbled his way to where his mom had left his well earned recovery potion. The red and siruppy liquid looked tantalizing within the small glass vial. He chugged it.
“Good job, Eli. Twelve kilometers in just under fifty five minutes. It’s like you’re a new person” Vivian smiled at him encouragingly.
Now that Elias’ lip had settled down to normal, it was finally his right eye’s turn to twitch, and he began to laugh hysterically. He had been tricked!
“I still had five minutes!? Why did you tell me I was running out of time?” Elias snapped. Vivian looked at him with a puzzled and amused look, like the answer to his question was obvious.
“Because I wanted to push you harder. These potions don’t grow on trees, you know? You need to get as much benefit out of them as you possibly can, and a little bit more effort translates to many times the results.”
“I know how the potion works, but I had more time. I thought I was going to have a heart attack!” His mom had the audacity to laugh at his face when he said that.
“Good! That means I did my job well. Now stop whining, Eli—you’re going to be fine. This is nothing compared to the times we managed to raise your Vitality through training alone. Your body is capable of more; it just hasn’t grown into its new capabilities yet. With the potion, you’ll get the benefit of months of training in days. Or would you rather waste months in training?” Vivian asked, raising an eyebrow. When she saw he wasn’t going to answer her rhetorical question, she added, “That’s what I thought.”
“You still lied,” Elias mumbled in a final act of defiance. Vivian only rolled her eyes in response before throwing a towel at him. He was still dripping with sweat.
Elias wiped himself off as best he could and began to stretch now that the training session was over. If it hadn’t been, he’d never have had the courage to complain; he’d learned that lesson the hard way many years ago. Vivian did not tolerate any form of hesitation or defiance during training.
After stretching, Elias took a long shower, the hot water relaxing his still-sore muscles. As he dried off and the bathroom mirror cleared, he caught his reflection and started, then gaped.
He was still scrawny, but his chest looked noticeably wider, and his muscles were slightly larger and more defined. He even seemed a bit taller. Overall, he looked healthier and stronger than before—all after a single training session. If he’d known the results would be this apparent, he would have run as if his life actually depended on it. This was amazing!
Hours later, Elias was still giddy over how much his body had changed in such a short time as he ate dinner. He made a few remarks about needing to eat a lot so he could grow, earning amused compliments from his parents. Even his sister commented on how he looked better. Thankfully, Isabela had tired herself out after eating so much ice cream in the afternoon, making dinner a much calmer affair than lunch.
Elias felt Kitty brush against his leg, only now realizing that he hadn’t seen her all day. He mentally shrugged, figuring she was probably napping the afternoon away in some corner of the house. When no one was looking, he sneakily fed her a piece of his chicken, using the opportunity to pat her a few times.
After dinner, Elias went up to his room to sleep, only to find his stolen backpack and energy card on top of his bed. He rubbed his eyes a few times in disbelief, but his things didn’t disappear like a mirage.
“Your robber turned himself in this afternoon,” Vivian said suddenly, making Elias turn quickly. She was leaning against his door, an amused smile on her face. “A police officer came by to return these while you were in the shower.”
Elias laughed with joy, jumping in place and shaking his fists to celebrate his good fortune. He had gotten his stuff back! Most of what was stolen he could live without, but his energy card was different—it would have been a pain to keep stuffing his pockets with all the energy crystals he gathered. However, when he opened his backpack to check its contents, Elias froze.
Vivian immediately burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter as he pulled the first item from his bag. She was soon joined by Peter, who seemed to appear out of thin air, already laughing loudly. In Elias’s hands was a single boot.