Thus, Kazumi thought the nutrients quickened the incubation progress. This concept seemed somewhat proven after Vincent could store the other eggs.
The mysterious system Vincent possessed mentioned how the soul of the ants wasn't formed, which meant they didn't grow enough by the system rules. Many days passed since Feng Mengli placed the eggs in the cart, but none hatched as if the incubation time was cut off or slowed to a snail's pace.
[I wonder what would happen if we buried the egg? We can't take it with us in the city, can we?]
Vincent returned his gaze on the egg and agreed with her question. They already needed to be low-key because of the Hero's mark. Holding an ant egg would make their group targeted with glares and suspicion. They would be begging for unwanted attention.
"Let's do that before we arrive. If the egg hatches, it's not our problem. Also, it should be weak anyway. The guards will quickly spot the little ant if we bury the egg an hour or two away from the gate." Vincent decided on what to do with the egg because they couldn't eat the Royal Guard Ant as it had an acid sack similar to Acid Ants. Eating it would mean death.
Vincent turned around and went beside Ester, Lupa, and Tula. The three were merrily eating Ani Bananas and drinking water while chatting.
As Vincent approached, he could hear Tula telling a few stories, such as the former neighbor's pet and other ordinary stories a ten-year-old minded kid would say.
Vincent slowly sat beside them and enjoyed the night.
*Day 48*
The next day arrived. Vincent did his usual two heals and later did a light warmup to prepare his legs for a day of walking. Not long after, he placed his hands on the cart's rear and walked with the cart's support.
As the hours passed, Vincent gradually asked Lupa to increase her pace to that of regular walking speed. By the end of the day, Vincent could almost walk normally.
However, an unknown variable occurred on this day. Vincent could feel his body getting tired more than usual. His tried body wasn't recuperating his stamina as quickly as it used to.
Vincent thought he was overexerting himself too much, but as the group took a few breaks, he could still feel tired. Usually, Vincent would recover his stamina after a few minutes of rest, but now, he felt his energy was recovering just a bit more than on Earth.
Kazumi noticed Vincent acting strange. She saw he was sweating more than usual and his breathing sounded unnatural. More precisely, different than when he was summoned to the new mysterious world up until now.
As Kazumi studied Vincent for the entire day and rewatched a few memories about Vincent in the past, she guessed what the problem was.
[Don't get startled, but the mysterious, superhuman stamina recovery you experienced up until now is gone, it seems. I think your current stamina recovery is double than what you had before, though.]
[However, not all is lost. Currently, your recovery rate about double to triple as fast as an ordinary human now. So it's still better than any human on Earth and possibly in this world. But we have to see about that as we live.]
Vincent felt something was wrong with his body from the start. He confirmed the thought of being the only one with this kind of passive power after noticing Koss's surprised face.
Every time Vincent trained and adapted his body, he noticed Koss acting as if he saw this kind of result for the first time in his life. The old man's poker face wasn't that great.
There was nothing to do about this, so Vincent mentioned nothing to the other three and kept trying to recover his strength. It was hard at first, but Vincent gradually got used to the new weaker stamina recovery rate.
On the other hand, Ester, Lupa, Kazumi, and Tula were happy with the rehabilitation progress Vincent made in the past few days.
The once injured Vincent was almost healed with spells and perseverance. His walking speed improved as well. Not only that, but he even managed to bluff against a mortally wounded Royal Guard Ant to the point of thinking of exploding and later meet up with the others without a scratch.
In the end, Ester and Lupa wore a peaceful expression on their faces. 'Vincent is going to be fine,' both thought.
Tula had similar thoughts about Vincent in a brotherly way.
*Day 49*
A strange heavy pressure woke Vincent up the following day. As he squinted his eyes open and looked down, he saw Ester's arm on his throat and Lupa's leg on his stomach.
[Rise and shine, lover boy. Your girls love you so much that they are about to suffocate you in their sleep, haha. Ahh ye, I never get tired of watching this, hehe.]
Kazumi laughed and giggled at Vincent's predicament. But it made the situation worse.
Vincent now thought of improving his strength quickly or risk dying in his sleep. No matter where he was or stayed, it was a dangerous world.
Vincent managed to pull himself out of his predicament and then slowly walked beside last night's campfire. His body shone with a layer of green two times. Then a status window appeared after using Inspect.
[-10sp used for Soul Power Minor Heal on Vincent Agius. Host discount activates. 10sp Remaining.]
[-10sp used for Soul Power Minor Heal on Vincent Agius. Host discount activates. 0sp Remaining.]
[Name] Vincent Agius
[Condition] Winded, Scarred Burnt Skin
[Soul Power] 0sp
[Class] Soul Hero
[Class] Soul Mutation
"Healing now. Makes me. Very tired." Vincent felt as if he ran a few levels of stairs and had to stop to take a breather. The stamina regen Vincent was grown to utilize made him miss the benefit.
[At least only your skin remained damaged.]
"Yes, but. Sometimes it's itchy. Other times the bandage stings. My skin is annoying and looks horrible." Even though Vincent mainly seemed healed, it was difficult for Minor Heal to restore the damaged skin tissue as it was once before. A more potent heal was needed.
Vincent turned his gaze on the three sleeping beauties and inspected their stats. He wanted to make sure their condition was stated as healthy.
[Name] Lupa
[Soul Synch] 50%
[Condition] Healthy
[Class] Beast Shapeshifter
[Name] Ester
[Soul Synch] 40%
[Condition] Healthy
[Class] Sigil Mage
[Name] Tula
[Condition] Healthy, High Amnesia
Vincent closed the status window after he was content with the result. The Soul Synch stat on Ester made him wonder if he would receive another ability.
Kazumi had a similar thought but mentioned nothing. She didn't want to raise Vincent's hopes up and then receive nothing when reaching fifty percent.
The ability to gain power looked overpowered on paper, but it takes too long to build a great rapport with his retainers. Furthermore, the possibility of a decrease in the stat percentage because of negligence is still unknown.
Some say time is money, while others say time is life. To become very close with dozens of people just to receive a random powerup, beneficial or not, was challenging and would take months or even years per individual.
Lupa is a naive woman, and Vincent was the first living being after her parents to make her wish to live. She only lived for the sake of living under the constant fear of her pack leader. The idea of revenge could never pass through her mind as it was impossible to kill the Great Gray wolf even in her best condition.
A few weeks before Lupa possibly passed away from the horrible condition she suffered, a human extended his hand to help, to take revenge, give her a new life, and most of all, to show affection.
How could one not fall madly in love with a person that wanted to give her all she wanted?
This is what most likely sparked a massive boost to the Soul Synch growth rate. Lupa became infatuated with Vincent and even more after she acquired a human body. She could be his mate now.
Vincent spent a lot of time with Lupa alone, unlike Ester, who was sick at the time. On the other hand, Ester took too long to accept Vincent, and her chest inferiority complex contributed to this.
However, with every fight to the death and massive emotional turmoil, the Soul Synch stat increased as each affected person worried for the other.
It was similar to a bridge opening for the souls to connect and allowing their feelings to connect at a profound level. It promoted Soul Synch's improvement for one day to reach the fifty percent limit.
Later, the three sleeping beauties woke up, and after eating a fruity breakfast, they resumed their journey to Lusterfall City.
Vincent only needed to hold the cart's side for assistance and walk without getting very tired. Although Vincent could now walk almost normally, he needed to regain the stamina to walk long distances.
Around half a day later, Tula shouted in surprise, "I know this place! My Daddy brought me to play here sometimes. I also had picnics with my Mommy and Daddy here."
The group stopped and looked around. The forest was still thick, and no sight of human life, giant city walls, or buildings could be seen. But if Tula remembered the area currently in, it meant they shouldn't be too far away from the city.
"Lupa, can you climb a tree and tell me what you see?" Vincent asked the nimble scout to check their progress to the city.
Lupa nodded and quickly climbed a tree. Not long after, she jumped down and fell on the ground like a graceful cat on all fours.
"I can see a huge wall far from us." Lupa then continued as her tail couldn't stop wagging, "We arrived in the city, hehe."
Vincent, Ester, and Kazumi instantly understood what she meant while excitedly giggling with a wide grin. The promise to mate was most probably in her mind.
Ester's cheeks blushed, thinking about this subject. Kazumi teased and laughed like usual. On the other hand, Vincent had mixed feelings.
It would be his first time, but his current horrible skin and appearance condition made him question what he should do. Even though he knew Ester and Lupa trusted him with their lives, making out with his appearance made him think they would stay away from him.
In a way, Vincent wanted to delay such activity until he could find a method to learn a more potent heal or somehow cure his condition. His trust issue personality was making him think negatively. Being hated or, worse, abandoned was a thing he feared the most.