ebookpocket.com Chapter 700: His Type.
Chapter 700: His Type.
"Let’s start with simple walking." Dante said.
Standing on the treadmill was Bella, holding onto the bar on either side as her legs shook slightly. The belt began to move under her feet, and she took a step, then another. A couple of minutes passed before she became confident enough to move on her own.
"Better now?"
"Yes."
"Let’s increase the speed a little, then..."
Dante gave the command to speed up the treadmill to a very light jog speed. Bella had to hold one of the rails at first, but it didn’t take her long to adjust.
’What do you think?’
[Her soul has already adjusted. It is no longer strained.]
’And the connection?’
[It seems to have improved ever so slightly.]
Asking his resident AI to change the settings on his Absolute Awareness, Dante observed Bella’s soul and the fine line linking her to him. It was faint, but he was able to perceive it somewhat. As he wondered if that would help with his progress toward mastering Soul Manifestation, something entered the edge of his perception.
"Heeh, you really have a fully equipped gym up here." A male voice aid. "Why didn’t you tell me before?"
"Because I never really use it." Dante said. "Except when I need the showers."
"You use normal shower?" A confused, feminine voice asked. "Even though you’re a cyborg?"
"Believe it or not, I still enjoy hot baths, even though I’m like this."
"Really?"
"Really."
Turning around, Dante was blasted by a bright flash of light, forcing him to squint. Approaching him was the white haired Werewolf, and by his side was an orange haired ball of-
"Sunshine." Dante smiled. "It has been a while."
"You still get my name wrong after this long?" Merry said. "Well, not that I mind."
"Tsk."
Bella almost tripped on herself, leading her to stop the treadmill.
"Good. You should take break whenever you feel like it." Dante helped her get off. "There is no need to rush. Take your time."
"The young miss is..." Wolf met Bella’s gaze and recoiled from the glare she directed at him.
"A friend." said Dante. "Bella Adams."
"I’m Wolf Hohenberg. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Bella!" Merry said. "You can call me Merry."
"Nice to meet you." Bella replied.
Even without is Absolute Awareness, Dante believed that he could feel the friction between the two ladies, which filled him with an unending desire to sigh. He suddenly became aware of how careless he had been around women as of late.
’I’m starting to miss Rose...’
"So, want to warm up here, or should we head to the ring right away?" Dante turned his sights to the hero.
"Since we’re already here, I will hop on the treadmill for a couple of minutes." Wolf said.
"It sure is nice, being a Genome. You can still feel your muscles after a workout."
"Not gonna lie, it’s a really big plus." Wolf chuckled.
As the white haired hero went about his exercise, Dante helped Bella back on the treadmill and restarted her training.
"Say, Bella, were you injured recently?"
Merry asked a pretty normal question, but for a few seconds, she got no answer.
"She’s recovering from a surgery, that’s all." Dante said.
"Surgery?" Blinking twice, the orange haired hero looked over Bella once, and her eyes went wide. "You got a new implant, I see."
"It was a gift from Boss." Bella said.
"Is that so?"
Merry’s lackluster reaction seemed to make Bella’s mood worse. Clicking her tongue, she tapped the treadmill’s control panel a couple of times and increased the speed, breaking into a run.
"Bella! You can’t do that so sudden-"
"I’m fine." She interrupted. "I can do this!"
An SRE reroutes the signals between the brain and body, enhancing them according to the user’s will. At the lowest setting, it would be no different from normal, as if the implant didn’t exist at all. Still, the process of installing the implant involved cutting nerves and extending them using ones made from Neorosteel. It takes time for the body to adjust, and even if it appeared to be working just fine-
"Ah-"
It takes only one signal to not pass through properly for the entire body to collapse.
"That’s why I told you to be careful."
Thankfully, Dante had remained close enough, catching her just in time.
"Say, did you recover naturally?" Merry asked. "Or did you rely on Nanomeds."
"What are you saying, Sunshine?" Dante said. "You think we’re so poor that we can’t afford proper treatment?"
"It’s not about that."
Taking a step toward them, Merry reached out and placed her hand on Bella’s shoulder. Light flooded out of it the next instant, enveloping Bella.
"Nanomeds might be convenient, but they’re still a shortcut, and shortcuts always come with downsides." Merry said. "The tissue that’s repaired using them is quite brittle. You’d still be at risk of injury for a while after using them, so it would be for the best if you avoided excessive movement."
"Your ability..." Dante muttered, looking at the glowing Bella.
"It’s not exactly healing, but it greatly boosts the recovery of those I use it on." Merry beamed. "Awesome, right?"
"It sure is." Dante replied.
[Level 3 Ascended Genome.] Volcan said. [This particular ability allows her to transfer energy into human cells. If she wants to, she could easily cause radiation poisoning in her targets.]
’How terrifying.’
One would never suspect that the bright cheerful Sunray was the second most lethal member of Silver Wind, but that was the inescapable truth. Dante was glad they were on good terms. His implants made him immune to most radiations, but having a walking nuclear reactor as your enemy was just bad news.
"Haa..."
Seemingly done with his light exercise, Wolf walked over, wiping his sweat with a towel.
"Guess it’s time for me to start my own training." Dante said. "What do you say, Bella? Should I call Rayan and the others? Or would you like to call it a day?"
"I..." casting her gaze down, his raven haired subordinate seemed to think for a moment before looking up. "I want to watch you train."
"Oh, interested in learning martial arts?" Dante asked.
"Just... a little..."
~[ ]~
"By the way, Wolf," As they got into the hexagonal cage, Dante decided to ask a question that has been on his mind for some time now. "Do heroes always have so much free time?"
"Well, we’re usually on standby most of the time." The white haired hero replied. "We only ever act when Enhanced Individuals are involved."
"I guess things have been quite peaceful in Moon Stone, huh?"
"You could say that."
With a grunt, Wolf began to transform, his muscles growing as fut covered every part of his body.
"I guess you owe us for that." Dante said. "We were the ones who removed Bone Crown from the district, after all."
"You mean us and the police." The werewolf said. "I will pretend that you didn’t just confess to committing a bunch of crimes."
"Crimes? Me? Surely you jest."
Facing each other, the two started a short staring contest that ended with a sudden clash.
"There they go." Merry said, her chin resting in her hands.
"I... can’t really see them..." Bella gritted her teeth, squinting her eyes.
"You can’t?" Sitting in the row before them was Oliver. Until a moment ago, he was panting, covered in sweat.
"Well, I still don’t have an MLP..."
An SRE enhances reflexes, but it does nothing for one’s perception. Enough training could help, but for the time being, there was nothing she could do about it.
"What about you?" Merry asked, looking at the blond one. "Can you see them?"
Cranking his neck, Oliver blinked a her for a moment then grinned.
"Of course. What do you think all that training was for?"
"Hmmm..."
Merry returned her sight to the hexagonal cage, watching as those two exchanged blows inside. She then glanced at the corner of the stands and the muscular guy crushing a beer can with one hand.
"Say," She turned to the blond one. "How sure are you?"
"Of what?" Oliver asked.
"That your boss isn’t into men."
Bella almost snapped her neck turning a glare at the orange haired hero, While Oliver could only stared back, his face pale.
"Where did that come from?" He asked.
"Well, I was just wondering." Merry said.
"It can’t be..." Oliver turned to look at the cage.
"Th-there is no way he is." Bella said, her voice a little shaky.
"Y-yeah..." Oliver paused, then his eyes widened as he remembered something. "Yup, I’m pretty sure."
"Really?" Merry blinked twice. "Then, do you happen to know what his type is?"
"I sure do."
All of a sudden, the blod idiot felt some intense looks trying to pierce his back.
"What is it?" Merry asked, Leaning over the chair.
Though she remained seated in hers, Bella seemed to be listening carefully as well.
"Well, he likes women, that’s for sure..."
"And?"
"He... likes them a little older..." Oliver’s gaze went down, and he remembered another important detail. "He also like them thick around... you know."
Looking down at herself, Merry then went back to her seat, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Guess I do have a chance after all."
Bella didn’t like that comment at all.