Healing System-Chapter 288: Getting In The Mood *

Michael had made his way back to the dorms, and of course, Celeste was nowhere to be seen.

What she had done at the end there might've been a bit too embarrassing for her to bear.

But of course, to him, it just seemed simply too cute.

If anything, he would want her to do it again.

But... if she really is coming over today, then that might really be the case, Michael thought with a hum.

He felt oddly excited.

It was definitely a feeling he hadn't felt ever since he was in the military and had his first fling.

However, he would much rather not treat this as a fling, as he respected Celeste quite a bit.

Enough to see her as a woman and let himself be seduced by her.

Obviously, the roles had reversed by now, but that didn't change the fact that he would be dealing with some real fun times later.

Nonetheless, there was still a lot of time until then, and Michael decided to spend it doing something he would not regret later.

Of course, that something was training.

Although he was much weaker, the knowledge he had was still vivid in his mind, and it would help boost his strength by a lot.

Of course, the mana he had absorbed back in the Eldritch realm was still in the back of his mana pool, as, surprisingly, it had merged with his soul.

Since the system didn't seem to mention anything about it, that meant it didn't know it existed in the first place.

Therefore, Michael sat down, crossing his legs like a monk.

And in the very next moment, he began humming while also actively trying to absorb the mana from the air.

It felt like cultivation, and if he didn't know any better, that was exactly what it was.

But of course, he was still too weak to utilize more, as any more than this would break his body.

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Nonetheless, the system chimed in from time to time, offering its masochistic training method, which he denied.

After browsing through his memories, he realized that method was nothing but a hoax.

It didn't really increase his speed of gathering mana. The only thing it did was give access to the system.

Once it had access, it could directly draw the mana into the halo before outputting it back inside Michael's body.

The pain he felt was just a byproduct of the system's boredom, funnily enough.

Hey, could you shut up for a second? Michael asked.

While he was trying to focus, the system kept mumbling all sorts of nonsense.

Some of which included the obvious.

[Are you really going to sleep with Celeste? I mean, what about in the future? I saw you flashing glances toward Chloe and, of course, Astraea. Are there any more?] the system asked.

Chloe...? I can't say I see her that way, Michael replied with a tilt of his head. As for Astraea? I guess I'm attracted to her. Being around Celeste helped me realize that to the fullest.

Of course, the fact that he was messing around with Celeste might cause him problems down the line, but so what?

Michael planned on living his life without limitations, and if he got attached to people so easily, then it wasn't exactly his fault.

In fact, the girls were to blame.

Why seduce him in the first place?

Nonetheless, Michael continued siphoning the mana in tiny increments and soon felt as though he would break through into Tier 4.

It was very fast, but that was the least he could expect from the amount of mana he had inside himself at the current moment.

Sadly, he wouldn't be getting the Awakening ceremony like he had in the past.

But aside from that, everything else was the same, so Michael merely hummed in amusement as he began weaving his own core—to the surprise of the system.

[How are you doing that? I thought I only showed it to you once... or twice? I don't remember...] It trailed off. [Either way, what the fuck?]

Don't worry about it. You should know better than anyone else that I'm a fast learner. If anything, this was only natural, Michael replied, snickering.

Finally, a few more minutes passed, and by utilizing his healing directly where he was forming the core, he negated the excruciating pain.

And now, it was done.

He became a Tier 4 in the span of a couple of hours.

Or so he thought, but as Michael turned toward his window, he noticed it was already dark out.

But before he could groan in annoyance, he heard a knock on his door.

Michael stood up, puzzled, and as he approached and glanced through the peephole, he saw Celeste standing idly by, fiddling with her hair as she waited for him to open the door.

And that was exactly what he did, as he swung his door open and smiled at her.

"Celeste, I'm glad you could make it."

"M-Michael... why aren't you..." Celeste's eyes darted around, not knowing where to look.

He was slightly puzzled at her reaction, and as he looked down, Michael noticed he wasn't wearing any clothes.

Bruh...

Michael did take a quick shower and dry himself before plopping down on the floor.

But it seemed like he glossed over the part where his clothes were on the floor near the bed.

And now? He was standing in front of Celeste all sweaty.

Letting out a sigh, he created a robe out of light and cleared his throat.

"Sorry about that... I got a bit sidetracked and didn't notice... Come in?"

Hearing his offer, Celeste took a few steps forward, still a bit hesitant due to what she saw.

But of course, her eyes kept traveling down toward his lower part.

He ignored it, not wanting to make this situation more uncomfortable than it already was.

Finally, she neatly sat down on the bed, looking all around and unsure of what to say or do.

However, Michael merely went to the kitchen and cooked her some chicken he had lying around.

And of course, some lemon juice he might've stolen from the inn.

"Meat again... Michael—"

He cut her off by shoving a piece of chicken inside her mouth.

"No need to worry that pretty face of yours. Meat is healthy, and we weren't the ones who killed it. Screw the Angel of Mercy," he remarked with a chuckle.

"Oh... I guess you're right." Celeste giggled and took the plate of chicken before grabbing the lemon juice.

Michael manifested a table made of light before gently placing down his own dish on it.

"So how are you doing? After the spar, I mean," Michael asked, lying down comfortably on the bed beside her.

"I'm not sure... I'm a bit disappointed I lost, I guess?" Celeste replied, fiddling with the glass. "But I guess I was just overconfident. Everyone always called me a generational genius, and it got to my head."

"They're not wrong, Celeste," Michael added. "If anything, I believe you are. I'm just someone who's a bit more experienced than you in combat."

"But is experience all there is to it?" Celeste turned toward him. "I mean, you literally beat me without breaking a sweat. I saw you trying to hide that bored look on your face... But my eyes see more than your pretty face—I mean..."

Noticing she was beginning to fidget from embarrassment, Michael sat up and caressed her hair.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just not sure what I'm looking for either. I've had fights where I almost died multiple times, and only those kinds of fights make me not feel bored," Michael explained. "What we did was too relaxed, and if I may be so blunt, I could've killed you 49 times within a second with the way you were fighting."

"Oh..." Celeste's eyes widened.

"So what if we fought for real? To kill, I mean... we won't die—"

"No." Michael shot her down. "I'm not fighting you again unless you want to spar. But it will stay just a spar, always... That is, unless you decide to betray me one day."

"I would never do that!" Celeste shot up, a frustrated look on her face. "Why would you even think I'd try something like that? Am I not good enough... is that why you can't trust me...?"

"That's not it." He grabbed her arm, making her drop down onto the bed comfortably. "I never know what to expect, so I'm always prepared for the worst possible outcome. I might just be overly cautious, but it never hurts to be safe."

"Hmm... I see." Celeste looked down, and only then did she notice the position she was in.

Michael was above her, with his robe just barely hiding his everything.

As for Celeste, Michael could practically hear her heart beating out of her chest.

But it wasn't in a scared or frightened way.

In fact, it was one of excitement.

Almost as if she was waiting for this to happen.

Therefore, Michael fell silent as he leaned down, and the moment he did, Celeste closed her eyes and puckered her lips.

Inwardly chuckling, Michael delivered a soft kiss on her lips before traveling to her neck and giving it a couple of pecks.

"Ahh~" Celeste let out a soft moan before glancing straight into his eyes.

He didn't know if he imagined it, but it almost seemed like there were tiny hearts inside her eyes.

But of course, Michael wasn't the type of guy who would stop there.

"Celeste..." Michael began kissing her all over, traveling down to her breasts as he parted her uniform.

Her nipples were already fully perked up, and his mouth eventually landed on one of them, sucking on it through her bra.

[I'm closing the curtains, Michael. Have fun.] the system said before seemingly vanishing, nearly making Michael let out a laugh.

I will.