Chapter 51: Lunch With A Side Of Terrorism

Nero had barely left Willow Lane when his stomach began growling.

He had exhausted his Cell Energy during training and spent the afternoon visiting the Smith family without eating anything. The tea Clara had served him hadn’t helped much either.

As an Awakener, he needed plenty of food to recover after training. Mana-infused meals were even better since they supported both recovery and physical growth.

Fortunately, Nero had something for that.

He found a bench in a nearby park and opened his system inventory. He had a Warm Meal Voucher with him.

[Use Warm Meal Voucher?]

Nero accepted, and a covered meal appeared in his hands.

[Warm Meal: Dragon Egg (1-Star).]

"..."

Nero examined the name before lifting the lid.

A golden egg rested over a generous serving of rice, and the rich aroma rising from the meal immediately made his stomach growl again.

"It’s just the name, right?"

Surely his System hadn’t stolen an actual dragon egg just to feed him.

’...Right?’

Nero decided that some questions were better left unanswered.

He picked up the spoon included with the meal and took a bite.

The egg was incredibly soft and rich, with a flavor that made him immediately reach for another spoonful.

"Whatever you are, you taste good."

As he continued eating, warmth gradually spread from his stomach throughout his body.

Nero could feel the Mana contained within the meal entering his system and interacting with the Mana already inside him.

An Awakener’s body could be compared to a warehouse.

It stored energy and released it whenever necessary. Using a Talent placed demands on that warehouse, encouraging the body to expand and develop further.

Mana supported this process, but making it work harder than usual wasn’t particularly easy.

Nero preferred to think of Mana as a cold and lazy noble.

It was perfectly willing to maintain what it already owned, but the moment someone asked it to get up and build something new, it suddenly had better things to do.

That was where Mana-infused food came in.

The new Mana entering an Awakener’s body needed to be absorbed and brought into balance with the Mana already present.

Since the existing Mana couldn’t simply ignore the newcomer, its activity increased as the two mixed and circulated.

That increased activity helped nourish the warehouse.

The meal replenished Nero’s depleted energy while supplying additional Mana to support his physical development. The nutrients also provided his hungry cells with the resources they needed to recover.

However, eating wasn’t the only way to make that lazy noble work.

Nero remembered Old Man Drake practicing basic Mana circulation exercises when they first met in the park.

Those exercises encouraged Mana to circulate more actively, helping the body prepare for further growth.

With enough development, the warehouse could eventually store more energy and withstand greater demands.

Then there was combat.

Push the body hard enough, and Mana would react like an arrogant noble who had finally been dragged out of bed and insulted.

Suddenly, it became willing to work!

When an Awakener reached their genuine physical limits, that response could become powerful enough to draw Mana from the surroundings and push their body beyond its usual capabilities.

However, this wasn’t something an Awakener could simply command.

Nobody could freely manipulate raw Mana itself, and even being a High-Human didn’t allow Nero to absorb it from the atmosphere whenever he pleased.

He could use his abilities and push his body to its limits, but the response had to come naturally.

And that was the difficult part.

Feeling tired wasn’t the same as reaching one’s limits.

Otherwise, every student who complained about being exhausted after training would already be a powerful Awakener.

On the other hand, people who repeatedly fought through genuine danger could force their bodies to adapt much faster.

It was one of the reasons battle maniacs often became so ridiculously strong.

Nero finished the remaining rice.

He could understand their reasoning a little better now. After all, his fight against the Lizardman had finally forced Cellular Reservoir to awaken.

Still, he would much rather enter his next battle after enjoying a proper meal.

Now that his hunger was satisfied, Nero decided to examine another reward.

[Chu II In-Mind Headphones (Rare)]

He remembered seeing this reward during his conversation with Enis.

Back then, he had chosen ten thousand dollars for calling the AI "Penis" again.

Yet he had somehow obtained both rewards through two separate choices.

’Not bad.’

[Connect to an audio source and receive its sound directly within your mind. Compatible with phones, radios, and other audio devices.]

Nero raised an eyebrow.

"So I can listen to music without wearing headphones?"

That was quite convenient.

He could even listen to music while training. Fighting monsters with a good song playing in his head sounded far more exciting than listening to his own exhausted breathing.

Nero connected the reward to his phone and selected a rock song.

He used to dislike this kind of music, but recently, his tastes had begun changing along with the rest of him.

The sound of an electric guitar immediately filled his mind, followed by the steady beat of drums.

A small control panel appeared at the edge of his vision, displaying options for adjusting the volume, pausing, skipping, and repeating songs.

Nero lowered the volume with a flick of his finger.

Even at a lower setting, the sound remained perfectly clear.

"Pretty useful."

Meanwhile, the warmth from his meal continued spreading through his body, and Nero could feel his strength gradually returning.

With his hunger satisfied and music playing, he decided to head home.

However, just as he stood up...

"Ah!"

Someone bumped into his side and stumbled backward.

Nero hadn’t even noticed the girl until she fell onto the pathway.

He immediately paused his music and offered her a hand.

"Are you okay? Sorry, I stood up without looking."

"I-I’m fine, fellow human! Don’t worry about me!"

’...Fellow human?’

What a strange way to greet someone.

The girl appeared to be around five-foot-six, with a slim figure and fair skin.

Her long, purple hair fell over a loose white jacket, framing her face. She wore a light fitted sports top, black running shorts, and white sneakers.

However, her mask had fallen beside her, its strap broken.

Without it, Nero could clearly see her delicate features and large purple-eyes.

One of her pupils even contained a bright star-shaped pattern.

’Is that a mutation caused by her Talent?’

The girl hurriedly picked up her mask, only to discover that its strap had snapped.

"Oh, not good..."

She quickly got to her feet before Nero could help her.

"Y-You! Please don’t tell anyone you saw me here. Just forget you ever met me!"

Nero examined her face again.

’Why is she so desperate to hide her identity?’

A rather concerning possibility occurred to him.

"Are you a wanted criminal?"

"Eh?"

"L-Lady, you’re free to go. Please don’t kill me. I’m still pretty young."

"..."

The girl stared at him in disbelief.

"You don’t know me?"

’Wait, is she someone famous in the criminal world?’

Nero became even more concerned.

"Are you a Federation-level terrorist?"

"What?! No, I’m..."

"Well, I didn’t mean anything by it," Nero interrupted with an awkward laugh. "See you around, Miss Terrorist. I promise I won’t tell anyone I saw you!"

With that, he quickly walked away.

The girl was left standing there, completely speechless.

For several seconds, Amy Smith could only watch Nero disappear down the pathway.

"...There are people who don’t know me here in the Liberty Federation?"

She couldn’t believe it.

Not only had that strange young man failed to recognize her, but he had also casually accused her of being a terrorist.

And after deciding she might genuinely be one, he had simply wished her well and walked away!

A smile slowly appeared on Amy’s face.

"I guess the statistics were lying."

She brushed her hair away from the broken mask.

"Or maybe that guy just lives under a rock."

Just then, a familiar whisper reached her ears.

"Hey, look! Is that Amy?"

"Yeah, that looks like her! Oh my god, what’s she doing here?"

’Oh, crap!’

Amy hurriedly pulled the mask over her face, holding it in place with one hand before fleeing down the pathway.

Meanwhile, Nero had already reached the park exit.

’Seriously, what’s with my luck today?’

Of all the people he could’ve bumped into, it had to be some suspicious girl who desperately wanted to keep her identity hidden.

After dealing with Rafe earlier, Nero had absolutely no interest in getting involved with another troublesome person.

’At least she let me leave.’

He resumed his music and continued toward home.

By the time Nero arrived at the Morgan Estate, he noticed Lilly pacing near the entrance.

The moment she spotted him, she hurried over.

"Nero! The MCA, Mana Chefs Association is coming to our house today!"

[A/N: If you are enjoying the book so far. Give it a Power Stone Or Two Or Golden Tickets.]