Lily Hart's dorm room was on the eighth floor. For a homebody like Leon Clark, hauling a massive, heavy duffel bag up all those stairs was an absolute physical trial. His frail body felt like it was going to give out.
However, after hearing Lily's inner voice say, [This upperclassman is so sweet. Whoever marries him in the future is going to be so happy,] Leon felt the agonizing climb was completely worth it.
When the two other girls who were already in Lily's dorm room saw the scene, their jaws dropped. Strangely enough, Leon couldn't hear what they were thinking. It wasn't just them—even Lily's thoughts had gone silent. It was as if everything he'd heard earlier had just been auditory hallucinations.
The two roommates enthusiastically welcomed Lily. One of them immediately copped a feel of Lily's ample chest, scaring the poor girl into letting out a squeak.
Leon's mouth felt incredibly dry. Are girls all this open nowadays? He averted his eyes and prepared to leave.
"Leon, thank you so much!" Lily said timidly, walking over with a cup of water.
Staring at the water, Leon felt like his throat was smoking. He downed it in one gulp, but it didn't quench his thirst at all. On the contrary, his lips felt even more parched. Staring at Lily's thin, delicate lips, an overwhelming, primal urge suddenly surged through him.
"Do you want to rest for a bit?" Lily noticed something was off with him. The two roommates off to the side laughed and teased, "Looks like you need to hit the gym, man. You're way too weak."
Leon couldn't register a word they were saying. The opening and closing of Lily's soft, tender lips held an indescribable, magnetic temptation.
Lily's words of concern drifted into his ears like a hazy illusion. Leon felt like he had completely lost control of his own body. Driven by an intense, undeniable desire, he made a move that would later be immortalized in campus lore as "The Ultimate Chad Move."
Leon swore to God: This was absolutely not my intention!
Right there in the freshman hallway of the girls' dorm, with people constantly walking by, Leon grabbed Lily. He wrapped his hands around her incredibly slender waist, tilted her chin up in a classic lover's pose, and—under Lily's wide, innocent eyes and the horrified gasps of everyone watching—he kissed her.
Despite his honest appearance, Leon kissed her like a storm of thunder and fire. His tongue skillfully intertwined with hers, looking exactly like a guy who did this all the time. Just like that, in a chaotic blur, the first kiss Lily had endlessly fantasized about was stolen.
After the kiss ended, Leon was just as dumbfounded as everyone else.
Don't let his seemingly expert technique fool you. This was actually his first kiss since he was five years old.
"I'm sorry..." Leon fled the scene in an absolute panic, having no earthly idea why he had just done that.
"Lily, is he your boyfriend?" "Holy crap, he looks like such a good boy, but he's so aggressive!"
The roommates started excitedly gossiping. Lily touched her burning lips, her ears completely flushed red.
...
Leon escaped to a secluded corner of the campus. Having encountered this situation for the first time, he was completely bewildered. Sure, guys were biologically wired to pursue pretty girls, but forcefully kissing someone you'd literally just met was way too unhinged.
He was definitely not the type of trash animal who thought with his lower half.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. He immediately dialed the Upper Realm's customer service hotline and barked into the phone, "You guys set me up, didn't you?!"
"Excuse me?" Lina sounded genuinely confused.
Leon angrily explained what had just happened. If that terrifying sensation of losing control over his body had nothing to do with the watch, he'd eat his own shoes.
"Oh." Lina's response was light and airy, carrying a distinct 'so what?' vibe.
"It works like this: to maintain the law of conservation of energy, using an SL always comes with a specific price. The brain will issue a mandatory directive, and the physical body will be forced to complete it." Lina explained. "By the way, 'SL' translates to 'Supernatural Law' in the Mortal Realm's language."
Leon cursed inwardly. A mandatory, masochistic physical toll? What is this, 'Darker than Black'?
"Please rest assured, the mandatory physical cost incurred after using an SL will not threaten the user's life," Lina said comfortingly.
"My dearest Lina, could you please explain this SL stuff in detail?" Leon practically hissed the word "dearest" through gritted teeth.
"Please do not call me 'dearest.' Thank you for your cooperation."
"Haha."
Lina continued, "The Aegis-13 Wristwatch contains 108 SLs. These SLs are divided into four tiers. Three-digit numbers are Basic Abilities, 50 through 99 are Intermediate Abilities, 10 through 49 are Advanced Abilities, and single-digit numbers are Ultimate Abilities. For your first operation, you must use voice prompts, but going forward, you can activate them merely through thought. However, you must note that every SL has a specific time limit and usage restriction."
"Why did some of them say there was no data record?" Leon asked, puzzled.
"Ohh~~~" Lina dragged out the vowel sound for an unusually long time, sounding incredibly guilty. "There was a slight deviation in the portal connecting the Upper Realm to the Mortal Realm. It's possible that some data was lost during the item's transit."
"Are you kidding me? Doesn't that mean I lost a ton of powers?" Leon felt a wave of crushing disappointment.
"Of course not. When each SL was programmed into the watch, it was stored on a specific modular chip. All you have to do is re-collect them. The watch resonates at a specific frequency with the SL chips; if an ability chip is nearby, the watch will notify you."
You've got to be kidding me. I have to collect my powers like I'm playing a video game?
But on second thought, maybe that was better. Getting everything handed to him right away would be a bit boring anyway.
"By the way, there is one more thing you need to pay special attention to. Have you noticed the halo around the edge of the watch face?"
"Yeah, the red one?" Leon thought the glowing ring looked pretty badass.
"That color represents the usage limits of your SLs. The watch's halo comes in seven colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Purple. The Red tier allows you to use an ability for 30 minutes per activation, with a limit of one use per day. The Orange tier increases it to 60 minutes per activation, with a limit of three uses per day..."
"The method to upgrade your color tier depends entirely on the growth of your own mental fortitude."
"Now then, Mr. Clark, do you have any other questions?" Lina smiled. The unspoken subtext was clear: I am hanging up now.
Leon scratched his head on the other end of the line. Sure enough, there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Becoming an omnipotent master of all elements wasn't going to be a walk in the park.
Finally, Leon asked the one question anyone in his shoes would be dying to know.
"Why me?"
"Ohhh~~~~" Lina continued to drag out that long, melodious note, sounding like a rich playboy teasing a village girl. She replied, "This was a unanimous decision by the High Council of the Upper Realm. You don't need to feel burdened by it. This watch is now your personal property. According to Article 8, Section 2, Line 7 of the Eighth Harmonious Assembly Ultimate Treaty, the owner possesses absolute private property rights. The Upper Realm has no authority to interfere." She paused for a moment before adding with a smile, "But speaking for myself, I still hope Mr. Clark continues to be a good person."
Leon almost fainted. "What exactly is the Upper Realm?"
"That's a secret."
Lina giggled.
[Telepathy]
Number: 108
Tier: Basic
Ability: Listen to the thoughts of a target.
Cost: A passionate kiss afterward.