Ding!
A sound rang in Kyrie's mind, dragging him out of the dream-like state he was in.
His eyes were opening slowly while the morning sunlight entered through the curtains he couldn't recall closing, leaving shadows on the ceiling.
While there, he couldn't really remember where he was.
Then the memories of the previous night settled in. The crown casino, Elaine's kiss, the unknown woman's wink, and him feeling so exhausted, he must have passed out in Negan's car.
Hands moved left and right as he felt his surroundings. He quickly realized he was on a bed and this time the room didn't smell like disinfectant or copper pipes.
Ding!
The sound from earlier came again and a screen appeared.
[Daily Quest Available]
Kyrie gently sat up, his right hand rubbing against his eyes. He felt really good. Even better than good.
The previous night, he'd been drained, every part of his body heavy with exhaustion but Now? He felt rested and his mind clearer almost like he had slept for days and not hours.
He quickly got off the bed and stood. There were no headaches or lapses in his physical attributes. Whatever the system did while he slept, it definitely worked.
The door suddenly opened without warning, even as Negan walked in, already dressed for the day in his usual attire. He carried a cup of tea.
"You're awake. That's good , I thought you'd sleep till noon." Negan said while he set the cup on the bedside table. "Tea. Drink it. I need your mind awake too."
"I feel fine, actually." Kyrie said convincingly
Negan studied him for a bit, before nodding. "Good. That's really good." He walked gently to the window, pulling the curtains.open to look out at the street below.
"Well, I'm about to go out, am leaving the base in your care" Negan said still looking at the streets below, his eyes ever watchful.
Kyrie noticed and simply reached for the cup of tea, taking a careful sip, nodding at his words.
The tea was definitely strong but too damn bitter, he was the kind of guy that didn't mind a truck-load of sugar even in his tea and it seemed began was horrible at this.
"This is indeed a bachelor's tea" he mocked
"Well, you'll have company today," Negan continued, ignoring his shade. Eyes still looking out the window as if he was searching for something.
"A few women will be coming by to help around the house. One in the afternoon to cook. Another later to clean."
Kyrie, with an eyebrow raised . "Women?"
"They know you. Or, should I say they knew you." Negan turned back, smirking slightly, keeping his voice soft. "If you don't remember them, just be polite and do your best not to make things weird."
"And if I do remember them?"
"Then you absolutely shouldn't make things weird." Negan's smirked. " Also keep your hands to yourself, K-Y. I don't need any drama, Thank you! "
Before Kyrie processed the words and could ask what they meant, Negan was already at the door.
"Make sure to rest and recover. Try not to cause too much trouble " he advised.
The door swiftly closed behind him.
Kyrie sat motionless for a moment, trying to process the idea of mystery women coming over.
Just what I needed … He thought
Tea still in hand, he took a few more sips. His eyes reading through the glowing notification still hovering in front of him.
[Daily Quest Available]
He sighed and simply desired it to expand, and so it did with the screen growing larger and the text even clearer.
[Daily Quest]
Objective: Practice physical conditioning and ability control
Tasks
>Complete 50 push-ups
>Complete 50 sit-ups
>Successfully activate and deactivate Emperor's Hand 10 times.
>Meditate for 15 minutes.
Reward: +300 EXP, +1 strength, +1 Dexterity
Time Limit: 24 hours
Kyrie read through and then dismissed the screen with a thought. Physical training and skill practice. Seems simple enough..
But first, he needed to check something.
He navigated through the system's interface mentally, pulling up his status screen. It appeared even as lines of text and numbers glowed faintly.
[Status Update Available]
Name: Kyrie Negan Shaw
Level: 5
Class: Epsilon
Tier: Adept
[Unallocated Attribute Points: +1 intelligence, +1 Fortitude +2 stats to be allocated]
Right. The missions. The checkpoint. The collection job. He'd earned experience but never actually applied it.
Current Attributes.
Strength: 7
Agility: 12
Fortitude: 10
Intelligence: 13
Dexterity: 8
He studied the numbers, considering. Strength would make him stronger and possibly tougher, maybe as strong as Negan who lifted a man easily. Agility meant speed, reaction time. Something this body already flourished in.
Intelligence affected his mental abilities,how quick he learned, perceived and detected things. Dexterity was definitely how efficient he was with his hands and wielding things maybe weapons if need be. Fortitude... that one was more difficult for him to define. Mental resilience? Resistance to abilities maybe?
He still pondered and after a moment, he allocated the points.
Strength: 7 → 8
Agility: 12→ 13
Intelligence: 13 → 14
Fortitude: 10 → 11
Dexterity: 8
He felt it immediately. A warm and fuzzy feeling spreading through his body, like blood rushing to limp limbs.
His senses seem to come alive even more and his thoughts felt clearer and faster.
The screen updated the changes and then he dismissed it. Moving on to the skills section.
Skills:
Emperor's Hand
Empath Sense
Psi- luck
Menace
Void Shift
Stored Abilities (Archive):
Psychic Invisibility (Unlock Cost: 1000 EXP and practice)
Kyrie stared at that last line and he was stunned. He could replicate abilities, store them and master them later. No matter how he looked at it, that was insane and incredibly useful.
But first, he needed to master what he already had.
He stood up, stretching his body which felt really good. Strong. He moved to the center of the room and dropped into position.
Push-ups first.
He lowered himself down, then pushed up. Easy. Again. Still easy. He kept going, counting in his head. 10. 20. 30.. His arms didn't burn. His breathing stayed steady. By the time he hit 50. he barely felt anything.
He stood, massaging his shoulders. That shouldn't have been so easy. Brett's old body would've struggled after 25. and that was him being generous.
The system wasn't just tracking his stats. It was actually improving him alongside.
Sit-ups next. Same result. Fast and efficient with no strain whatsoever. His core felt solid and his movements fluid.
He finished and stood up, looking down at his hands, they felt so much better.
This body was a weapon of sorts but he had to learn how to use it properly.
Next, it was time to test the abilities.
He moved to a corner of the room opposite a book shelf and focused on a book sitting alongside dust on the shelf.
Emperor's Hand. He'd used it before but never once with full concentration. Never really trying to understand how it worked.
Extending his hand toward the book with great focus. A familiar feeling arose immediately, there was a connection forming between his mind and the book.
He felt its weight, its spine, leaves and covers like he was holding it without touching it.
The book swiftly lifted smoothly off the desk as Kyrie held it up, suspended in midair. It was much easier than before.
He felt the strain but it was definitely manageable. He moved it slowly across the room, guiding it with his mind. The book floated toward him.
He set it down gently on the bed.
Good.Good! Now multiple objects.
He focused again, this time on the book,the cup with his tea and a pen. The connection was split, his attention divided between three positions.
He immediately felt the strain on his body increase, with unseen pressure building on his hands and mind.
The objects lifted, but they wobbled. The cup tilting weirdly in mid air almost spilling tea and the pen, it didn't leave the ground too far.
Kyrie was locked in, trying to keep his focus and determination.
His teeth gritted while trying to hold the items steady. He spoke underneath his breathe 5 seconds. 10. 15. and with a sigh of relief he retracted his hand.
Immediately he loosened his grip the objects came down onto the desk, as he exhaled sharply,holding his forehead.
Multiple objects was definitely harder. Much harder. He had to consider weight, distance and concentration when dealing with more than one item.
He continued practicing , focusing on activation and deactivation this time, lifting the book up, holding it for ten seconds or so, then releasing it.
Again and Again, he kept going and by the tenth repetition, it felt so much smoother and natural.
[Daily Quest Progress: 3/4 Tasks Complete]
One more task. Meditation.
Kyrie still flexing his fingers thought about something else. "Let's try fire instead" he thought out loud. Meditation could wait.
He moved to the center of the room, making sure there was nothing flammable nearby.
He re-called the hospital incident, how the flame was threatening to spiral out of control and burn everything. He couldn't let that happen again.
He held out his palm and focused. Taking slow and calm breaths on intervals. Spreading his palm. Energy gathered there, the warmth grew hotter, sharper with the focus on his open palm.
A small flame flickered to life above his palm.
Kyrie still held his breath, keeping his focus tight. The flame waved , orange and steady. He felt the heat but it didn't burn him.
He held it active for a few seconds, then allowed it fade.
Good. Again! He said excitedly.
Kyrie conjured another flame, letting it grow more larger. The heat became more intense and his control seemed to waver slightly but he held on still, with the flame about the size of a basketball this time.
Knock!!!!
Kyrie was startled by the sudden knock even as the flames in hand jerked up increasing in size with the sudden jolt of his emotions.
"Not again!" he muttered while he took a single breath and with a mere squeeze of his palm, the flames disappeared immediately.
"Every time with the fire." He said jokingly with a smile
The knock didn't have holidays as it came again and again forcing Kyrie up as he headed towards the door.
Kyrie looked out the peep hole and the most gorgeous set of lips entered his sight, he quickly opened the door to see who it was.
Pragh... Swoosh
The door slid open and there she stood, a gorgeous lady. She had ocean blue eyes with blonde hair well tucked behind her ears with a big smile on her face.
The lady who wore a carton colored long sleeve shirt and black leather pants, she also had a basket of groceries in hand.
" Ohh K-Y, you up already, really good to see you lad " she paused momentarily
" I'd thought you would still be in bed "
She spoke while stepping inside the house, accepting her own invitation with a calmness that showed it wasn't her first nor second time here, she had been here a few times.
All Kyrie did was stand there, holding the door, having no idea who she was but craving to know.