Chapter 94
The morning sun filtered through the windows of the blue sports car, casting pale golden light across the interior.
Elijah lay with his head against the driver's side door, his body slumped across the front seat in a position that would have been painfully uncomfortable under normal circumstances, although exhaustion had made even the cramped space feel almost welcoming.
His eyes opened slowly, and for several seconds, his blurred vision refused to make sense of his surroundings.
His mind remained sluggish, weighed down by the fatigue that had accumulated throughout the previous night.
Then he noticed the warmth against his chest.
Someone was lying on him.
Elijah lowered his gaze, and his red eyes gradually focused on Mai, who was curled against him with her purple hair spread across his shoulder.
Her face rested comfortably against the curve of his neck, while her body rose and fell with the steady rhythm of her breathing.
She appeared completely unaware that she had fallen asleep on top of him.
Elijah remained still as his mind attempted to reconstruct the events that had led to this situation.
He remembered crossing the finish line in third place.
He remembered Trevor congratulating him while the crowd gradually dispersed into the early morning darkness.
He remembered the overwhelming hunger that had struck him after the race and vaguely recalled eating something before exhaustion finally claimed him.
After that, everything became a blank.
He had no memory of falling asleep, and he certainly did not remember Mai climbing onto his chest.
His body still carried the consequences of the race. Every muscle felt heavy, and his limbs lacked their usual strength.
Even though his hunger had disappeared and his Ki had completely recovered through the passive regeneration provided by the Advanced Knight Stage, his physical exhaustion had not vanished.
Recovering his Ki had restored his energy reserves, but it had not erased the strain his body had endured.
Under ordinary circumstances, Elijah probably would have moved Mai to another seat.
At the moment, however, he was too exhausted to bother.
More importantly, he was not certain that he wanted to.
A pale blue screen suddenly appeared in the corner of his vision, drawing his attention away from Mai.
[Reach the Top 3 in the race, little king. You won.]
[Reward: 5,000 EXP and 5,000 System Points]
Elijah stared at the notification while his tired mind slowly processed its meaning.
He had completed a quest without even realizing that he had received one.
His expression became slightly incredulous.
"I do not remember seeing that quest," he thought, his mental voice carrying an unmistakable note of accusation.
[The quest appeared at the beginning of the tenth lap, little king, when you were falling behind and considering giving up.]
[The system does not announce quests with fanfare and ceremony in the middle of a race, and you were too exhausted and too focused on driving to notice the notification.]
[The system is not responsible for the little king's lack of situational awareness.]
Elijah closed his eyes.
The response was exactly the kind of answer he had expected from the system.
"It could have made the notification more obvious."
[The little king was driving at extreme speed while experiencing severe physical exhaustion. Making the notification larger would not have improved the little king's situational awareness.]
Elijah remained silent for several seconds before reluctantly accepting the argument.
The system was insufferable, but it was rarely wrong when it came to matters like this.
During the final lap, his attention had been consumed by the race.
His body had been approaching its limits, his Ki had been rapidly draining, and every decision had required his complete concentration.
Even if the notification had covered half his vision, there was no guarantee that he would have noticed it.
With another quiet sigh, Elijah called up his status screen.
The familiar pale blue interface appeared before him.
[Status]
Name: Elijah Ashford
Cultivation: Advanced Knight Stage (Initial Stage)
Level: 5 (74% EXP)
Ki: 100%
Base Stats:
Strength: 60
Agility: 60
Endurance: 60
Defense: 60
Intelligence: 37
Charm: 30
Willpower: 35
Free Stat Points: 0
System Points: 6,700
[Unique Skills]
Eternal Grounded Tree Breathing Technique (Level 1: 45% progress)
Zenith (Level 1)
Iron Mind (Level 1)
King's Aura (Level Max)
[Normal Techniques]
Flash Step (Tier 2) - Passive. Movement speed increased by 20%.
Iron Body (Tier 2) - Passive. Body durability increased by 20%.
Elijah carefully reviewed the information before closing the status screen.
Six thousand seven hundred System Points.
That was the largest amount he had possessed at one time, and the possibilities immediately began running through his mind.
The points could purchase new techniques, useful equipment, or body-tempering pills that could accelerate his development.
There were plenty of ways to turn the reward into greater strength.
He would deal with that later.
For now, his body needed rest.
His attention shifted back to Mai, who remained peacefully asleep against him.
Elijah considered moving her to the other seat, but the thought immediately felt unnecessary.
She was warm, comfortable, and apparently sleeping without any intention of moving.
For someone who had spent the previous night pushing himself to his limits, the quiet comfort was surprisingly welcome.
A few minutes later, Mai stirred.
Her breathing changed first, becoming slightly deeper and less steady as she gradually emerged from sleep.
Her purple eyes opened, initially unfocused, before sharpening as she realized where she was.
She was lying on Elijah's chest.
Mai immediately pushed herself upright.
Her face turned bright red as she looked around the car, apparently hoping that somehow the situation would make more sense if she examined it from another angle.
When that failed, she hurriedly shifted away from him.
"I'm sorry," Mai said, speaking so quickly that she barely paused between sentences.
"I did not mean to fall asleep on you. After the race, you were breathing so heavily and looked completely exhausted, so Trevor told me that I should stay with you and make sure you were okay. I tried to take you home, but you were too heavy for me to move, and then you looked comfortable, and I was tired too, so I thought I could at least stay with you for a while. I only wanted to make sure you were not alone."
Elijah raised one hand before her explanation could continue for another minute.
"It is fine, Mai. You do not have to apologize."
She stopped speaking.
Elijah gave her a tired smile.
"Actually, I enjoyed having you there. It has been a long time since I woke up with someone beside me, and I had forgotten how comforting it could be."
Mai's cheeks became even redder.
She looked toward the window instead of meeting his eyes, although the small smile forming at the corner of her mouth betrayed how much his words had affected her.
"I should move to the other seat," she murmured. "You need space to recover, and you look like you have been through a war. I am probably making things worse by crowding you."
Elijah opened his mouth to respond, but no words came immediately.
He did not want her to move.
The realization caught him off guard.
The warmth of her body had eased something inside him that he had not realized was still tense.
For a brief moment, there had been no enemies, no cultivation, no system notifications, no races, and no responsibilities.
There had only been the quiet interior of the car and the steady rhythm of another person's breathing.
The thought of that warmth disappearing left an unexpected emptiness in his chest.
Mai hesitated before reaching for the door handle.
Then she stopped.
Instead of moving to the opposite seat, she shifted closer again and settled against Elijah's chest.
"I think I will stay here for a little longer," she said quietly.
Elijah's expression softened.
"That is fine with me."
Mai rested her head against his chest once more.
Her purple hair fell across his shoulder, and one of her hands came to rest lightly against his chest.
After a few moments, her breathing became slow and relaxed again.
Elijah hesitated before placing his hand against her back.
The gesture came naturally, almost without conscious thought.
Neither of them spoke.
Outside the car, the city was beginning to awaken.
Vehicles moved along the roads, distant voices drifted through the morning air, and sunlight gradually grew brighter across the windshield.
Inside the sports car, however, the world seemed strangely distant.
Elijah's eyelids became heavier.
The moment he stopped forcing himself to remain awake, his exhaustion returned with overwhelming force.
His breathing slowed, his muscles relaxed, and his Ki sense gradually faded until it became little more than a distant awareness at the edge of his consciousness.
Within minutes, he had fallen asleep again.
Mai remained perfectly still.
She listened to the steady rhythm of Elijah's heartbeat beneath her ear and carefully avoided making any movement that might wake him.
The warmth of the morning sun spread through the windows, illuminating his sleeping face and revealing how much exhaustion still lingered beneath his calm expression.
For a long time, Mai simply watched him.
Her expression gradually softened.
There was something peaceful about seeing Elijah like this.
Most of the time, he carried himself with an unusual confidence, constantly moving forward as though nothing in the world could make him hesitate.
Even when he was exhausted, injured, or facing an opponent stronger than himself, he rarely allowed others to see uncertainty.
Now, with his guard completely lowered by sleep, he looked younger and far more vulnerable.
Mai carefully moved a strand of purple hair away from her face and continued watching him.
"I like you, Elijah," she whispered.
Her voice was so quiet that it barely disturbed the silence inside the car.
"I do not know when it started, and I do not know what it means for us with everything happening in both our lives. I only know that I like being around you, and I wanted you to know that, even if you cannot hear me right now."
Elijah did not respond.
His awareness remained buried beneath deep sleep, leaving Mai's confession unheard.
Mai knew he had not heard her.
Perhaps that was why she had found the courage to say it.
She lowered her gaze and rested her head against his chest again, allowing herself a small smile as the steady rhythm of his heartbeat continued beneath her ear.