Night Call

As per usual, when Yuki gets mysterious and teasing like this, Asher was about to calmly deal with it like he usually does. But, before he spoke again, what Yuki had said started to genuinely register in his mind.

He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to process what Yuki was implying by that 'First lover' comment.

'Ehh? First lover? Yuki….what are you suggesting?'

Even though Asher is a blue nose when it comes to relationships, his mind quickly connected the dots on the lover's comment.

After all, what else could having a first lover possibly mean other than that? Asher expected some kind of half-serious comment from Yuki. However, that would be his fatal mistake.

'Hehe~? Oh? Did I say that out loud? Don't take it so seriously….just blow it off….like the wind~.' Yuki's tone was predictably half teasing and half mysterious, as if she already knew everything.

For a brief moment, Asher had subconsciously recalled that Yuki acted this way when he first met Vice-Principal Mia. Going even further back, she was this teasing when she had talked about his dream after waking up in the Decrypted Woods.

Asher just felt something troublesome would come to him if he continued on with these thoughts, so he simply let it go.

Wryly shaking head, Asher focused on a more important subject that was on his mind throughout the entire time he kissed Elsa.

'Anyways….say, Yuki. Since you mention it, I'm sure you could at least see it within my body. During my kiss with Elsa, I for sure felt and sensed another type of energy flow from veins and course in mines and Elsa's body. Just what exactly is this energy?'

'Ahh yes….pleasure energy. You know you took your time to reach this point? But ah well, since you finally activated it, we can now get serious! As you call it, this pleasure energy is actually engraved deeply in your soul, even deeper than your System Soul. Aaannd….can you guess the way you're supposed to make it grow?'

Yuki prodded, already expecting Asher to obviously know this answer.

And to his credit, Asher figured it out in less than a second. All he needed to do was just think about the three kisses he shared with Elsa.

The first was sensually chaste, the second ignited their lusts, and the third was pure, intense cravings. 'I suppose I'll need to step it up with doing lovey-dovey actions like that then. Though….just what else can this pleasure energy do for Elsa and me?'

This time when speaking, Yuki's voice was serious, having no hints of teasing just to ease the doubts in Asher's mind.

'To be totally honest for a second….not even I know the precise limits of this energy. Plus, only you can fully grasp this ability; I'm essentially no use here. Although I can at least say, the pleasure you feel with Elsa will be only of the affectionate kind.'

'Affectionate kind? So you're saying this energy won't activate on its own unless it's with Elsa because I hold feelings for her?' Asher continued to inquire.

He wouldn't want a situation where he was in the middle of an intense battle, and suddenly this pleasure energy started.

'Mnh! Pleasure combined with feelings will only fuel this energy. To what heights? I'm not sure at all. But, I am sure you can one day reach those heights.' Yuki affirmed Asher's guess.

A slight smile started to curl Asher's lips then. If it's something that can make his lovable Elsa feel even better, then it's a complete win in his book.

Moreover, he was growing increasingly curious about this new side to Elsa.

It appears that on the surface, Elsa will keep her calm, elegant air, not letting much overly affect her mental state. But it seems that if Asher riles up her deep desires, her personality experiences a subtle shift.

Out of everything Asher expected from Elsa, an embarrassed yet aggressive side wouldn't be so apparent from her.

Although, since Yuki had no reason to lie to him, Asher was sure he'll be seeing that side a lot more often.

Before Asher got too far into his delusions about Elsa, he suddenly snapped himself back to reality. Looking up at the sky, he saw that the haunting Night was almost here.

'Hmmm….should I? No…. I'll leave it for another day.' Asher thought to himself after taking a second to consider his options.

While seeing where he stacked up against the Night creatures roaming the streets was tempting, Asher decided to simply go home.

Not only was anything regarding the Night still unknown. Asher also felt it in his gut that he still wasn't prepared for everything the Night has to offer.

And without any more delay, Asher quickly treks back to his apartment.

….

Hours soon passed until it became dead at midnight. At this time, residents, whether they were System Soul cultivators or not, would be preparing to head on to bed.

Ordinary mortals needed sleep for their standard body constitutions. But, even System Soul cultivators would need some kind of sleeping rest to let their energy reserves recuperate, among other beneficial things.

Asher, however, wasn't resting at all. He instead uses this time to squeeze out even more cultivation time.

No matter where he is, Asher has gotten into the habit of never stopping his training. And though cultivating inside his room is significantly slower than the Mana Room, any little bit of progress is still progress.

Furthermore, for Asher specifically, the stronger he gets, the less his need for sleep is.

Asher hasn't achieved a level where he just didn't need sleep at all, but taking two or three hours rest was enough for him at this point.

And Asher wasn't only cultivating just to get stronger. He was also contemplating the rollercoaster of events today. Down to everything regarding the Burning Night Pit Organization, Elsa, and this pleasure energy, he was going over all of it.

The main thing that Asher contemplated was the Burning Night Pit Organization matches. The temptations of the rewards and money from that place was just too big.

After all, Asher knows that he really is in desperate need of his own personal money. And while he doesn't mind getting taught some money-making tricks from Elsa, he still wanted to personally achieve money on his own.

If he could get an abundance of money, Asher also realized that could majorly help out Reese and Kylee's situation.

There were numerous helpful things that could make ordinary people's cultivation skyrocket if one has the right amount of money for it.

Even though the Burning Night Pit organization was a precarious option, Asher didn't know what else he could do on his own. Anything involving the medical field was impossible because he doesn't have any healing-related Magical Powers.

And any other fields related to making money would take quite some time to learn to make it efficient.

While Asher knew he would need to wait for Elsa to similarly come to her decision, he gradually saw the Burning Night Pit organization as their best option.

Even if they may have to kill on stage, Asher also knows it will be inevitable that he would be taking another person's life. It's only par for the course of any System's Soul cultivator journey.

Before Asher could start contemplating matters of life and death once again, he suddenly heard his phone vibrate on his dresser.

Peeling his eyes back open, Asher looked at his phone and instantly became elated.

'Finally! They call!'

Asher already had a good feeling as the caller ID showing on his phone was a threeway call between Reese and Kylee.

Immediately Asher picked up his phone, answered it, and greeted his friends first. "Reese! Kylee! It's good to hear from you guys!"

"Fuuu…."

Instead of an enthusiastic greeting like he gave, Asher only heard two tense deep breaths. Asher as well got serious since it appears they're going into the heart of the matter right at the get-go.

"Asher….you-we….we want you to spar with us!!" Kylee spoke first with an overly excited tone that was rare to hear from her.

Asher was legitimately taken aback just a bit from how fired up Kylee sounded. Before he could reply, Reese immediately followed her up.

"Yea….she has the spirit alright. And I'm also fire up, Asher! If we're going to be sure about this life-changing decision then….we have to plunge right in the toughness!"

Asher didn't immediately reply. This eager, burning tone from his friends….this is precisely what he wanted!

For some time now, Asher kept on thinking over and over again how he could ignite their fighting spirits.

After all, even when average students have some aspirations to join a Sect or Special Academy, they don't plan out to set themselves apart from the crowd.

Being standard comes with its advantages and disadvantages. With little attention, people would have a lot more free reign to enjoy their personal lives without any complicated troubles.

But at the same time, the average folk are heavily acceptable to be bulldozed by the powerful and influential spanning across their entire society.

This especially holds true in Sect and Special Academies, as carelessly provoking somebody powerful and influential could be the last move they would ever take.

In direct contrast, having the goals to rise above and stand out from the crowd comes with risks that would eventually lead to fantastic rewards.

Asher was putting a lot of thought into how he could further convince Reese and Kylee. But it seems like they have already taken one tremendous leap forward.

"I see….so this what you two really want, right?" Not wanting to pressure them further, Asher spoke in a simple calming tone.

"Yes, we are one hundred percent sure on taking this spar. We've been thinking about this over, over, and over again. And we-we can't just lose you, Asher, without putting up any fight!" Kylee determinedly explained.

"And when we do fight, you better not hold back at all, man. You have to go full throttle; give us the brutal reality of a cultivator fight." Reese sounded equally determined.

At this point, Asher couldn't stop his smirk from forming. He started to let out a slight chuckle, saying, "Haha. Alright, alright. Then tomorrow, after classes, meet me in the starting area of the Woods. I will show you the cultivator experience."

"Haaaah….we're not even fighting, yet I'm already exhausted. I'm going to pass out now." In just a snap, all of Kylee's burning energy was gone.

"Heh. Don't mind her, Asher. We've barely got any sleep over contemplating this decision. And I'm about to pass out like a log too. See you tomorrow."

Reese also sounded like his vibrant energy was sucked right out of him.

Wanting them to get a good night's rest, Asher told them, "Well then, get a full night's rest. You two will need it."

And without any further delay, Asher hung up the phone.

'Hmmm? Oh? Already have something in mind for those brats?' Yuki asked from already feeling out the thoughts in Asher's mind.

Asher's smirk never left his face. He had his own bubbling determination to have his friends become mentally stronger, so he began telling Yuki,

'Yes….tomorrow for our spar, I will be teaching Reese and Kylee the meaning of facing real danger. In the face of utter peril, I'm sure I can awaken their slumbering fighting spirits.'