Ch 30: A Silver Lining- Part 3

Zara and Ethan rush into the room. Their eyes widen when they see Selene swallowing the monster's core.

Zara gasps and dashes toward her. 

"Are you insane? Spit it out! Spit it out right now! Do you want to die? Those things are not meant for humans to consume!" 

She shouts, grabbing Selene's arm. The force with which Zara shook Selene seemed to be out of this world.

The world had not been spinning seconds ago, but now Selene surely felt like she would get sick.

Selene tries to speak, but her stomach twists painfully. A wave of nausea rises in her throat. Her body rejects the core, and she gags.

Zara panics and shakes Selene. She likely believed that this was happening because of the core she had consumed.

"Throw it up! Now! This is no time to feel embarrassed."

Selene groans, gripping her stomach. Her face turns pale. She feels like she's going to be sick. But she stuck it out for now.

Ethan steps in and pushes Zara back. 

"Stop. You'll only make it worse. Can't you see that you are making Selene feel even sicker?" 

His voice is firm. 

Zara glares at him in anger and disbelief.

"She just swallowed a monster core! Do you even care?"

Ethan ignores her and pulls out a bottle of water. He hands it to Selene. 

"Drink."

Selene takes small sips. Her stomach still churns, but the water helps. Slowly, she regains control. The cool water pushed the acid of her stomach down for now, but Selene would likely need some medicine after this.

Zara crosses her arms.

"Why would you even do something so reckless?"

Selene wipes her mouth. 

"The system told me to. It unlocks abilities…at least in my case. I can't say if this will be the same for others or not." 

She says weakly. 

Zara stares at her. 

"Your system told you to eat a monster core?"

Selene nods.

Zara turns to Ethan, expecting him to say something. But he's silent. His golden eyes darken.

Selene frowns.

"What's wrong?"

Ethan doesn't answer right away. His jaw tightens. Then, he looks away. 

"Nothing. Let's go."

Selene doesn't believe him, but she's too exhausted to argue.

The three leave the dungeon. The cool air outside feels refreshing, but Selene barely notices. Her body aches, her mind clouded with exhaustion.

"We'll do this every two days. You need to train and get used to it." 

Ethan says. His voice is calm but firm. 

Selene groans. 

"Every two days?"

It sounded like a nightmare, especially now that the adrenaline had faded out of her system and left her drained.

"You need to keep up. Do your own workouts in between. Build strength. We only have two months to work with." 

He replies. 

She wants to argue, but she's too tired. Instead, she nods weakly.

Zara sighs. 

"You're pushing her too fast."

"She'll manage. Humans are far sturdier than you expect them to be." 

Ethan says.

Selene leans against the car window as they drive back. The movement lulls her into a daze.

Zara breaks the silence.

"Seriously, though. Why are you acting weird about the core?"

Ethan keeps his eyes on the road. 

"I said it's nothing."

Selene, half-asleep, barely hears them. But something about Ethan's tone sticks with her.

When they reach her hotel, she stumbles out of the car. 

"See you."

She mutters before heading inside.

Ethan doesn't reply. Zara watches her go with a concerned look.

Selene barely makes it to her room before collapsing onto the bed.

A soft knock on the door startles her. She forces herself to sit up.

A hotel staff member peeks inside. 

"Would you like something to eat?"

Selene nods sluggishly. 

"Just… something light."

Minutes later, food arrives. She eats without thinking, her body moving on its own.

The taste barely registers. She chews, swallows, repeats.

Her eyelids grow heavy.

Before she can even finish her meal, exhaustion wins.

She falls onto the bed, her plate forgotten.

Her body sinks into the mattress, and sleep takes her instantly.

______

The next morning, Selene wakes up feeling sore. Every muscle in her body aches. She blinks at the ceiling, disoriented.

The events from yesterday come rushing back. The dungeon. The monster. The core.

She groans and forces herself to sit up.

She stretches her stiff limbs, then drags herself to the bathroom. A hot shower helps wake her up, but the fatigue lingers. 

It would take her some time to get used to her new reality and train her body to be able to withstand the abuse she was going to put it under.

After dressing, she checks the time. Still an hour left. She debates going back to sleep but knows she won't wake up in time.

Instead, she pulls up her system screen.

[Status Update

Level: 2

Ability: Amplify (Modifier Unlocked), Mana Infusion, Core Absorption

Title: ??? (Progress: 2/???)]

Selene frowns. The title still doesn't have a name and it doesn't have a description and it doesn't have a level either.

'On that note ... .my abilities also do not have a level. Would this be a problem?'

There was no telling what was going to happen next, but Selene was sure that it won't be easy for her to survive the apocalypse this time around either.

She clicks on it, but the details are locked. The only hint she has is that consuming more cores will unlock it.

A strange feeling stirs in her chest. The system wanted her to eat the core. That much was clear.

But why?

A knock on the door makes her jump.

She quickly puts her phone away and opens it.

"Miss, what would you like for breakfast? We have all kinds of things. Also, if you can tell us a little about that evaluation, it would be helpful…"

The female tried to get Selene to give her more details, but Selene had a hard time even remembering what happened or what she was talking about.

In the end, Selene decided to bullshit her way out of this situation.

"Ah, I will see if I want to. Also, I will come down for breakfast, so there is no need for you to come and get me anymore."

______

I'll be out today, so only 1 ch today.