"YES, Ben!" he shouted. "Oh, god," he added in a muffled voice. "Give me a second!"
Erik's heart was pounding in his chest as he stood before his closed bedroom door, his hand firmly pressed against the handle.
"Do you wanna hang out?" Benedict asked, his tone becoming more casual with each passing second.
Erik took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He knew he had to keep Benedict out of the room at all costs to prevent him from seeing Amber in a state of undress. Besides, they just decided they would keep their just-established relationship a secret; letting Benedict and his large mouth know that meant everyone would.
"Yes, just give me a minute, Benedict," Erik said, "I need to finish something up."
Benedict nodded, still looking a bit suspicious but ultimately deciding to let it go. Erik could hear his friend sigh on the other side of the door. "Alright, man, take your time."
Erik could hear Benedict stepping away. Until the sound of the bathroom door being closed rang throughout the apartment.
Amber was still naked. Her breast was exposed to Erik's eyes, but she was already picking up her uniform from the ground and putting on her underwear.
"C'mon!" Erik whispered.
"Yes, Yes!"
The young woman put on her bra and, lastly, her shirt. "Okay, now's our chance; Benedict is in the bathroom," Erik whispered, gesturing for Amber to follow him. "Just be quiet, and try to be as silent as possible."
Amber nodded nervously and tiptoed behind Erik as he made his way to the door. He could feel her breath on his neck as they crept closer and closer to their escape, and that turned him on again.
Now that he had accepted not only her feelings but also his own, he saw the young woman in a different light.
As they reached the door, Erik could hear Benedict humming to himself in the bathroom, utterly oblivious to the fact that Amber had been there for hours.
The awakener slowly turned the doorknob, trying to keep it as quiet as possible. The door creaked softly as it opened, and he held his breath, waiting for Benedict to emerge from the bathroom.
But there was no sign of him. Amber let out a soft sigh of relief as Erik motioned for her to go ahead and slip out the door.
As she stepped out into the hallway, Erik, too, breathed a sigh of relief. They had done it. They had managed to get her out of there without Benedict even noticing.
"We will talk through the phone," Erik said to Amber, her eyes shining and with a soft and gentle look.
"All right, I will text you as soon as I'm in my room."
The two didn't kiss or say anything else. There were cameras inside the hallways, so it was better to avoid further attention. Amber quickly went away, and Erik closed the door behind him.
However, as he did so, there was a sudden burst of noise from the bathroom. Erik froze; he knew what that sound was. And then, to his horror, he heard Benedict's voice calling out from the bathroom. From his mouth came words Erik hoped he would never hear in his life.
"Hey, Erik, you got any toilet paper in there? I'm all out!"
Erik cursed under his breath. "Uh, yeah, hang on a sec!" Erik called back, He quickly went to search for the toilet paper, and then he spotted a roll sitting on a counter and grabbed it. Benedict opened a little bit of the door, a small chink from which the light and the mephitic gasses started spreading into the other rooms.
<OH GOD!>
The stench hit him like a ton of bricks, causing his eyes to water and his stomach to churn.
"Benedict," he called out, his voice strained. "Take this now…" he said with difficulty.
He could hear Benedict grunting and groaning on the other side of the door, clearly in the midst of some severe distress.
"Here you go," he said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the overwhelming smell. "Just be careful not to dirty anything, okay?"
Benedict snatched the toilet paper from Erik's hand and quickly slammed the door shut, leaving Erik standing there in a cloud of toxic gas. The awakener handed the roll of toilet paper to Benedict, trying to hold his breath as he did so.
His friend thanked him and closed the door, leaving Erik alone with his thoughts. He couldn't believe his luck or lack thereof. At the same time, Benedict made a mental note to always double-check the toilet paper supply before settling in.
Erik gagged and stumbled backward into the living room; he collapsed onto the couch. He could still smell the bathroom stench lingering in his nostrils, and he knew it would be a long time before he could forget this horrifying experience.
Then Benedict's voice came through the bathroom door. "Thanks, man!"
"You are welcome…" Erik replied.
***
[FOUR DAYS LATER]
Erik woke up to the sound of his phone buzzing on the nightstand beside him. As he reached over to grab it, he noticed a system notification out of the corner of his eye.
Curiosity piqued, he quickly willed the biological supercomputer to show him what it was about, heart racing with anticipation as he had a clue. After all, he had been waiting for months for the system to finish the task he had given it, to find a way to fasten his progress in establishing neural links.
That was much needed since he had multiple brain crystal powers and needed to power them up. He hoped it would allow him to train better and more efficiently and establish neural links faster.
As he opened the notification, he saw the words he had been waiting so long to see.
[TASK COMPLETE. NEURAL LINK-ESTABLISHING PROCESS IMPROVED. DO YOU WANT TO INJECT THE METHOD?]
Erik felt a wave of elation washes over him, a huge grin spreading across his face. He had waited a lot for this to happen and for this project to be successful, and finally, the time came.
<Do it,> Erik said to the biological supercomputer.
[UNDERSTOOD. PROCESS STARTING. ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME: 10 SECONDS. 10…9…]
As the system worked its magic, Erik slowly started gaining knowledge of the process, and as the information poured into his brain, he grew astonished.
[3…2…1… PROCEDURE COMPLETE.]
All the information was injected into his brain at that moment, and he got a clear picture of the situation.
<What the fu…?>
Erik had been left speechless; what the system came up with was astonishing. The biological supercomputer optimized the procedure to establish the neural links, making the process much faster than before. It also found a way to train multiple brain crystal powers simultaneously.
That was something unprecedented, mainly because there was basically no one with multiple powers, aside from past awakeners, who simply had to train two powers. This breakthrough could revolutionize the way humans approach establishing new neural links and could pave the way for a new era of human evolution.
With this method, which the system stated could keep improving, Erik was able to train an infinite number of powers at the same time; however, everything depended on the available mana he had, and with the amount he currently possessed, he could train two powers at the same time at best. However, the system explained how he could increase this number if he improved his energy points.
That was groundbreaking, and if he shared the technique, he would gain unprecedented fame. However, doing so meant he would also run the risk of giving knowledge that could be used against him in the future. So, it was better to avoid doing this for now. Maybe in the future, he could share this one once he gained an improved version of the technique and was stronger.
The fake awakener couldn't help but feel like he had accomplished something truly extraordinary. The system had pushed the limits of what he thought was possible and had made him obtain something that the world believed to be impossible.
He knew that there was still much work to be done and that he had just scratched the surface of the system's capabilities, but here he was. But for now, at this moment, he allowed himself to bask in the glow of this success.
Erik first tried to use the technique to see how different things were, and as he did, he was left flabbergasted.
It was true that the technique was better, but it was also harder to use and train with. It required weaving the mana and controlling it in particular ways that he hadn't even thought about it in the past.
He was making it move in some ways, going through some body parts before others, and so on. However, he could feel the benefits as he was learning to use the technique, even by imperfectly applying it.
He couldn't believe how much he had missed out on before discovering this technique and was excited to explore all the possibilities it could offer. As he continued experimenting, he felt a newfound sense of empowerment and confidence in his abilities.
<This is incredible,> the young man thought.
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnovel.com Only