Chapter 12: Changes
The moment Tony blinked his eyes open, he immediately sat upright with a kind of agility that belied his current condition.
At this action, Kratos instinctively stepped backward a bit. He understood what Tony was trying to imply by asking that question just now... so he thought his reply was the given best.
"You are not naked, are you?" his voice echoed through the room.
However, Tony didn’t seem to hear his words. Or simply didn’t care to pay attention. Thus, he asked again:
"What did you do?"
Kratos blinked.
Then blinked again.
Wasn’t it obvious that he hadn’t done anything? Especially given the fact that the supposed victim was still in his full self... except, maybe, the little changes that had happened around him.
Honestly, nothing of recent should warrant the reaction he’s receiving from his "little brother," if he should say, but it was still better to clear himself of a bad impression.
The handsome swordsman slowly lowered the two freezing water bottles he had been pressing against Tony’s neck.
"...saved you?"
Tony stared at the cold, blue eyes staring back at him.
A very awkward silence ensued. In that moment, his mind clicked in, and he seemed to calm a bit.
Then, he looked down once again and took in his surroundings.
His bed and its sheets, his clothes, his pillow... all of them were drenched. Then he extended his view and looked down on the floor beside the bed.
It looked as if someone had dumped an entire bucket of water over it.
Knowing the extent of what it implied, his eyes twitched.
"What. Is. This?" he asked, a pause coming after each word as he spoke.
Kratos naturally looked around as if nothing mattered. Then he pointed toward the sliced bottles lying near the desk.
"It was the only solution I could come up with. Your body was boiling," Kratos said as a matter of fact, inwardly causing the need for him to even explain.
Tony’s eyes followed his finger until they landed on the bottles that had been cut so perfectly in half that they looked manufactured that way. Then, his gaze shifted slightly toward the sword. And back toward the bottles.
’He cut water bottles with a sword?’
He tried to imagine the effort it would take him to actually try to wield a sword in the way he could wield a knife to cut the bottles, but the thought quickly fell apart. A knife obeyed the slightest movement of the hand, while a sword demanded strength, balance, and control over every inch of its length.
What he could accomplish with a simple flick of the wrist with the knife should require an entire motion of the body with a blade that large.
But should he really be thinking about the possibility when it mattered to Kratos? Not really. This his summon was a being who had been engaged in battle against gods.
So—
As if reading Tony’s thought, Kratos immediately keyed in.
"I was only trying to cool your body’s temperature."
"You flooded my room."
Even when Tony responded, he felt that his response was wrong. If anything, he should be thanking Kratos for saving his life... because he now understood the reason he had suddenly started to feel cold pulses while in his sea of consciousness.
The questions were even, what would have happened should Kratos not try to cool him? How hot was his body while he was unconscious?
All these questions rummaged in his mind, and he suddenly was inwardly grateful that he hadn’t been conscious to know their answers.
"Little brother is not grateful," Kratos interrupted his thought before venturing to his sword and enclosing it in its sheath.
’Little brother?’
Without waiting for any response from Tony, Kratos just went over to the bench cushion and settled on it.
Meanwhile, Tony opened his mouth to say something, but on second thought, the movement of his mouth changed.
"Thank you."
At that exact moment, the system chimed.
[Host successfully completed First Body Synchronization.]
[Body Evolution Completed.]
[Host absorbed initial stat synchronization from summon.]
[Host’s physique has been optimized.]
Tony froze.
He had almost forgotten about the [Gacha Player Body] trait he had awakened. He looked at himself once again and didn’t sense any change in his physical stature.
But then, he immediately pushed himself off the bed.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he paused. His body now felt completely unique — lighter. Light in a way that he felt that even the breeze of wind could sweep his foot off the ground.
In contrast to his feeling, however, he noticed that his foot’s grip on the floor was firmer and stronger. Like he had seen in his sea of consciousness, every fiber of his body had been rebuilt and restructured. And just like the system had said about the [Gacha Player Body], it had done its best to maintain his original physique.
Only that...
Tony took off his shirt and hurried toward the mirror by the side corner of his room.
The face staring back at him was still his, but the changes were evident. His jawline had become sharper. His skin looked cleaner. His shoulders now looked narrowly broader.
His entire physique now looked naturally athletic. The previous Tony had always been handsome but not in this way. Now, he looked like the protagonist of a fantasy novel.
He began to wonder how he had even gained such improvements from Kratos.
If he had been the system, he would surely have taken note of Kratos’ body stature. From the external look of this, his summon was indeed strong but looked like a volatile young teenager.
That is, unless... unless something is wrong somewhere.
Tony’s gaze shifted to Kratos, who was still seated on the bench cushion, unmoving like some hired bodyguard escort. Then, a smile crept up his lips.
If he gained such attributes from Kratos, all things considered, then one thing was certainly sure for him.
The future.
The future looked very bright.
Unfortunately—
His stomach growled... loudly that it attracted the attention of Kratos, who was seated a few meters away.
Both men looked down.
Tony turned and walked closer, where the tray of food should be. He remembered that he had been so eager to see his first summon that he didn’t eat up to a quarter of his meal.
And he was certainly aware that Kratos had been eating it earlier before he collapsed.
But there should be something remaining. Sandra had prepared it for him, not just for him alone, but so that he would have enough to lead him until she was back.
However, on reaching the stool beside Kratos, his eyes widened.
Empty plates. Empty glass. The tray was empty, and Kratos seemed to have learned much about etiquette that he packed them accordingly. Turning the glass cup upside down and...
Slowly, Tony turned toward Kratos.
The swordsman looked away.
"Kratos."
"..."
"Kratos."
"..."
Tony almost collapsed again when he still hadn’t received any response from the young swordsman. He was starving, especially now that his body had undergone some extreme changes.
The hunger seemed to escalate.
As if to calm him down, Kratos suddenly turned toward Tony and vomited what he had to say.
"You summoned me. And ignored me. Then..."
"Then?"
"There was food."
"So?"
"I assumed it was for me," Kratos said carelessly and genuinely added, "It was a great treat. You are such a good cook."
Tony grabbed his forehead.
This was going to be very difficult.
How was he meant to correct Kratos’ impression that it had not been prepared by him? The reason it was even more difficult was because just like him, the owner of this body also didn’t know how to cook.
This left him with the choice of making cereals for himself. But he really hated to take cereals for breakfast. And given his extent of hunger, was it even going to satisfy him?
In the end, Tony decided he would have to go with this meager choice. He turned toward the kitchen but paused in his steps.
"Beside the door to the bathroom, you will see a mop stick and inside, a bucket. Outside the room, just by your right, there’s a dustbin. This room is in a mess," Tony said coldly without turning back, then continued toward the kitchen.
Kratos sighed. And stood up regardless.
***
A few moments later, after forcing himself to calm down and after Kratos had really showcased a reliable cleaning skill, both of them sat opposite each other.
The swordsman sat on the same bench cushion, but his attention was on something else.
He was currently flipping through the pages of a manhwa book, with interest evident in his eyes as he scanned through them.
While Tony was seated on his bed, staring at the man before him.
He hadn’t known that there was a special shelf in the desk beside his bed, where the previous Tony stored manhwa books and different fantasy hardcover novels. Now that Kratos had helped him discover it, it was a good thing considering his interest in such things.
But there was a more pressing issue.
"Kratos?"
The latter looked up, the book in his grip suddenly falling apart on the floor, its pages flipping back until they closed themselves.
Impatience flared in Kratos in the form of annoyance, but he perfectly maintained his calm and listened to know why he had been distracted.
"I need to get a sword. And I will also need your help with learning how to wield it."
"Okay."
Kratos replied and bent to pick up the manhwa book, making its book cover visible for Tony to see.
One Piece.
Tony swallowed. He now understood why the swordsman was engrossed in the book, but... did that response even define the kind of loyalty he expected according to the system?
"Kratos," Tony called again. "I will just get in the bathroom, freshen up, and get prepared. We will be going to get a sword for me... and a bit of training.
"Then tomorrow, we will be going to the Mo—"
"Okay."
Kratos replied curtly, flipping over a page he had just read impatiently.
Tony’s brows furrowed; his expression darkened. He clenched his fist and raised it, allowing it seconds later to fall on the desk beside him.
CRACK*
Luckily, that impact didn’t shatter the desk completely but damaged its surface as spirals of spider-web cracks ran through it.
Kratos still wasn’t drawn by the attention.
Tony had no other choice but to calm himself down, seeing the damage he had already caused.
In the end, he could only walk to the bathroom, regret written all over his face.
Kratos closed the manhwa and smiled. He seemed to have acted on purpose.
———
Keep supporting with your powerstones. Thank you.
