Chapter 231 | Rewards…
Dexter went to his room and sat on the bed.
He had been so consumed by yesterday and also this morning’s events, that he had completely forgotten about the system reward.
"System, open reward."
Golden text materialized in the air before him and Dexter’s mind went blank.
He blinked his eyes and cleaned his eyes to see if what he was seeing was true.
’What the heck? Just two rewards?’
Dexter scratched the back of his head clearly stunned and confused.
For the past several days, the system had been generous with its rewards. Each day brought a cascade of returns that had transformed him from his previous weakling status to his new found strength.
But today, the system had only given him two rewards instead of the usual ten plus.
He looked at the first reward.
’Sigh! Let’s just check why I got.’
[Reward 1: Lifespan Extension — Ten Additional Years]
Dexter stared at the notification as he pursed his lips.
Ten years was not insignificant. In the cultivation world, where breakthroughs between major realms could take decades and where the most powerful experts lived for centuries, ten years was nice but for a twenty-year-old man it wasn’t all that valuable.
Then he looked at the second.
[Reward 2: Dual Avatar Fruit]
[Grade: 8 ]
[Description: A legendary fruit born from the convergence of life energy and dimensional mana. When consumed, the fruit grants the user the ability to create a second physical body that is completely independent from the first.]’’
[Effects:]
[• The second body is a perfect physical replica of the user’s primary body]
[• The second body possesses its own independent mana reserves, cultivation base, and talent]
[• The second body can operate independently, at any distance, without affecting the primary body]
[• Damage to one body does not transfer to the other]
[• The user’s consciousness can shift between bodies at will]
[• Both bodies share the same soul, creating an unbreakable telepathic link between them]
Dexter’s hand trembled slightly. An actual grade 8 fruit? Dexter had never expected the system would give him a grade 8 fruit this early!
The Avatar Fruit could create a second body. A complete, independent, fully functional second body. With its own mana. Its own cultivation. Its own talent.
His mind went immediately to Aurelyx.
’If I give this fruit to Aurelyx, she could separate from Lyra’s body. She could have her own physical form. No more two consciousnesses fighting for control of one body.’
’Lyra would be free. Aurelyx would be free. Both of them, in their own bodies, living their own lives.’
The thought was intoxicating as this was the solution to the problem that had been consuming him since the night Aurelyx had appeared in his bedroom and kissed him and revealed herself as the Shadow Queen.
And now the solution was sitting in his hand. In the form of a fruit.
But.
Dexter’s excitement cooled.
’But I don’t know Aurelyx’s intentions.’
From what he could tell, Aurelyx was not a good person.
Giving her an independent body meant giving her freedom. Freedom to move, to act, to kill, without the limitation of having to surface from inside another person’s consciousness.
An Aurelyx with her own body was an Aurelyx unleashed.
’And I don’t know her true strength.’
This was the critical unknown. When Aurelyx was inside Lyra’s body, she was constrained by Lyra’s physical condition. Whatever power Aurelyx possessed, it was filtered through a broken vessel.
But if Aurelyx had her own body, a body created by the Avatar Fruit, a body with its own independent mana reserves and cultivation base, she would be at full power. Whatever that power was.
’The number one assassin in the city. At full power. With her own body. Answering to no one.’
’That might be worse than the current situation.’
Dexter closed his eyes.
He couldn’t give her the fruit. Not yet. Not without more information. He needed to understand Aurelyx first.
He needed to observe.
He needed to learn how the switching worked. When it happened. Why it happened. What triggered Aurelyx’s emergence and what caused her retreat.
He didn’t know any of this. And until he did, the Avatar Fruit would stay in his spatial storage.
Dexter placed the fruit in his spatial storage. The golden text faded. The system interface closed.
He sat on his bed for a moment, staring at the wall.
’I was expecting more rewards. I was hoping for a cultivation boost. Something that would push me past the Superhuman Realm and into Ultra.’
The disappointment was manageable. The system’s rewards were not predictable. They came in waves. Some days brought a flood. Others brought a trickle. The system didn’t operate on a schedule. It operated on investment. On the significance of his actions. On the depth of his care.
The past two days had been extraordinary in terms of events but perhaps less extraordinary in terms of investment. The kiss with Aurelyx had been detected by the system, but it had been attributed to Lyra.
Perhaps the past two days had been too chaotic by external events, the Harvest Homes fight, the squad meeting, Aurora’s proposition, Rachel’s call, Tessa’s secret, for the system to register the kind of deep, focused investment that triggered major rewards.
Dexter closed his eyes and began cultivating.
He cultivated for an hour. The mana flowed. His body strengthened. His mind settled. The cultivation was productive, even without a system boost. His SS-Rank mana affinity made absorption effortless. Every breath drew in energy. Every heartbeat distributed it through his system.
The alarm on his phone rang.
Dexter opened his eyes. Checked the time. One hour had passed. It was time for Mira’s massage.
He stood up. Walked to the door. Opened it. Stepped into the hallway.
Opposite his room was the girls’ bedroom. The door was closed.
He had expected it to remain closed. He had expected Mira to ignore his instruction. To stay at the window. To refuse to come. To maintain the sulk that had been her default state since the massage discussion the previous evening.