Chapter 23: Special Class
Sunlight streamed golden through the window, announcing the arrival of a new day.
Nero woke up, feeling refreshed after a restful night’s sleep.
"I haven’t slept like this in a while," he remarked as he rose to his feet. Checking his broken arm, he discovered that it had healed completely overnight—no longer needing the plaster.
’My natural healing ability seems to have increased.’
It was a realization that couldn’t have been more welcome.
Though he felt a bit hungry from not eating before bed, Nero didn’t rush to breakfast. Instead, he settled into a meditative state. He needed to assess his gains; he had a strong feeling that his earlier suspicions were correct. There was no way his body could have become this resilient and his healing ability improved without the effects of defeating the monster.
Using a mirror, he activated his unique eyes and was instantly transported into his inner world.
Nine stars hung in the sky, with a vortex swirling below. Among them, the red star pulsed faintly, emanating a powerful heat despite being partially sealed. One black chain still encircled the red star, but its condition looked precarious, as if it could break at any moment.
"Just a little more, and I could unseal it. Should I kill another monster?" he pondered, then shook his head. He sensed he could break the damaged chain using a different method. As for which method to try, why not explore the vortex and see what happened? The last time he did that, the first star had been freed. Although it was a risky approach, he felt he had no choice; fighting another monster would be too quick.