Chapter 318: Danger Awareness (4)
Christian moved his hand toward Anastasia’s smooth, silver hair.
He barely used any strength.
His current body still felt foreign — overwhelming and unstable — and he wasn’t trying to attack her.
He was simply patting her head.
There was no need for force.
At least... that was his intention.
But the moment his hand made contact?
It was like a miniature nuclear weapon had gone off.
The air cracked with invisible force, a shockwave rolling out from the touch.
Anastasia, of course, remained unaffected. Christian didn’t feel a thing either — his body still overflowed with unnatural strength, after all.
But the world around them?
It wasn’t so lucky.
Christian watched as Anastasia let out a small, tired sigh. She retracted whatever invisible attack had been hovering above him, and with that, the threat faded.
His power, the crisis, the distortion in time — all of it finally began to die down.
And the moment she pulled her power back, time itself clicked back into place.
The sharp, thunderous crack split apart the stillness that had held the world moments ago.
The pause button had been lifted.
Everything lurched back into motion.
The earth beneath them cratered, caving inward from the released pressure.
Buildings in the distance cracked and collapsed like paper under wind.
Even Christian’s house — sturdy as it was — barely held on.
Outer walls blown open.
Windows reduced to glass dust.
Support beams bent and groaning under the aftermath.
The people nearby...
The ones Christian hadn’t yet gotten around to killing...
The ones who had been watching, frozen in fear...
They were gone.
The ground still trembled beneath his feet.
Dust rose in slow, thick waves, coiling around them like smoke from a dying fire.
Even the air itself felt scorched — scarred by the moment.
But Christian didn’t care about any of that.
Not the destruction.
Not the noise.
Not the storm.
He only looked at Anastasia.
His hand still rested on her head. Her eyepatch had fallen when he touched her — slipped loose in the blast.
And now... her eyes met his.
One glowing purple.
The other, golden and bright.
To him, they seemed... special.
Christian stared into them, calm and quietly fascinated, as he ruffled her hair — gently, with the same hand that had just destroyed the world around them.
Maybe, he really won the gamble?
This sudden thought occurred to him, as he smiled. But then, suddenly, he found himself moving closer to Anastasia, before he brushed past her and fell to the ground.
What’s going on?
Was I actually attacked just now?
Feeling his limp body, Christian wondered what was going on.
Luckily, Anastasia’s melodious voice answered him.
"So, this strength doesn’t come without consequence~"
She smoothed her hair as she said that, before suddenly smiling at him, with narrowed eyes.
Christian, while looking at Anastasia, couldn’t help but feel that he really overstepped his limits.
But he didn’t feel any regret, and instead just wondered what was going to happen now.
Anastasia squatted beside him and rested her head on her hands.
Her eyes, each with a different color, stared at him — playfully at first — as she said,
"So, what should I do to you now?"
"Well... you need to help heal me, so I can continue making the android for you... right?" Christian said with a forced smile, his voice strained.
And Anastasia couldn’t help but laugh at that, before she amusedly said,
"You know that I could do that myself, right?"
Christian stared at her as she said that, and feeling like there was no need for acting anymore, his expression turned more serious, as he said,
"What do you really want, then?"
What does she want?
Is there really nothing?
And it’s just for fun?
Christian may have decided to go along with that answer in his mind for a moment, but in the end, he was still far from being convinced by the excuse he used to justify batting her head.
He already knew that while the android was something she could be interested in, it was hardly a reason that would make her treat him this generously.
That she was too enchanted by his handsome appearance, and had simply fallen in love with him?
He hoped for something like that.
But he knew — that wasn’t the case.
"It’s simple. Become my disciple... take me as your master!" Anastasia suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts.
And Christian became stunned at her words.
So... it was really for him?
With that thought, he forced himself to speak once again. "Shouldn’t you try to heal me first, before you ask that?"
Anastasia nodded. But instead of healing him, she looked at him seriously — and her eyes suddenly changed.
A text, some kind of strange letter, appeared in her pupil, glowing faintly as she stared at him.
That lasted for some time, before she moved her hand toward his body and continued observing him with that deep, pondering expression.
Is she trying to find the system? The source of my strength?
Christian wondered, cold sweat soaking his back.
She was doing this now, probably because of his sudden increase in strength — and that strength came from his skill, Danger Awareness, a skill granted by the Idle System.
No matter what, though, he still believed that his system should be stronger... and he hoped that he was right.
As the seconds passed and Anastasia remained still, quietly examining his body without making any move, Christian’s panic began to grow.
But then, Anastasia finally retracted her hand and shook her head.
Her eyes, as they looked at him, were filled with even more curiosity than before.
"Do you know," she said softly, "if someone other than me had noticed this kind of change in you, the sudden strength that you suddenly came to hold... what would have happened?"
"Then, you couldn’t even dream of continuing to live."
"What you have — even with my strength, I couldn’t discover it. But I still know... it’s something too precious."
"Something that only a few in this vast universe wouldn’t covet."
"Luckily, I’m one of them. But still, you need to be careful."
Anastasia gave her advice seriously, before she finally waved her hand over his body, sending pure essence into him.
And Christian — while feeling like groaning in pleasure at the indescribable sensation — finally felt as if he could move his body once again.