Chapter 322: Interview (4)
"Can you be more specific?" Christian asked
Anastasia didn’t refute him. Instead, she rubbed her chin thoughtfully and muttered, "Where should I start from?"
"Your incomplete physique — the one you clearly shaped by altering your body’s structure with essence. A feat that should’ve been impossible."
"Your high comprehension."
"Your Fist Intent."
She listed one thing after another, her tone casual but her words sharp — almost as if she was reading directly from his status window.
He felt like he was standing naked in front of her, every layer peeled back, every secret exposed.
But even so, he said nothing. He just listened.
And Anastasia continued.
"Then there’s your body... and the physical strengthening system you stumbled upon."
She gave him a sidelong glance, then added playfully, "Do you know that while training in more than one power system is possible... that’s not the case when it comes to Body Tempering?"
Christian raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"It’s literally as I said," she replied, voice firm. "It’s impossible."
"Body tempering consumes all the essence you store inside your body. Every drop of it gets devoured. So unless someone else tempers your body for you, you can’t practice it alongside another system."
"But that’s not what happened in your case, is it?"
Christian hummed softly, choosing not to answer.
This was the first time he had heard such a thing.
Strengthening his body had always felt like a side effect — not something he intentionally trained. It came as a result of something else... of his skill, Flawless Body.
Its main purpose wasn’t even physical strength. It was to eliminate flaws — imperfections buried deep within.
Anastasia noticed his silence and chuckled lightly, choosing not to press him further. Instead, she tilted her head and said, "And if the enigma of your body tempering and all the other qualities you possess still aren’t enough... then there’s the incident from earlier."
She leaned forward, voice calm but clear.
"Do you really think I could find someone else who could erupt with that kind of strength, just like that?"
Christian almost argued — ’Well, even if not through a system, wouldn’t there be some kind of item that could reproduce a similar result?’
But in the end, he kept quiet.
He simply stared at Anastasia, his thoughts circling in silence as he considered his answer.
She didn’t push him.
She just waited patiently.
And after a moment of thought, Christian finally said, "Well... becoming your disciple is a serious decision. So, can you give me some time?"
Anastasia narrowed her eyes slightly, though her smile remained.
"And how much time, exactly?" she asked, voice deceptively sweet.
"...A hundred years?" Christian said carefully.
But as he saw her smile vanish in real time, he quickly straightened up and added, "I’ll try to arrive at an answer as soon as possible!"
Anastasia gave a small huff — but then nodded, seemingly satisfied, her smile returning in full.
Seeing that, Christian finally coughed and brought up what had been on his mind next.
"You know... I actually enjoy gathering all kinds of knowledge."
"And from our previous conversations, I can already tell that you’re someone with plenty of it."
He saw Anastasia’s lips curl upward into a teasing smile — that look that clearly said: So, you don’t want to be my disciple, but you still want the benefits of one?
Christian pretended not to notice, and shamelessly continued.
"So, in the meantime... before I make my decision..."
He cleared his throat.
"...Could I maybe make a copy of some of the information you hold?"
Silence stretched between them after Christian’s words, as Anastasia continued staring at him with that same teasing look — until finally, she said,
"I don’t mind. But if you don’t become my disciple in the end, then I’ll consider this your payment for the android."
"And there will be no technique that could help you reach the Transformation rank."
Getting what he wanted, Christian grinned, and without hesitation, replied, "I don’t mind!"
-------
Time began to pass more quickly after that conversation with Anastasia.
Christian’s daily schedule — working, eating, shitting, then sleeping — didn’t change much.
But, he worked with more ease now. With less urgency.
He wasn’t in a hurry anymore.
And why?
Because of an idea that had been brewing in his mind... and more importantly, because of what he got from Anastasia.
When he first asked her for knowledge, Christian hadn’t expected much. Dozens of books, maybe a little more.
But, what he received had nearly overwhelmed his storage.
His warehouse couldn’t even hold it all — the mountains of books, the countless small crystals, each packed with information.
He was troubled for a moment.
But that too didn’t last long.
Because Anastasia, ever generous in her own strange way, casually handed him a storage ring — one with an internal space of more than 50 square kilometers.
Fifty.
With that kind of space, Christian had no trouble storing everything inside.
But... that wasn’t the point.
It was about the idea he had been putting off.
Now, with a sea of knowledge at his back — and its need growing more apparent by the day — it was finally time to act, to bring that idea to life.
Christian intended to develop a technique — one that could distinguish between truth and lies. Or, at the very least, something that came close.
Maybe he was overthinking things. Maybe there wasn’t even a need for something like that.
But even so, he still intended to go through with it.
No — he had already started.
He’d begun filtering through the books and crystal slips slowly, carefully updating his internal database with the ones that might hold anything remotely useful to the concept.
Strictly speaking, there was no need for that.
After all, his system would automatically take into account anything he had access to. And since the books and crystals were already stored in his ring, they were technically "accessible."
But that wasn’t enough for him.
Not this time.
He still needed to go through them manually.
Because he hadn’t yet decided what the best form for this kind of technique would be.
And besides, those books and crystal slips weren’t his. They were borrowed — a favor from Anastasia. And at some point, he would need to return them.
Which made uploading the relevant knowledge into his system a necessity.
Later, through Iris, he could search the content more specifically. Narrow things down. Piece together the fragments.
If there was a problem... it was time.
He didn’t have much of it to spare.
This kind of task took patience, focus, and a lot of sorting — and once again, Christian found himself missing the presence of his sister.
After all, it was usually her who handled things like this. Quietly, efficiently. Without complaint.
Without her, the silence stretched longer. The work felt heavier.
And the task ahead — no matter how important — started to feel lonelier.